Pokemon of the Day! (Bringing this back)

[Meowstic Royalty]

Waddup everyone. Shiny is back. I know it's been ages since I did anything major with this site. I looked back on some of my old posts, and I found that this idea of Pokemon of the Day had sort of died out without warning.

Well, I'm going to bring it back. I may not get an update squeezed in every single day due to well, life.

I've decided to start fresh, with a new thread. This is due to the fact that it's too late to revive the old one, along with the fact that much of the stuff there is currently outdated with the entrance of Generation 6.

Anyway, the first Pokemon is here. I've explained it before in the last POTD thread, but I'm running through it again because it's a very different Pokemon this time around.

Scrafty!



It can smash concrete blocks with its kicking attacks. The one with the biggest crest is the group leader.

I may be Shiny Mega Gengar, but Scrafty will remain my favorite Pokemon forever. Unfortunately, Scrafty is by far the Pokemon most affected by everything generation 6 has to offer. Last generation, Scrafty was in the UU tier, and it was one of the deadliest Pokemon of that tier. Heck, it was a badass in OU as well, with one Dragon Dance making it close to unstoppable.

With generation 6, all of that has changed. We now have Fairies, Gale Wings and Flying Press. Fairies have dominated Scrafty more than it dominates Dragon types. Gale Wings can pretty much put a stop to any Scrafty on the spot unless it has a few defense boosts under its belt, and Flying Press... That's a multiplier of 8 or 12 times the damage right there. No chance of survival unfortunately.

Thankfully, Scrafty still has counters to each and every one of these weaknesses.

Pros:

• Dragon Dance and Bulk Up are both stat boosting moves that Scrafty can make good use of.
• DD and BU both have perfect physical moves to go with them.
• Fairies can be defeated with Poison Jab, Talonflame's Gale Wings can be slowed down with Bulk Up's defense boosts and Hawlucha's Flying Press can be stopped before it's even started with a good Ice Punch.
• An insane movepool allows you to make good use of Scrafty, with good coverage over types that the rest of your team is weak to.
• Massive natural defensive stats mean it will most likely take more than one hit to go down.
• Three great abilities mean Scrafty can be useful in a lot of ways. It is also unpredictable.

Cons:

• Fairies.
• Being weak to Talonflame's Gale Wings is a massive punch in the face if you don't have your defense boosted.
• Even with the high defensive stats, a base HP stat of 65 makes them mean nothing.
• Scrafty's stats excluding defensive ones aren't particularly great.
• FAIRIES.

Abilities:
Shed Skin: Scrafty has a 33% chance of being healed of it's status condition at the end of each turn. This can be extremely helpful due to the fact that almost any status condition can stop Scrafty in it's tracks if you don't have a Lum Berry on hand. But if the odds aren't in your favour, Scrafty could be ended before Shed Skin works.
Moxie: Scrafty's preferred ability, boosting it's attack by one stage each time it knocks out an enemy. This is the ability preferred by sweepers, making Scrafty progressively more powerful.
Intimidate: Lowers the opponent's Attack by one stage upon entering the battlefield. While it may not be as usable as the other two abilities, it always gives you an evil, sinister feeling to stop any Physical sweeper on it's tracks before the turn even starts.

Movesets:

Dragon Dance sweeping:

- Dragon Dance
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch/Iron Head

Item: Life Orb/Lum Berry
Ability: Moxie
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP

The Scrafty set that is difficult to stop once it gets going. This is definitely the set you want to go for, if something else in your party can take out Talonflame due to no Defense boosts being able to stop a Brave Bird to the face.

You can't really argue with getting an Attack and Speed boost in just one turn. That one turn makes Scrafty absolutely fatal if your opponent can't stop it. Knock Off has more power if used against a Pokemon holding an item (basically, everything). Drain Punch stops Scrafty from being defeated too quickly. Iron Head or Ice Punch, whichever one you go for, it will give Scrafty a higher chance of sweeping, or at least leaving a massive dent in the opponent's team. Ice Punch can defeat Flying types and common Dragons, and Iron Head is a powerful Fairy counter. If you're going for Ice Punch, take this word of advice. If you see a Fairy, run.

A Life Orb means Scrafty takes damage each time it deals it. However, that health can be easily restored with a well-timed Drain Punch. With that in mind, that's essentially a free 1.3X power boost. A Lum Berry acts like an immediate, but one-time-only Shed Skin. Paralysis? Burn? Toxic? Lum Berry can put a stop to that.

Bulk Up sweeping

- Bulk Up
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Iron Head/Ice Punch

Item: Life Orb
Ability: Shed Skin
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Attack, 252 HP, 4 Defense

Now this is the set I prefer using. It's slightly more reckless, because without a Speed boost, pretty much anything outspeeds it and can deal a lot of damage. This is why Bulk Up was made, meaning a Physical attacker can't do much to it. The set is pretty much similar to the Dragon Dance one, just with a different stat-boosting move.

Like I said, it's reckless, but it doesn't mean it's easy to stop. Shed Skin means status conditions can be halted quickly if you're lucky. This means you don't need a Lum Berry, so you can use a Life Orb for a good power boost. It has a lot of power under its belt, and yet it can still be a pain to stop if your opponent doesn't have the right Pokemon, with Defense boosts, quick status condition elimination and boosted HP.

Next time: Charizard!

[SirBlaziken]

Well then, It's nice to see this is back. I never used scrafty, but I faced one once, I won the battle, but I was foolish and it DD swept half my team. >.>

[the bread dragon]

this guy is a monster if you can get those moxie boosts going
i noticed HJK wasnt mentioned anywhere, it can be a good alternative to drain punch with the 140 or so BP

[Richard and Blaziken]

High Jump Kick > Drain Punch on DD. Rest should absolutely be mentioned as an option in the last slot on Bulk Up alongside Shed Skin.

[Meowstic Royalty]

Charizard!



Now, I am one of those people who are practically the opposite of a Genwunner. In fact, tied with Generation 2, the first Generation is my least favorite. That isnt to say I hate it, however. It had its strong points, but I either hate or have never used most of the "original" 151.

There were a lot of Pokemon I thought were overrated, such as Pikachu or Arcanine. Charizard is also one of them.

Before generation 6, I always thought Charizard never really lived up to the hype. Then the new generation came around and all of that changed.

First off, Charizard is the only non-legendary Pokemon to get TWO Mega Evolutions, one for each version. The Y form is an amazing special sweeper with Drought and Fire Blast, and the X form gains the deadly Dragon typing that fans have awaited for so long. And let's not forget the Tough Claws ability and the Dragon Dance set.

Pros

• Upon Mega Evolving into the X form, Charizard gains the Dragon type to replace Flying, halving the damage taken from Stealth Rocks that hindered it for so long.
• Charizard Y's Fire Blast under the sun can dominate pretty much anything without resistance to it.
• Charizard Y's Drought ability acts like an immediate Sunny Day, making Fire type moves fatal, and SolarBeam to require no turn to charge.
• A Charizard X after one Dragon Dance can be difficult to stop.
• It can learn Earthquake, negating the massive Rock weakness.

Cons

• If you dont have a Charizardite X, the 4X weakness to Stealth Rocks will remain.
• Charizard X can get served by Fairies. Even though it takes regular damage, it doesn't have a good enough move to defeat one quick enough.
• Charizard Y's Drought ability isnt all good, as Sun will only last for five turns now.
• Heatran is always something to watch out for, whichever form you choose.

Abilities

Blaze: The old, reliable ability every Fire type starter gets. Having a massive power boost to Fire type moves when your health is low can always help in a sticky situation.
Solar Power: If the weather is sunny, Special Attack is boosted by 1.5X. The only disadvantage is losing 1/8Earthquake/Max HP after each turn.
Drought: (Exclusive to Mega Charizard Y) Upon switch in, the weather becomes sunny. This doubles the power of Fire moves and halves the power of Water ones. A Fire Blast under the sun can cook anything medium rare.
Tough Claws: (Exclusive to Mega Charizard X) Contact moves have 1.33X the power. Dragon Claw, Flare Blitz, anything that makes contact will do massive damage.

Movesets

Charizard Y

- Fire Blast/Flamethrower
- Solarbeam
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast

Item: Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Defense

If you want to use Charizard Y, this is the definite set you want to use. Like mentioned, a Fire Blast under the sun is insanely powerful, but if you want more reliable accuracy, Flamethrower is your best choice.

Solarbeam has 120 Base Power, and it requires no charge up under the sun that Drought induces. Always good to check Water and Rock types, both of which Charizard is weak to.

Focus Blast is the move to go for if you want more coverage. With five advantages under its belt, a Fighting move is a must on every team. However, the 70% accuracy isnt reliable. Only use this move if you want to take a chance with the random number generator.

Finally, Dragon Pulse can defeat Dragon types such as its other Mega Evolution counterpart.

Charizard X

- Dragon Claw
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Dance/Roost
- Earthquake/Thunder Punch

Item: Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP

What you see is what you get. Even with the entrance of Fairies onto the battlefield, none of them worry Charizard X. Dragon Claw with the Tough Claws boost can land a one hit knockout on pretty much anything except Fairies, in which case go for Flare Blitz.

Flare Blitz had insane power when you add the 120 Base Power, STAB and Tough Claws together. The only disadvantage is the recoil.

But who cares about recoil if you have Roost as well? This will ensure Charizard X stays in battle longer, and gets the time it deserves. If you just want pure brute force however, go for Dragon Dance to increase Attack and Speed. Its a bit more risky, but the power output is mental.

Finally, Earthquake puts Rock types out of the question. However, many of Charizard's counters such as Aerodactyl or Gyarados can be nailed right in the face by a Tough Claws boosted Thunder Punch.

[the bread dragon]

air slash is almost always better than focus miss on y, getting accuracy and STAB
good other than that

[SirBlaziken]

Heatran isn't that much of a worry if you pack EQ, i'm pretty sure Special Defense is what it's mostly used for.

[Delicious_Scout]

Air Slash < Quake < Focus Miss on MegaZard Y. Because Fighting move is frightening.

[SirBlaziken]

^I was referring to Chary X for that. However, focus miss is better, unless it well.... misses of course. However, stone edge isn't all that great either, 3 misses in a row? Oy vay.

[SaRo|Rapidash]

air slash is almost always better than focus miss on y, getting accuracy and STAB
good other than that

Heatran.

Air Slash > Dragon Pulse is kinda viable, but tbh Dragon Pulse is generally better as sun-boosted neutral fire blast is more powerful than SE Air Slash (110*1.5 = 165; 75*2 = 150, ignoring STAB as they both receive it so they negate each other)

Focus Blast is irreplaceable, except with Earthquake, simply because Heatran exists and it walls MegaZard Y to no end without one of them.

[Spriter]

Fairies are smashed by +1 Flare Blitz from Mega Charizard X:

+1 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 235-277 (58.1 - 68.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Clefable: 508-598 (128.9 - 151.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Togekiss: 408-481 (109 - 128.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Sylveon doesn't need one because it also gets OHKO'd by it. The Azumarill calc is particularly impressive because Charizard is 3HKO'd by CB Azumarill's Aqua Jet. It cannot switch in safely on Mega Charry-X, and even then Flare Blitz + Earthquake keeps MCX alive to kill something else:

+1 252 Atk Mega Charizard X Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 197-232 (48.7 - 57.4%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO

Mega Charizard does a pretty good job against Fairy types. Sorry for the calc-heavy post but...

[Meowstic Royalty]

POTD #3: Heliolisk!



Now, this little lizard is STACKED.

Leftovers restore 1/16 of max HP each turn.
Dry Skin restores 1/8 of max HP in Rain each turn.
Can learn Rain Dance via TM.
Protect allows it to restore health freely so it takes a lot longer to take down.
Parabolic Charge would be a good move too, if it had much more Base Power.

I'm a bit surprised, despite the frail stats, that this thing isn't used more often. With everything above, this thing would be pure destruction on a rain team. Lets not forget it learns STAB Thunder, which can't miss in Rain, and also Surf for 135 BP in Rain as well. This lizard is not to be messed with.

Plus, it's so menacing, yet it and its pre-evolution both look so adorable. Heliolisk's smile looks like Kermit the Frog.

The Pokemon is also extremely unique. Firstly, Heliolisk and Helioptle are the only Pokemon with the Electric/Normal typing. Helioptile is also the only non-Grass type Pokemon to evolve using a Sun Stone. If you want a bit of trivia as well, Heliolisk is the only Pokemon with a base stat total of 481. That information isn't useful in any way whatsoever, but it can't hurt to know it anyway.

Pros

• Largest selection of powerful Electric type moves in the game.
• It's base Speed and Special Attack aren't bad.
• 3 different abilities, all of which you can make good use of.

Cons

• Laughably bad defenses. If you aren't careful, all of that stacking in Rain could mean nothing.
• Any moves it learns that aren't Electric type are usually shockingly bad.
• Solar Power can be rendered useless by it's lack of the move Sunny Day.

When you weigh out the positives and negatives, it's really a Pokemon that can be good if you use it right, but otherwise, it could be knocked out all too soon. It doesn't have anything special that makes it stand above the rest, but in no way is it a terrible Pokemon either.

Abilities:

Dry Skin: The ability you want to go for if you're using Heliolisk under the influence of Rain. It makes Heliolisk immune to Water moves, giving it an advantage over Rotom-W and those frustrating Scalds. It also restores HP each turn under Rain, but Fire type moves deal more damage. But if the Rain is going on, Fire type moves only have half the power anyway.
Sand Veil: Heliolisk becomes immune to Sandstorm damage, and it's evasion is also increased. It's a pretty decent ability, but outclassed by the others.
Solar Power: Just like on Charizard, the Pokemon's special attack is increased by 1.5X when the weather is Sunny, but it loses HP each turn. The resulting Special Attack is ginormous, about the same as Mega Mewtwo X. That is not something you want to mess with, considering it's insane Special movepool.

Movesets

No rain, no gain

As the name would suggest, this moveset is completely useless if you don't have Rain up.

- Rain Dance
- Thunder
- Protect
- Grass Knot/Focus Blast/Surf

Item: Damp Rock/Leftovers
Ability: Dry Skin
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Special Attack, 4 Special Defense

This set is made completely for usage in Rain. Rain Dance is there for obvious reasons. Rain only lasts five turns this time around, but that can be increased thanks to the Damp Rock. Leftovers could be used instead if you want to make sure Heliolisk isn't defeated too quickly, however.

Thunder is Heliolisk's choice of an Electric move, with 110 Base Power with STAB, and the fact that it can't miss in Rain. This is basically taking advantage of everything Heliolisk has got, and the massive Special Attack stat makes this move pretty much overpowered.

You can't go wrong with Protect on this set. If your HP is nearing crisis levels, you can play it safe for a turn and get some of that health back using Leftovers and Dry Skin.

Finally, Grass Knot can take care of some of the heavyweights in OU, including Ground types which get an advantage. If you are feeling lucky however, this can be replaced with Focus Blast, which has more power and more advantages, but unreliable accuracy, as we all know.

Or as an alternative, Surf is always nice to have. Under Rain, it gets a mighty total of 135 power, and with how common Pokemon that Water has an advantage on are, it can come it handy often.

Praise the sun

- Thunderbolt/Volt Switch
- Hidden Power Ice
- Focus Blast
- Grass Knot

Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Solar Power
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP

The last moveset was for Rain, this set is for it's counterpart. In sunlight with the Solar Power ability, Heliolisk's HP reaches insane levels. Add in some Choice Specs and you have a recipe for destruction.

Thunderbolt has good BP, STAB and a Paralysis chance. However, Volt Switch is hard to withstand and the switching effect keeps your offensive momentum in play.

Focus Blast is unreliable, but Heatran, Kyurem and even Blissey can take insane damage if it lands a hit.

Hidden Power Ice dominates common OU threats like Landorus, Gliscor and Garchomp with ease, as they all have immunities to Electric attacks.

Finally, Grass Knot, as explained in the other moveset, can destroy heavy OU threats, and as Ground types that have an advantage over Heliolisk are usually heavy, Grass Knot takes advantage of that. Tyranitar is also extremely common in OU, and will most likely have Earthquake. A trainer sending in Tyranitar will most likely not see the surprise Grass move coming.

[SirBlaziken]

Heliolisk is like the pokemon that showed up an hour late to the party. He would've been a monster last gen.

[Richard and Blaziken]

Heliolisk isn't used more often because infinite Rain is gone. It's frail and has a somewhat useless secondary type adding weaknesses. It lacks a crucial coverage move in Earth Power or Heat Wave. Factor in common Pokemon like Assault Vest Conkeldurr and Mega Venusaur and it's not hard to understand why it's not used in OU.

Your Rain Dance set is using Protect... why? Surf actually takes advantage of Rain and Heliolisk is too frail to make use of the extra HP from Dry Skin.

I wouldn't say Blissey takes "insane" damage from Focus Blast. Standard Calm 252/252 Blissey takes  37.1 - 43.6%, a solid 3HKO from Focus Blast from Specs Solar Power Heliolisk, assuming all 3 hits connect.

[SaRo|Rapidash]

Also Blissey can stall out sun with soft boiled as you're losing 12.5% of you're HP each turn.

Dry Skin is only really useful for the water immunity and it's ability to undo life orb recoil, and your rain Heliolisk isn't running LO.

Also on the sun set you say TTar will hate grass knot, but TTar is 4x weak to Focus Blast....

Surf is also 135 BP, not 180 as you stated in your opening bit, as rain is *1.5 not 2