Strategy & Metagame What about LC Threats?

[skies]

I'd really love to just start small and prove my worth, what about an article about the top #10 threats in LC?

 

[Flora]

Chesnaught, we've taken a look at your LC posting history and we've kinda got mixed feelings. One analysis is decent while the other one seems in need of a lot of fixes (as per Briyella's words). Your sand thread doesn't contain much information, and your Pokebank changes thread lacks set descriptions and overall descriptions (though the "to-the-point" bullets are helpful). Dark Horse project... yours could have used more explanations like what blarajan said. Your other posts show okay insight, but you need to elaborate more overall. Frillish part was pretty good. You never got around to finishing your post in Fairy Type in XY Little Cup.

You appear to be very eager to write something and we appreciate the enthusiasm. It does seem like LC is one of your better tiers. Okay, let's do this. Type up two of the top ten threats and post it here. I'll then make a copy of your post (I'll probably copy+paste your text and post it myself) and I'll allow it to get feedback. If they're ok, then ok perhaps we're mistakened and you're actually good to go. If not, someone else would be better suited as of now and you should probably invest more time learning the tier.

 

[skies]

So just type the two? If so, then Gligar / Pawniard. Or did you want me to write up stuff about each? But, in all honesty those are the main at the moment, but Swirlix / Meditite are right behind those two. Some growing threats are also Feltchling and Carvanha (which has been, but with Fairies and priority and shit it just isn't so great, but deadly with Destiny Bond). Too prove it, I got reqs in LC:
link.

 

[Flora]

Chesnaught, yes, type up just two atm so other people can check the quality of your knowledge before your entire article gets written.

 

[skies]

Gligar:
Gligar - a Pokemon that was allowed back into the LC Metagame with the advent of a new generation is, just as last generation, amazing as ever. Gligar is one of the top threats in LC, having a plethora of support options from Knock Off, to Stealth Rock, to even Defog, it even has an offensive movepool with Acrobatics, STAB Earthquake, and Swords Dance. Gligar hits the coveted 19 Speed benchmark with full investment, backed up by unmatched bulk and a not-too-shabby base 75 Attack stat. But, Gligar's key selling point is its unpredictability, as it can go Offensive, Defensive, or even pure Support, using the options already listed. You may now be asking yourself: well, a lot of Pokemon have nice Speed and good offensives, some even have good bulk, why use Gligar? Well, the thing about Gligar is, if you aren't using one, you should question why you aren't, not why to use it. With the ability to wall many Fighting-types, bar Mienfoo, along with having an immunity to Poison or having its Attack lowered, along with having U-Turn to pivot and that delicious STAB Earthquake that destroys the tier, there really is no reason not to run it! Gligars main issue is lack of Special Bulk, which holds it back, along with its glaring 4x weakness to Ice, forcing it to switch out on even Swinub. However, despite one or two flaws, Gligar is seriously one of, if not best, best Pokemon in the entire tier, and should be considered and fit on just about every team you make.


1/2 will write up Pawniard when I get back from the store.

 

[skies]

Back~

Pawniard:
Last generation Pawniard was a somewhat overlooked Pokemon, with a crippling weakness to Fighting-type, and with the top threats being Scraggy, Mienfoo, and Timburr, Pawniard's case wasn't helped at all. However, this generation it received a massive buff: STAB Knock Off. This Knock Off is insanely powerful and will strip anything of their valuable Eviolites and Berry Juices. It also is one of the few Steel-types unaffected by the nerf to Steel, already resisting Ghost- and Dark-types. It is also one of the only Dark-types not weak to the newly introduced Fairy-types. Pawniard also has a total of 9 resistances, 2 immunities, and only three weaknesses, albeit common ones at that. Pawniard, along with Gligar can run a variety of sets, from Stealth Rock, Bulky Swords Dance, Offensive Swords Dance, or even a Scarf set to boost its Speed. Pawniard's other niche is Sucker Punch, which gives it a way to pick off weakened foes, or simply just hit very powerfully before the opposition can. Pawniard is one of the most fearsome Pokemon at the time - from great typing, great bulk, a plethora of moves, and the ability to easily beat a vast majority of the tier make Pawniard a Pokemon that fits well on most teams.

 

[Flora]

Chesnaught

Gligar's access to Baton Pass should be touched on, as it can use this to gain momentum on the turn a foe switches out (Gligar forces a lot of switches) and also to pass Swords Dance boosts to a teammate or serve as a link in a Baton Pass chain. U-turn can work for the same momentum purpose and has the advantage of also breaking Focus Sash and dealing damage, but it additionally has the downside of potentially being burned by Flame Body.

Pawniard's weakness to Fighting should be highlighted more, since Fighting has always been a rather domineering type in the tier, and moves like Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave that the Fighting-types get STAB from (Timburr and Croagunk, respectively) take Pawniard down easily while Pawniard can do nothing except try to get in a resisted Sucker Punch before fainting. Pawniard's Defiant ability also should never be unmentioned, as it allows Pawniard a free +2 Attack if it happens to take the stat drop from Defog, Sticky Web, or any other move with a stat-decreasing effect. This is a huge reason why Pawniard is such a threatening force and leaving it out of any informative thread or article on Pawniard would be criminal.


[...] I do think there should be somewhat more "meat on the bones" to describe the things about the Pokemon in competitive that aren't just their obvious advantages. I'm hoping that he can add an edge to this piece that makes it a different read from other informative writings on the same subject, particularly because (just with these examples) Gligar was included in mine and Flame Emblem's article last issue and the same information is just being repeated from that, and I'm also doing a spotlight article on Pawniard in LC this issue, and from what I've already written, this is just repeating what I've already posted in my WIP there.

Pawniard description needs to include how the Steel nerf makes it easier to spam Knock Off, and how the popularity of Berry Juice makes it much easier to OHKO things (Chesnaught's section)

Basically, your lack of depth / "meat on the bones" has hurt your credentials. This is all simple stuff even I can research a small bit and write about. Honestly, I didn't expect you to type them out so fast; I thought you'd take your time with this. But if you're going to rush things out and not take your time to carefully analyze your topic, I'm just not so sure if we should have you on board. The fact that Gligar has been talked about in the last issue and Pawniard is getting a spotlight in this issue (my bad about that one, I probably should've said in advance since you had no idea... I just didn't think about you writing Pawniard) may not be related to your knowledge, but avoiding repeated information is something we also would like to do. So, I'm not going to approve this, especially when we have more capable writers at the time being.

Some more things you could've done are: more specific interactions with another Pokemon (either like a teammate or able to completely 1v1 another threat), (more) switch-in opportunities (like against specific Pokemon or on the revenge kill), and how to fit the Pokemon on your team.

Here, before you make another thread, I want you to get some... let's say, "achievements" ok? Get a good amount of analyses on-site/ready to upload (10+ perhaps?). For whatever tier, they should help bolster your weight and help you learn what this site is looking for. Post around more in the Competitive area and make those posts more well thought-out and better explained. This will all take time and you have to spend them carefully; do not rush your work out please. If you don't think you'll be doing any of that, then that's fine, it's up to you. You having reached reqs is cool and all, but learning how to apply your knowledge to writing is a whole other monster you should probably get used to before writing an article. I don't mean any of what I said in a harsh tone; I just want you to be the best you can be. So with that said, good luck out there!