Hello everyone, the OU tiering council has decided to test Volcarona!
Volcarona is one of the strongest win conditions in the history of modern Overused, rising to prominence in its debut generation of BW and remaining one of the better set-up options across the last thireteen years. While losing Hidden Power and gaining Heavy-Duty Boots reshaped Volcarona last generation, Terastallization had perhaps the biggest impact on its presence ever this generation. After a controversial quickban earlier this generation, Volcarona was reintroduced to our flagship metagame with hopes that it would stay afloat this time around. However, the infamous Quiver Dancer, frequently dubbed the match-up Moth, is once again a controversial presence in the metagame.
With Quiver Dance, free turns can allow for Volcarona to become quite powerful. While certain strategies like timely priority or Unaware can dwarf the potential Volcarona sweep that comes after boosting, other forms of defensive counterplay become more circumstantial than reliable in the current landscape. With access to Terastallization, it is possible for Volcarona to morph it's offensive presence and defensive presence, which can prove deadly for the opponent if they have the right type and timing. Of course, there is an enormous opportunity cost to doing this and there is still some counterplay to each individual Volcarona variant, including a bit of overlap between the sets.
In terms of Volcarona sets in the metagame, it is always using Quiver Dance and a Fire STAB, which is often Fiery Dance and occasionally Fire Blast for extra power. Other non-attacking moves like Morning Sun or Substitute can permit certain beneficial lines like repeatedly tanking Fairy or Ice types thanks to Morning Sun or avoiding status moves like Toxic behind a Substitute. Bug Buzz is a solid option as a second attack on Volcarona, gaining popularity recently to cover Ogerpon-Wellspring and Ting Lu while giving a neutral option into Dragon and Water types to compliment the Fire STAB. Giga Drain is used sporadically, too, in order to further deter Water types like Primarina and Dondozo while also hitting Garganacl.
However, the most dynamic coverage option for Volcarona is Tera Blast, frequently being used alongside the Ground or Dragon type. This element of Volcarona allows for it to handpick its own counterplay a lot of the time. Previously the OU tiering council opened a discussion on Tera Blast and Volcarona here for those curious. Here is an excerpt from the OP on the topic that is still relevant to this discussion:
Being able to handpick your own counterplay is not conducive towards a balanced and competitive metagame typically. While modern counterplay has assumed a slightly different definition and application thanks to potential Tera transactions, there are still considerations for the arguably overbearing impact Volcarona can have both in the builder and during games when it is used well. Volcarona in particular is able to have this presence while not giving off as much indication about its potential set or Tera at team preview as other top threats thanks to the depth of possibilities.
There are numerous downsides to Volcarona though. For example, it is reliant on Terastallization a lot of the time to reach its potential, which means that some games it could offer diminishing returns and on the whole it is essentially a high maintenance Pokemon in a metagame where players can already be stretched thin. In addition, there are a handful of universal stops to Volcarona. Specially Defensive Skeledirge, Calm Mind Blissey, and Clodsire tend to be safe into most Volcarona variants while other recent trends like Brave Bird Moltres and Choice Band Extreme Speed Dragonite also do well. The first group oftentimes fits onto defensive and balanced teams, but offensive teams often are able to allocate a Tera type on the right Pokemon to keep Volcarona in check if they cannot revenge kill it or stop it up-front, too. This is not the most reliable practice as the it hinges on what Volcarona's Tera status and potentially preserving numerous Pokemon though, leading Volcarona to cause a strain on teambuilding and gameplay alike.
Overall, Volcarona is one of the best win conditions in the metagame, but it is also higher maintenance than most others, oftentimes being referred to as a Tera hog. It lacks too distinguished a defensive presence, being mainly able to check stray Fairy and Ice attacks without covering a ton of Pokemon reliably. However, it is a dynamic offensive presence with the potential to snowball out of control with the right circumstances. Defensive stalwarts like Skeledirge, Clodsire, and Blissey can oftentimes stop Volcarona in its tracks, but not too many other Pokemon that fit onto different atchetypes find themselves reliable into Volcarona's potential arsenal. This suspect will b used to determine if Volcarona is too much for the metagame or if the playerbase determines it to be balanced in SV OU!
- Reading this is mandatory for participating in the suspect test!!! The voting requirements are a minimum GXE of 80 with at least 50 games played. In addition, you may play 1 less game for every 0.2 GXE you have above 80 GXE, down to a minimum of 30 games at a GXE of 84. Also, needing more than 50 games to reach 80 GXE will suffice.
GXE | minimum games |
80 | 50 |
80.2 | 49 |
80.4 | 48 |
80.6 | 47 |
80.8 | 46 |
81 | 45 |
81.2 | 44 |
81.4 | 43 |
81.6 | 42 |
81.8 | 41 |
82 | 40 |
82.2 | 39 |
82.4 | 38 |
82.6 | 37 |
82.8 | 36 |
83 | 35 |
83.2 | 34 |
83.4 | 33 |
83.6 | 32 |
83.8 | 31 |
84 | 30 |
- You must signup with a newly registered account on Pokemon Showdown! that begins with the appropriate prefix for the suspect test. For this suspect test, the prefix will be OUWW. For example, I might signup with the ladder account OUWW Finch.
- Laddering with an account that impersonates, mocks, or insults another Smogon user or breaks Pokemon Showdown! rules may be disqualified from voting and infracted. Moderator discretion will be applied here. If there is any doubt or hesitance when making the alt, just pick another name. There are infinite possibilities and we have had trouble for this repeatedly. If you wish to participate in the suspect, you should be able to exhibit decent enough judgement here. We will not be lenient.
- We will be using the regular OU ladder for this suspect test. We will not be creating a new Suspect Ladder. At the beginning of every battle, there will be an announcement denoting the ongoing suspect with a link to this thread.
- The suspect being tested, Volcarona, will be allowed on the ladder.
- Any form of voting manipulation will result in swift and severe punishment. You are more than welcome to state your argument to as many people as you so please, but do not use any kind of underhanded tactics to get a result you desire. Bribery, blackmail, or any other type of tactic used to sway votes will be handled and sanctioned.
- Do not attempt to cheat the ladder. We will know if you did not actually achieve voting requisites, so don't do it. Harsh sanctions will be applied.
- Unlike previous tests, we will be posting the voting identification thread immediately after this thread. Your voting requisites will be confirmed by a Council member or OU moderator, to which we will edit in confirmation. Please avoid getting more games before getting confirmed.
- The suspect test will be lasting until Friday, April 26th at 11:59 pm (GMT-4), and then we will put up the voting thread in the Blind Voting subforum.
- No unhelpful one liners nor uninformed posts;
- No discussion on other potential suspects -- if you wish to discuss another Pokemon, we encourage you to do so in the metagame discussion thread, but this thread is strictly to discuss if Volcarona is banworthy or not;
- No discussion on the suspect process -- this includes testing Volcarona vs other potential suspects;
- You are required to make respectful posts;
- You are required to read this thread before posting.
- Failure to follow these simple guidelines will result in your post being deleted and infracted without any prior warning.
- Please also take a moment to read over some suggestions from the OU Council and the OU Moderation team for posting in this thread; adhering these will help out our time moderating the thread and present your arguments better and more educated.
- Do not argue because it's your favorite Pokemon. This should be common sense, but please don't do this, because we will delete posts like this.
- You do not need a boatload of experience to have an informed opinion, but please try to minimize the theorymon aspect and use your experiences watching and playing. Playing some on the ladder before posting is plenty if you're concerned about this.
- Do not flame, belittle, or be disrespectful to users in this thread. While not everyone will read this post in its entirety nor will everyone have an informed opinion, please be sure not to be disrespectful. If there's an issue, bring it up to a moderator.
- Do not use the argument of broken checking broken. Should your argument rest on your opinion that banning the Pokemon or mechanic being tested in this suspect test will make a Pokemon or mechanic broken, overpowered, and/or uncompetitive; don't. If something needs to be banned because of the result this suspect, then so be it.
- This thread is not to voice complaints about the suspect process or decisions of the council. While we are more than open to hearing complaints that may arise, this isn't the place for it. I suggest you message the OU Council, PM our Tier Leaders, Finchinator and Ruft, or make a post in Senior Staff requests, should you have a badge.
Keep in mind that our suspect tests are decided by the community; anyone who rightfully achieves voting requisites is allowed to vote. The outcome is up to you.
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