Chase

We're BAAAAAACK~ Before I begin to expound on the next few RU Pokemon that's crossed my mind. I want explain the reasoning behind this list being updated. I like to keep my versions in ONE thread - for all to gander at, and I would only jump to a new thread if the meta is changed and the older thread has fallen off the second page. Check. Check. Let's begin anew. Today's Pokemon is FLYGON. Remember when I said we had a changed Meta? There's a new thing you need to know about RarelyUsed. DragonSpam. Previously, Flygon (then an UnderUsed reject-mon only used by fans of the mon itself.) would have been having to contest with Slurpuff, Whimsicott, Mega-Abomasnow, and so on here in RU. Flygon, Noivern, and potential quickban Kingdra flipped spots with the previous checks, leaving Aromatisse as the only fairy left to contend with the large offering of Dragon types. Sneasel would be able to assist - except with this Pokemon. Flygon's niche use in UnderUsed was simple. It would use it's decent speed and some help from a choice scarf to scout, gather chip damage, and either do some considerable damage to slower Pokemon in the form of Outrage and Earthquake. Whether or not Flygon will see MORE sets in RU is to be seen, but the Pokemon -does- get access to DEFOG, providing RarelyUsed another offensive Defogger alongside Shiftry. Flygon's bugger set would be to run something along the lines of this: Flygon @ Choice Scarf Ability: Levitate EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP - Earthquake - Outrage - U-turn - Defog Defog is a fantastic move for a Pokemon like Flygon, who not only resists Stealth Rock Damage but also is completely immune to other hazards thanks to Levitate. Unfortunately, in UU anyway, Flygon had to be relagated to a choice scarf in order to effectively defog those hazards away, which will bring a lot of switching. However, that same Scarf allows Flygon some offensive presense in RU. Steel type Pokemon resist Outrage, but if the Flygon user goes for EQ instead, Flygon wins the match-up. Outrage is extremely viable in RU over Dragon Claw due to the severe lack of choice in Fairies, and both STABs allow Flygon to clean up and finish a game for you. Flygon was one of my favorite Pokemon in Generation 3. It's not a "psuedo-legendary" so it doesn't come with all of the snobby titles and expectations. It's typing is fantastic offensively (if atrocious when contending with Ice Beam defensively.) and it's design was always really cool. Dragonflies are pretty cool in my opinion, and I don't like most insects...let alone animals in general. Flygon is a Pokemon that hopefully can find a place it can call home after roughing it in UnderUsed as of late. Because of the timing of this post, there are not viability rankings -yet- for Flygon in RU. Good teammates: DragonSpam cores enjoy having Flygon as a Scarf presence that can be used to outspeed faster threats in the tier. Additionally, pokemon such as M-Camerupt can take any Ice type attacks aimed at Flygon and dish out powerful fire type moves boosted by Sheer Force. Eelektross and Cobalion can form Volt-Turn cores with Flygon, and Jolteon can get rid of pesky water types.

Sharpedo @ Sharpedonite Ability: Speed Boost EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe Adamant Nature - Protect - Crunch - Waterfall - Ice Fang Talonflame @ Sharp Beak Ability: Gale Wings EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe Adamant Nature - Brave Bird - Flare Blitz - U-turn - Roost Breloom @ Focus Sash Ability: Technician EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Spore - Bullet Seed - Mach Punch - Force Palm I wanted to try and go for a little bit of a challenge and provide half of the team. This very much is a FWG-core with the premise being to clear the way for Mega-Sharpedo. This is also an opportunity to learn a little bit how you build, so that I can apply some of it to myself...

HildaXMike This one's not a romantic ship. Ame, Drop the knives. I know this has been suggested already, but there's just waaaay too much in common that I end up pegging MYSELF on it. MikeXLost The one-sidedness makes me laugh. Every time. It's cute, and I ship em. Deal with it. MikexEva "Hi, Jerichocolate"

Scarfed Dragons threaten Kingdra. Paralysis would make a worthy sacrificial effort - and nobody takes 1 special attack and T-waves something better than Registeel.

So.....Remember when I said Registeel is the best Pokemon in the tier? It can handle Kingdra - which I will concur, is gonna do some work in the tier.

Tiers I play: - 6G MainstreamUsed - 6G RarelyUsed - 6G Little Cup - 6G UnderUsed - 6G These Pokemon are competitive?Used Tiers I wouldn't mind playing but haven't done much with: - Die Uber"mon"sch Things I am not familiar with: - Mega-Rayquaza Goes. - PU - FU I'll have that steak Medium Rare please. Hopefully I won't have to ask for A-1... ^^

Fine. Pawniard -plus priority attack elsewhere- beats Abra. That's what I was trying to say anyway. Abra is good. Nobody disagrees here.

Mega Houndoom is UU.

Hmm. Magnezone @ Choice Scarf Ability: Magnet Pull Tentative EVs: 252 spatk / 252 speed / 4 hp Modest Nature - Volt Switch - Hidden Power Fire - Flash Cannon - Thunderbolt Dragonite @ Weakness Policy Ability: Multiscale Tentative EVs: 252 attk / 252 speed / 4 sped (hp) Jolly Nature - Extremespeed - Dragon Dance - Earthquake - Dragon Claw I know that DragMag may be boring conceptually, but I want you to -also- take -my- general playstyle into account. Also, not too many people remember the weakness policy even exists. Help me Autumn!

Everything in Little Cup thats ranked B+ or lower in Viability. Nidoqueen/King Chesnaught Krookodile

Abra would be an honorable mention. Pawniard shuts it down, but aside from that it's still a great Sash MG attacker and is definitely an annoyance. Kam beat my innovative LC team with his partially top-tier squad in a tour...by one Focus Sash.

I'd beg to differ. Mienfoo gets an insanely high usage because it's the least niche Pokemon in the tier. It literally can do anything you ask it to within it's moveset's means and isn't prone at all to the most "centralizing" threats. There's a reason things like unranked Pokemon are on lists like Jericho's and my own... They actually work. To ORAS' credit. Yes, OU is certainly in a good place today - but even though the diversity of the Pokemon at the top of the tier is notable, you still struggle using anything truly unique due to things at the top of the board that have a wide range of use. Mienfoo is the only swiss army knife Pokemon in the tier, and while that means -it's- a centralizing Pokemon, there isn't a wide list of things that would be -impossible- to use.

if you were marooned on a deserted island and you were only allowed to take one thing with you (outside of basic survival necessities) what would it be? if you had a chance to attend Oregon vs ______ in any regular season game, who would be the opponent? what is your favorite 1900's movie? on a scale of one to square, what color is the letter "H"? if you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? which is your favorite part of the hourglass - the top, or the bottom? what's your best pick up line? what's your favorite Mazda vehicle? if you could go out with any actress/tor - who would it be? what's your favorite color? why are you the bad guy?

Aron is definitely a Pokemon out of left field... Rock Head is -also- a cool ability to play with too, and since I'm not a big fan of Berry Juice, I prefer that set. Regardless, it's a fun Pokemon. Corphish is a monster. My favorite thing to do is slap a choice band on it and just get immediate raw damage late - although it can be a set-up sweeper with liberty if that's your cup of tea.

Actually When I was talking about Pawniard, I was referring to how -I- thought -it- was overrated. Mienfoo is very much deserving of that S rank. - FightSpam approved. - Double Priority - Knock Off - Regenerator/Reckless both work fantastically well - Mienfoo fits on pretty much any team. - Bulkier sets and utility functionality are in the realm of possibility, as well as going completely offensive. With Fletchling, it's bread and butter comes from Gale Wings, which is pretty valuable in a speed dependent tier like Little Cup. Chinchou has a lot going for it. - Two possible immunities - Solid HP - ability to be scarfed for surprise value. - Pivot ability The reason those three didn't make my top ten is because Little Cup is -much- less centralized than OU in my opinion (either by the possibility for various pokemon to overcome top threats or by the relative unfamiliarity as opposed to OverUsed.) - making the tier have more PARITY. Anything and everything has the potential to be a problem in this tier if you play your cards right. By all means, Jelly, make your own list and tell us what -you- think.

Sometimes, there's that one odd tier that you've never played before, and then you pick it up and it's one of the most fun experiences you've ever had as a Pokemon Trainer. Ladies, Gents, and Dignified self-identifiers (because if I tried to ID you, you might have to hit me in the face or strangle me), here's -my- top ten Little Cup Pokemon. I've decided to go with a combination of competitive and favorite Pokemon. This means, this list is influenced by my opinion and as such, I would like to indicate that you may share your own lists below - and please don't be offended if your favorite 'mon isn't on -MY- top 10. LESDOTHIS 10 - Pawniard SmogViability - S, HildaViability - A Smogon holds a lot of respect for Pawniard, and it's not hard to see why. Defiant is a fantastic ability. Sucker Punch provides the Pokemon with highly valued priority (which is also high in BP -and- STAB for Pawniard.) Knock-Off clears the field of perhaps the most annoying items in the tier (Berry Juice and Eviolite) and Iron Head threatens Fairy type Pokemon. The one thing that I -don't- see Pawniard being S-Rank for, is that x4 weakness to fighting, and if you need to know one thing about Little Cup, it's very easily FightSpam, very quickly. Mach Punch? Cya....but aside from that Pawniard can be shoved into any team, and it's many uses have it on my list. 9 - Ponyta SmogViability - A+, HildaViability - A This thing's attack and speed are the most desirable parts of the 'Mon. Ponyta's bruising Attack stat makes massive moves like Flare Blitz for STAB and Wild Charge for coverage hit like a truck. Eviolite enables it to fish for burns on physical attackers with it's 'Flame Body' ability, but it could also grant your team immunity with Flash Fire (which also boosts Flare Blitz to absolutely punishing power levels.) It works nicely on sun teams, and gets access to Morning Sun for very desirable one-click recovery - which it's speed will grant before many opposing Pokemon can move. 8 - Choice Scarf HP-dependent attackers (Cyndaquil, Frillish, Wailmer) HildaViability - S I don't particularly care what Smogon thinks with regards to Scarf-mons. The cool thing about these three though are the moves Eruption and Water Spout - which if you can keep Rocks off the field, will consistently be painful for the opponent to handle. These guys are great momentum grabbers for teams that may need the extra help setting the tone or removing some threats. 7 - Trubbish SmogViability - C+, HildaViability - A+ "What...a TRASH BAG Pokemon, they most really be running out of idea-"....oh, well. at least Mini-Me Garbodor here has some genuine use. As a poison type Pokemon it can soak up T-Spikes on your side of the field and Gunk Shot will most certainly threaten the likes of Flabebe and much more common Spritzee. Sticky Hold, in a tier where Knock Off is a valuable move more-so than most other tiers, allows Trubbish to freely utilize the move 'Recycle' to recover it's Oran Berry (if you are NOT a chump)...or Berry Juice if you are one..... and Drain Punch gives it that nice "Garbodor" smell-...well, not so nice Garbodor smell, but very nice Garbodor recovery on top of recovery. This thing if played well can stick around and wear down opponents, as well as lay your own spikes. Neat! 6 - Litleo SmogViability - Criminally Unranked, HildaViability - B I can see a lot of Smogon's rationale with this Pokemon (FightSpam, Knock-Off, Priority > Litleo), but I don't think it adds up to it being UNRANKED. Litleo is essentially one of the more fun coverage Pokemon to use. With a moveset of Fire Blast, Hyper Voice, HP Grass, and Dark Pulse, you can run Specs and save yourself from that pesky Life Orb Damage, giving it early game use, or you can give it Will-O-Wisp and said Life Orb and allow it to cripple physical attackers on the switch -or- cause some pain. Dark Pulse makes Litleo a full-on check to Ghost types, which I feel the folks at Smogon don't notice. Dark-Horse right here. 5 - Chespin SmogViability - B-, HildaViability - S There's nothing in the world you can say negative about Chespin. Period....but it does require a little bit of threat clearing before it can shine. - sometimes. The Ches-family ability 'Bulletproof' puts the Spiny-Nut Pokemon in an interesting seat of potential. Many a Little Cup team I've faced have had some oddly high reliance on clearing Grass type mons with Ball, Blast, Bomb moves - of which Chespin is immune to. In Little Cup, Sludge Bomb is much more likely to be used over Sludge Wave. Shadow Ball is also a no-go for opponents, meaning Chespin actually CHECKS Gastly. Give it a Bulk Up set and go to town, or get defensive and use it lay spikes and never die. Ever. 4 - Carvanha SmogViability - A-, HildaViability - A+ This thing is a mini-me Sharpedo. Carvanha has ridiculous attack power, and you will also have the luxury of speed boost, which absolutely allows Carvanha to be a win-condition mon, later in the match. Speed is Power in this tier - and this fish is my favorite out in terms of Speed. 3 - Wooper SmogViability - C -as in -c-riminally underrated- Minus, HildaViability - A Wooper is a lifesaver Pokemon. One of the most ANNOYING strategies in this game is the abundant Belly Drum centric teams. 'Unaware' puts a stop to those shenanigans, and allows Wooper to share some status conditions and possibly take out the normally jacked Belly Drummer. Set-up can be a huge deal in this tier. 2 - Snivy SmogViability - B+, HildaViability - S Snivy is a mini-me Serperior in functionality, with less coverage but more opportunity to work in an environment that isn't so prepared at checking it. Because most LC mons are not as bulky as their parents per se, Snivy is more of a threat in general here, and Contrary being legal and kosher is the reason the Grass Snake makes all the big (poke)bucks. Fasten your seatbelt opponent. This -will- get ugly. (oh, and due to being a x4 bully to Wooper, this thing gets the nod for the higher spot.) 1 - Sandile SmogonViability - for some reason...not ranked...., HildaViability - S Sandile is one of my favorites, sure - but let's be critical here. 72 base attack is -just- enough to not be the greatest a Scarf-mon Sandile "could" be. However, This things coverage and it's ability 'Moxie' give it that sort of secret agent feel. Yes, Sandile is a decent revenge killer - but what people -really- want to do with this Pokemon is find the path to victory by clicking the right move that the remainder of the opponents team won't be able to stand up to with a few Moxie boosts. Revenge Killer turned All-Star. Game Over. Proceed to win.

I'm one of the people that is HIGHLY suspicious of Radomus. The Meteor Garb, ambivalent degree of security the dialogue provides us, and knowledge of the gemstones holding particular power make's the man seemingly have the right hat for the job. He also doesn't give the player the choice, which is a stark difference from -asking- if the player would hand over the pendent. Another thing to take note of here, is that while Radomus is questionably good, El is questionably evil if the player is able to look past the obvious unlike-ability. For instance, is a father wanting to be with his daughter (regardless of parenting skills or disciplinary knack) something that would be questionably bad? The thing about El with me is that I -do- have a penchant for divinity seeking (and I also believe that I have a bit of skill in it myself by that's not the point.) - Is he -truly- ill-intented? There are other characters that illicit this kind of thinking. - Taka - Dr. Connal (provided you know his backstory.) By the same coin, Radomus is also not something anyone can put their finger on.

You know you're low on the ladder when your opponent has less than six mons and the gimmick is not a surprise.

Maybe I'm not too surprised, but I know that Charlotte's just a teenager (not quite old enough to be out of the orphanage anyway) and that the burn marks Anna makes note of aren't visible to anyone else - so I kinda anticipated her rugged demeanor to be more of an internal setting hidden behind a deceptively youthful face. Long exposition cut short, this is exactly how I envisioned Charlotte.

After looking at Drapion - you can probably make that Scope Lens set work - so long as you -definitely- BP into it. I really like that set. Lunar Dance CM Bulky Attacker Cresselia - Lunar Dance - This move is really good, especially if Drapion gets in trouble or Emboar can help you clean up and can be saved. - Calm Mind - The move that makes up for no investment in SpAtk, allowing for Cresselia to threaten opponents. - Moonblast - To bother frail Dark types like Houndoom that switch in on your CM - Psychic/Psyshock - STAB move for everything else if push comes to shove. Changes from -your- set: Giving Druddigon your paralysis and dropping Moonlight due to it not being very necessary in this set (as Cress keeps it's bulk and gets even bulkier with Calm Mind.) Special Attacker Cresselia (Slightly invested Special Attack - your discretion) - Moonlight - Recovery - allowing for Cress to stick around and bulk opponents into favorable swith-outs. - Lunar Dance - again, helps your more important teammates and is a great move. - Moonblast - Screw you, Dark types. - Psychic/shock - STAB. Changes from -your- set: giving paralysis inflictor to Druddigon. Changes from CM set: flipping Calm Mind back to Moonlight. The Suggested Chopping Block Accelgor is a really creative Pokemon in this team, but it sounds like it's very frail. Frailty doesn't behoove many Specs users - even if they are fast Specs users - in this tier because after getting scratched you're at the mercy of priority users. This is something you will want to replace for Emolga. After removing Accelgor - I would also take a look at going a little more -real- special defensive - as opposed to Tangrowth. Something like SpeDef Gastro or Jellicent, or perhaps a replacement Special Attacker - Clawitzer and Heliolisk come to mind here. I like Tangrowth, but it's Assault Vest is the only special defense this team seems to have. Knock the AV off and your team is a bit of a perilous position. Rocky Helmet Support Druddigon Glare - slows down the opposing team. Stealth Rock - provides residual damage Dragon Tail - shuffles opponents - working really well with Stealth Rock and becomes even MORE effective when opponents are Paralyzed. Sucker Punch - Druddigon may not get all of the paralysis support off in a battle, but it may get to the point where he can finish the job with this move.

I have a general feeling that it was aimed at anyone supporting Aegislash more fervently than you, Aero. There's a couple of things to call into question here though. This is a suspect ladder that is focusing -on- Aegislash. - as you climb higher up the ladder - both for the sake of trying to fulfill one's active duty as a suspect tester and for the sheer reason behind the suspect test being on Aegislash, Aegislash -should- be common. Earlier I was asking if Void was calling the ladder into contempt - but this is the rather nitpicky part where -I- call said ladder into contempt. The result of this -may- very well be that it's an overcentralizing Pokemon because the variables project a meta that is run by the Royal Sword. However, those variables need to be held accountable for possible influence as well. If the same teams are being seen over and over and over again here, it's not going to look good for Aegislash when the vote falls - and I'm okay with this. I'll continue to not like many things in OU and continue to struggle with dealing with threats that centralize it that are -not- named Aegislash. If I were anywhere near the ability to vote (and I wouldn't be) I would vote for it to come back. Centralization isn't going to be fixed by keeping it out - and from my point of view, it causes OU to be hold only limited parity.

*cracks knuckles* ALRIGHT STEP ASIDE OUTTA MY WAY ScarfBoar Definitely a reliable Pokemon and it works good on teams that don't already have a fire type. It definitely helps revenge kill the things Accelgor can't quite finish off. CritDrap This Pokemon has a cool concept - but I think Scope Lens would be better replaced with Leftovers and Agility knocked off for something like Earthquake. The thing that's off-putting to me is that you have to get two set up moves up and you claim that this is your final leg runner. As much as I hate saying this - why not try BATON PASSING the agility onto it here? I know that the thing is bulky, but if your Lens gets Knocked Off then your crit chance drops anyways. To -me- it seems like giving this thing some gradual recovery and more coverage - while passing some pre-set-up would get the job done better as well as make someone switch out. A good mon to try this on is the aforementioned Cresselia, because when you pass, you'll put HEAVY pressure on it and it will be forced to switch out letting you get your Sword's Dance up. Then you're all set, and with Earthquake or some other coverage to boot. AcSpecialSweep-or -IIIII- would go Sticky Hold over Unburden. I know Accelgor is a bug type and it would deter Knock Offs - but -most- of these -are- suicide leads. Knock Off would knock the sash away -or- break it so I could easily see someone trying it on you. If you don't HAVE to lose your Specs. Don't. AVGrowth As much as I absolutely -loathe- Regenerator- Tangrowth is my absolute favorite user of it in the tier for sets like this and not being a part of the Slowpoke line... This mon can stay. Cress-HELL-ia This thing is designed to be the absolute bulk it can...bulk....which is fine. I understand. However, I think you should forgo T-Wave here and make it just tad bit more offensive. Either leaving it bulky and going with Calm Mind -or- less bulky with a little more SpAtk and Moonblast to provide some threat to opposing Dark types. The reason being is found in your next Pokemon. Contact-Damage Support Druddigon ....At least, this is what I feel the set SHOULD reflect here. Snatch is a cool move - but Dragon Claw is something your opponent can just throw their Aromatisse at and wall you to death - and the biggest thing Snatch would take would come from something that Dragon Claw can't touch - Belly Drum Slurpuff. Instead of Snatch, I would go with GLARE here. Glare would replace Cresselia's T-Wave (as well as make Ground types able to be paralyzed, which is just AWESOME) and make it a little bit more of an offensive threat/ threatening wall - while better suiting your Druddigon as it's out passive aggresively punishing physical attackers. I also think that Tomas is right here. With Glare, Stealth Rock, and Dragon TAIL - Druddigon can provide the team with some Phase support that would help out Accelgor and Drapion when finishing the job - especially if Drap can't get the boosts he needs without risidual damage being racked up. --- Pokemon I feel would help you considerably from outside the team at the moment EMOLGA: Emolga is going to serve as Drapion's partner in crime - providing the Agility and Baton Pass support that it would need to be able to have a coverage move in it's moveset and proceed to take the match. Emolga is in NO danger of Earthquake itself, which makes BPing into Drapion a safe decision - Drap should be able to take the Rock type attack that may come it's way and proceed to Sword's Dance after it has it's Agility boost on the next turn. It -should- force a switch here - but much too late if you play your cards right and utilize AV Growth and Scarfboar. - as well as get some work out of Accelgor.

7/10 rock fists up.....CMON SUMMER HURRY UP

Do you want to see Aegislash on every team? - On a personal level. Bring it on. I feel like Aegislash is a mon that requires a risk to use and to take down - and I would love to use it in OU again. Will it -be- on every team? - I would assume it would be used often, but I don't think it will be as centralizing today as it was at the beginning of Gen 6. Are you prepared for the inevitable 50/50's Aegislash will cause? Already happens in games without it, may as well bring it back. Will people use Aegislash to counter Aegislash? Wouldn't be the -worst- idea. Aegislash is a Ghost type and if it can catch it at low health Shadow Sneak gets the job done. I can see how this isn't favorable. Does P-Up Punch Lopunny counter Aegislash? No, but as a check (especially if Encore is also in the set) it has the potential. The pivotal question. - Does Aegislash solve all of our problems? It actually -does- create more of the same problem we already have. I would RATHER however bring Aegis down from 'OU Hell' (especially if it's being held there due to a concept that already exists without it in the tier.) than -not- and continue to allow centralization to occur at -any- degree.