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While it’s qualities aren’t as good, I wonder how will fair in this meta?
While not as good as , its only hits slightly weaker and would only need some extra support with it not being immune to Will-o-wisp. However, regular Marowak has the option of Curse being essentially a Quiver Dance (although probably better to use Sword Dance) in Trick-Room and resists Stealth Rock too.
If the Alolan form can tear up the meta, then regular Marowak could have a use as a replacement as the alolan form is banned.
Your Trademarked council is hard at work, and we've done a thing.
Memento is now restricted in Trademarked!
Memento, while tricky to use, is effectively a 100% accurate OHKO move when used in conjunction with Skill Swap. If the user is brought onto the field in a situation where Memento will fail, like the foe is behind a Substitute or when an opponent has been KOed by a pivoting move, they can then use Skill Swap next turn to force the foe to KO itself. For a demonstration of this mechanic in action, see turns 6 and 17 of this replay, where Scarf Uxie is able to get two guaranteed OHKOs through Skill Swap + Memento. Due to this being effectively a OHKO move, and not having adequate counterplay, Memento is now banned from Trademarked!
Kris I realized I can make pull requests to non-ladder OMs, I got this+Maro-A.
It doubles the power of Electric moves for 2 turns
The sim considers the turn counter to decrement just before switching in replacements for fainted Pokémon; the Charge you executed at the end of turn 24 was after this point, so it actually lasts until the end of turn 26. (Obviously in normal cartridge play this isn't a problem because you can only execute Charge as part of your regular turn.)
I've never played this OM, looks like fun though, what's the thought on belly drum/choice band sets? Obviously haze ruins anything there but if you can lure and remove haze users then linoone could sweep with espeed, azumarill with aqua jet etc.
You're pretty much limited to coming in once, is there any viability in sets like that?
I've never played this OM, looks like fun though, what's the thought on belly drum/choice band sets? Obviously haze ruins anything there but if you can lure and remove haze users then linoone could sweep with espeed, azumarill with aqua jet etc.
You're pretty much limited to coming in once, is there any viability in sets like that?
Sounds excessive.
You’ll essentially never actually use such power since you’ll be ko’d instantly, locked on a resisted type, or Haze essentially ko’d with no benefits.
I got one question and that is why Garchomp isn't talked about. It isn't banned and getting a free swords dance on switch-in seems amazing. Combine that with the ability to finally be able to run anti fairy measures and it would be good to go.
Yes, it could. In fact, in Trademarked Ubers games (yes, this got played on Pokemon Showdown), I successfully made Zacian-Crowned get Swords Dance for a trademark.
I got one question and that is why Garchomp isn't talked about. It isn't banned and getting a free swords dance on switch-in seems amazing. Combine that with the ability to finally be able to run anti fairy measures and it would be good to go.
Free Swords Dance seems fun, but it has none of the speed war-winning capabilities of free Shell Smash or free Dragon Dance, and Haze, Topsy-Turvy, and even Power Swap for trademarks can often suitably deal with boosting trademarks.
Your Trademarked council is hard at work, and we've done a thing.
Spectrier and Neutralizing Gas are banned from Trademarked!
Spectrier is a terrifying mon to face in standard play, and it is much more threatening here in Trademarked. Much like the already banned Dragapult, it is able to utilize a Will-O-Wisp trademark to cripple opponents and safely rack up more status on the opponents side for spamming Hex. Alternatively, it can use a Nasty Plot trademark to threaten immediate damage. Between its 130 Spe, 145 SpA, and the fantastic coverage of Ghost STAB, Spectrier has few reliable switch ins. Even Blissey can be thwarted by Sub + Nasty Plot variants. In short, Spectrier is too much for the metagame to handle, and it is subsequently banned!
Neutralizing Gas is a technical ban--it's not broken in the sense that it's too good, it's broken in that it literally does not work right. It has been a known bug for a while now that Neutralizing Gas does not stop trademarks from activating, but with the recent discovery of a glitch that prevents the opponent from moving, it has gone from useless to uncompetitive. You can also see it in action here; while we do not fully understand what is causing it, and how to play around it, it is clearly not functioning as intended and is disruptive to the metagame. Until and unless this bug is resolved, Neutralizing Gas is banned from Trademarked.
Regigigas is so broken...
It has 0 offensive counterplays when using Rock Polish due to its absurd bulk and speed, making revenge killing impossible unless you run rock polish too or twave after sacking a mon, it also hits absurdly hard so you are pretty much forced to run iron defense or some other extremely bulky wall to stop it defensively. Way too oppressive to teambuilding imo and it makes no sense at all to allow negative trait users to get bonus like other positive trait users
It should probably function much like it does in AAA; since Zamazenta-Crowned is technically an in-battle transformation, its ability would be converted to Dauntless Shield when it transforms at the start of battle, replacing the Trademark. If Zamazenta-Crowned was freed in Trademarked, I would imagine that it would be effectively locked into Dauntless Shield.
I've never played this OM, looks like fun though, what's the thought on belly drum/choice band sets? Obviously haze ruins anything there but if you can lure and remove haze users then linoone could sweep with espeed, azumarill with aqua jet etc.
This is the definition of high risk/high reward, but probably too high risk to be worthwhile. Haze and Will-O-Wisp are very common trademarks that completely ruin this strategy; Reflect, Iron Defense, and Thunder Wave also do to a lesser extent. Only having one shot at set up with that many trademarked counterplays is probably not worth it. Also Choice Band is overkill usually on Belly Drum sets, you would much prefer the ability to switch moves. Otherwise something like Corviknight can come in on your Extreme Speed and wall you for days.
I got one question and that is why Garchomp isn't talked about. It isn't banned and getting a free swords dance on switch-in seems amazing. Combine that with the ability to finally be able to run anti fairy measures and it would be good to go.
Like others have said, Garchomp getting Swords Dance is nice, but there is a ton of counterplay to simple boosting. Garchomp will still struggle to break through Corviknight, anything with Haze or Will-O-Wisp, and is relatively slow given the amount of speed boosting options there are. It certainly doesn't suck, but it does not stand out compared to other Swords Dancers in my opinion.
Regigigas is so broken...
It has 0 offensive counterplays when using Rock Polish due to its absurd bulk and speed, making revenge killing impossible unless you run rock polish too or twave after sacking a mon, it also hits absurdly hard so you are pretty much forced to run iron defense or some other extremely bulky wall to stop it defensively. Way too oppressive to teambuilding imo and it makes no sense at all to allow negative trait users to get bonus like other positive trait users
I have not found Regigigas to be particularly good, let alone broken. While it's stats are obviously great, it has a really poor status movepool. Rock Polish can boost its speed, but (a recurring theme here) there is a lot of counterplay like Haze, Will-O-Wisp, Reflect, and Thunder Wave. Additionally, since it has mono-normal STAB and no good way to boost its Attack, its power level is actually fairly underwhelming, especially compared to our new supped-up breakers.
Hello, I come to share my team on Trademarked, which currently reached Top 2 in ladder.
Satori (Slowking-Galar) @ Life Orb
Ability: trickroom
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Sludge Bomb
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Nasty Plot
Slowking G is simply good at his job. With Trick Room I make sure to be faster than any other pokemon (except for TR teams). With Nasty Plot and Life Orb I can kill the well known Toxapex Haze, or even other Haze users in a 1vs1.
The reason why I preferred Focus Blast over other moves like Flamethrower, is because of the power it can reward, killing sinister and steel types in one or two hits.
Wakasagi Hime (Mantine) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: haze
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hurricane
- Defog
- Roost
Mantine is the team's haze user, I chose him over Toxapex because Toxapex is too popular, so several teams have Nasty Plot users of Psychic type.
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: stealthrock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Flip Turn
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Roar
Swampert is the pivot that places rocks and uses flip turn. There's not much to say, but it's very useful to force a Taunt to any pokemon with my Corvi.
AYAYA (Corviknight) @ Leftovers
Ability: taunt
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
My Corviknight has the taunt ability, coupled with its U turn, allows me to annoy very passive pokemon like Blissey or Shuckle. It has Brave Bird but it can be perfectly substituted with Body Press, depending on how the metagame develops.
Fujiwara no Mokou (Victini) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: laserfocus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- Energy Ball
- U-turn
Victini has a special feature: it is fire type, so the teams with Will or Wisp do not work here, and neither do those with haze since it does not remove the effect of Laser Focus to give critical hits. V create gets along well with Trick Room, so it would be beneficial for me. It carries Energy Ball for Rhyperior which otherwise stops me.
Momiji (Zygarde-10%) @ Choice Band
Ability: dragondance
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Thousand Arrows
- Extreme Speed
- Toxic
I still haven't decided which would be my last pokemon. At the moment the best without a doubt is Zygarde 10% Dragon Dance and Choice Band. It has very few counters (Buzzwolle, Tangrwoth and Iron Defense mons), but I also used Zarude Grassy Terrain.
So far only Sirfetch'd and TR teams cause me problems. Hope you like my team.
Having two good stat boosting options in Agility and SD is always a great thing, and can make Weavile pretty versatile, and even a threat. Agility outspeeds a lot of things that could normally squeak by, and SD is a great stat boosting move that can pressure opposing Pokemon. Combine this with Band/Scarf and you've got a monster, or use HDB so you don't get screwed by Rocks. This thing is still an offensive threat anyways, and you should be prepared if you can.
Standard offensive set, but Tailwind is pretty funny since it provides support and doubles all of your Pokemon's speed which can be an annoyance if it can be. DDance is probably the better set though.
Throwing this set out there for those in need of a good sweeper.
Blaziken @ Choice Band
Ability: agility
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Earthquake/Stone edge/Knock off
Blaziken seems like a really under-appreciated trademark mon from my experience so far and has a few things going for it that no other mon has. Swords dance is nice, but getting hazed/topsy turvied makes it almost unviable at times. That's where i've found speed boosts like agility/tailwind are extremely useful as alternatives where you instead are using items for power so that you maintain KO potential, and with immunity to burn + a lack of solid defensive walls (as opposed to special mons versing a support blissey every 2nd match), a physical fire type is ideal. A choice banded close combat/flare blitz basically KOs every offence mon and 2HKOs every tank in the meta. On top of awesome offensive typing, you also have access to u-turn, making this Pokemon quite easy to keep alive and move around the few walls that exist, like Toxapex/Mantine,etc. Blaziken is also in a nice speed tier, as at +2, you outspeed every regular mon, including Max speed Regileki, and all the shell smash abusers.
The only problem i've encountered is trick users and the incredibly common Archeops+tailwind still outspeeds you, and is usually paired with aromatherapy support. In many ways, archeops fills the same role as Blaziken, but with the benefit that tailwind impacts other mons. But whilst tailwind can be incredibly useful and archeops packs a slightly bigger punch with 20 more base attack. Blaziken's high power, 100% accurate, stab-moves put it just a little above in terms of sweeping potential and beyond getting para-haxed, you'll probably find that with a few 50/50 prediction, Blaziken has the potential to win any match outside of trickroom.
Figured I might put a rough viability rating/Meta overview post? They're always good for ideas and are really good for helping with team building/anti-meta teams. Feel free to join in on the discussion. (List not complete, it takes too long to do at one time)
S Tier - Pokemon so prevalent/effective, that almost any competitive Trademarked team will need to use them and EVERY competitive team needs ways to beat them. EI, a snapshot of the high ladder meta.
Grapploct -
Due to Malamar's 4x weakness to Bug (Nothing weak to U-turn wants to be in this meta), Grapploct is the only viable user of the overpowered trademark Topsy-Turvy, a move which instantly propels Grapploct to S tier. The ability effectively negates nearly all stat boosting in the meta, and you will probably find it in over 30% of teams. Basically any +2 mon becomes a free switch in and allows you to dictate the battle if you are smart. The addition of moves like sucker punch, drain punch, pain split, and octolock also help stop Grapploct from being a deadweight once it is switched in and provide a form of healing, but most of the time, you merely swap in, predict a switch and double to gain the advantage, making it a good choice for more offensive teams that don't want to use something like Haze Toxapex. You also have eject button as a one time switch for ease of use. I've seen some people underplay it, mentioning its easy to beat, but you're not getting the point. You're the one being forced to play around Grappleoct, Grapploct doesn't need to play around you, that's why it is S Tier, because it dominates and dictates the meta.
Blissey -
Is there ever a meta/OM where Blissey isn't a top-tier choice? It's a defining mon of this meta and stall in general, and you know that if your team can't break this Pokemon, then it's never going to make it. You know the gig with Blissey, largest HP stat in the game, soaks up even boosted special hits, can take most neutral physical hits with ease, and provides team support. Typically used for a heal-bell trademark, but you have status abuse, softboiled, and stealth rocks too. As always, it draws in opportunities for offense to predict and break you. But with a good stall team, there's very little you can't overcome. The addition of teleport is also a massive boon, particularly in a meta that revolves around switching to activate abilities.
Corviknight -
With iron defense, Corviknight just becomes a blanket check to all physical attackers, equivalent to Blissey on the special side. It's so dominating in that regard that it effectively forces your opponent to either whittle it or predict it. I'd argue that's the move you should always be trademarking. But you have other options like a taunt, defog, roost, or bulk up, each come with their own advantages depending on your needs, but you'll almost always be running fully defensive, with u-turn and roost.
Mew -
It's hard for a mon that can learn nearly every move to be bad in this meta. The most effective set i've seen thus far is the chaotic trick/assault vest set that can reliably, and permanently cripple your enemy's support Pokemon just by switching in, even messing up offense by stealing important choice items. But beyond that, Mew serves best as a support mon. Mew can be a healer, a defog user, a trick room setter, status abuser, a teleporter, a ditto/transform, a wall, and even a sweeper. You name it, Mew can probably do it and do it effectively enough to be viable.
Trick/Switcheroo strategies -
The only general strategy I think might be S tier. Simply because, there's not much counter play. You can't run a move that will individually remove items from each of your team members when needed, you can't trick it back unless you use the strategy yourself, it's all in the opponent's hands. Your best option is magic room, but that negates all items, and simply isn't a useful trademark for most teams that aren't centred around it. Funnily enough, the one team magic room does work for, is the team that utilises trick in the first place. This is a very chaotic, but highly effective strategy, partciularly against high ladder balance teams. You will see below that due to the ineffectiveness of simple stat boosts, most breakers will utilize choice items to grant them the neccessary power for OHKOs or 2HKOs on stall. Take away that choice item and many of them simply lack the breaking power they relied on. Now you've got a choice item on your trick mon, and can instantly cripple a stall pokemon on switch in. Most users start with an assault vest or something like a flame orb for burns, which since it is switched instantly, won't impact them. The best trick users are bulkier, so they can survive a switch in, and utilise more support based moves so that they can cripple opponents.
A Tier - Strong Pokemon that can effectively be added to any team and improve it. For me, the key to being an A Tier mon, is the ability for a single set to deal/be useful against both stall and offense teams. It's gonna be a large A tier, as trademark makes a tonne of Pokemon viable enough to be good competitive choices. Basically, unless you can be a bit creative, you're taking a few of these guys, particularly as they're some of the few options that can deal with Blissey/Corviknight pairs.
Victini -
Initially this was my only offensive S tier pick, but I couldn't really justify it upon edit. Victini comes with one of the only effective methods of eliminating haze/topsy turvy teams. Laser focus + choice band. Victini is also particularly notable as a fire-type, because it means it won't be stopped by burns either. U-turn, good coverage, plus one of the strongest stab moves in the game mean that even with just 100 base attack, you can put holes in teams. Corviknight, Blissey, Toxapex, Grapploct, Ferrothorn, Mew, even Rhyperior if you add Energy ball. Everything falls to a well-played Victini. Be warned though, laser focus lasts one turn, and thus protect will wall it, so most stall players have moved to being even more insufferable and using protect spam, which is my reason to lower this Pokemon's rating, and most Pokemon that rely on choice items for that matter, as the ability for you predict/outplay protect using choice items is limited.
Archeops -
Tailwind + choice band + uturn. Gives you one of the fastest (if not, THE fastest at 700 speed) Pokemon you'll find outside trickroom. On top of that, a huge 140 attack and access to uturn means that even if you're constantly getting statused, you're doing reasonable damage and have momentum on your side, with tailwind support for allies coming in. Just a solid option for offense that lacks a bit of speed and momentum.
Gengar -
Nasty plot, specs Gengar is one of the best special breakers and notably, one of the only Pokemon that uses a +2 boosting trademark, that i would recommend. Nothing truly walls the combination of ghost, poison, fighting and nothing much outspeeds it. Just look at the S tier. You throw in your Grapploct? It gets poisoned and will die the next time. You throw in Blissey? You better be max spdef, or you're getting 2HKOd by sludge bomb. Haze Toxapex and predicting between your steel and normal type is just about the only consistent answer. It's also a reasonable sash lead, or life orb user, or using will-wisp/haze trademarks.
Rhyperior -
Struggling with trick room? Or need a good breaker? Curse, choice banded Rhyperior is a very solid option for both. This Pokemon may be slow, but it cripples your enemy's team everytime you get it in. Curse gives you a defensive boost just large enough so that you can take a big hit from physical threats and KO them back, with -1 speed just helping you become one of the fastest mons in trickroom. The +1 attack + Band helps you KO most Pokemon, and means that Topsy/Turvy doesn't just negate all your damage potential.
Keldeo -
Keldo with a calm mind hits that ever so important benchmark: +1 252 SpA Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 750-884 (105 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO. Toxapex will be your bane, but atleast you can predict that. Otherwise, Keldo can have a field day with a lot of Pokemon. Add a scarf for some easy KOs against offense, specs for extra damage, or throw in another item and bait Blissey into thinking your choiced.
Stakataka -
Top dog of trickroom. Usually, you're going to set your own TR, but you can also use something like magnetrise or iron defense. Basically, you're always the fastest Pokemon in TR, and you have the potential to spam 150bp stab moves (gyro ball) against most opposition. Not much else going on here except having a powerful mon that can reliably attack first. Of course, Corviknight walls you endlessly, even with a stone edge crit. But hey, if it didn't, this mon might not be allowed.
Heliolisk -
Glare. Into volt switch. Endlessly. With a bit of hax, anything is possible as this Pokemon has a 30% for a free switch-in and gets to volt switch out immediately. Can be a very powerful combination as the opponent gets stuck in the vortex, or you predict ground types and use specs surf.
Zygarde-10% -
Dragon dance, choice band, thousand arrows. What more could you need? The ability to use adamant nature and still outspeed most mons, not worrying about predictions can be very useful. Most common threats are 2HKOd by thousand arrows and your opponent will probably need a good grass type in order to stop this Pokemon.
Blaziken -
I've already made the point for Blaziken only a post or two above this, i say go banded with agility trademarked. Speed boosting is the best boosting (assuming you've got power elsewhere) as you keep your KO potential against defensive walls that use haze/topsy. Physical is best to kill Blissey. Fire stops burns. Stab close combat + Flareblitz and uturn as utlity is awesome. Add EQ or knock off for all else.
Hatterene -
3 good sets come to mind, trick room, nasty plot/calm mind, and the anti-stall option of a natural, magic bounce user. What makes Hatterene an awesome pick is that it technically counters a tonne of the meta. In TR, it can KO a lot of offense mons. And when Nasty plotting, it can still cause issues for Toxapex and Grapploct. It has a fire move for Corviknight, and whilst not very effective against Blissey, you might still find some success depending on your set. In practice, it's not quite that good as 4 move-syndrome always pops up.
Jellicent -
I've found this to be one of the most under-used walls in this meta, but also one of the best. Will-o-wisp/Strength sap make for some great trademarks on a mon with 100Hp, just 70def, and 105 spdef, and more or less fix its only defensive weakness. With 85 special attack you're also not as passive as most walls. It's just a solid mon with multiple recovery options and a good defensive typing that can invalidate many attackers such as Blaziken, Regigigas, Keldeo, Urshifu, and Stakataka. You also have an easy switch into things like Corviknight. Obviously, heal bell support is something you'll want against stall, but other than than, Jellicent is pretty self-sufficient against most teams and is one of the best Will-o-wisp trademark users.
Landorus -
There's only one set that can possibly be considered for this. Choice band, adamant, gravity. Any boosting set is nigh useless and any set using fly is too. At the very least, a choice band attack from a 145 base stat is good enough to 2HKO unresisted stall. I must put emphasis on this, you NEED adamant nature/+attack, see the damage calcs for proof. Heal bell support is also a must to stop Lando being made useless by a single trademark switch. Gravity simply makes it so you aren't instantly beaten by the all too common Corviknight. With such low speed, you are easily revenge killed, but you should have a pivot for that. Oh and its worth mentioning, don't forget you also lost your EQ immunity, so don't switch into Rhyperior! 252+ Atk Choice Band Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. +2 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 204-242 (51 - 60.5%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Ferrothorn: 190-225 (53.9 - 63.9%) -- 55.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery and Leech Seed recovery
Eldegoss -
It may be odd to see this Pokemon here, but simply put, it's one of the only mons that fills a great niche for many teams as both a ground and electric resist. The trademark should always be Cotton Guard, the best defensive stat boost in the game, and with that 2.5x defence boost, Eldegoss becomes one of the best physical walls in the meta, with access to reliable recovery, leech seed and rapid spin support. It's not quite on the level of Corviknight and may not always match up fantastically, but if you want something a little different, why not try it? Leech seed can be really helpful against the majority of the high HP meta, it pairs well with the Blissey Cleric, and every team wants a ground/electric resist.
Note: I won't be listing all possible users for the strategies, you can simply search the move in Showdown for that. But essentially, the best users of these moves/strategies all find themselves in A tier, with lesser users in B tier.
Charge strategies-
Charge offers you x2 damage for any electric type move used in the next 2 turns, as well as +1 spdef for a small bit of bulk. Basically, beyond a ground type, this gives you a nearly unstoppable electric nuke, quite effective anti-stall. Combine with any power-boosting item for great effect. It's worth mentioning that due to the effectiveness of these Pokemon and the unwallable nature of the large damage boosts combined with volt switch potential, most competitive teams will want a grass/ground type or a way to nullify the top charge users, as even fully spdef Blissey can take up to 70% from a spec Xurkitree's charge boosted Thunder.
Laser focus users/focus energy strategies-
A guaranteed critical hit for the next move means big damage for your next turn, best utilized by choice items. Be warned, protecting users will completely negate this effect. Thus i've put focus energy in here as a substitute since it also offers similar effects, though less reliable, the ability to negate +2 defences, etc can prove invaluable in some matches and often means you're 1HKOing most of your opposition. Against haze/topsy turvy, this is sometimes your only good option for unwallable damage.
Magic bounce users -
All these teams throwing random crap your way on switch in? Why not throw it back? It really reverses the game as suddenly your opponent's trademark can work against them. Magic bounce is one of those OP abilities that can prove quite effective in this meta, but only against certain teams.
Haze Trademarks-
Do i need express why Haze users are so viable in a meta where everything can become +2 on switch in? There are more than Pex, but this despicable urchin is the best option and there's a reason it's a stall staple. There aren't many mons that can break toxapex at neutral...
Status healers/Status strategies-
Most of the best users are probably already mentioned. But it's worth listing it with the general A tier strategies. Reliable paralysis makes revenge kills easy and lets you hax a few things. Reliable burns invalidate a tonne of physical attackers, and toxic still beats bulky pokemon, which in turn makes healbell a very important aspect of any team. It's VERY hard to build a team that doesn't utilise these trademarks, or at the very least, want to run them as support moves as you don't necessarily need them as the trademarks.
Momentum as a team strategy -
Typically, this wouldn't be worth mentioning, all Pokemon metas encourage this. But Trademarked steps it up to the next level. Being able to bring in a defensive pivot/offensive prediction, whilst getting to use a status move, basically makes switching the best action on any turn where you don't either have a KO or good utility move. Having several Pokemon on your team with moves like Uturn, volt switch, flip turn and teleport may give you a significant edge in overcoming your opponent and giving you the best switch-ins.
B Tier - Pokemon/Strategies with a niche that gives them use on some competitive teams, but requiring some support or good team building to make it work. I'm not really going to go into depth with these because we're essentially looking at non-meta and personal choice picks by this point. In my mind, B Tier is sort of an "average" pick tier.
Regigigas-
A pokemon REALLY reliant on match ups. Basically there are a series of mons that wall it entirely like Corviknight and Jellicent, which keep this from A Tier, as it really does nothing to them and can't break their cores at all. But take them out? Then you have legendary with incredible base stats, a mediocre ability (but infinitely better than slow start) and a few decent moves like Eq/Knock off that can put holes in many teams. You will usually want rock polish/twave as trademarks since elsewise Regigigas has trouble keeping up with other offensive mons.
Garchomp -
I may just be playing against bad players (Been in top 100/usually top 30 since day 1, but still possible), but Garchomp simply doesn't like this meta. My most played team has had no ground resist for most of the time this OM has been out. No immunity. and yet, besides Rhyperior, i haven't had issues with any ground types. The main reason is that Garchomp lacks any good trademarks that put it above the competition. In a meta ruled by Iron defence corviknight and trademarks that remove boosting, Garchomp cannot utilize swords dance effectively and has literally no possible way to break Corviknight. It does have laser focus and that might make it dangerous against certain teams. But chomp is simply outmatched in this meta, not bulky enough, not versatile enough, and lacking needed coverage.
The Shell-smash trademarks-
It was a nice dream. But in reality, most +2 stat boosting is not really viable in this meta thanks to Grappleoct and insta-haze being an almost guaranteed addition on any competitive team. Lets just get to the point, the Pokemon that learn shell smash simply aren't good enough without it, and thus they cannot survive a meta that denies them their boosts. Don't get me wrong, you could wear your counter down, or kill it, it's not exactly a "bad" strategy. But why put something on your team that can be completely invalidated just by an opposing pokemon switching in? Until that opposing threat is dead, this Pokemon just becomes dead-weight and will at best, give you an opportunity to predict a switch. Basically, if you're more skilled/luckier than your opponent, its good. If not, it's a drag on your possible team building.
Generic Swords dance/Nasty plot users -
Look, at the S tier. Then back to here. Then look at the S Tier again. Why are you not there? Because they all counter you. Same cons as shell smash, but with some exceptions. Basically, any swords dance user/nasty plot user that you use is going to either be at -2, or neutral most of the time and needs to be able to break atleast one of the following Pokemon: Corviknight/Blissey, Grapploct and Toxapex. If your mon cannot defeat these Pokemon or move around them, then it is not competitive and only deserves B Tier or lower. If you can take 2 or more of these 4 Pokemon, on top of being a good sweeper in general, then you could argue for A Tier. I'm not saying boosting is trash, i'm just trying to make it clear that the meta more or less revolves around denying boosts or turning them against you, so you need to be careful with what boosting mons you use. This is the reason why most of my A Tier offense use +1 boost moves or non-hazeable damage boosts, as atleast if you're getting topsy turvied, a -1, choiced mon can still hit for neutral damage with its high natural stats.
Trickroom as a team strategy-
Trickroom in my opinion is in an odd space as a trademarked move, especially without the awesome power of Alolan-Marowak to justify it. On one hand, it destroys offense teams and dominates the battlefield, but... you have an odd dilemma. Putting trickroom on your bulky mons means you can't use them as defensive pivots if you wish to keep trickroom active. Putting trickroom on your powerful mons means you sacrifice your trademarked or ability, limiting your damage potential. If you have just one user, it won't be enough to support the entire team. If you have two, you've lost the valuable potential range of status moves that could have been trademarked and now must be careful to not send them in after eachother. It's just another dimension you need to be aware of, limiting which Pokemon you can switch to whilst TR is active, and so whilst instant TR seems a huge boon, in practice, it can be self-destructive. Part of your mind is thinking "A free trickroom? that's broken!", but you're forgetting that every other mon is getting a free move too and because they're less limited to a theme or set of Pokemon, they're often getting the better deal. Basically, don't rely too heavily on TR if you want your team to be competitive.
Weather boosted attacks (Rain or Sun) -
Definitely a viable option. But the main issue here is that you're only boosted one type of move for 1.5x damage, which typically isn't enough to break through any defensive cores when they can just swap to a resist. Something like a sun boosted eruption from Heatran can be extremely effective, but against an offense, you need a scarf, and against stall, you need specs, or prior damage on Toxapex or Blissey to even have a chance to kill. See 252+ SpA Heatran Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpDBlissey in Sun: 313-369 (43.8 - 51.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery and 252+ SpA Heatran Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpDToxapex: 99-117 (32.5 - 38.4%) -- 98.1% chance to 3HKO. It's awesome that your damage boosting can't be effectively negated, but it really is a quite weak boosting method in comparison to the other options, and the level of bulk you want to break through. Heatran is the best user among them, and arguably A Tier, but from my use, there are simply better picks most of the time. Scarf is still outspeed by a lot of offense and isnt strong enough to kill stall. Specs is very slow and beaten by any offense as well as not picking up 2HKOS on Blissey 252+ SpA Choice Specs Heatran Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0+ SpD Blissey: 283-334 (39.6 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO . The fact you have to preserve HP for eruption also makes it hard to use at times.
C Tier - Yeah, I'm not going to bother. Anything I'd put here or below probably isn't worth mentioning as anything other than a warning. In my mind, C Tier simply means the Pokemon is outclassed by more competitive picks. Also, in terms of gradings, we've already got an S tier. So this is a 4th grade/D grade equivalent.
F Tier - Nice try bud.
Linoone/Belly Drum trademarks -
AHAHAHA all these players are so dumb! I'm going to belly drum and sweep them turn one! HAHAHAHA
Wait, what happened to my stats?
I'll work on this for a little bit, adding any good input others have until i feel it gives a good overview of the 2022 meta.
I gotta say, this meta surprised me. It's a simple premise but it completely reverses the rules of the game.
Usually, you'd want to keep momentum, giving LO to fast mons so they can grab multiple KOs at once with their fast attacks and not be forced out because of choice-lock, which is bad because it not only means you're not attacking but also that you'll take hazard damage. Well, not anymore.
Here, by clicking a pivot move on turn 1, you can effectively get (trademark 1 -> damage -> switching -> trademark 2), up to four (4) actions at once and three on most other turns. That's insane, let's be honest.
This hit-and-run playstyle is wholeheartedly encouraged by choice items, which because switching is now good and borked, make their usual drawback nonexistent and their bonus all the more abusable.
But that's also why you should consider setup trademarks even less : if the abundance of Topsy-Turvy
and Haze
doesn't discourage you enough already, the fact that both players will switch more to increase playing speed means a lot of your setup moves will be wasted and in the end give you little benefit in comparison to team support moves who might have helped your 5 other mons as well, making them virtually 6 times more effective if you don't factor duration.
(arguably, this is less true for defensive setup mons
who often prefer Iron Defense to Reflect because it saves them from having their defense stalled over turns, saves them from being weakened by switching-in when the wall is about to break and also gives them a twofold stronger Body Press) (and sometimes
they just don't have Light Screen lol)
And now I have to tell you about THE CRIMINAL:
<= the criminal
This is insane. It restricts teambuilding like crazy and has absolutely no switchin, nothing that could wall it. No matter how I see it, it's unhealthy for the meta because you have no counterplay if it's in front of you. This is particularly true for stall teams because they're all bulk no speed and NEED protect to even exist in the first place as Laser Focus completely ignores their Iron Defense, but that's also the case for every playstyle ever in all honesty. Because Laser Focus also ignores magic walls. Laser Focus also ignores debuffing Victini. Laser Focus makes CB V-Create 607 BP and makes it so that no trademark can mitigate V-Create. Hope you have Protect on everything because a single mon without it lets this small murderer grab a Free KO, which really does spell death for stall teams who no longer can wall as usual.
You don't even need Energy Ball, because even a max HP Rhyperior takes this much from it.
Code:
252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rhyperior on a critical hit: 219-258 (50.4 - 59.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
And while true 2HKO does not happen, Victini will switch away and repeat the massacre, this time finishing the Rhyperior you specifically added for this purpose.
Well, in all honesty, a few trademarks can mitigate V-Create. You have exactly three ways of mitigating it. Pick your poison because Victini is everywhere right now and you WILL want a switch-in unless you run HO and spam your way to win, which sadly gives you little teambuilding variety.
This lets you tank V-Create with exactly 1 HP left, and leaves you at the mercy of rocks, spikes, rocky helmet, poison, priority, and, literally every chip damage ever. You really, really, need HDB for this set to not instadie to hazard, but that also means you don't get the 1.5x boost in damage because you can't use choice items, nor any other damage-boosting item. Endure might have sounded nice for offense, but this is the definition of inoffensive and brings down your team as a whole. And if you get knocked off, you instadie to hazard again. And guess what misfortune hits you again, Victini 100% can afford Quick Attack, and if it's HDB, will murder you next turn with it. If it's CB, two turns of CB+LF Quick Attack does the equivalent of a 150 BP move and greatly restricts your choices of Endure mon which was a shaky role to begin with. You just wasted a slot that could have served as team support for a single switchin turn that would have been ruined by your opponent's trademark in a few turns anyway. And if you think you're smarter and you're just gonna defog those hazards, hope they haven't brung in their Victini first, because your defogger is gonna straight-up die. And if they die, your entire team is weaker. And your Victini check is guaranteed the same fate. And because opponent's Victini can just-so-swiftly switch away after a V-Create, it did not take any damage at all and can continue the slaughter. YOU DIE.
Good job, you have weakened V-Create to 303 BP. Now you still have to deal with a 292 BP Bolt Strike. Heh. Guess you'll need to resist both lol. And it's still brutal mind you. 252/4 bulk Pert takes 36.8 - 43.5% from V-Create under Rain. 252/252+ Pert takes 25.9 - 30.6%, which is considerably more convenient. HOWEVER, enter Energy Ball. Yeah, the one mon that had all the reasons to run Rain Dance is now reduced to Fish-n-Chips. The good news however is that Dracozolt can run Rain Dance. Which is admirable, but also extremely frustrating since you would have much rather run Charge on it. Same can be said about Garchomp who, no matter what I can say about setup moves, still considerably prefers to have two double BP stabs and an even stronger Aqua Tail rather than whatever little Rain Dance adds in a meta where Swift Swim is obsoleted by Rock Polish and Agility. SD is also considerably better to mitigate the damage loss from Will-O-Wisp, and doesn't carry much risk as a 252/4 Grapploct will still take 36.5 - 43.1% from -2 CB EQ. And Pex just can't switch in lol. Because you have weakened your team so much, you're left at the mercy of other teams, and are also mentally devasted by the sacrifices you had to make to deal with Victini. YOU DIE.
Bruh...
Code:
252 Atk Choice Band Victini Bolt Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Heatran on a critical hit: 184-217 (47.6 - 56.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
YOU DIE.
Well, this probably raised another idea in your mind, so fair enough, you can give it a try
Code:
252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Coalossal on a critical hit: 87-103 (20.5 - 24.2%) -- guaranteed 5HKO if HDB, 6.8% chance to 4HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
Great start!
Code:
252 Atk Choice Band Victini Bolt Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Coalossal on a critical hit: 169-199 (39.8 - 46.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO if HDB, 97.7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
Not so great at all, however.
Code:
4 Atk Coalossal Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Victini: 180-212 (52.7 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
You don't want to go any higher in atk because you'd lower your bulk against the Bolt Strike massacre. Which is guaranteed to target your Coalossal, while the opponent on the other hand can immediately switch out Victini after seeing your Coalossal, in which case Coalossal threatens absolutely no one:
Code:
4 Atk Coalossal Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Mew: 90-106 (22.2 - 26.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Stealth Rock
And if he isn't satisfied with taking 40% of your HP with just Bolt Strike, he can just click U-Turn and steal the momentum. But in this meta full of pivot, it's way harder healing back depleted HP than it is stealing back momentum. Bolt Strike is just an instawin button, even against Coalossal. YOU DIE, AGAIN...
In my brainstorming to deal with it, I've also considered other options like Powder Ribombee, but on top of being extremely gimmicky and ruining the small viability of the QD set for the sole sake of a switchin on Victini, it gets OHKOed by Bolt Strike outright. Assuming you want it to outspeed Victini (and you really do because otherwise you die), this is the minimum damage it takes:
Code:
252 Atk Choice Band Victini Bolt Strike vs. 192 HP / 252 Def Ribombee on a critical hit: 286-337 (92.5 - 109%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO, guaranteed after Stealth Rock
Victini just has no place in this meta, you don't want to build a team with that thing around. You don't even want to play because the game is all about who will bring it first and nuke the opponent's team with such power. In Smogon speak, it's massively centralizing.
IDK if it's my variable building skills or the chaotic state of the metagame but it feels like every game is a matchup fish. The amount of threats you have to prepare for is absolutely massive, not only in terms of individual mons, but individual TMs as well. Here's a couple cold-ass meta takes.
I am going to talk about Trick again. My last post about it is from an older, less epic shnowshner, so I assumed I'd have a different opinion in my wiser years. Sadly, I still think I was right. I hate this fucking move. This is one of the single best ways to completely ruin a Pokemon I have ever seen in any metagame. Your regular TrickChoice users are bad enough, but this meta introduces two new ways of shutting down the opponent: Lagging Tail and Assault Vest. The former is replicable in regular play but harder to pull off, due to its effect. Here, all you have to do is switch in, and whatever offensive threat is on the opponent's team is now liable to getting RK'd by effectively every other threat in the game. AVTrick, meanwhile, can shut down Pokemon that rely heavily on status moves to function: though the mechanics of Trademarked makes this less of an issue, it's no less powerful when used on the right mon.
I can see an angle towards Trick being a necessary evil in the sense that it's a blanket way of helping teams deal with various threats, but I feel Trick is a tad too overbearing. Things like Burn or Thunder Wave have various forms of counterplay, from Heal Bell down to typing, and there are tons of different Speed Control options that all do a pretty good job at checking each other. The issue I have with Trick is how it can provide so much while having extremely limited counterplay. A lot of the time you just have to make the correct read, which is risky when a lot of Trick users have tons of other strong options they can potentially run.
The only thing really holding it back in my eyes is that you have a lot less control. If you ran Trick Rotom for example, you'd need to be careful with when you pivot it in, as wasting your Trick is detrimental to that's mons presence: likewise, after its used Trick already, bringing it back in can be awkward as items get shuffled all over the place, and you may eventually end up with something you actively don't want.
No matter the case I can't help but see this as an unhealthy aspect of the metagame due to how easy it can be to use effectively, and how broad its applications are. This isn't just something Balance teams can run to help handle the many sweepers in the format: it's abusable from HO all the way down to Stall, and it comes in so many different forms and on such a large swathe of otherwise-viable mons that preparing or predicting for it is a nightmare.
I forget how strong V-Create is. Laser Focus is a nasty breaker but is far from the only thing Victini is able to do, simply because a standard STAB V-Create is already a SE move on anything that doesn't resist it. The immunity to Burn and ability to threaten huge damage without needing Stat boosts makes this a top breaker and very good at cleaning up weakened teams, though it can be easily RK'd otherwise.
Unsurpringly Ferro remains strong. Anything from hazards to ID to TWave is viable and provides so much utility to teams. Incredibly splashable, especially as it provides a solid check to TR teams.
Answerable but horrifying to face. SD + Scale Shot in the span of a single turn is nuts: you basically have a souped-up DD that also deals damage! Granted, it can be blocked or just fail, but the pressure it exerts is massive. Play wrong against it and you can find yourself losing on the spot.
This is the single biggest noob trap of the entire metagame. I'm don't think it's completely unviable, but Grapploct is nothing more than a Topsy-Turvy bot: this mon does very little outside of this. It's defensively underwhelming, not very strong, and has almost no utility that it can use to make use of the free turns it only sometimes gets. Overloading this with multiple setup-sweepers is very easy, and any sweepers that run U-Turn have little issue in simply pivoting out. Yes, you can do the same with Haze users and the like, but many of those Pokemon, such as Pex, have actual utility and provide ample defensive value, whether that's pivoting themselves, making progress with Hazards, or threatening with utility moves like Scald.
Again, I must emphasize that Grapploct isn't downright awful: Topsy Turvy is strong enough alone that you can get away with it, especially if you pair it with other forms of crippling offensive threats, but it's inherently flawed in multiple avenues and I feel many people are overhyping it due to a lot of players not really knowing how to play around Topsy-Turvy and the threat of an incoming Octolock.
Frustrates a ton of Pokemon in the metagame, and its large supply of strong Trademarks lets it work on tons of teamstyles, even on heavy-offense builds as a fat damage sponge that can provide clerical support and safe pivots.
Ran into ImprisonForm the other day, which is always fun. Worst yet, Transform as a Trademake makes this a much stronger version of Ditto that is infinitely harder to predict (not an exaggeration: ditto has like 0 set variety lmao). Pokemon's Swiss Army Knife continues to be quite good.
As a bonus have a janky team I threw together during my attempts to see what sticked. I have zero confidence in this team's longevity but it netted me the most wins, so make of that what you will.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: thunderwave
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Body Press
- Seed Bomb
- Knock Off
Having four setup-based mons means you can quickly overwhelm a lot anti-setup measures, especially since you have tons of ways to U-Turn out. Zarude's got a nice combo of Speed + Power to use Darkest Lariat effectively, helping it blow past Defense boosters and in general hit hard as hell thanks to Bulk Up + Band. Jungle Healing is great to bring it back from getting crippled by status. Lando having SD helps bait in defensive pivots, while having the option to get up Hazards or put opponents on a timer. Also +2 EQ simply slaps and still brings the hurt on a lot of mons even through Burn. Ferro is useful as a means of Speed Control, provides Spikes support, and can help a lot versus TR if you play it carefully (i.e. try avoiding TWave causing you to be outslowed, though even then yellow magic gives you a chance to win anyhow). Lagging Tail TrickTini is a demonic set that combines powerful Speed control, item disruption, and strong breaking power in a single slot, while also not fearing Burns, and helps a ton in enabling the rest of the team in cleaning up later. Sacking Vic to get a Trick off versus something like Garchomp is often worth it, as you have more than enough power to force it out.
This team lacks hazard control because I didn't give enough of a damn. Just out-hazard and out-offense your opponent or hope they have a Defog user on their team to clear hazards for you.
A few mons that I think players should be considered for VR.
This is an excellent Haze TM alternative to Toxapex. While it doesn't have the sheer tanking ability and support options of the sea star, it has one major advantage going for it in the name of Flip Turn. As mentioned earlier, pivoting is huge in this meta for triggering abilities, so Milotic is much better at maintaining momentum than Toxapex.
I've really been enjoying Moltres as a Will-o-Wisp TM user. As with Milotic, its strengths over other users of the same TM are access to pivoting and recovery. Mew also has the Wisp//Roost/U-turn combo of course, but it is often better served running other TMs and Moltres has a much more useful defensive profile. Of particular note is Moltres' excellence as a switch-in and threat to Corviknight.
Smaller piece than the ones above, but this one is a small observation I’ve made.
Magic Room is an effective way to get around 2 very threatening and long lasting detriments: Trick and boosted choice mons.
Tricking the right items permanently cripples stall and balance teams, and some hyper offensive ones. Additionally, if you’re using something with Trick and Magic Room, you can very easily get a defogger or wall to become relatively dead weight. It’s better than just a Trick trademark because you can always control when you Trick an item, as opposed to just having to take whatever your opponent has. It’s also worse because you can always just get switched out on.
Choiced boosting is also very overpowering. From Archeops to Zygarde, sometimes you’re just going to have to choose something to sack. By momentarily reducing their power, you’re allowing some helpful teammate to Haze or Topsy their boost. I don’t think that this is as helpful as the former point I made. These powerful teams kind of force stall to run Protect. Magic Room isn’t the biggest help for this purpose if you’re running Protect for scouting, which isn’t uncommon. This is a way of dealing with boosted choice mons that works great with Haze and Topsy Turvy, and is pretty bad without it.
Also you can hazard stack and bypass boots which is fun.
I’ve tried it this out on ladder myself, and it does it’s job. I’d rather slap a token offensive mon to actually do something outside of hardcore stall, but I think that Magic Room could have its place in momentarily neutralizing Trick.
will fair in this meta?
, its only hits slightly weaker and would only need some extra support with it not being immune to Will-o-wisp. However, regular Marowak has the option of Curse being essentially a Quiver Dance (although probably better to use Sword Dance) in Trick-Room and resists Stealth Rock too.
Grapploct -
Blissey -
Corviknight -
Mew -
Trick/Switcheroo strategies -
Victini -
Archeops -
Gengar -
Rhyperior -
Keldeo -
Stakataka -
Heliolisk -
Zygarde-10% -
Blaziken -
Hatterene -
Jellicent -
Landorus -
Eldegoss -
Charge strategies-
Laser focus users/focus energy strategies-
Haze Trademarks-
Status healers/Status strategies-
Regigigas-
Garchomp -
The Shell-smash trademarks-
Generic Swords dance/Nasty plot users -
Trickroom as a team strategy-
Weather boosted attacks (Rain or Sun) -
Linoone/Belly Drum trademarks -
