Results for the First Round!

Okay, now that I HOPE everyone has battled their matchups, you can now post the results here so I can see who's advancing to the next round. I'm extending the deadline to January 6, so we have a little more time to communicate and set up battle times. Thanks everyone!

Pokemon of the Week: Milotic!!!

Pokemon of the Week!

#350 Milotic

What's up, Pokemon 101 fans! This is my first ever POTW, so please bear with me.

Milotic, one of my personal favorites, is a Water type UU Pokemon that, in my opinion, should be used to wear opponents down due to its base 125 Sp. Def., 95 base HP, and the fact that it only has one type. Milotic is weak against Grass and Electric types, and with not so much of a variety of moves, should not be used against them (except in Gen V, when Milotic can use Bulldoze). However, Milotic can use moves such as Recover and Rain Dance, which also makes it a good team player.

Milotic has two abilities, Cute Charm, which can infatuate the opponent, and Marvel Scale, which boosts Def. while Burned, Poisoned, etc.

Physically Defensive:

Leftovers, Marvel Scale, Bold Nature

1st Move: Scald

2nd Move: Recover

3rd Move: Ice Beam/Hidden Power Grass

4th Move: Toxic/Haze/Dragon Tail

EVs: 252HP/248 Def./8 Speed

I believe that this is truly the best way to use a bulky Water type like Milotic. Leftovers, Marvel Scale, and Recover keep Milotic alive for almost forever, while Scald is the perfect Water move with a chance to burn. Hidden Power Grass will take away those pesky Electrics and Ice Beam will annihilate Grass users. Finally there's Toxic, which will make opponents continue to lose health, while there is almost no way to stop it, if you play with items.

RestTalk

Leftovers, Marvel Scale, Calm Nature

1st Move: Rest

2nd Move: Sleep Talk

3rd Move: Scald

4th Move: Dragon Tail

EVs: 252HP/192 Def./ 56 SpD/8 Speed

This moveset provides a way to deal consistent damage to any opponent. Rest, Leftovers, and Marvel Scale, again keep Milotic alive to deal out some damage. Dragon Tail will deal some damage and force your opponent to switch out (except for Pokemon like Octillery), allowing you to find out which Pokemon you should hit with that Scald.

Offensive

Life Orb/Leftovers, Marvel Scale, Timid Nature

1st Move: Hydro Pump/Surf

2nd Move: Ice Beam

3rd Move: Hidden Power Grass/Hidden Power Electric

4th Move: Recover

EVs: 4HP/252 SpA/252 Speed

Using a Milotic in this way would be a bit of a gamble without EVs, because a Grass or Electric type could come along and blow you out of the water. However, if you do have these EVs, you would have a force to be reckoned with. Ice Beam takes out Grass types, and Hydro Pump and Surf deal real damage, but still, an Electric type could come along and KO Milotic with a Thunder.

In short, Milotic is a great Pokemon, if you know how to use it ;)

That's all for this POTW! (my 1st ever one) I'll see some of you guys in the Winter Cup!

awesomesauce~Brendan

P.S: Sorry if this is a little short, or if this comes out with no indents. Not my fault.

*2/2 QC

*2/2 GC
 GC AND QC APPROVED

WINTER CUP CHANGE!

HEY EVERYONE! I know it's been pretty nice having activity on this site for the Winter Cup. And for some reason, the perfect way to organize this tourney JUST popped into my mind a few seconds ago. I'm going to edit the post on Winter Cup and this is how we are going to organize it:

1)First of all, there is a time limit to all of this, and I realize that. We are going to have to set individual match-ups INSTEAD.

2) Second of all, this is a PO tournament, so we can easily watch it, and enjoy ourselves.

3) This brings me to not organize a certain DATE, on when the tournament should be. It can't be held on a single day, as this is being held during the holidays. Which brought me to a GENIUS IDEA....

4) We are going to have match-ups, and every person who joined will have a random match-up qualification match. This will provide you a battle against another person who joined, and whoever wins will pass on to the next round.

5) Now, the people who signed up are the following......:

-Pastrybomb
-Victor Pham
-Little_man200
-Awesome Sauce
-813fe1d8-2063-11e1-bd60-000f20980440 (Albert)
-Felix Serrano
-Leinad Ttekcah
-Joseph

6) You may have noticed that I have taken myself, and Leinad out of the match-ups, due to certain things on vacation. But don't worry, I'll be moderating, and trying to watch you guys as much as possible.

7) MAKE SURE YOU HAVE DOWNLOADED POKEMON ONLINE BY DECEMBER 31. *Reason stated below.....

8) I'm going to run this like so. I will match you guys up. You guys will be given a disqualification date. This date will be BEFORE you guys have a battle, AND post up the results. You HAVE to post the results to make it valid, otherwise BOTH of you will be taken out of the future matches. For holidays' sake, I'm going to make the first date JANUARY 3. JANUARY 3. Mark this date somewhere, and remember to have your match with your assigned opponent. AND. DON'T FORGET TO POST.

9) HERE ARE THE MATCH-UPS:


813fe1d8-2063-11e1-bd60-000f20980440 (Albert) VS. PASTRYBOMB


FELIX SERRANO VS AWESOME SAUCE


LITTLE_MAN200 VS VICTOR PHAM


JOSEPH VS LEINAD TTEKCAH

Januaray 3'RD everyone! Goodluck competing!

Winter Cup Dates?

Okay, for everyone who is entering the Winter Cup, this post will provide every single possible date for the tourney:

December 25
December 26
December 27
December 28
December 29
December 30
December 31

These are all the possible dates if you want the cup to be during this December. If you DO NOT want the cup to be during this time, make sure you mention it. Thanks!

The Artemis of Today's Metagame!

#380 Latias

 

Hello there followers and random people who came about this website, welcome to only my 2nd POTW! I know I never finished my Rate My Team, but I'll be sure to finish this. So! Lets get down to business shall we?

Latias is a superb pokemon with a quite stellar typing finding itself with a multitude of resistances to many common attacking types in today's metagame, courtesy of her Dragon Typing. While her Dragon Typing is a great boon over many pokemon, she has one of the worst defensive typing's that accompany with her. Psychic. This allows her to become weak to common atacks such as Scizor's U-Turn, or a Tyranitar's Pursuit. There is a good side to this though, as this allows her to have a great resistance to common fighting types like Mienshao who enjoy spamming Hi Jump Kicks everywhere.  However her brother is usually picked over her because of Latios' Stellar power. But, Latias works a great defensive pivot for teams searching for a pokemon who can dish out some damage, but act as a great special attacker too. 

Lets start simple shall we?

Calm Mind: 

Move 1: Calm Mind
Move 2: Recover 

Move 3: Dragon Pulse 

Move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Substitute / Roar

Nature: Timid

EV's: 252 HP/ 252 Speed/ 4 Special Attack

Item: Leftovers  

 “Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defense.”

This saying is quite true for Latias, pertaining to her color, and the fact that she IS willing to draw blood from YOU while staying a very calm position. This is a fairly standard set for Latias, unlike Latios who prefers to just hit right off the bat with powerful choice Specs Draco Meteors. The point of this set is to come in on something that doesn't threaten like lets say Starmie's Hydro Pump. Due to her gargantuan base 130 special defense, this allows her to shrug off any damage that is resisted from special attackers. From there you would set up Calm Minds then sweep.After a few Calm Minds she'll be able to hit like a really big angry truck, that wants to smash tiny sea stars and stuff that don't outspeed her amazing 110 base speed. The Second move recover is used to let her take hits from stuff that are neutral or resisted and then recover off the damage. This also increases her longevity and durability allowing her to wall some threats. The 3rd move is the obligatory STAB move of choice having no immunities ta all, making it a great mono attacking move. The 4th move has many different options. Hidden Power Fire is most likely the best move you'll take, as it allows her to hit steel-types such as Scizor or Ferrothorn, with super effective damage. It also has great coverage hitting everything neutral except for Heatran. Substitute is also a great option for Latias, allowing to keep away from status, and if they're unable to break the substitute the first time, that's a free Calm Mind there. Roar is the last move we will consider as it allows her to deal with setup sweepers, gain some entry hazard  damage and phazing. These moves have different uses, so choose the one you think would support your team the best. The EV's and nature are quite straightforward, allowing the most speed to outspeed base 109's and below, and neutral natured base 110's. The HP EV's allow the most amount of bulk to both sides allowing you to tank hits incredibly well. You may also take the alternate route of 252 HP/ 252 Defense, if you prefer having bulk over speed, and working it more as a bulky set up sweeper than a defensive pivot. 

Support: 

Move 1: Dragon Pulse      

Move 2: Recover / Wish
Move 3: Roar 

Move 4: Reflect / Protect

Nature: Timid

EV's: 252 HP / 252 Speed / 4 Def

Item: Leftovers

"Rather than supporting you, Support the people around you"   

This is most definitely true for Latias. As a powerful special wall, it can be no question that there should be a support set. While a Dual Screen set works much better from Latios due to the boon known as Memento, Latias Support capabilities are very good. Providing a great phazing pokemon, with a bulky special wall is a great combination, especially when combined with the gargantuan bird known as Skarmory. The 1st move is your obligatory STAB move, where you know, you won't become taunt bait. If you do your forced to struggle, and yeah. For the second slot, you have a choice between recover or wish. Recover is recommended due to it being instant, allowing her to stay alive longer. Wish on the other hand should be used in tandem with protect, or you may have a harder time staying alive. You should take wish if you really want to take on the support role of a pokemon because wish helps your WHOLE team. Your 3rd move is Roar, providing great phazing, entry hazard damage, and screwing up set-up sweepers and baton chains. The 4th move is up to you. While Reflect allows you to take on more physical attackers, and in tandem helps your team, Protect allows you to scout for the opponents move, and in tandem with wish provides safe and reliable recovery.   This pokemon should be used when you need a strong special defensive wall, and also need a good team supporter. Latias is a perfect role providing phazing, maybe wish passing, and a great typing which allows her to switch in with ease, and force other switches. 

Choice Specs:

Move 1: Draco Meteor
Move 2: Dragon Pulse / Hidden Power Fire
Move 3: Surf / Hidden Power Fire
Move 4: Trick 
Nature: Timid
EV's: 252 Special Attack / 252 Speed / 4 HP
Item: Choice Specs 

 "I see the world in a different way. Through Specs." 

Just like the saying I just made up, Latias is to be used as a different way than her counterpart Latios. If you prefer more power then choose Latios, but if you decide to Latias Always remember to sue her as a DEFENSIVE PIVOT. Don't be like Latios and spam Draco Meteor! Use her as a powerful special wall, who dishes out a mediocre amount of damage compared to Latios, with Draco Meteor. Unlike Latios, Latias is able to come in many more times than Latios due to her awesome base 130 special defense. Allowing her to spam Draco Meteors, to weaken the enemy team a bit. As a defensive Pivot, you come in on neutral or resisted attacks, fire off a correct move, when they switch or if they don't. The 1st move will be the one you'll be using the most most likely because its just so powerful despite her 110 base special attack. The 2nd move is up to you, whether you want consistent damage in the form of Dragon Pules, or being able to catch steels off guard, and annihilate them. Surf is used in the 3rd slot, but once again you can use Hidden Power Fire to catch steel off guard. Surf allows you to hit Heatran for a reliable 2HKO, and provide a powerful move to hit steel types other than HP Fire. The 4th move is trick ,allowing you to destroy a wall on their team, or most importantly your number one counter. Blissey! Trick literally blindsides Blissey, destroying her by reducing her walling capabilities. Overall, use this if you want a powerful special wall who wants to dish out some damage. 

Well, that's all for this weeks POTW, and I guess I'll see you guys next time! 

~Pastrybomb~ ~Joshua~ 




*1/2 GC*
*1/2 QC*

It's Coming UP!

So the Pokemon101 WINTER CUP is going to begin in somewhere between late January and late December, and held via PO. Sign-ups end December 16. Second of all, on the poll on the left side (for this week only) you will have to highlight your choice on when the bout should take place. To see the choices, you have to highlight the (hardly able to see) white text. Third, when you want to view any POTW's, and don't want to go searching through my archives with random junk, just click the Pokemon of the Week button on the toolbar, and you will see our current POTW, along with past ones. Also, when people join the blog, and want to obtain authorship, PLEASE PM me, or comment on ANY post telling me. Another thing. On the right hand side, you will see that the SECOND thing on the right side says SUBSCRIBE TO THE BLOG HERE AND BELOW! First of all, if you want to receive a notification WHENEVER THE BLOG IS UPDATED, enter your Email and follow the instructions they give you. The one below it is for public display. PLEASE SIGN UP FOR BOTH. Lastly, any other Winter Cup information needed can be asked here. If you need to see the original post OR WANT TO SIGN UP, click HERE!!!!!! Thanks again for your support!

Winter Cup!

Well, I think I'm going to try this one more time..... we are now opening for our (hopefully it will work this time...) FIRST TOURNEY. This tournament will be done via Pokemon Online. If you need the link for the site, this it it... We are hoping to see some new faces around, and some veterans in Pokemon joining and competing in this tourney. The host will be me, and I am going to limit the number of contenders to eight. I know how our site has NOT been good at organizing these types of things... :P This is the Pokemon101 WINTER CUP. I am also hoping that at LEAST 4-6 people will participate. And don't think if you win, there won't be a prize for the winner, and also runner-up. Every person who joins will automatically be pushed up in rank. The prize(s) for the champion are:

1) A nice addition to their scoreboard of 50 points...
2) One automatic rank up...
3) One item of choice (excluding Master Ball)
4) Title of Tourney Champion.....and finally number...
5)... A SURPRISE PRIZE.

Runner-up will receive a mystery prize. SO. PLEASE.. Let's make this one work guys! We are hoping for the FIRST EVER Pokemon101 tournament. If you comment and include the word Pokemon101, you will be automatically registered as a player in the fights. Elimination style, and the worst players will be pitted against the worst players by the way.  The FINAL sign-up date is December 16... Also, regarding the tiers options, you MAY use any tier you would like except for Ubers, and the only restriction is that you and your opponent MUST be using the same tier, but any tier. The finals must be OU. Anyways, sign up, show to others, AND LET'S GET THIS WORKING!

Post has been Deleted...

Don't make posts that nobody would want to see.

Happy Thanksgiving from Pokemon101!

Well, it's the time of the year! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here, and every human out there (in America at least)! I'm very thankful for my friend Joshua Hernandez, who taught me how to play this game. I'm thankful for the *cough* girl* of my dreams... :P I'm thankful for my parents, and the troops in Afghanistan. I'm thankful that you happened to come upon this site, and have been thriving (hopefully) off of it ever since. So please, give others something to be thankful about and spread the site around so many other people can be appreciative of this actually very intense and deep game. Good luck to anyone Black Friday shopping (INCLUDING ME), and find some good deals out there. Try buying some Pokemon games eh? :) So remember to be thankful for what you have, and Happy Thanksgiving!

~Pokemon101~

Serebii's Super Duper Mascot!

Hey! Hey! Hey! What is up my Pokemon101 brothers?! I know I promised a RMT of a UU team or was it a NU team... well besides that, to make up for it here's a POTW of the ONE. THE ONLY.
Celebi >3 Yes. Celebi. The pokemon who is tiny and cute OUTSIDE of BATTLE. Serebii's shining star!

Celebi
Type: Physic/Grass
Ability: Natural Cure
Tier: OU

Celebi has an outstanding metagame-related pressure. However, in the B/W generation it has gained some new rivals who see through his/her weaknesses. Original rivals such as Scizor and Tyranitar and new ones such as Latios, Latias, Hydreigion, Chandelure, and many others threaten Celebi. Despite those flaws, and the fact that Celebi has to rely on it's classical move sets, it has adapted to the point where it is resistant to six very common attack types and can support it's team with ease. Celebi has an above decent offensive movepool which moves his/her's offensive state and has the all so powerful Nasty Plot which decimates a lot of OU pokemon. Celebi will and should always have a spot in your team if you want to rely on great support.

Nasty Plot Super Duper Sweeper
Nature- Modest
Item(s): Leftovers/Life Orb
Moves
- Nasty Plot
- Recover
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Fire/Earth Power/ Physic
EV's 220 Hp/252 SpA/ 36 Spe

Celebi's Speed, Special Attack, and adequate coverage moves all combine to make an effective special attacker. With Nasty Plot, Celebi's power is augmented to astronomical numbers, ensuring it makes maximum impact before fainting. On top of this, because of its high defenses, good typing, access to recovery (in two forms), and convenient ability in Natural Cure, Celebi can survive many attacks, use Nasty Plot, and fire off its boosted attacks with zest. Giga Drain is Celebi's main attacking move, providing consistent STAB damage along with an advantageous secondary effect: draining the foe's HP. After one Nasty Plot boost, Celebi can restore a large amount of health simply by attacking with Giga Drain, effectively nullifying the damage it suffered during setup. Recover also provides a reliable, alternative method of recovery against foes that laugh off Giga Drain. If you choose to use Celebi at a more offensive angle, Recover can be replaced by another attacking move, expanding Celebi's overall coverage against opposing counters. The last slot can be a bit tricky; no matter which combination of moves Celebi chooses, it will be walled by certain foes. Hidden Power Fire is a reliable option against the majority of Steel-type Pokemon, especially Skarmory and Ferrothorn, with the only exception of Heatran. Earth Power provides general coverage, OHKOing most opposing Fire- and Steel-types. Earth Power's main disadvantage is leaving Celebi vulnerable to Skarmory, Scizor, and many Flying- and Dragon-types (Latios, Latias, and Tornadus, to name a few). Psychic can function as a secondary STAB attack, providing good all-around coverage alongside Giga Drain, but leaves Celebi walled by Steel-type Pokemon, so it is advised to use Psychic alongside another coverage move. Nasty Plot Celebi has room for lots of options. The given EV spread, alongside a Modest nature, allows Celebi to outspeed all unboosted variants of Tyranitar (bar Choice Scarf), while maintaining efficient durability and maximum Special Attack. Some EVs can be placed into Speed from Special Attack to outrun a wider variety of foes since Celebi is already boosting its Special Attack. Celebi can also go the offensive route by utilizing a simple spread of 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe with either a Timid or Modest nature. In most scenarios, Celebi should use Life Orb because the recoil sustained will usually be made up by enhanced power and the HP healed by Giga Drain. Leftovers is always a viable option to keep Celebi healthy for most of the match, though the drop in power will be very noticeable.Besides faster Pokemon with a super effective move for Celebi, certain foes will trouble Celebi depending on the coverage it uses. Teammates who can handle what Celebi cannot are mandatory. For example, if Hidden Power Fire is used over Earth Power, Celebi will need a way around Heatran, so a Water-type with decent defenses, such as Rotom-W, Politoed, or Kingdra, should be used to put it in check. Unfortunately, Celebi is always going to be walled by Latios, Latias, and Hydreigon, all of whom resist Celebi's main attacks, the former two being able to set up with Calm Mind. Pursuit users are a quick answer to Latios and Latias, while Hydreigon can be handled by a faster teammate with a strong Fighting-, Dragon-, or Bug-type move. Blissey and Chansey, the two special walls of OU, will be annoyances when attempting a sweep, so the use of physical Fighting-type moves from lures is recommended.
Super Duper Clam Mind ( Yes Clam ._.) (PS: Something went wrong with the spacing ._. IDK)
Items: Leftovers (But somehow when i was typing the info, the spacing went perfectly.)
Nature: Bold (Sigh* The irony of this all well anyways enjoy T_T")
Moves (PSS: I FINALLY GOT A PICTURE!!! YESSSS!!!!! 1337 1010101010 L33T YETSTSTST)
-Calm Mind
-Recover
-Giga Drain
-Hidden Power Fire
EVs 252HP/96 Def/ 124 SpA/ 36 Spe
Though Celebi is always available as a Nasty Plot sweeper, Calm Mind is another boosting move that it can use with brilliant results. The ability to boost both its offense and one defense is simply valuable due to many checks relying on a special coverage move to eliminate Celebi, an effort which can be nullified with Calm Mind. After a couple of Calm Mind boosts, most unboosted attackers, such as Tyranitar and Jirachi, will struggle to break through Celebi's either boosted or invested defenses while being battered with the appropriate move. Celebi's access to two forms of recovery also plays a major role in its survivability, allowing Celebi to set up more easily than it would have with Nasty Plot.As usual, Giga Drain is the most beneficial STAB move for Celebi because of its consistent power and secondary effect. Taking into account the power and bulk Celebi obtains with Calm Mind, a boosted Giga Drain will keep it very healthy throughout the match so it isn't so reliant on Recover. However, with Calm Mind and Recover in one set, Celebi only has room for one other coverage move in the last slot, so it will always be walled by specific threats. In this case, the most effective choice is Hidden Power Fire, due to the popularity of Steel- and Grass-type threats that would otherwise wall Celebi. The other coverage moves mentioned previously are less viable on this set due to Celebi's moveslot syndrome against Steel-types that are immune to Ground-type moves. Please keep in mind that Celebi will have plenty of opportunities to set up multiple boosts, so it should not attack immediately unless necessary.The given EVs and nature are nearly the same for other similar sets, with the usual 36 EVs invested in Speed to outrun all unboosted variants of Tyranitar. 124 EVs in Special Attack means that Celebi can OHKO Adamant 252 HP / 216 SpD Scizor with Hidden Power Fire after a Calm Mind boost and Stealth Rock damage, while the remaining EVs are used to provide as much physical bulk as possible. Generally, investing in Special Attack is necessary to provide extra power, as Celebi would have little offensive presence otherwise. If initial power isn't a concern, simply pour the EVs into Defense for physical bulk. Because Celebi is played more defensively, Leftovers is basically a necessity for substantial healing.Although Calm Mind Celebi has an arguably easier time against revenge killers and some counters, it has coverage gaps that desperately need to be filled by other teammates. Again, using Hidden Power Fire with Giga Drain only means that Celebi will need additional insurance against opposing Fire-, Dragon-, and Flying-type Pokemon. Its problems are further worsened if it hasn't boosted enough times to sponge certain special attacks or break Substitutes, especially those from the likes of Heatran and Chandelure. A sturdy Water-type Pokemon with good coverage is a solution towards most of these threats, with Rotom-W being a prime teammate because of its access to Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave for Celebi's counters. Unfortunately, Latios, Latias, and Blissey will still raise issues even if Celebi conjured six boosts, so strong lures or Pursuit users for these threats are extremely necessary for Celebi to succeed in the long run.

In short, Celebi is somewhat limited in the offensive department. Swords Dance is generally inferior to Nasty Plot due to Celebi's small physical movepool, and it only has potential on a set using Baton Pass. Outside of Giga Drain, Celebi also has Energy Ball and Grass Knot to work with, the latter being able to hit Tyranitar, Milotic, and Suicune harder. However, Giga Drain is the most efficient option out of these three because of its recovering secondary effect, along with the fact that Giga Drain's base power is almost the same as Energy Ball's. Only consider Grass Knot if Celebi is in need of heavy damage.As opposed to its offensive options, Celebi has lots of support options. Celebi is a decent user of field effects, ranging from Trick Room, to Sunny Day, to Rain Dance. The latter two, however, can easily be set up by a permanent weather inducer such as Politoed or Ninetales. The only remotely useful weather move is Rain Dance, for the purpose of disrupting other weathers and setting up for Pokemon with the ability Swift Swim. Baton Pass is usable, but it is mostly outclassed by Mew, who has more options than Celebi can ever hope for. Other support moves include Heal Bell and Stealth Rock, one of which can replace a moveslot on defensive sets. Finally, Celebi has access to both Light Screen and Reflect, so a dual screen set with U-turn can be used to great effect. Celebi has a niche as a dual screen user because of its Grass / Psychic typing, though this in return gives Celebi many weaknesses.
It's certainly a shame Celebi didn't receive Psyshock, for it would have definitely crippled some of its best counters in the game: Blissey and Eviolite Chansey. While both can't really do much to Celebi due to its access to many forms of recovery (including Natural Cure for status), their high Special Defense ensures that Celebi can't do much to them either. Additionally, many Dragon-type Pokemon, especially Latios, Latias, and Hydreigon, will wall Celebi if it lacks the appropriate coverage move for them. Even then, Latios and Latias will both use Celebi as setup fodder for a Calm Mind sweep. In general, Celebi's main problem is being walled since its coverage is limited to few moves, but be prepared if Celebi happens to pack Hidden Power Fire or Earth Power for your Steel-type Pokemon. It would be safe to scout the grass pixie's movepool before switching in the appropriate resist. Celebi's other main problem is its seven weaknesses, all of which can be exploited by a faster Pokemon. Infernape, Gengar, Charizard, Tornadus, and Scolipede all have super effective STAB attacks to use against Celebi, making them amongst the best checks. Celebi must also be extremely wary of users of Pursuit and / or Choice Scarf, the most dangerous ones being Heracross, Scizor, and Tyranitar.
Well I'm done with POTWs :P and RMTs :P and this site :P (jk I Love This Site >3)
Later Everyone >3, Cheesecake-kun

***1/2 GC- Jonathan Auh
*** 1/2 QC-Jonathan Auh
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>

RMT: Rain Murdering Team!

Seeing as one of our members has kindly started off the site with our FIRST RMT, I decided that I'm going to follow-up with the second. I am going to show you the Pokemon themselves, and how much damage they can cause when put together.

-Let's rock and roll guys.-

First off, let me explain how I first came to this team. Wondering how to incorporate my custom Scizor set, which you will you see later, along with my custom Celebii set, which you will also see later. I came to the conclusion, that I should try making on of the overused, and dreaded, RAIN TEAMS. And if you have a rain team, you know what you should have in the team. Another note, is that Gastrodon and Kingdra could be used to replace the combination of Gyarados and Jolteon. Anyways, let's get on with this RMT.

TOED, TOED, TOED.

Politoed

EV: 252 special attack, 116 defense, 140 HP

Nature: Modest

Drizzle

@Choice Specs

-Hydro Pump

-Perish Song

-Ice Beam

-Focus Blast

Politoed is the best toad ever. Since it's boost in 5'th gen for the ability Drizzle, Politoed has risen from murky, swampy water, if you know what I mean. Drizzle allows Politoed's teammates to benefit from the rain it summons, and it benefits itself in some ways. The EV's given max out attack with it's nature, and give Politoed some great bulk. Hydro Pump is maximum way ahead, being an extremely powerful attack with rain, STAB, and good base power. Ice Beam pairs well in terms of typing, and takes care of some grass types. Focus Blast can be used to partly wear out Blissey, and help damage stuff like Ferrothorn and Gastrodon. Perish Song is just purely great for wearing out bulky Pokemon that have no where to go. Now, realizing I have a base for the team, I need supporters and other bases. Obviously, one build around on my team was the one and only....

-Pincers of Death-

Scizor

EV: 252 attack, 252 speed, 4 special defense

Nature: Jolly

Technician

@Life Orb

-Bullet Punch

-Bug Bite

-Swords Dance

-Superpower

Scizor is a bug that was manufactured in a factory, like those Hex Bug Nano thingies. Except a lot better. And cooler. Scizor's amazing typing allows it to get dual STAB, and good offensive typing at that. Rain better helps Scizor survive simple fire attacks that would otherwise knock it out. The EV's given help increase attack greatly, and surprise the opponent with a max speed of 251 at most. (This is my own custom  set.) Technician is obviously the best ability to choose, and Bullet Punch and Bug Bite utilize it to the most. Bullet Punch now has STAB and a Technician boost, doubling it's power. Who wants a iron fist coming into your FACE at priority? Bug Bite has the exact same effects, except it has higher base power, so it has 120 base power. Still REALLY powerful. Superpower annihilates steels like Ferrothorn and Heatran. Heatran is (mostly) no longer a threat now, because don't forget, Scizor runs MAX speed. Swords Dance is the surprise move to gain doubled attack power. Life Orb helps max out power, but keeps choice. In all, Scizor helps fend of certain threats for Politoed and the next SUPERSTAR (hinthint) of the team.... 

-Did you catch the joke I just made?-

Jirachi

EV: 172 HP, 252 speed, 84 special attack

Nature: Timid

Serene Grace

@Leftovers

-Substitute

-Thunder

-Water Pulse

-Calm Mind

Jirachi is a strong base of the team for many reasons. Serene Grace basically gets him completely overused, and his strong moveset is wide, allowing you many choices. This Jirachi is meant to run in rain, but can be also ran outside of it (just not ANYWHERE near as well). The EV's distributed max out your speed, outrunning every base 100 speed Pokemon without the right nature. HP and special attack are also benefited. The ability chosen is an obvious, being it's only one, and for good reasons. Substitute helps utilize Jirachi's good bulk, while allowing it to set-up. In rain, remember that it has only one weakness, Ground-types. Calm Mind bulks Jirachi up, and gives it a LOT more power. Water Pulse (in rain) gets a boost in power, and has a 40% chance of confusing the enemy, thanks to Serene Grace. Thunder has 100% accuracy in rain, and once again, thanks to Serene Grace, you get a 60% chance of paralysis to the opponent. Jirachi is a key point in this team, but falls dead to that damn slug, Gastrodon. To solve this, I added another custom set to the team, which uses entry hazards support, and can take Gastrodon OUT of the fight.......

-So adorably and cute... outside of battle.-

Celebi

EV: 100 HP, 60 defense, 48 special attack, 152 special defense, 148 speed

Nature: Bold

Natural Cure

@Leftovers

-Stealth Rock

-Leaf Storm

-Nasty Plot/Reflect/Light Screen

-Baton Pass/Reflect/Light Screen

Celebi is the main support of the team. With stats distributed similarly to Jirachi, it is well balanced, and can serve MANY roles. The role I have it play is the support and surprise attacker. With even stats, Leaf Storm can cause massive damage. Stealth Rocks is a must on nearly every team. Nasty Plot is what I chose for the next slot, because I use Baton Pass along with it. This set can surprise anyone, catching them off-guard, and I can Baton Pass to the next member of my team. If you are lacking defense on the team, you should opt for Reflect and Light Screen.  Don't forget, Celebi is benefited in the rain thanks to one less weakness. This Pokemon is a great aspect to my team, but not as great as......

-I did a POTW on him!-

Gyarados

EV: 156 HP, 72 attack, 96 defense, 184 speed

Nature: Adamant

Intimidate

@Leftovers

-Dragon Dance

-Taunt

-Waterfall

-Stone Edge

Gyarados is a good option for this team, thanks to the rain. The EV's given support the bulk of Gyarados, and provide a good base of the Gyarados itself. With a unique typing, Gyarados has the ability to sweep. Intimidate suppresses certain sweepers, stopping them cold and forcing a switch, which probably leads to the open Dragon Dance or Taunt. Taunt stops Ferrothorn and Blissey from setting up on you, and also some other threats like Skarmory. Dragon Dance is obvious, raising your speed and attack, making you a viable threat to ANY team. Stone Edge is for other Gyarados. Now you might think running Gyarados in the rain may be a bit dangerous due to Gyarados's 4x weakness to electric moves. In rain, Gyarados could be easily thwarted by Thunder, Thunderbolt, and Volt Switches. That's why we come to the last member of the team........

-Don't be fooled!-

Jolteon

EV: 252 special attack, 220 speed, 36 HP

Nature: Modest

Volt Absorb

@Life Orb

-Thunder

-Volt Switch

-Hidden Power [Ice]

-Shadow Ball

Finally we get to the end. Jolteon is a nice Pokemon with outstanding speed and good special attack. It's downfall is how frail it is physically. The EV's given help max special attack, while contributing to speed so you can still outspeed certain threats like Gengar, Ninetales, and Alakazam. Jolteon needs to watch out for priority moves, and Volt Switch IMMEDIATELY when it sees a Blissey. The reason why I would use Jolteon on a rain team is pretty obvious. Gyarados needs to watch his back for electric moves, but Jolteon can utilize it's ability and suck in energy to recover from Life Orb recoil and any other damage it may have taken. Thunder is a must in rain. Volt Switch allows Jolteon to scout while dealing a large chunk of HP. Shadow Ball helps to fend off Gengar. Hidden Power [Ice] keeps Gliscor away from you.

So that is my team, and obviously, you should RMT! Rate my team, tell me some tips, and thanks for joining the site! 

~Homura101

Intoxication

Responding to Cheesecake-Kun's post, I've decided to create the first RMT on the site. Jonathan has faced this team numerous times, and it seemed to work pretty well. It also worked well on the ladder on PO too. While the team itself can easily counter top threats, it has many problems with a certain star.... It's name.

JIRACHI

Jirachi is one of the biggest threats to this team. The only set problematic though, the SubCM set, in the rain. This is my biggest threat. While there are some other little beasts that destroy my team its this one that dismantles the whole team. In the end, if I ever see a Jirachi on a rain team, I'm dead.**

**I will name my biggest threats and other threats in the end. 

So without any more talking of the introduction, I present to you guys... 

 Intoxication

(Cause a Double Rainbow makes everything better)

iSpin (Claydol) @ Leftovers

Trait: Levitate

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef

Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)

- Stealth Rock

- Rapid Spin

- Earth Power/Reflect/Rest

- Ice Beam

Oh how I love you Claydol. Claydol's job on this team has 4 roles. Now, I know it may seem a lot, but Claydol is quite a durable puppet. It's first role, is very quite obvious. Seeing as this is a stall team, I knew I needed SR somewhere. Claydol usually gets it up quite easily, against things Exacdrill, Terrakion, Dragonite, Jirachi, etc... almost all physical pokemon. (*cough* Tyranitar *cough*) Having SR on this team is quite helpful on any team, so every team should have SR. It's second most important role, is to Rapid spin. I understand you might say Forretress could be better, but that would pale in comparison because Claydol provides much more utility to the team, with it's stellar resistances to EdgeQuake, and three of the metagames top threats. Terrakion, Dragonite, and the Sand Genie Landorus. Forretress easily is defeated by Dragonite with Fire Punch or even EQ, because Forretress unlike Claydol can't do anything to Dragonite. All it c an do is Gyro Ball, which is easily recovered with Roost. If it's an offensive DNite, then it is 2HKO'ed by Fire Punch. This is the reason I use Claydol over Forretress. The Third reason I use Claydol is because of the fact, that depending on the move I decide to choose. Reflect allows much more utility to the team, allowing many more of my pokemon to set up many physical pokemon. On the other hand, if I choose to opt for Earth Power I would be able to defeat Heatran, which would really help my team, seeing as he isn't hurt by Will-O-Wisp much, and he can rapid spin the SR if Heatran chooses to do so. Then there's Rest. Rest allows me to Rapid spin later, and if my SR happens to get sinned off, I can always come back to set it up again. This job is even easier because I have a cleric on my team, Roserade. The 4th reason, has already been mentioned, but Claydol is used to stop top tier physical threats, Dragonite, Landorus, and Terrakion. It can also easily counter Gliscor, as it is not below 50% health because an Ice Fang from a +2 Gliscor will KO at 50%. The move choices are quite obvious to provide the most utility to the team, by providing SR and Rapid spin at the same time. The 3rd move was chosen to counter Dragons that can dismantle this team. The 4th move is the hardest choice because there is so many options. While I usually use Earth Power, due to the Heatrans which plaque this metagame, Reflect and Rest allow me to live longer and provide some more utility to the team. Overall, Claydol provides lots and lots of utility to this team by countering prominent physical threats, and providing a 

 Solid Wall to many teams.

 

iRoses (Roserade) (M) @ Leftovers

Trait: Natural Cure

EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Toxic Spikes

- Sleep Powder

- Giga Drain

- Aromatherapy

Oh Roserade you little sneaky grass ninja. Roserade finds his way to this team through the fact it has so much utility to the team. Providing 3 things on one pokemon, that help this team so much, is pretty hard to find, but I stumbled upon Roserade, and immediately fell in love with her. Toxic Spikes is pretty much a given on any Roserade especially if used on a stall team. Toxic spikes when set up screws up many walls, weakening their ability to wall, by using poison to limit their lifespan. Sleep Powder is an amazing move (Even if it never hits) especially with the new sleep mechanics this gen. Sleep Powder helps stop things like Jirachi if it's not SubCM, and helps support the team by providing them with some extra turns if the pokemon decides to stay in. Having a pokemon asleep, technically is like taking one of the enemy's pokemon away, as they can't do anything. Aromatherapy is an awesome move, and is one of the only reasons I even opt to use Rest on Claydol. It helps with those Paralysis from Jirachi, Burns from Jellicent, random Scald Burns, Random Freezes, Aromatherapy just provides so much utility to my pokemon from any sort of status hax. Aromatherapy is well worth the moveslot, saving my butt many times. Giga Drain is used last, to provide a STAB move, additional recovery, and most importantly, not Taunt Bait. I opt to choose this pokemon over things like Ferrothorn which provide spikes, because overall it just provides more utility to the team. Toxic spikes also helps with things like Mew who can dismantle this team quite easily, with it's standard set. There;s one more thing I haven't mentioned yet, but you can probably guess it. If you haven't look back at it's typing. It absorbs Toxic Spikes. A stall team is dismantled by Toxic Spikes, which is a great pain in the butt. Roserade fixes this problem, by countering most major Toxic Spikers, Tentacruel and Forretress through Sleep Powder and setting up it's own, or I can bring in Claydol to spin if Forretress set up SR or Spikes. The moves are quite straightforward, by providing as much utility to the team, while I chose to opt for Specially Defensive Roserade, to counter most special threats. In fact it is only 2HKO'ed by A Heatran Fire Blast.

 

iFly (Skarmory) (M) @ Leftovers

Trait: Sturdy

EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SDef

Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)

- Roost

- Spikes

- Brave Bird

- Whirlwind

Stall, is all about utilizing Entry Hazards to deal damage. Stall is also about having great synergy, and having the ability to take a hit, and be able to outstall the opponent. Overall, Stall is all about Passive Damage. This is where Skarmory comes. Skarmory provides I think is more important than SR, the Entry Hazard known as Spikes. Spikes is a must on any stall team, and the best man (er... Bird I should say) I could find on a stall team was Skarmory. Skarmory has always been a prominent defensive wall, but it's more important nowadays due to the overload of fighting types that have flooded this generation. Skarmory easily sets up spikes on many physical pokemon due to it's Steel Typing. Steel is a great type, especially when combined with flying, provides many useful resistances to things like The ever so omnipresent Scizor, who just wrecks this team. I understand Skarmory is so overused, but he's the best spiker I could find, that could fit on the stall team, that's not Ferrothorn. Skarmory fills some physical gaps like Scizor, who can kill this team with the Right moveset and EV's. I would like to point out Jonathan's moveset for Scizor, which runs max Speed and with Superpower. This would wreck my team, if I didn't have Skarmory. Skarmory provides some nice utility through whirlwind, which helps this stall team so much. Skarm is the backbone of this team, and if he is allowed to set up 3 layers of spikes, you're in for one hell of a time. It also helps stop CB Haxorus and Dragonite. Skarmory is a key player on this team, and supports the team even more, is the team has to do less to win the game. It also provides  a very nice check to SD Gliscor who run Protect and not Taunt. I hate Taunt. 

     

 

iTran (Heatran) (M) @ Leftovers

Trait: Flash Fire

EVs: 252 HP / 248 SDef / 8 Spd

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Lava Plume

- Earth Power

- Protect

- Roar

 

iFat (Blissey) (F) @ Leftovers

Trait: Natural Cure

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd

Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)

- Wish

- Protect

- Seismic Toss

- Flamethrower

 

iNite (Dragonite) (M) @ Leftovers

Trait: Multiscale

EVs: 252 HP / 68 SAtk / 184 SDef / 4 Spd

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Roost

- Substitute

- Flamethrower

- Dragon Tail

Can't finish it today! Sorry guys. But I'll finish Tomorrow.  Have to get off. C ya at school tomorrow.


**1/2 QC (Jonathan Auh)
**1/2 GC(Jonathan Auh)

Order Forms!

Well, it's finally time to use the PokeShop for the first time people! To view items up for purchase, click here:
This is the PokeShop101 link!
So I hope you are all familiar with the points system. Everytime you post, defaulted, you receive one point. For an RMT, you may receive 10 points. For writing the week POTW, you receive 5 points. As you can see from the Points page......
Points display....
As you can see from this page, the leaderboard has Cheese-Cake_Kun on top with 20 points. He has been very active, and being very generous, I award him 5 extra points for his efforts. This month, depending on your rank, I will also award you EXTRA points. Anyways, on to the ordering ITSELF....

When you order something, it may be pending up to two weeks. But, the items you could receive do pay up for it. Here's what you'll do. Simply check the PokeShop101, and browse for any Pokemon you might want. Next, you must go to this post, and comment. Your comment should be in a format SOMEWHAT similar to this:

(Pokemon101) Name:
Do I have Black/White:
What item(s) do I want:
How many points I have:
Is this a good program:

Thanks for your contributions also, since we are on the way to becoming larger! Two more followers have joined, and I hope we can see more activity!

RMTs?

So recently i haven't seen some RMTs in the site. Actually, I don't think we've ever had an RMT in the site :o So next week i was thinking of making an RMT, but not a regular old OU team. No i'm going to put up a team which uses a NU sweeper or lead. Hope you'll check it out!

-Cheesecake-kun

Help the Site!

I found out, whenever you do something really easy, it helps the whole site grow. On the bottom of this post, you should see a toolbar, with social networking sites. Click the one that has a +1 symbol, and it will be recommended on google. Thanks for contributing!

Pokemon of The Week is.....

Gigalith should be a well used pokemon, but due to its many weaknesses and the fact that there has been an increase in Konjondo leads or Mienshao leads it hasn't been used often. High-Jump kick is one of the main problems why Gigalith hasn't been used. High-Jump kick gives 4x damage instead of the regular base 2x damage to Gigalith,but there is a set that can semi counter it.

Weaknesses
Normal:1/2 damage
Fire:1/2 damage
Water:2x damage
Grass:2x damage
Fight:2x damage
Poison:1/2 damage
Ground:2x damage
Flying:1/2 damage
Steel:2x damage

Type:Rock
Abilities:Sturdy
:Sand Strength or Sand Force(DW)

One fun fact about Gigalith is that it has no affect to the OHKO moves Horn Drill, Fissure, Guillotine,and Sheer Cold. As you should know, Sturdy assures that you cannot get OHKO from full health. Sand Strength or Sand Force increases all of Gigalith's Rock,Ground, and Steel type attacks and also gives invulnerability to damage from Sandstorm to Gigalith.

Gigalith doesn't actually have well proven sets except if you make a custom one.

Adamant Nature Gigalith
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/4 Atk/ 252 Def
Items: Leftovers

Moves:
-Stealth Rock
-Rock Blast
-Protect
-Toxic/Explosion

This set is used when leading with Gigalith. Putting the main portion of your EVs into a tankier set is necessary to start off. Putting the 4 remaining EVs into Atk is also useful since your adding to its enormous strength. Gigalith w/o the 4+ Atk EVs already has a base 300 attack with its adamant nature which gives 10% more Attack then your usual neutral natures. Stealth Rock starts off the beginning of a battle, so that this way you have an advantage when your opponent switchs.(Especially when they run a Baton Pass Set.)Rock Blast is just an amazing move. It counters and overpowers substitute sets and demolishes Ninjask and Shedinja leads.Protect is your counter towards Konjondo.(semi counter).Protect protects against High Jump Kick and brings Konjondo to nearly 50% health. Protect will also apply to all 2x and 4x attacks too Gigalith. However, protect can't be overused(which sucks :o). Toxic is great if you still want to use Gigalith later on. This way you can poison your opponents and put alot of damage over time. Explosion is great if you want to just end it now. Explosion, however, got nerfed so that it doesn't lower base defense. Explosion still does a great deal of damage and with Gigalith's 300+ base damage it should be a sure-kill and if not, should be at least at 25% health.

Careful Nature Gigalith
Ability: Sand Force or Sand Strength(DW)
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Atk/ 252 SpD
Item: Leftovers/Chesto Berry

Moves:
-Curse
-Rock Slide
-Earthquake
-Rest

This custom set is used for and against Sandstorm and or Trick Room sets. Careful Nature increases Gigalith's Special Defense while lowering its Special Attack. Sand Strength will increase Gigalith's base or physical attacks's strengths when in a sandstorm. Leftovers is best when your in a Sandstorm team and Chesto Berry is best when in a Trick Room team. Curse increases Gigalith's Attack and Defense so that now you'll have a ridiculously high SpD and Defense. When Sandstorm is activated you'll be able to do a lot of physical damage with Rock Slide and Earthquake. I chose Rock Slide over Stone Edge because of the fact it has more PP and it gives the chance to make the opponent flinch. Earthquake was chosen just because it was an overly awesome ground type move which receives a lot more power with Sand Force or Sand Strength's ability. Rest was chosen because after using Curse, you'll be able to have full HP and be able to take more damage from the physical or special side of attacks. This set displays Gigalith's abilities to the fullest. This set is probably the most effective because it uses all of his stats to it's full potential.

PS. Please tell me how to put a picture of the pokemon on these POTWs :O I'm really getting noobish at this now.

-Cheesecake-kun

Pokemon of the Week....

So recently, I put out a poll, asking which Pokemon you would have as the next Pokemon of the Week..... and the results are finished I guess. I seem to really favor one of the votes, and here's some useful information about out first NU tier Pokemon. He is a combination of grass-flying, giving him a somewhat nice offensive typing, but a terrible defensive typing. Here is the forgotten Pokemon, Tropius.


The bunches of fruit around TROPIUS's neck are very popular with children. This POKéMON loves fruit, and eats it continuously. Apparently, its love for fruit resulted in its own outgrowth of fruit. Children of the southern tropics eat as snacks the fruit that grows in bunches around the neck of TROPIUS. This POKéMON flies by flapping the leaves on its back as if they were wings. It flies by flapping its broad leaves. The bunch of fruit that grows around its neck is deliciously sweet. In the spring, it scatters pollen from its neck. It lives in tropical jungles. The bunch of fruit around its neck is delicious. The fruit grows twice a year. Because it continually ate only its favorite fruit, the fruit started growing around its neck. Delicious fruits grew out from around its neck because it always ate the same kind of fruit. The bunch of fruit around its neck ripens twice a year and is delicious. It's a highly favored tropical snack.



OVERVIEW:

Tropius is actually a pretty cool Pokemon, and it has a nice offensive typing, with dual STAB's over a large amount of Pokemon. However, the two things that sealed it off were it's extremely shallow movepool, and the terrible defensive typing it received. Also, when I say extremely shallow movepool, it really has, A REALLY. SHALLOW. MOVEPOOL. It does however, get two very nice abilities, Solar Power and Chlorophyll. He has a decent bulk, and a nice HP, with workable (but still low) offensive stats. Despite his few niches, he is not going to see much use within tiers, and even the NU tier.

ABILITIES:

Chlorophyll: Doubles speed within the sunny weather.

Solar Power: Takes away 1/10 of your HP to increase the move's power by 1.5.

Harvest: Recycles a berry infinite times with a 50% chance.

MOVESET(S):

Choiced-Tree

Moves:

-SolarBeam

-Hidden Power [Ground]

-Grass Knot

-Leaf Storm

Ability: Chlorophyll

EV's: 252 special attack, 252 speed, 4 HP

Item: Choice Specs

Nature: Modest

This is actually the best set, and the only set, you should run, and I'll tell you exactly why. The modest nature is to make your attacks hit as hard as possible. Choice Specs is also going to help your damage greatly. Chlorophyll doubles speed within sunny weather, and you really want to have some sort of Sunny Day setter to utilize it. The moves are meant to maximize damage to the most, while hitting a very large majority of the NU tier as neutral and super effective. SolarBeam is a must with the sun up. Hidden Power Ground takes care of Steels, Fires, and Electrics. Ice types are hit on neutral by grass moves anyways. Leaf Storm is a precious and devastating move. Grass Knot is just for anything else, as it has a shallow movepool.

NOTE:

For the moveset above, the reason why you don't want to choose Solar Power is because if you run a Choice Scarfed set, you only get 1.5 boost in speed, while being locked into a move, and the Solar Power increases your special attack the same as the Choice-Specs, but you even lose HP. Instead, you could opt for more speed with Chlorophyll, and Choice-Specs yourself to not lose HP.

Thanks for reading this week's POTW, I hope we can have more activity on the site!

Cast your Choice here!!!

I'm taking suggestions for the POTW this week, so please contribute! Anyone who adds a suggestion will receive double points!

Pokemon of the Week: Borderline?

Okay so sorry I didn't post up a poll on Monday to ask you guys for the next suggestions, because I had a little homework to finish up all week. Anyways, here is this week's POTW, a scary and Intimidating bird that's not quite OU, but BL, here is our 14'th Pokemon of the Week, Staraptor.



Predator Pokemon, Staraptor

 Overview:
Staraptor was never a favorite of mine in fourth gen, as it was used by nearly every single player that didn't play (respectively) competitively. Despite that fact, I would've probably used Staraptor also, but there were holes on my old team I had to cover up. *Cough Heatran* Anyways, he was introduced in fourth gen, and I'm pretty sure he was OU then. As fifth generation was introduced, Staraptor got one niche, his Dream World ability, Reckless. Other than this, Staraptor hasn't gotten any big changes to his use. He boasts a powerful STAB Brave Bird, and also a crushing STAB Double-Edge. He also gets access to the almighty Close Combat, which allowed Staraptor to OHKO and 2HKO walling steels. All this leads to his categorization, which is BL, or borderline.

Abilities:
Intimidate: Lower's the opponent's attack by one stage upon entering the battle: it's a very useful ability in some perspectives, although I prefer the other one.
Reckless: Raises the power of all recoil moves by 20%: this is where I think Staraptor gets it's new toys for fifth gen. Although it forces Staraptor to die quickly, this set can be used, rather to dent teams largely.

Moveset(s):

Anti-Lead:
Moves:
-Brave Bird
-Close Combat
-Double Edge
-U-Turn
Nature: Jolly
EV'S: 252 attack, 252 speed, 4 sp. defense
Item: Choice Band
Ability: Reckless/Intimidate

This set as I said before, is primarily used to dent large holes into the opponent's team. Staraptor boasts an excellent attack and speed, and it is used importantly in this set. Base 100 speed means speed tieing with other variants such as Jirachi, Celebi, and other Pokemon. Your nature allows you to outspeed all of them, if they do not have a speed boosting nature. Your main moves in this set are Brave Bird and Close Combat. Brave Bird is an excellent STAB move, and if you are running the Reckless ability, it has so much devastating power. Close Combat can 2HKO most of the steels in the OU and UU metagame, and OHKO's threats like Magnezone. Double Edge is another amazingly powerful STAB attack, but doesn't provide much coverage, as it is just for attacking. U-Turn is your scouting move, if you predict a switch in such as Espeon or Starmie, as they are threats that can OHKO Staraptor. Intimidate can be used if you want more support, but other than that, Reckless is the better go-to.

SUGGESTED SET(S):
***Pastrybomb
The only thing that can stop him from wreaking havoc on a weakened team is his speed. This set is usually used as the scout, and can destroy unprepared teams.

Item: Choice Scarf
EV's: 252 Atk/252 Speed/4Defense
Nature: Jolly/Adamant


~ Brave Bird
~ Close Combat
~ Return / Double-Edge
~ U-turn

One of Staraptor's obstacles to performing a successful sweep is the fact that there are many threats that can still outspeed and KO him before he can successfully land a hit. Giving Staraptor a Choice Scarf promptly eliminates this problem. By holding a Choice Scarf, it gains the ability to outspeed and take out its normal counters, yet still maintain a powerful offensive presence. Because of Staraptor's already high Attack and Speed, it can revenge or surprise kill many unsuspecting setup threats and would-be counters. Due to high Speed, Choice Scarf Staraptor can also make a great lead; unlike its Choice Band counterpart, Staraptor can now eliminate faster threats and limit set up.

In contrast to some alternative revenge killers and scouts, Staraptor is not offensively weak and can actually serve multiple roles on a team with just one of its moves. Brave Bird, as always, is a reliable STAB that can be used consistently, despite recoil. The only type that commonly resists the powerful Brave Bird are the Steel- and Rock-types, which can be easily handled with team members or Close Combat, and Electric-types, which can be taken care of by repeated switch-ins to Staraptor's Normal-type STAB move of choice. In addition to Brave Bird, Return or Double-Edge can be used alongside it to provide a powerful Normal-type STAB. Return is a reliable move that can pick off weakened opponents, whereas Double-Edge is basically a Normal-type version of Brave Bird with different coverage. Keep in mind that since this set is weaker than his other sets, Close Combat should be used only on weathered Rock- and Steel-types.

Unlike the previous set, U-turn is crucial here so Staraptor can take advantage of its Speed and act more as a scout and revenge killer. U-turn is a fantastic utility move that can throw the momentum of the battle into the user's favor. In addition, certain—if not most—Pokemon faster than Staraptor are hit super-effectively by U-turn, so it can make a dent by predicting switch-ins and U-turning to the appropriate counter. The scouting method should be used early-game so Staraptor will not easily stopped by bulky attackers.

Pokemon of the Week!!! Banned.....

So we have hit I think 19 followers! I'm happy, but you still know we have to keep our activity up. I'm proud to release another POTW this week, but also as a note, every Fridays, if you want a specific Pokemon to be POTW, I'm going to allow people to post their wanted Pokemon on the homepage. I hope this will increase our group activity here, and I know school is school, but be sure to at least check on the site from time to time. Anyways, back to out subject at hand, here is the latest Pokemon of the Week..... he's a banned Pokemon in Dream World tiers, due to his amazing ability Shadow Tag, which is also the reason Wobuffet was banned for the perviously two generations. He's secured a spot in Wi-Fi OU, for who knows how long..... he's the epic ghost of fire....... he's our 13'th Pokemon of the Week.... I present to you, Chandelure.

It absorbs a spirit, which it then burns. By waving the flame on its arms it puts its foes into a hypnotic trance. Being consumer in Chandelure's flame burns up the spirit, leaving the body behind.

OVERVIEW: Chandelure has been a favorite of mine ever since I saw it. He has that spooky boss face, and well distributed stats. It's defenses are frail, but still allow it to take weak attacks, and it's speed is base 80, a considerably slow speed, but decent. It's special attack is where the bombshells start to hit. He has a base 145 special attack, and when running max special attack (252 and modest nature) it hits a whopping 426 stat. Isn't that something to be afraid of? Chandelure was the best revenge killer around, with his ability via Dream World, Shadow Tag. If you rememebered in your LG/FR games, you could meet a Dugtrio, but never run away from it? Shadow Tag is the same, except that it works on all enemies, and not just land-bourne opponents. This made Chandelure one of the best revenge killers in OU. It could trap Scizor and Fire Blast it, it could catch Ferrothorn and send it away, it could even revenge kill Skarmory. Now Chandelure has been banned from Dream World OU, but still has uses in Wi-Fi OU.

ABILITIES:
Flash Fire: Raises the power of fire type moves if hit by one: it's a great ability actually when you have something like a Scizor on your team, and Chandelure can easily spam Fire Blast after that.
Flame Body: I think it's like...... has a 30% or 50% chance of getting burned if the opponent physically contacts you? It's not the best ability, but useful on some things, such as Volcarona.
Shadow Tag: Here is one of the best abilities for revenge killers, as it traps anything it switches into, and the target may not switch out, only being able to escape with U-Turn, Volt Switch, and Baton Pass.

Moveset(s):

Scarf-Lure
Moves:
-Shadow Ball
-Fire Blast
-Energy Ball
-Hidden Power Fighting
Nature: Modest
EV's: 252 special attack, 252 speed, 4 defense
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire

Let's talk about this scarf set, because it is arguably the best set of Chandelure out there. Your item is Choice Scarf to fix your slow speed. You want to max out your special attack, which will hit 426 with Modest nature. You want max speed to outrun a lot of things, while instead of putting 4 EV's in HP, you can now revenge kill and switch into Stealth Rocks 4 times. Hidden Power Fighting is for predicting Tyranitar switch ins, which 2HKO's. Fire Blast is meant to murder anything that doesn't resist it, or is Heatran. Energy Ball is for Politoed switch-in's which is also a 2HKO. Shadow Ball is your other powerful STAB attack, which annhialates Gengar, 2HKO's Jellicent, and cripples other scum. Your ability is Flash Fire, so what you're trying to get is a fire attack, then switch into Chandelure. One of the best companions to use this set with is Ninetales, as in sun and if Chandelure gets a Fire Blast to his face, Chandelure's Fire Blast is doubled in damage. Commong counters and things you have to look out for in this set are Tyranitar, as they will always attempt to switch-in, and you should carry HP Fighting for them.

Fighting-Lighting
Moves:
-Hidden Power Fighting
-Fire Blast
-Calm Mind
-Shadow Ball
Ability: Flash Fire
Item: Life Orb
EV's: 252 special attack, 252 speed, 4 defense
Nature: Timid

Not much to say here, only that your nature, one attack, and item are different for more power. Hidden Power Fighting may OHKO, depending on the Tyranitar. Chandelure's HP Fighting has an average of 340 damage, which is 1 short of a max HP Tyranitar with zero special defense or HP investment. Jellicent is OHKO'd if it doesn't run max HP investment by Shadow Ball. Politoed is 2HKO'd if it runs HP invesment by Energy Ball. However, upon getting a Calm Mind boost, all of the common counters for it can be destroyed.

Anti-Light
Moves:
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power Fighting
-Energy Ball
-Fire Blast
Item: Choice Specs
Nature: Modest/Timid
EV's: 252 speed, 252 special attack, 4 special defense
Ability: Flash Fire

This is arguably the other best Chandelure set out there, and I'll tell you exactly why. With the item Choice Specs, your whole game changes and you are good enough to take out every single common lead in the game. Tyranitar is now OHKO'd by HP Fighting. Jellicent is now OHKO'd by Shadow Ball. Politoed is now OHKO'd by Energy Ball. Hippowdon can easily be taken care of with 2 Fire Blasts, 2 Energy Balls, or even two Shadow Balls. Breloom can be taken out if you have a Timid nature. This set OHKO's many leads in the book. Gliscor? OHKO. Conkeldurr switch in? OHKO.

Counters:
Dragonite is a great example of a counter, as it has Multiscale, which causes Chandelure's Shadow Ball to only 2HKO. He can set up a Dragon Dance and simply Outrage away. Gengar is also a good counter to the non- scarfed sets, as it can outspeed and easily counter with it's own Shadow Ball. Chansey and Blissey can wall Chandelure and Toxic stall it. Hydreigon poses a small threat to all three sets, as on average, it can survive an HP Fighting and counter with a Draco Meteor. Vaporeon can survive an Energy Ball and counter with a Scald. Kingdra poses a threat to all sets, as it can survive a Shadow Ball and counter with a Dragon Dance or Waterfall. Gyarados is another common switch in, and can easily set up over Chandelure. Scarfmie is deadly to Chandelure, and Salamence is another good counter.

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