Resource Simple Questions, Simple Answers Thread

Katy

Banned deucer.
Does anyone have a decent Blacephalon team I can steal? (Bonus points if you use mind blown)
hello,

ive spent some time on the team but it should be an okay team to work with on the ladder with mind blown blacephalon, however imho mind blown is not a great choice but i kept that in my mind: https://pokepast.es/1fde6925deb84e30
weavile and zeraora have a great speed tier and additional speed control comes from scarf tapu fini which can lock blissey and slowkings into a possible choice scarf, with tricking them to it, so your teammates have it easier. landot acts as a zeraora and tapu koko check, it also checks other dangerous threats, such as kartana, as providing itself as a softcheck to them. corviknight is a reliable source against the aforementioned kartana and also rillaboom, as it can tank their hits better. weavile, blacephalon, fini, and corv shud together be able to handle tapu lele and zeraora and tapu fini can rely on each other for checking dragapult. furthermore weavile can be brought in safely and boosting with an swords dance to break through the opposition.
However, keep in mind that mind blown itself is a rather suboptimal move choice and i would put honestly fire blast or something over it.

hope that helped :)
 
Hey,
Now meta is stabilized, did someone made a specifical thread about 8g : building and playing ?
I remember threads like -this- from flying-press.
I seen some -personnal guide- or tools in RMT section but nothing actual and/or more construct.
I know there's actually work focused on OUanalysis ; I was more curious than requesting.
 
I have a few questions:

:Gengar: Is Gengar viable when it runs Nasty Plot + 3 attacks? Shadow Ball for neutral + Sludge Wave for fairies + Thunderbolt for birds/water.

:Volcarona: What is the best overall #4 move for Volcarona: Giga Drain, Psychic, or Roost?

:Slowking: Can it run Ice Bean for dragons? If yes, which move should it replace? By the way, how one can effectively use Teleport?

:Scizor: Can Scizor run Defog? If yes, which move should it replace?

Thank you!
For the first, Yes I'd say gengar is usable. It struggles heavily however since pult just easily revenge kills it. Substitute is a good 4th move and even focus blast over tbolt. Volcarona, it's honestly up to you. The thing about volc is that it allows for you to pick and choose your counters. So I'd say it depends on your team. I run Qd, Flamethrower, psychic and roost. Slowking can run ice beam however burns are just a lot nicer all around. Most dragons don't want to risk a burn from scald. Yes, defensive scizor can run defog. Most likley max sp def with roost defog u-turn and knock/bullet punch (not sure on preferred last move). Hope that helped
 

AM

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Hey,
Now meta is stabilized, did someone made a specifical thread about 8g : building and playing ?
I remember threads like -this- from flying-press.
I seen some -personnal guide- or tools in RMT section but nothing actual and/or more construct.
I know there's actually work focused on OUanalysis ; I was more curious than requesting.
Building and playing is loading Future Sight Regen Slowtwin + breaker, Volcarona, Dragapult, Chomp. I'll be sending the invoice shortly.
 
I personally run a mixture between physical and special attackers on hyper offense, as they cover each other up really well and can deal with a multitude of checks with overwhelming them in the long run. I personally would suggest a mixture between those two.

However, hyper offense teams with mostly physical attackers can also get away with overwhelming the shared checks quite easily. So it isn't impossible to build with mostly physical attackers. An example could be Garchomp, Rillaboom, Scizor, Weavile, Kartana, Bisharp, and Hawlucha and other physical sweepers such as Dragon Dance Dragapult, Bulk Up Urshifu-R, and Zeraora.

If you do look for special attackers on hyper offensive teams, here are some suggestions: Nasty Plot Tornadus-T, Quiver Dance Volcarona, Nasty Plot Hydreigon, Calm Mind Tapu Lele, and to a lesser degree Nasty Plot Gengar, Primarina, Latios, and Galarian Moltres.

But in general most people like to have a mixture between those two different attackers (physical and special attackers) on their hyper offensive teams.
I was inspired to use DD three attacks Dnite ( fire punch, EQ, Dual wing beat), CB Rillabloom, and QD Volc HO by you.

Fire punch Dnite puts in so much work since corviknights and skarmorys don't seem to see it coming lol.

Experimenting with Specs pult, Lead Oblivious Mamoswine to make sure I get up rocks in a meta plagued by taunt Mew, Lando, and Chomp, while still being decent powerhouse and speed control after its lead role is done, and then Screens support from Azelf since its pretty fast, has taunt, dual screens, and hits pretty hard with Explosion thanks to that sweet 125 Atk stat.

considered grimsnarl, regieleki, and tapu koko for screens support too.

My team is pretty weak to Choice Band Weavile atm, thinking of replacing Dragapult but not sure with what yet.
 

Katy

Banned deucer.
in terms of brainless fighting type future port recipients, can I use banded buzzwole? Base 139 atk with bug stab for slowbro seems not too shabby? I'm sure terrakion is better most of the time but offensive buzz is really fun to work with
Choice Band Buzzwole is only a very fringe niche-set and I personally say it isn't great. I would use Bulk Up + Roost + STAB and a coverage option depending on your team. There plenty of coverage options you can chose to build around with. I don't think Choice Band Buzzwole is great, as it is very very exploitable and once the opposition figured it out, they can even abuse it as a setup fodder, while you are forced to a switch-out. A tanky Bulk Up set is probably the best, so you aren't just straight setup fodder. I'd recommend Ice Punch, so you are able to hit Flying-types such as Landorus-T, and also bulky Ground-types such as Hippowdon and Garchomp. Alternatively, Toxic is an option to lure in Zapdos without the fear of getting a Static due to non-contact.
 

ausma

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in terms of brainless fighting type future port recipients, can I use banded buzzwole? Base 139 atk with bug stab for slowbro seems not too shabby? I'm sure terrakion is better most of the time but offensive buzz is really fun to work with
Adding onto Katy's post, a huge reason I don't like Choice Band Buzzwole is that it downplays a major niche that Buzzwole has--its defensive typing and physical bulk--by stripping it of reliable longevity. For this reason, I'm more of a fan of Roost + 3 Attacks, which lets it maintain an offensive presence while being able to reliably keep Pokemon like Kartana, Rillaboom, and Garchomp in check. Buzzwole's natural strength alongside an added item and Beast Boost let it pose more than enough of a natural offensive presence even without Bulk Up, while letting it afford an additional coverage option.
 

Red Raven

I COULD BE BANNED!
What's the evs and moves for the support Dragonite set, the one with defog? And what is its role supposed to be?
 

Katy

Banned deucer.
What's the evs and moves for the support Dragonite set, the one with defog? And what is its role supposed to be?
Dragonite @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Ice Beam
- Earthquake

this can check heatran, kartana, rillaboom, landorus-t, and also pokemon like zeraora pretty reliably, although losing heavy-duty boots isnt recommended so switch into them should be done carefully and same in the case of the former as toxic from it limits dragonites longevity also.
but in overall its a great check to such pokemon on bulkier teams such as balance, which are in need for a defogger which can check a plethora of top tier threats in the current metagame.

hope that helped :)
 
Dragonite @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Ice Beam
- Earthquake

this can check heatran, kartana, rillaboom, landorus-t, and also pokemon like zeraora pretty reliably, although losing heavy-duty boots isnt recommended so switch into them should be done carefully and same in the case of the former as toxic from it limits dragonites longevity also.
but in overall its a great check to such pokemon on bulkier teams such as balance, which are in need for a defogger which can check a plethora of top tier threats in the current metagame.

hope that helped :)
Moveset and defense investment are bang on, you may want to tweak this spread by adding some speed IVs if you need specific benchmarks like defensive landot/heatran. 136 speed EVs reaches 230, just to give you an assessment. If you're using this as a zera check, you may want a spread that lives 2 plasma fists after rocks
 

Katy

Banned deucer.
Moveset and defense investment are bang on, you may want to tweak this spread by adding some speed IVs if you need specific benchmarks like defensive landot/heatran. 136 speed EVs reaches 230, just to give you an assessment. If you're using this as a zera check, you may want a spread that lives 2 plasma fists after rocks
This Dragonite set doesnt want to cut down HP or def investment for more speed, it aims to tank moves reliably rather than outspeeding certain Pokemon. With HDB and Multiscale this Dragonite is absically a supertank with the goal to hardcheck / counter certain Pokemon in any case. Making it afster will cut down either the Att or SpAtt stat, which isnt recommended, as Dragonite already suffers from a rather mediocre SpAtt stat from the get go. It can't afford Speed EVs, as it highly cuts down its defensive utility, and Lando-T typically runs 254 Speed even defensive versions, and that means you have to cut heavily in its HP or Def to make it so it can speed creep a 91 base Pokemon compared to Dragonites significantly lower speed of base 80.
 
For pokemon analysis, would you consider also adding a "hidden information/interactions" if a pokemon has some? Secret information includes stuff like shiny form or gender gving away what set it can or cannot have like female greninja revealing it's not battle bond or keldeo-resolute revealing it has secret sword. Secret interactions include stuff like shift gear magearna > agility because even if it takes more damage from foul play or confusion, it can bluff stored power which can be seen as more valuable or even the rare Ditto vs Ditto. This way players would know how to bluff as many sets as possible and get the most out of unfavorable situations.
 
This Dragonite set doesnt want to cut down HP or def investment for more speed, it aims to tank moves reliably rather than outspeeding certain Pokemon. With HDB and Multiscale this Dragonite is absically a supertank with the goal to hardcheck / counter certain Pokemon in any case. Making it afster will cut down either the Att or SpAtt stat, which isnt recommended, as Dragonite already suffers from a rather mediocre SpAtt stat from the get go. It can't afford Speed EVs, as it highly cuts down its defensive utility, and Lando-T typically runs 254 Speed even defensive versions, and that means you have to cut heavily in its HP or Def to make it so it can speed creep a 91 base Pokemon compared to Dragonites significantly lower speed of base 80.
I agree, in my post I specifically said "if you need" to outspeed those. I wouldn't do it, but maybe it's good for him to have a faster earthquake on SpDef Heatran for example
 

Abhi

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For pokemon analysis, would you consider also adding a "hidden information/interactions" if a pokemon has some? Secret information includes stuff like shiny form or gender gving away what set it can or cannot have like female greninja revealing it's not battle bond or keldeo-resolute revealing it has secret sword. Secret interactions include stuff like shift gear magearna > agility because even if it takes more damage from foul play or confusion, it can bluff stored power which can be seen as more valuable or even the rare Ditto vs Ditto. This way players would know how to bluff as many sets as possible and get the most out of unfavorable situations.
This rarely ever affects how the pokemon behaves in the given metagame and is more of a unrelated fun fact that can come in handy in very specific situations, and since the analysis is based purely on how the given pokemon performs in the metagame, this information is not very useful.
 

Red Raven

I COULD BE BANNED!
In Heatran's smogon page for ss, what is the speed investment for in its specially defensive set? And while I'm on it, why would Heatran need spdef investment in the first place?
 

Finchinator

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In Heatran's smogon page for ss, what is the speed investment for in its specially defensive set? And while I'm on it, why would Heatran need spdef investment in the first place?
From the analysis:
The Speed EVs allow Heatran to outspeed neutral-natured Aegislash and Magnezone; the remaining EVs are put into HP and Special Defense to maximize its bulk.
Some noteworthy special attackers are CM Clefable, Dragapult, Volcarona, Tornadus-T, Tapu Lele, Magnezone, and Tapu Koko
 
Has anyone ever used Landorus-T on a team with either Tapu Bulu or Rillaboom? If so, do you know a good spread for it? I'm mainly talking about specific SpAtk EVs for specific interactions with Earth Power that are generally useful. Do you think I should use Earth Power in the first place or just keep EQ and live with it?
 

Katy

Banned deucer.
Has anyone ever used Landorus-T on a team with either Tapu Bulu or Rillaboom? If so, do you know a good spread for it? I'm mainly talking about specific SpAtk EVs for specific interactions with Earth Power that are generally useful. Do you think I should use Earth Power in the first place or just keep EQ and live with it?
I think keeping the same spread as the defensive version should be okay, but the nature should be changed to BOLD, if you run Earth Power on Lando instead of Earthquake. Earth Power has a high chance to OHKO Kartana after Stealth Rocks damage and also still is a guaranteed 2HKO on Sand Rush Excadrill and still 2HKOes Tapu Koko and Zeraora. So if you really want to change the set, you could keep the EV spread itself but make it Bold so its SpA (which is rather mediocre) won't get lowered further. If you want to lure in opposing Tapu Bulu and Rillaboom, you can perhaps fit Sludge Wave on its set, with the cost of losing Knock Off, as U-turn is really mandatory to keep up momentum. However, even tho losing Knock Off is not the best way to go you can still fit Knock Off on another Pokemon instead.

This is how I would change up things, hopefully that helped :)
 
I think keeping the same spread as the defensive version should be okay, but the nature should be changed to BOLD, if you run Earth Power on Lando instead of Earthquake. Earth Power has a high chance to OHKO Kartana after Stealth Rocks damage and also still is a guaranteed 2HKO on Sand Rush Excadrill and still 2HKOes Tapu Koko and Zeraora. So if you really want to change the set, you could keep the EV spread itself but make it Bold so its SpA (which is rather mediocre) won't get lowered further. If you want to lure in opposing Tapu Bulu and Rillaboom, you can perhaps fit Sludge Wave on its set, with the cost of losing Knock Off, as U-turn is really mandatory to keep up momentum. However, even tho losing Knock Off is not the best way to go you can still fit Knock Off on another Pokemon instead.

This is how I would change up things, hopefully that helped :)
Thanks for the response. Yeah Bold is obviously a must lol also I just checked and 8 SpAtk EVs are enough to always OHKO Kartana with Earth Power after SR so that should be fine, seems useful and affordable enough to me.
I find it funny that Landorus-T's special attack feels "mediocre" (it definitely is compared to its attack) even though it's 5 points higher than Dragapult's which is regarded as premier special attacker lol. I know Pult has Ghost STAB, Draco Meteor, good coverage, speed and such, I just find the "mediocre" thing ironic, like imagine if Pult had Landorus-T's special attack or, even worse, had its attacking stats swapped.
 
So I've noticed a lot of Specs Pults or Wisp/Hex Dragapults....

But what about physical sets?
Has anyone been having success with Phantom Force, or even Sucker Punch Dragapult? Or is it just not all that viable in practice?
 

Katy

Banned deucer.
So I've noticed a lot of Specs Pults or Wisp/Hex Dragapults....

But what about physical sets?
Has anyone been having success with Phantom Force, or even Sucker Punch Dragapult? Or is it just not all that viable in practice?
Physical sets can be viable on certain team structures such as offense or hyper offense:
Dragapult @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Darts
- Phantom Force
- Substitute / Flamethrower / Sucker Punch

Clear Body is used here, to cancel Landorus-Ts Intimidate, when your opponent finds out about the set. Flamethrower can still help against Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Magnezone, and Melmetal and helps to ear these down, same goes for Kartana. Substitute in general is great, to even further Dragapults potential with making it harder to kill.
 
Last edited:
Physical sets can be viable on certain team structures such as offense or hyper offense:
Dragapult @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Darts
- Phantom Force
- Substitute / Flamethrower / Sucker Punch

Clear Body is used here, to cancel Landorus-Ts Intimidate, when your opponent finds out about the set. Flamethrower can still help against Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Magnezone, and Melmetal and helps to ear these down, same goes for Kartana. Substitute in general is great, to even further Dragapults potential with making it harder to kill.
interesting. Why is weakness policy particularly appealing on this set btw?
 

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