Official Q & A Thread

[Strype McClaine]

Being awsome.
Seriously....
Be awsome.

Seriously seriously?
Consider this:
Mewtwo, Mew, lugia, Ho-oh, celibi, kyorge, grudon, rayquazzaa, jirachi,Deoxys, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Phieone, Manaphy, darikrai, shaiman, arcus
Are all not allowed

Wobbuffet, Latos, Latias...are....

you are given one of the best pairs of psychic powerhouses, to easily do this? You should have one with a soul dew.

Scarf/Band Garchomp
And Crestlea would not hinder your awesomeness in this...

The point, the game almost cheats against you, pulling out moves like fissure and the like with BONE CHILLING ACCURACY, and yet, with that little mini ban list it gives you, you are offered use of one of the greatest attackers ever, Latios. Use him. Use the BEST. Do not let your pride get in the way of the battle tower. In 1v1 serious games, I will use underpowered pokes and strategies for fun, and for unpredictability, here? Dont.

 

[Nick Atack]

Being awsome.
Seriously....
Be awsome.

Seriously seriously?
Consider this:
Mewtwo, Mew, lugia, Ho-oh, celibi, kyorge, grudon, rayquazzaa, jirachi,Deoxys, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Phieone, Manaphy, darikrai, shaiman, arcus
Are all not allowed

Wobbuffet, Latos, Latias...are....

you are given one of the best pairs of psychic powerhouses, to easily do this? You should have one with a soul dew.

Scarf/Band Garchomp
And Crestlea would not hinder your awesomeness in this...

The point, the game almost cheats against you, pulling out moves like fissure and the like with BONE CHILLING ACCURACY, and yet, with that little mini ban list it gives you, you are offered use of one of the greatest attackers ever, Latios. Use him. Use the BEST. Do not let your pride get in the way of the battle tower. In 1v1 serious games, I will use underpowered pokes and strategies for fun, and for unpredictability, here? Dont.

Good Idea!!! But what other Pokemons should I use?

 

[Strype McClaine]

Good Idea!!! But what other Pokemons should I use?

In the battle tower, I tend to want to hit hard, fast and not ask questions, so here are a few good ideas, yes, most of the following are OU pokes, if you use a choice item, pare your poke with a good wall, have both physical and special attackers, or maybe a mixed leftovers lifeorber.

Azelf- Fast, mean good for mixed or one of the two.
Blissey- Good special wall, lasts for ever, can calm mind bolt beam
Cresselia- Walls forever, good for stalling.
Dragonite- Good mixed attacker, Get a dragon dance in, hit the outrage and watch.
Dugtrio- Fast and hits hard, but not as good in the tower as others.
Dusknoir- See also, lives for ever.
Electrivire- Can attack in each direction with neigh prefect coverage of all, use with life orb
Garchomp- Put a scarf on it, hit the outrage and watch things die. Stabb dragon and stabbed Eqs kill
Gengar- Mean Fast, Special attacks only.
Gyarados- Adament, Dragon Dance, Waterfall, EQ, Taunt, Leftovers, Win
Heatran- Scarf me.
Hercross- Scarf me. Or other options
Infernape- Fast, fradgile, but it can do anything.
Jolteon- good team player
Lucario- Mixed, Physical, Or special, great coverage.
Machamp- NoGaurd means will always be fissured, but choice scarf dynamic punch is that good.
Metagross- Physical powerhouse, lives a long time,
Milotic- can live for ever
Porygon Z- Fast, special
Snorlax- Can live for ever, I recommend the curse lax with return and crunch
Spirittomb- good for stall gameing
Suicune- Just good
Togekiss- ONE OF THE BEST OPTIONS- Paraflinch togakiss, Bodyslam/T-wave + air slash
Tyranitar- big, mean, good power and defence, build your team around him if you use him.
Vaporion- Stalls, good attack, decent coverage, can live for ever
Weavvile- Fast and hits hard. Takes hits, like a wet paper bag, physical only please.
Weezing- Stall wall
Zapdos- Make it a mixed zapper for sake of coverage.

Now that I think things over...
Scarf-garchomp, Soul Dew Latios, and Paraflinch Togekiss, are likely one of your best 3 man teams...EVMAR

 

[Nick Atack]

Now that I think things over...
Scarf-garchomp, Soul Dew Latios, and Paraflinch Togekiss, are likely one of your best 3 man teams...EVMAR

:wtf: "Paraflinch"? What is that?

In the battle tower, I tend to want to hit hard, fast and not ask questions, so here are a few good ideas, yes, most of the following are OU pokes, if you use a choice item, pare your poke with a good wall, have both physical and special attackers, or maybe a mixed leftovers lifeorber.

Azelf- Fast, mean good for mixed or one of the two.
Blissey- Good special wall, lasts for ever, can calm mind bolt beam
Cresselia- Walls forever, good for stalling.
Dragonite- Good mixed attacker, Get a dragon dance in, hit the outrage and watch.
Dugtrio- Fast and hits hard, but not as good in the tower as others.
Dusknoir- See also, lives for ever.
Electrivire- Can attack in each direction with neigh prefect coverage of all, use with life orb
Garchomp- Put a scarf on it, hit the outrage and watch things die. Stabb dragon and stabbed Eqs kill
Gengar- Mean Fast, Special attacks only.
Gyarados- Adament, Dragon Dance, Waterfall, EQ, Taunt, Leftovers, Win
Heatran- Scarf me.
Hercross- Scarf me. Or other options
Infernape- Fast, fradgile, but it can do anything.
Jolteon- good team player
Lucario- Mixed, Physical, Or special, great coverage.
Machamp- NoGaurd means will always be fissured, but choice scarf dynamic punch is that good.
Metagross- Physical powerhouse, lives a long time,
Milotic- can live for ever
Porygon Z- Fast, special
Snorlax- Can live for ever, I recommend the curse lax with return and crunch
Spirittomb- good for stall gameing
Suicune- Just good
Togekiss- ONE OF THE BEST OPTIONS- Paraflinch togakiss, Bodyslam/T-wave + air slash
Tyranitar- big, mean, good power and defence, build your team around him if you use him.
Vaporion- Stalls, good attack, decent coverage, can live for ever
Weavvile- Fast and hits hard. Takes hits, like a wet paper bag, physical only please.
Weezing- Stall wall
Zapdos- Make it a mixed zapper for sake of coverage.

Now that I think things over...
Scarf-garchomp, Soul Dew Latios, and Paraflinch Togekiss, are likely one of your best 3 man teams...EVMAR

I appreciate that you would make that long of a list to answer my question....Thanks......

 

[Strype McClaine]

:wtf: "Paraflinch"? What is that?

I appreciate that you would make that long of a list to answer my question....Thanks......

Para flinch is what togakiss does best, though he can do an lot of different things.

Lets talk about togakiss for a moment!

You get base stats that look like this 85 50 95 120 115 80
Decent speed, Great special attack, Decent defenses.
You also get the choice of two good abilities.

Serene Grace This Pokémon's secondary effect chances are doubled.

Hustle Physical moves do 50% more damage at the cost of 20% Accuracy. Increases wild encounter rate with higher level Pokémon.

Hustle is cool, and makes up for that somewhat crappy physical attack, but ok. Serene grace is the ability to use.

Wrap your mind around this.
Paraflinch - Togekiss
Calm @ Leftovers
252 HP / 6 Def / 252 SpD

Body Slam / Thunder Wave
Air Slash
Roost
Aura Sphere / Nasty Plot / Substitute

Ok, lets talk ability then. You use Body slam/Thunder Wave to get parlisis on an enemy poke (-.5 speed, 25% of doing nothing). Body Slam can paralyze ground and electrics but it is kinda a pain to get onto a togekiss, Have to from one of the tutors in E/FR/LG, and it paralises at a 60% rate, but bare with me here.
After you paralyze the opponent, (remember 25% not doing anything) you hit Air Slash (30% of flinch, serene grace doubles to 60%) that brings you to 85% of the time you opponent, will be able to take no actions when you attack.

Now then, your last move, is your choice, I like aura sphere personally, and I would recommend trying to find one with Body Slam for the battle tower.

 

[Fox]

Metagross works well in the tower as well. Rotom too (ironicly)

 

[Strype McClaine]

Metagross works well in the tower as well. Rotom too (ironicly)

Oh metagross, is their nothing you can't do?

Dude, even your toy has a projectile coming out of each arm....
I love metagross....
Damn, Suddenly I predict drawing my self hugging a metagross in Western Civ today...

Edit: I just found this, this afternoon. Their was/is a thread on smogon about long running battle tower bouts, use the link, and each of the mini 3 man teams will send you to the build move list of each

DP Battle Tower TOP 30 Single Battle Records

1. Team Rocket Elite (US, 177) – Metagross, Gengar, Blissey (JAP, 188) – Metagross, Umbreon, Garchomp
2. Peterko (173) – Starmie, Garchomp, Snorlax
3.-4. valir (165) – Swellow, Weezing, Bronzong
3.-4. DougJustDoug (165) - Starmie, Tyaranitar, Garchomp
5. Gungnir85 (155) – Swellow, Gengar, Cresselia
6. Gardevoir (152) – Milotic, Metagross, Garchomp
7. Ashenlock (144) – Garchomp, Blissey, Latios
8. the dvd pirate (143) - Starmie, Blissey, Garchomp
9. theDesolator (140) – Heracross, Swellow, Blissey
10. Jumpman16 (129) – Starmie, Tyranitar, Garchomp
11. cmg474 (128) - Hippowdon, Garchomp, Metagross
12. LazyTrainerSteveO (116) - Slaking, Uxie + 1
13. Gouki (112*) – Azelf, Tyranitar, Garchomp
14. Beastmanboy (109) - Garchomp, Starmie, Heracross
15.-22. Expert Evan (105*) – Starmie, Tyranitar, Garchomp
15.-22. Nemesis (105*) – Garchomp, Tyranitar, Starmie
15.-22. Mr.Someone (105*) – Azelf, Garchomp, Gyarados
15.-22. SwinubToupée (105*) – Starmie, Tyranitar, Garchomp
15.-22. Mow (105*) – Sceptile, Scizor, Gardevoir
15.-22. [-AC-] (105*) - Starmie, Tyranitar, Garchomp
15.-22. Ulevo (105*) - Garchomp, Azelf, Latios
15.-22. Bone Ronin (105) – Forretress, Salamence, Snorlax
23.-24. Extrasensory (103) - Starmie, Lucario, Garchomp
23.-24. L E A V E1 (103) - Starmie, Tyranitar, Garchomp
25. CZ (100) – Gengar, Garchomp, Azelf
26. Kijin (98) – Garchomp, Starmie, Blissey
27. Giard (95) – Porygon-Z, Medicham, Tyranitar
28. Hrothgar (94) – Froslass, Metagross, Suicune
29. ottlite (92) - Starmie, Metagross, Garchomp
30.-34. Rubberbandman (91) – Garchomp, Metagross, Azelf
30.-34. nomargu46 (91) – Mismagius, Skarmory, Spiritomb
30.-34. akayfortyseven (91) – Rampardos, Empoleon, Dragonite
30.-34. Taylorz (91) – Salamence, Garchomp, Blissey

 

[Fox]

Banette outclasses Sc..erm..Rotom in everything except the ELEC type class so he might be a better DoubleStater ghost.

 

[Strype McClaine]

Banette outclasses Sc..erm..Rotom in everything except the ELEC type class so he might be a better DoubleStater ghost.

Ide like to stop, and marvel at Peterko's Snorlax

snorlax @ leftovers
(male, careful, thick fat, IVs - 30/31/29/x/31/28, 252 HP, 252 sD, 6 speed?)
- body slam
- crunch
- curse
- rest

HOLY COW
and he just found it in a box, leftover from the advance days
Why cant I luck up into finding something awesome in what I own?

As far as Rotom goes...I got raped by a rotom once....it was sad..on pbr...
It looked something like this

Rotom @Choice Scarf
Trick
Thunderbolt
Shadow Ball (I think? Maybe thunder-wave)
Will-o-Whisp

It is kinda really sad, considering...Rotom's Thunder bolt is off aprox 142.5 special A, due to it's stabb, Stronger than gengar's T-bolt, but not stronger shadow ball...it was a mean lead.

 

[PokeChamp]

Ide like to stop, and marvel at Peterko's Snorlax

snorlax @ leftovers
(male, careful, thick fat, IVs - 30/31/29/x/31/28, 252 HP, 252 sD, 6 speed?)
- body slam
- crunch
- curse
- rest

HOLY COW
and he just found it in a box, leftover from the advance days
Why cant I luck up into finding something awesome in what I own?

As far as Rotom goes...I got raped by a rotom once....it was sad..on pbr...
It looked something like this

Rotom @Choice Scarf
Trick
Thunderbolt
Shadow Ball (I think? Maybe thunder-wave)
Will-o-Whisp

It is kinda really sad, considering...Rotom's Thunder bolt is off aprox 142.5 special A, due to it's stabb, Stronger than gengar's T-bolt, but not stronger shadow ball...it was a mean lead.

the eeveelutions are always the ones that screw me over.

 

[PokeChamp]

I dont like shinies at all, bit I keep them because their rare. I gave awaw my shiny jap Dialga.

you ever use the shiny pkmn like that lanturn?

 

[Fox]

Gave it to my brother. He really wanted it, so I let him have it (I still have a shiny Arcanine hee hee)

 

[Topsy kretts]

can somebody help me better understand all these special ways of raising pokemon because i didnt know that somebodys lets say pikachu at lvl 100 could have 50 more attck and def then mines....and whats IV or EV training i bet its been answered in one of dese pages but i dont want to read trough 80 pages to find my answer......so can somebody help me or talk to me on aim and help me btter understand all the secrets of the game

 

[Fox]

I'll let you have this one Strype. You give better explinations than me.

 

[Strype McClaine]

can somebody help me better understand all these special ways of raising Pokemon because i didn't know that somebody's lets say pikachu at lvl 100 could have 50 more attack and def then mines....and whats IV or EV training i bet its been answered in one of dese pages but i don't want to read trough 80 pages to find my answer......so can somebody help me or talk to me on aim and help me better understand all the secrets of the game

I'll AIM this to you later, however, it works sort of like this.

Their are three things that can alter a Pokemon's stats beyond its basic stat distribution: Natures, EVs, and finely IVs.

Natures: Natures give the most profound impact and the "Easiest" To control, when breeding, and by far the easiest to even see. Under your pkmn description it will say <blank> nature, there are a total of 25 possible natures. 5 of these natures are neutral, however the other 20 give +10% to one stat and a -10% to a different stat. This can mean a lot for some certain pokes, such as a Garchomp who has a 130 base attack, +10% to that base attack, is an increase of 13 base points, which goes a long way into power.

I cant find the normal chart I post, but I like this one here.
When breeding if the mother (or ditto) is holding the ever stone, their is a 50% the nature will be passed on to the child. If hunting wild (and legends) havening a poke with the ability Synchronize in lead gives a 50% to encounter one with the same nature, again, good for legend hunting.

Next IVs: IVs, are one of the hidden aspects of the game, that is a little harder to explain, but bare with me. Every poke is born with a set of IVs one for each stat that goes from 0-31. If it is a random poke encounter (trainers, Legends, random pokes) the IVs are randomly rolled and are kept at that forever. Once the poke is created it cant change it's IVs. In breeding there is a set of percentages to how an IV can be passed on. Three IVs are randomly selected from the parents, and then passed to the child

HP: 8.02% chance of being inherited
Atk: 19.55% chance of being inherited
Def: 13.78% chance of being inherited
SpAtk: 19.55% chance of being inherited
SpDef: 19.55% chance of being inherited
Speed: 19.55% chance of being inherited

Why is this useful? Because of two things.
1) this might be the tactical advantage you need (just a little more damage, just a little more defense, a little more speed)
2) Hidden Power.
Hidden Power is a special move with variable power and a variable type that is based off of IVs, This can be very helpful giving something a typed move that it would normally not get (ex. A venusaur gaining an Ice Move)

It is determined as such:

The easiest way to discover the type of your Hidden Power is to start from zero, and:

1) Add 32 if the Special Defense IV is odd.
2) Add 16 if the Special Attack IV is odd.
3) Add 8 if the Speed IV is odd.
4) Add 4 if the Defense IV is odd.
5) Add 2 if the Attack IV is odd.
6) Add 1 if the HP IV is odd.

Depending on the resulting number, the type of your Hidden Power can be found using the following chart:

Between 0 and 4: Fighting
Between 5 and 8: Flying
Between 9 and 12: Poison
Between 13 and 16: Ground
Between 17 and 20: Rock
Between 21 and 25: Bug
Between 26 and 29: Ghost
Between 30 and 33: Steel
Between 34 and 37: Fire
Between 38 and 41: Water
Between 42 and 46: Grass
Between 47 and 50: Electric
Between 51 and 54: Psychic
Between 55 and 58: Ice
Between 59 and 62: Dragon
63: Dark

And it's power:

Start from zero. Then, for each IV, if the IV divided by two is an odd number (rounded down), i.e. IV = 31 or 30 (15), 27 or 26 (13), 23 or 22 (11), 19 or 18 (9), 15 or 14 (7), 11 or 10 (5), 7 or 6 (3), or 3 or 2 (1)

then:

1) Add 32 if the IV is the Special Defense IV.
2) Add 16 if the IV is the Special Attack IV.
3) Add 8 if the IV is the Speed IV.
4) Add 4 if the IV is the Defense IV.
5) Add 2 if the IV is the Attack IV.
6) Add 1 if the IV is the HP IV.

After finishing, multiply this number by 40, then divide the answer by 63, and round down. Finally, add 30 to this answer, and you have your Hidden Power base power.

Complicated sure, but use things like Serebii's IV calculator, and if you know the true IV's (say at lvl 100, using an IV battle) you can find out that way.

You can also try PsyPoke's Calculator, It's pretty good, and has a manual calibration option, very handy.

Finely EV's:
EVs are something that you have 100% control over. Thats right, you control EV's Completely.
Dimond Angel wrote the best guide here however, heres the down and dirty of it.
EV's allow total customization of your stats, up to a point.
Think of it like this, you have 510 EV points to spend, however you like, and the max you can put in a stat (and still get effect) is 252. At lvl 100, 4 EVs = 1 stat point, 252 EVs= 63 stat points.

Every time you KO a poke in game (not over wifi) you gain ev points, however much it gives. Just about every online pokedex has written down what effort points you gain per poke.

Example. Bidoof = 1hp , Staraptor 3 Attk, Blissey 3 Hp, ect ect ect

This sounds like alot, but it can be quickly speed up with items.
Macho Brace; Doubles the EVs Earned.
Power Weight: +4 HP EVs per KO
Power Bracer: +4 Attack EVs per KO
Power Belt: +4 Defense EVs per KO
Power Lens: +4 Special Attack EVs per KO
Power Band: +4 Special Defense EVs per KO
Power Anklet: +4 Speed EVs per KO

Pomeg Berry: Lowers Hit Points by 10
Kelpsy Berry: Lowers Attack by 10
Qualot Berry: Lowers Defense by 10
Hondew Berry: Lowers Special Attack by 10
Grepa Berry: Lowers Special Defense by 10
Tamato Berry: Lowers Speed by 10

The Vitamins Also give 10 Evs for the stat they are attached to up to 100.

Lastly, Pokrus
Pokerus is a virus that a poke can get that enhances it's ev growth, effectively doubling it.

So, in theory,
1 Magikarp = 1 speed EV
(1 Magikarp + 4 Speed (power item) ) * 2 (Pokerus) = 10 EV stat points

Makes that 252 look allot less daunting doesn't it? kill 25 Magikarp with a power item, kill one with out.

Read the guide I posted, it answers even more questions.


Now to bring this all together.

Formula

HP Stat = ((IV + 2 * Base + (EV/4)) * Level/100) + 10 + Level

Other Stats = [((IV + 2 * Base + (EV/4)) * Level/100) + 5] * Nature

When calculating the stats, (EV/4) is always rounded down.

This shows how it all comes together.

My sources used.
Dimond Angel's EV/IV guide
Bulbapedia, in general useful
Peekto and X-Act's Breeding Guide; A literal Textbook of Pokemon.