OU Simple Questions, Simple Answers (Read the OP First!)

[Gary]

Is Shaymin viable in OU? or am I better off using Celebi?

It all depends on how you want to use Shaymin. Shaymin is sometimes used over Celebi in OU because it has a powerful STAB move, Seed Flare, with an added bonus of possibly dropping the opponents SpD by -2. Celebi's offensive sets on the other hand, usually rely on the weaker Giga Drain or Leaf Storm which halves her SpA after using it. Shaymin is also not weak to Pursuit trapped, meaning it doesn't have to worry about Tyranitar or Scizor as much. All around though, Celebi is probably the best choice. She has a lot of really useful resistances and can boost her SpA to even higher levels with Nasty Plot. She has a gigantic movepool, and can even run a nasty SD set if played right. It all depends on your preferences, but Celebi is an all around better choice in OU as an offensive Grass-type.

 

[Vert]

What is the Tier Shift metagame?

 

[Subject 18]

What is the Tier Shift metagame?

In short it's a metagame where pokemon in the lower tiers have boosted stats depending on their tier. So UU would get +5, RU would have +10 and NU would have +15.

You can read more on the metagame here.

 

[Gairyuki789]

still don't see why Jirachi isn't getting suspect tested for ubers, or at least prohibited from being on rain dance teams, with water pulse, and thunder getting hax due to it's ability, Water Pulse covering most if not all ground types while getting boosted and Fire not being useful due to rain, how do you kill it?

 

[BurningMan]

still don't see why Jirachi isn't getting suspect tested for ubers, or at least prohibited from being on rain dance teams, with water pulse, and thunder getting hax due to it's ability, Water Pulse covering most if not all ground types while getting boosted and Fire not being useful due to rain, how do you kill it?

Perish song and PHazing in general, Garchomp, Gastrodon. SubCM Jirachi is something that can be annoying and very threatening if played right, but it is far from unbeatable. It is extremely weak before it has set-up a Calm Mind so most Ground types can stomach a Water Pulse even in the Rain and retaliate with EQ.

 

[Gairyuki789]

83-06527-09353

watch this and tell me if you think still think that way because not everyone is prepared on the spot to deal with the thing which is basically what i'm seeing as a response.

and yes i did forfeit because my half my team got crippled and it would've gotten worse.

 

[Lavos]

your particular team being horribly susceptible to subcm rachi does not in any way prove that it is broken

 

[AfroThunderRule]

Sorry for the dumb question but what was that Latias EV spread with Life Orb that was posted quite frequently again? I know it wasn't the standard 252/252/6 EV spread, it was some weird non max speed/SAtk/HP. I tried to find it with no luck.

Sorry for the vague question, I suck at explaining things. >__<

 

[dcae]

The LO Latias set I use is with 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe and Timid. I've most commonly seen this posted on Smogon. If this isn't the set you are referring to, I don't know.

 

[Lavos]

if you're not running hp fire: 24 hp / 232 satk / 252 spd

if you're running hp fire: 16 hp / 16 def / 216 satk / 16 sdef / 244 spd

that's what i prefer at least but there are a million spreads out there

 

[Erazor]

so do the 1850 stats use the CRE or Glicko-XAct ratings?

 

[AfroThunderRule]

Thanks guys.

 

[Arcticblast]

so do the 1850 stats use the CRE or Glicko-XAct ratings?

The 1850 stats are calculated using Pokemon Showdown's Glicko2 ratings. More information on those and the regular stats can be found here. (hint: some bullshit went down in the lower tiers with people spamming bad teams to manipulate the tiering system).

Welcome back, Erazor.
(assuming you're staying...)

 

[Erazor]

Thanks for the link Articblast!

 

[BurningMan]

if you're not running hp fire: 24 hp / 232 satk / 252 spd

if you're running hp fire: 16 hp / 16 def / 216 satk / 16 sdef / 244 spd

that's what i prefer at least but there are a million spreads out there

Can you tell me what KOs the defensive investments in each set prevent?

 

[dice]

I often just run 72 HP on Life Orb Latias like Dcae said. Although he didn't know the actual reasoning behind the spread, it was designed to prevent a KO from a +2 Modest Sludge Bomb from Venusaur. If your team isn't that sun weak (e.g. has another Dragon-type Pokemon) or has a strong Venusaur check, then definitely just use max SpA for the "oompph". It may seem outclassed by Latios at first, but Latios' lack of Special Bulk is noticable when switching into repeated Hydro Pumps.

 

[phantom]

Is it okay to talk about suspects in the BW2 metagame thread? I kinda want to bring up a discussion on Thundurus-I, but I don't want to waste my time only to have my post deleted.

 

[RabidChipmunk]

Apart from the obvious difference of Offensive Sand vs. Sand Stall, when am I better using Hippowdon vs. Tyranitar as my sand setter of choice?

 

[Gary]

I don't know if this is my business, but do we know for sure who was responsible for this terrible DDOS attack on Smogon and Showdown? I completely understand if this is none of my business, but with all these accusations being thrown out at other websites that may have nothing to do with this, it would be nice to either confirm or dismiss these rumors.

 

[Subject 18]

Apart from the obvious difference of Offensive Sand vs. Sand Stall, when am I better using Hippowdon vs. Tyranitar as my sand setter of choice?

Depends on the team, if your team needs to have Latias, Latios, Celebi out of the way for the certain pokemon (Keldeo, Terrakion, etc) to be able to sweep. If not then Hippowdown provides much better longevity to win the weather war and provides more overally support with both Stealth Rock and Toxic. If you are Fighting weak or even weak to Physical threats Hippowdon might be the better choice.

 

[haunter]

Is it okay to talk about suspects in the BW2 metagame thread? I kinda want to bring up a discussion on Thundurus-I, but I don't want to waste my time only to have my post deleted.

The general metagame thread is to discuss about the current meta. If you want to bring up a discussion about unbanning Thund-I, then write up a convincing opening post and have it approved by a forum mod.

 

[Dinnerblaster]

Hello I'm Dinnerblaster, an experienced OU player. I wanted to put a pursuit trapper on my team. I didn't use Scizor, because I already have Forretress. That seemed redundant. I didn't use Metagross, because he's mediocre in OU. I didn't want Tyranitar due to sandstorm damage. I settled on a Honchkrow trapper set. I considered Houndoom briefly but Jellicent and Gengar would focus blast and scald it respectively. Any ways gonna cut to the chase. What's the best EV spread for a trapper set?

EDIT: I did consider Snorlax and Weavile (though I opted not to mention it due to average attention spans)but my team is already relatively weak to fighting types as is. I also needed more powerful priority than ice shard. I also couldn't resist that moxie boost. So, if someone could please give me the EV spread I asked for. I appreciate your input, but I've long since decided that those aren't for me. So if someone could please help me with Honchkrow that
would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT 2: I have two pokemon on my team weak to SR and I need hazard support, so Scizor isn't an option. Look at the risk of sounding like a pompous asshole. All I really want is the Honchkrow EV spread. If I wanted team suggestions I would've put this in the RMT section.

 

[LilOu]

Hello I'm Dinnerblaster, an experienced OU player. I wanted to put a pursuit trapper on my team. I didn't use Scizor, because I already have Forretress. That seemed redundant. I didn't use Metagross, because he's mediocre in OU. I didn't want Tyranitar due to sandstorm damage. I settled on a Honchkrow trapper set. I considered Houndoom briefly but Jellicent and Gengar would focus blast and scald it respectively. Any ways gonna cut to the chase. What's the best EV spread for a trapper set?

You should try something like Weavile. It is not good when we talk about taking hits, but it can easily trap Lati@s, Jellicent, Celebi, etc.

• 252Atk Life Orb Weavile (Neutral) Pursuit vs 252HP/36Def Leftovers Water Absorb switching Jellicent (Neutral): 101% - 120% (410 - 486 HP). Guaranteed OHKO.
• 252Atk Life Orb Weavile (Neutral) Pursuit vs 72HP/0Def Leftovers Levitate switching Latias (Neutral): 109% - 130% (350 - 416 HP). Guaranteed OHKO.
• 252Atk Life Orb Weavile (Neutral) Pursuit vs 252HP/0Def Leftovers switching Celebi (Neutral): 79% - 94% (320 - 380 HP). Guaranteed 2HKO.

It also outspeeds Gengar, as well as the Lati twins.

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

Have you considered Snorlax? Choice band Snorlax is a solid pursuiter and attacker, walling and trapping many of the same Pokemon as Tyranitar.

 

[Cosmic Fury]

If Forretress isn't vital to your team, you may wish to consider switching it with a bulky attacking Scizor, and use a different Pokémon for laying down hazards.

In my opinion, I prefer any trapper set either to move very fast or be able to take a hard hit, because you never know if your opponent is going to decide to try and tank you or try to outright kill your trapper instead of switching out.

It just depends on your team style. If you want a tank, Snorlax is an obvious choice, but as you mentioned, you're going to have to accommodate extra weaknesses on your team to do that. The exact same thing would go for Weavile.