Pikachu (BW2 Revamp)

[Alfalfa]

lol Kyogre and Jirachi are on my IPad's dictionary, but not PIKACHU

[overview]
*It is a little mouse, obviously frail with 35/30/40 defenses
*Personal item in Light Ball, which doubles its offenses, edging it over Raichu
*90 base speed could be higher, but it is enough
*Frail, sometimes lacks enough power, and cannot hold any other item other than Light Ball because it is so dependent on it
*Needs quite a bit of support
*Does not outclass anything due to pitiful defenses, use it for for fun

[set]

name: Substitute Attacker
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Hidden Power [Ice]
move 4: Encore / Grass Knot
item: Light Ball
ability: Lightningrod
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[Set Comments]
*Only Pikachu set that Pikachu should ever use; switch in on an electric attack for SpA boost, and then use Encore or Substitute
*Substitute allows Pikachu to avoid Trick, Knock Off, priority attacks, as well as revenge killers
*Thunderbolt is STAB, duh
*HP Ice has good coverage with Thunderbolt
*Encore locks an opponent into a move, allowing the little mouse to get to +2 before Subbing
*However, Grass Knot hits Seismitoad, SpD Regirock, and Piloswine, who would otherwise give Pikachu problems

[Additional Comments]
*EVs are straightforward
*Focus Punch is illegal with Lightningrod, which allows the mouse to actually switch in on something
*Needs a lot of support
*Lickilicky and Musharna can paralyze Choice Scarf users and fast mons, like Rotom-S, Jynx, and Sawk, so Pikachu can outspeed them
*Musharna can also Baton Pass Calm Mind boosts to Pikachu to make it stronger
*Hates entry hazards; Wartortle has Foresight, and can lure in Electric-type moves for the mouse to absorb
*Braviary can take Ground moves aimed at Pikachu, and likes Electrics handled
*Choice Band Sawk can wear down / dispose Pikachu's counters, like Piloswine, Regice, Lickilicky, Seismitoad, and Regirock

[Other Options]
*Pikachu is too frail to use Nasty Plot, and lacks enough power to use Agility
*Fake Out
*Volt Switch
*Extremespeed, which is NOT illegal with Lightningrod
*Access to support moves like Thunder Wave, Wish, Knock Off, and Light Screen, but lol Pikachu's bulk
*Volt Tackle, but Pikachu will just kill itself with pathetic HP
*Toxic can wear down walls, but Pikachu already has 4MSS

[Checks and Counters]
*Piloswine, Regice, Seismitoad, SpD Regirock, and Lickilicky can annoy Pikachu to death
*Choice Scarf users and faster mons, like Jynx, Sawk, and Tauros, can revenge Pikachu if it is not behind a Sub
*Priority is a pain in the neck
*Entry hazards
*Ironically, one of the Pokemon Pikachu can set up on, Probopass, can switch in on unboosted Pikachu an 2HKO it with Power Gem

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Okay, let me point some stuff out. I'm not QC, but still

[Overview]

• Remove the first bullet point, no fluff allowed
• Mention Light Ball is the only reason it could be used to any remote effect

[SET]

• Rename the set to just Substitute or something, we all know Ash has the top percentage Pikachu anyways. (plus no fun names for sets)

[AC]

• No need to explain the EVs
• Remove Armaldo because it sucks
• Also mention Musharna can CM pass to give Pika more power

[C&C]

• Mention any hit will kill it because it's so frail

 

[tennisace]

I was discussing this on IRC, and in my opinion Pikachu shouldn't get an analysis. The marginal power increase over Raichu isn't significant when you take into account:

-It's significantly more frail. There was a calc in the "dont use this, use that" thread that Kangaskhan Fake Out comes close to OHKOing Pikachu, while only doing ~half to Raichu.
-Its 90 speed is... unfortunate when the rest of the metagame is geared towards 95 spe. For such a frail Pokemon, you want it to outspeed as much as possible without relying on Extremespeed. Raichu has base 100 speed which is a hell of a lot more useful.
-Is forced to hold Light Orb, making it especially vulnerable to Trick and quite predictable otherwise. At least Raichu can run a few different items.

 

[Alfalfa]

There is a lot of sh1t in NU with analyses; Beedrill, Ariados, Wormadam (all forms), etc. How Is Pikachu any different... Because they have niches that are "legitimate"? Beedrill only has U-turn over Scolipede, which I'd redundant when you consider how bad Beedrill is.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

I apologize if I have broken any rules here, but anyways.

The reason those shitty mons have analyses is because they are fully evolved, whereas Pikachu is an NFE. It was decided that only fully evolved Pokemon are the ones that are guaranteed to receive analyses, regardless of whether they have a good niche or not. Any NFE has to have a significant niche in the NU metagame to warrant an analysis.

 

[steviestar]

My opinion doesn't really mean much but I think Pikachu should get an analysis even if it's just to say "don't use this." Light Ball sounds promising enough to deceive new players into thinking Pikachu might have a niche, so having a readily available explanation of why he's such a bad option would do at least some good. I know that other gimmick NFEs like Clamperl had their analyses deleted, but Pikachu is a bit of a special case because he's the mascot of the series and all.

 

[ebeast]

I agree with tennis that Pikachu shouldn't get an analysis. It's just not good at all and we're trying to keep the usage of it down as much as possible, which can be seen from how it's treated in the NU Viability Thread. Since it's not a fully evolved Pokemon it doesn't need to have an analysis, and I don't see the reason as why time should be invested into a joke analyses either. Since we can start rejecting now, doing so:

QC Reject 1/3

 

[tennisace]

 

[ryan]

Because Pikachu already has an analysis, there's really no reason to remove useful information from the website. Newer players are going to be attracted to the thought of using Pikachu competitively because it's the mascot of the series. That said, I do not agree with deleting its current analysis onsite.

However, the current analysis is fine. The Overview could use some minor tweaks, and Nasty Plot should be moved into Other Options. Otherwise, everything is fine as it is, and I agree that there is no need to revamp the analysis at this time. I'll make the minor necessary edits tonight through the SCMS, and it should be fine.

QC Reject 3/3