Monday, November 21, 2011

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

3 comments:

  1. Anyways.... nice POTW Justin. I'm glad you got the hang of the picture issue. Okay on to the quality... sounds good. Very thorough. I'm glad you mentioned certain threats such as Dragon-Types, Pursuit variants, and especially the bug himself... SCIZOR. I think you should add the VERY underused, but amazing set of a Celebi with Stealth Rocks, maybe similar to the one I mentioned in my RMT. Thanks for posting once again! I'll give this a QC, but watch the grammar (I'm still giving you a GC).

    ReplyDelete
  2. ._. Mweh can i be the gym leader now >3

    ReplyDelete

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