Community POTW #86

[Blue Harvest]

Raw Power Move for Rock Types and a chance for Defense debuffs. Other than that, not much use. Why people use Stone Edge with an identically shaky accuracy, huge Type coverage, and identical Base Power is also beyond me...oh, wait...

Justification in a Move choice comes down to coverage, power, utility, and reliability. Iron Tail has poor coverage and reliability, but it definitely has usefulness from power and random-chance utility. I don't recommend it either, but it's still something to consider when Rock Types wall Poison and Steel/Rock Types also wall Dark. The high Defenses they have also means a few lucky Defense debuffs from Iron Tail will make their Trainer think twice about staying in.

It learns Earthquake, which hits basically the same things... Besides Ice types?

[your boss]

Not to mention Drapion learns Brick Break as well, which has more coverage unlike Iron Tail. Sure it has average power but at least it does something to more than just Rocks and Ice types.

[KingTorterraXIV]

This is an original LC set.

Skorupi@Black Sludge
Nature: Jolly/Adamant
Ability:Battle Armor
Ev´s:36HP/220Atk/252Spe
Moves:
-X-Scissor/Bug Bite
-Toxic Spikes/Toxic
-Protect/Poison Jab/Whirlwind
-Poison Jab/Confuse Ray/Swords Dance

Skorupi is a powerful pokemon in LC. It has amazing defense and decent attack and speed. It has an average move pool filled with powerful attacks such as X-Scissor and Swords Dance. It can also be used as a wall with it's good defenses.

Any who, let's get to the set. X-Scissor is a good STAB move which can get rid of a chunk of an opponents HP. Bug Bite is a pretty useful move as well which allows you to steal an opponents berry, which is pretty common for an opponent to have in LC. Toxic Spikes allows you to set up a decent hazard and with Skorupi's good defenses you can easily set them up. Toxic is for those who don't need a spiker. Protect can be used for stalling a poisoned foe. Poison Jab is another STAB attack which isn't as useful as you think though it can take down weakened fire and flying types though I don't recommend. Whirlwind is an egg move so it can be a pain to get but it is pretty useful. Sending pokemon back so Toxic Spikes can do it's magic is good. Confuse Ray is kinda gimmicky so I don't recommend using it though it is a possibility if you wish. And last but now least, Swords Dance is an option which allows Skorupi's attack allowing you to set up a sweep.

You might as well make it a Swords Dance set tbh. Toxic Spikes are probally the worst entry hazard in lc, as it takes usually takes awhile for toxic to really come a problem, and most commonly used pokemon don't really mind the toxic, or just float. Toxic isn't bad, but Bronzor can come in and Psychic and destroy Skorupi. :C

Your sets only really runs offensive stuff, so you really don't Confuse Ray or Protect (Protect is fine, but most things that come in to kill Skorupi outspeed it anyway, or can take a hit.) You can run Knock Off or Crunch which helps against Misdreavus' and can really screw up some Pokemon. Brick Break aslo helps out with Steel/Rock Types. Finally, Eviolite > Black Sludge cause Leftover-esque items (or Leftovers itself) is kinda pointless in LC (2 Hp every turn, woo when you lose alot more)

It should probally be more like this:

Skorupi@Eviolite
Nature: Jolly
Ability:Sniper
Evs:36HP/196Atk/40Def/236Spe
Moves:
-X-Scissor
-Cross Poison
-Brick Break/Crunch/Knock Off
-Swords Dance

Skorupi is decently bulky with Eviolite so it's basically a bulky SD set, which in of itself is pretty good.

[doofinc]

Special Drapion? (Please someone think of a better name)

Moves:
Toxic
Venoshock
Dark Pulse
Hidden Power Fire/Grass/Ground

Item Attached: Life Orb/Air Balloon
Ability: Sniper
Nature and EVs: Modest Nature (+SpAtt. -Att.)
EVs: 252 SAtk/196 Spd/62 SpDef

With those gigantic pincers, you wouldn't expect the ogre of a scorpion to use its brain much for offence. Drapion can pull a bit of special-ness to surprise opponents. Life Orb boosts the well needed strength for your special attacks while the Air Balloon gets rid of your only weakness temporarily. Sniper will boost your critical hits which helps. For your attacks, Toxic cripples any Pokemon besides Poison and Steel types. Then Venoshock deals 130 damage with the Toxic. Don't go for Toxic Spikes as they can be gone in an instant from spinners or Poison Pokemon. Dark Pulse gets stab and flinch. You can also have Hidden Power. Fire kills those Steels who you can't touch who aren't named Heatran. Ground kills the Poison types and other types, including Heatran. Grass kills off Bulky Grass types. For EVs you NEED Max Special Attack to actually do something. You need more speed to outspeed and get something Poisoned. You can also put some into Special Defense for those who have Earth Power.

I thought of one: You wouldn't expect a giant scorpion with huge pincers to use his brain.

[SwiftGrovyle]

Wow, I was wrong. Still, my other previously stated point isn't true fact yet. We can only hope Drapion gets Storm throw from Pinser.

Doubles
This guy is crazy. Rock slide, earthquake, can take hits... Nothing already previously said. Except for one- Accupressure. Very potent stuff, especially with Pokes with Stored power and the ability simple. And that can be done with a ton of different guys: Gardevoir, mixed Gallade, Musharna, Siligyph, Beeheyeem(who gets simple beam, so he can use it on Drapion...) and so, so many more options with that.

Anyone thought of Evolite Scorupi? I will try to post one set, at least. It works from little cup to a decent Nu t-spikes. Sad that it rivals Beedrill and Ariados for it.

As for the specail set, I think its fine, but needs toxic spikes instead of plain old toxic. I know, I tried specail a couple times in RU.

[Chidori__O]

You might as well make it a Swords Dance set tbh. Toxic Spikes are probally the worst entry hazard in lc, as it takes usually takes awhile for toxic to really come a problem, and most commonly used pokemon don't really mind the toxic, or just float. Toxic isn't bad, but Bronzor can come in and Psychic and destroy Skorupi. :C

Your sets only really runs offensive stuff, so you really don't Confuse Ray or Protect (Protect is fine, but most things that come in to kill Skorupi outspeed it anyway, or can take a hit.) You can run Knock Off or Crunch which helps against Misdreavus' and can really screw up some Pokemon. Brick Break aslo helps out with Steel/Rock Types. Finally, Eviolite > Black Sludge cause Leftover-esque items (or Leftovers itself) is kinda pointless in LC (2 Hp every turn, woo when you lose alot more)

It should probally be more like this:

Skorupi@Eviolite
Nature: Jolly
Ability:Sniper
Evs:36HP/196Atk/40Def/236Spe
Moves:
-X-Scissor
-Cross Poison
-Brick Break/Crunch/Knock Off
-Swords Dance

Skorupi is decently bulky with Eviolite so it's basically a bulky SD set, which in of itself is pretty good.

Meh, do as you wish. Toxic isn't common but it's not rare either. It can also take down pokemon and reduce their HP easily. Plus they can't spam Protect either.

[MetalCrow]

It learns Earthquake, which hits basically the same things... Besides Ice types?

I thought ground is super effective against ice

[MatchMaster]

Drapion is a rather interesting case of an exception to the Dark-type stereotype of being fast and powerful. True, it is somewhat faster than the rather common base 90 speed pokemon, but rather than having an above-average offensive stat(s), it has an above average defense stat. It's typing also compliments this; Poison/Dark leaves it weak to only Ground-type moves. The tier it is placed in almost seems perfect for it too; RU is looming with slower, defensive ghosts, especially Cofagrigus, the most used Pokemon in RU, that have trouble getting past Drapion. These qualities make Drapion useful as anti- lead, or even a Swords Dance sweeper. There are reasons why Drapion is in RU though. Newer threats that have improved this generation, such as Gliscor, outclass it. It also lacks recovery outside of leftovers and Rest. Don't let this stop you from using it though, as Drapion is one of the fastest, if no the fastest, user of Toxic Spikes in the game.

Specially Defensive Toxic Spikes
Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Battle Armor
Nature: Careful
EVs: 248 HP / 244 SpD / 16 Spe
- Toxic Spikes
- Taunt
- Crunch
- Whirlwind

This is a slightly modified version of Smogon's Specially Defensive set. Black Sludge is the preferred item as it makes users of Trick and Switcheroo not get away with switching items without being punished. Battle Armor is used so the opponent can't land and crit, as this set focuses on defense. As Drapion already has an impressive defense stat, there's no real need to invest in it, so fucus on HP and Special Defense. This allows Drapion to take hits from Cofagrigus and other ghosts in RU easily. 16 Spe allows Drapion to Taunt Crawdaunt and Omastar before they use Dragon Dance and Shell Smash. Toxic Spikes and Whirlwind are the two most important moves on the set. The idea is to set up Toxic Spikes, preferably two layers if you get the chance, then whirlwind the opponent away, poisoning the next Pokemon if it isn't a Flying-, Poison-, or Steel-type. Clefable makes a good partner, as it can Sponge attacks from Moltres who can be a problem, and set up Stealth Rock, further making use of Whirlwind. Crunch ensures that Drapion isn't Taunt bait, and can really hurt Rotom.

Swords Dance
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sniper
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Crunch
- Aqua Tail
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

Drapion has a usable base 90 Attack to back its good speed. Swords Dance boosts it to higher levels. Crunch is the main STAB move, and OHKOs the standard 252 HP / 104 Def Dusknoir OHKO's even the bulkiest of Slowking, will at least 2HKO max HP and Defense Cofagrigus, and 2HKOs Spiritomb, all after a Swords Dance. Just be careful about the later two, as they commonly carry Will-O-Wisp, and the extra turn that the 2HKO gives will give them a chance to use it, and will cripple Drapion. Also be careful about spamming it, as Justified Gallade would love to switch into it. Aqua Tail is mainly for Sandslash and Rhydon, who can take all of Drapion's other attacks. Earthquake gives Drapion neutral coverage (I think), and OHKOs Aggron.

Other Options
Torment can screw with the Defensive Ghosts that run amok in RU, especially Cofagrigus. You could also run a set that focuses on Critical hits with Swords Dance, Cross Poison, Night Slash, a coverage move, and Scope Lens, but relying on luck is unreliable. Speaking of Drapion's Poison STAB, it also get Poison Jab, but it has bad coverage, and its only notable target is Tangrowth, who is only 2HKO'd after Swords dance, which give it the chance to retaliate with Earthquake. X-Scissor only provides redundant coverage, as most of it potential target are already hit hard by Crunch. Brick Break can be used to hit opposing Dark-types, so it could be used over Earthquake, but most of them are already hit hard by Earthquake and Aqua Tail anyway. Drapion also has access to the elemental fangs, but they are generally too weak.

Counters
ResTalk Polwrath is the best Drapion counter out there. It can recover from Toxic Spikes and damage by using rest, and phaze Drapion with Circle Throw. Aerodactyl and Archeops are also good counter, as they can come in on Earthquake for free, outrun, and KO with their own Earthquake.

[absol-umbreon]

my set would go something like this

Drapion@air baloon
toxic
protect/substitute
cross poison
nightslash

it is an alright tank but i am terrible with ev's

[philzone]

I thought ground is super effective against ice

Nope, its the other way around. Ice is super effective on ground

[Kraleck]

It learns Earthquake, which hits basically the same things... Besides Ice types?

Not to mention Drapion learns Brick Break as well, which has more coverage unlike Iron Tail. Sure it has average power but at least it does something to more than just Rocks and Ice types.

Slide-Quake is far better, I'll agree, but it's more of the debuffs and outright power that you'd consider Iron Tail for, if at all. The Move is terrible for coverage and accuracy, yes, but some people like to rely on lucky chances...but, again, I don't recommend it - it's just an option.

[jesusfreak94]

Iron Tail has a couple of uses, but not much at all. In RU, it would literally just be for Archeops, Crustle, and Aerodactyl, each of which often carry a Ground move on one of their standard sets and probably should be switched out of. Also, each is hit about as hard by Aqua Tail, which also has utility in taking out bulky Fire and Ground types. The accuracy is also a major problem, sitting between the hit ratio of Focus Miss and Fail Edge, and the Steel typing is not known for its offensive coverage.

Not really worth it, to be honest. There's almost always going to be a better choice.

[Chidori__O]

Iron Tail has a couple of uses, but not much at all. In RU, it would literally just be for Archeops, Crustle, and Aerodactyl, each of which often carry a Ground move on one of their standard sets and probably should be switched out of. Also, each is hit about as hard by Aqua Tail, which also has utility in taking out bulky Fire and Ground types. The accuracy is also a major problem, sitting between the hit ratio of Focus Miss and Fail Edge, and the Steel typing is not known for its offensive coverage.

Not really worth it, to be honest. There's almost always going to be a better choice.

Hear hear.

Actually, the pokemon you mention have access to Rock Slide which gets a power boost with STAB. But you are right, Iron Tail is really just an option. A really bad option. Only use it if you've lost a bet of something.

[Ilan]

I see some sets here opt to night slash>crunch I think crunch is far superior for a slight chance to hit harder you lose 12% of the power crunch provides? if you are not running that gimmick sniper set I would use crunch since it is better 94% of the time and even with scope lents 75% of the time.

[Electrolled]

I couldn't come up with an actual set, so here are some moves. This is my first time doing this, wish me luck!

Substitute: It resists quite a few types and is weak to only one, so using Substitute could give you a chance to use Swords Dance.

Brick Break: Takes out those dual typed Rock/Ground Pokemon, and a few others too.

Aqua Tail: Goes great with Return giving it coverage against everything but Empoleon and Ferrothorn, but there's Brick Break for that.

Return: Strong normal attack that goes good with Aqua Tail.

Screech, Whirlwind, Agility, and Confuse Ray:

Screech goes well with Pursuit, Whirlwind will take out many Baton Passing teams, Agility in a Substitute will let you be a lot faster than common ground types that are fast, like Landorus. Confuse ray is just for annoyance.

Knockoff can really mess up some Pokemon, and along with Toxic Spikes and Whirlwind, it can ruin the items on a whole team. No Focus Sash, Life Orb, Air Balloon (although that'd be gone from the damage already).

Night Slash could work with Sniper, although Gimmicky. So could Slash.

Bulldoze will slow down the Pokemon that could normally outspeed you.

There's also Taunt, RestTalk, and Roar.

[MetalCrow]

Nope, its the other way around. Ice is super effective on ground

I knew ice was super effective against ground, but for whateveer reason, i was convinced that it went both ways...
Whatever, i wouldn't use iron tail for just coverage of ice types...that isn't enough reason over the other options available

[Chidori__O]

Does anyone ever try a rotation battle set? Or is that too hard to do in POTW?

[Rayofquazar]

I thought of one: You wouldn't expect a giant scorpion with huge pincers to use his brain.

Yeah! Especially if the huge pincers are linked directly to his brain!!!

Drapion! While I'm not a huge fan of your design for reasons stated previously, one would be stupid to ignore you or underestimate you on the battleground! Your best quality is you GREAT defensive typing along with SOLID defensive capabilities! Dark/Poison typing eliminates completely poison's weakness to psychic types while neutralizing dark's weakness to bug types granting you only one weakness to ground! While ground is a solid attacking type and the ever present earthquake is always so dangerous, there is several ways to escape an attack! (Flying types, levitate...). This generation presented yet another way to deal with ground type attacks which is the infamous AIR BALLOON! With air balloon held, you become one of the few pokemon not to have any weanesses incredibly boosting your usefulness by insuring you won't be OHKO by a strong ground type attack especially the rare earth power! To add to your defensive capabilities, you are backed up by an incredible support movepool including toxic spikes, taunt and Roar for a maximum spread of poison. Your other stats are well rounded too, While your special attack is low, you are blessed with decent attack and speed both of them have also ways of boosting with swords dance and agility making a sweeping set possible too! Your abilities are just perfect for you, (not talking about your DW ability cz it completely sucks) Sniper is good on the sweeper set and you have to moves to abuse it while battle armor is perfect for the defensive set. If I had to say a negative thing about you is the obvious one: You don't have any recovery attack which I think is the reason you are not in OU! But all in all you can be a very effective physical wall, tank or plain sweeper with a very well crafted movepool!

My suggestion for a set!
Drapion@leftovers/Air balloon
Ability: Battle armor
Nature: +DEF/-Sp ATT
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 DEF/ 252 SPD
Moveset:
-Toxic spikes
-Roar
-Crunch/Nigh slash/Knock off
-Taunt/Cross poison/Brick break

This set main goal is to abuse toxic spikes damage or other entry hazards while being able to attack and support with decent defensive abilities! Switch on something that can't harm you and set up toxic spikes_as many layes as you can_then abuse roar to force switches and poisonning as many pokemon as you can in your opponent's team! Crunch or night slash is if you prefer reliability in power or counting on hax! Knock off can further support your team by crippling opponent's pokemon. They are all here in case you got taunted. In the last slot, taunt will prevent you from being taunted while keeping walls from recovering lost HP. But if you want a second attack you can go with either cross poison a strong second stab option that can poison opponent and has a higher chance of a critical hit, although it lacks coverage except on grass types or you can go with perfect coverage with brick break in exchange of a major power loss! Leftovers or Air ballon is if you want a reliable recovery or just a chance to switch in safely and set up successfully!

[tomjames1966]

Gimmick set:
Drapion@Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/100Atk/ 152 DEF/ 252 SPD
-EDIT: Brick Break
-Cross Poison
-Night slash
-Earthquake
A gimmick set. What more can I say? Night Slash and Cross Poison all have High crit ratio also boosted by scope lens. If a crit hits it does MASSIVE damage, imagine a Salamence against an Ice Beam, yeah.

[Chidori__O]

Gimmick set:
Drapion@Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/100Atk/ 152 DEF/ 252 SPD
- Slash
-Cross Poison
-Night slash
-Earthquake
A gimmick set. What more can I say? Slash, Night Slash and Cross Poison all have High crit ratio also boosted by scope lens. If a crit hits it does MASSIVE damage, imagine a Salamence against an Ice Beam, yeah.

What can Slash hit with that set? It's weak to Rock and Steel and Ghost I guess.. Well, Night Slash is weak to Steel and Cross Poison isn't affected by Steel but they both get STAB so it would be redundant to have it. Night Slash also deals with Ghosts. So weaknesses with Night Slash include Dark, Fighting and Steel. Slash cannot assist Drapion because because Cross Poison takes down the resistances of Dark except Steel which Slash can't hurt that much while Night Slash gains STAB if you use it on a Steel type. Ghost, Ground, Rock and Steel are types Night Slash can fight. But if we talk about pokemon like Bisharp with two types...that's when Slash is a better option. But you got Earthquake to help you with those guys.