Jorogumo

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>