SV BH Suspect Coverage: Poison Heal

By Tea Guzzler. Released: 2023/01/11.
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Smogceus

Art by ashelyDeluxe.

Poison Heal has been a reliable and effective ability throughout multiple generations. The ability for any user to heal 1/8 HP every turn, block the incredibly common paralysis, and sponge Knock Off created the ideal situation for bulky Pokémon to maximize their offensive and defensive utility alike. You'd think that this absolute cornerstone to the tier would remain that way in SV BH, as it has always been, yet Poison Heal was the first suspect test of this generation - why?

What has Poison Heal been like in past generations?

Balanced Hackmons is an Other Metagame where any Pokémon can use any move, any ability, any forme, and unlimited EVs (subject to balancing restrictions of course). BH by default lends itself to moveset flexibility, which is one of Poison Heal users' main advantages over other sets - Poison Heal's passive recovery removes the need to run a dedicated recovery move, such as Strength Sap, allowing Poison Heal users to dedicate all 4 moveslots to making active progress against the opponent. Another huge factor for Poison Heal's success is the removal of the EV limit, meaning 252 EVs can be used in every stat. This benefits all Pokémon in the tier, but Poison Heal users arguably gain the most benefit, thanks to the additional bulk ensuring they aren't easily chased out by other offensive threats. Poison Heal users' strong matchup into the ubiquitous Imposter Chansey (who often isn't poisoned, and so won't have a form of recovery while transformed into a Poison Heal user) also bolsters their viability.

In previous generations, Poison Heal users could largely be categorized into three groups - offensive, defensive, and utility. Offensive Poison Heal users have been the most prominent over the past few generations, mostly serving as paralysis-immune setup users that can't be exploited by needing to use manual recovery. These typically aim to win longer games, where teammates can provide the support necessary to wear down walls. This is where the common Poison Heal Regigigas and Xerneas sets lie, such as the ones below:

Regigigas Xerneas

Defensive Poison Heal users, on the other hand, enjoy using their natural bulk in combination with Poison Heal's passive recovery to reliably check offensive threats over the course of the game. In addition, their generally lower Speed means they are less vulnerable to Core Enforcer, which needs to move after the target to suppress its ability. These users are generally less common than offensive ones, largely because Poison Heal competes with other defensive abilities, such as Fur Coat, Ice Scales, Prankster, and Regenerator. Some example sets are below:

Giratina Tapu Fini

Utility Poison Heal users are the smallest and most specific group - these Pokémon mostly use Poison Heal's passive recovery to maximize the time they can spend using utility moves, such as Knock Off, Spikes, Nuzzle, and pivoting moves. This group is the smallest mostly because these Poison Heal users fit best on bulkier team structures, and the most common users (Regigigas and Zygarde-C) have issues with their other sets being generally better. Some example sets are below:

Regigigas Zygarde-complete

Counterplay to these sets in past generations has generally been pretty straightforward. The easiest and most effective method is Core Enforcer, which suppresses the target's ability if you move after them; this is typically used on slow and bulky Pokémon, such as Zygarde-C and Giratina, to reliably force Poison Heal users out by both removing their recovery and making them take Toxic damage. Spectral Thief and Topsy-Turvy are common ways to beat offensive Poison Heal users, since the stolen or inverted stat boosts, respectively, are often sufficient to force the target out. Trapping moves, such as Anchor Shot from Zamazenta-C and Thousand Waves from Zygarde-C, allow users to isolate and remove Poison Heal users in combination with other moves like Thunderous Kick, Worry Seed, and Core Enforcer. Entrainment removes Poison Heal, much like Core Enforcer, and it can gain Priority from Prankster; this is often used as an emergency button on Prankster sets to force a snowballing Poison Heal user out. Toxic Orb + Imposter allows the Imposter user (Chansey or Blissey) to heal, removing a Poison Heal user's main advantage in an advantageous Imposter matchup. Finally, Purify is a more niche option that can remove Toxic from a Poison Heal user entirely (provided their Toxic Orb has been removed first), often removing their only form of recovery.

Why suspect Poison Heal now? What's different in SV BH?

Poison Heal is mechanically the same as it's always been; however, the main reason for it being suspected now is the climate around it shifting. This can largely be attributed to the removal of key factors that limited Poison Heal and the introduction of factors that enable it:

All of these culminate into a situation where Poison Heal users are difficult to stop from winning long-term, thanks to being nearly impossible to offensively check and methods to defensively check them being both passive and exploitable.

Pro-Ban Reasoning

Most pro-ban reasoning revolves around two intertwined factors - the lack of strong, consistent counterplay and matchup inconsistency. Counterplay to Poison Heal was very limited thanks to the move cuts, which meant that the small amount left over could be specially prepared for; Terastallizing, Taunt, and Substitute are the chief culprits here, as all three block common counterplay methods like Entrainment, Dragon Tail, Whirlwind, Haze, and Parting Shot spam. Another issue arises from these counterplay methods being passive, which arguably creates a situation where the optimal counterplay to Poison Heal users is to play an incredibly repetitive and slow game of spamming the same moves in order to not lose. Matchup inconsistency, enabled by the sheer amount of viable Poison Heal users, also plays a role as many teams can run into situations where their Poison Heal counterplay methods are simply ineffective against the Poison Heal user they load into; Terastallization arguably exacerbates this issue. It can also be argued that a Poison Heal matchup fish is nearly impossible to win against, compared to other fishes such as Aerilate Rayquaza in SS BH or Refrigerate Kyurem-W in SM BH, where they can be beaten with careful play and good prediction.

Anti-Ban Reasoning

Many of the anti-ban reasoning revolves around the fact that Poison Heal counterplay is splashable on many Pokémon already used on the majority of teams. Notable counterplay is Entrainment on Prankster users, Dragon Tail or Circle Throw on RegenVest users, and Haze on a variety of defensive Pokémon. Additionally, Poison Heal users on both teams can be argued to create interesting win-faster wars, since the Poison Heal users are both capable of winning long-term, resulting in intense and dynamic gameplay. Many anti-ban players also argue that the matchup inconsistency is overstated, as there would be clearly preferred Poison Heal users such as Arceus-Fairy and Arceus-Ghost, thus deviation from these would be typically rare; this is more of a subjective matter, however. Poison Heal counterplay exists through out-offensing the opposing team, with dangerous threats like Hoopa-U and Miraidon; this aims to fix the issue by never giving Poison Heal users the chance to boost and spiral out of control. Finally, some players also cite other factors, such as Terastallization or Victory Dance and Quiver Dance, as the main causes of Poison Heal being broken rather than Poison Heal itself - this is visible through this post.

Outcome

With 42 total votes and a 73.8% majority, Poison Heal was banned from SV BH. Teams will need to find alternative long-term win conditions, such as Regenerator users or entry hazard stacking; many of these are likely to rely on manual recovery, greatly changing the dynamics of the tier. Paralysis is likely to rise in usage thanks to the reduced amount of Pokémon innately immune to it. Sets on defensive Pokémon are unlikely to change drastically, as the most common anti-Poison Heal tools in phazing moves are still useful elsewhere; however, Prankster Entrainment will likely see a decrease in usage and Toxic Orb Imposter will vanish entirely. Many of the Arceus formes have viable sets that aren't Poison Heal, so they will likely still stay relevant. However, more niche formes like Normal and Electric whose only real sets are Poison Heal will likely fall out of favor.

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