[OVERVIEW]
Porygon is a wall that fits naturally onto any competitive LC team: almost no teams will be seen without it. Its natural bulk and support move options allow it to be a check to almost everything while maintaining extended longevity. Porygon's Normal typing is excellent, as Fighting-types and Fighting-type moves are rarely seen in LC. Porygon is also no slouch offensively, as its coverage and STAB moves allow it to deal consistent damage. Its ability, Trace, lets Porygon counter-trap Diglett and Trapinch by copying Arena Trap, allowing it to remove them and support its team further, as well as copying other useful abilities like Natural Cure, Levitate, and Volt Absorb.
[SET]
Porygon @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Trace
Level: 5
EVs: 236 HP / 196 Def / 76 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Return / Double-Edge
- Ice Beam / Thunderbolt
- Thief / Thunder Wave
- Recycle
[SET COMMENTS]
236 HP EVs and 196 Defense EVs with a Relaxed nature allow Porygon to never be OHKOed by Choice Band Doduo's Double-Edge and almost always avoid the OHKO from Cubone's Bonemerang, the two strongest physical moves in the tier. 76 Special Attack EVs allow Ice Beam to always OHKO standard Diglett sets. Return is the more consistent STAB option, while Double-Edge allows Porygon to OHKO non-defensive Abra sets but risk knocking itself out if at low health. In some situations, Double-Edge lets Porygon damage itself to below 50% health, allowing it to heal using its Sitrus Berry. Ice Beam allows Porygon to threaten the many Ice-weak Pokemon in the tier, such as Doduo, Diglett, Trapinch, and Cubone. Thunderbolt can be used to still hit Doduo and get surprise damage against Water-types but has worse coverage in comparison to Ice Beam. Recycle, a move only Porygon has access to in the tier, allows Porygon to fully heal with its Sitrus Berry throughout the game, giving it great longevity. Thief allows Porygon to steal, consume, and potentially Recycle stolen Sitrus Berry in cases where its own has been taken. Thunder Wave is always a useful utility option thanks to how valuable speed control is in LC with Porygon's bulk letting it survive almost any hit and paralyze its foe in return. Trace is an extremely useful ability that allows Porygon to come in on Diglett and Trapinch and trace Arena Trap, but it also has other uses. Tracing Staryu's Natural Cure, Chinchou's Volt Absorb, and Gastly or Duskull's Levitate are all relevant interactions.
Porygon pairs particularly well with Pokemon that appreciate Diglett and Trapinch being removed, such as Chinchou, Abra, and Elekid. Teams that do not want to run a more dedicated Choice Band Doduo check, such as Koffing or Duskull, will also appreciate running physically defensive Porygon, freeing up slots for other Pokemon. Porygon appreciates teammates that can help handle special threats like Abra and Elekid. A Pokemon such as specially defensive Wailmer to take hits or Diglett to trap the aforementioned special attackers can be effective. Any team will benefit from running Porygon due to how effective it is as a blanket check to so many Pokemon in the metagame.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Investing in Special Defense EVs instead of Defense or Special Attack is an option to help versus strong special attackers like Abra, offensive Wailmer, and Horsea. This set should be paired with walls such as Koffing or Duskull to handle physical threats. Offensive Porygon sets are an option but are harder to justify because of Porygon's immense value as a defensive Pokemon. These sets use Agility or Sharpen to boost then use Substitute to avoid paralysis in order to try and sweep teams. These sets benefit from paralysis in order to get more setup opportunities. Toxic is an option to try and chip teams down but can be hard to fit because Porygon already wants other utility options, and paralysis is the typically preferred status condition. Defensive Pokemon like opposing Porygon, Duskull, and Wailmer are good targets to wear down with Toxic.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Explosion / Self-Destruct**: With Porygon's natural bulk, the only way to consistently OHKO Porygon is through the use of Explosion or Self-Destruct. Wailmer, Koffing, Exeggcute, Gastly, Voltorb, and Pineco are among the most relevant Pokemon with access to one of these moves.
**Thief**: The move Thief helps cripple Porygon, either forcing it to use Thief if it wants to heal or eliminating its healing entirely if Porygon is not carrying it. Pokemon such as Diglett, Abra, Duskull, and Koffing will often be seen running Thief.
**Abra**: With Calm Mind, Abra can start to threaten Porygon very quickly. At +1 Special Attack, Psychic has a chance to OHKO Porygon after one layer of Spikes or minimal chip damage, and at +2, it will always be OHKOed. The defensive Abra set will survive one use of either Return or Double-Edge, giving it more opportunities to set up. Substitute allows Abra to stop Thunder Wave from Porygon trying to cripple it, and Encore can lock Porygon into Recycle or Thunder Wave.
**Anorith**: With Swords Dance, Anorith is able to almost always OHKO Porygon with Brick Break: it also resists Porygon's Normal-type moves. Anorith can also avoid Thunder Wave with Substitute.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/reggg.588561/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/grape-tylenol.593128/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/kaboom.300935/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/aurora.109385/
Porygon is a wall that fits naturally onto any competitive LC team: almost no teams will be seen without it. Its natural bulk and support move options allow it to be a check to almost everything while maintaining extended longevity. Porygon's Normal typing is excellent, as Fighting-types and Fighting-type moves are rarely seen in LC. Porygon is also no slouch offensively, as its coverage and STAB moves allow it to deal consistent damage. Its ability, Trace, lets Porygon counter-trap Diglett and Trapinch by copying Arena Trap, allowing it to remove them and support its team further, as well as copying other useful abilities like Natural Cure, Levitate, and Volt Absorb.
[SET]
Porygon @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Trace
Level: 5
EVs: 236 HP / 196 Def / 76 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Return / Double-Edge
- Ice Beam / Thunderbolt
- Thief / Thunder Wave
- Recycle
[SET COMMENTS]
236 HP EVs and 196 Defense EVs with a Relaxed nature allow Porygon to never be OHKOed by Choice Band Doduo's Double-Edge and almost always avoid the OHKO from Cubone's Bonemerang, the two strongest physical moves in the tier. 76 Special Attack EVs allow Ice Beam to always OHKO standard Diglett sets. Return is the more consistent STAB option, while Double-Edge allows Porygon to OHKO non-defensive Abra sets but risk knocking itself out if at low health. In some situations, Double-Edge lets Porygon damage itself to below 50% health, allowing it to heal using its Sitrus Berry. Ice Beam allows Porygon to threaten the many Ice-weak Pokemon in the tier, such as Doduo, Diglett, Trapinch, and Cubone. Thunderbolt can be used to still hit Doduo and get surprise damage against Water-types but has worse coverage in comparison to Ice Beam. Recycle, a move only Porygon has access to in the tier, allows Porygon to fully heal with its Sitrus Berry throughout the game, giving it great longevity. Thief allows Porygon to steal, consume, and potentially Recycle stolen Sitrus Berry in cases where its own has been taken. Thunder Wave is always a useful utility option thanks to how valuable speed control is in LC with Porygon's bulk letting it survive almost any hit and paralyze its foe in return. Trace is an extremely useful ability that allows Porygon to come in on Diglett and Trapinch and trace Arena Trap, but it also has other uses. Tracing Staryu's Natural Cure, Chinchou's Volt Absorb, and Gastly or Duskull's Levitate are all relevant interactions.
Porygon pairs particularly well with Pokemon that appreciate Diglett and Trapinch being removed, such as Chinchou, Abra, and Elekid. Teams that do not want to run a more dedicated Choice Band Doduo check, such as Koffing or Duskull, will also appreciate running physically defensive Porygon, freeing up slots for other Pokemon. Porygon appreciates teammates that can help handle special threats like Abra and Elekid. A Pokemon such as specially defensive Wailmer to take hits or Diglett to trap the aforementioned special attackers can be effective. Any team will benefit from running Porygon due to how effective it is as a blanket check to so many Pokemon in the metagame.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Investing in Special Defense EVs instead of Defense or Special Attack is an option to help versus strong special attackers like Abra, offensive Wailmer, and Horsea. This set should be paired with walls such as Koffing or Duskull to handle physical threats. Offensive Porygon sets are an option but are harder to justify because of Porygon's immense value as a defensive Pokemon. These sets use Agility or Sharpen to boost then use Substitute to avoid paralysis in order to try and sweep teams. These sets benefit from paralysis in order to get more setup opportunities. Toxic is an option to try and chip teams down but can be hard to fit because Porygon already wants other utility options, and paralysis is the typically preferred status condition. Defensive Pokemon like opposing Porygon, Duskull, and Wailmer are good targets to wear down with Toxic.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Explosion / Self-Destruct**: With Porygon's natural bulk, the only way to consistently OHKO Porygon is through the use of Explosion or Self-Destruct. Wailmer, Koffing, Exeggcute, Gastly, Voltorb, and Pineco are among the most relevant Pokemon with access to one of these moves.
**Thief**: The move Thief helps cripple Porygon, either forcing it to use Thief if it wants to heal or eliminating its healing entirely if Porygon is not carrying it. Pokemon such as Diglett, Abra, Duskull, and Koffing will often be seen running Thief.
**Abra**: With Calm Mind, Abra can start to threaten Porygon very quickly. At +1 Special Attack, Psychic has a chance to OHKO Porygon after one layer of Spikes or minimal chip damage, and at +2, it will always be OHKOed. The defensive Abra set will survive one use of either Return or Double-Edge, giving it more opportunities to set up. Substitute allows Abra to stop Thunder Wave from Porygon trying to cripple it, and Encore can lock Porygon into Recycle or Thunder Wave.
**Anorith**: With Swords Dance, Anorith is able to almost always OHKO Porygon with Brick Break: it also resists Porygon's Normal-type moves. Anorith can also avoid Thunder Wave with Substitute.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/reggg.588561/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/grape-tylenol.593128/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/kaboom.300935/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/aurora.109385/
Last edited:
