Post by GGFan on Oct 12, 2006 17:35:52 GMT -5
This one was requested, so here it is.
Starmie and Lapras are two popular water Pokemon, they are both definitely standard. But who should you choose on your team?
Starmie overall has very nice stats, it's only weak stat is it's attack. It's one of the fastest Pokemon in the game and can T-Wave, so it is one of the most reliable paralyzers in the game. It can also Boltblizz (Not Boltbeam, Starmie has to use Blizzard because it needs the extra power) and Recover. Recover is a big plus since with it's speed and the ability to paralyze, it can stall teams until it's opponents get fpd and it can Recover the damage it takes.
What Starmie lacks is brute force, it's not going to dominate many Pokemon with attacks, it has power with 298 special but it gets no STAB. It's Surf can pack some punch though, 2HKOing Alakazam and Tauros with a CH and regular Surf and 3HKOing the latter. It's more of a support Pokemon in my opinion since it's one of the best Pokemon at spreading paralysis. Starmie can also 3HKO Exeggutor with Blizzard and perhaps, score a really lucky freeze. Defensively Starmie isn't bad, but it falls victim to the Body Slam+Hyper Beam combo to Snorlax and usually to Tauros unless it gets lucky.
Lapras on the other hand, is much much slower, it outspeeds Exeggutor by 10 points. Lapras also can not use T-Wave. However, Lapras can Boltblizz and Boltbeam too and Lapras getting STAB from Ice Beam and Blizzard certainly helps, although I still recommend Blizzard because it can hit Tauros for about 50% and Snorlax for about 40%. It's a better attacker than Starmie, Lapras can also parafuse on it's own with Confuse Ray and Body Slam. Lapras also has a tankload of HP, so it can take attacks better than Starmie can, it doesn't fall victim to the Body Slam+Hyper Beam combo. Lapras doesn't get Recover but it can use Rest which can work because Lapras can take hits if it's up against a physical sweeper but obviously Rest is inferior to Recover as Lapras has to take hits. But it can still work against paralyzed Pokemon since you get some form of protection.
While Starmie gets much more speed, think of it this way; Starmie can only outspeed three Pokemon that Lapras can't in standard. These Pokemon are Alakazam, Gengar and Tauros. Lapras can still outspeed Chansey, Snorlax and Exeggutor. But Starmie gets T-Wave, Recover and a STAB Psychic to 2HKO Gengar and OHKO it with a CH. Lapras however can lay a beating with STAB Blizzards, it can even learn Sing and put something to sleep and remember, Lapras is much better at taking physical blows.
Overall I would say Starmie is a little better because of T-Wave, Recover and the speed but Lapras is not very far off, while Lapras wont be able to paralyze Tauros off the bat like Starmie can, it can stand up to it very well and take about half it's HP off in one shot.
Starmie and Lapras are two popular water Pokemon, they are both definitely standard. But who should you choose on your team?
Starmie overall has very nice stats, it's only weak stat is it's attack. It's one of the fastest Pokemon in the game and can T-Wave, so it is one of the most reliable paralyzers in the game. It can also Boltblizz (Not Boltbeam, Starmie has to use Blizzard because it needs the extra power) and Recover. Recover is a big plus since with it's speed and the ability to paralyze, it can stall teams until it's opponents get fpd and it can Recover the damage it takes.
What Starmie lacks is brute force, it's not going to dominate many Pokemon with attacks, it has power with 298 special but it gets no STAB. It's Surf can pack some punch though, 2HKOing Alakazam and Tauros with a CH and regular Surf and 3HKOing the latter. It's more of a support Pokemon in my opinion since it's one of the best Pokemon at spreading paralysis. Starmie can also 3HKO Exeggutor with Blizzard and perhaps, score a really lucky freeze. Defensively Starmie isn't bad, but it falls victim to the Body Slam+Hyper Beam combo to Snorlax and usually to Tauros unless it gets lucky.
Lapras on the other hand, is much much slower, it outspeeds Exeggutor by 10 points. Lapras also can not use T-Wave. However, Lapras can Boltblizz and Boltbeam too and Lapras getting STAB from Ice Beam and Blizzard certainly helps, although I still recommend Blizzard because it can hit Tauros for about 50% and Snorlax for about 40%. It's a better attacker than Starmie, Lapras can also parafuse on it's own with Confuse Ray and Body Slam. Lapras also has a tankload of HP, so it can take attacks better than Starmie can, it doesn't fall victim to the Body Slam+Hyper Beam combo. Lapras doesn't get Recover but it can use Rest which can work because Lapras can take hits if it's up against a physical sweeper but obviously Rest is inferior to Recover as Lapras has to take hits. But it can still work against paralyzed Pokemon since you get some form of protection.
While Starmie gets much more speed, think of it this way; Starmie can only outspeed three Pokemon that Lapras can't in standard. These Pokemon are Alakazam, Gengar and Tauros. Lapras can still outspeed Chansey, Snorlax and Exeggutor. But Starmie gets T-Wave, Recover and a STAB Psychic to 2HKO Gengar and OHKO it with a CH. Lapras however can lay a beating with STAB Blizzards, it can even learn Sing and put something to sleep and remember, Lapras is much better at taking physical blows.
Overall I would say Starmie is a little better because of T-Wave, Recover and the speed but Lapras is not very far off, while Lapras wont be able to paralyze Tauros off the bat like Starmie can, it can stand up to it very well and take about half it's HP off in one shot.
