Topic: Unsuspected, "unviable" Niche Pokémon of the Day

[The Shrub Dragon]

i ship rubyregice 5ever to the moon and back <33

[Delicious_Scout]

Yes, I do as we- OH, NO!

__________

OH, NO! IT'S REGIGIGAS!

Oh, no! MetaSprite represented Regigigas!

OH, NO! A POKÉMON THAT IS VIRTUALLY A(N) ÜBER IS STICKING (and has since it was released) IN NU!

Regigigas

HP: 110 | Attack: 160 | Defence: 110 | Special Attack: 80 | Special Defence: 110 | Speed: 100

Yes, you read them well (I assume). A Pokémon with a BST of 670 is sticking in NU. Is it because of its pure Normal Type? Because it can not learn Rest nor Protect?

NO!

The reason why Regigigas is in NU is because of its ability, Slow Start, which halves Regigigas' Speed and Attack for Five solid Turns. Combine this with its inability to use Protect, Rest, and most pure Set Up Moves (bar Rock Polish and Double Team, although Rock Polish on a Normal Type sounds extremist and Double Team is usually not allowed and dirty), and Regigigas has a hard time doing anything. And when I mean "anything", I literally mean anything, because most of its sets are based on Stalling with Thunder Wave, Confuse Ray, Substitute, and attack with Return once the Five Turns are over.

In spite of all of this, another Pokémon received a Boost (a Speed Boost, to be clear): Scolipede.

…

How is this relevant in any imaginable regard? Scolipede has synergy with Regigigas: it resists x4 Fighting while being able to Baton Pass anything that Regigigas might need, from Sword Dance boosts to Substitutes, passing through Iron Defences. Being the best Baton Passer in OU, it can also represent a threat for the opponent per se with its decent Base 100 Attack and excellent Coverage. In fact, with a couple of Speed Boosts and one Sword Dance, Regigigas "returns" to its original forme, and, if it happens to outstall or simply survive the other Five Turns, it is nearly unstoppable. But simply Baton Passing is not enough, mostly because any Pokémon is able to turn into a monster with those boosts (not happens much today due to Baton Chain Clause); Regigigas is not just able to simply kill, but also resist with its own gargantuan bulk and movepool.

While reading the set below keep in mind the above-mentioned support, or else this set will miserably fail.



Heavy… heavy clothing…

Regigigas @ Leftovers/Life Orb
Adamant/Jolly Nature (+Att/Spe, -SpA)
EV: 252 Att/4 Def/252 Spe
Ability: Slow Start Fast Learners are losers

Return
Fire Punch/Drain Punch
Ice Punch/Stone Edge/Substitute
Knock Off/Thunder Wave

Implying Regigigas has received any boost from Scolipede (or even Mew if you are brave enough), especially a Sword Dance one along a Speed Boost or two, one has the capacity to use one Über with relative ease. Return is a very powerful STAB that hits most of the Metagame for Neutral Damage, and the ones that resist this move will face a dangerous Fire Punch or Drain Punch, depending on your preferences (Fire Punch for Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory; and Drain Punch for Tyranitar, basically).

Ice Punch hits Landorus and Gliscor for very good damage, although Stone Edge is basically a hard-hitting filler that hits most things for neutral damage, and it has the ability to hit most Flying Types for Super Effective Damage, which is very handy considering Thundurus roams almost freely in OU. Talking about that, it will try to either go for the kill if you are at +2, or simply try to Thunder Wave you thanks to Prankster. If you are very wary of Prankster, you might as well use Substitute on the switch, thus protecting you from being paralysed and OHKOing 68.8% of the times with Return. The last slot is a support move; Knock Off is the general utility (and it hurts a lot coming from Regigigas), while Thunder Wave can be used to stop some opponents and their sweeps, especially if combined with Substitute, because it is very unlikely that Regigigas will be able to go back to the battlefield. As well, Substitute and Thunder Wave can buy some turns in order to get rid of Slow Start, thus being almost invincible. In fact, this is one of the best users of stalling using a Baton Pass chain, along with Espeon.

Athough this Regigigas is able to work in extremis without any kind of boost, doing so it is not advised to to its low damage output and Speed, but in those cases, going with Drain Punch, Substitute, and Thunder Wave is the way to go, along Leftovers. At least if will have the option of doing some damage after hazards have been deployed, because Baton Receiver Regigigas is usually brought early in-game, thus relying next to zero in residual damage.

Teammates include anything carrying a Choice Scarf of a handy set of resistances to end what Regigigas has weakened; priority is welcome. Ah, did I talk about Scolipede? I think I did. Bringing a Regigigas behind a Substitute is a very difficult thing to outpower; try taking advantage of the panic if you want to support your team with Knock Off or Thunder Wave, then. Keep in mind, though, that Regigigas is NU for a reason; do not expect to master it from day one; first, try more reliable options, and then go for our golem. This way you will be able to check the pros and the cons of having it on your side.

Regigigas, the Pokémon whose body is not ready. Should you not play Wii Fit with it, you will not behold how fantastic this creature is. And how easily it can crush you given the right context.

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So, what do you think of Regigigas? Should it get a better ability? Will it ever get love? More in the next issue!

[SirBlaziken]

It really should get pressure, it's at least better than slow start.

[the bread dragon]

give it defeatist so its terribad but not as much

[Richard and Blaziken]

Thunder Wave + Confuse Ray is great for Regigigas too. While not something I'd recommend for anything else, it allows it to buy itself more turns to rid itself of Slow Start without losing HP like Substitute causes.

[Delicious_Scout]

I did think about including Confuse Ray on this set, but then Regigigas, although forcing some switches, basically gambles: if the strategy fails, then good bye to the boosts. Moreover, I am unable to see where it could fit; all its attacking and supporting options are tightly set.

In any event, time for another "legendary" Pokémon has come.

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Today, meet the first truly exaggerated semi-legendary. Give a round of food to our friend… Slaking.

Slaking after noticing MetaSprite stole all its food.

Do you know how broken Slaking is? Me neither. Yes, it has Über stats, but, as with Regigigas, its ability is what holds it back, although it achieved BL in Generation III. Seriously, take a look at these stats:

Slaking

HP: 150 | Attack: 160 | Defence: 100 | Special Attack: 95 | Special Defence: 65 | Speed: 100

No, it is not slow; base 100 is very quick for such a lazy and fat Pokémon. But it has an ability marginally worse than Slow Start: Truant. Truant forces the user to attack during one turn and loaf around during the following one; this translates into not being able to hit through Protect and enabling the opponents to do whatever they want. If you want a high-risk, high-reward member, look no further: Slaking is your Pokémon.

In fact, choosing a set is easy; what makes it better or worse is when and with whom you use it.



BD (Before Durant)

Slaking @ Choice Band
Adamant/Jolly Nature (+Att/Spe, -SpA)
EV: 252 Att/4 Def/252 Spe
Ability: Truant

Retaliate/Return
Earthquake/Hammer Arm/Focus Punch
Stone Edge/Night Slash
Pursuit/Ice Punch

Like Regigigas, it relies on Normal for STAB: Retialiate is very powerful, especially after a teammate has fainted (when you should bring Slaking to the battle), but Return is a much safer option if you, for some reason, want to stay or are wary of a safe switch-in.

The next slot is for Steel/Rock types that would like to stomach a Normal STAB; in those cases, Earthquake, Hammer Arm, and Focus Punch are very good options. Earthquake, although most times undesirable with a Choice Item, is the safest option in terms of precision, but Hammer Arm provides overall a means to hit Bronzong and Skarmory, as well as Air Balloon users. If you want to go kamikaze (Slaking is a kamikaze, after all), Focus Punch deals ludicrouls amounts of damage, and because it will force many switches, can be effective under some right predictions.

Stone Edge is to have more coverage, and it is a good move to have, overall. If you are very worried about Ghost types (Gengar, basically), or Psychic types, Night Slash is enough to KO most of them, but be wary that it will deal more or less the same amout of damage that Return does. Notice that both moves have a high chance of landing a Critical Hit.

The last slot determines what will be Slaking's final objective. If you want to KO fleeing Pokémon, Pursuit is the way to go; if you want to defeat Dragonite, Gliscor, and Landorus-T (with a slight chance to OHKO all of them without any kind of prior damage), Ice Punch is recommended. It really does not matter what you choose, because Slaking will do its job well.

An Adamant nature is chosen over a Jolly one for the same reason as Darmanitan: it needs all the power it can get (using Sticky Web support is highly recommended). Ah, and Truant is not totally worthless: Mega Alakazam will not want to switch on you for obvious reasons (it will Trace Truant and it can not come in any attack; it is immediately KOed due to its lack in physical bulk). If you want to consider an Assault Best for switching more often or a Choice Scarf to end with those pesky fast Pokémon it is up to you.

Slaking, the American Citizen Simpson Pokémon. You'd better carry your Protection, or else this Pokémon will pervesively plug through your dignity and leave you crying in a corner.

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I would ask you what you think about Slaking, but I think we all reach the same conclusion: underrated and nerfed beast. See you the next day in the next article!

[E.C.A.M.B.S.]

I never knew that Slaking had Uber stats. To be honest, I, not knowing much of anything about competitive battling, was expecting Hyper Beam to be on there.

Also, I'm interested to see what your opinion is on Wobbuffet.

[Raphetty]

I never knew that Slaking had Uber stats. To be honest, I, not knowing much of anything about competitive battling, was expecting Hyper Beam to be on there.

I hope you mean Giga Impact. You should at least know the difference between physical and special attacks. Yes, Hyper Beam used to be physical in Generation 3, but has been special since 4. The real reason we don't use either move is so you can hit once and then switch out. Either way the opponent has a free turn, but at least you should gain some advantage from the switch.

[The Shrub Dragon]

^ lol chill not everyone battles competitively it's all fine yeah?

[Delicious_Scout]

Raphetty is right, although, for some reason, Smogon's Damage Calculator thinks Slaking's standard set should include Giga Impact. Keep in mind, thought, that some members don't know what a physical or special move is, or it can be the case she messed up her knowledge.

(According to our chat room, she is an adorable qtpi, anyway)

[…] Also, I'm interested to see what your opinion is on Wobbuffet.

My opinion is that Wobbuffet is cute. I can not say anything else because its sets are very well known and it is an actually viable Pokémon (read the name of my section to refresh your memory).

Talking dirty about refreshing…

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… today, I present the first legendary (in the Pokédex). Welcome, Articuno.

As usual, credits to MetaSprite. Again. And again.

Articuno is a cool Pokémon. But it does not Rock (x4 Weakness to Rock). Yes, Ice/Flying is not the best typing ever, but it does have many perks, for example being Neutral to Ice, Fighting, and having a very good STAB combination. Its ability, Pressure, works well with its stats, which are as follows:

Articuno

HP: 90 | Attack: 85 | Defence: 100 | Special Attack: 95 | Special Defence: 125 | Speed: 85

This is probably the best defensive Ice-Type you will encounter in the game. Ah, and it also gets Freeze-Dry, and Articuno makes excellent use of it (not as good as Lapras, mostly because Lapras can use Specs more freely). But back in Generation I, Articuno was used for offence, and it was UU. During Generations II and II it was considered BL, and from Generation IV it finds itself flying at the bottom, in NU. I do think it is a genuinely overlooked Pokémon, not like a few I have reviewed.

Since Articuno's defensive sets are very well known (?) I will purpose a more offensive approach (prepare your Pop Corn and your laughter).



Marticuno (thanks to RubyRobin for the name of the set)

Articuno @ Life Orb/Leftovers
Modest/Timid Nature (+SpA/Spe, -Att)
EV: 4 Def/252 SpA/252 Spe
Ability: Pressure

Freeze-Dry
Hurricane
Hidden Power Fire
Roost/U-Turn/Ancient Power

Yes, it sounds ridiculous, and it should be, but it is a very capable lurer and Special Attacker. With Freeze-Dry, Articuno can beat one-to-one those pesky Water Types that usually wall Ice Types such as Froslass (if it ever wants to attack). Hurricane, despite its far-from-reliable accuracy, is a very powerful attack resisted by few Pokémon in the Metagame, and it complements Freeze-Dry very well. But if you are looking for the perfect coverage, look no further: Hidden Power Fire is the ultimate luring weapon: capable of OHKOing most Scizors (don't risk your game and use Stealth Rock for once!), it allows Articuno to use Roost afterwards, or even U-Turn if you loathe Chansey and Blissey. Ancient Power is a mention because it is a reliable way to eliminate Talonflame, which otherwise would be problematic.

The EV are the ones for a standard Sweeper/Wallbreaker. Modest is chosen to deal as much damage as possible, due to Articuno's awkward Base Speed (for OU), thus using Sticky Web or Paralysis is heavily advised. If you are too concerned about this, and you want to scout a lot (lol X4 Weak to Stealth Rock damage), then a Timid nature with U-Turn is advised. Keep in mind, though, that you will have to Roost often if opting for such a strategy due to Life Orb's recoil. Leftovers is acceptable because it allows Articuno to be less dependent on Roost; both natures are OK with that item. Hail and Rain may be used with caution.

Articuno, the Cold Turkey Pokémon. Never underestimate a bird that has achieved to fly with its ings frozen, or else you will end up burnt.

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So, what do you think about Articuno? Would you hug it? Are my strategies going too far? Find it out during the next issue!

[Delicious_Scout]

Wow, you did react in a cold manner to Articuno's article.

__________

Today's article is on a fossil that looks like the offspring of a scorpion and a crab. Ladies and gentlemen, here you have… Armaldo.

Yes, Armaldo likes the MetaSprite!

Armaldo is one of those Pokémon that are there and not many people pay attention to. I wonder why. In any case, it was BL in Generation III and it went down to NU from Generation IV to nowadays.

This does not mean anything yet. Its abilities and movepool, along its Stats (shown below) are usually enough to make it unpredictable and threatening.

Armaldo

HP: 75 | Attack: 125 | Defence: 100 | Special Attack: 70 | Special Defence: 80 | Speed: 45

It is physically-defensive sturdy, apparently. Yes, it is, and its regular ability, Battle Armor, marginally improves that tanking ability. One, though, might quickly notice that its Speed is "unsalvagable" without Sticky Web or Paralysis support; this is not entirely true. With its Hidden Ability, Swift Swim, can double its Speed under the Rain. Combine it with its ability to learn almost any relevant boosting move (Curse, Hone Claws, Iron Defense, Rock Polish, and Sword Dance) and Armaldo looks more menacing. But guess what move it got via breeding: Aqua Jet, finally being granted a Priority Move, what it needed. Yes, Aqua Jet's power is increased under Rain, if you did not know.

Let's see what we can do.



PokéCangrejo II

Armaldo @ Life Orb/Choice Band
Adamant Nature (+Att, -SpA)
EV: 252 Att/4 Def/252 Spe
Ability: Swift Swim

Stone Edge
Knock Off
Aqua Jet
Earthquake/Superpower

This is what Armaldo likes to look like under Rain. Although, ironically, Armaldo is weak to it, its ability, Swift Swim, make it a very dangerous Sweeper or Punch-Holer. Stone Edge is the main and only STAB, because X-Scissor implies dirty lesbian things and Poképhilia is not good is both weak and covers very little, especially if used with Stone Edge. Knock Off is the most spammable move in the game; even Terrakion is unable to switch into it, because Armaldo can outspeed and OHKO it with Superpower or Earthquake, and heavily damage Terrakion with Aqua Jet. Talking about Aqua Jet…

252+ Atk Life Orb Armaldo Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Talonflame in Rain: 239-283 (80.4 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

It will easily end Talonflame, even after priority by Gale Wings, thus being pretty much very hard to stop by one of the most common revenge killers (Brave Bird recoil will finish the job). Mega Pinsir fears the same destiny, but it deals even higher damage than Talonflame:

252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Quick Attack vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Armaldo: 97-115 (27.4 - 32.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Armaldo: 246-291 (69.4 - 82.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Missing with Stone Edge is Armaldo's doom. Earthquake and Superpower are Armaldo's final options to deal damage while the Rain is pouring, because it will be very likely prone to switch when Rain is not present.

The spread is very fortunate: with 252 EV in Attack, Armaldo hits like a lorry, and 252 in Speed grant a total of 189 Speed, 378 under rain, meaning you will outspeed Timid Greninja and speed-tie with Postive-Natured, 232 Speed Weavile, which can not do much to Armaldo.

Life Orb is the recommended item, because Armaldo is powerful per se:

252+ Atk Life Orb Armaldo Stone Edge vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 316-372 (110.4 - 130%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Yes, although Greninja is not the definition of "sturdy", earning a OHKO on a neutral Pokémon is an evidence of Armaldo's raw power. Using Earthquake, then, is advised, because correcting the error in case a Flying or Levitating Pokémon appears is easier; if opting for Choice Band, feel free to use Superpower for hit-and-run shenanigans; keep in mind, though, that Knock Off will lose a lot of power after the first use, and it is likely the least useful move from Armaldo in this set. Jolly is recommended if Mega Alakazam is very, very problematic, but it should not with a couple of Aqua Jets, and the loss of power is crucial. Rapid Spin can fit where Knock Off is, but keep in mind that you will miss the support from Knock Off, and Armaldo needs every single turn from Rain to cause damage.

Armaldo, the Cangrefósil Pokémon. How it becomes so fast under Rain is a mystery, but your defeat if you are careless will not.

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So, what do you think about Armaldo? Is it a nice-looking Pokémon? Will you ever remember it? Are the other fossils superior? More during the next issue!

[E.C.A.M.B.S.]

I hope you mean Giga Impact. You should at least know the difference between physical and special attacks.

If teachers would stop assigning so much homework, I probably would.

Armaldo was on my first Emerald team. I didn't like it very much. I spent most of my time playing Emerald anyway, and I didn't explore Armaldo's uses in more recent gen's. I kept on ignoring Armaldo (though its awesome design can't be ignored) so I was fascinated how you exposed its uses. Though I was also expecting you to add a set that includes status moves since you mentioned a bunch of them making Armaldo look more menacing.

edit: Stantler.

[The Shrub Dragon]

Wow, you did react in a cold manner to Articuno's article.

i'm going to react in a cold manner to that pun as well

[SirBlaziken]

Shrub, stop giving Scout the cold shoulder. *Is shot*

I wonder which user is under review after Chloe.

[Delicious_Scout]

Shrub, stop giving Scout the cold shoulder. *Is shot*

I wonder which user is under review after Chloe.

Nah, you [Sappy] are next. Talking about being the next of something…

Good game, ShinyBaka. Talking about bakas…

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… today, we are not talking about a baka, but about one of our cuties. Say hello to… Chloe!

"Snotty bear? Snotty bear". Chloe on her work for MetaSprite; therefore, credit to her.

Our favourite Ice/Fairy user is, indeed, very curious. She is soomehow shy, but easily outgoing. She enjoys books (and reading in general), but can mess with "its" and "it's". What does that mean? That this will be a weird analysis (as with most written by me). In any event, she is OP (Ordering Pizza).

After having taken a look at her stats, we shall commence:

Chloe

HP: 169 | Attack: 49 | Defence: 99 | Special Attack: 162 | Special Defence: 101 | Speed: 100

Cutémon

Chloe @ Lure Ball
Impish Nature (+Banter, -Mercy)
EV: 248 HP/8 SpA/252 Spe
Ability: Pressure

Attract
Sleep Powder
Trick
Volt Switch/U-Turn

This is Chloe's standard set in competitive, and it is a very powerful one. With Attract, Chloe can assure all Pokémon and battlers love her. All of them, including genderless and female ones. Under this condition, Chloe can now proceed to use Sleep Powder, thus rendering the rivals useless, while Tricking them with a Lure Ball, eventually capturing them for her own evil collection of pain and sugar. After having performed this shenanigan, it is necessary to get the heck out of there; Volt Switch deals a lot of damage thanks to base 162 Special Attack, but if you are too concerned about Grounded people who will never be able to love, U-Turn is the best solution to run away.

With the spread that has been provided, Chloe can switch into Stealth Rock five times, thus easily eliminating 5 opponents in a row, and Pressure is chosen to make sure they are hard-pressed to adore her.



A Winner is Me

Chloe @ Silk Scarf
Modest Nature (+GG, -Banter)
EV: 4 Def/252 SpA/252 Spe
Ability: Rattled

Celebrate
Hold Hands
Transform
Hidden Power Fire

Because you are totally not a loser, Chloe will (sarcastically) call you a "loser". In those cases, in chat, a rare event will occur: party hard (aKa partyboob). Celebrate, then, is the obvious choice for Chloe, as, without it, party would not befall. Because Alex will likely be there and Chloe likes sharing happiness, Hold Hands is chosen to form a kick-ass combo that everyone will fear and, afterwards, explode because of the exessive amount of happiness one would accumulate.

If that was not enough, Transform allows her to turn into the almighty Skrelp, and Hidden Power Fire is for those cases a rancid yet iron-ic admin blocks her path, dealing Super Effective damage to them.

Rattled is the ability of this set because Chloe might be afraid of bugs or people bugging her during the chat, Modest nature is picked due to the fact bantering during sarcasm does nor produce very friendly results, and Silk Scarf is equipped because Chloe is so fabulous that not equipping it in such a fancy set would be a crime.



Ice Pizza Challenge

Chloe @ Flame Orb
Jolly Nature (+Yay!, -Meh)
EV: 248 HP/252 Def/8 Spe
Ability: Oblivious

Crunch
Judgement
Spit Up
Swallow

Sometimes, Chloe might be hungry in the physical world; to avoid a Global-Scale disaster, Chloe has to feed herself. Notice that using another nature other than Jolly would cause a big problem, so this is out of discussion, and the same goes with the ability, which makes her not notice if a steak is too cooked due to the Flame Orb (which cooks her food) or this kind of paraphernalia.

Crunch is the main move: without it, Chloe would be unable to eat, thus causing mass destruction to the world and starvation to her, and both are unacceptable (right?). Because Chloe is a human (you did guess that!), she has a taste; Judgement determines whether the food is good or bad, thus leading to the next moves, Spit Up and Swallow: if the food is good → Swallow, otherwise → Spit Up (at Delicious_Scout's face, if possible). After being pleased, Chloe will be happy, and so will we.

Chloe, the Librarian Guy challenging user. Should you not have your body, food, and bater ready, assume you will be OHKOd in a second.

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So, what do you think about Chloe? Is she a clear Über? Will she ever stop being an invisible user? More next week!

Schedule: A surprise.