Metagame 350 Cup (LCOTM)

[Hiusi guy]

So… we’re back and trying to be better than ever.

First off, things have changed a good bit.

cat has left the council, we thank them for their amazing help with setting up and running the tier! But now we’re looking for new members to help push the metagame in the right direction. DM me on disc if you’re intrested.

Watchlist:
Tera
Basculegion/Last Respects
Clefairy
Smeargle
Scraggy

I’ve updated the watchlist a bit, feel free to give thoughts on these elements of the meta.

We also have some things to get done, namely a vr and some samples cause ive been slackin on it

Reserved for vrs / sample sets / sample teams
(Sample team submission is open at all times, id like it if you could provide replays of the team and an explanation pls and thank you :) )

Reply to that post if you’d like to submit some teams and the council will look over them, we will also be creating a vr as soon as we can get back together, we’ll take into account the thoughts of the community as well in those desicions.

Speaking on getting back together, council is currently inactive, so for now i cant guarantee any tiering action as of right now but we’ll start work asap no rocky.

Other than those things, im very much looking forward to this month of 350 cup gaming and being more active than i was last time (mb guys), as well i hope you guys are as well!

 

[WohMi]

Noticed a sore lack of teams in the metagame thread, so I figured I would post mine.
https://pokepast.es/98eaa22b25a34c5d
Last time 350 cup was on here, I believe I peaked at around top 50 with this team. Could use some tweaks (maybe a spinblocker) but otherwise I think it works pretty well.

 

[readytolose]

Here’s some stuff I’ve been using lately

I’ve been favouring this mon a lot lately because it can come in on defensive Clefairy without caring about Knock or Thunder Wave. It’s also a good check to Glimmet if that’s what you’re into. The CM set has been a lot more solid than something like DD, which seems to have more bad matchups lately. Oh, this is Ground Arceus by the way.
I’ve been pretty low on Glimmet in the past, but this go around I think it’s a lot better. I still think it’s not great as a dedicated lead, but Meteor Beam makes it such a strong breaker even against resists. And Toxic Debris is annoying as always.
This is a mon I thought was complete crap in the past, but I’ve come to see some good uses for it. It’s got a really awkward movepool but I’ve come to appreciate its fast Encore. Notably, it outspeeds +1 DD Scraggy and can Encore it. It also is naturally resistant to Pawniard which is useful. Unfortunately it still can’t do much to ground types besides knock them, so it’s not exactly good.
Smeargle completely defines the lead metagame. It’s fast and way too bulky for how fast it is. It’s really damn annoying to play against, kinda like Deoxys-Speed but with its own hazard control and webs and memento, but sometimes also burning bulwark, but rarely shell smash + population bomb which is surprisingly effective. Really irritating mon in a format where you can’t be too picky with hazard control.
Defensive Nuzleaf was a set from Bad and Boosted that I like here as well. Defog is hard to come by, and Nuzleaf can be surprisingly decent at it. Knock and Leech Seed are good utility and you can even soak up status from Shroomish with Early Bird Rest if you are so inclined.
Timburr has big shoes to fill but I think it’s actually a Fighting type that isn’t outclassed by Koraidon, Scraggy, or Mienfoo. Facade lets it achieve big damage against things that would-be walls like Levitate Koffing and Clefairy.
A ridiculous breaker that I feel like is super slept on. SFLO just clicks attacks and destroys your balance team, even super bulky mons like Slowpoke take a lot of damage. Hippopotas or Sandygast feels like the only thing standing up to it in the long term but there are a lot of ways to exploit their passivity. SD Mold Breaker is great too. Dondozo will not stop the slaughter, and Trailblaze + a tera to resist Sucker can make it actually tricky to revenge kill.
I’m gonna share with you my secret Shroomish technique. Worry Seed as last move lets you beat Clefairy, mons with rest like Dondozo, and opposing Shroomish; in other words, pretty much everything you’d bring in against Shroomish. It’s often just better than clicking a weak attack into like Ho-oh or something.
Also super underrated, it’s like if Hippo didn’t have recovery but was actually a proactive mon. It has pretty similar stats to Groudon but with Knock and Rapid Spin, still gets Spikes and SR. I’d say it’s way better than Groudon and even Hippopotas for a lot of teams.
Here’s a decent spinner for sure. Good against Glimmet and can at least not be poisoned by Smeargle, and it beats most of the specially oriented spin blockers. You often find it lacking in Defense though, which is a shame. It’d be a good Koraidon check otherwise.
Bad stats but you gotta love how it doesn’t care about Knock or status. I’ve found it useful on specific balance teams, it’s always useful for something. But Arceus-Ground is probably more generally applicable
Pretty rough mon to deal with. It’s got tech but usually DD Tera Poison is enough to beat you. It’s so bulky and resilient for a setup sweeper, especially when it Teras, and can’t really be revenge killed on account of its bulk and Drain Punch. Even defensive checks to it like Mareanie and Hippopotas aren’t really checks cause phasing and status are really all they have. I’d say it can be a bit Tera-hungry if I had to think of a downside to it. Please let’s keep two eyes on this mon.
OTR Solosis is something I wanna try building with more. It has 570 special attack, that’s just ridiculous! It’s just so Tera-hungry though. Maybe I should try it on a team other than dedicated Trick Room.
Steel Arceus is your Staravia check, your Glimmet check, your burner of Pawniard, often your Clefairy “check”, perhaps even your Ekiller check, and the way your balance team takes out Cranidos. Super duper solid mon. A lot of teams I see seem resigned to lose to Staravia; I can only assume people don’t really know about this mon.
Corv is solid too, I’ve always been saying this. It’s a rare Defogger that can check Ekiller, Staravia, and is okay against Pawniard. Iron Defense lets it beat more things on its own but I’ve been using it with U-turn more lately, paired with an anti-setup mon like Pawmo, Litten, Shroodle or Ditto.

 

[Lavender Vice]

Current team I'm running, been getting some pretty decent results from it so far but will tinker with it more as the metagame progresses.

Scraggy @ Leftovers
Ability: Shed Skin
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Drain Punch
- Bulk Up
Good ol' Scraggy, this thing continues to stay a menace. Hits hard and is just really hard to switch into, great Knock Off support for the team. Could arguably use Mienfoo instead, but Scraggy is so good at absorbing enemy status' (aka bs para spam though not from Clef sadly) and muscling through teams if they let their checks like Hippo or Mareanie get too low.

Hippopotas @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
The Wall, I mean, it just kinda does its thing. Cranidos (BANDED TERA GRASS BLAST ISN'T REAL IT CAN'T HURT YOU) and Growlithe Hisui struggle a lot with breaking it so long as you keep it healthy. Prone to being worn down though and it's relatively passive for the metagame, so you have to pilot it well.

Ho-Oh @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Psychic/Giga Drain
- Earthquake
I love putting AV on mons that have no business running one lmfao, but there's a method to the madness here. Max SpD, AV Ho-Oh (though iirc you only need 4 SpD IVs and a SpD boosting nature with an AV) lets it survive a Modest max SpA Power Gem from Glimmet and OHKO with EQ, pretty cool huh? Now, why... Sassy? With PSYCHIC or GIGA DRAIN? My pitch- do you wanna bully Koffings or Hippos that think they can freely wall you (or Koffing's case stop your regen as well)? HA! Fuck that! Psychic can iirc 2HKO after rocks on phys def Koffing, and Giga Drain CHUNKS Phys Def Hippo for like, 30%~. I will say, this set is VERY greedy and NEEDS you to pilot it very safely with the rest of the team to keep rocks off the field, but my god is it a massive 'fuck special attackers' mon when you do.

Fuecoco @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Slack Off
- Flamethrower
- Encore
The only good Unaware mon in the tier imo. I admittedly, haven't tried out Dozo, but it just seems way too passive. Wil-O and Encore are amazing.

Clefairy @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Imprison
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Moonlight
This is the best mon in the tier no question and I think it should be banned. If you aren't running Clef on your team I think it's a suboptimal team. It is infinitely versatile, and bullshit and annoying. It can't be worn down because of Magic Guard, hits insanely hard with 120 SpA STAB MB, has fucking monstrous bulk, has an amazing typing, and an endless movepool to choose from. I may be biased, I am a stall player after all, but even when I use offense this thing is a thorn in my side.

With that rant out of the way, what is this cursed as hell set Vice? Imprison, Wish AND Moonlight, have you gone mad? Partially, yeah. Imprison SPECIFICALLY for anti Clef shenanigans, primarily with the team being really weak to Calm Mind Clef, this is how we laugh at them. Wish and Moonlight serve many purposes, wish passing to team members (mainly Toedscool), healing ourselves up if we need, and blocking enemy Clef's wishes if they're using a set with Wish. Moonlight also for more reliable healing, stopping opposing Clef when combined with Wish from healing AT ALL. MB for STAB. I didn't use TWave because, honestly, I hate para as a mechanic and burn is *generally* more useful for physical answers. Phys Def Clef finally because it has plenty of special bulk imo, and phys def makes it a decent physical check, though SpD Clef could help in the enemy Clef matchup.

Toedscool @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Mycelium Might
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Earth Power
- Rapid Spin
- Spikes
- Toxic

Finally we're off of Clef and back to the fun members of the team, Toedscool! Spikes and Toxic are good. Rapid Spin is good. Earth Power so you're not completely helpless. Wish from Clef helps keep Toedscool up and running too! I actually have had a lot of fun with this quirky little fella, though I don't think it's particularily good, it has a lot of unique traits that help it stay on the team. I should arguably run it with phys def though, it has amazing special bulk as is and it really would like the physical defense. I'll have to tinker with it more.

And that's the team, so far loving 350 Cup being back :) it's fun to play a bulkier metagame again and there's a LOT of fun mons to play with.

 

[Trauma08]

I'll post my team here as well.
https://pokepast.es/3bc7cf315f9a9bb7

Vibrava @ Choice Band
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- First Impression
- U-turn

Set ported from Bad N Boosted, maybe a bit understatted for 350 cup at 140 base Attack and Speed but I like it a lot. Ground immunity without being weak to Stealth Rock and immune to Spikes and T-Spikes is useful and it still deals pretty decent damage. Tera dragon outrage OHKOs Koraidon even if it teras out of the weakness and First Impression can be a nice priority if you really need it. It does matchup rather poorly into the premier walls like Clefairy and Slowpoke, though. It's just an ok late game sweeper but I think it's solid enough

Voltorb-Hisui @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Soundproof
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Leaf Storm
- Taunt
- Volt Switch

One of my sleeper picks for the format. Fast Taunt + Volt Switch is very useful into a setup-heavy meta. Thunderbolt is a clean OHKO on Staravia and Leaf Storm deals a surprising amount of damage across the board.

Hippopotas @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 232 Def / 20 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off

THE physical wall. It may seem a little passive but switchs easily into the Bulk Up setuppers and whirlwinds them away while still taking minimal damage and has many opportunities to heal up so that it doesn't get worn out. Setting sand is a bonus for chip damage and taking away Koraidon's sun while walling it without any problems.

Scraggy @ Leftovers
Ability: Shed Skin
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 236 HP / 76 Def / 192 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Bulk Up
- Poison Jab

Again, one of the all-stars of the format. Yes it needs to eat up your tera a lot of the time but it absolutely pays out for the investment. Shed Skin is pretty clearly its best ability and I think it gives Scraggy an edge over the other bulk up breakers due to not fearing twave and willo too much, though you still need to be a bit careful when you send it in, but it can setup on a very wide range of mons. Be mindful of its relatively low speed, though. (also don't mind the ev spread, i've changed it sooooo many times but it probably works well enough with almost any spread)

Houndour @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Flamethrower
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb

This guy is, uhhhhhh... probably not good enough. it's fine I guess but probably should have been someone else

Tentacool @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Clear Body
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 4 SpA / 156 SpD
Calm Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Toxic
- Haze
- Rapid Spin

Last but not least, 200 spdef special wall, spinner and hazer all in one with a good typing. Matches decently well into Smeargle hazard stack lead and toxic can still absolutely ruin certain teams. However its bulk, though quite good, is not at the level of the true walls of the format, but I find the utility it provides to be genuinely worth justifying its presence in the team.

Overall, i really enjoy 350 Cup, there are so many cool ideas to try out. Sadly there seem to be quite a low number of people playing this format, wish it could get more popular soon.

 

[Sectonia]

hiya, I've been playing and team-building a bit for 350 ladder and I've had some thoughts about some Pokemon I've used, built with, and come across -


I personally think this guy is a strong character, for sure, and I would never dispute the strength of this on a team, but I personally do think that this Pokemon is extremely handle-able in the current meta, especially if people explore Taunt as an option on Pokemon - I'm of the opinion that this move is actually extremely underrated right now, especially on some sets that have the ability to be able to use it or for teams that really want to punish defensive Pokemon - this is to say that I do not think Clefairy is problematic, but i would not oppose too hard if general opinion was that Clefairy is problematic.

The main way I would normally play around Clefairy is through the aforementioned Taunt option - shutting down its utility moves and Moonlight is very valuable for making sure Clefairy cannot make much progress - it can only use its attacks to do anything, and with the correct positioning, you can render most of its options rather harmless - for example, a Taunt Scraggy set I've been using with Tera Poison is rather effective at shutting down Clefairy without psychic coverage (psychic coverage is WACK unless you're cm, imo) - and I implore people to explore options to shut down Clefairy - it doesn't need a hard counter when Taunt is strong enough to dissuade it from doing many things, and the right Pokemon can even shut down most Clefairy sets and turn it into a liability.

Smeargle HO Lead

Smeargle @ Mental Herb
Ability: Own Tempo
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ceaseless Edge
- Stone Axe
- Mortal Spin
- Sticky Web

This guy............................................

There's no other way to really say it - I think this guy sucks SO much for the meta as a suicide lead - it forces every single hazards it could possibly want up, and other than Sticky Webs and Toxic Spikes, you actually can't stop it from doing so - and even then, the set I'm using ensures that no matter what, unless you can OHKO it, it WILL get Sticky Webs up and then it will force at least one other hazard up - it's also incredibly annoying since it works as a functional anti-lead as well for opposing hazard set up, as Mortal Spin means it can pressure leads without ways to prevent or recover from poison. Of course, by nature of it being Smeargle, you actually can just run many different options you could want to improve utility - Nuzzle/Glare works as speed control, you have Protect clones to work with (Baneful Bunker, Burning Bulwark, Silk Trap, and Spiky Shield, for example), you have so many ways to give it the ability to pivot (Chilly Reception to cancel weather, Flip Turn, Volt Switch, Teleport for a slow pivot into smth you want), and that's not even getting into the many, many options it has access to (Beak Blast or Dire Claw are really annoying options, for example)

As I was typing this up I was remembering all these fuckass options Smeargle has, this mon is so dumb oh my god?

Taunt Scraggy

Scraggy @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Shed Skin
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Taunt

Please start using Taunt I am begging you

I think this guy is a fantastic little SpDef check to many threats, and I know that you could give it a more offensive spread, but I legitmately really love Taunt as a fourth option for Scraggy, since Phys Def walls can often struggle to handle Scraggy when their preferred option of inflicting status or generally using Status moves can be easily eliminated via Shed Skin or Taunt. I personally believe that Scraggy is a legitmate top-tier contender for your team, regardless of what style it is, and the versality it has for its moveslots is, to me, a very strong contender for a very good glue mon. The two big downsides to Scraggy is that you unfortunately have 4MSS (unless you're dd but don't use dd) and you are an absolute Tera hog - Scraggy wants to be Teraed into Poison for many different reasons, but primarily bc you don't die to Fairy moves immediately as a result - still though, I've found great success for this as an answer to defensive pieces, turning them into set-up fodder, or otherwise forcing them out.


There are many things I could say about this but most of them are about Last Respects and that move is..... kinda dumb? but also I feel like it's not a super big threat because it needs fainted partners to get going, it needs a lot of speed support (Sticky Webs is a MUST), and any sort of threat from Sucker Punch is legitmately enough to put it down unless said Sucker Punch threats are gone.


I hate playing against this guy on HO but tbh that's mostly HO's fault and also my fault for running webs - Scraggy is my only answer for Pawniard really, and I HAVE to be in already at +1 or else this guy OWNS me - not much I can do about it though.


It's weird - this guy used to be so scary in previous generations but legitmately I think he's perfectly fine now. The only real problem I have with this guy is he has no fixed 3rd and 4th moves - Rock Slide/Head Smash and Earthquake are all you need (I'm of the opinion that Tera Grass is really good too for the third move!) and then we have many different checks for Cranidos especially for Choice Band. I will say, though, that Cranidos is scary on webs when you have the ability to just smash into your checks with a Banded attack.


This guy is uh... I'm so sad that this guy is basically extremely turbo kneecapped in terms of coverage - you legitmately have like NO real coverage to work with, and if it had real coverage that Zoroark has, I would legitmately think that this would be a top tier threat, if not extremely bannable, but as is, your only real option is Shadow Ball and Tera Blast, and with the bulked up special walls we have, I would say that these are just simply not enough options.

---

This was all the Pokemon I was thinking of, but in my closing words, I would genuinely like to implore people to start considering Taunt as a real option to hurt or push back against defensive walls - you can very easily justify dropping a coverage or utility option in favor for Taunt if your main moves are strong enough on their own, and many different pokemon could reasonably use it - Arceus-formes, for example, can easily throw out a surprise Taunt to shut down walls, Grimer-Alola, Pawniard, Mienfoo, Koraidon, Flutter Mane, and I'm sure there are many more viable pokemon that could reasonably use Taunt.