GDItsMeInTheFlesh
05-04-2011, 11:47 PM
Hey guys! After having a discussion about Special Walls and Physical Walls earlier, I decided this needed to be made, so let's get to it!
Physical Walls
A Physical Wall usually has two things, a high base HP and a high base Def. A great example is Dusclops with Eviolite. The addition of this item in 5th Gen. is a gift from God. For those who don't know, this item increases the SpD and Def. of a Pokemon that has an evolution stage left by 50%. That being said, here's a good example:
move 1: Pain Split
move 2: Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Night Shade
move 4: Confuse Ray / Disable / Toxic
nature: Calm
item: Eviolite
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Let's break it down, with Eviolite Dusclops has Defenses of 284/474/561. WoW will cripple the Phy. Attackers. Pain Split allows him to recover HP. Night Shade will hit with constant 100 Dmg.
Special Wall
A special wall is the same as a Physical Wall, but rather than taking Physical attacks they take Special attacks. Chansey with Eviolite is a great example, let's look:
move 1: Wish
move 2: Protect / Softboiled
move 3: Seismic Toss
move 4: Toxic
item: Eviolite
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Chansey's Wish can fully replenish the health of Pokemon with base 105 HP Pokemon, like Rhydon. Seismic Toss and Toxic are the only ways Chansey can do real amounts of damage to both offensive and defensive Pokemon. Seismic Toss will always do 100 damage to any Pokemon, effectively 4HKOing most walls in the game.
Physical Sweeper
Physical Sweepers focus on one thing: hitting hard. Physical sweepers are meant to deal massive amounts of damage in little time. Conkeldurr is my favorite Physical Sweep, so I'll show you a good example of him:
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Mach Punch
move 4: Payback / Stone Edge
item: Leftovers
ability: Guts
nature: Brave / Adamant
evs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
624 Attack and 339 Defense after a Bulk Up is nothing to screw around with, and Conkeldurr shows why. Drain Punch allows Conkeldurr to tank through the opposition by hitting the opponent hard while recovering lost health. Mach Punch gives Conkeldurr priority. Payback is to hit those pesky things that resist all of his Fighting types *cough*Shandera*cough*
Special Sweeper
A Special Sweeper is meant to do damage fast and powerfully, but with Special Attacks. A great example is Latios:
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Surf
move 3: Hidden Power Fire / Dragon Pulse
move 4: Psycho Shock / Trick
item: Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Choice Specs Latios with STAB on Draco Meteor is a MONSTER. Even those that resist it get a dent put in them. HP Fire allows Latios to deal with steel types more efficiently. Psycho Shock gives Psychic STAB. Surf complements Draco Meteor well, offensively and allow Latios to hit Pokemon like Scizor
Revenge Killer
A revenge killer is a pokemon that comes in after one of your pokemon faints to take out the opposition without getting hit. That brings us to fast pokemon with a large movepool, or at least good coverage. Or, priority users. So, we have scarfed pokemon, priority abusers, and insanely fast pokemon.
Having said that, a Weavile is a good revenge killer for dragons with Ice Shard.
Priority RK
Weavile @ Focus Sash (Or life orb)
Pressure
252 Atk. / 252 Speed / 4 Def
Jolly Nature (You don't want other guys outspeeding you and killing you would you?)
- Ice Shard
- Ice Punch
- Pursuit
- Low Kick
This guys gets sent in after one of you pokemon faints to murder the murderer. I guess that makes you a murderer as well. Then another Weavile counter would come in and become a murderer of a murderer of a murderer. Gah. Ice Shard is all you need. Dragon Dance all you want, Ice Shard has priority! Ice Punch for STAB as well, Pursuit if they for whatever reason, may switch out. Low Kick for STAB and coverage.
Leads, Anti-Leads, and Anti-Anti-Leads
Hazards Leads are simple. They set up entry hazards, and then go down fighting while dishing out as much damage as possible. They may carry Taunt to prevent other leads from setting up.
Example:
Azelf @ Focus Sash
Levitate
4 HP / 252 Atk (Or SAtk) / 252 Spe
Jolly/Timid/Adamant/Modest
-Taunt
-Stealth Rock
-(Input attack move of choice)
-" "
I won't explain this guy. You all know him.
Anti-Leads are Leads designed to counter Suicide Leads and other Leads, and set up their own entry hazards at the same time. There are many types of Anti-Leads, but you more often see two kinds: The Bulky Kind and the Not-Bulky-Ima-Sweep-Ur-Team-Kind. From what I see, an Anti-Lead is basically the same as a Suicide Lead, but I guess the metagame flung them into the fray for a reason. They completely counter most other Suicide Leads. Hence the Anti part.
Bulky Anti-Lead
Swampert @ Leftover
Torrent (To some random extend, Damp)
(Input Bulky EV spread of your choice)
(Input Nature of your choice, most likely Brave)
-Stealth Rock
-(Depends one Swampert set. Curse set, or Ima-try to murder you set)
-" "
-" "
You seldom see them nowadays, but they had their uses. Other Bulky Anti-Leads include Metagross, Tyrannitar, Hippowdon. They cannot be taken down in one hit unless by an extremely powerful super effective move, but have the capabilities to take a Suicide lead down in one hit. Of course, they have to be careful of Taunt if they want to set up, but eh.
Ima-Sweep-Ur-team-Anti-Lead
Thundurus @ Focus Sash
Prankster
4HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
-Taunt
-Nasty Plot
-Thunderbolt / HP [Ice] / Focus Blast / Grass Knot
-Thunderbolt / HP [Ice] / Focus Blast / Grass Knot
Priority Taunt make sure you Taunt other before you get Taunted, or before they set up on you. They they would either hit you (That's where the Sash comes in), or switch out (That's where Nasty Plot comes in).
Sooo.... Anti-Leads only counter a selected varity of other Suicide Leads, not the entire chunk, so don't expect your Anti-Lead to pwn the metagame.
Now to the Anti-Anti-Leads. They are used mainly to stop Anti-Leads, but can take Suicide Leads as well. When taking Suicide Leads, they mainly allow the Suicide Lead to set up, but proceed to screw with them afterwards.
Anti-Anti-Lead Example #1
Whimsicott @ Leftovers
Prankster
(Defensive EV spread)
(Some random Nature)
-Taunt / Encore
-Leech Seed
-Substitute
-(Move of your choice, probably an attacking move, or you'd be Taunt Bait)
You could choose Taunt, to straight out prevent the opposition from setting up, or Encore, to screw them up and force a switch. Here's how the Encore set works (You obviously know the Taunt Set). First Turn, you doing something that no one else cares while they throw their rocks. The next turn, you hit them with priority Encore, forcing a switch on the next turn, where you get a free Leech Seed, Tailwind, whatever.
Anti-Anti-Lead Example #2
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Technician
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly nature
-Spore
-Bullet Seed
-Mach Punch
-Focus Punch / Rock Tomb / Stone Edge / (Random Move that you like)
The Sash makes sure you get to spore the enemy if they decide to attack you. Breloom doesn't have the speed to stop the rocks or spikes from coming, so you might want to pair him with a spinner. If you think that they will Taunt you, skip the spore and go straight to Bullet Seed. It breaks Sashs and packs a punch. Technician Bullet Seed is something to be feared. After the spore, you can proceed to hit the switch hard with a powerful Focus Punch, or slow it down with Rock Tomb(Technician again).
Thanks to CloudNine for helping out!
Physical Walls
A Physical Wall usually has two things, a high base HP and a high base Def. A great example is Dusclops with Eviolite. The addition of this item in 5th Gen. is a gift from God. For those who don't know, this item increases the SpD and Def. of a Pokemon that has an evolution stage left by 50%. That being said, here's a good example:
move 1: Pain Split
move 2: Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Night Shade
move 4: Confuse Ray / Disable / Toxic
nature: Calm
item: Eviolite
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Let's break it down, with Eviolite Dusclops has Defenses of 284/474/561. WoW will cripple the Phy. Attackers. Pain Split allows him to recover HP. Night Shade will hit with constant 100 Dmg.
Special Wall
A special wall is the same as a Physical Wall, but rather than taking Physical attacks they take Special attacks. Chansey with Eviolite is a great example, let's look:
move 1: Wish
move 2: Protect / Softboiled
move 3: Seismic Toss
move 4: Toxic
item: Eviolite
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Chansey's Wish can fully replenish the health of Pokemon with base 105 HP Pokemon, like Rhydon. Seismic Toss and Toxic are the only ways Chansey can do real amounts of damage to both offensive and defensive Pokemon. Seismic Toss will always do 100 damage to any Pokemon, effectively 4HKOing most walls in the game.
Physical Sweeper
Physical Sweepers focus on one thing: hitting hard. Physical sweepers are meant to deal massive amounts of damage in little time. Conkeldurr is my favorite Physical Sweep, so I'll show you a good example of him:
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Mach Punch
move 4: Payback / Stone Edge
item: Leftovers
ability: Guts
nature: Brave / Adamant
evs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
624 Attack and 339 Defense after a Bulk Up is nothing to screw around with, and Conkeldurr shows why. Drain Punch allows Conkeldurr to tank through the opposition by hitting the opponent hard while recovering lost health. Mach Punch gives Conkeldurr priority. Payback is to hit those pesky things that resist all of his Fighting types *cough*Shandera*cough*
Special Sweeper
A Special Sweeper is meant to do damage fast and powerfully, but with Special Attacks. A great example is Latios:
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Surf
move 3: Hidden Power Fire / Dragon Pulse
move 4: Psycho Shock / Trick
item: Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Choice Specs Latios with STAB on Draco Meteor is a MONSTER. Even those that resist it get a dent put in them. HP Fire allows Latios to deal with steel types more efficiently. Psycho Shock gives Psychic STAB. Surf complements Draco Meteor well, offensively and allow Latios to hit Pokemon like Scizor
Revenge Killer
A revenge killer is a pokemon that comes in after one of your pokemon faints to take out the opposition without getting hit. That brings us to fast pokemon with a large movepool, or at least good coverage. Or, priority users. So, we have scarfed pokemon, priority abusers, and insanely fast pokemon.
Having said that, a Weavile is a good revenge killer for dragons with Ice Shard.
Priority RK
Weavile @ Focus Sash (Or life orb)
Pressure
252 Atk. / 252 Speed / 4 Def
Jolly Nature (You don't want other guys outspeeding you and killing you would you?)
- Ice Shard
- Ice Punch
- Pursuit
- Low Kick
This guys gets sent in after one of you pokemon faints to murder the murderer. I guess that makes you a murderer as well. Then another Weavile counter would come in and become a murderer of a murderer of a murderer. Gah. Ice Shard is all you need. Dragon Dance all you want, Ice Shard has priority! Ice Punch for STAB as well, Pursuit if they for whatever reason, may switch out. Low Kick for STAB and coverage.
Leads, Anti-Leads, and Anti-Anti-Leads
Hazards Leads are simple. They set up entry hazards, and then go down fighting while dishing out as much damage as possible. They may carry Taunt to prevent other leads from setting up.
Example:
Azelf @ Focus Sash
Levitate
4 HP / 252 Atk (Or SAtk) / 252 Spe
Jolly/Timid/Adamant/Modest
-Taunt
-Stealth Rock
-(Input attack move of choice)
-" "
I won't explain this guy. You all know him.
Anti-Leads are Leads designed to counter Suicide Leads and other Leads, and set up their own entry hazards at the same time. There are many types of Anti-Leads, but you more often see two kinds: The Bulky Kind and the Not-Bulky-Ima-Sweep-Ur-Team-Kind. From what I see, an Anti-Lead is basically the same as a Suicide Lead, but I guess the metagame flung them into the fray for a reason. They completely counter most other Suicide Leads. Hence the Anti part.
Bulky Anti-Lead
Swampert @ Leftover
Torrent (To some random extend, Damp)
(Input Bulky EV spread of your choice)
(Input Nature of your choice, most likely Brave)
-Stealth Rock
-(Depends one Swampert set. Curse set, or Ima-try to murder you set)
-" "
-" "
You seldom see them nowadays, but they had their uses. Other Bulky Anti-Leads include Metagross, Tyrannitar, Hippowdon. They cannot be taken down in one hit unless by an extremely powerful super effective move, but have the capabilities to take a Suicide lead down in one hit. Of course, they have to be careful of Taunt if they want to set up, but eh.
Ima-Sweep-Ur-team-Anti-Lead
Thundurus @ Focus Sash
Prankster
4HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
-Taunt
-Nasty Plot
-Thunderbolt / HP [Ice] / Focus Blast / Grass Knot
-Thunderbolt / HP [Ice] / Focus Blast / Grass Knot
Priority Taunt make sure you Taunt other before you get Taunted, or before they set up on you. They they would either hit you (That's where the Sash comes in), or switch out (That's where Nasty Plot comes in).
Sooo.... Anti-Leads only counter a selected varity of other Suicide Leads, not the entire chunk, so don't expect your Anti-Lead to pwn the metagame.
Now to the Anti-Anti-Leads. They are used mainly to stop Anti-Leads, but can take Suicide Leads as well. When taking Suicide Leads, they mainly allow the Suicide Lead to set up, but proceed to screw with them afterwards.
Anti-Anti-Lead Example #1
Whimsicott @ Leftovers
Prankster
(Defensive EV spread)
(Some random Nature)
-Taunt / Encore
-Leech Seed
-Substitute
-(Move of your choice, probably an attacking move, or you'd be Taunt Bait)
You could choose Taunt, to straight out prevent the opposition from setting up, or Encore, to screw them up and force a switch. Here's how the Encore set works (You obviously know the Taunt Set). First Turn, you doing something that no one else cares while they throw their rocks. The next turn, you hit them with priority Encore, forcing a switch on the next turn, where you get a free Leech Seed, Tailwind, whatever.
Anti-Anti-Lead Example #2
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Technician
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly nature
-Spore
-Bullet Seed
-Mach Punch
-Focus Punch / Rock Tomb / Stone Edge / (Random Move that you like)
The Sash makes sure you get to spore the enemy if they decide to attack you. Breloom doesn't have the speed to stop the rocks or spikes from coming, so you might want to pair him with a spinner. If you think that they will Taunt you, skip the spore and go straight to Bullet Seed. It breaks Sashs and packs a punch. Technician Bullet Seed is something to be feared. After the spore, you can proceed to hit the switch hard with a powerful Focus Punch, or slow it down with Rock Tomb(Technician again).
Thanks to CloudNine for helping out!