Introduction to SS Godly Gift

« Previous Article

Next Article »

Godly Gift is an Other Metagame--a format that falls outside Smogon's official tiering framework--that differs from standard tiers by changing the base stats of your team in a unique way. With it recently getting a permanent ladder and being added to the Other Metas Tour Circuit, now is a perfect time to get into it!

How does Godly Gift work?

In Godly Gift, you are allowed to add one Uber Pokémon (your god) to an otherwise OU-legal team. Additionally, your god donates its base stats to the rest of the team based on their team positions. If you build a team without an Uber, the Pokémon in your HP slot functions as your god, but that is usually not advisable. Here is how the stats are donated:

Pokémon in this slot	1	2	3	4	5	6
Get this stat	HP	ATK	DEF	SPA	SPD	SPE

Let's consider an example.

In this team, Rotom-W has its base HP changed to 106, Dracozolt is donated base 130 Attack, and so on. Since Ho-Oh is in slot four, no one receives its base Special Attack. It is important to note that only the base stat is donated, not the EV investment. This means that giving Tyranitar full Speed investment allows it to hit 306 Speed, even though Ho-Oh is uninvested. This adds an interesting dimension to teambuilding; your choice of god helps drive your building as you try and find teammates that benefit from its good stats or don't mind receiving its bad ones. The god you choose is central to how you build your team, so let's dive into how to choose a god.

---

What makes a good god?

There are two things to consider when choosing a god to build your team around. First, consider how you want your team to function. Pheromosa isn't a great god to built a more balanced team around due to its poor HP, Defense, and Special Defense. However, Pheromosa is a fantastic god for hyper offense because of its amazing attacking stats. Second, remember that you are adding the Uber to a team of mostly OU Pokémon. On most teams, your Uber is going to be the best Pokémon on your team, so make sure that you have a strong supporting cast and consider how the god itself will function. The best gods are the ones that not only have great stats to donate, but that are also strong on their own. Let's consider a few examples.

• Yveltal @ Life Orb
• Ability: Dark Aura
• EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
• Modest / Mild Nature
• - Dark Pulse
• - Oblivion Wing
• - Taunt
• - Heat Wave / Sucker Punch

Yveltal is one of the most well-rounded gods in the metagame. It is a fantastic stand-alone threat; Life Orb Dark Aura Dark Pulse is insanely strong, and Oblivion Wing provides excellent complementary coverage while keeping Yveltal healthy. Taunt shuts down many defensive cores that rely on recovery or status. Heat Wave beats annoying defensive Steel-types like Corviknight, while Sucker Punch threatens offensive teams. Yveltal has a fantastic stat spread to donate to its teammates. It has three great stats to donate with 126 HP, 131 Attack, and 131 Special Attack, and its 99 Speed is deceptively good in a metagame infested with 90 and 95 Speed threats. With serviceable 95 Defense and 98 Special Defense, Yveltal is able to support a wide range of potential receivers and team styles.

Other good all-around gods: Necrozma-DM, Ho-Oh, Rayquaza.

• Kyogre @ Choice Scarf
• Ability: Drizzle
• EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• - Water Spout
• - Origin Pulse
• - Ice Beam
• - Thunder

Kyogre is a great example of an amazing Pokémon, but more mediocre donor. In a mostly OU metagame, few Pokémon can switch into all three of its Choice Scarf, Choice Specs, and Calm Mind sets consistently. However, Kyogre is ultimately a poor donor; while its 150 Special Attack and 140 Special Defense are great, the rest of its stat spread is decidedly mediocre. Kyogre is still powerful enough on its own to be a top god, but it very much swings to the "its good on its own" side of the god spectrum.

Other good stand-alone gods: Necrozma-DW, Groudon, Mewtwo.

• Kyurem-White @ Choice Specs
• Ability: Turboblaze
• EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• - Draco Meteor
• - Ice Beam
• - Freeze-Dry
• - Fusion Flare

On the other side of the spectrum, we have Kyurem-W! While it is only okay as a stand-alone Pokémon due to its mediocre Speed and lack of boosting moves, it supercharges its receivers. 120 Attack and 170 Special Attack make it fantastic for offensive teams, and its 95 Speed helps slower wallbreakers get the jump on walls and 90 Speed Ubers. You'll rarely win a game with a Kyurem-W sweep, but you will very frequently win games with its receivers.

Other good stat donors: Pheromosa, Zamazenta, Kyurem-B.

• Giratina @ Leftovers
• Ability: Pressure
• EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
• Bold Nature
• - Dragon Tail
• - Toxic
• - Hex
• - Rest

Giratina is here to remind you that stall is still very viable. With 150 HP, 120 Defense, and 120 Special Defense, Giratina-led teams can have four excellent walls to build a sturdy defensive core including Giratina itself. Most of OU's best walls can still make great use of Giratina's stats to become even bulkier. Clefable's 73 Defense is suddenly 120, Skarmory's 65 HP can now be 150, and Tangrowth can gain a full 70 points in Special Defense. Breaking through these cores is no easy task.

Other good stall gods: Ho-Oh, Shuckle, Lugia.

Now that we have a good jumping off point to understand what makes a good god, let's look into receivers:

---

What makes a good receiver?

There are a few things to look for when choosing receivers. With stats being easily manipulated, abilities are a great place to look. Attackers with damage-amplifying abilities but mediocre stats can now hit harder than their peers, and relatively frail Unaware walls suddenly aren't so frail. Additionally, offensive Pokémon lacking in Speed, Attack, or Special Attack and defensive Pokémon that just need good HP, Defense, or Special Defense can make great use of their gifts. Here are some good, widely useable receivers:

• Landorus-T @ Leftovers
• Ability: Intimidate
• EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
• Impish Nature
• - Stealth Rock
• - Earthquake
• - U-turn
• - Toxic

Landorus-T is a jack-of-all-trades, and master of most of them. Intimidate gives it great default bulk that can be augmented by its choice of god. It has the movepool to be offensive or defensive, including great utility options like Defog, Stealth Rock, and Knock Off. Additionally, offensive sets already have the great Attack stat, STAB, and setup moves to work with, meaning a Speed donation makes it a fearsome attacker. Landorus-T can put in great work as an HP, Defense, or Speed receiver as your team needs, making it a great partner for Mewtwo, Necrozma-DM, and others.

Other good utility receivers: Heatran, Garchomp, Aegislash.

• Tapu Koko @ Heavy-Duty Boots
• Ability: Electric Surge
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• - Thunderbolt
• - Dazzling Gleam
• - U-turn
• - Roost

Tapu Koko checks two of our boxes for a good offensive receiver: high Speed and a damage-amplifying ability in Electric Surge. In standard play it is really let down by its base 95 Special Attack, but we can fix that here. Tapu Koko can do fantastic damage, pivot against its checks, and keep itself healthy with Roost, all while possessing the coveted 130 Speed tier. Koko fits well in the Special Attack slot of Kyurem-W, Rayquaza, or Kyogre.

Other good offensive receivers: Tapu Lele, Bisharp, Victini, Zeraora.

• Dhelmise @ Choice Band
• Ability: Steelworker
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Power Whip
• - Poltergeist
• - Switcheroo
• - Swords Dance / Shadow Claw

Dhelmise is one of the many lower-tier threats that shine in Godly Gift. With two powerful STAB moves in Power Whip and Poltergeist and great 131 base Attack, it is really only let down by its terrible Speed, which gods can fix. Switcheroo also lets it frustrate even solid answers to it with a Choice lock. Put Dhelmise in the Speed slot of Pheromosa, Zamazenta, or Mewtwo, and it will put holes in the opposing team.

Other good lower tier threats: Araquanid, Obstagoon, Comfey.

• Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
• Ability: Sturdy
• EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
• Impish Nature
• - Brave Bird
• - Roost
• - Spikes
• - Whirlwind

Skarmory is already one of the premier walls with a measly 65 HP, but plenty of gods have 100+ HP stats to bequeath to it. With the increased bulk, it can stand up to even the strongest physical attacks and use Whirlwind to deny setup. Skarmory is a great example of a receiver that makes the most out of its improved stats thanks to its normally low base HP. It particularly loves to receive HP from Giratina, although most Ubers have a high enough HP stat to benefit Skarmory as well.

Other good walls: Clefable, Quagsire, Ferrothorn, Rotom-W.

---

What makes a good team?

There are lots of ways to build good teams, just like in standard play. What sets Godly Gift apart is incorporating your Uber into your team build and making good use of the base stats they donate. Let's consider a couple of example teams below:

Yveltal is one of the easiest gods to build around. Every receiver on the team appreciates its new stat, from extra bulk for Landorus-T and Corviknight to extra power for Zeraora and Tapu Koko and extra Speed for Volcanion. With such well-rounded stats, it is easy to slot teammates around Yveltal. This team takes advantage of threat stacking; Zeraora and Tapu Koko work together to overwhlem Electric-type checks while Volcanion and Yveltal aim to do the same with specially defensive walls, while Corviknight and Landorus-T pivot around to get everything in position.

Building teams around specific archetypes is also a great way to make the most of your god's stats. Araquanid has an amazing ability, but poor attacking stats and Speed; we can only fix one with donation, but Trick Room solves Speed. Everything benefits from Necrozma's stats, even Victini's lowered Speed for Trick Room. Necrozma is also a great sweeper given its STAB moves, Power Herb Meteor Beam, and ability to set Trick Room itself. This team really makes the most out of Araquanid while still incorporating its god well.

---

What are the metagame trends?

Part of the beauty of being in the early stages of having a ladder is the metagame trends are very fluid! Virtually every archetype is viable; hyper offense, stall, sand, Trick Room, bulky offense, and balance builds are all possible and viable. There are a few trends to be aware of before diving in, though.

Speed tiers are very different in Godly Gift, and tend to cluster around the 130 mark--Mewtwo and its receivers, plus Tapu Koko--or between 90 and 100, where most of the other Ubers lie. When the other team can often have two Pokémon at 90 Speed, suddenly Yveltal's 99 Speedcan feel blazing.

Water-types are very strong; between Kyogre, Volcanion, Urshifu-R, and Water Bubble Araquanid, you need to make sure you have a plan to handle them. Pokémon with Water Absorb like Gastrodon and walls with Water resistance like Rotom-W and Tangrowth are solid answers.

Relatedly, make sure when teambuilding to know how to hit common Ubers. What on your team can switch into Kyogre? Ho-Oh? Yveltal? If the answer is "not much," can you at least keep them from hitting the field too often?

Having multiple ways to win is very important in a metagame as diverse as Godly Gift. If your team is all fast sweepers, you'll fall on your face the first time you face stall or a team with a sweeper faster than your fastest. If you only win through entry hazard stacking, you may not be able to pressure HO teams enough to take them down.

---

Go have fun!

Now that you understand how the metagame works and have a general idea of what is good, go try it for yourself! I would strongly encourage you to try your hand at building, as a lot of the fun comes from building and finding creative new sets to use. If this introduction piece piqued your interest, I strongly recommend checking out the Godly Gift forum thread, where we have sample teams, viability rankings, and high-level metagame discussion. We also have sample sets and analyses on the Smogon Dex! Another good resource is the Other Metagames room on Showdown, where you can talk Godly Gift and other OMs all the time. Other Metagames are fantastic for encouraging creativity, as there are so many Pokémon with great movepools, abilities, and tricks, but are just missing the stats to pull them off...

« Previous Article

Next Article »

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