After doing the 6v6 thing for seven years now, I find a lot more fun in the 3v3 style of PBR than the typical metagame. I've logged well over 100 hours of nothing but WiFi battles on my PBR save.
I wouldn't say that the reduced number of stall Pokémon is a result of being away from the Smogon metagame, but just the style of 3v3. Blissey use is definitely diminished, but one wonders if that would still be the case without the introduction of Close Combat this generation. I still see a good amount of teams with stallish Pokémon like Cresselia, Slowbro, and Hippowdon, though they usually aren't brought to the battle. Actually, the defensive Pokémon I see on teams that are actually used the most are Swampert, Gastrodon, and Dusknoir.
The Pokémon usage is actually pretty identical to what we consider OU, except with an emphasis on offense rather than defense. Bulkier attackers like Gyarados, Garchomp, Metagross, and Togekiss can be found on practically every team, while fragile sweepers such as Gengar, Weavile, and Infernape are painfully common as well. Actually, the only Pokémon of the OU offensive mold that I don't often see is Heracross. So the Pokémon used are largely the same, with a higher premium on offense rather than defense, as a result of the smaller team size.
Aside from that, the two major differences are items and strategy. In 6v6, Focus Sash is largely useless with the prevalence of Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Sandstorm. In 3v3, you might as well just assume every damn Pokémon has it. It gets exceedingly tedious at times, especially seeing it on things that have no business with a sash (I ran into a Focus Sash Skarmory a while back), but it is something you definitely need to prepare for. If I see Gengar, Weavile or Jolteon, I always assume it will be sashed. The overuse of Focus Sash also leads to an increase in the use of priority moves. If you don't have at least one (I try to carry two or even three), you will be in trouble. Or, you could just bring Hippowdon or Tyranitar...
Even more game breaking than Focus Sash is Choice Scarf. This item can totally ruin your day. It is good enough in 6v6, but with as many walls as there are on such teams, you can afford to make a mistake, and once the Choice Scarf surprise is out of the bag, it is usually pretty easy to contain. Not so much in 3v3, where a single error means game over. Want a surefire way to win a few battles? Stick Choice Scarf on something stupid like Magnezone, Entei, or Lopunny and get a free kill that induces rage on your opponent.
That brings me to the strategy aspect... (Good lord, this is why I don't post much... tl;dr) The strategy in 3v3 is very unique. Getting to see your opponent's Pokémon beforehand gives you a new set of things to think about. Which three did they bring? Who will they start with? Are you prepared for every threat they have? A lot of times, the lead Pokémon can make or break the battle. And again, because there are only three Pokémon on each side, each mistake counts that much more.
I really enjoy the mind games it introduces. I play with a very high risk, high reward style, and 3v3 suits it perfectly. I will often make a move selection, even on turn one, based on what I assume the opponent will have brought. I can't tell you how many times I had my Arcanine use Thunder Fang on a Metagross turn one because Gyarados was in their six, and had it pay off. Actually, I can't remember a time when I tried that and it didn't work.
Also, the battles are much more diverse. One thing I don’t like about Netbattle and Shoddy is that everyone who plays those is united by the same community, and the teams and sets used on them become painfully standardized. With WiFi battles on PBR, you don’t need a friend code or anything, so the battles are truly random. You’re playing with people around the world who have vastly unique strategies. Unlike with Shoddy, every battle isn’t against the same old sandstorm stall teams. While the usual the standard suspects are still largely the norm, it is still very common to get battles with people using unique strategies and more seldom used Pokemon, especially against Japanese opponents. Japanese opponents also use the hell out of Azumarill, who can be quite a nuisance.
Oh yea, and Jumpman brought up cheating (not sure if he meant pertaining to this but whatever), which reminded me of another nice aspect of PBR WiFi battles. There is a filter that doesn't work on friend code battles but does work on random battles that checks for Mystery Zone Pokemon, excess EVs, illegal traits and moves, and probably some more stuff. So if you're playing this mode, you won't have to worry about facing illegal Pokemon as the game won't let a competitor battle online with them.
Ok, too much for now… I will conclude by saying that I am in love with Hitmonchan.
