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Low IQ: Haha, funny blizzard to brrr. Medium IQ: I should optimize my moveset to take advantage of its longevity, utilizing roost and bright power with a strong defensive Tera like water to let it stay on field and optimize its evasion. High IQ: Haha, funny blizzard go brrr.
One of the reasons Wolfe won one of his most recent tournaments in the final match was him electing not to overthink and just click the strong move with the strong Pokémon. And it worked
@@vallar57 it wont hit through protection moves, no. anything after the protection is a binary "nope" - its not simply reducing the attackers accuracy to 0% for that turn. Just as blizzard in this case has a binary "yes", rather than being set to 100%. So yeah, detect works as normal, since it has priority over blizzard still edit : It used to have a small chance - i dont think that was intentional though. it was patched a few gens ago
"I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face. I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face. I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face. I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face. I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face. I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face. I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face. I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face. I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face. I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face. I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face. I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face."
“For the first time in almost 30 years, Articuno truly looked legendary” Spectacular ending quote. So great to see, what should be a powerful Pokémon, finally get to show what it is capable of.
Articuno was my first legend I caught when I played Fire Red as a kid. Exploring seafoam islands and finding it was so cool, it’s nice to see it finally able to do something in VGC.
I am so glad I caught this regional live. Everybody was so hype in twitch chat because the finals was between a guy who was undefeated and the guy running an articuno
It should also be added, Day 2 was absolutely nuts. So many weird Pokémon, strange team comps, crits, misses, and the day even started with 2 sheer colds. Everything about the stream was hype, and the Articuno was the cherry on top.
@@Endershock1678I absolutely agree, after all the tornshifu tournaments and then people once again settling into meta teams, watching this regional was an absolute treat, I can't remember the last time i was this hyped watching a regional since recent times.
Sheer Cold is only technically an Ice move, it's typing really means nothing. Also, Freeze Dry is somewhat unique in that it changes the SE range of the type, getting around Ice's weakness to Water. You could say it's a different "type" than normal Ice (a "coverage" move essentially). The only "doubling up" is Blizzard and Ice Beam, which isn't uncommon. You often see Pixelated Hyper Voice and Moonbeam or Surf and Muddy Water on the same moveset.
@@irontrids The concept of one trick pony does not even make sense in VGC since a team literally has to work well as a whole to succeed. All the moves being ice type is not one trick, it's just one common trait. Each of the moves has a different function, there just wasn't a reason to add moves of a different type. It's more coincidence than it being a "trick". And this is slightly unrelated but in some games "one trick" is a derogatory term for what is essentially a specialist or an expert, like in a MOBA or a game like Overwatch. It's copium, another bad excuse for losing and not acknowledging your opponent is just better ("they're not better than me, they're just a one trick". "I can play 3 characters at a mediocre level so that makes me better than someone who can play one at a high/decent level".)
I think one of the best things about S&V is the fact that terrestrialisation has caused a lot of pokemon that were held back purely by type to be allowed in the limelight. It's been great to see the variety and I honestly kinda hope they pull a gen 3 and keep a new mechanic for the first time in forever (g3 referring to keeping abilities)
They're not keeping it. They will come out with something new so you buy the next game. Also, the design choices for Teras are the worst I've seen in years. Like Fire Teras getting a chandelier in their heads and Fighting Teras getting just a fist...
@@erickmiranda6717 Well Pokemon is primarily designed for children, and they might think the goofy hats are funny or cool. Also, the did keep megas when they introduced Z-moves so it's not impossible. Terra just can't be the primary gimmick focus.
@@erickmiranda6717 I can want something, even if it's unlikely to happen. Like the other reply says they kept megas around for the z-moves portion so it's not impossible. I also wonder how ogerpon will work without terra (they could just drop it though tbf) The head ornament thing is just you being nitpicky. I care more about the gameplay effects than the hats being works of art, plus you never know if they might improve it if they actually kept it around since it would be worth investing more time into it if it'll be around more than just 1 generation.
@@lilithkitsune7152 So? I can answer the same way you did. I can be nitpicky for a game that has nothing going for it. New mons look like ass and the game is boring to play with no soul put into it. I guess the competitive side gets benefited from the gimmick but they're definetely gonna drop it. They could keep it, but the new gimmick is always gonna negate it or else it wouldn't be a new generation. Learn to get different opinions than yours. specially on the internet. You sound too flakey. Also, GF doesn't care about waht YOU want.
@@numberhunter62Leaving Teras in will mean nothing with the new gimmick. And the "Tera hats" are just mediocre design, there's no way around it. It's not the only case within Gen 9 and you know it.
Honestly, I always loved Articuno’s design as a kid. It was enchanting. But as I grew older, I came to lament its place in Pokemon due to my understanding of its mechanics. Still, it remained my favorite of the birds. …so seeing this…kind of made me tear up a bit. It’s Pachirusu all over again, and it’s beautiful.
My favorite thing about Gen 9 has been the resurgence of older Pokemon in the Meta. Tyranitar, Articuno, Arcanine, Dragonite... it's really interesting to see.
I think it's worth noting that Articuno was in fact on the winning team at Space World '97, piloted by Toru Miyazawa. Of course, this was with gen 1 mechanics, ~31% freeze rate ~90% accuracy blizzard, and Articuno was blessed with a 125 special stat at the time (which pulled double duty as both its special attack and special defense).
Wolfey: Odds are most of you think your subscribed but arent. Me: I watch your videos regularly man, im definitely subsc- oh im not... World champ difference right there.
Not so related but... In contrast, I just watched Wolfey again after a long long while and just realized that I was actually subscribed (･o･;) To add context, I rarely subscribe to a channel unless their content is consistently something I like or I just wanna support em so the list isn't too big and I can navigate better lol
Great freaking video Wolfey! I was going off at work while listening to Articuno taking this tournament by storm And that transition at 11:10 was freaking awesome, and that final line of the video is tear worthy... Great time and video for anyone who is an Articuno fan
I love this. Articuno has been my favorite legendary ever since the beginning. I was always on the believe that GF should just swap its two special stats, but this warms my heart too.
Did articuno just have a higher stat total than the others? On Pokémon db it just says "in gen1 acticuno had a special stat of 125" and I can't find anything else about the change (on the first handful of results of Google which is all I cared to check) I also think it would have been broken if it kept mind reader. Online forums disagree but I think mind reader sheer cold is busted, especially on a tanky Pokémon.
it bothers me when people say articuno was never good, it was actually top tier in nintendo cup 97, the first ever competitive pokemon format, where it could spam nuclear 120 power, 90% accuracy, 30% freeze chance blizzards off its gigantic base 125 special and not have to be afraid of freezes itself
I mean, Gen 1 was a lawless wasteland that barely held together. Plus, that version of Articuno was still poor, if somewhat stronger in Special, but the insane Blizzard of Gen 1 is doing most of the heavy lifting there. 90% accurate with 30% to freeze, back when freeze was ENTIRELY a death sentence because there was no practical way to thaw? That's not the bird being good, that's the move. Don't confuse/combine the two to mean the same thing. Not to mention that version of Blizzard only exists in JP versions of Gen 1, so the rest of the world never saw that. But yeah, take a single, brief, very specific instance, and you're technically correct that Articuno wasn't ALWAYS terrible. The best kind of correct. You really showed us.
Bro if it werent for Hail here or Tera it wouldnt be shit. Blizzard on Articuno's meaty 125 special is what got it. Thats combining a tool with its own quality. Articuno is also generally good/decent in Gen 1 OU to this day so idk what he did wrong lol @andrewjones1395
It’s always really impressive when a player sneaks a new team comp straight into the meta by winning a tourney out of no where. They really put in the time to understand current used teams and found a way to exploit other team’s weaknesses while covering for their own. I think that’s super impressive, and super entertaining to see in a video like this too. Great video!
Doesn't have much to do with actual VGC but Kanto Articuno is a STAPLE of a USUM Battle Tree Super Doubles team I got +1500 wins with. Articuno is a bulky Tailwind setter that's immune to Hax-Walrein's OHKO spam (Sheer Cold and Fissure), beats Gyarados with Freeze Dry, and Phys-Def Mega- Venusaur with Z-Hurricane... 3 Mons known for ending streaks
Articuno is also notably quite strong in the earliest competitive Pokemon format ever: Space World Poke Cup (1997). Articuno's Blizzard is the strongest unboosted Special attack in all of Gen I, tied only by Zapdos's Thunder, but unlike Thunder, Blizzard had 90% Accuracy and since it was JP Red/Green, it also had a 30% chance to freeze. Plague Von Karma has an excellent video about it (When Pokemon was a Televised Esport), highly recommend checking it out if you've any interest.
Given the amount of players at this tournament and chien pao being the only ice type people prepared about, it's statistically very very like that in the days before the competition, someone, somewhere, actually had the following discussion "-Damn your team has so many ice weaknesses -I know but, I don't really care. I have my Pao check so what is any gonna do with my ice weakness? Pull out articuno and blizzard me to death? /s -Hahaha yeah right"
You uploading every saturday is making me so happy. I am so addicted to your channel I have rewatched so many videos these past 3 weeks lmao. Thank you Mr. Wolfey
Was watching the tournament live and was so stoked when Nikhil won. I have a soft spot for articuno so i'd been rooting for him the whole of day two. You were right that he wasn't just lucky with secondary effects and sheer colds, he said himself that he didnt even click sheer cold until his first stream match on day 2, so he went all of day 1 without it.
In swiss round 3 on stream of that tournament, you could see a game changing snow cloak activation when articuno dodged a parting shot from incin then hit it with sheer cold the following turn
Excellent video, love seeing the history of a pokemon like this and how they're good now. But also props to the editor, that was fire, and there were a ton of cool transitions and animations here!
Can we talk about how incredible these edits are?! Wolfey's essays are always amazing, and he deserves the shine he gets, but these edits are just as next-level.
As a long time fan seeing your high quality analysis get the high quality editing it deserves is awesome, I absolutely loved the editing at 16:30 with the real life backdrops.
"Odds are, you might think you are subscribed, but you aren't" My jaw dropped when I realized I was NOT subscribed. I have been watching your channel a lot lately cause the algorithm keeps throwing your videos at me (which is great). I thought I had already subscribed lol
I love seeing how METAs in games change like this. The fact that a new kind of team can show up and destroy everyone because of how unexpected it is, and is then countered by using more odd methods. Its fun to see METAs change and adapt, like a group of creatures evolving to survive their conditions.
Just wanna say thanks Wolfey I've always been a competitive singles player since 2013 I dabled in doubles alot in gen 7. And usually I find vgc content kinda boring but you make it all so interesting I could listen to you talk and teach for hours something I thought I would never be into could be fixed with just the right charismatic person one day I hope I can meet you! Wish you the best in your upcoming journey as Champion and on UA-cam
I'm so happy for Articuno during that tournament, and I'm glad the players brought it and let it shine. It's always been my favorite of the original trio, and it's such a shame it never managed to do anything until now. Good job, ice bird, I hope to see more of you in the future! (Twitter was hilarious that weekend, truly something to see)
Long time play VGC player and this is some solid content man. It really shows context while being constantly being entertaining. Your stuff has come a long way since your initial foray into being a real youtubist.
Great video, Wolfey. Nice to see the Articuno resurgence continue with tournament wins in 2023 & 2024. For a legendary that got robbed of its stats by Game Freak after Gen 2’s debut, it’s so refreshing to see it make a comeback in the meta. Ice Types should have never been this frail to begin with. But the Gen 9 buff is a great way to make up for the mistakes by Game Freak after Gen 2 came out.
Please Wolfie, your editors deserve a big raise 😂 Usually I just have videos going in the background, but I refuse to just listen to your videos because the editing is so good lol Literally the best in the game, not just in the Pokémon community, but on UA-cam in general. I would love to see a video highlighting your editors. Because I'm impressed every time I see one of these types of videos haha It literally blows my mind how good they are. They may be even better than Matt Pats LOVE it
Freezai may have beaten you to it in terms of date, but your vid is more in depth! It's always nice when one of your favorites that forever sucked randomly gits gud!
For those who may feel annoyed by people asking us to "subscribe", I also thought I was until I checked just now. I wasn't. I've been watching this mans vids for weeks and thought I was subscribed for longer than that, at least a year or something. So his claim was actually terrifyingly accurate, we should just always check just in case. I like his stuff so he sure deserves the sub. I'm sure many others do too.
If you use the bright powder item you can go for a build centered around your opponent missing attacks. I have been using this build and as a beginner articouno has helped me win a lot of matches
Wolf your video quality is fantastic right now! I’m happily subscribed. I’m so glad you love what you do because I genuinely enjoy your videos so much! So informative and enjoyable. Thanks man 🫶🏻
9:21 "freeze is the most broken status effect in the game" I managed to proc a freeze on a trainer's pokemon in Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, I shit you not it broke out on the next turn
I love watching all of Wolfes vids! They are so inspirational and also educational! Seeing something that is not normally used is amazing to see and hope other mons become usable as well! 😄
0:45 Okay, I feel the need to correct the record: because there was no doubles format in Gens 1 & 2, and because the doubles mechanics (competitively) were deeply flawed in Gen 3, the only viable format to judge Articuno for those generations was a singles format: either 3v3 or 6v6. What's more, there weren't official doubles tournaments at all until Gen 4. In a singles context, for the first 3 generations, Articuno is pretty good. It's not great, but it's solid, with a unique defensive profile and one of the strongest special attack stats for an unrestricted pokemon (especially in Generation 1, where Blizzard has 90% accuracy). Post Gen 3, in both doubles and singles, yeah, Articuno is pretty crap. Singles it loses 50% of its health every time it switches thanks to the ever-present Stealth Rock, in doubles it dies to any strong Rock Slide, and in both it fails to have any redeeming traits.
You're missing more pieces of the puzzle to Articuno's Gen 1 viability - Freeze is an insta-kill and Special was one stat. All the Legendary Birds had 125 Special stat, including Articuno, meaning they could all hit equally as hard. Steel wasn't in the game yet and Fire didn't resist Ice yet either, meaning the only Ice resists were Water and Ice. Fighting an Articuno in Gen 1 was especially scary since the only Rock types with any viability were also part Ground meaning they ate massive ish from Blizzard. There was no way to thaw from Freeze other than getting hit by a Fire type attack meaning your frozen Pokemon were as good as gone. All these combined to make Articuno an absolute menace in the meta, and basically every strong trait I mentioned was eradicated by Gen 2's balance changes.
Not to mention that, in the original japanese Red and Green (but not international Red and Blue), Blizzard has an insane 30% freeze chance, which makes Articuno even better. Although surprisingly, it still ends up being the worst legendary bird, and the second-worst ice type (beating only Dewgong).
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First also big fan wolfe pls heart the comment
Couple of times you have interchanged the spDef stat to Def stat . so the boost is 100 to 150 not 125 to 187.5
@@blahbah9254the def stat he shows is not the base stat, it's the defense at lvl 50 31IVs 0EVs
Oh thanks. I didnt know that @@obiwancannoli1920
Hey I'm your old subscriber
and I want to tell you my birthday is in March 22 ❤
Low IQ: Spam Ice Stab.
Medium IQ: "Your moveset must be versatile to deal with different situations".
High IQ: Spam Ice Stab.
to be fair, the moveset is quite versatile, just not in terms of typing
Low IQ: Haha, funny blizzard to brrr.
Medium IQ: I should optimize my moveset to take advantage of its longevity, utilizing roost and bright power with a strong defensive Tera like water to let it stay on field and optimize its evasion.
High IQ: Haha, funny blizzard go brrr.
Weak aura: I am in peace with my coverage and utility
STRONG AURA: 4 STAB ICE MOVES BABIIIIIII!!
One of the reasons Wolfe won one of his most recent tournaments in the final match was him electing not to overthink and just click the strong move with the strong Pokémon. And it worked
Curve bell meme
Worth it to note: In Snow/Hail Blizzard does not become 100% Accurate, it actually bypasses the Accuracy Check entirely.
Does that mean there is now way make the blizzard miss in snow except for flinching
@kINg_Of_yOuTuBe__ Yes, the only way to stop it, is to make sure it never goes off in the first place
Minimize mfs: 💀
Does Detect cause it to miss or it bypasses that as well?
@@vallar57 it wont hit through protection moves, no. anything after the protection is a binary "nope" - its not simply reducing the attackers accuracy to 0% for that turn. Just as blizzard in this case has a binary "yes", rather than being set to 100%. So yeah, detect works as normal, since it has priority over blizzard still
edit : It used to have a small chance - i dont think that was intentional though. it was patched a few gens ago
“My child will use a variety of coverage moves”
“My child will use Ice Beam, Blizzard, Freeze Dry, and Sheer Cold on an Ice type with Tera Ice”
"I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face.
I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face.
I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face.
I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face.
I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face.
I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face.
I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face.
I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face.
I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face.
I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face.
I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face.
I'll throw a straight right jab at him, but I'll stop short just before I hit his face."
fuck it, we choice specs sheer cold
*in the snow
Seeing Articuno tank a fire Ivy Cudgel AND a wicked blow at the same time and shrug it off so effortlessly speaks that Articuno really is legendary.
@potatointhevoid1354 not tera but he did wear the fire mask,making ivy cudgel a fire atk with 100 power.
@FortooSPdid mf actually watch the video 😭
@FortooSP 14:09
“For the first time in almost 30 years, Articuno truly looked legendary” Spectacular ending quote. So great to see, what should be a powerful Pokémon, finally get to show what it is capable of.
Also made me remember I'm an old bastard
That quote was so incredible that it froze me, it was really chilly....
Articuno was my first legend I caught when I played Fire Red as a kid. Exploring seafoam islands and finding it was so cool, it’s nice to see it finally able to do something in VGC.
Such a corny line, I love it
Articuno was really good in gen 1...
Who would win? Several well constructed teams utilizing meta staples and powerful team comps, or a funny bird wearing glasses?
Agreed meta forget weather exist this season
The glasses are also funny
A funny bird with 4 ice moves wearing glasses
That sound effect when Articuno put on the choice specs was hilarious
A bird with all damaging moves of just one type
I am so glad I caught this regional live. Everybody was so hype in twitch chat because the finals was between a guy who was undefeated and the guy running an articuno
Yeah I watched it after and was still hyped lol
"CMON ARTY YOU CAN BEAT THE MONSTER"
It should also be added, Day 2 was absolutely nuts. So many weird Pokémon, strange team comps, crits, misses, and the day even started with 2 sheer colds.
Everything about the stream was hype, and the Articuno was the cherry on top.
@@Endershock1678I absolutely agree, after all the tornshifu tournaments and then people once again settling into meta teams, watching this regional was an absolute treat, I can't remember the last time i was this hyped watching a regional since recent times.
I love how every time flinch comes up, we already know what clip is going to immediately follow.
Dude's been playing Pokémon for years and still gets salty about this stuff. Smh.
@@erickmiranda6717the king of liking his own comments?
@@controlcon i'm gonna like your comment so it looks like you did the same
@@controlconYes... 'Cause they're really important for me...
@@skkadoot9533professional hater
It feels weird to see a pokemon in competitive with all moves being of the same type
When they're one trick ponies, but that one trick pony is all it needs to dominate and get good results.
In short, it just really works.
It's definitely weird but nothing is straight up immune to Ice type so that's less of an issue than some other types.
Sheer Cold is only technically an Ice move, it's typing really means nothing. Also, Freeze Dry is somewhat unique in that it changes the SE range of the type, getting around Ice's weakness to Water. You could say it's a different "type" than normal Ice (a "coverage" move essentially). The only "doubling up" is Blizzard and Ice Beam, which isn't uncommon. You often see Pixelated Hyper Voice and Moonbeam or Surf and Muddy Water on the same moveset.
To be fair each ice tote move does something different freeze dry is also basically coverage
@@irontrids The concept of one trick pony does not even make sense in VGC since a team literally has to work well as a whole to succeed.
All the moves being ice type is not one trick, it's just one common trait. Each of the moves has a different function, there just wasn't a reason to add moves of a different type. It's more coincidence than it being a "trick".
And this is slightly unrelated but in some games "one trick" is a derogatory term for what is essentially a specialist or an expert, like in a MOBA or a game like Overwatch. It's copium, another bad excuse for losing and not acknowledging your opponent is just better ("they're not better than me, they're just a one trick". "I can play 3 characters at a mediocre level so that makes me better than someone who can play one at a high/decent level".)
I think one of the best things about S&V is the fact that terrestrialisation has caused a lot of pokemon that were held back purely by type to be allowed in the limelight. It's been great to see the variety and I honestly kinda hope they pull a gen 3 and keep a new mechanic for the first time in forever (g3 referring to keeping abilities)
They're not keeping it. They will come out with something new so you buy the next game. Also, the design choices for Teras are the worst I've seen in years. Like Fire Teras getting a chandelier in their heads and Fighting Teras getting just a fist...
@@erickmiranda6717 Well Pokemon is primarily designed for children, and they might think the goofy hats are funny or cool.
Also, the did keep megas when they introduced Z-moves so it's not impossible. Terra just can't be the primary gimmick focus.
@@erickmiranda6717 I can want something, even if it's unlikely to happen. Like the other reply says they kept megas around for the z-moves portion so it's not impossible.
I also wonder how ogerpon will work without terra (they could just drop it though tbf)
The head ornament thing is just you being nitpicky. I care more about the gameplay effects than the hats being works of art, plus you never know if they might improve it if they actually kept it around since it would be worth investing more time into it if it'll be around more than just 1 generation.
@@lilithkitsune7152 So? I can answer the same way you did. I can be nitpicky for a game that has nothing going for it. New mons look like ass and the game is boring to play with no soul put into it.
I guess the competitive side gets benefited from the gimmick but they're definetely gonna drop it. They could keep it, but the new gimmick is always gonna negate it or else it wouldn't be a new generation.
Learn to get different opinions than yours. specially on the internet. You sound too flakey.
Also, GF doesn't care about waht YOU want.
@@numberhunter62Leaving Teras in will mean nothing with the new gimmick.
And the "Tera hats" are just mediocre design, there's no way around it. It's not the only case within Gen 9 and you know it.
Nah, it will only be a “bad” legendary once I hear about Silvally getting anything good sometime this decade…
They buffed multi attack to 120 base power in gen 8.
That's probably it but it's something
Woah it's that guy from Fry Em Up's comments!
@@BlazingJ972 That was really it. I know it’s supposed to be an inferior Arceus, but they didn’t need to make it awful in pretty much every way!
@@HoverMelon2000 Really??
Fixing Silvally’s ability to learn all of the Pledge moves instead of just Grass Pledge would be a neat upgrade
Honestly, I always loved Articuno’s design as a kid. It was enchanting.
But as I grew older, I came to lament its place in Pokemon due to my understanding of its mechanics. Still, it remained my favorite of the birds.
…so seeing this…kind of made me tear up a bit. It’s Pachirusu all over again, and it’s beautiful.
*And Articuno learns FREEZE DRY, an ice-type move that deals super effective damage to water types.
My favorite thing about Gen 9 has been the resurgence of older Pokemon in the Meta. Tyranitar, Articuno, Arcanine, Dragonite... it's really interesting to see.
Tyranitar got less usage in Gen 9 though.
Tyranitar dropped off hard in gen 9. Though being at the top for 7 or so gens is a great feat.
articuno only thrived because butterfree didnt exist in scvi. Rigged.
Maractus would’ve swept. This is absolutely outrageous
😂😂😂😂😂
I'm surprised it's not losing all the time to Delibird, the clearly strongest ice type pokemon.
I think it's worth noting that Articuno was in fact on the winning team at Space World '97, piloted by Toru Miyazawa. Of course, this was with gen 1 mechanics, ~31% freeze rate ~90% accuracy blizzard, and Articuno was blessed with a 125 special stat at the time (which pulled double duty as both its special attack and special defense).
That team was chill as fuck. It really iced the competition.
Really?
Cold blooded killers
Its was pretty cool
nice
Straight to jail
14:14 Articuno taking barely any damage from Ivy Cuddle and Wicked Blow (aka two of the scariest damaging moves) says so much
Rolling that 4 year old’s first pokemon playthrough moveset 🔥🔥🔥
Wolfey: Odds are most of you think your subscribed but arent.
Me: I watch your videos regularly man, im definitely subsc- oh im not... World champ difference right there.
Not so related but...
In contrast, I just watched Wolfey again after a long long while and just realized that I was actually subscribed (･o･;)
To add context, I rarely subscribe to a channel unless their content is consistently something I like or I just wanna support em so the list isn't too big and I can navigate better lol
@@onebear6504cool story bro
Wolfeys changes thumbnails and video titles more than the amount of times Incineroar switches in
I don't play competitive myself but it always makes me happy when one of my favorites gets a chance to shine
Seems like Articuno had the WORLD CHAMP DIFFERENCE babayyyyhhhhh....
Comedy
Kinda wish that since they changed Hail. They should have also changed Freeze to Frostbite. A Special Attack effecting Burn is actually quite amazing
Great freaking video Wolfey! I was going off at work while listening to Articuno taking this tournament by storm
And that transition at 11:10 was freaking awesome, and that final line of the video is tear worthy...
Great time and video for anyone who is an Articuno fan
I love this. Articuno has been my favorite legendary ever since the beginning. I was always on the believe that GF should just swap its two special stats, but this warms my heart too.
for people wondering - those emotes wolfey sometimes uses in this video - like abomasnow in 13:03 are from game Ragnaron Online - mmorpg
A classic
Good times. Good times...
noticed immediately ♥
Articuno would've been great all this time if it got to keep its 125 special attack stat like the other 2 birds did.
Errr… no, it still wouldn’t have.
It would have been slightly better but not really that much of a difference.
Did articuno just have a higher stat total than the others? On Pokémon db it just says "in gen1 acticuno had a special stat of 125" and I can't find anything else about the change (on the first handful of results of Google which is all I cared to check)
I also think it would have been broken if it kept mind reader. Online forums disagree but I think mind reader sheer cold is busted, especially on a tanky Pokémon.
@@teno777 Yes it would.
@@jblen Articuno had the lowest bst at 485. Zapdos was 490 and Moltres was 495. In gen 2 they were all increased to 580.
that thumbnail is so cute,, and guilty gear cameo omf lfg
Mr. Busta himself
Something to mention was Patrick D (Pdonz) getting Day 2 at Worlds this past year with Articuno!
Wolfe mentioned it in another video. I'm just happy to see the bird having the success its having! ❄
You’re editor is top notch
I enjoy learning about Pokémon strats and what better than a funny video to entertain/teach me
it bothers me when people say articuno was never good, it was actually top tier in nintendo cup 97, the first ever competitive pokemon format, where it could spam nuclear 120 power, 90% accuracy, 30% freeze chance blizzards off its gigantic base 125 special and not have to be afraid of freezes itself
Yes, but that would require Wolfe to be able to acknowledge the existence of the first three generations.
I mean, Gen 1 was a lawless wasteland that barely held together. Plus, that version of Articuno was still poor, if somewhat stronger in Special, but the insane Blizzard of Gen 1 is doing most of the heavy lifting there. 90% accurate with 30% to freeze, back when freeze was ENTIRELY a death sentence because there was no practical way to thaw? That's not the bird being good, that's the move. Don't confuse/combine the two to mean the same thing.
Not to mention that version of Blizzard only exists in JP versions of Gen 1, so the rest of the world never saw that.
But yeah, take a single, brief, very specific instance, and you're technically correct that Articuno wasn't ALWAYS terrible. The best kind of correct. You really showed us.
WE DONE WITH THE 90s
True that. "Never" means "not even once", and Articuno used to be amazing in Gen 1, before the Special split into SAtk and SDef, and Blizzard's debuff
Bro if it werent for Hail here or Tera it wouldnt be shit. Blizzard on Articuno's meaty 125 special is what got it. Thats combining a tool with its own quality. Articuno is also generally good/decent in Gen 1 OU to this day so idk what he did wrong lol @andrewjones1395
i love articuno so im glad it finally did something 😭 ive had one sitting in my pokemon pearl pc boxes since 2018 and ive always believed in it ❤
It’s always really impressive when a player sneaks a new team comp straight into the meta by winning a tourney out of no where. They really put in the time to understand current used teams and found a way to exploit other team’s weaknesses while covering for their own. I think that’s super impressive, and super entertaining to see in a video like this too. Great video!
Doesn't have much to do with actual VGC but Kanto Articuno is a STAPLE of a USUM Battle Tree Super Doubles team I got +1500 wins with.
Articuno is a bulky Tailwind setter that's immune to Hax-Walrein's OHKO spam (Sheer Cold and Fissure), beats Gyarados with Freeze Dry, and Phys-Def Mega- Venusaur with Z-Hurricane... 3 Mons known for ending streaks
Articuno is also notably quite strong in the earliest competitive Pokemon format ever: Space World Poke Cup (1997). Articuno's Blizzard is the strongest unboosted Special attack in all of Gen I, tied only by Zapdos's Thunder, but unlike Thunder, Blizzard had 90% Accuracy and since it was JP Red/Green, it also had a 30% chance to freeze.
Plague Von Karma has an excellent video about it (When Pokemon was a Televised Esport), highly recommend checking it out if you've any interest.
Given the amount of players at this tournament and chien pao being the only ice type people prepared about, it's statistically very very like that in the days before the competition, someone, somewhere, actually had the following discussion
"-Damn your team has so many ice weaknesses
-I know but, I don't really care. I have my Pao check so what is any gonna do with my ice weakness? Pull out articuno and blizzard me to death? /s
-Hahaha yeah right"
You uploading every saturday is making me so happy. I am so addicted to your channel I have rewatched so many videos these past 3 weeks lmao. Thank you Mr. Wolfey
Was watching the tournament live and was so stoked when Nikhil won. I have a soft spot for articuno so i'd been rooting for him the whole of day two. You were right that he wasn't just lucky with secondary effects and sheer colds, he said himself that he didnt even click sheer cold until his first stream match on day 2, so he went all of day 1 without it.
In swiss round 3 on stream of that tournament, you could see a game changing snow cloak activation when articuno dodged a parting shot from incin then hit it with sheer cold the following turn
OWNED
The thumbnail art is adorable, props to the artist :3
I remembered a pokemon page said about this "your 10 years old self pokemon just won a regional tournament"
Excellent video, love seeing the history of a pokemon like this and how they're good now. But also props to the editor, that was fire, and there were a ton of cool transitions and animations here!
Can we talk about how incredible these edits are?! Wolfey's essays are always amazing, and he deserves the shine he gets, but these edits are just as next-level.
As a long time fan seeing your high quality analysis get the high quality editing it deserves is awesome, I absolutely loved the editing at 16:30 with the real life backdrops.
This video reminded me how much I love Articuno and the ice type in general. Even if they require some creativity to use.
"Odds are, you might think you are subscribed, but you aren't" My jaw dropped when I realized I was NOT subscribed. I have been watching your channel a lot lately cause the algorithm keeps throwing your videos at me (which is great). I thought I had already subscribed lol
I love seeing how METAs in games change like this. The fact that a new kind of team can show up and destroy everyone because of how unexpected it is, and is then countered by using more odd methods. Its fun to see METAs change and adapt, like a group of creatures evolving to survive their conditions.
Just wanna say thanks Wolfey I've always been a competitive singles player since 2013 I dabled in doubles alot in gen 7. And usually I find vgc content kinda boring but you make it all so interesting I could listen to you talk and teach for hours something I thought I would never be into could be fixed with just the right charismatic person one day I hope I can meet you! Wish you the best in your upcoming journey as Champion and on UA-cam
Ice has always been my favorite type in any of the games, glad to see it being pretty useful and solid in certain situations.
I'm so happy you did a vid on the Blizz'd n Blasted Cuno Squad. Really been enjoying the top tier players reviewing (and using) it!
I’m so happy Wolfe did a video on this. ❤ Articuno has always been my fave legendary bird.
I'm so happy for Articuno during that tournament, and I'm glad the players brought it and let it shine. It's always been my favorite of the original trio, and it's such a shame it never managed to do anything until now. Good job, ice bird, I hope to see more of you in the future!
(Twitter was hilarious that weekend, truly something to see)
Articuno has always been my favorite legendary. Nice to see it shine even if only for a brief moment.
Also watching that top 8 live was super hype.
Long time play VGC player and this is some solid content man. It really shows context while being constantly being entertaining. Your stuff has come a long way since your initial foray into being a real youtubist.
Great video, Wolfey.
Nice to see the Articuno resurgence continue with tournament wins in 2023 & 2024.
For a legendary that got robbed of its stats by Game Freak after Gen 2’s debut, it’s so refreshing to see it make a comeback in the meta.
Ice Types should have never been this frail to begin with. But the Gen 9 buff is a great way to make up for the mistakes by Game Freak after Gen 2 came out.
Shoutout to the person who makes the thumbnail art for these videos. They are eye-catching and lovely.
Was watching it live, it was insane ! I love how chat was spamming "when's Wolfey gonna fight" though 💀
Man that video was insane, your editing, editing of scenes, flawless work!!
I love Articuno since I wiped out Lance's team with him in pokémon yellow 25yrs ago, glad to see my favorite legendary in the spotlight.
Please Wolfie, your editors deserve a big raise 😂
Usually I just have videos going in the background, but I refuse to just listen to your videos because the editing is so good lol
Literally the best in the game, not just in the Pokémon community, but on UA-cam in general.
I would love to see a video highlighting your editors.
Because I'm impressed every time I see one of these types of videos haha
It literally blows my mind how good they are. They may be even better than Matt Pats
LOVE it
That was fun. Thanks for the breakdown. I’m astonished by surviving both Ogerpon and Urshifu. Amazing.
the quality of the animation is insane, I really enjoyed the editing with the lesson
I can't be the only one that noticed the Ragnarok Online emote bubbles. Whoever edited this video is someone of culture as well.
Was looking for this comment 😂
Noticed it too! Haha
Your Editor deserves a raise! That's for sure. This is some of the most quality editing I've ever seen.
Freezai may have beaten you to it in terms of date, but your vid is more in depth! It's always nice when one of your favorites that forever sucked randomly gits gud!
My favorite Pokémon since it’s debut in the 90s , loved this majestic pigeon so much I would draw it while in class. Finally getting its spotlight
For those who may feel annoyed by people asking us to "subscribe", I also thought I was until I checked just now. I wasn't. I've been watching this mans vids for weeks and thought I was subscribed for longer than that, at least a year or something. So his claim was actually terrifyingly accurate, we should just always check just in case. I like his stuff so he sure deserves the sub. I'm sure many others do too.
In the wise words of Sun Tzu,
“Fuck it we Ice Stab.”
Crazy good video. I love the deep dives on the mechanics of underutilized Pokémon
16:40 I see that phone number. Thanks, that song will be stuck in my head for the rest of forever.
If you use the bright powder item you can go for a build centered around your opponent missing attacks. I have been using this build and as a beginner articouno has helped me win a lot of matches
I mean, it might provide some results but still relies in luck, most serious players would rather have something consistent
Wolf your video quality is fantastic right now! I’m happily subscribed. I’m so glad you love what you do because I genuinely enjoy your videos so much! So informative and enjoyable. Thanks man 🫶🏻
9:21 "freeze is the most broken status effect in the game"
I managed to proc a freeze on a trainer's pokemon in Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, I shit you not it broke out on the next turn
Animation was off the charts for this video, great work team!
Articuno was my favorite in my Yellow playthrough as a lil kid. Glad to see it finally getting some justice
God, I love Wolfeys Videos. They have so much energy and he makes his Vids so accessible for people not playing competetively! Keep it up!
Id argue that Articuno was great in 1997 with Red and Green Nintendo Cup. Maybe 2nd to Jynx due to freeze being a 30% chance instead of 10%.
the amount of epic editing in the vids lately is insane. great te watch wolf and editor keep it up
Sheer Cold, Ice Beam, Freeze Dry, Blizzard and Specs is such a bawler set
damn this is such a well put together video. I knew about the ice type change in the meta, but this video was great
1:06 buterfree is my second favorite pokemon (first is sylveon) so yay that it can beat articuno
I saw the competition live and I was laughing at the amount of sheer colds being hit. Glad that the team got so much attention.
16:40 "Missing: weather setters, if found call Officer Jenny" Whoever wrote that, I see you and I love you 😂
14:19 The fact that of all the things on the field, they're focusing on knocking out Articuno says a lot.
For anyone asking, it took 287 seconds into the videos for Incineroar to shows up. 4:47
Articuno running gen 1 ou strat of spamming stab special moves like an npc is one of the greatest developments of modern day competitive
Dude that's such peak pokemon. A random bad pokemon getting a random buff and suddenly becoming a crazy sleeper hit and taking everyone for surprise
Such a quality video! The editing is godlike! WELL DONE
Articuno always had a special place in my heart, great to see it getting some time in the spotlight!
I’m consistently impressed by the quality of your uploads and how good the audience response/viewership seems to be. Keep it up Wolfe!
Woo, justice for Antarctica! (A member of my extremely nostalgic Heartgold Kanto team)
I love watching all of Wolfes vids! They are so inspirational and also educational! Seeing something that is not normally used is amazing to see and hope other mons become usable as well! 😄
0:45
Okay, I feel the need to correct the record: because there was no doubles format in Gens 1 & 2, and because the doubles mechanics (competitively) were deeply flawed in Gen 3, the only viable format to judge Articuno for those generations was a singles format: either 3v3 or 6v6. What's more, there weren't official doubles tournaments at all until Gen 4.
In a singles context, for the first 3 generations, Articuno is pretty good. It's not great, but it's solid, with a unique defensive profile and one of the strongest special attack stats for an unrestricted pokemon (especially in Generation 1, where Blizzard has 90% accuracy).
Post Gen 3, in both doubles and singles, yeah, Articuno is pretty crap. Singles it loses 50% of its health every time it switches thanks to the ever-present Stealth Rock, in doubles it dies to any strong Rock Slide, and in both it fails to have any redeeming traits.
Gen 1 it's amazing gen 2 it's mid gen 3 it's bad
Gen 3 introduced many amazing pokemon and gen 2 introduced strong pokemon that become better in gen 3
You're missing more pieces of the puzzle to Articuno's Gen 1 viability - Freeze is an insta-kill and Special was one stat. All the Legendary Birds had 125 Special stat, including Articuno, meaning they could all hit equally as hard. Steel wasn't in the game yet and Fire didn't resist Ice yet either, meaning the only Ice resists were Water and Ice. Fighting an Articuno in Gen 1 was especially scary since the only Rock types with any viability were also part Ground meaning they ate massive ish from Blizzard. There was no way to thaw from Freeze other than getting hit by a Fire type attack meaning your frozen Pokemon were as good as gone. All these combined to make Articuno an absolute menace in the meta, and basically every strong trait I mentioned was eradicated by Gen 2's balance changes.
Not to mention that, in the original japanese Red and Green (but not international Red and Blue), Blizzard has an insane 30% freeze chance, which makes Articuno even better. Although surprisingly, it still ends up being the worst legendary bird, and the second-worst ice type (beating only Dewgong).
The old thumbnail was way better
Seeing Articuno casually tank the two most obnoxious additions of the last two generations in Urshifu and Ogerpon is so very satisfying.
"...for the first time in almsot 30 years, Articuno really looked LEGENDARY."- Wolfie was COOKING ✍🔥
Just wanted to say I loved the phone number joke at 16:42
Chili and Ice Cream shouldn’t mix. Oof. The Filipinos and their Sili Ice Cream would like a word
These are the only changes to the meta I care about in vcg thanks for the video!