Questions & Answers

Generally, it depends on the type of team when deciding how much defense and offense are used in a team (since obviously stall and hyper offense have all and no defense respectively). However, it's arguable that the metagame of Platinum is completely dominated by bulky offense. This is mainly because of 3 factors. First, the metagame is filled with fantastic bulky offensive attackers, such as Tyranitar and its 100/110/100 defenses, Metagross with its 80/130/90 defenses and great typing, Gyarados and its Intimidate, great typing, and 95/79/100 defense, etc. Second, fast offense has basically been shut down for the most part by Scizor and its powerful Bullet Punch, which picks off formerly efficient attackers with ease, such as Gengar, Azelf, and Porygon-Z. Finally, the item Choice Scarf allows potentially slow and easily exploited attackers, such as Heatran, Metagross, and (to an extent) Flygon/Jirachi, to stand at the frontlines and bypass their mediocre speed, taking advantage of resistances and bypassing some weaknesses.

There's no real way of saying what the "best" type of play is, since stall, balance, and offense are all equally viable in the metagame. However, one look at the stats shows that this is the metagame where bulky offense truly shines.—Seven Deadly Sins

It's a toss-up between three attacks in my opinion, and they all have different purposes. The best straight up attack in the game is Earthquake, hands down. Ground is one of the best types coverage-wise, considering the fact that it's usually paired with an attack that can hit Flying-types and or Pokemon with Levitate. It has a great Base Power, at base 100, and it is 100% accurate. While it may not have a special side effect, it doesn't need one to be effective. The next attack on my list is U-turn. While it is "only" 70 Base Power, it's effect is probably the most useful secondary effect on all offensive and balanced teams. It allows you to keep up momentum by switching out your Pokemon, avoiding harmful attacks and allowing you to switch to a counter. It is also useful on slower, bulkier Pokemon, so that you take a hit first, allowing you to bring in a fragile sweeper for free. The final "attack" on my list isn't an attack at all really, but is just as useful. Substitute, at the cost of one quarter of your max HP, protects you from status and at least one attack. If the attack would have done more than 25% damage, the sub will "break" and you'll be left vulnerable. If it would have done less than 25% damage, it won't break. Even if someone breaks your sub, it allows you to either set up, or do damage to the Pokemon trying to break your sub. This really helps with scouting, as it allows you to see what Pokemon the opponent switches in with minimal risk to yourself.

As for the worst attack, I think every person can agree that Stone Edge is the worst attack ever conceived, due to it's 80% accuracy, and tendency to miss at the worst possible times. However it's a necessary evil, providing great coverage in combination with Earthquake.—tennisace

Bonus answer! I'd have to say that the best pound-for-pound move in the entire game has to be Draco Meteor. This move is of the fantastic Dragon type, a type that packs only one resistance, which makes it very hard to mitigate the damage from this move. Furthermore, all the Pokemon that get it have STAB on it, and the majority usually rely on Physical attacks, which means that Draco Meteor can be a giant surprise to anyone trying to switch anything but Skarmory into Salamence. I can't remember the last time I saw the words "Salamence used Draco Meteor!" (from one that wasn't my own) and didn't just immediately think "oh shit" afterwards. It does extreme damage, it's nigh impossible to wall, and while its side effect is markedly disadvantageous, it still does little to dampen the pure power that Draco Meteor packs.—Seven Deadly Sins

There are two main reasons for types being classified as such, their average stats, and the type chart. Some types, like Steel, are very obvious. With Steel for example, its 13 resistances and the high defenses that are usually given to them that makes Steel a more defensive type. On the other side of the spectrum, Ice, which has only one resist and weakness to three common types, not to mention a Stealth Rock weakness, makes for a poor defensive type. However, it's effectiveness against Flying, Dragon, and Ground, all of which are common types in OU, make it more of an offensive type. Water, however, is a perfect balanced type. It has common resistances, and it hits super effectively against common types as well. In addition, most Water types have well rounded stats, allowing a number of them to wall and attack effectively. However, there are always some exceptions for each type. For example, no one uses Lucario for its defensive prowess, nor is Kabutops generally looked at as being balanced, and Walrein, despite its Ice type, can prove to be an effective wall. So while each type has a general style bias given to it by the type charts and the average stats of Pokémon of that type, not all Pokémon follow those style biases.—RB Golbat

Although Rotom-A is a very dominating force in today's metagame, Rapid Spinning is still possible within today's metagame. Rotom-A is only on 15.83% of teams, and of note, Gengar is on 14.84% of teams. With the other 3 main Ghost types, Spiritomb, Froslass, and Dusknoir, about 40% of teams have a Ghost type to stop you from spinning. Rotom-A, however, does have an added challenge of being very bulky defensively, with 50/107/107 defenses, and Rotom-h specifically has the ability to hit all OU Rapid Spinners super effectively. This isn't to say that Rapid Spinning is impossible however, it just requires much more care to do. For example, on your first switch in, it would be smart to not use Rapid Spin right away. As with dealing with any threat, the best weapon is good prediction. Since it is weak to Dark, it is always good to have a Pursuit user, like Weavile, or Tyranitar to compliment your spinner. Payback Forretress gets special mention for being a spinner to hit Rotom-A with a super effective attack. In addition, Rotom-A's only method of recovery is Rest. This means that it can't rely on being able to take many hits without going to sleep, which gives you a few turns to take advantage of. That being said, building teams that aren't worn down by entry hazards is always beneficial, as it gives you additional protection against stall teams as well. And since Rotom-A is a popular choice on stall teams, dealing with entry hazards without removing them can be beneficial. Since many balanced teams as well use Spikes and Stealth Rock to help weaken opposing Pokémon, it is always a good idea to build a team that isn't worn down by entry hazards. So really, which ever method you choose of dealing with spikes should be the one you feel most comfortable with.—RB Golbat