Pet Mod Legends Z-A OU

[uppa]

some ability changes id make personally for balance and fun. I'm genetically predisposed to hating custom abilities since I think realistically only floette will actually have one in game, so don't expect anything crazy.

protean -> No Guard
Fully accurate gunk shot and hydro pump doesn't necessarily change its checks compared to life orb battle bond, and I think this mon being a u-turn bot as it stands isn't too fun to pilot or play against. This has been discussed in other posts but I think this fits much better lore-wise as well.

soul heart -> Aerialate
I fully believe this is what it'll get in game, and it losing a bit of attack in exchange for stab espeed seems reasonable. I can see mixed DD sets with espeed, fire blast, and earthquake becoming a bit too good at cleaning though. Just not happy with what the mon does right now, with it usually betting its entire gameplan on hurricane hitting consecutively, or otherwise going stabless, not being fun or good.

serene grace -> Magic Guard
This is the only thing it could possibly have to be even a sidegrade to normal clef. As it stands this mon is horrible, and I'd like it to have some justifiability as a mega slot on fat teams.

Luchador's Pride (?) -> Stamina
I envision a world where hawlucha can still do unburden cheese without being worse than mega hawlucha. I'd rather mega lucha be distinct and not snowball in the exact same way as its base form. Stamina lets it use its bulk instead of encouraging it to blow up.

 

[Cuddly]

protean -> No Guard
Fully accurate gunk shot and hydro pump doesn't necessarily change its checks compared to life orb battle bond, and I think this mon being a u-turn bot as it stands isn't too fun to pilot or play against. This has been discussed in other posts but I think this fits much better lore-wise as well.

Protean was given to Mega Greninja to essentially nerf it.
Giving it No Guard Blizzard, Gunk Shot, and Hydro Pump would be terrible for the Metagame.

soul heart -> Aerialate
I fully believe this is what it'll get in game, and it losing a bit of attack in exchange for stab espeed seems reasonable. I can see mixed DD sets with espeed, fire blast, and earthquake becoming a bit too good at cleaning though. Just not happy with what the mon does right now, with it usually betting its entire gameplan on hurricane hitting consecutively, or otherwise going stabless, not being fun or good.

I agree with this one. Aerilate makes more sense thematically, being Mega Dragonite's massive wings, and makes more sense from gameplay standpoint. Sure there is overlap with Mega Salamance, but Dragonite would be better even with less Atk because of Extreme Speed.
But that is also why Dragonite shouldn't get it for this metagame as it'd be the most dominant force in the meta. Imagine Mega Salamance but it got Extreme Speed.

serene grace -> Magic Guard
This is the only thing it could possibly have to be even a sidegrade to normal clef. As it stands this mon is horrible, and I'd like it to have some justifiability as a mega slot on fat teams.

Yes please do this. Mega Clefable absolutely needs Magic Guard. It's now just a Togekiss but worse since you take up a Mega slot.

Luchador's Pride (?) -> Stamina
I envision a world where hawlucha can still do unburden cheese without being worse than mega hawlucha. I'd rather mega lucha be distinct and not snowball in the exact same way as its base form. Stamina lets it use its bulk instead of encouraging it to blow up.

I also agree with this one. Mega Hawlucha flavor wise gets tougher as the batter goes on and its design is clearly bulkier. I also think that Stamina would be a better ability for Mega Hawlucha viably too. Regular Hawlucha has Unburden which is better is most scenarios. Stamina would set itself apart and combo with Roost + Body Press + better bulk.

 

[King of Komedy]

I agree with this one. Aerilate makes more sense thematically, being Mega Dragonite's massive wings, and makes more sense from gameplay standpoint. Sure there is overlap with Mega Salamance, but Dragonite would be better even with less Atk because of Extreme Speed.
But that is also why Dragonite shouldn't get it for this metagame as it'd be the most dominant force in the meta. Imagine Mega Salamance but it got Extreme Speed.

I mean doesn't mega Dragonite lose attack points? that could theoretically offset it's power, plus constant rocks, though best normal special move that Mega dragonite can use with it is tera blast

 

[Cheryl.]

Aerilate ESpeed would centralize this meta even more than it already is. All those frail offensive Megas get nuked after the inevitable hazards chip they’ll take, making DNite the clear best Mega for being able to take on the busted frail Megas and also because it just revenges most everything else and threatens sweeps with DD. Bulkier teams can sorta deal with it but even then it can still tech for mons like Skarmory pretty easily, the only real check to DD ESpeed that can go mixed would be Unaware Clef and nobody wants to have to run that everywhere. I know council isn’t gonna give Dragonite Aerilate and thank god for that but please, DO NOT give it that.

 

[King of Komedy]

Aerilate ESpeed would centralize this meta even more than it already is. All those frail offensive Megas get nuked after the inevitable hazards chip they’ll take, making DNite the clear best Mega for being able to take on the busted frail Megas and also because it just revenges most everything else and threatens sweeps with DD. Bulkier teams can sorta deal with it but even then it can still tech for mons like Skarmory pretty easily, the only real check to DD ESpeed that can go mixed would be Unaware Clef and nobody wants to have to run that everywhere. I know council isn’t gonna give Dragonite Aerilate and thank god for that but please, DO NOT give it that.

Unironically, I've been running unaware Clef for every team I made this format

 

[DuoM2]

Mega Evolution: Mega Hawlucha
New Ability: Guts
Reasoning: Definitely not the strongest thing in the world, but it's going to be tough to make this compete with base Hawlucha without going completely insane, so I thought this would at least be interesting. The threat of Guts on Mega Hawlucha would hopefully encourage people to be a bit more cautious about throwing around status moves even if the opposing Hawlucha's item hasn't been revealed yet. This would be a slight buff to even non-mega Hawlucha if the mega stone sees any use and would give a much more distinct purpose to actually run the Mega Stone that the current version doesn't have enough of.

 

[King of Komedy]

Mega Evolution: Mega Hawlucha
New Ability: Guts
Reasoning: Definitely not the strongest thing in the world, but it's going to be tough to make this compete with base Hawlucha without going completely insane, so I thought this would at least be interesting. The threat of Guts on Mega Hawlucha would hopefully encourage people to be a bit more cautious about throwing around status moves even if the opposing Hawlucha's item hasn't been revealed yet. This would be a slight buff to even non-mega Hawlucha if the mega stone sees any use and would give a much more distinct purpose to actually run the Mega Stone that the current version doesn't have enough of.

Stamina is still feeling like a better ability than Guts, sure now you can play mind games but are you really sure you want to switch Hawlucha into a Clefairy just to catch that thunder wave just to get hit with moonblast next? you might have roost sure but not everything is flinging around burns, poison isn't great, badly poison puts you on a time limit, and para makes you a sitting duck. Guts is good on other mons because no other bad status with a burn, and it doesn't matter if you're hit with knock off after. Guts on any mega Pokemon is not only a wasted mega slot but you basically don't have an ability either.

 

[Cuddly]

I mean doesn't mega Dragonite lose attack points? that could theoretically offset it's power, plus constant rocks, though best normal special move that Mega dragonite can use with it is tera blast

STAB and boosted Extreme Speed is worth it.
252+ Atk Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 98-116 (28.7 - 34%) -- 1.3% chance to 3HKO
252+ Atk Aerilate Dragonite-Mega Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 168-198 (49.2 - 58%) -- 96.9% chance to 2HKO
Tera Normal will exist in Champions, but Aerilate also hits Ghost types and can hit things super effectively like Fight or Grass. And Tera doesn’t exist in this Meta too.

 

[King of Komedy]

STAB and boosted Extreme Speed is worth it.
252+ Atk Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 98-116 (28.7 - 34%) -- 1.3% chance to 3HKO
252+ Atk Aerilate Dragonite-Mega Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 168-198 (49.2 - 58%) -- 96.9% chance to 2HKO
Tera Normal will exist in Champions, but Aerilate also hits Ghost types and can hit things super effectively like Fight or Grass. And Tera doesn’t exist in this Meta too.

That's true that's true-
Honestly they should just give Dnite Sheer force at this point.

 

[J-Sauce]

That's true that's true-
Honestly they should just give Dnite Sheer force at this point.

tru but also it gets so much coverage on both sides this would find a way to still go crazy. less so than aerialate before but i think soul heart is fine on it- doesnt seem as OP as many other megas

 

[Cuddly]

Mega Dragonite is in a weird spot.
It’s an example of a Pokemon/Mega that suffers from team budget and species clause reasons. Much like Mega Garchomp, Mega Tyranitar, and Galar Zapdos, which if they were standalone Pokemon would be pretty good, suffer because they take up their respective species and a Mega slot (besides Gapdos).
Excluding Aerilate or OP abilities, Mega Dragonite suffers because regular Dragonite is already really good. As standalone Pokemon, regular Dragonite is a 85 out of a 100 and Mega Dragonite would be 90 out of 100. And if you’re making a team, and want to use Greninja (80 regular and 95 Mega), it would be more effecient to run Dragonite with Mega Greninja. And this doesn’t even include Tera or Boots, the latter of which Dragonite gets here too, which bump it past Mega Dragonite in score.

With that said, the best ability for Mega Dragonite without making it OP would be No Guard (unless you’re playing without OHKO move clause).
Mega Dragonite has multiple moves to abuse No Guard with, being Dynamic Punch, Blizzard, Zap Cannon, Hurricane, Focus Blast, Dragon Rush, Iron Tail, Hydro Pump, Stone Edge, Fire Blast, and Draco Meteor. This makes Mega Dragonite a pretty diverse and as threatening as its regular form and gives it unique tools to play with.
And besides Hurricane, Draco Meteor, and Dragon Rush, all these moves are non-STAB and Dragonite lacks any Special boosting option. No Guard also means no bailouts against opposing Stone Edge either. So it also would be useful but not overwhelming. Regular Dragonite still has the stronger E-speed, Earthquake, HDBs, and can abuse Multiscale multiple times.

 

[J-Sauce]

Mega Dragonite is in a weird spot.
It’s an example of a Pokemon/Mega that suffers from team budget and species clause reasons. Much like Mega Garchomp, Mega Tyranitar, and Galar Zapdos, which if they were standalone Pokemon would be pretty good, suffer because they take up their respective species and a Mega slot (besides Gapdos).
Excluding Aerilate or OP abilities, Mega Dragonite suffers because regular Dragonite is already really good. As standalone Pokemon, regular Dragonite is a 85 out of a 100 and Mega Dragonite would be 90 out of 100. And if you’re making a team, and want to use Greninja (80 regular and 95 Mega), it would be more effecient to run Dragonite with Mega Greninja. And this doesn’t even include Tera or Boots, the latter of which Dragonite gets here too, which bump it past Mega Dragonite in score.

With that said, the best ability for Mega Dragonite without making it OP would be No Guard (unless you’re playing without OHKO move clause).
Mega Dragonite has multiple moves to abuse No Guard with, being Dynamic Punch, Blizzard, Zap Cannon, Hurricane, Focus Blast, Dragon Rush, Iron Tail, Hydro Pump, Stone Edge, Fire Blast, and Draco Meteor. This makes Mega Dragonite a pretty diverse and as threatening as its regular form and gives it unique tools to play with.
And besides Hurricane, Draco Meteor, and Dragon Rush, all these moves are non-STAB and Dragonite lacks any Special boosting option. No Guard also means no bailouts against opposing Stone Edge either. So it also would be useful but not overwhelming. Regular Dragonite still has the stronger E-speed, Earthquake, HDBs, and can abuse Multiscale multiple times.

this is actually extremely fair, and I do agree with your statement about how mega dnite isn't as good on a regular team as dnite. no guard zap cannon is lowk a cheat code but i feel like GF will give it a more lore accurate abil. Sheer force makes a lot of sense and both give it lots of versatility. I personally build teams around certain megas so if I wanna use mdnite i just will no matter what abil tbh

 

[UltraSword]

With that said, the best ability for Mega Dragonite without making it OP would be No Guard (unless you’re playing without OHKO move clause).
Mega Dragonite has multiple moves to abuse No Guard with, being Dynamic Punch, Blizzard, Zap Cannon, Hurricane, Focus Blast, Dragon Rush, Iron Tail, Hydro Pump, Stone Edge, Fire Blast, and Draco Meteor. This makes Mega Dragonite a pretty diverse and as threatening as its regular form and gives it unique tools to play with.
And besides Hurricane, Draco Meteor, and Dragon Rush, all these moves are non-STAB and Dragonite lacks any Special boosting option. No Guard also means no bailouts against opposing Stone Edge either. So it also would be useful but not overwhelming. Regular Dragonite still has the stronger E-speed, Earthquake, HDBs, and can abuse Multiscale multiple times.

This is like if AAA No Guard Zapdos and DPP Machamp had a very op baby. Sure, this baby doesn't inherit either parent's STAB but both moves are plenty powerful on their own and draco meteor plus hurricane are already good enough without these zap cannon and dynamic punch on top of it. In other words, please don't give Mega Dragonite No Guard.

 

[Ox the Fox]

https://pokepast.es/7bdc4d43b452f105 Hit #1 with this m-gren team so I think I have some authority to say - m-gren is completely broken and deserves a quickban.

This mon has no switch-ins and it outspeeds essentially the entire tier. The only way to really check it is with priority which is easily abusable (i.e. this team has talon for flame body). My personal favorite set is what's in the team above, max atk low kick gunk u-turn, as it allows you to beat common answers in goodra and clefable w your coverage, but you can really run whatever - this mon has coverage for all of it's check. I'm enjoying abusing it so not gonna write too much, but yea m-gren (and regular gren too tbh) really needs to be banned from the tier.

 

[Cuddly]

This is like if AAA No Guard Zapdos and DPP Machamp had a very op baby. Sure, this baby doesn't inherit either parent's STAB but both moves are plenty powerful on their own and draco meteor plus hurricane are already good enough without these zap cannon and dynamic punch on top of it. In other words, please don't give Mega Dragonite No Guard.

Yes
However

If you use Dynamic Punch and Zap Cannon, you aren't using Heavy-Duty Boots and you're using Extreme Speed off a lower Atk. You also are probably not using Dragon Dance with Zap Cannon either. And you're using your Mega for that over other potential Megas like Mega Greninja or Mega Starmie. It's a decent trade off since such qualities are strong to rival regular Dragonite and other Megas.

 

[kurunaoi]

protean -> No Guard

this might be cool in a format thats much stronger but mega gren is already way too good in za

soul heart -> Aerialate
I fully believe this is what it'll get in game.

it doesn't rlly see what reasoning gf would have to give this thing aerialate, they obv want it to be special & the only boosted moves mega dnite gets specially (gen 9) are swift, weather ball and hyper beam.

serene grace -> Magic Guard

a buff to mega clef to make it have some usage would be cool, but so many megas have gotten magic guard so something else might be cool (give ange to mega clef)

Luchador's Pride (?) -> Stamina

agreed

 

[UltraSword]

Yes
However

If you use Dynamic Punch and Zap Cannon, you aren't using Heavy-Duty Boots and you're using Extreme Speed off a lower Atk. You also are probably not using Dragon Dance with Zap Cannon either. And you're using your Mega for that over other potential Megas like Mega Greninja or Mega Starmie. It's a decent trade off since such qualities are strong to rival regular Dragonite and other Megas.

That isn't the point I am trying to make. Power isn't (completely) the issue here. The problem is the effects these moves give when hit. Dynamic punch and zap cannon both spread status that can lead to a lot of games coming down to rng. And even if there is a pokemon that can take both of these moves without worrying about the potential side effects (which I don't think there is in this meta) they probably can't also tank both of Mega Dragonite's STABs. Nothing can switch in safely against a pokemon like this.

 

[Stories]

Hello, I'm writing this as a player who has frequently topped the ladder with various teams using a wide array of Pokemon ranging from Mega Banette to Watchog and everything inbetween and I'd like to share some of my opinions on this metagame. Beware for some hot takes.

#1 - I think base Greninja is better than its Mega Form. Battle Bond sets destroy offense incredibly easily save for a few soft checks like Dragonite and random Assault Vest users which are easy to wear down or tech coverage for. I personally think Battle Bond is overpowered. Mega Greninja, while still incredible and arguably still OP, is worn down by hazards quite easily and doesn't get to have a Choice Scarf / Heavy Duty Boots + Speed boost like base Greninja, meaning it's a bit easier to check offensively.

#2 - I think Mega Starmie is absolutely broken beyond belief. Every defensive "check" gets Flip Turn'd on into a Pursuit user or some other wallbreaker or is owned by specific coverage. Zen Headbutt straight up OHKO's Dragonite after Multiscale is broken, Thunderbolt destroys Slowbro unless it's heavily SDef invested, even offensive checks like Choice Scarf Krookodile or Jolteon just straight up die to Aqua Jet. This Pokemon is not fair or fun to play against and should be banned IMO.

#3 - A lot more things are viable than people give credit to, and the gap in viability is not that large. I've seen too many people write off lower-ranked Megas in the discord server like Banette, Malamar, Hawlucha, and Victreebel as some stand-out examples and no sugarcoating.. these Pokemon are good as FUCK, certified skill issue if you think they're not.

#4 - I think the shift towards offense is super cool, seeing a mild decline in Clefable and Skarmory in favor of stuff like Garchomp and Mega Lopunny. Not really anything profound here, just think it's really cool to see. :)