first of all, thanks for the support guys, especially you Champion Leon, your post really cheered me up :D
i feel a lot better about the doggo thing now
View attachment 221843crowned shield doggo is now happy :D
second, i'd like to talk about a certain ability that i feel is underrated, its gorilla tactic's little cousin, hustle!
here's a sample hustle set i love to use:
View attachment 221839
Darmanitan-Galar-Zen @ Choice Band
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Icicle Crash
- Close Combat
- Bolt Beak
now let's talk about it:
hustle as an ability is very risk reward. you either hit your attacks, or you don't. this risk reward factor is insanely powerful on dgz as its already sky high attack is boosted to tremendous levels with hustle + choice band. the special thing about this set is that hustle is easy to bluff with dgz's stabs; since v-create and icicle crash can already miss, if you do miss, it wont be immediately obvious you're using hustle. unlike intrepid sword, hustle isn't immediately revealed upon switchin, and the boost can't be removed by haze/topsy-turvy. the nature of hustle also makes it easier to improof, due to the miss chance on all of the imposter's moves, so even if the imposter isnt choiced locked and able to attack your improof, there's always the chance the imposter will miss their attack and allow you to retaliate. the boost in damage hustle gives is insanely good, here's some calcs to demonstrate:
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Darmanitan-Galar-Zen Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Melmetal: 384-452 (81 - 95.3%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Darmanitan-Galar-Zen Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 217-256 (61.6 - 72.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Darmanitan-Galar-Zen Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Zamazenta-Crowned: 380-448 (97.9 - 115.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Darmanitan-Galar-Zen V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 205-242 (67.4 - 79.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery (volt absorb pex for reference)
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Darmanitan-Galar-Zen V-create vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eternatus in Sun: 471-555 (97.3 - 114.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO (ETERNATUS IS OKHOD IN SUN OH GOD WHY)
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Darmanitan-Galar-Zen Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Eternatus: 272-324 (56.1 - 66.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (apparently fc etern is a set so i put it here cus etern is a pretty good v-create switchin normally)
the only wall that isnt 2khoed by any of this things moves that i calced is fc regular darm zen with hdb so thats a pretty good way to improof this set as well as other dgzs in general
also heres a replay of hustle dgz in action:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8balancedhackmons-1048213630
Double the Darm-Z! Yipee!
I am so proud of you! You literally made an epic, humongous comeback from feeling bad, to feeling pretty rad!
I am excited to encourage others to explore Hustle as well. I used to promote it, and it was actually a set used last generation for Hoopa-Unbound because of a never-miss move.
One thing to recognize, however, is that Hustle doesn't impact the accuracy of Dynamax Moves! So, like Z-moves last generation, if you need to hit with Hustle during a pivotal turn, where a miss will cost you? Dynamax your Attack, and deal it right smack in their face!
While Choice Items are diabled during Dynamax, V-Create sets the sun (50% boost), Bolt Beak sets the Electric Terrain (30% boost + anti-sleep!), and Icicle Crash's power gains almost 50% from its Max-Ice equivalent attack (plus 6.25% from hail pushes it to 50%+), while Close Combat literally grants +1 Atk, so it is like you are using a Choice Band thanks to the boosts afforded to it. It's like a pseudo Choice Band, so you never miss! And never miss out on those same key KOs!
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Dynamax can certainly benefit Offensive Pokemon, but I also value the power of Defensive Pokemon that can Dynamax for double their HP. Overall, Dynamax is always acknowledged for the Offensive benefits, but people skip the often ignored Defensive benefits.
Afterall, if you send in a check for something that you thought was Choiced, but it just used Shell Smash, Dynamaxing to double your HP just negated that boost. Plus, Defensive checks often lack the power to force out offensive foes, or ever KO them, but Dynamax can turn a Primarina into a surprisingly powerful Water attacker from Max-Water + Rain.
Also, Dynamax can disable a few items like the aforementioned Choice Items, so not all is lost, as my point earlier on the stat, terrain and weather boosts only occur upon successful activation, so Flash Fire/Primordial Sea, Volt Absorb/Ground-types, Ghost-types, etc. can all switch in and block whichever move they are immune to, ultimately preventing its effect completely (such as Flash Fire Aegislash / Eviolite Doublade blocking Darmanitan-Galar-Zen Mode's V-Create, and Close Combat).
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Also, I would like to suggest we stop trying to focus so much on metagame ban/policy changes, it's hard for us to settle if everything keeps moving. I don't mind the policy changes in good measure, but people just try to bandwagon for another next suspect as if the generation is about to end.
We have to bear in mind that as the expansion pack is released, many of our expectations will immediately impact a new metagame, and we cannot assume that something that is released in just a few months will necessarily warrant us trying to make as many changes now as if they will be something we keep. It's a constantly moving metagame, where even in the summer after the first expansion pack, we immediately await as we get a second expansion pack released in the final quarter of the year, unstabilizing something we are trying to still establish ourselves and our metarelevant data/mechanics in the new generation.
For more context, I encourage people to
review this point on tiering, and metagame expectations, because unlike prior generations, we have multiple equivalents of 3rd versions (hundreds of additional new/old *i.e. more* Pokemon, plus all of the re-released/new moves, forms, abilities, items, etc.) that occur, not once, but twice within just 1 year after a game's release. We owe it to ourselves to be realistic, so... how much will some people's want to ban something like an entire mechanic change in Dynamax, make sense, if we would have to consider having to unban it all over again if it isn't that big of a threat after all?
So yes, now is its own metagame, but since we evolve with the new releases, how much of it will matter in 4 months? We are not freezing BH in pre-expansion pack eras, so we may as well think of the long-term, because even if we do not know what the packs will completely include, we can at least focus on more specific demanding needs, than a general mechanic change that lasts 3 turns.