Frontier info you didn't ask for.


Alakazam is a much more specialized set for my Battle Tower team, which relies entirely on Alakazam's ability to successfully execute its TrickBand strategy. His EVs allow him to outspeed almost every single Pokemon in the Frontier, including every Aerodactyl and all but one Jolteon, while the HP and Defense bring his bulk from laughable to merely below average, but that's enough to tank 252+ Rhydon Earthquake if its Quick Claw activates. The last slots have been sorted out: Reflect has always been critical for softening Choice Band-boosted blows while Kinesis and Thunder Wave provide further obstruction. Psychic and Light Screen are considerations, but I won't use either unless I feel like I need to.

Articuno is very potent, especially in the Battle Arena. The AI doesn't switch, so Mind Reader + Sheer Cold is a death sentence for most Pokemon. It has great special bulk to help it deal with omnipresent Water-types, and it has the added bonus of beating annoying bulk stat-up Pokemon like Suicune and Snorlax as well as Double Team abusers. Ice Beam is strong enough to warrant use for specific quick kills, while the last slot is for Reflect. I've used Agility in the past, but I caught a decent Timid Articuno which reaches 239 Speed, enough to outpace some Salamence variants, and it seems unnecessary and overly situational. Reflect allows Articuno to make it almost impossible to kill if it gets a free turn, and sometimes it does.

Heracross is a little slow, but that's really his only flaw in my opinion. Megahorn is an amazing nuke to the degree that I don't even mind its accuracy (usually...), especially since Hidden Power [Ghost] can pick off weaker Psychic-types. Heracross beats most Waters one-on-one, and its resistances to Ground and Fighting are actually really important. He's also my Choice Bander of choice (hehe) in the Battle Palace much of the time since he's much more reliable against Waters and blobs than Salamence is.

Metagross possesses the perfect combination of bulk and power. Its STAB is a little disappointing in both its typing and its accuracy, but the Attack boosts are handy and it's still very strong. I use Hidden Power [Rock] over Rock Slide so that I have a 100% accurate attack against Flying-types. Missing the flinch chance is unfortunate, however. Meanwhile, Explosion wrecks everything and is a great answer to Snorlax and Suicune. The EVs allow it to outspeed Milotic and Gyarados.

Allow me to introduce my prized import from Colosseum, Suicune! The HP IV (not to mention its awful Speed, ugh) is a little disappointing but you can reset for hours and not even get a Bold one, so I jumped at this. Suicune is basically Snorlax inverted, and it's also a very good Battle Palace candidate. His initial power is a little disappointing, but otherwise there's a lot to love about Suicune.

Welcome to the strongest Pokemon in the game and the undisputed king of the Battle Pyramid. Slaking destroys so much with Return, and Hyper Beam is strong enough to level Suicune. On top of its impressive power, it has only one weakness and a ton of physical bulk to help it last awhile, and it's quite fast. Outside of Protect, nothing really stops Slaking from doing its job. He's my go-to Pokemon when I need power, as much as Truant sucks.