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Basically, me in 2022 had the really clever and original idea and definitely it was first time ever someone had done something like that:
Make a fakemon region Solomod.
Imagine you are a Pokemon Trainer in the beautiful [WOOMOD REGION] and you talk to Professor Moretto, the most beautiful and charming individual of the region who is also very funny clever and good to be around. He gives you three options for starters: Shalily, Reaver and Pyrinus. And so, your journey starts!!!!
Spilish has a fairly bland movepool with some interesting options, but the thing that makes it special is how it has multiple forms. It's the region's Rotom, but instead of appliances, it possesses hats. Each of its forms has access to a special move and an extra type, making it an interesting pick when paired with the right team.
Regenerator fatmon that can run Assault Vest and work as a hazard removal mon. Dragon-type is also great and it has pivoting or Spikes if its needed. However, no recovery for it, unfortunately (bro got hit by the Fanum Tax)
PHealmon with strong STABs and setup that can fare well against most of the fakemon in the mod, but is completely nullified by Armadream or Cap Spilish and is very weak to any Ice-types because of the Freeze-Dry distribution. However, it's still very good.
Choice Scarf / Choice Band pivot that holds the biggest Attack stat from any non-Ubers fakemon of the mod. (Swordigon is banned) Can't hit fairies for life and its only option against any of the many Flying-types of the mod is Knock Off or another Dark-type move.
There are many more interesting mons in the mod but some of them don't have a movepool or just... aren't really good to begin with.
At the beginning of my Pet Mod career, I hosted a server called Clubmons, which was essentially a format where I arbitrarily edited Pokemon to create a metagame for me and my friends to enjoy and feel unpressured to learn a metagame. It was extremely hectic, but it's one of my more fond memories regarding Pokemon Showdown-based activities and has always stuck with me even after I couldn't run the server anymore.
Fast forward to about 3 years later, and I join the council of Megas for All and become close to two Pet Mod users I have utmost respect for and look up to: Hematite and inkbug. A little bit later, I'm invited to their Evolution Project, and with it I experienced the most fun I had ever had in building teams, playing with my friends, and designing Pokemon. Evolution Project's metagame had made me realize something very interesting about the way in which people "immerse" into metagames, in the sense that metagames often have a great deal of centralization and thus have polarized viabilities across the available Pokemon. Evolution Project is a genuine masterpiece to me, in the sense that it manages to propel numerous bizarre strategies to the forefront. Before I saw it in action, I wouldn't have believed you if you had told me Liquid Ooze of all things was an incredible ability to have, and on top of that, bizarre options like Echoed Voice and fucking Normalize were not just niche, but genuinely good. You see, Evolution Project also looped in canon Pokemon, which ended up rounding off the creative subs that the project often saw to create for a bizarrely diverse and incredibly well balanced format. Understanding what made it tick has been a really interesting thought experiment for me, and that is what has inspired me to finally make my own solomod and to revitalize the spirit of my old coding server.
The idea of this project is to build a highly balanced micromod, with an emphasis on enabling concentrated teambuilder freedom, expanding options, and making innovation genuinely viable. I want to give people the ability to actually do what they want without there being a polarized status quo to conform to to succeed. In other words, I want to build a metagame that builders and casual battlers can just jump into, without needing to learn or conform to a gigantic range of overwhelmingly powerful options. Think of it like this: you should be able to open up the teambuilder for the first time, see what's there, and immediately be able to build a viable team without having to do much other research.
With the help of some other Pet Mod friends, I have been able to build something that, in theory, would be an interesting metagame. However, it's still a work in progress. I have yet to actually code anything for it, and that's gonna be its own process, but I'm still refining some ideas and things to add, and you can help! You can submit a suggestion form and/or join the Discord server!
Before I leave you with some resources, here are some choices/changes I've made to give you a general idea of what I'm aiming for.
Items:
Nothing is safe from the chopping block, and some things I evaluated were items. Although a great range of items are viable, there are a lot that have a lot of unique potential but fall just short. In order to both encourage their dynamics and also provide reinforcement into potent offensive-types like Water or Ice, I wanted to experiment a bit.
: No longer consumable.
This one is a simple, but effective change that lets Pokemon autonomously add a way to punish potent offensive types throughout the game but in a way that isn't too overbearing. Absorb Bulb is the most interesting to me, as it provides a rare opportunity to punish one of the most spammable moves in the game: Scald.
: Now heals 1/8 of the user's max HP every time they are hit under 50%. Only usable 3 times.
Some changes are a bit more nuanced. Berry Juice now becomes a blend between Sitrus Berry and Leftovers, providing more burst healing, which can be a useful substitute for offensive Pokemon that want a bit more leeway in setting up.
: No longer disrupted by Protect, missing, or Substitute.
Some changes are a bit simpler. This was how it worked on Showdown back in early Gen 8 before it was discovered that it was actually leagues worse than we thought. This is a reversion that brings back the sauced Metronome we thought it was.
Pokemon: +Encore, Solar Blade, Taunt, U-turn
Overcoat -> Technician
Big changes to canon Pokemon are a bit uncommon, but Leavanny is a different story to me, as a Pokemon that really wants the help but has some fundamental tools that give it an established niche. This provides Leavanny a more outlined niche for Sticky Web structures, while letting it operate as a bit of an offensive pivot and a more threatening Chlorophyll user.
+ Pain Split
+30 HP
Most changes look something like this, where Pokemon receive just one or two tools to round off their kit. I'm keeping most of these changes to a minimum because I want these Pokemon to maintain their identity and core attributes. Runerigus having Pain Split feels like a hole being filled, as it has the base HP to really make use of it, and a deluxe typing/toolkit in this metagame. Escavalier is already perfect, but having the extra base HP lets it defy power creep a bit and become more of the splashable utilitarian tank that it was designed to be.
Abilities:
Shell Armor: Now boosts Defense by 1 stage when hit directly under 50% HP.
Heatproof: Now provides a Fire-type and burn immunity.
Some abilities in the format that feel a bit tenuous have been altered to become more practical. Shell Armor and Heatproof are the two primary changes as of right now. Shell Armor's rework lets Escavalier and Lapras become more splashable tanks, while Heatproof lets Bronzong sport an interesting Ability dichotomy that rewards good building, and also rewards players able to sense trends in their opponents' teams.
Pokemon available in the format were chosen very deliberately; there are tons to go through so I won't talk about them here, but here are a few of the highlights, especially with some changes they received.
Shiftry is both a sun Pokemon and an offensive Defog user thanks to the change to both Wind Rider and Defog being counted as a wind move (as it should be). It lacks any overly polarizing traits, with a crispy offensive profile and very exploitable weaknesses that limit how easily it gets in, and rewards good play. Also fascinatingly, Shiftry is the format's only Defog absorber thanks to Defog's change, which makes it a high risk high reward option for non-Sun structures.
Decidueye-Hisui provides the format a versatile defensive option and potential wallbreaker with a reverted Triple Arrows, making it a great tool and even more interesting Pokemon to figure out a good set for.
Hydrapple is a badass and provides the format with its one of two Regenerator options (alongside Cyclizar). Because of its x4 Ice weakness and large spread of weaknesses in general, it can be overwhelmed easily, but still provide an excellent wall/wallbreaker for teams that can make use of its talents. Syrup Bomb, notably, is on the chopping block for a rework, which may help improve its appeal even more.
Rotom and the Rotom appliances are available, and while the Rotom appliances have been untouched, base Rotom has been given a significant stat boost to mirror the appliances in BST. It provides the format with its fastest Electric-type, as well as a solid offensive Ground-type immunity/Ghost-type.
On top of canon additions, there will be some regional variants/evolutions and custom Pokemon entirely entering the mix. These will be a bit more sparse, but I think sometimes you have to realize that there may be a Pokemon you want to fill a given role, but the set of traits you need would tear away its identity. You may recognize some from Evolution Project, as I believe some of these fit the objective of the project perfectly. This is mainly Aleon, who is sauced as fuck.
If you want to see the list of available Pokemon before the format goes live, check out the server's #metagame discussion channel! Feel free to ask any questions about them and I'll do my best to answer promptly!
With that, I hope this has been enough to interest you/make you feel it's a worthwhile investment. I'm going to leave you with some resources before I wrap up here!
Metagame has been coded and is now live on DH!! If you want to get into the grill of the metagame, check out our discord server: https://discord.gg/x59yDwa5
Update 2: Spectrier and Ursaluna-Bloodmoon unbanned, Status Updates & Survey time.
I'm gonna be honest, I kinda forgot about these two, but I decided to unban them for certain reasons. One reason both got unbanned is because of the Tera ban. They are significantly worse without changing their typing into something that helps them deal with bad match-ups, especially Spectrier.
Spectrier already had massive issues with its coverage and with Tera being gone, it is really hard consistant value out of it. With Psychic-types being immune to Ghost and Steels resisting Ghost, many teams have way more ways to deal with Spectrier. Obviously not all Steels or Psychics check Spectrier.
The burn buff makes Will-O-Wisp hard to switch into and many Steels hate burns. Furthermore, the best Steel Heatran hates Mud Shot. Even with those tools, Spectrier can still have massive problems in battle. The Lati twins, while hating burn chip, have 32 PP Recovers and hard wall any attack that Spectrier can have sans Dark Pulse. Same goes for Slowking-Galar and its Regenerator. Steels like Archaludon and Iron Crown can also deal with it, while not minding Will-O-Wisp. Hatterene deals even with Will-O-Wisp thanks to Magic Bounce and Garganacl eat everything sans, potentially boosted, Mud Shot.
Spectrier can still be a menace but teams are more way more likely to have one or more tools against it in a game. Its 4MSS gets worse when choosing Shadow Ball, Hex, Mud Shot, Will-O-Wisp, Nasty Plot/Calm Mind, Substitute, Dark Pulse, since all of those help it with different match-ups.
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon on the other hand is far more dangerous and might even have been a bad idea to unban it. At first sight, it seems balanced with it being slow, specially frail and having common weaknesses but having Calm Mind and Vacuum Wave makes up for this issues, at least a tiny bit. Mind's Eye isn't as useful with Ghosts being uncommon due to their many flaws, but Earth Power and Vacuum Wave are enough to deal with them. It can easily 1v1 a lot of Pokemon and get out of that interaction pretty healthy, being perfectly able to do it again. This guy will definitively be looked at.
Now onto the status changes. I didn't want to include these changes due to their uncompetitive nature, but I still added them, since I want to propose an idea. First of all, the changes are the following: Freeze - A freezing Pokemon cannot thaw out on its own
- It can only thaw out if it uses a move with the "defrost" flag
Sleep
- Could already sleep the Pokemon for up to 7 turns
- and reseted the sleep counter upon switching out - but now also takes an entire turn to wake up
Sleep was already banned and there is now way to inflict this status onto the opponent reliably. The only method is Effect Spore, Relic Song or Secret Power in Grassy Terrain. This now only effects Rest since it now takes a turn to wake up, essentially being asleep for 3 turns, instead of 2. As a compensation, Sleep Talk will be able to call Rest, so it gains something out of it.
Freeze on the other hand, is far more volatile and this is where I have a proposal. My plans are to hopefully host a tournament for this Solomod and eventhough the mod is inheritely chaotic and unbalanced, I wanted to make it playable so that you can still win with skill and not luck. Thus my proposal is to make a Ruleset that deletes the secondary chance to freeze opposing Pokemon. This makes Ice Beam easier to eat since you now don't have to scared of an essential KO. The other solution would be just not to include the changed Freeze mechanics. Both ways are fine by me, but I don't want to be the only person to decide upon it. I will also include some Pokemon in the survey, that are on the watchlist and have been pretty strong.
- While Steel resists Dark and Tera is banned, it has strong and spammable Dark STABs and can easily win the game from any position. Also has decent set variety. - Dangerous Dragon Dance sweeper that has great coverage for the tier. Like Gambit, Steels and lack of Tera hurt but this can win the game from any position. - Already talked about it. Great bulk and strong moves allow it to 1v1 most Pokemon and get away pretty healthy. - Even if it reverts back to vanilla freeze, Ice Beam and Freeze-Dry are really spammable and Earth Power covers for most Steels. - Great defensive utility, strong STABs and coverage. Tera ban hurt, but it stays strong and wallbreaks effortlessly. - Latios is better at breaking, but Latias-Mega cannot be killed with high BP Recover, Sub/Refresh and Calm Mind. - Enables many strong Pokemon (Iron Boulder, Iron Valiant, Iron Crown) and is strong on its own. Electric Terrain Z-Thunderbolt is a nuke. - Another nuke. Having better defensive utility, Psychic drops Special Defense more often and it has coverage for everything. - Was sus before NatDex banned it but here it is better. Tera might be gone, but it is stronger and always gets the Defense boost
:aguay-berry: - Pinch berries activate when you're at 50% or less HP. They heal 50% of you're HP. "Break out of Jail"-Freecard
Will-O-Wisp/high burn rate moves: - Burn is strong and there are many good ways to inflict it.
Servus! Sorry for posting a lot, but with the tour starting tomorrow, I have some news for the round. First of all, there will be a "Warm-Up" Round. Its purpose is to give all players a feel for the tier without any stakes. I also believe that this "Warm-Up" Round helps identify broken elements of the tier and elimate problems for the future and serious rounds.
Speaking of broken elements, the survey results into the following changes:
- Freeze is reverted to its vanilla state
- Pinch Berries are banned
- Zamazenta and Kingambit banned
While it kinda breaks the purpose of the mod, I believe it's better that Freeze is back to its vanilla state. Zamazenta and Pinch Berries getting banned was also predictable with the formers ban in NatDex OU and the latter can easily remove any progress made by the opponent. Kingambit being banned is kind of a surprise, since it was recently unbanned, but it can be a really volatile Pokemon.
That's it for now! It was a relatively small update and I didn't wanna go into much detail, since I went in-depth a lot about this numerous times already.
Cya!
They always say that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Today, I will attempt to fix Pokemon's influential type chart. It is loved for its uniqueness and originality, but like myself, not everyone can agree with all of the rules. I will try to keep everything balanced, except for Dragon and Fairy. I want the dragons to be on top, and the fairies to be dead last. Why? You're about to find out.
Ah, yes. The type that's supposed to be balanced... except it's anything but. I love this type for its wide range of birds and cute rodents, but it's unfortunately held back because while it's okay defensively, there's too many things that resist it, and it can't even hit anything for super effective damage. But what should it hit? This type is supposed to be inherently bland, and there's nothing that exactly makes sense for it to hit. And yet, I found two. Two unbelievable strengths it can have in its arsenal. You are going to be confused, or possibly even baffled when I mention that Normal should be strong against Fairy and Dark. I am not even joking, but bear with me, this actually makes sense.
First of all, how is a ferret going to beat some dragon-slaying mosquitoes with godlike powers? It's simple, actually. Normal disbelieves in Fairy. Their lives are so boring and ordinary, it's only natural for them to resist and defeat the fairies. "It's only fantasy", they say "and if you believe in fairies, you're cringe."
Dark is something even MORE unbelievable, since bad guys tend to be undeniably real and threatening to boot. Why would ordinary people be able to defeat actual villains? Well you see... villains are kinda stupid. They always discuss their evil plans around people, and they aren't exactly trying to hide their nefarious deeds, which is how we are able to tell that they're evil in the first place. This isn't just fiction, for villains are also stupid in real life. Florida Men, Politicians, and Billionaires alike are powerful, idiotic, crazy, and obviously evil. Because their egos are so big, they mainly target the big Fighting heroes and underestimate the little Normal guys because "They aren't worth my time." A person who is truly good at being evil can't even be recognized as an evil person to begin with.
Criticisms: While highly requested, giving Normal a strength is also controversial. Not only are they supposed to be bland, but fears of certain attacks like 'Double-Edge' or 'Explosion' being too strong are frequently discussed. I disagree, because the Normal type is already pretty bad. Not having a strength against anything is severely holding back our favorite regional rodents. As if that weren't bad enough, the "overpowered" moves aren't really worth using because they are high-risk and not very rewarding. What's the point of using a move that damages (let alone kills) yourself? You're already going to take damage anyway, and now your life is going to be cut even shorter? Explosion shouldn't even have been nerfed, anyway. If I'm going to use moves with high risk involved, I SHOULD get rewarded, not punished. Besides, the Ghost type exists, so it can still keep Normal in check if these changes were really going to be that threatening.
Fire -
The changes I make to this type aren't really going to be that drastic. Fire burns Fairy because it cleanses them of their sins and banishes them to Hell. Dragon is also immune, because our lizard friends are famous for their iconic fire-breath. I think this is the part where you are starting to see how I don't actually care about balancing the dragons and fairies. I don't even try to hide it.
No defensive changes have been made.
Criticisms: Some people fear that because of these changes, the Fire type has become too strong. I don't think so because I've made the Fairy type pretty irrelevant, and there's now a target it can't hit. Other than that, it hasn't really change much.
Water -
This is one of my favorite types, because of all the fish and Greninja is one of my favorite Pokémon. But even I can admit that the type could stand to be nerfed just a bit.
Poison beating Water is already a huge deal, because not only do the poisons need to become more relevant, but it also makes obvious logical sense. The toxic waste pollutes the ocean!
Ice also freezes Water, because obviously. I do not see why this is a resist instead of a weakness. They say if you throw some small frozen cubes into the ocean, it won't do anything. The same could be said when a small raindrop couldn't put out a California wildfire. A better argument to make would be that Water is resistant to temperature change, and it takes a long time to freeze. Freezers are still a thing, which is why I keep the weakness.
No offensive changes have been made.
Criticisms: Some people fear that the Water type has become less relevant because it has two new weaknesses. Personally, I don't think it'll be that bad because the faster Greninjas will still be able to be the offensive threats that we know and love, while slow and painful battles against the despicable Alolamola will be less unplayable since your suffering can end quicker than usual.
Grass -
Many perceive this type to be the worst of the typical starter trio. Who's going to pick a pile of cabbage over a turtle with ocean canons and a fire-dragon? It also has too many weaknesses... let's keep those weaknesses, but we will remove the resists that hold it back.
Too many things resist Grass. Dragon and Steel isn't specially related enough to warrant a resist, because by that logic, even Normal and Fighting could resist at this point. Sticks can break sticks which is why remove the resist to itself, and while Bug eats the plants, they can still easily be shooed away with a stick. We will only keep three resists, and that's Fire, Flying, and Poison. They strike a balance between making logical sense and keeping the types relevant.
Rock is no longer weak to Grass. The rocks could stand to be more defensive, and the justification for "vines penetrate rocks over time" doesn't work precisely because "it happens over time". It's not instant. In fact, it takes years, while liquids can freeze in a mere four hours at most.
Grass is immune to Fairy. This could work even if I WASN'T actively trying to nerf the fairies to the ground! The reason why I went with this because fairies are known for being evil tricksters of nature. They want to take over the world, but they don't wish to harm their own domain in which they rule over.
Criticisms: In earlier revisions, I have removed a weakness and too many resists, and I have received feedback that the Grass type would be too strong because Fire was the only resist, and the Flying type has become irrelevant due to one change. I have changed this in order to keep the forest type more balanced. Others have pointed out that a Fairy immunity would be too much, and in my case, it straight up is. However, I could actually see this working in a different type chart. Let's take Grass and Fairy how it currently is in actual Pokémon. The fairies are broken, OP, and not complete weaklings. The forests are weak, pathetic, and not cripplingly powerful. If we have this one change and one change only, that could actually work!
Electric -
I like the yellow mouse type as is, but it could absolutely warrant from a couple changes, especially the first one.
Electric beats Steel. Obviously, it shocks the conductive metal, but it's also been highly requested for good reason. The metals are unhealthy in competitive because they have too many resists and not enough weaknesses. Complaints about "Pokémon matches taking forever" are not uncommon, and these machines take the blame as the culprit of unplayable stall games.
Not to say it could do without some nerfs, for Ghost also beats and resists Electric by means of possession. It also makes logical sense because ghosts are known to take control of electronic devices, and they are known to affect electricity as a whole in many horror stories (like making the lights flicker on and off). Not only does this make sense by horror story rules, but it especially makes sense in the world of Pokémon with all the Rotoms roaming around.
Rock resists Electric. I've added this in to make Rock a more defensive type, and lightning doesn't do much to these rocks. It's a wonder why this hasn't been thought up of before.
Criticisms: For some reason, the Electric beating Steel update is controversial. Fears are discussed of the Electric type being broken because of this one change alone. I couldn't disagree more, because need I remind you? Steel is already the most defensive type in the game, and one change isn't suddenly going to make the yellow mouse OP. If you're really that worried about Electric being broken, you don't have to lose sleep over it since the Ghost and Rock type bring new resists to keep the yellow mouse in check, and the Earth type is still a thing and it's still immune.
Flying -
Not much changes about this type. It's good as it is, but it will unfortunately have a slight nerf that will hopefully do minimal damage.
Ice resists Flying now. Birds fly south for the winter, and wing attacks/strong winds already don't really do anything to an ice block or forces of cold weather.
Criticisms: I've heard fears about just this one, small, subtle change might make the Flying type worse, and it may be true. But this isn't about nerfing the birds, it's about buffing the Ice type. It's the worst defensive type in the game because the only thing it resists is itself, so I think the cold deserves a winter break.
Earth -
I've changed the name from Ground to Earth because it sounds cooler. Offensively, it's one of the strongest types there is, but I think it could stand a few defensive changes.
We will start off by removing one of its weaknesses that doesn't really make sense. So I have a question, why is Earth weak to Ice? Why does the ground care if it's frozen? So what if it can't grow crops? It's GROUND, not Grass. If anything, the freezing cold weather will be doing the dirt a favor since it's not being covered up by the plants. Ice already has amazing offenses, so I don't think this change will be disrupting.
In exchange, we will give it two more weaknesses that not only make sense but could stand an offensive buff. Bug tunnels through the Earth, and while we can keep Steel being weak to it, we can also make Steel strong to it too! I know that earthquakes already destroy metal buildings, but I'm not changing that. However, there are so many metal tools and machines that are specifically designed to dig up the Earth.
No offensive changes have been made.
Criticisms: I don't have any criticisms to offer because not many criticisms have been made about this.
Rock -
Obviously, this is supposed to be a defensive type, but it's never really reflected that well in the Pokémon games. In fact, one of the most common memes I see is about how bad the Rock type is compared to the Earth type. It has too many weaknesses and not enough resists. So let's change that!
Rock now resists Electric and Ice. Especially Ice, because it will do a better job at differentiating between Rock and Earth, especially if we stubbornly insist on keeping Earth weak to Ice.
We also need to remove a weakness... but which one? All of the weaknesses make sense, and removing one of them would make the other type less relevant... except for... Grass! I never understood this rule to begin with, so I think we should throw it out.
Let's also remove its strength against Bug. Sure, a Rock can crush bugs, but it wouldn't universally kill all of them. Especially not cockroaches, since they tend to be resilient, and fast at that. You'd be better off using your hands, shoes, newspapers, or even a flyswatter. Even for the slower, dumber, and weaker bugs. Be honest, is a Rock going to be the first thing you grab whenever you find a mosquito?
Criticisms: I don't have any criticisms to offer because not many criticisms have been made about this.
Fighting -
Ironically enough, this offensive Fighting type is going to have some defensive changes being made. All of them are going to be controversial, so bear with me.
We already know that Dark is weak to Fighting, but let's also make Fighting weak to Dark. Bad guys specialize in taking down those they perceive to be the biggest of threats. They study the heroes' weaknesses and takes advantage of them through cheating! After all, it would be distasteful and unrealistic for the bad guys to lose "just because they're bad". Yes, they're stupid. But expecting to win against a cheater because you're a good guy is setting yourself up for failure. Why else do you think cheaters cheat? Bad guys win all the time, just take a look at the Pokémon Company for example.
To compensate for this, Fighting is now immune to Ghost. I never understood why this wasn't the case before because Normal is already immune and Fighting is just Normal on steroids.
Yes, there is going to be an offensive change in the Fighting type's favor. You guys are going to hate me for this... but... I don't think Bug should resist. I can't believe this rule is just so commonly accepted, and I'm expected to believe this makes as much sense as Fire burning Grass. On the contrary, it makes as much sense as Grass burning Fire and then summoning a portal to the Dolphin Dimension. The defense I hear for this is so stupid, and surprisingly common. "Do you really expect a Fighting karate master to defeat a Bug?" Yes, of course I do. In fact, one could argue that Normal can beat Bug because regular people and mammals kill and eat bugs all the time. So how can your faith be so insultingly small in a Fighting karate master that you expect them to have trouble fighting a Bug? Doesn't make sense, does it? If you want a better defense, use the "Kamen Rider" argument. Japanese Bug Superheroes fight Dark bad guys, which is why Bug and Fighting resist each other. Not only is it more entertaining, but it actually makes (some) sense! Well... at least it isn't a reason that's pulled out of a butt.
Criticisms: All three of these changes that I've made are highly controversial. Not only do people swear that the rules before mine actually make sense, but I also see fears of the Dark type being too strong and the Fighting type being too weak. Not to worry, I still have some checks in mind that you'll see later.
Ice -
If it's any type that needs help, it's this one. The fact that the only thing it resists is itself isn't gonna fly in my book. So let's give it the much needed buffs that everyone's been asking for!
First of all, it gets two brand spankin' new resists! You already know that Ice now resists Flying, but I bet you guys are gonna get excited for this! Oh, yeah! The buff that you've all been waiting for... Ice now resists Dragon! Now you know the reason I titled my post this way. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the Fairy type, and I think that if they really wanted to "keep the Dragon type in check", buffing the Ice type would've been the way to go. Of course, Gamefreak would never do that because they love marketing as equally as they hate game balance. Here, the Ice type gets the buffs that everyone's been asking for.
Also, Ice no longer beats Earth, but it instead beats Water. We go from a matchup that goes from 0% sense to 100% sense, and that's what I'm here for.
Criticisms: Even though so many people who want the Ice type to be buffed, there are also people who like the Ice type how it is. Mainly because people fear that it will lose its status as a glass cannon. If you ask me, I think Ice could benefit from keeping Dragon in check. It certainly deserves it more than Steel and Fairy, I'll tell you that.
Poison -
Even with the introduction of the nefarious Fairy type, Poison still fails to be relevant. Well, not for long, I say!
Because Poison doesn't fare much for offensive coverage, let's give it two new obvious strengths, Water and Bug! Not only are they obvious, but it would make the Poison type WAY more relevant. Not only are us Normal people resistant to poisons, we straight up eat spicy peppers which are literally a neurotoxin! Ants can't even handle cinnamon.
There's another arbitrary wall that's stopping the Poison type from being relevant. Ghost resists Poison for absolutely no reason, and the resist needs to be deleted. I'll explain more on why later.
No defensive changes have been made.
Criticisms: I don't have any criticisms to offer because not many criticisms have been made about this.
Bug -
Another type that many have said is bad all around in both offense and defense. Let's give it a major buff!
Let's exchange the Rock weakness for a Poison weakness. Cinnamon is way more efficient!
Let's also exchange the Fighting resist for a Dark one. Why? Because bugs are a symbol of good luck, especially in Japan. And we will exchange the Grass resist for a Psychic resist. You can't eat what's attacking you, but bugs are so scary that people are afraid to fight them without putting on shoes... on their hands...
Now, let's actually talk offense! The fact that both Fairy and especially Ghost resist Bug make the least sense about the type we're talking about. We are going to remove these resists because not only do they not make sense, but it also serves as nothing more but to make the Bug type less relevant.
Not only that, but Bug also tunnels through Earth!
Criticisms: I don't have any criticisms to offer because not many criticisms have been made about this.
Ghost -
This type is pretty good, but I do think a few small changes can be made.
Firstly, if Electric is REALLY going to be that broken after beating Steel, Ghost will be there to beat and resist it.
Fighting is now immune for obvious reasons.
Now let's address by far the most needed changes to this type, and probably to the ruleset as a whole. The Bug and Poison resists have gotta go. Not only have they never... EVER made sense to the point where it feels randomly generated by an AI, but you can't even use the "game balance" excuse this time. The resists are only there to keep the Bug and Poison types more irrelevant than they already are. Does Gamefreak just... hate these two types? I thought Pokémon was supposed to be inspired by Bug collecting, dammit!
Criticisms: I've heard fears that the Ghost type will suck because of these new changes. Frankly, I don't get it. Sure, Fighting being immune puts a damper on things, but... dropping the two resists suddenly makes the type suck? I couldn't disagree more. The best ghosts like Dragapult and Spectrier are already fragile and having an arbitrary resistance to Bug/Poison doesn't make the Ghost type better... it just makes the former of the three irrelevant. I'd argue that the ghosts are stronger than before since they can beat the "broken" Electric now, and the worst that happens is that it will make Sableye and Bannette less annoying.
Psychic -
Now here's where things get REALLY interesting! Obviously, this is undisputably the most powerful type in Generation One, but funny enough, it never actually needed to be nerfed, despite popular belief. Why? Well... because of Gamefreak's poor programming and bad game design that was especially prevalent in the first generation, Psychic was IMMUNE to Ghost and the Bug type was at its worst! Once Generation Two came around, I think they tried too hard to nerf Psychic to the point where it's actually pretty bad and remains as such to this very day. Why? You're about to figure it out.
Dark was good at getting the job done, but did we REALLY need the Steel type? Not only is it excessive, but there's no way in the Distortion Realm that Steel should be able to resist Psychic. It's literally a MENTAL attack. Instead, let's exchange it for a Bug resist. Steel doesn't need any more help, Bug does.
Let's also give it two new strengths, but what? Hm... Oh, I know! Fairy! But why? Dark is just okay villain, but fairies are supervillains... and BUGS! What sense does that make? Well, you see... you can't exactly reason with a crazy psychopath, but fairies are actually cunning and manipulative tricksters who have managed to trick an entire Pokémon fanbase into thinking that their inclusion was "totally not a marketing stunt to make the game more unbalanced". Because they specialize in evil tricks, Psychic is able to outsmart these pesky mosquitoes.
But what should be its second strength? Aha, Dragon! Why? Because bugs are scary, and dragons are not. Especially not in real life, because dragons are cute lizards. Many psychics don't believe in dragons (Even though they're real, they're called lizards, you can look in the dictionary if you don't believe meREAD ALL THE DEFINITIONS, NOT JUST THE FIRST ONE. Knowing that makes you smarter, right?). But what if we're going by mythology rules where dragons are actually scary. Psychic is magic, right? Not just that, but dragons are known for being poisonous (in both mythology and especially in real life)! Psychic beats Poison, right? So why not Dragon?
No defensive changes have been made.
Criticisms: Many have expressed their fears that Psychic will become an offensive threat again. They'd be right if we were talking about Generation One. Ever since then, the Dark type is a thing, Ghost can actually hit it now, and the Bug type has become... not good... but it's good enough to actually stand a chance against Psychic now. With my changes, I'm sure the Dragon type will be kept in check.
Dragon -
Unlike every other type, I'm not even gonna try to balance this one. If this doesn't become the only type in S Tier, it means I have failed.
Dragon beats Steel, but Steel also beats Dragon. Swords slay dragons, and dragons destroy fortresses. I put this in as a healthy way to not only nerf the Steel type, but I also wanted to make it more offensively viable since its offenses are okay at best.
Fairy is no longer immune, it only resists. Yes, I did that on purpose. At least Ice resists it now.
No more Grass resist. Instead, it gets a Fire immune.
Psychic adores Dragon... or disbelieves... or... it beats it with by Poison within... point is, Psychic beats Dragon for several reasons.
Criticisms: "But the Dragon type is worse than Gen 5-" Great.
Dark -
Not only is it a great type on its own, but 'Knock Off' is such a competitively essential move that you have to keep it balanced, or it's game over. So let's try to keep it as balanced as the best we can.
Dark beats Fighting, because bad guys can win too. Never forget that.
Normal and Bug both beat and resist Dark.
Criticisms: I don't have any criticisms to offer because not many criticisms have been made about this.
Fairy -
You already know that I hate this type, but I haven't made a lot of discussions as to why. Mainly because... it feels intrusive and dishonest. I like my dragons, but I feel like there were much better ways to balance/nerf them without creating a type that's so toxic/unbalanced. But even then, I feel like their inclusion undermines what the Dragon type is supposed to be. Powerful, rare, special, legendary boss battles that are supposed to be a fun challenge. Difficult, but not impossible. If you didn't like them, they can just be slain by themselves. If their inclusion was REALLY about game balance, why pick Dragon to nerf? Why not pick Steel, a type that actually needed to be nerfed? Not only that, but they are also the culprit behind the Retcon Disease, which took good Pokémon and ruined them with the Fairy type. They were not created out of game balance. They were created for marketing, and nothing else. Also, they exist to bully lizards. This is why I want them to be dead last. This is completely intentional.
Normal disbelieves in Fairy. Fire cleanses Fairy of their sin. Psychic outsmarts the evil Fairy tricks! Three more weaknesses, heck yeah!
Normal resists, and Grass is immune, baybay!
They only resist Dragon now. They are no longer immune.
Criticisms: "The Fairy type sucks now-" YIPEE KAI YAY! This is what they get for bullying the lizards!
Steel -
Finally, this is the type we all wanted to nerf. The decisions were easy to make, because all the changes came to me seamlessly, but it also helped because this is the most defensive type in the game. Too many resists? Not enough weaknesses? No wonder this type is so infuriating to fight. Why was Dragon the nerfed one again? Also, it kinda sucks offensively... so... if you wanna actually have fun with a Steel type that isn't Kingambit you're outta luck. No matter here comes the part we've all been waiting for.
Electric shocks Steel, Dragon destroys Steel.
Steel no longer resists Grass, Psychic, or Dragon. No, it will not hurt the metagame if we remove three resists from the most defensive type in the game. Like, chill out. Ten resists and an immunity is too much.
Don't worry, it's not gonna be completely irrelevant, because Steel digs through Earth and slays Dragon. See, guys? I don't completely hate the Steel type.
Criticisms: As much as we all wanted the Steel type to be nerfed, there are still fears going around about how badly I nerfed Steel. They say that it's supposed to be the most defensive type in the game (and for the record, it still is). Not only that, but I also hear about fears that I've made Electric and Dragon too broken and strong. This is true for Dragon (cuz I planned this), but for Electric, that could not be further from the truth. I also hear discussions on that I underestimated how badly I nerfed the Steel type. To be completely honest, I did not underestimate. Steel is the most defensive type in the whole game, and it still is. Is it... really too much to ask if it gains extra weaknesses or loses some excess resistances? Besides, I gave it offensive buffs too, so that should count for something, right?
Final Theorymon Type Ranking:
Thanks to Beaf Cultist | Smogon Forums, for the idea of a tier list. Because I don't see a better way to finish this post. This is not an objective ranking, this is just how I think the rankings would go if this were to be coded in the actual game. S: Dragon A: Ice, Fire, Steel, Electric, Water, Dark B: Fighting, Bug, Poison, Earth, Grass C: Ghost, Normal, Psychic, Rock, Flying F: Fairy
S Rank:
Dragon: I wanted it to be S tier, so I made it S tier. One of the only types I didn't try to balance.
A Rank:
Ice: The reason I called it Chilled-Dragon. It's the best type there is at keeping the dragons in check. Fire: Has an excellent mix of offense and defense. Not being able to hit the dragons is all that holds it back. Steel: Even nerfed, it is still the best defensive type in the game, and it has great offenses too. Electric: Slightly nerfed thanks to its new resists, but is able to hit the metals. Water: Even with nerfed defenses, it still puts up an excellent fight! Dark: Already powerful with knock-off, but it now beats the fighters! The ordinary, bugs, and ordinary bugs keep it from being S Tier.
B Rank:
Fighting: Weak to the bad guys now, but it still stands a chance to fight thanks to its ironically upgraded defenses. It's still a highly offensive type at that. Bug: Used to be terrible, but it's taken a huge step up thanks to it's new defenses and offenses. Poison: Used to be terrible but has now become relevant. Earth: Not one of the best anymore, but still worth using. Grass: Still not exactly the best since it has too many weaknesses and it even gets a strength removed, but it's helped by the fact that it doesn't get resisted as much, and it even has an immunity to boot!
C Rank:
Ghost: Having two types it can't hit puts a damper on things, but it's still an offensive powerhouse with a new strength. Normal: Still pretty bad, but at least it can hit the bad guys now. That's gotta count for something, right? Psychic: Still not the best, but at least it can hit dragons, right? Rock: Still has too many weaknesses, but at least it's better than before, right? Flying: Being resisted by the cold certainly puts a damper on things, but there's still a relevant niche, right?
F Rank
Fairy: Screw you guys. I feel no sympathy.
That's it, everyone. Thanks for reading, please discuss your thoughts on this.
Level Balanced: Remix
(Insert an image of a golduck taking down a groudon)
Have you ever heard of the Level Balanced metagame? Of course you did not, that's a thing I created and only played with a few friends. Either way, here's its cooler brother: Level Balanced Remix.
Level Balanced: Remix is a National Dex AG mod where:
- All Pokémon are assigned a level based on their tier for a balanced and level playing field. (Hence why 'Level Balanced')
- Most, if not all Pokémon get changes made to them, gaining new moves, abilities, and sometimes stats, and their levels are balanced to reflect these changes.
- There are many new and reworked moves, abilities, and items, all aimed to have an use, even if niche.
- The mod also aims to give most status Z-moves an unique effect. (as opposed to the not-so-good and old "resets all negative stats to 0")
- Gigantamax is reworked, now you can gigantamax a Pokemon that holds a "Max Mushroom", the transformation works like Zygarde's Power Construct forme change, transforming the pokemon when it reaches half health.
- G-max moves are reworked to be more interesting, the move in the first slot turns into the G-max move, if applicable.
- The RNG is reduced, having mechanics put in place specifically to make your odds more predictable instead of getting all your momentum killed by RNG. (Which will still happen, just less.)
- The ability 'Levitate' is removed, instead, Pokémon whose sprite is floating are always immune to ground.
- Corrected the spelling of the ability 'Imposter'
- Rebalanced weak types.
- And more!
Pokemon that are probably top tier:
Groudon-Primal still has great bulk, offenses, only has one weakness and isn't affected by burn, on top of having its own fire moves boosted by the sun it sets and having solar beam for ground types switching in - everything that makes it great in regular natdex ubers makes it great here.
Lapras-Gmax has amazing bulk, access to withdraw + regenerator, its main downside being its weakness to stealth rocks and only being available once lapras hits half health, but with proper support from hazard control and chilly reception teammates, it can be hard to take down.
Xurkitree - this mon getting tail glow + thunderclap on top of having transistor which might make it a nuisance in the late game, picking up KOs with tclap mind games if you don't have a ground type or substitute, switching it in with rage powder on puts your opponent on an especially problematic spot as they have to switch if they want to play mind games.
Bruxish is a great wallbreaker as it deals unreasonable amounts of damage due to having strong jaw, being ZU and STAB Psychic Fangs, probably the strongest biting move in the game. It 2HKOs max defense mega-slowbro with crunch and a choice band or tera dark tera shard, has a chance to 2HKO max defense lapras-gmax with band psy fangs and still outdamages the heal it gets through withdraw regenerator. It has proven to be a great wallbreaker in regular Level Balanced, and by the calcs, i'm sure it's effective in Remix aswell, as long as you can effectively switch it in.
This allows you to use your favorites in ways that you never could before, nearly every Pokemon should have a niche, especially since every obtainable Pokemon is legal. So load up your Dragon Dance + Flower Trick Meganium and OHKO those Primal Kyogres! (Or get walled by skeledirge.)
Welcome to Rock Bottom! This solomod is based off of a pet mod idea I had a bit over a year ago, but considering I'm not planning on leading a pet mod anytime soon and seeing as I already had tons of ideas on the direction I'd like the metagame to take, I decided to make it into a solomod. The idea behind this mod is to limit not only the powerlevel, but also the distribution of strong tools that we've seen happen throughout newer generations. Incredible progress-making tools such as Knock Off and Scald or options to deal very high damage such as Close Combat or Nasty Plot are very common these days and my goal was to limit these kinds of options so that they'd be one of the main selling points of a Pokemon, not just another move to add unto an already incredible toolkit. For the most part, I've also aimed at making abilities more mild and situational compared to the incredible presence that abilities like Poison Heal, Regenerator, Supreme Overlord or Protosynthesis have in recent generations. In order to achieve this minimalist outcome, I have modified movepools and abilities as well as doing minimal stat redistributions to help balance out the roster. Obviously, this metagame also has a very low powerlevel, which leads to certain aspects such as EV distribution being more impactful. For example, taking Gholdengo's SpAtk EVs from 0 to 252 increases its SpAtk by about 21%. Doing the same with this mod's Delcatty gets you an increase of about 34%. For a more extreme example, increasing Graveler's SpDef EVs to 252 gets you a boost of 50%. This mod also includes a lot of NFEs, but I've only allowed two of them to use Eviolite as I think enabling more item variety is more interesting and it allows those who can use it to separate themselves in an interesting way. Of course, as you may have noticed from the title, this is mostly a starting point for what I want to build going forward. I started off trying to make sure there was at least 1 Pokemon of every type and I plan on doing further balancing of existing mons as well as adding about double the starting roster before I'd consider this project done.
Here's a preview of the current metagame:
: Mothim, despite losing Quiver Dance, remains quite scary due to its access to Tinted Lens and high attacking stats. Most teams won't have good ways to tank its Bug Buzzes and Air Slashes and even its U-Turns sting quite badly. However, as always, its low Speed and its typing let it down, limiting its opportunities to use its extremely threatening offensive profile. Despite that, it could succeed in using a Scarf sets as, if Rocks are off the field, its Speed combined with its power make it hard to play against and also allows it to revenge-kill Adamant DDance Dragonair.
: Perhaps one of the most dangerous wallbreakers in the metagame and easily its best priority user, Raticate will be sure to find a place on many teams. Its Adaptability-boosted STAB Crunch is very spammable, racking up chip quickly even against bulky targets like Graveler and Phanpy or resists like Kubfu and fast threats like Minun, Charmeleon and Dragonair very quickly fall into range of its Sucker Punches. It also has great potential as a Choice Scarfers thanks to its access to Switcheroo and U-Turn. However, it is not without its flaws. While its bulk isn't bad, it still cannot reliably switch into the majority of offensive mons and its Speed also leaves something to be desired. Its lack of good Normal STAB also means making progress against sturdy Dark-resists like Snubbull is extremely difficult. Regardless, Raticate will likely be one of the top dogs of the metagame.
Wallbreaker (Raticate-Alola) @ Choice Band / Black Glasses
Ability: Adaptability
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Facade
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn
: Dragonair is one of the most versatile Pokemon in the metagames due to its large movepool. Its access to high BP STAB moves also makes it quite difficult to switch into. While they can carry coverage for it, its resistances allow Dragonair to at least pivot around Special Attacking threats like Minun, Charmeleon and Lumineon. It also carries Shed Skin which may allow it to run a Shed Skin+Rest set, however its weaknesses to common coverage moves makes a defensive set unlikely. Its best sets will likely be its Dragon Dance and Special Attacking sets, both carried by its strong Dragon moves. Dragon Dance offers an extremely dangerous late-game sweeper that can get out of hand very easily if Dragon resistances and priority users are out of the way, while a Special Attacking set is more efficient at blowing holes early game between Draco Meteor and its varied coverage options.
: Minun is the fastest pokemon in the metagame and a strong pivot with decent coverage. While it can't deal much damage to Parasect or Roselia, they are unable to prevent it from using Volt Switch and, while Phanpy's low weight prevents it from being too weak to it, Grass Knot can take care of Ground-types trying to block Volt Switch. It also carries Alluring Voice to damage Dragonair as well as plenty of support options such as Encore, Nuzzle or Switcheroo to mess with a variety of opponents. Having a good matchup against Lumineon is also something I expect will be quite important, so Minun being able to force it out is a nice trait. However, Minun's low defense and difficulty finding 1HKOs might hold it back, especially early game.
Boots Pivot (Minun) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Dazzling / Volt Absorb
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Alluring Voice / Encore
- Volt Switch
Specs (Minun) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Dazzling / Volt Absorb
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Alluring Voice / Switcheroo
- Volt Switch
: Snubbull is one of the metagame's bulkiest pokemon thanks to its combination of Eviolite and Intimidate which, when paired with its great resistances, allows it to render otherwise extremely threatening physical attackers such as Raticate, Dragonair, Kubfu and Squawkabilly helpless. Even with its seemingly low SpDef, it's far from frail on that side, especially with investment, thanks to the massive boost provided by Eviolite. It also packs enough of a punch with Play Rough that most mons won't want to try to 1v1 it. However, Snubbull has some serious flaws you'll need to play around if you want to use it. Its lack of recovery and reliance on Eviolite for an item means it is very vulnerable to chip and will either need the game to end quickly or require good hazard control alongside Rest to stay healthy. Furthermore, while item removal is rare, Snubbull is rather useless with Eviolite removed, meaning switching into Charmeleon and Parasect it out of the question.
GSC (Snubbull) @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Play Rough
- Bulk Up
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
: Kubfu carries the strongest physical Attack in the tier in the form of its STAB Superpower. Its coverage, while neutered a bit from vanilla, is still quite strong as it has the tools to hit Gastly, Roselia and Snubbull (thanks to the Intimidate immunity) for good damage. It also has access to Bulk Up though, with bad SpDef and mediocre Speed, it's unlikely to sweep. It also struggles to break through Parasect and Chimecho. However, being one of the few pokemon who can land 1HKOs with neutral moves is quite a feat, so if you're able to play around its other limitations, Kubfu can turn out to be very dangerous.
Choiced (Kubfu) @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Inner Focus
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Iron Head
- Zen Headbutt
- Aerial Ace
Bulk Up (Kubfu) @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower / Brick Break
- Iron Head
- Zen Headbutt
- Bulk Up
: Charmeleon is a uniquely dangerous pokemon which makes up for its lack of coverage by crippling Fire resistances with utility moves. Besides Dragonair, Graveler and Lumineon, pretty much nothing is capable of taking Charmeleon's powerful Fire Blasts. However, besides Dragonair who is weak to Dragon Pulse, Fire resistances do a good job at holding Charmeleon back. This is where its access to Knock Off and Will-O-Wisp come in as Charmeleon can use these moves to make Graveler and Lumineon much easier to wear down so it can later break through them. These moves are also effective against specially defensive Phanpy or Chimecho trying to keep it in check somewhat. However, even resistances struggle to take Charmeleon's moves if they are boosted by Blaze, making it one of the hardest pokemon to keep in check long-terms when all of these traits are combined. It also has access to strong physical boosting options in the form of Dragon Dance and Swords Dance, but with its low initial Attack and underwhelming coverage, trying to commit to a Charmeleon sweeper set seems unwise. Overall, despite its great potential, Charmeleon's underwhelming defensive utility and middling Speed will make it a bit tough to use properly.
Wallbreaker (Charmeleon) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Blaze
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Pulse
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
: Squawkabilly packs both a great Attack and Speed stat, making it extremely threatening to the majority of offensive pokemon. However, it has a very difficult time damaging the Rock-types or the format, Graveler and Lairon and it is also outsped by Lumineon and Minun who both have super-effective options against it. As such, Squawkabilly ends up slotting in the role of an offense killer used to force out threats such as Raticate, Kubfu and Charmeleon and that can use moves like U-Turn to bring in teammates that can deal with the Rock-types. It also has a bit of defensive utility thanks to Intimidate allowing it to switch into certain offensive mons, though nowhere near to the same extent as Snubbull. It also has potential to use Guts set, but between its Stealth Rock weakness and the burn chip, it might get worn down faster than you'd like.
: Gastly is a very interesting pokemon possessing potentially good defensive utility against the like of Kubfu, Phanpy, Delcatty and Graveler, however, despite its increased bulk, it remains quite easy to kill. However, similarly to Charmeleon it has strong special attacks backed up by utility such as Will-O-Wisp, making it very difficult to switch into. Its ability to spread Poison is also important to cripple targets such as Lumineon. Gastly can also get easy opportunities against Grass-types like Roselia and Parasect as their spammable attacks do little to affect it. As such, this makes Gastly somewhat similar to Charmeleon, with its main advantages over it being its Fighting and Ground immunities, forcing certain pokemon to hesitate before using their spammable moves.
: Parasect is a pokemon crippled by its weaknesses, however, here, it also carries multiple unique traits that can make up for it. It is one of the few Pokemon with access to Knock Off and also has among the highest defensive stats in the meta on top of reliable recovery. It also has unique resistances that allow it to take on Plusle, Kubfu and Lumineon among others, especially thanks to its new access to Thick Fat. Its good bulk also makes it quite capable at beating targets that hit it neutrall such as Chimecho and Delcatty. However, playing around Parasect's weaknesses still requires walking on eggshells, making its good traits rather difficult to properly get use out of.
Attacker (Parasect) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Thick Fat
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Leech Life
- Knock Off
- Stun Spore
Special Wall (Parasect) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Thick Fat
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Horn Leech / Leech Life
- Knock Off
- Stun Spore
- Synthesis
: Phanpy is the metagame's second Eviolite pokemon and, surprisingly enough, the first to have anything to do with the hazard game. It is the only Rapid Spinner in the metagame and one of 3 Stealth Rock setters, making it a valuable utility option if you need either of those. Phanpy's high base HP paired with Eviolite makes it rather bulky, but, due to lacking Intimidate and having fewer useful resistances, it remains a worse wall than Snubbull. It is able to take on Minun and Graveler to an extent as well as being capable of being a general wall into physical attackers like Raticate, but it's not that good long-term. While its base Attack is a bit low, especially compared to the other Rock and Ground attacker, Graveler, between Earthquake, Rocky Payload-boosted Stone Edge and Ice Shard, it's at least not passive. However, it fails to deal enough damage to truly deter opposing mons that are willing to sacrifice some of their health to break through it. Phanpy is overall a bit mediocre, but you can make it work as the utility it provides can be valuable.
Tank (Phanpy) @ Eviolite
Ability: Rocky Payload
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin / Stealth Rock
: Delibird is an offensive spiker, pairing the threat of a fast Ice STAB with its ability to stack hazards to enable offensive threats including itself. While its special coverage may seem poor, Water Pulse and Freeze-Dry are pretty much all it needs to be a threat to the majority of the metagame. Its initial power may also seem low, but Ice STAB is extremely powerful in this metagame, hitting 7/18 pokemon super effectively (8/18 if we include Freeze-Dry), meaning Delibird is very capable of forcing out opponents and setting up Spikes. Spikes are incredibly nice, hitting walls like Snubbull, Roselia and Lairon, chipping them into range for your own threats such as Dragonair to take them out and snowball, making Delibird quite valuable. All that being said, this is still Delibird with an Ice/Flying typing and low bulk meaning it has some serious issues staying in and an opponent predicting a Spikes turn can stay in and deal massive damage to it. Not the easiest pokemon to use for these reasons, but it could end up surprisingly good.
: While Delcatty carries the Normal typing, Raticate and Squawkabilly both offer too much competition for it to be valuable as a physical attacker. Therefore, Delcatty sets itself apart from them by making use of its wide special movepool and access to Calm Mind. Thanks to its high Speed, Delcatty can make use of an Offensive Calm Mind set to attempt a sweep, using a strong Hyper Voice to hit most of the metagame for neutral damage as well as Grass Knot to cover for Graveler and Lairon. From there, it can choose between one of Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt or Ice Beam to find easier KOs on targets like Gastly, Chimecho, Phanpy, Roselia or Lumineon. It can also attempt to use a bulkier Calm Mind set with Wish as recovery, though this set may be more vulnerable to disruption and have a harder time fitting coverage. Delcatty is quite a decent sweeper, though it can struggle to KO targets even after getting a boost as its Hyper Voices aren't especially powerful and its bulk is also a bit middling, making it realistic to revenge-kill it with a Scarfer or Priority.
Bulky Calm Mind (Delcatty) @ Leftovers
Ability: Wonder Skin
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Grass Knot
- Calm Mind
- Wish
: Roselia is a defensive Spikes setter and, while its Special Defense is good, its matchup into most Special Attackers is a bit shaky. That being said, it has solid matchups into Special Dragonair, Minun and Lumineon all of which are valuable. It is also capable of spreading status quite well between Sludge Bomb and Stun Spore. As such, while Roselia may not be a great blanket wall, it matches up well against pokemon I expect to be quite strong while enabling its offensive teammates through status spreading and Spikes-setting.
: Chimecho is one of the highest-statted mon in the metagame, having both respectable bulk and high SpAtk. Its STAB Psychic is good into the majority of the metagame as defensive mons can sometimes struggle to punish it properly due to its good bulk, with the most consistent answer being Lairon who still suffers from its low SpDef. Chimecho also has a great utility movepool with access to Calm Mind, Thunder Wave and Wish among others. Its typing doesn't interact much with the metagame, making it a somewhat poor wall, though it also means few opponents will resist Psychic, meaning that, while Chimecho is bulky, it is better in more offensively oriented roles. Its Speed tier is also a bit underwhelming as it's outsped by most offensive mons, though it's at least faster than slow opponents.
: Graveler is the first of two Rock-types, a bit essential to the metagame. It is more offensive than Lairon as it has the highest Attack stat in the format backed up by very powerful STABs. Graveler being able to answer highly threatening pokemon like Raticate, Charmeleon and Squawkabilly makes it very important backbone for teams that have it. Its ability to set Rocks is also incredibly important as always. Graveler has pretty much no consistent answers, you kinda have to just throw your Phanpy or Lumineon at it and hope it can't come back in later or the damage will rack up far too quickly. You can also try to predict an Earthquake and switch into something like Mothim, Parasect and Delibird, but that's quite risky considering one good predict means they go down. That being said, Graveler is obviously quite flawed. It's very slow obviously, but that low Speed is made even worse by its crippling weaknesses to types like Grass and Water. It's not enough to prevent it from being useful, but it's enough that its power is limited if it can't get opportunities against the mons you want it to counter. Furthermore, it lacks many resistances Lairon has, preventing it from switching into mons like Dragonair and Chimecho.
Offensive Stealth Rock (Graveler) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Sucker Punch
- Stealth Rock
Rock Polish (Graveler) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Sturdy
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Rock Polish
- Stealth Rock
: Lairon, just like Graveler, is a Stealth Rock setter with the important ability to switch into Raticate and Squawkabilly, though Lairon is more defensively-oriented. On top of its higher Defense, its Steel-typing allows it to more properly answer pokemon like DDance Dragonair, Delibird and Chimecho. It also makes it more difficult to kill for pokemon such as Delcatty that tend to carry Grass coverage. Lairon also has a very powerful STAB Heavy Slam to throw around thanks to Heavy Metal as well as a high damage Body press. However, Lairon comes with a few downsides, notably a worse matchup against the hazard removers, Phanpy and Lumineon, as well as being unable to answer Charmeleon.
Physically Defensive (Lairon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Heavy Metal
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Stealth Rock
: Lumineon is most likely going to be one of the pillars of the metagame thanks to its great Speed and bulk, access to Defog and great Water typing. Its utility even extends a bit beyond hazard removal as it can make use of a fast Encore and has options to pivot. Its solid all-around bulk allows it to switch into most pokemon at least once and, while its offensive stats may seem low, dealing with Water STAB+Ice coverage is rather difficult for this metagame, making offensive sets decently potent in their own right. Making proper use of Lumineon in this metagame is likely gonna be vital as many pokemon such as Charmeleon, Phanpy, Graveler and Lairon want it as weakened as possible and keeping it healthy means keeping large amounts of the metagame in check.
Link to Changes: https://monhunshowdown.notion.site/...7b52?v=bb3d8420f96f45659f7a3d382ce0f253&pvs=4
Summary of the Mod: This mod removes the base pokemon and converts the Large Monsters from the Monster Hunter series into pokemon as replacements! The mindset for this mod was deciding stats and abilities in a way that properly convey the power of these Monsters, leading to a set of Monsters with high stats and wild abilities. Based in the mechanics of Scarlet and Violet!
Competitive Overview: As of now, we're unsure of how competitive balance will go. While there are low power Monsters, a majority of the Monsters included would be uber and above in any other Meta. If you like that sort of thing, have at it!
This November marks the 10th anniversary of Violet Version! This is a gen 1 mod designed specifically for competitive play. It has not been available on any server for a couple of years, but I've finally built up the motivation to get it back up and running (with one last major update).
Playable roster of 44 Pokemon with RBY OU as the benchmark power level
Team Preview is on
RBY OU Pokemon are mostly untouched.
Gen 3 type chart (but no Steel or Dark types)
Body Slam can paralyze Normal types ("pre-_Crystal mechanics")
1/256 and healing move failure is removed
All other general mechanics are identical to RBY
Special features of the game
Violet Version began as a relatively basic balance mod, albeit with one additional goal: to ensure that every single playable Pokemon feels truly unique. By limiting the roster, it was possible to accomplish this and make the game easy to get into.
Here are some of the most refreshing changes:
New ways to suffer. RBY is known as a brutal, oppressive generation, and Violet plays into that with enthusiasm. Dream Eater is probably Violet's biggest innovation, turning the Poison status into something potentially terrifying.
New twists on healing. Healing is a precious resource in RBY, but it's one-dimensional: you essentially either have Recover or you don't. Buffed moves like Leech Life now represent subtler healing options that give Violet its own feel.
Fire, Bug, and Poison types have defensive utility. Having viable moves is also a plus, but it's the newfound defensive value that especially adds color to the game.
Rainbow Edition (Exe:Late +R Phantasma Cadenza). Porygon, Mew, Blastoise, Haze, and Meditate are all completely new additions to this version of Violet (in addition to other adjustments). These are weird, risky changes that I'm quite nervous about. I think that is a good sign!
And so on.
This will be the final major update to Violet Version. The goal is not to continuously make changes and add 'content' for years and years, but to polish the game into a beautiful finalized state.
Additional resources:
Violet Version Discord Changelist Old thread - This contains past discussion on the game and old tournament replays.
Sample teams - Perhaps these will be added in the future, but the best thing to do is experiment! Try starting with an RBY OU team and changing just one or two Pokemon to anything that seems fun.
This is a Solomod, where Pokemon with only one type are allowed. This makes coverage so much better since you only need to worry about one type interaction being cancelled out by another. Thus, the meta is far more offensive with coverage being so good. On the other hand, this makes set-up less actractive since the average defensive utility is restricted solely on one defensive typing, so it better be a good one.
With a lot of Pokemon being dexited, I decided to make this a National Dex mod, meaning Megas and Z-Moves are allowed (Megas were allowed last gen too but now they are automatically included). However, Mega Stones or forme changing items that change the type (Red Orb, Rusted Shield, and so on) will be banned alongside Zen Mode.
Since this is National Dex, I decided to add the "Enforce Tera Type Clause", which means that Pokemon can also terastallize into their own type, so that Tera does not get obnoxious with Hidden Power and the limited typings available.
Clearly Banned Pokemon
I don't need to elaborate on these. These are obviously good. The only thing I can say is that Kyogre-Primal and Xerneas are by far the best Pokemon in that tier.
Lesser Ubers that aren't unbanned
These Pokemon aren't unbanned since there are far less resources to deal with them. I also banned Darkrai since its coverage is so great and revenge-killing it has become far more difficult. Since Darkrai is banned now, there aren't too many good sleep users and thus Sleep is unbanned.
Unbanned Ubers
These are unbanned since they can only tera into their own type, which kills the entire reason why they were broken in the first place.
Good/Great Pokemons
I will split them up into their types since this is easier for me
Yeah Bug kinda sucks. All the good Bugs have secondary typings and the Bugs here do not have many valuable niches.
- Loosing its Mega sucks, but I'd say it is overall the best Bug. It only wallbreaks, but it is something. - The 2nd highest speed in the tier, but sadly it can only attack with it and does not do something else. - While the other two are better Pokemon, this is going to be used more because of Sticky Webs and a lot of the good Pokemon have good speed.
Dark is overall a phenominal type. The pool of good Pokemon might be rather small, but it is better than Fighting or Fairy, thus making Dark really good offensively.
- Good speed, good attack and good moves in Knock Off and Sucker Punch. Might honestly be the best or 2nd best Mega. - Good utility and decent stats make it a decent switch into Psychics and Ghosts.
:mabostiff: - Great wallbreaker, but has issues with finding opportunities to attack.
With so few Steels and Fairies, Dragons have so many good ways to destroy teams.
- By far the best Dragon. It is decently fast but most importantly, it is immensly destructive. SD might even be better than DD here. - A bulkier Dragon that can be either be physical or special, but is still the 3rd worst Dragon. Would've been the worst if Druddigon wasn't here. - Get rid of the Fairy on the opponents side and click Draco Meteor or Dragon Energy.
Grounds got a buff here but they are very few, so making Hidden Power is a really good move on Electrics but not really necessary.
- SubCM or Offensive Pivot sets are great since HP Ice covers all of its relevant weaknesses and Scald can be used to spread burns. - Probably the best Mega, really fighting Absol here, and that's thanks to its speed and Intimidate, so it provides great utility. - No weakness go brrr. - Hit that Z-Hypnosis and hope you win from there. - Fastest and most relevant Pokemon. It is good and it benefits from a lot of Pokemon like Rillaboom and Grounds being so few. - Electric Terrain.... - Grounds and Grasses are few, so it could use Z-Hyper Beam to nuke them and steal the game from here.
Fairies are pretty much restricted to Clefable, with others being used for other niches or ease off the pressure for Clefable.
- Really versatile and strong. Unaware and Magic Guard are amazing sets it can use. - Better match-up into Haxorus. - More offensive Calm Mind user.
Fighters have some decent utility that gives them niches here.
- I included it since Rage Fist can be dangerous but getting to that point might honestly be too tough. - Great wallbreaker and check to many sweepers thanks to Mach Punch. - Great Pivot that can also wallbreak to lure some Pokemon like Psychics, Ghosts and Tornadus.
Good type and has good Pokemon to use.
- Great bulky option that can also potentially sweep with Curse and ESpeed. - Specs Sun Eruption go brrr. - Better Arcanine when it comes to offensive sets and set-up sets. - Sun setter that can also spin away hazards or set hazards. - Sheer Force Sun Flare Blitz go brrr. - Good offensive and utility oriented Pivot. Can either burn and court change or be a SD wallbreaker.
Lol. It's either use Tornadus or don't.
- Your only option. Has Regen, great utility and good offensive options. - Use therian. Unless you want stronger NP sets at the expanse of better bulk and speed... Yeah use Therian - lol
Ghosts use their defensive utilities and traits to gain an advantage to either set-up or neutralizes a threat.
- Burn, Calm Mind and Levitate are great traits to have and they allow Mismagius to wallbreak or sweep. - Neutralizing or weakening physical attackers is great but lacking recovery really sucks for it. - Shell Smash go brrr. Priority sucks for it tho and there are great priority moves. - Last Respects is banned, but Sand sure appreciates another sweeper.
Grasses have great defensive utility with their resistance to Electric, Water, Ground and Grass, which are all great offensively.
- Probalby the weakest sweeper/wallbreaker since it relies on Rillaboom and ideally you don't wanna stack Grasses, but you can. - Good bulky Pokemon that helps check Rain, Sand and Rillaboom in addition to other physical attackers. - Dangerous sweeper and general annoyance with Paralysis, Substitute, and Knock Off. - Sun sweeper and pretty much the only relevant Chlorophyll Pokemon. Has Sleep and/or Growth to be a threat. - Great offensive Pivot with really good utility moves in Rapid Spin and Knock Off. - The best Grass in the meta. Grassy Surge and Grassy Glide checks so much in the tier and makes Sand and Rain teams harder to use. - Good wallbreaker and sweeper, but needs to Tera in order to be truely good.
There are very few Grounds, but they are still good since only Tornadus and a handful of useful Levitators are immune to Earthquake or High Horsepower.
- Pretty much just used for Sand Rush shenanigangs, but Houndstone is better since it does not stack Ground weaknesses. - Better Sandslash, outside of Sand. Knock Off, Rapid Spin and STAB EQ are great. - Sand setter and great physical bulk, which isn't that useful since Water and Grass are good physical attacking types here. - Hippo but no recovery and sand, but Stamina and more Body Press potential.
:sandacona: - Mudsdale but no Stamina, but Shed Skin and Coil.
Snow got improved compared to last gen with the Snow change and Cetitan being available. Ice is also generally a good offensive type here.
- 3rd best Mega, but only because Banette sucks. Explosion, Spikes and priority are all good. - Snow setter - Outclassed by Cetitan but is more powerful without set-up, so it can wallbreak with CB. - Slow bulky sweeper. Needs a lot of support. - Best Snow sweeper. Needs set-up and has 4MSS but can go out of rail easily.
Normals range from defensive and offensive staples, but they really do not do well in both cases.
- Really bulky but hates Knock Off and a lot of the most dangerous sweepers and wallbreakers have their ways around Chansey. - Not having to fit so many moves is great, but it is still rather weak. - Less bulky Chansey but less support reliant thanks to boots. - Scary set-up sweeper, especially with +2 priority on Espeed and Tera Normal but hard to set-up. - Meh anti offense mon. - Insane special wallbreaker with Z-Conversion and or Adaptability Tera Normal STABs. - Sand sweeper with better stats than Stoutland, than either clean or wallbreak. Can also trap. - Loaded Dice Technician go brrr. - Loaded Dice Technician go brrr 2. - Good defensive utility and support options and can sweep. Sadly, unable to Tera.
This is the opposite of Flying. Way more options, but none of them stand out.
- Immune to Knock Off effect and has good special bulk, but lacks recovery and offensive pressure. - Poison with Levitate or it can remove abilities from play. Same issues as Muk tho.
Psychics are overall really strong and have their ways to deal with their checks.
- Strong, fast and has amazing moves in its toolkit. - Weaker and slower Alakazam, but it "check" Grounds and set-up hazards then blow up. - Bulky sweeper and Trick Room setter for slower Pokemon like Glastrier and Snorlax. - Bulkier variant of Alakazam. Less immediately threatening but more dangerous potential. - Great set-up sweeper and really versatile. - Less effective Necrozma.
There isn't much here but they have valuable traits.
- Incase you wanna do hard Sand teams. - Fast and threatening wallbreaker - Can be infuriating but Tera Rock hurts it and can be taken advantage of.
The best type of the game has some lesser choices, but they get the job done.
- Really bulky and has some good traits and effective sets.
:klingklang: - Can be a threatening sweeper, but needs a lot of support. - Versatile hazard setter and bulky attacker. - A steel that can check Grounds and requires either Fire or Fighting coverage from other mons.
The type with the best overall Pokemon. Rillaboom hurts every single one of these Pokemon but Rillaboom can only revenge-kill, not hard check.
- Great wallbreaker, but struggles thanks to its speed. - Rain setter. - Dangerous bulky sweeper a la Cresselia. - Valuable defensive Pokemon. - Rain sweeper/wallbreaker - Most dangerous sweeper in the tier. - Rain sweeper/wallbreaker 2 - Good bulky check to sweepers.
Hey all, this is the first update to Rock Bottom (Original post here). After playing some games as well as discussing the metagame a bit more, I've landed on buffs, nerfs and new additions that I felt were appropriate for the metagame. In particular, the two main things that I was aiming to address was the dominance of offensive pivots such as Squawkabilly and Minun as well as how efficient Lumineon is at Defogging. These aspects combined led to Squawkabilly especially being very difficult to pivot as it already hit incredibly hard, but could easily keep up momentum while remaining healthy due to Stealth Rock being difficult to keep up. For the most part, I also felt like special attackers saw much less usage than I would've liked as it seems Minun is likely too strong of a competitor for most of them, especially bad considering Lumineon, another special attacker, is so commonly used. Anyway, this should give some ideas of what my issues with the meta were previously, so let's get into the changes.
Buffs:
+Solar Beam
Originally, I was worried about enabling Charmeleon's sun sets and it could easily tear through Graveler and even Lumineon with access to a powerful Grass move and the ability to weaken Water moves. However, not only did Charmeleon see little usage, but the Speed Control of the tier is also sufficient that I believe it would be more than manageable currently.
+10 SpAtk (90 --> 100)
Just like Charmeleon, Gastly didn't see much usage and its low bulk means it needs to make the most of each opportunity it has on the field, so an increase in power should let it find KOs more easily.
+10 Atk (75 --> 85) +10 Def (60 --> 70)
I underestimated how little longevity Phanpy had, so I'm increasing its staying power and its threat potential to make it a better alternative as a Rocker and Spinner.
+10 HP (55 --> 65) +10 Def (45 --> 55) +10 SpDef (45 --> 55)
Same as Charmeleon and Gastly, a special attacker that didn't see much usage and that I want to see a bit more. While Delibird has potential as an offensive Spikes Setter, with such pitiful bulk, it is too difficult to make use of, so an all-around bulk increase should make it a bit safer for it to hit the field and to risk staying in.
+10 HP (55 --> 65)
Graveler with its high Defense and Normal resistance should be able to be a team's first line of defense against Squawkabilly and Raticate, but its low HP made it a bit harder for it to take these threats on, especially compared to Lairon. While it still won't be fantastic against these threats, an increase to its bulk will make it a little easier to justify as a wall.
Nerfs:
-Grass Knot+Aura Sphere
Preventing Minun from spamming Volt Switch was very difficult due to Phanpy taking such major damage and, while Grass types would be able to takes its hits, Volt Switching into a pokemon such as Squawkabilly is far too easy. Aura Sphere means it still can solidly threaten Graveler and also gives it a damage increase against Raticate, but it means it will be more easily prevented from pivoting when against Phanpy or future Ground-types.
-U-Turn
Squawkabilly is already not only one of the strongest pokemons in the format, but also one of the fastest. While its coverage means it's not too hard to wall, it becomes too hard to keep in check when it can just pivot into a counter to these counters. It retains Parting Shot, but the lack of damage on the move means you can't easily wear down its switch-ins.
-15 Def (76 --> 61) -Scald
I had originally meant to remove Scald from Lumineon, but forgot to in the original version so... oops. Anyway that's done now and the Defense nerf also serves to make it more difficult for Lumineon to consistently switch into Graveler and Lairon throughout the course of a game, making Rocks easier to keep up by forcing the main hazard removal option to be more careful around the setters. This lowered Def also makes Phanpy's physical bulk stand out more as it can more easily switch into strong Rock-type attackers, making it a better spinner short-term.
And now, what you've been waiting for, the new additions to the metagame. I've decided to introduce two new Pokemon that will hopefully help with some of the problems I've outlined in the introduction.
Palpitoad makes its introduction to Rock Bottom as a Specially Defensive Stealth Rock Setter that can take on Lumineon with ease. Thanks to Water Absorb, it can shrug off pretty much any attacks from it and ensure that Rocks stay up to punish mons like Squawkabilly. Furthermore, it also does pretty decently into Phanpy thanks to its greater speed and Water moves, though it does not like taking strong physical hits. Aside from that, its special bulk means it does a great job switching into Minun and it can also hold off pokemon such as Dragonair, Charmeleon and Gastly for a little bit. However, Palpitoad suffers from a lack of reliable recovery and it can't do much against Grass-types. Its ability to handle physical attackers is also limited.
Special Sponge (Palpitoad) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb / Protect
- Stealth Rock
Honedge gives the metagame an important alternative Steel-type, important for holding off threats such as Squawkabilly and Chimecho. Compared to Lairon, Honedge has some nice extra resistances that allow it perform better against pokemon such as Kubfu and Roselia as well as greater offensive potential with its higher Attack and access to Swords Dance and Shadow Sneak. However, its bulk is overall lower, it can't set rocks and it's weaker to certain attackers like Raticate or Delcatty. Regardless, it brings another important defensive piece to the metagame that I consider to be quite important.
Bulky Attacker (Honedge) @ Leftovers
Ability: No Guard
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance / Sacred Sword
ASCIIMons (technically unicode since unicode encompasses ASCII and this mod relies more on unicode values, but ASCII rolls off the tongue easier) AKA don't ASCII me what I'm doing, I don't know either Please use the full title when referring to the mod, thank you.
I don't think a single person I know hates Terastallization. Tera is everyone's favourite generational gimmick, so I decided to make a Solomod which uses Tera in a fun way (for some reason there are few mods that have Tera).
The premise is simple:
Each Pokemon is only allowed to Tera into one type
They will be automatically forced to Tera as soon as they switch-in
The Tera type of each Pokemon is determined by taking the sum of the unicode values of the characters in their name, modulo 19
As such, different formes of the same Pokemon might end with different Tera types. For example, base Pikachu has a Tera type of Rock, while Pikachu-Hoenn (Hoenn cap Pikachu) has a Tera type of Ice.
Currently still workshopping the idea, so I would appreciate some feedback.
Should the unicode sum value also affect other aspects of a Pokemon (mainly thinking about abilities, maybe stats and/or move pools)?
Should it be based on NatDex or PaldeaDex?
Should Ogerpon and Terapagos be affected by the change in Tera type (and possibly other aspects)?
If it goes the route of a NatDex format, should Mega Evolving/GMax (if applicable) also change the Tera type (if possible at all)?
Mod edit: Per Solomod Megathread rules, you must wait 7 days to post a new solomod after retiring an old one, so the actual mod part has been edited out for now
Type Chart Changes
I think this is the most mixed part of this mod. The idea is to add the types as they were introduced and keeping them as they are, with only interaction with Dark, Steel and Fairy being kept. This leads to some confusing descisions like buffing Steel by adding resistances to Dark and Ghost but then you have Bug and Poison who become weak to eachother.
Thus I want to address this. Obviously, buffing a type means a nerf to another. Therefore I wanna buff the types offensively or defensively. This will surely shake up the type chart and the way I will go about this, is by taking the introduced type and adding resistances/removing weaknesses or adding super effective hits/removing resisted hits that they might've gotten throughout the years.
For example: Buffing Fire defensively, means adding the resistance to Ice (that it gained in Gen 2), but buffing Bug offensively keeps the super effective hit on Poison (that it had in Gen 1)
Keep in mind, these buffs will be added to the Vanilla Type Chart. Defensive Buffs:
- Steel resists Dark and Ghost
- Psychic is immune to Ghost
Offensive Buffs:
- Bug and Poison are super effective against each other
- Ice hits Fire neutraly
- Electric is no longer immune to paralysis
- Grass is no longer immune to powder
- Ghost is no longer immune to trapping
- Dark is no longer immune to Prankster
Crit Changes
This was quite a controversal part of all games so far. I'm willing to revert the crit chance and crit modifier to normal, like how I converted Freeze to its Vanilla state due to its uncompetitive nature.
Potentially Banworthy Pokemon
With potential type chart changes and the critical hit changes, the pool of potentially problematic Pokemon differs greatly. Thus I'll just leave this question open.
Here's the Survey: https://forms.gle/EcQ4KQoZSFwwcrL88
I'm also working on a Sample Team Randbats Format, to potentially do another tour some time in the future.
Pokémon North, South, East, and West: The Solo Mod! Temporary Mascot: Actual Mascot: Pokémon North, South, East, and West: The Largest Sprite Dex ever! Smogon Edition | Smogon Forums
The largest sprite project to date returns as a Solo Mod! After three months of brand new Pokémon being displayed in awesome waves, now, you can hopefully duke them out against each other with the power of the Ancient Moves! Introducing Ancient Moves, a FIVTH move for your Pokémon!
At the end of every turn a move is used, the Ancient Gauge fills up. After a certain number of turns, depending on the move, which has one of five different speed subclasses, as shown in the below chart, the Ancient Gauge will have fully filled, and the move in the Ancient Move Slot can be used. After it is used, the Ancient Gauge empties again. The Ancient Gauge is unique for each Pokémon, and it will stay filled even if the Pokémon with it switches out.
A Pokémon with the Ancient Spirit ability, or one holding an Ancient Scarf, will fill the Ancient Gauge by 2 turns rather than 1 at the end of each turn. With both, the Ancient Gauge will fill by 3 turns instead of 1.
Using the move Ancient Recharge will fill the Ancient Gauge by 3 turns for a very slow charging speed, 2 turns for a slow charging speed, and 1 turn otherwise, counting the normal Ancient Gauge filling turn.
A Pokémon's signature Ancient Move that refills according to a condition will refill by 1 turn every time the condition is met.
Charge Speed
Turns required to fully fill the Ancient Gauge
Moves that fall into this category
Very Fast
1
Damaging moves of less than 40 power, all status moves not listed below
Fast
2
Damaging moves of power 41-60, all status moves that inflict status conditions
Medium
3
Damaging moves of power 61-70, Self-Destruct, Baton Pass
Slow
4
Damaging moves of power 71-90, Explosion, Misty Explosion. all status moves that restore HP or PP not listed below
Very Slow
5
Damaging moves of more than 91 power not listed above, all OHKO moves, all Original Ancient Moves, all Signature Ancient Moves, Destiny Bond, Perish Song, Rest, Breaktime
from the creator of the critically-acclaimed spookymod, made for the ps coding spring "Weather War"-themed coding challenge:
(spreadsheet)
welcome to the apocolypse, a 94-mon micrometa where there are 18 custom weathers. each has an effect that affects mons in general, moves that match the type of the weather, and one single (niche or unviable) move of the weather's type. the most important part? weathers stack, meaning that you can set multiple weathers for yourself, and that you can't just invalidate the opponent's strategy by replacing the weather. don't worry, if there are too many weathers you can always use cloud nine (removes two weather conditions on switchin) or air lock (removes all weather on switchin).
additionally, every method of summoning original weather is patched out (unless you hit the non-metronome battle metronome to set the weather, in which case you deserve it ig).
here are all the weathers and their abusing abilities:
The Swarm
Bug
Non-Bug Pokemon have 0.67x Speed.
Bug moves hit Fairy supereffectively.
Twineedle hits 5 times.
Twilight Zone
Dark
Non-Dark moves have 0.6x accuracy.
Dark status moves have +1 priority.
Snatch also steals moves with 60 BP or less.
Lots of Really Small Dragons
Dragon
Sound moves fail when used.
Dragon moves hit twice, but the second hit has 0.25x power.
Dragon Rage deals 100 damage.
Thunderstorm
Electric
All Pokemon have a 30% chance to get hit by a 100 SpA non-STAB Thunder at the end of each turn.
Electric moves can't miss.
Charge heals the user by 33%.
Fable
Fairy
"Evil" abilities are suppressed. (Intimidate, Defiant, Anger Point, Unnerve, Moody, Infiltrator, Pickpocket, Dark Aura, Merciless, Berserk, the Ruin abilities, Poison Puppeteer, Shadow Tag, Toxic Chain, Corrosion, Ambush, Banshee, Corrosion)
Dark, Ghost, Poison, Dragon moves have 0.75x power.
Misty Explosion has 1.5x power and does not cause the user to faint.
Colosseum
Fighting
At the end of each turn, Pokemon who did not attack have their highest defense lowered by 1 stage.
Fighting moves trap the opponent if they move last.
Upper Hand never fails, but also never flinches.
Drought
Fire
Pokemon weak to Fire become burned at the end of each turn.
Fire moves deal 1.5x damage to burned targets.
Fire Pledge summons Sea of Fire.
Delta Stream
Flying
Ice, Electric, and Rock moves have halved power against Flying-types.
When a Flying Pokemon dies, it sets Tailwind for 2 turns.
Tailwind lasts for 6 turns.
THE VOICES
Ghost
There is a 30% for any Pokemon to use Boomburst after their intended move.
Ghost moves hit Normal types for 100 HP.
Destiny Bond can be used on consecutive turns.
Overgrowth
Grass
All non-Grass Pokemon are afflicted with Leech Seed at the end of each turn.
Powder moves bypass immunities and can't miss.
Grass Pledge sets Swamp.
Dust Storm
Ground
All non-Ground/Rock/Steel Pokemon lose 1/16 max HP at the end of each turn for each weather that is active.
Spikes sets itself in two layers at a time and deals double damage.
Sand Tomb lowers the target's Defense by 1 at the end of each turn.
Whiteout
Ice
Water moves become Ice moves.
Ice moves have a 20% chance to inflict Frostbite.
Ice Ball no longer locks the user in and has 1.5x power.
Metronome Battle
Normal
Normal Pokemon use Metronome at the end of each turn.
Normal moves have neutral effectiveness.
Metronome no longer calls unviable status moves or moves below 80 BP.
Shitstorm
Poison
Burn/Paralysis/Frostbite/Confusion become Poison, and Sleep becomes Toxic.
Poison moves have 20% chance to poison.
Belch can be used without a Berry.
Mindfuck
Psychic
Effects of Magic Room, Wonder Room, and Gravity.
Psychic status moves with an adjacent target become special with 90 BP.
Amnesia also raises the user's Special Attack by 2.
Landslide
Rock
Rock-types have 1.5x Defense.
Rock moves gain 1 BP equal to each percent accuracy below 100%.
Ancient Power's secondary chance is 100%.
Time Warp
Steel
Every move will hit after 2 turns instead of immediately.
Steel moves always have maximum power.
Steel Beam deals recoil equal to 25% of damage dealt.
Flash Flood
Water
All Pokemon have a 25% chance to be forced out at the end of each turn.
Water moves with 60 BP or less move first in their priority bracket.
Water Pledge sets Rainbow.
Hivemind
This Pokemon takes 0.75x damage from supereffective moves. While The Swarm is active, this Pokemon is immune to status moves.
Ambush
This Pokemon's moves can't miss. While Blackout is active, its moves hit the target as it is switching out.
Draco Jet
This Pokemon's Speed cannot be lowered. While Lots of Really Small Dragons is active, its Dragon moves move first within its priority bracket.
Short Circuit
This Pokemon's moves have a 30% chance to paralyze the target.. While Thunderstorm is active, getting hit gives this Pokemon the Charge effect.
Dark Fantasy
This Pokemon cannot fall asleep. While Fable is active, this Pokemon's Dark, Ghost, and Poison-type moves have 1.25x power instead of 0.75x.
Suplex
This Pokemon's Attack cannot be lowered. While Colosseum is active, this Pokemon's attacks have 1.5x power but move last.
Solar Power
This Pokemon heals 1/16 max HP per turn. While Drought is active, its highest offensive stat is 1.3x.
Slipstream
This Pokemon's Flying-type moves have 1.3x power. While Delta Stream is active, this Pokemon's moves switch it out.
Banshee
This Pokemon is immune to sound moves. While THE VOICES is active, this Pokemon's Normal-type moves become Ghost-type but have 0.75x power.
Chlorophyll
This Pokemon has 1.5x healing. While Overgrowth is active, its Grass-type moves have 1.5x power.
Sand Force
This Pokemon takes 0.75x damage from Ground/Rock/Steel-type moves. While Dust Storm is active, all opponents are damaged for 1/8 max HP.
Snow Cloak
This Pokemon's evasion cannot be lowered. While Whiteout is active, it receives 0.5x damage from attacking moves.
Duomod Reference??
This Pokemon uses Metronome twice. While Metronome Battle is active, activates the Roulette Wheel.
Corrosion
This Pokemon can poison regardless of typing. While Shitstorm is active, this Pokemon's Poison-type moves hit Steel-types supereffectively.
Domain Expander
This Pokemon ignores positive boosts when taking damage. While Mindfuck is active, this Pokemon's moves with 100% accuracy have 1.3x power.
Sand Rush
This Pokemon is immune to hazard damage. While Landslide is active, its Speed is doubled.
Second Impact
This Pokemon's attacks deal 1.2x damage. While Time Warp is active, this Pokemon's future moves hit a second time.
Wet Skin
This Pokemon takes halved damage from Fire moves. While Flash Flood is active, it heals 1/8 max HP at the end of each turn.
as you can see none of the weathers provide a direct upgrade like sun/rain super easily boosting your moves you want to use and reducing the moves you dont want to take. generally i dislike weather in micrometas for this reason because its just boring - you set sun, you pivot, you go into your chlorophyll sweeper or your solar power wallbreaker and click grass/fire moves. likewise the abusing abilities dont give you a universal speed advantage (besides sand rush), in order to really diversify the feel of each weather rather than just give everyone a 2x speed boost awooga. heres an example of a combo:
Thundurus-Therian (M) @ The Rock
Ability: Beatdown
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Thunderous Kick
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Beatdown
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Upper Hand
colosseum activates suplex by boosting power by 1.5x but slowing down heracross to moving last, which wasnt really a problem anyway bc it has 45 spe, plus upper hand still has +3 priority. it can force a lot of switches thanks to its massively strong moves and priority, which beatdown punishes by lowering the switchin's def by 1 because they didn't move yet. overall an extremely strong strategy.
whats interesting about some of the weathers is that besides obviously comboing with the custom abilities that specifically abuse one weather, they also can synergize with mons that have only tangentially related abilities or moves.
Zapdos @ The Rock
Ability: Squall
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Zap Cannon
- Heat Wave
- Roost
- U-turn
Electrode @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Lightning Rod
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Zap Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
for example, thunderstorm randomly hitting you with thunder can proc motor drive on arctozolt/thundyt, lrod on electrode, vabsorb on kyogre, and even stamina on dialga.
Enamorus (F) @ The Rock
Ability: Freaky
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fleur Cannon
- Heal Block
- Mystical Fire
- Thunder Wave
i forgor (Venusaur-Mega) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Amnesia
- Synthesis
on the other hand, mindfuck's main draw is boosting amnesia that is distributed mostly on non-psychics like diancie, drampa, and venusaur, making such a team more diverse in types.
Spiritomb @ The Rock
Ability: Delusion
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Clefable @ The Rock
Ability: Finger Waggler
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
- Soft-Boiled
- Calm Mind
some weathers naturally pair well with each other, such as THE VOICES giving normal-types good chances to add an additional STAB boomburst in metronome battle.
Slowking-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Shart
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Belch
- Flamethrower
- Slack Off
- Teleport
other weathers are fairly splashable on teams, like Lots of Really Small Dragons making the team immune to sound moves or shitstorm neutralizing every status to a possibly more managable poison/toxic.
Tyranitar @ The Rock
Ability: Blackout
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Toxic
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Pelipper @ The Rock
Ability: Monsoon
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Hurricane
- Roost
- U-turn
still other weathers are so warping they require a team built around it, such as twilight zone cutting accuracy or flash flood randomly forcing you out.
in conclusion its a really wacky metagame, hopefully it gets some plays cause i think the way i implemented a weather war is pretty cool imo
A long, long time ago, at the origin of the Pokemon universe, life, space, time, and the mind were formed of 18 key elements, each with a core essence that soon rose into prolific, legendary forces. At their genesis was the Original One, a being that constructed the Pokemon universe as we know it, including these 18 elements from purified eggs that would build the many facets we would grow to understand not only as types, but as key components of day-to-day life. Soon, they would grow, divide, and manifest into powerful legendary Pokemon and help the Original One shape the Pokemon universe.
This Solomod is less something I intend to fully flesh out into a dedicated, serious format like Clubmons, but more of a personal dive into the chemistry of the type chart with a layer of autistic flavor to both make a hypothetical metagame more feasible by introducing type gimmicks and to make the project more cohesive in its whole.
The premise is very simple and inspired by that of the Balls solomod, where there are 18 monotype Pokemon available in the format at about an UUBers power level. Unlike Balls, though, there is a great deal of continuity when it comes to aspects beyond monotypes: namely, in abliities and their signature moves. From the monotype premise, my goal is to balance each monotype to fare equally amidst each other and to accentuate their most distinguishing qualities as typings, both in the offensive and defensive department. Although the metagame is hypothetically very simple, there is a great deal of nuance you will soon come to see.
Before I dive into the Pokemon themselves, the last thing I want to say is that there are going to be two variants of this metagame: Embody Aspect only, and free-form. Free form is the default metagame, but the reason this is the case is because of the Normal and Dragon Pokemon. You will see why soon.
To keep it short: each Pokemon will have 600 BST, Embody Aspect, a hidden ability, and a signature move with extremely similar attributes.
600 BST:
600 BST to me is the gold standard when it comes to creating a baseline for a power level. Pseudo-legendaries and mythicals alike use this value, It's great for specializing stat spreads, but not in an egregious way one way or another, since things still need to be within reason. You could argue that this is flavorfully weird, but 1: fuck you and 2: these Pokemon are meant to be “hatchlings” of sorts that grow and branch off into legendaries.
Embody Aspect:
Embody Aspect may be a perplexing choice, but the justification to me lies in how the ability itself fluctuates across different typing-based forms of Ogerpon. This also means each flavor of Embody Aspect will be dfferent across the typings depending on which of their qualities I want to lean into with their designs. I wanted these Pokemon to all have a shared ability, too, and Embody Aspect was a way to reign them all together in a way that individualizes them but keeps their function intuitive to understand. As such, each form of Embody Aspect centers around stat changes.
Hidden Abilities
To me this is a pretty simple but effective way to branch off from the limitations of Embody Aspect and further diversify the gameplans of these Pokemon, but still keep things salient.
Signature Move
When I say extremely shared qualities, I mean nearly everything. Each move starts with “Origin” and the collective qualities of 50 BP, 5 (8) PP, 100% accuracy, and the ability to be Physical or Special depending on the user’s highest offense. They deviate in secondary effect and typing. The idea of this is to, again, keep things salient, and on an equal playing field, but still individualize their gameplans.
Arceus-Origin Roots Solaris Aspect Storm Precipice Aethos Eminence Chronos Distortion Eternity Arcana Vacuum Cognition Oblivion Lifeblood Chakra Hivemind
Normal
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Multitype
Embody Aspect (Normal): User gains +1 to their highest stat on KO.
What place better to start than the original one itself? This is basically a reeled down version of the Arceus you know, with a conventional mythical statline and an Embody Aspect that operates akin to Beast Boost. As such, it can provide teams with that iconic Arceus utility, letting teams stack up on an important type with any desired role, or lean into the Normal-type itself with EKiller at the helm.
In the context of this mod, letting Arceus be itself seems like a strange and pretty counter intuitive choice, but honestly I think it captures the identity of the Normal-type in a lot of ways. Bulky Normal-types adhere to the needs of their teams, and tend to have a boatload of goofy coverage for their purposes. And in order to attain a true snowball, it has to rely on raw Normal-type strength. Having the mod’s Normal-type basically be the flexible team member to an extreme I think is a generally healthy thing for the metagame, while having great flavor ramifications.
It’s also worth noting that this is the only Pokemon without a signature “Origin” move.
Grass
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Chlorophyll
Embody Aspect (Grass): User’s Defense increases when using a Grass-type move while weather is active.
Origin Seed:
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Grass
User sets Grassy Terrain on hit. Hits with higher offense, and deals double damage if weather is active.
__
When I think of Grass, I often think of two things: raw resistances and utility. With this Pokemon, you get pretty much exactly that. Between its staggeringly high bulk relative to much of the other Pokemon as well as its vast utility movepool, it’s a solid general purpose wall. I also tend to think of situational abilities; many bulky Grass-types like Venusaur or Leafeon (for example) tend to have abilities that aren’t useless but are more difficult to attain consistent value from due to their conditional nature. Roots also has this quality, with both its Embody Aspect and hidden ability letting it operate particularly well under Sun both defensively and offensively. Though, it certainly doesn’t need either to succeed due to the strength and general flexibility of its kit otherwise.
Origin Seed is very simple, setting Grassy Terrain on hit. The recovery fits great into its gameplan while letting it support its team and boosting its solid damage output, especially under weather which Grass-types are often designed to accompany.
Fire
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Solar Power
Embody Aspect (Fire): User’s Speed is increased by 1 stage upon inflicting status.
HP: 96
Atk: 110
Def: 90
SpA: 120
SpD: 100
Spe: 84
Important Moves: Sacred Fire, Solar Beam, Earthquake, Morning Sun, Magnet Rise, Brave Bird, Flare Blitz, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Overheat, Thunder Wave, Origin Flare*, Psychic, Lava Plume, Toxic, Will-O-Wisp
Origin Flare
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100
Type: Fire
Hits using the higher offense. 1.5x damage under sun, and another 2x damage if the opponent is not statused; 20% chance to burn.
__
Solaris leans into three things: Fire-types having the propensity to spread status, the ability to leverage useful resistances into progress-making opportunities, and literal firepower. As such, Solaris’s build is very much so that of an offensive utilitarian, though also packs a powerful breaking mode that rewards good positioning, much like canon Fire-types. Upon spreading status, it can begin dishing out powerful hits more aggressively with the Speed boost to help leverage it or simply keep it healthy with fast recovery.
Origin Flare is interesting as it actively is stronger when the opponent isn’t statused, which is designed for more dedicated breaker sets, but it loses spammability with the secondary effect, which incidentally leans into the intended gameplan anyway. It’s a cool tradeoff to me because it isn’t even a drawback, in fact one that is normally beneficial for it, but damages it in the breaking context!
Water
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Swift Swim
Embody Aspect (Water): User’s Special Defense increases upon taking direct damage.
Origin Flux
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100
Type: Water
Doubles in power if the user is faster. User’s defense lowers by 1 stage, but Speed increases by 1 stage. Hits using higher offense.
__
Water is sort of weird as a typing; on paper it’s very one dimensional, but when you put its offensive and defensive properties into practice, you often see how uniquely it excels at both. Many Water-types come with solid all-around bulk, resilience, and consistent threat factor (under rain and by merit of their typical coverage options/great neutral attacking type). That is what I aimed to explore with Aspect, a fast Water-type attacker/win condition with some innate defensive utility attached. Many tabs have been taken from Palkia itself, replicating its movepool very closely while rounding off its defensive qualities.
Origin Flux is a Scale Shot clone, let’s get that right. I opted for this approach because of how well it complements its Embody Aspect (designed to lean into Water’s defensive matchups), but also because I associate Water-type counterplay to often be in the form of direct damage and out-maneuvering. It fits Aspect’s gameplan while also diversifying its offensive permutations.
Electric
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Drizzle
Embody Aspect (Electric): Boosts Speed upon entering the field against a Pokemon weak to Electric.
Origin Spark
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100
Type: Electric
Hits using higher offense and hits like Future Sight. Sets Electric Terrain on hit.
—
I’m gonna keep it a buck: the Electric-type is as committal as an offensive type comes, up there with Ice. However unlike Ice, it comes with a staggeringly cool Achilles’ heel: Ground-types. Any Electric-type enthusiast will tell you how much of a bane this type is for it, and I think this matchup polarity is what truly defines it. Fast and explosive damage output is the bane of the game, and defined best by Volt Switch and its commanding offensive profile sans Ground-types.
Storm lives and dies by this dynamic. Ground-types near stonewall it, though not entirely. Storm is heavily inspired by SS OU, one of my favorite competitive designs, for its gameplan into Ground-types centering around progress-making mechanisms like Knock Off and Toxic, before having a powerful endgame with fast and powerful Electric-type attacks. Flash Flood also plays into this, not beating Ground-types but letting it use Drizzle more aggressively with more passive damage.
Origin Spark takes a bit of a unique angle on this gameplan, letting Storm make progress and maintain its threat factor in a different kind of way even in the face of Ground-types. In doing this, it also aligns in precedent with another Origin move you will see later.
Ground
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Drought
Embody Aspect (Ground): User gains a Defense boost on entry.
HP: 150
Atk: 140
Def: 110
SpA: 84
SpD: 66
Spe: 50
Important Moves: Earthquake, Precipice Blades, Earth Power, Stealth Rock, Spikes, Lava Plume, Stone Edge, Body Press, Grass Knot, Protect, Substitute, Eruption, Origin Tremor*, Scorching Sands, Flare Blitz, Flame Charge, Roar
Origin Tremor:
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Ground
BP increases by 50 for every hazard on the opponent’s side of the field. Hits using higher offense.
__
Ground-types are, fittingly, quite down-to-earth! So, I really wanted to lean into something more honest, with a gameplan akin to something like Landorus-Therian and Ting-Lu, two highly durable Ground-types that are immensely potent glues and role compressors, but prone to overload. Between its Embody Aspect and having the format’s greatest Physical bulk, removing this Pokemon will take some work, but it doesn’t have immense recovery to fully take advantage of it. While it sits on the field, it layers hazards like any Ground-type does, while having tools to exert a consistent threat. Drought is where things get a bit interesting, improving its Water- and Grass-type matchups while supporting its team in a bit of a flavorful and dynamic way.
Origin Tremor synergizes pretty much perfectly with its gameplan, encouraging it to hazard stack. Note that it doesn’t get Knock Off, which was an intentional omission to ensure it couldn’t be overtuned in the progress-making department.
Flying
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Regenerator
Embody Aspect (Flying): Boosts Speed on every active turn the user isn’t attacking.
Origin Zone
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Flying
User uses their Speed stat in damage calculation. 1.5x damage if the user is faster.
__
Tornadus-T is, in my opinion, the epitome of defensive role compression and progress-making that gets the job done in a lot of very deliberate and cool ways. When I think of the Flying-type, this is the dynamic that comes to mind: progress, and the usage of a valuable defensive profile to weave in and out of the battle. Many Flying-type Pokemon, too, aren’t quite the most durable, and this is why Tornadus-T as an inspiration is so perfect imo. This defensive profile in tandem with Regenerator lets it be that utilitarian Flying-type that can focus more on its utility than spending turns on staying healthy.
I enjoy this dichotomy against its Embody Aspect, which actively makes it stronger as the game progresses because of Origin Zone. Origin Zone is designed to encourage the user to lean into fast utility more reliably due to its very middling offenses. This is contrasted against its Embody Aspect to enable a potential setup angle, which is something else I loosely associate with Flying-types.
Rock
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Sand Stream
Embody Aspect (Rock): User’s Defense is increased by 1 stage after using a Status move.
HP: 50
Atk: 130
Def: 140
SpA: 90
SpD: 140
Spe: 50
Important Moves: Diamond Storm, Stealth Rock, Pain Split, Body Press, Thunder Wave, Trick Room, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Origin Tomb*, Protect, Substitute, Endure, Rest, Sleep Talk, Moonblast, Earthquake, Earth Power, Psychic, Mystical Fire, Rock Polish, Scorching Sands, Pain Split
Origin Tomb:
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Rock
Uses the user’s defense in damage calculation. Deals 2x more damage if the user is hitting a slower target.
__
Many Rock-types are designed to be tanks, boasting low Speed, high bulk, and potent offenses. Something else of notice with Rock-types is how they tend to use field conditions or setup to become better at accomplishing their intended role. Enter Eminence, a Pokemon that utilizes its sustain tools to become stronger and more effective at its job. Its Embody Aspect juxtaposes Diamond Storm, letting it snowball effectively on the physical side without needing to use the move, but granting diminishing returns by consuming a moveslot if used together and without Sand Stream.
Origin Tomb is designed to lean into utility sets utilizing Embody Aspect and complement Body Press variants, boosting in power as the user inflicts status and spreads Stealth Rock, but has a reverse dichotomy with Diamond Storm, encouraging use of its regular Embody Aspect.
Steel
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Sand Force
Embody Aspect (Steel): User’s Defense increases upon taking direct damage.
Important Moves: Roar of Time, Flash Cannon, Stealth Rock, Body Press, Fire Blast, Doom Desire, Earth Power, Thunderbolt, Shift Gear, Iron Head, Heavy Slam, Earthquake, Gear Grind, Gyro Ball, Toxic, Protect, Substitute, Origin Clock*, Volt Switch, Calm Mind, Roar
Origin Clock:
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Steel
Doubles in power if user is faster. User’s Speed increases, but Special Defense decreases. Uses higher offense.
__
Admittedly, Chronos is probably the Pokemon that deviates the most from the average perceived view of the type, but stick with me here. Yes, this is a bit more of an offensive angle, acting much like an Archaludon in its tanking prowess and potential wallbreaking abilities. Many Steel-types often use their defensive typing as means to leverage themselves and, in doing so, fielding the wrath dangerous types. The game plan of Chronos is moreso to lean into these abstract Steel-types that provide simultaneous defensive utility and those that have bizarre progress-making/breaking tools.
I took heavy inspiration from Iron Crown, Jirachi, and Archaludon in how they use their Steel-type to reinforce structures and convert this position into positive momentum or progress. Doom Desire, Stealth Rock, and Thunder Wave all enable a more aggressively supportive angle for teams that wish it.
Obviously as this is meant to contrast Aspect/Palkia, its ability and origin move are inverses, but in doing so, capture the winning power I would see in a tanky Steel-type, utilizing Body Press and/or resilience to leverage a potential winning position. Sand Force also can operate as an alternative way to make use of this design alongside Shift Gear and Calm Mind.
Ghost
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Levitate
Embody Aspect (Ghost): User’s Speed increases at the end of every turn when opponent is afflicted with status.
Origin Warp
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Ghost
Sets a side condition that lowers the foe’s highest stat for 3 turns. Uses higher offense.
__
Ghost-types in recent generations have been frustratingly overtuned at utilizing their offensive profile. On paper though it’s quite interesting, often being positioned with status as a means to enforce consistent pressure throughout the game. Nearly every offensive Ghost-type fits this into their gameplan in some way, and alongside their exceedingly special defensive profile, is what inspired Distortion. The WispHex gameplan is on full display here, with a Levitate mode to additionally improve upon the Ghost-type’s inherent defensive profile as a spinblocker.
Origin Warp is designed to synergize alongside its Embody Aspect and Shadow Force to generate empty turns, letting Distortion more efficiently batter away at its checks without outright being able to blow right past them. This can carry over into defensive switchins, letting it consistently apply pressure with and without status, but rewarding good positioning if you can land Origin Warp and a status of some kind.
Poison
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Regenerator
Embody Aspect (Poison): If the opponent is poisoned at the end of the turn, opponent’s Special Defense lowers.
Origin Shock
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Poison
30% chance to inflict Toxic. Doubles in damage when foe is poisoned. Uses higher offense.
__
Poison is one of the best defensive types in the game, holders of which are often paired with insane resilience by merit of raw bulk, resistances, and strong recovery tools. Offensively it is fine, it’s not amazing but it gets the job done as a STAB, but where it shines the most is spreading status and using its resilience to snowball and win games. I think of Tera Poison Pokemon, Galarian Slowking, and Iron Moth as great sources of inspiration here, often needing a lot of support to position themselves for a winning position, but being near unstoppable once they are good to go. Aside from that, there is a great deal of raw defensive application that Eternity provides, with insane Speed to complement Regenerator, Teleport, and a whole kit’s worth of utility that you would expect from a Poison-type. Its Embody Aspect leans into both, letting it pass a lowered Special Defense to a teammate, or simply being a means to enforce a bit of damage for a more flexible end-game. It can also use Weather a bit, too!
Origin Toxin operates like Barb Barrage, being a way for it to exert consistent damage while also spreading status efficiently. For setup and utility sets alike, it is a near perfect tool for its diverse set of gameplans.
Dragon
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Truth & Ideals
Embody Aspect (Dragon): User will gain a boost to their highest offense upon KO.
Truth & Ideals: User’s secondary type is determined by the plate being held. Adaptability if Draco Plate.
Origin Aura
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Dragon
Doubles in power if user is holding a plate. Typing changes to reflect the new typing, if so. Uses higher offense.
__
Arcana is far and away the most complicated and nuanced option in the metagame, sporting a pseudo-Multitype and the format’s best mixed offensive profile. When I think of Dragon-types, I often think of their complementary types, and how their FWG resists can factor into the resistance profiles of other types. The identity of the Dragon-type is very much so rooted in offensive flexibility and operating often as offensive checks through their hard-to-exploit weaknesses and anti-archetypal resistances, making them a phenomenal secondary type in many cases. In order to help create a more sustainable metagame, having the ability to possess a secondary typing of your choice is a pretty big deal in gluing structures and improving particularly poor matchups. Embody Aspect and the Adaptability component of Truth & Ideals reward leaning into mono-Dragon all the same, though, so it’s not just a glue simulator. Arcana is a huge reason why I intend for there to be two versions of the format, since it shakes up the typing-based dynamics of the format rather substantially akin to Arceus-Origin.
Origin Aura leans into this multitype component, however also has the ability to reward using the mono-Dragon mode. It’s a pretty generic, but expectedly important tool for a Pokemon able to change typings.
Ice
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Pale Winds
Embody Aspect (Ice): User’s defense is boosted at the end of every turn under Hail.
Origin Void
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Ice
User completely cleanses the field of hazards and side conditions. If this occurs, set Hail. Uses higher offense.
__
Although Ice is a really awful defensive typing, I ironically associate quite a bit of the typing’s identity around Game Freak’s desperation to make a defensive Ice-type work. Vacuum leans into this, being a pretty potent Special wall, but also utilizes Ice’s other massive draw: it being one of the best offensive types in the game, further augmented by Hail’s residual chip damage. This is where Pale Winds comes in, being a way to accentuate its offenses through boosting hail chip, while still leaning into a utility wall. But, it can still outright commit to walling through its Embody Aspect and being a powerful disruptor.
Origin Void justifies the heavy hail lean, being the only Origin move to near fully commit to being a utility move. Not only does it clear hazards, leaning into the dynamic of Defog with Stealth Rock weak Pokemon I really like, but in doing so, sets Hail, making it easier to make use of its abilities to enforce progress while providing a valuable utility to its team.
Psychic
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Prankster
Embody Aspect (Psychic): User gains a Special Attack boost at the end of every turn. Once a Special move is used, stat boosts are cleared. Boosts will not begin again until the user switches out.
Origin Sight
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Psychic
Hits like Future Sight and with the higher offense. Sets Psychic Terrain on hit.
__
Psychic, to me, is all about those goofy status moves. It is far and away the most bizarre typing when it comes to support options, but that is what makes it such a tantalizing utility typing to explore. This is the core idea behind Cognition, utilizing Prankster and the deep pit’s worth of wacky utility moves to wreak havoc and support different archetypes like Screens offense and Trick Room. Psychic is also about disruption, and disruption it has: Encore, Taunt, Thunder Wave, etc.. However, another major aspect of Psychic is its affinity for snowballing. I wanted to explore this, but I also wanted to do so in a way that was compelling. This is where its Embody Aspect comes in, letting it become immensely potent at becoming a wallbreaker for just existing, but only letting you utilize the stat once before boosts are cleared, letting it be an explosive stallbreaker on both ends of raw power and utility. Psycho Boost takes advantage of both aspects of Embody Aspect, including the stat cleansing, to give you a powerful nuke more than once per switch-in. Though if you wish to hold onto those boosts, you can do so to enable Power Trip variants!
Origin Sight leans directly into the goofy offensive and utility-based identity I see of Psychic, letting it provide both Future Sight support and setting a valuable terrain for offensive structures.
Dark
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Dark Aura
Embody Aspect (Dark): Gains +1 Attack upon taking resisted damage.
Origin Spite
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Dark
Inflicts Heal Block upon hit. Uses higher offense.
__
There are two words to describe near perfectly what the goal is here: offensive utility. Pursuit, Knock Off, Sucker Punch, Foul Play, the works; all of these moves inflict pressure while providing valuable utilities to the team, and aiming for an endgame in which either the user or teammates can sweep things up. This is also why Oblivion’s offenses lean toward Special Attack, as this way the utility moves in question lean toward their utility based roles, but the cleaning route is very much there. Dark’s typing is intrinsically valuable defensively, too, which is where its Embody Aspect comes in for teams that want to lean more into its defensive typing, and potentially opening up an endgame for Knock Off/Sucker Punch.
Origin Spite is simple enough, leaning directly into that progress making while letting damage stick. Psychic Noise is basically the embodiment of this concept, and I think it’s a really neat complement to its other moves in the context of its gameplan.
Fairy
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Fairy Aura
Embody Aspect: User’s Special Defense increases upon dealing Special damage.
Origin Shimmer
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Fairy
Uses higher offense. Sets Misty Terrain on hit; if a terrain is already active, power is boosted by 2x.
__
Perhaps this is a bit of a weird take for a Fairy-type, but I think that weirdness is part of the identity, in a way. Fairy-types are durable, powerful, and highly potent win conditions, and typically involved in being clerics. While Lifeblood has the tools to do this, it is actually shaped to be a physical attacker, weirdly enough. This was intentional, in order to lean into Drain Punch as a leeching coverage option and contrasting Draining Kiss as a STAB leeching move.
Using Fairy Aura, it can use its Fairy-type STAB in Origin Shimmer to wreak havoc and exert reliable pressure to build toward an end-game, while also being able to set Misty Terrain to provide itself the Fairy-type’s commonly observed flexibility into status. Its Embody Aspect, fittingly, embodies this offensive-defensive gameplan, letting it grow more defensively potent by dishing out damage.
Fighting
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Technician
Embody Aspect (Fighting): Boosts Defense upon taking direct damage.
Important Moves: Superpower, Body Press, Origin Art, Psychic, Force Palm, Focus Blast, Aura Sphere, Shadow Ball, Earthquake, Vacuum Wave, Work Up, Nasty Plot, Low Sweep, Recover, U-turn, Toxic, Taunt, Extreme Speed, Mach Punch, Circle Throw, Fake Out, Knock Off, Agility, Grass Knot, Bulldoze
Origin Art
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Fighting
Uses higher offense. Hits 2 times, each hit having a 20% chance to lower their highest offense. Makes contact.
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Fighting-types are rough, tough, and always able to hit hard with a good STAB and pack strong coverage/complementary offensive utility. They also come packed with resistances to Knock Off and U-turn, two immensely common moves, and one’s Chakra too can take advantage of. In a contrast to Lifeblood, the typically Physical Fighting-type is partially reimagined into a Special Attacker with a potent Physical mode, packing the ability to do a bulky snowball sweep, or using the Technician-boosted moves that Fighting-types often possess. You can get an immensely fun mixed wallbreaker with powerful priority using Technician, or run a powerful mixed wall with Embody Aspect, Body Press, and Recover to really lean into the resistance profile often used to deter common progress-making moves.
Origin Art leans hard into Technician, but is by itself a reliable Fighting-type STAB that goes all in on Fighting types often being affected by adverse c effects, but having high reward for testing them.
Bug
Abilities: Embody Aspect / Swarm
Embody Aspect (Bug): Opponent’s Defense is decreased by one stage upon being hit by resisted damage.
Important Moves: U-turn, Quiver Dance, Attack Order, Defend Order, Infestation, Toxic, Will-O-Wisp, Twineedle, Psychic, Dark Pulse, Pain Split, Sludge Bomb, Shadow Ball, Origin Swarm*, Giga Drain, Substitute, Rest, Sleep Talk, Facade, Endure, Protect, Defog, Spikes, Zen Headbutt, Play Rough, Bug Buzz, First Impression
Origin Swarm
BP: 50
PP: 5 (8)
Acc: 100%
Type: Bug
Hits using the higher offense. Gains +50 BP for every stat change on the field, but clears them all after.
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Bug as a type is defined by two things: being dogshit offensively, but weirdly promising defensively. Hivemind leans pretty hard into both of these, but in the offensive department actually uses the Bug-type’s offensive mediocrity to its advantage, pairing well with U-turn, Pin Missile, and Origin Swarm to exert overwhelming damage or position a teammate to exploit its Embody Aspect. Alternatively, there’s Quiver Dance, a move also associated with Bug-types as a funny contrast due to its immense strength as a boosting move. What you overall get from this is an offensive utility demon, using its amazing resistances, Speed tier, and good bulk to leverage teammates or be an abstract wallbreaker, akin to many offensive Bug-types seen in canon. Swarm can also play into this brute force method, pairing nicely with Quiver Dance particularly.
Origin Swarm is designed to complement both Quiver Dance and Embody Aspect, also working well with Swarm to be the pinnacle brute force move that requires precision to get the most of, akin to Cognition.
Last, regarding coding, this is something that may take a while due to my own IRL situation, and also because I’m not really sure if there would be a ton of interest in a metagame like this either. Either way, I hope this thought experiment was interesting enough to read, and that you had as much fun looking through it as I had theorycrafting it!
So many people tell me how much they love MG2, they love birds, and they love ADV: but everyone HATES MG3. My solution combines all these great aspects while getting rid of the MG3 part of it. Introducing, Modern Gen 2 the Sequel: Just the Birds, also known as MG2TS:JTB (I'm sure it will catch on very well.)
I get ALOT of questions for this tier so I made a Q/A section because I get asked these alot because of how popular the tier is and I just wanted to answer them here.
Q: What Pokemon are allowed in MG2TS:JTB? (and yes they usually use the abbreviation because of its ease) A: Bird Pokemon
Q: What qualifies as a bird? A: A warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrate distinguished by the possession of feathers, wings, and a beak. As there are plenty of NOT REAL THINGS, I've done my best to identify what is and is not a bird. This also means NO BATS AND NO INSECTS. NO BEEDRILL, NO GLISCOR, JUST BIRDS.
Q: Is this played in Generation 2 or Generation 3 A: This is played in the sequel to Generation 2, sometimes, but less commonly referred to, as Generation 3.
Q: Why? A: I took a sick day from work and got bored + bird mons are great + old gen tier that works better in Gen3 I think than Gen2.
Q: Wow, this seems great, how can I play? A: Using the challenge command below
Q: Why should I play it? A: Well not only is it fun, but it has plenty of resources like a VR, an active discord found here, and a speed tier chart below! Top level Smogon Premier League players have also given it a shot as seen here!
The Pokedex has (finally) been fully tiered, and with that, one can more easily get an idea of what the meta would be like, and so making sets is way more straight-forward and easy to do. Here are some mons that benefitted a lot from the changes:
These are changes that are relevant to the sets shown below.
Pokemon changes
Sceptile & Mega:
Stats
Atk: 85 > 105 | 110 > 145 (+20, +35)
SpA: 105 > 85 | 145 > 100 (-20, -35)
Moves
- Thunder Punch
Abilities
Hidden Ability (Mega): Lightning Rod > Skill Link
Swapped Physical/Special offensive stats so that it can abuse its new signature move in Needle Storm, with an SD set. Removed Thunder Punch from its movepool so that it can't hit (mostly levitating) steel types super effectively, which should be enough to keep it OU.
New move
Move
Category
Type
BP
Acc
PP
Effect
Needle Storm
Physical
Grass
30
90
10 (16)
Hits 2 to 5 times. High critical if used by Sceptile.
Move changes
Move
Category
Type
BP
Acc
PP
Effect
Withdraw
Status
Water
-
-
10 (16)
Raises defense at the start of turn, then switches out upon moving.
Dig
Physical
Ground
65
100
10 (16)
-1 Priority. Switches user out. Earthquake acts like pursuit. (Contact)
Assist
Status
Normal
-
-
10 (16)
Uses the move in the first slot of the Pokemon in the last slot. (Can't pull revival blessing.)
Aurora Beam
Special
Ice
65
100
5 (8)
2x Base Power if the weather is clear. (Sunlight and no weather count as clear)
Ability changes
Ability
Effect
Battery
While this Pokemon is unfainted, the other Pokemon in the party get a 30% boost to Special Attack. (Does not stack)
Keen Eye
The accuracy of this pokemon's moves are multiplied by 1.2x
This Sceptile set allows it to be a great late game sweeper, with skill link on mega, scale shot/needle storm for damage, and drain punch or earthquake that allows it to deal with steel types, this mon can theoretically get out of hand pretty quick. You would probably want to pair it with a magnet pull mon such as magnezone or probopass to get rid of problematic steel types.
Slowbro-Mega having regenerator, extremely high physical defense and access to Withdraw makes it a great option for people who just don't want to play the game. Its future sight is as strong as Slowking-G's and would probably go crazy with a CM or ID BP set, it's a tough mon all around and might even me Ubers material.
Charjabug @ Focus Sash
Ability: Battery
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Sticky Web
- Thunder Wave
- Dig
- Volt Switch
Charjabug's role is simple, set up sticky web and get immediately out of the field so that Battery can boost its teammates passively. It's mostly useful on HO, and should work as a lead as long as your opponent doesn't have a multi-hit move or Unnerve.
This set might not be the most viable, but it's probably the most fun - assist consistently pulling the first move of your mon you put on the 6th slot can have dramatic results as your opponent succumbs to glacial lance/wicked blow Weavile, the mon pulling EQ or CC can catch your opponents off guard and potentially score a few KOs. Plus keen eye making triple axel always hit is very nice. (Pretend it doesn't make assist into glacial lance obsolete.)
https://pokepast.es/9264bea6d9f93da4 - Mega ampharos TR ft. musharna.
This team abuses the new tools given to slow mons and the fact that musharna is so fat for being ZU, iron fist boosting punching moves by 50% makes melmetal not want to click anything other than double iron bash, aside from the occasional usage of EQ for the heatran switch-in.
Most Pokemon are still to be rebalanced, but with the changes to abilities and moves, many still unchanged Pokemon are able to be used in new ways, such as Mew with reworked Transform, or Gothitelle with buffed Psychic Noise. (Though now that i mentioned these mons i will for sure rework them)
Of course it's hard to talk about the meta right now since the mod isn't playable yet, though i'm still excited to see how these changes would unfold in competitive battles, and if you feel the same, be sure to check out our Discord, as i'm documenting all the changes i make to the spreadsheet in it as i go, so you will always be updated without needing to open the spreadsheet at all, and plus you get insight on the reason behind some changes.
Anyhow, probably stay tuned as i've been updating the mod nearly every day, hope you have a good day, peace.
This mod brings the point buy format to RBY. For those who don't know what point buy is, you have 30 points to build a team, and different Pokemon cost a different amount of points! Better Pokemon cost more, so there is a tradeoff in using them! Will you use a mix of very good and very bad Pokemon, or will you just go with 6 mediocre options?
Additionally, this tier will be updated as games are played. If a mon appears to be a really good deal for its price, I'll probably increase the price. If a mon is too expensive and is never used, I'll decrease the price. At the time of writing this, there's already been one "balance update" where a bunch of explosion mons have had their prices increased.
leader of the solomods forum finally has an active solomod again, that's crazy
I've genuinely had 6 or so mods of this magnitude or greater coded and ready to post (and will post at least 1 of them later in the generation) but flaked on for one reason or another, including this one before I went back and decided to release it after all, so let's get right into it.
Name of Mod: Stadium YB Mascot: Link to Changes: HERE Summary of the Mod: Taking inspiration from Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon Battle Revolution, Stadium YB is a random battle format where each player is given a number of rental Pokemon to battle with. Like in Stadium, these rental Pokemon, chosen from a "regional dex" of (currently) 231 options, have all of their information laid out to both players, through both the spreadsheet linked above and Forced Open Team Sheets. Thus, you'll have to make to best mon choices based on the wealth of information laid out in front of you.
The metagame has 2 modes, one where each player is given 6 Pokemon and picks 3 to battle with, and another where each player is given 12 Pokemon and picks 6 to battle with. I consider the 6v6 mode to be more competitive, since it's less likely that you'll get screwed over by being given a number of weak Pokemon, but 3v3 goes by a lot faster and serves a quick bit of fun.
The pool of 231 Pokemon includes Pokemon as weak as Pawmi or Ralts all the way up to Pokemon as strong as Blaziken or Genesect, so with everything being at Level 50, a number of balancing factors were put in place:
- Like in Pokemon Stadium, unevolved Pokemon tend to have more powerful movesets than evolved or Legendary Pokemon
- Most fully evolved Pokemon have 0 IVs in all of their stats, while all NFEs with prevolutions have 15 IVs in all of their stats.
-- Ditto and Kirlia still have 31 IVs in all of their stats, while Smeargle, Luvdisc, and Delibird have 15 IVs in all of their stats.
- Like in regular random battles, all Pokemon still have 85 EVs in all of their stats.
-- While currently unreleased, when/if box legendaries gets added to the metagame, they will have 0 IVs and 0 EVs in all of their stats.
Generally, the best Pokemon still tend to be legendaries and fully evolved mons, but a fair number of unevolved Pokemon end up being pretty good options because of these factors
The metagame is meant to be played in a Best of 3 or Best of 5 format, especially if you're playing the 3v3 mode, to lessen the effects of getting unlucky matchups.
Stadium YB is a random battle format, but because everything about its available Pokemon is set in stone and public information, you can also play it like Pokemon Stadium's Rental format by using these sets in Custom Game with Open Team Sheets. You can use this paste to not only insert all of the sets into the damage calculator, but also into your teambuilder to create teams.
Lastly, I'd like to shoutout ViZar, as along with the inspirations from Stadium and Battle Revolution, this mod is heavily based on his former solomod Best of Rentals, and thus gave me permission to make use the idea to make something similar. Competitive Overview: I've done a good amount of playtesting, so I've provided a few write-ups below, but note that since all of this playtesting was against myself, it's all very speculatory.
The Pokemon you bring to any given game obviously depends a lot on what you and your opponent get, but it's just as obvious that some Pokemon are generally better than others. The following are some of the absolute best Pokemon in my opinion, the types of mons that you're lucky to get and should almost always be brought, and could even be nerfed in the future (and many have been nerfed over the course of playtesting).
These Pokemon are listed in the order that they're seen on the spreadsheet and the damage calc paste. Pecharunt @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Poison Puppeteer
Level: 50
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Atk / 0 Def / 0 SpA / 0 SpD / 0 Spe
- Venoshock
- Hex
- Imprison
- Poison Gas
Expect to see a lot of the legendaries and mythicals in this section. Turns out having high stats is better than having low stats, who knew. All of the Loyal Three are pretty good in Stadium YB, especially Munkidori with its strong Psychic Noise, but their leader in Pecharunt really shines. Pecharunt's gameplan is very simple, poison the foe with Poison Gas, activate Poison Puppeteer to give it a pinch of cheese factor, and hit hard with Hex and Tera-boosted Venoshock. This simple strategy ends up being extremely effective thanks to Pecharunt's amazing bulk giving it many opportunities to land a Poison Gas while letting it easily outdamage the opponent with its boosted STABs, all while Poison Puppeteer's confusion lurks in the background waiting to ruin your day 33% of the time. Originally, Pecharunt had Black Sludge over Covert Cloak and Fake Tears over Imprison, but without those it's now a lot easier to eventually bring down while not being able to get through poison-immune foes as easily anymore.
Marshadow @ Clear Amulet
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Atk / 0 Def / 0 SpA / 0 SpD / 0 Spe
- Hex
- Force Palm
- Sucker Punch
- Snatch
Marshadow is similar to Pecharunt, being a Mythical with Hex, an offensive Tera, and a way to spread status. However, while Pecharunt kinda needs status to be effective, Marshadow's Technician-boosted Force Palm is more than enough to get by, being one of the stronger moves that any fully evolved mon in the metagame possesses. Marshadow used to be more status-based as it had Will-O-Wisp instead of Snatch, but that made it an insanely good check to physical attackers thanks to its high Speed and then it'd just melt things with Tera-boosted Hex. Still, having to rely on Force Palm is only a little bit of a downgrade for Marshadow, it's still a monster
Genesect @ Metronome
Ability: Download
Level: 50
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Atk / 0 Def / 0 SpA / 0 SpD / 0 Spe
- Fury Cutter
- Struggle Bug
- Metal Claw
- Shock Wave
Get a Download boost and then click the appropriate snowballing move, usually Fury Cutter. Do not be surprised if you find yourself getting swept by Fury Cutter, it may be an awful move, but +1 Atk, Tera Bug, and Metronome multipliers stack up REAL fast. Be sure to keep something that can offensively threaten this thing handy, since it does need a turn or two to get going, more if it's forced into any of its other moves
Dragonite @ Enigma Berry
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Atk / 0 Def / 0 SpA / 0 SpD / 0 Spe
- Air Slash
- Dragon Tail
- Icy Wind
- Rock Slide
This Pokemon does not die. While its prevolutions get to have fun with the tools it usually uses in OU and VGC, Dragonite just rolls up with 4 random attacking moves and stat checks everything to death. Dragonite's natural bulk and Multiscale give it plenty of chances to smack things around with decently strong Air Slashes and Dragon Tails, the latter of which can really mess with setup sweepers and switch-ins, making dealing with it all that much harder. While much weaker than the Assault Vest I originally gave it, the Enigma Berry is also nice for a bit of extra health after getting hit by a super effective move, synergizing well with Multiscale. Not to mention, Tera Steel is great for a bulky Dragon. Luckily, DNite can and will get worn down and it hates everything that resists either of its STABs, especially Steel-types.
Ribombee @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sweet Veil
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Atk / 0 Def / 0 SpA / 0 SpD / 0 Spe
- Aromatherapy
- Leech Life
- Alluring Voice
- Powder
Probably the most out of place mon outside of the honorable mentions, but this mon has performed way better than it had any right to in playtesting. High Speed and a spammable STAB in Alluring Voice make Ribombee a good offensive threat, Leech Life hits hard enough against things weak to it while also providing a little bit of recovery, Powder lets you play mindgames with Fire-types, Ribombee's best answer, and Aromatherapy is the cherry on top on a nice support move. All of these comes together to make a shockingly effective option to bring to your battles
Togekiss @ Scope Lens
Ability: Super Luck
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Atk / 0 Def / 0 SpA / 0 SpD / 0 Spe
- Air Cutter
- Fairy Wind
- Mirror Move
- Heal Bell
You know this mon is good because I had to nerf it by giving it Fairy Wind of all moves and it's still probably really good. STAB Air Cutter's guaranteed crits along with Togekiss' high Special Attack let it hit super hard, making Togekiss a premier wallbreaker in the tier. You'll be glad that I replaced Draining Kiss with Fairy Wind, as crit Draining Kisses also gave Togekiss an insane amount of longevity that really pushed it over the edge. Heal Bell is also always nice to have and maybe you can do something funny with Mirror Move one time
Honorable Mentions: Mentioned briefly when I talked about Pecharunt, STAB Psychic Noise off of 130 SpA still hits pretty hard while its Heal Block effect and chance of Toxic Chain activating let it bully recovery-reliant switch-ins. Fake Out is also great for spreading poison Dracozolt's bulk is deceptively huge thanks to its Assault Vest and ability to shut down physical attackers with repeated Breaking Swipes that you can power up with Tera Dragon Swords Dance + Sacred Sword + Mythical stats giving it decent bulk make Keldeo a pretty great cleaner, even with Aqua Jet and Aerial Ace being very weak No I'm not joking. In a metagame with a pretty low power level, Mightyena's strategy of fishing for toxic poison with Poison Fang and then spamming Protect genuinely works wonders, with Leftovers, Intimidate, and a great defensive Tera in Poison making up for its meh bulk. Maybe not a top tier mon, but it's way better here than what its usual competitive history would tell you I'll talk about it more in the next section but Munna genuinely is a great option here, not just among other LCs, as one of the best support options in the metagame You'll find yourself usually bringing this just because of its stats alone, but its moveset is pretty mid, pretty honest mon here I'm definitely willing to believe that I just consistently misplayed around this mon in playtesting, but from that playtesting, this mon is a shockingly effective wincon, it can really snowball hard if it gets the chance to Stockpile up. Also, Tera Normal Spit Up being the strongest move in the game at 3 Stockpiles These mons are pretty similar, both being strong and fast physical attackers with good STABs and a Focus Sash, and a nasty surprise in Counter. Almost guaranteed to put in some kind of work Would be an insane mon if it didn't die in two seconds considering how it's allowed to have a move as strong as Land's Wrath. Also, unlike its currently unreleased 50% form or all the other unreleased box legends, Zygarde-10 still has EVs. Click Lumina Crash. Dark-type in the way? Either click (Tera Bug) U-Turn or use Trick to give them your Ring Target and then click Lumina Crash Assault Vest, good bulk, 4 pretty good moves. That's a good Pokemon, simple as that Do NOT hit an Armarouge or Skarmory with a physical attack, worst mistake of my life
Like I said earlier, fully evolved Pokemon generally tend to be the best options, as even with all the balancing factors in place, good stats still taken you far. However, because of those balancing factors, there are a number of unevolved Pokemon that can not only hang with the Pokemon that possess much better stats, but even thrive in such conditions.
Corphish @ Mystic Water
Ability: Adaptability
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Chip Away
Both of these LC Water-types doing basically the same thing. They click their setup move and then deal absolutely nuclear damage with their ability-boosted STABs. Do not let their low stats fool you, these two can 2HKO a good portion of the metagame even unboosted, so you can only imagine how crazy they can get if they actually manage to setup, especially Totodile since Dragon Dance helps it offset its low Speed.
Dratini @ Eviolite
Ability: Shed Skin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
- Aqua Tail
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- Rest
Take what I said about Totodile and swap the superpowered STABs with enough bulk to actually get multiple boosts. You'll notice that a lot of the best unevolved mons use Eviolite, as the item is even better at patching up the frailty of these Pokemon when evolved Pokemon also have worse IVs, making their attacks even weaker. Thus, it's not that hard for Dratini to net 2 or even 3 Dragon Dances, giving it the power it needs to deal real damage with Outrage or Tera Water Aqua Tail.
Munna @ Eviolite
Ability: Synchronize
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Moonlight
- Thunder Wave
I already mentioned it in the Best Pokemon in General section, so naturally Munna is one of the best LCs here, too. Munna is an extremely simple to understand wall, with 2 decent offensive moves, recovery, and utility in Thunder Wave, all good but nothing spectacular. But, considering how Pokemon with higher stats have worse IVs and thus don't hit as hard, Knock Off's rarity, a perfect defensive Tera that makes Moonblast hit pretty hard, and Munna having some of the best bulk out of anything with Eviolite and you'll quickly see how Munna ends up being such a good support mon, stopping sweepers in their tracks with Thunder Wave and being able to stand up some of the scariest mons in the metagame better than a lot of fully evolved mons can.
Sneasel @ Black Glasses
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
- Punishment
- Beat Up
- Icicle Crash
- Surf
Sneasel-Hisui @ Big Nugget
Ability: Keen Eye
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
- Bulk Up
- Low Kick
- Poison Jab
- Fling
Because of the rules of how I handed out IV nerfs, the Sneasels get to have their best possible stats while having good enough stats to pass as at least a middle evolution. Thus, the Sneasels get to have pretty powerful movesets while hilariously having mostly higher stats than Weavile, who's already one of the better Pokemon in the metagame. Sneasler is hilariously the worst of the four Pokemon in the Sneasel line but if you know me then that actually pretty on brand.
Shelmet @ Eviolite
Ability: Shell Armor
Level: 50
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
- Skitter Smack
- Body Slam
- Curse
- Recover
Shelmet serves as a very funny wincon with Curse, being able to stonewall any physical attacker after a couple boosts and abuse special attackers that try to break through it with Skitter Smack drops, being able to do it with impunity thanks to Shell Armor. Can be genuinely hard to deal with against the right teams, though it's very weak to status since it lacks Rest
Trapinch @ Life Orb
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 50
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
- First Impression
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Gust
Trapinch sports Arena Trap, the only trapping ability in the metagame, making it an insane revenge killer, sniping anything in First Impression range with ease. Its terrible bulk and Speed means that it can't come in on anything other than a predicted Electric move, so you have to pick your spots carefully, but as long as you play smart, little Trapinch can be downright oppressive.... unless they Tera out of their weakness, but forcing Tera is a plus in its own right. Ban Diglett, Ban Dugtrio, and Unban Arena Trap in Gen 9 OU, pretty please
Oddish @ Eviolite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Moonblast
- Stun Spore
Probably the most surprising thing here, but Eviolite is just a REALLY good item. With its great Eviolite bulk, Oddish makes more a surprisingly hard hitting tank, dealing good damage with Sludge Bombs and Leaf Storms, while also being able to annoy faster threats with Stun Spore much like Munna's Thunder Wave. Does get worn down very fast due to its low Speed and lack of any recovery, though
Flittle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Hypnosis
- Stored Power
- Tera Blast
The fact that I put this set into my metagame probably makes me a bad person. This mon is all or nothing, either you hit that Hypnosis, get 2 or 3 Sleep turns to let you get 1 or 2 Calm Minds, and then win the game, or you miss or don't get enough boosts to OHKO everything with Stored Power and just die. Focus Sash and Tera Fighting give it a little bit of a safety net, but yeah, pick this mon if you want to gamble or just really miss OU Espathra
Mienfoo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
- Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Poison Jab
I'm talking about good LCs and Mienfoo is in this metagame, of course it's one of the best. So much so that I had to un-optimize it by giving it Jump Kick and Assault Vest over Close Combat and Eviolite, it simply didn't need the help.
Sizzlipede @ Eviolite
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
- Fire Lash
- Coil
- Power Whip
- Leech Life
I love Fire Lash!!! Can become a very scary wincon thanks to its amazing Steel Tera giving it a crazy defensive profile with Flash Fire, Coil and Eviolite bulk to help it last, Leech Life for recovery, Power Whip for Waters, and Fire Lash to let it eventually break through anything
Porygon @ Life Orb
Ability: Download
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 85 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
- Teleport
- Tera Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
There are a couple Offensive Trick Room sweepers, but Porygon very clearly does it the best. If you get a SpA boost from Download and get a Trick Room off, the game could actually be over, especially in 3v3. Tera Blast and Shadow Ball give great coverage, especially with the option to change your offensive and defensive profile with Tera Fairy, and Porygon's bulk is decent enough without Eviolite to get Trick Room up somewhat safely
NFEs
There aren't as many good NFEs, and really the NFEs being good is a bit less impressive, so these will be brief All of the starter midevos are extremely mid, even my beloved Combusken, but at least it can sometimes get a sweep with Hone Claws and Speed Boost Choice Band Tera Normal Extreme Speed my beloved. Very solid revenge killer. Considering how good Eviolite is on babies like Oddish and Munna, you can imagine how good a pseudo-legendary midevo with Eviolite can be, not even considering its pretty good moveset Fast, hits decently hard with Phantom Force and Dragon Rush, keeps up momentum with U-Turn, and the everlasting threat of Cursed Body screwing over your opponent all make sure that Drakloak keeps the trend of pseudo-legend prevos being good Overheat off of a decent Special Attack stat actually hits like a truck, especially Tera Stellar boosted, and you can Power Swap the drops from Overheat and Stellar Tera Blast to cripple something if you want This mon isn't actually good at all but please tell me someone gets the reference This set was designed around Head Smash before I realized that only Aegislash gets Head Smash in this line, but Choice Band Iron Head, Shadow Sneak, and Tera Rock Rock Slide are all still super strong Truthfully pretty mid but I severely underestimated how strong this thing is with Guts active, Facade just 2HKOs so many things, even OHKOs some of the fully evolved mons, it's crazy
And that's all! Stadium YB is meant to be something that's very easy to pick up and play and have fun with, so I really hope that you give it a shot!