Metagame Pokébilities

[Imperator Romanum]

Hello everyone!

As promised, with the new ban slate being implemented, I'm releasing the team I've used to dominate the ladder the past couple of weeks. It's managed to keep three alts occupying the first, second and third spots on the ladder using this team, proof of peak in post #212.

Intro
I will be the first to say that if you're expecting something creative or innovative then prepare to be dissapointed. I'm a competitive guy and enjoy winning games. I play until I peak the ladder, then I experiment and goof around on alts. Whichever team allows me to most consistently achieve the former is the one I'm using, regardless of whether the strats are cheap or the pokemon are broken. The best way to get broken things out of the metagame is to abuse them so they draw attention to themselves. As the quote from Sid Meier's Civilization creator states, this team is a attempt to optimization of the metagame trends, pre the new bans. Whether that goal was accomplished, well I think the record speaks for itself

Gameplan

This is a hyper offense team built around four sweepers with overlapping counters, with a dedicated hazard lead and disruptive offensive support. It functions best when you're willing to make bold predictions to force progress and sacrifice when necessary. Through brute force and correct predictions this combination can break through any defensive cores you're likely to find. The first step is to correctly identify which mon is most likely to sweep your opponent and the roadblocks to that sweep. Through offensive pressure your goal is to weaken those roadblocks to open up for the sweep. Facing tough teams I'd throw all of my pokemon at my opponents team before bringing out my finale sweeper, which cleans up my opponents remaining pokemon.

Team breakdown

The best HO lead out there, no question. Glimmora is usually able to get a favorable matchup against most mons. Either achieveing KOs, hazards or spreading status - depending on what is most favourable. The set has been fairly consistent, but toxic is an option over earth power for a more favourable matchup against bulkier teams. However, with mortal spin and earth power steel types are hit pretty hard already and opposing poison types can be poisoned with mortal spin. This is especially useful versus clodsire, as it can no longer reliably counter Raging Bolt. The only lead matchups you should be worried about are: Cinccino, Ninetales-A, Clefable, Iron Threads, Glimmora and Greninja. Greninja can OHKO you outright with Water Shuriken and Threads can EQ + Spin leaving you with nothing to show for it. Cinccino can hit you with Bullet Seed and use Tidy Up to potentially both remove hazards and kill you afterwards. Ninetales-A can set up Aurora Veil and Encore you into rocks. Opposing Glimmora is a 50/50. Cosmic power Clefable is a huge threat and I will usually switch directly into Kingambit if they lead it. If it gets up too many Cosmic Powers then its GG, bar a crit. Since stall teams use HDBs I'll usually keep Glimmora alive to poison them later or sack it get a favourable matchup.

Chien-Pao is probably the most replacable member of the squad and acts an offensive disruptive support pokemon. I've ran both SD and Taunt, and at the time of the ban I still wasn't sure which was most effective. Chien-Pao is a check to opposing sweepers with focus sash and a potential anti-lead pokemon against the leads that can beat Glimmora. It can OHKO Greninja and Cinccino outright. With sash it can beat Iron threads 1v1 too. Unfortunately it lacks the bulk to reliably setup, so I ran taunt to disrupt my opponet further. It usually baits in Clefable. If Clefable switches into Ice Spinner you can taunt its attempt at healing, and use Ice Spinner twice to leave it very weak, opening up your opponent for a later sweep. Cosmic power tera-steel Clefable can also fall to Sacred Sword if it gets out of control.

Braviary-Hisui is an absolute monster in the current metagame. Rarely does it have the bulk to sweep your opponents entire team, but it always has the power to break through anything bar Blissey. I've already talked extensively about why Braviary-Hisui is so powerful, so I will keep this short. Psychic + Hurricane alone 2HKOs everything bar Assault vest Reuinclues/Slowking-Galar (which you beat 1v1), Tera Dark Clodsire and Blissey. Usually it will just attack until it dies, but if you can setup an agility that's great too. I choose Vacuum Wave as the finale move to catch Kingambit of guard and to play mindgames with Raging Bolt. At first I ran tera fighting, but I don't think I clicked it once. Tera ground was more useful to gain an electric immunity and a rock resistance in a pinch.

Roaring Moon does what it does in OU just aswell here. Tera flying Acrobatics with booster energy easily 2HKOs Clefable, potentially baiting out a tera steel/electric which then means EQ can finish it off. At +1 there's very little that's able to outright stop Roaring Moon. It pairs especially well with Kingambit as their checks/counters overlap and they can weaken the opposing team for the other to sweep. Tera booster energy Acrobatics is powerful enough to 3HKO Dondozo, meaning you'll beat it 1v1 unless they get of a lucky curse and avoid the crit. At +1 you outspeed even modest Kingdra under rain. If you don't tera you'll resist the Aqua jet from Azumarill, Thunderclap from Raging Bolt and Sucker Punch from Kingambit too. This thing is very hard to stop once it gets going. Bar your opponent having ID + BP Phy.Def Corviknight you're going to put some hurt on his team, just make sure you time the setup correctly.

Raging Bolt, like Roaring Moon, functions exactly the same way as it does in OU. Raging Bolt is one of OU's fiercest offensive threats thanks to good bulk, a great Special Attack stat, and fantastic priority in Thunderclap allowing it to act both as a wallbreaker and sweeper while additionally threatening potent revenge killers. It works especially well in conjunction with Kingambit and Roaring Moon. Kingambit will force Clefable to tera and if it tera waters then Raging Bolt is able to beat it, while Roaring Moon handles electric/steel. Raging Bolt is also a great answer to opposing rain teams, able to outspeed and threaten KOs at +1 with Thunderclap. I choose to run max speed and special attack to speedtie opposing Raging Bolts. Tera flying is great at giving you a free calm mind and removing your weakness to everything bar ice type attacks.

Kingambit is king for a reason. I love using Kingambit so much. It's the ultimate wincon. Kingambit is the premier offensive Pokemon in Pokebilities, with potent wallbreaking and sweeping potential thanks to its high Attack bolstered by Supreme Overlord and Swords Dance. Usual counterplay options like Intimidate are turned on its head with access to Defiant and Supreme Overlord. I choose to run max speed and jolly to outspeed the bulkier kingambits running around and killing them with Brick Break. Brick Break is also a handy tool when facing Ninetales-A as most people don't expect it. Lum Berry is an option to absorb otherwise crippling status from Pokemon like Glowking, Dragapult and Cinderace. Tera Flying allows Kingambit to set up on Ground- and Fighting-types such as Great Tusk, Gliscor, and Zamazenta.

Replacement for team members:

I've began experimenting with replacements for Chien-Pao and Braviary-Hisui after those got banned. I think the butterfly effect of the recent banslate will dampen the viability of Clodsire and Reuinclues a bit, while increasing the popularity of bulkier teams and sun offence. Though that is just speculation. If you're looking for a replacement for Chien-Pao and Braviary-H then you should pick something that has favourable matchups against bulkier stall teams. In the spirit of the teamstrategy they should also bait in checks to Roaring Moon, Kingambit and Raging bolt. I've tried out Volcarona and Great Tusk with good results, though it doesn't help much versus stall.


Epiloque
That's the team. As you can see there's very little thats revolutionary about it. It's exploiting peoples natural dendency to overlook those threats without multiple abilities, but are none the less threatning (Chien-Pao, Raging Bolt and Roaring Moon). It's not easy to use and requires an remembering important threats and calcs, but if used correctly it's extremely effective. I'm glad Braviary-H and Chien-Pao are gone, the metagame was becoming very centralized. The very centralizating which this team managed to exploit. With the metagame shifting there's more room to run new pokemon which can handle this team better.

Anyways, thanks for reading and for the discussion this last month. It's been a fun metagame to play.

I haven't saved a lot of replays, but in the last week 3Dom3 began contesting the top spot and I faced him a couple of times which I remembered to save. Here's two replays where I came out on top! You can see how the team works to weaken down my opponent, with the game plan being to win with Roaring Moon both times.

Replays Vs. 3Dom3

First game: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pokebilities-2111324998-9ikvzhxo4orse1drz8l3251kz6venbipw
Second game: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pokebilities-2112730763-aykvkc280zeynz5cn34q1wcvx0pq3gipw
Funny game post-ban, read chat: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pokebilities-2113995779

 

[typhlosion787]

So, the final day of pokebilities. Always a heart crusher for me, but how was it this month? It was definitely a rocky start, and it wasn't perfect all around, but I personally still loved it. Yeah, there were some overwhelming pokemon, but we got rid of the two most problematic first and then got rid of three more at the end of the month. Five bans across one month is a record for the meta (at least since gen 7), but if anything, I believe that to be a sign of positivity rather than negativity. I will always believe we made the right decision to tesf Basc M and Braviary H instead of just quickbanning them. I always prefer to let a meta settle after a change before adding more drastic changes to it, even if some things become more problematic for the meta. Now I don't ever expect a pokebilities meta to match up to gen 7 pokebilities, mostly because it's quite literally my favorite metagame of all time, but this was definitely an amazing month. The developments in the meta were one thing, but this has been the most theorycraft-heavy and experimental pokebilities has ever been, and I absolutely love it. I saw new ideas every time I got on, which I can't say for many other metagames. Like always, I absolutely loved it and can't wait for it to return, whether it be one final time in gen 9 or when gen 10 drops

Before I press the post reply button on my phone, I do want to give some shoutouts like last time. Firstly, all of you who have posted on the forums and taken part in discussion, whether about bans, unique strategies, team dumping, etc. It really is amazing to see this meta grow and it's all thanks to the amazing community built by you all.

Second, Ivy. I was DMed by Ivy after I got off work March 31st to what was one of the best messages I have seen. I'm not lying when I said I started tearing up when reading the message because it showed that all my time spent on this metagame over the almost 8 years I've been obsessed with it has paid off. Being offered the position of a co-leader in my favorite meta each generation is something I never thought imaginable, and it being a reality just gets more baffling to me every day. Thank you, Ivy, for all of this. You're the greatest

 

[typhlosion787]

So, it's been a while since I've talked on this forum (work has been killing me as of recent), but there is something I wanted to talk about, one very specific threat. Of course I think it's mostly agreed that the top 5 mons in the meta consist of some order of Clef, Gambit, Azu, Clod, and Tusk (yeah, Arch is broken imo, but it's specific to rain). However, right behind those five is the biggest beneficiary of the gimmick, Ursaring. As much as it has been really fun using this thing, it started to feel like my victories with it were unearned and pretty ridiculous about half way through April, and for one specific reason that propels Ursa so far and isn't specific to Ursa.

Ursa was guaranteed to be an easy top threat as it was all the way back in gen 7, but we couldn't know just how strong it'd become. The addition of Trailblaze and tera was absolutely huge for Ursa in multiple ways, but even those weren't what pushed it to its current heights. Now, most of the time when people ask about how to beat Ursa, the same thing normally comes to mind. Physical wall with Rocky Helmet paired with hazard chip. We saw this a lot when pokebilities was OMotM in April of 2023, but the meta has changed a ton since, and even when the meta returned in April of this year, it took a but for Ursa to start performing in practice instead of strictly in theory.

So, what is the one thing that carries Ursa from an amazing, but semi-reasonable mon to possibly ridiculous? Well, I personally believe the culprit is Alomomola. Ursa's big problem was always getting worn down by passive damage over time, and while Wish support was theoretically possible before Home pokebilities, it wasn't nearly as good.

Pre Home, Alo didn't have access to Flip Turn or Scald and other Wish mons had poor HP to pass Wishes with or no reliable momentum. Now, though, we see so many mons getting so much better just because a good Wish passer is finally in the game.

We've seen in the past just how big one mon being returned to good shape could be due to Healing Wish mons, but not needing to sacrifice a mon while passing all that health around AND healing your own health due to Regenerator? This allowed many teams to fit mons that have great bulk, but no reloable recovery. Ting-Lu, Great Tusk, Landorus-Therian, Gliscor, Garchomp, Azumarill, Kimgambit, Hattrene, Dondozo, Primarina, Heatran, the Weezings, Archaludon, Hoodra, Kommo-o, so many mons get even better with Wish support finally being viable.

So, what does Wish support do for Ursaring? Well, as stated before, Ursa struggles a ton with passive damage, but having such an amazing way to mitigate passive damage is huge. There were a few pokemon who could take a hit and force Rocky Helmet and Flame Orb damage, but now that Wish can bring it back to a healthy state it makes dealing with Ursa way harder and causes it to be the scariest offensive threat that isn't Gambit

Edit: Please don't mistake this as me demanding a ban. I'm not sure about my thoughts on Ursaring at the moment and was just wanting to point out one of the big things I've noticed. Even if that were the case, though, my priorities would lie with Arch, Clef, and Gambit before anything else

 

[funguyfiwee]

Is there any way for a new player to get into the metagame at the moment?

 

[typhlosion787]

Is there any way for a new player to get into the metagame at the moment?

Your only real option is private challenging people

 

[funguyfiwee]

Your only real option is private challenging people

Oh, okay.

 

[typhlosion787]

So, since I mentioned Alo a few posts ago and why it made Ursaring so much better, I feel it's right to talk about what it does more. Alo by itself is a decent mon, but nothing groundbreaking without passing Wish off to teammates. It may only have one role, but that role has proven to be strong enough to make it a top mon; that role obviously being Wish passing. Through Wish passing, Alo is able to support its teammates with massive amounts of health restored to them at any given moment. Of course, the fast and frail mons that struggle with longevity are a key benefactor, but another is bulky pokemon that either have no recovery or have unreliable recovery (Rest, Pain Split, draining moves other than Strength Sap). And this is what I want to focus on. So, here's a list of bulky mons that get a big boost from Alo.

Support Cinderace, Dondozo, Gliscor, Great Tusk, Hattrene, Heatran, Iron Treads, Landorus Therian, Primarina, Ting-Lu, Hessian Goodra, Iron Crown, Kommo-o, Galarian Weezing, Dragalge, Bronzong, Kanto Weezing, Archaludom, Garchomp, Scizor, and the Rotom forms.

Of course, this is just a small list. Alo is getting better each time the meta develops and it really has proven itself as an amazing mon due to being the only Wish passer that has both Regenerator and a momentum move in Flip Turn (the low base speed helps a ton)

 

[typhlosion787]

So, a double post within a few hours. Been building a few more teams over the last few days and I've noticed one thing. Whenever I try to build a Webs team, I always scrap it. It's not impossible to make work, but it often just ends up being dead weight or even detrimental.

Yes, there are mons it can absolutely ruin like Ursaring, Mienshao (when not Scarf or Boots), and Valiant (when not Scarf and Booster has already been used up) are some examples. However, in many other cases, it doesn't help much.

Gambit is unquestionably top 2 in the meta, so automatically boosting it for switching in is something you NEED to be able to get around, which many Webs teams don't and get swept as a result.

Another big one is Dragapult. Good luck slowing something with Clear Body down without paralysis. Dragapult so commonly just ignores Webs and can threaten big damage or a cleanup.

There's also a few other mons that aren't as common, but still decent, like Cinderace to switch which side the Webs are on, Serperior and post tera Enamorus to get a Contrary boost from it, Hattrene bouncing it back, anything with Boots, flying types, Levitate mons, and Air Ballon mons, and finally removal from things like Corv, Tusk, Treads, Geezing, and the rare Quaquaval.

Like I stated earlier, it's definitely still possible to make a Webs team work, but it has become increasingly difficult for Webs to become a strong style due to how much holds it back.

 

[typhlosion787]

A few days later and I'm back again. This time, talking about Kingambit. I've made my stance on this pokemon clear in prior posts, so I'm not going to state what I think we should do with it here. With this post, I rather want to address why its already controversial perception becomes even more so in pokebilities.

Firstly, we all know why Gambit is controversial in base OU. Tera mind games, late game win con based on multiple coin flips, can flip a losing situation into a victory with one turn, all that.

Now to address why it is more controversial in pokebilities than in OU. Pressure is a small addition that can be helpful sometimes, but doesn't push Gambit much further. On the other hand, Defiant is a massive boost.

Firstly, Gambit already worked great on hazard stack teams in OU, so being able to dissuade Defog and have another mon to stop it outside of Gholdy makes those teams excel even more.

Second, it makes an otherwise solid archetype, Webs offense, incredibly risky in tandem with Dragapult. Obtaining a Swords Dance just for switching in makes it even easier to break through teams. This also allows for its fast teammates that don't run Boots to often not have to worry about Webs just due to the presence of Gambit.

Lastly, several moves have a chance to lower the opponents stats, and many of them are meta relevant. A list of many of these moves include: Moonblast, Play Rough, Shadow Ball, Psychic (post tera), Earth Power, Flash Cannon, Focus Blast (when it doesn't OHKO), Energy Ball (less common, but still a relevant option on some mons), Breaking Swipe (from Gouging Fire), Mystical Fire (from Hattrene), Bug Buzz (from Yanmega), Spirit Break (from Valiant), Crunch (from a few mons), Liquidation, Razor Shell, Mist Ball (post tera from Latias), and Luster Purge (post tera from Latios).

The chances of activation on these moves ranges from 10% all the way to 50%, making it a shockingly common occurrence to see Gambit sweep from something small like coming in on a Crunch from post tera Roaring Moon or a Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball. The already coinflippy nature of Gambit has made it a contentious topic in several metagames in the past, but in pokebilities, even more factors are added as it goes from a coin flip to a dice roll.

 

[colourcodedchaos]

Hi! Hope I'm not disturbing anything. I was just wondering how Plus and Minus work, because it might be unexpectedly powerful.

For those who don't know, care, or remember, Plus and Minus are two pretty rare abilities which... suck. They both do the same thing: if you're on the field with another Pokemon that has Plus or Minus, your Special Attack is boosted by 50%. This is understandably a useless ability in the standard Showdown singles format. However, if a Pokémon had access to both of these abilities, it seems to me that they would activate... and that they might, in fact, both activate. This would in theory lead to an effective x2.25 boost to the Pokémon's Special Attack stat. But that's all a bit moot, because there's no mon that has both abilities. It'd be a waste of two slots, right?

Right?

Klinklang @ Choice Specs
Abilities: Plus / Minus / Clear Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt/Thunder
- Power Gem
- Volt Switch

Base 70 Special Attack with a garbage offensive typing is nothing to write home about. But if you give that mon a special attacking version of Huge Power that's slightly better than the original, suddenly it comes alive. Flash Cannon is only there for STAB, though it does at least have the benefit of dealing well with Fairies. Thunderbolt is its strongest attacking move for most setup, but on a rain team this could be lethal with Thunder. Power Gem is excellent coverage that allows it to beat the hell out of otherwise-deadly Fire-types, and Volt Switch is there to pivot into a rain setter. It could get even nastier if you went with an Electric Tera-Type.

Hopefully this makes any kind of sense or was at least interesting. Sorry to have bothered you all. =]

 

[typhlosion787]

However, if a Pokémon had access to both of these abilities, it seems to me that they would activate

Unfortunately, even in a case like this, it would not provide the boost as it has to be two pokemon on the same side of the field, causing it to only work with double battles now that triple battles don't exist. It would be a cool mechanic if it worked that way, but with how The code is, it doesn't work that way.

 

[colourcodedchaos]

Damn it, I thought the code might have just checked for the presence of the other ability on the mon's side of the field. Oh well, no harm done.

Most of my faves don't really improve in this format. Durant in particular becomes unusable unless you're running the Entrainment gimmick set. Eelektross gets literally nothing. Rhydon with Eviolite can dish out a ton of hurt but only on a Trick Room team as a lategame cleaner. Crawdaunt's other abilities are situational at best. Braviary is categorically outshone by its Hisuian forme, and Swellow is just kind of a worse version of Braviary. The only one of my faves who gets markedly better is Qwilfish, and even then it's worse than Hisuian Qwilfish for the exact same reason as in normal battles, namely that Eviolite is Good Actually. It's a bit of a shame, but there's nothing I can do about it.

 

[typhlosion787]

So, been a long time. Well, now that I've officially turned twenty years old, how about I share a team? I've had this idea for a while, but didn't know how to make it work in the Basculegion+Braviary H meta. Now, though, I feel like it has a better opportunity to shine. What is this team idea? Well, I present to you Scarf Lando Rain!

https://pokepast.es/5f701012ceaadfff

So, why scarf Lando? Isn't Lando no longer a good scarfer? While I've been told from players such as Pinkacross and Winterbub that scarf Lando T is bad in OU, this isn't OU. It's at a nice speed tier that lets it out speed any non scarf/booster mon without a stat boost except +speed nature Deoxys speed. With pokebilities not having many scarfers, it makes the good ones less risky. Yes, you still have to be wary of boosting moves, speed booster energy mons, and abilities that raise speed in weather, but those have never been impossible to play around without being overly restricting (unless in a case where the Mon with one of these was broken itself). Sandsear Storm is a strong stab move that can't miss in rain (much like Thunder or Hurricane), Weather Ball is amazing coverage, Grass Knot can hit Dondozo and Tusk in sun, and U-Turn is for momentum. Tera water is to boost Weather Ball even further and gain an amazing defensive type

Because it's rain, Pelipper is obvious. I debated for a bit on whether to run Surf over Weather Ball and Knock Off over Hurricane. I decided Weather Ball is still going to be stab most of the time and hits Torkoal hard enough while in sun (despite Torkoal resisting fire) to where the extra power in in rain compared to Surf was definitely worth it. Knock can be monumental for item removal, but Hurricane threatens pokemon like Dondozo, Alo, Rillaboom, Waterpon, Serperior, and Hydrapple. U-Turn for momentum and Roost for reliable recovery round out the last obvious slots. I went with ground for the tera to give it an electric immunity and a rock resistance, turning the tables on some mons.

I felt Kingdra was the clear next step on this team. CritDra has become one of the scariest pokemon in the metagame, very little actually being able to take it on. Even many special walls don't want to switch in. Clodsire is always 2HKOd by crit Draco Meteors if it doesn't expend tera, Blissey always takes a huge chunk from Flip Turn crit in rain or Weather Ball crit in rain (both Flip Turn and Weather Ball can 2HKO after a small amount of chip defending on Blissey's EV spread or if Kingdra is tera water). I used to use Surf over Weather Ball, but I decided on Weather Ball for the same reason as Pelipper. The only real concern is against snow teams where ice Weather Ball doesn't do much to Ninetales A and it forces you out with the threat of Freeze-Dry. Draco Meteor is the obvious dragon stab, Focus Energy is the setup move (getting a Specs that doesn't lock you into a move and ignores SpDef boosts is amazing), and Flip Turn is the key momentum tool in the rare bad matchup. Tera water was the choice here as you shed your dragon and fairy weaknesses for the less common grass and electric weaknesses while simultaneously boosting your own stab.

Arch is the same as it's always been, and it's just as threatening despite that. With so many Clod sets switching to tera dark to fend off Cosmic Clef, it makes it to where Arch (and Kingdra) don't have to worry about tera fairy nearly as much, and with Unaware ignoring the -2, Clodsire finds itself using all of its Recover PP fairly quickly. The basic set with enough speed to outrun max speed Gambit and Azu, Draco+Flash Cannon for stab, Electro Shot for the SpAtk boost, and Body Press for scary physical damaged that gets boosted every time you're hit. Tera fairy allows Arch to maintain an amazing defensive type while not being weak to the ever present Earthquake, Close Combat, Earth Power, and Focus Blast.

Iron Treads is the classic suicide lead. Booster to get the jump on anything that may try to lead off with Taunt, tera ghost to avoid Rapid Spin, Earth Power for stab that doesn't activate Toxic Debris, Steel Beam as a quick way to sack Treads if I don't feel I could make good use out of it, and Volt Switch for momentum and getting teammates in safely. The most simple mon on rain teams is still just as simple in pokebilities

I debated for a bit between Azu and Skewda, but I eventually decided on Azu. Azu is stronger than Barraskewda if they're both max attack Adamant after Huge Power, has more bulk, and gets a nice attack boost from grass. Azu having a secondary stab option with Play Rough is also amazing as it doesn't rely on every move that isn't water type to be super effective to be able to seamlessly rip big holes in teams. It also provides both priority and a Rillaboom answer the team didn't have. Liquidation and Play Rough for obvious stab, Aqua Jet for priority, and Ice Spinner to hit Clod and Amoonguss super effectively. Tera water is there to boost its stab water moves even further and remove the poison weakness.

The big weakness I see on the team is Freeze-Dry, but Kyurem often is forced to come in as just a revenge killer because it is weak to Play Rough, Draco Meteor, Flash Cannon, and Body Press, and even takes over 30% from both Sandsear Storm and Hurricane if it has no defense investment. Ninetales A is more annoying, even if not as immediately threatening, because the Veil setup makes it incredibly physically bulky while still being able to take hits fairly well on the special side. There's the obvious point that some rain icons aren't on this team such as Barraskewda, Zapdos, Drednaw, Shifu Rapid, Basc, or Mr. Craw, but for a team that's centralized around Scarf Lando T in rain, I feel that what I made is the best end result we could've had.

 

[typhlosion787]

So, the meta has had a few months to settle after its cycle as OMotM finished. Many things have changed in the meta and it's important to keep up with the ever-adapting landscape, so I decided it would be a good decision to do another viability ranking. This time, I'm not going to be doing a separate ranking for weather abusers as the meta isn't close to as weather centric as it once was. I made this list by taking every pokemon on the SV OU viability rankings, throwing in several pokemon that abuse (or at least are supposed to abuse) the metagame gimmick, going from there with tier placements.

The big five (S):
Azumarill
Kingambit
Great Tusk
Clefable
Clodsire

Noticeable gap

S-:
Dragapult
Gholdengo
Galarian Slowking
Reuniclus
Ursaring
Corviknight

Small, mostly unnoticeable gap

A+:
Volcarona
Urshifu Rapid Strike
Archaludon
Kyurem
Darkrai
Zamazenta Hero

Moderate gap

A:
Dragonite
Gouging Fire
Raging Bolt
Gliscor
Iron Valiant
Ogerpon Wellspring
Kingdra
Landorus Therian
Ting-Lu
Galarian Weezing

Small gap

A:
Alomomola
Cinderace
Deoxys Speed
Glimmora
Primarina
Rillaboom
Moltres
Hisuian Samurott
Roaring Moon

Moderate gap

B+:
Torkoal
Hisuian Lilligant
Enamorus
Walking Wake
Iron Crown
Hydrapple
Hawlucha
Iron Treads
Sinistcha
Ogerpon Teal
Ogerpon Cornerstone
Dondozo
Heatran
Hattrene
Latios
Meowscarada
Tinkaton
Scizor
Zapdos
Ursaluna
Volcanion

Moderate gap

B:
Hoopa Unbound
Manaphy
Alolan Ninetales
Cetitan
Weezing
Kommo-o
Hisuian Arcanine
Ceruledge
Blaziken
Weezing
Pelipper
Barraskewda

Small gap

B-:
Toxapex
Zapdos
Amoonguss
Cyclizar
Tyranitar
Slowbro
Galarian Slowbro
Slowking
Hisuian Goodra
Kleavor
Yanmega
Rotom Wash
Tornadus Therian
Skeledirge
Blissey
Pecharunt
Iron Boulder
Heracross

Moderate gap

C+:
Venusaur
Okidogi
Cresselia
Enamorus Therian
Garchomp
Grimmsnarl
Iron Hands
Keldeo
Latias
Lokix
Basculin
Salamence
Breloom
Cinccino
Mienshao
Toxtricity

Moderate gap

C:
Skarmory
Overqwil
Comfey
Mamoswine
Maushold
Necrozma
Galarian Moltres
Sandy Shocks
Thundrus Therian
Slither Wing
Arcanine
Drednaw
Dragalge
Perrserker
Porygon2
Magnezone
Alolan Golem
Hitmonlee
Grafaiai
Scrafty

Massive gap

C-:
Hippowdon
Suicune
Ninetales
Politoed
Talonflame
Quaquaval
Wo-Chien
Gyarados
Rhyperior
Snorlax
Hitmontop
Quagsire
Gastrodon
Bronzong
Golurk
Hariyama
Farigaraf

Massive gap

D:
Fezandipiti
Scream Tail
Deoxys Defense
Chesnaught
Bellibolt
Hydreigon
Indeedee
Iron Jugulis
Milotic
Muk
Polteageist
Pincurchin
Squawkabilly
Gurdurr
Drillbur
Gumshoos
Lanturn
Klawf
Kilowattrel
Bruxish
Veluza

Don't use

F:
Mandibuzz
Luxray
Mightyena

 

[InkyDarkBird]

S-:
Dragapult
Gholdengo
Galarian Slowking
Ursaring
Corviknight

A:
Alomomola
Reuniclus
Cinderace
Deoxys Speed
Glimmora
Primarina
Rillaboom
Moltres
Hisuian Samurott
Roaring Moon

The rest of the tier list is fine, but why is Reuniclus lower than Slowking-Galar? I saw Reuniclus a lot more on ladder. Even on the weighted stats at https://www.smogon.com/stats/2024-04/gen9pokebilities-1760.txt, Reuniclus is much more used than Slowking-Galar. Reuniclus also gets access to Knock Off and can run Assault Vest instead of Heavy Duty Boots because of Magic Guard, both of which Slowking-Galar cannot do.

 

[typhlosion787]

The rest of the tier list is fine, but why is Reuniclus lower than Slowking-Galar? I saw Reuniclus a lot more on ladder. Even on the weighted stats at https://www.smogon.com/stats/2024-04/gen9pokebilities-1760.txt, Reuniclus is much more used than Slowking-Galar. Reuniclus also gets access to Knock Off and can run Assault Vest instead of Heavy Duty Boots because of Magic Guard, both of which Slowking-Galar cannot do.

A few reasons.

Having the poison type gives it a U-Turn neutrality, fairy resistance, and T spikes absorption.

Another big reason is simply the existence of Clefable. Being able to force a tera or hit it super effectively is a huge advantage to have when it makes it to where you aren't forced into tera dark/Haze Clod or Haze Weezing with some speed investment. It can even use Taunt (although it would be hard to fit) as another way to shut Clef, as well as other special set up sweepers such as Volcarona (not weak to Bug Buzz is great as well).

It also just has generally better coverage. Reun still has solid coverage with Focus Miss, Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, and Thunder, but it pales in comparison to Glowking. Flamethrower, Surf/Hydro, Ice Beam, Grass Knot, also Focus Miss and Shadow Ball, it could even slot in Power Gem if it wants to smack Volcarona and Kyurem. You sacrifice overall attack potency for more variety.

The big thing that I've always seen being the deciding factor between the two on teams, though, is the argument of item removal vs momentum. Both of these are amazing to have, while also amplifying the effects of Future Sight massively. This is so important because Future Sight is one of the biggest reasons to use either of the Regen psychics. Personally, I value momentum more than item removal because while both can win or lose games on their own, I have seen it much more from momentum moves than I have from item removal.

Of course, both of these are absolute top tier pillars of the meta, but I do give Glowking a slight edge for the reasons I've mentioned.

Unrelated, but since this post had to deal with both Glowking and Reun, I feel this would be a good time to mention that I'm working on a Choice Specs Reun team. I'll drop when I have it figured out

 

[Hyper-Go-ons]

One facts about Kleavor in Pokéabilities:

Stone Axe is boosted both by Sheer Force and Sharpness, meaning it will not set Stealth Rock on the opposing side. But it hits harder than Rock Slide alone, having a BP of 126.75

Lunge may be slightly less weaker than Sharpness boosted X-Scissor, but Sheer Force makes it to not get the Life Orb Recoil. They all hit hard at Swarm's HP range

Trailblaze is an option to hit Ground and Water types super effectively coupled with Grass-type tera, the Grass-type tera allows for Spore and powder Immunity along with Leech Seed immunity.

Fun fact: Air Slash is both boosted by Sheer Force and Sharpness, but Kleavor's 45 base special attack makes this very pointless. It has like 146.25 Base power.

Fury Cutter on the 3rd use is Kleavor's most powerful move, capable of 2HKOing a physically defensive Dondozo. Starts out weak on its 1st use.

 

[typhlosion787]

One facts about Kleavor in Pokéabilities:

Stone Axe is boosted both by Sheer Force and Sharpness, meaning it will not set Stealth Rock on the opposing side. But it hits harder than Rock Slide alone, having a BP of 117

Lunge may be slightly less weaker than Sharpness boosted X-Scissor, but Sheer Force makes it to not get the Life Orb Recoil. They all hit hard at Swarm's HP range

Trailblaze is an option to hit Ground and Water types super effectively coupled with Grass-type tera, the Grass-type tera allows for Spore and powder Immunity along with Leech Seed immunity.

Fun fact: Air Slash is both boosted by Sheer Force and Sharpness, but Kleavor's 45 base special attack makes this very pointless. It has like 135 Base power.

Fury Cutter on the 3rd use is Kleavor's most powerful move, capable of 2HKOing a physically defensive Dondozo. Starts out weak on its 1st use.

Stone Axe is actually even more powerful than that. 65x1.5 (from Sharpness)=97.5x1.3 (from Sheer Force)=126.75 without a power boosting item. A move far stronger than Stone Edge with 10% higher accuracy AND more PP on top of that. Kleavor has always been a big sleeper pick that many have overlooked because its mediocrity in base OU, but with the gimmick of pokebilities, it goes from mediocre to around 30th-45th place in the meta, which may not seem amazing, but it still shockingly solid for how many pokemon are viable in the meta.

 

[Hyper-Go-ons]

I see that the boosts are additive.

 

[typhlosion787]

I see that the boosts are additive.

Yes. You wouldn't just add the 50%+30%, you'd do the boosts one at a time. Similar to a Black Glasses Sharpness boosted Ceaseless Edge, you wouldn't do 65x1.7, you'd do 65x1.5x1.2

 

[typhlosion787]

Wow, it's been a while... I'll get to the explanation after the team summary, so for now, let's get into it.



Bronzong is a unique case in pokebilities where it has a really cool ability combination, but is unfortunately mostly outclassed by Corviknight defensively. So, if I couldn't find out a way to make defensive Bronzong work, what about offensive Bronzong? Well, here's what I ended up doing.



https://pokepast.es/deeece0b028fb1c2



I ended up deciding to go Banded Bronzong for this. Heavy Slam is shockingly strong from Bronzong even despite the poor base 89 attack, but I wanted even stronger, so I went for Choice Band. Not only does Choice Band give all of its attacks an extra kick, it also gives Bronzong some potential nice utility with Tricking the choice item on a defensive pokemon like Corviknight or Clodsire. Tera steel increases the power even further while simultaneously dropping the dark and ghost weaknesses for a fighting weakness, making it an offensive tera type that's shockingly good defensively too. Earthquake is great to hit the electric, fire, and steel types that resist steel for super effective damage while Ice Spinner is overall great type coverage and hits for big damage on mons like Tusk, Lando Gliscor



This second part is where I should've put more thought in. My initial thought process was that I wanted multiple mons with momentum as well as either Rocks or Spikes, and I've seen the Gambit+Lando+Ace+GKing core flying around, so I wanted to try it out on a team, deciding this would be a good team to do it on. All of these pokemon have sets you see often in base OU as they do similar things in pokebilities.

Lastly, Waterpon was the last mon I added. It gave yet another momentum mon, but it also gave Knock support, which the team didn't have until then.

Well, that's the team. I'm glad I got to do an idea like this as it seemed really neat to me.

As for why it's been almost four months since I've posted here, I've just had struggles finding any new information or ideas. It's not like my passion died out or anything, I quite literally just don't really know what else to do right now because the meta has been inactive since it stopped being OMotM and I feel I've found out the vast majority of useful information and shared it, leaving me with minimal left. Again, sorry it's been so long, and I don't know how long it'll be until the next post, but I did want to give an update.

 

[typhlosion787]

So, finally back again, but with a bug this time. So, we all know how the Weezings are supposed to have all abilities active at once despite Neutralizing Gas, right? Well, even if you select NGas in the ability slot, Levitate isn't active. Originally, my plan was to just do a quick recording to laugh at how badly Geezing dumpstered non-Facade Gliscor, but then Earthquake started working.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pokebilities-2292535253

If it weren't for the bug (a bug that we didn't have last gen in pokebilities, so something probably got messed up in translation), the Gliscor would have to switch out. If it doesn't Protect turn one, there's a chance of it getting Wisped (if the Geezing is carrying it), it can't hit Geezing with Earthquake (again, outside of the bug), it gets its Spikes Defogged away, it gets Taunted so it can't lay its Spikes, you can't poison Geezing with Toxic, Knock does minimal damage. Even Taunt Gliscor outspeeding isn't safe because Gliscor's Toxic Orb still activates due to it being a flying type, and because of NGas, it takes increasing damage instead of healing 1/8 every turn.

 

[typhlosion787]

Back again after a couple months, and in celebration of Tinkaton's rise to OU proper, I decided to make a team for it. Along with that, I figured it was about time to remaster my favorite team I've ever made, my Alo+Hoodra+Lando Wish pass balance team.

There were two big issues I noticed immediately in practice for the last team, and one additional big flaw that I notice now. Those flaws are lack of fairy resistance, poor hazard control, and no Knock absorber. Well, allow me to introduce you to the revamped team.

Twinkaton Bulky Balance

Tinkaton- Tink is a generally very helpful special wall with an amazing defensive typing. It occasionally comes across issues with 4MSS, but can also be great with role compression. For this set, I chose Air Balloon, Knock Off, Thunder Wave, Encore, and Gigaton Hammer. EVs are for max special bulk while outspeeding no investment Gliscor and tera water is to flip the fire weakness on its head or gain a resistance to water moves in a pinch (such as Primarina's Psychic Noise or Waterpon's Ivy Cudgel). Tinkaton fills the role of both a fairy resist and a Knock absorber. In fact, it kind of wants to get Knocked so it can abuse Pickpocket and steal opponent items.

Alomomola- Alo just synergizes incredibly with Tink and many other pokemon, both offensive and defensive. Tera ghost makes for a potentially infuriating Regenerating spinblocker with the typical defensive EV spread

Landorus- This finishes out the defensive core by covering the electric types Alo is weak to and the ground types Tink is weak to. Most of the time, I'd go for the special set, but I wanted Lando to hit a bit harder on this team while still providing support through Taunt, Rocks, and U-Turn's momentum. Helmet is great for chip damage on pokemon like Gambit and Tusk and tera water allows it to resist the ice and water type moves it is otherwise weak to

Reuniclus- Initially, I went for a Life Orb set, but after some deliberation, I decided to use the AV set instead. Reuniclus poses as an incredibly annoying pokemon with a mix of power, bulk, longevity, and stall killing (minus Clefable because it's broken). Psychic Noise+Psyshock will often force tera from Blissey and Clodsire should you happen to run into them while still doing good damage otherwise, Knock is as spammable and annoying as ever, and Focus Blast is just optimal coverage, even if we never want to use it because of accuracy. Tera ghost can provide another potential annoying spin blocker like Alo, but this one with the ability to heavily pester teams and be unphased by passive damage.

Ursaring- This is just one of my favorite pokemon to use. I initially debated on tera ghost for Breloom, but decided on tera normal because Breloom usage has plummeted with the sleep ban (and it's honestly underrated now) and tera normal can allow Ursaring to do crazy things like 2HKO a max defense Dozo with Rocks or 2HKO a max defense Corviknight at +2 after Rocks. Facade+CC+Crunch us unresisted across the entire meta and Swords Dance can allow for potential to sweep or break a team at a moment's notice

Great Tusk- Just a basic set up set this time. Even with it being a potential wincon, Tusk is still great at removing hazards as always and can do great damage or outright sweep on a whim. Tera steel allows easier setup and switchin opportunities for Tusk and it provides both a second Knock absorber for the team as well as hazard control.

As much as I love the first team, I do think that this team is more viable in the grand scheme of things due to keeping the oversights of the original team in mind while creating this one. Hope everyone enjoys using the team or altering it to their liking

 

[typhlosion787]

Recently, an already great pokemon has been getting even better in pokebilities, so I thought I should talk about it.

Reuniclus is generally incredible and top 10 in the meta, either tied with or right behind Glowking in the current meta imo. Obviously, Reuniclus has Magic Guard+Regenerator, which is one of the best ability combinations in the game without even needing Overcoat, especially with the sleep ban.

Psychic types, despite the type being pretty bad most of the time, got one brilliant tool in this generation, that being Psychic Noise. However, this isn't all. Along with Psychic Noise, Reuniclus also has other great tools such as Psyshock, Future Sight, Thunder Wave, Trick, Encore, and Knock Off, all of which are tools that are great against any team.

It also can run its own Stored Power set similar to Clefable, and even though other pokemon can set up alongside it, Reuniclus setting up has proven to be one of the few things capable of handling Cosmic Clef as of recent.

On top of this, Reuniclus just has good stats, even if not entirely keeping up with power creep. 110 HP is still great, even if 75 defense and 85 special defense isn't the best, and 125 special attack is still great. One thing that I don't see many mention, though, is it's speed. So, why is it's worst stat so important?

Switching is one of, if not, the most important and impactful part of pokemon as a whole. It's why hazards, Knock Off, Magic Guard, and Boots are on top of everything. What does being slow have to do with it?

Well, although Reuniclus doesn't get any momentum moves (petition to give Reun Teleport in gen 10), having a lower base speed always means you switch out slower than the opposing pokemon if both trainers switch, which is incredible for positioning. The only pokemon that are meta relevant and are slower than base the Regen psychics (because all of the Slowtwins have 30 base speed as well) are Clodsire at base 20, Hattrene at base 29, and the rare, but viable Torkoal on sun teams at 20.

This allows Reun to be a great momentum tool despite not having any momentum moves, which is only amplified by the fact that Reun gets Regen. The set variety is also amazing with it. Leftovers bulky, Life Orb Calm Mind, Trick Room, 3 attacks, Cosmic, Trick+Choice, Trick+status orb, AV, it just does so much.

One of the recent developments is the set I showed off in my team a few days ago where it runs Psychic Noise+Psyshock+Knock Off. This fire of moves is great for both damage dealing and utility, especially against stall teams.

For instance, normally, Blissey and Clodsire (even despite its weakness because great special bulk) would love to switch into Reun and wall it, but they just can't against this set. Clodsire can't Toxic Reun, and both it and Blissey get their Boots removed, their recovery disabled, or just get hit hard on their weaker physical side.

Yes, you sacrifice the power of Psychic on other mons for the utility of Psychic Noise, but I find it worth it against not only stall, but also most balance teams.

Case in point, the recovery nerf was definitely a big blow, but Reun is still a god and one new tool has let it achieve an old purpose with better results than before

 

[typhlosion787]

Well, it's finally time for another team after several more months of trying and failing to get pokebilities to be OMotM again. This time, I decided to make a Misty Terrain team in celebration of Geezing rising to OU proper (even despite the bug of it not getting Levitate with both of its other abilities this gen unlike last gen).

Geezing Balance

Geezing- The first pick was obvious because it was the central mon of the team. There were a few choices that were hard such as leaving off Protect, Will-O-Wisp, and going with Haze over Clear Smog (which I ultimately did because many setup mons will just tera steel in front of you), but the item choice was the big struggle at first. Boots is amazing because Geezing needs help with the chip damage it takes, but Leftovers is great because it allows Geezing to slowly restore its HP bit by bit and get back some of the walling capability it once had. At the end of the day, though, when I decided to include a member we'll see later, I decided to just go with TExtender to take full advantage of my terrain attackers.

Hawlucha- The choice was between this or Hitmonlee, and Lee is really a mon that would need to have a terrain team built around supporting it instead of fitting itself into a role on those teams. The basic moveset is there, but I did decide to go with tera fire Fire Punch because you don't 2HKO defensive Plot Gholdy after +2 with tera flying Acrobatics and tera fire allows you to 2HKO with Fire Punch while also not fearing Moltres's Flame Body. The 96 speed EVs are to outspeed max speed Jolly Ceruledge after the Weak Armor boost, and the rest of the stats just went into HP.

Alomomola- Are we really surprised? I am the best Alo builder in pokebilities specifically, and I say that with confidence. I have made this thing put in work on countless teams, and I am continuing to do so here. Wish support is generally great for everything, especially with that base 165 HP. The moveset is typical, but the tera type isn't the usual grass, ghost, or flying. Instead, it's dragon to deal with Waterpon stabs and make it swap.

Crown- This thing may not work as well on paper, but I decided to use it so I had a good special tank and another mon with momentum moves to get Lucha onto the field for sweeps easier. Crown is one of the best do do this with it's Future Switch (Future Sight+Volt Switch) combination, Tachyon Cutter breaks sash and kills lead Glimm and the rare lead Bee, and then Focus Miss is Focus Miss. Tera fairy just for the generally great type

Ting-Lu- I hated not having hazards on this team, so I slapped on another bulky one with no recovery that still manages to function greatly. I did sacrifice Ruination for Whirlwind, and while it was a rough decision, I do think going for the stack could help Hawlucha more overtime, especially in tandem with Future Sight, than immediately taking 50% off of a mon's current health and nothing more. Stab is usual, but does leave you open to the many fliers, so I would suggest most people do the exact opposite of what I did and put Ruination over one of your two hazards.

Scizor- I knew I wanted some priority, but I didn't want specifically Dragonite due to its flying type making it vulnerable to status despite the terrain. Because of this, I went Scizor. An absolute demon of a mon that can revenge kill at the drop of a hat with tera steel, technician, stab boosted, Choice Band Bullet Punch. You obviously have U-Turn for terrifyingly strong momentum, and of course, Knock Off finally appears on the team to do the evil thing and remove all items from everything. Defog isn't necessary and was originally Close Combat, but I decided on Defog to help make it to where Geezing doesn't have to deal with hazards alone