Metagame Sketchmons



Dragapult @ Choice Scarf/Band
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant/Jolly Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Spectral Thief/Poltergeist
- U-turn
- Sucker Punch/Steel Wing/Fire Blast

Dragapult reminds me of how Kyurem-B and Dragonite would get banned in almost every meta where they got good stab outside of their dragon typing in previous gens, and here is no exception. I would honestly recommend a quickban of Dragapult, but that does also seem a bit hasty given how we haven't played the meta yet. But for those that remember all 5 minutes of OU Marshadow, Spectral Thief warps the game similarly to Ditto without the commitment and being one of the few powerful physical ghost-type moves in conjunction with stealing stat boosts on a pokemon who gets stab and has respectable attack, Dragapult can reverse-sweep by virtue of existing, which seems to be more a problem with Spectral Thief than Dragapult, but it still has options like Poltergeist, Shadow Bone and Spirit Shackle to work with, not to mention Dragapult can run a DD set by using the pressure it generates with its incredible speed to set up and possibly instantly win.

With that out of the way;



Both of these guys gaining access to moves to hit their would-be Immunities is very nice. Brownie points to any brave souls using DD Sunsteel Strike Regidrago.



While obvious and unoriginal, Magnezone getting access to a fire type coverage of choice allows it to get back to what it does best; Destroying steel walls for you sweeper to destroy the rest of the opposing team.




Even though V-Create is banned, Pyro Ball isn't, and more importantly it fixes a huge problem with SD Blaziken, survivability. Swapping out Flare Blitz with Pyro Ball not only prevents recoil damage, but it isn't contact, so there's no chip from Rocky Helmet or Iron Barbs/Rough Skin. It's still slow as hell though, but its setup is most likely worth the payoff with Pyro Ball.

I might post some more stuffs later, also I can't help but notice a lot of things not on the banlist like Urshifu-Single-Strike, and Cinderace. Is that intentional, or just not updated?
 


Dragapult @ Choice Scarf/Band
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant/Jolly Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Spectral Thief/Poltergeist
- U-turn
- Sucker Punch/Steel Wing/Fire Blast

Dragapult reminds me of how Kyurem-B and Dragonite would get banned in almost every meta where they got good stab outside of their dragon typing in previous gens, and here is no exception. I would honestly recommend a quickban of Dragapult, but that does also seem a bit hasty given how we haven't played the meta yet. But for those that remember all 5 minutes of OU Marshadow, Spectral Thief warps the game similarly to Ditto without the commitment and being one of the few powerful physical ghost-type moves in conjunction with stealing stat boosts on a pokemon who gets stab and has respectable attack, Dragapult can reverse-sweep by virtue of existing, which seems to be more a problem with Spectral Thief than Dragapult, but it still has options like Poltergeist, Shadow Bone and Spirit Shackle to work with, not to mention Dragapult can run a DD set by using the pressure it generates with its incredible speed to set up and possibly instantly win.

With that out of the way;



Both of these guys gaining access to moves to hit their would-be Immunities is very nice. Brownie points to any brave souls using DD Sunsteel Strike Regidrago.



While obvious and unoriginal, Magnezone getting access to a fire type coverage of choice allows it to get back to what it does best; Destroying steel walls for you sweeper to destroy the rest of the opposing team.




Even though V-Create is banned, Pyro Ball isn't, and more importantly it fixes a huge problem with SD Blaziken, survivability. Swapping out Flare Blitz with Pyro Ball not only prevents recoil damage, but it isn't contact, so there's no chip from Rocky Helmet or Iron Barbs/Rough Skin. It's still slow as hell though, but its setup is most likely worth the payoff with Pyro Ball.

I might post some more stuffs later, also I can't help but notice a lot of things not on the banlist like Urshifu-Single-Strike, and Cinderace. Is that intentional, or just not updated?
Their absence is intentional - they're obviously extremely strong and probably busted but we were advised against handing out too many autobans, especially prior to any real evidence. This also goes for a lot of the "obvious" move bans; please show us some replays! Same goes for the inverse - if you have any replays showing that X is not busted, those are interesting too!

This goes for everyone: we aim to be accessible to anyone and everyone - if there's anything you want to show us/ask us about, please post it here or find us on PS and we're happy to take your insight into account!
 
What I think is interesting in this meta is the potential for making new set up sweepers be possible and to see moves that otherwise would be good on better Pokemon.

Incineroar @ (Basically any good longevity item like HDB and Leftovers)
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 196 HP / 252 SpD / 60 Spe
Careful Nature
- Coil/Bulk Up
- Flame Charge
- Power Trip
- Leech Life/Jungle Healing/Slack Off
Power Trip is a move that is an upgrade from Stored Power as no Pokemon is immune to Dark. However, like the ability Competitive, you almost never see it being used. This is because Stored Power/Defiant have far more compatability to put it politely. The Pokemon who have Power Trip struggle with Toxic (besides Corviknight), do not have the bulk/speed to set up properly, and lack the recovery or even set up moves. The closest are Corviknight, who prefers Body Press or Brave Bird and doesn’t get STAB, and Incineroar, who normally lacks the recovery or fast ways to set up.
In this meta however, Incineroar is given access to any set up move or any healing move (that are not banned at least). It already has Bulk Up, but of course Coil is better in the vast majority of scenarios. For it’s other potential Sketch move are Recover+Clones and Jungle Healing. Use which ever the least popular Recover clone for standard recovery, while Jungle Healing can be great against bulkier teams, and also gives Incineroar a way to deal with Toxic and Thunder Wave. Incineroar also has Flame Charge, a means to boost its Speed while doing damage, and prevents it from being entirely taunt bait (as unboosted Power Trip is weak). If you want to use Coil, I would recommend using Leech Life in place of your recovery moves, so that incineroar has some means to keep itself healthy.


Necrozma @ Starf Berry
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Teatime
- Recycle
- Moonlight
- Stored Power
On the flipside with Stored Power, Teatime with Starf Berry can be a fun gimmicky set to bypass the restriction on Acupressure. Harvest Pokemon do not need recycle, but I think Necrozma would be the best user of this type of set, especially with Stored Power.
 
gen 5 best

in alphabetical order FOR NO REASON AT ALL!!!

Blue Flare - Incredibly strong Fire move that could serve as a better replacement for Fire Blast. I see more Pokémon preferring to run something else as coverage/using their Sketch move on a better move, but it's a notable addition nonetheless.
Bolt Strike - Same as Blue Flare, except the pool of Physical Electric-type moves is far smaller. Definitely worth a shot since the only other option is... uh... Volt Tackle.
Coil - Really strong set-up move for any mon that'd run Bulk Up normally and has decent coverage already. By slotting Coil into your moveset, the possibility to run stronger but less accurate moves is opened up, such as Stone Edge, Dynamic Punch, Dragon Rush, and even Bolt Strike.
Dragon Tail - I don't see anything running this? But Dragon Tail is quite a useful tool to have due to its phazing properties. Most things already get it due to DTail being a TM move, but it's good to point out nonetheless.
Entrainment - ENTRAINMENT REGIGIGAS!!!!!!
Fiery Dance - The 50% SpA boost is a nice addition to a few mons, but I don't see them using their Sketch on this, especially when there's far better moves out there.
Foul Play - Definitely great on a few Physical walls who struggle to apply much pressure. Toxapex might not be able to easily slot it onto its moveset, but it has the potential to threaten a few targets.
Fusion Bolt / Fusion Flare - Same as Bolt Strike / Blue Flare, but trades less damage for 100% accuracy. Ehh?
Gear Grind - The shaky accuracy is a huge obstacle, but it's one of the stronger Steel-type moves. Steel is not a very coveted coverage type, but it can definitely work on some sets.
Hone Claws - No reason to sketch Coil over Hone Claws.
Hurricane - A really strong move for rain abusers such as Thundurus-Therian and... uh... Politoed? Most Pokémon that would like Hurricane already have it in their moveset, and its 70 accuracy is unreliable for out-of-rain use.
Icicle Crash - Since Glacial Lance was banished, Icicle Crash is the second best thing out there. The lower base power and accuracy make it a strictly inferior replacement for Glacial Lance, but you have to work with what you have.
Inferno - Every single No Guard Pokémon is a physical attacker, but it's better than running Will-o-Wisp. Unless you... have... a better move to sketch. I like Inferno, okay? I think it's cool. Too bad it's as viable as Zap Cannon.
Night Daze - I don't see why not run Fiery Wrath over Night Daze, as Fiery Wrath has more power and accuracy, and the 20% flinch is, in most situations, better than 40% accuracy drops. Sorry, Zoroark...
Psystrike - Directly outclasses Psyshock, making it superior Psychic STAB. There's not much to be said about it.
Quiver Dance - You know what this move does. Also, it's banned.
Sacred Sword - I mean, it's nice for bypassing Defense boosts... but other than that, it's outclassed by stronger moves such as Close Combat. It could be decent as coverage, but in most cases, it's not worth the sketch.
Scald - Most things that appreciate Scald already learn it, since it's a TM move.
Searing Shot - A second alternative to Fusion Flare, this time with a 30% burn chance. If you're running Fusion Flare, it's better to run Searing Shot instead.
Secret Sword - Keldeo is tremendously strong, and it's no surprise that this move would be strong on other users. It's a good substitute for the unreliable Focus Blast, and it's a tiny bit stronger than Aura Sphere. Worth looking out for when switching into a Special sweeper.
Shell Smash - Banned.
Shift Gear - Also banned.
Simple Beam
Soak - Very gimmicky, but aren't all OMs gimmicky? Anyway, Soak Regieleki.
Stored Power - We all know what this move does. It's got a pretty large distribution, but some setup sweepers definitely enjoy the extra power it provides over Psychic. Volcarona seems like a good abuser of this, as Bug Buzz dispatches Dark-types immune to Stored Power.
Synchronoise - I think Synchronoise is a really silly move. For those who don't know, Synchronoise is a 120 BP, 100 accuracy Psychic-type move. The catch? It only affects the opponent if you share a type. For example, Keldeo can break through Toxapex with Synchronoise as they share the Water type. It's totally gimmicky for sure, but I'll take any and all opportunities to use this move. IT GOT DEXITED I HATE GAME FREAK
Techno Blast - Why would you use Techno Blast + a drive when you can just... use moves that don't take your item slot? I mean, you do you.
V-create - Banned.
Volt Switch - A TM move that most users already learn. If your main goal is exclusively pivoting, there are far better choices such as Parting Shot and U-turn, who aren't blocked by a whole type.
Wild Charge - Run Bolt Strike / Fusion Bolt.

but anyway... making use of a set i mentioned in this big list

Keldeo @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Secret Sword
- Synchronoise
- Scald

+1 252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Synchronoise vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 374-442 (123 - 145.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Synchronoise vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Buzzwole: 562-663 (134.4 - 158.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Scald isn't guaranteed)

yyeah
i lied. im a liar and synchronoise was dexited. my dream was ruined. here's another set.

:Scizor:
Scizor @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Gear Grind
- U-turn
- Superpower

Pray that you don't miss, because Gear Grind is far stronger than any of Scizor's other STAB choices. I'm running Scarf because I like Scarf Scizor, but Band/SD could work well.
 
Last edited:
gen 5 best

in alphabetical order FOR NO REASON AT ALL!!!

Blue Flare - Incredibly strong Fire move that could serve as a better replacement for Fire Blast. I see more Pokémon preferring to run something else as coverage/using their Sketch move on a better move, but it's a notable addition nonetheless.
Bolt Strike - Same as Blue Flare, except the pool of Physical Electric-type moves is far smaller. Definitely worth a shot since the only other option is... uh... Volt Tackle.
Coil - Really strong set-up move for any mon that'd run Bulk Up normally and has decent coverage already. By slotting Coil into your moveset, the possibility to run stronger but less accurate moves is opened up, such as Stone Edge, Dynamic Punch, Dragon Rush, and even Bolt Strike.
Dragon Tail - I don't see anything running this? But Dragon Tail is quite a useful tool to have due to its phazing properties. Most things already get it due to DTail being a TM move, but it's good to point out nonetheless.
Entrainment - ENTRAINMENT REGIGIGAS!!!!!!
Fiery Dance - The 50% SpA boost is a nice addition to a few mons, but I don't see them using their Sketch on this, especially when there's far better moves out there.
Foul Play - Definitely great on a few Physical walls who struggle to apply much pressure. Toxapex might not be able to easily slot it onto its moveset, but it has the potential to threaten a few targets.
Fusion Bolt / Fusion Flare - Same as Bolt Strike / Blue Flare, but trades less damage for 100% accuracy. Ehh?
Gear Grind - The shaky accuracy is a huge obstacle, but it's one of the stronger Steel-type moves. Steel is not a very coveted coverage type, but it can definitely work on some sets.
Hone Claws - No reason to sketch Coil over Hone Claws.
Hurricane - A really strong move for rain abusers such as Thundurus-Therian and... uh... Politoed? Most Pokémon that would like Hurricane already have it in their moveset, and its 70 accuracy is unreliable for out-of-rain use.
Icicle Crash - Since Glacial Lance was banished, Icicle Crash is the second best thing out there. The lower base power and accuracy make it a strictly inferior replacement for Glacial Lance, but you have to work with what you have.
Inferno - Every single No Guard Pokémon is a physical attacker, but it's better than running Will-o-Wisp. Unless you... have... a better move to sketch. I like Inferno, okay? I think it's cool. Too bad it's as viable as Zap Cannon.
Night Daze - I don't see why not run Fiery Wrath over Night Daze, as Fiery Wrath has more power and accuracy, and the 20% flinch is, in most situations, better than 40% accuracy drops. Sorry, Zoroark...
Psystrike - Directly outclasses Psyshock, making it superior Psychic STAB. There's not much to be said about it.
Quiver Dance - You know what this move does. Also, it's banned.
Sacred Sword - I mean, it's nice for bypassing Defense boosts... but other than that, it's outclassed by stronger moves such as Close Combat. It could be decent as coverage, but in most cases, it's not worth the sketch.
Scald - Most things that appreciate Scald already learn it, since it's a TM move.
Searing Shot - A second alternative to Fusion Flare, this time with a 30% burn chance. If you're running Fusion Flare, it's better to run Searing Shot instead.
Secret Sword - Keldeo is tremendously strong, and it's no surprise that this move would be strong on other users. It's a good substitute for the unreliable Focus Blast, and it's a tiny bit stronger than Aura Sphere. Worth looking out for when switching into a Special sweeper.
Shell Smash - Banned.
Shift Gear - Also banned.
Simple Beam -
Soak - Very gimmicky, but aren't all OMs gimmicky? Anyway, Soak Regieleki.
Stored Power - We all know what this move does. It's got a pretty large distribution, but some setup sweepers definitely enjoy the extra power it provides over Psychic. Volcarona seems like a good abuser of this, as Bug Buzz dispatches Dark-types immune to Stored Power.
Synchronoise - I think Synchronoise is a really silly move. For those who don't know, Synchronoise is a 120 BP, 100 accuracy Psychic-type move. The catch? It only affects the opponent if you share a type. For example, Keldeo can break through Toxapex with Synchronoise as they share the Water type. It's totally gimmicky for sure, but I'll take any and all opportunities to use this move.
Techno Blast - Why would you use Techno Blast + a drive when you can just... use moves that don't take your item slot? I mean, you do you.
V-create - Banned.
Volt Switch - A TM move that most users already learn. If your main goal is exclusively pivoting, there are far better choices such as Parting Shot and U-turn, who aren't blocked by a whole type.
Wild Charge - Run Bolt Strike / Fusion Bolt.

but anyway... making use of a set i mentioned in this big list


Keldeo @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Secret Sword
- Synchronoise
- Scald

+1 252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Synchronoise vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 374-442 (123 - 145.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Synchronoise vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Buzzwole: 562-663 (134.4 - 158.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Scald isn't guaranteed)

yyeah
Synchronoise does not exist in Gen 8, and why would you use it over Photon Geyser? Photon Geyser is weaker technically, but it doesn’t rely on your opponent having part Fighting or part Water, and Photon Geyser will also ignore most abilities. And Keldeo OHKOs Pex and Swole at those respective boosts anyways.
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Photon Geyser vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 312-369 (102.6 - 121.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Photon Geyser vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Buzzwole: 471-554 (112.6 - 132.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 

drampa's grandpa

cannonball
is a Community Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus

Wicked Blow and Swoobat have been banned from Sketchmons

Wicked Blow has been agreed upon by the council to be too powerful, too splashable, and too centralizing a move to allow to remain in the metagame. Its excellent offensive typing and power combined with the plethora of strong abusers including but not limited to Crawdaunt, Cinderace, and Weavile made it excessively difficult to prepare for or switch into. It also ignored defensive boosts / negative drops through its autocrit mechanic negating a potential form of counterplay.
The tl;dr is Wicked Blow hits too hard. Ban pls.

Swoobat is a little more complicated. Thanks to Clangorous Soul it is capable of reaching +2/+2/+4/+2/+2 in one turn, turning Stored Power into a 260 Base Power nuke. This is clearly broken, however the question remains whether Clangorous Soul is the broken component. The council has decided that Swoobat is far more broken with this move than any other potential abuser at this point and early stage, and we do not wish to waste time dancing around both Swoobat and this question, therefore we are banning the bat for the time being.
If we reach a point in the metagame where Clangorous Soul has been banned we will raise the question of a Swoobat unban. If No Retreat is also banned we will likely unban it with little ceremony as Swoobat will have lost all viability. Note that these potential bans are, as of now, purely theoretical and do not proclaim the council's intent.

HOWEVER

The council would like your opinion!


Clangorous Soul is losing its most notorious abuser in Swoobat. However there have still been murmurings that it could be too much for the metagame when it is so easy to splash on any Pokemon. Are omniboosters, specially Clangorous Soul, unhealthy or broken?



Extreme Speed is, as it so often is in move based metagames, an extremely integral and powerful move here. Is it broken? Is it excessively centralizing? We would like to hear your opinions.



Cinderace has the ability to gain any STAB move it wants. It's quite probably the most flexible mon in the metagame. Is it broken? Or just very very good?


Urshifu is suddenly the only Wicked Blow user in the Metagame. It's also its same old offensive powerhouse, now with a new move to complement it. Is it broken? Or does this metagame have the tools to handle it?

Please provide us with replays, arguments, and other evidence to back up your arguments!
Enjoy the Sketchmons OMotM! :psyglad:
 

Wicked Blow and Swoobat have been banned from Sketchmons

Wicked Blow has been agreed upon by the council to be too powerful, too splashable, and too centralizing a move to allow to remain in the metagame. Its excellent offensive typing and power combined with the plethora of strong abusers including but not limited to Crawdaunt, Cinderace, and Weavile made it excessively difficult to prepare for or switch into. It also ignored defensive boosts / negative drops through its autocrit mechanic negating a potential form of counterplay.
The tl;dr is Wicked Blow hits too hard. Ban pls.

Swoobat is a little more complicated. Thanks to Clangorous Soul it is capable of reaching +2/+2/+4/+2/+2 in one turn, turning Stored Power into a 260 Base Power nuke. This is clearly broken, however the question remains whether Clangorous Soul is the broken component. The council has decided that Swoobat is far more broken with this move than any other potential abuser at this point and early stage, and we do not wish to waste time dancing around both Swoobat and this question, therefore we are banning the bat for the time being.
If we reach a point in the metagame where Clangorous Soul has been banned we will raise the question of a Swoobat unban. If No Retreat is also banned we will likely unban it with little ceremony as Swoobat will have lost all viability. Note that these potential bans are, as of now, purely theoretical and do not proclaim the council's intent.

HOWEVER

The council would like your opinion!


Clangorous Soul is losing its most notorious abuser in Swoobat. However there have still been murmurings that it could be too much for the metagame when it is so easy to splash on any Pokemon. Are omniboosters, specially Clangorous Soul, unhealthy or broken?



Extreme Speed is, as it so often is in move based metagames, an extremely integral and powerful move here. Is it broken? Is it excessively centralizing? We would like to hear your opinions.



Cinderace has the ability to gain any STAB move it wants. It's quite probably the most flexible mon in the metagame. Is it broken? Or just very very good?


Urshifu is suddenly the only Wicked Blow user in the Metagame. It's also its same old offensive powerhouse, now with a new move to complement it. Is it broken? Or does this metagame have the tools to handle it?

Please provide us with replays, arguments, and other evidence to back up your arguments!
Enjoy the Sketchmons OMotM! :psyglad:
Now that you mention it, Woobat seems pretty strong too with ClangSoul and No Retreat. At +2 Timid, Woobat can outspeed unboosted base 193 Pokemon and base 112 Scarfers (that is assuming both have positive natures, as Neutral Nature Regieleki is slower). Woobat’s bulk and SpA are also just barely behind Swoobat’s too, which at +2 or +4 for Throat Spray won’t matter that much.
Also just to show how strong Woobat is.
+4 252 SpA Woobat Stored Power (260 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey: 345-406 (49 - 57.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
That’s not even Modest and that Specially Bulky Chansey.
Also for comparison.
+4 252 SpA Swoobat Stored Power (260 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey: 417-492 (59.3 - 69.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
And of course a bulk comparison
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off vs. +2 0 HP / 0 Def Woobat: 290-344 (107 - 126.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off vs. +2 0 HP / 0 Def Swoobat: 242-288 (88 - 104.7%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
Swoobat is noticably bulkier, but given the 1/3 health lose, it in practice has no difference, and you’ll be using Screens most likely for such a strategy.

With that said, Simple should be banned instead of Swoobat. Even if Numel and Bibarel still existed, just instant +2 to every stat would already be broken enough even with the drawbacks. And honestly with moves like Quiver Dance and Coil, you get an instant +2 in 3 stats, so even if Omni Boosts are banned, Simple would just be too broken.


Also, does No Retreat prevent Ghost types from switching?

Edit: Here is a Replay of Woobat’s power (granted they just let me set up twice)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sketchmons-1332411867
FE903806-CAD7-4F65-90B4-E085D87FF360.jpeg

Also in that replay, I had to have Extreme Speed because of Copycat. idk if Krookodile would be affected by Fly, but you basically have to PP stall or use Extreme Speed on Copy Cat turns.
 
Last edited:
Speaking of power shell smash may be banned on most mons but mons who normally get it can still use it. Surging Strikes is still legal as well which lead me to creating this set.

BEHOLD


Blastoise @ Life Orb
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Surging Strikes
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
If this thing sets up, it is likely to do some serious damage to the opponent. Of course you need to be aware of Rocky Helmet so you don't die to it though.
 
Did some laddering and watched some games. Used this team mostly :dragapult: :mandibuzz: :swampert: :heatran: :tapu koko: :stoutland:
Basically DD sub Pult is an amazing wincon, esp backed by tspikes. I think this is by far the best pult set. I won most of my ladder games off of it. Sthief lets it mess up calm mind fairies as well. Buzz is good vs ladder HO spam, swampert is a nice rocker, Tran is the tspiker + fairy switchin, Freeze Dry koko snipes grounds and just spams volt after and Stoutland is a very strong espeeder since it can hit ghosts (pult, polt, blace etc).

Also built a team around clangorous magearna, the set is busted but the team isnt optimal - too weak to pult for example. I think you want this set on a bulu/rilla team for starters. I paired it w Bolt Strike Weavile to lure pex. Anyway my impressions:
1) Get Cinderace out of this meta. Its way too busted. It still only has 3 switchins (Pex, Bro, Lando) except it can sketch bolt strike to destroy the first two or icicle crash for the third one. And that's just breaker ace, it can sketch espeed and everything else that other users already covered.
2) Clangorous soul is busted and should be banned. I just faced a team with Clangorous Xurk on ladder. I switched out, thinking it might be choice or something and got my spd tran in on an omniboosted xurk. Luckily tran is goated and it lived, but in sketch anything can clang. The fact that anything can run a move that is so rewarding to get off on a forced switch is just insane. You could lose on the spot because you played around specs and instead faced Clang.
3) Urshifu Single is apparently legal. Idt urshifu checks gain enough to warrant keeping it in the meta. It's a similar situation to Ace, except less busted cause its slower.
4) Espeed feels necessary atm. So many offensive threats, so many different setup sweepers running around that good priority is kinda keeping this meta playable. I think banning espeed might be reasonable if we tone down the power of setup somewhat but for now it feels like a good anti offense measure. At the same time tho there's some nasty abusers like Digger and Drumlax so maybe it contributes to setup meta more than it helps keep it in check.
5) Dragapult is VERY strong. It's not unbeatable (as opposed to Cinderace) cause Fairies, Darks, Steels and Sthief users keep it in check but its definitely one of the best mons in the metagame.
 
Last edited:
Speaking of power shell smash may be banned on most mons but mons who normally get it can still use it. Surging Strikes is still legal as well which lead me to creating this set.

BEHOLD


Blastoise @ Life Orb
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Surging Strikes
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
If this thing sets up, it is likely to do some serious damage to the opponent. Of course you need to be aware of Rocky Helmet so you don't die to it though.
I think this has better potential
Cloyster @ Life Orb
Ability: Shell Armor Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Water Shuriken/Bone Rush
- Shell Smash
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
King’s Rock may be banned, but Icicle Spear is still powerful, and Cloyster gets a better STAB priority in Water Shuriken. Or use Bone Rush for Pex and Steel types.
 
Last edited:

drampa's grandpa

cannonball
is a Community Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
MY OPINIONS ON THE METAGAME RIGHT NOW AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE BANNED:
We started out with an extremely conservative banlist. We need to tier aggressively in order to make use of this month, and the council does in fact plan on doing so. So here is what I think are the most obvious targets for now.
The tl;dr and an order of them is
Cinderace > Thousand Arrows > Clangorous Soul > Kartana > Dragapult > Extreme Speed > Rillaboom = Tapu Bulu > Astral Barrage
:ss/cinderace:
Cinderace is absurd. There's no realistic way to predict what it's running. I've already run 3 or 4 moves including Spectral Thief, Spikes, Extreme Speed, and Bolt Strike, none of which would be particularly apparent from team preview. Until it reveals its move and potentially removes a key Pokemon there's no realistic way to at all reliably tell what it's running.

I don't think it's honestly possible for a good offensive Libero or Protean user to be balanced in Sketchmons. It would either need to be entirely defensively oriented or just terrible (looking at you Kecleon).

:ss/kommo-o:
Clangorous Soul has been brought up a bunch of times already. Powerful setup on unpredictable mons is a scary prospect. Pokemon like Magearna, Tapu Lele, Clefable, Xurkitree, ..... etc are powerful sweepers in one turn. You can pick a sweeper based on what you need for your team: wide coverage, anti-priority, sheer power, whatever you need Clangorous Soul will fit on something. The issue arises, as The Number Man said above, from the fact that all of these Pokemon have other sets.

:ss/zygarde:
Thousand Arrows is one of the most broken moves ever made. I don't remember why we didn't ban this to start. Lando-T, Diggersby, Rhyperior, Garchomp, and more are insane with this.

:ss/kartana:
Kartana with Fire move! or Rock! or Extreme Speed! or Sunsteel Strike or Power Whip! Basically Kartana gonna have no walls. Kart hit hurd. It can also run Dragon Dance. This would be less of an issue if it didn't tank all the most common forms of priority super well.

:ss/calyrex-shadow:
Astral Barrage has been talked about very little that I've seen, but I've run it a bit, and it invalidates defensive switchins pretty hard.

:ss/dragapult:
Dragapult has the Speed tier, typing, movepool, and power to become absolutely absurd here. Similarly to Cinderace it can really do what it wants, although to a lesser degree. I've run Specs Secret Sword, seen band Sthief / Poltergeist, and there's a good bulky DD set posted above. There's more it can do too. I'd run Spikes, Mixed LO with Close Combat Spikes or Strength Sap, Astral Barrage, and more. Being immune to Extreme Speed and resistant to most other priority while being one of the fastest Pokemon in the metagame is an incredible combination, and Pult plays it to the max. I can't see it staying long.

:ss/linoone:
Extreme Speed is proving, as always, both an important revenge killing and anti-setup tool, and one of the most centralizing and broken aspects of the metagame. Personally I've found Diggersby to be the most effective Extreme Speeder so far due to its raw power off the bat and ability to SD or set spikes on switch-ins.

:ss/tapu_bulu::ss/rillaboom:
Tapu Bulu and Rillaboom have all the combined anti-offense and wallbreaking power they have in STABmons in a metagame where priority is considerably more powerful.

I would personally hold off on banning the Gliders and Extreme Speed until the offensive metagame is a little more under control.

The validator might have some bugs , Reshiram and Genesect are not banned.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sketchmons-1332573630-qwy90rbrjnzi2m1wbjkndjud3fhp2k7pw
So apparently, Reshiram is legal to use on Ladder
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sketchmons-1332575585

Edit: Ok, someone else already posted a replay showing Reshiram.
But imagine being so bad that an LC Pokemon is more of a threat than the 680 BST Uber lmao.
This has been fixed, thank you Kris.
They were never intended to be legal, and would both pretty obviously be absurdly broken. I'm just sad I missed the opportunity to properly abuse Reshiram.[/hide]
 
Last edited:
First post like this, just wanna point out neat stuff I've used/seen. Something I haven't seen mentioned yet is the terrain setters/moves - Lele can run Expanding Force and Koko can run Rising Voltage. Terrain Extender Expanding Force is 88.8% as strong as a specs Psychic, and gives support for mons like Expanding Force Alakazam (which gets Mind Blown for a drawback-free Steel nuke). Specs Lele is absurd too ofc. There could also be Grassy Glide Bulu, but Rillaboom is probably still better.

Weather has also got some cool stuff; everyone knows what Barraskewda does and now it does that with 32.4% more power with Surging Strikes over Liquidation, not to mention going through screens and defense boosts. Thundurus-T finally has Flying STAB with Hurricane. I haven't tried Sand or Sun yet, but there's Ttar able to heal 2/3 of its health in one turn with Shore Up and Thousand Arrows Excadrill who no longer cares about birds. I wouldn't be tempted by that to use Ttar as a defensive check for Dragapult tho, +1 Dragon Darts can still 2HKO a full physdef set after rocks.

As for bans, Clangorous Soul is definitely busted, lol, especially on mons with recovery. Cinderace can run a STAB whatever-the-hell-it-wants to support its team and is and terrifying to see on preview.
 

Don Vascus

Certified Wednesday Poster
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
5) Dragapult is VERY strong. It's not unbeatable (as opposed to Cinderace) cause Fairies, Darks, Steels and Sthief users keep it in check but its definitely one of the best mons in the metagame.
1619923556572.png


Dragapult @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Spectral Thief
- U-turn
- Outrage

As it turns out, the ghost mon is the best user of the ghost move. Scarf Pult is an amazing answer to all sorts of non-dark and non-normal setup, and with its naturally high physical attack it can still threaten things without relying on someone else's boost. For real this boy right here is the reason i havent struggled vs clangsoul and other setup. Its also notably one of the best offensive answers to itself, as most dd pults dont run max speed. Max speed will seem excesive until it saves you from some monster at +2 or +3 and procedes to reverse sweep
I personally think that with the strong breaker sets with specs/band, the dd set, and this thing that just makes having a boost bad for you, pult should be banned

other cool sets:

Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- U-turn
- Filler

Honestly if you ran this with just uturn it would be as effective as having the full moveset. it can take some pretty strong attacks from full such as eleki's unboosted esurge rvoltage and lele expanding force, and special ghosts and darks are surprisingly rare. Av Regen is a beast

Regieleki @ Expert Belt
Ability: Transistor
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rising Voltage
- Volt Switch
- Freeze-Dry/Secret Sword/Steam Eruption
- Thunderbolt

Shoutouts to Electric Spam for becoming real. This thing can 2hko all but resists and specially bulky mons with tbolt. Add in moves such as freeze dry for most grounds, Secret sword to the otherwise never failing blissey, and maybe even Steam eruption for other sorts of Vabsorb mons and this thing can break through teams with ease. Koko, its partner in crime, can even help with some of the checks with its sketched move of its own, picking the move eleki didnt. The one thing keeping this from everyones mind's its Espeed, something much more broken that eleki. The second strong priority stops being easy to add onto teams this thing will pop off
 
Like Drampa was mentioning, we are absolutely going HAM right now trying to patch up everything as it comes to us - we wanted to not be too knee-jerky when it came to bans, but I think there's now more than enough evidence to start swinging the hammer.

We got a ton of reports that Reshiram/Genesect were legal on the ladder and we have no clue why - they've always been on our banlist, even prior to the initial thread's posting, and something obviously just fell through the cracks between what's on our list and what got pushed to the server.
For those of you that got to use them, I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted.

As always, please tell us what you think of the meta so far and if you have any suggestions! Happy Sketching!
 
Barbra (Barbaracle) @ Protective Pads
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Shell Smash
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
hi heres a mon ive really enjoyed using. surging strikes + sniper + stab = 253.125 base power water move. add that to shell smash, and you get one hell of a setup sweeper.

edit: just realized protective pads exist. rocky helmet/iron barbs/dry skin users are in shambles.
 
Last edited:
The meta’s pretty fun atm. Except for one thing…

Motherfucking Clangorous Soul.

I hate this shit so much, It’s beyond stupid, and so many mons abuse it so well that it’s not even funny. It’s very hard to revenge kill them as the speed buff requires you to run priority, and those who are fast enough to revenge kill can fail to KO them due to said Clang Soul users having their defenses increased. The worst offenders though, are Stored Power mons such as Mag, Clef, even Necrozma, etc. Once they get boosting, it’s nearly impossible to stop them before they steamroll over your entire team. In fact, I’m using Topsy-Turvy Thundurus just to cuck Clang Soul users, and that should say something. This isn’t even going into other aspects of it, like activating Throat Spray and making shit like Weakness Policy easier to activate. At least No Retreat makes you unable to switch out.

Ban Clangorous Soul.
 
Hi there. Just a lurker here. I'm a fan of OMs and I really like making creative sets when I find an OM that I enjoy. Unfortunately, I'm not the greatest battler. I thought I'd share some of the sets I made so they can at least show their potential in someone else's hands. I tried to focus on pokemon or ideas that I haven't seen used. There are some sets that are team-specific (like for Trick Room or Rain teams), but that can easily be adapted to other teams and also some might be pretty bad, but fun to use. I'm also not the greatest teambuilder, I just like making fun and interesting stuff, so feel free to change things to your preference. Anyway, here they are:

https://pokepast.es/5faaa4d239e50f70

That's it. I might post some more depending on if I make more and how people react to them. :)
Edit: Just realized the Azelf set was wrong. Should be fixed now.
 
Last edited:

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top