Ask a simple question, get a simple answer - VGC edition

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PkmRngrBrad said:
Is there a reason why Lock on/ Sheer Cold combo isnt used much in the VGC other than poor sportsman ship?
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There's one Pokemon that learns Mind Reader and Sheer Cold (outside of Smeargle) - Articuno. Although I posit that Articuno isn't particularly terrible in VGC (it learns Icy Wind and Tailwind and has STAB Blizzard if you want it), it's far from the best - it's weak to damn near everything (I'm pretty sure tyranitar Rock Slide is a OHKO), takes two turns to execute Mind Reader + Sheer Cold, and needs to live those turns in the first place. If an opponent switches, Articuno is facing a 30% chance of success.

It's not poor sportsmanship to use OHKO moves - I have seen them used on occasion and they are a viable strategy (for example, it can win you something like Cresselia vs. Sheer Cold Suicune that has less HP and is running low on time due to rest stall), especially for Pokemon that really have little else that is good. OHKO moves are fantastic last resorts; if you have to choose between a win by crit or a win by a OHKO move's accuracy, one is better than the other. However, Mind Reader + Sheer Cold is a pretty poor idea for the reasons I described.
 
It's totally blocked by Protect which is on like 75% of good players' Pokémon, there's lots of Pokémon that can 2HKO almost everything with regular attacks anyway, and IIRC the only Pokémon that learn both Lock-On/Mind Reader and a OHKO move are Articuno and Smeargle.
 
Sorry, I wasn't sure how to put it, but are there any pokemon that you can NOT get in Diamond/pearl/plat/heartgold/soulsilver/black/white that you can get in the gameboy and gameboy advanced pokemon games?
 
Regis are obtainable in Plat (and BW2).

All Pokemon are obtainable from gen 4 onwards. A few special moves, however, like Helping Hand Dusclops, remain exclusive to the 3rd gen games (well...XD exclusive, but still...). Some GBA exclusive tutors include Double-Edge, Mimic, and Body Slam.

Also hi Heretic
 
I don't notice anything anywhere, but is there a place to donate to the smogon site? I know someone must be paying the bills for the hosting ect, and I would love to be able to give back a bit.
 
PkmRngrBrad said:
I don't notice anything anywhere, but is there a place to donate to the smogon site? I know someone must be paying the bills for the hosting ect, and I would love to be able to give back a bit.
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Don't worry about donations, Smogon gets plenty of ad revenue to pay for the site and server.

darksoulSP said:
Anyone know the policy on taking notes during a VGC match? It wasn't covered in the tournament rules and regulations section :o
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I believe for this season you are allowed to take notes, although I'd ask beforehand just to be sure.
 
Are IV's as important as EV's? Because I don't know whether or not to focus on IV training for my team. What I mean is if it is really worth it to try and get super high IV's, or would it just be a waste in the long run.
 
DarkEnlightenment said:
Are IV's as important as EV's? Because I don't know whether or not to focus on IV training for my team. What I mean is if it is really worth it to try and get super high IV's, or would it just be a waste in the long run.
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An IV of 31 gives you equivalent to 128 EVs over an IV of 0.

So yeah, they're a pretty big deal: you need good IVs and EVs to stand your best chance. What I would do is get free perfect mons off the kind people in the wifi forum! Plenty of links around to find them. I'd recommend TheMantyke. I like to steal my mons off him hehe. Like... 8/12 mons I've used this year were his.
 
breh said:
T
It's not poor sportsmanship to use OHKO moves - I have seen them used on occasion and they are a viable strategy (for example, it can win you something like Cresselia vs. Sheer Cold Suicune that has less HP and is running low on time due to rest stall), especially for Pokemon that really have little else that is good. OHKO moves are fantastic last resorts; if you have to choose between a win by crit or a win by a OHKO move's accuracy, one is better than the other. However, Mind Reader + Sheer Cold is a pretty poor idea for the reasons I described.
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OHKO moves do feel like a bit of a con when you get beaten because of them, but I quite like their place in the metagame just because there's something psychological about them; they instantly feel like a massive threat, so you'll almost always aim to take that Pokémon down ASAP.

ultimatedra said:
It is perfectly legal. Cybertron even won nationals with the ability to take notes. It is a very powerful tool when playing best of 3.
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That's pretty interesting, I might try doing that at worlds, especially for things like counting the turns of tailwind/trick room/weather
 
Solace said:
It's more likely to be what GBU Doubles is currently, which is our current VGC 2012 ruleset but with BW2 tutors and Therian forms allowed. 5th Gen GS Cup is probably not going to be the metagame, since I remember hearing that TPCi wasn't going to repeat that kind of play like in 2010.
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I am also interested in hearing about this. Since I'm absolutely not going to be in Hawaii for any reason, I was planning on already getting started practicing for VGC 2013. If they wanted to shake up the metagame, they'd need to change the line-ups, or most teams would probably look exactly the same as they did this year, yes? B2W2 only add 3 Pokémon (Therian Kamis) and the moveset changes (which I guess could shake up the meta) but it almost doesn't seem as much as a paradigm shift as it was since I started following VGC (09: National Dex, 10: GS Cup, 11: Unova, 12: National again).
 
As someone who is still really new, and kinda shy, what is something that I can work on or acquire that would be useful to other people, as I am looking for 2 pokemon for my team that I cant quite seem to get right for myself, but I dont want to just ask a stranger for their time/work and have nothing to give them back, esp because I am not confirmed yet to go to the lcq at worlds and there may be others that are in more dire need.. Basically how can I make myself a useful member?
 
Is it worth it to run a taunt whimsicott for the sole purpose of shutting doen trick room teams and pokemon that use moves like substitute/recover/protect, or is the space better used for another pokemon?
 
DarkEnlightenment said:
Is it worth it to run a taunt whimsicott for the sole purpose of shutting doen trick room teams and pokemon that use moves like substitute/recover/protect, or is the space better used for another pokemon?
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If you are using Whimsi just for use of shutting down, you should probably have something else in the spot. Something like Thundurus still has Prankster Taunt but is a bit bulkier and can hit FAR harder. It is relatively dependent upon your team, though
 
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