Resource Simple Questions, Simple Answers Thread

[Red Raven]

What kind of teams distinguish whether someone should use a bulky volcarona set or an offensive volcarona set? Should one always be used over the other?

That would depend on whether or not Volcarona's team needs it to stick around or just attack everything in sight once Heatran goes down. There is no should when it comes to Volcarona if it's not a hyper offense team. If it is ho, then you definitely want offensive set but for other typs of team, it would come down to how much of an opening they can give offensive Volcarona and the player's own preference

do boots negate poison types' ability to get rid of tspikes?

No according to bulbapedia

If a grounded Poison-type Pokémon enters the field while holding this item, it will still cause Toxic Spikes to be removed.

 

[Dreadfury]

How does one go about building a team around Beat Up Weavile? I'd imagine that teammates with high Attack stats and good utility/offensive pressure (Kart, Buzzwole, Lando/Chomp, etc.) are a good start, but I'd imagine there's a lot more to it than just that.

 

[Vroxxz]

How does one go about building a team around Beat Up Weavile? I'd imagine that teammates with high Attack stats and good utility/offensive pressure (Kart, Buzzwole, Lando/Chomp, etc.) are a good start, but I'd imagine there's a lot more to it than just that.

Teams with Beat Up Weavile are usually HO, as they can consistently and constantly pressure the opponent, but you could build Balance or BO with it if you use the right Pokémon (you don't wanna build one with something like Blissey or Glowking most of the time cause they have trash attack lol). With HO, you usually just pick mons that can revenge kill most of the meta, and for Balance or BO, you want walls like Buzzwole as you mentioned, who are defensive and also powerful on the attacking side.

Some good teammates (offensive/defensive) are: Landorus (defensive stealth rocker or suicide lead), Garchomp (stealth rocker/setup sweeper), Dragapult (you can make a special attacking set, since Pults attack will still be moderately high for the Beat Up), Victini (very good partner, just avoid the rock types), Zeraora (also very good partner), Urshifu-R (any set usually works), and Zapdos-Galar (scarfed is usually good if you don't have speed control). And last but not least, Kartana. Kartana is definitely one of the best partners for Beat Up Weavile as it has the highest base attack in the tier. just slap a scarf on Kart and a band on Weavile, and there you go, you have a good offensive pair. They are both weak to fire and fighting, so Dragapult synergizes very well with them as well, being able to hit from the special side, while having decent attack power and resisting fire and having an immunity to ghost. Toxapex has great synergy with Weavile and should generally be used in Balance teams built around it usually despite its horrendous attack stat.
TLDR (good teammates):

TLDR...
Balance/BO: Choose teammates with good synergy.
HO: Choose teammates that can revenge kill and threaten the majority of the meta.
Weavile: Use Choice Banded Weavile for max power.

Just some tips I threw out from my side. Hope I was able to help :)

 

[658Greninja]

Is ladder a sham?

Edit: Should’ve worded this better. Only asking this cuz I hardly run into “meta” teams. Then I proceed to run into Goodra, Crobat, Thundurus-I, among other unmon shit despite being up to the 1600s-1700s. Is ladder not a good place to learn, improve, and understand the metagame? Would it be better to just watch/join tours?

 

[AM]

Is ladder a sham?

No

 

[Nish the Great]

Is ladder a sham?

Edit: Should’ve worded this better. Only asking this cuz I hardly run into “meta” teams. Then I proceed to run into Goodra, Crobat, Thundurus-I, among other unmon shit despite being up to the 1600s-1700s. Is ladder not a good place to learn, improve, and understand the metagame? Would it be better to just watch/join tours?

Since a lot of people play for fun and dont really care about the meta, ladder is always gonna have people who aren't playing competitively. You still do run into a lot of people who play competitively so I'd say it definitely isnt a waste of time. The issue with playing only tours is that you'll not be playing as much.

 

[Smashburn]

Is ladder a sham?

Edit: Should’ve worded this better. Only asking this cuz I hardly run into “meta” teams. Then I proceed to run into Goodra, Crobat, Thundurus-I, among other unmon shit despite being up to the 1600s-1700s. Is ladder not a good place to learn, improve, and understand the metagame? Would it be better to just watch/join tours?

In my opinion, unless you're top ladder, it isn't the greatest place to learn, improve, and understand the metagame. Don't get me wrong, ladder is still good for newer players to understand the basic methods of play, but if you are looking for something more worthwhile it takes community involvement. Tournaments (room or otherwise) are good for this reason as players have more of an incentive to play competitively. Smogon doesn't have any support groups dedicated to competitive practice to my knowledge, but if you reach out to those in the community who play competitively or semi-competitively I'm sure they'll be able to help (myself included). Of course, it is still a mixed bag, and ladder gives you the opportunity to gain experience and learn the same way other forms of practice might-- it's really up to you.

[EDIT]

Should have worded that better lol.

 

[IPF]

Smogon doesn't have anything dedicated to competitive practice to my knowledge

yea its called the ladder

 

[Lord Xen III]

Is ladder a sham?

Edit: Should’ve worded this better. Only asking this cuz I hardly run into “meta” teams. Then I proceed to run into Goodra, Crobat, Thundurus-I, among other unmon shit despite being up to the 1600s-1700s. Is ladder not a good place to learn, improve, and understand the metagame? Would it be better to just watch/join tours?

I would look at the Sample Teams, high ladder elo RMTS, and viability rankings to get a sense of what is "meta". And even if you run into those lower viability mons, it's still a learning experience, as you can then understand why those mons aren't successful usually, but understand what value they can add if any. And, by playing a lot on the ladder, you still will run into strong teams semi-often too, so either way you are learning something every game.

 

[Double Electric]

In general, what would be considered the least match-up dependent playstyle in the OU meta at the moment? I think in the past this used to be stall, but nowadays even stall seems pretty matchup fishy overall. I remember back in earlier gens, you could basically just build one team, and it would have at least a chance of beating pretty much any team you would come across, but currently the meta seems to have shifted more toward building teams and just accepting that you're playing a statistical long game and that you will outright lose against certain threats.

That being said, is there any kind of team that sort of minimizes matchup fishing in general?

 

[Vroxxz]

In general, what would be considered the least match-up dependent playstyle in the OU meta at the moment? I think in the past this used to be stall, but nowadays even stall seems pretty matchup fishy overall. I remember back in earlier gens, you could basically just build one team, and it would have at least a chance of beating pretty much any team you would come across, but currently the meta seems to have shifted more toward building teams and just accepting that you're playing a statistical long game and that you will outright lose against certain threats.

That being said, is there any kind of team that sort of minimizes matchup fishing in general?

In my opinion, I'd say rain teams. Unless you run into a very good player that has grass type and electric type coverage on the same mon, like Grass Knot + Tbolt Tapu Koko, you have a very high chance of winning. Rain is a very easy playstyle to play, as most teams only have one or two switch ins to rain which you can mostly predict. Once those walls like Ferrothorn or Toxapex are gone, you just go into Barraskewda and spam Liquidation. This is why rain is very prominent on high ladder.

There are a few threats to rain, but can generally be managed.
Some offensive threats being:
Some defensive walls to rain: | (absorbs water) |

Obviously I'm listing a lot of threats, but you don't see more than 3 on a single team, which most can be revenge killed by something.
And also: since these 4 can switch up the weather.

When running rain, you need 4 mandatory pokemon in your team: and any electric immunity. Pelipper is the best rain setter, screw Politoed. Barraskewda absolutely abuses rain. Ferrothorn just benefits so much, and is a great switch in to common threats like Rillaboom and Tapu-Koko and more

Not criticizing rain teams or anything as I love playing them, but seriously...rain isn't that tough to play for the majority and you most likely just end up winning by spamming Liquidation on Barraskewda lol. I'm not saying it takes no skill, but it's one of the easiest playstyles to learn to play.

Let me know if you think I'm wrong or if there are other teams that "minimize matchup fishing"

 

[KamenOH]

Are boots broken, or am i just used to a hazard-centric meta?
I say this because every time I try to use hazards the moves usually take up a moveslot that couldve gone to coverage or utility or even set-up moves, and dont actually do much besides waste a turn and get walked over.

 

[CJ Flava]

Are boots broken, or am i just used to a hazard-centric meta?
I say this because every time I try to use hazards the moves usually take up a moveslot that couldve gone to coverage or utility or even set-up moves, and dont actually do much besides waste a turn and get walked over.

100% agree, boots have been overall very dominant on the Meta to the point that even mons who aren't weak to Stealth Rock still use it take for example Tapu Koko, even though this does take up an Item-Slot it's pretty safe to say that these mons benefit from Heavy-Duty Boots than any other item, like Volcarona was once very hard to use since you need to have maximum hazard control but now you can just plop it on some screens and sweep if they don't have a Heatran it just really enables a lot of mons, so yeah I think it's kinda broken.

 

[658Greninja]

In general, what would be considered the least match-up dependent playstyle in the OU meta at the moment? I think in the past this used to be stall, but nowadays even stall seems pretty matchup fishy overall. I remember back in earlier gens, you could basically just build one team, and it would have at least a chance of beating pretty much any team you would come across, but currently the meta seems to have shifted more toward building teams and just accepting that you're playing a statistical long game and that you will outright lose against certain threats.

That being said, is there any kind of team that sort of minimizes matchup fishing in general?

Bulky Offense. They have enough dmg output to break open stall/balance while having enough bulk to handle rain and other offensive archetypes.

 

[Lord Xen III]

if you're running spdef ferro in rain, is another shadow ball switchin mandatory?

 

[Vroxxz]

if you're running spdef ferro in rain, is another shadow ball switchin mandatory?

Personally, I would say yes. SpD Ferro is tanky and all, but it doesn't resist it nor does it have a reliable healing option. Furthermore, Ferrothorn MUST be preserved for the grass and electrics. Usually, Ferrothorn in rain is Rocky Helmet and full Phys Def to better handle threats like Boom and Kart.

Here's a tip from my side:

Heliolisk is one of my favourite Pokemon in rain because:
1. It acts as a Shadow Ball switch in (normal/electric typing)
2. Zapdos switch in
3. Great ability (Dry Skin)
4. Great movepool

Heliolisk Set

Here's my favourite Heliolisk set. Surf is a better option than Weather Ball since you can threaten Heatran and other water weak pokemon outside of rain if you don't have Focus Blast.

Heliolisk @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Surf
- Focus Blast / Grass Knot
- Volt Switch

 

[Vroxxz]

I'm trying to make a Hyper Offense team, but I just seem to get hard checked by 1 mon even if I change some mons.

Here's my current team:
Suicude Lead
Scarf
Specs
Band + Beat Up
SD Life Orb
Screens

Screens Slowbro was a VERY niche choice, but I had to add it since I was very weak to Skewda as it would just come in and spam Liquidation (I had Grimmsnarl at first). Originally I had Rillaboom over Bisharp, and a Scarf Ninetales-Alola came in and swept half my team with Blizzard.

Some threats:
+ Rain is threatening especially when Slowbro is low.
I feel like ice types in general are scary, but especially Weavile once Blaziken is low or gone.

My main question (not trying to make this an RMT lol):
What are some good dual screen users I can use, and someone I should change so that I'm not completely exposed to rain?

 

[Red Raven]

I'm trying to make a Hyper Offense team, but I just seem to get hard checked by 1 mon even if I change some mons.

Here's my current team:
Suicude Lead
Scarf
Specs
Band + Beat Up
SD Life Orb
Screens

Screens Slowbro was a VERY niche choice, but I had to add it since I was very weak to Skewda as it would just come in and spam Liquidation (I had Grimmsnarl at first). Originally I had Rillaboom over Bisharp, and a Scarf Ninetales-Alola came in and swept half my team with Blizzard.

Some threats:
+ Rain is threatening especially when Slowbro is low.
I feel like ice types in general are scary, but especially Weavile once Blaziken is low or gone.

My main question (not trying to make this an RMT lol):
What are some good dual screen users I can use, and someone I should change so that I'm not completely exposed to rain?

Alolan Ninetails and Tapu Koko are the best choices. Koko has taunt and reflect will allow you to live most quakes while Ninetails carries both screens in one go. If you're that concerned about rain and Weavile then Ninetails is the best option

Also, I think your team has too many choice items for a hyper offense team

 

[Smashburn]

I'm trying to make a Hyper Offense team, but I just seem to get hard checked by 1 mon even if I change some mons.

Here's my current team:
Suicude Lead
Scarf
Specs
Band + Beat Up
SD Life Orb
Screens

Screens Slowbro was a VERY niche choice, but I had to add it since I was very weak to Skewda as it would just come in and spam Liquidation (I had Grimmsnarl at first). Originally I had Rillaboom over Bisharp, and a Scarf Ninetales-Alola came in and swept half my team with Blizzard.

Some threats:
+ Rain is threatening especially when Slowbro is low.
I feel like ice types in general are scary, but especially Weavile once Blaziken is low or gone.

My main question (not trying to make this an RMT lol):
What are some good dual screen users I can use, and someone I should change so that I'm not completely exposed to rain?

Why not try Ninetales-Alola? It provides screens, offsets weather matchups, and checks Weavile. You also get the added bonus of being more offensively flexible, which means you can restructure some. I had a similar sentiment to Red Raven, there's a number of choice items here that make it seem less like HO.

 

[gvon]

Just getting back into competitive battling for the first time since XY where I typically used bulky offense with Ttar and Keldeo. Is bulky offense viable right now or would stall or hyper offense be more useful?

 

[Smashburn]

Just getting back into competitive battling for the first time since XY where I typically used bulky offense with Ttar and Keldeo. Is bulky offense viable right now or would stall or hyper offense be more useful?

Welcome back! Plenty of buildstyles are popular right now, the SmogDex is a great place to look for information on building. You can also check out the role compendium, viability rankings, and metagame discussion thread in addition to other resources. In short, bulky offenses seems like they would do well at the moment, though Stall and Hyper Offense are very MU dependent.

 

[SOM/05]

I have seen many player using 23 Spe Lando,(Ik it is to under speed opponent's lando) but why not go lower
I want to know the risk and rewards on running 23 Spe Lando and is it necessary

 

[Ruft]

I have seen many player using 23 Spe Lando,(Ik it is to under speed opponent's lando) but why not go lower
I want to know the risk and rewards on running 23 Spe Lando and is it necessary

210 Speed is for Crawdaunt (Adamant Crawdaunt is 209 Speed), but you can go lower (depending on your team) since Crawdaunt is rather uncommon. Keep in mind that dropping more Speed can get you into 'outsped by bulky Heatran' territory though, which is undesirable.

 

[dunderguy]

what offensive mons should i use if i plan to use doom desire?

 

[Smashburn]

what offensive mons should i use if i plan to use doom desire?

One of its better known abusers is Regidrago, since it can OHKO-2HKO the entire tier bar immunities. Doom Desire helps to offset Fairy-types, as does Trick + Ring Target and other trappers. Outside of that, building is really up to you.