Pokémon BW2 In-game Tier List Mark II [See Post #840]

[CJorex]

Soul Fly, may I suggest you look at the type chart? Lucario is weak to fighting, so he obviously won't have an easy time against Marshall, and also the champion is Iris, not Cynthia. And if you did mean Iris, then no, it does not beat her. It can beat Hydreigon, Lapras and Aggron, but it has no chance against the other three. I used Lucario on my run. but to be honest he wasn't contributing enough so I swapped him for Cobalion. High is good enough for Riolu, he just doesn't cut it for Top.

[breh]

Originally Posted by Fat Alice in Strings

See: Whimsicott, Lilligant, Stoutland, Steelix, Magmar, among others. What you're saying is entirely theorymonning. Pidove is pretty good, and doesn't belong anywhere lower than Mid thanks to it getting the two moves it needs. It's like saying Raticate is terrible because it doesn't have bulk.

In a playthrough I had a while back, Unfezant was actually pretty good. It's not like BW where you have absolute shit (Super Luck Air Cutter lol) until you get Return after the 4th gym iirc. Getting Return after the first gym is extremely, extremely conducive to making it good. It fills its moveslots pretty well, actually, and if you don't mind having to switch vs. Rock / Steel mons, you're actually pretty OK. Return is strong enough and so is Fly; Featherdance / Roost / Detect (pick 2) help out along the way.

[Soul Fly]

Originally Posted by Fat CJorex

Soul Fly, may I suggest you look at the type chart? Lucario is weak to fighting, so he obviously won't have an easy time against Marshall, and also the champion is Iris, not Cynthia. And if you did mean Iris, then no, it does not beat her. It can beat Hydreigon, Lapras and Aggron, but it has no chance against the other three. I used Lucario on my run. but to be honest he wasn't contributing enough so I swapped him for Cobalion. High is good enough for Riolu, he just doesn't cut it for Top.

Oh my I was typing so fast I mussed up some names.

I meant Grimsley (Dark) and Iris(Champion)

It can beat Hydreigon, Lapras and Aggron, but it has no chance against the other three.

Disagreed completely.
My lucario had Thunder Punch/Ice Punch/Aura Sphere/Close Combat.
I completely walked through Iris. I solo'ed here.

Hydreigon, Haxorus, lapras, Aggron were all OHKOes. Druddigon survived a hit and Fire Punched me for ~70% damage while he himself was 2hko'ed by Ice Punch. Dunno why She didn't use that Full Restore. HP wasn't low enough I guess.

Haxorus could have been a problem but he chose to Dragon Dance and I hit him for 85-90%-ish damage. This time she did use a full restore but I was expecting it so I used full restore too. Then he used earthquake giving me HEAVY (95%+ damage) while Ice Punch again did the same amount. Then my Archeops got a free switch in at the second Earthquake and KOed it.


And this was all on Challenge Mode if I might mention....

[CJorex]

I see. Well, I may have been wrong. Anyway, are you sure you weren't overleveled? Maybe I was wrong dropping Lucario, although you still have to remember that it is a pain getting all the Red Shards for ThunderPunch and Ice Punch, and, unless you gring at PWT for Brick Break, your only STAB move for a major part of the game is Force Palm. However, my opinion has changed. If you are happy to put up with those things, then Riolu is Top

And by the way, I shouldn't be complaining about Force Palm for most of the game. Magnezone is stuck with Thundershock for most of the game, and yet he is still Top.

[TM13IceBeam]

Magnezone isn't exactly stuck with Tshock for most of the game: your main stab midgame generally tends to be mirror shot, electro ball isn't that far away either.

Force Palm isn't terrible per se, you can also use other moves like return or dark pulse to complement luke's coverage. idk if it's top or high, but if anything it should be at least high. relatively useful pokemon for ingame

[Magcargo 2]

Originally Posted by Fat CJorex

I see. Well, I may have been wrong. Anyway, are you sure you weren't overleveled? Maybe I was wrong dropping Lucario, although you still have to remember that it is a pain getting all the Red Shards for ThunderPunch and Ice Punch, and, unless you gring at PWT for Brick Break, your only STAB move for a major part of the game is Force Palm. However, my opinion has changed. If you are happy to put up with those things, then Riolu is Top

And by the way, I shouldn't be complaining about Force Palm for most of the game. Magnezone is stuck with Thundershock for most of the game, and yet he is still Top.

Magnezone gets volt switch from elesa's gym and is useful for the entire game.

[CJorex]

Trust me, volt switch is not helpful. he improves when he gets Mirror Shot, but he was a pain to train. However, he was able to beat some notable foes with just Thundershock, including soloing Skyla. However, I have decided that next time I play through BW2 I will be looking elsewhere for an electric type. Also, you say he is useful for the entire game. Well, between Burgh and Skyla he was just dead weight for me.

[TM13IceBeam]

volt switch is actually pretty decent, and electro ball is always stronger than thundershock...

[DRADE]

You're not playing the game right if you feel like Magnemite is dead weight in any part of the game.

[CJorex]

Well I certainly didn't have any use for him Vs Elesa and Clay.

[TM13IceBeam]

Originally Posted by Fat CJorex

Well I certainly didn't have any use for him Vs Elesa and Clay.

you aren't the only one, and yet i feel that the top ranking is justified.

[Antihaxxer]

Magnezone walls Flaaffy & Emolga ... and can do some damage with Sonic Boom. Too bad he can't learn Signal beam before Clay, with Sturdy, he'd kill Krook, and all the Sandile/Baltoy in the gym :(

[celever]

Yeah, to be quite honest I was thinking that magnemite should be high anyway. It is good for roxie, it walls Burgh but can't do massive damage, is practically useless between Elesa, or even the desert, and Clay and only comes back into use for Skyla, Drayden and Marlon. It is also useless against Marshall, however has fairly good match-ups on the rest of the elite four.
It is great when you first get it (albeit a bit cheap, so I benched him for Roxie), terrible for the next few gyms (but can do decently against burgh - nothing special) and great at the end of post-game. However you require about 12 levels of babying which I think puts him down in high.

[DRADE]

Originally Posted by Fat CJorex

Well I certainly didn't have any use for him Vs Elesa and Clay.

Obviously not Clay, Elesa he has uses unless its against Zebstrika, the rest of the game however he dominates.

[thesynchrohero]

Originally Posted by Fat Soul Fly

Can't believe you haven't tiered the fantastic Riolu (lucario) as a Top Tier Pokemon.



NOMINATION
--------------

Name: Riolu. Nomination: Top Tier




Availability: Floccesy Ranch (Rare)



Stats: Riolu being a Prevolution has pretty decent Stats. It's evolution being friendship based you can expect an evolution to Lucario pretty early (no seriously just run in circles for a few minutes and then level up if you're really impatient) which will give it access to those Fantastic mixed attacking stats (110/115/90) for which it's so famous in BWOU



Typing: Fighting is generally an excellent STAB to have in the Unova region with so many Dark, Rock and Normal types we encounter In-Game, so it's easy to get it to grind. Plus as Lucario we get access to that steel typing which is invaluable so early in the game. Considering you face a normal type gym right after Catching Riolu, with a little bit of training it'll be an useful addition to your team right away. It defeats two of the Elite four (Marshall and Champion Cynthia) by the virtue of it's typing alone. Which is bloody fantastic for so early in the game.



Movepool: You will have to wait till level 15 to get Force Palm which is it's first STAB move with a decent Paralysis chance. Which shouldn't be that much of an extra grind considering your next Gym Battle has Pokemon levelled to 13~15. This preps you Immediately for Aspertia Gym which is up next.

From there your journey will be really easy.It can learn both Calm Mind and Swords Dance in-game so you have the flexibility to choose to make it a physical or a special powerhouse according to the needs of your team. Among it's other famous in-game level up moves we have the signature Aura Sphere and Close Combat. Bone Rush is a decent Ground type STAB which is very useful early game, until you get your hands on it's TMs.

Should you choose to Overlevel it a bit late-game it will learn the coveted Dragon Pulse and Extremespeed but IMHO they aren't really necessary ingame, unless you're solo-ing with a single pokemon or something like that.

Coming to TMs and Tutor Moves, it really gets access to the cream of the lot. It learns Dig which is very handy ingame. In Driftveil City, you can pick up either Ice Punch or ThunderPunch for 10 Red Shards each from the Tutor. This gives it access to a Physical BoltBeam combo which again just makes it more bloody useful and essentially makes it absurdly easy to level up. When you get to Humilau City, a great move for Lucario is Drain Punch for 10 Yellow Shards. While pricy, it hits for a solid 75 power and, most importantly, heals Lucario's HP by half of the damage dealt. That will ensure its HP remains high through long training sessions and while exploring new areas. This is also a great STAB if having your Stats dropped from Close Combat in middle of a match sound unappealing to you. (Aura Sphere is still better IMHO if you're not averse to it having a special move)

Other Notable Moves include Zen Headbutt, Work Up, Iron Tail, Rock Smash and Psychic so you're not short of options at all.



Major Battles: As mentioned earlier. By the virtue of it's typing alone it can single handedly defeat both Marshall and Champion Cynthia due to the prevalence of Dark, Steel, Ice and Rock types in their teams. It's STAB plus the BoltBeam combo just rips them apart. Gym battles are also a breeze. Especially since you face Aspertia (Normal) gym after capturing it.Burgh's super troublesome Crustle is now longer a problem. And you can just smash thorugh Driftveil, Opelucid, Mistralton (should you care to teach it Ice Punch) and Himalu city. All in all There will hardly be a major Battle where it doesn't take part. Team Plasma is a joke now considering they almost exclusively use Dark, Ice and Steel types so you can just plain out Spam your STAB moves and move on. I won't even list the individual battles. Not worth it. Rival Hugh though isn't particularly threatened by your team early on but just before the Elite four, in your final fight it's invaluable against that troublesome Bouffalant, which can potentially 6-0 your team if you're not ready.


Additional Comments: It's abilities Steadfast and Inner Focus are both valuable in a game infested with Liepards (plasma grunts *sigh*) using fake-out. Apart from that not much to be said.
All things considered, Riolu is one of those Pokemon you should absolutely consider for your team if you are fortunate enough to find one. Make sure you evolve it as soon as possible. But really, Lucario is just so amazingly good that it's hard to compare it to anything else. It is one of the best Pokemon out there and has no real flaws to it, other than a rather medium power STAB move until the later part of the game, which is what holds it back from its perfect rating. Trust me, it matters, but after that point, it is easily a perfect 5/5.

How does a Steel type beat Marshell ? I think you mean Grimsley, the dark elite 4 member because Marshell is the fighting one.

[CJorex]

He did correct himself

[Flareon]

Originally Posted by Fat CJorex

Soul Fly, may I suggest you look at the type chart? Lucario is weak to fighting, so he obviously won't have an easy time against Marshall, and also the champion is Iris, not Cynthia. And if you did mean Iris, then no, it does not beat her. It can beat Hydreigon, Lapras and Aggron, but it has no chance against the other three. I used Lucario on my run. but to be honest he wasn't contributing enough so I swapped him for Cobalion. High is good enough for Riolu, he just doesn't cut it for Top.

I used Specially based Lucario, and she dominated the entire Elite 4 + Iris.

-Aura Sphere
-Dark Pulse
-Psychic
-Dragon Pulse

It certainly proved its worth.

[SuperJOCKE]

Ok, so I've been looking through your posts, and this is my conclusion:

Onix (no trade) to Bottom Tier

Cottonee to Middle Tier

Emolga to Low Tier

Combee to Bottom Tier

Audino to Low Tier

I'm going to add these five to their respective tier in the right now. As I said when I first posted these, I'm not going to be proposing anymore Pokémon for immediate placements. I deem that the Pokémon that are left really needs to be tested etc. first. However, if significant time goes by with nothing happening here, then I'll take another look.

Here is the list of the Pokémon that are left.

I'm going to post another preliminary tier list soon, along with some other things, so look out for that.

But for now, keep the discussion going. :)

[celever]

I did use a Maractus actually... so I suppose I will do the write-up since I'm probably the only person who has. So:
Maractus -- Mid tier
Availability: Well its in the desert at a pretty low encounter rate (10%) so it won't require loads of searching. Besides, at that point you are probably under-leveled for Elesa so while you search you can get in some training. Also you can either have this thing, Sunflora or snivy at this point for a grass type and I would go Maractus for sure out of the 3.
Stats: It can be used as a very nice mixed attacker, however its speed kind of lets it down. It is basically a slightly worse in terms of raw power, but slightly faster specially oriented cacturne in relation to its stats. However Cacturne isn't in this game, so your stuck using this if you want a mixed grass type.
Typing: Grass... now this is good and bad for Maractus. On one side it is between this thing, Sunflora, Snivy, Lilligant (very rare though) and leavanny at the point you can get Maractus. On the other side Grass is not a great typing in B2 and W2, facing type advantages against Marlon and Clay only, but if you want a grass then this is generally what you are looking for, especially if you wanted one of the other 2 starters.
Movepool: This is where it starts going down-hill, and up-hill at the same time. Maractus is blessed with 4 pretty nice types in flying, grass, dark and bug. Unfortunately the only bug move it gets is pin missile, which is too weak to be useful where bug is in this game. To remedy this is sucker punch, giving it some semi-reliable damage on the elite four. Then is aerial ace, which is a pretty nice move for Maractus too, however you only obtain it after Skyla, if you really want a flying attack before then though there is peck via move relearner in driftveil. The good thing though, is that taking something like Lilligant which has technically better stats, Maractus can use sucker punch and other things to set it apart from lilligant's grass/normal/hidden power coverage.
Matchups As mentioned before, it is not great on the majority of the league in terms of STAB. It can however, use sucker punch and aerial ace to really hurt some other gym leaders and, namely, the elite four. Also as long as grass is not resisted it can really deal loads of damage with a needle arm or petal dance. Marlon is also laughably easy with this thing.
Additional comments The virtues of being the main good grass type in the game that is not the starters, a pretty nice movepool and even an immunity for an ability I think places Maractus firmly in mid.

I'd love to hear comments though, as always. (Did this in a bit of a rush btw)

[Antihaxxer]

When you catch Maractus, you can have also Leavanny, Roselia, Liligant (Traded or Not), Pansage. Lostlorn forest and Desert Resort have the "same" availability

[Geodude6]

Axew -- Top Tier
Availability: You can get it at the sixth gym in the Mistralton Cave. It isn't real common but it's not super hard to find either. (20% encounter rate)
Stats: Haxorus' base 147 Atk is godly, getting the second-strongest Attack stat pre-E4. (strongest is Zweilous.) Its Speed and defenses aren't so bad either.
Type: Dragon-type. Next question.
Movepool: Learns Dragon Dance, at most, 5 levels after you catch it. It knows Dragon Claw when you catch it, and if it doesn't, it will learn it once you level it up. Dragon Claw will be its main STAB move for most of the game, and it will HURT coming off that godly Attack stat. Also learns great coverage moves like Brick Break, Bulldoze, X-Scissor, and Rock Slide on the physical side and Hidden Power, Focus Blast, Grass Knot, and Surf on the special side.
Matchups: As an Axew, it won't win against any major opponents. It requires a bit of babying when you first catch it, but as a Fraxure it can easily take down Skyla, with the exception of her Skarmory. Be aware that her Swoobat has Unaware, so your Dragon Dances will be useless against it! Drayden also poses a problem with his super-effective STAB, but you also can hit him with SE STAB Dragon Claw. Marlon will irritate you with random burns from Scald, but outside of that he can't really do anything to you on Easy/Normal mode. On Challenge mode his Wailord and Mantine can Ice Beam you, which won't be fun. Ghetsis is a joke if you get some Antidotes beforehand and set up on Cofagrigus. Haxorus can solo the entire Elite Four and the Champion with the exception of Caitlin's Sigilyph and Iris's Hydreigon and Lapras, which is quite an impressive feat. Grimsley's Krookodile may be a problem with Dragon Claw, but it shouldn't be a huge issue.It should be mentioned that all 4 problem Pokemon mentioned above can easily be dealt with by a Lucario that knows Ice Punch.
Additional Comments: A top-tier Pokemon even in competitive play, Axew/Fraxure/Haxorus is a Pokemon that will not disappoint.

[celever]

Antihaxxer, don't know how I forgot about sewaddle (and lilligant/pettili). The other two are lostlorn forest, and are therefore later, even though by only a bit.
I'll edit in.

Oh, by the way. I didn't compare too much did I? I wasn't sure if I did too much comparison or not. :/

[Antihaxxer]

You can go in Lostlorn forest as soon as you get the Insect Badge, just like Desert Resort :) and then you can backtrack and grind against all the ground types in Desert Resort

[DRADE]

Starting up a playthrough with

-Oshawott
-Magby
-Drilbur
-Mincinno
-Zorua
-Tynamo

Should be interesting, I'll do a write up on each pokemon in a few days

[sickweare]

I also plan on starting a run on W2 and will give you my opinions on:
-Leavanny
-Braviary/Crobat
-Samurott
-Sigilyph/Reuniclus
-Camerupt
-Bisharp