Hello There Hat Lovers!

This week we’ll be looking at Scizor, a fan favourite with a long history of success in competitive play. Scizor is a Bug / Steel type, giving it a quadruple weakness to Fire and resistances to several types. In fourth Gen Scizor was the most dominate Pokemon in Smogon singles (after they banned Garchomp and Salamence) and continued to be a great Pokemon in both singles and doubles in fifth Gen.

Scizor was a popular Pokemon in VGC 2012 and 2013, but hasn’t seen as much usage as it has in the past. The reason why Scizor has seen a drop in usage is because many of the Pokemon it countered are no longer in the format, such as Cresselia and Terrakion. The lack of Cresselia has also reduced the amount of Tyranitar in the metagame, which Scizor could counter or check depending on whether or not Tyranitar carries Fire Blast. The changes to the type chart didn’t help Scizor as much as we may have hoped. Scizor makes a logical choice as a Fairy killer, however two of the most popular Fairy types, Azumarill and Mawile, are neutral to Steel. Scizor also lost it’s resistance to Ghost and Dark this generation so it doesn’t fair as well against these attacks as it used to. Scizor also lost Bug Bite as a move, which is stronger then X-Scissor and eats the opponent’s berry. Bug Bite would make Scizor’s life a lot easier against Rotom-W. The lack of Steel Gem also reduces the potential potency of Bullet Punch.

Despite all of this, Scizor is still a great Pokemon for VGC. Bullet Punch threatens Gardevoir, Mega Aerodactyl and frail or weakened Pokemon in general. Bug/Steel is still fantastic typing for combating Dragon and Fairy types. Scizor has even gained a Mega Evolution, though it does little to differentiate itself from Scizor’s regular form outside of some increased stats.

Base Stats:
 70 / 130 / 100 / 55 / 80 / 65
Scizor has a fantastic distribution of stats to work with. A sky high attack stat goes great with Bullet Punch, which makes up for Scizor’s mediocre speed stat. Scizor has decent bulk to go with its great typing. You can invest in HP and defences to have Scizor survive hits or you can invest in Speed to make Scizor faster then most Rotom-A.
 70 / 150 / 140 / 65 / 100 / 75
Mega Scizor has higher stats, but the lack of an item and the fact that it operates exactly the same as regular Scizor make it hard to justify using it as your Mega Pokemon. Life Orb and Choice Band sets hit harder, the only thing Mega Scizor has going for it is the added bulk and speed.

Abilities:

Scizor has three Abilities: Swarm, Technician, and Light Metal.

Technician gives all of Scizor’s moves with base power of 60 or lower a 1.5 times boost. This makes Bullet Punch a base 90 power priority move after STAB.

Swarm and Light Metal aren’t viable in the slightest, just use Technician.

Attacks:

Bullet Punch is pretty much mandatory on any Scizor set. U-turn and X-Scissor are our best choice of Bug STAB, and which one we use depends on the set we run. Swords Dance sets will run X-Scissor and for other sets it comes down to preference. Speaking of Swords Dance Scizor becomes an even greater threat when at +2 attack. Scizor also gets Quick Guard and Feint to help support its teammate. Quick Guard will block out Prankster, Sucker Punch, and Brave Bird. Feint will allow you to ensure damage on a slot and pick off Pokemon with low HP trying to avoid a Bullet Punch. Feint also has +2 priority so it gets around Sucker Punch and Rage Powder. Other notable options are: Brick Break, Iron Head, Roost, Acrobatics and Pursuit.

Sets:

Life Orb Attacker:Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
– Bullet Punch
– U-turn
– Feint
– Protect

This is the set Randy used in Washington Regionals and one we’ve become a fan of. A Life Orb Bullet Punch destroys Gardevoir and Mega Aerodactyl, as well as doing solid damage with priority. U-Turn allows us to deal damage to a Rotom-W and retreat for something that can absorb a Will-O-Wisp or a Thunderbolt aimed at it. Feint is just plain useful, and also gets a Technician boost.

Swords Dance Sweeper:
Scizor @ Lum Berry
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
– Bullet Punch
– X-Scissor
– Swords Dance
– Protect

This set aims to get a Swords Dance and then threaten the opponent with a +2 Bullet Punch. I’ve invested in HP instead of Speed to ensure Scizor stays on the field for longer. I’ve put a Lum Berry on this Scizor to burn a turn from Rotom trying to use WoW.

Mega Scizor:
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
– Bullet Punch
– X-Scissor
– Swords Dance
– Roost

Scizor can Mega Evolve, so here’s a set for Mega Scizor. In order to justify using Mega Scizor I figure it needs a reliable form of healing to keep it on the field and Swords Dance to keep it a threat. This set is begging to have Togekiss back to redirect attacks with Follow Me, but now all we have is Smeargle, which isn’t quite the same. Amoonguss could almost fill this role is your goal is to take all the Overheats and hope the opposing Fire types are out of Special Attack by the time Amoonguss goes down.

Hello Hat Lovers!

For week the fifth of Pokemon of the Week we’ll be looking at Azumarill. Azumarill was introduced in generation 2, but originally it was a very mediocre Pokemon. Since its inception it has gotten better with each passing generation. Generation 3 gave Azumarill Huge Power, which turns its base 50 attack into an effective base 150 attack. Generation 4 gave it physical STAB with the physical/special split. Generation 6 has changed Azumarill’s pure Water type to a Water/Fairy type.

Azumarill has finally made a name for itself this generation. Being a Fairy type allows it to deal with the ever popular Dragon types Garchomp and Salamence. Having a massive attack stat to go with a priority move is also a major boost that allows Azumarill to pick off weakened opponents.
Base Stats:

100 / 50 / 80 / 60 / 80 / 50

As we can see Azumarill’s offensive stats are terrible and its defensive stats are pretty good. However Huge Power makes that attack stat an effective 150 base so once we take that into account Azumarill’s stats are looking great. The only poor stat is it’s middling speed, but Azumarill has a strong priority move to make up for it.

Abilities:

Azumarill has three abilities: Thick Fat, Huge Power and Sap Sipper.

Thick Fat reduces Fire and Ice damage, but Azumarill resists these types to begin with and Azumarill has much better choices for it’s Ability.

Huge Power doubles Azumarill’s attack stat. This is the Ability for Azumarill and it so important to its viability that I had to mention it twice before getting to this section.

Sap Sipper makes Azumarill immune to Grass moves and boosts it’s attack by one whenever it gets hit by one. You miss out on Huge Power but an unexpected immunity to Grass can catch your opponent off guard. Use this Ability when using a defensive set on a Perish Trap team.

Attacks:

For offence Azumarill gets Aqua Jet, Waterfall, Play Rough and Superpower. Aqua Jet and Play Rough are the main attractions, providing great coverage and both a priority move to make up for Azumarill’s low speed and a strong attack to use with Azumarill’s fantastic attack stat. Waterfall gives you a strong Water type move and a powerful STAB that doesn’t miss, but I’d only use it on a Choice Band set. Superpower gives Azumarill an attack that OHKOs Mega Kangaskhan, a much needed boon for any team.

For non attack moves Azumarill gets Belly Drum, Helping Hand and Perish Song. Belly Drum maximizes Azumarill’s already monstrous attack stat at the cost of 50% of your HP. Helping Hand puts Azumarill into a supporting role. Perish Song makes Azumarill an option on Perish Trap teams to set up Perish Song.

Sets:

Belly Drum:
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SDef / 36 Spd
Adamant Nature
– Aqua Jet
– Play Rough
– Belly Drum
– Protect

Belly Drum raises Azumarill’s attack to +6, ignoring any previous attack drops. Sitrus Berry will heal you back to 75% which should be enough to withstand one hit. From here you can start spamming Aqua Jet with an attack stat of 896. This set appreciates Fake Out support to help it set up safely, often from Mega Kangaskhan.

I’ve seen a spread of 212 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 36 SDef / 4 Spd going around on the internet. This spread reduces the chances of getting OHKO’d be Manectric’s Thunderbolt but it doesn’t prevent the KO entirely. I’d prefer to try and speed creep other Azumarill / Mawile then lower the chance of a KO that I can’t prevent entirely.

Choice Band
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 212 HP / 4 SDef / 4 Def / 36 Spd
Adamant Nature
– Aqua Jet
– Play Rough
– Superpower
– Waterfall

This set hits hard without the need to cut your HP or spend a turn on set up. This is the set me and Mark have been using the most because without the Band Azumarill isn’t hitting as hard as we’d like. This set has issues due to the lack of Protect and locking into one move preventing you from using a strong attack and finishing up with Aqua Jet.

Mark’s spread: 60 HP / 124 Atk / 68 Def / 188 SDef / 68 Spd

– Survives M-Manectric TBolt and M-Kanga’s Return. Still OHKO’s 252 HP M-Kangaskhan. Outspeeds Machamp, TR Chandelure, and Scrafty. Mainly wanted 79 speed Azumarill on my team so Azumarill could deal with Scrafty and protect its partner. It’s not like Azumarill cares that much about Scrafty, so feel free to take that Speed investment and return some of it to Attack if your team doesn’t care. A good target Attack is 196 to OHKO Garchomp at -1 100% of the time, but to reach this while keeping your bulk, you need to let M-Kanga have a 6% chance to KO you.

Expert Belt
Azumarill @ Expert Belt
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SDef / 36 Spd
Adamant Nature
– Aqua Jet
– Play Rough
– Superpower
– Protect

Wanting to avoid the pitfalls of a Choice Band set while still retaining the power to OHKO our main targets brings us to Expert Belt. This set still gets the OHKO on Kangaskhan, Garchomp, Salamence, and Tyranitar while still 2HKOing Rotom-H with Aqua Jet. This set loses out when you can’t deal super effective damage to the target, but you often lost out to those Pokemon anyways.

Teammates:

Azumarill will enjoy a partner that helps it set up a Belly Drum. Kangaskhan is an excellent user of Fake Out and once you have a +6 Azumarill beside a Mega Kangaskhan your opponent is going to have to decide which threat is more important to deal with and leave the other to wreak havoc.

Amoonguss can redirect attacks with Rage Power and resists any Electric attacks being aimed at Azumarill. Amoonguss is also a great answer to Rotom-W.

Manectric can redirect Electric attacks with Lightning Rod and can provide Intimidate support with its Mega Evolution to help Azumarill take a hit. Raichu also provides Lightning Rod support as well as Fake Out support to help Azumarill set up safely.

Rotom-H has great synergy with Azumarill, being able to switch in on any Electric or Grass attacks and threaten opposing Grass and Steel types with Overheat. Salamence appreciates having Azumarill to switch in and take a Dragon or Ice move aimed at it.

Azumarill can be the Fairy type in a Fantasy core (Fairy/Dragon/Steel) or the Water type in a Grass/Fire/Water core.


Counters:


Grass types like Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss can wall Azumarill and hit with a super effective Giga Drain. Ludicolo can also give it trouble but doesn’t enjoy taking a Play Rough. Trevenant and Gourgeist can burn it with Will-O-Wisp and use either Leech Seed or a STAB move to help it go down faster. Ferrothorn can wall any Azumarill that lacks Superpower.

Rotom-W can 2HKO Azumarill with Thunderbolt and survive a Play Rough. Rotom-H can OHKO Azumarill using a Life Orb set. Either Rotom form can burn Azumarill to reduce it’s threat level to a minimal one. Mega Manectric can Intimidate Azumarill and deal a ton of damage with Thunderbolt, having a good chance of OHKOing standard Azumarill.

Having Quick Guard on your team helps with dealing with Azumarill, as does having your own priority move to KO it before it can KO you.

Conclusion:

Azumarill’s great typing, Ability, and movepool makes it a great Pokemon for VGC. An opponent can never ignore Azumarill as it threatens to Belly Drum and start sweeping. The Aqua Rabbit took a while to grow on me but I’m now a fan of having it on my teams for defensive switches and powerful physical attacks.

I for one welcome our tree overlords

Hello Hat Lovers!

For week four of Pokemon of the Week we’ll be looking at Trevenant. Trevenant is a Ghost / Grass type from generation six.Trevenant is a Pokemon that hasn’t seen a ton of play in VGC 2014, but it has a solid Pokemon to use.

Much of what Trevenant does can be done by Gourgeist as well. Of the two, Trevenant has weaker defences but has a higher attack stat as well as the best Ability between the two of them. These make Trevenant a strong choice between the two Pokemon.

Trevenant gets a plethora of status moves and a great Ability that makes it a major pain if you can’t get rid of it quickly. Being a Ghost type, Trevenant can wall standard Kangaskhan and cripple it with status moves.

Trevenant is also a tree. I’m sure you noticed that, but I felt like saying it just to be sure.


Abilities:

Trevenant has three Abilities: Natural Cure, Frisk, and Harvest.

Natural Cure will remove any status conditions from Trevenant whenever it switches out. This lets it deal with Will-O-Wisp but Trevenant has a better Ability to use.

Frisk gives you useful information when you send in Trevenant, but Gourgeist has this Ability as well and has better stats for it.

Harvest is the reason to use Trevenant over Gourgeist. Every turn Trevenant will have a 50% chance to regenerate a berry it has consumed. If the sun is active this chance becomes 100%. Using Sitrus Berry with this strategy makes Trevenant impossible to get rid of unless its OHKO’d.

Base Stats:

85 / 110 / 76 / 65 / 82 / 56

Trevenant’s base stats aren’t fantastic. It has a good attack stat and its defences are decent enough. What makes Trevenant worthwhile is its typing and Ability.

Attacks:

For offense, Trevenant has Horn Leech, Wood Hammer, Shadow Claw and Phantom Force. Horn Leech is the weaker of the Grass moves and heals Trevenant, while Wood Hammer is stronger but deals recoil. Both attacks are viable it all depends on what you want Trevenant to accomplish. Shadow Claw is a generic Ghost stab. Phantom Force removes Trevenant from the field for a turn and goes through Protect.

The main selling point of Trevenant’s move pool is the status moves it learns. We have Leech Seed, Will-O-Wisp and Trick Room to play with. Leech Seed and Will-O-Wisp deal residual damage while either healing Trevenant or halving the opponent’s attack. These moves are what let Trevenant deal with Kangaskhan so easily.

Sets:

General Utility:
Trevenant @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Frisk
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 156 Def / 20 SDef / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
– Wood Hammer / Horn Leech / Phantom Force
– Will-O-Wisp
– Leech Seed
– Protect

This Trevenant is what I would consider to be a standard set. Wood Hammer OHKOs 252/44 Rotom-W, but they’ll be faster and threaten Will-O-Wisp. For this reason you may want to just stick Horn Leach and focus on healing. Phantom Force removes Trevenant from the field so the opponent has to sit through another turn of Leech Seed and Burn before they can get an attack on you.

Will-O-Wisp and Leech Seed cripple Kangaskhan and put pressure on attackers that can’t KO you such as Garchomp.

The defence allows you to survive Adamant 252 Tyranitar’s Crunch 100% of the time. 4 Speed goes farther than it would on something like Rotom because Trevenant has that unique base 56 speed that puts it ahead of Azumarill and Mawile without giving it hope of catching up to the rest of the format. The Special Defence looks like it was just what was leftover but it prevents Gengar from every OHKOing Trevenant with Shadow Ball.

Trick Room:
Trevenant @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 156 Def / 20 SDef / 4 Spd
Brave Nature
– Wood Hammer / Horn Leech / Phantom Force
– Will-O-Wisp
– Trick Room
– Protect

Trevenant is a solid Trick Room setter due to its immunity to Fake Out and good bulk. Once Trick Room is up Trevenant can start burning things. Phantom Force is a cool move in Trick Room because you can use it on the last turn of Trick Room to get two turns off of the field.

Teammates:

Trevenant needs partners that can get rid of Fire type attacks. Rotom-W and Rotom-H can take on most Fire types in the format and come out on top. Dark types that resist fire such as Tyranitar and Hydreigon will be able to deal with Fire while also taking care of opposing Ghost types that threaten Trevenant.

Dark types are also a big threat, Fighting types like Lucario and Scrafty can deal with these Pokemon fairly easily.

Mega-Charizard-Y brings Drought to the table, so Harvest will activate every turn.

If Trevenant is using Trick Room you’ll want slow Pokemon to go with the strategy as well as a partner that can help set up such as Scrafty. Scrafty also provides Intimidate support, which Trevenant appreciates greatly. I can see Trevenant working on a Charizard/Mawile team that is composed of fast Pokemon that work with Charizard and slow Pokemon that work in and out of Trick Room.

Whichever Pokemon are paired with Trevenant must be willing to give up the chance to use Sitrus Berry, as Trevenant won’t function well without it.

Counters:

The easiest way to beat Trevenant is to KO it with Fire. Mega Charizard, Rotom-H, Talonflame, and Pyroar all threaten the OHKO on Trevenant and Trevenant can’t do much in return.

Dark types such as Tyranitar, Bisharp, and Hydreigon will deal a ton of damage to Trevenant, but the physical ones won’t enjoy a Will-O-Wisp.

Mega Venusaur will handle Trevenant with ease, it doesn’t like being burnt but Sludge Bomb will deal a ton of damage and Venusaur has Synthesis to heal itself.

Aerodactyl prevents Trevenant from healing with Unnerve and can deal good damage with Sky Drop.

Taunt shuts down Trevenant, just make sure not to use a Pokemon weak to its stab moves.

Conclusion

Trevenant is certainly an interesting Pokemon, and one that shouldn’t be written off. Like most Grass types, it can be a win condition on its own once the opponent loses their way of OHKO’ing it. Be sure to watch out for it, and if you face be sure to keep your counter around. The last thing you want is to face a Trevenant that keeps eating Sitrus Berries while you hopelessly hack away at it.

Anyone up for a game of poker?

Hey there Hat Lovers!

Today’s article is about one of my favourite Pokemon to put on any team. Zoroark’s Ability “Illusion” disguises it as whatever Pokemon is last in your party. So if you bring 4 Pokemon, Zoroark will disguise itself as the 4th Pokemon, including the Poke Ball it was caught in.

As a Dark-type, Zoroark is immune to Psychic, resists Ghost and Dark, and is weak to Fighting, Bug and Fairy. Given the immunity, and useful resistances, Zoroark has the potential to ruin an opponent’s turn if they target it with the wrong move. That said, Zoroark also doesn’t want to become the target of a Fighting or Fairy move. As such, before adding Zoroark to your team, you’ll really want to think about potential teammates. The key to a good Zoroark is a good bluff. Just having a Zoroark on your team can throw your opponent off tilt. But just what cards are you bluffing with?

Base Stats:

60 / 105 / 60 / 120 / 60 / 105

Zoroark is the definition of a glass cannon. It has a useable Attack stat, a good Special Attack stat, and a strong speed stat placing it above all the base 100’s as well as Garchomp. However, Zoroark isn’t going to take any hits unless they’re resisted or really weak. I mean… a 4 HP Zoroark can take a Power-up Punch from a Kangaskhan, but it’ll die to a Return before baby Kangaskhan gets a chance to hit. That’s a base 125 attack stat with a base 102 move (100 would still work). So to give you the idea, Zoroark will be OHKO’d by anything neutral with a similar power behind it from either the physical or special spectrum, and is definitely going to be KO’d by something super effective.

But Zoroark’s not that bad! 105 Speed is fast enough to outspeed plenty of the metagame, and hit pretty hard. Given that Zoroark’s strengths are… its strength, and its weaknesses are irreparable, Zoroark’s item is going to be about hitting harder to make the most of your turn’s worth of surprise.

I think the best way to look at Zoroark is to think of it as a Pyroar but with a fun Ability, coverage, and without the nuke that is Overheat.

Attacks:

Nasty Plot
Flamethrower
Dark Pulse
Hidden Power Ice
Focus Blast
Sucker Punch
Foul Play
U-Turn
Fling

I’ll add one bit of discussion here. Dark Pulse vs. Night Gaze. Dark Pulse is 100% accurate and slightly weaker, but with a 20% chance to flinch. Night Gaze is 95% accurate, slightly stronger, and has a 40% chance to lower the opponent’s accuracy. Considering you’re going to want to KO them, not drop their accuracy… Night Gaze is almost entirely inferior. Go with Dark Pulse unless you find some abstract calc that I haven’t considered where the extra 5 base power makes a difference.

Additionally, Sucker Punch is a useful move to have, but the only relevant calculation I can think of that Dark Pulse doesn’t do better is OHKO’ing Mega Gengar. But as Zoroark resists Ghost, and you’re running Zoroark (which means you’re being tricky), Zoroark can take a Shadow Ball anyways.

Sets:

That Garchomp is SO dead

Zoroark @ Life Orb
Ability: Illusion
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
– Dark Pulse
– Flamethrower
– Hidden Power [Ice]
– Protect

This is the Zoroark I’m prone to using. Life Orb ensures Hidden Power Ice will KO any Garchomp. With a Life Orb, You’ll also have a 50% chance to OHKO 252 HP Mega Mawile. Dark Pulse will also OHKO up to 252 HP / 88 SDef Calm Meowstic or coincidentally, Chandelure (same calc)! You won’t be able to OHKO Aegislash-Shield, but you’ll make a big dent.

Zoroark can run other sets. Choice Specs is largely similar to Life Orb, but will push you over the Chandelure/Meowstic hump. On a Specs set, I might run Focus Blast as a last resort option. I wouldn’t recommend Focus Sash since you’ll miss out on Garchomp KO’s with HP Ice. Zoroark also has a few other neat moves you can try to take advantage of. Fling, U-Turn and Sucker Punch are neat to play with for their versatility, even without Physical investment.

Nasty Plot is also strong if you can set it up, but would need support from a partner. If using Nasty Plot, I’d pose Zoroark as something like a Kangaskhan alongside Tailwind Smeargle, so you can threaten a Fake Out and Dark Void, but also threaten a Nasty Plot + Tailwind.

Teammates:

Zoroark partners well with Pokemon that are common targets of Psychic-type moves. Mega Venusaur has been taking some flack recently, and is being targeted by strong Gardevoir Psychics as an answer. Unfortunately, that’s the only relevant Psychic user in the metagame (maybe… Gothitelle?). So, though it sounds neat to tempt Psychic attacks, this isn’t the metagame to do it in. Zoroark can also take Ghost attacks like Shadow Ball from Aegislash, which allows it to deal well with Aegislash as long as it’s a surprise.

But the best resistance Zoroark sports is Dark! Zoroark can take a Sucker Punch from the big users, or Crunch from Tyranitar. In return, it can deal good damage to Mawile, but not great damage to the others. Not unless you turn to Focus Blast which will KO up to 184 HP Mega TTar… 70% of the time. I’m not a fan but it’s an option. Zoroark’s role here is not to take out these Pokemon, but to KO their partner or combo to 2HKO the big guns while drawing their attention for a turn.

I recommend Zoroark as something that can pose as a tempting target. Think of anything that doesn’t seem like it’s a threat, or is easily dealt with by a move Zoroark can take. For instance, posing as a Scarfed Gardevoir against a Mega Kangaskhan/Mawile. Alternatively, you can pretend Zoroark is a threatening Pokemon like a Fake Out user or something with a threatening status. A good example might be Raichu, which pretends to have Lightningrod and Fake Out, protecting your Gyarados in a couple ways. Just be sure your opponent’s best response isn’t to target Zoroark, or else you’ll just be KO’d pointlessly. So while bluffing Kangaskhan could be neat, bluffing Smeargle isn’t as wise.

I think the best way to look at how Zoroark fits on a team is to figure out what role it fills. Zoroark OHKO’s Garchomp and Salamence. it’ll also KO Dark-weak Pokemon or surprise KO Ferrothorns and chip in for the major part of a Mawile’s demise. The niche Zoroark fits in is that it can also tempt misplays that you can capitalize on. There’s enough of everything I just said to warrant Zoroark as the extra mon to round out a 4 or 5-mon core.

Counters:

Pictured: Zoroark

As I’ve mentioned, Zoroark is a glass cannon. I don’t know if a ‘Counters’ section is relevant, but I will mention that you shouldn’t counter yourself by bluffing a Pokemon with an Ability that Zoroark should have activated upon switching in. So don’t pretend your Zoroark is a Salamence, it’s anything but intimidating.

Though it’s neat to run mons that share Zoroark’s moves (e.g. Flamethrower), I wouldn’t say keeping the disguise is that relevant. Hidden Power Ice is often the best way to stay disguised.

As a Pokemon that can deal with everything Zoroark throws at it, Rotom-H really could care less about facing Zoroark. It won’t even 2HKO without including Sitrus Berry in the equation. It’s not like Zoroark deals with Mega Kangskhan very well either. The only way to deal great damage is via Focus Blast.

Zoroark also doesn’t like to face spread moves. If your opponent’s default is to just Rock Slide + target, then Zoroark can’t do its job of bluffing (though it may do its job of KO’ing something weak to ice). Dazzling Gleam is another big problem as it will KO Zoroark while dealing damage to a partner.

Conclusion:

Using Zoroark just for the mind game isn’t a good reason. If Zoroark fires off an attack and doesn’t KO, then gets hit in return, you’ve had a fun “HA!” moment, but you’re stuck with a Zoroark while they have whatever they’re using. Sometimes that’s ok. If you can 2HKO them before they 2HKO you, then that’s a neutral-positive trade.

Zoroark works best if it would be a good idea to bring it regardless of what it’s pretending to be. I really think the best way to think of Zoroark is as an alternate Pyroar. Considering Pyroar isn’t something players are scrambling to use, that doesn’t sound like a high recommendation. But alternate doesn’t mean “it works exactly the same but is inferior/superior.” Zoroark brings its Illusion Ability, which let’s you take surprise KO’s when you play your cards right. Zoroark is also a great best-of-3 mon because of the mind game potential.

When you can play with complete confidence of what you’re doing, but your opponent has that nagging feeling that they’re walking into a trap, their potential for misplays is much higher than yours. Against a strong opponent, it can also make their moves more predictable if they can see the “safe” plays. That’s the greatest strength of Illusion, and what Zoroark brings to your team over Pyroar. Otherwise, just think of it as a Pyroar with Dark STAB (which is still not bad)!

Cheers,
Crawdaunt out

Hello Hat Lovers!

This week we’ll be looking at Noivern. Noivern a Flying/Dragon type from generation six (not to be confused with the ever popular Dragon/Flying typing we’ve seen before.) Noivern screams “niche Pokemon,” from its lower base stats to its interesting move pool to its useful Abilities.

Noivern hasn’t seen a lot of play this season, players have been flocking to the ever-popular Salamence. If you try to use Noivern like a Salamence you’re going to be disappointed with your results. However, Noivern has a bunch of neat moves that separate it from its fellow Dragons, giving it a supporting role rather then an offensive one.

Abilities:

Noivern’s Abilities are Frisk, Infiltrator and Telepathy.

Frisk is the preferred Ability, revealing both your opponent’s items whenever Noivern is sent out. This alerts you to potential Choice Scarf, Focus Sash, Berries, etc. This can give you a ton of knowledge about your opponent’s Pokemon before the first turn begins.

Infiltrator is another solid Ability. With this Noivern can attack through Substitutes. This situation isn’t common enough to warrant its use, unfortunately.

Telepathy is an option if your team has moves that hit your own partners, such as Discharge or Boom Burst.

Base Stats:

Noivern’s base stats are: 85 HP, 70 Attack, 80 Defence, 97 Special Attack, 80 Special Defence, and 123 Speed. As we can see Noivern is much faster then the other Dragons, but lacks the power or defences that they posses.

Attacks:

Draco Meteor is the goto Dragon move, dealing respectable damage even from Noivern’s base 97 special attack. Other notable attacks include: Flamethrower, Boom Burst, Psychic, Dark Pulse, Focus Blast and Hurricane. Another damaging attack Noivern gets is Super Fang, which deals 50% of the target’s current HP as damage. This rounds down so it won’t trigger the Sitrus Berry of a Pokemon with a full, even HP stat.

Noivern also gets Tailwind, Taunt and Switcheroo. Tailwind makes Noivern a great support Pokemon bringing some rare speed control to the game. Taunt shuts down Pokemon such as Amoonguss. Switcheroo allows Noivern to give a Pokemon a Choice item while taking their item.

Sets:

Unlike last week’s Lucario, Noivern can only use a handful of sets effectively.

Support Noivern
Noivern @ Focus Sash
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 5 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
– Draco Meteor
– Super Fang
– Tailwind
– Protect

This Noivern brings Tailwind support to the team. Draco Meteor and Focus Sash allows Noivern to beat Garchomp and Salamence as well as deal solid damage to most Pokemon. Super Fang deals half of the target’s current HP as damage making it much easier for Noivern’s partner to KO it.

Choice Specs
Noivern @ Choice Specs
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid / Modest Nature
– Draco Meteor
– Flamethrower
– Hurricane / Boomburst
– Switcheroo

With Choice Specs Noivern hits harder than Scarf Salamence. Flamethrower will hurt Steel types. Hurricane is a power Flying STAB, but its accuracy is terrible outside of rain so I wouldn’t advise it for most teams. Boomburst deals decent spread damage but you must be wary of your partner. Switcheroo passes Choice Specs to a Pokemon that won’t want them, and can be devastating if pulled off.

Teammates:

Like all Dragon types, Noivern appreciates having Steel type partners that can switch into an incoming Fairy, Dragon, Ice, or Rock attack. Aegislash, Bisharp, Mawile, and Ferrothorn are suitable choices. All of these Pokemon will like having Noivern switch into Ground, Fire, and Fighting moves for them.

Out of these four Pokemon Bisharp is the only one that can take full advantage of Tailwind. Noivern’s Super Fang followed up by an Assurance from Bisharp will be able to KO most Pokemon in the format. Finally, Bisharp will be able to OHKO Fairy types that give Noivern trouble.

Counters:

Tyranitar can tank anything Noivern throw at it and return KO with Ice Beam, and Sand will remove the Focus Sash. Fairy types are immune to its Dragon moves and threaten a Moonblast/Play Rough/Dazzling Gleam. Steel types can wall sets lacking Flamethrower. All of these Pokemon need to be wary of taking a Super Fang + partner attack, so you’ll need to rely on some prediction.

Aerodactyl can out speed it and 2HKO with Rock Slide while having a flinch chance on both of your Pokemon. It can also match Tailwinds with you.

Once Noivern has used Draco Meteor it’s Special Attack will be lowered and almost anything will be able to tank a couple hits from it and KO back.

Conclusion

Noivern is an interesting Pokemon that thrives from specific scenarios. It can deal with other Dragons, provide Tailwind support, and help other Pokemon nab KOs on bulky Pokemon. Yet its still outclassed by its peers in the offensive department and doesn’t share the popularity that its brethren do.

When putting Noivern on a team, you need to acknowledge what it can do that the other Dragons can’t, and capitalize on it.