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Interesting fact: If you hit a dual-type mon with an attack of one of it's types it will keep both it's types.
I noticed this when I used Surf on a Gastrodon and though I'd follow up with a T-Bolt only to see it was immune to it. In order to trigger colour change you need to hit the mon with a different type.
Recap: Colour Change will only trigger on a dual-type mon if hit by a different type.
Interesting fact: If you hit a dual-type mon with an attack of one of it's types it will keep both it's types.
I noticed this when I used Surf on a Gastrodon and though I'd follow up with a T-Bolt only to see it was immune to it. In order to trigger colour change you need to hit the mon with a different type.
Recap: Colour Change will only trigger on a dual-type mon if hit by a different type.
But every Gastrodon should be immune to Surf because running a Gastrodon without Storm Drain takes away all the purpose of using Gastrodon. So didn't he just absorb Surf an therefor didn't change its typing?
But every Gastrodon should be immune to Surf because running a Gastrodon without Storm Drain takes away all the purpose of using Gastrodon. So didn't he just absorb Surf an therefor didn't change its typing?
That's kinda lazy. Yeah, a Gastrodon without Storm Drain is a fish without fins really, I don't see why he didn't at least replace Gastrodon with anything else (like seriously, anything)
I think I'll attempt to address some of the questions in the OP
How do you counter dragons?
Before I start, I'd just like to say that in this meta, there are only four good dragons -- Haxorus, Salamence, Garchomp and Kyurem-B. The rest are either specially attacking Dragons who do not have a reliable STAB, or have too low a speed stat.
Ice Shard is an awesome way to counter Chomp and Mence--I'd say a move that's almost mandatory on every team. However, Kyurem-B doesn't at all mind Ice Shard. I'd say the best way to counter it would be Fighting Gem Mach Punch from something like Hitmonlee, which could KO, if not cripple it. If you can find time to set it up in this hectic meta, Stealth Rock would go a long way in helping as Kyurem-B hates all hazards and could potentially be brought into KO range of Fake Out + Mach Punch. However, it has to be said that the meta is so fast that a free turn to set up rocks is hard to come by.
I'd say revenge killing Dragons would be the best option. You have Ice Shard and Mach Punch as priority moves. Meanwhile, ScarfRachi works as a decent option to revenge kill the dragons, outspeeding all but ScarfGarchomp, meaning it has time to attempt a 2HKO on them while resisting the first hit. Heatran and Metagross could work as well, but are unable to outspeed any of the dragons without a scarf, although they can take a hit and retaliate with HP Ice or Ice Punch respectively.
How do you counter Ghosts?
While it may seem like Ghosts are easier to counter thanks to the Normal-type, remember that Ghosts can come in to wall fighting-types easily allowing it to set up a sub if the fighting-type lacks Stone Edge, allowing it to hit the switch with Psychic, preserving its STAB and KOing. Meloetta would be an excellent counter to Ghosts because of its Normal/Psychic typing leaving it immune to Ghosts and blocking a type change if hit by Psychic. This means that Ghosts will have to rely of Focus Blast, or leave Meloetta with a free sub, which guarantees is safety. Spiritomb works as a shaky check to them since its typing prevents Color Change from activating through Shadow Ball, Focus Blast or Psychic, but it's pretty frail and could be 2HKOd quite often in this meta.
Most multi-hit moves are poor attacks now, for obvious reasons. Also, do you guys think that sub-disable Gengar will be an even bigger threat in this meta?
According to multiple sources (bulbapedia and veekun), mutli-hit moves change the opponent's typing on the last hit as of Gen 5, so unfortunately, Dual Chop isn't completely OP. It also means that other multi-hit moves don't suck though if they didn't previously though, so that's nice.
I've been testing out some ideas on Joim's server (vs. myself) and I've come to a conclusion: Speed is pretty much all that matters. For example, if you outspeed your opponent, you steal their STAB from them while setting up your next move to finish them off with a coverage move. This makes Scarf'd Dragons especially powerful. Scarf Latios' Dragon Pulse can single-handedly finish off a team, and he has been one of the most useful Pokémon on my team. He also learns Shadow Ball, which can be spammed just as easily as Dragon Pulse. In general, Scarf is the best item for anything that is planning to spam Dragon or Ghost moves (except Shadow Sneak, of course).
Some of the other really useful Pokémon include Accelgor, who can Encore a move which is of a type that is not good against itself (or Fake Out, anything he is immune to, a setup move, etc.). This lets him spam Bug Buzz/Giga Drain/HP Rock in a cycle while his opponent cannot deal much damage to him. His blazing base 145 Speed means he outspeeds almost every unboosted Pokémon in the game as well as numerous Scarfed Pokémon (anything with 80 or less base Speed that is fully invested, or anything with 92 or less base Speed that has a neutral nature). Having usable Special bulk means Accelgor often gets a chance to Encore to help a setup sweeper setup on a resisted move, or simply to hit the foe twice before fainting.
Speaking of Fake Out, Mienshao is a Pokémon everyone should have a counter for (also known as any Pokémon which outspeeds Mienshao or has Protect for the Fake Out). Mienshao can Fake Out, then Drain Punch to kill most Pokémon; if that fails, Stone Edge and Acrobatics fill out another cycle. Just in general, Fake Out is a great move, as it has priority over every other attacking move in the game, is effectively a free turn, and doesn't give the opponent a free switch anymore; the change to Normal type is dangerous, as Fighting moves are found on most (if not all) Pokémon with Fake Out. To counter this, teams should run something with a fast Encore such as Accelgor, Alakazam, or Whimsicott [note: no Prankster]. Alternatively, a Ghost will simply not be affected by the Fake Out, setting up more free turns.
Some of the best Pokémon in the tier (sans Scarf) in my experience are bulky setup Pokémon. Omastar is almost guaranteed to take an unboosted hit and Shell Smash, prepping for a Surf/Earth Power/HP Electric cycle while outspeeding non-Scarf base 130s as well as base 77 (Heatran) and below Scarfers - all with a Modest Nature. Omastar is bulky enough to take a hit and only fears super effective priority after Shell Smash is up. However, after the boost, Omastar becomes nigh-unbeatable, falling only to priority, Scarfs, or Accelgor. Anything with Shell Smash, Quiver Dance, Dragon Dance, etc. that can survive a hit and then outspeed the opponent and OHKO in return has some merit in CCM. They are best with cycles, though, meaning either Ghost-loops, Dragon-loops, or a three-type loop. This usually means it is harder to run Substitute or whatever to help setup. As stated earlier, Encore can help your setup sweepers prepare for a sweep.
Speaking of priority, one Pokémon can pull off a better priority set than any other: Dusknoir, the long-forgotten older brother of the terribad UU wall Dusclops. With 100 Atk and massive defenses (294/306/306 with 252 HP investment and 252+ Atk investment), Dusknoir can Shadow Sneak the opponent, making them a Ghost, take a hit, then Sucker Punch or Shadow Sneak again to deal a massive amount of damage to the opponent. Also learning Pursuit, Pain Split, Night Shade, WoW, etc., Dusknoir will not be useless until he's dead. His speed is a bit of a letdown, but that's why he uses priority. While priority moves cannot be boosted by Technician and each Pokémon's STAB changes frequently, priority moves can still be useful to change the foe's type, while still dealing enough damage to be scary when in a cycle.
The king of priority in CCM, however, is undoubtedly Dragonite. Dragonite can do something few others can do: He can outspeed priority moves with ExtremeSpeed, stealing the foe's STAB and dealing massive damage off a huge 134 base Atk. Choice Band Dragonite spamming ExtremeSpeed is already deadly; when topped off with Dragon Dance, Outrage, Dragon Claw, and usable bulk, Dragonite can outspeed and outpower almost every Pokémon allowed in the metagame. Just in general, ExtremeSpeed is a great move, since nothing resists it after the first hit, and it always goes first in the Speed-filled tier that is CCM (except against another ExtremeSpeed user who is faster; however, that just means they gave you Normal STAB).
Just in general, CCM is a very different metagame, but it is very fun. The amount of attention required to not screw up as well as the chioces put into picking a team will greatly affect the outcome of each game. I wish more people played CCM :(
