Welcome to Pokemon of the Week! Following up on last week's Porygon-Z issue, this week we'll be discussing little brother Porygon2.

Porygon2's introduction seemed like a very natural progression back in the day. It's meant to symbolize the transition from polygonal gaming to a more polished, smooth graphics look. With this progression, Porygon2 improved itself over Porygon in numerous ways. It buffed it's stats, gained new moves and was actually viable in battles, unlike Porygon. In the third generation, Porygon2 gained Trace, making it an incredible check and counter to many Pokemon, such as Gyarados, Salamence, Vaporeon, and many others, but it was still overshadowed by other walls. 4th gen brought about Porygon-Z, which I can only guess symbolizes the gaming industry going completely insane and losing sight of what makes games good (maybe I'm looking too deeply into this). It also brought numerous other Pokemon to overshadow Porygon2, and harder-hitting threats pushed it down even further.

Generation 5 brought about something that Porygon2 had been dreaming of, and this time it actually didn't come from the Dream World, but in the form of an oval stone called Eviolite. Pokemon equipped with this that can still evolve gain a 1.5x boost to both Defense and Sp. Defense, making Porygon2 one of the bulkiest Pokemon around. Even with this, however, the rise of Fighting types in 5th gen OU has still kept Porygon2 down and made it overshadowed by Pokemon such as Chansey. Despite his UU status, Porygon2 is completely capable of functioning in OU with proper team support, and can be a valuable member of your team if used correctly.

Porygon2@ Eviolite Download / Analytic Modest nature (+Sp. Attack, -Attack) / Quiet nature (+Sp. Attack, -Speed) EVs: 252 HP / 252 Sp. Attack / 4 Defense Tri-Attack Ice Beam Discharge / Thunderbolt Recover

Porygon2 is a very capable tank in UU, fending off many common powerful threats while maintaining great levels of power. Tri-Attack is Porygon2's STAB attack, and if you think it doesn't have significant power to deal out damage, you'd be mistaken. After the Download boost, it is capable of 2HKOing many standard Pokemon. Ice Beam and Discharge form the coverage core, while also 2HKOing many Pokemon that are weak to them. Thunderbolt is an option over Discharge, especially if you plan on running Analytic. Recover gives Porygon2 the means to continue walling Pokemon.

Download is much stronger than Analytic, even if you're slower, but Analytic is more reliable for always being able to maintain a boost, even if it's not as large as the Download boost. Download is still preferred, but knowing your opponents, knowing common Defense and Sp. Defense stats of standard UU Pokemon, and knowing when to bring Porygon2 into battle are all very important. Obviously Quiet nature goes with Analytic, while Modest goes with Download.

Porygon2@ Eviolite Trace Bold nature (+Defense, -Attack) EVs for UU: 252 HP / 176 Defense / 86 Sp. Defense EVs for OU: 252 HP / 184 Defense / 72 Sp. Defense Ice Beam Discharge / Thunderbolt Toxic / Thunder Wave Recover

Porygon2 is also able to serve as an incredible defensive wall, courtesy of Eviolite and Trace, which can ruin many common Pokemon by turning their abilities back against them. Ice Beam and Discharge provide wonderful coverage to compensate for the fact that this type of Porygon2 does not have wonderful firepower. Thunderbolt is an option if Paralysis support does not appeal to you, and it provides more power as well. One reason this might not be appealing is with a conflict of status with Toxic, which can help break down bulky walls. Thunder Wave is appealing for crippling sweepers instead, if it would benefit your team more than slowly wearing down walls. Recover is, of course, for the ability to heal.

Porygon2@ Eviolite Trace / Download Quiet nature (+Sp. Attack, -Speed) EVs: 252 HP / 252 Sp. Attack / 4 Sp. Defense Trick Room Thunderbolt Ice Beam / Tri-Attack Recover

Trick Room is a very niche move, but P2 sets it up very easily. Once up, Porygon2 is able to utilize this itself, if necessary, but other, more powerful teammates may make better use of it. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam form the coverage core again, as this P2 is strapped for move slots, but Tri-Attack may be used in place of Ice Beam, but this is mostly only useful alongside Download, and this is mainly useful if being used in UU, as Trace is far too valuable to give up in OU, and Ice Beam is much more useful in OU as well. Recover is for healing, as always.

This Porygon2 spread is setup for being able to deal out damage while nearly ensuring it can get Trick Room up against anything that isn't Fighting type or just overly powerful in general. A more bulky spread can be used if you want to ensure you can get TR up, but once it's up, Porygon2 becomes a bit of a sitting duck, no pun intended (okay, maybe a little). Since Trick Room has so few turns to remain setup, having multiple users of it on your team is more than ideal, it's necessary. Depending on the tier you're playing in, Reuniclus, Slowbro, Slowking, and Dusclops are all great teammates to have that can all setup Trick Room.

Being a member of the Porygon family, Porygon2 is somewhat hard to obtain in-game, especially in casual runs, and therefore isn't a commonly used Pokemon. Take into consideration that by the time you can get it, you usually have a full party already, and you have to trade with a specific item to evolve up to this form... it's usually more of a hassle than it's worth.

In Black2 and White2, Porygon is not available at all, and will require a trade from White Version's White Forest, provided you have Backpacker Herman in your White Forest. Porygon2, unlike Porygon-Z, however, can make use of Analytic, and is therefore viable to use the Dream World ability. Porygon with Analytic can be obtained from the Dream Radar after capturing Landorus. Once you have obtained one via any of these means, here's my recommendation:

Porygon2@ Eviolite Tri-Attack Thunderbolt Ice Beam Recover

In-Game, Porygon2 is not an offensive powerhouse. It is not a Pokemon you will be sweeping teams with. It is not Garchomp, nor is it even Porygon-Z, in terms of power. What it is, is a Pokemon that can take hits and deal them back out, while reliably recovering the damage back off. It is a safe Pokemon for the team. Tri-Attack is your STAB attack, with Ice Beam and Thunderbolt providing coverage. Recover is what allows Porygon2 to keep going after it has taken damage.

The ability you decide to go with determines what Porygon2 is best at doing. Trace is a mostly defensive ability, and one of my favorite abilities of all, allowing you to turn back such abilities as Flash Fire, Water Absorb, Volt Absorb, Intimidate, and far too many other useful others to list.

Download and Analytic provide Porygon2 with a bit more power, however, which it greatly appreciates in-game so that your battles don't all take forever to finish. Download is only useful when the opponent's Defense is higher, so it's a fair bit more risky to use, but it provides a bigger boost. Analytic gives a weaker boost, but it's always active, as long as you're slower than the opponent. If you go with Analytic, a -Speed nature would be very helpful (Quiet, Relaxed, and Sassy, being the best choices, in order of preference).

I freaking love Porygon2. It's got one of my favorite abilities in Trace, and it's incredibly bulky. But beyond all that competitive jargon, it's adorable. It's like a loyal soldier that you can count on in nearly any circumstance, and while it isn't always the best option, it's never a terrible one. I love the color scheme, I like the smooth, rounded balloon look, I love the fact that it's born of technology, it's just such an interesting Pokemon, and it really represents the transition period between N64-esque graphics and Gamecube and beyond. Porygon2 was certainly ahead of it's own time.

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