Finally, I understand the players' desire to innovate on big stages like the SPL, but bringing in random Pokémon isn't the way to go, especially when the Ruiners desperately needed to win this week. SM already has a stable meta; there's no need to reinvent the wheel, and sometimes the simplest approach works best.
Mega Manectric is an unviable mon and should stay in 2018. You got niche garbage doing more than a mon taking up an entire mega slot. Using it in SPL Stage represents mediocrity and bad prep.
That's what I'm saying, what the fuck are we doing loading Mega-Manetric in 2026, on sixes that happen to be obliterated by the common weather structures of the tier? Of course, neither PZZ nor Charmflash is the only one guilty of this, as sacrificing specific match-ups for a strategic advantage is commonplace for Bo1 formats. However, by that metric, it has become similarly common to take it to the eleventh degree. While I remain critical in context to those instances (of which there have been numerous), I acquiesce that it is the nature of the Bo1 that players look to the novel for the competitive jump against the opposition.
But what are we doing loading 6-0 or get 6-0d sixes? Are we really resorting to this level of match-up fishing in what supposedly is the most prestigious team tour on the site? Is this the skill level that should be indicative of the competitive standard? Why are we fucking fishing while forfeiting some of the most important match-ups in the tier? Oh, whoops, the opponent loaded a VIABLE team, guess I'll roll over and die. Should the goal of prep not be to maximize your odds of winning? This is the peak?
As SM continues to be the most underwhelming of the SPL tiers, any game review of this godforsaken season would be boiled down to me bashing both players, cause guess what, when the competitive standards of the tier are set to nonmainers and fishers, the tier's gonna be fucking rank. Initially, I did intend to write a dissertation breaking down these issues, particularly in the context of the nuances of prep and game-sense that seem to be universal issues with the general SM pool; however, I have been busy with IRL shit (fuck college), so unfortunately, I probably will be saving that write-up after this SPL (though I also plan on writing up a rudimentary guide for newer players and probably something about EVs in the meantime, so it probably just lines up better lol).
Anyway, with the absolute dearth of any meaningful content in this barren-ass discussion thread, I would like to bring to attention a particular Clefable set that has started to find usage in the tier (don't worry, you will find more bitching later in this post lol):
Demon/Cosmic Clef:
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
-
Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
-
Cosmic Power
-
Encore
This actually is a set I designed in 2023 while talking to Kustavan, who, for some godforsaken reason, had a fixation on incorporating Comic Power Clef on a six. Despite the snowball potential of the traditional Cosmic Clef (Charge Beam + Stored Power), it is inherently flawed as a wincon, necessitating consecutive turns of setup, often getting shut down before it could get the ball rolling to sweep, or getting outpaced and overwhelmed by the biggest threats in the tier. Note this is a time period where Type-Spam structures (particularly the likes of double-fire HO popularized by ABR and iterations of Psyspam) began to gain prominence, leading to a paradigm shift as the metagame progressively became more offensive, inciting the rise of type-spam structures, leading to the downfall of the old standards of Lati-Pex-Glisc Fats and inciting the usage of disruption such as weather and taunt, along with the popularization of base stat bullies (*cough cough* Cresselia) to counteract it. This led to a significantly higher octane metagame, with the dominant playstyles of the tier shifting to overwhelming the opposition versus outlasting them. While memories of getting swept by the stupid fuck in CG persisted, it was clear such a set would be nothing but a dead slot in the modern meta.
Around this time, I became hooked on DPP following the year's SPL, with bruno's
fantastic post on his season being a huge source of inspiration as a builder. As I delved into the nuances of the tier, one thing became very clear: Encore is kinda fucking broken. Despite the numerous nerfs the move received in the following generations, locking the target onto its last used move for three straight turns opened a massive amount of possibilities for Clef, and I had my answer to the passivity issues of the set.
Reminiscent of DPP iterations of the bastard, Demon Clef combines the disruptive properties brought by Encore, alongside the defense-boosting Cosmic Power to shut down the litany of set-up sweepers that pervade SM. Seismic Toss might seem unusual as the sole damaging move; however, it provides the benefit of consistent damage against the number of fires, steels, and CMers that permeate the tier, allowing it to effectively take advantage of its defensive boosts and fulfill its role as an anti-offense engine, either as a self-sufficient wincon or a long-lasting disruptor, shutting down key threats and creating entries for its teammates to abuse the free entries provided by Encore.
In general, Demon Clef has been finding more uptick in usage as an anti-meta option, with two of the four uses of Clefable being this particular variation concurrent to this SPL (
1,
2). While by no means anything indicative of dominance, it is nonetheless an interesting adjustment to the increasingly more offensively slated meta.
Ok, that's cool, you may be wondering, so what's the point of this egotistical chronicle about a cancer Clefable set?
While my introductory exposition seems self-indulgent, the context provided is a critical part of my next segment, particularly pertaining to the fundamental issues with the placement of Demon Clef on PZZ's week 3 team: synergy. This specific set was designed with the concept of abusing its capacity to generate switches through the disruptive nature of Encore, be it through hazards or immunities, and the teammates surrounding Clefable need to be chosen with the explicit intent of supplementing it. Mono-Seismic Toss is by no means self-sufficient in forcing progress, essentially being relegated to a dead slot against the numerous regen-cores, magic guard abusers, and hgh-health pools that permeate the meta. You NEED to pair this mon with spikes alongside external progress makers such as SD Gliscor alongside hazard setters than can consistently threaten the common defoggers of the tier such as Greninja; because otherwise Taunt Tornadus-T is going to cycle you infinitely, Toxapex is going to reset your boosts constantly, and Chansey is going to absorb all your fucking PP cause you can't dent it for shit. Not to mention, pairing Clef with bulky steel types (notably Heatran) is imperative to its success, because guess what, Z-moves are one of the few ways to bypass Encore besides switching out, and the vast majority of mons that can bypass this mechanic happen to be dangerous set-up sweepers that more often than not have some way to nuke Clef off the face of the earth with some prior set-up.
Context is essential when considering the criteria of building, and it is evident that the vast majority of starters and their support structures are unfamiliar with these nuances. Oh gee, I wonder why, maybe it's because they don't play this fuckass tier besides the few times it manifests in officials or team tours, and that's why we are using Heat Wave Zapdos as our fogger on a six that shits the bed versus SD Grounds. All the details and intricacies native to the tier just get relegated to nothing more than "just match-up fish: it's the tier lmao". If you slot in someone who doesn't play RBY into RBY, they aren't going to be able to pick up all the nuances in-game necessary to play at a top level, an issue that, believe it or not, translates to two other fundamental pillars of comp: prep and building. Despite its comparatively plug-and-play nature, between the depth of the mechanics present in the gen, the fine details that form the core metagame of the tier, the capacity for player expression, and the variety of viable mons to consider in the builder, SM is fucking hard tier to master. Yes, there have been cases where players have managed to adjust to the meta, and there are certainly noteworthy performances in this current SPL, done by players who do not main the tier, but there are far more who have failed to make the necessary adjustments in the madhouse of SM. However, this is a topic for another day, and as I alluded to earlier in the post, I will eventually revisit the subject with something more substantial in the future.
------------------------------------------
There still is an SPL season left to be played, and to not just end on doomer shit, its only week 3 of SPL. Games will be won and lost, players will get swapped, cool, funny shit like Scarf Hoopa-U might pop up again, and who knows, maybe we might be able to see the pinnacle of competition in what is supposedly most prestigious tour on site. Nonetheless, I feel SM has, albeit somewhat deserved, earned a reputation that precedes it. After all, what use is there in finding consistency when its all just a game of match-up fishing? Who cares about innovation, as long as I can win the game in front of me, what matters? Who needs to know nuances of the tier when its just big button beats smaller button? Why even bother with the meta at all?
The tier is full of potential, and as a competitor, a builder, a prepper, and someone who has burned thousands of hours into the tier, I can't help but feel like its all being squandered. But again, I am getting ahead of myself.
Pretentious as it may be, the culmination of my Pokémon journey is SM, and while it probably won't matter in the long run, hopefully this rant has provided a worthwhile lens into the metagame I spent so long trying to master. Although I am not optimistic, so it goes. We shall see what we shall see. But well, for the time being, that's all I got (hopefully I can stop procrastinating like a motherfucker when I actually have some time to write those guides in the near future, who knows, maybe if I can get something going it might be worthwhile in the end).
Until next time, peace y'all.
Congretation of the Classiest: Dj Breloominati♬, Piyu,
Circus Maximus Tiger: Tace, Noname6293, Zaza
Wi-Fi Wolfpack: Gondra, Bbeeaa, Sacri´
Dragonspiral Tyrants: Vert, Tenebricite, Baddy
Indie Scooters: Drachenkeule, Ox the Fox
Stark Sharks: DeeJ, Fdmw
Team Raiders: Charmflash, Fc, Eternal Spirit
Alpha Ruiners: Metallica, ChrisPBacon, Devin, PZZ
Ever Grande BIGS: GeniusX, Larry, Stareal
Cryonicle: RobJr, C0mp, MGdos 16, Luigi
/
Terrain being 1.5x yet so easily accessible in SM requires you to have answers to Psyspam, Volt Switch, and to a lesser extent Kartana/Serp in grassy. Things like Seismitoad need to be brought. Cresselia, berry Magearna.
Weather requires you to ideally have two dedicated fire/water resists, as well as generally disincentivizing passivity due to Manaphy and Heatran becoming near unstopable in their respective weather.
Spikes are omnipresent nowadays, Ferrothorn in particular seems to pick up a lot of usage. You basically need your entire team to be able to hit it or have some dedicated removal thats ideally immune to leech. Ridiculous requirement.
This mon requires a unique type of answer since it needs a flying resist that doesnt really mind Knock Off. It invalidates team structures using stuff like Steela, Skarmory, or even Bronzong as their flying resist.
You better bring a fairy! But thats easy right? Theres no way a good team couldnt fit a fai..
SD Gliscor has fallen in popularity but don't worry because you still have to respect it in teambuilding on the off-chance he does show up. Need to play either offense or recover mon with ice move strong enough to kill it.
A variety of dangerous sweepers all requiring their own unique answer.
Ridiculous standalone breakers plague this tier, some more managable than others.
Bulky win conditions also each requiring their own answer.
