If you read the Growlithe build I posted last week, you'll recall I promised to post with it a good partner for Doubles. Here it is, the build for a Luxray!
Volt Switch
Helping Hand
Snarl
Thunder Wave
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Modest
IVs: 31 HP, 31 Defense, 31 Sp. Defense (if Gen VI, add in Sp. Attack and Speed)
EVs: 252 HP, 128 Defense, 128 Sp. Defense
Look familiar? Yes, it is essentially the same as the Arcanine, just modified for Luxray. But that's what makes it such a great partner for him. You can double up the stat drops with this duo. At the start of battle: both enemy Pokemon have their Attack dropped 2 stages just from the Intimidate. Snarl hits both targets, so if you have Luxray and Arcanine use it, both opposing Pokemon have their Sp. Attack dropped two stages. Is a Pokemon too fast? Paralyze it with Thunder Wave. Volt Switch is a great way to switch out, dealing decent damage and getting to use another Intimidate at the same time (if there was a Fire-type switch out move I'd have said that for Arcanine). If you're not feeling Thunder Wave or Helping Hand, perhaps Swagger would be a good choice for you, Confuse them and give them back their original power. As for items, I have Arcanine hold the Sitrus Berry and Luxray hold the Leftovers, since two Pokemon cannot hold the same item in the Battle Subway/Maison.
You might think "what about Pokemon immune to stat drops, that have the ability Hyper Cutter, Clear Body, or White Smoke?" Well, if you look them up, you'll see the vast majority of them are weak to either Fire or Electric type attacks. In fact, only Gliscor, Torkoal, and Regirock are not weak to either type attack (and Carbink in Gen VI, but he's more defensive anyhow, no need to lower his offensive stats). Use whichever move is appropriate, have the other Helping Hand it, and it shouldn't be much more of a problem for you. And even still, the stat decrease from Burn will still apply. And the bulk of all Pokemon with these Abilities are slow so you wouldn't have to really choose between Burn or Paralyze, Burn is typically the better option (I'd say Paralyze Tentacruel, he's the only one with real Speed). Gliscor is the only one that poses a real threat given his Attack, Speed, and immunity to Thunder Wave, but he has low Sp. Defense and takes normal damage from Flame Burst. Helping Hand the Flame Burst and the problem should go down pretty quick. Contrary is another ability that poses a problem, but again, the only ones that the duo can't take out are really Malamar & DW Shuckle, and that can be dealt with through a nice Burn.
You have to breed for Helping Hand, but if your Arcanine is male, you can use that as your father and breed quite easily. A father-son duo to best the rest!
Just like the Arcanine, the Luxray is easily adapted to Single Battles, just replace Helping Hand with another move, maybe Swagger or Toxic (and if you go for Toxic, maybe swap Thunder Wave for Protect to stall out the enemy, up to you). Switch between Arcanine and Luxray to rack up those Intimidate stat drops.
This Luxray works really well with the Arcanine build, and can make even Arceus himself into a sickly old man!
Brock out.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Growlithe, the Puppy Pokemon: Redux
I know I already did Growlithe, but he's so versatile, I had to make another one. This is far more defensive than my other Growlithe build, which you can find here.
Flame Burst
Helping Hand
Snarl
Will-o-Wisp/Morning Sun
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Modest (-Attack, + Sp. Attack)
IVs: 31 HP, 31 Defense, 31 Sp. Defense (if in Gen VI, add in Sp. Attack and Speed).
EVs: 252 HP, 128 Defense, 128 Sp. Defense
This was a build designed for Double Battles, aiming to support whichever partner Pokemon you choose (I'll be posting a good partner for it in the next few days). With Intimidate, both of the opponent's Pokemon have their Attack lowered by one stage. Snarl can be used to deal moderate damage to both opposing Pokemon, and lower their Sp. Attack by one stage each. Helping Hand is obviously to boost your partner's attack, whatever it may be. Flame Burst is for a decent STAB that will also cause the nontargeted opponent to take a small amount of damage as well (1/8 to be exact, great for those times when the opponent has a Pokemon that Focus Sashed the last turn). The extra damage of Flame Burst is typeless as well, so you can use it on anything, even if it has Flash Fire. Will-o-Wisp is for Burning physical attackers to cut their attack in half, while Morning Sun would be for healing yourself, whichever you prefer. I personally use Will-o-Wisp, since that would help defend my team as a whole, while Morning Sun only helps Arcanine.
No breeding for moves is necessary with this guy, unless you want to evolve him at level 1 with a Fire Stone, in which case you'd have to breed two Growlithes that both know Flame Burst & Helping Hand (Snarl & Will-o-Wisp are TMs). For Morning Sun, just use the same method from the other Arcanine build I posted.
This build can also be modified to Single Battles, just replace Flame Burst with a stronger Fire attack, and Helping Hand with Morning Sun or Fire Spin. Switch out and back in to continue activating Intimidate, if necessary.
As always, sorry for my inactivity. On the plus side, I've recorded some videos of some of the Pokemon I've shared on this blog, so I can put them up soon, probably under a separate label.
Brock out.
Flame Burst
Helping Hand
Snarl
Will-o-Wisp/Morning Sun
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Modest (-Attack, + Sp. Attack)
IVs: 31 HP, 31 Defense, 31 Sp. Defense (if in Gen VI, add in Sp. Attack and Speed).
EVs: 252 HP, 128 Defense, 128 Sp. Defense
This was a build designed for Double Battles, aiming to support whichever partner Pokemon you choose (I'll be posting a good partner for it in the next few days). With Intimidate, both of the opponent's Pokemon have their Attack lowered by one stage. Snarl can be used to deal moderate damage to both opposing Pokemon, and lower their Sp. Attack by one stage each. Helping Hand is obviously to boost your partner's attack, whatever it may be. Flame Burst is for a decent STAB that will also cause the nontargeted opponent to take a small amount of damage as well (1/8 to be exact, great for those times when the opponent has a Pokemon that Focus Sashed the last turn). The extra damage of Flame Burst is typeless as well, so you can use it on anything, even if it has Flash Fire. Will-o-Wisp is for Burning physical attackers to cut their attack in half, while Morning Sun would be for healing yourself, whichever you prefer. I personally use Will-o-Wisp, since that would help defend my team as a whole, while Morning Sun only helps Arcanine.
No breeding for moves is necessary with this guy, unless you want to evolve him at level 1 with a Fire Stone, in which case you'd have to breed two Growlithes that both know Flame Burst & Helping Hand (Snarl & Will-o-Wisp are TMs). For Morning Sun, just use the same method from the other Arcanine build I posted.
This build can also be modified to Single Battles, just replace Flame Burst with a stronger Fire attack, and Helping Hand with Morning Sun or Fire Spin. Switch out and back in to continue activating Intimidate, if necessary.
As always, sorry for my inactivity. On the plus side, I've recorded some videos of some of the Pokemon I've shared on this blog, so I can put them up soon, probably under a separate label.
Brock out.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Gen VI Updated EV Training
So I got Pokemon X for Christmas, beat it the other day, it was a very enjoyable experience. Now for an update on EV Training! There are two effective manners of EV Training in these games.
The simplest is the Super Training. Located on your bottom screen, it's pretty self-explanatory, and yo do not need any of the fancy stuff to do it. You play a little mini-game that will reward you with 4, 8, or 12 EVs depending on which level of the game you play. As an additional reward for winning the mini-game, you get a training bag. There are a good variety of training bags, and breaking them will give certain rewards or perks. The more common bags give you extra EVs; a small (S) bag gives you 1 EV in the listed stat, a medium (M) gives you 4 EVs, and a large (L) gives you 12 EVs.
There are also bonus bags that you may get that are less common. The Double-Up Bag doubles the EVs you get from your next mini-game, so if you activate this bag and win a lv 1 game, you'll get 8 EVs, and 16 EVs for a lv 2 game, and 24 EVs for a lv 3 game. A Reset Bag will reset all of the EVs the Pokemon has, so you may restart a Pokemon's EVs to zero and start again if you decide to change them. A Soothing Bag will increase the Pokemon's happiness. The Team Flare Bag makes it easier to defeat other training bags, and the remaining bags (Swiftness Bag, Toughen-Up Bag, Strength Bag, and Big Shot Bag) all make the mini-game easier. None of the EVs given by the mini-game or training bags are affected by Pokerus or the Power Items.
The other method is making use of the Horde Encounters. You can trigger one of these through the use of Honey, or using Sweet Scent outside of battle (NOTE: the in-game weather must be clear for this to work). Each of the Pokemon you fight in the Horde Encounter will give EVs, and these EVs will be affected by Pokerus and the Power Items. For example, if you fight a horde of Axews, you will get 1 Attack EV for each of the Axews, 10 EVs each if you have the Pokerus and Power Item. Therefore, defeating all 5 of the Axews in the horde will grant you 50 Attack EVs. Defeating a horde becomes significantly easier if you have a multi-hit move, such as Surf or Rock Slide.
Unlike in the Gen V games, there are no set routes in which only Attack EV Pokemon reside, so these are your best options. Certainly if the weather is not permitting it, the Horde Encounter option is off the table. If you do not like the mini-game, Horde is your better option. I myself prefer the Super Training method, just because it's more engaging in my opinion. Try both and see which one you prefer!
Brock out.
The simplest is the Super Training. Located on your bottom screen, it's pretty self-explanatory, and yo do not need any of the fancy stuff to do it. You play a little mini-game that will reward you with 4, 8, or 12 EVs depending on which level of the game you play. As an additional reward for winning the mini-game, you get a training bag. There are a good variety of training bags, and breaking them will give certain rewards or perks. The more common bags give you extra EVs; a small (S) bag gives you 1 EV in the listed stat, a medium (M) gives you 4 EVs, and a large (L) gives you 12 EVs.
There are also bonus bags that you may get that are less common. The Double-Up Bag doubles the EVs you get from your next mini-game, so if you activate this bag and win a lv 1 game, you'll get 8 EVs, and 16 EVs for a lv 2 game, and 24 EVs for a lv 3 game. A Reset Bag will reset all of the EVs the Pokemon has, so you may restart a Pokemon's EVs to zero and start again if you decide to change them. A Soothing Bag will increase the Pokemon's happiness. The Team Flare Bag makes it easier to defeat other training bags, and the remaining bags (Swiftness Bag, Toughen-Up Bag, Strength Bag, and Big Shot Bag) all make the mini-game easier. None of the EVs given by the mini-game or training bags are affected by Pokerus or the Power Items.
The other method is making use of the Horde Encounters. You can trigger one of these through the use of Honey, or using Sweet Scent outside of battle (NOTE: the in-game weather must be clear for this to work). Each of the Pokemon you fight in the Horde Encounter will give EVs, and these EVs will be affected by Pokerus and the Power Items. For example, if you fight a horde of Axews, you will get 1 Attack EV for each of the Axews, 10 EVs each if you have the Pokerus and Power Item. Therefore, defeating all 5 of the Axews in the horde will grant you 50 Attack EVs. Defeating a horde becomes significantly easier if you have a multi-hit move, such as Surf or Rock Slide.
Unlike in the Gen V games, there are no set routes in which only Attack EV Pokemon reside, so these are your best options. Certainly if the weather is not permitting it, the Horde Encounter option is off the table. If you do not like the mini-game, Horde is your better option. I myself prefer the Super Training method, just because it's more engaging in my opinion. Try both and see which one you prefer!
Brock out.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Corphish, the Ruffian Pokemon
Crawdaunt is a beastly attacker with his Dream World ability. With the proper breeding, he can wreak all sorts of havoc on your opponents. The build I suggest is the following:
Crabhammer
Night Slash
Dragon Dance
Aerial Ace/Superpower
IVs: 31 Attack, 31 Defense, 31 Speed
EVs: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Have him hold a Focus Sash. The first turn you use Dragon Dance to boost Speed and Attack, and then you are set up to sweep most anything. The Adaptability ability changes the STAB from x1.5 to x2, meaning Crabhammer and Night Slash are 180 and 140 power respectively with no modification. After a single Dragon Dance, they become 270 and 210 respectively, and that is backed by Crawdaunts impressive base Attack stat of 120. Not only that, but with the right Nature, he becomes faster than most other Pokemon, pretty much anything under 110 base. Most things faster than that have poor defenses anyhow, so just hit then before they hit you first, since the Focus Sash affords you a free turn. His 4th moveslot is really up to personal preference. I opted for Aerial Ace so I would have a move that never misses, and to hit pesky Grass types like Shiftry and Meganium. However, that super effective Aerial Ace is not as strong as a one-type resisted Crabhammer or Night Slash, so you may prefer something with more power. Superpower could fill that void, but remember it lowers Attack and Defense 1 stage each. There are other options, but these are the better ones in my opinion.
How do you get this bully of a Pokemon?
(1) Breed a female DW Corphish with a male Feraligatr that knows Dragon Dance (an Egg Move) and Superpower if you want that (level up, or you can use a B2W2 move tutor for it later). If you don't want Superpower, you can use a Horsea for breeding, as it learns Dragon Dance through level up.
(2) Aim for a Jolly Nature. Teach it Aerial Ace via the respective TM if desired.
I'll have a video of this beast up shortly, he is just ferocious.
Brock out.
Crabhammer
Night Slash
Dragon Dance
Aerial Ace/Superpower
IVs: 31 Attack, 31 Defense, 31 Speed
EVs: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Have him hold a Focus Sash. The first turn you use Dragon Dance to boost Speed and Attack, and then you are set up to sweep most anything. The Adaptability ability changes the STAB from x1.5 to x2, meaning Crabhammer and Night Slash are 180 and 140 power respectively with no modification. After a single Dragon Dance, they become 270 and 210 respectively, and that is backed by Crawdaunts impressive base Attack stat of 120. Not only that, but with the right Nature, he becomes faster than most other Pokemon, pretty much anything under 110 base. Most things faster than that have poor defenses anyhow, so just hit then before they hit you first, since the Focus Sash affords you a free turn. His 4th moveslot is really up to personal preference. I opted for Aerial Ace so I would have a move that never misses, and to hit pesky Grass types like Shiftry and Meganium. However, that super effective Aerial Ace is not as strong as a one-type resisted Crabhammer or Night Slash, so you may prefer something with more power. Superpower could fill that void, but remember it lowers Attack and Defense 1 stage each. There are other options, but these are the better ones in my opinion.
How do you get this bully of a Pokemon?
(1) Breed a female DW Corphish with a male Feraligatr that knows Dragon Dance (an Egg Move) and Superpower if you want that (level up, or you can use a B2W2 move tutor for it later). If you don't want Superpower, you can use a Horsea for breeding, as it learns Dragon Dance through level up.
(2) Aim for a Jolly Nature. Teach it Aerial Ace via the respective TM if desired.
I'll have a video of this beast up shortly, he is just ferocious.
Brock out.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Croagunk, the Toxic Mouth Pokemon
Toxicroak has proven to be one of my best breeds for the Battle Subway, particularly because of his Dream World ability of Poison Touch. Here's how I work my Toxicroak;
Fake Out
Sucker Punch
Drain Punch
Dual Chop
IVs: 31 HP, 31 Attack, 31 Speed
EVs: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Have him hold a King's Rock. That item combined with the Poison Touch ability lets each of his attacks have a chance to Poison and/or Flinch the opponent (30% chance to Poison, 10% to Flinch). Fake Out will Flinch regardless. Sucker Punch is there for priority, and you never know when you'll get lucky and get a life-saving Flinch from that. Dual Chop is a two-hit move, so you doubke your chances of getting the Poison and Flinch, plus it's a Dragon-type move, so it's only resisted by Steel (and Fairy in gen VI). Drain Punch is mostly for a strong Fighting STAB with dependable accuracy. He has other options, but I feel Drain Punch was the best all-around. You may prefer Cross Chop, Dynamic Punch, Brick Break, or Low Sweep, depending on your supporting team and personal preferences.
So how do you get this lovable trickster?
(1) Breed a female DW Croagunk with a male Mienfoo that knows Drain Punch and Fake Out.
(2) Aim for an Adamant Nature. Teach Dual Chop via a B2W2 move tutor. If you do not have access to B2W2, then go for Poison Jab for another STAB move with a high Poison chance.
This Toxicroak works wonders for me in single trains, essentially freezing the opponent with Flinches while the Poison dwindles their health. A great teammate for him would be Hydreigon or Honchkrow, as they are immune to two of Toxicroak's most common weaknesses (Ground and Psychic). This build also works great for double battles too, serving something of a support role by immobilizing one target so your partner can safely attack. Just avoid using him against Crobats, he has a hard time with those.
Brock out.
Fake Out
Sucker Punch
Drain Punch
Dual Chop
IVs: 31 HP, 31 Attack, 31 Speed
EVs: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Have him hold a King's Rock. That item combined with the Poison Touch ability lets each of his attacks have a chance to Poison and/or Flinch the opponent (30% chance to Poison, 10% to Flinch). Fake Out will Flinch regardless. Sucker Punch is there for priority, and you never know when you'll get lucky and get a life-saving Flinch from that. Dual Chop is a two-hit move, so you doubke your chances of getting the Poison and Flinch, plus it's a Dragon-type move, so it's only resisted by Steel (and Fairy in gen VI). Drain Punch is mostly for a strong Fighting STAB with dependable accuracy. He has other options, but I feel Drain Punch was the best all-around. You may prefer Cross Chop, Dynamic Punch, Brick Break, or Low Sweep, depending on your supporting team and personal preferences.
So how do you get this lovable trickster?
(1) Breed a female DW Croagunk with a male Mienfoo that knows Drain Punch and Fake Out.
(2) Aim for an Adamant Nature. Teach Dual Chop via a B2W2 move tutor. If you do not have access to B2W2, then go for Poison Jab for another STAB move with a high Poison chance.
This Toxicroak works wonders for me in single trains, essentially freezing the opponent with Flinches while the Poison dwindles their health. A great teammate for him would be Hydreigon or Honchkrow, as they are immune to two of Toxicroak's most common weaknesses (Ground and Psychic). This build also works great for double battles too, serving something of a support role by immobilizing one target so your partner can safely attack. Just avoid using him against Crobats, he has a hard time with those.
Brock out.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Lapras, the Transport Pokemon
Everybody loves the Loch Ness monster! Here's a beautiful build for the blue beast!
Whirlpool
Perish Song
Rest
Thunder
IVs: 31 HP, 31 Defense, 31 Sp. Defense
EVs: 24 HP, 252 Defense, 232 Sp. Defense
You want the Dream World (DW) Ability Hydration for this build. The big idea here is to trap the opponent with Whirlpool, then follow up with a Perish Song that they cannot escape! Just be sure to withdraw before the Perish Song count is up or you're going down as well. The other moves make him capable of tanking in the Rain. Rest will provide healing without the 2-turn sleep, and Thunder will never miss, and will have the 30% chance to Paralyze the target. Rain will also add to Whirlpool's initial damage, which is nice. For an item, good options would be a Leftovers for healing purposes, or a Binding Band to double the damage Whirlpool does over time (from 1/16 per turn to 1/8 per turn, and Whirlpool lasts 4-5 turns).
How do you get this elegant trapping tank?
(1) Teach a male Piplup Whirlpool by level up (lv 32) and Rest through the TM. Breed it with a female Lapras that has its DW Ability.
(2) Aim for a Bold Nature. You want the Hydration Ability for this build, but if you do not have access to it, aim for Shell Armor, and definitely hold the Leftovers over the Binding Band.
So there is Lapras, the Pokemon that understand human speech. A flaw to this is other trappers trapping you into your own Perish Song. If you have any questions or comments feel free to comment below.
Brock out.
Whirlpool
Perish Song
Rest
Thunder
IVs: 31 HP, 31 Defense, 31 Sp. Defense
EVs: 24 HP, 252 Defense, 232 Sp. Defense
You want the Dream World (DW) Ability Hydration for this build. The big idea here is to trap the opponent with Whirlpool, then follow up with a Perish Song that they cannot escape! Just be sure to withdraw before the Perish Song count is up or you're going down as well. The other moves make him capable of tanking in the Rain. Rest will provide healing without the 2-turn sleep, and Thunder will never miss, and will have the 30% chance to Paralyze the target. Rain will also add to Whirlpool's initial damage, which is nice. For an item, good options would be a Leftovers for healing purposes, or a Binding Band to double the damage Whirlpool does over time (from 1/16 per turn to 1/8 per turn, and Whirlpool lasts 4-5 turns).
How do you get this elegant trapping tank?
(1) Teach a male Piplup Whirlpool by level up (lv 32) and Rest through the TM. Breed it with a female Lapras that has its DW Ability.
(2) Aim for a Bold Nature. You want the Hydration Ability for this build, but if you do not have access to it, aim for Shell Armor, and definitely hold the Leftovers over the Binding Band.
So there is Lapras, the Pokemon that understand human speech. A flaw to this is other trappers trapping you into your own Perish Song. If you have any questions or comments feel free to comment below.
Brock out.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Tribute to the Pseudo-Legendaries
I don't normally do Pseudo-Legendaries, just because they're overpowered and take some of the fun out of it. But they are legal, and certainly usable, so to get them out of the way and to make up for inactivity, I shall do them all in this post! Like the Support Pokemon Tribute post, not all of these require breeding, but breeding for IVs and Nature is always highly recommended. (Note: these builds are all based from Gen V games since I still lack Gen VI).
Dratini, the Dragon Pokemon
The original Pseudo, Dratini has a few ideas to follow, and I'm going to list two of them. First:
Rain Dance/Dragon Claw/Outrage/Dragon Tail
Thunder
Hurricane
Aqua Tail
IVs: 31 HP, 31 Attack, 31 Sp. Attack
EVs: 160 HP, 96 Attack, 252 Sp. Attack (This is assuming a Quiet Nature)
This is a mixed Rain tank build, certainly designed to cause big damage and side effects in the Rain. EVs are distributed in a manner that equalizes Attack and Sp. Attack. If you have a DW Politoed or another Pokemon setting up the Rain, then you obviously do not need Rain Dance and should replace it with one of the physical Dragon moves he can learn, which would let you have a STAB physical attack as well as a STAB special attack.
The other build I have for him is for if he has his Multiscale Ability.
Dragon Dance
Aqua Jet
Outrage/Dragon Claw
Aerial Ace/Roost
IVs: 31 HP, 31 Attack, 31 Speed
EVs: 120 HP, 252 Attack, 136 Speed
Aim for an Adamant or Jolly Nature. For an item, try Leftovers, Water Gem, or Life Orb. With Multiscale is is pretty much guaranteed a free turn to Dragon Dance. So do that, and now you have options fit for most situations. Need brute force to punish the foe? Use STAB +1 Outrage. Need priority even after the Dragon Dance? Either use it again or go for the +1 Aqua Jet. Need to really not miss that next hit? STAB +1 Aerial Ace is there for you. Want to try to get that Multiscale protection again, or can't afford to take a 4x Ice attack? Try Roost instead for healing and removing that Flying from your typing for the remainder of the turn. Use whichever build suits your style.
Larvitar, the Rock Skin Pokemon
The Pseudo of the Sand, Tyranitar, has potential for tank or wall builds. I don't care for him outside of his aesthetic design, so I'm not gonna spend much time on him. Here's my build for him:
Payback
Curse
Stone Edge/Rock Slide
Aerial Ace
IVs: 31 HP, 31 Attack, 31 Defense
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Attack, 252 Defense
An Adamant or Brave Nature would be ideal. Hold Leftovers for healing. Curse for your Attack and Defense boosts, and STAB Payback for massive damage. Aerial Ace was chosen just because it fought 3 of his weaknesses, change it if you think it's too weak to be viable. Moving on to better pseudos...
Bagon, the Rock Head Pokemon
This Pokemon is one of my favorites just because it's such a success story; a Pokemon dreams of taking to the skies, and after much hard work, realizes that dream. It brings a tear to my eye, really. I use the following build for him:
Fire Blast
Hydro Pump
Dragon Claw
Earthquake
IVs: 31 Attack, 31 Sp. Attack, 31 Speed
EVs: See below.
It's a mixed sweeper style build. The EV spread is up to you. If your going to have the Intimidate Ability, just even out the Attack & Sp. Attack stats and dump the rest in Speed. I use one with Moxie, and I have a bit more Sp. Attack than Attack since Moxie will compensate for the difference (much like my Krookodile build, my Moxie Salamence has been known to kill one or two of his partners for the boost). I generally have mine hold a Lum Berry, just because experience has shown that to be the better option.
Beldum, the Iron Ball Pokemon
My personal favorite of the Pseudos, Metagross is a tank of his own class. A solid build for this guy goes:
Zen Headbutt
Bullet Punch
Ice Punch
Earthquake
IVs: 31 Attack, 31 Sp. Defense, 31 Defense or HP
EVs: 100 HP, 252 Attack, 100 Sp. Defense, 56 Defense
I designed this build with one goal in mind; make a single Pokemon that can deal massive damage against all Pseudo-Legendaries (Codename: "Pseudo-Pslayer"). His Clear Body Ability protects him from Intimidate Attack-drops, or any drops for that matter, and his Steel/Psychic typing leaves him with just 2 weaknesses (Fire and Ground). Bullet Punch provides a powerful STAB priority move, and everything else is mostly for coverage. I've used 3 items for this guy and they all fair pretty well: Steel Gem (for a stronger Bullet Punch when you need it), Life Orb (for stronger moves in general), and Leftovers (for being around longer to deal more damage). The item you choose depends on your play style. (Note: getting 3 IVs on genderless Pokemon is a pain in the rear end, I settled for just the Attack and Sp. Defense IVs and he works great, and this is why my EV spread is bit weird). I use a Careful Nature, but an Adamant should prove useful as well.
Gible, the Land Shark Pokemon
Sinnoh's Pseudo is pretty cool, a big time physical sweeper. But I'm not big on straight-forward builds like this guy specializes in, so I'm not gonna spend much time on him. Here it is:
Dual Chop
Earthquake
Rock Climb/Body Slam
Fire Fang/Double Team/Swords Dance
IVs: 31 HP, 31 Attack, 31 Speed
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Attack, 252 Speed
Dual Chop is good for Study/Focus Sashers, since it hits twice. Rock Climb or Body Slam can inflict Confusion or Paralysis respectively, nice to have. Fire Fang adds to coverage, Double Team works with the Sand Veil ability of you're in a Sandstorm, and Swords Dance is a nice +2 boost to Attack that everyone loves.
Deino, the Irate Pokemon
This little guy turns into Hydreigon, the first Pseudo to really focus on Special-based attacks. My favorite build for this guy is:
Dragon Pulse
Dark Pulse
Focus Energy
Flamethrower
IVs: 31 HP, 31 Sp. Attack, 31 Speed
EVs: 252 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Have a Modest Nature, hold a Scope Lens. After you use Focus Energy, you're critical hit ratio stands at a mighty 25%! Very few things can take a critical hit from a Modest Hydreigon, especially its STAB Dragon Pulse and Dark Pulse. Just be careful when you use Focus Energy. I normally send mine in with my Togekiss from the Support Pokemon Tribute build, that way Hydreigon gets a free turn to use Focus Energy. The only block to this build, theoretically-speaking, is Heatran. I can verify the effectiveness of this build, I use one, and mine doesn't even have Dark Pulse, it has a Dark Hidden Power of 68 power! (For Dark Pulse to be learned, you need to use a Move Tutor, or breed with a Dragon-egg group Pokemon that learned it from a move tutor or Gen IV TM). The EVs I listed go with the IVs I say to go for, but my Hydreigon actually has IVs in Defense, Sp. Attack, Sp. Defense, and Speed, so I did my spread a bit differently (252 Sp. Attack, 220 Speed, and 36 HP).
Goomy, the Soft Tissue Pokemon
This is the Gen VI pseudo, and the first pseudo to be just a single type. It also makes use of a new kind of evolution, in which is must be raining when you level up past lv 50. So naturally this is gonna be a Rain build:
Rain Dance/Muddy Water
Acid Armor
Rest
Dragon Pulse
IVs: See below.
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Defense, 4 Sp. Defense
Hydration Ability of course, and aim for a Calm Nature. Use Acid Armor to boost up your Defense, Rest for sleepless healing, Dragon Pulse for offense. Rain Dance if you don't already have a user for it, if you do then go Muddy Water for a Rain-boosted special attack. I'm unfamiliar with Gen VI so I don't want to get too into him without learning more, but basically my thought here is mixed tank. Because of new breeding mechanics, you can carry down 5 IVs from the parent Pokemon, so it is not even worth putting that section really, but go for all but I Defense or Speed I suppose, your call.
That should absolve me from having to look at pseudo legendaries until the next generation, unless rumors of DLC Pokemon are true. Questions and comments are welcome of course.
Brock out.
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