Celebi: And I am Celebi, the in-game expert.
Jirachi: Mew is the Keeper of CDs, and will provide us with music for this episode. Mew, do you have a tune to start us off with?
Mew: Of course! It's the final battle with N in Black and White!
Mew: Gotta love that organ.
Celebi: Agreed. And now, here's our final member, Manaphy! What are you here for, anyways?
Manaphy: I'm here to report on some corrections from the last episode!
Jirachi: Wait, did we make a mistake somewhere?
Manaphy: Sort of. You talked about trying to find Eevee and Zangoose with their hidden abilities, without mentioning that they can be found in the Dream World's newest area, Dream Park.
Celebi: Oh... yeah, that was so new, that my sources didn't even update that info properly.
Manaphy: Well, a lot of information about Dream Park still isn't known. What is known is that certain Pokemon only appear if you access the place with a Black or White cartridge, and others only appear with a Black 2 or White 2 cartridge. Zangoose, in particular, belongs with the former group. Eevee is still unknown as to what games she appears with, or if one needs points to find her. Oh, and to have a higher chance of going to Dream Park, be sure to tuck in a Normal-type.
Jirachi: Looks like this aspect still has developments. You will keep us updated, right?
Manaphy: Certainly! Especially since I've got nothing else to do...
Celebi: Nothing else?
Manaphy: ...I just missed out on ranking in the Top 100. I'm something like #109.
Jirachi: ...aww, poor thing. Well, see you later.
Celebi: Say, don't we have a fifth member?
Jirachi: Oh, you must mean Victini. He does have a role, which is to inform us of changes to the metagame. The next tiering update will be in January, so he'll pop up around then.
Celebi: Oh, cool. Shall we get started on the main event?
Jirachi: Of course!
OU: 1.545%, 77th place
UU Suspect: 12.335%, 12th place
An UU native, and a top threat there.
C: I'd be surprised if he wasn't at least that. Wasn't he OU for four generations before now?
J: Yes, he was. No point in talking abilities, as Lightningrod is not legal yet, so all Zapdos have Pressure by default.
C: Items, then...
J: In UU Suspect, 55.5% hold Leftovers, 24.8% hold a Life Orb, 8.4% hold Choice Specs, and 4.2% hold a Choice Scarf.
As for natures, though, 45.5% are Timid, 21.4% are Modest, 18.1% are Calm, and 10.5% are Bold.
C: That is odd. About half hold Leftovers but nowhere near that many are of the two defensive natures. That's Calm and Bold, for those not familiar with natures.
J: Well, it's not like Leftovers is bad on an offensive set, since Zapdos has pretty good defenses regardless.
C: I guess so. What about moves?
J: They are as follows.
86.7%: Thunderbolt. Naturally. It only really competes with Discharge, which got 8.4% usage.
79.4%: Roost. Good option for pretty much any Zapdos set other than the Choice sets.
74.5%: Heat Wave. Extra coverage is always great.
35.5%: Hidden Power Ice. The poor man's BoltBeam.
26.5%: Hidden Power Grass. For when you just hate Swampert and Rhyperior that much.
20.5%: Toxic. This one's only used on the more defensive sets. The Smogon analysis always puts it as an alternative to Heat Wave, which may explain how the two together just about add up to 100%.
14.8%: Volt Switch. About corresponds to the usage of Choice items.
14.6%: Substitute.
8.5% run Hidden Power Flying for STAB, and as mentioned earlier, 8.4% use Discharge.
C: Is it time for in-game stuff now?
J: The floor is yours.
C: Unfortunately, Zapdos currently is not available in any of the Gen V games, so it is time to take a bit of a time warp!
J: Wait, what...
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C: Welcome back to Gen III! Specifically, welcome to FireRed and LeafGreen!
J: ...did you just take us back in time?
C: Of course! How else can I show people where to find a Zapdos?
J: By telling them?
C: That's no fun. Anyways, Zapdos can be found at the same place he could be found in the original Red and Blue: at the end of the Power Plant. Well, technically in these remakes, Zapdos is outside of the Power Plant at an area only accessible by going through the plant, but still. You can also get one in Pokemon XD at Citadark Isle, and it will have the unique move Baton Pass after purification.
After capturing either one, you can transfer it via Pal Park into a 4th generation game. You can also grab one of the ones that appear in a 4th-gen game... so, ready to time warp again, Jirachi?
...
Jirachi? Why are you tearing up?
J: *sniff* ...it's just that... this is where it all started for me... when I appeared on that Pokemon Colosseum bonus disc and could be transferred over... and then I was able to start terrorizing the metagame...
C: Oh... I guess this was your debut, huh. We have a show to do, though...
J: Wait!
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C: Welcome to Gen IV! Particularly, Platinum. Come on, Jirachi, cheer up already...
J: *sniff* No, this place is sentimental, too...
C: How come?
J: ...because this is where I learned Iron Head and learned how to flinch-hax all my opponents to death!
C: ...you know there are people out there that are going to be pissed if they heard you say that. Anyways, here, Zapdos is a roaming Legendary, obtainable after getting the National Dex and visiting Professor Oak in Eterna City. He can also be found in HeartGold and SoulSilver on Route 10 right next to the Power Plant after obtaining all 16 badges. Whether you catch one in these games or have transferred one over from Gen III, you can then transfer him to a Gen V through PokeTransfer.
J: ...okay, I'm done being all sentimental. Can we go back to the present time?
C: In a flash!
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J: So, you have your Zapdos, but what's a good set for him?
C: Try the following:
Zapdos
- Thunderbolt/Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Roost
- Thunder Wave/Volt Switch/Fly
Fly is a good in-game move since CPU opponents can never quite figure out how to take advantage of the charge turn, and with Zapdos's decent Attack, it'll do good STAB damage. Thunder Wave or Volt Switch can be used if your Zapdos has an Attack-lowering nature, though, as Electric+Fire has pretty good coverage.
J: But what about hitting Rock/Grounds or Dragons?
C: You could try and see if you were lucky with Hidden Power, or you can use Signal Beam... or just use someone else.
J: All right... speaking of someone else...
OU: 0.228%, 200th place
UU Suspect: 0.152%, tied for 191st place
RU: 0.754%, 94th place
NU: 7.773%, 18th place
C: And back to the NU natives we go. Samurott's hidden ability of Shell Armor isn't legal yet, right?
J: Right, so no point evaluating abilities, since they'll all run Torrent. Let's go straight to items...
44.1% hold a Life Orb, 20.8% hold a Lum Berry, 13.1% hold Leftovers, and 6.9% hold a Salac Berry.
C: Wait, SubSalac is still a thing?
J: I guess so. As for natures... 31.6% are Adamant, 23.2% are Timid, 22.8% are Jolly, and 8.8% are Modest. As a reminder, Adamant and Jolly are for physical attackers and Timid and Modest are for special attackers, so that's about 53% physical Samurott and 31% special Samurott. The rest are mixed or who-knows-what.
C: Moves, then?
J:
65.1%: Aqua Jet. Priority is so important, even special sets will run it to pick off that last bit of health.
61.7%: Megahorn. Yes, the coverage move gets more use than normal STAB. But hey, it hits Grass-types hard, so I can't complain.
52.0%: Swords Dance. Just about matches the number of physical sets.
51.4%: Waterfall. See above.
42.8%: Ice Beam. Anything that can hit Grass-types super-effectively is important for a Water-type.
26.8%: Hydro Pump. As far as special STAB goes, it's either this or Surf, and it looks like more people prefer the extra power to accuracy.
17.1%: Hidden Power Grass and Surf.
12.6% run Grass Knot, 10.9% run Taunt, 10.5% run Superpower and 10.2% run Substitute.
That's all I have. Considering Samurott is a starter, I'm guessing you have a lot to say, Celebi...
C: Yes, I do! As Jirachi mentioned, Samurott--well, Oshawott--is one of the starter Pokemon for the Gen V games, and probably the best one as far as in-game use is concerned; Oshawott will easily help carry you through the entire game. He learns the very useful Razor Shell at level 17 when he evolves into Dewott, then learns moves like Water Pulse at level 25 and Aqua Jet at level 33, then evolves at level 36 into Samurott. If you really want to learn Hydro Pump earlier, you can delay that evolution to learn it at level 52 instead of level 62, though in-game Scald or Surf is better due to having more PP. When you do evolve him into Samurott, though, don't forget to use a Heart Scale to learn Megahorn!
He also learns some great TM moves, like Scald/Surf/Waterfall, Blizzard/Ice Beam, Grass Knot, X-Scissor, and even Return, which gets good neutral coverage with Water attacks. Really, once you get past Elesa, there isn't a major opponent he won't do well against.
J: What if you didn't start with Oshawott, though?
C: When you can, breed your starter, offer the offspring and ask for Oshawott over GTS. Starter-trading is very common there.
J: So what is your overall recommendation for a moveset?
C: You can try something like this:
Samurott
- Surf/Waterfall
- Megahorn
- Aqua Jet
- Ice Beam/Swords Dance
Surf and Ice Beam are good for a mixed set, while Waterfall and Swords Dance work better for a pure physical set. Use whichever one fits your Samurott's nature better.
We're going to cover our first OU Pokemon next, aren't we?
J: Oh yes, we are!
OU: 13.166%, 7th place
Ubers: 4.417%, 31st place
As a reminder, Garchomp is only legal in OU if he uses his Rough Skin hidden ability; in Ubers, he can use his normal ability of Sand Veil.
C: So in Ubers, how many still use Rough Skin?
J: As it turns out, in Ubers, 51.1% use Sand Veil, and 48.9% use Rough Skin. It really can go either way, since sandstorm is nowhere near as reliable as it is in OU. Though, for what it's worth, Tyranitar is one of Garchomp's teammates 44.3% of the time in Ubers.
C: We haven't really looked at teammates in this section.
J: Well, usually, the top teammates are just some of the most used Pokemon in that tier. I guess for Garchomp here it's a bit different, so it's worth mentioning, for instance, that he works with Excadrill 34.6% of the time in Ubers. OU teammates data is pretty boring, though.
C: What about items, then?
J: In OU, 32.7% hold a Choice Scarf, 14.9% hold Leftovers, 11.3% hold a Life Orb, 10.8% hold a Yache Berry, and 10.3% hold a Choice Band.
In Ubers, 40.1% hold a Choice Scarf, 18.2% hold Leftovers, and other items get less than 10% usage each.
C: Natures?
J: In OU, 71.4% are Jolly, 16.8% are Adamant. In Ubers, 63.4% are Jolly, 17.0% are Adamant.
C: And, of course, moves...
J: Right. OU first.
96.8%: Earthquake. Obvious.
76.0%: Outrage.
47.0%: Fire Fang, to hit those pesky Skarmory and Bronzong that resist his STAB combo.
45.6%: Stone Edge, to hit various Flying-types harder.
41.9%: Swords Dance. Obviously not going to be used on Choice sets.
41.0%: Dragon Claw, because sometimes being locked into Outrage sucks.
The rest are all under 10% each.
Ubers next.
94.8%: Earthquake.
74.1%: Outrage.
54.8%: Stone Edge, to hit Ho-Oh harder.
42.6%: Dragon Claw.
35.6%: Swords Dance.
24.2%: Fire Fang. Skarmory and Bronzong don't show up as much in Ubers.
16.0%: Substitute.
C: Man, I can't believe they brought back Garchomp to OU... moreso that he hasn't broken the tier yet. I guess it's time to go into in-game discussion.
I wonder how many Diamond/Pearl\ players even found a Gible to evolve into Garchomp. The guy resides in an area under a biking bridge, such that the entrance is concealed by the bridge above... yeah. They did appear in Victory Road in Platinum, but were rare there as well. Anyways, if you do have one, you can transfer it to the Gen V games. As for catching one there, you have two options. If you have Black 2, you can get one as a gift after beating Benga at the 10th floor of Black Tower.
J: That's going to be pretty tough, isn't it?
C: Yes, but as a bonus, the Gible will be shiny.
J: Ooh, shiny... The other option?
C: Find one in the Icy Cave area of Dream World. Be warned, you have to have 10,000 Dream World points before he will appear. Of course, these Gible will have their Dream World ability Rough Skin instead of Sand Veil.
J: What's a good Garchomp moveset?
C: Try something like this:
Garchomp: Adamant/Jolly
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang/Stone Edge/Crunch/Dragon Claw
- Swords Dance/Fire Fang/Stone Edge/Crunch/Dragon Claw
If you run 4 attacks instead of 3 attacks and Swords Dance, you can use a Choice Band or Choice Scarf. Dragon Claw is mostly for if you are going to play in places without the Shift option to switch after a KO, though there aren't going to be many places in-game where being locked into Outrage will be a huge problem. Crunch is there because it destroys 2 of the 4 of the Elite Four.
Man, this guy's power overwhelms me. Can we take a break?
J: Well, if you must... Mew, how about you play another song for us in the meantime?
Mew: Ooh, is it party time?
J: Actually, that's perfect for our next Pokemon!
UU Suspect: 0.322%, 143rd place
RU: 5.822%, 46th place
He's a lower end RU native.
As for ability usage... 77.3% use Sap Sipper, 22.4% use Reckless, and a mere 0.2% use Soundproof. (The last 0.1% was lost to rounding.)
There's an interesting bit of teammate info here as Bouffalant's top partner isn't one of the top Pokemon, but rather, Lanturn, with 20.6% of Bouffalant pairing up with the anglerfish. This is probably because Lanturn attracts those Grass-type attacks that Bouffalant likes switching into to grab Sap Sipper boosts.
As for items, 41.5% hold Leftovers, 31.2% hold a Choice Band, 9.1% hold a Life Orb, 7.6% hold a Choice Scarf, and the rest are under 3% each.
Bouffalant are overwhelmingly Adamant, with 88.9% running that nature. The next common nature, Jolly, is only represented by 4.6% of these afro-buffalo.
Finally, moves.
87.1%: Earthquake. Always a good attack.
83.4%: Head Charge. Bouffalant's signature attack, though I guess some would rather go for something without recoil?
77.1%: Megahorn. A number of the tier's biggest defensive threats are weak to this attack.
44.6%: Stone Edge. Good to use with Earthquake.
29.4%: Superpower. Coverage attack alternative to Earthquake for Rocks and Steels. Will hit Levitate Pokemon, but the stat drop isn't desirable.
23.8%: Swords Dance.
22.3%: Substitute.
10.7%: Return. Apparently, some Pokemon run both this and Head Charge.
Okay, Celebi, in-game coverage is all yours! ...Celebi? You've been awfully quiet for this one; what are you doing...
...oh, I see you're still grooving to that song.
C: Doesn't it make you wanna dance?
J: I guess, but we have a show to do.
C: Okay, let me cover this guy in-game and you can go dance your heart out...
J: ...oh, the song ended. Guess that wasn't an extended version.
Mew: No problem; I've got Miror B.'s other theme here, and it is an extended version!
J: Ooh, funky.
C: Dance away, Jirachi.
Anyways, Bouffalant are found on the last route before Victory Road in each game. For Black and White, that is Route 10, and in Black 2 and White 2, that is Route 23. If you want a specific ability, try to Sleep Powder it to see if he has Sap Sipper.
Keep in mind that Bouffalant is slow and isn't particularly helpful in the final battles. Still, he's a cool Pokemon to use, if you like him. Try this set:
Bouffalant: Adamant, if possible
- Head Charge
- Megahorn/Wild Charge
- Earthquake/Rock Slide
- Swords Dance/Stone Edge/Protect/Wild Charge/Megahorn
Keep in mind, when I recommend natures, you can definitely use a different natured Pokemon if you want. Anyways, Wild Charge is more recommended for Reckless Bouffalant, since the attack does get boosted by the ability. Rock Slide is an option if you use Bouffalant in Doubles or Triples, particularly as a member of a Trick Room team; if that's the case, Brave is the recommended nature to make him as slow as possible. Protect is also specifically for Doubles and Triples Bouffalant.
Are you done grooving, Jirachi?
J: Huh? Oh, yes. Next Pokemon...
OU: 0.647%, 129th place
UU Suspect: 4.748%, 50th place
C: So a low-end UU native this time?
J: Indeed. I guess it's time to pry into his UU Suspect usage...
Regarding abilities, Defiant is the overwhelming favorite, with 89.0% of Bisharp running the ability. Inner Focus takes up 9.4%, and the remaining 1.6% go to Pressure.
As for items, Leftovers is quite popular at 60.0%, while Life Orb usage is at 20.7%. Other items fall under 5% each.
C: Huh, why is Leftovers so popular?
J: There's a hint in the move usage stats. But first, natures... 72.1% are Adamant, while 20.5% are Jolly.
Now, the moves.
90.4%: Sucker Punch. This is definitely Bisharp's big selling point, compensating for his relatively low Speed and providing good STAB to work off his high Attack.
85.3%: Swords Dance. Boosting Attack seems to be the popular thing to do with Bisharp.
74.4%: Iron Head, as secondary STAB.
57.8%: Substitute. Not only does this provide a nice buffer against status, it also gives Bisharp some breathing room when trying to predict with Sucker Punch. It goes well with Leftovers, hence the close percentages with these two.
35.4%: Brick Break, for coverage.
17.3% use Night Slash as a more reliable Dark STAB, and 14.5% use Low Kick to target heavier opponents.
This segment is about to close, so Celebi, take us quickly through in-game stuff.
C: Okay! Find Pawniard on Route 9 on all Gen V games. If you send out a Pokemon with Intimidate, you will immediately find out if the Pawniard has Defiant; you can also use Fake Out to check for Inner Focus instead.
However, note that Pawniard's best move, Sucker Punch, cannot be learned by level-up. You will need to breed the move onto him, using a male Spinda, Cacnea/Cacturne, or Croagunk/Toxicroak that knows the move to pass it along.
From there, Pawniard evolves into Bisharp at level 52. This late evolution keeps Pawniard from being particularly useful in-game until after the Elite 4. If you want to use him, though, try out this set:
Bisharp
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Night Slash/Brick Break/Thunder Wave/Substitute
J: That's all, then?
C: That is all for today's Pixie Theater! This is Celebi and Jirachi, reminding everyone that, with the latest Christmas WiFi tournament offering a Custap Berry to participants, that that will soon become legal in the metagame, allowing one quick priority attack when the user hits 25% health. However, the tournament itself is only available to Japanese game players, being absolutely, completely open to every single Pokemon not named Chatot, and is essentially an Ubers Doubles tournament. And for the first time, event pixies like Jirachi and I are able to join, too! Whether we can weather the attacks of Pokemon's mightiest remains to be seen, but we'll definitely be there to see what it's like.
J: Stay tuned for the next episode of Pixie Theater!
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