VOLUME 2 - ISSUE 10
The Delta Articles
Led By TheQuantumJumper | Edited By Phlygone
Written By ShadowTagPorygon | Shcowle | Clam1000 | Legyro
Intro
Twenty issues of the DA, look how far we have come. It's crazy to think how far the group has come from our humble beginnings as a Facebook group of friends.
To commemorate our run, we put together Issue 10 with a little bit of extra love. Legyro's even back to fill in for NuclearTogekiss!
- Introduction of the Phlygone Championship Series, 6 Tourneys in 3 months with a full 10 week Draft League completed so far this year
- Phlygone on Twitch has 799 Follows and ~25 Average Viewers
- 200 Weekly Users on the DSN site
- 217 Discord Members
- 20 Issues of the Delta Articles completed
- We have our own podcast? Crazy! Check out http://deltastream.net/chatter to catch the show from yesterday!
To commemorate our run, we put together Issue 10 with a little bit of extra love. Legyro's even back to fill in for NuclearTogekiss!
The Metagame:
Team Archetype: Tricky, Aren’t You?
Written by TheQuantumJunper
Yo, champs in the making! Many of you might have ran into a bit of a downer when you first started playing and found out your favorite pokemon was too slow to be viable in competitive battling. Well, I’ve got some good news! With the power of Trick Room, your viable Pokemon list can be radically altered. Of course, some Pokemon still won’t be strong, but at least you might be able to snag a couple of options you didn’t have before. I’ll tell you the basics of what Trick Room is, who benefits from it, and how to play as or against it, so let’s get right to it
The first thing we need to do is become acquainted with how the move Trick Room works. Trick Room is a move with negative priority; in fact it actually lays claim to the lowest priority bracket: -7. This means if you select it, you’re going to be going last. As for its effect, it causes slower Pokemon to move sooner than faster ones, however priority moves still work as intended (so a fast Mach Punch still goes before a slow Pokemon in trick room). This effect lasts only 5 turns, including the turn you used it, leaving you with 4 effective turns to abuse it (or 3, if you switch). This effect enables slow Pokemon to shine and wreak havoc upon your enemies, especially if they are unprepared for it. This strategy is currently very popular in UU and has always been an option in both smogon’s doubles and VGC. In particular, the double formats benefit from this especially in that the battles typically do not last very long (making its short duration less of a hindrance) and the prevalence of slowing moves like Icy Wind and Thunder Wave, as well as Tailwind teams; both forms of speed control end up being detrimental in the face of a Trick Room team.
The first Pokemon you’ll probably want to think about using are the slow but powerful attackers. Pokemon like Escavalier and Mega-Camerupt both are bulky and hit incredibly hard, as well as being quite slow. Your main goal when running a trick room team should be to set up trick room and sweep with these Pokemon (typically in singles you’ll want to clear anything that walls them, or has the chance to KO them after taking a hit or with priority). While some Pokemon such as Conkeldurr can use set up moves to increase their power, doing so is often times not worth it, since time is not on your side. That’s not to say that you need to always have Trick Room up, but you’re most powerful when it is; keep in mind that bulky threats such as the above and more are still strong outside of Trick Room.
Of course, without a Pokemon to set up Trick Room you wouldn’t be running a Trick Room team, now would you? Good Trick Room users aren’t exceptionally common, however there are plenty of Pokemon that get the move and have the bulk to pull it off. Some noteworthy examples include Cresselia, Porygon 2, Chandelure, and Slowking. These “Setters” aim to put down the Trick Room and then take advantage of it (or in singles, sometimes to hand momentum over to another pokemon by use of moves like Explosion and Memento--fast volt-turns can also do the job, as can good switch predictions). While leading with Trick Room can be tempting, it isn’t always the way to go. A smart opponent will be able to guess that you’re running Trick Room while selecting leads, so they will often lead with an anti-Trick Room Pokemon. I’ll go into more detail later, but for know just remember that you might need to wait to set up Trick Room until later into the game, though it should still be a top priority.
Another important part of a Trick Room team is the “fast-mode”. It may seem counter-intuitive to put faster Pokemon on a team that aims to keep up Trick Room, but the sad truth is that keeping it up 100% of the time is just infeasible. A “fast-mode” acts as a safety net, so that you aren’t outsped by literally the entire enemy team. A “fast-mode” doesn’t need to be particularly fast, but should focus on outspeeding a couple threats in the metagame--particularly those that threaten your team. Of course, you don’t necessarily need to run these Pokemon, but having them will often times bail you out when Plan A fails. Pokemon like Hydreigon, Landorus-T, and Chandelure all fill this role fairly well, though many other options exist and will largely depend on your particular team.
Combating Trick Room can be a pain, as normal panic buttons that hit fast and hard end up being the least useful once Trick Room goes up. Luckily, there are a couple ways to avoid a loss when Trick Room is involved. Perhaps the most obvious is to prevent it from going up in the first place. Directly KO’ing a Trick Room setter isn’t always an option, as they typically build rather bulky or run a Focus Sash, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stop them at all. Taunt is quite probably the best way to do this, and will often force a switch netting you some easy momentum. In doubles, Fake Out can be used to ensure the setter’s partner doesn’t have a chance to redirect or prevent the Taunt with moves like Follow Me/Rage Powder, or even their own Fake Out. Even if you can’t stop it from going up, remember that your bulky attackers (assuming you have them) often times are indifferent to the turn order, as they have the bulk to shrug off a hit or two while returning in kind. If you have especially slow Pokemon, you can even turn the Trick Room to your advantage and utilize them as if you had set it up. Stall as a whole also tends to do well against Trick Room. Since Stall typically relies on residual damage, the bulk of Trick Room teams isn’t as important. Even if you don’t have a very stall heavy team, walls can burn turns simply by existing, especially if you’re carrying Protect (this point in particular is relevant to doubles). Lastly, fighting fire with fire is actually viable here, though perhaps not in singles. Trick Room will cancel out itself if it’s used again, so if you have a Pokemon like Cresselia which has a spot open for it, it could be an option. I wouldn’t recommend this approach on a singles team, however in Doubles it can be used to combat speed control (such as Icy Wind) as well so having it isn’t a total dead weight against teams that aren’t Trick Room.
And with that, we’ve reached the conclusion of this edition of The Metagame. Hopefully I’ve shed some light on this tricky team type, both in playing it and in defending against it. Trick Room is great strategy if you’ve been looking for a way to turn bulky bruisers into menacing sweepers, thought it might take some effort to set up. And lastly, next issue we’ll be doing another Threat List-- if there’s a specific ‘mon you want to see covered, be sure to let me know! Until next time, champs to be!
The first Pokemon you’ll probably want to think about using are the slow but powerful attackers. Pokemon like Escavalier and Mega-Camerupt both are bulky and hit incredibly hard, as well as being quite slow. Your main goal when running a trick room team should be to set up trick room and sweep with these Pokemon (typically in singles you’ll want to clear anything that walls them, or has the chance to KO them after taking a hit or with priority). While some Pokemon such as Conkeldurr can use set up moves to increase their power, doing so is often times not worth it, since time is not on your side. That’s not to say that you need to always have Trick Room up, but you’re most powerful when it is; keep in mind that bulky threats such as the above and more are still strong outside of Trick Room.
Of course, without a Pokemon to set up Trick Room you wouldn’t be running a Trick Room team, now would you? Good Trick Room users aren’t exceptionally common, however there are plenty of Pokemon that get the move and have the bulk to pull it off. Some noteworthy examples include Cresselia, Porygon 2, Chandelure, and Slowking. These “Setters” aim to put down the Trick Room and then take advantage of it (or in singles, sometimes to hand momentum over to another pokemon by use of moves like Explosion and Memento--fast volt-turns can also do the job, as can good switch predictions). While leading with Trick Room can be tempting, it isn’t always the way to go. A smart opponent will be able to guess that you’re running Trick Room while selecting leads, so they will often lead with an anti-Trick Room Pokemon. I’ll go into more detail later, but for know just remember that you might need to wait to set up Trick Room until later into the game, though it should still be a top priority.
Another important part of a Trick Room team is the “fast-mode”. It may seem counter-intuitive to put faster Pokemon on a team that aims to keep up Trick Room, but the sad truth is that keeping it up 100% of the time is just infeasible. A “fast-mode” acts as a safety net, so that you aren’t outsped by literally the entire enemy team. A “fast-mode” doesn’t need to be particularly fast, but should focus on outspeeding a couple threats in the metagame--particularly those that threaten your team. Of course, you don’t necessarily need to run these Pokemon, but having them will often times bail you out when Plan A fails. Pokemon like Hydreigon, Landorus-T, and Chandelure all fill this role fairly well, though many other options exist and will largely depend on your particular team.
Combating Trick Room can be a pain, as normal panic buttons that hit fast and hard end up being the least useful once Trick Room goes up. Luckily, there are a couple ways to avoid a loss when Trick Room is involved. Perhaps the most obvious is to prevent it from going up in the first place. Directly KO’ing a Trick Room setter isn’t always an option, as they typically build rather bulky or run a Focus Sash, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stop them at all. Taunt is quite probably the best way to do this, and will often force a switch netting you some easy momentum. In doubles, Fake Out can be used to ensure the setter’s partner doesn’t have a chance to redirect or prevent the Taunt with moves like Follow Me/Rage Powder, or even their own Fake Out. Even if you can’t stop it from going up, remember that your bulky attackers (assuming you have them) often times are indifferent to the turn order, as they have the bulk to shrug off a hit or two while returning in kind. If you have especially slow Pokemon, you can even turn the Trick Room to your advantage and utilize them as if you had set it up. Stall as a whole also tends to do well against Trick Room. Since Stall typically relies on residual damage, the bulk of Trick Room teams isn’t as important. Even if you don’t have a very stall heavy team, walls can burn turns simply by existing, especially if you’re carrying Protect (this point in particular is relevant to doubles). Lastly, fighting fire with fire is actually viable here, though perhaps not in singles. Trick Room will cancel out itself if it’s used again, so if you have a Pokemon like Cresselia which has a spot open for it, it could be an option. I wouldn’t recommend this approach on a singles team, however in Doubles it can be used to combat speed control (such as Icy Wind) as well so having it isn’t a total dead weight against teams that aren’t Trick Room.
And with that, we’ve reached the conclusion of this edition of The Metagame. Hopefully I’ve shed some light on this tricky team type, both in playing it and in defending against it. Trick Room is great strategy if you’ve been looking for a way to turn bulky bruisers into menacing sweepers, thought it might take some effort to set up. And lastly, next issue we’ll be doing another Threat List-- if there’s a specific ‘mon you want to see covered, be sure to let me know! Until next time, champs to be!
Pokemon Spotlight REMASTERED:
Bugging Out
Written by Clam10000
Hey guys, it’s your boy, Filthy Fra- Wait, I can’t do that? Dang. Instead of throwing out some disgusting memes, I’ll be throwing out some disgusting insects. This week on the Pokemon Spotlight REMASTERED, we’re gonna be doing something slightly different. Instead of focusing on one Pokemon, for this special issue we’re gonna be taking a look at uhh...like a bunch of bugs.
Bugs of this Week are: Butterfree, Beedrill, Ledian, Ariados, Dustox, Beautifly, Vespiqueen, Wormadam, Scolipede, and Vivillon. To spare you guys from some of the disgusting length, I’ll only give sets to a couple of my favorites and cover a quiver dancer, a Mega-Beedrill, and a Scolipede.
Since we this week is a bit different, some of your favorite listings have been moved around.
Bugs of this Week are: Butterfree, Beedrill, Ledian, Ariados, Dustox, Beautifly, Vespiqueen, Wormadam, Scolipede, and Vivillon. To spare you guys from some of the disgusting length, I’ll only give sets to a couple of my favorites and cover a quiver dancer, a Mega-Beedrill, and a Scolipede.
Since we this week is a bit different, some of your favorite listings have been moved around.
National Pokédex Number:
| 545  Base Stats: HP: 60 Atk: 100 Def: 89 Sp. Atk: 55 Sp. Def: 69 Speed: 112 Featured Ability: Speed Boost: Speed increases by 1.5 times at the end of each turn | 015  HP: 65 Atk: 90 Def: 40 Sp. Atk: 45 Sp. Def: 80 Speed: 75 Swarm: Increases the power of Bug-type attacks by 1.5 when at 33% health of less. | 015M  HP: 65 Atk: 150 Def: 40 Sp. Atk: 15 Sp. Def: 80 Speed: 145 Adaptability: The Pokemon’s STAB modifier increases to 2 times instead of 1.5 | 666  HP: 80 Atk: 52 Def: 50 Sp. Atk: 90 Sp. Def: 50 Speed: 89 Compound Eyes: Raises the Pokemon’s accuracy by 30% and increases the probability of encountering wild Pokemon holding items |
| Standard Sets: SANIC Scolipede @ Life Orb Ability: Speed Boost EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe Adamant Nature - Megahorn - Aqua Tail - Poison Jab - Baton Pass |  |
Well right off the bat, this is the Scolipede set I’m running in PSL this year and it seems to be doing pretty well when I find the need to even run Scolipede. In normal OU, this set is a nice way to capitalize on Scolipede as a fast and actually powerful mon. We rock two good STAB moves, assuming Megahorn actually hits, and a coverage move and Baton Pass. I like the Baton Pass as you can make a sick predict, pass into a sweeper, sweeper lives an attack and starts killing everything with the 2 or 3 times speed modifier. You could also build Scolipede as a more defensive Baton Pass mon with tankier stats, Swords Dance, or some other stall moves as that could potentially set-up for a HUGE sweep.
| I Wish I Was Paid With Stats Beedrill @ Focus Sash Ability: Swarm EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - U-turn - Toxic Spikes - Poison Jab - Knock Off |  |
Unfortunately, base form Beedrill is one of the worst Pokemon GameFreak has ever created. Equipped with an amazing moveset, it's stats make it almost impossible to utilize effectively. If you are feeling gutsy, bringing Toxic Spikes is one of its niche's in the PU tier. In general, even this set is outclassed by Whirlipede and even Vennipede, Scolipede's previous evolutions, with its only advantage it being it's slightly higher Attack Stat.
| I’M A KILLER BEE Beedrill @ Beedrillite Ability: Swarm EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - U-turn - Protect - Poison Jab - Knock Off |  |
It took them 18 years, but GameFreak finally gave Beedrill the love that it deserved - a mega. This set is just sort of a very simple set for Mega-Beedrill. This helps capitalize on the massively increased Speed and Attack. The Jolly nature can be switched out for Adamant if you feel you incline, but I’d rather take that little bit of extra speed to keep this thing ahead of other mons. The Knock Off can also be subbed out for Drill Run as both have good use, but that is up to you. Alternatively, you can be disgusting and run Fell Stinger, but talk to STP about that.
| Hawaii isn't China Vivillon @ Leftovers Ability: Compound Eyes EVs: 16 HP / 240 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Nature - Substitute - Sleep Powder - Quiver Dance - Hurricanet. |  |
A nice, easy set with Substitute and Protect. This plays a bit like any other sub-something sets, but we also run the Sleep Powder to make it easier for us to setup the Quiver Dances. As for our 1 attacking move, we go with the Hurricane as it does good damage, has increased accuracy from Compound Eyes, and hits everything decently well. There isn’t a whole lot I feel like saying about this set because it’s so straight-forward to work with,
Clam: There is one hidden requirement, you have to use the Hawaii-specific pattern or you instantly lose.
STP: But Clam you’re from China….
Clam: But Sai, China doesn’t own Hawaii. It owns the US economy
Synopsis:
I personally dislike bugs in real life, but as far as games are concerned, I can work with these. Scolipede, Mega-Beedrill, and Vivillon all sit in nice spots in pretty much every tier. Scolipede sees use in Ubers and OU, Mega-Beedrill works with UU and OU, Vivillon gets use in NU and RU, and normal Beedrill chills in PU. They’re all great bug-types with very different play-styles and usage. Honestly, I’d recommend throwing one of these on a team if you are playing in a tier to use them. However, keep in mind that each of these HAS the potential to be insane, but they are also can be fairly frail and be taken out pretty easily. Stealth Rocks shreds them a little, especially Vivillon, Bug types are weak to a handful of types including Fire, Rock, and Flying with are fairly popular types. Just be smart about playing them and don’t do what I do and be a potato and switch in a Scolipede onto Stealth Rocks, STAB, max Special Attack with 3 times boosted Air Slash. Just don’t do that…
Clam: There is one hidden requirement, you have to use the Hawaii-specific pattern or you instantly lose.
STP: But Clam you’re from China….
Clam: But Sai, China doesn’t own Hawaii. It owns the US economy
Synopsis:
I personally dislike bugs in real life, but as far as games are concerned, I can work with these. Scolipede, Mega-Beedrill, and Vivillon all sit in nice spots in pretty much every tier. Scolipede sees use in Ubers and OU, Mega-Beedrill works with UU and OU, Vivillon gets use in NU and RU, and normal Beedrill chills in PU. They’re all great bug-types with very different play-styles and usage. Honestly, I’d recommend throwing one of these on a team if you are playing in a tier to use them. However, keep in mind that each of these HAS the potential to be insane, but they are also can be fairly frail and be taken out pretty easily. Stealth Rocks shreds them a little, especially Vivillon, Bug types are weak to a handful of types including Fire, Rock, and Flying with are fairly popular types. Just be smart about playing them and don’t do what I do and be a potato and switch in a Scolipede onto Stealth Rocks, STAB, max Special Attack with 3 times boosted Air Slash. Just don’t do that…
Break Meta Squads:
Does This Bug You?
Written by ShadowTagPorygon
Oh gross Legyro came back. Thank God he didn’t replace Clam or I because Pokemon Spotlight is so much better without him Kappa. Alright so on our Discord server, I asked you guys which generic Bug type I should use or if I should do a mono Bug type team. You guys were SO RESPONSIVE! So much so that I got 6 responses...each being a different pokemon so I guess I’m doing a mono Bug type team now haha.
Let’s get straight into this!
The Squad:
Let’s get straight into this!
The Squad:
| Leavanny @ Life Orb Ability: Overcoat EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Sticky Web - Leaf Blade - Knock Off - X-Scissor Do people run Life Orb offensive Leavanny? No? What the heck? Why not?! Leavanny is really fast and super offensively gifted. Granted it does die easily due to its terrible typing. But I mean these are the great things we here at the Delta Articles write and by that I mean pretty much only me. |  |
 | Butterfree @ Life Orb/Focus Sash Ability: Compound Eyes EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Modest Nature IVs: 0 Atk - Psychic - Giga Drain - Quiver Dance - Bug Buzz Standard Butterfree |
| Beedrill-Mega @ Beedrillite Ability: Adaptability EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Fell Stinger - Drill Run - Knock Off - Poison Jab FELL STINGER HYPE BOYS That is all :D Yes I know I’m cancer |  |
 | Vivillon-Ocean @ Leftovers Ability: Compound Eyes EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Modest Nature IVs: 0 Atk - Quiver Dance - Sleep Powder - Bug Buzz - Hurricane Standard Vivillon set. Vivillon-Ocean master race. Vivillon-Pokeball and Vivillon-Fancy don’t look great :) |
| Kricketune @ Focus Sash Ability: Swarm EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe Hasty Nature - X-Scissor - Endeavor - Knock Off - Taunt This is something usually run in doubles with like Hyper Voice or something but here it is in singles if you ever wanted to use Kricketune to its max Quick aside, Kricketune has the best cry in the game and its not even close. |  |
 | Wormadam-Trash @ Leftovers Ability: Overcoat EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD Calm Nature IVs: 0 Atk - Toxic - Stealth Rock - Safeguard - Attract It’s Trash ;) Well, with this photo I don't know if it's really that trashy. I would say classy. |
Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-405592331 by Iralious
I’m terrible at explaining these things so you should just watch and see.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-405623857 by Iralious
Actual Fell Stinger Beedrill sweep all thanks to Kricketune with that Strong Sash and Endeavor.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-405634927 by STP
The hax gods were with us and the confusion hax essentially won us the game coupled with a few of the opponent’s terrible misplays notably using sleep talk on Swampert expecting that I’ll sleep powder. I guess he failed to realize sleep clause? Since his Snorlax was already asleep. It was a full on Vivillon sweep, I remember the good old days when those were hella common.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-405592331 by Iralious
I’m terrible at explaining these things so you should just watch and see.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-405623857 by Iralious
Actual Fell Stinger Beedrill sweep all thanks to Kricketune with that Strong Sash and Endeavor.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-405634927 by STP
The hax gods were with us and the confusion hax essentially won us the game coupled with a few of the opponent’s terrible misplays notably using sleep talk on Swampert expecting that I’ll sleep powder. I guess he failed to realize sleep clause? Since his Snorlax was already asleep. It was a full on Vivillon sweep, I remember the good old days when those were hella common.
PSL Week 7-8 Breakdown:
Written by Legyro
Oh no! It couldn’t be…. Is… is he back? Yessir that I am! Legyro, THE ONE AND ONLY has returned from the land beyond to bring you The PSL Breakdown for weeks 7 and 8. This is just a one week thing while NuclearTogekiss deals with some stuff irl.
For those who do not know me, I used to write the Pokemon Spotlight Article before Clam and STP took over and ruined it (teehee ;P).
ANYWAY, I guess I better get started on the article now… lets hop into it!
Week 7:
Probably the biggest news that happened this week: due to Jamrock being M.I.A., YoungCodex (YC) has replaced him, taking over his team for the rest of the Season. YoungCodex is a Phlygone veteran, having made it all the way to the finals in the last PSL tournament that we had one year ago. We are excited to see how he will fare this year with much tougher competition.
Only one trade occurred this week, between Ryan61839 and ShadowTagPorygon, who traded Porygon2 and Exploud respectively.
During the waiver periods, the following occured:
Week 8:
Many Trades occurred this week in preparation for Top Cut:
Legend: Trader1 <--> Trader2, Trader1’s Poke<-->Trader2’s Poke
Whew! Finally done with all of that. Of course NT leaves me with the hardest weeks. Some friend he is, am I right fellas? Now, on to the Match Highlights.
Matches:
Ok so here are the highlight matches from weeks 7 & 8:
Week 7: YoungCodex vs Coffeegrigis Game 1: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-401862663
Even with all the hazards stacked up on his side of the field, YC puts up a brilliant fight against Coffee, only losing by a small margin.
Week 7: NuclearTogekiss vs MarcosGamez Game 1: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-400292863
NT manages to score a nice 6-0 hard fought victory against a worthy opponent.
Week 8: XYZard vs Alex55137 Game 1: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-404362459
Zard has been on a major roll over the past 7 weeks, dominating his foes wherever he went. That is until Alex showed up with his rain team and gave Zard a run for his money. This match was very well played by both players.
Alright, thats it for this weeks episode of Pokemon Spot-.... I mean, PSL Breakdown. With that being said, Good luck on your matches! Legyro out.
For those who do not know me, I used to write the Pokemon Spotlight Article before Clam and STP took over and ruined it (teehee ;P).
ANYWAY, I guess I better get started on the article now… lets hop into it!
Week 7:
Probably the biggest news that happened this week: due to Jamrock being M.I.A., YoungCodex (YC) has replaced him, taking over his team for the rest of the Season. YoungCodex is a Phlygone veteran, having made it all the way to the finals in the last PSL tournament that we had one year ago. We are excited to see how he will fare this year with much tougher competition.
Only one trade occurred this week, between Ryan61839 and ShadowTagPorygon, who traded Porygon2 and Exploud respectively.
During the waiver periods, the following occured:
- TheQuantumJumper dropped Tangela for Regice
- sexyBak dropped Mantine for Xatu
- RyoHamaru dropped Braviary for Cinccino
Week 8:
Many Trades occurred this week in preparation for Top Cut:
Legend: Trader1 <--> Trader2, Trader1’s Poke<-->Trader2’s Poke
- MagicRiceMan <--> YoungCodex, Bouffalant <-->Alakazam
- AlphaSlash <--> TheQuantumJumper, Camerupt <-->Bronzong
- YoungCodex <--> NuclearTogekiss, Conkeldurr <--> Lucario
- YoungCodex <--> sexyBak, Registeel <--> Durant
- Ryan61839 <--> sexyBak, Togekiss <--> Slurpuff
- Ryan61839 <--> ShadowTagPorygon, Scrafty <--> Toxicroak
- Coffeegrigis <--> ShadowTagPorygon, Shuckle <--> Regirock
- Coffeegrigis <--> TheAnimalBeast, Chesnaught & Honchcrow <--> Galvantula
- Clam10000 <--> ShadowTagPorygon, Uxie <--> Avalugg
- Iralious <--> HappyTheExceed, Tauros <--> Rhydon
- Coffeegrigis dropped Hitmonchan for Tangela
- Coffeegrigis picked Hitmonchan back up due to an open slot in his roster (via trade)
- Coffeegrigis dropped Magmortar for Vileplume
- TheAnimalBeast dropped Liepard due to having too many Pokemon (via trade)
- HappyTheExceed dropped Shelgon for Fraxure
- NuclearTogekiss dropped Stunfisk for Moltres
- Clam10000 dropped Cryogonal for Musharna
Whew! Finally done with all of that. Of course NT leaves me with the hardest weeks. Some friend he is, am I right fellas? Now, on to the Match Highlights.
Matches:
Ok so here are the highlight matches from weeks 7 & 8:
Week 7: YoungCodex vs Coffeegrigis Game 1: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-401862663
Even with all the hazards stacked up on his side of the field, YC puts up a brilliant fight against Coffee, only losing by a small margin.
Week 7: NuclearTogekiss vs MarcosGamez Game 1: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-400292863
NT manages to score a nice 6-0 hard fought victory against a worthy opponent.
Week 8: XYZard vs Alex55137 Game 1: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-404362459
Zard has been on a major roll over the past 7 weeks, dominating his foes wherever he went. That is until Alex showed up with his rain team and gave Zard a run for his money. This match was very well played by both players.
Alright, thats it for this weeks episode of Pokemon Spot-.... I mean, PSL Breakdown. With that being said, Good luck on your matches! Legyro out.
Battle Arcade
Written by Phlygone
If you thought covering 4 Pokemon for Pokemon Spotlight was crazy, wait until you see what I have in store for you this week!
Last Issue: LC Dream Team
Last Issues’ Winners:
# of Battle Arcade Winners: 2
Usernames of the Winners: Quote, ShadowTagPorygon
Last Issue’s Feature:
Username: ShadowTagPorygon
Tier: OU
Replays: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-399234245
# of Battle Arcade Winners: 2
Usernames of the Winners: Quote, ShadowTagPorygon
Last Issue’s Feature:
Username: ShadowTagPorygon
Tier: OU
Replays: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-399234245
The Winner's Team:
Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Curse
- Gyro Ball
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
Meditite @ Life Orb
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Ice Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Drain Punch
- Bullet Punch
Hippopotas @ Eviolite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Protect
Vullaby (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- Tailwind
Yanma @ Expert Belt
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Giga Drain
- Ancient Power
- Protect
Pawniard @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
The Loser’s Team:
Really well balanced team typing wise, but using a lot of mons that are what I call niche mons. The team didn’t really have a ton of firepower to come out and straight up win against Sai’s well built LC team.
Quality and Strength of Match:
STP actually played flawlessly, and won despite hax against him. This match was extremely impressive from an analysis perspective. Having the awareness that Raichu was Choiced and bringing in Yanma really impressed me. He then catches Talonflame on the switch with Ancient Power, getting a nice 1 for 1 there. From there on, he was able to just use hazards to his advantage to land crucial KOs with Pawniard and Ferroseed.
Conclusion:
We've seen it all folks. You can bring whatever you want to OU on Showdown and win. No challenge is too insane.
Really well balanced team typing wise, but using a lot of mons that are what I call niche mons. The team didn’t really have a ton of firepower to come out and straight up win against Sai’s well built LC team.
Quality and Strength of Match:
STP actually played flawlessly, and won despite hax against him. This match was extremely impressive from an analysis perspective. Having the awareness that Raichu was Choiced and bringing in Yanma really impressed me. He then catches Talonflame on the switch with Ancient Power, getting a nice 1 for 1 there. From there on, he was able to just use hazards to his advantage to land crucial KOs with Pawniard and Ferroseed.
Conclusion:
We've seen it all folks. You can bring whatever you want to OU on Showdown and win. No challenge is too insane.
This Issue: Arcade Fire
This is our 20th issue of the Delta Articles. That’s actually insane. I want to thank you so much for making these issues so fun by submitting your replays. In honor of Issue 20, we are going to do something a little special this week.
A lot of our readers missed the first couple of issues of the Battle Arcade. Some readers may have missed out on a Battle Arcade or two, or thought of a cool new strategy. So for this issue, we are allowing you to use *any* of the past Battle Arcades rule sets: may the best replay win!
A lot of our readers missed the first couple of issues of the Battle Arcade. Some readers may have missed out on a Battle Arcade or two, or thought of a cool new strategy. So for this issue, we are allowing you to use *any* of the past Battle Arcades rule sets: may the best replay win!
Rules:
You have to follow the following Battle Arcade Specific Rules explicitly. Any violation will not merit a feature.
Banned Arcades:
Reminders:
Remember, abide by these rules closely. Remember the rubric also applies this week:
If you are unsure on a Battle Arcade rule, reference the article that it was in, or PM me on Discord for more information.
Remember to post your teams and replays here: TBA
Remember, the better the match, the better chance that you can get featured!
You have to follow the following Battle Arcade Specific Rules explicitly. Any violation will not merit a feature.
- Tier: You have to play a ranked game in the tier specified by the Battle Arcade.
- Bans: Any Bans Specified in that Battle Arcade. No replays previously submitted are eligible to win for this Battle Arcade.
- #Winning: You have to win!
- Submissions: There is a maximum of 3 submissions per person, BUT ONE SUBMISSION PER BATTLE ARCADE FORMAT. If you want to get your three submissions in for the week, you are going to try 3 different Battle Arcade rulesets!
- OU Stinks - Use PU mons and win a game in OU
- OU Stinks (FU Edition) - Use FU mons and win a game in OU
- NFE Dream Team - Win a game in OU with Not Fully Evolved Pokemon
- LC Dream Team - Win a game in OU with mons in LC and LC Ubers
- Mono-Monotype - Win a game in OU with using 6 mons with one typing, of the same type
- Breakfast of Champions - Win a game in OU with a team that a Champion had
- Delibird Delivery Service - Win a game in OU with a mono-ice team with Delibird
- Diplomatic Victory - Win a game using only non-attacking moves
- Going Solo - Win a game with only one Pokemon.
- Professional Spammer - Win a game in AG with only 6 of the same Pokemon with only one move
- Genwunners - Win a game in OU with only Gen 1 mons and Gen 1 moves
- As Seen on TV - Win a game in any tier with mons Ash uses in the Anime
- Kryptonite - Win a game in any tier with mons that have x4 weaknesses
- K. - Win a game in OU with mons that start with the letter K.
- Brave Little Toaster - Win a game in OU with mons that are inanimate objects.
- Scrambled Eggs - Win a game using Pokémon from the Water 1, Dragon and Bug Egg Types that have don’t have those types in their regular typing.
- Spooky Cup - Win a game in OU with mons that are legal in October 2015’s Spooky Cup
Banned Arcades:
- Forecast - Use a weather team. It’s just too easy. Don’t do this one.
Reminders:
Remember, abide by these rules closely. Remember the rubric also applies this week:
- Adherence to rules: How closely they followed the Battle Arcade rules.
- The quality of the users team: How well constructed your team is.
- The quality of the opponent's team: How well constructed their team is.
- The strength of play from both players: How well both players played. You get rewarded by going against good opponents who you outplayed.
If you are unsure on a Battle Arcade rule, reference the article that it was in, or PM me on Discord for more information.
Remember to post your teams and replays here: TBA
Remember, the better the match, the better chance that you can get featured!
The PokeNav:
And They Don't Stop Coming
Written by Shcowle
We just can’t catch a break, can we? Shcowle here again, and just last article I was talking to you people about all these new Pokemon we were blessed with, and the article before that too. And guess what’s fallen upon us now? That’s right, ANOTHER wave of these things has come into existence. Six (technically) new Pokemon. God, maybe one of these days they’ll hold out on us and I’ll get to talk about Go… despite the fact that I just got it a week or so ago myself. Speaking of Go, a couple of bits of Pokemon news real quick before we get into the mons:
First, the designs of the leaders of team Valor, Mystic and Instinct have been revealed to us!
First, the designs of the leaders of team Valor, Mystic and Instinct have been revealed to us!
(Personally I’m Instinct cause Zapdos is better competitively and Spark looks chill :P)
And second, gameplay footage and a trailer reveals Darkrai to be coming soon in an update to Pokken Tournament!
And second, gameplay footage and a trailer reveals Darkrai to be coming soon in an update to Pokken Tournament!
4xvE
(Also, people have found evidence in the game’s move files as of Ver. 1.3, showing along with Darkrai data some moves with numbers and names corresponding to Scizor and Empoleon. Check that out.)
Right, now that’s out of the way;
(Also, people have found evidence in the game’s move files as of Ver. 1.3, showing along with Darkrai data some moves with numbers and names corresponding to Scizor and Empoleon. Check that out.)
Right, now that’s out of the way;
The Pokemon!
Starting off, we have the two Pokemon previously leaked who I talked about in the last article.
Here is Bewear (JP: Kiteruguma), the Fighting/Normal Strong Arm Pokemon!
Here is Bewear (JP: Kiteruguma), the Fighting/Normal Strong Arm Pokemon!
I’ve previously spoken about the reportedly immense strength of the Bewear despite its fluffy appearance, but now we get to know what its fluffiness actually does. Bewear’s ability Fluffy is similar to Fur Coat, taking half damage from any physical attacks, but also forces the Pokemon to take double damage from fire attacks.
Here too is Mimikyu (JP: Mimikkyu aha) the Ghost/Fairy Disguise Pokemon!
Here too is Mimikyu (JP: Mimikkyu aha) the Ghost/Fairy Disguise Pokemon!
AAAAAAWWWHHH!
Looking around on the Internet a little will reveal a good deal of adorable fanart about this little guy’s tendency to hide itself under that Pikachu disguise. Its ability Disguise also centres around this detail: Disguise allows Mimikyu to take one hit without taking any damage (similar to a Substitute) before its Disguise is busted in a cute little animation where the Pikachu head falls backwards before Mimikyu can be damaged. Whether or not the disguise can be replaced remains to be seen.
Moving on to the entirely new Pokemon: here’s the newest Bug type, the Bug/Water Turn Tail Pokemon Wimpod!
Looking around on the Internet a little will reveal a good deal of adorable fanart about this little guy’s tendency to hide itself under that Pikachu disguise. Its ability Disguise also centres around this detail: Disguise allows Mimikyu to take one hit without taking any damage (similar to a Substitute) before its Disguise is busted in a cute little animation where the Pikachu head falls backwards before Mimikyu can be damaged. Whether or not the disguise can be replaced remains to be seen.
Moving on to the entirely new Pokemon: here’s the newest Bug type, the Bug/Water Turn Tail Pokemon Wimpod!
It’s literally designed after the term “Wimp”. They are apparently well deserving of their name, but valuable as ocean cleaners and also as a source of pearls. Its unique ability “Wimp Out” forces Wimpod to make like an Abra and run away once it reaches half health (or, in battle, make like and Eject Button and force a switch). I would recommend a Quick Ball for this guy if you feel like this is the kind of Pokemon for you for some reason.
Next up is the Posy Picker Pokemon Comfey, a Fairy type with the ability Triage!
Next up is the Posy Picker Pokemon Comfey, a Fairy type with the ability Triage!
Apparently those flowers are not part of its body, but rather the result of Comfey’s delight in making flower rings and sweetening their scent with oil from its body. Comfey is a healing-focused Pokemon, as evidenced by its unique ability Triage which apparently gives restorative moves highest priority, seemingly on par with Extreme Speed. It also has Flower Veil, the Flabebe line’s ability, but honestly Triage is much better probably.
And now, the Ground-type Draft Horse Pokemon, Mudsdale!
And now, the Ground-type Draft Horse Pokemon, Mudsdale!
Renowned for its amazing strength, Mudsdale are used to haul carts- hold on WHAT
Well.
Um.
Wow.
Apparently Mudsdale is also capable of dragging loads of 10 tons for three days and three nights straight. God knows how the people of Alola, who live on islands maybe a kilometre across managed to figure that out, but there it is.
Base 180 Attack, calling it now.
Also noticeable is its abilities Own Tempo (meh ok) and Stamina, which raises its Attack by one stage each time it is hit with an attack. Any attack. Considering the undoubtably base 180 attack of this eight foot two thousand pound monster (four times the weight of a certain fully metal psychic sun god), you’ll probably want an OHKO if you want to survive a hit from this monster.
And finally, a beast even more terrifying than even Mudsdale. That’s right. Weighing in at 7 pounds, standing tall at, like, a foot; Bounsweet.
Well.
Um.
Wow.
Apparently Mudsdale is also capable of dragging loads of 10 tons for three days and three nights straight. God knows how the people of Alola, who live on islands maybe a kilometre across managed to figure that out, but there it is.
Base 180 Attack, calling it now.
Also noticeable is its abilities Own Tempo (meh ok) and Stamina, which raises its Attack by one stage each time it is hit with an attack. Any attack. Considering the undoubtably base 180 attack of this eight foot two thousand pound monster (four times the weight of a certain fully metal psychic sun god), you’ll probably want an OHKO if you want to survive a hit from this monster.
And finally, a beast even more terrifying than even Mudsdale. That’s right. Weighing in at 7 pounds, standing tall at, like, a foot; Bounsweet.
I’m feeling like a bit of fruit salad. A full seven pounds of sweet berry… mmm…
Anyway, Bounsweet the Grass-type Fruit Pokemon has the abilities Leaf Guard and Oblivious, which aren't that useful to be honest. Bounsweet apparently smells delicious, its scent calming humans. This has some negative effects too, as apparently this leads wild Pokemon to chase it often- which it can only run away from by bouncing away, which of course never leads onlookers to think anything is wrong even as it flees for its life. Goodness, that’s quite depressing.
Anyway, Bounsweet the Grass-type Fruit Pokemon has the abilities Leaf Guard and Oblivious, which aren't that useful to be honest. Bounsweet apparently smells delicious, its scent calming humans. This has some negative effects too, as apparently this leads wild Pokemon to chase it often- which it can only run away from by bouncing away, which of course never leads onlookers to think anything is wrong even as it flees for its life. Goodness, that’s quite depressing.
Also revealed was the ability to “Host Your Own Competitions”, which could either just be re-showing the ability to battle over Internet, or revealing the ability to host full on automatically structured tournaments or something. Another thing revealed, which is getting many competitive players into a bad mood, is Hyper Training.
Verlisify’s opinion, not mine.
Hyper Training allows trainers to use collectibles called Bottle Caps (*Fallout joke*) to increase a Pokemon’s IV’s upon reaching level 100. Many players think that this is ruining a crucial element of competitive Pokemon, but others see it as a way to finally be allowed to use the Pokemon they journeyed with in-game as competitive mon. Of course, Egg moves still exist, but I’m personally grateful to those at Gamefreak for this move.
Also no more legendary reset hunting for IVs
Hyper Training allows trainers to use collectibles called Bottle Caps (*Fallout joke*) to increase a Pokemon’s IV’s upon reaching level 100. Many players think that this is ruining a crucial element of competitive Pokemon, but others see it as a way to finally be allowed to use the Pokemon they journeyed with in-game as competitive mon. Of course, Egg moves still exist, but I’m personally grateful to those at Gamefreak for this move.
Also no more legendary reset hunting for IVs
Phlygone’s personal feelings.
And that’s the last of ‘em, folks. Run along now- actually, wait.
If you haven’t yet seen the Japanese leak trailer yet, unless you would rather wait for the official reveal then I would much recommend watching it here. I won’t go over it for you- it’s exciting to see, and there’s just news after news even if you aren’t fluent in Japanese. Bye now! Cya next issue!
And that’s the last of ‘em, folks. Run along now- actually, wait.
If you haven’t yet seen the Japanese leak trailer yet, unless you would rather wait for the official reveal then I would much recommend watching it here. I won’t go over it for you- it’s exciting to see, and there’s just news after news even if you aren’t fluent in Japanese. Bye now! Cya next issue!
Preview:
Volume 3
Well? That's all we have for this Issue. But I promise that in two weeks we will hit it off running with all your favorite authors returning. Phlygone is going to hand off the editing job to ProFrog, a professional gaming editor for RotoWire. Phlygone will still remain active, but is pulling back time spent in the articles due to the constant juggling of his projects.
See you next time ;)
See you next time ;)
Afterword
Did we miss some information worth mentioning? Is there a typo that we missed? Can we improve on what we have already wrote? You have some cool ideas for future issues? Please let us know by clicking here! Your opinion is important to us, as it helps us give you guys better strategies and info. If it is a typo or an error, please be specific in where it is (which article, which section of the article, etc.) when you post on the forum.
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