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Pokémon Delphox
- Thread starter Upstart
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If you are holding a fire gem you can't just use a fire move as you might end up stealing an item that is bad for you AKA Choice Band.
It is 100% when you are not holding an item.
that's one scenario with many variations, if you steal it from a mon that's switching in to you using flame thrower is it necessarily bad for you? You can switch out into something else and that's a major damage drop for the choice band mon, and if you run switcheroo, combine it with it's 104 base speed and you can use it to screw something else over.
Running Fire Gem with SwitcherRoo is simply wasting the potential that Delphox does have. It is far more liable to use a life orb or choice item of your own.
and in that case it's far better to use blaze and not magician
Well maybe if people think up a way to steal items then destroy them through the use of a move like Fling then it would serve a purpose other than being just a fancy "Trick" Although its not bulky enough to serve such a purpose. And it's just. Well. Gimmicky. If the ability was more like Knock-Off...then it'd be amazing. But Thief is a bit too gimmicky.
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So it's standard ability Blaze is the better choice then, I take it?
Honestly, Magician isn't THAT situational. Even if you get something bad for you like Choice Band, you're still denying your opponent one of his sweepers' power. Though, I'd probably do something more along the lines of using it's psychic gem instead, maybe. Not sure.
We don't know yet. The thing is, stealing a Choice Band is bad yes. Stealing ANY other item? Is pretty much fine. The only downside I see is that it forces you to equip your Delphox with something destructible like fire gem or white herb or a berry. I'm sure there's one really good item out there that's perfect for this sort of ability but I dunno what it is off the top of my head.
We don't know yet. The thing is, stealing a Choice Band is bad yes. Stealing ANY other item? Is pretty much fine. The only downside I see is that it forces you to equip your Delphox with something destructible like fire gem or white herb or a berry. I'm sure there's one really good item out there that's perfect for this sort of ability but I dunno what it is off the top of my head.
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Custap Berry?
Nah... I don't like the idea of Delphox having to take a bunch of damage to use it's special ability. I like Fire Gem better in that instance because at least Delphox will have SOME control over when it can use it. It seriously would have been so much better if it had been like Knock-off, but I don't think it's BAD as it exists now, just not amazing. Certainly the preferable choice over Blaze. Bah, even if it worked like Switcheroo it would have been pretty interesting. Chaotic, but interesting.
Anywho, I think Fire Gem or Psychic gem is the best you can do when it comes to it's ability. And just hope you don't snag a Black Sludge or a Choice Band. Which are fairly easy to predict. But then you can wind up being too afraid to use your STAB moves for fear of grabbing the wrong item and that's no good either. This is my main frustration with the ability...
In what universe would Custap be viable on Delphox. Custap would entail that Delphox can take a hit, which she can't. Even after she has been maimed by the attack, she might be able to attack first which she already usually can due to her high speed.
Overall on the topic of Delphox's ability: Magician is a cool gimmick that may be able to catch a few opponents off guard. Unfortunately this is a competitive discussion of Delphox. In the name of competition, repeatability of success is crucial. Unfortunately Delphox was not blessed with cool new abilities like Chesnaught and Greninja. Thus, Delphox is better off using Blaze so that she may get boosted fire type attacks while holding an item that boosts her offense from the beginning.
magician seems most helpful in still being annoying to things that would otherwise counter you, like if a special wall switches in you can steal their leftovers. maybe there is potential in a will-o-wisp support set based on stealing leftovers, since delphox has pretty good spd. it is a bummer to sit there thinking "if only delphox had 115 speed", because that would dramatically improve it as a sweeper by outspeeding the musketeers and gengar alone.
Delphox will be a fine Pokemon in lower tiers, but nobody is going to use it in a place where Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Goodra, Latias, and Rotom-W can make you their bitch with little to no effort, and in a tier where even offensive Pokemon usually need to offer defensive synergy (Delphox can hardy check anything offensive). It has very nice Speed and Special Attack for lower tiers, coupled with nice STABs and a useful ability in Magician, which can remove from the opposing special wall or pivot its Leftovers, making it much easier to wear it down. Just use a Fire or Psychic Gem and you are set. Of course there is the potential danger of stealing a Choice Band from Pokemon such as Snorlax or Assault Vest from special tanks, but the only really crippling item for Delphox is Choice Band. Leftovers, Specs, Scarf, and even Assault Vest have their uses on Delphox.
Know what? Fuck that.
Imagine all the mind games one could play with magician. Running that with Zoroark on my singles if I make one.
IDK for you guys but that alone makes delphox worth my time.
And seriously stop worrying about Delphox being so and so's bitch.
The mind games make your opponent your bitch.
I was browsing /vp/ when I came across these images.
http://i.imgur.com/TANa47x.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/u18SwLY.jpg
I am not sure if this is fake or not, but I do believe this is worth discussing here as this could be *very* important.
For those who don't care to see the image, basically someone's one random baby Fenneken had the ability to learn Thunder via TM.
The others in the batch did not have this ability.
Further information:
It does not pass down via breeding.
HP is Grass
ability is Blaze, descended from (his) starter.
http://boards.4chan.org/vp/res/14848159
Above is the link to the thread for those who are able to read this while that thread is still up.
I do believe this is worth looking into as this could have much larger consequences than initially thought. It could be a a fake, simple glitch, or it could be a complete change in the back-end of Pokemon as we know it.
http://i.imgur.com/TANa47x.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/u18SwLY.jpg
I am not sure if this is fake or not, but I do believe this is worth discussing here as this could be *very* important.
For those who don't care to see the image, basically someone's one random baby Fenneken had the ability to learn Thunder via TM.
The others in the batch did not have this ability.
Further information:
It does not pass down via breeding.
HP is Grass
ability is Blaze, descended from (his) starter.
http://boards.4chan.org/vp/res/14848159
Above is the link to the thread for those who are able to read this while that thread is still up.
I do believe this is worth looking into as this could have much larger consequences than initially thought. It could be a a fake, simple glitch, or it could be a complete change in the back-end of Pokemon as we know it.
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The guy could hold a battle with that Fennekin and then give us the replay code if this was at all real. I'm not buying it. They would not, in the same generation they made so much more accessible, turn around and put in such a complicated and rare thing.
I do not know if this is revelant, but I battled a chespin in the battle mansion that used shadow claw on my delphox. Like Thunder, shadow claw is a TM. I checked online and chespin and chesnaught do not learn it.
Could they be related?
No, because Chestnaut CAN learn Shadow Claw. I confirm that with my ingame file. Online is well behind the times in terms of movepool.
(seriously, it is. Blastoise getting the full Mega Launcher abusing set was confirmed, what, a week ago? And that's not updated)
I don't know why we're even discussing this, this is obviously a ruse.
Yeah, I'm calling fake on those pics. Sorry guys.
On the topic of Blaze vs. Magician though, I think that both have their uses. Considering the way Acrobatics works, where the Gem activates, followed by the move itself getting a boost in power from the lack of held item, I wouldn't be surprised if Magician worked similarly with gems. Therefore, I believe this set works well with Magician, and the rest should stick to Blaze:
Delphox @ Fire/Psychic Gem
Ability: Magician (as already stated)
Timid, 4 HP/252 Spec. Attack/252 Speed
Fire Blast/Flamethrower
Psyshock
Grass Knot/Shadow Ball/HP Fighting
Switcheroo
The concept is simple, activate your gem and do massive damage, steal the opponents item, and then decide whether to keep it or to Switcheroo it onto something else. Since we know after we receive an item via Trick or Thief we can pick a new move the next turn and be locked into THAT, I don't see why Magician wouldn't work the same way, meaning if you receive a Choice Band from the opponent, you can choose Switcheroo the next turn and pass it onto something else and cripple it, or save it for later in the match and cripple something else. This set is excellent because it allows you to cripple the opponent you steal the item from with relative ease, (considering how fast Delphox is,) while still maintaining a consistent offensive presence. The choice in gems depends who you think your primary targets will be, i. e. Fire Gem if you think you'll be stealing from steels and Psychic Gem for the special walls like Chansey/Blissey, but considering Chansey is crippled after the loss of Eviolite anyway and a lot more things can take a boosted Psyshock than a boosted Fire Blast, Fire Gem is the way to go usually. Grass Knot is generally superior due to better coverage against bulky waters, but Shadow Ball is a perfectly good coverage option too. HP Fighting is mostly there for T-Tar and Heatran, but keep in mind you probably won't be able to deal with those two easily anyway, especially after the Hidden Power nerf.
Oh, btw, these are what Delphox's base stats appear to be, which should be updated in the OP:
75/69/72/114/100/104
On the topic of Blaze vs. Magician though, I think that both have their uses. Considering the way Acrobatics works, where the Gem activates, followed by the move itself getting a boost in power from the lack of held item, I wouldn't be surprised if Magician worked similarly with gems. Therefore, I believe this set works well with Magician, and the rest should stick to Blaze:
Delphox @ Fire/Psychic Gem
Ability: Magician (as already stated)
Timid, 4 HP/252 Spec. Attack/252 Speed
Fire Blast/Flamethrower
Psyshock
Grass Knot/Shadow Ball/HP Fighting
Switcheroo
The concept is simple, activate your gem and do massive damage, steal the opponents item, and then decide whether to keep it or to Switcheroo it onto something else. Since we know after we receive an item via Trick or Thief we can pick a new move the next turn and be locked into THAT, I don't see why Magician wouldn't work the same way, meaning if you receive a Choice Band from the opponent, you can choose Switcheroo the next turn and pass it onto something else and cripple it, or save it for later in the match and cripple something else. This set is excellent because it allows you to cripple the opponent you steal the item from with relative ease, (considering how fast Delphox is,) while still maintaining a consistent offensive presence. The choice in gems depends who you think your primary targets will be, i. e. Fire Gem if you think you'll be stealing from steels and Psychic Gem for the special walls like Chansey/Blissey, but considering Chansey is crippled after the loss of Eviolite anyway and a lot more things can take a boosted Psyshock than a boosted Fire Blast, Fire Gem is the way to go usually. Grass Knot is generally superior due to better coverage against bulky waters, but Shadow Ball is a perfectly good coverage option too. HP Fighting is mostly there for T-Tar and Heatran, but keep in mind you probably won't be able to deal with those two easily anyway, especially after the Hidden Power nerf.
Oh, btw, these are what Delphox's base stats appear to be, which should be updated in the OP:
75/69/72/114/100/104
I can see Weakness Policy or a Gem being used a lot with Magician. Other than that, abusing Special attacks as much as possible. Just had a thought as typing this; any thoughts on a Focus Sash set with Magician? Stealing a Leftovers or something and taking a wall's recovery having consumed FS could be fun.
Disregard Post.
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Next time, before clogging the thread with a big picture like that, look up.
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