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Porygon
Approved by Vader
In Generation 4, Porygon was a nice bulky sweeper with Thunderbolt and Ice Beam. Lacking important level-up moves such as Tri Attack and Recover, it was simply a pretty bulky Normal-type that was slow but hit pretty hard with Download factored in. Even Hyper Beam was an option, as it was Porygon's only special STAB move. With Munchlax used on many teams, sets such as Trick Room/Return/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt popped up to give Porygon some STAB attacks. Then the Pomeg Glitch happened.
While others were ogling at marvels such as Belly Drum + ExtremeSpeed Zigzagoon and Hydro Pump Staryu, others saw how Porygon now could become a fierce sweeper with its newfound access to Agility and Tri Attack. 85 base Special Attack was no slouch, and it was fast enough to outpace common Choice Scarfers such as Mankey after an Agility. I remember using Porygon on Team Stinky Music, and it was a pretty solid sweeper. However, Porygon was still stuck in the land of good but not great. It spent more time Googling for #littlecup users than actually being used in battle. Vader was probably the only reason why Porygon was still considered a somewhat major threat.
Things appeared to get worse in Generation 5, with a huge influx of new and powerful Fighting-types. Porygon seemed doomed to the nonexistant LC UU. The addition of Eviolite meant that Agility Porygon was no longer such a huge threat, and even Meditite was around to terrorize Porygon. For many months, the usage of Porygon was extremely low.
After the bannings of the so-called "Big Four" (Gligar, Misdreavus, Meditite, and Carvanha), Porygon's future seemed unclear. While Meditite and Misdreavus were both pretty good Porygon checks, a huge rise in the usage of Mienfoo and Scraggy meant that Porygon still couldn't really sweep. However, a long-forgotten set known as the Charge Beam set made a return, abusing Porygon's excellent bulk, Trace, and that massive Special Attack stat. If you can 6-0 Elevator Music with one Pokemon, I think that would be pretty good.
So what's next for Porygon? Will it still be a decent stallbreaker and check to Chinchou and Gastly? Or will the Agility or Trick Room sets make a return and sweep teams like they used to? Only time will tell.
While others were ogling at marvels such as Belly Drum + ExtremeSpeed Zigzagoon and Hydro Pump Staryu, others saw how Porygon now could become a fierce sweeper with its newfound access to Agility and Tri Attack. 85 base Special Attack was no slouch, and it was fast enough to outpace common Choice Scarfers such as Mankey after an Agility. I remember using Porygon on Team Stinky Music, and it was a pretty solid sweeper. However, Porygon was still stuck in the land of good but not great. It spent more time Googling for #littlecup users than actually being used in battle. Vader was probably the only reason why Porygon was still considered a somewhat major threat.
Things appeared to get worse in Generation 5, with a huge influx of new and powerful Fighting-types. Porygon seemed doomed to the nonexistant LC UU. The addition of Eviolite meant that Agility Porygon was no longer such a huge threat, and even Meditite was around to terrorize Porygon. For many months, the usage of Porygon was extremely low.
After the bannings of the so-called "Big Four" (Gligar, Misdreavus, Meditite, and Carvanha), Porygon's future seemed unclear. While Meditite and Misdreavus were both pretty good Porygon checks, a huge rise in the usage of Mienfoo and Scraggy meant that Porygon still couldn't really sweep. However, a long-forgotten set known as the Charge Beam set made a return, abusing Porygon's excellent bulk, Trace, and that massive Special Attack stat. If you can 6-0 Elevator Music with one Pokemon, I think that would be pretty good.
So what's next for Porygon? Will it still be a decent stallbreaker and check to Chinchou and Gastly? Or will the Agility or Trick Room sets make a return and sweep teams like they used to? Only time will tell.
HP: 65
Attack: 60
Defense: 70
Special Attack: 85
Special Defense: 75
Speed: 40
BST: 395
Movepool:
Level-Up
(note: this is for Generation III, as Porygon can only obtain its level-up moves via Pomeg Glitch from Emerald. These are illegal with Download.)
1 Conversion 2
1 Tackle
1 Conversion
9 Agility
12 Psybeam
20 Recover
24 Sharpen
32 Lock-On
36 Tri Attack
44 Recycle
48 Zap Cannon
Tutor
These are illegal with Download.
Double-Edge
Dream Eater
Endure*
Mimic
Psych Up*
Sleep Talk*
Substitute*
Swagger*
Thunder Wave*
* Available via TM, legal with Download but not with level-up moves.
These are legal with Download, but not with level-up moves.
Gravity
Icy Wind
Last Resort
Pain Split
Role Play
Signal Beam
Snore
Swift
Trick
Zen Headbutt
TM/HM
03 Psyshock
06 Toxic
10 Hidden Power
11 Sunny Day
13 Ice Beam
14 Blizzard
15 Hyper Beam
17 Protect
18 Rain Dance
21 Frustration
22 SolarBeam
23 Iron Tail*
24 Thunderbolt
25 Thunder
27 Return
29 Psychic
30 Shadow Ball
32 Double Team
34 Shock Wave*
40 Aerial Ace
42 Facade
43 Secret Power*
44 Rest
46 Thief
48 Round
57 Charge Beam
58 Endure*
67 Recycle*
68 Giga Impact
70 Flash
73 Thunder Wave
77 Psych Up
82 Sleep Talk*
83 Natural Gift*
85 Dream Eater
87 Swagger
90 Substitute
92 Trick Room
* Gen IV TM.
Attack: 60
Defense: 70
Special Attack: 85
Special Defense: 75
Speed: 40
BST: 395
Movepool:
Level-Up
(note: this is for Generation III, as Porygon can only obtain its level-up moves via Pomeg Glitch from Emerald. These are illegal with Download.)
1 Conversion 2
1 Tackle
1 Conversion
9 Agility
12 Psybeam
20 Recover
24 Sharpen
32 Lock-On
36 Tri Attack
44 Recycle
48 Zap Cannon
Tutor
These are illegal with Download.
Double-Edge
Dream Eater
Endure*
Mimic
Psych Up*
Sleep Talk*
Substitute*
Swagger*
Thunder Wave*
* Available via TM, legal with Download but not with level-up moves.
These are legal with Download, but not with level-up moves.
Gravity
Icy Wind
Last Resort
Pain Split
Role Play
Signal Beam
Snore
Swift
Trick
Zen Headbutt
TM/HM
03 Psyshock
06 Toxic
10 Hidden Power
11 Sunny Day
13 Ice Beam
14 Blizzard
15 Hyper Beam
17 Protect
18 Rain Dance
21 Frustration
22 SolarBeam
23 Iron Tail*
24 Thunderbolt
25 Thunder
27 Return
29 Psychic
30 Shadow Ball
32 Double Team
34 Shock Wave*
40 Aerial Ace
42 Facade
43 Secret Power*
44 Rest
46 Thief
48 Round
57 Charge Beam
58 Endure*
67 Recycle*
68 Giga Impact
70 Flash
73 Thunder Wave
77 Psych Up
82 Sleep Talk*
83 Natural Gift*
85 Dream Eater
87 Swagger
90 Substitute
92 Trick Room
* Gen IV TM.
[SET]
name: Eviolite
move 1: Tri Attack
move 2: Recover
move 3: Charge Beam / Thunderbolt
move 4: Ice Beam / Shadow Ball / Protect
item: Eviolite
ability: Trace
nature: Bold
evs: 236 HP / 196 Def / 76 SpA
Firstly, credit to Goldenknight for not only creating this set but also bringing it to #littlecup's attention. There's no way I would have written this thread without this set.
This is actually incredibly bulky. Eviolite along with those great defenses, as well as a pretty good defensive typing makes Porygon nearly unbeatable outside of very strong Fighting-type attacks. To demonstrate how bulky this set actually is, here are some calculations:
As you can see, Porygon can comfortably tank hits from some of the metagame's most powerful Pokemon and annihilate them with Tri Attack off of 16 Special Attack or a coverage move. If you have Toxic or Toxic Spikes support, Porygon can actually just Recover off damage until the foe dies from poison. Charge Beam is nice against things like Lickitung, which you beat (if you don't get Toxiced) instead of having to spam Ice Beam/Tri Attack for status. Thunderbolt gives you more upfront power though, although Ice Beam can help out since it has somewhat similar coverage. Shadow Ball gets pretty good coverage with Tri Attack, only being resisted by the rare Steel-types. It also always OHKOes standard Gastly that do not carry Eviolite. Protect can actually let you beat Mienfoo one on one if you get lucky, although most Mienfoo will U-turn out after having been hurt by Hi Jump Kick.
Toxic Spikes help this set out a lot, as with Recover you can actually stall out a lot of Pokemon (as previously mentioned). Tentacool is pretty good, as it resists Fighting-type moves often aimed at Porygon. Protect helps here too. A Heal Bell user such as Chinchou also is beneficial, as Porygon absolutely hates being Toxiced (unless you manage to Trace Poison Heal, in which case the game is basically over). Pokemon that beat Fighting-types such as Gastly also help out here, as you generally want to make them think twice about using Hi Jump Kick. Bulky Mienfoo or Croagunk are also nice for Scraggy that try to set up on Porygon. Paralysis support, whether via bulky Chinchou (who can also Heal Bell), Shroomish, or another Pokemon, is also pretty nice as Porygon reaches a measly 10 Speed. In general, Porygon and Chinchou make pretty good teammates, as Porygon can even remove Diglett by Tracing Arena Trap, living an Earthquake (a 3HKO) and OHKOing back with Tri Attack or Ice Beam. Staryu/Natu for removal/prevention of entry hazards, especially Toxic Spikes, makes Porygon a lot happier too. Porygon can even trace Volt Absorb from Chinchou trying to Volt Switch on Staryu and get some HP back that way.
The EVs give Porygon quite a bit of bulk. You can move some Defense EVs into Special Defense to take things like Abra's Hidden Power Fighting and Hydro Pumps better.
EDIT: A word from Goldenknight:
Other sets that Porygon does pretty well are Agility and Trick Room. Porygon does Agility pretty well, with that nice 19 Special Attack and 26 Speed after Agility. Tri Attack and Shadow Ball do pretty well together, and a coverage move to hit Steel-types like Hidden Power Fighting or Fire makes for one of the best Agility sweepers. However, the huge amount of Mienfoo, Scraggy, and Croagunk, all three of which Porygon is unable to OHKO even with Life Orb and a Modest nature, limits the viability of an Agility set. If Download ever becomes legal with Tri Attack, Agility could make a big return.
Trick Room is also pretty good, as with such massive bulk and Special Attack Porygon can either set up Trick Room for its teammates or sweep under it. Even the mixed Download set is pretty good if you can get Fighting-types out of the way. In general, that's the one rule of using Porygon: if you can kill Mienfoo, Scraggy, Croagunk, Timburr, Machop, and other Fighting-types, Porygon will easily rip teams apart. It's just getting there that's the hard part.
name: Eviolite
move 1: Tri Attack
move 2: Recover
move 3: Charge Beam / Thunderbolt
move 4: Ice Beam / Shadow Ball / Protect
item: Eviolite
ability: Trace
nature: Bold
evs: 236 HP / 196 Def / 76 SpA
Firstly, credit to Goldenknight for not only creating this set but also bringing it to #littlecup's attention. There's no way I would have written this thread without this set.
This is actually incredibly bulky. Eviolite along with those great defenses, as well as a pretty good defensive typing makes Porygon nearly unbeatable outside of very strong Fighting-type attacks. To demonstrate how bulky this set actually is, here are some calculations:
Code:
76 Atk Mienfoo Hi Jump Kick vs 236 HP/196 Def Eviolite Porygon: 69.23% - 92.31%
196 SpAtk Staryu Hydro Pump vs 236 HP/0 SpDef Eviolite Porygon: 38.46% - 50%
232 SpAtk Chinchou Hydro Pump vs 236 HP/0 SpDef Eviolite Porygon: 38.46% - 50%
196 SpAtk Gastly Sludge Bomb vs 236 HP/0 SpDef Eviolite Porygon: 34.62% - 46.15%
252 Atk Stunky Explosion vs 236 HP/196 Def Eviolite Porygon: 46.15% - 57.69%
156 Atk Larvesta Flare Blitz vs 236 HP/196 Def Eviolite Porygon: 34.62% - 46.15%
236 Atk Drilbur Earthquake vs 236 HP/196 Def Eviolite Porygon: 34.62% - 46.15%
240 SpAtk Abra Hidden Power Fighting vs 236 HP/0 SpDef Eviolite Porygon: 38.46% - 53.85%
Toxic Spikes help this set out a lot, as with Recover you can actually stall out a lot of Pokemon (as previously mentioned). Tentacool is pretty good, as it resists Fighting-type moves often aimed at Porygon. Protect helps here too. A Heal Bell user such as Chinchou also is beneficial, as Porygon absolutely hates being Toxiced (unless you manage to Trace Poison Heal, in which case the game is basically over). Pokemon that beat Fighting-types such as Gastly also help out here, as you generally want to make them think twice about using Hi Jump Kick. Bulky Mienfoo or Croagunk are also nice for Scraggy that try to set up on Porygon. Paralysis support, whether via bulky Chinchou (who can also Heal Bell), Shroomish, or another Pokemon, is also pretty nice as Porygon reaches a measly 10 Speed. In general, Porygon and Chinchou make pretty good teammates, as Porygon can even remove Diglett by Tracing Arena Trap, living an Earthquake (a 3HKO) and OHKOing back with Tri Attack or Ice Beam. Staryu/Natu for removal/prevention of entry hazards, especially Toxic Spikes, makes Porygon a lot happier too. Porygon can even trace Volt Absorb from Chinchou trying to Volt Switch on Staryu and get some HP back that way.
The EVs give Porygon quite a bit of bulk. You can move some Defense EVs into Special Defense to take things like Abra's Hidden Power Fighting and Hydro Pumps better.
EDIT: A word from Goldenknight:
----I actually made the Charge Beam set like last year during the Murkrow meta because I really really liked Prankster and wanted to have fun beating that Featherdance set! I made sure it wasn't 2HKO'd by Brave Bird or something like that (I remember doing a bunch of calcs that I don't actually remember) and theorymoned beating Houndour, Chinchou, Diglett, and having more fun with Pokemon with Natural Cure. I pretty much just wanted to abuse Trace and use it to set up which has worked pretty well over the past year.
The other thing I wanted to say was to be careful when using this Pokemon! As bulky as it is and all that (and status is overhyped imo), you really have to pick and choose your battles, especially in the middle of the game. It's really not worth it against anything besides like Diglett, Chinchou, Bronzor, or other Pokemon that are just destroyed here if you're going to try and do things late in the game. It seems pretty obvious, but Porygon becomes useless when you can't keep it healthy enough to switch in and be free to Recover when necessary which is made a little harder since it has like 10 Speed.
Other sets that Porygon does pretty well are Agility and Trick Room. Porygon does Agility pretty well, with that nice 19 Special Attack and 26 Speed after Agility. Tri Attack and Shadow Ball do pretty well together, and a coverage move to hit Steel-types like Hidden Power Fighting or Fire makes for one of the best Agility sweepers. However, the huge amount of Mienfoo, Scraggy, and Croagunk, all three of which Porygon is unable to OHKO even with Life Orb and a Modest nature, limits the viability of an Agility set. If Download ever becomes legal with Tri Attack, Agility could make a big return.
Trick Room is also pretty good, as with such massive bulk and Special Attack Porygon can either set up Trick Room for its teammates or sweep under it. Even the mixed Download set is pretty good if you can get Fighting-types out of the way. In general, that's the one rule of using Porygon: if you can kill Mienfoo, Scraggy, Croagunk, Timburr, Machop, and other Fighting-types, Porygon will easily rip teams apart. It's just getting there that's the hard part.
Thanks for reading!