Pokemon Sun and Moon are out! Alola, MoTK!

[Drake]

I'm doing Battle Royal rounds right now and I swear every game I end up saying "that's bullshit!"

[commandercool]

Yeah, I haven't even messed with Battle Royales because they barely seem like a game, which is a problem I often have with that format in tabletop games and shit.

Re: Rockruff, as far as I know trading it to the other game will cause it to evolve into that game's form.

[Drake]

It's more interesting than I first gave it credit for (esp. since in the intro you only use one pokemon which makes it totally pointless), but the more frustrating things are either strategies the devs had smartly planned into it or strange mechanics.

Like it still isn't really clear what happens with a should-be tie, as I've gotten ties four times and I've just lost because reasons. The game makes it clear that pokemon fainted cuts into your points so even if you have the most KOs you can still lose, but it doesn't elaborate on ties past that. I'm pretty sure I've been on both sides before as well (more points / more pokes) so I dunno.

Meanwhile silly things that have happened include
- Me setting up something crazy and then a Lapras Sheer Colds me
- A Snorlax using Selfdestruct turn 1 and getting three points (lmao)
- Me securing a final point to win, but because the remainder of the final turn finishes I got damage from Sandstorm and a burn, KOing me and costing me the game (despite a tie in points)
- Mega Alakazam Tracing a Togedemaru's Lightning Rod and getting +6 SpA because there were several Electric types and the AI didn't notice I absorbed everything
- One opponent's pokemon all being weak to Water so another dude's Feraligatr just Waterfall OHKO'd three times to win

[Think Komachi with a Rifle]

Oh is Parting Shot bugged or something?

Yes and absolutely banned online.
It's causing the game to freeze occasionally.

[commandercool]

*Shrug* Fair enough. I wouldn't play online except locally if you paid me, so that doesn't bother me much. Sucks for people not playing Showdown though. Hopefully that gets fixed soon.

[Think Komachi with a Rifle]

It's more interesting than I first gave it credit for (esp. since in the intro you only use one pokemon which makes it totally pointless), but the more frustrating things are either strategies the devs had smartly planned into it or strange mechanics.

Like it still isn't really clear what happens with a should-be tie, as I've gotten ties four times and I've just lost because reasons. The game makes it clear that pokemon fainted cuts into your points so even if you have the most KOs you can still lose, but it doesn't elaborate on ties past that. I'm pretty sure I've been on both sides before as well (more points / more pokes) so I dunno.

Meanwhile silly things that have happened include
- Me setting up something crazy and then a Lapras Sheer Colds me
- A Snorlax using Selfdestruct turn 1 and getting three points (lmao)
- Me securing a final point to win, but because the remainder of the final turn finishes I got damage from Sandstorm and a burn, KOing me and costing me the game (despite a tie in points)
- Mega Alakazam Tracing a Togedemaru's Lightning Rod and getting +6 SpA because there were several Electric types and the AI didn't notice I absorbed everything
- One opponent's pokemon all being weak to Water so another dude's Feraligatr just Waterfall OHKO'd three times to win

the rules in order:
You lose if all your pokes faint (obvious)
you win if you have the most points
(if draw) you win if you have most pokes still up

after that it gets complicated and is down to what order the kills were in.

The real fun tactics are when you start saving the enemy.
fake out, healing pulse, disable, taunt and spotlight make things very interesting.
You want mons with lower kill pressure to stay on the field, unless that guy is currently leading.

[Suwako Moriya]

I'm doing Battle Royal rounds right now and I swear every game I end up saying "that's bullshit!"

The life of an idol is never easy.

[Raikaria]

Doin' a Nuzlocke.

Just beat Totem Wishiwashi with Brionne alone because Scald is dumb and Wishiwashi's only attack is Water Gun.

Backtracking to a few places with fishing spots I don't have a catch in right now. Current team:

Opera - Lv 20 Brionne - It gained 2 levels soloing Wishiwashi. Popplio is so much better than Litten it's not even funny.

Scarf - Lv 18 Cutifly - Melemele Medow catch. Plan to replace it if possible since I used one on my regular run.

Lance - Lv 18 Spearow - The Bird dosen't get Acrobatics but everything else does. Made sure to teach it Mirror Move; because if it survives to lategame with it's -Atk +Speed nature; I can get the Flynium Z and use Z-Mirror Move. Which gives a Swords Dance boost. Also weirdly enough I've never actually used a Spearow in a Nuzlocke. Never got one always got Pidgeys or Nidorans. Route 3.

Catters - Lv 18 Butterfree - It's a Butterfree. I wanna use something else but Butterfree can almost certainly solo Totem Laurantis since it Quad Resists everything it can do and has STAB Acrobatics so I'll probobly keep it around until then. Route 1

Doge - Lv 18 Herdier - I kinda always liked Lillipup. Z-Take Down is actually fearsome and best part; no recoil! Brooklet Hill catch.

Quartz - Lv 18 Carbink - I never walk in the grass with this guy because that is just asking for a neverending SoS. Z-Sharpen is surprisingly useful; and it carried me against Sina's Glaceon. Hits like a pillow; takes hits like a rock. -Attack nature does NOT help matters; but +Sp.Def is worth the trade once it learns a special move.

Reserves are a Grubbin; Alolan Diglett; Mudbrey; Yungoos and Magikarp. Dead are a Wingull; Abra; Alolan Rattata; Gastly and Zubat. Abra and Gastly both died to switch-out Pursuits...

Edit: Oh god fought a trainer with a Corsola and it was stronger than I expected and killed both my Butterfree and my Cutifly. Turns out my team really; really sucks against Rock+Water.

Suddenly; I'm scared as hell of Totem Laurantis.

Edit 2:

Wandering through Melemele Medow to get a catch at the Kale'e Bay.

Encounter

Look away to computer.

Hear a sound.

It's a Petilil.

'Wait is that a Shiny?'

*It calls for help*

*Summoned Petilil looks a tiny bit different*

IT IS A SHINY. Lame shiny that's almost identical to it's normal form but a shiny's a shiny and it's my first Gen 7 shiny. At least Lilligant looks better.

[commandercool]

Does anyone have a Salac Berry? I've been savescumming that tree on and off for two days and have dropped every other berry at least a few times (some seem to be very rare) but never a Salac. Will trade a Regenerator Mareanie with decent IVs and nature for one, or maybe some other berry if anyone's looking for anything else.

My Mareanie is approaching completion, so I'm probably gonna start on Mimikyu later. It's my favorite Pokemon this generation and maybe like, my third favorite ever, and it's REALLY good. I've been finding sashed Mimikyu to be handy in Battle Royales. Swords Dance/Leech Life/Dual STAB gives great coverage and the big Leech Lifes let you heal back up to full if you take damage (maybe from weather or hazards) to re-engage the sash. It lives forever, isn't an appealing target (especially since it has three immunities) and can snipe a lot of stragglers, especially after Swords Dance.

@Raikaria: Petilil is a GREAT shiny because Liligant is super cool. Congrats!

[MatsuriSakuragi]

>shiny petilil

>lame

bruh. :matsuriscowl:

[Edible]

I see what he's saying.  Shiny Petilil looks almost identical to the original.

Shiny Lilligant gets a nice pink flower though so that's nice.

[commandercool]

I had a similar situation with a shiny Paras once. And then a few days ago one of my roommates also caught a shiny Paras. I'm half inclined to trade her for it and start collecting them, because I can't imagine people want to hang onto them.

[Raikaria]

I see what he's saying.  Shiny Petilil looks almost identical to the original.

Yep. Also it's to the point I didn't actually notice until it SOS'ed. Because I wasn't paying attention :V

Also geez in Gen 6 it was a Shiny Klefki on Day 2 of release; now it's a Shiny Petilil. I'm good at being one of the first ones here to just randomly bump into a Shiny.

[commandercool]

Wow, wonder trades are going WELL today. Been sending out spare Regenerator Mareanies, been getting lots of stuff that I could honestly probably just put on teams. Just got a Honedge with perfect IVs in everything but Special Defense, which is still really good, a Japanese Mimikyu with four perfect IVs, a Japanese Magikarp with four perfect IVs (not Speed though) and, well, a lot of shit, but still, that is not bad at all.

Edit: Ooh, and an Eevee with perfect everything but HP. Is it possible the game sees level one stuff going out so is sending me equivalent stuff? Does Wonder Trade do that?

[Think Komachi with a Rifle]

Wow, wonder trades are going WELL today. Been sending out spare Regenerator Mareanies, been getting lots of stuff that I could honestly probably just put on teams. Just got a Honedge with perfect IVs in everything but Special Defense, which is still really good, a Japanese Mimikyu with four perfect IVs, a Japanese Magikarp with four perfect IVs (not Speed though) and, well, a lot of shit, but still, that is not bad at all.

Edit: Ooh, and an Eevee with perfect everything but HP. Is it possible the game sees level one stuff going out so is sending me equivalent stuff? Does Wonder Trade do that?

I don't think so, just that breeding rejects are what everyone (wonder) trades.

[Fulisha of Light]

Got a shiny Type: Null in Moon after roughly 100 soft resets within an hour. What is with the shiny rate in this game, I'm never that lucky.

Also got a Timid Nihilego on the first go in Moon (no Synchronizer!), where in Sun it took me more than 50 attempts with a Synchronizer. wtf

Doin' a Nuzlocke.

Edit 2:

Wandering through Melemele Medow to get a catch at the Kale'e Bay.

Encounter

Look away to computer.

Hear a sound.

It's a Petilil.

'Wait is that a Shiny?'

*It calls for help*

*Summoned Petilil looks a tiny bit different*

IT IS A SHINY. Lame shiny that's almost identical to it's normal form but a shiny's a shiny and it's my first Gen 7 shiny. At least Lilligant looks better.

Congrats on that amazing luck  :V does it have good stats?

[commandercool]

What do you guys think of Tsareena in singles? Kind of want to use her but she seems... Not great. Her ability should get her some free switchins which is interesting, especially paired with stuff that tends to be weak to priority like Alakazam or I guess Pheromosa, but her moveset seems... Bad.

My best guess for a set is an AV set that uses Trop Kick to give her some physical bulk as well, but I'm not sure how to invest it. If I go the max attack/max speed that her moveset seems to want she still won't be taking hits very well, even for an  allegedly bulky set. Maybe banded is the way to go and rely on the priority immunity to get easy switchins?

[Think Komachi with a Rifle]

What do you guys think of Tsareena in singles? Kind of want to use her but she seems... Not great. Her ability should get her some free switchins which is interesting, especially paired with stuff that tends to be weak to priority like Alakazam or I guess Pheromosa, but her moveset seems... Bad.

My best guess for a set is an AV set that uses Trop Kick to give her some physical bulk as well, but I'm not sure how to invest it. If I go the max attack/max speed that her moveset seems to want she still won't be taking hits very well, even for an  allegedly bulky set. Maybe banded is the way to go and rely on the priority immunity to get easy switchins?

on Tsareena mine is running atk/SpDef
trop kick gives physical bulk as you guessed

Trop kick
Play rough
synthesis
u-turn/rapid spin

priority immunity and resisting that staple coverage move earthquake is quite nice.

[commandercool]

In my slapdash Battle Tree teams I've been throwing Normalium-Z and Giga Impact or Hyper Beam on a lot of stuff with open space for items and moves, especially bulky attackers who don't necessarily want a Life Orb. No idea if that translates to being remotely competitive, but it's interesting.

By the way, if you're tired of losing to all of Battle Tower's various RNG troll sets and grindy stall sets I've been finding that Kartana with Substitute counters most of them. It's immune to Toxic and Leech Seed, Smart Strike hits through Double Team spam, and it's generally fast enough to get a sub up before most things that want to Confuse Ray or Swagger you get the chance (which, it turns out, is a lot of things). I'm running the aforementioned Giga Impact-Z along with sub and dual stabs, but weirdly Swords Dance might be better for powering through stalling grass types.

Also finished my Bounsweet, which is EV training now. Decided to go full special bulk with HP and Special Defense investment, I really hope that ends up working with how annoying breeding female-only Pokemon is.

[Failure McFailFace]

I finally got a 6IV Ditto with Destiny Knot and breeding it with a Mudbray for a 6IV Mudsdale. I then want to get 252 in each Defense and Special defense, with Attack so that I can have a bulky ground type in my team. All of the pokemon I'm considering are pretty much glass cannons and I need something to set up for them.

[commandercool]

Okay, so what's the trick with weather-based SOS Pokemon? I'm on the 120th ally Pokemon in a fight with a Crabrawler on Route 17 and I haven't seen one goddamn thing. Bulbadpedia claims Goomy and Castform are have 10% rates in the rain, but there is no way in hell that's true. It's raining. I'm on Route 17. What am I doing wrong?

[Failure McFailFace]

Okay, so what's the trick with weather-based SOS Pokemon? I'm on the 120th ally Pokemon in a fight with a Crabrawler on Route 17 and I haven't seen one goddamn thing. Bulbadpedia claims Goomy and Castform are have 10% rates in the rain, but there is no way in hell that's true. It's raining. I'm on Route 17. What am I doing wrong?

Not even Serebii.net says anything. Literally only "Weather SOS Battle". No Pokemon required or anything.

In other news, I finally got a 6IV Mudbray and dumped it in with my 6IV Ditto. Then I realized that if I want 6IV eggs, I need 2 destiny knots. I only have 1. WELP

[PX]

Just beat Sun, time to draft a team and breed/capture them

[Failure McFailFace]

Okay, so what's the trick with weather-based SOS Pokemon? I'm on the 120th ally Pokemon in a fight with a Crabrawler on Route 17 and I haven't seen one goddamn thing. Bulbadpedia claims Goomy and Castform are have 10% rates in the rain, but there is no way in hell that's true. It's raining. I'm on Route 17. What am I doing wrong?

The problem is Route 17. It's apparently a 1% chance there, but in Tapu Village, Haina Desert, or Mount Lanakila, the chance is 10% in the rain. So get a Pokemon with rain dance/drizzle/Kyogre, go to Haina Desert, and do tons of SOS battles. That should work.

Link to the chart

[commandercool]

Am I reading this chart wrong? That's not what it looks like it says to me.

[Janitor Morgan]

You partially are, because it definitely says "1% in rain, 10% in hail, 10% in sandstorm" for route 17 for Castform.

Not sure what's up with Goomy though.

[Think Komachi with a Rifle]

goomy was a PITA, best bet is using rain dance/drizzle somewhere it can rain (but not route 17), or just waiting for natural rain. (not malie garden, that will get poliwrath/toed instead)

[Janitor Morgan]

Okay, so looking at Route 17 directly on Bulbapedia, it lists the encounter location for Goomy/Castform as "grass", with Crabrawler off in its own section labeled "berry pile" (as expected). Nothing about Goomy/Castform being available from the berry pile though.

So I suppose don't use Crabrawler for weather stuff?

[Failure McFailFace]

I have a 6IV Ditto with breeding with a 6IV Mudbray. Both are holding Destiny Knots. Does this mean that if there's an IV that one misses, the other Destiny Knot might be able to fill the missing IV in?

[Bio]

No. Unless they changed it. You're better off DK + Everstone or DK + Power Item.