https://youtu.be/4IIjDoTol0A?t=2m50s
Lucas on Lucas salt.
Thanks, Austie...
~Grand
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Friday, October 30, 2015
[SMASH] Video Quality
I apologize for my poor video quality when I upload replays, but I'm poor so I don't have a Wii U so I have to use my phone to record. The quality might be better if I only record the top screen, but if y'all want the damage and the bottom screen then I'll include those. Comment below on preference please!
~®edox
~®edox
[SMASH] Replay of the Week (#1)
What was that? Ganon is the King of Disrespect? Nope it's Dr. Mario. Who needs Warlock Punch when you have cape.
~®edox
[SMASH] Robin Guide
This is a Robin guide I made based off of things that I learned, things I found worked, and things I noticed while playing. I'm not an expert, but I think I did pretty good for my first guide. But I'm still learning too, so if you guys have any tips for me, I'll be glad to listen to your advice. Without further ado, here's my Robin guide and I hope it helps! :D
Overview: Robin's a very technical character. He/She's is the slowest walker/runner in the game, but makes up for it with magic. He/She depends on setting up Arcfire and Arcthunder traps and slapping his/her opponent with the Levin Sword at every available chance.
Overview: Robin's a very technical character. He/She's is the slowest walker/runner in the game, but makes up for it with magic. He/She depends on setting up Arcfire and Arcthunder traps and slapping his/her opponent with the Levin Sword at every available chance.
Jabs- Robin's Elwind (speed) jab has high knockback and can kill around 120%. Don't use it too much because you'll drain your recovery. Robin's 1-2-3 jab uses your fire tome. I try to use this one more to keep the Elwind jab from staling out. You'll also drop your fire tome earlier, and if you catch it, yay quick damage.
Tilts- I haven't found a good use for up tilt. Hit box on that is weird. Maybe to scare someone coming down from above? Things don't end well for me when I try using it. Side tilt is good for spacing and down tilt comes out fast. I remember hearing somewhere that down tilts beat dash attacks, so wave this around if your opponent keeps dashing at you.
Smashes- Robin can use his/her levin sword 8 times before he/she drops it. Once he/she drops it, you can still smash with the bronze sword, but it won't deal as much damage. All of his/her smash attacks are very powerful with the levin sword (15-16% uncharged). If you snag someone with Arcfire or Arcthunder, you can L-cancel into an up smash for a KO (I usually just f-air, but it's up to you). Down smash covers Robin's front with the sword and Robin's back with the sparks. The back hitbox is visibly smaller. Try to hit with the front if you can since it kills earlier, but the back is deceptively strong as well.
Items- Inspired by Fire Emblem's combat system, Robin's tomes and levin sword can only be used a certain number of times until he/she drops them. They will begin to flash when they only have 25% of their uses left.
Uses
Thunder has an "HP" of 20. Knowing this...
Thunder: 1HP
Elthunder: 3HP
Arcthunder: 5HP
Thoron: 7HP
NOTE: Robin can use any variation of Thoron as long as he/she has at least 1 Thunder HP remaining. So if he/she has 2HP left, he/she can use Thoron, but will discard the tome afterwards.
Arcfire: 6 uses
Elwind: 9 recoveries or 7 speed jabs
Noseferatu: 4 uses
Levin Sword: 8 uses
Application
Once Robin drops his/her tome or levin sword, he/she can catch it and throw it at the opponent.
Tomes deal 18% when thrown and 9% when dropped and can kill as early as 125% in the middle of the stage and 110% at the edge.
The Levin Sword deals 15% when thrown and 8% when dropped and can kill as early as 135% in the middle of the stage and 110% at the edge.
Recovery Times
Thunder:10 seconds
Arcfire: 10 seconds
Elwind: 8 seconds
Nosferatu: 40 seconds
Levin Sword: 8 seconds (perhaps longer)
SPECIALS
Thunder- Deals 4%. Is the fastest variation. Use against an aggressive opponent to create some breathing room.
Elthunder- Deals 10% An electric ball, slower than thunder, but more powerful. Use it to rack up damage, chip away at opponent, catch them off guard.
Arcthunder- Deals 10% Traps opponent for about a seconds. This is enough time to rush in and grab, Nosferatu, smash, or f-air them. Also has high knockback and can kill at 140% at the edge of the stage.
Thoron- Deals 10% or 15% if you hold down the button. Very fast and reaches across the entire stage. Use it to snipe at campy opponents, rack up damage. Careful though, it can get predictable and be reflected. DONT USE THIS OFFSTAGE. YOU WONT BE ABLE TO RECOVER.
Arcfire- Robin's safety blanket. Erects a pillar of fire for protection and combos. Like PK fire, it holds you opponent in place, allowing you to combo into a jumping Arcfire, Nosferatu, and f-airs. Can be a kill combo.
Elwind- Try not to use this for anything but recovery. The first hit has a meteor effect, sending your opponent straight down if you hit at the beginning of the animation. If you're feeling especially daring, drop down and go for it. It IS his/her safer meteor. Good vertical and horizontal recovery, but is predictable.
Nosferatu- Deals damage and heals you in the process. Effects intensify if you hold down the button. Use it for punishes and try to catch them after an Arcfire or Arcthunder. I like to jump to scare them into shielding and nail them with this. Shields don't work on command grabs LOL. Also, if you want the kill really bad, just use this four times and throw the tome at them.
Aerials-
If you input the command for a smash attack while in the air, Robin will take out his/her Levin Sword and use it in the aerial attack. Also, if he/she had the Levin Sword in hand before he/she jumped in the air, he/she will use it in the aerial attack. They are all super strong. Especially B-air. B-air kills at like 120%. D-air has a meteor effect, but I never go for it.
Throws-
ROBIN'S DOWN THROW GOT BUFFED. And now, he/she can actually combo off of it. Down throw combos into down smash, forward smash, Arcthunder, and f-tilt (BUT WHY WOULD YOU GO FOR F TILT). Combos into f-air and u-air at higher percents for the kill.
Up throw is meh. Back throw kills. FORWARD THROW SOMETIMES COMBOS INTO THORON ON SOME CHARACTERS LOLOLOLOL. not guaranteed tho.
Personal Tips:
If you're charging thunder while falling in the air, you can roll away once you touch the ground. You can also B reverse it in the air to change momentum.
Arcfire is the best move you have. It forces your opponent to shield, roll, jump over, or get caught in the fire. If they do get caught, yay free combo. If they don't, at least you stopped their onslaught. Make sure they are about mid distance away when you use it or else the fire will go over their head and you'll get punished.
If you're high and trying to recover, throw an Arcfire onstage to keep them from bothering you, and then recover low with Elwind.
If you notice that your opponent is Shield-happy, read and give them a Nosferatu.
Your grab range is horrible. Dash and pivot grab improves it slightly. Shield grabbing is meh.
Nice Combos:
Down throw-> Down Smash
Down throw -> U-air
Down throw -> F-air
Down throw -> Jab Combo
Arcfire/Arcthunder -> Nosferatu
Grab->Down throw -> Arcthunder -> Grab -> Down throw -> Down smash
Jumping Arcfire-> Arcfire -> F-air
FORWARD THROW-> THORON (VERY SKETCHY)
So that's all I can think of for now. Let me know if you guys have Robin tips you want to share in the comments! I hope this helped you.
~Grand
Tilts- I haven't found a good use for up tilt. Hit box on that is weird. Maybe to scare someone coming down from above? Things don't end well for me when I try using it. Side tilt is good for spacing and down tilt comes out fast. I remember hearing somewhere that down tilts beat dash attacks, so wave this around if your opponent keeps dashing at you.
Smashes- Robin can use his/her levin sword 8 times before he/she drops it. Once he/she drops it, you can still smash with the bronze sword, but it won't deal as much damage. All of his/her smash attacks are very powerful with the levin sword (15-16% uncharged). If you snag someone with Arcfire or Arcthunder, you can L-cancel into an up smash for a KO (I usually just f-air, but it's up to you). Down smash covers Robin's front with the sword and Robin's back with the sparks. The back hitbox is visibly smaller. Try to hit with the front if you can since it kills earlier, but the back is deceptively strong as well.
Items- Inspired by Fire Emblem's combat system, Robin's tomes and levin sword can only be used a certain number of times until he/she drops them. They will begin to flash when they only have 25% of their uses left.
Uses
Thunder has an "HP" of 20. Knowing this...
Thunder: 1HP
Elthunder: 3HP
Arcthunder: 5HP
Thoron: 7HP
NOTE: Robin can use any variation of Thoron as long as he/she has at least 1 Thunder HP remaining. So if he/she has 2HP left, he/she can use Thoron, but will discard the tome afterwards.
Arcfire: 6 uses
Elwind: 9 recoveries or 7 speed jabs
Noseferatu: 4 uses
Levin Sword: 8 uses
Application
Once Robin drops his/her tome or levin sword, he/she can catch it and throw it at the opponent.
Tomes deal 18% when thrown and 9% when dropped and can kill as early as 125% in the middle of the stage and 110% at the edge.
The Levin Sword deals 15% when thrown and 8% when dropped and can kill as early as 135% in the middle of the stage and 110% at the edge.
Recovery Times
Thunder:10 seconds
Arcfire: 10 seconds
Elwind: 8 seconds
Nosferatu: 40 seconds
Levin Sword: 8 seconds (perhaps longer)
SPECIALS
Thunder- Deals 4%. Is the fastest variation. Use against an aggressive opponent to create some breathing room.
Elthunder- Deals 10% An electric ball, slower than thunder, but more powerful. Use it to rack up damage, chip away at opponent, catch them off guard.
Arcthunder- Deals 10% Traps opponent for about a seconds. This is enough time to rush in and grab, Nosferatu, smash, or f-air them. Also has high knockback and can kill at 140% at the edge of the stage.
Thoron- Deals 10% or 15% if you hold down the button. Very fast and reaches across the entire stage. Use it to snipe at campy opponents, rack up damage. Careful though, it can get predictable and be reflected. DONT USE THIS OFFSTAGE. YOU WONT BE ABLE TO RECOVER.
Arcfire- Robin's safety blanket. Erects a pillar of fire for protection and combos. Like PK fire, it holds you opponent in place, allowing you to combo into a jumping Arcfire, Nosferatu, and f-airs. Can be a kill combo.
Elwind- Try not to use this for anything but recovery. The first hit has a meteor effect, sending your opponent straight down if you hit at the beginning of the animation. If you're feeling especially daring, drop down and go for it. It IS his/her safer meteor. Good vertical and horizontal recovery, but is predictable.
Nosferatu- Deals damage and heals you in the process. Effects intensify if you hold down the button. Use it for punishes and try to catch them after an Arcfire or Arcthunder. I like to jump to scare them into shielding and nail them with this. Shields don't work on command grabs LOL. Also, if you want the kill really bad, just use this four times and throw the tome at them.
Aerials-
If you input the command for a smash attack while in the air, Robin will take out his/her Levin Sword and use it in the aerial attack. Also, if he/she had the Levin Sword in hand before he/she jumped in the air, he/she will use it in the aerial attack. They are all super strong. Especially B-air. B-air kills at like 120%. D-air has a meteor effect, but I never go for it.
Throws-
ROBIN'S DOWN THROW GOT BUFFED. And now, he/she can actually combo off of it. Down throw combos into down smash, forward smash, Arcthunder, and f-tilt (BUT WHY WOULD YOU GO FOR F TILT). Combos into f-air and u-air at higher percents for the kill.
Up throw is meh. Back throw kills. FORWARD THROW SOMETIMES COMBOS INTO THORON ON SOME CHARACTERS LOLOLOLOL. not guaranteed tho.
Personal Tips:
If you're charging thunder while falling in the air, you can roll away once you touch the ground. You can also B reverse it in the air to change momentum.
Arcfire is the best move you have. It forces your opponent to shield, roll, jump over, or get caught in the fire. If they do get caught, yay free combo. If they don't, at least you stopped their onslaught. Make sure they are about mid distance away when you use it or else the fire will go over their head and you'll get punished.
If you're high and trying to recover, throw an Arcfire onstage to keep them from bothering you, and then recover low with Elwind.
If you notice that your opponent is Shield-happy, read and give them a Nosferatu.
Your grab range is horrible. Dash and pivot grab improves it slightly. Shield grabbing is meh.
Nice Combos:
Down throw-> Down Smash
Down throw -> U-air
Down throw -> F-air
Down throw -> Jab Combo
Arcfire/Arcthunder -> Nosferatu
Grab->Down throw -> Arcthunder -> Grab -> Down throw -> Down smash
Jumping Arcfire-> Arcfire -> F-air
FORWARD THROW-> THORON (VERY SKETCHY)
So that's all I can think of for now. Let me know if you guys have Robin tips you want to share in the comments! I hope this helped you.
~Grand
Thursday, October 29, 2015
[SMASH] Yoshi Guide
Hey, I'm Simon. Username: SPITE.
I've been maining Yoshi for a few weeks and here are some things that I've discovered about his moves that might help you guys if you want to get better with him. *Note: I made parenthetical citations for info I took from videos (links below)*
JAB
A very fast and safe move. It can start combos and even be a combo on its own. It's also a safe landing option because of how fast it comes out. Here are some examples. As a combo starter, the second hit can combo into dash attack, or even an up smash depending on if your opponent can react in time. I don't think either is a true combo, but the window for escape is pretty small. It can be a true combo on its own by jab canceling the first jab by crouching and jabbing once again immediately after (My Smash Corner). It can be inescapable for a time if you get the timing correct, but I have unfortunately never been able to do so. As a landing option, it's good to use when you use an aerial close to the ground. Jab comes out faster than any option you have after landing and can prevent the opponent from punishing your landing lag.
TILTS
Forward: It might just be because I play with a 3ds, but I find that I often accidentally do this when I try to dash attack. It has a relatively short range and a noticeable ending lag. It knocks your opponent up, which is strange, but I guess it can combo into some aerials. There are, however, better options if you're aiming for aerial combos. It's not bad, but I don't use it besides on accident.
Up: Up tilt is a great combo starter. It combos into u air, then to u air once again, and then into egg throw if you can get the trajectory right. Again, I haven't been able to get it right so far. It's only been a few weeks. It's vertical range is also longer than it seems. As the opponent gets closer to the ground, you can use this to catch them before they land if they're directly above you, and then follow up with the uair combos.
Down: It's very similar to Mewtwo's down tilt, but it launches opponents side ways. If you use this at the edge of the stage, you can quickly run off the ledge and fair to spike them, but this is another combo that's hard to land. I've only seen it done in one video (Beefy Smash Doods). Its launch trajectory makes it hard to tech, but it often launches the opponent too far to punish. At lower percents, you may be able to catch them before they land with a dash attack, or down b.
SMASHES
Forward: It comes out quickly and it's very powerful. It can be good to use out of shield because of how fast it comes out. Its drawbacks would probably be a lower hitbox and a noticeable ending lag. You can also miss the hit if the opponent is too close to you. A very viable kill move, but can be hard to hit and can be punished.
Up: It has a very good range and it also has good knockback. It's not as powerful as forward smash, but its range makes up for it. A common way to land this is to catch a landing with dash to up smash. It comes out quickly, so this wouldn't be hard to do. Tip: Up smash can take care of an entire platform on battlefield. If your opponent doesn't tech a landing onto the platform, just place your self underneath the middle of the platform and charge the smash. If you get the timing right, you'll hit them no matter what get-up option they choose (My Smash Corner)
Down: Also powerful. It hits one side at a time, so it can help with opponents who always roll behind you. I *believe* it hits from front to back. May also be able to hit someone trying to grab the ledge.
AERIALS
Forward: It spikes directly in front of you at Yoshi's nose. If you land the spike onstage, you can follow up with a u air, often taking the stock at high percents. You can also do down tilt at the edge to F-air (Beefy Smash Doods). When you use this close to the ground, the lag isn't significant, but you can use jab as soon as you land to prevent being punished.
Back: A strong move that can also be used to follow up an onstage spike, but it's harder to land. If you fastfall, you can spike them to the ground and follow up with almost anything.
Up: Useful for combos. This would be your main move for aerial combos. Not much else, really.
Down: It's great for shield pressure, but it doesn't break shields. If your opponent shields it entirely, you can get punished because it has so much landing lag compared to your other aerials. It can spike, but for some reason, it's only worked onstage when I'm close to landing. I tried using this to gimp, but it always ended up knocking the opponent up.
SPECIALS
Neutral: similar to grab, but it encases the opponent in an egg that they must wobble to get out of. Hit the egg with anything you want, or wait to punish them as they escape. Of course, the latter is more difficult because you must predict when to use the move and you don't know which way they will move. Also, the opponent can attack as soon as they leave the egg. It's a risk that I don't often take because I'm clumsy.
Side: egg roll. Don't use this in the air because the hitbox doesn't come out until you land. You can use this to put some distance between you and the opponent, or for some damage, but it's easy to punish if you don't land it.
Up: An egg throw. It doesn't recover much, but it's still very helpful. You can use this as an approach option or simply try and add some extra damage. The distance depends how long you hold your special button and the trajectory depends on where your analog stick moves.
Down: A less powerful version of Bowser's down smash. It can break shields, but not in one hit. Put some pressure on the opponent's shield first with down air before trying to use this to break shields. Otherwise, it's a good kill option and can be used during combos (again, in the video below).
Well, that's most, if not all of the things I've discovered about Yoshi. I didn't really want to address grabs because it's basically throw to aerial (down/up throw to u air. forward and back to ground moves/corresponding aerial). I originally wanted this to be a basic guide, but I discovered that I went into extreme detail as I went on. Yoshi is a very powerful and interesting character with a lot of combos. He's extremely fun to play and his strange movement patterns can be very confusing for the opponent. Get used to his movement and you'll literally be flying across the stage. Have fun smashing!
~SPITE
Beefy Smash Doods Combo video
My Smash Corner Tips and Tricks
I've been maining Yoshi for a few weeks and here are some things that I've discovered about his moves that might help you guys if you want to get better with him. *Note: I made parenthetical citations for info I took from videos (links below)*
JAB
A very fast and safe move. It can start combos and even be a combo on its own. It's also a safe landing option because of how fast it comes out. Here are some examples. As a combo starter, the second hit can combo into dash attack, or even an up smash depending on if your opponent can react in time. I don't think either is a true combo, but the window for escape is pretty small. It can be a true combo on its own by jab canceling the first jab by crouching and jabbing once again immediately after (My Smash Corner). It can be inescapable for a time if you get the timing correct, but I have unfortunately never been able to do so. As a landing option, it's good to use when you use an aerial close to the ground. Jab comes out faster than any option you have after landing and can prevent the opponent from punishing your landing lag.
TILTS
Forward: It might just be because I play with a 3ds, but I find that I often accidentally do this when I try to dash attack. It has a relatively short range and a noticeable ending lag. It knocks your opponent up, which is strange, but I guess it can combo into some aerials. There are, however, better options if you're aiming for aerial combos. It's not bad, but I don't use it besides on accident.
Up: Up tilt is a great combo starter. It combos into u air, then to u air once again, and then into egg throw if you can get the trajectory right. Again, I haven't been able to get it right so far. It's only been a few weeks. It's vertical range is also longer than it seems. As the opponent gets closer to the ground, you can use this to catch them before they land if they're directly above you, and then follow up with the uair combos.
Down: It's very similar to Mewtwo's down tilt, but it launches opponents side ways. If you use this at the edge of the stage, you can quickly run off the ledge and fair to spike them, but this is another combo that's hard to land. I've only seen it done in one video (Beefy Smash Doods). Its launch trajectory makes it hard to tech, but it often launches the opponent too far to punish. At lower percents, you may be able to catch them before they land with a dash attack, or down b.
SMASHES
Forward: It comes out quickly and it's very powerful. It can be good to use out of shield because of how fast it comes out. Its drawbacks would probably be a lower hitbox and a noticeable ending lag. You can also miss the hit if the opponent is too close to you. A very viable kill move, but can be hard to hit and can be punished.
Up: It has a very good range and it also has good knockback. It's not as powerful as forward smash, but its range makes up for it. A common way to land this is to catch a landing with dash to up smash. It comes out quickly, so this wouldn't be hard to do. Tip: Up smash can take care of an entire platform on battlefield. If your opponent doesn't tech a landing onto the platform, just place your self underneath the middle of the platform and charge the smash. If you get the timing right, you'll hit them no matter what get-up option they choose (My Smash Corner)
Down: Also powerful. It hits one side at a time, so it can help with opponents who always roll behind you. I *believe* it hits from front to back. May also be able to hit someone trying to grab the ledge.
AERIALS
Forward: It spikes directly in front of you at Yoshi's nose. If you land the spike onstage, you can follow up with a u air, often taking the stock at high percents. You can also do down tilt at the edge to F-air (Beefy Smash Doods). When you use this close to the ground, the lag isn't significant, but you can use jab as soon as you land to prevent being punished.
Back: A strong move that can also be used to follow up an onstage spike, but it's harder to land. If you fastfall, you can spike them to the ground and follow up with almost anything.
Up: Useful for combos. This would be your main move for aerial combos. Not much else, really.
Down: It's great for shield pressure, but it doesn't break shields. If your opponent shields it entirely, you can get punished because it has so much landing lag compared to your other aerials. It can spike, but for some reason, it's only worked onstage when I'm close to landing. I tried using this to gimp, but it always ended up knocking the opponent up.
SPECIALS
Neutral: similar to grab, but it encases the opponent in an egg that they must wobble to get out of. Hit the egg with anything you want, or wait to punish them as they escape. Of course, the latter is more difficult because you must predict when to use the move and you don't know which way they will move. Also, the opponent can attack as soon as they leave the egg. It's a risk that I don't often take because I'm clumsy.
Side: egg roll. Don't use this in the air because the hitbox doesn't come out until you land. You can use this to put some distance between you and the opponent, or for some damage, but it's easy to punish if you don't land it.
Up: An egg throw. It doesn't recover much, but it's still very helpful. You can use this as an approach option or simply try and add some extra damage. The distance depends how long you hold your special button and the trajectory depends on where your analog stick moves.
Down: A less powerful version of Bowser's down smash. It can break shields, but not in one hit. Put some pressure on the opponent's shield first with down air before trying to use this to break shields. Otherwise, it's a good kill option and can be used during combos (again, in the video below).
Well, that's most, if not all of the things I've discovered about Yoshi. I didn't really want to address grabs because it's basically throw to aerial (down/up throw to u air. forward and back to ground moves/corresponding aerial). I originally wanted this to be a basic guide, but I discovered that I went into extreme detail as I went on. Yoshi is a very powerful and interesting character with a lot of combos. He's extremely fun to play and his strange movement patterns can be very confusing for the opponent. Get used to his movement and you'll literally be flying across the stage. Have fun smashing!
~SPITE
Beefy Smash Doods Combo video
My Smash Corner Tips and Tricks
[SMASH] Zelda Defecating
Even if you don't like Zelda, you gotta admit that was pretty cool. Sorry for the potato quality.
~Grand
[SMASH] Gamer Tag History Bandwagon
Since (r)edox is did this, I guess I should do it too.
Hi, I'm Grand. I didn't really put much thought into my name. I just remembered this one scene from Watamote when Tomoko asked for a "Giant" at Starbucks and the barista was like "You mean a Grand?" and I thought that was funny for some reason. I like how it sounded, so I chose it as my tag.
My past tags were really stupid and cringey. When I was in my weeb phase, my tag was Kirito-kun (ugh). After that it was So Nummy (UGH).
It doesn't have anything to do with my mains. I play Robin and Zelda and I'm trying to play Roy and Ike. They don't really have anything in common other than the fact that they are ANIMU. I do have a GRAND time playing them (hahahaha).
I guess the one thing my tag symbolizes is how I feel when I play. It's one of the few things I'm good at. I have fun when I play. When I smash with my friends, it makes me feel good. It makes me feel grand. (tsk tsk, cheesy cheesy).
So that's me. Hi, hello, and such. Idk how often I'll be posting here since it's Jimmy's blog (but it's a crew blog right?). We'll see. I'll try to find content.
~Grand
Hi, I'm Grand. I didn't really put much thought into my name. I just remembered this one scene from Watamote when Tomoko asked for a "Giant" at Starbucks and the barista was like "You mean a Grand?" and I thought that was funny for some reason. I like how it sounded, so I chose it as my tag.
My past tags were really stupid and cringey. When I was in my weeb phase, my tag was Kirito-kun (ugh). After that it was So Nummy (UGH).
It doesn't have anything to do with my mains. I play Robin and Zelda and I'm trying to play Roy and Ike. They don't really have anything in common other than the fact that they are ANIMU. I do have a GRAND time playing them (hahahaha).
I guess the one thing my tag symbolizes is how I feel when I play. It's one of the few things I'm good at. I have fun when I play. When I smash with my friends, it makes me feel good. It makes me feel grand. (tsk tsk, cheesy cheesy).
So that's me. Hi, hello, and such. Idk how often I'll be posting here since it's Jimmy's blog (but it's a crew blog right?). We'll see. I'll try to find content.
~Grand
[SMASH] Gamer Tag History
Alright here's the complete story of how I got to be called ®edox.
I don't like just fitting in with crowd; I always have to have something that identifies me and makes me unique. So that's why I play Bowser, Roy Koopaling, Olimar, and Dr. Mario. I play unorthodox mains, mains that nobody plays and are rare to find. Think about it. When was the last time you've ever seen any of my mains in tournament finals? Almost never. Olimar is the exception, because some top players actually use him, but it's still a handful out of the entire elite class of Smash players. The only rare mains that I don't play as mains or subs are Pit and Dark Pit because they honestly suck and Pit is just so...normal and average and nothing really special to him.
Most of the other rare mains I have as subs, but I don't focus on them that much. I prefer to have a maximum of 4 mains that I train rigorously.
Now the color.
My favorite colors are actually blue and purple, yet I use only the red skins for my characters. Why? Well it's a pretty eccentric story.
You see, my original 4 characters were Bowser, Wii Fit Trainer, Roy, and Bowser Jr. When I bought Roy I thought it'd be cool to play Roy (FE) and Roy (Koopaling), so I did. After a while, I decided to just make all my characters red like Roy to make it match. Then I ditched human Roy and adapted my unorthodox main rule, adding Olimar in the process. Then I got mad at WFT because her grab range is cancer like seriously it's so bad so I got rid of her. I wanted another main, so I added the worst character in the entire damn roster, Dr. Mario.
Dr. Mario is actually pretty good. That's all I got to say on that.
So, because I'm so creative and clever, I decided to combine the two aspects of my theme into one word. Red skins and unorthodox mains. ®edox. Why the symbol? Because I'm making sure nobody else steals my name, so I trademarked it.
(I realize that redox is a chemistry term, but that has nothing to do with it. I'm more of a physics person. Just a coincidence.)
Till next time
~®edox
I don't like just fitting in with crowd; I always have to have something that identifies me and makes me unique. So that's why I play Bowser, Roy Koopaling, Olimar, and Dr. Mario. I play unorthodox mains, mains that nobody plays and are rare to find. Think about it. When was the last time you've ever seen any of my mains in tournament finals? Almost never. Olimar is the exception, because some top players actually use him, but it's still a handful out of the entire elite class of Smash players. The only rare mains that I don't play as mains or subs are Pit and Dark Pit because they honestly suck and Pit is just so...normal and average and nothing really special to him.
Most of the other rare mains I have as subs, but I don't focus on them that much. I prefer to have a maximum of 4 mains that I train rigorously.
Now the color.
My favorite colors are actually blue and purple, yet I use only the red skins for my characters. Why? Well it's a pretty eccentric story.
You see, my original 4 characters were Bowser, Wii Fit Trainer, Roy, and Bowser Jr. When I bought Roy I thought it'd be cool to play Roy (FE) and Roy (Koopaling), so I did. After a while, I decided to just make all my characters red like Roy to make it match. Then I ditched human Roy and adapted my unorthodox main rule, adding Olimar in the process. Then I got mad at WFT because her grab range is cancer like seriously it's so bad so I got rid of her. I wanted another main, so I added the worst character in the entire damn roster, Dr. Mario.
Dr. Mario is actually pretty good. That's all I got to say on that.
So, because I'm so creative and clever, I decided to combine the two aspects of my theme into one word. Red skins and unorthodox mains. ®edox. Why the symbol? Because I'm making sure nobody else steals my name, so I trademarked it.
(I realize that redox is a chemistry term, but that has nothing to do with it. I'm more of a physics person. Just a coincidence.)
Till next time
~®edox
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
[OU] Hoopa-U, the New Meta
This is an improved and modified team that a friend of mine gave to me and allowed me to use. I adjusted it a little bit to make it work in circumstances that are now normally seen.
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic/Stone Edge
- U-turn
The Pokemon that stops physical sweepers from back to backing me. Against physical mons, Stealth Rocks is never a issue and if they wanna attack they take some nice recoil. EQ is there because it's a strong stab that unless your a flying type or levitate user usually you don't want to switch into. Toxic helps against bulky mons such as hippo and Slowbro that are annoying to my mega lopunny. Toxic is there also to put bulky and sweeper Mega Altaria into a tough situation. U-Turn is for momentum when I need it to get my threats inside and proceed to breaking my opponents team.This is my main switch into Lopunny and Mega Metagross. I usually scout set of Mega Altaria with torn cause special Altaria has been common and usually pivot from torn to tran against that. Sadly, having Toxic over Edge causes me to have a major weakness to Dragonite but with recoil and intimidate drops I try my best to hold it off. The Rocky Helmet also is to punish u turn spam which helps the star, Hoopa Unbound.
Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot/Trick
- Psyshock
The Pokemon that started it all and puts fear into your eyes. I choose for this team to use Choice Scarf Hoopa. I needed a dark type that was capable to outspeed Mega Lopunny and Mega Manectric and other fast mon's without scarf. Hoopa fit this role perfectly and I found it better then the possibly of scarf Hydregion. I didn't want a major ice weakness that Hydregion would bring a having few draco switch ins as it is I felt it wouldn't work. Hoopa is also a surprise scarf not many people suspect it being scarf until they see no lo recoil and then they start thinking oh boy. I have gunk shot on this set cause of Clef being annoying and want to not cm sweep possibly. Trick can also mess up Bisharp which you can see is a threat to the team. Locking Bisharp into knock off or sucker helps a lot especially if it's trying to go for a late game sweep. Thing is, Bisharp barely sets up on anything except Torn but most are scared of heat wave or superpower. Having also sometime to scare out Keldeo is nice as it is a big pain to this team.
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic/Stone Edge
- U-turn
The Pokemon that stops physical sweepers from back to backing me. Against physical mons, Stealth Rocks is never a issue and if they wanna attack they take some nice recoil. EQ is there because it's a strong stab that unless your a flying type or levitate user usually you don't want to switch into. Toxic helps against bulky mons such as hippo and Slowbro that are annoying to my mega lopunny. Toxic is there also to put bulky and sweeper Mega Altaria into a tough situation. U-Turn is for momentum when I need it to get my threats inside and proceed to breaking my opponents team.This is my main switch into Lopunny and Mega Metagross. I usually scout set of Mega Altaria with torn cause special Altaria has been common and usually pivot from torn to tran against that. Sadly, having Toxic over Edge causes me to have a major weakness to Dragonite but with recoil and intimidate drops I try my best to hold it off. The Rocky Helmet also is to punish u turn spam which helps the star, Hoopa Unbound.
Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot/Trick
- Psyshock
The Pokemon that started it all and puts fear into your eyes. I choose for this team to use Choice Scarf Hoopa. I needed a dark type that was capable to outspeed Mega Lopunny and Mega Manectric and other fast mon's without scarf. Hoopa fit this role perfectly and I found it better then the possibly of scarf Hydregion. I didn't want a major ice weakness that Hydregion would bring a having few draco switch ins as it is I felt it wouldn't work. Hoopa is also a surprise scarf not many people suspect it being scarf until they see no lo recoil and then they start thinking oh boy. I have gunk shot on this set cause of Clef being annoying and want to not cm sweep possibly. Trick can also mess up Bisharp which you can see is a threat to the team. Locking Bisharp into knock off or sucker helps a lot especially if it's trying to go for a late game sweep. Thing is, Bisharp barely sets up on anything except Torn but most are scared of heat wave or superpower. Having also sometime to scare out Keldeo is nice as it is a big pain to this team.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 29 Spe
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
Rotom is here to give momentum. It really brings the team together and may be the beating heart of it. It is the main counter to Torn, Weavile, Pinsir, Tyranitar, Lando-T, Heatran, Keldeo, Jirachi, Hippo and more stuff. Its job is hard and can be overwhelmed easily so having wall of Lando t and decent wall of Tran to help it works a lot. Being able to switch into Slowbro willo and volt out is important as this is my main way to handle Slowbro. It is also my main answer to Hippodown. Most games I play aggressive vs Hippo to give my other mons free switch's and start applying the pressure we need to win.
Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Quick Attack
- Return
Lopunny is annoying let's face it. It can hit ghost types with its wonderful scrappy ability so technically the only mon who completely walls is Shedinja unless you wanna run magic coat or fire punch [: Do not really have to explain that much here. Lopunny stops you from losing to offense threats as Weaville and Starmie being able to take them out with ease. I have enjoyed fake out and qa Lopunny cause most don't expect on a jolly set and I would run adamant but the team can't afford adamant Lopunny. This literally is your only counter to LO Kyurem b so when you face that threat its very important to keep this alive. This also is the only mon on the team that can beat char y 1v1. If you face Kyurem b and Char Y say your prayers and then click x LOL [:
Heatran @ Power Herb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 140 HP / 116 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Solar Beam
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]/Taunt
or
Heatran @ Power Herb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 140 HP / 156 SpA / 212 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Solar Beam
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]
This is my favorite set on the team/favorite Heatran set atm. It is my favorite anti-meta set. Being able to trap threats like Rotom-W and Azumarill as well as defensive Slowbro is brilliant. It being able to kill bulky chomp and special defensive Gliscor after a magma storm is amazing for this build.
-156 SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 87-103 (20.7 - 24.5%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
-156 SpA Heatran Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 280-332 (66.6 - 79%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-156 SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Rotom-W: 72-84 (23.7 - 27.7%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
-156 SpA Heatran Solar Beam vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Rotom-W: 230-272 (75.9 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
I hope this set catches fire it is so good to use and is my main way of helping my Lopunny out. There has been games where my Tran gets 3-4 kills cause the set is so unexpected.
Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 76 HP / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Iron Tail
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Iron Tail on torn is solely for Diancie. I have been in many games where they lead Diancie. I lead torn and their career ends and usually I win from there sense the threat is gone. No one protects cause who runs iron tail on Torn. Torn is my main draco switch in and brings a nice u-turn for my favorite type of playing style volt switch. I think every team should have a knock off user it's just too much of a good move to pass up if you can fit it in your teams. Torn should be S rank imo but that's another discussion. I would talk about hurricane but we already know how that works.
~Jimbo
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 29 Spe
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
Rotom is here to give momentum. It really brings the team together and may be the beating heart of it. It is the main counter to Torn, Weavile, Pinsir, Tyranitar, Lando-T, Heatran, Keldeo, Jirachi, Hippo and more stuff. Its job is hard and can be overwhelmed easily so having wall of Lando t and decent wall of Tran to help it works a lot. Being able to switch into Slowbro willo and volt out is important as this is my main way to handle Slowbro. It is also my main answer to Hippodown. Most games I play aggressive vs Hippo to give my other mons free switch's and start applying the pressure we need to win.
Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Quick Attack
- Return
Lopunny is annoying let's face it. It can hit ghost types with its wonderful scrappy ability so technically the only mon who completely walls is Shedinja unless you wanna run magic coat or fire punch [: Do not really have to explain that much here. Lopunny stops you from losing to offense threats as Weaville and Starmie being able to take them out with ease. I have enjoyed fake out and qa Lopunny cause most don't expect on a jolly set and I would run adamant but the team can't afford adamant Lopunny. This literally is your only counter to LO Kyurem b so when you face that threat its very important to keep this alive. This also is the only mon on the team that can beat char y 1v1. If you face Kyurem b and Char Y say your prayers and then click x LOL [:
Heatran @ Power Herb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 140 HP / 116 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Solar Beam
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]/Taunt
or
Heatran @ Power Herb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 140 HP / 156 SpA / 212 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Solar Beam
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]
This is my favorite set on the team/favorite Heatran set atm. It is my favorite anti-meta set. Being able to trap threats like Rotom-W and Azumarill as well as defensive Slowbro is brilliant. It being able to kill bulky chomp and special defensive Gliscor after a magma storm is amazing for this build.
-156 SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 87-103 (20.7 - 24.5%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
-156 SpA Heatran Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 280-332 (66.6 - 79%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-156 SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Rotom-W: 72-84 (23.7 - 27.7%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
-156 SpA Heatran Solar Beam vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Rotom-W: 230-272 (75.9 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
I hope this set catches fire it is so good to use and is my main way of helping my Lopunny out. There has been games where my Tran gets 3-4 kills cause the set is so unexpected.
Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 76 HP / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Iron Tail
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Iron Tail on torn is solely for Diancie. I have been in many games where they lead Diancie. I lead torn and their career ends and usually I win from there sense the threat is gone. No one protects cause who runs iron tail on Torn. Torn is my main draco switch in and brings a nice u-turn for my favorite type of playing style volt switch. I think every team should have a knock off user it's just too much of a good move to pass up if you can fit it in your teams. Torn should be S rank imo but that's another discussion. I would talk about hurricane but we already know how that works.
~Jimbo
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
[VGC '15] A Nationals Report
I went to Nationals this summer and placed 34th in the seniors division. I went 5-3 and misclicked in my 5th game which cost me the day as I continued the rest of my matches on tilt. I also won 2 premier challenges with this team in prep for nationals. So without further ado, here's the team.
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 244 Atk / 20 Def
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Low Kick
- Double-Edge
Kangaskhan was a mega that gained popularity this year because its versatility and was one of the more standard Pokémon from the 14-15 season, being on 7/8 teams in the worlds cut. I decided to use Kangaskhan but wanted to be more original than the other people who were using it at nationals and realized that I would face a lot of them and would have to be able to counter them. At first, scald-burning them or taking them out on the first turn would be the way I could take it out. However, I realized I could just counter with a bulkier Kangaskhan set.
252 Atk Kangaskhan Low Kick (80 BP) vs. 244 HP / 20 Def Kangaskhan: 88-104 (41.7 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
This set guaranteed a 3HKO bar a crit, from a timid non-intimidated Kangaskhan with low kick. The defense and HP investment allowed to use double-edge even if it meant taking recoil damage. I could usually do a minimum of 50% damage to any Pokémon that was sent out which was the goal of my Kangaskhan. Weakening them allowed me to take it out with other Pokémon that posed a bigger threat such as my Blaziken did. Kangaskhan also allowed me to safely scout out moves that my opponent's threats had and in some battles, was able to prock sitrus berries as well. There was no speed investment because I had tailwind support which I will explain when I get to Suicune.
Blaziken (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 20 Atk / 236 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Overheat
- Superpower
- Protect
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Blaziken was the sweeper and most frail Pokémon out of the team, considering that I built this one pretty heavily on bulk. The moveset is pretty standard for a mixed Blaziken with overheat being the most powerful and viable fire move that he can learn, superpower for kangaskhan coverage, protect in order to get the speed boost, and HP Ice for Landorus coverage. The 20 attack EVs are there in order for a guaranteed OHKO on Kangaskhan. 252 speed EVs are for max speed and the rest was dumped into special attack. Naïve nature boosts speed but decreases defense and I was willing to trade for that since it's already frail as it is.
Stuff that I had to watch out for however, was Talonflame, Landorus-T, and rain teams. I had to make sure I had KO'ed talonflame before sending out Blaziken because with access to gale wings, it could strike blaziken regardless of how fast my Blaziken was. Landorus-T with choice scarf or assault vest also gave me a lot of trouble. I would usually have to get two turns of speed boost before I could outspeed a scarfed Lando. AV Landorus could also survive my HP Ice even with the life orb boost which was a little unfortunate considering its 4x weakness. Rain teams that had the standard core of Politoed and Ludicolo was hard to beat with a Blaziken since it could only superpower one Pokémon and I would have to knock out Ludicolo or stall out rain before being able to use Blaziken to its fullest potential.
Zapdos @ Lum Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 132 HP / 44 Def / 172 SpA / 20 SpD / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Flying]
This set is pretty bulky but its primary goal was to be able to knock out ludicolo and stuff that was weak to flying.
252+ Atk Landorus-T Rock Slide vs. 132 HP / 44 Def Zapdos: 112-132 (61.5 - 72.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
It allowed me to live a rock slide from a standard scarfed Landorus as well assuming that I didn't flinch, which would be extremely unfortunate. Thunderbolt was a good STAB move that could hit a lot of things and especially thundurus, which would attempt to thunder wave my team. Zapdos allowed me to hit rain teams pretty heavily since ice beam would not knock me out bar a helping handed ice beam.
252+ SpA Life Orb Ludicolo Ice Beam vs. 132 HP / 20 SpD Zapdos: 122-146 (67 - 80.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I opted for roost over tailwind because I needed something that could take advantage of turns where I would not be able to do anything, such as a team that was stalling out turns of tailwind. I equipped a lum berry instead of a rocky helmet or even expert belt because of the amount of hacks that would happen to me. Every now and then, I would be freeze hacked and I did not want to lose the game because of that. There would also be times where I faced against dark void Smeargle and needed a counter to it. And of course, Swagger from Thundurus was such a pain and I didn't want to deal with confusion RNG either.
Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 100 SpA / 116 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Protect
- Tailwind
- Ice Beam
- Scald
Suicune was a good water coverage that I needed in case a strong fire type was on the field or if I just needed a realiable and safe switch in. I could count on Suicune to take hits because of the EV spread which is fairly unique in that, it does not activate sitrus berry after a hit from certain Pokémon.
64 SpA Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 116 SpD Suicune: 104-126 (50.2 - 60.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I need it to survive a hit from a bulky thundurus which I assumed, ran 64 special attack EV investment. Tailwind was the move that needed to go up whenever it was possible, which is why I made it more specially defensive. I could take hits and it would ensure that my tailwind would go up safely. I was able to pair Suicune with Zapdos fairly well since they had good synergy and while one goes for tailwind, the other could roost or deal a good chunk of damage to the opposing Pokémon. Ice beam and scald are just moves that have good coverage, especially for Landorus.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 164 HP / 60 Atk / 4 Def / 28 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Rock Slide
- Knock Off
Many people were using Landorus at the time because of its intimidate ability and good pairing with thundurus. However, I liked to pair it with Blaziken since it would be able to cover any threats that Blaziken had (most of the time). It was one of the less frequent Pokémon that I brought to games because I feared that I would activate a defiant or competitive boost. The choice is a little bit random and I don't remember what I built it to survive but it does live a bulky thundurus' HP ice which is always helpful.
64 SpA Thundurus Hidden Power Ice vs. 164 HP / 28 SpD Landorus-T: 136-160 (73.5 - 86.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I could also hit the same thundurus with rock slide and deal nearly enough damage to knock it out.
60+ Atk Choice Band Landorus-T Rock Slide vs. 244 HP / 108 Def Thundurus: 156-184 (84.3 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
As for moves, earthquake, rock slide, and knock off were standard moves that offered good coverage to threats such as cresselia, heatran, and charizard. I opted for superpower to catch unsuspecting Kangaskhans off guard since most Landorus don't run superpower as much as they used to.
Aegislash (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def / 30 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Substitute / Swagger
- King's Shield
The moveset is actually quite standard and I opted for a slower Aegislash since it would catch all of the other Aegislash that moved faster than me to be in blade form. My Aegislash actually ran swagger instead of substitute since I did not check the moves. It previously had iron head in place of swagger and I decided that swagger would be a better move some time before tournament. When entering and locking in my Pokémon, I realized that I never switched it to substitute, which is how I spent the day using swagger from Aegislash. The set is pretty standard living most earthquakes and fire type attacks bar sun boosted ones in shield form. I didn't use Aegislash as often and it was usually there as a counter for other Aegislash and trick room teams since I could take advantage of it.
Good leads that I could rely on:
Blaziken + Kangaskhan
Suicune + Zapdos
Kangaskhan + Suicune
Aegislash + Suicune
Landorus + Blaziken
I used the core of Blaziken, Kangaskhan, Suicune, and Zapdos most of the time and it was solid in most circumstances. I could've played around more with Aegislash and Landorus' spreads and sets but decided it would be better to stick to a more standard route. Looking back on this, I feel I should've made it a little more offensive since the only Pokémon that really posed a threat was Aegislash and Blaziken.
~Jimbo
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 244 Atk / 20 Def
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Low Kick
- Double-Edge
Kangaskhan was a mega that gained popularity this year because its versatility and was one of the more standard Pokémon from the 14-15 season, being on 7/8 teams in the worlds cut. I decided to use Kangaskhan but wanted to be more original than the other people who were using it at nationals and realized that I would face a lot of them and would have to be able to counter them. At first, scald-burning them or taking them out on the first turn would be the way I could take it out. However, I realized I could just counter with a bulkier Kangaskhan set.
252 Atk Kangaskhan Low Kick (80 BP) vs. 244 HP / 20 Def Kangaskhan: 88-104 (41.7 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
This set guaranteed a 3HKO bar a crit, from a timid non-intimidated Kangaskhan with low kick. The defense and HP investment allowed to use double-edge even if it meant taking recoil damage. I could usually do a minimum of 50% damage to any Pokémon that was sent out which was the goal of my Kangaskhan. Weakening them allowed me to take it out with other Pokémon that posed a bigger threat such as my Blaziken did. Kangaskhan also allowed me to safely scout out moves that my opponent's threats had and in some battles, was able to prock sitrus berries as well. There was no speed investment because I had tailwind support which I will explain when I get to Suicune.
Blaziken (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 20 Atk / 236 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Overheat
- Superpower
- Protect
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Blaziken was the sweeper and most frail Pokémon out of the team, considering that I built this one pretty heavily on bulk. The moveset is pretty standard for a mixed Blaziken with overheat being the most powerful and viable fire move that he can learn, superpower for kangaskhan coverage, protect in order to get the speed boost, and HP Ice for Landorus coverage. The 20 attack EVs are there in order for a guaranteed OHKO on Kangaskhan. 252 speed EVs are for max speed and the rest was dumped into special attack. Naïve nature boosts speed but decreases defense and I was willing to trade for that since it's already frail as it is.
Stuff that I had to watch out for however, was Talonflame, Landorus-T, and rain teams. I had to make sure I had KO'ed talonflame before sending out Blaziken because with access to gale wings, it could strike blaziken regardless of how fast my Blaziken was. Landorus-T with choice scarf or assault vest also gave me a lot of trouble. I would usually have to get two turns of speed boost before I could outspeed a scarfed Lando. AV Landorus could also survive my HP Ice even with the life orb boost which was a little unfortunate considering its 4x weakness. Rain teams that had the standard core of Politoed and Ludicolo was hard to beat with a Blaziken since it could only superpower one Pokémon and I would have to knock out Ludicolo or stall out rain before being able to use Blaziken to its fullest potential.
Zapdos @ Lum Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 132 HP / 44 Def / 172 SpA / 20 SpD / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Flying]
This set is pretty bulky but its primary goal was to be able to knock out ludicolo and stuff that was weak to flying.
252+ Atk Landorus-T Rock Slide vs. 132 HP / 44 Def Zapdos: 112-132 (61.5 - 72.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
It allowed me to live a rock slide from a standard scarfed Landorus as well assuming that I didn't flinch, which would be extremely unfortunate. Thunderbolt was a good STAB move that could hit a lot of things and especially thundurus, which would attempt to thunder wave my team. Zapdos allowed me to hit rain teams pretty heavily since ice beam would not knock me out bar a helping handed ice beam.
252+ SpA Life Orb Ludicolo Ice Beam vs. 132 HP / 20 SpD Zapdos: 122-146 (67 - 80.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I opted for roost over tailwind because I needed something that could take advantage of turns where I would not be able to do anything, such as a team that was stalling out turns of tailwind. I equipped a lum berry instead of a rocky helmet or even expert belt because of the amount of hacks that would happen to me. Every now and then, I would be freeze hacked and I did not want to lose the game because of that. There would also be times where I faced against dark void Smeargle and needed a counter to it. And of course, Swagger from Thundurus was such a pain and I didn't want to deal with confusion RNG either.
Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 100 SpA / 116 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Protect
- Tailwind
- Ice Beam
- Scald
Suicune was a good water coverage that I needed in case a strong fire type was on the field or if I just needed a realiable and safe switch in. I could count on Suicune to take hits because of the EV spread which is fairly unique in that, it does not activate sitrus berry after a hit from certain Pokémon.
64 SpA Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 116 SpD Suicune: 104-126 (50.2 - 60.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I need it to survive a hit from a bulky thundurus which I assumed, ran 64 special attack EV investment. Tailwind was the move that needed to go up whenever it was possible, which is why I made it more specially defensive. I could take hits and it would ensure that my tailwind would go up safely. I was able to pair Suicune with Zapdos fairly well since they had good synergy and while one goes for tailwind, the other could roost or deal a good chunk of damage to the opposing Pokémon. Ice beam and scald are just moves that have good coverage, especially for Landorus.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 164 HP / 60 Atk / 4 Def / 28 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Rock Slide
- Knock Off
Many people were using Landorus at the time because of its intimidate ability and good pairing with thundurus. However, I liked to pair it with Blaziken since it would be able to cover any threats that Blaziken had (most of the time). It was one of the less frequent Pokémon that I brought to games because I feared that I would activate a defiant or competitive boost. The choice is a little bit random and I don't remember what I built it to survive but it does live a bulky thundurus' HP ice which is always helpful.
64 SpA Thundurus Hidden Power Ice vs. 164 HP / 28 SpD Landorus-T: 136-160 (73.5 - 86.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I could also hit the same thundurus with rock slide and deal nearly enough damage to knock it out.
60+ Atk Choice Band Landorus-T Rock Slide vs. 244 HP / 108 Def Thundurus: 156-184 (84.3 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
As for moves, earthquake, rock slide, and knock off were standard moves that offered good coverage to threats such as cresselia, heatran, and charizard. I opted for superpower to catch unsuspecting Kangaskhans off guard since most Landorus don't run superpower as much as they used to.
Aegislash (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def / 30 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Substitute / Swagger
- King's Shield
The moveset is actually quite standard and I opted for a slower Aegislash since it would catch all of the other Aegislash that moved faster than me to be in blade form. My Aegislash actually ran swagger instead of substitute since I did not check the moves. It previously had iron head in place of swagger and I decided that swagger would be a better move some time before tournament. When entering and locking in my Pokémon, I realized that I never switched it to substitute, which is how I spent the day using swagger from Aegislash. The set is pretty standard living most earthquakes and fire type attacks bar sun boosted ones in shield form. I didn't use Aegislash as often and it was usually there as a counter for other Aegislash and trick room teams since I could take advantage of it.
Good leads that I could rely on:
Blaziken + Kangaskhan
Suicune + Zapdos
Kangaskhan + Suicune
Aegislash + Suicune
Landorus + Blaziken
I used the core of Blaziken, Kangaskhan, Suicune, and Zapdos most of the time and it was solid in most circumstances. I could've played around more with Aegislash and Landorus' spreads and sets but decided it would be better to stick to a more standard route. Looking back on this, I feel I should've made it a little more offensive since the only Pokémon that really posed a threat was Aegislash and Blaziken.
~Jimbo
Monday, October 19, 2015
[OU] A look at Mega-Altaria
Here's my team that I've been using to ladder featuring mega Altaria. I wanted to use mega Altaria since it seemed like an interesting mega with a lot of potential given its pixilate ability.
Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Earthquake
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
Mega Altaria is usually a late game sweeper that just dominates the field after its threats are removed (Excadrill or Scizor). I gave it max HP and speed EVs to guarantee a safe DD in order to sweep. After setting up 2 or 3 DD, Altaria is able to sweep almost everything that your opponent can send out. Return gives great fairy coverage after gaining the pixilate ability. Earthquake is great coverage for Heatran and any steel types that are built primarily for bulk. Roost is there to help recover any health that is loss from a move.
Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
Excadrill's primary goal is to break any walls that might be on the opponent's team. Instead of running it on a sand team with sand rush, I chose mold breaker in order to guarantee a hit on pokemon with levitate that are weak to ground when hit (rotom-w). It can also get past most of the counters for Altaria and quickly get rid of them before I have to send out Altaria. With choice scarf, it pretty much guarantees a kill for me since it will usually outspeed everything on the field with max speed investment. It's also a good counter to HO teams since they are built extremely frail. The only noticeable flaw is rapid spin since it can help clear rocks but will force a switch since you'll be stuck using rapid spin.
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
Mew is the support and cleric on this team since a will-o-wisp will cripple the physical attackers on this team. It's also a good wall and has good versatility having access to wide movepool. It doesn't share any weaknesses with the sweepers on my team which is helpful when switching out. This specific moveset focuses on crippling the opponent's team and playing the role of a cleric. The EV investment in HP and special defense allow it to take special attackers. Will-o-wisp will cripple physical attackers, rendering them useless after they're burned by Mew. Something to watch for is LO Conkeldurr which can take advantage of the will-o-wisp to knock off Mew which will OHKO Mew since it doesn't have defense investment.
Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Roost
Skarmory is used for setting up stealth rocks which will help with residual damage on pokemon that are frailer or have a focus sash. I feel this set pairs up with Altaria, since the counters that are sent out against Altaria are usually weak to Skarmory. The rocky helmet on it will chip damage off of any physical attackers and the special defense investment will guarantee that it will live a fire blast from a mixed garchomp set. It also lures in switches from spinners and defoggers which will help me get up a free DD which is always nice in preparation for a sweep.
Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
Gengar's role on the team is to be the special sweeper since many of the pokemon on the team are already physically based. It has good synergy with the rest of the team since it can help support Altaria knock down any defensive walls or anything that gives it trouble (excluding scizor). The set is primarily standard since it has good coverage of all types. The EVs are the typical max special attack and speed to sweep.
Keldeo-Resolute @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
Keldeo is a bulky sweeper on the team and a stall breaker. It can take down one of Altaria's main threat, Scizor, since it pretty walls it. I can substitute up when I know my opponent is going to switch when the match up isn't in their favor. When I'm behind a substitute, I can safely calm mind up since they'd have to break the sub first (excluding hyper voice which bypasses it). Modest nature with max special attack investment puts in a lot of work since it will deal a ton of a damage to more defensive pokemon. Scald and secret sword are the last two moves for STAB and its usually a more standard set. It can also sweep in the late game if I have to sack Altaria early in the game.
~Jimbo
Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Earthquake
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
Mega Altaria is usually a late game sweeper that just dominates the field after its threats are removed (Excadrill or Scizor). I gave it max HP and speed EVs to guarantee a safe DD in order to sweep. After setting up 2 or 3 DD, Altaria is able to sweep almost everything that your opponent can send out. Return gives great fairy coverage after gaining the pixilate ability. Earthquake is great coverage for Heatran and any steel types that are built primarily for bulk. Roost is there to help recover any health that is loss from a move.
Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
Excadrill's primary goal is to break any walls that might be on the opponent's team. Instead of running it on a sand team with sand rush, I chose mold breaker in order to guarantee a hit on pokemon with levitate that are weak to ground when hit (rotom-w). It can also get past most of the counters for Altaria and quickly get rid of them before I have to send out Altaria. With choice scarf, it pretty much guarantees a kill for me since it will usually outspeed everything on the field with max speed investment. It's also a good counter to HO teams since they are built extremely frail. The only noticeable flaw is rapid spin since it can help clear rocks but will force a switch since you'll be stuck using rapid spin.
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
Mew is the support and cleric on this team since a will-o-wisp will cripple the physical attackers on this team. It's also a good wall and has good versatility having access to wide movepool. It doesn't share any weaknesses with the sweepers on my team which is helpful when switching out. This specific moveset focuses on crippling the opponent's team and playing the role of a cleric. The EV investment in HP and special defense allow it to take special attackers. Will-o-wisp will cripple physical attackers, rendering them useless after they're burned by Mew. Something to watch for is LO Conkeldurr which can take advantage of the will-o-wisp to knock off Mew which will OHKO Mew since it doesn't have defense investment.
Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Roost
Skarmory is used for setting up stealth rocks which will help with residual damage on pokemon that are frailer or have a focus sash. I feel this set pairs up with Altaria, since the counters that are sent out against Altaria are usually weak to Skarmory. The rocky helmet on it will chip damage off of any physical attackers and the special defense investment will guarantee that it will live a fire blast from a mixed garchomp set. It also lures in switches from spinners and defoggers which will help me get up a free DD which is always nice in preparation for a sweep.
Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
Gengar's role on the team is to be the special sweeper since many of the pokemon on the team are already physically based. It has good synergy with the rest of the team since it can help support Altaria knock down any defensive walls or anything that gives it trouble (excluding scizor). The set is primarily standard since it has good coverage of all types. The EVs are the typical max special attack and speed to sweep.
Keldeo-Resolute @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
Keldeo is a bulky sweeper on the team and a stall breaker. It can take down one of Altaria's main threat, Scizor, since it pretty walls it. I can substitute up when I know my opponent is going to switch when the match up isn't in their favor. When I'm behind a substitute, I can safely calm mind up since they'd have to break the sub first (excluding hyper voice which bypasses it). Modest nature with max special attack investment puts in a lot of work since it will deal a ton of a damage to more defensive pokemon. Scald and secret sword are the last two moves for STAB and its usually a more standard set. It can also sweep in the late game if I have to sack Altaria early in the game.
~Jimbo
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