"Gen 1/2 Legendary Meta Analysis"

#PokemonGO: With Legendaries appearing to be imminent, its worth taking a look at how each will fit into the meta, and which Legendaries and movesets to target.A couple of assumptions have to be made, that may or may not be correct.First, all Gen 1/2 legendaries will be released simulataneously. Chances are this won't be true, but at least all should be analyzed.Next, all base stats in Go will remain unchanged. This is expected, its highly doubtful that this assumption will be untrue.Finally, all movesets as already assigned in the Game_Master file will remain unchanged, both the move assignments and the move stats (damage/duration/energy). I'd guess that there is a 50-50 shot some changes are made.I'm going to break them down into tiers, based on how useful each could/will be going forward. Its also assumed that all will be released using the raid mechanic as Tier 5 raids.---------------Tier 1---------------Tier 1 Legendaries are the new Tyranitar, drop everything and run to the raidMewtwo (Psychic) - With an ATT of 330 (22% higher than #2, Alakazam) and max CP of 4760, Mewtwo will be the unquestioned most powerful Pokemon in the game. More potent than a glass cannon and as tanky as Tyranitar. Mewtwo's potential movesets are good, but not great, as its only STAB charge move is subpar.Potential Quick Moves: Confusion, Psycho CutPotential Charge Moves: Psychic, Focus Blast, Hyper Beam, Shadow BallMewtwo's move pool is very similar to Alakazam, with the addition of Hyper Beam, and downgrade from Future Sight to Psychic. A Psychic Mewtwo will be a great generalist and awesome for Machamp and Gengar raids. A Focus Blast Mewtwo will be the best counter for Blissey and Snorlax, and one of the best for Lapras. Mewtwo's Focus Blast should be able to 1-shot a fairly large Tyranitar as well. Most people will want to TM Hyper Beam or Shadow Ball, as they aren't as useful.Raikou (Electric) - Raikou's base stats are middling compared to other legendaries, with an ATT of 241 and max CP of 3349, but it has great moves and even better typing. Raikou will be super effective against 5 other legendaries (Ho-Oh, Lugia, Moltres, Articuno, Suicune) and neutral while resisting a 6th (Zapdos). Plus it will be great for Lapras and Vaporeon raids. Raikou is a stronger version of Jolteon with better moves.Potential Quick Moves: Thunder Shock, Volt SwitchPotential Charge Moves: Thunder, Thunderbolt, Wild ChargeRaikou has a clear best moveset, Thunder Shock/Wild Charge. Wild Charge is a very good move, Raichu is the only current mon that can have it STAB. Even though Raikou's ATT is only 9 pts higher than Jolteon, Wild Charge will make it hit a lot harder. Volt Switch will make Raikou a very viable defender, but Raikou's place is as an attacker, Thunder Shock/Wild Charge is the moveset to have. Many TM's will be spent on Raikou.Entei (Fire) - Entei is a bit of a cross between Flareon and Arcanine, and is notably tankier than either. Its 235 ATT is good but not great, but its 3377 max CP is 6th best overall, the best of the 3 birds and 3 dogs. Entei's movepool really shines; it will be a potent generalist and a great choice for Venusar, Lapras, Articuno, and Celebi raids.Potential Quick Moves: Fire Fang, Fire SpinPotential Charge Moves: Flamethrower, Fire Blast, OverheatEntei's movepool is stacked with great moves. The only one you'd even consider spending a TM on is Fire Blast, even then, its not a horrible move. What Fire typing lacks in the meta, it makes up for it with great moves. And Entei has all the good ones.Lugia (Psychic/Flying) - Lugia's base stats are quite similar to Snorlax, with a little more attack and a bit tankier. Its 193 ATT is mediocre, but its defense is absolutely incredible, giving it a max CP 3598, putting it #4 overall, between Tyranitar and Dragonite. Its Psychic/Flying typing gives it some exploitable weaknesses, but also makes it shine in a few matchups (notably vs. Fighting). It also has a very good movepool.Potential Quick Moves: Dragon Tail, ExtrasensoryPotential Charge Moves: Future Sight, Sky Attack, Hydro PumpAn Extrasensory/Future Sight Lugia will be so powerful against Fighting types, a maxed out one could beat a Machamp raid boss itself. Extrasensory/Sky Attack will be almost just as good against fighting. Oddly enough, STAB Extrasensory has exactly the same DPS as non-STAB Dragon Tail; Dragon Tail is a really good move. Dragon Tail/Sky Attack Lugia will be a great generalist and the best counter to the feared Focus Blast on Mewtwo and Alakazam, while also shredding Venusaur, Exeggutor and Celebi. Hydro Pump is an oddball in the movepool that will make it awesome against ground types, but doesn't have any obvious use in the current meta, most will want to TM it to something more useful.---------------Tier 2---------------Tier 2 Legendaries aren't quite as good as tier 1, but they will still be quite usefulMoltres (Fire/Flying) - Moltres ATT of 251 will give it the highest fire type DPS, and its max CP of 3272 will place it next to Gyarados at #12 overall. Moltres can basically be thought of as a stronger Charizard (both higher attack and tankier), without any flying moves. Ideal for use against Grasses and Bugs, with a high enough ATT (w/ good moves) to make it a solid generalist as well.Potential Quick Moves: Fire SpinPotential Charge Moves: Overheat, Fire Blast, Heat WaveMoltres is a bit like Raikou in that it has an unquestioned top moveset, Fire Spin/Overheat, you'd want to spend TM's to get it, especially if it has Heat Wave, one of the game's worst moves.Articuno (Ice/Flying) - With an ATT of 192 and max CP of 2933, Articuno is one of the weakest gen 1/2 legendaries overall, but it will be the strongest Ice type in the game, replacing Lapras. Unfortunately it lacks Lapras' water dual typing, which means its weak to Steel, a possible move for Dragonite (less so now that TM's exist, but if Dragonite is a raid boss, Steel Wing will be a problem for Articuno). Articuno will be useful against ground types without any rock moves, and also strong against grass types.Potential Quick Moves: Frost BreathPotential Charge Moves: Blizzard, Ice Beam, Icy WindIcy wind is a terrible move, most will want to TM it. Ice Beam and Blizzard are both decent, but not the best possible Ice moves (Avalanche is the best). The best moves on Articuno are the same as the best moves on Lapras.Zapdos (Electric/Flying) - Zapdos has the highest electric type ATT (253), and is a little tankier than Ampharos, giving it max CP of 3330, #9 overall. It will be useful in raids against legendary birds and will be strong against water types, but not quite as good as Raikou for those tasks; Zapdos just doesn't have a great movepool.Potential Quick Moves: Charge BeamPotential Charge Moves: Zap Cannon, Thunder, ThunderboltZap Cannon and Thunderbolt will both be solid, and Charge Beam charges them fast. Thunder is clearly inferior to the other charge moves. Its too bad Zapdos can't learn Wild Charge and a better quick move (Spark or Thundershock).---------------Tier 3---------------Tier 3 Legendaries have limited use in the meta. But they will be viable defenders that will help keep gyms interesting.Ho-Oh (Fire/Flying) - Ho-Oh has awesome base stats, but suffers from a movepool that is Seaking level bad, there is just no good use for any of its moveset combinations. Its 263 ATT is the 3rd best in the game, behind Mewtwo and Alakazam, and its tankier than Snorlax. Its max CP of 4650 is 2nd best in the game, just behind Mewtwo.Potential Quick Moves: Steel Wing, ExtrasensoryPotential Charge Moves: Brave Bird, Fire Blast, Solar BeamHo-Oh has no STAB quick moves, and the ones it has are fairly mediocre. Steel Wing is feared by everyone that evolves a Dratini. Extrasensory is about like Zen Headbutt on Snorlax, not something you'd use offensively. Don't let Brave Bird's DPS fool you, it gets that by virtue of being uselessly fast, its damage per energy is horrid (90 for a 1 bar move!), but at least its STAB. Fire Blast is decent (and STAB), but Ho-Oh is totally outclassed by Moltres and Entei as a fire type legendary, they both can get Overheat and fire type quick moves. Solar Beam is totally useless on Ho-Oh as an attacker and simple to dodge when used for gym defense, but it will make Ho-Oh raid bosses borderline impossible to beat, since its SE against pretty much every good Ho-Oh counter but electrics (Zapdos will be the best option).Celebi (Psychic/Grass) - Celebi has an ATT of 210 and max CP of 3090. Its psychic/grass typing is the same as Exeggutor, though Exeggutor hits a lot harder, but isn't as tanky. Celebi doesn't haven any grass moves in its movepool either.Potential Quick Moves: Confusion, Charge BeamPotential Charge Moves: Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, Hyper BeamConfusion/Psychic and Confusion/Dazzling Gleam are the clear best movesets, but neither is particularly good. But it'll make Celebi an annoying defender, on par with Snorlax.Mew (Psychic) - Mew is pretty much Celebi without the additional Grass typing, and with an oddball movepool. It has the same ATT (210) and Max CP (3090).Potential Quick Moves: PoundPotential Charge Moves: Blizzard, Earthquake, Psychic, Focus Blast, Thunder, Fire Blast, Hyper Beam, Solar BeamMew basically has a 1 bar hidden power as its charge moves. It would be a pointless waste of TM's to try to get a particular one. The best would be probably be Focus Blast, since its strong to Dark, what you'd likely use to attack Mew. There isn't really an offensive use for Mew.---------------Tier 4---------------Once you get the dex entry, there is no point in getting more of them, there is no offensive or defensive use for tier 4.Suicune (Water) - Suicune has similar, but worse, base stats as Vaporeon. Its about as tanky as a Vape, but Vaporeon has a higher ATT. Suicune has an ATT of 180 and max CP of 2823. On top of base stats that are worse than Vaporeon, it has a terrible movepool as well.Possible Quick Moves: Extrasensory, SnarlPossible Charge Moves: Hydro Pump, Bubble Beam, Water PulseHydro Pump is the clear best charge move, but that's pretty much all it has going for it. There's no reason to consider spending resources (dust, rare candy, TM's) on a Suicune. via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2uFwE1F