Metagame Linked (OMotM) (Council Vote on Post #79)

[Dawn's Piplup]

this thing crashes the game. I don't know why.

Duraludon @ Eviolite
Ability: Stalwart
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Dragon Cheer
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse

imagine something to do with Dragon Cheer targeting the user due to Stalwart's redirection mechanic or just Dragon Cheer itself.

replay: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9linked-2550568133

edit: Coaching works the same way.

 

[BoringHumour]

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9linked-2550625566

Pecharunt is Encored when it should not at Turn 6
Edit: Encore is really buggy:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9linked-2550628495

 

[CyberPokeNinja]

Another Meme set, way too much counterplay to be good, but it's funny

Riolu @ Leppa Berry
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Lonely Nature
- Endure
- Bullet Punch
- Vacuum Wave
- Crunch

 

[Solosis]

So…. we heard you like quickbans?

Council Vote #2​

Pokemon / Move / Ability	Anchor9	dhelmise	Ivy	Solosis	VannAccessible	Final Verdict
Booster Energy	BAN	BAN	BAN	BAN	BAN	5-0-0
Drought	BAN	BAN	BAN	BAN	BAN	5-0-0
Electric Surge	BAN	BAN	BAN	ABSTAIN	BAN	4-1-0
Serene Grace	BAN	BAN	BAN	BAN	BAN	5-0-0
Dragapult	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	0-0-5
Regieleki	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	0-0-5
Manaphy	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	0-0-5
Swords Dance	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	5-0-0
Nasty Plot	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	5-0-0
Shell Smash	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	5-0-0
Growth	RESTRICT	DO NOT RESTRICT	DO NOT RESTRICT	DO NOT RESTRICT	DO NOT RESTRICT	1-0-4
Encore	DO NOT RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	ABSTAIN	RESTRICT	3-1-1
Copycat	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	5-0-0

Booster Energy, Drought, Electric Surge, and Serene Grace have been banned, and Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Shell Smash, Encore, and Copycat have been restricted from Linked!​

---

Booster Energy: Booster Energy was one of the reasons we resorted to voting so early on. It enabled monsters like Iron Moth, Iron Boulder, and Iron Valiant to outspeed and muscle through pretty much everything. This was on our radar since the very concept of Gen 9 Linked was created, and it finally gets to go.

Drought: After Booster Energy, we also decided to go after the second best thing to activate these monsters. Sun teams are already pretty good, and Walking Wake is nefarious for destroying the hopes and dreams of players. If I see someone use Manual Sun after this ban, I will eat their souls.

Electric Surge: Read Drought. I'm too tired to write stuff :(

Serene Grace: Serene Grace gets rid of the evil Double Flinch strategies run by Jirachi and, to a lesser extent, Sawsbuck, along with the demonic Freeze spam Blissey. We do lose Meloetta as collateral damage, though ;-;

Swords Dance, Nasty Plot Shell Smash: (90 percent of your existing teams are now illegal hehe) This ban limits snowball breakers and sweepers, and eases the meta away from HO, making Bulky Offense, Balance, and Stall more viable. We decided not to include Tail Glow in this because it doesn't have strong abusers, and Growth is poor after the Drought ban.

Copycat: This ban prevents the BS Ceaseless Edge and Population Bomb spam, along with the 67 million other things I'm not gonna mention here.

Encore: This prevents the weird Encore + Disable or Torment interaction. Restricting this really helps us stabilize our coder's mental health.

---

Pokemon / Move / Ability	Anchor9	dhelmise	Ivy	Solosis	VannAccessible	Final Verdict
Chlorophyll	ABSTAIN	ABSTAIN	UNBAN	UNBAN	UNBAN	3-2-0
Surge Surfer	ABSTAIN	ABSTAIN	UNBAN	UNBAN	UNBAN	3-2-0

Following the ban of Drought and Electric Surge, Chlorophyll, Surge Surfer (and Raichu-Alola) have been unbanned from Linked!​

Chlorophyll: With Drought still banned and no one quite desperate enough to click Sunny Day manually (right?), we’ve decided to let Chlorophyll run free.

Surge Surfer: Read Chlorophyll :)

---

Following the ban of Serene Grace (their only ability), Jirachi and Meloetta have been banned from Linked!​

---

Chi-Yu is now banned on ladder (its ban was missed initially). Stalwart, Propeller Tail, Revival Blessing, and Focus Punch have been fixed. Everybody say "Thank you dhelmise!"

These bans basically flipped the entire meta on its head and probably rendered half your teams illegal overnight. We’re hoping this version feels a bit more balanced than the previous version, and that you have fun cooking up some new sets. We’re open to suggestions on what should be on our radar (eg: Dragapult and Regieleki), especially with a Tiering Survey in the works. Until then, enjoy the meta, bye o/

dhelmise to implement!​

 

[Cuddly]

Like I previously mentioned, Focus Punch is kind of bugged. If you use it, you won’t flinch when your opponent hits you. This making the move significantly more reliable to use and gives any Pokemon that learns it a big thud stick.
The 2 strongest users of Focus Punch being Iron Hands and Conkeldurr, which not only have the hardest hitting Focus Punch, they are also 2 Pokemon that really could use it properly too. Both being fairly bulky and Conkeldurr having Mach Punch for priority.
With Sword Dance and Booster Energy, Iron Hand provides insane damage output.
For reference, this is what 1 SD > Focus Punch does to Gliscor with Stealth Rock up.
+2 252+ Atk Quark Drive Iron Hands Focus Punch vs. 244 HP / 36 Def Gliscor: 295-348 (83.8 - 98.8%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
I don’t think I need to explain further. Anything that gives you +2 in either offense should be restricted immediately ngl.


Ribombee is a really solid choice for HO teams. Being the fastest setter of Sticky Webs and has reliable means to ignore typical Sticky Web counters. With Skill Swap, you are minimum disrupt your opponent, but making sure Magic Bounce doesn’t block your webs.
Sticky Webs are stronger in this metagame since Choice Scarf is less desirable and speed abilities are all banned. It is also especially important when Iron Boulder dittos can decide who wins or loses.
Honorable mention to Araquanid, who can use Entrainment into Sticky Web to also bypass Magic Bounce, but is less effective.

lol I was writing this and suddenly see a massive ban wave.

 

[AintTellingUNothing]

So…. we heard you like quickbans?

Council Vote #2​

Pokemon / Move / Ability	Anchor9	dhelmise	Ivy	Solosis	VannAccessible	Final Verdict
Booster Energy	BAN	BAN	BAN	BAN	BAN	5-0-0
Drought	BAN	BAN	BAN	BAN	BAN	5-0-0
Electric Surge	BAN	BAN	BAN	ABSTAIN	BAN	4-1-0
Serene Grace	BAN	BAN	BAN	BAN	BAN	5-0-0
Dragapult	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	0-0-5
Regieleki	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	0-0-5
Manaphy	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	DO NOT BAN	0-0-5
Swords Dance	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	5-0-0
Nasty Plot	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	5-0-0
Shell Smash	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	5-0-0
Growth	RESTRICT	DO NOT RESTRICT	DO NOT RESTRICT	DO NOT RESTRICT	DO NOT RESTRICT	1-0-4
Encore	DO NOT RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	ABSTAIN	RESTRICT	3-1-1
Copycat	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	RESTRICT	5-0-0

Booster Energy, Drought, Electric Surge, and Serene Grace have been banned, and Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Shell Smash, Encore, and Copycat have been restricted from Linked!​

---

Booster Energy: Booster Energy was one of the reasons we resorted to voting so early on. It enabled monsters like Iron Moth, Iron Boulder, and Iron Valiant to outspeed and muscle through pretty much everything. This was on our radar since the very concept of Gen 9 Linked was created, and it finally gets to go.

Drought: After Booster Energy, we also decided to go after the second best thing to activate these monsters. Sun teams are already pretty good, and Walking Wake is nefarious for destroying the hopes and dreams of players. If I see someone use Manual Sun after this ban, I will eat their souls.

Electric Surge: Read Drought. I'm too tired to write stuff :(

Serene Grace: Serene Grace gets rid of the evil Double Flinch strategies run by Jirachi and, to a lesser extent, Sawsbuck, along with the demonic Freeze spam Blissey. We do lose Meloetta as collateral damage, though ;-;

Swords Dance, Nasty Plot Shell Smash: (90 percent of your existing teams are now illegal hehe) This ban limits snowball breakers and sweepers, and eases the meta away from HO, making Bulky Offense, Balance, and Stall more viable. We decided not to include Tail Glow in this because it doesn't have strong abusers, and Growth is poor after the Drought ban.

Copycat: This ban prevents the BS Ceaseless Edge and Population Bomb spam, along with the 67 million other things I'm not gonna mention here.

Encore: This prevents the weird Encore + Disable or Torment interaction. Restricting this really helps us stabilize our coder's mental health.

---

Pokemon / Move / Ability	Anchor9	dhelmise	Ivy	Solosis	VannAccessible	Final Verdict
Chlorophyll	ABSTAIN	ABSTAIN	UNBAN	UNBAN	UNBAN	3-2-0
Surge Surfer	ABSTAIN	ABSTAIN	UNBAN	UNBAN	UNBAN	3-2-0

Following the ban of Drought and Electric Surge, Chlorophyll, Surge Surfer (and Raichu-Alola) have been unbanned from Linked!​

Chlorophyll: With Drought still banned and no one quite desperate enough to click Sunny Day manually (right?), we’ve decided to let Chlorophyll run free.

Surge Surfer: Read Chlorophyll :)

---

Following the ban of Serene Grace (their only ability), Jirachi and Meloetta have been banned from Linked!​

---

Chi-Yu is now banned on ladder (its ban was missed initially). Stalwart, Propeller Tail, Revival Blessing, and Focus Punch have been fixed. Everybody say "Thank you dhelmise!"

These bans basically flipped the entire meta on its head and probably rendered half your teams illegal overnight. We’re hoping this version feels a bit more balanced than the previous version, and that you have fun cooking up some new sets. We’re open to suggestions on what should be on our radar (eg: Dragapult and Regieleki), especially with a Tiering Survey in the works. Until then, enjoy the meta, bye o/

dhelmise to implement!​

Thx Dhelmise! Yeah ngl SD, NP and Shell Smash def needed to be restricted, and I'm glad booster energy is gone.

 

[AintTellingUNothing]

Chlorophyll: With Drought still banned and no one quite desperate enough to click Sunny Day manually (right?), we’ve decided to let Chlorophyll run free.

Sure....
Anyway heres a fun combo that I made!

Walking Wake @ Heat Rock
Protosynthesis
-Sunny Day
- Hydro Steam
-Flip Turn
-Flamethrower

Venusaur @ Black Sludge/Whatev
Chlorophyl
-Growth
-Solar Beam
-Sludge Bomb
-Weather Ball

 

[Cuddly]

I’m really glad that SD/NP/SS got restricted. Those were pretty dominate strategies that basically require you to use Unaware and heavily outclassed different sets.


For instance, Ogerpon would be great with Focus Energy + Ivy Cudgel. You would give yourself +2 crit chance inherently and Ivy Cudgel already having +3 meant Ogerpon would have guaranteed crits on Ivy Cudgel, while having high crit chance on your other moves too.
This strategy is significantly less effective than just using Sword Dance. Sure you ignore defensive boosts like Iron Defense and Reflect, or dealing more against Unaware, but you eventually just got to +6 easily and steamroll through most team anyways, then finding a way to deal with Unaware later.

And that’s kind of a trend with many Pokemon. You could use some sort of interesting combo for your linked move. Or you could give yourself free +2s every time before using an attack. The choice is pretty obvious.

Sure....
Anyway heres a fun combo that I made!

Walking Wake @ Heat Rock
Protosynthesis
-Sunny Day
- Hydro Steam
-Flip Turn
-Flamethrower

Venusaur @ Black Sludge/Whatev
Chlorophyl
-Growth
-Solar Beam
-Sludge Bomb
-Weather Ball

Like this is some more creative stuff here that would be overlooked before.

 

[Slayer95]

Hello! Thanks for bringing this back to Gen 9. I'll keep this short. I'd like to propose that Linked be played with Open Teamsheets. Thanks in advance to anyone who agrees, and would like to actually argue for this in lieu of myself.

Open Teamsheets: Allows each player to see the Pokémon and all non-stat information about them, before they choose their lead Pokémon

 

[Cuddly]

Hello! Thanks for bringing this back to Gen 9. I'll keep this short. I'd like to propose that Linked be played with Open Teamsheets. Thanks in advance to anyone who agrees, and would like to actually argue for this in lieu of myself.

I don’t think OTS is that necessary for this metagame. It was for a previous OM, NatDex CamoChaos, but that was because that metagame let you have any move on any Pokemon.
Here, it isn’t that much of a problem to correctly guess what moves your opponent is using. They only have their vanilla moveset and you can only realistically expect a few different movesets.

 

[Endrism]

Chlorophyll HAS to go. I've already run into 3 different sun teams on ladder with 0 counterplay. You HAVE to run your own weather to counterplay theirs or a +2 Solar Blade from Lilligant-Hisui OR +2 Venusaur Solar Beam is going to punch a hole through your entire team before you get a chance to respond.