For those saying
Intimidate is not that useful, here are some calculations on a 252/252 +Def spread:
Code:
[U]Pokemon | Move | Damage w/o Intimidate | Damage w/ Intimidate | Do we outspeed it?:[/U]
[B]Adamant +0 LO Lucario | Close Combat | 43.3% - 51% | 28.7% - 34% | [COLOR="Red"]NO[/COLOR][/B]
Adamant +0 LO Lucario | Extremespeed | 19.2% - 22.7% | 13% - 15.4% | [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR]
Adamant +2 LO Lucario | Extremespeed | 38.1% - 45.1% | 28.9% - 34% | [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR]
Adamant +0 CB Tyranitar | Stone Edge | 47.6% - 56.3% | 31.6% - 37.5% | [COLOR="Lime"]YES[/COLOR]
[B]Adamant +0 CB Tyranitar | Earthquake | 63.6% - 73.1% | 42.3% - 50.2% | [COLOR="lime"]YES[/COLOR][/B]
[B]Jolly +0 CS Tyranitar | Earthquake | 38.7% - 45.8% | 26.1% - 30.8% | [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR][/B]
Jolly +0 LO DDTar | Earthquake | 50.2% - 59.3% | 33.6% - 39.9% | [COLOR="lime"]YES[/COLOR]
[B]Jolly +1 LO DDTar | Earthquake | 75.1% - 88.5% | 50.2% - 59.3% | [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR] (possible OHKO after SR w/o Intimidate)[/B]
Adamant +0 LO DDTar | Earthquake | 55.3% - 65.2% | 36.8% - 43.5% | [COLOR="lime"]YES[/COLOR]
[B]Adamant +1 LO DDTar | Earthquake | 82.6% - 97.6% | 55.3% - 65.2% | [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR] (high chance of OHKO after SR w/o Intimidate)[/B]
Naive +0 LO NPApe / Special MixApe | Close Combat | 32% - 37.9% | 21.3% - 25.1% | [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR] (we have grass knot to fear, so can't really call this one a cakewalk)
[I]Naive +0 LO Physical MixApe | Close Combat | 38.1% - 45.1% | 25.1% - 29.8% | [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR][/I]
[I]Jolly +0 Lead Aerodactyl | Earthquake | 32.8% - 38.7% | 22.1% - 26.1% | [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR][/I]
[B]Jolly +0 CB Aerodactyl | Earthquake | 49% - 57.7% | 32.8% - 38.7% | [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR][/B]
[B]Adamant +0 RestTalk Machamp | Dynamicpunch | 31.4% - 37% | 20.8% - 24.5% | [COLOR="lime"]YES[/COLOR][/B]
Adamant +0 AntiLead Machamp | Dynamicpunch | 29.2% - 34.6% | 19.6% - 23.1% | [COLOR="lime"]YES[/COLOR]
[B]Jolly +0 LO Mamoswine | Earthquake | 73.9% - 87.7% | 49% - 58.1% | [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR]
Adamant +0 LO Mamoswine | Earthquake | 81% - 96% | 53.4% - 63.2%| [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR]
Jolly +0 CB Mamoswine | Earthquake | 85.4% - 100.8% | 56.9% - 66.8% | [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR]
Adamant +0 CB Mamoswine | Earthquake | 93.7% - 110.3% | 62.1% - 73.5% | [COLOR="red"]NO[/COLOR][/B]
Careful +0 Curselax | Earthquake | 26.9% - 32% | 18.2% - 21.7% | [COLOR="lime"]YES[/COLOR]
Careful +1 Curselax | Earthquake | 40.3% - 47.8% | 26.9% - 32% | [COLOR="lime"]YES[/COLOR]
[B]Adamant +0 CB Snorlax | Earthquake | 55.3% - 65.2% | 36.8% - 43.5% | [COLOR="lime"]YES[/COLOR][/B]
[B]Relaxed +0 Mixpert | Earthquake | 40.7% - 48.6% | 27.3% - 32.4% | [COLOR="lime"]YES[/COLOR][/B]
Adamant +0 CB Scizor | U-Turn | 32.8% - 38.7% | 21.5% - 25.7% | [COLOR="lime"]YES[/COLOR]
All of the above damage calculations are done on Pokemon who are not affected by Trace. The ones in
bold are especially troublesome, whereas the ones in
italics are easily walled using Intimidate.
Take a close look at the list. How do we propose to handle the above threats without Intimidate? Remember that with 252/252+ defenses, we DO NOT OUTSPEED many of those threats despite having such a high base speed. I think most people are forgetting this fact. If we do not outspeed a threat, then we WILL take a hit even AFTER the switch (unless we have priority moves). On top of this, we do not have the kind of offenses available to us to reliably OHKO these threats back.
Countering is not just about surviving a hit or avoiding the OHKO. Countering is about being able to switch in safely and forcing out the pokemon and
being able to do it more than just once in a fight. How we force out the opponent depends on the typing, moves, abilities, and stats available to us. We have the typing and already know that the attacking stats are not spectacular, while the abilities in question are all defensive. That sets movepool apart as the only thing that determines whether we can call ourselves a
counter to a pokemon and not just a
two-hit meat shield. If a Pokemon has nothing to fear from you, then it does not matter that you only take 25% from its hit. It will just keep hitting you or stat-upping.
That said,
even though Intimidate allows us to take low damage from some physical threats, we will still not be able to counter them without the right moves. We are limited to 4 moves, which means that we need to pick the right moves to counter each threat. I dare anyone to theorymon a set that can
counter SD Luke, DD Tar, Mixpert, NPApe, AND Curselax all at once.
Just because we can reduce the damage does not mean we automatically counter them.
But if we don't AT THE LEAST reduce the damage, then we have no hopes of countering them! I get the feeling that many of those who are voting for Trace are not fully thinking this part through. This is why I feel
Intimidate is a far more necessary choice over Trace.