70 BP spin :fire:A paragraph is 5 sentences, that was a sentence and a sentence fragment.The legitimate hatred of Rapid Spin confuses me more than some randbat sets. Doubly so calling it brainless or no skill considering how much work it takes to generate a single turn for throwing out a paltry damage move for the sake of removing Hazards while also making sure the situation doesn't cost you the user at an important time or allow Spikes to simply go back up.
I think people seriously underestimate how easy it is to click Rapid Spin. If a 70 base power attack coming off of a 131 base attack stat is “paltry” just because it’s not STAB or SE then I don’t know what to tell you. Ice and Dark coverage make it nearly impossible to reliably spinblock long term because nothing that’s not an outright physical wall actually wants to
People often cite the Proboscidean Entity’s meager Special Defense when claiming that it’s easy to KO but conveniently ignore its massive HP.
252 SpA Darkrai Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Great Tusk: 336-396 (90.5 - 106.7%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
196 SpA Dragapult Hex (130 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Great Tusk: 280-331 (75.4 - 89.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after burn damage
132 SpA Iron Moth Energy Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Great Tusk: 316-374 (85.1 - 100.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Great Tusk: 326-386 (87.8 - 104%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
0 SpA Pecharunt Hex (130 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Great Tusk: 210-247 (56.6 - 66.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after toxic damage
252 SpA Gholdengo Make It Rain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Great Tusk: 331-391 (89.2 - 105.3%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
144+ SpA Slowking-Galar Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Great Tusk: 292-344 (78.7 - 92.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
And physically, well
252 Atk Sharpness Samurott-Hisui Razor Shell vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk: 254-302 (68.4 - 81.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Weavile Triple Axel (120 BP) (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk: 302-358 (81.4 - 96.4%) -- approx. 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Dragonite Ice Spinner vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk: 232-274 (62.5 - 73.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
240 Atk Choice Band Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk: 208-246 (56 - 66.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Protean Fraudscarada Triple Axel (120 BP) (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk: 278-330 (74.9 - 88.9%) -- approx. 2HKO
Great Tusk is a Pokémon that is extremely difficult to offensively pressure without supereffective STAB, at full HP and especially if it has HDB it fears next to nothing, and can easily dismantle Ghost types with its sheer power and coverage. It can easily survive a hit, spin, and KO back. All of this, mind you, is calculated with an offensive set, I'm not even mentioning the game of "Guess which Great Tusk set you're facing" a la Kyurem. This leads me to my next point...
Defensive and balanced teams are highly favored in the hazard metagame because they're the only ones that can reliably stop Rapid Spin. Pecharunt and Sinistcha are mostly consistent in spinblocking in spite of their weaknesses to Great Tusk’s coverage, Corv and Lando sponge attacks fairly well, defensive Ghold still loses to Great Tusk but is very good at annoying Defoggers, etc.
I don’t believe it should be banned, if only because the meta has progressed this far tolerating it’s existence, but it’s extremely frustrating to deal with. If I were Dictator of Smogon I would just remove the speed boosting mechanic but something something cartridge accuracy.
Also offense is by far the most common style rn. Balance and fat aren't very good right now comparatively.