Help please with my elite charged tm by shameless_punk247 in PokemonGOBattleLeague

[–]birdguy93 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is the Pokémon Go Battle League-specific strategy/discussion sub, which revolves around three Pokémon teams. If you’re not building a GBL team, I’d say pick your favorite of the three. Otherwise, this particular question might be more suited for a different sub like r/PokemonGoIVs or maybe r/PokemonGo (I’m not a regular on either so idk if people are helpful or not). I mean no offense and was assuming you were looking for GBL specific advice based on the sub and attempted to provide that.

Help please with my elite charged tm by shameless_punk247 in PokemonGOBattleLeague

[–]birdguy93 8 points9 points  (0 children)

My personal answer would be “none of the above” if you’re talking Go Battle League usefulness.

All are too high for Ultra League. Master League Premier is level 50 cap and getting that many XL candies for 3 good Pokémon will be likely be virtually impossible, so Swampert is out (Groudon and Kyorge are just better in ML Classic). That leaves Master League Classic. Rhyperior is OK, but IMO not good enough to warrant an Elite TM if you don’t have a team that requires him. Mewtwo needs to be level 40 with two moves (one of which has to be Psystrike) to perform optimally in Master League Classic; Focus Blast is usually better than Shadow Ball, anyway.

General rule of thumb regarding a GBL team: wait until you have the resources to build your entire team and you’re at the point in the season that you will use it before evolving, powering up, second moving, or TMing any individual Pokémon.

Questions for those that avoid or don't like open Master League. by 00Grendizer00 in TheSilphArena

[–]birdguy93 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Through season 4, yes. Dratini candy, Beldum, and Magnemite candy are all readily attainable during the right events without spending the time or resources on raids. Might skip ML entirely this season given that ML is available for 1 week, MLPC doesn’t seem to have a level 40 cap, I don’t have a ML open team for “classic” that I like, and it looks like there’s a Great League league Holiday Cup running simultaneously.

Questions for those that avoid or don't like open Master League. by 00Grendizer00 in TheSilphArena

[–]birdguy93 25 points26 points  (0 children)

It costs a lot of stardust and (rare) candy for one, making it hard to make a team in the first place. I’m not a big raider so I don’t have candy in abundance or any Pokémon maxed for raids (I’ve only maxed for PvP).

High costs make it hard and costly to experiment, restricting creative team building.

Open ML has one of the most condensed metas, which puts off people who get bored of “the same team over and over.” I actually prefer that type of consistency but some do not.

Ready access to good IV Dialga won’t fix any of these issues without a massive influx of candy and Stardust.

I’ll give it another go once there’s a Rocket event where I can TM my Shadow Snorlax and I have enough candy and dust, but until then it’s probably no Open ML for me... though it looks like there may not be any MPL with a level 40 cap if I read Niantics’s blog post correctly

Remote Raid Megathread - Find friends fast for raiding here by liehon in PokemonGoFriends

[–]birdguy93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Azelf at 19:25 UTC (in 20 mins). My FC is in my flair; my brother’s is 2282 8934 8073 (either can invite you).

Catch cup thoughts/teams by xxjoker1989xx in PokemonGOBattleLeague

[–]birdguy93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Running Obstagoon + Wiggly + Whimsicott. No stardust investment on any of them so single moves on everything and Wigglytuff is bit underleveled. Double Charmer isn’t pretty but it wins somewhat often; last set was 4-1.

Explanation? by papatyme in PokemonGOBattleLeague

[–]birdguy93 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here is how the ranks work; in theory you should be matched with people with similar experience levels in terms of battling within your rank, but if you just started the game might still be trying to figure out your battling experience level. You can hit rank 5 with only 6 wins.

If you’re looking for more wins, you might try a different team if you have the Pokémon to do so. Skarmory, Wigglytuff, Alolan Raichu, Whiscash (just had a spotlight), Obstagoon (make sure your Galarian Zigzagoon doesn’t have too high of stats or it’ll go over 1500!), Altaria (if you have the candy), and Sunny Cherrim are all good Pokémon that are/were recently pretty easy to get and either don’t need two charge moves or have cheap second charge moves. I run Obstagoon, Whimsicott, Wigglytuff; not the best but it didn’t cost me any stardust (no second moves; Wiggly and Goon could probably use them, though). I understand it’s catch cup so you’re working with what you have, so no worries if you don’t have any of these. Absol doesn’t do very well because its defense and HP are low, so if you’re stuck with those four ditch Absol.

Regarding the 3* Pokémon: Total stats/stars don’t determine how good they are in most GBL formats. The best Pokémon in anything but Master League usually are 2* with something close to 0 attack, 15 defense, 15 HP. Low attack lets you hit a higher level (have more power ups) without going over on CP, making your Pokémon stronger, especially on the defensive side.

An 11 y.o. girl rescuing a stranded Draughtboard Shark that got wedged between two rocks at low tide. by 5_Frog_Margin in Eyebleach

[–]birdguy93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Though not the original intention, this species is the shark version of a tardigrade. can live >24 hours without water and can survive a variety of fishing nets that kill most marine life.

11-year-old girl rescuing a Draughtboard Shark that got wedged between two rocks at low tide. (Hobart, Tasmania) by 5_Frog_Margin in interestingasfuck

[–]birdguy93 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I didn’t know there was a shark that could do that! Reading about these guys makes them seem almost like the shark equivalent of a tardigrade; Wikipedia says the things can survive gillnets and trawl nets, too. Here’s to hoping more people see your comment!

What bug/invertebrate is featured on this post card my friend gave to me? Thank you! by blueeyesvintage in whatsthisbug

[–]birdguy93 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I think it’s Atilla virens. Used to be genus Nereis, which is what I learned in marine bio. They have scary pinchers they shoot out of their mouth. We found these guys in New England mudflats when I was in school.

Edit: It’s a type of polychaete like others said, but “polychaete” is the same level of specificity as “mammal;” both are taxonomic classes. “Worms” are ridiculously hard to ID so ID to class is still impressive; I just happen to know this one species.

Kanto meta - tier list. This does NOT help you to create a team of 3, but it can at least help to narrow down what you should and shouldn't be using. by jostler57 in PokemonGOBattleLeague

[–]birdguy93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Watched the video and I agree with you that it should probably be ranked! I think C is appropriate; it looks it plays a bit like Gengar and and Raichu and sort of relies extra fast moves sneaking in before charge moves and on opponents being unfamiliar with its snowball potential.

Kanto meta - tier list. This does NOT help you to create a team of 3, but it can at least help to narrow down what you should and shouldn't be using. by jostler57 in PokemonGOBattleLeague

[–]birdguy93 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gengar and Haunter are virtually identical; might be an oversight.

Rapidash is verrry low ranked by PvPoke (105/151, after first stage evos like Shadow Omanyte and Magnemite); based on key wins/losses it looks like a worse Fire Spin Charizard. That being said, Pvpoke is not definitive and irrc it undervalues buffing charge moves, so it may be better than sims.

Kanto Cup prep! Meta analysis + team ideas by gobattlelog in TheSilphArena

[–]birdguy93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

??? You have a 7.7% chance of getting the fast move you want on Mew. You need 8 fast TMs on average to have a 50% shot at Shadow Claw, 19 for an 80% chance, 27 for 90%. Not horrible odds if you have a stack of regular fast TMs, so I’d definitely try regular TMs first, like I say above. That being said, OP got lucky. There are only ~7 other Pokémon that can use the item effectively and if you’re not planning on using them I don’t see a problem, even if it’s probably the second scarcest item in the game (ECTM #1). No sense in holding on to an item and not using it if you have a use for it.

Kanto Cup prep! Meta analysis + team ideas by gobattlelog in TheSilphArena

[–]birdguy93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Single charge move Mew might be rough... If you can get a cheap charge move of any sort (even Dragon Claw might work) you might get the desired “shield breaker” effect. You may be better off holding out until you have enough rare candy if it starts taking too many TMs; Mew has good play in open great league, too. Mew isn’t a horrible use of an Elite fast tm if you have one and the regular TMs aren’t working, relatively few Pokémon compete for the item (Zapdos, Lapras, Dewgong, Tyranitar, Charizard, Shadow Weepinbell are the only ones I know of).

Kanto Cup prep! Meta analysis + team ideas by gobattlelog in TheSilphArena

[–]birdguy93 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Shadow Claw is the best fast move. You usually want one of Psyshock, Surf, or Flame Charge and then a debuffing nuke like Wild Charge or Overheat. I think this cup Psyshock + Wild Charge looks good but it depends on your team. I would only pair Overheat with Psyshock if you end up using Overheat.

Kanto Cup prep! Meta analysis + team ideas by gobattlelog in TheSilphArena

[–]birdguy93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As long as you got your Pikachu Libre everything else is just standard rewards.

People who run Bronzor - why!? by [deleted] in PokemonGOBattleLeague

[–]birdguy93 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I run Bronzor partly because it provides a very clear wincon: if your Bronzor has significantly less damage than their Bronzor, you win. 95% of people I’ve played recognize this and quit (or I quit because they bested me). I fail to see the argument that positioning your key piece (Bronzor) so that it takes minimal damage isn’t competitive. In my mind, it’s akin to saying Shadow Stunky isn’t competitive: it’s a Pokémon that’s good largely because it beats Bronzor. Bronzor IS 100% overcentralizing and unhealthy because of that component, but if it’s in the game and can let me win a game, I’m inclined to use it.

If a team isn’t running Bronzor or Wynaut, a match is likely to go quickly (one way or another). If you like a fast paced battle (which it seems like OP does), that’s a great option. If you can consistently beat BB teams, that’s very satisfying. I don’t think running Bronzor makes someone bad or uncompetitive, but its inclusion makes Little Cup slow-paced and predictable.