Community POTW #89 - Special #4

[GirlKirbyZombie]

I vote for Nidoqueen and NidoKing!

As for Ditto... It's hard to pull off it's main move to transform in the previous generations. But thanks to Imposer, this thing can be a threat.

One Ditto t rule them all
Nature: Any that raises speed. When you catch one, try to get one with high HP IVs.
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Spd, and 4 def
Item: Life Orb/Choice Scarf
Moves: ...Do I have to list them?

This little guy can wreck a team like Godzilla if the cards are played right. Choice Scarf is good for out-speeding the pokemon you are copying, but I feel iffy about using one... Life Orb is a good alternative.
Remember that you can't pass stat changes to Ditto because they are not applied to your foe unless it has already transformed.

[waternate]

I gotta vote for Haxorus or Krookodile. Two great new additions to the game. There's not much to say about ditto that hasn't already been said, and I can't speak for it's strategic aspects since I don't use it.

[your boss]

Is it alright if I tally the votes at the end of the week, or will BH, Serebii, etc keep track of them?

[MetalCrow]

...I vote for metagross...since it's awesome and all...

Lol ditto is the epitomy of a troll...give it a scarf and it'll revenge kill revenge killers...give it leftovers and it can counter stall against walls...after all, a wall's worst nightmare is going against itself

[Serebii]

Is it alright if I tally the votes at the end of the week, or will BH, Serebii, etc keep track of them?

Go for it. Saves me doing it

[Terrabyte]

Stop copying me!:
Ditto @ Life Orb/Choice Scarf
Limber
>Transform

Copy a partner with Plus/Minus to make two sweepers with boosted special attack.


I vote for Porygon-Z!!!

[DestroyerOfWorlds]

I'll go ahead and vote for Hyd-ragin' and its wall-killing might.

[MultiDarkShadow777]

I vote for Hydreigon for next week.

Ditto
-------
Choice Scarf

Ability: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP

Moveset:
-Transform

[jesusfreak94]

Usually EVing Ditto past its HP is pointless, but I'll just share a couple of EV tips that might be useful once in a blue moon.

252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef Relaxed can be useful in the case that it becomes a Ditto vs Ditto match. This would help your Ditto take as little damage as possible from Struggle while the opponent wears themselve down with the recoil. You'll also want to lower your speed IV as much as possible so that your opponent will kill themselves in recoil before you do. Of course, having a Ditto vs Ditto matchup is a really unlikely scenario, so you could also run a 252 HP / 4 Def / 4 SDef Sassy spread. This will help in case you accidently come in on a disguised Zoroark, since Imposter fails on an Illusion user. These won't come in handy often, but it's nice for that once in a while chance. On a side note, also remember that Ditto copies the opponent's stats, but it keeps its own IVs for Hidden Power purposes. Make sure you customize Ditto's EVs so that if you come in on a Hidden Power user, you can hit them with the effective HP type. Good examples include HP Rock for checking Volcarona and HP Fire/Ice for checking Venusaur.

Also, I'm voting for Sandslash for next week. It really got a lot better after Sand Rush was released, essentially acting as a mini-Excadrill for Sand teams.

[TheNetGuy]

There isn't anything I can say about ditto that hasn't already been said, so I'll go straight to my vote:
Xatu

[your boss]

Go for it. Saves me doing it

Thanks, I didn't realize we had 4 pages in one day so I thought I could help with tallying the votes, should I VM/PM the results or post them here?

[DestroyerOfWorlds]

Usually EVing Ditto past its HP is pointless, but I'll just share a couple of EV tips that might be useful once in a blue moon.

252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef Relaxed can be useful in the case that it becomes a Ditto vs Ditto match. This would help your Ditto take as little damage as possible from Struggle while the opponent wears themselve down with the recoil.

I thought that a ditto versus ditto match would result in a stalemate, as Transform's power points are reset to 5 each time the move is used, no?
EDIT: Nevermind, transform cannot be used on a Transformed pokemon.

[TurboMechaElgyem]

I vote tornadus

[Evan3]

I vote for weavile

[Kiyoshi]

Ditto. The one Pokemon with more uses than Mew and Smeargle combined. With Impostor now available for the blob, one can use it for anything other than just breeding. Great revenge-killer (send in after something's been killed, least you get hit with a now Super Effective Outrage because you switched into Garchomp), entry hazard setter if you can't otherwise fit one on your team (switch into a Skarmory and use Spikes before it can Whirlwind you away), and I'm probably the first person to suggest use Ditto as a wall-counter (most run Toxic; if it has Natural Cure like Blissy it'll force it out at worst while Pokemon without Natural Cure, like Jellicent, will be ruined).

Don't use a Choice Scarf, contrary to what most posts I've seen suggest. Yes you get a 1.5 boost to Speed, but you're then locked into only one move. Not bad on something like the aforementioned Garchomp but the real question is why use that when you can use Quick Powder instead? It doubles Ditto's Speed (a bigger boost than Choice Scarf) and you can switch between moves at will. For example, you switched into a Garchomp equipped with a Choice Scarf. Impostor activates, turning you into Garchomp. Looking through it's attacks you see Dragon Claw, Fire Fang, and who cares about the others for this example. Now, you select Dragon Claw expecting a Super Effective hit, but your opponent outsmarts you by switching to a Ferrothorn who resists & survives your hit. Equipped with a Choice Scarf, all you can do is switch leaving Ferrothorn a free turn to Spike/Stealth Rock your side of the field: but with Quick Powder, you can use Fire Fang before Ferry can do anything, and now that it's been KO'd, you now have a powerful Pokemon on your side of the field with far more Speed than anything your opponent has. At this point, either they'll try to go down fighting or rage quit just to deny you a win.

For next week's pick, I vote Arcanine.

[your boss]

Just to note, if you post 2 different Pokemon, I going to count the first one you listed.

[jesusfreak94]

Don't use a Choice Scarf, contrary to what most posts I've seen suggest. Yes you get a 1.5 boost to Speed, but you're then locked into only one move. Not bad on something like the aforementioned Garchomp but the real question is why use that when you can use Quick Powder instead? It doubles Ditto's Speed (a bigger boost than Choice Scarf) and you can switch between moves at will. For example, you switched into a Garchomp equipped with a Choice Scarf. Impostor activates, turning you into Garchomp. Looking through it's attacks you see Dragon Claw, Fire Fang, and who cares about the others for this example. Now, you select Dragon Claw expecting a Super Effective hit, but your opponent outsmarts you by switching to a Ferrothorn who resists & survives your hit. Equipped with a Choice Scarf, all you can do is switch leaving Ferrothorn a free turn to Spike/Stealth Rock your side of the field: but with Quick Powder, you can use Fire Fang before Ferry can do anything, and now that it's been KO'd, you now have a powerful Pokemon on your side of the field with far more Speed than anything your opponent has. At this point, either they'll try to go down fighting or rage quit just to deny you a win.

The main reason people use the Scarf is because Quick Powder stops working once Ditto has been Transformed. However, I have found that running Leftovers or Life Orb can be really great at times. It's definitely high risk/high reward, but if you can kill off the opponent in the speed tie, you'll have a lot more versatility and you'll be far more dangerous. A Ditto with Leftovers can even be useful against stall teams if it comes in on a Ferrothorn or Forretress or something and gets free hazards/spin/status/recovery/etc.

[Sceptile Leaf Blade]

Ditto. The one Pokemon with more uses than Mew and Smeargle combined. With Impostor now available for the blob, one can use it for anything other than just breeding. Great revenge-killer (send in after something's been killed, least you get hit with a now Super Effective Outrage because you switched into Garchomp), entry hazard setter if you can't otherwise fit one on your team (switch into a Skarmory and use Spikes before it can Whirlwind you away), and I'm probably the first person to suggest use Ditto as a wall-counter (most run Toxic; if it has Natural Cure like Blissy it'll force it out at worst while Pokemon without Natural Cure, like Jellicent, will be ruined).

Don't use a Choice Scarf, contrary to what most posts I've seen suggest. Yes you get a 1.5 boost to Speed, but you're then locked into only one move. Not bad on something like the aforementioned Garchomp but the real question is why use that when you can use Quick Powder instead? It doubles Ditto's Speed (a bigger boost than Choice Scarf) and you can switch between moves at will. For example, you switched into a Garchomp equipped with a Choice Scarf. Impostor activates, turning you into Garchomp. Looking through it's attacks you see Dragon Claw, Fire Fang, and who cares about the others for this example. Now, you select Dragon Claw expecting a Super Effective hit, but your opponent outsmarts you by switching to a Ferrothorn who resists & survives your hit. Equipped with a Choice Scarf, all you can do is switch leaving Ferrothorn a free turn to Spike/Stealth Rock your side of the field: but with Quick Powder, you can use Fire Fang before Ferry can do anything, and now that it's been KO'd, you now have a powerful Pokemon on your side of the field with far more Speed than anything your opponent has. At this point, either they'll try to go down fighting or rage quit just to deny you a win.

For next week's pick, I vote Arcanine.

I don't think Quick Powder still works after Ditto has transformed. It only works while Ditto is in its pink blob form. Other specific items activate if transforming into the right pokémon though. If you equip it with a Soul Dew and transform into Latios the Soul Dew will activate for example. Equip Ditto with a Light Ball, transform in Pikachu, and you get the activation from the Light Ball.

One thing that is noteworthy is that in Doubles you can use Transform to turn into your teammates as well. You need to run Limber to avoid transforming into your foe, but it works. Transform into Flygon and throw EQ after EQ after EQ at your foes. Transform into Shuckle and you suddenly have quite a bulky wall (with more HP than Shuckle). Transform into Shedinja and you suddenly have Wonder Guard with more than 1 HP. Transform into Latios and slap on a Soul Dew on Ditto and you suddenly have two dangerous sweepers at the same time with 500+ Sp.Atk on the field. Transform into Kyogre and throw multiple rain-boosted Water Spouts at your foes each turn. While transforming like this takes a turn longer (and usually you don't have that turn) it does give you more control over what you are transforming into, and in some instances it might be beneficial to have two of the same kind of pokémon on the field.

[Spinner]

I would like to see Hydreigon next week. Not only is it an excellent battler in singles and doubles, but you would be doing a service to the younger members of the community. This is the pokemon I most often give to children who are having trouble beating the elite four After they spend time leveling it up, they succeed! More than assist mode may be needed in BW2!
So vote for Hydreigon!

[LudaChris78]

Everyone has already posted the best ditto set, so I won't bother with that.

My vote for next week is Hydreigon.