PixlBit

I've been neglecting blogging for a while aside from a few half assed posts mainly because of school. Once we hit the last week of the month, I'll be back in full force and will be writing on all the games from this year I'll catch up on (whether or not these are sober or drunk is up in the air...or a vote). For now, however, I just felt like writing a quick blog on my favorite series to write about and my favorite multiplayer: Pokemon. 

When I call these Under Used, I'm talking about the multiplayer tiers. With over six hundred Pokemon, you can bet not all are created equally, so there are seperate tiers for each. The lowest is Little Cup for the level 5 first stage evolution guys (Bulbasaur, Charmander, etc.). After this is Never Used for the guys who are either poor, outclassed, or just don't fit into the competitive stylings of the main game. After this is Rarely Used for good not great, then Under Used for very good Pokemon who maybe have a serious flaw, have a slighlty better alternative or just fall a little short. After is Over Used for the cream of the crop, then Ubers for the incredibly strong guys like Mewtwo.

My favorite for the Black and White gen is Under Used. It's Over Used every other gen, but Black and White had such a huge power creep that so many fantastic Pokemon are forced into the Under Used tier. My team should be an indicator of this (Follow the link to see what set specifically I am using):

Zapdos @Leftovers

While Zapdos' stats make it seem like more of an offensive threat, in reality, I've never used it for anything other than tanking attacks. And with the Physically Defensive set, it's giving me just as much success as it did the last two gens. There are a lot of great Fighting types in the tier and while most pack a coverage move for it, it often survives and can strike back with a Discharge which will often either knock it out or paralyze it. Roost give it recovery and is the secret to its great tanking which goes especially well with Discharge's paralysis, Heat Wave makes it a great Grass Counter, while Hidden Power Ice helps it take out Gligar (one of my team's biggest threats).

Empoleon @Leftovers

 

While Zapdos is there for taking physical attacks, Empoleon is there for its ability to tank special attacks. Its lack of recovery gets in the way, but its fantastic typing more than makes up for that, Steel gives a boatload of resistances while Water compliments it amazingly. It meanwhile sets up Stealth Rock which chips away at Pokemon's health based on their Rock weakness/resistance (it's the best move in the game), Scald deals damage while also potentially burning, Grass Knot is for other waters, primarily Blastoise and Swampert, and Roar is great for Calm Mind users hoping to set up, as well as shuffling to give everyone a little Stealth Rock damage.

Flygon @Choice Band

The thing about any tier other than Over Used and Uber is that they don't have a lot good of Steel types. Being Steel is such a great trait that it makes a mediocre Pokemon a good one, and so many get pushed to the higher tiers. Factor in the few Steel types that can take a STAB (meaning the boost you get from using a move of the Pokemon's typing) Earthquake from this guy and Flygon is invaluable. Outrage does obscene amounts of damage to everything else, U-Turn is for early on when they switch something else, and Fire Punch is for Bronzong who does resist Outrage/Earthquake. Choice Band gives it a power boost in exchange for restricting it to one move until it switches out. Prediction is key to him, but he works well for cleaning up at the end of the game.

Heracross @Choice Scarf

I had to have a Heracross on my team. I just did. While Choice Band increases Flygon's attack, Choice Scarf increases Heracross' speed. These two usually hold the opposite role, so when my team is shown, it often catches the opponent off guard when Flygon gets an unexpected KO or Heracross outspeeds their fast Pokemon. His Close Combat and Megahorn are absolutely ridiculously powerful, while Stone Edge and Earthquake are great coverage for Flying and Poison types respectively, both of which give him trouble. Meanwhile his Guts ability makes him great to switch into any predicted burns or poisons as it gives him an insane power boost. This guy can destroy everything except Gligar.

Chandelure @Life Orb

Heracross is strong, but Chandelure is ridiculously powerful. His Fire and Fighting resistances give him plenty of opportunities to switch in, set up a Substitute while the opponent switches, then hurt all but the bulkiest Pokemon with Fire Blast and Shadow Ball. Pain Split gives a much needed recovery option which while usually unreliable, works well on him and is especially useful with how Life Orb saps some health for a power boost. I can't count the number of times this guy saved me.

Hitmontop @Leftovers

The thing about Under Used Pokemon in Black and White is there are a lot of entry hazards such as Stealth Rock. Add Spikes and Toxic Spikes which hurt and poison most Pokemon respecitively and you need some way to get rid of them.  Hitmontop is here to use Rapid Spin to get those out of there. The only thing in his way are Ghost types immune to the attack. Fortunately, he has Toxic to slowly whittle away the health of slow, bulky Ghosts while Sucker Punch eliminates the faster, offensive Ghosts. With Intimidate, meanwhile, he is also a great check to many physical threats, especially Mienshao who otherwise presents problems. He is my least used member as he is only there to fill a few much needed niches, but when I need him, he is the difference between a win and a loss.

Here's a few battles with these guys, the first a great comeback starting with a few stupid moves on my part, the second one where I just fucked shit up. If you want to try and are familiar with Pokemon, give the Random Battle at this site a try. Building a team is the hardest part of the game, but using six random guys against another team of six randoms is always good fun.

http://www.pokemonshowdown.com/replay/uu-16616309

http://www.pokemonshowdown.com/replay/uu-16616868