Predictions for the Generation VII Anything Goes Metagame
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Introduction
Becoming intertwined with Smogon in Generation VI, Anything Goes already has a very wide range of usable Pokémon and team archetypes. However, come Generation VII, a lot of new Pokémon, abilities, and moves are being introduced that are believed to affect the AG metagame drastically. This article will theorize which new changes will affect AG the most and how they'll do it.
Complete Zygarde and Thousand Arrows
The introduction of Complete Zygarde and Thousand Arrows is huge for Anything Goes. While Thousand Arrows might have as high Base Power as Earthquake and Precipice Blades, the secondary effect that it has—grounding all foes while providing a neutral hit on Flying—is metagame changing. This means that Complete Zygarde can run a reliable STAB move and not need to worry about Flying-types and Levitate users coming in on it. This also allows Complete Zygarde to hit currently threatening Flying-types like Ho-Oh super effectively without needing to worry about having to predict Latias coming in on it. From already-released trailers, it is shown that Complete Zygarde has at least a base 200 HP, meaning that it's pretty bulky. Complete Zygarde's access to Extreme Speed, Dragon Dance, and a new Ground-type STAB move in Thousand Arrows means that it now outclasses Mega Rayquaza as a setup sweeper and priority attacker and Primal Groudon as a Ground-type, despite its probably low Speed. However, in order to get Complete Zygarde, 50% Zygarde must take a substantial amount of damage to change its forme, which hinders its potential S-rank worthiness immensely. On the other hand, its introduction to the metagame also means that previously threatening bulky Pokémon like Skarmory and Ho-Oh will drop in viability. All in all, Complete Zygarde might be the one threat that everything in Generation VI AG hasn't been asking for.
Solgaleo and Full Metal Body
Solgaleo remains a bit of an enigma, as we know very little about it aside from its Psychic / Steel typing and access to Sunsteel Strike, so there is very little we can be certain of aside from it almost certainly outclassing the already mediocre Mega Metagross. Basically, Full Metal Body is just a renamed version of Clear Body, which is particularly useless in AG because this isn't Ubers and Intimidate isn't a thing here. However, Solgaleo also shares its typing with two other viable Anything Goes Pokémon, Jirachi and Bronzong, and both of them are notable for being very solid checks to Xerneas. Part of checking Xerneas would rely on its base stats, which would have to leave it bulky enough to survive a +2 Focus Blast from GeoXern, but that doesn't seem impossible looking at its fairly tough design. Aside from that, what could set Solgaleo apart from its competitors is that Jirachi has to rely on flinches to deal consistent damage with its relatively low base 100 Attack stat, and Bronzong can do very little offensively outside of Gyro Ball. Ideally, Solgaleo could function as a much stronger Xerneas check, being able to deal far more damage to Steel switch-ins like Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre than either of its Psychic and Steel brethren. Even better, if Solgaleo also gains access to a strong Fire-type attack, then it could actually be granted a consistent and powerful way to hit opposing Steel-types like Ferrothorn, which wall its main STAB moves, similarly to Kyurem-W's Fusion Flare. Although it will likely be easy to threaten with Darkrai and carries a weakness to Ground, one of the most common attacking types in the metagame, Solgaleo could still carve a niche for itself as a strong wallbreaker that can also check Xerneas.
Lunala and Shadow Shield
Although we currently don't know much about Lunala, it seems like it will have a far lesser impact than its co-legendary Solgaleo. Shadow Shield, which is just a renamed version of Multiscale, will obviously have a huge impact on its effectiveness, but the issue comes from it having a far worse defensive typing than Lugia. Its typing leaves it even more vulnerable to Darkrai than its Johto counterpart and more easily handled by using more Dark-type coverage such as Knock Off on Deoxys-A (which might still be an invalid answer to Lunala if it gets access to Shadow Sneak, though). Lugia might be more susceptible to Ice and Rock coverage, but its Ground immunity goes a long way towards checking Primal Groudon. While Lunala could end up having a greater offensive presence than Lugia, its Psychic / Ghost typing simply isn't that amazing on paper. While there aren't many Pokémon that resist that STAB combination other than Darkrai and Yveltal, it also doesn't threaten many defensive Pokémon outside of Bronzong and Giratina, which may give it a hard time dealing damage to balanced teams. To differentiate itself, Lunala will likely need access to an incredible boosting move along the lines of Geomancy or Quiver Dance to beat out defensive walls, or stats so monumentally bulky that even Lugia fails to compete with.
Bruxish and Dazzling & Tsareena and Queenly Majesty
Bruxish, alongside Dazzling, is quite controversial in the AG metagame. For those who don't know, Dazzling is Bruxish's ability, and what it does is quite stellar. Dazzling prevents all forms of priority moves above 0, like Extreme Speed, from being used. This is huge because a lot of the viable Pokémon in AG, namely almost all Arceus formes, Mega Rayquaza, Yveltal, and Giratina-O, are being limited in what attacks they can use against Bruxish. This is game changing because it means that there is now a potentially semi-viable Pokémon that can switch in on every priority user. However, this also means that priority users might also now run coverage for Bruxish, and some do just naturally (Arceus runs Shadow Claw, Genesect runs Bug Buzz, Yveltal has other Dark-type moves, and Giratina-O has Shadow Force). However, if Prankster-boosted moves are affected by this as well, then Bruxish's viability will be a different story, because it can cripple Klefki. So, in conclusion, it seems like some of the most prevalent Pokémon in AG are either going to not change movesets at all or have very minimal changes to them just to deal with a probably frail and unviable Pokémon.
Queenly Majesty is basically just a renamed version of Dazzling that Tsareena has access to. Again, Tsareena with Queenly Majesty is in the same situation as Bruxish is with Dazzling: a great ability was bestowed upon a seemingly terrible Pokémon. Hopefully, more Pokémon have access to either Dazzling or Queenly Majesty, or else all of AG will need to rely on such supposedly frail Pokémon to switch in on a lot of Pokémon.
Z-moves
Z-moves could potentially outclass some currently viable Mega Evolutions. Even though it might seem like a huge waste of an item slot just for an ultra powerful one-time use move, Z-moves are supposedly extremely powerful and can OHKO even some of the bulkiest Pokémon, depending on what uses them. For example, Snorlax gets its signature Z-move, Pulverizing Pancake, and when combined with its amazing base 110 Attack, it looks amazingly threatening, according to the trailers. Other Z-moves, even if not signature, have the potential to OHKO most Arceus formes, which are currently some of the bulkiest Pokémon in AG. Particularly, Ground Z Xerneas and any type Z Mega Rayquaza could change the metagame entirely, as it means Xerneas won't have to drop IVs for Hidden Power, and Mega Rayquaza can use its already outrageous Attack with another new threat.
Tapu Koko and Electric Surge
Despite its fairly unimpressive look compared with beasts such as Primal Groudon, Tapu Koko could easily become the most volatile new addition to Anything Goes thanks to its combination of Fairy typing and immunity to sleep through Electric Surge always calling Electric Terrain upon it switching in. This would allow it to be one of the best counters to Darkrai in the metagame, something that could be incredibly huge considering Darkrai's threat level and impact on teambuilding. Resisting Dragon Ascent could allow it to pivot into Mega Rayquaza as well, and its dual typing allows it to threaten two of the best support Arceus formes, Water and Dragon, with ease. However, this is where the rest comes down to Tapu Koko's unrevealed base stats, as we can't know how effective it will be without them. If it ends up being more on the frail side, then Sludge Bomb from Darkrai and V-create or Earthquake from Mega Rayquaza could easily OHKO or 2HKO it on the switch, making it fail as a check. Additionally, its Electric / Fairy typing leaves it at the complete mercy of Primal Groudon, which is never a good sign. For Tapu Koko to be viable in Anything Goes, Game Freak would have to do one of two things with its stats and movepool. It could be bulky enough to switch into Pokémon like Mega Rayquaza and Darkrai repeatedly, which doesn't seem likely given its apparent early-game status. Or they could make it fast enough to either outspeed Darkrai (over base 125 Speed) or Mega Rayquaza (over base 110 Speed) without needing a Choice Scarf. From what we've seen, it's not impossible that Tapu Koko could end up as a fast attacker, and even if its Speed is slightly subpar, it may be able to compete with Choice Scarf Xerneas by trading the sheer power of Fairy Aura-boosted Moonblasts with its unique coverage and the potential for it to learn Volt Switch. Although it's still unclear what role Tapu Koko will end up playing, its unique typing and ability automatically make it a top contender for being a new threat in Anything Goes.
Magearna and Soul-Heart
Magearna in itself was one of the most hyped Pokémon for Generation VII. We already know its typing (Steel / Fairy), ability (Soul-Heart, which is basically Moxie for Special Attack), and its signature move (Fleur Cannon, which is a Fairy-type Draco Meteor). We already know a lot about this Pokémon; however, its stats remain a mystery and will likely decide how viable it actually is in AG. If its defensive stats are like those of Diancie (due to similar shape), and its Special Attack is somewhat decent, it could probably pose a threat to a lot of Pokémon. However, this is all entirely assumption, and there is a big chance that Magearna will just be one of those overhyped Pokémon that end up being bad. On the chance that this isn't the case though, Magearna could potentially pose a threat to a plethora of offensive and defensive Pokémon, being a Pokémon with a decent signature move, no intent on using its Attack (which means burns are somewhat irrelevant), and an immunity to Toxic, which could cause it to be up to par with current-gen offensive and defensive threats like Mega Diancie and Giratina.
Salandit Evolution?
Long story short: if Salandit has a somewhat viable evolution, it will become one of the best defensive Pokémon in AG due to its ability to Toxic Steel-types with 100% accuracy. This introduces a whole new perspective into Anything Goes. Some of the most used Pokémon are Steel-types (Steel Arceus, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn), and a Pokémon that at least has somewhat of a niche with poisoning them could be metagame changing in the long run. However, Salandit's typing will likely be passed onto an evolution, which will leave it open to nearly every single strong attacker in Anything Goes. A Fire / Poison typing is great for switching into Xerneas, as it means that Salandit takes minimal damage from Moonblast and still resists Xerneas's main coverage move in Focus Blast, but this comes at the cost of being incredibly weak to common coverage moves in Earthquake and Earth Power and easily pressured by plenty of common Pokémon such as Primal Groudon and Mewtwo. Additionally, its lack of resistances would require it to have the stats to back up its presence in the metagame, as only being able to switch into Xerneas and a few Steel-types will make it fairly hard to use effectively.
Silvally
Type: Null's evolution Silvally is still hot off the recent CoroCoro leaks, but it has already come out to be the strongest contender in the batch of released Pokémon. Similarly to how the lack of a Species Clause allows multiple types of Arceus to dominate the metagame, Silvally could end up becoming another Pokémon able to fulfill multiple roles and be even more effective when used alongside itself. It even has its own Judgment clone, so as long as it receives a strong enough movepool, it could easily end up being similar to Arceus as a strong attacker with many potential sets before its type is revealed. In fact, it's the clear similarities that bring up the only question about Silvally's future role in Anything Goes: will it even be useful when Arceus already exists? Movepool-wise, Silvally can match Judgment, but we have no clue if it will have access to Swords Dance or Extreme Speed, two hugely important moves for Arceus, as well as other solid options like Calm Mind, Ice Beam, Stealth Rock, Defog, and Recover. Arceus also has base 120 stats across the board, so whatever Silvally comes up with will likely have to at least have a higher Attack or Special Attack stat to match Arceus's power (or better defenses, but its design definitely suggests an offensively oriented distribution). How useful Silvally will be will most likely depend on how similar it really is to Arceus. If at least a few of its types can stand out thanks to some unique characteristics that haven't been revealed yet, it should still have a solid place in the metagame despite Arceus's presence. If it has much better Attack and Speed but lacks Extreme Speed, we may see it replace sets such as offensive Ground and Ghost Arceus, limiting Arceus to just its Extreme Killer and defensive sets. Or, if it truly is a failed clone, its only purpose might be to confuse people why you didn't just use Arceus.
Viability Changes
Ho-Oh, Skarmory, and Primal Groudon moving down
Ho-Oh has a very high chance at being moved down. The combination of a ton of new potentially bulky Pokémon being introduced and Complete Zygarde having Thousand Arrows simply means that Ho-Oh needs to change its sets immensely to be able to get around these new threats. Not to mention the main reasons why it gets used are becoming slightly unviable as well.
Skarmory's main niche in AG was being able to survive numerous hits from a plethora of strong attackers and Toxic stall and recover off any damage taken from its foes. However, in Generation VII, there is a new potentially dangerous Pokémon in Salandit's possible evolution that might be able to do everything Skarmory is doing in Toxic stalling foes while also having an ability that lets it hit Steel-types as well, which Skarmory cannot. Even if that doesn't happen, there will always be Complete Zygarde and its very threatening new STAB move in Thousand Arrows, which will ground Skarmory and ultimately KO it with ease.
Primal Groudon, while being one of the staples in AG for the majority of Generation VI, simply cannot cut it for Generation VII. Complete Zygarde is being introduced, which means that there is now a new bulkier alternative for a Ground-type on any team. Complete Zygarde also has a more accurate STAB move that hits a wider range of foes and has a greater effect, and Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades to Earthquake is simply what Fire Blast is to Flamethrower.
Primal Kyogre moving up
Primal Kyogre will become more popular, as it can be used for checking Complete Zygarde and other potentially dangerous threats with powerful rain-boosted STAB moves and other great coverage moves that let it hit almost any threat.
Conclusion
All in all, Anything Goes had a very good run in Generation VI. However, come Generation VII, Anything Goes as we know it will be completely changed and will most likely have a plethora of new threats.
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Puzzle Page
Welcome to the sixth edition of the Flying Press's Puzzle Page! Thanks to all of those who sent in their answers. Congratulations to the person who earned the most points last time, Kit Kasai! As usual, anyone who submitted correct answers has earned points on the leaderboard at the bottom of the page.
Thanks to all of the members of the puzzle team who helped out with the puzzles in this edition, including Anty, DarkShinyGiratina, ILRB, Irraquated, and Level 51!
Anagrams
Anagrams consist of several Pokémon-related terms whose letters have been scrambled around. In order to solve them, you have to figure out which terms have been scrambled. For example, "Science Spy Hop" unscrambles to Espeon / Psychic.
- A Ducking Eulogy (2 Terms: Pokémon, Item)
- Dazzling Ribs Now Warn (2 Terms: Move, Ability)
- Universalized Chorus As A Brat (3 Terms: Pokémon, Pokémon, Pokémon)
Parameters
By using the /dexsearch command on Pokémon Showdown, find out which parameters match only the Pokémon listed. For example, say you are given these Pokémon: Bibarel, Bidoof, Pachirisu, Patrat, Raticate, Rattata, Smeargle, and Watchog. Even though all of them learn both Protect and Substitute, there are many other Pokémon that can as well, so the trick is to try to narrow down your options as much as possible. Parameters may include moves, abilities, tiers, generations, colors, and so on.
- Beartic, Cubchoo, Herdier, Liepard, Lillipup, Purrloin, Stoutland (2 Parameters)
- Castform, Gyarados, Palkia, Smeargle (3 Parameters)
- Altaria, Kricketune, Lapras, Smeargle, Swablu (3 Parameters)
Psywaves
A Psywaves puzzle takes a Pokémon's name and splits it up either by phonetics or by spelling. The terms are then either categorized (as a letter, number, body part, etc.) or replaced with a synonym of the original term. Each section of the term is separated by plus signs, and when put together, the terms will form a Pokémon's name. For example, the answer to Exhale + Animal would be Psyduck because "Sigh" (Psy) is a synonym of exhale and "Duck" is a type of animal.
- Writing Implement + Letter
- Stat-Changing Nature + Rock
- Fire + Time Measurement
Pokémon Countdown
Pokémon Countdown has a similar concept to anagrams in that letters in a term will be unscrambled to make a Pokémon-related term with each letter only being used as it appears in the original term. However, there are no definitive answers (there will likely be multiple), and not all of the letters are used. Your goal is to try to find the longest term possible with the given letters. For example, "Ban Tomb Gem" may contain the letters needed to form "Metang," but "Magnet Bomb" is a longer term and would therefore be a better answer. Categories may include Pokémon, moves, items, abilities, locations, and so on.
- Fortunately
- Flying Dinosaur
- Pressed Coriander
Cryptogram
In a cryptogram, every letter used in a message is replaced with a different letter. In order to solve it, you must determine what the original message is. The following phrase is a quote from a character in the main series Pokémon games. For example, a cryptogram of "VDWXQFR REBU AFRSUBKYTCA!" would unscramble to "Pikachu used Thunderbolt!", as each U in the original sentence is swapped for R, each E is swapped for B, and so on. This cryptogram is composed of three parts, each with a different index for letter substitutions. However, each part will come together to form segments of the same quote.
- G VCSD GJ C PCLGJ JY JACGF VHBDUT YF VYFMCH VYAFGFIB JY IGQD JPGB UCWH LYMH C BEGFD.
- HYK OYKUM LD C IYYM JACGFGFI ECAJFDA.
- G'UU LD ZCGJGFI TYA HYKA OCUU!
Conclusion
The answers to last month's puzzles can be found in the announcement thread of the Flying Press forum. Be sure to watch the thread too, as any announcements regarding fixes to puzzles will be posted there. As usual, once you've completed one, some, or even all of the puzzles that this page has to offer, send your answers via a private message to Smogon's Flying Press on the forums (a Smogon account is required). Good luck to all who dare to participate, and we'll see you again in a few weeks!
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