Porygon2
Type: Normal
Stats: 85 | 80 | 90 | 105 | 95 | 60
Abilities: Trace
Introduction
With great bulk, solid special attack, access to the infamous Boltbeam coverage and Recover, Porygon2 is just an all around solid Pokemon. When you throw in its ability, Trace, it goes from just solid to having an incredibly valuable niche in the ADV 1U meta game. Trace allows Porygon2 to copy the abilities of opposing Pokemon. This gives it a number of cool tricks such as blanking Flygon's and Jolteon's STAB moves and stealing Natural Cure off of Celebi, Blissey and Starmie. The most important trick Porygon2 has though is the ability to counter trap Dugtrio with Traced Arena Trap. This gives it an incredibly important niche on teams revolving around Pokemon who are easily trapped by Dugtrio. With Porygon2 in the wings, these Pokemon will be much more free to do what they please, and teams that rely on Dugtrio to deal with these threats will have a much more difficult time. Thanks to its bulk and coverage, Porygon2 is also able to counter a number of dangerous Pokemon such as Salamence and Gyarados among others.
Sets
Standard
Porygon2 @ Leftovers
Trait: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold Nature
-Recover
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt / Thunder / Thunder Wave
-Toxic / Thunder Wave
Set Details
This is the standard set for Porygon2. It acts as a bulky pivot and status platform that is capable of countering a number of common threats and most importantly counter trapping Dugtrio. Recover is incredibly important as it allows Porygon2 to leverage its bulk and stay around for a while without being easily worn down. Ice Beam is Porygon2's main attack. It is its strongest move against Dugtrio, and it allows it to easily take on Pokemon such as Salamence and Flygon. There are a few options that can be used in the third slot. Thunderbolt is the most reliable thanks to its great coverage with Ice Beam, and turns it in to one of the best Gyarados counters in the game. Thunder can be used instead however. Its accuracy can be problematic but the extra power and the 30% paralysis rate can be extremely helpful. Porygon2 has two status moves to choose from. Toxic helps it deal with bulky defensive Pokemon like Swampert, and turns it in to a solid counter to Calm Mind Blissey. It also still hits a number of common targets such as Tyranitar. Thunder Wave allows it to more easily cripple common physical attackers like Metagross, Aerodactyl and again Tyranitar, however it is less useful against defensive threats. Using a dual status set with Thunder Wave in the third slot is also a viable option.
The EVs just give it as much physical defense as possible. This gives it enough wiggle room against Dugtrio to do its primary job, while also allowing it to easily counter the physical threats like Salamence and Gyarados that it is designed to counter. A more offensive spread can be used as well. 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpA with a Modest nature allows it to guarantee the OHKO on standard Dugtrio. This does make Porygon2 not quite as effective at some of its other defensive roles however, and when paired with a Spikes user is generally not necessary.
Porygon2 is best paired with Pokemon that are trapped by Dugtrio, as its main purpose is killing Dugtrio so that they can play freely. This means Raikou, Tyranitar, Heracross, Magneton, Celebi and Jirachi among many other things all make great partners. Porygon2 can fit on a variety of team archetypes from offensive to balanced to even stall. Most teams that want Dugtrio removed will benefit from the addition of Porygon2.
Other Options
Porygon2 has a few other options available to it. The most notorious is the Sharpen set. This set comes in after Dugtrio has killed something, and uses the trapped Dugtrio to set up to +6 attack with Sharpen while recovering health. It can then attempt to sweep the opposing team with boosted STAB Return and Thunderbolt coverage. It is generally best paired with Pokemon such as Heracross and Celebi who lock Dugtrio in to its weaker coverage moves to make set up easier. This set has a number of problems however. The first is that it is not very useful at all in match ups where Dugtrio isn't present making it a bit of a liability. It also isn't super reliable at sweeping even if it manages to set up to +6. There are still a number of things that stop it cold, preventing it from accomplishing anything. The standard set can also make use of Hidden Power Fire, which allows it to do significant damage to Forretress, and in some situations counter trap Magneton. Keep in mind Porygon2 takes pretty significant damage from Magneton's Thunderbolts so this is far from a sure bet. Generally Boltbeam and status moves have more utility.
Checks and Counters
Pokemon like Snorlax, Jirachi and Metagross who don't care too much about Porygon2's attacks or status moves make pretty solid counters. Snorlax and Jirachi can set up on Porygon2 with Curse and Calm Mind respectively, while Metagross hits it pretty hard with Meteor Mash. Forretress again doesn't care too much about what Porygon2 can do to it so it can set up Spikes on it quite easily. Dragon Dance Tyranitar does not appreciate Porygon2's status moves however other variants such as Choice Band and Sub Punch Tyranitar can generally do enough damage to Porygon2 to make it worth it. Especially if it can hit Porygon2 with a Focus Punch. Blissey doesn't really care too much about anything Porygon2 can do to it however it is also easily forced out by Toxic and can't do much back. Calm Mind Celebi and Suicune take a lot of damage from Porygon2's attacks when they aren't boosted but don't have too much of an issue setting up on Porygon2. Finally, while Porygon2 has the potential to remove status by Tracing Natural Cure, it is quite afraid of Toxic as it severely hinders its ability to do its jobs.
Type: Normal
Stats: 85 | 80 | 90 | 105 | 95 | 60
Abilities: Trace
Introduction
With great bulk, solid special attack, access to the infamous Boltbeam coverage and Recover, Porygon2 is just an all around solid Pokemon. When you throw in its ability, Trace, it goes from just solid to having an incredibly valuable niche in the ADV 1U meta game. Trace allows Porygon2 to copy the abilities of opposing Pokemon. This gives it a number of cool tricks such as blanking Flygon's and Jolteon's STAB moves and stealing Natural Cure off of Celebi, Blissey and Starmie. The most important trick Porygon2 has though is the ability to counter trap Dugtrio with Traced Arena Trap. This gives it an incredibly important niche on teams revolving around Pokemon who are easily trapped by Dugtrio. With Porygon2 in the wings, these Pokemon will be much more free to do what they please, and teams that rely on Dugtrio to deal with these threats will have a much more difficult time. Thanks to its bulk and coverage, Porygon2 is also able to counter a number of dangerous Pokemon such as Salamence and Gyarados among others.
Sets
Standard
Porygon2 @ Leftovers
Trait: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold Nature
-Recover
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt / Thunder / Thunder Wave
-Toxic / Thunder Wave
Set Details
This is the standard set for Porygon2. It acts as a bulky pivot and status platform that is capable of countering a number of common threats and most importantly counter trapping Dugtrio. Recover is incredibly important as it allows Porygon2 to leverage its bulk and stay around for a while without being easily worn down. Ice Beam is Porygon2's main attack. It is its strongest move against Dugtrio, and it allows it to easily take on Pokemon such as Salamence and Flygon. There are a few options that can be used in the third slot. Thunderbolt is the most reliable thanks to its great coverage with Ice Beam, and turns it in to one of the best Gyarados counters in the game. Thunder can be used instead however. Its accuracy can be problematic but the extra power and the 30% paralysis rate can be extremely helpful. Porygon2 has two status moves to choose from. Toxic helps it deal with bulky defensive Pokemon like Swampert, and turns it in to a solid counter to Calm Mind Blissey. It also still hits a number of common targets such as Tyranitar. Thunder Wave allows it to more easily cripple common physical attackers like Metagross, Aerodactyl and again Tyranitar, however it is less useful against defensive threats. Using a dual status set with Thunder Wave in the third slot is also a viable option.
The EVs just give it as much physical defense as possible. This gives it enough wiggle room against Dugtrio to do its primary job, while also allowing it to easily counter the physical threats like Salamence and Gyarados that it is designed to counter. A more offensive spread can be used as well. 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpA with a Modest nature allows it to guarantee the OHKO on standard Dugtrio. This does make Porygon2 not quite as effective at some of its other defensive roles however, and when paired with a Spikes user is generally not necessary.
Porygon2 is best paired with Pokemon that are trapped by Dugtrio, as its main purpose is killing Dugtrio so that they can play freely. This means Raikou, Tyranitar, Heracross, Magneton, Celebi and Jirachi among many other things all make great partners. Porygon2 can fit on a variety of team archetypes from offensive to balanced to even stall. Most teams that want Dugtrio removed will benefit from the addition of Porygon2.
Other Options
Porygon2 has a few other options available to it. The most notorious is the Sharpen set. This set comes in after Dugtrio has killed something, and uses the trapped Dugtrio to set up to +6 attack with Sharpen while recovering health. It can then attempt to sweep the opposing team with boosted STAB Return and Thunderbolt coverage. It is generally best paired with Pokemon such as Heracross and Celebi who lock Dugtrio in to its weaker coverage moves to make set up easier. This set has a number of problems however. The first is that it is not very useful at all in match ups where Dugtrio isn't present making it a bit of a liability. It also isn't super reliable at sweeping even if it manages to set up to +6. There are still a number of things that stop it cold, preventing it from accomplishing anything. The standard set can also make use of Hidden Power Fire, which allows it to do significant damage to Forretress, and in some situations counter trap Magneton. Keep in mind Porygon2 takes pretty significant damage from Magneton's Thunderbolts so this is far from a sure bet. Generally Boltbeam and status moves have more utility.
Checks and Counters
Pokemon like Snorlax, Jirachi and Metagross who don't care too much about Porygon2's attacks or status moves make pretty solid counters. Snorlax and Jirachi can set up on Porygon2 with Curse and Calm Mind respectively, while Metagross hits it pretty hard with Meteor Mash. Forretress again doesn't care too much about what Porygon2 can do to it so it can set up Spikes on it quite easily. Dragon Dance Tyranitar does not appreciate Porygon2's status moves however other variants such as Choice Band and Sub Punch Tyranitar can generally do enough damage to Porygon2 to make it worth it. Especially if it can hit Porygon2 with a Focus Punch. Blissey doesn't really care too much about anything Porygon2 can do to it however it is also easily forced out by Toxic and can't do much back. Calm Mind Celebi and Suicune take a lot of damage from Porygon2's attacks when they aren't boosted but don't have too much of an issue setting up on Porygon2. Finally, while Porygon2 has the potential to remove status by Tracing Natural Cure, it is quite afraid of Toxic as it severely hinders its ability to do its jobs.
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