Bluffing in Pokemon!

ShootingStarmie

Bulletproof
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
approved by OU mods

Introduction

I’m sure some of you have heard the term ‘bluffing’ tossed back and forth in the main chat of PS or perhaps on a Smogon analysis page. What does it mean exactly? How do you bluff effectively? What are some Pokemon you should suspect to be bluffs? This guide will explain everything you need to know about bluffing in Pokemon.

Before we get started, we need to first understand what bluffing actually is? Bluffing is basically leading on your opponent into thinking you’re running a set, when in fact, you are running a completely different set. It offers a great surprise factor and can nab you a few free KOs. It can also get you out of sticky situations, but I will explain more about that later.

Some Examples

Here’s an example of a free KO with just a bluff. (Expert Belt Latios)

There’s no weather on the field and Tentecruel has just Protected on your ‘Choiced’ Psyshock. Your opponent then makes the obvious play and goes out into his healthy Scizor, as you again, Psyshock. Your opponent sees no LO recoil or Leftovers recovery and he assumes you are choiced and that you will switch, so Scizor will either Pursuit or U-turn on to your incoming switch-in, and then BAM! HP fire to the face. You’ve just earned yourself a free kill of a huge threat.

Here’s an example of a bluff saving your ass in a tight situation. (Rock Gem Terrakion)

Dragonite has a +1 attack and speed boost. You have just sacrificed your Politoad to bring in Terrakion for free. Now, Terrakion is in fact Rock Gem, but because you have played Terrakion as it is a Choice Scarf set, your opponent will likely switch out, depending on the situation and skill level. This can save you from being swept by a Dragonite.

Playing aggressive

Playing aggressive is essential in making your opponent believe your bluff. If you hesitate to bring in Terrakion into a +1 Dragonite, or bring in something else before Terrakion, chances are your opponent will figure out that’s it isn't Scarfed. Playing too aggressive however can lead to your Terrakion (or any bluff Pokemon for that matter) being killed off easily. The amount of aggressiveness you should use depends on the situation, and your opponents skill level.

Items

Items are key in making someone believe that you are choiced. The most popular items seen on Pokemon are either Leftovers, or Life Orb. If you don’t see any of these two in play, it’s very easy to assume that they are choiced, but don’t be fooled! If you can scout to see if they are choiced, that’s usually the best option. The best way to do this is smart switching, or using the move Protect. Here are some common items that are used to bluff a choice item.

Expert Belt – Perhaps the most common. When this item is held, if the holder uses an attack on the opponent that is super effective, its power is increased by 20%. Commonly seen on Latios and Genesect.

Lum Berry – When the holder is afflicted with poison, Toxic poison, paralysis, burn, sleep, confusion, or is frozen while holding this item, they will immediately consume their Lum Berry to cure themselves of that status condition. Often seen on Dragonite and Salamence.

Super effective reduction berries - When this Pokemon is hit by a super effective ‘x’-type move, the damage is reduced by 50%. This item is consumed after use. Commonly seen on Tyranitar and Garchomp.

Gems – If the holder uses a damage-dealing ‘x’-type move, then the holder consumes this item and the power of that move is increased by 50%. One-time use. Commonly seen on Terrakion and Breloom.

Pinch berries – If the holder's HP hits or falls below 25%, this Berry will raise the holder's ‘x stat’ by one stage. Commonly seen on Terrakion.

Skill level of opponent

You have to be cautious when just starting the match. Your player could be amazing and might be able to spot a bluff Pokemon straight from the Team Preview. However, you could also face a new comer, who doesn’t know that Scarf Terrakion out speeds LO Latios (even if Latios is Timid! Who woulda thought?). This could make you lose your bluff, even though your actions were considered the ‘right’ play. A good way to estimate your opponent’s skill level is to view their ranking. This is very easy to do, and can be very informative. Just type “/rank” and then their username on Showdown. It will tell you how many battles they have had, how many they have won, how many they have lost, and what their rating is. You can judge you opponent’s skill level from this information. You can also judge your opponents rating by seeing how they play in early game. You should act accordingly depending on how they play.

On the OU ladder, where you're not really fighting /that/ many people more than once in a few laddering sessions, bluffs can work -- but if you're valuing consistency I don't think bluffs work quite as well -- not to mention that your ladder opponents are obviously going to be of varying skill level. Your opponent could be plain stupid or a battling genius for all you know -- you can't just tell that on ranking. The battling genius is going to be generally aware of what you might have, while the plain stupid opponent is quite literally unpredictable. You can't read those types of opponents, making bluffs much harder to pull off overall on the ladder. Bluffs that work with more consistency, like the aforementioned Kyurem-B and standard Choice sets, are probably better choices for the ladder. If you do end up facing the same person twice, they'll know what your bluff is, defeating the whole purpose of it.

Ladder vs tournament

On the OU ladder, where you're not really fighting /that/ many people more than once in a few laddering sessions, bluffs can work -- but if you're valuing consistency I don't think bluffs work quite as well -- not to mention that your ladder opponents are obviously going to be of varying skill level. Your opponent could be plain stupid or a battling genius for all you know -- you can't just tell that on ranking. The battling genius is going to be generally aware of what you might have, while the plain stupid opponent is quite literally unpredictable. You can't read those types of opponents, making bluffs much harder to pull off overall on the ladder. Bluffs that work with more consistency, like the aforementioned Kyurem-B and standard Choice sets, are probably better choices for the ladder. If you do end up facing the same person twice, they'll know what your bluff is, defeating the whole purpose of it. Bluffs probably work better in tournaments where you only have to defeat a certain opponent once and almost certainly will never have to face him/her again.

Common ‘bluff’ Pokemon


Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Thunder
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Grass Knot

Thundurus-T is rising in popularity as an Expert Belt user, as it can hit it's common checks with a pretty powerful U-turn. This set is generally a great mixed attacker, as Blissey can easily come in on a Thunder, but it's then shortly met with a Super Power, which 2HKOs easily after SR. Thundurus-T also just begs something like Gastrodon to switch in, only to be met with a Grass Knot. This set truely can net you a few KOs in a match if used correctly.


Terrakion @ Salac Berry
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge

Terrakion, you were once considered the biggest threat in OU. BW2 emerged, and Terrakion still remains a beast in this metagame. Terrakion has un-resisted STAB in OU (bar Toxicroak), and with Sub to block status, and a Salac Berry to boost its speed, you can be sure to see Terrakion sweeping teams left right and centre if you give it the chance. When Terrakion first switches in, you can never tell what set it's running until it's usually too late.


Latios (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Roost

Latios has excellent speed, tremendous special attack, and great coverage. Latios is commonly seen holding a Choice Scarf / Specs, meaning Expert Belt is a great item for Latios to abuse. It has enough power to hit nearly anything hard, and has great coverage to hit nearly everything for super effective damage. It can also break down pretty common defensive cores, like Skarm-Bliss (Skarmory + Blissey), and AmoongBro (Amoonguss + Slowbro).


Garchomp @ Yache Berry
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Substitute / Aqua Tail
- Swords Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake

Chompy chomp chomp. The land shark of OU. Garchomp has a blistering base 102 speed and a great base 130 attack. Here’s the idea behind this set. Force something out, as you bluff the Scarf, set up an SD, take a super effective Ice type attack and sweep. Its STABs offer amazing coverage in OU, which is only resisted by Skarmory and Bronzong. This set is just amazing at cleaning late game, while also acting as a great wall breaker if you opt to run a coverage move over Substitute.


Keldeo @ Expert Belt
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
- Hidden Power [Bug]

Keldeo is probably the most common bluff Pokemon in the game, as it acts as a fantastic lure for Celebi and Latias, both of which are supposed to be the best counters to Keldeo. However, with this set, Keldeo will always be winning with correct prediction. Keldeo is commonly known as a Scarf user to clean up late game, or a Specs user to wall break, where as with this Expert Belt, it eliminates it's few counters, allowing it to demolish the opposing team later on.


Jirachi @ Leftovers / Shuca Berry
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 152 Atk / 208 SAtk / 148 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Iron Head
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder / Thunderbolt

While not exactly common, I can see this set quickly rising in usage. So this bluff is pretty unique in that it's actually running Leftovers, but if anything that makes the bluff even more convincing. Seeing an item like Leftovers on Jirachi often makes a player assume it's either SubCM or the SpDef set. Mix Jirachi has pretty insane coverage, as it takes out most of it's ground type counters like Hippowdon, Gastrodon, and Garchomp. Jirachi offers Bolt Beam coverage, as well as being able to hit on the special and psychical side. Shuca Berry has been slashed, as it allows Jirachi to stay in on threats like Garchomp and Landorus-T, only to live the EQ, and nab the easy KO.


Scizor @ Flying Gem
Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Acrobatics

Scizor is an absolutely incredible lure Pokemon. Jellicent and Tentecruel are considered the best checks (if not counters) to any Scizor set. This general rule is what makes SD Flying Gem Scizor so deadly. The idea of this set is to come in on something weak like Latias' Dragon Pulse, force the switch, SD on their incoming Jellicent, and KO Jellicent with Acrobatics. Jolly is needed to out speed most Jellicent, Tentecruel, and SpDef Heatran, all common switch ins to Scizor.

What do all of these Pokemon have in common?

What you notice about most of these examples is that they are all extremely versatile. They can all pull off completely different sets, which is what makes a bluff set on these kind of Pokemon so deadly. Thundurus-T is often used as a double booster set, luring in Pokemon like Latios and Blissey. Terrakion is often running a Choice Band set, luring in Pokemon such as Gliscor only to be OHKOd by +2 Rock Gem boosted Stone Edge. Latios is often running a Choice'd Scarf or Specs set, luring in Scizor and other Steel types, only to be met with an Expert Belt boosted HP fire.

Garchomp is very versatile in that it can lay down SR, act as a wall breaker with a Choice Band, or act as a sweet revenge killer with a Scarf. Keldeo is such a good bluff in that Expert Belt has actually become a pretty standard set. It's also commonly seen with Specs, Scarf, or even LO CM. Jirachi is probably the most versatile Pokemon in the game, as it can run a number of effective sets, ranging from Sub CM, SpDef set, Scarf, and this mixed attacker set. Scizor pretty versatile in that it can run either a nice Banded set, or a standard SD set. They're generally walled by the same Pokemon (Skarmory, Heatran, Jellicent etc) which is what makes this set so deadly, so you better be prepared.

Disadvantages and playing against bluffs.

If you are a ladder player, chances are you are going to face the same person again every once in a while. Sure you beat them last time, because of the awesome bluff, but now they know that your Terrakion isn’t Scarfed, and they will be prepared, allowing them a big advantage over you before turn 1. Another problem is that your bluff is too obvious, but hopefully this guide will help you make them un-noticeable.

The best way to face bluffs is scouting. The move Protect can be both life saver and sealing your doom when it comes to bluffs. Just make sure you’re abusing Protect, whether its to stop bluffs, or increase their surprise factor. Damage calculations are also a great way to determine whether a Pokemon is choiced or not. Obviously, Choice Band / Specs boosts the power of attacking moves, so it's going to be dealing more damage. You can use this to your advantage to work out what set the opponent is running. Let me give you an example...

252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor U-turn vs. 232 HP / 0 Def Rotom-W: 178-211 (59.53 - 70.56%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Scizor U-turn vs. 232 HP / 0 Def Rotom-W: 109-129 (36.45 - 43.14%) -- 98.78% chance to 3HKO

If you think that Scizor really didn't hit Rotom-W as hard as you expected, chances are it isn't the standard Choice Band set. Now it may seem hard to know how hard a Pokemon x should be hitting Pokemon y, but it comes with experience. Here's a damage calculator to help you figure out which set you're facing.

http://www.pokemonshowdown.com/damagecalc/

Conclusion

Hopefully this guide has entertained you and maybe giving you a few tips to battling and using bluffs. The best way to experiment with bluffs is to use them! Go out there, onto the ladder, and use them until your heart’s content. Thanks for reading!
 
Last edited:

MikeDawg

Banned deucer.
Bluffing is a great tactic, especially for nabbing those vital koes to break a technical stalemate.

However it is difficult to do on the ladder due to skill level variations.

I don't know how many times I would bluff something for a whole game (the same applies for predicting a predict, etc.), only to have, for example, scizor bullet punch instead, NOT because they predicted the bluff but because they just didn't care or didn't know latios even run hp fire or whatever. The huge skill variations make it super difficult judge (even if you rank check, there's always the possibilities of newer alts, etc.) and the fact that the ladder matches you up with super low level people often, especially above 2100 acre, makes things even more difficult. :(
 

MCBarrett

i love it when you call me big hoppa
Great guide ShootinStarmie! Bluffing is a really fun part of battling and pulling one off successfully is always a great feeling. I would add to the guide though to look out for damage output when using or facing Bluff Sets. For example, with one of my favorite Bluff Sets, SD Acrobatics Scizor, it can be pretty easy to tell in some situations that Bullet Punch is doing much less damage than a CB Bullet Punch normally would. Looking out for this as the opponent can help you scout for bluffs better and being careful of hiding that weakened Bullet Punch if you are using the Bluff Set are both very important. Also, thinking about Scizor I guess you could add Plates to the Bluff Items as well.
 

Mew2

Sex is overrated
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Kudos this is a very good bluffing giude the only thing i would add would be that Choiced Items can bluff other Choiced items!!
Example

SR r up
CB terrakion comes in a +1 Dnite
Dnite switches into his 60% Gliscor thinking it is scarfed

252 Atk Choice Band Terrakion Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Gliscor: 159-187 (44.91 - 52.82%) -- 42.97% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Terrakion Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Gliscor: 106-126 (29.94 - 35.59%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Stealth Rock

As proven in the calcs terrakion can easily 2Ko gliscor asuming he isnt missing letting other physical sweepers to hit without being walled
 

TGMD

ƧÏÐÈ¥¯ÏĈ¼Á°¿±³´µ¶·¸¹º»ŤûŠť²ØéŋŌ
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Very good guide ShootinStarmie! Bluffing can be a really great tactic if used correctly, and this guide pretty much sums up exactly how to do so, so props to you there.

I do have one little recommendation though, and that's adding Jirachi to the list of common bluff Pokemon. Maybe the bluff (mixed) set isn't very common, but Jirachi in general is, and there are very few common sets (CM, Specially Defensive, Scarf.) It's very easy just to bluff the Scarf (would have to be against a Pokemon within OHKO range for this to work on smart players) / SDef set by going for U-Turn early game. Then you simply bring it in later on in the game, the opponent will assume SDef / Scarf and bring out the Hippowdon / Gliscor / Landorus-T, then you pop them with a Hidden Power [Ice] or a Grass Knot.

This is obviously very effective at getting rid of those common Physical walls early game for your physical sweeper(s) to take advantage of. A great example of this set can be found in the current CCAT here: http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...und-2-submissions.3486297/page-5#post-4779475. I'd personally put U-Turn over something, switch to Shuca Berry (explaining why I said it could bluff Choice Scarf,) and tinker with the EVs, but I'll leave it up to you to, should you choose to put this Jirachi in the list.
 

ShootingStarmie

Bulletproof
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Thanks for the constructive feedback everyone. I will be fixing any spelling mistakes or any other changes I see fit today (e.g. adding Jirachi) as well as talking about bluff's used in tournaments. I'm also going to be talking about how damage calcs can help tell you if a Pokemon is choiced or not (if the user think that Bullet Punch was very weak, they should run a calc etc). I will expand more on this later.
 
Last edited:

Laga

Forever Grande
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Fantastic guide mate, this definitely help newcomers and OU nubs (like me :I). I especially like how you mentioned playing aggresively helping the bluff and that you need to know the opposition's skill level before playing the bluffs.

It would definitely be nice if you added Mew2's little fact a Terrakion being able to bluff the Scarf, yet still be able to hold the Band and have made a legitimate bluff. Also, Great Mighty Doom's EBelt Jirachi suggestion is very good with the whole bluff thing too :]
Overall, it's a fantastic guide to bluffing Choice items, would read again :]]]]]

 
Great guide. I agree that bluffing is definitely a powerful factor in the game. Although some scenarios are high risk, many teams have a synergy that can abuse the rewards they get from the surprise value.

The guide actually made me think more about a deeper interpretation of bluffing, and it raised some questions that could give us a better understanding of bluffing and the idea of risk/rewards. I'll just bring out the ones I find most interesting for a discussion.

Should it be in the player's best interest to use a Pokemon's potential bluff even though it's outside the intended use of the Pokemon?
As an example I'll say Chople Berry TTar utilizing a 4 attack moveset. This TTar is just a good pivot being very reliable in terms of tankiness, damage, and controlling weather. It's also a good check (bluff?) against Pokes that would otherwise check TTar with Focus Blast. Otherwise it's just a Jack-of-All-Trades Poke, giving you something from all TTar sets but not being specifically the best at 1.

Now this TTar could bluff a Scarfed set, and possibly a Banded as well. However, the question rises as to, "should you play as if you were a different set, even if it means giving up some kills and taking unnecessary damage?" This is sort of hard to explain, but I'll try my best.

Let's start off saying your team is weak to Thundy-T or Zam, and the Chople Berry is vital to make sure these threats are taken care of. Your opponent brings in Scizor to kill your TTar thinking you're locked into Crunch/Pursuit. They think, "sweet, free U-Turn", but you happen to outspeed and have Fire Punch/Fire Blast. You could give up your bluff now for a easy free kill onto Scizor, but then your opponent will know you're most likely Chople Berry'd and will use their Thundy-T/Zam sparingly until TTar is weakened. Now, it's natural to just deal with the Scizor then and there (I mean yea, that's why you have a Fire move in your set to begin with right?), but on the other hand you could switch, take the hard hit, and keep your bluff for a more vital time to use it. It's against the intended use of the Poke, but it creates mindgames for the opponent which means lots of potential misplays.
 
Cool guide ShootinStarmie! There have been some Pokemon throughout BW which were so good at bluffing that their sets became the standard and thus they lost the surprise factor. Expert Belt Landorus-i comes to my mind, it reached a high usage when Volturn had prevalence in OU. I think that EBelt Keldeo goes on the same direction.
 
Surf Garchomp in rain is cool for Landorus-I/ Gliscor/ Donphan/ Physical Hippowdown mostly, I know that against them you can just uses Aqua tail after Sword Dance but you need Sword Dance and this free turn. DM is cool too and dont requires any weather and just hit much stronger.

Fire Fang is just bad on Garchomp.
 

ShootingStarmie

Bulletproof
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
I'm going to be focusing mainly on klvkboom's post, as it raises quite a big question. While I think you're scenario at the moment is pretty far fetched, I can see something happening in a real situation. Let's keep the same Pokemon, but add team mates. Let's say your team is Tyranitar / Jirachi / Jellicent / Filler / Filler / Filler . Now, Jellicent and Jirachi have been removed from play, this can be just you being out played or hax or whatever. Now, your question is "Should I kill Scizor, even though it will leave me weaker to Zam in the future?". My answer would be that it depends on the situation at hand. If your team is 6-0d without Jirachi to wall Alakazam (and Tyranitar to check it), then you need to keep Tyranitar alive of Alakazam. However, if your team has more trouble with Scizor now that Jellicent has gone, you should KO the Scizor. I think this question really comes down to all the factors in a real scenario. Good question. I hope I covered what you was trying to understand.

That's all I really have time for atm, I just wanna say thanks for everyone's support behind this thread. Like I said I will fix a few things later on today (adding more sets, going into more detail about how to beat bluffs etc).
 
What about ... ZOROARK???
That's the king of bluffing. Even better, you actually reveal Zoroark's presence on the team and start playing mindgames with your opponent. For instance, bluffing Zoroark as Jellicent is a brilliant way to fool your opponent into bringing in nice bait to sweep since no opponent will use a fighting type move on Jellicent.
 
I do have to say that I love using that same Keldeo set and Expert Belt is a great bluff item because most people just expect the LO/Choice on a sweeper. It really catches people off-gaurd and nets some nice KO'S
 

PDC

street spirit fade out
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Four-Time Past WCoP Champion
In general, bluffing is a very important strategy in the metagame, but sometimes it can be very easy to predict and will basically cause you to lose if you misplay. Bluffing a Choice Item is probably the most common use of this. Like bluffing a Choice Scarf, Band, or Specs while you're instead something like Expert Belt, a Gem, Berry, or Plate. All these give you a good enough surprise factor that needs to be played to full effectiveness for your bluff to actually work. Bluffing cannot be your teams on way of checking threats at all, this goes for lures as well. Basically, you need to also structure your team in a way so the bluff is at least somewhat believable and you can actually make the enemy believe it is that certain set. There are very few bluffers that you can just throw on your team and expect them to do extremely well, aside from things like Keldeo, which is barely a bluff anymore anyway, as everybody expects Expert Belt anyway. I have recently found things like MixNite are probably the best bluff, because of how they can plow down the usual CB or DDNite checks. A LO Fire Blast absolutely tears up Skarmory or Ferrothorn, while a Draco Meteor on the switch does exceptional damage to Hippowdon.
 
Here's a bluff I've only attempted on players skilled enough to regularly predict switches. Against an opponent who knows typical movesets and threats, this can be very effective.
Send out the wrong special attacker, bluffing super effective hidden power. "Why in the world would he send in Thundurus-T in against my healthy Landorus-T? It's immune to Volt Switch and resists Focus Blast. Must have HP Ice!"
The result is you forcing out a threat with the implication of an attack you don't actually have. In return you slam something else hard with a likely neutral or super effective move and the possibility of that hidden power has not disappeared until they have seen your entire moveset or you use a different type of H.P..
 

Trinitrotoluene

young ☆nd foolish
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Hey, this is a p. cool (and handy!) guide, but I noticed that you're missing one of the best bluffers in all of OU: Kyurem-B! Yes, it is SR weak, but it can run so many effective sets (Sub + 3 Attacks, Mixed, Choice) that it becomes a challenge to keep it from scoring at least one kill before you figure out the set. I've gotten pretty far up the OU ladder, and I can say from experience that Kyurem-B embodies all of the aspects listed in your OP.

Just my 2¢.
 

ShootingStarmie

Bulletproof
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Yeah, Dragonite and Kyurem-B are both great examples of versatile Pokemon that can bluff extremely well. Dragonite has a killer movepool, and all round good stats, allowing it to act as a physical sweeper, choice bander, mixed wall breaker, phazer, etc. Kyurem-B can also use many sets effectively, and it's counters depend on what coverage move it's running. This can be devastating if you send something like Ferrothorn on HP fire variants, or if you send in Skarmory on Fusion Bolt variants, or if you send in Heatran on Earth Power variants. By that time it's usually too late to recover from taking such a big blow from Kyreum-B.
 

Shurtugal

The Enterpriser.
is a Tiering Contributor
I would think bluff Jirachi would be holding either Expert Belt or Shuca Berry; not Leftovers. Especially since EB / Shuca help it do it's primary job best -- luring ground types you can smack dead with Hidden Power [Ice].

Often, choiced Pokemon can bluff too. Scarf Scizor can bluff the band since it still recklessly spams U-turn, and it can catch its usual HP Fire Latios / LO Starmie counters off guard as well. Choice Specs Keldeo can bluff both EB Keldeo and Scarf Keldeo; the EB if the opponent notices the additional damage and the Scarf if they notice that Keldeo (at least, seemingly) is locked into an attack.

I guess CB Dragonite can bluff DD too until you realize all too late how much that CB Extreme Speed is doing. Equally, EB Gengar can lure things in like LandoT and smack it with Icy Wind and Scizor with HP Fire, or even smack Tenta harder with a Thunder.

Lastly, KyuB is such a versatile Pokemon that you never know what it is when you see it (I mean, there are like 3 common sets, but it has LOADS of viable options). It has obvious and not-so-obvious options for it -- it can run CB, Choice Scarf, Choice Specs, LO, Expert Belt, Substitute, Dragon Tail, Roost 3 attacks, LO Mixed, LO Specially oriented, etc. that the opponent cannot possibly know which one it will be. LO Modest KyuB can lure in TTar and OHKO it with LO'd Focus Blast, while the Band set can 2HKO every steel type in the meta game (luring in those Jirachi and Skarm and Hippo, making SD Lucario's day that much easier) while the Dragon Tail set can spread around hazards and whatnot.


Great guide Starmie; perfect for beginner players! :)
 

Bryce

Lun
Another way of bluffing can be done on how your team is presented on Team Preview,based on team type.Say you see a line up of Ttar/Terrakion/Land-T/Latios/Scizor/Keldeo.Most players,even good players will often play assuming your Keldeo is Scarf and Latios is LO/Ebelt since it looks like a standard sand build while your Latios set can be Scarf and Keldeo can be Specs. This kind of bluffs are not to be relied upon though,and the extra advantage you get is a bonus,not part of your strategy.
 

Jukain

!_!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Yo, @ShootinStarmie -- you link the old Honko calc in the OP. The one being updated is at http://www.pokemonshowdown.com/damagecalc/.

Bluffing is really important -- you're doing it all the time whether you realize it or not. You might be running a certain move for a certain Pokemon or a weird status move or Trick on your Choice item user or anything really. It's important to gauge the opponent's level of play and attempt to deduct what types of plays they're going to make. You're going to want to see if they're playing generally safer (i.e. switching Gliscor into Terrakion every time instead of a shakier check to prevent being easily predictable) or if they're making more aggressive plays, which should determine how you use your bluff. In short, you'll have to conceal better against the second player than the first player, and force them into a situation where they have no other move but to fall right into your trap.

It's really neat how the population of ladders affects bluffs. On the OU ladder, where you're not really fighting /that/ many people more than once in a few laddering sessions, bluffs can work -- but if you're valuing consistency I don't think bluffs work quite as well -- not to mention that your ladder opponents are obviously going to be of varying skill level. Your opponent could be plain stupid or a battling genius for all you know -- you can't just tell that on ranking. The battling genius is going to be generally aware of what you might have, while the plain stupid opponent is quite literally unpredictable. You can't read those types of opponents, making bluffs much harder to pull off overall on the ladder. Bluffs that work with more consistency, like the aforementioned Kyurem-B and standard Choice sets, are probably better choices for the ladder. If you do end up facing the same person twice, they'll know what your bluff is, defeating the whole purpose of it. A bunch of people have touched upon this, but it really is an important point. Bluffs probably work better in tournaments where you only have to defeat a certain opponent once and almost certainly will never have to face him/her again.
 

ShootingStarmie

Bulletproof
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Yo, @ShootinStarmie -- you link the old Honko calc in the OP. The one being updated is at http://www.pokemonshowdown.com/damagecalc/.

Bluffing is really important -- you're doing it all the time whether you realize it or not. You might be running a certain move for a certain Pokemon or a weird status move or Trick on your Choice item user or anything really. It's important to gauge the opponent's level of play and attempt to deduct what types of plays they're going to make. You're going to want to see if they're playing generally safer (i.e. switching Gliscor into Terrakion every time instead of a shakier check to prevent being easily predictable) or if they're making more aggressive plays, which should determine how you use your bluff. In short, you'll have to conceal better against the second player than the first player, and force them into a situation where they have no other move but to fall right into your trap.

It's really neat how the population of ladders affects bluffs. On the OU ladder, where you're not really fighting /that/ many people more than once in a few laddering sessions, bluffs can work -- but if you're valuing consistency I don't think bluffs work quite as well -- not to mention that your ladder opponents are obviously going to be of varying skill level. Your opponent could be plain stupid or a battling genius for all you know -- you can't just tell that on ranking. The battling genius is going to be generally aware of what you might have, while the plain stupid opponent is quite literally unpredictable. You can't read those types of opponents, making bluffs much harder to pull off overall on the ladder. Bluffs that work with more consistency, like the aforementioned Kyurem-B and standard Choice sets, are probably better choices for the ladder. If you do end up facing the same person twice, they'll know what your bluff is, defeating the whole purpose of it. A bunch of people have touched upon this, but it really is an important point. Bluffs probably work better in tournaments where you only have to defeat a certain opponent once and almost certainly will never have to face him/her again.
Thanks for the update on the damage calc. As for bluffing on the ladder, I also mention that you should act accordingly to how your opponent plays in the first few turns. You get to see if they make a lot of double switches, or play safe. Obviously viewing their ranking does have it's downfalls, the best example I can think of is a new alt. You can also determine a players skill (I admit, very vaguely) by what their team looks like. Chances are if they are ruing Pikachu and Charizard, they aren't going to know what bluffs are (although I don't know anyone who has trouble beaten these people). I do however like your paragraph about bluffs in tournaments, and I was wondering if I could have your permission to use your paragraph in the OP. Again, thanks for the comment Jukain
 
Bluffing can win games. I remember the lando-i ladder, where hp bug on keld was on the rise. My opponent switched in celebi on the surf/hydro/sword from keld, and I KNEW he would fear the hp bug, so he would switch out. I did run ebelt bug keldeo, but I would always switch out the first time his celebi switched in, as if I did not pack it. Later in the match I would get the chance once again, and hp bug as he BPed or whatever. Very useful indeed.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top