Aron

[Banryu]

Name: Aron
Type:

Base Stats:
HP: 50
Attack: 70
Defense: 100
Speed: 30
Sp. Atk: 40
Sp. Def: 40

Abilities:
Rock Head - Pokemon does not take damage from moves that have recoil (does not include Life Orb)
Sturdy - Pokemon is not affected by OHKO moves. If struck by an attack that would KO it while it has full health, it will survive with 1 HP left.
Heavy Metal (Dream World) - The Pokemon's natural weight is doubled.

Movepool:
Level-Up:

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1. Tackle
4. Harden
8. Mud-Slap
11. Headbutt
15. Metal Claw
18. Iron Defense
22. Roar
25. Take Down
29. Iron Head
32. Protect
36. Metal Sound
39. Iron Tail
43. Body Purge
46. Heavy Bomber
50. Double-Edge
53. Metal Burst

Black & White TM/HM:

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TM01 Claw Sharpen
TM05 Roar
TM06 Toxic
TM10 Hidden Power
TM11 Sunny Day
TM17 Protect
TM18 Rain Dance
TM21 Frustration
TM26 Earthquake
TM27 Return
TM28 Dig
TM32 Double Team
TM37 Sandstorm
TM39 Rock Tomb
TM40 Aerial Ace
TM42 Facade
TM44 Rest
TM45 Attract
TM48 Sing a Round
TM65 Shadow Claw
TM69 Rock Polish
TM78 Level Ground
TM80 Rock Slide
TM87 Swagger
TM90 Substitute
TM94 Rock Smash
HM01 Cut
HM04 Strength

Egg Moves:

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Endeavor
Body Slam
Stomp
Smellingsalt
Curse
Screech
Iron Head
Dragon Rush
Head Smash
Superpower
Stealth Rock

Gen IV Exclusive Moves:

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Water Pulse
Shock Wave
Secret Power
Captivate
Sleep Talk
Natural Gift
Fury Cutter
Magnet Rise
Snore
Spite
Uproar
Ancientpower
Earth Power
Rollout

New Moves:
Body Purge - Type: Steel; Other; BP / Accuracy: --; PP: 15; Effect: Pokemon's Speed is doubled and weight is halved.
Heavy Bomber - Type: Steel; Physical; BP: ??; Accuracy: 100; PP: 10; Effect: The heavier the user is compared to its target, the greater the damage inflicted on the target.
Claw Sharpen - Type: Dark; Other; BP / Accuracy: --; PP: 15; Effect: Raises the user's Attack and Accuracy one level each.
Level Ground - Type: Ground; Physical; BP: 60; Accuracy: 100; PP: 20; Effect: Lowers the target's Speed by one level.

Potential Sets:

1. Polish/Purge Sweeper
Aron @ Berry Juice / Life Orb
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpDef / 196 Spe
Nature: Jolly / Adamant
Ability: Rock Head
- Rock Polish / Body Purge
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Magnet Rise / Substitute / Claw Sharpen

• Resists a ton of crap, comes in on Meowth, Taillow, any Dragon's Outrage, and a ton of other stuff to set up
• great coverage but can't do crap to Bronzor
• Magnet Rise deals with 4x Ground weakness, Substitute can be used to counter Croagunk Vacuum Wave, scout, and assist in setting up
• Dangerous in Gen IV, still dangerous now
• Gets a new version of Rock Polish in Body Purge, though it makes little difference which you use since almost nothing in LC uses Grass Knot / Low Kick
• Claw Sharpen can be used to double-boost, but risky; may not get the opportunity

2. Choice Bander
Aron @ Choice Band
EVs: 196 HP / 196 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpDef / 36 Spe
Nature: Adamant / Jolly
Ability: Rock Head
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Double-Edge / Shadow Claw / Iron Head

• Used for hole-punching rather than sweeping, but effective for the same reasons (huge Defense stat + many resistances, awesome STAB in Head Smash, etc)
• CB STAB Head Smash hits like a freight train
• Superpower is best option against Bronzor
• Double-Edge for neutral coverage and Rock Head abuse
• Shadow Claw can hit Missy and other Ghosts
• Iron Head secondary STAB possibility, but inferior compared to its other options in terms of power and coverage

3. Offensive Lead
Aron @ Berry Juice (Focus Sash)
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpDef / 196 Spe
Nature: Jolly / Adamant
Ability: Sturdy (Rock Head)
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
- Rock Slide / Iron Head (Head Smash)
- Earthquake / Level Ground

• Lead Aron gets a big upgrade thanks to new-and-improved Sturdy, letting it use its item slot for something not named Focus Sash
• bulky, lots of resistances to set up SR
• Protect scouts for status, Taunt, etc.
• Sturdy can be good to guarantee SR getting up, but it has to rely on Rock Slide or Iron Head for STAB, since it doesn't get Stone Edge and can't risk Head Smash recoil
• Focus Sash + Rock Head can be used if you miss Head Smash that much
• Level Ground can maybe allow it to beat some leads 1-on-1 (gotta test) by lowering their speed

4. Bursting Lead
Aron @ Custap Berry / Berry Juice
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpDef / 196 Spe
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Sturdy / Rock Head
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
- Metal Burst
- Level Ground / Iron Head

• Sturdy + Metal Burst are a built-in combo
• Protect scouts for attacks
• can use Custap Berry to get SR up after Bursting
• Custap also lets it beat Sash leads with the last moveslot, or it can nail an incoming foe with Level Ground to make it easier for an ally to finish them off
• may be outclassed by Shieldon at this since Shieldon can do the same thing, but also has Taunt

Oh and I didn't put FEARon, as all of the priority in LC makes it next to useless in that metagame.
Anyway, discuss. How will it stack up compared to last generation? Will Sturdy help make Aron a more popular lead? Will it continue to wreck with Rock Polish sets like last generation? The world may never know....

 

[Chieliee]

just curius, does anyone know the damage formula for Heavy bomber?

Anyway, aron's stats are great for LC, but its those weaknesses that hurt him.

What about a curse set? I'm bad at putting sets togheter, so im just listing the moves

Curse
Head Smash
Iron Head
Double edge

 

[Banryu]

just curius, does anyone know the damage formula for Heavy bomber?

I don't, but I rather imagine that it's along the same lines as those of Grass Knot and Low Kick, only in reverse. :0 In any case, weight-related moves generally tend to be somewhat useless in Little Cup, which is why I don't really mention Heavy Metal or Heavy Bomber. (Rock Head + Head Smash has better coverage and probably gets more power anyway.)

Anyway, aron's stats are great for LC, but its those weaknesses that hurt him.

What about a curse set? I'm bad at putting sets togheter, so im just listing the moves

...hm.
These two comments in conjunction with one another seem rather oxymoron-ish to me. :0 Part of the difficulty in using Aron is the weakness issue, yeah? To fix that, you have to either make sure Aron is fast enough to kill things before they kill him (IE Rock Polish), or use hit-and-run tactics (Choice Band). Using Curse just makes him super-easy to revenge-kill with super-effective special moves. Curse (and Bulk Up with it) tends not to be that great in Little Cup anyway. Everything dies in like no more than 3 hits, so building up a slow Curse sweep isn't remotely ideal.

As for the moves, all Aron really needs for coverage is Head Smash and Earthquake.... they get the maximum possible coverage against anything that it can hit. Moves like its Steel STAB and Double-Edge (despite its excellent power) don't really do much for it except on Choice Band sets.

Anyway yeah, Aron's weaknesses hurt, but his resistances are fantastic in a metagame where a crapton of physically-oriented Pokemon can't hit Steels with anything outside of Rock Smash. Of course, that might be bound to change in this generation, but in 4th Gen, Aron's good Attack and great Defense / resistances made him the attacking Steel-type of choice (with Bronzor being the defensive one of choice). Of course now we've got things like Komatana that are going to be competing for Aron's spot, but I'm sure he'll still be plenty usable, especially with the new and improved Sturdy, combined with the fact that he gets Metal Burst and Stealth Rock.

 

[DDRMaster]

Berry Juice is clearly the better option over Oran Berry since it heals twice as much and I'm pretty sure it's going to be unbanned once Pokemon Lab gets Gen 5 up. With minimum investment, Aron reaches 21 HP. This means that it can take an attack due to Sturdy, heal back to max HP with Berry Juice, and take another attack with Sturdy.

 

[Banryu]

Berry Juice is clearly the better option over Oran Berry since it heals twice as much and I'm pretty sure it's going to be unbanned once Pokemon Lab gets Gen 5 up. With minimum investment, Aron reaches 21 HP. This means that it can take an attack due to Sturdy, heal back to max HP with Berry Juice, and take another attack with Sturdy.

Ah yeah, I forgot about the whole Berry Juice unban thing when I made the thread, my bad. :0
(Keh, I expect it'll be rebanned shortly afterward though. >___> Berry Juice is ridiculous)

I'll replace it with Oran in the RP set and slash it over Custap in the defensive lead set as well.

 

[Darkamber8828]

Jolly should be the primary option in the first three sets, as the attack difference doesn't matter, and the speed...does.

Also, Aron gets Claw Sharpen!

Head Smash+Claw Sharpen=pwn

Not like there's much to be done in the last slot of the Rock Polish set, so...

 

[Banryu]

Jolly should be the primary option in the first three sets, as the attack difference doesn't matter, and the speed...does.

Also, Aron gets Claw Sharpen!

Head Smash+Claw Sharpen=pwn

Not like there's much to be done in the last slot of the Rock Polish set, so...

...that is an interesting point, however, I beg to differ... Magnet Rise and Substitute are both very important options for keeping Aron long enough to sustain a sweep without getting killed by Ground moves (MR), or to take out a potential counter that could end your sweep (Sub). I utilized both of the moves from time to time on my 4th Gen Aron to brilliant effect; Sub in particular proved useful in providing a buffer against Croagunk, allowing me to EQ it before its Vacuum Wave KOd Aron.

...long-ass rant/lecture aside, Claw Sharpen may not be as good an option as MR/Sub, but sure it can be an option.

However, I reeeeeally don't think that any sets based soley around Claw Sharpen are a good idea, for the same reasons I list for Aggron.

As for natures, fine, however CB Aron doesn't care as much about Speed, since without any sort of boost it's not going to be outspeeding anything important anyway. :0 I think Adamant on him is still best, though I'll slash Jolly just in case someone should decide they want it.

 

[Darkamber8828]

NO. D:< HAIL no. Claw Sharpen sets in the Aggron thread were what set me off to rant about this move in the first place. >___>+ *...sigh* but as per the Smogon rules of rationality, let me explain why this sucks...

For one thing, we already know that Aggron has quite an impressive sweeping set in the form of Rock Polish (now Body Purge in the 5th Gen, though for all intents and purposes, it's the same), which fixes what is (as you said) Aggron's biggest weakness stat-wise: its Speed. This set is already quite capable of sweeping even without an Attack boost, though it's certainly not untrue that he would want one. HOWEVER...

Competent users of Aggron also know that any sets not attempting to sweep by boosting its speed CANNOT stay in for very long, as Aggron will quickly fall to its three devastating weaknesses: 4x Fighting and Ground, as well as the ever-common special Water attacks, all of which Aggron is extremely vulnerable to. Now, the set you're proposing wants Aggron to stay in for a sweep, WITHOUT fixing his speed (unless, you know, you want to Sub down to Salac or something-- but that's not substantial enough to fix Aggron's Speed). Basically, it just makes Aggron stupid-easy to revenge-kill. At least other suggested users of the move have Hustle / bulk / Speed on their side.... (Aianto / Metagross / Aerodactyl, respectively) Now I've altered my stance on the move, I admit it has pretty impressive potential on the right users, but I'll still be darn irritated if people still go slapping it around on every pansy that finally gets a boosting move in the 5th Gen.

The Rock Polish set IS trying to boost its speed.

:/

 

[Banryu]

The Rock Polish set IS trying to boost its speed.

:/

Yeah, I know. :0 ...which is why it's the only Aron set I'll consider adding it to. :P (added, BTW)

 

[MB Espeon]

just curius, does anyone know the damage formula for Heavy bomber?

It's... been up in the research thread for a bit now.

Confirmed Heavy Bomber has 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 BP, increasing against lighter targets. Is also based on user's weight, so it's not solely a reverse Grass Knot\Low Kick. (Mien, Peterko #1 #2)

A) 120 base power, if target´s weight is lower or equal to 1/5 (20%) of user´s weight
B) 100 base power, if target´s weight is greater than 1/5 (20%) of user´s weight and lower or equal to 1/4 (25%) of user´s weight
C) 80 base power, if target´s weight is greater than 1/4 (25%) of user´s weight and lower or equal to 1/2 (33.3%) of user´s weight
D) 60 base power, if target´s weight is greater than 1/3 (33.3%) of user´s weight and lower or equal to 1/2 of user´s weight (50%)
E) 40 base power, if target´s weight is greater than 1/2 (50%) of user´s weight

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/List_of_Pokémon_by_weight
For full power without Heavy Metal, Ctrl+F Skorupi and look up through the unevolved stuff. With Heavy Metal, Ctrl+F Numel and work from there. I don't particularly know what would be notable but I'm sure you guys can figure that out.

 

[Banryu]

Thanks for that, Master Espeon... highly enlightening.

However, even at 120 base power, (which we don't even know if Aron can achieve in Little Cup) Head Smash is still a stronger move, both in terms of power and coverage (but not accuracy *sigh*). Even if Aron runs Heavy Metal to increase its chances with the move, I think that Rock Head Smash is still going to be a superior option to have. :0

 

[Banryu]

BUMP!

Sooo, let's talk about Aron's lead sets... I'm thinking the Metal Burst variant might well be outclassed by Shieldon, who gets all of the moves that Aron uses in the set, as well as Taunt. Is this Aron set still usable? Should it perhaps be integrated with the offensive lead by slashing Metal Burst onto it somewhere? Discuss!

 

[v]

I wouldn't use Aron with all the Fighting-types running around these days. Pants Lizard, Meditite, Dokkora, and Kojofuu all beat the crap out of Aron and are extremely common. Dokkora in particular has STAB Mach Punch from 80 base Attack combined with good bulk. There are better lategame sweepers these days. Maybe after the metagame settles a bit and people figure out ways to keep the fighters in check Aron will be a more viable choice, but atm it is kind of bad.

EDIT: In response to below, you'd need to keep SR off the field, which can be pretty difficult since it takes one turn to set up and spinning is, more often than not, a wasted turn in such a fast metagame. I was more referring to the Rock Polish/Head Smash Aron which were popular in Gen4. Metal Burst seems like kind of a silly gimmick to me, but I haven't actually tried it. I don't really plan on using it, either.

 

[Banryu]

...hm. Wouldn't Metal Burst beat these guys? :0 Humor me, I'm mostly theorymonning on this one, but non-lead Aron could carry Metal Burst just to deal with those guys... kind of an unlikely counter, if you will... but that's all he'd really get to do, I guess.

I do see your point though.