ZU Suspect Coverage: Centiskorch

By Tuthur. Released: 2021/08/06.
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ZU Suspect Coverage: Centiskorch art

Art by Shadowshocker.

Introduction

Former RUBL resident in early SS, the blazing centipede was a top-tier wallbreaker in ZU since its drop in January. Centiskorch's viability fluctuated since its arrival due to a number of quickbans and the Sneasel suspect test. However, there were always very few Pokémon able to safely switch into its moves, even unboosted, thanks to its excellent natural Attack stat and great coverage, and its solid natural bulk backed up with great resistances allowed it to threaten most of the tier and get plenty of opportunities to switch in. Centiskorch always had a narrow pool of counters, but the rise of its most common check in Garbodor to NU eventually led to its suspect test.

Set

Centiskorch commonly only ran one set with very small variations. While Fire Lash wasn't Centiskorch's most powerful STAB move, its secondary effect was very helpful to avoid prediction and secure 2HKOs with its other moves. For example, Jellicent and Rhydon fell to Power Whip after the Defense drop, and Miltank got overwhelmed by Leech Life after two Defense drops. Knock Off removed the precious Heavy-Duty Boots from Fire- and Flying-types like Coalossal, Rapidash, Cramorant, and Altaria, which were able to sponge Centiskorch's moves. While Leech Life's recovery was quite useful to keep Centiskorch healthy and break through Appletun and Miltank, it could be replaced with Coil to make Centiskorch harder to defensively check and revenge kill with physical attackers like Silvally formes and Kangaskhan. An Adamant nature used to be preferred for more damage, but as walls like Qwilfish, Altaria, Golbat, and Articuno began running Speed for Centiskorch, Jolly became more popular.

Ban Reasoning

Centiskorch was unhealthy in the previous metagame. There were very few Pokémon that could safely sponge hits from it, and outside of Qwilfish, none of them were able to effectively counter Centiskorch during a whole game because it could cripple item-reliant checks like Altaria, Coalossal, and Rapidash with Knock Off. Centiskorch was easily supported by entry hazard setters like Alolan Sandslash and Rhydon, which were able to keep Stealth Rock up against common entry hazard removers like Altaria and Articuno to help it break through its defensive counterplay. With Stealth Rock denying most of the defensive counterplay to Centiskorch, Centiskorch staying healthy all game thanks to its bulk, Heavy-Duty Boots, and Leech Life recovery, and its ability to effectively wallbreak without a Choice item, defensive teams had almost no hope to take it on in the long run. This led to an unhealthy metagame that was restrained by Centiskorch, as defensive teams needed to overprepare for it, forcing the metagame to shift toward offense builds.

No Ban Reasoning

Defensively answering Centiskorch was possible thanks to common checks like Qwilfish, Coalossal, Altaria, utility Rapidash, Cramorant, and Rock Slide Miltank, which can defeat it when not crippled and could fit in diverse team archetypes. While Centiskorch's bulk allowed it to beat most of the tier one-on-one, it usually couldn't afford to switch or stay in against a lot of foes, including Tangela, Audino, Thwackey, and Uxie, that it defeated, because they carried Knock Off and could severely limit its long-term potential. Audino's Wish support, which was found on most defensive teams and often overlooked, helped combat the entry hazard weakness of Centiskorch's checks by healing the likes of Qwilfish and Coalossal. Furthermore, Centiskorch struggled against offensive teams, as its poor Speed let it be kept in check by faster attackers like Kangaskhan and Silvally formes after some chip, and the metagame shifting toward these teams made Centiskorch less effective. Overall, Centiskorch wasn't as powerful as it seemed on paper due to its own Knock Off and entry hazard weaknesses as well as its low Speed, which made it easy to keep it under control defensively and offensively.

Conclusion

Centiskorch has been banned with over 77% of the votes. Teambuilding is expected to be less restricted without Centiskorch's ability to break through almost any defensive core. Furthermore, without Centiskorch's pressure, defensive cores will be more free, and the metagame is expected to be bulkier. However, the council has already decided to suspect test Silvally-Ground, another threat that has been a controversial top wallbreaker for months.

HTML by Ryota Mitarai.
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