Pixie Theater!
And here are your hosts, Celebi and Jirachi!
Jirachi: Hello everyone, and welcome to yet another exciting and informative episode of Pixie Theater! Okay, maybe not that exciting, but I'd definitely say informative. Also, my co-host Celebi is kind of pre-occupied here...
Celebi: I'm trying to catch a Gible in the hidden cave in Platinum.
Jirachi: The one for which the entrance is blocked from your view by the cycling bridge above?
Celebi: Yep. Not only that, but they have Dragon Rage, which at about level 20, is really hard to deal with.
Jirachi: Yikes. Why bother, then?
Celebi: Because, like we talked about last time, Garchomp is a beast. Not only that, but you can get the Earthquake TM in the same cavern!
Jirachi: Wait... isn't that before the 3rd gym? How is that even legal?
Celebi: I guess they thought that most people wouldn't find the cavern that early...
Jirachi: They so underestimate the power of online guides.
Celebi: So are we starting this show or what?
Jirachi: Ah, we need to formally introduce our final and newest member of our pixie family, Victini!
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| Hello, everyone! |
Victini: I sure do!
The Smogon tiers recently got updated, with a couple of notable changes. Hail has now officially entered into all tiers UU and below; not only that, but Abomasnow has dropped into UU, along with Chansey. Cresselia has been banned from RU, and now sits in the borderline between that and UU; in return, Cinccino, Absol, Emboar, Amoonguss, and Snover have all risen from NU into RU. Stoutland and Roselia, on the other hand, have dropped from RU to NU.
Also, in a very interesting move, in the Ubers tiers, evasion-boosting moves like Double Team and Minimize are now legal.
Jirachi: Really? They actually relaxed the Evasion Clause up there? Has the metagame turned into a complete hax-fest?
Victini: Not really. None of the commonly-used Pokemon use the move more than 4% of the time.
Celebi: So... all those complaints about Evasion-boosting was pretty overblown, huh?
Jirachi: Looks like it. Thanks for the info, Victini!
Celebi: I guess it's time to start talking about the Pokemon, then.
Jirachi: Definitely! Let's get started with...
OU: 0.240%, 201st place
UU: 0.687%, 103rd place
RU: 2.770%, 67th place
NU: 9.765%, 9th place
C: These are the December stats, right?
J: Indeed. And Miltank here is one of the most popular Pokemon in NU.
C: This gal's got all sorts of cool abilities... what are the players choosing?
J: 44.1% use Thick Fat, 37.8% use Sap Sipper, and 18.1% use Scrappy. A decent balance, I'd say.
As for items, 79.6% hold Leftovers, while 7.8% use Life Orb.
Natures: 37.3% are Impish, 27.2% are Careful, 15.7% are Adamant, and 10.9% are Jolly.
C: Impish and Careful are defensive natures, for those not familiar with natures. But now comes the fun part, the move usage!
J: Indeed!
94.5%: Milk Drink. Instant healing is always awesome, especially when it is Miltank's signature move.
77.2%: Body Slam. A great move for a Pokemon that is overall defensive: even if you don't knock them out, you can paralyze them.
73.5%: Heal Bell. Miltank makes a great cleric.
41.7%: Stealth Rock. She can also set up entry hazards.
26.3%: Earthquake. Always a great move.
16.5%: Curse. Worth noting that it's about the same usage as the Scrappy usage, and the two definitely go together.
16.4% use Toxic.
But now, we go into the part I'm sure you're really interested in... in-game usage! And for that, Celebi is the pixie for the job.
C: That's right!
Now, Miltank, you need to either catch one in Generation IV and transfer it over, or catch one in Dream World, where they can be found with Sap Sipper in the Pleasant Forest after having at least 5,000 Dream World points.
When you do catch one, there are a couple of good in-game sets to use. This is a good one overall, though, regardless of Miltank's ability...
Miltank
- Body Slam
- Milk Drink
- Heal Bell
- Earthquake/Stealth Rock
Stealth Rock is pretty situational in-game, since in-game Trainers do not switch around their Pokemon a lot, but you can still get a good start on knocking out tough foes. You can either teach the move through TM in Gen IV before transferring Miltank over, or use the B2W2 move tutor in Nacrene City to teach the move for 10 Green Shards. Otherwise, Earthquake is an excellent secondary attack.
J: Next up we have:
OU: 0.197%, 215th place
UU: 0.476%, 121st place
RU: 7.984%, 28th place
C: An RU native? How is his ability usage down there?
J: 67.8% use Swarm, 17.1% use Shell Armor, and 15.1% use Overcoat.
C: I guess 17.1% of people hate crits that much. That's pretty high Overcoat usage, though...
J: Well, with Hail just re-introduced into the tier, it's kind of understandable.
As for items: 54.0% use Choice Band, and 28.3% use Leftovers.
There's not much to talk about natures-wise; 76.3% are Adamant, and any other nature has less than 10% usage.
C: No point raising the speed of a Base 20 Pokemon, huh?
J: Yeah, about 9% even use Brave nature to make him as slow as possible, possibly for Trick Room. Let's talk about moves now, though...
97.5%: Iron Head. Steel STAB is actually pretty useful in a Hail-infused tier, I guess. Not that there's much other choice for STAB other than...
97.2%: Megahorn. Yeah, a Base 120 move with STAB off Base 135 Attack is killer and a big reason why Escavalier is the threat he is.
58.3%: Pursuit, because having a Pokemon that can trap and revenge-kill Ghosts, Psychics, or other weakened threats is always helpful.
40.1%: Return. Yeah, Escavalier is a bit limited in good attacking options.
24.2%: Swords Dance. There's a possibility of Swords Dance going particularly with Leftovers and Pursuit going with Choice Band.
20.8%: Sleep Talk. Sometimes, having a Pokemon to switch into sleep-inducing moves that can still possibly strike back hard is helpful.
10.9% use Toxic.
Celebi, give 'em a good in-game set!
C: Will do!
First of all, Karrablast are found on Route 6. To evolve it, you must trade it specifically for a Shelmet. If you don't have a friend or a second cartridge and system to trade with, your best bet is to catch a Shelmet and offer it on the GTS for a Karrablst. Shelmet are found on Route 8 in Black and White and Route 6 in Black 2 and White 2, among other places.
Escavalier
- X-Scissor/Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Return
- False Swipe/Swords Dance
First of all, Megahorn is an Egg Move. A Heracross or a Scolipede can both pass the move to a Karrablast. However, if you're trading for it over the GTS, getting one with Megahorn might not be so easy. That's why X-Scissor, which is a level-up move and a TM move, is perfectly acceptable. It also is more accurate and has more PP, which helps when traveling. And that's all I have.
J: Let's take this next Pokemon for a spin, then...
OU: 0.881%, 108th place
UU: 11.561%, 17th place
C: He seems to be pretty popular in UU.
J: He's one of the few Rapid Spinners in the tier, so it makes sense.
The abilities show that, too... 75.7% use Intimidate, the preferred ability for Rapid Spinners. 24.2% use Technician, and a mere 0.1% use Steadfast.
Items use highly favor Leftovers, with 79.7% of Hitmontop carrying the item. Life Orb comes in second at 9.6%.
As for Natures, 45.4% are Impish (defensive), 29.7% are Adamant (offensive), and 14.2% are Careful (defensive).
And now for the actual move usage...
88.7%: Rapid Spin. As I said, Hitmontop is mostly used for Rapid Spin. Though clearly, some of those Technician Hitmontop are also using the move...
71.5%: Close Combat. A good STAB move regardless of set.
54.8%: Sucker Punch. Priority is always useful.
52.6%: Toxic. Great for defensive sets like a lot of Hitmontop have.
38.8%: Mach Punch. Another priority attack, with STAB. This one goes well with Technician.
26.7%: Stone Edge. Good coverage alongside Close Combat.
21.0%: Fake Out. You'll pretty much only see this move with Technician.
11.5%: Foresight. This move, when used at the right time, can allow Hitmontop to Rapid Spin even against a Ghost-type.
Celebi, what do you suggest for in-game?
C: First off, you have to catch one. They sometimes swarm on Route 10 in Black and White; otherwise, you can catch a Dream World one in Rugged Mountain after getting at least 10,000 Dream World points. It's recommend that you breed the Dream World one to get one without the Dream World ability, as both Intimidate and Technician are better than Steadfast.
It's worth noting, though, that Sucker Punch is only available as a Move Tutor attack in Gen IV, so if you want that move, you need to get a Tyrogue somewhere there (for example, the Karate Master in HGSS), teach the move there, then transfer it over.
To evolve Tyrogue into Hitmontop, his Attack and Defense must be equal at Level 20. Use vitamins to modify Tyrogue's stats accordingly.
Now, the thing with Hitmontop is, he is most effective in Doubles or Triples. Intimidate is a useful ability which can lower two or even three opponent's Attack stats, while Technician boosts the power of many priority attacks, which is very helpful. Hitmontop's solid defensive bulk plus decent offensive power also makes him a great choice for the center slot in Triples. Here is an overall helpful Doubles/Triples set to use.
Hitmontop
Ability: Intimidate or Technician
- Fake Out
- Close Combat/Mach Punch
- Sucker Punch/Rock Slide
- Wide Guard/Detect
Fake Out is useful to keep one of the opposing Pokemon from acting on the first turn. It also gets a nice boost from Technician if that is your ability of choice. Close Combat is preferred with Intimidate, while Mach Punch is preferred with Technician. Sucker Punch is great if you can get your Hitmontop as a transfer from Gen IV; otherwise, Rock Slide offers great coverage with nice spread. Finally, Wide Guard is useful to protect your team from spread moves, while Detect is always useful, and preferred over Protect in Doubles/Triples as you avoid problems with Pokemon using Imprison + Protect.
If you want a set that is more tailored to normal game usage...
Hitmontop
- Close Combat/Low Sweep/Triple Kick
- Sucker Punch/Rock Slide/Stone Edge
- Mach Punch
- Toxic/Fake Out
Low Sweep and Triple Kick are for use with Technician. The former is much more reliable--there's only about a 73% chance all three hits of Triple Kick will hit to equal the damage of Low Sweep--but the latter can potentially one-shot Pokemon with Sturdy.
Whew, that's a lot. How about we take a break?
J: Sure... Mew, do you have some music for us?
Mew: Well, since you guys were talking about Garchomp in Platinum, how about this one...
M: Unfortunately, not a very good loop point edit, but hey, it's Cynthia's battle theme, and it is awesome.
C: Totally is. In fact, I'm getting all pumped up for the next Pokemon! Bring it on!
J: You asked for it!
OU: 0.547%, 145th place
UU: 1.360%, 73rd place
RU: 9.817%, 14th place
C: So this Pokemon is popular in RU, then. Go ahead and go over the usual...
J: Sure thing.
For Abilities: Regenerator gets overwhelming usage at 94.6%, with Chlorophyll at 5.1% and Leaf Guard at 0.3%.
C: Not much sun in RU, I guess?
J: That, and even at double speed, Tangrowth still isn't that fast. Being able to heal a third of his health upon switching is much more useful for a defensive Pokemon like him.
Likewise, as far as items are concerned, Leftovers is by far the most popular at 81.0%, with Life Orb next at 8.0%.
Similarly, the popular natures are the defensive ones: Bold at 55.5%, and Impish (which is for more physical sets as it lowers Special attack) at 11.2%. Modest gets 10.4% usage.
And now, the moves:
78.9%: Sleep Powder. Always a useful move.
75.2%: Leech Seed. Another great move that Grass-types get.
67.6%: Giga Drain. Solid damage and healing to make Tangrowth even harder to take down.
41.5%: Hidden Power Fire, for coverage.
24.9%: Knock Off, which is a handy support move.
22.9%: Power Whip, a strong physical move.
20.1%: Focus Blast, for additional special coverage.
Celebi, what's your in-game report?
C: Standard Tangela are found in Route 13 and in the Giant Chasm. Regenerator Tangela can be found in Black 2 and White 2 in the Hidden Grotto on Route 13 at the northwest stairs, or in the Pleasant Forest Dream World area. Tangela evolves into Tangrowth upon leveling up with Ancientpower, which he learns at Level 36 normally, though you can also breed the move early with two Pokemon with Ancientpower.
As for a moveset...
Sunlight Tangrowth
Ability: Chlorophyll
- SolarBeam
- Sleep Powder
- Focus Blast
- Sunny Day/some other move
This Tangrowth is to be used in sunlight, and can either be used on his own with Sunny Day or in a part of a larger sun team. Any of the moves Jirachi noted above as commonly used in the metagame can be used in-game, with Power Whip being more useful if you don't have an attack-lowering nature.
If you don't want a Sun-specific Tangrowth, then...
Regenerator Tangrowth
Ability: Regenerator
- Giga Drain
- Sleep Powder
- Leech Seed
- some other move
Again, any of those other moves mentioned previously can work.
J: We're now on our final Pokemon in this segment...
OU: 0.702%, 123th place
UU: 1.037%, 83rd place
RU: 9.122%, 23rd place
C: Another RU native. What do we have for abilities?
J: 81.8% use Rock Head, 14.7% use Sturdy, and 3.5% use Heavy Metal.
C: Really? Not that many use Rock Head? I know Sturdy is a lot better this generation, especially for a Pokemon so easily KO'd by Fighting and Ground moves, but still...
J: Well, in the meantime, let's look at items...
26.4% use Leftovers, 25.3% use Choice Band, and 22.9% use Life Orb.
C: Pretty even item usage there. What about natures?
Nothing much. 74.8% are Adamant, and any other nature is less than 10%.
But now for the good stuff: move usage.
90.2%: Head Smash. Aggron definitely has the Rock Head + Head Smash niche, but there are about 8% of people out there using the move without Rock Head... and all of that 50% recoil.
70.5%: Earthquake. Always a great move.
30.4%: Heavy Slam. Hope no one's using this move with Autotomize...
29.5%: Aqua Tail. Great coverage move.
27.8%: Rock Polish/Autotomize; 14.0% use Autotomize.
23.9%: Stealth Rock.
18.7% use Ice Punch, 13.3% use Fire Punch, 12.5% use Superpower, 12.2% use Substitute, 11.4% use Thunder Wave, and 10.5% use Focus Punch.
C: Wow, that's a lot of different moves between 10% and 20%. Most of those moves are good filler moves, but I guess this is where I must cover in-game usage...
You can catch Aron in Black 2 and White 2 in Mistralton Cave, which you can Surf to on the east side of Route 6. Head Smash is an Egg Move which is passed on from Craniados or Rampardos, so make sure that gets bred on to Aron properly.
As for a moveset...
Aggron
Ability: Rock Head
- Head Smash
- Earthquae
- Iron Head/Heavy Slam
- (filler move)
Just pick a move from the above list. They're all good; just make sure not to use Autotomize with Heavy Slam. Iron Head is presented as an alternative because Aggron doesn't learn Heavy Slam until level 65, but Aron can learn Iron Head at level 29, before evolving, so you'll be using Iron Head for a while anyways.
J: And that's all for this show! Now, because we have been busy, we have yet to be able to see what that new announcement for Pokemon was all about...
C: Oh, you didn't get the news? Nintendo just announced the next generation of Pokemon games.
J: ...wait, what? How did I miss such big news?
C: Well, you sleep like you're not going to wake up in a thousand years...
J: I need to get more info about these new games. Until next time, see you!
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