OMotM/LCotM Spotlight: Convergence & Godly Gift

« Previous Article

Next Article »

What is an OMotM/LCotM?

The OMotM, or Other Metagame of the Month, is the metagame that is voted by the players to have a ladder for a specific month. The LCotM, or Leader's Choice of the Month, is a second ladder that is chosen specifically by OM Forum Mods. For the most part, the LCotM is a metagame that needs more love, as it may not be able to compete with the metagames that get nominated for the OMotM voting.

For October, the OM of the Month is Convergence, while Leader's Choice is Godly Gift.

---

Introduction to Convergence

In Convergence, Pokémon with the same typing share moves and abilities. Essentially, this means that the most common typings, especially mono typings, often have a vast number of options available to them. As an example, Milotic can take any ability or move that is learned by fellow pure water-types and run it as its own such as Shell Armor from Pokémon like Shellder, Calm Mind and Acid Armor from Vaporeon, and its own Recover and Scald to become a potent bulky setup sweeper. The amount of combinations are numerous and many otherwise niche Pokémon that may have been limited by their movepool or ability are now potentially usable, even top tier! However, due to requiring the exact same typing, rarer type combos such as Toxtricity can gain virtually nothing but even one shared typing has the potential to bolster a Pokémon immensely, examples of this scenario include Ogerpon-Hearthflame, which only has one partner to share with, Scovillain, yet Chlorophyll makes it an extremely powerful sun sweeper as a result.

Threats

• Dragonite @ Heavy-Duty Boots
• Ability: Intimidate
• Tera Type: Fighting / Fairy
• EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
• Relaxed Nature
• IVs: 0 Spe
• - Body Press
• - U-turn
• - Cotton Guard / Will-O-Wisp
• - Roost

Sharing its typing with Altaria, Salamence, and Noivern, Dragonite gains several potential abilities and moves that let it perform a variety of tasks. It is commonly used as a defensive pivot and even setup wincon thanks to Intimidate from Salamence, U-turn from Noivern, and Cotton Guard from Altaria, which, when paired with Body Press, can run over physically orientated teams. Alternatively, it can run Will-O-Wisp from Altaria over Cotton Guard along with a more defensive Tera type.

• Chesnaught @ Toxic Orb
• Ability: Poison Heal
• Tera Type: Dragon
• EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• IVs: 0 Spe
• - Triple Arrows
• - Knock Off
• - Earthquake
• - Victory Dance

Despite boasting an unusual Grass / Fighting typing, Chesnaught gains a tremendous range of useful moves from Hisuian Lilligant and Hisuian Decidueye and the coveted Poison Heal from Breloom. Victory Dance and Triple Arrows alongside the status immunity and recovery from Poison Heal makes it a potent setup wincon. Even beyond its standard setup set, it gains numerous other moves like Mach Punch, Sucker Punch, Defog, U-turn, and Roost, letting it run a myriad of sets.

• Iron Moth @ Booster Energy
• Ability: Quark Drive
• Tera Type: Psychic
• EVs: 124 HP / 132 SpA / 252 Spe
• Hasty Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Fiery Dance
• - Sludge Wave
• - Psychic
• - Nasty Plot

Iron Moth through its shared typing with Salazzle gains several different options that can chang its role dramatically, potentially turning it into a sweeper. This addition of Nasty Plot to Iron Moth improves its ability to sweep when paired with Booster Energy and the right EVs, which ensure it gains the boost to Speed over Special Attack. Other potential sets include support and status-based through Corrosion, Knock Off, Will-O-Wisp, and more.

---

Introduction to Godly Gift

Godly Gift is an Other Metagame where the Pokémon on your team recieves the base stat of a "God" (AG/Uber) Pokémon depending on where it is placed on your team. Furthermore, if there are no "Gods", then the "God" becomes the Pokémon in the first slot. The picture below illustrates what Pokémon get what stats, and due to the nature of this selectivity, statsweaknesses can be disregarded for the general superior stats of a "God". In many cases, even the weakest stats of a "God" could be an upgrade to another team member, as seen in the example of the sample team by The Dragon Master where Miraidon occupies its weakest stat, Attack, and its second weakest stats HP and Defense are upgrades for Corviknight and Clodsire, respectively. The team utilizes Speed, Special Attack, and Special Defense to patch up the rest of the Pokémon's flaws as seen with Dragapult going from having at best a passable Special Attack of 100 to a whopping 135, Alomomola going from a measly 45 Special Defense to 115, and finally Crawdaunt going from 55 Speed to an astonishing 135. This is the nature of Godly Gift, a metagame where the player can patch up the weaknesses of their team members through a God.

Threats

• Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted Sword
• Ability: Intrepid Sword
• Tera Type: Electric
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Play Rough
• - Close Combat
• - Wild Charge
• - Swords Dance

Zacian-C is a great God as, in addition to being one of the best Pokémon in the game, it also passes an excellent base 138 Speed and decent Defense, Special Defense, and Attack. It's worth noting that, since Zacian-C is an in-battle forme only, using it as a God will only donate base Zacian's stats. Its great offensive presence and decent bulk, making it difficult to revenge kill, make it a top Pokémon in the tier. With both it and its receiver getting a jump on the crowded base130-135 Speed tiers, Zacian-C is a great choice for offensive teams that also doesn't leave the defensive backbone neglected.

• Great Tusk @ Leftovers
• Ability: Protosynthesis
• Tera Type: Fairy
• EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
• Careful Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Rapid Spin
• - Knock Off
• - Earthquake
• - Taunt

Great Tusk often occupies the Special Defense slot, bolstering one of its weakest stats and turning it into a mixed defensive behemoth. Its access to Rapid Spin in a metagame that is relatively light on hazard removal options in tandem with access to Knock Off means it is a great option for teams that want greater utility. Its coveted Ground typing also allows it to frustrate Miraidon, one of the top offensive threats in Godly Gift.

---

Team Breakdown

This team maximizes the stat distribution of Koraidon by placing it in the Special Attack slot, this allows the rest of the team to benefit from its great min-maxed stats. The team focuses around a hazard-stacking core that aims to rack up chip damage and force switches so the fast, powerful cleaners can overwhelm their checks. Gliscor, Corviknight, and Ting-Lu all appreciate Koraidon's buffs to their defensive stats. Gliscor reliably removes opposing Heavy-Duty Boots and forces repeated switches with Toxic + Poison Heal, while Ting-Lu and Hisuian Samurott reliably set hazards and frustrate common hazard removal options like Corviknight and Iron Treads. Corviknight serves as an emergency hazard remover and a reliable pivot to help get Koraidon and Walking Wake in.

The stars of the show are Koraidon and Walking Wake, both fast and fearsome pivots that love their hazard-stacking allies. While Choice Scarf and Speed-boosting Protosynthesis might seem like overkill on Pokémon that already have base 135 Speed, the abundance of other 135 Speed foes, to say nothing of Dragapult and Zacian-C, makes the added Speed control invaluable. Koraidon and Walking Wake aim to pivot to each other, wearing down opposing defensive cores until one of them can cleanly break through.

---

Closing Remarks

Convergence and Godly Gift are unique metagames that shake up the idea of what is a good and bad Pokémon through new moves, abilities, and stats. These are the Metagames of the Month of October 2023, check out the Other Metas room on PS and Smogon to discuss them!

« Previous Article

Next Article »

All guides and strategy information are © 2004 Smogon.com and its contributors. Pokémon is © 1995 Nintendo. Privacy Policy