Sorry for two big posts in relatively quick succession. This metagame has grabbed my attention so you'll have to forgive me.
Also, Blaziken probably would be safe to unban. It's not that fast, and it can't even run Vacuum Wave alongside Speed Boost. Way safer than Aegislash, at least.
Pangoro @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Parting Shot
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Gunk Shot
Pangoro has access to an amazing move. Parting Shot is a super cool and powerful move in this metagame, lowering the opponent's two highest stats by one stage each. This generates a ton of momentum and lets Pangoro contribute to a VoltTurn Intimidate-spam core with Mega Manectric and Landorus-Therian, but I think Pangoro's greatest use will be as part of a wallbreaking core. When Pangoro uses Parting Shot against an offensive pokemon, it will usually lower Speed and an attacking stat of choice, letting you bring in another wallbreaker, outspeed it thanks to the speed drop, and get a kill. If Pangoro uses it against a slow offensive pokemon, it will lower an attacking stat, letting you bring whatever you want easier. And if you use it against a defensive mon, it cuts their defenses, letting you bring in your other wallbreaker and kill it easier. Something like Cb Azumarill could be an excellent partner for Pangoro, as it takes full advantage of the drops on Pangoro switch-ins like Landorus-Therian, which will probably be one of the most common pokemon in the metagame. It's also a great scouting tool, as it lets you see what the two highest stats of a pokemon are with relatively little risk, uncovering potential Choice Scarves. Pangoro is still relatively unimpressive on its own, though. It doesn't really have the bulk to grab momentum against some offensive teams, so maybe some bizarre sets like Scarf or RestTalk will win out.
Sharpedo @ Life Orb/Leftovers/Sharpedonite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Protect
- Waterfall/Substitute
- Crunch
Speed Boost bolsters Sharpedo's Attack stat by one stage each turn, letting it turn into a runaway train if unchecked. Due to its access to Aqua Jet, Sharpedo is perhaps the best user of this strategy, as it can use Aqua Jet to clean up games. Sharpedo is best used by picking off a weakened offensive pokemon and getting a free attack boost while doing so, then proceeding to hit the opposing team hard while Protecting every other turn for a free boost. Against more defensive teams, Sharpedo can run Substitute to almost guarantee reaching +6 Attack without issue, before attempting to sweep. Such a set is not without fault, however. Sharpedo has crummy bulk, meaning that it's super reliant on Aqua Jet and Protect, and its Substitutes are basically useless unless you predict a status move perfectly. Its not that fast, so faster offensive pokemon resistant to Aqua Jet can pick it off, like Keldeo for example. And without a boost, its not that strong either. And its super predictable cause it Protects every other turn. And it's weak to faster priority like Extreme Speed. Wow, I make it sound really bad. While it has a lot of flaws I think Sharpedo can be really effective, if you can predict correctly.
Banette-Mega @ Banettite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Cotton Guard
- Sucker Punch/Shadow Sneak
- Shadow Claw/Gunk Shot/Knock Off
- Destiny Bond
Something like this looks like it could be one of the most prevalent Banette sets. Cotton Guard is amazing, as it boosts Banette's Attack by a hefty 3 stages, letting it do a whole lot of damage. After a boost, it's capable of 2HKOing pretty much everything with the right move, including bulky Landorus-Therian after Intimidate, Skarmory, Bisharp, and most Tyranitar sets. It's tough to build a Banette set, cause it has poor coverage, and its strongest attack isn't even a Ghost-type move. Not to mention it still has access to all those support options, even though Cotton Guard is one of the main reasons to use it now. Having Destiny Bond as well gives it the best of both its niches. It still has a lot of the same flaws that it has normally, but it's got some kind of niche now to go alongside priority Destiny Bond. I think it's actually the best Cotton Guard user now, besides maybe Altaria.
Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Bulk Up
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
Thundurus looks like one of the best Defiant/Competitive users around. It laughs in the face of Landorus-Therian, Salamence, and Mega Manectric and turns their drops into boosts. Landorus-Therian is not actually much of a threat to this set anyways, but Mega Manectric, a solid check otherwise, is OHKOed by a +2 Focus Blast. But perhaps the thing most aiding the viability of Thundurus is its cool speed tier, which puts it ahead of Keldeo, Latios, and more. It outspeeds most relevant scarfers after a boost, save for I guess Raikou. You can even drop a few Speed points (or just run Modest) if you want opposing Intimidates to boost your Speed instead, which lets you outspeed a lot more after a boost, but you lose the jump on Latios. Overall, it's probably the best answer to Intimidate spam.
other sets I though about but don't feel like writing about
Coil + Competitive Milotic (offensive or defensive.)
Coil + Zap Cannon Eelektross (this looks particularly fun)
CM keldeo, CM latios, CM mega gardevoir, etc.
DD + Cotton guard + Roost + an attack Mega Altaria (double dance style. physical or special)
Download Porygon-Z and Porygon2 (always raises the highest stat.)
I agree with this. The argument that "Swords Dance is only its third best set" doesn't really apply in an OM where we don't know what the best sets of anything are. It holds a bit of water but but not really. It's probably worth testing first. King's Shield is cool and it might add to the metagameI'd like to see Aegislash in action first tbh. I think it could help slow down some of the powerhouses. I'm also thinking of unbanning Blaziken now that Speed Boost can't raise its Speed.
Also, Blaziken probably would be safe to unban. It's not that fast, and it can't even run Vacuum Wave alongside Speed Boost. Way safer than Aegislash, at least.
Pangoro @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Parting Shot
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Gunk Shot
Pangoro has access to an amazing move. Parting Shot is a super cool and powerful move in this metagame, lowering the opponent's two highest stats by one stage each. This generates a ton of momentum and lets Pangoro contribute to a VoltTurn Intimidate-spam core with Mega Manectric and Landorus-Therian, but I think Pangoro's greatest use will be as part of a wallbreaking core. When Pangoro uses Parting Shot against an offensive pokemon, it will usually lower Speed and an attacking stat of choice, letting you bring in another wallbreaker, outspeed it thanks to the speed drop, and get a kill. If Pangoro uses it against a slow offensive pokemon, it will lower an attacking stat, letting you bring whatever you want easier. And if you use it against a defensive mon, it cuts their defenses, letting you bring in your other wallbreaker and kill it easier. Something like Cb Azumarill could be an excellent partner for Pangoro, as it takes full advantage of the drops on Pangoro switch-ins like Landorus-Therian, which will probably be one of the most common pokemon in the metagame. It's also a great scouting tool, as it lets you see what the two highest stats of a pokemon are with relatively little risk, uncovering potential Choice Scarves. Pangoro is still relatively unimpressive on its own, though. It doesn't really have the bulk to grab momentum against some offensive teams, so maybe some bizarre sets like Scarf or RestTalk will win out.
Sharpedo @ Life Orb/Leftovers/Sharpedonite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Protect
- Waterfall/Substitute
- Crunch
Speed Boost bolsters Sharpedo's Attack stat by one stage each turn, letting it turn into a runaway train if unchecked. Due to its access to Aqua Jet, Sharpedo is perhaps the best user of this strategy, as it can use Aqua Jet to clean up games. Sharpedo is best used by picking off a weakened offensive pokemon and getting a free attack boost while doing so, then proceeding to hit the opposing team hard while Protecting every other turn for a free boost. Against more defensive teams, Sharpedo can run Substitute to almost guarantee reaching +6 Attack without issue, before attempting to sweep. Such a set is not without fault, however. Sharpedo has crummy bulk, meaning that it's super reliant on Aqua Jet and Protect, and its Substitutes are basically useless unless you predict a status move perfectly. Its not that fast, so faster offensive pokemon resistant to Aqua Jet can pick it off, like Keldeo for example. And without a boost, its not that strong either. And its super predictable cause it Protects every other turn. And it's weak to faster priority like Extreme Speed. Wow, I make it sound really bad. While it has a lot of flaws I think Sharpedo can be really effective, if you can predict correctly.
Banette-Mega @ Banettite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Cotton Guard
- Sucker Punch/Shadow Sneak
- Shadow Claw/Gunk Shot/Knock Off
- Destiny Bond
Something like this looks like it could be one of the most prevalent Banette sets. Cotton Guard is amazing, as it boosts Banette's Attack by a hefty 3 stages, letting it do a whole lot of damage. After a boost, it's capable of 2HKOing pretty much everything with the right move, including bulky Landorus-Therian after Intimidate, Skarmory, Bisharp, and most Tyranitar sets. It's tough to build a Banette set, cause it has poor coverage, and its strongest attack isn't even a Ghost-type move. Not to mention it still has access to all those support options, even though Cotton Guard is one of the main reasons to use it now. Having Destiny Bond as well gives it the best of both its niches. It still has a lot of the same flaws that it has normally, but it's got some kind of niche now to go alongside priority Destiny Bond. I think it's actually the best Cotton Guard user now, besides maybe Altaria.
Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Bulk Up
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
Thundurus looks like one of the best Defiant/Competitive users around. It laughs in the face of Landorus-Therian, Salamence, and Mega Manectric and turns their drops into boosts. Landorus-Therian is not actually much of a threat to this set anyways, but Mega Manectric, a solid check otherwise, is OHKOed by a +2 Focus Blast. But perhaps the thing most aiding the viability of Thundurus is its cool speed tier, which puts it ahead of Keldeo, Latios, and more. It outspeeds most relevant scarfers after a boost, save for I guess Raikou. You can even drop a few Speed points (or just run Modest) if you want opposing Intimidates to boost your Speed instead, which lets you outspeed a lot more after a boost, but you lose the jump on Latios. Overall, it's probably the best answer to Intimidate spam.
other sets I though about but don't feel like writing about
Coil + Competitive Milotic (offensive or defensive.)
Coil + Zap Cannon Eelektross (this looks particularly fun)
CM keldeo, CM latios, CM mega gardevoir, etc.
DD + Cotton guard + Roost + an attack Mega Altaria (double dance style. physical or special)
Download Porygon-Z and Porygon2 (always raises the highest stat.)
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