Resource Simple Questions, Simple Answers Thread

Pyritie

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i'm pretty new to the tier and non randbats formats in general and i think the best way to improve is by playing in tournaments as much as possible. i'm pretty familiar with the tours hosted within smogon - heck, i'm a host for ost lol - but have almost no knowledge of tournaments hosted in outside communities. where are some other places i could get playing experience under my belt?
Since this is the OU forum, it's worth pointing out that OU is a smogon creation so I think you'll only find OU tournaments here. Outside of smogon tiers, plain 6v6 singles is pretty dead outside of little battles between small friend groups, although 3v3 singles (aka battle stadium singles) is pretty popular in japan.

However if you're looking for something completely different that has an established tournament structure and is completely disconnected from smogon, why not try out VGC?
 
I guess what I'm thinking is in situations like this it seems kinda like Rock-Paper-Scissors to a beginner like me. If you assume your opponent is as smart as you, then you can predict their play and outplay them at level 2. But if they aren't smart enough they might not even play into your prediction. Or if they are, they might know you will play at level 2 and outplay you at level 3.

In a lot of other situations in pokemon there is a rather gradual risk reward scale that is easily understood and even if you predict wrong you can play the "safest" or "high risk high reward" etc, but when it comes to protect strategy it seems like it's all-or-nothing RPS. Even if you accurately assess the situation your opponent could just pick randomly and screw it up by not playing "correct". (obviously in my example I know I lost not by chance but because the other opponent knew what I would do but I didn't know what he would do i.e. he outplayed me)

How accurate is that?
Also consider how the opponent has been conditioned based on what you did after you hit their protect earlier in the game. This will strongly influence their play, consciously and unconsciously.

Also if you want to practice reads in Pokémon I would recommend playing 1v1 for a little bit. The format is basically built around getting good reads and in a very limited number of turns.
 
I guess what I'm thinking is in situations like this it seems kinda like Rock-Paper-Scissors to a beginner like me. If you assume your opponent is as smart as you, then you can predict their play and outplay them at level 2. But if they aren't smart enough they might not even play into your prediction. Or if they are, they might know you will play at level 2 and outplay you at level 3.

In a lot of other situations in pokemon there is a rather gradual risk reward scale that is easily understood and even if you predict wrong you can play the "safest" or "high risk high reward" etc, but when it comes to protect strategy it seems like it's all-or-nothing RPS. Even if you accurately assess the situation your opponent could just pick randomly and screw it up by not playing "correct". (obviously in my example I know I lost not by chance but because the other opponent knew what I would do but I didn't know what he would do i.e. he outplayed me)

How accurate is that?
It is accurate, and reading your opponent is one of the primary skills a player needs to develop. The basis of it comes down to putting yourself in your opps shoes. I wanna guess that you had a ferrothorn in cause you set hazards twice and because it's a tricky pokemon to try to set up on when it's at 100%, because of the threat of getting seeded which makes it harder to take down, and the threat of gyro which will guaranteed be 150 BP after a DD. But regardless of what you had on the field, you're correct that 50/50s with moves like protect and sucker punch are meta-plays (ie you're not making the decision based on the gamestate, you're making it based on what you think this specific opponent will do). The consistent success of top players suggests that there is a large degree of skill and control a player can exert in these situations, but it's the kind of thing you can only learn by getting into situations like that many times against many different types of opponents.
 
Also consider how the opponent has been conditioned based on what you did after you hit their protect earlier in the game. This will strongly influence their play, consciously and unconsciously.

Also if you want to practice reads in Pokémon I would recommend playing 1v1 for a little bit. The format is basically built around getting good reads and in a very limited number of turns.
Thanks, as I said I am still a total beginner so more experience will help a lot. I'll try 1v1s sometime.

It is accurate, and reading your opponent is one of the primary skills a player needs to develop. The basis of it comes down to putting yourself in your opps shoes. I wanna guess that you had a ferrothorn in cause you set hazards twice and because it's a tricky pokemon to try to set up on when it's at 100%, because of the threat of getting seeded which makes it harder to take down, and the threat of gyro which will guaranteed be 150 BP after a DD. But regardless of what you had on the field, you're correct that 50/50s with moves like protect and sucker punch are meta-plays (ie you're not making the decision based on the gamestate, you're making it based on what you think this specific opponent will do). The consistent success of top players suggests that there is a large degree of skill and control a player can exert in these situations, but it's the kind of thing you can only learn by getting into situations like that many times against many different types of opponents.
This was a really clear explanation that really helped, thanks.
 
What would be some good teammates to pair with Zeraora? I'm just walking back into the SwSh metagame after about 5 months or something of inactivity and want to start playing SS OU again.
 
Now that Togekiss got Roost back, would Heavy Duty Boots be a better item on it rather than Leftovers to band aid its weakness to Stealth Rock? Or Leftovers' passive recovery is still overall better?
 
Would it be possible to restrict thread-making access on this subforum? It's annoying when someone makes an unauthorized thread, and it's annoying when the thread just sits there on the thread list and muddies it up. With how infrequently new authorized threads are made, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to have some system where non-mods can be given temporary posting permission, right?
 

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Would it be possible to restrict thread-making access on this subforum? It's annoying when someone makes an unauthorized thread, and it's annoying when the thread just sits there on the thread list and muddies it up. With how infrequently new authorized threads are made, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to have some system where non-mods can be given temporary posting permission, right?
I think you are overselling the "problem". Everything relevant is still within a quick scroll, if even. A lot of threads are quickly locked and then moved within a few days so that new users can see why it was closed and then we de-clutter the subforum. Seeing as we approve threads for plenty of users to post, it would be a hassle to enforce this, even if it is possible. If you believe that this should be looked into further, feel free to shoot a PM to the moderation team and we can discuss collectively as we are always open to user input, but personally I do not see a need for this.
 
Is the rest of the national dex going to be introduced into the tier? (Ik you need Home premium to get thes pokemon into Home but still)
 

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Is the rest of the national dex going to be introduced into the tier? (Ik you need Home premium to get thes pokemon into Home but still)
Most of the national dex should be returning in the DLC content that's scheduled to be released this year (June and then probably November). None of us know how many mons will return nor which ones will return, so we're all still in the dark about this. There should be at least 200 coming back I think.
 
How good is Avalugg by chance?
NEVER sleep on Avalugg. It blanket checks most physical attackers and the Timbs are a huge boon for it defensively while Body Press is a huge boon offensively in this meta.

It's pretty decent, but it's more of a situationally-good niche pick than anything else.
 

Scarfire

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If I wanted to make a short post discussing an unban, where would I be able to so? I was thinking of the metagame thread but idk if that counts since said mon I wanted to discuss isnt *in* the metagame atm. (Side note: Not some crazy rant post begging for smth like a darm/dmax unban or anything, just an observation and discussion)
 
If I wanted to make a short post discussing an unban, where would I be able to so? I was thinking of the metagame thread but idk if that counts since said mon I wanted to discuss isnt *in* the metagame atm. (Side note: Not some crazy rant post begging for smth like a darm/dmax unban or anything, just an observation and discussion)
You should post in the Metagame Discussion thread. That said, posts such as the one you're looking to make tend to derail the thread, and this isn't really a good time to make such a post anyways.
 

Scarfire

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You should post in the Metagame Discussion thread. That said, posts such as the one you're looking to make tend to derail the thread, and this isn't really a good time to make such a post anyways.
Unfortunate. I understand though so I'll hold off on it. Thanks for the response!
 
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I don't know if this is the right place to ask but, can someone give me any advice to improve my game? I've been hitting 1550~1600 ladder with multiples accounts with any kind of team, I find easy to get there, but somehow I can't break through that wall. I've been watching some high ladder matches and the only "mechanic" I'm not using is the double switch, should I try to practise that?
Thanks!
It usually helps to have replays, but I can talk on double switching for a little bit. The short answer is yes, you should absolutely learn how to do it. The long answer is it is a difficult and somewhat risky play that relies heavily on prediction. It essentially boils down to predicting a switch and using that knowledge to switch into one of your mons to challenge what they just sent in AND keep offensive momentum on your side. That is the big difference between double switching and expecting a switch and using a move to either chip on entrance.

The main difference is in the type of counter/ check. Using a move on a predicted switch often provides low risk/ low reward counter where you will probably need to switch the next turn. This is a totally fine move in many situations, especially when you are still trying to figure out move sets and roles, where you don't need an aggressive play and could learn more by their choices but rarely creates a wincon. Sometimes it'll weaken a check down just enough or get up an important terrain, but it generally doesn't create a ton of instant opportunity. If you switch, it essentially functions as a free U-Turn and can create an immediate mismatch that can leave an opponent scrambling to counter the sudden mismatch. The difficulty with this move is that it's naturally aggressive and if they decide not to switch or switch into something different, suddenly you could be at a disadvantage.

Personally, I tend to prefer doing a double switch more sparingly so that it is harder to predict, but I find myself using it at a few points in the battle. If you can make a good prediction at the very beginning, you can weaken a wall fairly early and force them to use it more sparingly throughout the battle. I will occasionally use it to flip momentum in the middle (basically predicting them to do a double switch and switch based off that. This is much harder to pull off, so be careful with it, I don't tempt it very often as it can very easily backfire), but I find myself using it towards the end most often. Whether it is to bring in my determined wincon against a good matchup or break a final wall so I can do a quick sack to bring it in for free.

For example, lets say you have an Excadrill out and your opponent has a weakened Clefable out. Both of you know that you will go first and an Iron Head will knock out the Clefable and you also know that they have a fairly healthy Corviknight on the team. Logically, you would predict that the Corv would come out to tank the iron head, so that leaves you with a couple options: either choose a move based on that prediction or switch based off that prediction. If you choose a move, you might get some good chip damage or reset rocks, but due to the bad match up you are forced to switch next turn. The move (let's say stealth rocks) is a fairly safe move, whether or not the Clefable stays you keep the advantage and you have the ability to make an easier prediction if they switch. If Corv comes in, you might even get a free switch if they decide to defog to get rid of rocks, but you still lost the smaller matchup and there is now pressure on you for the switch. If you choose to switch, let's say switching into Rotom-H, you would have an advantage in the next matchup and force them to play around that. At the end of the day, it comes down to what you need/ want to accomplish and figuring out when is a good time to do that requires practice, but it is a valuable skill to have in your back pocket.

Sorry for the long answer, but this is a more complex strategy and I wanted to treat it in a way that was a little more nuanced in understanding the differences in predictions. Best of luck battling!
 
For example, lets say you have an Excadrill out and your opponent has a weakened Clefable out. Both of you know that you will go first and an Iron Head will knock out the Clefable and you also know that they have a fairly healthy Corviknight on the team. Logically, you would predict that the Corv would come out to tank the iron head, so that leaves you with a couple options: either choose a move based on that prediction or switch based off that prediction. If you choose a move, you might get some good chip damage or reset rocks, but due to the bad match up you are forced to switch next turn. The move (let's say stealth rocks) is a fairly safe move, whether or not the Clefable stays you keep the advantage and you have the ability to make an easier prediction if they switch. If Corv comes in, you might even get a free switch if they decide to defog to get rid of rocks, but you still lost the smaller matchup and there is now pressure on you for the switch. If you choose to switch, let's say switching into Rotom-H, you would have an advantage in the next matchup and force them to play around that. At the end of the day, it comes down to what you need/ want to accomplish and figuring out when is a good time to do that requires practice, but it is a valuable skill to have in your back pocket.
Good description. Double switching can also be rather risky. In this case, the double switch is not that risky. Rotom H matches reasonably well into clef and you don't have much fear of him staying in. The worst case scenario, really, is that he predicts the double and chooses to switch into something that threatens rotom H.
There are some cases were the mon he currently has in checks the mon you would be switching in for the double, so there is the risk of him staying in.
 

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