A problem I have with Meditite's coverage is that it requires so much prediction, as each coverage move is so specialized. Drain Punch/HJK, Zen Headbutt/Psycho Cut, and Bullet Punch/Fake Out all have a general purpose, to kill and heal, to kill what fighting STAB doesn't, and to make up for lackluster speed. On the other hand, coverage moves only really are meant to hit one thing.
Fire Punch hits Honedge and Eggs
Thunder Punch hits Slowpoke and Vullaby
Ice Punch hits Vullaby and ground types and Eggs I guess
Poison Jab hits Spritzee and other fairies
That amount of coverage is important, of course, but you won't really use any of those moves instead of your STAB outside of psychic types and honedge, as they just don't have enough power or utility. That is what ultimately limits the scarf set, too, as if Meditite locks into a coverage move, there's a whole lot that can switch in a force it out- you lock into a punch move and Chinchou gets to volt switch to a counter as you are all but forced to switch out.
I think that prem's quote back from BW, when fighting types were even better, still applies, even if he holds a different view now.
prem said:
sure it can 2hko the whole meta, but its not particularly fast, and not exactly bulky. all of its checks rely on it not using drain punch so you guys are really exagerating its bulk. its so overly reliant on prediction that unless you are a god player who can read minds (ie none of you) its not going to win games for you as often as you think. everything faster has a way of bringing massive pain to it. also in a juice meta sturdy users lol at it.
To use a practical example, say your opponent has a Gastly, a Vullaby, and has their Pawniard out now. You know that the Gastly outspeeds, and has 20 special attack, so it can OHKO with shadow ball, and you cannot OHKO with bullet punch. Vullaby has no prior damage. Pawniard is not a scarf set, and is at more than 50%. Your opponent is not a moron. You can discount the rest of their team. If you must switch out to avoid being KOed, then you give them momentum, so that is the worst case scenario.
You have Thunder Punch, Zen Headbutt, Bullet Punch, and Drain Punch, with Eviolite, the best set of moves in this case. Let's go through a thought process.
It's a reasonable assumption to say that Pawniard will not stay in. They know that Gastly can beat you, so a quick decision might be to use Zen Headbutt, as that'll easily take out Gastly. But, of course, your opponent has that Vullaby, which will also work. Thunder Punch is not resisted by anything, at least puts Gastly in KO range of Bullet Punch, and will hurt Pawn if they decide to stay in like a moron. That is the "safest move."
You win if they switch. If they predict what you do better than you, and stay in like a moron, they win.
236+ Atk Pawniard Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 116 HP / 156 Def Eviolite Meditite: 10-13 (47.6 - 61.9%) -- 93.8% chance to 2HKO
236+ Atk Pawniard Sucker Punch vs. 116 HP / 156 Def Meditite: 12-15 (57.1 - 71.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Meditite comes down to playing a guessing game, where sometimes the safest move isn't really the safest.
On an almost completely different note, why is Murkrow so much better this generation than last? In BW it was not banned when we transitioned to XY, where it arguably only got a nerf. The fact that steel no longer resists dark type moves was unimportant, as Krow always used Heat Wave. The new Fairy Type, although it did not resist Krow's Brave Bird, gave Krow yet another weakness to exploit its frailty, and Carvahna, who is one of Krow's best checks due to Speed Boost, was back in play. A lot of the same arguments that were being said back then still apply (no, we weren't the first people to notice that Chinchou did a good job countering Krow), and Krow only really received a nerf. That may be a good point to think about when discussing Krow.
Also, another check of all non-eviolite Meditite is Carvahna, who also works as a check to Krow.
