Gym Leader Strategies - Imakuni?, the Strange Life-Form

[ddrussianinja]

If you're wondering what this is exactly, go to [url=http://paxpokemonleague.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1453vos]this thread[/urlvos] where I explain it a bit better. Essentially, I'll be sharing my speculation and strategies regarding PPL Gym Leaders as they're announced.

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no inside knowledge regarding the PPL and everything I suggest is pure speculation. While last year a number of my guesses turned out to be spot-on, a decent number of them were dead wrong. I assume the same will hold true for this year. I imagine that the Gym Leaders will neither confirm nor deny any of our speculation and they may well decide to change their team lineup just to keep us on our toes. This is purely for fun and to help out newbies who might not know which Pokemon they want to train in preparation for the PPL. Also, with that in mind, let's try to keep the strategies as plain English as possible. Not everyone knows all the crazy terms.

[bvos][url=http://paxpokemonleague.net/2014/02/imakuni-the-strange-life-form/vos]Imakuni?, the Strange Life Form[/urlvos][/bvos]
[spoilervos]Little is known about the origins of Imakuni?, the strange singer who wanders the world on his quest to become famous. He would often appear suddenly among gatherings of trainers across the globe, singing songs about Pokémon and challenging fans to Pokémon battles. His strange Psychic-type Pokémon coupled with his odd dance moves and behavior left most of his challengers bewildered. After a hiatus, Imakuni? has decided to make a return to the gym leader scene. This time, he’s determined to test the mettle of fellow Pokémon enthusiasts and maybe, just maybe, answer the age-old question: ”Who is cuter? Pikachu or me?”. If you can overcome this unusual character and his odd battling style, you’ll be rewarded with the Enigma Badge![/spoilervos]

[bvos][uvos]Initial Impressions[/uvos][/bvos]
For those who don't know, this leader is referencing [url=http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Tomoaki_Imakunivos]Tomoaki Imakuni[/urlvos], a real-life musician for the Pokemon anime who has also been involved in a number of the side-games, usually in relation to the Pokemon Trading Card Game. And this insight basically tells us next to nothing. It sounds like the person playing this particular character has done it before at a different PPL based on the description, but I don't know which and what Pokemon he might have used back then. In any case, what we do know is that he's using Psychic Pokemon, likes to dance, and has an odd battling style. Sadly this isn't a lot to go on, but I'll do my best.

[bvos][uvos]Probable Pokemon[/uvos][/bvos]
[bvos]Meloetta[/bvos] - Meloetta is a Psychic Pokemon well-known for its dancing.

[bvos][uvos]Possible Pokemon[/uvos][/bvos]
[bvos]Malamar[/bvos] - A new Pokemon with a Dark/Psychic typing, making it very strange. Give it the move Superpower and the Ability Contrary and you could have a very strange, but very deadly foe.
[bvos]Alakazam[/bvos] - If he's going to use a Mega Pokemon, this is probably the one.
[bvos]Espeon[/bvos] - Who doesn't love this particular Eeveelution? With a good move pool and the Hidden Ability Magic Bounce, Espeon is an excellent support Pokemon.
[bvos]Metagross[/bvos] - A popular defensive Pokemon due to its "bulk", meaning it has high defensive stats and a considerable amount of HP.
[bvos]Starmie[/bvos] - One of my personal favorites, Starmie is good for getting rid of entry hazards with Rapid Spin and has a surprisingly diverse moveset.

[bvos][uvos]Strategy[/uvos][/bvos]
It's rather difficult to build a strategy when I'm making so many assumptions, so let's be as general as possible, taking into account that the Pokemon we'll be facing will all be Psychic.

The Psychic type has long been a favorite among many since the first generation games. It was so popular, in fact, that a new type was invented to give them another weakness: Dark. They also became weak against Ghost Pokemon because the anime made them all look like liars.

So Dark and Ghost are where we want to look the most. There are so many strategies you can use within these types that I actually struggle to give you anything solid.

I personally love Zoroark, though Team Preview kind of ruins its usefulness. The fun thing about Zoroark is that when it first appears, it looks like the Pokemon in your sixth position. Last year, my primary team had a Zoroark/Gengar tag-team since anything Zoroark was weak against, Gengar was strong against, and anything Gengar was weak to, Zoroark could usually handle. Give Zoroark Nasty Plot and a good Dark move and it can probably deal with a lot of the possible Pokemon you could come across. Keep in mind that if you want to use Gengar, you can't give him a mega stone. It's banned (and for pretty good reason).

As for other good Pokemon to run with, Hydreigon is a good Dark/Dragon type and Tyranitar is a good Rock/Dark type (though don't put him up against Starmie). Tyranitar is a very reliable lead Pokemon (speaking from experience) with the Sand Stream Ability and the Stealth Rock entry hazard. Jellicent isn't a bad Water/Ghost Pokemon if you need something more defensive. Beyond that, I think I'll let other people talk about their personal favorite Psychic counters and things to watch out for.

I do want to take a moment, however, to briefly touch on Malamar, since its new and I kind of love it.

Malamar has an Ability called Contrary. What this ability does is that any time Malamar [ivos]should[/ivos] suffer a loss from a status move (your Attack has decreased or something), it instead gains from it. Malamar can also learn the move Superpower, which deals a LOT of damage, but causes the user's Attack and Defense to drop... or at least it [ivos]would[/ivos] if Malamar wasn't really bizarre. Malamar's Attack and Defense increase every time it uses Superpower, so the best way to fight Malamar is to not allow that to happen. If you fight it with a Ghost Pokemon, Superpower shouldn't work.

The only other thing to mention is that while Meloetta is a legendary Pokemon, she's not really that powerful when compared to other Pokemon. I wouldn't worry too much about her.

[bvos][uvos]Conclusion[/uvos][/bvos]
I know this wasn't nearly as comprehensive as my last one, but frankly, I don't have a lot to go on this time around. And furthermore, this type of Gym Leader tends to be a lot of fun to play against, but not typically all that challenging in the strictest sense. I could be wrong, but the PPL is meant to have Gym Leaders of varying play strength so that players of all skill levels can enjoy it. I get the feeling that this one is meant to be more for the Beginner/Intermediate level of player. Not that I'm knocking that or anything, I just think that makes it less necessary to go through a super-complicated strategy and mock battle. Still, if you guys want to talk more about combating Psychic Pokemon or have any questions, feel free to sound off below.

[Lv3Bidoof]

I'm loving these guides so far. I wish someone posted stuff like this before PPL East last year. Speculating the teams of leaders was half the fun!

A minor correction: Superpower lowers Attack and Defense by one stage (instead of dropping Attack 2 stages). In this sense, it functions as a Bulk Up attached to a super-powerful Fighting-type move when used by Malamar (due to Contrary). This causes it to become increasingly bulky as it attacks.

Solid strats though. We'll have to wait and see just how effective they turn out to be...

[ddrussianinja]