With a unanimous 4-0 vote, Genesect is now up for a suspect test! Long one of the most controversial Pokémon in AAA, its varied and difficult-to-predict offensive sets have made it a challenge to consistently answer defensively. Even moreso, its acceptable bulk, great defensive typing, and high Speed after set up make revenge killing it no easy task either. If Genesect is able to set up, it’s often off to the races.
The sheer list of viable abilities on Genesect speaks for itself. No Guard, Sheer Force (physical, special, and mixed), Magic Guard, Tough Claws, Tinted Lens, Guts, Primordial Sea, Serene Grace, and Galvanize all have merit, and depending on the set chosen and its specific coverage moves, its checks can vary wildly as well. It also has a Scarf Regen set to act as a fast and bulky pivot. Most offensive sets carry Shift Gear to give it terrifying Speed, and then choose from one of its 47 different coverage moves, including Zap Cannon, Blizzard, Leech Life, Iron Head, Blaze Kick, Flamethrower, Energy Ball, Thunder Bolt, Extreme Speed, Explosion, Steel Beam, and probably a few other moves I forgot to mention as well.
Genesect counterplay generally centers around two elements: identifying the set, and denying it a chance to Shift Gear. While I listed off 14 abilities and 47 moves, it can only run one and four, respectively, meaning that every set has its checks and counters. Heatran can handle most sets, save Tinted Lens and Primordial Sea. Other Fire-types like Cinderace and Volcarona can stomach any one hit and KO back, but need to be at high health to do so. Physical walls like Hippowdon can cover physical sets and special walls like Jirachi can cover special variants, but each fall to the other side. Passive walls struggle to handle it, as it is immune to poison, often does not care about burn, can out-boost the paralysis Speed drop, and can even recover against some like Blissey. A wide range of Pokémon can avoid the 2HKO from anything other than super effective coverage, but identifying what coverage it has, and firing back with enough power to KO, can be difficult.
Genesect, while great, is far from perfect. It struggles against several common Pokémon like Heatran, and since its STAB coverage is poor, is heavily reliant on the right coverage moves to sweep. On offensive sets it generally lacks recovery save Leech Life, making it difficult to set up or break multiple times. It often falls short of OHKOing threats not weak to its coverage, giving the opponent opportunities to hit back if healthy. No individual set is uncounterable with common Pokémon, nor particularly broken on its own, and it has rarely been impressive in the tour scene. However, none of that fully offsets the points listed above, making it a great candidate for a suspect test!
How (Suspect Details):
During a Suspect test, each player must climb the ladder until they've acquired the GXE necessary to participate in the voting. Primarily, everyone that participates needs to make an alt account following these guidelines:
- Every game must be played on the official Pokemon Showdown! site and on a new account (creation date no earlier than today, September 18th) with "GSAAA [Nick]"--for example, I could create one called "GSAAA UT" to ladder with. Having the prefix at the beginning of your alt name is mandatory, AKA not in the middle (e.g. The GSAAA Man) and not at the end (e.g. The GSAAA).
- To qualify for voting, your alt must play a minimum of 25 games, and you must have a minimum GXE of 78.
- Genesect will be allowed on the ladder during the suspect.
- The suspect test will go for two weeks and end on Sunday, October 2nd (11:59 pm GMT -4).
- When posting proof of meeting reqs, feel free to use this thread as a means to disseminate topical opinions regarding whether or not Genesect should be banned. (Optional)
- It is mandatory to provide proof of ownership of the alt account as well. (Post a picture of your reqs with your smogon name featured)
Tagging Kris for implementation
is the GOAT
