In Pokemon Red and Blue, depending on whether you bought that weird Pokemon at Mt. Moon's Pokemon Center or just waited until you could try out that Old Rod, you would sooner or later find yourself with a Magikarp... a weak Pokemon that only knew a move that did absolutely nothing. (And later, would learn Tackle.) Out of nothing but curiosity, you'd switch-train that Pokemon up a bunch of levels (or just feed it all those Missingno-glitched Rare Candies)... and suddenly, it'd evolve into the monstrous Gyarados! Which had a monstrous Attack stat... and no STAB to take advantage of it. But hey, it had a decent Special stat, so it wasn't too bad.
Then Gen II came around, and its Special Attack dropped like a rock, making it somewhat underwhelming.
Gen III helped a bit, giving it Earthquake to demolish Electric-types trying to prey on its 4x-weakness. It still had nothing other than Hidden Power Flying for physical STAB, but it could be a fearsome physical attacker all the same. However, for all his appearance of fearsomeness, Gyarados had always been something of a disappointment to me, particularly because of the inability for him to use Water STAB effectively--and as a Water-type fan, that was a real bummer. But then came Gen IV...
#76: Gyarados
The concept behind Gyarados is nice. Take a totally weak Pokemon and suddenly evolve him into an absolute monster. Makes for some fun jokes (and a fun T-shirt). Gyarados's design is perfectly fitting for the terror of the water he is, too.
His stats are amazing, too. He has a brutal Base 125 Attack and a solid Base 100 Special Defense and Base 95 HP. His Base 81 Speed is okay, but access to Dragon Dance means he can easily outspeed opponents quickly; meanwhile, Base 79 Defense might not seem that good, but with Intimidate, it might not matter, at least not in the short term. So the only particularly bad stat of Gyarados's is his Special Attack at Base 60. Unfortunately, for a Water-type, that meant losing one of his notable STABs, as Water attacks were all Special. Until...
Gen IV's Physical-Special split was an Arceus-send to Gyarados, as he now had a killer physical Water STAB in Waterfall that he could use to smash holes in the opposing team. Those who survived the hit might even be too terrified to strike back! Gyarados had also been lacking in good Flying STAB... and he's still kind of lacking there. But he does have Bounce, which while a bit inaccurate and having the charge turn that can be exploited, is still a good choice, particularly thanks to a 30% chance of paralysis that it can inflict.
Gyarados also has some strong coverage moves. Most notable of them is Earthquake, guaranteed to make most Electric-types trying to prey on his 4x weakness think twice. Other strong moves in his arsenal include Ice Fang, Stone Edge, and Double-Edge, as well as Dragon Tail for phazing utility.
If there's one move, though, that will really strike fear into the hearts of Gyarados's opponents, it is Dragon Dance. The move increases his Attack and Speed all at once, allowing him to strike first and strike hard. It is a combination that can easily leave an entire opposing team in shambles. Moves like Taunt and Substitute, as well as an excellent ability like Intimidate, only make his job easier. Alternatively, there's Gyarados's Dream World ability, Moxie, which increases his Attack after each KO he makes, quickly turning him into a destructive force that can take down even the hardiest opponent in one hit.
All this has allowed Gyarados to finally be the monster that Magikarp always dreamed of becoming. The weak Pokemon that becomes an absolute monster had been underwhelming for three generations, but now it has finally become a Pokemon worthy of my top 100.
As for who next... who the hell do you think he is? :P
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Top 100 Pokemon #77: Tyranitar
One of the reasons I probably have some of my best memories from Gen II (specifically Silver version) is because I played much of that game blind. With no Player's Guide and no information on the Internet, I was left to discover many of that game's new Pokemon on my own. As such, I found myself encountering all sorts of mysterious creatures which I would learn about only after I caught them.
Stumbling into Mt. Silver at the end, I would every once in a while run into a Larvitar. Compared to the more monstrous beasts inside the mountain, Larvitar seemed pretty... weird. He was a weak, low-level Pokemon, but my intuition was already alarming me that a beast was waiting to emerge...
...and boy, was I right!
#77: Tyranitar
Tyranitar is Gen II's answer to Gen I's Dragonite, thus making "pseudo-Legendaries" officially a thing (instead of Dragonite's abnormally high Base Stat Total being just an anomaly). His concept of a rock version of Godzilla and the resulting design are simple yet plenty effective in portraying how terrifying it is, and this is only helped by Tyranitar's appearances in the anime, especially in the 4th movie (the last Pokemon movie I watched from start to finish). (There's also his Pokedex entry about destroying mountains so that maps have to be re-written...
As terrifying as Tyranitar looks--or appears in the anime--it says nothing about how terrifying he is on the competitive circuit, where he's currently the 7th most popular Pokemon on Smogon's OverUsed tier. To start, there's his stats, and as I mentioned, Tyranitar belongs to the "pseudo-legendary" category of Pokemon, meaning his Base Stat Total is a Legendary-comparable 600... and that's being distributed with a massive Base 134 Attack, great Base 110 Defense, a very good Base 100 HP and Special Defense, and solid Base 95 Special Attack. Only his Base 61 Speed is on the low side. But wait! Tyranitar's stats in battle are actually even higher than these!
Tyranitar's formerly-signature ability is Sand Stream, which is Sandstorm's version of Drizzle and Drought, and summons a permanent sandstorm upon entering the field. As of Gen IV, Sandstorm grants a 50% boost to Rock-types' Special Defense while active... which means, as long Tyranitar's induced Sandstorm is not overwritten by another weather or negated by an ability, Tyranitar is fighting with an absolutely monstrous Special Defense stat. And that's to say nothing of the residual damage that sandstorm's forcing on the opponent...
(Tyranitar also gets Unnerve from the Dream World. You might end up using this on Doubles if you don't want to form a Sandstorm team, as berries are more commonly used there.)
Wait, you want some moves to go with those killer stats? Tyranitar has that covered easily. Crunch and Stone Edge (or Rock Slide for doubles) provide strong primary STAB, while Pursuit can be used to take down a frail opponent, particularly a Psychic- or Ghost-type, without them being able to switch out of impending doom. If you want some Special coverage, Tyranitar can also use Dark Pulse.
If you want coverage moves... oh goodness, does Tyranitar have coverage moves! Fire Blast, Surf/Aqua Tail, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Superpower, Earthquake, Outrage... Of those, Superpower is probably the most useful, going well with Crunch, while Fire Blast is the best option for any mixed set. But hey, if you want to just put a lot of elemental moves and powerful physical attacks together and just go to town on in-game opponents... why not? A couple of support moves, like Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave, are worth noting, but for the most part, you're better off just destroying stuff.
If it sounds like Tyranitar is near-unstoppable, well, he's not. His unique Rock-Dark type, while providing some nice resistances and immunities, also gives him a number of weaknesses, most notably a 4x weakness to Fighting, and he's also rather slow. Take advantage of this, and he will go down.
However, even if you take down Tyranitar, there's no saying what punishment awaits from his team. Tyranitar's ability to instantly start a Sandstorm allows him to form the basis of a Sand team, which uses residual damage and new abilities like Sand Rush and Sand Force to brutalize the opposition. Some may choose to use Hippowdon, who's more defensive, instead, but if you want your weather starter to come with some sheer power, Tyranitar is a fantastic choice.
As far as monstrous Pokemon go, few do it better than Tyranitar, both in concept and in battle. Tyranitar truly is one of the most terrifying Pokemon out there.
But the terror does not stop here! Next is a terror from the seas, emerging from the most unlikely of beasts.
Stumbling into Mt. Silver at the end, I would every once in a while run into a Larvitar. Compared to the more monstrous beasts inside the mountain, Larvitar seemed pretty... weird. He was a weak, low-level Pokemon, but my intuition was already alarming me that a beast was waiting to emerge...
...and boy, was I right!
#77: Tyranitar
Tyranitar is Gen II's answer to Gen I's Dragonite, thus making "pseudo-Legendaries" officially a thing (instead of Dragonite's abnormally high Base Stat Total being just an anomaly). His concept of a rock version of Godzilla and the resulting design are simple yet plenty effective in portraying how terrifying it is, and this is only helped by Tyranitar's appearances in the anime, especially in the 4th movie (the last Pokemon movie I watched from start to finish). (There's also his Pokedex entry about destroying mountains so that maps have to be re-written...
As terrifying as Tyranitar looks--or appears in the anime--it says nothing about how terrifying he is on the competitive circuit, where he's currently the 7th most popular Pokemon on Smogon's OverUsed tier. To start, there's his stats, and as I mentioned, Tyranitar belongs to the "pseudo-legendary" category of Pokemon, meaning his Base Stat Total is a Legendary-comparable 600... and that's being distributed with a massive Base 134 Attack, great Base 110 Defense, a very good Base 100 HP and Special Defense, and solid Base 95 Special Attack. Only his Base 61 Speed is on the low side. But wait! Tyranitar's stats in battle are actually even higher than these!
Tyranitar's formerly-signature ability is Sand Stream, which is Sandstorm's version of Drizzle and Drought, and summons a permanent sandstorm upon entering the field. As of Gen IV, Sandstorm grants a 50% boost to Rock-types' Special Defense while active... which means, as long Tyranitar's induced Sandstorm is not overwritten by another weather or negated by an ability, Tyranitar is fighting with an absolutely monstrous Special Defense stat. And that's to say nothing of the residual damage that sandstorm's forcing on the opponent...
(Tyranitar also gets Unnerve from the Dream World. You might end up using this on Doubles if you don't want to form a Sandstorm team, as berries are more commonly used there.)
Wait, you want some moves to go with those killer stats? Tyranitar has that covered easily. Crunch and Stone Edge (or Rock Slide for doubles) provide strong primary STAB, while Pursuit can be used to take down a frail opponent, particularly a Psychic- or Ghost-type, without them being able to switch out of impending doom. If you want some Special coverage, Tyranitar can also use Dark Pulse.
If you want coverage moves... oh goodness, does Tyranitar have coverage moves! Fire Blast, Surf/Aqua Tail, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Superpower, Earthquake, Outrage... Of those, Superpower is probably the most useful, going well with Crunch, while Fire Blast is the best option for any mixed set. But hey, if you want to just put a lot of elemental moves and powerful physical attacks together and just go to town on in-game opponents... why not? A couple of support moves, like Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave, are worth noting, but for the most part, you're better off just destroying stuff.
If it sounds like Tyranitar is near-unstoppable, well, he's not. His unique Rock-Dark type, while providing some nice resistances and immunities, also gives him a number of weaknesses, most notably a 4x weakness to Fighting, and he's also rather slow. Take advantage of this, and he will go down.
However, even if you take down Tyranitar, there's no saying what punishment awaits from his team. Tyranitar's ability to instantly start a Sandstorm allows him to form the basis of a Sand team, which uses residual damage and new abilities like Sand Rush and Sand Force to brutalize the opposition. Some may choose to use Hippowdon, who's more defensive, instead, but if you want your weather starter to come with some sheer power, Tyranitar is a fantastic choice.
As far as monstrous Pokemon go, few do it better than Tyranitar, both in concept and in battle. Tyranitar truly is one of the most terrifying Pokemon out there.
But the terror does not stop here! Next is a terror from the seas, emerging from the most unlikely of beasts.
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