Metagame Sketchmons

I would like to introduce you to the legendary and most powerful Melmetal which serves as a perfect counter to your suggesting set.
52+ Atk Life Orb Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 203-239 (42.8 - 50.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO
200 SpA Life Orb Dracozolt Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Melmetal: 203-239 (42.8 - 50.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO
The set is described above.
Why does dracozolt have 52 evs in atk ? Try with 252 :
252+ Atk Life Orb Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 242-286 (51 - 60.3%) -- 89.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
if u put more def on melme then fire blast 2hko.
 
Why does dracozolt have 52 evs in atk ? Try with 252 :
252+ Atk Life Orb Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 242-286 (51 - 60.3%) -- 89.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
if u put more def on melme then fire blast 2hko.
If you're running 252+ attack and 200 special attack, you aren't running nearly enough speed for Dracozolt to accomplish much of anything. Keep in mind, Dracozolt is only particularly threatening if it's moving first due to the mechanics of Bolt Beak.

Dracozolt in general suffers from being quite prediction-reliant thanks to nearly every team having an Electric immunity and either a hard resist or immunity to Dragon, struggling with offensive counterplay (even on sand teams, as strong priority is common and you only have a few turns of sand to use), and having little defensive utility to bring to a team. Substitute can make it more consistent but you either forgo Triple Axel/Freeze-Dry or Draco Meteor, plus you get worn down extremely quickly (as if Life Orb + SR wasn't enough). It also faces competition as an Electric-type breaker, primarily from the Thundurus forms and Tapu Koko.

Don't get me wrong, it's a good breaker, but it needs more than a few nice calcs to be busted.
 
If you're running 252+ attack and 200 special attack, you aren't running nearly enough speed for Dracozolt to accomplish much of anything.
You know sandrush ? I asked to one of the best player and he said me that he has 252+ atk 200 spa and 56 spe. U dont need more spe to outspeed anything in storm. And yeah, you play it with sub because it makes you able to sweep easier. So the finals set would be :
Sub + bolt beak + freeze dry + fire blast.
Show me a pkm able to come on dracozolt.
 
You know sandrush ? I asked to one of the best player and he said me that he has 252+ atk 200 spa and 56 spe. U dont need more spe to outspeed anything in storm. And yeah, you play it with sub because it makes you able to sweep easier. So the finals set would be :
Sub + bolt beak + freeze dry + fire blast.
Show me a pkm able to come on dracozolt.
Just because something has no 100% guaranteed safe switchins means they are broken. You have to realize its flaws because realistically just not switching does not mean something is broken. 1 huge flaws is that its not gonna Ohko everything especially without hustle so it can live then just kill it back. Not to mention with ur spread so many scarfers easilg force it out like lando. Also its hard to find switch in opportunities because of its fragility so u often find times u gotta sack a mon (or severely chip 1)to get it in, or come in at half health then die 2 turns l8r with life orb and rocks chip. In a metagme like sketch u gotta accept that not everything will have switch ins and that fact does not mean that its broken. If u play well I'm sure u can beat dracozolt before it beats u. After all, that is the goal of pokemon


I also have a switch in to ur set since u are desperately looking for 1.


200 SpA Life Orb Dracozolt Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Thick Fat Mamoswine: 109-130 (30.1 - 36%) -- 45.4% chance to 3HKO
 
Last edited:
Just because something has no 100% guaranteed safe switchins means they are broken. You have to realize its flaws because realistically just not switching does not mean something is broken. 1 huge flaws is that its not gonna Ohko everything especially without hustle so it can live then just kill it back. Not to mention with ur spread so many scarfers easilg force it out like lando. Also its hard to find switch in opportunities because of its fragility so u often find times u gotta sack a mon (or severely chip 1)to get it in, or come in at half health then die 2 turns l8r with life orb and rocks chip. In a metagme like sketch u gotta accept that not everything will have switch ins and that fact does not mean that its broken. If u play well I'm sure u can beat dracozolt before it beats u. After all, that is the goal of pokemon


I also have a switch in to ur set since u are desperately looking for 1.


200 SpA Life Orb Dracozolt Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Thick Fat Mamoswine: 109-130 (30.1 - 36%) -- 45.4% chance to 3HKO
Ok, i see your point but the reason why im complaining is because zeraora got banned. I think draco is stronger than zera or at least as good. Ur mamo isnt a good answer, he can come on e.
 
Ok, i see your point but the reason why im complaining is because zeraora got banned. I think draco is stronger than zera or at least as good. Ur mamo isnt a good answer, he can come on e.
I think I found a answer for dracozolt it not the best mon but I feel like it has potential to wall it:


120+ Atk Life Orb Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 187-222 (42.1 - 50%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

136 SpA Life Orb Dracozolt Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Cresselia: 142-168 (31.9 - 37.8%) -- 0.2% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

120+ Atk Life Orb Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 281-331 (63.2 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

And in a meta where cresselia can have strenght sap and actual decent recovery move I think it can stand up to it.
 
I think I found a answer for dracozolt it not the best mon but I feel like it has potential to wall it:


120+ Atk Life Orb Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 187-222 (42.1 - 50%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

136 SpA Life Orb Dracozolt Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Cresselia: 142-168 (31.9 - 37.8%) -- 0.2% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

120+ Atk Life Orb Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 281-331 (63.2 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

And in a meta where cresselia can have strenght sap and actual decent recovery move I think it can stand up to it.
Nope :
252+ Atk Life Orb Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 208-247 (46.8 - 55.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
in 90% of the time its played with hippowdon with sr.
 
Last edited:
You know sandrush ? I asked to one of the best player and he said me that he has 252+ atk 200 spa and 56 spe. U dont need more spe to outspeed anything in storm. And yeah, you play it with sub because it makes you able to sweep easier. So the finals set would be :
Sub + bolt beak + freeze dry + fire blast.
Show me a pkm able to come on dracozolt.
You have to get it in under sand. Easier said than done, with its meager defensive profile and poor longevity granting it few opportunities to get in - you have to set Sand (likely with Tyranitar, who generally doesn't run Smooth Rock although I suppose it's more free to do so in Sketch), switch to a slow pivot, and click a pivoting move, already 3 turns gone. Also, 400 speed (which 56 EVs hits with a neutral nature under sand) is outsped by every scarfer, every weather abuser, every manual speed booster, and Jolly Barraskewda. Outside of Sand it's outpaced by even invested base 60s like Magnezone and Aegislash, and by near-no-investment 80s like Mandibuzz (who zolt SHOULD break, but won't because it can spam Roost and become Electric-neutral). It's just not enough speed for Dracozolt to do its job effectively. The minimum you should realistically be hitting is 238 (208 EVs) for Scarf Tapu Lele (under sand) and defensive Heatran (out of sand) and ideally you'd hit 247 (244 EVs) for Scarf Galarian Zapdos.

Also, Sub/BB/Freeze-Dry/FB misses Kommo-o and other bulky Dragon-types pretty hard, especially with most of them outspeeding too and firing back an OHKO.

120+ Atk Life Orb Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kommo-o: 121-143 (41.5 - 49.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
136 SpA Life Orb Dracozolt Freeze-Dry vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Kommo-o: 122-146 (41.9 - 50.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

0 SpA Kommo-o Clanging Scales vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Dracozolt: 356-420 (110.9 - 130.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Even an uninvested Kommo-o is able to eat 2 of each move reliably from a more standard Dracozolt spread and OHKO in return. Max HP Kommo-o will eat each move with max Attack and Special Attack (as in, absolutely ZERO speed investment on your zolt).
 
The minimum you should realistically be hitting is 238 (208 EVs) for Scarf Tapu Lele (under sand) and defensive Heatran (out of sand) and ideally you'd hit 247 (244 EVs) for Scarf Galarian Zapdos.

Even an uninvested Kommo-o is able to eat 2 of each move reliably from a more standard Dracozolt spread and OHKO in return. Max HP Kommo-o will eat each move with max Attack and Special Attack (as in, absolutely ZERO speed investment on your zolt).
First of all, I have the impression that your goal with dracozolt is not to destroy one or two pokemons but to overtake the scarf pokemons.
Secondly, as I said over and over again: zeraora has the same weaknesses as dracozolt except that it doesn't need sand and it doesn't hit as hard. Yet he was banned.
Third, many people play hippowdon with u-turn which makes sand lose almost no turns.
Fourth, dracozolt can and is also played with draco meteor which makes kommo-o a bad counter.
now give me a VALID reason why zeraora is ban and not dracozolt.
 
Last edited:
First of all, I have the impression that your goal with dracozolt is not to destroy one or two pokemons but to overtake the scarf pokemons.
Secondly, as I said over and over again: zeraora has the same weaknesses as dracozolt except that it doesn't need sand and it doesn't hit as hard. Yet he was banned.
Third, many people play hippowdon with u-turn which makes sand lose almost no turns.
Fourth, dracozolt can and is also played with draco meteor which makes kommo-o a bad counter.
now stop talking nonsense and give me VALID reasons why zeraora is ban and not dracozolt.
In simple words, in real life games, he's not broken.
 
First of all, I have the impression that your goal with dracozolt is not to destroy one or two pokemons but to overtake the scarf pokemons.
Secondly, as I said over and over again: zeraora has the same weaknesses as dracozolt except that it doesn't need sand and it doesn't hit as hard. Yet he was banned.
Third, many people play hippowdon with u-turn which makes sand lose almost no turns.
Fourth, dracozolt can and is also played with draco meteor which makes kommo-o a bad counter.
now give me a VALID reason why zeraora is ban and not dracozolt.
Dracozolt's claim to fame is its speed. Without it, it's just another breaker in a sea of better, more consistent breakers like Landorus-T, Nidoking, Tapu Lele, etc. Running it with so little speed is like running a special Dragonite: sure, you could, and it technically works if you're willing to support it enough... but why?

Zeraora has... literally none of the same weaknesses as Dracozolt? It's another fast Electric type and that's about where the similarities end.

Yes, you can run U-turn Hippowdon, and it's quite potent. But you lose the offensive presence, sheer special bulk, and great resistances of Tyranitar, or the increased longevity of Shore Up Hippowdon. It's a tradeoff like any other, you make it easier to get breakers in while giving up other huge benefits.

Not going to respond to the coverage point because I already did... several posts ago. I won't repeat myself.

Zeraora had a naturally incredible speed tier (read: not reliant on getting in with several turns of weather) in addition to excellent utility moves in Knock Off, Toxic and Volt Switch to wear down its checks without prediction. It could easily carry Heavy-Duty Boots for longevity and had defensive utility with its ability to block Volt Switch. Volt Absorb + Flying resist also made it a good offensive check to Thundurus (and Zapdos) as they couldn't brainlessly pivot or click the funny Thunderbolt button. Its Electric/Ice/Grass/Fighting coverage plus the potential to run various utility or setup moves made it unpredictable and allowed it to easily fit on a variety of different team styles (rather than just Sand).

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Anyway, to break up the monotony...

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Defog / Will-O-Wisp
- Strength Sap / Shore Up

Say hello to the only consistent switchin to Landorus-T! Package complete with pivoting, no Rock weakness, and a Fire resist for the Pyro Ball grounds. Scares away most rockers, making it a solid defogger, but Will-O-Wisp to spread passive damage and cripple physical attackers is a good option too. Needs to be kept healthy, hates Toxic and struggles with bulky Garchomp, so it's not a perfect answer, but what is?

Flygon @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 96 Def / 84 SpD / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Darts
- Roost
- Defog / U-turn / Toxic

Here's something a bit sillier that probably works much better on paper than in practice. Intended as a catch-all answer to Garchomp, Nidoking, Heatran, Excadrill and more, though it depends heavily on their coverage of choice. Expert Belt secures crucial rolls on bulky Garchomp, Nidoking, and Hydreigon if it tries to switch in (the 4 attack is necessary!). Dragon Darts as the sketched move allows a contact-free 2HKO on Garchomp, preventing it from setting up in your face and sweeping. Flygon's mediocre stats in combination with the mixed bulk means that it's a very shaky wall, but it covers enough mons with its unique typing + ability combo that there's probably a use for it on some teams.

Zapdos-Galar @ Leftovers
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Spectral Thief
- Bulk Up
- Substitute

This seems neat. Lures Aegislash and bulky Psychic/Ghost types, can steal BACK boosts from other Spectral Thief users, denies priority and faster revenge killers with Substitute, and hits hard enough unboosted to serve as an immediate threat, generating its own opportunities to set up. Obviously much more niche than your standard unga-bunga Choice Band Dragon Ascent set, but this seems genuinely cool and unique, and potentially worth using.
 

drampa's grandpa

cannonball
is a Community Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
A couple things about this Dracozolt conversation:

1) Please stop with this
now give me a VALID reason why zeraora is ban and not dracozolt.
sort of argument. This is a substance-free argument. The burden of proof rests on the side changing the status quo, which is you trying to ban something.

2) Dracozolt is hard to switch into under sand it's true. However it's far from impossible. Rhydon, Hippowdon, Rotom-Heat, and others are all hard counters to the set you mentioned. You can Sketch moves to hit these of course, but that's the case with every single offensive Pokemon in this metagame.

3) Zeraora needed no specific support, was not on a timer, did not lower its own attack stats, had better longevity, more utility, and was just overall a far far better Pokemon.

I'm not going to say for sure that Dracozolt isn't broken at this time. Triple Axel sets with Draco Meteor and Fire Blast are incredibly difficult to switch into. However arguments need to take into account the team structures it fits into, how it can play around its weaknesses, and they need to feature replays versus WELL-BUILT TEAMS NOT ESPECIALLY WEAK TO IT.

This is not a no-shit ban. Speaking for myself, I am more likely to dismiss the argument when you treat it as such because that much is wrong.
 
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Defog / Will-O-Wisp
- Strength Sap / Shore Up

Say hello to the only consistent switchin to Landorus-T! Package complete with pivoting, no Rock weakness, and a Fire resist for the Pyro Ball grounds. Scares away most rockers, making it a solid defogger, but Will-O-Wisp to spread passive damage and cripple physical attackers is a good option too. Needs to be kept healthy, hates Toxic and struggles with bulky Garchomp, so it's not a perfect answer, but what is?
Is that the reason I've been seeing Gravity lando-t these days? :(

Zapdos-Galar @ Leftovers
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Spectral Thief
- Bulk Up
- Substitute

This seems neat. Lures Aegislash and bulky Psychic/Ghost types, can steal BACK boosts from other Spectral Thief users, denies priority and faster revenge killers with Substitute, and hits hard enough unboosted to serve as an immediate threat, generating its own opportunities to set up. Obviously much more niche than your standard unga-bunga Choice Band Dragon Ascent set, but this seems genuinely cool and unique, and potentially worth using.
Quite an amazing set, although the lack of Life Orb and Flying STAB does mean it misses a lot of crucial 2HKO lines especially against all Unaware walls. Spectral Thief nicely deals with Aegislash but surprisingly loses to stuff like Slowbro and even Slowking. It also faces the pain of losing the ability to pressure Toxapex, the most abundant pivot in meta. With all these said, I can see it pressureing offensive teams once specific threats are removed, and can serve as a decent sweeper.

-----

I believe the Toxapex deserves an A->S nomination. It has the following properties that makes it stand out as an pivot, and makes it preferred, if not mandatory, on most competitive teams:
1. It is the hardest pivot to wear down in the entire metagame, as it resists U-turn, has Regenerator, is immune to Toxic, and can often afford to run Black Sludge. This makes it a nightmare for anyone to chip it, and even if it took serious damage at some point of the game, it can still gradually heal back with Regenerator.
2. It is slow enough to pivot last when carrying a pivot move. This variant of Toxapex can keep momentum for the team which makes up for its passiveness. Parting Shot Toxapex is particularly noticable as it weakens opposing pokemons that tries to use it as a setup fodder.
3. In stalled situations, Toxapex can put pressure onto opposing team through methods such as Toxic, Toxic Spikes, and Knock Off. This is extremely valuable as it is often crucial for teammates to eventually be able to break through opposing team. Block variants of Toxapex can also quickly eliminate crucial opposing pokemons in a more straightforward manner.
4. Toxapex's unique typing gives it a ton of resistances and very few weaknesses. Combined with its bulk and Regenerator, it can serve as a blanket check for the team, which is extremely important in this meta as scouting moves is very important. Additionally, Toxapex can run Baneful Bunker, which not only allows it to protect itself against dangerous moves such as Bolt Strike and Photon Geyser, but also punishes attackers that attempts to hit it with a contact move.
5. Toxapex can also afford to run hazard control should the team be needing it, as Regenerator allows it to switch in without always needing to use Recover.

Overall, those properties makes Toxapex the go-to choice as pivot for offensive and balanced teams, and gives it a comfortable place in more defensive teams as well. It has its own flaws as it is often too passive and cannot put enough pressure on opposing teams, but I believe this is not enough of a flaw to keep it away from S rank.
 
Lemme share a funny team thats kinda good I probably should post replays but idc just take it or leave it.

:incineroar: :bisharp: :mamoswine: :whimsicott: :klefki: :latios:

Niche Goats. Game plan is usually lead klefki cause it has a wide array of good MUs as lead. Get up as many spikes as possible esp against stall so u can over power there unaware wall and let mamo break. But ALSO make sure u trick any fast pokemon u see to cripple them for bisharp and mamoswine to either break or end game cleaner. Klefki also stops powerful sweepers with haze so keep that in mind. Next we got bisharp who is a preety nice mon who says fuck u to any intimidate user bar incen. U hardly click SD as u usually just spam ur powerful attacks weakening team for mamo or incentives to late game cleaner. Sucker is nice revenge and sunsteel is great for mimikyu and just an upgrade from Iron head. Latios acts as another form of speed control that doesn't require tricking and is actually a quite powerful mon. Great defensive utility as a ground immunity and a kinda bulu check and fight resist, keld check, and all around great glue for the team. Next we got my boy whimsi with puts in a little too much work at times. More speed control with trick and provides a second keld check. Its really good for its healing wish capabilities to restore a low health breaker(usually mamo) back to destroy the souls of your enemy. Alright lets talk about mamo. 95% of games my opponents have 0 switch ins to this absolute unit. Enough bulk to tank a hit and set up, then ice shards to rkillers or quakes the tricked fools. Amazing late game cleaner and ive won a lot of games with only whimi and mamo when whimj helping wishes mamo from 10 hp and starts the insanity. Mamo is just a really, really potent breaker/late gamer for this team. Finnaly we have the man, the myth, the legend incineroar. Enough speed evs to outspeed chomp and can powertrip down many foes. This pokemon synergies really well with spikes to bring foes into power trip range and while this pokemon is quite slow its bulk allows it to muscle past a lot of rollers. Usually people fear going bulu to rkill because if fire move, which is a really great bluff that I am now openly exposing. U turn lets u pivot out of mons you can beat and ro hit dark types that think they can wall u on the switch. Usuallay incen comes out of its fury at 40% hp so u can healing wish it back or just keep it as a intimidate sack. I bet someone who has skill and does goof off could probably ladder with this team. But yeah it looks funny and nit meta but it actually puts in work. I would show you replays, but I never save them and the one I did save wasn't even good. Peace.
 
Last edited:
This may get me laughed out of Smogon, but consider:
Body Press Shuckle.
Unfortunately, Shuckle isn’t even Third place for the strongest Body Press in Sketchmons.
First and Second are Zamazenta-H and Zamazent-C (though the Hero form can hold choice band, and so can many Pokemon below Zamazenta-C in Def), and Third is actually Buzzwole thanks to STAB, but that is only slightly stronger.
252+ Def Buzzwole Body Press vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Shuckle: 72-85 (29.6 - 34.9%) -- 12.5% chance to 3HKO
252+ Def Shuckle Body Press vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Shuckle: 71-84 (29.2 - 34.5%) -- 6.1% chance to 3HKO
 
Unfortunately, Shuckle isn’t even Third place for the strongest Body Press in Sketchmons.
First and Second are Zamazenta-H and Zamazent-C (though the Hero form can hold choice band, and so can many Pokemon below Zamazenta-C in Def), and Third is actually Buzzwole thanks to STAB, but that is only slightly stronger.
252+ Def Buzzwole Body Press vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Shuckle: 72-85 (29.6 - 34.9%) -- 12.5% chance to 3HKO
252+ Def Shuckle Body Press vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Shuckle: 71-84 (29.2 - 34.5%) -- 6.1% chance to 3HKO
...Wait, really? I get why STAB would make a difference, but I thought Body Press purely used Def in attack calculations and ignored the user's Atk entirely. Huh.
 
...Wait, really? I get why STAB would make a difference, but I thought Body Press purely used Def in attack calculations and ignored the user's Atk entirely. Huh.
With Choice Band, you are increasing the damage of Physical moves, not your Atk stat.
Similarly, Eviolite doesn’t actually increase your Def/SpD, as it instead reduces the opponent’s damage to 2/3rds (as 1/1.5 is 2/3rds). This is why Choice Band actually works with Body Press and not Eviolite.
I learned the hard way about this mechanic that normally would not matter in older generations.
Buzzwole has a base defense of 139 iirc? It's actually as high as it's attack.
I think Plasmaster was talking about Choice Band boosting Body Press.
 
With Choice Band, you are increasing the damage of Physical moves, not your Atk stat.
Similarly, Eviolite doesn’t actually increase your Def/SpD, as it instead reduces the opponent’s damage to 2/3rds (as 1/1.5 is 2/3rds). This is why Choice Band actually works with Body Press and not Eviolite.
I learned the hard way about this mechanic that normally would not matter in older generations.

I think Plasmaster was talking about Choice Band boosting Body Press.
Ah. All of the marbles appear to not be in my head. :facepalm:
 
Oblivion Wing has been restricted from Sketchmons!
Oblivion Wing has been restricted from Sketchmons due to its incredible longevity factor on multiple Flying-types, such as Tornadus-Therian and Thundurus-Therian. The ability to use setup in conjunction with a move that is not only difficult to resist but is often capable of restoring more than half of an abusers HP on a KO makes it extremely difficult to revenge kill Pokemon that abuse this move, and otherwise decent answers like Tapu Koko and Zapdos become unable to deal with Oblivion Wing setup due to the HP recovery often making chip damage an unreliable way to deal with Oblivion Wing users.

alaserdolphinChazmdrampa's grandpaEggs McGeeOutcome
Oblivion WingBanBanAbstainBanBan

bp scrub did not participate in this vote, as they have been absent from Smogon in several months.

Tagging Kris to implement.
 
Having fun with some of these guys:

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- King's Shield
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Bullet Punch

if u cant oneshot this guy you're either dead or gonna die soon, dual priority and 150 base def and spdef makes it one of the best weakness policy users and stance change just makes it a lot worst by switching its defensive stat into offensive.

Lycanroc-Midnight @ Choice Band
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Iron Tail
- Close Combat
- Sucker Punch

now this guy is fun on stickyweb teams just the idea of headsmash not missing gives me nightmares

Greedent @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Cheek Pouch
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Belly Drum
- Quick Attack
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake

cute little squirle that restores almost all its health after a belly drum
 

hayedenn

forgotten me already?
is a Community Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
Hey all, I've been playing and building a lot of Sketch this OMSL, and I wanted to share some teams and thoughts on the meta that I've gathered.

Possible Brokens
:ss/hawlucha: :ss/tapu bulu:
Tapu Bulu and Hawlucha have established themselves as an incredibly threatening combo in Sketch. Tapu Bulu with a Life Orb has a very strong Grassy Glide, threatening to OHKO many offensive checks at +2 and even threatening some defensive ones as well. Grass resists that aren't threatened by either Stone-Edge and Close Combat are hard to come by as well, and due to offensive grass-checks being threatened by Grassy Glide, it makes it difficult to check.

I will say though that I think the reason Bulu is so difficult to check is its frequent pairing with Hawlucha, which is absolutely broken and should be banned. The issue with Hawlucha is how it's basically impossible to check it along with every other offensive Pokemon in the tier. Hawlucha is already a threatening sweeper in standard OU, but with additional coverage in either Pyro Ball, Bolt Strike, or Triple Axel, its impossible to check. For example, Occa Corviknight has become a set used in OMSL in order to check Pyro, but then people can just start running Bolt Strike to beat that. I've used Alakazam to check Bolt & Pyro, but I've then lost to Axel. It's simply impossible to check consistently.

Ghosts Do Be Scary Tho
:ss/blacephalon: :ss/aegislash: :ss/gengar:
Throughout my short time playing Sketch, these are some of my favorite mons to use atm. Blacephalon is a great mixed wallbreaker, with Fire/Ghost/Fighting coverage (if sketching CC) is very difficult to switch into, with Mandibuzz and Toxapex being some of the few options. Nasty Plot is also a usable set, turning Blace into a special wallbreaker that can more easily break through some walls while struggling more against Blissey. Aegislash is another threatening mixed wallbreaker, and I think Spell Tag Moongeist Beam is one of the best anti-stall sets at the moment, and I've used it on sand teams to help against Corv/Quag to some success. Gengar should theoretically also be very solid, and while I haven't used it, there's no reason why a Specs/NP set can't be successful in this meta.

The Underrated Fatties
:ss/mandibuzz: :ss/slowking: :ss/amoonguss: :ss/rotom-wash:
These are some of the best, least-used fat mons in the tier I've found. Specially-Defensive Mandibuzz I've found is amazing for bulkier teams, as it helps the special-breaker matchup immensely against mons like Blace/Aegislash, as well as giving teams a Future-Sight switch-in. It can sketch Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Wisp, Parting Shot, and I'm sure many other moves that can provide vital team support. AV Slowking is something I've seen used a lot by Sevag, and it's a great splashable special wall that can also function as an effective pivot with Flip Turn. Amoonguss is a fantastic Tapu Bulu check, and can sketch moves like Spikes and Heal Bell to help stall teams in other, more non-standard ways. Rotom-Wash I've found to be a great pivot on balance, as it's typing lets it be a DAscent Landorus check and Hawlucha check, while also being an effective pivot into defoggers such as Corviknight. You can sketch Roost and Strength Sap as well to give it consistent recovery.

Team Dump
Here I'll provide some of the teams I've built so far for OMSL just to provide more updated teams for the meta that are also fun and easy to use. Click on the six mons for the paste.

Water Spout Keldeo Rain
:pelipper: :crawdaunt: :barraskewda: :ferrothorn: :keldeo: :tornadus-therian:
This is a pretty standard OU rain team with a really neat Keldeo set that I've transferred over from other OMs. Spikes is sketched on Pelipper as I really didn't know what to put on it and hazards are broken. Surging Strikes Crawdaunt I've found to be a pretty funny wallbreaker, although you should be wary of random Rocky Helmet Pokemon. TAxel on Barraskewda is for the fat grasses because they are annoying af, while Ferrothorn has Strength Sap to have a more reliable form of healing. Chople is the item of choice here to revenge Tapu Bulu after a CC and to soft-check special attackers with Focus Blast (Lele and Zam). Water Spout Keldeo is one of the most ridiculous Pokemon ever, and it's incredibly threatening under rain, with AV Slowking and the rare Water Absorb mon being basically the only checks. Lastly Tornadus-T is the Tapu Bulu check, and with NP it can also be a wallbreaker.

Three Variations on Sand
:tyranitar: :excadrill: :tangrowth: :rotom-wash: :tornadus-therian: :alakazam:
:tyranitar: :excadrill: :tapu bulu: :hawlucha: :rotom-wash: :aegislash:
:tyranitar: :excadrill: :tornadus-therian: :clefable: :skarmory: :toxapex:
Sand is really powerful in Sketch atm, with Excadrill being able to run coverage moves that help it bypass common checks such as Landorus-T, Corviknight, Skarmory, Tangrowth, Garchomp, Slowbro, etc. Personally I'm a fan of Triple Axel, as I've been fighting more teams with fat Grasses/Grounds, but any of the three works. The second team is my personal favorite, as it matches up fairly well into stall while also having enough longevity to do well against balance.

Alolawak Trick Room
:uxie: :marowak-alola: :porygon2: :conkeldurr: :slowbro: :melmetal:
:uxie: :marowak-alola::drampa: :conkeldurr: :slowbro: :melmetal:
This is a pretty standard Trick Room build ported into Sketch. Uxie with Shore Up is incredibly fat and is a pretty consistent setter. This Alolawak set may seem bizarre, but it functions as an effective Tapu Koko check due to Pyro Ball being sketched > Flare Blitz. Drampa is an incredibly effective wallbreaker with Boomburst, mowing through offensive teams and 2hko-ing basically everything, and with good coverage for possible switch-ins such a SpDef TTar. SD Conk is a ridiculous breaker, although you don't get too many opportunities to click it, and Slowking is a fantastic setter as well as Lunar Dance user for the team. Finally, Melmetal is a bulky, offensive TR that is able to set up TR often while also functioning as a soft Bulu and Hawlucha check w/ Chople.

Viability Rankings
I made a VR with Sevag a couple days ago, and I'll post it here just to help other players get accustomed to this newer meta due to the current outdated VR. There aren't any moves next to the Pokemon, sorry about that, but you can generally get an idea of what's effective by seeing if you can add any better STAB/coverage moves, healing moves, setup moves, or status/hazard moves. We made this VR in like 2ish hours and it's likely not amazing, but I'd say it's largely representative of what the current meta is like.

*note Garchomp is likely much better than A-rank but neither of us have seen it used very effectively so until then it's A
S Rank
Hawlucha
Tapu Bulu

A+ Rank
Blissey
Clefable
Excadrill
Tornadus-Therian

A Rank
Aegislash
Blacephalon
Corviknight
Garchomp
Landorus-Therian
Toxapex

A- Rank
Heatran
Slowking
Tapu Koko
Tapu Lele
Weavile

B+ Rank
Hippowdon
Keldeo
Kyurem
Mandibuzz
Melmetal


B Rank
Amoonguss
Alakazam
Bisharp
Ditto
Dracozolt
Dragonite
Gengar
Nidoking
Primarina
Skarmory
Tyranitar
Volcarona

B- Rank
Pelippper
Reuniclus
Rotom-Wash
Rotom-Heat
Slowbro
Tangrowth

C+ Rank
Barraskewda
Blaziken
Crawdaunt
Magnezone
Marowak-Alola
Quagsire
Slowking-Galar
Swampert
Tapu Fini
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike
Victini

C Rank
Aerodactyl
Gyarados
Incineroar
Kommo-o
Obstagoon
Scizor
Seismitoad
Suicune
Venusaur
Zapdos

C-Rank
Buzzwole
Celesteela
Cloyster
Conkeldurr
Heracross
Glastrier
Grimmsnarl
Mimikyu
Porygon2
Salamence
Terrakion
Torkoal
 
Last edited:
Hawlucha has been banned from Sketchmons.

:ss/hawlucha:

Hawlucha's access to high base power coverage from a sketched move pushes it over the edge as otherwise common answers such as Zapdos (Triple Axel), Tapu Koko(Pyro Ball / Triple Axel), Corviknight (Pyro Ball / Bolt Strike) and Toxapex (Bolt Strike) are all OHKOd by a good coverage move that Lucha has easy access to. Additionally, access to Unburden, a whole host of solid offensive partners like Tapu Bulu and Tapu Koko, further increasing Hawlucha's splashability as a wincon, in tandem with these traits makes Hawlucha exceptionally difficult to revenge kill, meaning that both defensive and offensive counterplay are unreliable. As a result of Sketchmons' more offensive nature, and the fact that multiple defensive answers are required for a metagame with already inconsistent defensive counterplay to multiple of its top mons, we determined that Hawlucha was not healthy for the metagame, and as such has been banned.

Tagging Kris to implement.
 
Following on from the Hawlucha post, we have yet another speed boosting threat to target:

Excadrill has been banned from Sketchmons!

:ss/excadrill:

Excadrill's high offensive stats, two excellent abilities in Mold Breaker and Sand Rush, and great movepool make it incredibly difficult to deal with. Whilst its usual aspects are fairly easy to wall, such as its dual STABs (High Horsepower / Iron Head) being fairly easily walled by most common defensive pivots like Rotom-Wash, Tangrowth, Corviknight and Landorus-Therian, the addition of one of Pyro Ball, Bolt Strike, or Triple Axel make dealing with Excadrill a complete toss-up defensively. Each one of these checks, aside from Rotom-Wash are destroyed by another move that could be easily sketched. Excadrill's situation is complicated further by access to Sand Rush and as a result, the popularity of Shore Up Tyranitar. Because of the offensive nature of Sketchmons, Excadrill's ability to outspeed every relevant Choice Scarf user under Sand makes it very hard to play around, as both offensive and defensive checks are vulnerable to being defeated by the right set, with Tapu Bulu being the only notable reliable revenge killing method. Because of the ability to beat almost any check with the right coverage move, and the aforementioned speed making Excadrill nigh-impossible to revenge kill, Excadrill has been banned.

Tagging Kris to implement.

Additionally, please welcome beauts to the council!
 
Last edited:

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

Top