Gen VII: Pokémon Sun and Moon (New info Post #5834)

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Man, they are really making up for the news drought of a few months back aren't they?

Anyhow, Salandit is super cool, I can't wait to use it in whichever game I end up using Rowlet in. I've wanted a Fire/Poison Komodo dragon or Weezing evo for some time now, so this typing sits very well with me. Not to mention that the typing and design are all so perfectly coherent, well done.

Corrosion is an ability a lot of fans have come up with before but it's nice to see it gain some actual use. I'm not sure that too many steels will be switching into a fire-type but the ability has potential.
If it is tanky enough to be viable in whatever tier Heatran lands in, I'm sure it'll have a ton of use. Being able to poison Tentacruel is cool as well! I'm glad they went down this route and I'm pulling for a three-stage Komodo dragon line. It doesn't get much cooler than Poison Fire.
 
I really like both the design and the typing, but the ability is kinda eh. Steel types get roasted by fire STAB and most poison types are hit neutrally too. Still, it's not a bad ability and probably has its uses. It's always cool when new abilities are added to the game.

It's not safe to make predictions as far as Game Freak is concerned, but hopefully Salandit evolves into a Komodo Dragon. Considering their one of only three poisonous lizards (fun fact: Komodos are actually venoumous, scientist's used to believe they killed with toxic bacteria) in the world and are found exclusively
on Komodo and a few other islands in Indonesia so its reasonable. Also fire types are associated with dragons more than any other type except actual dragon lol e.g. Charizard before mega evolution.

Anyone know what specific species Salandit is based off of? Based on the name it's a salamander and a bandit. Names obviously based off of mythical salamanders like Charmander's but I wonder if their is a specific lizard or newt they took the design from.
 
The important thing here is that standard Spedef Gliscor will likely counter Salandit, so we at least have something viable (and not something niche and otherwise garbage). Although other pokemon can check Salandit, Gliscor is the only viable mon (iirc) that is ok with poison, and it also has a 4x super-effective EQ to OHKO back. It can be used for stall and balance I guess. However, HP Ice is a thing...

Here's a calc using Simisear vs standard Spedef Gliscor. Simisear has base 98 Special Attack and 75/63 physical bulk btw. I figure it's a reasonable pokemon to compare Salandit to, based on the dex saying its not very strong and whatnot.

252 SpA Life Orb Simisear Hidden Power Ice vs. 244 HP / 200+ SpD Gliscor: 260-307 (73.8 - 87.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Poison Heal

0 Atk Gliscor Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Simisear: 302-356 (103.7 - 122.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

So if this thing has passable Special Attack and can outrun stuff like Gliscor, then Gliscor can't really win. However, with base 80 Special Attack (I used Klefki) it isn't quite as dangerous:

252 SpA Klefki Hidden Power Ice vs. 244 HP / 200+ SpD Gliscor: 176-208 (50 - 59%) -- 17.2% chance to 2HKO after Poison Heal (if leftovers)

252 SpA Life Orb Klefki Hidden Power Ice vs. 244 HP / 200+ SpD Gliscor: 229-270 (65 - 76.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Poison Heal

Once again, if it's fast, then Salandit will be much more threatening, as it can cleanly 2HKO if it holds a boosting item. However, if Salandit has ~base 80 Special Attack and does not hold a boosting item, standard Gliscor will hard counter it.



All hail Gliscor, the hero the meta deserves.
 

Pikachu315111

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Suddenly thinking twice about choosing Litten as my starter. Eh, could always go two fire-types.

I'm hoping information slows down to this rate. The last couple months we've had massive influxes of information; just big batches of Pokémon all revealed at once not long after the last. Getting revealed just one Pokémon at a time from this point on until some really big news drop like a new gimmick or gym leader or something would be an ideal pace.
My playthrough of Y pretty much was Delphox, Charizard, and Speed Boost Blaziken. 2 Fire-types on the same team isn't too much, especially if they have a different secondary typing.

Salandit:
I like the typing. I'm okay with the design. And the Ability is great. What I don't like is that they've been combined together.

I'm getting a bit of design dissonance here. So it's a bandit lizard, okay. I guess that could be wear the Poison part comes in. But Fire? Yeah it has the red, lava stripe and is said to use fire combined with poison gas, but that honestly seems like an afterthought. Also there's really nothing about its design that tells me it'll have the Ability to poison anything, once again its design is just a bandit lizard. I just don't get it being a bandit lizard, what about being part Fire-type and able to Poison anything is bandit like?

Anyway typing is awesome, Poison and Fire combo nicely together as an offensive typing. And Corrosion makes every stalling Poison and Steel-type quiver. Of course does it let Poison-type moves hit Steel-type or is it only Toxic, Poison Gas, and Poison Powder work on them now? Now combo with Toxic and you're golden, it's a one trick but a pretty good trick. And Fire-type moves help cover the offensive gap so there's no worry about it not having anything to hit Steel-types with.

Guessing it'll also get Attract/Captivate because of the description.
 
Komodo Dragons actually have bacteria in their saliva. Really potent bacteria, but it's still bacteria.
Old theory, largely dismissed. Monitor lizards have venom glands, and Komodo Dragons in particular uses venom to kill its preys.

No love for helderma horridum and suspectum. The true two venomous lizards.
Actually I love 'em, but they don't really fit with Salandit design imho. Also, monitor lizards are equally "true venomous lizards".


Sorry for the OT.
 
Anyone know what specific species Salandit is based off of? Based on the name it's a salamander and a bandit. Names obviously based off of mythical salamanders like Charmander's but I wonder if their is a specific lizard or newt they took the design from.
Definitely not newts as previously stated, despite the name (Salamence too isn't a salamander after all). To me it looks like a monitor lizard with a crocodilian snout and vaguely frog-like stance, with the name reference being for mythical fire salamanders rather than true salamanders (as much as charmander).
 
Salandit's head somewhat reminds me of those scarves pirates are often depicted covering their hair (Or lack thereof) with.
 
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I'm talking about the ability in general. Also, being forced to run toxic could cause 4ms on offensive mons, while moves like sludge bomb, gunk shot or poison fang can poison the target too without losing offensive pressure.
Don't worry about 4MSS anymore, 'coz all Pokémon are getting a fifth move slot.
 

Pikachu315111

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And that's where the Fire type comes in.
Still it's not really shown off in the design or much of the description. A red stripe, mention it blows up the poison gas, and that's the extent to it. Much more focus is put into it being Poison-type. Makes me wonder if they pulled a Frillish and decided to slap on a Fire-typing for variety.
 
Salandit's head somewhat reminds me of those scarves pirates are often depicted covering their hair (Or lack thereof) with.
It's a bandit mask.

Also, am I the only one bothered by Salandit's category? It's supposedly a salamander, but its category is the Toxic Lizard Pokemon.
 
It's a bandit mask.

Also, am I the only one bothered by Salandit's category? It's supposedly a salamander, but its category is the Toxic Lizard Pokemon.
The mythical salamander is a lizard. Well, lizard-like, which is understandable as salamanders have a vague resemblance to lizard.
 
The most neglected type is getting some love, and that's awesome! Poison-type has gotten the short end of the stick for five generations, with exactly three new typing combinations and relatively few new pokemon (most of which are trash, either literally or metaphorically or both). I'd have been happy just with the new and much-anticipated type combination, but an original ability sounds really awesome. While this isn't perhaps the best possible user of Corrosion, since Steel-types won't exactly be lining up to switch into a Fire-type, the ability does ease prediction and turns Toxic and other poison-inducing moves into much safer and spammable options. I'm very curious as to what its stats will look like, and what tier it will fit into. This looks like the kind of ability whose value really depends on the metagame surrounding it.
 
Salandit is easily my favorite of the new mons. Hell, depending on the rest of the information we haven't gotten on it, I could see it maybe breaking into my top 10 sometime later this year.
 
I don't play competitively, but assuming this Salandit has a powerful final evolution, will it really affect the present metagame at all? Last time I played a bunch of competitive games, I don't remember thinking "oh no, what if I get poisoned - should I just switch in my steel-type now forgetting all other considerations?"

Would appreciate an educated semi-detailed answer to this.
 
Salandit is amazing and I am definitely using it. Not only is the design cute/scary (IT HAS A LITTLE BANDIT HAT! SO CUTE!) but the ability to poison everything will be very useful. I can't wait to see that thing evolve. It's definitely going to be on the bad guy team though, with a name that includes bandit.

On the other hand, if Salandit is an early game 'mon that could mean Litten won't evolve into Fire/Poison. But, I do have a little theory now that there will be 3 Pokemon with the same (or flipped, as in Flying/Grass instead of Grass/Flying.) type as the starter final evolutions. That would have Salandit, and Pikipek so far.
 

Pikachu315111

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I don't play competitively, but assuming this Salandit has a powerful final evolution, will it really affect the present metagame at all? Last time I played a bunch of competitive games, I don't remember thinking "oh no, what if I get poisoned - should I just switch in my steel-type now forgetting all other considerations?"

Would appreciate an educated semi-detailed answer to this.
Worrying about Poison (the status ailment) isn't a main issue, more of a nuisance that puts a timer on your Pokemon. Would I be wrong to say one big aspect of the metagame is wearing down your opponent's Pokemon in indirect ways? Entry Hazards, Poison/Burn (an other Status Ailment effects), Hail/Sandstorm, stalling a Life Orb user. While it's nothing you'd worry about it, it is a factor.
 
I don't play competitively, but assuming this Salandit has a powerful final evolution, will it really affect the present metagame at all? Last time I played a bunch of competitive games, I don't remember thinking "oh no, what if I get poisoned - should I just switch in my steel-type now forgetting all other considerations?"

Would appreciate an educated semi-detailed answer to this.
I get your point since we are talking about a Poison/Fire-type... Steel-types won't like to switch in anyways... with one exception: Heatran, so poisoning it can help.

If it gets something like Earth Power, Salandit would get excellent neutral coverage in Fire-Poison-Ground (Only Rock/Flying resists the combination, and Air Balloon Heatran is the only other pick) so it may even want to run Toxic to wear down things other Pokemon cannot cause.
 

Cresselia~~

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I don't play competitively, but assuming this Salandit has a powerful final evolution, will it really affect the present metagame at all? Last time I played a bunch of competitive games, I don't remember thinking "oh no, what if I get poisoned - should I just switch in my steel-type now forgetting all other considerations?"

Would appreciate an educated semi-detailed answer to this.
I think it depends if you play VGC or Smogon singles.
Poison status certainly is not as important as burn/ sleep/ paralysis in VGC.
But in Smogon Singles, stall type strategies are quite common where some Pokemon's main offence is toxic, and the advantage of steel types are that they are bulky AND cannot be poisoned.

However, Salandit may still be useful in VGC if say, you are facing a really bulky steel type Pokemon. Salandit may provide the extra damage to the opposing Pokemon so that the friendly Pokemon can KO it next hit.
 
As Axelsaurus already pointed out, monitor lizards and helodermatids (the gila monster and the beaded lizard) are both venomous. The Komodo dragon is the largest extant monitor lizard, and like other monitors, possesses a venom that acts primarily as an anticoagulant, causing prey with heavy bite wounds to simply bleed out until they either die or are too weak to escape. Humans who have been bitten by lace monitors, perenties, and tree monitors in Australia have been documented to suffer heavy bleeding relative to the size of the wound, intense pain, and localized swelling.

The major issues with the bacteria theory are likely that it did not take the target's immune system into account and that bacteria found on carrion that a Komodo might be eating are also found everywhere else; the Komodo does not have symbiotic "mouth bacteria" that are exclusive/endemic to them.

More on-topic, I hope that mega evolutions have been removed from Sun/Moon, for the following reasons:

1) They've overcentralized the metagame.

2) Too many of them are too powerful, in some cases so powerful that the boosts to defensive teams/strategies introduced in X/Y don't matter.

3) They aren't even evolutions, because they aren't permanent.

4) Pokemon like Mawile, Absol, and Medicham needed a permanent evolution, not a mega evolution. They would have been better served with permanent evolutions so that they could use a hold item.

5) Many of the pokemon that received mega evolutions simply did not need them, because they already had high BSTs/good movepools, etc.

6) They take up slots for new pokemon. X/Y could have had more type diversity if slots for new pokemon weren't used to develop megas.

6) Most of the megas have terrible concept design flaws. Admittedly, this is somewhat subjective, but I think that part of the reason Pokemon became popular and stayed popular is because Sugimori's art style and skillful balance of complexity and simplicity made the art very appealing. A number of the mega evolutions break the "Sugimori rules" of simplicity vs. complexity, and cease to be aesthetically pleasing or simply don't make much sense (sense being defined as relative to other aspects of the game, which may not make sense relative to the real world).

Probably gonna get flamed to hell for all of this, but bring it on. Megas were a terrible idea and I hope gamefreak came to their senses and removed them.
 
If you can get Salandit early, it will be the go to 'mon of the Evil Team. :mad:
Oh god, I can just imagine how horrible it will be if they just gave each one Toxic with how much of a gauntlet it will be running through the base. In this case each grunt would be working as a team to slowly whittle away your team.
 
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