OU Simple Questions, Simple Answers (Read the OP First!)

[superstar]

How does a new generation of pokemon get tiered? Do they get lumped into OU, while a few gets into Ubers?

Assuming that it begins the same as OU did this generation, the council will draw up a couple of potential initial banlists. Then the community (just badged users?) will be able to vote on which of the choices they would like to see in the initial banlist. In practice, this will mean that mons such as Darkrai, Genesect and Shaymin-S will probably be allowed at the beginning of XY, but mons such as Mewtwo, Kyogre, and Arceus will be banned from the start.

Then usage for the first few months will determine UU, and usage for that will determine RU and so on.

During this time, suspect tests will be held, which in BW started off by banning Deo-A, Darkrai, and Shaymin-S. Eventually the pace of bans will slow down and the metagame will stabilize

 

[DGX]

i want to make a very good team built around ddance dragonite and i don't know where to start.

 

[MikeDawg]

i want to make a very good team built around ddance dragonite and i don't know where to start.

Hi! I personally used this thread to make my first team and it got to almost 2200 on Showdown:

http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3484607


In terms of good partners, you want ones that can get rid of dragonite's counters like skarmory. So magnezone or something could work. A cool set that alexwolf suggested to me is Mixed Mamoswine with Icicle Crash/Ice Shard/Earthquake/Hp Fire and however many SpAtt EVs you need to 2hko skarmory (I don't remember at this moment :P). This could lure skarm in and weaken it enough for dragonite to kill it.

You also want a rapid spinner like starmie to get rid of stealth rocks that will break dragonite's multiscale.

 

[meerkat13]

is a subRoost Kyurem-b set with Fusion Bolt and Outrage/Dragon Claw viable in ou?

 

[MikeDawg]

is a subRoost Kyurem-b set with Fusion Bolt and Outrage/Dragon Claw viable in ou?

Yes, but fusion bolt/ice beam may prove to be better due to bolt beam coverage and mixed coverage which prevents you from being shut down from a special wall switch in.

If you want to use a dragon stab, consider a sub+3 attacks set instead? (Or even just a roost+3 attack set)

 

[ganj4lF]

Just a quick question I couldn't figure out by myself: why the Smogon analysis doesn't even mention 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe for LO Latias while it seems that everyone (or at least lots of people) is using it? What are the advantages and disadvantages of that spread against 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe?

Thank you.

 

[LilOu]

Just a quick question I couldn't figure out by myself: why the Smogon analysis doesn't even mention 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe for LO Latias while it seems that everyone (or at least lots of people) is using it? What are the advantages and disadvantages of that spread against 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe?

Thank you.

That spread helps Latias to survive a +2 Sludge Bomb from Timid Venusaur as well as hitting a Life Orb number.

Actually I suggested a mod to add that spread to the analysis 4 months ago but nothing happened. Maybe it's not worth it.

 

[shinylugia49]

Help me figure out who I need to add to my team. I'm thinking heatran or garchomp but if there is anything else please tell me the pokemon and the set. I have explosion, stealth rock, taunt, magic coat (normal gem) Mew; CB Tyranitar; special attacker Landorus; scarf Keldeo; and LO Latias (4 hp / 252 spa / 252 spe)

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

Help me figure out who I need to add to my team. I'm thinking heatran or garchomp but if there is anything else please tell me the pokemon and the set. I have explosion, stealth rock, taunt, magic coat (normal gem) Mew; CB Tyranitar; special attacker Landorus; scarf Keldeo; and LO Latias (4 hp / 252 spa / 252 spe)

Heatran is argueably better for your team, as Garchomp classes for a spot vs Latias and Landorus, the only possibly issue is a bit of a synergy clash between Latias and Heatran, but it should not be an issue.

BTW, that Mew set is pretty bad, there are much better Stealth Rock leads and Normal Gem-Explosion is overall pretty terrible. Why not just run Stealth Rock on Heatran or Garchomp honestly?

 

[MikeDawg]

Heatran is argueably better for your team, as Garchomp classes for a spot vs Latias and Landorus, the only possibly issue is a bit of a synergy clash between Latias and Heatran, but it should not be an issue.

BTW, that Mew set is pretty bad, there are much better Stealth Rock leads and Normal Gem-Explosion is overall pretty terrible. Why not just run Stealth Rock on Heatran or Garchomp honestly?

That's not a bad mew set O_o That's atm one of the best HO leads

really? dam this meta is weird some times, I remember when normal gem explosion was a joke

It works for mew because unlike azelf and the like, it has the bulk to actually survive a hit and then do some explosion damage rather than relying on focus sash to keep it alive :P

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

That's not a bad mew set O_o That's atm one of the best HO leads

really? dam this meta is weird some times, I remember when normal gem explosion was a joke

 

[shinylugia49]

Offensive or specially defensive heatran? Sorry for all these questions :p

 

[Haruno]

What would be a good offensive counter for rachi and/or Latios?

 

[Halcyon.]

What would be a good offensive counter for rachi and/or Latios?

Scarf Garchomp is the first thing that comes to mind. It can kill both with Earthquake and Outrage, respectively. But like most offensive checks it can't switch in on either of them. Also, if Latios is Scarfed, it can't beat it. I would pair it with something like your own Jirachi or a Tyranitar just in case.

 

[MikeDawg]

What would be a good offensive counter for rachi and/or Latios?

Heatran can switch into both while also having the ability to ko them (though it can't deal with surf latios, psyshock/dmeteor/hpfire varients are walled).

Magnezone is another option that springs to mind that can tank latios (Without hp fire) and ko it while also dealing with rachi

 

[FrozenZade]

Is there a general rule for IVs when catching Legendaries?

I've caught a Latios with a 31 in Hp and Defense, but 7 and 6 in Sp At and Sp Df, and 10 in Speed.

I've no idea if the two perfect IVs outweigh the low IVs in the other important areas, or if EVs would balance them out. I've only spent an hour so far trying to catch a nice one so I can re-double my efforts if it's necessary

So yeah, is there any hard-and-fast rules like "Don't accept anything under 10" that I should follow if I want it to be competitive?

 

[SnoopingGil]

Is there a general rule for IVs when catching Legendaries?

I've caught a Latios with a 31 in Hp and Defense, but 7 and 6 in Sp At and Sp Df, and 10 in Speed.

I've no idea if the two perfect IVs outweigh the low IVs in the other important areas, or if EVs would balance them out. I've only spent an hour so far trying to catch a nice one so I can re-double my efforts if it's necessary

So yeah, is there any hard-and-fast rules like "Don't accept anything under 10" that I should follow if I want it to be competitive?

IMO, if you want to use a cartridge-caught pokemon competitively, all of its IVs except any dump stats (like Attack for Latios) should be perfect. At the absolute worst, get Special Attack and Speed perfect. Speed is important because it's probably the only stat where a one-point increase/decrease matters a lot. Even if you invest in your Latios's Speed EVs, with such a low Speed IV, you will be prone to being outsped by base 108s that actually have perfect Speed IVs. Latios won't like being Stone Edge'd by Terrakion first. Special Attack is also important, because Latios probably won't want to miss out on any crucial KOs or 2HKOs it gets with perfect Special Attack, as opposed to having imperfect Special Attack.

Obviously these criteria will change depending on the Pokemon (e.g., Attack is more important for physical attackers, of course), but you should always prioritize the most important stats first.

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

First off, you should get 31 speed, that way you actually outspeed and speed tie the things you are suppose to.

The rest of that is up to your digression, depending on what you need and how willing you are to get better evs. I would suggest that the special attack is at least in the high 20s, HP, defense, and special defense should be over 15 or 10, the Attack can rot at 0 for all you care.

 

[FrozenZade]

Now that you both say that; getting perfect Speed does seem obvious...I guess HP just seemed like a nice bonus.

Will definitely keep trying 'till speed is perfect. I'm patient enough to usually get two 31's and I'll try and get above 15 for important stats then, thanks.

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

This is probably psychotic, but I must know the answer!

The current Jirachi analysis has the Specially Defensive version's speed at 20 Evs to out speed adamant Breloom. The thing is, Adamant 252 Breloom has a speed of 239, while that Jirachi has a speed of 241, one more speed point than necessary. Is there a reason for this, or is it a mistake I should bring up with C&C?

 

[MikeDawg]

This is probably psychotic, but I must know the answer!

The current Jirachi analysis has the Specially Defensive version's speed at 20 Evs to out speed adamant Breloom. The thing is, Adamant 252 Breloom has a speed of 239, while that Jirachi has a speed of 241, one more speed point than necessary. Is there a reason for this, or is it a mistake I should bring up with C&C?

Hm... Would that happen to be an ev number where it gets an extra stat? If not, it could just be to outspeed those mons that do go for the breloom benchmark (but does speed creep really belong in the analysis?)

 

[SnoopingGil]

The Jirachi analysis also says that 20 EVs allows Jirachi to outspeed Magnezone, which, if I remember right, hits a maximum of 240 speed.

 

[dice]

HP Ice Timid Magnezone hits 240, so Jirachi can outspeed it with 20 Spe EV's. :)

 

[Cinccino]

Which one is benefited more by entry hazards (and Rapid Spin) in general: offense or stall?

 

[Halcyon.]

Offensive teams benefit more from a full set of hazards (SR + 3 layers of Spikes) than defensive teams do, since it would allow them to break through their counters much more easily, especially since defensive teams have to be constantly swithcing between different walls. However, it is much easier for defensive teams to actually set up those hazards, as well as keep them on the field due to a spin blocker. Offensive teams rarely have the time to set up all four layers of hazards, usually they get SR and a layer of spikes, two at the most. So in practice, I would say that defensive teams use hazards more effectively, but only because offensive teams rarely ever get a full set up.