The LC Role Comparison Project

Aaron's Aron

A concussion update in my info tab
There are more comparisons of mine at the bottom of the last page.
Apparently hide tags are lame, so I took them out.


Ghost-types: Gastly vs Misdreavus

Misdreavus is the more common of the two, and rightly so. It is bulky and can inflict status on the opponent while still maintaining a heavy offensive presence. Gastly however is a pure revenge killer and wall breaker with its extra Poison-type, which allows it to fit on certain teams.


Gastly @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 200 SpA / 80 SpD / 200 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fighting] / Dazzling Gleam
- Substitute

Pros:
+ Gastly does not care about Spritzee in the least, as it can just abuse a super effective STAB Sludge Bomb. It can also break through some of the other bulky walls that Misdreavus can't.
+ Gastly has Substitute to block status, and most importantly Pawniard's Sucker Punch.
+ It is much stronger than Misdreavus and has better coverage. With the Life Orb it becomes a fearsome revenge killer.
+ It has many different sets it can run, so you have the element of surprise on your side.

Cons:
- It is extremely frail, and most attacks will KO it in one hit unless resisted. This makes it hard to switch in as well.
- It only hits 18 Speed which causes it to lose to Misdreavus, Abra, and Ponyta.
- Gastly is massive Pawniard bait. If it uses Substitute on the switch in then it is alright, but if not and Pawniard is Scarfed then it will outspeed and KO Gastly.
- There are dedicated special walls like Munchlax and Lickitung that Gastly has some trouble breaking through, and it has to rely on Sludge Bomb poison hax to beat them.


Misdreavus @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 236 SpA / 236 SpD
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
- Will-O-Wisp
- Destiny Bond

Pros:
+ Misdreavus hits the beloved 19 speed tier, causing it to out speed most Pokemon.
+ It has Will-O-Wisp to burn physical attackers (boo Timburr).
+ It can use it's high Speed to net a kill on a pesky opponent through Destiny Bond.
+ It has a solid 18 Special Attack stat and good coverage with STAB Shadow Ball and Dazzling Gleam, meaning most things get hard (except for Porygon...)

Cons:
- Most Pawniard run Scarfs these days, so it can't check it anymore with HP Fighting.
- It runs into many annoying speed ties with other Misdreavus, Abra, and Ponyta, but it outspeds Gastly.
- It is walled by Porygon, as well as other bulky Pokemon like Spritzee to an extent.


Bulky Grass-types: Cottonee vs Foongus

Bulky Grass-types are very good in this meta, as they support the team very well. They have the ability to inflict status, the bulk to take multiple hits, and even good moves to attack the opponent with. Cottonee has Prankster to fire off priority moves that restrict the opponent's moves, and Foongus has bulk, health regen, and Spore to tank hits and inflict sleep on the opponent. They have slightly different roles, but they both get the job done.


Cottonee @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 116 HP / 196 Def / 196 SpD
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
- Encore
- Memento / Knock Off
- Taunt / Knock Off
- Dazzling Gleam / Stun Spore / Memento

Pros:
+ Prankster enables Cottonee to use to stop set up sweepers with Encore, prevent status moves from being used or hazards being laid with Taunt, or sacrifice itself for a sweeper on your team with Memento.
+ Knock Off provides useful support for the whole team.
+ It checks most Ground and Rock-types, and it can even check Flying-types (except for Fletchling since Acrobatics has priority) if it uses Encore to lock it into a non Flying-type move.
+ Cottonee is a great counter to the many Fighting-types in the tier, as it resists both their Fighting-type moves and Knock Off.

Cons:
- Cottonee can not stop set up sweepers unless it switches in on the set up move. It also can't stop Zigzagoon since Extremespeed has +2 priority over Cottonee's +1.
- Cottonee is walled by opposing Fire-types.
- It has no way of healing, so you have to make sure you don't send it iin to much or else it on't be able to take hits anymore. If Cottonee gets to the point to where it can't take anymore hits you can use Memento to help weaken the opponent for your next Pokemon.


Foongus @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level 5
Evs: 124 HP / 160 Def / 160 SpD
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb / Clear Smog
- Hidden Power Fighting / Stun Spore
- Spore

Pros:
+ Foongus has reliable healing in Giga Drain and Regenerator. This enables Foongus to stick around for a long time.
+ It has a much better move in Spore, which basically forces the opponent to sacrifice a Pokemon until it wakes up.
+ Foongus has a good defensive typing, with its Poison-type giving it a resistance to Fighting. It does take neutral damage from the many Fighting-types' Knock Off though.
+ It is able to use Sludge Bomb to counter the bulky Fairy-types like Spritzee and Cottonee.

Cons:
- It is extremely slow, but this means it doesn't mind paralysis.
- Misdreavus sets up on Foongus without worry (except for Spore, but it can get around that with Substitute or Sleep Clause) because Foongus doesn't have a moves that hit exceptionally hard.
- Does not have as much utility as far as team support goes besides Spore.


Sun Sweepers: Bellsprout vs Oddish

With the start of Generation 6, weather sweepers lost a lot of their power. With weather only lasting for five turns, their time to sweep is greatly limited. However, these sweepers are not useless and they still find use on some teams. Sun tends to be the most common weather, and Oddish and Bellsprout both make use of it well.


Bellsprout @ Eviolite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 196 SpA / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
Modest Nature (+SpA, -Atk)
- Solarbeam
- Weather Ball (100 base power Fire-type move in the sun)
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder


Oddish @ Eviolite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 5
EVs: 240 SpA / 200 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Solarbeam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder

For the most part, Oddish and Bellsprout are run the same way. They both come in during harsh sunlight and start firing off high powered attacks. However, Oddish has higher defenses is required to use a weak Hidden Power [Fire]. Bellsprout on the other hand has lower defenses, a tad more HP, and the much more powerful Weather Ball.


Fire-types: Larvesta vs Ponyta

One of the most common questions asked is whether to use Ponyta or Larvesta. Larvesta has the potential to be amazing, but a huge Stealth Rocks weakness holds it back. It is still good though, so it is up to you to decide if need a slower, harder hitting Pokemon in Larvesta, or a more speedy Pokemon in Ponyta.


Larvesta @ Eviolite
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 236 Atk / 156 Def / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Flare Blitz
- U-Turn
- Will-O-Wisp / Sunny Day
- Morning Sun

Pros:
+ Larvesta is a Bug-type along with Fire, so it can switch into and check Fighting-types much better with its Fighting resist (although it does have to be careful about burning Timburr).
+ Larvesta is rather slow, so it does not care as much (it still doesn't like it though) about paralysis.
+ It has U-Turn to act as a pivot as well. It can U-Turn out of predicted switches and you can bring in the appropriate check. This makes it good in a VoltTurn core (a core with other users of U-Turn and Volt Switch.
+ It runs more Attack EVs than Ponyta, so its Attack stat is 19 compared to Ponyta's 16. This enables it to hit much harder with Flare Blitz.
+ Larvesta can use Sunny Day to set up sun and then use a slow U-Turn to pivot to a Chlorophyll sweeper like Bellsprout or Bulbasaur. It checks opposing sun sweepers and setters, but it does have to watch out for Weather Ball / Hidden Power [Fire] since its Bug-typing gives it a neutrality to Fire.

Cons:
- It is required to run a hazard remover on a team with Larvesta, as it is absolutely decimated by Stealth Rock, taking 50% damage just by switching in.
- If Stealth Rock is up, it is very hard to switch in and out with U-Turn.
- While having low Speed is helpful for being a slow pivot, it does not serve Larvesta well if it needs to heal since it could be attacked before using Morning Sun.
- Its Bug-typing gives it a weakness to Flying-types, which really hurts its ability to check physical attackers.


Ponyta @ Eviolite
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 5
EVs: 76 Atk / 236 Def / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge / Sunny Day
- Will-O-Wisp / Sunny Day
- Morning Sun

Pros:
+ Ponyta hits 19 speed, which enables it to outspeed most threats and burn them with Will-O-Wisp or KO them with Flare Blitz.
+ Morning Sun can be used to heal before the opponent attacks thanks to Ponyta's high Speed stat of 19.
+ It gets Wild Charge to be able to deal with Water-types (except Chinchou because of Volt Absorb) and Flying-types like Fletchling if it doesn't want to take recoil damage.
+ It has slightly better bulk than Larvesta.
+ Ponyta has Flame Body to burn physical attackers, so it can switch in on them well and hope for a burn and it doesn't mind Stealth Rock as much as Larvesta. It can also be used as death fodder and hope for a burn to stop a sweep.
+ It walls opposing sun sweepers, and it can use the sun for itself to increase the healing from Morning Sun and the power of Flare Blitz.

Cons:
- While it doesn't worry as much as Larvesta, Ponyta still takes 25% damage from Stealth Rock.
- One of Ponyta's biggest assets is its Speed, and this is taken away if paralyzed. You have to be careful to make sure this doesn't happen.
- Ponyta is hard walled by Rock-types.
- Its ability to burn could be used against it if Timburr switches in.


Noob 101: Aipom vs Meowth

Aipom has often been the lead of choice by noobs in Little Cup. However, it has starting to come into the spotlight as top players begin to realize how good and powerful it truly is, being able to 2HKO most of the tier (I was one of the first people to say how good it was, but I'll let that go for now... -_-). Meowth has always been cast aside in favor of other Pokemon, but it runs a similar set, with its weaker moves being powered up by Technician instead.


Aipom @ Eviolite
Ability: Skill Link
Level 5
EVs: 76 HP / 196 Atk / 236 Spe
Nature Jolly (+Spe, -Atk)
- Fury Swipes
- Knock Off
- Brick Break / U-Turn
- Taunt / Fake Out / Ice Punch

Pros:
+ Aipom hits 19 speed, which enables it to Speed tie with Misdreavus, Abra, and Ponyta. It also enable it to outspeed the rest of the tier bar Diglett and Elekid.
+ Aipom does at least 15 total damage with Fury Swipes if the opponent has less than 24 Defense. It does at least 20 total damage, with a good chance of at least 22, if the opponent has less than 11 or less Defense.
+ Aipom has good coverage in Knock Off to hit the Ghost-types that are immune to Fury Swipes and Brick Break to hit the Rock and Steel-types that resist Fury Swipes. Knock Off also helps it break through bulky Pokemon with Fury Swipes by knocking off their Evioliye.
+ Aipom has very solid bulk, especially with an Eviolite.

Cons:
- If the opponent has 24 Defense or more, Fury Swipes will only do 5 total damage. This mean that bulky Pokemon with an Eviolite like Porygon and Spritzee cause a lot of trouble for Aipom.
- Despite having Brick Break, Rock-types are still solid counters.
- Burns effectively make Fury Swipes useless, and its power will be dropped down to 5 total damage most of the time.
- Fury Swipes has a disappointing accuracy of 80%, so it will miss at unfortunate times. Fury Miss?


Meowth @ Normal Gem
Ability: Technician
Level 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- U-Turn
- Covet

Pros:
+ Fake Out boosted by Normal Gem and Technician hits extremely hard.
+ Since Meowth's Fake Out is boosted by Technician and STAB (Normal Gem only works once), it is one of the strongest priority attacks in the tier.
+ After Meowth uses a Normal Gem boosted Fake Out it can use Covet to steal away an opponent's item. This serves a dual purpose by giving Meowth an item like Eviolite or Berry Juice which can increase its survival, as well as taking away the opponent's item and crippling it for the rest of the match.
+ Unlike Aipom, Meowth has U-Turn to get out of unfavorable match-ups.
+ Meowth hits the 19 speed tier as well, which enables it to outspeed most of the other Pokemon in the tier.

Cons:
- Meowth is frail since it doesn't have an Eviolite. If it can't one hit KO, it is in trouble. This makes Meowth best as a revenge killer.
- Since Meowth has little bulk it has a hard time switching in.
- Its highest powered STAB move is Covet at 90 base power when boosted by Technician. While this isn't bad, for a revenge killer you want high powered moves to be able to get the KO and not be hit yourself.
 
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