Mons you can't go without in-game?

If Eevee is in the game, I use it. Apart from that, since I mostly play Nuzlockes, defensive Mons are the ones I use most often: Meganium for this reason is easily the best Johto starter for me, Skarmory, Chansey and Clefable are frequently in my teams and if I use some set-up, the Mon in question still often has some defensive value (like Intimidate DD Gyarados). Special mention goes to the Pressure ability: despite neither Weavile nor Aerodactyl having good bulk ( Mega Aero has it though), with Pressure, Sub + Protect and Lefties they 6-0 many opponents easily, so those are Mons that if I have a chance to catch, I always do it.
 
I always use my starter on my team throughout the entire games from the start to finish, as they help balance the typing of my teams. Usaully I'll always have at least one Water-Type, Fire-Type, and Flying-Type Pokemon on my final team.
 
In XD I don't think I've had a single run of the game that didn't use the Shadow Houndour you get from the Cipher Lab. I always insist on a Fire type, plus Houndoom is a favorite design of mine that seems to never get to appear until late game in any other entry, so I'm hopping on that opportunity while I can.

I also always am running one of 2 mons for Phys rollover: Teddiursa, since Purification is basically free friendship and it comes with Return out of the gate, Guts meaning I never lose momentum, and pick-up's always fun even if just carrying it around during purification; alternatively I catch a Trapinch to trade for Duking's Meditite, coming with Shadow Ball for Physical Ghost coverage off of Pure Power, Boosted EXP to catch it up if taking a bit to obtain, and quick convenient options like the Pyrite Brick Break TM or HJK while leveling up to evolve.

I always enjoy Single-Target beatdown options in these games, pair with a support mon to Sleep or shutdown the Shadow Pokemon while I KO all its support, so low-maintenance options for Physical neutral hitters like that is always welcome.
 
How do you put these sprites in your comments?

Alright, I always want to use my favourite Pokémon, so in Sun I had Rowlet, Lycanroc and Leafeon. So maybe I might use Leafeon in every game. Also Eevee is one of the Pokémon I like to use. And the starter is usually a Pokémon I very much like, so Rowlet, Sobble and then Sprigatito.
 

Runo

Blehhhhhoooooouughhh.....
is a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
How do you put these sprites in your comments?
  • :spritename: for the icon
  • :bw/spritename: for black and white sprites
  • :xy/spritename: for 3d sprites
(alternate forms use "name-form"; ex: Aggron-Mega, Aegislash-Blade, Urshifu-Rapid-Strike)
Alternatively, just copy paste the link to the sprite from a website
find the sprite of your choice right click and click "Copy image address"
1661084775133.png

click the image icon on the text editor and click "By URL"
1661084825079.png

paste the link and click "Insert"
1661084872116.png

this should be the outcome.
if you're posting a static image, just right click and click "copy image"

Anyways since I spoke, I guess I'll talk about mine.


Honchkrow is my favorite Pokémon, and has been since I was 7. My first encounter was in Pokemon Black, when I found it in shaking grass in the Abundant Shrine. Immediately fell in love with it and I try to catch it or Murkrow if I have the chance. It's also a solid revenge killer with Sucker Punch and the Moxie boosts have potential to snowball it into a powerful sweeper.

My fascination with Rhyperior is more recent. I used to think that it was ugly and scary, but I started using it after playing in NatDex UU. Over time, I started liking the design more and actually started using it on cartridge games. It's a very good Pokémon (both visually and practically) and its Solid Rock ability, on top of its sheer physical power and bulk, won me over in the end.

Always liked Weavile, I just didn't use it until I started playing on Showdown. Now I use it all the time because it's a great cleaner and sweeper despite its frailty.
 
Since I learn how to trade pokémons in my emulator, I always start with the 3 starters. But have the downfall of two of then become unobdient and I need to pay attention in the level cap of the gymnasios.

From Kanto I can't go without Mew

Have a easy cheat to do in early in the game, he is of the type Psychic, the most broken of the generation. The only downfall is his moves he learns per lv. He have Pound, Transform, Mega Punch, Metronome and Psychic (and just learn Psychic at lv40), making need to use just Mega Punch untill he learns Psychic.

From Johto, Togetic.

I know he is quite of weak, but I like him, I like to metronome sometimes to try to win. And he can learns Psychic via TM. I also teached him Fly and Headbutt so it is quite a usefull pokémon.

From Hoen, Gardevoir.

I know she is a bit hard to find, and catch, but is indispensable to hunt her. She can have a great move poll as Calm Mind, Psychic, Thunderbolt and Magical Leaf.

From Sinnoh, Staraptor.

But I don't teach him Fly or Defog because isn't competitive moves. Instead he knows Wing Attack, Steel Wing, Close Combat and Quick Attack.
 
Last edited:
I am running FRLG at the moment, and like in pretty much any incarnation of Kanto, it feels weird to go without a Psychic type because they are game breakers.

I thought back to how the desert mons function in BW1 and how almost every playthrough uses at least one of them, and I thought of a fun thread idea.

What mons do you have a hard time passing up in-game? Can be a type, can be from a certain area, maybe even a specific species - anything?

Ampharos in any Johto game. Granted it's because GSC and HGSS don't have great mon variety, but Ampharos is one of the few good Gen 2 mons available early and usable for a Johto playthrough. You get it early as Mareep, even moreso in HGSS where you can grind it a little and give you an edge against Falkner, then it evolves in Flaaffy, and then Ampharos, and all around it's a usable mon despite its level up movepool limitations. Electric coverage helps immensely if you're using Chikorita or Cyndaquil, and natural Thunder Wave is a valuable asset to have in any situation. It really hits its stride later in HGSS when it gets Discharge and Signal Beam and is a resourceful attacker and team supporter. Did I not mention that it's cute?


Gardevoir in the Hoenn games is another one. While it's super rare, and sucks utterly as Ralts and to an extent Kirlia, it's an obligatory addition to my team any time I play through RSE or ORAS. Going from weak little Ralts, and then raising it into an incredibly strong Gardevoir feels so rewarding once it gets there, having a complete powerhouse who stays good right to the end. Calm Mind, Psychic, and Thunderbolt in RSE is a force to be reckoned with, and in ORAS it has a second STAB in Dazzling Gleam or Moonblast to help it even more. I love Gardevoir as a Pokemon which helps a lot, but it's even better when it's just such a rock solid pick in-game and one of the best early game Pokemon you can get (especially when the rest are disposable early game crutches).


Yeah I know. Staraptor. God tier regional bird, amazing Pokemon in-game that's available from the start, evolves reasonably early with the level curve, and kicks utter butt. Strong STABs in Return and later Brave Bird in the late game, Close Combat as coverage, useful ability in Intimidate? Not to mention Starly is cute, Staravia is pretty cute too, and Staraptor is just so damn badass and imposing. What reason is there NOT to use this thing? In DPPt it's also amazingly convenient as a free Fly user for in-game. So much usefulness and you just can't go wrong.


Luxray is such a cool mon. I know it's kind of not that good because it lacks a strong physical STAB, but it's a useful mon all the same. Intimidate is good, Electric coverage helps no matter which starter you pick (but especially so if you use Turtwig or Chimchar), and in Platinum especially it gets a few neat coverage moves in Crunch and in Pt Superpower in the post game, and it can also set up Light Screen which has saved my ass on a few occasions. I enjoy using it in DPP. It's still not that great of a mon in competitive, but in-game it's a useful and dependable Pokemon. And it looks rad af!


You can't go wrong with these two. You just can't. Krookodile especially has a god tier design, and Scrafty is obviously the best (if my username doesn't already get that across well enough), but awesome coverage and a god tier ability in Moxie makes them able to rip through teams like a hot knife through butter and snowball as their power goes up. And boy does it feel satisfying when you do it. Scrafty in particular can just wipe through 3/4 of the Elite Four no prob and has its uses against N and Ghetsis.


Aegislash in XY is an utter boss. Honedge is a cool Ghost sword, and its typing is godly, it has good firepower, early Swords Dance, and great physical bulk. It evolves late but it's worth it as Doublade is very solid in its own right. Once you evolve it into Aegislash, it's a boss. King's Shield shenanigans to alternate between super high offensive firepower and amazing bulk and great offensive moves and coverage to hit hard back in return. One of the greats of the Gen 6 roster.


Despite its issues in-game, it's one of the better early birds, and one of the most fun ones to use for sure. You can get the TM for Swords Dance early and between SD, Roost, Return, and Aerial Ace as Fletchinder this thing can put in work, and Flame Body is a clutch ability that can come in handy. Talonflame hits its stride later on though, as it gets Acrobatics and Flare Blitz and with Swords Dance this thing puts in work because it's so damn fast. It's a bird I can't go wrong with using in XY.


SM and USUM have a very high power level, and Mudsdale's tankiness becomes an incredible resource because of it. Stamina increases its already good physical bulk every time it gets hit, but this thing takes hits well and dishes them back hard in return, creating an incredibly resourceful Pokemon to have in an get all game guide for medieval 2 cheats ios Alola runthrough. It's got good coverage with Rock Tomb and High Horsepower, and it can use Bide/Counter if you're feeling up for it. It's slow, but it takes hits, and in a region like Alola, you'll need that.



Motherfucker is one of the most rad early birds you'll ever meet. It's kind of alright as Rookidee and Corvisquire, but as Corviknight it's really great. Takes hits super well, can use Hone Claws or ulk Up to boost and hit hard. A set I used in SwSh with Bulk Up/Brave Bird/Steel Wing/Body Press proved a valuable resource in the game and was always a solid reliable Pokemon.

Just a few to name, haha. I'm sure other people have more, even if mine were pretty basic.
In every game I can, I press the Stoutland button repeatedly. Strong, quick, solid overall stats, intimidate? No question.

I agree with Ampharos and Krookodile as well, but if Nidoking is present, it's a no-brainer again.
 
:ss/oddish:
The Oddish line seems to always end up on my team whenever it's available reasonably early. So far the only exception to this is Sword, where I swapped it out for Roselia.

:ss/espeon: :ss/vaporeon:
I always get an Eeveelution whenever it's available, and it's always one of these two. I vaguely remember trying to get a Sylveon in X, only to end up getting an Espeon anyway.
 
I've been reading a lot of In-game tier lists lately and I see this guy shows up a lot. And consistently good too!
:gs/heracross:
In GS, it has naturally high attack right of the bat. But it has basically no STAB, like how usually old generations Bug-types are. Its signature move, Megahorn comes late-game. It's on C-Tier so it's pretty mid.
:rs/heracross:
In RS, it has reliable Fighting STAB now. But it's come pretty late. Solid B Tier.
:dp/heracross:
It is still good! But this is DPPt. Remember Honey Tree? Fuhgeddaboudit. straight to F-Tier
But now that its home region gets a remake HGSS, now it can show off its horn with actual reliable STAB, Easily A-Tier
:bw/heracross:
Peak Heracross. in B2W2, it comes early and as reliable as ever. At this point, Heracross will be your guy for high power Bug/Fighting attacker whenever it swarmed into. S-Tier
:xy/heracross:
In XY or just Y, it's Peaker Heracross, it has a Mega too! But only postgame.... But without Mega, it still shreds. They said it's A-Tier but for me is S-Tier
ORAS is just RSE Hera requiem, but it comes late now. Still deserve A Tier
:sm/heracross: (I believe the sprite is still the same)
It is Ultra SM addition and it was restrained to shred the game for being post-game encounter. You are scared of its power.
:ss/heracross:
It is DLC Isle of Armor addition, basically it's basically pay to win to obtain this beetle power :row:.
 
I've been reading a lot of In-game tier lists lately and I see this guy shows up a lot. And consistently good too!
:gs/heracross:
In GS, it has naturally high attack right of the bat. But it has basically no STAB, like how usually old generations Bug-types are. Its signature move, Megahorn comes late-game. It's on C-Tier so it's pretty mid.
:rs/heracross:
In RS, it has reliable Fighting STAB now. But it's come pretty late. Solid B Tier.
:dp/heracross:
It is still good! But this is DPPt. Remember Honey Tree? Fuhgeddaboudit. straight to F-Tier
But now that its home region gets a remake HGSS, now it can show off its horn with actual reliable STAB, Easily A-Tier
:bw/heracross:
Peak Heracross. in B2W2, it comes early and as reliable as ever. At this point, Heracross will be your guy for high power Bug/Fighting attacker whenever it swarmed into. S-Tier
:xy/heracross:
In XY or just Y, it's Peaker Heracross, it has a Mega too! But only postgame.... But without Mega, it still shreds. They said it's A-Tier but for me is S-Tier
ORAS is just RSE Hera requiem, but it comes late now. Still deserve A Tier
:sm/heracross: (I believe the sprite is still the same)
It is Ultra SM addition and it was restrained to shred the game for being post-game encounter. You are scared of its power.
:ss/heracross:
It is DLC Isle of Armor addition, basically it's basically pay to win to obtain this beetle power :row:.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but BW2 Heracross isn’t S tier at least for me. Yes it is Heracross, and level 34 Close Combat is silly, but as time goes on, even with Guts and the Orbs, Heracross gets worn down too much to reliably sweep everything (also random stuff like Grimsley Liepard Aerial Ace screws it over). That’s not even getting into the fact Heracross is 5% with a 50% Ability chance and a chance to get bad stats. It’s a textbook example of “incredible on paper, but generally too annoying to optimally get to be standout” much like its counterpart Pinsir in White 2 (fun fact: Mold Breaker Pinsir sweeps Colress, unlike Heracross where Sturdy slows it down).

don’t worry I’m not hating, I like Heracross as much as the next guy, it’s just a real pain to get in BW2 specifically (I also think most other Bug or Fighting types can easily match it in usefulness while being easier to get)
 

ScraftyIsTheBest

On to new Horizons!
is a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
A few more that came to mind, even though it's been a while since I've posted in this thread.



The Nidos in any Kanto game are a fantastic addition to any Kanto team. The Nidorans can be obtained relatively early in Kanto, and they evolve fairly early, have a great EXP group for early game, and since the Moon Stone can be obtained early they can evolve all the way early on. This makes them great early game powerhouses, but their biggest draw is their wide TM movepool giving them great coverage coming off of decent offensive stats: Nidoking has more oomph to its attacks, while Nidoqueen is a bit bulkier and can use its defensive typing to its advantage, either way, you have a strong powerhouse in one of these two. STAB Earthquake is a boon on both of them, and no matter if it's OG RBY or if it's FRLG, their coverage is always an asset. They remain consistently reliable throughout the whole game, making them a worthy team member.


Hariyama is a Pokemon I very often use in Hoenn. It's one of the earliest available Fighting-types, and it's a damn good one at that. It learns Arm Thrust at Level 10, and learns Vital Throw as a good STAB move at Level 17. It also evolves fairly early at Level 24, and while it has good STAB, high power, and good bulk, it's got plenty of good to offer. Bulk Up is obtained early and can be a great boosting move for Hariyama, and it can use Rock Tomb as coverage throughout the game. It also has some other good moves such as Earthquake in the late game, Facade if you're using a Guts variant, and Brick Break as later STAB. Its abilities are very good: Thick Fat can cover Fire and Ice-types that show up in the later portions of the game, or Guts can help it absorb status to become a powerhouse. It's a great and reliable early-game Pokemon in that regard.


In BW1, there aren't a whole lot of great early game Pokemon aside from Lillipup, but Blitzle who evolves into Zebstrika is a pretty good early Electric-type. It's a valuable teammate to have as Electric STAB is valuable, even if Zebstrika suffers from being physically oriented which hurts it later on. Electric STAB makes it a wonderful teammate if you choose Snivy, as Blitzle can get rid of Flying-types that Snivy struggles with, and meanwhile it can also cover Water-types for Tepig. It evolves into Zebstrika around five gyms in, and with high Speed and good Attack it can make quick work of many Pokemon in the mid game, especially against Skyla. That said, while it falls off as an offensive powerhouse later, it still has valuable traits. It learns Thunder Wave naturally by level up, and has the virtue of being extremely fast, which means it can provide a fast Thunder Wave to paralyze opponents for your stronger, but slower Pokemon to take them down. Emboar and Samurott are both on the slower end, so a fast Thunder Wave from Zebstrika can help them outspeed and KO opponents they wouldn't otherwise. Zebstrika can also revenge kill things that they can't. A fast Volt Switch can also help get a teammate in more quickly. A relatively simple, but useful Pokemon.



Salazzle stands out in Alola, in the midst of a region where most of the mons are slow as hell, Salazzle is pretty great as a fast sweeper. The hurdle of finding a female one is the biggest obstacle (that said, the Sylveon trick helps a lot), but once you get one, you have a fast and formidable sweeper in your hands. Nasty Plot, high power and Speed, and good powered STABs make it a solid sweeper that outspeeds just about everything and can do serious damage. The biggest downside to it is that it's insanely frail, which is something you'll have to manage, but Alola has plenty of tanks that synergize well with it. If you need a bit of a fast win condition, Salazzle is a pretty great team pick.
 

In BW1, there aren't a whole lot of great early game Pokemon aside from Lillipup
Not to nitpick or anything, but I think Roggenrola is unfairly overlooked earlygame in BW1. Roggenrola is slow as tar, but it has base 75 Attack (one of the highest in the earlygame), gets Rock Blast at only level 14 and starts with Headbutt. I know not everyone can trade so that might be why people don't go for it, but if you can I'd highly recommend Gigalith. It has obscene bulk and takes until the Pokemon League to really stop being good.

it's not so great in the sequel but if you're sick of using Lillipup and can obtain Gigalith, go for it in BW1, it shouldn't disappoint
 

bdt2002

Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs superfan
is a Pre-Contributor
:bw/feraligatr:

Favorite in-game starter choice in Pokémon history. The general consensus is that Cyndaquil has the most winning matchups of the Johto starters, but personally I love Feraligatr's perfectly balanced matchup spread, something we almost never see from a starter Pokémon. It's one of the best Pokémon for GSC speedruns and has numerous advantages like the Water-Type HMs, the most optimal eveolution levels of the three choices for Johto's jank level curves, and access to plenty of physical moves to make use of that 105 Attack stat. HGSS was so kind to the Totodile family that I genuinely think HGSS Totodile is actually better than HGSS Cyndaquil even with the remakes's changes. Typhlosion losing its best coverage move in the shift to the remakes (special ThunderPunch) was a pretty big nerf by comparison. TLDR; Cyndaquil is overrated, use the crocodile more.

:bw/magnezone:

Someone else (I'll have to check and see who) already mentioned Magnemite in this thread, and I absolutely 100% agree with them. Electric/Steel is far and away the best defensive typing in the game especially before Gen 6's Steel-Type nerf. In RBY this line doesn't have too much going for it relative to Electric-Type options, most of which also had good Special stats, but GSC onward gave it a host of solid buffs in literally all of its in-game appearances since. Can you name any other Pokémon that's been better in every appearance after its debut games, because I certainly can't think of any off the top of my head. I've used Magnezone so much in the past and it's never once failed me.

GSC: Steel-Type added to Magnemite's typing at the cost of lowered Sp. Defense
RSE: Absolutely incredible matchup spread (from what I can tell, Magneton technically has no losing matchups in Sapphire)
FRLG: Literally your only option for a Steel-Type in the main story
Platinum: A new evolution in Magnezone arrives as well as special attacking Steel-Type moves
BW2: Sturdy is now a much better Ability for single player, and it gains some winning matchups against two of the three new Gyms
XY: No Dark or Ghost specialists to take advantage of the Steel-Type nerf, and Fairy-Types still make the type better offensively
ORAS: Just like its RSE appearance but with all of the previous buffs since then on top of that
SM: By far the earliest Magnemite has ever been available in a playthrough
USUM: Better matchup spread than in vanilla Sun & Moon, and Magnezone's evolution location was made earlier
Let's Go: Easily the worst it's been since RBY but still better than said games, also Steel-Types are still rare here
SS: It's locked behind the Isle of Armor DLC, but for the sake of finishing the list of games I'm adding it anyway

:bw/lucario: :bw/latias: :bw/latios:

What do these three Pokémon have in common? If you answered that they were the players' introduction to the Mega Evolution mechanic, you are absolutely right. Lucario has been seen as the unrivaled best Pokémon in XY playthroughs and speedruns alike since the game's release, and the Eon Duo's appearance in ORAS has left similar impacts despite a poor matchup spread type-wise. Depending on which Gen 6 game I'm playing, I've always used the Pokémon in question as my go-to Mega Evolution for the playthrough, and even though I unpopular opinion warning dislike Mega Evolution from a competitive battles perspective for its overcentralizing nature on the 3DS's and Let's Go's metagames, I'm perfectly fine with it from a casual point of view. Finally, I'd like to give a shoutout to Gen 7 Alola's version of Alakazam, who would fit this category as well but A. only has Mega Evolution in the postgame, and B. does not give a gift Alakazam alongside the Alakazite the player is given.
Rediscovered this thread after having already posted here once, and I wanted to do another one, this time with more specific picks from each game like most of you decided to do. I'll still leave my original post up just in case, but for the time being here's some from other games, listed by generation. Might go back and add sprites later, I haven't decided yet. Oh, also I'm going to be splitting this into two parts, with this one covering Gens 1-4 the next one covering Gens 5-8.

RBY: In a world dominated by Psychic-Types and Moon Stone evolutions, I think Diglett and Dugtrio stand out for a number of reasons. Their incredible speed for Ground-Type standards also gives them a higher critical hit ratio in this generation, and they get access to the famous 100 BP version of Dig via level-up, meaning the TM can be used for a separate Pokémon. I don't think I need to remind anyone of how it can be obtained right before the Electric-Type Gym and how a wild Dugtrio can occasionally be found ridiculously high leveled for this part of the game.

GSC: Here's an interesting take for you guys. I actually don't think Chikorita is all that bad in Gen 2. Speaking from everything I've seen, the issue with Chikorita isn't the Pokémon itself. It's just that the Grass-Type is so bad in GSC that the starter Pokémon was bound to fall behind no matter what it ended up being. Much like the Bulbasaur family in RBY, Chikorita's latent strength lies in its defensively oriented movepool with its unique stat spread actually benefitting quite a bit from stat experience over EVs in the first two generations. The offensive capabilities this family tries to develop might be resisted by several types, but it could be a lot worse.

RSE: My first time playing through a Generation 3 Hoenn game ended up feeling more like a Torchic-turned-Blaziken solo run for most of the game plus some HM users. At the time, most of Hoenn's Pokémon just didn't appeal to me all that much since RSE Pokémon have a tendency to be better in later generations due to things like the physical-special split. The same held true for Blaziken, but something about using one just felt really good to me. Not bad considering I heavily prefer ORAS over the Gen 3 versions and Torchic isn't even my favorite Hoenn starter (it's actually tied with Treecko in this regard).

FRLG: All of Gyarados, Kabutops, Omastar, Vaporeon, and Lapras suffered varying levels of nerfs here compared to their RBY counterparts, in most cases due to the splitting of the Special stat from Gen 2 onwards. Hilariously, this makes the Squirtle line the only gift Pokémon Water-Type evolution family whose special stats were improved relative to its competition. On top of this, the FRLG version of the player character reminds me of Smash Bros., where Squirtle is actually one of my most consistent mains across both Brawl and Ultimate. Top that off with me never understanding why a "WaterBlue" version was never made, and you have my only preferred starter choice nowadays.

DP: I like to separate the original Sinnoh games and Platinum because of the crappy PokéDex. I hate this regional PokéDex roster as much as anyone else, but I can't complain about Infernape's dominance in Sinnoh at all. The lack of Fire-Type competition compared to Platinum's regional PokéDex roster indirectly benefits the Chimchar family as you would expect, but one other thing that often flies under the radar is how this family prefers not having Fantina as the third Gym Leader. Generally speaking, DP Infernape is more likely to perform against Fantina's Gym than a Platinum Monferno.

Platinum: Gible received a massive indirect buff in Platinum compared to DP, being that you don't need to have Strength to access that hidden area of Wayward Cave. This, of course, means you can use it much, much earlier on in the game. Getting access to Dragon Rage allows you to 2HKO most Pokémon at this point in the game with little to no effort at all, and if you're feeling extra spicy you can slap on the Earthquake TM found in Gible's room and really start going to town on things. Finally, it's worth mentioning that while I have yet to use this strategy myself yet, you can catch a Hippopotas later in the game to try and enable Sand Veil shenanigans.

HGSS: I already mentioned Feraligatr in my original post, and while I could mention a more cliché choice like Ampharos or Crobat, this is, assuming you can find one, arguably my favorite game to use Scyther and Scizor in. In fact, it's the only game I'm okay with using one in at all, because it's just that much of a sleeper pick. I'll even go out of my way to say this thing might be even better than Heracross, a Pokémon that itself is so good I've used it even more than Scyther due to its easier finding in the remakes (in GSC the correct Headbutt trees are actually randomized, funny enough). Technician does huge favors for Scyther in this game if you can get one with it, but Swarm is perfectly fine too and can lead to mercilessly powerful STAB U-Turns.
 

Daylight

angels roll their eyes
is an Artistis a Contributor to Smogon
59F2D284-453A-4EF4-9A74-FD6E0ACDB4B4.png
A53F33D2-562D-4B1D-A867-545B254044E9.png
6499B55F-4C38-46C4-BA6E-B2F48ACF5802.png

My first game was Pokemon Sapphire on the gameboy advance and Rafiel the Ralts was one of my first mons ever. To be honest, I kind of consider him to be my true starter Pokemon. He’ll always have a special place in my heart. And so, in any game Gardevoir is available, I always make sure to adventure with him again. He’s also only gotten more fun as the generations go by, with a powerful Fairy typing (+ a Mega evolution!) and an ever expanding movepool and a statline that still holds up surprisingly well. I’m excited to journey with him again in the Paldea region soon!

4A083529-7BE1-4C1F-9B03-C31C8EFA3781.png
37033DA9-E7FE-45EF-8D0F-332582EA8477.png

Vulpix and Ninetales are another Sapphire and Generation 3 favorite (from up on Mt Pyre and in the ONBS Station)—plus Ninetales’s Alolan form is one of my favorite Pokemon designs ever created. Any game they’re available in, I always make sure to bring along at least one of Vulpix’s forms along on my adventure. Additionally, Fire tends to complement Rafiel’s Psychic- and Fairy-type offense well.

9C3FA524-DEB0-433C-9A81-370014E6D4E0.png
39F18D26-30AF-4874-A0A4-A8ADB52F158E.png

Finally, the last Pokemon that’s never absent from my team (availability notwithstanding) is Apollo the Milotic. He’s another generation 3/Pokemon Sapphire favorite, though I didn’t get to actually add him to my team till I was a little older. Nowadays Milotic has become a much more accessible mon, but back in gen 3 and 4 it was ridiculously tedious to get. That being said, once I was old enough to figure that out, he’s been my Water-type of choice on all my teams.

6CEA6415-9758-4E0C-894B-DBC57C08699B.png
4F401B05-40FC-4225-96F7-C13F5CC6C2F4.png

Some honorable mentions include the Swablu line, an Eeveelution, and Hisuian Zorua—who I don’t think I play Legends Arceus without!

49CAED10-71BE-47F3-A425-84F604346DBD.gif
 

These 3 are the only Pokemon I've used that have made it onto more than 2 different in-game teams, which is quite the achievement given how much I prefer to diversify my teams for playthroughs. Out of these 3 only Electivire has been used in three different generations/regions (HeartGold, White 2 and Brilliant Diamond)? Venusaur has been used in three different generations but only two regions (Red, Y and Let's Go Eevee) whilst Arcanine has been used in two generations and two different regions (White 2 and both Let's Go games).

Venusaur is my go-to starter for Kanto - Grass typing nails the first few gyms and hits the common Water types for super-effective damage, Sleep Powder + Leech Seed + draining moves make it difficult to be KO'd consistently and I think the line as a whole develops nicely from cute to badass. Charizard is awesome but overexposed within the franchise, and I have no strong feelings towards the Blastoise line. I used it in Y because a free Mega Evolving starter is great and compliments my Greninja + Talonflame duo pretty nicely, pretty much.

Arcanine is just an awesome Pokemon and one of my favourite Fire types, its moniker as the Legendary Pokemon is well deserved in my opinion! Who doesn't love a badass tiger-canine hybrid? I found it to be fairly average in the Let's Go games admittedly but you can ride it in that game so I'll forgive the performance, but from what I remember it was great in White 2. Might have to give the Hisuian form a go when i get around to play Legends: Arceus...

Electivire is my favourite Pokemon of all time so its frequent usage should be no surprise. Doesn't hurt that it has some of the best coverage in any game you can get one in (seriously it learns Fighting moves, Psychic, Flamethrower, Earthquake, elemental punches and has Electric STAB), pretty great stats (fast enough to get the job done, tanky enough to take a hit, strong enough to KO whatever you need it to really) and the very solid Electric typing (in a franchise where Water and Flying types often make up the most common types to encounter). I admit that I never actually had Electivire in HGSS - only Electabuzz - but that's because the only issue with this line is obtaining one and then evolving it fully? Elekid was a Pokewalker exclusive I think in HGSS and hidden in the Grand Underground in Brilliant Diamond, and even when you can find it easily enough like in White 2... the Electrizer is not so easy to find. But it's great besides that, I recommend.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top