Pokemon Black and White In-Game Tier List Write-ups (Currently WIP)

[Ryota Mitarai]

This may be too small of a detail to mention for Accelgor, but he is one of the few Pokémon that can reliably outspeed and OHKO Ghestis’ Hydreigon with STAB Bug Buzz. The speed tiers of most Pokémon aren’t good enough to outspeed an overleveled Hydreigon, and Hydreigon’s absurd power and coverage makes it hard to take a hit and swing back. Accelgor makes dealing with him much easier.

Except it doesn't OHKO Hydreigon. It 2HKOes and dies to Fire Blast, unless it misses. I can confirm this through my personal experience while testing it.

 

[Y2Kay]

Except it doesn't OHKO Hydreigon. It 2HKOes and dies to Fire Blast, unless it misses. I can confirm this through my personal experience while testing it.

Oh, then my apologies then.

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

Oh, then my apologies then.

No worries, it probs conflicts with your experience, which is understandable.

I had a level 51 Accelgor, IVs were likely 13-23 in Spa, don't remember, I generally keep IVs in this range. I also have been informed in the past that NPCs' IVs were randomized, so if you are speaking from personal experience, you probs had high SpA IV vs really low SpD IV (assuming you are around level 50-52, which are the most reasonable levels for Ghetsis and that this statement is true).

It isn't easy to know these firm details, which is why I am not blaming you.

 

[DrumstickGaming]

This may be too small of a detail to mention for Accelgor, but he is one of the few Pokémon that can reliably outspeed and OHKO Ghestis’ Hydreigon with STAB Bug Buzz. The speed tiers of most Pokémon aren’t good enough to outspeed an overleveled Hydreigon, and Hydreigon’s absurd power and coverage makes it hard to take a hit and swing back. Accelgor makes dealing with him much easier.

Edit: kinda sniped by Ryota but still gonna leave this post here

First of all, thanks so much for the feedback! Every little bit helps!

Accelgor does help with Hydreigon a lot, although I've never used it (Ryota has). I looked into what you said with damage calculations. Accelgor is level 52, 15 IVs across the board. Ghetsis has perfect 31 IVs and 252 in Special Attack and Speed (I think this is true, don't quote me though). Both Hardy natures. Accelgor is 52 and has SilverPowder equipped, while Hydreigon as usual is at level 54.
No EVs:
0 SpA Silver Powder Accelgor Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 120-144 (66.6 - 80%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Needs 220 EVs for even a shot at OHKOing:
220 SpA Silver Powder Accelgor Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 152-180 (84.4 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Even with a perfect 31 Special Attack IV, you would still need some EVs:
0 SpA Silver Powder Accelgor Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 132-156 (73.3 - 86.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

You only need about 156 EVs for a 6.3% chance to OHKO:
156 SpA Silver Powder Accelgor Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 152-180 (84.4 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Thankfully, Hydreigon doesn't even kill with Dragon Pulse:
252 SpA Hydreigon Dragon Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Accelgor: 127-151 (83 - 98.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
So he pretty much has to land a Fire Blast to OHKO you back.

Worth noting that with a perfect 31 Speed IV and 252 EVs, Hydreigon allegedly hits 161 Speed, and all Accelgor needs to outspeed this with no EVs is a Speed IV of 12 or higher (not that bad).

Accelgor is unlikely to have many EVs due to its late arrival. Even if it can reliably deal with Hydreigon, I don't think that should have a significant impact on Accelgor's overall viability, as you have to rely on Sludge Bomb/Focus Blast until level 44 Bug Buzz which combined with a late arrival and only decent E4 cements it as a D tier (though I know you didn't advocate for a rise). I appreciate you mentioning Accelgor's niche though, as not many mons outspeed Hydreigon, and all it likely needs is a Fire Blast miss, the Ai to derp or for you to simply Revive once to counter it. Will probably add the niche to the analysis.

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

As every analysis is completed, we have decided with Drumstick to move this thread to the In-Game article subforum somewhere in Monday. If you want to add anything, I recommend to do it now. Although you can give inputs even after we move the thread, it's gonna be easier for us if you do it now while we are not dealing with QC/GP inputs.

Also just for safety measures, I am gonna give a tag to DHR-107 in case we need an official consent to move this and as to not get yelled at for "making uninformed decisions".

As always, if there any issues, feel free to bring them up here and we will try to find a solution to it.

 

[bdt2002]

(I've been busy all week, couldn't access Forums)

I can proofread. Sounds good to me :)

 

[DHR-107]

S tier

Darumaka
Hammer Arm comes upon evolution and Superpower is learnt at level 47. TM-wise, it can be taught Brick Break as an alternative to Superpower, Rock Slide, and Dig, the latter beng good for Shauntal and Ghetsis's Fire resistant Pokémon.

Typo in Being

A tier

Archen

Movepool: It starts with Ancient Power (you can TM Rock Tomb), learning Acrobatics (its best move) 3 levels later at 28 to replace Pluck. Archen gets Crunch at 35, U-Turn at 45 and Rock Slide via TM. Dig, Focus Blast and Dragon Claw are options, but the line will be mostly use Acrobatics.

Probably a tweak needed to the grammar above, mainly "using acrobatics"

Axew
Typing: Dragon-type is practically unresisted due to Steel, Ice, and Dragon-types being rare (outside of Brycen and Drayden/Iris for the latter two). Dragon typing is also great defensively, as it resists Grass, Fire, Water, and Electric.
Movepool: Axew will have Dragon Claw upon being caught. It learns Dragon Dance at level 32 and Swords Dance at level 48 as Fraxure. It can also learn Brick Break, Shadow Claw, and X-Scissor through TMs as Haxorus as rotating coverage depending on which Trainer you fight.

Typing section is confusing, Dragon is only resisted by Steel. Small tweaks might be needed for the movepool section; "TMs as Haxorus for rotating coverage".

Throh
Availability: Early-game (10% chance to appear in grass (White) or 5% chance to appear in rustling grass (Black) in Pinwheel Forest (Outer)).
Typing: Fighting gives it an advantage against Lenora, Brycen, Grimsley and a resistance to Burgh's Bug-type moves, but it is threatened by Skyla and Caitlin type-wise. Its Fighting STAB is also ineffective against Shauntal's Ghost-types.
Stats: Throh possesses high Attack and HP along with good Defense and Special Defense, but it is rather slow.
Movepool: It will have Seismic Toss upon being caught and, based on level, Vital Throw (otherwise learnt at level 17). More damaging moves in the form of Revenge, Storm Throw, and Body Slam are learnt at levels 21, 25, and 29, respectively. Bulk Up comes at level 33 and Superpower at level 49. TM-wise, it can be taught Brick Break (outclassed by Storm Throw) and Rock Slide. Payback via TM helps Throh do well against Shauntal.
Major Battles: Throh is really useful against Lenora. It also sweeps all Gym Leaders, even Skyla and onwards, thanks to Bulk Up. Against the Elite Four, it can sweep Grimsley and Marshal reliably, while Shauntal has her team swept by Throh, minus Cofagrigus, if you heal it up a few times. It is also useful against N and Ghetsis, as it can take down a few of their Poémon easily.
Additional Comments: In White, you can find a level 17 Throh fairly easily by going into dark grass with a level 17 Poémon in the lead and using a Repel. Throh generally can set up only 2-3 Bulk Ups at most, as its low Speed means that it will often take a hit before doing anything.

You mention Bulk Up a lot in this analysis, and I am wondering if its worthy as an A rank mon if it absolutely needs to set up vs most principle trainers in order to stand a chance. Most of the other Pokemon here can just push on without any issues, whereas it reads like Throh needs 2 turns to be scary vs opponents. Setting up while healing is inherently not very efficient, so I think it should drop to B based on the above description. If it doesn't need so much reliance on Bulki Up, its fine where it is

B tier

Ferroseed
Additional Comments: Giving it Rocky Helmet from Cold Storage is helpful, as it and Iron Barbs wiill harm contact move users of 1/4 of their HP.

Tiny typo here in will

C tier

Druddigon
Availability: Late-game; 10% in every season but Winter at Dragonspiral Tower’s entrance.

Probably worth noting it doesn't spawn at all in winter

D tier

Yamask
Additional Comments: As Yamask uses Will-I-Wisp quite often, keeping Hex might be a good idea. It is useless against Normal and Dark-types due to lacking a movepool to threaten them, outside of Grass Knot. Mummy replaces physical attackers' Abilities with Mummy when the line is hit.

Will-O-Whisp

E tier

Alomomola

Additional Comments: Hydration is the preferred ability as it can be combed with Rest and the Rain Dance TM for free healing, but isn't required.
Alomomola is generally one of the worst choices for an efficient play through of Pokemon Black and White.

Deino
Additional Comments: As Zweilous evolves to Hydreigon until 64 and most teams finish the game around 50, it is one of the worst choices to use.

They are already E tier, we don't really need to clarify these as the worst options to use, Vullaby is another example of this

Karrablast (no trade)
Major Battles: Due to the factors mentioned above, Karrablast does nothing in major battles, other than disappoint you.

No need for the snarky comments here

Edits in black, few other grammar mistakes, but those are easily fixable.

If you guys want to move this over to the main articles forum, thats OK from me :)

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

Hi everyone, we have transferred everything to the article forum (link here). If you want to say something, it will probably be a better idea to do it there.

Drumstick and I would like to thank everyone that contributed to the project, we really appreciate the efforts.