The Aftermath Problem
It has come to my attention that Aftermath suffers from a unique problem. The issue I'd like to outline here is its inability to win players matches on ladder. From my testing, it seems like even if you successfully employ the ability the game will still be counted as a loss. Personally, this is absolutely tragic as I believe the ability to have lots of skill expression. Also, the ability houses a very unique win condition compared to the typical things we see in a metagame like this. Below is an example set, making use of Aftermath:
Skuntank (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 216 HP / 40 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Super Fang
- Poison Jab
- Protect
- Trailblaze
Current Aftermath Holders
Currently the population of Pokémon in the format who CAN make use of the ability is limited to four. They all coincidentally share the tier of ZU currently, and will be detailed below:
Electrode-Hisui - ZUBL
Drifblim - ZU
Electrode - ZU
Skuntank - ZU
Addressing Aftermath's Skill Expressions
Obviously, at first glance, there doesn't seem to be all that much to the ability. It literally reads "If this Pokémon is KOed with a contact move, that move's user loses 1/4 its max HP." But, I assure you it has a playstyle behind it.
#1) It tests a player's scouting ability. Obviously strong special attackers will completely counter the strategy, but a plethora of physical threats exist. So, being able to identify what matchups you can take is part of Aftermath's unique strategy.
#2) There are synergy moves such as Super Fang that can be paired alongside the ability.
#3) Actually achieving enough damage for Aftermath to KO is also expressive of a player's skill. They must aim to knock a physical threat into that 1/4 max HP range. It is precise, and requires additional thought.
#1) It tests a player's scouting ability. Obviously strong special attackers will completely counter the strategy, but a plethora of physical threats exist. So, being able to identify what matchups you can take is part of Aftermath's unique strategy.
#2) There are synergy moves such as Super Fang that can be paired alongside the ability.
#3) Actually achieving enough damage for Aftermath to KO is also expressive of a player's skill. They must aim to knock a physical threat into that 1/4 max HP range. It is precise, and requires additional thought.
Additional Thoughts
Now, for my closing remarks. I'm very new to this format, so there is a large possibility that I don't understand the full picture. But, at the very least I find the strategy interesting. I do wish Aftermath could win me ladder matches, and I could gain ranked points with the ability.
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