User:Guild of Deals/Pokemon Builds

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Bad theorycraft Pokemon builds. For the record, I don't play competitively, I probably never will, and I suck at it.

Lucario
Lucario pretty simply owns. High Spec. Atk. and Atk. with generally well rounded stats and a unique type comb. With such good stats, it can be either a phyiscal or special sweeper and a diverse enough movepool for either.
 * Physical sweeper (I think "physical sweeper" means "using Physical moves", but IDK)
 * Ability: Steadfast, EV's: Attack 252, Speed 252, HP 4
 * Close Combat/Cross Chop
 * Ice Punch
 * Earthquake
 * Swords Dance

CC takes care of Normal (Blissey). Cross Chop is a generally safer skill, although weaker. Steel, Pure Rock (otherwise you'd stick with Ice Punch), etc, Ice Punch takes care of Dragon (Salamence, Garchomp), Flying, Rock/Ground mix, and Grass, Earthquake gets rid of Electric and Fire, Swords Dance makes everything O/P. Other skills may include Blaze Kick


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Steadfast, EV's: Special Atk. 252, rest between Speed and Special Def.
 * Aura Sphere
 * Shadow Ball/Psychic
 * Water Pulse/Dragon Pulse/Flash Cannon
 * Calm Mind

Basic special sweeper. Aura Sphere is real nice, due to its high power, STAB, and its never missing. Shadow Ball takes care of Ghosts and Psychic, although Psychic hits Poison and Fighting. Water Pulse is mainly for Ground and Fire, who can hit pretty hefty on Lucario. Dragon Pulse is for Dragons if you want, and Flash Cannon is just a nice STAB move. Calm Mind is a nice booster in general, and since it can't get Nasty Plot, it's the most you can settle for.

Girafarig
Usually outclassed by other psychics in most cases, but it has its uses. It was worthwhile in the 2nd Gen., with only a handful of Dark moves avaliable and immunity to Ghost. It does, however, come with some nice things for Baton Passing, including Calm Mind and Agility.
 * Baton Passer
 * Ability: w/e, I forget the selection, EV's: even mixture of Speed, Defense, and Special Def.
 * Psychic
 * Calm Mind
 * Agility
 * Baton Pass

Use Psychic for killing stuff just in case, Calm Mind is for Special Atk./Def. boost, Agility for Speed, Baton Pass for passing it all off.

Ambipom
Finally, that crappy Pokemon got an evolution. Ambipom has pretty good Attack and Speed stats, and also gains Technician, a very unique ability that compliments its set. Since it essentially gives anything <60 Power a STAB boost, which can be useful for a lot of useful yet underpowered moves. Despite all its quirks, it still just can't compete with other powerful Normal types like Tauros.
 * Physical sweeper
 * Ability: Technician (this is crucial to the set), EV's: Attack 252, Speed 252, HP 4
 * Double Hit/Swift
 * Ice Punch
 * Drain Punch
 * Thunder Wave/Toxic

Double Hit/Swift get both Technician and STAB bonuses, making them pretty powerful. In comparison to a maxed out Return, with STAB bonus, it gains around 150 Power. Swift, with STAB and Technician, gets 180 Power (I'm guessing, IDK how they add up at all). Following the same math, Double Hit gains a base power of 105 each, or 210 in total. However, it has only 80% accuracy, compared to Swift's no miss. Ice Punch just gets rid of Dragon, Grass, Flying, etc, and is pretty standard on any physical sweeper who can learn it. Drain Punch benefits a lot from Technician, since only a handful of Fighting moves are avaliable to classes that aren't Fighting type. It has 90 Power with Technician, and has a healing benefit. Punching a pretty large hole in a big healthed Normal Pokemon (Blissey, Snorlax) can give you a nice HP restoration. Thunder Wave is good for faster enemies as well as for general annoyance, while Toxic can help on big HP or defenses. Other moves can be Thunder/Ice Punch, Seed Bomb, and Bulk Up.

Smeargle
A gimmick, a novelty, whatever, it has a few tricks. Despite all these tricks, it has awful stats, and with that being said, it can hardly use those tricks. Unless you're lucky, odds are you won't be able to get one hit off.
 * Baton Passer-ish
 * Ability: Trace (since I think that's the only one), EV's: 252 Defense, 252 Special Def., 4 HP
 * Item: Quick Claw (since you either hit or die)
 * Dark Void/Spore
 * Seismic Toss
 * Bulk Up/Dragon Dance/Calm Mind
 * Baton Pass

Hopefully hit with Spore or Dark Void, boost up with whatever you choose for your booster, and hit with Seismic Toss if needed. Then Baton Pass it off as soon as possible. Some other tricks may include Explosion, Super Fang, and Destiny Bond.

Magnezone
While it has generally good stats, Magnezone suffers from a very small move pool. Magnet Pull is a niche ability only a handful have, but unfortunately, Magnezone's movepool hurts it a lot.
 * Physical wall
 * Ability: w/e, EV's: 252 Defense, rest balanced between Special Atk. and HP
 * Gyro Ball
 * Thunder Wave
 * Refresh/Magnet Rise/Thunderbolt
 * Rest

Gyro Ball is your damage source, and with the slow speed Magnezone has, it suits it. Thunder Wave is rather obvious. Refresh is obtained from purified Magneton in XD and probably the most useful choice for a condition healer, but if you don't have it, then use another choice. Magnet Rise gets rid of its only 4x weakness and makes it immune, a useful attribute for most phyiscal walls, and Thunderbolt takes care of Gyarados if needed. Rest is your only self-heal choice. Other moves include Toxic or Flash Cannon.

Rapidash
Rapidash was always awkward amongst Fire types because of its higher Attack stat than its Special Atk. Since Fire was a Special Atk. type, it was always overlooked for other ones. However, with the Special/Offensive split, Rapidash gains some good Fire moves to use the high Attack. Despite that big relief for Rapidash, it still has a relatively limited move pool to use it with.


 * Physical sweeper
 * Ability: Flash Fire, EV's: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Flare Blitz
 * Megahorn
 * Will-o-Wisp
 * Double Kick/Bounce/Return/Double Edge

Flash Fire is an exceptional ability shared by Heatran. Basically, you are immune to Fire skills and gain a 1.5 boost to your own when you're hit by one. It's an ideal swap in onto a Fire type. Anyway, the skill set is probably the most diverse you could get it. Flare Blitz is another big plus for Rapidash. Having a nice Attack stat and a nice, powerful Fire move really hurts. Add in STAB bonuses and you've got a big rolling machine. Megahorn takes down Psychics and Darks, not much else. Will-o-Wisp is good for your Burn and takes away from Attack. The last slot is really just filler. Double Kick is pretty poor, but the only Fighting move on Rapidash. It can take down Rock types too, a big threat to any real Fire Pokemon. Bounce is for taking down Fighting types if you want it, but is pretty medicore. Return or Double Edge is just to abuse your Attack stat and is for anything you can't hit super effective on.

Blissey
Blissey is quite incredibly overpowered and overused, plain and simple. With extremely high HP and Special Def., it can wall any Special sweeper easily. Here's the standard Blissey set that anyone uses.


 * Special wall
 * Ability: Natural, EV's 252 Special Def., the rest IDK (Speed or HP I think)
 * Seismic Toss
 * Thunder Wave
 * Aromatherapy
 * Softboiled

Basic wall set up. Hit with Thunder Wave to outrace most things, kill stuff with Seismic Toss, heal with Softboiled and Aromatherapy. Used properly, Blissey is quite possibly the most powerful asset of your team.

I usually don't put "counters" to this build, but the big counter to this is the Subpuncher. Subpunchers are pretty solely for Blissey. You basically have to have 404+ health atleast, Substitute, and Focus Punch. You drop a Substitute, and since it'll have 101 health, it can't be killed with 1 ST. Then you'll have enough time for Focus Punch to not be interrupted, and hit Blissey's weak defense with a whalloping 150 Power, super effective attack.

Gyarados
Before 4th Gen, Gyarados was confined with its low Special Atk., despite fantastic stats for everything else. If any other Pokemon benefited from the Gen shift, it was probably Gyarados. The first big thing is Waterfall, which is now Physical. Besides it being easily obtainable and reused, it has a sturdy 80 Power, draws on STAB bonuses, and goes hand-in-hand with its gigantic Attack. It still suffers from a hindering secondary, but is still a fantastic Pokemon.


 * Physical sweeper
 * Ability: Intimidate, EV's: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Waterfall
 * Ice Fang
 * Earthquake
 * Dragon Dance/Outrage/Dragon Pulse/Taunt

Pretty obvious. Waterfall is for STAB and hits Ground, Rock, Fire, whatever. Ice Fang is essential for hitting Dragons and can 1HKO most of them (Salamance and Garchomp, since they both are 4x weak). Earthquake is mainly for the bane of any Gyarados, Electric Pokemon. It's Flying type is a severe hinderance, since it gains no real benefits (Ground immunity is the only real thing, but who cares?) and inherits tons of Weaknesses. The last slot is pretty much filler. Dragon Dance boosts your two EV specialties, Outrage is a nice attack that hits for a lot, and Dragon Pulse hits nicely (although weaker) without the side effects. Taunt helps stop conditioners and walls/tanks.

Rotom
Rotom is one of my favorites, really. It has generally good stats, amd with a lot of forms, it can get quite the move pool. Not only that, but it gains Levitate, the best topper to its type combo. It gains STAB bonuses from Electric with no side effects. In total, it has 3 immunities and widely useful.


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Levitate
 * Thunderbolt
 * Shadow Ball
 * Thunder Wave/Will-o-Wisp
 * Leaf Storm/Overheat/Air FlashHidden Power (Ice)

Basic Special sweeper. Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball both gain STAB bonuses and hit Water, Flying, Ghost, and Psychic respectively. Thunder Wave/Will-o-Wisp both hinder foes pretty nicely. The last slot is not really filler, but with all the Rotom forms, it is pretty open. Leaf Storm and Overheat are both from Forms, and both hit for 140 Power. Air Slash hits for less power, but is a decent Flying move for Fighting and Bug Pokemon (hello, Heracross). Hidden Power Ice is more accurate than Blizzard and hits Dragons. Other moves may include Blizzard, Toxic, Hydro Pump, and Ominous Wind.

Slaking
Slaking is has some of the best stats in the game, only balanced by its hindering ability. You can only attack once every two turns, which is a big downer on a lot of things. It gains an Attack stat just below Attack Deoxy, as well as high stats in everything else. It gains a generally strong move pool as well, but because of Truant, and Attack Deoxy, it is left out of being a largely popular Pokemon. However, you'll quite commonly 1HKO atleast. Slaking can be extremely deadly in 2v2 play alongside Skill Swap, getting rid of its harmful nature


 * Physical sweeper
 * Ability: Truant (/sigh), EV's: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Return/Double Edge
 * Hammer Arm/Brick Break
 * Shadow Claw
 * Ice Punch

It's pretty simple. The best strategy is to out race a foe, 1HKO them with a big damage move, then pull a swap on the next foe. For switch-ins, you may consider a Ghost like Gengar or Mismagius for fighting moves (which will do the most against Slaking) or anything else with immunities, if you can predict a skill set correctly. Anyway, Return and Double Edge hit for huge numbers, with both having 100+ Power and both gaining STAB. Hammer Arm hurts its Speed, a bummer for it, but is more powerful than Brick Break. Shadow Claw hits Ghost and Psychic, obviously, while Ice Punch takes care of Dragons, Grass, Flying, whatever. Other moves include Slack Off, for some minor walling abilities, Fire and Thunder Punch, Earthquake, Rock Slide, and Focus Punch (for 2v2 play, mostly).

Miltank
Miltank just has the skills of a physical wall. It has a healing move, a status healer, and a good defense stat to go with it. It also learns Thunder Wave, a nice asset. If that wasn't enough, it gains quite a unique move pool to go with, if you wish speccing into Attack a little bit (since it gains some pretty decent Attack stats)


 * Physical tank with damage
 * Ability: Scrappy or Thick Fat, EV's: 252 Def., the rest is either all in Speed or divided between Speed and Attack or all in Attack
 * Seismic Toss/Return/Double Edge/Gyro Ball
 * Thunder Wave
 * Milk Drink
 * Heal Bell

First off, let's look at its abilities. Both are pretty good, and both really depend on the moveset. Scrappy is only held by a few Pokemon, and makes Ghosts vulnerable to Normal moves. If you went with Return or Double Edge, this is the one with for you, since it prevents you from getting walled by Gengar and the like. Otherwise, Thick Fat is nice, giving you basically 2x resistence to Fire and Ice, and can be useful for tanking. Seismic Toss is for speccing all into Speed and is your reliable, no fail choice (side note, it isn't affected by Scrappy, so sorry folks). Thunder Wave is for you to outrace things, Milk Drink and Heal Bell are to keep you alive.

Mew
Mew is scuplting clay, simple as that. Obviously, it learns every TM, every Tutor move, which in turn means I'll never say "diverse move pool". It has a move ocean, practically. Persides that, it has good base stats for everything and all of them are equal, so you can mold Mew into anything. Special Sweeper? Physical Sweeper? Whatever. Mew's stats can fit most anything with the correct EV's. However, the problem is that with not having an exceptional giant stats, it can't spec nearly as well at anything as another Pokemon. Anyway, there's tons of move sets, but here's just the special sweeper for starters.


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Synchronize, EV's: 252 Special Atk., 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Ice Beam
 * Aura Sphere/Flamethrower/Overheat
 * Surf/Psychic/Shadow Ball/Thunderbolt
 * Nasty Plot

With this set, you'll hit Dragon, Ground, Rock, Flying, Grass, Steel, Fire, Ice, Normal, Dark, and possibly Bug, Poison, Ghost, Water, and Psychic (depending on if you take a Fire move/Psychic). Mew gains quite a few great moves for Special sweeper in its generic learn set. Nasty Plot is great, being a Swords Dance for Special Atk. Not much else to say except raise your Special Atk. and kill what you can.

Arceus
Okay, this is by far the hardest Pokemon to make a build for, maybe behind Mew. It can learn tons of moves, has even base stats, and has some of the best selections of the market. I'll give a special sweeper set here, but there's a lot of different ones you could do.


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Multitype (lol), EV's: 252 Special Atk., 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Judgment
 * Ice Beam
 * Earth Power
 * Calm Mind/Shadow Ball/Overheat

I honestly don't know what type Judgment should be, I'm too lazy to calculate what would give you the most types to cover, figure it out yourself. Anyway, this set covers a bunch. I really can't say anything else except kill what you can. Other skill options are basically any other good Special move you desire as TM or tutor learnt, Roar of Time for a big damage skill, or Spacial Rend for another big damage skill.

Nidoking
Nidoking is a decent Pokemon. It has a varied movepool, decent stats, 2 nice STABs, and an immunity to both Thunder Wave and Toxic. Despite all these, Nidoking is just not a top tier because although it has workable stats, they aren't nearly as good as other Pokemon. Also, it's typing makes it vulnerable to quite a few things. Still, if you want some diversity, Nidoking is always there.


 * Physical sweeper
 * Ability: Poison Point (just the safer of the two), EV's: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Ice Punch
 * Earthquake
 * Superpower/Aqua Tail/Poison Jab
 * Megahorn/Shadow Claw

Well, this is a decently diverse set. Ice Punch just gets rid of a lot, and Earthquake has great STAB bonuses. The last two slots have a lot of possibilities, though. Superpower does nice damage and kicks away Steel and Normal, Aqua Tail gets rid of Fire, Ground, Rock, etc, and Poison Jab does has some nice STAB power. Megahorn is useful for Psychics and Dark, while Shadow Claw does Psychic and Ghost.

Azelf
Azelf is one of the trio in Pearl and Platinum. Each part of the trio has a unique speciality, and the one who uses theres the best is Azelf, the offensive oriented one. It has high Attack and Special Attack, can learn a variety of TMs, and has Nasty Plot. All these combined make it ideal for special sweeping.


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Levitate, EV's: 252 Special Atk., 252 Speed, 4 Hp
 * Extransensory/Psychic
 * Thunderbolt
 * Shadow Ball
 * Nasty Plot

The main issue with Azelf is the lack of Ice Beam or any Ice move. Ice is a favorite type of mine since it takes out a lot of types (Ground, Rock, Dragon, Flying, and Grass) and hits for super effective on a lot of common Pokemon (Salamance and Garchomp both get 4x, Tyranitar gets 2x, etc). Despite that flaw, Azelf still gets quite a nice move pool. Anyway, you basically use Nasty Plot and sweep, not much else.

Mewtwo
Oh Mewtwo, the enduring 1st Gen legendary. It was the biggest, toughest Pokemon for the 1st Gen, topping anything else in its way besides itself or maybe a nice Mew. However, with a crop of new Pokemon, Mewtwo just doesn't shine so brightly. Diagla and Palkia both gain Special Atk. stats almost equal to Mewtwo's, as well as tons of immunities from Dragon typing. Regardless of all this, Mewtwo still has great stats, a nice move pool, and a few new tricks from the generational shift.


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Pressure, EV's: 252 Special Atk., 252 Speed, 4 Special Def. (spec more into Special Def. if you want)
 * Psychic
 * Ice Beam
 * Aura Sphere/Recover
 * Calm Mind

Mewtwo doesn't learn Nasty Plot, another big issue when compared to other Pokemon. Anyway, Calm Mind is the next best choice. Basically use Calm Mind a few times and sweep, that's it. Aura Sphere can hit Dark and Normal (Rock and Ground are taken care of by Ice Beam) and hits 4x effective on Tyranitar, but Recover goes nicely with Calm Mind and gives a nice defense to Mewtwo.

Pikachu
You may first ask why I'm doing Pikachu over Raichu. Well, they both gain the same Speed, but Raichu has overall better stats. Pikachu, however, can use a Light Ball to double Attack and Special Atk., outdoing Raichu. Also, it is a lot cuter. Besides that, it has an average movepool with not a lot of variety, although it has a few niche moves.


 * Special sweeper
 * Item: Light Ball, Ability: Static, EV's: 252 Special Atk., 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Thunderbolt
 * Grass Knot
 * Surf/Hidden Power [Ice]
 * Nasty Plot

First off, you can gain a Surfing Pichu from Pokemon Box, an old Gamecube game. You just simply let it learn/use the move relearner to get Nasty Plot after trading it to D/P/Pt, evolve it, and learn the rest. You can also trade a Pikachu with Surf Battle Revolution, although I don't know if it inherits Surf to its egg. from Pikachu won't really be able to get withstand a single hit, so Nasty Plot is only if you can predict switches and such nicely. Thunderbolt is just always nice, Grass Knot is mainly filler and can easily hit heavy Pokemon like Tyranitar with ease. Surf is just cool on a Pikachua and Hidden Power [Ice] is your best option for an Ice move.


 * Physical sweeper
 * Item: Light Ball, Ability: Static, EV's: 252 Atk., 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Thunder Punch/Volt Tackle
 * Focus Punch/Brick Break
 * Return
 * Thunder Wave

I had some trouble making the physical sweeper set, so give me a break. The Light Ball now doubles Attack for Pikachu, and Pikachu has a larger Attack stat than Special Atk. However, it gains a less versatile move pool. Thunder Punch and Volt Tackle a nice STAB moves. Thunder Punch is a little safer while Volt Tackle deals some recoil but hits harder. Focus Punch is a risky alternative to Brick Break for hitting swap ins like Blissey, Return just deals nice damage, and Thunder Wave is filler mainly.

Groundon
Groundon is quite frankly a great Pokemon with great stats. It has high Attack and most everything else is high enough to be used. It also has the unique, one-of-a-kind ability Drought, which compliments its set.


 * Physical sweeper
 * Ability: Drought, EV's: 252 Speed, 252 Attack, 4 HP
 * Fire Punch/Dragon Claw
 * Earthquake
 * Stone Edge
 * Swords Dance

Pretty simple Physical sweeper. Fire Punch deals nice damage with Drought, Earthquake is great STAB, Stone Edge deals good damage and hits a few things, while Swords Dance boosts your already gigantic Attack. Dragon Claw is mainly for dealing with the crop of Dragon Pokemon, since it can't really learn effective Ice moves with a physical set.


 * Mixed sweeper
 * Ability: Drought, EV's: 252 Speed, mixture between Attack and Special Atk. for the rest
 * Solarbeam
 * Earthquake
 * Fire Punch/Overheat/Eruption
 * Stealth Rock/Brick Break/Focus Blast/Hidden Power [Ice]

This set mainly focuses around the sunshine brought by Drought. With it, you gain 1-turn Solarbeam and a boosted Fire Punch, Overheat, or Eruption. The choice between the three is up to you. Fire Punch is weaker than both of them, but goes into Attack and is the most reliable. Overheat requires a lot of switching, but deals huge damage. Eruption deals the same damage as Overheat, but is more conditional. Earthquake is pretty standard on Groundon because of STAB, and the last slot is up for grabs. Stealth Rock is nice for hitting a lot of things that switch in, like Flying and Ice. Brick Break/Focus Blast are just generic Fighting moves, while Brick Break goes into Attack and Focus Blast deals more damage but is in Special Atk. Hidden Power [Ice] is the only real Ice move for Groundon and hits quite a few things.

Kyogre
Kyogre, like Groundon, is a big powerful Pokemon. Like Groundon as well, it gains an overly gimmicky weather Ability, which will compliment the moveset.


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Drizzle, EV's: 252 Special Atk., 252 Speed, 4 HP or Special Def.
 * Thunder
 * Ice Beam
 * Surf/Water Spout
 * Calm Mind

This is quite an overpowered set. Thunder has a 100% hit ratio with rain (aka Drizzle), making it quite powerful. Ice Beam is just a good Ice moves, and as you may know, Ice hits quite a few things. Surf and Water Spout both gain STAB and rain bonuses and both hit for a lot. Surf is just more constant and reliable while Water Spout hits for more. Calm Mind makes Kyogre gain even larger Special Atk. and boosts defenses.

Rayquaza
Rayquaza is a very nice Pokemon. It gains both gigantic Attack and Special Atk. stats with most everything else decent. It also gains a large move pool to abuse either. It also gains Air Lock, a nice ability for switching into Despite all this, it still has a 4x weakness to Ice like many of its Dragon brothers (Dragonite, Salamance, Garchomp, and Flygon) and gains a boatload of other openings in its defense (Eletric hitting for normal damage and Rock hitting for 2x damage).


 * Physical sweeper
 * Ability: Air Lock, EV's: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Hp
 * Crunch
 * Earthquake
 * Dragon Claw/Outrage
 * Dragon Dance/Swords Dance

Basic physical sweeper template. Crunch hits Psychic and Ghost, Earthquake hits Rock and Electric, whiel Dragon Claw/Outrage both gain STAB and few Pokemon have resistances to them. Dragon Claw is a safer alternative while Outrage is for those riskier people who don't mind switch outs. The last slot is pretty much personal preference. Dragon Dance goes with both its EV's, while Swords Dance goes purely for raw attack. Since Rayquaza doesn't have as much speed as other Pokemon, I would suggest Dragon Dance personally.

Deoxys
Deoxys goes up there as one of the most overpowered of Pokemon. In standard form it is already incredibly good, but with all the other forms, it can become a the overpowered jack of all trades. It also has a diverse movepool and is a definate top tier.

Defense Form
The Defense Form of Deoxys is a big old tank. It has huge Defense and Special Def., making it slightly more adaptable than other tanks/walls like Blissey. Like most tanks/walls as well, it gains generally lower Attack/Special Atk. and Speed. However, its overall movepool is great for a tank. However, the main issue with Defense Form is the low HP, which is a big bummer.


 * Mixed tank
 * Ability: Pressure, EV's: mixed between HP, Defense, and Special Def.
 * Night Shade/Seismic Toss
 * Psycho Shift
 * Recover
 * Counter/Toxic/Thunder Wave/Stealth Rock/Night Shade/Seismic Toss

The most suitable Tank set for Defense Form. Night Shade and Seismic Toss are interchangable. Night Shade doesn't hit Normal while Seismic Toss doesn't hit Ghost. Psycho Shift is your status healer and also hurts the opponent. It can easily give you an upperhand. Recover is your self heal move, a vital part to any tank. The last slot has a lot of possibilities. If you chose Night Shade, you can bring Counter to deal with Normal types, and Toxic can do the same. Thunder Wave helps with its lackluster speed, but gets overwritten by Psycho Shift. Stealth Rock is just to make it an annoyance to switch into. Night Shade or Seismic Toss is basically for the counterpart to your first move so you can cover all types if you want.

Attack Form
Say hello to the highest Attack and Special Atk. in the game. It also gains high speed and is a top tier Special, Physical, or Mixed sweeper.


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Pressure, EV's: 252 Special Atk., 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Psychic
 * Ice Beam
 * Thunderbolt
 * Shadow Ball

Generic special sweeper set. Just kill what you can, not much else. Other moves include Focus Blast and Hyper Beam.

Honestly, the other Forms aren't worth much of use. The standard form is pretty much a weaker Attack Form with higher defenses and the Speed Form is useless with lower Attack/Special Atk. and the Speed on Attack Deoxys outrunning most things short of Ninjask.

Ninjask
Ninjask holds the title of 2nd fastest Pokemon in the game, and was the fastest before Speed Deoxys. Ninjask just screams the role Baton Passer. It gains Speed Boost, an overall gimmicky ability that constantly boosts Speed, meaning it will eventually outrun even Speed Deoxys. It also learns Swords Dance, and has a good Attack to compliment it. Ninjask overall still holds the title of best Baton Passer. Still, Ninjask has low HP and Defenses, leaving it pretty easy to kill.


 * Baton Passer/Physical
 * Ability: Speed Boost, EV's: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * X-scissor/Substitute
 * Night Slash/Aerial Ace/Substitute
 * Swords Dance
 * Baton Pass

Pretty much a basic set. You can either switch into something with low damage or switch into something Sleeping, and use Swords Dance. You can also set up Subs to survive for atleast 3 turns, resulting in a 3 level boost in Speed. You can hurt quite a bit with your good Attack stat, so try to kill what you can and you'll get boosted Speed. Once your job is done, Baton Pass to something else and the next Pokemon will have a big Speed and Attack boost.

Shedinja
Shedinja is pretty much a one trick pony. It has 1 HP, no matter what, so a single hit will kill it. However, it has Wonder Guard, the trick to it, which makes it invulnerable to anything that isn't super effective or a field effect. So, it has immunities to Normal, Water, Eletric, Grass, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Psychic, Bug, Dragon, and Steel. While that may sound nice, it gets killed by Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Sandstorm, etc, as well as Burn and Poison. Overall, it has bad stats outside of a decent Attack and a so-so movepool, meaning that this gimmicky ability is outweighed by terrible stats.


 * Physical sweeper/wall
 * Ability: Wonder Guard, EV's: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, the rest doesn't have any use
 * X-scissor
 * Shadow Claw/Shadow Sneak/Sucker Punch
 * Toxic/Will-o-wisp
 * Substitute/Protect/Heal Block

Shedinja has a few tricks up its sleeve. The main issue with the set is its bad stats and no way to boost them. The best solution would be to Baton Pass off to it (Ninjask would suit it perfectly, ironically) so it has better Speed and Attack and wall/kill what you can. You may also want to make sure to Baton Pass it in with things like Trick Room and Taunt. X-scissor is your best STAB move and deals good damage. The next slot is pretty open to whatever you feel. Shadow Claw gains STAB bonuses and is generally powerful. Sucker Punch is conditional, but helps with the terrible Speed. Shadow Sneak is weak, but also gets around your Speed. The third slot is for some passive damage. Toxic deals the most damage but can't hurt Steel or Poison types. Will-o-wisp only doesn't hit Fire types and Pokemon with Water Veil (which no one really uses), but deals less damage and the Attack reduction is useless. The last slot is mainly to compensate for lack of defenses. Substitute costs no health at all and can be used to absorb Burn and Poison. Protect helps survive a little more and to block against the few types that hit it. Heal Block, finally, is mainly for walls and tanks like Blissey. Since Blissey can't hit with Seismic Toss, you can Heal Block it and deal as much as possible.

Darkrai
Darkai is straight up gimmicky. It really revolves around Sleep. It gains Dark Void, an 80% accurate sleep inducer and Bad Dreams, which chips off 1/8 health each turn on Sleeping foes. It also gains a high Special Atk. and Speed as well as a good move pool.


 * Special sweeper-ish
 * Ability: Bad Dreams, EV's: 252 Special Atk., 252 Speed
 * Dark Void
 * Dream Eater/Nasty Plot/Nightmare
 * Dark Pulse
 * Ice Beam

The strategy is pretty simple. Hit with Dark Void and kill. Bad Dreams does the equivalent of Toxic poisoning, so you can keep most things down like that. The second slot is mostly for Sleep-involved moves. Dream Eater hits at a solid 100 Power and lets you gain half the damage dealt. Nightmare adds an additional 1/4th health loss to Bad Dreams, meaning they'll lose 3/8 of their health each turn while sleeping. Nasty Plot is an easy way to get a gigantic Special Atk. You can boost it as much as you want vs. Sleeping foes, resulting it pretty easy sweeping. Dark Pulse is mainly for STAB and hits Ghost and Psychic. Ice Beam is just ever useful, and helps me get my boners over Ice moves.

Ludicolo
What the fuck is this? The stereotype Pokemon? Anyway, Ludicolo has some decent Special Atk. and Special Def., with the rest being average. This is just sort of a funky fun moveset which I sorta stole from Serebii, but I thought it looked cool nonetheless.


 * Rain Dancer
 * Ability: Rain Dish or Swift Swim, EV's: 252 Speed, rest is balanced between Special Atk./Special Def.
 * Rain Dance
 * Leech Seed
 * Toxic
 * Surf/Ice Beam

Basically, the goal is to slowly gain HP and knock off your opponents. You set up Rain Dance, hit them with Leech Seed and Toxic, and spam Surf. You'll gain Rain Dish and Leech Seed HP every turn while the foe loses HP from Leech Seed and Toxic. Swift Swim doesn't result in as big of a health gain per turn, but gives you an impressive speed with Rain Dance, allowing for first-turn hitting. Surf gets a boost from Rain Dance and STAB, but the overall set gets walled by Grass/Poisons (since they'll be immune to Leech Seed and Toxic). Ice Beam gets rid of that problem and hits some other things as well. Other moves include Giga Drain, Grass Knot, Energy Ball, and Snore.

Castform
With 3rd Gen comes two gigantic novelty Pokemon. Castform, is one of them. While it has pretty meh stats, it gains a big movepool with only one attack: Weather Ball. Weather Ball may have a crappy base power, but focuses on the weather conditions for a much larger power.


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Forecast, EV's: 252 Speed, 252 Special Atk., 4 HP
 * Hail
 * Sunny Day
 * Rain Dance
 * Weather Ball

The most obvious moveset. Basically, with Forecast and weather abilities, Weather Ball will gain a 2x boost (from STAB power and weather), except for Hail. With a base power of 100 on Water and Fire, and 75 on Hail, it isn't too shabby. Forecast also gives it some defensive merit, being able to switch types rapidly to make it hard to hit super effective (although Ground hits 2/3 of the types for super effective). Despite all the tricks, Castform has pretty low stats and won't see much usage.

Cherrim
Cherrim in itself is a rather meh Pokemon. Its stats are average and its move pool is pretty low. However, it can be an incredibly powerful 2v2 Pokemon with its overpowered ability, Flower Gift. With a set of 2v2 focused moves, it can easily help destroy things with ease.


 * 2v2 Support
 * Ability: Flower Gift, EV's: 252 Speed, rest between Defense, Special Def., and Special Atk.
 * Sunny Day
 * Solarbeam
 * Helping Hand/Synthesis
 * Aromatherapy

The basic strategy is easy. Use Sunny Day to boost the ally's Attack/Special Atk., use Aromatherapy for status healing, Solarbeam for some damage, and either Helping Hand for further attack boosts or Synthesis for a nice self heal with Sunny Day. This set works great with Fire Pokemon with Fire moves for huge damage or Pokemon with Chlorophyll. Regardless, it works with any sweeper.

Diagla
Diagla is one of the most awesome additions to Pokemon. It has great stats, great typing, and a great moveset. It only has two weakness, Fighting and Ground, no 4x weaknesses, and a boatload of resistences.


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Pressure, EV's: 252 Special Atk., 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Ice Beam
 * Earth Power
 * Draco Meteor/Roar of Time/Dragon Claw
 * Overheat/Aura Sphere

Pretty simple setup. Ice always takes care of a lot, so Ice Beam owns. Earth Power is the Special solution to Earthquake and is great. The third slot is for a STAB Dragon move. Draco Meteor and Roar of Time have massive power but drawbacks. Draco Meteor deals less damage but is simply overcome by switching, while Roar of Time deals a little more damage but gives you a Hyper Beam drawback. Dragon Claw is just the safer alternative to both despite significantly less power. Overheat and Aura Sphere cover Steel types. Overheat does more damage, but has a drawback and can't cover Normal types like Aura Sphere.

Heatran
Heatran is simply a strong Fire type Pokemon. What's noticable about it is two things: Flash Fire and Magma Storm. Flash Fire is shared by only a handful of Fire types and gives Heatran a Fire immunity and a boost to Fire moves when hit by one. Magma Storm is a move only Heatran can learn, which deals good damage (120 Power) but lacks good accuracy (70 accuracy). However, it traps the foe like Mean Look or Block, making it mutli-use and sealing the deal to the end of Steel, Grass, and Ice types.


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Flash Fire, EV's: 252 Special Atk., 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Magma Storm
 * Earth Power
 * Will-o-wisp
 * Hidden Power [Ice]/Dark Pulse/Dragon Pulse

Just sweep what you can, basically. Magma Storm is useful against anything, even if its not super effective, as a trapping move. Earth Power gets rid of Rock, Electric, Fire, and Poison. Will-o-wisp works well with Magma Storm to make a physical sweeper deal less damage and damage them, giving Heatran the ability to take and give a pounding. Hidden Power [Ice] is the only Ice move you can pick, Dark Pulse covers Ghost and Psychic, and Dragon Pulse hits Dragons and is resisted by few.

Shaymin
Shaymin has two forms, both of which have their specialties. While the Land Form has equal base stats, it still is geared for defense move-wise. It gains a self heal, status heal, and enough defense to make it workable. Sky Form is offensively geared, with good Special Atk. and Speed. Each one's abilities also gear it for a nice moveset as well. While each has many plus sides, it gains a limited move pool, giving it a downside.

Land Form
Not much else to say except with a defensive movepool and ability, a defensive moveset is the way to go.


 * Tank
 * Ability: Natural Cure, EV's: Even between Speed, Defense, Special Def., and Special Atk.
 * Sunny Day
 * Solarbeam
 * Synthesis
 * Aromatherapy

A Sunny Day/Tank setup. You lay down Sunny Day for 1-turn Solarbeam and boosted Synthesis, and play defensive and kill what you can offensive. Aromatherapy gets rid of harmful status conditions as well.

Sky Form
The Sky Form gains quite a nice benefit with Serene Grace. Shaymin's token move, Seed Flare, just works absolutely great with it. With Serene Grace, you can now gain an 80% chance to drop the foe's Special Def. Also, with Air Slash, you have a 60% chance to cause Flinching. Shaymin Sky Form also gains STAB for both of those.


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Serene Grace, EV's: 252 Special Atk., 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Seed Flare
 * Air Slash
 * Psychic
 * Hidden Power [Ice]/Ominous Wind/Toxic

Pretty much just Serene Grace abuse. Seed Flare can get a foe's Special Def. lowered most of the time and Air Slash can provide Flinching a decent amount of the time. Psychic may also lower Special Def. and is also one of the only diversities in Shaymin's move pool. The last slot has a few options. Hidden Power [Ice] is your only Ice move avaliable, and as you know, Ice hits a lot. Ominous Wind doesn't have great power, but you'll gain a boost to all your stats 20% of the time. Toxic is just for damage over time and not much else.

Dragonite
Dragonite was the top Dragon of Pokemon for 2 generations, mainly because it was the only one (except for Kingdra in 2nd Gen, which still wasn't that good). When the 3rd Gen came around, Dragonite was thrown into the realm of uselessness by Salamance, who has higher Attack and Special Atk. at the cost of some Special Def. as well as a better ability. What sets Dragonite appart is mainly its elemental Punch moves and such, like Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, etc. While Salamance gains Fang attacks, Punches deal more damage and are more accurate. Still, Dragonite is and always will be outclassed.


 * Physical sweeper
 * Ability: Inner Focus, EV's: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Dragon Rush/Dragon Claw
 * Earthquake
 * Ice Punch
 * Dragon Dance

Basical boost/sweep bar. Use Dragon Dance to make you deadlier and then kill what you can. Dragon Rush does more damage than Dragon Claw but is a lot less accurate. Other skill choices include Stone Edge, Waterfall, Superpower, and Brick Break.

Metagross
Metagross has great stats, including a big Attack and Defense, with only Speed being the noticably bad one. It also gains a diverse movepool and good typing.


 * Physical sweeper
 * Ability: Clear Body, EV's: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Defense
 * Zen Headbutt/Meteor Mash
 * Ice Punch
 * Brick Break/Hammer Arm
 * Earthquake/Thunderpunch

Basic physical sweeper. Zen Headbutt or Meteor Mash make for nice STAB, Ice Punch is pretty standard, Brick Break or Hammer Arm can take down Steel, Rock, Normal, and Dark. Earthquake is nice for Electric in paticular and can work on Rock. Thunderpunch, on the other hand, lets you take care of Water types.

Yanmega
Yanma in the past generations was pretty medicore, like most Bug-Flying types. They had 4x Rock weaknesses, a boatload of other Weaknesses and shallow movepools. Yanma's new evolved form, Yanmega, teeters away from the stereotype with a high Special Atk. and good abilities. Both its abilities are exceptional. Tinted Lens makes essentially negates 2x resistances, while Speed Boost boosts your Speed every turn. Its movepool isn't exceptional, but a step up from other Bug Pokemon. Either way, Yanmega is a nice addition to Bug Pokemon.


 * Special sweeper
 * Ability: Tinted Lens, EV's: 252 Special Atk., 252 Speed, 4 HP
 * Bug Buzz
 * Air Slash
 * Psychic/Giga Drain
 * Shadow Ball

Basically just special sweep. Since this pool isn't exactly expansive, Tinted Lens works great. Basically, just hit what you can and don't fret over 2x resistances.