Aggron is probably my pick. The dude not only gets a very, very powerful defensive Mega form, but the existence of the Assault Vest turns it into a very solid tank that takes little damage from neutral hits and hit back incredibly hard with STAB, recoil-less Head Smash.
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Other Most Improved Pokemon
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Except that it has no recovery, loses STAB on Head Smash when it Mega Evolves, and loses Rock Head too when it Mega evolves. Also, it dies to any decently strong special attack, SE or not. In lower tiers it could maybe have some use, but Aggron's main claim to fame is the bulky CB Head Smash, not getting 2HKOed by Hitmonlee's LO Reckless High Jump Kick despite 70/230 physical defenses with 252/252 Def Impish and Filter.
Actually, in my experience Assault Vest Aggron can take all kinds of neutral special hits and still come out swinging extremely hard. I'm using along with Togekiss as a wishpasser, and it's proven to be a very solid defensive core that can handle many prominent threats without too much trouble. Togekiss' HP stat isn't exactly phenominal, but it's more than enough to get the job done when needed, and Togekiss and Aggron cover each others' weaknesses almost perfectly.
Well, I think we need to look at other mons such as the incredible Rotom-Wash. It's so good this gen, and while it didnt get any real buffs, it checks like 80 percent of the meta. Also, in Ubers, Ho-oh and Lugia got huge buffs in the form of Defog support. Ho-oh can now abuse Regenerator, massive ass bulk, and good power as well as the ability to check Xerneas.
Ho-oh can't have Defog AND Regenerator. It only learns Defog via TM in Gen IV, and only gets Regenerator (as far as I am aware) via Dream Radar in Gen V. And I think Ho-oh loves regenerator too much to be mucking around with Defog, as good a buff as it might get, particularly with it's 4x weakness to stealth rock. Lugia could use it but it wouldn't be able to use Multiscale then (although if you're using it to get rid of stealth rocks it doesn't matter). And of course there's the fact that Lugia loves phazing with Dragon Tail...
Defog certainly is much better this generation but I don't foresee it breaking into Ubers any time soon (at least not via those two)
Mandibuzz could theoretically float around Ubers to Defog rocks away, but that's pretty darn theoretical.
Assuming Pokebank, which is necessary for Lugia and Ho-oh to exist in the first place, Scizor can get Defog, which it can use to support those two.
No, I'm talking about Defog SUPPORT. Spinning was notoriously hard in gen 5, and now defog gets rid of Ho-oh's buggest enemy easily. Ho-oh still runs the same movesets, but other mons having defog make ho-oh's life easier. Lugia's biggest provlem in Gen 5 was eing spikes fodder, but now that spikestacking has faleen due to defog, Lugia can breath more easily. Oh and PS, defog is everywhere in Ubers. Why dont you try out the tier! :)
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You would never want to use defog ON Ho-oh. He still takes 50% switching in before he can clear the rocks. That's just awful.
Lugia, Arceus, Giratina all get defog. Just use it on one of them.
Lugia, Arceus, Giratina all get defog. Just use it on one of them.
Im saying Ho-oh is buffed because he is being SUPPORTED by Defog. I never said Ho-oh should be using Defog.
Yeah I know, I was responding to the other guys but you posted while I was in the middle of typing. We're saying the same thing.
The biggest improvement is easily Kangaskhan.
It's gone from a top-NU mon; which was always solid but never great and outclassed by more specialised mons; to being a top-tier threat in OU that is literally only checked by a couple of specific sets on Ghosts. [Sub; and even things like Subgar lose if Kanga is running Earthquake/Crunch, and Kanga can just predict the switch; not Mega Evo and hit with Scrappy Return].
Azumarill has been getting better generation by generation. It's an honorable mention I guess for 'most improved pokemon over time'.
Seriously:
Gen 2: Azumarill is completely worthless
Gen 3: Huge Power; Choice Band
Gen 4: Physical STAB; Aqua Jet
Gen 5: Rain metagame; giving Azumarill even more brute force. Checked Blaziken and Excadrill; two pokemon who wound up being Uber; and was pretty much the only water Ferrothron feared
Gen 6: Gained the Fairy type and BP90 Physical STAB that hits all types that resist Aqua Jet for Neutral; actually giving Azumarill an existent movepool.
It's gone from a top-NU mon; which was always solid but never great and outclassed by more specialised mons; to being a top-tier threat in OU that is literally only checked by a couple of specific sets on Ghosts. [Sub; and even things like Subgar lose if Kanga is running Earthquake/Crunch, and Kanga can just predict the switch; not Mega Evo and hit with Scrappy Return].
Azumarill has been getting better generation by generation. It's an honorable mention I guess for 'most improved pokemon over time'.
Seriously:
Gen 2: Azumarill is completely worthless
Gen 3: Huge Power; Choice Band
Gen 4: Physical STAB; Aqua Jet
Gen 5: Rain metagame; giving Azumarill even more brute force. Checked Blaziken and Excadrill; two pokemon who wound up being Uber; and was pretty much the only water Ferrothron feared
Gen 6: Gained the Fairy type and BP90 Physical STAB that hits all types that resist Aqua Jet for Neutral; actually giving Azumarill an existent movepool.
He was always awesome He just got more awesome over time
Ah okay, I misunderstood you entirely. And yet I'm surprised at Defog being common in Ubers. Who are the main users of it?
Main users in Ubers- Giratina-A, Scizor-Mega, Arceus Rock, Water, any support arceus really. Some peiple will use Lugia, but that's generally not worth it.
I'll go with one of the few odd ones that I have barely seen here, one of them being Banette with a mega-evo. With it's newfound Prankster ability it most definitely has the (IMO) the best Destiny Bond (not that I run it.) Also with it having Trick Room in it's arsenal, I can see it being slapped onto those kinds of teams. Prankster is not the only thing to be proud of, with extra bulk AND that new 165 Attack, you most definitely do not want to take a Shadow Claw (barring Dark-Types and Normal-Types.) To add it on, it has both STAB Shadow Sneak and Sucker Punch which are really nice with it. Another huge benefit that Sableye doesn't have, it's not weak the Fairy-Types.
...of course I unfortunately have to mention, it's Prankster ability does not activate as soon as it Mega-Evolves, that is the one downside.
...of course I unfortunately have to mention, it's Prankster ability does not activate as soon as it Mega-Evolves, that is the one downside.
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Zennistrad said with aggron with an assault vest, meaning it can't mega evolve. Therefore, it wouldn't lose stab on head smash or lose it's rock head ability.
I see a lot of people who write off Mega Abomasnow as being a terrible Pokemon, as well as questioning GF's integrity when designing it. I was one of those people once, but now I see that Mega Aboma is infact designed around double battles, where HailRoom used to be a common strategy.
Yes, it's terrible in singles, but saying GF were out of their minds when designing it is stupid. I really must've expected too much from Smogon.
Yes, it's terrible in singles, but saying GF were out of their minds when designing it is stupid. I really must've expected too much from Smogon.
One of my friends made Mega-Snow viable with Trick Room, it is slow AS-HELLLLLLLLL. Why can't peeps use that to an advantage? XD
I wouldn't say it's most improved, but I'm going to give an honorable mention to Lapras. Picking up Freeze Dry has been a supreme blessing for it. I think, with Freeze Dry and Hydro Pump, it can hit all Pokemon for at least neutral damage in the game. It makes for a great Bulky Water counter as, even with a Quiet nature, it'll outrun most Water-typed walls and hit them super-effectively. Plus, there usually isn't much they can do in return do to pretty decent bulk and Water Absorb. It's knocked out several Azumarill trying to switch into it to Superpower it because, even with a -Speed nature and no speed investment, it outruns neutral nature Azumarill with no speed investment by 2 points (unless you want HP Fire, but it still wins by 1 point).
The set I've been running is:
Lapras @ Expert Belt
Quiet Nature
252HP/252Sp.Atk/6Atk
Freeze Dry
Hydro Pump
Psychic/Hidden Power (Fire)
Ice Shard
Like I said, Freeze Dry and Hydro Pump grant it perfect neutral coverage. Ice Shard gives it priority to finish off weakened things, especially the annoying Dragonite and Gliscor that think they can get you first. The last move comes down to preference (or what you can get through breeding). Psychic grants you a super-effective hit on Fighting types, though you probably won't appreciate a Mach Punch coming off of most of them. Hidden Power Fire is for Scizor, Forretress, and Ferrothorn.
Also, if you want more guaranteed power, you can run Life Orb instead of Expert Belt, though the recoil isn't always appreciated as it'll be hitting a lot of things for Super Effective damage anyway. Leftovers or an Assault Vest can be used if you want more survivability, but the drop in power is very noticeable.
The set is rather tricky to use, but it does make a surprisingly effective Wall Smasher.
The set I've been running is:
Lapras @ Expert Belt
Quiet Nature
252HP/252Sp.Atk/6Atk
Freeze Dry
Hydro Pump
Psychic/Hidden Power (Fire)
Ice Shard
Like I said, Freeze Dry and Hydro Pump grant it perfect neutral coverage. Ice Shard gives it priority to finish off weakened things, especially the annoying Dragonite and Gliscor that think they can get you first. The last move comes down to preference (or what you can get through breeding). Psychic grants you a super-effective hit on Fighting types, though you probably won't appreciate a Mach Punch coming off of most of them. Hidden Power Fire is for Scizor, Forretress, and Ferrothorn.
Also, if you want more guaranteed power, you can run Life Orb instead of Expert Belt, though the recoil isn't always appreciated as it'll be hitting a lot of things for Super Effective damage anyway. Leftovers or an Assault Vest can be used if you want more survivability, but the drop in power is very noticeable.
The set is rather tricky to use, but it does make a surprisingly effective Wall Smasher.
Also Defog.
Chatter is situational, and not so useful IMO. You're better off just spamming Boomburst (neutral 140 > super effective 65). Legitimate Choice set:
Chatot @ Choice Scarf / Specs
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid / Modest Nature
- Boomburst
- Heat Wave
- Encore / Chatter
- Defog / Chatter
I'll probably try it in UU.
Freeze Dry+Hydro Pump is resisted by Thick Fat Walrein/Dewgong and Dry Skin Jynx.
That said, I posted calcs somewhere showing the lack of power of Freeze Dry. You need your 252+ Special Attack to OHKO things like Ludicolo, which are 4x weak to it. On bulkier Pokemon, even if they are weak to Ice, or are neutral to it and resist Hydro Pump, you are doing negligible damage. For example:
252+ SpA Lapras (Move 4) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Cradily: 132-156 (35.1 - 41.48%) -- 75.37% chance to 3HKO
Against stuff like Water/Rock, Hydro Pump actually hits harder than Freeze Dry, so it's kinda useless there.
Also, (just sample to show power, don't point out the matchup etc.)
252+ SpA Lapras Freeze Dry vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Mantine: 188-224 (56.45 - 67.26%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
That is hitting a 4x weakness. This is the kind of power your Freeze Dry carries. If I were to run Freeze Dry, I'd probably just go Surf/Freeze Dry/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt or something, just so I can actually have power behind my Ice STAB. Also BoltBeam.
The entire point of Freeze Dry is that it's stronger than Thunderbolt after STAB. Running both on the same set is entirely pointless. Freeze Dry+Water has perfect coverage bar Shedinja (lol) and Jynx. I would reccomend running Ice Beam too, though, for more power in most situations. Plus, Freeze Dry hits some Pokemon for SE damage that Boltbeam doesn't, notably Rotom-Wash, Lanturn, and Ludicolo.
You know what I've noticed? I've noticed that GF has been somewhat trying to improve certain types.
Fire, for example, was previously shat on by Stealth Rock, but in Fifth gen they introduced Volcorona, Iron Fist Infernape, and Speed Boost Blaziken. Sixth Gen introduced Mega Blaziken and Talonflame.
Bug types have been one of the joke types (not including Scizor) until Fifth gen, where many new amazing Bugs were introduced. Sixth Gen, we get Vivillon, Speed Boost Scolipede, Mega Scizor/Pinsir/Heracross(?).
Poison types have generally been overlooked because of its horrible coverage, but in Sixth gen, some mons are running Poison attacks to help deal with the new Fairy type.
But Ice? What about Ice, GF? Sure, give us Abomasnow and Snow Warning Aurorus. But they're still pretty bad and only used in niche teams. Fifth gen gives us amazingly disappointing mons like Beartic, Vanilluxe, and Cryogonal (Kyurem doesn't count). Sixth gen gives us Avalugg, who is actually a decent mon, but the Ice typing is still a liability. Only one resistance still? I was hoping the new type chart would finally give it a resistance to Water (like it should) but nooooooo. Cmon GF, what has Ice type mons ever done to deserve your ire?
Fire, for example, was previously shat on by Stealth Rock, but in Fifth gen they introduced Volcorona, Iron Fist Infernape, and Speed Boost Blaziken. Sixth Gen introduced Mega Blaziken and Talonflame.
Bug types have been one of the joke types (not including Scizor) until Fifth gen, where many new amazing Bugs were introduced. Sixth Gen, we get Vivillon, Speed Boost Scolipede, Mega Scizor/Pinsir/Heracross(?).
Poison types have generally been overlooked because of its horrible coverage, but in Sixth gen, some mons are running Poison attacks to help deal with the new Fairy type.
But Ice? What about Ice, GF? Sure, give us Abomasnow and Snow Warning Aurorus. But they're still pretty bad and only used in niche teams. Fifth gen gives us amazingly disappointing mons like Beartic, Vanilluxe, and Cryogonal (Kyurem doesn't count). Sixth gen gives us Avalugg, who is actually a decent mon, but the Ice typing is still a liability. Only one resistance still? I was hoping the new type chart would finally give it a resistance to Water (like it should) but nooooooo. Cmon GF, what has Ice type mons ever done to deserve your ire?
I'd love this so much! Although I'd probably only agree to it if Water gained something in return such as hitting Dragons neutrally.
Anyways, Clefable and most pokemon with Knock Off are definitely going to be even more fun to play with this gen, for me.
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