OMotM / LCotM Spotlight: Passive Aggressive + AAA UU

By Gimmicky and pannu. Released:2024/11/19
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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 November, the OM of the Month is Passive Aggressive, while the Leader's Choice is Almost Any Ability Underused!


Introduction to Passive Aggressive

Passive Aggressive is a new metagame where all forms of passive damage now deal damage based on the user's primary typing! This means that, for example, Garchomp using Stealth Rock would set up a Dragon-type Stealth Rock that deals no damage to Fairy-types, but 25% to Dragon-types. Any form of damage negated by Magic Guard is now affected by the type chart, from Steel Beam and even Life Orb recoil to Rocky Helmet and Rough Skin! A more comprehensive list of affected mechanics can be found here. This opens the door to a bevy of new strategies, as Pokémon with unique primary types for their passive damage options such as Mamoswine and Garchomp as well as Protean users Greninja and Meowscarada get a huge boost to their viability. Similarly, Pokémon with powerful recoil moves and complimentary types like Hisuian Electrode, Iron Crown, and Moltres suddenly get to click their most powerful attacks with little recourse, even leading to Pokémon like Gouging Fire, Magearna, and Gholdengo being banned. On the other end, Pokémon with poor synergy between their types like Dragapult and Latios find themselves unable to use Life Orb, taking a whopping one-fifth of their HP with each attack. All in all, there's no shortage of unique options and interactions to be found in Passive Aggressive.

Threats in Passive Aggressive

Clefable

With access to Magic Guard to negate all forms of passive damage as well as the coveted Fairy-type Stealth Rock, Clefable finds itself as a fixture on all kinds of teams as one of the best walls around. Fairy-type entry hazards are excellent, with nothing being immune to them and the incredibly common Dragon-, Dark-, and Fighting-types taking significant chip. Knock Off is incredibly useful for removing opposing Heavy-Duty Boots, allowing it and its teammates to spread more passive damage. Encore, meanwhile, is an option to lock a passive foe like Gliscor into its status moves, giving Clefable a free switch to a more offensive teammate.

Garganacl

Garganacl takes advantage of its great bulk, the status-nullifying effect of Purifying Salt, and the unique passive damage of Salt Cure to be one of the most terrifying Pokémon to face down! Salt Cure now has a unique formula, factoring in the opponent's weakness to Garganacl's type alongside the typical boost to Water- and Steel-type foes; Salt Cure on an opposing Ground-type will do one-sixteenth of the target's HP per turn, while Salt Cure against a Fire-type will do one-fourth of the target's HP. Curse allows Garganacl to become quite threatening over time while becoming harder to KO with physical attacks. Earthquake complements Curse well, giving Garganacl excellent neutral coverage; alternatively, an IronPress set can be used to take full advantage of Garganacl's high Defense.

Electrode-Hisui

With both of its types resisting its primary type of Electric, Hisuian Electrode takes extremely little recoil damage from both Life Orb and Chloroblast, allowing it to effectively spam the powerful move. Volt Switch allows Hisuian Electrode to pivot out of foes like Dragapult or Skarmory that resist Chloroblast. Leech Seed is another unique passive damage tool, taking the opponent's Electric weakness into account in its calculation; Corviknight, for example, will take one-fourth of its HP every turn. This unique effect makes Hisuian Electrode hard to switch into, as even Grass-resistant foes could find themselves on the wrong side of a Leech Seed! Taunt is a useful option to prevent opponents from getting up hazards or other passive damage effects, while Thunder Wave makes Hisuian Electrode great team support and punishes the Dragon-types that otherwise wall it.


Introduction to AAA UU

AAA UU has the same premise as AAA; Pokémon can use Almost Any Ability. The "UnderUsed" part is because Pokémon ranked B or above on the AAA Viability Rankings are banned! Being unable to use the premium walls and attackers leaves the tier with more room for innovation and utilization of under-explored threats. Many common abilities from AAA are still prevalent; you're going to see a ton of Water-types with Primordial Sea, defensive Pokémon with various immunity abilities, and dangerous attackers making use of an assortment of damage-amplifying abilities. Here are some common Pokémon in the tier.

Threats in AAA UU

Mamowine

While it struggles immensely in AAA Overused between having to compete with the likes of Chien-Pao and Ceruledge for the role of wallbreaker and having Corviknight and Ground-immune Gholdengo stop it from mindlessly clicking its moves, Mamoswine is immensely threatening down in AAA UU, where the competition is less stiff and the walls that hinder it aren't as sturdy. The lower power level of AAA UU lets Mamoswine's good qualities shine! Ground and Ice is an incredible STAB combination that gets further bolstered by Adaptability; pair it with Mamoswine's fantastic Attack stat, and you end up with a Pokémon that 2HKOes almost the entire tier. Wallbreaking isn't all it does, as Knock Off is a great utility option that's still quite powerful, and Ice Shard is a great tool for Speed control, revenge killing faster Pokémon like Thundurus!

Blastoise

Blastoise is AAA Underused's most common RegenVest user, in lieu of Manaphy and Swampert. Good bulk further bolstered by Assault Vest lets it take on the various special attacking threats the tier has to offer such as Inteleon and Hydreigon, and Flip Turn lets itsafely bring in teammates that struggle to find their way onto the field naturally. It also has Rapid Spin, a very scarce move in this tier; most of the good hazard removal Pokémon like Corviknight and Great Tusk are not around, making Blastoise one of the best picks by default. Earthquake allows Blastoise to threaten opposing Raikou on the switch in, while Ice Beam is a powerful option against Landorus and Latias. Bringing so much defensive utility makes Blastoise a fantastic fit for bulky offense teams that can't afford to dedicate many slots to a thorough defensive core.

Hydreigon

Hydreigon's high Special Attack stat and powerful moves let it act as a fantastic revenge killer, threatening out the likes of Archaludon and Hisuian Arcanine while, with a Choice Scarf, forcing out faster attackers like Thundurus, Gengar, and Inteleon. The lower level of bulk in AAA UU means that significantly less damage needs to be dealt to the opposing team to have Hydreigon clean them up, while a distinct lack of good Dark-resistant Pokémon makes Dark Pulse incredibly spammable in late-game scenarios, especially against teams that rely on Psychic-types like Meloetta or Jirachi as their special wall. U-turn lets Hydreigon be a fast pivot, forming a potent VoltTurn core with teammates like Inteleon and Landorus, while Earth Power is an option to hit opposing Archaludon, Excadrill, and Tinkaton for super effective damage. Hydreigon's passable bulk and good resistances also let it switch into attackers like Inteleon, Hisuian Zoroark, and Greninja in a pinch.


Final Thoughts

From the many bizarre and creative interactions of Passive Aggressive to the unique power level and nuances of Almost Any Ability Underused, this month has fun experiences and opportunities for any trainer! To discuss, play, and learn about these metagames and more, why don't you come check out the Other Metas room on PS?

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