Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
I voted for this one. I love me the weirder ones.
-
Welcome to Talking Time's third iteration! If you would like to register for an account, or have already registered but have not yet been confirmed, please read the following:
- The CAPTCHA key's answer is "Percy"
- Once you've completed the registration process please email us from the email you used for registration at percyreghelper@gmail.com and include the username you used for registration
Once you have completed these steps, Moderation Staff will be able to get your account approved.
Top 50 Pokémon: Rainbow Rocket blasts off again!
- Thread starter Mogri
- Start date
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
It's called a challenge
37th (tie)
#248 Tyranitar
Armor Pokémon
Rock / Dark
First Discovered: Johto Region (Gen II, Gold/Silver)
Score: 63 - Votes: 3 - Highest vote: 5th (Beta Metroid)
Pokédex said:
The fearsome Tyranitar has been an enormous threat from its first appearance. It succeeds despite an awful typing, which gives it a weakness to seven – nearly half – of the 18 types, largely on the strength of its monstrous stats. For comparison, it has better Attack, Defense, and Sp. Defense than Mewtwo and as much HP and nearly as much Sp. Attack as Mew. It also has the Sand Stream ability, which changes the weather to sandstorm, giving Tyranitar a 50% Sp. Defense boost while whittling down opponents.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Tyranitar has every NES game because of his uncle who works at Nintendo.
I feel like I should mention at this point that I'm intentionally picking the most outlandish entry for each of these. See also: the two 'dex entries on Magikarp that directly contradict each other.
And he has every kind of classic car.
And a totally awesome girlfriend who you've never met because she lives in ... hey, what's the Pokémon/Johto equivalent of Canada?
It's just a straight-up kaiju always in the mood to scrap, and I love it so. As pointed out, it has enough vulnerabilities that its utter dominance in its wheelhouse doesn't feel cheap, and aesthetic-wise, it's just perfect for this style of 'mon. As a bonus, it has a fun evolutionary journey, with an insect-like puny larva and pupal stages that make its fully-evolved iteration feel even more earned (I generally prefer to think of Pokemon according to their entire evolutionary lines rather than pure individuals, so I struggled a bit with some of my listing, but glad to see this spiky angry boy show up!).
For the most part, you won't notice much difference going back in generations aside from graphics until you go back before gen 5.
Gen 4 introduced the physical/special split. Before that, all Grass moves were special, and all Ghost moves were physical.
I think it's gen 5 that finally made Steel not resist Dark and Ghost. Steel was amazing before that.
I forget which gen introduced Fairy (6?), but you might be surprised to see the likes of Granbull show up as Normal.
None of this applies to any of the games you mentioned, though! You should be fine.
Gen 4 introduced the physical/special split. Before that, all Grass moves were special, and all Ghost moves were physical.
I think it's gen 5 that finally made Steel not resist Dark and Ghost. Steel was amazing before that.
I forget which gen introduced Fairy (6?), but you might be surprised to see the likes of Granbull show up as Normal.
None of this applies to any of the games you mentioned, though! You should be fine.
Gen 6 is fairy (X/Y).
And yeah, you can play generations out of order, as long as you're generally ok with losing some functionality and graphics along the way! I'm still of the opinion that Gens 1 & 2 play just fine, and that Gen 3's Fire Red & Leaf Green may be the best entry point in the series.
And yeah, you can play generations out of order, as long as you're generally ok with losing some functionality and graphics along the way! I'm still of the opinion that Gens 1 & 2 play just fine, and that Gen 3's Fire Red & Leaf Green may be the best entry point in the series.
These days, if you want to jump into the series with gen 3, there are a lot of quality-of-life hacks available out there. I love the gen 3 aesthetic, but Hoenn is a slog; Fire Red/Leaf Green is definitely a better choice.
The only games I would recommend playing in a specific order would be X/Y before X2/Y2. If you only want to play one game from gen 6, X2/Y2 might be the high point of the entire series, although you'll lose a little bit on the plot side.
The only games I would recommend playing in a specific order would be X/Y before X2/Y2. If you only want to play one game from gen 6, X2/Y2 might be the high point of the entire series, although you'll lose a little bit on the plot side.
Intermission 1: Archie vs Maxie
We’ve seen both teams. Now, let’s see them in action!
…Oh, I’ve just realized that I don’t have a partner for color commentary. Well, I’ll just have to do my best!
Oh! Uh, sure.
Watch the battle! (ft. Mogri as Archie, Mogri2 as Maxie)
Archie leads Quagsire and Zapdos into Maxie’s Tyranitar and Rotom. This is a bad matchup for Archie, whose Zapdos will easily fall to Tyranitar. And, sure enough, he withdraws it for Shuckle. If he was relying on Shuckle’s amazing defenses, he’s got to be disappointed as Rotom burns Quagsire and Tyranitar takes Shuckle well below half with a Rock Slide! Oh, and there’s the flinch on Quagsire!
I should’ve brought popcorn. Where’s a grunt when you need one?
Archie pulls the wounded Shuckle for Tangela. The leader of Team Aqua is floundering in the face of this Tyranitar! But it seems like it was a good move, as Tangela takes both a Thunderbolt and a Rock Slide without batting an eye. Quagsire’s offensive presence is greatly diminished due to her burn, but here she comes with a Rain Dance. Will the change in weather turn the tides of this battle?
Weather moves! Who has time for that nonsense?
Faced with two opponents it can’t touch, Rotom is withdrawn for Scizor on Maxie’s side. Maxie is feeling bold – he’s commanded his Tyranitar to use Dragon Dance! If it survives this turn, it’s curtains for Archie: with boosted Attack and Speed, that Tyranitar will sweep through his team. But Archie won’t have it! Tangela takes out Tyranitar with a single Energy Ball, and Quagsire puts a little damage on Scizor with Liquidation.
Maxie brings in Durant to replace Tyranitar. Having done his job, Tangela is replaced by Zapdos, and Maxie replaces Rotom with Scizor. He must think these conditions favor his bugs, but he might not have been counting on Zapdos. Durant fires off a powerful First Impression into Zapdos, dealing nearly half even through that Flying-type resistance. Oh! And Zapdos reveals its Static ability as Durant becomes paralyzed! Scizor sets up a Swords Dance and Quagsire continues to plug away at it.
That burned Quagsire is contributing nothing. Why is he keeping it in?
Zapdos takes advantage of the rain with Hurricane. That takes down Scizor, who was unable to capitalize on that Swords Dance. Durant sets up Hone Claws and Quagsire throws out a weak Earthquake. As Maxie brings in Rotom, Zapdos takes another KO with Thunder against Durant! Maxie’s initial lead has burned away to nothing. Rotom uses a weak Dark Pulse, bringing Zapdos to critical health, and Quagsire lands a Liquidation on Rotom, which does almost no damage after Leftovers recovery.
A pretty weak showing on both sides, honestly.
Maxie brings in Magikarp, and… whoa, Magikarp takes out Zapdos with a Hydro Pump! Unbelievable! Archie brings out Pancham and finally swaps Quagsire for Tangela. Magikarp has just leaped into the air, folks. Rotom burns Pancham, but in return, Pancham knocks out Rotom with a single Drain Punch. That’s with her damage halved! I wouldn’t believe this if I weren’t seeing it!
Okay, they’ve got my attention.
Magikarp lands on Pancham, dealing respectable damage, and Tangela takes out Exeggutor in a single Sludge Bomb. Pancham doesn’t quite take out Magikarp with another Drain Punch, but she does nearly heal back to full. Unless Magikarp can solo Archie’s five remaining Pokémon, this is it for Maxie.
Archie pulls Pancham for Ninetails. Magikarp wallops it with a Flail! Say what you will about the Fish Pokémon, but he’s the only one on Maxie’s team to snag a KO, and he came pretty close to picking up another. Sadly, his legend dies here as Tangela KOs with Energy Ball. And that’s a win for Archie!
Archie pulls the wounded Shuckle for Tangela. The leader of Team Aqua is floundering in the face of this Tyranitar! But it seems like it was a good move, as Tangela takes both a Thunderbolt and a Rock Slide without batting an eye. Quagsire’s offensive presence is greatly diminished due to her burn, but here she comes with a Rain Dance. Will the change in weather turn the tides of this battle?
Faced with two opponents it can’t touch, Rotom is withdrawn for Scizor on Maxie’s side. Maxie is feeling bold – he’s commanded his Tyranitar to use Dragon Dance! If it survives this turn, it’s curtains for Archie: with boosted Attack and Speed, that Tyranitar will sweep through his team. But Archie won’t have it! Tangela takes out Tyranitar with a single Energy Ball, and Quagsire puts a little damage on Scizor with Liquidation.
Maxie brings in Durant to replace Tyranitar. Having done his job, Tangela is replaced by Zapdos, and Maxie replaces Rotom with Scizor. He must think these conditions favor his bugs, but he might not have been counting on Zapdos. Durant fires off a powerful First Impression into Zapdos, dealing nearly half even through that Flying-type resistance. Oh! And Zapdos reveals its Static ability as Durant becomes paralyzed! Scizor sets up a Swords Dance and Quagsire continues to plug away at it.
Zapdos takes advantage of the rain with Hurricane. That takes down Scizor, who was unable to capitalize on that Swords Dance. Durant sets up Hone Claws and Quagsire throws out a weak Earthquake. As Maxie brings in Rotom, Zapdos takes another KO with Thunder against Durant! Maxie’s initial lead has burned away to nothing. Rotom uses a weak Dark Pulse, bringing Zapdos to critical health, and Quagsire lands a Liquidation on Rotom, which does almost no damage after Leftovers recovery.
Maxie brings in Magikarp, and… whoa, Magikarp takes out Zapdos with a Hydro Pump! Unbelievable! Archie brings out Pancham and finally swaps Quagsire for Tangela. Magikarp has just leaped into the air, folks. Rotom burns Pancham, but in return, Pancham knocks out Rotom with a single Drain Punch. That’s with her damage halved! I wouldn’t believe this if I weren’t seeing it!
Magikarp lands on Pancham, dealing respectable damage, and Tangela takes out Exeggutor in a single Sludge Bomb. Pancham doesn’t quite take out Magikarp with another Drain Punch, but she does nearly heal back to full. Unless Magikarp can solo Archie’s five remaining Pokémon, this is it for Maxie.
Archie pulls Pancham for Ninetails. Magikarp wallops it with a Flail! Say what you will about the Fish Pokémon, but he’s the only one on Maxie’s team to snag a KO, and he came pretty close to picking up another. Sadly, his legend dies here as Tangela KOs with Energy Ball. And that’s a win for Archie!
Last edited:
What a match! But over here in the secret lair of Rainbow Rocket, we're just getting started. Let's meet our next competitor.
How interesting! This is none other than Guzma, leader of my native Alola's Team Skull. Guzma is not officially a member of Rainbow Rocket – at least, that was true as of their last appearance. Giovanni, can you provide any comment about this?
Team Skull was for a long time beneath our notice. I've heard promising things about Guzma despite his youth, so I've brought him here today to demonstrate his talents.
I see! We'll learn today whether Guzma has what it takes to run with the likes of Archie and Maxie. Let's see who he's brought with him.
37th (tie)
#389 Torterra
Continent Pokémon
Grass / Ground
First Discovered: Sinnoh Region (Gen IV, Diamond/Pearl)
Score: 63 - Votes: 3 - Highest vote: 6th (Beta Metroid)
Torterra is an amazing Pokemon, but it's a hard one to use effectively. Not only does it take quadruple damage from moves such as the ubiquitous Ice Beam, but it struggles to deal with opposing Grass- and Flying-type Pokémon. However, with good defenses, a solid recovery move in Synthesis, and very strong attacks in Wood Hammer and Earthquake, you shouldn't underestimate Torterra in the hands of a skilled trainer.
I have nothing negative to say about a trainer who uses Ground-type Pokémon.
Torterra in GO has the same typing issues as it does here, so it doesn’t see a lot of use in PvP. And while as a grass-type starter it’s gotten the excellent move Frenzy Plant from a Community Day event, its lower attack makes it less useful for PvE than other starters with the same move.You can get a Shadow Torterra though, and with the attack boost from Team GO Rocket’s dark experiments its combination of Razor Leaf and Frenzy Plant can put out a lot of grass damage, which could work in some Rocket battles.
How interesting! This is none other than Guzma, leader of my native Alola's Team Skull. Guzma is not officially a member of Rainbow Rocket – at least, that was true as of their last appearance. Giovanni, can you provide any comment about this?
I see! We'll learn today whether Guzma has what it takes to run with the likes of Archie and Maxie. Let's see who he's brought with him.
37th (tie)
#389 Torterra
Continent Pokémon
Grass / Ground
First Discovered: Sinnoh Region (Gen IV, Diamond/Pearl)
Score: 63 - Votes: 3 - Highest vote: 6th (Beta Metroid)
Pokédex said:
Torterra is an amazing Pokemon, but it's a hard one to use effectively. Not only does it take quadruple damage from moves such as the ubiquitous Ice Beam, but it struggles to deal with opposing Grass- and Flying-type Pokémon. However, with good defenses, a solid recovery move in Synthesis, and very strong attacks in Wood Hammer and Earthquake, you shouldn't underestimate Torterra in the hands of a skilled trainer.
JBeardex said:
Last edited:
Grass types are some of my favorite to see through their evolutions, and Torterra is one of the best. Turning the whole "world turtle" concept into a 'mon is also a work of genius. Shame about that typing, though. It's almost impressive how non-complementary Grass and Ground are.
Nothing against Torterra he's just going up against all the other amazing turtle pokemon and in that he just doesn't quite cut it.
@aturtledoesbite get in here and defend your avatar, Ma’am.
37th (tie)
#151 Mew
New Species Pokémon
Psychic
First Discovered: Playground rumors (Gen I, Red/Blue/Green)
Score: 63 - Votes: 2 - Highest vote: 3rd (Daikaiju)
Pokédex said:
Oh my, it’s Mew! Mew may not have incredible raw power, but it brings to the table a movepool that is as vast as the day is long. Mew can learn any HM, TM, TR, or Tutor move ever made. This along with its perfectly uniform stat distribution means it can fill any role the trainer likes. Mew doesn’t have much competitive presence, since for any given role, there’s probably someone else who can fill it better, but in a tournament as unpredictable as this one, it’s hard to argue that Mew is a bad pick.
South America is canon
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Wait, there's a SOUTH AMERICA! Is that the one actual place in Pokearth?
Ah yes, the perennial "someone wrote this into the first game when they had no inkling that they were starting a decades-long story with its own internal lore and world". Happens to the best of franchises.
Fortunately, it turns out that on actual (GO) Earth Mew is not exclusive to South America, which would be hilarious but piss everyone off. We've gotten exactly two: one from the very first GoFest event in 2017 (you could get it early at the paid in-person event in Chicago, which was a bit of a cluster as it was Niantic's first attempt at a big in-person event, or later on for everyone else in a long research quest) and then a shiny one from another long research from a paid ticket to the Kanto Tour event in 2021. And we didn't even have to look under any buses or glitch through any walls to get them!
Mew is also I think the only mythical I personally have a copy of *not* from GO, as I bought the Pokeball+ accessory that came with one for the Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee remakes. ... which makes me realize I should probably boot that game up some time and transfer it to Home for safe keeping.
Fortunately, it turns out that on actual (GO) Earth Mew is not exclusive to South America, which would be hilarious but piss everyone off. We've gotten exactly two: one from the very first GoFest event in 2017 (you could get it early at the paid in-person event in Chicago, which was a bit of a cluster as it was Niantic's first attempt at a big in-person event, or later on for everyone else in a long research quest) and then a shiny one from another long research from a paid ticket to the Kanto Tour event in 2021. And we didn't even have to look under any buses or glitch through any walls to get them!
Mew is also I think the only mythical I personally have a copy of *not* from GO, as I bought the Pokeball+ accessory that came with one for the Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee remakes. ... which makes me realize I should probably boot that game up some time and transfer it to Home for safe keeping.