The Breakdown
So, below is going to be how a standard 1v1 analysis should generally look like. It will have a lot in common with general analysis from other tiers, but also a lot thats different; I will be mentioning specifically some of the stuff that is particularly important for a 1v1 analysis. Again, all analyses follow this style of formatting, and this sample analysis is no exception. If you want to read the analysis without any of the breakdown points, check it out here. Additionally, a lot of the information will come from points from this excellent resource, but you'll be seeing how they're implemented into a real analysis here.
Another clarification: When you are writing your analysis, you will need to start out in bullet point format. This is simply because for the QC members (Quality Checkers, people who edit your analysis and make sure they're good quality), it is easier to edit when the information is separated into bullet point formatting. After 2 QC checks, you should revert to paragraph formatting, as most of the editing will be finished by then, and it will be more representative of the final product. Now, without further ado,
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[OVERVIEW]
The Overview is the natural starting point for any analysis. It is essentially the thesis statement of your analysis, every idea you want to get across compressed into one paragraph. It should focus on what exactly your Pokemon can do, as in what abilities does it possess, what matchups does it have, and what sets it apart from other Pokemon in general.
[Mega Gyarados is a dominant force in the 1v1 metagame.
] A short, sweet sentence to describe what a Pokemon is in the metagame is a good way to start out your analysis; flavor text is usually discouraged, but it helps break the ice and get into the nitty gritty. [After it Mega Evolves, Gyarados's ability becomes Mold Breaker, allowing it to ignore abilities such as Sturdy, Multiscale, and Magic Bounce from notable foes such as
Crustle, Dragonite, and Mega Sableye. Gyarados may also opt not to Mega Evolve, preserving its Water / Flying typing over Water / Dark, opening up an entire other range of Pokemon it can tank attacks from such as
Magearna and Sawk.
] Right off the bat, the writer discusses some of the Ability and Type qualities present in Mega Gyarados, describing exactly how they can be used to gain the advantage over certain Pokemon. To add on to that, listing examples of what Pokemon apply to a particular point is absolutely essential, so the reader can understand wholly how a quality of a Pokemon works in practice. The writer does an excellent job in describing how Mold Breaker is significant in the matchups against Crustle, Dragonite, and Mega Sableye, and how the ability to change its typing can aid against Magearna and Sawk. [Additionally, Mega Gyarados has an impressive movepool featuring usable STAB attacks in Waterfall and Crunch, good coverage options such as Outrage and Earthquake, anti-stall measures like Taunt, and also boosting moves, particularly Dragon Dance, which it is an exemplary user of. This is because of its great bulk paired with its high Attack stat, and despite its somewhat lackluster Speed, it's capable of outspeeding most Pokemon with proper investment after a boost.
] Next, Mega Gyarados' moves are touched upon, pointing out the significance and purpose of each of the relevant moves for Mega Gyarados; how Waterfall and Crunch are STABs, how Outrage and Earthquake serve as coverage, so on and so forth. You're welcome to include examples of what these moves hit, but if its covered later on in the analysis, its not entirely necessary [While it is indeed incredibly powerful, it's far from unstoppable, with bulky offensive Pokemon that have favorable type matchups like Tapu Lele, Mega Venusaur, and Mega Altaria countering it.
] Lastly, the writer points out some of the flaws and counters that the Pokemon in question possesses; in this case, how it can lose to certain bulky offense Pokemon. Mentioning what the Pokemon has trouble with is important, so the reader can understand the limitations of a Pokemon before they learn the hard way.
So, in summary, the Overview should contain:
- A very short description of what the Pokemon is in the 1v1 metagame
- The positive qualities of a Pokemon listed out, with examples of what said qualities are useful against
- What a Pokemon generally struggles with in the 1v1 metagame, mainly specific playstyles (hyper offense, stall), specific types (Fighting-types, Poison-types, common moves, if applicable (Taunt, Substitute), and common Pokemon, if they're a significant threat in the metagame (Mega Charizard X, Dragonite, basically anything A+ rank and up, as well as within top 10 usage.)
Try to avoid using specific base stats in the analysis, as well. Saying a Pokemon has 230 base Defense is only impressive to someone who already knows Pokemon, which is not the intended audience of an analysis. You can, however, break this rule if you are comparing the Speed stat, saying something like 'Ninjask's base 160 Speed lets it outspeed most of its opponents, even before Speed Boost'.
[SET]
The Set is arguably the most important part of the analysis. This is what proves what you said in the Overview was true, and it presents to the reader what an optimal version of the Pokemon in question looks like. An analysis can have more than one set, and usually this is determined if a Pokemon has two or more different strategies, utilizing different moves, EVs, abilities, and/or items, that both cover different sections of the metagame, with minimal overlap. Mega Gyarados only has one main set, but other strategies will be covered later on.
[name: Dragon Dance
] The name should present what the main theme of the set is, something like Dragon Dance, Firium Z, Bulky Offense, etc.
[move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Waterfall / Outrage
move 3: Crunch / Outrage / Earthquake / Stone Edge
move 4: Taunt / Outrage / Earthquake / Stone Edge
]
The four moves should be ordered from most important to least important. After listing the main move or moves (moves that the set simply cannot operate without), you can slash in different moves in the available moveslot, if there is space left for this. Usually these will be different coverage or utility moves, like the ones used in Move 3 and Move 4.
item: Gyaradosite
[ability: Intimidate
] A bit of a tidbit, but the ability of a Mega Evolution such as Mega Gyarados should always be the pre-mega ability.
nature: Adamant
evs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 28 Def / 44 SpD / 144 Spe
Generally the set portion is self explanatory, and as long as the format is followed, there will be no issues. However, be prepared to defend what your set can do in the following sections, because your analysis is saying that 'this is the most, or one of the most optimal strategies for this Pokemon. Simply listing a set without defending it isn't going to cut it.
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
This is where the writer covers the purpose of each move listed in the set, along with what they will be used against. When writing your analysis, be sure to list out the moves in the order they were presented in the Set section, and to not repeat a move description, even if it is repeated in the set.
[Dragon Dance boosts Mega Gyarados's Attack and Speed stats, allowing it to take on faster Pokemon better, notably beating certain variants of Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Metagross. Waterfall is Mega Gyarados's Water STAB move and hits Landorus-T, Donphan, Golem, and Crustle super effectively. It also has a very useful 20% chance to flinch. Crunch provides Mega Gyarados with a Dark-type STAB attack and hits Mega Metagross, Mega Slowbro, Meloetta, Mew, and Necrozma.
] Each time a move is listed, the writer gives a short description of what the move is and what it can be used against. Both aspects are important, so a reader can see for sure when a move should be used. Only mention Pokemon you can beat; its pointless to say you hit something super effectively if it can just tank it and then OHKO you the next turn. [Be wary of Thunder Punch variants of Mega Metagross, however, which beat this Mega Gyarados set.
] The writer also points out a specific variant of one of their chosen examples that will win against the analyzed Pokemon. You can also opt to simply exclude that variant from the examples of Pokemon you beat for the move (EX: This move will let you beat non-Flamethrower Genesect, specially defensive Mega Mawile, and Choice Scarf Porygon-Z) Note also that in order to check Mega Slowbro, Taunt must be used. In addition to the aforementioned coverage-dependent targets, Taunt can beat Mega Sableye and stop Pokemon like Zygarde and Crustle from using setup moves. Outrage hits equally as hard as Mega Gyarados's STAB attacks and provides valuable coverage against opposing Mega Gyarados, Dragonite, Zygarde, and Garchomp. In order to beat Zygarde, however, Mega Gyarados must have Taunt so that Zygarde can't use Coil. Earthquake can be used to beat most Magnezone and get a better matchup against Magearna and Mega Mawile. Stone Edge allows Gyarados to reliably beat Mega Charizard Y and most Mega Pinsir, and in the absence of Outrage, it is useful against Mega Charizard X and Dragonite.
The Moves section is generally a very formulaic section, and can be done easily if you just list out what the move does and what it beats. Avoid extremely intuitive or unnecessary information that serves only to drag out the section; cut straight to the point and list 2-4 Pokemon the move covers, you'll be able to go into more detail later. Choose examples that are high in either usage or the 1v1 Viability Rankings, as they will be the most important Pokemon that your analyzed Pokemon can cover.
You may also choose to 'Move Mention' a move. A Move Mention is a move that isn't quite good enough for the main set, but can work alongside it in specific niche scenarios. Therefore, it is kept out of the Set, but is mentioned at the bottom of the moves section. These are usually reserved for coverage moves that only beat very specific Pokemon, or status moves that are not very reliable or do not cover much.
Set Details
========
This section is where the writer explains the purpose of the EVs, as well as what their Items and Abilties (excluding Mega Stones). As stated before, this section is extremely important, due to the nature of 1v1, and how each set is optimized to beat as many Pokemon as possible in a 1v1 scenario. If you don't know why a Pokemon you are analyzing is EVed that way, you should seriously reconsider changing the set or EVs. An excellent way for confirming what a set does is by using the PS calculator, where you can plug in EVs and moves to see how it fares against opposing Pokemon. That can be found here.
[248 HP EVs help maximize Mega Gyarados's mixed bulk better than 252 HP EVs would. 28 Defense EVs with the given HP nearly guarantee that Mega Gyarados can avoid a 2HKO from Adamant Mega Charizard X's Outrage. Similarly, 44 SpD EVs with the given HP give Mega Gyarados an extremely favorable roll against Porygon-Z's Uproar, avoiding a 2HKO without investing many EVs.
] Here, the writer describes the specific Pokemon that they have EVed for. Again, if you don't know what your Pokemon is built for, listing random Pokemon you think you take isn't going to help, as the QC editors will check the set's EVs to see if what you're saying is true, and whether or not it can be further optimized. [144 Speed EVs allow Mega Gyarados to outspeed base Pokemon with 110 Speed like Mega Metagross and Mega Diancie after a Dragon Dance.
] The Speed EVs should always be designed around outspeeding specific speed tiers or Pokemon. EVing specifically to Speed creep 'common' sets is NOT allowed, as an opponent can simply choose to Speed creep you back, making the Speed EVs altogether unreliable in doing what they're supposed to do [The remainder of Mega Gyarados's EVs are placed into Attack to hit as hard as possible,
] take note of how, even though the Attack EVs held no specific purpose, they were clarified to be leftover EVs, so the reader understood that it isn't hitting a specific benchmark to beat a Pokemon [and for the same reason, an Adamant nature is used. Intimidate is Mega Gyarados's most viable pre-Mega ability, as it effectively increases Mega Gyarados's physical bulk by a factor of 1.5.
] The writer also covers the Pokemon's ability and nature. If the nature has any specific purpose in relation to a matchup, then that should be mentioned (i.e. running Jolly so you can outspeed a specific Pokemon, running Lightning Rod to beat Electric-type Pokemon like Zeraora)
In 1v1, every single EV investment in a stat should be covered, even if the EVs are 252/4/252. This is because the metagame is so optimized, most EV spreads will serve a specific purpose, even if it doesn't appear to be the case. For example, running 4 EVs on a Mew in its Special Defense may seem trivial and something you can pass over, but in actuality its necessary in order to avoid giving Download users such as Genesect a Special Attack boost. So, it's very important for a reader to know for sure whether or not an investment of EVs serves or purpose or does not, and even if it doesn't, that should be explicitly said.
Usage Tips
========
This section is used to describe generally how to play the Pokemon in question in the 1v1 tier. Since specific matchups have a much greater importance in 1v1 than in any other tier, specific examples will and should be stated when the way to win is different from other Pokemon. 50/50s against significantly good and/or common Pokemon will also be covered, so the reader knows how your opponent can fight back, and also what you can do in return to your opponent.
However, bear in mind that you don't need to describe the most basic parts of your Pokemon; specifically, avoid making points about something as simple as type matchup. This mostly applies to Hyper Offense, but something as simple as "use Fire-type moves on the Bug-type Pokemon" does not need to be included. Focus on information that only is known if you are familiar with the 1v1 metagame, and thus would not be know to anyone who needs to read an analysis on a 1v1 Pokemon.
However,
[Generally speaking, if the opposing Pokemon can outspeed Mega Gyarados, it's best to set up Dragon Dance before attacking with the appropriate move. However, if the opposing Pokemon is slower than Mega Gyarados, it is typically best to start attacking immediately, as this will yield greater damage in battles shorter than four turns.
] Starting out with a general way to play the Pokemon is the best way to start this section, before going in depth against specific archetypes and Pokemon [Against Donphan and other Counter users, it is advisable to use Dragon Dance twice before attacking with Waterfall so that Mega Gyarados can OHKO them, thus avoiding a potential Counter. If Waterfall is not being run, Outrage or Crunch will usually 2HKO them +1, but Counter must still be played around.
] After the general way to play is touched upon, then you should mention more and more specific matchups, the ones that are exceptions to the way the Pokemon is generally played, or need a slightly altered way to play against in order to win [If you end up in a seemingly unwinnable matchup and are running Waterfall, it is advisable to go for flinches, which can allow you to win through luck. This is not a strategy that should be relied upon, however.
] Naturally, 1v1 is a very RNG heavy metagame, with most matches being decided off of one crit or secondary effect. Therefore, while a strategy relying on a low chance should never be branded in Usage Tips as 'reliable', it should also be acknowledged as possible If Mega Gyarados is using Taunt, it is important to recognize which Pokemon to use it against and in what manner. Versus Crustle, Mega Gyarados should use Taunt immediately, set up Dragon Dance, and then KO with Waterfall. If Waterfall isn't being used, Mega Gyarados must play correctly by using Taunt only on turns where Crustle tries to set up Shell Smash and never attack on a turn on which Crustle uses Counter. Without Waterfall, this matchup is not favorable. Against Jumpluff, set up Dragon Dance first and follow up with Taunt. If Mega Gyarados is also using Crunch, to beat most Mega Slowbro, it should use Crunch until Slowbro opts to Mega Evolve, as Slowbro has the Oblivious ability, which Mold Breaker is ineffective against. When pitted against Zygarde, Mega Gyarados should use Taunt, set up Dragon Dance, and only then attack.
[Provided that Gyarados is using Earthquake, it may also check Magearna by using Earthquake (and not Mega Evolving) on turn one and following it up with a Taunt or additional Earthquake depending upon whether Magearna uses Iron Defense or Twinkle Tackle. Similarly, with Crunch, Mega Gyarados can outplay defensive Mew by setting up Dragon Dance on an incoming Will-O-Wisp or using Crunch on an incoming Taunt. After using Dragon Dance, Mega Gyarados should proceed to Taunt Mew.
] 50/50s, such as these here, should be elaborated on Pokemon who have either high usage or are ranked highly in the VR. Most Pokemon will have 50/50s against several Pokemon in the metagame, but it's frankly a waste of space and time to discuss all of them in one paragraph, considering you shouldn't be using the analyzed Pokemon against them in the first place. However, it is important for a reader to know how to play against very common Pokemon, as the matchup will happen often. Against most stall Pokemon not mentioned here, the standard play is to use Taunt on turn one. In some situations, it may be advantageous to not Mega Evolve, which preserves regular Gyarados's Water / Flying typing. This gives it a better shot at beating Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y, Greninja, and Sawk, although Gyarados must still be wary of Electric-type coverage.
In summary, Usage Tips should start off with a general sense of how to use the Pokemon in question, before diving into specific and important matchups that need a little more clarification. You should also spend time telling the reader how a Pokemon can play in 50/50 scenarios against very common and/or viable Pokemon, as well as what the Pokemon can do to make the best out of losing matchups, if they find themselves in that unfortunate circumstance.
Team Options
========
This section is devoted to the Pokemon that should be paired with the written Pokemon. This section should NOT be a reason why your favorite Pokemon works well with the analyzed Pokemon, and how you should always run the analyzed Pokemon with one other specific Pokemon. Team Options should be primarily describing different archetypes that work well with the analyzed Pokemon (bulky offense, stall, Poison-types, etc), followed by examples of Pokemon that fit that archetype. Only mention specific Pokemon if they synergize particularly well, or if there's no other Pokemon that fits their archetype (though that's not going to be the case often)
[Fast and hard-hitting Pokemon such as Naganadel, Greninja, and Choice Scarf Porygon-Z make for good teammates, as they can deal with various Pokemon that threaten Mega Gyarados like Mega Charizard Y, Tapu Lele, and Genesect, while Gyarados can cover up their weaknesses to Sturdy users. Jumpluff makes for a strong Mega Gyarados teammate, as it can deal with Magearna, Mega Metagross, Landorus-T, and certain variants of Mega Charizard Y and Tapu Lele. Meanwhile, Mega Gyarados can support Jumpluff by beating Pokemon that it struggles against such as Crustle, Heatran, and Naganadel.
] The writer here first mentions the archetype of 'fast and hard hitting Pokemon', then follows it up with Jumpluff, which is an incredibly unique Pokemon, stating what these types of Pokemon can beat to help the analyzed Pokemon. Alongside this, Pokemon that the analyzed Pokemon can beat to help the teammates are also mentioned, showing that the analyzed Pokemon can pull their weight [Pokemon with typings that have synergy with Mega Gyarados's make for good teammates. Grass- and Fire- type Pokemon in particular form a Fire / Water / Grass core with Mega Gyarados and cover its weaknesses to Electric- and Grass-type Pokemon. Examples of such Pokemon include Mega Venusaur, Mega Charizard X, and Victini.
] Covering two-Pokemon cores is also a good idea, such as Fire / Water / Grass and Dragon / Steel / Fairy.
So, in summary, Team Options should essentially include
-Archetypes and Pokemon that benefit the analyzed Pokemon, and what matchups they help with.
-How the analyzed Pokemon benefits their partners, in terms of matchups they can handle that their partner struggles with
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Other Options is a section dedicated to niche strategies, EV spreads, and moves that do not cover the large and relevant swath of the metagame that the main set covers, but can be fit on to teams to cover specific weaknesses or lure in Pokemon the analyzed Pokemon normally loses to. It is not a section where any move a writer feels like can be included. Before you think of including an other option, ask yourself this: Can this fit on my main set's strategy? Does this beat Pokemon that no other strategy can?
[A set utilizing Curse, Rest, Payback, and Ice Fang with an EV spread of 232 HP / 32 Atk / 244 Def and an Adamant nature can be used to take on Mega Metagross somewhat reliably by using Curse followed by Payback. It also beats Landorus-T and Zygarde. However, Curse is incompatible with Intimidate, significantly worsening Mega Gyarados's initial physical bulk and making it unable to beat most Mega Charizard X.
] Here, the writer gives a short summary of what the niche set can do that the main set struggles with, but also mentions the serious downsides. This is more important when listing full Other Option sets than moves, but be sure to list major downsides, when applicable, so the reader knows what you lose by running that strategy A set featuring Thunderbolt, Fire Blast, Ice Beam, and a filler move such as Hurricane or Taunt can be used to beat opposing Mega Gyarados, Zygarde, Landorus-T, Ferrothorn, Genesect, Kartana, Mega Scizor, Durant, Buzzwole, and Mega Heracross, providing outstanding utility. However, it is incredibly weak, leaving it as purely a lure set. Bounce may be used to beat Greninja, Mega Lopunny, Sawk, and Mega Heracross. It's generally not as useful as other coverage options, though.
[Mega Gyarados's EVs may be modified depending on what coverage it's using or team composition. Examples include outspeeding Timid Magnezone, outspeeding Greninja after a Dragon Dance, lowering Defense investment to avoid being 2HKOed by Crustle rather than Mega Charizard X, and increasing Special Defense investment to more reliably beat Porygon-Z.
] For a Pokemon as diverse and splashable as Mega Gyarados, suggesting that you can mess around EVs relatively freely is true for it, but not so much other Pokemon, that have to follow specific EV spreads to be viable. Only suggest a freeform investment if you know your Pokemon has plenty of inherent utility, otherwise its more relevant to list out a specific spread and what they can specifically do.
All in all, Other Options serves as the section to tell the reader neat little techs that can technically be used, but either isn't as good as the main spread or doesn't fit well in the moveset. Aim to include movesets that win against specific matchups that normally would beat you, or beat a smaller but relevant set of Pokemon that could be useful in aiding partners in a team.
Checks and Counters
===================
This section is very self explanatory; you list out different types, archetypes, and common or viable Pokemon that can beat the analyzed Pokemon
**Steel-type Pokemon**:
[Most Steel-types, notably including Mega Metagross, Genesect, Ferrothorn, Kartana, and Durant, can take care of Mega Gyarados in one way or another, generally as a result of their large Defense stats and super effective coverage.
] As with every section, it is necessary to list examples of what you're talking about, so the reader knows what the analyzed Pokemon is weak to explicitly.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: Fairy-types, by various means, can generally beat Mega Gyarados. Such Pokemon include Tapu Lele, Mega Altaria, Tapu Fini, Primarina, Tapu Bulu, and Mega Mawile.
**Physical Walls**: Physically defensive Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur, Mega Slowbro and Buzzwole can tank Mega Gyarados's attacks easily as a result of their high Defense and shrug off the damage with reliable recovery or KO Mega Gyarados back.
**Bulky Boosters**: Pokemon such as Mega Pinsir, Zeraora, and Kartana can all tank a hit from a +1 Mega Gyarados, and after a Swords Dance or Bulk Up, KO Mega Gyarados.
**Coverage-dependent Checks**: Pokemon that can use attacks that hit both regular and Mega Gyarados effectively, utilizing coverage combos such as Electric+Fighting or Electric+Grass, can beat Mega Gyarados. Such Pokemon include Sawk, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Lopunny, Genesect, and Durant.
Again, notice how both types of Pokemon (Fairy-types, Steel-types) and archetypes (Physical Wall, Bulky Boosters) are both covered with examples in the checks and counters section. Don't put Pokemon that you can 50/50 without explicitly saying that the analyzed Pokemon can 50/50 them.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[MaceMaster, 302951]]
- Quality checked by: [[charizard8888, 333554], [TDA, 276708], [Osra, 239997]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [CryoGyro, 331519]]
The credits section is to credit the QC members who quality check your post (check to make sure your information is correct, take out unecessary information, optimize EVs and plays, etc) and the GP members who check your grammar (makes sure terms and phrases follow the Smogon standards, as well as traditional grammatical rules), as well as yourself, the author
Usually the slots are empty, you need to manually add the credits for the right people (the username and User ID). You can find these through the URL to that person's account (For Example: https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tda.276708/ (Username and User ID))
To summarize, if you follow the formula of how to write a 1v1 analysis, you should have no problems. The biggest and most important points for a 1v1 analysis would be:
- Make sure your EVs are optimized. 252/252 can be optimized, but usually that's not the case. Support your set with calcs, showing that the set you are recommending as a main set is actually optimal and can beat the largest amount of threats possible
- Make sure to list plenty of examples in every section you can. It's important for new players to understand what exactly an author mean when they say something like 'bulky offense' or even something basic like 'Steel-types'. Seasoned players will understand what you mean, but that's not the intended audience.
- Don't assume that your player will do what you think they 'should' do. Take into account every option an opponent has at their disposal, play it out in a step-by-step process, and think if your opponent can ever win with any set of plays or moves. Don't oversell your Pokemon based on foregone conclusions.
By following these tips, and including as much relevant and important information as possible, you can make sure your analysis is a solid representation of the 1v1 metagame.
Again, if you want to reserve a 1v1 analysis, follow this link and just post 'reserving x for 1v1'. You can also check for what Pokemon are available on a link that's also available on the reservation thread. Right now, only Pokemon ranked B or above are available for analysis, but we're getting SUPER close to reaching the amount of Pokemon analyzed that would free up B- and below. Anyway, good luck with writing, show us your optimal strategies!
