Competitive Battling Spotlight #25: Ability One

            In accordance with the new posting schedule, today accounts for our first day of the week, as well as the first Competitive Ability Spotlight. Today’s ability is Mold Breaker.

            Description (What it Does):

Mold Breaker “breaks the mold” of the opponent’s ability, allowing it to ignore certain abilities when attacking.

Examples:

 Haxorus with Mold Breaker can hit Flygon, Rotom-W, Bronzong, and other Pokemon with Earthquake, despite them having the Levitate ability.

Pinsir (and all other Mold Breakers) can cause a flinch on Crobat, despite it having Inner Focus.

            Who Has It Now:

-Pinsir; Excellent offensive presence, decent Speed and a pretty good physical movepool make this currently Pinsir’s best choice.  

-Rampardos; The second best Attack stat in the entire game! That’s Pardos’s selling point; all the rest of its stats are garbage. 58 Speed is, however, decent for a Choice Scarf or Rock Polish set to start ripping holes through teams with Mold Breaker.

-Haxorus; Powerful, kinda fast, STAB Dragon. Mold Breaker gives Haxorus perfect coverage on everything in the metagame with just Outrage and Earthquake, bar a particularly annoying metal bird.

Who Gets It Through Dream World:

-Excadrill; The ability to hit Bronzong with your STAB Earthquakes is tempting, but I think everyone can agree that Sand Rush is superior. Still, the now-Uber mole might find breaking Lugia’s Multiscale (when released) to be very useful…

-Sawk; Though Mold Breaker is an ideally offensive ability, it might garner some usability on this pretty bulky Fighting type.

-Throh; With similar offensive stats to Heracross, Mold Breaker can serve its purpose against Sturdy abusers like Donphan, and Snow Cloak Frosslass in UU.

-Basculin; Cool! This sub-par Sharpedo knock-off can hit Water Absorbers on the switch without healing off their damage!

-Druddigon; As a Dragon type with great power and reasonable bulk, Dragon Tailing out annoying Suction Cuppers like Cradily might definitely come in handy.

What Abilities Does it Break?:

     

    Battle Armor

    Big Pecks

    Clear Body

    Contrary

    Damp

    Dry Skin

    Filter

    Flash Fire

    Flower Gift

    Heatproof

    Heavy Metal

    Hyper Cutter

    Immunity

    Inner Focus

    Insomnia

    Keen Eye

    Leaf Guard

    Levitate

    Light Metal

    Lightningrod

    Limber

    Magic Bounce

    Magma Armor

    Marvel Scale

    Motor Drive

    Multiscale

    Oblivious

    Own Tempo

    Sand Veil

    Shell Armor

    Shield Dust

    Simple

    Snow Cloak

    Solid Rock

    Soundproof

    Sticky Hold

    Storm Drain

    Sturdy

    Suction Cups

    Tangled Feet

    Telepathy

    Thick Fat

    Unaware

    Vital Spirit

    Volt Absorb

    Water Absorb

    Water Veil

    White Smoke

    Wonder Guard

    Wonder Skin

Why It’s Good:

Mold Breaker is excellent because it gives its holders a very prominent offensive presence that they might not otherwise secure. The ability to hit certain threats that would otherwise shrug off a move or garner a benefit from it for themselves is nearly unrivaled in the Pokemon Kingdom. It also helps greatly that just about every single user of Mold Breaker has a strong Attack stat, which bolsters Mold Breaker’s usability near twofold.

Generally, this ability provides some edge over other offensive threats, and usually serves to distinguish its holders as prominent offensive threats in their respective tiers. Haxorus is indeed the best user of it at the moment, but I recommend trying out some of the lower tier guys like Pinsir and Throh to see how they play around certain opponents that rely solely on their abilities to make a difference.

How It Could Be Better:

While it is no doubt a blessing, I think Mold Breaker could take its ability-stopping a bit further, perhaps even to the point where it negates all abilities upon attacking the opponent. This could come in serious handy this generation, with the dawn of highly-impenetrable Weather abusers like Swift Swim Kingdra or Chlorophyll Venusaur. Imagine being able to outspeed them with your Choice Banded Haxorus and score the OHKO you might otherwise desperately need? Stopping them, the annoying-as-hell Serene Grace abuser Jirachi, and countless others would make Mold Breaker a true ability of the gods, but for now we can marvel in the fact that it still gives us more competitive benefit than an ability like Keen Eye or Big Pecks.

Conclusion:

Mold Breaker is a quite underrated trait in the current metagame, owing to the fact that the majority of its current holders are not strong competitive choices, being outclassed by superior threats. This overshadowing should not mean that these Pokemon suck, however. Surely things could be better, but as they are now, Mold Breaker remains as one of the most uniquely successful abilities in the entire game, and should be considered as such. Go ahead and try it for yourself!

Blog Update: New Posting Schedule

        In an attempt to bring more order and reliability to my blog, I have decided to enact an official posting schedule so that any of the readers here will know what to expect from me on any given day of the week. This schedule will be strictly weekly, so readers can anticipate particular posts without having to wait a week or two for the next one, as is the case right now.

It is my hope that this demanding list will force me to stay on top of things more, instead of leaving my blog dormant for days or weeks at a time. So, without further adieu, here is my new post schedule, in effect today (October 29, 2011).

Schedule for posting: 

Monday - Competitive Battling Spotlight: Ability (i.e. Regenerator, Levitate, etc)

Wednesday - Competitive Battling Spotlight: Pokemon 

Thursday - Competitive Battling Spotlight: Move (i.e. Dragon Dance, Earthquake, etc)

*Saturday - Competitive Battling Spotlight: Item (i.e. Life Orb, Choice Specs, etc)

This will provide a more organized, prolific structure for this blog, and I hope it will increase your enjoyment and the duration of your stay here. Also, please note that I will continue to post other non-competitive related articles, such as stories and artwork, on any given day. This means that these "Fun" posts will be in addition to the above mentioned schedule. Thanks for your time!


*An Item analysis will be posted every other Saturday, as opposed to a weekly article like the rest.

**This schedule is subject to change.

N's Story (awaiting tentative title)

   

          So the poll results are in (Would you read/be interested in a Pokemon Black and White story from N's perspective?), and it looks like the idea of a literary interpretation of everyone's favorite Pokemon anti-hero was generally well received!  Here is an excerpt of the piece, with a link to the full thread.

          Keep in mind this chapter is not 100% complete yet, so I'm open to suggestions as to how to do the battle scene (should it be a detailed, turn-by-turn battle or just a hazy flash-forward kind of thing to avoid redundancy of the two Pokemon beating the $%*# out of one another?). I've started work on the second chapter too, so let me know if you'd like to see it soon! Hope you enjoy.

The Speech 

            In the central courtyard of the gray town, two benches sat, warped by the season’s rainfall and covered in a haze of dust. They had been inoccupied for centuries, though their surroundings bustled and thrived with eager people all around them. Ideally, they came to serve as a landmark, and in their distance apart sat a flock of dark doves, pecking at worms and roots beneath the wet moss of the benches’ shadows. The birds’ coos were drowned out by the hum of peoples’ voices as they went about their daily lives. Some walked quickly through the streets, distinct as those who had somewhere important to be, and others tended to their shops and houses, sweeping and cleaning and scrubbing away as a dense morning fog formed above them. With it came a cold breeze that shook a nearby field of trees, from which a small brown fruit fell to the ground. Immediately a dark shadow, who had been lying underneath the tree, reached forward and picked up the piece. He stood up now and stepped out from the shade of the tree and into the gray morning, revealing a thin face with delicate features, large gray eyes and a mane of light green hair that swayed behind him as he moved.

         

           He stopped at the flock of birds in the courtyard, who now groomed themselves beneath the two benches, and broke the fruit into an even number of pieces, tossing one to each of them. They ate and gave thanks with soft cries of delight, looking up at the young man who smiled back. Read More

Competitive Battling Spotlight #24: Old Pokemon Six

The Eon Pokemon

 Tier: OU (as of January 2012)

H.P.: 80

Attk: 90

Def.: 80

Sp.A: 130

Sp.D: 110

Spe: 110

Abilities: 

Levitate: The Pokemon is immune to Ground type attacks. An additional immunity in the form of this ability is a blessing for Latios, as it allows you to come in on Earthquakes, Spikes and Toxic Spikes and take no damage at all. A great ability for a great Pokemon.

    

Analysis:

            Among all Dragons currently present in OU, Latios is definitely a king, being the fastest and most hard-hitting from the Special side. And since it has yet to be banned, nor has it shown many signs of being banned any time soon, it is safe to say that Latios, in all its supremacy, is here to stay.

            There is really not much else to say about the Eon Pokemon that hasn’t already been said or assumed, but its extreme offensive presence, excellent all-around stats and pretty good typing all vouch for its consistent appearance in the top ten usage statistics for OU every single month. A main reason for it not being banned, along with its twin Latias, is that Soul Dew has yet to be incorporated into the game this generation. This means that the Latis lose a great portion of their Uber swag in the generation shift, but really does nothing to make them less dominant than they already are. Expect to see a lot of Latios in OU, and bring a good Special Wall, too. Otherwise, a good percentage of your team just might fall to its blue might.

Potential Sets:

11.      SubCM

4 HP/252 Sp.Atk/252 Spe

Timid @ Leftovers

-Substitute

-Calm Mind

-Dragon Pulse

-Surf/Thunderbolt/Ice Beam/Psyshock…

            Any set that utilizes Latios’ high Speed and gargantuan Special Attack is going to have potential. This set is no different at all, and allows a chance to boost that already massive Spec. Attack as well as the very above average Special Defense. In all its power and glory, Latios can easily come in on a weakened threat and force a switch out, resulting in a free Substitute. Once behind a Sub, you may begin to fire off powerful STAB or set up to demolish everything. The first three moves are very self-explanatory, and it is obvious to see why Draco Meteor is not a great option here. The last moveslot is for coverage purposes, and Surf fills that role very nicely (especially with Drizzle support), being only resisted by Ferrothorn in OU. Thunderbolt is another excellent option, while Ice Beam and Psyshock are less potent, though still quite usable; the latter retaining further STAB and being able to hit physically weak threats, such as Tentacruel.

            As far as item choice goes here, Leftovers are indeed ideal, though if you’d like more power at the cost of longevity, Life Orb will work nicely as well. Furthermore, if you’re feeling rather bold, you may replace Dragon Pulse for Draco Meteor, and Lefties for White Herb. That might be an interesting set.

22.      Bulky Calm Mind

252 HP/4 Def/252 Spe

Timid @ Leftovers

-Calm Mind

- Recover

-Roar/Reflect/Thunder Wave/Toxic  

-Dragon Pulse

            You may have seen this set run on Latias before, as with outstanding stats and typing this becomes one of the best bulky setup sweepers/semi-support Pokemon in OU. Latios is no different, and with a tradeoff of some bulk for more power, it is easy to see why this set is such a marvel.

            Calm Mind and Dragon Pulse are the offensive crux of this set, and with the former’s additional Special Defense boost, coupled with Latios’ astounding base 110 Sp. Def stat and rather high 364 HP (with 252 EVs), hits from non-super-effective monsters are merely shrugged off and laughed at. Recover and Leftovers work brilliantly with this bulk to ensure Latios stays alive and gets up as many Calm Minds as possible before Pulsing away. The remaining moveslot is up to you here. Roar is a great way of stopping Stall, and with efficient entry hazard support, you can really rack up residual damage on opposing threats. Reflect works well with Calm Mind and Max HP, ensuring Latios and teammates take hits better from nearly anything. If you’d like a greater edge over your opponent, however, Thunder Wave and Toxic can be used to subjugate faster and bulkier switch-ins, respectively.

            Because D-Pulse is the only offensive move on this set, you’ll want a proper means of removing Steel types from your opponent’s team, let they wall you entirely. Magnezone is a nearly perfect partner with this set, as with any Latios set, and can trap and destroy the likes of Skarmory, Forretress and Ferrothorn, all of which can give Latios a very hard time.

33.      Dragon Dance

252 Atk/4 Sp.Atk/252 Spe

Lonely/Hasty @ Life Orb/Leftovers 

-Dragon Dance

-Outrage/Dragon Claw 

-Earthquake 

-Draco Meteor/Recover/Substitute

            One thing Latios has over nearly every single Dragon type in the game is its base 110 Speed. And while the Lati twins share this blisteringly fast stat, Latios can essentially make better use of it with Dragon Dance, a move Latias hasn’t received.

            Even though Latios is best used with its amazing Special Attack and great special movepool, the aforementioned speed and a decent base 90 Attack, as well as STAB Outrage really bolster this set to unbelievable heights, resulting in a sweep if played well.

            Outrage (or Dragon Claw) and Earthquake yield pretty good coverage overall, but this set still has some very prominent counters, most notably Gliscor and Skarmory (and nearly all Steel types, excluding Heatran without Air Balloon). For this reason, Draco Meteor may be used in the last slot to take care of the former, and also to hit other Specially weak things. Additionally, Recover may be used nicely in tandem with Life Orb to ensure Latios sticks around longer to destroy things. Substitute is also an excellent move choice to pull on a switch, to guarantee a hard hit (as most things that switch into Latios are Steel types and Special walls), or a free DD.

            As I have mentioned, Skarmory (and Ferrothorn, if you have no boosts and are not running Substitute) is a real problem for this set, so carrying appropriate team support, i.e. a powerful Special Attacker or Fire type Pokemon to take care of these threats, is highly necessary for this set to be successful. You may also be wondering, “Why choose Latios over Dragonite, Haxorus or Salamence, all of which can run a much more effective, harder hitting, Dragon Dance set?”  The answer to this is twofold: First, the fact that Latios is the fastest Dragon type in OU allows for more opportunity to get a Dragon Dance boost in situations that Mence or Dragonite would not otherwise be able to. Substitute is also an excellent means of taking advantage of that high Speed, as it prevents Status ailments and other crippling facors that Mence and Nite cry over (90 base Attack also isn’t really that bad). Second, and perhaps a little more important, is the element of surprise. Latios nearly 100% of the time runs a Special Offense set (Life Orb, Choice Specs, Calm Mind, etc), so by running Dragon Dance and two very powerful physical moves you are bound to force your opponent into a corner at times. Simply switch Latios in on something that it would normally scare out, like Terrakion or Gliscor, and proceed to setup. A special wall like Chansey or Jellicent will likely come in, to which you can answer with a boosted Outrage, shifting the moment violently in your favor. It may take a lot of prediction, but if used correctly with superb team support, you can have yourself a deadly unorthodox Dragon Dance threat.

           

44.      Rain Abuse Latios

4 HP/252 Sp.Atk/252 Spe

Timid @ Leftovers

-Calm Mind

- Dragon Pulse

-Thunder

-Surf

            With the Eon Pokemon’s perfect coverage and nearly limitless movepool, this set is nearly unmatched in the Rain now that Thundurus is gone. 100% accurate Thunder from 359 Special Attack (and perhaps even after a Calm Mind or two) will destroy everything but a dedicated Speciall wall, and Rain-boosted Surf with STAB Dragon Pulse optimize coverage here, making Ferrothorn the only Pokemon capable of resisting the wrath of this set.

            If you’d like to see a recorded battle with this set in action, please click here.

55.      Special Offense

4 HP/252 Sp.Atk/252 Spe

Timid @ Choice Specs/Choice Scarf/Life Orb/Expert Belt

-Draco Meteor

-Dragon Pulse 

-Ice Beam/Surf/Psyshock/Hidden Power Fire 

-Thunderbolt/Surf/Psyshock/Hidden Power Fire 

The most standard/commonly seen use of Latios’ stats is seen with any of the above items and a combination of the aforementioned moves. This is arguably his best spread, and each item provides innumerous benefits over the others. The gist of this is simple; switch Latios in and hit hard, then switch out and do it again. Draco Meteor is the prime move on any of these offensive Latios sets, while Dragon Pulse is to hit weaker threats without having your stat dropped by two stages. The last two slots are for preference, and for what you’d like to hit more efficiently. BoltBeam yields excellent coverage with the Dragon moves, but Ferrothorn will still have his way with you. Psyshock is for hitting Special Walls for still great damage, while Hidden Power Fire makes quick work of Ferro, Forretress and Scizor switch-ins, though at the cost of some power and a Speed point (HP Fire requires 30 Speed IVs, as opposed to 31).

The item you use with this set will determine essentially what role you’d like your Latios to play. If you want your Draco Meteors to hit as hard as they possibly can, Life Orb or Choice Specs may be employed, both with their own share of pros. For an unstoppably fast revenge killer with gargantuan power, Choice Scarf is the item for you. and lastly, Expert Belt works quite well with Latios’ phenomenal coverage, and will allow you to fake your opponent out by acting as a Choice set, then destroying them with a Super Effective move when they think they’ve had you beat.  

 Conclusion:

            With a slew of nigh-unstoppable moves and terrific stats across the board, Latios excels in just about everything and anything it sets out to do. Despite all its glory, however, its arch-nemesis remains Tyranitar, or any powerful Pursuiter or fast Dragon for that matter. But if you can see that these threats are taken care of before switching Latios in, you shall be good to go. If you lack a quick, heavy-hitter on any one of your teams, go ahead and throw Latios in; you won’t regret it.

 Competitive Usability:  9.5 out of 10 

            Latios resembles a jet, has a unique typing, and is the raddest shade of blue imaginable. Its design is one of the coolest since the Ruby and Sapphire games from which it came. It may share a vast number of similarities with its sister Latias, but that makes the Blue Eon Pokemon no less amazing or viable.

Aesthetic Design:  9 out of 10

Poll Results #2

Well, the results are in and the winner of your favorite new Dream World Pokemon is (unsurprisingly) Magic Guard Alakazam!

Runner up was Prankster Sableye, with ~ 40% of the vote.

And in last place (and the only other Pokemon to receive votes) was none other than Baton-Passing, Tail-Glowing, Prankster Volbeat.

Be on the lookout for each one of these in the RU and UU tiers, each possessing their own unique niche. I can't wait to see what new Dream World abilities will be released next. Until next time!


Be sure to vote on my NEW POLL, beginning today!!!  [Oct. 16, 2011]

New Pokemon Art: Pokemon by Numbers #1

Here is a piece I did of Kyogre, the Sea Basin Pokemon. I think it looks pretty cool, and if you take a step back it looks a little more intricate, which is awesome. Let me know if you like these "Pokemon by Number" drawings (if you couldn't tell, the picture is made entirely out of numbers! No lines!), so I can do more.

Enjoy!

Competitive Battling Spotlight #23: More Pokemon Bans

        So the OU metagame has an interesting road ahead of it, now with the recent ban of two top-tier threats. Thundurus, as expected, has been voted to Ubers alongside a quite unlikely (in my opinion) partner, Excadrill. The two received a 73.24% and 69.01% respective vote from the Smogonites. Other suspects this time around included Deoxys-S, Dragonite and Volcarona, all of which I was quite surprised with being considered for the ban. I think it will be interesting to see how all these things play out in the coming months and whether or not they will return as suspects for the next round.
    
       With two of the most dominant Weather abusers gone now, it is difficult to say what exactly will happen to the OU tier.  Excadrill was arguably the Sand abuser of all Sand abusers, so I think it's safe to say that the general structure of most Sand teams will change notably. Offensive threats like Terrakion and Landorus will rise, while Gliscor and Ferrothorn will probably stay as they are in usage, especially considering that the former was one of Excadrill's top counters!
       
        While Sand may see a few changes implemented within the next month or so, I don't see Rain teams really changing at all now that Thundurus is gone. Surely he was one of the most deadly Rain abusers out there, but he really functioned well on any type of team, meaning he was not only limited to abusing Drizzle. For this reason, I don't think too much will change for standard Rain.

        What Thundurus's absence does mean now is that Tornadus, recently degraded to UU, should be making a comeback to OU soon, considering that Thundurus's outclassing was one of the largest reasons for Tornadus being so rarely used.

      Lastly for the Overused tier, I think we shall see the dawning of a new day for Sun teams, considering that Rain and Sand dominance hugely outclassed them previously. With Drill and Thund gone now, I think Ninetails and friends will see a little bit more prevalence in the tier. This also makes Tentacruel perhaps the best Rapid Spinner now, fearless of being EQ'ed by Drill.


       Things got a little changed up in the RU tier recently as well, as Yanmega and Venomoth were banished to the first ever BorderLine 2 tier, making them viable only in UU and above. This means drastic change for the youngest of the tiers, having lost a lot of its members in the last few months [no more Cress, Umbreon, Golurk, Blastoise...]. But it's probably safe to say that it was only a matter of time before these two bugs were gone as well.

        The fact that now just about every tier has been shifted greatly really makes for a fun and exciting time for Black and White competitive battling. Undoubtedly, a slew of new threats will shine, and with a little centralization in the upper tiers gone, I am excited to begin team building for any of the aforementioned metagames. For a list of the new and Updated Tiers, click here.

Competitive Battling Spotlight #22: Updated Tiers

        The usage statistics for the month of September 2011 have been released, and there are some very notable changes to each tier. Namely, a number of Pokemon have dropped and risen, giving way to a presumably new metagame. OU saw not much change, with Espeon and Celebi moving up from BL and UU respectively, while the most notable new addition is the anti-metagame slug, Gastrodon. UU saw the most changes, with a whopping 13 Pokemon added, having either fallen or risen from OU or RU respectively. Here is a rough summary of what's new. Let the speculation begin!

The Top Tier threats

        OU, as I've said, hasn't changed too much at all. Its three additions, Celebi, Espeon and Gastrodon, were seen coming from miles away, and I don't think any of these will drastically change the metagame at all, considering they all saw abundant Standard use before this month's results. No, I think if any drastic change will come it will happen this month, with the potential ban of the tier's arguably most destructive threat, Thundurus.

Fallen Warriors and Struggling Heroes; a New Underused Perspective 

        Definitely the most changed tier, UU has added a massive thirteen members to its roster; about half from OU and the rest from RU. I think each one of these Old-OUs will have a lot to bring to the table in UU, and some of them will no doubt command the full spotlight from the current Top Five.

        Support has a whole new name 
        

        Whimsicott was one of the most used Pokemon when Black and White were new, but it has since seen a massive decline in usage, thanks to its subpar defenses and lack of full recovery. Otherwise, it has always been at the peak of all Support Prankster abusers, and with priority  Sub-Seeding and Taunt, it can redefine annoying Grass type, giving Roserade and Sableye some quite needed competition. 

     
  On another note, Blastoise and Umbreon, two supreme bulky threats that previously bolstered many RU teams, have joined the already large amount of Walls in UU, each boasting their own share of usability factors. Blastoise combines great bulk with good defenses and a nice typing, as well as Rapid Spin, to serve as a different form of Defense for teams used to Empoleon and/or Donphan. Umbreon, on the other hand, abuses Wish-Passing and Heal Bell support to serve as a decent Dark type counterpart to Blissey (with both better and worse aspects). 

 
      Cresselia and Porygon 2 also join the ranks as two extremely bulky Pokemon with a great amount of Support and stall options that I think will help to further balance out the tier, while giving Chansey and Registeel some much needed backup, while the addition of Hippowdon and Rhyperior will allow for bulky offense, and more particularly UU Sand Teams, to shine more brightly. Overall, the future is looking steady for Defensive teams in UU.

        Powerhouse Punishment

        If you think Stall is looking as prominent as ever for the Underused metagame, you might want to consider the new offensive baddies in the tier. Machamp and Darmanitan make primed appearances, after having been outclassed in OU for so long. With not many Physical threats that can hit at all as hard as these two in UU, be sure to be packing some extra Physical bulk with these two having been let loose. Likewise, Chandelure, with its devastating base 145 Special Attack and great offensive typing, makes an appearance as easily one of the most prominent Special threats ever to be seen here. Though Blissey, and likely Blastoise and Umbreon, will keep it in check as notable Special Walls, it is safe to say that A LOT of things are not going to enjoy taking a STAB Overheat from a Specs Chandelure. Keep your eyes peeled for this as well as Scarf and SubCM sets. Golurk also makes a nice addition to the tier, as with its unique typing and great offensive presence, it Chandelure easily become two very potent Spin Blockers, adding a nice range of selection in this tier. 

        Lastly, I'd like to take a moment to consider the final two new UU additions, Stoutland and Tornadus. With Hippowdon and Hippopotas both as very usable Sand Streamers, along with an army of great Sand abusers/supporters in the tier, it is quite easy to envision Stoutland as the mini-Excadrill of this tier. In other words, expect Sandstorm to be very common in the common months, thanks to the addition of Stoutland (and let's not forget Magic Guard Zam).

        Furthermore, Tornadus is a hyper-offensive beast just waiting to take command of a metagame that it easily outspeeds, overpowers, and generally outsmarts. So Chansey can switch into that super-powerful Hurricane? Not with an unexpected Hammer Arm forthcoming! Tornadus, while entirely outclassed by its brethren Thundurus in OU, has everything it needs to be a serious problem for many unprepared UU teams. It could use a little more coverage options, but for now I think he is the silent secret weapon that every offensive team has been looking for.

Poll Results #1

        This is a bit late, but the results have come in from my previous poll "Which Pokemon should be banned from its respective tier?", and it looks like a close race between the lightning god Thundurus and the moon duck Cresselia, with Cresselia receiving 20% more of the votes, making her the "winner".

Results:
                  
                  Cresselia (from RU)- 60%  
                 

                  Chansey (from UU)-0%
               


                  Thundurus (from OU)-40%

One of the bulkiest Pokemon in the game.

          While I do agree with Cresselia being banned from RU, I don't think it will happen just yet. The reason for her RU placement is mainly because she is potentially outclassed by the two pink blobs and also because Psychic is not an ideal defensive typing with Tyranitar and Scizor dominating OU, and Heracross and Escavalier running rampant in UU. RU provides a nice little niche for Cress, where she is no doubt the best physical wall among many powerful, but not too threatening mons. She also has Yanmega, Venomoth and Sharpedo to keep her in check with powerful Super Effective moves, though none of these likes being Thunder Waved. Overall, Cresselia is very annoying in RU, often times walling whole team types unless you slap a status on her, but I think that for the time being she will remain in RU. I'd prefer her to be banned, but let's face it, how long could she hack it in the upper tiers? 

Will Thundurus be gone from OU soon?

          On a completely opposite note, second place in the poll was none other than the ravishing Thundurus, argued by many to be too broken for the Overused tier. While more people wished away Cresselia from RU, it is very likely that the Bolt Strike Pokemon won't be residing in its current tier too much longer. With suspect voting underway this second, it is only a matter of days now before we discover Thundurus' fate. A lot of higher-ranked players believe him to be broken, and for good reason too! But don't expect this to be the last you hear of the Zeus replica on this blog. Should he remain in OU, I will happily write an analysis of him. However, should he be banished, I might just write a little Ban Review like I did when Garchomp was thrown to Ubers.

       Lastly, Chansey received  Zero (0) percent of the spotlight, garnering no votes in the poll and remaining, in your eyes, in UU for good reason. What I find interesting is that Chansey is much better now even than Blissey, but her usage keeps her in the lower realm of UU. This is good though, mainly because she is not broken, and probably doesn't need to go BL or OU, but can still be used in any of the upper tiers, in all of which she shines as a supreme Special Wall.

Chansey, as bulky as ever, remains a dominant force in UU.

        It will be interesting to see how the next few waves of tiering will go for these and every Pokemon. But my guess is as good  as anyone's right now. Will any of these ever be banned from their tiers? Will none of these? A little food for thought.


***Also, check out the New Poll; Which of the new DW Pokemon released is the best?