Sound Pokémon

What's this? It's a post, naturally, but it's a post about a specific sub-genre of Pokémon: Pokémon of sound. Will I ever do another section like this? Who knows; perhaps, and perhaps not. But the reason why I chose to create this post is very simple: I have an ear infection...my first in over a decade. I'm not sick otherwise-- thankfully-- but it's rather annoying, and has been around since last Wednesday evening. It's in my right ear, so I can't really hear out of the aforementioned ear. I figured that, because of the fact that I have a sound sensitivity that is usually worse in that ear, and because my ear infection is rather distraction, I would siphon my distraction into this post. So, enough of my personal rambling about my aggravating ear issue...let's talk about sound Pokémon!

Note: While there are probably more Pokémon that can be associated with sound, I have chosen the following as my personal list. This is to help be slightly more efficient when creating this post. Please, feel free to list off any Pokémon you think should also make this list!

First and foremost, I'll be talking about a line of Pokémon: Whismur, Loudred, and Exploud. These Normal-types all can possess the Ability Soundproof, and while they aren't particularly powerful stats-wise, they're certainly interesting visually, and ridiculously noisy. According to the Pokédex, Whismur can shriek as loudly as a jet plane if frightened, Loudred's shouting can tip trucks onto their sides, and Exploud's cries can be heard from more than six miles away...that's explosively loud!

(Via Serebii.net.)

The next Pokémon I'll be talking about is Chatot. It should be fairly obvious just by looking at a Chatot that it is affiliated with sound in some way...its head looks like an eighth note!

(Chatot as it appears in Gen 6; via Serebii.net.)

Chatot is well-known for being able to imitate human language and speech, just like its real-life parrot counterpart. In the case of Chatot, this is because-- at least, according to the Pokédex-- its tongue is shaped like a human's. Additionally, Chatot can imitate the cries of other Pokémon as a defense mechanism; the other Pokémon are deceived into thinking that Chatot is one of their own, and won't react aggressively to it.

Up next is a rather famous song Pokémon...the pink fluff-ball him/herself...

(Via Bulbapedia.net.)

Aww, Jigglypuff, you were supposed to come on after I announced you! Anyway, Jigglypuff is rather famous for its songs, which lull people into sleep. In the anime, it would lull people to sleep in order to prank them. With the introduction of the Fairy type, Jigglypuff is beginning to see some competitive use, though it's not as common as some other Fairies out there. Jigglypuff's Pokédex entries are relatively consistent in describing how it makes people fall asleep, between its lullabies and overall cuteness, with those big, round eyes...*yawn*...huh? Oh, no, it's just the infection that's making me tired, I promise.


You might not initially think of this Pokémon as being affiliated with sound, but that's probably just because you forgot about his existence. So, let's welcome the mustachioed cricket him/herself, Kricketune.

(Via pokemondb.net.)

While it's true that Kricketune is generally weak and sleeps into obscurity in most people's minds, it's a very musical Pokémon (and I've always loved its cry). Did you know that Kricketune expresses its emotions through its melodies? According to its entry in Y, scientists are interested in Kricketune's melodic emotional expression enough to do serious research on it! Additionally, the Pokédex seems adamant on reiterating that there is an undisclosed village, somewhere in the Pokémon world, that hosts a contest to compare the varied cries of Kricketune. Pretty neat, huh?

The final Pokémon in this post is the only legendary I'm including here; though I'd think it ridiculous for me to not include them/her! (I will refer to the aforementioned legendary as "her" for all intensive purposes here, though I'm not discrediting the fact that there could be male/more masculine members of the species out there.) Yes, I'm talking about Meloetta!

(Meloetta in Aria Forme; ia Bulbapedia.net.)

Meloetta is very musical already; she is biologically equipped with what appears to be modified sheet music for hair (though it isn't technically accurate), a microphone, and a special song (the move Relic Song) she can use to change Forme. Meloetta is said to have inspired many songs throughout history, and that her melodies can sway the emotions of Pokémon around her. I can't think of a better note to end on than Meloetta (yes, the pun is very much intended), whose entire existence seems rather centered around music and song.

Why I Nickname My Pokémon

This is a bit of a deviation from the competitive-battling focus of this blog, but I feel like this might be brought to me as a question at some point, so I might as well address it now rather than later: "Why do you nickname all of your Pokémon?"

I understand that not everyone does this, either due to not being to come up with names or simply because they want to be able to remember the name of the species their Pokémon is. I've never had either of these problems, since I seemed to subconsciously remember the name of a Pokémon species...and, even if I forgot it, I could simply peer at my Pokémon's summary. I really nickname all of my Pokémon for the same reason that I don't practice true Pokémon eugenics: I'm just a bit of a sentimental fool.

To me, not naming a Pokémon is like having a cat and deciding to name it "Cat." It doesn't make sense to me. I understand that some people call their cats "kitty" because they don't believe that cats can be name-trained (if you start when they're young and always, always use the name, they can be name-trained quite easily; they will come when called as long as you've taught them to trust you and be social, even if only with you). I used to not name legendaries, just because I thought that whatever name I came up with couldn't be as interesting as their own name. I broke this tradition only a couple of years ago, and I've never looked back. Why did I not stop doing it? Naming the legendary helped strengthen my attachment to him/her/them, even more so than if I had kept them in my party for ages after catching them.

Just like with naming animals, I usually give Pokémon human or human-like names. This wasn't always the case in the early days of my playing Pokémon, though that had more to do with my age than anything else. (My first starter, which I had when I was eight years old, was named Leafer; my second, which I gained [and still have] when I was nine, was named Flaren, which helped boost the idea of giving Pokémon more human-like names.) I always named Pokémon; I tended to name everything, mostly due to the fact that my imagination was always supported by my parents. Naturally, my naming Pokémon has grown more sophisticated over the years. I suppose I could list off all of my starter Pokémon's names...I remember them all, and while it's a bit embarrassing for me, it might be interesting to someone out there. I'm going to estimate my age on all of these, though it should be fairly accurate.

- Age 8: Leafer, Torterra (deleted; the one time I deleted a starter)
- Age 9: Flaren, Infernape
- Age 12: Slash, Typhlosion
- Age 13: Lucian, Serperior
- Age 14: Aeron, Emboar
- Age 15: Benvolio, Greninja
- Age 15: Serren, Venusaur

The one major exception to the naming rule was my Typhlosion, and though I initially regretted the name, it grew on me enough that I had no desire to change it.

What makes a name? Well, when I think about the trends in how I name all of my Pokémon-- not just my starters-- these patterns tend to emerge:
- The names are typically two to three syllables long.
- The names tend to be vowel-heavy.
- In the case of some legendaries (notably, my Zekrom from Black 2 and my Yveltal), "y" replaces a vowel or further elongates an existing vowel; "Fayte" being my Zekrom, and "Rebyrth" my Yveltal.
- Pokémon can be named after fictional characters (Benvolio, Atticus, Clavicus, Sortiara, Eddard, Jon, and Morpheus are examples of this).
- Pokémon can have "human" names that are not commonly used.
- Pokémon can be named after historical figures.
- Pokémon can, in rare cases, be named after acquaintances or family members. This has happened only in Pokémon Y: Nico, my Gliscor, named after the first person I battled offline at a small tournament, and Su, my shiny Goodra, partially named after my grandmother (who was in the hospital at the time).

Hopefully, someone out there has enjoyed this; it's more than a bit of a tangent, but hopefully the question won't be posed to me too often, as this post exists.

A Mini-Lesson On: Predicting Your Opponent's Moves

If you're familiar with type matchups, this should be a relatively straightforward process. If not, I'd highly recommend memorizing-- or at least becoming familiar with-- how moves affect each other, and affect Pokémon of certain types.

Pokémon battling is essentially a complicated version of rock-paper-scissors, with far more than three options. However, Pokémon battling isn't just a game of chance: it's something that is far more predictable, because of how types work in the Pokémon universe. Let's use Benvolio (my Greninja) as an example. Benny, as I often call him, is a Water/Dark-type Pokémon. He doesn't have Protean as his Ability (which allows a Pokémon to change type depending on which moves he/she uses), as he was/is my starter for Pokémon Y.

(Via Bulbapedia.net.)

If my opponent sends out a Pokémon like Breloom, which is Grass/Fighting-type, I know that Benvolio could easily be one-hit-KO'd. As such, I'd want to switch into something like my Gardevoir, which has Psychic as one of her moves. However, Benvolio does have Extrasensory, meaning that he may be able to one-hit-KO the Breloom, provided that he has move priority in that turn. Should I take that risk and try to use Extrasensory, knowing that my Pokémon could be very easily knocked out if I don't move first? If it's the first turn of a battle and I still have all three of my Pokémon, I wouldn't want to unless I have nothing else that could easily defeat the Breloom.

So, how do you predict those "surprise moves" that don't fit with a Pokémon's typing? You can't reliably do so. Knowledge of the most common move-sets for a certain commonly-used Pokémon species is always handy...and "surprise moves" aren't always a part of them. I haven't encountered another Gardevoir that commonly uses Thunderbolt, just as I haven't found a Rhyperior that uses Ice Beam-- but, come to think of it, I haven't encountered any Rhyperior beyond Tybalt in the Battle Spot.

What if you aren't sure about a Pokémon's type? Make an educated guess. What does the Pokémon look like? While Carbink doesn't look like a typical Fairy-type, it certainly looks mineral-like. Perhaps you could try to use a Steel-type move against it (which it is super-effectively damaged by due to being a Fairy). Worst come to worst, you'll just not damage the Pokémon very much, or not at all. If the second case happens, at least you know that the Pokémon is immune to that type, which can help you in your future battles. 

For Parents: The Benefit of Pokémon for Your Child

This is a very specific post, aimed directly at parents of the younger demographic of Pokémon players. It doesn't relate to anything in the competitive Pokémon world, so if that is your main priority, I would recommend skipping over this post in favor of most everything else on this blog.

I'm not a parent, and I don't plan to ever be a parent. I'm writing this from the point of view of someone who can understand, and arguably sympathize, with your systems of belief about video-games/Pokémon/etc. I'm also a longtime veteran of the franchise, and-- though not affiliated with Nintendo/Game Freak in any way-- I might be a bit biased by that fact. I will, as always, remain as objective as possible in this post. So, without further ado, let's get into it.

Why should I let my child play Pokémon?
That's a very important question to ask. Those unfamiliar with the franchise might not understand its draw, or even see the entire thing as a marketing scheme in order to get children to buy more cards/game/merchandise in general. I'll be talking specifically about the video games in this post, though these points certainly can and do apply to other parts of the franchise.

- It teaches good sportspersonship. Whether they're playing the video-games or the card came, Pokémon stresses the importance of sportspersonship. Being respectful to your opponent is key, whether it's someone you're battling overseas through the Internet or a person across the table from you.
- The games are entirely text-based, and, as a result, can help improve a younger child's reading ability. As a youngster, I didn't have access to traditional video games until about the age of eight. By then, I was already addicted to reading. I know that, if I had the opportunity to play games before that age, I still would have become addicted to reading. However, I understand that not all children like to read, or want to do so. Giving them a Pokémon game allows them to better their reading skills-- provided that they already know how to read-- because of the fact that the game has no spoken words.
- It gives them an interest that they have in common with thousands of people around the world, of all different ages. Pokémon is not just an interest for the young. A fair portion of the demographic is made up of older children and adults, who can help mentor the newer members of the Pokémon "family" in all sorts of areas. That's part of the reason why I started this blog.
- It helps reinforce the ideas of care, friendship, and love for other beings/animals/people/etc. Yes, it's true: you're capturing creatures and using them in battle against other creatures. This, on its own, can seem very dark and arguably unethical, except when considering the overarching theme of the series, which is to love and care for other beings. Pokémon are not tools of war. They are much like pets to their Trainers, to be raised with love and compassion. They just also happen to have the ability to participate in friendly sparring with other beings. It's worth noting that nothing in the Pokémon universe dies. When a Pokémon is defeated, it simply faints. It will be able to continue about its day as soon as it awakens from its short "nap" of sorts.

Will video-games/Pokémon make my child antisocial?
Hardly. If a child enjoys spending time around others, they will continue to do so; if these companions also like Pokémon, then your child and their friends will have a new topic of conversation and discussion. Video games alone do not make a person antisocial; it depends on their personality and social environment. If they become overwhelmed by social interaction, it is logical that they would find an outlet to recharge, such as reading, writing, drawing, or playing video-games.

How safe are the online components of Pokémon? After all, you've talked about a fairly large demographic.
It's very safe, because Nintendo has already thought about those things. Pokémon's online features do involve interaction with strangers, but it is worth noting that there is absolutely no way to communicate with these people. You can trade Pokémon with them, you can battle against their Pokémon, but you cannot communicate with them over the Internet. Additionally, player interactions are designed to benefit other players, through granting them the Pokémon they desire through trading or improving their battling skills. As of Generation 6, there is also another feature-- called O-Powers-- that allows players to benefit the game-play experiences of others, by increasing the prize-money earned from battling, improving egg hatching time, and more.

What about Pokémon breeding?
Pokémon is very good about not being specific in the slightest as to what Pokémon breeding entails. Pokémon reproduction may very well be identical to the reproduction of normal animals, but the games make no mention of this or any implication of anything more than simply leaving two Pokémon in a day-care and finding an egg, without knowledge of how said egg appeared.

Is Pokémon just a massive marketing scheme?
In terms of the video-games, I would have to give a firm "no" as my personal answer. You can obtain all of the Pokémon in existence with one game; you would just have to do a lot of trading. There are certain benefits to each installment of the Pokémon franchise, with new features and adventures, but a person could very well pour hours into one Pokémon game and still remain interested in that game. Years after a game is released, Nintendo may close the online connectivity of a game, but the core game-play and all of the player's Pokémon and progress will still remain perfectly intact.


I've done my best to cover what I could see as the major sticking points for a parent...all that I hope for is that someone has found this helpful at some point.

Competitive Pokémon of the Week - Gardevoir

I haven't disappeared; I've just been a bit busy this week with my summer class and other things. So, let's get back to the Pokémon, shall we? This week, we'll be talking about a Pokémon that was saved by the Fairy type: Gardevoir.

Gardevoir, up until Generation 6, was a pure Psychic-type Pokémon. While it was still very beautiful, it was easily countered by anything with a Dark-, Bug-, or Ghost-type move. When Gardevoir was given the Fairy type as its secondary type, and given the ability to Mega Evolve, its competitive use became more common and far more viable in the typical metagame.

(Lunasnightmare's [DeviantArt] interpretation of Gallade and Gardevoir.)

So, why should you consider a Gardevoir for your team in Generation 6?
- It may be somewhat fragile, but unless people are aware of exactly how to counter its typing, it has enough time to Mega Evolve and inflict some serious damage with Moonblast and/or Psychic.
- People try to use Dark-type moves against it surprisingly often. Nowadays, Gardevoir is only damaged normally by them due to them being super-effective against Psychic and not effective against Fairy...meaning that it can take ~2-3 hits from even the nastiest of Dark-type moves.
- It's not affected by Dragon-type moves, including Outrage. If you have a Dragon-versus-Dragon matchup in Double Battle, have the dragon use Protect during the turn it will be hit, and have Gardevoir or another Fairy in the other slot, and chuckle as the raging beast can't do anything.
- Its Special Attack is 125 normally, which shoots up to 165 when in Mega form. While Alakazam and its Mega form have 10 points of Special Attack more than Gardevoir, Alakazam's other stats are not as balanced...and, it's still a pure Psychic-type.

Should you take Gardevoir or Gallade?
It's your choice. The two work very differently from each other; Gallade is a Psychic/Fighting type, meaning that it's not effectively damaged by Psychic- or Dark-type moves. Gardevoir has Fairy coverage, making it more viable to use against dragons. You could very well have both a Gardevoir and a Gallade on hand and use one or the other depending on the situation. At this point, both can counter Dark-types with ease, between Gallade's Fighting-type specialization and Gardevoir's Fairy-type specialization.

Gardevoir is now becoming more common in Generation 6's competitive world, though it is still not the most prevalent of Pokémon. Whether you catch a Ralts in the wild and raise it into adulthood, or obtain a Gardevoir from a country far away through the GTS (like I did with my Irish Gardevoir), he or she will be a more than welcome addition on your team.

Surprising Competitive Pokémon - Qwilfish and Tentacruel in Uber tier

Starting off the blog's "Surprising Competitive Pokémon" section is Qwilfish, an odd-looking, almost mace-like, fish. Despite Qwilfish's typically average stats, it can function well in a variety of tiers, including Ubers, because of Swift Swim. Qwilfish, like all Pokémon with Swift Swim, have their speed doubled in the rain (which is why having Drizzle and Swift Swim on the same team is banned). If its Speed is EV trained and then put into the rain, the once-slow bizarre fish can outspeed most of the Pokémon in today's metagame. It acts as a great support Pokémon, as it can both take and set up Toxic Spikes, and can also work as an offensive sweeper in the rain. Even still, Qwilfish is as fragile as ever, and must be handled gently before it goes down. Though Qwilfish is indeed a "glass cannon," it can still act as a rather surprising offensive Pokémon.

Our second and last "weird" competitive Pokémon for this installment is Tentacruel. While I was initially hesitant about putting two aquatic Pokémon for the first installment of this section, I decided to include Tentacruel because of the fact that it can also function in the Uber tier. Tentacruel has remained in OU for most of its competitive life (with the exception of Generation 3, when it slipped into UU), and it can function arguably just as well in Uber tier. Provided that Tentacruel is armed with Rain Dish, its longevity is dramatically increased, though it cannot function as well in Uber tier as some more common defensive Uber-dwellers (like Ferrothorn). Still, Tentacruel's HP recovery, use of Rapid Spin and Toxic Spikes, and capability to utilize Black Sludge make it a viable member of the Uber tier.

*Tentacruel is considered a competitive Pokémon in my mind, and in others', this may also be the case. It has made this list because it is commonly thought of as a "weak" Pokémon simply because it is readily available.*

Whether to Weather the Weather - Weather Teams

Regardless of whether you were disoriented by the title or not, there's no doubt that weather teams certainly exist in Pokémon's competitive world. Summoning a sandstorm, rain, hail, or fierce sunlight can be a serious perk to your team. Why? Well, let's take a look.

First, it's worth noting that weather boosts certain types of moves and grants other beneficial or non-beneficial effects:
- Intense sunlight boosts Fire-type moves by 50%, allows Solar Beam to go off in one turn instead of two, changes Weather Ball's type to Fire and doubles its power, makes Cherrim change form, makes it impossible for a Pokémon to be frozen, and makes Morning Sun, Synthesis, and Moonlight recover more HP.
- Rain boosts Water-type moves by 50%, grants Thunder and Hurricane the ability to bypass their accuracy checks (they will always hit unless blocked by Protect/Detect/etc), activates Dry Skin, Swift Swim, Forecast, Hydration, and Rain Dish, changes Weather Ball to Water-type and doubles its power. It also weakens Morning Sun, Synthesis, and Moonlight, as they recover only 25% of HP in rain, and also decreases Solar Beam and all Fire-type moves' strength by 50%.
- Hail activates Forecast, Ice Body, and Snow Cloak, allows Blizzard to bypass accuracy checking, and changes Weather Ball to an Ice-type move and doubles its power. It damages all Pokémon that are not Ice-type (or have an Ability that allows them to bypass that damage), reduces the effect of Morning Sun, Synthesis, and Moonlight to the same percentage (25% recovery) as in rain, and weakens Solar Beam to 50% power.
- Sandstorm activates the Abilities Sand Rush, Sand Force, and Sand Veil. It raises the Special Defense of all Rock-type Pokémon by 50%, and changes Weather Ball to a Rock-type moves and doubles its power. Sandstorms damage all Pokémon that are not Rock, Ground, or Steel type, do not have an Ability that allows them to avoid the damage, and that do not hold Safety Goggles. Solar Beam will deal 50% of its normal damage in a sandstorm, and Moonlight, Synthesis, and Morning Sun only heal 25% of a Pokémon's health.

If your team is specialized to work well in a certain type of weather due to their types and/or Abilities, or is designed to play directly off of weather to boost/diminish moves' power to their advantage, the team can be considered a "weather team." The most common weather teams tend to be rain and sandstorm teams, though with the Drought Ability, sun-based teams are beginning to become more prevalent in Generation 6.

How Can Weather Be Summoned?
For the sake of simplicity and relevance, I'll only be talking about the means by which weather can be summoned in battle. Weather can be summoned by a specific move or Ability, which differs from weather type to weather type.
Moves that summon weather are:
- Sunny Day
- Sandstorm
- Hail
- Rain Dance
I'm sure that you can figure out which move corresponds with which weather type.
Abilities that summon weather, and the Pokémon that possess said Abilities, are:
- Sand Stream (sandstorm, five turns; Tyranitar [and Mega], Hippopotas, Hippowdon)
- Drought (intense sunlight, permanent; Ninetails H, Vulpix H, Mega Charizard Y, Groudon)
- Drizzle (rain, permanent; Kyogre, Politoed)
- Snow Warning (hail, permanent; Snover, Abomasnow [and Mega], Amaura H, Aurorus H)

It's worth noting that these "permanent" weather conditions actually aren't permanent; they just last until they're replaced by something else. It's also worth noting that, if a Pokémon has an H next to its name, the ability in question (Snow Warning/Drought) is its Hidden Ability, obtainable through the Dream World/Friend Safari/Horde battle.

So, there you have it. Whether you're developing your own weather team, or a team that can just weather the weather, you might have a better picture as to what type of weather best suits you. (OK, I'll stop with the weather puns now.)

(As a final note, it's worth mentioning that, if you're sort of patient, you can get Politoed in Pokémon Y & X by fishing on Route 19 with the Super Rod. The normal method of evolving Poliwhirl into Politoed involves trading it whilst it holds a King's Rock; if you really want the adorable little beast that is Politoed, go fishing! (Bring plenty of Ultra Balls, particularly if your Pokémon are over-leveled.)

(Via Bulbapedia.net)

Frequently Asked Questions About Shiny Pokémon

Shiny Pokémon aren't necessarily an integral part of competitive battling, but they're still a part of it...and, please remember, this is My Pokémon Mentor, not "My Pokémon Mentor That Only Works for Competitive Battling." That's the blog primary purpose-- to educate about competitive battling-- but to say that it can't go explore other parts of the Pokémon world is a bit silly. So, let's dive in.

Do shiny Pokémon have better combat stats?
Nope! Shinies aren't superior to regular Pokémon in any way when you look at stats. You can have a shiny that has really high stat values or really low ones; it's not affected by the shininess in the slightest.

Do all shiny Pokémon look really different from how they do normally?
Not necessarily. The most famous shinies tend to look very different, such as in the case of Gyarados:

(Via IGN.com)

However, not all shiny Pokémon differ so drastically from their regularly-colored counterparts. For example, shiny Garchomp is simply a few shades darker, and if not for the animation, would be easy to mistake for a normal Garchomp.

How can I get a shiny?
This is an important, yet very short question...with a long answer. There are a few different ways to get a shiny. I'll cover all of the methods applicable in Generation 6:
1. The Masuda Method. Named after Junichi Masuda, the game director for the Pokémon games (and also their composer), who created it, the Masuda method works as such: get two Pokémon from different language versions tied to the region the language is associated with. Say you have an English-region Ditto and a Japanese-region Goomy. Breeding these two heightens the chance of hatching a shiny. It's a bit unclear as to exactly what this raised to considering that the rate of shiny encounters was increased, but in Generation 5 you had a 1/1024 chance. It involves a lot of breeding, and may or may not fall into Pokémon eugenics territory.
2. Wild encounter. Just like any other wild Pokémon, shinies are out there, roaming the tall grass/water/caves/you get the picture. In Generation 6, finding a shiny in the wild is easier than ever before; you have a 1/4096 chance of running into one. (I know that sounds a bit funny, since the odds are still insane, but, keep in mind, it used to be 1/8192...twice as difficult.)
3. Chain fishing. Another interesting way to get your hands on a shiny is by chain fishing. It's
considerably easier to find a shiny through consecutive fishing, though there’s no determined value as to how much easier it is. Chain fishing (AKA consecutive fishing) is easy enough. First, you need to find a spot where only one square is open for fishing. Land, rocks, and your surfing Pokémon all count as barriers, but there needs to be no gap…I like to think that, if you block the other squares, it makes it more difficult for Pokémon to escape. Having a Pokémon with Suction Cups or Sticky Hold helps, as well, since it increases the chance of a fish biting. That’s the other thing; a fish always has to bite! For each time you get a bite, your chain goes up by 1; even if you immediately flee. If you reel a line in too quickly, slowly, or you don’t get a bite, your chain is reset to zero. Even if you don’t find a shiny (I have yet to find one through chain fishing), it’s a good way to find rare Pokémon like Lanturn, Gorebyss/Huntail, etc.
4. Poké-Radar. The Pokéradar was originally introduced in Generation 4. It disappeared during Gen 5, but now it's back with a vengeance in Gen 6! The Pokéradar has its own set of slightly-complicated rules and tricks which I'm not going to go into. I'll just give the basic overview:
- Use the radar.
- Grass rustles. Do not encounter any Pokémon beyond the rustling grass.
- Encounter a Pokémon in rustling grass.
- KO or catch said Pokémon. Your chain goes up by one.
- Grass rustles again. (Same rule as before.)
- If it's the same Pokémon, KO or catch it and your chain increases. If not, your chain is broken.
- Once your chain is ~40, there will be shimmering patches of grass. Those grass patches contain shiny Pokémon.
Like chain fishing, I've never found a shiny through the Pokéradar...but, unlike chain fishing, there's an actual reason for that other than bad luck. It drives me mad, to hear the same call of that poor Pokémon that gets one-hit-KO'd by Benvolio (my Greninja) over and over again. Also, I'm a bit impatient with the radar. I'm much better with chain fishing.
5. Pokémon Hordes. I didn't exactly believe this one until it happened to me. With a Pokémon horde battle, you get five Pokémon to go up against. I went outside Cyllage City to look for a Taillow. (I never actually caught one; that's still on my "to do" list.) I had my Sweet-Scent-using male Combee, and I just got horde after horde of Seviper and Zangoose. I ended up finding a shiny Seviper. How? Pure dumb luck. In a horde, with 5 Pokémon, you've got a 1/819 chance of finding a shiny Pokémon (4-96/5). 
6. The Shiny Charm. If, for some reason, you end up completing the entire National Pokédex (save event Pokémon), Professor Sycamore will give you the Shiny Charm. This makes the rate of finding shinies in the wild 2/4096, or 1/2048. In the case of Hordes, this makes it ~1/410. (I can't say for chain fishing, because there aren't solid statistics there.)

What's the fastest way to get a shiny?
There's no remarkably fast way to...you just have to be very lucky, put in a lot of work, or both. I would say that the only fast way to would be to trade with someone.

If you breed shiny Pokémon will their child be shiny?
No. The children of shiny Pokémon have the same chance as any Pokémon to be shiny; the fact that the parents are shiny does not matter. I have three Goomy bred from Vincere (my shiny Garchomp from Gen 5) and Su (my shiny Goodra). None of them are shiny. If any of them were, I would be amazed.

Will people look down on me if I don't have a shiny?
Having shiny Pokémon doesn't matter. What matters is that you like to raise Pokémon. No one will say that you're less of a trainer because you just didn't happen to hit the sweet spot of chance that gives people shiny Pokémon.

Well, there you go. Some basic questions about shiny Pokémon are answered, and I can now rest my hands after that long bout of typing.

Competitive Pokémon of the Week - Mamoswine

Kicking off My Pokémon Mentor's "Competitive Pokémon of the Week" section is the big furball of a mammoth-boar-thing we like to call Mamoswine. Why Mamoswine, and not something more commonly-seen, like Garchomp, Tyranitar, Gengar, or Kangaskhan? Well, along with featuring the cornerstone competitive battlers like the aforementioned Pokémon (except for maybe Kangaskhan, though she's becoming more common now that she can Mega Evolve), I'll feature some very competitively viable and interesting Pokémon. So, let's take a look at Mamoswine.

(Shadixart's [of DeviantArt] interpretation of Mamoswine.)

At first glance, you might find Mamoswine a bit odd-looking. Is it a mammoth? Is it a gigantic boar? Remember: those same questions can be asked of any Pokémon species. Mamoswine is a formidable battler with impressive type coverage (being able to super-effectively damage nine types with move it gains STAB from) and a unique type combination of Ice/Ground. Mamoswine has been virtually unaffected with the introduction of the Fairy type, except that its use may have decreased (due to the fact that Dragon-types are now super-effectively damaged by Fairies). Why should you consider a Mamoswine?
- 9 types are super-effectively damaged by it!
- Can easily damage dragons.
- Seems to have maintained its position in OU in Generation 6, and, in my view, is still viable to counter Ubers' threats.
- Snow Cloak increases evasion by 1/4 when Mamoswine is in hail.
- Thick Fat (Hidden Ability) reduces damage by Ice and Fire-type moves by 50%, making one of Mamoswine's weaknesses more manageable.

It's also worth noting that Arash Ommati, winner of the 2013 World Championships, used a Mamoswine on his team (likely in order to effectively combat the nearly-constant flow of dragons in the fifth generation).

Whether Mamoswine is some sort of boar-mammoth from the ancient past, or just a beast that you have to look at and say, "That's a Pokémon," there's no debate that it is certainly a competitively effective beast.

If you want to get your own Mamoswine in Generation 6, go to the Ice Cavern. While you can't get Mamoswine in the wild, you can certainly catch your own Piloswine. Have your lovely Piloswine learn Ancient Power, and level him/her up. She/He will then evolve into your very own Mamoswine!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to catch a Piloswine.

Tournament Start Special: Pokémon Eugenics

It's June 19th, and after 5 PM in my timezone. What does that mean? It means that the June 2014 International Challenge has started! I'll guiltily admit that I haven't started battling yet (that's what I'll do as soon as I post this!), but since it's the start of a tournament, I'll talk about something prevalent in Pokémon competitive battling: Pokémon eugenics. I've talked about eugenics a bit, but haven't really given an in-depth look at what it is, why it's done, what benefits it grants eugenicists, and why I don't practice (most of) its techniques.

What is the goal of Pokémon eugenics? Quite simply, to achieve "perfection" in a Pokémon. This typically involves milking Pokémon's specialized training mechanics and breeding system in order to boost certain stats. Practices considered Pokémon eugenics include:
- Breeding for Individual Values (IVs).
- Breeding for Natures.
- Breeding for Abilities.
- Effort Value (EV) training.
- Breeding for Egg Moves.

If you're sitting at your computer/phone/etc wondering what any of that just meant, I'll break it down for you as such:
Individual Values are values set at the time of a Pokémon's "birth." They're essentially its DNA. All Pokémon have different values in each stat (HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed), even if they're the same species/gender/etc. These can't be changed after they're set, and range from 0-31 in value, with 31 being the best possible value for a stat. Some people want to go and breed Pokémon with a high IV value in certain stats, in order to yield a Pokémon with high IV stats.
Natures are the lovely little things in your Pokémon's Summary that, at first, seem little more than an indicator of their personality. Natures actually boost a Pokémon's stat value ever so slightly (too little for me to see the purpose of breeding for them).
Effort Values are values which increase over time and essentially act as modifiers for your Pokémon's stats. 4 EVs = 1 point in a specific stat. Every Pokémon can hold 510 EVs in total, with a maximum of 255 in a single stat. The easiest way to boost EVs prior to Generation 6 was to give a Pokémon vitamins; a lot of vitamins. (That is, if you're comfortable with essentially giving your Pokémon copious amounts of semi-prescription drugs.) With the creation of Super Training in Gen 6, EV training is easier and arguably fun. It doesn't feel as...seedy. It doesn't feel like eugenics anymore.
Abilities are, as you probably know, special skills used by a Pokémon inherently. Pokémon can have only one Ability, but out of three options; two of these Abilities appear naturally in the wild, and one can be found in Generation 5's Dream World or Generation 6's Friend Safari. Especially in the case of the third rare Hidden Ability, Pokémon Trainers will want to pass an Ability down from parent to child through breeding.
Egg Moves are moves passed from parent to child through breeding. They can be moves that a Pokémon species cannot typically possess (and thus are passed by a parent of another species), or that it wouldn't learn until a higher level. There are a few different ways to pass down Egg moves; I'll only include the ones that are still applicable in Gen 6:
- Both parents know a move acquired from leveling up.
- The move can only be learned by a Pokémon species by breeding. Taking Bulbapedia's example of a male Dragonite, which knows Outrage, and female Charizard...Charmander can't learn Outrage normally. The species is inherited from the mother, and the egg move from either parent (in this case, the father). Ergo, the child will be a Charmander, and due to the father knowing Outrage, the child will know it as well.


"OK, Dusk, so that's what Pokémon eugenics is. Why don't you do it if it gives you an advantage?"
Well, unknown curious person of the Internet, I'm glad that you asked. I don't practice Pokémon eugenics for a fair number of reasons. First and foremost, I think that it's a waste of time. The most time I've wasted on breeding was the one time I used the Masuda method, and even then, I swore that I'd stop at 30 eggs because I felt that what I was doing was wrong. (I got my shiny Goomy after 27 hatches.) It's also unnecessary. I don't practice Pokémon eugenics beyond EV training (which I only do because Super Training exists, and only do it rarely), and I still battle to my own satisfaction. I win a fair bit of my games, and even when I lose, I still have a great time. I have no need for egg moves, and so I don't breed for them. I don't need a Charizard that knows Outrage; I can have "Surprised?!" moments through TMs (like my Hydreigon knowing Surf) without needing egg moves. Breeding for IVs bothers me for the exact same reason that Pokémon eugenics bothers me as a whole.

...and that's because I think of Pokémon as more than a means to an end.

Sure, Pokémon are bits and bytes of data in the purest form. I'm not saying that they're anything more than that; because, in reality, that's what they are. They're made of the same basic stuff as this blog, or the Google homepage, but with entirely different programming. They're also something that you grow sentimentally attached to after hours and hours and hours together. After you've spent years around Pokémon, I find that one of two things happens:
1.) A trainer becomes very attached to his/her/their Pokémon, and while he/she/they sees them as data, the Pokémon are something more than that. Pokémon have been by their side for years, and probably through both good times and bad. They wouldn't let go of their Pokémon, and they can't let go of their Pokémon. They won't be deleting their save file.
2.) A trainer becomes disconnected from his/her/their Pokémon, and too enthralled with the idea of winning. Pokémon aren't seen as companions anymore; they're seen with full logic, as what they are in their purest form: data, without feeling, emotion, or an ability to reciprocate the love and care that they once poured into them.

I'm a very firm believer in #1. Call me a sentimental fool if you'd like to, but there's something special about raising a Pokémon. It's not really like anything else. It's sort of like having a pet (something that has always been a part of my life, which may explain my beliefs about Pokémon), except that it's much more fantastical than that. You can disconnect from your own life for a bit and go see your Pokémon; whether it's a Clefable or a Whiscash, a Rhyperior or a Raichu, a cute little Joltik or a tough-looking Tyranitar, there's a Pokémon out there for everyone.

How do you want to experience competitive Pokémon battling? It's your choice. The competitive community (including myself) won't judge you either way.

(via hugelol.com)

With too many extra offspring in a breeding experiment gone wrong, all in the pursuit of numerical values?

(via Google Images)

Or, with a naturally-occurring Pokémon found in your native tall grass, with its own unique set of numerical values?

A Mini-Lesson On: Pseudo-Legendary and Semi-Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon

You may have heard the term "pseudo-legendary" in the past and thought: "Hey, what does that mean?" You're familiar with the almighty legendary Pokémon, from Mew to Zygarde, but what about the pseudo-legendaries? And, just to make things even more complicated, what about the semi-pseudo-legendaries? Well, I'll be talking about them, too.

Psuedo-legendaries are considered pseudo-legendary usually because:
- Their base stat total is 600.
- They can be found more than once.
- They can breed.
- They are part of a three-stage evolution sequence.


As of Generation VI, the pseudo-legendary Pokémon are: Dragonite, Tyranitar, Salamence, Metagross, Garchomp, Hydreigon, and Goodra.



(from alternative-pokemon-art)
 
While pseudo-legendary are very powerful and relatively common in today's competitive world, there are also some other Pokémon that are mistaken for pseudo-legendaries, but actually aren't. These semi-pseudo-legendaries typically lack the base stat total of 600, evolutionary stages, etc.

The semi-pseudo-legendary Pokémon are: Kingdra, Slaking, Flygon, Aggron, Haxorus, Lucario, Zoroark, Volcarona, and Noivern. While some of these Pokémon are incredibly powerful in their own right, they cannot fulfill the requirements to be considered pseudo-legendary. Additionally, in certain cases, a semi-pseudo is prevented from becoming a pseudo-legendary because of a special conditions prevalent in its species. Slaking overpowers Groudon and Kyogre in Attack, but its Ability, Truant, makes it so that it moves once every two turns.

The Day Before a Tournament - What Should You Be Doing?

It's the day before a tournament. It's a nice enough day, you've gotten through your obligations-- be it school, work, a summer camp, or summer classes-- and now you can have time for Pokémon. What should you be doing? Is it worth restructuring your entire team in a moment of panic, in which you worry that your team can never be "good enough" for competitive? (The answer is no.) Well, I can't give a "master process" for what you should be doing, since every situation is different, but I can give a general process:

1) Breathe. It's just a tournament; it isn't the apocalypse. Whether you're participating in the early-season Friendlies or getting ready to go to a national championship, just remember: if you lose, it isn't the end of the world. You can't win every match you participate in, because you and your opponent are both human beings; I'm not just talking about tournaments (because sometimes you'll get very lucky and end up winning a lot of your matches), I'm talking about anything competitive that uses matches.
2) Realize that losing is just as beneficial as winning. If you lose, it might be because of type match-ups, tactics, specific Pokémon, Pokémon eugenics, luck, or most anything you can think of. Losing doesn't mean that you're "bad" with Pokémon. It doesn't necessarily mean that something is wrong with your team.
3) Psych yourself up! You can't go into a tournament with a bad attitude and expect to perform your best. Don't sulk and think, "I'm going to lose all of my games," because it can affect your performance. I'd also recommend against thinking that you're going to win all of your games, because you may just end up very disappointed. Be prepared to win, and be prepared to lose. That way, there are no surprises.
4) Perform a last check of your team. Is everyone in your Battle Box/party (depending on how you're participating in a tournament, it varies), and in the order that you want them in? Are held items correct, and beneficial for the Pokémon? Are moves organized how you want them to be organized? Make absolutely sure that your team is how you want it to be.

This may happen on the day of, or the day before (#6 is usually the day the tourney starts):

5) Lock in your party/Battle Box. For online tournaments, this involves registering your Battle Box, which makes it so that your team cannot be changed. For offline tournaments, you might want to go get an organizer/ref to check your Battle Box or party (which usually just involves showing them your team; you don't need to give them your system, you just need to show them what you've got so that they know that you aren't doing anything illegal.
6) Be assigned and find your first opponent, and have fun! Sportspersonship is key, because whether you win or lose, the purpose is to have fun; not to do well. Doing well is a rare treat, but it's your choice as to whether you have fun or not. You can lose a battle and still have fun!

Tiers in Competitive Pokémon Battling

This topic can be confusing at first, to a point where you might even be like Oshawott and Meowth in this picture:

(Found off of IGN via Google Images)

First of all, don't panic! Tiers are simple enough to understand once they've been broken down, and panicking is just going to slow the learning process down.
In a nutshell, tiers are the Pokémon community's way of breaking down the competitive spectrum into measured sections, and also help balance competitive game-play. I'll be going over all of the notable tiers (including Little Cup, which I'll end with) in this post.

Let's first look at the tier that I've talked about arguably the most (in going over tournament regulations): the Uber tier.
Uber describes Pokémon that are too powerful for the ordinary competitive game, which includes everything in the Over-Used tier and below. Uber Pokémon are typically very difficult to counter effectively/efficiently, and may include version mascots (Mewtwo, Ho-Oh, Lugia, Groudon, Kyogre, Dialga, Palkia, Zekrom, Reshiram, Kyurem, White Kyurem [but not Black Kyurem], Xernas, Yveltal, Zygarde...sorry if I missed anyone) and various other legendary Pokémon. However, not all legendaries are a part of the Uber tier.

Over-Used (OU) is a tier which includes the most commonly-used Pokémon in standard competitive play. Pokémon that are OU in one generation may not be in a future generation. For example, in Generation 1, when there were only one-hundred and fifty (one) Pokémon, Golem was considered to be a part of the OU tier and a Pokémon to be as a standard part of one's team. However, as the Pokémon roster expanded, Golem began falling into lower tiers starting in Ruby/Sapphire, and is currently rather low-ranked (Smogon puts Golem into Neverused). If a Pokémon species is not used enough by players, it will fall into Underused.

Borderline consists of Pokémon that are deemed too powerful for Underused, yet are not used enough to make it into OU.

Underused (UU) is made up of Pokémon that aren't used enough to make into OU. UU-bound Pokémon are typically outdone by Pokémon of higher tiers due to lower base stats, moves available to them, or available Abilities. It's common to see UU Pokémon in battles composed otherwise of OU Pokémon, simply because UU Pokémon have their own niche.

Borderline 2 are much like Borderline Pokémon, except that instead of being too strong for UU, they are stuck between UU and Rarelyused.

Rarelyused (RU) is sometimes also called Littleused (LU), though they are the same tier. RU Pokémon aren't used enough to make it into UU. Like in the case of other tier decay, RU Pokémon, if not used enough, will drop a tier into Neverused.

Borderline 3, like the other Borderline tiers, describes Pokémon that don't quite fit into one tier. These Pokémon are too powerful to be used in Neverused, but not used enough to make into RU.

Neverused (NU) might sound negative, but it just describes how much the Pokémon species is used in competitive battle; which, in this case, isn't a lot. Some lower evolutions of Pokémon fall into NU, but ascend tiers after they evolve.

Little Cup is a bit of an odd tier, as it doesn't fit the rest of the tier system. It describes the use of the first form of a Pokémon that does evolve-- and bans Pokémon like Luvdisc, which don't evolve-- in a competitive environment where all competitive battlers are at Level 5 or under. Sonic Boom and Dragon Rage are typically banned in Little Cup, and in certain lists, some first-stage Pokémon may be considered too powerful for Little Cup (like Meditite, Scyther, and Gligar).

A Lesson on STAB

One of the slightly more confusing terms in competitive Pokémon battling is STAB. If you're just starting out, and haven't seen a terminology list, you might wonder why something like the word "stab" is capitalized. After all, it sounds a little bit violent JUST BECAUSE IT'S IN ALL CAPS!

STAB is an acronym, which stands for Same-Type Attack Bonus. STAB boosts a move's power by 50% if the Pokémon using the move matches the type of the move (or the move matches the type of the Pokémon, depending on how you want to think about it). For, example, say you have a Charizard.

This is your Charizard. (Let's suppose that he's male, since, statistically, males are more common.) He has at least two moves that we know of: Flamethrower, and Rock Smash. Since Charizard is a Fire/Flying-type, he'll get Same-Type Attack Bonus on a move like Flamethrower, boosting its power from 90 to 135. Neat, right? Well, if he uses Rock Smash, its power will still be 40, because the move doesn't get STAB as Charizard isn't a Fighting-type.

This is Blaziken, a Fire/Fighting-type. If Blaziken was to use Rock Smash, he (statistically male) would get STAB; if Blaziken uses Flamethrower, he also gets STAB because of his dual-typing. You could also look at a non-Fire type who gets STAB from Rock Smash, but that would just be anything with Fighting-type in its typing, like Breloom (Grass/Fighting), Mankey (Fighting), Toxicroak (Poison/Fighting), etc.

STAB applies to the current type of a move, rather than the type listed. This means that if a Pokémon uses a variable-type move like Hidden Power, he or she could get STAB from the type of move Hidden Power becomes. (Charizard would get STAB from Hidden Power Fire, for example.) A Normal-type Hidden Power is impossible (except with Normalize, which makes all moves Normal-type), so a pure Normal-type could not receive STAB from Hidden Power in any case.

Pokémon with the Ability Protean always have STAB, because their type changes depending on the move they are using. This can make them a bit bothersome to deal with...especially because move effectiveness against the Pokémon immediately changes...

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this mini-lesson on STAB!

Building Teams: What to Do, Avoid Doing, and How to Know if Your Team is Right

Now jumping in to the meatier parts of competitive Pokémon battling: building your team. There are endless possibilities for your Pokémon "dream team," and you shouldn't feel limited by what is "normal" in competitive Pokémon battling. Smogon can be a decent resource, but it isn't the be-all end-all of Pokémon battling. According to the site, there is no use for Luis (my Ludicolo) outside of a part of a rain team. I beg to differ. Luis has downed many a dragon in his day with Ice Beam, and infuriated quite a few opponents who were unaware of his Grass/Water typing (ergo, not being super-effectively damaged by fire). Every Pokémon, no matter what anyone might say, has their own niche. In the current metagame, certain Pokémon don't have a traditional spot. They don't fit the norms of competitive, and that's okay. But, if you want to be able to do well in tournaments, you have to know what the norms are, and how to counterbalance them. For example:

In Generation 5, Dragons were everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Ice Beam was the savior of those without a beast of the type, and priority seemed to rule the Dragon-v-Dragon matchups (and was why I finished 2nd in my first physical tournament). You needed a Dragon, or you needed something with Ice Beam, and that was essentially vital. With the introduction of the Fairy type, those being driven mad by the "reign of [dragon]fire" finally got some relief, and Pokémon normally not considered for the competitive world, like Mawile, finally had their chance to storm into Battle Spot and tournaments alike.

It's not to say that you couldn't win matches without something that was Dragon-type or had Ice Beam, but your odds of doing well were sufficiently heightened with either of those things. There are no "written-in-stone" rules about competitive battling, but there are a few tips that I would personally give you:
 - Unless you're going for a mono-type team, have type diversity. Even on a rain/sandstorm/hail team, you can have type diversity because of secondary types. The more diversity you have, the better you can check Pokémon that would otherwise do serious damage to your team.
- Consider a pseudo-legendary. You might want to go against the norm to be "cool," or something...but, come on. You've got to like the look of at least one of the pseudos. They'll help get you out of a bind, but, again, they aren't a necessity. (Morial [Hydreigon] is my usual pseudo, but for tournaments, and especially if I don't have a decent Steel-type move user beyond my Aegislash, I might take Aggron.)
- Don't be afraid of using moves of a drastically different type than the type of the Pokémon using it. You might not get a Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB), but you get better type coverage and also get to mess with your opponents a bit.
- Don't worry about things like Baton Pass initially. You can have skills that boost your stats, sure, but your main objective, as always, is to get the opponent's Pokémon to faint.
- The Battle Maison is your friend. They can provide items that are very nice for competitive play.

There are also a few things I'd advise against:
- Don't take major legendaries. Things like Zapdos, Moltres, Raikou, etc. are okay, but don't go whipping out an Yveltal just because you can. Not only are they banned in tournaments (*cough* and need to be banned in rated play *cough*), but it's just not very fun. Also, it won't guarantee you victory. In the past two days, I've one-hit-KO'd both an Yveltal and a shiny Rayquaza with my Irish Gardevoir's Moonblast. ...and that's without Pokémon eugenics.
- Pokémon eugenics. It's not necessary. As I've said before, eugenicists might have Pokémon with slightly boosted stats, but a good strategy and a bit of luck can undo their work. Poké-eugenics bothers me due to how I think about Pokémon (when I think about them beyond as bits and bytes of data), but I'm not going to say that it doesn't happen.
- Too similar move-sets between Pokémon. I'm not talking about moves that compliment each other here; I'm talking about literally similar move-sets. Just like with type diversity, you want move diversity; don't be afraid to try something new!
- Too many Mega Stone-holders on your team. Using Pokémon that can Mega Evolve is great, but remember: you can only do it once per battle. You can use one or two Pokémon as potential Mega Evo candidates, but loading up too many of your Pokémon with Mega Stones will take away potential for use of other items.
- Loading a Life Orb onto too fragile a Pokémon. Life Orb drains HP whenever the Pokémon uses a move, and I can understand the use of using it with a Pokémon that is very weak defensively but insanely strong aggressively...just, use common sense.

Finally, on testing your team and "how to know if your team works" in a nutshell:
- Just because your team isn't winning games on Battle Spot doesn't mean that it's bad. It might be that you're just having a bit of bad luck, or that you need to tweak some things.
- Can you successfully play the team in Single battles? Great! Can you successfully play in Doubles, too? If yes, you've probably got a fairly solid thing going. If not, there's nothing wrong with your team; just know that you might need to reformat it a bit if you're going to participate in Doubles.
- The Battle Test and Battle Maison are decent, though still flawed, ways to test your team without connecting to the Internet/Battle Spot.
- Eventually, after playing with a team for a bit of time, you'll notice that you really are developing a strategy with it, even if you don't realize. Which Pokémon are you sending out first, consistently? How does this team react to the ebb and flow of battle? How are your opponents reacting to your team? How well can they counter your team, and how well can you counter theirs?

As I said before, there's no all-encompassing set of rules about building your team. You just have to experiment, see what happens, tweak, experiment, observe, tweak, experiment, observe.

As an end note: yes, I did say that you can use Moltres competitively. I love Moltres, and giving said fire-bird a Power Herb and Solar Beam (or using Sunny Day) can help wipe out those nasty Water-types as long as you have priority. I do sometimes use Allegro, my Moltres, on Battle Spot, and I have won games because of that Solar Beam. Say what you will about certain Pokémon species; you can always make it work in some way.