Update: Herman’s comment about the Sp. Attack EVs and nature was spot on. I completely forgot that I used to use the same Crobat as a Confuse Ray + Hypnosis + Air Slash (flinch) lead. Silly me.
Motivation: I don’t fancy myself a pro (so you pros out there, don’t come a-flamin’ please) but I did get pretty annoyed at a Pokémon column I saw in the Math Faculty newsletter at UW the other day. This guy’s idea of an informative Pokémon article was writing about starting a new game in Gold and remarking “I caught the Pidgey because I like Pidgeys–they are so average!”. I don’t know that article’s usual audience, but it probably isn’t a particularly hardcore or large audience. Anyway, I felt like writing some Pokémon so here we go.
Sometimes, people you respect say things and it affects the way you do things for a long, maybe permanent, time.
Case in point, my cousin Herman once remarked that my Crobat and Metagross complement each others’ weaknesses very well. Since then, I’ve tended to keep both in my party for Battle Tower rounds, singles or doubles. Not only is it absolutely true, it’s also something I probably wouldn’t have noticed without the tip off before (here is where I would take credit and pretend like I’d planned the pairing all along).
Anyway, here’s my party as of right now, for singles in the Battle Tower in Pokémon Pearl:
Lead: Crobat @ Leftovers (Jolly: 156 HP / 100 Attack / 252 Speed)
- Taunt
- Hypnosis
- Aerial Ace
- Roost
Physical Sweeper: Metagross @ Occa Berry (Fire) (Jolly: 4 HP / 252 Attack / 252 Speed)
- Meteor Mash/Bullet Punch
- Earthquake
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch/Agility
Special Sweeper: Gengar @ Choice Scarf (Modest: 4 HP / 252 Sp. Attack / 252 Speed)
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power (Fire)
Basically, Crobat scouts things out and prevents any major initial setup with Taunts and Hypnosis. Metagross comes in to smash stuff up and the two switch back and forth if needed to take out as much as possible. Gengar comes in whenever an Earthquake or fighting move is coming at Metagross to do a super speedy sweep before swapping back out for Crobat or Metagross, depending what comes up next.
The three main strategies behind my team are:
- S p e ee eee ee e e d
- Defend by immunity/resistance switching
- Tank taunting
With all the huge speed in my lead (and sweepers) I generally outpace others before taking into account priority moves. I watch out for any that might OHKO anything, and make the necessary swap if needed, but other than that, speed plays a big part of my strategy since I can’t take many gratuitous hits from finishing a Pokémon after going second. The Choice Scarf on my nut-busting Gengar lets me focus on boosting its Sp. Attack stat with personality + EVs. It is second only to maxed Aerodactyls and Jolteons in the non-Legendary metagame. The idea is to either incapacitate or sweep with awesome coverage moves, before they get a chance to setup or retaliate.
I don’t exactly have any major bulk in my team, but I do have pretty decent resistances/immunities (with all three being immune to Toxic Spikes, and a whole lot of immunity to Normal, Ground, Fighting, Poison…). I tend to attract Ice attacks with Crobat, so I swap in Metagross when Ice Beams come my way from Kingdras or Starmies. And obviously, I can move to either Crobat or levitating Gengar when the inevitable Ground or Fighting moves come at Metagross.
As for fending off tanks, I’m not a fan of getting rocked by Double Team Cradily or Calm Minding Bronzong. This is why I rely on Crobat’s Taunt to either Struggle them, or reduce them to throwing out relatively harmless attacks. Taunt is so useful–it helps prevent Rest, or crippling moves like Thunder Wave, which is extra important given that my team relies on its speed so heavily. It’s also a must against Trick Room Bronzongs, which would Gyro Ball me to hell if not for the Taunt + Hidden Power (Fire).
Any comments are welcome. Also, bonus points if you caught the Doppler Effect reference in there.