Jorogumo

Maybe there should be a poll to see if the community is OK with it being exclusive to legendary (and maybe shiny) Pokémon?

Re: PRO Viability Rankings (PVP) v0.97_2 <r>Don't worry about it. I knew there was some kind of misunderstanding.<br/> <br/> However, you are wrong to think that I'm not talking about PRO's metagame. Recently, I've been playing with Snowbull on his way to #1 (well, ngiannas ended up getting it back every single time). We did face you a few times. I remember that you even ran Aerodactyle as a lead. You also used a Krookodile/Talonflame/Gliscor/Tentacruel/Magnezone/Scizor team, if I recall correctly. But you did end up changing your team more than once. As you know, he runs a weird sand team with no Stealth Rock. He also runs Choice Band Dragonite. I do remember Extreme Speed sweeping a lot of teams once most Pokémon are low. I'm surprised you're not mentioning his lead Greninja (with Toxic Spikes), which is surprisingly good even without Protean. <br/> <br/> Ngiannas sold an epic H.A. HP Fire Tangrowth not too long ago for over 1m. I, myself, sold an epic H.A. HP Fire Tangrowth. People have epic H.A. Talonflame. Tangela is way more common and easier to farm. Regardless, Tangrowth, Amoonguss and Venusaur can run poison-type coverage to deal with Breloom.<br/> <br/> In any case, you shouldn't disregard my opinion just because I am mostly a Showdown player. I've been getting a lot of PRO experience thanks to Snowbull. He only faced 1 rain team when I played PvP with him. A lot of players ran sand teams, though (I remember mostly Jelvas). Most Tyranitar sets were specially offensive with Stealth Rock. <br/> <br/> How is Scizor not good enough? JakeMurasaki (ranked #11) runs a VoltTurn core with Magnezone/Scizor, and I can tell you that Scizor is far from not being good anymore. With the right prediction and enough caution, you can reveal Magnezone and not get trapped by it.<br/> <br/> Just one thing, though: even if you put a Pokémon to sleep and manage to freely Swords Dance, a good player will switch out as soon as you spore one of his Pokémon and go to something that can resist Mach Punch (or is immune to it): Volcarona, Talonflame, Togekiss, Gengar, etc.<br/> <br/> <B><s></s>Breloom is not ranked below Poliwrath.<e></e></B> They're in the same tier (A-).<br/> <br/> As for Dragonite, what stops it depends on the set it's running. If it's Dragon Dance, then it lacks an extra coverage move (meaning that Ferrothorn/Tangrowth can wall it if it runs Earthquake over Fire Punch and that a Pokémon like Empoleon --which Ngiannas, who's been #1 many times recently, uses a lot-- can wall it if it runs Fire Punch over Earthquake and threaten it with Scald or Stealth Rock+Roar). Choice Band Dragonite runs Extreme Speed, Outrage, Earthquake, and Fire Punch. While the coverage is basically perfect, it locks the Pokémon onto one move. That's the main drawback of the set.<br/> <br/> <B><s></s>Edit:<e></e></B> I'd like to comment on this calculation:<br/> +2 252 Atk Life Orb Technician Breloom Bullet Seed (3 hits) vs. 244 HP / 8+ Def Gliscor: 354-420 (100.5 - 119.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO<br/> <br/> An Impish Gliscor running 8 Def. EVs? That's what "+" before "Def" means (it means it's Impish). Also, Gliscor should always have 240 speed to outspeed both Adamant Breloom and Adamant Bisharp. On top of that, it can run either Swords Dance or Taunt. My point is: Gliscor is not "free" for Breloom. It also is a great Spore absorber with Toxic Orb. Once poisoned, it can switch into Breloom's spore, then switch out, predicting a Bullet Seed. A lot of Pokémon with Natural Cure can switch into Breloom even if it's a bad match-up. It's all about the mind games. Will you risk using Spore a second time or will you try to kill them, expecting them to switch out? Bullet Seed can also be disappointing because it's RNG. You need to predict right and, sometimes, you need to get lucky. Even if Breloom runs a Jolly nature, it will miss out on a lot of OHKOs and 2HKOs. Those are a lot of drawbacks (on top of what I mentioned earlier). However, if your problem is with Poliwrath being overranked, you can make a post and explain why it should go down to B+ (or lower tiers).</r>

Re: PRO Viability Rankings (PVP) v0.97_2 <r><QUOTE author="arlington" post_id="404165" time="1498841863" user_id="619377"><s> </e></QUOTE> Yes, I read it all. Why "..."? It made it seem like you were separating the rain sweepers from the other part of the sentence. You said that Mach Punch kills Omastar, Kabutops, and Floatzel (OHKO is implied), then you said "Mach Punch after 1 boost+Life Orb". If the last part was also referring to the 3 rain sweepers aforementioned, you wouldn't mention Mach Punch twice, with a clear distinction between the first part (Mach Punch OHKOs) and the second (Mach Punch after using Swords Dance). So, before accusing someone of not reading your post correctly, proofread it first.<br/> <br/> Also, Breloom doesn't need to Swords Dance to kill Tyranitar and Excadrill. Not even fully physically defensive Tyranitar is guaranteed to resist a Mach Punch:<br/> 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Breloom Mach Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tyranitar: 380-452 (94 - 111.8%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO<br/> <br/> Therefore, the second part of what I quoted should forego the mention of any boost, and the first one should read that Breloom needs to Swords Dance once to OHKO Omastar and Floatzel (not needed for Kabutops, unless Breloom's nature is jolly, in which case the OHKO is no longer certain).</r>

Re: PRO Viability Rankings (PVP) v0.97_2 <t>Pokémon can go up and down in the list without necessarily taking another Pokémon's spot. Also, Poliwrath is in A-, which is the same tier as Breloom.<br/> <br/> First of all, Breloom doesn't OHKO Floatzel or even Omastar with Mach Punch (who uses Floatzel anyway?). Here are some calculations:<br/> Breloom vs Omastar: 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Breloom Mach Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Omastar: 234-276 (83.2 - 98.2%)<br/> Breloom vs Floatzel: 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Breloom Mach Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Floatzel: 226-266 (72.6 - 85.5%)<br/> <br/> No one is going to allow Breloom to Mach Punch when it's obvious that it'll result in a kill. Breloom's spore can be stopped by Tangrowth (which is on many sand teams), Amoonguss, Venusaur, which can all hurt him back with HP Fire, while Breloom won't be able to deal any significant damage to them. In Tangrowth's case, Regenerator invalidates any kind of damage even more, especially when running a fully physically defensive set. Assuming an Adamant nature, Breloom also only does about 55% damage to Kingdra with Mach Punch. The omnipresent Clefable, even with a Calm nature, survives a Bullet Seed and comfortably OHKOs Breloom back. On top of this, Breloom loses to a lot of top threats, mostly Talonflame, Gengar (free switch in on a predicted Mach Punch and easy OHKO with Sludge Wave), Togekiss, Volcarona (with Flame Body threatening to burn Breloom on a Mach Punch and Lum Berry to cure Spore and put the opponent in a bad situation, not knowing whether Volcarona will Quiver Dance or kill Breloom to avoid another Spore), etc. You also didn't mention Breloom's abysmal speed tier. The priority move argument doesn't hold, when a lot of Pokémon can easily take a Mach Punch or are immune to it, while being faster and able to OHKO Breloom back. Breloom's STAB combination fails to threaten flying-type, poison-type, and bug-type Pokémon. It is unable to break past a lot of Pokémon that are in the same tier: defensive Arcanine with Initimidate, Donphan, Weezing, Roserade, and Venusaur (the latter two can't even be put to sleep). Even Alakazam (which was B+ and is now A) can shrug off Mach Punch and OHKO Breloom back. Breloom can take residual damage from Life Orb, as well as chip damage from Rough Skin and Iron Barbs.<br/> <br/> I'd like to compare Breloom to another Pokémon in A with the same base attack (130) and the same ability (Technician): Scizor. Scizor's typing is, defensively, a lot better than Breloom's. Scizor has more versatility, as it can choose between a Choice Band set and a SD+Roost set, as well as an offensive set, a bulkier set, and a defensive set with Defog. Toxic Heal+Toxic Orb sets are nowhere to be seen (no Substitute) and Focus Sash sets are uncommon (lead Breloom?), so it will almost always run Life Orb, Spore, Swords Dance, Mach Punch, and Bullet Seed. Yes, Breloom can forego a move and run a rock-type coverage, but that requires prediction, which is made harder by the absence of team preview. I see here a lack of versatility in Breloom's case, as opposed to Scizor. Both Pokémon have a poor STAB combination, completely walled by certain types or dual types (which is why they are not ranked higher). While Scizor can be trapped by Magnezone and easily removed from the game, it can just pivot in and out, in order to scout for the enemy team's Pokémon (and a potential Magnezone) with U-turn. With enough investment in HP and Sp. Def., Scizor will always survive HP fire from Choice Scarf Timid Magnezone and use either U-turn or Superpower. Scizor can resist a lot of hits, on top of being able to use Roost and Swords Dance more reliably, while Breloom's only perk over Scizor (Spore) is, in my opinion, not enough to warrant a rise to the same tier as Scizor.</t>

Re: PRO Viability Rankings (PVP) v0.97_2 <r><QUOTE author="TR3Y" post_id="403507" time="1498680408" user_id="4097"><s> </e></QUOTE> I'd like to think my private message didn't go completely wasted then. I guess I no longer need to edit the post I previously reserved for Alakazam. I just got lazy and PM'd you a quicker version of what it would have been. <E>:Sleeping:</E> Thank you for all your work!<br/> <br/> I've heard that some Pokémon finally got moves they didn't have, but are supposed to learn on their own. I wonder if Shell Smash on the likes of Carracosta or Barbaracle is one of them. There are a lot of moves that could put some Pokémon on the list. <e> </e></QUOTE> What private message? :O <e> </e></QUOTE> Did you never get it? I was wondering why you didn't reply! Ugh... Give me a sec, I'll PM you again!</r>

Re: PRO Viability Rankings (PVP) v0.97_2 <r><QUOTE author="TR3Y" post_id="403405" time="1498662324" user_id="4097"><s> </e></QUOTE> I'd like to think my private message didn't go completely wasted then. I guess I no longer need to edit the post I previously reserved for Alakazam. I just got lazy and PM'd you a quicker version of what it would have been. <E>:Sleeping:</E> Thank you for all your work!<br/> <br/> I've heard that some Pokémon finally got moves they didn't have, but are supposed to learn on their own. I wonder if Shell Smash on the likes of Carracosta or Barbaracle is one of them. There are a lot of moves that could put some Pokémon on the list.</r>

I'd like to insta this one.

Another recommendation is getting a Tangrowth with HP Ice (you don't need one with HP Fire as long as you have Magnezone and HP Fire Starmie). This will allow you to hit Garchomp, which you said you struggled against, as well as Dragonite, Gliscor, and Salamence. Another thing I noticed: your EVs are the ones recommended by Smogon. Those assume perfect IVs. I see you have 56 speed EVs on Gliscor. This allows a Gliscor with 31 speed IVS to outpace Adamant Bisharp and Breloom. However, yours does not, because it has much lower IVs. You are better off investing in more special defense EVs. As for Tangrowth, when the special defense IVs are 31, you can use 48 special defense EVs to survive a Life Orb-boosted Ice Beam from Starmie. Again, your Tangrowth does not have perfect IVs, so that does not apply here, and your Tangrowth will most likely end up dying to Starmie's Ice Beam. You should invest in more defense EVs. Also, keep in mind that, even if you have perfect IVs, what Smogon sometimes recommends is very situational. I think that, overall, Blaziken can rip your team apart. I don't even know how well Careful Gliscor would do against him, but it can't switch into it, because Blaziken 2HKOs Careful Gliscor for sure. Knock Off Blaziken, carrying Flare Blitz and High Jump Kick, alongside either Swords Dance or Protect, will break past most of your Pokémon (bar Excadrill in sand). Priority users, such as Talonflame and Azumarill, with Acrobatics/Brave Bird and Aqua Jet, are why Blaziken isn't as good as many thought it would be. Not to say that you always need priority moves, but they're really good right now (against sand teams, Gengar, etc.).

You needed to run Iron Head on Excadrill, I wasn't the only one to say that. That would have allowed you to deal with Togekiss and Clefable. Excadrill can deal with all the threats that you mentioned if you can bring him in safely. Double switches are important. If you feel like you can't use the sand turns well enough, then running Smooth Rock on Tyranitar is another option to extend the duration of Sand Stream. Tyranitar can run Superpower if Blissey and Miltank are considered threats. Gliscor will beat Calm Mind Clefable with either Taunt or Swords Dance. You can put Stealth Rock on Tyranitar if you get rid of Assault Vest, but only if you do so, considering it is bulky enough to set up Stealth Rock when running a Sassy nature. Magnezone can form a VoltTurn core with another Pokémon to make sure that you can bring in Excadrill without having him take damage. Magnezone needs higher speed (yours is timid, yet doesn't reach 350 with Choice Scarf). You don't need to run Tyranitar+Excadrill. If you want a sand team, then it should be centered around your Sand Rush sweeper (covering up his weaknesses, making sure he can sweep the enemy team by eliminating the Pokémon that wall him or hinder him, etc.). If you don't want that anymore, you can start from scratch again. You can keep the Pokémon that you would like to utilize, but never lose the team's focus from your mind. For example, if you run Tyranitar+Excadrill as a sand core, then what is the team's purpose? Ensuring that Excadrill can sweep the enemy team. How? By eliminating Pokémon that can stop him from sweeping (Magnezone traps Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Scizor, etc.), covering up his weaknesses (fighting-type, fire-type, water-type, and ground-type moves are super effective against him, but Excadrill doesn't like taking any hits that aren't resisted, like grass-type moves; thankfully, though, he has a lot of resistances), bringing him in safely, to ensure that he takes as little damage as possible (you can put Rapid Spin on Starmie if you don't want Excadrill to take any risk by using Rapid Spin or any unnecessary damage from Stealth Rock; you can bring him in safely via predicted double switches or U-turn or Volt Switch support), etc. Abusing Excadrill in sand, knowing when you can Swords Dance your way to victory, but also acknowledging Excadrill's limitations, realizing when you should switch out, or make an aggressive play (a double switch, for example) are things you need to be able to do to win. This doesn't mean only relying on Excadrill, but building around him does imply making sure the team has the synergy to work with Excadrill and help him achieve his purpose (each Pokémon has one). If you think Excadrill should be the first one to go/be switched out, then something is fundamentally wrong, either with the team itself or the way you have been utilizing it (or just Excadrill). Uploading replays of your losses would make it easier to see what some of the issues are and what can fix them. Iron Head on Excadrill would have helped for sure. If you decide to give the team another shot, check some of your EVs (mainly Tangrowth... what is the special defense EV investment for?). You said you struggled against Swords Dance Garchomp sometimes. Did you run into any Fire Blast variants? If not, then Tangrowth is good against that. As for the rest, remember that Excadrill is a good status absorber (immune to Toxic and Thunder Wave, but not Stun Spore), which is another way to bring him in safely. Run Rapid Spin on Starmie and Swords Dance, Earthquake, Iron Head, and Rockslide on Excadrill, or just switch out Rock Slide for Iron Head if you still want Rapid Spin on Excadrill. If your win-con is no longer Excadrill, then you need to re-think the team over. What is your new focus/purpose? You can't build a good stall team by randomly putting together 6 defensively-inclined Pokémon and hoping that they somehow synergize well together. Just an example. Good luck.

That was the main reason I recommended Careful Gliscor, as it can either use Knock Off or roost off Gengar's Sludge Wave/Shadow Ball while the latter takes Life Orb recoil damage and wears himself down. I don't know how AV Conkeldurr (carrying Knock Off) fairs against Gengar, though.

What are your other 5 Pokémon so far? Also, keep in mind that Tyranitar has increased special defense in sand (and yours is Sassy).

Your Starmie is as good as it gets for a special sweeper: 1. 29 HP IVs minimize Life Orb recoil and grant you 11 potential hits, instead of only 10. Although just a detail, that is nice. 2. Your Starmie can learn Hidden Power Fire, which allows it to hit a lot of Pokémon that would otherwise wall it and/or Excadrill (Ferrothorn and Scizor are prime examples). 3. Analytic isn't fully coded, if I recall correctly, and Natural Cure is Starmie's best ability (at least right now), even when you intend on sweeping with it. It can use its ability to take on status moves, mainly Spore/Sleep Powder (Starmie can probably OHKO Amoonguss with Psychic, but not with a non-STAB Ice Beam), Thunder Wave and Toxic. That Lum Berry should be Life Orb. 4. Offensive Starmie can also run Rapid Spin as it gives you the freedom, when Stealth Rock is up on your side of the field, to choose whether to hit the opposing Pokémon or use Rapid Spin. Ground-type attacks seem to be a big threat to your team, especially if you lose Gliscor. Venusaur should be replaced. Better options include Amoonguss (same typing, better pivot thanks to Regenerator, 100% accurate sleep move) and Tangrowth (good against ground-type moves, can pivot in and out with Regenerator, has a sleep move, is tankier than Amoonguss). I would recommend physically defensive Tangrowth (with a Relaxed nature) to take on physical attackers, as they are more susceptible to carry ground-type moves (although some Pokémon such as Hydreigon can run Earth Power). You should then get a Careful Gliscor with Poison Heal and Toxic Orb to be able to take on special attackers better (Gengar never 2HKOs a Careful Gliscor, unless it crits, allowing you to either hit him with Knock Off or roost off the damage while Gengar slowly wears himself down because of Life Orb recoil). Excadrill should run Earthquake, Iron Head, Rock Slide and either Swords Dance or Rapid Spin. If you add Magnezone to the team, then you have 3 Pokémon that are weak to fighting-type and ground-type moves. I would then recommend to run Gengar over Starmie, as the former is immune to both fighting-type and ground-type moves. However, Magnezone and Gengar don't actually pair up too well together, as they can both hit Fairy-type Pokémon with Flash Cannon and Sludge Wave and Steel-type Pokémon with HP Fire and Focus Blast. Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt both deal with Slowbro, which walls Excadrill and can stomach a Crunch from Tyranitar while recovering HP thanks to Regenerator. If you go with Magnezone to have a more reliable means of dealing with the likes of Ferrothorn, Scizor and Skarmory (biggest Excadrill counter), then you shouldn't have Gengar. Gliscor can deal with fighting-type and ground-type moves, but you shouldn't solely rely on one Pokémon to deal with 2 big weaknesses that your offensive Pokémon all have in common. Amoonguss/Venusaur do provide a resistance to fighting-type attacks, while Tangrowth resists ground-type attacks. If you plan on keeping Starmie, you should go with Tangrowth, as Starmie resists fighting-type moves. You can even change the EVs and have it be bulkier (max speed, max HP). Your Starmie does have HP fire, which can surprise the likes of Ferrothorn (2HKO? on the switch) and Scizor (OHKO?). It all depends on the sets they're running. Assuming you want to Keep Magnezone alongside Tyranitar and Excadrill, I think you should try out and test out a few options: specially defensive or physically defensive Talonflame with Bulk Up, specially defensive Gliscor as a Swords Dance stallbreaker or Taunt stallbreaker, Calm Mind or Stealth Rock Clefable (entry hazards work in tandem with Excadrill, transforming a lot of 2HKOs and 3HKOs into OHKOs and 2HKOs, while Calm Mind lets you have another shot at winning, because Excadrill shouldn't be your only win-con), and a lot of other interesting options...

Will it be possible to merge all 3 servers if there are noticeably less players?

True. But this team does have a Blissey that could function as a Wish passer, granting AV Goodra more longevity. Overall, Scizor is a better offensive alternative, taking a little over 55% damage from Focus Blast (assuming decent EV investment in HP and special defense) and OHKOing Gengar with Bullet Punch. Scizor also runs Roost. A lot can revenge kill Gengar, but the lack of Pursuit means that you can, at best, find decent checks, but no real counters. Thankfully, Gengar dies to other factors, such as Life Orb recoil, Stealth Rock, weather effects like Hail and Sandstorm, and the inaccuracy of Focus Blast.

I am willing to offer a lot for that Tangrowth. However, I don't know how HP Fire works in this game. There's a rather confusing thread regarding Hidden Power's base power in this game (check it here if you want). Some say it varies depending on the IVs, while others say it's fixed at 50 or 60... Your Tangrowth's HP Fire's power is 38. If I may be so bold and ask, is that why you're selling it? Otherwise, do you think that the base power is always the same (50 or 60)?

He has some checks (like specially defensive Skarmory and specially defensive Gliscor) that can't really switch in, because they would have to roost forever until they out-PP Shadow Ball. However, if Gliscor can be safely brought in, Knock Off will be deadly, unless Gengar is carrying Icy Wind or HP Ice. As far as actual counters go, AV Goodra is up there. Here are some calculations, assuming a Modest nature and a lot of investment in both HP and special attack EVs: 252 SpA Life Orb Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Goodra: 79-95 (20.7 - 24.9%) -- guaranteed 5HKO 252 SpA Life Orb Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Goodra: 90-107 (23.6 - 28%) -- 86.3% chance to 4HKO 252 SpA Life Orb Gengar Focus Blast vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Goodra: 81-95 (21.2 - 24.9%) -- guaranteed 5HKO 252+ SpA Goodra Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gengar: 262-309 (101.1 - 119.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO On top of being able to take on all of Gengar's attacks (and never taking more than 28% damage from them), Goodra can be called a counter to Gengar, being able to switch in, tank two hits, then proceed to OHKO Gengar with a powerful Draco Meteor. AV Conkeldurr doesn't appreciate taking hits from Gengar, but can avoid the 2HKO from any of them and OHKO Gengar back with Knock Off. Specially defensive Mandibuzz can survive the 2HKO from Sludge Bomb and OHKO Gengar with Knock Off, too. Calm variants of Dragalge can easily take on Gengar and threaten the latter with Draco Meteor, while regaining HP thanks to Black Sludge. Now that people can get Raikou, they can run Assault Vest and Shadow Ball, too, especially because getting HP Ice IVs is highly unlikely (unless/until it becomes possible in the future to reroll IVs). While it's true that not much can switch into Gengar and tank 2 hits, a lot of Pokémon can easily revenge kill him with priority attacks. Also, keep in mind that, just like offensive Starmie, Gengar is going to force a lot of Pokémon out, while wearing himself down because of Life Orb recoil.

I just recall that, last year, when Vulcan Island was out and many bots were power farming H.A. Torchic, a GM (I forgot the name, but it might have been Shamac) said that it was up to the players to report anyone that they suspect of botting. My friend and I ended up having to record a pretty lengthy video to show a player that we suspected of botting. We still don't know the outcome, but I suppose the player was indeed botting and got banned, because they disappeared a few days later, before Vulcan Island was made unavaiable (at the time). I'm sorry if my post contains misleading information. I will delete the second part and only keep the first one. However, I do think that there are a lot more moderators now than a year ago.

Taunt Gengar is a threat for multiple reasons: 1. Levitate gives Gengar an immunity to Arena Trap and Spikes. Sucker Punch won't work, because Gengar is not going to try to take on Dugtrio and will end up switching out. 2. Taunt allows Gengar to prevent Tentacruel from using Rapid Spin, and Thunderbolt is an option that Gengar can run (although the expected moveset will most likely be Shadow Ball, Sudge Bomb, Focus Blast and Taunt). Not being able to Rapid Spin entry hazards away means that Dugtrio will almost be rendered useless. 3. Taunt also enables Gengar to break past Blissey and a potential Skarmory, respectively with Focus Blast and Shadow Ball. 4. Ferrothorn can not safely switch into Gengar (Focus Blast will almost OHKO your fully physically defensive Ferrothorn), but can OHKO the latter with Gyro Ball. 5. If Gengar is paired with a Magnezone (Gengar synergizes well with the latter thanks to an immunity to ground-type and fighting-type moves), then you'll be in trouble. I recommend a mixed build for Ferrothorn, with the combination of Leech Seed and Protect, which would allow you to regain some HP more easily, while scouting for Gengar's next move. If you run Skarmory and mixed Ferrothorn, go for the physically defensive variant of the steel bird, as it synergizes well with Chansey/Blissey. Because Magnezone is a huge threat to your team (if you fail to remove Stealth Rock, Dugtrio will die to Flash Cannon and won't be able to eliminate Magnezone from play), you should maybe consider running Shed Shell on Skarmory, since you already have a Pokémon that can be trapped by Magnet Pull. This will also allows you to gain momentum, as Magnezone will be expecting to get rid of Skarmory. You can then proceed to switch to Dugtrio rather safely (on a probable Thunderbolt), in order to OHKO Magnezone with Earthquake. Magnezone tends to run a Choice item (usually Specs, but Scarf should still be kept in mind), making Tentacruel a good check to expected Flash Cannon and HP Fire. The latter can also deal with Gengar relatively well, although Shadow Ball will hurt Timid variants more than bulkier ones. Black Sludge is good for passive recovery. AV is too situational and wouldn't enable you to run Toxic Spikes on Tentacruel. However, it would improve Tentacruel's performance against Gengar and, to a certain extent, Magnezone. Choice Band Scizor (with Superpower) can really hurt your team. Physically defensive Skarmory helps with that, but Scald Tentacruel is a decent check. Swords Dance Scizor will OHKO Togekiss with Bullet Punch if it buffs up once, but it usually runs Roost and U-turn, so Ferrothorn can work in tandem with Tentacruel. It must be noted, though, that Scizor will just proceed to buff up against Ferrothorn, because Thunder Wave doesn't really stop Scizor from being a big threat. However, a burn from Tentacruel's Scald will prevent Scizor from sweeping. If you decide to use Skarmory against Scizor, remember that their respective speeds (assuming max IVs) are 176 and 166. Scizor might not have any speed EVs and run HP and attack EVs (if Adamant) or even HP EVs with a mix of attack and defense EVs (if Impish). Other EV combinations are possible, depending on the team's needs. The point is: if you roost against a Scizor, you become vulnerable to Superpower. Skarmory should not be totally shut down by Taunt and, as such, should run a move (Brave Bird and Iron Head are good STAB options). Brave Bird can help against Scizor. Roost is a must. Whirlwind is recommended, in order to avoid being setup bait. Spikes are a good option for the last move slot, but your team, which has Stealth Rock, Spikes and Toxic Spikes, doesn't have a way of preventing the enemy team from using Rapid Spin (e.g. Gengar, Cofagrigus) and can't punish Defog users (like Bisharp can). I hope I have been of some help. Good luck!

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If you want to be safe against Hippowdon (which would otherwise 2HKO Dragalge with Earthquake), you're going to need 131 speed, uninvested Hippowdon with perfect IVs having 130 speed. Draco Meteor will almost always OHKO fully physically defensive Hippowdon, while 2HKOing mixed variants. That's why the speed matters, mostly because you only need to invest 28 EVs in speed, considering you have perfect IVs in that department, but also because there aren't many notable Pokémon worth outspeeding at the cost of sacrificing more HP EVs. The only two other exceptions I can think of are uninvested Clefable at 156 speed and uninvested Tyranitar at 158. This would allow you to hit both of them extremely hard, OHKOing Bold Clefable (and almost OHKOing the Calm variant) with Sludge Bomb and almost nailing Tyranitar with the newly-implemented Focus Blast. It only OHKOs the latter when running no HP EVs, in which case you're not faster. Also, keep in mind that the sandstorm boosts Tyranitar's special defense, so OHKOing it will almost never occur, unless you are running Life Orb or Choice Specs. Your Dragalge doesn't have the highest special attack possible, so you should try to calculate the damage you do to certain Pokémon, as some close OHKOs will not be scored, which might result in you losing your Pokémon, instead of getting ahead. Knowing Dragalge's limits is mandatory. The typing is definitely great and you should abuse it as much as possible. Dragalge can switch into many attacks, get rid of Toxic Spikes, while being able to set them himself. Dragalge also threatens enemy teams with a wide array of moves. Draco Meteor and Sudge Bomb are mandatory. I would also recommend Focus Blast, as it is nigh mandatory to nail Pokémon that resist both of Dragalge's STAB moves and try to switch into them just to be surprised by Focus Blast. The list is long: Bisharp, Ferrothorn, Magnezone and Excadrill are some of the ones you should keep in mind. Toxic Spikes is a great option for the last slot, especially when running Black Sludge for passive recovery (Dragalge can switch into a lot of attacks and bluff an attack, then proceed to set up Toxic Spikes to hurt grounded setup sweepers other than steel-type Pokémon). If the main concern is to deal as much damage as possible to anything that switches in, then you should definitely give Dragalge an item that boosts the power of Draco Meteor, as it lands a powerful, neutral hit on anything that isn't a fairy-type or a steel-type Pokémon. You deal with the latter two with the combination of Sludge Bomb and Focus Blast (which is why you can run Toxic Spikes without worrying too much about not being able to neutrally cover most of the metagame). Otherwise, Life Orb is another option. However, Dragalge is supposed to switch-in a lot and not die early on. Life Orb increases the damage significantly (and your Dragalge, with lower special attack than desired, could benefit from such a boost in power), but recoil damage on top of hits from other Pokémon will prevent Dragalge from performing the role it's supposed to as well as it should. Choice Specs has the advantage of boosting Dragalge's moves' power even further, but has the drawback of being locked into a specific move, which means that, should you predict right, you will deal more damage (e.g. Tyranitar maybe being OHKO'd). If you don't predict right, then you're in big trouble, and Dragalge or another Pokémon might die or just take significant damage. With Choice Specs, you risk losing some momentum and being set behind, which is not always an easy situation to come back from. Not to say it's impossible, though. On Life Orb sets, maybe consider running Scald over Toxic Spikes. On Choice Specs sets, it is nigh mandatory to run it (or any other move that would help your team). Do not run Choice Scarf. That would be pointless. I personally wouldn't use that Dragalge in PvP. However, considering the rarity of H.A. Skrelp, you can if you really want to. Otherwise, I'd recommend using another special wallbreaker, maybe Hydreigon (easier to farm, as Levitate is the only available ability). Hydreigon does lack Toxic Spikes, but functions better than Dragalge in the current metagame, hitting fairy-type Pokémon with Flash Cannon and steel-type Pokémon with Flamethrower or Focus Blast, while having good neutral coverage with both Draco Meteor and Dark Pulse. Earth Power is also a powerful option (which reminds me that your Dragalge does have HP Ground). The main advantage Hydreigon has over Dragalge is sitting at a much higher speed tier. I hope I have been of some help. Good luck!

Re: PRO Viability Rankings (PVP) v0.97_2 <t>Reserving this post for now. I'll be posting about Alakazam and why a rise from B+ to A- might be justified thanks to the addition of Focus Blast, the lack of Pursuit trapping, as well as the combination of Magic Guard and Focus Sash.</t>

Re: PRO Viability Rankings (PVP) v0.97_2 <r>My first post here. Just trying to be as constructive as possible. It's all up for discussion. <br/> <br/> <B><s></s>Name:<e></e></B> Gengar<br/> <B><s></s>Current tier:<e></e></B> A<br/> <B><s></s>Desired tier:<e></e></B> A+<br/> <B><s></s>Reason:<e></e></B> With the addition of the long-coveted Focus Blast and the fact that Pursuit has yet to be coded, Gengar can now deal with some of his counters and check the likes of Tyranitar, Krookodile, Bisharp and Weavile (on the switch for the last two, although the latter doesn't take Sludge Bombs well at all). The new move also allows Gengar to secure OHKOs that he wasn't able to achieve before, namely on non-scarfed Hydreigon (and on the switch if scarfed), Magnezone (while living any hit from scarfed variants), Excadrill (if the latter predicts a poison-type move and chooses to switch in) and Mamoswine, while letting him finish off Ferrothorn after the latter has lost 1/4 of its HP. Some notable 2HKOs include specially defensive variants of Snorlax, Empoleon and Umbreon. Gengar's main poison-type move nails fully physically defensive variants of Clefable (while almost OHKOing Calm sets), Azumarill (while being able to stomach a choice-banded Aqua Jet), Togekiss, Breloom and physically defensive Tangrowth, while his other STAB move, Shadow Ball, has good neutral coverage and OHKOs Metagross, Chandelure, Dusknoir and Bold variants of Slowbro, while hitting Jellicent, specially defensive Jirachi and specially defensive Mew hard (nearly OHKOing the former). With the combination of Focus Blast and Taunt, Gengar can break past Chansey and Blissey. Gengar's ability, Levitate, gives him an immunity to ground-type attacks and Arena Trap, while his typing grants him two extra immunities to normal-type and fight-type attacks. While Gengar has many perks allowing him to function well in the current metagame, his frailty means he gets easily revenge-killed by priority users, mostly Talonflame and Choice Band Scizor, as well as faster Choice Scarf users, namely Tyranitar. While Gengar has a decent speed tier, he is outsped and OHKO'd by offensive and bulky Timid Starmie (Psyshock always neats the OHKO on Gengar), Alakazam, Protect Blaziken (after gaining one Speed Boost), as well as Sand Rush Excadrill (with Iron Head) and most, if not all, Swift Swim users (most notably Kingdra, Omastar and Kabutops). Specially defensive Gliscor carrying Knock Off can also check Gengar lacking HP Ice. Life Orb recoil damage also limits Gengar's longevity and he doesn't like coming in too many times when Stealth Rock is up. Due to his ability, Levitate, Gengar can't clear Toxic Spikes like other poison-type Pokémon. Focus Blast's inaccuracy also hurts Gengar as an expected OHKO on a certain Pokémon will almost always result in Gengar dying to the latter. All in all, Gengar's positive traits outweigh all these drawbacks and, while he's certainly not S-material, he is definitely a top-threat that players should prepare for when building their teams. I think Gengar should be A+ (until Pursuit gets finally coded).<br/> <br/> Multiple sets are certainly possible, but the main (and, in my opinion, best) one should be the Life Orb set with Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, Focus Blast and Taunt. Destiny Bond is also an option (although not coded yet, I believe). Will-O-Wisp can be used to burn a Pokémon on a predicted switch and should be used in tandem with Hex (and perhaps even Black Sudge). Icy Wind or HP Ice are also options to surprise the likes of Garchomp, Gliscor, Salamence and Dragonite. The latter should be HP Ice'd after losing Multiscale, but can be Icy Wind'd on an expected Dragon Dance. Choice Specs allows Gengar to hit harder, but being unable to switch between his three main moves on predicted switches (as Gengar can force a lot of Pokémon out) is the main drawback of the set. Choice Scarf variants nail Starmie on a predicted Rapid Spin, while luring the latter to use Psyshock before being OHKO'd by Shadow Ball. This also lets Gengar act as a surprise revenge killer (e.g. Focus Blast on Weavile or Thunderbolt on Gyarados after one Dragon Dance) and even allows him to outspeed some Swift Swim users, depending on the sets they're running. Focus Sash can be used to lead with Gengar, as the coverage and the speed allow it to dismantle a few common leads.<br/> <br/> Apologies to the moderator who had to approve this post so many times, because I kept editing it to add and remove a few words here and there.<br/> <br/> I edited this post a few more times after it got quoted. I must have been brain dead at the time, because I mentioned Focus Blast'ing Skarmory upon roosting and removing Toxic Spikes thanks to Gengar's typing. Obviously, Focus Blast doesn't double the damage on Skarmory when it roosts, because Gengar is faster and can't take advantage of Skarmory becoming a steel-type Pokémon. Levitate makes Gengar unable to remove Toxic Spikes. Both points are now no longer mentioned in this post.</r>