Resource Simple Questions, Simple Answers Thread

I'm (obviously) new to the site, but based on the ranking (which seems like it will likely get shifted downward) of Luxray, this appears to be the place to ask.

Relatively simple question, but why is the recommendation for Luxray to EV train speed, instead of a defensive stat like HP? It feels like 70 base speed isn't fast enough to race any other sweepers, but I haven't found a good reference for where the cutoff point on speed is where it really isn't worth trying to win priority that way.

I was looking at trying:

Luxray @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Wild Charge
- Ice Fang
- Crunch
- Superpower

I guess my question is, with 70 base speed, am I able to outrun anything meaningful, or would I be better off investing in a little bit of bulk to try and soak 1 extra hit and trade up. Is there a good rule of thumb to determine when giving up on speed is appropriate, or a rule of thumb for how much bulk you need to avoid getting 1HKO by your peers?
 

Ruft

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I'm (obviously) new to the site, but based on the ranking (which seems like it will likely get shifted downward) of Luxray, this appears to be the place to ask.

Relatively simple question, but why is the recommendation for Luxray to EV train speed, instead of a defensive stat like HP? It feels like 70 base speed isn't fast enough to race any other sweepers, but I haven't found a good reference for where the cutoff point on speed is where it really isn't worth trying to win priority that way.

I was looking at trying:

Luxray @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Wild Charge
- Ice Fang
- Crunch
- Superpower

I guess my question is, with 70 base speed, am I able to outrun anything meaningful, or would I be better off investing in a little bit of bulk to try and soak 1 extra hit and trade up. Is there a good rule of thumb to determine when giving up on speed is appropriate, or a rule of thumb for how much bulk you need to avoid getting 1HKO by your peers?
Let me preface this by saying Luxray is (probably) completely unviable in OU. The only reason it's tiered in OU is because it only just recently got released into the game through the Isle of Armor DLC. All newly introduced fully-evolved Pokemon start in the OU tier and can drop to the lower tiers as time passes.

The reason you'd most likely want to run Speed on Luxray (in lower tiers) is because it's probably best off being used as a Guts wallbreaker. While 70 base Speed is indeed unimpressive, investing in it is still a good idea to be able to outrun the defensive/utility Pokemon you're looking to break as well as other wallbreakers. An OU example of this is Conkeldurr, which has 45 base Speed but runs investment to be able to outrun defensive Pokemon like uninvested Clefable and Corviknight, while also outspeeding other breakers like Alolan Marowak. Imagine if Conkeldurr could be outsped by uninvested Clefable; it wouldn't have nearly the same breaking capabilities as it currently has, as Clefable would then be able to threaten it with Moonblast or heal up on it, while it has issues doing that to a faster Conkeldurr.
 
Let me preface this by saying Luxray is (probably) completely unviable in OU. The only reason it's tiered in OU is because it only just recently got released into the game through the Isle of Armor DLC. All newly introduced fully-evolved Pokemon start in the OU tier and can drop to the lower tiers as time passes.

The reason you'd most likely want to run Speed on Luxray (in lower tiers) is because it's probably best off being used as a Guts wallbreaker. While 70 base Speed is indeed unimpressive, investing in it is still a good idea to be able to outrun the defensive/utility Pokemon you're looking to break as well as other wallbreakers. An OU example of this is Conkeldurr, which has 45 base Speed but runs investment to be able to outrun defensive Pokemon like uninvested Clefable and Corviknight, while also outspeeding other breakers like Alolan Marowak. Imagine if Conkeldurr could be outsped by uninvested Clefable; it wouldn't have nearly the same breaking capabilities as it currently has, as Clefable would then be able to threaten it with Moonblast or heal up on it, while it has issues doing that to a faster Conkeldurr.
My main curiosity is whether walls typically reach that 70 speed threshold, or if I would do better by boosting my bulk so I can eat a little bit of damage in the process of killing the wall...

I'll have to test both and see, which leads to my other questions now that I've thought about it a little:

1: Should I remove an attack to introduce volt switch? This would make it a little easier to swap out once my original target is gone. If so, which do you think would be best to remove? I'm leaning toward Crunch, as I do have other dark types in my team.

2: When choosing a +atk nature, should I give up Special Attack or a defense stat - is it worth trying to be a mixed attacker or should I just double down on normal attack? I haven't tried to build a team with a dedicated wall breaker - previously I'd just used a wall of my own to attrition them out.
 
My main curiosity is whether walls typically reach that 70 speed threshold, or if I would do better by boosting my bulk so I can eat a little bit of damage in the process of killing the wall...

I'll have to test both and see, which leads to my other questions now that I've thought about it a little:

1: Should I remove an attack to introduce volt switch? This would make it a little easier to swap out once my original target is gone. If so, which do you think would be best to remove? I'm leaning toward Crunch, as I do have other dark types in my team.

2: When choosing a +atk nature, should I give up Special Attack or a defense stat - is it worth trying to be a mixed attacker or should I just double down on normal attack? I haven't tried to build a team with a dedicated wall breaker - previously I'd just used a wall of my own to attrition them out.
What is the context of the "My main curiosity is whether walls typically reach that 70 speed threshold, or if I would do better by boosting my bulk so I can eat a little bit of damage in the process of killing the wall..." part? I'm genuinely curious as to what you mean by that.

Anyways, for the first question, yes. According to the Gen 6 analysis (don't laugh at me for using info from a past generation analysis), Luxray will primarily use it to scout for possible switches. And no, you're not going to need special attack investment, as you're really only using Volt Switch for that specific purpose.

For the second question, don't give up the defense stat - this exacerbates Luxray's rather meager defenses. You're going to want to neutralize the special attack stat considering you're not going to use it for practically anything other than the aforementioned purposes.
 
What is the context of the "My main curiosity is whether walls typically reach that 70 speed threshold, or if I would do better by boosting my bulk so I can eat a little bit of damage in the process of killing the wall..." part? I'm genuinely curious as to what you mean by that.
The... post they quoted right above the question for context... is the context...
They were asking at first why it was necessary for Luxray to invest in Speed, and they were told that people invested in Speed on wallbreakers so that they could go before the walls they were breaking. The example provided was that Conkeldurr invests in Speed for the same reason. However, Conkeldurr is naturally slower than many relevant walls - it only has 45 Speed to Clefable's 60 and Corviknight's 67, and both of them have the tools to hit it back if they need - so it invests in outspeeding them because it would otherwise be ineffective against them.
Fyeya's goal is to leave as many EVs as possible for defensive investment without compromising Luxray's wallbreaking role. Since Luxray already has base 70, which is higher than any relevant wall, the only situation in which it would need investment to outpace them is if the walls themselves are also invested. That's why they want to know how fast walls tend to be - so that they know how much Speed is necessary for Luxray to break them and how many EVs can be left over for HP investment. (It seems like a pretty good idea to me!)
I don't actually know how fast the usual walls get myself, so I can't answer that, unfortunately (I would have expected zero Speed investment to be fine from the start? I was under the impression that none of them invested in Speed, but it sounds like that's wrong...), but hopefully that clears up the question so someone who knows better can!
 

Ruft

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OU Leader
There are definitely faster walls (or defensive pivots), think of Mandibuzz with base 80 Speed for example. However, I can't make a blanket statement in regards to whatever tier and its metagame Luxray will end up in. Generally you'll want Speed; maybe you don't necessarily need max, but you'll probably do since base 70 can be a crowded Speed tier.

And let's keep it at that. Luxray is not relevant in OU, so let's refrain from discussing it further. In the future you can ask about it in the SQSA of whatever tier it might find a niche in when it drops there.
 
There are definitely faster walls (or defensive pivots), think of Mandibuzz with base 80 Speed for example. However, I can't make a blanket statement in regards to whatever tier and its metagame Luxray will end up in. Generally you'll want Speed; maybe you don't necessarily need max, but you'll probably do since base 70 can be a crowded Speed tier.

And let's keep it at that. Luxray is not relevant in OU, so let's refrain from discussing it further. In the future you can ask about it in the SQSA of whatever tier it might find a niche in when it drops there.
That's a very good point, that we don't really have the correct point of comparison because we don't know what tier it will land in (if any). I wasn't certain if there were 'general speed tiers' that I could compare to, but it sounds fully situational, which makes it a little harder to theorycraft in a vacuum, but probably leads to much more accurate results.

Thanks for the answers everyone - I think I'll try the bulk and if I find myself getting raced by the walls I'm trying to crack, I'll start shifting back toward speed until I find a sweet spot, if one exists. I mean, I'm playing Luxray because it's a favorite pokemon of mine, not because it's the strongest of pokemon, so I know I'm just trying to make lemonade with a lemon here.
 
Ruft sniped me as I was writing this, but it's applicable to the more general topic of deciding how much speed to run on Pokemon with slow or middling speed. It's important to keep in mind that you're outspeeding offensive Pokemon in addition to defensive. For example, Marowak and the aforementioned Conkeldurr usually run max speed Adamant, which is actually a few points faster than uninvested base 70. Additionally, running less than max speed means you can't speed tie with another of the same mon running max speed.
 
Can a Screen Team be used without the use of Hyper Offense?
There's little reason to run screens on teams that are not hyper offensive, as they are only dedicated to letting frail Pokemon such as Cloyster and Hawlucha sweep much easier. Other team archetypes such as balance would usually depend on a defensive backbone/core and such setup sweepers would only be win-cons, which would have to also rely on using screens late-game which is unlikely to happen at times.


Never run defensive mons on hyper offense teams. The main goal of hyper offense teams is to be as aggressive as possible, so don’t try using defensive mons on hyper offense.
Adding on to this, you would only want to run defensive Pokemon on hyper offensive teams if they are bulky leads, such as Mew and Alolan Ninetales, which both invest in HP EVs and are really mandatory for variants of HO teams.

Mew @ Red Card
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Flare Blitz

Ninetales-Alola @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aurora Veil
- Freeze-Dry
- Hail
- Hypnosis


This should be a nice set for both, as shown in the importable.
 
What are the dominant archetypes for the post-DLC OU metagame? Haven't gotten the time to play it and I really want to get back to playing this new metagame.
 
What are the dominant archetypes for the post-DLC OU metagame? Haven't gotten the time to play it and I really want to get back to playing this new metagame.
Balance is still one of the most dominant and used archetypes this tier, as it has gained a bunch of new additions to the metagame (such as Magearna, Chansey, Magnezone, Alolan Marowak, etc.) and still continues to have one of the most threatening offensive Pokemon used such as Volcarona and the newly introduced Urshifu. Additionally, a bunch of different play styles can be used on balance teams, such as weather and VoltTurn to an extent, while containing some great defensive backbones such as Hippowdon and Clefable which are used to cover up even some potent wallbreakers.

Hyper Offensive is still pretty good right now, getting some new great setup sweepers like Azumarill and Volcarona, and having a bunch of different playstyles to use, such as Aurora Veil, Sticky Webs, and Screens as I mentioned in the above posts. On the other hand, HO has to play more carefully around some new bulky walls, such as Magearna, Tangrowth, Amoonguss, Chansey, and Slowbro, which can all be problematic for even some teams.

Stall is decent as well, getting back lots of usage from the DLC introducing our new walls that I mentioned above, and can be used as a good way to outplay your opponents if used carefully. With all the physical and special threats this gen, it's hard to check all Pokemon, however, without fitting some extras in your team, and Balance and HO are much more easier to learn. Ruft also has a Semi-Stall team uploaded in the DLC Sample Thread, which you can check out.
 
Last night I was thinking about how little Weavile benefits from its abilities, and I realized that if you predict the opponent to use Knock Off, you could theoretically switch into Weavile, eat the hit thanks to Dark resisting itself, and steal the opponent's item on the spot with Pickpocket. However, I've never heard anyone mention this, probably because hard switching Weavile into anything is insanely risky and not likely to be worth the reward.

So my question is: has anyone ever actually done this before?
 
Last night I was thinking about how little Weavile benefits from its abilities, and I realized that if you predict the opponent to use Knock Off, you could theoretically switch into Weavile, eat the hit thanks to Dark resisting itself, and steal the opponent's item on the spot with Pickpocket. However, I've never heard anyone mention this, probably because hard switching Weavile into anything is insanely risky and not likely to be worth the reward.

So my question is: has anyone ever actually done this before?
Yes, Knock Off is able to instantly activate Pickpocket from Weavile and guarantee an item for it, as stated from the quote "Pickpocket activates after Knock Off, Bug Bite, and Pluck, taking the item after being hit" from Bulbapedia.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it's always the better option to use as it can result in getting unhelpful items that Weavile dosen't want (example below.)

Obstagoon used Knock Off! It's not very effective...
(The opposing Weavile lost 24% of its health!)
Obstagoon knocked off the opposing Weavile's Choice Band!
[The opposing Weavile's Pickpocket] The opposing Weavile stole Obstagoon's Flame Orb!
The opposing Weavile was burned!


Credits to McCoolDude for that example, which shows a Weavile getting burned from Obstagoon's Flame Orb. Just stick to using Pressure if you want to play more safely and I think most people use it anyways :blobthumbsup:.
 
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Yes, Knock Off is able to instantly activate Pickpocket from Weavile and guarantee an item for it, as stated from the quote "Pickpocket activates after Knock Off, Bug Bite, and Pluck, taking the item after being hit" from Bulbapedia.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it's always the better option to use as it can result in getting unhelpful items that Weavile dosen't want (example below.)

Obstagoon used Knock Off! It's not very effective...
(The opposing Weavile lost 24% of its health!)
Obstagoon knocked off the opposing Weavile's Choice Band!
[The opposing Weavile's Pickpocket] The opposing Weavile stole Obstagoon's Flame Orb!
The opposing Weavile was burned!


Credits to McCoolDude for that example, which shows a Weavile getting burned from Obstagoon's Flame Orb. Just stick to using Pressure if you want to play more safely and I think most people use it anyways :blobthumbsup:.
Oh, I'm well aware that it's barely relevant and very likely to backfire (even if the item isn't explicitly bad, you're still losing your Choice Band). I was just curious if anyone had successfully done this trick (or even just realized it was a thing Weavile could do; Pickpocket's effect is so niche that I doubt it ever crosses most people's minds).
 
Oh, I'm well aware that it's barely relevant and very likely to backfire (even if the item isn't explicitly bad, you're still losing your Choice Band). I was just curious if anyone had successfully done this trick (or even just realized it was a thing Weavile could do; Pickpocket's effect is so niche that I doubt it ever crosses most people's minds).
Few people might have done this trick, not any that I know of but i've seen somebody do it in a battle once. One person even managed to use it in a draft league from a YouTube video, which is pretty cool.
 
Hi everyone!
Atm I'm building a team for a friend of mine that wants to get into competitive, and he specifically wanted to use Rapid Strike Urshifu (he really likes that mon)
Atm I have PhysDef Pelipper, Scarf RS Urshifu (been thinking of Banded, but ain't sure), CB Barraskewda, Specs Kingdra and SpDef Ferro.
One mon that I was thinking to use is PhysDef Tentacruel, but idk if it would make the team too passive for a Rain team.
I'm open to any suggestions:]

(Sidenote: Is Flip Turn on Specs Kingdra a good move? I added it to the set bc it helps me to gain momentum when tmons like Chansey switch in on Kingdra)

Thank you so much in advance!
 
I’ve seen many people using Inteleon lately with Focus Energy + Sniper. Is it a good set? Because all the hits Inteleon lands results in a crit, so is it good?
 
I’ve seen many people using Inteleon lately with Focus Energy + Sniper. Is it a good set? Because all the hits Inteleon lands results in a crit, so is it good?
No, it is not good. Even if it lands a critical hit every time, Inteleon will struggle with bulky Water-resistant Pokemon such as Toxapex and Ferrothorn. Beyond that, it struggles a lot to actually set up a Focus Energy because of how frail it is.
 
So my boy Heracross is back and I decided to build a team around him. I've got a nice core so far in Guts Spikes Heracross/WishPort Clefable/Bulky NP Rotom-H, but what would be good partners for this core?
 
So my boy Heracross is back and I decided to build a team around him. I've got a nice core so far in Guts Spikes Heracross/WishPort Clefable/Bulky NP Rotom-H, but what would be good partners for this core?
Personally, I think that SD + 3 attacks Heracross is its most viable set, and WishPort Clef is pretty underwhelming and a huge momentum sap right now, but if you're set on that core, I think Hazard Removal and a Water Resist are two important priorities. In terms of Hazard Removal, Phys Def Mandibuzz could work as a switch-in to Marowak-A and another answer to Urshifu, while SpDef Toxapex as a Water Resist gives you another Volcarona answer. Finally, an electric immunity/resist such as Marowak-A, Hippowdon (which can quickly rack up residual damage on Heracross with Burn + Sand, but Wish Clef can help negate this) or Helmet Tangrowth (which also helps with Excadrill) could round out the defensive core.
 

AnimaticLunatic

I COULD BE BANNED!
Who do you guys think will have number one usage in the tire? I think it will be Rillaboom.
Now on to more serious questions. Does anyone feel like Volcarona was bit overated? Maybe because I have not faced good ones, but for now it feels pretty balanced.
 
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What's a good Toxapex lure? If it can lure Magearna as well that'd be dope!
I've actually been considering SD Sand Tomb Scizor who could beat both, and Whirlpool Perish Song Azumarill for Pex, but got any others?
 

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