EDIT: Moving the list of remaining unwritten write-ups here to the most recent thread page:
EDIT, May 27: I chance-encountered and caught both a wild
and wild
on this previous playthrough, so I'm a little more motivated about running through Kalos a bit more
Venipede is a borderline A-Tier, solid B-Tier.
What an easy-to-overlook Pokémon on Route 6 (it can't be helped, for it's on the same route as the outstanding new guy, Honedge), yet it was one of the nicest surprises among my playthroughs.
Venipede makes up for the lack of power with generous usage of Screech, but it still needs a teammate to assist until it can stop using Rollout / Return and learn its STAB moves.
Whirlipede is a great tank to have in the early game. While it doesn't do much against Grant, it appreciatively walls all Fighting-types in the way, especially the bulkier ones in Reflection Cave and at Korrina's gym. The chip damage it deals from Poison Point and Rocky Helmet is handy, since offensively, it still relies on Screech.
I got Scolipedepretty early (EDIT: I've only now understood from later playthroughs that Lv.30 is actually on time) at Shalour City, and with Swords Dance and Poison Jab, it took care of the gym easily. Then with TM X-Scissor being close by at Azure Bay, I essentially have a Pokémon that can OHKO and 2HKO most threats, especially with Poison Point and Rocky Helmet in play. Switch out X-Scissor for Megahorn at Dendemille, and it's even better. The only trouble spots I had with it were type matchup issues usually patched up by teammates, save for the few times where I wished Scolipede was a bit faster (that Veteran's Alakazam at the end of Victory Road and Malva's Talonflame, to name a couple).
On a more personal note, I guess what made Scolipede both comfortable and enjoyable was how well it stood out compared to previous Poison-types that I've used. Unlike the Nidos, Scolipede has the Speed and Bug STAB to 1v1 most Psychic-types. Unlike Zubat, it isn't helpless before evolving, it has actual raw power (even more with Swords Dance), and it can at least chip away at most Rock- and Steel-types. Plus, this 'mon is available earlier than all of them!
Agree with C Tier. Man, its frailty really hurts it post Team Flare and also makes Swords Dance a risky option. Thankfully, it's got an Attack stat that alongside Super Luck 2HKOs most opponents even without Swords Dance.
I did actually keep the move Feint all the way until I switched it out for Sucker Punch. It's pretty starved for coverage that outdamages Bite, at least until late-game when it gets Psycho Cut and Stone Edge. Will-O-Wisp, Blizzard, and Flamethrower turned out to be decent options, too.
Agree with C Tier. Base 80 Attack just doesn't do enough to be considered an efficient attacker, with Miltank typically having to 3HKO major battle threats that have even average bulk. Also, with that Slow EXP growth rate, it's a little inefficient to Level her up, too.
Outside of efficiency, though, she's a pretty good Pokémon. With Paralysis from STAB Body Slam, good bulk, great Speed, and reliable recovery in Milk Drink, Miltank handles most threats well. Zen Headbutt even gives her an option for dealing with Poison-types and Fighting-types, save for Scraggy. Since she doesn't exactly have great coverage options until endgame, you can let Miltank's 4th moveslot be either Surf to let her deal with Rock-types or Power-Up Punch to ready a sweep.
Mareep for B-Tier (better than most if not all of C).
The EXP catch-up phase for this Horde Pokémon is a pretty quick one. Azure Bay has plenty of Water-type Trainers for it to battle, and the Lucky Egg happens to be nearby at Coumarine City. Since every Route 12 Trainer is optional, too, you can get the Lucky Egg first and then fight these and the Azure Bay Trainers for Mareep's sake. I got my Mareep into Ampharos before Ramos's gym by doing this method after already feeding it some EXP at Korrina's gym. Realistically, though, evolving it into Ampharos before Ramos doesn't matter, since the most it can do there is 1v1 his Jumpluff (well, Mega Ampharos tanks everything, too, but it doesn't have any immediate way to damage Gogoat).
Anyway, Ampharos is still Ampharos. It traditionally does well in-game, and having a Mega Evolution makes going through Kalos even better for it. Bulldoze, Charge Beam, and Mold Breaker allow it to sweep Clemont and earn its Thunderbolt TM. From there, it OHKO's or 2HKO's most threats easily with its Electric STAB, Mega-Evolved Dragon STAB, and Focus Blast. Ampharos also has the bulk and late-game Cotton Guard to sustain itself. The only thing it lacks is Speed, and there will be times where timing the Mega Evolution is necessary to avoid taking super-effective hits.
I was tempted to just solo the Elite Four with Ampharos but held back on that idea. It was poised to do it, though, with the help of Battle Items/O-Powers.
(Mar.14, 2018: Please feel free to correct me if a Pokémon was already written up or if I actually left out a Pokémon. I've already made a few mistakes in leaving out some Pokémon that didn't have write-ups.)
_________________
C-Tier
-----------
Absol
Drifloon
Hariyama
Haunter (w/o Trade)
Miltank
Shellder [Y]
Tauros
Tentacool
Venipede
__________________
D-Tier
---------
Ducklett
Durant
Dwebble
Electrike [Y]
Floatzel
Geodude (w/ Trade)
Goldeen
Goomy
Gulpin
Gurdurr
Heatmor
Hippopotas
Inkay
Kecleon
Litleo
Lombre
Lunatone
Mantyke
Mareep
Pansage
Pawniard
Phantump (w/ Trade)
Piloswine
Poliwag (Politoed)
Poliwag (Poliwrath)
Psyduck
Quagsire
Relicanth
Remoraid
Rotom
Shelmet (w/ Trade) —i.e. Accelgor
Skorupi
Smoochum
Snubbull
Spoink
Spritzee (w/ Trade) [Y] —i.e. Aromatisse
Stunfisk
Stunky
Swablu
Swirlix (w/ Trade) [X] —i.e. Slurpuff
Taillow
Ursaring
Whismur
Woobat
_________________
C-Tier
-----------
Drifloon
Hariyama
Haunter (w/o Trade)
Miltank
Shellder [Y]
Tentacool
Venipede
__________________
D-Tier
---------
Durant
Dwebble
Electrike [Y]
Floatzel
Geodude (w/ Trade)
Goldeen
Goomy
Gulpin
Gurdurr
Heatmor
Inkay
Kecleon
Litleo
Lombre
Mantyke
Pansage
Pawniard
Phantump (w/ Trade)
Piloswine
Poliwag (Politoed)
Psyduck
Quagsire
Relicanth
Remoraid
Shelmet (w/ Trade) —i.e. Accelgor
Skorupi
Smoochum
Snubbull
Spritzee (w/ Trade) [Y] —i.e. Aromatisse
Stunfisk
Swablu
Swirlix (w/ Trade) [X] —i.e. Slurpuff
Taillow
Ursaring
Whismur
Woobat
EDIT, May 27: I chance-encountered and caught both a wild
Venipede
Availability: Route 6, Rustling Bush, 80%
Stats: Venipede is mediocre, but Whirlipede turns it into a good wall. Scolipede then loses bulk to become a strong physical attacker, with a base 112 Speed that helps it overcome some of its bad matchups.
Typing: Bug/Poison typing is very helpful for the numerous Fighting- and Fairy-types and provides great STAB options. The type coverage is a little redundant, though.
Movepool: Rollout, Screech, and Return will have to do until Venipede learns Poison Tail at Level 19 and Bug Bite at Level 22. It'll get its next set of STAB moves in Poison Jab and X-Scissor before the fourth gym and its strongest move in Megahorn from Madame Reminder. As a Scolipede, it gets access to Swords Dance and Dig. Earthquake and Rock Slide provide endgame coverage. Strength and Rock Smash are learnable if desired.
Major Battles: It performs most effectively at Ramos and Valerie's gyms. Swords Dance lets Scolipede run through many other battles, including Korrina and Diantha. It mainly struggles against physically defensive threats like Wulfric's Avalugg as well as faster opponents who have type advantage.
Availability: Route 6, Rustling Bush, 80%
Stats: Venipede is mediocre, but Whirlipede turns it into a good wall. Scolipede then loses bulk to become a strong physical attacker, with a base 112 Speed that helps it overcome some of its bad matchups.
Typing: Bug/Poison typing is very helpful for the numerous Fighting- and Fairy-types and provides great STAB options. The type coverage is a little redundant, though.
Movepool: Rollout, Screech, and Return will have to do until Venipede learns Poison Tail at Level 19 and Bug Bite at Level 22. It'll get its next set of STAB moves in Poison Jab and X-Scissor before the fourth gym and its strongest move in Megahorn from Madame Reminder. As a Scolipede, it gets access to Swords Dance and Dig. Earthquake and Rock Slide provide endgame coverage. Strength and Rock Smash are learnable if desired.
Major Battles: It performs most effectively at Ramos and Valerie's gyms. Swords Dance lets Scolipede run through many other battles, including Korrina and Diantha. It mainly struggles against physically defensive threats like Wulfric's Avalugg as well as faster opponents who have type advantage.
What an easy-to-overlook Pokémon on Route 6 (it can't be helped, for it's on the same route as the outstanding new guy, Honedge), yet it was one of the nicest surprises among my playthroughs.
Venipede makes up for the lack of power with generous usage of Screech, but it still needs a teammate to assist until it can stop using Rollout / Return and learn its STAB moves.
Whirlipede is a great tank to have in the early game. While it doesn't do much against Grant, it appreciatively walls all Fighting-types in the way, especially the bulkier ones in Reflection Cave and at Korrina's gym. The chip damage it deals from Poison Point and Rocky Helmet is handy, since offensively, it still relies on Screech.
I got Scolipede
On a more personal note, I guess what made Scolipede both comfortable and enjoyable was how well it stood out compared to previous Poison-types that I've used. Unlike the Nidos, Scolipede has the Speed and Bug STAB to 1v1 most Psychic-types. Unlike Zubat, it isn't helpless before evolving, it has actual raw power (even more with Swords Dance), and it can at least chip away at most Rock- and Steel-types. Plus, this 'mon is available earlier than all of them!
Absol
Availability: Route 8, Yellow Flowers, 20%
Stats: Powerful base 130 Attack, mediocre Speed, and low defenses. Its Special Attack is fair enough should Absol need appropriate type coverage.
Typing: Pure Dark typing lets it defeat Psychic- and Ghost-types effortlessly but more notably holds it back against the many Fighting- and Fairy-types.
Movepool: Absol focuses on physical Dark STAB to get through the game. It gets good options in Swords Dance and Thief from the start, with Bite soon after at Level 20 and Night Slash at Level 41. Holding on to Feint or Quick Attack helps alleviate Absol's low Speed, and at Level 50 Absol learns Sucker Punch, which combines strong Dark STAB with high priority. Absol learns plenty of coverage options, too, as well as Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave, plus it can learn Cut and Strength.
Major Battles: Absol does favorably versus Grant, Ramos, and Olympia. Its frailty and mediocre Speed will limit its effectiveness in most of the other major battles. Nevertheless, it still takes care of weakened opponents with a Sucker Punch.
Additional Comments: Absolite is unobtainable until postgame, too bad. Super Luck is the preferred Ability over Pressure to give Absol extra power even without a boost, plus Absol has the high critical-hit rate moves to work in tandem with that Ability.
Availability: Route 8, Yellow Flowers, 20%
Stats: Powerful base 130 Attack, mediocre Speed, and low defenses. Its Special Attack is fair enough should Absol need appropriate type coverage.
Typing: Pure Dark typing lets it defeat Psychic- and Ghost-types effortlessly but more notably holds it back against the many Fighting- and Fairy-types.
Movepool: Absol focuses on physical Dark STAB to get through the game. It gets good options in Swords Dance and Thief from the start, with Bite soon after at Level 20 and Night Slash at Level 41. Holding on to Feint or Quick Attack helps alleviate Absol's low Speed, and at Level 50 Absol learns Sucker Punch, which combines strong Dark STAB with high priority. Absol learns plenty of coverage options, too, as well as Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave, plus it can learn Cut and Strength.
Major Battles: Absol does favorably versus Grant, Ramos, and Olympia. Its frailty and mediocre Speed will limit its effectiveness in most of the other major battles. Nevertheless, it still takes care of weakened opponents with a Sucker Punch.
Additional Comments: Absolite is unobtainable until postgame, too bad. Super Luck is the preferred Ability over Pressure to give Absol extra power even without a boost, plus Absol has the high critical-hit rate moves to work in tandem with that Ability.
Agree with C Tier. Man, its frailty really hurts it post Team Flare and also makes Swords Dance a risky option. Thankfully, it's got an Attack stat that alongside Super Luck 2HKOs most opponents even without Swords Dance.
I did actually keep the move Feint all the way until I switched it out for Sucker Punch. It's pretty starved for coverage that outdamages Bite, at least until late-game when it gets Psycho Cut and Stone Edge. Will-O-Wisp, Blizzard, and Flamethrower turned out to be decent options, too.
Miltank
Availability: Route 12, Grass, 10%; Yellow Flowers, 30% (Yellow Flowers only available once finished with Shalour City)
Stats: Very good HP, Defense, and Speed. Her Attack is simply average.
Typing: Pure Normal typing, which provides great STAB and one immunity in exchange for a common weakness.
Movepool: Miltank gets what she needs upon capture, those moves being Body Slam, Return and Milk Drink. She gets Zen Headbutt pretty soon at Level 29 to give it a countermeasure for Fighting-types, and Power-Up Punch provides a decent boosting move. She gets coverage moves that cover resistances to Normal but nothing consistent for Ghost-types. Strength and Surf are learnable if desired.
Major Battles: Miltank can fight in any major battle bar Korrina. She may struggle with KO'ing unboosted, but she can win battles without much item support thanks to good bulk and Milk Drink.
Additional Comments: Thick Fat is more useful than Scrappy for Miltank, as Thick Fat gives her an edge against Wulfric and Malva. However, Scrappy still is good if Miltank must deal with Ghost-types.
Availability: Route 12, Grass, 10%; Yellow Flowers, 30% (Yellow Flowers only available once finished with Shalour City)
Stats: Very good HP, Defense, and Speed. Her Attack is simply average.
Typing: Pure Normal typing, which provides great STAB and one immunity in exchange for a common weakness.
Movepool: Miltank gets what she needs upon capture, those moves being Body Slam, Return and Milk Drink. She gets Zen Headbutt pretty soon at Level 29 to give it a countermeasure for Fighting-types, and Power-Up Punch provides a decent boosting move. She gets coverage moves that cover resistances to Normal but nothing consistent for Ghost-types. Strength and Surf are learnable if desired.
Major Battles: Miltank can fight in any major battle bar Korrina. She may struggle with KO'ing unboosted, but she can win battles without much item support thanks to good bulk and Milk Drink.
Additional Comments: Thick Fat is more useful than Scrappy for Miltank, as Thick Fat gives her an edge against Wulfric and Malva. However, Scrappy still is good if Miltank must deal with Ghost-types.
Agree with C Tier. Base 80 Attack just doesn't do enough to be considered an efficient attacker, with Miltank typically having to 3HKO major battle threats that have even average bulk. Also, with that Slow EXP growth rate, it's a little inefficient to Level her up, too.
Outside of efficiency, though, she's a pretty good Pokémon. With Paralysis from STAB Body Slam, good bulk, great Speed, and reliable recovery in Milk Drink, Miltank handles most threats well. Zen Headbutt even gives her an option for dealing with Poison-types and Fighting-types, save for Scraggy. Since she doesn't exactly have great coverage options until endgame, you can let Miltank's 4th moveslot be either Surf to let her deal with Rock-types or Power-Up Punch to ready a sweep.
Mareep
Availability: Route 12, 35% (Horde only)
Stats: A slow Special Attacker with above-average bulk when fully evolved. Mega Ampharos actually loses Speed but in turn gains much more Special Attack, improved bulk, and decent Attack.
Typing: Pure Electric typing means only a single weakness to Ground and handy resistances. Mega Ampharos gains an additional Dragon typing. This provides useful resistances and additional STAB but three additional weaknesses.
Movepool: Mareep has most of what it needs in by Level-up, and its primary move Thunderbolt is only two gyms away. As an Ampharos, it also gets Bulldoze and Focus Blast for coverage and Dragon Pulse via Madam Reminder for its Mega Evolution. Strength is learnable if needed.
Major Battles: Ampharos’s best matchups are versus Clemont and Siebold, but its typing and powerful hits make it effective for many battles. It can potentially sweep through some major battles, too, using Charge Beam. There are some instances where Ampharos is better off without Mega Evolving due to type matchups, like when battling Valerie and Wulfric, but Mega Evolving is otherwise more valuable.
Additional Comments: Though it starts underleveled, Mareep catches up in levels thanks to having Water-types to battle at the nearby Azure Bay while it holds the Lucky Egg found at Coumarine City. Azure Bay also happens to have the Ampharosite, so Mareep can Mega Evolve the moment it fully evolves.
Availability: Route 12, 35% (Horde only)
Stats: A slow Special Attacker with above-average bulk when fully evolved. Mega Ampharos actually loses Speed but in turn gains much more Special Attack, improved bulk, and decent Attack.
Typing: Pure Electric typing means only a single weakness to Ground and handy resistances. Mega Ampharos gains an additional Dragon typing. This provides useful resistances and additional STAB but three additional weaknesses.
Movepool: Mareep has most of what it needs in by Level-up, and its primary move Thunderbolt is only two gyms away. As an Ampharos, it also gets Bulldoze and Focus Blast for coverage and Dragon Pulse via Madam Reminder for its Mega Evolution. Strength is learnable if needed.
Major Battles: Ampharos’s best matchups are versus Clemont and Siebold, but its typing and powerful hits make it effective for many battles. It can potentially sweep through some major battles, too, using Charge Beam. There are some instances where Ampharos is better off without Mega Evolving due to type matchups, like when battling Valerie and Wulfric, but Mega Evolving is otherwise more valuable.
Additional Comments: Though it starts underleveled, Mareep catches up in levels thanks to having Water-types to battle at the nearby Azure Bay while it holds the Lucky Egg found at Coumarine City. Azure Bay also happens to have the Ampharosite, so Mareep can Mega Evolve the moment it fully evolves.
Mareep for B-Tier (better than most if not all of C).
The EXP catch-up phase for this Horde Pokémon is a pretty quick one. Azure Bay has plenty of Water-type Trainers for it to battle, and the Lucky Egg happens to be nearby at Coumarine City. Since every Route 12 Trainer is optional, too, you can get the Lucky Egg first and then fight these and the Azure Bay Trainers for Mareep's sake. I got my Mareep into Ampharos before Ramos's gym by doing this method after already feeding it some EXP at Korrina's gym. Realistically, though, evolving it into Ampharos before Ramos doesn't matter, since the most it can do there is 1v1 his Jumpluff (well, Mega Ampharos tanks everything, too, but it doesn't have any immediate way to damage Gogoat).
Anyway, Ampharos is still Ampharos. It traditionally does well in-game, and having a Mega Evolution makes going through Kalos even better for it. Bulldoze, Charge Beam, and Mold Breaker allow it to sweep Clemont and earn its Thunderbolt TM. From there, it OHKO's or 2HKO's most threats easily with its Electric STAB, Mega-Evolved Dragon STAB, and Focus Blast. Ampharos also has the bulk and late-game Cotton Guard to sustain itself. The only thing it lacks is Speed, and there will be times where timing the Mega Evolution is necessary to avoid taking super-effective hits.
I was tempted to just solo the Elite Four with Ampharos but held back on that idea. It was poised to do it, though, with the help of Battle Items/O-Powers.
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