Pokemon of the Week - Mantine

Mantine

Hallo, fellow members of the Hive! Yes, I'm back! I've been away for a while, but now I'm back to kick some butt in Wild Ca-- I mean... The Pokemon Hive! I figured that I may be able to manage posting at least a PotW post each week, along with other major things. I can't deny it, I've been lazy! ><" Anyway, I thought I'd do an entry for Mantine. Not the most powerful thing in the world, but I like him either way. And he steals Octillery's babbies! D8 (Yogscast fans will understand the "babbies" thing) Anyway, for my reasoning for this choice, click here. That's right, click right here!


Serebii.net - Mantine Pokedex Entry

Overview:
Now, today's lesson is set upon a very large manta ray. And as very happy-looking one at that! Mantine has Special Defenses to match even those of the physically-oriented Skarmory! Now as high as that may be, Mantine has a few fatal flaws. It's typing of Water/Flying leaves it vulnerable to Stealth Rock and come common weaknesses, as well as a crippling weakness to Electric. Without Electric and a resistance to Psychic, Mantine doesn't make too good of a wall for a team, but he has his upsides as well. Mantine's Special bulk allows him to easily switch into a Water-Type attack and be healed. And due to his Flying dual-type, he is an excellent switch-in to Grass or Water users like Gorebyss, and can even be safely witched into the oft-powerful Fighting-Type opponent! With immunity to non-rocky traps (the Spikes moves), Mantine can play a pivotal role on your team, if you play him right. Just remember, outside of Rest, he has no healing options, and low HP doesn't welcome that...


Base Stats:
HP - 65
Atk - 40
Def - 70
SpAtk - 80
SpDef - 140
Spd - 70

Movesets:
Mantine @ Leftovers

Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP, 4 Def, 252 SpDef
Nature: Calm
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Scald
- Hidden Power Flying/Toxic

I found this set over on the Smogon site (loving their new BW analyses!), and I really liked the idea! Rest, as Mantine's only healing move, allows you to toss Status Ailments to the side as if they were nothing, and shrug off any non-Electric Special attack to come your way! Sleep Talk with Rest is an age-old strategy, and works well to keep Mantine alive during his nap. In the 5th Generation, Mantine gets a shiny new toy in the form of Scald, which is a godsend to this... ahem... physically-impaired manta ray. Scald gets nice STAB for decent power, and has a very attractive Burn rate. Any Physical Pokemon trying to take advantage of our friend will have to pray to Mew (I don't accept Arceus in that regard...) that they don't get Burned! If they do, Mantine may as well be facing a Special Luvdisc... Now, the last slot is your choice, but I prefer option #1 due to the lack of variety otherwise. Hidden Power Flying gives Mantine a fun tool against enemy Grass and Fighting Types, as well as select others. It will also do more damage to said Grass-Types than Ice Beam would, because of STAB. Toxic is still a great option nonetheless, and will tear through defensive walls and sponges that would normally tank Mantine to no end! So consider your options and your other teammates as per the usual, and make your decision. Honestly, a very fun set to use if you like Mantine! :3




I was thinking of doing another set here, but the thing is... Mantine's movepool is ginormous (did I really just say that?), but he lacks the offensive powers to utilize many of the moves in there. Signal Beam, Ice Beam, some great defensive moves that I would only recommend in a non-Sleep-Talk set, and many more. Just look through his movepool, and if your team has a specific problem with a Pokemon or two, see what Mantine can do to help! I mean, look at that happy/chubby face! He loves you! <3

Oh, and if you're using him in Pokemon Colosseum like in the beginning of my LP, then just go with your most powerful moves, since he's a bit lacking in that game. Blizzard works wonders with his typing as well!




I hope you guys have enjoyed my mini-comeback, and I look forward to hearing from you all! Have a nice day~! Gute nacht, y'all! :3

Pokemon of the Week - Gyarados

Gyarados

Credit for image goes to Delthero (he's on deviantART).

So to start off this week's posts, we have the Atrocious Pokemon, Gyarados! Gyarados has always been another favorite of mine, ever since the first generation games, and has continued to be everyone's favorite Water-Type powerhouse since then. A huge leviathan coming from a single, small, harmless carp, you have #130 in the Kanto and National Dex, Gyarados!

 Serebii.net - Gyarados Pokedex Entry

Overview:

Gyarados is, as I said, an offensive powerhouse. This large sea serpent can take down almost any Pokemon that doesn't resist it. With an incredible Attack stat of 125, and overall well-off defenses, not only will this thing be taking down the enemy, but he'll be surviving them as well! As a Water/Flying dual type, he has resistances against some of the most common metagame move typings, and only has a few key flaws. Also due to his typing, any bulky or fast Pokemon with an Electric attack will be sending Gyarados a blow to be watched for, and the obsession with Stealth Rock nowadays doesn't really help him either. But despite these downsides, Gyarados still manages to be one of the most powerful Pokemon out there. If you use him, he will not disappoint! Just... not against a Starmie or Jolteon, please...

Base Stats:

Hp -  95
Atk - 125
Def - 79
Sp.Atk - 60
Sp.Def - 100
Spd - 81

Movesets:

Gyarados @ Life Orb

Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 Def, 252 Spd
Nature: Adamant
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

This is a favorite set of mine. With this EV spread and nature, along with Life Orb, Gyarados is already a strong hitter. Right? Well, after a Dragon Dance or two, not much will be able to take down this guy, let alone outspeed or survive him! Waterfall is the standard move here, as it's Gyarados's powerful STAB attack. It can hit anything not resistant very, very hard! Along with this, you have Stone Edge for the Flyers and Birds, along with other Gyarados that may try and counter you. Plus it offers nice coverage with Waterfall. To complete a good line of coverage with the other two attacks, we have the everpresent Earthquake! Besides coverage, it allows you to hit those resisting Steel-Types like Metagross and Empoleon. Some people it seems like to use Bounce in the final slot, as it is more powerful that even Waterfall, but you will need to be more lenient with the coverage overall. Just use what best fits the team you are making! And have fun~!

Gyarados @ Choice Band

Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 72 HP, 252 Atk, 184 Spd
Nature: Adamant
- Waterfall
- Payback
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

For this set (the only alternative that I kinda liked), Gyarados is played a bit differently from usual. It still has a boosting item, and Waterfall to maintain the prowess we all know and love. Payback is a nice surprise for enemies, as it can be used to counter what usually counters it like Celebi, or even Starmie and others. Stone Edge is the usual coverage aid with Waterfall, and kills anything airborne, almost. I chose Earthquake again over other options, as it seems more viable to me. Again it takes down Steels that would resist the other attacks. Your only problem will be Brellom that can wall this set otherwise (you can use Ice Fang for him) and... that's basically it, I think? Plus Ice Fang is a more accurate Flyer-killer, but still keeps a role.

Okay, guys! I hope you liked this next Pokemon of the Week! I know it's a bit late again, but I still had Senior Project to work on in school, and it drained my energy lately... But good news! I finished it (besides the presentation), so I have more time and energy! Yay! Wai~! Hehe... Anyway, be looking forward to next time, ok~?! Haha, I'll be writing!

Battle on! And guten tag~ Ja ne~

Pokemon of the Week - Charizard

Charizard

As my second Pokemon of the Week, I chose my number 1 favorite Pokemon ever! Charizard! I've always liked this guy, and I just wish he had more playability in the OU metagame. Anyway, sorry for the PotW delay, I just wanted Typhlosion not to be short-handed~ |3 Enjoy!

Serebii.net - Charizard Pokedex Entry 

Overview:

Charizard boasts a great Special Attack, as well as a very nice Speed that can beat those strange 97, 98, and 99 Base Speed Pokemon nowadays! He is somewhat frail in the defense department, but even his low Attack can be usable on a certain set (one of my faves, talked about below). The only drawback I find to Charizard is his 4x weakness to Rock-Type attacks. This means he's a victim to the metagame's fanboy/girl love of Stealth Rock. I personally distaste using things that are so OVERLY used that it gets annoying. Oh, and as a side note: I didn't realize until I did this Pokemon of the Week, but Charizard and Typhlosion have the exact same Base Stats.. o3o"

Base Stats:

HP - 78

Attack - 84

Defense - 78

Sp.Attack - 109
Sp.Defense - 85

Speed - 100

 Movesets:

Charizard @ Petaya Berry

Ability: Blaze
EVs: 244 Sp.Atk, 252 Spd, 12 HP
Nature: Timid
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam/Focus Blast
- Sunny Day
- Substitute.

This set is pretty easy to understand, and not too hard to pull off. Just put up a
Substitute, use Sunny Day, then Substitute until you reach 1/4 Max HP. Here,
Blaze and the Petaya Berry will activate, and along with Sunny Day, this will make
Charizard into a huge sweeper. Not much will resist a Sunny Blaze STABed
Flamethrower at 319 Base Power. Solar Beam takes care of Waters and most
anything that resists the Flamethrower. You could also take on Tyranitar with
Focus Blast, as he would otherwise destroy your sweep completely here.
Just keep it up, and it may not last long, but you will take down a few with this
dragon's power. And that Petaya Berry just pumps it all up even more at 1/4 HP.
Oh yeah, and if you're wondering about the strange EV setup, this gives Charizard
enough HP to get exactly to 1/4 HP.

Charizard @ Salac Berry
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 140 HP, 116 Atk, 52 Def, 200 Spd
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
- Belly Drum
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Substitute

Ooo~ This is one of my favorite sets~ Anyway, you should come in when
you're not attacked (after losing a teammate) or into a Grass attack, and make
sure whatever you switch into will run away from Charizard. When they switch,
Substitute! Then Belly Drum as they attack your little Rhydon doll there. After
this, you have a Blazing, Max Attack, 1.5x Speed fiery lizard that will take
down almost anything. With these boosts, even a Dragon will cower to a
beefed up Fire Punch! Keep it going, and whatever you do, do NOT get
hit or your lizard will slam down hard! Other than that, you won't have
to worry about much, since Fire Punch and Earthquake offer great
type coverage. Happy battling~ >:3

Well, there you have it! Another Pokemon of the Week for you to enjoy~!
I hope everyone here likes them, and continue to read on~ I'll write as long as
you all read! Well, Gute nacht! And Battle On! X3