chuckaboomboom
I believe I can HM02
I would like to write an article about Innovative/Underrated sets in VGC.
This article is inspired by a previous article from "The Smog". The aforementioned article talked about gimmicks and horrible strategies. I would like to write about the strategies and sets on the other end of the spectrum. These are strategies that are innovative and underrated. Please note that not all of the sets listed are the same level of viability. However, they are all interesting and effective in their own right, and all of them can work nicely.
1. Innovative/Underrated sets: The Alumni
The sets in this section are the alumni of innovative/underrated sets. At one point in time, they were odd ideas and unorthodox strategies, but they have proven themselves to be effective, sometimes superb schemes. They have all been tested extensively, and have shown incredible success.
Khan-Artist
Mega Kangaskan + Smeragle = Fake out + Dark Void = A river of tears
A very potent strategy, but one that is easily seen from team preview and relatively easily countered. This strategy has demonstrated its potential and can be very effective. If it's played properly with good team support, the player using Kang-Artist can gain a vast amount of momentum.
Terra-Cota
This is the general term for a rather terrifying strategy. It involves a Pokemon with beat-up targeting a Pokemon justified, effectively giving the Pokemon with justified a +4 boost. This strategy is very susceptible to redirection and fake out, but with proper support from your team, this can be a horrifying strategy to play against. It is a very viable stratagem that sees its fair share of usage.
Bulky Thundurus-I
This is a very common set now, but once upon a time, it was a new idea, and it caught people off guard when Thundurus lived unexpected attacks. It allowed Thundurus-I to become more versatile, while not compromising much on offense. This just shows gimmicks do not need to be overly complex. Something elegant like an unique EV spread or a different item is all it takes.
Protect on choiced Pokemon
This is actually a very practical idea. Using protect on a choiced Pokemon is a perfect bluff to trick your opponent into thinking that your Pokemon is not choiced. It's being used to great success by skilled battlers. This has been used by "Babbytron", a VGC junior world champion, to great success.
Overheat on Talonflame
By investing some EV's into special attack and using overheat, a Talonflame can OHKO Mega-Mawile. It also allows Talonflame to neglect recoil and intimidate.
68 SpA Life Orb Talonflame Overheat vs. 252 HP / 76 SpD Mega Mawile: 159-190 (101.2 - 121%) -- guaranteed OHKO
This was a new idea in VGC 2014, and it's success and effectiveness has been such that it is now rather common. Pokemon Global Link shows that 9.1% of Talonflames run Overheat in their moveset.
2. Innovative/Underrated sets: Outside of the Spotlights
The following sets are just waiting to shine. They have seen their fair share of usage and success, but are still in the progress of proving themselves.
Charizard X: Almost all Charizards are Charizard Ys. According to Pokemon Global Link's Battle Spot Doubles statistics, 94.5% of Charizards hold the Y mega stone, whereas 4.9% Charizards hold the X mega stone. A Charizard X provides a huge surprise factor here, and an untimely dragon dance or an unexpected KO can be very effective against unprepared opponents.
Perish-Trap
While it's not quite a gimmick, it's definitely on the edge. This is a fun and powerful innovation.
Perfect support + Perish Song + Shadow Tag = A river of teams
Trick Room Gengar
Gengars are speedy, not a trait that is seen on trick room teams. However, some players have found a innovative niche for Gengar. A Gengar with a focus sash and trick room on a team with a Sand Stream user or Snow Warning user allows the following things to happen:
The following Pokemon are all relatively new creations. They have been tried out, but are still under huge scrutiny. They are very underrated and should see an increase in popularity.
Mega Banette
Wolde Glicke recently used this uncommon Pokemon with an uncommon set to win the Florida Pokemon VGC 2015 Regionals. It supported his team perfectly. It had a moveset of Will-O-Wisp/Protect/Disable/Pain Split. This allowed to provide Prankster support and disruption. This is another example of not being afraid to experiment. Play around with your team, see what works, and see what doesn't work. VGC is a tier where there's a lot of room for innovation.
Note: Mega Banette is a fairly niche Pokemon, though it is one that can be fitted on to teams. It has superb offensive stats and a deep support move-pool to abuse with Prankster. However, one of its biggest flaws is that the order of speeds is determined prior to Mega Evolving. This means that Mega Banette will not have the benefits of Prankster on the turn that it Mega Evolves.
Support Clefairy
For those of you that are unfamiliar with Clefairy, it has access to the elusive ability Friend Guard. Friend Guard is a great means of providing passive support, as it reduces the damage done to allies by 25%. When equipped with an eviolite, it's bulk is surprising. It's mostly used for redirection, as it has access with follow me. In addition, Clefairy has access to a deep support movepool that includes but is not limited to: icy wind, moonlight, heal pulse, thunder wave, helping hand, and encore.
Substitute Mega Metagross
According to Battle Spot Doubles' statistics, substitute is not one of the top ten most commonly used moves by Metagross. However, a substitute works nicely with Mega Metagross's natural bulk and can be hard to get rid of. A well timed subsitute can shift the battle in your favor and create momentum. This set is very versatile and can be easily fitted into most Mega Metagross teams. It should see an increase in usage in due course.
Moonlight + Sun Cresselia
When used in the sun, moonlight heals 2/3 of a Pokemon's total HP. When that is used in tandem with Cresselia's fantastic bulk, a world of pain is created for your opponent. While this set is not overly powerful or dominant, it is still very formidable and can be difficult to deal with.
This article is inspired by a previous article from "The Smog". The aforementioned article talked about gimmicks and horrible strategies. I would like to write about the strategies and sets on the other end of the spectrum. These are strategies that are innovative and underrated. Please note that not all of the sets listed are the same level of viability. However, they are all interesting and effective in their own right, and all of them can work nicely.
1. Innovative/Underrated sets: The Alumni
The sets in this section are the alumni of innovative/underrated sets. At one point in time, they were odd ideas and unorthodox strategies, but they have proven themselves to be effective, sometimes superb schemes. They have all been tested extensively, and have shown incredible success.
Khan-Artist
Mega Kangaskan + Smeragle = Fake out + Dark Void = A river of tears
A very potent strategy, but one that is easily seen from team preview and relatively easily countered. This strategy has demonstrated its potential and can be very effective. If it's played properly with good team support, the player using Kang-Artist can gain a vast amount of momentum.
Terra-Cota
This is the general term for a rather terrifying strategy. It involves a Pokemon with beat-up targeting a Pokemon justified, effectively giving the Pokemon with justified a +4 boost. This strategy is very susceptible to redirection and fake out, but with proper support from your team, this can be a horrifying strategy to play against. It is a very viable stratagem that sees its fair share of usage.
Bulky Thundurus-I
This is a very common set now, but once upon a time, it was a new idea, and it caught people off guard when Thundurus lived unexpected attacks. It allowed Thundurus-I to become more versatile, while not compromising much on offense. This just shows gimmicks do not need to be overly complex. Something elegant like an unique EV spread or a different item is all it takes.
Protect on choiced Pokemon
This is actually a very practical idea. Using protect on a choiced Pokemon is a perfect bluff to trick your opponent into thinking that your Pokemon is not choiced. It's being used to great success by skilled battlers. This has been used by "Babbytron", a VGC junior world champion, to great success.
Overheat on Talonflame
By investing some EV's into special attack and using overheat, a Talonflame can OHKO Mega-Mawile. It also allows Talonflame to neglect recoil and intimidate.
68 SpA Life Orb Talonflame Overheat vs. 252 HP / 76 SpD Mega Mawile: 159-190 (101.2 - 121%) -- guaranteed OHKO
This was a new idea in VGC 2014, and it's success and effectiveness has been such that it is now rather common. Pokemon Global Link shows that 9.1% of Talonflames run Overheat in their moveset.
2. Innovative/Underrated sets: Outside of the Spotlights
The following sets are just waiting to shine. They have seen their fair share of usage and success, but are still in the progress of proving themselves.
Charizard X: Almost all Charizards are Charizard Ys. According to Pokemon Global Link's Battle Spot Doubles statistics, 94.5% of Charizards hold the Y mega stone, whereas 4.9% Charizards hold the X mega stone. A Charizard X provides a huge surprise factor here, and an untimely dragon dance or an unexpected KO can be very effective against unprepared opponents.
Perish-Trap
While it's not quite a gimmick, it's definitely on the edge. This is a fun and powerful innovation.
Perfect support + Perish Song + Shadow Tag = A river of teams
Trick Room Gengar
Gengars are speedy, not a trait that is seen on trick room teams. However, some players have found a innovative niche for Gengar. A Gengar with a focus sash and trick room on a team with a Sand Stream user or Snow Warning user allows the following things to happen:
- Suprise (a gengar is fast, and almost certainly will not use Trick Room)
- It gives the player two options with his team. He can choose between a Trick Room mode and a regular mode.
- If the player chooses to go with the Trick Room Mode, he does the following. Send out the Gengar with the Sand Stream user or Snow Warning user. Click trick room. Hopefully, Gengar receives a hard hit and is knocked to its focus sash. It can survive with the sash, set up trick room, and die to the weather, thus letting a slow and hard-hitting trick room Pokemon to come in. If Gengar is still alive after setting up trick room, allow the Gengar to be knocked out in the following turns.
- The player can also use Gengar regularly for speedy offense
The following Pokemon are all relatively new creations. They have been tried out, but are still under huge scrutiny. They are very underrated and should see an increase in popularity.
Mega Banette
Wolde Glicke recently used this uncommon Pokemon with an uncommon set to win the Florida Pokemon VGC 2015 Regionals. It supported his team perfectly. It had a moveset of Will-O-Wisp/Protect/Disable/Pain Split. This allowed to provide Prankster support and disruption. This is another example of not being afraid to experiment. Play around with your team, see what works, and see what doesn't work. VGC is a tier where there's a lot of room for innovation.
Note: Mega Banette is a fairly niche Pokemon, though it is one that can be fitted on to teams. It has superb offensive stats and a deep support move-pool to abuse with Prankster. However, one of its biggest flaws is that the order of speeds is determined prior to Mega Evolving. This means that Mega Banette will not have the benefits of Prankster on the turn that it Mega Evolves.
Support Clefairy
For those of you that are unfamiliar with Clefairy, it has access to the elusive ability Friend Guard. Friend Guard is a great means of providing passive support, as it reduces the damage done to allies by 25%. When equipped with an eviolite, it's bulk is surprising. It's mostly used for redirection, as it has access with follow me. In addition, Clefairy has access to a deep support movepool that includes but is not limited to: icy wind, moonlight, heal pulse, thunder wave, helping hand, and encore.
Substitute Mega Metagross
According to Battle Spot Doubles' statistics, substitute is not one of the top ten most commonly used moves by Metagross. However, a substitute works nicely with Mega Metagross's natural bulk and can be hard to get rid of. A well timed subsitute can shift the battle in your favor and create momentum. This set is very versatile and can be easily fitted into most Mega Metagross teams. It should see an increase in usage in due course.
Moonlight + Sun Cresselia
When used in the sun, moonlight heals 2/3 of a Pokemon's total HP. When that is used in tandem with Cresselia's fantastic bulk, a world of pain is created for your opponent. While this set is not overly powerful or dominant, it is still very formidable and can be difficult to deal with.
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