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.