Pokémon Aurorus

[Chou Toshio]

^For those who don't know, the word for Lobster in Chinese characters (which the Japanese also use) is 龍蝦 where the first character "Long" (or Ryuu in Japanese) means... dun dun dun... "Dragon" (and the second means shrimp).
Ie. Lobsters are "Dragon Shrimp" in Chinese. (In Chinese, the word for Lobster and Shrimp is the same)

needlessly long explanation on crustacean names in Japanese and Chinese

So technically, the Japanese don't use the phrase "dragon shrimp" for lobsters or crayfish. The common words are:
-伊勢海老 (iseebi, though this technically refers to only "Spiny Lobsters" or "Slipper Lobsters"-- the ones without big main claws)

-ザリガニ (Zarigani means crayfish. I guess the kanji--though kanji for this is usually not used--is 蝲蛄, interesting because "ebi"　海老 or "ebi"　蝦, meaning shrimp, is not used. Instead the word "kani"-- "g" often replaces "k" in Japanese when in a combined word-- and kani means crab, not shrimp)
-ロブスター　(Lobusutaa-- well, I can bet you can guess where this comes from...)

The Japanese will often throw out old kanji words for new western words though, so it wouldn't surprise me if the "Dragon Shrimp" Chinese word was once used to refer to Lobsters. However, seeing as clawed lobsters (not slipper/spiny lobsters) are not really found in the Japanese oceans, it's not surprising the expression would become used vaguely at best. So, when western culture spread the eating of Lobsters (with claws) into the culture, the western name probably stuck, and the Chinese name just fell off the map-- but that doesn't mean that it gets completely forgotten. Often, even old unused kanji words keep their cultural influence-- so to Japanese, there probably is still some intuitive connection between Lobsters and Dragons.

 

[ROFLz]

My word... that typing means that it'll probably never see the light of day outside of RU or even NU, poor thing...

agreeing with this. That weakness to water, fighting rock, steel (more relevant than ever this gen), etc pretty much means it won't see usage in upper tiers. Low speed also hurts it, though the HP stat is good enough that it might offset this to some extent. Those weaknesses, though...

 

[New Light]

Rock polish will make it an offensive powerhouse if it's available. Even if it does get RP though, I don't think it will be OU.

 

[mnkboy907]

I'm curious, has anyone tried breeding Aurorus with Exploud to see if it learns Boomburst via egg move? I'm not far enough along in X yet to test it myself. I wouldn't really expect Amaura to get it, but it's worth a shot.

 

[Slheyas]

Would it be possible to salvage that Attack stat?

82 isn't too bad, especially with stuff like Return.

 

[xiquon]

Would it be possible to salvage that Attack stat?

82 isn't too bad, especially with stuff like Return.

I don't see much reason to do that, I mean why would you use a much lower attacking stat except "just for fun"?
Gorebyss has 84 Attack and 114 Sp Attack, similar to Aurorus, and it would never dare using a physical attack when it has all it needs specially. The same goes for Aurorus. It doesn't have anything to gain.

 

[Slheyas]

Gorebyss doesn't have access to a physical 102 BP move it gets STAB on.

It's gimmicky at beast but 153BP Ice can hurt a lot, even coming from a meager 82.

 

[fraulinefive]

I highly doubt this is of any use, but Aurorus learns Hyper Beam at lv. 63.

 

[Jaetheho]

I highly doubt this is of any use, but Aurorus learns Hyper Beam at lv. 63.

Hyper beam is never used in competitive play. Especially when two ice moves easily outdamage it.

 

[GcYoshi13]

Where's the dragon in Crawdaunt's Dragon Dance?

Chinese name for Lobster is "Long Xia" translating literally to Dragon Shrimp if you break it down.

But yeah, it doesn't really make much sense despite this.

 

[Thorhammer]

In addition to all the issues, Hyper Beam has extremely wide availability as a TM anyway.

 

[Cuiv]

Do we have finalized stats for Aurorus? Serebii has much worse stats than the OP, though they seem to also be worse than the stats Serebii has for Tyrantrum (while I would expect them to be in parallel).

 

[Thorhammer]

Do we have finalized stats for Aurorus? Serebii has much worse stats than the OP, though they seem to also be worse than the stats Serebii has for Tyrantrum (while I would expect them to be in parallel).

Tyrantrum's stats on Serebii may be better distributed, but both its and Aurorus's add up to 521. An odd total to be sure, but it's common to the two of them.

The total in the OP, on the other hand, is 558. That's definitely higher than a fossil would get. In fact, all past fossils had 495 BST, aside from Aerodactyl which has 515. (Or 615 with its Mega.) BSTs over 540 seem to be restricted to legendaries, pseudo-legendaries, Mega Evolutions, and special cases: Slaking, Archeops, Volcarona, Arcanine, Togekiss, and... Florges. That's strange.

 

[sickweare]

I see that point, however it seems that the stats posted on Serebii point to being ill-distributed. From my experiences (I'm no expert though so take this as you will), Auroros seems to have a special attack stat of at least over 100. My main reasoning for this stems from the fact that my Charizard has a lower special attack than my Auroros while being two levels higher, both having a nature that neutrally affects special attack. Unfortunately, that's where my input ends. According to the measures on my super training place (I didn't use the specific training feature to train spA up), they have around the same EVs distributed to special attack with a bit of a deviation the way it seems, but I know little about their IVs and I don't know really how to figure out IVs without knowing the Pokemon's base stats.

I know this isn't a solid argument, but I found it kind of hard to believe that Auroros's special attack could have that huge of a difference between the smogon researchers and the serebii ones.

 

[Jonjonz]

Hmm you guys have been posting alot about its physical abilities but I personally enjoy its Niche spot in a Hail team with its Hidden ability.


Aurorus @ Leftovers / Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpAtk / 252 SpDef /
Calm Nature
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt/Anceint Power
- Protect
- Calm Mind/toxic/Hail

Its not really the best wall because of its shocking type but It fits in nicely,its massive HP lets it take most special attacks and hit back ok with blizzard.
Fighting destroys it and its nice to have something that can set up hail that isnt weak to it just by switching in.

Pairs ok with Abomasnow and Frostlass. Might be viable in UU/NU?

 

[Temporaryanonymous]

I feel bad for this dinosaur. Its stats and movepool are pretty decent, but it's probably cursed with one of the worst typings in the game. Its resistances are less commonly seen moves, and it has a serious weakness to common types like Ground, Fighting, and Water. Furthermore, it has a weakness to Stealth Rock, a type begging for Mach or Bullet Punch, and even its signature Freeze Dry has a pretty low base power that makes it sort of situational. This isn't going to be some high tier pokemon, but it could probably do decently in lower tiers.

 

[Slheyas]

i was looking at the base stats of auroras the ones from serebii.net
here they are:
hp:123
attack: 77
defence 72
spattack: 99
spdefence: 92
speed: 58
these stats scream to me special offensive tank but if anyone disagrees tell me your opinion

I just noticed that.

Those are abysmal. I was considering trying a Rock Polish build but scratch that, 99 sp.atk isn't enough to be worth trying killing stuff with.

 

[Karoshi]

i was looking at the base stats of auroras the ones from serebii.net
here they are:
hp:123
attack: 77
defence 72
spattack: 99
spdefence: 92
speed: 58
these stats scream to me special offensive tank but if anyone disagrees tell me your opinion

These stats are definitely not the worst in the game. Good Special bulk and attack with passable physical bulk. The only two things that are disappointing are it's physical attack and speed. I can see it preforming extremely well in NU and in RU as a better substitute for Snover if Snow Warning is not banned. It is also worth mentioning that he may see the light of day on Trick Room teams. Though he doesn't pack as much punch as other abusers, his great coverage could potentially make up for it.

 

[deluge]

Yet another ice type with a defensive stat spread. Yet this thing has one of the worst defensive typings imaginable.
It only resists Ice, Flying, Normal and Poison while being 4x weak to Steel and Fighting and 2x weak to Ground, Water, Grass, and Rock.
How does one even use it! This is basically gimmick Pokemon, lol. So if you're using it just go all out:

Modest Aurorus@Choice Specs
Refrigerate
~HYPER BEAM :P
~Freeze Dry
~filler
~filler

or a little less fun:

Modest Aurorus@Choice Specs
Snow Warning
~Blizzard
~Freeze Dry
~filler
~filler

or Supporter

Calm Aurorus@Leftovers
Snow Warning
~Substitute
~Freeze Dry
~Encore/Thunder Wave
~Dragon Tail/Roar

The idea is to have fun with its unique attributes just as you would with Spinda or Farfetch'd.
But the last set could probably be a decent partner to Grass types in the basement tiers.
It'll resist the moves most Normal/Flyers down there can muster while Grasses take Aurorus' weaknesses.
There's rather nice type synergy with Torterra, Exeggutor, Leafeon (great Def), and Grass/Poisons.

Anyway, maybe I'm being a bit hard on it because it is really quite bulky on the special side.
TTar is 100/100 while Aurorus is 123/92 with similar weaknesses.
It might have been better with Sandstream esp. with the end of perma-sand.

For egg moves, did anyone check for Yawn/Slack Off/Curse from Slowpoke or Fake Out from Kanga?
Those would make Aurorus a bit more entertaining.
(Well, not Curse with that Fighting weakness, but I'm curious.)

 

[deluge]

I can't see it functioning well in OU with those glaring 4x weaknesses + SR weakness and no known instant recovery move.
It'll face stiff competition from Abomasnow too. Although the tree is less bulky its typing actually cuts Water and Ground damage.
A niche can be carved for Aurorus but I don't think it'll have enough consistent utility to see regular usage.

But thinking about lower metagames, Sub/CM might be workable:

Aurorus@Leftovers
Nature/EVs TBD
Snow Warning
~Substitute
~Calm Mind
~Freeze Dry/Ice Beam
~Psychic/Thunderbolt

Also

Dual Screen Supporter
Aurorus@Light Clay
~Reflect
~Light Screen
~Encore/Thunder Wave
~Dragon Tail

Its movepool is quite good.

 

[deluge]

Its SR weakness kind of works against a hit and run and it faces competition from Abomasnow which has Ice Shard and resists Water/Ground from Rain/Sand.
Aurorus is weak to both! I'm sure it could find a niche on a team constructed with it in mind.
But a defensive Pokemon that's weak to Rock/Water/Ground/Grass and doubly weak to Steel + Fighting is not going to see regular use in OU.
If Rhyperior got the shaft with its great HP, Defense, Attack, SR resist, and Solid Rock this dinosaur doesn't stand a chance.
Aesthetically it's quite nice so it might be fun to use wherever it ends up being useful.

 

[DK Quagmire]

Hi. made a profile back when Black and White came out but only ever posted like once. been using this little Dino in my X team, so thought you'd like to hear what, I have to say. As much as everyone wants to use Snow Warning as the main ability, I doubt the hidden ability will be released anytime soon.
and as such should, people should think about its other ability Refridgerate and what moves to use on it.

This is the current set up at the Battle Maison that I use.

Modest@Leftovers
Refrigerate
~Freeze Dry
~Hyper Beam
~Ancient Power
~Substitute

-Hyper Beam works most effectively if you manage to set up a sub, and provides a nice stab thanks to his ability. If I think the opponent might use a fighting or steel type I usually switch out, since it is in most cases slower anyway, and will die in one hit. Hyper Beam is also the move to use, if you don't want the rest of your party to take damage from a switch in, and you know, no matter what will happen, you will not survive the next attack, and you go for a Kamakazee, like attack, where you know your opponent (If he/she survives) would just finish you off anyway. Also I love using it on ghost types, which would normally be immune to Normal. I have only ever missed with the attack once, or twice and has the same acc as rock slide now, so it's still a pretty decent finisher (Plus those 8-bit nostalgia sound effects are so awesome)
-Freeze Dry I use as my main attack, or when I know it's going to be a 2 hit KO, or when I see a water type approach, since my backup is a Charizard-X. Freeze Dry is great against the water types like Gyarados, Mantine, Ludicolo, Kingdra and even stuff like Quagsire, who all take a X4 weakness attack and usually don't survive it. But switching in can be a problem since the rock type is weak to the water moves. I usually only switch it in after my first member dies, and I see the threat.
-Ancient Power provides the rock type stab, and I get a good laugh when it does actually raise my stats, though I do wonder if Aurorus will ever get a powerful special Rock type move, but I think it was confirmed a while ago that it couldn't learn Power gem :(
I'm not concerned about it's low 5 PP as it's only good against Fire and bug types, is rarely ever used.
-Substitute, makes me protect my self from the random npc's 2 turn attacks, Slaking, and status' like Toxic.

I have tried using stuff like Encore and Thunder wave, and it didn't really work out for me.
I know that Nature Power can turn into Tri-Attack, which could provide a nice stab attack and a chance for a status, which might be worth looking into I think.
Just wanted to post my opinions for running Refrigerate for the time being on this awesome Pokemon.

 

[El Coqui]

Tha is just another Ice-type who'll have to play its role for weather and thats it. Considering HOW MANY hail benefited pokemon are in low-tier and none can appreciate it because hail is banned from low tier Aurorus will end up BL or NU (Refrigarate-only). I do like its typing minus its major weakness to the Kingtyping of 5th gen but it doest really have it. Its ability is as useless as Pixelate since the only Special Normal moves that could really be used are hyperbeam, boomburst, and swift. With Snow Warning you do have a possibility to do something with Aurorus but some people think ability-weather is OP in low tier. Thus even with a fantastic movepool i see this Dino's future as extinct as the real thing

 

[Slheyas]

Tha is just another Ice-type who'll have to play its role for weather and thats it. Considering HOW MANY hail benefited pokemon are in low-tier and none can appreciate it because hail is banned from low tier Aurorus will end up BL or NU (Refrigarate-only). I do like its typing minus its major weakness to the Kingtyping of 5th gen but it doest really have it. Its ability is as useless as Pixelate since the only Special Normal moves that could really be used are hyperbeam, boomburst, and swift. With Snow Warning you do have a possibility to do something with Aurorus but some people think ability-weather is OP in low tier. Thus even with a fantastic movepool i see this Dino's future as extinct as the real thing

Hail might not be banned now that it can't be permanent.

 

[El Coqui]

Hail might not be banned now that it can't be permanent.

Ive thought of that but that would also mean lifting the ban on other drizzle,drought, sand streamers which smogon top dogs may not like. But if the ban was lifted then Aurorus would be a fine hail started for RU and it would give pokes like Rotom-F, Walrein, and Glaceon more love.

On a semi-off topic/on-topic question: would SnowCloak (and by extension SandVeil) get lifted as well? I highly dout it since some people are so petty about these abilities. I can see why its annoying but not so game changing that its banned (at least in low-tirr cause Evading Garchomps would suck). Just my opinion que no vale