EXIT: STABmons

By Eevee General and wishes. Art by FellFromtheSky, fx, and pupper!!!.

Introduction

STABmons: Same-Type Attack Boost (mons). Every STAB move, a move of the same type as the Pokémon using it, will receive a boost. STABmons takes this concept and enhances it by allowing Pokémon to use almost any move of their type. For example, Charizard can now use V-create, as it is a Fire-type; or it can use Oblivion Wing, since it also has a Flying typing. However, there is a caveat with Mega Evolutions in which certain Pokémon (think Gyarados, Ampharos, etc) that gain a secondary typing cannot use moves of that type. So although Gyarados does become a Dark-type, it can only extend its moveset through Water- and Flying-type moves, since that is how Gyarados comes onto the field. Another core mechanic is that Pokémon have certain restrictions on moves, which will be covered in the next section. Now that you've grasped the concept of STABmons, let's delve into the history of its creation.

The original inception of STABmons came from former Other Metagames Leader Eevee General in the fifth generation of Pokémon. This metagame was quite popular and won Other Metagame of the Month around that time. Upon entering the sixth generation, STABmons had seen a new light and become one of the most popular metagames to discuss—although, not to play. Throughout the beginning few months of STABmons, the metagame was quite shaken up. Boomburst Sylveon? How do we deal with that?! Regardless, we managed. Many Pokémon were banned around this time, as they were deemed simply too powerful. Keep in mind, however, that this is from the XY era; not ORAS quite yet. STABmons became a very offensively inclined metagame, and its popularity began to fade in the waiting period from XY to ORAS. Finally, ORAS was released. Yet again, things were shaken up. The banlist was reset and many more Pokémon were banned.

Then something unthinkable happened. STABmons switched to only allowing either one of attacking and status moves of the same type to be used. This meant that popular Pokémon such as Defog Landorus-T could no longer use a staple move such as Dragon Ascent, as the two moves are from different categories. After this, a huge rumble came in the STABmons community and metagame alike. Top threats became nonexistent, and newly discovered good strategies ended up making it to the top. However, this didn't accomplish what was intended, which was a balancing of playstyles and Pokémon in general. Instead, not much changed besides many members of the STABmons community becoming a bit frustrated because they were limited. So, after about a month of two of this change, it was reverted to the original rules.

However, this came with a new banlist and new ban policy set in place by Eevee General. Instead of focusing on banning Pokémon, we as the community would focus on banning moves. This came with a very positive reception and is still in effect at the time of this article. Because of this change, many more Pokémon have been allowed to be used, and many potentially broken things just simply aren't. The current bans will be discussed in full coming in the next paragraph, though we still have a bit more to go regarding STABmons.

STABmons was part of the original three metagames to receive official analyses, alongside Almost Any Ability and Balanced Hackmons. For quite some time, these three metagames were considered the reigning kings of Other Metagames. However, as times changed and more and more metagames were produced, STABmons simply became less and less popular. With ladder inactivity, a lack of general thread interest, and a dwindling playerbase, STABmons was headed on a steep decline. Though STABmons eventually has had its analyses removed, and its threads have subsequently become accepted as not so popular, STABmons holds a tight knit of diehard fans and players. Myself, wishes, included. Although the STABmons ladder remains on Pokémon Showdown! at the time of this writing, it will be gone come Generation VII.

Anyways, let's get into the grits of the current metagame.

Banlist

Pokémon: Diggersby, Kyurem-B, Porygon-Z, Thundurus;
Items: Aerodactylite, Altarianite, King's Rock, Metagrossite, Razor Fang;
Moves: Belly Drum, Chatter, Dark Void, Geomancy, Lovely Kiss, Shell Smash, Shift Gear, Sketch.

The banlist for STABmons, while appearing excessive on the surface level, is entirely necessary to keep the metagame in order. For a comprehensive guide and explanation of all bans, another article can be found here.

Threatlist

Sylveon

Formerly banned, Sylveon finds its reintroduction to the STABmons metagame with a boom. Boomburst, to be specific. Sylveon is the only Pokémon in the entire metagame to have access to a Pixilate Boomburst, a Fairy-type STAB move with 182 Base Power, 100% accuracy, and no drawbacks. This allows it to click Boomburst and muscle its way through most Pokémon in the metagame, even breaking through traditional checks such as Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur. Furthermore, Sylveon has access to Judgment, which enables it to get around any of its given checks through running specific Plates. Sylveon can run Flame Plate to hit Mega Scizor, Earth Plate to hit Heatran, or simply no plate at all to get around Soundproof Pokémon such as Bouffalant, which people are running specifically to check Sylveon. Moreover, Sylveon has access to the coveted combination of Fake Out + Extreme Speed, but with a Pixilate boost and Fairy-type STAB. Running this may seem odd with a base Attack stat of only 65, but the raw power and utility and provides makes up for the low Attack stat. Sylveon isn't a slouch defensively either, as it has a solid base Special Defense stat of 130. This bulk allows Sylveon to check top-tier offensive threats such as Latios, Serperior, and Mega Pidgeot. Sylveon can also run Rapid Spin, which is one of the only Rapid Spins unable to be blocked as well (the other is Mega Lopunny's Scrappy Rapid Spin). Thanks to all of these attributes, Sylveon is arguably one of the best Pokémon to ever be allowed in the STABmons metagame.

Keldeo

Keldeo has been one of the most prominent threats in all of STABmons since the metagame's inception back in BW. Back then, rain was permanent and Politoed ran rampant, allowing Keldeo to roam freely with increasingly powerful Water-type moves. Of these Water-type moves, Water Spout was one of the most common thanks to its insanely high Base Power. Water Spout is still one of Keldeo's biggest assets even to this day. Furthermore, Keldeo has an excellent offensive typing tied in with great options in Secret Sword or Steam Eruption, and it has the Special Attack to back all of this up. Keldeo is almost always seen running Choice Specs or Choice Scarf, with a moveset consisting of Secret Sword, Steam Eruption, Water Spout, and another slot of Vacuum Wave, Icy Wind, or a Hidden Power depending on which would be the most beneficial to the team. Choice Specs Keldeo is a fearsome offensive threat that every team must be prepared for, while Choice Scarf allows Keldeo to catch the opponent off guard and outspeed Pokémon such as Latios, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Mega Lopunny. However, the metagame has started to adapt to Keldeo's presence, as evidenced by the increasing usage of Slowking and Mega Venusaur. Despite this adaptation, Keldeo remains one of the premier offensive threats in the tier with the ability to improve almost any offensive team's composition.

Landorus-T

Already being an S-rank threat in OU, Landorus-T is only improved in STABmons with a broadened movepool and an even larger utility thanks to the expansion. Finally receiving a Flying-type STAB move in Dragon Ascent for offensive sets or Brave Bird, which does not lower its defensive stats, for defensive sets, along with access to Roost to improve its overall utility, Landorus-T is improved upon on in nearly every aspect. Defensive sets are among the best in the tier, as they allow Landorus-T to practically counter nearly every physical attacker in the tier, including but not limited to Mega Lopunny, Mega Scizor, and Terrakion, all of which are hard to find solid counters to. Often running a set of a combination of Defog, Roost, Stealth Rock, U-turn, Earthquake, or Brave Bird, Landorus-T finds no trouble making its way onto most teams. Simply adding Landorus-T to a team almost always ensures an improvement in overall team viability. Furthermore, Landorus-T can also opt to run offensive sets that range far and wide. Most notably, Landorus-T is seen donning Choice Scarf, though offensive Earth Plate, Yache Berry, and even Choice Band sets are also more than viable. Landorus-T is the face of the STABmons metagame and is one of the most metagame-defining Pokémon to ever be seen in STABmons.

Mega Lopunny

Mega Lopunny makes a name for itself in the STABmons metagame as the best user of Fake Out + Extreme Speed, a combination that many offensive Normal-types choose to run. However, what makes Mega Lopunny stand out is Scrappy, alongside a secondary Fighting-type STAB option. With its blisteringly high Speed stat and equally scary Attack stat, Mega Lopunny is a true terror versus offensive and defensive teams alike. Furthermore, access to Swords Dance pushes Mega Lopunny into an insane boat of Pokémon that can, under most circumstances, 2HKO or OHKO almost anything in the metagame. However, what prevents Mega Lopunny from being truly broken is the omnipresence of Landorus-T and the ever-rising usage of Slowbro, Tangrowth, and Garchomp, all of which keep Mega Lopunny at bay. Mega Lopunny also struggles versus stall teams, where it is hard pressed to find time to set up. Regardless of a few limitations, Mega Lopunny is the best Mega Evolution in the metagame.

Mega Scizor

Before the reintroduction of Mega Lopunny, Mega Scizor was seen as the best Pokémon in the entire metagame. Though, this was a time when Shift Gear was allowed, which did admittedly make Mega Scizor an overpowered Pokémon. Despite nerfs, competition, and rapid metagame development, Mega Scizor is still an insanely strong Pokémon. Technician Gear Grind hits a staggering Base Power of 150, the equivalent power of Giga Impact. Thanks to such a powerful move, Mega Scizor is a terrifying Pokémon to face. Another thing that keeps Mega Scizor a very relevant threat is its ability to check another insane Pokémon, Sylveon. All of this wrapped up into an excellent offensive Normal-type check, and you have a top-tier threat capable of keeping many Pokémon at bay while threatening anything else!

Interviews

wishes

Hey, Eevee!

Wow! The real Eevee General, in the flesh. What a perfect day for an interview, too. Rain, a bit of jazz, and some smooth coffee. With a pencil and notebook in hand, I was ready to begin.

Eevee General

Yo.

wishes

How's it going?

Eevee General

I'm doing great!

wishes

Great to hear! So, let's get right into it. What sparked your mind to create STABmons?

Eevee General

When I first got into Other Metagames, I played Balanced Hackmons because I enjoyed the freedom to do just about anything with my Pokémon. After a while, however, I found it difficult to prepare for the boundless threats that could arise in the metagame. I wanted to make a new metagame that still allowed for plenty of freedom but within a smaller boundary. I realized there wasn't a popular metagame at the time that was focused on just attacks, so after toying around with the concept, I asked myself "What would happen if Pokémon could learn every move that matched their type?" Thus STABmons was born. At first I modeled it after BH in a sense that "anything goes" when it came to standard clauses, which meant stuff like OHKO moves were legal. That caused some concern when people began spamming Fissure Golurk, so I curtailed the rules a bit and realigned them with the OU model instead. Three years later, and here we are. STABmons may not have the most plays, but it's certainly still a very popular metagame within the community.

wishes

Were you surprised to see such a tremendous lift off?

Eevee General

Yeah, I was. I was still fairly new to the community, having been around less than a year when I introduced it, so the support and positive feedback I received were really encouraging. I've maintained steady involvement with the metagame, and I've led it the entire time it's been in service. I campaigned hard to get it its first OMotM win, and I try to keep it active via tournaments, teambuilding challenges, and new twists such as Bad STABmons.

wishes

Wow! I'm so glad that you did, though. Big fan of your work!

Eevee General

Flattery will get you nowhere.

Glancing back down at my notepad in a twinge of embarrassment, I wiped off the sweat from my forehead and continued the interview with the bit of self-esteem I had left.

wishes

You've been leading OMs for quite some time now! How is that going?

Eevee General

It's a big responsibility considering the OM community isn't a homogeneous community. There's Monotype, which is fairly autonomous at this point, and Anything Goes, which sees huge ladder plays but has very little crossover with other OM players. Juggling all the needs and expectations of our various metagames is a challenge, but it's rewarding to work with such a diverse group of people.

wishes

Sounds great. Back to STABmons for a moment. If you had complete control, which Pokémon would you ban and why?

Eevee General

Technically I do have complete control. That isn't to say I make decisions arbitrarily, however. If I had had my way a year ago I would have banned Togekiss when Geomancy was legal, but there were enough high-level players able to keep me in check. In the current climate, if I could ban whatever I wanted without repercussion, I'd probably ban Boomburst and maybe Aerodactyl. Both are incredibly hard to switch into, as the main users of Boomburst (Sylveon, Meloetta, and Porygon2) can run lure sets to catch counters off guard, and Aerodactyl has very few real counters, if any at all, but it definitely carries more of an opportunity cost because of its Stealth Rock weakness and lack of recovery. Oh and Shedinja. Betathunder runs a really annoying Safety Goggles Shedinja team and I can't beat it.

He really was intimidating in person. Guess they call him General for a reason! Ahem. Composure.

wishes

Interesting. Ellipse said he would ban Chansey! Very contrasting answers.

Eevee General

Ellipse is our STABmons version of E4 Flint when it comes to offense, so that wouldn't surprise me. He would also unban Diggersby. Clearly he can't be trusted.

wishes

Well, very true. What are your thoughts on the recent Thundurus ban?

Eevee General

Thundurus was too good at being unpredictable. Unlike other Pokémon that can run effective lure sets, Thundurus could be either entirely special or physical at any given moment and both builds were really, really good. Or it could have been mixed and it wouldn't skip a beat. It also invalidated stall entirely by itself thanks to Taunt + Nasty Plot sets, and while stall is much harder to run in STABmons anyway, it basically had no foothold while Thundurus was still around.

wishes

Couldn't agree more! Broken-as-hell Pokémon. Now, for the most important question that the readers have been dying to know! Is Eevee truly your favorite Pokémon?

Eevee General

No, and it never has been. I like Eevee but it certainly isn't my favorite. The association has become somewhat of a meme, so I'm happy to play it up, but in reality I like a lot of other basic Gen 1 Pokémon more such as the Nidorans, Venonat, Growlithe, and Porygon.

wishes

Haha! Thanks so much for speaking with me today, General.

Eevee General

My pleasure. o7

And with that, I exited his office through huge auburn doors and continued on with my day thinking about how excited I was for my own interview, and to interview a few other friends...

Continuing on from Eevee's office, I made it to the local mechanic henchman—Kl4ng.

wishes

Hey Kl4ng! How are you doing?

Kl4ng

Yo! I'm doing pretty great!

wishes

Thanks so much for agreeing to speak with me today! Let's get on with it, then. When did you get into STABmons?

Kl4ng

I initially started playing STABmons sometime in Gen 6 around when ORAS was released. It had been around for a year or two already, and I was not interested in playing it since the rules seemed too chaotic, but when I started playing I quickly got a grasp on how the meta worked and built a few successful teams around 'mons I thought were really broken such as Darkrai, which was legal then.

Ah yes, Darkrai. I still have nightmares about that Pokémon...

wishes

Oh wow! Which strategy was your favorite back then?

Kl4ng

I've always thought that Chansey was simply too good to not use—Baton Pass and Transform almost entirely fix its momentum problems, and because of this most of my teams make use of it. Especially back then my teams would mostly be VoltTurn semi-stall that made use of Baton Pass Chansey, Roost Landorus-T, and Parting Shot Mega Sableye to form a very menacing defensive core that was able to completely deny hazards and get frail attackers in for free. I would also use Ditto frequently back then, as it was a very reliable check to setup spam, which was even more popular than it is today. The vast majority of my teams also made use of Darkrai while they could, as it had hardly any counters during its short stint in the metagame.

wishes

How about now?

Kl4ng

I don't play as much today, but I still do use that core sometimes when I do play. Now that Mega Slowbro is no longer banned I make frequent use of it as well, as it's a great check to FakeSpeeders and packs quite a punch with access to Psystrike and Steam Eruption. Porygon2 is another Pokémon I've been using recently, which fits on teams very easily due to its ability to perform as a pivot, stat passer, wall, and general nuke all in one thanks to its access to Boomburst and Baton Pass + Download combination.

wishes

As asked to Eevee and ellipse, if you could, which one Pokémon would you ban and why?

Kl4ng

Charizard, not because it's especially broken, but rather because the X/Y mind game is a huge hassle and can be especially unforgiving in STABmons, where an incorrect choice can have your special wall eating a Tough Claws V-create in the face or vice versa with Charizard Y's Blue Flare. Other than that, I think the metagame is mostly fine currently.

wishes

Hmm. Interesting! Is there any particular playstyle you see as dominating currently?

Kl4ng

I think balance has always been the best playstyle in STABmons and likely will remain the best until the end of the meta. The rules are disproportionately generous towards playing offensively, which almost invalidates stall, and with FakeSpeed and other absurdly strong priority existing in the tier it's hard to build a successful HO team as well. These two factors in my opinion make balance with a penchant towards offense the best playstyle due to its ability to exploit both of them.

wishes

Which playstyle do you prefer to play?

Kl4ng

I've always preferred semi-stall and still do in STABmons. Despite it not being as great as it is elsewhere, there are a few useful tools stall can make use of in STABmons, with the biggest one probably being Landorus-T's newfound access to Roost and Defog, which turn it into a wall that's very difficult to set hazards on. People are generally unprepared for semi-stall as well, giving users a slight edge.

I, personally, would not enjoy playing or facing stall. Regardless, I continued on with a slight bitterness in my tone and a bit of grit in my teeth.

wishes

Ah! Love it. Which Pokémon is your favorite to use?

Kl4ng

Probably Porygon2—it's just so stupidly good and has almost everything you'd need in a Pokémon: bulk, power, durability and team support capabilities.

wishes

Great choice, Kl4ng. Do you even like Klang?

Kl4ng

Nope it's ass.

wishes

Very true. How has the wrap up of STABmons been in your eyes?

Kl4ng

I'm going to miss playing it, it's been a very fun and unique meta to play and while the replacements are good on their own I don't think STABmons's load of unique quirks can ever be truly replaced.

wishes

I know! Going to miss it so much. Thank you heaps for agreeing to be interviewed, Kl4ng, have a great day!

A slight tear fell. Leaving the mechanic shop, I headed to the local coffee shop to meet Eevee General once more for an interview of my own.

Handing the pencil and paper over to Eevee General, I sat down at our shaded table and began to nervously sweat in preparation for the interview.

Eevee General

Hi wishes how are you!

wishes

I'm good, Eevee, thanks! ^.^

Eevee General

You're a well-known STABmons player. What brought you to the metagame?

wishes

Well, I don't know really! I just happened to notice it once and decided to mess around in the Other Metas room and got hooked. Back then, the metagame was a lot crazier. Swearing by the mighty Sawsbuck, I loved to just mess around! Gen 5 STABmons was great, and Gen 6 introduced so much more fun stuff. Eventually, I just worked more and more and eventually became established!

Eevee General

You were on the informal council this generation. Can you share what that was like?

wishes

It was interesting, to say the least! Having a seat on a council which tiered a metagame I enjoyed thoroughly gave me a sense of pride, but also a twinge of concern. Obviously I wanted to do what was best for the metagame, and I sure tried my best. Being able to have a say in controversial issues was a great thing, really. Although it was informal, it felt like a leadership position that I was very grateful to hold.

Eevee General

Were there any decisions you didn't agree with that went through anyway?

wishes

Well, there were two main things I can think of off of the top of my head. Firstly, Mega Slowbro. I never thought Mega Slowbro was broken; just a new, interesting threat. It was, however, eventually banned. Now it's back, and it's still a great Pokémon. Next, it would have to be... Aegislash. Aegislash was a great asset to the metagame and an excellent Pokémon all-around. I understand OU tiering simplicity, but I really do miss it! Finally, a move: Shell Smash. I never thought it was overpowered. Yes, insanely good, but not overpowered. Too much kept it in check (think FakeSpeed, Quagsire) and it let some Pokémon like Vaporeon find a niche. Truly, it expanded the metagame more than it did limit it in my opinion.

Eevee General

You were around when I changed the mechanics for a few months. What did you think of the changes and what did you think when I reverted them?

wishes

Hmm, well. I really did dislike having the mechanic change. I found it to be limiting and it really didn't fix the issue, in my eyes. I'd not been a fan since you originally discussed it, was even less of a fan when it actually happened! However, when it got changed back, I was ecstatic! It was a nice learning experience, but STABmons is quite fine without the mechanic change in my opinion.

Eevee General

And do you think the philosophy to ban moves was a step in the right direction?

wishes

In complete honesty, no. I was not on board at first, and I'm still very conservative when it comes to banning moves. I believe the root issue of the combination of them. Saying that a charcoal should be outlawed because it causes fire doesn't make sense; the charcoal just allows the flame to burn, but it's not dangerous on its own. By this analogy, I mean that the fuel for how broken a Pokémon is should not be the defining factor to a ban. Just my thoughts, though. However, specific moves, such as Shift Gear and Chatter are clearly idiotic and should be banned. Those I support banning.

[18:59:59] ~Eevee General: ( >:O )

Eevee General

So in that regard, if you had control of bans, what would you unban or ban?

wishes

Well, if it were my complete control, I would unban Aerodactylite and Altarianite while banning Boomburst and Dragon Ascent. Let me explain by prefacing with how I do think these two moves are just too good. Boomburst is insane and makes a lot of things even more insane. Far too many to be considered just a little issue. Then there's Dragon Ascent. Dragon Ascent is just dumb in that it enables things such as Talonflame and Landorus-T to rise to such prominence. I do believe some Pokémon don't get strong Flying-type moves for a reason! With those two banned, there would be no reason to keep Aerodactylite and Altarianite banned. Porygon-Z could probably come back as well. Besides that, I genuinely do think the metagame is fine. Add a Normal clause and the metagame is golden!

[19:04:33] ~Eevee General: fuck normal clause

Eevee General

Hm, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on those! So, what is your favorite playstyle? Favorite Pokémon that gets new toys?

wishes

Hyper offense, by far. Heck yeah. I do not like stall, but I love offense. I'd personally have to say that I really do love Mega Pidgeot. Sing, Boomburst, even Oblivion Wing if you're feeling crazy! It's an insane buff alongside No Guard and it makes Mega Pidgeot an incredible offensive Pokémon.

Eevee General

Who's your toughest opponent?

wishes

Agh. Probably w0rd or ellipse. I love to use silly and fun strategies, and they do NOT mess around! Love them as players, and they are far better than I am. However, I wouldn't say I'm a super duper amazing STABmons player, in complete truthfulness. I'm too reckless or crazy to be a great player. I don't calculate or overanalyze things while playing, much unlike my personality! Honestly, I just aim to have fun. I use what I like and I play with a sense of fun as well. Really, that's all.

Eevee General

How do you feel about the ladder leaving?

wishes

Well, I hate it. That's the blunt truth. I wish it would stay; however, nothing gold can stay I guess. Hopefully a challenge option stays. Don't know. It feels like losing a child you've watched grow up. ;_;

Eevee General

I feel ya! Lastly, do you plan to keep playing even though it's losing the ladder? How would you encourage others to stay involved?

wishes

Of course. I'd highly recommend swinging by OM and Neon Town! Talk to me! I love discussing STABmons. I'm sure others do as well. Contribute to the thread. Discover new threats. Keep playing, no matter what.

Eevee General

Good to hear! Thanks for answering the questions.

wishes

Hey ellipse! Could I grab a quick interview?

ellipse

Gasp! My time has come! Of course!

wishes

Loving the enthusiasm! How are you today?

ellipse

Decent. Sprained my ankle and lost to Choice Specs Keldeo in a tour. Outside of that though, been great.

I checked to see and sure enough, his ankle was wrapped. And yet he made it to the interview. This man means business.

wishes

Aha. Anywho, do you mind if I ask you a few pressing questions?

ellipse

No I don't mind!

wishes

Awesome! So, how did you get into STABmons?

ellipse

So I first got into STABmons since I was bored with standard and just grinding the OM of the months back in Gen V. I mostly played Tier Shift back then, but really didn't like it as much without permanent weather, so I stuck with STABmons after Genesect and Mega Lucario got banned in standard, since it was the meta I liked next most.

wishes

Interesting. What strategies did you use back then?

ellipse

Weather offense, and Deoxys hyper offense. If I can recall, STABmons had Deoxys formes unbanned, so I just ran Deoxys plus what I thought to be the best cleaners in the format, which were Keldeo, Excadrill, Ursaring, and Jirachi.

wishes

Fair enough! What do you tend to run nowadays?

ellipse

I like to think that I've diversified what I use now, although it always seems to fall into categories of offense. Though on a wider spectrum of super fat stall to hyper offense. I think that Mega Venusaur, Sylveon, Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Keldeo are the places to be in the current metagame.

wishes

I agree. All great Pokémon. If you had the option, which one Pokémon would you ban and why?

ellipse

Chansey. The addition of Transform allows stall the option of sweeping through any team with fast wallbreakers or sweepers (specifically Serperior, Starmie, Diancie, and Mega Pidgeot), as the current reliable measures of taking them out, FakeSpeed users and Scarfed Pokémon, no longer work nearly as well due to Eviolite boosts and massive HP stats. On top of this, it essentially invalidates all but the most powerful special attackers and Psychic-type Pokémon that can afford to carry Psystrike. That being said, the metagame is in a really good place right now, and Chansey is one of the few surefire ways to beat every and all currently used Sylveon sets.

As he spoke, all I could think about was Chansey transforming into all of those and keeping its cutesy little face. Hard to concentrate, but back to business.

wishes

Woah! That's a surprise, but it does make sense. Would you say that Sylveon is broken?

ellipse

I wouldn't say it's broken, although I've tended to be a lot more conservative than the rest of the community when we start to talk about this kind of stuff. I would say that it is becoming the next iteration of original Diggersby in a more unhealthy way rather than being a 100% reliable revenge killer like Diggersby. It's around 65% (Adamant Mega Lopunny at like 80-85), but at the same time hits like a monster truck and breaks through most non-resisting walls in the tier quite easily. Moral of the story: lose Sylveon, bring back the bunny.

wishes

Lol. Of course. What about moves? Would you ban any moves? (bar Transform)

ellipse

If anything, the 100% accurate sleep moves, Spore and Sing. Though, losing Spore invalidates Serperior almost entirely and Mega Pidgeot is really only overwhelming with a trapper, since Sing + Dugtrio means you have to sack two things before you can actually deal with it. Maybe Water Spout, too, since Choice Specs Water Spout is dumb. However, all three of these moves are only degenerate on one Pokémon each, so I don't know if that really merits their banning.

wishes

Fair enough. Thanks so much for your time today! Any closing words?

ellipse

Unban bunny and #ellipseforomvoice!

Sadly, my last interview had come. To the slaughterhouse I went.

wishes

Hey bacon! So glad I could make it today!

So weird. Talking to a breakfast food. And in a slaughterhouse no less! Whatever, wishes. Back to the interview.

baconbagon

Hello!

wishes

When did you get into STABmons?

baconbagon

I got into it a while before I joined Smogon, which was in May 2015. I saw information on the forums and got pretty interested, and it was one of the primary reasons I made an account.

wishes

What caught your attention specifically?

baconbagon

I found the opportunities that were presented to all Pokémon really interesting, especially things like FakeSpeed for Normal-types. Additionally, it was cool to see low tiers such as Ursaring seeing significant use in the metagame, and innovation seemed to be really prominent.

wishes

Totally agree. It's very fascinating! Now, back to the current metagame. How do you feel about the Thundurus ban?

baconbagon

Personally, I found it pretty saddening. I enjoy using offense a lot, especially hyper offense, and losing Thundurus was a huge blow to that kind of team structure. I also didn't think the ban was particularly necessary myself, but that could be attributed to my heavy use of Pokémon such as Choice Scarf Tyranitar and Choice Scarf Landorus-T. However, I understood where the pro-ban users were coming from, and the ban does contribute to a more stable metagame overall.

wishes

Yeah, it was quite saddening! Is there any ban you'd like to see happen now?

baconbagon

Not really, I think the metagame's been the most balanced it's been for a long time, which makes it really enjoyable. If anything, Mega Lopunny still remains extremely dangerous with few stops.To be honest, I would've rather seen it be banned instead of Thundurus, but it's still not something that jumps out at you as exceptionally broken.

wishes

Oh yes! What do you think of FakeSpeed? Is it too overcentralizing? Should it be limited? Do tell!

baconbagon

I actually really enjoy it and think it's important for balancing out the huge offensive threats that are frail in the metagame. It can seem ridiculous at times and maybe some sort of clause would create a stabler metagame, but at the same time I think that's somewhat against the spirit of STABmons.

I snoozed away for a brief moment imagining what a spirit of STABmons would look like should it be raised. Hmm...

wishes

Interesting! So, I assume you enjoy offense?

baconbagon

Yeah definitely, it's always been my favorite playstyle! So many good attackers to choose from and very reliable hazard setters. Unfortunately it's still very difficult to beat stall teams unless you specifically prepare for them, but I guess it keeps hyper offense teams in check.

wishes

Ah, makes sense. So you've found you foot in OM C&C. How is that going?

baconbagon

I think it's been going well, especially with the massive number of Monotype analyses that have been coming through. There were a solid number of STABmons analyses that were uploaded though, which was very nice!

wishes

Ah yes! So you've recently been promoted to co-leader. How's that feel?

baconbagon

It's been great and feels good, and I hope that I can improve the forum and keep it going steadily as the new generation comes in. I guess I have you to thank for this, so thanks!

wishes

:]. I've got one more question! Is Bagon truly your favorite Pokémon? Do you even like bacon?

baconbagon

Bagon is definitely my favorite Pokémon alongside the rest of its evolutionary line, its ridiculous Pokedex entry has always appealed to me. Also yeah bacon is definitely something I enjoy a lot.

wishes

Thank you!

baconbagon

Lol no problem.

^ Return to main menu

Farewell

Eevee General

It's been fun watching STABmons grow and change over the years. Did you know it was originally called Super STAB? Whatever the name, for about three years it's been a staple of the OM community as a permanent ladder, as an official format for the Other Metas Premier League and the new Other Metas Grand Slam, and, for a while, for OM C&C. I'm proud to have led it since its conception until now, but that doesn't mean the metagame is over. STABmons has a bright future with Sun & Moon and lots of eager fans ready to keep playing. With the new games will come all kinds of new and interesting moves that will change the metagame, such as the anticipated Moongeist Beam, Sunsteel Strike, and Fleur Cannon, moves that (we can assume) are normally restricted in standard play, but that will be open to any Pokémon that match those types in the STABmons metagame. Plus, unique type combinations are arriving as well, such as Drampa's Normal / Dragon or the rare Normal / Fighting on Bewear. Anyone who's played STABmons before can tell you how valuable access to Normal moves is! So while it's not necessarily goodbye to STABmons completely, it's the end of an era when it was readily available on the simulator for anyone to play. Just how popular it remains without its ladder depends on the changes we get from Sun & Moon and the playerbase's commitment to keep it alive. Regardless, we had a good run.

STABmons has had an excellent run in its time here on Smogon. It has established itself as a metagame that will never be forgotten, and it will be sorely missed. Regardless of its removal, STABmons has had a very personal impact on myself. I've found my place on Smogon, I've made friends, and I've found an aspect of the community that truly I enjoy. STABmons is a fantastic metagame that was brought to life through Eevee General and will remain in Other Metagames history as one of the most popular and amazing metagames ever to be created. Thanks to the community and everyone involved, STABmons has made its mark on Smogon, and it will never be forgotten.

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