Pokemon Focus: #71 - Victreebel

Introduction

Victreebel is a Grass-type Pokemon who has struggled a bit with having the right moves for its stat distribution. Having such high Attack was okay last generation when Poison was physical, but the lack of type coverage hurt. Its Special Attack is still high enough that special attacks work, which is definitely a good thing since in the generation shift, Sludge Bomb became Special and aside from Razor Leaf, Victreebel got none of the new physical Grass moves, nor did it get Poison Jab. That has since been rectified with the addition of Leaf Blade.

Past that, though, it has some interesting options. Sunny Day is almost a given, and its strong attacking stats on both ends give it a fair amount of options to work with. Having access to Sleep Powder, the most reliable Sleep move this side of Spore/Dark Void, is also great for this Pokemon. Overall, it's a fun Pokemon to use, and should by no means be underestimated.

Capture/Training

These guys are everywhere. Just catch one.

Weepinbell, for whatever reason, learns moves at the same rate as Bellsprout. Victreebel has its movepool limited, but since Razor Leaf is Heart Scale-able, you don't need to wait too long. Ironically, the only move worth delaying Weepinbell's evolution for is Knock Off, learned at Level 27, which can be a useful support move, particularly in the Battle Tower. All-in-all, not hard to manage if you want it.

Stats

80 HP, 105 Atk, 65 Def, 100 SpA, 60 SpD, 70 Spe

Pretty good stats overall. Attacking stats are nice and high. Speed can be an issue, but Chlorophyll can resolve that.

Ability

Chlorophyll doubles Victreebel's speed in sunlight, solving its low speed issue and letting it slot nicely into Sunny Day teams.

Moves

On the physical side, Leaf Blade is the only option really worth considering, considering it has the same PP and accuracy as Seed Bomb but with more power and an increased crit rate. On the special side, the usual options are available: Energy Ball for consistency, Grass Knot to hit heavyweights, Leaf Storm to hit hard once, and, of course, SolarBeam in the sun. Remembering that Victreebel has no physical Poison moves to work with, on the special side Sludge Bomb is still quite powerful.

Going into its secondary movepool, Victreebel somehow has access to Sucker Punch. Being a priority move on par with ExtremeSpeed, it will do great damage to those who don't resist it (particularly Psychic-types) and helps compensate for its low Speed, so long as you predict an attack correctly. It doesn't have any other notable physical moves, though, other than Return. On the special side, one of Victreebel's more interesting options is Weather Ball. In sunlight, it becomes a Fire-type attack, gets the Sunlight boost, and helps take care of those Steel-types that tend to stop Victreebel in its tracks. Like its physical side, though, it doesn't have any alternate Special attacks besides Hidden Power.

Victreebel also has access to various status moves. Sleep Powder is one of the best at what it does, although Stun Spore also has its uses, particularly if you think Victreebel is moving a bit too slow. It also has Toxic and Teeter Dance.

Swords Dance is Victreebel's method of kicking up its Attack power. It also has Growth if it wants to increase its Special Attack, albeit at a slower rate. Stockpile can help with defenses.

Knock Off is a good support move, removing an item from the opponent's hands.

Victreebel can cripple opponents with Encore, as well. Gastro Acid and Worry Seed mess up Pokemon reliant on their abilities.

Synthesis gets a mention as a healing move, although Victreebel is a bit fragile to use it much.

Effective Movesets

1. Sunny Day

- Sunny Day

- SolarBeam

- Weather Ball

- Sleep Powder

Item: Life Orb/Heat Rock

2. Swords Dance

- Swords Dance

- Leaf Blade

- Sucker Punch

- Sleep Powder

3. Mixed Swords Dance

- Swords Dance

- Leaf Blade

- Sucker Punch

- Leaf Storm

Note: Differentiated from the above, as this set should not use a Sp. Atk-hindering nature, instead opting for a nature like Naughty.

4. Choice Specs

- Leaf Storm

- Sludge Bomb

- Weather Ball

- Sleep Powder

Item: Choice Specs

5. Support

- Knock Off

- Sleep Powder

- Stun Spore

- Energy Ball

Closing Notes

The generation shift was a bit slow to give Victreebel what it needed to work, but it got some good attacks and now has various ways it can mess up its opponents. Have fun with it.

Pokemon Focus: #468 - Togekiss

Introduction

Togekiss is Togetic's new evolution from 4th-generation. It represents a major jump in stats, which allow the Jubilee Pokemon to fulfill the various roles its pre-evolution could not. Serene Grace is absolutely ridiculous on Togekiss, to be sure; it has many ways of abusing the ability. It also has many other tricks up its sleeve, making it quite fun to battle with this Pokemon.

Capture/Training

Nothing really to say about capturing it; we already have one from early-game, and getting more is really just a matter of breeding.

There's a possible alternative available sometime in the future: import a Togepi from Pokemon XD. The main advantage of this is that this Togepi will have the awesome Tri Attack. Getting multiple of these Togepi is somewhat troublesome, though. Also, due to some weird glitch, Togepi actually switches ability once transferred and evolved, which means if you want Serene Grace Tri Attack Togekiss, you're going to have to live with Hustle Togepi for a bit, if that's okay with you.

Evolve Togepi via friendship to Togetic as soon as possible. Togekiss learns none of Togetic's moves, so make sure Togetic knows whatever moves you want it to know before using the Shiny Stone. Possible benchmarks include Encore at Lv. 19, Wish at Lv. 28, and Baton Pass at Lv. 42.

Stats

85 HP, 50 Atk, 95 Def, 120 SpA, 115 SpD, 80 Spe

Great stats. 120 Special Attack makes it a great attacker, while 85/95/115 defenses are very solid for taking hits. All these combine to make a very solid special attacker. Despite the low Attack, physical attacks aren't completely out of the question due to Hustle, although they are more novelty than anything.

Abilities

As mentioned briefly before, Hustle is an option, albeit a novelty one. There's no point using it without an attacking-boosting nature, as the boost is too low, but at the same time there's no point putting Aura Sphere and a high Special Attack to waste, either, so go mixed if using this strategy. Aerial Ace helps alleviate the 80% accuracy woes, while ExtremeSpeed remains the physical move of choice for getting the jump on opponents.

Serene Grace, though, is the real winner here. With access to STAB Air Slash, Togekiss has a 60% chance of flinching an opponent, which works incredibly well with paralysis. It also has all sorts of other moves that benefit, including various standard moves whose normal 10% effect chances double to a respectable 20%.

Moves

Air Slash is Togekiss's most well-known move. Decent power boosted by STAB, a relatively reliable 95% accuracy, and most importantly, a 60% flinch rate designed to annoy opponents to no end all make it Togekiss's most common and useful attack, and can be found on almost every competitive Togekiss in existence. As it stands, there are extremely few special Normal attacks, with the only really notable one being the aforementioned Tri Attack. It won't be seen much due to how hard it is to obtain, as well as not being strictly necessary on its own; however, as mentioned in the Porygon-Z article, it is one of my favorite moves; it also gets STAB, and its secondary effect, which is cool as it is, becomes truly awesome with Serene Grace making the opponent suffer some kind of debilitating status 40% of the time.

Physical moves, as mentioned before, are not out of the question. That said, there are two kinds of physical moves: those to be used with Hustle and those to be used with Serene Grace solely for their secondary effects. Of the former, the best bets are ExtremeSpeed for that first strike and Aerial Ace to take advantage of its perfect accuracy. Of the latter, the most notable moves are those that cause paralysis, as they have an advantage over Thunder Wave in being able to hit Ground-types and Volt Absorbers. The ideal choice is Body Slam; however, that is a 3rd-gen move tutor move and isn't readily available. The alternative, Secret Power, is plenty good on its own, with a 60% chance of all sorts of secondary effects, paralysis being the most common.

Togekiss has an absolutely humongous secondary attack movepool. The most notable move is Aura Sphere. It combines extremely well with Air Slash, as the two together are unresisted by all Pokemon not named Zapdos or Rotom. The fact that it always hits makes it invaluable in-game, as well as on Hustle Togekiss. Water Pulse has a 40% chance of confusion, which means, if you can pull it off, you could potentially have a paralyzed and confused Pokemon, at which point Air Slash means it will be attacking a grand total of 15% of the time. Ouch. Somewhat impractical, but fun if you can pull it off. Shadow Ball is a solid move on its own, has perfect coverage with Aura Sphere, and comes with a 40% chance of a Special Defense drop. Psychic-type moves are available if you want them; Psychic has a 20% chance of a SpD drop, while Extrasensory has a 20% flinch rate. Both Flamethrower and Fire Blast are solid Fire-type attacks that have great coverage and a 20% chance of burning an opponent; your choice depends on whether you want power or accuracy If 2vs2 is a concern, Heat Wave is a third option in this vein. Grass Knot might not have any cool secondary effects to go with it, but it is unrivaled in its ability to take down heavyweights. Togekiss is one of the few Pokemon to have access to all three "stat-super-boost" moves: Ancientpower, Silver Wind, and Ominous Wind. With Serene Grace, it has a 20% chance of all its stats getting boosted, which is nothing to scoff at.

One other move worth consideration is Snore. Normally not suggested due to its low power, it does have worth on Togekiss with its 60% flinch rate, meaning there's a decent chance the opponent won't be able to do anything to Togekiss while it's resting, and even if it does, STAB and 120 base Special Attack means it will still leave a dent.

Thunder Wave will likely be the status of choice for Togekiss, as Paraflinch is as effective of a strategy as ever. Yawn is more for switch-forcing. Encore is yet another fun way to wreak havoc on opponents.

Healing is appreciated on a Pokemon like Togekiss, who can take a few attacks. Ideally, Roost would be used for its instant healing and the ability to temporarily shed Flying-type weaknesses. However, obtaining Roost can be difficult since it's a one-time TM and can't be bred onto Togepi. Wish is an acceptable alternative in this case. Wish can also be used for team support. Speaking of such, it can also use Heal Bell for similar clerical support.

With some Egg Move support, Togekiss can go down the dark road of Nasty Plotting. Even better, it can then Baton Pass those plots to a teammate.

Light Screen, Reflect, and Safeguard are all available for additional team support. It can even set up Sunny Day and Rain Dance.

Of course, Substitute is always an option.

Effective Movesets

1. Paraflinch

- Thunder Wave

- Air Slash

- Aura Sphere

- Secret Power

Note: A few moves can go in the last slot; I went with a move that can paralyze Ground-types and other Thunder Wave-immune folks. After paralyzing, go to town with Air Slash. Should be fun, albeit annoying if used against humans. You know, for the other human. Computer characters won't care.

2. Nasty Plot Sweeper

- Nasty Plot

- Air Slash

- Aura Sphere

- Shadow Ball

3. Nasty Plot Baton Passer

- Nasty Plot

- Air Slash

- Encore

- Baton Pass

4. Choice

- Air Slash

- Aura Sphere

- Tri Attack

- Flamethrower

5. Encore Wish Support

- Encore

- Wish

- Air Slash

- Thunder Wave

6. Ancientpower SubPasser

- Ancientpower

- Baton Pass

- Encore

- Substitute

Note: A variant on Baton Passing. Set up a Sub, encore a harmless move, and start using Ancientpower in the hopes you get a full stat boost. Once you get it, pass it off to a teammate. Any teammate. Potentially deadly.

7. Mixed Sweeper

- ExtremeSpeed

- Aerial Ace

- Aura Sphere

- Shadow Ball

Ability: Hustle

Note: The rare Hustle Togekiss. Sort of a gimmick, but it could work.

8. ...

- (a move)

- (another move)

- (a move that works well with one of the above two moves)

- (a good move of any sort)

Note: ...and that pretty much describes Togekiss. So many moves, so many options, just pick some and go.

Closing Notes

Togekiss is a real step up from Togetic. Being able to run so many effective sets is no joke. It's one of the most fun Pokemon to play as, for sure, and you're sure to enjoy the ride on the Jubilee Pokemon.

Pokemon Focus: #445 - Garchomp

Introduction

By now, everyone knows about Garchomp: it was the non-Uber that was banished into Ubers because it was just too strong. Not like Wobbuffet, who was just cheap, or any of the actual Ubers whose base stats are just too high for standard competition. It's more comparable to Latios, really, who has been decided to be unsuitable for standard play even without his signature Soul Dew item, as well as possibly Shaymin's Sky Forme. (As of this writing, his sister Latias is undergoing strict crutiny over possibly having the same fate.)

So, why Garchomp? Quite simply, it was just too strong. Its stats are in just the right place for it to be effective, and with the right combination of items and moves, it is near unstoppable. Not that it can't be stopped at all, but it was so powerful that at one point, pretty much every team needed Garchomp, some Garchomp supporters, and a Garchomp counter. It was just that good.

What about in-game, then? Well, there is only one thing to say there: Cynthia's Garchomp. It's one of the most difficult Pokemon to take down, even with a somewhat subpar moveset. It is powerful and can knock out your entire team if you can't handle it. (And in the anime, it does just that to Paul... without him even getting a hit back.) Lance's Garchomp in his rematch could easily be a similar contender, so watch out there.

Quite simply, Garchomp is powerful. Almost too powerful. Does such a Pokemon have a place in our more-focused-on-personal-favorites team? Maybe not, but hey; it's a killer land shark that looks like someone put torpedoes on a jet plane. Tell me that's not cool.

Capture/Training

It's another Safari Zone Pokemon. With the additional difficulty of properly leveling blocks up while day-abusing, it might be easier to just have one transferred over from Diamond.

Gible evolves into Gabite at Level 24, and into Garchomp at Level 48. You may want to delay Gible's evolution three levels to learn Dragon Claw first, but definitely evolve Gabite at the first chance, as Dragon Rush isn't that good and Garchomp learns Crunch right at the evolution point.

Stats

108 HP, 130 Atk, 95 Def, 80 SpA, 85 SpD, 102 Spe

These stats are arguably placed right where they need to be. Plenty of Attack power, great Speed, and great defensive stats as well. Garchomp is, for all it is concerned with, set to sweep its way past any Pokemon in the game.

With that said, there's pretty much no doubt Garchomp wants as much in Attack and Speed as it can get. Although 80 SpA is workable, if you really want.

Ability

Sand Veil is Garchomp's only ability. It will only come into play during a sandstorm, but that 20% evasion increase could very well mean the difference between an Ice Beam knocking Garchomp out and Garchomp Outraging the opponent out first. Definitely consider pairing Garchomp with Tyranitar (or Hippowdon) to take advantage of this ability.

Moves

Well, let's start with the obvious offensive physical moves: Earthquake and Outrage and/or Dragon Claw (the latter being far less powerful but without the locking/confusion drawbacks; it's not at all a bad idea to run both, in fact). The two have great coverage on their own, only really running into trouble when faced with Skarmory, levitating Steels, or Shedinja. There really isn't much else to throw on there. A gimmick mixed set can run Draco Meteor.

It's not like Garchomp has much in the way of secondary moves, either. Crunch isn't a bad option at all, and might give you a surprise hit on Bronzong. Stone Edge can nail Skarmory for extra damage, and hits other Flyers that Earthquake can't reach hard. Both Steels can be hit really hard by Fire Fang, though the move is otherwise rather weak. (However, it does manage to break past Wonder Guard regardless of type, so you could use it to beat random WonderTombs.) Past that, though, you just have Aqua Tail for neutral coverage with Outrage/Dragon Claw, which combined with Earthquake, only leaves Shedinja to deal with.

Fire Blast is an option over Fire Fang to hit Ground-immune Steels hard, as well. Whatever Garchomp is lacking in special attack power is often made up by Fire Blast's high Base 120 power and the fact that many of its targets have lower Special Defense than Defense. That's really it from its special movepool, though; unlike many of its fellow pseudo-Ubers, Garchomp wasn't really ever meant to use a mixed set.

Garchomp's support moves aren't much, either. Just Swords Dance, Toxic, and Substitute, really. However, Swords Dance is often all you need to absolutely demolish a team.

Effective Movesets

1. Choice

- Outrage

- Earthquake

- Dragon Claw

- Crunch/Stone Edge

Item: Choice Scarf/Choice Band

Note: With a Choice Scarf, Garchomp serves well as a revenge-killer. With a Choice Band, he works well as an offensive force that can still outpace many slower foes. The fourth slot can go to whichever secondary attack you want.

2. Swords Dance

- Swords Dance

- Outrage/Dragon Claw

- Earthquake

- Crunch/Stone Edge/Fire Fang

Item: Life Orb/Yache Berry

Note: Yache Berry gets a mention for one thing it notably does: keep Ice Shard users from knocking it out prematurely. That can often mean the difference between victory and defeat.

3. Mixed

- Outrage

- Earthquake

- Fire Blast/Fire Fang

- Draco Meteor

4. SubSalac (Battle Frontier only)

- Substitute

- Swords Dance

- Dragon Claw/Outrage

- Earthquake

Item: Salac Berry

Note: Nothing says "sweep" quite like this set. Make sure Garchomp's HP will be divisible by 4 after the level adjustment.

Closing Notes

Garchomp so far has the fewest effective movesets of all our main team Pokemon. However, it is arguably one of the best at what it does: absolutely demolish opposing teams. There's a reason it was banned in standard play, after all.

Pokemon Focus: #493 - Arceus

Introduction

It was only a matter of time before we covered Arceus, currently the true deity of Pokemon. Regardless of whether the religious implications of such are good or not, one thing's for sure: Arceus is powerful. Really powerful. Do not ever take it lightly.

Capture/Training

Arceus has yet to be given out at any U.S. event. Stay tuned for developments, though.

One thing about Arceus is that it is captured at Level 100. On one hand, that means no need to train it. On the other hand, that limits its EV training; it can only use vitamins, and as such can only get 100 in any stat. This does rather limit its potential in any actual battling environment, but in-game, there still won't be anything that can stand up to it.

Stay tuned, though. If anything so much as a Level 99 one becomes available in the future, you can guarantee the destruction of all around it.

Stats

120 HP, 120 Atk, 120 Def, 120 SpA, 120 SpD, 120 Spe

Yeah, deadly stats across the board. The only-100-EVs-in-any-one-stat thing keeps those stats from reaching their full potential, though. Still quite powerful. How you want to distribute those vitamins is up to you.

Ability

Multitype is Arceus's little trick. Give it a Plate, and it immediately becomes the Plate's type. This gives Arceus much variety as to what it can assume. It also makes Arceus the only Pokemon that can become a somewhat-stable pure-Flying type...

Moves

With so many types Arceus can assume, it's hard to say there is a "primary" move type for it to use. There is, however, Judgment. This move assumes the same type as Arceus's plate, and by consequence, Arceus himself. This has two benefits: because it matches the plate type, it gets the 20% bonus from the plate, and because it matches Arceus, it gets a STAB bonus as well. Expect Judgment to be an extremely powerful attack in whatever type you have it as.

As for physical moves, its primary "attack" will be whichever of the following attacks match its type. Normal obviously gets Return, but you'll also love ExtremeSpeed and its priority-hitting powers. Arceus can also get Waterfall and Aqua Tail for Water needs. Ice? Play around with Avalanche. Fighting? Smack enemies around with a Brick Break. Poison? Try Poison Jab. Ground? Did you really think it wouldn't get Earthquake? Flying? Well, Arceus can Fly, and considering it isn't entering any competitive environment anytime soon, it'll do just fine in-game. Psychic? Use Zen Headbutt. Bug? I'd like an explanation for how Arceus can use X-Scissor, but I'm not likely to get one, so... enjoy it. Rock? Stone Edge away. Ghost? You can go for Shadow Claw, or even Shadow Force if you get the one that comes with the giveaway. Dragon? Go for reliability with Dragon Claw, or hit hard with Outrage. Dark? Hit stat-boosters hard with Punishment. Steel? Iron Head for reliability, Iron Tail for power. No good physical moves exist for Fire, Electric, or Grass, though.

For Arceus, secondary attacks are, well, secondary to whatever type Judgment is. Here is the full list of choices. If you really want a Normal special attack, Hyper Voice is available. Fire? Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Overheat, or Heat Wave in doubles. Water? Surf. Electric? Thunderbolt or Thunder in rain. Grass? Energy Ball or Grass Knot, or SolarBeam in sunlight. Ice? Ice Beam or Blizzard in hail. Fighting? You'll have to make do with Focus Blast. Poison? Sludge Bomb. Ground? Earth Power. Psychic? Self-explanatory. Bug? You'll have to make do with Signal Beam. Rock? AncientPower will have to suffice. Ghost? Shadow Ball away. Dragon? Dragon Pulse and Draco Meteor are available readily, or you can get the giveaway Arceus and use Spatial Rend. Dark? Dark Pulse. Steel? Flash Cannon.

With so many attack options as it is, it's crazy to think Arceus might have other attacks to use, but it does have one more: Seismic Toss is great for when nothing else really works. Expect it to land a 100-HP hit without fail (except against Ghost types, that is).

From here, Arceus also has a large list of support moves. Recover is a good move to have, restoring half of its health with no drawbacks.

Arceus has a few ways of powering itself up. Calm Mind is its main source of Special power, while access to Swords Dance allows it to quickly power up its Attack power. Cosmic Power works on the defensive side, making Arceus near-impossible to take down.

Arceus can team-support with Gravity, which opens up the use of its less accurate attacks as well. It also supports with Light Screen and Reflect. It also has Sunny Day and Rain Dance for support options, though they are somewhat redundant in Uber battling with Groudon and Kyogre around.

Perish Song can mess up opponents nicely. Stealth Rock is a fun move to have. Magic Coat forces certain moves back to opponents, namely status moves and stat drops.

All your standard status moves are out there: Toxic, Thunder Wave, and Will-o-Wisp.


Protect and Substitute have their uses, as always.

Effective Movesets


1. All-Purpose Arceus (Special Attacker)

- Judgment
- Ice Beam/Psychic
- Thunderbolt/Energy Ball
- Earth Power/Flamethrower/Calm Mind

Note: The idea here is to use the ever-reliable BoltBeam strategy to hit most foes when your Judgment type doesn't work. Earth Power hits two of the main Pokemon that resist BoltBeam, Magnezone and Lanturn, whereas Flamethrower hits Magnezone and also Shedinja, and is arguably the better choice is the Judgment type is already good at hitting Lanturn. If your Judgment type hits Shedinja, or you're not too worried about it, go ahead and use Earth Power. If you're not worried about any of the three particularly, you can use Calm Mind to just power up. If using Ice- or Electric- Arceus, go ahead and replace the corresponding move with the slashed move; it will help cover the weaknesses of that type.

2. Normal: Extreme Killer
- Swords Dance
- ExtremeSpeed
- Earthquake
- Shadow Claw/Judgment
Item: Silk Scarf/Life Orb
Note: This is an example of a workable Normal Arceus, showing Arceus doesn't need to assume any other type.

3. Fire: Sunny Day
- Judgment
- Solarbeam
- Recover
- Draco Meteor/Sunny Day
Note: Fire Arceus works best in the sunlight. If you can't provide your own, try to have a teammate set it up.

4. Water: Rain Dance
- Judgment
- Thunder
- Waterfall
- Recover/ExtremeSpeed/Dragon Claw
Note: Similar idea here as above, but with rain instead of sun. You can go a BoltBeam route, but this set is designed to differentiate itself from Kyogre: it can use both special and physical moves, and has the option of a Water/Normal or Water/Dragon combo on the physical side that is nearly unresisted.

5. Electric: Mixed BoltBeam
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- ExtremeSpeed
Note: A different take on BoltBeam. Use ExtremeSpeed to pick off opponents, or to potentially hurt Blissey.

6. Grass
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power/Thunderbolt/Calm Mind
- Recover

7. Ice
- Judgment
- Thunderbolt
- Earth Power
- Recover

8. Fighting
- Judgment
- Shadow Ball/Dark Pulse
- Recover
- Brick Break
Note: Judgment+Shadow Ball is completely unresisted, while the Pokemon that resist Judgment+Dark Pulse are few and far between (think Heracross).

9. Poison
- Judgment
- Flamethrower/Fire Blast
- Recover
- Calm Mind
Note: Poison is a hard type to use, but it works pretty well defensively against Fighting-types.

10. Ground: Mixed Edgequake
- Judgment
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance/Recover

11. Flying: The only pure Flyer
- Judgment
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Recover

12. Psychic
- Judgment
- Will-o-Wisp
- Ice Beam
- Recover
Note: You want something to differentiate this Psychic-type from practically every other psychic Uber? How about access to Will-o-Wisp to cripple Pursuiters?

13. Bug
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Calm Mind

14. Rock: Mixed
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Stone Edge
- Recover
Note: There are really few special Rock attackers (to say nothing of the lack of actual special Rock attacks worth a dime), so this could be an interesting change of pace.

15. Ghost: Mixed
- Judgment
- Shadow Claw
- Brick Break
- Swords Dance
Note: More mixed fun. Nothing resists Ghost+Fighting, by the way.

16. Dragon: Mono-Attacker
- Judgment/Dragon Claw
- Recover
- Calm Mind/Swords Dance
- Substitute
Note: Dragon is probably the only type that could viably run a mono-attack set. Steel-types can give trouble, but few will have a good way of forcing Arceus out anyways, and can be beat after multiple stat-ups.

17. Dark: Punisher
- Judgment
- Punishment
- Psychic/Focus Blast/Brick Break
- Recover

18. Steel: Defensive
- Judgment
- Earth Power
- Recover
- Calm Mind

Closing Notes

There are way too many more possible sets Arceus can run than just the above; they just give a few examples of its sheer versatility. It truly is the Omega Pokemon, in that regard.

Pokemon Teams

The Main Team

Abomasnow
Absol
Ampharos
Arcanine
Arceus
Azelf
Blastoise
Blaziken
Breloom
Celebi
Claydol
Clefable
Dragonite
Empoleon
Espeon
Feraligatr
Flygon
Froslass
Gallade
Garchomp
Gardevoir
Gengar
Glaceon
Gliscor
Gyarados
Heracross
Houndoom
Jirachi
Jolteon
Kingdra
Lanturn
Lapras
Latias
Leafeon
Lucario
Magnezone
Mamoswine
Manaphy
Marowak
Metagross
Mew
Miltank
Ninetales
Porygon-Z
Roserade
Rotom
Salamence
Sceptile
Scizor
Shaymin
Skarmory
Staraptor
Starmie
Swampert
Togekiss
Tyranitar
Vaporeon
Venusaur
Victreebel
Yanmega

Honorary Members:
Crobat (The Rev) - Resident Flyer
Butterfree - Utility Status/Item Finder

Secondary Main Team


Aerodactyl
Aggron
Altaria
Ambipom
Azumarill
Bellossom
Blissey
Bronzong
Chimecho
Cresselia
Crobat
Dialga
Donphan
Drapion
Drifblim
Dugtrio
Dusknoir
Electivire
Electrode
Exeggutor
Floatzel
Forretress
Giratina
Gorebyss
Groudon
Heatran
Hitmonchan
Hitmonlee
Hitmontop
Ho-oh
Honchkrow
Infernape
Jumpluff
Kabutops
Kyogre
Latios
Ludicolo
Lugia
Lunatone
Machamp
Magmortar
Mantine
Medicham
Meganium
Mesprit
Mismagius
Mr. Mime
Nidoking
Nidoqueen
Ninjask
Omastar
Palkia
Pikachu
Porygon2
Quagsire
Raikou
Rayquaza
Rhyperior
Skuntank
Slowbro
Slowking
Smeargle
Snorlax
Solrock
Spiritomb
Steelix
Sudowoodo
Suicune
Swellow
Tangrowth
Tentacruel
Torterra
Toxicroak
Typhlosion
Umbreon
Ursaring
Uxie
Walrein
Weavile
Weezing
Zapdos

Honorary Members:
Golduck (Shiny)

Pokemon Focus: #492 - Shaymin

Introduction

The other Grass event legendary, Shaymin seems for the most part to play kind of like Celebi... until the Sky Forme makes its appearance. Whereas Land Forme Shaymin plays with a very balanced style that adapts to many situations, Sky Forme is an all-out sweeper capable of abusing Serene Grace to demolish teams before they have the chance to touch it. Overall, Shaymin is yet another event-legendary with a variety of options to choose from, although it is its Sky Forme that really steals the spotlight competitively.

Capture/Training

Event Pokemon, so unless an event occurs, you'll have to trade for it.

A note is to be made about Shaymin's Sky Forme, as it has specific conditions for activating, and has different moves it can learn (which can be kept in Land Forme). Sky Forme can be activated using a Key Item called the Gracidea Flower, which the Goldenrod Flower Shop girl will give you. It is only available from 8am to 5pm, and will revert back to Land Forme if frozen or put in the Box.

Shaymin in both forms is a little difficult to train, thanks to the high levels at which it learns moves, not learning its signature Seed Flare until level 100. As such, it is more of an exhibition Pokemon that should hopefully make training easier for your lower-level Pokemon.

Stats

Land Forme:
100 HP, 100 Atk, 100 Def, 100 SpA, 100 SpD, 100 Spe

Sky Forme:
100 HP, 103 Atk, 75 Def, 120 SpA, 75 SpD, 127 Spe

Two different forms, two different stat spreads. Whereas Land Forme Shaymin has the same spread as pretty much every other "fairy" event Legendary, Sky Forme is much more offensively built, with a strong Special Attack stat and the tenth highest Speed Stat of any Pokemon. It's much more frail, though, so be careful.

EV-ing this Pokemon is somewhat tricky, since once it learns Seed Flare, it won't be able to gain any more EVs, so be careful how you go about it. Since Celebi works better as a defensive Grass fairy, it might be best to just go all-out offense for Shaymin.

Abilities

This Pokemon's abilities also change with its form changes. In Land Forme, Shaymin only has access to Natural Cure. This ability works just as well on Shaymin as it does on Celebi in curing it of its status simply with a switch-out.

Upon attaining Sky Forme, Shaymin switches out Natural Cure for Serene Grace. This is where Shaymin starts to get deadly. Seed Flare's 40% chance to drop Special Defense becomes a ridiculous 80% chance. Not only that, but Shaymin also gets access to Air Slash with a 60% flinch rate. Needless to say, both are quite fearsome ways to turn the tides of a battle, and really highlight Shaymin-S's offensive qualities.

Moves

One cannot start reviewing Shaymin's offensive options without mentioning its signature move, Seed Flare. This attack is monstrous. 120 Base Power and 85% accuracy is generally considered the balancing point between massive power and workable accuracy, but what really makes the move dangerous is its secondary effect: a 40% chance of dropping the opponent's Special Defense two levels. This makes it hard to just resist a hit, as even the hardiest of special walls (read: Blissey) can fall to two of these flares after the first cuts its Special Defense in half. And that's before you factor in Sky Forme, whose Serene Grace kicks the chance of this happening to a whopping 80%! The only downside, really, is that Shaymin does not learn this move until level 100. Until then, it will have to make do with the usual assortment of special Grass toys: Energy Ball, Grass Knot, Leaf Storm, and SolarBeam (in sunlight). Due to Seed Flare's low PP, Shaymin can also use one of these moves in addition to Seed Flare. Physical Grass attacks are also something of an option, thanks to decent Attack stats: Seed Bomb is your only option here, though.

Sky Forme Shaymin gains the Flying-type and a few Special STAB moves to go with it; the move can be kept on Land Forme Shaymin, despite it not really being Flying-type. That said, the only real notable move here is Air Slash. Decent power and a 30% chance to flinch works well with both forms, but especially Sky Forme who can abuse Serene Grace for 60% flinch rates.

As for Shaymin's other moves, the best is by far Earth Power. Covering Shaymin's Fire weakness and inability to hit Steels, as well as many of Shaymin's other weaknesses, it really rounds out its coverage... and there's nothing wrong with that 20% chance of a (single-level) Special Defense drop, either. As for other moves, there is just Psychic (basically a Psychic-typed Earth Power), and Ominous Wind, for a 20% chance of a full-stat boost. And, if it works out, Hidden Power. Despite its decent physical power, it really does not get much in the way of physical attacks. Your best bet here is to make the most of Serene Grace: abuse Headbutt's and Zen Headbutt's flinch rate and Secret Power's... all sorts of secondary effects.

Quick Attack isn't much, but it might mess up someone. And there's probably nothing funnier than a Shaymin pulling off the infamous Focus Sash-Endeavor-Quick Attack combo. Snore is another joke move to be used with Rest, especially if you can successfully pull off two flinches (and at 30% flinch rate, 60% with Serene Grace, that is possible).

Leech Seed is a great move to have on a Pokemon with Shaymin's speed. In addition to being a very successful SubSeeder, it also works as a good way to cripple an opponent and/or force a switch. Worry Seed is a more situational way of messing someone up. Of course, Toxic is also available.

Aromatherapy is a great support move. It generally works better on Land Forme, with its better bulk.

GrassWhistle is an unreliable but potentially useful way to completely mess up an opponent. However, there is a catch; it only learns the move in Diamond/Pearl. Be sure to trade Shaymin over to Diamond version before teaching it this move.

Synthesis heals, and is great in sunlight. Rest works on Land Forme, where a simple switch cures Shaymin of its sleep.

Growth is Shaymin's main way of powering up. Swords Dance is the main outlet for a physical Shaymin.

Psych Up is another situationally useful move.

Safeguard protects Shaymin from status for a while.

Healing Wish allows Shaymin to give one last gift to a teammate.

Effective Movesets

1. Choice
- Seed Flare
- Air Slash
- Earth Power
- Psychic/Rest
Item: Choice Scarf/Choice Specs
Note: The first three moves are pretty much necessary, but the last is flexible. Rest should only be used on Land Forme.

2. Rest-Sweeper (Land Forme)
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Leech Seed
- Rest
Item: Life Orb

3. Support (Land Forme)
- Seed Flare
- Rest
- Aromatherapy
- Leech Seed
Note: Due to Sky Forme not really being built to take hits, this set works best as Land Forme.

4. SubSeed
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Seed Flare
- Air Slash/Earth Power
Note: Air Slash is preferable for hitting Grass-types hard, but Earth Power is acceptable, particularly on Land Forme.

5. Growth
- Growth
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Air Slash

6. Healing Wish
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Air Slash
- Healing Wish

7. Serene Grace Abuse
- Seed Flare
- Air Slash
- Secret Power
- Ominous Wind/Earth Power

Closing Notes

Seed Flare is a powerful attack, but that's about where the distinctions between Land Forme Shaymin and Celebi stop, really. Thankfully, Sky Forme brings a whole new level of pain, thanks to its ability to cripple teams with Serene Grace-boosted moves and great offensive stats. When the Gracidea Flower blooms, do not underestimate the Pokemon of Gratitude.

Future Sight

The only notable change for Shaymin is that Growth now increases both Attack and Special Attack by 1 stage, and by 2 stages in sunlight. This will be more useful on the generally bulkier Land Forme.

Ability Review, Part 3: Early Bird - Gluttony

(Quick note: the ability comparison rankings are now numbered as follows:
0 - only ability
1 - no competition: other ability is worthless or next-to-worthless.
2 - mild competition: other ability has its rare usages
3 - moderate competition: other ability has some uses
4 - fair competition: about a 50-50 toss-up
5 - some competition: other ability is generally more useful
6 - major competition: other ability is significantly more useful
7 - serious competition: ability is worthless compared to other ability

Early Bird

Effect: Halves the number of turns Pokemon stays asleep, rounding down. This means there is a chance a Pokemon wakes up without ever wasting any turns, Rest only lasts 1 turn, and the Pokemon will never be asleep more than 3 turns.

How to use: Ideally, the way to use this is one-turn Rests. Next to HydraRest abuse, it's one of the best ways to mess with your opponents, by sleeping off your damage and status and being right back in the game after just one turn of possible Sleep Talk bad luck. However, only one Pokemon is even close to having the defensive stats for that to work, so instead, the ability's main draw is helping you against anyone who might try to Sleep you.

Users:

1: Dodrio (Run Away)
2: Ledian (Swarm)
4: Girafarig (Inner Focus), Shiftry (Chlorophyll, okay choice if sun support is not expected)
5: Xatu (Synchronize)
6: Kangaskhan (Scrappy), Houndoom (Flash Fire)

Overall: Not a horrible ability. Maybe one day, we'll get a Pokemon who can really abuse Early Bird Rest.

Effect Spore

Effect: When hit with a contact move, the Pokemon has a 10% chance of releasing spores that will poison, paralyze, or sleep the enemy.

How to use: Hope it triggers and hope it triggers a status you want.

Users:

7: Parasect (Dry Skin), Breloom (Poison Heal)

Overall: The lack of control and the low chance of triggering makes this ability near worthless as it is... not only that, but its users all have abilities that are far superior to this one.

Filter/Solid Rock

Effect: Super-effective attacks do 25% less damage. The net effect is that a x2 SE move becomes x1.5, while a x4 SE move becomes x3.

How to use: In general, it's nice to know that your Pokemon won't die as easily to a super-effective move; however, it does not make the Pokemon "no weak". While it certainly prolongs its longevity, you'd still be a fool to switch it into a super-effective attack on purpose. That said, at least if you do so by a prediction mistake, you might be spared somewhat.

Users:

1: Rhyperior (S: Lightningrod; increased competition if to be used in Doubles)

2: Camerupt (S: Magma Armor)

4: Mr. Mime (F: Soundproof; Soundproof is more useful on Baton Pass teams, but other than that it's a toss-up)

Overall: Overhyped as it was, the ability is still decent for softening those x2 blows a bit. Just remember, though: you will still die to a double-weakness.

Flame Body

Effect: Contact moves have a 30% chance of burning the opponent.

Outside Effect: Approximately halves the number of steps needed to hatch an egg (every 256 steps has twice the effect).

How to use: In many ways, this is the best of the contact moves; if a Pokemon made contact with you, it likely is a physical (or mixed) attacker, and that Attack cut is going to hurt. However, Earthquake and Stone Edge are not affected, limiting its usefulness. Trying to invite such hits can be hard, but when it is triggered, it will usually be a good thing. Oh, and do use this ability to hatch Eggs.

Users:

0: Magmortar

1: Magcargo (Magma Armor)

Overall: The best of the contact abilities, if that says anything. Oh, and it's great for hatching Eggs. Could be improved, though, namely by giving it to something that can actually take hits.

Flash Fire

Effect: When the Pokemon is hit with a Fire-type attack (including Will-o-Wisp), the Pokemon takes no damage, and powers up its own Fire attacks by 1.5x until it switches out (does not stack with additional Fire attacks). Non-Fire types can still be burned by Will-o-Wisp. The ability activates even through a Substitute. Being frozen blocks this ability until a Fire attack melts the ice.

How to use: For maximum effectiveness, draw out or predict a Fire-type attack and switch out to the Flash Fire Pokemon to get the boost.

Users:

0: Ninetales, Flareon, Heatran*

1: Rapidash (Run Away)

2: Houndoom (Early Bird)

4: Arcanine (Intimidate)

*Heatran gets special notice as, without the ability, it takes neutral damage to Fire, meaning the ability adds Fire to its list of resistances and immunities.

Overall: One of the game's great abilities, Flash Fire provides an immunity and an opportunity to wreak real havoc upon switching in.

Flower Gift

Effect: In strong sunlight, both the user and its teammate in a Double Battle get an Attack and Special Defense boost (1.5x) in strong sunlight.

How to use: Primarily in Double Battles, apparently. The description should give you an idea of how to use it.

Users:

0: Cherrim

Overall: I have no idea how to use this ability, or if it's even worth using. It's certainly the only reason to use Cherrim, and it doesn't have anything else to use for an ability, so...

Forecast

Effect: Changes the Pokemon's type according to the weather: Fire-type for sunlight, Water-type for rain, and Ice-type for hail. Notably, it currently only works for the Pokemon that naturally holds the ability.

How to use: The ability seems to be designed to maximize the damage done by Weather Ball by ensuring its STAB. (Although Blizzard is still better in Hail form.)

Users:

0: Castform

Overall: Another gimmick ability that's hard to judge its overall usefulness. It makes Castform interesting, for sure... now if only Castform had better stats.

Forewarn

Effect: Notifies the user of one of the moves of the opponents' with the highest Base Power, not counting STAB, and including certain moves like Counter that don't come with Base Power on their own.

How to use: If it brings up useful info, good for you!

Users:

1: Jynx (Oblivious, which is useless)

6: Hypno (Insomnia, which is far better)

Overall: With some fixes, it might be more useful, but most of the time it tells you what you already know, or doesn't tell you what you need to know. But hey, it's better than Oblivious, at least...

Frisk

Effect: Checks and reveals the opponent's held item.

How to use: In addition to potentially revealing info about an opponent, this has most of its use off the field, where it can be used to check at a glance whether a Pokemon has an item to take.

Users:

5: Banette (Insomnia)

6: Stantler (Intimidate)

Overall: Could be useful on Pokemon with more useless alternate abilities... as it is, its users have better abilities to be taking advantage of. Still, keep at least one Frisker around to check for items on wild Pokemon.

Gluttony

Effect: Consumes a "pinch" berry at 50% health instead of at 25% health.

How to use: Ah, how to use an ability with this kind of weird effect, you may ask? Well, here's a recipe for success:

Belly Drum to get to 50% health instantly -> Ability activates a Salac berry -> Sweep

Watch out for this one.

Users:

1: Linoone (Pickup)

2: Shuckle (Sturdy, only in-game)

Infamous users: Linoone - Linoone can Belly Drum and instantly activate a Salac berry to sweep. Think priority will stop it? A certain Zigzagoon from the Pokemon Box carries ExtremeSpeed to deal with that...

Overall: What seems like a strange and useless ability is what ended up turning Linoone into a surprisingly dangerous Pokemon. Go figure.