Other Current Metagame trends

[Jaroda]

Mega Gyarados is a good switch into Bisharp.

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Gyarados: 84-100 (25.3 - 30.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Gyarados: 69-82 (20.7 - 24.6%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
252 Atk Mold Breaker Mega Gyarados Earthquake vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Bisharp: 248-294 (88.8 - 105.3%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

It's best if it is already megavolved though, because Intimidate gives Bisharp an attack boost in this circumstance. But a Moxie Gyarados still resists Iron Head and Knock Off does less damage from holding Gyarasodite still. Sucker Punch can be played around with Dragon Dance letting you get a free boost or two if he insists.

 

[Taehl]

Mega Gyarados is a good switch into Bisharp.

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Gyarados: 84-100 (25.3 - 30.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Gyarados: 69-82 (20.7 - 24.6%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
252 Atk Mold Breaker Mega Gyarados Earthquake vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Bisharp: 248-294 (88.8 - 105.3%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

It's best if it is already megavolved though, because Intimidate gives Bisharp an attack boost in this circumstance. But a Moxie Gyarados still resists Iron Head and Knock Off does less damage from holding Gyarasodite still. Sucker Punch can be played around with Dragon Dance letting you get a free boost or two if he insists.

Low Kick is still a thing, even though it's not common anymore:

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Gyarados: 338-398 (101.8 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[Jaroda]

Low Kick is still a thing, even though it's not common anymore:

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Gyarados: 338-398 (101.8 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

In which case Moxie Gyarados with Gyarasodite would be the best if he actually runs that.

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Gyarados: 110-130 (33.1 - 39.1%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Gyarados: 179-212 (53.9 - 63.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Gyarados: 109-130 (32.8 - 39.1%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO

You can then Megavolve to resist Sucker Punch and finish with Earthquake, or nab a dance first.

 

[Mitchhhhhh]

Low Kick is still a thing, even though it's not common anymore:

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Gyarados: 338-398 (101.8 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

You would still have to hit it on the switch as Gyarados outspeeds.

 

[reyscarface]

I dont think you guys quite understand what I mean by metagame trends.

Ill make it easy for you. This thread is not to post possible counters to something. This thread is NOT for calcs. Basically if you have to put fucking calcs in your post then it does not belong here, simple. Saying "Bisharp is so strong and hard to counter" is fine. Writing "MEGA GYARADOS COUNTERS BISHARP" is not.

Seriously this thread is only to post shit that is common now. "Clefable + Quagsire stall is the basic stall outline nowadays" <- THATS THE KIND OF THING I WANT HERE

might delete the shit posts later because jesus christ people

 

[Tressed]

Thanks Rey.

These sorts of posts belong in the Bisharp thread, or alternatively, the SQSA thread if you're looking for help on dealing with Bisharp.

As a more on-point point, Thundurus-I's usage in SPL doesn't surprise me at all. Priority T-Wave is a fantastic utility, and Thundurus has the raw stats to pull its weight as is. It can even lure in the likes of Mega-Venusaur with its Nasty Plot set and smash it with HP Flying, opening up defensive cores for the rest of the team to pour through.

+2 252 SpA Thundurus Hidden Power Flying vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Venusaur: 326-386 (89.5 - 106%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 SpA Thundurus Hidden Power Flying vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mega Venusaur: 242-288 (66.4 - 79.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Hidden Power Flying vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mega Venusaur: 315-374 (86.5 - 102.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Just the fact that it's so useful against stall and offensive teams makes it an excellent pick, in my opinion. This isn't even considering the Physical set, which somehow is a viable, terrifying thing (seriously though, if you had told me that Power Gem Defiant Physical Thundurus-I would be an actual threat, I would have laughed in your face).

Anyways, Thundurus is just so good that it really deserves more usage on the ladder, and seeing it getting that recognition in SPL is great.

 

[Ninja Charizard]

Thundurus can literally stop most attempts to set up sweep for free. As long as you have it in a team, your opponent will never be able to sweep your team. It's that effective. I see a lot of players who like to lead with it to get a paralysis right away, but the most scary ones are those who keep it until the end of the match just in case my Mega Tyranitar decides to DD. It's a very effective mon.

Of course other pranksters can do that too, but Thundurus is the only one with actual non-support capabilities, which is why it's so good.

 

[BKC]

a lot of offensive teams get stomped by dd mega gyara, they rely on prankster twaving it and then revenge killing. if you pack a heal bell user (clefable is the most common but i guess sylveon could work too), you kill the thund as it twaves you, heal bell up, and go for the sweep again later, since mgyara gets a ton of chances to set up because of how absurdly bulky it is.

 

[Ash Borer]

Pursuit Aegislash destroys everything, it's becoming very common Many teams rely on the latis to fight Lando and Keldeo AND remove their hazards.

The Latis are such fantastic pokemon, it's amazing how well they adapt to the meta running psyshock to counter Venusaur, Keldeo and Check COnkeldurr as they became way more common, thunderbolt for Azumarill, EQ for Heatran, Bisharp, AEgislash as their usage increased dramatically. Even with glaring weaks theyre so useful to being offensive answers to so much shit..

 

[The Yellow King]

As others have stated earlier, I too have been seeing a high usage of the Deo-D, Bisharp, and Aegislash core at around 1450-1600 on the ladder. I've also encountered many Gliscors which forced me to run HP Ice instead of Nasty Plot on my Thundurus-I. It's easy to counter, but if you're not prepared for it, Gliscor can really wear down your team. There are also a plethora of Conkeldurrs in this region of the ladder, and from my experience Talonflame counters it nicely, but hazards can prevent a switch. If you're running a Conkeldurr of your own, then you can deal with it by switching into your own, knocking off the inevitable Assault Vest, and killing it later with a more viable threat. Rotom-Wash isn't seen as much the higher you go up the ladder, which can be attributed to the declone of Talonflame, but also the rise in Assault vest Conkeldurr. Conkeldurr eats up its burns and any special attack Rotom-Wash wants to dish out. Similarly, I've seen a rise in Mega Venusaur, which poops on Rotom-Wash.

 

[Kriptini]

I was seeing a lot of Dittos on both Stall and Hyper Offense teams a few weeks ago, but they seem to have disappeared again. Sad, really. Ditto is amazing this gen.

Since we've been talking about Thundurus-I, let me tell you guys about the amazing combo that is Lundurus-I and Ditto. Paralyze your foe's sweeper with priority Thunder Wave, then swap in Ditto to copy their boosts and outspeed them reliably since they're paralyzed. It's awesome.

 

[The Yellow King]

I was seeing a lot of Dittos on both Stall and Hyper Offense teams a few weeks ago, but they seem to have disappeared again. Sad, really. Ditto is amazing this gen.

It's fairly easy to check, especially with the majority of them being scarfed. This is compounded with the fact that there is so much priority in OU. It may be more useful this gen than in the past, but I'd say it's still outclassed by a decent core.

 

[Kriptini]

It's fairly easy to check, especially with the majority of them being scarfed. This is compounded with the fact that there is so much priority in OU. It may be more useful this gen than in the past, but I'd say it's still outclassed by a decent core.

I added a little bit to my post if you'd like to check that out.

 

[The Yellow King]

I added a little bit to my post if you'd like to check that out.

What item would you run on your Ditto? This sounds like it would work nice, but in practice it may be more difficult to execute.

 

[Kriptini]

What item would you run on your Ditto? This sounds like it would work nice, but in practice it may be more difficult to execute.

I'm still perfecting the strategy so for now my Ditto still has a Scarf, but when I get comfortable enough with it, I'll probably go with Leftovers or a Lum Berry.

 

[The Yellow King]

I'm still perfecting the strategy so for now my Ditto still has a Scarf, but when I get comfortable enough with it, I'll probably go with Leftovers or a Lum Berry.

Be sure to run good support. Hazards coupled with an already weakened enemy team can make your copied Pokemon able to sweep even with resisted hits. :)

 

[Ninja Charizard]

As others have stated earlier, I too have been seeing a high usage of the Deo-D, Bisharp, and Aegislash core at around 1450-1600 on the ladder. I've also encountered many Gliscors which forced me to run HP Ice instead of Nasty Plot on my Thundurus-I. It's easy to counter, but if you're not prepared for it, Gliscor can really wear down your team. There are also a plethora of Conkeldurrs in this region of the ladder, and from my experience Talonflame counters it nicely, but hazards can prevent a switch. If you're running a Conkeldurr of your own, then you can deal with it by switching into your own, knocking off the inevitable Assault Vest, and killing it later with a more viable threat. Rotom-Wash isn't seen as much the higher you go up the ladder, which can be attributed to the declone of Talonflame, but also the rise in Assault vest Conkeldurr. Conkeldurr eats up its burns and any special attack Rotom-Wash wants to dish out. Similarly, I've seen a rise in Mega Venusaur, which poops on Rotom-Wash.

The 1500s are Conkeldurr Hell. When I first got to that point of the ladder, I was forced to throw away my team and start from scratch, because my team was particularly vulnerable to Conkeldurr, and there was like one Conk every 3 matches. I think it's a pokemon that's really easy to slap into a team because it checks a lot of things, but once the players get better they stop using it so much because it's not very hard to keep in check. Just make sure your fairy stays alive :P

 

[idccc]

@1600's i've seen a lot more m-gyara w/ some of them using bite
also there's still a lot, but i've seen less rotom-w

 

[dkkc19]

Between 1100-1300 every team I faced had a Charizard Y.

I actually love facing teams with Charizard Y or Talonflame, I can 1hko when they switch into Breloom and get hit by Stone Edge.

 

[Aragorn the King]

Between 1100-1300 every I faced had a Charizard Y.

I actually love facing teams with Charizard Y or Talonflame, I can 1hko when they switch into Breloom and get hit by Stone Edge.

I hope you're using Poison Heal Breloom. Otherwise Rock Tomb 100% outclasses Stone Edge.

Anyway, I have to agree with you. I've played a bunch of games today, and altogether 100% of the Charizards I saw were Charizard-Y.

 

[dkkc19]

I hope you're using Poison Heal Breloom. Otherwise Rock Tomb 100% outclasses Stone Edge.

Anyway, I have to agree with you. I've played a bunch of games today, and altogether 100% of the Charizards I saw were Charizard-Y.

Yeah, Poison Heal Breloom not Technician.

Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 228 HP / 216 SDef / 16 Def / 48 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Spore
- Drain Punch
- Protect

I don't think it's a good or a usual IV spread, but it surprisingly works well with me.

I have just faced a Charizard X, but it was on the OU Suspect test and not regular OU.

 

[Mitchhhhhh]

Poison Heal should be running SubSeed or SubPunch or there's very little reason to run it tbh, Protect isn't all that great when you've got no Toxic or Leech Seed withering down your foe.

 

[dkkc19]

Poison Heal should be running SubSeed or SubPunch or there's very little reason to run it tbh, Protect isn't all that great when you've got no Toxic or Leech Seed withering down your foe.

I mainly use Breloom to lure in Fire/Flying types and take them out with Stone Edge. I have Rotom-W to Toxic other Pokemons and Sableye to Wow. Protect is good for scouting moves, stall Pokemons with Burn or Toxic and to gain health from Poison Heal. Protect + Drain Punch keeps Breloom alive for a long time. I thought of having Leech Seed over Drain Punch or Spore, but Spore is too good not to have and a Fighting STAB is vital especially with so many Steel types around.

I was playing around with different EV spreads and movesets and surprisingly this Breloom worked in my team.

 

[Mitchhhhhh]

You're completely walled by Aegislash without Leech Seed, which is a big deal as it's one of the best and most common pokes in OU.

 

[dkkc19]

You're completely walled by Aegislash without Leech Seed, which is a big deal as it's one of the best and most common pokes in OU.

True, but I have different options to take Aegislash other than Breloom. My assault vest bulky Excadrill can take special hits and hit back with stab EQ or I can switch into Heatran.