Cleric's Support

When an offensive force meets other offensive force, who will win? The strategy, mindgames, type advantages, lead pokemons? All of these answers are right, but the best answer is the teamwork synchronization. In the core of the "best" team, the Supporters are always lives in there. The support pokemon status are widely varies. Because this role, you must have all above answers in your head, and know about game mechanics deeper. The support maybe slightly underrated on single metagames, but in the double 2 vs 2, they are the primary key to win. Don't worry if you are beginners, just check out this (maybe longer than before) section!

- Support Categories Pokemon

Unlike other's role such as sweeper, tanker, wall, and wallbreaker, support types did'nt have to rely on focused status distribution. What will differ them is their moveset. Of course the defensive stats such as Hp, Def, and SP.def  are still important, but the most essential is their moveset and HOW they can utilize their moveset in the best way. Pokemon with ability Prankster (add one priority to non damaging moves) naturally are the best suport such as Sableye, Klefki, and Whimsicott.

a. Hazard's Setter

The entry hazard are the "stadium" of the battle. You can punish every switching enemies with interior of your stadium. One of the key to win is set the hazard as fast and as many as possible. Entry hazard moves can be used on other role but we don't want to waste a moveslot on offensive mons just to set the Stealth Rock (the most mainstream hazard). Just give the role on supporter hand. Support in this categories must have high speed to fill the conditions "as fast as possible" or have high defense for conditions "as many as possible"   The Entry Hazard categories will be explained on different section. Here is the example of this category :

- Klefki (spikes, stealth rock)

- Skarmory (spikes, stealth rock)

- Forretress (spikes, stealth rock)

b. Status Spreader

Pokemon in these category are natural enemy for sweeper and wall. They spread abnormal  status like a boss to badly weakens sweeper or the cripple the wall. All they need is high defense and have recovery moves to stands as long as possible on the field. Abnormal status also will be explained on the different section. Here is the example of the category:

- Klefki (toxic, thunder wave, swagger)

- Sableye (will o wisp, swagger)

- Whimsicott (leech seed, stun spore, toxic)

c. Dual Screener

Pokemon in these category are natural enemy for wallbreaker because the Dual Screens ( Light Screen and Reflect) cuts down any physical and special damage by half . They must set the screen as fast as possible to help the sweepers for set up, or prevent wallbreaker to break your walls and your other supporters, and set up the screen as long as possible with specific hold items, Light Clay ( Dual Screens effect lasts 8 turns). Here is example of the category:

- Klefki (Prankster ability for set up as fast as possible)

- Espeon (high speed and can perform special sweeper role well)

- Uxie (high defense and special defense)

d. Baton Passer

Pokemon in these category use status up moves like Sword Dance, Agility, Iron Defense, Insomnia and then pass it's status with Baton Pass moves to  strongest sweeper or an Ace, Mega Pokemons. Here is example of the category:

- Scolipede (sword dance, iron defense, combined by Speed Boost ability)

- Ninjask (same as scolipede but higher speed and no iron defense)

- Blaziken (sword dance, bulk up, combined by Speed Boost ability)

e. Force Switcher

Pokemon in these category are natural enemy for set up sweeper and have great synergy with hazard setter because they can force switch enemy and force incoming enemy to eat the hazard damage. The force switching moves are: Whirlwind, Roar, Dragon Tail. If a pokemon can learn these moves they are accepted for taking this job.

f. Clerics

Pokemon in these category are the healer of the team. They use Wish to heals up to 50% of the user's Hp on injured teammate, Heal Bell and Aromatheraphy for heals abnormal status on all teammate, and their trump card moves is Healing Wish, sacrifice their body and soul to fully heal a teammate and refreshing the abnormal status. Here is the example of the category:

a. Sylveon (wish, heal bell)

b. Cresselia (lunar dance, same as healing wish with additional PP restored)

c. Clefable (wish, heal bell)

- Items for the Win

Here is the most commonly used items on supporter:

+ Leftover

Heals up to 1/12 max Hp each turns. Almost always works no matter your support category

+ Light Clay

Best item for dual screener. Prolongs the effect of screen moves to 8 turns

+ Focus Sash

Endured no matter how strong the moves 1 times if your pokemon have max hp. Great for hazard setter.

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Sweepers Squad

Sweepers are important role if you are suited with offensive team. Their main role is very simple, defeat enemy before you got defeated. Pokemon in this category has an amazing stat in their Atk/Sp.atk, and Speed but poor defensive capability. How to build a sweeper? Check this out!

- Choosing the Mons

There are wide array of pokemon's base status that suited to fill the role as sweeper. Sweeper has 3 categories, physical sweeper , special sweeper and mixed. Sweeper pokemon focus stat is the offensive ( Atk/Sp.Atk) and speed, but if the pokemon did'nt have a good speed stats, raise it by speed boosting moves like Dragon Dance ( for physical) or Quiver Dance ( for special) altough the Quiver Dance is rare move. Or simply used priority moves to outspeed enemy. If they did'nt have good offensive, use attack boosting moves like Sword Dance ( physical) or Nasty Plot ( special) There are many list of pokemon that suited for sweeper, but i will give the example from popularity of the mons.

a. Physical

- Garchomp
Hp : 108 | Atk : 130 | Def : 95 | Sp.Atk : 80 | Sp.Def : 85 | Speed : 102

- Gyarados
Hp : 95 | Atk : 125 | Def : 79 | Sp.Atk : 60 | Sp.Def : 100 | Speed : 81

- Scizor
Hp : 70 | Atk : 130 | Def : 100 | Sp.Atk : 55 | Sp.Def : 80 | Speed : 65

- Weavile
Hp : 70 | Atk : 120 | Def : 65 | Sp.Atk : 45 | Sp.Def : 85 | Speed : 125

b. Special

- Latios
Hp : 80 | Atk : 90 | Def : 80 | Sp.Atk : 130 | Sp.Def : 110 | Speed : 110
 
- Alakazam
Hp : 55 | Atk : 50 | Def : 45 | Sp.Atk : 135 | Sp.Def : 95 | Speed : 120
 
- Gengar
Hp : 60 | Atk : 65 | Def : 60 | Sp.Atk : 130 | Sp.Def : 75 | Speed : 110
 
- Greninja
Hp : 72 | Atk : 90 | Def : 67 | Sp.Atk : 103 | Sp.Def : 71 | Speed : 122
 
c. Mixed

- Infernape
Hp : 76 | Atk : 104 | Def : 71 | Sp.Atk : 104 | Sp.Def : 71 | Speed : 108
 
- Salamence
Hp : 95 | Atk : 135 | Def : 80 | Sp.Atk : 110 | Sp.Def : 80 | Speed : 100
 
- Tornadus Therian
Hp : 79 | Atk : 100 | Def : 80 | Sp.Atk : 110 | Sp.Def : 90 | Speed : 121  

- Moveset

For dual type sweeper, choose 2 attacking moves that have same type as their types to receive STAB ( Same Type Attack Bonus, base power * 1.5). The last 2 moves is depending on their stats. If they have good speed but medium offense or vice versa, use boosting moves and 1 coverage moves. Boosting moves always have a special spot for sweeper, because it's the key for sweeping the enemy's team. In the competitive play, dual type mons usually shine brighter than single type because they gain 2 STAB moves. So i suggest to play with dual types mons as a offensive core

For mixed, choose the STAB moves that same "kind" with their biggest offensive stats. For example, use Dragon Claw / Outrage (physical) on Salamence rather than Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse ( special) because Salamence Atk is 135 and Sp.Atk is 110. Rest of the moves is same as other sweeper, a boosting move and coverage attacking moves.

- Items for the Win

Good skills with wrong equipment can lead to Hall of Shame. Sure, the right items choosing is one of the key for victories. For sweeper role, simply we choose attack boosting items and common support items for sweep. Check this out!

-Life Orb
Most commonly used in offensive mons. Life Orb raise your damage output multiplied by 1.3 trade with your 10% hp reduces every you use attacking moves. Worthy enough 

-Choice Scarf
Raise your speed by 1.5 but only choose one moves every you used the mons. If you switch with another mons, you can re-choose the moves again. Good for surprise attack from mediocre speed mons

-Lum Berry
Removes status conditions once (burn,poison,paralyze,sleep,freeze,confuse)

Focus Sash
-Enable to endure any attack no matter how poor your defensive if your Hp at max.

There are many list of the usable items for sweeping, but i only choose the top used items

    

 

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Armored Cannon

 

 Tanker type pokemons role is between offensive and defensive capability. Their stats are impressive in defense/sp.defense/Hp, have a good offensive stats, but lacking speed. They may be slow and get hit first from sweeper, but counter without losing too many Hp. How to build a Panzer? Check this out!

- Choosing the Mons

For a pokemon to fill the role of tanker, it is nice to have a good defensive typing that come with many resistances. So, most of tanker are steel type combination due to many resistance of steel type and immune to poison (toxic LOL). The difference between tanker and wall is tanker mons can attack back but not as hard as sweeper or wallbreaker without losing it's defensive role in the team. Sometimes a pokemons maybe play the role as tanker or support depending their move options. Tanker comes with 2 categories, physical ( attack and defense) and special ( sp.atk and sp.def). The mixed one is very rare and only have narrow options so i decided to categorized mixed as "special" in this section. So, here is the common example.

a. Physical

- Metagross (Steel/Psychic)

Hp : 80 | Atk : 135 | Def : 130 | Sp.Atk : 95 | Sp.Def : 90 | Speed : 70

- Aggron (Steel/Rock)

Hp : 70 | Atk : 110 | Def : 180 | Sp.Atk : 60 | Sp.Def : 60 | Speed : 50 

- Slowbro (Water/Psychic)

Hp : 95 | Atk : 75 | Def : 110 | Sp.Atk : 100 | Sp.Def : 80 | Speed : 30 

- Chesnaught (Grass/Fighting)

Hp : 88 | Atk : 107 | Def : 122 | Sp.Atk : 74 | Sp.Def : 75 | Speed : 64 

b. Special

- Gothitelle (Psychic)

Hp : 70 | Atk : 55 | Def : 95 | Sp.Atk : 95 | Sp.Def : 110 | Speed : 65 

- Sylveon (Fairy)

Hp : 95 | Atk : 65 | Def : 60 | Sp.Atk : 110 | Sp.Def : 130 | Speed : 60 

- Suicune (Water)

Hp : 100 | Atk : 75 | Def : 115 | Sp.Atk : 90 | Sp.Def : 115 | Speed : 85

- Magnezone (Steel/Electric)

Hp : 70 | Atk : 70 | Def : 115 | Sp.Atk : 130 | Sp.Def : 90 | Speed : 60 

Mixed (only 2 that are very popular AFAIK)

- Rotom Wash (Electric/Water)

Hp : 50 | Atk : 65 | Def : 107 | Sp.Atk : 105 | Sp.Def : 107 | Speed : 86

- Clefable (Fairy)

Hp : 95 | Atk : 70 | Def : 73 | Sp.Atk : 95 | Sp.Def : 90 | Speed : 60 

- Moveset

Moveset for tanker are both offensive and defensive capability. Sometimes they can act as secondary support and carrying support moves. For dual types tanker, it's nice to have 2 attacking skill that get STAB. 1 slot moves for recovery ( Recover, Slack Off, Softboiled, Wish), and last move are depends. You can choose Protect, to help analyzing your opponents move, Taunt for stopping the wall and negate the sweeper to set up boosting moves, or use support skills like hazard and status ( stealth rock, spikes, toxic, thunder wave, will o  wisp). The role of tanker is to stop sweeper for destroying your entire team, so tanker must have tough defense and attacking moves to counter, because generally, many sweeper did'nt have good defense to take a blow.

- Items for Good Armor

Items for tanker has important role to keep your armor from breaking. Did'nt have many choices as sweeper because the top using items usually the only choices. So check this out!

- Leftovers

Recover your health for about 1/12 max Hp every turns. Great choice if your tanks have recovery moves

- Assault Vest

Raises Sp.def by 1.5 but only choose attacking moves. Good choice if you're playing offensive tanks

- Sitrus Berry

Recover 1/4 of your Hp if below 25% of total max Hp. Good for critical moment against strong sweeper

- Rocky Helmet

If you get attacked by physical hit, your enemy Hp reduces by 1/8. Items for trolling physical hitter

There are'nt many choices of items unlike sweeper, but it's enough to building the strong Panzer!  

 

    

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Pokemon Competitive Battle

From the beginning of the old generations Red/Blue/Yellow until all new 3d generations of X/Y/OR/AS, pokemon species blooming from the legendary number; 150 + Mew to unimagineable 721 and it's still growing! Most of veteran player consider that the game storyline itself are pretty easy, except the real struggle from gen 1 player who choose charmander and battle Brock and Misty in the first 2 gym LOL. But, people evolving like a pokemon. They may be a frustrating kids back to the gen 1, and evolve into adult veteran pokemon player in this era of gen 6 and start thinking to aim the bigger challenge in the pokemon world, the COMPETITIVE!

 - What is the Competitive Battle?

When you battle with the AI in the game, no matter if they are a gym leader, elite 4, or a champion itself, if you are at least memorizing every type advantages - weakness and resistance, the game itself at overall just a cake walk. But the real flame of the battle is when you face the human itself. Every pokemon game have a feature that let you to battle with another player online. This is the real challenge, as a trainer you need to know every depths of the pokemon, their status, the move, the ability, and many more. Building a team (six pokemon) can be your way to the Hall of Fame or the inverse of it, Hall of Shame :P

- The Team

The first thing you should do if you want to be the real pokemon trainer is building the core - the Team itself. You should pick a six from the 721 pokemon that suits your play style. The combinations of all pokemons make a vast variations and options for building the team. From there, you should know the role of each member of your team. The role itself depend on the pokemon status. Here's the list :

a. Sweeper

b. Tanker

c. Support

d. Wall

e. Wallbreaker

f. Mega Pokemon  

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