Ask a Simple Question; Get a Simple Answer & General Resources (OU Edition)

[xXAlphaXx]

Thanks so much for the help! I am just getting into competitive play and this will definitely help pick a team.

resistances you should have: Dragon, Flying, Water, Ground, Fire, and Bug, at the very least

Do you mean I should be able to resist those type or build a team with those types?

look over at the usage stats

Where might those be?

[alkinesthetase]

usage stats stickied at the top of the overused forum section (the one that you're in). look for july 2012 in the thread title

and it means you need to resist those types. i'd add fighting to the list as well. these are all common attacking types that you generally must watch out for in OU lest you make yourself overly vulnerable to a strong sweeper that uses those types.

ultimately your question is a bit difficult to answer because it's so open ended. depending on the type of team you want to build, the way to go about building it will differ, so it's quite difficult to answer. 0078's answer would be well suited for a balanced team or one that leans towards offense but a stall team would turn that method on its head. play around and see what works for you

[Dark Fallen Angel]

Originally Posted by Fat xXAlphaXx

Are their any sort of guidelines defined for choosing pokes on a team? Such as balancing types, covering weakness etc.?

A tip: http://pokemon.marriland.com/black_white/team_builder See this page. Put all your pokés that you are going to use, and then see if your team is going to be weak to something. If yes, then you can fix that.

I recommend you to have a revenge killer, a sweeper, a stallbreaker and something that can setup Stealth Rock. These things are essential on any team, in my opinion.

[xXAlphaXx]

I figured their wasn't going to be a 1 size fits all answer but it is a start, and starting is exactly where I am at. Thanks to all the tips and resources you guys are recommending! :)

[Jukain]

Originally Posted by Fat xXAlphaXx

Do you mean I should be able to resist those types or build a team with those types?

You should be able to resist those types. It is ideal to resist most or all types, but those are a start. I forgot Rock and Fighting on the priority list of resistances.

EDIT: keep in mind that your Water resist should be able to take 2 +1 Hydro Pumps from Keldeo.

[Dark Fallen Angel]

Grass, Ice and Electric are also other types that you should be able to resist. However, many pokémon are resistant to Grass, having something capable of tanking Grass attacks shouldn't be a problem. Of the three, the most threatening is Ice, as Mamoswine is going to be a top-threat when Garchomp is unbanned. And many Water-type Pokémon carry Ice-type attacks. Electric is mostly because of Thundurus-T, Keldeo (HP Electric) and SubCM Jirachi.

Also, having something to tank Dark, Ghost, Steel and Psychic-types is nice, but these types aren't very common and you don't have to worry about them as much. Don't bother with Poison and Normal-type attacks; nobody use them.

[Arceus Nui]

How do you put a YouTube video into your own posts? Not a link, but the actual player itself, like in this RMT. (Sorry if this doesn't belong here, because I remember someone else was told not to ask technical related questions, but idk where else to ask this.)

[Jukain]

Originally Posted by Fat Arceus Nui

How do you put a YouTube video into your own posts? Not a link, but the actual player itself, like in this RMT. (Sorry if this doesn't belong here, because I remember someone else was told not to ask technical related questions, but idk where else to ask this.)

{youtube}{/youtube}

put in what you see after v= in the url between the tags

you use [ instead of { and ] instead of } for the tags

[SilentRevolver]

So I have a question to ask that may or may not be answered so easily. What ever happened to the War Story Archive Pages? I can't seem to locate them.

[alkinesthetase]

http://www.smogon.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=57

[cim]

I'm by no means sure how simple of a question this is, but I'm posting it here. Even if it deserved a new thread, I'm not sure which forum it would go to, because it's a fairly metagame-agnostic topic.

I've been more or less out of the loop lately, and with Team Preview resulting in the apparent death of dedicated leads, how do you decide what goes first? Is it all about picking the least checkable threat on your team and firing away? Are dedicated hazard leads really unusable now? (My hunch would be that they're probably still okay) Do teams prepare a subset of their team (2-3 pokemon) to potentially lead? How does this all work?

[Thorhammer]

Originally Posted by Fat cim

I'm by no means sure how simple of a question this is, but I'm posting it here. Even if it deserved a new thread, I'm not sure which forum it would go to, because it's a fairly metagame-agnostic topic.

I've been more or less out of the loop lately, and with Team Preview resulting in the apparent death of dedicated leads, how do you decide what goes first? Is it all about picking the least checkable threat on your team and firing away? Are dedicated hazard leads really unusable now? (My hunch would be that they're probably still okay) Do teams prepare a subset of their team (2-3 pokemon) to potentially lead? How does this all work?

My own response has been just to go with what seems like it would get the best momentum against the opponent's team. I run Scarf Genesect, so it's usually that because of U-Turn, although I sometimes go with Scarf Terrakion instead, depending on the team.

I do see a lot of people leading with something like Tyranitar, Heatran, or Mamoswine and using Stealth Rock immediately or almost immediately. Getting SR up early is still really valuable, but I don't know too much about the details, not having a team that can really do that. So I'll leave that part for others to answer.

Of course, there are still a lot of weather teams around. Those usually (but not always) lead with the weather starter, and Politoed and Ninetales don't have SR.

[FrozenZade]

I'm assuming this answer is the same in Doubles and Triples...

What happens when you use a non-permanent weather move after a different Pokemon has used a "Permanent" weather inducing ability?

Example: Tyranitar comes out and sets up sand storm.
My Tornadus comes out and uses Rain Dance.

Rain Dance ends...what happens?
Does all weather go away or does sand storm come back because it was "Permanent?"

[Dark Fallen Angel]

The permanent weather doesn't come back. When the non-permanent one ends, the battle is without weather.

[Jukain]

Originally Posted by Fat cim

I'm by no means sure how simple of a question this is, but I'm posting it here. Even if it deserved a new thread, I'm not sure which forum it would go to, because it's a fairly metagame-agnostic topic.

I've been more or less out of the loop lately, and with Team Preview resulting in the apparent death of dedicated leads, how do you decide what goes first? Is it all about picking the least checkable threat on your team and firing away? Are dedicated hazard leads really unusable now? (My hunch would be that they're probably still okay) Do teams prepare a subset of their team (2-3 pokemon) to potentially lead? How does this all work?

Alright, you have multiple questions. The first part:

During the team preview, the ideal thing to do is to look over the opposing team and decide what they could potentially lead with. If the opponent has a weather inducer like Politoed or Tyranitar, that Pokemon is going to lead off the battle most of the time. See a Smeargle? It's going to be leading. See a Deoxys-D? It will probably be leading. Do they have a fast Spiker like Froslass? It will probably be leading. Espeon that looks like it could be screening based on some frailer teammates? That could be leading. Now say your opponent has none of those. What could gain momentum early on for the opponent, causing them to likely lead with that? Those are some great examples of what you should watch out for when picking your lead. You want to make it so your lead forces out the opposing lead. I may as well note that while you are watching the Team Preview, study the opposing team. Pinpoint weaknesses and try and find their win condition. Your job is to attempt to stop that, and if that win condition is in the lead position, such as a SmashPass Smeargle or hazard lead Deoxys-D, you should choose the appropriate Pokemon to stop that win condition.

As for your second question, that is another way you can pick a lead. It is a part of studying the opposing team during Team Preview. If you can't think of anything on your team that can give you an immediate advantage, picking the most effective thing against the majority of the opposing team is easily the way to go.

Now on to your third question. Dedicated hazard leads are limited to a few things now, with very few Pokemon completely dedicated to getting up entry hazards right off the bat. However, a few still exist, most notably LO Deoxys-D, which carries Stealth Rock, Spikes, Psycho Boost, and Hidden Power Fire in most cases. Froslass is probably your only other example, setting up fairly easy Spikes early-game. Roserade can function as a lead almost like it did last generation, boasting access to the elusive Toxic Spikes and Spikes. Tentacruel is often seen leading with Toxic Spikes, but it also has utility throughout the battle with Rapid Spin and Scald, not to mention its excellent set of resistances and great special bulk. Forretress is an excellent lead if you are running Volt Switch on it, but it may also be best to give Forretress only one hazard (probably Spikes or Toxic Spikes) and let it have what it really wants, Volt Switch and another attack like Gyro Ball, Earthquake, or Hidden Power Ice. Forretress can also spin away opposing hazards, so it has great utility throughout the match.

On to your last question, you should have a few Pokemon capable of leading. On offense, this can range from a dedicated lead (not that good except for things I mentioned!!!) to a Pokemon selected by carefully going over the opposing team. Things like Choice Scarf Rotom-W and Choice Band Terrakion are excellent Pokemon to give pressure early-game. As for stall teams, the best lead is probably something that can get up Toxic Spikes if the team has them, like Tentacruel or Forretress, or Spikes, like Skarmory, Ferrothorn, or Forretress, as those entry hazards put a stall team in advantageous position right off the bat.

I think that should answer your question pretty well, but as for your most common leads:

OU Top 40 Leads

---

Total battles: 122109
Total teams: 244218
Total pokemon: 244218
+ ---- + ------------------ + ------ + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Usage | Percent |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ------ + ------- +
| 1 | Politoed | 23744 | 9.722% |
| 2 | Tyranitar | 10633 | 4.354% |
| 3 | Ninetales | 8779 | 3.595% |
| 4 | Rotom-Wash | 8288 | 3.394% |
| 5 | Ferrothorn | 8204 | 3.359% |
| 6 | Forretress | 6365 | 2.606% |
| 7 | Deoxys-Defense | 6024 | 2.467% |
| 8 | Breloom | 5461 | 2.236% |
| 9 | Jirachi | 5190 | 2.125% |
| 10 | Landorus-Therian | 4876 | 1.997% |
| 11 | Heatran | 4827 | 1.977% |
| 12 | Tornadus-Therian | 4316 | 1.767% |
| 13 | Scizor | 4299 | 1.760% |
| 14 | Infernape | 4262 | 1.745% |
| 15 | Thundurus-Therian | 3867 | 1.583% |
| 16 | Gliscor | 3788 | 1.551% |
| 17 | Mamoswine | 3741 | 1.532% |
| 18 | Dragonite | 3605 | 1.476% |
| 19 | Abomasnow | 3496 | 1.432% |
| 20 | Hippowdon | 3447 | 1.411% |
| 21 | Jolteon | 3420 | 1.400% |
| 22 | Skarmory | 3415 | 1.398% |
| 23 | Latios | 3163 | 1.295% |
| 24 | Gengar | 3070 | 1.257% |
| 25 | Donphan | 2860 | 1.171% |
| 26 | Espeon | 2634 | 1.079% |
| 27 | Metagross | 2535 | 1.038% |
| 28 | Starmie | 2534 | 1.038% |
| 29 | Azelf | 2520 | 1.032% |
| 30 | Mew | 2490 | 1.020% |
| 31 | Smeargle | 2279 | 0.933% |
| 32 | Ninjask | 2245 | 0.919% |
| 33 | Cloyster | 2220 | 0.909% |
| 34 | Terrakion | 2194 | 0.898% |
| 35 | Salamence | 2064 | 0.845% |
| 36 | Hydreigon | 2049 | 0.839% |
| 37 | Landorus | 2045 | 0.837% |
| 38 | Celebi | 1979 | 0.810% |
| 39 | Tentacruel | 1978 | 0.810% |
| 40 | Mienshao | 1847 | 0.756% |

Based on these stats, what I said before holds true. The most common leads are weather inducers, bulky hazard users, and Pokemon that can put immediate pressure on the opponent, ranging from Choice Scarf to priority to setup Pokemon.

I hope this answers your questions thoroughly and accurately, and I hope that you have a bit more insight on leads in a metagame with the advent of Team Preview!

[Jimera0]

To add a little to what Pokemon0078 said, one of the other common things people lead with are Pokemon with U-turn and Volt-Switch, particularly if they're scarfed. That way if they don't get a matchup they like they can easily switch to something that does get a good matchup. That's why Rotom-W shows up a lead so much (landorus-I used to pre BW1 as well and still does with those who use it, but it's just not all the rage right now thanks to the Therians).

Generally, people lead with a Pokemon that can get them an immediate advantage. Usually this means a weather inducer, a scout or a hazard setter. There's no real reason to have a dedicated lead anymore, but that doesn't mean that having hazards up at the start of the match isn't as useful as it ever was. Now you can spread out your roles and pick whichever one would give you the most advantage, or whichever one would prevent your foe from getting a similar advantage.

[darthluigi36]

Got my Keldeo today~

Trying to decide if this one's worth keeping. The IV's are very solid, but the nature is Rash. Is there any merit to running Aqua Jet or something on Keldeo? Most opinions I find are that it is bad.

Keldeo - #647 (Rash)
Justified
HP: 5 - 11
Att: 23 - 29
Def: 14 - 19
SpA: 22, 24, 26, 28
SpD: 31
Speed: 25, 27, 29
HP Type: Grass

[Jimera0]

Originally Posted by Fat darthluigi36

Got my Keldeo today~

Trying to decide if this one's worth keeping. The IV's are very solid, but the nature is Rash. Is there any merit to running Aqua Jet or something on Keldeo? Most opinions I find are that it is bad.

Keldeo - #647 (Rash)
Justified
HP: 5 - 11
Att: 23 - 29
Def: 14 - 19
SpA: 22, 24, 26, 28
SpD: 31
Speed: 25, 27, 29
HP Type: Grass

HP Grass is pretty cool, though if it had been me I would've RNG'd for perfect stats. Too late for you now though I suppose, unless you still haven't saved yet or something. Just going with natural soft resetting, I'd just take it because who knows how long you'll be at it otherwise. And no, physical attacks on Keldeo are pretty useless. None of them have utility enough and Aqua Jet is just too weak for Keldo to really take advantage of it. 72 base attack is really just too weak for being used at all, period. There are worse natures than Rash though for Keldeo, though it won't like losing its prestigious speed tier.

If you can still try again then you should try RNGing it. It's pretty damn easy to RNG event legendaries in BW, so just check out this section of the site to learn how to do it. It'll take a bit to learn but once you get it down you'll be able to get 100% legal perfect Pokemon forever.

[darthluigi36]

Yeah, I was considering RNG'ing it. It's about time I learned how, heh.

For the moment I've been soft resetting. I think I'll just reset again for now, and if I don't get something decent soon I'm just gonna try RNG'ing.

And thanks for the link!

[NixHex]

No, please, RNG that thing. Take it slowly and read through the link that jimera0 posted.
You only need to learn how to calibrate then it's really easy. Take the time to learn it before picking up your Keldeo, you will be grateful. Unless there's some reason that you absolutely must have a Keldeo now, then I guess you can just get a flawless one from the Wi-Fi forum.

[Jukain]

uh where did the dw forum go?

[Espo]

The closed forums.

[Jukain]

Originally Posted by Fat Espo

The closed forums.

i know that i mean why are they gone should have been more clear

[Espo]

It was closed due to the lack of activity. There was only like 617 battles this month.

[hotcoldyay]

Is there a bulky grass type who is extremely reliable, can halt/check rain teams, has good (form of) recovery, and can stop dragon types and set uppers from taking advantage of it? I want to use it alongside gastrodon on my team to check rain teams