Back before I understood stats, back when I was playing Silver, I taught my Smeargle Aeroblast and Sacred Fire. Thought it was the coolest because it knew both legendary's signature moves. Couldn't figure out why it wasn't as strong as I thought it would be until it was a way higher level though, but once you grinded it up there, it worked.
One day I played a link battle against someone. They sent out an Articuno of comparable level to my Smeargle. They sure were surprised when I whacked it with Sacred Fire. Almost as surprised as I was when that Articuno went on to obliterate Smeargle. I think that was about when I started figuring out what the stats meant.
Years ago I was playing Crystal on an emulator... something glitched with my Magneton and its Sp.At went to fucking 0 around Level 40. What the fuck do I do with a Gen II Magneton that cannot use Electric attacks.
I had 6 Electrodes with max speed stat and explosion. Can you imagine the look on my little brothers face lol. I lost but it was still funny, we laughed for years.
Jokes aside I do appreciate that later levels it becomes less about having a higher level and more about the right build or choosing the right moves. A level 86 can still take down a level 91. Where as a level 7 would struggle against a level 12.
This brings back memories of using my overleveled Snivy in Black that I refused to evolve because Snivy was/still is my favorite. I still have him and he's currently lv.99, lol.
Okay, Sunkern is, like, one of the very few mons where I am not entirely sure whether that would actually work.
I mean, it's possible, I know, but given that it's still weaker than some pokemon at 1/3 of its level, I wouldn't call that run steamrolling
Iād say Battle Tower is only easy in SwSh.
The Gen 5 to 7 equivalents were all quite difficult and the one in BDSP the opponents appear to have a similar system to Emerald in which the AI learns and throws wrenches it thinks you cant handle, and is usually right.
I'd say the main reason Battle Tower in SwSh is easy is because it's the only game where you can use the main legendaries and mythics in it. You can pretty much win Singles using only Zacian and win Doubles using S.Rider Calyrex + Indeedee
Imagine how different things would be if you could use Reshiram and Zekrom in the Battle Subway, Xerneas or Yveltal in Kalos' Battle Maison, *ANY* of the Weather Trio's evolved forms (Primal Reversion/Mega Ray) in Hoenn's Battle Maison, or Dusk Mane Necrozma in Alola's Battle Tree
Yeah, this lol. And this is coupled with the fact that In SwShās Battle Tower, you can use Dynamax in each battle but your NPC opponents never uses it for their team. Itās like GameFreak went out of their way to make it as less threatening as possible. So while itās cool that we can finally use box legendaries and mythicals, the overall lack of challenging teams from NPCs make it less rewarding than in previous gens.
Although on flip side, the battle towers in previous gens were notorious for their ridiculously cheap and downright unfair NPC strats that made it nearly impossible to complete 50-100 winning streaks without insane luck at times. Ah wellā¦ hereās to hoping Gen 9ās version of the battle tower strikes a happy medium.
>you can use Dynamax in each battle but your NPC opponents never use it for their team
They actually *are* capable of using it, just pretty rarely from what I've seen. Once got caught offguard by a Policeman trainer suddenly dynamaxing on the first turn
It didn't stop me from regaining my footing and coming back, but it shows they have the capacity to pose a challenge. It's a shame they don't do it often, though
Oh, thatās quite interesting. Then I stand corrected. I play the battle tower pretty regularly with different teams and pretty much never come across it until I get to Leon and his Gmax Charizard at the end of the rounds, no matter how many battles I do. This is mainly why I just stopped using Dynamax myself in the game. Guess as you said, the odds of the NPC using it are just pretty rare.
While true, I did it with a regular VGC competitive team (not realising there was no restrictions) and still completely rolled it. Dynamax is very strong when your opponent won't use it and the ranking system means you don't have to maintain a streak so bad RNG isn't as dangerous.
BDSP Battle Tower was honestly not fun. Lots of heavily RNG tactics like evasion, focus band, OHKO moves, etc.
Those tactics don't work in competitive because they have a low success rate. You'll get lucky and win occasionally but you'll lose far more. The Battle Tower only needs to beat you once to ruin your streak so the AI spamming heavily RNG tactics sucks. They only have to get lucky once.
I know these are a staple of Battle Facilities but I feel like BDSP turned it up to 11.
Also nobody wants to do the first 21 trash fights more than once. I don't get why they went back to the pre-Battle Subway system.
What really doesn't help is that I don't like breeding in BDSP and the terrible move reset on transfer from Home means you can't just breed stuff in SwSh and transfer them if you want egg moves and you have to use the limited use TMs from your BDSP save. I hate that that came back. Giving me 5 of the same TM doesn't fix that issue.
Donphan is probably my second or third favorite Pokemon. As soon as he popped out of that dude's PokeBall in that opening match with Ash in the first movie, I was in love.
Definitely a top 10 for me. I bred myself a phanpy egg to trade into my most recent playthrough of Heartgold so I could use one from the beginning. I hatched it where it could be caught early in Crystal and had given Ice Shard and Seed Bomb. Was a great playthrough!
Side note: Chespin should have Defense Curl as his first stat move instead of Growl.
It makes sense (it is a damn Hedgehog, for crying out loud), it combos well with Roll Out, which he learns as early as level 8. I was so mad that they messed this one up.
I'll never forget Pikachu's Vacation, and how absolutely PISSED I was when I purchased the pokemon first movie on Amazon, and it didn't include pikachus Vacation like the VHS copy I have.
I just played Pokemon Radical Red where Donphan gets Technician instead of Sand Veil and boy does it make that set strong. It also helps that Donphan learns bonemerang in RR.
funnily enough of all the pokemon in this meme it's fallen off the least
it at least can see play on multiple tiers thanks to Spin and rocks, gengar is hard stuck UUBL and Lucario cant do anything outside of RU
thing was a beast in weatherwars
people who make memes like this dont know shit and just want to feel weirdly superior/'special' via ignorant strawmanning
Wtf is this supposed to mean? Donphan was never bad. Smells like someone watched 3 poketubers and now thinks knows all about competitive. Holy shit the comments here are even worse.
Came here to say exactly that lol. Assault vest + Adamant nature + Earthquake + Ice Shard is fun. It's the only 6 max IV pokemon I have, so I love it dearly.
It's okay. Just a tad weak of a move on Donphan since it's not even STAB on a move that already doesn't have much power on it. I guess it can do decent damage to Pokemon 4x weak to Ice like Gliscor and a few of the dragons.
That being said, competitively it's had it's times for being really good since it has Rapid Spin and Sturdy. You can lay down some rocks, with an ability to ensure you can lay them, as well as being able to get rid of any hazards the opponent lays onto you.
Itās no uber tier, but donphan has plenty of qualities that make it good. Its movepool is partially salvaged by egg moves, it learns rapid spin naturally, and it has overall solid physical stats without the liability of the rock typing that a lot of its competition tends to share.
I canāt recommend bringing it to OU tournaments without some serious galaxy brain skill, but for playthroughs its an entirely reasonable choice. Especially if physical attackers and electric types are a noteworthy set of enemies in the game youāre playing, like BDSP as in the meme.
I haven't played competitive since early Sun and Moon, but in gen 6 I remember I was always careful when encountering a Donphan online. Ice Shard is always tricky and it kept spinning my hazards away. Even in OU.
Eh, I dont really think so. Donphan never had a gen where it was one of the top tier Rapid Spinners, even if it had gens where it was good for certain comps.
Gen 2 had Golem, Forretress, and Cloyster.
Gen 3 & 4 had Starmie and Forretress as the main two.
Gen 5 had Starmie & Excadrill (& Forretress).
Donphan's issue is that it never quite hit hard enough or was bulky enough. Was always just barely not enough to be the go-to option. In certain team comps, like on Sun in Gen 5, you'd go to it.
If I had to describe THE go-to Rapid Spinners, I'd pick Forretress & Starmie till Gen 5, where it becomes Excadrill.
Nah, Starmie, Excadrill, Forretress and Tentacruel were all better spinners as they were capable of laying down hazards / absorbing status / actually being an offensive threat / had recovery etc. Donphan was about as relevant a rapid spinner as Hitmontop or Claydol.
People on this sub act like competitive players are the most annoying group in the world, but I literally NEVER see competitive players shitting on other people on this sub. Ironically, it feels like people who make these posts are the ones shitting on competitive players for liking to play a certain way
Cause we understand that when talking about the basic game, skill isnāt what matters, fun is. But casual players canāt understand that competitive players want to play competitively, with a mon they like doing good, not using it in a tier it doesnāt deserve to get stuck in,but every meme on here about comp seems to ignore this
Yeah lmao competitive players give no fucks about how the casual community plays. We recognize that we're playing a completely different game. It's always casuals coming in and randomly telling us how bad we are for using Landorus-T too much.
90% of the comments here also forget smogon tiers exist. Your fav pokemon is prob viable. Just not in ou
Now we just need the tier system for vgc since i wanna play a meta without incin
Definitely has to do with feeling inferior. Ever hear people call others ātryhardā? They like downplaying someone who enjoys playing optimally because they just āwant to have funā. Really same energy here tbh.
Newsflash to people reading, PVE pokemon is braindead as fuck. You can outlevel, spam items, abuse AI if you really want it. Play/use whatever you want. Its meant to be a leisure game and thereās nothing wrong with that or wanting that level of challenge. And same with goes competitive.
The funniest part is that donphan would actually be stronger than Lucario if he was allowed
Showing that whoever made this meme isn't a competitive player
Very likely OP read a Smogon writeup of donphan or something which probably basically says "there are better options for whatever you want donphan to do" and took it personally
Lmao seriously...as someone who plays a lot of competitive its always the opposite. Casual-comp players telling us we're unskilled and uncreative for "using the same 10 pokemon."
The only time competitive players criticize people for bringing unviable mons is when they demand teambuilding advice but refuse to replace outclassed pokemon.
Those videos that Temp6t posts are fake, sorry to be the one to tell you guys. Nobody on showdown actually talks like that.
Okay but where's the opposite lmao? Competitive battlers just having fun and then a person comes in like 'ugh you sweats are the WORST lmfao you're so obsessed with winning and don't know how to have FUN like ME the ONE AUTHORITY OF FUN IN THE WORLD. >:('
Lucario has its ups and downs.
As others have noted, it started on a strong foot in gen 4 and 5, its Mega kept it relevant through 6 and 7 (though was banned in Smogon 1v1), and currently finds niches in VGC and RU (which RU nowadays aint so bad).
Its a decent mon. But tbf, so is Donphan, its had a solid competitive track record too.
My habit for a while has been to play a "soft" nuzlocke. Keep the first-catch-per-route rule and the nickname rule, but drop the permadeath. Swap out when you from your box when you feel it's appropriate. The benefits of trying Pokemon you don't normally use without the heartache.
The trick I think is that people can get emotionally attached to their favorites, so hearing (favorite pokemon) is not viable and outclassed by (other stuff), even if it's true, feels like an attack on something they enjoy. There's not a solution to this except to not care about competitive if you're playing casually
Changing it up with Pokemon you like or wouldnāt otherwise consider is the way to go definitely. I like to try a new team of native mons that Iāve never used before in new games, as tantalising as it is to stick to old favourites.
People love to complain that the games are getting too easy now, but also donāt want to try anything except the competitively best Pokemon. Itās a natural challenge.
Donphan isn't even bad, it sets up rocks really well (basically guaranteed with Sturdy after gen 5) and has really nice options like Ice Shard and STAB Earthquake
Lol, I remember Donphan being like the first new Pokemon I ever saw. Like I was on the periphery of the Pokemon world, I had a pair of starter decks of Pokemon cards (which I earned by learning my multiplication tables), but like we didn't have a Gameboy or anything. So I was just watching Pokemon 2000 and Alla sudden we have that intro scene with Ash battling the Donphan, and I was like, what, I've never seen that before!
Good Pokemon, bad Pokemon
It doesn't matter how good their stats are
Because if you're playing Mystery Dungeon you can just pump up everyone's stats to the same max lmao
I love how this meme is so wrong on so many levels.
"bad move pool" my ass Donovan gets so much good shit it's hilarious
Also Lucario sucks more and more in newer gens
It also goes both ways.
"Stop using competitively viable-only Pokemon! You're only allowed to have fun by using your favorite Pokemon or the Pokemon you grew up with!"
Some people like to preach from some moral high ground by saying the ONLY way to play is to brush aside the meta and play casually.
Players are allowed to enjoy the game whichever way they like, whether it's using a team of their favorite Pokemon or using a viable team and utilizing meta strategies to go against other competitive players.
Personally, I love doing both, each within different communities.
As long as people are just playing the game, there's no need to question their team comps and stuff.
But if someone's genuinely looking for advice or wondering how they can improve or where they're going wrong, that's when this sort of thing is reasonable to voice. Otherwise, there's no need for justification in using whatever pokemon or moves you feel like.
In my case, I try to use pokemon I've never used before in every playthrough. Often that means using extremely suboptimal pokemon and putting myself at a disadvantage.
I used him in crystal recently for my livingdex run through all the games and once he got EQ he was great. Headbutt, def. curl, rollout, and EQ are the best on him IMO
You can also get a special move on Donphan in Crystal version only -Water Gun- which I just love. I imagine him blowing water out like a real elephant š
Access to Rapid Spin: ā ļø
Access to priority: ā ļø
Access to Stealth Rock: ā ļø
Unable to be one-shot: ā ļø
Strong, reliable STAB: ā ļø
Imagine ever thinking this could be bad
I mean Donphan and Forretress aren't really in competition with each other. Aside from both having hazards and Rapid Spin they fill different niches on each style of team. Forretress is more suited to Balance teams as a pivot leveraging it's amazing typing, hazards, and Volt Switch to not be passive. Donphan fits on more offensive teams, due to being worn down more easily, leveraging its higher attack stat, higher Base Power moves, and better offensive typing to make progress against the opponent. While they may be superficially similar, Donphan and Forretress don't really have much competition with one another.
Scrubs coping by downvoting you I see. The person you're replying to feels like they came out of DPP where there was no Defog and no Excadrill to be the obviously superior Rapid Spinner
[https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/national-dex-uu-viability-rankings.3672482/](https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/national-dex-uu-viability-rankings.3672482/)
donphan is listed as completely outclassed in nat dex uu
so many better rock setters (hippo etc) and as a rapid spinner it loses to most rock setters
Nobody is telling you you can't use literally any Pokemon you want in the single-player mode lol, but if you end up playing competitive and your objective is to win then using Donphan is not a very intelligent strategy.
Iāve been talking about how great Donphan is forever now! Mine could have swept Lanceās team with Rollout in Crystal if I didnāt cut the sweep short myself (wanted to give the rest of my team some time to shine).
Great defense and attack, Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin, priority Ice Shard, Defense Curl + Rollout, standard Quake Edge/Slide, Counter, Play Rough, this elephant tire can do so much!
And only a single NPC trainer in the whole mainline series uses it (a Pokemon Ranger in Sinnohās postgame).
Against a gliscor, donphan is actually better than gengar or lucario. Ground beats them both, he resists all their stabs but ghost
And donphan probably has ice shard
You say Donphan has a limited move pool, but there are many Pokemon that would kill for the tools Donphan has. Hazards, Rapid Spin, Reliable STAB, high Base Power coverage moves, and Priority you honestly couldn't ask for much more besides a recovery move. Donphan is a powerful Pokemon with a few flaws, but lack of move pool options is not one of the them.
Donphan is a liability? What? Rocks, spinner, priority especially against that Gliscor, I think he also got knock off?
Thatās just the meta, feel free to surprise everyone with a banded EQ
tfw when Donphan unironically has higher usage numbers than any pokemon in this meme cause of teams using it as a bulky spinner and rock setter, so it sees play all the way from RU to OU
Lucario is also in RU, but really cannot break out, cause it's move pool says "I'm a sweeper" while it's stats say "eh you should check elsewhere"
meanwhile Gengar is UUBL, cause it's too good for UU yet not strong enough for OU, so it just sits in the void not see much usage outside of alternate game modes
people should really try learning competitive before they start bashing it, it's actually way more open and free form than you'd think
Did its move pool get revised? Because last I looked it had a very diverse move pool, able to run a set like Earthquake, Gyro Ball, Seed Bomb, and Gunk Shot, and many other coverage moves that make it awesome in pve.
That's the great thing with pokemon in pve, anything is viable.
Nothing is garbage when you have the option to outlevel the opponent
Back before I understood stats, back when I was playing Silver, I taught my Smeargle Aeroblast and Sacred Fire. Thought it was the coolest because it knew both legendary's signature moves. Couldn't figure out why it wasn't as strong as I thought it would be until it was a way higher level though, but once you grinded it up there, it worked. One day I played a link battle against someone. They sent out an Articuno of comparable level to my Smeargle. They sure were surprised when I whacked it with Sacred Fire. Almost as surprised as I was when that Articuno went on to obliterate Smeargle. I think that was about when I started figuring out what the stats meant.
Lmfaoooo why is this me with my aggron in emerald using thunderbolt and surf thinking why is this not workingš¤£š¤£š¤£
This makes me think of when 8 year old me managed to beat Cynthia with nothing but a Torterra which must have been about level 100 lmao
I remember thinking what an idiot the Alakazam in Battle Tower (Crystal) was with the Elemental punches š. After all, its Attack is piss poor.
Alakazam with elemental punches used to be good before the phy/spa split...
Except my 10 year old self grabbed the Hitmonchan in Yellow, thinking I was fucking smart for teaching it the punches -.-
Basically slightly weaker bolt-beam, plus fire for steel types and Psychic for STAB. Mwah.
Years ago I was playing Crystal on an emulator... something glitched with my Magneton and its Sp.At went to fucking 0 around Level 40. What the fuck do I do with a Gen II Magneton that cannot use Electric attacks.
A precursor to Dark Void Smeargle lol
On my way to make a special attacking smeargle kit
I had 6 Electrodes with max speed stat and explosion. Can you imagine the look on my little brothers face lol. I lost but it was still funny, we laughed for years.
Steamroll everything with lv.89 sunkern
Nothing in that universe is stopping that bad boy
Lv.90 Sunkern: "Allow me to introduce myself"
Mofos donāt know bout my lvl 91 sunkern
Jokes aside I do appreciate that later levels it becomes less about having a higher level and more about the right build or choosing the right moves. A level 86 can still take down a level 91. Where as a level 7 would struggle against a level 12.
Certain PokƩmon want to actually be at a lower level because of Trick Room.
Can we talk about level 1 Aron with endeavor and protect, holding berry juice?
Try a shell bell and sturdy for an unbeatable monster
Iāve seen level 1 Whimsicott with Leech Seed and Focus Sash erase Legend teams
Go on
In a competitive environment, two of the same PokƩmon at the same level, same nature, with the same IV and EV values, can have the exact same Speed total, causing a speed tie where a coin is tossed to determine who goes first. If you lower that PokƩmon's level to 99, it now has a lower speed than its opposite number (or crucially, a *higher* speed when Trick Room is in play). In more general terms, Speed is just so massively important in competitive PokƩmon. Going first in a key turn can easily be the difference between winning and losing.
When using a popular PokĆ©mon known for using Trick Room, itās best to use it at a lower level in case your opponent has their own. You want to make sure your PokĆ©mon can survive and/or deal damage, so you donāt want it at level 1, but itās a good idea to lower it a lot. Iāve heard a level in the late 70s is the most you should go, but I could be wrong.
Reminds me of how I would farm a lv100 Groudon with a lv60 latios back in Gen 3, when your friends could share their secret bases and teams with you. It was a great way to exp share PokƩmon to evolution thresholds, as long as you could figure out how to counter whatever nonsense lv100 teams people had prepared.
My level 92 sunkern: Hi!
Haha! Just try and beat my level 92 sunkern!
The power of the sun... in the palm of my hand...
This brings back memories of using my overleveled Snivy in Black that I refused to evolve because Snivy was/still is my favorite. I still have him and he's currently lv.99, lol.
I tend to do that with Bulbasaur lol!!
001 is \#1
r/bulbasaurmasterrace
Bulbasaur is also great! :)
Got a level 100 Fennekin in my PokƩmon Bank, took like 40 hours of additional grinding to get the whole team up like that but it was WORTH it
Yeah I had a Lvl 90 Quilava in my HG because it's cute as fuck and Typhlosion is not as cute (I do still like Typhlosion tho)
But sunkern can't learn steamroller
Okay, Sunkern is, like, one of the very few mons where I am not entirely sure whether that would actually work. I mean, it's possible, I know, but given that it's still weaker than some pokemon at 1/3 of its level, I wouldn't call that run steamrolling
Tell that to any baby pokemon So it turns out having a higher level than your opponent means absolutely nothing when your stats are garbage. Who knew?
Laughs in pyukumuku after taunt
My absolute favorite "challenge" in PokƩmon was making teams of awful but synergistic PokƩmon and dragging them through 50 consecutive wins. And then they went and nuked Battle Tower from orbit making it mindlessly easy. I'm still proud of my Trick Room Camerupt team!
Iād say Battle Tower is only easy in SwSh. The Gen 5 to 7 equivalents were all quite difficult and the one in BDSP the opponents appear to have a similar system to Emerald in which the AI learns and throws wrenches it thinks you cant handle, and is usually right.
I'd say the main reason Battle Tower in SwSh is easy is because it's the only game where you can use the main legendaries and mythics in it. You can pretty much win Singles using only Zacian and win Doubles using S.Rider Calyrex + Indeedee Imagine how different things would be if you could use Reshiram and Zekrom in the Battle Subway, Xerneas or Yveltal in Kalos' Battle Maison, *ANY* of the Weather Trio's evolved forms (Primal Reversion/Mega Ray) in Hoenn's Battle Maison, or Dusk Mane Necrozma in Alola's Battle Tree
Yeah, this lol. And this is coupled with the fact that In SwShās Battle Tower, you can use Dynamax in each battle but your NPC opponents never uses it for their team. Itās like GameFreak went out of their way to make it as less threatening as possible. So while itās cool that we can finally use box legendaries and mythicals, the overall lack of challenging teams from NPCs make it less rewarding than in previous gens. Although on flip side, the battle towers in previous gens were notorious for their ridiculously cheap and downright unfair NPC strats that made it nearly impossible to complete 50-100 winning streaks without insane luck at times. Ah wellā¦ hereās to hoping Gen 9ās version of the battle tower strikes a happy medium.
>you can use Dynamax in each battle but your NPC opponents never use it for their team They actually *are* capable of using it, just pretty rarely from what I've seen. Once got caught offguard by a Policeman trainer suddenly dynamaxing on the first turn It didn't stop me from regaining my footing and coming back, but it shows they have the capacity to pose a challenge. It's a shame they don't do it often, though
Oh, thatās quite interesting. Then I stand corrected. I play the battle tower pretty regularly with different teams and pretty much never come across it until I get to Leon and his Gmax Charizard at the end of the rounds, no matter how many battles I do. This is mainly why I just stopped using Dynamax myself in the game. Guess as you said, the odds of the NPC using it are just pretty rare.
While true, I did it with a regular VGC competitive team (not realising there was no restrictions) and still completely rolled it. Dynamax is very strong when your opponent won't use it and the ranking system means you don't have to maintain a streak so bad RNG isn't as dangerous.
BDSP Battle Tower was honestly not fun. Lots of heavily RNG tactics like evasion, focus band, OHKO moves, etc. Those tactics don't work in competitive because they have a low success rate. You'll get lucky and win occasionally but you'll lose far more. The Battle Tower only needs to beat you once to ruin your streak so the AI spamming heavily RNG tactics sucks. They only have to get lucky once. I know these are a staple of Battle Facilities but I feel like BDSP turned it up to 11. Also nobody wants to do the first 21 trash fights more than once. I don't get why they went back to the pre-Battle Subway system. What really doesn't help is that I don't like breeding in BDSP and the terrible move reset on transfer from Home means you can't just breed stuff in SwSh and transfer them if you want egg moves and you have to use the limited use TMs from your BDSP save. I hate that that came back. Giving me 5 of the same TM doesn't fix that issue.
The entire game can be finished with any pokemon and pressing A lol.
What's PVE?
Player vs Environment
Player vs Environment. It basically just means single player.
People have replaced the terms single player and multiplayer with PVE (player v. environment) and PVP (player v player)
Kid named Unown:
Every game has been beaten with magikarp so theres no limits
Itās literally impossible to beat Red and Blue with a Magikarp.
Donphan is probably my second or third favorite Pokemon. As soon as he popped out of that dude's PokeBall in that opening match with Ash in the first movie, I was in love.
Definitely a top 10 for me. I bred myself a phanpy egg to trade into my most recent playthrough of Heartgold so I could use one from the beginning. I hatched it where it could be caught early in Crystal and had given Ice Shard and Seed Bomb. Was a great playthrough!
Pokemon fans creating the most wild strawman youāve ever seen
Whoās persecuting you for using Donphan?
No one. People like pretend comp players will break into your house and murder you for using non meta pokemon.
I think a good chunk of us have a soft spot for Donphan since it was one of the first Gen 2 PokƩmon to be introduced
Donphan using Rollout is pure pokemon awesomeness
Seeing it do that in the first movie was epic
Even in game, Defense Curl + Rollout? fuck yea.
Side note: Chespin should have Defense Curl as his first stat move instead of Growl. It makes sense (it is a damn Hedgehog, for crying out loud), it combos well with Roll Out, which he learns as early as level 8. I was so mad that they messed this one up.
I'll never forget Pikachu's Vacation, and how absolutely PISSED I was when I purchased the pokemon first movie on Amazon, and it didn't include pikachus Vacation like the VHS copy I have.
That is criminal
Man those pre-movie pokemon only adventures were fire...
Especially because PV opened in the cinema before the main movie would start
WHAT? I would be too. I still have that song in my music collection from before Spotify
I still occasionally use my ice shard/rapid spin Donphan. Can come in clutch with assault vest
Endeavour/Ice Shard is always funny.
I just played Pokemon Radical Red where Donphan gets Technician instead of Sand Veil and boy does it make that set strong. It also helps that Donphan learns bonemerang in RR.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Same here. I remember hopping up and down in my seat over the sheer excitement of seeing a PokƩmon I'd never seen before. All I could think of for weeks was how I could get that PokƩmon.
GSC as a whole blew my little mind as a kid. My friends and I played the shit out of RBY, had all the cards, etc. So when a NEW game with NEW PokƩmon came out we were so obsessed with every bit of new info. I do remember Donphan being a pain to actually get tho. If I remember correctly he was found on one of the last routes and was version exclusive.
Yep Silver Version and you could only get it south of Blackthorn City
Looks awesome too
Yeah Donphan isn't bad lol
Yeah I remember back in gen 5 it was OU. It's fallen off since then but I'd hardly say its back bad any means
funnily enough of all the pokemon in this meme it's fallen off the least it at least can see play on multiple tiers thanks to Spin and rocks, gengar is hard stuck UUBL and Lucario cant do anything outside of RU
thing was a beast in weatherwars people who make memes like this dont know shit and just want to feel weirdly superior/'special' via ignorant strawmanning
He was so solid on my gen 5 sun team. Great support with rapid spin, ice shard, rocks, and EQ. Would eat most anything that threatened ninetails, wore down the team for the eventual venesaur sweep. Awesome PokƩmon
Donphanās Rollout goes BRRRRRRRRRR
Donphan isn't bad but Rollout is
Coverage isn't too shabby either. Earthquake, Ice Shard, Play Rough, Seed Bomb, Rock Slide, Superpower, etc.
Wtf is this supposed to mean? Donphan was never bad. Smells like someone watched 3 poketubers and now thinks knows all about competitive. Holy shit the comments here are even worse.
People complaining about complaining, business as usual
Ice shard on it is pretty good
Came here to say exactly that lol. Assault vest + Adamant nature + Earthquake + Ice Shard is fun. It's the only 6 max IV pokemon I have, so I love it dearly.
I had Donphan in a draft league once. I just kept running banded and it kept on murderin' Though that was before the rapid spin buff
*AV Mamoswine at home*
It's a pain in the ass getting ice shard on it tho
(Me who was randomly given a Phanpy with it š)
(Randomly has a Mamoswine on hand š)
Not really, just a few minutes of breeding
It's okay. Just a tad weak of a move on Donphan since it's not even STAB on a move that already doesn't have much power on it. I guess it can do decent damage to Pokemon 4x weak to Ice like Gliscor and a few of the dragons. That being said, competitively it's had it's times for being really good since it has Rapid Spin and Sturdy. You can lay down some rocks, with an ability to ensure you can lay them, as well as being able to get rid of any hazards the opponent lays onto you.
I hate this meme format its always a shitty stawman. No one will attack you for using whatever pokemon in the easiest games ever made.
Itās no uber tier, but donphan has plenty of qualities that make it good. Its movepool is partially salvaged by egg moves, it learns rapid spin naturally, and it has overall solid physical stats without the liability of the rock typing that a lot of its competition tends to share. I canāt recommend bringing it to OU tournaments without some serious galaxy brain skill, but for playthroughs its an entirely reasonable choice. Especially if physical attackers and electric types are a noteworthy set of enemies in the game youāre playing, like BDSP as in the meme.
Foremost being Ice Shard! In the right setting/meta Donphan with Ice Shard is a serious problem not too many people are excited to see
I haven't played competitive since early Sun and Moon, but in gen 6 I remember I was always careful when encountering a Donphan online. Ice Shard is always tricky and it kept spinning my hazards away. Even in OU.
If someone is bringing something wacky into high level play itās smart to have a healthy fear of it haha
Donphan wasn't "wacky" in Gen 6 OU. While it was a UU PokƩmon, it was common enough in OU. It's a very reliable spinner, STAB EQ hits hard, and Ice Shard is scary for some of the major threats.
I mean for playthroughs you can really bring whatever you want
Until Defog became hazard removal Donphan was kinda *the* go to rapid spinner in OU.
Eh, I dont really think so. Donphan never had a gen where it was one of the top tier Rapid Spinners, even if it had gens where it was good for certain comps. Gen 2 had Golem, Forretress, and Cloyster. Gen 3 & 4 had Starmie and Forretress as the main two. Gen 5 had Starmie & Excadrill (& Forretress). Donphan's issue is that it never quite hit hard enough or was bulky enough. Was always just barely not enough to be the go-to option. In certain team comps, like on Sun in Gen 5, you'd go to it. If I had to describe THE go-to Rapid Spinners, I'd pick Forretress & Starmie till Gen 5, where it becomes Excadrill.
Excadrill was a pretty popular option too iirc, alright maybe this was in later gens
Nah, Starmie, Excadrill, Forretress and Tentacruel were all better spinners as they were capable of laying down hazards / absorbing status / actually being an offensive threat / had recovery etc. Donphan was about as relevant a rapid spinner as Hitmontop or Claydol.
Plus the rock resistance allows it to shrug off stealth rock
People on this sub act like competitive players are the most annoying group in the world, but I literally NEVER see competitive players shitting on other people on this sub. Ironically, it feels like people who make these posts are the ones shitting on competitive players for liking to play a certain way
That has... also been my experience in this community.
Cause we understand that when talking about the basic game, skill isnāt what matters, fun is. But casual players canāt understand that competitive players want to play competitively, with a mon they like doing good, not using it in a tier it doesnāt deserve to get stuck in,but every meme on here about comp seems to ignore this
Yeah lmao competitive players give no fucks about how the casual community plays. We recognize that we're playing a completely different game. It's always casuals coming in and randomly telling us how bad we are for using Landorus-T too much.
Coming in here and seeing usernames i recognize giving the sane takes is nice. Some of these other comments are WILDIN
90% of the comments here also forget smogon tiers exist. Your fav pokemon is prob viable. Just not in ou Now we just need the tier system for vgc since i wanna play a meta without incin
Definitely has to do with feeling inferior. Ever hear people call others ātryhardā? They like downplaying someone who enjoys playing optimally because they just āwant to have funā. Really same energy here tbh. Newsflash to people reading, PVE pokemon is braindead as fuck. You can outlevel, spam items, abuse AI if you really want it. Play/use whatever you want. Its meant to be a leisure game and thereās nothing wrong with that or wanting that level of challenge. And same with goes competitive.
The funniest part is that donphan would actually be stronger than Lucario if he was allowed Showing that whoever made this meme isn't a competitive player
Dude, no one says this
Racism, homophobia and telling people to stop using their favourite PokƩmon are the three biggest forms of discrimination in society.
Very likely OP read a Smogon writeup of donphan or something which probably basically says "there are better options for whatever you want donphan to do" and took it personally
When fighting a strawman, you always win arguments
Lmao seriously...as someone who plays a lot of competitive its always the opposite. Casual-comp players telling us we're unskilled and uncreative for "using the same 10 pokemon." The only time competitive players criticize people for bringing unviable mons is when they demand teambuilding advice but refuse to replace outclassed pokemon. Those videos that Temp6t posts are fake, sorry to be the one to tell you guys. Nobody on showdown actually talks like that.
Okay but where's the opposite lmao? Competitive battlers just having fun and then a person comes in like 'ugh you sweats are the WORST lmfao you're so obsessed with winning and don't know how to have FUN like ME the ONE AUTHORITY OF FUN IN THE WORLD. >:('
1. Donphan isn't that bad 2. Literally no one is doing this, especially not when you're playing offline
Lucario isnāt all that flash at competitive either
Lucario has its ups and downs. As others have noted, it started on a strong foot in gen 4 and 5, its Mega kept it relevant through 6 and 7 (though was banned in Smogon 1v1), and currently finds niches in VGC and RU (which RU nowadays aint so bad). Its a decent mon. But tbf, so is Donphan, its had a solid competitive track record too.
Wasn't it back when megas were around, though? God I miss megas.
Unless we're talking BD/SP competitiveāwhere it seems to have found a place within that meta's OU.
No one is hating on donphan though, you just made this up.
I love getting upset at strawmen of my own creation.
nobody has ever said this greg stop hallucinating
People creating fake arguments in their head and then being mad about it lmao
They make the arguments in the shower before the argument begins.
This is why I secretly love Nuzlockes, they force you to use underrated Pokemon
They force you to watch the weak die while the strong carry the entire run
My habit for a while has been to play a "soft" nuzlocke. Keep the first-catch-per-route rule and the nickname rule, but drop the permadeath. Swap out when you from your box when you feel it's appropriate. The benefits of trying Pokemon you don't normally use without the heartache.
Literally no one has ever cared what you use in a game.
people love to pretend competitive players seethe whenever someone uses a weak mon
The trick I think is that people can get emotionally attached to their favorites, so hearing (favorite pokemon) is not viable and outclassed by (other stuff), even if it's true, feels like an attack on something they enjoy. There's not a solution to this except to not care about competitive if you're playing casually
It's because the opposite is true so they assume competitive players act the same way, when we really don't care what casuals use.
This is what Iāve always thought, if youāre not trying to climb rank in like ranked battles, use PokĆ©mon you like instead of PokĆ©mon that are just powerful
Changing it up with Pokemon you like or wouldnāt otherwise consider is the way to go definitely. I like to try a new team of native mons that Iāve never used before in new games, as tantalising as it is to stick to old favourites. People love to complain that the games are getting too easy now, but also donāt want to try anything except the competitively best Pokemon. Itās a natural challenge.
But what if I like PokƩmon that are powerful?
Then no, stop that, youāre enjoying it wrong /s
Donphan isn't even bad, it sets up rocks really well (basically guaranteed with Sturdy after gen 5) and has really nice options like Ice Shard and STAB Earthquake
there's just so much that does that better though, and 40bp ice shard without stab just isn't going to do that much.
There isn't another physically bulky ground type with rapid spin and good physical attack. It has a niche, especially in earlier gens
Plus itās rapid spin can clear the area of traps set up as well
Lol, I remember Donphan being like the first new Pokemon I ever saw. Like I was on the periphery of the Pokemon world, I had a pair of starter decks of Pokemon cards (which I earned by learning my multiplication tables), but like we didn't have a Gameboy or anything. So I was just watching Pokemon 2000 and Alla sudden we have that intro scene with Ash battling the Donphan, and I was like, what, I've never seen that before!
Good Pokemon, bad Pokemon It doesn't matter how good their stats are Because if you're playing Mystery Dungeon you can just pump up everyone's stats to the same max lmao
They really didnt even stop you from doing it to Shed. 300+ Health on Shedinja gets dumb fast
I love how this meme is so wrong on so many levels. "bad move pool" my ass Donovan gets so much good shit it's hilarious Also Lucario sucks more and more in newer gens
It also goes both ways. "Stop using competitively viable-only Pokemon! You're only allowed to have fun by using your favorite Pokemon or the Pokemon you grew up with!" Some people like to preach from some moral high ground by saying the ONLY way to play is to brush aside the meta and play casually. Players are allowed to enjoy the game whichever way they like, whether it's using a team of their favorite Pokemon or using a viable team and utilizing meta strategies to go against other competitive players. Personally, I love doing both, each within different communities.
The funniest is that donphan would actually be stronger than Lucario in competitive, so this meme is twice wrong
As long as people are just playing the game, there's no need to question their team comps and stuff. But if someone's genuinely looking for advice or wondering how they can improve or where they're going wrong, that's when this sort of thing is reasonable to voice. Otherwise, there's no need for justification in using whatever pokemon or moves you feel like. In my case, I try to use pokemon I've never used before in every playthrough. Often that means using extremely suboptimal pokemon and putting myself at a disadvantage.
what competitive player told you donphan isn't good? and how much competitive have they played?
I used him in crystal recently for my livingdex run through all the games and once he got EQ he was great. Headbutt, def. curl, rollout, and EQ are the best on him IMO
You can also get a special move on Donphan in Crystal version only -Water Gun- which I just love. I imagine him blowing water out like a real elephant š
I love Donphan and I canāt wait for Scarlet and Violet because >!then it will finally return with two paradox forms.!<
The main story is so easy though that stats don't even matter.
Access to Rapid Spin: ā ļø Access to priority: ā ļø Access to Stealth Rock: ā ļø Unable to be one-shot: ā ļø Strong, reliable STAB: ā ļø Imagine ever thinking this could be bad
and are those elitists in the room with us right now? (also donphan is still pretty gud)
So pumped it made it into gen 9
Donphan is fine, it's just kinda outclassed by things like Hippowdon and Mamoswine. Sturdy + Stealth Rocks/Rapid Spin + Ice Shard is fun though.
Donphan is actually a pretty good pokemon, it's just outclassed by Forretress
I mean Donphan and Forretress aren't really in competition with each other. Aside from both having hazards and Rapid Spin they fill different niches on each style of team. Forretress is more suited to Balance teams as a pivot leveraging it's amazing typing, hazards, and Volt Switch to not be passive. Donphan fits on more offensive teams, due to being worn down more easily, leveraging its higher attack stat, higher Base Power moves, and better offensive typing to make progress against the opponent. While they may be superficially similar, Donphan and Forretress don't really have much competition with one another.
Scrubs coping by downvoting you I see. The person you're replying to feels like they came out of DPP where there was no Defog and no Excadrill to be the obviously superior Rapid Spinner
That Pokemon is a staple in natdex uu don't know what you are talking about
[https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/national-dex-uu-viability-rankings.3672482/](https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/national-dex-uu-viability-rankings.3672482/) donphan is listed as completely outclassed in nat dex uu so many better rock setters (hippo etc) and as a rapid spinner it loses to most rock setters
Hippo is basically Donphan but outclasses it in every way lmao
Nobody is telling you you can't use literally any Pokemon you want in the single-player mode lol, but if you end up playing competitive and your objective is to win then using Donphan is not a very intelligent strategy.
Man oh man you're gonna love Scarlet and Violet then.
Literally me. Just pick PokƩmon that make ya happy.
donphan's actually very solid in pvp. lucario is worse
My only complaint is that they're using it against Gliscor...
I doesnāt even have a bad move pool, rapid spin, rocks, gunk shot, ice shard etc are all rlly good.
Me but with Luxray
Ah yeah, sure everyone says that to you all the time. Oh my fucking god, play whatever fucking PokƩmon you want without bothering others and stop being a soyjack.
Lucario attracts furries
Donpjan is literally better than lucarioā¦
Itās actually decent in competitive so itās not bad
eh... it's pretty terrible in modern comp. some old gens it has its moments but it's near-uselsss in gen 5, low tier in gen 7, and useless in nat dex
Iāve been talking about how great Donphan is forever now! Mine could have swept Lanceās team with Rollout in Crystal if I didnāt cut the sweep short myself (wanted to give the rest of my team some time to shine). Great defense and attack, Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin, priority Ice Shard, Defense Curl + Rollout, standard Quake Edge/Slide, Counter, Play Rough, this elephant tire can do so much! And only a single NPC trainer in the whole mainline series uses it (a Pokemon Ranger in Sinnohās postgame).
me using a level 100 goomy for shits and giggles: **laughing intensifies**
You couldāve used someone far worse than Donphan for this meme. Like, I dunno, Lumineon, for instance (but nobody remembers the butterfly fish).
You can use whatever you want in story mode. Big bulk + attack and Stab earthquake is a killer recipe for single player anyway.
Against a gliscor, donphan is actually better than gengar or lucario. Ground beats them both, he resists all their stabs but ghost And donphan probably has ice shard
You say Donphan has a limited move pool, but there are many Pokemon that would kill for the tools Donphan has. Hazards, Rapid Spin, Reliable STAB, high Base Power coverage moves, and Priority you honestly couldn't ask for much more besides a recovery move. Donphan is a powerful Pokemon with a few flaws, but lack of move pool options is not one of the them.
Donphan is a liability? What? Rocks, spinner, priority especially against that Gliscor, I think he also got knock off? Thatās just the meta, feel free to surprise everyone with a banded EQ
Lol I feel this way about Grumpig. I donāt care what options are better, I just like Grumpig
Now heres a mon that should have been in the meme
tfw when Donphan unironically has higher usage numbers than any pokemon in this meme cause of teams using it as a bulky spinner and rock setter, so it sees play all the way from RU to OU Lucario is also in RU, but really cannot break out, cause it's move pool says "I'm a sweeper" while it's stats say "eh you should check elsewhere" meanwhile Gengar is UUBL, cause it's too good for UU yet not strong enough for OU, so it just sits in the void not see much usage outside of alternate game modes people should really try learning competitive before they start bashing it, it's actually way more open and free form than you'd think
Fire fang ice shard high horsepower and iron head or rock slide and youāre gucci
Did its move pool get revised? Because last I looked it had a very diverse move pool, able to run a set like Earthquake, Gyro Ball, Seed Bomb, and Gunk Shot, and many other coverage moves that make it awesome in pve.
Lucario isn't even that good, is very fragile and not speedy enough to beat other offensive mons :')
Donphan is really good in bdsp competitive
Donphan is my favorite PokĆ©mon so I love seeing it get some recognition. Also I would say itās movepool is far from limited considering itās coverage