Hi, so I'm getting back into competitive Pokemon for the first time since Gen VI. Does anyone have any quick tips on how to effectively jump into a new metagame? Or does anyone have any particularly important things that I should know about SS OU? I'm familiar with the various resource threads and am currently using one of the sample OU teams to get a feel for the threats.
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Resource Simple Questions, Simple Answers Thread
- Thread starter Jordy
- Start date
So what are ways to deal with sun? The most reliable thing that I have seen is having your own weather or earthquake spammer.
But honestly the biggest problem I have with the sun are choice band users such as Darmatian and flaming bunny.
PS: The bunny will shot up to S rank as soon as libero comes up.
But honestly the biggest problem I have with the sun are choice band users such as Darmatian and flaming bunny.
PS: The bunny will shot up to S rank as soon as libero comes up.
Honestly there’s not much rn bc the metagame changed a ton with the release of Pokemon home. More resources and explanations will be present in a few weeks. The tier is hectic currently. Hope you are having fun nevertheless.
Sun is super inconsistent honestly. It has a high ceiling and can just wreck some teams, but against the right defensive cores or opposing weather or even the right things to cut-off sun abuse (Dugtrio, priority combinations, etc) you will almost always struggle. It’s sort of like rain last generation at times — there’s a high opportunity cost that comes alongside it and people have to respect that on both ends.
Any chads here have good spreads for a specs aegi (shadowball toxic cc flashcannon/steelbeam)
Plz add what u creep with the spread
Plz add what u creep with the spread
They all run max special attack and max speed. Also, the set should always have Flash Cannon. Shadow Ball / Flash Cannon / Toxic or Steel Beam or CC or Shadow Sneak x2.
If the Pokemon Company decided to ban "transfer-only" (examples: Toxic Rotom-W, Soft-boil Clefairy etc.) moves from being allowed online (only ranked currently), would ya'll do the same? I think there's something to be said about keeping things a bit consistent. I know I could just ladder, but I appreciate being able to play our rules in 6v6 casual games in the actual game. Not too mention, basically 7-8 out of every 10 games in that mode, people are abiding by smogon anyways and if they aren't they're usually not very good lol.
I know for me, it's been really annoying try to access these transfer only moves, and I've never liked them as a thing anyways, it's unfair for new players and annoying for older players like me who don't have a DS anymore
I know for me, it's been really annoying try to access these transfer only moves, and I've never liked them as a thing anyways, it's unfair for new players and annoying for older players like me who don't have a DS anymore
finch is not a chad and thus cannot answer this; but he is correct lmao. Anyway as a chad, It also depends on ur squad. def run max spa modest but you also could do a lot of hp and some speed as well.
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As of right now, transfer moves can be used in online battles. As long as that is possible, they will also be available here. We reflect what's possible on the cartridge, so if that ever were to happen, Smogon will follow.
Beautiful. That's all I wanted to know! Thanks :)
What move does Sand Rush Excadrill typically run if its team has an alternate method of hazard control?
Usually Rock Slide to deal with Rotom-H.
Alright so after a few days of messing around, I'm beginning to get a bit of a feel for things. One Pokemon that I have been struggling with in particular is Zeraora. Between it's speed, offensive stats, and move coverage, it strikes me as a major threat. It sure has been causing issues for me. What Pokemon are able to counter or check it effectively?
On another note, is Salac Berry a common item? I just fought a team with Salac Berry Kommo-o, and I remember seeing it once or twice before. Is this a legitimate strategy, or is it just a lower-ladder-region gimmick?
On another note, is Salac Berry a common item? I just fought a team with Salac Berry Kommo-o, and I remember seeing it once or twice before. Is this a legitimate strategy, or is it just a lower-ladder-region gimmick?
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Ok, so I an new on this forum but have been following smogon a while. Is there a thread under OU in which speculation of the newly added pokemon from home (or any for that matter) and their respective strategies are being debated? Or is this something reserved for higher ranking members? Am interested to observe and contribute.
Thanks to Zeraora's excellent coverage there honestly aren't a lot of good reliable switch-ins but there are a couple of soft checks. Hippowdon can take all of its attacks well except for Grass Knot, which does 2HKO it, and can KO Zeraora back with Earthquake. Choice Scarf or Focus Sash Dugtrio can trap and KO it. Priority moves like Mach Punch from Conkeldurr, Shadow Sneak from Aegislash and Sucker Punch from (Choice Band) Dugtrio can prove to be helpful in this matchup as well. Additionally, Kommo-o checks Zeraora lacking Play Rough and Celebi checks Zeraora lacking Knock Off (unless they run Fire coverage) but this requires extensive scouting.
Salac Berry is generally only seen as a serious option when used in conjunction with Substitute + Belly Drum as these moves put the user in range of consumption which sets it up for a sweep. Kommo-o is the only Pokemon that can viably utilize this in OU though (and perhaps Darmanitan but I doubt it).
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/ss-ou-metagame-discussion-v3.3659980/
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Hello, I was wondering whether the stored power BP increase because of stat changes is considered a secondary effect, and would be doubled under an ability such as Serene Grace? Thank you!
No, it's not considered a secondary effect. Either way, Serene Grace only doubles the chance of secondary effects.
Dugtrio survives grass knot and oneshots.
Salac berry kommo with belly drum/sub is legit.
It dies to Life Orb-boosted Close Combat, Knock Off and Play Rough and it only outspeeds with a Choice Scarf so this advice is a bit flimsy.
Commonly used dug spreads lives the latter two sometimes. Idk abt CC.
From the amount I've played so far, phys def Rotom-H seems one of the best checks to Zeraora (Life Orb CC does 41%, Overheat does 55-66% back), but it of course doesn't appreciate having it's item knocked off. Rocky Helmet Ferrothorn can chip it down and trade with non-Life Orb variants, Clefable can switch into non-Life Orb, but again hates Knock Off.
Best success I've had is revenge killing it with Sash Duggy, Priority users and certain scarfers like Hydreigon/Dragapult. I find it similar to Conk, where reliable switch-ins to all of its moves are very hard to find. This isn't comprehensive though, so if anyone else has some good counters, feel free to post them.
252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 129-153 (32.7 - 38.8%) -- 4.7% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Life Orb Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 168-199 (42.6 - 50.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Zeraora Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 142-168 (40.3 - 47.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Life Orb Zeraora Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 185-218 (52.5 - 61.9%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Zeraora Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-Heat: 81-96 (26.6 - 31.5%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Zeraora Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-Heat: 105-125 (34.5 - 41.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Rotom-Heat Overheat vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zeraora: 177-208 (55.8 - 65.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 168-199 (42.6 - 50.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Zeraora Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 142-168 (40.3 - 47.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Life Orb Zeraora Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 185-218 (52.5 - 61.9%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Zeraora Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-Heat: 81-96 (26.6 - 31.5%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Zeraora Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-Heat: 105-125 (34.5 - 41.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Rotom-Heat Overheat vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zeraora: 177-208 (55.8 - 65.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
And while Salac Berry is rare, Sub Belly Drum Kommo-o was definitely a legit strategy in Gen 7.
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Dracovish can be checked by Pokemon that are immune to Water such as Seismitoad, Gastrodon, and Mantine; it's quite weak when it's not using Fishious Rend. You can also offensively check it with Dracovish and some other Choice Scarf users like Hydreigon.
Dragapult's rather susceptible to specially defensive Fairy-types such as Clefable and Sylveon. It also struggles with Mandibuzz and Gastrodon. It can be checked offensively by Aegislash, Choice Scarf Hydreigon, and Bisharp to name a few examples.
Similarly to Dragapult, Hydreigon's also susceptible to the aforementioned specially defensive Fairy-types. However, it doesn't really struggle with any of the other Pokemon mentioned. It can however be checked by Conkeldurr and some other Pokemon like Dragapult and Choice Scarf Hydreigon offensively. Hydreigon tends to struggle to set up as well, so not giving it any setup opportunities can oftentimes be sufficient in dealing with it as well.
Thanks for the answer, very precise and helpful.
So Pangoro is started being picked in high OU ladder... Any reasons why?
The Hatterene graphic on Twitter showed Arctozolt as a common teammate. Is that thing even viable?