Porygon-Z (Analysis) [QC 0/3]

Petsinwinter

This is my first analysis so please bear with me as i really only have a general knowledge of how to do this from reading other analyses (although I know the subject matter fairly well) comments and corrections are appreciated!! I decided that I will only do the 2 sets because my computer keeps giving me problems and I am a serious procrastinator (which is why this took so long).

Porygon-Z
Status: done (awaiting QC)

Spr_5b_474.png
porygonz.gif

http://serebii.net/pokedex-bw/474.shtml

[Overview]

<p>Porygon-Z ties with Alakazam for the 3rd highest non-uber Sp. Atk (behind Chandalure (Shandera) and daruma mode Darmanitan (Hihidaruma) in that order) dropping from the top spot of last generation. Unfortunately, Porygon-Z's Sp. Atk is its only exceptional stat, considering its below-average 85/70/75 defences, its relatively low, base-80 attack and its below average, base-90 speed, not to mention its lack of resistances. However, its diverse special movepool and a support movepool it inherited from its pre-evolved form, Porygon2, function quite well for it. It also tied with Darkrai for the title of the pokemon with the highest Sp. Atk that can use Nasty Plot, which allows it to 2HKO every Pokemon in the metagame, even Blissey.</p>

[SET]

Name: Choice
Move 1: Tri Attack
Move 2: Thunderbolt/Trick
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Dark Pulse/Hidden Power [Ground/Fighting]
Item: Choice Specs/Choice Scarf
Ability: Download/Adaptability
Nature: Modest/Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SpA/252 Spe

Set Comments:

<p>Choice Specs Porygon-Z Is a super hard-hitting Special Attacker with a boosted Sp. Atk. of up to 607. Tri Attack is its primary STAB and is included on almost every Porygon-Z set. for the 2nd and 3rd slots, you can run the ever-popular, ever-effective bolt-beam combo. These can run around the resistance to Tri attack that Rock- and Steel-type Pokemon possess as well as the ghost-type immunity. However, Trick can be used to give Porygon-Z's Specs to a physically-minded or defensively-minded Pokemon. The 4th moveslot holds Hidden Power [Fighting or Ground] or Dark Pulse, depending on what you prefer. If running HP [Fighting or Ground] You can take down those Rock- and Steel-types who wall Tri Attack, including Magnezone, who walls the bolt-beam combo as well. HP [Ground] also allows for an IV balance that doesn't make it tie in speed with +speed Heatran when running a Modest nature or +speed Lucario when running a Timid Nature. It also hits Steel/Psychic types harder than the alternatives as well as not leaving you completely open to Chandalure (Shandera). With Dark Pulse, Porygon-Z can run through Ghost-types, OHKOing all of them but Dusknoir and Spiritomb. It also packs the higher Base Power, for those who aren't worried about coverage. As far as ability is concerned, although adaptability doubles the Base Power of STAB Tri Attack (rather than the normal 1.5 boost) and requires less predicting, Download is the better option because it gives the ability boost to all attacks, rather than just STAB. EVs and nature for this set are simply standard for a special sweeper.</p>

Additional Comments:

<p>There are several other options for this set. There is Psycho Shock If you really need to beat Blissey. However, it only does a little more than an Adaptability Tri Attack to a 252 HP/252 Def Bold Blissey and it does not have many other benefits. </p>

Teammates and Counters:

<p>This set's biggest counter is Blissey, the game's greatest special wall. also evo stone Chansey, since it has even more Sp. Def than Blissey. So, as such, You should have a strong physical attacker, so as to hit it where it's weakest. Also necessary, a fast or defensive Pokemon to cover Porygon-Z's mediocre speed. And Stealth Rock support is always appreciated. there</p>

[SET]

Name: +2 Boost
Move 1: Nasty Plot/Agility
Move 2: Tri Attack
Move 3: Dark Pulse
Move 4: Hidden Power [Fighting]
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
Nature: Modest/Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SpA/252 Spe

Set Comments:

<p>The +2 boost set is fairly straightforward. On the first turn, you double Porygon-Z's Special Attack/Speed with Nasty Plot/Agility and on the next turn you attempt to sweep with any of the other three moves, which get perfect coverage together. In addition, Tri Attack is further boosted by Adaptability, getting a 2x STAB instead of a 1.5x. This set can get tricky to use because Porygon-Z isn't as defensive as its pre-evolved form. This is a fairly standard set.</p>

Additional Comments:

<p>If you don't like the recoil you get from the Life Orb, you can always go for the safer, more specific, slightly less powerful Wise Glasses. You can also run HP[Ground] and/or Psycho Shock for the same reasons as the Specs set. Pain Split can be used. but is not recommended. You can also run this set with Hyper Beam, which can, after factoring in Nasty Plot, Life Orb, and Adaptability boosts, while running a Modest Nature, OHKO Blissey. This can be a deadly suicide move for Porygon-Z and your team because this gives your opponent a free turn. If they don't obliterate Porygon-Z in a revenge kill, they may set up their own sweeper and destroy the rest of your team.</p>

Teammates and Counters:

<p>The above counters still hold prevalent, so similar teammates will work. Also, dual screens are very helpful for setup because, again, Porygon-Z isn't a defensive pokemon and will go down in one hit from a strong attack.</p>

[Dream World]

<p>Porygon-Z's DW ability, Analyse, has not been released through Dream world as of yet. When it does get released, It may see some use, but not much. what it does is, when the pokemon moves last in the turn, (which Porygon-Z will get do the time) it will gain an additional 30% boost to its attacking move. However, because it goes down rather easily, It probably won't be using that boost very often, and Adaptability and Download are way better.</p>
 
Well not much to say really... Its the same as it always was. I'd put download as the primary option over adaptability, as a +1 tri attack does more damage than an adaptability one. You should really only use adaptability on a nasty plot set (of course adaptability is always present and download only works sometimes... so it has a little merit). Aside from that, it looks fine.
 
Lousy defenses? Maybe compared to Porygon 2, but 85 70 75 with only one weakness is quite impressive for a "frail sweeper" in my books. You even have an immunity to switch in on. The let down is that it's outsped by quite a lot of other sweepers, and thus those defenses are often overwhelmed unlike on something like Ambipom. Also, you should probably mention that Magic Coat's buff now increases the viability of an anti-lead, which is an interesting idea.
 
Petsinwinter said:
Porygon-Z

[Overview]
(Also, on a side note, It also holds the relatively useless title of being the only 2nd evolution who evolves through trading a Pokemon that also evolves through trading)
Click to expand...

It's a fun fact, but it's filler and is irrelevant competitively.

Also, a lot of this contains reworded phrases and sentences from the on-site 4th Generation analysis (which I've read plenty of times since Z is one of my favorite Pokémon ever). Anyways, that's just me being nitpicky. The Specs set is a given, good job. You might want to try an Agility set with Download, too. If you can pull it off correctly without getting murdered, you essentially have a very fast Specs-Z that can change attacks. Oh, and by the way the BB code for an image is [ img]url to image[ /img], or you can just click the Insert Image icon in the tool bar. Veekun and Bulbapedia have every sprite you could ever desire for any Pokémon.

GtM said:
Lousy defenses? Maybe compared to Porygon 2, but 85 70 75 with only one weakness is quite impressive for a "frail sweeper" in my books. You even have an immunity to switch in on. The let down is that it's outsped by quite a lot of other sweepers, and thus those defenses are often overwhelmed unlike on something like Ambipom. Also, you should probably mention that Magic Coat's buff now increases the viability of an anti-lead, which is an interesting idea.
Click to expand...
With the incredibly hard hitting sweepers in this new metagame, namely Roobushin with Mach Punch, those defenses just don't cut it. Combine that with base 90 speed which is outsped by *so much* and you've got your explanation on why Porygon-Z is considered frail.
 
NixHex said:
With the incredibly hard hitting sweepers in this new metagame, namely Roobushin with Mach Punch, those defenses just don't cut it. Combine that with base 90 speed which is outsped by *so much* and you've got your explanation on why Porygon-Z is considered frail.
Click to expand...

Yes. But 85 70 75 defenses still let Porygon-Z take attacks from defensive and support pokémon well enough to carry on attacking.
 
Noble Cactus said:
PZ learns Psycho Shock. Maybe list that as an option to hit Blissey hard?
Click to expand...

The thing is, Psycho Shock only hits Blissey slightly harder than an Adaptability Tri Attack. Psycho Shock does 37.4% ~ 44.1% to 252 HP/252 Def Bold Blissey, while Tri Attack does 31.9% - 37.8%. It may have some merit if you use Download(56.2% ~ 66.1% vs 35.7%-42.2%), but you're still locking yourself into an unSTABed Psychic-typed attack, and almost nothing besides Blissey is hit significantly harder by it(even Snorlax only takes slightly more from a Download Psycho Shock).
 
Needz moar NP, Agility, and Choice Scarf. Psycho Shock is also a really good option on any sets that can afford to spare a slot for it, since, as has been said repeatedly, it lets Gonzy beat Blissey without having to resort to NP Adaptability Hyper Beam. Suppose you want Download over Adaptability? Bam.
 
Porygon-Z is (in my opinion) a good user of Agility: it can outspeed Doryuuzu (and by extension anything slower, obviously) but it still hits like a truck! With Download, you can potentially have a +2 Spe, +1 SpAtk sweeper in your hands. It has p good coverage with 3 attacking slots as well.

Porygon-Z @ Life Orb
Download
252 SpAtk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Timid

Agility
Tri Attack
Shadow Ball
Hidden Power Fight / Hidden Power Fire

Tri Attack is a reliable STAB move and should be the main form of sweeping. Shadow Ball hits Ghost types that are immune to Tri Attack, and does not interact with Justice Heart Pokémon, which is why it is used over Dark Pulse. The last slot lets Z hit Steel and Rock types pretty hard (including Tyranitar and Nattorei.)
 
Thanks for all the comments! I know alot of it is rehashed from the 4th gen page but Porygon-Z really hasn't changed much from that. And, sorry, was I supposed to put the abilities in order of importance?

Also I know there are other sets, the specs set was just my first one, I still planned on doing NP and Agility sets, I'll make a note of Psycho Shock (It uses Sp. Atk against defence, right?)
 
GtM said:
Yes. But 85 70 75 defenses still let Porygon-Z take attacks from defensive and support pokémon well enough to carry on attacking.
Click to expand...

Yes, but Porygon-Z lacks the power to muscle its way through those walls (namely Evo-Stoned Chansey or Blissey). Although it does have only one weakness (fighting), FIghting is extremely common nowadays *cough* Roopushin *cough*. ALso, it lacks resistances.
 
Porygon-Z lacks resistances (although it is immune to Ghost) at the cost of only having one weakness. Obviously Chansey and Blissey wall most of its set, but just like any other Pokémon, it has counters; but that is not a reason enough not to use Porygon-Z (but even then, they get crippled by Trick.) I also disagree with using Psycho Shock, as an Adaptability Tri-Attack hits just as hard as Psycho Shock would (perhaps a small 5% difference??)
 
hp ground really deserves a mention in specs for a few reasons

1. it allows you to retain a perfect speed IV meaning you don't tie with +speed Heatran when using Modest or +speed lucario when using Timid
2. It's your strongest attack against steel types like Jirachi and Metagross
3. It doesn't turn you into complete Shandera bait

the downsides of hp ground is that you don't do as much to Nattorei or Tyranitar but it's certainly a worthy option for the last slot.
 
Today, I'm very surprise that when battle with my friend today. This Polygon-Z Hyper beam send my Kingdra to history(He also ge DL boost Sp.atk). After I think 80+80 of tri attack and 150 of Hyper beam is not much different, it can make sure that I can OHOK most thing that not resist but it is nearly sacrifice PZ due can bring some counter and kill it.
 
personally, i would rather have a moveset more like:
nasty plot
dark pulse
hyper beam
tri attack

with the wise glasses equipped
but this is still a great moveset

oh, and gamemaster0000 he gets a stab on hyper beam, making it a 300 base power attack
 
There's an "edit button", y'know.

Oh, and by the way, I would keep away from Hyper Beam if I were you guys. Sure, it has so much ridiculous power in one move, but is the extra recharge turn even worth it? Things like Cobalion, Virizion, Excadrill, Voltolos, Jirachi, and a tons of guys set up on you after a Hyper Beam. You can't even switch out to a Roobushin to save your life from Excadrill or Substitute users.

Sorry, it's just not worth the possibility of being swept after a turn of set up.
 
BoltBeam, while still incredible, is not as strong as it used to be unless backed by Flamethrower. Maybe a NP set with Dark Pulse/Tri Attack/HP Fighting. It has perfect coverage. Tri Attack is of course the main attack. HP Fighting for Steels that resist Tri Attack and Dark Pulse for Ghost that are immune to it.

I am not sure if he is fast enough for Dark Pulse to make use of flinch. If not Shadow Ball is the next best thing.
 
At least suggest Bolt Beam, as it is still great and might be best depending on the rest of the team.

Also, is Chopple Berry and option? It can set up an Agility and get its +1 SpA boost, but then something like Breloom can come in and send Porygon-Z to oblivion.

And maybe as a lead it can Magic Coat some rocks and then use Hyper Beam as it's form of Explosion, but that seems a little unreliable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top