Hi
I know that with the start of SCL, the timing may not be ideal for such a major change, but I would nonetheless like to speak on a subject I find important.
RU Liberation
Plan Step 1: Ban Mamo
Mamoswine:
Let’s start by looking at its stats:
HP: 110
ATK: 130
DEF: 80
Sp. ATK: 70
Sp. DEF: 60
SPE: 80
Aside from a solid Attack stat and decent HP, nothing here stands out too much. Its Speed is average, and at first glance, Mamo appears to be a healthy Pokemon in the metagame. Plus, with its priority move Ice Shard, it helps deal with HO/offense and threatens some extremely common Pokemon like Galarian Zapdos. That seems like a good thing, considering the meta.
As for its abilities, nothing too impressive:
Oblivious
Thick Fat
Now let’s get to the heart of the problem: his typing. Ground and Ice are among the best offensive types in the game. Moreover, they complement each other extremely well:
Grass resists Ground and Flying is immune to it, but Ice is super effective on both.
As for Bug-types, they are pretty rare.
So, thanks to its STAB combo, Mamo is hard to counter using just resistances. The only real examples are Levitate Pokémon like Rotom-Heat or Bronzong. The most viable method until now has been to use a physically bulky mon that is neutral to both types. That’s why Slowbro, already a staple in the tier, has become even more common.
Why is Mamo a problem?
While I already found the Pokémon problematic due to how much it restricts teambuilding, I still thought it was manageable. However, I’ve changed my mind.
Why?
Let’s look at the most viable ways to “handle Mamo”:
Slowbro
252 Atk Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 111-132 (28.1 - 33.5%) -- 0.1% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Mamoswine Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 144-170 (36.5 - 43.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
cresselia
252 Atk Mamoswine Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 40+ Def Cresselia: 112-133 (25.2 - 29.9%) -- 0.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Mamoswine Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 40+ Def Cresselia: 172-204 (38.7 - 45.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
rotom heat
252 Atk Mamoswine Icicle Crash vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 66-78 (21.7 - 25.7%) -- 0.7% chance to 4HKO
252 Atk Mamoswine Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 101-119 (33.3 - 39.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
quagsire
252 Atk Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 132-156 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
gastrodon
252 Atk Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gastrodon: 150-177 (35.2 - 41.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
With this set, things seem okay. But we can already rule out Rotom — even if it tanks, the fact that it takes Knock Off and loses its Boots makes it vulnerable to SR and not a sustainable answer in the mid/long term.
Now let’s consider a more niche but still viable set: Never-Melt Ice + Freeze-Dry
Gastrodon
4 SpA Never-Melt Ice Mamoswine Freeze-Dry vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Gastrodon: 324-384 (76 - 90.1%) — guaranteed 2HKO
Quagsire
4 SpA Never-Melt Ice Mamoswine Freeze-Dry vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Quagsire: 384-456 (97.4 - 115.7%) — 87.5% chance to OHKO
Slowbro
4 SpA Never-Melt Ice Mamoswine Freeze-Dry vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Slowbro: 164-194 (41.6 - 49.2%) — guaranteed 3HKO
If that were the only issues, you could say, “It’s still manageable — we still have Slowbro and Cresselia.”
Alright, now let’s move on to a set I’ve seen more and more of lately, and one I believe will become much more popular if we don’t act on it: Muscle Band Adamant + Tera Dark Running Adamant Mamo can be risky in some matchups because it no longer outspeeds threats like Armarouge or Basculegion. That’s why Jolly has always been the more popular nature. But because of that, this kind of set has flown under the radar.
Slowbro
252+ Atk Muscle Band Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 135-159 (34.2 - 40.3%) — guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Muscle Band Tera Dark Mamoswine Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 260-308 (65.9 - 78.1%) — guaranteed 2HKO
34.2% minimum from Earthquake and 65.9% minimum from Knock Off. Even assuming Slowbro has no Speed investment, 34.2 + 65.9 = 100.1%.
So even if it switches in on EQ, Slowbro always dies to Knock Off on the following turn, regardless of the roll. That forces either a switch (sacrificing or severely weakening another mon), or burning your Tera (hoping you’re not Tera Poison).
Now for Cresselia, let’s keep the spread that lets it outspeed Adamant Mamo: 252 HP / 40+ Def
252+ Atk Muscle Band Mamoswine Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 40+ Def Cresselia: 135-160 (30.4 - 36%) — guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers
252+ Atk Muscle Band Tera Dark Mamoswine Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 40+ Def Cresselia: 312-368 (70.2 - 82.8%) — guaranteed 2HKO So if Cresselia comes in on Icicle Crash, there’s a high chance it gets KO’d right after by Knock Off — either forcing a Tera or immediate recovery.
So we’re now looking at a Pokemon that can immediately break through all of its checks except Rotom. And the only two checks that can deal with it are forced to Tera, and even then, they can’t Tera into just any type without risk of being punished immediately (Tera Poison Slowbro) or later (Tera Steel Cress). Even if you have the right Tera like Fairy Slowbro or Poison/Fairy Cress, you’re sacrificing your Tera and often your primary Psychic resist, opening yourself up to a potential sweep from something like opposing Slowbro later on.
It’s also important to note that none of these calcs include hazard damage. Mamo is excellent at pressuring the tier’s best removal options (Cyclizar and Noivern), and its impact only grows when paired with a solid Stealth Rock user and ideally a good Spiker as well.
Draw your own conclusions, but I don’t see how a Pokemon like Mamoswine can possibly be considered balanced in RU as we know it.
Thanks everyone for reading.