OMOTM/LCOTM: Triples & Revelationmons

By Gimmicky and HiZo. Released:2024/09/19
« Previous Article Next Article »
OMOTM/LCOTM: Triples & Revelationmons Art

Art by anundeadboy.

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 others that get nominated for the OMotM voting.

For September, the OM of the Month is Triples, while Leader's Choice is Revelationmons!

Introduction to Triples

Triples is a metagame that resurrects the same format seen in Gens 5 and 6 where three Pokémon are on the field simultaneously. The center slot is most important, as most moves can only hit Pokémon that are adjacent to the user, the drawback being all of your opponent's Pokémon can hit the Pokémon in the center regardless of their slot, so you must be able to support your center slot accordingly. Furthermore, you have the option to shift instead of attacking or switching and bring a Pokémon from a corner slot to the center, allowing you to move your in-battle Pokémon on the fly to get into a better position at the cost of its turn. With the center slot being able to hit all 3 Pokémon simultaneously with a single spread move, Wide Guard has increased value for protecting your allies. Furthermore, certain pulse and Flying-type moves have the ability to hit any Pokémon on the field regardless of being adjacent or not, so Pokémon like Iron Jugulis and Archaludon have increased viability despite sitting in a corner slot.

Threats in Triples

Regidrago

Regidrago is a strong nuke in the center slot thanks to Dragon Energy, which can shred through teams with support from Tailwind users like Talonflame or priority blocking from the likes of Indeedee and Farigiraf. With Dragon Pulse, it can also function a strong attacker and target anyone on the field, even in a disadvantageous position; Draco Meteor is a powerful nuke if Regidrago has taken significant chip damage, while Protect allows it to scout for the foe's move. Earth Power is a powerful coverage move that shreds Steel-types, while Tera Dragon is prefered for the boost to Dragon Energy. Alternatively, Tera Steel can be used with Tera Blast to hit Fairy-types even harder.

Talonflame

Speed control is very important, and Talonflame is one of the best Tailwind setters in the metagame thanks to its particularly specialized moveset in Triples. Brave Bird and Acrobatics can be boosted by Gale Wings and target anything on the field, and Feint can break through Protect and Wide Guard, allowing the center slot to fire off spread moves without abandon. Quick Guard can help teams by blocking Fake Out and other priority moves without giving up momentum. Taunt and Flare Blitz are options to stop opposing Tailwind and Trick Room setters and to hit Steel-types, respectively. Tera Ghost gives Talonflame a valuable immunity to Fake Out, while Tera Grass gives Talonflame a Spore immunity as well as a resistance to Water.

Hitmontop

Wide Guard is one of the best moves in the tier, and Hitmontop has that and more. Intimidate can affect all three foes if sent out in the center slot, and options such as Feint and Coaching to further enable powerful attackers like Ting-Lu and Ursaluna make it a strong utility option in the tier. Triple Axel is an option for additional coverage, complementing Hitmontop's powerful Close Combat well and hitting Flying-type foes. Tera Steel allows Hitmontop to turn its Psychic-, Flying- and Fairy-type weaknesses into resistances while also gaining several other resistances, while Tera Dark is an option to give Hitmontop an immunity to Psychic-type moves as well as Prankster.

Introduction to Revelationmons

Revelationmons is an OM where the typing of the move in a Pokémon's first slot is changed to the user's primary typing, and, if applicable, its second move becomes its secondary typing! For example, a Ground- and Fighting-type Great Tusk with a moveset of Knock Off, Rapid Spin, Earthquake, and Body Press would find that its Knock Off is a Ground-type move and Rapid Spin is a Fighting-type move. The moves U-turn and Volt Switch are restricted from changing types because giving these moves a free STAB boost was considered too broken, meaning they're forced to be in the third or fourth moveslots. Revelationmons allows any Pokémon to gain access to powerful STAB moves they may otherwise lack, ranging all the way from Fairy-type Superpower and Electric-type Boomburst for Enamorus and Toxtricity, respectively! This also allows powerful moves with good distribution like Discharge, Knock Off, and Rapid Spin to be even more viable with their new typings, while Pokémon with naturally good STAB moves may opt to change nothing at all. There's no shortage of combinations to try out for yourself!

Threats in Revelationmons

Gliscor

Gliscor finds itself at the forefront of the metagame for its naturally great bulk accentuated further by Poison Heal, the grand utility of Spikes, the sweeping potential of Swords Dance, and- oh, yeah, the absurd power of STAB-boosted Facade and Knock Off. Knock Off is the typical Ground-type move of choice, trading a bit of power for the added utility of removing an item, but Earthquake is also an option for its higher Base Power. Flying-types historically have poor STAB moves, but Flying-type Facade patches that issue to be Gliscor's main source of damage, hitting ludicrously hard even without investment or a boost. Spikes and Swords Dance are both viable; Spikes allows Gliscor to support itself and its teammates with damage over time, while Swords Dance turns it into an extremely powerful wallbreaker. Protect helps guarantee Gliscor's Toxic Orb activates Poison Heal while also scouting the foe's move.

Arcanine-Hisui

With the sheer power of STAB-boosted Extreme Speed, Hisuian Arcanine is an elite revenge killer and powerful wallbreaker. Fire-type Extreme Speed takes great advantage of sun while also revenge killing Rock-resistant Pokémon like Iron Valiant and Sneasler, while Rock-type Extreme Speed is a slightly more unreliable alternative that counters opposing rain teams and cleaves through Fire-resistant foes like Hisuian Samurott, as well as OHKOing boosted Enamorus. Head Smash is a fantastic wallbreaking tool thanks to its enormous Base Power, though Rock-type Close Combat is also an option if you'd rather reap the benefits of Intimidate. Morning Sun lets Hisuian Arcanine stay healthy, especially on Intimidate sets, while Stealth Rock is an option to give it some additional utility and to wear down its checks. Fighting-type Close Combat is a powerful coverage option to hit targets such as Urshifu-R, Garchomp, and Heatran.

Skarmory

Despite being famous for its passivity, Skarmory is ironically a premier Double Dance sweeper, using Iron Defense and Flying-type Body Press to power through opposing teams. Iron Defense turns Skarmory into a devastating sweeper while also making it nigh unkillable on the physical side, allowing it to break past even temporary checks suck as Gliscor and Kingambit and simultaneously walling opposing threats like Iron Valiant. Agility allows Skarmory to bypass its mediocre Speed stat and make itself an even more dangerous sweeper, outspeeding potential revenge killers like Walking Wake and Iron Valiant. 116 Speed EVs allow Skarmory, after an Agility, to outspeed Barraskewda as well as neutral-natured Great Tusk after a Rapid Spin, while Defense is maxed to make Body Press as powerful as possible.

Final Thoughts

From the return of Triples and its shifting shenanigans to the wild creativity of Revelationmons, this month's tiers have something to offer any Pokémon player! Come give them a try on PS! this September, and join us in the Other Metas chatroom to discuss them!

HTML by Steorra.
« Previous Article Next Article »