Well, you probably wouldn't be using Masquerain. But there are always going to be Pokemon that are just plain outclassed by others. Watchog, for example, is never going to be the wallbreaker that Kangaskhan or Zangoose is. In a similar regard, Agility Girafarig will never be the same quality of Baton Passer that Ninjask is. While giving Butterfree Baton Pass would definitely push it above Masquerain, Masquerain's access to Intimidate and awesome moves like Hydro Pump still give it a niche in the tier. I was obviously inspired by Masquerain to make that theorymon, but I wasn't going out of my way to outclass it and make it worthless.
Anyways, I don't know that it would necessarily make it a higher tier Pokemon. Sure, it would be a much better one, but once again, I think comparing it to Ninjask is the best route to take here. Ninjask was a top tier OU threat in DPP because of the lack of team preview. You had to be prepared to handle it with your lead unless you wanted it to get up a free Substitute and continue to boost while you struggled to handle it. Butterfree's poor speed tier would still really hold it back, letter faster Substitute users handle it well, among other Pokemon. Seeing that it's in the team preview, you can handle it much better. Like faster Substitute Pokemon, Sap Sippers would also still be able to handle it. Miltank comes to mind as the best way to handle it in this manner. Anyways, Venomoth is higher tiered because while, yes, this is a great strategy, it also has much better stats to back it up. Besides this, usually Venomoth serves as more of a standalone sweeper with Tinted Lens in my experiences. Regardless, while it may move up with Baton Pass, it is still manageable in NU, and I don't know that it would automatically move up.
I see where you're coming from here, but I'm not sure if I could go about agreeing with a few of your points here. First off, as previously stated in the chat, it's true that while you won't be using Masquerain very often, it's still not within the case of teams that are somewhat dedicated towards its Baton Pass support. Therefore it necessarily would "outclass" Masquerain in the sense that it would have an indefinitely better support option within Sleep Powder and slightly higher Speed, making it much more difficult to stop. Even if you try to mention its way about going offensive, it's still going to be inferior to that of Butterfree because of Tinted Lens, Sleep Powder, and superior offensive stats and Speed.
Team preview really isn't as viable of an argument as people generally make it out to be, as for example, that didn't stop SmashPass or Venemoth from being banned and regulated to UU at the short time that they were in RU. If anything, it's actually a good thing for those kind of teams, as it allows you to basically scout your opponent's team and attempts that they would try to go about trying to stop your strategy. Also, it's worth noting that this tier doesn't have nearly as many viable phazers than that of the higher tiers and even then, the threat of Sleep Powder essentially uses them as setup fodder.
First NU post in a while, damn
What if Stunfisk learned Volt Switch?
Although Stunfisk is a rare sight in today's metagame, the addition of Volt Switch to its movepool would significantly increase its usefulness, imo. Thanks to Stunfisk's great 109/84/99 defensive stats, unique typing, and low Speed stat, Volt Switch Stunfisk has the potential to be an excellent pivot, taking most neutral hits with ease and using its incredibly slow Volt Switch to bring its teammates in for free, giving the Stunfisk user a significant advantage in most situations. Unlike other Pokemon who currently carry moves such as U-turn and Volt Switch in NU, Stunfisk possesses a resistance to Stealth Rock, meaning its not worn down nearly as much by repeated Volt Switching. Furthermore, Stunfisk is capable of reliably setting Stealth Rock for its team as well, further augmenting its team support capabilities. Volt Switch would make Stunfisk's Choice Specs set much more effective as well, using it to escape its counters and scout potential switch ins while simultaneously doing a significant amount of damage to them, making these threats easier to break through later on, while still serving as an effective pivot because of its still excellent bulk and low Speed stat. So what do you think about Volt Switch Stunfisk? Just how useful do you think it would be with the addition of Volt Switch to its movepool?
This idea sounds pretty cool, and gives teams another useful choice of a Electric and Flying type resist of their own as a Stealth Rock and momentum grabber with Volt Switch to choose from more often upon checking those myriad of threats. It's also the single Electric-type counter in the tier barring Eelektross, and it can deal good damage to most Pokemon that aren't Grass types in a Tank set, and while on the ends of the Specs' case it may seem somewhat inferior to that of Eelektross, it also has notably higher bulk and resists Stealth Rock, allowing it to gather higher longevity in general. As far as coverage moves go, Stunfisk would probably switch around between Surf (for Piloswine) and Hidden Power Ice depending on the team's needs.
Aside from that, I have a few more theorymon suggestions that I should bring about for the time being.
What if Ampharos received Sheer Force? Ampharos is a Pokemon that I've gone about trying to analyze a theorymon for as long as I can remember, so I feel that this is going to be quite an interesting one to talk about. Sheer Force is an ability that's often accompanied by bulky variants of Pokemon that are capable of dishing out significant damage, such as NidoKingdom, Feraligatr (coming soon), Braviary, and Tauros. Since Ampharos relates to them in the fact that it's big bulky, and can deliver quite a punch, I thought this Sheer Force would opt for the most suited idea as far as abilities go. Regarding this within the competitive aspect of Pokemon, this is a threat that is surely going to spark a lot of hype among top level player, as the sheer power that it obtains within Sheer Force simply passes such a massive punch to the point that it will heavily influence the way that people go about structuring their teams, thus defining the shape of the metagame into a whole other aspect, similarly towards how Rock Polish Landorus or Nidoqueen has done towards their respective tiers, as it also gets a solid power boost with most of its valuable offensive movepool such as Thunderbolt, Focus Blast, and Signal Beam. It's definitely a threat that allows it to shine from the many other Electric-types within the tier. A set that I will be speculating as of this debate will be as followed:
Ampharos @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid / Modest Nature
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Focus Blast
This is probably the set that would receive the most notice with the Sheer Force ability, though if you agree otherwise or has some pretty cool ideas on your own, discussions about it would be quite nice to hear from. Based upon studying damage calculations and simply the metagame in its state overall, how much impact do you guys feel that this set would carry on in the current metagame? One of its defining niches is that it gains a solid chance of 2HKO'ing Regice and Lickilicky after Stealth Rock with Thunderbolt, which is quite notable in its own. The ability to take advantage of the common frail offensive teams that runs happy within the metagame with Agility and sweep a large portion of teams is also a pretty significant factor as well. Also, the lovable ability to negate Life Orb recoil is simply magnificent, considering it's solid bulk overall.
What if Lapras received Shell Smash? It's fairly obvious for it to qualify for such a trait like this, speaking of the evidence of its back. Otherwise, I believe that this is a significant upgrade that'll be sufficient to find its niche in the metagame that separates from other Pokemon of its kind. It's huge base stats of 130/85/80/85/95/60 allows it to easily gain a significant amount of setup opportunities, such as virtually any wall and Water type to think of. It also has STAB Hydro Pump and Ice Beam to boat, while gaining nice coverage with Thunderbolt, Ice Shard, Return, and Waterfall, allowing it to go mixed in a variety of ways or even Physical (a set with Waterfall, Return, and Ice Shard would come to mind), for the most part. It also outspeeds every other user of Shell Smash in the tier. While it has more bulk then all of the other users, Lapras also has weaker offensive stats to make use of as well. What do you think of its presence in the metagame?
What if Weezing received Sheer Force? As unexpected this suggestion may, I felt that it also makes some sense because of its wide variety of cool effects within its special movepool. It consists of options like Sludge Wave, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, and cool options like Will-O-Wisp and Destiny Bond. Seeing as these options will allow it to hit quite hard with its decent Special Attack stat and lots of moves with an added effect, what kind of sets would best benefit from this idea, and how useful would it affect its overall versatility in the metagame?