Other ORAS OU Type Analysis: Week 16 - Dark Type [Check post #140]

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SketchUp

Don't let your memes be dreams
Reuniclus got some extra attention in the past few weeks and in the beginning I was not really sure about its viability. It is a very nice pokemon on some teams, as it can set up on pokemon like Mega Diancie and win most CM wars bar Mega Slowbro, Unaware Clefable and Mega Sableye, but it is very difficult to fit on teams and this can be seen by its low usage. Because of its nice bulk and Magic Guard it can be a huge threat because nobody prepares for it, but it really needs some support because some pokemon that are common now can really give Reuniclus problems.

AV Slowking is pretty cool as it is a very solid switchin to many special attackers and can also catch people off-guard when they underestimate the bulk of Slowking. I use a more defensive build (Calm nature instead of Modest, but still with some SpA) and it is a very good switchin for Mega Gardevoir, Latios and can surprise LO Gengar when they are only doing 52% max. Besides the obvious Scald and Fire Blast there are many nice options such as Future Sight, Dragon Tail, Ice Beam, Psyshock and Power Gem. Especially Future Sight is pretty cool as Slowking is easily forced out by physical attackers and status, and giving them some extra pressure with Future Sight is very good. Also stops some pokemon with Recovery like Mega Altaria from winning the Roost / Attack war.

I don't really see much reason to still use Mega Medicham. It is a good wallbreaker but the standard balanced builds can handle Mega Medicham pretty well. Pokemon like Kyurem-B, Pangoro and Tornadus-T can tear these cores apart much easier (not saying Mega Medicham is a worse wallbreaker, only saying that defensive builds nowadays can handle Medicham much easier than they can handle Kyurem-B) Against stall it is still very good because stall doesn't prepare that much for Medicham anymore, but this only applies when the stall team doesn't run Mega Sableye, who just stops Medicham (Foresight Mega Medicham New Meta?)

Adamant Band is another set that can give problems to defensive cores. V-Create does a lot even to those who resist it (up to 55% to rotom-w for example) Another set that has much usage is LO Glaciate, which can surprise pokemon such as Rocky Garchomp and Lando-T who try to force you out with Earthquake after a V-Create drop. The speed drop is also very good as a team supporter, while also taking care of scarfers that want to switch in. The problem with Victini is that it doesn't fit that well in a metagame were sand offense, and in particular Pursuit Tyranitar, Mega Altaria and Keldeo belong to the biggest threats.

Fuck this thing. Not even worth discussing. It is said Gothitelle only works against stall but I disagree with this. Gothitelle fits on some teams as someone who traps pokemon like Chansey who stops Zard-Y or Clefable who stops Kyurem-B from sweeping the stall team, but it is also a pain to face for some offensive builds because it can Trick a Scarf to pokemon like Heatran, Tornadus-T and Landorus and while they are not defeated, they lost their niche to change moves and this gives the teammates of Gothitelle a free turn to set up and make it easier to switch into the choiced pokemon. It is also found on stall teams, though it gives very bad defensive synergy, as someone who stops Manaphy, Clefable and Diggersby from sweeping. Especially more aggressive stall teams really appreciate the help of Gothitelle.

This thing is a big threat for offensive teams if used as a late game cleaner.It is stopped by Mega Sableye and Chansey (lol knock off) so against stall it is really difficult to put in work, but even fast offensive teams may lack pokemon that outspeed Mega Alakazam, as it outspeeds pokemon as Mega Beedrill, Scarftar and +1 Mega Altaria. I have to say it is pretty hard to use it right because of its low bulk and (even with 175 SpA) difficulty to OHKO pokemon it doesn't hit super effective. It also has to watch out for Bisharp's 50/50's and basically everything that outspeeds it

This thing has 352 sets and they all have a cool niche in the metagame. SpDef is a very good switchin to pokemon like Kyurem-Black, Mega Diancie and Mega Gardevoir, which are often big threats for stall teams. The scarfed set can also take care of these threats, but is only a one time switch in and is more of a momentum grabber. Offensive sets with Stealth Rock and coverage moves can really surprise some opponents and apparently there is a set called ParaFlinch that is so good that it let you win without even using skill, it is just that good.

This thing was awesome the 2 weeks before the mega metagross suspect was announced because it could (and still can) take care of threats like Keldeo, Mega Metagross (needs mixed def for Keldeo and GK Megagross) Landorus-T, Mega Lopunny and Talonflame. Even if it predicts wrong it can use Regenerator to stay healthy. It has tons of good moves like Thunder Wave and Scald which supports the whole team. The reason it is a bit less effective now is because of the rise in usage of Kyurem-Black, LO Starmie and Tornadus-T, who all have ways to defeat it.

Still a very good wallbreaker, but the fact Mega Metagross didn't get banned, Victini and Jirachi rose in usage and Hyper Voice is in general a little less spammable than before really hurt Mega Gardevoir. Though I have to say the metagame is not very prepared for it so you can really smack through some common builds.

This thing was overrated af in the beginning of ORAS, but the metagame prepared for it a lot and it decreased in viability. At the moment I think it is a little bit underrated for it capacity as a very good wallbreaker and set up sweeper. Again, the metagame doesn't really prepare for this threat that much anymore so it can easily get some kills if you don't have a solid check. There is still Mega Sableye, Tornadus-T, Clefable etc. but there is also a decrease in usage of Talonflame, DD Altaria (more special sets now) and Thunder Wave Thundurus, which is beneficial for Gallade.

I play a lot of OU matches and Mega Slowbro is a very interesting case. As we all know, Mega Slowbro was one of the most overhyped mega's at the start of ORAS, tied with Mega Swampert and Mega Gallade as most overhyped, and the metagame get used to it pretty quickly, with pokemon like Thundurus getting a lot of usage. With the ban of Greninja, Mega Slowbro's viability grew even more (A to A+ in viability rankings) but Mega Slowbro's usage is still a bit low. (3,07% of the OU teams has Slowbro as mega. Meanwhile Scizor, Sableye and Metagross have more than 9% usage). The metagame evolved a bit and I mentioned a few problems Slowbro has now but they don't all apply for Mega Slowbro. Mega Slowbro doesn't have a Knock Off weakness, it can run a bit spdef because 16+ defense is enough to live strong physical attacks and it runs a CM set much better. Many teams prepared for CroBro and Slack Off CM Slowbro with reserving two mons who both could beat one of the sets. Examples: Unaware CM Clefable + Toxic Chansey, Taunt Thundurus + SD Scizor and Magma Storm Heatran + NP Celebi, which was not only used for Slowbro, but still got Slowbro to struggle against these teams. Not only is there a little decrease in the usage of these sets and some of the pokemon (Thundurus, Toxicroak) but there is not a combination of these, because the wallbreakers that are common now give these cores problems. I feel like the metagame is evolving into a metagame that is very favorable for Slowbro, especially for the Slack Off + CM + 2 Atks set. Ofcourse the metagame has to develop more but as it seems now Mega Slowbro becomes a bigger threat every day.
 

AM

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Foresight M-Medicham would be nice....if it weren't for the fact M-Sableye bounces that back as well lol. Also I've been using M-Cham a bit lately for ranking purposes and I don't think it's as bad as one would make it out to be. That immediate power it has is pretty impressive and Bullet Punch gives it a chance against some threats such as M-Diancie. I do agree that certain defensive builds are a bit more prepared for it which is a shame but it does do well against certain balanced builds. Whether or not it warrants a team slot though I think is more preference than anything though. M-Gallades higher speed tier, accessibility to Knock Off and Swords Dance allows it to be a bit better against overall Balance.
 
Medicham actually has a few notable niches over Mega Gallade. Baton Pass Medicham is super underrated and is one of the few actual reasons dry passing is useful. It gains momentum incredibly easily once you consider how much stuff it forces out from the get go, and how frequently teams go to Mega Eye / Slowbro to check it. Pair Baton Medi with Thundurus and a Fairy and you really have got something good going. PuP Medi is also pretty good overall, if you can dodge a Scald burn you actually beat Slowbro by using PuP on the switch. Gallade can obviously boost as well, but the immediate power and a more modest boost closes the gap somewhat.

As far as other things go, there are a few underrated Psychic types in the metagame as it stands. AV Slowking is freaking awesome when it comes to checking special attackers. Its wide coverage allows it to beat a ton of different as well, from Keldeo to Latios to Ferrothorn. And sense you have to use 4 Attacks because of the Vest, you can fully abuse its wide movepool without feeling bad about missing out of Nasty Plot or Slack Off or other support. Some people tend to shy away from all out attacking sets when other legitimate support options are available in my experience, even if said all out sets sometimes play better.

Victini is also pretty good right now. Much has been said about its power, especially the Banded set. However, the most overlooked fact is that it can offensively check Mega Gard and non-EQ Mega Metagross at the same time. I mean those are two of the hardest threats for balanced and bulky offense to cover, and to do that in one slot while also gaining V-Create as a core breaking asset is just great.

4 attacks Starmie is also a sneaky good set. Its basically a lesser version of XY Greninja and cleans teams pretty well. I feel like a lot of people pass on more offensive looks because of Starmie's role as one of the few good spinners, but damn this set puts in work. Starmie also has some advantages over the former OU frog, such as Psyshock for special walls and Thunderbolt for more consistent damage to bulky Waters (screw Manaphy trolling Grass Knot).
 
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Foresight M-Medicham would be nice....if it weren't for the fact M-Sableye bounces that back as well lol. Also I've been using M-Cham a bit lately for ranking purposes and I don't think it's as bad as one would make it out to be. That immediate power it has is pretty impressive and Bullet Punch gives it a chance against some threats such as M-Diancie. I do agree that certain defensive builds are a bit more prepared for it which is a shame but it does do well against certain balanced builds. Whether or not it warrants a team slot though I think is more preference than anything though. M-Gallades higher speed tier, accessibility to Knock Off and Swords Dance allows it to be a bit better against overall Balance.
Yeah I haven't used it yet this gen (because Zard X is cool and basically unwallable lol) but it is not as bad as people say it is. Sure, Mega Gallade has better speed, bulk, as well as Knock Off and Swords Dance to beat Psychics, but Mega Medicham's power is really, really helpful appreciable for sweepers/cleaners like SD Talonflame or Serperior, for example (not saying those two are the best partners but just an example).

Celticpride just to add on to Victini, it can also check non-EQ Zard Y (but even uninvested EQ doesn't do a whole lot...) which is a huge help for balanced teams as they generally have the most problems with it. But outside of that SubPuP is a pretty cool and underrated set that Victini has, generally being able to break traditional checks/counters like Tyranitar and Gliscor. Also special sets are pretty decent too, like Searing Shot or something with a nice burn chance (30% iirc). Also it has a wide special movepool so you can lure things like Landorus (T), Gliscor, and Garchomp and hit them with a Glaciate, maybe with EBelt to bluff scarf. But yeah Victini is pretty cool and underrated and is pretty fun to use :)
 
4 attacks Starmie is also a sneaky good set. Its basically a lesser version of XY Greninja and cleans teams pretty well. I feel like a lot of people pass on more offensive looks because of Starmie's role as one of the few good spinners, but damn this set puts in work. Starmie also has some advantages over the former OU frog, such as Psyshock for special walls and Thunderbolt for more consistent damage to bulky Waters (screw Manaphy trolling Grass Knot).
I was actually thinking about this. With Greninja gone, Starmie is now that super-fast Water-type offensive glue with huge coverage and surprising power. Rapid Spin is definitely its most standout attribute, but 115 base Speed is amazing in this meta, 100 base Special Attack is not bad, and its coverage is arguably better than Greninja's (albeit only from one side of the spectrum). It feels like a non-broken Greninja because it's not as fast and it doesn't hit as hard, but it can literally hit over three-quarters of the meta for super effective damage (yes, I just counted) with its STABs and BoltBeam, and Analytic makes it hit stupidly hard to take advantage of the switches it causes with its speed and coverage. Four-attack Life Orb Starmie is serious.
 
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Week 8's type is the Ice Type!


(Note that discussion isn't limited to the above Pokemon)(well actually it is because that's everything viable)

Ice has historically been weak typing when it comes to viable abusers. While very strong offensively, a lack of resistances leaves them often high and dry when it comes to taking hits. Rarely is an Ice type used in any tier for defensive reasons. However, STAB Ice abusers are some of the hardest hitters out there. Without further ado, all aboard the Kyu-B hype train!

Open format week 2. If you have any ideas for the thread to make it more interesting, throw a PM my way. Outside of that, the usual questions in the OP are a good place to look for ideas. Feel free to talk about any trends or new sets among OU viable Ice types. Talk about as much or as little as you like. Happy discussing!

#rankMegaAbomasnow2015
^AM I know you see that^
 
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SketchUp

Don't let your memes be dreams
I've used Froslass once in OU as I wanted to try out a different Spikes setter as the standard Ferrothorn / Klefki / Greninja (it's a while ago I used him) It is very matchup dependent whether you get your Spikes up easily, but often it isn't that big of an issue to get at least 2 Spikes up only for the fact you create huge mindgames with Taunt + Cursed Body + Destiny Bond. A matchup against Tyranitar / Mega Diancie / Mega Sableye is very bad but if you play well you can create a situation where you should be able to get up your Spikes. The reason I haven't used it more than once is because it is very difficult to fit on offensive teams, and I often rather have Custap Skarmory as my suicide lead because he can also set up stealth rocks and he can set them up against sand teams and Mega Diancie (if Iron Head) which Froslass fails to do.
 
Focusing on the monster that is Kyu-B in this post :]

So yeah, Kyu-B is a monster right now. It has impressive 170 / 120 offensive stats, solid BoltBeam coverage, and Earth Power. Kyu-B is extremely hard to switch into, and most of its checks and counters can easily be taken care of with the appropriate move, such as running HP Fire to Ferrothorn and Scizor, Iron Head for Sylveon, or Outrage for Chansey. Kyu-B absolutely destroys balance, not even kidding. Ice / Ground / Electric / Dragon coverage is insanely good. It literally demolishes so many balanced builds such as VenuTran, HippoTran, Rotom-W + Heatran, Slowbro + Gliscor, yeah you get the idea. It's speed also isn't as much of a problem as people think it is. Kyu-B is a wallbreaker; it's speed tier is literally perfect for wallbreaking. It outspeeds all relevant walls such as Skarmory, Heatran, Rotom-W, Venusaur, and Chansey. Kyu-B's bulk is also fantastic, although it's typing gives it an SR weakness. Kyu-B really lacks solid switch ins on most teams, and is just so good right now.
 
Mega Glalie: Glalie is pretty decent for the time I used it. It may not be that good vs offense, but it completely destroys balanced and stall teams. Like holy, this thing 2HKOs physically defensive Skarmory! Aside from power, Glalie can also help at wearing down bulkier teams with Spikes and even Super Fang, which is good to strip the health of annoying things like Ferrothorn and Slowbro. Of course, how can I make a post about Mega Glalie without mentioning the famous Refrigerate Explosion?

252 Atk Refrigerate Mega Glalie Explosion vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 119-140 (30.9 - 36.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
Man that is powerful.

Sure, it may have its fair share of flaws, or maybe too many :(, like lack of resistances, relatively low bulk, weakness to SR, etc. But I kind of think people exaggerate how bad it is because it has a good match-up vs bulkier teams. Yeah, a lot of others do too, but that's why it's not that common.
 
Time to talk about weavile. Weavile is the fastest Ice type in the meta, and has very useful niches because of it. Most of these niches involve absolutely damning the Lati twins and gengar, although its an extremely useful pokemon against offense and bulky offense. It has extremely underrated coverage between its STABs. It also has access to Low kick, keeping Heatran and Co. From completely stomping all over it. It can revenge MAlt as well as Dnite after they've boosted up, and, although they are technically safe switch ins, can annoy Conkeldurr and Keldeo by removing their items. I think that, honestly, it outclasses Mamo in the current meta.
 

AM

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The thing about Mamo v Weavile is that it has better wall-breaking capabilities if we're talking about the matchup against Balance teams. The coverage from Ice + Ground is much more efficient than Ice + Dark due to its abilities to get past Fairy types creating less safe switch ins. Mamoswine also has Knock Off as well so it can deter just about anything in the tier with only a very select handful of exceptions. I do agree that Weavile fairs a bit better against offense due to its higher speed tier but I wouldn't go as far as to say that Weavile surpasses it in the meta, considering they handle some threats differently than others.
 

bludz

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Weavile is sort of a HO killer. I mean it easily wins 1v1 against the fast hazard removers such as Latis and Starmie, while also obliterating double genie cores. It's not as effective against the other playstyles IMO (although it can definitely be a problem to some degree), and I think the main reason it isn't more viable outside of rocks weakness is how common Keldeo, Azumarill, and Clefable are since they basically counter it while Scizor also checks it pretty hard.

Mamo is a pokemon I'm surprised doesn't see more usage as it's one of the best offensive electric type checks and the LO physical attacker set is very underprepared for, this thing takes lives. The coverage isn't as good as Kyu-B's but it's unique with physical Ice STAB, Freeze-Dry and Earthquake, meaning it can effectively break different things.

Specific to neither mon, Ice Shard can be pretty clutch in preventing a sweep (particularly vs Altaria or RP Lando-I) or late game situations when things have been weakened. It's a shame Ice is such a bad typing defensively since it's one of the best offensively. I mean hell, I've seen stuff like Garchomps forgo Dragon Claw just to have HP Ice for Lando and Gliscor.
 
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Alright, it's midweek and you guys know what that means, it's time to stealth bump my topic to the top of the thread list. There's going to be some downright empty types (Normal, Ghost, maybe Poison) coming up at some point so that will be interesting activity-wise. Anyways,



Life Orb Mamoswine is very underrepresented in the current OU metagame. With its near-unresisted STAB combo it can be a great destroyer of balanced cores, in addition to putting tremendous pressure on Double Genie offensive cores. It can also solidly revenge the ever common RP Landorus-I from full, which I don't believe any other priority user can (CB Azu falls just short). The introduction of Freeze-Dry was also a boon to it, allowing it to 2HKO Slowbro, Gyarados and Rotom-W after Rocks. I tried building Genie offense a few weeks ago and this was by far one of the hardest things to find a switch into. Weavile, the other big Ice Shard user, is fair easy to check. Look no further than Keldeo or Azumarill. This thing, however, was a different issue. Outside of a few Megas in balanced cores (SDef Mega Slowbro, bulky Mega Scizor, PDef Mega Venu), there were very few solid answers, especially on a HO team. I think people just don't think about this enough when team building in terms of solid checks. Sure a large number of things can switch in on Ice Shard, but not many of those same things can stomach a LO Earthquake or Freeze-Dry to the face. Overall just a really underrated threat right now.
 
Double posting but I'm TC of a weekly topic so whatevs. Week 9 is Bug week!
My keyboard is still broken and it's bugging
me.
Week 9's type is the Bug Type!


(Note that discussion isn't limited to the above Pokemon)

Bug has historically been a weak and puny type. With many common weaknesses and few rewards, Bug types have had less than great representation in OU outside of the mighty Scizor and Volcarona. However, in the most recent generation Bug has received quite a few gifts, even with the introduction of the Bird of Death. A startling four Bug types have received Mega Evolutions, one of the highest totals among any type. Volcarona has received a resurgence as well recently, partially due to another Mega evolution (Diancie). It's safe to say they are on the upswing.

Open format into infinity. If you have any ideas for the thread to make it more interesting, throw a PM my way. Outside of that, the usual questions in the OP are a good place to look for ideas. Feel free to talk about any trends or new sets among OU viable Bug types. Talk about as much or as little as you like. Happy discussing!
 
Okay so I'd just like to say that Volcarona is really underrated in this metagame and is actually pretty effective. The bug has access to one of the best boosting moves in the game, quiver dance, while also being able to successfully run a multitude of items that help it set up much more effectively, such as lum berry which screws over prankster thundy-i, sitrus berry, passho berry to set up on mons like keldeo. After a quiver dance under it's belt, even scarf lando can't revenge kill. Volcarona can also rip apart a bunch of common cores, such as rotom-w + heatran + ferrothorn, ferrothorn + slowbro, celetran. Volcarona really applies lots of pressure to standard teamstructures and is a pretty cool mon overall. Mega Diancie was also a godsend for it, thanks to magic bounce, diancie can keep hazards off the field most of the time, while also helping out with birdspam and acting as a secondary sweeper with rock polish.

Mega Scizor is also pretty good. Being a great physical wall, reliable win condition, and effective check against fairy types such as altaria and mega diancie. It can run many sets effectively; offensive SD + 3 attacks, bulky SD which is SD, roost, bullet punch and knock off, 4 attacks, 3 attacks + roost etc. It's defensive typing is also pretty solid, only having one 4x weakness to fire, and resisting dragon-, fairy-, psychic, grass-, bug-, ice- type attacks.
 
Going to focus on Regular Scizor since I use it the most.

Regular Scizor is good in the current metagame. Its standard CB set is able to fill multiple roles for balanced and offensive teams. Its able to Pursuit trap, revenge kill a myriad of offensive mons with BP, and has a slow U-Turn to bring in frailer mons safely. These tools are incredibly notable in the current metagame, as it creates a large amount of low risk high reward scenarios against mons such as Latios, Gardevoir, and Gengar. In the current metagame, Scizor's CB BP is an excellent revenge killing tool against several offensive Pokemon, namely offensive Mega Altaria, as Scizor's BP is one of the few priority moves to KO it after SR. U-Turn is also a great tool to escape its checks, namely Talonflame and Mega Charizard X.

Like other Bug types, Scizor fairs well against both psychic- and grass-types. However, due to its access to priority and Pursuit, I find that it fairs much better against more offensive Psychic-types, as it can create many lose-lose situations for them. Scizor's Steel-typing also enables it to fare well against Fairy types and Rock-types unlike a few other Bug-types.

Scizor has been overall buffed from the transition to ORAS from XY. The increase of Fairy-types and frailer offensive mons makes it a much better revenge killer with Bullet Punch. It also benefits from the decreased usage of Charizard X and Y, both of which gave it trouble earlier in the metagame.

Going to edit this post with a bit more information later.
 
Mega Pinsir has been overlooked to the point of it dropping to UU, but it is as good as ever. Many teams are unprepared for it nowadays, which is great for the bug. Aerialate Quick Attack is an amazing asset to kill Lopunny, Sceptile, and Beedrill, and Aerialate STAB Return is a nuke. However, it's awkward speed tier can be somewhat annoying to work with, but Pinsir really puts in work. Definately a hidden gem.

Mega Heracross has also suffered from the transition to ORAS, but is also underrated. Once it gets in, not much is going to stomach it's hits on offense. It's also bulky, making up slightly for its speed. Overlooked as well.
 
Inb4 someone tries to discuss Galvantula. Or worse, Ninjask. Or the infamous Shedinja.

On a more serious note, I'll cover some mons that haven't come up yet. Scolipede is a great BP abuser and lead in general, and, along with Venomoth to an extent, is part of the reason Baton Pass Clause exists in the first place. Even Shuckle shows up on occasion, benefiting from the introduction of Sticky Web and Infestation, along with Stealth Rock, Knock Off, and Encore, which it already can use well, along with its gargantuan base defenses (although its other stats are even below Magikarp level). Lastly, another bug mon that may or may not end up being ranked on the viability thread is Forretress, which is one of the few mons that can reliably set up hazards and remove them.
 

AM

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Fun Fact: Before generation 2 when Megahorn was release Twineedle was the strongest Bug move available in terms of base power.

Heracross: I played a lot with Band Heracross early ORAS during the time when the community was panicking for M-Sableye checks and answers lol. Originally it stemmed from seeing it in D rank for its AV set which I think was an overrated aspect but also the time I got to use Band Heracross mid XY UU before it got booted out of UU. I'd like to think that this is what pushed it towards a bit more viability, for the fact it had some immense power and wasn't exactly garbage in the D rank radar that people thought it was. From there you saw some more sets like SD Toxic Orb. It's a really good wall-breaker and is actually a fun mon to use on conventional bulky offense and balanced builds for breaking past M-Sableye, some bulky psychics like Slowbros, Cress, Mew, etc.

M-Beedrill: M-Beedrill is good although a bit team specific in the way it has to be built. That's not necessarily a bad thing but makes the general idea of them a bit linear at times which can be boring. I've tried playing around with different stuff such as Roost M-Beedrill, 4 attack sets, SD and idk I think Protect is just way too important to give up and makes the other sets really match-up based at times. I'll find a way though, you'll see. Being a disgusting offensive Fairy check is also nice to and outpacing +1 DDance M-Altaria is always awesome, sucks for the surge of bulky grounds though.

Shuckle: As far as Shuckle goes every time someone says it's lost viability I can already tell they haven't used or try to the extent to actually build on it to the extent a Webs team mandates. M-Sableye answer, M-Diancie answer, Shuckle, and can be incorporated with the two Magic Bouncer checks, just wall-breakers and balance breakers so that the team can get to work. People HIGHLY over exaggerate M-Sableye and M-Diancie hindering Webs Offense. The most threatening thing really to Web Offense in my eyes is Serperior and Bisharp, one for the sake of getting a free Scarf with no moves being locked from the Contrary boost with the wall-breaking capabilities it already has, and Bisharp who gets a free SD on Webs and can turn your team into a liability. When you build webs you need to account for those even more so than the Magic Bouncers in my eyes.

M-Scizor: M-Scizor I think is still a bit over-rated as much as people like to claim its effectiveness but I think a lot of times it has to do with match-up. Fortunately though it gets better match-ups than a lot of other stuff due to its typing and offensive utility. I actually find it a mediocre win-condition against prepped teams and more so it just wins against a lot of older cores that I feel are just generic as hell like Slowbro / Ferro / Gliscor cores which I think is another reason why people like Scizor so much. It does help with the surge of bulky Fairies, M-Metagross (barely), and the rise of stuff like Kyurem-B in the tier, so got to give it some credit.

Volcarona: I don't think Volcarona rose in usage primarily cause of M-Diancie I think it rose to usage because it was just a hidden gem under the mask of being too prone to SR and Talonflame from XY builds amongst the increase in Zards. Then more and more people started using it and realized it wasn't ass and here we are seeing it tear up balance builds here and there. If you're preparing for Volcarona you generally want to have blanket checks to it such as Dragonite, Talonflame, M-Aerodactyl, stuff like that really. Definitely want to make sure your team has the right amount of counterplay to deter Volcarona usage and maintain rocks. Had a match today where every time Volcarona got in through pivots and switches it was getting a kill and that was all cause I was able to make sure rocks were off the field so best way to take on the moth is through consistent pressure, similar to most balance breakers like Gengar and Kyurem-B really.

M-Pinsir: I disagree with the notion that teams are unprepared for M-Pinsir. ScarfTar, Raikou, M-Metagross, M-Diancie, faster Talonflames. These are just a few problems M-Pinsir has and is even more so when there are so many threats and megas to choose from that makes Pinsir seem like the lesser choice to use. By virtue of checking certain threats like Talonflame, Tornadus-T, and other offensive flying types you'll more than likely find a natural check to it on a majority of teams. The only time I feel threatened by M-Pinsir in the long run however are the Sub variants, which -Clone- used against me once in a room tour and made my end game a total liability just for having that extra buffer. If anything is threatening about Pinsir in the grand scheme of things it's sets that utilize Substitute.

M-Heracross: Man has this thing fallen from grace lmfao. Idk how people sugar coat the capability of this now when teams will always have a way to play around this unless you're using a terrible stall build or some super slow bulky offense team. I mean people tried to justify that it can still break stall but when every defensive build has a bulky as hell Fairy type and some offensive presence to boot it just makes it team specific at this point in the meta.

Scolipede: Piece of garbage, makes stuff stronger than they should be and the seeing it in team preview makes me cringe just like this pun below.
My keyboard is still broken and it's bugging
me.
(. _ .)

Scizor: Nothing much to say since this sort of falls under the M-Scizor stuff but plays a bit differently with Band and AV sets. Some stuff about it was posted above so that's a good read.
 
How does the rise of Mega Diancie help Volcarona? Considering it resists both of Volc's STABs and OHKOs, I would've thought the opposite.
 
How does the rise of Mega Diancie help Volcarona? Considering it resists both of Volc's STABs and OHKOs, I would've thought the opposite.
Volc and Diancie was a hot core a few weeks ago, mostly because Diancie deals with Birdspam well, and Volc deals with Scizor and other Steels. Their resists line up pretty well. I saw a couple tourney teams use some variation of that combo so I figured I'd mention it in passing in the weekly update, nothing more to it than that.
 
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bludz

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If you think about it, all the bug types in OU are successful primarily because of their second typing. Beedrill has poison, Pinsir flying, Volcarona fire, Heracross fighting and Scizor steel. Bug is just a pretty meh typing offensively and isn't so hot defensively either but it does form good dual typings for example Scizor only has 1 weakness thanks to bug resisting ground and fighting.

Volcarona is a personal favorite mon of mine that I've loved since BW. It's one of the nicest win conditions with great offenses and being able to set up fairly easily thanks to decent special bulk along with Quiver Dance being half a Geomancy. Giga Drain is just sick coverage that lets it beat stuff like Rotom and Keldeo with a little bit of prior damage after a QD. Gets hard walled by a few things depending on your coverage move but most of them are fairly easy to take advantage of with good partners and its fire typing lets it set up super easily on fairies like Clefable and also Mega Sableye. Doesn't really need the power of a life orb after a QD either so stuff like Passho or Lum Berry are nice to keep the opponent guessing.

Scizor is a cool pokemon because even though its Mega is better it's still perfectly viable to use if you have a different mega. CB sets are still sick and bulky or offensive SD sets are certainly usable, it's an underrated pursuit trapper and just a general powerhouse thats nice for momentum and one of the better revenge killers.

Heracross is interesting because whether you run a CB or Mega set it's fairly prediction reliant but if you find the right opportunity to come in and guess right you almost always get a kill. I've heard SD Flame Orb sets demolish fat cores as well.

BTW AM what kind of spread did you run on AV Scizor? I just slapped an AV on a Scizor once with the Band spread and it was a nice pivot but the power was pretty underwhelming and still hated switching into a lot of neutral special moves (besides scald).
 
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OP stolen from the original project by TRC


Welcome to the ORAS OU Type Analysis Project! The aim of this project is to discuss and evaluate information regarding metagame trends, categorized into 18 weeks for the corresponding 18 types. After 18 weeks are over, we'll look back at the previous week of the upcoming type and compare the Pokemon of that type in terms of how they play in the metagame, what new trends have arisen, and what new sets they're commonly seen running.

Things I'd like people to discuss (and I'd like to see at least one, preferably more of these ideas featured in each post) are:

  • What are the most popular Pokemon of this type seen in OU?
  • What other Pokemon of this type also claim some sort of viability in OU?
  • What Pokemon of this type fill a niche in OU which is sometimes worth considering in a team?
  • What sorts of Pokemon does this type collectively threaten?
  • What sorts of Pokemon threaten many of the members of this type?
  • What sorts of metagame trends have occurred to the many Pokemon in this type?
  • What Pokemon of this type are very potent offensive threats?
  • What Pokemon of this type are very sturdy defensive threats?
  • How do these Pokemon compare to each other in their respective roles?
  • What Pokemon of this type increased in viability in the transition to the ORAS meta?
  • Have any Pokemon of this type benefited from access to new move tutors, abilities, or legal move combinations?
  • How strong do you feel this type is as a whole?
Note that I prefer for emphasis to be put on comparisons, not only between Pokemon but also between the stages of a metagame in which a Pokemon was used. How is it used now? What changed?

Week 9's type is the Bug Type!


(Note that discussion isn't limited to the above Pokemon)


Bug has historically been a weak and puny type. With many common weaknesses and few rewards, Bug types have had less than great representation in OU outside of the mighty Scizor and Volcarona. However, in the most recent generation Bug has received quite a few gifts, even with the introduction of the Bird of Death. A startling four Bug types have received Mega Evolutions, one of the highest totals among any type. Volcarona has received a resurgence as well recently, partially due to another Mega evolution (Diancie). It's safe to say they are on the upswing.
I like the bug type, but most Pokemon of this type tend to be weak and have low stats, and those who are strong and have good stats usually stand out as in the case of scizor, Pinsir, Heracross and Volcarona. The insect type becomes a good defensive type since it only has 3 weaknesses (fire, flying and rock) offensively however it becomes a problem, since many types are resistant to it (fairy, fight, fire, flying, ghost, poison and steel) and only 3 types has weakness insect (dark, psychic and grass), but many of the bug type Pokemon that stand out have a second type that take types that resist insects or giving him super effective, as scizor with steel type, which takes the fairy and rock types and protecting the flying attacks and rock and Heracross with the type fighter who protects the rock type and allows to attack the steel and rock types. With Insect pokemons weak with low stats, and movepool abbilitys usually have to compensate for their low stats, as is the case galvantula that despite having good speed and good sp.atk the other stats of galvantula are low, but excels for being the fastest User sticky web and have Compoundeyes + thunder, and vivillon to have Compoundeyes + sleep powder and hurricane, and be able to buff with quiver dance. In all, the insect type is a good kind, which compensates its weaknesses with their abbilitys and are a good force for any team.
 
So I guess I'll talk about some things real quick.

Mega Scizor: I do agree with AM's notion that it really isn't a good win condition because frankly it's not. The reason I tend to pump its tires has more to do with how much synergy it lends defensively and how many threats it checks. Checking most Fairy threats combined with the solid natural typing and stats makes it quite easy to build around, even if you have to carry two dedicated Zard checks along with it. Mega Scizor can also act as a pretty solid Pursuit trapper as well.

Beedrill has carved quite the interesting niche for itself in the OU metagame. I don't think anyone was expecting 150 Attack, or 150 Attack with Adaptability to not be broken, but here we are. It is just kinda bad to a degree because there are so many natural checks to it out there that you just have answers to it without even planning for it. On the bright side, because U-Turn doesn't have immunities, it can freely spam a very strong U-Turn freely and always pick up some low cost momentum, and there is always some value to that. The downside to this over Manectric (its Mega momentum gaining counterpart) is that Manectric has the coverage to beat or threaten common Electric resists, where Beedrill can't effectively threaten common Bug resists to the same degree.

Mega Pinsir really picked up some 4MSS recently. It wants to run CC to effectively break defensive cores and at least threaten Skarm and Rotom-W, but it now wants to run EQ to hit Metagross and Diancie who are viable offensive checks to it. That's a huge change from XY because it really only needed one coverage move depending on what part of the metagame we are talking about (EQ early, CC later). It's just weird to think that people were calling for its head in late XY and suddenly it's not really a threat anymore, but Pinsir is probably the biggest example of XY =/= ORAS.
 
Double posting again but I'm TC of a weekly topic so whatevs.
Week 9's type is the Fighting Type!


(Note that discussion isn't limited to the above Pokemon)

Fighting types have traditionally been among the strongest of physical hitters in OU. Part of their effectiveness stems from the fact that Fighting STAB can hit most Steel types for at least neutral damage, an important trait since the introduction of Steel types in gen 2. However, in XY Fighting types saw some new challenges. Bulky Fairies like Altaria and Clefable can check several common Fighting types. Mega Sableye and Aegislash have also impacted the effectiveness of Fighting types at various points. Nonetheless, many Fighting types are and continue to be major players in the current OU environment.

If you have any ideas for the thread to make it more interesting, throw a PM my way. Outside of that, the usual questions in the OP are a good place to look for ideas. Feel free to talk about any trends or new sets among OU viable Fighting types (there are at least a handful not shown above). Talk about as much or as little as you like. Happy discussing!
 
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