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Metagame 1v1 Old Gens
- Thread starter DEG
- Start date
https://www.smogon.com/dex/xy/pokemon/garchomp/1v1/
The first ORAS 1v1 analysis has been published! More to come uwu
The first ORAS 1v1 analysis has been published! More to come uwu
LRXC's ADV HUB [Work In Progress]
As many of you know, ever since I got into 1v1 almost exactly 1 year ago, ADV 1v1 has been a special interest of mine, I am probably the only one to deep dive into such an underexplored and underappreciated tier, and if anyone would be able to hype it up and bring it to the forefront, it would have to be me. My goal for this project is to show the work I have done, and I hope it inspires more people to build, play, and discuss ADV 1v1, and I want to see quality play in ADV Cup and maybe an entrance into PL. I decided to work on this now, as many of you know I have become extremely busy with real life endeavors, but because I don't work until next week, I can do this. Enjoy.
Onward!
Sample Teams with Descriptions will be out soon!
Before you read, some notable features of ADV 1v1
There is a Physical/Special split: This means that all moves of one type are either Physical or Special, which yes means Fire Punch is Special and Shadow Ball is Physical. The way to remember what is Physical and Special is that all of the Eevolutions+Dragon are Special, everything else is Physical! This feature alone separates ADV 1v1 from every other generation of 1v1.
Choice Scarf and Choice Specs do not exist: Yes, this means that there is no guessing what range the opposing Pokemon's speed is going to be, this also is a huge change from other generations of 1v1 where scarf or no scarf can turn previews into 50/50's alone. This makes speed a much bigger deal in this generation, and leads to some very cool strategies. Choice Band is the only choice item that exists, which leads to a very physically oriented tier.
Struggle is a good move: Struggle does not take away 25% of your health like in every other generation, but instead only takes away 25% of the damage dealt to the target. It is a 50 base power Normal Physical attack, and what this means is that you cannot just beat Rest Pokemon by forcing them to struggle, as it will usually not break them down.
I think in general, with no resist berries or choice scarf, ADV 1v1 is the most un BS tier in preview, which I think is one of its best redeeming qualities.
THE ADV VR OF THE FUTURE
(Click on the Pokemon Icons to be shown Sets!)
S+As many of you know, ever since I got into 1v1 almost exactly 1 year ago, ADV 1v1 has been a special interest of mine, I am probably the only one to deep dive into such an underexplored and underappreciated tier, and if anyone would be able to hype it up and bring it to the forefront, it would have to be me. My goal for this project is to show the work I have done, and I hope it inspires more people to build, play, and discuss ADV 1v1, and I want to see quality play in ADV Cup and maybe an entrance into PL. I decided to work on this now, as many of you know I have become extremely busy with real life endeavors, but because I don't work until next week, I can do this. Enjoy.
Onward!
Sample Teams with Descriptions will be out soon!
Before you read, some notable features of ADV 1v1
There is a Physical/Special split: This means that all moves of one type are either Physical or Special, which yes means Fire Punch is Special and Shadow Ball is Physical. The way to remember what is Physical and Special is that all of the Eevolutions+Dragon are Special, everything else is Physical! This feature alone separates ADV 1v1 from every other generation of 1v1.
Choice Scarf and Choice Specs do not exist: Yes, this means that there is no guessing what range the opposing Pokemon's speed is going to be, this also is a huge change from other generations of 1v1 where scarf or no scarf can turn previews into 50/50's alone. This makes speed a much bigger deal in this generation, and leads to some very cool strategies. Choice Band is the only choice item that exists, which leads to a very physically oriented tier.
Struggle is a good move: Struggle does not take away 25% of your health like in every other generation, but instead only takes away 25% of the damage dealt to the target. It is a 50 base power Normal Physical attack, and what this means is that you cannot just beat Rest Pokemon by forcing them to struggle, as it will usually not break them down.
I think in general, with no resist berries or choice scarf, ADV 1v1 is the most un BS tier in preview, which I think is one of its best redeeming qualities.
THE ADV VR OF THE FUTURE
(Click on the Pokemon Icons to be shown Sets!)
Raikou: Raikou finds itself at the top of the tier because of its ability Pressure, its Speed, and access to Calm Mind. Protect Substitute is a common strategy on Pokemon with the ability pressure, as anything that is slower and choice locked will start struggling against Raikou and then get 2hko'd usually by Thunderbolt. This is of course unless a move has 32 or more pp, but we can get to that later. Unlike Zapdos, Raikou has access to Calm Mind, which means it can easily break down stall Pokemon Zapdos can't, including Zapdos itself. 
Registeel: Simultaneously the best pokemon and worst pokemon in ADV. With access to Clear Body and struggle being a good thing for registeel most of the time, along with access to amazing defenses, typing, Amnesia, and Iron Defense, Registeel is a formidable threat. In theory, being able to take on Raikou, Zapdos, Metagross, Salamence all at once, assuming it doesn't get crit, and thats the kicker. Registeel is very weak to crits, but it still must be accounted for on every team you build. If your Registeel answer is hoping you crit, your team probably sucks. S
Zapdos: The other premier pressure staller in the tier, Zapdos has many similar qualities to Raikou. What makes Zapdos unique from Raikou is that often many anti Raikou tactics such as using Return or Bonemerang, dont work vs Zapdos, as Zapdos is much more powerful and can Protect + Thunderbolt spam mons like Metagross. Furthermore with its Flying Typing, it has more secure matchups vs fighting and bug types like Scizor, Heracross, Medicham, and Hariyama. A+
Metagross: Shouldn't surprise too many people that such a versatile Pokemon is this high up. Metagross's 252+ Banded Meteor Mash is a trademark benchmark in ADV, with many Counter Pokemon striving to live. But with such an amazing movepool and great stats, Metagross can do so much more with mixed options, and amazing coverage moves like Sludge Bomb and Dynamic Punch. Add in the fact that its a Steel-type Pokemon not weak to Fighting, and you should be scared every time you see this monster in preview
Tyranitar: Tyranitar finds itself in A+ for having the best ability in ADV 1v1, Sand Stream. The main reason being that it nuetralizes the best and by far most common item in ADV, leftovers. With literally 0 EV investment, Tyranitar will beat pressure stall tactics from Zapdos, Raikou, Entei, Moltres, etc. Add in its stellar ATK stat, physical coverage options, access to Dragon Dance+Taunt, and an insane special movepool, and theres no question Tyranitar is a tyrant of ADV, even without Rock Type's getting a +SpDef boost from Sand this generation. 
Marowak: Marowak is the sole holder of the best move in ADV 1v1, Bonemerang. Not only is it a more powerful Earthquake, but it hits twice, beating Substitute tactics, increasing the chances of critical hits, and only the first hit being factored in for Counter. Marowak alone can handedly beat all of the Pokemon in A+ minus Zapdos. Add in the fact that Marowak has Choice Band power without being choice locked, and you have yourself a versatile, bulky threat, the anti BS mon of ADV 1v1. 
Salamence: Salamence rounds out the A+ rank because of its amazing speed tier, typing, access to Intimidate, and versatility. In a metagame where Choice Band is the only choice item, Intimidate is extra useful, especially when it resists ground and fighting type attacks. Not only will band do its job, but it can even beat faster threats and Counter pokemon with access to Dragon Dance, and even go on the special side with STAB Dragon Claw and Fire Blast. This Pokemon's preview power cannot be overstated. Salamence is a beast A
Alakazam: Sitting at the top of A tier is the premier anti-stall threat of ADV 1v1, with an amazing 120 speed tier and access to Calm Mind, Encore, and Recover, this Pokemon is amazing at beating down Blissey, Regice, anything that tries to set up. Add in the fact that it hits super hard with STAB Psychic, as well as having access to all the elemental punches, AND access to Barrier where it can run a Barrier Recover set and surprise physical attackers, this Pokemon is a big nuisance in preview. Extremely adaptable, flexible, and powerful, this mon can fit on any team and put in work.
Blissey: One of the most centralizing Pokemon in 1v1, Blissey is an absolute monster. Blissey' stats alone and access to CM, Rest/Soft Boiled, and Ice Beam allow it to beat almost every special attacker in the tier. Along with this, Blissey has access to Counter, which allows it to beat many physical attackers that can't KO it in 1 move, such as non Dynamic Punch Metagross and non Focus Punch Miltank. The fact that pokemon need to run unique strong moves to KO Blissey should speak to its power. Add in the fact that with serene grace, Ice Beam has a 20% chance to freeze, and you easily have the most annoying Pokemon in ADV 1v1. 
Swampert: The ADV OU staple also finds its place in ADV 1v1 as an all around defensive beast thanks to its typing and stats. This mon is the sole reason many pokemon run Hidden Power Grass, such as Zapdos, Jolteon, and Regice. Curse Swampert can set up on many of the tiers most feared physical threats, and win. Swampert can also utilize a set with moves such as Surf, Ice Beam, Counter, Mirror Coat, it can surprise with a fast Choice Band set, Swampert's versatility I don't think has been fully explored or utilized yet. A premier threat in the tier for sure
Sceptile: Sceptile rounds out A tier because of its insane speed tier and access to Leech Seed, if Sceptile can live one hit, it can often beat anything with Leech Seed, Protect, Substitute stall. With Seismic Toss, this even beats Registeel, which is extremely notable for an anti offense mon such as Sceptile. Sceptile also handles mons like Raikou and Zapdos very well. Add in the fact that Sceptile can utilize a Sub Petaya set with Hp ice for even more threats, and maybe the potential of Swords Dance sets, and you have yourself a very versatile Pokemon. A-
Heracross: The best Fighting-Type Pokemon in ADV 1v1, Heracross tears mons to shreds with Reversal and Megahorn. Its Swords Dance Endure Salac berry set is extremely versatile and with right plays can outplay almost any Pokemon. Aerial Ace and Hidden Power Flying are often ran to not give this Pokemon a chance to set up a Swords Dance. Add in the unpredictability of Salac vs Leichi, or even a fast Banded set, and this is a Pokemon every team must have an obvious counter to. 
Gengar: Gengar finds its way into A- not because of its offensive firepower, but because of having access to Will-O-Wisp at such a high speed tier, with when paired with its great typing and ability in levitate, allows it to shut down almost every physical attacker barring wisp hits. Furthermore, with access to all elemental punches as well as Giga Drain, and Taunt, Gengar is versatile enough to keep opponents guessing. 
Aerodactyl: Aerodactyl leverages its amazing speed tier, typing, and access to Pressure to beat many Pokemon in ADV. Choice Band can run many different spreads and moves, and the threat of pressure stall is also notable. While hax related, having the fastest most powerful 30% flinching rock slide in the game, is notable as well. 
Vaporeon: The premier defensive water of ADV, Vaporeon makes use of its absurd natural special bulk, and access to Acid Armor to beat many physical attackers. And unlike other defensive tanks, Vaporeon has a base 110 SpA stat with STAB Surf, allowing it to not be as crit weak as other defensive tanks. Furthermore with variety and versatility in its 4th slot, Vaporeon stands out from other water types. B+
Regice: Regice is really the only viable ice type in ADV, and is the most secure Salamence check in ADV because of it 
Starmie: Starmie utilizes its amazing speed tier, typing, and coverage to outpace and beat many many Pokemon. Usually hitting Pokemon with a Hydro Pump, and then subbing into Petaya range beats tons of Pokemon. Just a solid offensive threat.
Kecleon: Probably my favorite pokemon in ADV, yes Kecleon is an extremely viable threat. With Color Change and amazing Special Defense, Kecleon is an amazing anti special attacking threat, especially when they only have one move to hit you with. And with Trick you can force them to be locked into a single attacking move, and rest and stall them out before wittling pokemon down with return. Furthermore with the Banded Return, you beat Zapdos, Raik, and Jolteon without much effort! 
Moltres: A unique pressure staller, Moltres is notable a fire type that doesn't lose to Marowak, while also beating Pokemon like Swampert and Kecleon. Furthermore with a powerful Fire Blast, it doesn't get stalled out by Pokemon like Registeel, and won't lose to Return Metagross like Raikou. 
Dusclops: Dusclops is a different kind of Registeel, one that is more exploitable with wisp misses and substitute, but beats many Fighting and FIre types that Registeel cannot, such as Heracross, Moltres, and Blaziken. Furthermore with Pressure, it is inherently less prone to critical hits. Not only that but unlike Registeel, it can exert some sort of offensive pressure with CM instead of just Amnesia, however this makes it weak to Raikou, which Registeel stomps. B
Hariyama: Hariyama separates itself from other fighting types with its ability to not have to set up to break through Registeel, but rather using Focus Energy along with Cross Chop to break through. Along with having to access to Arm Thrust, Hariyama can finesse matchups like Sceptile really well. Hariyama also has a gigantic HP stat which makes for very powerful Counters. 
Celebi: A Pokemon I often joke about being a worse Sceptile, Celebi is another formidable Leech Seed staller. While Sceptile is faster and isn't 4x weak to Hidden Power Bug, Celebi is much bulkier, and is therefore can beat Sludge Bomb Metagross. Also with Psychic as a stab option, Celebi can handle Pokemon such as Gengar, and Hariyama that Sceptile cant, along with winning the leech seed Sceptile ditto. Not only that but with Celebi's movepool and 100 base stats across the board, Celebi can definitely surprise people with a CM set or even Banded!
Houndoom: A very cool fire type Pokemon in ADV, Houndoom is the most viable user of Dark STAB, which is hard to come by. With access to Fire Blast and Crunch at a high speed tier, Houndoom is able to muscle through many threats like Metagross, Registeel, Alakazam, and Gengar. Furthermore with access to support options like Taunt and Will-O-Wisp, Houndoom can even surprise Pokemon such as Heracross and Blissey! 
Gyarados: Gyarados separates itself from Salamence as a Dragon Dance user because of its neutrality to Ice Type attacks, this allows it to securely beat Pokemon such as Regice lacking thunderbolt, Blissey, Sceptile, and Alakazam! And in general with access to Intimidate and a powerful hidden power Flying, it still does many of the things Salamence does such as destroying potent Fighting and Grass Type Pokemon. B-
Dodrio: A slightly worse version of Gyarados, but is a more secure answer vs pokemon that can run Electric coverage to beat Gyarados, such as Thunderbolt Regice, Blissey, and Starmie, and Thunderpunch Blaziken, Sceptile, or Alakazam, while still beating many of the things Gyarados does. This comes at the cost of a generally worse matchup vs physical attackers because of no Intimidate and a worse Typing. 
For the ranks below, I have not finished all of there sets and am not fully confident in there ranks, but will be working on them in the near future! I just wanted to showcase what I have done so far
C+
C
C-
D
[Sample Team Section]
Last edited:
I would like to nominate stantler to be C- at minimum. I wrote why in this pokepaste(Lots of you have already seen it): https://pokepast.es/d71a73e4fa35d480
Yo this Stantler looks SUPER cool. BUT It seems like a lot of sets jumbled into one, as I know that that EV spread wont work for every single possibility.
Try sorting it into two focused sets and then I can give a more in depth response!
So I added 2 more sets(I hope that's not too much) and had to change some evs. Here's the new paste(You can probably ignore the last paragraph): https://pokepast.es/2c8f39c9026607b8
Note: These sets could probably use some EV optimization. I'm aware of that, but I will explain my decisions to use the spreads I do. If you have suggestions / ideas for better spreads, definitely let me know!
With that out of the way... I'd like to talk about some of my favorite Pokemon in ADV 1v1, a tier that I've picked up recently (thanks LRXC!).
The Water-types:
Gyarados @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 68 HP / 188 Atk / 48 SpD / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Flail
- Hidden Power [Flying]
This is my take on Gyarados. Flail is a 200 BP move when Gyarados is at incredibly low health, thus making it the strong move that Gyarados can run. The given EV spread ensures that LRXC's Blissey (200 SpA Modest) cannot break your Substitute with an unboosted Ice Beam. If the opponent is aware that this Gyarados has Flail, the opposing Blissey may opt to go for Calm Mind so as to not break Gyarados's Substitute.This is irrelevant because Gyarados still has HP Flying, which will OHKO Blissey 100% of the time at +4. You can also choose to start battering Blissey down with HP Flying at +2 because Blissey will have to use Counter to break your Substitute anyway. Basically, Gyarados beats Blissey. The given speed EVs hit 373 Speed, outpacing Alakazam after a Dragon Dance. HP Flying 2HKOes at +1, and Alakazam can't KO back. However, be mindful of Encore and Counter. Those will ruin your day. The leftover EVs get invested into Attack to make Gyarados as strong as possible. Be aware that Gyarados automatically loses if sent out against Raikou or Zapdos, since Thunderbolt will wipe it right off the map. That's what you've got teammates for though! Liechi Berry is sort of optional, but there's not really any other item that would ever be of use. An extra boost to Attack is just generally nice. The only other option to run that I could think of would be Lum Berry for a stray Will-O-Wisp, but the most common user, Gengar, could potentially KO from turn one if carrying Thunderbolt anyway. If not, Gyarados will have to hope that Gengar isn't running enough SpA investment to break its Substitutes. A toss up, really. I'd say just go with Liechi! Oh! I forgot to mention that Intimidate is very useful to ease set-up. Not that it has another option, but Intimidate needs to be noted when discussing Gyarados since it is such a useful blessing!
Kingdra @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 124 Atk / 52 SpA / 160 SpD / 172 Spe
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Flail
- Hydro Pump
Here is another SubFlail user for you! Kingdra has some distinct advantages over its competition (namely the above Gyarados, but Salamence as well). Firstly, Kingdra possesses the same advantage over Salamence that Gyarados has – a neutrality to Ice-type attacks. The given Speed EVs allow Kingdra to outpace Alakazam after a Dragon Dance. Again, the Special Defense EVs alongside a Careful nature enable Kingdra to safely set up a Substitute against Blissey's Ice Beam. However, unlike Gyarados, if Blissey refuses to attack Kingdra, then it will lose (unlike Gyarados). On this basis alone, Kingdra is generally an inferior Gyarados. However, Kingdra has a more comfortable matchup versus Raikou and Zapdos, which give its niche a bit more definition! Hydro Pump and the given SpA EVs gives Kingdra a decent chance of OHKOing Marowak (with the exception of SpD Marowak). If you run Careful and don't invest in SpA, Hydro Pump will never OHKO a Marowak with even a little bit of investment. This is important because fully invested Marowak has a strong chance to OHKO Kingdra with Bonemerang. You don't want to be a Water-type and losing to Marowak lol. In writing this post, I have come to the conclusion that SubFlail Kingdra may just be a worse Gyarados. Regardless, I still enjoy Kingdra and think it has a lot of unexplored potential. Such as...
Kingdra @ Leftovers / Lum Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute / Disable
- Rain Dance
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
A specially-oriented Kingdra! Here, Kingdra's main competition is Gorebyss, a Pokemon that I admittedly don't have enough experience with / against to compare with. What I do know is that Gorebyss hits a lot harder than Kingdra, so I guess keep that in mind! Anyway... The basic premise of this set is to batter through the tier. Rain is effectively a Choice Specs boost to Kingdra's Hydro Pump, but you're not choice-locked! Substitute is the most viable last move because it is generally useful. It's difficult to go into specifics here because Substitute is one of the best moves in the entire game in my opinion. It's versatile and useful against most of the tier lol. Or, if you're risky, Disable is an option I really enjoy. Be weary though, as Disable has 55% accuracy in Gen 3. Regardless, hitting one gives you a great advantage versus things like Zapdos, Raikou, and against Choice Band users. Very shaky though. Leftovers or Lum Berry could be run, though I'd prefer Leftovers for the passive recovery. Lum Berry is useful for stray paralysis though! Ice Beam is also mandatory to hit Salamence specifically. In case you were curious, Kingdra's most powerful Dragon-type move is Hidden Power Dragon. It's not very useful coverage anyway, but yeah, don't run that. I forgot to mention this earlier, but the 152 Speed EVs allow you to outspeed Tyranitar without Rain up which seemed... useful at the time. Now I'm not so sure. You very cleanly outspeed the entire metagame under rain (even some +1 Pokemon) anyway, so it's up to you what you do with the EVs lol. This Kingdra set automatically loses against Registeel unless it gets exceptionally lucky, which should be noted as well.
The Underrated Pup:
Granbull @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 188 HP / 188 Atk / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Taunt
- Bulk Up
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
I really hate facing the Regis. Accounting for them in one slot can be difficult, too. I wanted to come up with a set that would be able to handle them. Enter Granbull! A Pokemon that I had initially pegged as beating all of the Regis; however, after some exploration, I have come to the conclusion that it's a bit shaky at accomplishing that. Regardless, Granubll has decent matchups versus the Regis, and it excels in other matchups as well.
vs. Registeel:
Taunt comes in handy here. Use it turn one to prevent the Registeel from getting their Iron Defense boost. Bulk Up turn two, and they'll Seismic Toss. After, Earthquake twice. You've hopefully taken out Registeel! However, there are a few routes that could happen turn three. Granbull Taunts, Registeel uses Seismic Toss (this will be the second time) or Granbull uses Earthquake, Registeel uses Iron Defense or Granbull uses Bulk Up, Registeel uses Iron Defense / Seismic Toss (result will be the same as the first scenario in this case). Many opponents will not use Iron Defense on turn three, fearing the Taunt, which is why I recommend just going for Earthquake. It cleanly 2HKOes after a single bulk up. I list these scenarios just so that you can keep in mind while Granbull is good at taking on Registeel 1v1, it should not the primary (or only) Registeel check/counter your team carries, as it can lose if the opponent plays their cards correctly. I'd say it's a safe-moderate win most of the time though!
vs. Regice:
Regice gets cleanly OHKOed by a +1 Hyper Beam, and Ice Beam can never OHKO. You just have to hope that Hyper Beam hits, or that you don't get frozen by Ice Beam. Or that they're not some weird physically defensive Regice, lol. Regardless, Granbull should be beating Regice, and reliably too. 188+ EVs allow Hyper Beam to safely OHKO after a Bulk Up boost.
vs. Regirock:
Now... Regirock is where my aspirations of Granbull being able to take on all three Regis fell apart. Granbull beating Regirock is dependent on the set Regirock is running, therefore making it a huge risk (which is in Regirock's favor no matter what). Intimidate fails against Regirock, so its Choice Band sets have no issue pummeling through Granbull. Regirock can use Superpower twice and KO Granbull (whether it uses Bulk Up or not) and Earthquake fails to OHKO. Basically, it takes CB Regirock two turns to KO Granbull at worst, and one turn at best, while it will always take Granbull at least three turns to KO Regirock. There is, however, a chance to beat non-CB sets. Without Curse, Regirock gets overwhelmed by the combination of Bulk Up + EQ. Though, not beating all the Regis does suck. We'll have to come up with a solution to that... Maybe in the near future!
So outside of taking on the Regis, which was my initial concept, this Granbull has some other perks. As mentioned previously, the Attack investment allows it to cleanly OHKO Regice with a +1 Hyper Beam. The Speed investment allows Granbull to outspeed uninvested Tyranitar which is kind of rare, and Swampert and Blissey, too. Granbull also beats Blissey which is nice. Blissey does not have the bulk to live a +1 Hyper Beam at all. Granbull is just a really cool Pokemon! Between beating opposing set up (such as SubFlail Dodrio), Intimidate to help it either live an attack or for an easier set up, and an insanely powerful STAB move, I'd definitely recommend exploring Granbull. I know that there's a Choice Band set out there, but I'm not sure of the EVs or moves that it runs. There's probably a lot you could do though, since Granbull's movepool is pretty expansive.
So do you remember how I was stressing over how Granbull couldn't take on Regirock reliably? And how the dreams I had for entering it as the premier Regi killer crumbled as I kept digging deeper? Well I've come up with a set that I call...
The Regi-Slayer:
Machamp @ Salac Berry
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Substitute
- Encore
- Cross Chop
A fair warning, I have not done a deep dive into an EV spread for this set. 100% needs optimization but I have yet to do it. Machamp catches so many opponents off guard. Encore is a godsend for it. Versus Registeel, you can always Bulk Up turn one. The reason for this is because Registeel will likely Iron Defense. If they don't because they know Machamp can carry Encore, Registeel will go for Seismic Toss (which is why I'd say Bulk Up turn one instead of using Substitute). After trapping them into Iron Defense, it's pretty easy to see how Machamp wins. Bulk Up to +6 and go to town. Cross Chop's high critical hit rate lets it bypass the Iron Defense boosts Registeel accumulates. Even without getting a critical hit, Cross Chop has over an 80% chance of 2HKOing Registeel (who is trapped into Iron Defense). Machamp is a reliable way to defeat Registeel. Regice is a similar situation, except that an unboosted Cross Chop has potential to OHKO from the get go. Though Machamp can always Bulk Up turn one to account for Cross Chop missing if you're concerned about that. Regirock has no move that will reliably beat Machamp, even with Choice Band. Cross Chop, meanwhile, 2HKOes without set up, or OHKOes at +2. Up to you how to dispose of Regirock. Besides obviously beating all three Regis, this Machamp is just really threatening in general. It's very powerful, very versatile, and can take advantage of opponents who are not really sure of what it does. In fact, I'm not too sure myself that this is what it does! Again, the EV spread need to be optimized. Leftovers is probably better than Salac Berry but it seemed useful at the time lol. Lots to play with here.
ADV 1v1 is a ton of fun, and I really hope more and more people keep experimenting! I feel like we're just scratching the surface, and I can't wait to see how the metagame continues to develop. I feel like there's been such an uptick of interest (of which I've partaken in) over the past few weeks, and I'm really hoping that this enthusiasm is going to carry on. I've still got a lot to learn myself, so pardon any minor inaccuracies! I hope that this is a learning process that we all go through together.
With that out of the way... I'd like to talk about some of my favorite Pokemon in ADV 1v1, a tier that I've picked up recently (thanks LRXC!).
The Water-types:
Gyarados @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 68 HP / 188 Atk / 48 SpD / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Flail
- Hidden Power [Flying]
This is my take on Gyarados. Flail is a 200 BP move when Gyarados is at incredibly low health, thus making it the strong move that Gyarados can run. The given EV spread ensures that LRXC's Blissey (200 SpA Modest) cannot break your Substitute with an unboosted Ice Beam. If the opponent is aware that this Gyarados has Flail, the opposing Blissey may opt to go for Calm Mind so as to not break Gyarados's Substitute.This is irrelevant because Gyarados still has HP Flying, which will OHKO Blissey 100% of the time at +4. You can also choose to start battering Blissey down with HP Flying at +2 because Blissey will have to use Counter to break your Substitute anyway. Basically, Gyarados beats Blissey. The given speed EVs hit 373 Speed, outpacing Alakazam after a Dragon Dance. HP Flying 2HKOes at +1, and Alakazam can't KO back. However, be mindful of Encore and Counter. Those will ruin your day. The leftover EVs get invested into Attack to make Gyarados as strong as possible. Be aware that Gyarados automatically loses if sent out against Raikou or Zapdos, since Thunderbolt will wipe it right off the map. That's what you've got teammates for though! Liechi Berry is sort of optional, but there's not really any other item that would ever be of use. An extra boost to Attack is just generally nice. The only other option to run that I could think of would be Lum Berry for a stray Will-O-Wisp, but the most common user, Gengar, could potentially KO from turn one if carrying Thunderbolt anyway. If not, Gyarados will have to hope that Gengar isn't running enough SpA investment to break its Substitutes. A toss up, really. I'd say just go with Liechi! Oh! I forgot to mention that Intimidate is very useful to ease set-up. Not that it has another option, but Intimidate needs to be noted when discussing Gyarados since it is such a useful blessing!
Kingdra @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 124 Atk / 52 SpA / 160 SpD / 172 Spe
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Flail
- Hydro Pump
Here is another SubFlail user for you! Kingdra has some distinct advantages over its competition (namely the above Gyarados, but Salamence as well). Firstly, Kingdra possesses the same advantage over Salamence that Gyarados has – a neutrality to Ice-type attacks. The given Speed EVs allow Kingdra to outpace Alakazam after a Dragon Dance. Again, the Special Defense EVs alongside a Careful nature enable Kingdra to safely set up a Substitute against Blissey's Ice Beam. However, unlike Gyarados, if Blissey refuses to attack Kingdra, then it will lose (unlike Gyarados). On this basis alone, Kingdra is generally an inferior Gyarados. However, Kingdra has a more comfortable matchup versus Raikou and Zapdos, which give its niche a bit more definition! Hydro Pump and the given SpA EVs gives Kingdra a decent chance of OHKOing Marowak (with the exception of SpD Marowak). If you run Careful and don't invest in SpA, Hydro Pump will never OHKO a Marowak with even a little bit of investment. This is important because fully invested Marowak has a strong chance to OHKO Kingdra with Bonemerang. You don't want to be a Water-type and losing to Marowak lol. In writing this post, I have come to the conclusion that SubFlail Kingdra may just be a worse Gyarados. Regardless, I still enjoy Kingdra and think it has a lot of unexplored potential. Such as...
Kingdra @ Leftovers / Lum Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute / Disable
- Rain Dance
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
A specially-oriented Kingdra! Here, Kingdra's main competition is Gorebyss, a Pokemon that I admittedly don't have enough experience with / against to compare with. What I do know is that Gorebyss hits a lot harder than Kingdra, so I guess keep that in mind! Anyway... The basic premise of this set is to batter through the tier. Rain is effectively a Choice Specs boost to Kingdra's Hydro Pump, but you're not choice-locked! Substitute is the most viable last move because it is generally useful. It's difficult to go into specifics here because Substitute is one of the best moves in the entire game in my opinion. It's versatile and useful against most of the tier lol. Or, if you're risky, Disable is an option I really enjoy. Be weary though, as Disable has 55% accuracy in Gen 3. Regardless, hitting one gives you a great advantage versus things like Zapdos, Raikou, and against Choice Band users. Very shaky though. Leftovers or Lum Berry could be run, though I'd prefer Leftovers for the passive recovery. Lum Berry is useful for stray paralysis though! Ice Beam is also mandatory to hit Salamence specifically. In case you were curious, Kingdra's most powerful Dragon-type move is Hidden Power Dragon. It's not very useful coverage anyway, but yeah, don't run that. I forgot to mention this earlier, but the 152 Speed EVs allow you to outspeed Tyranitar without Rain up which seemed... useful at the time. Now I'm not so sure. You very cleanly outspeed the entire metagame under rain (even some +1 Pokemon) anyway, so it's up to you what you do with the EVs lol. This Kingdra set automatically loses against Registeel unless it gets exceptionally lucky, which should be noted as well.
The Underrated Pup:
Granbull @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 188 HP / 188 Atk / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Taunt
- Bulk Up
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
I really hate facing the Regis. Accounting for them in one slot can be difficult, too. I wanted to come up with a set that would be able to handle them. Enter Granbull! A Pokemon that I had initially pegged as beating all of the Regis; however, after some exploration, I have come to the conclusion that it's a bit shaky at accomplishing that. Regardless, Granubll has decent matchups versus the Regis, and it excels in other matchups as well.
vs. Registeel:
Taunt comes in handy here. Use it turn one to prevent the Registeel from getting their Iron Defense boost. Bulk Up turn two, and they'll Seismic Toss. After, Earthquake twice. You've hopefully taken out Registeel! However, there are a few routes that could happen turn three. Granbull Taunts, Registeel uses Seismic Toss (this will be the second time) or Granbull uses Earthquake, Registeel uses Iron Defense or Granbull uses Bulk Up, Registeel uses Iron Defense / Seismic Toss (result will be the same as the first scenario in this case). Many opponents will not use Iron Defense on turn three, fearing the Taunt, which is why I recommend just going for Earthquake. It cleanly 2HKOes after a single bulk up. I list these scenarios just so that you can keep in mind while Granbull is good at taking on Registeel 1v1, it should not the primary (or only) Registeel check/counter your team carries, as it can lose if the opponent plays their cards correctly. I'd say it's a safe-moderate win most of the time though!
vs. Regice:
Regice gets cleanly OHKOed by a +1 Hyper Beam, and Ice Beam can never OHKO. You just have to hope that Hyper Beam hits, or that you don't get frozen by Ice Beam. Or that they're not some weird physically defensive Regice, lol. Regardless, Granbull should be beating Regice, and reliably too. 188+ EVs allow Hyper Beam to safely OHKO after a Bulk Up boost.
vs. Regirock:
Now... Regirock is where my aspirations of Granbull being able to take on all three Regis fell apart. Granbull beating Regirock is dependent on the set Regirock is running, therefore making it a huge risk (which is in Regirock's favor no matter what). Intimidate fails against Regirock, so its Choice Band sets have no issue pummeling through Granbull. Regirock can use Superpower twice and KO Granbull (whether it uses Bulk Up or not) and Earthquake fails to OHKO. Basically, it takes CB Regirock two turns to KO Granbull at worst, and one turn at best, while it will always take Granbull at least three turns to KO Regirock. There is, however, a chance to beat non-CB sets. Without Curse, Regirock gets overwhelmed by the combination of Bulk Up + EQ. Though, not beating all the Regis does suck. We'll have to come up with a solution to that... Maybe in the near future!
So outside of taking on the Regis, which was my initial concept, this Granbull has some other perks. As mentioned previously, the Attack investment allows it to cleanly OHKO Regice with a +1 Hyper Beam. The Speed investment allows Granbull to outspeed uninvested Tyranitar which is kind of rare, and Swampert and Blissey, too. Granbull also beats Blissey which is nice. Blissey does not have the bulk to live a +1 Hyper Beam at all. Granbull is just a really cool Pokemon! Between beating opposing set up (such as SubFlail Dodrio), Intimidate to help it either live an attack or for an easier set up, and an insanely powerful STAB move, I'd definitely recommend exploring Granbull. I know that there's a Choice Band set out there, but I'm not sure of the EVs or moves that it runs. There's probably a lot you could do though, since Granbull's movepool is pretty expansive.
So do you remember how I was stressing over how Granbull couldn't take on Regirock reliably? And how the dreams I had for entering it as the premier Regi killer crumbled as I kept digging deeper? Well I've come up with a set that I call...
The Regi-Slayer:
Machamp @ Salac Berry
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Substitute
- Encore
- Cross Chop
A fair warning, I have not done a deep dive into an EV spread for this set. 100% needs optimization but I have yet to do it. Machamp catches so many opponents off guard. Encore is a godsend for it. Versus Registeel, you can always Bulk Up turn one. The reason for this is because Registeel will likely Iron Defense. If they don't because they know Machamp can carry Encore, Registeel will go for Seismic Toss (which is why I'd say Bulk Up turn one instead of using Substitute). After trapping them into Iron Defense, it's pretty easy to see how Machamp wins. Bulk Up to +6 and go to town. Cross Chop's high critical hit rate lets it bypass the Iron Defense boosts Registeel accumulates. Even without getting a critical hit, Cross Chop has over an 80% chance of 2HKOing Registeel (who is trapped into Iron Defense). Machamp is a reliable way to defeat Registeel. Regice is a similar situation, except that an unboosted Cross Chop has potential to OHKO from the get go. Though Machamp can always Bulk Up turn one to account for Cross Chop missing if you're concerned about that. Regirock has no move that will reliably beat Machamp, even with Choice Band. Cross Chop, meanwhile, 2HKOes without set up, or OHKOes at +2. Up to you how to dispose of Regirock. Besides obviously beating all three Regis, this Machamp is just really threatening in general. It's very powerful, very versatile, and can take advantage of opponents who are not really sure of what it does. In fact, I'm not too sure myself that this is what it does! Again, the EV spread need to be optimized. Leftovers is probably better than Salac Berry but it seemed useful at the time lol. Lots to play with here.
ADV 1v1 is a ton of fun, and I really hope more and more people keep experimenting! I feel like we're just scratching the surface, and I can't wait to see how the metagame continues to develop. I feel like there's been such an uptick of interest (of which I've partaken in) over the past few weeks, and I'm really hoping that this enthusiasm is going to carry on. I've still got a lot to learn myself, so pardon any minor inaccuracies! I hope that this is a learning process that we all go through together.
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PetayaStantler (Stantler) @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 192 HP / 144 Atk / 72 Def / 32 SpA / 68 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Earthquake
So the problem with this set that you posted is you said "It doesn't get 2hko'd by band ttar unless it has brick break" Well I think most Tyranitars that are banded should be running brick break, for the sole reason of giving a nice 50/50 vs other ttars. However maybe there will be a slower banded ttar that sacrifices the ttar 50/50 and maximizes other matchups, maybe througha special move. So I guess this is notable!
Another thing, you mentioned you tank a banded salamence brick break and KO back with petaya ice. The problem is you are assuming 252+ atk banded mence, which I honestly think is inferior to jolly mence, because jolly mence has an amazing chance to beat zapdos lacking hp ice, as well as just maximizing its speed tier in general. When jolly mence hits you with brick break, you aren't taken into petaya and fail to KO.
SolarbeamStantler (Stantler) @ Leftovers / Petya Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 3 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Solar Beam
- Skill Swap
- Hidden Power [Dark]
I think skill swap is interesting on Stantler, and any mon in general for anti Jolteon/Vaporeon. however, when you list you tank a Marowak bonemerang, you are assuming they will rang t1, when honetsly I dont think a Marowak has any reason not to SD t1, into bonemerang, and win.
ShadowBallStantler (Stantler) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 196 Atk / 80 Def / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Endure
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Problem with this is, Gengar clicks will-o-wisp and you beat it no more.
Overall, I think Stantler has like, some super niche suprirse factor potential in the tour scene, but should barely ever reach a team. I think the best ways to use it would to somehow find a reason to have an intimidate Pokemon with thunderbolt and other random coverage moves.
I think the effort you put into this is dope, and is exactly what I want to see in ADV.
Onward!
Note: These sets could probably use some EV optimization. I'm aware of that, but I will explain my decisions to use the spreads I do. If you have suggestions / ideas for better spreads, definitely let me know!
With that out of the way... I'd like to talk about some of my favorite Pokemon in ADV 1v1, a tier that I've picked up recently (thanks LRXC!).
The Water-types:
Gyarados @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 68 HP / 188 Atk / 48 SpD / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Flail
- Hidden Power [Flying]
This is my take on Gyarados. Flail is a 200 BP move when Gyarados is at incredibly low health, thus making it the strong move that Gyarados can run. The given EV spread ensures that LRXC's Blissey (200 SpA Modest) cannot break your Substitute with an unboosted Ice Beam. If the opponent is aware that this Gyarados has Flail, the opposing Blissey may opt to go for Calm Mind so as to not break Gyarados's Substitute.This is irrelevant because Gyarados still has HP Flying, which will OHKO Blissey 100% of the time at +4. You can also choose to start battering Blissey down with HP Flying at +2 because Blissey will have to use Counter to break your Substitute anyway. Basically, Gyarados beats Blissey. The given speed EVs hit 373 Speed, outpacing Alakazam after a Dragon Dance. HP Flying 2HKOes at +1, and Alakazam can't KO back. However, be mindful of Encore and Counter. Those will ruin your day. The leftover EVs get invested into Attack to make Gyarados as strong as possible. Be aware that Gyarados automatically loses if sent out against Raikou or Zapdos, since Thunderbolt will wipe it right off the map. That's what you've got teammates for though! Liechi Berry is sort of optional, but there's not really any other item that would ever be of use. An extra boost to Attack is just generally nice. The only other option to run that I could think of would be Lum Berry for a stray Will-O-Wisp, but the most common user, Gengar, could potentially KO from turn one if carrying Thunderbolt anyway. If not, Gyarados will have to hope that Gengar isn't running enough SpA investment to break its Substitutes. A toss up, really. I'd say just go with Liechi! Oh! I forgot to mention that Intimidate is very useful to ease set-up. Not that it has another option, but Intimidate needs to be noted when discussing Gyarados since it is such a useful blessing!
Kingdra @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 124 Atk / 52 SpA / 160 SpD / 172 Spe
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Flail
- Hydro Pump
Here is another SubFlail user for you! Kingdra has some distinct advantages over its competition (namely the above Gyarados, but Salamence as well). Firstly, Kingdra possesses the same advantage over Salamence that Gyarados has – a neutrality to Ice-type attacks. The given Speed EVs allow Kingdra to outpace Alakazam after a Dragon Dance. Again, the Special Defense EVs alongside a Careful nature enable Kingdra to safely set up a Substitute against Blissey's Ice Beam. However, unlike Gyarados, if Blissey refuses to attack Kingdra, then it will lose (unlike Gyarados). On this basis alone, Kingdra is generally an inferior Gyarados. However, Kingdra has a more comfortable matchup versus Raikou and Zapdos, which give its niche a bit more definition! Hydro Pump and the given SpA EVs gives Kingdra a decent chance of OHKOing Marowak (with the exception of SpD Marowak). If you run Careful and don't invest in SpA, Hydro Pump will never OHKO a Marowak with even a little bit of investment. This is important because fully invested Marowak has a strong chance to OHKO Kingdra with Bonemerang. You don't want to be a Water-type and losing to Marowak lol. In writing this post, I have come to the conclusion that SubFlail Kingdra may just be a worse Gyarados. Regardless, I still enjoy Kingdra and think it has a lot of unexplored potential. Such as...
Kingdra @ Leftovers / Lum Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute / Disable
- Rain Dance
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
A specially-oriented Kingdra! Here, Kingdra's main competition is Gorebyss, a Pokemon that I admittedly don't have enough experience with / against to compare with. What I do know is that Gorebyss hits a lot harder than Kingdra, so I guess keep that in mind! Anyway... The basic premise of this set is to batter through the tier. Rain is effectively a Choice Specs boost to Kingdra's Hydro Pump, but you're not choice-locked! Substitute is the most viable last move because it is generally useful. It's difficult to go into specifics here because Substitute is one of the best moves in the entire game in my opinion. It's versatile and useful against most of the tier lol. Or, if you're risky, Disable is an option I really enjoy. Be weary though, as Disable has 55% accuracy in Gen 3. Regardless, hitting one gives you a great advantage versus things like Zapdos, Raikou, and against Choice Band users. Very shaky though. Leftovers or Lum Berry could be run, though I'd prefer Leftovers for the passive recovery. Lum Berry is useful for stray paralysis though! Ice Beam is also mandatory to hit Salamence specifically. In case you were curious, Kingdra's most powerful Dragon-type move is Hidden Power Dragon. It's not very useful coverage anyway, but yeah, don't run that. I forgot to mention this earlier, but the 152 Speed EVs allow you to outspeed Tyranitar without Rain up which seemed... useful at the time. Now I'm not so sure. You very cleanly outspeed the entire metagame under rain (even some +1 Pokemon) anyway, so it's up to you what you do with the EVs lol. This Kingdra set automatically loses against Registeel unless it gets exceptionally lucky, which should be noted as well.
The Underrated Pup:
Granbull @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 188 HP / 188 Atk / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Taunt
- Bulk Up
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
I really hate facing the Regis. Accounting for them in one slot can be difficult, too. I wanted to come up with a set that would be able to handle them. Enter Granbull! A Pokemon that I had initially pegged as beating all of the Regis; however, after some exploration, I have come to the conclusion that it's a bit shaky at accomplishing that. Regardless, Granubll has decent matchups versus the Regis, and it excels in other matchups as well.
vs. Registeel:
Taunt comes in handy here. Use it turn one to prevent the Registeel from getting their Iron Defense boost. Bulk Up turn two, and they'll Seismic Toss. After, Earthquake twice. You've hopefully taken out Registeel! However, there are a few routes that could happen turn three. Granbull Taunts, Registeel uses Seismic Toss (this will be the second time) or Granbull uses Earthquake, Registeel uses Iron Defense or Granbull uses Bulk Up, Registeel uses Iron Defense / Seismic Toss (result will be the same as the first scenario in this case). Many opponents will not use Iron Defense on turn three, fearing the Taunt, which is why I recommend just going for Earthquake. It cleanly 2HKOes after a single bulk up. I list these scenarios just so that you can keep in mind while Granbull is good at taking on Registeel 1v1, it should not the primary (or only) Registeel check/counter your team carries, as it can lose if the opponent plays their cards correctly. I'd say it's a safe-moderate win most of the time though!
vs. Regice:
Regice gets cleanly OHKOed by a +1 Hyper Beam, and Ice Beam can never OHKO. You just have to hope that Hyper Beam hits, or that you don't get frozen by Ice Beam. Or that they're not some weird physically defensive Regice, lol. Regardless, Granbull should be beating Regice, and reliably too. 188+ EVs allow Hyper Beam to safely OHKO after a Bulk Up boost.
vs. Regirock:
Now... Regirock is where my aspirations of Granbull being able to take on all three Regis fell apart. Granbull beating Regirock is dependent on the set Regirock is running, therefore making it a huge risk (which is in Regirock's favor no matter what). Intimidate fails against Regirock, so its Choice Band sets have no issue pummeling through Granbull. Regirock can use Superpower twice and KO Granbull (whether it uses Bulk Up or not) and Earthquake fails to OHKO. Basically, it takes CB Regirock two turns to KO Granbull at worst, and one turn at best, while it will always take Granbull at least three turns to KO Regirock. There is, however, a chance to beat non-CB sets. Without Curse, Regirock gets overwhelmed by the combination of Bulk Up + EQ. Though, not beating all the Regis does suck. We'll have to come up with a solution to that... Maybe in the near future!
So outside of taking on the Regis, which was my initial concept, this Granbull has some other perks. As mentioned previously, the Attack investment allows it to cleanly OHKO Regice with a +1 Hyper Beam. The Speed investment allows Granbull to outspeed uninvested Tyranitar which is kind of rare, and Swampert and Blissey, too. Granbull also beats Blissey which is nice. Blissey does not have the bulk to live a +1 Hyper Beam at all. Granbull is just a really cool Pokemon! Between beating opposing set up (such as SubFlail Dodrio), Intimidate to help it either live an attack or for an easier set up, and an insanely powerful STAB move, I'd definitely recommend exploring Granbull. I know that there's a Choice Band set out there, but I'm not sure of the EVs or moves that it runs. There's probably a lot you could do though, since Granbull's movepool is pretty expansive.
So do you remember how I was stressing over how Granbull couldn't take on Regirock reliably? And how the dreams I had for entering it as the premier Regi killer crumbled as I kept digging deeper? Well I've come up with a set that I call...
The Regi-Slayer:
Machamp @ Salac Berry
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Substitute
- Encore
- Cross Chop
A fair warning, I have not done a deep dive into an EV spread for this set. 100% needs optimization but I have yet to do it. Machamp catches so many opponents off guard. Encore is a godsend for it. Versus Registeel, you can always Bulk Up turn one. The reason for this is because Registeel will likely Iron Defense. If they don't because they know Machamp can carry Encore, Registeel will go for Seismic Toss (which is why I'd say Bulk Up turn one instead of using Substitute). After trapping them into Iron Defense, it's pretty easy to see how Machamp wins. Bulk Up to +6 and go to town. Cross Chop's high critical hit rate lets it bypass the Iron Defense boosts Registeel accumulates. Even without getting a critical hit, Cross Chop has over an 80% chance of 2HKOing Registeel (who is trapped into Iron Defense). Machamp is a reliable way to defeat Registeel. Regice is a similar situation, except that an unboosted Cross Chop has potential to OHKO from the get go. Though Machamp can always Bulk Up turn one to account for Cross Chop missing if you're concerned about that. Regirock has no move that will reliably beat Machamp, even with Choice Band. Cross Chop, meanwhile, 2HKOes without set up, or OHKOes at +2. Up to you how to dispose of Regirock. Besides obviously beating all three Regis, this Machamp is just really threatening in general. It's very powerful, very versatile, and can take advantage of opponents who are not really sure of what it does. In fact, I'm not too sure myself that this is what it does! Again, the EV spread need to be optimized. Leftovers is probably better than Salac Berry but it seemed useful at the time lol. Lots to play with here.
ADV 1v1 is a ton of fun, and I really hope more and more people keep experimenting! I feel like we're just scratching the surface, and I can't wait to see how the metagame continues to develop. I feel like there's been such an uptick of interest (of which I've partaken in) over the past few weeks, and I'm really hoping that this enthusiasm is going to carry on. I've still got a lot to learn myself, so pardon any minor inaccuracies! I hope that this is a learning process that we all go through together.
THE DENTIST (Gyarados) @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 188 HP / 116 Atk / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Flail
- Hidden Power [Flying]
A goat mon indeed, this is my EV spread which I think is better, BLissey should be running 252+ SpA, it had 200 because I was trying to get cute and speed creep a marowak that was speed creeping me lol. This secures that spdef while maximizing its other defenses and providing the biggest substitutes. Same speed for scep, this mon is golden.
Sadly yes overall sub flail Kingdra is a worse Gyarados in almost every regard, however the Rain Dance set should be looked at!
Kingdra @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute / Disable
- Rain Dance
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
I think disable is its only niche over other water type rain dance users, as sadly Zapdos usually wins vs most by Subbing t1, and then stalling out rain. However with outplay potential, you could maybe win with Disable. Furthermore, Jolteon also usually beats this set by clicking Toxic turn 1, and you can't just rain dance and spam ice beam, because behind 4 subs and the 1st turn of rain, you outstall the rain dance turns where you outspeed. Overall I think Kingdra is an extremely lackluster Rain Dance user, I think we should look more into Gorebyss, Ludicolo, and Omastar.
Might respond to Granbul and Machamp later
ADV is lit
Onward!
Today I want to share to you all a pokemon I've been playing around with and I think has a lot of potential, Porygon2. I think its one of the best anti-meta mons in adv 1v1 because it has so much amazing coverage and surprisingly good bulk allowing it to live hits that would normally shatter other normals. It also has pretty nice offensive stats which can catch a lot of people by surprise when there t-tar has to take a HP Fighting and get 2hkoed. Not to mention its ability lets it almost completely wall things like Vaporeon, Houndoom, and Jolteon. Porygon2's combination of stats, moves, and crazy gimmicks can make it a formidable foe if it is utilized correctly.
Agility (Porygon2) @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Trace
EVs: 88 HP / 72 Def / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Endure / Psychic
This set allows you to beat faster mons like sceptile and certain sub petya/liechia mons. Thunderbolt and Ice beam is there for the same reasons why it was on the other set (To beat most flying, ground, and water types.) However, this time you can run both Ice Beam and Thunderbolt which makes this set even deadlier. The defense and Hp lets you live a Bonemerang from Marowak and a banded brick Break from salamence while 2hkoing them or OHKoing them back with ice beam. Even if the salamence is super sp def petya activates and OHKOes them with Ice Beam. Now lets talk about the 4th slot. Endure is a very cool third slot because it allows you to get a petya boost. It beats things like aerodactyl and starmie because after you agility you'll be faster. Then you click endure and get the boost to OHKO them back. However, this strategy only really works if they attack you second turn and they bring you down to petya range so be careful when using it. Another 4th slot option is psychic. The main reason psychic is here is to beat gengar but it can be used as a last ditch effort to beat slower fighting types like hariyami and machamp in two psychics. This also means they miss their cross-chop you have a chance of winning unless they have some sp def investment.
Anti-RestPorygon (Porygon2) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Trace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Nightmare
- Sharpen
- Recover / Rest
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
This set is much more niche then the previous ones but it can be equally potent. The evs aren't optimized(Cause I'm to lazy to optimize them) but they work for what porygon2 needs to do. Sharpen is the only self boosting attack move that I'm aware of and it also has lots of pp. Salac berry is when 252 adamant banded T-tar knocks you into range of salac with rock slide and brick break. HP Fighting 2hkoes t-tar. The Nightmare tech can catch lots of people off guard and it punishes rest. Rest can be used over recover if you want to heal status. This set also beats blissey and registeel. Like I said its really gimmicky and very niche but I think its usable.
Mixed P2 (Porygon2) @ Choice Band
Ability: Trace
EVs: 8 HP / 144 Atk / 172 Def / 184 SpD
Lonely Nature
- Return
- Ice Beam
- Iron Tail / Hp Fighting
- Hyper Beam / Shadow Ball / HP Grass
The set was actually based on another set that was Conversion Hp Ground but since conversion didn't do Hidden Powers I had to replace it with banded return. The evs are to get 3hkoed by modest raikou around 90% of the time and the defense is to always live a Marowak Bonemerang. Ice beams main target is salamence but it also beats lots of other mons too. The last 2 moves on the set are honestly your choice. Iron tail could be run as a more solid way to beat regice and HP Fighting can be a last ditch effort against t-tar(it has a 37.5% chance to OHKO 0 def 0 hp t-tar.) Hyper beam is for as much damage as possible but another option is shadow ball to beat gengar(even if they will-o-wisp you its still a 2hko and gengar cant 2hko you back.) Hp Grass can 2hko swampert and that's about it. Overall, I think this set has a niche if you want a houndoom, jolteon, raikou, and raikou answer in one.
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ADV SAMPLE COLLECTION
KEK ON DECKThis team is based around the defensive core of Kecleon+Gengar. Kecleon might seem like an odd Pokemon, but with absurd Special Defense and its ability Color Change, it downright shuts down most Special Attackers. Furthermore with Trick Band, you actually beat Registeel and Blissey, two gargantuan stall threats, and with a powerful return, Zapdos and Raikou are never winning. Gengar forms the second part of the defensive backbone, taking on most physical threats with Will-o-wisp + coverage moves, including Tyranitar, Band Aerodactyl, Metagross, Swampert, and Salamence! Lastly, Jolteon was added to take down some speedy threats that outpaced Gengar, and could mix up there powerful special moves to outmaneuver Kecleon's color change, such as Moltres, Starmie, Alakazam, while also providing another Raikou and Zapdos answer, taking pressure off of Kecleon.
KECMILLION (Kecleon) @ Choice Band
Ability: Color Change
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Atk / 44 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Brick Break
- Rest
- Trick
LADY GAR GAR (Gengar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 196 HP / 240 Def / 72 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Giga Drain
JOLTEGONE (Jolteon) @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Ability: Color Change
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Atk / 44 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Brick Break
- Rest
- Trick
LADY GAR GAR (Gengar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 196 HP / 240 Def / 72 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Giga Drain
JOLTEGONE (Jolteon) @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
BLISSMENCE BUGSThis is yet another sort of Special Defense Pokemon + Physical Defense Pokemon, with Blissey beating almost every special pokemon in existence, paired with the best fighting beater in the tier Salamence. Salamence also handles pokemon such as Tyranitar, Metagross, and Kecleon for Blissey. Max speed on band mence is for maximizing Zapdos matchup and other base 100's like Celebi, with max hp and 12 defense serving to beat Band Metagross. Salamence really doesn't need the atk stat to do what it wants to do. Lastly, Heracross serves as an almost guaranteed way to beat Metagross, eliminating the awkward 50/50 of special gross or band gross for blissey+mence. Sub Leichi heracross also demolishes Marowak, and Regirock, and is the teams Registeel answer as well.
IGNORANCE (Blissey) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Counter
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Ice Beam
ALLAHMENCE (Salamence) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break
HERABOSS (Heracross) @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Megahorn
- Reversal
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Counter
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Ice Beam
ALLAHMENCE (Salamence) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break
HERABOSS (Heracross) @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Megahorn
- Reversal
THE PRESSURE IS WAKBuilt around one of the best mons in the tier, Zapdos. Pressure stalls banded stuff, beats tons of top threats, self explanatory. What makes Marowak such an amazing partner, is it always wins vs Zapdos's main check Raikou, while also smashing Pokemon such as Band Salamence, Registeel, Jolteon, etc. Entei was an interesting 3rd, providing a solid opposing Zapdos answer, while also stomping both variants of Sceptile, because with a base hp over 401, leech seed+seismic toss cannot kill you in 3 turns. Entei also stomped Regice for the team. Easily one of the most fun and easy sample teams to use.
CRAPDOS (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 192 HP / 140 Def / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Substitute
- Protect
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
KINDA WAK (Marowak) @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Atk / 220 SpD
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bonemerang
- Rock Slide
- Counter
UNDA (Entei) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 120 HP / 136 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Flamethrower
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 192 HP / 140 Def / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Substitute
- Protect
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
KINDA WAK (Marowak) @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Atk / 220 SpD
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bonemerang
- Rock Slide
- Counter
UNDA (Entei) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 120 HP / 136 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Flamethrower
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
THE BLUE CREWBuilt around the menace that is cursepert, these ev's are not the ones I posted in my VR post, because I found better ones. These ev's always live an hp grass from Jolteon, as well as maximize matchups vs non hp grass Regice and Blissey. Rollout is used to beat non hp grass Zapdos, and break throw Pokemon such as pressure stall aero, Salamence, and others. This mon is a beast. Next as a partner, I chose Regice, as Regice smacks Zapdos running hp grass, as well as all versions of Sceptile. Regice also is a relatively solid Marowak answer, and beat opposing Swamperts. Lastly, a very cool 3rd inspired by wishes Gyarados fit perfectly. Gyarados beats Marowak almost guaranteed, meaning my Regice didn't have to run Icy Wind, while also smashing Sceptile again for Swampert. Gyarados also beat troublesome fighting types like Hariyama and Heracross, and Celebi for the team.
SWAMPERFECT (Swampert) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 96 Def / 172 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Earthquake
- Rollout
- Rest
GICE LIST (Regice) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Amnesia
- Seismic Toss
- Hidden Power [Grass]
THE DENTIST (Gyarados) @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 188 HP / 116 Atk / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Flail
- Hidden Power [Flying]
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 96 Def / 172 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Earthquake
- Rollout
- Rest
GICE LIST (Regice) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Amnesia
- Seismic Toss
- Hidden Power [Grass]
THE DENTIST (Gyarados) @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 188 HP / 116 Atk / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Flail
- Hidden Power [Flying]
REGISERP RETURNSPretty basic idea, Registeel + ADV's version of Serperior. This Sceptile set is a bit intersting, Giga Drain is picked over Leaf Blade because you dont really need the 10 extra base power, and healing yourself helps solidify matchups vs Marowak sets. Furthermore, when paired with Agility, you turn into a relatively reliable Jolteon answer. Agility paired with Sub also helps beat Dragon Dance Salamence, which can set up in front of Registeel and win. The last was a hard pick, I needed something to smack Fire and Fighting types, but also beat Registeel, and Dragon Dance Rest Salamence came to the rescue. The HP allows it to beat band metagross yet again, with the Spdef invested to live my Defensive Gengar's ice punch, hoping it misses Will-o-wisp. This is because Taunt wisp Gengar can 3-0 this team. 52 speed outspeeds any Sceptile or Alakazam.
STEEL YO GIRL (Registeel) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Counter
- Amnesia
- Seismic Toss
- Rest
INSCEPTION (Sceptile) @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Agility
ALLAHMENCE (Salamence) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 4 Def / 24 SpD / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Rest
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Counter
- Amnesia
- Seismic Toss
- Rest
INSCEPTION (Sceptile) @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Agility
ALLAHMENCE (Salamence) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 4 Def / 24 SpD / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Earthquake
- Rest
I hope you enjoyed a look into what I think high level ADV teams could start to look like
Onward!
After my initial post with Porygon2, I played around with it even more and found it has more potential than I thought. So, I wanted to share some team options for different porygon2 sets.
Porygon2 Mixed
Mixed P2 (Porygon2) @ Choice Band
Ability: Trace
EVs: 8 HP / 144 Atk / 172 Def / 184 SpD
Lonely Nature
- Return
- Ice Beam
- Iron Tail / Hp Fighting
- Hyper Beam / Shadow Ball / HP Grass
Marowak- Marowak is an amazing partner for Banded Porygon2 because of its ability to break through metagross and tyranitar(Which Porygon2 struggles with). It also has access to aerial ace which can be an answer to the fighting types Porygon2 is scared of. It debatably the best ground type in adv 1v1 and is the holder of the best move in adv 1v1, Bonemerang.
Zapdos and Raikou- The pressure stall duo of zapdos and raikou are also here because Raikou appreciates Porygon 2's ability to get rid of marowak. Zapdos threatens fighting types that threaten to OHKO Porygon2. Zapdos and raikou are amazing partner because they threatens bulky water like vaporeon which Porygon2 doesn't want to deal with. P2 also deals with alakazam which the pressure stall duo has trouble dealing with because of its encore calm mind shenanigans.
Fire types- Porygon2 really appreciates fire types because they can eliminate steel types that P2 doesn't like. They also threaten the best fighting type in adv 1v1, heracross. They also are really good bait for a swamper trying to get a quick OHKO because some fire types carry solar beam. They also destroy stall sceptile which P2 can't break through unless it gets a freeze or crits.
Metagross- Metagross can deal with mons like t-tar and opposing metagross(but its a speed tie if you and your opponent are max speed) for P2. In return, P2 deals with marowak and has a more solid chance against gengar. It also helps P2 against counter blissey by OHKOing it with dynamic punch while P2 would just get OHKOed by counter.
Porygon2 Agility
Agility (Porygon2) @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Trace
EVs: 88 HP / 72 Def / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Endure / Psychic
Houndoom- Since the other set had return to beat alakazam it didn't need a partner to do that job for it. But since this set is fully special it gets almost completely walled by alakazam. So houndoom is almost a perfect pick. It beats those pesky steels it P2 can't break and is a solid answer to alakazam. It also gets solar beam which doesn't make it completely useless against swampert but you would have to run a more defensive Houndoom.
Marowak- Marowak is here for the same reasons it was on the other set but this time its an even better partner. Since this set struggles against raikou because there is no physical move, marowak seems like an amazing pick. It also appreciates P2's ability to get rid of sceptile and starmie in certain situations.
Vaporeon- Vaporeon is also an amazing partner for P2 because it beats t-tar, metagross, and swampert which are 3 top tier mons that P2 struggles with. Along with being able to answer more niche threats to P2 in blaziken and regirock. It appreciates P2's ability to eliminate offensive sceptile and jolteon.
Alakazam- Alakazam can beat most stall that this P2 cant beat like a vaporeon, blissey, raikou, and potentially registeel. Its also really good against fighting types that want to try to get a KO on porygon2. There Isn't much else to say about alakazam other than it being an incredibly good partner to Porygon2.
Porygon2 Sharpen
Anti-RestPorygon (Porygon2) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Trace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Nightmare
- Sharpen
- Recover / Rest
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
I will not put any team options for this set because it really shouldn't be used. Its gets completely outclassed by most other fighting types.
Porygon2 Mixed
Mixed P2 (Porygon2) @ Choice Band
Ability: Trace
EVs: 8 HP / 144 Atk / 172 Def / 184 SpD
Lonely Nature
- Return
- Ice Beam
- Iron Tail / Hp Fighting
- Hyper Beam / Shadow Ball / HP Grass
Marowak- Marowak is an amazing partner for Banded Porygon2 because of its ability to break through metagross and tyranitar(Which Porygon2 struggles with). It also has access to aerial ace which can be an answer to the fighting types Porygon2 is scared of. It debatably the best ground type in adv 1v1 and is the holder of the best move in adv 1v1, Bonemerang.
Zapdos and Raikou- The pressure stall duo of zapdos and raikou are also here because Raikou appreciates Porygon 2's ability to get rid of marowak. Zapdos threatens fighting types that threaten to OHKO Porygon2. Zapdos and raikou are amazing partner because they threatens bulky water like vaporeon which Porygon2 doesn't want to deal with. P2 also deals with alakazam which the pressure stall duo has trouble dealing with because of its encore calm mind shenanigans.
Fire types- Porygon2 really appreciates fire types because they can eliminate steel types that P2 doesn't like. They also threaten the best fighting type in adv 1v1, heracross. They also are really good bait for a swamper trying to get a quick OHKO because some fire types carry solar beam. They also destroy stall sceptile which P2 can't break through unless it gets a freeze or crits.
Metagross- Metagross can deal with mons like t-tar and opposing metagross(but its a speed tie if you and your opponent are max speed) for P2. In return, P2 deals with marowak and has a more solid chance against gengar. It also helps P2 against counter blissey by OHKOing it with dynamic punch while P2 would just get OHKOed by counter.
Porygon2 Agility
Agility (Porygon2) @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Trace
EVs: 88 HP / 72 Def / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Endure / Psychic
Houndoom- Since the other set had return to beat alakazam it didn't need a partner to do that job for it. But since this set is fully special it gets almost completely walled by alakazam. So houndoom is almost a perfect pick. It beats those pesky steels it P2 can't break and is a solid answer to alakazam. It also gets solar beam which doesn't make it completely useless against swampert but you would have to run a more defensive Houndoom.
Marowak- Marowak is here for the same reasons it was on the other set but this time its an even better partner. Since this set struggles against raikou because there is no physical move, marowak seems like an amazing pick. It also appreciates P2's ability to get rid of sceptile and starmie in certain situations.
Vaporeon- Vaporeon is also an amazing partner for P2 because it beats t-tar, metagross, and swampert which are 3 top tier mons that P2 struggles with. Along with being able to answer more niche threats to P2 in blaziken and regirock. It appreciates P2's ability to eliminate offensive sceptile and jolteon.
Alakazam- Alakazam can beat most stall that this P2 cant beat like a vaporeon, blissey, raikou, and potentially registeel. Its also really good against fighting types that want to try to get a KO on porygon2. There Isn't much else to say about alakazam other than it being an incredibly good partner to Porygon2.
Porygon2 Sharpen
Anti-RestPorygon (Porygon2) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Trace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Nightmare
- Sharpen
- Recover / Rest
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
I will not put any team options for this set because it really shouldn't be used. Its gets completely outclassed by most other fighting types.
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So there I was.....
In bed trying to think of something to do. So I figured why not make rankings of all the adv pokemon on a point system. Lets get right into it!
*Im only doing mons B rank and higher
S+=14
S=12
A+=10
A= 8
A-=6
B+=4
B=2
The point system is to see how many points a pokemon should get if it beats a mon in that rank. For example, since Houndoom beats alakazam it gets 8 points because it beats something in A tier. If one set of a pokemon beats one mon but loses to the other it get -1 point. For example, metagross is able to beat swampert with its anti-swampert set but loses with its banded set then it gets 7 points because it can't beat swampert with its common viable sets. This is same vice versa. If houndoom usually beats alakazam but zam has some made up set that lets it beat houndoom then houndoom would get 7 points. So now that we have that out of the way lets get into the rankings. Another note is that I am deciding the viable sets so I'm using the sets I think are viable(sry banded redisteel). Feel free to roast me.
I will also be calculating these dragonite sets: https://pokepast.es/a471750c023e751d
And this dusclop set: https://pokepast.es/43a0f8b86950effb
They will both be B rank respectively
Raikou- 92
Registeel- 77
Zapdos- 63
Metagross-109
Tyranitar- 80
Marowak- 89
Salamence- 104
Alakazam-89
Blissey-105
Swampert-98
Sceptile-105
Heracross-64
Gengar- 92
Aerodactyl- 102
Vaporeon- 80
Regice- 67
Starmie- 74
Kecleon- 85
Moltres- 66
Dusclops- 127 LOL
Hariyama- 86
Celebi- 83
Houndoom- 70
Gyarados- 65
Dragonite- 85
It turns out this points system isn't perfect. Zapdos is definitely not one of the worse mons and dusclops is definitely not the best(maybe it is). I was just trying a new way to rank mons and wanted to share how terrible it was lol. I would think it would be a waste not to show anyone my results. It should probably be mentioned I probably miscalculated somewhere so there's that.
THIS RANKING IS SUPER FLAWED. DON'T USE IT!
In bed trying to think of something to do. So I figured why not make rankings of all the adv pokemon on a point system. Lets get right into it!
*Im only doing mons B rank and higher
S+=14
S=12
A+=10
A= 8
A-=6
B+=4
B=2
The point system is to see how many points a pokemon should get if it beats a mon in that rank. For example, since Houndoom beats alakazam it gets 8 points because it beats something in A tier. If one set of a pokemon beats one mon but loses to the other it get -1 point. For example, metagross is able to beat swampert with its anti-swampert set but loses with its banded set then it gets 7 points because it can't beat swampert with its common viable sets. This is same vice versa. If houndoom usually beats alakazam but zam has some made up set that lets it beat houndoom then houndoom would get 7 points. So now that we have that out of the way lets get into the rankings. Another note is that I am deciding the viable sets so I'm using the sets I think are viable(sry banded redisteel). Feel free to roast me.
I will also be calculating these dragonite sets: https://pokepast.es/a471750c023e751d
And this dusclop set: https://pokepast.es/43a0f8b86950effb
They will both be B rank respectively
Raikou- 92
Registeel- 77
Zapdos- 63
Metagross-109
Tyranitar- 80
Marowak- 89
Salamence- 104
Alakazam-89
Blissey-105
Swampert-98
Sceptile-105
Heracross-64
Gengar- 92
Aerodactyl- 102
Vaporeon- 80
Regice- 67
Starmie- 74
Kecleon- 85
Moltres- 66
Dusclops- 127 LOL
Hariyama- 86
Celebi- 83
Houndoom- 70
Gyarados- 65
Dragonite- 85
It turns out this points system isn't perfect. Zapdos is definitely not one of the worse mons and dusclops is definitely not the best(maybe it is). I was just trying a new way to rank mons and wanted to share how terrible it was lol. I would think it would be a waste not to show anyone my results. It should probably be mentioned I probably miscalculated somewhere so there's that.
THIS RANKING IS SUPER FLAWED. DON'T USE IT!
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Hewwo~ don't forget that you can write ORAS analyses here! https://www.smogon.com/forums/forums/past-generation-1v1-analyses.476/
If you're interested in joining QC or need help crafting / fixing the EVs for ORAS DM me on discord.
If you're interested in joining QC or need help crafting / fixing the EVs for ORAS DM me on discord.
Dusclops analysis
FrickYouStall (Dusclops) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Rest
- Seismic Toss / Counter / Brick Break
- Protect / Counter
In my opinion, I think that dusclops is actually better than registeel because it can still beat non-specialized raikou and zapdos. Not to mention it also beat registeel and is not weak to fire, ground, and fighting. The weaknesses that is has which are dark and ghost and the really only viable user of dark stab is Houndoom and maybe tyranitar. Shadow ball is something lots of physical attackers carry but it's much less common than fire blast, brick break, and earthquake. Registeel lives most of those moves and most of the time has counter so it can embrace the damage and fire back with strong counters. But it does lose to lots of set-up mons and other stall. It should also be noted that dusclops doesn't have iron defense but for the mons it needs to beat it really doesn't need it. Just clicking counter is usually good enough. Amnesia is helpful for registeel but the mons amnesia beats is mostly raikou and other special attackers that dusclops beats. There's also the fact you have to try to guess the dusclops set and the moves. For example it can be the standard CM, ice beam/psychic, rest, and willo-wisp but it also can be this set. Plus you also have to try to guess the moves if it is this set. However, with registeel its stall or the off chance its banded.
Set analysis
Curse is to break down most stall mons as long as you can predict there sub/protect(if they have it). Along with curse it has lots of bulk it can still live hits even when its at 50%. Registeel wishes it could have a ghost type curse to break through lots of stall mons and do 24% to blissey each turn. Rest is for the obvious reason to achieve longevity. Seismic toss is to break less then 101 HP subs and have a attacking move. Forcing the opponent to click protect outside of their sub is a big part of the set because curse goes through protect. So, it's important to make the opponent not get behind a sub. Counter can be a solid 3rd slot because it lets you break through lots of banded mon like banded t-tar, salamence, and metagross. However, carry counter in the 3rd slot means you have to be wary of SD and Substitute mons like heracross. Brick break is also an option but not a very good one. It lets you beat taunt t-tar because they will probably taunt t1 being scared of willo-wisp and you go for brick break. Then you proceed to go for 2 more and win. The biggest problem with this is that it really only beats taunt dd t-tar and not banded. The main reason brick break should not be used over counter/seismic toss is because it doesn't break sceptile's or celebi's sub. Protect is a solid 3rd slot because your not risking getting crit by CM blissey when they wake up. It provides a more solid match-up against blissey and other mons if you need to get a little bit more curse damage on them. It also provides you with lefties recovery with can take you out of range of certain attacks. Counter can also be used as a 4th slot because you can still beat banded metagross, banded mence, and banded t-tar while also still being able to break 100hp subs. It should also be mentioned that night shade is an option over seismic toss if you really hate gengar. However, you don't do any damage to blissey so it will be harder to beat.
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Raikou Team Options
Today I wanted to share some team options for "the best" pokemon in adv. I personally don't think it's the best but whatever LRXC says I guess.
Vaporeon and Swampert- I think these mons are really good partners because they can deal with some of the biggest threats to Raikou like marowak, t-tar, return metagross, and salamence if you don't have HP Ice. Not to mention lots of other mons too. Also, these waters have access to ice beam which allows them to beat more mons. Vaporeon can just click acid armor in the face of a strong banded attacker and swampert has a little bit more offensive pressure and can click curse.
Entei, Moltres, and Houndoom- These Fires are really good partners because they beat registeel, potentially swampert, metagross, and fast stall sceptile. Moltres and Entei create a formidable pressure stall duo with raikou and Houndoom can beat Alakazam which raikou struggles against. Moltres also beats Marowak which is a huge bonus because its one of the best pokemon in the metagame at the moment.
Marowak- Marowak is a solid partner for Raikou because it can beat opposing raikou, jolteon, registeel, metagross, tyranitar, alakazam, and curse dusclops. It's also one of the best pokemon in the metagame which makes it a solid 2nd or 3rd slot and isn't hard to fit on a team. There isn't much else to say about marowak. Its just good.
*Sorry if this isn't my normal essay on a pokemon. I just wanted to keep it short and simple
Today I wanted to share some team options for "the best" pokemon in adv. I personally don't think it's the best but whatever LRXC says I guess.
Vaporeon and Swampert- I think these mons are really good partners because they can deal with some of the biggest threats to Raikou like marowak, t-tar, return metagross, and salamence if you don't have HP Ice. Not to mention lots of other mons too. Also, these waters have access to ice beam which allows them to beat more mons. Vaporeon can just click acid armor in the face of a strong banded attacker and swampert has a little bit more offensive pressure and can click curse.
Entei, Moltres, and Houndoom- These Fires are really good partners because they beat registeel, potentially swampert, metagross, and fast stall sceptile. Moltres and Entei create a formidable pressure stall duo with raikou and Houndoom can beat Alakazam which raikou struggles against. Moltres also beats Marowak which is a huge bonus because its one of the best pokemon in the metagame at the moment.
Marowak- Marowak is a solid partner for Raikou because it can beat opposing raikou, jolteon, registeel, metagross, tyranitar, alakazam, and curse dusclops. It's also one of the best pokemon in the metagame which makes it a solid 2nd or 3rd slot and isn't hard to fit on a team. There isn't much else to say about marowak. Its just good.
*Sorry if this isn't my normal essay on a pokemon. I just wanted to keep it short and simple
Ludicolo Set Analysis
I feel like Ludicolo is an incredibly slept on pokemon in adv. It beats tons of top tiers while also being surprisingly versatile. Here are the ludicolo sets I will be sharing:
Standard (Ludicolo) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 72 SpD / 184 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Razor Leaf / Endure
This is a standard set I made for ludicolo which beats zapdos and raikou. Rain dance is for the obvious reasons to activate swift swim. Ice beam lets you beat Salamence and celebi. Even though your slower than Salamence you can click endure predicting HP Flying and getting a speed boost. Then proceed to click Ice beam to win. Hydro Pump is amazing stab and if I were to list all the viable pokemon that it beats I'd be here for a while. It even has a chance under rain to OHKO offensive zapdos and 2hkoes raikou even at +1. Razor leaf is another move because it beat vaporeon. The reason it's my grass move of choice over HP Grass or giga drain because it has more pp and a chance to crit. Also, it only has 5 less BP than giga drain.
DezShizzlesSet (Ludicolo) @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Def / 44 SpA / 68 SpD / 88 Spe
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Leech Seed
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
Credit to Dezshizzels for the set
This set is basically the set from above but its able to beat registeel and banded aerodactyl because of the bulk investment. It also gets 3hkoed by timid zapdos and it has enough speed to outspeed aerodactyl and jolteon after a rain dance. It basically functions the same way as the set above but without ice beam.
Anti-BlissGross (Ludicolo) @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Counter
- Giga Drain / Substitute
- Focus Punch
This is an incredibly specialized set that lets you beat 2 mons that beat the sets above, blissey and sludge bomb metagross. It has enough defense to live a sludge bomb from banded gross and has can live non-banded mence's HP flying and fire back with a strong counter(They would probably be afraid of ice beam). Focus punch lets it beat blissey assuming they don't go for counter t1 or ice beam(which is a wak play). Giga drain can be run to beat swampert and marowak unless they sd t1. Substitute lets you secure the matchup against some weird toxic blissey and Vaporeon. Overall, the set has a niche of you want to bait the mons above but it gets mostly outclassed by blaziken and other mons. [/b]
I feel like Ludicolo is an incredibly slept on pokemon in adv. It beats tons of top tiers while also being surprisingly versatile. Here are the ludicolo sets I will be sharing:
Standard (Ludicolo) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 72 SpD / 184 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Razor Leaf / Endure
This is a standard set I made for ludicolo which beats zapdos and raikou. Rain dance is for the obvious reasons to activate swift swim. Ice beam lets you beat Salamence and celebi. Even though your slower than Salamence you can click endure predicting HP Flying and getting a speed boost. Then proceed to click Ice beam to win. Hydro Pump is amazing stab and if I were to list all the viable pokemon that it beats I'd be here for a while. It even has a chance under rain to OHKO offensive zapdos and 2hkoes raikou even at +1. Razor leaf is another move because it beat vaporeon. The reason it's my grass move of choice over HP Grass or giga drain because it has more pp and a chance to crit. Also, it only has 5 less BP than giga drain.
DezShizzlesSet (Ludicolo) @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Def / 44 SpA / 68 SpD / 88 Spe
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Leech Seed
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
Credit to Dezshizzels for the set
This set is basically the set from above but its able to beat registeel and banded aerodactyl because of the bulk investment. It also gets 3hkoed by timid zapdos and it has enough speed to outspeed aerodactyl and jolteon after a rain dance. It basically functions the same way as the set above but without ice beam.
Anti-BlissGross (Ludicolo) @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Counter
- Giga Drain / Substitute
- Focus Punch
This is an incredibly specialized set that lets you beat 2 mons that beat the sets above, blissey and sludge bomb metagross. It has enough defense to live a sludge bomb from banded gross and has can live non-banded mence's HP flying and fire back with a strong counter(They would probably be afraid of ice beam). Focus punch lets it beat blissey assuming they don't go for counter t1 or ice beam(which is a wak play). Giga drain can be run to beat swampert and marowak unless they sd t1. Substitute lets you secure the matchup against some weird toxic blissey and Vaporeon. Overall, the set has a niche of you want to bait the mons above but it gets mostly outclassed by blaziken and other mons. [/b]
What I think the viability ranking should be for adv-
S
- Marowak has truly proven itself a legitimate threat in the adv 1v1 metagame because of all the toys it can play with. Thick club basically gives it a free cb that it can switch moves with while its signature move lets it beat the king of pressure stall, raikou, because it hits 2 times. It also has an amazing match-up against lots of the top tier mons. It should definitely be taken with respect if you see it at team preview.
A+
- Sceptile might be a surprise to some but its speed and access to leech seed and seismic toss make it a formidable threat. It also has another sub-petya set I usually prefer my jolteon or starmie for that role. Its ability to be a really fast seeder comes in handy a lot and what makes it one up celebi in the leech seeder role. However, it has one big down side of being more frail. So, it get beaten by sludge bomb metagross and other pokemon that celebi can beat. But overall its a better seeder than celebi thanks to its excellent speed.
- I firmly believe if people experimenting with metagross it can become more of a monster. It has amazing stats, lots of versatility, and has tons of different sets. Currently, special metagross is a monster in the metagame but people keep using its traditional band set which is definitely holding it back. Agiligross is also a threat if more people started to use it because it out speeds most of the tier after an Agility and can bop them back. In general, metagross' amazing combination of well everything make a monster and should definitely be feared at team preview.
- Raikou used to be tier king that everyone feared but now it has dropped down in viability. Since, this monsters rein of the metagame people have started to run lots of mons with return to beat the pressure stall pokemon that used to rule the metagame. Raikou is not bad by any means, just worst than it was before. But it still is an electric type with CM that can do lots of damage and still have the pressure stall role. I'm still a bit unsure where to keep raikou so I'll keep him here for now.
- Tyranitar is not something that should be taken lightly in team preview. It has two very effective sets and even a surprise special set if you decide to use it. It maintains the basically same spot it had on the old vr and still continues to be a threat. Sandstream lets it neutralize lefties which is the most common item in the metagame. There isn't much else to say about t-tar because its just so good in the metagame even with its x4 weakness to fighting.
-Salamenceis a terrifying dragon that should definitely be feared at team preview. Its the sole reason why so many pokemon run HP Ice to beat it. And its access to intimidate and its immunity to ground and its resistance to fighting make it even more of a threat. Its banded set beats tons of common mons while its DD set lets it beat counter mons who want to gain a quick KO. It also has a pretty good mixed set which takes advantage if fire blast and maybe even hydro pump.
- Zapdos has definitely been hit the very hard in this viability ranking. I feel that its extremely overrated especially since it can't boost its stats with CM or be as fast as raikou. However, its main upside that it can hit harder and take more hits on the physical side and be immune to ground. Other then that it gets outclassed by raikou unless you run banded zapdos which is actually really cool.
- Registeel being this low might seem like a crime but let me explain. So many mons have made sets to beat registeel which severely hinders it performance. However, its not a bad mons by any means, its just worse than before. Now to talk about the good sides of registeel. It beats the two main pressure staller, zapdos and raikou. It can also beat lots if common banded mons but now they have started to run more set-up variants which beat registeel.
A
- Blissey is definitely one of the most terrifying thing in adv. Its ability to nullify most special attacker in the metagame. Counter lets it beat tons of physical attackers in the metagame that aren't specialized to beat it. There's no doubt that this mon is very centralizing and in combination with a 20% chance to freeze with ice beam makes it even more annoying.
- Alakazam is one of the beat stall breakers in the metagame thanks to encore. It shuts down lost of special attackers and can encore tons of stall mons. Along with access to recover it can beat even more. Its speed is what makes it one of the best pokemon in the metagame because it can always out speed lots of common stall mons and beat them down with CM.
- Celebi is 100% not a pokemon you should shrug off in team preview. Its leech seed set beats tons of common mons and if you put shadow ball as the attacking move than you can surprise an alakazam that just wanted to get a free win. Its bulk allows it to compete with sceptile but it gets outclassed in many other ways. But if you ever need a bulky seeder that doesn't lose to sludge bomb gross celebi is your best option.
- There is no doubt that swampert if one of the best pokemon in adv 1v1. Its the main reason why so many mons run HP Grass to beat it. It has a variety of set with varying levels of success but whats certain is that this pokemon should not be taken lightly in team preview. Countercoat and Cursepert are probably the most common set but if more experimentation is done there might just be a new and improved set.
- This might seem like a surprise to basically everyone viewing this but I firmly believe Ludicolo is at the bottom of A or at the top of A-. Its versatility makes it hard to know its set exactly at team preview. Its ability, swift swim, also helps it a lot because its one of the very few stall mons that don't get beatened by zam if you have a little bit of luck. It can also beat zapdos 80% of the time with very little prediction and raikou takes a bit more effort to beat but it's definitely possible. I feel like Ludicolo is the hidden jewel of adv 1v1 and I stand firm by that opinion. Not to mention, there are lost of viable teams that Ludicolo 3-0s with just a little luck(and by luck I mean hitting a hydro pump). Not to mention, its specialized set isn't bad either.
A-
- Vaporeon is the other defensive water type wall that isn't x4 weak to grass(I'll let you guess who that is). It has access to acid armor which lets it boost up its defensives faster than swampert. It also has the ability water absorb that might come in useful sometimes but is mostly a hindrance because P2 can trace it and (almost)wall you forever. Other than that it can beat most physical attackers in the tier if the don't crit.
- Jolteon is the other option for a solid sub-petya mon. Its speed lets it out speed lots of dangerous things in the tier like alakazam. Plus, its electric typing has very few resists so it can fire off t-bolts with very little problem. HP Grass and toxic are usually the last two slots because HP Grass lets you beat cursepert and if you hit toxic you can beat raikou and zapdos unless their rest.
- Gengar is one of the two "viable" ghost types in adv(even though I think banette has potential). Its ability to have wisp + taunt with also having amazing coverage moves is amazing. It carries all the elemental punches and its ability lets it hover over an earthquake. The coverage options it has will always keep the opponent guessing.
-
B+
B-
C+
Please yell at me if you disagree with something. I would love to hear your opinions.
S
- Marowak has truly proven itself a legitimate threat in the adv 1v1 metagame because of all the toys it can play with. Thick club basically gives it a free cb that it can switch moves with while its signature move lets it beat the king of pressure stall, raikou, because it hits 2 times. It also has an amazing match-up against lots of the top tier mons. It should definitely be taken with respect if you see it at team preview.A+
- Sceptile might be a surprise to some but its speed and access to leech seed and seismic toss make it a formidable threat. It also has another sub-petya set I usually prefer my jolteon or starmie for that role. Its ability to be a really fast seeder comes in handy a lot and what makes it one up celebi in the leech seeder role. However, it has one big down side of being more frail. So, it get beaten by sludge bomb metagross and other pokemon that celebi can beat. But overall its a better seeder than celebi thanks to its excellent speed. - I firmly believe if people experimenting with metagross it can become more of a monster. It has amazing stats, lots of versatility, and has tons of different sets. Currently, special metagross is a monster in the metagame but people keep using its traditional band set which is definitely holding it back. Agiligross is also a threat if more people started to use it because it out speeds most of the tier after an Agility and can bop them back. In general, metagross' amazing combination of well everything make a monster and should definitely be feared at team preview.- Raikou used to be tier king that everyone feared but now it has dropped down in viability. Since, this monsters rein of the metagame people have started to run lots of mons with return to beat the pressure stall pokemon that used to rule the metagame. Raikou is not bad by any means, just worst than it was before. But it still is an electric type with CM that can do lots of damage and still have the pressure stall role. I'm still a bit unsure where to keep raikou so I'll keep him here for now.- Tyranitar is not something that should be taken lightly in team preview. It has two very effective sets and even a surprise special set if you decide to use it. It maintains the basically same spot it had on the old vr and still continues to be a threat. Sandstream lets it neutralize lefties which is the most common item in the metagame. There isn't much else to say about t-tar because its just so good in the metagame even with its x4 weakness to fighting.-Salamenceis a terrifying dragon that should definitely be feared at team preview. Its the sole reason why so many pokemon run HP Ice to beat it. And its access to intimidate and its immunity to ground and its resistance to fighting make it even more of a threat. Its banded set beats tons of common mons while its DD set lets it beat counter mons who want to gain a quick KO. It also has a pretty good mixed set which takes advantage if fire blast and maybe even hydro pump.- Zapdos has definitely been hit the very hard in this viability ranking. I feel that its extremely overrated especially since it can't boost its stats with CM or be as fast as raikou. However, its main upside that it can hit harder and take more hits on the physical side and be immune to ground. Other then that it gets outclassed by raikou - Registeel being this low might seem like a crime but let me explain. So many mons have made sets to beat registeel which severely hinders it performance. However, its not a bad mons by any means, its just worse than before. Now to talk about the good sides of registeel. It beats the two main pressure staller, zapdos and raikou. It can also beat lots if common banded mons but now they have started to run more set-up variants which beat registeel.A
- Blissey is definitely one of the most terrifying thing in adv. Its ability to nullify most special attacker in the metagame. Counter lets it beat tons of physical attackers in the metagame that aren't specialized to beat it. There's no doubt that this mon is very centralizing and in combination with a 20% chance to freeze with ice beam makes it even more annoying.- Alakazam is one of the beat stall breakers in the metagame thanks to encore. It shuts down lost of special attackers and can encore tons of stall mons. Along with access to recover it can beat even more. Its speed is what makes it one of the best pokemon in the metagame because it can always out speed lots of common stall mons and beat them down with CM.- Celebi is 100% not a pokemon you should shrug off in team preview. Its leech seed set beats tons of common mons and if you put shadow ball as the attacking move than you can surprise an alakazam that just wanted to get a free win. Its bulk allows it to compete with sceptile but it gets outclassed in many other ways. But if you ever need a bulky seeder that doesn't lose to sludge bomb gross celebi is your best option.- There is no doubt that swampert if one of the best pokemon in adv 1v1. Its the main reason why so many mons run HP Grass to beat it. It has a variety of set with varying levels of success but whats certain is that this pokemon should not be taken lightly in team preview. Countercoat and Cursepert are probably the most common set but if more experimentation is done there might just be a new and improved set.- This might seem like a surprise to basically everyone viewing this but I firmly believe Ludicolo is at the bottom of A or at the top of A-. Its versatility makes it hard to know its set exactly at team preview. Its ability, swift swim, also helps it a lot because its one of the very few stall mons that don't get beatened by zam if you have a little bit of luck. It can also beat zapdos 80% of the time with very little prediction and raikou takes a bit more effort to beat but it's definitely possible. I feel like Ludicolo is the hidden jewel of adv 1v1 and I stand firm by that opinion. Not to mention, there are lost of viable teams that Ludicolo 3-0s with just a little luck(and by luck I mean hitting a hydro pump). Not to mention, its specialized set isn't bad either.A-
- Vaporeon is the other defensive water type wall that isn't x4 weak to grass(I'll let you guess who that is). It has access to acid armor which lets it boost up its defensives faster than swampert. It also has the ability water absorb that might come in useful sometimes but is mostly a hindrance because P2 can trace it and (almost)wall you forever. Other than that it can beat most physical attackers in the tier if the don't crit.- Jolteon is the other option for a solid sub-petya mon. Its speed lets it out speed lots of dangerous things in the tier like alakazam. Plus, its electric typing has very few resists so it can fire off t-bolts with very little problem. HP Grass and toxic are usually the last two slots because HP Grass lets you beat cursepert and if you hit toxic you can beat raikou and zapdos unless their rest.- Gengar is one of the two "viable" ghost types in adv(even though I think banette has potential). Its ability to have wisp + taunt with also having amazing coverage moves is amazing. It carries all the elemental punches and its ability lets it hover over an earthquake. The coverage options it has will always keep the opponent guessing.-B+
B-
C+
Please yell at me if you disagree with something. I would love to hear your opinions.
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Project USADV (Usage Stats for ADV)
The point of the project is to make a usage chart of all the Pokemon in adv every week from chatroom tours. This will help further develop the metagame and who doesn't like that. If you would like to help us record the usage stats like the post and keep reading.
Procedure:
1. Find an adv 1v1 tour
2. Record the Pokemon in the quarter finals, semi-finals. and finals
3. Record how many times each Pokemon was used
4. Hit me up on my smogon wall with your data
Please note if it was an official tour or not
Thank you for reading! We will start collecting data on Monday October, 5
The point of the project is to make a usage chart of all the Pokemon in adv every week from chatroom tours. This will help further develop the metagame and who doesn't like that. If you would like to help us record the usage stats like the post and keep reading.
Procedure:
1. Find an adv 1v1 tour
2. Record the Pokemon in the quarter finals, semi-finals. and finals
3. Record how many times each Pokemon was used
4. Hit me up on my smogon wall with your data
Please note if it was an official tour or not
Thank you for reading! We will start collecting data on Monday October, 5
The Niche Pokemon of the ADV 1v1 Metagame Megapost
Today I will be sharing with you some niche Pokemon sets that I made that never made it to the final cut. They were either made a couple hours ago or they were just straight up terrible and I didn't feel like sharing them in before.
Raichu
I was introduced to this Pokemon by an inspireme and quickly figured out this pokemon had much more potential than I thought. Its ability to have encore can make any half decent mon viable. Just look at alakazam. Anyway, I started playing around with it and found out it had access to agility + seismic toss + encore which made a devastating combo. Agility is for zam and sceptile because as soon as your faster you can encore or just attack them. I've evd all the sets to get 3hkoed by a zam psychic as long as there are no hax. Encore is for the obvious reason to beat down stall mons and seismic toss is for the consistent damage. You can even beat registeel if you play your cards right. The last slot is what makes each raichu unique. Return in the last slot allows you to beat sceptile if they predict your set and start going for seismic toss. It also does more damage to raikou and zapdos. The big downside is that you can't take advantage of your amazing electric stab. This is what the second set does. T-bolt can beat counter registeel with more ease, gyarados, dodrio, moltres, vaporeon, most of the time you'll beat starmie, and gengar. However, you lose to important mons that you used to be able to beat like sceptile and potentially blissey. These sets are good and all but don't you get outclassed by zam because there's no reliable recovery I hear you ask. That's where the last set comes in. WishChu is my favorite raichu set out of all of them. Its basically taking a little out of both sets. It is able to beat specialized raikou as long as there are no special defense drops and still be able to beat stall sceptile, vaporeon, and jolteon. Along side that, the sp def plus recovery lets it beat regice too. I feel like I should mention the reason I put wish over rest is because you don't have to sleep for 3 turns which makes you vulnerable to seismic toss from sceptile and other mons.
Banette
The main reason you might want to use this over hypno as a skill swap insomnia mon is because it has better offensive stats and its immune to seismic toss and or counter + its able to beat zam. Other than that its terrible. The spread allows you to beat raikou and zapdos(if its offensive) because if they t-bolt then they activate salac. After they activate salac you'll be faster and KO with a shadow ball into a hyper beam. Skill swamp + Night shade is to mostly to beat registeel but you can still beat more stall mons too.
Cradily
Cradily is a very interesting mon because of its access to Barrier and Amnesia. However, I will not be going over that today and just wanted to share this pretty weird set. SunnyBeam is to beats waters and ground types like marowak, vaporeon, and swampert. However, you don't OHKO Marowak with a Solarbeam so that's where petya comes in. After 1 Bonemerang it activate petya and you OHKO it back with solar beam. It also functions as a way to beat 252 Attack adamant or jolly mence if they Brick break and bring you down to petya. Then, you OHKO them back with HP Ice. The speed is to outspeed standard marowak. Mirror Coat is my last move of choice because as long as you don't get haxed you can beat celebi with a little prediction.
Hitmontop
This set is such a meme it can actually work of you lucky enough. The main purpose is to beat cursepert, banded mence, blissey, t-tar, and psychic metagross. However, the match-up against metagross isn't even reliable because you have to take a guess if their aerial ace or psychic and it also loses to DD mence because they can just set-up. The things it can reliable take out are usually outdone by many other fighting types. Salac is for the pure reason to outspeed metagross after a psychic. Endeavor is to beat psychic metagross and thats basically it. Now I think you can see why I never released this set.
Now we're at the section where the pokemon aren't niche but I just decided to make some new sets for them.
Specialized Sceptile
These sets take advantage of sceptile's decent attack. The first set is made to beat blissey because of you SD t1 and they knock you into liechi range with ice beam then you beat them(As long as the don't freeze). If then don't knock you in liechi rang then you sub. The speed is to outspeed DD t-tar at +1 and 2hkoe them with brick break. HP Bug beats celebi and zam which are two pokemon that usually beat sceptile 1v1. Sub is for the pure reason to activate liechi and give yourself an extra life. The last slot really depends on what your team needs. SD is to boost your attack and beat counter registeel(with a little mindgames) and blissey. The second set in my opinion is a bit more interesting. EQ allows you to beat raikou, jolteon, and Blaziken(if they don't endure or have salac). Aerial ace can catch a heracross off guard and OHKO it. However, if they somehow predict the aerial ace and endure and their salac activates then you just might just lose. Double edge allows you to beat zam, non-HP Ice zapdos, and non-HP Ice Raikou(even though eq should be used to beat it). The last slot is either leaf blade or brick break depending on what you want. Leaf blade lets you beat marowak, vaporeon, and swampert while Brick break beats blissey if they don't counter t1 or freeze and Banded t-tar or t-tar with HP Bug.
Non-banded Ursaring
Banded Ursaring is really good, it can OHKO blissey with hyper beam which is insane. However, since banded ursaring is so good I decided to make a ursaring set that can fake the original band. If you've never fought ursaring or used him than you probably don't understand its true power. Since banded is taken with so much respect with at team preview lots of people have to beat it with their own physical attacker. This is where counter comes in. Counter allows you to beat mence with brick break, t-tar, metagross, and tons of other banded attakers(Something I should not is that its if they attack you with a physical move and don't attack you with a special move). However, if they don't respect ursaring and set-up they probably win. Its has enough sp def and HP to live hits from string physical attackers and special attacker a like. Its able to beat raikou and zapdos(And more pressure stall Pokemon) as long as there are no hax. SD is to set-up on a predicted protect and to beat even more mons. It can also be used as a way to break through tons of stall mons. The last slot is up to personal preference but I'll explain what each one does. Double edge allows you to beat swampert, stall sceptile as long as you predict protect and SD t1, and slower variants of marowak. HP Bug is purely for celebi and sceptile as long as you can predict protect. HP Ghost is to beat gengar and dusclops because since ursaring has guts burns actually help it. Overall, playing this ursaring requires a little prediction but the rewards are huge.
Today I will be sharing with you some niche Pokemon sets that I made that never made it to the final cut. They were either made a couple hours ago or they were just straight up terrible and I didn't feel like sharing them in before.
Raichu
I was introduced to this Pokemon by an inspireme and quickly figured out this pokemon had much more potential than I thought. Its ability to have encore can make any half decent mon viable. Just look at alakazam. Anyway, I started playing around with it and found out it had access to agility + seismic toss + encore which made a devastating combo. Agility is for zam and sceptile because as soon as your faster you can encore or just attack them. I've evd all the sets to get 3hkoed by a zam psychic as long as there are no hax. Encore is for the obvious reason to beat down stall mons and seismic toss is for the consistent damage. You can even beat registeel if you play your cards right. The last slot is what makes each raichu unique. Return in the last slot allows you to beat sceptile if they predict your set and start going for seismic toss. It also does more damage to raikou and zapdos. The big downside is that you can't take advantage of your amazing electric stab. This is what the second set does. T-bolt can beat counter registeel with more ease, gyarados, dodrio, moltres, vaporeon, most of the time you'll beat starmie, and gengar. However, you lose to important mons that you used to be able to beat like sceptile and potentially blissey. These sets are good and all but don't you get outclassed by zam because there's no reliable recovery I hear you ask. That's where the last set comes in. WishChu is my favorite raichu set out of all of them. Its basically taking a little out of both sets. It is able to beat specialized raikou as long as there are no special defense drops and still be able to beat stall sceptile, vaporeon, and jolteon. Along side that, the sp def plus recovery lets it beat regice too. I feel like I should mention the reason I put wish over rest is because you don't have to sleep for 3 turns which makes you vulnerable to seismic toss from sceptile and other mons.
ThatsRaik..WaitWrngMon (Raichu) @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 200 HP / 64 Atk / 244 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Agility
- Encore
- Seismic Toss
- Return
ThatsRaik..WaitWrngMon (Raichu) @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 200 HP / 64 SpA / 244 SpD
Timid Nature
- Agility
- Encore
- Seismic Toss
- Thunderbolt
WishChu (Raichu) @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Agility
- Encore
- Seismic Toss
- Wish
Ability: Static
EVs: 200 HP / 64 Atk / 244 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Agility
- Encore
- Seismic Toss
- Return
ThatsRaik..WaitWrngMon (Raichu) @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 200 HP / 64 SpA / 244 SpD
Timid Nature
- Agility
- Encore
- Seismic Toss
- Thunderbolt
WishChu (Raichu) @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Agility
- Encore
- Seismic Toss
- Wish
The main reason you might want to use this over hypno as a skill swap insomnia mon is because it has better offensive stats and its immune to seismic toss and or counter + its able to beat zam. Other than that its terrible. The spread allows you to beat raikou and zapdos(if its offensive) because if they t-bolt then they activate salac. After they activate salac you'll be faster and KO with a shadow ball into a hyper beam. Skill swamp + Night shade is to mostly to beat registeel but you can still beat more stall mons too.
OffAntiStallBantte (Banette) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Insomnia
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 Atk / 40 SpD / 220 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Skill Swap
- Night Shade
- Shadow Ball
- Hyper Beam
Ability: Insomnia
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 Atk / 40 SpD / 220 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Skill Swap
- Night Shade
- Shadow Ball
- Hyper Beam
Cradily
Cradily is a very interesting mon because of its access to Barrier and Amnesia. However, I will not be going over that today and just wanted to share this pretty weird set. SunnyBeam is to beats waters and ground types like marowak, vaporeon, and swampert. However, you don't OHKO Marowak with a Solarbeam so that's where petya comes in. After 1 Bonemerang it activate petya and you OHKO it back with solar beam. It also functions as a way to beat 252 Attack adamant or jolly mence if they Brick break and bring you down to petya. Then, you OHKO them back with HP Ice. The speed is to outspeed standard marowak. Mirror Coat is my last move of choice because as long as you don't get haxed you can beat celebi with a little prediction.
ImNoCradily (Cradily) @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Suction Cups
EVs: 4 HP / 52 Atk / 96 Def / 248 SpA / 108 Spe
Modest Nature
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Mirror Coat
- Sunny Day
Ability: Suction Cups
EVs: 4 HP / 52 Atk / 96 Def / 248 SpA / 108 Spe
Modest Nature
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Mirror Coat
- Sunny Day
Hitmontop
This set is such a meme it can actually work of you lucky enough. The main purpose is to beat cursepert, banded mence, blissey, t-tar, and psychic metagross. However, the match-up against metagross isn't even reliable because you have to take a guess if their aerial ace or psychic and it also loses to DD mence because they can just set-up. The things it can reliable take out are usually outdone by many other fighting types. Salac is for the pure reason to outspeed metagross after a psychic. Endeavor is to beat psychic metagross and thats basically it. Now I think you can see why I never released this set.
HitmonBOP (Hitmontop) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 180 Atk / 196 Def / 132 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Brick Break
- Endeavor
- Counter
- Bulk Up
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 180 Atk / 196 Def / 132 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Brick Break
- Endeavor
- Counter
- Bulk Up
Now we're at the section where the pokemon aren't niche but I just decided to make some new sets for them.
Specialized Sceptile
These sets take advantage of sceptile's decent attack. The first set is made to beat blissey because of you SD t1 and they knock you into liechi range with ice beam then you beat them(As long as the don't freeze). If then don't knock you in liechi rang then you sub. The speed is to outspeed DD t-tar at +1 and 2hkoe them with brick break. HP Bug beats celebi and zam which are two pokemon that usually beat sceptile 1v1. Sub is for the pure reason to activate liechi and give yourself an extra life. The last slot really depends on what your team needs. SD is to boost your attack and beat counter registeel(with a little mindgames) and blissey. The second set in my opinion is a bit more interesting. EQ allows you to beat raikou, jolteon, and Blaziken(if they don't endure or have salac). Aerial ace can catch a heracross off guard and OHKO it. However, if they somehow predict the aerial ace and endure and their salac activates then you just might just lose. Double edge allows you to beat zam, non-HP Ice zapdos, and non-HP Ice Raikou(even though eq should be used to beat it). The last slot is either leaf blade or brick break depending on what you want. Leaf blade lets you beat marowak, vaporeon, and swampert while Brick break beats blissey if they don't counter t1 or freeze and Banded t-tar or t-tar with HP Bug.
Sceptile @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 36 Def / 220 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brick Break
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
Sceptile @ Choice Band
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 40 SpA / 216 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace
- Double-Edge
- Leaf Blade / Brick Break
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 36 Def / 220 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brick Break
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
Sceptile @ Choice Band
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 40 SpA / 216 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace
- Double-Edge
- Leaf Blade / Brick Break
Non-banded Ursaring
Banded Ursaring is really good, it can OHKO blissey with hyper beam which is insane. However, since banded ursaring is so good I decided to make a ursaring set that can fake the original band. If you've never fought ursaring or used him than you probably don't understand its true power. Since banded is taken with so much respect with at team preview lots of people have to beat it with their own physical attacker. This is where counter comes in. Counter allows you to beat mence with brick break, t-tar, metagross, and tons of other banded attakers(Something I should not is that its if they attack you with a physical move and don't attack you with a special move). However, if they don't respect ursaring and set-up they probably win. Its has enough sp def and HP to live hits from string physical attackers and special attacker a like. Its able to beat raikou and zapdos(And more pressure stall Pokemon) as long as there are no hax. SD is to set-up on a predicted protect and to beat even more mons. It can also be used as a way to break through tons of stall mons. The last slot is up to personal preference but I'll explain what each one does. Double edge allows you to beat swampert, stall sceptile as long as you predict protect and SD t1, and slower variants of marowak. HP Bug is purely for celebi and sceptile as long as you can predict protect. HP Ghost is to beat gengar and dusclops because since ursaring has guts burns actually help it. Overall, playing this ursaring requires a little prediction but the rewards are huge.
UrsaBing (Ursaring) @ Leftovers
Ability: Guts
EVs: 224 HP / 180 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD
Impish Nature
- Double-Edge / HP Bug / HP Ghost
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Counter
Ability: Guts
EVs: 224 HP / 180 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD
Impish Nature
- Double-Edge / HP Bug / HP Ghost
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Counter
Ok gamer's Im gonna make a post about LRXC's Favorite Metagame, ADV 1v1.
UNO
Walrein, aka Da GOAT
Play it Back (Walrein) @ Never-Melt Ice
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 192 HP / 56 SpA / 48 SpD / 212 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Icy Wind
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Encore
Bam this shit is clean as a brand new sponge. Icy Wind + Ice Beam destroys Zapdos, Fat Gengar, and Celebi. Ice Beam straight up bodies Aerodactyl, Sceptile, and most Perts. Encore lets u destroy Dusclops (poggers) and 50/50 a lot of mons like Tyranitar.
DOS
Petaya Moltres
KantoFriedChicken (Moltres) @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 116 HP / 44 Def / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Overheat
- Substitute
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Hey you know how Marowak and how it can run SpDef and Rock Slide? Well Rock Slide has 2 (two) purposes, one of which is Moltres. This set deconstructs Marowak with a Petaya boosted Overheat. It also beats Swampert because of HP Grass, as well as Choice Band Kecleon with Sub -> Grass -> Overheat.
TRÈS
Ice Beam Marowak
Ok gamers...
Ice Beam Marowak > Rock Slide Marowak. You aren't reliably beating Moltres with anything ever because they can just run Petaya. "Rock Slide doesn't do anything else besides those two" - LRXC 2020. The only other thing Rock Slide is useful for is Salamence. However, Salamence has an Ability called Intimidate, as well as access to the move Iron Defense. Ergo, it kind of beats Rock Slide, so thats where Ice Beam comes in. ID Salamence can't beat Ice Beam Marowak, and Rock Slide isn't even useful vs Banded or DD Mence when compared to chad Ice Beam, especially when you have Counter. Stop running that garbage Rock Slide and hop on the Ice Beam Optimization Train.
UNO
Walrein, aka Da GOAT
Play it Back (Walrein) @ Never-Melt Ice
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 192 HP / 56 SpA / 48 SpD / 212 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Icy Wind
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Encore
Bam this shit is clean as a brand new sponge. Icy Wind + Ice Beam destroys Zapdos, Fat Gengar, and Celebi. Ice Beam straight up bodies Aerodactyl, Sceptile, and most Perts. Encore lets u destroy Dusclops (poggers) and 50/50 a lot of mons like Tyranitar.
DOS
Petaya Moltres
KantoFriedChicken (Moltres) @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 116 HP / 44 Def / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Overheat
- Substitute
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Hey you know how Marowak and how it can run SpDef and Rock Slide? Well Rock Slide has 2 (two) purposes, one of which is Moltres. This set deconstructs Marowak with a Petaya boosted Overheat. It also beats Swampert because of HP Grass, as well as Choice Band Kecleon with Sub -> Grass -> Overheat.
TRÈS
Ice Beam Marowak
Ok gamers...
Ice Beam Marowak > Rock Slide Marowak. You aren't reliably beating Moltres with anything ever because they can just run Petaya. "Rock Slide doesn't do anything else besides those two" - LRXC 2020. The only other thing Rock Slide is useful for is Salamence. However, Salamence has an Ability called Intimidate, as well as access to the move Iron Defense. Ergo, it kind of beats Rock Slide, so thats where Ice Beam comes in. ID Salamence can't beat Ice Beam Marowak, and Rock Slide isn't even useful vs Banded or DD Mence when compared to chad Ice Beam, especially when you have Counter. Stop running that garbage Rock Slide and hop on the Ice Beam Optimization Train.
We interrupt your regularly scheduled ADV spam to bring you:
Since I'm basically out of Classic at this point, I figured I might as well throw out some noms for mons that I feel are underappreciated in their corresponding gens:
Shaymin @ Normalium Z
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 64 SpD / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Celebrate
- Seed Flare
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis / Substitute
In a sense, this is sort of a new take on Serperior, but notably bulkier. The physical bulk allows it to withstand attacks from Choice Scarf Haxorus while the special bulk handles Porygon-Z. The speed also outpaces Landorus-Therian.
Synthesis is useful for consistently walling off Metagross, Garchomp, Choice Dragonite, Serperior, Ferrothorn, and Lopunny
Substitute is useful for Fairium Magearna, Magnezone, non-Uproar Meloetta, and beating Type Null by means of using Z-Substitute to restore your special attack and KO them after lowering their special defense.
As a Grass type, Shaymin does tend to have issues with the top Fire mons, though it still manages to get by. While I would say that this set in particular is probably the best you'll get out of Shaymin, in no way does that mean this is its only option; strategies like Swords Dance, Leech Seed stall, Grasswhistle, and so forth, all ensure that Shaymin continues to bloom with potential, which is why I feel it deserves mention on the VR. Even within this one set, you could still mix things up; for example, rearranging some of the EVs to more reliably withstand and OHKO Greninja after using Z-Celebrate. Of course, since this is effectively an entirely new, never-before-seen Pokemon in SM 1v1, I think a more conservative ranking of B-/C+ would be a good place to start. From there, we can see if it comes to take the meta by storm or if nothing happens.
Zapdos @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Roost
- Charge
Zapdos fulfills a very unique niche, being one of very few Pressure stallers. This set is loosely built for withstanding attacks from Choice Scarf Dragonite and Victini, as well as outspeeding the many 80 speed mons.
Charge is a useful for move for bolstering Zapdos' special bulk while also giving Thunderbolt a little extra kick. Significant gained matchups include Slowbro, Heatran, Altaria, Meloetta, Serperior, etc.
While I mostly forget the specifics that I built this set for, Zapdos in general is a relatively buildable mon with plenty of options ranging from both stall to offense. While it does struggle from poor matchups against the multiple significant Ice coverage users and a handful of overwhelming offensive threats, I feel like the niche it's carved out for itself is still plenty sizable to warrant placement on the VR. Since Zapdos is also a relatively unheard of Pokemon, I think a good starting point for it would be B-/C+. Similar to Shaymin, if it makes a significant name for itself in tournament or the occasional monthly ladder, I could absolutely see it rising higher.
Scyther @ Eviolite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 16 SpD / 232 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Roost
- Struggle Bug
- Aerial Ace / Bug Bite
This set is basically taken straight outta SS, but still works quite nicely. The set is loosely built around covering both Kyurem-Black and Genesect, maintaining as good rolls as possible against both while still being fast enough to outpace Garchomp.
Realistically, the only move that Scyter really needs is Roost, with all three of the other slots being flexible. Knock Off is useful for slowing down Scarf users and mitigating the damage taken from more offensive threats. Struggle Bug's purpose is clear, cutting back the damage from special attackers so that it can proceed to stall them out or KO them without fear of being KOd itself. Generally, it only needs one STAB, though Aerial Ace and Bug Bite both cover a decent enough number of threats that you could justifiably use either. An alternative move would be Swords Dance, which greatly improves its damage output with the STAB move.
While Scyther is generally more restricted to just Eviolite, its EVs and move setup are both plenty flexible to make Scyther a reasonably splashable teammate for many teams to cover particular weaknesses to many common cores. Notable issues would be the weaknesses to dominant meta threats between the multiple Fire and Rock type attackers as well as the occasional Electric type. Like the others, Scyther is a relatively unused mon that needs more time to become a meta staple and warrant higher placement, and as such, I think it should start off at B/B-.
Staraptor @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Feather Dance
Staraptor is a mon similar to Zapdos in that its niche can be twofold, between both offense and defense. This set in particular is bulked to withstand Azumarill's Aqua Jet after Belly Drum and still have just enough evs to outspeed the 80s, though after the discovery that Belly Drum and Aqua Jet are evidently incompatible in DPP, the set could do with a touchup that I am far too lazy to be bothered with, now that I'm out of DPP Cup.
The moveset you work with really just depends on what you wanna accomplish. The dual stabs in this case are good for dealing solid damage with either while not risking being KOd by recoil in certain scenarios, though one could easily be replaced with Toxic if you want to cover some of the more pesky defensive threats.
While this set in particular is built moreso with stall in mind, Staraptor still has options on the more offensive side of the spectrum that better aid it in breaking down some defensive threats it couldn't beat otherwise, with a wide variety of potential spreads it can make use of for both withstanding and dishing out attacks. Big risk factors are the obvious glaring weakness to the Electric and Steel types that dominate the meta, as well as the potential of KOing itself off of the recoil damage from Brave Bird, especially on the more offensive sets. The general DPP metagame and how wins and losses against certain mons can be more loosely based rather than rigid also makes picking Staraptor more dubious unless you're absolutely certain which set your opponent is using. As another Pokemon that hasn't really been explored as of yet, I think Staraptor should start out at B-/C+. From there, we can see if it takes off and warrants higher placement or not.
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 92 SpD / 92 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Icy Wind
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Dragon Claw
Dragonite @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 80 HP / 240 Atk / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Rock] / Hyper Beam
Two sets for this one, since Dragonite is a mon that's truly all over the place. Both sets are bulked to withstand a banded Rock Slide from Metagross / Salamence, and proceed to KO both with their corresponding coverage. The first set does its best to maintain a good matchup against Zapdos by bulking HP Ice, outspeeding after Icy Wind, and 2HKOing with Wind + Beam. The second set focuses more on the offense, outspeeding Raikou after Dragon Dance and holding onto as much attack as possible to get the KOs it needs.
Dragonite is a Pokemon that truly has all the coverage in the world, but struggles at maintaining the offenses to viably use both, often lending to the notion that it can realistically only function as either physical or special, rather than any potential at going mixed. For the special side, Ice + Fire + anything else is pretty much the way to go, with your other two slots being variable between moves like Thunderbolt or some Hidden Power. For the physical side, Dragon Dance and Earthquake are a must, with your other moves being a tossup based on what you wanna accomplish. If you're running Liechi, Substitute would be a useful move to ensure that you reliably activate it. As for the last move, you have the choice between HP Rock and Hyper Beam, with the latter providing the greatest damage output while the former is more useful for pesky Substitute users, especially those that you can't hit with Earthquake.
Realistically, Dragonite is a Pokemon that can be built to cover near anything it wants, though it will always be forced to sacrifice top matchups in exchange for other top matchups based on whether you want to go physical or special. While the selection of things it can accomplish that Salamence cannot may be limited, it is absolutely still a force to be reckoned with, and can effectively act as a second Salamence, should you desire one. ADV in general doesn't have the same depth of exploration as the other metas, so I feel more confident in saying that Dragonite deserves at least B+ rank.
You may now continue your regularly broadcasted ADV spam.
Since I'm basically out of Classic at this point, I figured I might as well throw out some noms for mons that I feel are underappreciated in their corresponding gens:
Shaymin @ Normalium Z
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 64 SpD / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Celebrate
- Seed Flare
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis / Substitute
In a sense, this is sort of a new take on Serperior, but notably bulkier. The physical bulk allows it to withstand attacks from Choice Scarf Haxorus while the special bulk handles Porygon-Z. The speed also outpaces Landorus-Therian.
Synthesis is useful for consistently walling off Metagross, Garchomp, Choice Dragonite, Serperior, Ferrothorn, and Lopunny
Substitute is useful for Fairium Magearna, Magnezone, non-Uproar Meloetta, and beating Type Null by means of using Z-Substitute to restore your special attack and KO them after lowering their special defense.
As a Grass type, Shaymin does tend to have issues with the top Fire mons, though it still manages to get by. While I would say that this set in particular is probably the best you'll get out of Shaymin, in no way does that mean this is its only option; strategies like Swords Dance, Leech Seed stall, Grasswhistle, and so forth, all ensure that Shaymin continues to bloom with potential, which is why I feel it deserves mention on the VR. Even within this one set, you could still mix things up; for example, rearranging some of the EVs to more reliably withstand and OHKO Greninja after using Z-Celebrate. Of course, since this is effectively an entirely new, never-before-seen Pokemon in SM 1v1, I think a more conservative ranking of B-/C+ would be a good place to start. From there, we can see if it comes to take the meta by storm or if nothing happens.
Zapdos @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Roost
- Charge
Zapdos fulfills a very unique niche, being one of very few Pressure stallers. This set is loosely built for withstanding attacks from Choice Scarf Dragonite and Victini, as well as outspeeding the many 80 speed mons.
Charge is a useful for move for bolstering Zapdos' special bulk while also giving Thunderbolt a little extra kick. Significant gained matchups include Slowbro, Heatran, Altaria, Meloetta, Serperior, etc.
While I mostly forget the specifics that I built this set for, Zapdos in general is a relatively buildable mon with plenty of options ranging from both stall to offense. While it does struggle from poor matchups against the multiple significant Ice coverage users and a handful of overwhelming offensive threats, I feel like the niche it's carved out for itself is still plenty sizable to warrant placement on the VR. Since Zapdos is also a relatively unheard of Pokemon, I think a good starting point for it would be B-/C+. Similar to Shaymin, if it makes a significant name for itself in tournament or the occasional monthly ladder, I could absolutely see it rising higher.
Scyther @ Eviolite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 16 SpD / 232 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Roost
- Struggle Bug
- Aerial Ace / Bug Bite
This set is basically taken straight outta SS, but still works quite nicely. The set is loosely built around covering both Kyurem-Black and Genesect, maintaining as good rolls as possible against both while still being fast enough to outpace Garchomp.
Realistically, the only move that Scyter really needs is Roost, with all three of the other slots being flexible. Knock Off is useful for slowing down Scarf users and mitigating the damage taken from more offensive threats. Struggle Bug's purpose is clear, cutting back the damage from special attackers so that it can proceed to stall them out or KO them without fear of being KOd itself. Generally, it only needs one STAB, though Aerial Ace and Bug Bite both cover a decent enough number of threats that you could justifiably use either. An alternative move would be Swords Dance, which greatly improves its damage output with the STAB move.
While Scyther is generally more restricted to just Eviolite, its EVs and move setup are both plenty flexible to make Scyther a reasonably splashable teammate for many teams to cover particular weaknesses to many common cores. Notable issues would be the weaknesses to dominant meta threats between the multiple Fire and Rock type attackers as well as the occasional Electric type. Like the others, Scyther is a relatively unused mon that needs more time to become a meta staple and warrant higher placement, and as such, I think it should start off at B/B-.
Staraptor @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Feather Dance
Staraptor is a mon similar to Zapdos in that its niche can be twofold, between both offense and defense. This set in particular is bulked to withstand Azumarill's Aqua Jet after Belly Drum and still have just enough evs to outspeed the 80s, though after the discovery that Belly Drum and Aqua Jet are evidently incompatible in DPP, the set could do with a touchup that I am far too lazy to be bothered with, now that I'm out of DPP Cup.
The moveset you work with really just depends on what you wanna accomplish. The dual stabs in this case are good for dealing solid damage with either while not risking being KOd by recoil in certain scenarios, though one could easily be replaced with Toxic if you want to cover some of the more pesky defensive threats.
While this set in particular is built moreso with stall in mind, Staraptor still has options on the more offensive side of the spectrum that better aid it in breaking down some defensive threats it couldn't beat otherwise, with a wide variety of potential spreads it can make use of for both withstanding and dishing out attacks. Big risk factors are the obvious glaring weakness to the Electric and Steel types that dominate the meta, as well as the potential of KOing itself off of the recoil damage from Brave Bird, especially on the more offensive sets. The general DPP metagame and how wins and losses against certain mons can be more loosely based rather than rigid also makes picking Staraptor more dubious unless you're absolutely certain which set your opponent is using. As another Pokemon that hasn't really been explored as of yet, I think Staraptor should start out at B-/C+. From there, we can see if it takes off and warrants higher placement or not.
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 92 SpD / 92 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Icy Wind
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Dragon Claw
Dragonite @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 80 HP / 240 Atk / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Rock] / Hyper Beam
Two sets for this one, since Dragonite is a mon that's truly all over the place. Both sets are bulked to withstand a banded Rock Slide from Metagross / Salamence, and proceed to KO both with their corresponding coverage. The first set does its best to maintain a good matchup against Zapdos by bulking HP Ice, outspeeding after Icy Wind, and 2HKOing with Wind + Beam. The second set focuses more on the offense, outspeeding Raikou after Dragon Dance and holding onto as much attack as possible to get the KOs it needs.
Dragonite is a Pokemon that truly has all the coverage in the world, but struggles at maintaining the offenses to viably use both, often lending to the notion that it can realistically only function as either physical or special, rather than any potential at going mixed. For the special side, Ice + Fire + anything else is pretty much the way to go, with your other two slots being variable between moves like Thunderbolt or some Hidden Power. For the physical side, Dragon Dance and Earthquake are a must, with your other moves being a tossup based on what you wanna accomplish. If you're running Liechi, Substitute would be a useful move to ensure that you reliably activate it. As for the last move, you have the choice between HP Rock and Hyper Beam, with the latter providing the greatest damage output while the former is more useful for pesky Substitute users, especially those that you can't hit with Earthquake.
Realistically, Dragonite is a Pokemon that can be built to cover near anything it wants, though it will always be forced to sacrifice top matchups in exchange for other top matchups based on whether you want to go physical or special. While the selection of things it can accomplish that Salamence cannot may be limited, it is absolutely still a force to be reckoned with, and can effectively act as a second Salamence, should you desire one. ADV in general doesn't have the same depth of exploration as the other metas, so I feel more confident in saying that Dragonite deserves at least B+ rank.
| Blaziken | 12 | 6% | I think blaziken has risen in popularity in response to registeel, t-tar, and the fire typing letting it beat metagross and sceptile. And its also because of that stupid blaziken, jolteon, and Zapdos team that I see everywhere. |
| marowak | 12 | 6% | Marowak has definitely proven itself to be a solid mon but I find it surprising I didn't see it a single time in the last tour of the week. It has shown up more in unofficials than officials which I personally think is interesting. |
| zapdos | 11 | 5.50% | Zapdos is well um Zapdos. Its part of the blaziken, jolteon, and zapdos team that I've seen a lot and its a solid choice for a pressure stall mon. However, my estimate on its win rate leads me to conclude its a bit overused and there are an abdunace of counter play. |
| jolteon | 10 | 5% | Jolteon is part of that infamous team that I've been seeing and isn't even that bad anyway. I do think it rose in popularity because of all the sceptile and salamence running around. |
| salamence | 10 | 5% | Salamence is to be expected up here. However, its losses it brings are something else to talk about. Even though I don't have an official win loss counter I do know that salamence has lost more games than it has win. So thats my take away of mence. |
| metagross | 9 | 4% | Gross was a monster. It had by far the most wins out of losses and its multiple sets wreaked havoc. I noticed it was being pulled into sceptile a lot and the sceptile kept getting sludge bombed which is something to note. |
| Sceptile | 9 | 4% | Sceptile definitely made a mark on the usage stats. Lots of things that rose in popularity were mean't to beat it. Also, I should note that I only saw a little petya sets and most of them were stall. But surprisingly the petya sets won more games. I also noticed that stall sceptile was running HP ice without petya which was suicide. |
| Heracross | 8 | 3.50% | Heracross wasn't really a surprise. I kind of expected it to be this high up judging how good it was. However, I some of the sets didn't have sub or endure which was a surprise to me. |
| venusaur | 8 | 3.50% | Venusaur was only really placed this high because of Bomb21xd. Its basically worse sceptile other than a couple niche advantages. |
| blissey | 7 | 3% | I honestly thought blissey would've been higher up but data is data ig. Its able to beat most special attackers which makes it a serious threat. I think this will be the decline of more defensive variants of stall mons like registeel and blissey. |
| Registeel | 7 | 3% | Registeel has a lot less offensive pressure than other mons which is probably why registeel is less popular than other top mons. Also, lots more mons are specialized to beat it. |
| swampert | 7 | 3% | Swampert is the monster that has lots of success in these room tours. Its able to beat lots of the top tiers but it has its own Achilles's heel, HP Grass. Even with that hindering weakness it still managed to find success. |
| raikou | 5 | 2.40% | Raikou was surprisingly low probably in response to the rise of wak and other mons that beat it. And it really didn't win that many games either. Defensive raikou actually was one of the most successful sets. |
| Zangoose | 5 | 2.40% | Zangoose was Bomb's fault again but it actually wasn't that bad. Its endure flail set actually managed to be a serious threat. I think this is because its speed allows it to be a faster flail mon but there isn't much reason to use this over dodrio. |
| Alakazam | 4 | 2% | I'm a little confused why Alakazam had so little usage but my theroy is that people are a little hesitant to use such a frail mon even though it is really good and would've won some games. |
| azurmarill | 4 | 2% | Once again this is bomb's fault. |
| Charizard | 4 | 2% | Charizard has a recent surge in popularity in the ADV Cup and room tours which was kinda weird but I do understand why. It has more speed and power than moltres after it gets its blaze. |
| gyarados | 4 | 2% | Gyarados is just one of the best flail mons out there because of DD. It probably rose because of the popularity of scept. |
| Primeape | 4 | 2% | PRIMETIME BABY!!!!! |
| Aerodactyl | 3 | 1.40% | Aero is just rly strong and pretty under rated. It won most of the battles it was pulled. |
| Celebi | 3 | 1.40% | |
| Dusclops | 3 | 1.40% | |
| entei | 3 | 1.40% | |
| Gengar | 3 | 1.40% | Gengar usually ran a more offensive set which actually didn't work out good for it. |
| Pikachu | 3 | 1.40% | |
| regice | 3 | 1.40% | |
| starmie | 3 | 1.40% | |
| tyrantiar | 3 | 1.40% | I feel its a crime for T-tar to be this low but it makes sense. The 2 most common mons usage wise beat it. |
| ursaring | 3 | 1.40% | |
| Vaporeon | 3 | 1.40% | |
| weezing | 3 | 1.40% | |
| Arcanine | 2 | 1% | I want to quickly take credit for this. |
| blastoise | 2 | 1% | |
| Clefable | 2 | 1% | |
| Flygon | 2 | 1% | |
| kingdra | 2 | 1% | |
| Lanturn | 2 | 1% | |
| Ludicolo | 2 | 1% | My influence is spreading |
| Moltres | 2 | 1% | |
| Walrein | 2 | 1% | |
| breloom | 1 | 0.50% | |
| clefable | 1 | 0.50% | |
| Dewgong | 1 | 0.50% | |
| Dodrio | 1 | 0.50% | |
| Dunsparce | 1 | 0.50% | Parahax are not the way to go. |
| Golem | 1 | 0.50% | |
| Granbull | 1 | 0.50% | |
| Houdoom | 1 | 0.50% | |
| Jirachi | 1 | 0.50% | |
| Milotic | 1 | 0.50% | |
| Ninetales | 1 | 0.50% | |
| piloswine | 1 | 0.50% |
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Bro
Wheres scarfed land-t
i hope u know https://replaystats-eo.herokuapp.com/ exists