Ask a Simple Question; Get a Simple Answer & General Resources (OU Edition)

[HoiPolloi]

From the "Counter this Pokemon"-thread

-To be considered a counter, a Pokemon must be able to switch into any of the opponent's moves under normal battle conditions*, including taking damage from Stealth Rock, and reliably KO the opponent before the counter is KOed itself. (props to Woodchuck)
-To be considered a check, a Pokemon must be able to switch into at least one but not all of the opponent's moves under normal battle conditions, including taking damage from Stealth Rock, and reliably KO the opponent before the counter is KOed itself

So, no. Check is not equal to a counter. Scizor is a check to Alakazam because it can KO it with a Bullet Punch, but it can not switch in 100% safely fearing an HP Fire and it will take massive damage from a Focus Blast. Jirachi is a counter as it can come in on any move and reliable KO Alakazam.

 

[canno]

Hey, I have an odd question.

Let's say Ditto switches into a pokemon with a sub/Zoroak in disguised, and then the pokemon/Zoroak switches out into a pokemon with Trace. Would the Trace pokemon copy Imposter and transform into Ditto, or would it stay the same? I know this has almost 0% chance of happening in a real game, but I was curious as to how that works.

 

[Danger Mouse]

I have a question which is based on hackmons. I was facing a user of Sturdy Shedinja on PS! and at the time had no sources of residual damage so I couldn't do anything to it. Does sturdy protect from a KO due to burn, poison, or entry hazards?

 

[Xinefere]

I have a question which is based on hackmons. I was facing a user of Sturdy Shedinja on PS! and at the time had no sources of residual damage so I couldn't do anything to it. Does sturdy protect from a KO due to burn, poison, or entry hazards?

im not 100%, but im pretty sure the same loopholes from Wonder guard apply to Sturdy too, these include entry hazards, like you said as well as status problems, weather and damaging abilities such as bad dreams or rough skin, but preferably i just slap a Haxorus into that team, mold breaker allows you to hit through abilities so its good for sturdy user and wonder guard spiritomb, sableye and air baloon electric types
This shows you the abilities mold breaker hit through

 

[Pocket]

Sturdy does not protect Shedinja from residual damage

 

[Smaug]

Got few questions here:

1.)If a Pokemon uses Solar Beam under the sun, but in the same turn opponent switches to auto weather inducer other than Ninetails/Vulpix or to a Pokemon with ability Cloud Nine, will Solar Beam attack in the same turn or only in the next turn?

2.)If 2 Pokemon speed is tied, how it is determined which of them will attack first? Is it random?

3.)Are there any random battle tournaments in Pokemon Showdown! or PO?

1) It will take two turns. That's why people are so hesitant to use Solarbeam, even on a Sun team.

2) It is indeed random.

3) I don't think so.

 

[Adams]

Is it okay to ask people to rate and give suggestions for your teams? Also where would I go to post this?

 

[G-Von]

Is it okay to ask people to rate and give suggestions for your teams? Also where would I go to post this?

http://www.smogon.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=52

that link right there is where you will want to post a team of yours to be rated.

 

[Electrolyte]

Hey, I have an odd question.

Let's say Ditto switches into a pokemon with a sub/Zoroak in disguised, and then the pokemon/Zoroak switches out into a pokemon with Trace. Would the Trace pokemon copy Imposter and transform into Ditto, or would it stay the same? I know this has almost 0% chance of happening in a real game, but I was curious as to how that works.

I would say that it doesn't. Trace can't copy Illusion, which I guess kinda works in the same way.
If you think about it, even if a porygon2 should get imposter from a ditto, it will either fail to transform into that ditto because imposter should only work the moment the user comes in, or it will transform into that ditto, but fail to transform into anything else because of the above rule. If that is confusing, just remember that imposter always works the moment it's beholder switches in. Even if it's Traced, it should fail to activate because the Tracer has already been in for enough time to activate Trace.

So in conclusion, no, I don't think Trace copies Imposter. Can we have a researcher verify this?

 

[Zacchaeus]

It's impossible for your active Pokémon to have Impostor when an opposing Pokémon's Trace activates because the Impostor Poké will have copied the Trace Poké's ability

 

[The Immortal]

Hey, I have an odd question.

Let's say Ditto switches into a pokemon with a sub/Zoroak in disguised, and then the pokemon/Zoroak switches out into a pokemon with Trace. Would the Trace pokemon copy Imposter and transform into Ditto, or would it stay the same? I know this has almost 0% chance of happening in a real game, but I was curious as to how that works.

Trace does not copy the following abilities: Flower Gift, Forecast, Illusion, Imposter, Multitype, Trace, Wonder Guard, and Zen Mode.

 

[Deleted User 149239]

okay I'm confused. this page has 39pokemon only in the OU tier http://www.smogon.com/bw/tiers/ou

while this page has alot more pokemon
http://www.smogon.com/bw/metagames/ou

the difference between tiers and metagames?

 

[Ithilanor]

okay I'm confused. this page has 39pokemon only in the OU tier http://www.smogon.com/bw/tiers/ou

while this page has alot more pokemon
http://www.smogon.com/bw/metagames/ou

the difference between tiers and metagames?

The metagames page has all mons that have an analysis written for OU, even if they're lower tier. For example, look at Gorebyss - it's NU, but it has analysis pages for all the tiers because it's one of the only users of SmashPass.

 

[Deleted User 149239]

Ah so I'll use the metagames page to construct my teams. Thanks for the reply

 

[MysticalJutsu]

I got one.
Why play OU when I could play other tiers that have many more playable options and thus mean they will be less repetitive?
I mean, OU feels like the same 3 games over and over and over.
How do I bring originality to OU? I mean besides just using lower tier pokemon in OU regardless of tier, which is what I do.

 

[Zacchaeus]

I got one.
Why play OU when I could play other tiers that have many more playable options and thus mean they will be less repetitive?
I mean, OU feels like the same 3 games over and over and over.
How do I bring originality to OU? I mean besides just using lower tier pokemon in OU regardless of tier, which is what I do.

Nobody is forcing you to play OU and nobody is forcing you to use the most common Pokés in OU. The only tier with more possible versatility than OU is Ubers however, (DW aside,) and I wouldn't really call Ubers diverse. If all of your battles are feeling repetitive, it's probably just as much of your fault as it is your opponent's. Individual Pokémon tiers aren't requirements, they're guidelines, and some players choose to follow them more closely than others and that's just the way the cookie crumbles

 

[MysticalJutsu]

Nobody is forcing you to play OU and nobody is forcing you to use the most common Pokés in OU. The only tier with more possible versatility than OU is Ubers however and I wouldn't really call Ubers diverse. If all of your battles are feeling repetitive, it's probably just as much of your fault as it is your opponent's. Individual Pokémon tiers aren't requirements, they're guidelines, and some players choose to follow them more closely than others and that's just the way the cookie crumbles

I don't get that feeling, some pokemon are just flat out unplayable in higher tiers. For example it says here that OU has 53 pokemon in it. Using anything lower than BL2 in OU has been typically laughed at by my opponents who use OU teams and for good reason, most of them stand no chance.
That leaves about 105 useable pokemon *being generous* Counting from OU to BL2

Then there's the UU tier where many of the pokemon in NU can still be played is like 414 pokemon.
I think it's ridiculous to say UBER or OU is as versatile in comparison, especially since everyone just spams weather or stealth rock leads.
Playing NU or UU can be constantly surprising.

I was merely asking how I can get this in OU or give it. Do you have any creative methods? I wasn't expecting someone to be so stunningly defensive about the whole subject and my intention isn't to attack the tier.

INB4 "stick to lower tiers" or "No ones forcing you" or "play clear skies"
Those aren't answers to my question.

Also: almost all the pokemon in OU are pretty common, because there are so few. I wouldn't be asking if it was easy to be original in the tier.

 

[Zacchaeus]

INB4 "stick to lower tiers" or "No ones forcing you" or "play clear skies"
Those aren't answers to my question.

Better answer: Stop whining. This is a competitive environment, and if you've ever played a competitive video game you should realize that there is an element of centralization. Some things are good, some aren't, and are used as such. You can either be creative like Lady Bug and others or you can be generic player #376. Since you've already accused me of giving a too harsh answer, I'll just make that so and say nobody cares that you aren't happy with the way that they build their teams and ladder. Why not use Scizor and Dragonite in OU? Because it isn't as fun as using Delibird or Stunfisk? That all just boils down to the simple concept of the competitive side of the game

 

[FaceFaceFace]

1. What are counters to Hurricane teams besides weather control? Not just Tornadus-T, but a team packing 2 or more Hurricane users.
2. And is there a hard counter to stalling Gliscor? (sub/protect)

 

[Buttobi]

Quick question. What is a late-game sweeper? I know what a sweeper is though.

 

[BurningMan]

Quick question. What is a late-game sweeper? I know what a sweeper is though.

A late-game sweeper is an offensive Pokemon that is thought to end the game after the rest of the team has weakend/KO'd its counters and checks.

SD Lucario, DD Dragonite/Salamence and Trick Room Reuniclus are common examples for Set-Up sweepers that are meant to end the game. However not all Pokemon need to set-up to be a late game sweeper sometimes even Choice Item users can end a game if you have weakend the opponents team enough for them to sweep common examples for that are ScarfMoxieSalamence, CB Scizor, Choice Scarf terrakion and many many more.

The other kind of sweepers are wallbreaker or mid-game sweeper who are meant to punch holes in the opponents team. These pokemon commonly carry Choice Band/Specs or a set-up move like Swords Dance or Nasty Plot. Common Examples for this are: CB Terrakion, CB Dragonite, SD Haxorus, NP Thundurus-T, CB Tyranitar or Specs Latios.

Of course the roles of a pokemon change from match to match and with the right circumstances almost every Pokemon can act as a wallbreaker or late-game sweeper depending on the opponents team.

 

[Nyanswag]

When is Pokemon Showdown gonna be up ? I dont know if this is the right place to post this but ...

 

[Smaug]

1. What are counters to Hurricane teams besides weather control? Not just Tornadus-T, but a team packing 2 or more Hurricane users.
2. And is there a hard counter to stalling Gliscor? (sub/protect)

1. Jirachi fares very well against Hurricane abusers. Other steel types also do well (though some are neutral to Hurricane). Electric-types (such as specially defensive Zapdos) can also do very well.

2. SubTect Gliscor can't touch any flying, Levitating or Ballooning Steel or Poison types. You could switch in your own Poison Heal mon, or use multi-hit moves (Icicle Spear or Breloom's Bullet Seed).

When is Pokemon Showdown gonna be up ? I dont know if this is the right place to post this but ...

According to Antar's post in the relevant thread, it's going to take a while due to bureaucracy.

 

[Buttobi]

A late-game sweeper is an offensive Pokemon that is thought to end the game after the rest of the team has weakend/KO'd its counters and checks.

SD Lucario, DD Dragonite/Salamence and Trick Room Reuniclus are common examples for Set-Up sweepers that are meant to end the game. However not all Pokemon need to set-up to be a late game sweeper sometimes even Choice Item users can end a game if you have weakend the opponents team enough for them to sweep common examples for that are ScarfMoxieSalamence, CB Scizor, Choice Scarf terrakion and many many more.

The other kind of sweepers are wallbreaker or mid-game sweeper who are meant to punch holes in the opponents team. These pokemon commonly carry Choice Band/Specs or a set-up move like Swords Dance or Nasty Plot. Common Examples for this are: CB Terrakion, CB Dragonite, SD Haxorus, NP Thundurus-T, CB Tyranitar or Specs Latios.

Of course the roles of a pokemon change from match to match and with the right circumstances almost every Pokemon can act as a wallbreaker or late-game sweeper depending on the opponents team.

Thanks, I finally understand what other people mean when they talk about a late-game sweeper.

 

[Tobes]

1. What are counters to Hurricane teams besides weather control? Not just Tornadus-T, but a team packing 2 or more Hurricane users.
2. And is there a hard counter to stalling Gliscor? (sub/protect)

I'll assume by the second Hurricane user you mean Dragonite, because he's the only other common user of it.

Specially defensive Jirachi can tank a Hurricane and use Wish to stay healthy, while paralyzing Tornadus-T and Dragonite with Thunder Wave, then going for Iron Head paraflinch or using Ice Punch.

Chansey shrugs off Hurricanes with ease and has the bulk to take a Superpower from either of them and Softboiled it off, but it still has to tread carefully around them.

You can also use faster revenge killers, such as Scarf Hydreigon, or Ice Shard users, such as Mamoswine, to deal with them, though neither of these can safely switch into a Hurricane.

Bronzong hard counters Toxicstall Gliscor (and also doesn't do too shabbily against Hurricane users) as long as you have an attack other than Gyro Ball that can hit it (Hidden Power Ice for example), because otherwise Gliscor could stall you out of Gyro Ball's 8 PP. Other options are Refresh physically defensive Politoed, Refresh CM Latias, faster Flying-types / Levitaters with Substitute, etc.