Pokemon Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire Thread - The Game's out, go get it!

[CT075]

Um, all Fire types are weak to most or all of these. By this logic, nobody should ever use ANY Fire types and that's just not true.

a) there aren't a lot of pure fire types in OU; in UU and below that number increases but even in UU there's like... Arcanine? Can't think of any others offhand.

b) The fire types that are worth using generally have something that makes up for it. probably the closest analog to rapidash is infernape who is not worth to stealth rock and wins in literally every stat other than special defense.

Fire takes out most of those durable resistant Steel types.

252 Atk Life Orb Rapidash Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 16+ Def Aggron: 114-136 (33.1 - 39.5%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO

252 Atk Life Orb Rapidash Drill Run vs. 252 HP / 16+ Def Aggron: 203-244 (59 - 70.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Life Orb Rapidash Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Aegislash-Shield: 299-354 (92.2 - 109.2%) -- 50% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Life Orb Rapidash Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Metagross: 338-400 (92.8 - 109.8%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO

Compare to Arcanine:

252+ Atk Life Orb Arcanine Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 16+ Def Aggron: 359-426 (104.3 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Arcanine Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 351-416 (108.3 - 128.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Arcanine Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Metagross: 398-471 (109.3 - 129.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Edited January 5, 2015 by CT075

[Anacybele]

Uh, I don't give a damn? I like Infernape a lot too, but the bottom line is I want to use Rapidash because it's my favorite. I'm also not that big a fan of Arcanine. It's meh.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Anacybele

[algae]

None of that really matters ingame, at least. It's just competitive play where Rapidash has to compete with things that have a lot of the same faults, but are just that much stronger. There's nothing stopping you from using it in either setting, though the latter means learning and playing around its weaknesses.

Edited January 5, 2015 by algae

[dondon151]

anacybele has this tendency to make a false claim and then backpedal when the claim is called out

it happens all the time

also last i checked, entei was UU

Edited January 5, 2015 by dondon151

[Anacybele]

...Uh, what false claim? I never said that Rapidash was better than Arcanine or Infernape. I never even said it was excellent or high tier in competitiveness. Just that it's pretty good, not bad, which seems to be the general agreement here.

None of that really matters ingame, at least. It's just competitive play where Rapidash has to compete with things that have a lot of the same faults, but are just that much stronger. There's nothing stopping you from using it in either setting, though the latter means learning and playing around its weaknesses.

I'm not much of a competitive battler anyway. I just don't know enough about it. I could research what Pokemon are high tier and such, but I never know which moves to use and many of those high tier Pokemon are Pokemon I don't like.

[Nobody]

No one is telling you you shouldn't use rapidash

You asked why people wouldn't use rapidash on competitive

People answered why they wouldn't use rapidash on competitive

As simple as that

[Anacybele]

I...don't remember asking why.

[Nobody]

I...don't remember asking why.

Why wouldn't they? Rapidash has good attack and speed and a good movepool. It's not the best Fire type, but it's good enough.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Nobody

[Anacybele]

That was a rhetorical question. I wasn't seriously waiting for someone to answer. Sorry for not clarifying.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Anacybele

[CT075]

"rapidash is pretty good and not bad" is, in fact, a claim that can (and will) be challenged, considering that, all things considered, rapidash has most of the shortcomings and very few of the upsides that most others of its niche (arcanine, infernape, even volcarona if you stretch the niche a bit) have to make up for it

[super45]

I think this is the best place to put this.

I'm a little way through OR, and I want a balanced team. So far, I have Mudkip, Nuzleaf and Metang as part of my team, and I'm training up a Slugma to join them. I also plan on getting a Salemence. I've never actually played through Ruby before, so I'm not sure what I want as the final member, although something Poison, Fighting, Ice, Ghost or Fairy would be good. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd appreciate it.

I'm also not sure if Macargo is a good choice. It fills the gap of Rock and Fire, but its stats seem less than impressive. I'm not looking for a competitive team, but strength is always good.

[Nobody]

I think this is the best place to put this.

I'm a little way through OR, and I want a balanced team. So far, I have Mudkip, Nuzleaf and Metang as part of my team, and I'm training up a Slugma to join them. I also plan on getting a Salemence. I've never actually played through Ruby before, so I'm not sure what I want as the final member, although something Poison, Fighting, Ice, Ghost or Fairy would be good. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd appreciate it.

I'm also not sure if Macargo is a good choice. It fills the gap of Rock and Fire, but its stats seem less than impressive. I'm not looking for a competitive team, but strength is always good.

I'd say camerupt is a better choice than magcargo

for fighting, you could use machop, makuhita or meditite (for the latter, the pure power ability is a must)

Edited January 5, 2015 by Nobody

[Anacybele]

Magcargo is cool, but just too weak and slow. All it has going for it is a good def stat as far as I've seen. I tried to train one back in Emerald, before I knew Vulpix could be found in that game. xP

So, someone said earlier that a Life Orb is good for a Rapidash, but it drains a lot of HP when a move hits. I managed to Thief one from an Absol and it really cut a chunk of HP out of my Crobat (it's my Thief and Fly Pokemon). I know a Life Orb boosts the strength of moves, but is it really worth it for the HP it drains? Even if I give my Rapidash Morning Sun?

[Ether]

Magcargo is cool, but just too weak and slow. All it has going for it is a good def stat as far as I've seen. I tried to train one back in Emerald, before I knew Vulpix could be found in that game. xP

So, someone said earlier that a Life Orb is good for a Rapidash, but it drains a lot of HP when a move hits. I managed to Thief one from an Absol and it really cut a chunk of HP out of my Crobat (it's my Thief and Fly Pokemon). I know a Life Orb boosts the strength of moves, but is it really worth it for the HP it drains? Even if I give my Rapidash Morning Sun?

it's good for ingame if you can afford the items to heal between fights. In a competitive environment, it's downright necessary so you have enough power to break through things, unless you want to run a choice band, etc. Since Rapidash isn't really beefy enough to take counterattacks, the recoil doesn't really matter, where the power boost could prevent the counter entirely.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Ether

[super45]

I'd say camerupt is a better choice than magcargo

for fighting, you could use machop, makuhita or meditite (for the latter, the pure power ability is a must)

I considered Camerupt, but as I already had a ground type (or at least what will become a ground type) I decided not to use it. I've never trained one, but they look awesome. I might use Makuhita. I've got a Machamp already in X, and I don't like to train pokemon I've already got (aside from my favourites, I loved triple battles with my Mewtwo trio). Thanks all of you for the help!

[Anacybele]

it's good for ingame if you can afford the items to heal between fights. In a competitive environment, it's downright necessary so you have enough power to break through things, unless you want to run a choice band, etc. Since Rapidash isn't really beefy enough to take counterattacks, the recoil doesn't really matter, where the power boost could prevent the counter entirely.

Ah, good point. I'm glad I managed to get one then.

When catch a good Oddish/Gloom and evolve it to Bellossom, I'm going to have it run this set to go with Rapidash: Solarbeam, Sunny Day, Dazzling Gleam, Synthesis/Giga Drain. Last one depends on which is easier to get. Although Synthesis would probably get more HP in the sun, wouldn't it? Oh, and its ability will be Chlorophyll because boosted speed in the sun!

I also want to add a Lopunny, Garchomp, and Zebstrika to my team.

Lopunny's ability will be Scrappy because I want to use its Mega form. I want to give it Drain Punch, Power-Up Punch, Thunder Punch, and Fire Punch (so it also gets benefits from Bellossom's Sunny Day).

Garchomp will get Earthquake, Dragon Rush, Dragon Dance, and Fire Fang (more Sunny Day boosts and it gives coverage on Ice types). Its ability will be Rough Skin because I won't be conjuring up any sandstorms to make Sand Veil activate. It'll get an item that increases accuracy (I think Scope Lens is one of them?) because Dragon Rush has slightly iffy accuracy.

Zebstrika will get Wild Charge, Flame Charge (again, Sunny Day boost as well as a speed boost), Magnet Rise (makes it immune to Ground type moves for awhile!), and Thunder Wave (for some paralysis and a potential chance for Bellossom to get out the Sunny Day/Solarbeam combo without taking much damage). Zebstrika doesn't have that great of a movepool and its defenses are as bad as Rapidash's, so yeah. I don't know what item to give it yet. Maybe Rocky Helmet because it damages the foe on contact. Its ability will be Sap Sipper so it has an immunity to Grass type moves.

I'm thinking about both single and double battles here, btw. So when I get these Pokemon, my final team will be Rapidash, Bellossom, Zebstrika, Garchomp, Kingdra, and Lopunny. Kingdra will be the only one that doesn't get a benefit from Sunny Day, but I may eventually end up swapping it out for something else as well. If I get a Keldeo again, yeah. lol (though it wouldn't get any benefits from the sun either. lol)

Oh, and Bellossom will hold a Heat Rock so Sunny Day lasts the longest time possible. This is my plan, yup.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Anacybele

[Djing]

For Lopunny I recommend running Return and High Jump Kick for perfect coverage.

Also Garchomp can't learn Dragon Dance.

[PM ME MARIANNE ART]

And ice punch >>> thunder punch and fire punch

[Anacybele]

For Lopunny I recommend running Return and High Jump Kick for perfect coverage.

Also Garchomp can't learn Dragon Dance.

High Jump Kick seriously damages the user if it misses though. It's a risk I'm not willing to take.

And really? I thought every Dragon type could learn that move. Odd...

And ice punch >>> thunder punch and fire punch

Don't they all have the same power and potentially inflict status conditions? Also, you forget that I'm running Sunny Day here, so Fire Punch would be the strongest of the three on my team. xP

Anyway, I just happened to find a 3-star Gloom with Chlorophyll. Yes. :D I just hope it has a favorable nature and that the maxed IVs are favorable.

[Ether]

It's more that Ice is generally a better coverage type, but any punch can work, depending on what you need to hit. As for HJK, the power it gives really is immense, and the drop to Drain Punch is significant(almost half damage) especially since you aren't running Return as a secondary STAB. Usually what I see on Megabunny is HJK/Return/Fake Out/Filler, for reference, filler usually being an elemental punch, drain punch, or a support move like Toxic or Healing Wish.

[PM ME MARIANNE ART]

Don't they all have the same power and potentially inflict status conditions? Also, you forget that I'm running Sunny Day here, so Fire Punch would be the strongest of the three on my team. xP

Anyway, I just happened to find a 3-star Gloom with Chlorophyll. Yes. :D I just hope it has a favorable nature and that the maxed IVs are favorable.

Better coverage, though fire punch is good as well. Ice punch hits a lot of things for 4x damage and you may not have a strong ice type move whereas you have plenty of fire type moves. Not everything on the team needs a fire type move. Also sunny day isn't going to be as good because you have to use the move all the time (as opposed to the ability drought [held only by ninetails]), but I think it could work if this is only going to be of pokemon you like. It might be smart to give more than one pokemon sunny day just in case something goes wrong with bellosum.

Anyway, for Lopunny I use the set Fake Out, Drain Punch, Return, and Ice Punch. Return and Drain punch (or HJK because it stings like a bitch) are basically essential because they get STAB and are going to be the hardest hitters. Fake out is nice to hit things hard and so you can mega evolve safely. If you really want to you could use fire punch instead of ice punch, but I've already said why I would recommend ice punch.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Ghost of Graham

[Anacybele]

Drain Punch restores HP though, and with Power-Up Punch, it can be stronger.

And I do have a strong Ice type move already. I taught my Kingdra Ice Beam for coverage. Its only weakness is Dragon. :P

And I get what you're saying on the sun thing, but Bellossom is my favorite Grass type and it benefits most from the sun, which can also help the Fire types and Fire type moves I love so much. (also, why didn't Bellossom get the Fairy type? It can learn Dazzling Gleam and Moonblast as well as Moonlight which is now Fairy type. Srsly, Game Freak... I've decided to give it Moonlight too, because despite the name, it restores the most HP in the sun according to Bulbapedia and isn't as hard to get on a Bellossom as Synthesis is. Kinda funky how that's the case, but it works for me. lol)

Drought would be more handy than Sunny Day, but I'll already have a Fire type on the team in Rapidash. I'll most assuredly get a Drought Pokemon or Primal Groudon for an all Fire team though!

If Bellossom ever gets a Mega evolution though, it needs to be Grass/Fairy! Mega Rapidash could potentially be Fire/Fairy as well.

Also, the Gloom I caught has a serious nature, which doesn't affect any stats, so that's nice. ^^ She's female too, and I like a female Bellossom better than a male. Not to mention that up until this point, all the Bellossom I've had have been male. xP Anyway, I have to take this Gloom to the judge guy!

Edited January 5, 2015 by Anacybele

[Comet]

to say something useful, with garchomp you might as well use dragon claw instead and give him a muscle band.

and not using return on lopunny is a waste. it's a base 102 power move without factoring STAB bonus which also has great coverage with drain punch.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Comet

[Anacybele]

Well, if you guys think Return would be a better choice than Power-Up Punch.

[Quintessence]

Remember Kingdra is weak to Fairies too.

Also I agree you should give Lopunny Fake Out and Return; imagine her fighting against Chandelure or something. Fake out is also nice to Mega Evolve safely as Graham said and hit something like Talonflame which in the next turn will wreck her, so you can evolve, hit, flinch opponent and then switch to other pokemon to tank priority Brave Bird, you know what I mean?