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–2 votes
1,669 views

Scizor-Mega
-baton pass
-focus energy/any crit raising move
-substitute
-(anything)

Ariados
Ability: Sniper
Item: scope lens
Adament
-shadow sneak (priority, type coverage)
-mega horn (huge 120 base power and STAB)
-poison jab/bug bite (STAB, high power)
-fell stinger (cause +2 atk makes Ariados EVEN MORE OP)

And before you say "Ariados sucks, don't use it ever" I say " replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-341565433 , your arguement is invalid."

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edited by
It doesn't have the best defensive stats, at 70/70/60, and at 40 base speed it's not gonna be outspeeding a lot of things. Maybe another poke should run Toxic Spikes because this Ariados is probably meant to be a full-on sweeper with that crit boost. I don't know, that's what I'd do.
I changed the set http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-341565433 Ariados, the OP destroyer of OU. I love people saying "Ariados can't sweep, why are you using it? Your a nub.", for sweeps later, " your argument is invalid. #Rekt"
How many battles did u need before u found a nub to show that it works?
I battled many and won, that's just one of the best replays.
Battled many and won huh? Where r u at in the ladder?
Its not my only OU team. I'm slightly lower than I should be because trolling with dumb Pokemon is what I do (magikarp and sunkern)

1 Answer

3 votes

No, nono, no, nononono. No.

This strategy would and should never be used competitively. There are simply to many ways it doesn't work for it to ever be viable.
Firstly, Ariados has really bad Speed, meaning it will rarely be able to attack first. A setup sweeper is very rarely successful if it can't outspeed a majority of all other mons, as the whole point of them is taking stuff down without taking to much damage.
Secondly, Ariados have atrocious defenses. It simply can't take a hit, and can very rarely take more than one. It is thus guaranteed to not take out two opponents, or even one. It can't attack first, and it shouldn't be attacked first.
Thirdly, it's typing is awful. It cannot get past Steel types, or any type that resist Poison/Bug moves at all. Your set in particular weak to this as you only have Poison moves. This is disastrous for any sweeper, but especially for an already weak Pokemon like Ariados.
Fourthly, any player that sees Ariados coming will be able to dispatch it. Sure people might expect it to set up Spider Web or something, but as soon as they realize it can't really do anything. At best you will then have given them momentum, at medium-bad lost Ariados, and in the worst case scenario you will have given the opponent a chance to set up to potentially wipe your entire team.
Lastly, you could use your precious team-slot on something better. Almost anything can fill Ariados' role better than it, if you want setup sweepers anything will do better than Ariados. If the option stands between this set and any other, the other mon/set will win out.

Apologies for being harsh but this set really isn't viable. It could work ingame but competitively it's really not good.

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edited by
Fixed up a few minor typos ;)
I didn't know whether "if it can't outspeed a majority of all other mo(m)s" was intentional or not tho...
Thank you kindly, and I think that was intentional.
You did not answer my question whatsoever. Also, Ariados IS a viable sweeper at times. I have used Critiados to get a critical hit sniper boosted shadow sneak that kills mega metagrosses. Now tell me that isn't impressive.
Arias gets 10/10 for badassery, but not so much in viability…

(btw does that KO make Ariados an anti-Meta Poké? Get it?)
252+ Atk Sniper Ariados Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Mega Metagross on a critical hit: 135-162 (44.8 - 53.8%) -- 33.6% chance to 2HKO

Not even close. And that's an Adamant (+Atk) invested Ariados vs a Mild (-Def) uninvested Megagross.

On the other hand, a Jolly Megagross does about 48% to you with an unboosted Bullet Punch. Most of them would just tank your hit and destroy you with Zen Headbutt though.

Flaf also didn't mention the obvious flaws like Stealth Rock weakness (which, since you are Baton Passing, is crucial) as well as common weakness due to being a Bug type.
Any flying type can give Ariados a run for its money. Most steel types will completely wall the Ariados that you so carefully set up. A poison type can switch in, remove the Toxic Spikes AND completely wall it. And there literally is no tier without at least two such common pokemon that double up as an Ariados repellent.

For something that takes two precious turns to ready (Focus Energy, then Baton Pass, and then attack) Ariados is simply not worth it. Sorry.
replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-341565433 your arguement is invalid.
There wasn't a Mega Metagross on that team...
Excuse me, but what is your question then? Because my answer to "Would Critados work?" is No, and I then proceeded to list my reasoning for this:
- To slow.
- Bad defences.
- Poor typing.
- Players being able to react to it fairly easily.
- Taking up a precious slot on the team.
If I wasn't clear I apologies for that, but if not what is your question? Also, your edited set is better, but as such my answer is slightly outdated.
And I'm also going to apologise for this but winning a single match does not make a set viable. If it managed to beat 100 opponents or more, then I would be inclined to believe its prowess, but a single match, against someone who used Toxic against a Poison type, won't prove Ariados to be good.
You people aren't getting my point. I mean WOULD IT WORK. And I have proved yes. It works. I wanted a set for Ariados. Not  a long-winded speech on how bad Ariados is. What I was looking for

-is this set usable/viable for Ariados
-what is a good Mon for setting up
-does it actually WORK. As in, if I give scope lens to Ariados and baton pass a focus every, will it getg a crit every time.
It didn't strike you to include all that in the question...? We were all thinking you meant to ask critiados' viability (that's just what the question seems to suggest).
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/anythinggoes-343529412 after this performance, Ariados is quite clearly viable in Anything Goes
A couple matches doesn't determine a Pokemon's strength in battle. You could do the same with any weaker pokemon, say Delcatty for example, and it would still be known as pathetically weak regardless. Any Pokemon can do well if everything is timed correctly, and most of the time it just isn't.
You think Ariados is viable because you used it to beat an incompetent opponent who sat there watching you set up on his Pikachu in AG? That game was so silly and unrealistic that I almost think you staged it. You can't say it's viable until you can prove that it is consistently useful against various different teams, used by players who actually know what they're doing.
Any replay like this that you show from the lower ladder is basically invalid anyway, because the opponents typically aren't of a high enough skill level to make any accurate judgement. Also, the fact you used Ariados on a gimmicky troll team offers no insight as to how useful it is on a normal, competitive team. If this is how you define "viable", every Pokemon in the game is useful, because I can fit anything I like into a Baton Pass troll team and make it work.
5 replays?
So if I beat 5 trainers with a trolling Level 1 Magnemite would that mean it is some sort of ultimate strategy? Your matches all seem to be setup, as ƒιzz has already said
Honestly, your ignorance is bugging the hell out of me (no pun intended) Ariados isn't that good. Period.
I just watched the replays. It's now even clearer that you simply staged these replays, or just challenged the same person. I mean, there are so many laughable moments. I believe in the second replay, your Ariados fails to KO a Gengar. The Gengar uses Destiny Bond, however isn't knocked out. It then uses Body Slam. That's right. A Gengar with Body Slam. Then in multiple of the replays, your foe starts with a Pikachu while your first 'mon (Scolipede) sets up. This guy doesn't switch to his convenient Charizard to kill your Scolipede, instead stays with Pikachu. Honestly.
#Rekt.
Fine you haters. Ariados is good. Deal with it. I did not stage these replays. Ariados will always be good, or at least in my eyes it is. Now screw off.
Haters? We're just stating the obvious
Lol he's too butthurt to accept the truth :/
She* and just deal with the fact that Ariados is better than most of the bug types.
Yeah totally better than Mega Scizor, Mega Pinsor, Scolipede and Mega Beedril.
Totally.
Tell me, in your eyes, is Magikarp a strong pokemon?
I've seen the thing sweep soooo many teams now. More times than your Ariados has even played in games :P
Hot damn, this was a question asking if a set was viable. It clearly isn't, is outclassed by many other pokemon, and it turned into a s***storm... ah the maturity of youth today~
I know right. 2 downvotes....wow.
Why down vote the question? It's a poor strategy, but c'mon people… we've all used some pretty cruddy sets.
Well, not all of is are a jerk about accepting the truth about our sets... lol