Gym Leader Strategies - Drago, the Disaster Survivalist

[ddrussianinja]

If you're wondering what this is exactly, go to [url=http://paxpokemonleague.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1453zh6]this thread[/urlzh6] 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.

[bzh6][url=http://paxpokemonleague.net/2014/02/drago-the-disaster-survivalist/zh6]Drago, the Disaster Survivalist[/urlzh6][/bzh6]
[spoilerzh6]When he was young, Drago was swept out to sea by a rogue wave created from the battle between Groudon and Kyogre. He was not able to swim in the harsh current and would have drowned if it wasn’t for a Kingdra that saved him. Drago bonded with the Kingdra that saved his life and became its trainer. Currently, Drago has dedicated his life to using his Dragon Pokemon to save those impacted by natural disasters, and to educate people on how to better survive calamities. Hearing about the PPL, Drago decided to join the league in order to share his knowledge and experience with others. Those capable of overcoming his challenge will receive the Catastrophe Badge, and a mystery gift![/spoilerzh6]

[bzh6][uzh6]Initial Impressions[/uzh6][/bzh6]
Not entirely sure what to make of this. Clearly he uses Dragon Pokemon, but I'm not sure how survival from natural disasters fits into that from a gameplay perspective. My best guess is that he'll stick to Pokemon who can learn moves that could be used to help transport people in natural disasters, just as his Kingdra saved him with Surf. Surf, Fly, and Dig are the moves that come to mind. Teleport also, but there are no Dragon Pokemon that can learn it.

[bzh6][uzh6]Definite Pokemon[/uzh6][/bzh6]
[bzh6]Kingdra[/bzh6] - Listed by name in the description. Will probably know Surf. Might use Substitute and Dragon Dance in conjunction with Surf and another offensive move.

[bzh6][uzh6]Probable Pokemon[/uzh6][/bzh6]
[bzh6]Dragonite[/bzh6] - Dragonite is well-known for its ability to be an HM Mule. It can learn every HM, a gift shared by few other Pokemon. It can't learn Dig, though. Also, the Multiscale Ability means it's very difficult to one-hit KO since the first hit dealt against it is reduced in power by 50%.

[bzh6][uzh6]Possible Pokemon[/uzh6][/bzh6]
[bzh6]Haxorus[/bzh6] - Can learn Dig.
[bzh6]Altaria[/bzh6] - Can learn Fly.
[bzh6]Salamence[/bzh6] - Can learn Fly.
[bzh6]Latias/Latios[/bzh6] - Can learn Fly and Surf. Limited, but not banned.
[bzh6]Garchomp[/bzh6] - Can learn Dig and Surf.
[bzh6]Zygarde[/bzh6] - Can learn Dig. Limited, but not banned.
[bzh6]Mega Charizard X[/bzh6] - Can learn Dig and Fly. Needs Mega Stone to be considered Dragon.
[bzh6]Flygon[/bzh6] - Can learn Dig and Fly.
[bzh6]Hydreigon[/bzh6] - Can learn Fly and Surf.
[bzh6]Dragalge[/bzh6] - Can learn Surf.
[bzh6]Tyrantum[/bzh6] - Can learn Dig.
[bzh6]Noivern[/bzh6] - Can learn Fly.

[bzh6][uzh6]Strategy[/uzh6][/bzh6]
Going straight from the list above, I'm going to move forward and do a Mock Battle assuming that, with the exception of Kingdra, Drago will use mostly Pokemon from the OU tier (if you don't know what that means, it basically means the Pokemon that are most popular for competitive play). This means Kingdra, Haxorus, Hydreigon, Dragonite, Garchomp, and Salamence. Keep in mind, this probably won't be Drago's team. It's way out of balance and is way too offensively-focused to either be all that useful or really fit within his theme of survival. Still, I don't have a lot to work with here, so that's what I'll be working from.

Now, I've already spent [url=http://paxpokemonleague.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1455zh6]one of these threads[/urlzh6] talking about the magic of Cloyster, and I still think that holds true here. Ice is really reliable for taking on both Flying and Dragon and a number of the Pokemon shown above are in both categories. While Cloyster is a bit of a glass cannon as I'll attempt to demonstrate in my Mock Battle, if you can set it up properly, it could sweep through the entire set.

That said, I don't want my strategy to just be "Use Cloyster again", particularly when X/Y has introduced an entirely new type specifically for taking down Dragon Pokemon. That's right, let's talk about Fairy Pokemon.

Fairy is an odd type, and many are still trying to figure out how it best fits into competitive Pokemon, but for our purposes today, we probably know enough. Right now, Sylveon and Togekiss are the favorites for Fairy Pokemon. Sylveon can be great offensively. Start off with Substitute, use Calm Mind to boost, then spam Moon Blast for the rest of the match. Maybe have Wish on hand in case you need to recover. Togekiss is a decent alternative in case you're worried about Garchomp. Togekiss' Flying typing should turn Garchomp into an outright joke. Similarly, have Togekiss boost up with Nasty Plot, then spam Dazzling Gleam. Use Roost to heal up if you need to. It can also learn Substitute if you want to bring that into the mix.

Beyond that, I'm also partial to Klefki. I know Mega Mawile is also Steel/Fairy and technically is a little better in terms of stats, but Klefki can do what is known as Dual Screens. This means you give it the held item Light Clay, which extends the duration of the moves Reflect and Light Screen, and then you have it use Reflect and Light Screen. If you start the battle with this, it can make your team even more unstoppable. Also, once Klefki is done, it can go ahead and use Dazzling Gleam into the sunset. It may not survive long past that, but if it does, it should be able to hold its own.

[uzh6][bzh6]Mock Battle[/bzh6][/uzh6]
Instead of discussing a blow-by-blow theoretical match, I've decided to start actually playing out Mock Battles in Pokemon Showdown and providing a link.

[url=http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/customgame-90501656zh6]Here's the Mock Battle for Drago[/urlzh6].

This actually played out pretty interestingly thanks to Salamence getting lucky with that critical and Dragonite and Togekiss having the same Speed. When two Pokemon have the exact same Speed stat, it's a 50/50 chance which one goes first, which made it really difficult to manage either Pokemon, particularly since Dragonite was locked into Fly. Fortune favored Dragonite, making this a surprisingly close battle.

I also wanted to demonstrate how Cloyster can sometimes be unreliable. Its increased Speed is helpful, but if the opponent has a Pokemon with Choice Scarf, it will probably outrun it. If Salamence hadn't gotten lucky, Drago still would have been able to finish the job by having Dragonite use ExtremeSpeed. So really, Cloyster had no hope of sweeping the rest of the game in this situation.

You'll also notice that Sylveon's greatest weakness is its Speed. It is outrun by roughly every single Pokemon Drago has, meaning Drago was able to whittle it down, bit by bit. Sylveon still managed to pull out a victory against Drago, but only barely.

[bzh6][uzh6]Conclusion[/uzh6][/bzh6]
Dragon Pokemon may have glaring weaknesses, but they are powerhouses. They are fast, they have pretty diverse moves to choose from, and if Drago knows what he's doing, he can work around his limitations to be a formidable threat. I still wouldn't expect this match to be higher than Intermediate difficulty given the possible forced inclusion of certain non-optimal moves (while Fly worked out great for Dragonite in the Mock Battle, it's not generally considered a very good Flying move) and how you likely won't need a very complex team to land a victory, but don't underestimate him just because Dragon Pokemon have some pretty major weaknesses.

[Spm517]

Hmm.. That's an interesting take on the survival theme. I wonder how right you are