I know you're being faceticious but one thing that makes Gambit unique actually is that no defensive Tera can adequately handle it. Single resists on frailer Pokemon die anyways, and no monotype resists both STABS. One of the only good Pokemon that resists both STABS, is Kingambit.Watch me lose all momentum turn 1 in a v bad MU for me and still win thanks to Gambino :
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1912437822
Calcs for context:
252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Lilligant-Hisui Solar Blade vs. 64 HP / 0 Def Walking Wake: 372-438 (104.7 - 123.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Which is cool, can't be mad at Solar Blade tech
Val was useless
252 Atk Iron Valiant Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 172+ Def Amoonguss: 70-83 (16.2 - 19.2%) -- possible 6HKO
But this is why I'm voting DNB:
252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Tera Dark Lilligant-Hisui Tera Blast vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 460-541 (122 - 143.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
I didn't play poorly, I just don't have a great MU with WW in Sun, who does really? Unless you have some fat spd walls that thing is p scary.
Since Liligant outspeeds Val in Sun, my options are limited. I would need to find a turn to Sub up w WW, but then Gambit can always sucker, break my sub, and bring Lili back in. Turn 6 is where I could theoretically taken back some momentum. Nothing on his team really wanted to switch into Gold- everything besides Gambit was in 2hko range, and Gambit has to fear FB, so this turn is good for me. However, I knew some Tera bullshit was absolutely about to go down, I assumed Fire or Ghost, but Dark works just as well ig lol. So with that in mind, and sooner than that tbh, I knew late game Gambit was my only true, consistent win. I find that's usually the case vs weather teams when I run offensive teams.
So, without Tera, Gold checks Lili, but obviously not the case here. Could I have Tera Water my Gold on turn 6? Sure, it would have been a risky play but more importantly a waste. The opposing Gambit just wins later. If we're going to have Tera, then you can't really be upset that we need a semi-broken monster to keep some of this goofy shit in check. It also wasn't free. I agility turn 9 instead of just taking out Lili, because this forces in their Gambit, the only mon I can SD in front of without getting Nuzzle, Spore, Yawn/Burned, or massive chip. Once in, I have to predict that they think I will Tera so they hit me w neutral kotow, then tera next turn.
Here's another reverse sweep vs rain:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1912330417-kqrh4ujtpbuos7qq779dt29u7iz1mb1pw
I could have led Zap or Ting, but that Azu was always going to get a BD up vs Pelip and/or be a problem in general. I was kinda just spamming rain playing 2-3 games at once, so I won't break down this one much. I played v subpar, and my opponent played poorly at the end- no trying to stall out Sucker, no Wave on Zap, going for Heavy Slam rather than ID+BP, no Wisp on Cinder, a weak speed booster Moon, etc.
I came here to post these replays and sort of laugh at how wild Gambit can be, but these weren't free wins, and I truly think Gambit is the literal duct tape holding this jalopy meta together. Banning it won't improve the tier. If I thought it would, I would vote Ban. We need a stopgap mon that blanket checks a lot of random offense teams as well as bulkier bullshit like Cress, and to gain back momentum after your opp pulls some goofy tera where you lose momentum. No team can handle all the tera sets, but Gambit gives you a weapon to not auto-lose in some MU's.
When teams can give mons perfect coverage and defensive options to blow past the 1-2 checks you may have for it, you can't be surprised when players crutch on Gambit to wiggle out of sticky situations.
A meta needs some S tiers, and that's all I think Gambit is.
In base form, it's obvious counterplay definitely exists.
I and others have illustrated there are at least 5 mons that hard check it in base form.
When ppl start saying it has no checks, they're talking about Gambit + Tera.
But then that opens up the broader, mind-numbing, copium infused, circular logic that is the Tera conversation.
Buzzwords like, "Opportunity cost. Tera management. Skill issue. Defensive Tera." are being applied to other mons, so what's up?
(They weren't really applied to Volc, either. Makes me think Volc would have passed a suspect. Thread would be filled with "Fire Clod handles it, just adapt. Skill issue. Defensive tera. blah blah."
Council did an emergency quickban, which I'm not mad at, but we missed out on some tera mental gymnastics in a thread that I would have loved to see.
When you show someone a game that is won by a Fire Bax, in which the opponent had literally no way to assume that, a tera evangelist will not see the same game as you. They will pick a turn and say that's where you went wrong- it's never tera to them, in any capacity whatsoever. So it's pointless to try and illustrate how tera creates some unholy tier uncomp aspects sometimes. If you posted a replay of Volc sweeping you, they'll say your team sucks, or you suck. But for some reason, they see Gambit and the tera-colored glasses fall right off, and through blurry eyes they see that tera breaks mons- but still can't make the jump that it breaks a meta.)
The meta is broken due to Tera, not Gambit, and since Tera supposedly has counterplay, just do that. Defensive Tera bro. Tera management, bro. "Skill ceiling, more variety, identity of the gen" keep that same energy big homie.
Don't just pick an S tier and put all your unconscious gripes about a gimmick meme meta onto it for being a great mon.
Heavy DNB on this side. Just manage your defensive tera dude, smh.
If we were to say, use a max Physically Defensive Garganacl with Tera Fighting
+2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Fighting Garganacl: 140-165 (34.6 - 40.8%) -- 61.7% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Fighting Garganacl: 265-313 (65.5 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
And Iron Head has a chance to flinch, wooo! This is ignoring Tera Blast Fairy, which IMO is very very good. That obviously kills. Tera Dark also 2HKOS sometimes.
Of course, most Garganacl are not this set at all, and this is one of the physically bulkiest Pokemon in the game, with a Tera to not be weak to any of its STABs, that also needs Body Press + Kingambit doesn't Tera to win.
Even if this absurd set was Body Press, and Kingambit was Tera Dark,
252+ Def Tera Fighting Garganacl Body Press vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tera Dark Kingambit: 246-290 (72.1 - 85%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(Tera Boosted By The Way)
I do this all to show you that one of the things that makes Kingambit unique is that Kingambit is very reliable against Defensive Tera on the opponent's end.
+2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Tera Dark Kingambit Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Fighting Avalugg: 204-241 (51.7 - 61.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
At least this Pokemon OHKOs with Body Press, but again, I'm not trying to push this Pokemon as a serious counter, but instead a benchmark. Defensive Tera'ing is generally not an option, and will not help.
Dondozo is about the best you'll get and that doesn't fit on most teams, and Sucker Punch means out-offensing Kingambit is nearly impossible, meaning that a few tricks are all the meta has to deal with it.
I mean, shit, tons of the offensive metagame already resists Kingambit Sucker Punch, it just wins anyways.