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In Doubles, whats a good partner for forming an offensive core with Special Mega-Salamence?
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Protect
I was wondering since I'm not very experience with doubles and I haven't been able to find an analysis on Battle Spot Doubles Mega Salamence to help me learn.
Tapu Fini defensively talking / Tapu Koko offensively.

Also, Salamence gets Tailwind. That could be a very useful tool for doubles. You might try this mixed set:
@ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 60 Atk / 196 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Double-Edge
- Hyper Voice
- Protect
- Tailwind
 
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Tapu Fini defensively talking / Tapu Koko offensively.

Also, Salamence gets Tailwind. That could be a very useful tool for doubles. You might try this mixed set:
@ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 60 Atk / 196 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Double-Edge
- Hyper Voice
- Protect
- Tailwind
Is Tapu Koko a good offensive partner for both the set I listed and the one you listed?
 
In Doubles, whats a good partner for forming an offensive core with Special Mega-Salamence?
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Protect
I was wondering since I'm not very experience with doubles and I haven't been able to find an analysis on Battle Spot Doubles Mega Salamence to help me learn.
Tapu Koko, as mentioned, and I've also seen Liepard and Jolteon used.
Liepard runs Fake Out, Encore, Fake Tears, and usually Foul Play and basically runs as a disruptor that buys it free turns via Fake Out and Encore. Fake Tears is used to crush walls and compensate for Liepards non existent offense.
Jolteon basically spams Fake Tears, while softening Water types, specifically Milotic who completely shits on Leipard + Mence.
Also I wouldn't bother with Dragon Pulse at all, the damage output is outright depressing. Draco Meteor however, actually kills the things you'd want to hit. Calcs:

252 SpA Mega Salamence Dragon Pulse vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 158-188 (85.8 - 102.1%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Mega Salamence Dragon Pulse vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Kommo-o: 134-158 (88.7 - 104.6%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Mega Salamence Dragon Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Hydreigon: 150-176 (89.8 - 105.3%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Mega Salamence Dragon Pulse vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Salamence: 152-180 (88.8 - 105.2%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

Rule 1 of Doubles: Don't roll dice unless you absolutely have to.

-------------

252 SpA Mega Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 240-284 (130.4 - 154.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Kommo-o: 204-240 (135 - 158.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Hydreigon: 228-270 (136.5 - 161.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mega Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Salamence: 230-272 (134.5 - 159%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Rule 2 of doubles: Overkill is a myth perpetuated by the smoldering craters of my enemies.

-------------

Yes, Kommo-o has the same special bulk as MegaMence which is almost equal to Garchomp, I too learned something new today.

Also, for Kommo-o specifically:
252 SpA Aerilate Mega Salamence Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Kommo-o: 126-150 (83.4 - 99.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Kommo-o Clanging Scales vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Salamence: 188-224 (109.9 - 130.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

cant say your calc has 252 Atk / 0 Sp. Atk for Kommo-o's Modest "Special Attacker" set, please fix before I forget <3


Jolteon however is now 99.9999999999999% irrelevent now that Koko exists. And was 98% irrelevent prior to S&M.
I guess it can annoy Koko and use its terrain against it rather comically? I used Fake Tears Jolteon last gen and went 11-0 before they shut off the servers.
Lando-T is also good if you have absolutely zero fear or concept of Ice moves and Wide Guard, because spamming Aerialate Hyper Voice + EQ is just plain fun and even Zapdos cringes over Rock Slide coverage.
Mence + Koko + Celesteela sounds fun tbh. Just be really careful around Hydreigon, it loves Scarf and can hit all three very hard.

Now, as a general question to the board:

1) Koko is kind of a bitch, and beyond Venusaur (Mega / Chlorosaur) I find it obnoxious to kill without taking egregious damage. While this is a good thing for the magnificent beast that is Koko, it is a bad thing for me due to the fact that other people can also use it too, so I ask: popular methods to kill it if I'm not running a Venusaur? XD
Togedemaru really doesn't do much beyond annoy it. AV Chompy is funny but Tectonic Rage is too good to give up.

2) Is Excadrill outside of Sand a dumb idea? Scarf and AV Mold Breaker looks rather fun but choice locks and medium Speed + no Protect is also painful. Yes this is completely related to #1. Usage stats are less than 5% each on AV and Scarf.
 
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cant say

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I heard this was for cart though. I meant specifically on Pokemon Showdown, not on the 3DS.
Boe's stats site also has the Showdown stats, you've just gotta scroll for them in the dropdown.

PS stats haven't updated since February though because of an ongoing issue, so you won't find recent stats in either links
 
Boe's stats site also has the Showdown stats, you've just gotta scroll for them in the dropdown.

PS stats haven't updated since February though because of an ongoing issue, so you won't find recent stats in either links
You can actually view the March stats in the second link, although the April stats aren't up yet.
 
I thought HA Zapdos & Moltres were illegal on the BSS since they're only available via the Gen I VC games - so why do I see a sizable percentage for their use on the PGL usage stats page? Does the hack-checker not check for illegal abilities, and just for illegal moves?
 
I thought HA Zapdos & Moltres were illegal on the BSS since they're only available via the Gen I VC games - so why do I see a sizable percentage for their use on the PGL usage stats page? Does the hack-checker not check for illegal abilities, and just for illegal moves?
They are available with a pentagon from Gen VI events.
 

Thick Fat Azumarill

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I thought HA Zapdos & Moltres were illegal on the BSS since they're only available via the Gen I VC games - so why do I see a sizable percentage for their use on the PGL usage stats page? Does the hack-checker not check for illegal abilities, and just for illegal moves?
HA Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno were released on gen 6 games as events.

Edit: Greninja'd
 
Protect can fail on the first turn if it's the last move to be used that turn; so if the opponent also uses Protect and they're faster, then yours will fail. This also applies to switches. Protect is 100% guaranteed after a failure so it's generally viewed as a net positive if either of those things happens. Moves like Wide Guard and Crafty Shield also affect Protect's success rate even though they have a consistent 100% success rate themselves, so Protect has a chance to fail if you used a shield-type move in the last turn. As far as I'm aware, Protect should have 100% successful under any other battle conditions unless there's something obscure that I haven't thought of off the top of my head.

e: a handful of moves are capable of hitting through Protect - most common are Z-moves but Feint, Phantom Force, Shadow Force and Hoopa's two signature moves can also do it :)
Thanks for the answer. When I rethink about it, I was probably the last to move each time it failed.
I know about the moves which can past through protect however, I always forget the Z-moves.
 

Hulavuta

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Can anyone tell me what pokemon would benefit from the terrain seeds or if they even have a practical use ?
There's one use for a Terrain seed I've found, but let me first premise that this is 100% entirely a gimmick. maxgamer1 made a team that used Psychic Seed on Curse Hippowdon, boosting Hippowdon's Special Defense by one and then using Curse to boost the other stats. The set is basically Curse / Slack Off / Earthquake / Rock Tomb. Use it to finish out the game when none of your opponent's remaining Pokemon can take out Hippowdon.

Some issues with this gimmick are that A: You have to bring Tapu Lele or else the item is pretty much wasted (You can swap it for Misty Seed and then use Tapu Fini which might have better synergy as well, especially with blocking status). B: Hippowdon has to eschew all its main status moves like Yawn and Whirlwind and such which can make things difficult for it in terms of doing its old job as a wall. C: If you use it defensively you have to make sure Psychic Terrain is not up yet or else you blow your Seed early (this might not be as much of a problem if your opponent doesn't have any Special Attackers).

Still, it's been effective for me a few times. In general, though you have more control over when Seeds activate, I think most Pokemon would rather use the Kee or Maranga berries since they're a bit easier to activate.
 

cant say

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Can anyone tell me what pokemon would benefit from the terrain seeds or if they even have a practical use ?
There's one use for a Terrain seed I've found, but let me first premise that this is 100% entirely a gimmick. maxgamer1 made a team that used Psychic Seed on Curse Hippowdon, boosting Hippowdon's Special Defense by one and then using Curse to boost the other stats. The set is basically Curse / Slack Off / Earthquake / Rock Tomb. Use it to finish out the game when none of your opponent's remaining Pokemon can take out Hippowdon.

Some issues with this gimmick are that A: You have to bring Tapu Lele or else the item is pretty much wasted (You can swap it for Misty Seed and then use Tapu Fini which might have better synergy as well, especially with blocking status). B: Hippowdon has to eschew all its main status moves like Yawn and Whirlwind and such which can make things difficult for it in terms of doing its old job as a wall. C: If you use it defensively you have to make sure Psychic Terrain is not up yet or else you blow your Seed early (this might not be as much of a problem if your opponent doesn't have any Special Attackers).

Still, it's been effective for me a few times. In general, though you have more control over when Seeds activate, I think most Pokemon would rather use the Kee or Maranga berries since they're a bit easier to activate.
To add onto this; I used Electric Seed Clefable with a dual screens Koko lead so I didn't have to get hit to proc the boost like Kee Berry does. Really similar to the Lele + Hippo strat Hula mentioned. I think the terrain seeds will always be gimmicks in Singles though because there are so many better items. In Doubles they're a little easier to pull off. Unburden Drifblim with Tailwind and Thief Arcanine are examples of viable Psychic Seed users there.
 
There's one use for a Terrain seed I've found, but let me first premise that this is 100% entirely a gimmick. maxgamer1 made a team that used Psychic Seed on Curse Hippowdon, boosting Hippowdon's Special Defense by one and then using Curse to boost the other stats. The set is basically Curse / Slack Off / Earthquake / Rock Tomb. Use it to finish out the game when none of your opponent's remaining Pokemon can take out Hippowdon.

Some issues with this gimmick are that A: You have to bring Tapu Lele or else the item is pretty much wasted (You can swap it for Misty Seed and then use Tapu Fini which might have better synergy as well, especially with blocking status). B: Hippowdon has to eschew all its main status moves like Yawn and Whirlwind and such which can make things difficult for it in terms of doing its old job as a wall. C: If you use it defensively you have to make sure Psychic Terrain is not up yet or else you blow your Seed early (this might not be as much of a problem if your opponent doesn't have any Special Attackers).

Still, it's been effective for me a few times. In general, though you have more control over when Seeds activate, I think most Pokemon would rather use the Kee or Maranga berries since they're a bit easier to activate.
To add onto this; I used Electric Seed Clefable with a dual screens Koko lead so I didn't have to get hit to proc the boost like Kee Berry does. Really similar to the Lele + Hippo strat Hula mentioned. I think the terrain seeds will always be gimmicks in Singles though because there are so many better items. In Doubles they're a little easier to pull off. Unburden Drifblim with Tailwind and Thief Arcanine are examples of viable Psychic Seed users there.
Thanks for the feedback ! I know it has more applications in Doubles, but I was curious to know if it can be used successfully in Singles to. Still gonna try to see what sets I could make around them, but I'll definitely keep those two in mind as well.
 
Which rotom form do yall think is currently the best? And I cant decide on natures. Bold, modest or calm for this gen's battle spots
 
Which rotom form do yall think is currently the best? And I cant decide on natures. Bold, modest or calm for this gen's battle spots
A toss up between Heat and Wash. Heat is slighly more popular but I personally think Wash is more splashable. Rotom-Heat is usually strictly offensive as it can't pivot around like Rotom-Wash due to Stealth Rock being more common this gen. Moreover, both formes are generally running Modest as in this fast-paced format you'd rather knock stuff out instead of wall it, hence why Waterium-Z & Firium-Z are popular held items for both Rotom-Wash and Heat respectively.

You can't really say which one is better as they check and beat different things so depending of your team's composition one could perform better than the other and vice-versa.
 
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A toss up between Heat and Wash. Heat is slighly more popular but I personally think Wash if more splashable. Rotom-Heat is usually strictly offensive as it can't pivot around like Rotom-Wash due to Stealth Rock being more common this gen. Moreover, both formes are generally running Modest as in this fast-paced format you'd rather knock stuff out instead of wall it, hence why Waterium-Z & Firium-Z are popular held items for both Rotom-Wash and Heat respectively.

You can't really say which one is better as they check and beat different things so depending of your team's composition one could perform better than the other and vice-versa.
Is it better to be more specially defensive or defensive now a days you think?
 
Is it better to be more specially defensive or defensive now a days you think?
Back in gen 6 I'd 100% answer physically defensive, but gen7 has shifted slighly towards a specially offensive metagame so I'm not sure. I honestly think it's best to be equally prepared for both special and physical mons.
 
I have a question about Nidoking. Most of the time, I see sets with Sheer force and Life orb. For a reason, the sheer force + Life orb is very good. However, I was wondering if a set rellying on bulldoze, and without Sheer force, could be viable. By that I mean, you use bulldoze on the switch in, lowering the speed of the opponent's new pokémon. That way, Nidoking could oustpeed Pokémons up to 127 base speed (non-scarfed) and net some possible KO. (Sheer force removes the speed lowering effect of bulldoze)
 

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I have a question about Nidoking. Most of the time, I see sets with Sheer force and Life orb. For a reason, the sheer force + Life orb is very good. However, I was wondering if a set rellying on bulldoze, and without Sheer force, could be viable. By that I mean, you use bulldoze on the switch in, lowering the speed of the opponent's new pokémon. That way, Nidoking could oustpeed Pokémons up to 127 base speed (non-scarfed) and net some possible KO. (Sheer force removes the speed lowering effect of bulldoze)
Honestly, you just lose an absurd amount of power by not running Sheer Force. If you're going to predict a switch-in and Bulldoze, you're probably better off running Sheer Force with Sub and then Sub on the expected switch and use a Sheer Force boosted attack to kill the switch.
 

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