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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