Cuckoo posted:

It's almost too complicated to narrow down that specifically. It can be case by case almost, depending on many factors. Some common ones: A) If a different Pokemon can do its exact job better B) If it's ability is good C) if its typing is a general boon or hinderance in relation to the stats it was given D) What are the counters running around that straight up destroy it, and how common are they D) Is its movepool varied or limited? (The purpose of this is that unpredictability is often key to winning matches, and if you are using a one trick pony an experienced battler will predict and counter you more easily)

One of the reasons some people were mad about Amaura's typing is that Rock and Ice is horrible defensively. This is because Fighting moves are everywhere competitively, and not only are the attacks themselves insanely powerful but they are often given to Pokemon who hit like a truck. You can't defend as well against your major weaknesses if they're everywhere.

Kraven Moorhed posted:

You guys need to get on my level.



Coming soon to a battle near you.

noirstronaut posted:

Let's say my strategy for a specific game was to lower the defense of the team

WrightOfWay posted:

One thing to keep in mind is that Smogon tiers (sans Ubers and the Borderline banlists) are based on usage rather than power. While there is a general correlation between the two there are quite a few lower tier pokemon that are just as viable as OU ones they just tend to be a bit more niche. Examples from Gen V include Sableye, Tornadus and Kingdra from UU; Feraligatr and Amoongus from RU and Sawsbuck and Stoutland in NU.

LAY-ZX posted:

Any strategy that revolves around lower the opponent's stats is a bad one, because all they have to do to make your strategy crumble is switch Pokemon.

Macaluso posted:

So I noticed that on the Pokemon on my team (with the exception of Aegislash for some reason) one of the stats will be in pink and the other stat in blue. Like for instance Mewtwo's attack is blue and his speed is pink. But my Klefki's Special Attack is pink and her Special Defense is blue. What does that mean?

noirstronaut posted:

I think tiers are the one thing I fully understand. Well, that and EVs in their purest form. I don't quite get how people can gauge which EVs need specific training. Like, I don't necessarily understand how someone can see that a Delphox would be better off with high attack EVs (were that the case) and not strong defense or something akin to that. I think I get IVs though (apart from the same x needs higher IVs in y instead of z).

noirstronaut posted:

I think tiers are the one thing I fully understand. Well, that and EVs in their purest form. I don't quite get how people can gauge which EVs need specific training. Like, I don't necessarily understand how someone can see that a Delphox would be better off with high attack EVs (were that the case) and not strong defense or something akin to that. I think I get IVs though (apart from the same x needs higher IVs in y instead of z).

noirstronaut posted:

I think tiers are the one thing I fully understand. Well, that and EVs in their purest form. I don't quite get how people can gauge which EVs need specific training. Like, I don't necessarily understand how someone can see that a Delphox would be better off with high attack EVs (were that the case) and not strong defense or something akin to that. I think I get IVs though (apart from the same x needs higher IVs in y instead of z).



Hmm, this makes sense. These things make sense when it's all about logic and smart move making. It's more of the "why do I do this?" part that has me baffled.

LAY-ZX posted:

e: ^^^ Literally a master of comedy right here.

Malalol posted:

Whats it mean when a player icon is glowing red on the pss?

Cuckoo posted:

That's easy: Look at the base stats of any given Pokemon. Delphox has high Special Attack, Special Defense and Speed so it can be a special attacker with bulk. Infernape has high base attack, so its an attacker.

If your Pokemon's species appears to specialized in something, you generally want to max out those stats in EVs and Nature. A defensive slow Pokemon generally finds maximum speed and a + speed nature like Jolly useless, because who's it going to outspeed anyway? Of course, that's not a hard rule and you can mix it up more for mixed attacker sets or whatever role it will fill.

noirstronaut posted:

Perfect, perfect.

One final question before I call it a night and start all of this tomorrow. When going to learn about your Pokemon, is that more or less the simple part? For example, let's say my strategy is to build a team that is stacked with heavily defensive Pokemon that have three heavy hitting moves in varying type. The nature of these Pokes makes the moves hit critically 3/5 times (strictly for example) and the attacks all have a power.

Thinking about this, would the best plan on action be to have a strong defensive Pokemon head out first, get a few good hits in, use a healing move on itself, potentially swap out for a stronger or different Pokemon, see that that one is listed as "fighting and dark" (like Pangoro), then secretly hit the opponent with Surf? To me, that sounds like a cunning plan if I'm going against someone who doesn't expect the Pokemon to know surf, and by using the healing move during my last turn, it guides them to thinking I just want to exchange for a buffer Pokemon. This is probably either an old tactic or one that has never been used for its simplicity, but just for example's sake.

Now, let's say I do that and I manage to kill that Pokemon, they send out a new one. My Pangoro will need to have at least a decent defense as well in order to stand some of the next Pokemon's attacks. This is where I'm thinking moveset comes in? Would I basically just need to try and get the HP to a point where I can manage to knock it out with another Poke? If I swap out Pangoro later and they combat by also swapping with another Poke, would Protect or something like that be my best course of action to protect from their potential hit and to also see which moves I have will damage the Poke on a different level?

Honestly, I'm really sorry for clogging this thread, but I'm learning so much in a short period of time, but I really want to do competitive battling even if I'm horrible at it. Thanks to everyone again!

noirstronaut posted:

One final question before I call it a night and start all of this tomorrow.

Agoat posted:

Any tips for breeding? Competitive Pokemon looks like fun but I feel like setting people up for greatness instead of jumping in.

Agoat posted:

I've been accidentally power hatching eggs with Fletchinder for a little while. Is there a nature list anywhere? I'd like to set up a PC box filled with newly hatched Pokemon that have good stats.

HoneyBoy posted:

Get a Fletchinder or Slugma, catch a ton of Ditto, get an Everstone, Power Items if you can be bothered, then go hog wild.

BattleCake posted:

Yeah it was the dorkiest yet somehow also the greatest thing ever, printing out those loving stickers

kater posted:

Also I thought Quick Balls were supposed to be nigh-powerful and last until Victory Road? I've been throwing them out on Route 14 and broken half a dozen.

nerdbot posted:

I went on a fossil-hunting spree and I have too many Plume Fossils, and I figured out the perfect way to get rid of my Wonder Trade Caterpies and Kakunas. They're all holding Plume Fossils now. Also Pokerus. They're like reverse trojan horses!

Dastardly posted:

Thanks for reminding me that Game Freak effectively doomed a really cool Pokémon and one of the few flying ones I like from the get go by giving it the worst ability known to man instead of slightly tuning it's attack down.

Cyflan posted:

Defeatist is nowhere near as bad as Slow Start or Truant.

And Archeops is completely usable.

Cuckoo posted:

If it were that easy to boil down, all teams would follow that formula. You can have your team be offensive, defensive, or balanced. But yes, that is generally the line of thinking you should be doing to win. I forget Pangoro's stats off the top of my head but in your scenario, if his Special Attack sucks don't do Surf. Also if Pangoro is meant to be an attacker, don't worry about his defense. If you want a Pokemon that can dish a hit and take one in return, you're better off looking at ones with a typing that benefits that like Steel. Scizor is a great example of a Bulky offense Pokemon.

If you both swapped and you want to scout, I'd suggest something that can shuffle the opponent's team with Roar or a "scout" who can hit and run with Volt Switch or U turn. This allows them to get a hit in, however effective it may be, and switch back out. This is again where Stealth Rock comes into play, though.

Countblanc posted:

As a quick, general comment, I think you're right that most of that is a "cunning plan," but I also think that you're overthinking it a bit. I'm worried you're going to end up like those people who try to develop MASTER STRATEGIES for fighting games and then lose their first 20 games and get flustered that their brilliant plan isn't working (because they have no actual game experience). Your strategy is sort of schizophrenic and hard to read since you don't actually know how the flow of a battle goes down.

This isn't a knock against you, but I think you should maybe spectate matches on battle simulators or YouTube to get an idea of how stuff works, or better yet, just make a team of your own (without worrying about EVs, IVs, and Natures to start) and see what happens. You'll lose really terribly, but if you look at your match critically - try recording it using the Vs. Seeker, you can even link it here if you want people to comment on it! - you'll notice things like "Boy, I didn't realize my team was so vulnerable to pokemon that had both Ice and Water attacks", or "I don't really know what to do when my opponent starts stacking Speed Boost," or even "It doesn't seem like the surprise of packing Surf on my Pangoro is worth giving up the benefit of an move that uses its higher Attack stat, even if it's super effective."

Mazerunner posted:

Agoat posted:

Is there a way to get a Darmanitan in X/Y or am I stuck until Pokebank?

Centzon Totochtin posted:

What's the moveset for aegislash that makes him broken?