POKEMON IS SO POPULAR THAT IT GETS A TON OF LEAKS ABOUT EVERYTHING.

Hate to bump up an old topic, but I just wanted to tell you guys that this Gen is going to AWESOME competitive-wise.

I'm using a battling simulator that recently added Gen 5 as a possible "tier" to play in. I'm running a pretty decent sandstorm team, and so far I'm doing well, but I'm constantly making changes. Now here's my report:


This guy seems to be gaining popularity as the new Machamp. He has decent bulk, and access to nifty priority moves. With bulk-up, it becomes a beast.


This guy is gaining popularity as a lead. It's dream world abiltiy, Reckless, powers up moves that cause recoil damage, most notably Hi-jump kick. It also seems to have access to Fake Out, too. I think he might be the new Hitmontop in the future metagame.


Shandara has the Dream World ability of Shadow Tag... Wobbuffet's ability. As a result, this mon seems to be overused for the time being. I'm not particularly afraid of it, though, as it's incredibly frail and has no immunity to water or ground-type moves. Otherwise, it seems to be pretty good for criplping your opponent and setting up, but you may have to be VERY selective as to who you pit it against.


This new Ghost/Water type is rising up to be a new Bulky Water. It has pretty good special defenses and can either inflict nasty status problems or use Boil Over on you. Don't even try to foolishly use a water type move on it, either, as it has Water Absorb.


Whatever you guys do, do not, and I mean DO NOT, compare this thing to Jumpluff, it is much greater. Among it's abilities, it has Teasing Heart. This new ability increases the priority of non-damaging moves by 1. That means stun spore, sleep powder, substitute, and leech seed ( these are moves it can learn) become freakin' priority moves. It is currently the most annoying thing I have ever fought against.


This guy seems to be taking Forretress' job on occassion, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It has great defensive qualities, and can be used to set up spikes. One of it's abilities also damages an opponent that makes contact with it, so overall I can see this mon fitting into an OU environment.


He's not used as much as others, but I find him to be pretty decent. He can be used both offensively and defensively, and like most psychics he has a good movepool. Defensively, he can set up barriers to protect your team if you invest in its special defense. He might also work well for Trick Room, considering that in general, he's not that fast. He also has great abilities: One that doesn't take damage from weather effects, another that prevents damage from status problems, and last a new ability that allows it to restore health upon every switch-out.


I think it was almost expected for this to become the new DDance sweeper, and it has. I haven't used it, so that's all I really have to say about it.


This guy is an absolute menace for me. His base defense and special defense are exactly the same, at 115. With a few bulk-ups, it can become nearly unstoppable. Most users of this pokemon also like to abuse a new move called Dragon Tail, which not only does decent physical damage to you, but forces you to switch out into a new pokemon in your party. Think of it as a damage-causing Roar...


You may have thought this was a specially-offensive copy of Sceptile, well with it's dream world ability, I think it's much greater. That ability is called Antagonist, and moves that would regularly decrease it's stats upon usage will increase the stats instead. Thus, the common use for this bad boy is to simply choice-spam Leaf Storm, which will rise in power after every use, and if you have no counters against it, you are dead meat.


This guy has become a personal favorite of mine. If you plan on making a sandstorm team in this gen, this is a MUST HAVE. With Sand Paddle as the ability (the equivalent to swift swim for sandstorm), and maybe one or two sword dances, he becomes an offensive monster. He not only boasts earthquake, but also X-scissor, Aerial Ace, Rapid Spin, Brick Break, and unfortunately no stone edge, but it has the other rock moves to sport! The only downside is that for a steel type, he has the lowest defenses of them all, not to mention that he doesn't like priority moves, most notably Mach Punch Rupuushin. Still, he is a great candidate for an OU pokemon. In my team, I could practically blast through nearly have my opponents team with this bad boy alone.

and I almost forgot:

Imagine if Machamp decided to change it's typing to that of a ghost. Yes, it can use Dynamic Punch, and yes, it has No Guard as an ability! It's an offensive monster, with the only drawbacks being that it's a little slow and has bad defenses, but when pitted against the right mon, it tends to absolutely dominate.

Now, here are some old pokemon that I think will DEFINITELY make a beneficial jump in their tiers:

Espeon:

Game Freak finally gave this Eeveelution some love. It has a new ability you get in the Dream World called Magic Mirror. What is Magic Mirror, you may ask? Well, it basically reflects any non-damaging move straight back towards your team, and these moves include Taunt and Stealth rock. I mention those two specifically, because with a simple switch-out from your lead, you can not only prevent entry hazards or cripples from getting to you, but THEY WILL BE REFLECTED BACK AT YOUR TEAM. Seriously, this thing can even counter Darkrai's obnoxious sleeping move and give it a taste of its own medicine! I can see it rise as a popular Anti-lead as a result. Another pokemon getting this ability is Xatu, so be prepared for some serious shit.

Politoed
If it's defensive bulk wasn't enough, wait 'till you see one with the Drizzle ability as a lead-off pokemon. He is rising as the best choice to set up a Rain Dance team. Dammit, Ludicolo, now you will REALLY be a pain in the rear!

Nintales
Pretty much the same reason as Politoed, it's Dream World ability is Drought.

Ditto
You've probably imagined this as soon as you heard of it's new ability. Eccentric allows for instant transformation without even using a turn. I've already seen it rise in its usage competitively, and I think it's finally going to become more than breeding fodder.

To close, I'll talk about a few of the items I know:

Elemental Gems: There are special "gems" that your pokemon can hold that GREATLY boosts the power of a move that matches the element of that gem (Fighting, Fire, Water, etc.). Be careful, though, as it's only a one-time use.

Balloon: this may seem stupid, but there is a hold-item called balloon. It's actually very useful, though, as it provides levitation to your pokemon, giving immunity to ground-type moves. The catch is, though, is that if you get hit with anything else the balloon will pop, and you will become ground-vulnerable again. This is very useful for pokemon weak to ground, as most players instincts is to EARTHQUAKE and then once they find it has no effect they are like "wah!?" xD

So that's my report, I might post more once I learn more.