Week 3 of our weekly strategy... had a it of a stop, but now we are coming back! sadly, for personal purposes we´ll have two sets every month... Either way! we are here and we have Beedrill with us, now make sure to vote if you want a specific Pokemon or just tune in for a random one. Now let us begin.

   Beedrill shines in the UU metagame thanks to its Mega Evolution, which, by having amazing Attack and Speed stats besides Adaptability, grants it the strongest U-turn in the tier, letting it pummel offensive and defensive teams alike, that´s why it can grab offensive momentum with very little trouble, which makes it one of the best offensive Pokemon in the tier. However, it has a bit of a limited movepool aside from its STAB attacks, and it only access to Knock Off and Drill Run for coverage moves. It also has pitiful defensive stats and mediocre defensive typing. It also is forced to run Protect to Mega Evolve and get the Speed boost without taking damage, as its Speed before Mega Evolving barely decent. Despite these flaws, it still is a fantastic Pokemon, and it should always be considered when making an offensive team in this tier or even OU.

#15 Beedrill

Ability: Swarm or Sniper. Gets Adaptability when Mega evolving.

Item: Beedrillite.

Effort Values: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe.

Nature: Adamant / Jolly.

Sugested Moveset:

-U-turn

-Protect

-Poison Jab

-Drill Run / Knock Off

   U-turn is Beedrill's main STAB move, as it nets it offensive momentum with little trouble and is useful to get some chip damage. Protect is used so that you can get the Speed boost from Mega Evolving without taking any damage and is also useful to scout for foes' movesets and potential Choiced Pokemon . Poison Jab is your strongest attack, as well as your main Poison-type STAB, and it has a fairly high chance to poison the target, which works well in conjunction with Protect to rack up damage on the foe while scouting for its moveset. Knock Off hits Ghost-types such as Chandelure for super effective damage and also cripples Pokemon reliant on their item. Drill Run is mainly used for coverage, as it hits Poison- and Steel-types that resist your STAB attacks, such as Tentacruel, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, and Lucario, for super effective damage.

   A standard EV spread is used to max out Beedrill's offensive prower, with the remaining EVs in Defense so it can maintain an odd HP number. Jolly nature is used so you can Speed tie with other base 145 Speed Pokemon, such as Mega Sceptile and opposing Beedrill. An Adamant nature can be used instead to give a little extra power.

   Protect should be used the first turn Beedrill is sent out if the opposing Pokemon is faster, as it lets you safely Mega Evolve and attain the Speed boost without taking damage, scouting the foe's moveset in the process. Although it has poor defensive stats, a decent defensive typing gives it 4x resistances it can use to switch in. However, some powerful physical moves such as Mienshao's Reckless High Jump Kick have a shot at 2HKOing it, although you can use Protect to scout and potentially make Mienshao take crash damage. It can grab momentum with little trouble thanks to its strong U-turn and high Speed stat, so pairing it with entry hazard users is a good idea. Keeping entry hazards off your side of the field is appreciated, as you will be switching out more than often due to U-turn and can be KOed by priority users after Stealth Rock damage.

   You can run X-Scissor can be used over U-turn if you feel that keeping up offensive momentum is not necessary, as it hits for more damage. Swords Dance can be used to boost your attack immensely, but Beedrill usually does not have the room to run this and finds it difficult to set up. If it does manage to set up, it can still get revenge killed easily by priority and Choice Scarf users, so running Swords Dance is not usually worth the loss of coverage. Toxic Spikes can be used to wear down some of Beedrill's switch-ins, such as Alomomola and Porygon2, making it easier for you to deal with them later in the game. Pursuit is an option to cause significant damage to fleeing Ghost-types and Psychic-types, such as Reuniclus and Chandelure.

   So, here you have a simple set for Beedrill, use it, share it and make sure to follow me on Twitter at @Pkmgecko for news and heads up for the new content

Pokemon Strategies

10:02 AM

   Week 2 of our Weekly Strategy series... and we are taking last week's vote for Stoutland for this week, remember that if you want to vote for the Pokemon you want to see next, leave your comment bellow or tweet me at @Pkmgecko with the hashtag #weeklystrategy and name the Pokemon you want. Now let's get started.

  It faces lot of competition from other offensive Normal-types in the NU tier: Kangaskhan, Zangoose, Tauros, and Bouffalant outperform it in almost every role, however Stoutland stands out as one of NU's two Sand Rush sweepers and boasts good coverage, power, and decent bulk. Unfortunately, sand is not such a great playstyle because of its reliance on matchup and it cannot beat rain or sun teams easily. The best Stoutland can do is being a Sand Rush Sweeper, and I'll be covering just that.

Stoutland #508

Ability: Sand Rush.

Item: Choice Band.

Effort Values: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe.

Nature: Adamant.

Suggested Moveset:

-Return.

-Crunch.

-Superpower.

-Pursuit / Play Rough.

   Return is a powerful STAB move that hits very hard. Crunch is a coverage move to hit Ghost-types. Superpower weakens or outright KOes most Rock- or Steel-types such as Rhydon, Regirock, Probopass, Ferroseed, and Klinklang. Pursuit is a great option to trap Ghost- and Psychic-type Pokemon such as Mismagius, Rotom, and Jynx, but Play Rough is an alternative to hit Fighting types, mainly Gurdurr.

   The EVs maximize Attack and Speed. An Adamant nature is used to hit as hard as possible, allowing Stoutland to get some important KOs. For example, Adamant Stoutland always 2HKOes Gurdurr with Return after Stealth Rock damage. And Jolly nature allows you to outrun non-Choice Scarf Adamant Sawk and Timid Ludicolo outside of sand, but you should not attempt to sweep outside of sand anyway. Choice Band is used for maximum power; a Life Orb can be considered, but the power drop is quite noticeable, and also cuts into Stoutland's above-average bulk.

   Sand should always be set up before triying to sweep. In addition, you should try to predict switch-ins to Stoutland where appropriate to avoid wasting precious sand turns. It is better to eliminate Rock-, Steel-, and Ghost-types before sweeping with it so that you can spam Return. Stoutland can be played as either a wallbreaker or a sweeper; it can either wear down bulky opponents for its teammates or sweep with sand up once its checks and counters are KOed.

   Hippopotas with Sand Stream is a compulsory teammate because you are mediocre, Sandlash is another good Sand Rush sweeper, working together with Stoutland to break down opposing teams. Cacturne can be considered on sand teams thanks to its ability, Sand Veil, and Spikes, which aid its teammates. Other entry hazard users, such as Garbodor, Crustle, and Rhydon, are good teammates to help you grab more KOs. For example, Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes ensure 2HKOs on Gourgeist-XL and Rhydon with the appropriate move. Rock-types are good teammates that take advantage of sand's Special Defense boost. In particular, Carracosta makes use of the boost extremely well, in conjunction with good physical bulk and Solid Rock to set up Shell Smash. Pursuit users such as Liepard and Skunktank are good teammates for their ability to trap and KO troublesome Ghost-types that prevent Stoutland from freely using Return.

   Sleep Talk is a good alternative to Play Rough that allows you to absorb sleep. A bulky tank set with Intimidate and Thunder Wave can be considered. A Choice Band Scrappy set can be run, but it faces competition from the faster Kangaskhan. Stoutland gets Roar, but it would generally prefer to attack rather than phaze. Stoutland also gets Facade to switch into and take advantage of status moves, although it is quite situational.

   And that's the set we have for this week, remember to follow me on Twitter and Subscribe to the Blogs Newsletter to  recieve everything new on your e-mail. 

   As alwayss thanks for reading.

Pokemon Strategies

9:32 AM

   So our first Pokemon selected for our Weekly Strategy is Snorlax, it is an underestimated Pokemon in the UnderUsed tier, and it can use this to its advantage as a fantastic win condition and slow wallbreaker. Having base 160 HP and 110 Special Defense allows Snorlax to act as a sponge to many threats including Choice Specs Hydreigon. Access to Curse and Rest allows it to become one of the best win conditions in the game after Fighting-types have been dealt with. A great base 110 Attack is ideal for a Choice Band set, while Assault Vest can be used a to maximize Snorlax's Special bulk.

   A fantastic ability in Thick Fat allows it to take on Fire-type and Ice-type attacks with relative ease. Unfortunately, a subpar base 65 Defense stat means that Snorlax sometimes needs to shift some EVs towards bulking it up on the Physical side against Pokemon such as Honchkrow or Crobat, and horrid base 30 Speed means you have to rely on sponge-and-attack tactics. Even when you analize Snorlax, you can choose a wide range of moves and strategies, today I'll be covering an Assault Vest set.

Snorlax #143

Ability: Thick Fat.

Item: Assault Vest.

Effort Values: 252 Atk / 252 Def / 4 SpD.

Nature: Adamant.

Suggested Moveset:

-Body Slam / Return

-Pursuit / Crunch 

-Earthquake

-Fire Punch

   Return is a powerful STAB option, 2HKOing all frailer attackers and doing decent damage to moderately bulky threats such as Mega Blastoise and Crobat. Body Slam is a reliable but less powerful STAB option with a 30% chance to paralyze. Pursuit is great against Psychic-types as well as Chandelure and other Ghost-types if you predict a switch, but Crunch is a more powerful move, Crunch is useful in one-on-one situations where the opponent wants to commit with a Ghost- or Psychic-type. Earthquake is a great coverage move, hitting the common UnderUsed Fire-, Electric-, Steel-, and Poison-types for super effective damage. Fire Punch is useful against Forretress and other Bug- and Grass-types. 

   The Assault Vest allows Snorlax to become the perfect special sponge, as the strongest special Fighting move, Focus Blast, is an unreliable move to hit Snorlax with. This set maximizes Attack with an Adamant nature in order to hit as hard as possible, this set also maximizes Snorlax's defensive capabilities, helping it tank physical attacks such as Superpower from Life Orb Hydreigon or Honchkrow. Snorlax's huge base 160 HP and 110 Special Defense allows it to avoid investing in more special bulk or HP, instead investing the EVs into its Defense. Thick Fat is a wonderful ability that weakens Fire- and Ice-type attacks by 50%, giving Snorlax two added resistances, further increasing Snorlax's dependability against Fire-type spam strategies.

   Snorlax is a very decent wallbreaker that can survive any non-super effective hit. It is best used as a sponge-and-hit tactician. Fundamentally, it relieves prediction due to Assault Vest, allowing it to use its optimal attacking options. Snorlax partners well with Crobat, as it can sponge all Fighting-type attacks with complete ease. Alomomola also partners well with it and Crobat by relieving some pressure of predicting. Snorlax appreciates cleric support from Florges, as Florges resists U-turn, resists Fighting-type moves, has Protect for scouting, and has Moonblast to check almost all Fighting-type threats in the UnderUsed metagame.

   Immunity can be used as an ability to prevent Toxic users from gaining the upper hand, but this is generally outclassed by Thick Fat. A mono-attacking RestTalk + Whirlwind set can be used. Lum Berry or Leftovers can also be used instead of Assault Vest, but the Defense EVs should be moved to HP. Self-Destruct can also be used in place of Fire Punch. Wild Charge and Heavy Slam are both interesting attacking options, but they are generally outclassed by Snorlax's main attacking options. Seed Bomb is an option to hit Ground- and Water-types.

   And that is all for our first follower requested Pokemon Strategy! so if you want me to write a strategy for your favorite Pokemon leave a comment or use the hashtag #weeklystrategy and mention me on Twitter @Pkmgecko. See you next Wednesday, thanks for reading

Pokemon Strategies

6:24 AM

   Hey everyone, every week I'll be covering a Pokemon with a simple startegy and post it here for you guys, and not only that you guys get to vote which Pokemon is next!

   For the week 1 the Pokemon you selected Snorlax and for week 2 we have Stouland, remember to vote which Pokemon I'll be covering next, you can chose whichever Pokemon you like, and post your opyion via Twitter and right here in the comment section, I'll be counting the votes on Thursday 6th so that I can post the strategy on Wednesday as part of our weekly post where you can choose which Pokemon you want to know about!

   So, if you are reading this, post your option right here with a comment or send it to me by Twitter to @Pkmgecko with the hastag #Weeklystrategy.

    As always I thank everyone for reading and I encourage you to follow me on social media and if you want, subscribe to our newsletter to have everything new I post sent to your email!

   Thanks a lot and keep up the amazing support.

Strategies

10:52 AM

   Hey guys, I'm going to be doing some sets for certain Pokemons in this blog, to start off, chosen at random to mark the beginning of this section of the site, we are starting off with Drifblim.

   Drifblim's decent Attack stat combined with a good offensive typing and an excellent ability in Unburden makes it an effective sweeper in the PU metagame. However, its sweeping potential is unforunately limited by the lack of a physical boosting moves, strong STAB moves and coverage, and ways for it to activate Unburden.

   It is easily walled, as physical sets struggle to get past Rock-, Steel-, and Electric-types, and special sets are too weak to break through common special walls. It can be revenge killed easily, as it is weak to three common priority moves, and certain Choice Scarf users such as Raichu will outspeed Drifblim even if it has an Unburden boost. It has a decent support movepool including Will-O-Wisp, Defog, and Destiny Bond, which provide team support and can help it sweep. Drifblim's high HP stat is unfortunatly let down by poor Defense and Special Defense and a typing that leaves it weak to five common types and to Stealth Rock. Although it has the potential to spinblock, it cannot do so in practice, as it loses to every relevant Rapid Spin user. Unburden provides Drifblim with a niche over other offensive Ghost-types, such as Misdreavus, allowing it to be more effective against offensive teams, as it is harder to revenge kill.

Drifblim #426

Ability: Unburden.

Item: Sitrus Berry / Liechi Berry.

Effort Values: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 32 Def / 36 SpD / 176 Spe.

Nature: Adamant.

Suggested Moveset:

-Acrobatics

-Will-O-Wisp

-Substitute

-Destiny Bond / Knock Off

   Acrobatics is your strongest STAB move, reaching 110 Base Power after Drifblim loses its item. Will-O-Wisp lets you set up Substitutes against Pokemon such as Lickilicky while crippling switch-ins such as Golem and Carracosta, as well as to easily activate its item while blocking status and weaker hits, and Destiny Bond allows it to KO slower revenge killers, which is effective with its high Speed when boosted by Unburden. Knock Off can be used to provide more coverage by crippling any Pokemon it touches and is stronger than an unboosted Acrobatics.

   176 Speed EVs lets you outspeed base 70 Speed Pokemon, allowing it to outspeed and burn Mightyena with Will-O-Wisp, while also letting it outspeed Choice Scarf base 95 Speed Pokemon when boosted by Unburden. Maximum Attack EV investment and an Adamant nature are required in order to give Drifblim the capability to sweep. The leftover EVs are used to increase your defensive stats, with the current spread being the most effective and allowing you to consume your Sitrus or Liechi Berry after two and three Substitutes, respectively. Berries are used to activate Unburden, which lets you outspeed the entire unboosted metagame. Sitrus Berry is easier to reach and provides a health boost, while Liechi Berry provides a much-needed power boost. 

   Drifblim should be used as a late-game sweeper when Pokemon that resist Flying-type moves, Choice Scarf and priority users have been removed, but it can also be used before that, just to spread burns or cripple foes with Knock Off. You should not switch in but rather should enter after a teammate is KOed or brought in from a pivot against Pokemon that it can force out such as Poliwrath and Roselia. When in and ready to sweep, you should either try to Substitute until it is in range of the activation of one of its Berries or use Will-O-Wisp to prevent the foe from dealing too much damage. Once it has its Unburden boost with Liechi Berry, attacking will often be the best play, as you might be too weak to take even an attack from a burned Pokemon; however, when running Sitrus Berry, you will have enough health to more comfortably take a hit. You should try to not reveal Destiny Bond, as it is more effective if the opponent does not expect it.

   Due to its limited coverage, Drifblim should be paired with a teammate that can check Pokemon that resist Flying. This includes Water-type Pokemon, which beat Rock-types; Grass-types, such as Simisage and Tangela, which resist Electric-types and check Rock-types; and Ground-types, such as Torterra and Golem, which beat Steel-, Rock-, and Electric-types. Due to its weakness to Stealth Rock, Drifblim appreciates entry hazard removal support from . Dark- and Normal-types such as Pawniard and Stoutland beat opposing Ghost-types while you check Fighting-types. Fighting- and Steel-types such as Poliwrath and Probopass beat Ice-types; the former can also beat Dark- and Steel-types, and the latter checks Rock-types. 

   Other Flying-types such as Jumpluff can form Flying-type spam cores, as they weaken each other's checks and counters. Wallbreakers, such as Heatmor and Marowak, and entry hazards from Pokemon such as Piloswine and Whirlipede wear the opposing team down, providing you with a better chance to sweep. Drifblim fits better on offensive teams, which provide enough offensive pressure to wear down the opponent's team and remove possible threats.

   So guys, this is the set I like to use for Drifblim and I think it works as a uncommon Pokemon strategy.

Pokemon Strategies

9:27 PM