Ok, you just lost a pokemon to my Heracross's Choice Banded Megahorn. But you don't care, you have your own CBer waiting in the wings: Dugtrio! You don't feel dirty using Duggy for a skill-less revenge-kill — after all, Heracross would be near-broken if it weren't for Dugtrio, right?
So you kill it with Aerial Ace, happy to be done with it Hera for the rest of the battle. Annoyed, I send in Tyranitar to deal a heavy Choice Banded Blow to one of your pokemon.
Jolly, 254 Attack Dugtrio's Choice Banded Aerial Ace on a 342HP/256Def (4EVs/min) Tyranitar: 9-11%
Jolly, 254 Attack Dugtrio's Choice Banded Aerial Ace on a 342HP/256Def (4EVs/min) Tyranitar: 10-12%
My mistake, you're not staying in, you're switching out after your awesome, zero-prediction kill. What was I thinking?
Adamant 403 Attack Tyranitar's Choice Banded Pursuit on a switching, 211HP/136Def (min/min) Dugtrio: 182-214%
Yeah, that's what. Different battle, my CB Tyra's Stone Edge takes out your Suicune on the switch. No worries, Duggy's CBed Earthquake to the rescue, right? Out goes my fainted Tyranitar. In comes my CB Heracross. You're switching, right?
Adamant, 383 Attack Heracross's Choice Banded Pursuit on a switching, 211HP/136Def (min/min) Dugtrio: 115-135%
This is your only option:
Jolly, 254 Attack Dugtrio's Choice Banded Earthquake on a 302HP/186Def (4EVs/min) Heracross: 37-43%
Adamant, 279 Attack Dugtrio's Choice Banded Earthquake on a 302HP/186Def Heracross (4EVs/min): 40-47%
Hmmm. Kind of cheap and annoying, huh? But if Dugtrio doesn't want a taste of its own medicine from Heracross and Tyranitar, and in DP, it is going to "need" Life Orb, or this can and will happen every time it kills something with "the wrong move". Now, I just happen to have both Tyranitar and Heracross on the team I posted here a few weeks ago. But they, of course, aren't the only pokemon in DP on which Pursuit will be a popular option, Choice Banded or not.
Say you kill Heracross with AA again, or maybe Blade Test a Celebi, smugly satisfied that maybe you're not missing your physical HP Bug after all. In comes Metagross. Or Weavile.
Adamant, 405 Attack Metagross's Choice Banded Pursuit on a switching, 211HP/136Def (min/min) Dugtrio: 122-143%
Jolly, 339 Attack Weavile's Choice Banded Pursuit on a switching, 211HP/136Def (min/min) Dugtrio: 153-180%
Weavile is particularly interesting because it is faster than Dugtrio (125 base speed vs 120), and will do 77-90% to Dugtrio even if it doesn't switch. Incidentally, Life Orb Dugtrio would kill it with Stone Edge (Jolly 254Atk LO Duggy's EQ does a coincidental 77-90% on a 281HP/166Def [min/min] Weavile), but they will know you're equipped with Life Orb because of your first kill, and know things like their Blissey is now not 2HKOed by its EQ, etc, etc.
I think Pursuit Heracross, Tyranitar and Metagross are reason enough to consider the consequences of Choice Band on Dugtrio, a much-whored and -maligned pokemon in competitive battle in Advance. And, therefore, to consider the pros and cons of the 1.3× boost granted to pokemon via Life Orb, at the expense — in comparison to Choice Band — of considerable power and 10% of your HP with every blow you deal but with the allotment of the freedom of, well, choice. But I'm only one person, so, I ask you Smogoners: is it worth it to use Life Orb on Dugtrio?
So you kill it with Aerial Ace, happy to be done with it Hera for the rest of the battle. Annoyed, I send in Tyranitar to deal a heavy Choice Banded Blow to one of your pokemon.
Jolly, 254 Attack Dugtrio's Choice Banded Aerial Ace on a 342HP/256Def (4EVs/min) Tyranitar: 9-11%
Jolly, 254 Attack Dugtrio's Choice Banded Aerial Ace on a 342HP/256Def (4EVs/min) Tyranitar: 10-12%
My mistake, you're not staying in, you're switching out after your awesome, zero-prediction kill. What was I thinking?
Adamant 403 Attack Tyranitar's Choice Banded Pursuit on a switching, 211HP/136Def (min/min) Dugtrio: 182-214%
Yeah, that's what. Different battle, my CB Tyra's Stone Edge takes out your Suicune on the switch. No worries, Duggy's CBed Earthquake to the rescue, right? Out goes my fainted Tyranitar. In comes my CB Heracross. You're switching, right?
Adamant, 383 Attack Heracross's Choice Banded Pursuit on a switching, 211HP/136Def (min/min) Dugtrio: 115-135%
This is your only option:
Jolly, 254 Attack Dugtrio's Choice Banded Earthquake on a 302HP/186Def (4EVs/min) Heracross: 37-43%
Adamant, 279 Attack Dugtrio's Choice Banded Earthquake on a 302HP/186Def Heracross (4EVs/min): 40-47%
Hmmm. Kind of cheap and annoying, huh? But if Dugtrio doesn't want a taste of its own medicine from Heracross and Tyranitar, and in DP, it is going to "need" Life Orb, or this can and will happen every time it kills something with "the wrong move". Now, I just happen to have both Tyranitar and Heracross on the team I posted here a few weeks ago. But they, of course, aren't the only pokemon in DP on which Pursuit will be a popular option, Choice Banded or not.
Say you kill Heracross with AA again, or maybe Blade Test a Celebi, smugly satisfied that maybe you're not missing your physical HP Bug after all. In comes Metagross. Or Weavile.
Adamant, 405 Attack Metagross's Choice Banded Pursuit on a switching, 211HP/136Def (min/min) Dugtrio: 122-143%
Jolly, 339 Attack Weavile's Choice Banded Pursuit on a switching, 211HP/136Def (min/min) Dugtrio: 153-180%
Weavile is particularly interesting because it is faster than Dugtrio (125 base speed vs 120), and will do 77-90% to Dugtrio even if it doesn't switch. Incidentally, Life Orb Dugtrio would kill it with Stone Edge (Jolly 254Atk LO Duggy's EQ does a coincidental 77-90% on a 281HP/166Def [min/min] Weavile), but they will know you're equipped with Life Orb because of your first kill, and know things like their Blissey is now not 2HKOed by its EQ, etc, etc.
I think Pursuit Heracross, Tyranitar and Metagross are reason enough to consider the consequences of Choice Band on Dugtrio, a much-whored and -maligned pokemon in competitive battle in Advance. And, therefore, to consider the pros and cons of the 1.3× boost granted to pokemon via Life Orb, at the expense — in comparison to Choice Band — of considerable power and 10% of your HP with every blow you deal but with the allotment of the freedom of, well, choice. But I'm only one person, so, I ask you Smogoners: is it worth it to use Life Orb on Dugtrio?