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198 votes
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I breed Pokemon in the game and am pretty good at IVs and EVs and such. I have thought of a few good tactics, such as

  • Safe Guard and Outrage/Petal Dance/Thrash (avoids confusion ailment)
  • Mimic and Imprison (permanent Disables last move)
  • Swagger/Flatter and Psych Up/Haze (either gives you upped stats or resets theirs)
  • Defense Curl followed by Roll Out (makes roll out stronger)
  • Rain Dance and Thunder (Thunder never misses)
  • Belly Drum and Rest (works best with a chesto berry. Maximizes attack)
  • Sunny Day and Solar Beam (solar beam no longer needs to charge)
  • Endure and Flail/Reversal (makes the attack moves really strong compared to normal)

What are some of the best move combos that you have found so far? :D
Explain your choices, and why they make good combos.

Please read all the answers before posting, to avoid duplicate answers. Yes, all 200+ of them.

And no full on movesets either, there are separate questions for that :-)

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209 Answers

3 votes

Note this is a double battle strategy

A pokemon with Anger Point as a ability. Take Primeape for example. Pair him up with a pokemon that can learn Frost Breath or Circle Throw. They always result in Critical Hits. Anyways the pokemon i will be using is Frosslass. Have Frosslass use Frost Breath on your . Watch as your primeape get Anger Point activated and you get max attack and you can even give primeape something like a Choice Scarf to make it faster. Now sweep with your massive attack.

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*Switches into resistant Pokemon
Lolz *Primeape used Close Combat* *Mew sent out Frosslass*

UMADBRO?!
"Frosslass come back" "Go Rotom-W"(Holding life orb) "Rotom-W used Trick" Now Primape has a Life Orb and Rotom-W has a Scarf. Sweep with Hydro Pump kill the others with Primeape
3 votes

Rest+Shed skin=Full heal!!
(Every turn, it has a 1 in 3 chance of healing from a status condition like sleep)

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3 votes

Absol + Super Luck + Scope Lens + Slash/Night Slash/Psycho Cut
Absol's critical-hit ratio raises to 1 of 2
with a Swords Dance he's even much stronger

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3 votes

I forgot this one: taunt + sucker punch + prankster = total annihilation

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3 votes

Super fang + brine

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3 votes

ALSO!

Heliolisk is a beast with this moveset
Trait: Dry Skin
-Thunder(with Rain dance it never misses, plus STAB, great power + Pretty good SpA)
-Rain Dance (Heals you every turn)
-Surf (hits many Pokemon, gets boosted in the rain)
-Parabolic Charge (hits many Pokemon, STAB, heals you)

Boom! Awesome moveset, right?

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This is not a moveset question, lol, but it is a good strat, you should post this in the Heliolisk moveset
3 votes

Doubles pair
Zeraora@Choice Scarf
Zeraora
Ability:Volt Absorb
Nature:Adamant
EVs:252 Atk/252 Spe/4 Hp
•Plasma Fists
Rest of the set doesn’t matter, whatever you like really
Regieleki@Choice Band
Ability:Transistor
Nature:Adamant
EVs:252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
•Explosion
Rest doesn’t matter
Zeraora moves first and hits with Plasma Fists. Ions shower the battlefield. Regieleki follows up with Explosion, which becomes electric, gets STAB and Transistor, and boom. Both opponents are likely dead if they aren’t bulky with a resistance or ground.

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How does Zeraora go first? It's 143 speed vs 200.
because of choice scarf
Ok, but thats surprising, I never knew choice scarf boosted speed that much.
Choice scarf gives a 50% boost to the Pokémon’s speed.
That's. A LOT
3 votes

Have a Porygon, Porygon 2, or Porygon Z (optimally Porygon Z) with Thunderbolt in the first move slot, Normalium Z, Conversion, and Ice Beam
Use Z-Conversion to become electric and have all stats raised. As an electric type, you only have one weakness, ground. Have Ice Beam as coverage to cover ground, and you will have BoltBeam coverage.

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2 votes

Swagger + Mean Look/Spider Web + Screech.

Galvantula Watchog Umbreon and Smeargle can use this combo

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Umbreon can
Thanks I'll edit it right now.
plenty of others as well.
Can't Mew also learn this? Also does Ditto count?
2 votes

Use Mean look or a Shadow Tag ability pokemon
then use perish song
then switch
use a move that attacks on the second turn like fly, dig ,ext. or use a double protect or detect,or fake out
do this till the other pokemon faints 3 turns after perish song
repeat the step

  Hope this helps :)
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Mean Look/Shadow Tag wears off once you switch.
It'll work,the effects would wear off,but by the time they do,the opponent wouldn't be able to switch.
Wynaut, Wobuffet, gothitelle, and Chandelure are the only pokemon with the ability shadow tag, and I don't believe any of them can learn Perish song.
DT, there's still the possibility of Mean Look.
Yes, but that means your pokemon is gonna take about two hits before finishing then off, and your opponent probably would have switched to something better, so those attacks are likely super effective.
You can use Whirlpool, Fire Spin etc. to increase the number of Pokémon available.
Maybe Arena Trap?
2 votes

Lopunny - Ability:Klutz - Move:Switcheroo - Works well with Burn\Toxic Orb.

Machamp -Ability:No Guard - Move:DynamicPunch - BIG Damage and a chance of confusing that won't miss!

Marowak,Golem,etc - Ability:Rock Head - Move - Double Edge - 120 Damage and NO recoil!

Double Battles.

Electrode,etc + Ghost-Type - Move: Explosion - 250 Damage and your Ghost-Type Ally won't get hurt!

Tyranitar,etc + Flying-Type - Move-Earthquake - Damage opponents BADLY but won't hurt your flying-type ally.

A Pokemon Team Strategy Example

Mr Mime,Pinsir,Glalie

As a Psychic-type,Mr Mime is weak against Dark-Types,that's why Pinsir is there,it's strong against Dark-types as it is a Bug-type,but Pinsir is weak to flying-types,so you send in Glalie as it is strong against flying-types.If your opponent switches to a fighting type to defeat your ice-type Glalie,you send in Mr Mime again.If you build a team this way,you'll be prepared for your opponents' weaknesses even as you guard your own.

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For Machamp: A Choice Scarf would work BEAUTIFULLY!!!!
If you're choiced, you won't be able to hit ghosts.
2 votes

porygon-Z with discharge paired up with electivire, making electivire friggin fast physical sweeper.


Gardevoir
trace

skill swap
psychic
shadow ball
focus blast


Porygon-z
Adaptibility

tri-attack
ice beam
charge beam
Hp fire


you can use this set in a double battle against a shedinja
Gardevoir uses skill swap to give trace to Porygon-z, trace copies wonder guard, making porygon-Z unstoppable. Fighting is covered by Psychic from Gardervoir, focus blast for pkemon like Lucario or cobalion.

if Gardevoir gets Wonder guard, Porygon-Z is for coverage.

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And the chances of facing a Shedinja are...?
this is if you are lucky. Even so, this is still a good combo
You can't trace Wonder Guard
Yes you can. you can also roleplay wonder guard
Okay, I was wrong, you can trace it. But you can't Role Play it.
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Wonder_Guard_(ability)
So abilities work, but moves don't, right
2 votes

This is one i like to use you will need a Pokemon with encore though and it has to unaffected the opponents Pokemon that's out in the field, first pokemon needs a focus slash/Ability to allow it to survive/or it being able to survive the first hit, a move to keep the Pokemon in or a ability works too.

step 1:Start the battle and send out a Pokemon that has a weakness against the opponents Pokemon make sure it has a focus slash or a ability that can let it survive or that it can survive on its on.(if the first Pokemon has mean look or anything like that you can use that and skip step 4)

step 2: Switch to the Pokemon that has encore after the first hit and use it.(make sure it can unaffected by the move,not the Pokemon or they will switch,It also has to be faster than the other Pokemon so it cant use a different move).

Step 3:Use encore.

Step 4:Use move to keep Pokemon in(or a ability that keeps them in works too).

Step 5:Have fun making them mad

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Ragequit strategy! Nice!
2 votes

Here is a trick I found you can use in a double/triple battle. Get a Preferably Tauros and Vigoroth, give Vigoroth focus energy and fury swipes, also maybe give it a scope lens, and after you use focus energy, use fury swipes on Tauros, Anger point will activate, And tauros will be at +6 Attack!

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But surely then you cut down on Tauros' HP massively by giving him a critical hit move...
Naw, give vigoroth 0 ATK EVs and 0 ATK IVs if possible, and maybe give Tauros some defense EVs.
2 votes

Double strategy.

Have two Pokemon. Have one know Skill-swap and the other have the ability Intimidate. When sent out they will cut the opponents Attack. Then use Skill-swap and they will lower there Attack again. You can repeat this process again and again thus crippling users of Rock-slide, Earthquake Etc.

+

Note: This strategy can work with any pair with Intimidate and Skill-swap, Scrafty and Alakazam are not required.

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I would recommend having one of the Pokemon that you use being able to take on Special attackers as well to make it more effective.
multi hit moves: EQ, surf, have their power reduced by 25% in doubles/triples
Earthquake and Rock-slide are still very common, they can still be fairly strong Intimidate really helps sometimes.
2 votes

To eliminate the threat of weather leads eliminating your weather, get a Pokemon with the Move Entrainment as it gives them a different ability for the remainder of the battle thus making your weather dominate.

Lopunny
I use Loppuny myself, Durant is better but with Traunt is WAY too Haxy.

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2 votes

Thunder Wave + Hex + Smelling Salt
OR
Hypnosis/Dark Void/ Sleep Powder + Hex + Wake-Up Slap

Annoys your foes!

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2 votes

Substitute and Disable.
Works great for fast Pokemon like Gengar.

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2 votes

Cosmic Power + Bide
Cosmic Power makes your Pokemon bulkier, and be able to take more damage and return it with Bide with 2X power.

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wouldnt increasing bulk cause you to take less damage per attack which would cause you to return less damage ? the only way to make bide stronger would be to increase the hp of a pokemon which can be done by using wish
I think the idea with this one is to be able to survive more hits. If you have lower defense the opponent might KO you before you get to retaliate.
2 votes

Here is a deadly combination for defending! Set a Zoroark to the first slot of your party and set a Giratina (Origin-Form) to the sixth slot of your party! In a battle against a friend, Zoroark will transform into Giratina using it's ability Illusion! Zoroark's only weakness is the Fighting-Type, but the opponent will think that Zoroark is the real Giratina!!! So if the opponent tries to use a Ghost or Dark-Type move on what they think is Giratina, it won't be very effective! Also, they know that Fighting-Type moves don't effect what they think is Giratina, so they won't use Fighting-Type moves on Zoroark! It's also a bit funny if you think about it because your tricking your friend!!!

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Dark type pokemon have also weakness to Bug ;-)
yea but bug is not very effective on ghost so no one would use it
You could also use gengar with 4x resistance to bug and fighting immunity + people wont use earthquake because of levitate EDIT: if they use psychic attacks because they think its super effective but i doesn't have an effect on Zoroark