Metagame Cross Evolution

[dsm77773]

VR Update!

In this slate I'm updating the lower ranks with new discoveries or missed Pokémon.

Clauncher

C+ Rank:

Chansey (Clauncher) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace / Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Relaxed / Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Scald
- U-turn
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock
[Base Stats: 200/53/63/78/103/64]
Yet another bulky Water-type.
Sounds familiar? It's Squirtle with U-turn and no Rapid Spin. Clauncher carves itself a tiny niche due to its specific traits. It has almost the same bulk as Squirtle (200/62/103 vs. 194/65/104) and as said offers U-turn. You might think that Finneon then is better for the job (fun fact: they have the same BST), but actually, if you don't need Defog, Clauncher has a better stat distribution since it's bulkier (200/62/103 vs. 199/56/101) and way slower (64 vs. 84 base Speed) making for a better pivot. However, Clauncher is very hard to justify over other Water-types and its niche pretty much lies in Stealth Rock, separating from Onix thanks to it's all-around bulk, U-turn and either Serene Grace Scald or Natural Cure to absorb status.

Abra

Added Swoobat as a possible cross-evolution:

Swoobat (Abra) @ Leftovers
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Dazzling Gleam
[Base Stats: 27/32/27/127/67/133]
A better standard Swoobat, probably the only good Pokémon that can abuse it. It's a very high-risk, high-reward kind of Pokémon and it either destroys the opposing team or does nothing in a battle. It's very difficult to set-up due to its non-existing bulk and absolutely needs Dark-types removed (Dazzling Gleam helps but it's too weak). When this particular Abra is on the field, none of the players can misplay. A single wrong move can end up Abra's life without it doing much of anything, but if Abra manages to get two Calm Minds, it's game over unless the opponent has either a Dark-type or priority (assuming Abra isn't behind a Sub).

Kadabra

Added to C+ rank:

Butterfree (Kadabra) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Dazzling Gleam
- Sleep Powder
- Quiver Dance
[Base Stats: 50/60/25/185/125/145] / New typing: Psychic/Flying
My personal favorite Kadabra set. Psyshock allows it to bypass Chansey which gives other Quiver Dancers problems. Sleep Powder helps setting up since this Kadabra actually lacks some power unboosted and needs a couple Quiver Dances up to sweep. Having 2 offensive moves isn't that bad with Tinted Lens but they have average BPs making for Kadabra's huge base 185 Special Attack.
Could probably run a Vivillon set with Hurricane over Sleep Powder, but I haven't tested it (yet).

Greninja (Kadabra) @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
[Base Stats: 58/67/45/140/85/130] / New typing: Psychic/Dark
Electabuzz is a better Protean user that mostly outclasses this Kadabra. However, Kadabra offers better power in exchange of its ability to go mixed. This Kadabra's coverage is incredibly awkward (an issue a lot of Pokémon in this slate have), especially since it lacks Thunderbolt. As any Protean user, there are a lot of ther possible moves to pick (Psyshock, Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, Energy Ball, Dark Pulse, Hydro Pump, U-turn) and accounting for illegalities is important.

Ponyta

Added Leafeon as a possible cross-evolution and moved up to C+ rank:

Leafeon (Ponyta) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Low Kick
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
[Base Stats: 60/140/135/80/65/130] / New typing: Grass
The purpose of this set is not to be a Chlorophyll sweeper (Larvesta is better at that) but rather simply to have a physical, fast Grass-type. This can be valuable for certain teams that want the plethora of bulky Water-types removed for a teammate. It has a good Speed and access to Will-O-Wisp to cripple Gligar switch-ins.
Ponyta is a great Pokémon, but Magmar outclasses it and has movepool issues. The latter problem gives it a very awkward 4MSS case. The listed set above gives it maximum coverage. However, Ponyta x Leafeon could opt to run a Swords Dance set, but to do so it has to sacrifice Knock Off (since it can only pick two moves from Leafeon and Leaf Blade is a necessity). This leaves you reliant on Ponyta's weird coverage, with moves such as Flare Blitz or Wild Charge that only offer limited coverage versus specific threats.

Mienfoo

Added to C rank:

Volcarona (Mienfoo) @ Life Orb / Fightinium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aura Sphere / Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot
- Quiver Dance
[Base Stats: 75/60/60/140/100/105]
A Quiver Dance sweeper with Fighting STAB to pressure Chansey and Type:Null. Not much else to say, other Quiver Dancers are usually better and Mienfoo is another case of awkward available coverage. It resists Stealth Rock though, while most other Quiver Dancers are weak to it.

Mega Blaziken

Added to B- rank:

Blaziken-Mega @ Blazikenite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- High Jump Kick
- Protect
- Swords Dance
While it faces competition from Magmar, Speed Boost gives Blaziken a niche over it since it has a much easier time beating offensive teams with it's high-powered STABs. Much like Magmar it has a great STAB combo but Gligar gives it problems. That said, Blaziken also has a decently high Special Attack that seems nice to toy with, with options such as Overheat and Hidden Power Ice. I haven't tested these mixed variants, just the Swords Dance one, and in a metagame with crazy Speed tiers Blaziken manages to be an asset vs. offensive teams.

Aipom

Added to C rank:

Breloom (Aipom) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Facade
- Mach Punch / Low Kick
- Knock Off / Spore
NOTE: SD + Mach Punch + Spore is illegal
[Base Stats: 55/160/75/60/55/120] / New typing: Normal/Fighting
Frail, not that fast, but insanely strong. Boosted Facades from Aipom are among the strongest attacks in the metagame. Can serve as an OK wallbreaker or sweeper of sorts, as well as a Knock Off absorber (from defensive Pokémon) if it's already poisoned. Spore allows it to set-up easily while Knock Off allows you to touch Ghost-types, either way I recommend to pair it with a Pursuit trapper such as Scyther x Crawdaunt. Its underwhelming Speed, absolute lack of bulk, poor coverage without Knock Off, and troubles with popular physical walls such as Doublade undermine Aipom's viability.

Haunter

Added Porygon-Z as a possible set:

Porygon-Z (Haunter) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Wave
[Base Stats: 45/50/25/145/35/125]
Good but weak coverage, and strong useful Adaptability-boosted STABs make Haunter x Porygon-Z a decent revenge killer. Poison is a good STAB in a metagame where Fairies are top-tier defensive threats and Ghost offers good neutral coverage, hitting opposing Ghost-types such as opposing Haunter, Pumpkaboo and Dusclops. BoltBeam coverage is weak (actually a neutral Sludge Wave is more powerful than a super-effective Thunderbolt or Ice Beam) and you don't use it as often, but it is still useful against the likes of Gligar (this Haunter can revenge Dragon Dance variants) and unboosted Seadra.
Haunter x Porygon-Z's main letdowns are it's inability to revenge kill boosted Quiver Dancers and competition from Ditto as a revenge killer.

I also moved the entirety of C- rank to C rank since there were little viability differences between both rankings and C- was a small rank with only 3 Pokémon anyway.

 

[anaconja]

The sample set list is kinda lacking so here's a team

j u s t y o u r a v e r a g e H O t e a m (credit to TimeZone for helping me build this)

This team centers mostly on Archen-Whimsicott and Gligar-Gyarados. Archen sets up rocks and lowers the opponent's Attack and Special Attack by 2, while Gligar further lowers its Attack by 1. With those offensive debuffs, the opponent is forced to switch while Gligar boosts up and sweeps the team. The other teammates are for revenge killing and coverage.

Whimsicott (Archen) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Stealth Rock
- Memento
- Leech Seed / Acrobatics / Taunt
New stats: 75/152/70/114/70/120

Archen-Whimsicott is just a good suicide lead, setting rocks and killing itself with either Head Smash or Memento. Leech Seed is good for Gligar-Gyarados but Acrobatics is probably better since your Sash will more likely be used up.

Gyarados (Gligar)
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics
New stats: 140/190/129/80/140/86

Just an average attacking Gligar. I chose a more offensive EV spread since it'll be switching into a Memento anyway.

Crawdaunt (Scyther) @ Life Orb / Choice Scarf
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance / Dragon Dance
- Knock Off
- X-Scissor
- U-turn
New stats: 90/150/100/95/100/125

Scyther-Crawdaunt is a just a nice, well-rounded physical attacker that preys on Psychic, Grass, and Ghost types.

Vivillon (Electabuzz) @ Life Orb / Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder / Quiver Dance
- Focus Blast / Quiver Dance
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Hurricane
New stats: 100/113/47/158/105/165

Electabuzz-Vivillon is a scary sweeper with great coverage, blazing Speed and Special Attack, and the ability to sleep its checks. I chose Focus Blast to hit Normal types like Type:Null and Porygon2 and Hidden Power Ice to hit Gligar. Quiver Dance could be used over Sleep Powder but I've had a lot of trouble with the RNG.

Hitmontop (Honedge) @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Technician / Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Rapid Spin / Mach Punch
New stats: 60/140/160/35/112/63

Honedge-Hitmontop is a great revenge killer and physical tank with access to boosted STAB priority and Swords Dance. Rapid Spin clears hazards, but Mach Punch is good coverage too.

Gallade (Magmar) @ Charcoal
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch / Ice Punch
New stats: 95/185/87/100/145/123

Magmar-Gallade is also a frightening sweeper. With good Speed and amazing Attack, along with good coverage, Justified, and Swords Dance, it is a force to be reckoned with. Thunder Punch is to hit Wailmer-Toxapex while Ice Punch hits Gligar.

Importable

Whimsicott (Archen) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Stealth Rock
- Memento
- Leech Seed

Gyarados (Gligar)
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics

Crawdaunt (Scyther) @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- X-Scissor
- U-turn

Vivillon (Electabuzz) @ Life Orb
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Focus Blast
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Hitmontop (Honedge) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Rapid Spin

Gallade (Magmar) @ Charcoal
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch

 

[dsm77773]

The sample set list is kinda lacking so here's a team

j u s t y o u r a v e r a g e H O t e a m (credit to TimeZone for helping me build this)

This team centers mostly on Archen-Whimsicott and Gligar-Gyarados. Archen sets up rocks and lowers the opponent's Attack and Special Attack by 2, while Gligar further lowers its Attack by 1. With those offensive debuffs, the opponent is forced to switch while Gligar boosts up and sweeps the team. The other teammates are for revenge killing and coverage.

Whimsicott (Archen) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Stealth Rock
- Memento
- Leech Seed / Acrobatics
New stats: 75/152/70/114/70/120

Archen-Whimsicott is just a good suicide lead, setting rocks and killing itself with either Head Smash or Memento. Leech Seed is good for Gligar-Gyarados but Acrobatics is probably better since your Sash will more likely be used up.

Gyarados (Gligar)
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics
New stats: 140/190/129/80/140/86

Just an average attacking Gligar. I chose a more offensive EV spread since it'll be switching into a Memento anyway.

Crawdaunt (Scyther) @ Life Orb / Choice Scarf
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance / Dragon Dance
- Knock Off
- X-Scissor
- U-turn
New stats: 90/150/100/95/100/125

Scyther-Crawdaunt is a just a nice, well-rounded physical attacker that preys on Psychic, Grass, and Ghost types.

Vivillon (Electabuzz) @ Life Orb / Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder / Quiver Dance
- Focus Blast / Quiver Dance
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Hurricane
New stats: 100/113/47/158/105/165

Electabuzz-Vivillon is a scary sweeper with great coverage, blazing Speed and Special Attack, and the ability to sleep its checks. I chose Focus Blast to hit Normal types like Type:Null and Porygon2 and Hidden Power Ice to hit Gligar. Quiver Dance could be used over Sleep Powder but I've had a lot of trouble with the RNG.

Hitmontop (Honedge) @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Technician / Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Rapid Spin / Mach Punch
New stats: 60/140/160/35/112/63

Honedge-Hitmontop is a great revenge killer and physical tank with access to boosted STAB priority and Swords Dance. Rapid Spin clears hazards, but Mach Punch is good coverage too.

Gallade (Magmar) @ Charcoal
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch / Ice Punch
New stats: 95/185/87/100/145/123

Magmar-Gallade is also a frightening sweeper. With good Speed and amazing Attack, along with good coverage, Justified, and Swords Dance, it is a force to be reckoned with. Thunder Punch is to hit Wailmer-Toxapex while Ice Punch hits Gligar.

Importable

Whimsicott (Archen) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Stealth Rock
- Memento
- Leech Seed

Gyarados (Gligar)
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics

Crawdaunt (Scyther) @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- X-Scissor
- U-turn

Vivillon (Electabuzz) @ Life Orb
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Focus Blast
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Hitmontop (Honedge) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Rapid Spin

Gallade (Magmar) @ Charcoal
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch

Adding this team to samples, which were indeed missing a HO team which is still a very viable playstyle. Also, suggesting Taunt on Archen (over Acrobatics or Leech Seed) to beat opposing leads, and Gligar could perfectly go with Moxie since you have Memento support (which almost any HO should have).
Speaking of HO, the VR has one important miss:

Sets

Physical:
Pheromosa @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin

Special:
Pheromosa @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam
- U-turn
- Rapid Spin

One of the few good hazard removal options HO has, and it is packed with the ability to go either physical or special, it's very high Speed (that can be boosted further with Beast Boost), a decently strong STAB U-turn, a good offensive typing and Ice Beam.
However, Pheromosa also has its shortcomings, mainly, that despite being a good Pokémon overall, it is a mediocre spinner, and it is easily worn down and has no bulk to speak of. Adding it to B-.
Also, Murkrow is missing from the VR too. Which sets have you made work? As of now I've tried Kricketune suicide lead (for Sticky Web teams) but I'm sure there are better Murkrow sets out there.

 

[TimeZone]

Adding this team to samples, which were indeed missing a HO team which is still a very viable playstyle. Also, suggesting Taunt on Archen (over Acrobatics or Leech Seed) to beat opposing leads, and Gligar could perfectly go with Moxie since you have Memento support (which almost any HO should have).
Speaking of HO, the VR has one important miss:

Sets

Physical:
Pheromosa @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin

Special:
Pheromosa @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam
- U-turn
- Rapid Spin

One of the few good hazard removal options HO has, and it is packed with the ability to go either physical or special, it's very high Speed (that can be boosted further with Beast Boost), a decently strong STAB U-turn, a good offensive typing and Ice Beam.
However, Pheromosa also has its shortcomings, mainly, that despite being a good Pokémon overall, it is a mediocre spinner, and it is easily worn down and has no bulk to speak of. Adding it to B-.
Also, Murkrow is missing from the VR too. Which sets have you made work? As of now I've tried Kricketune suicide lead (for Sticky Web teams) but I'm sure there are better Murkrow sets out there.

If you're not using glidos, murkros abuses gyarados pretty well.

Gyaradoz (Murkrow) @ Lum Berry
Ability: moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Crunch / Roost
- Taunt / Sucker Punch
- Dragon Dance
Stats: HP: 135 / Atk: 200 / Def: 66 / SpA:130 / Spd: 122 / Spe: 92

Pretty standard I should say. Taunt either helps beat passive Mon or use them as bait if they can't hit murkrow hard enough. Roost is optional, but I personally use crunch to at least combat Doublade and any other poke that resist BB.

Also, I was thinking of maybe a SD set w/Moxie to possibly destroy stall? Similar to glidos really.

Murkrow also abuses hitmonlee pretty nicely.

Hitmonlee (Murkrow) @ Choice Band
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
Stats: HP: 75 / Atk: 170 / Def: 60 / SpAtk: 85 / SpD: 117 / Spe: 143

Practically a much quicker archen-Lee, just not nearly as Strong due to head smash. But sucker punch comes in handy thou.

I would mention Barbaracle, but I feel pawniard abuses barb better, and with better stab(s) to go with Tough Claws (Murk doesnt naturally has K-off o.o ).

Also, hariyama, Jolteon are yet to be tested. I have a feeling pawniard outclasses murkow w/Hariyama same as it does w/Barb. But jolteon x murk has 150/166 offense to boast. Not sure (yet) if it'll be good.


Edit: as for ranking Gyarados / Hitmonlee set, I'm not entirely sure. Maybe somewhere between B+ & B-. Possibly even A- if that's not a stretching it lol.

 

[anaconja]

I think that Murkrow-Breloom could work; Dark-Fighting is a good offensive typing, and its 126 base speed narrowly outpaces sweepers such as Haunter-PorygonZ, Archen-Hitmonlee, and Electabuzz-Nidoking. Technician-boosted Thief, Mach Punch, Pursuit, and Force Palm is nice as well.

It could run a set like this:
Breloom (Murkrow) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thief / Pursuit
- Mach Punch / Force Palm
- Swords Dance
- Spore
New stats: 60/175/62/105/42/126

I'd imagine this getting B to B+ due to Scyther-Breloom having more power, though Murkrow has better STAB coverage.

 

[En Passant]

I saw this meta, and the first thing I noticed was that Huge Power isn't banned. So I came up with this:
Azumarill (Piloswine) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch / Icicle Crash
- Icicle Crash / Superpower
New stats: 130/130/110/100/90/60

I did a lot of calcing and didn't think about posting them here until the end, but tl;dr this thing breaks face. Pretty much anything that isn't a bulky Steel type or an Uber is 2HKO'd by Ice Shard, and most of those are 2HKO'd by one of its STABs or a combo of power move + Shard. Icicle Crash gives it just enough power to push past Ground-immune Steels that still trouble it, but Superpower isn't plagued by 90% accuracy and also OHKO's a couple of things like Type: Null.

Its Speed is a big struggle for it. It has the bulk to tank an attack and still KO back, but it has no healing and is very afraid of burns and particularly Scald.

 

[sin(pi)]

I saw this meta, and the first thing I noticed was that Huge Power isn't banned. So I came up with this:
Azumarill (Piloswine) @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch / Icicle Crash
- Icicle Crash / Superpower
New stats: 130/130/110/100/90/60

I did a lot of calcing and didn't think about posting them here until the end, but tl;dr this thing breaks face. Pretty much anything that isn't a bulky Steel type or an Uber is 2HKO'd by Ice Shard, and most of those are 2HKO'd by one of its STABs or a combo of power move + Shard. Icicle Crash gives it just enough power to push past Ground-immune Steels that still trouble it, but Superpower isn't plagued by 90% accuracy and also OHKO's a couple of things like Type: Null.

Its Speed is a big struggle for it. It has the bulk to tank an attack and still KO back, but it has no healing and is very afraid of burns and particularly Scald.

• Getting Huge Power, Pure Power and Shadow Tag via cross-evolution is banned.

 

[TimeZone]

I think that Murkrow-Breloom could work; Dark-Fighting is a good offensive typing, and its 126 base speed narrowly outpaces sweepers such as Haunter-PorygonZ, Archen-Hitmonlee, and Electabuzz-Nidoking. Technician-boosted Thief, Mach Punch, Pursuit, and Force Palm is nice as well.

It could run a set like this:
Breloom (Murkrow) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thief / Pursuit
- Mach Punch / Force Palm
- Swords Dance
- Spore
New stats: 60/175/62/105/42/126

I'd imagine this getting B to B+ due to Scyther-Breloom having more power, though Murkrow has better STAB coverage.

I've been testing breloom, and it's legit as you said. I've been testing this moveset here:

Breloom (Murkrow) @ Life Orb / Lum berry / Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Thief
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch

spore + SD + fighting StAb is not possible. So I figured PuP might be helpful since it provides a fighting stab and allows murkrow to setup. Especially alongside spore making it much easier to off-set a potential sweep. Sucker Punch is obvious priority and is at least stronger (but not necessarily more reliable) than mach punch.

I agree, it should be B+. Its competitors are Scyther x breloom & Pawniard imo. I say pawniard because it's still a very good dark type that doesn't give a rat ass about fairy types.

 

[dsm77773]

So after replies on this thread and various tests on Murkrow, I'm adding it to B+. Murkrow is a very versatile physical attacker or suicide lead. Its unique traits allow Murkrow to run a series of different unique crosses each one with its perks:

• A set-up sweeper crossing with Gyarados, that can be tailored to be more of a stallbreaker (Taunt + Roost) or improve its match-up vs. offense (Sucker Punch).
• A wallbreaker Reckless set crossing with Hitmonlee, similar to Archen but notably faster, yet weaker. It offers priority too and doesn't die to recoil as quick as Archen because Brave Bird induces less recoil than Head Smash.
• All-out-attacker sets crossing with Breloom, abusing a range of Technician-boosted attacks (Thief, Mach Punch, Power-Up Punch) and Spore. And of course, Sucker Punch too.
• A suicide lead set crossing with Kricketune, abusing its Prankster immunity to set Sticky Web on opposing suicide leads and having access to Taunt and Thief to mess around the opponent.
• Sets crossing with Bibarel are possible as Simple-abusing set-up sweepers.

Its main downside is its fierce competition (Archen, Scyther, Pawniard) and its paper bulk.

 

[Dunfan]

Now that USUM has been datamined, we know that there's a new evolution.
Since that evolution's stats doesn't look so bad, i guess that it could have a little niche.

Gained stats while evolving + potential sets

Poipole > Naganadel
+6/+0/+6/+54/+6/+48
+Beast Boost
+Secondary Dragon type
+148.2kg
List of moves here : https://pastebin.com/raw/yy8wTD0G (CTRL + F "Naganadel")

The first mon that comes to my mind is this :

New typing : Water/Dragon
New stats : 36/45/61/124/61/133

Naganadel (Staryu) @ Life Orb / Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf / Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast

Basically your everyday glasscannon that can raise its speed when getting a KO... i couldn't think of anything else, honestly.

New typing : Ghost/Dragon
New stats : 66/60/66/139/91/133

Naganadel (Misdreavus) @ Life Orb / Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast

Same thing here, but immune to Espeeds.

 

[anaconja]

Now that USUM has been datamined, we know that there's a new evolution.
Since that evolution's stats doesn't look so bad, i guess that it could have a little niche.

Gained stats while evolving + potential sets

Poipole > Naganadel
+6/+0/+6/+54/+6/+48
+Beast Boost
+Secondary Dragon type
+148.2kg

It's worse than a lot of evolutions: although it does get Nasty Plot and Beast Boost, Lucario's evolution does almost the same thing:
+30/+40/+30/+80/+30/+30 (BST: 240, compare to Naganadel's 120)
+ Secondary Steel type
+ Some really good moves (Nasty Plot, Focus Blast, Shadow Ball, Flash Cannon, Vacuum Wave, etc.)

Just so that this isn't a one-line post, I'd like to share with you a crevolver that doesn't seem to have been looked at yet.

Beginning stats: 55/40/50/65/85/40
Type: Water/Ghost
Notable moves: Recover, Scald, Will-o-Wisp, Ice Beam, Trick, Taunt

Some sets I thought of:

Umbreon (Frillish) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Dark Pulse
- Recover
- Heal Bell
New Stats: 95/50/110/80/150/50
New Typing: Dark/Ghost

Hitmontop (Frillish) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rapid Spin
- Waterfall / Scald
New Stats: 70/100/110/65/160/75

Although Frillish has lower stats then, say, Type:Null, it comes already with Recover and Will-o-Wisp, giving it more flexibility in choosing crevolutions. I'd put this at B+ or B.
(tagging dsm77773 so this gets ranked lul)

 

[urkerab]

Since that evolution's stats doesn't look so bad, i guess that it could have a little niche.

What about Poipole's stats? It's got a BST of 420, 80 more than Koffing, putting it 7th on the list of stage 1 evolutions by BST. I believe it also learns Nasty Plot, which could be useful for its cross evolution. And if you don't like its typing, we have ways of fixing that!

 

[anaconja]

Some cool crevolutions I thought of:

Poiple-Milotic: 142/118/126/163/137/74 (BST = 760)
Looks like a cool RestTalk set, but seems to be outclassed by Grimer-Alola.

Poiple-Noivern: 112/113/112/125/117/141 (BST = 710)
Has a niche over Litleo with its 1 higher speed and Nasty Plot. Other than that, it doesn't seem too good.

Poiple-Jolteon: 77/83/77/138/97/148 (BST = 620), Electric type
This looks promising, though it competes with Gastly since it has less power, speed, and no dual STAB.

Poiple-Accelgor: 97/103/22/133/62/193 (BST = 610)
Slap a Focus Sash or Choice Specs on this thing, and it'll be a great revenge killer.

Poiple-Mothim: 97/138/72/138/72/103 (BST = 620), Poison/Flying type
Its lackluster STAB coverage is fixed by Tinted Lens, although it is pretty slow.

 

[smellslikememe]

What about Poipole's stats? It's got a BST of 420, 80 more than Koffing, putting it 7th on the list of stage 1 evolutions by BST. I believe it also learns Nasty Plot, which could be useful for its cross evolution. And if you don't like its typing, we have ways of fixing that!

Actually I saw some weird things in the current documentation for Naganadel. Taken from Project Pokemon

====== 803 - Poipole - 803 (Stage: 3) ======
Base Stats: 067.073.067.073.067.073 (BST: 420)
EV Yield: 0.0.0.0.0.1
Abilities: Beast Boost (1) | Beast Boost (2) | Beast Boost (H)
Type: Poison
Item 1 (50%):
Item 2 (5%):
Item 3 (1%):
EXP Group: Slow
Egg Group: Undiscovered
Hatch Cycles: 120
Height: 00.6 m, Weight: 001.8 kg, Color: Purple
Move Tutors: 1,4,10,11,28,30,32,46,50,57

====== 804 - Naganadel - 804 (Stage: 3) ======
Base Stats: 073.073.073.127.073.121 (BST: 540)
EV Yield: 0.0.0.3.0.0
Abilities: Beast Boost (1) | Beast Boost (2) | Beast Boost (H)
Type: Poison / Dragon
Item 1 (50%):
Item 2 (5%):
Item 3 (1%):
EXP Group:
Slow Egg Group:
Undiscovered Hatch Cycles: 120
Height: 03.6 m, Weight: 150.0 kg, Color: Purple
Move Tutors: 4,10,11,28,30,32,35,38,39,44,46,50,55,57,61,65,66

Notice here that they're both Stage 3. This might be an error on Project Pokemon's part though.

It's worse than a lot of evolutions: although it does get Nasty Plot and Beast Boost, Lucario's evolution does almost the same thing:
+30/+40/+30/+80/+30/+30 (BST: 240, compare to Naganadel's 120)
+ Secondary Steel type
+ Some really good moves (Nasty Plot, Focus Blast, Shadow Ball, Flash Cannon, Vacuum Wave, etc.)

Just so that this isn't a one-line post, I'd like to share with you a crevolver that doesn't seem to have been looked at yet.

Beginning stats: 55/40/50/65/85/40
Type: Water/Ghost
Notable moves: Recover, Scald, Will-o-Wisp, Ice Beam, Trick, Taunt

Some sets I thought of:

Umbreon (Frillish) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Dark Pulse
- Recover
- Heal Bell
New Stats: 95/50/110/80/150/50
New Typing: Dark/Ghost

Hitmontop (Frillish) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rapid Spin
- Waterfall / Scald
New Stats: 70/100/110/65/160/75

Although Frillish has lower stats then, say, Type:Null, it comes already with Recover and Will-o-Wisp, giving it more flexibility in choosing crevolutions. I'd put this at B+ or B.
(tagging dsm77773 so this gets ranked lul)

Boi I've been using Frillish-Accelgor on nearly all of my rain teams. I'd hold off on ranking it at B+ though, maybe B or B- may be more appropriate, considering the considerable amount of competition it gets as a defensive Poke. While Ghost/Water is neat, again, it gets held back considerably by its inherently low stats.

On the topic of Poipole and Accelgor, I'd suggest that for discussion in this thread, we should consider which stage of evolution a Pokemon is at. We mostly focus on movepools, stats, and metagame relevance, but never consider the fact that Stage 2 evolutions are almost always more powerful than Stage 3 evolutions.

 

[dsm77773]

Late reply, but for some reason I didn't get any alerts from replies on this thread (not even when I was tagged...), which is indeed weird.
As of now, I'm ranking Frillish at B, as a defensive asset and rain sweeper.
Naganadel seems interesting, it's not like we had a good evolution that offered a Dragon-type.

 

[TimeZone]

Late reply, but for some reason I didn't get any alerts from replies on this thread (not even when I was tagged...), which is indeed weird.
As of now, I'm ranking Frillish at B, as a defensive asset and rain sweeper.
Naganadel seems interesting, it's not like we had a good evolution that offered a Dragon-type.

The best users (naganadel users') that I've tried so far are Litleo(127/120 offense), Misdreavus/Gastly (139/133 offense vs 154/128 offense), and Abra (159/138 offense).....and oh Omanyte(144/83 offense) & murkrow too (139/139 offense).

Not too many of these Pkmn abuse it too well. Abra is probably the best abuser if not litleo or Omanyte(gastly was pretty decent too actually).


Naganadel (Abra) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psyshock
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt / Fire blast / Hidden Power ice / filler

Naganadel (Litleo) @ Focus Sash / Dragonium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
Evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fire blast
- Dragon Pulse / Draco meteor
- thunderbolt / Hidden Power Ice / Filler

I'm still testing other sets as well. PoipolexHariyama looks like a decent switch in to MagmarxGallade. 143/97/97 with thick fat looks pretty decent, I suppose?

Also, hai bud! It's been awhile, I don't even see you on ROM anymore D;

 

[smellslikememe]

yes this is a double post but i hardly think it matters at this point

Overall, this post is not talking about a specific Pokemon or even the metagame as a whole. I'm just highlighting an ability that's generally ignored outside of a very select few Pokemon: Regenerator.
This ability is nothing new. RegenVest is a strategy often seen in OM's as well as normal metagames in the forms of Toxapex, Slowbro, etc... In any case, Regenerator within the scope of Crossevo has had very little recognition for a very long time, with only one specific donor being really relevant usage-wise: Toxapex. So for now, I'll provide a list of Regenerator crosses with a small individual analysis for each. (Also I'll be including Ho-oh in this one.)

Slowbro: +5 / +10 / +45 / +60 / +40 / +15 - Stage: 2
A balance of stats along with access to Dragon Tail, Slack Off, and Scald help it maintain a roll as a defensive Pokemon. While it's not specialized stat-wise like Slowking, the mixed bulk it provides along with Regenerator may prove valuable to certain Pokemon. However, it grants very little HP, which is something to be wary of when attempting to make a bulky cross.

Slowking: +5 / +10 / +15 / +60 / +70 / +15 - Stage: 2
Possibly my favorite Regenerator cross right now is this beautiful beast. Stat-wise, it can immediately be observed that it is much more specialized for Specially Defensive Pokemon, and it has plenty of things going for it that cement that roll. Having access to reliable recovery in Slack Off and phasing in Dragon Tail and Scald (...and Yawn?) are probably the greatest assets in its movepool. It does not give a secondary typing, however, meaning it is somewhat reliant on the base Pokemon having a good typing. Do note that Slowking crosses generally have fairly high Special Defense and can hence run a fairly effective RegenVest set.

Tangrowth: +35 / +45 / +10 / +10 / +10 / -10 - Stage: 2
Not much helps Tangrowth in this case; Amoonguss is better in almost all scenarios. It has Sleep Powder in lieu of Spore, which isn't really helpful at all. However, what differs it from Amoonguss is that it gets access to a few gems in its movepool: Leech Seed, Knock Off... yeah, that's about it. So if you really like the double-semiphasing combination of Leech Seed and Sleep Powder with the added utility of Knock Off, then I guess go for it..? but do keep in mind that it loses out stat wise.

Duosion: +20 / +10 / +10 / +25 / +10 / +10 - Stage: 2
I should really put this in "Shit I ignored and why". Actually, I will.

Reuniclus: +45 / +25 / +25 / 0 / +25 / 0 - Stage: 3
Honestly, I don't know really why I put this here, as it doesn't have much to distinguish from Slowbro and Slowking. Do note, however, that it is a third stage Pokemon and can hence cross with second stage Prevolutions, which have notably higher BST's than stage ones.

Amoonguss: +45 / +30 / +25 / +30 / +25 / +15 - Stage: 2
Amoonguss doesn't immediately appear to have much to warrant its usage over Slowking or Slowbro. However, it has access to a coveted combination which was also one of the reasons why it shot up to OU from RU last gen: Spore + Regenerator. Being able to put an opposing Pokemon to sleep eases prediction and almost always forces the opponent to fodder a Pokemon. It's not all sunshine and rainbows for Amoonguss though; its only recovery being Synthesis as well as somewhat below average stat bonuses limits the crosses that can effectively evolve into Amoonguss.

Mienshao: +20 / +40 / +10 / +40 / +10 / +40 - Stage: 2
Stat-wise, it doesn't stand out, and it doesn't grant an additional typing. The sole reason it is here is that it grants access to U-Turn, which gives its crosses the ability to pivot, thus easing prediction, while at the same time recovering a good bit of HP. Its best role to fill is an offensive pivot, but keep in mind that it is held back by mediocre stats and a subpar movepool.

Toxapex: 0 / +10 / +90 / +10 / +90 / -10 - Stage: 2
Stat-wise, it already establishes itself as excellent. Huge boosts to defensive stats are a godsend to plenty of Pokemon. However, one must also consider its great movepool, which donates recovery, hazards, phasing (if you count Haze as phasing), and utility, such as Scald and Knock Off. It is also compatible with plenty of Pokemon, giving it flexibility in what it can fuse with.

Ho-oh (as a normal Pokemon): 106 / 130 / 90 / 110 / 154 / 90 - Stage: Unevolved
So why is Ho-oh noteworthy? Well at the end of the day, it's still an Uber, so you can still assess it by the qualities that brought it there. A Fire/Flying defensive typing is by no means bad, and a Specially Defensive set, in particular, has plenty of potential, acting as a check to the likes of Spritzee, Serperior crosses, and having nice resists to Bug (I listed it here because it's common, especially in the forms of Scyther and U-Turn), Fighting, Fire, as well as an important immunity to Ground. It also has a deceptively good stat spread that backs up its typing and fairly good movepool. However, it is held back by neutralities and weaknesses to common typings like Normal, Electric, and Rock.

Shit I ignored and why:
- All the first stage Regenerators - this should be fairly obvious.
- Duosion - terrible stat boosts and has nothing to distinguish itself from far better Regenerator donors.
- Corsola - again, this should be fairly obvious.
- Audino - terrible 'mon, outclassed by even other stuff I ignored.
- Alomomola - while the bulk may seem appealing from a normal standpoint, think about the metagame we're talking about here.
- Tornadus-T - refer to Alomomola, replace "the bulk" with "its positive traits".

So... Regenerator..?
There's not really much else to say about Regenerator besides what might be immediately obvious and well known. It can be a good asset to bulkier teams which are based on outlasting the opponent, and helps increase the effectiveness of walls by keeping them healthy throughout the battle. That's really about it, so here's a stupid replay of me messing around with Regenerator against the bot, which culminated in a 59 turn finale of me doing nothing but switching. (That's also something worth noting: Regenerators can take advantage of more passive teams and effectively PP stall them to death.)

i am done here i must now go to my people

 

[dsm77773]

yes this is a double post but i hardly think it matters at this point

Overall, this post is not talking about a specific Pokemon or even the metagame as a whole. I'm just highlighting an ability that's generally ignored outside of a very select few Pokemon: Regenerator.
This ability is nothing new. RegenVest is a strategy often seen in OM's as well as normal metagames in the forms of Toxapex, Slowbro, etc... In any case, Regenerator within the scope of Crossevo has had very little recognition for a very long time, with only one specific donor being really relevant usage-wise: Toxapex. So for now, I'll provide a list of Regenerator crosses with a small individual analysis for each. (Also I'll be including Ho-oh in this one.)

Slowbro: +5 / +10 / +45 / +60 / +40 / +15 - Stage: 2
A balance of stats along with access to Dragon Tail, Slack Off, and Scald help it maintain a roll as a defensive Pokemon. While it's not specialized stat-wise like Slowking, the mixed bulk it provides along with Regenerator may prove valuable to certain Pokemon. However, it grants very little HP, which is something to be wary of when attempting to make a bulky cross.

Slowking: +5 / +10 / +15 / +60 / +70 / +15 - Stage: 2
Possibly my favorite Regenerator cross right now is this beautiful beast. Stat-wise, it can immediately be observed that it is much more specialized for Specially Defensive Pokemon, and it has plenty of things going for it that cement that roll. Having access to reliable recovery in Slack Off and phasing in Dragon Tail and Scald (...and Yawn?) are probably the greatest assets in its movepool. It does not give a secondary typing, however, meaning it is somewhat reliant on the base Pokemon having a good typing. Do note that Slowking crosses generally have fairly high Special Defense and can hence run a fairly effective RegenVest set.

Tangrowth: +35 / +45 / +10 / +10 / +10 / -10 - Stage: 2
Not much helps Tangrowth in this case; Amoonguss is better in almost all scenarios. It has Sleep Powder in lieu of Spore, which isn't really helpful at all. However, what differs it from Amoonguss is that it gets access to a few gems in its movepool: Leech Seed, Knock Off... yeah, that's about it. So if you really like the double-semiphasing combination of Leech Seed and Sleep Powder with the added utility of Knock Off, then I guess go for it..? but do keep in mind that it loses out stat wise.

Duosion: +20 / +10 / +10 / +25 / +10 / +10 - Stage: 2
I should really put this in "Shit I ignored and why". Actually, I will.

Reuniclus: +45 / +25 / +25 / 0 / +25 / 0 - Stage: 3
Honestly, I don't know really why I put this here, as it doesn't have much to distinguish from Slowbro and Slowking. Do note, however, that it is a third stage Pokemon and can hence cross with second stage Prevolutions, which have notably higher BST's than stage ones.

Amoonguss: +45 / +30 / +25 / +30 / +25 / +15 - Stage: 2
Amoonguss doesn't immediately appear to have much to warrant its usage over Slowking or Slowbro. However, it has access to a coveted combination which was also one of the reasons why it shot up to OU from RU last gen: Spore + Regenerator. Being able to put an opposing Pokemon to sleep eases prediction and almost always forces the opponent to fodder a Pokemon. It's not all sunshine and rainbows for Amoonguss though; its only recovery being Synthesis as well as somewhat below average stat bonuses limits the crosses that can effectively evolve into Amoonguss.

Mienshao: +20 / +40 / +10 / +40 / +10 / +40 - Stage: 2
Stat-wise, it doesn't stand out, and it doesn't grant an additional typing. The sole reason it is here is that it grants access to U-Turn, which gives its crosses the ability to pivot, thus easing prediction, while at the same time recovering a good bit of HP. Its best role to fill is an offensive pivot, but keep in mind that it is held back by mediocre stats and a subpar movepool.

Toxapex: 0 / +10 / +90 / +10 / +90 / -10 - Stage: 2
Stat-wise, it already establishes itself as excellent. Huge boosts to defensive stats are a godsend to plenty of Pokemon. However, one must also consider its great movepool, which donates recovery, hazards, phasing (if you count Haze as phasing), and utility, such as Scald and Knock Off. It is also compatible with plenty of Pokemon, giving it flexibility in what it can fuse with.

Ho-oh (as a normal Pokemon): 106 / 130 / 90 / 110 / 154 / 90 - Stage: Unevolved
So why is Ho-oh noteworthy? Well at the end of the day, it's still an Uber, so you can still assess it by the qualities that brought it there. A Fire/Flying defensive typing is by no means bad, and a Specially Defensive set, in particular, has plenty of potential, acting as a check to the likes of Spritzee, Serperior crosses, and having nice resists to Bug (I listed it here because it's common, especially in the forms of Scyther and U-Turn), Fighting, Fire, as well as an important immunity to Ground. It also has a deceptively good stat spread that backs up its typing and fairly good movepool. However, it is held back by neutralities and weaknesses to common typings like Normal, Electric, and Rock.

Shit I ignored and why:
- All the first stage Regenerators - this should be fairly obvious.
- Duosion - terrible stat boosts and has nothing to distinguish itself from far better Regenerator donors.
- Corsola - again, this should be fairly obvious.
- Audino - terrible 'mon, outclassed by even other stuff I ignored.
- Alomomola - while the bulk may seem appealing from a normal standpoint, think about the metagame we're talking about here.
- Tornadus-T - refer to Alomomola, replace "the bulk" with "its positive traits".

So... Regenerator..?
There's not really much else to say about Regenerator besides what might be immediately obvious and well known. It can be a good asset to bulkier teams which are based on outlasting the opponent, and helps increase the effectiveness of walls by keeping them healthy throughout the battle. That's really about it, so here's a stupid replay of me messing around with Regenerator against the bot, which culminated in a 59 turn finale of me doing nothing but switching. (That's also something worth noting: Regenerators can take advantage of more passive teams and effectively PP stall them to death.)

i am done here i must now go to my people

I remember TimeZone (and later Abyssal Bot) using some balance team with a double Regenerator core that was pretty nasty to face.

Ho-oh (as a normal Pokemon): 106 / 130 / 90 / 110 / 154 / 90 - Stage: Unevolved
So why is Ho-oh noteworthy? Well at the end of the day, it's still an Uber, so you can still assess it by the qualities that brought it there. A Fire/Flying defensive typing is by no means bad, and a Specially Defensive set, in particular, has plenty of potential, acting as a check to the likes of Spritzee, Serperior crosses, and having nice resists to Bug (I listed it here because it's common, especially in the forms of Scyther and U-Turn), Fighting, Fire, as well as an important immunity to Ground. It also has a deceptively good stat spread that backs up its typing and fairly good movepool. However, it is held back by neutralities and weaknesses to common typings like Normal, Electric, and Rock.

Mandatory mention to Sacred Fire. Burning Gligar is nice since you can't really do much else to it. The burn chance in general would be amazing if not because bulky Waters tend to switch into Ho-Oh way too much and they can be a nightmare if burned, I'd rather Toxic those as otherwise they are pretty difficult to bring down.

Reuniclus: +45 / +25 / +25 / 0 / +25 / 0 - Stage: 3
Honestly, I don't know really why I put this here, as it doesn't have much to distinguish from Slowbro and Slowking. Do note, however, that it is a third stage Pokemon and can hence cross with second stage Prevolutions, which have notably higher BST's than stage ones.

Then let me tell you why:

Reuniclus (Dusclops) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Bold Nature
- Knock Off / Hex / Night Shade
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Haze
Speaking of TimeZone 's regen cores, here's one of the few good Reuniclus abusers: Reuniclus fixes Dusclops's HP and recovery problems, this variant in particular is bulkier than Unaware Dusclops (Dusclops x Clefable). Haze sort of protects it from set-up (sort of), but it is still prone to heavy wallbreakers and Pursuit trappers.

 

[smellslikememe]

Alright now that dsm77773 actually made a post you can't say this is a triple post anymore so ima get on with it
so here I present the Gligar Analysis (warning: megapost)

The Gligar Analysis
Parts:
Part 1 - Introduction

Self-explanatory.​

Part 2 - Base forme

Here I'll be describing its base forme and what sets it apart as a base from other attractive Pokemon, such as Type:Null.​

Part 3 - Viable crosses

Self-explanatory, I'll explain in some detail what each one can do. Probably the longest section.​

Part 4 - Gligar x Gyarados

Yes, I'm making a special section just for this cross just because of how good it is.​

Part 5 - Roles

Essentially what Gligar provides a team and what roles it can possibly fill (which as you will see range far and beyond that of conventional crosses)​

Part 6 - Overall impact on the metagame

Fairly self-explanatory, this will go over how Gligar pressures opponents and how it restricts teambuilding.​

Part 7 - Checks and counters

Read the title of this section.​

Microsection - Valuable teammates

I have neither the time nor the motivation to fully write out and analyze this section. It'll be a short analytic; individually analyzing how Gligar fits into a team and what it pairs well with would take eons, given its nature as an all-around good Pokemon.​

Part 1 - Introduction
Alright, I'm going to preface this by saying that you can think whatever you want about Gligar. You can call it cancer, you can love it, you can hate it, whatever. However, what you can't deny is how centralizing and how good of a Pokemon it is in general in the CrossEvo metagame. These reasons include being incredibly versatile, somewhat unpredictable, and extremely centralizing. So without further ado, I'll be moving on to viable crosses.

Part 2 - Base form

Base stats - 65 / 75 / 105 / 35 / 65 / 85
Typing - Ground / Flying
Upon immediate inspection, there doesn't seem to be much special about Gligar. Its stats are fairly average, especially considering the power creep which one might think would affect Gligar heavily considering it was introduced five generations ago. However, what it lacks in immediate power, it fully reimburses with its incredible movepool and a good typing in Ground / Flying which is also coincidentally one of the factors that was able to push Landorus-T to the top of OU. In any case, with gems like Roost (recovery is always good), Roar, Taunt, STAB Earthquake, U-Turn, Stealth Rock, Defog, etc., Gligar already establishes its versatility. Ground / Flying is also fairly significant, since not only does it give STAB Earthquake, but also checks a fairly good chunk of the metagame. However, this is also one of its drawbacks; common weaknesses to Water and Ice may seem less desirable, but rest assured, as Gligar fully makes up for these flaws with the incredibly capabilities it brings to a team.

Part 3 - Viable crosses
As a Stage 1 Pokemon, Gligar has immediate access to some of the most powerful evolutions currently in the game, including Milotic, Toxapex, and the notorious Gyarados. This is not meant to be a complete list; it will simply be here as a reference. These will be in alphabetical order.

Avalugg - 105 / 123 / 204 / 47 / 76 / 85 - Ground / Flying - Own Tempo / Ice Body / Sturdy
Notable new moves: Rapid Spin

The first thing that comes to mind when viewing this Pokemon is to take advantage of its absurdly high defense stat. In fact, in terms of raw physical bulk, it very slightly outdoes Zygarde-C, and comes with recovery, pivoting, phasing, and most notably Rapid Spin. However, if it is not being used exclusively for Rapid Spin, it may be better to resort to a different physical evolution, such as Hitmontop, Gyarados, or Persian-Alola, because although their raw bulk is lower than the Avalugg cross, the abilities they have may prove to be much more useful.

Barbaracle - 95 / 128 / 153 / 50 / 95 / 103 - Ground / Flying - Tough Claws / Sniper / Pickpocket
Notable new moves: Shell Smash, Cross Chop

With powerful STAB options in Earthquake and Acrobatics as well as coverage options such as Stone Edge and Cross Chop, Gligar x Barbaracle is a frightening Shell Smash sweeper with a respectable amount of bulk as well as a nice offensive typing. It can easily set up on a good portion of the metagame, and without a proper check it can very easily sweep opposing teams by virtue of powerful setup in Shell Smash and a STAB combo which is a pain to deal with. However, one should have caution; there are numerous Levitators and Flying / Steel types that can easily check, wall, or take advantage of Gligar x Barbaracle, as there is very little Gligar x Barbaracle can do against said Pokemon.

Chansey - 215 / 75 / 105 / 55 / 105 / 105 - Ground / Flying - Natural Cure / Serene Grace / Healer
Notable new moves: Heal Bell, Thunder Wave, Wish

Chansey is already well known as an evolution for the sheer amount of HP it provides. The stats it provides are highly beneficial for Gligar, as the boost to SpD and HP patches two of Gligar's flaws stat-wise. With an expansive support movepool including Heal Bell, Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Taunt, dual screens, Wish, and Knock Off, this cross provides a huge amount of utility for any balance or stall team. It is fairly passive, however, due to a low Atk stat and may suffer from 4MSS depending on what it is needed for.

Ferrothorn - 95 / 119 / 145 / 65 / 95 / 95 - Ground / Flying - Iron Barbs / Anticipation
Notable new moves: Leech Seed, Spikes

Ferrothorn is already well-known for its ability to rack up a huge amount of chip damage on physical attackers just by switching in. While it falls behind stat-wise, it gains a few nifty moves, such as Spikes and Leech Seed, both of which provide good utility to a lot of teams.

Hariyama - 137 / 135 / 135 / 55 / 95 / 110 - Ground / Flying - Thick Fat / Guts / Sheer Force
Notable new moves: none

Gligar x Hariyama has a fairly balanced stat spread, and overall can fit into several different roles. The predominant role will obviously be the Thick Fat support/wall. Combined with Gligar's normal support options as well as an added resistance to Fire and mitigating its weakness to ice, it acts as a decent check to a number of Pokemon, especially Magmar (particularly physical variants, like Gallade), and it works well as a physical wall in general by virtue of its high physical bulk. However, it also has other options, albeit less viable, such as a Guts attacker, Sheer Force attacker, speedy support, and more. Overall, it's not a bad choice for most teams and can fit into many archetypes due to its good stat distribution, typing, and resistances.

Hitmontop - 80 / 135 / 165 / 35 / 140 / 120 - Ground / Flying - Intimidate / Technician / Steadfast
Notable new moves: Rapid Spin

There is already a well-known Intimidate cross with the exact same typing in the form of Gyarados. However, Hitmontop has some traits that set it apart. For example, in terms of raw physical bulk in tandem with Intimidate, it actually outdoes Gligar x Gyarados. Furthermore, it gains Rapid Spin, which is fairly useful, and due to a great stat distribution, it can customize its EV's in some ways that might actually be preferable to Gligar x Gyarados; for example, it has 120 Spe, which can be useful as a fast bulky support, and paired with Intimidate can actually be fairly viable. Overall, outside of its superior Spe vs. Gligar x Gyarados' mediocre Spe, it faces the same flaws as Gligar x Gyarados, being severely weak to Water and Ice types. Nonetheless, it is an excellent choice for many teams due to its many positive traits.

Hippowdon - 105 / 115 / 145 / 65 / 95 / 100 - Ground / Flying - Sand Stream / Sand Force
Notable new moves: none

At first glance, it appears to be directly outclassed by other Gligar crosses. However, the sole reason this is here is due to Sand Stream, and along with access to pivoting and decent bulk, it provides a good amount of utility to sand teams.

Masquerain - 95 / 105 / 135 / 85 / 95 / 100 - Ground / Flying - Intimidate / Unnerve
Notable new moves: Sticky Web

A fairly mediocre Pokemon based on stats and typing, especially compared to other Gligar crosses. The sole reason you would ever use this is the combination of Stealth Rock / Webs / U-Turn.

Milotic - 140 / 120 / 164 / 125 / 135 / 86 - Ground / Flying - Marvel Scale / Competitive / Cute Charm
Notable new moves: Scald, Coil, Haze, Dragon Tail

Incredible stats, a decent ability in Marvel Scale, and new tools to play with such as Coil, Gligar x Milotic has plenty of flexibility when it comes to designing a set. A gigantic amount of both physical and special bulk allow it to take hits with ease, and Gligar's already good support movepool is further enhanced by Milotic's access to Haze, Dragon Tail, and Scald. It can run a multitude of sets, such as a defensive pivot, Stealth Rock setter, hazard remover, physical/special wall, Coil sweeper, etc. and because of these expansive capabilities, it can fit very well onto almost any team. However, being fairly slow and weak to common typings hurts its viability within the current metagame.

Persian-Alola - 90 / 100 / 130 / 60 / 90 / 110 - Ground / Flying - Fur Coat / Technician / Rattled
Notable new moves: Parting Shot, Foul Play

At first glance, it looks a bit like Masquerain: mediocre. However, looking at its ability and movepool, it is immediately understandable why this is proven to be one of the best physical walls the metagame currently has to offer. A good typing for a physically defensive Pokemon combined with its new access to Parting Shot and Foul Play, Gligar x Persian-A has no problem thriving in the current metagame. 90 / 130 physical bulk combined with Fur Coat gives it a titanic level of physical bulk. In fact, here's an interesting calc for reference:

252+ Atk Life Orb Rayquaza-Mega Dragon Ascent vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Gligar: 109-129 (28.3 - 33.5%) -- 91.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

With one of the best pivoting options in the game as well as a variety of great support moves and ridiculous physical bulk, Gligar x Persian-A is doubtlessly one of the best Gligar crosses out there.

Piloswine - 115 / 125 / 145 / 65 / 95 / 85 - Ground / Flying - Oblivious / Snow Cloak / Thick Fat
Notable new moves - dual screens

While it doesn't have too much to distinguish from Hariyama, it does have dual screens... OK that's about it.

Quagsire - 105 / 115 / 145 / 75 / 105 / 105 - Ground / Flying - Damp / Water Absorb / Unaware
Notable new moves: Haze, Scald

While it doesn't seem very special at first glance, it is an Unaware user with decent stats and access to Haze. Alternatively, it can run Water Absorb for a nifty new resistance and giving it the ability to absorb Scald for its teammates. However, as an Unaware, it is mostly outclassed by the likes of Type:Null, Ferroseed, Dusclops, and Porygon2.

Sylveon - 105 / 85 / 120 / 100 / 130 / 90 - Fairy / Flying - Cute Charm / Pixilate
Notable new moves: Hyper Voice, Wish, Heal Bell

With a good defensive typing but lackluster stats, Gligar x Sylveon is a mixed bag of sorts. On one hand, it has a decent support movepool and a decently strong Fairy-type STAB along with a good defensive typing, but that comes with a weakness to Stealth Rock and lower stats than other potential crosses. Overall, if the resistances are noteworthy enough, it is always a choice, but other Sylveon and Gligar crosses may be preferable, rather than having this cross take up both slots.

Toxapex - 65 / 85 / 195 / 45 / 155 / 75 - Ground / Flying - Merciless / Limber / Regenerator
Notable new moves: Haze, Scald, Toxic Spikes, Baneful Bunker

Immediately, one might notice the 195 Def and 155 SpD, and it may seem like a desirable Pokemon. However, although it is desirable, it is not necessarily for these reasons. In fact, the bulk is mostly comparable to other crosses in this post, as Toxapex does not provide an HP boost upon evolution, and with Gligar's inherently low HP it may not be the most viable choice as a pure defensive wall. However, what it lacks in bulk, it makes up for with an excellent ability in Regenerator. In fact, the combination of typing, slow pivoting, and scouting (Baneful Bunker) allows it to become a decent defensive hazard setting pivot for plenty of teams. However, as with Chansey, it is very passive due to its terrible offensive stats.

Vaporeon - 140 / 85 / 115 / 100 / 95 / 95 - Water / Flying - Water Absorb / Hydration
Notable new moves: Scald, Wish

High HP helps it maintain a decent amount of bulk, and Water / Flying itself offers some valuable resistances, such as, well, Water and Fire. It does gain a 4x weakness to Electric; however, by virtue of typing and ability, it has a niche as a defensive asset as well as a Scald absorber, which can be fairly useful in a metagame plagued by Water-types.

Part 4 - Gligar x Gyarados

So, why does this Pokemon need its own section? Well, you'll see why in a moment.

140 / 190 / 129 / 80 / 145 / 86 - Ground / Flying - Intimidate / Moxie
Notable moves (Providing a full list with this one): Dragon Dance, Roost, Taunt, U-Turn, Earthquake, Dragon Tail, Roar, Knock Off, Stealth Rock, Defog

Gligar x Gyarados is an incredible Pokemon. Period. It is so powerful and versatile that teams built without it in mind simply cannot cope with it. The reason? It is a mixture of a great stat distribution, good movepool, and good abilities that allows a Pokemon colloquially referred to as "Gligod" to flourish, even in a metagame that is becoming increasingly filled with its checks. It is incredibly versatile - in fact, here are a few of the options it can run:
- Dragon Dancer + 3 attacks - A fairly conventional set that takes advantage of Gligar's powerful STAB combination and its new access to Dragon Dance. However, it is checked by Unawares, Levitating Steel-types, and Flying/Steel types.
- Stealth Rock support - Access to Stealth Rock along with the ability to stay healthy throughout the game allow it to be one of the most consistent hazard setters in the metagame.
- Physical wall - Taking advantage of Intimidate is never a bad decision. With a good amount of physical bulk already, Intimidate only augments that further, and access to pivoting and a powerful STAB can make this variant one of the most annoying to face.
- Hazard remover - See 'Stealth Rock support'; it can stay healthy and remove hazards, and doesn't come with a weakness to Stealth Rock and is immune to other hazards.
- Special wall - with 140 / 145 special bulk, it is a great special wall. However, one might opt for another special wall with a better typing, seeing as many special attackers carry Ice Beam as coverage, which hurts Gligod's viability in this aspect.
However, even with all this in mind, the reign of Gligod is slowly but steadily coming to a close. Increased usage of Water-types as well as power creep will eventually displace Gligar x Gyarados as the reigning king of the CrossEvo metagame. Yet nonetheless, by virtue of raw bulk, power, and versatility, Gligar x Gyarados manages to cement its place in the metagame as one of the most centralizing Pokemon in CrossEvo.

Part 5 - Roles
With all of this in mind, it can be mind-boggling to consider what roles Gligar can fill. It can fall into a huge number of viable roles; having ready access to hazards, recovery, and utility, Gligar is not restricted to just a few roles. This means that Gligar cannot be scouted simply based on team preview; with so many viable Gligar crosses, to play around Gligar, rather than trying to guess an exact set, one should rather be aiming to articulate what Gligar provides to the opposing team and determining a role from there rather than attempting to guess what variant of Gligar it is. Roles on their own can be fairly simple to figure out; on a solidly built stall or balance team, Gligar may be a stallbreaking variant to help deal with bulkier teams. For hyper-offense, Gligar's combination of good bulk as well as two separate setup sweeping sets means that constant pressure on Gligar is necessary to prevent an early game sweep by it. Gligar has immense versatility concerning roles and sets, meaning it fits on any archetype.

Part 6 - Overall Impact on the Metagame
Gligar's overall impact on the metagame is debatable. Is it healthy for the metagame? Is it too centralizing? One can see just from teambuilding how Gligar can ruin someone's day. Oftentimes, Type:Null sets will pack Scald simply so they won't become setup bait for stallbreaking Gligar. Teams that aren't prepared for Gligar oftentimes are unable to break it, and are forced to deal with it the entire game. With a huge variety of sets, the ability to act as glue for a team, incredible centralization, and with little to no opportunity cost, there is little doubt why Gligar is collectively considered to be one of the most powerful Pokemon in the CrossEvo metagame, and fully warrants an S+ ranking.

Part 7 - Checks and Counters
Gligar, with all of its positive traits, is not without its flaws. It has a good number of checks in the form of bulky or offensive Water-types, and while Gligar can generally pressure an opposing team no matter if it's on offense or defense, bulky waters especially are usually a hard stop to Gligar, forcing it out for fear of a Scald burn and essentially getting a free turn.

Arceus - 120 / 120 / 120 / 120 / 120 / 120 (BST: 720) - Multitype - Normal

I'm going to group all of the Arceus formes here. Arceus is definitely good enough to warrant a small niche in the metagame as a fast bulky support. Most support Arceus have flexibility in terms of moveslots and EV's, and can easily fit Ice Beam into its moveset in order to deal with Gligar.

Doublade - 59 / 110 / 150 / 45 / 49 / 35 (BST: 448) - Steel / Ghost

Several Doublade crosses, such as Dragonite and Flygon, act as counters to Gligar. While neither are very partial to the Taunt or Substitute stallbreaking sets, which can theoretically beat any variant of Doublade, it's worth noting that the combination of amazing typing + abilities allow Doublade to act as a counter to Gligar in somewhat specific scenarios.

Dragonite (as an evolution) - +30 / +50 / +30 / +30 / +30 / +10 (Total: +180 BST) - Inner Focus / Multiscale - +Flying-type

Dragonite's additional Flying- secondary type along with an added bonus in Multiscale helps many crosses deal with Gligar. Having access to Dragon Tail and Roar means that it can tailor its set to deal with opposing Gligar. However, it must be noted that it does not deal with all variants of Gligar, and is limited even against offensive Gligar, as the opposing Gligar could potentially be running Taunt or Substitute.

Gligar - 65 / 75 / 105 / 35 / 65 / 85 (BST: 430) - Ground / Flying

Ironically, Gligar can check itself. However, it's highly dependent on the set, and isn't very reliable unless you're only looking to check Gligar in a certain matchup.

Greninja (as an evolution) - +18 / +32 / +15 / +23 / +15 / +25 (Total: +125 BST) - Torrent / Protean - +Dark-type

Here, it's not the stats that matter; what matters is the incredible offensive ability in Protean that Greninja donates. It also donates Ice Beam, allowing its crosses to become offensive checks of Gligar.

Ho-oh - 106 / 130 / 90 / 110 / 154 / 90 (BST: 680) - Pressure / Regenerator - Fire / Flying

woah that's a giant ass image

Ho-oh acts as a soft check due to its access to Sacred Fire and by virtue of being a Flying-type. However, boosted Gligar can take out Ho-oh with ease, and Stone Edge KO's even when unboosted, although it's fairly uncommon on Gligar sets.

Krabby - 30 / 105 / 90 / 25 / 25 / 50 (BST: 325) - Water

Krabby establishes itself as a solid offensive check due to its powerful Crabhammer along with a very high Atk stat. It is especially prevalent in the form of a Swift Swim sweeper, and can easily set up on and/or decimate Gligar.

Kyogre - 100 / 100 / 90 / 150 / 140 / 90 (BST: 670) - Drizzle - Water

Kyogre seems like it'd be mediocre, but can be quite a valuable asset to certain teams. STAB Water Spout can be terrifying, and forcing out Gligar gives Kyogre the leisure to fire off a powerful attack. Scarf in particular deserves a mention here, as it just so happens to outspeed +1 Gligar, meaning it acts as an offensive check to both offensive and defensive variants.

Kyogre-P - 100 / 150 / 90 / 180 / 160 / 90 (BST: 770) - Primordial Sea - Water

Bulky and offensive Kyogre-P variants are also worth noting, as they outspeed and do quite a lot to (if not outright KO) Gligar. However, boosted offensive variants of Gligar can beat Kyogre-P.

Levitate donors - Hydreigon, Flygon, Claydol, Vikavolt

This should be fairly obvious - due to the ability to manipulate typing in CrossEvo, Levitate donors can create diverse crosses that can easily check Gligar.

Magneton - 50 / 60 / 95 / 120 / 70 / 70 (BST: 465) - Electric / Steel

It might seem contradictory that a Pokemon quad-weak to Ground would happen to be one of Gligar's checks. It's important to note, however, that Magneton generally crosses with Levitate users, and thus makes it a near perfect check to Gligar.

Persian-A (as an evolution) - +25 / +25 / +25 / +25 / +25 / +25 (Total: +150 BST) - Fur Coat / Technician / Rattled

Most offensive variants of Gligar are checked by Fur Coat Persian-A crosses. In the meanwhile, the cross in question can easily click Foul Play or Parting Shot at very little cost.

Seadra - 55 / 65 / 95 / 95 / 45 / 85 (BST: 440) - Water

One of the many offensive Water-types, Seadra solidly checks most variants of Gligar. With options such as Vivillon, Seadra provides a check to unboosted Gligar for offensive teams. However, boosted variants of Gligar can outspeed and KO.

Swift Swim (Base form abusers and evolutions that provide it)

Swift Swim can essentially fit into its own category, taking into account how powerful weather teams in general are. Rain teams have no problem dealing with Gligar, with most of them being able to heavily dent or outright KO most variants of Gligar.

Type:Null - 95 / 95 / 95 / 95 / 95 / 59 (BST: 534) - Normal

Defensive variants of Type:Null can generally check Gligar. However, they must be wary of stallbreaking or wallbreaking sets.

Microsection - Valuable Teammates
More than anything, Gligar values a check to Ice- and Water-type attackers. For defensive variants, options such as Squirtle, Chinchou, and Tentacool all synergize fairly well with Gligar. Teammates that value a Fighting-type resist also pair well with Gligar. Overall, Gligar fits into most playstyles as a glue or as part of a core, but does require some support from teammates.

Word count: 3758
Anaconja >:)

oh and here's a sample Gligar set that also happens to be my favorite

Gyarados (Gligar)
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Dragon Dance / Swords Dance
- Roost
- Taunt
You could slap this set onto effectively any team and it'd still be highly effective. The unique ability to break down stall while also putting heavy pressure on offense are a few of the reasons why this set is so good. Swords Dance can be run over Dragon Dance for more immediate power, but Dragon Dance is preferred.

 

[anaconja]

fucc u

I'll just analyze Type:Null, then.

(megapost lul)

Base:

Type:Null is blessed with a nice defensive typing and amazing base stats (totaling at 534, the highest of all Stage 1 mons), with balanced 95 in everything but Speed. This allows it to tank hits easily and achieve slow pivots thanks to U-Turn to teammates. However, its main flaw is that it lacks reliable recovery without crossevolving, unlike Gligar, and also has a subpar movepool, though its main crossevolutions mitigate that problem.

Crossevolutions:
Milotic:

New Stats: 170/140/154/185/164/60; Normal; Marvel Scale/Competitive/Cute Charm
Notable Moves: Scald, Recover, Tri Attack, Thunder Wave, Toxic, U-Turn, Ice Beam, Calm Mind, Rest, Sleep Talk
Here, Type:Null-Milotic achieves the highest possible BST of 874, with raw bulk surpassing even Giratina and Lugia, and a Special Attack stat rivaling Mewtwo-Mega-Y. However, it usually does not invest much into its offensive stats (a bulky Competitive attacker could definitely work, though) and instead invests its EVs in its amazing physical defense, especially when statused.

Sample Set:

Defensive Pivot:
Milotic (Type:Null) @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
IVs: 0 Atk
Relaxed/Bold Nature
- Scald / Toxic
- Tri Attack / Toxic
- Recover
- U-Turn

Arcanine:

New Stats: 130/135/130/125/125/94; Normal; Intimidate/Flash Fire/Justified
Notable Moves: Extreme Speed, Swords Dance, Flare Blitz, Close Combat, Morning Sun, U-turn, Will-o-Wisp
Type:Null gains more modest gains here, but also gets very nice support abilities of Intimidate and Flash Fire, and moves such as Will-o-Wisp. It can also function as a bulky set-up attacker with Swords Dance and Extreme Speed.

Sample Sets:

Bulky Set-up Attacker:
Arcanine (Type:Null) @ Leftovers / Silk Scarf / Life Orb / Ghostium Z
Ability: Intimidate / Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Shadow Claw
- Morning Sun / Will-o-Wisp / Close Combat

Supporting Pivot:
Arcanine (Type:Null) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate / Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Will-o-Wisp
- Frustration
- U-Turn
- Morning Sun

Chansey:

New Stats: 245/95/95/115/135/79; Normal; Natural Cure/Serene Grace/Healer
Notable Moves: Soft-Boiled, Stealth Rock, U-Turn, Tri Attack, Seismic Toss, Toxic, Heal Bell
There’s nothing much to this, it’s just a Chansey exchanging 5 base HP and eviolite for much better physical and special defensive base stats.

Sample Sets:
Physically Defensive:
Chansey (Type:Null) @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold / Relaxed Nature
- Soft-Boiled
- Tri Attack
- Toxic / Heal Bell / Stealth Rock
- U-Turn

Quagsire:

New Stats: 135/135/135/135/135/79; Normal; Damp/Water Absorb/Unaware
Notable Moves: Scald, Tri Attack, Ice Beam, Recover, Toxic, U-Turn, Roar, Thunder Wave
In addition to gaining well-rounded stats, Type:Null-Quagsire also gains the amazing ability of Unaware, allowing it to blanket check set-up sweepers such as Gligar-Gyarados and Electabuzz fusions lacking Focus Blast.

Sample Sets:

Unaware Wall:
Quagsire (Type:Null) @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD (or 248 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD)
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold / Calm Nature
- Scald
- Tri Attack / Ice Beam / Toxic
- Recover
- U-Turn / Roar / Toxic

Toxapex:

New Stats: 95/105/185/105/185/49; Normal; Merciless/Limber/Regnerator
Notable Moves: Scald, Haze, Knock Off, Recover, U-Turn, Frustration, Toxic Spikes, Sludge Bomb, Thunder Wave
Type:Null-Toxapex has gargantuan defenses, along with Regenerator; with its nice attacking support moves, it can viably run a RegenVest to boost its Special Defense even more.

Sample Sets:

RegenVest:
Toxapex (Type:Null) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
(IVs: 0 Spe)
Sassy Nature
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Frustration
- U-Turn

Physical Wall:
Toxapex (Type:Null) @ Leftover
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald / Haze
- Tri Attack
- Recover
- U-Turn

Noivern:

(fucc u egg)
New Stats: 140/135/140/147/135/127; Normal; Frisk/Infiltrator/Telepathy
Notable Moves: Roost, Defog, Boomburst, U-Turn, Heat Wave, Focus Blast, Super Fang, Whirlwind, Taunt
At first look, Noivern is chosen for its STAB Boomburst (dead meme), but with its Boomburst comes good stat boosts and support movepool. Type:Null-Noivern, with its huge Speed boost, can opt to run a Choice Specs set or a more supporting set.

Sample Sets:

Choice Specs
Noivern (Type: Null) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Boomburst
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ghost]
- U-turn

Support
Noivern (Type: Null) @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD (or 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe)
Calm / Timid Nature
- Boomburst / Tri Attack
- Roost
- Toxic
- U-turn

Checks and Counters:
Fighting-type STAB:

(as crossevolutions)
Close Combat from any of these mons will, if not OHKO, hurt Type:Null significantly.

Fighting-type coverage:

While not as strong, Focus Blasts or Cross Chops still dent Type:Null.

Special Set-up Sweepers:

(additionally, see above)
Special sweepers don't mind the burns inflicted by Type:Null and if Type:Null does not run Unaware, it can be overwhelmed by the boosted attacks.

Ghost-types:

Ghost types are immune to Type:Null's STAB, which is especially problematic to Type:Null-Noivern; while they cannot hit Type:Null with Ghost type attacks either, they can find a way to either stall, trap, or KO Type:Null.

Taunt:

Since Type:Null mainly relies on status and recovery moves, those who have Taunt can easily disable Type:Null and proceed to set up on it, unless the Type:Null is crossevolved into a Quagsire. None of the pictured above like burns, either.

Steel-types:

Type:Null finds it very hard to stall out Steel-types because it relies on wearing down the enemy.

Status Effects:
(could be anything)
Besides Type:Null-Chansey, all Type:Null crossevolutions can be worn down gradually by Toxic, hindering its usefulness as a tank.


Conclusion:
Type:Null is an extremely versatile pivot or attacker thanks to its balanced stat spread, and while it does have its checks, it can get around them with its crossevolution abilities or moves. Because of this, Type:Null is very deserving of its S ranking.

 

[anaconja]

(looks like im having a snipe battle with smellslikeEGG)

Doublade
Base:

Stats: 59/110/150/45/49/35; Steel/Ghost
Doublade starts off with incredible physical bulk along with a great defensive typing, as well as decent Attack. However, it lacks recovery, and has abysmal Special defense. However, crossevolving allows it to lessen these weaknesses.

Crossevolutions:
Dragonite

New Stats: 89/160/180/75/79/45; Steel/Flying; Inner Focus / Multiscale
Notable Moves: Roost, Defog, Dragon Dance, Thunder Wave, Dragon Tail, Roar, Heal Bell
Dragonite donates a huge movepool as well as large improvements to its stats, especially the +50 to Attack.

Sample Sets
Bulky Wallbreaker
Dragonite (Doublade) @ Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Iron Head
- Earthquake / Sacred Sword

Physical Wall
Dragonite (Doublade) @ Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Defog / Heal Bell
- Roost
- Iron Head
- Toxic

Flygon

New Stats: 89/140/180/75/79/65; Steel/Ghost; Levitate
Notable Moves: Defog, Roost, U-Turn, Dragon Tail, Earthquake
Flygon allows Doublade to be immune to Ground type moves while still keeping its nice Steel/Ghost typing. It also comes with recovery and hazard control.

Sample Set:
Physical Wall
Flygon (Doublade) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Defog / U-Turn
- Roost
- Iron Head
- Toxic

(note that the following crossevolutions are much less common in usage but are still somewhat viable)

Gardevoir:

New Stats: 89/140/180/105/109/65; Steel/Ghost; Synchronize/Trace/Telepathy
Notable Moves: Will-o-Wisp, Wish, Heal Bell, Taunt, Thunder Wave, Trick Room
Gardevoir is a nice crossevolution because it grants a massive 60 Special Defense, and with Wish and Will-o-Wisp, can serve as a great wall.

Sample Set:
Mixed Wall
Gardevoir (Doublade) @ Leftovers
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp / Thunder Wave / Heal Bell
- Wish
- Iron Head
- Protect

Beedrill:

New Stats: 79/175/140/65/104/75
Notable Moves: Roost, Defog, U-Turn, Toxic Spikes, Knock Off, Drill Run
Beedrill also gives a very high Special Defense boost. This set is more offensively oriented given the +65 Attack.

Sample Sets:
Bulky Attacker
Beedrill (Doublade) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance / Focus Energy
- Roost / Drill Run
- Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak / Shadow Claw / Sacred Sword

Support
Beedrill (Doublade) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Toxic
- Roost
- Iron Head
- U-turn / Knock Off / Defog

Checks and Counters:
Special Attackers:

Since Doublade's original 49 Special Defense is hard to patch up, attackers with high Special Attack stats can 2HKO it with ease, unless it has invested in Special Defense.

Fire type STAB or coverage:

(as a crossevolution)
Fire types resist Doublade's main STAB and hit back with powerful Flare Blitzes and Fire Blast. Nidoking gives Sheer Force especially so crossevolutions with it can OHKO Doublade.

Ground type STAB or coverage:

If Doublade is not evolved into Dragonite or a Levitate user, it is then weak to Earthquakes from Gligar, Rhydon, Groudon-Primal, Ho-oh, and more.

Dark type STAB or coverage:

(as a crossevolution)
Dark types can really threaten Doublade with their Knock Offs if Doublade has not evolved into Dragonite. This is exacerbated by the fact that a lot of these attackers run Pursuit.

Bulky Water types:

(as a crossevolution)
These Water types are both bulky and resist Doublade's STAB, and often carry Scald to burn physical attackers; Doublade then struggles against them.

edit: oops double post
edit2: fixed smellslikeEGG smellslikememe

 

[smellslikememe]

First Anaconja ima correct some stuff I found in your posts

Doublade sample sets:

Some of these don't work due to the two move limit so I'll just list em out

Sample Sets
Bulky Wallbreaker
Dragonite (Doublade) @ Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance / Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Iron Head
- Earthquake / Sacred Sword

Physical Wall
Dragonite (Doublade) @ Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Defog / Heal Bell
- Roost
- Iron Head
- Toxic / Dragon Tail / Roar

Flygon

New Stats: 89/140/180/75/79/65; Steel/Ghost; Levitate
Notable Moves: Defog, Roost, U-Turn, Dragon Tail, Earthquake
Flygon allows Doublade to be immune to Ground type moves while still keeping its nice Steel/Ghost typing. It also comes with recovery and hazard control.

Sample Set:
Physical Wall
Flygon (Doublade) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Iron Head
- Toxic / Dragon Tail / U-Turn

(note that the following crossevolutions are much less common in usage but are still somewhat viable)

Gardevoir:

New Stats: 89/140/180/105/109/65; Steel/Ghost; Synchronize/Trace/Telepathy
Notable Moves: Will-o-Wisp, Wish, Heal Bell, Taunt, Thunder Wave, Trick Room
Gardevoir is a nice crossevolution because it grants a massive 60 Special Defense, and with Wish and Will-o-Wisp, can serve as a great wall.

Sample Set:
Mixed Wall
Gardevoir (Doublade) @ Leftovers
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp / Thunder Wave
- Wish
- Iron Head
- Heal Bell / Protect

Beedrill:

New Stats: 79/175/140/65/104/75
Notable Moves: Roost, Defog, U-Turn, Toxic Spikes, Knock Off, Drill Run
Beedrill also gives a very high Special Defense boost. This set is more offensively oriented given the +65 Attack.

Sample Sets:
Bulky Attacker
Beedrill (Doublade) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance / Focus Energy
- Roost / Drill Run
- Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak / Shadow Claw / Sacred Sword / Knock Off

Support
Beedrill (Doublade) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Toxic Spikes / Defog
- Roost
- Iron Head
- U-turn / Knock Off

Movepool violations are bolded. Also include metagame relevance etc

Next is some stuff in the Type:Null post:

Base:

Type:Null is blessed with a nice defensive typing and amazing base stats (totaling at 534, the highest of all Stage 1 mons), with balanced 95 in everything but Speed. This allows it to tank hits easily and achieve slow pivots thanks to U-Turn to teammates. However, its main flaw is that it lacks reliable recovery without crossevolving, unlike Gligar, and also has a subpar movepool, though its main crossevolutions mitigate that problem.

Crossevolutions:
Milotic:

New Stats: 170/140/154/185/164/60; Normal; Marvel Scale/Competitive/Cute Charm
Notable Moves: Scald, Recover, Tri Attack, Thunder Wave, Toxic, U-Turn, Ice Beam, Calm Mind, Rest, Sleep Talk
Here, Type:Null-Milotic achieves the highest possible BST of 874, with raw bulk surpassing even Giratina and Lugia, and a Special Attack stat rivaling Mewtwo-Mega-Y. However, it usually does not invest much into its offensive stats (a bulky Competitive attacker could definitely work, though) and instead invests its EVs in its amazing physical defense, especially when statused.

Sample Set:

Defensive Pivot:
Milotic (Type:Null) @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
IVs: 0 Atk
Relaxed/Bold Nature
- Scald / Toxic
- Tri Attack / Toxic
- Recover
- U-Turn

Arcanine:

New Stats: 130/135/130/125/125/94; Normal; Intimidate/Flash Fire/Justified
Notable Moves: Extreme Speed, Swords Dance, Flare Blitz, Close Combat, Morning Sun, U-turn, Will-o-Wisp
Type:Null gains more modest gains here, but also gets very nice support abilities of Intimidate and Flash Fire, and moves such as Will-o-Wisp. It can also function as a bulky set-up attacker with Swords Dance and Extreme Speed.

Sample Sets:

Bulky Set-up Attacker:
Arcanine (Type:Null) @ Leftovers / Silk Scarf / Life Orb / Ghostium Z
Ability: Intimidate / Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Shadow Claw
- Morning Sun / Will-o-Wisp / Close Combat

Supporting Pivot:
Arcanine (Type:Null) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate / Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Will-o-Wisp
- Extreme Speed / Frustration
- U-Turn
- Morning Sun

Chansey:

New Stats: 245/95/95/115/135/79; Normal; Natural Cure/Serene Grace/Healer
Notable Moves: Soft-Boiled, Stealth Rock, U-Turn, Tri Attack, Seismic Toss, Toxic, Heal Bell
There’s nothing much to this, it’s just a Chansey exchanging 5 base HP and eviolite for much better physical and special defensive base stats.

Sample Sets:
Physically Defensive:
Chansey (Type:Null) @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold / Relaxed Nature
- Soft-Boiled
- Seismic Toss / Heal Bell / Toxic
- Toxic / Heal Bell / Stealth Rock / Tri Attack
- U-Turn / Heal Bell / Stealth Rock / Tri Attack

Quagsire:

New Stats: 135/135/135/135/135/79; Normal; Damp/Water Absorb/Unaware
Notable Moves: Scald, Tri Attack, Ice Beam, Recover, Toxic, U-Turn, Roar, Thunder Wave
In addition to gaining well-rounded stats, Type:Null-Quagsire also gains the amazing ability of Unaware, allowing it to blanket check set-up sweepers such as Gligar-Gyarados and Electabuzz fusions lacking Focus Blast.

Sample Sets:

Unaware Wall:
Quagsire (Type:Null) @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD (or 248 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD)
IVs: 0 Atk
Bold / Calm Nature
- Scald
- Tri Attack / Ice Beam / Toxic
- Recover
- U-Turn / Roar / Toxic

Toxapex:

New Stats: 95/105/185/105/185/49; Normal; Merciless/Limber/Regnerator
Notable Moves: Scald, Haze, Knock Off, Recover, U-Turn, Frustration, Toxic Spikes, Sludge Bomb, Thunder Wave
Type:Null-Toxapex has gargantuan defenses, along with Regenerator; with its nice attacking support moves, it can viably run a RegenVest to boost its Special Defense even more.

Sample Sets:

RegenVest:
Toxapex (Type:Null) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
(IVs: 0 Spe)
Sassy Nature
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Frustration / Sludge Bomb / Tri Attack
- U-Turn

Physical Wall:
Toxapex (Type:Null) @ Leftover
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Knock Off / Frustration / Toxic Spikes
- Recover
- U-Turn / Haze

Noivern:

(wew that's big)YOU COPIED ME I'LL BURN YOU AT THE STAKE
New Stats: 140/135/140/147/135/127; Normal; Frisk/Infiltrator/Telepathy
Notable Moves: Roost, Defog, Boomburst, U-Turn, Heat Wave, Focus Blast, Super Fang, Whirlwind, Taunt
At first look, Noivern is chosen for its STAB Boomburst (dead meme), but with its Boomburst comes good stat boosts and support movepool. Type:Null-Noivern, with its huge Speed boost, can opt to run a Choice Specs set or a more supporting set.

Sample Sets:

Choice Specs
Noivern (Type: Null) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Boomburst
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ghost]
- U-turn

Support
Noivern (Type: Null) @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD (or 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe)
Calm / Timid Nature
- Boomburst / Tri Attack
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn / Thunder Wave / Toxic

Also it's worth mentioning that Type:Null's potential crosses are heavily limited due to its abysmal movepool.


Next comes the issue of what to do next. CrossEvo is currently missing a role compendium (difficult and time consuming), an analysis section and analyses for Pokemon ranked A and up (at the moment), and activity is decreasing. IDK what to do about this but this could be important at a time where OM activity is at an all time low and the leader currently is on hiatus.

 

[Throbulator36]

So I have a question regarding how new typings are determined:
If I were to use Noibat (flying/dragon) as my base and cross evolve it with Gyarados would it become pure flying or would it remain flying/dragon?
Alternatively, if I were to cross evolve it with Steelix (evolves from rock/ground, becomes steel/ground) would it become flying/steel or steel/dragon?

 

[Ludicrousity]

So I have a question regarding how new typings are determined:
If I were to use Noibat (flying/dragon) as my base and cross evolve it with Gyarados would it become pure flying or would it remain flying/dragon?
Alternatively, if I were to cross evolve it with Steelix (evolves from rock/ground, becomes steel/ground) would it become flying/steel or steel/dragon?

Crossevolving Noibat to Gyarados would make it pure flying, as the secondary type should be replaced by flying, but since it's already flying type it just removes the second type.

Crossevolving Steelix would change the primary type to steel, as it's the primary type that changes upon evolution. Also, if the pokemon is single typed, it becomes pure steel.

 

[smellslikememe]

ok i was kinda bored so here's a spritzee analysis. this thread needs some activity anyways; sketch is gonna fucking beat us and that'll be the saddest thing that happened since despacito 6 was released, so here goes nothing.

The Spritzee Analysis
Parts:
Part 1 - Introduction
Self-explanatory. Also, yes, I am, for the most part, following the same format as I did in the Gligar analysis
Part 2 - Base forme
Here I'll be describing its base forme and what sets it apart as a base from other attractive Pokemon, such as Type:Null.
Part 3 - Viable crosses
Self-explanatory, I'll explain in some detail what each one can do. Not nearly as long as the viable cross sections of other Pokemon, as Spritzee lacks versatility.
Part 4 - Roles
Essentially what Spritzee provides a team and what roles it can possibly fill.
Part 5 - Overall impact on the metagame
Fairly self-explanatory, this will go over how Spritzee pressures opponents and how it restricts teambuilding.
Part 6 - Checks and counters
Read the title of this section.
Part 7 - Valuable teammates
Also read the title of this section.
Part 8 - Sample sets
Also also read the title of this section.

Part 1 - Introduction
Some people may not have had much experience with Spritzee x Milotic in Gen 7, and for the most part that's understandable - it has fallen from power as one of the most abused Pokemon in Gen 6 by huge amount, especially with the advent of Type:Null and other Pokemon. This would lead some to wonder whether its abilities and viability really correspond to the A+ ranking it is currently assigned.

Part 2 - Base form

Base stats - 78 / 52 / 60 / 63 / 65 / 23
Typing - Fairy
Right off the bat, one notices the fairly decent bulk. 78/60/65 is nothing to scoff at for a Stage 1 base Pokemon. While nowhere near the likes of Gligar or Type:Null, it's undeniable that it has decent enough base stats for some good evolutions. The next immediate advantage it has is the Fairy typing. Synergizing well with quite few evolutions, Spritzee fits in well on most, if not all, bulky or defensive teams.

Part 3 - Viable crosses
Being a Stage 1 base Pokemon, Spritzee has an advantage in that it has access to quite a few powerful evolutions. Unfortunately, its stat distribution severely hampers its ability to abuse being a Stage 1 base Pokemon. Nonetheless, what it has to work with is more than enough to establish Spritzee's place in the metagame.

Toxapex - 78 / 62 / 150 / 73 / 155 / 13 - Fairy - Merciless / Limber / Regenerator
Notable new moves: Recover, Scald, Knock Off, Haze, Baneful Bunker, Toxic Spikes

With 78 / 150 / 155 bulk, reliable recovery, and Regenerator to boot, Spritzee x Toxapex is not to be trifled with. While Gligar or Type:Null x Toxapex may have more raw bulk, Spritzee's Fairy-type pulls its weight. With Dark, Bug, and Fighting-types running amok in the mega, Spritzee x Toxapex can reliably check nearly all of them due to potent passive and active recovery. It can phase most setup 'mons with a combination of Scald + Haze, and Moonblast is a reliable STAB that specifically helps it deal with Substitute Scyther x Breloom variants. It could run helpful moves, such as Knock Off for item removal or Baneful Bunker for scouting, but it is heavily hindered by 4MSS, as one must choose between Moonblast, Haze, Knock Off, Scald, Aromatherapy, and Baneful Bunker for its three moveslots apart from Recover.

Chansey - 228 / 52 / 60 / 83 / 105 / 43 - Fairy - Natural Cure / Serene Grace / Healer
Notable new moves: Soft-boiled, Seismic Toss, Stealth Rock

With incredible 228 / 60 / 105 bulk and, again, reliable recovery, Spritzee x Chansey can fill in the classic role that Chansey itself usually does: bulky support. Being no longer weak to fighting helps too - it can switch in on both physical attackers and special attackers. Natural Cure is fairly standard, but Serene Grace Moonblast deserves a mention here too, as the Special Attack drops can prove useful at times. It is fairly easy to adjust its moves in accordance with what the team needs. Overall, it's an evolution with great bulk, a great support movepool, excellent typing, and decent abilities that shouldn't be overlooked, especially when building a defensive/stall team.

Milotic - 153 / 97 / 119 / 153 / 135 / 24 - Fairy - Marvel Scale, Competitive, Cute Charm
Notable new moves: Recover, Haze, Scald, Dragon Tail

This is, without a shade of doubt, Spritzee's best cross-evolution. With 153 / 119 / 135 bulk and Marvel Scale, Spritzee is not to be trifled with. The classic CM + Sleep Talk set is one of the main factors that has pushed it all the way to A+ rank. Not even Spore users are safe - all it does is give Spritzee a chance to set up or attack, which is almost always detrimental. Without a proper check to Spritzee x Milo, it can literally plow through an entire team with its eyes closed. That said, however, its usage has fallen quite a bit, mostly due to the rise in usage of plenty of its checks, such as Doublade or Ho-oh. Usually it is not invested in Special Attack either, meaning it falls behind against Unaware users or simply strong Specially-defensive walls. It's also worth noting that bulky Taunt users, such as Gligod, completely shut it down, rendering it unable to do much more than fire off a weak unboosted Moonblast. However, it has other sets to run. By virtue of its massive bulk - which essentially outdoes that of Spritzee x Chansey - it can also run bulky support sets. With neat phasing moves such as Scald and Dragon Tail, it can be annoying for opposing setup sweepers that simply aren't equipped to deal with its Fairy typing nor its massive natural bulk.

Part 4 - Roles

Spritzee primarily serves a defensive role on a team. Because its typing synergizes so well with so many other Pokemon, Spritzee can be a godsend to those looking for a Fighting or Dark-type check or just a bulky Pokemon in general. It has decent support options as well, so if a team is in need of status removal or hazards, it can fill that gap fairly well.

Part 5 - Overall Impact on the Metagame

Formerly one of the most annoying Pokemon to face, Spritzee has fallen, mainly due to an increase in both defensive and offensive Steel-types. However, it still ought not to be underestimated - offensive teams can be stopped cold by Spritzee, and bulkier teams struggle to break through it without super effective STAB moves, a strong setup sweeper, or a dedicated stallbreaker. While fairly easy to predict, Spritzee is not an easy threat to face and should be prepared for. Most teams should have at least one stopgap Spritzee check for fear of getting swept by the CM / Sleep Talk variant or simply getting walled by it.

Part 6 - Checks and Counters

Bulky Fire/Steel/Poison-types

Bulky Fire-, Poison-, and Steel-types completely wall Spritzee, and in the cases of Steel- and Poison-types, can force it out with super effective STAB moves.

Offensive Steel- or Poison-types

This is mostly self-explanatory; some offensive Steel- and Poison-types have no problem dealing with Spritzee as they both resist its Fairy STAB and can either deal heavy damage with their super effective STABs or use Spritzee as a setup opportunity.

Setup sweepers

Spritzee can be passive at times, and thus is liable to become setup bait. Most boosted setup sweepers can easily deal with Spritzee after one or two boosts.

Powerful Attackers in general

Spritzee is either heavily reliant on Recover/Soft-boiled or Rest, and this can easily be exploited by some of the more powerful attackers in the meta. There are plenty of Pokemon that can heavily dent Spritzee with a single STAB attack.

Specially Defensive walls

In the case of Spritzee x Milotic, unboosted attacks can be quite weak, and even when it's boosted, it can still be walled by potent Special walls.

Taunt users

Due to its innate passive nature, Spritzee can be worn down by certain Taunt users while being rendered essentially useless. Scald and Dragon Tail can help phase such Taunt users, however.

Unaware users

Spritzee x Milotic is essentially shut down by Unaware users. While they do not directly counter it, they can be fairly effective in dealing with Spritzee x Milotic.

Mega Gengar

Mega Gengar can prove itself a valuable asset to many teams, whether it be stall that needs to be dealt with, or if the team simply appreciates an offensive trapper. In the case of Spritzee, Poison STAB and Taunt effectively render Spritzee useless in the face of Mega Gengar.

Greninja (as an evolution) - +18 / +32 / +15 / +23 / +15 / +25 (Total: +125 BST) - Torrent / Protean - +Dark-type

Greninja donates both Protean and Gunk Shot, meaning that any Pokemon that cross-evolves with Greninja is immediately able to check Spritzee with a powerful super effective STAB without dragging the rest of the team down with a specific check, as Greninja's general viability as an evolution means that it fits into many different kinds of teams.

Part 7 - Valuable Teammates

It's usually not a question of what Spritzee should be paired with - it's usually whether a team would appreciate Spritzee or not. That said, however, Spritzee goes well on teams in need of a Fighting- or Dark- type check, and its set can usually be catered to the team's needs. It, in turn, appreciates a check to Steel-types, such as Magmar or a Magnet Pull user. It should not be used on an offensive team, as it kills momentum, and as its position as a wincon is shaky at best. It works best on defensive or bulky teams that are well equipped to handle powerful Fire- and Steel-types.

Part 8 - Sample sets

Spritzee x Toxapex

Toxapex (Spritzee) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald / Moonblast
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes / Moonblast / Knock Off
- Haze / Scald

Spritzee x Chansey

Chansey (Spritzee) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast / Seismic Toss
- Soft-boiled
- Stealth Rock / Aromatherapy
- Toxic / Wish / Aromatherapy

Spritzee x Milotic

Milotic (Spritzee) @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Rest / Recover
- Sleep Talk / Scald / Dragon Tail
- Calm Mind / Dragon Tail / Toxic / Haze