Smogon University PO Statistics — January 2012

[Adamant Zoroark]

What people really don't understand is that if you're trying to use Dragonite offensively and not using Roost or ExtremeSpeed, you should be using Salamence. Salamence just does pure offense much better due to having higher Attack, the ability to reliably run a Life Orb (unlike Dragonite), and unlike Haxorus, doesn't get cock-blocked by Skarmory since it has enough Special Attack to roast it with Fire Blast. After a Dragon Dance, Salamence also outspeeds Choice Scarf Haxorus, unlike Dragonite, who gets Multiscale ignored due to Mold Breaker and OHKOed. Moxie truly puts Salamence into a world of its own; It's arguably a much better abuser of the ability than Gyarados and Scrafty, and Salamence has the highest Attack out of any Pokemon that gets Moxie. Let's not forget about Intimidate, either; if Intimidate Salamence switches in on Lucario as it uses Swords Dance, it will survive a +1 ExtremeSpeed and OHKO with Earthquake, while Dragonite can't do that because it is slower and a +2 Ice Punch will OHKO, even with Multiscale intact.

I have used both, and I really find Salamence a lot better. I've found that Salamence's Speed and higher Attack, combined with Moxie, made it easier to sweep with it. Dragonite, on the other hand, was outsped by basically everything that carried a Choice Scarf, and even some that didn't. I still can't understand why Dragonite is spammed on the ladder so much when it's really so easy to prevent it from sweeping.

On another topic: Anyone else think that Claydol usage in UU rising so much is simply because of Donphan rising to OU? I'm also quite amazed at how high Honchkrow usage is in UU right now, and how Houndoom still manages to stay in UU.

 

[Super Mario Bro]

Mence doesn't even need Moxie to be awesome. I've been using the tried and true Classic MixMence set all gen and it's still as good as it has ever been. The extra speed that it has over Dragonite really comes in handy, and Intimidate is flat out better than Multiscale when Life Orb is in the mix.

 

[Mewcario2546]

| 260 | Dewgong | 189 | 0.049% | 151 | 0.047% |

Quite a rise in the usage of dewgong, and I am rather happy about that.

 

[Arcticblast]

...what role does Dewgong play in OU exactly?

 

[PK Gaming]

Deoxys isn't really setup bait with taunt or thunderwave. Yeah, I know deo-s guaranteed the spikes with that huge speed. However, the OU metagame isn't really that fast in this gen and you don't need to play it in a suicidal way all the time like deo-s - like you said, it has huge defenses and is really difficult to ko.

It's not too fast, and there are a fair amount of pokemon that crack base 90 speed. Deoxys-S could setup spikes against the base 108 trio, Starmie, a slew of scarf Pokemon, and even dragon dancers (though to be fair, you'd attack a +1 dragon dancer) He's got a ton of more bulk, but I don't think he's quite in the same league as Deoxys-S. As a reference did you think Deoxys-S was broken?

 

[Mewcario2546]

It has a nice role in rainstall. Since i started using it in october, it was around 360 in usage. I'm just pleased that it has a nice usage now, especially seeings as i was on holidays for all but 3 days of this month, so i can hardly be blamed for it's use :P

 

[Thundur]

People are really wanting something to replace Deo-S. Azelf and Deo-D are the most common I see. As for 1337≤ players, why the sudden rise of Deo-D? Deo-D is good, but not THAT good. As a 1337 player myself, I have not seen that many Deo-D on the ladder. A lot of people 1337≤ that I play are either using Volt-Turn or some kind of no skill SmashPass type play style.

I do not know if it is just me, but from what I have seen on some of my current ladder battles, Volt-Turn is not as popular as it was. Do not get me wrong, Volt-Turn is still popular and as overrated as ever, but still. Offense is still what I see most often, but it is not always Volt-Turn. I see a good bit of Drag+Mag, SmashPass, pure weatherless offense, and suicide lead +5 sweepers. Although I do see a large amount of suicide leads, most of them have been Pokemon other than Deo-D.

Requesting 4th Gen OU please.


Random Comments:

Slowbro and Mew for OU. I probably have to do with a good bit of the Slowbro use.
Hydreigon should be higher. This thing is sexy.
If Scrafty goes UU, I might actually attempt to learn the UU meta.
MENCEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Heatran. Yes. The King is coming back.

 

[MegaKick]

As a person who actually plays a lot on an android but with an actual name and team because I'm not so incredibly stupid and can read directions, this month was just embarrassing. Thing is PO's android app has been out for a while, guess all those Christmas noobs have finally hit pokemon.

WTF why is tentacruel so high in ubers??????? And not a single 1337 person used deo-a in ubers, i am dissapoint.
I'm also surprised that haunter and gurdurr are in the 20s and missy is only #10 in NU, people need to start using eviolite NFEs more. They're not gimmicks people!

 

[Taylor]

What people really don't understand is that if you're trying to use Dragonite offensively and not using Roost or ExtremeSpeed, you should be using Salamence. Salamence just does pure offense much better due to having higher Attack, the ability to reliably run a Life Orb (unlike Dragonite), and unlike Haxorus, doesn't get cock-blocked by Skarmory since it has enough Special Attack to roast it with Fire Blast. After a Dragon Dance, Salamence also outspeeds Choice Scarf Haxorus, unlike Dragonite, who gets Multiscale ignored due to Mold Breaker and OHKOed. Moxie truly puts Salamence into a world of its own; It's arguably a much better abuser of the ability than Gyarados and Scrafty, and Salamence has the highest Attack out of any Pokemon that gets Moxie. Let's not forget about Intimidate, either; if Intimidate Salamence switches in on Lucario as it uses Swords Dance, it will survive a +1 ExtremeSpeed and OHKO with Earthquake, while Dragonite can't do that because it is slower and a +2 Ice Punch will OHKO, even with Multiscale intact.

I have used both, and I really find Salamence a lot better. I've found that Salamence's Speed and higher Attack, combined with Moxie, made it easier to sweep with it. Dragonite, on the other hand, was outsped by basically everything that carried a Choice Scarf, and even some that didn't. I still can't understand why Dragonite is spammed on the ladder so much when it's really so easy to prevent it from sweeping.

The one advantage with Dragonite has over Salamence is that setting up against much more of the metagame comes as second nature to it. If suddenly you're in a disadvantage in a match, generally you can call upon Dragonite at a time where you then begin to force the opponent to really have to go out their way in order to deal with it, which then brings you right back in the game. The reason Scizor can 2HKO most Salamence, and that they likely carry at least one Extremespeed/Scarf user as back-up doesn't do Salamence any favors when trying to clean up.

Moxie can be devestating and is easy to plan because during Team Preview phase, the opponent is already worrying about what set it is running and how it may affect the flow of the game.

I will admit though that I find myself using Lum Berry on Dragonite and MixMence to gape holes in their team, so Dragonite is summoned with a purpose to convince the opponent he can do very little about what happens next.

Landorus seems to feature such diversity, yet the Choice Scarf set remains as a solid check to anything relying on Dragon Dance to take the game by storm. But it's Swords Dance set is as powerful as they come, especially in sand.

 

[New World Order]

Nice to see Deoxys-D, Azelf, and Mew, as well as Abomasnow and Kyurem, approach OU. Breloom and Salamence saw nice jumps as expected as well. Volcarona>Ninetales shows just how deadly the moth is. It's an excellent Pokemon in all weathers. I really don't see how Slowbro has not hit OU yet though. It's one of the few checks to Dragonite and Terrakion in the tier, both of whom are in the top 10. Yes, Scizor and Tyranitar are everywhere, but who else can check so many deadly physical sweepers?

 

[Avira]

I really don't see how Slowbro has not hit OU yet though. It's one of the few checks to Dragonite and Terrakion in the tier, both of whom are in the top 10. Yes, Scizor and Tyranitar are everywhere, but who else can check so many deadly physical sweepers?

Mew is a better Pokemon than Slowbro in my opinion, with less weaknesses and Will-o-wisp/Roar, allowing it to cripple or temporarily remove physical threats.

I just realized that Claydol was above the UU cut-off for last month. This is kind of tragic in my opinion, as Claydol is not that good of a spinner (No Foresight and more weaknesses than Hitmontop/Blastoise). It really has no business being used anywhere near that much.

 

[BurningMan]

Slowbro is cool, but it only fits on stall teams and the fact that Volt-Turn is everywhere isn't doing him any favors too. Sure he is a great counter to some OU pokes, but there are other Pokemon that can check them as well.

What really baffles me is that Donphan is so high in OU. He is a cool spinner for sun teams, but i don't think he is that good.

Conkeldurr is another mon where i don't really get why people are using it whith excadrill gone he essentially lost his biggest niche in OU as Mach Punch isn't revenging much outside of Luke and Terrakion while being set-up fodder for a lot other things.

Mamoswines rise on the other side is really a great thing to see he is a really cool anti-metagame mon thanks to its fantastic dual stab and great movepool that may not be expansive but offers exactly what he needs.

Salamence rise is propably due to the dangerous Scarf Moxie set, but imo his mixed sweeper set is one of the most deadly mons out there.

Deo-D coming up to OU was something i wouldn`t have predicted right when his speedy brother got the boot, but ever since then i have seen it more and more and while he may not be as reliable as Deo-S he is certainly a great addtion for offensive teams.

Overall OU seems really balanced right now and there is no Pokemon i would call broken right now

 

[New World Order]

Mew is a better Pokemon than Slowbro in my opinion, with less weaknesses and Will-o-wisp/Roar, allowing it to cripple or temporarily remove physical threats.

I just realized that Claydol was above the UU cut-off for last month. This is kind of tragic in my opinion, as Claydol is not that good of a spinner (No Foresight and more weaknesses than Hitmontop/Blastoise). It really has no business being used anywhere near that much.

Mew should probably be OU as well, I'm definitely not going to argue that. It is probably the best stallbreaker in the tier not named Breloom or Reuniclus. However, Slowbro can check Terrakion, Dragonite, and other powerful physical attackers more reliably than Mew thanks to Regenerator. The two Pokemon fulfill different niches and shouldn't be compared 1-1.

One of the main issues with UU is that there aren't many viable Spinners anymore. Yes, there's Blastoise and Hitmontop, but that's only two Pokemon, and neither of them can get up Stealth Rock as well. Because there's no longer Donphan competing for a niche, Claydol was bound to trend towards UU.

 

[SuperMegaUltra]

Anyone using Agility on their Deo-D to combat it's speed problem?

 

[Adamant Zoroark]

Anyone using Agility on their Deo-D to combat it's speed problem?

I'm not sure about the effectiveness of this. Sure, Agility removes its speed problem, but what next? It still has zero offensive presence.

 

[DDRMaster]

I assume it would be to make it more like Deoxys-S. Deoxys-D still has respectable Speed and will still let it outspeed and Taunt most other Taunt users, letting it set up. Max Speed Gliscor could Taunt it, but Deoxys-D can still hit it with Ice Beam.

 

[ebeast]

| 37 | Honchkrow | 4250 | 6.163% | 3416 | 5.821% |
| 49 | Sharpedo | 2991 | 4.337% | 2275 | 3.877% |
Will UU possibly to be taking 2 of RU's most feared sweepers? Sounds good to me!

| 53 | Claydol | 2523 | 3.659% | 2241 | 3.819% |
Please don't take my Claydol away :( It would make Sandslash more popular in RU, and NU will never get a good spinner.

| 61 | Ludicolo | 925 | 3.255% | 790 | 3.286% |
| 57 | Medicham | 995 | 3.502% | 792 | 3.294% |
How the mighty have fallen...

 

[TheTraininator]

+ ---- + --------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Usage | Percent | RealUse| RealPct |
+ ---- + --------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------- +
| 1 | Scizor | 5694 | 41.672% | 4738 | 40.315% |
| 2 | Dragonite | 5315 | 38.898% | 4258 | 36.231% |
| 3 | Tyranitar | 5104 | 37.354% | 4722 | 40.179% |
| 4 | Rotom-W | 4693 | 34.346% | 4284 | 36.452% |
| 5 | Terrakion | 3617 | 26.471% | 2852 | 24.267% |
| 6 | Landorus | 2994 | 21.912% | 2622 | 22.310% |

Still the same sand team dominating the 1337 stats again. *sigh*

| 57 | Deoxys-D | 10402 | 2.692% | 9842 | 3.051% | +38

DAAAAAAMMMMMNNNNN Deoxys-D, what a rise! I guess that is to be expected with the ban of Deoxys-S, but man!

| 5 | Tyranitar | 73732 | 19.081% | 65871 | 20.420% |

| 7 | Politoed | 63048 | 16.316% | 58773 | 18.220% |

Wait for Keldeo...

Also, something I've noticed is the HUGE rise in Hitmonchan usage in the RU tier. I mean, it is #6 on the regular usage statistics and #1 on the 1337 stats for crying out loud, much higher than Hitmonlee! Do you think the change it the Hitmon brothers' popularity is because of this generations larger focus on bulkier attackers?

 

[Stratos]

edit post button.

to make this post not worthless, I think Dnite should really be lower than it is. Yeah, it's good, but the meta is too prepared for it. I've never even been annoyed by a Dnite.

 

[Pippy]

edit post button.

to make this post not worthless, I think Dnite should really be lower than it is. Yeah, it's good, but the meta is too prepared for it. I've never even been annoyed by a Dnite.

Agreed. Same thing with Volt-turn. It was cool when it was discovered, but now people are too prepared for it so it's harder to use. I'm not saying either of them are bad, they're at the top for a reason, but they're used so much that they're hard to use since everybody is prepared.

 

[some hero]

What does he mean by "Android" users in the LC description.

And why did people use missingo so much??

 

[Duke Dukey]

What percentage points on the usage charts determine what Tier each pokemon falls into? Also when do these new tier changes take effect on PO?

 

[jayjinde]

I think I have to accept responsibility for Vullaby and Porygon in the LC 1337 stats

 

[ebeast]

Also, something I've noticed is the HUGE rise in Hitmonchan usage in the RU tier. I mean, it is #6 on the regular usage statistics and #1 on the 1337 stats for crying out loud, much higher than Hitmonlee! Do you think the change it the Hitmon brothers' popularity is because of this generations larger focus on bulkier attackers?

Hitmonchan had had that high usage for a while now. The reason was for it being able to beat Honchkrow due to its higher speed, checking threats with its Iron Fist Mach Punch, such as Sharpedo, Crawdaunt, and Krookodile and Porygon-Z(when they were RU) As well as having good coverage and not getting completely walled by Gligar or Qwilfish, and decent bulk.

 

[ebeast]

What percentage points on the usage charts determine what Tier each pokemon falls into? Also when do these new tier changes take effect on PO?

After every 3 months of usage stats Antar averages out the usages and comes up with the final usage chart. From there pokemon with at least 3.41% usage become part of the tier.(Except for NU, there pokemon under 3.41% stay NU) It comes into effect on PO about the same time that the 3month usage stats are released. This was the 1st month of the 3, so the tiers won't change until April, when the March stats come out.