STRATEGIES FOR UNDERUSED POKEMON BY DRATINI 85 Okay, I'll start out my article series with three Pokémon I feel are strong but underused. Each section begins with a list of their stats, move list, and TM/HM list. For stone evolutions, I'll also list the moves for the unevolved forms, or both (if they can learn different moves). Clefable Stats HP- 5 Attack- 2 Defense- 3 Speed- 2 Special- 3 Moves (Clefairy) Attacks: --- Pound ---Growl L13 Sing L18 Double Slap L24 Minimize L31 Metronome L39 Defense Curl L48 Light Screen TMs - 01, 05, 06, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 40, 44, 45, 46, 49, 50 HMs - 04, 05 One of the things you will notice is that Clefable's decent stats are HP's, defense, and special. While this means it can use special-based attacks with good effect, the biggest advantage Clefable has is it's defensive capibilities. Decent stats in all three of those categories is rare, and immediately suggests a defensive strategy. Sing and Minimize also help, putting Pokémon to sleep and increasing evade, respectively. Light Screen is not too useful, as Clefable already has a good rating, but it can help. Defense Curl also fits the emphasis on defense, but since it was already was high, other moves will prove better. Since Clefable's attack strength is unimpressive, special-based moves are much better for it. Normal attacks should still be considered, though, as they get a boost from being used on a Normal type. Psychic is a very good choice, covering the fighting weakness Clefable has and is naturally powerful. Thunderbolt, with its high strength and 15 PP, is also useful. Among normal attacks, Take Down and Double Edge are best; Clefable's high HP offset the damage done, and they have good PP. Psywave, which relies partly on level, is also a possibility. Psywave does damage which varies a lot, but with Clefable's focus on defense, you should last long enough to be effective. As a normal type Pokémon, Clefable can learn a wide variety of attacks, so you have plenty of good options. The other move worth noting is Metronome. While unreliable by itself, Metronome can be useful as a support move for another attack. More often than not, the result of Metronome will prove worthwhile for you. Clefairy/fable is the only Pokémon who can learn Metronome by level, which saves you a TM. My absolute favorite strategy with Clefable, is to give it Minimize, Substitute, and Rest. Substitute will take hits for you for a while at the cost of some life, while Minimize reduces the chances of getting hit. Rest completely heals your Pokémon and cures status ailments at the cost of 2-3 turns. This is normally risky, but is you use Minimize and Substitute first, you won't get hit too often, and your substitute will absorb quite a bit of it. As a bonus, Rest gets rid of all damage caused by Substitute! Careful use of these abilites, and your Clefable is nearly invincible! The downside to this is that you only have one slot left for an attack, so use it carefully. The best choice is a special-based ability or Double Edge, but make sure it has at least 15 PP's. This should be enough for most battles, but more would be even better. Properly used, this Clefable may prove nearly unbeatable! Porygon HP-4 Attack-2 Defense-2 Speed-1 Special-3 Attacks: --- Tackle --- Sharpen --- Conversion L23 Psybeam L28 Recover* L35 Agility L42 Tri Attack TMs - 06, 09, 10, 13, 14, 15, 20, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 39, 40, 44, 45, 46, 49, 50 HMs - 05 *Porygon learns Recover at this level instead of Harden, as many guides say. Porygon is one of most intresting and versitile Pokémon in the game. The special move Porygon can learn is conversion, which changes its type to your opponent's. This is very useful, as almost all Pokémon are resistant to their own type attack. Conversion can make Porygon immune against Poison types. It also makes it a good Psychic killer, with a high special rating coupled with the effects of Porygon. A Porygon without Conversion is simply another Normal Pokémon with high HP's and a decent special but mediocore stats otherwise. Of the other moves it learns by level, there are several which are useful. Recover is always a good move, especially on something with plenty of hit points. Agility aids Porygon's anemic speed, which is it's main achilles heel, while Sharpen helps increase attack strength. Psybeam and Tri Attack are good attacks, with Psybeam being a solid Psychic attack and Tri Attack a good Normal move. Although Porygon's attack rating isn't too impressive, normal type attacks get a 50% boost from being used on a Normal type. In fact, the boost may make Normal moves the best choice for Porygon. Porygon can use a variety of TM abilites, which makes sense (it's all programming code!). Double Edge is a good replacement for Tri Attack; it's stronger, has more PP, and Porygon has the HP to handle recoil damage. Body Slam is not as strong as Double Edge, but can paralyze your opponent as well. Thunder Wave helps with Porygon's speed problem, and Psychic is always a useful choice. Mimic seems to be a fairly good fit for Porygon; it gives Porygon a lot of options in a battle and can be used in conjunction with conversion. Be sure to try Porygon out a lot before relying on it; your battle strategy will vary in every single battle, depending on what Pokémon you are fighting. Depending on what moves you teach it, its usefulness against specific types will vary tremendously. Using Mimic will increase this randomness in battle. Still, Porygon's special abilties make it one of the most dangerous Pokémon if trained properly, so consider it if you need a specialist for your team. Kingler HP- 3 Attack- 4 Defense- 3 Speed- 2 Special- 1 Attacks: --- Bubble --- Leer --- Vice Grip --- Guillotine L34 Stomp L42 Crab Hammer L49 Harden TMs - 03, 06, 08, 09, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 31, 32, 34, 40, 44, 50 HMs - 01, 03, 04 Kingler is one case where the stats Nintendo's guide gives are not to be trusted. While the attack rating is only given a 4, Kingler is in fact has the 5th best attack in the game, as well as tying for 9th best defense. This by itself should make it clear that Kingler is easily one of the best Pokémon in the game if used right, not to mention one of the most underrated. The best attack Kingler can learn is Crab Hammer, argueably the best Water attack in the game. Though slightly weaker than Surf by itself, it has a high chance of getting a critical hit, which makes it even stronger than Hydro Pump. Krabby and Kingler are the only Pokémon who can learn this powerful attack, so use it well. Among its other abilitis, Stomp is a decent attack, but there are better ones availible. Guillotine can instantly KO an opposing Pokémon, but with low speed, Kingler is probably not your best choice for this. With a high defense, Harden is probably worthless, and the other moves are too weak to mention. Body Slam is highly recommended for Kingler. It is very strong and can Paralyze enimies, which is useful considering the mediocure speed you're working with. Take Down and Strength also work, but are not as effective. Using Surf to back up Crab hammer is a good idea, although it won't be too strong. Kingler can also use the HyperDance combo (Hyper Beam + Sword's Dance) for massive damage. Ice attacks are not a particularily good choice, as Kingler's low special rating makes it rather weak, and it does not get the 1.5x boost for being the same type. Still, they are a possibility if no one else on your team can use it. One very important thing is to know how to properly use Kingler. It's low speed and special mean it is in danger against Psychics like Alakazam and Electric specialists like Zapdos. It's high defense make it resistant against the likes of Machamp and Golem. And it can easily pound on anything in between. Its low speed is probably its achilles heel- your opponent will more often then not attack before you. If it's attack based or ineffective naturally, that won't be a problem. If it IS special based (and especially Grass or Electric) then watch out. Still, Kingler can hammer away at your opponents with the best of them, and if a it's a strong attacker you're looking for, it may become one of your best team members.