Daily Pokemon #007: Delibird

Delibird

Ice Flying wasn't a good type on Articuno because of its multiple weaknesses including a x4 weakness to rock making it easily crippled by Stealth Rock, so what makes you think that it would work on this thing. To be fair, the offensive coverage is OK, but that doesn't make up for the lousy defensive typing. Also, having only 2 resistances is nothing to be happy about.

Stats:

No stats over 80 is abysmal. I feel that I don't even need to say anything else. It's not even worth looking at this thing's movepool considering that it can't fulfill any role effectively, not even at low tiers.

Abilities:

• Vital Spirit: prevents sleep.
• Hustle: increases the user's Attack stat by 50%, but lowers the accuracy of the user's physical moves by 20%.
• Insomnia (hidden): prevents sleep.

Now this is not a typo by the way. Insomnia and Vital Spirit are identical, and for some reason someone decided to give both abilities to Delibird. For what these ability are worth, they are decent, or at least they would be decent on a bulky pokemon that would be prone to be put to sleep, Delibird is definitely not that. If your opponent is dumb enough to attempt to put Delibird to sleep; you are probably gonna win. Then again, you are using Delibird, so you might lose regardless.

I dislike Hustle, inmensely. It makes pokemon battles turn into more of an RNG game than they already are. Besides, do you really wanna make use of that 55 ATK stat? In general, if you wanna take the risks associated with Hustle feel free to do so, just don't blame me when you miss crucial hits and lose because of it.

Conclusion:

Delibird is one of those pokemon that is infamous for being notoriously bad. Bad typing, terrible stats, irrelevant movepool and abilities that don't add any value make Delibird one of the worst pokemon of all time.

Daily Pokemon #006: Druddigon

Druddigon 

Dragon has always been a good type. Not only because of its multiple key resistances such as Water and Fire, but also because only two types don't recieve at least neutral damage against it. We must also take into account how there are really powerful dragon type moves in order to conclude that Dragon is a fantastic type. Fairy type nerfed it a bit, but it didn't make it bad at all. As for Druddigon itself....

Stats:

Whoever said that Gen VII had too many slow pokemon... was right, but Druddigon is pretty slow too. It makes up for it with good bulk and high ATK. It can be a wall or a tanky beater. It is outclassed by Dragonite in the second role though, so you'll want to weigh your options. For what Druddigon is, it can do the job decently enough.

Druddigon has a decently large moves. It has access to moves such as Crunch, Dragon Claw and Superpower naturally. Via breeding, it can Iron Tail to cover Fairy and Ice types. Also, Druddigon has nice utility with moves like Stealth Rock, Roar, Taunt and, most surprisingly, Glare. I can definitely see this last move giving Druddigon an edge in utility that other dragons can't boast about.

Abilities:

• Rough Skin: the attacking Pokémon loses 1/8 of its own maximum HP if it hits a pokemon with Rough Skin with a move that makes contact.
• Sheer Force: raises the base power of all attacking moves that have an additional effect by 30%, but the additional effects are ignored.
• Mold Breaker (hidden): ignores the effects of Abilities that could potentially affect the damage or effects of a move that its user executes.

All abilities are good in my opinion, but used for different setups. Rough Skin is more for a defensive setup. It alongside Rocky Helmet can allow for massive damage to any physical sweeper that your opponent squares against Druddigon.

Sheer Force is a great ability, and it is better suited for purely offensive setups. Moves like Iron Tail and Crunch would recieve bonus from this ability. Now unfortunately, Druddigon gets outclassed as a pure beater by pokemon like Salamance and Dragonite, but it is still a pretty decent one.

Mold Breaker is an OK ability for a beater, but considering that Sheer Force is a much better option, I don't really see a point in running it at all other than very specific situations. For example, it can be useful if you wanna use Glare on a pokemon with Limber. These sort of scenarios are uncommon, so preparing for them seems unreasonable.

Conclusion:

I said once that I don't believe that there is a single bad Dragon type pokemon, and I stand by that. Druddigon gets outclassed as a beater, but as a support pokemon it definitely has something unique to offer. I hope that people can realize the great utility that Druddigon can provide and maybe some day it will be used a lot more.

Daily Pokemon #005: Empoleon

Empoleon 

Piplup > Prinplup > Empoleon

Water Steel is a fantastic defensive type with 10 resistances and 3 weaknesses. Ground is a rather common type for coverage though, so it's best to look out for it. You wouldn't really want to get hit by a random earthquake, wouldn't you? Although, it probably won't OHKO Empoleon even if it crits nowadays.

Stats:

Does anyone smell bulky water type? Well I do. Empoleon is a fantastic bulky special sweeper or simply a bulky wall. Its low speed doesn't really matter, but you can still boost it if you like with moves like Agility.

One unfortunate aspect about Empoleon is coverage where it lacks any real options. It has its STAB covered pretty well with Scald, Surf and Flash Cannon, but it doesn't have access to anything else other than Ice Beam and Grass Knot. A physical build is also possible but not very recommended as Empoleon's ATK stat is rather mediocre.

All these offensive moves might make you forget that Empoleon got some pretty decent utility options as well. Stealth Rock is probably the best move in this regard. However, Empoleon also has access to moves such as Roar and Rain Dance; I don't really recommend the latter though.

Abilities:

• Torrent: a Water-type move's power will be increased by 50% if the user has less than or equal to ⅓ of its maximum HP remaining.
• Defiant (hidden): boosts ATK by 2 stages when a stat is lowered by the opponent.

Torrent is the typical ability for every water starter, and it has never been good because it is too situational. Defiant is a decent ability, but it's completely out place in a pokemon like Empoleon that doesn't rely on physical moves. Actually, Defiant can work against you if you get confused, so in this one rare case Torrent is the better ability.

Conclusion:

I am of the opinion that all Gen IV starters are very good pokemon, and Empoleon is no exception to this. Good bulk alongside nice utility and good Sp. ATK makes Empoleon the most versatile of all 3 starters. Besides, it's a penguin, I have to give it extra points for that. :P

Daily Pokemon #004: Goodra

Goodra 

Goomy > Sliggoo > Goodra

Pure dragon has always been a great type. The main reason is its unique trait to resist all 3 basic types, these being Grass, Water and Fire. Additionally, being able to hit all types with the exception of 2 with normal damage allows for some fantastic coverage. Now it is true that with the addition of Fairy types Dragon has fallen out of tier, but that didn't make it bad; it just made it more balanced.

Stats:

I probably shoulda mentioned that Goodra is a pseudo-legendary, but I suppose I don't need to because its stats show it pretty well. That massive 150 Sp. DEF makes Goodra a fantastic wall, and, alongside those great offensive stats, Goodra becomes one of the best mixed tanks in the game. 

Like most dragons Goodra has access to some powerful moves such as Draco Meteor and Dragon pulse for its STAB. This doesn't mean that Goodra is restricted in terms of coverage, it's quite the opposite in fact. Goodra has access to Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Sludge Bomb, (covers Fairy) Focus Blast, Earthquake, etc. I think you get the idea: Goodra is a powerhouse.

Now Goodra could also be used as more of a wall instead. Unfortunately Goodra doesn't have access to a reliable recovery option outside of Rest, and it is also limited on the utility side. The only real utility it can have is as a Rain Dance summoner, but there are better pokemon for that role.

Abilities:

• Sap Sipper: grants inmunity to Grass type moves and increases ATK by one layer if hit by one.
• Hydration: heals non-volatile status conditions under the rain.
• Gooey (hidden): if a Pokémon with this Ability is hit by a move that makes contact, the Speed of the attacking Pokémon is decreased by one layer.

Sap Sipper is a great ability for a more physically-oriented build, but it also works for others builds just because an extra inmunity is always nice. However, Hydration is also a good option, if you are planning to use a Rain Dance team that is. Constant inmunity from status ailments is nothing to scuff at. Finally, Gooey is a fun quirky ability, but not really optimal considering the other options. It can be used to help cripple problematic physical sweepers but other than that it's rather situational. 

Conclusion:

Goodra is fantastic, and probably the most fun-looking Pseudo-legendary, well in my opinion anyway. It has access to a great arrange of moves, so it can help in many different scenarios against different pokemon. More defensive builds are also possible, but lack proper support. So for now Goodra is just a big, gooey and lovable tank. :D

Daily Pokemon #003: Carracosta

Carracosta 

Tirtouga > Carracosta

Water-Rock is a questionable type at best and a terrible one at worst. Quad-weakness to grass is not something to take lightly and neither are the other weaknesses. (Fighting, Electric and Ground) It is good in terms of coverage mainly because Rock type covers some key types.

Stats:

Not really your typical bulky Water-type, it is more close to a physically defensive Rock type. Anywho, the biggest drawback is that speed stat which makes Carracost very susceptible to get OHKO'd by random Giga Drain users as well as Aura Sphere or really any special sweeper with access to a decent arrange of coverage moves.

Thankfully, Carracost has access to some pretty decent STAB moves. Aqua Jet is probably the most important move in any moveset as it makes up for its lousy speed. and it can also hit relatively hard. Waterfall is another great option to go with its high ATK stat, and Stone Edge as wel. 

One last move worth pointing out is Shell Smash which lowers both DEF and Sp. DEF by 2 stages, but raises ATK, Sp. ATK and Speed by 2 stages each. This moves severely improves Carracosta's offensive abilities, and actually makes it somewhat viable in a semi-competitive scene. 

Abilities:

• Solid Rock: reduces super-effective damage by ¼.
• Sturdy: makes the Pokémon unaffected by OHKO moves and if an attack's hit would have brought it from full health to 0 HP, the Pokémon will survive with 1 HP remaining.
• Swift Swim (hidden): doubles speed under the rain.

Solid Rock is actually a really good ability on Pokemon with x4 weaknesses like Carracosta, so it probably gets the strongest recommendation from me. Sturdy is also an option though. Solid Rock is probably better suited for defensive sets while Study is better for sweeping ones. Swift Swim is a decent ability if you plan to use a Rain Dance team as it will power up Aqua Jet and Waterfall which makes sweeping a lot easier.

Conclusion:

So wrap this: how is Carracosta overall? Mediocre at best is my answer. Lousy type alongside low speed is a terrible combination. However, one has to recognize that it has potential as a sweeper if you give it the correct set-up. The obvious problem is that you are basically making your whole team around a frail and unreliable pokemon. It's bad what else can I say.

Daily Pokemon #002: Tauros

Tauros 

Tauros is pure Normal type, which means that its STAB will never get super effective bonus, but that also means that it only has one weakness. It's for this reason that Normal is a good type, even if it is limited offensively. It's not weak against anything other than Fighting. This is rather helpful when trying to switch in a pokemon like Tauros, as it probably won't be OHKO from whatever hit it will have to tank.

Stats:

Tauros has a very defined role in a team which is physical sweeper. Tauros is surprisingly fast; 110 base speed is more than enough to outspeed most pokemon during the adventure, and it's still very fast for competitive play. Additionally, 70/95/70 make Tauros a rather bulky physical sweeper rather than just a glass cannon like many other sweepers.

Although I mentioned that Normal type is a limited type in terms of offense, I was mostly refering to type advantage and I was not refering to their movepool. Most normal types have access to a wide variety of moves allowing them to covered a huge variety of types. It's offensive STAB is easily covered by Return, it's coverage moves include stuff like Earthquake, Stone Edge, Zen Headbutt, Wild Charge (Gen VI), Outrage (Gen VI), Pursuit, Iron Head (Gen VI) among many others. 

There are other options as well if you want to make a more gimmicky Tauros such as Substitute, Rest and Sleep Talk. However, these sort of moves are better left to specialized pokemon since Tauros is better used in other manners.

Abilities:

• Anger Point: maximizes the user's ATK stat when it is hit by a critical hit.
• Intimidate: lowers the opposing pokemon's ATK by one stage upon entering the battle.
• Sheer Force (hidden): raises the base power of all attacking moves that have an additional effect by 30%, but the additional effects are ignored.

Anger Point is an unreliable ability although a fun one I will admit. Try it when you are playing with your friends or in a local tournament, if you can pull off a sweep thanks to Anger point then you'll have one of the best laughs in your life.

Intimidate is a decent ability in Tauros, as it will help Tauros cripple those pesky Fighting types if they pose too much of a challenge and then proceed with something like Zex Headbutt. It is a situational ability though, so don't really expect much.

Finally, the true MVP is Sheer Force. This ability is truly amazing and it completely changes the Tauros' moveset. Now you can run moves like Rock Climb which gets stronger than Return after the 30% bonus, do keep in mind that it is less accurate. Other moves like Zen Headbutt are now buffed, or you could run Rock Slide wich actually now becomes almost as strong as Stone edge but more accurate.

Conclusion:

Overall, Tauros is a great pokemon and an underappreciated one at that. It has fantastic stats, fantastic moves and great abilities. It lacks certain thing like access to priority moves and it will also lag behind pokemon that are faster than it, but I truthfully believe that not enough people have tried Tauros which is a real shame

Daily Pokemon #001: Magnezone

Magnezone 

Magnemite > Magneton > Magnezone

Now at first Electric-Steel may seem like a bad type because of its 3 very common weaknesses which are Ground, Fire and Fighting. However, that sort of assessment ignores the bigger picture since this type possesses 11 resistances and 1 immunity. To put it into perspective, there are currently 18 types and Magnezone either resists or is inmune to the majority of them.

Stats:

When I first used a Magneton back in Pokemon Crystal, I was scared of its low speed and thought that it was gonna underperform because of it. Those fears were unfounded though because Magneton's bulk and type more than makes up for the lack of speed, and Magnezone is really just an upgrade over Magneton. So if you enjoyed using Magneton odds are that Magnezone will be just as beloved.

In that same regard, Magnezone inherits many of the issues with Magneton like the completely inability to deal with ground types outside of Hidden Power Ice. Avoid fighitng Ground types at all costs, 1 STAB Earthquake is more than enough to OHKO Magnezone, well in most cases anyway. 

Another issue that it inherited was the lack of a diverse offensive  movepool. You will rely mostly on Hidden Power for any sort of offensive coverage, but you do at least have your STAB covered with moves like Thunderbolt and Flash Cannon, as well as Volt switch for some scouting.

Even though its offensive lineup is limited, the same cannot be said about its utility moves. Magnet Rise is an option if you really don't wanna deal with Ground types although an unreliable one. Thunder Wave will slow down pokemon that could otherwise be problematic. Finally, Mirror Coat can surprise the opponent if they are not expecting it.

Abilities:

• Magnet Pull: prevents Steel-type foes from fleeing or switching out as long as the user remains in battle
• Sturdy: makes the Pokémon unaffected by OHKO moves and if an attack's hit would have brought it from full health to 0 HP, the Pokémon will survive with 1 HP remaining.
• Analytic (hidden): increases the power of a move by 30% if the pokemon targetted for said move went before the user.

Analytic is not a reliable ability even on a pokemon like Magnezone, as there are slower pokemon being used. Although I'll admit that it's not a terrible ability for Magnezone. Sturdy is OKish since it will give it one extra turn if you get surprised with an Eartquake, but really you shouldn't have Magnezone out against anything that you would even suspect has earthquake on its moveset.

Where Magnezone shines is in its ability Magnet Pull. Steel types are fantastic walls in competitive play, and the thing is that many of them don't have an answer to Magnezone. For example, if you can trap a Ferrothorn, you can use Hidden Power Fire to kill it.

Conclusion:

So to all this. What is Magnezone's role? Is it a sweeper? Is it a wall? Or Is it a support wall breaker? The answer: up to you really. Magnezone is one of those pokemon that has the one trait that I value the most on any Pokemon: versatility. 

You can give it different roles on your team depending on what you need. Although it doesn't have a reliable way to recover itself, it can still serve as an eventual tank against the correct matchups. And that's just to give you an example. It's a great pokemon and a good fit on many teams.