counter play is primarina and corv
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AAA Almost Any Ability
- Thread starter LordBox
- Start date
+1 252 Atk Adaptability Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Primarina: 169-199 (46.4 - 54.6%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO
+1 252 Atk Adaptability Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 182-216 (45.6 - 54.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Say it again?
Ig max defence regen Prim can handle it, lemme grab it and put it on all my teams so I don’t instantly lose to this guy…
Oh nvm it loses to SD serene grace
Chien Pao is definitely difficult to answer, i rate it scarier than others seem to as well
Checks: Regenerator
: 
(especially with physdef ev's), some variants of 
*
Some sturdier checks would be: Intimidate +
/
, 
<- run physdef body press
Offensive checks:
Additionally if it is choice banded you can mitigate it with stealth rocks + a solid ice resist like any of the waters/steel above,
, etc.
Technicially 
but this mon hasnt been good since like 2023
Serene Grace is scary but is generally not good with its inconsistency + power issues (you HAVE to SD + flinch to make up for the gap) ; getting flinched on your regenerator mon isnt the most end of the world and most teams will have a faster mon to revenge it (but may potentially lose to its priority).
Beware CHIEN MAO
Checks: Regenerator
: (especially with physdef ev's), some variants of *Some sturdier checks would be: Intimidate +
/ , <- run physdef body pressOffensive checks:
Additionally if it is choice banded you can mitigate it with stealth rocks + a solid ice resist like any of the waters/steel above,
, etc. but this mon hasnt been good since like 2023Serene Grace is scary but is generally not good with its inconsistency + power issues (you HAVE to SD + flinch to make up for the gap) ; getting flinched on your regenerator mon isnt the most end of the world and most teams will have a faster mon to revenge it (but may potentially lose to its priority).
Beware CHIEN MAO
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Alright, that’s way more helpful than just “sKiLL iSsUe” that’s often thrown at such argumentsChien Pao is definitely difficult to answer, i rate it scarier than others seem to as well
Checks: Regenerator
Some sturdier checks would be: Intimidate +
Offensive checks:
Additionally if it is choice banded you can mitigate it with stealth rocks + a solid ice resist like any of the waters/steel above,
Technicially
Serene Grace is scary but is generally not good with its inconsistency + power issues (you HAVE to SD + flinch to make up for the gap) ; getting flinched on your regenerator mon isnt the most end of the world and most teams will have a faster mon to revenge it (but may potentially lose to its priority).
Beware CHIEN MAO
Thanks!
Btw I made this SFLO Chien Pao team, I don’t think it’s that good but it worked!
Chien-Pao @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Crunch
- Swords Dance
- Ice Shard
Cacturne @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Destiny Bond
- Knock Off
- Endeavor
Veluza @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Final Gambit
Pecharunt @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Earth Eater
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Malignant Chain
- Shadow Ball
- Parting Shot
- Recover
Iron Treads @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Well-Baked Body
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Hadron Engine
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Luster Purge
- Thunderbolt
- Trick
Been almost 5 days since I posted this, and I’m still convinced that stupid leopard is broken, maybe I think this way bcz I almost never play anything other than HO and Chien Pao rips HO to shreds, but idk man, I have no convincing power
If everyone thinks it’s fine then it’s probably fine
i think pao's kind of polarizing because it tears a new one into any team that isn't very prepared for it, but its definitely something that can be countered. intim corv, regen prim, zama, regen hands, etc. there's definitely ways to beat it, its just if you don't have those you kinda get 6-0'd
I agree with all these checks, but Iron Hands is definitely a fraud,
252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Iron Hands: 244-288 (47.6 - 56.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
It literally has to run max defence to even be a switch in, and even then it can get flinch haxed or bowled over by SD sets
the way to deal with pao depends of the set, which is one of it's issues (I find the mon really really strong and underrated, mainly bc it's hard to build around it) :
- if it's boots SD, it lacks raw power, doesn't threaten too much OHKO's, and even at +2 most regen mons can handle a hit (hands, manaphy, primarina) and a few other things (zama is faster and you can play the 50/50 between SD and Crash right away, intim corv, full hp scream tail..)
- if banded, you want to check its move with your regen mon and then have a secondary dark / ice check (depending on the regen mon). It's ok to take 50-60% with your manaphy / hands if you can regen it if you're able to keep rocks up (so you want to run like Hands + Heatran, Manaphy + Zamazenta or fluffy corv, stuff like that)
though at any time SD can win if it flinches you and that's probably the most frustrating thing about Pao lol it always has 30% of beating you even if you played perfectly (Serene Grace is not so good bc you just dont do damage to ice resists, bug obviously if you roll bad rng it is what it is just run covert cloak intim corv lol)
also the strongest set considering what I said is imo SD LO Adamant, it has absurd rolls on would be checks-soft checks though its the hardest to build around because you really need to have rocks off and to be able to weaken a bit opposite corv / mana but if you're able to you basically smoke everything (+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Iron Hands: 468-551 (91.5 - 107.8%) -- 50% chance to OHKO, +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Manaphy: 339-399 (83.9 - 98.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Primarina: 320-376 (87.9 - 103.2%) -- 25% chance to OHKO, +1 252+ Atk Life Orb Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 261-308 (65.4 - 77.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery, +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Chien-Pao Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zamazenta: 156-185 (48 - 56.9%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO)
anyway ban deo-s this is a real stupid mon how is it even legal "ah rip it has the right set and I can't revenge kill it too bad!" we banned Genesect for less than that (free my boy)
- if it's boots SD, it lacks raw power, doesn't threaten too much OHKO's, and even at +2 most regen mons can handle a hit (hands, manaphy, primarina) and a few other things (zama is faster and you can play the 50/50 between SD and Crash right away, intim corv, full hp scream tail..)
- if banded, you want to check its move with your regen mon and then have a secondary dark / ice check (depending on the regen mon). It's ok to take 50-60% with your manaphy / hands if you can regen it if you're able to keep rocks up (so you want to run like Hands + Heatran, Manaphy + Zamazenta or fluffy corv, stuff like that)
though at any time SD can win if it flinches you and that's probably the most frustrating thing about Pao lol it always has 30% of beating you even if you played perfectly (Serene Grace is not so good bc you just dont do damage to ice resists, bug obviously if you roll bad rng it is what it is just run covert cloak intim corv lol)
also the strongest set considering what I said is imo SD LO Adamant, it has absurd rolls on would be checks-soft checks though its the hardest to build around because you really need to have rocks off and to be able to weaken a bit opposite corv / mana but if you're able to you basically smoke everything (+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Iron Hands: 468-551 (91.5 - 107.8%) -- 50% chance to OHKO, +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Manaphy: 339-399 (83.9 - 98.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Primarina: 320-376 (87.9 - 103.2%) -- 25% chance to OHKO, +1 252+ Atk Life Orb Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 261-308 (65.4 - 77.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery, +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Chien-Pao Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zamazenta: 156-185 (48 - 56.9%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO)
anyway ban deo-s this is a real stupid mon how is it even legal "ah rip it has the right set and I can't revenge kill it too bad!" we banned Genesect for less than that (free my boy)
i really like hoopa so I'm gonna make a essay about it here
I think hoopa is extremely overlooked in AAA, the only recognized set (and thats barely even recognized) it has for AAA is a prankster destiny bond set thats outdone by Pecharunt and even Gardevoir. And thats just disappointing. Its good to see sflo (Sheer force + life orb) sets growing in popularity after i used it as well as popular youtuber Draco Lord but theres still immense potential being ignored just because hoopa is a lesser hoopa-unbound.
Out of all the Pokemon in AAA it has the highest special attack. It also has spammable ghost stab and fighting type coverage. Roaring Moon is its main Enemy, but it's far from impossible to beat with hoopa on its own. the fact that hoopa has fighting coverage on both the physical side and the special side helps a lot. Focus punch + substitute is a possible option on hoopa, you could substitute on the obvious switch to moon and then click focus punch(or don't run substitute and click raw focus punch on the switch). Either way after focus punch no matter your nature or evs roaring moon can no longer switch into any move that isn't psychic type. Focus punch also hits Goodra on the switch for huge damage as well, putting it in shadow ball range as well. Most of the mons that usually switch into hoopa get hit stupid by focus punch.
0 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Focus Punch (150 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Roaring Moon: 403-476 (114.8 - 135.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Focus Punch (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Goodra-Hisui: 304-359 (83.5 - 98.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Focus Punch (150 BP) vs. 60 HP / 0 Def Kingambit: 520-614 (146 - 172.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Hoopa isn't a pokemon where you have to put a lot of effort into supporting it and then get very little in return, it's very strong if built around and used correctly. At times its a win condition on its own with a Sflo set paired with self trick room, running over whats left of any team it runs into after it comes in on a special attacker. Sflo isn't the only set (though its probably the most well known), theres also psy terrain sets (psysurge as the ability or psyterrain from a teammate). Sflo hits very hard, but specs expanding force hits even harder (stupidly hard). It has no switch-ins, none that aren't dark type.
Hoopa-base is probaby the strongest wall breaker in AAA as of now, anything it doesnt power through with just expanding force it powers through with focus blast/punch, even with no ability it still does stupid amounts of damage with specs, and that opens alot of oppurtunitys for speed boosting abilities like Chlrorophyll.
Past the wallbreaker sets theres also utility sets, although weak and offering little reward. Prankster dbond sets were the first ones discovered but they werent even used to their full potential, showdown usage set runs psyshock, shadow ball, focus blast, and dbond, despite the fact that hoopa has access to dual screens, thunder wave, and taunt for when its not clicking destiny bond.
Finally theres one more type of set that hoopa could run (its not the last set though). And that type of set is bulky offensive. Hoopa has pretty bad physical defense and every single pokemon at or above A+ in the viability rankings can hit it for super effective damage so these sets are probably the worst of all of them, doesnt mean theyre horrible tho. Assualt vest hoopa tanks most special attacks thrown at it, while getting consistest, decent damage on anything it happens to be able to sit infront of, focus punch is an option on almost any set due to only needing to use a single move slot for it to be effective. Hadron engine can make up for the lack of special attack boosting items or moves, and wish support makes up for the lack of recovery.
In summary hoopa is very stupid (in a good way), turns stall into free elo, and you cant tell what set it is until it starts doing its thing.
The Super Shiest Shoopa Sets These are all the sets i could muster up that do something unique, some are definitely better than others
I think hoopa is extremely overlooked in AAA, the only recognized set (and thats barely even recognized) it has for AAA is a prankster destiny bond set thats outdone by Pecharunt and even Gardevoir. And thats just disappointing. Its good to see sflo (Sheer force + life orb) sets growing in popularity after i used it as well as popular youtuber Draco Lord but theres still immense potential being ignored just because hoopa is a lesser hoopa-unbound.
Out of all the Pokemon in AAA it has the highest special attack. It also has spammable ghost stab and fighting type coverage. Roaring Moon is its main Enemy, but it's far from impossible to beat with hoopa on its own. the fact that hoopa has fighting coverage on both the physical side and the special side helps a lot. Focus punch + substitute is a possible option on hoopa, you could substitute on the obvious switch to moon and then click focus punch
0 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Focus Punch (150 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Roaring Moon: 403-476 (114.8 - 135.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Focus Punch (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Goodra-Hisui: 304-359 (83.5 - 98.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Focus Punch (150 BP) vs. 60 HP / 0 Def Kingambit: 520-614 (146 - 172.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Hoopa isn't a pokemon where you have to put a lot of effort into supporting it and then get very little in return, it's very strong if built around and used correctly. At times its a win condition on its own with a Sflo set paired with self trick room, running over whats left of any team it runs into after it comes in on a special attacker. Sflo isn't the only set (though its probably the most well known), theres also psy terrain sets (psysurge as the ability or psyterrain from a teammate). Sflo hits very hard, but specs expanding force hits even harder (stupidly hard). It has no switch-ins, none that aren't dark type.
- 252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Hoopa Expanding Force (156 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gholdengo in Psychic Terrain: 502-592 (159.3 - 187.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Hoopa Expanding Force (156 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Goodra-Hisui in Psychic Terrain: 168-198 (46.1 - 54.3%) -- 59% chance to 2HKO
- 252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Hoopa Expanding Force (156 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios in Psychic Terrain: 426-504 (141.5 - 167.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ SpA Choice Specs Hoopa Expanding Force (156 BP) vs. 4 HP / 252+ SpD Blissey in Psychic Terrain: 271-321 (41.5 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Hoopa-base is probaby the strongest wall breaker in AAA as of now, anything it doesnt power through with just expanding force it powers through with focus blast/punch, even with no ability it still does stupid amounts of damage with specs, and that opens alot of oppurtunitys for speed boosting abilities like Chlrorophyll.
Past the wallbreaker sets theres also utility sets, although weak and offering little reward. Prankster dbond sets were the first ones discovered but they werent even used to their full potential, showdown usage set runs psyshock, shadow ball, focus blast, and dbond, despite the fact that hoopa has access to dual screens, thunder wave, and taunt for when its not clicking destiny bond.
Finally theres one more type of set that hoopa could run (its not the last set though). And that type of set is bulky offensive. Hoopa has pretty bad physical defense and every single pokemon at or above A+ in the viability rankings can hit it for super effective damage so these sets are probably the worst of all of them, doesnt mean theyre horrible tho. Assualt vest hoopa tanks most special attacks thrown at it, while getting consistest, decent damage on anything it happens to be able to sit infront of, focus punch is an option on almost any set due to only needing to use a single move slot for it to be effective. Hadron engine can make up for the lack of special attack boosting items or moves, and wish support makes up for the lack of recovery.
In summary hoopa is very stupid (in a good way), turns stall into free elo, and you cant tell what set it is until it starts doing its thing.
The Super Shiest Shoopa Sets These are all the sets i could muster up that do something unique, some are definitely better than others
DRACO LORD???
I personally think Hoopa is overlooked bcz of the Roaring Moon factor, the fact that mon’s on half the teams makes it life really difficult
Also the fact that all 3 common RegenVest mons run Knock off too is not making things better
oh hey draco lol
hopefully the focus punch tech should help beat moon but i haven't been able to actually test it yet, regen vest mons with knock are a big problem for sets that aren't expanding force, you'd want teammates that could come in and beat those safely. Maybe water absorb tusk? Threatens goodra out, walls manaphy, and ohkos moon unless they were bluffing regen and it was actually fluffy moon. Primarina isn't a problem for hoopa so great tusk doesnt have to worry about that. Rocky helmet also punishes moon for clicking uturn or knock.
Edit: after a few games ive also realized hoopa is very bad into teams with large amounts of physical attackers/little special attackers. Against teams like those hoopa doesnt get many oppurtunitys to come in and fire off super strong psychic attacks, and it does pretty bad overall. The best way to "get around" this is by having teammates that are good into physical attackers, pokemon like zamazenta, fluffy tusk, pech, they all help beat the physical attackers that hoopa hates so much
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I’ve been loving running surge surfer on it. No one is prepared for a fast hoopa. Super underrated mon
ok scrap that hoopa is bad into teams with lots of physical attackers and it needs defensive teammates, just slap that stuff on ho hazard stack and watch it go ham
Edit: this thing is a wild card first it was good on ho now its good on bulky hazard stack what the hec
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I might have an issue on my end, but I think this is linked to the Deo-S HO team. If I'm wrong or somebody's already pointed this out, pretend this never happened as I die of embarrassment.
Teams and thoughts post as usual, you know the vibes. I don't wanna do a week by week review of my ompl run with deep prep explanation bc I think it's boring for most people so let's go straight to the point. The teams are in no particular order.
Some teams
Probably the team I used which is most representative of the meta : Prima Moltres bulky offense with Deo-S for speed control. The Deo-S + Iron Crown offensive core is generally good but it does struggle against VA Corv. The team generally has tools for every matchup but screens/webs cheese can be hard (as seen in my game where I couldn't stop Mana from going +6 and getting the 44% roll on Crown).
Double lead Webs + hazards HO. My game with Glory where I used it was fun and complicated. Deo-S is Flame Body because figuring out a good ability for what it wants to do is anything but easy. The team could also be called "hope they don't have Scrappy Tusk", with double Ghost for enforcing hazards. Don't need to deter Defog as much because Corv lets you setup very easily.
A remake of the Goodra-H team I used on week 4. Goodra-H is an interesting mon bc it always tends to be somewhat niche but can look incredibly strong in some matchups. It's especially effective against HO (I recommend using it on ladder, free elo). MG Mandi is another cool mon that provides good Knock absorbing and good longevity to the team; and that helps deal with cheese on the physical side with Foul Play and Toxic. The team has hard matchups like MGLO Rmoon and opposing Sandy Shocks. I'm pretty sure a more optimal defensive core can be found here.
Surge Surfer Sinistcha BO. I went a bit more defensive than my last Electric Terrain team here with RegenVest Manaphy and I think the result is pretty good. Surfer Sinistcha is a threat and hits surprisingly hard. Prankster Tinkaton is key here for anti-cheese and regain/keep momentum in certain situations where another ability would just let in a breaker for free, you can just click TWave and be fine.
Not much to say about this one, if you wanna try Soul Dew Latios help yourself. Scarf on Latios obviously works too (maybe with Band Zama then).
We may have lost Ceruledge, but we have his little brother which basically does the same thing (as Band Ceru) (thank Siamato). Scarf Latios is the most logical partner ever. The speed tier is very nice and the priority too ; I actually think it's one of the best choice breakers rn. Bring back the Eject Buttons my friends !
Bonus
Boring
Teams (this one is kind of swag)
Some thoughts
In my opinion Deo-S is kind of dumb and should potentially go. It has such strong coverage, versatility, and is so hard to revenge kill that playing against it tends to be a random roulette of hoping he's SFLO but if he's Protean you lose. Potentially is a key word because it also keeps Zamazenta in check - another borderline mon - and isn't strong enough to get easy matchup sweeps. It usually needs to be positioned well to sweep, as it fails to ohko a lot of stuff that you could expect it to ohko like Moltres (hein Osake ), Stail, Ghold, etc.
In the past few weeks some new mons have found a place/niche in the meta, which is nice to see because the general sentiment was that the meta was getting very restricted. It's obviously not ideal in terms of diversity, but I think it's shown to be in a decent place this OMPL.
Moltres and Primarina are the most obvious winners of the latest meta shifts imo - Moltres partly in response to Primarina. They're just solid and provide extreme defensive role compression. Prima checking Pao, providing a Draco Meteor immunity, and being a slower pivot than Manaphy are particularly notable assets. Prima's prevalence might be the main reason why IDBP Zama isn't as broken as it could be (more so than Pecharunt's existence, because Pecha is easier to deal with for Zama). Specially defensive Moltres is an amazing pivot that also has key defensive assets like checking Gholdendo, Iron Moth, Deo-S (kind of) and opposing Moltres, and preventing opposing Primarina Flip Turn. The very strong Fire stab makes it very proactive.
It seems Band Zama is way less popular now and left its place to Boots SoR / MGLO which are both more versatile and less prediction reliant. Howl wasn't used as much as I thought it would be but it's definitely a tech to be aware of. IDBP isn't horrible but I feel like with so much Prima and Intim Pecha and Colbur Ghold around it's usually not worth it.
Pecha is still central but Prankster is a bit deprecated in favor of Intim and immunity abilities.
See what I said earlier.
Probably forgot some stuff but I need sleep. Special shoutouts to Glory (love your style) Kinetic ghostlike (ig) pyu DeepFriedMagikarp LordBox for developing the meta so much. Isaiah come back you have some cooking to do. Take care
Some teams
Probably the team I used which is most representative of the meta : Prima Moltres bulky offense with Deo-S for speed control. The Deo-S + Iron Crown offensive core is generally good but it does struggle against VA Corv. The team generally has tools for every matchup but screens/webs cheese can be hard (as seen in my game where I couldn't stop Mana from going +6 and getting the 44% roll on Crown).
Double lead Webs + hazards HO. My game with Glory where I used it was fun and complicated. Deo-S is Flame Body because figuring out a good ability for what it wants to do is anything but easy. The team could also be called "hope they don't have Scrappy Tusk", with double Ghost for enforcing hazards. Don't need to deter Defog as much because Corv lets you setup very easily.
A remake of the Goodra-H team I used on week 4. Goodra-H is an interesting mon bc it always tends to be somewhat niche but can look incredibly strong in some matchups. It's especially effective against HO (I recommend using it on ladder, free elo). MG Mandi is another cool mon that provides good Knock absorbing and good longevity to the team; and that helps deal with cheese on the physical side with Foul Play and Toxic. The team has hard matchups like MGLO Rmoon and opposing Sandy Shocks. I'm pretty sure a more optimal defensive core can be found here.
Surge Surfer Sinistcha BO. I went a bit more defensive than my last Electric Terrain team here with RegenVest Manaphy and I think the result is pretty good. Surfer Sinistcha is a threat and hits surprisingly hard. Prankster Tinkaton is key here for anti-cheese and regain/keep momentum in certain situations where another ability would just let in a breaker for free, you can just click TWave and be fine.
Not much to say about this one, if you wanna try Soul Dew Latios help yourself. Scarf on Latios obviously works too (maybe with Band Zama then).
We may have lost Ceruledge, but we have his little brother which basically does the same thing (as Band Ceru) (thank Siamato). Scarf Latios is the most logical partner ever. The speed tier is very nice and the priority too ; I actually think it's one of the best choice breakers rn. Bring back the Eject Buttons my friends !
Bonus
Boring
Teams (this one is kind of swag)
Some thoughts
In my opinion Deo-S is kind of dumb and should potentially go. It has such strong coverage, versatility, and is so hard to revenge kill that playing against it tends to be a random roulette of hoping he's SFLO but if he's Protean you lose. Potentially is a key word because it also keeps Zamazenta in check - another borderline mon - and isn't strong enough to get easy matchup sweeps. It usually needs to be positioned well to sweep, as it fails to ohko a lot of stuff that you could expect it to ohko like Moltres (hein Osake ), Stail, Ghold, etc. In the past few weeks some new mons have found a place/niche in the meta, which is nice to see because the general sentiment was that the meta was getting very restricted. It's obviously not ideal in terms of diversity, but I think it's shown to be in a decent place this OMPL. Moltres and Primarina are the most obvious winners of the latest meta shifts imo - Moltres partly in response to Primarina. They're just solid and provide extreme defensive role compression. Prima checking Pao, providing a Draco Meteor immunity, and being a slower pivot than Manaphy are particularly notable assets. Prima's prevalence might be the main reason why IDBP Zama isn't as broken as it could be (more so than Pecharunt's existence, because Pecha is easier to deal with for Zama). Specially defensive Moltres is an amazing pivot that also has key defensive assets like checking Gholdendo, Iron Moth, Deo-S (kind of) and opposing Moltres, and preventing opposing Primarina Flip Turn. The very strong Fire stab makes it very proactive. It seems Band Zama is way less popular now and left its place to Boots SoR / MGLO which are both more versatile and less prediction reliant. Howl wasn't used as much as I thought it would be but it's definitely a tech to be aware of. IDBP isn't horrible but I feel like with so much Prima and Intim Pecha and Colbur Ghold around it's usually not worth it. Pecha is still central but Prankster is a bit deprecated in favor of Intim and immunity abilities. See what I said earlier.Probably forgot some stuff but I need sleep. Special shoutouts to Glory (love your style) Kinetic ghostlike (ig) pyu DeepFriedMagikarp LordBox for developing the meta so much. Isaiah come back you have some cooking to do. Take care
Hello friends, I plan on hosting AAAPL III this year, taking over for the late, great Isaiah.
To help make the format as great as possible, I have a form of what formats people want to include, please fill it out if you’re interested in playing or managing!
https://www.smogon.com/forums/form/aaapl-interest-form.90/select
To help make the format as great as possible, I have a form of what formats people want to include, please fill it out if you’re interested in playing or managing!
https://www.smogon.com/forums/form/aaapl-interest-form.90/select
Form is closed, there’s a pretty clear pattern. The tentative* lineup for AAAPL III is:
SV1
SV2
SV3
Ubers
UU
NatDex
Doubles
SS
*Tentative based on number of signups; I’m optimistic we can field six teams / eight slots (which was the community’s preference as well), but if sign ups are low we’ll pick which metas to include based on real signups. In the event we have to drop slots, anyone that signed up for a dropped slot will have the option to remove their sign up before auction.
GET EXCITED FOR AAAPL Y’ALL
made it to top 10 on the ladder! highest i've been on any ladder, happy i made it here and i wanted to talk about the team i useed for it.
Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Primordial Sea
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Weather Ball
- Earth Power
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Bomb
i really like volcanion as a breaker. water absorb and bulletproof aren't too common right now so most teams rely on desoland as their water immunity. volcanion takes advantage of this by 2hkoing most desoland mons, namely:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Moltres in Harsh Sunshine: 229-270 (59.6 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Cinderace in Harsh Sunshine: 255-300 (84.7 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Iron Moth in Harsh Sunshine: 186-219 (61.7 - 72.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 252 HP / 196+ SpD Heatran in Harsh Sunshine: 294-346 (76.1 - 89.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
the only things in the tier that can take more than one is either random bulletproofs/water absorbs, most of which will drop to one or two blasts/eps, wellspring, which can only really enter twice, especially if rocks are up (also why i opted for sludge bomb but realistically that move never gets clicked), hoodra, which is definitely annoying but takes ~60 from blast and can be taken out pretty easily if it ever gets knocked, or manaphy, which i really didn't see too much on ladder and *also* is 2hkod by weather ball if it isn't spdef and gets knocked. it feels really good imo, i think i did it justice and i'd love to see what other people can build with it.
Scream Tail @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Psychic Noise
- Wish
- Protect
one of my favorite mons in the format. wish passing helps volcanion come in more often and click its buttons better, its typing lets it help a lot against band zama, and psychic noise helps it handle sheer force iron moth and make sure its chip sticks against targets like corviknight
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Body Press
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn
corv's a mon i've always been averse to using. playing the ability mind game with it on low ladder sucks and i still kind of hate fighting it but on high ladder its way more likely to be fluffy or intimidate so i've made my peace with it. intimidate is here to help check chien-pao while also allowing it to stomach zamazenta. corv's also a great enabler of volcanion, with u-turn being obviously useful to get it in and defog helping with the rocks weakness. i opted for body press to help into pao and moon but brave bird would probably also work.
Tinkaton (F) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Well-Baked Body
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 248 HP / 108 Def / 152 SpD
Careful Nature
- Gigaton Hammer
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Encore
tink has been a very good mon for me thus far. rocks and knock are great for progress, encore helps ensure it isn't passive, and gigaton is the obligatory fourth move. well-baked body improves the matchup spread against most fires, namely sheer force moth, and air balloon is nice against roaring moon earthquake and the like
Swampert @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Flip Turn
- Stone Edge
catch all solution to most special attackers. clicks knock off (especially valuable into other regenvesters), clicks flip turn, clicks eq, maybe a stone edge if moltres shows up. its here to regen pivot and thats about it (also helps a ton into zapdos)
Roaring Moon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Outrage
standard scarf moon. nice speed control, clicks knock, clicks u-turn, clicks outrage, it's roaring moon, not much to say.
if anyone has any feedback i'd love to hear it, but for now i'm happy with this as is and wanted to share my achievement
Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Primordial Sea
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Weather Ball
- Earth Power
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Bomb
i really like volcanion as a breaker. water absorb and bulletproof aren't too common right now so most teams rely on desoland as their water immunity. volcanion takes advantage of this by 2hkoing most desoland mons, namely:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Moltres in Harsh Sunshine: 229-270 (59.6 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Cinderace in Harsh Sunshine: 255-300 (84.7 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Iron Moth in Harsh Sunshine: 186-219 (61.7 - 72.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 252 HP / 196+ SpD Heatran in Harsh Sunshine: 294-346 (76.1 - 89.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
the only things in the tier that can take more than one is either random bulletproofs/water absorbs, most of which will drop to one or two blasts/eps, wellspring, which can only really enter twice, especially if rocks are up (also why i opted for sludge bomb but realistically that move never gets clicked), hoodra, which is definitely annoying but takes ~60 from blast and can be taken out pretty easily if it ever gets knocked, or manaphy, which i really didn't see too much on ladder and *also* is 2hkod by weather ball if it isn't spdef and gets knocked. it feels really good imo, i think i did it justice and i'd love to see what other people can build with it.
Scream Tail @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Psychic Noise
- Wish
- Protect
one of my favorite mons in the format. wish passing helps volcanion come in more often and click its buttons better, its typing lets it help a lot against band zama, and psychic noise helps it handle sheer force iron moth and make sure its chip sticks against targets like corviknight
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Body Press
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn
corv's a mon i've always been averse to using. playing the ability mind game with it on low ladder sucks and i still kind of hate fighting it but on high ladder its way more likely to be fluffy or intimidate so i've made my peace with it. intimidate is here to help check chien-pao while also allowing it to stomach zamazenta. corv's also a great enabler of volcanion, with u-turn being obviously useful to get it in and defog helping with the rocks weakness. i opted for body press to help into pao and moon but brave bird would probably also work.
Tinkaton (F) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Well-Baked Body
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 248 HP / 108 Def / 152 SpD
Careful Nature
- Gigaton Hammer
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Encore
tink has been a very good mon for me thus far. rocks and knock are great for progress, encore helps ensure it isn't passive, and gigaton is the obligatory fourth move. well-baked body improves the matchup spread against most fires, namely sheer force moth, and air balloon is nice against roaring moon earthquake and the like
Swampert @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Flip Turn
- Stone Edge
catch all solution to most special attackers. clicks knock off (especially valuable into other regenvesters), clicks flip turn, clicks eq, maybe a stone edge if moltres shows up. its here to regen pivot and thats about it (also helps a ton into zapdos)
Roaring Moon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Outrage
standard scarf moon. nice speed control, clicks knock, clicks u-turn, clicks outrage, it's roaring moon, not much to say.
if anyone has any feedback i'd love to hear it, but for now i'm happy with this as is and wanted to share my achievement
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>>>>> CLICK FOR POST OMPL TIERING SURVEY <<<<<
It is once again that time of the year again... With another OMPL having concluded with 2 whole AAA slots this year the council is again asking for your opinion on how the meta has been and feedback on areas we could improve from the playerbase to guide potential future tiering action!
Survey results will be collected and posted in around 3-4 days time.
It is once again that time of the year again... With another OMPL having concluded with 2 whole AAA slots this year the council is again asking for your opinion on how the meta has been and feedback on areas we could improve from the playerbase to guide potential future tiering action!
Survey results will be collected and posted in around 3-4 days time.