Probopass [QC 0/3]

[Paraplegic]

[OVERVIEW]

• Only viable user of magnet pull in nu
• Great defense and spdef stats that allow it to keep quite a few threats in check
• Valuable resistances to Normal, Flying, and Psychic , as well as an immunity to Toxic Spikes makes this a decent pivot on offensive teams
• Weaknesses to common types such as Fighting, Ground, and Water hold it back
• Largely outclassed as a user of Stealth Rock by other, more bulky users such as Rhydon, Steelix, and Regirock
• Low HP stat somewhat holds back it's otherwise great defensive stats

[SET]
name: Steel Trapper
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earth Power / Hidden Power Fire
move 3: Magnet Rise
move 4: Taunt
item: Leftovers / Air Balloon
ability: Magnet Pull
nature: Modest
evs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Probopass is a decent user of Stealth Rock as it has some good resists that allow it to set them up somewhat consistently
• Earth Power is for trapping Steelix
• Hidden Power Fire can be used if your team appreciates Ferroseed being removed
• Magnet Rise allows it to beat Steelix more reliably due to avoiding Earthquake
• Taunt is for annoying things like Vileplume and Regirock, and can prevent some of the pokemon it traps from setting up Stealth Rock

Set Details
========

• 84 Speed allows Probopass to outspeed base 50s
• Max Special Attack allows Probopass to hit as hard as possible
• Remainder goes in HP to allow Probopass to pivot around better
• Magnet Pull allows it to trap Steel-types and is whats saves it from being outclassed in general

Usage Tips
========

• Against teams without Steel-types, focus on getting Probopass in safely and getting up Stealth Rock
• Against Teams with Steel-types, look for opportunities to get up Stealth Rocks while also preserving Probopass to trap their Steel-type. Don't be afraid to play aggressively with Probopass because opponents will try to avoid being trapped and finding the opportunity to trap can be difficult.
• After having set up rocks and/or trapping any Steel-types, focus on using its good defensive stats and resistances to pivot around, giving your self opportunities to bring threats to the opposing team.

Team Options
========

• Pokemon that can struggle to break through Steel-types are ideal partners
• Scyther Stands out as a good Pokemon that struggles with Steel-types and thrives when they aren't present
• Tauros appreciates Steel-types being removed, as it allows it to drop fire blast for a different coverage move
• Archeops enjoys Steel-types being gone so it can more freely spam its high powered Acrobatics

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Volt Switch can be used in place of taunt to make pivoting easier, but Probopass generally prefers taunt

Checks and Counters
===================

**Super-Effective Hits**: A lot of pokemon such as Tauros, Pyroar, and the tiers numerous fighting types carry coverage that is super-effective against Probopass. They can easily force out Probopass or threaten it with knock out potential

**Faster Ground-types**: Pokemon such ass DD Rhydon can come in on Leftovers variants or Air Balloon variants that have had their balloon popped, and can outspeed and threaten Probopass out or ohko it

**Water-types**: A lot of Water-types in the tier such as Ludicolo, Poliwrath, and Mantine have nothing to fear from most Probopass and can easily come it and threaten it out or ko it, and mantine can even defog away the Stealth Rocks that Probopass sets

 

[erisia]

We had a talk about this Pokemon a while ago and I think the general consensus is that this should be an offensive trapper set. Investing in Special Attack is really important for getting the KOs Probopass needs to work and the EVs don't do much to Probopass's defenses (why are you trying to stop Pyroar with a Steel-trapper and a non STAB attack). We thought the set should be something like this:

Probopass @ Air Balloon / Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power / Hidden Power Fire
- Magnet Rise
- Taunt

A spread of 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe outspeeds neutral Base 50s (so it can Taunt things like Vileplume and Regirock) and has decent enough bulk while also being able to maximise damage against its targets. You should only ever be using Probopass to trap Steel-types as other Steel- or Rock-types such as Steelix and Regirock do much better in defensive roles. Air Balloon lets you switch into Steelix safely and get up a Magnet Rise so you wall it thereafter. Earth Power does the most damage to Steelix and other targets like Aggron / Mawile / non Magnet-Rise Klinklang, but Hidden Power Fire lets you take out Ferroseed with more ease (although Gyro Ball doesn't have enough PP to KO and you can just use Taunt to block other moves).

Hootie Edit: Don't forget that Hidden Power Fire hits Vivillon too.

This isn't the final set and other QC members will give their opinions on this and alternatives but this should be a good starting point.

Also get this thread ready for QC in the next week or so or we'll reassign this.

 

[Punchshroom]

Imo, Toxic can be mentioned in Moves should Probo's team already have Stealth Rock; maintains Probo's utility by allowing it to stop the likes of Musharna and RestTalk MAudino.

 

[Paraplegic]

Oh shit I honestly forgot about this. Ill finish getting it qc ready and Ill make that the set

 

[boltsandbombers]

Paraplegic Please complete the WIP with the updated set asap please

 

[Paraplegic]

shit I keep forgetting. working on it rn

Edit: Ready for QC

 

[etern]

Overview:

Only viable user of magnet pull in nu

• Be a little more straight to the point here. "Probopass's sole niche in the tier is trapping Steel-types like Ferroseed, Steelix, and Klinklang due to Magnet Pull." We wanna make it clear that the only reason you should use Probopass is if you need to trap Steel-types, every other quality it has can be matched and outclassed by other rockers.
• Remove the second point since you're just stating what can be found on the dex info.
• Remove the last point as well for the above reason.

Valuable resistances to Normal, Flying, and Psychic , as well as an immunity to Toxic Spikes makes this a decent pivot on offensive teams

• I think you're overselling these resistances a tad, particularly the Normal-type resistance, since almost every Normal-type bar Swellow has coverage to destroy Probo. It also doesn't help that Probo usually only runs Earth Power, so you cant even touch Swellow, Mesprit, Archeops, and Vivillon. Probo is also pretty meh for offense since they have other ways of pressuring steel-types, and a far better variety of rockers to choose from. I'd just say that it can pivot into a very small pool of Pokemon outside of Steel-types, but is forced to run HP Fire to deal any damage to them.

Weaknesses to common types such as Fighting, Ground, and Water hold it back

• This needs a lot more explanation, what are some common Pokemon from these types, give examples, talk about coverage moves that Pokemon have to abuse Probopass's weaknesses, etc.

Largely outclassed as a user of Stealth Rock by other, more bulky users such as Rhydon, Steelix, and Regirock

• Probo is completely outclassed as a Stealth Rock setter by Rhydon, Steelix, and Regirock, therefore it should only be used with the intent of trapping Steel-types for sweepers such as Swellow, Kangaskhan, CM Mesprit, etc.
• In general, the main points I want to see in this overview are 1. Its sole niche is Magnet Pull. 2. It can check a select group of Pokemon (give examples) provided it is using HP Fire, and thus struggles to do it consistently. 3. A ton of common weaknesses leave it very vulnerable to a majority of the tier due to their coverage options. 4. Outclassed by other Stealth Rock setters which have better offensive presence, bulk, and defensive-typing. 5. You should only use Probopass if you need the very niche qualities it provides.
• This overview also needs to be fleshed out quite a bit, as it is lacking any real examples and is a little too positive towards a Pokemon who quite frankly isnt very good outside of its situational role.

Moves:

Probopass is a decent user of Stealth Rock as it has some good resists that allow it to set them up somewhat consistently

• Reword this simply to: "Stealth Rock wears down the opponent's team by punishing switches." I personally dont think its a spectacular user of the move, and its moreseo there because it can find a couple opportunities to set it up while it's trapping Steel-types or against mons that cant touch it like Mesp, Swellow, etc.

Earth Power is for trapping Steelix

• Give more examples of the Pokemon it hits, e.g Klinklang, Aggron. Mention that it also gives Probopass somewhat decent neutral coverage to hit switches that are not immune to Ground-type moves.
• Note that HP Fire just disposes of Ferroseed faster than Earth Power, while also hitting Bronzor, Vivillon, Flying-types, and Levitate Pokemon.
• Magnet Rise also lets Probopass avoid Earthquakes from Normal-types such as Tauros, Kangaskhan, and Rhydon.

Taunt is for annoying things like Vileplume and Regirock, and can prevent some of the pokemon it traps from setting up Stealth Rock

• Make it clear that Taunt prevents slower Pokemon from setting up Stealth Rock, and prevents Ferroseed from setting up Spikes or hitting Probo with Leech Seed.

Set Details:

• Give examples of the Pokemon it outspeeds, e.g Vileplume, Regirock, Mawile.
• Slash Air Balloon before Leftovers.

Usage Tips:

After having set up rocks and/or trapping any Steel-types, focus on using its good defensive stats and resistances to pivot around, giving your self opportunities to bring threats to the opposing team.

• Since Volt Switch isnt on the set Probopass cant bring in teammates, so remove that. Instead say that it can pivot in and out of attacks, and throw out an attack to chip away at switch ins.
• Also mention that Probo can stop Pokemon such as Mega Audino and Musharna from setting up thanks to Taunt, and eventually beat them 1v1 if necessary, although trapping Steel-types should be its main priority.

Team Options:

• I'd make 3 separate points here, 1 for Flying-types like Scyther, Archeops, and Vivillon, then point 2 for Normal-types like Kangaskhan, Swellow, and Tauros, and a third point for Psychic-types like Mesprit, Musharna, and Jynx.
• Remove the first point since its very vague, and you're going into detail with the three points I just listed.
• Samurott is a pretty cool partner, since it loves Ferroseed being removed and appreciates Probo pivoting into Vileplume and chipping it down to +2 Megahorn range.

Other Options:

Volt Switch can be used in place of taunt to make pivoting easier, but Probopass generally prefers taunt

• Make sure you specify why it prefers Taunt. (lets it prevent stealth rocks, stops Pokemon such as Vileplume from recovering, and deals with Ferroseed easier)
• Mention that Probopass doesn't have other viable options as it needs all of its moves to fufill its sole niche as a Steel-type trapper.

**Checks and Counters**:

**Super-Effective Hits**: A lot of pokemon such as Tauros, Pyroar, and the tiers numerous fighting types carry coverage that is super-effective against Probopass. They can easily force out Probopass or threaten it with knock out potential

• Remove Pyroar since it has nothing to hit Probopass with super-effectively here.
• Change this section to **Super-Effective Coverage**:
• Mention Kangaskhan, Tauros, and Archeops all of whom have Ground-type coverage, while Jynx, Zangoose, and Malamar carry Fighting-type coverage.
• Note that Probopass's crippling 4x weaknesses to Fighting- and Ground-type moves are easy to abuse, as Earthquake and Focus Blast are very common coverage moves.

**Faster Ground-types**:

Pokemon such ass DD Rhydon can come in on Leftovers variants or Air Balloon variants that have had their balloon popped, and can outspeed and threaten Probopass out or ohko it

• Add in RP Torterra and Golurk here

**Water-types**:

A lot of Water-types in the tier such as Ludicolo, Poliwrath, and Mantine have nothing to fear from most Probopass and can easily come it and threaten it out or ko it, and mantine can even defog away the Stealth Rocks that Probopass sets

• Mention that every Water-type in the tier threatens out Probopass (even AV Lanturn can easily chew an Earth Power, and 2HKO with Scald while also outspeeding.)
• Samurott outspeeds Probopass and can set up an SD before it gets Taunted, likewise Ludicolo can set up a Rain Dance.
• Pelipper can also remove the Stealth Rocks Probopass has set.
• Fighting-types also need their own section here, as they all OHKO Probopass, take little damage from its attacks, and in Gurdurr's case they can even set up on Probopass as it switches out.

Overall, this is a solid starting point for your first analysis. However, in general it is very lacking in detail and examples. Once you've implemented all of these changes ill take a look and give you 1/3 if its up to scratch.

 

[Punchshroom]

Paraplegic

• Probo is completely outclassed as a Stealth Rock setter by Rhydon, Steelix, and Regirock, therefore it should only be used with the intent of trapping Steel-types for sweepers such as Swellow, Kangaskhan, CM Mesprit, etc.

Since this is the case, all the more reason to mention Toxic in Moves.

Imo, Toxic can be mentioned in Moves should Probo's team already have Stealth Rock; maintains Probo's utility by allowing it to stop the likes of Musharna and RestTalk MAudino.

 

[boltsandbombers]

Paraplegic Please implement the above 2 posts asap

 

[Hootie]

Paraplegic I'm giving you 72 hours to implement the above or I'm reassigning.