Other ORAS Mega Speculation Thread (NO talk about potential bans NOR Aegislash)

[vyomov]

I guess it's more the oversaturation of strong af Physical Attackers that put me off, despite them all providing different and valuable STAB/Coverage and utility

I'm inclined to agree with you - if we look at most good cores, like Mega Gardevoir + Bisharp, there's a good balance in the team. That's not to say the core might not work, but rather it will need a lot of balancing with Special threats(I can see stuff like Latios/as as a good start) to become a good team.

I think Mega-Lopunny would do well on a BP team - with a SD boost passed(it has enough speed already), it can easily sweep any team with its unresisted coverage.

 

[Goodra]

Well switched up my team to Mega Lopunny and he has been great so far. That speed and unresisted STAB does some wonderful things with some added Encore shenanigans really have pulled matches to my favor when a check like Talonflame gets stuck using Bulk Up or Swords Dance. Made even funnier by the folks that forget it has Scrappy as their Gengar or Sableye switch gets a lovely OHKO. Sadly I've still run into the same problem as with my previous team....getting wrecked by Mega Salamence if I don't carry Mamoswine or it switches on a predicted Ice or Dragon move. Most of my defeats have been to that monster every time it Dragon Dances and proceeds to wipe my team. Only made worse by my bad luck of fighting team after team that carry a DD MegaMence *cries*

 

[Yamborski]

People kept saying Triple Bunny with Mega Lop, Azu and Diggersby earlier, but... is that actually good? Like I'm not sure if it was a joke but I'm not sure if it'd be competitively viable or not; can someone a little more experienced in OU than my shit rating help me out here?

The trio gets kinda crapped on by Mega Slowbro but I suppose it could work either by running Specs Goth > Magnezone or simply running sets designed to beat M Slowbro. Sub / Endeavor Lopunny + SD / Diggersby + Belly Drum Azumarill. Right now its kind of hard to see a reason to use Lopunny > M Salamence but I'm sure someone will find a way to make the team work.

Bonus points if that team also includes Goodra / Victini / Sylveon because then we have the dreaded sextuple bunny team.

 

[Hogg]

So, I haven't had much of a chance to mess around on the ORAS OU ladder, but I've been trying out Mega-Aerodactyl as an anti-meta pokemon to handle the new Megas. It has been working fairly well - it outspeeds all of them, and its STABs net easy OHKOs on Beedrill, Lopunny, Gallade, Pidgeot (yay No Guard Stone Edge!), Sceptile and Glalie. It also has a pretty good chance of OHKOing Sharpedo if rocks are up, and deals solid damage to Salamence (though not as much as I'd like - with Intimidate, Jolly Mega-Aero deals ~60% damage, so it misses the OHKO even after rocks).

Mega-Slowbro hasn't seemed like as much of a problem as I'd expected, although I've only actually faced it once in the handful of battles I've played - most of that impression is based off of watching battles. It's still scary, but not overwhelming.

Most of the Mega-Swampert teams I've seen have been trying out full rain teams. That's alright, I suppose, but it's pretty easy to dismantle. I think a smaller rain core on top of a bulky offensive team will actually be scarier for Pert.

Megagross, on the other hand, has really surpassed my expectations. It does good work in every single battle I've seen it used. That bulk is really what carries it.

Pidgeot still seems pretty garbage in OU, but maybe I just haven't seen anyone use it well.

LO Sharpedo is stronger than Mega Sharpedo and the latter has no Type Change or much useful Ability; no point of wasting a Mega Slot.

LO Sharp isn't actually stronger than Mega-Sharp when you take Strong Jaw into account:

252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Arceus: 152-179 (34.2 - 40.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Strong Jaw Sharpedo Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Arceus: 195-229 (43.9 - 51.5%) -- 8.6% chance to 2HKO

I still don't think it's worth a mega slot, especially since it's not a big enough damage boost to sweep on its own, and it's still fragile enough to be forced out by priority or bulky attackers (after which point it loses Speed Boost). But it's definitely stronger than standard Sharp, especially now that it can comfortably run Ice Fang over Ice Beam. Waterfall is obviously weaker, but Crunch is a far more spammable move anyhow.

 

[Josh Morales]

Mega Lopunny
-HJK
-Return
-Ice Punch
-Healing Wish

Sharp Beak Talonflame
-SD
-BB
-Flare Blitz
-Roost

LO Greninja
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Dark Pulse
-Gunk Shot

LO Latios
-Draco Meteor
-Psyshock
-Roost
-Defog

Def Rotom-W
-Hydro Pump
-Volt Switch
-Pain Split
-WoW

SpD Jirachi
-SR
-Wish
-Protect
-Iron Head

So this is my Mega Lopunny team and it's pretty good after testing it, but it has a really hard time against Bisharp. Not only that, but it looks solid on paper(having good type synergy, sufficiently synergetic support for teammates, and keeping top tier threats in check), but outside of those mentioned forms or synergy something about how the pokemon synergize with each other feels... off. However I did have a completely horrendous off-day yesterday when I laddered, but the my issues seemed to go a bit beyond my shit play last night and I can't quite pinpoint what it is. Maybe I was so off I just can't believe how bad I was doing was all related to the day and not any other external factors lol. I had a really long day and I was just braindead when I was playing. Anyone have any advice?

 

[Pokemon Trainer: Shadow]

Ok, I probably should have explained myself better. In terms of Mega Salamence counters, what about Mega Ampharos? It has enough bulk to take a boosted Double-Edge and Earthquake and Ampharos in turn can 2HKO with Dragon Pulse.

 

[heritage]

Ok, I probably should have explained myself better. In terms of Mega Salamence counters, what about Mega Ampharos? It has enough bulk to take a boosted Double-Edge and Earthquake and Ampharos in turn can 2HKO with Dragon Pulse.

Certainly not a counter. I'm almost positive you have to have max investment in defense to take a +1 Dragon Claw. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong, currently on my mobile device so I can't do the damage calculator) A Check at most. I certainly wouldn't be the one to pit a dragon against Mega Salamence, but hey, that's your choice.

 

[Josh Morales]

Certainly not a counter. I'm almost positive you have to have max investment in defense to take a +1 Dragon Claw. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong, currently on my mobile device so I can't do the damage calculator) A Check at most. I certainly wouldn't be the one to pit a dragon against Mega Salamence, but hey, that's your choice.

Keep in mind that when it comes to MegaMence a check is the most you can hope for. ZardX only has checks and it's S rank, so considering Mence is a ZardX on steroids...........

This is also not to mention that Dragon coverage isn't common on Mence. Amphy very well might be a reliable check; as with how Hydro Pump beats Rhyperior, Hydro Pump does beat it but's not common. It also would be advised to have a teammate that can beat Mega Mence if it happens to run Dragon coverage such as Skarmory.

 

[Kurona]

So having been browsing the ORAS Mega Doc, I've found a noticeable lack of pre-mega abilities. So I'm just gonna compile them, m'k?

Sceptile - Overgrow/Unburden
Unburden is literally useless and Overgrow grass moves are actually stronger than Mega grass moves:-
252 SpA Overgrow Sceptile Leaf Storm vs. 4 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 141-166 (21.9 - 25.8%) -- 2.6% chance to 4HKO
252 SpA Sceptile Leaf Storm vs. 4 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 118-139 (18.3 - 21.6%) -- possible 5HKO

So there's some sort of usability there.

Swampert - Torrent/Damp
Gives you switch opportunities on Exploders and such. I dunno, seems the better option.

Beedrill - Swarm/Sniper
I dunno, both are useless.

Pidgeot - Keen Eye/Tangled Feet/Big Pecks
Lets you avoid defence drops from random weak crunches I guess; I dunno, dumb but the other two are literally useless

Slowbro - Oblivious/Own Tempo/Regenerator
Regen fo sure. Lets you play mind games with your opponent and gives utility in not megaevolving right away.

Steelix - Rock Head/Sturdy/Sheer Force
Sheer Force is probs the best one; really no clue on this tho, would like some input.

Sableye - Keen Eye/Stall/Prankster
Really don't feel I have to explain this one. Other two abilities are literally useless while Prankster lets you get a priority calm mind/will-o-wisp/whatever on the first turn and on other turns if you don't mega right away

Sharpedo - Rough Skin/Speed Boost
While I do doubt your capability of speed boosting before megavolving - there's a lot of reasons that's not easy to do - I guess there's some situations you could find where you could do it and it's better than rough skin on such a frail 'mon

Camerupt - Magma Armour/Solid Rock/Anger Point
Solid Rock gives you switch opportunities on weak ground moves, plain and simple. Pulling off an Anger Point could be pretty hilarious tho

Altaria - Natural Cure/Cloud Nine
Both are actually pretty nice. Natural Cure gives you a free refresh if you accidentally switch into a thunder wave or something like that, while cloud nine breaks sand offence/rain offence and gives you a LOT of opportunity. ... actually, I think Cloud Nine's kind of being underestimate here, it should really be seen as another of Mega Altaria's great assets.

Glalie - Inner Focus/Ice Body/Moody
You... uh... avoid stray fake outs I guess.

Salamence - Intimidate/Moxie
No need to explain here. Increases your bulk to ridiculous levels until the opponent switches out, getting up an attack boost with Moxie is way too troublesome in comparison.

Metagross - Clear Body/Light Metal
Clear Body saves you from Intimidate. That's about all I have to say.

Latias - Levitate
No other ability.

Latios - Levitate
No other ability.

Lopunny - Cute Charm/Klutz/Limber
Limber is honestly the best to avoid stray T-waves; I've no idea why people are putting Cute Charm in their sets.

Gallade - Steadfast/Justified
Both could be pretty damn nice. Switch into a Knock Off for a free attack boost, take a Fake Out and get a speed boost. Justified does seem the more likely of the two scenarios tho.

Audino - Healer/Regenerator/Klutz
Same reasoning as Slowbro.

Diancie - Clear Body
No other ability.

I know for the most part these are incredibly minor, but I feel they still need a look at for the sets. Especially Altaria; Cloud Nine's really overlooked imo. Still, would like some input because a few of these I'm unsure on

 

[Of Moose & Men]

Mega Lopunny
-HJK
-Return
-Ice Punch
-Healing Wish

Sharp Beak Talonflame
-SD
-BB
-Flare Blitz
-Roost

LO Greninja
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Dark Pulse
-Gunk Shot

LO Latios
-Draco Meteor
-Psyshock
-Roost
-Defog

Def Rotom-W
-Hydro Pump
-Volt Switch
-Pain Split
-WoW

SpD Jirachi
-SR
-Wish
-Protect
-Iron Head

So this is my Mega Lopunny team and it's pretty good after testing it, but it has a really hard time against Bisharp. Not only that, but it looks solid on paper(having good type synergy, sufficiently synergetic support for teammates, and keeping top tier threats in check), but outside of those mentioned forms or synergy something about how the pokemon synergize with each other feels... off. However I did have a completely horrendous off-day yesterday when I laddered, but the my issues seemed to go a bit beyond my shit play last night and I can't quite pinpoint what it is. Maybe I was so off I just can't believe how bad I was doing was all related to the day and not any other external factors lol. I had a really long day and I was just braindead when I was playing. Anyone have any advice?

My team is actually sort of similar minus 2 mons. But, as far as lati goes, i drop roost for hp fighting because of those bisharp that tend to come in on my defog. It'll never stay in on Lop in any circumstance so, i exploit that. And if it comes down to it, i pass my healing wish to lati/ninja to start the terror all over again.

Just gonna say, gunk shot ninja + mLop is an amazing offensive core. They share some weaknesses but they hit everything hard as shit and just scare damn near everything out. Gunk ninja is looking to be a little too much i must admit.

 

[heritage]

Keep in mind that when it comes to MegaMence a check is the most you can hope for. ZardX only has checks and it's S rank, so considering Mence is a ZardX on steroids...........

This is also not to mention that Dragon coverage isn't common on Mence. Amphy very well might be a reliable check; as with how Hydro Pump beats Rhyperior, Hydro Pump does beat it but's not common. It also would be advised to have a teammate that can beat Mega Mence if it happens to run Dragon coverage such as Skarmory.

I certainly wouldn't want to take an EQ after +1. Just my opinion, I'd prefer to use something like Ferrothorn if you're looking for the best check, as long as Mence doesn't have Fire Blast, which I haven't seen too often, surprisingly.

 

[Albacore]

LO Sharpedo is stronger than Mega Sharpedo and the latter has no Type Change or much useful Ability; no point of wasting a Mega Slot.

I'd say an ability that gives 50% boost to your main STAB is pretty useful...
(not saying MSharpedo is particularly good, it's one of the the weaker ORAS megas imo, but it's definitely an improvement from Regular Sharpedo)

 

[TheTraininator]

I'd say an ability that gives 50% boost to your main STAB is pretty useful...
(not saying MSharpedo is particularly good, it's one of the the weaker ORAS megas imo, but it's definitely an improvement from Regular Sharpedo)

Plus, people seem to forget that you can run a set like

Sharpedo @ Mega Stone
Ability: Speed Boost
Adamant Nature
252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 SpD
- Protect
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang

and bring it in after somethig you have dies, Protect to get a Speed Boost, then clean house with Adamant Strong Jaw boosted STAB Crunches. You'd have to reserve it for a late game cleaner of course, but since that is what Sharpedo is anyway, this is pretty much a straight-up upgrade. It may not be the strongest Mega choice, but I agree that it is better than regular Sharpedo and definitely has a niche in OU.

 

[Josh Morales]

Plus, people seem to forget that you can run a set like

Sharpedo @ Mega Stone
Ability: Speed Boost
Adamant Nature
252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 SpD
- Protect
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang

and bring it in after somethig you have dies, Protect to get a Speed Boost, then clean house with Adamant Strong Jaw boosted STAB Crunches. You'd have to reserve it for a late game cleaner of course, but since that is what Sharpedo is anyway, this is pretty much a straight-up upgrade. It may not be the strongest Mega choice, but I agree that it is better than regular Sharpedo and definitely has a niche in OU.

It'll definitely have a niche, but you need 2 Speed Boosts to not be revenge killed by Scarfers and Mega Sharpedo is still very frail despite the defence buffs. I can picture is being in the C ranks at best in OU.

My team is actually sort of similar minus 2 mons. But, as far as lati goes, i drop roost for hp fighting because of those bisharp that tend to come in on my defog. It'll never stay in on Lop in any circumstance so, i exploit that. And if it comes down to it, i pass my healing wish to lati/ninja to start the terror all over again.

Just gonna say, gunk shot ninja + mLop is an amazing offensive core. They share some weaknesses but they hit everything hard as shit and just scare damn near everything out. Gunk ninja is looking to be a little too much i must admit.

Yeah Gunk Ninja is crazy. It's definitely not too much, but it just makes ninja even more crazy hard to check since it tears AV Azu a new asshole. Thanks for the advice, and maybe I should run Low kick on ninja for Bisharp as well? It seems like a good idea, but the reason I have Pulse and not HP Fire or HP Grass is because otherwise my team just can't break Mega Bro and SpD Mew. I know HP Grass 2HKOs mega Bro, but then if the opponent predicts HP Grass or GK and Ice Beams...

 

[Karxrida]

Whoops lol, that makes Pedo a bit better than I thought. I thought Strong Jaw gave the same boost as Tough Claws, Sheer Force, Aerialate, etc.


Doesn't change my opinion on Mega Pedo tho

Please never refer to it as "Pedo" again.

Yeah Mega Sharpedo seems pretty underwhelming. You still can't break past stuff like Mega Venusaur (LO Normal Sharpedo's Zen Headbutt is stronger and it can't 2HKO unless Rocks are up) and Keldeo (needs SR for a tiny chance to OHKO if vanilla) and relying on Protect for a Speed Boost is really predictable. You can't really afford to run Adamant since you still get outsped by Scarfers after your boost, plus if you're forced out for any reason you don't really get a second chance to clean.

 

[Norne]

Whoops lol, that makes Pedo a bit better than I thought. I thought Strong Jaw gave the same boost as Tough Claws, Sheer Force, Aerialate, etc.


Doesn't change my opinion on Mega Pedo tho

The hispanic kid inside me chuckles at the mere mention of MegaPedo, well he got his uses, he even got priority if you really hate talonflame and some utility like taunt and dbond if you are willing to sacrifice his coverage(I migth have a soft spot for taunt on MGyara but MegaPedo seems to need the extramoves badly) Its not the worst but it will have its uses in OU, As of now he kinda ruins the day of MegaMence (Non sub variants) and deals decent damage to megaBro.

 

[Kurona]

Please never refer to it as "Pedo" again.

Oh please, it being called Mega Pedo is the best thing about it.

Really though, am I the only one who feels Cloud Nine on Altaria is being overlooked? Singlehandedly comes in on Swamp's rain or Sand Offence, forces them out, gets set-up opportunities?

 

[Norne]

Oh please, it being called Mega Pedo is the best thing about it.

Really though, am I the only one who feels Cloud Nine on Altaria is being overlooked? Singlehandedly comes in on Swamp's rain or Sand Offence, forces them out, gets set-up opportunities?

Ice punch is a thing that swampy tends to run.

 

[Kurona]

Ice punch is a thing.

So's becoming not double weak to it through mega.
252+ Atk Mega Swampert Ice Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Altaria: 184-218 (63.2 - 74.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
And even then, I doubt every Swampert will carry Ice Punch and you still set up on pretty much every other weather abuser.

 

[Norne]

So's becoming not double weak to it through mega.
252+ Atk Mega Swampert Ice Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Altaria: 184-218 (63.2 - 74.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
And even then, I doubt every Swampert will carry Ice Punch and you still set up on pretty much every other weather abuser.

The point is that you will lose cloud nine after mega evo making him a 1 time check.

 

[Kurona]

The point is that you will lose cloud nine after mega evo making him a 1 time check.

I wasn't putting it forward as a check; I clearly stated that it gives it set-up opportunities in the same sort of fashion Intimidate gives Mega Mence, Mega Mawile and Mega Dos set-up opportunity and utility.

 

[Norne]

I wasn't putting it forward as a check; I clearly stated that it gives it set-up opportunities in the same sort of fashion Intimidate gives Mega Mence, Mega Mawile and Mega Dos set-up opportunity and utility.

Ah ok, bacause Altaria would really need a suboptimal spread to check swampert and stalk rain, and thats asumming Sampert didnt invest on max speed to sag some dd users at +1 on the rain.

 

[Hogg]

The problem is, IIRC Cloud Nine doesn't stop the rain except while it is active. It's not like Air Lock, which kills weather altogether. You'll get one turn of outspeeding Swampert when you evolve, then the next will be back to rain and Swift Swim.

I'd much rather have Natural Cure - this way Altaria can do things like safely switch into bulky waters without fearing Scald burns.

 

[IcyMan28]

I don't think even Air Lock removed the weather, just it's effects. Using MAltaria in that way leaves you taking upwards of 60% to try and set up but you end up getting killed anyway. Not worth it.

 

[Hogg]

I don't think even Air Lock removed the weather, just it's effects. Using MAltaria in that way leaves you taking upwards of 60% to try and set up but you end up getting killed anyway. Not worth it.

You might be right. Last time I played Ubers was back in ADV, so I might be misremembering. Either way, I stand by Natural Cure as the better option unless your team has major problems with weather.