It's time for National Dex Double's first suspect -- Zygarde!
Suspect Reasoning
Zygarde has recently taken the scene by storm, with Thousand Arrows providing an extremely powerful spread STAB option with near perfect coverage as it uniquely hits flying types, and can be extremely hard to deal with even after a single boost, whether it be via Dragon Dance or by receiving a Coaching boost. It's not always possible to rely on traditional ways of slowing down attackers, since Zygarde's bulk and access to Extreme Speed allow it to remain threatening under Trick Room, and the extremely common combination of Clear Amulet prevents it from being slowed down by Intimidate.
Zygarde often forces guessing games on whether it's running the Dragon Dance set or the Choice Band set, meaning that opponents have to deal with both the possibility of taking a strong immediate hit or the possibility of Zygarde setting up and running away with the game. Additionally, Tera allows Zygarde to pick and choose weaknesses in the team builder, typically using Tera Normal to avoid having its boosts stolen by Marshadow or Tera Fire to flip its Fairy and Ice weaknesses into resistances.
However, there is still counterplay to Zygarde. Marshadow has been increasingly popular with its ability to steal Zygarde's boosts, and stat-clearing moves like Clear Smog and Haze can slow down Zygarde's progress significantly, and stop it from running away with a match. That being said, this comes at an opportunity cost, whether it comes at a move slot restriction (Haze) or being forced to have a Clear Smog/Haze user in general, that some find to be overly restrictive in the teambuilder.
Overall, Zygarde has been developed into an incredibly potent force in the current metagame, with many high level matches featuring a mirror. The combination of immediate pressure and the limited options to deal with the set-up set made Zygarde a potential tiering topic. While Zygarde isn't infallible, the purpose of this test will be to determine if our playerbase deems them sufficient in number and consistency to keep Zygarde in the tier or if it's too overbearing in either the teambuilder or battle to remain in National Dex Doubles. Zygarde will be banned if 60% of eligible voters or more vote to ban.
Suspect Test Information
- Reading this is mandatory to participate in the suspect test. The voting requirements are a minimum GXE of 79 with at least 40 games played. In addition, you may play 1 less game for every 0.2 GXE you have above 79 GXE, down to a minimum of 20 games at a GXE of 83. Also, needing more than 40 games to reach 79 GXE will suffice.
GXE | Minimum Games |
79 | 40 |
79.2 | 39 |
79.4 | 38 |
79.6 | 37 |
79.8 | 36 |
80 | 35 |
80.2 | 34 |
80.4 | 33 |
80.6 | 32 |
80.8 | 31 |
81 | 30 |
81.2 | 29 |
81.4 | 28 |
81.6 | 27 |
81.8 | 26 |
82 | 25 |
82.2 | 24 |
82.4 | 23 |
82.6 | 22 |
82.8 | 21 |
83 | 20 |
- You must use a fresh account that begins with the given prefix for this suspect test. That prefix is NDDCD. For example, I could signup and qualify with the name NDDCD big pichu.
- Laddering with an account that impersonates, mocks, or insults another Smogon user or breaks Pokemon Showdown! rules may be disqualified from voting and infracted. Moderator discretion will be applied here. If there is any doubt or hesitance when making the alt, just pick another name. There are infinite possibilities and we have had trouble for this repeatedly. If you wish to participate in the suspect, you should be able to exhibit decent enough judgement here. We will not be lenient.
- We will be using the regular National Dex Doubles ladder for this suspect test. We will not be creating a new Suspect Ladder. At the beginning of every battle, there will be an announcement denoting the ongoing suspect with a link to this thread.
- The suspect being tested, Zygarde, will be allowed on the ladder.
- Any form of voting manipulation will result in swift and severe punishment. You are more than welcome to state your argument to as many people as you so please, but do not use any kind of underhanded tactics to get a result you desire. Bribery, blackmail, or any other type of tactic used to sway votes will be handled and sanctioned.
- Do not attempt to cheat the ladder. We will know if you did not actually achieve voting requisites, so don't do it. Harsh sanctions will be applied.
- Unlike previous tests, we will be posting the voting identification thread immediately after this thread. Your voting requisites will be confirmed by a Council member or National Dex Doubles moderator, to which we will edit in confirmation. Please avoid getting more games before getting confirmed.
- The suspect test will begin at Wednesday, August 30th at 10PM PDT (GMT -7) and go on for roughly 13 days, lasting until Sunday, September 10th at 6PM PDT (GMT -7), and then we will put up the voting thread in the Blind Voting subforum.
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