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D/P Meta Game: 1 Year Later Disscusion
- Thread starter Ambitions
- Start date
Benefited Most:
- Ambitions for being able to sneakly and shamelessly advertise Missy
- The special defense boost provided to Tyranitar, this in my mind is one of the best benefits any pokemon has gained. Jibaku's careful CBtar set is a force to be reckoned with.
- Lucario for being a special attacker that can 2HKO blissey.
Least Benefited:
- Articuno for getting completely maimed by stealth rocks. Moltres managed to avoid this title because it can hit quite hard as a lead, Articuno can't say the same. Vespiquen never even had a chance...
- Snorlax and Regice aren't viable special walls anymore. Regice is hurt to badly by stealth rocks and can't recover, snorlax has to deal with high powered special attackers with big time fighting special attacks.
- Normal type physical attackers just aren't effective anymore, with Bronzong, Heatran and other new steel types being able to absorb their attacks to well.
- Blissey is still a top tier pokemon, but GameFreak almost designed all the new special attacker to be able to handle it in one way or another. There are also many new mixed threats that force the big nurse to predict just a little bit more.
- Adamant Electivire is just isn't threatening anymore, even with a motor drive boost. The mixed mild hp grass version is probably the most viable option right now.
That's a pretty good list for now. Nice thread idea sir!
- Ambitions for being able to sneakly and shamelessly advertise Missy
- The special defense boost provided to Tyranitar, this in my mind is one of the best benefits any pokemon has gained. Jibaku's careful CBtar set is a force to be reckoned with.
- Lucario for being a special attacker that can 2HKO blissey.
Least Benefited:
- Articuno for getting completely maimed by stealth rocks. Moltres managed to avoid this title because it can hit quite hard as a lead, Articuno can't say the same. Vespiquen never even had a chance...
- Snorlax and Regice aren't viable special walls anymore. Regice is hurt to badly by stealth rocks and can't recover, snorlax has to deal with high powered special attackers with big time fighting special attacks.
- Normal type physical attackers just aren't effective anymore, with Bronzong, Heatran and other new steel types being able to absorb their attacks to well.
- Blissey is still a top tier pokemon, but GameFreak almost designed all the new special attacker to be able to handle it in one way or another. There are also many new mixed threats that force the big nurse to predict just a little bit more.
- Adamant Electivire is just isn't threatening anymore, even with a motor drive boost. The mixed mild hp grass version is probably the most viable option right now.
That's a pretty good list for now. Nice thread idea sir!
The style(of battling) itself changed before it would be sweepers everywhere and your standard hippo,donphan,skarm,cress,bliss and know i see all these defensive pokemon rampart to name a few zapdos,celebi,jirachi,miltank with heal bell, milk drink, curse, body slam, prabobly the most underlooked pokemon till now.
In the past year, I've only been around for 4 months or so but I'll give it a shot...hmmm
Most:
Gengar, his usage went way up once people realized what great type coverage he had.
Celebii, been gaining popularity, a nice balanced sub seeder option
Lucario, his sets make him a beast and he's hard to outright predict
Heatran, used all the time to bait Fire attacks, and unlike Electivire has the offense to back it up.
Jirachi, those who use it know what a gem it is, a fantasticly diverse pokemon with the speed to make annoying use of it's hax ability.
Worst:
Electivire, the swap is so predictable and he doesn't have the defense to keep himself around even after the boost, nor the movepool/attack to get a solid sweep going
Rhyperior, a cool poke but 4x weak to Ice/Water/Grass made him go extinct even with his ability, 25% less of 400% is...300% :(
Roserade, when I first started using Shoddy saw it all the time, now very rare.
Anything defensive with a SR weakness. It wasn't so bad when it first started out but for a while recently everyone seemed to have a SR user as opposed to Spikers/SR setup, now it's mostly pokes dropping SR and swapping out to start setup and with most Spinners lacking the offense and instant recovery to make them solid additions to any team any defensive type with SR weak is just silly.
Including but not limited to:
Torkoal (I love you but why do you have to be pure fire T_T)
Cloyster
Regice
Articuno
Vespiqueen (lols)
and so on...
Most:
Gengar, his usage went way up once people realized what great type coverage he had.
Celebii, been gaining popularity, a nice balanced sub seeder option
Lucario, his sets make him a beast and he's hard to outright predict
Heatran, used all the time to bait Fire attacks, and unlike Electivire has the offense to back it up.
Jirachi, those who use it know what a gem it is, a fantasticly diverse pokemon with the speed to make annoying use of it's hax ability.
Worst:
Electivire, the swap is so predictable and he doesn't have the defense to keep himself around even after the boost, nor the movepool/attack to get a solid sweep going
Rhyperior, a cool poke but 4x weak to Ice/Water/Grass made him go extinct even with his ability, 25% less of 400% is...300% :(
Roserade, when I first started using Shoddy saw it all the time, now very rare.
Anything defensive with a SR weakness. It wasn't so bad when it first started out but for a while recently everyone seemed to have a SR user as opposed to Spikers/SR setup, now it's mostly pokes dropping SR and swapping out to start setup and with most Spinners lacking the offense and instant recovery to make them solid additions to any team any defensive type with SR weak is just silly.
Including but not limited to:
Torkoal (I love you but why do you have to be pure fire T_T)
Cloyster
Regice
Articuno
Vespiqueen (lols)
and so on...
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Tpunch IcePunch Cross Chop and EQ hit 14 types super effective? That can rain on your parade. I do agree with the fact that its Att stat is a wee bit lowww compared to some other physical sweepers every one is using now adays, since most physical sweepers have SD or DD.
Greatest success:
Heatran and Celebi
These two have greatly improved over the last year and are in fact a great combo together!
Greatest flop:
Weavile and Ambipom
Remember early Shoddy when all you saw as leads were Sashed Weaviles and Ambipoms? Enough said.
Heatran and Celebi
These two have greatly improved over the last year and are in fact a great combo together!
Greatest flop:
Weavile and Ambipom
Remember early Shoddy when all you saw as leads were Sashed Weaviles and Ambipoms? Enough said.
Gained:
Specs Lucario
Many people may be saying "what the fuck, SD Life Orb is where it's at!", but really, look at Specs Lucario again. All the SD Life Orb rage in the last 4 months has really opened the metagame up for Specs Lucario domination. All of the things sent in to beat SD Lucario are beaten by specs. Actually, everything sent in to beat Specs Lucario is beaten by Specs, so yeah.....
Garchomp
Garchomp went from really hyped, to mediocre, to the most dominant attacking force in all of OU. So dominant in fact, there have been arguements to make it uber. Sand Veil is a trait that is arguably one of the best, forcing 100% accurate attacks to drop down to Stone Edge accuracy in the sand. Not to mention Garchomp has the ability to 2HKO literally everything in OU. Garchomp does it all, with just a few attacks.
Shuckle
That's right, Shuckle. With Sandstorm boosting a 0 SpDef Shuckle's special defense to over 700, and having 614 defense with a decent (not great, but OK) defensive typing, Shuckle has really become a force in OU. Encore is one of the most deadly attacks a team can face, considering it gives your opponent a free turn to do whatever. Add in Knock Off and Toxic, and Shuckle can actually take out several pokemon on his own. Only downfalls are that Shuckle is completely owned by Taunt, 244 HP and Rest as a recovery move.
Heatran
Remember the discussions of Heatran being BL? I do. Heatran is another dominant force in OU. People have realized that a 4x weakness to ground is not all THAT bad, especially with all the great resistances Heatran gets with Steel + Fire. Not to mention great defenses and HP, as well as a monster SpA stat. Heatran is really the complete package. It can wall on a defensive team, be scarfed or speced, beat Blissey via Taunt, and has a great ability. What's not to love about Heatran?
Gengar
Gengar was good at the beginning of DP, it's just insane now. So many different sets and capabilitys, Gengar is threatening just entering the match simply because your opponent has no idea what attacks it's running besides Shadow Ball. Not to mention great SpA and speed, Hypnosis, and some great resistances. Gengar has went from good to a rival of Garchomp in terms of usage, utility and deadlyness. Scarf Gengar is everywhere, and this just makes other sets more threatening.
Deoxys-E
A (almost complete) move down to OU, and Deoxys-E has become a underrated star of DP. It's really THE pokemon to bring out late game. Being able to nearly max both attack stats while outspeeding almost the entire metagame is something very valuable and unique to Deoxys-E. A movepool deeper than aldaron's vagina, Deoxys-E is a big threat. Base 90 attacks are considered "mediocre" by many, but when Deoxys-E is hitting everything SE with 95+ BP attacks, it's not so weak anymore.
Celebi
Wow, who ever thought Celebi would be used so much? Base 100 defenses are quite bulky, and Celebi gets Recover as well, something other bulky pokemon dream about. Celebi also has rather good SpA, and STAB on Grass Knot. Thunderwave, Reflect, Stealth Rock HP Ice, Substitute, Baton Pass, Leech Seed and U-turn are all great attacks to choose from when finishing up the moveset. As many people have found, Celebi makes a decent counter to Gyarados (though still loses to CB Ice Fang and DD Ice Fang when Gyarados is at 100%). Celebi has found a way onto many teams because of great utility value, while still being able to do good damage to a lot of pokemon.
Zapdos
Much like Celebi, Zapdos is surprise to many this gen. Finding a niche as a pokemon with great offensive and defensive balance, as well as a great counter to pokemon such as Gyarados, Lucario and some Garchomp. Zapdos is one tough cookie. Roost is a great asset to the bird, and a STAB'd Thunderbolt does a great amount of damage.
Loss:
Azelf
Sadly, one of my favorite DP pokemon started out huge, and got worse as the metagame evolved. Azelf started out as a monster, 125 base SpA, 115 base Spe and Nasty Plot. Throw in some great attacks, and you've got yourself a good pokemon! Well, that was right at first. Sadly, as the metagame evolved, the speed standard kept getting higher and higher, until Azelf couldn't keep up. And unlike Gengar, Azelf really isn't to versatile to make up for the growing ineffectivness at sweeping.
Porygon-Z
Another one of my DP favorites, Porygon-Z started out strong like Azelf. Nasty Plot, 135 base SpA, respectable speed, and the ability to 2HKO Blissey with Tri Attack. Porygon-Z was predicted to be another monster of DP. Unfortunatly, Porygon-Z went downhill even faster than Azelf, but for the same reason. As the speed game went up, Porygon-Z's effectivness plummeted. A scarf was the best choice, but even then, Porygon-Z is completly stopped by standard special walls. Just like Azelf, Porygon-Z just doesn't have the utility to keep being usful.
Blissey
Still a strong force in OU, but most of the used special attackers have found a way around Blissey. Not to mention, the lack of dealing damage isn't that great. Blissey still has merits with Thunderwave, Sing and Toxic, but other pokemon can do that as well, and do a quite a bit more.
Cresselia
Starting off as something that was thought near impossible to take down, Cresselia has taken a huge hit through the evolution of DP. In the beginning, Cresselia could use Moonlight with 3 attacks and monster defenses. Now, two moveslots are almost needed for Rest and Sleep Talk. Giving Cresselia a status really hinders her ability to do anything except sit there in battle and take hits. And if you don't run a status, Cresselia's special attack isn't high enough to OHKO Garchomp or Gyarados, two pokemon she started out as a great counter to, and these pokemon are able to take full advantage to stat up and beat her down.
Donphan
Started out really strong as a good defensive pokemon, and Rapid Spinner, and has died off to almost non-existant in OU. Donphan's lack of recovery, horrible special defense and lack of power compared to other walls/rapid spinners has sent him spiraling down further and further.
Breloom
Breloom was once something even the best players feared, with great attack, Focus Punch, Poison Heal, Leech Seed and most of all, Spore. However, with the advent of Celebi usage, and the speed increase, Breloom is more or less dead weight on a team now. And in a metagame dominated by late game sweeps, Breloom has dropped even further down with those horrible defenses and speed.
Disagreements:
Rhyperior
Rhyperior is really not as bad as everyone thinks. Great HP, attack and defense along with Solid Rock are still extremely formidable. I've read some posts about how Rhyperior can't get past Hippowdon or other physical walls. That is a straight up lie. Running an Adamant nature, and 196 HP / 84 Atk / 168 Def / 60 Spe, Swords Dance and Earthquake, Rhyperior outspeeds and 2HKO's Hippowdon after 1 Swords Dance, while Hippowdon does a paltry 30%-35% with Earthquake. Rhyperior's typing is disapointing, but it can take a surprising amount of punishment before going down. Just leaving it in against special attacks is obviously dumb. However, Sandstream boosts Rhyperior's poor SpDef to a respectable level, high enough to actually be 3-4HKO'd by Ice Beam.
Electivire
People seem to dismiss Electivire because it's not as good as they once thought. Well, that's right and wrong. Physical Electivire really isn't as good as we all thought, and has plummeted in usage. However, take a look around the RMT forum. Flamethrower / HP Ice / Thunderbolt / Cross Chop absolutly rapes most teams, espcially with a Motor Drive boost. Why people don't use this more is beyond me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
There you have it. I could have kept listing pokemon in the improved section, but I do have other stuff I need to get done tonight.
EDIT- I wrote all of this to try to bring some discussion to this thread, which has been complete ass so far. However, it has potential to turn into a decent thread, so please, let's actually talk about something and not let the last half hour of my life go to waste!
Specs Lucario
Many people may be saying "what the fuck, SD Life Orb is where it's at!", but really, look at Specs Lucario again. All the SD Life Orb rage in the last 4 months has really opened the metagame up for Specs Lucario domination. All of the things sent in to beat SD Lucario are beaten by specs. Actually, everything sent in to beat Specs Lucario is beaten by Specs, so yeah.....
Garchomp
Garchomp went from really hyped, to mediocre, to the most dominant attacking force in all of OU. So dominant in fact, there have been arguements to make it uber. Sand Veil is a trait that is arguably one of the best, forcing 100% accurate attacks to drop down to Stone Edge accuracy in the sand. Not to mention Garchomp has the ability to 2HKO literally everything in OU. Garchomp does it all, with just a few attacks.
Shuckle
That's right, Shuckle. With Sandstorm boosting a 0 SpDef Shuckle's special defense to over 700, and having 614 defense with a decent (not great, but OK) defensive typing, Shuckle has really become a force in OU. Encore is one of the most deadly attacks a team can face, considering it gives your opponent a free turn to do whatever. Add in Knock Off and Toxic, and Shuckle can actually take out several pokemon on his own. Only downfalls are that Shuckle is completely owned by Taunt, 244 HP and Rest as a recovery move.
Heatran
Remember the discussions of Heatran being BL? I do. Heatran is another dominant force in OU. People have realized that a 4x weakness to ground is not all THAT bad, especially with all the great resistances Heatran gets with Steel + Fire. Not to mention great defenses and HP, as well as a monster SpA stat. Heatran is really the complete package. It can wall on a defensive team, be scarfed or speced, beat Blissey via Taunt, and has a great ability. What's not to love about Heatran?
Gengar
Gengar was good at the beginning of DP, it's just insane now. So many different sets and capabilitys, Gengar is threatening just entering the match simply because your opponent has no idea what attacks it's running besides Shadow Ball. Not to mention great SpA and speed, Hypnosis, and some great resistances. Gengar has went from good to a rival of Garchomp in terms of usage, utility and deadlyness. Scarf Gengar is everywhere, and this just makes other sets more threatening.
Deoxys-E
A (almost complete) move down to OU, and Deoxys-E has become a underrated star of DP. It's really THE pokemon to bring out late game. Being able to nearly max both attack stats while outspeeding almost the entire metagame is something very valuable and unique to Deoxys-E. A movepool deeper than aldaron's vagina, Deoxys-E is a big threat. Base 90 attacks are considered "mediocre" by many, but when Deoxys-E is hitting everything SE with 95+ BP attacks, it's not so weak anymore.
Celebi
Wow, who ever thought Celebi would be used so much? Base 100 defenses are quite bulky, and Celebi gets Recover as well, something other bulky pokemon dream about. Celebi also has rather good SpA, and STAB on Grass Knot. Thunderwave, Reflect, Stealth Rock HP Ice, Substitute, Baton Pass, Leech Seed and U-turn are all great attacks to choose from when finishing up the moveset. As many people have found, Celebi makes a decent counter to Gyarados (though still loses to CB Ice Fang and DD Ice Fang when Gyarados is at 100%). Celebi has found a way onto many teams because of great utility value, while still being able to do good damage to a lot of pokemon.
Zapdos
Much like Celebi, Zapdos is surprise to many this gen. Finding a niche as a pokemon with great offensive and defensive balance, as well as a great counter to pokemon such as Gyarados, Lucario and some Garchomp. Zapdos is one tough cookie. Roost is a great asset to the bird, and a STAB'd Thunderbolt does a great amount of damage.
Loss:
Azelf
Sadly, one of my favorite DP pokemon started out huge, and got worse as the metagame evolved. Azelf started out as a monster, 125 base SpA, 115 base Spe and Nasty Plot. Throw in some great attacks, and you've got yourself a good pokemon! Well, that was right at first. Sadly, as the metagame evolved, the speed standard kept getting higher and higher, until Azelf couldn't keep up. And unlike Gengar, Azelf really isn't to versatile to make up for the growing ineffectivness at sweeping.
Porygon-Z
Another one of my DP favorites, Porygon-Z started out strong like Azelf. Nasty Plot, 135 base SpA, respectable speed, and the ability to 2HKO Blissey with Tri Attack. Porygon-Z was predicted to be another monster of DP. Unfortunatly, Porygon-Z went downhill even faster than Azelf, but for the same reason. As the speed game went up, Porygon-Z's effectivness plummeted. A scarf was the best choice, but even then, Porygon-Z is completly stopped by standard special walls. Just like Azelf, Porygon-Z just doesn't have the utility to keep being usful.
Blissey
Still a strong force in OU, but most of the used special attackers have found a way around Blissey. Not to mention, the lack of dealing damage isn't that great. Blissey still has merits with Thunderwave, Sing and Toxic, but other pokemon can do that as well, and do a quite a bit more.
Cresselia
Starting off as something that was thought near impossible to take down, Cresselia has taken a huge hit through the evolution of DP. In the beginning, Cresselia could use Moonlight with 3 attacks and monster defenses. Now, two moveslots are almost needed for Rest and Sleep Talk. Giving Cresselia a status really hinders her ability to do anything except sit there in battle and take hits. And if you don't run a status, Cresselia's special attack isn't high enough to OHKO Garchomp or Gyarados, two pokemon she started out as a great counter to, and these pokemon are able to take full advantage to stat up and beat her down.
Donphan
Started out really strong as a good defensive pokemon, and Rapid Spinner, and has died off to almost non-existant in OU. Donphan's lack of recovery, horrible special defense and lack of power compared to other walls/rapid spinners has sent him spiraling down further and further.
Breloom
Breloom was once something even the best players feared, with great attack, Focus Punch, Poison Heal, Leech Seed and most of all, Spore. However, with the advent of Celebi usage, and the speed increase, Breloom is more or less dead weight on a team now. And in a metagame dominated by late game sweeps, Breloom has dropped even further down with those horrible defenses and speed.
Disagreements:
Rhyperior
Rhyperior is really not as bad as everyone thinks. Great HP, attack and defense along with Solid Rock are still extremely formidable. I've read some posts about how Rhyperior can't get past Hippowdon or other physical walls. That is a straight up lie. Running an Adamant nature, and 196 HP / 84 Atk / 168 Def / 60 Spe, Swords Dance and Earthquake, Rhyperior outspeeds and 2HKO's Hippowdon after 1 Swords Dance, while Hippowdon does a paltry 30%-35% with Earthquake. Rhyperior's typing is disapointing, but it can take a surprising amount of punishment before going down. Just leaving it in against special attacks is obviously dumb. However, Sandstream boosts Rhyperior's poor SpDef to a respectable level, high enough to actually be 3-4HKO'd by Ice Beam.
Electivire
People seem to dismiss Electivire because it's not as good as they once thought. Well, that's right and wrong. Physical Electivire really isn't as good as we all thought, and has plummeted in usage. However, take a look around the RMT forum. Flamethrower / HP Ice / Thunderbolt / Cross Chop absolutly rapes most teams, espcially with a Motor Drive boost. Why people don't use this more is beyond me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
There you have it. I could have kept listing pokemon in the improved section, but I do have other stuff I need to get done tonight.
EDIT- I wrote all of this to try to bring some discussion to this thread, which has been complete ass so far. However, it has potential to turn into a decent thread, so please, let's actually talk about something and not let the last half hour of my life go to waste!
A couple disagreements (for now), I noticed Tangrowth, Azelf and Articuno were said to have lost out, but Tangrowth is a nice step up from tangela, it has a pretty fun movepool and hp/defense, despite its decent/meh typing; Articuno got roost, you gotta give it that at least...; Azelf, does suffer somewhat from a faster metagame, however it still has a lot of potential, still has a base 125 spatk and nasty plot, and has an interesting but not often used move - taunt, not to mention a very powerful explosion and u-turn. Not to say they don't have their downpoints, but prolly not the worst sufferers
Goodies! Let's all highlight our favorite pokemon again for the millionth time!
Gained:
Lucario - I've made this the centerpiece of some of my most devastating teams and it delivers from both physical and special, but especially special
Mixape - tear down those walls, Mr. Gorbachev!
Snorlax - it still is lacking compared to Blissey as a special wall, but is a great counter for Gengar, and Heatran. It's usage has a steadily increase just recently, with people developing cases of Blissey-hating. Sure, it's not as good as it was in RS, but it is better than people thought at the beginning of DP.
Flops:
Azelf - I loved this guy to death in the advent of dp. Total weavile and t-tar weak is keeping this beast from showing its true power. If only it learned close combat or aura sphere -.- Edit: Now that I think about it, what it really needs is IB to compete with late game Garchomps.
Cresselia - Can't really dent anything and really doesn't support the rest of the team outside of weather. It was soooooooooooooooo ready to use this when that stupid fake 'wish Cresselia' rumour came out. What a giant disappointment. Both the pokemon and the rumour.
Electivire - what everyone else said - weak, fragile, needs SD, blah blah blah.
Disagreements:
Gengar - it's always been up there from the beginning when people realized how broken the choice scarf set was on wi-fi.
Gained:
Lucario - I've made this the centerpiece of some of my most devastating teams and it delivers from both physical and special, but especially special
Mixape - tear down those walls, Mr. Gorbachev!
Snorlax - it still is lacking compared to Blissey as a special wall, but is a great counter for Gengar, and Heatran. It's usage has a steadily increase just recently, with people developing cases of Blissey-hating. Sure, it's not as good as it was in RS, but it is better than people thought at the beginning of DP.
Flops:
Azelf - I loved this guy to death in the advent of dp. Total weavile and t-tar weak is keeping this beast from showing its true power. If only it learned close combat or aura sphere -.- Edit: Now that I think about it, what it really needs is IB to compete with late game Garchomps.
Cresselia - Can't really dent anything and really doesn't support the rest of the team outside of weather. It was soooooooooooooooo ready to use this when that stupid fake 'wish Cresselia' rumour came out. What a giant disappointment. Both the pokemon and the rumour.
Electivire - what everyone else said - weak, fragile, needs SD, blah blah blah.
Disagreements:
Gengar - it's always been up there from the beginning when people realized how broken the choice scarf set was on wi-fi.
Gained:
Lucario...... and kickass in brawl too!
Garchomp - obviously got better when people started abusing sandstorm like no other. So annoying...
Kingdra - Went from mediocre to fucking superstar, finally winning its first ticket to OU EVER.
Celebi - was always good, but now is on EVERY team, and for a damn good reason.
Yanmega - this thing is just beastly now, I believe it's gained more popularity and people are starting to use it outside of a lead.
Mamoswine - a bit overrated, but definately went from undercover to everywhere...
Gallade - Gallade is another one of those pokemon that has creeped up. People get sick of Heracross :-(.
Smeargle - thanks to encore and wob everywhere, the possiblities are endless.
Lost:
Rhyperior - definately fallen off the radar. Still a good pokemon though, just thoroughly outclassed.
Electivire - this thing just sucks. Was terribly overrated.
Porygon Z - usage has fallen also IMO. People seem to like Gengar and Raikou more as special attackers.
Azelf - not even threatening anymore. Everyone scarfs it and its just weak as shit without NP.
Disagreements:
Breloom - still damn good. Spore will NEVER be a bad move, and the thing is actually quite dominant since its usage has fallen.
Lucario...... and kickass in brawl too!
Garchomp - obviously got better when people started abusing sandstorm like no other. So annoying...
Kingdra - Went from mediocre to fucking superstar, finally winning its first ticket to OU EVER.
Celebi - was always good, but now is on EVERY team, and for a damn good reason.
Yanmega - this thing is just beastly now, I believe it's gained more popularity and people are starting to use it outside of a lead.
Mamoswine - a bit overrated, but definately went from undercover to everywhere...
Gallade - Gallade is another one of those pokemon that has creeped up. People get sick of Heracross :-(.
Smeargle - thanks to encore and wob everywhere, the possiblities are endless.
Lost:
Rhyperior - definately fallen off the radar. Still a good pokemon though, just thoroughly outclassed.
Electivire - this thing just sucks. Was terribly overrated.
Porygon Z - usage has fallen also IMO. People seem to like Gengar and Raikou more as special attackers.
Azelf - not even threatening anymore. Everyone scarfs it and its just weak as shit without NP.
Disagreements:
Breloom - still damn good. Spore will NEVER be a bad move, and the thing is actually quite dominant since its usage has fallen.
Best:
Garchomp; because it's one of those very few OU's that we can call "uncounterable". Outrage can make it easy to revenge kill, but one thing is going to have to die / take a huge hit, and you're going to probably have mamoswine/weavile/scarfgar to fire back at him. This thing is god, one of the best pokemon in the metagame.
Lost:
Porygon-Z: Would have been a great pokemon to use, because of the excellent type coverage and move power. With bragging rights to be able to use a doubled STAB, Bolt Beam, and the unresisted Ghost Fighting combo all off the 135 Base special attack stat, Porygon-Z was looking to be one of our most prominent special sweepers. Excellent points aside, PZ is stopped cold by Blissey and its poor 95 speed stat. It can use agility, at the price of leaving itself open to special walls, or nasty plot, at the expense of being revenge killed easily. Nice idea and nice try, but to difficult to utilize effectively.
Disagreements:
Smeargle: What it's going to do? Spore me to death? You're going to argue, but all you need is a sleep talker and the ability to outpredict your opponent.
Garchomp; because it's one of those very few OU's that we can call "uncounterable". Outrage can make it easy to revenge kill, but one thing is going to have to die / take a huge hit, and you're going to probably have mamoswine/weavile/scarfgar to fire back at him. This thing is god, one of the best pokemon in the metagame.
Lost:
Porygon-Z: Would have been a great pokemon to use, because of the excellent type coverage and move power. With bragging rights to be able to use a doubled STAB, Bolt Beam, and the unresisted Ghost Fighting combo all off the 135 Base special attack stat, Porygon-Z was looking to be one of our most prominent special sweepers. Excellent points aside, PZ is stopped cold by Blissey and its poor 95 speed stat. It can use agility, at the price of leaving itself open to special walls, or nasty plot, at the expense of being revenge killed easily. Nice idea and nice try, but to difficult to utilize effectively.
Disagreements:
Smeargle: What it's going to do? Spore me to death? You're going to argue, but all you need is a sleep talker and the ability to outpredict your opponent.
now i disagree with porygon z. sure it gets owned by blissey and its speed holds it back but what about the modest scarf set? Its a massive jump up from porygon2 as well. if we want to go onto something that gets held back by speed, walls and defences we will open up a rampardos discussion.
Except with pokemon like Deoxys-E, Scarf Gengar, Heatran and Lucario being some of the most commonly used pokemon in the metagame, Azelf has a hard time even late game now.
With the modest scarf set it looses so much of it's versitility. Still beaten by blissey as well.
Me, I'll just list one pokemon for each category to begin with.
Benefitted most: Breloom. Got a lot better since people began to realize how potent Poison Heal + Toxic Orb was.
Tanked most: Tauros. What's the point in using it when there's a certain little purple monkey running around with more speed and the ability to defeat Skarmory with Thunder? And this is just comparing the two on the choice set, because Tauros can't really do anything else.
Benefitted most: Breloom. Got a lot better since people began to realize how potent Poison Heal + Toxic Orb was.
Tanked most: Tauros. What's the point in using it when there's a certain little purple monkey running around with more speed and the ability to defeat Skarmory with Thunder? And this is just comparing the two on the choice set, because Tauros can't really do anything else.