Ever since the introductions of ZA mega stones and the initial ban wave that followed, there have been a few elements that are more controversial than others. Where stones like Zeraorite and Heatranite have seen uptake without much issue, and fears over absolite Z never actually materialized into anything substantial, Zygardite has been a much more polarizing subject. At first it might not look at home on the list of powerful offensive stones, lacking as it does the sort of offensive ability that made red orb and pidgeotite such potent options, but it makes up for that by sheer stats - it clocks in at a whopping 125 special attack, 45 higher than the next largest stat boost given by a stone. This - combined with a mediocre but usable boost of 15 to speed - allows it to turn its recipients into potent offensive threats, but where a number of these struggle to pick up any real usage, the same cannot be said of Dragapult.
With Zygardite, Dragapult clocks in at a whopping 225 special attack, giving its attacks a much needed kick, while maintaining an excellent 157 speed stat that suffices to comfortably outpace the vast majority of unboosted pokemon in the metagame, and a fair number of boosted ones as well. STAB Draco Meteor necessitates either a type advantage or absurd special bulk to safely switch in on, most of which it can take apart with other moves like Hydro Pump, Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, and Shadow Ball; those that it cannot may find themselves suffering regardless to U-turn, as it brings in a teammate to chase out whatever actually managed to give it trouble. In the first few weeks of Mix and Mega Premier League, it stood out from the back enough to make it the most discussed abuser on the most recent survey on the backs of these capabilities.
However, not all is fun and games for Dragapult. Like many other Zygardite pokemon, it often finds itself bedeviled by low defenses, which make it easy to revenge kill and put it into a dire spot against any pokemon it can't threaten with an OHKO. It's moves are all also unreliable, with all of them except Hydro Pump having multiple relevant immunities and often struggling with inaccuracy due to the need to maximize damage output at all costs. It's not uncommon for a game to go from very favorable to a Dragapult user to incredibly unfavorable in the space of just one turn, just from calling the wrong attack or missing a key move that results in it being knocked out or crippled. U-turn does less to save it here than might be hoped as well; with how difficult Dragapult is to bring in safely, it can end up feeling like a wasted opportunity when it enters the field and fails to make progress. In premier league games so far, its performance has proven incredibly inconsistent, often failing to accomplish anything of note and feeling like a mere accessory on an otherwise functional build
As such, council has elected to leave the final decision in the hands of community members, and is leaving it up for a suspect vote.
SUSPECT REQUIREMENTS
The instructions to participate in this retest are as follows:
Create a new account on PS. You do not have to follow any specific naming convention, but your suspect account must have never played a game in SV Mix and Mega before this suspect test went up or you will not receive valid requirements (resetting W-L does not count for this—the account you use must never have played Mix and Mega before the test, full stop.)
You can use /rank to check if your alt is allowed to get requirements. Whenever in doubt, type /rank and it will tell confirm if you are eligible or not
At any point on your new account, use the command /linksmogon on Pokemon Showdown! You will receive instructions on what to do once you run this command
Double check that you're listed as a voter here! If you aren't listed as a voter despite having valid reqs, please contact dhelmise, Giagantic, Chessking, or any other OM Staff member.
The requirement to vote in this suspect test is a COIL value of 2850 (with a B value of 5). The deadline for getting requirements will be <t:1774238340:F>
Voting:
Once the suspect period is over, everyone who has obtained reqs will be tagged. The post will contain the link for blind voting. For now, follow the above "Suspect Requirements" subheading to ensure that you have achieved requirements and linked your account
A Super-majority of 60% restrict votes is required to restrict Dragapult from Mega Evolving in Mix and Mega!
TL;DR:
- Dragapult is permitted on the suspect Ladder
- The COIL value is 2850
- You must ladder on a newly-created alt of any name
- You must link your suspect alt with your smogon account using /linksmogon
- The suspect test will conclude at <t:1774238340:F>
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