Ferocious Cup: Beginner's Edition – Gaming2gether Media

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Understanding PvP, in general, can be a daunting task for those just starting out, add in the rules for the Ferocious Cup, and a beginner could become easily overwhelmed to the point of just not doing it anymore. This new series of articles, which will be month as new Silph League cups are announced, aims to help those are just getting their feet wet in PvP. We won’t be throwing out numbers, or deep diving in moves and how they perform against every other Pokémon in the meta.

Instead, we have asked a few very highly skilled Battlers to help us, help you. JFarmakis, the Jynx man himself, KevKillerKe, and PeaceLoveHugs have generously donated their time and PvP knowledge in this endeavor. Below you will find their top picks for the Ferocious Cup and why they like them.

THE JYNX MAN, JFARMAKIS

What more can you really say about John other than… Damn does that man look good in a red dress! But really, all Jynxing aside, that purple face paint is gonna be the new fall fashion trend, my dude. Here’s John’s Ferocious Cup advice for newbies.

UMBREON

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Snarl	Foul Play Last Resort
I’d say Umbreon is king, Snarl (fastest energy gain), Foul Play (least energy required). Last Resort is great for generalist and against its counters. Be careful of Donphan due to Counter, and the Charm users.

ALOLAN NINETALES

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Charm	Psyshock Ice Beam
Charm user that destroys Umbreon. Use Psyshock for some great quick damage and Ice Beam for coverage. Be careful against Steel-types and Fire-types.

VAPOREON

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Water Gun	Aqua Tail Last Resort
Super tanky, takes down the anti charm users, and anything Ground- or Fire-type. Be careful against Electrics

SUICUNE

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Snarl	Bubble Beam Hydro Pump
Great for debuffing Charm users and baiting shields. But, it also can hit a devastating Hydro Pump quite quickly due to Snarl’s energy buff. Be careful against Electrics.

MINUN

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Spark	Discharge Thunderbolt
The best Electric-type due to being able to beat Umbreon. Be careful against Ground-types and Charm users.

SKUNTANK

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Poison Jab	Crunch Sludge Bomb
Great against a lot of the meta. Sludge Bomb does huge damage. Just be careful of Water-types.

NIDOQUEEN

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Poison Jab	Earth Power Earthquake
Great against Electric-types and Charm users. Be careful against Water-types and Doniphan.

KEVKILLERKE

Kev is a PvP BEAST. He was the first Ace Trainer in Belgium and recently made a strong showing at London’s Finest. Did we mention Kev also makes some AMAZING engraved badges and plaques, such as the ones awarded at London’s Finest?! Can’t wait to see what all he offers in his online shop that is in the works. Let’s take a look at what Kev would recommend for the Ferocious Cup.

UMBREON

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Snarl	Foul Play Last Resort
Umbreon is like a god-tier bulky generalist, it beats a lot on the roster and does it reliably. It’s only ‘hard’ counters are Charm users.

SHELGON

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Dragon Breath	Flamethrower Dragon Pulse
Shelgon is pretty unique with it’s resistance to water. So arguably better than the electrics. Another great thing about Shelgon is it’s resistance to the electrics themselves. Overall Shelgon is a solid option for your anti-water slot, with wins against electric (and Linoone) as a bonus!

BIBAREL

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Water Gun	Surf Hyper Fang
Bibarel is the cheapest Water-type to unlock a second move for, and also one of the best. The hard-hitting Water Gun can seriously dent its counters.

ALOLAN NINETALES

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Charm	Psyshock Ice Beam
Alolan Ninetales is one of these charmers that beat Umbreon, and it beats all other charmers as well. With Psyshock it has an excellent move to fire back at Poison-types. You can safely tank 2 last resorts from Umbreon, so farm away!

NIDOQUEEN

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Poison Jab	Earth Power Earthquake
Nidoqueen is amazing as it can hard counter charm users and Electric-types alike. Watch out for water though! Nidoqueen is also an amazing Pokémon when shields are down with Earthquake.

MINUN

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Spark	Discharge Thunderbolt
Minun is an Electric-type that’s closest to beating Umbreon, which is a huge plus (pun intended). Granted, it’s not a comfortable win, but it’s something.

PEACELOVEHUGS

Houston’s own PeaceLoveHugs is a very well-known Battler in the US, having finished in 2nd place at the Silph Arena Season One North American PvP Championships held in Chicago during GoFest 2019 and he currently the #14 ranked player in the United States for Season 2. Be sure to give Hugs a follow on Twitter and can you watch him in action on November 14th on HoustonPogoLive’s Twitch channel. Here are Hugs’ picks for the Ferocious Cup.

BIBAREL & VAPOREON

Vaporeon and Bibarel run similarly with average fast damage and energy gain, paired with cheap & efficient charge moves.

UMBREON

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Snarl	Foul Play Last Resort
Umbreon is a TDO monster and as such has the widest coverage of any Pokémon in the meta.

ALOLAN NINETALES

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Charm	Psyshock Ice Beam
Alolan Ninetails is the best answer to Umbreon and has an efficient charge move in Psyshock that lets it fight back against poison and mitigate Charm’s low energy gain. A9 helps police how rampant Umbreon gets thanks to it’s easy to use hard-hitting fast move Charm.

NIDOQUEEN

FAST MOVE	CHARGED MOVES
Poison Jab	Earth Power Earthquake
Nidoqueen protects your Water-types from the Electric-types people are bringing in as countermeasures to the popularity of water. And with Poison Jab it can farm Alolan Ninetales as long as you have 1 shield to block the Ice Beam or Psyshock.