OM Spotlight: Metagamiate and Scalemons

Introduction

Welcome to OM Spotlight! This is a series that showcases underrated Other Metagames (OMs) to help build a playerbase for them. The OM ladders get the most recognition of any OM, seeing as they're playable on Pokémon Showdown! every day. On top of that, the Other Metagame of the Month (OMotM) and Leader's Choice of the Month (LCotM) also get a reasonable amount of success, seeing how they're popular enough to win a community vote and get noticed by the OM leadership, respectively. As a disclaimer, the threats listed for each metagame are purely theoretical due to the underdevelopment of the metagames listed here.

Metagamiate

Thread | Led by Pikachuun

Mechanics

In Metagamiate, every Pokémon is given an intrinsic -ate ability. You might be asking, "What is an -ate ability?" An -ate ability—for example, Pixilate—changes a Pokémon's Normal-type moves to another type and applies a 20% boost to the Base Power of that move. While there are only five -ate abilities—Aerilate, Galvanize, Normalize, Pixilate, and Refrigerate—that currently exist, that's where the intrinsic effect comes in. For example, if a Mimikyu uses Facade, Facade would become Ghost-type and would also have 84 Base Power, and if a Pikachu uses Facade, it would become Electric-type with the same Base Power. On top of that, if a Pokémon is marked as Shiny, its intrinsic -ate ability matches its second type (if applicable), which would mean that a shiny Mimikyu would have a Fairy-type Facade, whereas a shiny Pikachu would still have an Electric-type one. Shiny locking is also completely removed, meaning that event Pokémon like Extreme Speed Entei aren't required to be Shiny anymore.

While Normalize's main effect is to make every move Normal-type and apply a 20% boost, it only affects the user's already Normal-type moves, meaning that a Normal-type Pokémon's Return would remain Normal-type but have 122 Base Power, and its Stomping Tantrum would remain Ground-type with 75 Base Power.

If a Pokémon already has an -ate ability, such as Mega Gardevoir, the -ate ability takes priority over the intrinsic one, meaning that a non-Shiny Mega Gardevoir would still have Pixilate despite having the intrinsic Psychic-type -ate ability.

Potential threats

Flying-type -ate Noivern

In Metagamiate, Noivern gains access to an amazing Flying-type STAB move in Boomburst. After the boosts from an intrinsic Flying-type -ate, Noivern's Boomburst turns into a whopping 168-Base Power Flying-type STAB move, and when used in tandem with Choice Specs, Noivern can 2HKO some of the bulkiest threats in OU like Toxapex, Tapu Fini, and Mega Gyarados in addition to the offensive Pokémon that are OHKOed.

Fighting-type -ate Kommo-o

Fighting-type -ate Kommo-o is one of the best switch-ins to Noivern. With Soundproof, Kommo-o can switch into Noivern's powerful Boomburst with no drawback, as well as Clangorous Soulblaze, Clanging Scales, and Hyper Voice from opposing Kommo-o. Kommo-o's only noticeable drawback is its inability to hit opposing Kommo-o super effectively due to Soundproof blocking out Kommo-o's own moves; however, this can be avoided with a physical set. Regardless, Kommo-o is still a potent potential threat, as even though Fighting-type -ate Hyper Voice is 108 Base Power as opposed to Focus Blast's 120, the 100% accuracy is a huge improvement and allows Kommo-o to freely run more sets.

Ghost-type -ate Mimikyu

Ghost-type -ate Mimikyu no longer has to rely on Shadow Claw as its main Ghost-type STAB move. With a Ghost-type -ate, Mimikyu's Return turns into a 122-Base Power Ghost-type STAB move with a noticeable power increase. Due to Disguise, Mimikyu can set up Swords Dance reliably to get an easy boost in Attack. At +2, a Life Orb Ghost-type -ate Return from Mimikyu OHKOes maximum HP Mega Scizor after Stealth Rock, whereas Shadow Claw could do no more than 2HKO. Mimikyu can also be a threat because it outspeeds Kommo-o without any boosts and can OHKO it with Play Rough, and while it doesn't outspeed Noivern, Mimikyu can utilize its Disguise to either force out or KO Noivern.

Psychic-type -ate Mega Medicham

Psychic-type -ate Mega Medicham gains access to a new, incredibly strong 122-Base Power Psychic-type STAB move in the form of Return, which is a considerable upgrade from Zen Headbutt's comparatively meager 80 Base Power. Using this new toy alongside Tapu Lele as a teammate ensures that Mega Medicham is nigh unstoppable, as after Huge Power and Psychic Terrain, even Dark-types can't stop Mega Medicham; it still has High Jump Kick to smash through them.

Extreme Speed

Being two of many examples of how intrinsic -ate abilities can bring out the best in a Pokémon, Electric-type -ate Pikachu and Fairy-type -ate Togekiss have access to one of the most powerful moves now: Extreme Speed. After the respective -ate boost is applied, Extreme Speed becomes a 96-Base Power move that, when used in tandem with Light Ball (in Pikachu's case) and Hustle (in Togekiss's case), can destroy almost any target. While there are stronger moves for them to run, like Return, they aren't +2 priority like Extreme Speed, which allows them to nearly ignore the Speed of opposing Pokémon and just outright sweep teams. However, Pikachu and Togekiss have to worry about the aforementioned Tapu Lele + Psychic-type -ate Mega Medicham core, as Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain can stop Pikachu and Togekiss in their tracks and potentially end their reign of terror.

Scalemons

Thread | Led by Kris

Mechanics

Scalemons is an Ubers-based OM that uses a unique scaling formula to modify stats, hence where it gets its name from. The formula is as follows:

Stat * (600 - HP) / (BST - HP)

With the provided formula, every Pokémon has each stat, barring HP, scaled and rounded down to bring its BST close to, if not, 600. HP is barred from being scaled to prevent every Pokémon from becoming too bulky, and the stats are floored instead of rounded up to match the majority of Pokémon formulas. For example, using the formula with Fomantis's stats would result in the stat changes in the paragraph below:

Potential threats

40 HP
146 Atk
93 Def
133 SpA
93 SpD
93 Spe

Fomantis

In Scalemons, Fomantis's meager stats get skyrocketed to a spectacular 40 / 146 / 93 / 133 / 93 / 93, which means that it can make great usage of its flagship ability, Contrary. Access to Superpower and STAB Leaf Storm is amazing, and when used in tandem with Hidden Power Rock, it allows Fomantis to have almost unresisted coverage. In addition, Superpower and Leaf Storm with Contrary give Fomantis an easy way to simultaneously attack and boost its respective attacking stat to further pave a path of foes to KO. Fomantis's unique movepool also grants it access to Dual Chop, another move that it can run in order to hit Mega Rayquaza.

105 HP
132 Atk
73 Def
132 SpA
73 SpD
84 Spe

Mega Rayquaza

Even though Mega Rayquaza has a whopping BST of 780 in standard play, all of its stats are scaled down to 105 / 132 / 73 / 132 / 73 / 84, giving it a BST of 599. With this new stat spread, Mega Rayquaza is outsped by the aforementioned Fomantis, which causes it to rely a lot more on both Extreme Speed and switching out more often. Despite its low base 84 Speed, though, Mega Rayquaza still has the ability to run either a Choice Scarf or a Dragon Dance set, with the latter allowing it to boost its Attack alongside its Speed. Additionally, even though Mega Rayquaza's attacking stats appear to be lower than average at base 132, Mega Rayquaza's access to strong moves such as V-create and Dragon Ascent allows it to shine even more.

45 HP
192 Atk
42 Def
138 SpA
42 SpD
138 Spe

Carvanha

Carvanha is seemingly one of the Pokémon with the greatest offensive benefits after its stats are scaled to a spectacular 45 / 192 / 42 / 138 / 42 / 138. At a whopping base 192 Attack, Carvanha's raw power is enough to dent almost any Pokémon. Despite its seemingly low base 138 Speed for a glass cannon, Carvanha's access to Speed Boost allows it to incrementally get faster and faster, eventually outpacing every foe. Even though its incredible ability still doesn't solve its issue with priority, Carvanha can either opt to run Aqua Jet to scare off opposing priority users or pair up with Tapu Lele, as Tapu Lele's ability can summon Psychic Terrain, which provides Carvanha with a temporary immunity to priority moves to allow it to safely sweep.

25 HP
40 Atk
30 Def
211 SpA
110 SpD
181 Spe

Abra

With a stat spread of 25 / 40 / 30 / 211 / 110 / 181, Abra's Special Attack and Speed are nearly unrivaled. A monstrous base 211 Special Attack means that even resisted hits from Abra can make huge dents in any foe, and its base 181 Speed is nothing to laugh at either, allowing it to outrun almost the entire unboosted Pokédex. If Abra's Special Attack didn't already seem threatening, an amazing ability in Magic Guard means that Abra can run a Life Orb and take no recoil after attacking while still applying the boost to its moves, which makes the holes Abra can rip even bigger. Additionally, like Carvanha, even though Abra's physical bulk is plain awful, running Tapu Lele as a teammate can allow Abra to utilize Psychic Terrain by taking advantage of both the priority immunity that it grants and the boost in power that it provides to Abra's STAB moves.

Final thoughts

Despite the low popularity that Metagamiate and Scalemons have, they all appear to be extremely fun in some way or another. While neither of them have gotten the chance to become either the OMotM or LCotM, these OMs have diverse mechanics that allow them to stand out. Go check them out!

HTML by Kris.

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