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What was the hardest part of the metagame for you to understand?
- Thread starter Matthew
- Start date
It took me a while to realize that nobody's "too good to use OU Pokemon in OU." I used to be stubborn and use only BL/UU Pokemon in OU, and I'd never really do well. I always thought, "Oh, OU is all the same, boring, and predictable."
Basically, realizing that OU Pokemon are OU for a reason: they just work.
I still use BLs in my teams, but I'm not so stubborn anymore as to not use a single OU Pokemon.
Basically, realizing that OU Pokemon are OU for a reason: they just work.
I still use BLs in my teams, but I'm not so stubborn anymore as to not use a single OU Pokemon.
I recently tried making a team entirely of BL/UU pokemon for the OU metagame. The word 'fail' comes to mind.
One thing I will say, however, is try to have the same number or similar numbers of physical moves and special moves, otherwise you'll have a lot of problems when you're in a pinch. Try if possible to always keep one physical attacker and one special attacker alive.
i made a pure BL team that did alright in OU :P
some UU's will fit into an OU team though, some have very specific roles that make them ideal anywhere (trick room has clamperl, rain dance has kabutops, omastar ludicolo)
you cant have a team based on walls and sweepers all the time, the hardist thing is getting a balance between physical and special sweepers, especially in the current metagame phase.
some UU's will fit into an OU team though, some have very specific roles that make them ideal anywhere (trick room has clamperl, rain dance has kabutops, omastar ludicolo)
you cant have a team based on walls and sweepers all the time, the hardist thing is getting a balance between physical and special sweepers, especially in the current metagame phase.
Nidoqueen, Nidoking, Primeape, Steelix... the list of viable UUs in OU is pretty big. If you have a planned out role for them and your team can provide support to them you can use pretty much anything.
To my experience, the hardest part still is the team building. Everytime I build one, I find that there is always something which is able to rip apart my team :-(
Aside from that, prediction is quite daunting sometimes, but more often than not, i simply am stuck without any kind of answer to a specific threat, be it a Spike shuffler, a Baton Passer etc...
ANd, last but not least, the lead. Choosing that damn lead is always a pain. You chose Azelf, they lead with Ttar. Damn, lets lead with Hyppo or Kingdra. And then: opponent sends out Azelf! Azelf uses Taunt!
Aside from that, prediction is quite daunting sometimes, but more often than not, i simply am stuck without any kind of answer to a specific threat, be it a Spike shuffler, a Baton Passer etc...
ANd, last but not least, the lead. Choosing that damn lead is always a pain. You chose Azelf, they lead with Ttar. Damn, lets lead with Hyppo or Kingdra. And then: opponent sends out Azelf! Azelf uses Taunt!
It seems like my teams are either A)Stall, or B)Offensive. I really don't use much strategy either way, just switch according to specific pokemon. Usually I will think simpler and win that way(like keeping my Blissey in on Lucario/other physical attacker, then paralyzing), but I haven't made a very balanced team that needs a unified strategy to win. I think creating a strategy is the toughest aspect of the metagame, albeit IMO overrated.
i just have one stall breaker in a team, that's as far as my 'roles' go. a good CBer usually does the trick. no physical wall can wall every physical threat in the game, whereas blissey can wall every special threat in the game. besides, i still work with counters, so when i'm drawing up that threat list, i'll go 'damn, gliscor and cress wall me, better throw in a suicune' etc.
definately countering what was popular, after I knew that I should just make my team and not worry about the popular stuff(figured out in noob days), I just made teams how I pleased.
A refusal to use certain Pokémon on quote-unquote "ethical" terms has severely limited my team-building, and still does.
I keep a mental list of what I'll allow myself to put into a team. The list includes "whore" Pokémon like Blissey and Cress, bog standard metagame staples like Swampert, Salamence, Gyarados, Celebi, and a lot of new Pokémon, especially the ones I have decided look retarded - Heatran, Lucario, etc. These boundaries are entirely arbitrary and are generally decided on a Pokémon's look and feel, as well as what generation it is from. I harbour some fatal attraction towards the 1st and 2nd generation and most of my teams are at least 66.67% "old school" Pokémon.
Additionally I force myself to eschew the standard movesets and team strategies whenever possible, and often rely on surprise tactics and rare or unexpected mechanics (Trick Room comes to mind, as does Rain Dance).
Of course building a team that conforms to my arbitrary purism in both form and function leaves my team inevitably weaker than if such restrictions were lifted. Something like Cress could easily wall whatever special attacks Venusaur and Slowking together are trying to wall, and then some - but a win on the ladder with the whore on my team feels empty and sullied, as if I had "sold out".
I know well that "standards are standard for a reason" and that no one ever climbed the leaderboard playing with their favourites (and don't tell me Salamence and Blissey are your favourites). But I still think I enjoy a few wins here and there with a unique team more than a leaderboard-climbing streak with the bog standards. ...And that's why I'll never be any good.
I keep a mental list of what I'll allow myself to put into a team. The list includes "whore" Pokémon like Blissey and Cress, bog standard metagame staples like Swampert, Salamence, Gyarados, Celebi, and a lot of new Pokémon, especially the ones I have decided look retarded - Heatran, Lucario, etc. These boundaries are entirely arbitrary and are generally decided on a Pokémon's look and feel, as well as what generation it is from. I harbour some fatal attraction towards the 1st and 2nd generation and most of my teams are at least 66.67% "old school" Pokémon.
Additionally I force myself to eschew the standard movesets and team strategies whenever possible, and often rely on surprise tactics and rare or unexpected mechanics (Trick Room comes to mind, as does Rain Dance).
Of course building a team that conforms to my arbitrary purism in both form and function leaves my team inevitably weaker than if such restrictions were lifted. Something like Cress could easily wall whatever special attacks Venusaur and Slowking together are trying to wall, and then some - but a win on the ladder with the whore on my team feels empty and sullied, as if I had "sold out".
I know well that "standards are standard for a reason" and that no one ever climbed the leaderboard playing with their favourites (and don't tell me Salamence and Blissey are your favourites). But I still think I enjoy a few wins here and there with a unique team more than a leaderboard-climbing streak with the bog standards. ...And that's why I'll never be any good.
the most difficult for me was to use support pokemon, i just wanted to attack all the times, no set up moves, straight rape lol, now i understand how to balance and to support other pokes in my team.
Also prediction is still hard for me, i can be over predicted easily, but im working on that. :nerd:
Also prediction is still hard for me, i can be over predicted easily, but im working on that. :nerd:
BY FAR the hardest part of the metagame for me to understand is: How can people possibly stand it when everyone they battle has the same lead, and 4 other pokemon that are the same. IE
azelf/zapdos/celebi/heatran/scizor/lucario
azelf/zapdos/suicune/heatran/scizor/lucario
Haven't played OU for a week or so but I think that is sort of accurate. I agree that some OU pokemon are fun to use (like *garchomp*, bronzong, gengar) but it must get old fast.
I pretty much agree with Steinhauser on the rest. Lucario IS retarded looking. (Garchomp is*not OU anymore*)
azelf/zapdos/celebi/heatran/scizor/lucario
azelf/zapdos/suicune/heatran/scizor/lucario
Haven't played OU for a week or so but I think that is sort of accurate. I agree that some OU pokemon are fun to use (like *garchomp*, bronzong, gengar) but it must get old fast.
I pretty much agree with Steinhauser on the rest. Lucario IS retarded looking. (Garchomp is*not OU anymore*)
Keeping up with the trends used to be very hard for me as well. I never knew what to expect because all I did was study Serebii and then battle. Serebii's great, but it really doesn't keep us as up-to-date as I'd like.
So then I joined Smogon.
So then I joined Smogon.
For me, it was getting a good defensive core together. I always run offensive teams, but I like to have two or three walls to switch out to, for hopefully obvious reasons. My walls could never seem to cover what it was they needed to, always having one sweeper or another harm them. In fact, it still is the hardest part of team building for me.
I was one of the most retarded noobs out there. An example would be my first ever RMT, which was in May 2007. I did not believe Items were essential to winning, I had no idea Swords Dance did not benefit Aura Sphere, Dragon Pulse, etc. I thought using Dialga and Machoke in competitive play was fine. I thought I had one of the best teams, yet I got lost 5 out of 5 matches, until I finally decided to READ lol.
The EVs and natures were definitely the hardest part for me to understand, along with the significance of items lol. So yeah, I've come a long way from what I used to be. Good times ^_^
The EVs and natures were definitely the hardest part for me to understand, along with the significance of items lol. So yeah, I've come a long way from what I used to be. Good times ^_^
Quoted for truth, because I honestly don't think I could say it any better. However, I do put less limitations on myself (mainly due to personal preference; I think Heatran's awesome looking). Still, things like Skarmory, Blissey, Cresselia, Salamence, etc. would never find a place on my teams unless they're ridiculously gimmicky. For example, I once ran a Swords Dance Skarmory.
That is why I do not play OU a lot any longer. I find that in UU, there is more room for variation on the standard movesets. In OU, if you don't have the standard moveset, odds are your moveset isn't going to be as effective as you envisaged.
The hardest part for me to understand (n00b here), is where to begin! I found the great D/P Team Building Guide by Great Sage+, which is helpful. But it's like, once I choose a Pokemon, do I decide what Nature and moves to give it? Or to I try to breed for a Pokemon with some flawless IVs? For example, I want a Standard Calm Venusaur, with Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, Energy Ball, and Sludge Bomb. Should I be satisfied with 31/x/x/31/x/x or x/x/x/31/31/x, or go for the triple flawless? Do I skip these IVs altogether and just figure out the EV spread? These are all things I cannot find anywhere else, so I'm sobbing here... XD
I think the general rule is >24=good but I'm not sure.
idk about all this trickroom breading i got a one with x/x/x/x/x/x/0 EVs so i thought it was good but when i offered it for trade noooobody wanted it. i thought 0 speed EV gengar would be great but aparantly not good enough so i said comes with lagging tail and still nobody wanted it. so i just gave it to some noob in serebii chat for a shiny celebi 
One of the hardest things to do although not really related to the metagame is resting for eggs. I've been resetting this egg for nearly 4 days, trying to get a shiny gengar; but no luck :(.
Next I would have to say remember what moves are part of what category. I always think Gyro Ball is special based for some reason. And things like Grass Knot being special but still paralyzing from static is annoying, so that makes it harder to know what moves to use in what situation.
Next I would have to say remember what moves are part of what category. I always think Gyro Ball is special based for some reason. And things like Grass Knot being special but still paralyzing from static is annoying, so that makes it harder to know what moves to use in what situation.