Noctowl Discussion

[Footnote]

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-dp/164.shtml

100 HP/50 Attack/50 Defense/76 Sp Attack/96 Sp Defense/70 Speed/442 Total

Physical Movepool:
Sky Attack
Aerial Ace
Pluck
Fly
Return
Faint Attack
Zen Headbutt

Special Movepool:
Air Slash
Extrasensory
Psychic
Dream Eater
Shadow Ball
Silver Wind
Night Shade

Support Movepool:
Foresight
Hypnosis
Reflect
Psycho Shift
Roost
Mirror Move
Whirlwind
FeatherDance
Agility
Toxic/Rest/Attract/Endure/Captivate/Sleep Talk/Swagger/Substitute
Sunny Day/Rain Dance
Recycle
Psych Up
Defog

I think for most people, Noctowl is the most forgettable Normal/Flying type. It doesn't quite have the power of Staraptor and Togekiss, nor does it have the old-school nostalgia that even Fearow and Farfetch'd can claim. There's a reason it's been forgotten for so long. For one thing, it wasn't particularly useful when it was unveiled in 2nd gen. Do you know how many new level-up attacks it gained in the transition to 3rd gen? Zero.

But like pretty much every other lower-tier Pokémon, Noctowl finally gets a chance to shine in D/P with the introduction of special STAB, Roost, and Psycho Shift, among other things. So, let's see some sets.

Well-Rounded
Noctowl @ Leftovers/Light Clay and Insomnia
Air Slash
Hypnosis
Reflect
Roost

Phuquoph's set from later in the thread. A good all-around set that can set up Reflect and put threats to sleep.

Vanilla Special Attacker
Noctowl @ Leftovers/Salac Berry and Insomnia
Air Slash
Shadow Ball/Extrasensory/Silver Wind
Shadow Ball/Extrasensory/Silver Wind
Roost

Noctowl has quite a few mediocre special attacks to choose from, which seems appropriate given its mediocre Sp Attack stat. The one advantage that Noctowl enjoys is that it has good staying power along with Roost, meaning that attacks with added effects have more chances to activate. A Silver Wind boost could make Noctowl a halfway-decent special sweeper (come to think of it, the lack of Calm Mind on Noctowl surprises me a bit).

Rest-Passer
Noctowl @ Leftovers/Salac Berry and Keen Eye
Air Slash/Dream Eater
Rest
Sleep Talk
Psycho Shift

I believe it has been confirmed that Psycho Shift can pass Sleep. Using this set is a big, big gamble with a relatively low potential payoff. You're probably better off with Hypnosis and Roost/Dream Eater than you are with Rest and Sleep Talk. For those who like novelty sets, this could be good for a laugh.

Burn-Passing Support
Noctowl @ Flame Orb and Insomnia
Air Slash
Psycho Shift
Roost
Agility

This is my favorite Noctowl set and the one I use personally. It's walled by quite a few things in Single Battles but is a valuable support Pokémon in Double Battles. Bring it in on something that can't do much damage to it and use Agility. Depending on you Speed EVs, this should make Noctowl faster than almost any opponent. I like to pump mine to 198 so that it can outrun everything except Electrode and Ninjask. After the Agility round, Noctowl gets burned by its Flame Orb. Once burned, you have the game's second-most-accurate burn-causing move at your disposal: Psycho Shift. High HP and Sp Defense and the ability to cause burns means Noctowl can survive almost any attack once. Once the burn is in place, it's a matter of waiting while using Roost (against things that can still hurt you badly) or using Air Slash (against Fighting-types that would hurt you badly if you used Roost). Burn eats away at your HP, but it also means that you can use Roost at will (it's unusable when your HP is full). This allows you to take normal damage from Electric, Ice, and Rock attacks while the burn eats away at your opponents' HP.

It probably won't show up in standard, but Noctowl has come a long way since Advance. What do you all think?

 

[Lou Cypher]

For pure humor purposes: Noctowl can create 101 HP Subs for all it's worth.

Meh, he did get improvement but...yeah, it's probably not enough. No BoltBeam either...he'll be a NU/UU Special bird. Which is rare but not good enough.

 

[Easton]

He can Featherdance and Reflect. Thinking about:

Noctowl @Leftovers
Trait: Insomnia
Nature: Calm
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 200 SDef
~Substitute
~Reflect
~Air Slash / Roost
~Hypnosis

The prospect of a 101 HP Substitute is still too much to pass up. Puesdo-passer, Substitute on the switch and take a Reflect.

 

[Great Sage]

A chance to shine... yeah right. Noctowl is awful, plain and simple. Hypnosis is pretty much the only reason to use Noctowl over Togekiss. Even mentioning Dream Eater pretty much discredits you on the Rest-passing set, and it is simply too luck-reliant; you have a roughly 54% chance of picking Psycho Shift before you have to rest again. While 54% may not seem that bad, it is bad because it's over 2 turns.

 

[Lou Cypher]

Might I note that it has another problem? Mainly, that whatever it does, Xatu seems to do better. And Xatu isn't much of a stellar pokémon to begin with.

 

[Footnote]

Might I note that it has another problem? Mainly, that whatever it does, Xatu seems to do better. And Xatu isn't much of a stellar pokémon to begin with.

I'd have to disagree with you there. Xatu may have some of the same moves, but the two aren't all that similar. For one thing Xatu doesn't even have access to Air Slash. For another, Noctowl takes hits much better. Xatu's stats are geared more towards offense. Of course, there's also the type difference. Xatu has two more weaknesses due to its Psychic type.

 

[Phuquoph]

Xatu does have a much better movepool, which is why I would always use Hypnosis on Noctowl. Gives him something to do that Xatu can't and sleep is always useful.

He could've done with Nasty Plot or Calm Mind which might have made him a decent sweeper in NU. Sleep, Reflect, Roost, Air Slash is probably his best use. He's not going to be killing much, but he's a decent enough support option in the lower tiers.

 

[Footnote]

Xatu does have a much better movepool, which is why I would always use Hypnosis on Noctowl. Gives him something to do that Xatu can't and sleep is always useful.

He could've done with Nasty Plot or Calm Mind which might have made him a decent sweeper in NU. Sleep, Reflect, Roost, Air Slash is probably his best use. He's not going to be killing much, but he's a decent enough support option in the lower tiers.

If you don't mind, I'll add your set to the original post.

 

[Phuquoph]

Guess I wasn't paying enough attention, I thought it was already there.

Plusle and Minun seem like good choices to pair up with him. Sleep and Reflect to help them set up a Nasty Plot and sweep or pass it to something else. They should work ok together, at least Noctowl has their Ground weakness covered.