Since kokoloko allowed ban discussion here, I went out and tested everything that I thought to be broken barring Staraptor (I've faced it enough though :/). By doing so, I have some opinions that I'd like to post on what I think should be banned. Do note that these are only
my opinions, so if you disagree with them, feel free to argue against me respectfully. Without further ado, here's the list:
Heracronite
Mega Heracross beats a shitload of threats one-on-one and is overall very hard to check reliably. Its only hard checks are Granbull, Mega Bannette, Cofagrigus, and Nidoqueen, and the latter three can be gotten past with some good prediction, hazards, and the right moves. For example, Mega Heracross can set up a Swords Dance as Cofagrigus switches in, and then can proceed to OHKO with Rock Blast/Bullet Seed granted that Stealth Rock is on the field. While Mega Banette can cripple Heracross with a priority Will-O-Wisp, it can never directly switch in unless you're good at predicting and switch in on a Close Combat. Mega Banette is OHKOed by Rock Blast after Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes, and even without the latter, Heracross has a very small chance to OHKO. This means that Mega Banette will have to switch in after something dies or on a Close Combat if it doesn't want to be crippled. Nidoqueen, on the other hand, can be hit hard on the switch with Bullet Seed, which is a clean 2HKO, and since Nidoqueen almost never runs max Speed EVs while Heracross almost always does, Heracross will come out on top. Even if you mispredict, Nidoqueen will never OHKO a full health Heracross with Fire Blast, which will let it defeat Nidoqueen with Bullet Seed since, again, it will be faster most of the time. This will leave Heracross crippled though, but it will still come out on top. Heracross's other set is SubPunch, which is extremely threatening in its own regard. Heracross forces tons of switches, such as that on the extremely common Bisharp, which gives it ample of opportunities to set up a Substitute and blast the switch-in with Focus Punch. Many "resists" are also hit for astounding damage, usually doing more than half damage. To show its power, I have presented some calcs:
252+ Atk Mega Heracross Focus Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Nidoqueen: 198-233 (
51.5 - 60.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Mega Heracross Focus Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Florges: 241-284 (
66.9 - 78.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Mega Heracross Focus Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 235-277 (
78.3 - 92.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Mega Heracross Focus Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latias: 192-226 (
63.5 - 74.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Mega Heracross Focus Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Gardevoir: 124-147 (
44.6 - 52.8%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO (Garde 4x resists this as well)
Mega Heracross's Speed, while fairly low, is still fast enough to outpace common threats such as Metagross and Bisharp and hit them extremely hard before they even have a chance to attack. There are very few Pokemon that are faster than Mega Heracross, can switch into it safely, and OHKO it. The only Pokemon I can think of is Granbull, which is the only real hard counter that exists in UU. You know if something is broken if you feel you have to run one of three Pokemon to be able to deal with it, otherwise, they'll wreck you. Overall, Mega Heracross is a really threatening Pokemon on the battlefield, and is one that can switch in after something has died and is guaranteed to kill off at least one Pokemon (sometimes two) before finally dying unless the opposing team has something to take a hit and retaliate.
Zygarde
Now this is a weird and unexpected one that I expect no one to agree with, but Treecko and DTC were right in saying that Zygarde is a total monster of a Pokemon. Zygarde's great bulk lets it set up Dragon Dances with ease, and a strong priority in Extreme Speed compliments its great STABs very well. Or, you can choose to run a SubDD set to set up in the face of walls such as Bronzong and Chansey, as well as avoid priority. The fact that Zygarde doesn't get Dragon Claw really hurts it, since it is now forced to run either Outrage or Dragon Tail, both of which are problematic moves for a late-game sweeper as the former locks Zygarde into that move and confuses it while the latter is pathetically weak, but Zygarde can still work around that. Once at +2 (sometimes, I have even gotten to +3), Zygarde outspeeds everything up to positive-natured Choice Scarf Weavile, which is non-existent. Furthermore, Zygarde now has a 65% to 2HKO 252/0 Bronzong with Outrage, which is really saying something. Even if one does switch in a revenge killer, Zygarde can get to +1 on the switch, which allows it to outspeed Choice Scarf Heracross and Chandelure and OHKO them with the right move. Furthermore, every common Pokemon that does outspeed Zygarde even at +1 can never OHKO, while Zygarde almost always does back. Because Zygarde can set up so easily and then proceed to wreck teams, I believe that it is unhealthy for the metagame and should be given the boot, despite it being less of a threat initially and being very underrated.
Deoxys-D and Deoxys-S
These two Pokemon are similar since they can support their teams with impunity. The only thing stopping them is a Mega Heracross or a fast Choice Scarf Pokemon, and even then, they can get up at least one layer of hazards since they're either faster or bulky/have a Focus Sash. Deoxys-D uses its godlike defenses to set up two-three layers while still having great Speed while Deoxys-S uses its godlike Speed to set up hazards while still having great defenses. Furthermore, if they are satisfied with the number of hazards they have gotten in, they can support the team even more with Knock Off to rid the opponent of an item before going down. Both Pokemon can also utilize dual screens. Deoxys-S usually carries Taunt to stop the opposition from doing anything funky while Deoxys-D usually carries Recover to be an upright pain in the ass and continue to support the team forever. While the hazards they set are easier to remove with Defog, smart players can work around that by preserving these two and bluffing them to be another set while getting rid of their defogger. Once that happens, they can switch in their Deoxys formes and set up hazards freely. There isn't much to be said about these guys, so I'll leave it off here, but I highly believe the impunity these two have in providing support makes them unhealthy for the metagame.
Medichamite
The thing is, Medicham hits
way too hard. It literally 2HKOes max Hippodown and 4/0 Latias with High Jump Kick without the help of hazards. Medicham's Speed tier and bulk are both very good as well, the former more than the latter. Mega Medicham has no trouble Mega evolving with the help of Fake Out, which ensures it doesn't have to live as its slow, frail self for too long. Mega Medicham's bulk allows it to survive many hits as long as they're not
too powerful like Bisharp's Sucker Punch and then it can proceed to OHKO or at least cripple the threat at hand. So basically, Mega Medicham is much like a faster, frailer version of Mega Heracross. What makes Medicham so deadly is that it is extremely hard to switch into and will get your Pokemon crippled no matter what, unless you're a Mega Banette and you happen to switch in on a Fighting-type move. For this reason, I'm doubting how healthy Medicham really is for the metagame, despite there being a select few Pokemon that can revenge kill it, like Bisharp or Choice Band Stoutland with sand support.
Bisharp
Now, I was on the fence for Bisharp, but I honestly think that it is fairly broken. There are only two hard counters to it, and those are Cobalion and Keldeo, and then there are checks such as Mega Blastoise and Virizion that still do good against it. Bisharp's huge power combined with high-powered STABs and an excellent priority in Sucker Punch makes it a very hard Pokemon to take hits from. Furthermore, Defiant makes increasing Bisharp's power very easy, as it can switch in on Defogs and Sticky Webs to gain that juicy +2 Attack boost. Furthermore, Bisharp is boosted from Intimidate and can get past Fairies with ease, so these "would-be-counters" are a huge liability. Bisharp's low Speed is practically a non-issue with Sucker Punch, while it can throw around pathetically powerful Knock Offs with little to no fear. We all know how Bisharp works by now and how much of a monster it is, but overall, if Bisharp doesn't move up to OU usage soon, it will be a broken force in the UU metagame imo.
That's all for now, even though there are other Pokemon I feel to be a little broken, they have some factors that prevents them from utterly wrecking everything like the above six do. But, in case you were wondering, here are some honorable mentions:
Hydreigon: This thing is very powerful and has many coverage options to utilize. It has a good Speed tier and formidable bulk, which lets it rampage through many Pokemon in UU. The ultimate thing is, however, many common and excellent tanks in UU that have little to no trouble with dealing with Hydriegon. Chansey, Mega Gardevoir, and Chansey all defeat this thing one-on-one with ease, and then there are many other checks that can come in and defeat it like Mega Medicham and Keldeo, which makes me believe that Hydreigon isn't broken, but I am still kind of doubtful.
Keldeo: Many people were very scared of this thing, and for good reason, it's a monster, however, all of Keldeo's hard counters have descended into UU with it, which makes it much less threatening. Jellicent, Celebi, and Latias are all excellent Pokemon that can deal with Keldeo very well. Despite Choice Specs Keldeo's immediate power, there are many Pokemon that can stop it, such as Choice Scarf users like Thundurus-T and Staraptor even if they can't switch into it. I might be wrong about Keldeo, but from my experiences on the ladder, it isn't a broken threat.
Chansey: This thing is REALLY annoying, until it gets its Eviolite knocked off. Chansey is a very bulky Pokemon on both sides with Eviolite, but without it, it's a fairly easy wall to get rid of with decently powerful physical attackers and even some strong as hell special attackers. Chansey also has zero offensive presence, with its only way of damage being Toxic and Seismic Toss, both of which are fairly easy to work around. Because of the Knock Off buff, Chansey is not what it was in BW, which I believe keeps it in control and prevents it from being broken.
Latias: The thing with Latias is that it is easy to check. With common Pokemon like Metagross, Escavalier, Bisharp, Florges, Gardevoir, etc. running around, Latias is always kept at bay. While Latias is very strong, it doesn't compare to other behemoths like Hyreigon, Thundurus-T, and Keldeo, and its coverage is fairly sub-par with many Pokemon not caring for it. Don't get me wrong, Latias is an excellent Pokemon, it's just that Latias isn't overpowered, much to the opposite of many people's beliefs (did I use that saying right??).
Drought has crossed my mind as well, but the thing is, I haven't tested it enough to know if it's broken or not, so I'll leave that argument out for today.
So, what do you guys think of my list? Do you agree? Disagree (if so, why)? Do you think I missed something or do you think I mentioned something that shouldn't be here (bring on the Zygarde hate n_n)? Feel free to discuss respectfully ^.^
