Viability of Gems in BW2

ShootingStarmie

Bulletproof
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Viability of Gems in OU!

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"Gems are one-use type-enhancing items introduced in Generation V. There are 17 types of Gems, one corresponding to each of the 17 types. A Gem is consumed when the Pokémon holding it uses a damaging attack that matches the Gem's type; the attack's power is boosted by 50%. The Gem will not be consumed if the attack misses."

Gems I believe have many uses over the standard items of choice. Obviously Gems are only seen on offensive Pokemon, so why not just use a choice item or Life Orb? Well, each item has their own merits and downfalls, but what separates Gems from these items I believe are these two big reasons...

They bluff choice items
They don't restrict your choice of move


While Gems are only a one time use, that's sometimes all you need in this metagame. Gems are used to power through the Pokemon's common counters, and sweep the rest of the team easily. An example of this would be Flying Gem Scizor. Scizor's standard Swords Dance set is commonly countered by Tentacruel or Jellicent. However, now with the boost from Flying Gem, Scizor can now easily plow through Jellicent or Tentacruel at +2, and often sweep afterwards.

While Gems are usually seen on sweepers, the main idea behind using them is to wall break, creating a sweep opportunity for said Pokemon, or another team mate. Breloom is a fantastic user of Fighting Gem, because it allows Breloom to break through even the sturdiest of Pokemon, like Skarmory, Latias, and Forretress, creating an opening for another sweeper commonly walled by these Pokemon.

Sweepers and Wall Breakers

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Terrakion @ Rock Gem
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge

Terrakion is probably the most common user of Rock Gem, and for a good reason. Rock Gem allows Terrakion to muscle through it's usually counters, like Gliscor, Landorus-T, and Slowbro. Once these walls have been eliminated from the opposing team, Terrakion usually has an easy sweep. Substitute is used to avoid status like Will-O-Wisp, while also preventing Terrakion from easily being revenge killed by Breloom or Scizor. Swords Dance is used to boost Terrakion's attack to devistating levels, allowing it OHKO the sturdiest of walls. Close Combat and Stone Edge are Terrakion's main STABs of choice, since they provide amazing coverage and awesome base power. Here are a few calcs to demonstrate it's incredible power at +2.

+1 252 Atk Rock Gem Terrakion Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Landorus-T: 309-364 (80.89 - 95.28%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252 Atk Rock Gem Terrakion Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Gliscor: 315-372 (88.98 - 105.08%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252 Atk Rock Gem Terrakion Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 330-388 (83.75 - 98.47%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

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Scizor @ Flying Gem
Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Acrobatics

Scizor makes great use of Flying Gem, as it wasn't getting too much coverage with Bug Bite, and +2 Acrobatics allows Scizor to bypass it's usual counters, like Jellicent and Tentacruel. This set is great in both sweeping and wall breaking, as +2 Acrobatics really can dent the best switch ins to Scizor, like Landorus-T, Gliscor, and Tentacruel. Jolly Nature is curial on this set, as it allows Scizor to out speed it's usual counters, like SpDef Heatran, Tentacruel, and Jellicent, allowing Scizor to KO them all before they get a chance to burn Scizor with Scald / out right KO it. So Swords Dance is used to boost its attack, Bullet Punch offers great coverage offensively and has nice base power thanks to Technician. Super Power is used to hit Steel types that like to switch into Scizor, like Heatran and Magnezone. Acrobatics in the key to this set, as with Flying Gem and +2, it can easily break through most of it's counters. Here are a few calcs.

+2 252 Atk Flying Gem Scizor Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 236+ Def Tentacruel: 343-404 (94.23 - 110.98%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252 Atk Flying Gem Scizor Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 248 HP / 216+ Def Jellicent: 335-395 (83.12 - 98.01%) -- 68.75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252 Atk Scizor Superpower vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 498-586 (129.35 - 152.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

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Tornadus (M) @ Flying Gem
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Superpower
- Bulk Up
- Taunt

Tornadus has a good base 115 Attack and a strong physical STAB in Acrobatics, which allow it to be used outside of rain with a physical set. Flying Gem-boosted Acroabatics is almost as powerful as Terrakion's Life Orb Close Combat, OHKOing many offensive Pokemon with ease. Furthermore, Acrobatics transforms Tornadus into a very good Chansey and Blissey lure, as the first is 2HKOed by a combination of Flying Gem Acrobatics and Superpower after Stealth Rock while the latter is easily 2HKOed by any attacking move of Tornadus. Superpower provides good neutral coverage with Acrobatics and lets Tornadus OHKO any Tyranitar, 2HKO 248/0 Heatran after Stealth Rock, and deal with Chansey and Blissey by the ways already mentioned. Bulk Up makes Tornadus harder to revenge kill with priority and physical Choice Scarf users and makes Tornadus harder to wall, giving it some much-needed utility against balanced and stall teams. Taunt offers great utility in conjunction with Prankster, as it stops (bad) Baton Pass teams and set up sweepers cold. Here are a few calcs

+1 252 Atk Flying Gem Tornadus Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 4 HP / 252 Def Blissey: 733-864 (112.42 - 132.51%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252 Atk Flying Gem Tornadus Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Ninetales: 405-477 (115.71 - 136.28%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252 Atk Flying Gem Tornadus Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Hippowdon: 321-378 (76.42 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

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Breloom @ Fighting Gem
Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Focus Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch

Breloom I think is the best wall breaker in the game right now. Fighting Gem boosted Focus Punch is one of (if not the) most powerful attack you'll see in Pokemon. Usually however, Focus Punch is unviable, because it has serious drawbacks as a move (if your opponent hits you, Focus Punch forces you to flinch). However, since Breloom is one of the few Pokemon with access to Spore, Breloom can easily fire off Focus Punches without much fear of being flinched on that turn. EVs are pretty standard, but I prefer Adamant over Jolly mainly because I want as much power as possible behind Focus Punch. Spore is one of the best moves in the game, allowing me to easily Spam Focus Punch with no risk at all. Focus Punch is the wall breaking move itself, and allows me to remove threats early in the game (or severely weaken them). Mach Punch is priority and hit's decently with Fighting Gem, while Bullet Seed is also STAB as beats Tentecruel, Jellicent, and other bulky water types. Here are a few calcs.

252+ Atk Fighting Gem Breloom Focus Punch vs. 224 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 229-271 (70.03 - 82.87%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252+ Atk Fighting Gem Breloom Focus Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latias: 220-259 (72.84 - 85.76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252+ Atk Fighting Gem Breloom Focus Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Forretress: 229-271 (64.68 - 76.55%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

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Politoed @ Water Gem
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SAtk / 12 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Psychic

While Politoed isn't really a wall breaker, this set has it's uses over the standard Specs set. The idea behind the set is to kill something off with say Ice Beam, and Tyranitar comes in thinking you're choice'd so they Pursuit. That's when you hit them with a Hydro Pump and KO Tyranitar, winning the weather war easily. Same thing applies to Toxicroak, they switch in on say Focus Blast, and you just KO them with Psychic as they SD. This set is so great in bluffing the standard Specs sets, luring these Pokemon in for a free kill. So Hydro Pump is STAB and hits anything stupidly hard (even Jellicent). Ice Beam offers nice coverage, as it hits Grass and Dragon types that "resist" Hydro Pump. Focus Blast is mainly to hit Ferrothorn, and is also used if you don't want to use up your Water Gem yet. Psychic hits Keldeo and Toxicroak, but HP Grass or Toxic can be used here (it depends on your team). So 12 speed EVs are used to out speed over Politoeds, and 252 SpAtk EVs are used for maximum power. The rest of the EVs are placed into HP, allowing Politoed to take a few hits with it's respectable bulk. These calcs will only be showing how Politoed does against weather starters, since the idea of this set is to win the weather war.

252+ SpA Water Gem Politoed Hydro Pump vs. 180 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar in sand: 336-396 (87.04 - 102.59%) -- 93.75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252+ SpA Water Gem Politoed Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Ninetales in sun: 252-296 (72 - 84.57%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252+ SpA Water Gem Politoed Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 444-524 (105.71 - 124.76%) -- guaranteed OHKO

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Gyarados @ Normal Gem
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Double Edge
- Earthquake / Stone Edge / Ice Fang

This Gyarados has been seeing some decent usage currently on the OU ladder, and for a good reason. It lures in it's best check (Rotom-W) and OHKOs with +1 Double Edge. Gyarados opens up doors in a game for another sweeper on your team that is weak to Rotom-W to do work. Examples include Mamoswine, Tornadus, Mixed Jirachi, etc. Double Edge has a few other perks bar slamming Rotom-W however. It can nail Politoed for a ton of damage and also can actually hit Keldeo without having to rely on Bounce as a way to OHKO it. This is pretty huge since Keldeo can just spam Icy Wind until you're weak enough to get knocked out by one of its STABs while switching to a Flying-resistance like Tyranitar as you Bounce. Earthquake is just there for general coverage and it hits Jirachi, healthy Magnezone, Toxicroak without recoil + gem, etc. Stone Edge and Ice Fang also have their own merits. Here are some calcs

+1 252+ Atk Normal Gem Gyarados Double-Edge vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Rotom-W: 296-349 (97.68 - 115.18%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

+1 252+ Atk Normal Gem Gyarados Double-Edge vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 342-403 (105.55 - 124.38%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252+ Atk Normal Gem Gyarados Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Politoed: 397-468 (103.38 - 121.87%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Disadvantages when using Gems

Gems have a massive draw back in that they can only be used once during your battle. While I do think Gems are good, they aren't nearly as consistent as say Expert Belt or Life Orb for Sweepers. The best example I can think of if when you waste your Gem on a target you didn't wanna hit. An example would be with Water Gem Politoed. Politoed really needs to keep the Water Gem to OHKO Tyranitar, but you could be lured to going for Hydro Pump only to hit something like Celebi, wasting your Water Gem. Also, outside of getting past a few counters, generally the other sweeping sets are better than their Gem-using counterpart, mainly because they have better coverage, and move power behind their other moves. Again, this is all about consistency and what you want out of your Pokemon.

Conclusion

So hopefully we can get some intelligent discussion going on about gems and how useful they are in today's metagame. I personally have had a lot of experience with Gems in OU, and I think they are a great item to use over the standard items like Life Orb or Leftovers. They're also pretty fun to use in battle as well, which I think counts for something.

If you have any constructive criticism please don't be afraid to post your opinion. I know there are a few sets which I haven't posted, but I believe these sets are the most common and useful to know for our metagame. Thanks for reading.
 
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You forgot normal gem gyarados :]
Personally, I'm not a big fan of gems, I much prefer a constant power boost.
If it's possible for me to weaken a counter enough with my other pokemon for life orb ( or say, a choice band in the case of politoed ;) ) to do the job, I'd much rather do that, even if it doesn't allow me to bluff a choice item.
SD Garchomp with Dragon Gem could OHKO things like physically defensive hippo and Landorus-T, even have a chance to OHKO the great wall cresselia after rocks, while still 2HKOing skarm and ferrothorn with fire blast providing it isn't raining

Unown could use a psychic gem incase it doesn't want to lock itself into hidden power
 
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Most gems are quite viable(with the exception of Poison Gem for obvious reasons) but the issue is that once the gem is gone the boost is ALSO gone.
 
You missed Flying Gem Gliscor @ Acrobatics : ]

But yeah, gems are amazing to bluff a Choice Item, although despite you lose the boost after Gem is gone, it's a nice surprise to get a KO on a huge threat on the opponents team.
 
What i see is, gems are lure items. Their goal is to provide a sweeper the ability to break through its counters and sweep aftewards. These pokemons are generally powerful enough to not needing any more items to sweep. I am a big fan of gems and i think they are an excellent way to be creative without being gimmicky. Although not an ou example, i used a dragon gem dialga that could easily ohko max hp groudon which often won me the weather war on turn 1. Going back to ou now, there are plenty of uses for gems. Acrobat gliscor is an excellent lure for rotom w and is a potent wallbreaker in its own as very few things can tank a swords dance boosted flying gem acrobatics. Normal gem gyarados can easily lure its usual counters such as rotom w, sub toxicroak, perish song toed and smash them with double edge. Dragon gem can also be effective on sd garchomp in order to break through the likes of hippowdon and cresselia. Overall solid items that can change the usual perceptions of counters by allowing a pokemon to beat them without crippling itself by running subpar sets.
 
While gems can bluff choice items, they can also do just the opposite: reveal you're not choiced and be able to deal band / specs damage anyway. For example, I've seen a handful of people use this Garchomp set:

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Garchomp @ Dragon Gem
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock

When Garchomp gets rocks on the field, and the opponent makes the conclusion that you are not choiced, they often do not expect your upcoming outrage to do damage equivalent to a Choice Band. I've seen this set used most effectively when rocks are not needed too soon in the game and Garchomp can come in when most Pokemon are already hurt. This allows Garchomp to go for the surprise KO on a Pokemon your opponent thought could live a non-boosted attack or perhaps even just barely live one from a Life Orb.

This is also seen on Pokemon like Bronzong who act as a support and conclude with a Normal Gem boosted Explosion.
 
I think ground gem Dugtrio derserves a spot on this list too. It's probably my favourite set and I've used it to great success during the Torn-T era.
The additional power it gains from the gem compared to LO really comes in handy sometimes without giving your opponent the opportunity to set up like CB duggy. It also doesn't rely on Focus Sash like the standard Reversal set.

Here is the set i used:

Dugtrio (F) @ Ground Gem
Trait: Arena Trap
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Sucker Punch
- Memento

With this spread it outspeeds everything up to Scarftar and the HP EVs help it to take weak or resisted hits like LO Terrakion's Stone Edge or specially defensive Ttar's Ice Beam/Crunch.

EDIT:
Here are a few calcs:

252 Atk Life Orb Dugtrio Earthquake vs. 180 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 283-335 (73.31 - 86.78%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Ground Gem Dugtrio Earthquake vs. 180 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 326-386 (84.45 - 100%) -- 81.25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock


252 Atk Life Orb Dugtrio Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Jirachi: 307-367 (75.99 - 90.84%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Ground Gem Dugtrio Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Jirachi: 356-420 (88.11 - 103.96%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock


252 Atk Life Orb Dugtrio Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 236+ Def Tentacruel: 296-351 (81.31 - 96.42%) -- 56.25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Ground Gem Dugtrio Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 236+ Def Tentacruel: 338-402 (92.85 - 110.43%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock


252 Atk Life Orb Dugtrio Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Ninetales: 335-398 (95.71 - 113.71%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Ground Gem Dugtrio Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Ninetales: 390-458 (111.42 - 130.85%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
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I really think that the drawback to gems that obviously keep them from being extremely viable is the one time use. However, a one-time use wouldn't be so bad. You touched on this in the OP, but my most common frustration with Gems is with the following set:
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Breloom @ Fighting Gem
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Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
Commonly I want to mach punch (and have to) while being at +2, while also saving my Gem to break through another Pokemon. Alas, that can't be done. If Gems had one-time uses where you could choose when to use it, I think they would be so much more viable. Right now they still have nice uses, but not being able to choose when to use them really hurts their viability.
 
I really think that the drawback to gems that obviously keep them from being extremely viable is the one time use. However, a one-time use wouldn't be so bad. You touched on this in the OP, but my most common frustration with Gems is with the following set:
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Breloom @ Fighting Gem
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Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
Commonly I want to mach punch (and have to) while being at +2, while also saving my Gem to break through another Pokemon. Alas, that can't be done. If Gems had one-time uses where you could choose when to use it, I think they would be so much more viable. Right now they still have nice uses, but not being able to choose when to use them really hurts their viability.

The goal of fighting gem is to OHKO latios on the switch with focus punch, mach punch doesn't give that much kill so use Focus > SD
 
Gems are really cool ^_^.

For starters, Gems can give you a huge boost on luring and killing Pokemon while not revealing Expert Belt boost (along with plates) or Life Orb Damage. Ice Gem Terrakion can lure in and kill Landorus-T, the opponent will think it is either a SubSD or Choiced Terrakion, and probably stay in and get taken out. In fact, Terrakion is one of the most useful Pokemon to put a Gem on in the first place. I have usually strayed away from Rock Gem and Tried Ice and Fighting Gem instead, as I prefer them a bit more in a lot of cases. Fighting Gem Terrakion breaks through Hippowdon pretty easily, which is very helpful when facing stall. I remember I tried Fire Gem DD Mence at the end of BW1 and it worked as an excellent breaker. Most steels that could normally handle a physical Mence's Fire Blast die very quickly to one boosted by Fire Gem. This definitely helps when paired with Pokemon that otherwise get walled by the same things that Salamence does. I do have a couple of sets that I have been using, and i'll place them here.

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Salamence @ Fire Gem
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake

As stated above, Salamence does a very good job at bluffing a Choice Set and also luring bulky steels. It is fast enough that it avoids death by Jirachi most of the time, and easily powerful enough the muscle through its less resilient counters. With this set Salamence can lure in and KO most steel types that otherwise would be able to survive a normal Fire Blast from a Salamence like this. This usually gets Mence to +2, which basically means game over. Most Dragons are the best to place Gems on because of their ability to lure in and KO so much. Dragon Gem Garchomp is similar in that it can use a Special Draco Meteor to pound Landorus-T into the ground.
 
This thread is great.
In the current metagame, new sets are becoming more and more popular. Gems have been a great reason for this. From acrozor who can assist Keldeo among others by removing pesky tenta,jellicent and gyara to rock gem terrakion who just sweeps for itself, gems are really useful items and many new sets involving gems such as dragon gem dragonite help keep the OU metagame from being stale and centralized.
No sets as of now.
 
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Salamence @ Water Gem
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Aqua Tail
- Earthquake

This set is awesome under with a Rain team, after a swords dance and thanks to Water gem, you can OHKO Landorus-T support after intimidate under the rain, and even things like Hippowdown impish and Careful skarmory after SR ! Here's are some calcs :

+2 252 Atk Water Gem Garchomp Aqua Tail vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Hippowdon: 510-600 (121.42 - 142.85%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 Atk Water Gem Garchomp Aqua Tail vs. 200 HP / 244 Def Landorus-T in rain: 376-444 (101.89 - 120.32%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Water Gem Garchomp Aqua Tail vs. 224 HP / 32 Def Skarmory in rain: 322-379 (98.47 - 115.9%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
+2 252 Atk Water Gem Garchomp Aqua Tail vs. 224 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory in rain: 250-295 (76.45 - 90.21%) -- 18.75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
And for the lulz :
Atk Water Gem Garchomp Aqua Tail vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latios in rain: 265-312 (88.03 - 103.65%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
 
@Morpheys: I think you mean Garchomp, because Salamence could actually run a similar Mixed Set with HYdro Pump in rain:
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Salamence@
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Ability: Moxie
EVs: 64 Atk/192 SpA/252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Outrage



Usually Skarmory/Bronzong in rain can switch into MixMence and beat it, but this takes advantage to get a moxie boost:
192 SpA Water Gem Salamence Hydro Pump vs. 224 HP / 252+ SpD Skarmory in rain: 225-265 (68.8 - 81.03%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

So Salamence can 2hko with hydro pump and proceed to moxie-ball the opposition
 
I could have edited my earlier post, but could this thread possibly be edited to include berries(we don't have a thread for that), which are more common than gems? It just seems kinda weird to have a thread dedicated to gems.
Like I said, great job with the thread.
 
Just saying, it's just come to our attention in C&C that Double Edge and Moxie are illegal on the same set for Gyarados, since Double Edge is a 3rd gen tutor move.
 
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Bronzong @ Normal Gem
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 HP
Brave Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) [0 Speed IVs]
- Explosion
- Gyro Ball / Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room

I find that this set is really great for Trick Room teams. One of the largest challenges TR teams face is making sure all of the Trick Room turns are used most efficiently as to maximize damage. This Bronzong set achieves many flat out KOs on Pokemon with the classic Normal Gem + Explosion combo. Trick Room or Stealth Rock are generally used first. The main idea behind it is that Bronzong no longer needs Leftovers as it is on a more offensive team - thus, in order to gain momentum and a free switch-in, Bronzong can utilize a Normal Gem boosted Explosion to take out a threat and send on another Trick Room abuser in the same turn.
 
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Bronzong @ Normal Gem
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 HP
Brave Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) [0 Speed IVs]
- Explosion
- Gyro Ball / Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room

I find that this set is really great for Trick Room teams. One of the largest challenges TR teams face is making sure all of the Trick Room turns are used most efficiently as to maximize damage. This Bronzong set achieves many flat out KOs on Pokemon with the classic Normal Gem + Explosion combo. Trick Room or Stealth Rock are generally used first. The main idea behind it is that Bronzong no longer needs Leftovers as it is on a more offensive team - thus, in order to gain momentum and a free switch-in, Bronzong can utilize a Normal Gem boosted Explosion to take out a threat and send on another Trick Room abuser in the same turn.
How could I forget this one. This is from ben gay's RMT I believe(different set but still)?
 
unfortunately double-edge is illegal with moxie on gyarados. return/frustration is almost as good though!

double dance terrakion can use fighting gem to good effect. if its using rock polish against an offensive team, things like jirachi/keldeo/rotom-w that it couldnt quite kill before are taken out. if it uses swords dance against a defensive team, hippowdon / skarmory are absolutely crushed.

mixed dragon gem dragonite is pretty strong. it tears physical walls that switch into it expecting dd/cb to pieces.

lead mew makes nice use of normal gem, so when it explodes it does as much damage as possible. its bulky enough to not need focus sash/resist berries in order to survive attacks and get sr/tailwind.

speaking of normal gem explosions, flame charge heatran can utilize it to get rid of rotom-w/lati@s, which is really helpful for pkmn like keldeo / landorus-t.
 
Gems have to be one of Gen V's biggest gifts in my opinion.
People are constantly getting the purpose of Gems and Choice Band/Specs confused.
Here's how I see the two of them ...

Gems: These little goodies provide an artificial STAB on any move of your choice ranging from Fighting Gem boosted Focus Punch to Poison Gem boosted Poison Jab ... lol. However their one "flaw" is that they are consumables. Once the Gem is activated and used, your Pokemon is left itemless. Bummer right?
Not really.
Pokemon who want to use Gems should strictly adhere to the position of "lure killing". Lure killers seek to feint some item , usually choice , or just attempt to feint a different set in general. Since they usually aim to KO one particular counter to the main sweeper of the team, the fact that Gems are a one time use isn't a huge detriment.

Take this little example for example :
Landorus - T @ Ice Gem : Substitute / Earthquake / Stone Edge / HP Ice
I love this variant btw haha ~
Anyway as we all know once Landorus-T forces out a Pokemon the usual switch ins are Gliscor and Landorus-T and sometimes the super duper confident Celebi. They come in confidently knowing they can take any move ... 'cept for U-Turn for Celebi. But anyways here's where the magic happens.
The opponent probably has seen that you lack Leftovers on a Landorus-T. Hm, must be Choiced Right?
They switch in expecting Earthquake or Stone Edge right?
Wrong. They stare at the screen mouth wide open as they watch their switch-in eat a Pseudo STABed HP Ice. Bang.
This little clutch move just allowed your Breloom to SD up to +2 and sweep unhindered.

Bands and Specs: So when do we use these guys? Simply put , use these Choice items when you simply need a Nuker. These Pokemon tend to find themselves on Balanced Teams acting as Breakers, since Offensive teams value momentum too much. As breakers they simply care to damage the f*ck out of whatever Pokemon happens to walk in. They also find themselves needing the constant power as they seek to stay around the whole battle nuking rather than focusing their assault on just one particular Pokemon ; course, you could use Choiced Pokemon in that manner but you guys get what I'm getting at.

Latios @ Choice Specs : Draco Meteor / No one cares about the other three moves LOL
Here he is ladies and gents, Specs Latios.
We all know how he works right?
Specs Latios does not seek to eliminate one particular Pokemon such as Tyranitar for example. If you seriously needed Ttar eliminated then you could use the Rain Dance , Surf , Water Gem Latios Variant. But otherwise when you're running Specs, you're assigning Latios the position of Nuker. If SpDefensive Ttar walks in , fine. If Latios doesn't KO with DM it's ok, cause he probably took a sh*t-ton of damage which is what you were looking to do. This way with a weakened wall (in this case SpD Ttar), other breakers or sweeper can attempt to muscle through the wall.


So tl;dr :
Gems are for lure killers while Choice Band/Specs are for breakers and nukers.
However , at the end of the day , they both seek to eliminate Pokemon.
Gems are like snipers ; they aim for one Pokemon. Choice Band/Specs are like cannons ; they seek to break down defenses.


When to use Gems over Choice and vise versa?
That ultimately comes to your team composition.
Gem doesn't lose momentum while Choice items sacrifice quite a bit of momentum.


Hehehehe ... I love Gems ~
 
I started using Normal Gem Double-Edge Gyarados and it's been awesome. I'm considering switching to Moxie/Return, though, because so often Gyarados is going up against something that resists Waterfall/Earthquake but is hit neutrally by Normal, and while the initial Double-Edge is absolutely more powerful, the next few turns will result in a more powerful Return. Any opinions?
 
I started using Normal Gem Double-Edge Gyarados and it's been awesome. I'm considering switching to Moxie/Return, though, because so often Gyarados is going up against something that resists Waterfall/Earthquake but is hit neutrally by Normal, and while the initial Double-Edge is absolutely more powerful, the next few turns will result in a more powerful Return. Any opinions?

I've faced a Normal Gem Double-Edge Gyarados when laddering and that one hurts a lot, even before a dragon dance so it's realy scary. But I would rather go Return/Moxie > Double-Edge/Intimidate becouse you can live longer but it can deal up to 20% less damage if you are unlucky. But the moxie boost after killing something can be worth it so I think you should give it a try =)
 
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