Alright, this'll be my "Why Jirachi Doesn't Belong in the 1v1 Metagame Post" because despite my best efforts on PS! and discord, some people still don't believe me.
Honestly, there really isn't much to Jirachi. It's got 100 stats across the board, which is good although not extraordinary. It's good a good defensive typing with Steel/Psychic which is weak to Dark, Fire, Ghost, and Ground-types. Offensively, Steel/Psychic STAB hits the vast majority of the metagame for neutral damage bar Mega Slowbro, Mega Gyarados, Aegislash, and Mega Metagross. Just looking at it like that it doesn't look like a problem, in fact it looks entirely underwhelming. However, all that frankly doesn't matter. The only thing that matters to Jirachi is Serene Grace + 2 STAB Flinch options.
With a base 100 speed paired with a Choice Scarf, it out speeds the entire unboosted metagame. Most opposing Choice Scarf users have less than 100 speed leaving very few situations where Jirachi doesn't go first. Then it simply clicks Iron Head or Heart Stamp and puts the entire game up to chance. 60% the first hit. 60% the second hit. 60% the third hit. The likelihood of beating 1 pokemon depends directly on the number of flinches that happen. This puts the entire game in an RNG-dependent situation. No skill is relevant. Just raw luck.
In response to "Other things are RNG-dependent": Yes, things like crits, rolls, and misses are RNG-dependent. However, Jirachi is the only pokemon that solely relies on pure RNG. If you miss, get crit, get a low roll, yes that's bad luck, but the whole strategy isn't based on that. If you're using Hydro Cannon from Mega Blastoise, your opponent's counterplay isn't miss. It's use an electric type pokemon, substitute, etc. Jirachi's counterplay is "survive long enough hoping they don't get a flinch a couple of times".
In response to "Jirachi has counterplay": Yes, you can use inner focus. Although, lol. Be faster. Again, very, very few pokemon are faster, and they tend not to have large bulk meaning you can't guarentee they'll win. Yes you can use Sucker Punch and Shadow Sneak. That's pretty much it. Non-RNG counterplay is so minimal and rare, it's practically irrelevant. Mega Mawile is pretty much the only hard counter.
Honestly, there really isn't much to Jirachi. It's got 100 stats across the board, which is good although not extraordinary. It's good a good defensive typing with Steel/Psychic which is weak to Dark, Fire, Ghost, and Ground-types. Offensively, Steel/Psychic STAB hits the vast majority of the metagame for neutral damage bar Mega Slowbro, Mega Gyarados, Aegislash, and Mega Metagross. Just looking at it like that it doesn't look like a problem, in fact it looks entirely underwhelming. However, all that frankly doesn't matter. The only thing that matters to Jirachi is Serene Grace + 2 STAB Flinch options.
With a base 100 speed paired with a Choice Scarf, it out speeds the entire unboosted metagame. Most opposing Choice Scarf users have less than 100 speed leaving very few situations where Jirachi doesn't go first. Then it simply clicks Iron Head or Heart Stamp and puts the entire game up to chance. 60% the first hit. 60% the second hit. 60% the third hit. The likelihood of beating 1 pokemon depends directly on the number of flinches that happen. This puts the entire game in an RNG-dependent situation. No skill is relevant. Just raw luck.
In response to "Other things are RNG-dependent": Yes, things like crits, rolls, and misses are RNG-dependent. However, Jirachi is the only pokemon that solely relies on pure RNG. If you miss, get crit, get a low roll, yes that's bad luck, but the whole strategy isn't based on that. If you're using Hydro Cannon from Mega Blastoise, your opponent's counterplay isn't miss. It's use an electric type pokemon, substitute, etc. Jirachi's counterplay is "survive long enough hoping they don't get a flinch a couple of times".
In response to "Jirachi has counterplay": Yes, you can use inner focus. Although, lol. Be faster. Again, very, very few pokemon are faster, and they tend not to have large bulk meaning you can't guarentee they'll win. Yes you can use Sucker Punch and Shadow Sneak. That's pretty much it. Non-RNG counterplay is so minimal and rare, it's practically irrelevant. Mega Mawile is pretty much the only hard counter.
