(I wrote the post then went back to the top and am writing this paragraph now). I actually don't really know how to classify this post -- it's kind of a collection of random thoughts I have about how to apply different arguments about Pokemon to the BL characteristics. just a warning, I suppose.
@ Flamewheeler
Offensive Characteristic
A Pokémon is uber if, in common battle conditions, it is capable of sweeping through a significant portion of teams in the metagame with little effort.
Defensive Characteristic
A Pokémon is uber if, in common battle conditions, it is able to wall and stall out a significant portion of the metagame.
Support Characteristic
A Pokémon is uber if, in common battle conditions, it can consistently set up a situation in which it makes it substantially easier for other pokemon to sweep.
centralization by itself is not an argument for why a pokemon can be BL -- just saying "Raikou hurts fliers" and "Gallade makes frail sweepers scared" doesn't have any meaning in terms of the characteristics. this isn't to say that centralization can't be an effective supporting warrant for why a pokemon satisfies one of the three characteristics, though. for example, if you say "Gallade fulfills the offensive characteristic because it can sweep through a majority of teams by threatening bulky pokemon with close combat and frail pokemon with shadow sneak. this is shown by the decrease in frail pokemon because of Gallade's centralization" (or something similar), centralization becomes a somewhat effective warrant.
@ Xia
Yanmega just seemed more threatening because its most broken set ("most" being defined by what I remember to be popular opinion but I could be wrong) was a Choice set. when compared to a setup sweeper like Raikou or Gallade, a Choiced sweeper's initial threat value is obviously a lot higher. just because a pokemon is perceived as less threatening initially doesn't mean it can't also be broken. this is because I think how easily a pokemon sweeps should be judged based on two factors: (1) what the "power" of that pokemon is when it is sweeping, and (2) how easily it can get to that level.
the average power of timid specs Yanmega was 496 special attack. the average power of a Raikou while sweeping sweep is +2/+2 or +3/+3 -- make up your own numbers. the difference between the two pokemon is that yanmega can get to its average power with no effort whatsoever; whenever it comes into battle with choice specs on, it has 496 special attack. however, it's much harder to get a Raikou into a state that lets it sweep because your opponent could have a hard counter or a check or two. I think we can all agree that a +6/+6 Raikou is a bitch to face; the question is "how easily can Raikou get enough Calm Minds to sweep?"
thus, when you compare the initial threat value of Yanmega with that of Raikou, of course Yanmega is going to look more broken. its initial special attack is the same as its special attack when it is sweeping through an entire team. Raikou's initial special attack is 50%, 40%, or even 33% of its special attack when it's sweeping through a team. hypothetically, if Raikou or Gallade could each get to +6 against every team, then looking at their initial threat value would be worthless -- this proves that just because a Pokemon has to set up to sweep doesn't mean it is any less BL than one that hits hard off the bat.
of course this is all ignoring the fact that just because something doesn't seem as broken as Yanmega doesn't mean it's not broken...
