• Smogon Premier League is here and the team collection is now available. Support your team!

Metagame SV Pokebilities AAA (Spotlight) - Survey @ #42

The Dead Man (Rillaboom) @ Choice Band
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Wood Hammer
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off

Regen lets Boom set its terrain and pivot nicely, plus it gives it more longevity. Choice band is probably not optimal but boots, vest or life orb could work nicely with it.
 
:sv/gliscor:
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Aerilate
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Facade
- Swords Dance
- Taunt
- Protect


Gliscor honestly needs to go. It restricts the builder way too much. When you’re building a team you are forced to run an Unaware mon or something like Fluffy / Unaware :Zapdos: just so you don’t lose to it in the long run. That kind of pressure on the builder just isn’t healthy for the tier imo.
It can literally beat Fluffy Corviknight in the 1v1 if it’s running Taunt :psycry:

Otherwise the tier feels pretty balanced. Ogerpon rock :Ogerpon-Cornerstone: and :Ogerpon-Wellspring:are really good, :Mamoswine: and your regular AAA threats are all manageable.
Maybe we could try a single Ability clause since two regenerator mons are sometimes quite hard to break.

team I used to get to 1350 on ladder: :Mamoswine: :Corviknight: :Moltres: :Regieleki: :Tornadus-Therian: :Farigiraf:
 
team I used to get to 1350 on ladder: :Mamoswine: :Corviknight: :Moltres: :Regieleki: :Tornadus-Therian: :Farigiraf:
what is Farigarif doing except be a basically worse reuniclus, it has worse special bulk, no magic guard, no knock off, and has to spend an ability on regen instead of being able to get another ability.


more theorycrafting. Pair this mon with an icy rock chilly reception user (maybe not even?) and I think they have some potential.

Cetitan @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 4HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Knock Off
Sword of ruin is another option, but tinted lens lets +6 ice shard pick off a lot more and prevents you from getting walled by bulky waters. Also prevents all sorts of primordial weather guys from stopping you by cutting of slush rush. Sheer force boosted icicle crash picks off corviknight.
+5 252+ Atk Sheer Force Cetitan Icicle Crash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 439-517 (110 - 129.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Knock is chosen as the coverage move due to letting you not get walled by heatran if they're immune to eq or liquidation, and comfortably kills pecharunt
+5 252+ Atk Cetitan Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Pecharunt: 378-446 (99.4 - 117.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
Tlens lets this happen
+5 252+ Atk Sheer Force Cetitan Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 525-618 (98.3 - 115.7%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
And this
+6 252+ Atk Tinted Lens Cetitan Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cinderace: 330-388 (109.6 - 128.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Tinted Lens Cetitan Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Samurott-Hisui: 312-368 (97.1 - 114.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

setting up is pretty hard tho
dark types are also op
 
I mainly require context for why the following are banned, given to my knowledge they're not banned in either standard AAA or standard Pokebilities, but correct me if I'm wrong:
:azumarill: :Braviary-Hisui: :ceruledge: :clefable: :dondozo: :kleavor: :zapdos-galar: :zoroark-hisui:

My guess for Clefable is that no one has time for a mon immune to status, can't be boosted against, AND can potentially have another great defensive ability like Regenerator. Perhaps that's also true for Dondozo.
 
I mainly require context for why the following are banned, given to my knowledge they're not banned in either standard AAA or standard Pokebilities, but correct me if I'm wrong:
:azumarill: :Braviary-Hisui: :ceruledge: :clefable: :dondozo: :kleavor: :zapdos-galar: :zoroark-hisui:

My guess for Clefable is that no one has time for a mon immune to status, can't be boosted against, AND can potentially have another great defensive ability like Regenerator. Perhaps that's also true for Dondozo.
Wasn't around for when they're banned, but I can take a guess too. Mind you Pokebilities AAA and AAA and Pokebilities singular are VERY different metagames, as Pokebilities AAA gives you not just multiple abilities, but also an added one of your choice on top of that.

Azu - Huge Power plus 4x resist to fire and ice, AND an immunity to grass alongside ANOTHER ability like Mold Breaker, Sword of Ruin, Primordial Sea, etc. sounds like actual pain to fight against since it basically guarantees a Belly Drum for it and easy sweeps.

Braviary-H - SF + Tinted Lens + ANOTHER ability. Need I say more, nothing is walling this, and if it gets a boost it's an auto lose.

Ceruledge - My guess is Weak Armor plus a boosting ability, Flash Fire being a nice add-on and great STABs. Mold Breaker to break through WBB and Unaware mons, Shadow Sneak as well for prio and Bitter Blade heals you. Seems like a menace.

Clef - I mean, yeah, reasons you stated. Basically impossible to kill with an added ability on top of its amazing set of abilities already.

Dozo - Unaware, can't be burned and ANOTHER ability like Regen, Stamina, Mold Breaker, Volt Absorb, etc. Basically THE killer of any physical sweeper's hopes and dreams.

Kleavor - SF + Sharpness Stone Axe, Sharpness + Swarm or Sheer Force Lunge or X Scissor, etc, STAB Uturn, etc. with Tinted Lens, I mean hell, look at how terrifying Slither Wing is alone with Tinted lens- this thing cannot be walled.

Gapdos - I don't have a great answer. I'm assuming LO with Magic Guard was overtuned af? Sword of Ruin CB? Slaughters any intimidate mon with Defiant so that's a good few physical checks like Intimidate Corv actually boosting it instead of slowing it down.

Zoroark-H - Another can't tell ya, and this one I genuinely can't figure out. Would actually love some insight on folks who were around for when it was banned!
 
I mainly require context for why the following are banned, given to my knowledge they're not banned in either standard AAA or standard Pokebilities, but correct me if I'm wrong:
:azumarill: :Braviary-Hisui: :ceruledge: :clefable: :dondozo: :kleavor: :zapdos-galar: :zoroark-hisui:

My guess for Clefable is that no one has time for a mon immune to status, can't be boosted against, AND can potentially have another great defensive ability like Regenerator. Perhaps that's also true for Dondozo.
  • Azu is immunity spam on top of Huge Power + SoR
  • how do you answer bravh
  • Ceru is an AAA ban carried over because it's even dumber in PokeAAA
  • gl breaking clef
  • Dozo feels like an old ban that was never readressed
  • Same with Kleavor
  • Same with GZap
  • Same with HZoro but I also get this one because it was previously banned in AAA and honestly Illusion is really uncompetitive in general so
 
Piling on, but do forgive me because I have been thinking of adding a personal resource to this thread that I have personally used to help make sense of the bans (like for TPP or HGPL or whatever) and this discussion just reminded me of it.

I mainly require context for why the following are banned, given to my knowledge they're not banned in either standard AAA or standard Pokebilities, but correct me if I'm wrong:
:azumarill: :Braviary-Hisui: :ceruledge: :clefable: :dondozo: :kleavor: :zapdos-galar: :zoroark-hisui:

My guess for Clefable is that no one has time for a mon immune to status, can't be boosted against, AND can potentially have another great defensive ability like Regenerator. Perhaps that's also true for Dondozo.

So basically there are 3 types of bans, bans carried from AAA, carried from pokebilities or new bans based on abilities pooling. It is simplistic to summarise the meta this way because there are differing dynamics in pokeaaa vs the base metas, but the bans are usually because something is already proven to be broken, or it is something that would be fine in AAA and/or Pokebilities, but is compounded by both OMs being in play.

  • Azumarill: Combination of both, for reasons stated above
  • Hisui braviary: Pokebilities ban that was carried over
  • Ceruledge: AAA Ban that got ported here too afaik. Packwatch.
  • Clefable: Carry over from pokebilities. I don't think this was ever legal but Ms Crisis is free to correct me. I would unironically test Solgaleo or Annihilape before touching this.
  • Dondozo: Combination. Afaik it did get ban in early pokebilities, but it isn't currently broken there. However, there is so much more you can do in pokeaaa esp when all 3 base abilities have nice passive synergy so you can run something like vessel or moldy if you're feeling spicy.
  • Kleavor: Combination. Stone Axe gets buffs from BOTH sharpness and sheer force so it hits incredibly hard. SOR / Adaptability are cherries on top. I don't think it's the most egrigous guy and its arguably kinda worse than Hamurott since you don't set anything.
  • Zapdos-Galar: Technically both, but it's not that intuitive. I would say the main reason is that it nullifies one of MGLO / SOR biggest weaknesses in intimidate, thanks to Defiant which reduces counterplay to just fluffy guys (if even because pads is kinda free on SD SOR). I would be open to testing it down the line.
  • Zoroark-Hisui: Again, technically both. Sheer Force Hisui Zoroark and Illusion Hisui Zoroark can be tricky to answer independently, but they have obvious weaknesses. Combine them both, and they become a little crazy.
 
what is Farigarif doing except be a basically worse reuniclus, it has worse special bulk, no magic guard, no knock off, and has to spend an ability on regen instead of being able to get another ability.


more theorycrafting. Pair this mon with an icy rock chilly reception user (maybe not even?) and I think they have some potential.

Cetitan @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 4HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Knock Off
Sword of ruin is another option, but tinted lens lets +6 ice shard pick off a lot more and prevents you from getting walled by bulky waters. Also prevents all sorts of primordial weather guys from stopping you by cutting of slush rush. Sheer force boosted icicle crash picks off corviknight.
+5 252+ Atk Sheer Force Cetitan Icicle Crash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 439-517 (110 - 129.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Knock is chosen as the coverage move due to letting you not get walled by heatran if they're immune to eq or liquidation, and comfortably kills pecharunt
+5 252+ Atk Cetitan Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Pecharunt: 378-446 (99.4 - 117.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
Tlens lets this happen
+5 252+ Atk Sheer Force Cetitan Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 525-618 (98.3 - 115.7%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
And this
+6 252+ Atk Tinted Lens Cetitan Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cinderace: 330-388 (109.6 - 128.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Tinted Lens Cetitan Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Samurott-Hisui: 312-368 (97.1 - 114.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

setting up is pretty hard tho
dark types are also op
tbh yeah i made it Reuniclus now the team feels kinda better
 
sneaking peaches (Pecharunt) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Corrosion
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Hex
- Malignant Chain
- Recover

Jade (Toxapex) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sniper
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Spinner
- Gunk Shot/Poison Jab
- Liquidation
- Lunge

usa las slimies (Toedscruel) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 240 HP / 16 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes/Toxic
- Taunt
- Earth Power

Evil Resident (Inteleon) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Merciless
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf/Hydro Pump/Snipe Shot
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball

Need I say more?

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pokebilitiesaaa-2553131307-aiw9bxfe6e2ogi0mp4say44vf6nw4lipw
 
So apparently Weezing neutralizing gas deactivates every single one of his own abilities even when carrying the ability shield item.
Is this a bug or intentional for balancing purposes?
 
So apparently Weezing neutralizing gas deactivates every single one of his own abilities even when carrying the ability shield item.
Is this a bug or intentional for balancing purposes?
Q. How do Weezing/Weezing-Galar work? :weezing: :weezing-galar:
A. At the moment of writing (9/13/25), Pokemon with Neutralizing Gas as a base ability will only have Neutralizing Gas active, all other abilities are supressed. Neither form will be immune to ground moves with Levitate, Weezing-G's Misty Terrain will not appear, and the chosen ability will be supressed
based on other ability shield interactions im inclined to say this is just how it is
 
Decided to finally play the meta on ladder, and did so with a pretty cool Kilo Rilla team. 1400 w/ a 19-1 78.5gxe record, with the only loss being a stupid throw followed by a pretty unlucky sequence.
:kilowattrel::rillaboom::deoxys-speed::ting-lu::corviknight::slowking: Paste

:kilowattrel:
Pokebilities makes this actually worth using over Zapdos. Zapdos actually hardcounters Gliscor, but Kilowattrel can do similarly well while possessing one of the best natural abilities in Competitive. Simply put, punishing Defog with a free +2 SpA boost is incredible and can win games outright. Its speed tier is also incredible for the current meta, outspeeding up to Talonflame.

:rillaboom:
Yeah if Corviknight wasn't the best defensive guy in the meta it'd be broken. SoR Rilla Wood Hammers are disgustingly strong, to the point where bulky resists aren't enough. Pecharunt and co are 2HKOed outright by Knock Off, so Rillaboom is an absolute demon into BO teams. It also is great into balance and stall because it forces in Corviknight for teammates that actually threaten it to create progress, mainly Deoxys.

:deoxys-speed:
WHY IS THIS AAA LEGAL.

uh but srs Protean Deo-S is kinda ridiculous into most teams currently. Many teams rely on AV guys or Ting-Lu and Protean Deo-S just dismantles them all. Even stall struggles to actually fit a long-term answer to this guy and most end up calling it a day at "outlive it", so pairing this with Grassy Terrain is usually just a free win. TBolt is chosen over IBeam to OHKO Corv, since Kilo actually doesn't as it lacks Thunder.

:ting-lu:
S tier mon. This spread is optimised for Leftovers and Regen recovery while maximising Attack and getting a nature boost from the Impish nature. Payback is really nice into a lot of the meta and can lure in some unsuspecting foes like Latios and Deo-S for a quick and easy KO. Tantrum > EQ because GTerrain.

:corviknight:
obligatory defog user and steel type

:slowking:
I first had Slowking be a mixed Fluffy wall, but that really subtracted from the whole Fire resist and also just didn't actually answer anything, so switched to a slightly more physically bulky Lu and made Slowking fully SpDef w/ Vessel. Set is pretty standard otherwise, excluding Psychic Noise which is here for stallbreaking and easing the Hands matchup.

Couple replays: [1] [2]

also because i dont want to make 2 posts
Jade (Toxapex) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sniper
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Spinner
- Gunk Shot/Poison Jab
- Liquidation
- Lunge
Paulluxx is it time to bring back Bandana?
 
There seems to be a glitch regarding imposter where Ditto cannot scout out the chosen abilities of mons that have already visibly shown one of their native abilities once that battle.

In practice this means that its actually completely impossible to scout the given ability of any mon like Rillaboom or Corviknight who immediately activate a visibly recognizable ability upon hitting the field.
 
made this weird team while trying out some fun things, I do need some help though
also my first time building team

https://pokepast.es/a7d29c39e3bd986d

I wanna replace the corviknight and the primarina with something a bit more offensive while still having some defensive capabilities, however removing corvi is scary coz the volt absorb and defog is very important.

also I love the fezandipiti which almost walls the barraskewda running around like a gangster, and all its moves are super useful

the goodra takes unexpected kills coz I observed most teams having no dragon resists and steel beam ohkos all mons weak to it and does a ton of damage otherwise

had to put in the mabostiff cause a trick room perrserker 6-0d me

also a fun replay of this team - https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pokebilitiesaaa-2555113034

I'll be happy to get any recommendations
 
VIABILITY RANKINGS
(updated 2/27/26)


POKEMON: Grouped into tiers, sorted alphabeticallyCHOSEN ABILITIES: Sorted alphabetically, primary abilities are bolded
S RANK: Metagame-Defining threats
:corviknight: CorviknightFluffy, Intimidate, Prankster
:gliscor: GliscorAerilate, Fluffy, Immunity Ability, Marvel Scale
A RANK: Important Pokemon in the tier
A+
:garchomp: GarchompRegenerator, Sword of Ruin
:reuniclus: ReuniclusBeads of Ruin, Fluffy, Psychic Surge, Shadow Shield, Stamina
:toxapex: ToxapexFluffy, Immunity Ability, Prankster, Unaware
A
:goodra-hisui: Goodra-HisuiRegenerator
:hatterene: HattereneBeads of Ruin, Fluffy, Regenerator, Stamina
:heatran: HeatranDesolate Land, Immunity Ability, Magic Guard
:pecharunt: PecharuntImmunity Ability, Intimidate, Prankster
:primarina: PrimarinaFluffy, Primordial Sea, Regenerator
:samurott-hisui: Samurott-HisuiAdaptability, Primordial Sea, Sword of Ruin
:ting-lu: Ting-LuImmunity Ability, Regenerator, Unaware
:tornadus-therian: Tornadus-TherianDrought, Drizzle, Primordial Sea
:zamazenta: ZamazentaMagic Guard, Scrappy, Sword of Ruin
A-
:great tusk: Great TuskImmunity Ability, Magic Guard, Regenerator, Scrappy
:iron crown: Iron CrownBeads of Ruin, Magic Guard, Psychic Surge
:iron moth: Iron MothBeads of Ruin, Desolate Land
:landorus-therian: Landorus-TherianFluffy, Immunity Ability, Regenerator, Sword of Ruin
:latios: LatiosAdaptability, Beads of Ruin, Tinted Lens
:meowscarada: MeowscaradaAdaptability, Magic Guard, Sword of Ruin
:scream tail: Scream TailPixilate, Unaware
:zapdos: ZapdosFluffy, No Guard, Primordial Sea
B RANK: Pokemon with valuable roles in the tier
B+
:blissey: BlisseyImmunity Ability, Regenerator, Unaware
:cinderace: CinderaceAdaptability, Desolate Land, Magic Guard
:clodsire: ClodsireCorrosion, Immunity Ability
:cobalion: CobalionMagic Guard
:comfey: ComfeyBeads of Ruin, Tinted Lens
:crawdaunt: CrawdauntMold Breaker, Primordial Sea, Sword of Ruin
:deoxys-speed: Deoxys-SpeedPsychic Surge, Sheer Force
:ogerpon-wellspring: Ogerpon-WellspringPrimordial Sea
:rillaboom: RillaboomSword of Ruin, Tinted Lens
:rotom-wash: Rotom-WashIntimidate, Primoridial Sea, Regenerator
:sinistcha: SinistchaFluffy, Immunity Ability, Stamina
:slowking-galar: Slowking-GalarImmunity Ability, Vessel of Ruin
:talonflame: TalonflameMagic Guard
:tinkaton: TinkatonImmunity Ability, Tinted Lens, Sword of Ruin
B
:alomomola: AlomomolaIntimidate, Primordial Sea
:garganacl: GarganaclImmunity Ability, Sand Stream
:glimmora: GlimmoraImmunity Ability
:greninja: Greninja:Adaptability, Beads of Ruin, Primordial Sea
:lokix: LokixAdaptability, Magic Guard, Sword of Ruin
:ogerpon-cornerstone: Ogerpon-CornerstoneRocky Payload
:moltres: MoltresDesolate Land, Fluffy, Immunity Ability, Magic Guard
:regieleki: RegielekiRefrigerate
:rotom-heat: Rotom-HeatDesolate Land, Intimidate
:scizor: ScizorImmunity Ability, Sword of Ruin, Steely Spirit
:weezing-galar: Weezing-GalarN/A
B-
:araquanid: AraquanidPrimordial Sea
:gastrodon: GastrodonFluffy
:jirachi: JirachiImmunity Ability, Psychic Surge, Regenerator
:kommo-o: Kommo-o-ate Ability, Gluttony, Scrappy, Regenerator
:lanturn: LanturnRegenerator
:mienshao: MienshaoMagic Guard, Scrappy, Sword of Ruin
:pelipper: PelipperIntimidate, Magic Guard
:quaquaval: QuaquavalFluffy, Magic Guard, Primordial Sea, Scrappy, Sword of Ruin
:skarmory: SkarmoryStamina
:volcanion: VolcanionBeads of Ruin, Desolate Land, Immunity Ability, Magic Guard, Primordial Sea
C RANK: Pokemon with solid ability synergy and potential niches within the tier.Many of these Pokemon will perform worse than other Pokemon in the same role, but have specific niche interactions that could make them worth using
:cresselia: CresseliaPrankster, Unaware
:hitmonlee: HitmonleeScrappy, Sword of Ruin
:indeedee: Indeedee-MAdabtability, Beads of Ruin
:lapras: LaprasPrimordial Sea
:mabosstiff: MabosstiffStrong Jaw
:rampardos: RampardosMagic Guard, Rocky Payload
:toxtricity: Toxtricity-ate Ability
:vaporeon: VaporeonPrimordial Sea

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do the abilities get added to the Pokemon?
A. In the teambuilder, select the your AAA ability ("chosen ability") in the ability slot. Your Pokemon will have its regular ("native") abilities added in battle.

Q. Why so many complex bans?
A. Due to the nature of the format, it is healthier to restrict broken combinations of abilities (mostly combinations that boost the user's speed) instead of banning one or both of the base abilities, which are not broken by themselves.

Q. Why is Regenerator Clause in effect?
A. Without it, Regenerator cores consisting of multiple base users and an AAA user dominate the metagame and are able to (effectively) infinitely stall other teams that cannot break through their cores.

Q. How do Weezing/Weezing-Galar work? :weezing: :weezing-galar:
A. At the moment of writing (9/13/25), Pokemon with Neutralizing Gas as a base ability will only have Neutralizing Gas active, all other abilities are supressed. Neither form will be immune to ground moves with Levitate, Weezing-G's Misty Terrain will not appear, and the chosen ability will be supressed

Q. How does Palafin work? :palafin: :palafin-hero:
A. At the moment of writing (9/13/25), base form Palafin will have its chosen ability active. If Palafin is holding an Ability Shield, Zero-to-Hero will activate upon the second switch-in as normal, but it will not have its chosen ability active. Without Ability Shield, Zero-to-Hero will not activate.
The following interactions are what happens when a Pokemon uses these abilities on the same set:
:lunala: :dragonite: Shadow Shield and Multiscale will reduce damage taken from full health to 1/4 of its original value
:great tusk: :iron valiant: Protosynthesis and Quark Drive do not stack and the affected stat will only be boosted by 30%
:cofagrigus: :runerigus: Mummy and Wandering Spirit will only affect the chosen ability
:gardevoir: :porygon2: Trace will only trace the opponent's chosen ability
:muk-alola: :okidogi: Poison Touch and Toxic Chain do not interact with Sheer Force
:plusle: :minun: Plus and Minus do not interact with each other

Certain moves interact with abilities unconventionally:
:toxapex: :shaymin: Gastro Acid and Worry Seed will only affect the chosen ability
:deoxys-speed: :slaking: Skill Swap will only swap the chosen abilities. It will still fail if a Pokemon has Protosynthesis, Quark Drive, or other untransferable/unsupressable abilities as either base or chosen abilities.
Sorry to post like this but I can't find any other way to ask, why doesn't my scizor receive a boost from both technician and steely spirit? Am I doing something wrong? Held item is leftovers
 
RUBL's Strongest Soldier: A Lilligant-Hisui Analysis

Queen Von (Lilligant-Hisui) @ Life Orb
Ability: Compound Eyes
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Solar Blade
- Triple Axel
- Close Combat

Overview
This is the scariest sun sweeper by far in the format that I've found, and might even be the scariest sweeper in the entire format. The combo of Chlorophyll and Hustle is already scary off-rip, but adding a status immunity meaning you can't burn it on the switch means that this thing would already be insane without the options of the AAA additions. Leaf Guard allows you to kill even Moltres and Zapdos with Triple Axel due to the lack of risk with the contact abilities.

Ability Options

Compound Eyes - Counters Hustle's damning flaw, also allows 100% consistent Triple Axels. Makes it extremely consistent in ripping apart teams. Struggles into Corv and Zama, but can power through with an SD boost.
(Edit 2: Axel has 93.6% accuracy with Compound Eyes and Hustle for an 82% chance for all 3)

No Guard - Same as Compound Eyes, but allows 100% accurate Triple Axels. Does mean you're worse into inaccurate moves, but probably overall better than Compound Eyes.

Tinted Lens - Lets you force your way past Corvy and Iron Moth even without an SD. Struggles with consistency because of Hustle, but really punishes a Lando switch-in at +0 unlike any other set. Does remove Band Slither Wing as a team option. Allows you to forgo Axel for Sub due to the unnecessary coverage.

Unaware - The nichest and probably the worst option to be honest. It allows you to force past IDef Corvy and IDef Zama, but you usually have other special attackers on Sun to take care of those. Struggles a LOT with inconsistency due to the power drops compared to the offensive abilities.

Multiscale - Allows you to get one free setup opportunity. You do probably want a different item if you run this, but Life Orb still works fine on the set to be honest. If you want to run Victory Dance instead of SD, this is probably the ability for you. Also struggles with inconsistency.

Other Options

Choice Band: Terrible option. Requires Compound Eyes to guarantee value, but if you want damage you have to go Tinted Lens, and at that point you'd rather have Slither Wing. Also very hard to find good coverage after STABs and Axel to replace SD or VD weirdly enough.

Sword of Ruin: Definitely an idea. Most of the time, I found myself wanting the consistency of Compound Eyes or the better resist matchups with Tinted Lens, but I also only used it in like 15% of my testing games. Definitely unexplored.

Jolly: Completely unnecessary. Adamant snags so many OHKOs that you just lose access to just so you can outspeed like maybe 2 more Scarf mons. Absolutely not worth.

Non-Shiny: Unusable. The colors are just so much nicer on the shiny it's insane.

Team Recommendations

Sun is required on this, as it is a Sun sweeper at its core. I'll link the team I used here (EDIT 2: Even with Pyro Ball Cinderace it's still really weak to Fluffy Gliscor, but based off the poll results Gliscor might not be an issue very soon lolll), but there's definitely room for improvement and definitely other options for setters.

Tornadus-T: Fast, reliable pivot and sticks around forever to set Sun repeatedly. Bleakwind actually doesn't get accuracy dropped in Sun, so just pretend you have Hustle on that Mon too. Corvy is definitely another option thanks to its lack of a Rock weakness, but I didn't choose it because of how slow it was.

Hatterene: Required option. Eject Pack allows you to get on the field for absolute free, and once you're in on a HRott or even something like a Gliscor (you're immune to Toxic) you can just SD and win right there. Also stops Spikes and things for other abusers.


Sandy Shocks: I was impressed by the Speed boost Hadron Engine set quite a lot. It helps get up Spikes to knock things into +0 CC ranges, and it gives you even more pivot options into Lilli.

Slither Wing: Attacker that helps wear down physically bulky mons. Does remove the option of Tinted Lens for Lilli.

Calcs
(Pretend this is Compound Eyes the calc in Showdown doesn't let me put in multiple abilities)

252+ Atk Life Orb Hustle Lilligant-Hisui Solar Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo: 491-580 (97.4 - 115%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Hustle Lilligant-Hisui Triple Axel (120 BP) (3 hits) vs. 248 HP / 248+ Def Moltres: 187-222 (48.8 - 57.9%) -- 99.9% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Hustle Lilligant-Hisui Solar Blade vs. +1 252 HP / 88 Def Zamazenta: 207-243 (53.3 - 62.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Hustle Lilligant-Hisui Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Ting-Lu: 595-702 (115.7 - 136.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Hustle Lilligant-Hisui Triple Axel (120 BP) (3 hits) vs. 244 HP / 36 Def Gliscor: 775-921 (220.1 - 261.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Just assume it OHKOs every offensive mon that isn't Zamzenta. It also doesn't give a shit about Gliscor either because of Leaf Guard.


Issues

Lilligant struggles into bulkier/stall matchups a lot, even more than most Sun abusers. It gets mogged by Corvy if it's not switching in, and Zama is also an issue, but there it can live a +1 Body Press. It also doesn't have basically ANY coverage outside of STABs and Axel or Spinner, so it has issues with stupid things for Sun like Corvy. It gets worn down very fast because of a Spikes vulnerability and Life Orb, but a Rock resist and Tspike immunity thanks to Leaf Guard definitely help. It also has tough competition in Venusaur for a team slot, but it generally brings more value with status immunity and better offenses. It is also strictly limited to Sun structures, as any other style means you're essentially only using Hustle. Despite it's large base power attacks in 125 Solar Blade, 120 CC, and 120 Triple Axel, it's relatively low base attack of 105 does let it down occasionally, namely into resists. Also very scared of priority BB from Talonflame, but also resists Sucker Punch and Aqua Jet to rectify.


Summary

You can probably tell off the PFP I'm an insane Zapdos glazer. When I see a physical attacker that doesn't care about it, it's hard to ignore. Lilligant-Hisui is the scariest Sun sweeper right now, and I can say that with great confidence. The main ability it runs being Compound Eyes greatly helps your team options due to how little it overlaps with other abilities Sun likes using. It's one of the coolest mons in the format because of how it uses all three of its abilities even before the additional one granted by AAA. It's a Mon that is super scary into offense, and even with it's decently small movepool it's still Sun's most nuclear threat.


(EDITS):
People will just not notice that you're status immune and try to Toxic you so you just get free SDs quite often
Fixes in Abilities
Replaced Slither Wing w/ Magic Guard Cinderace
 
Last edited:
what is Farigarif doing except be a basically worse reuniclus, it has worse special bulk, no magic guard, no knock off, and has to spend an ability on regen instead of being able to get another ability.


more theorycrafting. Pair this mon with an icy rock chilly reception user (maybe not even?) and I think they have some potential.

Cetitan @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 4HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Knock Off
Sword of ruin is another option, but tinted lens lets +6 ice shard pick off a lot more and prevents you from getting walled by bulky waters. Also prevents all sorts of primordial weather guys from stopping you by cutting of slush rush. Sheer force boosted icicle crash picks off corviknight.
+5 252+ Atk Sheer Force Cetitan Icicle Crash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 439-517 (110 - 129.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Knock is chosen as the coverage move due to letting you not get walled by heatran if they're immune to eq or liquidation, and comfortably kills pecharunt
+5 252+ Atk Cetitan Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Pecharunt: 378-446 (99.4 - 117.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
Tlens lets this happen
+5 252+ Atk Sheer Force Cetitan Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 525-618 (98.3 - 115.7%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
And this
+6 252+ Atk Tinted Lens Cetitan Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cinderace: 330-388 (109.6 - 128.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Tinted Lens Cetitan Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Samurott-Hisui: 312-368 (97.1 - 114.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

setting up is pretty hard tho
dark types are also op
This Frosmoth set pairs well with that cetitan set.
Punnet of Bees (Frosmoth) @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Aurora Veil
- Quiver Dance
- U-turn
- Blizzard
QD could be replaced with defog but the veil makes cetitan take half damage, basically ensuring you can get the belly drum off, especially with the snow 1.5x defence boost. A more defensive EV spread could also work better but that is untested atm.
 
Back
Top