Metagame np: Stage 6 - The Boys Are Back

[Checklad]

I bring you, pure support pivot (PSP) Liepard!

Liepard @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave/Yawn/U-turn
- Thunder Wave/Yawn/U-turn/Torment/Encore

An excellent pure support pokémon that can work well in both highly offensive and stall-esque teams. Knock Off is the only real attack needed: the move's utility is so, so high, especially in NU. Prankster is an excellent ability and Liepard is the only notable user in NU. Great check to many, many things including Fletchinder and Pinser, two of the new guys on the block, whilst at the same time being, relatively, capable of checking Magneton with Yawn, Knock Off and/or Encore. Pairs great with the likes of Muk and Exeggutor, and even allows things like Crustle and especially Malamar to overcome potential counters/checks thanks to a combination of status effects and additional support.

A basic showcase of how much switching/annoyance this set causes:

http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/battle-nu-229814823

 

[Ares]

Two good np thread songs in a row, keep the ball rolling Raseri

 

[Mijzelffan]

Fletchinder @ Eviolite
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 196 Def / 64 Spe
Impish Nature
- Acrobatics
- Roost
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp

Stallbreaker Fletch is going to be amazing, I swear. Despite a crippling weakness to Stealth Rock, this thing's typing allows it to check a long list of mons including Mawile, Pawniard, Hariyama, Sawk, Musharna, SubCM Uxie, Ferroseed, Mega Crodino, Non-HP Rock Lilligant, and Servine. Plus, even if you were to switch into a Knock Off, it gives you the added benefit of boosting your Acrobatics.

Super Cool List of Calcs

252+ Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Mawile Play Rough vs. 248 HP / 196+ Def Eviolite Fletchinder: 75-90 (22.9 - 27.5%) -- 58.4% chance to 4HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sawk Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 196+ Def Eviolite Fletchinder: 115-136 (35.1 - 41.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sawk Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 196+ Def Eviolite Fletchinder: 124-147 (37.9 - 44.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Hariyama Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 196+ Def Eviolite Fletchinder: 75-88 (22.9 - 26.9%) -- 40.6% chance to 4HKO
252+ Atk Pawniard Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 196+ Def Eviolite Fletchinder: 96-114 (29.3 - 34.8%) -- 8.4% chance to 3HKO
+1 0 SpA Musharna Psyshock vs. 248 HP / 196+ Def Eviolite Fletchinder: 102-120 (31.1 - 36.6%) -- 66% chance to 3HKO
+1 36 SpA Uxie Psyshock vs. 248 HP / 196+ Def Eviolite Fletchinder: 79-94 (24.1 - 28.7%) -- 98.8% chance to 4HKO

I feel like it should be worth noticing that this fletchinder set is absolutely piss-weak, you won't be able to revenge kill things fletchinder normally revenge kills unless they're heavily dented already or if you lost your eviolite.

0 Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (55 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Sawk: 116-140 (39.7 - 47.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (55 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Hariyama: 138-164 (28 - 33.3%) -- 0% chance to 3HKO
0 Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (55 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Lilligant: 116-138 (41.2 - 49.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (55 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mawile: 26-31 (10.7 - 12.8%) -- possible 8HKO
0 Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (55 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 37-45 (8.5 - 10.3%) -- possibly the worst move ever

Like maybe this was obvious to everyone else here already but I guess I was too used to SD fletchling.

 

[The Goomy]

This new meta is gonna be too dope.

Lemme talk about the drops some (in order of excitement):

Young Fletchinder
Traits:
Flame Body - Could potentially be useful on a full defensive Eviolite set, but is generally outclassed by...
Gale Wings - Gives priority to all flying type attacks, most notably Acrobatics and Roost

BST: 382
62/73/55/56/52/84

Fletchinder was easily one of my favorite mons back in NU Alpha (Beta?). It really does have cool defensive typing (kinda like bulky Talon in OU?) that allows it to actually check some really cool things if you can manage to keep SR off the field (which according to many isn't too terribly difficult in NU, and we just got another spinner). Fletch also gets to fire off 110 base power Acrobatics with the added benefit of being a Knock Off absorber in a tier desperate for one. SD allows Fletch to become a pretty potent late game sweeper since it actually has the bulk to set up (I'm looking at you Fletchling) and actually hits pretty damn hard (I'm looking at you Fletchling). To me this is definitely the most exciting of the drops, as I really enjoy defensive Talon in OU, the unpredictability of the mon (will it be SD or taunt, offensive/defensive etc), and the emphasis that it puts on hazards. Really cool addition to NU that won't break the tier at all.

Predicted Rank: A-

Magnets are cool

Traits:
Magnet Pull - A really cool -somewhat niche- ability for Magneton. If a team really struggles with things like Klinklang, it can guarantee a trap and kill. Also allows it to set up on Ferroseed.
Sturdy - If you thought Sturdy offense was good before, say hello to Specs Sturdy Magneton. This thing hits like a truck (even without Analytic) and checks a lot of stuff with Sturdy.
Analytic - If you switch, you die.

BST: 465
50/60/95/120/70/70

Magneton is definitely going to be one of the biggest threats in the new NU, and it will put a lot of pressure on teambuilding. Before the drops, it was looking like we were gonna lose Quag and Toad, as well as just losing Camel and Typh. This meant that Klinklang was gonna be our new overlord. Fortunately, Magneton dropped and Quag stayed, so our favorite set of floating gears will have to wait another day. The thing that makes Magneton so threatening is it's versatility and typing. All three of its abilities can be used incredibly effectively, and a variety of items can be run (Scarf (I personally don't like this, but it's good), Specs, and Eviolite). In the current state of NU, Steel/Electric/Grass(Or even Ground) coverage is nearly flawless, hitting basically everything except Ferroseed (which can obviously be trapped by HP Fire variants). Sub Charge Beam will be really good, and it's a great check to Fletchinder. Also, it'll force Xatu to either play really aggressively with U-turn, or to start running Heat Wave again, opening the door for Malamar to do work.

Predicted Rank: S

Dick Pincher

Traits:
Hyper Cutter - Practically worthless in NU as the best Intimidate mon (Mawile) doesn't even beat Pinsir at -1
Mold Breaker - Depending on the popularity this set gathers, could make Xatu a much less viable mon in NU (free Rocks baby)
Moxie - People tend to forget that this thing gets Moxie and Quick Attack. Definitely a cool late game sweeping option/check to Malamar/CM Psychics

BST: 500
65/125/100/55/70/85

Pinsir is basically a badass. I love this thing's potential. It has access to two great abilities in the current NU meta (Mold Breaker Rocks and Moxie). The mold breaker set will work to help teams beat balanced squads by guaranteeing that SR will get up, making teams that rely solely on Xatu for hazard support obsolete. In addition, Mold Breaker lets Pinsir do cool things like hit Weezing for SE damage with Earthquake. Oh, did I mention this thing got EQ? And is faster than Garbodor? And has EQ (Kill mag through sturdy)? That is an amazing trait for a Stealth Rock setter, not letting Garbodor ravage your team for free. Both the defensive and offensive sets will have the ability to check Malamar with X-Scissor if needed, as well as hitting CM Psychic types hard with the same. In addition, Stone Edge can be run to prevent Scyther from coming in for free. Definitely cool movepool options. Moxie allows Pinsir to be a good late game sweeper, but not a great one. Even after an SD, Quick Attack is weak as shit anyway, and it gets beaten by common scarfers, as well as Rotom being able to freely wisp it, Fletch being able to revenge it/wisp it, and in general being too slow to win on its own.

Predicted Rank: B+

Wannabe Scyther

Traits:
Swift Swim - Probably the best universal ability for Kabutops, allows it to put in work in the rain, and also act as a cool check to opposing rain teams (run jolly)
Battle Armor - No hax...zone. No hax...zone.
Weak Armor - Pretty niche ability and easily its worst. Don't want your spinner to have lowered defenses on switching in. Too niche on Endure Flail sets (seriously don't run this)

BST: 495
60/115/105/65/70/80

Kabutops is a much welcomed spinner to a tier that has a severe lack of decent ones. Last time it was in NU, it was definitely not an extraordinarily effective Poke, but it functioned nicely as a spinner, and very well on rain. However, a lot has changed for Kabu, as it's biggest counter (Toad) just left the tier, and it now has the great niche of checking (although softly) Fletch. The ability to get a spinner, priority, and a hazard setter in the same mon is amazing for a support mon in this tier. Offensively, SD Kabutops can put in a lot of work at +2, even luring things like Ferroseed with Superpower to help out a non-HP Fire Magneton or something like that. Stone Edge hits surprisingly hard, and forces spin blockers like Rotom-N to sacrifice themselves for the good of the rocks (normally a good trade off tbch). Although its biggest counter left the tier, I still don't see Kabu as being an amazing Pokemon in this tier simply because it is too slow. It can't live any relevant hits to get Weak Armor boosts, and +2 Aqua Jet isn't enough to sweep late game. I do however, see it as returning as easily the best spinner in NU (fuck you Claydol, you suck).

Predicted Rank: B


Farewell to:

God Toad

Seismitoad leaving will definitely change the complexion of NU, forces balance teams to find new cores other than Toad-Garbo. In addition I think it'll definitely open up creativity in the Teambuilder.

Predicted Time of Stay in RU: I think we will get Toad back very quickly. The main reason it was used in RU was the fact that it was a water type that didn't let Whimsicott in for free (Sludge Wave), but Whimsi just left RU to UU, so Toad usage should drop drastically in RU, giving us back our frog.

 

[Oshony PokeGod]

Nigga did u just give kabutops b rank?

 

[Punchshroom]

Traits:
Swift Swim - Probably the best universal ability for Kabutops, allows it to put in work in the rain, and also act as a cool check to opposing rain teams (run jolly)
Battle Armor - No hax...zone. No hax...zone.
Weak Armor - Pretty niche ability and easily its worst. Don't want your spinner to have lowered defenses on switching in. Too niche on Endure Flail sets (seriously don't run this)

Bruh Weak Armor is a great 'safe ability' to have when not using it in weather. Switching into resisted attacks from the likes of Archeops and Kangaskhan lets you check them right back afterward, you're downplaying Weak Armor far too much; it's way better than fuking Battle Armor lol. Also Tops was A Rank last time, and you say it is B when Toad leaves the tier wut

 

[The Goomy]

Bruh Weak Armor is a great 'safe ability' to have when not using it in weather. Switching into resisted attacks from the likes of Archeops and Kangaskhan lets you check them right back afterward, you're downplaying Weak Armor far too much; it's way better than fuking Battle Armor lol. Also Tops was A Rank last time, and you say it is B when Toad leaves the tier wut

I also don't want my only check to Archeops to take this much damage from its worst attack to hit it when it's main job should be staying alive to spin.

252 Atk Archeops Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kabutops: 90-107 (34.4 - 40.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

 

[Adaire]

The new God Lanturn a.k.a Mr. Steal yo gurl

Lanturn is just gonna be the new pimp in town, this man has one of those new fancy magnets? I got a powerful ass fish stopping him from causing harm, this man be a bird lover? I got a electric fish to fry that goose, people saying that klinklang is gonna be broken, I say my new BFF is gonna stop that set of gears. You want to eq my fish? I got an air balloon son. He traps yo mons, they can't volt turn out, they trapped until lanturn reveals the origin pulse, I mean scald! In all honesty, Lanturn is just going to be very good right now stopping two of the new guys and being a amazing defensive pivot.

calcs

252+ SpA Choice Specs Magneton Flash Cannon vs. 40 HP / 216+ SpD Lanturn: 45-53 (11.2 - 13.2%) -- possibly the worst move ever, the correct move was pressing x in fear of fish...
+2 252+ Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 40 HP / 252 Def Lanturn: 148-174 (36.9 - 43.3%) -- 99.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery I was feeling sorry for the useless bird so I gave him +2
+1 252+ Atk Klinklang Return vs. 40 HP / 252 Def Lanturn: 168-198 (41.8 - 49.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery, lanturn is just gonna scald and burn that pile of scrap metal.

prinplup is kinda cool as well

 

[The Goomy]

I also don't want my only check to Archeops to take this much damage from its worst attack to hit it when it's main job should be staying alive to spin.

252 Atk Archeops Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kabutops: 90-107 (34.4 - 40.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Also, they're going to run EQ now, so using your old strat of the opponent predicting correctly every time and also having rocks.

252 Atk Archeops Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kabutops: 220-260 (84.2 - 99.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Nice switch in.

 

[Liarliarpantsonfire]

Here's a lead set for Pinsir. Archeops will usually just setup SR while you use Close Combat, then you finish them off with QA before they can Endeavor. Obviously Xatu can't bounce SR against you because of Mold Breaker. The sash also lets you beat Fletchling/Pyroar 1 vs 1.

Pinsir @ Focus Sash
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Quick Attack

 

[Disjunction]

I feel like it should be worth noticing that this fletchinder set is absolutely piss-weak, you won't be able to revenge kill things fletchinder normally revenge kills unless they're heavily dented already or if you lost your eviolite.

0 Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (55 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Sawk: 116-140 (39.7 - 47.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (55 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Hariyama: 138-164 (28 - 33.3%) -- 0% chance to 3HKO
0 Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (55 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Lilligant: 116-138 (41.2 - 49.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (55 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mawile: 26-31 (10.7 - 12.8%) -- possible 8HKO
0 Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (55 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 37-45 (8.5 - 10.3%) -- possibly the worst move ever

Like maybe this was obvious to everyone else here already but I guess I was too used to SD fletchling.

This fletch isn't meant to deal out damage. It's meant to shut down certain mons with its bulk and utility moves. Most of the mons you mentioned are either crippled with Will-O, shut down by Taunt, deal negligible damage to fletch in the first place, or some combination of all three. Like Mawile, its offensive and defensive sets are as different as day and night, yet both have their perks.

 

[CanadianWifier]

My bird has finally flown home ~

fuk magnets tho

 

[QueenOfLuvdiscs]

Sub Charge Beam will be really good

Apparently it's only good when I don't bring it up in call -_-

but seriously, Sub Charge Beam is one of the best sets it has. Not only just it trap those pesky Ferroseeds and sets up on them, with HP Grass, Quag can't even come in afterwards to force you out, bcuz you OHKO it lol. This set alone makes stall unable to use Ferroseed because you bring in Magnezone on a spike/hazard, it's gg. Can also be used as a great CroDino counter because you can set up along side it provided you get the 70% chance to boost.

Supporting Calcs:

252+ SpA Magneton Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Quagsire: 384-456 (97.4 - 115.7%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Magneton Flash Cannon vs. +1 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Audino: 150-176 (36.5 - 42.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 0 SpA Mega Audino Dazzling Gleam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Magneton: 48-57 (19.9 - 23.6%)

Battle Armor - No hax...zone. No hax...zone.

don't steal my thing for likes smh

 

[Mysil]

Magneton restricts teambuilding too much. Ive been sitting on the teambuilder for quite some time now, and I cant seem to be able to make a team because magneton can switch in on too many of the mons avaiable in the tier and at the same time there are no switch-ins really. If I try to make an offensive team magneton will be able to come in on several of the members of my team and basically get a kill everytime, and if I try to make balance, its boring af because I have to put lanturn or stunfisk on there, and even then, they can get bopped by hp grass.

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Here's a lead set for Pinsir. Archeops will usually just setup SR while you use Close Combat, then you finish them off with QA before they can Endeavor. Obviously Xatu can't bounce SR against you because of Mold Breaker. The sash also lets you beat Fletchling/Pyroar 1 vs 1.

Pinsir @ Focus Sash
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Quick Attack

Wouldn't it be better to run Earthquake instead of CC? Earthquake hits most Sturdy users almost as hard as CC without the defense drops. Plus, in the aforementioned scenario you can just bop Archeops with Stone Edge (assuming it doesn't miss). I like Close Combat, but as a general rule I don't like the defense drops it brings.

 

[Liarliarpantsonfire]

Wouldn't it be better to run Earthquake instead of CC? Earthquake hits most Sturdy users almost as hard as CC without the defense drops. Plus, in the aforementioned scenario you can just bop Archeops with Stone Edge (assuming it doesn't miss). I like Close Combat, but as a general rule I don't like the defense drops it brings.

EdgeQuake coverage is good, but Fighting + Rock is better. Although hitting Garbodor is nice so you can choose. But since this is a lead set with Sash the defense drops don't really matter. Lead Archeops runs 0 IV's in defense for Endeavor which just barely guarantees that CC + QA will always finish it off.

252 Atk Pinsir Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Archeops: 222-262 (85.3 - 100.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Pinsir Quick Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Archeops: 37-44 (14.2 - 16.9%) -- possible 6HKO

And if Stone Edge misses you're down a lot already on turn 2.

 

[FarlzGaming]

The drop of Magneton will see a rise in Probopass users now I believe since its offensive trapping set counters most of Magneton sets except Choice Specs, which it checks, and OHKO's with Earth Power. He can also be brought in as a check to trap Klinklang and 2HKO and to counter most Mawile sets and 2HKO, both with Earth Power. Ferroseed is also hard walled and 2HKO'd by HP Fire. Probo has use outside of trapping steels, offering a slow VoltTurn which can bring in setup sweepers easily, can set up Stealth Rock or pass around T-Waves.

252+ SpA Probopass Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mawile: 242-286 (100.4 - 118.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Probopass Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Mawile: 218-258 (71.7 - 84.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Probopass Earth Power vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Magneton: 404-476 (166.9 - 196.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Probopass Earth Power vs. 124 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Magneton: 272-320 (100 - 117.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Probopass Earth Power vs. 92 HP / 0 SpD Klinklang: 172-204 (60.5 - 71.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Probopass Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Ferroseed: 152-180 (52 - 61.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Probopass Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Pawniard: 204-240 (88.3 - 103.8%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

On the other side Magneton can never be OHKO'd by any of these mons except if Specs Magneton runs HP Fighting (68.8% chance to OHKO for 252+ SpA Choice Specs Magneton vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Probopass)

252+ SpA Choice Specs Magneton Thunderbolt vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Probopass: 160-190 (52.6 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Ferroseed Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Probopass: 67-81 (22 - 26.6%) -- 16.6% chance to 4HKO
+1 252+ Atk Klinklang Gear Grind (2 hits) vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Probopass: 164-194 (53.9 - 63.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Pawniard Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Probopass: 94-112 (30.9 - 36.8%) -- 74.7% chance to 3HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Mawile Iron Head vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Probopass: 133-157 (43.7 - 51.6%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO

Edit: Also, yay first post. Hello NU :D

 

[Deej Dy]

I agree that EQ is way better than CCB. First off it

-1HKO's Eviolite Magneton
-Hits 23% usage and omnipresent Garbodor
-Hits all levitate users like Rotom, Weezing, Haunter, for good damage
-Has no reduction in defenses for an easier revenge kill.

If Archeops is your main problem perhaps you should use CCB, but don't find 0 IV Archeops to be very common at all, and in that case CCB and Quick Attack do not KO chops.

252 Atk Mold Breaker Pinsir Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Archeops: 181-213 (62.1 - 73.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[Cased]

Use Stunfisk it beats Magneton and Fletch and Klinklang yeah use max defense and shit like that and you can set rocks and its really neat!!!!!!!!! I'm posting from my phone so I can't post Calcs that are obvious but yea use Stunfisk because it sets rocks and beats all those pokemon everyone is complaint about gg

 

[CanadianWifier]

I agree that EQ is way better than CCB.

please never abbreviate close combat to ccb ever again. took me like 30 seconds to realize what you were even talking about

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Hi just wanted to quote something speaking as an RU player.

Farewell to:

God Toad

Seismitoad leaving will definitely change the complexion of NU, forces balance teams to find new cores other than Toad-Garbo. In addition I think it'll definitely open up creativity in the Teambuilder.

Predicted Time of Stay in RU: I think we will get Toad back very quickly. The main reason it was used in RU was the fact that it was a water type that didn't let Whimsicott in for free (Sludge Wave), but Whimsi just left RU to UU, so Toad usage should drop drastically in RU, giving us back our frog.

That isn't the primary reason Seismitoad usage got this high in RU. It managed to achieve popularity in RU because it's a reliable Rocks setter that with a fine Speed tier and Water / Ground coverage makes it a Rocks setter that could beat other relevant Stealth Rock users in RU barring like Mesprit. It can check the dominant and prominent Mega Steelix in RU as well as Mega Camerupt, in addition to being quite handy with the spammable Scald and Knock Off, and being able to run Sludge Bomb to not freely invite Whimsicott and Tangrowth was also a nice perk. We also still have Tangrowth and Rotom-C. The niche it did lose was being a Heliolisk check. Water Absorb is also still nice especially with Kingdra temporarily around and I guess Jellicent.

Whether Seismitoad will drop back to NU is debatable, and that depends largely on how the new RU meta shapes up, but simply saying that it's a Water-type that beats Whimsicott was definitely not the primary reason to use it. Having good utility and offensive presence plus a neat typing is what really made it good in RU.

Also Kabutops is definitely not a B Rank Pokemon, not when it was at worst A- in the last stint it had in NU. It's at least an A- or A Rank Pokemon, being the best spinner this tier has and being a good offensive Pokemon.

 

[marilli]

Kabutops was pretty good last time around, it just didn't live up to the hype as much. I think everyone was freaking about the drop we had in like ages, but then it turned out to be not as good especially when everyone and their mother were running vileplume seismitoad cores, with or without kabutops. I don't think it's fair to underestimate kabutops when the meta it dropped into was so unfavorable against it (bulky teams hard countering it in general because the checks they run), yet it still managed to be the best spinner we had, etc. It was better than a b rank threat before, and I'd like to hope this remains the same.

It doesn't have a fantastic time with all the Magnetons around, so it could go either way. The last time I saw magneton in NU was like beta BW NU and it was still godlike back then too. Magneton could potentially be one of the drops that really change everything about nu, sounds a bit too good right now with just theorymon, but I guess we'll see how it turns out.

 

[freddymc]

after a couple of battles against magneton, i think i can safely say that it will definitely rise into the S rank on the viability rankings. I have assigned a specific magneton destroyer named probopass to deal with it, and I rarely assign pokes to specifically take out other pokes.

 

[Cherub Agent]

in my opinion probopass doesn't neccessarily do all to well against magneton though, it certainly can't come in on hp ground (which is imo by far the best hidden power, smacking probopass, other magneton, lanturn and stunfisk), volt switch, and tbolt also 2hkos the offensive pivot set (im talking about specs mag). eviolite mag often runs magnet rise i think, which leaves probo utterly unable to touch it

 

[Orphic]

Okay so about time to post my thoughts don'tcha think!

First of all I'll start with Kabutops. Kabutops, compared to how well it did last time it was in NU is rather underwhelming from my first few attempts to use it, and from watching others. Due to the nature of the NU metagame as it is right now, the most common playstyle is bulky balance/bulky offensive, with people running fat cores to check fat offensive cores that bring Specs Magneton, this is the case following the Typhlosion era where we haven't quite recovered from all using these kinds of teams. Because of this, Lanturn, Stunfisk, Mega-Audino, Weezing, Vibrava, Regirock, etc are all more common. Even Regirock can force out Kabutops, threatening it with Thunder-Wave, Drain Punch and sometimes EQ. Due to this, Kabutops has a harder time doing what it did best last time it was around, hitting hard, weakening cores, rapid spinning etc. Even the more common Gourgeist-Super is making life hell for Kabutops right now, and I can't see that changing anytime soon. There was a lot of hype for this guy, but I haven't found much promise for it in the current metagame so far, so I'd have to agree with The Goomy on his predicted rank of B.

Next I'll consider Fletchinder. Lilligant and Vivillon thought that they were in for a great metagame when Typhlosion left but alas, not even a +6 Lilligant stands up to this fast fucker. 110 bp STAB Acrobatics with priority!? Are you kidding me?! On paper, a complete monster and definitely too strong for NU, however, there are some things that make this guy very comfortable to handle if you play properly. Firstly, it's lack of item, the lack of Eviolite for even a pinch of bulk means Fletchinder has a hard time coming in on the slightest of breezes. Meaning any kind of offensive pressure can keep this guy out and, like our friend Malamar, you can stop it before it gets going a lot of the time. It's Stealth Rock 4x weakness hurts it hard, if you come in at 51% the first time around, it's often not strong enough to KO most things at a high hp level with neutral damage, and so they can easily just kill you back if you don't hit hard enough. If that's a little shaky to understand, say you come in on a Mesprit, it's quite bulky, you don't kill it and die to Psychic or like, Ice Beam or whatever they have to hit you. It's very easy to check as well, any rock type can come in easily and OHKO it back, even with a burn most likely, not to mention our new friends Lanturn and Stunfisk give Fletchinder hell, and Lanturn can just Heal Bell an incoming Will-O-Wisp. Finally with Fletch, it's underwhelming movepool is a disappointment. Besides Acrobatics, it has just Overheat to hit various steel types that check it, so it's quite and easy Pokemon to predict around, and very user friendly as I saw someone say. I'd say A is a push, and The Goomy has hit the nail on the head again with the predicted rank of A-.

Finally, Magneton, since I haven't seen Pinsir at all really, or attempted to use it myself to see what I feel about it. Now Magneton is the one of the new mons I have high hopes for, with little team support for Lanturn and Stunfisk (all electric types really, or you just bring hp ground), it runs down most of the tier with a OHKO or 2HKO straight of the bat with the Choice Specs set. Things like Weezing and Garbodor that loved having Typh leave, now find it harder to do their job, as well as anything else that doesn't resist either Flash Cannon or Thunderbolt, predicting to switch into this thing is not easy, and if you predict Flash Cannon and bring in your Magmortar, a nicely times Volt Switch simply lands them with the momentum once again. Furthermore, Seismitoad swapping for this guy is ridiculous, we lose the best check to it at the same time it comes down! The most reliable Ground type besides Stunfisk is now Quagsire, which doesn't like being hit by Flash Cannon that much. Fortunately, its not wise to say that Magneton is overpowered and uncheckable, since we have a lot of options, it just requires a lot of 50/50s to play around a lot of the time, especially late game, so it'll be interesting to see how well Magneton settles into the current metagame. Oh and not to mention, Mega Audino thought Klinklang was terrifying, now with all the Magnetons running around, Audino is a risky choice. The Goomy said S rank, I'll be saying A or A+ at the most on this one.

Orphic ~