Metagame Inverse

Ivy

resident enigma
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As for Dialga and Zamazenta-Crowned, both uber pokemon have awful defensive types, and aren't exactly able to hit back / set up on pokemon, and the council is inclined to unban them. Thoughts?
You can't unban crowned zama only without making a complex ban or unbanning naked zama as well, unfortunately. Would have been a smart choice for sure though. Dialga is definitely strong, but at least it can't do much apart from being a relatively consistent specs nuke.
 
Currently you only play using the challenge format in the op:

/challenge [user], gen8ou@@@inversemod, -diggersby, -rillaboom, -spectrier, -regieleki, -pheromosa, -naganadel, -kartana, +zygarde
The op confusingly says:
Unbans
  • Cinderace, Magearna, Melmetal
I assume Zygarde is correct since it was recently banned from OU.
You can also play it (and most other OMs) on rom.psim.us, although I don't think it has crown tundra yet.
It does, I added it two weeks ago. (So it doesn't actually have the OU Zygarde ban yet.)
 
... I notice that the op now includes Zygarde in unbans, but I'm still not clear why the other three are there since they don't seem to be necessary for the /challenge command...
 

OM

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is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
... I notice that the op now includes Zygarde in unbans, but I'm still not clear why the other three are there since they don't seem to be necessary for the /challenge command...
Didn't realize those three were unbanned from ou :P
 

Mossy Sandwich

Gunning for the top
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
UUPL Champion
Following this recent tiering thread and decision, as well as the feedback from those who have responded, the Inverse council has decided to unban Zamazenta-Crowned due to the reasons mentioned earlier.

Enjoy playing around with it!
Oh cool a NU level mon.

But yeah Zamazenta doesn't do anything noteworthy. It's walled by many common defensive staples and its good bulk means nothing when it takes super effective damage from rocks and most attacks. I don't think it's gonna be good.

On the other hand, I believe Dracozolt now has the ability to be a very scary threat thanks to Sand Rush. Under sand, it just looks like Regieleki: Have an electric immunity ready or take a loooooot of damage. Its sand rush partners can also be good with Stoutland having an unresisted normal stab (As long as you don't mind the lack of Body Slam or Double-Edge) and excadrill being a very hard hitting pokemon. Hippowdon and Tyranitar are also decent pokemons that see play outside of sand teams for their defensive utility. I think Dracozolt could become very strong.
 

OM

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is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Hello! With February coming up, we've been working on preparing for metagame progress! First off, we've got sample teams, which have been added to this post and the resources post, and we're accepting more if you'd like to submit!

Secondly, we've got an inverse tournament scheduled to come up in a few weeks! Aim is to push the DLC2 metagame to something more definite than it currently is, so keep an eye out!

Sample Teams [01 / 31 / 2021]:

:obstagoon: :slowbro: :blacephalon: :tapu bulu: :rhyperior: :weezing-galar:
In The Hills' Bulky Offense


:blissey: :slowbro: :rhyperior: :urshifu: :avalugg: :blacephalon:
In The Hills' Blisslugg Balance


:scolipede: :tapu bulu: :urshifu: :dragapult: :avalugg: :blissey:
OM's Spikes Offense


:marowak: :snorlax: :alakazam: :avalugg: :blissey: :urshifu:
OM's Lax Bulky Offense
 

Mossy Sandwich

Gunning for the top
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
UUPL Champion
:ss/dracozolt:
Sand Rush Dracozolt
With no immunities to Bolt Beak outside of ability based immunities, Dracozolt becomes a beast in inverse. Its hustle set pre-dlc was one of the most dangerous wallbreaker in the format and, with the Crown Tundra DLC, it gained a new tool: Sand Rush. Under sand, it becomes faster than any unscarfed pokemon and threathens to OHKO most of them with Bolt Beak. Pokemons like Zeraora and Rhyperior are immune to Bolt Beak but they lack longevity and can take heavy damage from some of Dracozolt's coverage. The go-to physical wall that is Avalugg hates getting hit by a Life Orb Draco Meteor. Let's not act like it doesn't have counters though. Physically bulky water types such as Slowbro or Toxapex can take Bolt Beak just fine and Urshifu-Rapid-Strike can check Zolt. Flying types such as Moltres, Articuno or Tornadus-Therian can take Bolt Beak but they have to be careful about Earthquake. Other pokemons such as Glastrier just have enough bulk to survive a Bolt Beak. However, keep in mind that the counters that have any form of healing are weak to Excadrill's stab moves meaning sand teams have the tools to get through most of the format with just 2 pokemons. Obviously these 2 pokemons have serious weaknesses notably overlapping weaknesses to Electric, Flying and Steel and they have a fairly difficult time getting on the field, Excadrill especially due to its many weaknesses. So do I think Sand Rush Dracozolt is too much for the format? Well, I'm unsure. On one hand it's both one of the most fearsome wallbreaker in the format with its Hustle sets and one of the most dangerous cleaners with Sand Rush, but on the other, it has counters and checks and its options to get past those are subpar. I think it's an extremely dangerous pokemon that should be watched out for.

If you want to see it in action, I was able to get a replay of it doing serious work.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1278216724

Here's the team I used if you want to see what a sand team with Dracozolt would look like or if you want to try it out yourself.
https://pokepast.es/f3ba1efaf6142f1b
 

OM

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is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Hello again! The Inverse Council comes with two announcements!

First off, congratulations to Ax on joining the inverse council! They've been a solid presence in battling and a great help in sifting through where to go from here.

Secondly, Urshifu-Single Strike is now banned from Inverse.
Despite it's sore weakness in a 2x weakness to stealth rock, Urshifu has proven to be just as potent of a wallbreaker as in the OU metagame, as no one pokemon resists it's STABs, leading to urshifu checks looking like Avalugg and a number of 50/50's, sucker punch also allowing it to clean off frailer offensive pokemon and keep it alive a little longer and hazard removal being buffed more in Inverse, meaning keeping hazards off your side is a lot easier.

Edit: Sample Teams are now updated to reflect this ban!
Edit 2: Join the Inverse Tour!
 
Last edited:

OM

It's a starstruck world
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Metagame Minutes!

With the first round of our Inverse Tournament starting, the council would like to show off some strong pokemon that could help you out with teambuilding!


The clown makes a great showing in inverse as an offensive cleaner / sweeper thanks to it's STABs allowing it to threaten bulky waters and rocks such as slowbro, slowking, blissey and rhyperior. It's great utility moves such as calm mind, encore, taunt, knock off, will-o-wisp, explosion or trick allow it to pick and choose how it wants to support your team and break through bulky archetypes.
Scarfplosion (Blacephalon) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick / Knock Off
- Explosion

Specs (Blacephalon) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
- Calm Mind

Speed Boosting (Blacephalon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 232 HP / 20 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Calm Mind



The Pixie makes a great hard hitting nuke in inverse, with it's psychic moves getting rid of that nasty dark type immunity, and using it's terrain to it's full maximum and the only type resisting both your STABs are Fighting Types. It's able to just do what it always does in ou, but better!
Anti-Blissey (Tapu Lele) @ Life Orb
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt / Psychic
- Moonblast
- Psyshock

Scarf (Tapu Lele) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock



Tapu Bulu in Inverse is a strong pokemon as well, benefitting heavily from it's grass offensive stab being so good in the metagame, and good coverage moves in Close Combat, Stone Edge, Megahorn or Darkest Lariat allowing it to take on some of the common bulky grounds or slowtwins / urshifu rapid strike that would try to stop it in it's tracks
SubSD (Tapu Bulu) @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge / Close Combat / Darkest Lariat / Zen Headbutt / Megahorn

SD3A (Tapu Bulu) @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge

Scarf (Tapu Bulu) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge



The final tapu we're talking about today, the common thing for these three is that their major terrain stab is heavily buffed in inverse. Electric, Psychic and Grass are just incredible offensive types in the metagame, and Tapu Koko heavily benefits from the low amount of volt blockers in the meta.
Specs (Tapu Koko) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hyper Voice

HDB (Tapu Koko) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Calm Mind
- Dazzling Gleam

SubCM? (Tapu Koko) @ Leftovers
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Dazzling Gleam


Thanks for reading, and good luck in teambuilding!​
 
Metagame Minutes!

With the first round of our Inverse Tournament starting, the council would like to show off some strong pokemon that could help you out with teambuilding!


The clown makes a great showing in inverse as an offensive cleaner / sweeper thanks to it's STABs allowing it to threaten bulky waters and rocks such as slowbro, slowking, blissey and rhyperior. It's great utility moves such as calm mind, encore, taunt, knock off, will-o-wisp, explosion or trick allow it to pick and choose how it wants to support your team and break through bulky archetypes.
Scarfplosion (Blacephalon) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick / Knock Off
- Explosion

Specs (Blacephalon) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
- Calm Mind

Speed Boosting (Blacephalon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 232 HP / 20 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Calm Mind



The Pixie makes a great hard hitting nuke in inverse, with it's psychic moves getting rid of that nasty dark type immunity, and using it's terrain to it's full maximum and the only type resisting both your STABs are Fighting Types. It's able to just do what it always does in ou, but better!
Anti-Blissey (Tapu Lele) @ Life Orb
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt / Psychic
- Moonblast
- Psyshock

Scarf (Tapu Lele) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock



Tapu Bulu in Inverse is a strong pokemon as well, benefitting heavily from it's grass offensive stab being so good in the metagame, and good coverage moves in Close Combat, Stone Edge, Megahorn or Darkest Lariat allowing it to take on some of the common bulky grounds or slowtwins / urshifu rapid strike that would try to stop it in it's tracks
SubSD (Tapu Bulu) @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge / Close Combat / Darkest Lariat / Zen Headbutt / Megahorn

SD3A (Tapu Bulu) @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge

Scarf (Tapu Bulu) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge



The final tapu we're talking about today, the common thing for these three is that their major terrain stab is heavily buffed in inverse. Electric, Psychic and Grass are just incredible offensive types in the metagame, and Tapu Koko heavily benefits from the low amount of volt blockers in the meta.
Specs (Tapu Koko) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hyper Voice

HDB (Tapu Koko) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Calm Mind
- Dazzling Gleam

SubCM? (Tapu Koko) @ Leftovers
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Dazzling Gleam


Thanks for reading, and good luck in teambuilding!​
Unfortunate that the fourth Tapu, Rillaboom, was banned. Now if you want grassy terrain, you have to run Tapu Bulu, which doesn't even get Grassy Glide...
 

Tranquility

Kuru~Kuru
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Metagame Minutes!

With the first round of our Inverse Tournament over, the council would like to highlight some notable pokemon that were used in round 1!

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Use | Usage % | Win % |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1 | Slowbro | 9 | 37.50% | 33.33% |
| 2 | Dragapult | 6 | 25.00% | 66.67% |
| 2 | Rhyperior | 6 | 25.00% | 50.00% |
| 2 | Blissey | 6 | 25.00% | 50.00% |
| 5 | Articuno | 5 | 20.83% | 80.00% |
| 5 | Avalugg | 5 | 20.83% | 40.00% |
| 5 | Tapu Koko | 5 | 20.83% | 40.00% |
| 5 | Tapu Bulu | 5 | 20.83% | 40.00% |
| 5 | Blacephalon | 5 | 20.83% | 40.00% |
| 10 | Tornadus-Therian | 4 | 16.67% | 75.00% |
| 10 | Porygon-Z | 4 | 16.67% | 50.00% |
| 10 | Zeraora | 4 | 16.67% | 25.00% |
| 13 | Kommo-o | 3 | 12.50% | 100.00% |
| 13 | Cinderace | 3 | 12.50% | 66.67% |
| 13 | Celebi | 3 | 12.50% | 66.67% |
| 13 | Landorus-Therian | 3 | 12.50% | 66.67% |
| 13 | Obstagoon | 3 | 12.50% | 33.33% |
| 18 | Tangrowth | 2 | 8.33% | 100.00% |
| 18 | Thwackey | 2 | 8.33% | 100.00% |
| 18 | Nidoking | 2 | 8.33% | 100.00% |
| 18 | Tapu Lele | 2 | 8.33% | 100.00% |
| 18 | Weavile | 2 | 8.33% | 100.00% |
| 18 | Slowking-Galar | 2 | 8.33% | 100.00% |
| 18 | Dracozolt | 2 | 8.33% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Mamoswine | 2 | 8.33% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Snorlax | 2 | 8.33% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Gengar | 2 | 8.33% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Corviknight | 2 | 8.33% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Hawlucha | 2 | 8.33% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Glastrier | 2 | 8.33% | 0.00% |
| 18 | Weezing-Galar | 2 | 8.33% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Melmetal | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Keldeo | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Azelf | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Moltres-Galar | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Terrakion | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Scyther | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Chansey | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Zamazenta-Crowned | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Magearna | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Zygarde | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Virizion | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Toxtricity | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Latios | 1 | 4.17% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Clefable | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Marowak-Alola | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Suicune | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Scolipede | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Shuckle | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Xatu | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Bouffalant | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Porygon2 | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Cloyster | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Mimikyu | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Toxapex | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Pincurchin | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Raichu-Alola | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Pikachu | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Blastoise | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Venusaur | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Garchomp | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Torkoal | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Dragonite | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Latias | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Accelgor | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Mr. Rime | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Mew | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 32 | Zapdos-Galar | 1 | 4.17% | 0.00% |

:xy/slowbro:
After the first week of the tournament, Slowbro finds itself at number 1 in the usage standings. It's ability to act as a defensive pivot with regenerator + teleport while also providing chip through future sight has made it a staple on many teams, and looks to be so in the upcoming rounds.
- Teleport
- Scald
- Future Sight
- Slack Off

:xy/articuno:
With no glaring stealth rock weakness to worry, Articuno is able to use it's bulk in full display! In addition to being a wall to many mons with it's great defensive typing, Articuno can also utilize defog and uturn to maximize its contributions to a team.
U-turn
Defog
Roost
Ice Beam
Substitute
:xy/snorlax:
Last, but not least is the sleeping giant himself, Snorlax! While it may not have as high usage as some other pokemon in round 1, it has been placed on watchlist by the council for its ability to break fatter teams thanks it's huge bulk and ability to set up with curse.
Curse
Rest
Sleep Talk
Body Slam

Thanks for reading, and best of luck to all of those in round 2!​
 

OM

It's a starstruck world
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus

Hello and welcome back to Inverse! For this week, we have two updates. First of all, the council voted on Snorlax, Dracozolt and Porygon-Z this week thanks to stallbreaking capability from snorlax, and dracozolt and porygon-z being unwallable and oppressive in games they were brought.

In the end, Dracozolt and Porygon-Z were unanimously banned, whilst Snorlax stayed in the metagame.

OM: Snorlax, whilst having a similar presence here as it did in gen 6, doesn't have the same proven oppressiveness, and hasn't proven itself as that huge metagame threat at this point. In comparison, Dracozolt feels like Early Gen 8 Rillaboom, where its standard set is incredibly broken and oppressive, but it can also easily tech around common walls like rhyperior. Finally, Porygon-Z can usually come in and threaten to kill any pokemon with tri-attack, and not even pokemon like blissey can hard-counter thanks to the threat of trickscarf.
In The Hills: Snorlax, while certainly terrifying on paper, it is a fairly underused option that hasn't proven itself to be outright broken yet like the other two, and I'd like to further inspect its impact on the metagame. Dracozolt and Porygon-Z on the other hand have been absolute menaces in this metagame that have little to no counterplay. Both of their breaking power and ability to run varying sets that adjust their speed and power make it even more difficult to check them.
Ax: Lax - Lack of Usage makes it hard to gage how good it actually is, on paper seems to have plenty of utility but hasn't been up to par in the performances it's been used, might be more problematic overtime as the bigger offensive threats go but we'll see. Dracozolt under sand can make for a devistating offesive threat that can also tack on Fire Blast to 2HKO Rhyperior/Slowbro, In addition to OKHO/2HKO most of meta with bolt beak.


Now, onto the Metagame Minutes!
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Use | Usage % | Win % |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1 | Slowbro | 8 | 44.44% | 62.50% |
| 2 | Tapu Bulu | 7 | 38.89% | 42.86% |
| 3 | Articuno | 5 | 27.78% | 60.00% |
| 3 | Zeraora | 5 | 27.78% | 60.00% |
| 3 | Blacephalon | 5 | 27.78% | 60.00% |
| 3 | Avalugg | 5 | 27.78% | 60.00% |
| 7 | Blissey | 4 | 22.22% | 100.00% |
| 7 | Tapu Koko | 4 | 22.22% | 50.00% |
| 7 | Rhyperior | 4 | 22.22% | 25.00% |
| 7 | Suicune | 4 | 22.22% | 25.00% |
| 7 | Porygon-Z | 4 | 22.22% | 25.00% |
| 12 | Snorlax | 3 | 16.67% | 33.33% |
| 12 | Obstagoon | 3 | 16.67% | 33.33% |
| 14 | Glastrier | 2 | 11.11% | 100.00% |
| 14 | Shuckle | 2 | 11.11% | 50.00% |
| 14 | Scolipede | 2 | 11.11% | 50.00% |
| 14 | Weezing-Galar | 2 | 11.11% | 50.00% |
| 14 | Virizion | 2 | 11.11% | 50.00% |
| 14 | Mamoswine | 2 | 11.11% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Tangrowth | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Raichu-Alola | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Urshifu-* | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Linoone | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Magearna | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Chansey | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Zapdos-Galar | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Hippowdon | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Dracozolt | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Thwackey | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Blaziken | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Clefable | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Garchomp | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Tornadus-Therian | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Toxapex | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Reuniclus | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Cinderace | 1 | 5.56% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Entei | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Latios | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Azelf | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Kommo-o | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Moltres-Galar | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Porygon2 | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Necrozma | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Melmetal | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Hatterene | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Tapu Lele | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Nidoking | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Corviknight | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Terrakion | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Jirachi | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Heliolisk | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Weavile | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Victini | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Celebi | 1 | 5.56% | 0.00% |


Slowbro still stays as strong as ever, but Dragapult mysteriously disappears in favour of Tapu Bulu surging to the top. As well, here are some other cool pokemon you could try out!


Glastrier is a great pokemon in inverse, threatening to snowball thanks to the combination of SD + Chilling Neigh. With a fantastic defensive typing in Ice and a sky-high 145 Attack, Glastrier's biggest flaws are it's speed and it's lack of recovery options, which leaves it really open to getting chipped down. Would pair well with Grassy Terrain, Wish-passing or on a pivot team where it can threaten to stallbreak.
Offensive (Glastrier) @ Leftovers
Ability: Chilling Neigh
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Icicle Crash
- Body Slam / Facade
- High Horsepower

RestTalk (Glastrier) @ Leftovers
Ability: Chilling Neigh
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Icicle Crash
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Specially Defensive (Glastrier) @ Leftovers
Ability: Chilling Neigh
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Avalanche
- Body Slam
- High Horsepower



With the addition of Nasty Plot this generation, Tornadus-Therian becomes a massive threat, with decent bulk and consistently threatening to sweep thanks to High Speed and Nasty Plot, as well as usually able to keep full HP thanks to Regenerator. All around, just a great pokemon

Tornadus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Hurricane
- Grass Knot
- Knock Off / U-turn



Finally, Libero is a broken ability, and Cinderace proudly shows it off! With a great speed tier and an awesome movepool with high jump kick, gunk shot, pyro ball, u-turn, electro ball, double edge, etc, Cinderace is a solid pick in the Inverse metagame!
HDB / LO (Cinderace) @ Life Orb / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Pyro Ball / Double Edge
- U-turn
- High Jump Kick / Gunk Shot
- Electro Ball

Scarf (Cinderace) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Pyro Ball
- U-turn
- High Jump Kick
- Electro Ball
 

Fc

Waiting for something to happen?
is a Site Content Manageris a Top Team Rateris a Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a defending SCL Champion
Ubers Leader
Now that the inverse tour is over, just wanted to make a post talking about the meta and my run. I think inverse is a super fun meta. I joined the tour never playing a game and going with some random stuff to start it off, but by the end I found this to be one of the best OM's I've played. There's a lot of new strategy, new cool viable mons, and unexpected techs that let you get really creative. I'll drop the teams I used here, probably not the best since I'm still kinda new to inverse as a whole but there were a lot of things I really liked.

Round 1
:zamazenta-crowned: :landorus-therian: :magearna: :tapu-koko: :hawlucha: :zygarde:
(Click all sprites for importables and round numbers for replays)

For round 1 I just wanted to see what the meta was like, and as such brought 3 unbanned ubers on an HO thinking that it would be a good starting point. They were unbanned for a reason though, and losing a Magearna to Pikachu isn't exactly the best feeling. That said though the team was fun to use and took advantage of a lot of bans that made things interesting, and while half the team is walled by Avalugg I still tried to have coverage for it with Ice Fang Zamazenta. The team worked out though for this round, and was a cool thing that got me wanting to play more with better established teams to learn what structures are good.

Round 2
:blacephalon: :avalugg: :blissey: :glastrier: :zapdos-galar: :slowbro:

Since I was unfamiliar with better teams, I just ran a standard sample for round 2, and it worked just as well as samples usually do. I also realized that Glastrier was an incredibly fun mon to use here, so I kept using it a lot for the rest of the tour. Not much more to say, fun good team.

Round 3
:zeraora: :slowbro: :blissey: :avalugg: :glastrier: :tornadus-therian:
Again just used another sample, but I didn't like the idea of CB Glastrier so I made it SD which I was comfortable with and it ended up cleaning without needing SD so the change didn't really matter. Standard good team again, just small tweak to play into what I knew.

Round 4
:avalugg: :snorlax: :zeraora: :blacephalon: :glastrier: :dragapult:
Went back to trying to build for round 4, and went with a fairly standard core of Avalugg Zeraora bulky normal like the sample, just went with Snorlax because curselax seemed like a really cool premise, and it was in the game. Ghost spam was the main idea, with Dragapult and Blacephalon to break through teams since nothing really takes Ghost-type hits well with Blissey being a major special wall. I got a lucky crit which bailed me against Reuniclus, which is a huge threat overall against teams without specific counterplay, but overall this team was pretty cool.

Round 5
:kommo-o: :reuniclus: :tornadus-therian: :zeraora: :glastrier: :melmetal:
I felt really good about this team and still think it's a really cool idea, just was lacking in a few places and I didn't play it all to well either. The main idea is just bait in Avalugg with Toxic Melmetal and Kommo-o and chip it down to the point where either Melmetal just wins or can chip more things to let Reuniclus win. Kommo-o was out of the fear from last round of Reuniclus, with a cool set that also tried taking on Specs Dragapult's STABs and could switch into Blacephalon Shadow Ball and Torn-T's moves among other things. Wish it could have worked out better but still happy with how the tour went.

Overall, I think inverse is a great meta that should definitely be played more because it's just so interesting with how you can approach it. I don't think anything is too overwhelmingly strong rn, there are some really good mons that just beat a lot tho like Avalugg, Glastrier, Blacephalon, and Reuniclus, but I think the meta is in a good place with where it's at. Looking forward to if there will be more inverse tours in the future, it's just a really good om that isn't too hard to approach and lets you get really creative with some things.
 
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OM

It's a starstruck world
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Hello again! With the DLC2 Inverse Tournament completed, the inverse council has put together a viability ranking for the current metagame state!

We invite feedback and nominations, but avoid filler or one-liner posts such as "I think jirachi should be A tier", as those will be disregarded. A post like this is what you should aim for.

Now, with no further ado:


Viability Ranking: (04 / 03 / 21)

S

Blissey
Zeraora

A+

Articuno
Kyurem
Slowbro
Tapu Bulu


A

Avalugg
Blacephalon
Glastrier
Porygon2
Reuniclus
Rhyperior
Tapu Lele
Tornadus-Therian
Urshifu Rapid Strike
Zarude

A-

Alakazam
Cinderace
Dragapult
Gengar
Latios
:mew: Mew
Snorlax
Tangrowth
Tapu Koko
Toxapex

B+

Hawlucha
Hippowdon
Mamoswine
Obstagoon
Scolipede
Slowking-Galar
Thundurus-Therian
Torkoal
Venusaur
Victini
Volcarona

B

Azelf
Barraskewda
:celebi: Celebi
Clefable
Cloyster
Dragonite
Garchomp
Keldeo
Kommo-o
Landorus-Therian
Latias
Magearna
Marowak
Marowak-Alola
Nidoking
Roserade
Shuckle
Suicune
Swampert
Virizion
Weavile
Zapdos Galar
Zygarde

B-

Blastoise
Blaziken
:chansey: Chansey
Entei
Melmetal
Mienshao
Mimikyu
Moltres-Galar
Necrozma
Terrakion
Thwackey
Scyther
Xatu

C

Accelgor
Azumarill
Corviknight
Crawdaunt
Cresselia
Hatterene
Linoone
Mr. Rime
Pikachu
Quagsire
Toxtricity
Weezing-Galar
 
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Fc

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Ubers Leader
Just dropping a couple noms of my opinions on some mons, still haven't explored the meta a ton since there aren't too many opportunities to but I think these few changes have good reasoning behind them.

:kommo-o: --> B+
Kommo-o does have its issues, but it also has super good strengths imo. Being an Ice, Dragon, and Psychic resist is really helpful while also having Bulletproof meaning Cinderace can't hard pressure with Pyro Ball and Stuff like Dragapult and Blacephalon can't click Shadow Ball at all. Being weak to Zeraora as well as fire water grass isn't great for it which does hold it back from being higher, but it's still a fat rocker that can check a lot of really dangerous picks in 1 slot.

:melmetal: --> B
I think Melmetal has a decent amount to give in the meta, being a super strong hitter that has ways to get over some of its larger flaws. Fast Sub Toxic + Double Iron Bash is great at dealing with Avalugg, Toxapex, and Slowbro to an extent, while it still has the hard hitting Double Iron Bash to keep itself offensive. Steel against some bulky Ice-types at the top isn't too favourable, but it outspeeds both Avalugg and Glastrier and can chip them a lot since it forces a good amount of switches when it does get in. Not a huge raise for now but I don't think I'd have it at the level of some mons like Mimikyu and Entei.

:glastrier: --> A+
I'm super high on Glastrier in general, and think it's one of the best tank breakers overall. Almost nothing high ranked can switch into it safely since it has good coverage and SD with a STAB that beats ice and water. High Horsepower and Body Slam cover most other mu's just spamming ice coverage can't, and it's naturally bulky enough to 1v1 a lot of things. I think this is debatable since it's already pretty high ranked but I really like it rn.

:cinderace: --> A
Cinderace is super annoying, because it doesn't need to worry about rocks so it has item freedom. Scarf U-turn is really hard to switch into and it's one of the best pivots up there with Zeraora. I feel like it's a small step above some A- mons so it should rise to A.

:zamazenta-crowned: --> C
This mon is real garbage, but I think just not garbage enough to be ranked. It still has an insane stat line with STABs that pressure bulky waters and Ice Fang to chip some Ice mons even tho Avalugg shrugs it off. I think it's not a terrible HO pick since screens support makes it even bulkier and I don't think it would stick out among company in C rank like Mr. Rime.
 

Mossy Sandwich

Gunning for the top
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
UUPL Champion
Here are my thoughts

:dragapult: A- --> A/A+
Dragapult's Dragon Dance+Draco Meteor sets are a huge threat as few pokemons will be able to take Dragapult's hits and threaten it in return. Offensive pokemons pretty much have to rely on priority if they want to hit Dragapult before getting destroyed, assuming it was able to get a dance off. While some bulkier pokemons like Toxapex or Articuno may not have to fear instant death, they also can't KO Dragapult quickly enough to not be overwhelmed. It breaks through bulky normal types like Porygon2 and Snorlax with Phantom Force meaning those aren't threats either and, thanks to Draco Meteor, it can get rid of Avaluggs that would otherwise wall it and KO it with Body Press. Of course, Dragapult does have its counters. Urshifu-RS and Thwackey can revenge kill it thanks to their super effective priority while physically bulky Tangrowth, Slowbro and Slowking-G can take a hit from full health and hit it back with a decently powerful super effective hit. However, these threats can be worked around. Thwackey and Urshifu can be taken out and the regenerator users can't afford to get chipped or take damage from rocks or spikes, otherwise they'll drop to Pult. Dragapult also has some other sets like Specs and Wisphex that I won't discuss here, but Dragon Dance is an incredibly dangerous sweeper.

:weavile: B --> B+
Band Weavile threatens to 2hko nearly every defensive pokemon with either Triple Axel or Knock Off. Even those that can take its hits well, such as Rhyperior and Tangrowth, dislike losing their items to Knock Off. It's not even unrealistic for it to run Toxic to cripple them further. It can also revenge-kill weakened setup sweepers thanks to its fairly powerful Ice Shard. It may have trouble switching in, but Ice typing as well as pivots like Slowbro or Blissey can help with that.

:goodra: UR --> B-
Goodra's dragon typing is very useful in letting it take hits from dangerous threats such as Kyurem or Dragapult. Assault Vest Goodra has no issues taking hits from dangerous special attackers such as Gengar or Tornadus-T, can take on psychic type attackers assuming they don't hit it with Psyshock on the switch and can even safely switch-into Scarf Blacephalon. Thanks to Sap Sipper, it can also help its team play around threats such as Tapu Bulu. However, tanking these pokemons isn't anything special if Goodra can't do anything back. However, Goodra has the coverage to hit all of these pokemons for big damage. Moves such as Sludge Bomb and Power Whip let Goodra threaten to 1hko some of the pokemon listed above. Of course, Goodra isn't perfect. It can get chipped by Rocks and Spikes and is only a temporary answer to these pokemons as, without wish support, it can't recover health. Still, it has some very good qualities that can make it worth using.
 
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OM

It's a starstruck world
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
OM has probably been waiting for this, so no need to keep him waiting any longer - Inverse is our Leader's Choice of the month!
yay

VR Update (05/01/2021)

Rises:

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: A --> A+ (Really strong breaker and the only solid switchins are like lugg and rhyp which are pretty exploitable.)
Cinderace: A- --> A (Fc's nom post)
Dragapult: A- --> A (Mossy Sandwich's Nom Post)
Slowking: UR --> A (Slowking is something the council kinda.... forgot last VR round. Fills a specially defensive niche > slowking, and works as a secondary special wall that can pressure w/ futureport)
Toxapex: A- --> A (Pex is still annoying it's typing is not worse)
Landorus-Therian: B --> A- (Really solid ground type, despite not resisting grass it can hard threaten things with ground move + u-turn for momentum)
Zapdos-Galar: B --> A- (Great scarfer, offensive type becomes even better, TKick is kinda popping off now thanks to no immunities / common resistant type.)
Clefable: B --> B+ (Immunity to passive damage in a BlissPex world)
Kommo-o: B --> B+ (Fc's nom post)
Weavile: B --> B+ (Mossy Sandwich's Nom Post)
Melmetal: B- --> B (Fc's nom post)
Thwackey: B- --> B (Grassy Glide is just an amazing anti-offense move, and thwackey abuses the fuck out of it to invalidate unprepped teams)
Goodra: UR --> C (Mossy Sandwich's Nom Post, but to C due to like... Bulky Dragon.)
Hydreigon: UR --> C (Nasty Breaker, low due to typing be really meh defensively.)
Zapdos: UR --> C (VSwitch Hurricane is kinda hard to switch into, iffy defensively)
Zamazenta-Crowned: UR --> C (Fc's Nom Post)

Drops:

Articuno: A+ --> A (Meta has quickly adapted to Articuno, and it's bug / ground / grass weaknesses are really starting to hurt its viability as a wall.)
Slowbro: A+ --> A (Dropped due to heavy, heavy slot competition from mons like Rhyperior / Slowking / Avalugg / Porygon2)
Zarude: A --> B (Just.. Does not beat what it should. Just use Tapu Bulu)
Garchomp: B --> B- (Outclassed by Landorus, heavy slot competition, etc)
Zygarde: B --> B- (Outclassed by Landorus-T, heavy slot competition, etc)


Thank you to everyone who submitted their nominations for drops / rises! They were heavily taken into consideration and reflect changes in the VR for this update.
 

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