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POKEMON BATTLE TIME. We tried to run a tournament once and it basically fell through, BUT we should still totally Shoddy Battle.
Shoddy Battle still runs a 4th-gen battle simulator. That's Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. I think there's been talk of making one for 5th gen, but that hasn't happened.
Relevant links:
http://shoddybattle.com/downloads
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/
Battling is done by tiers. Each poke is classified into a tier by people who have spent entirely too much time thinking about this sort of thing. The tiers are, in descending order:
Ubers - Mewtwo et al.
OU - "overused," the bread and butter dudes.
BL - "borderline," the guys who don't quite make the cut for OU but are still too powerful for UU.
UU - "underused," the guys who can make it into a competitive team, but aren't total game-changers.
NU - "never used," the trash tier.
LC - "Little Cup," the format where you use babies at level 5.
Any tier can include pokes from any tier underneath. OU is the most common tier, but the lower tiers are a lot of fun, too.
I'll probably be hanging out tomorrow looking for battles. If you want help putting together a team, chat us up here or in #slimesalad (irc.esper.net). JSH is at least as knowledgeable about this stuff as I am, so he's also an excellent resource.
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks
Let's Pokemon
Mon May 28, 2012 3:03 am 
Mon May 28, 2012 3:11 am
Other things to know
Sweeper - a poke that can potentially wipe out all of the enemy team. This usually requires getting stat boosts from moves like Swords Dance. It also usually requires being faster than the guys you're sweeping.
Choice - The three "Choice" items (Band, Specs, and Scarf) give their holder twice as much Attack, SpAttack, and Speed, respectively. However, the holder of one of these items can't switch moves after its first move until you swap it out.
Baton Passer - The move Baton Pass transfers stat changes from one poke to another. Ninjask is an excellent example of a poke that is used pretty much exclusively for its stat boosting.
Entry Hazards - Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes are all extremely common threats. Stealth Rock is rock-type and can seriously damage fire- and flying-types. Spikes stacks for big damage. Toxic Spikes applies Toxic, but can be absorbed by poison-types.
Rapid Spinner - The move Rapid Spin removes entry hazards. Since it's a normal-type move, you can prevent its effect by switching in a ghost. Starmie is a common Rapid Spinner.
Hazer/Phazer - It's a good idea to include someone who can remove stat changes. The move Haze is one method, but there are also pseudo-haze (phaze) moves such as Roar and Whirlwind that accomplish the same goal.
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks
Sweeper - a poke that can potentially wipe out all of the enemy team. This usually requires getting stat boosts from moves like Swords Dance. It also usually requires being faster than the guys you're sweeping.
Choice - The three "Choice" items (Band, Specs, and Scarf) give their holder twice as much Attack, SpAttack, and Speed, respectively. However, the holder of one of these items can't switch moves after its first move until you swap it out.
Baton Passer - The move Baton Pass transfers stat changes from one poke to another. Ninjask is an excellent example of a poke that is used pretty much exclusively for its stat boosting.
Entry Hazards - Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes are all extremely common threats. Stealth Rock is rock-type and can seriously damage fire- and flying-types. Spikes stacks for big damage. Toxic Spikes applies Toxic, but can be absorbed by poison-types.
Rapid Spinner - The move Rapid Spin removes entry hazards. Since it's a normal-type move, you can prevent its effect by switching in a ghost. Starmie is a common Rapid Spinner.
Hazer/Phazer - It's a good idea to include someone who can remove stat changes. The move Haze is one method, but there are also pseudo-haze (phaze) moves such as Roar and Whirlwind that accomplish the same goal.
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks
Mon May 28, 2012 6:24 am
sounds shiny enough
though I have a few problems:
1: I don't have any internet connection anywhere near where I live right now that can support Nintendo Wi-Fi. The new router for my house don't support it, the church's decided to not like my DS anymore, and the public library decided it would be ingenious to stop providing internet services.
2: unfortunatly, my DS has been on the fritz anyway, my control pad is busted beyond any comfortable use, and the touch screen is finally getting iffy. I suppose thousands o' hours of gameplay would do that.
3: baby pokemon start at lvl 1 as of 4th gen anyway, just wanted to point that out.
would heart gold/ soul silver be allowed as well? because even if I do somehow manage to find a place to mooch nets from, that's the only version which has any truely battle-ready creatures of my DS versions, as I've more recently reset platinum to play through again.
dOn'T MiNd mE! i'M jUsT CoNtAgIoUs!!!
Play Orbs CCG: http://orbsccg.com/r/4r6x
though I have a few problems:
1: I don't have any internet connection anywhere near where I live right now that can support Nintendo Wi-Fi. The new router for my house don't support it, the church's decided to not like my DS anymore, and the public library decided it would be ingenious to stop providing internet services.
2: unfortunatly, my DS has been on the fritz anyway, my control pad is busted beyond any comfortable use, and the touch screen is finally getting iffy. I suppose thousands o' hours of gameplay would do that.
3: baby pokemon start at lvl 1 as of 4th gen anyway, just wanted to point that out.
would heart gold/ soul silver be allowed as well? because even if I do somehow manage to find a place to mooch nets from, that's the only version which has any truely battle-ready creatures of my DS versions, as I've more recently reset platinum to play through again.
dOn'T MiNd mE! i'M jUsT CoNtAgIoUs!!!
Play Orbs CCG: http://orbsccg.com/r/4r6x
Mon May 28, 2012 8:07 am
Mon May 28, 2012 8:22 am
Mon May 28, 2012 2:32 pm
You're behind the times, Mogri! The hip new thing for people to conduct online battles with is Pokemon Online! It's got support for 5th-gen Pokemon, Dream World abilities, and other stuff! The UI is much more comfortable, too, but it took me a while to find a layout that suited me. Some of them even have pseudo battle animations!
I recently competed in a casual tournament where "tiers" operated a little differently, and were sorted strictly by Base Stat Total. The tier I competed in, for example, allowed Scizor and Ferrothorn but banned Excadrill and Flareon. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but ended up losing in the second round.
Since Smogon is such a ready resource (here's the 5th gen list: http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/), I can quickly adjust to their standard tiers at any time if you want to stick to them.
I recently competed in a casual tournament where "tiers" operated a little differently, and were sorted strictly by Base Stat Total. The tier I competed in, for example, allowed Scizor and Ferrothorn but banned Excadrill and Flareon. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but ended up losing in the second round.
Since Smogon is such a ready resource (here's the 5th gen list: http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/), I can quickly adjust to their standard tiers at any time if you want to stick to them.
Mon May 28, 2012 6:11 pm
What nooooooooo
I don't know the first thing about Gen V, but I guess it's TIME TO LEARN. Is there a release date on Gray? Because I don't think I want to pick up BW at this point.
(edit) also, any format that allows Wynaut and bans Regigigas is just silly
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks
I don't know the first thing about Gen V, but I guess it's TIME TO LEARN. Is there a release date on Gray? Because I don't think I want to pick up BW at this point.
(edit) also, any format that allows Wynaut and bans Regigigas is just silly
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks
Mon May 28, 2012 8:22 pm
According to serebii ( http://www.serebii.net/black2white2/ ), it'll be out in Japan around June and in the States in the autumn of this year. And as you can see Game Freak opted to make a two-game sequel in the form of Black2 and White2, so you are not spared from having to make a choice!
Black/White brought a ton of game-changers to the table. I'll write down what I can remember for a start.
Ferroseed and its evo, Ferrothorn, were introduced, and have pretty much become the best new defensive Pokemon around. Both their defenses are great, they have a spiffy typing in Grass/Steel, their ability damages anything that touches them, they have a wicked double offense in Power Whip and Gyro Ball, they can lay Spikes and Stealth Rock, and they can even heal a bit with Leech Seed!
Eviolite is a very special item that breathes new life into old Pokemon. Only pre-evos can hold it, and it boosts both defenses by 50% at all times. It's super popular in Little Cup, and has given Chansey a huge edge over Blissey, to name a few examples. People are still spending time combing the unevolved ranks and finding new standouts. Myself, I've discovered that Shelgon+Eviolite can be effective in lower tiers.
Dream World Abilities also breathe new life into old Pokemon by giving almost every single Pokemon a brand new ability when obtained from the online Dream World. Not very many Pokemon are available from the Dream World for your cartridges, but Pokemon Online has a seperate tier for Dream World where any of the new abilities are allowed. Some Pokemon have become absolutely incredible with their new abilities, including Blaziken with Speed Boost, Gliscor with Poison Heal, Politoed with Drizzle, and Ninetails with Drought.
Moves have been powered up in various places. You'll have to do some digging to find out exactly which moves got a boost, but some examples include Tackle (from 35 Base Power to 50), Bullet Seed and Icicle Spear (from 15 to 25), Hi Jump Kick (100 to 130), and Giga Drain and Drain Punch (60 to 75).
Some ridiculous new buffing moves have been introduced, and some existing ones have gotten buffed even further: Tail Glow now boosts Special Attack to 250% (up from 200%) and Growth boosts Attack and Special Attack to 150%, up to 200% for both if used in sunlight. Some new moves include Cotton Guard (250% Defense), Coil (150% Attack, Defense, and 133% Accuracy), Quiver Dance (150% Sp.Attack, Sp.Defense, and Speed), and of course Shell Smash! (200% Attack, Sp.Attack, and Speed; 66% Defense and Sp.Defense)
Fighting Pokemon have become extremely popular in the top tiers and Little Cup, almost all of which were introduced during the 5th gen shift. Conkeldurr the beefy monster clown is a horrific physical tank whose only flaw is his speed, except wait no he's got Mach Punch nevermind. Mienshao is a fast and powerful abuser of the boosted Hi Jump Kick, and frequently combos with U-Turn and its ability, Regenerator, to deal damage, run from danger, and heal itself, all at once. Scrafty is a weird Dark/Fighting Pokemon with huge defenses that likes to use Dragon Dance / Hi Jump Kick or Bulk Up / Drain Punch combos. Lastly Terrakion is a new pseudo-legendary who has the amazing dual STAB of Rock and Fighting and packs ideal stats in offense, defense, and speed; he's also got an ability that boosts Attack when hit with Dark-type moves, so he's a terrific Tyranitar counter. Oh, wait, one more - Speed Boost!Blaziken was so powerful that he got banned to Ubers almost immediately. Speaking of Ubers...
There's a few new Ubers you should know about. Zekrom, the electric dragon from White, is notorious for being a physical powerhouse in the specially-focused Uber tier. Reshiram, the fire dragon from Black, is terribly feared for its completely unresisted double STAB moves (Heatran is also destroyed because the dragons both have a Mold Breaker-like ability). There's also Thundurus, an Electric/Flying genie who adores spamming Thunder Wave and Taunt with an ability that makes non-damaging moves always go first - he also packs huge offenses and speed and combos well with Kyogre's rain.
And then of course there's the other additions to moves, abilities, and the Pokemon themselves to consider. There's a lot to soak up with this latest generation.
Black/White brought a ton of game-changers to the table. I'll write down what I can remember for a start.
Ferroseed and its evo, Ferrothorn, were introduced, and have pretty much become the best new defensive Pokemon around. Both their defenses are great, they have a spiffy typing in Grass/Steel, their ability damages anything that touches them, they have a wicked double offense in Power Whip and Gyro Ball, they can lay Spikes and Stealth Rock, and they can even heal a bit with Leech Seed!
Eviolite is a very special item that breathes new life into old Pokemon. Only pre-evos can hold it, and it boosts both defenses by 50% at all times. It's super popular in Little Cup, and has given Chansey a huge edge over Blissey, to name a few examples. People are still spending time combing the unevolved ranks and finding new standouts. Myself, I've discovered that Shelgon+Eviolite can be effective in lower tiers.
Dream World Abilities also breathe new life into old Pokemon by giving almost every single Pokemon a brand new ability when obtained from the online Dream World. Not very many Pokemon are available from the Dream World for your cartridges, but Pokemon Online has a seperate tier for Dream World where any of the new abilities are allowed. Some Pokemon have become absolutely incredible with their new abilities, including Blaziken with Speed Boost, Gliscor with Poison Heal, Politoed with Drizzle, and Ninetails with Drought.
Moves have been powered up in various places. You'll have to do some digging to find out exactly which moves got a boost, but some examples include Tackle (from 35 Base Power to 50), Bullet Seed and Icicle Spear (from 15 to 25), Hi Jump Kick (100 to 130), and Giga Drain and Drain Punch (60 to 75).
Some ridiculous new buffing moves have been introduced, and some existing ones have gotten buffed even further: Tail Glow now boosts Special Attack to 250% (up from 200%) and Growth boosts Attack and Special Attack to 150%, up to 200% for both if used in sunlight. Some new moves include Cotton Guard (250% Defense), Coil (150% Attack, Defense, and 133% Accuracy), Quiver Dance (150% Sp.Attack, Sp.Defense, and Speed), and of course Shell Smash! (200% Attack, Sp.Attack, and Speed; 66% Defense and Sp.Defense)
Fighting Pokemon have become extremely popular in the top tiers and Little Cup, almost all of which were introduced during the 5th gen shift. Conkeldurr the beefy monster clown is a horrific physical tank whose only flaw is his speed, except wait no he's got Mach Punch nevermind. Mienshao is a fast and powerful abuser of the boosted Hi Jump Kick, and frequently combos with U-Turn and its ability, Regenerator, to deal damage, run from danger, and heal itself, all at once. Scrafty is a weird Dark/Fighting Pokemon with huge defenses that likes to use Dragon Dance / Hi Jump Kick or Bulk Up / Drain Punch combos. Lastly Terrakion is a new pseudo-legendary who has the amazing dual STAB of Rock and Fighting and packs ideal stats in offense, defense, and speed; he's also got an ability that boosts Attack when hit with Dark-type moves, so he's a terrific Tyranitar counter. Oh, wait, one more - Speed Boost!Blaziken was so powerful that he got banned to Ubers almost immediately. Speaking of Ubers...
There's a few new Ubers you should know about. Zekrom, the electric dragon from White, is notorious for being a physical powerhouse in the specially-focused Uber tier. Reshiram, the fire dragon from Black, is terribly feared for its completely unresisted double STAB moves (Heatran is also destroyed because the dragons both have a Mold Breaker-like ability). There's also Thundurus, an Electric/Flying genie who adores spamming Thunder Wave and Taunt with an ability that makes non-damaging moves always go first - he also packs huge offenses and speed and combos well with Kyogre's rain.
And then of course there's the other additions to moves, abilities, and the Pokemon themselves to consider. There's a lot to soak up with this latest generation.
Mon May 28, 2012 9:10 pm
OK, let's try this POKEMON ONLINE thing. I am on the Pokemon Online server RIGHT NOW.
(edit) AWAY
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks
(edit) AWAY
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks
Mon May 28, 2012 11:51 pm
Tue May 29, 2012 12:34 am
Mogri wrote:
also, any format that allows Wynaut and bans Regigigas is just silly
This is a very minor thing, since Wobb and Wy are still delightful nuisances, but Encore has been nerfed to last precisely 3 turns rather than 2-7 or whatever it was previously, making them a bit less frustrating to go up against.
Also I forgot to mention, I'm away from my home computer this week, so I can't just up and do Pokemon on account of the download time, team-building time, and the fact that this internet connection is unstable and likes to fizzle out for less than a second every half hour or so, cancelling everything I'm doing (I had to re-enter that lengthy, detailed post above, for instance). I should have mentioned this earlier, sorry! I'll be able to battle on a regular schedule when I get back home.
Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:28 am
Here is what I would like to do:
Pokemon Draft Tournament
Ideally featuring six players, but could work with other numbers!
1. Everyone creates and submits a team of six.
2. Players draft new teams, selecting one poke from each player's team, ending with their own.
3. Round robin tournament featuring the drafted teams.
Example:
Alice enters with Feebas, Magikarp, and Stunfisk.
Bob enters with Hydreigon, Haxorus, and Heatran.
Charlie enters with Blastoise, Charizard, and Venusaur.
During the first draft round, Alice picks one poke from Bob's team, Bob from Charlie's, and Charlie from Alice's. During the second draft round, Alice picks from Charlie's team, Bob from Alice's, and Charlie from Bob's. Finally, each player gets the unpicked poke from his original team.
Would anyone be interested in doing this?
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks
Pokemon Draft Tournament
Ideally featuring six players, but could work with other numbers!
1. Everyone creates and submits a team of six.
2. Players draft new teams, selecting one poke from each player's team, ending with their own.
3. Round robin tournament featuring the drafted teams.
Example:
Alice enters with Feebas, Magikarp, and Stunfisk.
Bob enters with Hydreigon, Haxorus, and Heatran.
Charlie enters with Blastoise, Charizard, and Venusaur.
During the first draft round, Alice picks one poke from Bob's team, Bob from Charlie's, and Charlie from Alice's. During the second draft round, Alice picks from Charlie's team, Bob from Alice's, and Charlie from Bob's. Finally, each player gets the unpicked poke from his original team.
Would anyone be interested in doing this?
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks
Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:43 am
That sounds really neat! I'll have regular, week-long access to my computer for the rest of the year (probably) starting next Tuesday, so I'm totally on board with this, provided you have a server in mind for us all to battle on.
Would the standard entry rules apply, including the "duplicate" rules?
Instance 1:
>Anne enters Dragonair
>Betty enters Dragonair
>Carol attempts to pick Dragonair and Dragonair
>Normally, this would be illegal
Instance 2:
>Anne enters Bulbasaur w/Eviolite
>Betty enters Mudkip w/Eviolite
>Carol attempts to pick Bulbasaur and Mudkip, both of whom are carrying Eviolite
>Normally, this would be illegal
Would the standard entry rules apply, including the "duplicate" rules?
Instance 1:
>Anne enters Dragonair
>Betty enters Dragonair
>Carol attempts to pick Dragonair and Dragonair
>Normally, this would be illegal
Instance 2:
>Anne enters Bulbasaur w/Eviolite
>Betty enters Mudkip w/Eviolite
>Carol attempts to pick Bulbasaur and Mudkip, both of whom are carrying Eviolite
>Normally, this would be illegal
Sun Jun 17, 2012 2:34 am
Item clause isn't standard, yo
I think I'd enforce species clause for the initial teams, but not necessarily for the drafted teams.
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks
I think I'd enforce species clause for the initial teams, but not necessarily for the drafted teams.
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks
Sun Jun 17, 2012 2:46 am
What! Wow, where did I get the idea that duplicate items were banned? I guess it'd make a good house rule to enforce creative use of lesser-used items, like the weather rocks, weakness-reducing berries, type-enhancing gems, and the Air Balloon.
Okay, so there's no items rule. And I'll go along with your species clause here.
Okay, so there's no items rule. And I'll go along with your species clause here.