You are a type specialist in a hostile region. How do you best represent your chosen element?

[Hugin]

"How DARE these people try to keep my babies from me! I'm bringing them to the islands and that's final!"

We first meet our intrepid trainer at a government office, where she's trying to break out with her Snubble to escape the quarantine rules about bringing in Pokemon. Officer Jenny's tired "We don't know what sort of danger they could be bringing in that might infect other mons, we're just being cautious" is merited when your first fight with her has her overleveled compared to you and opening with Flinging a Toxic Orb(and probably going down to Poison rather than the player). She then makes several other attempts to break out, with more mons and more ways of spreading poison each time. And the entire time she looks like not a poison trainer at all, she's just a person who loves her pokemon and won't be separated from them.

This team has 3 common rabies vectors(2 bats and a dog), a rat(which normally spreads disease easily), and two other poison types. I had to really decide whether to focus on disease or poison here, and went with the latter, but it's still fairly obvious what's going on.

Movesets

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Calm Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Surf
- Haze
- Knock Off

Raticate-Alola @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Quick Attack
- Roar
- Toxic

Golbat @ Eviolite
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Super Fang
- Whirlwind
- Tailwind
- U-turn

Crobat @ Poisonium Z
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Cross Poison
- U-turn
- Venom Drench
- Brave Bird

Granbull @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Quick Feet
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fling
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch

Dragalge @ White Herb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Venoshock
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt

Lead Tenatcruel for TSpikes, Golbat is bulky and debilitating before it Uturns on you, Raticate has chip damage and can also apply poison, Crobat is our Z-move user and can ALSO UTurn out or screw up setup, Granbull has Toxic-boosted speed, can apply poison, and takes advantage of weakened mons. And Dragalage just kills things via Venoshock.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

"How DARE these people try to keep my babies from me! I'm bringing them to the islands and that's final!"
View attachment 662758
We first meet our intrepid trainer at a government office, where she's trying to break out with her Snubble to escape the quarantine rules about bringing in Pokemon. Officer Jenny's tired "We don't know what sort of danger they could be bringing in that might infect other mons, we're just being cautious" is merited when your first fight with her has her overleveled compared to you and opening with Flinging a Toxic Orb(and probably going down to Poison rather than the player). She then makes several other attempts to break out, with more mons and more ways of spreading poison each time. And the entire time she looks like not a poison trainer at all, she's just a person who loves her pokemon and won't be separated from them.

This team has 3 common rabies vectors(2 bats and a dog), a rat(which normally spreads disease easily), and two other poison types. I had to really decide whether to focus on disease or poison here, and went with the latter, but it's still fairly obvious what's going on.

Movesets

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Calm Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Surf
- Haze
- Knock Off

Raticate-Alola @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Quick Attack
- Roar
- Toxic

Golbat @ Eviolite
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Super Fang
- Whirlwind
- Tailwind
- U-turn

Crobat @ Poisonium Z
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Cross Poison
- U-turn
- Venom Drench
- Brave Bird

Granbull @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Quick Feet
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fling
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch

Dragalge @ White Herb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Venoshock
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt

Lead Tenatcruel for TSpikes, Golbat is bulky and debilitating before it Uturns on you, Raticate has chip damage and can also apply poison, Crobat is our Z-move user and can ALSO UTurn out or screw up setup, Granbull has Toxic-boosted speed, can apply poison, and takes advantage of weakened mons. And Dragalage just kills things via Venoshock.

How did you manage to create an even bigger douchebag than mine?

 

[Ironmage]

I ended up polishing one of my runner-up concepts just because I thought it interesting how hard it contrasts with the apparent standard approach. For now, I'm sticking with my original one as the actual submission though.

team

Poni Island is where the Poison-type Z-crystal is obtained, with the remnants of Team Skull forming the "trial." By this point, it's known that the scum of Alola aren't the bad guys when compared with the pristine Aether Foundation. This trainer focuses on conservation, primarily with the ugly rejects of the world that don't draw in the cash. All of their mons have at least one defensive or healing move/item.


Golisopod @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Emergency Exit
- Leech Life
- First Impression
- Aqua Jet
- Drill Run
Guzma's ace, and a fearsome beast with a soft heart matches his team perfectly.


Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Poison Point
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Bomb
- Scald
- Focus Blast
While IRL the leafy sea dragon gets a lot of positive attention, I doubt a toxic equivalent would be nearly as lucky. No chance of friendly fire by going sludge bomb over wave, while Draco Meteor requires max friendship.


Crobat @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Infiltrator
- Roost
- Natural Gift
- Cross Poison
- Acrobatics
The second Poison type is a friendship evolution of a group with plenty of endangered members. Natural Gift seems like a pretty good flavour fit and can enable acrobatics, Petaya is the highest-damage Poison option.


Mandibuzz @ Lum Berry
Ability: Overcoat
- Foul Play
- Defog
- U-turn
- Roost
Vultures are important parts of ecosystems since they clean up what would otherwise become problems. This does mean they can be in the thick of things going bad, and many species are endangered as a result.


Dhelmise @ Leftovers
Ability: Steelworker
- Synthesis
- Anchor Shot
- Knock Off
- Toxic
Artificial reefs are occasionally produced by deliberately scuttling ships. Though rather than focusing on being a place for new coral, dhelmise focuses on another use for artificial reefs: snagging and tearing to shreds the most destructive kinds of fishing nets.


Sharpedo @ Poisonium Z
Ability: Speed Boost
- Crunch
- Protect
- Liquidation
- Poison Jab
Forget being restricted to the Poni dex, this is the only aquatic shark mon in existence. The demon people expect of it, while the dolphin gets to be a hero.

 

[Eeveeto]

A ninja master, former disciple of Koga, came to Alola to unleash terror with his evil tactics:

Item: Choice Scarf. Moves: Trick, Night Daze, Sludge Bomb, Memento. Ninjas are masters of illusions, so a Zoroark is a perfect fit for us. It also learns a lot of poison moves (including Toxic in Gen 9, which is distinctive) Transformed into Crobat, it will lure psychic moves while tricking a Scarf into the opponent. It can also use Memento to facilitate a sweep.
Item: Black Sludge. Ability: Clear Body. Moves: Acupressure, Scald, Sludge Wave, Confuse Ray. Poison Mon and first sweeper of the team. With Acupressure Tentacruel will gain random boosts, the Memento or Trick provided by Zoroark facilitate that. By itself, Tentacruel can also hax with Confuse Ray and with Scald burns, absolutely infuriating the enemy.
Item: Leftovers. Ability: Gooey. Moves: Toxic, Dragon Tail, Acid Armor, Rest. Snails are often venomous and Goodra happens to learn Toxic in Gen 9, just like Zoroark. This Goodra actually uses said Toxic and also phazes the opponent with Dragon Tail to poison even more Mons. Gooey is the most annoying ability for opponents that try to bruteforce through Goodra.
Item: Lagging Tail. Ability: Inner Focus. Moves: Switcheroo, Hypnosis, Swagger, Psychic. Remember how Koga says this in GSC? "I live in shadows, a ninja! My intricate style will confound and destroy you! Confusion, sleep, poison... Prepare to be the victim of my sinister technique! Fwahahahaha! Pokémon is not merely about brute force--you shall see soon enough!" Well, Confusion and Sleep is what Hypno provides, along with a very bad item. The Mon happens to learn Poison Gas and Toxic in Gen 9 and also has several creepy pastas going around, so with such Toxic behaviour, Hypno fits in a Poison team.
Item: Scizorite. Ability: Light Metal (prior to Mega). Moves: Sword Dance, Bullet Punch, Bug Bite, Baton Pass. Scizor is not poisonous (though in Gen 8 and 9 it learns the rare Cross Poison), but between the allowed Mega, is the one that fits best on a ninja team, especially with the strategy it has: it uses Sword Dance and if it can,t kill the opponent, just escapes from it with Baton Pass, giving entry to our ace. If the ace somehow doesn,t win, Scizor can come back and finish the match by itself.
Item: Poisonium-Z. Ability: Infiltrator. Moves: Brave Bird, Cross Poison, Roost, Double Team. Finally, the fastest ninja Pokemon and Poison of Alola. Crobat receives a Sword Dance boost from Scizor and launches a powerful Z Move. Apart from that, if Crobat can,t break the opponent quickly enough, it uses another evil tactic in Double Team, being very durable thanks to Roost.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Evening all - the new poll is up and running.

https://strawpoll.com/wby5QQ4k1yA​

You have until September 4th, 9PM GMT to cast your vote!

Numbers numbers numbers numbers.

analysis

Tentacruel: 7

Crobat: 6

Dragalge: 5

Golbat: 1

Raticate: 3

Goodra: 2
Gastrodon: 2
Malamar: 2
Dhelmise: 2
Hypno: 2
Pelipper: 2

Scizor: 1
Mankey: 1
Clawitzer: 1
Golisopod: 1
Mismagius: 1
Crabominable: 1
Skarmory: 1
Lickilicky: 1
Miltank: 1
Machamp: 1
Gumshoos: 1
Crawdaunt: 1
Zoroark: 1
Granbull: 1


Filth, sneakiness, misery, spoiling and wretchedness. Did I ever mention I love the Poison-type?

An interesting spread for the three main Poison-types native to Poni Island there. As different as the trio of Dragalge, Tentacruel, and Crobat are in secondary type and aspect, they all approach things very similarly - Tentacruel and Dragalge are your oceanic predators whereas Crobat is the swift and deadly airborne carnivore. No mercy to your foes: just brutal efficient cruelty. These aren't the crafty, slow-acting torturers Koga speaks so fondly of - these are vicious monsters. (Which makes it amusing that Crobat is Koga's signature Pokemon in GSCHGSS, thinking it over)

Fittingly, we had several teams based around the concept of cruelty, vengeance, and destruction. The island setting gives us some potential angles for team compositions - lots of fellow Water species, but Poni Island is teeming with dark caves and networks of caverns and a wild expanse of plains and prairies so we also saw some apposite bird and mammalian wildcards like Scizor, Hypno, Pelipper, Granbull, and Raticate.


Stuff I expected to see more (or at all):

Blissey. She fits more into the "passive tanks who kill you slowly" mold but she gets a load of offensive options too and there's an irony to the kindly nurse Pokemon trying to kill you.

Hariyama and Heracross, for Guts synergy.

Dark and Poison have a longstanding association, so I expected to see Mandibuzz once or twice and maybe Sharpedo too.

Kommo-o seemed an interesting choice here, especially since it gets Poison Jab. On a Doubles team it has some merit paired with Poison-types since they can take out the hated Fairies who threaten it.

Lickilicky. We had this once but Lickilicky vibes so well with a Poison team I'm surprised it wasn't used more.

I always expect to see more of Zoroark when it's available and yet it rarely seems to happen. Dark's customary deception and craftiness seems a little too subtle for the brutality of Poni Island's toxic brethren, I guess - Zoroark isn't one for tearing its foes limb from limb...

 

[Hugin]

Tentacruel: 7

Crobat: 6

Dragalge: 5

Golbat: 1

Raticate: 3

Goodra: 2
Gastrodon: 2
Malamar: 2
Dhelmise: 2
Hypno: 2
Pelipper: 2

Scizor: 1
Mankey: 1
Clawitzer: 1
Golisopod: 1
Mismagius: 1
Crabominable: 1
Skarmory: 1
Lickilicky: 1
Miltank: 1
Machamp: 1
Gumshoos: 1
Crawdaunt: 1
Zoroark: 1
Granbull: 1

This was an interesting week. I was shocked to be the only Golbat, for one. It's a pre-evo that regularly gets an analysis in RU or similar tiers, even if it made the type chart a nightmare. Dragalge+Tentacruel is easy justification for an ocean theme(I personally avoid that, it's too easy to make a water-specialist by mistake)*, and several people seem to have gone that route. But if you don't, then figuring out a good theme is harder, since the 3 of them are fairly different mons.
2 oceans and a cave
Fast attacker/bulky attacker/special wall
Poisonous bite/poisonous tentacles/acidic spit
Mammal/fish/invertebrate

I took a long time looking at wildcards before I came up with my concept. If there had been even slightly different mons available, if Heracross got Fling, if (redacted so I can use this next time), I might have done something different.

I'm not surprised the wildcards are everywhere, people had to look hard for a theme. That said, Raticate was very common for a reason(A-Rat could have been Normal/Poison and no one would have been surprised), and other options were reasonably plausible. I think a lot of QQ's missing mons come down to Raticate. If you don't want to double up on Dark, then you have to justify 'why this instead of the rat with Guts and an association with disease?' The fact that all the other Guts users are less associated with poison was another annoyance(basically all fighting, which takes effort to pull off).

*not just this week. Water specialist is accidentally possible with basically any type, including FIRE somehow. Not every time, but far too often and I keep having to work away from that

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Voting closed - congrats to igiveuponaname on your first win!

Will DM you shortly.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Before the next round is posted, I should catch-up with rounds I missed as they're beginning to pile-up:

Ice/Isle of Armor: (intro)

King Of Cold

Hugin (19 points): The pun is strong with this one; a Hail team with a Royalty twist is a pretty solid concept (I'm sure there are some who would love to throw icy stones at their royals than faint praises). Slowking (and Cloyster), Kingdra, and Lickilicky fit right in with A-Sandslash and Alakazam thematically rounding it out (though I would have made A-Sandslash the queen, as its quills look like a crown, and Alakazam the chancellor/vizier, cause he looks like he's ready to overthrow that absent-minded oaf on the thrown).
So the trainer is a fan of Sordward and Shielbert... is it too later to take back our votes? I kid, I kid (I'd only go up to 4th anyway). And I wouldn't worry about having too many Water-types, being different forms of the same element the two Types are understandably linked *looks at Lorelei*.

Ironmage (17 pts): The only top spot with a Gigantamax Pokemon, though maybe that shouldn't be too surprising for Isle of Armor as it doesn't have all GMax Pokemon available. A Mist & Haze team (with some Hail, but this time around all the teams do mostly thanks to Dynamax), pretty unique theme; I myself only use those Moves to weakily justify having a non-Ice-type on an Ice-type team if they just so happen to learn it. And though you mentioned Ice's connection to Water, which is semi-there, with your team specifically I'm also seeing a connection to Dragon-types which is very interesting. A pretty unique team, I think only beaten out not having a meta theme.

WarriorGallade (16 pts): Our region/area specific team, this time it's based on the Move Tutor. Interesting, did a good job incorporating one of the new Moves with each team member. You got a frame and theme, but I think what let some votes escape was it not feeling much of an Ice-type team. Just as your arctic trainer struggles to find a cold place to chill, quite a few of your team struggles to deal with Hail as much as they try to make use of it.

Eeveeto (14 pts): I think this is as close we get to "general Ice/Hail team" we get for this round. It's a solid team, with choices that make sense for having on an Ice team like Luxray being a lynx, G-Slowking a good Hail setter, and Porygon-Z having Adaptability (it's also a computer generated creature so probably likes it cool).

Me (13 pts): Despite my team being sharp, I guess the theme was too paper thin; hoping to make up the lack of Ice with a parallel pun. Maybe it was all too much to cram into one team.

QQ's Quizzicals:

As of now, the most-chosen type on this thread... which is pretty much the way Game Freak always intended it, since Ice-types are naturally few and far between in most areas.

Wait, shouldn't that mean it should be the least chosen Type if its what GF wants? This feels more like a "in spite of" GF or an unintended consequence of them making Ice uncommon. And it's funny to say that here as I feel its in Galar where Ice possibly became a Type you can access early on thanks to the Wild Area.

I think one reason Slowking was overlooked is because it's not so strongly associated with Isle of Armor, Slowbro is as it was the ace of Klara and Avery (though Avery would later make Slowking his ace in the Star Tournaments). Also, with the G-Slowpoke family dropping Water for Poison, it loses that Water-Ice connection.

Alolan Sandshrew with Eviolite wouldn't be too bad I guess, but latter gen dex sizes are big enough where only mid stages are considered to be given an Eviolite and added to a team.

If Frosmoth was in Isle of Armor I feel we'd have seen quite a few Volcarona (even though they criminally have nothing else in common outside being elemental moths).

Many Water-types were also likely skipped over because we have Cloyster and I think people do try to have a varied team unless their theme pushes them to Type stacking.

Big up Seaking (or Pincurchin, actually - hey, both of those fit the sharpness theme, come to think of it)

Didn't pick Seaking cause I tried to keep the Types varied, as for not picking Pincurchin over Luxray... just didn't think of it. I was also sort of going for "cool/strong" looking Pokemon, and while I have nothing against the butt-mouth electric urchin, doesn't quite strike fear of it cutting you up.

Steel/Sevii Islands: (Intro)

Tropical Titan

Cobalt Empoleon (25 points): A touching and well thought out theme based on an otherwise one-and-done location many likely overlook. Bravo(do), brava(do) (for those who don't get it, Facade's Japaanese name is "Bravado").

CTNC (18 pts): At first thinking this was going to be a stall team, it being about Pokemon with "naturally armor" was a nice twist on the idea, giving you more access to more "forward" Pokemon.

Eeveeto & Me (17 pts): I'm surprised Eeveeto didn't get more votes as they went and made an entire mini Pokemon League (or would this be an Island Challenge?)! Granted it's more of an outline, but they put in a lot more work than I think anyone else did. Of course the main focus is the... well, they never said Charlie Stone was a Champion, but obviously is the strongest trainer who conquered the Trainer Tower (so Tower Tycoon?). Eitherway, it was fun to read and good build-up to a strong Steel leaning team (just like his cousin, Steven Stone, clever).
And then there's me. Eeveeto creates a mini League, I realize now that I rehashed the "Steel construction" theme, in the same game no less! Oh well, this is one team I had fun thinking up, especially with my reason for oddball picks like Azumarill and Dunsparce (aside them learning Steel-type Moves). To add some trivia, I was thinking of making a connection to Aether Paradise, but decided it didn't make sense especially with the Pokemon we had available.

Hugin (14 pts): Style over substance, a team that any Rich Boy or Lady would be pride of; Though it's not very Steel-type. Though I do now think the Meowth families should get some boost from holding an Amulet Coin, like doubling Payday's Power and increasing its Critical Hit Ratio (and award more money).

QQ's Quizzicals:

Steel. Steel, Steel, Steel. Hardness, solidness, toughness. Inorganic...ness.

Firmness, Thickness, Bluntness, Sterness... ooh, here's the winner: STEELiness!

While I agree GF tends to go a bit bland with some Steel-types, I also think Steel has the opportunity to at the very least look cool as they're free excuse to have metal armor or blades. And they certainly have gotten more creative with them as time moved on, though some are starting to reach Digimon design levels.

Rock/DP Sinnoh: (Intro)

Roark's Replacement

Cobalt Empoleon & Me (26 points): Our first 1st place tie, and how appropriate it's between the two who have won the most rounds. While it would have made sense to have a tiebreaker be a battle between our two teams (which now makes me regret adding Unown to mine, though glad to see we both agree Onix's major contribution is blowing up), we both came to a civil agreement (as in C.E. did their research on the choices given and picked they felt would be the most interesting to tackle next, and I just nodded and went "sure"). But that's stuff concerning the next round, what about the teams for this round?
Sticking with what won them the last round, Cobalt Empoleon did another very specific theme, this time the Hiker who had HM08. While not as complex as their previous team, there is still some neat/fun ideas like all their Pokemon knwoing Rock Climb and Abomasnow not holding anything cause the Hiker gave its Icicle Plate to the player.
I meanwhile went for something a bit more grand and made an archeologist with a team reflecting the major Sinnoh Legendaries. I'm surprised how many connections I was able to make, though was even more surprised I was not the only one to use Unown!

Eeveeto (17 pts): An interesting and fun theme, items found in the Underground needed to get/evolve certain Pokemon. Simple but does create a considerable team with a Rock lean, sadly I think it's just a victim of the top two getting the majority of the votes.

Jhm5 (16 pts): While I named these results "Roark's Replacement" as if implying those are the winners (I was hoping to do something more creative using Roark's Gym Title, but his Gym Title is "Call me Roark the Rock!". Yawn). But no, I officially give the title of "Roark Replacement" to Jhm5, who made the most Sinnoh Rock-type Team that ever Sinnoh Rock-type Team-ed. Even when making a Sinnoh Rock-type team for the Pokemon World Tournament he cheats by including Probopass (introduced this gen though not in DP dex) and Relicanth (whose not in ANY of the Sinnoh dexes)! Now then, pick three to use their pre-evolutions and lose every Gym Battle with against any of the Sinnoh Starters.

DrPumpkinz (15 pts): 24 years ago. More than two decades ago. And still the Crystal Onix episode is one of the most memorable episodes and variant Pokemon. And it was ONLY in that episode, no other merchandise has ever referenced the Crystal Onix, not even the TCG which loves to make variant Pokemon not in the games. Shiny Onix is an olive green. Oh hey, the Terastal Phenomenon could make Onix into a Crystal Onix, right? NOPE! Onix ain't in Scarlet & Violet or DLCs!
And yet, as soon as you're introduced to the concept of the Crystal Onix, you want one. I'd like to have one. Look up "Crystal Onix" on Youtube and you'll find videos are recent as this year talking about it or showings mods changing an Onix color scheme to match it (or a fangame where you can catch one). It's very fascinating, and for long time Pokemon fans like me nostalgic even, how the Crystal Onix has lived on in pop culture.
... Oh, right, DrPumpkinz's team. It's fun all the references they included. Though when you put aside the nostalgia the team isn't Rock-type at all, so I think it placing 5th is appropriate; deserving a top spot, but not above the actual Rock-type teams.
Anyway, GameFreak. Next Gen. Gen 10, Gen X, major milestone Gen. You have no excuse. You randomly gave Ursaluna a unique form, not to mention the other unique Pokemon you've made before. Gen 10, Crystal Onix. Stats equalling Steelix. Give it Diamond Storm. Signature Ability that makes it immune to Water & Grass but weak to Fire (if burned halves Defense but doubles Attack); call it "Crystal Body". Do it.

QQ's Quizzicals:

It's a good day to be an Onix.

Yes, a good day to be Onix, until it remembers Eviolite isn't until next Gen. And then it's ordered to use Explosion. Good day.

While it feels odd both Sudowoodo and Golem got little use, at this point in this thread we're all trying to do something special. The Geodude family is the most rock of Rock-type Pokemon (even though it's half Ground), unless you're doing a stone-based theme there's nothing you can really do with it. Same with Sudowoodo, except it has an even odder niche being petrified wood.

Well obviously the "Everstone team" can only comprise of Pokemon who evolve via Trading and there's only five Pokemon which qualify for that in the DP Dex: Onix, Graveler, Haunter, Kadabra, & Machoke.

Whiscash and Quagsire would be for a Poke Ball-based team:

Poison/USUM Poni Island: (Intro)

Poison In Paradise

igiveuponaname (17 points): It's interesting how often people relate Poison-types to sicknesses & disease when no Poison-typea are based on those things (plenty of Poison-types are said to not make you feel well or repulse/disgust you, but they aren't like the Ghost-types who'll outright kill you). Infact, what's interesting about this team is it only has one of the three Poison-types (Crobat, aka the non-aquatic one) though most of the other Pokemon do have a Poison-type move, though at the same time that feels sort of a side addition. If anything the Poison-type Move is meant to represent the way these diseases are spread (or at least thought to be). And as we've seen time and time again, sometimes all you need is a really good theme.

Big Ashley & Me (15 pts): It's pretty appropriate I and Big Ashley tied as both our teams represent a similar idea: unpleasant people. Though Big Ashley more focused on physical and behavioral traits while my team is a shared personality type represented in different ways.
Though I would say, when it comes to representing the Poison-type, that Big Ashley got closer with her theme than mine. Poison-types are generally represented as gooey/disgusting, bad mannered, and not someone you'd want to be around. My team is more species specific, and even then I kind of made up stuff, some which don't accurately represent the Pokemon (Golisopod prefer to peacefully meditate, I applied Guzma's Team Skull boss personality onto it).

Cobalt Empoleon (14 pts): It's funny how Cobalt Empoleon suggested doing Poison/USUM Poni Island, and then makes what more feels like a Water-type team, lol. But hey, 2/3rds of my team are also aquatic so who am I say anything? And it makes sense, plenty of aquatic animals are poisonous/fierce, at least those which get Pokemon made after them.
And we've seen quite a few times Pokemon retaliating against people, infact there's quite a memorable episode starring Tentacruel about ocean pollution:

Anyway, when it comes to the Pokemon World ocean pollution I actually think it would be about the same as the real world as strange as that sounds. Like, maybe not as much sludge (cause they turn into Pokemon), but microplastics certainly (I wouldn't be surprised if the next new Type is revealed to be like Rubber-type which Pokemon are based on rubber, plastic, & polyethylene/crude oil; I think there's enough differences from a Poison-type).

Eeveeto (13 pts): A ninja causing environmental disaster using Koga's tactics, certainly a very Pokemon concept. It's also one of the less aquatic and, let's be honest, less sillier teams, at least compared to what some of us on top had done. Yet that seemed to have been a negative, or at least people were drawn to the more, let's say "audacious" concepts. Thinking about it, in recent games Poison-types had been given a rebellious/grunge punk style, especially with the Type Specalists (Roxie, Plumeria, Klara, & Atticus).

QQ's Quizzicals:
Koga is a Ninja Master, he would know when to take things slowly and let a scenario play out, and then without warning change to a speedy & efficient assassin when the right opportunity presents itself.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Hello! Our last round's winner has made their choice.

You are a Dragon-type specialist in BW Unova. How do you best represent your chosen type?​

A reminder to please read the guidelines in the OP before commenting, especially if you're new to the thread. You have until September 17th, 9PM GMT to make your case!

BW Unova dex is here for those who need it: https://www.serebii.net/blackwhite/unovadex.shtml

Teams so far

Eeveeto: Hydreigon, Druddigon, Haxorus, Scrafty, Serperior, Krookodile
Ironmage: Hydreigon, Haxorus, Bisharp, Conkeldurr, Escavalier, Samurott
Pikachu315111: Hydreigon, Druddigon, Haxorus, Eelektross, Krookodile, Archeops
Cobalt Empoleon: Druddigon, Haxorus, Heatmor, Escavalier, Gigalith, Zoroark
CTNC: Hydreigon, Druddigon, Haxorus, Zweilous, Archeops, Volcarona
igiveuponaname: Hydreigon, Mienshao, Gothorita, Audino, Escavalier, Samurott
Hugin: Hydreigon, Haxorus, Druddigon, Zweilous, Fraxure, Serperior

 

[Eeveeto]

Apart from the 3 actual dragons, there are only 3 Unovan Pokemon that can be considered reptiles, so this round is easy:

Item: Rocky Helmet. Ability: Rough Skin. Moves: Stealth Rock, Dragon Tail, Fire Punch, Superpower. A dragon that puts rocks and is annoying with Rough Skin + Rocky Helmet combo.
Item: Yache Berry. Ability: Intimidate. Moves: Bulk Up, Earthquake, Crunch, Dragon Claw. A crocodile is a reptile and one that also learns Dragon moves. Boosts and attacks.
Item: Dragon Gem. Ability: Unnerve. Moves: Sword Dance, Outrage, Rock Slide, Brick Break. A dragon that also boosts and attacks.
Item: Lum Berry. Ability: Shed Skin. Moves: Dragon Dance, Drain Punch, Thief, Rest. Scrafty is an iguana, a reptile, It conveniently learns Dragon Dance, which it uses to boost. It has Drain Punch and Rest to heal. Rest consumes Lum Berry the first time Scrafty uses it, allowing the use of Thief to steal an item. Shed Skin allows Scrafty to sometimes use Rest more than once and wake up early.
Item: Dragon Fang. Ability: Overgrow. Moves: Calm Mind, Giga Drain, Dragon Pulse, Glare. Snake=reptile=draconic enough. Another set-up sweeper that when it can,t actually set-up, paralyzes the opponent, so that the ace cleans.
Item: White Herb. Moves: Draco Meteor, Dark Pulse, Fire Blast, Focus Blast. Unsurprising ace, it is the strongest Unovan Dragon. Uses STABs and strongest moves possible.

 

[Ironmage]

With Haxorus' blades and Hydreigon being a tank during earlier development, a weapons theme seemed pretty obvious.


Haxorus @ Lum Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Brick Break
The showcase mon, with arguably its whole body as a weapon.


Hydreigon @ Scope Lens
Ability: Levitate
- Focus Energy
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
An artillery piece that ends up as the sole special attacker. While it doesn't have sniper to add further damage like Kingdra, a crit build still seemed like a good way of maximizing a Dragon-type move. I made sure that the other two attacks also fit the vibe, with a move boosted by mega launcher and a move blocked by bulletproof.


Conkeldurr @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
- Fling
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Stone Edge
The main user of manufactured rather than natural weapons. I figure the pillars are used for rock-type moves.


Bisharp @ Salac Berry
Ability: Defiant
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Pursuit
- Swords Dance
Dragon can often have a "destructive force of nature" vibe, which ends up overlapping quite a bit with Dark (e.g. Gyarados-mega, Tyranitar). It shouldn't be surprising that Haxorus' most direct parallel in terms of blades is a Dark type as a result.


Escavalier @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
- Iron Defense
- Megahorn
- Knock Off
- Toxic
Lacks the coverage to really be the dragonslaying knight here, but a (literally) solid source of piercing damage alongside Conk's bludgeons, Hyreigon's energies, and everyone else's slashes.


Samurott @ Life Orb
Ability: Torrent
- Razor Shell
- Superpower
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
A swordmaster that would eventually pick up more of the Dark parallels I mentioned with Bisharp.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Dragon Dualism
One of the major themes of Gen V is dualism, and with there being three Dragon families I thought it would stay in theme to pair them with another Pokemon that can learn a Dragon-type Move. The list of candidates was small, but enough I think I found proper pairings to compare & contrast.

Haxorus (Mold Breaker. Shell Bell . Outrage/Dragon Dance/Brick Break/Earthquake)
Krookodile (Moxie. Leftovers . Outrage/Earthquake/Pursuit/Fire Fang)
Druddigon (Sheer Force. Life Orb . Outrage/Crunch/Rock Slide/Iron Tail)
Archeops (Defeatist. Flying Gem . Dragon Claw/Acrobatics/Stone Edge/U-turn)
Hydreigon (Levitate. Wide Lens . Draco Meteor/Crunch/Fire Blast/Focus Blast)
Eelektross (Levitate. Zoom Lens . Dragon Claw/Thunder/Rock Slide/Grass Knot)

Similar Yet Different

Haxorus & Krookodile: Our first pair is Haxorus matched with Krookodile. Both are physical powerhouses, tailed bipeds, and based on animal species from the time of the dinosaurs (Haxorus being a dinosaur, likely a Heterodontosaurus, and Krookodile based on crocodiles; FUN FACT: while dinosaurs are more related to birds and crocodiles are reptiles, both fall under the clade Archosaur and likely shared a common ancestor before splitting apart). If we were to use dragon terms to describe them, they'd fall under the category of "drakes" (basically dragons without wings). As physical powerhouses they have high attack, decent bulk and surprisingly speed, and to pay for it have low special stats (though were wise to have their Special Defense be slightly higher than their Special Attack).

Because of their decent bulk I gave them an item shared theme of healing to have them wreck things as long as they can. Haxorus has the Shell Bell as it not only has the highest Attack but with Dragon Dance it can further increase its Attack higher meaning more healing from Shell Bell. Meanwhile Krookodile takes the classic Leftovers for guaranteed healing. Krookodile has its own unique way of increasing its Attack via its Ability Moxie, but it's not guaranteed that boost as it has to KO its opponent; but if Leftovers can just keep it alive long enough for one or two Moxie activations it'll prove itself the better healing item in this case.

While similar in shape and stats, their roles are different. Haxorus is a forward attacker, buffing itself with a Dragon Dance and going to town with strong but predictable Moves (it at least has Mold Breaker to ignore Abilities and Brick Break to get through Reflects). Krookodile is more sneaky (it's a Dark-type afterall); STAB Pursuit makes its opponent think twice before switching and Fire Fang can be a nasty surprise for Ice- and Grass-types hoping to keep it starting a Moxie chain... only to become part of it.

Druddigon & Archeops: Next up is a pair with a pair of wings, Druddigon and Archeops. Having wings aren't the only thing connecting the two, though they have different body shapes (Druddigon is your typical "European dragon", albeit bipedal, while Archeops would be considered a "wyvern", a dragon whose front limbs and wings are the same like a bat), both have an "ancient" if not "prehistoric" feel. Obvious with Archeops as its a Fossil Pokemon based on Archaeopteryx, but as for Druddigon it's more how its presented: its body is covered in spikes, underbelly scales look like plate armor, and its wings and underdeveloped and more resemble back plates (infact the Pokedex says it uses its wings for thermoregulation which is what scientists believed Stegosaurus did with its famous back plates). Druddigon is also a cave dweller which vibes with Archeops being a Rock-type.

But when it comes to stat the two couldn't be any different. Druddigon is another physical powerhouse, though unlike the two above it traded Speed for decent Special Defense, though that could have been much to its detriment with subpar HP. Speaking of which, do I even need to talk about Archeops stats and the gimmick with it? This puts Druddigon and Archeops on opposite ends of two extremes, a tank with low fuel & a fragile but deadly cannon.

What two items could I give them to relate to one another but work with them individually? Let's be real, these Pokemon aren't going to last long in battle. So they need to do all the damage as quick as they can, what they need are items that can give them more power. And luckily, there's two items that can give each of them just that in their own unique ways! Druddigon has the Ability Sheer Force, and for some reason if a Sheer Force user is holding a Life Orb and uses a Move that Sheer Force boosts, the Life Orb recoil damage is negated! For Archeops, Gen V introduced the Elemental Gems, and it was likely because of it all but the Normal Gem were banned. As long as it was above half HP, Archeops was able to do insane damage on one turn with a Flying Gem-powered Acrobatics. Druddigon and Archeops may not be long for battle, but they'll leave a deep impact.

Hydreigon & Eelektross: We've had drakes, European dragons, and wyverns, let's wrap up this dragon showcase with a pair of serpents. You could argue this is a bit of a reach; sure they have serpentine bodies, but Hydreigon is more heavily based on multi-headed dragons (despite its English name linking it to the Greek Hydra, it's more a reference to the Japanese Orochi which itself links it to Asian dragons) and Eelektross is based on long bodied fish like eels (specifically ones which can generate an electric shock) and lampreys which are believed to have inspired stories of sea serpents. But they also share some battle traits such as having the Levitate Ability (making Eelektross the only Pokemon to not have any Weaknesses, that's special enough to equal Hydreigon being a pseudo-Legendary, right?) and being offense focused with their Attack & Special Attack being their highest two stats.

But this is where Hydreigon zigs and Eelektross zags. Hydreigon leans Special and, as I said, is a pseudo-Legendary so a natural powerhouse with decent if not good stats all around. Eelektross leans Physcial but with 85 less BST needs to specialize, its high offense comes with a cost and that cost is its Speed as it keeps its HP and defensive stats above water. But there may be one way we can make them pairs, while they have powerful attacks quite a few of them are on the inaccurate side, and it just so happens there are two similar items which increase a Move's Accuracy. Wide Lens is the general slight increaser while Zoom Lens is better but requires the user to Move after their opponent, so you can guess who gets which Lens. And with that they both can now more reliably run normally inaccurate Moves, and being mixed attackers that gives them an even wider coverage; so wide that aside from a Dragon-type Move I can have them cover different Types for some individuality.

 

[Cobalt Empoleon]

I See Red, I See Red, I See Red!



Keeping it very simple this round with a visual theme. The Dragon type is often associated with an overwhelming, almost savage kind of power. This vicious brutality is represented on this team through sharp and spiky red appendages. The mainline Pokemon franchise would never make literal blood a visual motif, but these blood-red claws and points and spikes evoke its symbolic meaning, particularly that duality (shared by both blood and dragons) between vitality and violence.

Dragonblood

@ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Stealth Rock

@ Life Orb
Ability: Illusion
- Night Daze
- Focus Blast
- Giga Impact
- Hone Claws

@ Lum Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
Shiny: Yes
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
- Rock Tomb
- Hone Claws

@ Focus Sash
Ability: Swarm
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Reversal
- Counter

@ Leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
- Outrage
- Sucker Punch
- Hone Claws
- Glare

@ Dragon Gem
Ability: Mold Breaker
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Swords Dance

The movesets aren't very interesting, sadly! I feel like I always have this problem with Unovan mons, especially when it's BW and I opt to deny myself the B2W2 tutor moves.

EDIT: I changed the sets so that every team member makes use of their red body parts for at least one of their moves.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Ah, Unova. The region famous for having three legendary Dragon-types that don't get along at first but then set aside their differences, and less famous for introducing two gimmicky battle formats.

This one's a two-parter.

Zweilous @ Fire Gem Ability: Hustle - Fire Fang - Crunch - Dragon Rush - Screech

Zweilous @ Ice Gem Ability: Hustle - Ice Fang - Crunch - Dragon Rush - Focus Energy

Zweilous @ Electric Gem Ability: Hustle - Thunder Fang - Crunch - Dragon Rush - Scary Face

This trio of ruffians may nominally be friends, but like the split heads of Zweilous, they bicker constantly. The first time they fight the player, they use the Rotation Battle format. Rotation battles allow Pokemon to switch and attack in the same turn, which these three will do every turn as they push each other out of the way for the active slot. Stat changes and status effects also won't clear when switching in a rotation battle, so the icy ringleader's Focus Energy will stay for the entire match, as will your own Defense and Speed drops.

Hydreigon @ Fire Gem Ability: Levitate - Hidden Power [Fire] - Dark Pulse - Dragon Pulse - Reflect

Hydreigon @ Ice Gem Ability: Levitate - Hidden Power [Ice] - Dark Pulse - Dragon Pulse - Work Up

Hydreigon @ Electric Gem Ability: Levitate - Hidden Power [Electric] - Dark Pulse - Dragon Pulse - Tailwind

In their second battle, the trio have learned to work together to beat your ass, just like how Hydreigon's three heads all work in tandem to destroy anything it comes across. While their initial battle was a rotation battle where they constantly fought for the spotlight, this time all three scoundrels fight simultaneously in a triple battle. While the Fire and Electric goons lowered the player's Defense and Speed in the first battle, here they buff the respective stats of their team, reflecting their more effective teamwork. Pulse moves also have a unique effect in triple battles that lets them target any Pokemon regardless of position. No matter where your Pokemon is on the field, it's vulnerable to getting thrice blasted by Hydreigon's powerful STABs.

(the game never throws more than three Pokemon at you in rotation and triple battles --- I'm not even sure rotation battles can physically support more than three Pokemon --- so despite not being a "full" team of six, the teams are indeed full)

 

[Hugin]

(and so the trend of teams I'm particularly happy with doing poorly continues)

"Why dragons? Because even the weakest of them is capable of awe-inspiring things!"
Victory: "That was awesome!"
Loss: "That was awful!"

Standard ace trainer appearance. There's information hidden around that this guy has been training Dragons his whole life and still hasn't evolved his whole team, because they take so much work. I went with the 3 standard Dragon lines, 2 NFEs because they're honestly on-par statwise with Druddigon, and Serperior because it's a dragonlike reptile with extreme offensive capabilities.

Movesets

Druddigon @ Leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Sucker Punch
- Glare
- Dragon Claw

Zweilous @ Eviolite
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Dragon Tail
- Roar

Fraxure @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Counter
- Draco Meteor
- Endeavor

Serperior @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm

Hydreigon @ White Herb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
- Dark Pulse

Haxorus @ Haban Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Superpower

Stealth Rock+screw your setup lead Druddigon, RestTalk Phazing Eviolite Zweilous, Fraxure with a bunch of support options to surprise people, Scarf+1 attack Contrary Serperior, Nuke Hydreigon, and DD Haxorus. I don't know if this would be good, but I do think it would be memorable.

Fairly fun. I considered strongly using an Ice+Elec+Fire and 3 dragons to parallel the Kyu/Reshi/Zek legends, maybe as a double battle, but I wasn't feeling it. Technically this should have had a Deino but also I wasn't going to do that. Serp felt like a very good wildcard and I like any time I get to do my trademark choice-locked NPC.

 

[CTNC]

There were two kinds of Dragons before the Fairy Type: Stupidly good and Altaria. (It hurts to insult my favorite Pokemon...) You'd think I'd joke about Druddigon being not good either, but its Base 120 Attack isn't much worse than Hydreigon's 125 Special Attack. It's not something you should underestimate.



Zweilous
Hustle
-Outrage
-Crunch
-Work Up
-Dragon Tail

I'm not using Zweilous because it brings the team to 4 Dragon types. I'm using it because it turns out even Dragons that can still evolve are stupidly powerful too. Fraxure has Base 117 Attack and Hustle Zweilous's 85 is on par with Rayquaza, thanks to Hustle.

Zweilous doesn't learn Dragon Claw, so it has to "settle" for Outrage. It's pretty easy to take advantage of because you could switch in Whimsicott and... Oh, wait. This was before the Fairy Type, back when Outrage was competitively viable. Yeah, you're going to need to OHKO or pray for Hustle to make it miss. If you're thinking Steel types would work because they resisted Dark and Ghost back then, no. Even if the resistance saves you against Zweilous, it's still going to hurt a lot and that's just the first member of the team. There's a reason Fairy is immune to Dragon.

Unless you use BW2 Tutors, the coverage options are the Elemental Fangs and Head Smash. In other words, too weak to consider or 64 Accuracy after Hustle. There's also Normal, but it's just a worse version of Dragon. Honestly, none of them were worth using so I went with Work Up because it's Zweilous's best boosting move and Dragon Tail in case the player tries to set up. I honestly considered no fourth move though because I imagine these teams being used by the game's AI and I didn't want it wasting turns with moves that would do pretty much nothing.


Archeops
Defeatist
-Dragon Claw
-Acrobatics
-Earthquake
-U-Turn

Archeops's Attack Stat is so high that it needed an Ability that gives it a drawback and... Wait, 140 Attack is impressive, but Chandelure and Haxorus were introduced in the same game and have no drawbacks! Chandelure not only had useful Abilities, but it even had Shadow Tag as its Hidden Ability! It was never released and changed to Infiltrator in Gen 6, but still. It says a lot about Game Freak's sense of game balance... (Not as much as Gen 9 says, but still a lot.) Still, Defeatist didn't stop the random Trainer in Chargestone Cave with an Archen from being tougher for me than the Flying Gym right outside the cave, so it's not a completely crippling Ability.

Acrobatics is the STAB of choice because its power doubles to 110 when you're not holding an item. I'm not going to say Acrobatic is why the Normal Gem is the only Gem to return after Gen 5, but it's got to be part of the reason when Acrobatics and Gems were both nerfed in Gen 6. It also helped make that random Trainer with an Archen way more powerful than it had any right being.

Dragon Claw is used so there's a Dragon Attack and Earthquake is Super Effective against the Steel type in Unova that resists Flying. I went with U-Turn over a second STAB to switch out after Defeatist activates and because Stone Edge's 80 Accuracy feels even worse when there's a 100 Accuracy 110 Power STAB. I don't trust the game's Trainer AI to use U-Turn effectively, but it's better than not switching.

Fun Fact: Archeops is the only Pokemon with a Bast Stat Total equal to its Pokedex Number, 567.


Druddigon
Rough Skin
-Outrage
-Dragon Tail
-Revenge
-Substitute

As I mentioned earlier, the only Dragon (other than Altaria) that never looked that good competitively still has a Base 120 Attack. I think that says a lot about how powerful Dragons were before the Fairy type. 120 being the lowest Offensive Stat on this team (other than Zweilous, but Hustle makes it stronger.) also says a lot about Gen 5.

Dragon Tail is used for the same reason Zweilous uses it and because being the slowest Dragon means Negative Priority is less of a drawback. It's enough to matter, but not enough to make me not want to go with Outrage is used for STAB with more than 60 Power and Dragon Claw's 80 Power didn't feel like enough of an upgrade.

A Fighting Attack is used because you've got to have something for the Pokemon that resist your team's type. I think Revenge's Negative Priority and needing to get hit for 120 Power makes it have less drawbacks that Superpower. (That move is so much worse without switching...) Substitute was filler and I just wanted a Status Move that wasn't yet another boosting move.


Volcarona
Flame Body
-Fiery Dance
-Bug Buzz
-Psychic
-Quiver Dance

No Unova Dragon Team would be complete without demonic headed, six winged, fiery death that's used by the final boss. That's enough about Hydreigon for now though. Champion Alder's strongest Pokemon, Volcarona, may be an odd choice for a Dragon team, especially because I usually stick to Pokemon that can learn moves of the type, but for a team that's all about power, a Pokemon being so powerful that losing half its HP to Stealth Rock doesn't stop it from being competitively viable is a very worthy pick. Also, something about it just makes it look awesome in a way I can see it fitting on a Dragon Team. I think it's the horns. Oh, and I guess being a Fire type is useful for taking on Steel types.

Psychic looks like an odd choice, but the other Special Attack options were Hurricane and Solar Beam. I know Gen 5 is known for Weather Wars, but no. I'm not using those moves. Morning Sun was the best alternative, but it lets Fire types wall Volcarona and I prefer not using Egg moves because it's rare for Trainers to have them.


Haxorus
Mold Breaker
-Dragon Claw
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Dragon Dance

A TL;DR of Haxorus is Zweilous with speed, accuracy, and coverage.

When Black and White came out I was shocked that there was a Pokemon with Base 147 Attack and 97 Speed. The idea of a Pokemon with Attack so close to Box Legends and even more Speed felt like insane power creep to me. (And even more insane is it would be that it would be later be outclassed by a Pokemon with Base Stat Total of 700 and 170 of it in Attack in the same Generation. Kyurem Black was a very ironic example of power creep...)

I went with Dragon Claw and Outrage instead of choosing between them because there was a spare move slot. Earthquake is for Steel types again because you don't have to care about any other type. Sword Dance would setup quicker, but Dragon Dance is a Dragon move, so...


Hydreigon
Levitate
-Dragon Pulse
-Surf
-Fire Blast
-Focus Blast

There is no better ace than something that demolishes even Legendary Pokemon easily.

Source: Everyone who remembers Ghetsis using this moveset. 'nuff said.




It's easy to say stats aren't everything, but when the stats let you OHKO a ton of Pokemon...

 

[igiveuponaname]

details later

Sets WIP

Escavalier @ Choice Band
Ability: Shell Armor
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Pursuit
- Return


Samurott @ Life Orb
Ability: Torrent
- Swords Dance
- Razor Shell
- Superpower
- Aqua Jet


Mienshao @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
- High Jump Kick
- Dual Chop
- U-turn
- Stone Edge


Audino @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heal Bell
- Wish
- Encore
- Healing Wish


Gothitelle @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Tag
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Trick
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Hidden Power [Ice]


Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dragon Pulse
- Roost
- Dark Pulse
- Tri Attack

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Evening - new poll is up.

https://strawpoll.com/PKgle0JO9Zp​

You have until September 20th, 9PM GMT to cast your vote! After that... this thread's going on hiatus again. Not sure how long for precisely but I'm on tour atm and it's a pain to fit this in around that.

Analysis time. Let's make it a good one.

Numbers

Hydreigon: 6
Haxorus: 6

Druddigon: 5

Zweilous: 2

Fraxure: 1

Escavalier: 3

Samurott: 2
Archeops: 2
Krookodile: 2
Serperior: 2

Mienshao: 1
Audino: 1
Scrafty: 1
Gigalith: 1
Zoroark: 1
Heatmor: 1
Eelektross: 1
Volcarona: 1
Conkeldurr: 1
Bisharp: 1
Gothorita: 1


Analysis

Ah, pre-Fairy Dragon. Tastes so good.

High base stat totals abound! Some slight variance between Hydreigon or Haxorus as the premier Unova Dragon. Predictably, Druddigon came in last place.

Unova is a good place to be Dragon-adjacent. Much as Iris showed us, there's a whole host of Dragon adjacent species. So many reptiles, for one thing: Krookodile, Scrafty, Serperior, Archeops.

But there's more to it than that. Unova is known for the notoriously high evolutionary levels of its rarer species. High evolutionary levels evoke rarity, scarcity, preciousness - all things I've always associated with dragons, those species prized as the rarest and best of all Pokemon.

Those qualities infer association with treasure-hunting, death-defying, adventure seekers. And yet it's funny that of all the Dragon specialists we've seen in the series, none really fit that mold. Raihan is a social media star, Ryuki is a musician, Iris hasn't yet developed her own style. Drayden is a hard-bodied gladiator - literally "the Spartan Mayor". Lance is basically a superhero. Zinnia is a cape-wielding badass but she's too single-minded to really be considered a wide-ranging adventurer; Drake is a sea captain who hints at past catastrophes but he's quite underdeveloped; Clair is a wannabe dominatrix obsessed with outdoing her cousin. Really the closest thing to my idea of a mythologist Dragon-type is Drasna, but she's so sparsely characterised she doesn't really satisfy the urge (maybe the anime or the manga did her better, I can't remember).

Honestly at this point the single greatest demographic of Dragon users is "expert" - not the literal trainer class but simply those most puissant and experienced of trainers: Ace Trainers, Pokemon Rangers, Dragon Tamers, umm... Nursery Aides. Interestingly, the series has sort of moved away from the idea of expertise being needed to raise certain Pokemon. The Dragon User Clan in Johto specifically bars their members from raising actual Dragons until they've demonstrated competence, and some old guides I've read or got describe certain species like Scyther as dangerous and not suited for beginning trainers. More recently, though, we've seen characters in the series raise Dragons as their starter Pokemon - Cynthia's Gible, Iris' Axew, and Lance's Dratini are all implied to have been their firsts. Though, one could make the case that all those people are said to be prodigies.

Where am I going with this? Oh, yeah - wildcards.

Escavalier being the most common wildcard is... wild indeed. Though the knight imagery, sharpness, and general valor all play well into Dragon's overall mystique - goes for Samurott, too. Krookodile and Archeops and Serperior are all natural fits - otherwise, we ended up with hardly any consistent wildcards. Given the way in which Dragon originally wrote the book on putting an immense amount of time and effort into raising a species for the ultimate payoff and Unova's relative abundance of three-stage lines who broadly fit the draconic ideal, that could legit have been a concept in itself. Hydreigon, Haxorus, Krookodile, Serperior... uh... Samurott, Gigalith, Eelektross. Just about works, I guess.


Stuff I expected to see more (or at all):

Really surprised that Serperior was only used twice.

Equally, I'm surprised Zweilous, too, was only used twice. As the "oldest" NFE species, it's more than capable of meeting evolved Pokemon on an equal footing (interestingly though, despite being the NFE that evolves latest, it's not the strongest mid-stage pseudo-legendary).

Fraxure only got one usage, poor thing.

Tirtouga. Ancient reptile vibe. Previous Dragon rounds have emphasised the elemental symmetry Dragons often have, so Tirtouga adds a Water element.

Mandibuzz. Idk why, but the bone theming echoes the fantastical, prehistoric Dragon vibe somewhat - plus it flies.

Zebstrika. I'm sure someone could have justified this. Zebras are strength, brutality, and aggression.

Golurk. The Pokemon you'd meet down a dark cave, associated with Dragonspiral Tower.

Scolipede. Idk, it's big and fearsome.

 

[CTNC]

Zweilous: 1

Huh... I know I wasn't the only one.

Stuff I expected to see more (or at all):

Fraxure saw no usage either - another mid-stage Dragon which has stats sufficient to punch above its weight.

Someone definitely put this as their reason to use Fraxure.

*scrolls up*
*checks poll*

Sorry to be the barer of bad news, but you missed Hugin's team.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Huh... I know I wasn't the only one.


Someone definitely put this as their reason to use Fraxure.

*scrolls up*
*checks poll*

Sorry to be the barer of bad news, but you missed Hugin's team.

Fuck, so I did. Sorry.

Time for a lot of judicious edits...

Poll reposted.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Poll closed and... oh my, look at that, another tie. Congratulations to both Pikachu315111 and CTNC on a joint win!

In a way, that's something of a cliffhanger to leave things on, since this thread's going to go on hiatus for a while.

 

[Hugin]

Well that's certainly a place to put it on pause. This is always fun and I'm always thankful for the effort you put in, QQ, so take all the time you need.

I don't know if there's much to discuss about the Dragon type that hasn't come up in previous rounds. This time was nice because we actually had multiple options of the type, which let me do my 5-dragon setup. It honestly felt like there were fewer wildcard options than normal for Dragon, which was also a welcome change.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Even if it wasn't counted for voting purposes, I enjoyed designing my trio of punks. It's always fun spotting a good opportunity to do something other than a traditional party of 6.

Imagine rolling up to a battle and you're immediately staring down three Hydreigon. That's nine heads all coming for your ass all at once.