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Metagame Linked (OMotM)

I want to let the world know of The Horrors (tm) right before the meta releases, because i like chaos and silliness

Full Goblin (Sableye) @ Leftovers / Heavy-Duty Boots / Other
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
- Encore
- Disable
- Wil-o-Wisp / Filler
- Recover / Filler

Any non-dark sweeper comes to absolutely fear this thing, as they are immediately forced to struggle.
As for dark types:

Iron Valiant @ Leftovers / Pixie Plate
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe (248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe)
Timid Nature / Jolly Nature
(IVs: 0 Atk)
- Encore
- Disable
- Moonblast (Close Combat)
- Thunder Wave / Psychic

Same as sableye, but drops prankster for beating darks and hitting hard with moonblast (or close combat, especially vs kingambit). Lack of recovery sucks but oh well. Quark drive could be useful if paired with a setter, like roaring moon (or pincurchin but we dont talk about pincurchin), and psychic is an option for poisons or whatever.

Obviously counterplay is to switch in a fresh pokemon or something since then encore and disable both fail, but honestly the momentum you could gain from that could still be worth it, and an anti-ho tool is always nice to see
 
Crep50 said:
I want to let the world know of The Horrors (tm) right before the meta releases, because i like chaos and silliness

Full Goblin (Sableye) @ Leftovers / Heavy-Duty Boots / Other
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
- Encore
- Disable
- Wil-o-Wisp / Filler
- Recover / Filler

Any non-dark sweeper comes to absolutely fear this thing, as they are immediately forced to struggle.
As for dark types:

Iron Valiant @ Leftovers / Pixie Plate
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe (248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe)
Timid Nature / Jolly Nature
(IVs: 0 Atk)
- Encore
- Disable
- Moonblast (Close Combat)
- Thunder Wave / Psychic

Same as sableye, but drops prankster for beating darks and hitting hard with moonblast (or close combat, especially vs kingambit). Lack of recovery sucks but oh well. Quark drive could be useful if paired with a setter, like roaring moon (or pincurchin but we dont talk about pincurchin), and psychic is an option for poisons or whatever.

Obviously counterplay is to switch in a fresh pokemon or something since then encore and disable both fail, but honestly the momentum you could gain from that could still be worth it, and an anti-ho tool is always nice to see
Click to expand...

And here we have an ideal fresh mon to switch in on these two =)

Hatterene (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 Spe
Bold Nature
- Nuzzle
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss
- Psychic Noise

Magic Bounce immediately punishes their attempts to Encore + Disable by bouncing both back at them, and then Hatt can take advantage of the likely switch by using Nuzzle on whatever comes in to instantly paralyze them (unless their immune of course), and then Calm Mind, getting some momentum back, even on something it would normally want to stay away from. Draining Kiss keeps Hatt's HP up as it sets up, and Psychic Noise stops the opponent from being able to heal.

TBH Sableye feels kind of mid? Dark is probably going to be a very common type regardless with how strong it is as an offensive type. And all it really has is Prankster, so if someone sees it on team preview, their probably going to assume it's something Stall related, or this Encore + Disable set, and plan accordingly. Valiant at least has the benefit of being able to act as a nasty surprise (unless the opponent has priority and can KO it.)
 
Crep50 said:
Full Goblin (Sableye) @ Leftovers / Heavy-Duty Boots / Other
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
- Encore
- Disable
- Wil-o-Wisp / Filler
- Recover / Filler

Any non-dark sweeper comes to absolutely fear this thing, as they are immediately forced to struggle.
Click to expand...
Oh god Giratina has found this OM. Arceus do something or the lil' goblins will invade all of Linked.

Ok, but seriously, this set is going to keep some folk up at night. If this forces people to run Tsareena, Bruxish, Farigiraf, Psy-Terrain or a Dark Type, the Sabeleye player can easily build around lol.
Only "Mainstream" counter I can think of is like Gholdengo and Mental Herb
Railroader17 said:
And here we have an ideal fresh mon to switch in on these two =)

Hatterene (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 Spe
Bold Nature
- Nuzzle
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss
- Psychic Noise
Click to expand...
That being said, this set does seem to counter Encore Disableye.

Also, quick question but how do moves with negative priority work? Like, if I had (blah blah blah) in my first slot and Focus Punch in my second, would I execute Focus Punch after I used the first move or would it just stay their and execute at negative priority?
 
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AintTellingUNothing said:
Thx for explaining!

Ok, so I don't normally like stall, but I found a really funny combo

Palossand Leftovers
Water Compaction
EVS: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 Sp.Atk
Relaxed Nature
-Curse
-Shore Up
-Random Move
-Random Move

The goofy power of this strat is that you curse them (after they've prob gone before you) and then immideatly heal up, effectively losing nothing lol. It might be better to do this w Skeledirge/Pecharunt (They get Slack off and recover respectively) btw, this is just the first mon I thought of that can do this strat
Click to expand...
Ok so I did some testing... tbh this strat sounded a lot better in my head.
Anyone can easily switch, especially supports w pivots, so what it did was only put them at 3/4 hp for ONE turn or kill the curse mon if an attack knocked them below 50%. Also tried Mean Look + Curse Gengar but that also was pretty bad.

I do have a funny set I wanna show tho

Ronk (Minior) @ White Herb
Ability: Shields Down
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Shell Smash
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics

So if your fast enough you can get + 2 Atk Sp.Atk and Speed while barely taking damage. If they outspeed you but you tank above 25%, you unlock the nukes but now you are in your speedy form. Doesn't really work against mons with sound moves (found that out the hard way when i got swept by a Scarf Skeledirge) but thats only a minor problem
 
I decided to theorycraft some more. Since Linked is playable, I'll try some of the sets I suggested here.

Nice Fairies Bro (Enamorus) (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Contrary
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Outrage
- Iron Head
- Play Rough

Outrage should somewhat scare ghosts from blocking Superpower, its lock ends when it hits an immune target, then Lum Berry cures confusion so you can follow up with Iron Head.

Enamorus has very few good physical attacks, but Superpower is the only way to take advantage of Contrary.

A less questionable set would be
Nice Fairies Bro (Enamorus) (F) @ Expert Belt / Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Iron Head
- Outrage / Play Rough
- Tailwind / Healing Wish / Misty Explosion

In this set, the last moveslot is just something to use when Enamorus is going to die. Tailwind could also be used before the sweep but I don't think Enamorus can survive the turn if the opponent attacks.
I don't know if Tidy Up works against Gholdengo, if so, it might be the only reliable tool against hazard stack. Being immune to both spins and Defog is crazy.

Golden Demon (Gholdengo) @ Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Make It Rain
- Recover
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball

I don't know if Bulky Gholdengo would work here, but Recover should be decent. It could also help with Life Orb recoil. I don't know if I can do anything new with this versatile stack of coins.
Denace the Menace (Metagross) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Bullet Punch
- Psychic Fangs

Metagross has the highest attack of the pokemon with Explosion / Self Destruct and Stealth Rock. The highest special attack with Misty Explosion and Stealth Rock is a tie between Mew and Diancie. The highest speed with any self KO move and Stealth Rock to my knowledge is Dugtrio with Memento. (Minior Shields Down also has base 120 speed, but IDK if it has the bulk to get to the shields down form here.) Edit as of March 3rd 11:35 EST, Dugtrio also gets Final Gambit.

The idea is simple enough, Metagross can fight normally or set Stealth Rock and try to take out the opponent. This is closer to a Hyper Offense hazard setter and shouldn't be your only hazard setter on most teams for obvious reasons.
Here Comes The Sun (Walking Wake) @ Life Orb / Heat Rock
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe or 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sunny Day
- Agility / Flip Turn
- Hydro Steam
- Dragon Pulse

The offensive version has Sun boosted Protosynthesis boosted Life Orb boosted Hydro Steam. The supportive version still has some damage potential since it's Walking Wake, but might not be worth it if Drought is legal.
The Medic (Alomomola) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Wish
- Flip Turn
- Scald
- Chilling Water

Scald and Chilling Water to annoy pokemon trying to set up. If the incoming pokemon has Protect or a variant, Wish is almost unstoppable once used. Water Absorb would just force you to switch normally, and being able to use two moves in a turn makes Ogerpon-Wellspring even more dangerous.
SMOGON BIRD! (Talonflame)
Ability: Gale Wings
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Brave Bird
- Tailwind
- Defog / Flare Blitz

This could just be a really aggressive anti hazard lead. Depending on what the opponent leads, Tailwind or a 230 BP priority combo follows. Defog could be used to remove hazards as a last act during Tailwind, Flare Blitz allows you to hit the electric and steel types that might switch in.
 
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:sv/Skeledirge:
This feels like pretty much an essential Pokemon to have to deal with a lot of things. It has Unaware, so any boosting strategies are made less effective. It has Torch Song to bypass subseed spam. Its a ghost type so you don't have to worry about being Fake Out spam and you quad resist U-turn.
Only problem is deciding which ways to link your moves. Do you use Wisp + Hex? Torch Song + Hex/Shadow Ball? Flame Charge + Torch Song?
It has plenty of versatility.

Also some fun ideas:
:sv/salazzle:
Swagger + Burning Jealousy
Burning Jealousy has a significantly better use now than in the main game thanks to Swagger (and Flatter, but you got like Grimm and Persian-A). With this combo in particular, Salazzle confuses you and burns you at the same time while also dealing respectable damage. The burn basically canceling out the +2 Atk Swagger gives. In addition, you also have Foul Play to really capitalize on Swagger and punish most Fire types that are otherwise immune to burns.

:sv/scovillain:
Scovillain @ Mirror Herb
Ability: Insomnia
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spicy Extract
- Trailblaze/Seed Bomb/Temper Flare
- Temper Flare
- Stomping Tantrum
Extreme Meme. Spicy Extract gives Scovillain a one time Sword Dance thanks to Mirror Herb, and also Screeches the opponent before hitting them with a physical move. This effectively gives Scovillain's linked attack x4 power. For reference, this is what it does to Avalugg.
+2 252 Atk Scovillain Trailblaze vs. -2 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 133-157 (33.7 - 39.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
This is more of a meme strat as you're using Scovillain. It does help that Spicy Extract effectively bypasses Unaware. There are MUCH more consistent strategies for that, like Acid Spray, but this is fun since you also get a Sword Dance out of the interaction.
 
Meme Set idea for this

Typhlosion-Hisui @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
Tera Type: IDK you decide unless tera is banned
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Curse
- Endeavor
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
 
I would call this next one a meme set, but i actually kinda think lock on/zap cannon has potential
Regieleki @ Choice Specs
Ability: Transistor
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lock-On
- Zap Cannon
- Ancient Power
- Volt Switch
 
Watchlist Update​

We have had this metagame for merely two days, yet we are already receiving a tremendous amount of input from play. The council has identified the following as overpowered and will (most probably) include them in the next council vote.

:pmd/iron boulder: Booster Energy
As expected, Booster Energy continues to wreak havoc in the tier. Most notably, super fast wallbreakers like Iron Boulder with SD + Attack, Iron Moth with Acid Spray/Charge Beam + Fiery Dance, and Iron Valiant with a variety of BS, have been incredibly strong in the meta, thanks to their extremely high Speed and their ability to snowball through opposing teams.

:pmd/torkoal: Drought
Another Paradox mon activator. Walking Wake and Sandy Shocks, in particular, abuse Sun for the Speed boost, launching powerful attacks at their foes. The council is almost certain that Booster Energy's days are numbered, so we would also like to address Drought, which may attempt to take over after a potential Booster Energy ban.

:pmd/pincurchin: Electric Surge
The same applies to Electric Surge as Drought. However, as mentioned earlier, Pincurchin is simply not that good. Electric Terrain teams lack the variety that Drought teams have, and Pincurchin itself is not particularly strong. Nonetheless, it will remain on our radar if players find it problematic.

:pmd/dragapult: Dragapult
Please welcome our new additions to the Watchlist, starting with Dragapult. Another extremely fast threat with a million different moves to abuse. Whether it is WoW + Hex, Physical Attacker, Special Attacker, Mixed Attacker, Fast pivot, Dragon Dance, or even Night Shade sets, this mon offers incredible variety. Predicting the set is already difficult, and handling it can be even more challenging.

:pmd/weavile: Weavile
A fast Swords Dance + Attack abuser. While it may not have the same level of variety, what it does, it does exceptionally well. Perhaps a bit too well. I have seen several Focus Sash Weavile sets, and they genuinely work.

:pmd/regieleki: Regieleki
We definitely did not expect Regieleki to perform this well after its unban. However, the Charge + Volt Switch set deals a tremendous amount of damage, has proven to be surprisingly effective.

:pmd/manaphy: Manaphy
I am surprised that nobody has mentioned Manaphy. While it has not received much attention from players yet, and rightfully so is probably not as strong as the remaining mons mentioned here, are we all forgetting that it gets Tail Glow?

:pmd/ogerpon-wellspring: Ogerpon-Wellspring
Swords Dance + Ivy Cudgel deals so much damage. There is not much more to say here.

:pmd/ogerpon-cornerstone: Ogerpon-Cornerstone
See Ogerpon-Wellspring.

:pmd/aegislash: Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Shell Smash, Tail Glow, Growth
Merging these five moves into one category. Have you noticed how many times Swords Dance has been mentioned in this post? The council firmly believes these setup moves are quite overpowered. Any mon with access to them almost always uses them to wreak havoc. Manaphy has already been mentioned, and Tail Glow is an alternative option for restriction. Growth is included because Drought still exists, although there are not many strong abusers, and it is only good when the Sun is up.

:pmd/scream tail: Encore
Many players were concerned about Encore + Disable. However, after testing, we realized it does not function as expected. If you use Encore + Disable when a foe has used a Linked move, instead of forcing them to Struggle, you force them to use the second component of the Linked move. Less broken than anticipated, but still quite annoying. We chose to target Encore rather than Disable because Encore + Torment can achieve a similar effect.

:pmd/pawmot: Revival Blessing
No, Revival Blessing is not broken. In fact, even if we restrict the move, nothing truly changes. Apparently, Revival Blessing fails when used as a Linked move. Restricting it would simply prevent players from falling into the trap of attempting to use it that way.

:pmd/heatran: Trapping Moves
A few players have discussed Phazing + Trapping move combinations, which essentially force your opponent to switch into a random mon and then become trapped. This gamble can sometimes lead to very unpleasant experiences for the opponents. Heatran is likely the best user of this strategy, with access to Roar + Magma Storm.

Honourable Mentions (I'm not writing descriptions for all of these :pensive:):
:pmd/jirachi: Jirachi, :pmd/iron moth: Iron Moth, :pmd/iron boulder: Iron Boulder, :pmd/iron valiant: Iron Valiant
We'd really love to hear more of your thoughts and insights on what you think we should be focusing on. We're particularly interested in what trends you’re noticing, what you think might be underrated or overcentralizing, and where you see things heading in the near future.

We're also super excited to check out all the sets and teams you’ve been using lately. Until then, enjoy the meta, bye o/
 
Solosis said:
:pmd/weavile: Weavile
A fast Swords Dance + Attack abuser. While it may not have the same level of variety, what it does, it does exceptionally well. Perhaps a bit too well. I have seen several Focus Sash Weavile sets, and they genuinely work.


:pmd/ogerpon-wellspring: Ogerpon-Wellspring
Swords Dance + Ivy Cudgel deals so much damage. There is not much more to say here.
Click to expand...
Been using these on my team, I can def confirm they are both great.
I use a bit of a different Weavile set that is honestly really good;

Weavile Life Orb
Pressure
EVS: 252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 Whatever
-Hone Claws
-Triple Axel
-Knock Off
-Poison Jab

W HC+Triple axel, you get a +1, STAB 120BP, Over 100% accurate Ice move for free on turn 1, with KO for Dark STAB and Poison Jab to deal with annoying fairies. I unirronically did a great sweep w this once, I love this set.

As for Ogerpon, I feel like I don't pull it out THAT often but its definitely good backup and it has a good defensive typing as well

Solosis said:
Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Shell Smash, Tail Glow, Growth
Merging these five moves into one category. Have you noticed how many times Swords Dance has been mentioned in this post? The council firmly believes these setup moves are quite overpowered. Any mon with access to them almost always uses them to wreak havoc. Manaphy has already been mentioned, and Tail Glow is an alternative option for restriction. Growth is included because Drought still exists, although there are not many strong abusers, and it is only good when the Sun is up.
Click to expand...
Tbh yeah SD and Shell Smash are insane lol. You don't even need those obvious ones, Bulk Up + Drain Punch Iron Fist Punching Glove Infernape can be an absoloute beast, and Hone Claw Weavile is also pretty goated. I'd be fine w Shell Smash going, it's fun but I know it prob isn't good for game balance lol. I haven't seen much Tail Glow yet but I might have to play more before I say my thoughts on it
 
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Ok after some playing I can confirm that Booster Energy is lowk really broken, I got my ass kicked by Booster Energy Speed, SD, Zen Headbutt Iron Boulder last game lol. The 50% speed boost is way too strong w the variety of set-up moves that can be played on the same turn as an attack. Please, ban Booster Energy, SD is a little problematic but at least it doesn't give a really OP speed boost for free.
 
:sv/Latios: + :sv/gardevoir:
Latios (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Simple Beam
- Memento
- Draco Meteor
- Thunder Wave

Gardevoir @ Ganlon Berry
Ability: Trace
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Draining Kiss
- Stored Power
This is combo I remember using way back in older generation. Latios is the only Pokemon that has access to Simple Beam and Memento. Simple Beam will replace the target’s ability with Simple outside of a few abilities (this excludes Paradox abilities so you can use this on those Pokemon). Then you will use the move Memento. Normally Memento only drops the target’s offense stats by 2 stages, but with Simple, it now drops them by 4 stages.
After Memento, you then bring in Gardevoir with the ability Trace. Since you changed the target’s ability, you Trace Simple and get it for yourself. In addition to that, your opponent is at -4 in Atk/SpA so any attack will just bounce right off you, giving you a free type to set up Calm Mind and Substitute. Ganlon Berry will raise your Defense by 2 stages to make you way harder to KO and to make Stored Power even stronger. You can then Draining Kiss to heal yourself entirely once you’re at low health. Stored Power is a great way to break past Unaware Pokemon.

Besides some abilities immune to Simple, there are some flaws you have to look out for. Namely the fact that you’re using Gardevoir which is slow and very physically frail. So you could very easily be outsped by a physical attacker. It’s pretty important to deal with them like with Sticky Webs or Thunder Wave.
 
Solosis said:
:pmd/manaphy: Manaphy
I am surprised that nobody has mentioned Manaphy. While it has not received much attention from players yet, and rightfully so is probably not as strong as the remaining mons mentioned here, are we all forgetting that it gets Tail Glow?
Click to expand...
The main problem with manaphy in my experience is that Manaphy shines against bulky teams that can give it an entry point and don't have many mons to revenge, and this tier is 95% offense that just blows it up

:pmd/pawmot: Revival Blessing
No, Revival Blessing is not broken. In fact, even if we restrict the move, nothing truly changes. Apparently, Revival Blessing fails when used as a Linked move. Restricting it would simply prevent players from falling into the trap of attempting to use it that way.
Click to expand...
sounds pretty "broken" to me
 
Breaking News!!!
We've expanded our council! This is all dhelmise's fault! (Please welcome dhelmise to the council.)
Screenshot 2026-03-02 220438.png

Yikes :facepalm:
 
Funny Guys
Deoxys-Speed @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psycho Boost
- Shadow Ball
- Spikes


Kilowattrel @ Focus Sash
Ability: Wind Power
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tailwind
- Volt Switch
- Air Slash
- Thunderbolt
 
CyberPokeNinja said:
Meme Set idea for this

Typhlosion-Hisui @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
Tera Type: IDK you decide unless tera is banned
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Curse
- Endeavor
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
Click to expand...
Also thought of a couple improvisations to this meme set

Instead of running scarf, run leftovers so you can use the tech more than once. (also because scarf does not work in this format)

Instead of running flamethrower, run protect, so you can safely wait for your curse to finish off the weakened foe.

With no fire move, run frisk instead because it would have a slight use compared to blaze
 
CyberPokeNinja said:
Meme Set idea for this

Typhlosion-Hisui @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
Tera Type: IDK you decide unless tera is banned
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Curse
- Endeavor
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
Click to expand...
Solosis said:
Q: How do some held items interact with linked moves?

A: Yes, certain held items have interactions/limitations with linked moves. Some items are better, and others become nearly useless.

:choice band: :choice specs: :choice scarf: Choice Items: Due to an interaction in Gen 7, 8, and 9 mechanics, one cannot physically use another move while Choice is locked into the first. For example, a Choice Band user locked into Metronome calls a two-turn move like Dig: trying to actually use Dig on the next turn results in a failure, because the game expects only another Metronome. So, for simplicity's sake, Choice items disable the linking mechanic.
Click to expand...
Using Choice Scarf prevents you from using Curse + Endeavor. This strategy would only work if your Choice Scarf was knocked off.
 
Samurott-H is kind of stupid ngl.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9linked-2550415856
Attacking while setting up spikes is one thing.
Attacking twice while getting up 2 layers of spikes is just another level.
Honestly Copycat should be on the Watchlist too. Ceaseless Edge + Copycat isn't the only strategy you can abuse with it. You have Psuedo Simple abilities like Calm Mind + Copycat or Sword Dance + Copycat, Double Seismic Toss/Night Shade, Serene Grace Ice Beam with higher chance to Freeze than Scald burns, and Population Bomb + Copycat.
 
Solosis said:
:pmd/pawmot: Revival Blessing
No, Revival Blessing is not broken. In fact, even if we restrict the move, nothing truly changes. Apparently, Revival Blessing fails when used as a Linked move. Restricting it would simply prevent players from falling into the trap of attempting to use it that way.
Click to expand...
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9linked-2550512657
Apparently, Revival Blessing just doesn't work. On Turn 6 Pawmot tries the move, but it fails. On turn 7 I use my linked moves.
 
Solosis said:
:pmd/pincurchin: Electric Surge
Click to expand...
Honestly, there are WAY more electric terrain+ pivot linked mons. One I've seen pop up a few times is Zapdos :Zapdos:, and another is Regeileki :regieleki:. If/when booster energy :booster energy: goes, I fully expect way more of these terrain setting pivoters to pop up.
Solosis said:
:pmd/regieleki: Regieleki
We definitely did not expect Regieleki to perform this well after its unban. However, the Charge + Volt Switch set deals a tremendous amount of damage, has proven to be surprisingly effective.
Click to expand...
Charge + Vswitch is really good, but an even better set is simply just running Thunderbolt + Volt Switch. It deals more damage, and breaks sashes. Not a huge power difference, but still something I thought I'd mention.
Solosis said:
Honourable Mentions (I'm not writing descriptions for all of these :pensive:):
:pmd/jirachi: Jirachi, :pmd/iron moth: Iron Moth, :pmd/iron boulder: Iron Boulder, :pmd/iron valiant: Iron Valiant
Click to expand...

Serene grace is incredibly restrictive, as its mere existence can single-handedly muscle through any and all bulky teams. Even rocky helmet :rocky helmet: can't stop serene grace mons, as the item Protective Pads :protective pads: stops that from hurting the user. The odds of moving per turn are roughly equivalent to hitting 4 focus blasts in a row, to put it into perspective.

I personally think Serene grace should go instead of Jirachi, however, as Sawsbuck :Sawsbuck-Autumn: is of a similar speed tier and accomplishes the same thing, albeit slighty worse. While Sawsbuck is limited to Headbutt + Zen Headbutt, which is notably a less effective set versus ghost types :skeledirge:, Sawsbuck still muscles through 80% of bulky pokémon. I've had someone mention to me that Sawsbuck is frailer, but does frailty truly matter when your opponent physically cannot hit you? Another thing of note is that serene grace generally allows for multiple uncompetitive strategies, another one of which being the underutilized double freeze move. I believe the double freeze move was brought up in regards to copycat, but Blissey :blissey: gets both ice beam and ice punch, so copycat is irrelevant to the serene grace discussion.
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Ice Punch
- Ice Beam
- Soft-Boiled
- Seismic Toss
This demonic set has a 36% chance of freezing your opponent every turn. I don't like the fact this exists, frankly.

On the topic of Iron Moth :Iron Moth:, it feels very borderline to me personally. I would argue acid spray is the main culprit, as it falls into the similar vein of nasty plot :darkrai: / swords dance :iron boulder:, with one VERY big difference- As acid spray is an attack, it breaks focus sashes :focus sash:. The main thing keeping acid spray from being more common is move distribution :glimmora:, so since Iron Moth is the only "real" abuser of it, I can understand if the Moth takes the hit. In fairness though, I will bring up that Iron Moth learns Metal Sound, so acid spray restriction wouldn't un-break the moth, either.
 
TJTShowdown said:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9linked-2550512657
Apparently, Revival Blessing just doesn't work. On Turn 6 Pawmot tries the move, but it fails. On turn 7 I use my linked moves.
Click to expand...
Similarly, Focus Punch is bugged too. If Focus Punch is one of your Linked moves, the focusing part won’t appear but the move will continue as normal.
I don’t know why non-Linked Revival Blessing works like that and it honestly wouldn’t make that much of a difference anyways since while Revival Blessing is good, it was never worth using it with pretty weak Pokemon. And best you can do is Revival Blessing + Volt Switch or Revival Blessing + Recycle on one of the frailest Pokemon in the game.
 
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