1v1 Resources Thread

Victini's access to strong STAB moves, and good speed tier would make it high tier, but the abundance of S tier Pokemon pushes it back to B/C rank, in fact it loses to most S rank Pokemon as mentioned above and is vulnerable to many other things, such as counter-mons. It is also weak to common A rank Pokemon, such as Rhyperior, Greninja, Defensive Azumarill, Dragonite and chansey to some extent. Therefor Victini stays B rank.
 
Gyarados-Mega A~~> S
view aesf's post too

gyarados-mega.gif

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Waterfall
- Substitute


gyarados-mega.gif

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Waterfall


gyarados-mega.gif

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Waterfall

I've tested Gyarados's viability by using these 3 Gyarados sets playing 21 battles with the team.
In my opinion, Gyarados should stay in S rank. It's an extremely good Pokemon for offense in 1v1. It can beat Pokemon like Charizard, Diancie, and Smeargle, but Pokemon like, Mawile-Mega, Kyurem-Black,Whimsicott, and any other Pokemon faster than Gyarados with Will-o-Wisp and/or Taunt can beat it.

Below are some big advantages and disadvantages of Gyarados-Mega

Advantages
Can use taunt to stop Pokemon like Smeargle from spore/imprison/transform and Will-o-Wisp
Can use Substitute to stop Pokemon from putting in status on Gyarados and prevent imprison/transform
Mold Breaker breaks F.E.A.R. Pokemon
Dragon Dance to increase Speed and Attack
Waterfall with a 20% chance of flinch
Outrage breaks tricky Pokemon like Dragonite (and Kyurem if you even make it to attacking at x2)
Earthquake to prevent Mawile at some cases (Look down at disadvantages)
Crunch to stop Pokemon like Jirachi and the Rank S Meloetta
Demolishes Shuckle
Strong offensive movepool
Basically able to sweep most of the meta (even though it's 1 vs 1)


Disadvantages
Salamence-Mega's moves can KO Gyarados at certain points (Salamence-Mega is faster than Gyarados with its insane bulk maybe being a problem for Gyarados)
Gyarados's Super effective moves (Ice, Dragon, and Rock moves) can be easily tanked by Salamence-Mega
Kyurem-Black can beat Gyarados-Mega unless the Gyarados-Mega survives 2 Fusion Bolts
Earthquake would need luck from -1 252 Atk Gyarados Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Mawile: 118-140 (48.9 - 58%) -- 95.7% chance to 2HKO to faint Mawile. If the Mawile has bulk added to it, Mawile wins. It's best not to Mega Evolve Gyarados at the first turn, A lot of Mawiles will go for Play Rough.
Fighting Type Pokemon have an easy chance of fainting Gyarados with Rock/Fighting type moves.
Whimsicott completely beats it
Will-o-wisp and Taunt can take Gyarados down.

Gyarados's moves are mostly offensive, but they have a great reason why Gyarados has them.

  • Dragon Dance for setting up and having an easier chance to faint opponents with the 1.5x or more speed and attack it has. Gyarados would be lower rank if it wasn't for this move.
  • Substitute/Taunt as they both pretty much have the same purpose, Taunt and Substitute are mainly used for preventing opponents from haxing Gyarados to death.
  • Waterfall is the best STAB move Gyarados can learn. Its 80 Power makes it the strongest water type move (along with dive) with 100% accuracy. (Magikarp's Revenge is a fake move; Remember that.) The move has a 20% chance to flinch opponents as that's an extra 20% chance of winning in a tough situation. It outclasses Dive because Dive takes 2 turns and has no chance of flinching, also outclasses any other water type move for Gyarados because the other moves have lower accuracy, and Gyarados has a low SpA of 70.
  • Outrage to break dragon types as they try to set up. This move can also be used well on Pokemon not very effective to water.
  • Earthquake to have a chance of beating certain steel type Pokemon easier like Mawile-Mega and Metagross-Mega
  • Crunch to bite through Pokemon that are threats but weak to dark like Jirachi, Banette, and Meloetta
  • Giga Impact is not a move on my team, but still worthy enough for some usage. Giga Impact is Gyarados's strongest move, but it's risky to use in some cases because of the recharge. Also because it's not STAB so it won't OHKO too many Pokemon. It's still usable as a final surprise against opponents though so that's good.
Gyarados's brute offense can tear down a lot of the metagame. It's mostly unstoppable to a lot of things, and that's why it should be rank S.
 
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Magikarp Unranked ~~> DO NOT USE ;~;

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Magikarp is too powerful to be used in 1v1. Look down at the image.

dlLnjNU.png


magikarp.gif

Magikarp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 128 Atk / 128 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Bounce
- Hydro Pump
- Flail
- Splash
magikarp.gif

Magikarp @ Choice Band
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Bounce
- Hydro Pump
- Flail
- Splash

magikarp.gif

Magikarp @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Bounce
- Hydro Pump
- Flail
- Splash

I tested this team of Magikarps through 200+ BATTLES, and I think Magikarp should not be used in 1v1. In my opinion, I think Magikarp should not be used in 1v1 because it can beat absolutely any Pokemon in the metagame almost any Pokemon can always beat Magikarp.
Magikarp can beat like I said, all Pokemon only the Pokemon slower than Magikarp with a water weakness (rarely x2 water weakness, but mostly x4) and has a pretty low SpD (http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/1v1-197909329). Magikarp did make about 6-7 people forfeit and one person decide to use Agility Talonflame (which got OHKOd http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/1v1-198170707). It also made one person bring BBQ ;~;.(http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/1v1-198157193) Magikarp is just too good not good enough to be used in 1v1.

Below are some advantages and disadvantages of Magikarp

Advantages
Magikarp has just about every advantage there is in Pokemon. It can shred through all the Pokemon with absolutely no trouble. Magikarp's Splash is +7 Priority and OHKOs every single Pokemon regardless of if they have Sturdy and/or Focus Sash.
Magikarp's only advantage is taking down slower Pokemon that don't OHKO Magikarp with a weakness of water and low SpD

Disadvantages
Magikarp has absolutely no disadvantages. Why do you even think Magikarp has any disadvantages when it can beat any Pokemon easily?
Magikarp can be beat by almost any Pokemon.
Magikarp cannot 100% beat any Pokemon


Magikarp's moves are um, insanely powerful not that good in the metagame 1v1, but I'll reveal all 6 it could learn.

  • Hydro Pump is a move Magikarp uses to take down those Pokemon with a water weakness.
  • Bounce is a move Magikarp uses to attempt taking Pokemon with flying weaknesses.
  • Splash OHKOs all the Pokemon Does absolutely nothing :/
  • Flail does damage to the opponents. Best if Magikarp has a low percentage of HP left. This move is useless because Magikarp won't lose HP
  • Tackle to tackle down opponents and damage them by a lot barely
  • Magikarp's Revenge is a fake Pokemon move with 120 Power. It causes rain to occur, it confuses the opponent, it lowers the opponent's Def, it brings a Magic Coat surrounding Magikarp, it puts an Aqua ring around Magikarp, it does basically everything Magikarp wants the move to do, except recharge of course.
Magikarp is the absolute best worst Pokemon to use in any metagame. This is just why it shouldn't be used at all.
 
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Ransei said:
Gyarados-Mega A~~> A (That's right, stay on A)

Disadvantages
Pokemon faster than Gyarados could hax it to death
Salamence-Mega's Giga Impact OHKOs Gyarados (Salamence-Mega is faster than Gyarados)
Gyarados's Super effective moves (Ice, Dragon, and Rock moves) can be easily tanked by Salamence-Mega
Mawile's Huge Power makes it have access to faint Gyarados-Mega before Gyarados-Mega faints Mawile
Kyurem-Black can beat Gyarados-Mega unless the Gyarados-Mega survives 2 Fusion Bolts and the Kyurem isn't holding a Defense boosting item.
Earthquake would need luck from -1 252 Atk Gyarados Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Mawile: 118-140 (48.9 - 58%) -- 95.7% chance to 2HKO to faint Mawile. If the Mawile has bulk added to it, Mawile wins. It's best not to Mega Evolve Gyarados at the first turn, A lot of Mawiles will go for Play Rough.
Fighting Type Pokemon have an easy chance of fainting Gyarados with Rock/Fighting type moves.
Crustle can shred through Gyarados if opponent predicts right.
Hax
Low speed
Whimsicott
.
Click to expand...
Sorry but most of these arguments are simply not true. Using hax as an argument...any mon can win via hax...
Salamence's giga Impact does not Ohko dos, in fact it does around 56-66% against max hp variants. Salamence actually loses in many match ups in my experience.

Mega gyarados beats all kyurem-B sets with hp investment. Saying that it always loses to any kyube is just wrong. It beats scarf, band, weakness policy, specs, and even sometimes Haban berry.

Max attack gyarados can sometimes power through mega Mawile with earthquake by using it turn 1 without mega and turn 2 with mega. (Your calc fails to include adamant nature and mega gyarados's earthquake)

Fighting type mons are relatively uncommon, and even so, gyarados can get around mega heracross and mega lopunny by simply running bounce in its fourth slot (it actually is viable)

>crustle. Crustle loses every time no matter what as long as you mega evolve and dragon dance first turn.

You already mentioned hax, but again, unless jirachi flinches you 14 times in a row I don't see how this is a huge problem. Togekiss beats you most of the time already.

Low speed means nothing when you have 95/109/130 bulk with intimidate, AND good speed after dragon dance.

Whimsicott does beat gyarados 99% of the time.

You didn't even factor intimidate into your calcs :p. Anyways, here's the set I run if you're wondering how I beat those mons

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Atk / 96 Def / 92 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Waterfall
- Crunch / Stone Edge / Bounce / Taunt

Evs are for living kyube fusion bolt and 92 speed outspends Lando I after DD. The rest of the set is tailored to beat whatever you want because gyarados beats almost everything with the right set

also don't run sub on gyarados it helps with almost nothing :s

(autocorrect is annoying
 
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Mega Gyarados (vouching for A -> S)

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First off, let me just list the only common mons I found that *always* beat mega gyarados no matter the moveset (this is considering Adamant Earthquake, anti-S rank, Fast Taunt, and Specially Defensive)
Using 0 stats because that should represent the whole meta, and the high ladder is all centered around a few people anyways, so the stats are ridiculously inflated.
Taunt + Will-o-wisp Mega sableye (around 20% of them)
Huge Power Azumarill (58% of them)
Will-o-wisp Mega Gardevoir (7% of them)
Mega Venusaur
Mega Altaria
Non scarfed Togekiss (65% of them)
Breloom (50% of them)
Taunt Whimsicott (16% of them)
Will-o-wisp Mew (30% of them)
What this shows is that out of the whole meta spread out across the ladder, Mega Gyarados always loses to 13.4% of it. That means that a team consisting of only Mega Gyarados should theoretically be able to beat 7/8s of the entire metagame, and probably has a decent chance against 3/4s of all teams. That's pretty crazy for a single mon to be able to do.

Okay, now let's get past the numbers, and instead focus on the viability rankings. When we look at it, let's face it, most people who have a "counter" to Mega Gyarados can be easily beaten with a simple change of moveset. Will-o-wisp charizard giving you problems? Run stone edge. Jirachi and mega slowbro and psychic types giving you problems? Run Crunch. Mawile? Run earthquake. Lopunny, heracross, and grass knot greninja? Run bounce. Smeargle? Run Taunt. Whimsicott? Run Iron Head. Porygon-Z and Mega Gardevoir? Just use Specially defensive! The thing is so versatile and the great part is, 1v1 is a meta of incredible amounts of counterteaming. Mega Gyarados makes it ridiculously easy to counterteam almost anyone; just bring 1 moveslot for each pokemon and you should be good. It doesn't require too much team support either; anything that doesn't mind status too much and beats fairies should be able to solve all your problems.

Here are some sets that Mega Gyarados runs (Checks and counters section only from S and A Rank):
Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Outrage

Why you should run this: With this set, Mega Gyarados can taunt and/or kill smeargle, and with mold breaker, it can also taunt mega sableye and regular sableye, something that usually beats mega gyarados. Taunt is generally a good move against many stalling pokemon that otherwise defeat mega gyarados. This set also has the perk of being able to set up on a large number of threats and killing them with outrage and waterfall. Even with no investment, this takes hits pretty well.
(Waterfall is generally the best option but you can run crunch if you're interested in beating mega slowbro and meloetta)

Will-o-wisp charizard, Mega Salamence, Kyurem-B, Specs Meloetta, Mega Mawile, Azumarill, Mega Gardevoir, Porygon-Z, Mega Slowbro, Togekiss
Non will-o-wisp charizard, Aegislash, Deoxys-D, Dragonite, Chansey, Garchomp, Greninja, Mega Metagross, Rhyperior
Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Atk / 96 Def / 92 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Stone Edge/Crunch/Bounce/Ice Beam

Why you should run this set: As the name suggests, this thing beats all the current S Ranked pokemon except for mega mawile right now. It's a standard set, but the last slot is just to cater to your needs. Stone Edge almost rounds out the S Ranked coverage, with stone edge hitting will-o-wisp mega charizard Y, Crunch hits stuff like Jirachi and Perish Song Meloetta, while Bounce destroys mega heracross, greninja, and mega lopunny. Ice Beam is only for if you're really desperate fighting max HP Mega Salamence, but most mega salamence are 0 HP or will lose anyways thinking they can OHKO with giga impact at +1. 96 Defense tanks Scarf Kyube's fusion bolt, 92 Speed speed creeps landorus-I after a dragon dance, although you should probably creep Garchomp instead, and the rest is dumped into attack. It's the best mega gyarados set imo due to the sheer amount of things it beats; after all the rest can be left to team support if need be.

Mega Mawile, Azumarill, Mega Gardevoir, Porygon-Z, Mega Slowbro, Togekiss, Deoxys-D, Chansey
Charizard Y, Charizard X, Kyurem-B, Meloetta, Mega Salamence, Greninja, Garchomp, Mega Metagross, Aegislash, Dragonite, Rhyperior
Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Waterfall
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage

Why you should run this set: Well, it's basically a Mega Gyarados that has a decent chance of beating mega mawile. Nothing much to really say here, although it's still a great option if you're struggling with Mega Mawile and/or hate having to switch moves every battle.

I don't really want to put a stuff it beats because it's so similar to the other gyarados sets, except it has a 50% chance of beating mega mawile.

Disadvantages
- Suffers from 4MSS, HOWEVER 4MSS isn't as big of a problem in 1v1 as I've found, since you only need 1 move to beat a certain pokemon.
- Typing changes can create some 50/50s. However, most of the time, these 50/50s won't happen as it will be clear whether you should mega evolve or not.
- Is unable to run multiple EV spreads at the same time, so running one set will mean sacrificing its viability in other situations. Of course, again, this is 1v1, so that isn't too big of a problem
- HATES will-o-wisp. Fortunately, it can overcome two of the most common status abusers, mega charizard X and Y.

Good Teammates
- Scarfed Genesect
- Specs Meloetta
- Aegislash is an EXCELLENT teammate

tl;dr Mega gyara beats tons of shit and is easy to counterteam people with[/hide][/hide]
 
Honestly while it's good, so are a vast number of pokes out there. S rank is already more full than most S ranks out there, and there's already two dragon dancers there, so I'd say A rank TBH.
 
Articuno I said:
Honestly while it's good, so are a vast number of pokes out there. S rank is already more full than most S ranks out there, and there's already two dragon dancers there, so I'd say A rank TBH.
Click to expand...

Imo, the number of S rank Pokemon doesn't matter. They do amazingly in the metagame which is why they are ranked this way.
 
A few thoughts about Mega-Gyarados,

While it was strong, and very much fitting to be considered as A-rank in 1v1 pre-ORAS, with ORAS it got Crunch, and that is a huge deal.
Facing a Gyarados pre-ORAS, you could make a very qualified guess about it's set, because 90% of the time it would be Dragon Dance / Earthquake / Outrage / Waterfall.
Because of Earthquake, people would think twice before using an electric type to face it with, but because Gyarados lacked a good dark STAB attack, it was open to get handled by bulky ghost- and psychic types with status such as Will-o-wisp.

That was no longer the case with ORAS, due to it being able to use Crunch. This change gave Gyarados the ability to instill fear in opponents using ghost and psychic types. However, some people are still using Earthquake over Crunch, so that makes people hesitant to use neither electric nor bulky ghost/psychic types with status, even though using one of those 2 alternatives could net them a win.

And as aesf said in his post, it has the ability to beat so many of it's checks due to it's access to good coverage moves such as Stone Edge or Avalanche / Ice Fang.

Not to mention how good its ability Mold breaker is in ruining abilities it could or would otherwise lose to, abilities such as Magic Bounce, Sturdy, Battle Armor / Shell Armor, Multiscale, Aroma Veil, and Oblivious.

Also, even though it doesn't happen every game, Waterfall flinch nets it so many wins it shouldn't have gotten.

Now as for which rank it should be in, here are the definitions for the ranks we are debating,

S rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are Amazing in the 1v1 Metagame. These Pokemon threatens others due to them having a great matchup against many other Pokemon. These Pokemon define the metagame.
Click to expand...

A rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are Great in the 1v1 Metagame. These Pokemon have a great matchups against other Pokemon yet are checked easier than S rank Pokemon and requires more prediction to use. These Pokemon influence the metagame.
Click to expand...

S rank: These Pokemon threatens others due to them having a great matchup against many other Pokemon.
Click to expand...
This is true for Mega Gyarados, also discussed in aesf's post.

S rank: These Pokemon define the metagame.
Click to expand...
This is what I believe is making people hesitant to consider Mega Gyarados as an S rank poke. It isn't used as often as the other S rank pokes, which is why less people consider it when making a 1v1 poke or team. But popularity doesn't define it's strength in this case in my opinion.

A rank: ...yet are checked easier than S rank Pokemon and requires more prediction to use.
Click to expand...
This statement doesn't apply to Mega Gyarados given its potential to beat its checks, also discussed in aesf's post.
To further elaborate, Mega Gyarados can be as hard to check as the other S rank pokemon.
 
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Updated the OP, still deciding about Gyarados-Mega fate, leaning toward S.
~

READ: Also would using Sub-rank help more? (S+, A- etc..)
 
Dream Eater Gengar said:
READ: Also would using Sub-rank help more? (S+, A- etc...)
Click to expand...
In this case, yes. There is just so much stuff to rank that having sub-ranks makes it easier to separate pokemon out into what within a rank is better/worse (because, lets face it, not all S ranks/A ranks/B ranks/whatever ranks are equal to one another, while in this case S is big enough to warrant sub ranks without considering things being insane like S rank would work in the standard singles metas).
 
I'm going to throw up Darmanitan for discussion.
I believe it should go up for C or at least D.

It can have multiple viable sets such as the choice scarf and band. Darmanitan has access to it's famous sheer force boosted flare blitz, as well as superpower, earthquake, and rock slide for common Level 100 threats. It also packs will-o wisp which takes care of those pesky Level 1 threats such as Aron, or Probopass.

Here are some viable set's that I've used laddering on the 1v1 ladder:

Darmanitan @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Stone Edge

Scarf works well, being able to ohko some quick threats, but you lack the use of will-o-wisp to take out the low levels.

Some common threats that it eliminates:

-1 252+ Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Mawile: 324-384 (106.5 - 126.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO (After intimidate)

252+ Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Porygon-Z: 393-463 (126.3 - 148.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Charizard Y in Sun: 271-319 (91.2 - 107.4%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Darmanitan Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Charizard Y: 620-732 (208.7 - 246.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Mega Metagross: 462-546 (153.4 - 181.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

You get the point.

Switching scarf out for life orb, and replacing earthquake with will-o-wisp also gives you large coverage and adds easy low level pokemon wins.
Note: If you're going to run LO or band, run Jolly Nature instead of Adamant.

I encourage you to give Darmanitan a shot!

Also hi deg
 
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Charizard Mega-Y S~~> S

charizard-mega-y.gif

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe / 123 HP / 184 SpA / 200 Spe / 106 HP / 150 Def / 252 SpA
Timid Nature/Bold Nature/Modest Nature
- Ancient Power
- SolarBeam
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Toxic
- Blast Burn
- Focus Blast
- Overheat
- Will-o-wisp
- Counter

I've tested Charizard sets and went through 50 battles with them peaking 1331. In my opinion, Charizard-Mega-Y should stay rank S because it is very significant and extremely common in the metagame of 1v1. Charizard Mega-Y KOs a lot of Pokemon, and usually tanks a good bit of attacks (definitely not crits though). It can easily beat Pokemon like Venusaur-Mega, Shuckle, and Blastoise and usually loses to Pokemon like Hawlucha, Cinccino, and Chansey.

Here are some advantages and disadvantages of Charizard-Mega-Y

Advantages
Good movepool (especially for beating down types Charizard is weak to)
High speed and SpA
Air Slash gives flinch hax
KOs water types easier than water types KO it thanks to Drought and Solarbeam
Drought makes Fire moves more powerful
KOs most of the metagame
Good enough bulk to defeat a good part of the meta with counter
Will-o-wisp to lower opponent's attack in half

Disadvantages
Movepool is good but not a lot of Special moves you can choose from.
Doesn't beat Sturdy Pokemon easily (hax required)
Fast Pokemon with Rock/Electric type moves KOs
KOed by typical scarf Pokemon
HAX (Charizard-Mega-Y easily loses to hax)

Most of the meta

Blissey, Chansey, Hawlucha, Cincinno, Charizard-Mega-Y, Charizard-Mega-X, Usually Pokemon with Sturdy.

That's about it for Charizard-Mega-Y, and guys, Fire Blast is just as good as Blast Burn. Blast Burn doesn't OHKO everyone and when it doesn't, you recharge and that leads to a deadly impact. Fire Blast doesn't do as much damage and only has 5% lower accuracy but it still hits more often than it misses. So when it hits, you don't have to recharge and you can hit Fire Blast again or finish the opponent off with another move.
 
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★ Golem for B rank ★

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Golem is my favorite pokemon in 1v1 tier, I started 1v1 tier with it and I'm still playing with Golem at 1550. Why would it be so useful at the moment ? It can just counter a lot of high viability ranking 1v1 pokemons such as Charizard X / Y, Greninja, Mega Metagross / Kyurem-Black and others. Golem is one of the few viable 1v1 pokemon to have access to Sturdy; if this Pokemon is at full HP, it survives one hit with at least 1 HP. Immune to OHKO which makes usually its huge weakness (ground/rock type) an extraordinary strength combinated with items like Weakness Policy or even Custap Berry. Let's have a look on it's different sets and how it is played.
​

Golem @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 116 HP / 252 Atk / 140 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Protect


Moves

Rock Blast and Earthquake are the best STAB moves for Golem in 1v1. Rock Blast can counter FEAR and lvl 1 pokemons and it's super effective on some viability 1v1 ranking pokemons that you often see such as Kyurem-Black, Charizard X / Y (which is OHKOed), Mega Salamence and Dragonite.
Earthquake is the OHKO Golem's attack. It allows Golem to make massive damages to the opponent even without any boost with Weakness Policy.
Sucker Punch is essential on Golem Weakness Policy's set. It allows Golem to finish the opponent if it's not by it's first attack, and that's a priority move that is most of the time unexpected from Golem. Sucker Punch can also allows Golem to counter Jirachi Iron Head Serene Grace combo.
Protect is not an option in my opinion because we can see more and more Fake Out pokemons such as Mega Charmina and Mega Lopunny. Protect allows to not lose the Sturdy Strategy and to be sure to counter Lopunny / Charmina and even Outrage Pokemons such as Kyurem-Black / Dragonite and Charizard X.

Set Details

This 1v1 strategy is based on the combo Sturdy + Weakness Policy. Indeed, Golem weakness can actually be it's strength because it has 6 Weaknesses which are Fighting, Grass, Ground, Ice, Steel and Water types including 2 x4 common weaknesses which are Grass and Water Types. A huge weakness coverage which could be a real problem in common tier. But not in 1v1. Golem has access to Sturdy, which allows it to keep 1 HP at least if it get OHKOed. The Weakness Policy's activation allows Golem to OHKO many pokemons with Rock Blast and Earthquake such as Mega Aggron.
Adamant full Atk is to increase the power of its STAB attacks. The combinaison of 116 HP and 140 SpD allows Golem to handle Kyurem-Black who has Terravolt, which is like Mold Breaker ability so it ignores our Golem's Sturdy. However, Kyurem-Black is always played mixed, so with this EV's distribution, it allows Golem to be 2HKOed by Earth Power and even STAB Ice Beam.

Other Options

Instead of Weakness Policy and Sucker Punch Golem can also be played with Custap Berry; holder moves first in its priority bracket when at 1/4 max HP or less which actually works as a priority move, it allows Golem to use it's STAB attacks 2 times.

The Weakness Policy set can also be played with Rock Polish instead of Protect, that's a kind of variant but it doesn't protect from Fake out users.

Checks and Counters

  • Priority Moves and Faster Pokemons: Golem has a poor Speed stat, even with Sucker punch, if the opponent pokemon survives to the first attack and it has a priority move, Golem couldn't deal with the speed. This is the example of Mega Metagross with Bullet Punch that it usually counters, if the opponent doesn't activate the Weakness Policy of Golem, EQ will be not enough to OHKO and if Metagross has Bullet Punch, Golem couldn't deal with Sucker Punch. Spore / Imprison / Transform Smeargle strategy is also a real problem to Golem, who isn't fast enough to attack the first.
  • Trace : Mega Alakazam is also a pokemon that Golem usually counters but if it doesn't activate WP, EQ couldn't OHKO it because of Trace ability and Golem set is too predictable, Mega Alakazam is usually played with Encore and even Protect couldn't actually protect it.
  • Mold Breaker : Mega Gyarados literally eats Golem. Even with a great Defense stat, Golem can't handle one Waterfall due to Gyarados massive Atk stat + it's double weakness to water type.
  • Intimidate : Mega Mawile is also a counter to Golem. Intimidate + Play Rough counters Golem that actually can't do anything against it and Sucker Punch isn't effective at all against Mawile.
  • Will O Wisp : Wow is a real problem to Golem if it hasn't it's WP activated. Indeed, defensive Charizard X can counter Golem with wow and it's access to roost.
  • Ground Type Immune : Air Ballon is also a problem to Golem, because it can't make massive damages with Rock Blast if it's not a Bug / Fire or Ice type. Air Ballon Heatran is also a counter to Golem.
  • Bulky Grass Type : Mega Venusaur and Tangrowth literally eat Golem aswell, who can't deal any damages against them.
  • Skill Link : Skill Link ability kills Golem, Cloyster and Mega Heracross Bullet Seed can easily counter it.
  • Rock Blast Luck : Rock Blast is a great move on Golem but it can also be a problem if it only hits 2 or even 3 times as neutral attack. You can OHKO Mega Alakazam with it if it hits 5 times even without WP's activation.
Despite its interesting use and build, Golem couldn't be more than B in my opinion in the viability ranking because it's a set that is too predictable, it can even be countered by pokemons that Golem usually counters.
 
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★ Mega Mawile for S rank ★

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Mega Mawile is one of my favorite pokemon in 1v1. It is part of my main core and playing M-Mawile in this other metas tier is juste a huge advantage to your own team because of its fantastic double type, its Intimidate ability and switch on Huge Power ability with the Mega Evolution and a great movepool that allows it to be a great offensive and defensive pokemon. How to use Mega Mawile in this tier ? What are the different builds that we can make with it ? Let's have a look.
​

Sword Dancer
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Speed
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Sword Dance


Moves

Play Rough and Iron Head are the best offensive STAB attacks for Mawile. With Play Rough and Huge Power, Mawile is able to OHKO many viability ranking Fighting / Dragon / Dark pokemons such as Garchomp, offensive Dragonite, Kyurem-Black, Mega Gyarados, Mega Heracross, Latias and Latios and Lopunny.

Iron Head allows Mawile to have a nice coverage type on Fairy and Rock type pokemons such as Tokegiss, Crustle, Kyurem-Black and even Whimsicott. Iron Head also allows Mega Mawile to counter itself.

Sucker Punch is a safe move for Mega Mawile, it allows Mawile to handle Sturdy without priority moves pokemons such as Magnezone, Sucker Punch also allows Mawile to counter Aegislash and its defensive set can counter Mega Metagross.

Sword Dance is a useful move to Mawile against Stall, Deoxys Defense, Chansey and even Mega Mawile Intimidate is countered by one boost of SD after Intimidate (OHKOed) if offensive Adamant. It also allows Mega Mawile to stop Counter pokemons such as Swampert / Defensive Mawile / Blastoise / Defensive Charizard X.

Set Details

The main strategy with Mega Mawile in the 1v1 tier is to use Intimidate ability; On switch-in, this Pokemon lowers the Attack of adjacent opponents by 1 stage. Intimidate for standard Mawile is essential to have an advantage on strong physical pokemons such as Mega Metagross, Mega Gyarados, Dragonite Earthquake who can't OHKO Mega Mawile after the Intimidate. Mawilite is essential aswell if you want to play Mega Mawile, because of the Intimidate -> Huge Power transition.
Adamant full Atk is to increase the power of its STAB attacks, combinated with its amazing ability, Huge Power.

252 Speed has only one important use: against a Mega Mawile. Indeed, Mega Mawile can counter itself. The faster Mawile wins the fight if they are both offensive. Most of the time, the EVs repartition on Mega Mawile isn't focused on Speed stat but it is essential in 1v1 tier because Mega Mawile is played really often. If you are against a Mega Mawile with Intimidate, both Mawile will have a disability in the Atk Stat. Mawile will be able to use one SD to have one boost in Atk stat, and then OHKO the opponent Mawile with Iron Head. You can recognize if your Mawile is faster than the opponent if it Mega Evolves the first. SD also counters WoW and Perish Song / Protect users such as Azumarill, Meloetta, Lapras and Charizard X. The rest of the EVs goes in SpD, which isn't that useful because most of the time, Mawile get OHKOed by offensive special pokemons like Charizard Y, it's actually allows Mega Mawile to be sure to not being OHKOed by Kyurem-Black Earth Power.

Other Options

For this Sword Dancer set, I couldn't say that there are other options to be honest, this is also an official set of Mega Mawile in Ubers.

However, there can be another option in the EVs repartition. Indeed you can put half EVs on Speed and SpD stats, it will allows Mawile to be sure to handle some OHKO attacks such as Hyper Beam Specs Adaptability Porygon Z and Specs Meloetta.

To counter Ferrothorn Mawile can also be played with Fire Fang but you should drop Sucker Punch which is really important in its offensive set.

Checks and Counters

  • Faster Special Pokemons: This is Mega Mawile main weakness. Even if offensive physical builds are played most of the time,Special Pokemons such as Charizard Y, Heatran, Greninja Hydro cannon and Porygon Z are OHKOing it.
  • Donphan: Golem is very easy for Mawile to handle, but the main problem is actually Donphan. Sturdy Counter Donphan is killing Mawile because of EQ STAB / Counter / Ice Shard and Sturdy ability.
  • Smeargle: Smeargle strategy is annoying to Mega Mawile, who isn't fast enough even with 252 in Speed stat. It will be easy for Smeargle to be the first to use Spore and then Imprison + Transform.
  • Hyper Offens: Banded Victini V-Create and Dragonite EQ will OHKO Mawile even after Intimidate + Mega Evolution.
  • Defensive Pokemons: Defensive Charizard X Wow or Counter is a real problem that Mega Mawile will probably not handle, because of Charizard's access to Roost. Ferrothorn is a real wall that Mega Mawile can't break, it will kill Mawile, even Sword Dancer, with Leech Seed and Gyroball.
-------------------------------------------------

Defensive
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate / Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Play Rough
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Counter


Moves

Play Rough and Iron Head are still present in this set because of STAB offensive moves that are still amazing with Huge Power even on the defensive set. However, some bulky pokemons such as Defensive Chomp, Salamence Mega + Intimidate, Dragonite Multiscale will be sure to not be OHKOed by Mega Mawile, this is not its goal.

Sucker Punch is a move that always covers Mawile if it needs to attack the first to finish the opponent, against some sturdy pokemons for example. It allows Mawile to handle Jirachi Scarf Iron Head.

Counter is the main strategy of the defensive Mawile. Indeed, all its damages and the OHKO is based on this move. Counter is great against hyper offens such as Victini and Dragonite. Mega Metagross Aggron and Mawile are totally countered by this set.

Set Details

252 in HP and Defense stats is too increase Mawile's bulk in addition to Sassy Nature that increases Defense stat. It will allows Mawile to handle some Physical Pokemons that it normally couldn't with the Sword Dancer set such as Victini, Aggron Mega, Charizard X and Dragonite. Intimidate ability is useful against Banded pokemons, Mawile could be sure to be on the field and to use counter after the opponent turn. Counter allows Mawile to handle some pokemons that it couldn't with the Sword Dancer set as Ferrothorn Gyroball / Iron Head for example.

Other Options

Hyper Cutter is also a great ability on this set. Hyper Cutter prevents the Attack stat from being reduced. This is a nice ability against another Mega Mawile but not only. Hyper Cutter is very useful against Mega Salamence. Most of the time, Mega Salamence is played mixed with Fire Blast to counter Mawile. Normally, Mega Mawile is 2HKOed with M-Salamence Fire Blast. But standard Salamence has Intimidate aswell, and Mawile isn't able to OHKO Mega Salamence if it is affected by Intimidate. Salamence has terrible defenses, which allows Mega Mawile to handle it with a Play Rough, Salamence will be almost down and then Sucker Punch will have its utility.

Check and Counters

  • Sturdy Pokemons: Playing Impish implying Mawile has a low speed stat, Donphan Counter stays a real problem to Mawile in 1v1 tier.
  • Special Pokemons: Greninja, Charizard Y, Heatran, also stay a problem to Mawile, who will get OHKO for sure.
  • Smeargle: Smeargle will be sure to be faster than Mawile, then its strategy is easy to place on Mawile.
  • Bulky Stallers: Venusaur Mega Sleep Powder could be a problem to defensive Mawile. Indeed, even with Huge Power, defensive Mawile would lose against Leech Seed and HP Fire.
  • Bulky Perish Song: With Sword Dance, Mawile was able to counter Protect turn then hit enough to OHKO, defensive Mawile hasn't this possibility. Bulky Meloetta and Azumarill could counter Mawile with this set.
In conclusion, Mega Mawile is part of the great Pokemons in the 1v1 tier. Indeed, its double type allows it to counter many stall strategies with Toxic for example and Mawile has access to amazing abilities such as Intimidate / Huge Power and Hyper Cutter which are great in 1v1 tier. It has only a big weakness which is the Special attackers. It definitely stays S rank and has different ways to be played.
 
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★ Mega Gardevoir for A rank ★
282-mega.gif
​

At start when you look at Gardevoir you don't think it can be a good pokemon in 1v1 which is an hyper offense tier. But Gardevoir has a Mega. Indeed, Mega Gardevoir is really strong in 1v1 tier thanks to its amazing SpA stat and decent Speed stat. It also has a really nice transition with Trace + Pixilate. Beside all of that, Mega Gardevoir has a great Special movepool that allows it a pretty awesome type coverage. However, Mega Gardevoir is definitely a weak doll, if you want to use it, you should know how to put forward its SpA and Speed stat. Let's see how it can be played.​


Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Speed
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Protect

Moves

Hyper Voice is the best STAB attack on Mega Gardevoir. Through its Pixilate ability; This Pokemon's Normal-type moves become Fairy type and have 1.3x power,Mega Gardevoir is able to make massive damages to the opponent. It allows Gardevoir to OHKO many Pokemons such as Lopunny, Salamence, Dragonite, Conkeldurr, Terrakion and Altaria. It also allows Gardevoir to deal with some physical stallers like Deoxys Defense and Mega Slowbro.

Psyshock is another STAB attack that is great on Mega Gardevoir. It is useful against bulky stallers such as Mega Venusaur. It can also be useful against Dragonite to break its Multiscale and then using an Hyper Voice without activating the Dragonite's Weakness Policy. Psyshock also makes great damages against Chansey Eviolite.

Focus Blast is a great coverage move for Gardevoir. Indeed, Heatran usually counters it. But with Focus Blast, Gardevoir has the advantage against Heatran, who is 2HKOed by Gardevoir if its not a Scarfed Flashcannon. Focus Blast also allows Gardevoir to counter Ferrothorn and Sturdy Magnezone. Indeed, standard Gardevoir can use a Focus Blast before mega evolving, it will Trace the Magnezone and Aggron's Sturdy, and allows it to use at least two attacks, which is enough to handle Magnezone because it hasn't any priority moves. Gardevoir is also able to make massive damages to Stall Chansey with Focus Blast and Psyshock.

Protect is essential for Gardevoir in my opinion. It allows to Gardevoir so many possibilities of strategies and it also allows Gardevoir to get a safe Mega Evolution. For example, timid Heracross is faster than Gardevoir, but Mega Heracross isn't faster than Mega Gardevoir. Protect allows Gardevoir to outspeed Heracross and OHKO it with Hyper Voice. Aswell for Smeargle without Quick Claw activation. Protect allows Gardevoir to outspeed some pokemons in 1v1; which is essential because one Hyper Voice neutral or super effective is most of the time a OHKO. Gardevoir can also counter a Spore Breloom with using Protect the Mega evolution turn, and then using Hyper Voice.

Set Details

Trace ability is amazing on Gardevoir. Indeed, it allows Gardevoir to trace some useful abilities, such as Intimidate of Salamence, Gyarados and Mawile, even if Gardevoir can't handle one hit from Mawile, due to its lack of defenses. Trace can also be useful against Sturdy pokemons without priority moves, such as Sawk and Magnezone.

Timid Nature + 252 in Speed stat are really important. It allows Gardevoir to outspeed some Pokemons, such as Mega Gyarados, Altaria, Mega Heracross, Breloom and Porygon Z not scarfed.
252 in SpA is to increase Gardevoir Special attack moves especially Hyper Voice.
The last 4 EVs are better in HP stat than in Defense or SpD stat because Gardevoir stays really weak anyway.

Other Options

It is possible to play with Thunderbolt instead of Psyshock, it will allow Gardevoir to handle Mega Aggron Filter and Skamory. Thunderbolt also ensures win against Jirachi if Gardevoir plays with Focus Blast + Thunderbolt.

Shadow Ball can also be used against Psyshock to make massive damages to Jirachi, Mega Metagross, Aegislash and Victini.

Hyper Beam is also an option instead of Hyper Voice but be careful if you think Gardevoir can't OHKO the opponent, it will lose the match for sure because of the recharge turn.

Wish could be an option instead of Psyshock, because of Bulky Stallers such as Deoxys Defense Recover Seismic Toss and Chansey Eviolite.

Check and Counters

  • Physical Hyper Offens : Gardevoir has a great offensive movepool but some viable 1v1 Pokemons such as Mega Mawile, Mega Metagross and Victini, can handle it. Gardevoir is totally countered by those.
  • Scarfed / Fasters Pokemons: They either Physical or Special, Scarfed Pokemons counter Gardevoir due to its lack of HP and Defenses. Heatran Flashcannon, Porygon Z Adaptability, Greninja Hydro Cannon Charizard Y Blast Burn, Jirachi Iron Head, Kyurem-Black Iron Head and Mega Salamence Giga Impact counter Gardevoir.
  • Bulky Reversal: Wobbufet, Swampert, Milotic, Suicune and Blastoise counter Gardevoir with Mirror Coat. Gardevoir is not strong enough to OHKO them, and will finally lose.
  • Bulky Staller: Chansey and Deoxys Defense Recover could be a problem for Mega Gardevoir because it can't OHKO them.
  • Sturdy Pokemons: Lvl 1 Sturdy pokemons such as Magnemite could be a problem for Gardevoir because it wouldn't OHKO them and hasn't any access to multi hit attacks. Donphan can also counter Gardevoir even after it traced Sturdy because of Ice Shard.
In conclusion, Mega Gardevoir is a great Pokemon in 1v1 tier. Most of the time, Trace ability is neglected by the players, but it can be actually useful sometimes, when it traces Sturdy or Intimidate for example. Beside, Mega Gardevoir is fast, Protect allows Gardevoir to make a safe mega evolution and its massive SpA + great Special movepool allows Gardevoir to to deal with a lot of Pokemons in the 1v1 tier. However, it's terrible lack of HP and Defenses makes it a really weak Pokemon, it couldn't get more than A rank because too many high viability ranked Pokemons such as Mega Mawile, Charizard X-Y, Greninja Aegislash, Mega Metagross are countering Gardevoir.
 
Last edited:
Lyse said:
★ Mega Gardevoir for A rank ★
282-mega.gif
​

At start when you look at Gardevoir you don't think it can be a good pokemon in 1v1 which is an hyper offense tier. But Gardevoir has a Mega. Indeed, Mega Gardevoir is really strong in 1v1 tier thanks to its amazing SpA stat and decent Speed stat. It also has a really nice transition with Trace + Pixilate. Beside all of that, Mega Gardevoir has a great Special movepool that allows it a pretty awesome type coverage. However, Mega Gardevoir is definitely a weak doll, if you want to use it, you should know how to put forward its SpA and Speed stat. Let's see how it can be played.​


Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Speed
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Protect

Moves

Hyper Voice is the best STAB attack on Mega Gardevoir. Through its Pixilate ability; This Pokemon's Normal-type moves become Fairy type and have 1.3x power,Mega Gardevoir is able to make massive damages to the opponent. It allows Gardevoir to OHKO many Pokemons such as Lopunny, Salamence, Dragonite, Conkeldurr, Terrakion and Altaria. It also allows Gardevoir to deal with some physical stallers like Deoxys Defense and Mega Slowbro.

Psyshock is another STAB attack that is great on Mega Gardevoir. It is useful against bulky stallers such as Mega Venusaur. It can also be useful against Dragonite to break its Multiscale and then using an Hyper Voice without activating the Dragonite's Weakness Policy. Psyshock also makes great damages against Chansey Eviolite.

Focus Blast is a great coverage move for Gardevoir. Indeed, Heatran usually counters it. But with Focus Blast, Gardevoir has the advantage against Heatran, who is 2HKOed by Gardevoir if its not a Scarfed Flashcannon. Focus Blast also allows Gardevoir to counter Ferrothorn and Sturdy Magnezone. Indeed, standard Gardevoir can use a Focus Blast before mega evolving, it will Trace the Magnezone and Aggron's Sturdy, and allows it to use at least two attacks, which is enough to handle Magnezone because it hasn't any priority moves. Gardevoir is also able to make massive damages to Stall Chansey with Focus Blast and Psyshock.

Protect is essential for Gardevoir in my opinion. It allows to Gardevoir so many possibilities of strategies and it also allows Gardevoir to get a safe Mega Evolution. For example, timid Heracross is faster than Gardevoir, but Mega Heracross isn't faster than Mega Gardevoir. Protect allows Gardevoir to outspeed Heracross and OHKO it with Hyper Voice. Aswell for Smeargle without Quick Claw activation. Protect allows Gardevoir to outspeed some pokemons in 1v1; which is essential because one Hyper Voice neutral or super effective is most of the time a OHKO. Gardevoir can also counter a Spore Breloom with using Protect the Mega evolution turn, and then using Hyper Voice.

Set Details

Trace ability is amazing on Gardevoir. Indeed, it allows Gardevoir to trace some useful abilities, such as Intimidate of Salamence, Gyarados and Mawile, even if Gardevoir can't handle one hit from Mawile, due to its lack of defenses. Trace can also be useful against Sturdy pokemons without priority moves, such as Sawk and Magnezone.

Timid Nature + 252 in Speed stat are really important. It allows Gardevoir to outspeed some Pokemons, such as Mega Gyarados, Altaria, Mega Heracross, Breloom and Porygon Z not scarfed.
252 in SpA is to increase Gardevoir Special attack moves especially Hyper Voice.
The last 4 EVs are better in HP stat than in Defense or SpD stat because Gardevoir stays really weak anyway.

Other Options

It is possible to play with Thunderbolt instead of Psyshock, it will allow Gardevoir to handle Mega Aggron Filter and Skamory. Thunderbolt also ensures win against Jirachi if Gardevoir plays with Focus Blast + Thunderbolt.

Shadow Ball can also be used against Psyshock to make massive damages to Jirachi, Mega Metagross, Aegislash and Victini.

Hyper Beam is also an option instead of Hyper Voice but be careful if you think Gardevoir can't OHKO the opponent, it will lose the match for sure because of the recharge turn.

Check and Counters

  • Hyper Offens Physical: Gardevoir has a great offensive movepool but some viable 1v1 Pokemons such as Mega Mawile, Mega Metagross and Victini, can handle it. Gardevoir is totally countered by those.
  • Scarfed / Fasters Pokemons: They either Physical or Special, Scarfed Pokemons counter Gardevoir due to its lack of HP and Defenses. Heatran Flashcannon, Porygon Z Adaptability, Greninja Hydro Cannon Charizard Y Blast Burn, Jirachi Iron Head, Kyurem-Black Iron Head and Mega Salamence Giga Impact counter Gardevoir.
  • Bulky Reversal: Wobbufet, Swampert, Milotic, Suicune and Blastoise counter Gardevoir with Mirror Coat. Gardevoir is not strong enough to OHKO them, and will finally lose.
In conclusion, Mega Gardevoir is a great Pokemon in 1v1 tier. Most of the time, Trace ability is neglected by the players, but it can be actually useful sometimes, when it traces Sturdy or Intimidate for example. Beside, Mega Gardevoir is fast, Protect allows Gardevoir to make a safe mega evolution and its massive SpA + great Special movepool allows Gardevoir to to deal with a lot of Pokemons in the 1v1 tier. However, it's terrible lack of HP and Defenses makes it a really weak Pokemon, it couldn't get more than A rank because too many high viability ranked Pokemons such as Mega Mawile, Charizard X-Y, Greninja Aegislash, Mega Metagross are countering Gardevoir.
Click to expand...
Chansey should also be listed as a counter. I also think that wish should be added in other options, as it can help against stally pokemon such as Chansey or Deo-D depending on the sets, and fear.
 
Added.

Mega Gardevoir can't win against lvl 1 pokemon like magnemite, so wish wouldn't have any use against that.
 
★ Smeargle for B rank ★

235.gif
​

Smeargle is a real paradox in 1v1 tier. Indeed, its the weakest pokemon of this tier, but it is probably the pokemon that has a build that can counter 90% of the Pokemons. Its unique ability is to use all the Pokemon attacks. Thereby, it can be very dangerous in the 1v1 tier if you don't know how it is usually played and how to counter its strategy. Smeargle is able to win against every single pokemon of the 1v1 tier except Mega Venusaur. How is that possible for a copymon ? Let's see its best 1v1 build.​


Smeargle @ Quick Claw
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Speed
Naive Nature
- Spore / Dark Void
- Imprison
- Transform
- Protect / King's Shield


Moves

Spore is essential to Smeargle 1v1 build, and also a lot of its other builds in official tiers. It allows Smeargle to have a safe turn after the Spore turn because Smeargle stays really weak. Spore is usable on every pokemons, and if Smeargle is able to use it then it's probably the end of the game, except against Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn that are ofent present in 1v1 tier, who completely break the Smeargle strategy.

Imprison is the base of Smeargle build. Indeed, after Smeargle's Spore turn, it will be safe to use Imprison; No foe can use any move known by the user. It is essential to use this after Spore and before Transform, otherwise Smeargle would not block the opponent. Imprison remains active until the end of the match.

Transform allows Smeargle to be the best copy of the opponent Pokemon. This attack combinated with Imprison is really dangerous because the opponent Pokemon will not be able to use any of its moves, Smeargle could finish it just with its own attacks. If Smeargle is against a Grass-type Pokemon, it should use transform directly instead of trying to do Imprison, because it wouldn't have time to use a second move.

Protect is essential in Smeargle 1v1 build because it allows Smeargle to be protected against any attack for one turn, and if the opponent pokemon is faster, Smeargle could play with that and its Quick Claw. It's also useful against Slaking Banded Giga Impact who has Truant Ability. Aswell against Heracross and Mega Heracross because Heracross is faster than Mega Heracross, Protect allows Smeargle to be faster than Mega Heracross.

Set Details

Smeargle will always win its 1v1 from the moment that it is faster than the opponent. That's why it is essential to use 252 in Speed and a Naive Nature on Smeargle. However, its Speed base is 75, which isn't really high. It means that it still can be outspeeded by many viability pokemons such as Mega Metagross, Mega Gardevoir, Charizard X-Y, Greninja, Alakazam and Salamence Mega. If these pokemons are faster than Smeargle, it will get OHKOed for sure because of its terrible defenses.

But there is a solution that can work sometimes. The item Quick Claw can be interesting to use in 1v1 tier on Smeargle. Indeed, each turn, holder has a 20% chance to move first in its priority bracket which means that Smeargle is able to use its Spore attack before any kind of Pokemon. However, Smeargle stays really weak, a Banded Extreme Speed Dragonite can OHKO it.

The rest of the EVs are used in HP to increase the chances to not be OHKOed by priority attacks such as Bullet Punch Mega Metagross and Extreme Speed Dragonite.
Its ability Own Tempo allows Smeargle to be protected by confusion.

Other Options

For this build there aren't really other options for Smeargle, because its 4 moves are all essential. Aswell for its Nature it is way better to play Naive than Hasty because Smeargle will have more chances to get OHKO by physical priority attacks such as Bullet Punch and Extreme Speed. Special priority moves like Vacuum Wave aren't present on 1v1 tier. Timid isn't a good option aswell because if Smeargle transforms in a Physical Pokemon, it would have decreased its Atk stat.

About the item, Rocky Helmet could be an option against lower Pokemons only. It allows Smeargle to make some strong indirect damages to the opponent Pokemon.

Check and Counters

  • Faster Pokemons: They are countering Smeargle strategy, if the Quick Claw isn't activated, Smeargle will be certain to be OHKO due to its lack of HP and Defenses.
  • Grass-type Pokemons: This is the main problem of Smeargle strategy that is totally countered, even if the Quick Claw is activated. Spore doesn't affect grass type Pokemons, which allows Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn to OHKO Smeargle. However, Smeargle is able to use transform to be like the Grass type opponent Pokemon but it wouldn't win anyway due to its poor HP stat.
  • Quick Claw: Its own item is a counter to Smeargle. Indeed, it has only 20% per turn to be activated, which is actually really low and it's not enough to count on it in 1v1.
  • Priority Moves: Priority moves also break Smeargle strategy. Indeed, due to its lack of defenses, Smeargle will not stand after one attack on it. Dragonite Banded Extreme Speed would OHKO it, Breloom Technician Mach Punch aswell, also Mega Metagross Bullet Punch, Scizor Bullet Punch, Conkeldurr Mach Punch and Talonflame Gale Wings.
Smeargle is a really curious Pokemon. Really interesting to use, you can counter so many Pokemons with it, it's actually the Pokemon that can handle most of the Pokemons in 1v1 tier thanks to Quick Claw. Stall will absolutely not be a problem for Smeargle. About this item, it can be useful and would allow Smeargle to win the game, but it's also a huge problem for it because of it's poor 20% of activation per turn. Unfortunately, a lot of high viability ranking 1v1 Pokemons have a decent Speed stat. Grass type Pokemons also counter Smeargle strategy. This is why Smeargle couldn't be more than B rank, because many Pokemons from A and S rank are faster than it or have access to priority moves. Beside, this is the only one build that is viable on Smeargle in 1v1, which is really predictable.
 
Last edited:
Lyse said:
Added.

Mega Gardevoir can't win against lvl 1 pokemon like magnemite, so wish wouldn't have any use against that.
Click to expand...
It generally doesn't work well, though against some sets such as shell bell aron it can win.
I also forgot that Taunt is another option that can be used to shut down bulkier pokemon.
 
Salamence-Mega
salamence-mega.gif
for S Rank!

Dragon Dance
Earthquake
Outrage
Giga Impact
Dragon Dance
Return
Frustration
Fire Blast
Crunch
Double Edge
Shadow Claw
Stone Edge
Substitute
Iron Tail
Dragon Claw
Iron Defense
Fire Fang
Brick Break
Aqua Tail
Body Slam
Draco Meteor
Hone Claws
Protect
Rest
Tailwind
Dragon Rush
Thrash
​
​
​
salamence-mega.gif

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Giga Impact

This is an example of a common Salamence-Mega set
Each of the moves this Salamence-Mega has represents what it can do in the metagame.
  • Dragon Dance for setting up, raising Attack and Speed stats.
  • Earthquake to KO mons super effective to Ground or not every effective/immune to Dragon or Flying.
  • Outrage to KO most Pokemon through STAB and Pokemon super effective to Dragon.
  • Giga Impact to do a very large amount of damage and mostly even OHKOs opponents. Aerilate supports this move so due to it becoming STAB and doing 1.3x more damage.

After playing 60+ battles with Salamence teams, I think Salamence should stay rank S if not any higher.​
Salamence-Mega overall is significant to the metagame. So significant, it can beat almost any Pokemon with no problems whatsoever unless they are fast and have Ice Beam. I think Salamence-Mega should be rank S if not higher because it demolishes the metagame more than any other Pokemon would individually.

Move Information
Salamence's moves are rather mostly set up and offense moves. These moves are moves that shred through opponents like paper. Each of these moves work differently though for different strategies against different Pokemon like Fire Blast for Aggron-Mega and Crunch for Slowbro-Mega.


Special ability combo
Salamence has an insane ability combo from Intimidate to Aerilate when it mega evolves. Intimidate lowers the opponent's attack so when it mega evolves, not only its defense will be higher, but the opponent will have lower attack making Salamence-Mega have a far easier chance of beating the opponent.

Stat Information
Salamence-Mega's stats are absolutely amazing. 95/145/130/120/90/120 with a total of 700 BST. This makes Salamence far more capable of KOing opponents.

Pokemon Salamence-Mega can easily beat
Really, Salamence-Mega can beat almost any Pokemon that's slower than it without Ice Beam, If you have the right EVs and stat boost. With Salamence-Mega, you can make your dreams of beating huge threats like Whimsicott, Charizard (both megas), and even Lopunny-Mega.

Pokemon that can easily beat Salamence
Salamence's biggest problem is Ice Beam. Choice Scarf and other fast Pokemon with Ice Beam like can always OHKO Salamence-Mega. Salamence-Mega can also have trouble dealing with Aggron and bulky banded Pokemon with super effective moves at times. Quick Claw Smeargle with Spore might also beat Salamence-Mega. Certian sturdy Pokemon might also be able to KO it too.

Alright, now here's a short summary through advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages
Wrecks almost any Pokemon in the metagame
Extremely high stats
Good ability (Aerilate: The Pokemon's Normal-type moves become Flying type and have 1.3x power.)
very good movepool


Disadvantages
Fast Ice Beam Pokemon faint it
Bulky banded Pokemon with super effective moves faint it
Smeargle with Quick Claw can sneak in a Spore then Imprison and finish off with Transform
A few Sturdy Pokemon are able to beat Salamence-Mega
 
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You should add an option that is really important in my opinion, Mixed Mance with Fire Blast instead of DD.

Fire Blast has only main use; countering Mega Mawile. Indeed, Mega Mawile usually have the advantage against MegaMance but if you play it mixed with more EV's on Defense, Salamence is able to win against Mega Mawile.

I'm not really fan of DD because even after Mawile Intimidate and one DD, EQ isn't enough to kill it, so you still wasted one turn. Usually it's nice but Mawile totally counters this build.
 
Lyse said:
★ Smeargle for B rank ★

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Smeargle is a real paradox in 1v1 tier. Indeed, its the weakest pokemon of this tier, but it is probably the pokemon that has a build that can counter 90% of the Pokemons. Its unique ability is to use all the Pokemon attacks. Thereby, it can be very dangerous in the 1v1 tier if you don't know how it is usually played and how to counter its strategy. Smeargle is able to win against every single pokemon of the 1v1 tier except Mega Venusaur. How is that possible for a copymon ? Let's see its best 1v1 build.​


Smeargle @ Quick Claw
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Speed
Timid Naive
- Spore
- Imprison
- Transform
- Protect


Moves

Spore is essential to Smeargle 1v1 build, and also a lot of its other builds in official tiers. It allows Smeargle to have a safe turn after the Spore turn because Smeargle stays really weak. Spore is usable on every pokemons, and if Smeargle is able to use it then it's probably the end of the game, except against Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn that are ofent present in 1v1 tier, who completely break the Smeargle strategy.

Imprison is the base of Smeargle build. Indeed, after Smeargle's Spore turn, it will be safe to use Imprison; No foe can use any move known by the user. It is essential to use this after Spore and before Transform, otherwise Smeargle would not block the opponent. Imprison remains active until the end of the match.

Transform allows Smeargle to be the best copy of the opponent Pokemon. This attack combinated with Imprison is really dangerous because the opponent Pokemon will not be able to use any of its moves, Smeargle could finish it just with its own attacks. If Smeargle is against a Grass-type Pokemon, it should use transform directly instead of trying to do Imprison, because it wouldn't have time to use a second move.

Protect is essential in Smeargle 1v1 build because it allows Smeargle to be protected against any attack for one turn, and if the opponent pokemon is faster, Smeargle could play with that and its Quick Claw. It's also useful against Slaking Banded Giga Impact who has Truant Ability. Aswell against Heracross and Mega Heracross because Heracross is faster than Mega Heracross, Protect allows Smeargle to be faster than Mega Heracross.

Set Details

Smeargle will always win its 1v1 from the moment that it is faster than the opponent. That's why it is essential to use 252 in Speed and a Naive Nature on Smeargle. However, its Speed base is 75, which isn't really high. It means that it still can be outspeeded by many viability pokemons such as Mega Metagross, Mega Gardevoir, Charizard X-Y, Greninja, Alakazam and Salamence Mega. If these pokemons are faster than Smeargle, it will get OHKOed for sure because of its terrible defenses.

But there is a solution that can work sometimes. The item Quick Claw can be interesting to use in 1v1 tier on Smeargle. Indeed, each turn, holder has a 20% chance to move first in its priority bracket which means that Smeargle is able to use its Spore attack before any kind of Pokemon. However, Smeargle stays really weak, a Banded Extreme Speed Dragonite can OHKO it.

The rest of the EVs are used in HP to increase the chances to not be OHKOed by priority attacks such as Bullet Punch Mega Metagross and Extreme Speed Dragonite.

Other Options

For this build there aren't really other options for Smeargle, because its 4 moves are all essential. Aswell for its Nature it is way better to play Naive than Hasty because Smeargle will have more chances to get OHKO by physical priority attacks such as Bullet Punch and Extreme Speed. Special priority moves like Vacuum Wave aren't present on 1v1 tier. Timid isn't a good option aswell because if Smeargle transforms in a Physical Pokemon, it would have decreased its Atk stat.

About the item, Rocky Helmet could be an option against lower Pokemons only. It allows Smeargle to make some strong indirect damages to the opponent Pokemon.

Check and Counters

  • Faster Pokemons: They are countering Smeargle strategy, if the Quick Claw isn't activated, Smeargle will be certain to be OHKO due to its lack of HP and Defenses.
  • Grass-type Pokemons: This is the main problem of Smeargle strategy that is totally countered, even if the Quick Claw is activated. Spore doesn't affect grass type Pokemons, which allows Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn to OHKO Smeargle. However, Smeargle is able to use transform to be like the Grass type opponent Pokemon but it wouldn't win anyway due to its poor HP stat.
  • Quick Claw: Its own item is a counter to Smeargle. Indeed, it has only 20% per turn to be activated, which is actually really low and it's not enough to count on it in 1v1.
  • Priority Moves: Priority moves also break Smeargle strategy. Indeed, due to its lack of defenses, Smeargle will not stand after one attack on it. Dragonite Banded Extreme Speed would OHKO it, Breloom Technician Mach Punch aswell, also Mega Metagross Bullet Punch, Scizor Bullet Punch, Conkeldurr Mach Punch and Talonflame Gale Wings.
Smeargle is a really curious Pokemon. Really interesting to use, you can counter so many Pokemons with it, it's actually the Pokemon that can handle most of the Pokemons in 1v1 tier thanks to Quick Claw. Stall will absolutely not be a problem for Smeargle. About this item, it can be useful and would allow Smeargle to win the game, but it's also a huge problem for it because of it's poor 20% of activation per turn. Unfortunately, a lot of high viability ranking 1v1 Pokemons have a decent Speed stat. Grass type Pokemons also counter Smeargle strategy. This is why Smeargle couldn't be more than B rank, because many Pokemons from A and S rank are faster than it or have access to priority moves. Beside, this is the only one build that is viable on Smeargle in 1v1, which is really predictable.
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actually, dark void is an option, and nature doesnt matter at all when you transform. i dont necessarily think it is a good sense vs offense but yeah this thing can troll stall
 
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