Charm
How do you obtain a Registeel with such a specific IV spread? Waiting for the right method 1 frame to come up is surely impractical?
So decided to re-design the tier-list after some thought process and since more people are active on this thread, figured I could ask for everyone's opinion on this. I'll also add descriptions on the top 10-20 Pokemon and figured I could make this for Frontier overall:
S+ Rank
Blissey
The queen of Generation III. Her incredible 255 base HP and her humongous base 135 SpD makes it arguably the best special wall in the game. No special sweeper in Gen III is capable of getting past her gargantuan special defense and it's almost guaranteed that Blissey will always end up achieving her goal which is either by setting up or stalling her opponent's PP. While her physical defense is pitiful, by investing fully on it, you get to tank many physical attacks as long as they don't come from Machamp or Hariyama. Access to Natural Care, Aromatherapy, Softboiled and Toxic makes it an incredible support Pokemon for teams in other facilities such as Pike, Tower and Pyramid where she can heal her teammates from status or replenish her teammate's HP with Softboiled's field effect.Latios
The most broken Pokemon of Generation III. There's a reason why Game Freak disabled Soul Dew's effects on battle facilities but not that it matters a lot anyways because this absolute monster doesn't needs a lot of boosts to run through teams like a hot knife on butter. Base 110 Speed and 130 Special Attack are incredible stats for a sweeper on this generation. Access to Calm Mind means that Latios not only gains a way to boost itself for higher damage output but also gains durability from the special side as even with a +1 is good enough to avoid being 2HKO'd by non-STAB Ice Beams outside a critical hit. Latios also has decent defenses and while they don't make incredibly durable, they are good enough for him to stay on the field as long as it needs. Latios shines on almost any facility because its offensive attributes are simply too good to pass and most of the time you will only end up making a few modifications on its moveset for Gold Symbols on any facility.Suicune
What do you get when you combine incredible durability with a solid defensive typing, Pressure, Calm Mind and decent Speed? You get an unstoppable force of nature. Suicune is the perfect combination of Latios' sweeping potential and Blissey's durability into a single Pokemon capable of not only sweeping teams by itself once fully set-up but even those Pokemon meant to wall Suicune (Quagsire, Lapras and Vaporeon) get easily outstalled thanks to its absurdly high defenses and Pressure depleting their PP. With a Ground type, it is very easy to fit into many teams and swap stalling is also something Suicune can easily abuse. While Suicune shines the most on Tower and Dome, I'm pretty confident it can do well on a Pyramid run and in the Palace a Modest nature offers a great balance on the move types it will choose (Over 50%, Suicune has high odds of setting up and attacking while at below 50%, it will prioritize Rest use).
S Rank
Metagross
This super computer doesn't really needs a lot to deliver over 1200 kilograms of pain. Metagross has an incredible stat distribution where it has been blessed by a titanic base 135 Attack with a great physical movepool and a beefy base 130 Defense which grants it great durability. Its main niche comes from the fact that it is the best Steel STAB user thanks to its signature Meteor Mash, a high risk, high reward move that has a chance of raising its Attack stat to obscene levels. With a Choice Band, Metagross will easily tear through anything that doesn't resists its coverage moves and it can even run some Spe EVs to outrun specific defensive threats such as Milotic without sacrificing a lot of bulk. It also gains access to Explosion which is arguably the best nuke on this Generation which completely annihilates Curse users such as Snorlax and Umbreon until kingdom comes.
It's only drawback comes from the fact that Metagross' Speed is just plain average which means that it will be outsped by threats such as Alakazam and Gengar who can potentially KO with a critical hit and it will easily get destroyed by strong specially based Fire types such as Moltres or Houndoom. Other than that, it is a very easy Pokemon to use and fit on many facility teams due to its favorable match-up against most of the Frontier Brain's teams.Slaking
Once this monster goes apeshit, your opponent's Pokemon are going down like a miserable pile of swatted flies. Slaking's base stat distribution (670) is the same one as legendary Pokemon such as Groudon. With a Choice Band and its humongous Attack stat, it is almost guaranteed to get a kill on the turns that Truant allows it to move. Slaking also has decent physical bulk and a large base HP, allowing it to tank some hits from physical threats such as Metagross or Snorlax. Hyper Beam, Double-Edge, Earthquake and Shadow Ball all provide immense damage and coverage to any threat in the Frontier.
Because of these attributes and great Speed tier, Slaking rules dominantly on short format fights in facilities such as Dome and Pyramid where Truant has little or no influence on the outcome of the match. It also does decently on Tower although for every turn you'll be usually forced out which kills your momentum and it is highly undesired.
Truth be told, Slaking is not without flaws. Besides the inherent problem of having Truant as an ability, Slaking has no inherent protection against OHKO moves or status, as it will almost always have a Choice Band and no Substitute. If Slaking is unable to OHKO the opposing Pokemon, it can present a problem if the opponent begins to set up or cripple Slaking, severely reducing its utility.Latias
While Latios outclasses Latias on almost every role possible she can hope to do on the offensive side (Offensive CM and SubCM), there is but one small but valuable role in which Latias can actually justify its slot over Latios which is being one of the best cripplers on this Generation. If you've seen my previous team on DDW, this is pretty much Latias' main role for the Tower to guarantee a support sweeper or a bulky win-con get the job done. Even though this set only applies for the Tower, Latias is a decent mon to use as an offensive sweeper in case you favor its higher defense stats or you can't RNG a good Latios.Salamence
Salamence is arguably one of the best sweepers of this generation and that has proven to be true throughout the years. A great stat distribution where its offensive stats and great Speed gets the highlight, very few things are able to stop Salamence's sweep after a couple of boosts. HP Flying is a reliable STAB that gets a respectable amount of kills after a Dragon Dance and it gets Earthquake to complement its coverage with the whole purpose of punishing Steel and Rock types who think they are safe from its onslaught. It also gets Intimidate which is one of the best abilities on this game which lowers the foe's Attack stat and weakens it either to grab more chances to set-up against a weakened foe or for another teammates to take advantage of the Attack redcuction.
It's biggest drawback comes from the fact that because this Trumpet Seaworld region has too much water (7/10), any water type and its mother will surely have an Ice Beam ready to obliterate Salamence's dream of getting the sweep. Also, if you can afford running HP Flying, Aerial Ace is its second best STAB which due to its pathetic base power, it is simply unable to grab kills even at +1 or +2. But hey, at least it won't miss against Double Team spammers which is something.Gengar
Gengar's great speed tier, expansive movepool and it's actually great defensive typing combined with Levitate makes it a really awesome Pokemon to use in Frontier. You'll never want to run fully offensive sets because Gengar has no special STABs on this generation which hampers a lot its offensive potential. However, Gengar has an incredible support moveset, often overlooked, and with options such as Taunt, Destiny Bond and even Perish Song, if you know how to use these at your own advantage, you got a solid Pokemon that can shine on many facilities. It's also worth to mention that because of its Ghost typing and Levitate, Gengar is only vulnerable to Sheer Cold from all OHKO moves available.
It's main flaws relies on the fact that its defenses are paper thin and even if you invest bulk on Gengar, any respectable super-effective STAB will destroy it. With Psychic types being very common on this generation, Gengar can't really do a lot to them unless it involves taking them down with him via Destiny Bond assuming you're ok with losing him on the process. Destiny Bond is pretty OP on Dome and has great utility on Tower.
PS: You are a complete noob if you're using a fully special attacking Gengar.
A+ Rank
Steelix
Steelix is IMO the 2nd best Steel type of this generation and trust me, me and Adedede spent a hell lot of our time to put some respect on its name. While its overall BST is not that impressive outside that outstanding base 200 Defense, Steelix possesses a unique type combination which grants it 9 resistances and two immunities only for the price of 3 weaknesses. It also possesses Sturdy which is a fantastic ability to block and laugh at Lapras 8's miserable attempts on doing anything relevant in front of it.
The CB set is the most splashable one facility-wise because it gains a respectable amount of power with the item and it does very well on the Dome and Pyramid (with Steelix having a super favorable match-up against Brandon's Silver and Gold parties). However, if you aim for higher streaks on the Tower, you definitely want to use the Calm Protect + Torment set I built with my friend Thomaz. Because most Pokemon rely on a single coverage move to hurt Steelix, after a Protect Steelix can easily block said move and recover the lost HP on a move that is not threatening towards it while stalling out the opponent.
Steelix also has its flaws which means that despite its huge defensive prowess, Steelix falls down to special Fire and Water attacks which significantly hurt it a lot. While Steelix can shrug off any non-STAB Ground and Fight attack, STAB users like Machamp or Flygon are an issue. However, Sturdy and its immunity to OHKO attacks makes up for its shortcomings and it is a very good Pokemon to use on this Generation, much more than what you can think of.Swampert
Greatly balanced stats, two strong STABs and an awesome defensive typing with only one weakness, there's a reason why Werster used Swampert on his speedrun team. STAB Ground attacks are incredibly powerful on this generation and Swampert is easily capable of destroying Pokemon such as opposing Metagross and it also gains access to Ice Beam to put Salamence on its toes. It's STAB Surf is also a great offensive move Swampert can rely on to hit targets like Golem and Rhydon who take more damage from it than Earthquake. It's biggest strength relies on its immunity to Electric types which allows it to beat very easily Pokemon like Jolteon or Zapdos. It also brings a sturdy Rock resistance which is very welcome against Pokemon like Regirock or Tyranitar (if you are on Open Level).
One of its main issues comes from the fact that Swampert "doesn't knows" what exactly it wants to be due to its balanced stats. There's not really a stat you want to hinder because even by adding Spe EVs on a -Spe nature it has a valuable niche (Which is what Werster used on his run) and as a result, there's no ideal EV spread for Swampert which makes it complicated to use it. As a Water type, it's lack of an Ice and Water resistance makes it a very shaky answer against its own kindred; unlike Pokemon like Suicune, Milotic or even Vaporeon, Swampert has an unfavorable match-up against opposing Water types because it gets hit neutrally from them and critical hits can easily take it down. Also, it's lack of recovery outside Rest makes it very easy to worn out on longer games which is not ideal. Swampert is a great Pokemon but not a suitable one for longer streaks in facilities such as the Battle Tower.Starmie
Starmie is basically a poor man's Lati@s or at least your excuse of not being able to use an Eon Dragon with decent IVs. It's amazing Speed and respectable Special Attack combined with its simple yet incredible coverage options makes it a great Pokemon to use as a lead if you decide to use it. Thanks to Natural Care, Starmie can easily switch out and heal its status ailments.
Due to the incredibly limited item options in Gen 3 for a sweeper, Starmie doesn't has an ideal item (sigh, if only Life Orb or Expert Belt were introduced a generation sooner) which makes it awkward to decide upon. Starmie's defenses are not that good and pretty much anything that is able to take a hit from Starmie and able to hit back with super-effective moves, will surely take it down.Flygon
Flygon is one of my personal favorites and while you might be wondering what does it brings ahead of Salamence or Lati@s the answer is simple: STAB Earthquake. With a Choice Band, Flygon is guaranteed to kill any Rock or Steel type outside Regirock or Skarm (obvious) with its STAB Earthquake while dealing huge damage to anything that is hit neutrally to it. It also gains access to Rock Slide which hits whatever is immune or resistant to Earthquake which pretty much complements its coverage.
That's where my praise of Flygon ends though. One of my main issues on using it is that it is very difficult to teambuild with. Flygon can't really use any other item such as Choice Band which makes it harder to balance with a Pokemon like Metagross who also needs the item. It's other two moves outside Rock Slide and Earthquake are pretty much filler. Fire Blast could be used but you'll need a significant amount of SpA EVs in order to kill Forretress and Scizor while it remains as its only option to defeat Skarmory because Flamethrower is so pitifully weak. Fly is an option but simply because for some odd reason Game Freak couldn't put Aerial Ace on its moveset for this generation. Quick Attack works for Reversal Medicham and Heracross, I guess.Milotic
Milotic or commonly aka "the Suicune replacement" as a bad taste joke for April Fool's. Milotic is a pretty good Pokemon on its own if you know exactly what its role is supposed to mean to. One of its biggest niches steams from the fact that since it gains access to instant recovery unlike Suicune, Milotic can pretty much free its last moveslot deciding on how it wants to support its team. Base 81 Speed is pretty good since with Icy Wind, it can outrun base uninvested 100s like Salamence 4 and defeat them 1-v-1. Also, since its Special Attack is higher, it can effectively use Ice Beam since it will definitely take out big chunks of health from its targets. Toxic is also a good move since it lets Milotic wall most of its kindred and put them on timer (shame that Gyarados 4 will beat you regardless). While most invest on their Defense state to maximize its durability considering how high its Special Defense is, Milotic is a very difficult Pokemon to take down meaning to stay in the match and provide that defensive backbone a team is looking for.
The only flaw I can think on Milotic is that since it lacks Suicune's sweeping potential, it only limits itself to a defensive role which is inferior to what Blissey can already provide to a team.
PS: Please don't use him as a Suicune replacement. Milotic is a good Pokemon on its own, not on a role where you wish you had Cune instead.
A Rank
Tauros
Raikou
Gyarados
Snorlax
Heracross
A- Rank
Moltres
Vaporeon
Zapdos
Aerodactyl
Registeel
Skarmory
B+ Rank
Dusclops
Registeel
Ludicolo
Regice
Gardevoir
Alakazam
B Rank
Medicham
Espeon
Scizor
Jolteon
Wobbuffet
Sceptile
Quagsire
B- Rank
Blaziken
Wobbufet
Porygon2
Magneton
Crobat
Umbreon
+C Rank
Weezing
Shedinja
Linoone
Smeargle
Machamp
Ninetales
C Rank
Regirock
Meganium
Ursaring
Dodrio
Houndoom
Rhydon
-C Rank
Venusaur
Hitmonlee
Charizard
Dragonite
Donphan
Arcanine
Articuno
First of all, thanks!On a separate note I have been following Adedede's and Kommo-o's Records and I have to say congrats to you both. I do have questions for Adedede, how do you deal with calm mind Entei and calm mind Latios? It seems like you couldn't do anything with skarmory and I don't think blissey would be able to survive an onslaught of +6 moves
I'm not actually advocating that we factor in availability, I just think it contradicts the reasoning behind doing a combined list for all facilities.
I would say Suicune is S+ rank if you get a good IV one in Colosseum, A+ rank otherwise. I was estastic to get one in LG with a Bold nature with 29/1/0/0/0/0 ivs after like 6 resets, but the lack of ivs is noticeable compared to the one I got from Colosseum. I agree with your assessment on the other S tiers. I'm not a huge fan of perish song gengar or full special (because of the lack of stab), but I really think explosion Gengar with Hasty is where it's at. I used a smogon set, but someone can probably generate a better one that optimizes the attack evs. Obviously there's some that prefer the D-bond route, but I think it's worth mentioning because explosion is useful even in match ups vs fat teams that can't kill you. Like booming on Blissey and Umbreon, which I've done loads of times in my Battle Arena runs. In fact, I think it's especially useful in that format, because you can't switch and even if you don't ko the target (which is rare besides immunities and hard resists), you end the turn (which prevents double team/curse from stuff like Snorlax). There's also only 6 ghost types (Misdreavus, Dusclops, Gengar, Shedninja, Banette, Sable-eye) but I've only ever struggled with Gengar and Dusclops with double team.
I tried a specially defensive Dusclops set in the Tower with Sub CM Latias and Suicune and got 84 wins. But Dusclops was underwhelming. It's bad hp stat really undermines it's great defenses and it's prone to getting haxed. No reliable recovery either, so it has to rely on rest or pain split. When the matchup is good, Dusclops pp stalls with the best of them, but I found it was a little too frail for my liking. I replaced it with Registeel and I'm experiencing way more success. Registeel deserves to be A or A+ rank imo.
Magneton and Jolteon seem high. Trapping steels isn't an important niche and I struggle to see how Magneton is useful even with it's great resistances and good special attack. Jolteon needs to run Timid to guarantee speed ties vs Aero and it's special attack is nothing special. It's coverage is basically just t-bolt and hidden power. I guess you can t-wave or baton pass subs/petaya/liechi berry, but I don't think Baton pass is particularly useful in any facility.
Same goes for Ninetales. Maybe grudge is interesting? I don't see how it excels defensively or offensively with that barren movepool.
Tyranitar should be on the list. No higher than B-, probably a C or C+ ranker. I don't think it's a good DD user and wouldn't be as useful as you would like in the defensive role with it's weaknesses. Not going to argue too much for it, because I'm not sure what niche it has. Maybe the sub focus punch set is worth exploring.
Breloom should be on the list too. Spore, Focus punch, sub, leech/hidden power/snatch is interesting enough to warrant a C or C+ grade imo.
I think skarmory should be higher. Imo its very close to steelix.
Regice is too high. And registeel is on there twice. I think registeel should be in A- rank and not in B+
On a separate note I have been following Adedede's and Kommo-o's Records and I have to say congrats to you both. I do have questions for Adedede, how do you deal with calm mind Entei and calm mind Latios? It seems like you couldn't do anything with skarmory and I don't think blissey would be able to survive an onslaught of +6 moves
You shouldn't be using a FR/LG Suicune anyways since all roamers before Emerald are glitched to 0 IVs. If you can get a Suicune with good IVs, you get one of the best Pokemon for Frontier use. Glitches are not a reason to affect ranking since if you're able to get it the most efficient version, you use it. You don't use a bad quality version of it.
Regarding Gengar, Explosion does sounds interesting for Arena use. You underestimate severely how good Perish Song is and on one of my stall teams, I got to 500 wins with it. Perish Song is a very reliable way to get rid of Double Team spammers and Curse users, specially if you use a bulky set without attacks. Gengar shouldn't be max offense anyways since the lack of STAB severely hurts its viability.
Registeel is a good sweeper, but the thing is that its use is only limited to Battle Tower. Registeel needs its other two teammates to support it heavily and create chances for it to set-up. Without the ability of fulling set-up, it is very weak and underwhelming. Arena only has three turns and Registeel won't do a lot with such a limited short of time. On Dome, battles are 2-v-2 and only one partner is not really enough to buy opportunities on such fast paced battles where you can simply use a much better option like Metagross and deal immediate damage. On Pike, how does it stands out compared to what Metagross or Steelix can do? Are the wild Pokemon of the Pyramid letting you run away if you have Registeel on your team?
I haven't personally fiddled with any of these, so I am welcome to more suggestions. Jolteon does deserve a mention for having that base +130 Speed which means that it will outspeed everything (FYI all Aerodactyl sets on Frontier are not +Spe nature and it only speed ties with Jolteon 4).
Ninetales definitely deserves more exploration. It gains access to Grudge and Charm which are worthy of experimenting with it already. Thanks for the suggestion!
I definitely forgot to add Tyranitar but mostly because I was focused on Lv.50 only. It could definitely be added at least for that format but not sure where it could be ranked. I did have previous runs on Open Level with Taunt & Dragon Dance and I really was impressed with how good it is. It shuts down pretty much any Psychic type so it definitely has its niche.
Breloom is pretty weak. Average Speed, most normal types like Ursaring have Aerial Ace as coverage moves and weakness to Psychic is a huge hindrance along with pitiful defenses. I don't think Breloom deserves a high rating since it requires too much set-up and relies on the turns it can buy with Spore.
Kommo-o After reading the detailed write-ups, where you explain in which facilities exactly the pokemon are good etc I think I know understand better what the list is going for. I guess what put me off is that it didn't really correspond to my own experience as a new player. I tried to tackle one facility at a time and always build a specific team for a given facility (I would have never thought of first building a collection of pokemon that work well on the whole facility) so I didn't really see how the list would have benefitted this approac. But with the detailed write-ups it probably works anyways, altough I think I would still prefer a separate list for each facility.
Adedede really excited to read that tower script when it's finished!
On a different note, my tower streak ended at 657 wins. I lost to a Dugtrio-3 killing Linoone on Turn 1 with Fissure and then double-critting through Latios with Double-Edge (swap stalling wasn't an option because of Arena Trap). Dugtrio should definitely be added to my threatlist as well.
Catching up on the last two pages and I have some words regarding tiering.
Availability speaks literally zero about how well the Pokemon performs in battle, and thus shouldn't be considered for a tiering list. If I'm purely a retail player and I see Moltres in S+ but it needs Morning Sun or W-o-W, it's my responsibility to decide whether or not it's worth the time investment for the XD playthrough and whether I should learn2rng or settle for soft reset. Technically the only requirement for Moltres specifically to do its job is +Speed nature with 31 IVs, so I can even aim for Jolly, Hasty, or Naive thus widening my options on what to settle for. If I don't have the time for ANY of this, I cut my losses and find something else to use instead of Moltres. Every Pokemon is different, but the same thought process applies.
Ok, since there's a renewed interest in Dome (finally!), I want to make a quick post about updated speedtier in Dome.
Since every opponent in this facility has just 3 IVs Pokémon, every offensive/defensive calc gains huge advantages for the player.
That's also true for speedtier, because now some good Pokémon with middling Speed (Suicune and Moltres for example) can outspeed and stall a completely new range of opponents, while monstrous wallbreakers like Slaking can now shine for real and outpace almost every foe.
Every player must have this knowledge approaching at the Dome, since every EV invested to outspeed/outdamage 31 IVs foes can be totally wasted and better used in other stats, tanking now unexpected hits or scoring KOs on too bulky enemies before.
184 (200)
Jolteon-4
168 (182)
Crobat-3, Crobat-4, Jolteon-1
166 (180)
Ninjask-1, Ninjask-2
158 (172)
Dugtrio-1, Dugtrio-2, Dugtrio-3, Dugtrio-4, Sceptile-1, Sceptile-2, Sceptile-4, Sneasel-2
157 (171)
Aerodactyl-1, Aerodactyl-2
153 (167)
Raikou-1, Raikou-2, Raikou-3, Raikou-4, Starmie-3, Starmie-4, Starmie-5, Starmie-7, Starmie-8
150 (166)
Gengar1
148 (162)
Espeon-2, Espeon-3, Espeon-4, Gengar-2, Gengar-3, Gengar-4, Gengar-5, Gengar-6, Gengar-7, Gengar-8, Tauros-1
147 (161)
Sceptile-3
146 (160)
Electrode-2, Electrode-3, Electrode-4
143 (157)
Electabuzz-3, Manectric-1, Manectric-2, Manectric-3, Manectric-4, Scyther-2
140 (156)
Kangaskhan-3
138 (152)
Charizard-1, Charizard-2, Charizard-3, Dodrio-1, Dodrio-2, Dodrio-3, Dodrio-4, Entei-1, Entei-2, Entei-3, Entei-4, Fearow-1, Fearow-2, Fearow-3, Flygon-1, Flygon-2, Ninetales-1, Ninetales-2, Ninetales-3, Ninetales-4, Raichu-1, Raichu-3, Salamence-1, Salamence-7, Salamence-8, Typhlosion-1, Typhlosion-3, Zapdos-1, Zapdos-2
137 (151)
Espeon-1, Latias-8, Latios-8
136 (150)
Aerodactyl-3, Aerodactyl-4, Crobat-1, Crobat-2, Heracross-2, Jolteon-2, Jolteon-3, Misdreavus-4, Pinsir-2
134 (149)
Xatu-3
133 (147)
Arcanine-1, Arcanine-2, Arcanine-3, Arcanine-4, Houndoom-2, Houndoom-3, Houndoom-4
132 (146)
Electabuzz-2, Rapidash-2, Rapidash-3, Rapidash-4
131 (144)
Electrode-1
129 (145)
Gardevoir-6, Magmar-2, Meganium-3, Pidgeot-2
128 (142)
Kangaskhan-4, Moltres-3, Moltres-5, Venomoth-2, Zangoose-2
127 (141)
Charizard-4, Flygon-3, Flygon-4, Raichu-1, Rapidash-1, Salamence-2, Tentacruel-3, Typhlosion-2, Typhlosion-4, Zapdos-3
126 (140)
Alakazam-1, Alakazam-2, Alakazam-3, Alakazam-4
123 (137)
Articuno-1, Golduck-4, Heracross-3, Heracross-4, Suicune-1, Suicune-3, Suicune-4
122 (136)
Houndoom-1, Sharpedo-2
121 (135)
Starmie-1, Starmie-2, Starmie-6
118 (132-134)
Breloom-1, Blaziken-3, Gardevoir-3, Gardevoir-4, Gardevoir-8, Glalie-2, Medicham-1, Medicham-2, Medicham-3
117 (133)
Gardevoir-1, Gyarados-2
116 (130)
Jumpluff-2, Latias-1, Latias-2, Latias-3, Latias-4, Latias-5, Latias-6, Latias-7, Latios-1, Latios-2, Latios-3, Latios-4, Latios-5, Latios-6, Latios-7, Tauros-2, Tauros-3, Tauros-4
113 (128)
Flareon-3
113 (127)
Absol-2
112 (126)
Golduck-2
111 (125)
Electabuzz-4
107 (123)
Lapras-2
108 (122)
Breloom-2, Breloom-3, Breloom-4, Delcatty-2, Metagross-5
107 (121)
Gardevoir-5, Glalie-3
106 (120)
Exploud-3, Fearow-4, Miltank-1, Miltank-2, Miltank-3, Miltank-4, Raichu-4, Salamence-3, Salamence-4, Salamence-5, Salamence-6, Slaking-1, Slaking-2, Slaking-3, Slaking-4, Tentacruel-1, Tentacruel-2, Tentacruel-4, Zapdos-4
105 (119)
Lanturn-3, Lanturn-4
101 (115)
Jynx-1, Jynx-2, Jynx-3, Jynx-4, Xatu-1, Xatu-2, Xatu-4
99 (113)
Magmar-3, Magmar-4
97 (111)
Metagross-1, Metagross-2, Metagross-3, Metagross-8
96 (112)
Donphan-2, Electabuzz-1
96 (110)
Kangaskhan-1, Kangaskhan-2, Moltres-1, Moltres-2, Mr. Mime-2, Mr. Mime-3, Mr. Mime-4
91 (105)
Articuno-2, Articuno-3, Articuno-4, Golduck-3, Heracross-1, Kingdra-1, Kingdra-2, Kingdra-3, Kingdra-4, Misdreavus-1, Misdreavus-2, Misdreavus-3, Nidoking-1, Nidoking-2, Nidoking-3, Nidoking-4, Suicune-2
89 (102)
Magmar-1
87 (101)
Gyarados-1, Gyarados-3, Gyarados-4, Milotic-1, Milotic-2, Milotic-3, Milotic-4, Shedinja-1
86 (100)
Altaria-1, Altaria-2, Altaria-3, Altaria-4, Blaziken-1, Blaziken-2, Blaziken-4, Gardevoir-2, Gardevoir-7, Glalie-1, Glalie-4, Medicham-4, Meganium-1, Meganium-2, Meganium-4, Shiftry-2, Shiftry-3, Shiftry-4, Venusaur-2, Venusaur-3, Venusaur-4
86 (99)
Moltres-4, Mr. Mime-1
84 (98)
Blastoise-1, Blatoise-3, Blastoise-4, Feraligatr-3, Feraligatr-4
83 (97)
Marowak-2, Marowak-3, Marowak-4
82 (96)
Nidoqueen-1, Nidoqueen-2, Nidoqueen-3, Nidoqueen-4, Ursaring-3
81 (94-95)
Golduck-, Claydol-1, Claydol-2, Claydol-3, Claydol-4, Kingler-2
76 (90)
Cloyster-2, Dewgong-2, Dewgong-3, Dewgong-4, Ludicolo-2, Ludicolo-3, Ludicolo-4, Mantine-2, Metagross-4, Metagross-6, Metagross-7, Shiftry-1, Skarmory-1, Skarmory-2, Skarmory-3, Skarmory-4, Venusaur-1, Victreebel-2, Victreebel-3, Victreebel-4
75 (88)
Blastoise-2, Feraligatr-1, Feraligatr-2, Exploud-1, Exploud-2, Exploud-4, Seaking-2
73 (87)
Hypno-2, Hypno-3, Hypno-4, Lanturn-2
71 (85)
Flareon-1, Seviper-2, Scizor-1, Scizor-2, Scizor-3, Scizor-4, Umbreon-1, Umbreon-2, Umbreon-3, Umbreon-4, Vaporeon-1, Vaporeon-2, Vaporeon-3, Vaporeon-4, Walrein-2, Walrein-3
68 (81)
Dewgong-1, Ludicolo-1, Victreebel-1
66 (80)
Clefable-2, Clefable-3, Clefable-4, Lapras-1, Lapras-3, Lapras-4, Lapras-5, Lapras-6, Lapras-7, Lapras-8, Porygon2-1, Porygon2-2, Porygon2-3, Porygon2-4, Swampert-1, Swampert-2, Wailord-2, Wailord-3, Wailord-4, Weezing-1, Weezing-2, Weezing-3, Weezing-4, Whiscash-1, Whiscash-2, Whiscash-3
65 (78)
Hypno-1, Lanturn-1
63 (76)
Flareon-2, Flareon-4, Walrein-1, Walrein-4
61 (75)
Ampharos-2, Ampharos-3, Ampharos-4, Blissey-1, Blissey-2, Blissey-3, Blissey-4, Cacturne-2, Crawdaunt-2, Exeggutor-2, Exeggutor-3, Exeggutor-4, Machamp-1, Machamp-2, Machamp-3, Machamp-4, Machamp-5, Machamp-6, Machamp-7, Machamp-8, Ursaring-1, Ursaring-2, Ursaring-4, Ursaring-5, Ursaring-6, Ursaring-7, Ursaring-8
59 (72)
Clefable-1, Masquerain-2, Swampert-3, Swampert-4, Wailord-1, Whiscash-4
56 (70)
Aggron-1, Aggron-2, Aggron-3, Aggron-4, Bellossom-2, Donphan-1, Donphan-3, Donphan-4, Hariyama-1, Hariyama-3, Hariyama-4, Muk-1, Muk-2, Regirock-1, Regirock-2, Regirock-3, Regirock-4, Regice-1, Regice-4, Registeel-1, Registeel-3, Registeel-4, Vileplume-1, Vileplume-2, Vileplume-3
54 (67)
Ampharos-1, Exeggutor-1, Relicanth-2
51 (65)
Armaldo-1, Armaldo-2, Armaldo-3, Armaldo-4, Golem-1, Golem-2, Golem-3, Golem-4, Gorebyss-2, Granbull-1, Granbull-3, Huntail-2, Marowak-1, Octillery-2, Wigglytuff-2
51 (64)
Tropius-2
50 (63)
Chansey-2, Cradily-2, Cradily-3, Cradily-4, Hariyama-2, Muk-3, Muk-4, Regice-2, Regice-3, Registeel-2, Vileplume-4
46 (60)
Forretress-1, Forretress-2, Forretress-4, Kecleon-2, Rhydon-1, Rhydon-2, Rhydon-3, Rhydon-4
45 (58)
Dunsparce-2, Granbull-2, Granbull-4
44 (57)
Cradily-1
41 (55)
Quagsire-1, Quagsire-3
41 (54)
Forretress-3, Porygon-2
39 (53)
Wobbuffet1, Wobbuffet2
36 (50)
Parasect-2, Slowbro-2, Slowking-2, Slowking-4, Snorlax-1, Snorlax-2, Snorlax-3, Snorlax-4, Snorlax-5, Snorlax06, Snorlax-7, Snorlax-8, Steelix-1, Steelix-2, Steelix-3, Steelix-4
36 (49)
Quagsire-2, Quagsire-4
31 (45)
Dusclops-1, Dusclops-2, Dusclops-3, Dusclops-4, Slowbro-1, Slowbro-3, Slowbro-4, Slowking-1, Slowking-3, Sunflora-2
11 (25)
Shuckle-2, Shuckle-3, Shuckle-4
9 (22)
Shuckle1
There are now some quick considerations about the update speedtier:
- BST 100 Spe Pokémon are the winners without doubts: with a Positive Nature and 196 Spe EVs, they can reach what before was the "blessed 173 speedtier", now set at 159. This allows them to outpace Neutral Nature BST 120 Spe 255 EVs opponents (!) and everything slower, basically being outsped only by some Jolteon and Crobat sets. Yes, Slaking is a complete monster.
- Strongest Pressure users sadly have a middling Spe, but thanks to this glitch they can really shine in Dome: Suicune with 244+ Spe EVs and a Timid nature can reach 149 Spe, outspeeding Neutral Nature BST 110 Spe 255 EVs foes (most notably Espeon and Gengar!), while Moltres with a Timid nature and 236+ Spe EVs can reach 154 and outspeed also Raikou and Starmie!
- Even with 3 Spe IVs, Jolteon 4 remains a devilish presence: with 184 Spe, even a Positive Nature 115 BST Spe 252+ EVs Pokémon will fail to outspeed, falling "just" at 183. Of course, now a BST 120 Spe Poké can outpace this foe, but at my eyes it still remains a strong threat to face without a blank defensive counter.
At this point, every player that wants to challenge the Dome must consider these aspects while teambuilding and preparing gameplans.
"IVs glitch" and tie rule make Dome the most player-friendly and enjoyable facility in my opinion, so I hope to see interesting ideas and streaks soon!
Jolly max speed Breloom hits 262 speed and out speeds every relevant normal type besides Kanga, one variant of Tauros and some variants of Slaking. Regarding major battles, Loom outspeeds Tucker's Charizard, Latias, Salamence, Palace Suicune, Palace 1 Slaking, Palace Arcanine, Anabel's Entei, Greta's Heracross and Greta's Gengar(who you can't really hit besides leech seed, but at least you can spore it turn 1. Also destroys Brandon's team 1. I never bothered to switch my team out for the pyramid, but if I did, Loom would function similar to Heracross in this format, at least for the early rounds. You can spore to potentially make running from wild mons easier and Stab focus punch obviously hits hard. Breloom is certainly a niche mon, but it's no worse than C if Hitmonlee is in it too. Hitmonlee for instance is outclassed as a reversal user by Heracross or Medi and outclassed as a bulky fighting type by Machamp. You can argue that's why it's at C, but why bother using it if it brings nothing different to the table? Even comparing to Venusaur, which also shares a typing with Breloom, Loom boasts a much better sleep move in spore over sleep powder. Both sets lose to faster water types with ice beam such as starmie, even Venu unless you run the sub optimal giga drain. No one runs offensive Venu either, so at least Breloom's speed might actually let it cripple something before it takes a hit.
If you aren't that convinced, I'll try a run with it in the Dome or Arena, which are probably it's best facilities.
I’ve actually had decent success with a StallTar running Torment / Protect / Substitute / Curse, with HP and SpDef investment. I could probably swap Sub out for HP Rock, but I also run Leftovers. I don’t have much experience with higher levels just yet, but I think his bulk and residual damage could come in very handy. I personally feel bad cheating the system a little bit by removing TTar and Nite, but so be itYou shouldn't be using a FR/LG Suicune anyways since all roamers before Emerald are glitched to 0 IVs. If you can get a Suicune with good IVs, you get one of the best Pokemon for Frontier use. Glitches are not a reason to affect ranking since if you're able to get it the most efficient version, you use it. You don't use a bad quality version of it.
Regarding Gengar, Explosion does sounds interesting for Arena use. You underestimate severely how good Perish Song is and on one of my stall teams, I got to 500 wins with it. Perish Song is a very reliable way to get rid of Double Team spammers and Curse users, specially if you use a bulky set without attacks. Gengar shouldn't be max offense anyways since the lack of STAB severely hurts its viability.
Registeel is a good sweeper, but the thing is that its use is only limited to Battle Tower. Registeel needs its other two teammates to support it heavily and create chances for it to set-up. Without the ability of fulling set-up, it is very weak and underwhelming. Arena only has three turns and Registeel won't do a lot with such a limited short of time. On Dome, battles are 2-v-2 and only one partner is not really enough to buy opportunities on such fast paced battles where you can simply use a much better option like Metagross and deal immediate damage. On Pike, how does it stands out compared to what Metagross or Steelix can do? Are the wild Pokemon of the Pyramid letting you run away if you have Registeel on your team?
I haven't personally fiddled with any of these, so I am welcome to more suggestions. Jolteon does deserve a mention for having that base +130 Speed which means that it will outspeed everything (FYI all Aerodactyl sets on Frontier are not +Spe nature and it only speed ties with Jolteon 4).
Ninetales definitely deserves more exploration. It gains access to Grudge and Charm which are worthy of experimenting with it already. Thanks for the suggestion!
I definitely forgot to add Tyranitar but mostly because I was focused on Lv.50 only. It could definitely be added at least for that format but not sure where it could be ranked. I did have previous runs on Open Level with Taunt & Dragon Dance and I really was impressed with how good it is. It shuts down pretty much any Psychic type so it definitely has its niche.
Breloom is pretty weak. Average Speed, most normal types like Ursaring have Aerial Ace as coverage moves and weakness to Psychic is a huge hindrance along with pitiful defenses. I don't think Breloom deserves a high rating since it requires too much set-up and relies on the turns it can buy with Spore.
Over 50% HP | Below 50% HP |
Attack | Defense | Support | Attack | Defense | Support |
79% (Choice Band) | - | 21% Incapable | 94% (Choice Band) | - | 6% Incapable |
Earthquake, Rock Slide | - | - | Earthquake, Rock Slide | - | - |
Over 50% HP | Below 50% HP |
Attack | Defense | Support | Attack | Defense | Support |
30% | 20% | 50% | 32% | 58% | 10% |
Surf, Icy Wind | Recover | Toxic | Surf, Icy Wind | Recover | Toxic |
Over 50% HP | Below 50% HP |
Attack | Defense | Support | Attack | Defense | Support |
38% | 31% | 31% | 32% | 58% | 10% |
Aerial Ace, Silver Wind | Morning Sun | Leer | Aerial Ace, Silver Wind | Morning Sun | Leer |
Reporting an on-going 42 win streak at the Battle Palace on retail cartridge. So decided that since I got completely burned out from playing Sword/Shield and after losing my record at the Tower, I would be going on and play some of the other facilities while doing some exploration with Pokemon that I usually don't use outside Tower. I decided to go ahead and make a run of my money for what I do consider the 2nd worst facility in the whole game: The Battle Palace.
Yes that place where you actually fear Volbeat 2 and becomes a much more relevant threat than Armaldo 3 on this facility simply because the AI will make the moves for your Pokemon and most of the times... they will psychologically abuse you. After having my stress levels over the chat due to how Suicune betrayed me on this facility, I decided to replace Suicune with Milotic and so far, I have been satisified with the results. I feel very proud of this team and I can say that as long as your Pokemons make the right decision, they will carry you on this facility:
TheLetterA (Flygon) (F) @ Choice Band
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpD
EVs: 4 HP / 248 Atk / 6 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
Hasty Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
Hasty move preference percentage:
Over 50% HP Below 50% HP
Attack Defense Support Attack Defense Support79% (Choice Band) - 21% Incapable 94% (Choice Band) - 6% Incapable Earthquake, Rock Slide - - Earthquake, Rock Slide - -
Nothing else needs to be said or explained about this Flygon set. Hasty nature is simply the best nature to use on this facility and it only requires two moves to work properly. Because Choice Band restricts the move choice, the actual attacking odds for Flygon are 79% since that 21% where it would've attacked dumbly is restricted by it. Once it is below 50% HP, it becomes a whooping 94% with only a 6% where it becomes incapable of using its own power.
Coverage wise, Earthquake and Rock Slide are the only moves that Flygon needs because its physical movepool is pretty barren and locking into anything else is begging for defeat. Flygon is used on the lead position since once it makes its move, you'll know what move it will be using for the rest of the match and swap accordingly if the enemy resists it or is immune to it.
Venus (Milotic) (F) @ Leftovers
IVs: 0 Atk
EVs: 244 HP / 254 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Ability: Marvel Scale
Level: 50
Bold Nature
- Surf
- Toxic
- Recover
- Icy Wind
Bold move preference percentage:
Over 50% HP Below 50% HP
Attack Defense Support Attack Defense Support30% 20% 50% 32% 58% 10% Surf, Icy Wind Recover Toxic Surf, Icy Wind Recover Toxic
After being psychologically abused and scarred for life by Suicune who simply refused to take down a Marowak 2 on one of my battles at Palace where it decided to boost CM in front of it, without ever fucking attacking once, until Marowak killed it... I decided that I needed a new team member. Milotic kills it on this facility due to its access of instant recovery and at below health, it will prioritize restoring its lost HP which makes it a great mon to rely into as the defensive backbone of this team. 50% chance of poisoning everything on sight is great because this makes Milotic a reliable Toxic staller that is able to defeat the Water types that Flygon struggles against. Also, its attacking odds are decent enough to take advantage of Surf. Icy Wind is there because it allows Milotic to put control on Salamence 4 and it was very useful vs Spencer's Hasty Suicune to which Milotic reduced its Speed and taking out of the window the possibility of getting flinched by boosted Bites.
Because Milotic has moves that fit into all three categories, it will always be guaranteed to make a move which is pretty great, although it won't always pick the correct one. However, on this hot pile of garbage facility, I'll take anything else other than "being incapable of using its own power."
Asura (Scizor) (M) @ Lum Berry
IVs: 29 HP / 30 Def / 18 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Atk / 4 Def / 10 SpD / 136 Spe
Ability: Swarm
Level: 50
Adamant Nature
- Aerial Ace
- Silver Wind
- Morning Sun
- Swords Dance
Adamant move preference percentage:
Over 50% HP Below 50% HP
Attack Defense Support Attack Defense Support38% 31% 31% 32% 58% 10% Aerial Ace, Silver Wind Swords Dance, Morning Sun Incapable or dumb Aerial Ace, Silver Wind Swords Dance, Morning Sun Incapable or dumb
This is a real Scizor with cojones, none of that Bullet Punch and Mega Scizor bs. But seriously, this is the facility where I less enjoyed using it. Being honest, I only took a page from greentyphlosion's team and the only reason why he's here is because its resistances complements Milotic and Flygon perfectly. However, the odds of it being incapable of using its power are pretty high on good health and this has been the main cause of my frustrations on this current run. When Scizors picks its moves correctly, this is an amazing Pokemon to use since boosted Silver Winds hurt a lot and getting the omni-boost is always nice. Morning Sun grants recovery and with Adamant's preference of using it at low health, it knows at times when to use it. The main attacks are there for good reasons: Aerial Ace is there to punish Double Team spammers and preventing them from getting away with Palace shenanigans. It also destroys Breloom and Heracross which are troublesome for Flygon and Milotic. Silver Wind is the main STAB and what Scizor will use to destroy the Grass types both Flygon and Milotic struggle against.
I might consider replacing Swords Dance because in the end, Scizor doesn't really gets a lot of good support moves and the incorrect use of Swords Dance has lead to too many close battles. At least Morning Sun will recover the lost HP below the healthy percentage. Open to any suggestion on Scizor's last move.
TL:DR: Don't do this facility and ever come back to it. If you're aiming for a serious streak (just like I am), think again. This place will make any grown man cry rivers of tears and suffering. It's not fun watching your Pokemon use Swords Dance until they die. It's not fun. It will make you angry and have PTSD episodes. Easily the 2nd worst facility on this game behind the Factory.