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

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Psyduck - High (maybe Mid)
Availability: really early: Floccesy Ranch, so before the first gym.
Stats: As a Psyduck, the Stats are just bad. 65 Special Attack is his highest stat, everything else is around 50. When he evolves into a Golduck they get much better. A good Speed of 85, to outspeed most of the Pokemon he will face. With 95 Special Attack and 82 Attack he can go mixed and he also has respectable bulk.
Typing: Pure Water is just good. Having water STAB is never a bad thing.
Movepool: The movepool is certainly not bad. he learns Water Pulse on level 18 and later on lvl 32 he gets Aqua Tail (although you will get Surf really fast after that, or you even have Surf already). He also learns some Psychic moves such as Confusion and Zen Headbut. He can also learn handy tm's such as Ice Beam, Psychic and Shadow Claw. He can also be a good HM slave, learning Surf, Waterfall, Dive, Flash and as an Golduck also Strenght.
Major Battles: He has en even match-up against Cheren, Skyla, Drayden (he needs blizzard here, but he will probably not KO Druddigon or Haxorus) and Marlon. Psyduck is at a big disadvantage against Elesa and at an advantage against Clay when you evolved he into Golduck (he will not hit hard enough otherwise).
He has an even match-up against most off the Elite 4, but he can hit Marchall's pokemon hard with Psychic, and hit some other pokemon SE from almost every leader (Golurk, Chandelure, Krookodile). Golduck is really strong against Iris, hitting everything SE with Surf and Ice Beam but Lapras.
Against team Plasma he is just usefull with neutral coverage against the poison and dark types. He hits Getsis' Hydreigon super effective with Ice Beam, which is always useful.
Additional Comments: As a psyduck, he is just bad. When he evolves into Golduck, he gets much better. The big problem is getting him to Golduck, because he will be almost useless when he is around level 20 and then he needs another 13 levels to become a Golduck. He will be more usefull as the game gets to the end, and beating Iris almost on his own is really good of course.
 
Just completed Black 2 - I was having a speed race against a friend, so used what I would thought would be a strong, if not particularly ground breaking team to try and get me to the elite four as fast as possible. These are my thoughts...

Oshawott - High Tier

Availability: As a starter, it's obviously available straight away, and remains handy throughout the game,
Stats: Solid. Can be used as a mixed attacker with 100/108 offences, and is strong enough defensively as well. The only stat I'd want to improve is speed, but I think slowness was exaggerated in my game by bad IV's!
Typing: Every team needs a water type to take out rock/ground/fire types and be able to surf. Only two weaknesses is always handy.
Movepool: Really versatile. Revenge is a handy fighting move that comes mid game and remains handy throughout, can be taught blizzard/ice beam for ice coverage and can be taught x-scissor or megahorn once it becomes a samurott for bug coverage.
Major Battles: Useful in most gyms. Destroys clay, and very handy against drayden if it's been taught blizzard. Also handy when taking on champion iris in the final battle before the credits roll. Struggles against elesa and marlon though.
Additional Comments: I'm normally not a fan of water type starters as there are so many water type pokemon out there, but in BW2, I think Oshawott is the way to go. Azurill/Psyduck have pretty mediocre stats, and due to the lack of fishing until post-game, there aren't too many other viable alternatives. Might try using ducklett next time to see how he compares, but suspect defences could be a problem.

Magnemite: Top tier
Availability: Very early, just before the second gym.
Stats: 130 special attack as a magnezone is awesome, strong defensive stats and a ton of resistances make magnemite difficult to take down. Speed is an issue, but this is alleviated with thunder wave, and great defences.
Typing: Electric/Steel is unbelievably good, 13 resistances speak for themselves. Only problem is ground types - sturdy comes in handy, but really you'll want to switch out. Great synergy with oshawott.
Movepool: Somewhat shallow, but sonicboom early in the game 2HKO's pretty much everything, and electric stab is very handy. It's steel stabs come at handy times in the game and provide coverage, but it's stuck for a long time with volt switch as its strongest electric attack until it learns discharge at level 51 (electroball with magnemite's speed isn't worth while.)
Major Battles: Annihilates roxie, skyla and marlon and useful in most gyms. Struggles against elesa and clay, nevertheless probably the most helpful in-game pokemon going!
Additional Comments: Believe the hype, magnemite is peerless in BW2.

Darumaka - Top tier
Availability: Just before the third gym. Great timing for a fire type, and comes just as your team is starting to really take shape.
Stats: Frail defensively, but with 140 attack and 95 speed once it evolves, a lot of the time your opponent won't even be able to get a hit in! Good hp is very handy for flare blitz recoil
Typing: Stab fire is great offensively, and deals with steels which can otherwise be a problem.
Movepool: Somewhat shallow, but fire punch and flare blitz are powerful fire moves, made even more powerful by hustle/sheer force abilities. With sheer force, flare blitz's base power becomes 156. With stab and 140 attack, this alone is enough to OHKO pretty much anything that doesn't resist it, and for this reason I've placed darumaka in the top tier. Superpower and rock slide provide decent coverage.
Major Battles: Destroys burgh, but struggles and against clay and marlon. However, with the team I had, this wasn't a problem. Didn't use it much against the elite four, but a brilliant pokemon to have in reserve late game.
Additional Comments: Accuracy reductions as darumaka are annoying, but its sheer power makes up for it, and its ability to take out pretty much anything that doesn't resist fire makes it stand above growlithe and magby for me.

Scraggy - Top tier
Availability: Just before the third gym at the same time as darumaka.
Stats: Decent attack, made much better by the moxie ability. Very handy defences, but somewhat slow.
Typing: Brilliant. Dark and especially fighting are very useful stabs. Fighting needs no explanation hitting five types for super effective damage, and dark is really useful as there seemed to be a lot of psychics in BW2. Only downside is its weakness to other fighting types (flying types aren't too common.)
Movepool: Excellent. Learns powerful move after powerful move pretty much as soon as you've caught it. Brick break is an excellent stab that I kept all the way through the game, hi jump kick deals out huge damage and crunch is very handy on the dark side. I taught mine dig for coverage as I had no other means for dealing with electrics, and can also learn the elemental punches early on through a move tutor and rock slide.
Major Battles: Destroys 3 out of the elite four by typing alone and very handy against the champion. Can do a job in most gyms apart from skyla's, but it really starts to shine in the late game against team plasma and the elite four.
Additional Comments: By the end of the game, scrafty become my MVP. Stab hi jump kick and crunch deal big damage, especially after one or two moxie boosts.

Sigilyph - High Tier
Availability: In the desert resort - I caught mine after the third gym, but think it can be accessed before. By this point your team should be really coming together, and I found it handy to complete my team this early on. Catching it can be very frustrating though due to whirlwind and a low catch rate.
Stats: Strong across the board with solid defences and very handy 103 special attack and 97 speed.
Typing: Psychic and flying are both handy stabs, and it covered my team's fighting weakness superbly. Originally I had been planning on just using the aforementioned four pokemon, but sigilyph provided great cover for my team's weaknesses.
Movepool: Very good. Starts with stab psybeam and learns air cutter soon after. You're stuck with these as your two stab moves until the early 40's when it learns air slash and psychic, but as it's much stronger than most other pokemon in the early-mid game this isn't too much of a problem. I was surprised it could learn ice beam, which provided very handy coverage in the late game. Can also learn fly, but this is more helpful outside of battle than in it!
Major Battles: Really handy against team plasma and marshal of the elite four. Doesn't shine too much against gym leaders
Additional Comments: Complemented my team very nicely. Only reason it's not top tier is that it doesn't dish out quite as much damage as the likes of magnezone, darmanitan and scrafty, but possibly the best of the flying and psychic types in game.

There you go, probably nothing we didn't know already, but confirmation that these five are all awesome. I did catch a ferroseed with the perfect nature (brave) but ended up not needing to use it as these five were more than good enough to complete the game. Would like to see how useful ferroseed/thorn is, as it can be one of the best pokemon in the game if used correctly. Anyone used it so far?
 
I did catch a ferroseed with the perfect nature (brave) but ended up not needing to use it as these five were more than good enough to complete the game. Would like to see how useful ferroseed/thorn is, as it can be one of the best pokemon in the game if used correctly. Anyone used it so far?
I personally have not, but I'll make sure to give it a shot when I make my third run through the game.

Anyway, here's my take on two of the 'mons I used in my first playthrough:

Zubat - Low Tier
Availability: Relatively early, in Castelia's Sewers with various other vermin scum. Rather convenient placement, right before the third Gym.
Stats: Rarely strikes second with impressive 130 Speed as a Crobat, but sometimes struggles to KO even foes weak to STABs before Acrobatics. Has middling bulk enough to take a neutral hit before going down.
Typing: Poison/Flying - Poison STAB absolutely sucks, but quad resistance to Fighting plus Flying STAB sorta makes up for it.
Movepool: Limited. Starts out with Wing Attack as a reliable early-game STAB and Supersonic for kicks 'n' giggles, then learns Confuse Ray and Acrobatics (before Mistralton, even) around the time it typically evolves into Golbat and Crobat, respectively. Acrobatics in particular is a mixed bag: on the one hand, it lets this sucker actually KO things weak to it, but on the other, makes held items more of a burden. Earliest usable (hah!) Poison STAB comes in the form of Cross Poison via Move Relearner if Crobat's already evolved. Sky Attack is fun to use late-game if your Crobat is particularly "Capable of taking hits" and you've no other use for your Yellow Shards. Coverage options throughout the main story include all of an astonishing: Bite and X-Scissor; however, neither are particularly useful with the presence of 'mons like Scrafty, Krookodile, and Samurott, who have considerably more powerful Dark- and Bug-type moves at their disposal and aren't Psychic-weak.
Major Battles: Owns all but the Dwebble in Burgh's Gym, and all but that DARNED STURDY SAWK on Marshall's team. Pretty much dead weight otherwise, especially against Plasma's Zinzolin and Colress.
Additional Comments: It was freaking BOSS to ride around Unova on the back of a giant four-winged vampire, but other than that, I wasn't too impressed with my Crobat's performance during most of the game. That being said, it took down the Fighting-types the rest of my team was weak to rather well, so it wasn't completely useless. Still low tier, though.


Roselia - Mid Tier (Possibly High)
Availability: Just before Elesa's Gym in Lostlorn Forest. Not as ridiculously rare as Trapinch in Desert Resort... *shudder* ...but still, a potentially difficult find if you're particular about Nature and Ability.
Stats: Baller 125 Special Attack as a Roserade, and pleasing Speed for an in-game 'mon.
Typing: Grass/Poison - Nice resistance to Fighting-types and an awesome super-effective Grass STAB on Ground- and Water-types makes for one solid typing. Poison STAB still sucks, but not as badly for Poison Point Roserade (though Natural Cure is super freaking awesome).
Movepool: Somewhat limited. Comes with Giga Drain on capture, and I hear Grasswhistle's useful, too. Best Poison-type attack 'til post-game is Venoshock, which isn't terribly useful without Poison Point, Toxic Spikes, and/or Toxic. Leech Seed is great for last-ditch efforts. Shadow Ball is -apparently- available at Reversal Mountain, giving Roserade a bit more in the coverage department, but I completely missed that TM, so I may be understating Roserade's capabilities here.
Major Battles: Single-handedly dismantles Clay and Marlon, and makes itself useful as a buffer VS Marshall's Fighting-types. Probably has some use against Shauntal and Caitlin, too, but again, I missed Shadow Ball, so I've no experience with that.
Additional Comments: I apparently played Roselia/Roserade completely wrong, according to some other posts here (even missing out on Shadow Ball), but I still hold a decent amount of respect for the floral masquerader's in-game capabilities. Mid Tier, possibly High since I made some silly mistakes.

I would go on to cover Oshawott, Scraggy, and Magnemite, but I think everyone's already familiar with what tier they all belong in. :P

My next round will cover Snivy, Riolu, Growlithe, Trapinch, and possibly Marill once I'm finished with my White 2 Challenge Mode run. Best Wishes! :)
 
Planning on running through White 2 with Oshawott, Mareep, Pinsir, Espeon, Braviary, and maybe a 6th but probably just an HM slave. But I'll only do reports on Pinsir, Espeon, Braviary, and maybe Mareep.
 
Did anyone discuss team number efficiency? This might affect some pokemon placements.

This is strictly for people who wanna rush through the game (I remember changing up my team members almost every other gym in my W1 file, I loved so many of the new pokemon :p)

My guess is a team of 3 to cover eachother's weaknesses and to divide exp between them. I'm curreng W2 with tly playin4 team member + 2 slaves as I usually do, but I realized it would've been much faster to gain levels with 1 less team member and those 3 pretty much sweep anyway.

[Reason I'm using 4 instead of 3 like I wanted is to cover up my weaknesses since I'm doing a mono-grass Challenge run; it's been extremely fun if anyone was thinking of changing up your "normal" gameplay plan. I wish I could use Cinccino...maybe post-game hehehe]
 
the most efficient team is to destroy the game with your starter!

A core of Oshawott/Darumaka/Petilil can be accomplished easily by the third gym, and can trump most of the game (Darumaka hits like a truck, Petilil is bulky with Giga Drain and Oshawott's very balanced in terms of offense and bulk). Tepig and Snivy might have issues fitting into a FWG core (Snivy hits like a pansy and Tepig's just annoyingly slow without Flame Charge spam). Tepig might be able to work though, in which case you can replace Oshawott with something like Psyduck, and then upgrade later on to Starmie. You can also dump in Magnemite, for resisting stuff that the FWG core doesn't.

On my W2, Elekid seems to hold up fine, but he doesn't really accomplish much that Mag doesn't does so already. I'm leaning towards Mid here, he can get awesome stuff from move tutors but his level up movepool is stupidly bad.

Braviary on the other hand is a beast, just as I expected. Pulls its weight pretty much immediately after capture, with literally zero investment (all i did was to stick return and fly onto it). It can smash Clay (except excadrill but fuck that) and getting +1 Attack immediately due to Krokorok's Intimidate is pretty sweet (it can immediately get off a HC and then OHKO with Return). I expect it to be even better once the rock/steel-heavy Chargestone is over.
 
I'm honestly leaning towards Mid for Lapras. Yes, it has a very low encounter rate in Village Bridge, but it may well be the best late game water type. Comes with that lovely Ice Beam for Drayden, cockblocks Marlon (though he's piss easy anyway), and its sheer bulk, all around good stats and great coverage moves including Psychic, Drill Run, Body Slam, whatever floats your boat, kind of makes it worth it for my money. Max Repels make it so much easier to find.

Other late game water types... Basculin? LolDamp Jellicent? Fucking Mantine? ALOMOMOLA? Starmie? Ok, yeah, Starmie is awesome.
 
Lapras should be Low. Late game. Rare availability. FUCKING PERISH SONG ! Good movepool and stats can't save Lapras, it only saves Lapras from bottom tier
 
I would argue that its lategame performance makes it worthwhile to capture. To be honest, what is it really missing out on by coming lategame? Clay? The occasional Fire type? That's about it.
 

Cresselia~~

Junichi Masuda likes this!!
First post. Will go by my White 2 experience so far.

Azurill for High/Top tier.

Pros:
+ Early availability. Floccesy Ranch with 15% encounter rate means that you will most likely encounter at least one before the first gym.
+ Pure Power - 'nuff said. Also, with TM21 obtainable in the same place you can catch it, it has access to a 70+ base power STAB move immediately.
+ Early evolution. Happiness evolution is ridiculously easy in BW2, and once it evolves, it is usually just 1-2 levels away from evolving into its final stage.
+ Coverage. Starts with STAB Frustration, gets Work Up + Water Gun/BubbleBeam and Return for wide normal coverage. Once it evolves it is several level away from Aqua Tail, and Dig is obtainable soon after. Ice Punch tutor in Driftveil.
+ Fast growth. Needs little experience to level up.
+ Respectable bulk. Water-typing, 100/80/80 defenses as Azumarill.
+ Good Gym performance. With the exception of Elesa, whom you can handle with Dig or Ground-types, it performs well. From Clay onward, Aqua Tail + Ice Punch owns the three consecutive Gyms.
+ Utility. If you decide that Return OHKOs are overkill and Aqua Tail is a little unreliable, it learns Waterfall and Strength afterward, saving you the need to find a Water-type HM slave. Learns Surf too - Waterfall, Strength, and Ice Punch are all it needs with Pure Power.

Cons:
- Slow. Doesn't stop Magnemite from dominating the game, though, as you earn speed EVs and the AI Pokemon keep having zero. Also, Quick Claw in-game for an average of one first-strike every four turns.
- 50% chance of encountering an obese version that hits like a girl and has overkill resistances to things it already resists anyway.

My experience with Azumarill in-game has been positive so far. It feels like BW Lillipup all over again, except with more coverage and better typing.
I disagree...
whilst tutoring moves are available, it is difficult to collect enough number of shards to pay for the moves.
Even if my Azumarill got ice punch, the power is still pathetic (I mean the power one, not the obese one)

I abandoned my Azumarill after Ghetsis, to the point that I didn't even use it to hit fire types/ ground types/ rock types. No usage during Elite 4 nor after.

Getting Azurill to evolve into Marill (in order for STAB) was also frustrating.

Did anyone discuss team number efficiency? This might affect some pokemon placements.

This is strictly for people who wanna rush through the game (I remember changing up my team members almost every other gym in my W1 file, I loved so many of the new pokemon :p)

My guess is a team of 3 to cover eachother's weaknesses and to divide exp between them. I'm curreng W2 with tly playin4 team member + 2 slaves as I usually do, but I realized it would've been much faster to gain levels with 1 less team member and those 3 pretty much sweep anyway.

[Reason I'm using 4 instead of 3 like I wanted is to cover up my weaknesses since I'm doing a mono-grass Challenge run; it's been extremely fun if anyone was thinking of changing up your "normal" gameplay plan. I wish I could use Cinccino...maybe post-game hehehe]
3~4 for me.
Originally was Grass starter, Azumarill, Growlithe.
Then caught Sigilyph.
Abandoned Azumarill before Elite 4.
So it's still kind of 3.
Finished entire game in 24 hours. (In Japanese. Most time was wasted through finding the way through the plots, and since I played it pre-release, no help was available.)
 
I would like to nominate staryu for high tier.

Availability: Late
Stats: Great (As a starmie)
Typing: Pure water and then water/psychic is great typing, has lots of resistances.
Movepool: Rocks ass. You get surf, boltbeam, psychic, energy ball, lots of stuff for starmie to abuse!
Major fights: The E4 will bow at your knees at the might of starmie. Iris? Ice beam+Surf takes out 5 of her team alone.
Comments: Starmie is really a great pokemon to use. It will not disappoint.
 
I would like to nominate staryu for high tier.

Availability: Late
Stats: Great (As a starmie)
Typing: Pure water and then water/psychic is great typing, has lots of resistances.
Movepool: Rocks ass. You get surf, boltbeam, psychic, energy ball, lots of stuff for starmie to abuse! Doesn't get Energy Ball, T-Bolt is found right at the end of Victory Road, so it doesn't get T-Bolt for most of the game
Major fights: The E4 will bow at your knees at the might of starmie. Iris? Ice beam+Surf takes out 5 of her team alone. 2 of the 4 E4 Members have Super Effective Attacks against Starmie, and Marshal has two Sturdy Pokemon with Payback. (Sawk and Throh).
Comments: Starmie is really a great pokemon to use. It will not disappoint. If only it arrived sooner. You'll probably won't need it.
Weellll...Starmie would be able to take out Iris if it didn't die so often. I honestly didn't need a Water type at all. I won't deny that it's movepool is awesome, but... 65/85/85 defenses are only passable. What can Starmie do that you can't already handle already? I'd say Mid at best.
 
Dunsparce: - High Tier [I never thought I would say that]
Availability: Shaking Grass at Floccesy Ranch, requires 1 badge, low encounter rate

Stats: Far higher than what most pokemon at that stage of the game will have for a while, but low towards the end. Defensive lean, with massive HP, and bad speed.

Typing: Normal Typing, which is solid all around. Fighting types and fighting attacks are less common in B/W2, although there is now a major enemy in the game that uses Steel-types.

Movepool: Wide enough. Dunsparce can work in several ways. It gets several crippleing moves, such as Glare and Yawn, as well as decent offensive options. It also gets Roost for recovery. It gets most of what it needs by leveling up, and has little to no reliance on tutor moves, unless you want Aqua Tail or Zen Headbutt.

Of special note is that Dunsparce benefits tremendously from the early access to TM Return, giving Dunsparce it's most powerful non-recoil attack early in the game. It also has the Defense Curl + Rollout combination.

At level 25, when Dunsparce's bulk may start to lessen, it gains Roost. In addition, when it starts to fall off again, it picks up Coil at Level 37, which, in tandem with Roost, allows Dunsparce to quite literally sweep physically based foes. Drill Run is picked up at Level 43, allowing Dunsparce an answer to Rock and Steel types. [Although it also gets Dig at Level 31, Drill Run outclasses it, especially with the accuracy boost from Coil]

Major Battles: Dunsparce does not shine in any major battle in particular, although it can do work against Roxie and Burgh in particular because of it's high stats for that part of the game [Burgh also is weak to Rollout]. Dunsparce struggles against Corless, Marlon and Shuntal, although it holds it's own against most others unless they have ridiculous power behind their attacks, like Haxorus.

Additional Comments: Due to it's bulk and Base 100 HP, Dunsparce is a brilliant candidate for the early Leftovers. Dunsparce is the definition of a Disc 1 Nuke in B/W2, but dosen't fall off as hard as you may expect, transitioning from a powerhouse that will OHKO everything and laugh hits off, to a slower, set-up tank that still laughs at physical attackers with a set like Coil/Roost/Drill Run/Return.

Run Away is pretty good in-game for saving time from wilds. Serene Grace with Dunsparce's speed and movepool is pretty bad unless you are spamming Ancientpower.
 
I finished my run through Black 2 recently, so I'll post nominations for each member of my team:

Oshawott - High Tier

Availability: Starter
Stats: Very well distributed. He can attack hard on both sides of the Spectum, and he has respectable bulk on both sides. Also, with 70 base speed, you can outspeed the majority of the e4 pokes without any investment, or you can take advantage of a good nature + EV's.
Typing: Water. It is one of the best mono-types you can have. It is a great neutral nature for the E4.
Movepool: Not too wide, but adequate. Samurott's key moves are Surf, Waterfall, Aqua Jet, Swords Dance (lv57?), Return, Ice Beam, And Megahorn/X-Scissor. He also has a couple moves early on, such as Razor Shell and Return, to hold himself over.
Major Battles: There are a couple gyms he does well in (Clay, and Drayen w/Blizzard) and a couple he's restricted in (Burgh, and Marlon). But due to his typing and good coverage, he can perform well in numerous battles.
Additional Comments: I used Samurott as an all out mixed attacker (Surf, Aqua Jet, Ice Beam, Megahorn) and it worked great. He is pretty hard to wall because of strong Physical/Special attacks. Otherwise A pure-physical set would work with Waterfall, Aqua Jet, Megahorn/Return, and Swords Dance.

Magnemite - Top Tier

Availability: Virbank Complex (before 2nd Gym)
Stats: Very high. 130 SpA, great defenses, just slow though
Typing: Electric / Steel. Steel-typing with this much bulk. Need I say more? Plus Electric is great offensively.
Movepool: It's good enough unless you want him as an all-out attacker. He's got Thunder Wave + Charge Beam to set up a sweep. Then he can attack with ThunderBolt + Flash Cannon. A pretty good Dual Stab for this game.
Major Battles: Just about every battle is a major battle for Magnezone. Just avoid Ground, Fighting, and Fire and he wins 95% of the time.
Additional Comments: Didn't want to write a whole story. It's clear to others that magnezone is so good.

Darumaka - High Tier

Availability: Route 4 (I think before Burgh)
Stats: Subpar Defenses, Above-Avg Speed, Sky-High Attack, HP is very high, which benefits Flare Blitz recoil
Typing: Fire. Great offensively, not so great defensively
Movepool: Pretty Decent. Flare Blitz and Superpower for a hit-and-run technique. Also, there are other decent moves such as Rock Slide, Bulldoze, and Fire Punch, which are all buffed by Sheer Force.
Major Battles: Immediately of use against Burgh. He shines against a lot of pokemon that don't resist Flare Blitz or are weak to Superpower. The issue is He can't fight an entire team.
Additional Comments: He was great, but not actually that enjoyable for me.

Sigilyph - Mid Tier

Availability:
Desert Resort, after Burgh
Stats: Overall Decent. Passable Defenses, good speed, better SpA. Just no overwhelming stats
Typing: Psychic/Flying. His stats and Typing come up short for the High Tier. He is vulnerable to Dark, Ghost, Rock, Electric, and Ice, and Sigilyph doesn't have the bulk to handle it. He's Got stab Psychic for E4 Marshall, but he's no espeon.
Movepool: Definitely Nice. Stab Psychic, Energy ball, Ice Beam, Heat Wave, Shadow Ball, Charge Beam. Air Slash too, but unnecessary coverage. Regardless, Sigilyph is a great candidate for an expert belt, but outclassed by Starmie IMO. If you want to support your team, then go with dual Screens and/or hypnosis.
Major Battles: I can't think of battles that he "Shined" in. He can hit hard with super-effective coverage, but he doesn't last long without cosmic power, or screens. You have to be careful with him, which I probably just wasn't.
Additional Comments: I didn't get him to his greatest potential, but he's only alright IMO. You're better off getting Espeon or Starmie.

Trapinch - Low Tier as a Fly Slave

Availability: Desert Resort, Right before Elesa
Stats: Great attack as a Trapinch, Crappy Stats as Vibrava, And Decent Stats as Flygon
Typing: Dragon/Ground with Levitate. It would be great offensively if you had good options (Dragon Claw (lv55) and Bulldoze). Otherwise, good defensively.
Movepool: A lot of moves to use, but none strong enough. His stab sucks pre-E4, and the rest works okay super-effectively.
Major Battles: He did well against pokemon that either dished out resisted attacks or could be hit by flygon super-effectively. Overall, he wasn't great. Not to mention Vibrava was a pain in the ass.
Additional Comments: Flygon is great with a Choice Scarf/Band and U-Turn, but he's not what he's cracked up to be in-game. I would nominate him as mid/high tier because I learned later that the Hone Claws TM is available before Victory. He could set up with that, but with Fly in the way, he doesn't have much coverage (super-effectively).

Heracross - High Tier

Availability:
Lostlorn Forest (5% Chance)
Stats: Good All around. Decent speed, High attack, Useful Bulk.
Typing: Bug/Fighting. Gets raped by Flying, but resists Ground, Grass, Fighting, Dark, Bug. Not too shabby.
Movepool: Dual-Stab 120bp moves. You can chose between lowering your defensives or less accuracy on the hit (Close Combat / Megahorn). You also get Night Slash for good coverage, an option for Caitlin/Shauntai. Early game, you can get Brick Break / Bug Bite / Night Slash / Aerial Ace. Swords Dance would be a great option if I had the patience to play Subway, WT.
Major Battles: He could hit-and-run like Darmanitan could. With Dark/Fighting moves, He could fight 3 of the Elite Four well. Plus, he resists fighting (meaning he could fight all 4 well). More importantly, he took down Iris's Hydreigon in one hit, which is a big necessity.
Additional Comments: He is hard to find, but he's worth the effort.

----------------

Team to be used for W2 (Challenge Mode):

Serperior
Arcanine
Crobat
Scrafty
Starmie
Metagross
 
Dunsparce in High is really stretching it, I think. Though it's available early, it's not particularly easy to catch, nor does it have an advantage over the rest of the numerous normal-types in the same area - ones who are faster, also have access to Return, and have far better lategame use. It doesn't learn Work Up either, so its earlygame is by no means anything special.
 

DHR-107

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Dunsparce is in no way High tier. I'm training one now and it's all right, but certainly not hitting hard enough/fast enough for a high tier mon. Even max Power Return + Silk Scarf doesn't OHKO a lot of things.

I've got everyone to about Lv 40 now (Solrock DW, Dunsparce, Sunflora, Emboar, Azumarill and Crobat). And can honestly say none of them are high tier!
 
Hey guys, just an observation for Eeveelutions and such.

everyone realizes you can acquire Thunder, Water, and Fire stones at the Battle subway, right? I just read the review on Vaporeon noting that you have to wait until the PWT to get one for 3 bp, but I'm only at Elesa, and I beat the multi-battle train on the battle subway, got 3 bp, and bought a Water stone to get my Vaporeon.
 

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Hey guys, just an observation for Eeveelutions and such.

everyone realizes you can acquire Thunder, Water, and Fire stones at the Battle subway, right? I just read the review on Vaporeon noting that you have to wait until the PWT to get one for 3 bp, but I'm only at Elesa, and I beat the multi-battle train on the battle subway, got 3 bp, and bought a Water stone to get my Vaporeon.
You can get the stones from dust clouds so all of Eevee's evolutions, besides Leafeon and Glaceon, are available before the third gym if you take your time and get lucky.
 
Dunsparce in High is really stretching it, I think. Though it's available early, it's not particularly easy to catch, nor does it have an advantage over the rest of the numerous normal-types in the same area - ones who are faster, also have access to Return, and have far better lategame use. It doesn't learn Work Up either, so its earlygame is by no means anything special.

Hmm, maybe it's just me over-valuing bulkiness again. I keep forgetting this list is for fast clears, not necessarily reliabilty [If it was based on Reliability, Darumaka would not be Top because Hustle can screw you over.]

That said, my experiences are based on Challenge Mode, where tankiness is more valued because the levels are higher, and the fights are longer [More pokemon], and enemies pack stronger moves, making tankiness more valuable.
 
Metang / Metagross - Mid or High
Availability: Giant Chasm Forest, 10% chance, low catch rate
Stats: Amazing Attack and Defense, decent Special Attack and Special Defense, average Speed.
Typing: Steel/Psychic. Very good defensive typing, good enough for offense.
Movepool: Meteor Mash, Zen Headbutt, Hammer Arm, Bullet Punch, Rock Slide, Ice Punch and ThunderPunch are all viable moves to use. If you're wanna be weird, there's stuff like Agility, Magnet Rise and Shadow Ball.
Major Battles: Beats most of Team Plasma and Black Kyurem. Useful against all of the Elite 4, as well as Iris.
Additional Comments: You'll need to save up a few Heart Scales to use it to its full potential. Only real reason it's potentially Mid tier is because of how late you get it and the need for the Move Relearner. Aside from that, Metagross is fucking awesome.

Zorua - Low
Availability: Driftveil City for free.
Stats: Great Special Attack, fast, good Attack, frail
Typing: Dark. Great offensive typing for dealing with all those Psychic-types.
Movepool: Pretty bad honestly. It gets no special attacks in its level-up movepool until Level 64, meaning you'll have to rely on its inferior Attack stat for a while. In terms of TMs, it gets Snarl, but that's already an underpowered attack by the time you get Zorua. Flamethrower is great, but that's not until quite late in the game. Dark Pulse can be taught via move tutor, but you need to go out of your way to get 10 Blue Shards.
Major Battles: Not very useful for any of the Gym Leaders or Team Plasma. Makes quick work of Shauntel and Caitlin, loses to Marshal, meh vs Grimsley and Iris.
Additional Comments: Since its original trainer is N, you get increased EXP, which is nice. Overall though, Zoroark is outclassed by the likes of Krookodile, Scrafty and Weavile, who can be just as useful while requiring less effort to train. Illusion is kinda neat, but that's all Zoroark has going for it.
 
Has anyone used Zorua? I know it gains EXP really fast but I'm wondering if it's worth it. If you have, what moveset did you use?
 
Zoroark was pretty good tbh. I stuck Snarl onto it immediately and it worked out pretty nicely. You can also re-learn U-turn once it evolves, Foul Play to smash enemies with high attack (hint: haxorus) and Night Slash is pretty reliable for STAB (it's attack stat is lower but 105 is still pretty good for ingame). Zoroark's best points are however, it's fixed IVs (30s across the board is extremely good for ingame) and boosted experience. I didn't find it terrible at all...
 
Perfect stats, nature and boosted experience .... I've just evolved my Zorua in Zoroark ! I did use Dig & Snarl TM on him, and then Night Slash / Foul Play ... Foulplay will be replaced by Fire-attack later, and Dig by Dark Pulse ... I think I will ditch Snarl for Nasty Plot :

Nasty Plot
Dark Pulse
Flamethrower
Night Slash

He's good ... Not top ... But between High and Mid (I will judge him later, when I will beat the Elite Four)
 
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