Recent content by SL the Pyro

I was watching a Showdown! match wherein a Salazzle with Corrosion was holding a Toxic Orb, and the user was baffled that his Salazzle didn't get TOX'd after Turn 1. I did some science in Ultra Moon and sure enough, a Pokemon with Corrosion will TOX itself with the Toxic Orb even if its typing...

I also find there to be a depressingly high amount of Physical-oriented trainers, to the point where sweeping them with Inkay/Malamar was a novelty that didn't last long. Getting Swagger, Foul Play and Reflect so early is ridiculous, and the AI seems to have no clue how to deal with Contrary.

The jury's out on whether or not you're a prophet, but you were right anyway: Naganadel has been kicked up to Ubers. The combination of Nasty Plot, Beast Boost and perfect coverage with three attacking moves was just too strong.

The more I fiddle around with Stakataka, the more I think that Beast Boost really isn't a good ability for it. I think it's the only case where you must purposely gimp its stats to make Beast Boost work the way you want it to. Which is not to sell it short, mind you: a Rock/Steel with a poor...

The Flying Gem is sadly not available in Sun/Moon as of yet. If you absolutely had to run an item on Acrobatics Celesteela, it would have to be a healing berry - the confusion berries could work due to Celesteela's natural bulk.

I'm just going to weigh in my two cents and say that, other than U-turn, there is one thing that Eviolite Type: Null gets over Porygon2, and that is Roar. Get out. (Type: Null) @ Eviolite Ability: Battle Armor Happiness: 0 EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD / 4 Spe Impish Nature - Frustration...

I'm not sure I like the idea of Brine and Nature's Madness on their own. On paper it sounds like a solid idea since Nature's Madness should chop the enemy's HP bar in half, but in practice I've seen many, many, many people run odd HP numbers specifically to prevent shenanigans like this, since...

In my personal opinion, Necrozma's stats are better spent on bulk rather than Speed. Having super-defenses alongside Prism Armor and Moonlight/Morning Sun makes Necro absurdly tanky and gives it lots of chances to set up unless the opposing 'Mon has a massive offense stat. Personally I'd go with...

What the heck, I had no idea Z-Haze was a full heal... though in hindsight it wouldn't be any good as a stat-booster, since Haze's effect would happen after the Z-effect and eliminate the resulting boosts. I may have to try that on my stall set. That's way better than Leftovers, for all the...

I want to say Hidden Power [Ground] would be a better alternative to Steel coverage to deal with Fire-types that otherwise wall Magearna, but with behemoths like Celesteela, Skarmory and (Mega) Scizor running rampant in OU right now, Shift Gear Magearna needs the Fire coverage to prevent its...

Magearna @ Fairium Z Ability: Soul-Heart EVs: 248 HP / 40 SpA / 220 Spe Modest Nature - Fleur Cannon - Hidden Power [Fire] - Shadow Ball / Ice Beam / Charge Beam / Flash Cannon - Shift Gear My attempt at a bulky Shift Gear set that doesn't end up needing a +Spe nature. The Speed investment...

Since I'm running offense on the other Tapus, I wanted to give a bulky trap set a try for Fini. Tapu Fini @ Leftovers Ability: Misty Surge EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 16 SpD / 8 Spe Bold Nature IVs: 0 Atk - Whirlpool - Nature's Madness - Taunt - Aqua Ring What sets Tapu Fini apart from other...

Your defensive investment should probably depend on which of Necrozma's weaknesses your team has bigger problems with. I prefer SpD+ and Iron Defense because Bug and Dark are mostly physical-based and thus covers more weaknesses, but if I were running a team that had issues with Ghosts, I'd...

The general consensus seems to be max SpD investment, with a side of Iron Defense if you want it to live after setting rocks. Even before +2 and with no EVs in Def, Necrozma is nigh-impossible to OHKO - we're talking "Banded Galvanize Explosion" levels of cheese needed to accomplish that...

Yeah, you definitely wouldn't throw a booster 'Mon in on something that can do well over half its HP with one hit. If Weakness Policy was triggered beforehand I'd take the hit and retaliate with Stored Power (nuking M-Char-Y in one turn is a good trade!), but if not I'd just switch Necrozma out...