Ever wish you could know what moves your opponent was running as soon as they switched in? Ever go up against a Gengar and wish you were running Shadow Ball? Well, those days are over! In Mirror Move, both you and your opponent choose two moves for each of your Pokemon. Then, in battle, the two empty slots become special mirror slots, which start with 32 PP each. When two Pokemon face each other, those slots copy the other Pokemon's moves, retaining the amount of PP those slots had. When one Pokemon is switched out, both Pokemon will have their mirror slots changed to match the other's moveset, so the movesets of active Pokemon will always be identical, aside from any differences in PP. This forces an adaptive, on-the-fly playstyle, as your last two moves are controlled by your opponent.
Rules:
Mechanic: Two of your moves are chosen in the teambuilder, and the other two moves are copied from the opponent's moves.
Clauses: Standard OU Clauses.
Bans: OU Banlist + Imprison, because all Pokemon will always share a complete moveset, and there is no way to bypass Imprison.
Unbans: None so far, and likely to be none.
Strategy:
You only get to choose two of your moves, so choose wisely. Be very cautious about running moves on Pokemon that are weak to those moves, such as a Chansey with Toxic or a Manaphy with Energy Ball. You should also be very careful about running boosting moves, especially moves that boost speed, as running those moves severely limits your coverage and allows your opponent to boost alongside you. The same goes for recovery, hazards, hazard removal, priority, phasing, etc. The safest strategy is to run moves that your Pokemon aren't hurt by, like a Heatran with dual STABs or an Amoongus with Toxic and Leech Seed, but building an entire team of such Pokemon will surely be limiting. Just about the only thing I can say for sure is that Assault Vest is probably a bad idea, because it prevents you from using your opponents status moves entirely. Oh, and please don't run Last Resort.
Q&A:
Q: Why can I only choose two moves?
A: Because when combined with the opponent's other two moves, you end up with a complete set of four moves.
Q: What happens if my opponent switches their Pokemon out? Do I still keep the moves I copied from that Pokemon?
A: Your mirror slots change to match the moves of the Pokemon they switched in. The amount of PP in those slots doesn't change, however.
Q: What if my opponent switches out on the same turn I was going to use one of the copied moves? Will my Pokemon use the old move, or the new move?
A: It uses the move you originally selected, even if that move isn't known by the Pokemon your opponent switches in. This is consistent with mechanics in-game, where if a move is replaced via level-up in a double or triple battle before the Pokemon can use the move that was replaced, it will still use the old move.
Q: What about Choice Scarf, Choice Band, and Choice Specs? If I use a mirrored move while holding one of these items, what happens if that move is replaced?
A: You'll be able to choose a new move next turn. This is also consistent with in-game mechanics.
Q: What about moves like Encore and Disable, and the ability Cursed Body?
A: I don't actually know. I haven't tested this in-game, myself, so if you want to try it out, go ahead! If you do, be sure to test it by replacing moves via level-up, as that's what all the other mechanical details are based on.
Q: What if my opponent only has one move?
A: Then you only copy that one move, and the other mirror slot becomes empty and unusable. It will still retain its PP while "empty."
Q: What happens if I use Mimic or Sketch?
A: Whether you copied one of the two from your opponent, or are running one yourself, nothing will happen; Mimic and Sketch fail if the user already knows the last move used by the target.
Resources:
Coded by Spandan and playable on Dragon Heaven!
Rules:
Mechanic: Two of your moves are chosen in the teambuilder, and the other two moves are copied from the opponent's moves.
Clauses: Standard OU Clauses.
Bans: OU Banlist + Imprison, because all Pokemon will always share a complete moveset, and there is no way to bypass Imprison.
Unbans: None so far, and likely to be none.
Strategy:
You only get to choose two of your moves, so choose wisely. Be very cautious about running moves on Pokemon that are weak to those moves, such as a Chansey with Toxic or a Manaphy with Energy Ball. You should also be very careful about running boosting moves, especially moves that boost speed, as running those moves severely limits your coverage and allows your opponent to boost alongside you. The same goes for recovery, hazards, hazard removal, priority, phasing, etc. The safest strategy is to run moves that your Pokemon aren't hurt by, like a Heatran with dual STABs or an Amoongus with Toxic and Leech Seed, but building an entire team of such Pokemon will surely be limiting. Just about the only thing I can say for sure is that Assault Vest is probably a bad idea, because it prevents you from using your opponents status moves entirely. Oh, and please don't run Last Resort.
Q&A:
Q: Why can I only choose two moves?
A: Because when combined with the opponent's other two moves, you end up with a complete set of four moves.
Q: What happens if my opponent switches their Pokemon out? Do I still keep the moves I copied from that Pokemon?
A: Your mirror slots change to match the moves of the Pokemon they switched in. The amount of PP in those slots doesn't change, however.
Q: What if my opponent switches out on the same turn I was going to use one of the copied moves? Will my Pokemon use the old move, or the new move?
A: It uses the move you originally selected, even if that move isn't known by the Pokemon your opponent switches in. This is consistent with mechanics in-game, where if a move is replaced via level-up in a double or triple battle before the Pokemon can use the move that was replaced, it will still use the old move.
Q: What about Choice Scarf, Choice Band, and Choice Specs? If I use a mirrored move while holding one of these items, what happens if that move is replaced?
A: You'll be able to choose a new move next turn. This is also consistent with in-game mechanics.
Q: What about moves like Encore and Disable, and the ability Cursed Body?
A: I don't actually know. I haven't tested this in-game, myself, so if you want to try it out, go ahead! If you do, be sure to test it by replacing moves via level-up, as that's what all the other mechanical details are based on.
Q: What if my opponent only has one move?
A: Then you only copy that one move, and the other mirror slot becomes empty and unusable. It will still retain its PP while "empty."
Q: What happens if I use Mimic or Sketch?
A: Whether you copied one of the two from your opponent, or are running one yourself, nothing will happen; Mimic and Sketch fail if the user already knows the last move used by the target.
Resources:
Coded by Spandan and playable on Dragon Heaven!
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