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Old 11-13-2012, 08:13 PM   #1
Emi
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Scraggy FF Analyses Thread

Well, for those of you who want to get into the FF Tier but do not have a clue on what to do for a Pokemon, never fear! Blaze, Kairne, and Kin are here with analyses!

This is how the thread will go. We will cover on FF Pokemon every three days, with either me, Kairne, or Kin making an analysis. If other people like Jeri or Celebi become well known, they might be able to make an analysis as well.

Current Analysis Writers: Blaze, Escalion

Analysis Recommended for Write-Ups:
Snover
Hippopotas
Machoke
Shiftry
Pikachu
Lileep
Butterfree
Dusclops
Wartortle
Torkoal
Cacturne
Swanna
Gastrodon
Shelgon
Dragonair
Lairon
Electrode
Basculin
Throh
Clamperl
Klefki
Diggersby
Frogadier
Sliggoo
Furfrou

Analysis Being Written Up:
Glaceon
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Last edited by Emi; 11-23-2013 at 10:45 PM.
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Old 09-01-2013, 02:37 AM   #2
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Mamoswine FF Analysis 1: Piloswine!

This is still a thing! Figure since some of you guys find Piloswine to be awesome I figured I would try to find as many ways to beat it.





Overview: Piloswine is one of the newcomers to arrive in the reincarnation of FF, and he has definitely made a splash in the newborn tier. One must not look too hard to see why this is the case. 100/100/60 bulk that can be backed up by Eviolite, a base 100 Attack that gives Piloswine a powerful priority move, two very good abilities in Snow Cloak and Thick Fat, and great Ice/Ground coverage. One can easily list off the many good things about Piloswine, as he can fill a wide gamut of roles, from physical wall-breaker to revenge killer to late-gate cleaner to even physical wall. So, then, what drawbacks does this mighty beast have? Well, for one, its quite slow, meaning it can be easy to revenge kill by a strong Water or Fighting type and it is quite susceptible to Will-O-Wisps from faster Ghosts. While 100 base Attack is very, very potent when backed by a Choice Band, it isn't nearly as powerful with only Eviolite, meaning Piloswine can have trouble breaking through dedicated physical walls. All in all, however, Piloswine is a Pokemon with very few faults that is rapidly becoming a favorite.

Choice Band Piloswine

Piloswine @ Choice Band
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Sp.Def
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -Sp. Atk)
Ability: Thick Fat / Snow Cloak
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash / Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
- Superpower

This is the current favorite set at the moment, and it is easy to see why. While in the higher tiers base 100 Attack seems skimpy, it's near god-like in FF, and with a Choice Band many teams will find it hard to defeat the pig in one on one combat. Earthquake is the most powerful move on this set, giving a very high power, high reliability move that Piloswine can use to batter opponents easily. The next move is a choice of Ice moves, and both are good choices. Icicle Crash is the first one because its more reliable than Icicle Spear and can punish slower walls such as Dusclops by flinching them into submission. Icicle Spear, however, can easily out-damage all the moves on this set and easily tears Substitutes apart, making Piloswine a better answer for Pokemon such as Combusken and Haunter. Ice Shard is a staple on this set because of its easy ability to allow Piloswine to snipe down faster attackers. Offensive teams need to worry about coming in on the move and being reduced to half health or lower, and Ice weak Pokemon are often OHKOd by the move. Superpower allows Piloswine to more easily deal with opposing Piloswine and Ice types while having a good amount of power against neutral opponents.

The EV spread maximizes bulk over speed, since Piloswine isn't terribly fast and would rather make use of the meaty HP stat that it has. One can go max Speed however to out-speed many walls and also Adamant Beartic and Cacturne, defeating them before they can Waterfall or Seed Bomb you. One can also use Stone Edge on the set if you still want hits on Ice types but don't want to lower your stats, but it is generally a far inferior option compared to Superpower. Stealth Rock is also another option. While being Choice locked doesn't exactly seem like the best option, Piloswine creates such offensive pressure that most opponents will switch out, allowing you to get a free Stealth Rock in and it might fool your opponent into thinking its a bulkier set.

Eviolite Bulky Piloswine

Piloswine @ Eviolite
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Nature: Impish (+Def, -Sp.Atk)
Ability: Thick Fat / Snow Cloak
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard

While the previous set aims to take advantage of all of Piloswine's power, this set works off of Piloswine's incredible bulk and uses it so that Piloswine can come in multiple times during a match and either set up Stealth Rock or make an opponent's physical sweeper come to a crashing halt. Stealth Rock is the obvious move because Piloswine can not only easily set it up at the beginning of the match but has the bulk to continue to do so multiple times a match. Earthquake allows Piloswine to take chunks out of the opponent quickly, and is especially good against physical Combusken or Mawile. Icicle Spear stops set-up sweepers who like to hide behind Substitutes and inflicts extra harm to them, forcing to them to either try to take out Piloswine or switch out. Ice Shard allows Piloswine to come in an beat weakened opponent's quickly, and also allows it to finish off dangerous threats after an Earthquake.

The bulk of this set cannot be ignored, as many Pokemon simply cannot get through this set easily. For example, Jolly Shelgon can only 4HKO Piloswine at +1, while Piloswine can 2HKO it back with Icicle Spear. Even the mighty Machoke can only manage a 3HKO with Dynamicpunch. Piloswine can survive a +1 Gear Grind from LO Klang and can finish it off with a combination of Earthquake and Ice Shard. You could put more of an emphasis on power than bulk, but it makes Piloswine more vulnerable to enemy assault and Piloswine can already deal with many threats with the power it has. Superpower is another option to deal with opposing Piloswine, but one either has to give up the ability to set up Rocks or revenge kill for the move.

Team Options:

The Banded set is quite the independent beast, as it does not need a lot of team support in order to work effectively. It does work extremely well in Hail and Sand teams, as the passive damage helps to wear down and weaken Eviolite walls that might try to take on Piloswine. Speaking of wearing down walls, entry hazards are a god-send for Piloswine as it allows Piloswine to easily 2HKO most of the walls that try to come in on it. While Piloswine is not especially weak to Stealth Rock, it does not like Spikes or Toxic Spikes and so a spinner can help get rid of those before they beat down Piloswine too much.

For the defensive set pairing Piloswine with a good special wall or tank will make for a powerful core that can be hard to deal with. Audino is an extremely good partner, as it can support Piloswine with Heal Bell and Wish. Rapid Spin support is again recommended as Spikes easily wears Piloswine out and makes it far more vulnerable than it needs to be. Baltoy is a good spinner since it can take some of the special attacks that come Piloswine's way while being nearly immune to hazards. Having Toxic Spikes on the field makes it so Piloswine can more easily defeat its opponents by sheer force, and both Pineco and Tentacool can easily lay these down while supporting Piloswine with more walling potential.

Other Options:

The problem with Piloswine is that there isn't many more options. While Piloswine does have some nice moves, it runs pretty barren on anything else. Endeavor is an option if you want to surprise the opponent, but relies on Focus Sash to work and doesn't capitalize on either of Piloswine's best traits. Light Screen is an interesting option that for some reason Piloswine gets, but it takes up a moveslot Piloswine generally needs and there are better Screeners in the tier than Piloswine.

Counters:

Piloswine is pretty hard to counter in all reality, since you have to know what kind of set it is running first. The Choice Band set is easily to revenge kill than to outright wall while the Eviolite set doesn't fare too well against common walls. It's also easiest to hit it on its special side since that is easily the weakest part of Piloswine. Bronzor, however, is easily the best Piloswine counter there is. It can even soak up hits from the Banded version with no problem, while dealing back Flash Cannon's to wear it down gradually. Mawile is another option, but must be wary of coming in on Earthquake since it will nearly wipe it out, but can do a lot of damage with Iron Head. Seismitoad has enough bulk to take an Earthquake and respond back with a Surf or Hydro Pump, easily washing away Piloswine. Misdreavus can take an Icicle Crash while also easily coming in on two of the moves of the Band set and Will-O-Wisp it, making it so that Piloswine is neutered for the rest of the match. Wartortle that is defensively EVed can take an Earthquake and retaliate with Scald, possibly 2HKOing Piloswine. Note that this becomes quite harder when entry hazards are on the field.

The defensive set is a lot more vulnerable to defensive Pokemon than the band set, as it does not contain nearly as much power and henceforth is unable to break through many of the walls in the tier. Will-O-Wisp will completely neuter Piloswine again, while strong set-up sweepers can set up and defeat the beast. Machoke is another interesting option against the defensive sets, since it can slam into Piloswine with Dynamicpunch. However, they will both do about the same to each other if Machoke isn't invested in Attack or Defense.

Last edited by Emi; 09-01-2013 at 04:10 AM.
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Old 09-11-2013, 10:32 AM   #3
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FF Analysis 2: Shedinja!

It can be dead before it even on the field and it can sweep your team if you're not prepared for it. It's Shedinja, the hollow shell that steals your soul!



Overview: Shedinja is one of the hidden gems of the FF metagame if you know how to use it, though using it is not without risk. It's Wonder Guard ability allows it to fulfill a useful niche as it makes him immune to 12 of the 17 types, including Foresight Normal and Fighting, making it the perfect Spin Blocker with plenty of switch-in opportunities against Pokémon such as Golduck, Wartortle and Seismitoad. It does however need a lot of support to remove it's main threats, and working with a nonexistent buff is not easy. But if the proper support is provided Shedinja has the potential to become either an effective defensive pivot, taking hits with it's ability and Baton Passing out to the appropriate counter, or an offensive sweeper with Swords Dance and priority to pick off a weakened team. It is however very limited in it's item choice with only two really useful options in Focus Sash and Lum Berry. Other items are either limiting, completely useless or downright harmful. In short, Shedinja is easy to use and deal with if you know it, but it's a bitch if you don't.

Swords Dance Shedinja

Shedinja @ Lum Berry / Focus Sash
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Adamant (+Atk / -SpA)
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak / Shadow Claw
- X-Scissor
- Protect / Will-O-Wisp

This is the current most used set within the FF metagame. With Shedinja's ability and base 90 attack and powerful STAB it is able to dent or kill most of the metagame after a Swords Dance boost which it is usually able to get up with a good switch-in. The power of this set lays in the it's priority move Shadow Sneak, which should almost always be chosen over Shadow Claw as the priority makes up for it's slow speed stat and a boosted, STAB Shadow Sneak is enough to pick off a weakened team in late game. Shadow Claw does provide extra power and boasts a high critical-hit ratio but for a late game sweeper the power is not really needed and often not preferred over being able to hit first with priority. X-scissor is Shedinja's most powerful STAB move and provides it with extra coverage against Pokémon immune and resistant to it's Ghost-moves such as Audino and Cacturne. The last slot on this set has several options. Protect and Will-O-Wisp are the most usefull for Shedinja with Protect enabling it to scout for moves while extending it's life and Will-O-Wisp enabling it to cripple attackers while avoiding Sucker Punch, which in itself is also an option. Sucker Punch provides a more powerful priority enabling it to hit Normal-types, but it can be a risk against status inducers. Toxic is also a viable option to wear down opponent and hit Fire-types. Shadow Claw can also be used in this slot to hit harder earlier in the game without losing out on priority.

The item to use on this set, or any Shedinja set, really depends on what kind of damage you expect it to take first. Focus Sash allows Shedinja to live one super effective attack, while Lum Berry allows it to live one Confusion inducing move, Will-O-Wisp or Toxic. EV's should speak for themselves. With 1 HP it's not needed to invest in anything other than attack and speed to maximize it's sweeping potential. A Jolly nature may also be an option to run with this set, it looses some if it's much needed power, but it allows Shedinja to outspeed a minimal speed Garbodor, which is one of it's biggest threats.

Defensive Pivot Shedinja

Shedinja @ Lum Berry / Focus Sash
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 Atk
IV: 0 Spe
Nature: Brave (+Atk / -Spe)
- Baton Pass
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak

Baton Pass is the most important move of this set. Pivot Shedinja should switch in on any Pokémon it can reliably take on thanks to it's ability Wonder Guard, forcing the opponent to switch out. It's 0 speed EV's and IV's and hindering nature then allow it nearly always Baton Pass last preventing the opponent from anticipating your switch and allowing you to bring in the appropriate counter. Will-O-Wisp is to cripple attackers and hit Pokémon immune to Shadow Sneak. Protect helps Shedinja scout for the opponents moves and Shadow Sneak allows it to finish off weakened foes and prevent it from becoming total Taunt bait.

Once again, the items are self-explanatory. They allow Shedinja to live either an attack or status. This set also does not have many other options. Sucker Punch can be used over Shadow Sneak for extra power, but is a big risk against status users. Finally Heal Block can be used over Protect to allow Shedinja to prevent the many stall abusers in this metagame from healing up and it prevents switch-ins such as Audino and Lickitung from doing their Cleric work.

Baton Pass Shedinja

Shedinja @ Lum Berry / Focus Sash
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 Atk
IV: 0 Spe
Nature: Brave (+Atk / -Spe)
- Baton Pass
- Hone Claws
- Agility
- Shadow Sneak

This set is all about Baton Passing some accuracy, power and speed to offensive teammates with less reliable moves or speed. The idea is to get in, get off a Hone Claws and/or Agility and Baton Pass out to the sweeper. A slow Baton Pass is needed for this to allow the incoming sweeper a safe switch-in, thus explaining the minimal EV investment en 0 speed IV's. Shadow Sneak is there to prevent Shedinja from becoming total Taunt bait and provides it with a priority move to make up for it's minimal speed.

As with the Pivot set, the items are self-explanatory. They allow Shedinja to live either an attack or status, though because of it's low speed and need to get of a boosting move and Baton Pass the Sash is the preferred option here. Furthermore, this set has only one other option to run. Sucker Punch can be used over Shadow Sneak for a more powerful, but less reliable, priority. Also note that even though Shedinja has access to Swords Dance, it is illegal to use it with a Baton Pass set, so Hone Claws and Agility are the only options there.

Team options:

All of Shedinja's sets need a lot of team support to be able to function properly. And all three sets need the same type of support as they really cannot work if there are hazards on the field as any hazard will kill Shedinja. Rapid Spin support is therefore mandatory. Wartortle is a good option for this as it is the most reliable spinner in the FF metagame due to it's bulk and access to foresight and can cover some of Shedinja weaknesses. Torkoal however is the preferred choice for the offensive set as it can spin and lay down Stealth Rock which Shedinja greatly appreciates. In that regard Garbodor is also a good teammate for it as it shares no weaknesses with Shedinja and can lay down Spikes. Finally Natu can also be used for both sets due to Magic Bounce preventing hazards from landing in the first place.

Another thing to keep in mind is weather. Hail and Sand mean death for Shedinja and in this weather infested metagame it is important to have a weather counter. Once again Wartortle can be used for this as it has access to Rain Dance. But for the offensive set a Sunny Day user may be a better option. Though offensive Shedinja also works great on a Sun team with Vulpix, being able to come in on Water and Ground attacks, but one has to be weary of the overall weaknesses of the team due to stacking weaknesses to Rock, Fire and/or Flying.

Finally it should be noted that the Baton Pass and Defensive Pivot sets may also benefit from Heal Bell / Aromatherapy support. Due to these sets being deliberately slow, they may get inflected by status before they Baton Pass out, with the status now preventing them from switching in again. Audino or Meganium are good options to provide this support depending on your team. If this support is present, the Focus Sash becomes the preferred item to run on these respective sets.

Other options:

Shedinja has quite a shallow movepool so there are no many different options. Toxic can be used over Will-O-Wisp to help it hinder Fire-types, but it often means death so it limits it's usefulness. Dig is also an option to hurt Steel-types and cover it's Rock and Fire weaknesses, but it brings the risk of a Flying-type switch-in which Shedinja does not appreciate. Grudge is an option to discourage Choice item users from attacking. Shedinja has access to Sunny Day itself too and might be an option so it can deal with Sand or Hail by itself if there is no other support for this, keep in mind thought that Shedinja cannot just recklessly switch into weather.

Counters:

As mentioned earlier, any entry hazard will instantly kill Shedinja and any Pokémon that can set up hazards can be a threat. This goes especially for Garbodor as it can set up Spikes and it can also switch in on Shedinja, killing it with Rocky Helmet recoil, Rock Blast or forces it out to set up Spikes again to prevent a new switch-in and on top of that Garbodor is able to survive a +2 X-scissor and Shadow Sneak. Any status wall such as Lickitung can also safely switch-in and kill it with Toxic as they are bulky enough, or immune, to survive an attack and have Shedinja consume it's Lum Berry if it carries one before the kill. Finally Shedinja has to be extremely careful with any Pokémon from one it's five weaknesses, those being Fire, Rock, Ghost, Dark and Flying. Steel-types also completely wall it and can carry Rock Blast to finish Shedinja off through his Focus Sash or have another Rock move at their disposal. Though in the end Shedinja has to watch out for everything with super effective moves and damaging weather or status.
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Old 11-21-2013, 12:02 PM   #4
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FF Analysis 3: Vulpix!



Overview: Vulpix is one of those Pokemon that exists for one reason and one reason only. Vulpix exists for the sole purpose of setting up Sun, and that's it. There is no other reason to use Vulpix. It's stats are abysmal, its movepool lacks in that key few moves that would even allow for other sets, and it has somewhat mediocre typing. Plus it was given a massive nerf with the inclusion of Gen VI. Weather abilities now act like their move counterparts, and this really puts pressure on Vulpix as it has difficulty distinguishing itself from a bulky Sun setter like Klefki for instance. Getting this Pokemon to shine is difficult, but Vulpix is one of the most important parts to a sun-based team.

The only set you will ever need(or want.)
Vulpix @ Eviolite
252 HP / 252 Sp.Def / 4 Def
Nature: Calm (+Sp.Def, - Atk)
Ability: Drought
-Fire Blast
-Will-o-Wisp / Toxic / Energy Ball
-Substitute
-Pain Split

Let's face it. Vulpix has really bad stats, so the only set you are going to get away with is a specially defensive set that tries to last longer than its foes. Fire Blast is the move of choice even though it has lower PP, because chances are you won't need all 8 PP anyways as you have either beaten the opposing weather or you have fainted. Plus, you need all the power you can get, and with STAB and Sun, this move with vastly outperform Flamethrower and will actually manage to dent foes. Substitute protects you from the slower status users, since its speed clocks in at base 65, which is the same as Glaceon. Pain Split is important as even invested Vulpix doesn't even have 300 HP, so you can maximize on bulk while not skimping on recovery, which gives Vulpix a bit of an edge over other Pain Split users and can really help it last. The last move slot is either going to one of two statuses, or Energy Ball. Will-O-Wisp is the preferred choice as it helps to cripple physical Pokemon, including Piloswine, and allows Vulpix to wear down Klefki. Toxic is another viable choice for wearing down walls in general, and its helps against Pokemon with some sort of recovery. Finally, Energy Ball might seem like an option to hit bulky-Water types, but it is generally too weak to hit anything other than Water/Ground types like Gastrodon and Seismitoad. And even then Gastrodon can shrug off a couple of Energy Balls.

Vulpix does have other moves, but they are either of questionable quality or can be used more effectively by other Pokemon. Baby-Doll Eyes is a +1 Attack lowering move, but even at -1 most physical attackers will do pretty good damage to Vulpix and Will-o-Wisp is arguably better. Hypnosis can put a Pokemon to sleep, but its accuracy is terrible and Vulpix won't be able to take advantage of the free turns.

Team Options:
Vulpix can't be considered a stand-alone Pokemon in the slightest. In fact, more than ever does Vulpix need support in order to stay alive, since it can't simply "suicide" once sun is up. Rapid Spin or Defog support is critical in order to keep Vulpix from being worn down by Stealth Rock or from being poisoned by Toxic Spikes. Torkoal and Shiftry are both good users of the two moves and are nicely compatible with Sun, with Torkoal getting a massive boost to its Fire type moves and Shiftry gaining a Chlorophyll speed boost. One may choose however to use Wartortle, since it can take Water moves for Vulpix and can deal with Ground and Rock types. Wish support is pretty vital as well, and since Vulpix doesn't have a lot of HP, a large Wish is a god-send for Vulpix. Wigglytuff's Wish is a near full heal for Vulpix, and Wigglytuff got buffed pretty nicely this generation, though one may choose to opt for Audino for more reliability. Both also have access to Heal Bell, which can save Vulpix from Toxic.

Since Vulpix will be setting up sun, Pokemon that can take advantage of it are a great way to round out a team. Chlorophyll Pokemon such as Shiftry and Tropius become deadly sweepers, while Fire types can become quite smashing! of walls! In addition to that, it might pay off to have a couple of those Pokemon also pack Sunny Day in order to keep the Sun going. Golduck can stop other weathers and is a pretty viable sweeper in its own right, not caring about Sun thanks to Cloud Nine. Finally, one might invest in the adorable little snookums that is Diglett to help against Hail.

Other Options:
Vulpix should be running Eviolite with pretty much no exceptions. One could run Air Balloon but its cuts into Vulpix's bulk so much its not worth it. One could try to go offensive with Vulpix, but its special attack won't break 200 without a Modest nature, making it really subpar in that respect. However, one could invest 116 Sp.Atk EVs for the pure purpose of 2HKOing physically defensive Gastrodon with Energy Ball after SR. Choice Specs is another option, but Vulpix won't live long enough to use it to any great use.

Checks and Counters:
While Vulpix has good team potential, many Pokemon in the tier can simply beat it 1-on-1 with little issue. Bulky Water types are easily the best counters for Vulpix, statusing it with Toxic and wearing it down with Scald. Gastrodon and Seismitoad can bash Vulpix with Earth Power, and Gastrodon has Recover, but Vulpix can run Energy Ball to dent both of them. Camerupt is another dangerous Pokemon for Vulpix, as it doesn't fear any of its offensive moves and laughs at Will-o-Wisp, while smiting her with Earth Power. Golduck can use Cloud Nine to get rid of Sun and smash Vulpix with Hydro Pump or Aqua Tail. Swanna can set up Rain and then use Hydration to keep itself from being statused, while Surf washes away Vulpix. Carbink easily set-ups on Vulpix, not worrying about Energy Ball all too much. The list goes on and on, just don't try to stop Vulpix with something like Beedrill and you will be fine.

Last edited by Emi; 11-23-2013 at 10:38 PM.
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