Fun fact! There are actually 6 Pokemon that can have Sturdy that are not Rock or Steel type: -Pineco [Bug] -Donphan [Ground] -Sawk [Fighting] -Bergmite [Ice] (Hidden Ability) -Avalugg [Ice] (Hidden Ability) -Cosmoem [Psychic]
I was so excited when I remembered avalugg, then I realized I have donphan in a draft league rn and knew something wasn't right. Maybe he meant fully evolved mons with sturdy as of B2W2?
@@spencerbrummett6712 That would make sense, also I’m not sure if Cosmoem really counts as I don’t think you can actually use it in-game, but I don’t 100% remember, I haven’t played Gen 7 in a while…
@@TheFourthBlackReaper I feel like you can get cosmog as a gift in post game, bc I remember leveling one up and you'd have to to fill the dex page, right? But still not applicable in a nuzlocke sense bc I'm pretty sure they both don't learn any moves and it's post game.
@@spencerbrummett6712 I kinda remember it being something like that, but I thought you just might have gotten to scan it once Nebby evolved from a Cosmog but before they evolve into whichever Box Legendary you get and go with you afterwards.
the guaranteed hidden grotto cincinno with skill link is amazing. Guaranteed 5x hit on tail slap, rock blast, bullet seed is really powerful even towards the late game.
Yea especially with encore,charm,captivate or tickle as good support options for that 4th move slot or wake up slap for steel types but I would go for support. Scope lens or kings rock also gives it a strong hold item for hax to brute force stuff it normally can't kill.
Dr. HG did not mention this, but one of the things that makes Stoutland work for so long is early access to return and silk scarf. If you're not a bad person and Stoutland likes you, you get a version of return which has close to 150 base power*, accounting for STAB and assuming silk scarf. That plus intim, decent natural bulk, and a base 110** attack stat is pretty darn good into more than you might think *actually well over 150! i did my math thinking STAB was ×1.2, for whatever reason. Silk scarf is 1.2, STAB is 1.5, so 102×1.5×1.2=183(and change)! **100, actually. i am a goober
Stoutland is basically the gen 5 Kanghaskan: Fast enough, bulky enough and strong enough for the adventure so it always has uses. I would say it's better in Black/White though due to less steel and rock types.
Emolga absolutely deserves to be higher as a fast mon who gets Encore in the Skyla split and has a very common immunity to switch in on and just win in certain matchups. Provided it has passable speed, it can switch in on every E4 ground move, outspeed and Encore the user, then paralyse with T-Wave, spam Flash, set up Screens, Volt Switch or even just let Emolga chip it down while continually Encoring whenever it runs out. A near guaranteed Electric type in a ton of shaking grass spots is also fantastic for Skyla, and Static has some utility in getting other good electric mons more reliably. I also think this should be taken into consideration with Magnemite’s ranking as well, as Magnet Pull makes Metagross, Skarmory, Aggron, Ferrothorn and Bisharp all far more accessible, who all are immensely useful mons
Repeling at level 38 in doubles grass gives a 75% chance to encounter Skarmory, which is greater than the 50% chance from Magnet Pull. Also Aggron is an (almost) guaranteed encounter.
@@marcustulliuscicero5443 magnet pull doesnt decrease the chance down to 50%, it adds an additional coin flip at the beginning. In the case of the doubles grass Repel manip you have a 50% chance to guaranteed get Skarm, then a 75% chance to get Skarm, so odds become 7/8 rather than the 3/4 without. It's not a massive increase, but any increase in chance to get such a fantastic mon is worth it. Magnet Pull also triples the odds of Aron on each floor of Mistralton Cave (20% -> 60%), though granted you probably will have the Boldore and Woobat dupes. theres no downside to using Magnet Pull unless you specifically want a mon that's not steel, which is hardly ever a thing considering how strong most every single available steel type is, and having it just makes getting those mons so much more reliable and less prone to getting rng screwed
@@rattyxoxo7397 That's actually great to know, TIL. However, if you want to Magnet Pull Manip with Zone you have to not bring it against Skyla, which depending on your encounters beforehand can make that fight a bit tricky. Also since Mistralton Cave is two encounters (Mistralton Cave proper and Guidance Chamber), by repelling with a level 30 Foongus you can (almost) guarantee getting both Aggron and Haxorus.
17:20 audino renegerator carried my team until drayden, it's super good for pivot switching especially when you need to pp stall some special attacks or just generally taking hits and damaging back the opponent with rocky helmet, if i dont get ferrothorn i keep audino as my main shock absorber ❤️ plus it's great with triple/rotation battles(pesky ace trainers)
Regenerator mons in general are just so good in any game. Amoongus saved my most recent run by being able to single-handedly take on the fighting type e4 member after I lost my plan A to a crit.
I high-key wish there were a rom like Blaze Black/ Volt White that is just a more challenging updated version of the game, but keeps the original dex. Heck I kinda wish that were the case for all those type of romhacks
@@mgmf46 I read it as "wish there were a rom like BB/VW" as in a rom like them that is an updated difficulty mod with the same dex Not "a game like BB/VW but not altering the dex"
Fun fact: you have a 50/50 chance of getting a Metang or a Ditto, by using the repel strat in the Giant Chasm (crater forest), that's because only these 2 Pokémon can appear at level 47
If you happen to get a magnet one with magnet pull you can increase your chances above 50% for metagross , and if you go in the dark grass for double battles your odds are even better. I also recommend using your master ball on metagross!
I would actually like to briefly correct a small assumption made in this video - it turns out you _can_ access Chargestone Cave before fighting Clay! so this means you can get an earlier magnezone, god bless Oh, and the Chargestone Cave encounter table too. If you're wondering if any of those encounters would be good into Clay, here's my general take: No. Don't even think about it, really. Joltik is a very small Bug/Electric Type who is threatened by the rock coverage Krokorok and Excadrill have while not being able to do much in turn, and Galvantula comes after the level cap Tynamo might be immune to Ground but it also cannot meaningfully damage any of Clay's Pokemon (with another evolution that is levels above the cap!) Klink is weak to Ground and can't _also_ evolve yet Nosepass is either singularly weak or doubly weak depending on if you use Chargestone Cave to evolve it ...and okay, Ferroseed's actually a decent enough counter + wall for Clay with Eviolite & Seed Bomb, but you probably have better counters already planned (like, say, that guaranteed Serene Grace Deerling you can get from the Weather Building on Route 6 already)
@@marcogypaetus9607 oh yeah, 100%. it's more about the fact that it is a Guaranteed Encounter than anything else - you don't have to gamble on getting something good on that route when you can know that there is in fact a decent grass-type that can learn Fighting-type moves, perfect for the nearby ground gym.
My guy, that bit at the beginning explaining the hard fights and why theyre hard was awesome. it added so much to the video cause it makes so much of the ranking easier to understand and see your logic
Absolutely, if you happen to get Marill at Floccessy Ranch, get Basculin at Route 14 (where it's 70% to be your surf encounter), and you guarantee yourself a STAB Ice Beam user for Drayden :)
Challenge idea: mirror match! For each boss you have to mach their type specialty. For the water gym leader, only water types. Any Giovanni fight, only ground types. You can select any type before your encounter, and choose only between the mons of that type on that route. This way you won't get softlocked by ban encounter luck. Have fun!!!
This is actually pretty cool! I'd allow catching multiple pokemon to make up for the fact you might not have the type you need if you go with 1 encounter per route if I played with this idea.
As someone who did a hardcore nuzlocke of this game, I'm hoping Garbodor to be B or even A tier Pokémon. Yes, GARBODOR! Both of my fighting types fainted and I my only bug type was shelmet which couldn't evolve! So I really had no solid plan against Grimsley. I ultimately decided using the toxic spikes and switching to stall his Pokémon a bit and then deal damage. But this wasn't a good idea either because my only Dark resist was Weavile. Regardless, I trained my boxed Trubbish. And after levelling Garbodor up to level 45 I realised ... This thing gets DRAIN PUNCH? A combination of Drain Punch and Toxic Spikes along with defense EVs invested in Garbodor made that battle so much easier. I still can't stress enough how much I underestimated Garbodor. It's bad in competitive, but actually decent in nuzlockes. So that's my viewpoint of why Garbodor should be that high: Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes are quite good against Grimsley, even better against Marshall and amazing against Iris too. Garbodor is an actual good Elite 4 'mon, especially with drain punch. Other valuable and semi-valuable moves include toxic, clear smog, venoshock etc.
Im too lazy to fact check this but theres probably a better pokemon that can set up toxic spikes, and if you can get that pokemon, Garbodors use instantly goes down
@@TheGodIvy Roserade, Amoongus, Drapion or muk? Understandable. Roserade just feels a bit frail to set up toxic spikes, grimer is very unlikely, thus leaving only three players. Obviously Drapion is superior here but in my playthrough I couldn't even run up into a skorupi, thus leaving very few toxic spikes setters and because Garbodor was one of them, it automatically became good for my team.
This is so helpful because i just started a nuzlocke on Black 2 and im STRUGGLING My first two encounters were Purrloin and SUNKERN 😭😭 Needless to say they died soon after
Black 2 was one of the first nuzlockes i ever completed, and I remember losing my starter (samurott) to drayden, and replacing it with the world's most badass golduck, that thing carried me so hard through the rest of the game.
Fun fact: u can get heracross in black 2 and pincer in white 2 via hidden grotto but the chance are so small it is like a 0,015% chance or something, it is in the hidden grotto u can find the monkes
Tried a run of White 2 a few months ago and wiped to Shauntal. Got pretty frustrated and set it down for a while. Gonna give it another go after seeing this video. Thanks for the encouragement!
That was honestly a really fun tier list. It was really cool to see you talk about the non-Gen 5 Pokemon here when I more recently played B/W instead of B/W 2 and it kind of makes me want to return to B/W 2 sometime soon. Anyways, it's time for me to once again recommend returning to a No-Same Type Moves Nuzlocke. This time I'll re-recommend Black / White (Or even Black/White 2 if you want) because of the tier list and also because I actually played through that one with the No-Same Type Moves Challenge.
Hello everyone! I'm currently doing my third attempt at this games' nuzlocke - always wiping to random Victory Road trainers, by the way - and I would love to give you some tips that in my opinion might help you further. 1)Keep in mind some apparently useless pokemons' abilities are broken. A pokemon with Static such as Mareep - if first in your team - boosts your chances of getting Magnemite in Virbank's complex if you're playing Black 2 (White 2 has wild Elekid there instead of Magby, so you wouldn't really make a profit if you want a Magnemite) and Joltik in Chargestone Cave (in this case Elekid too can be used). Keep in mind electric type 'mons - quick ones especially - are very useful as they can learn Volt Switch, the only repositioning move if you forbid yourself U-Turn's TM, which is only available via PWT. Most importantly, if you don't get a Magnemite without Sturdy - a broken ability - consider that the other one, Magnet Pull, *might be* almost better, as it boosts your chances of encountering Pawniard, Skarmory and Metang in their own locations. Another broken utility pokemon you can get is Eevee: once you get to Castelia City, be sure to get yourself one with repel manipulating strats (if you want to), because not only it can evolve in what you want depending on its stats/nature, but most importantly both Espeon and Umbreon have Synchronize, which means if you put them first in the party they will boost the chances of you finding wild 'mons with the same nature. I would give an arm to get myself a neutral nature (or a special attack hindering nature) Sandile instead of the thousand 0 IVS quiet nature I have found... 2)There is a static Minccino encounter in Route 5 and it has Skill Link. Not only it is thousand times better than a regular Minccino, but by getting it you can also reroll it on Route 4, which is the route with arguably the strongest guaranteed encounters. Also, consider making a capture in Desert Resort first, 'coz you might make it so that you get both Darumaka and Sandile there and then on Route 4. 3)I have no idea what the heck does My brother FlygonHG have against Claydol but I think it's a beautiful guaranteed pokemon which can be great when paired up with steel stypes - Magnezone, Bisharp and Aggron especially - making wonderful cores. Don't go for Sandile in the Relic Castle - I never found it - and don't go for Volcarona either: that thing is just broken. If you need a fire type get the guaranteed Litwick and if you need a bug type... Nah, man. You don't. Maybe Galvantula, okay? Or Leavanny. Yeah. And by the way if you truly are getting a Claydol be sure to make it PHYSICALLY defensive. Not specially. The late game special attackers in Black 2 and White 2 are just too strong and one non-resisted move - especially if it crits - is gonna kill you anyway. 4)Let me get this straight: I don't know what Mr OneballHG was smoking before taking this video - though I'd be happy to share it - but you definitely SHOULD get Sewaddle on Route 20 (not really worth it in later locations IMHO, though). First of all you are VERY likely to, as Sewaddle has a 35% spawn rate on Route 20 (the highest rate on that route), but most importantly you better know this: in the very early game, Sewaddle's line is BROKEN. Solid attack, defense and speed stat(s); Bug Bite - virtually 90 power with STAB - learnt at level 8 and String Shot in its moveset already: with these two you *EAT* Cheren (unless you get very unlucky with nature/IVs). It then gets Razor Leaf and Protect; evolves into Swadloon at level 20 *AND THEN* into Leavanny at level 21 (you're gonna walk a lot to find and fight Audino(s) so happyness is gonna get skyhigh in no time), at that point Leavanny just solo-eats Burgh's entire team and his Leavanny's Sitrus Berry with Bug Bite. It's just an amazing early game encounter. It later falls off pretty damn hard and pretty damn fast too, especially once you reach Reversal Mountain and Route 13, but with those solid stats and STAB moves (including Leaf Blade, X-Scissors and Swords Dance) you can always make some use of it, not to mention it quad-resists ground and grass type moves. Also, it can be very useful against Clay, as Leftovers and Protect offer good recovery and will help you smash both Krokorock and Sandslash, although you will need your starter then to get rid of his Excadrill (Eviolite Dewott pairs up pretty good). To play safer, you might need a sacrifice material for free switch-in(s), but I'm pretty sure you will have a lot of sack material at that point, such as any Route 6 encounter, for example. Good luck with your journey my friends!
51:04 A slight error, Mantine in this gen doesn't get access to Roost. Mantine didn't receive Roost until Gen 7 where it's a move relearner move that it learns at level 1.
While I admit, Liepard is pretty bad in most scenarios, it does have a few virtues! Specifically as counter for Clay! And a pretty reliable one at that. First, it's speedy, and outspeeds all his pokemon easily. It can learn rocksmash via TM and seedbomb via move tutor, being it has super effective attacks against everything on his team. And while being a bit frail, it's only weak to Sandslash's Fury Cutter! After that, it has fakeout, which can be incredibly valuable for chipping away at your foes (especially if you're intimidate swapping with arcanine or krokorok)and does an honestly surprising amount of damage. In terms of stab options, Assurance is your best bet for damage, but I prefer Thief in order to swipe away Excadrill's sitrus berry. (You can also do this with covet from the move tutor!) Finally, there's its abilities. Limber is useless, but Unburden is GREAT. By using a gem (preferably fighting for rocksmash or dark for thief), consuming a berry (preferably sitrus), or popping an air balloon, you double your speed and ensure you'll outspeed for atleast two Bulldozes. This also synergizes with Thief by allowing you to steal his sitrus and benefit from the effects of two items! I obviously don't recommend going at Clay with just a Liepard. Partnering it with an Intimidate Krokorok is ideal, and you'll probably want something else to handle his Krokorok and Sandslash, but it's pretty darn reliable for Excadrill, even without unburden!
My heart sank when I realized that Camerupt's bulk is like 70/70/70 and is slow as hell to boot. I actually like using him in Emerald (yes the water but still) but I imagine he gets powercreeped hard in this game.
I would guess it won't be quite that high just because it's encounter rate is so low, so you can't rely on getting it. Its obviously a phenomenal pokemon if you can get it but the low odds probably knock its rating a bit since that is a stated criteria
I think Zoroark is slept on. Easy S-tier to me, with its absurd IVs (guaranteed 30 in each stat) plus hasty nature allow it to outspeed everything, and has access to HP-Fighting to curbstomp the entire elite 4 save Marshall
Ampharos has static for electric encounters so i would put it higher for sure. Walrein lefties ice body protect definitely viable for drayden though. But great list overall
Could you do this but for Pokémon Ultra Sun and Moon? I think those games are some of the hardest in the series with it’s plethora of potential run enders and tough early game, so I’d be interested to see your thoughts on those games’ encounters.
You can technically grind a Pickup mon in order to obtain a King's Rock for fling strats. Chuggaaconroy got one in his playthrough around the Virbank Complex. It's a 1% chance between levels 11 and 30, so definitely not likely but it's an option if you want to use Gliscor.
Ferrothorn is an extremely good counter for all of draydens team. Use iron defense turn one followed by ingrain to prevent being dragon tailed out of the battle and then go until you reach max defense. At this point the ai sort of breaks and attempts to spam dragon tail untill the end of the battle due to the stat raises on the ferrothorn then just sweep with iron head or any other move. I could be wrong but I just beat drayden in my nuzlocke using this strategy so if you are looking for a hard counter ferrothorn works perfect.
I disagree. There’s ‘Mons that do Lucario’s job (outside of priority) much better, be it due to having either higher Attack, Speed, or even bulk. Heracross and Mienshao are much better options due to having higher base power moves and higher Attack (at 125) in general. Heracross’s better bulk allows it to pivot into attacks and smack around opponents with stuff like Megahorn and Night Slash for coverage. Getting Close Combat at level 34? Yes please. You can also get it relatively early in the game, in Lostlorn forest. Rare, but worth it. Meinshao on the other hand has MUCH higher speed (105) and thus can outspeed and annihilate anything that stands in its way with a nasty 130 base power high jump kick, which gives better odds of surviving attacks due to not lowering your defences like Close Combat does, Lucario’s (and disadvantageously Heracross’) best fighting move. And those are just some of the handful of fast attackers that do Lucario’s job better. Unless you’re grinding for that juicy Swords Dance Extreme Speed combo, Lucario isn’t worth it. You’re frail to begin with so resisted hits with that steel typing barely matter, you still take quite a chunk of health. The AI of gym leaders and E4 members isn’t stupid either. It’ll happily select neutral or (even worse) super effective moves and send Anubis here back to Egypt. Also Riolu is rare. B- in my opinion.
Hey Flygon, do a *Hardcore Nuzlocke but Every Pokemon is Used Wrong*! For Pokemon with excellent physical attack, use only special moves, and vice versa!
i used an electabuzz for my white 2 nuzlocke and i would actually argue that it belongs in A tier bc low kick is a great answer to all those cryogonals and pawniards from team plasma and its ability to hold eviolite gives it surprisingly useful bulk in the mid/late game to add onto its great speed bc of thunder wave/static, mine lasted from virbank complex all the way to a crit from grimsley without leaving my team once :)
1:03:14 At first I thought Avalugg and then wasn't sure if you meant in general or just mons that are in the game, which Avalugg clearly isn't. But also Pineco and Donphan get it in gen 5 and none of them are available in a nuzlocke of this game. Cosmoem gets it too which is funny. And coincidentally, you can get both Donphan and Pineco in this game, just after the league. Pineco through swarms, and Donphan evolving a Phanpy that you get through the trades with the Lost Xtransceiver side quest.
Basculin being underestimated as always. Adaptability gives the fish a distressing amount of power and it's pretty darn speedy at base 98 to boot. At least B-tier, even as a sacrifice that goes down swinging.
I know that Challenge mode is bugged to not update stats for higher levels, but I still think it makes for an overall fun increase to difficulty, for those who can unlock it: for one, the higher level trainers give you more Exp and resources to work with, without overdoing it like in some later games. For another, the movesets and parties of Gym Leaders are more dangerous, without being utter cheese. I’ve got some personal rankings for most of the dex myself by this point, but I suppose you’re the “old master” at this
I just did a soul link nuzlocke of those games with a friend, here are my thoughts on some of the MVPs of the run Drapion is 100% cracked. Only 1 weakness to care about + battle armor is just broken. If you get this you're playing on easy mode for the rest of the game. Funnily enough, in our run it died to a crit against Ghetsis' own Drapion because his ability was changed to Mummy against Cofagrigus Gigalith is an amazing pokémon. Seriously, go look at its stats. His special defense and speed are really higher than you would expect. It never dies, hits like a truck and generally saved our asses multiple times Maractus is ok, not amazing but usable. He gets petal dance early with a high special attack, so it hits like a truck. Water absorb is nice for pivoting Liepard is absolute trash, not just bad but male combee tier. Terrible start, gets no moves, can't kill anything, gets OHKOd by wild pokémon on crit... I had to use it because it was linked to my friend's Watchog (which is unironically a good early game pokémon) and I think it peaked when it paralysed a wild pokémon with Twave and was only 3HKOd in return. Absolute bottom of the barrel We got low on encounters at the end so Wailord and Zangoose were pivotal parts of our elite 4 strategy. And guess what ? They did their job ! Wailord was just tanky enough to hold his own against Grimsley and Zangoose was able to set up against Shauntal's cofagrigus just like we calculated it would. Granted we were playing with items and no level cap but it was nice to see some very unusual mons in action Overall, B2W2 are amazing games to soul link because there is a huge variety of encounters. I would absolutely recommend it, we had a lot of fun
1:03:13 There's a lot more than just 2 non Rock or Steel types with Sturdy- There's 4 (6 if you include the pre-evos Bergmite and Pineco): Sawk, Avalugg, Donphan, and Cosmoem.
Something i wanna point out, Unfezant does suck yea, the movepool is disappointing but unfezants stats are good and it has a base 115 attack stat with 97 speed which isnt bad at all. You can get the aerial ace TM near skyla, you can get the fly HM right after elisa i believe, People think unfezant is a special attacker but he really isnt with 65 base special attack.
Another request before beginning the video, please keep Sneasel in high A tier. That thing trivialises Iris HARD upon evolving. Black 2 was the first game I nuzlocked (along withhardcore mode, after inspiring from people like you, Silph, Andrew and so on). And I did Iris deathless, largely because of Weavile without even using Swords Dance. S Tier is not possible and I understand because Sneasel is available so late! EDIT: Yeah I know, Flygon HG didn't suggest B2 as the very first game to nuzlocke. And he's actually right. I remember breaking one of the rules of hardcore nuzlocke when while training for a substitute to my fire fighting starter, my mienfoo got crit by a wild tangela's giga drain (most of them knew only mega drain). I loaded my previous savestate, because I didn't want to get depressed with quickly following permadeaths and leave the nuzlocke in between 😅
I ended up with a ton of psychic and ghost pokemon late game and trainers with Scrafty caused a lot of deaths. Definitely any mon that can deal with dark types are much appreciated.
Not the first game I nuzlocked--that goes to HeartGold until I quit after a long grind and then immediately (dumbly) losing my dratini and magnemite--but it IS the first one I beat! With only Barbarian the Darmanitan as the survivor at the end
there's one category of encounters mostly ignored in a nuzlocke: the mob crushers. They are the sub-par pokemons that you don't mind losing and use for random trainers to not risk important members. Being able to play risky makes these pokemons much more effective than they seem, so even mediocre encounters like pinsir, unfezant or maractus can pull their weight and more.
@@FlygonHG you don't really need it, but if that excadrill is one of my few answers to a future boss, i'd rather risk the life of an easily replaceable pokemon. It's like carrying around a sacrifice for a clean switch in case something goes wrong in a gym. From personal experience I can assure you that it works great if you are not an expert, yet I've seen a lot of novices lose important encounters in random fights. It's just a strategy that might help new players, that's all.
13:10 i thought of pineco but wasnt sure it counted because it evovles into a steel type Went to see google turns out cosmoem has sturdy I kinda forgot that thing existed
19:46 I never understand why people cut it off at 43. Growlithe learns Flare Blitz at Level 45 which is still below Drayden’s level cap. Just wait the two levels and then have an automatic delete button on anything that doesn’t resist Fire
As someone who decided to attempt a White 2 Nuzlocke maybe only having completely one before in Sword (I honestly can't remember if it got completed or not lol), this is really helpful to see what I need to look out for, there were definitely some in here that surprised me (Darmanitan, Crustle, Jellicent, Drapion, and Skarmory just to name a few) *Additional things I have to add about the early game is that because Sewaddle has pretty great defenses and a decent attack stat for the early game, having one with Bug Bite for Cheren's gym is a lifesaver, especially against the work up Lilipup. Then additionally, Stoutland with Silk Scarf Return is definitely a hard carry
I think doing some illusion shenanigans with Zoruark and Crobat can be really fun if Zubat is your sewers encounter. Crobat 4x resists Zoruark’s weaknesses in Gen 5, so the trainer AI isn’t likely to use those types of moves if you have Zoruark out and Crobat as its illusion copy. It can be really good into psychic type pokemon, especially, because trainers thinking they can hit you with a super effective psychic will instead do 0 damage.
Something I notice is that most of the S-tier encounters don't come up early game, and they share a lot of typings; so while it may be easy, I think it'd be interesting to see a run where ONLY those encounters are allowed. No starter, no a-tier; the moment you get a magnemite you're stuck with that until you get more S-tier encounters. It might not be very difficult, especially in late game, but the limited typings might provide an interesting challenge (and maybe there could be a rule about having to go in underlevelled or similar restrictions). Or maybe it wouldn't be interesting at all, idk. D-tier Only might be a more interesting challenge; similarly limited pool of encounters, pokemon not seen often, and it would be just a bit easier than F-tier Only.
I played a Black 2 challenge mode hardcore nuzlocke earlier this year and lost to Iris. Haven’t picked it back up since but you’ve inspired me to give it another try! Love your content, as always another quality video! Thank you!
One thing no nuzlocker seems to mention about Samurott is that it gets Encore, which is pretty rare in Unova, and you don't need me to tell you that it's a super broken move
The problem with Samurott is that it requires a good amount of EV investment to use Encore effectively. Cincinno has naturally high speed so it can easily get an Encore in
Cofagrigus is a SOLID answer to Clay. Especially with 252 HP / 252 Def EVs. Switch in, Power split, WoW, and you've effectively cut it's attack by 1/4. With my calcs and EV spread the coffin could survive 2 critical hits from full HP, so you're guaranteed to get the power split off with the right EVs. Don't just box the Yamask. A similar strategy can be used against Haxorus. Mummy also removes Haxorus' mold breaker for sturdy strats. Great mon Edit: Also, the stat changes from power/guard split remain until the affected mon switches out, so when you switch the coffin out Excadrill will still have its attack dropped, softening the blow for your switch in
I think Emolga should be B-tier maybe even low A tier due to fast Encore. I used them to cheese a few fights in my Electric Locke of W2 including Iris* by switching in on EQ and then Encoring them before they could strike back. *I led Eelektross to hopefully bait Haxorus EQ. Max HP and a + Sp. Def nature meant that Eelektross could survive two Wise Glasses boosted Dragon Pulses as long as neither crit and with some attack EVs and a Dragon Gem, Dragon Claw was a favorable range to OHKo. I got the range and Haxorus did come out like I had hoped. So I was able to switch into Emolga who Encored them and then koed with a few Acrobatics, then got the Archeops which was good because Thunderbolt knocked it into Defeatist and then I was able to chip Lapras into the Yellow before going down to Blizzard. Walrein: *Seeing that Flygon put Dewgong above them* angry, offended walrus noises
I’m currently doing a White 2 hardcore nuzlocke with max rare candies on my “Nintendo DSi” and I’ve lost twice to Colress, this is really helpful thank you!!!
I’d actually say that Snivy is at least A tier, because in Challenge Mode it is a guaranteed fast Growth user for Cheren. There’s pretty much nothing else that has setup before the first gym aside from Sunkern, which isn’t guaranteed and is also, well, a Sunkern
That's why Snivy is B tier. I'm going to be honest, Serperior is the 2nd worst starter in the franchise's history but it has great setup potential in certain scenarios like with Cheren. Is bad against the next 3 gyms (Tbf every starter is bad against Elesa) and has lackluster coverage, but at least it has utility and speed with decent bulk.
A lot of the encounters you can get in Floccessy Rank can easily deal with Cheren, and all three starters shouldn’t have much to fear unless you get unlucky with crits. Being a little bit better at dealing with an almost free encounter isn’t anything special. Cheren looks potentially spooky on paper, but in practice I’ve found he’s honestly not worth thinking much about, even with several boosts his Pokemon don’t hit hard enough to really challenge your starter. Worst case scenario you might need to switch to a second Pokemon late into the fight instead of sweeping with one. Just equip the Oran Berries you get from Alder and make sure you’re levelled appropriately, you’ll be fine regardless, making Snivy’s slight edge over Cheren irrelevant.
58:10 Dewgong actually has a very, *very* niche trait, which is that, if you dont got many munz, seel learns dive by lvl up, allowing you to get the stuff in the 1st floor abyssal ruins before postgame. Lol
Something to note about Castelia Park Encounters; Although Lilligant is only an encounter for W2, Route 4 has an ingame trade, being Petilil/Cottonee; that game's version for the other's.
I think that sandslash is a bit lower than it should be. It is a fantastic counter to clays excadrill because of its fantastic physical bulk and it can even take some of haxourus’s attacks well.
God, I can’t stop giggling though. Not only was B2/W2 my first proper nuzlocke, I also ended the run with both a Golduck AND a Garbodor on my team. I completely agree where they were placed, but watching over the part where he’s absolutely LAYING into Garbodor is really funny to me lmao
I think a lot of people underestimate how useful Serperior is in b2w2. It gets access to growth before Cheren making it a fairly easy and consistent answer into a run killer. It's also good for pivoting on Elesa due to resisting electric moves and baiting flying moves, a good pivot for Clay for resisting ground moves and clapping back effectively (except vs Excadrill), is good against Marlon, and while not having particularly good matchups in late game, it doesn't necessarily have bad ones either while maintaining its access to setup moves and having the flexibility of building physical or special for whatever you need. More people should see the light on this mon :(
56:06 you can get kings rock if you get a lillipup encounter (40%) and it has pickup (50%) and you get it between level 20 and 40 and farm for the 0.5% chance you get a king’s rock after a battle
14:20 I personally had stoutland with intimidate on my team for every single gym in my Nuzlocke. She was an absolute beast. I used silk scarf and return for massive damage, and she never let me down.
30:26 as someone who's used both of the static encounters, i can confirm braviary DOMINATES. It might be because mine had an adamant nature and avobe average attack ivs, but still. Absolutely powerhouse. ..mandibuzz is fine, i guess. Cute design for sure
26:39 of note about cottonee/whimsicott: in both black 1 and 2 you can trade your cottonee for a petilil in nacrene city and route 4 respectively. In both games the petilil is guaranteed max spa IVs and 20 ivs in everything else and Modest nature in B1 and Jolly Nature in B2. You could argue this makes cottonee better Black than petilil in White bc you can guarantee a Petilil with good stats and a 40 bp Hidden Power ground with cottonee, but i dont think this help whimsicotts placing that much
Currently doing my first every nuzlocke on white 2 and I just lost my dewott in a very stupid way, there’s a guy on the desert route with a riolu, and I just didn’t really think very hard about it and used a physical move on him, and he survived with 1 hp. He used counter and one shot it. I was flabbergasted
On r/Nuzlockes two years back, a user was doing analytics on the make-up of Elite Four teams in Black and White. The highest used Pokémon was Chandelure at over 50% usage, which makes sense given it’s both guaranteed and really the only Fire type of its caliber in Unova that isn’t Volcarona
I like Audino as a purely defensive pivot. If you are willing to farm Battle Subway items, Eject Button Audino can be a free pivot to any other mon and then probably have enough health to tank another hit. Regenerator Amoongus outclasses it at this, but Audino can still be a decent backup or teammate for Amoongus.
Haxorus being the best encounter checks out. It can basically solo Iris in Challenge mode (with Stealth Rock support). Give it the Haban berry you get in Driftveil, use Dragon Dance once, click Dragon Claw/Low Kick six times and you're good.
I beat a White 2 Hardcore Nuzlocke a while back and I can easily say that Gliscor, Metagross, and Drapion basically carried late game. Honorable mention to Mienshao and Shell Armor Lapras.
I just used Garbodor in a playthrough and found him to be a surprising MVP. Sludge Bomb, Acid Spray, Toxic and Stockpile. Felt decently bulky, I EV trained for Sp. Attack since I didn't want to rely on inaccurate Gunk Shot. If a plan went to shit, I was able to salvage the battle a lot of times by switching to Garbodor and hitting the opponent with toxic, tripling stockpile and then going for acid spray + sludge bomb. Super reliable
Funny and ironic... White 2 was the 1st game i Nuzlocked back in 2013... and i won. So, when i started Nuzlocke's on my channel, i did White 2, for my 1st RUclips Series Nuzlocke, and bruh... i severely underestimated it. Got my Ass handed to me! 😂
This might be a very minimal niche, but Emboar having stab arm thrust could potentially help against the sturdy threats you mentioned vs Colress. I’m unsure if that’s reliable enough of a strategy to pull off vs the very strong electric damage from magneton and magnezone, but if you’re low on safe answers it could be worth considering :)
I love this video! I’m almost done with my HC Black 2 Nuzlocke (about to fight Ghetsis), and I might do another one because I didn’t know how good some of these Pokémon are (I caught freaking Yamask in Relic Castle instead of waiting for Volcarona)
I enjoy these ranking contents. It's nice to hear you go into a bit more depth into why/why not things are good, instead of just slapping something into S tier and calling it a day.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Love how the encounters are presented in actual encounter order and not dex order, thats what this kind of videos need !
oh i know right! Pokemon Challenges does his tier lists (which are great) but this is the missing link.
Although Unova encounter order Is pretty much the dex order
Fun fact! There are actually 6 Pokemon that can have Sturdy that are not Rock or Steel type:
-Pineco [Bug]
-Donphan [Ground]
-Sawk [Fighting]
-Bergmite [Ice] (Hidden Ability)
-Avalugg [Ice] (Hidden Ability)
-Cosmoem [Psychic]
Damn, there were six and I couldn't think of a single one 😅
I was so excited when I remembered avalugg, then I realized I have donphan in a draft league rn and knew something wasn't right. Maybe he meant fully evolved mons with sturdy as of B2W2?
@@spencerbrummett6712 That would make sense, also I’m not sure if Cosmoem really counts as I don’t think you can actually use it in-game, but I don’t 100% remember, I haven’t played Gen 7 in a while…
@@TheFourthBlackReaper I feel like you can get cosmog as a gift in post game, bc I remember leveling one up and you'd have to to fill the dex page, right? But still not applicable in a nuzlocke sense bc I'm pretty sure they both don't learn any moves and it's post game.
@@spencerbrummett6712 I kinda remember it being something like that, but I thought you just might have gotten to scan it once Nebby evolved from a Cosmog but before they evolve into whichever Box Legendary you get and go with you afterwards.
the guaranteed hidden grotto cincinno with skill link is amazing. Guaranteed 5x hit on tail slap, rock blast, bullet seed is really powerful even towards the late game.
Yea especially with encore,charm,captivate or tickle as good support options for that 4th move slot or wake up slap for steel types but I would go for support. Scope lens or kings rock also gives it a strong hold item for hax to brute force stuff it normally can't kill.
@@Ash-Hole2000lmaosadly kings rock is post game
Shit I didn't think about bullet seed omg
@@nicholasgreen4921great strat for carracosta for Marlon to beat the sturdy
Dr. HG did not mention this, but one of the things that makes Stoutland work for so long is early access to return and silk scarf. If you're not a bad person and Stoutland likes you, you get a version of return which has close to 150 base power*, accounting for STAB and assuming silk scarf. That plus intim, decent natural bulk, and a base 110** attack stat is pretty darn good into more than you might think
*actually well over 150! i did my math thinking STAB was ×1.2, for whatever reason. Silk scarf is 1.2, STAB is 1.5, so 102×1.5×1.2=183(and change)!
**100, actually. i am a goober
Tragically only base 100 in gen 5 but still, very true
@@that-guy-pearce I did not know it was only 100 in gen 5. Learn something new every day, I guess. Still respectable for single player
if you account for STAB it's way stronger than 150 BP
102 * 1.2x from Silk Scarf * 1.5 from STAB is very powerful
@@keksauce thought STAB was 1.2 for whatever reason, my bad!
Stoutland is basically the gen 5 Kanghaskan: Fast enough, bulky enough and strong enough for the adventure so it always has uses. I would say it's better in Black/White though due to less steel and rock types.
Would be cool to now see a B2 nuzlocke using the top and bottom pokemon of each tier!
I think it'd be more interesting to just see a B2 nuzlocke with the top tiers excluded. Have a specific prescribed team would be too limiting I think.
@@dylanboczar999 could do two and use the top half and another with the bottom half. But could readjust if one is to limiting
@@dylanboczar999 B2/W2 but only C tier or lower would be neat
He could do a bw2 snaplocke
He could do a bw2 snaplocke
Emolga absolutely deserves to be higher as a fast mon who gets Encore in the Skyla split and has a very common immunity to switch in on and just win in certain matchups. Provided it has passable speed, it can switch in on every E4 ground move, outspeed and Encore the user, then paralyse with T-Wave, spam Flash, set up Screens, Volt Switch or even just let Emolga chip it down while continually Encoring whenever it runs out. A near guaranteed Electric type in a ton of shaking grass spots is also fantastic for Skyla, and Static has some utility in getting other good electric mons more reliably.
I also think this should be taken into consideration with Magnemite’s ranking as well, as Magnet Pull makes Metagross, Skarmory, Aggron, Ferrothorn and Bisharp all far more accessible, who all are immensely useful mons
Encore into Volt Switch was key for gimping HaxRus
Repeling at level 38 in doubles grass gives a 75% chance to encounter Skarmory, which is greater than the 50% chance from Magnet Pull. Also Aggron is an (almost) guaranteed encounter.
@@marcustulliuscicero5443 magnet pull doesnt decrease the chance down to 50%, it adds an additional coin flip at the beginning. In the case of the doubles grass Repel manip you have a 50% chance to guaranteed get Skarm, then a 75% chance to get Skarm, so odds become 7/8 rather than the 3/4 without. It's not a massive increase, but any increase in chance to get such a fantastic mon is worth it. Magnet Pull also triples the odds of Aron on each floor of Mistralton Cave (20% -> 60%), though granted you probably will have the Boldore and Woobat dupes. theres no downside to using Magnet Pull unless you specifically want a mon that's not steel, which is hardly ever a thing considering how strong most every single available steel type is, and having it just makes getting those mons so much more reliable and less prone to getting rng screwed
@@rattyxoxo7397 That's actually great to know, TIL.
However, if you want to Magnet Pull Manip with Zone you have to not bring it against Skyla, which depending on your encounters beforehand can make that fight a bit tricky.
Also since Mistralton Cave is two encounters (Mistralton Cave proper and Guidance Chamber), by repelling with a level 30 Foongus you can (almost) guarantee getting both Aggron and Haxorus.
Emolga is special for me, it was the first solo run I ever did on X
17:20
audino renegerator carried my team until drayden, it's super good for pivot switching especially when you need to pp stall some special attacks or just generally taking hits and damaging back the opponent with rocky helmet, if i dont get ferrothorn i keep audino as my main shock absorber ❤️ plus it's great with triple/rotation battles(pesky ace trainers)
Regenerator mons in general are just so good in any game. Amoongus saved my most recent run by being able to single-handedly take on the fighting type e4 member after I lost my plan A to a crit.
I love the unova nuzzlockes. Mostly because of the original's "no past gen pokemons before postgame"
I high-key wish there were a rom like Blaze Black/ Volt White that is just a more challenging updated version of the game, but keeps the original dex. Heck I kinda wish that were the case for all those type of romhacks
@@Kotenekrazy But Blaze Black isn't locked to the Unova dex, you have other region mons available as encounters from the start
@@iSearchRUclips that’s what they’re saying
@@mgmf46 I read it as "wish there were a rom like BB/VW" as in a rom like them that is an updated difficulty mod with the same dex
Not "a game like BB/VW but not altering the dex"
Fun fact: you have a 50/50 chance of getting a Metang or a Ditto, by using the repel strat in the Giant Chasm (crater forest), that's because only these 2 Pokémon can appear at level 47
I did this but regretted it, got ditto missed out on metagross and mamoswine even clefable would have been better
If you happen to get a magnet one with magnet pull you can increase your chances above 50% for metagross , and if you go in the dark grass for double battles your odds are even better. I also recommend using your master ball on metagross!
I would actually like to briefly correct a small assumption made in this video - it turns out you _can_ access Chargestone Cave before fighting Clay! so this means you can get an earlier magnezone, god bless
Oh, and the Chargestone Cave encounter table too. If you're wondering if any of those encounters would be good into Clay, here's my general take:
No. Don't even think about it, really.
Joltik is a very small Bug/Electric Type who is threatened by the rock coverage Krokorok and Excadrill have while not being able to do much in turn, and Galvantula comes after the level cap
Tynamo might be immune to Ground but it also cannot meaningfully damage any of Clay's Pokemon (with another evolution that is levels above the cap!)
Klink is weak to Ground and can't _also_ evolve yet
Nosepass is either singularly weak or doubly weak depending on if you use Chargestone Cave to evolve it
...and okay, Ferroseed's actually a decent enough counter + wall for Clay with Eviolite & Seed Bomb, but you probably have better counters already planned (like, say, that guaranteed Serene Grace Deerling you can get from the Weather Building on Route 6 already)
I did know that, but I never did because why would you need magnezone for clay
Serene Grace on deerling is not that good tho, its movepool has very little that can take advantage of it
@@marcogypaetus9607 oh yeah, 100%. it's more about the fact that it is a Guaranteed Encounter than anything else - you don't have to gamble on getting something good on that route when you can know that there is in fact a decent grass-type that can learn Fighting-type moves, perfect for the nearby ground gym.
My guy, that bit at the beginning explaining the hard fights and why theyre hard was awesome. it added so much to the video cause it makes so much of the ranking easier to understand and see your logic
Lapras has access to ice beam before Drayden and absolutely should be your Village Bridge target with dupes clause if you already have the Marill line
Absolutely, if you happen to get Marill at Floccessy Ranch, get Basculin at Route 14 (where it's 70% to be your surf encounter), and you guarantee yourself a STAB Ice Beam user for Drayden :)
Yea, but they have an urge to faint themselves with perish song when you try to get it
Challenge idea: mirror match!
For each boss you have to mach their type specialty. For the water gym leader, only water types. Any Giovanni fight, only ground types.
You can select any type before your encounter, and choose only between the mons of that type on that route. This way you won't get softlocked by ban encounter luck.
Have fun!!!
If you see this Mr HG pls say something so I know, even if you're not interested, that I should stop posting this hoping you'll see it lol ❤
Cool idea
@@naftalilipman8153 parasocial 😨
This is actually pretty cool! I'd allow catching multiple pokemon to make up for the fact you might not have the type you need if you go with 1 encounter per route if I played with this idea.
Brock in fire red and leaf green:
The u-turners, volt switchers, and magic guarders may be a little too low but very, very accurate list. Appreciated Sir
As someone who did a hardcore nuzlocke of this game, I'm hoping Garbodor to be B or even A tier Pokémon. Yes, GARBODOR!
Both of my fighting types fainted and I my only bug type was shelmet which couldn't evolve!
So I really had no solid plan against Grimsley. I ultimately decided using the toxic spikes and switching to stall his Pokémon a bit and then deal damage. But this wasn't a good idea either because my only Dark resist was Weavile. Regardless, I trained my boxed Trubbish.
And after levelling Garbodor up to level 45 I realised ... This thing gets DRAIN PUNCH? A combination of Drain Punch and Toxic Spikes along with defense EVs invested in Garbodor made that battle so much easier. I still can't stress enough how much I underestimated Garbodor. It's bad in competitive, but actually decent in nuzlockes.
So that's my viewpoint of why Garbodor should be that high: Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes are quite good against Grimsley, even better against Marshall and amazing against Iris too. Garbodor is an actual good Elite 4 'mon, especially with drain punch. Other valuable and semi-valuable moves include toxic, clear smog, venoshock etc.
Im too lazy to fact check this but theres probably a better pokemon that can set up toxic spikes, and if you can get that pokemon, Garbodors use instantly goes down
@@TheGodIvy Roserade, Amoongus, Drapion or muk? Understandable. Roserade just feels a bit frail to set up toxic spikes, grimer is very unlikely, thus leaving only three players. Obviously Drapion is superior here but in my playthrough I couldn't even run up into a skorupi, thus leaving very few toxic spikes setters and because Garbodor was one of them, it automatically became good for my team.
This is so helpful because i just started a nuzlocke on Black 2 and im STRUGGLING
My first two encounters were Purrloin and SUNKERN 😭😭
Needless to say they died soon after
That does not bode well for the rest of your run
I actually took a Sunflora to the Hall of Fame once. She didn’t do Jack to anyone in the league, but it still worked out, so
Tbf sunkern can do some work early on if used correctly, even if it does become terrible really quickly
Black 2 was one of the first nuzlockes i ever completed, and I remember losing my starter (samurott) to drayden, and replacing it with the world's most badass golduck, that thing carried me so hard through the rest of the game.
Golduck praise let’s go-! 🦍
Lilagant also gets pedal dance own tempo making it have a 120 move no downsides
Tho it does get locked on petal dance
@@raytheman5316not like it gets better coverage
@@kayramah2531 true sadly :c
Fun fact: u can get heracross in black 2 and pincer in white 2 via hidden grotto but the chance are so small it is like a 0,015% chance or something, it is in the hidden grotto u can find the monkes
When you expected FlygonHG to put Flygon on the S-tier, but he doesn’t. This proves why he isn’t bias.
Tried a run of White 2 a few months ago and wiped to Shauntal. Got pretty frustrated and set it down for a while. Gonna give it another go after seeing this video. Thanks for the encouragement!
Good luck man you will nail it this time 👍
That was honestly a really fun tier list. It was really cool to see you talk about the non-Gen 5 Pokemon here when I more recently played B/W instead of B/W 2 and it kind of makes me want to return to B/W 2 sometime soon.
Anyways, it's time for me to once again recommend returning to a No-Same Type Moves Nuzlocke. This time I'll re-recommend Black / White (Or even Black/White 2 if you want) because of the tier list and also because I actually played through that one with the No-Same Type Moves Challenge.
I will prob never run a nuzlocke. But i will always care about the logic and strategy behind running one. Great stuff
Between you and Chuggaconroy, I’m glad there’s a resurgence in BW2 content!
and Chugga has a Trapinch on his team, which is very cool to see
55:43 I do believe that you can buy razor fangs in the PWT. That is what I did to beat Drayden
Hello everyone! I'm currently doing my third attempt at this games' nuzlocke - always wiping to random Victory Road trainers, by the way - and I would love to give you some tips that in my opinion might help you further.
1)Keep in mind some apparently useless pokemons' abilities are broken. A pokemon with Static such as Mareep - if first in your team - boosts your chances of getting Magnemite in Virbank's complex if you're playing Black 2 (White 2 has wild Elekid there instead of Magby, so you wouldn't really make a profit if you want a Magnemite) and Joltik in Chargestone Cave (in this case Elekid too can be used). Keep in mind electric type 'mons - quick ones especially - are very useful as they can learn Volt Switch, the only repositioning move if you forbid yourself U-Turn's TM, which is only available via PWT. Most importantly, if you don't get a Magnemite without Sturdy - a broken ability - consider that the other one, Magnet Pull, *might be* almost better, as it boosts your chances of encountering Pawniard, Skarmory and Metang in their own locations. Another broken utility pokemon you can get is Eevee: once you get to Castelia City, be sure to get yourself one with repel manipulating strats (if you want to), because not only it can evolve in what you want depending on its stats/nature, but most importantly both Espeon and Umbreon have Synchronize, which means if you put them first in the party they will boost the chances of you finding wild 'mons with the same nature. I would give an arm to get myself a neutral nature (or a special attack hindering nature) Sandile instead of the thousand 0 IVS quiet nature I have found...
2)There is a static Minccino encounter in Route 5 and it has Skill Link. Not only it is thousand times better than a regular Minccino, but by getting it you can also reroll it on Route 4, which is the route with arguably the strongest guaranteed encounters. Also, consider making a capture in Desert Resort first, 'coz you might make it so that you get both Darumaka and Sandile there and then on Route 4.
3)I have no idea what the heck does My brother FlygonHG have against Claydol but I think it's a beautiful guaranteed pokemon which can be great when paired up with steel stypes - Magnezone, Bisharp and Aggron especially - making wonderful cores. Don't go for Sandile in the Relic Castle - I never found it - and don't go for Volcarona either: that thing is just broken. If you need a fire type get the guaranteed Litwick and if you need a bug type... Nah, man. You don't. Maybe Galvantula, okay? Or Leavanny. Yeah. And by the way if you truly are getting a Claydol be sure to make it PHYSICALLY defensive. Not specially. The late game special attackers in Black 2 and White 2 are just too strong and one non-resisted move - especially if it crits - is gonna kill you anyway.
4)Let me get this straight: I don't know what Mr OneballHG was smoking before taking this video - though I'd be happy to share it - but you definitely SHOULD get Sewaddle on Route 20 (not really worth it in later locations IMHO, though). First of all you are VERY likely to, as Sewaddle has a 35% spawn rate on Route 20 (the highest rate on that route), but most importantly you better know this: in the very early game, Sewaddle's line is BROKEN. Solid attack, defense and speed stat(s); Bug Bite - virtually 90 power with STAB - learnt at level 8 and String Shot in its moveset already: with these two you *EAT* Cheren (unless you get very unlucky with nature/IVs). It then gets Razor Leaf and Protect; evolves into Swadloon at level 20 *AND THEN* into Leavanny at level 21 (you're gonna walk a lot to find and fight Audino(s) so happyness is gonna get skyhigh in no time), at that point Leavanny just solo-eats Burgh's entire team and his Leavanny's Sitrus Berry with Bug Bite. It's just an amazing early game encounter. It later falls off pretty damn hard and pretty damn fast too, especially once you reach Reversal Mountain and Route 13, but with those solid stats and STAB moves (including Leaf Blade, X-Scissors and Swords Dance) you can always make some use of it, not to mention it quad-resists ground and grass type moves.
Also, it can be very useful against Clay, as Leftovers and Protect offer good recovery and will help you smash both Krokorock and Sandslash, although you will need your starter then to get rid of his Excadrill (Eviolite Dewott pairs up pretty good). To play safer, you might need a sacrifice material for free switch-in(s), but I'm pretty sure you will have a lot of sack material at that point, such as any Route 6 encounter, for example.
Good luck with your journey my friends!
51:04 A slight error, Mantine in this gen doesn't get access to Roost. Mantine didn't receive Roost until Gen 7 where it's a move relearner move that it learns at level 1.
Put that man in b tier
While I admit, Liepard is pretty bad in most scenarios, it does have a few virtues! Specifically as counter for Clay! And a pretty reliable one at that.
First, it's speedy, and outspeeds all his pokemon easily.
It can learn rocksmash via TM and seedbomb via move tutor, being it has super effective attacks against everything on his team. And while being a bit frail, it's only weak to Sandslash's Fury Cutter!
After that, it has fakeout, which can be incredibly valuable for chipping away at your foes (especially if you're intimidate swapping with arcanine or krokorok)and does an honestly surprising amount of damage.
In terms of stab options, Assurance is your best bet for damage, but I prefer Thief in order to swipe away Excadrill's sitrus berry. (You can also do this with covet from the move tutor!)
Finally, there's its abilities. Limber is useless, but Unburden is GREAT.
By using a gem (preferably fighting for rocksmash or dark for thief), consuming a berry (preferably sitrus), or popping an air balloon, you double your speed and ensure you'll outspeed for atleast two Bulldozes. This also synergizes with Thief by allowing you to steal his sitrus and benefit from the effects of two items!
I obviously don't recommend going at Clay with just a Liepard. Partnering it with an Intimidate Krokorok is ideal, and you'll probably want something else to handle his Krokorok and Sandslash, but it's pretty darn reliable for Excadrill, even without unburden!
My heart sank when I realized that Camerupt's bulk is like 70/70/70 and is slow as hell to boot. I actually like using him in Emerald (yes the water but still) but I imagine he gets powercreeped hard in this game.
yeah it doesn't make sense for it to be frailer than CHANDELURE of all things (60/90/90)
Awesome tier list
Expected Krookodile and Excadrill as S tier
Some of the other S tiers were surprising but your reasoning made sense
Before the video, here’s hoping that Riolu is S++ Tier because that is an insane encounter for so early in the game.
My luck got me a damn psyduck...
I would guess it won't be quite that high just because it's encounter rate is so low, so you can't rely on getting it. Its obviously a phenomenal pokemon if you can get it but the low odds probably knock its rating a bit since that is a stated criteria
@@dancook6114 if you use dream radar, you can basically guarantee it
I restart runs till I get lucario or azu
No doubt THE best encounter
I think Zoroark is slept on. Easy S-tier to me, with its absurd IVs (guaranteed 30 in each stat) plus hasty nature allow it to outspeed everything, and has access to HP-Fighting to curbstomp the entire elite 4 save Marshall
Yeah, Illusion is also much more valuable than just a "niche" option, definitely think it's being a little undervalued here
Yeh it is good, easily goes S tier as long as you have a Poison type to bait Psychic moves into it
Wait, the Gift Zorua has access to Hidden Power Fighting, are you serious
@@zaneheaston8254 yup, since it's guaranteed to have 30 IVs in each stat
@@zaneheaston8254pretty sure it’s 70 bp too
Magnezone is in a league of its own honestly completely carried my white 2 nuzlocke especially in the late game
Ampharos has static for electric encounters so i would put it higher for sure. Walrein lefties ice body protect definitely viable for drayden though. But great list overall
Arcanine is surprisingly bulky. Rip In pieces JJ, you did your best. But Iris was just a little too strong.
arcanini panini
Could you do this but for Pokémon Ultra Sun and Moon? I think those games are some of the hardest in the series with it’s plethora of potential run enders and tough early game, so I’d be interested to see your thoughts on those games’ encounters.
I used Surperior in my White 2 nuzlocke and this thing with Coil and Leaf Blade/Storm was destructive it actually made me like Surperior quite a bit
You can technically grind a Pickup mon in order to obtain a King's Rock for fling strats. Chuggaaconroy got one in his playthrough around the Virbank Complex. It's a 1% chance between levels 11 and 30, so definitely not likely but it's an option if you want to use Gliscor.
Of course he did lol
Ferrothorn is an extremely good counter for all of draydens team. Use iron defense turn one followed by ingrain to prevent being dragon tailed out of the battle and then go until you reach max defense. At this point the ai sort of breaks and attempts to spam dragon tail untill the end of the battle due to the stat raises on the ferrothorn then just sweep with iron head or any other move. I could be wrong but I just beat drayden in my nuzlocke using this strategy so if you are looking for a hard counter ferrothorn works perfect.
Lucario should be S-tier, it has more use cases than the others and even its frailty is covered by the fact that steel is op in that generation
I disagree. There’s ‘Mons that do Lucario’s job (outside of priority) much better, be it due to having either higher Attack, Speed, or even bulk. Heracross and Mienshao are much better options due to having higher base power moves and higher Attack (at 125) in general. Heracross’s better bulk allows it to pivot into attacks and smack around opponents with stuff like Megahorn and Night Slash for coverage. Getting Close Combat at level 34? Yes please. You can also get it relatively early in the game, in Lostlorn forest. Rare, but worth it.
Meinshao on the other hand has MUCH higher speed (105) and thus can outspeed and annihilate anything that stands in its way with a nasty 130 base power high jump kick, which gives better odds of surviving attacks due to not lowering your defences like Close Combat does, Lucario’s (and disadvantageously Heracross’) best fighting move.
And those are just some of the handful of fast attackers that do Lucario’s job better. Unless you’re grinding for that juicy Swords Dance Extreme Speed combo, Lucario isn’t worth it. You’re frail to begin with so resisted hits with that steel typing barely matter, you still take quite a chunk of health. The AI of gym leaders and E4 members isn’t stupid either. It’ll happily select neutral or (even worse) super effective moves and send Anubis here back to Egypt.
Also Riolu is rare.
B- in my opinion.
Hey Flygon, do a *Hardcore Nuzlocke but Every Pokemon is Used Wrong*! For Pokemon with excellent physical attack, use only special moves, and vice versa!
Love this idea
Thats a great idea
i used an electabuzz for my white 2 nuzlocke and i would actually argue that it belongs in A tier bc low kick is a great answer to all those cryogonals and pawniards from team plasma and its ability to hold eviolite gives it surprisingly useful bulk in the mid/late game to add onto its great speed bc of thunder wave/static, mine lasted from virbank complex all the way to a crit from grimsley without leaving my team once :)
1:03:14 At first I thought Avalugg and then wasn't sure if you meant in general or just mons that are in the game, which Avalugg clearly isn't. But also Pineco and Donphan get it in gen 5 and none of them are available in a nuzlocke of this game. Cosmoem gets it too which is funny. And coincidentally, you can get both Donphan and Pineco in this game, just after the league. Pineco through swarms, and Donphan evolving a Phanpy that you get through the trades with the Lost Xtransceiver side quest.
Pineco was def the answer
Basculin being underestimated as always. Adaptability gives the fish a distressing amount of power and it's pretty darn speedy at base 98 to boot. At least B-tier, even as a sacrifice that goes down swinging.
I know that Challenge mode is bugged to not update stats for higher levels, but I still think it makes for an overall fun increase to difficulty, for those who can unlock it: for one, the higher level trainers give you more Exp and resources to work with, without overdoing it like in some later games. For another, the movesets and parties of Gym Leaders are more dangerous, without being utter cheese. I’ve got some personal rankings for most of the dex myself by this point, but I suppose you’re the “old master” at this
I just did a soul link nuzlocke of those games with a friend, here are my thoughts on some of the MVPs of the run
Drapion is 100% cracked. Only 1 weakness to care about + battle armor is just broken. If you get this you're playing on easy mode for the rest of the game. Funnily enough, in our run it died to a crit against Ghetsis' own Drapion because his ability was changed to Mummy against Cofagrigus
Gigalith is an amazing pokémon. Seriously, go look at its stats. His special defense and speed are really higher than you would expect. It never dies, hits like a truck and generally saved our asses multiple times
Maractus is ok, not amazing but usable. He gets petal dance early with a high special attack, so it hits like a truck. Water absorb is nice for pivoting
Liepard is absolute trash, not just bad but male combee tier. Terrible start, gets no moves, can't kill anything, gets OHKOd by wild pokémon on crit... I had to use it because it was linked to my friend's Watchog (which is unironically a good early game pokémon) and I think it peaked when it paralysed a wild pokémon with Twave and was only 3HKOd in return. Absolute bottom of the barrel
We got low on encounters at the end so Wailord and Zangoose were pivotal parts of our elite 4 strategy. And guess what ? They did their job ! Wailord was just tanky enough to hold his own against Grimsley and Zangoose was able to set up against Shauntal's cofagrigus just like we calculated it would. Granted we were playing with items and no level cap but it was nice to see some very unusual mons in action
Overall, B2W2 are amazing games to soul link because there is a huge variety of encounters. I would absolutely recommend it, we had a lot of fun
1:03:13 There's a lot more than just 2 non Rock or Steel types with Sturdy- There's 4 (6 if you include the pre-evos Bergmite and Pineco): Sawk, Avalugg, Donphan, and Cosmoem.
Something i wanna point out, Unfezant does suck yea, the movepool is disappointing but unfezants stats are good and it has a base 115 attack stat with 97 speed which isnt bad at all. You can get the aerial ace TM near skyla, you can get the fly HM right after elisa i believe, People think unfezant is a special attacker but he really isnt with 65 base special attack.
Another request before beginning the video, please keep Sneasel in high A tier. That thing trivialises Iris HARD upon evolving. Black 2 was the first game I nuzlocked (along withhardcore mode, after inspiring from people like you, Silph, Andrew and so on). And I did Iris deathless, largely because of Weavile without even using Swords Dance.
S Tier is not possible and I understand because Sneasel is available so late!
EDIT: Yeah I know, Flygon HG didn't suggest B2 as the very first game to nuzlocke. And he's actually right. I remember breaking one of the rules of hardcore nuzlocke when while training for a substitute to my fire fighting starter, my mienfoo got crit by a wild tangela's giga drain (most of them knew only mega drain). I loaded my previous savestate, because I didn't want to get depressed with quickly following permadeaths and leave the nuzlocke in between 😅
Oh, Weavile is S-Tier. Proud of him!
I love these! I hope you make this a mini series
Oh, I see it already is...oops lol
I ended up with a ton of psychic and ghost pokemon late game and trainers with Scrafty caused a lot of deaths. Definitely any mon that can deal with dark types are much appreciated.
Not the first game I nuzlocked--that goes to HeartGold until I quit after a long grind and then immediately (dumbly) losing my dratini and magnemite--but it IS the first one I beat! With only Barbarian the Darmanitan as the survivor at the end
there's one category of encounters mostly ignored in a nuzlocke: the mob crushers. They are the sub-par pokemons that you don't mind losing and use for random trainers to not risk important members.
Being able to play risky makes these pokemons much more effective than they seem, so even mediocre encounters like pinsir, unfezant or maractus can pull their weight and more.
@@FlygonHG you don't really need it, but if that excadrill is one of my few answers to a future boss, i'd rather risk the life of an easily replaceable pokemon. It's like carrying around a sacrifice for a clean switch in case something goes wrong in a gym.
From personal experience I can assure you that it works great if you are not an expert, yet I've seen a lot of novices lose important encounters in random fights.
It's just a strategy that might help new players, that's all.
13:10 i thought of pineco but wasnt sure it counted because it evovles into a steel type
Went to see google turns out cosmoem has sturdy
I kinda forgot that thing existed
19:46 I never understand why people cut it off at 43. Growlithe learns Flare Blitz at Level 45 which is still below Drayden’s level cap. Just wait the two levels and then have an automatic delete button on anything that doesn’t resist Fire
As someone who decided to attempt a White 2 Nuzlocke maybe only having completely one before in Sword (I honestly can't remember if it got completed or not lol), this is really helpful to see what I need to look out for, there were definitely some in here that surprised me (Darmanitan, Crustle, Jellicent, Drapion, and Skarmory just to name a few)
*Additional things I have to add about the early game is that because Sewaddle has pretty great defenses and a decent attack stat for the early game, having one with Bug Bite for Cheren's gym is a lifesaver, especially against the work up Lilipup. Then additionally, Stoutland with Silk Scarf Return is definitely a hard carry
I think doing some illusion shenanigans with Zoruark and Crobat can be really fun if Zubat is your sewers encounter. Crobat 4x resists Zoruark’s weaknesses in Gen 5, so the trainer AI isn’t likely to use those types of moves if you have Zoruark out and Crobat as its illusion copy. It can be really good into psychic type pokemon, especially, because trainers thinking they can hit you with a super effective psychic will instead do 0 damage.
Something I notice is that most of the S-tier encounters don't come up early game, and they share a lot of typings; so while it may be easy, I think it'd be interesting to see a run where ONLY those encounters are allowed. No starter, no a-tier; the moment you get a magnemite you're stuck with that until you get more S-tier encounters. It might not be very difficult, especially in late game, but the limited typings might provide an interesting challenge (and maybe there could be a rule about having to go in underlevelled or similar restrictions). Or maybe it wouldn't be interesting at all, idk.
D-tier Only might be a more interesting challenge; similarly limited pool of encounters, pokemon not seen often, and it would be just a bit easier than F-tier Only.
I played a Black 2 challenge mode hardcore nuzlocke earlier this year and lost to Iris. Haven’t picked it back up since but you’ve inspired me to give it another try! Love your content, as always another quality video! Thank you!
Did get Lucario early in a Nuzlocke run a bit back and it was wild how easy he made the early game
One thing no nuzlocker seems to mention about Samurott is that it gets Encore, which is pretty rare in Unova, and you don't need me to tell you that it's a super broken move
The problem with Samurott is that it requires a good amount of EV investment to use Encore effectively. Cincinno has naturally high speed so it can easily get an Encore in
In B2W2 you can't actually fish or surf in driftveil. So you can't get Jellicent from it, so yeah, go Zoroark.
Funny how Flygon HG "forgot" pelipper is in Black/White 2 when he lost a mon to a stockpile spit up combo
the encounters in this game can be so CRAZY! can't wait to see the rankings
Cofagrigus is a SOLID answer to Clay. Especially with 252 HP / 252 Def EVs. Switch in, Power split, WoW, and you've effectively cut it's attack by 1/4. With my calcs and EV spread the coffin could survive 2 critical hits from full HP, so you're guaranteed to get the power split off with the right EVs. Don't just box the Yamask. A similar strategy can be used against Haxorus. Mummy also removes Haxorus' mold breaker for sturdy strats. Great mon Edit: Also, the stat changes from power/guard split remain until the affected mon switches out, so when you switch the coffin out Excadrill will still have its attack dropped, softening the blow for your switch in
I think Emolga should be B-tier maybe even low A tier due to fast Encore. I used them to cheese a few fights in my Electric Locke of W2 including Iris* by switching in on EQ and then Encoring them before they could strike back.
*I led Eelektross to hopefully bait Haxorus EQ. Max HP and a + Sp. Def nature meant that Eelektross could survive two Wise Glasses boosted Dragon Pulses as long as neither crit and with some attack EVs and a Dragon Gem, Dragon Claw was a favorable range to OHKo. I got the range and Haxorus did come out like I had hoped. So I was able to switch into Emolga who Encored them and then koed with a few Acrobatics, then got the Archeops which was good because Thunderbolt knocked it into Defeatist and then I was able to chip Lapras into the Yellow before going down to Blizzard.
Walrein: *Seeing that Flygon put Dewgong above them* angry, offended walrus noises
currently attempting my own black 2 nuzlocke, this video came out at just the right time! thank you for making this
I’m currently doing a White 2 hardcore nuzlocke with max rare candies on my “Nintendo DSi” and I’ve lost twice to Colress, this is really helpful thank you!!!
B.F 462: 18:38
B.F 530: 25:29
B.F 628: 30:14
B.F 637: 40:45
B.F 306: 44:03
B.F 612: 44:10
B.F 609: 46:40
B.F 472: 55:05
B.F 461: 58:54
B.F 473: 59:14
B.F 584: 1:00:07
B.F 635: 1:05:21
I’d actually say that Snivy is at least A tier, because in Challenge Mode it is a guaranteed fast Growth user for Cheren. There’s pretty much nothing else that has setup before the first gym aside from Sunkern, which isn’t guaranteed and is also, well, a Sunkern
Too bad it’s still garbage for the rest of the game, B tier is way too high for it
What is challenge mode?
That's why Snivy is B tier. I'm going to be honest, Serperior is the 2nd worst starter in the franchise's history but it has great setup potential in certain scenarios like with Cheren. Is bad against the next 3 gyms (Tbf every starter is bad against Elesa) and has lackluster coverage, but at least it has utility and speed with decent bulk.
A lot of the encounters you can get in Floccessy Rank can easily deal with Cheren, and all three starters shouldn’t have much to fear unless you get unlucky with crits. Being a little bit better at dealing with an almost free encounter isn’t anything special.
Cheren looks potentially spooky on paper, but in practice I’ve found he’s honestly not worth thinking much about, even with several boosts his Pokemon don’t hit hard enough to really challenge your starter. Worst case scenario you might need to switch to a second Pokemon late into the fight instead of sweeping with one.
Just equip the Oran Berries you get from Alder and make sure you’re levelled appropriately, you’ll be fine regardless, making Snivy’s slight edge over Cheren irrelevant.
58:10 Dewgong actually has a very, *very* niche trait, which is that, if you dont got many munz, seel learns dive by lvl up, allowing you to get the stuff in the 1st floor abyssal ruins before postgame. Lol
This video is great!!! Would love to see videos for the other games as well!
Something to note about Castelia Park Encounters; Although Lilligant is only an encounter for W2, Route 4 has an ingame trade, being Petilil/Cottonee; that game's version for the other's.
I think that sandslash is a bit lower than it should be. It is a fantastic counter to clays excadrill because of its fantastic physical bulk and it can even take some of haxourus’s attacks well.
1:03:09 The other non Steel or Rock Pokémon with Sturdy are: Pineco, Donphan, Bergmite, Avalugg and Cosmoem 🌌
Loved this vid. Hope to see more tier list videos soon. Especially for Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon
God, I can’t stop giggling though. Not only was B2/W2 my first proper nuzlocke, I also ended the run with both a Golduck AND a Garbodor on my team. I completely agree where they were placed, but watching over the part where he’s absolutely LAYING into Garbodor is really funny to me lmao
I think a lot of people underestimate how useful Serperior is in b2w2. It gets access to growth before Cheren making it a fairly easy and consistent answer into a run killer. It's also good for pivoting on Elesa due to resisting electric moves and baiting flying moves, a good pivot for Clay for resisting ground moves and clapping back effectively (except vs Excadrill), is good against Marlon, and while not having particularly good matchups in late game, it doesn't necessarily have bad ones either while maintaining its access to setup moves and having the flexibility of building physical or special for whatever you need. More people should see the light on this mon :(
56:06 you can get kings rock if you get a lillipup encounter (40%) and it has pickup (50%) and you get it between level 20 and 40 and farm for the 0.5% chance you get a king’s rock after a battle
14:20 I personally had stoutland with intimidate on my team for every single gym in my Nuzlocke. She was an absolute beast. I used silk scarf and return for massive damage, and she never let me down.
30:26 as someone who's used both of the static encounters, i can confirm braviary DOMINATES. It might be because mine had an adamant nature and avobe average attack ivs, but still. Absolutely powerhouse.
..mandibuzz is fine, i guess. Cute design for sure
26:39 of note about cottonee/whimsicott: in both black 1 and 2 you can trade your cottonee for a petilil in nacrene city and route 4 respectively. In both games the petilil is guaranteed max spa IVs and 20 ivs in everything else and Modest nature in B1 and Jolly Nature in B2. You could argue this makes cottonee better Black than petilil in White bc you can guarantee a Petilil with good stats and a 40 bp Hidden Power ground with cottonee, but i dont think this help whimsicotts placing that much
Currently doing my first every nuzlocke on white 2 and I just lost my dewott in a very stupid way, there’s a guy on the desert route with a riolu, and I just didn’t really think very hard about it and used a physical move on him, and he survived with 1 hp. He used counter and one shot it. I was flabbergasted
On r/Nuzlockes two years back, a user was doing analytics on the make-up of Elite Four teams in Black and White. The highest used Pokémon was Chandelure at over 50% usage, which makes sense given it’s both guaranteed and really the only Fire type of its caliber in Unova that isn’t Volcarona
This was my second hardcore nuzlocke I ever did and used the steel type. Challenging but not too bad since steel is amazing.
in my experience, serperior actually does pretty well into drayden due to bulk + it gets dragon pulse from move tutor
52:28 Love the Wailord bit xD
I like Audino as a purely defensive pivot. If you are willing to farm Battle Subway items, Eject Button Audino can be a free pivot to any other mon and then probably have enough health to tank another hit. Regenerator Amoongus outclasses it at this, but Audino can still be a decent backup or teammate for Amoongus.
Video idea: Black2 or White2 Nuzlocke, C-tier pokemon or below only!
Black 2 was actually my first Nuzlocke! I really enjoyed the run when I did it!
Haxorus being the best encounter checks out. It can basically solo Iris in Challenge mode (with Stealth Rock support). Give it the Haban berry you get in Driftveil, use Dragon Dance once, click Dragon Claw/Low Kick six times and you're good.
That ad was pretty brilliant. The lengths you go through just for your sponsors.
I beat a White 2 Hardcore Nuzlocke a while back and I can easily say that Gliscor, Metagross, and Drapion basically carried late game. Honorable mention to Mienshao and Shell Armor Lapras.
Gliscor and Mienshao go off on the Elite Four they’re so good for endgame
I just used Garbodor in a playthrough and found him to be a surprising MVP. Sludge Bomb, Acid Spray, Toxic and Stockpile. Felt decently bulky, I EV trained for Sp. Attack since I didn't want to rely on inaccurate Gunk Shot. If a plan went to shit, I was able to salvage the battle a lot of times by switching to Garbodor and hitting the opponent with toxic, tripling stockpile and then going for acid spray + sludge bomb. Super reliable
Funny and ironic... White 2 was the 1st game i Nuzlocked back in 2013... and i won. So, when i started Nuzlocke's on my channel, i did White 2, for my 1st RUclips Series Nuzlocke, and bruh... i severely underestimated it. Got my Ass handed to me! 😂
This might be a very minimal niche, but Emboar having stab arm thrust could potentially help against the sturdy threats you mentioned vs Colress. I’m unsure if that’s reliable enough of a strategy to pull off vs the very strong electric damage from magneton and magnezone, but if you’re low on safe answers it could be worth considering :)
i honestly dont think it even has a good chance to ohko
I love this video! I’m almost done with my HC Black 2 Nuzlocke (about to fight Ghetsis), and I might do another one because I didn’t know how good some of these Pokémon are (I caught freaking Yamask in Relic Castle instead of waiting for Volcarona)
You could always give blaze black/volt white a go (1 or 2) if you want a bigger challenge
Jokes on you, garbodor ties speed with luxray
Man i have just rewatched some old tierlists this week and thought that i would love to see more of those ! Thanks Doctor
I enjoy these ranking contents. It's nice to hear you go into a bit more depth into why/why not things are good, instead of just slapping something into S tier and calling it a day.