OMotM/LCotM Spotlight: Broken Record and Inheritance

By in the hills. Released: 2022/07/19.
« Previous Article Next Article »
OMotM/LCotM Spotlight 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 metagames that get nominated for the OMotM voting.

For July 2022, the OM of the Month is Broken Record, while Leader's Choice is Inheritance.

Introduction to Broken Record

Broken Record is based on the feature added in generation 8, Technical Records, which are single-use items that teach Pokémon a specific move. In Broken Record, Pokémon that hold a Technical Record (TR) gain access to the corresponding move as a fifth moveslot, with the TR being immune to Knock Off and Trick. Having five moveslots opens up a lot of possibilities for sets, especially since TRs can be given to Pokémon that do not normally get the move. With the wide array of TRs available, Pokémon have a lot to choose from in this metagame. While most TRs lean towards offensive moves like Swords Dance, Ice Beam, and Flare Blitz, defensive and utility TRs like Body Press and Spikes are available as well. Given the TR takes your item slot, some Pokémon may opt to forego the metagame concept and still use regular items like Choice Scarf and Heavy-Duty Boots.

Threats in Broken Record

Landorus-T

Landorus-T becomes a terrifying sweeper, as it gains access to Brave Bird from TR66. Ground- and Flying-type coverage is nearly unresisted, and combined with a Double Dance, it set can sweep teams with ease. Stone Edge provides coverage specifically for Zapdos, but can be replaced with almost any move to fit your needs like Knock Off or Explosion. This set is terrifyingly strong, but be wary of Brave Bird's recoil and opposing strong coverage while trying to set up.

Tapu Koko

Tapu Koko utilizes a few different TRs to break past the few checks that can switch into its Thunderbolt. Tapu Koko is able to use Nasty Plot to become a threatening sweeper or utilize Ice Beam coverage from TR05 to break past Pokémon like Landorus-Therian and Hippowdon. Depending on your team, you could also use Fire Blast from TR15 to break past Ferrothorn and Excadrill as well, and it can even use Spikes as a TR. Tapu Koko's Speed and strong STAB moves already make it a huge threat, but the added TR pushes its wallbreaking capabilities to new extremes.

Mew

Demon Mew is perhaps the best example of a Pokémon that takes advantage of the fifth moveslot more than gaining access to a new move. In unlike in standard play, it can find room to run an additional support move. Heal Bell invalidates status as a means to counter it, while Taunt blocks most forms of status, opposing setup, slower Taunt, and phazing. In many situations, the best way to beat it is hit it hard, and not everything can hit it hard enough after a Cosmic Power or three.

Regigigas

While not particularly powerful, Skill Swap Regigigas has become a popular set in Broken Record for the meme value of swapping Slow Start onto your opponent. This does come with a huge buff to Regigigas, essentially doubling its Attack and Speed stats, and does make it a decent attacker. However, its lack of utility moves combined with a lack of strong STAB options does make this set mediocre at best.

Introduction to Inheritance

Inheritance allows Pokémon to 'inherit' the moveset and abilities of a single Pokémon in exchange for its own, while keeping its own stats and typing. For example, a Buzzwole inheriting from Mienshao will have access to moves like Close Combat and U-turn with the ability Regenerator, but cannot use Roost from Buzzwole's original moveset. It is also of note that Pokémon cannot inherit from banned Pokémon, so every ban is for both receivers and inheritors. This metagame has a lot of creativity to it and rewards Pokémon with strong stats and typings, while bringing attention to the best moveset and ability combinations the games have to offer. To inherit from a Pokémon, all you have to do is give the desired moves and ability of the Pokémon you want to inherit from and the server's validator will do the rest and display which Pokémon you're inheriting from in-battle.

Threats in Inheritance

Dragapult

Dragapult is one of the strongest Pokémon in Inheritance and is able to inherit multiple powerful sets to utilize its high Speed and attacking stats. Its most common and splashable set inherits from Dragalge to make use of Choice Specs Adaptability and dual STAB coverage to break past a huge chunk of the metagame. Dragapult can also inherit Flip Turn from Dragalge to mimic its role in standard play as a fast pivot.

Celesteela

Celesteela has been one of the faces of Inheritance for the past two generations, and it's easy to see why. Steel/Flying is one of the best typings in the games, and Celesteela's high all around stats make it the perfect receiver. Celesteela is great at inheriting utility sets from Tornadus-T that utilize Regenerator and pivoting to keep it healthy or from Salamence to wall large portions of the metagame with Intimidate. Celesteela is easily one of the most splashable Pokémon in the metagame, and you can find a use for it on almost any team.

Zarude

Zarude inherits from its primate partner Rillaboom to gain a near-perfect moveset and ability combination. Zarude fills similar roles to how Rillaboom plays in standard but utilizes better bulk and STAB Knock Off to better handle threats. Choice Band Grassy Glide is a great revenge killing tool against threats like Keldeo, Terrakion, and Urshifu-R, but defensive Pokémon like Buzzwole and Celesteela tend to be hard counters to it and stop it from making progress in most games.

Conclusion

Broken Record and Inheritance are both metagames that offer a lot of variability and offer unique experiences for anyone to enjoy. Enjoy these metagames this July and check out the Other Metas room on PS! to discuss them.

HTML by Ryota Mitarai | Script by scpinion.
« Previous Article Next Article »