Singles Victim of the Week [Current Victim: Landorus-T] ~ VOTING ~

[haban012]

I will go for talonflame, which is really simple and not unique idea but here is talonflame i made yesterday
(Inserting talonflame picture later, it is not working right now)
Talonflame @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 236 HP / 52 Atk / 44 SpA / 124 SpD / 52 Spe
Brave Nature
- Overheat
- Brave Bird
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost

haha stone edge defensive blaziken wins, that's true but choice band would be too simple, let's be special, that's how you win in battle spot singles :]

 

[cant say]

I will go for talonflame, which is really simple and not unique idea but here is talonflame i made yesterday
(Inserting talonflame picture later, it is not working right now)
Talonflame @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 236 HP / 52 Atk / 44 SpA / 124 SpD / 52 Spe
Brave Nature
- Overheat
- Brave Bird
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost

haha stone edge defensive blaziken wins, that's true but choice band would be too simple, let's be special, that's how you win in battle spot singles :]

Why Brave with speed EVs? The EVs being wasted to patch up the speed drop could very easily be moved to (special) attack with a Lonely / Naughty nature. Have you done damage calcs? I feel like you'll be missing KOs with such little investment.

 

[haban012]

Why Brave with speed EVs? The EVs being wasted to patch up the speed drop could very easily be moved to (special) attack with a Lonely / Naughty nature. Have you done damage calcs? I feel like you'll be missing KOs with such little investment.

well, i'm not type of person who cares about evs, just because it is lazy and it doesn't really effect the game imo. I want little speeds so that I can do w-o-w against breloom faster. Also, outspeeds anything that is under 137 and can do for w-o-w or overheat. the reason it's brave is because I thought I don't really need speed as long as I can ouspeed the pokes that outspeeds jolly breloom (like, some people use 135,136 zapdos)

 

[skeletons]

It's been a while since I've posted here. Feraligatr is a fun pokemon to use, how much more fun is it that it can OHKO Mega Blaziken while living any hit Mega-Blaziken throws at it?

Feraligatr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance/Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet/Crunch
- Ice Punch
Ahh bulky Feraligatr, by far, one of my most favorite sets to run. With these evs, it can live any one hit Mega-Blaziken throws at it, while maintaining the ability to OHKO it despite Mega-Blaziken outspeed gatr. While you have the option to decide if you want power over speed since the only thing a DD is doing is making you slightly faster, while swords dance just takes advantage of the bulk that is given. Aqua Jet is there for priority if you wish to lower its HP to the point that it's either too weak to switch out or too weak to do anything except attack. While it only 2KOs, it is capable of doing enough to weaken it down as mentioned prior.
Calcs:

Hide

252+ Atk Sheer Force Feraligatr Waterfall vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Blaziken: 204-240 (130.7 - 153.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Feraligatr Aqua Jet vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Blaziken: 80-96 (51.2 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
If you choose to run Swords dance and set up against Mega-B you can OHKO it with Aqua Jet
+2 252+ Atk Feraligatr Aqua Jet vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Blaziken: 156-186 (100 - 119.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
While Mega-Blaziken can only do so much:
252+ Atk Mega Blaziken Low Kick (80 BP) vs. 196 HP / 0 Def Feraligatr: 88-105 (47.5 - 56.7%) -- 34.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Mega Blaziken High Jump Kick vs. 196 HP / 0 Def Feraligatr: 144-169 (77.8 - 91.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Mega-Blaziken is currently incapable of OHKO'ing Feraligatr without setups, Setting up an SD within a foreseeable Protect or even if Mega-Blaziken is setting up it's self, you can either OHKO it, or set up yourself and outspeed it's speed boosts, etc. While it's not a favorable mon due to the over hype of Sheer Force, it is still a noteworthy Pokemon even if sheer force wasn't released.

 

[GateCreeper]

inb4 Azu

Time for my fav ORAS mega to show its potential :D

Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Cloud Nine
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 Spe
Bold / Relaxed Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Fire Blast
- Cotton Guard / Earthquake / Toxic
- Roost

Switch into a predicted Protect or STAB move on Blaziken and let Altaria do it's job. However, it doesn't like switching in on a Blaziken that uses Stone Edge or HP Ice, so be wary of that. M-Altaria resists both of Blaziken's STAB moves, and can take all the hits it wants from it(even HP Ice if Altaria has Mega Evolved and the opponent isn't running something rare like Special Blaziken). Cotton Guard can be used on M-Altaria if you really want to put a stop to SD Blaziken, but it isn't that useful of a move like Toxic and EQ are imo, since you can be phazed, and crits are a thing. Hyper Voice is a clean 2HKO on Blaziken, Mega as well. Bold is used when using Toxic in the third slot to take out other bulky pokes slowly and Cotton Guard, while relaxed nature and EQ can be used to screw Heatran, which walls this set. EVs should be moved to SpD if running Relaxed. The thing I love about M-Altaria is that it can be EV'd (think that's a word) in many different ways to take hits from a specific poke, or it can outspeed things it may want to outspeed to beat it more efficiently. In this case, 156 Def is used to tank Play Rough + Aqua Jet from Azu, and the rest was put into speed to outspeed max speed Base 50 pokemon like Minimize Chansey, Mega Mawile, and the aforementioned Azu. Calcs:

0 SpA Pixilate Mega Altaria Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Blaziken: 85-102 (54.4 - 65.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

I'm providing LO Blaziken Calcs b/c it's stronger than M-Blaziken btw:

252+ Atk Life Orb Blaziken High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 156+ Def Mega Altaria: 55-65 (30.2 - 35.7%) -- 26% chance to 3HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Blaziken High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 156+ Def Altaria: 62-74 (34 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Blaziken Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 156+ Def Altaria: 130-153 (71.4 - 84%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

That's the spread people run if they use HP Ice iirc:

156 SpA Life Orb Blaziken Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Altaria: 73-86 (40.1 - 47.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
156 SpA Life Orb Blaziken Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Altaria: 146-172 (80.2 - 94.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

If you happen to use Cotton Guard:

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Blaziken High Jump Kick vs. +3 252 HP / 156+ Def Mega Altaria: 43-52 (23.6 - 28.5%) -- 95.8% chance to 4HKO (the bulk is real)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong on the HP Ice calcs, not too sure what the EV spread is on that.

 

[freekhoorn]

Hippowdon @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Slack Off
- Rock Slide

Safe counter for mega blaziken. It has fire fang for scizor and ferrothorn and rock slide for mega charizard and talonflame.

252+ Atk Mega Blaziken High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 93-109 (43.2 - 50.6%) -- 2.3% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Mega Blaziken Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 84-100 (39 - 46.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Hippowdon can come in on a flare blitz or hjk and can take another one after that and then the sitrus berry wil activate (unless hippowdon had some chip damage, than the sitrus berry might have activated at the first flare blitz or a lucky first high jump kick) and hippowdon can ko mega blaziken with earthquake and sand damage (or flare blitz recoil)

4 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Blaziken: 152-180 (97.4 - 115.3%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

 

[PPB]

Slowbro @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 4 SpA / 148 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Slack Off
- Psyshock

This weird dog can come in on any of Blaziken's attacks, set up a CM and then Scald for the KO. It only really fears an SD on the predicted switch. Even then it can live a Thunder Punch (Mega Stone makes Knock Off less powerful than Thunder Punch) and has a decent chance (37.5%) to OHKO with Scald/Psyshock (this chance is over 90% if you run Surf or Psychic but Scald and Psyshock are better). I don't know how often Blaziken runs T-punch and SD on the same set, but I imagine it isn't very often. Scald is the most important move on this set because of the high burn chance. The last slot is for coverage. If you really hate dragons you can run Ice Beam over Psyshock, but if you do that then you also might want to change the EVs around a little.

Calcs:

Hide

Offensive:
4 SpA Mega Slowbro Scald vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Blaziken: 138-164 (88.4 - 105.1%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
4 SpA Mega Slowbro Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Blaziken: 138-164 (88.4 - 105.1%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
4 SpA Mega Slowbro Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Gengar: 138-164 (101.4 - 120.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
(Note: 4 SpA EVs are needed to guarantee the OHKO on M-Gengar. The last 4 EVs are dumped into Speed because they cannot increase any other stat, other than Physical Attack.)

Defensive:
252 SpA Mega Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 148 SpD Mega Slowbro: 168-200 (83.1 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Mega Blaziken Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 100+ Def Slowbro (Pre-Mega): 84-100 (41.5 - 49.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 252+ Atk Mega Blaziken Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 100+ Def Mega Slowbro: 112-134 (55.4 - 66.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Mega Blaziken Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 100+ Def Mega Slowbro: 98-116 (48.5 - 57.4%) -- 93.4% chance to 2HKO
+6 252+ Atk Mega Blaziken High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 100+ Def Mega Slowbro: 145-171 (71.7 - 84.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Mega Blaziken Hidden Power Dark (or any SE Hidden Power) vs. 252 HP / 148 SpD Mega Slowbro: 78-92 (38.6 - 45.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

 

[GroudonEmpire]

When thinking of a single Mon to deal with Mega-Blaziken as your primary team member, I find it preferential to select a Mon that can handle the esteemed trio of Blaziken, Venusaur, and Zapdos near single-handedly. As sometimes Mega Blaziken and Mega Venusaur are both on the same team and which 1 Megas depending on match-up or there might be Life Orb Ken and MegaSaur, I believe all these scenarios are essentially equivalent.
Azumarill might be great for Blaziken alone, but when Venusaur and Zapdos are teammates then things get rough. Same thing for Mega-Altaria, Slowbro, Hippowdon, Feraligatr, and Talonflame. Can they all work? Yes. But for a single Mon, can there be something even better? I believe so.

I present to you guys Mega Latias!

Latias-Mega @ Latiasite
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 12 SpA / 12 SpD / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock/Psychic
- Draco Meteor
- Roost

Calcs:
Latias-Mega vs Blaziken-Mega
12 SpA Mega Latias Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Blaziken: 150-176 (96.1 - 112.8%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
12 SpA Mega Latias Psychic vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Blaziken: 168-198 (107.6 - 126.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Blaziken-Mega vs Latias-Mega
252+ Atk Mega Blaziken Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 36 Def Mega Latias: 78-94 (41.7 - 50.2%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO

Zapdos vs Latias-Mega
68 SpA Zapdos Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Mega Latias: 42-50 (22.4 - 26.7%) -- 15.2% chance to 4HKO
WORST CASE SCENARIO 252+ SpA Choice Specs Zapdos Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Mega Latias: 78-92 (41.7 - 49.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Venusaur-Mega vs Latias-Mega
252+ SpA Mega Venusaur Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Mega Latias: 57-67 (30.4 - 35.8%) -- 38.1% chance to 3HKO

Latias-Mega vs Zapdos and Venusaur-Mega
12 SpA Mega Latias Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Mega Venusaur: 80-96 (42.7 - 51.3%) -- 2.7% chance to 2HKO
12 SpA Mega Latias Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Venusaur: 116-140 (62 - 74.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

12 SpA Mega Latias Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 76-90 (38.5 - 45.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
12 SpA Mega Latias Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 200+ Def Zapdos: 51-61 (25.8 - 30.9%) -- 7.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

As can be seen from these calcs, Mega Latias can tank a Knock Off from Mega Blaziken very reliably and OHKO it a very high percentage of the time in return with Psyshock and all the time with Psychic and that is before it takes a Defense drop from Superpower or any residual damage from hazards/recoil. The spread was built like this because Timid max speed is unnecessary on Latias when Gengar is the most common Pokemon used at that speed tier and is mostly Mega anyway. Also, Mons like Terrakion and Infernape aren't threats to Latias so there's no need for to outspeed them either. The current spread allows Latias to outspeed max speed Garchomp and lets Latias survive 2 Knock Offs from Mega Blaziken a lot more reliably than 0 Def as well as increases the likelihood for a Psyshock to OHKO a 100% hp Mega-Blaziken, which enables Mega-Latias to even Calm Mind up on a Mega-Blaziken if it dares!

60 SpAtt can be used to make Psyshock OHKO over 90% of the time but I feel the greater bulk from the Def investment is better overall. Max SpAtt Latias won't be able to OHKO Mega Venusaur even with Psychic so a bulky spread is better to ensure maximum set-up potential. Also, Zapdos and Venusaur are set up fodder unless RNG comes into play in their favor (Sleep Powder landing and max turn sleep, PRZ and full PRZ when it needs to).

The frustration and despair a Mega Lati, especially this 1, gives a Blaziken/Mega-Blaziken user (such as myself) is well worth the terrible design of this Mega! The sorrow of a trainer who finally decides to run Knock Off to OHKO those pesky Specs Latios, just to find a Mega Latias staring at them with that cute, yet sinister, grin. Steel types may give this Latias trouble, but this Latias covers so many threats single-handedly there shouldn't be any trouble finding partners to handle those pesky Aegislash, Scizor, Ferrothorn, Heatran, Fairies and Choiced Draco droppers! Psyshock has the potential to wreck havoc on Fairies who think they could end this Mon too!

EDIT: "Mega Gengar eats Latis up though." Really? I understand where you may be coming from but let's just leave this as conclusion:
252 SpA Mega Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Mega Latias: 116-140 (62 - 74.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
12 SpA Mega Latias Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Gengar: 146-174 (108.1 - 128.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
12 SpA Mega Latias Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Gengar: 144-170 (106.6 - 125.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[Ares]

[insert Rotom-W set here]

this post will be amended with a real set

And with that it is time to vote!

votes in bold pls
Angeela

 

[GateCreeper]

GroudonEmpire's Mega Latias set really struck as me as a great check to Blaziken. Pretty unique as well.

 

[GroudonEmpire]

creeper3971 because Mega Altaria is sorta really good on its own regardless of its purpose

 

[ethan06]

Creeper3971 - having used Mega Altaria I can testify that it is, indeed, a lord. It's also not Slowbro or Talonflame ew

e: would have voted Mega Latias but CM+Draco Meteor seems really counterproductive when Dragon Pulse is just so much more consistent and doesn't waste your boosts :/

 

[Hulavuta]

Creeper3971

 

[skies]

Creeper3971

 

[mhykah]

GroudonEmpire

 

[PPB]

GroudonEmpire

 

[cant say]

freekhoorn - Hippowdon does really nicely against Blaziken, as well as becoming an all-round good Pokemon in the meta. I'm honestly not sure on the defensive spread with 3 attacks, I would have much preferred Stealth Rock and Yawn to feature as that's the standard set and still deals with Blaziken

 

[Jibaku]

Calm Mind + Draco Meteor is a fine combo for flexibility and wallbreaking reasons.

Gonna go with GroudonEmpire although Creeper3971 is really close (+bonus points for being able to somewhat cover up Baton Pass sets with Cotton Guard).

 

[haban012]

PPB

 

[Shyfire]

Creeper3971

 

[iPlum]

Creeper3971. Lots of good ideas tho :D

 

[SM979]

PPB

 

[cant say]

I'm your guest host this week while Montsegur is busy. As for last week, Creeper3971 was the winner with his Mega Altaria set. GroudonEmpire just missed out with his Mega Latias...

For this week, we're going to focus on a Pokemon that can have you guessing at Team Preview, and if you guess incorrectly then you could be in for some trouble. Post your best check/counter to Charizard! Being able to use two different Mega Evolutions which both play quite differently can put you on the back foot if you predict it to be the other forme, how do you handle them?

 

[Misaka Mikoto]

The main check that I can think of towards Mega Charizard X and Y would be Mega Altaria. Mega Altaria's Dragon / Fairy typing allows it to wall both Charizard evolutions to some extent. Mega Altaria is immune to Dragon-type moves making Charizard X to use Fire-type moves and Earthquake. Would be rather surprising to run Iron Tail but don't usually see it. As for Mega Charizard Y, Mega Altaria has nice Special Defense and can take a couple of Fire Blasts under sunlight. Mega Altaria hits pretty hard on both Charizard megas even at +1 with Pixilate Return. I guess T-Tar can be one but I decided to go for a different approach.

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
ability: Sap Sipper
nature: Adamant
- Belly Drum
- Play Rough
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet

Here is my check for both Mega Charizards, Azumarill!!!

I see it as rather something to fool Charizard Y especially. Usually Azumarill uses Huge Power over Sap Sipper. Under sunlight, Mega Charizard Y can freely use Solarbeam without waiting a turn to charge up, troubling Azumarill. Also it outspeeds as well. Sap Sipper allows Azumarill grow immunity to any Grass-type moves and get a +1 boost in Attack. When predicted right, you can 2HKO Mega Charizard Y with Waterfall right after the boost along with next turn. But at the same time, this does have Mega Charizard Y rely on other moves to KO Azumarill with such as Air Slash, Fire Blast, and Focus Blast.

Mega Charizard Y Solar Beam vs. Sap Sipper Azumarill: 0-0 (0 - 0%) -- aim for the horn next time

+1 252+ Atk Azumarill Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Charizard Y in Sun: 144-170 (48.4 - 57.2%) -- 90.2% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Azumarill in Sun: 189-222 (46.7 - 54.9%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO

252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Air Slash vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Azumarill: 172-204 (42.5 - 50.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO

As for Mega Charizard X, pretty much I guess you'll have to hope that it doesn't carry Will-O-Wisp. Mega Charizard X isn't able to hit Azumarill because it is immune to Dragon-type moves. That means it'll have to rely on Fire-type moves and Earthquake or whatever other move it has, maybe Iron Tail. I do say that it is a rare sight in carrying that move. Azumarill can OHKO uninvested Defense Mega Charizard X at +6 with Play Rough. Mega Charizard X has to hit Azumarill a few times in order to faint it. It is rather a possibility that Mega Charizard X can get rid of Azu if it decides to use Earthquake and Azumarill uses Belly Drum from it. I would also say that Mega Charizard X can also go for a Dragon Dance, which would allow Azumarill to set up Belly Drum and survive a +1 Earthquake after a Sitrus Berry is used.

+6 252+ Atk Azumarill Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Charizard X: 325-384 (109.4 - 129.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Azumarill Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Charizard X: 289-342 (97.3 - 115.1%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

+6 252+ Atk burned Azumarill Play Rough vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard X: 163-192 (45.4 - 53.4%) -- 40.2% chance to 2HKO

+6 252+ Atk burned Azumarill Waterfall vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard X: 145-171 (40.3 - 47.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Azumarill: 171-202 (42.3 - 50%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Mega Charizard X Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Azumarill: 144-170 (35.6 - 42%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Azumarill: 258-303 (63.8 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 252+ Atk Mega Charizard X Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Azumarill: 215-254 (53.2 - 62.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Iron Tail vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Azumarill: 286-337 (70.7 - 83.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Okii, I don't feel like infesting my post with continuous calcs so I'll leave it like this. .~.

 

[NOVED]

Should probably calc +2 attacks rather than +1 since SD is significantly more common than DD :p