RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

This week, we have another reader request. Rather than looking at another absurdly powerful or abundantly useful Pokemon, we’re going to be taking a look at a critter whose usefulness ranks somewhere between a baking sheet made of chocolate and a glass hammer. This is a Pokemon unafraid to stand up and boldly proclaim, “No, I really can’t.” A critter of such stunning uselessness, of such unabashed failure, that it only just beats out Kricketune. Ladies and gentlemen… I give you Ledian.

Ledian
Flying / Bug
HP: 55 Atk: 35 Def: 50 Sp Atk: 55 Sp Def: 110 Spd: 85
Ability: Swarm: When this Pokemon’s HP is at or below 33%, the base power of Bug-type attacks is increased by 50%.
Early Bird: If this Pokemon is asleep, it will wake up one turn before it is scheduled to.

Ledian’s got issues. Oh dear, has Ledian got issues. To start with, as a Bug/Flying type, Ledian’s main strength — that exceptional special defense — is rather drowned out by its weakness to Fire, Ice, and Electric. On top of this, a 4x weakness to Rock means Stealth Rock takes 50% off its HP every time it switches in, compounding the problems Ledian has getting in and out of play. Its base stats don’t help much either, as you can see. Special defense is solid, but the bargain-basement HP really puts the kibosh on any thoughts Ledian might have of taking a hit. Unfortunately, with both offensive stats hovering somewhere between “abysmal” and “seriously, what the hell,” Ledian’s not really a candidate for an offensive set, either.

So what’s left when neither offense nor defense is a viable path? Support! With access to a wide variety of stat-altering moves, Ledian actually makes a fair to middling Baton Passer, especially given that its second-best stat is speed. Ledian can also do a fair bit of general support, using Knock Off, Encore, Reflect and Light Screen.

If you’re looking to use Ledian in any serious play, you definitely want to stick to games played in the Never Used tier. In any tier populated by more dangerous Pokemon, or, heck, even just anything faster than Ledian, the poor critter’s gonna get massacred. In NU, though, it can provide some welcome support to the team, just so long as you can keep Stealth Rock off the playing field.

Lead Balloon
Ledian @Petaya Berry / Leftovers
Timid (+Spd, -Atk) nature
Swarm ability
252 HP, 252 Spd, 6 Sp Atk
-Bug Buzz
-Substitute
-Baton Pass
-Agility / Swords Dance
Probably Ledian’s most basically useful set, Baton Pass takes advantage of the more unique sections of Ledian’s movepool, as well as combining the best of its abilities and stats. That’s not saying Ledian will suddenly be a killer with this set, but rather that it may actually contribute to your overall strategy.

Ideally, you’d want to bring Ledian into play in such a manner that it would force your foe to switch out, to give Ledian a clear shot at setting Substitute up. Ledian’s offensive power, or rather the lack thereof, can make this set hard to pull off at times, so the best case scenario would really be an opponent using a Choice-locked move that Ledian resists or is immune to; Earthquake and Grass Knot are really the best options. Alternatively, you could replace Substitute with Encore, but that has problems of its own, and with nothing to get Ledian’s HP down to where pinch berries like Petaya will activate, the payoff is smaller.

As for things to Baton Pass, Agility is the recommended option here because it allows Ledian to Baton Pass to just about any member of the team, whereas Swords Dance would only benefit team members who attack physically. Agility also gives Ledian a leg up, helping it to dodge attacks with Substitute and outrun potential counters.

Asbestos Gas Mask
Ledian @Leftovers
Timid (+Spd, -Atk) nature
Swarm ability
252 HP, 252 Sp Def, 6 Sp Atk
-Bug Buzz
-Roost
-Encore / Knock Off
-Light Screen / Reflect
Unlike the first set, which could conceiveably be used in higher tiers (by a madman, but nonetheless), this Ledian is platinum certified to only work if you’re facing other, similarly handicapped Pokemon. Just so we’re clear, this set is suicide outside of NU, plain and simple. Ledian just can’t sustain a defense against Pokemon like Jynx, Ludicolo, and Magmortar, to say nothing of what awaits it in OU.

That said, Ledian’s support movepool is actually reasonably solid. Bug Buzz and Roost are the only really essential parts of this set, with the other two slots being available for really whatever your team needs. Knock Off and Encore are two very solid options for annoyance, with Encore being the more broadly useful of the two. Knock Off is a good way to encourage foes to stay in, as switching to a solid counter means letting Ledian Knock Off the incoming Pokemon’s item, too. In the last slot, Light Screen and Reflect are easily interchangeable, depending on what your team requires. Or, alternately, you could use both, replacing whatever you would have used in slot #3. Using both Screens makes Light Clay a reasonable choice for a held item, too, though the reduced recovery could be a problem for such a fragile Pokemon.

Flammable Jammies
Ledian @Life Orb
Jolly (+Spd, -Sp Atk) or Adamant (+Atk, -Sp Atk) nature
Early Bird ability
252 Atk, 252 Spd, 6 HP
-Swords Dance
-Aerial Ace / Bug Bite
-Brick Break
-Double-Edge / Baton Pass
But if you’re really looking to die horribly, you can’t do much better than this set. One thing it does have on its side is surprise. Nobody’s going to expect an offensive Ledian, much less a physically offensive Ledian. As with the Baton Pass set, this Ledian really likes coming in on a Choice-locked Grass or Ground attack, so that it has a free turn to set up. Pulling that minor miracle off may actually give you a second free turn, if your foe sees your Swords Dance and decides to play it safe by switching to a more physically-resistant critter. Although, to be honest, it’s more likely that a person will spontaneously turn into a pile of chicken wings than that they’ll take Ledian as an actual threat.

Ledian’s offensive options on the physical side are, well, a bit limited. Aerial Ace and Bug Bite are about equally effective, given that they’re your best STAB options. Brick Break goes a long way towards shoring up Ledian’s coverage, while the final slot is home to Double-Edge, which is probably your best straight-up damage dealing option. Baton Pass is an option over Double-Edge or Brick Break, as is Substitute, which could be useful in tricking a foe into thinking you’re working with one of the other, more popular sets.