Ultra Sun and Moon in 1v1
Necrozma Forms - Ban or Not?
Let's take a look at these new forms for Necrozma... Without so much as a second glance, we can say that Ultra Necrozma is broken - 167 mixed offenses, a BST that exceeds Arceus' and a 160 BP STAB move; no thanks. Dawn Wings and Dusk Mane on the other hand, I think deserve a chance. Dusk Mane faces competition from Mega Metagross for the slot, who has a superior Speed stat, a deeper movepool, and an arguably more useful ability. It does have its advantages, though. Dawn Wings will be better, but still far from broken. Its Psychic/Ghost typing leaves with with two
4-times 3-times weaknesses, and its Speed is absolute crap, making it easy enough to overpower. Besides, if they turn out to be broken, we can just ban them.
Zeraora
Life Orb
Zeraora @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 124 Atk / 192 SpA / 192 Spe
Naive Nature
- Fake Out
- Plasma Fists
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Close Combat
First of all, I really like
Uselesscrab 's set. This set is a different take on Zeraora, however. Although it loses to Earthquake and Jolly variants of Mega Gyarados, it beats Donphan and Golem quite nicely with its Life Orb-boosted Fake Out+Grass Knot. HP Ice is nice on a Life Orb set as it kills Dragonite, Garchomp and Landorus-T, but Close Combat is still more than viable as it beats Mega Lopunny, Magnezone, Mega Tyranitar and Blissey. Overall, Zeraora faces some competition from Tapu Koko, but has a niche with it's insane speed and Fake Out. I could see it ending up as a solid B or maybe even B+ ranked Pokemon.
Blacephalon
Choice Specs
Blacephalon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mind Blown
- Shadow Ball
- Hyper Beam
- Hidden Power [Rock]
Mind Blown, of course, is the big reason to be using Blacephalon while Shadow Ball is the other STAB move. Frustratingly, it's OHKO'd by both Charizard forms, so Hyper Beam and HP Rock are necessary to KO X and Y, respectively, before they can hit back.
Choice Scarf
Blacephalon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mind Blown
- Shadow Ball
- Hyper Beam / Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Choice Scarf lets Blacephalon get the jump of various faster Pokemon such as offensive Mega Metagross, Kartana, Durant, Jirachi, Jumpluff, Mega Lopunny... and the list goes on. The power drop is so bad, on the other hand, that it can no longer OHKO either of Charizard's Mega Evolutions. Hyper Beam, when paired with a Modest nature, OHKOs Greninja while HP Ice OHKOs Garchomp and Landorus-T. If you opt for Timid to outspeed competing scarfers, you can run Psychic in place of Hyper Beam to beat Mega Venusaur more reliably.
King's Fling
Blacephalon @ King's Rock
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Mind Blown
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Fling
- Torment / Will-O-Wisp
This set is designed to beat Sturdymons. King's Rock+Fling provides a way to get free chip damage, breaking Sturdy. Torment is used to put an end to Sucker Punch users such as Mega Mawile and Golem. To beat Donphan, not one, but two predictions are required to win with Torment, so Will-O-Wisp may be used instead, but it's usually not worth it as Mega Mawile OHKOs even after being burned. HP Grass is also necessary in order to OHKO Golem. Overall, Blacephalon is mostly outclassed by Mega Charizard Y, but has some options that could make it worth using over it sometimes. I see it being C+.
Stakataka
Assault Vest
Stakataka @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Atk / 40 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Rock Slide / Stone Edge
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
Assault Vest allows Stakataka to survive extremely powerful special attacks such as Mega Charizard Y's Blast Burn and Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc and OHKO back. Gyro Ball is honestly the sole reason why this is viable, as it hits 150 power even against mid-speed-tiered Pokemon like uninvested Kyurem-B (which it simply OHKOs assuming the standard spread of 252/156!!!). Rock Blast is nifty for Curse Mimikyu and Jumpluff while Rock Slide is a more reliable STAB move. It also has a potential Choice Band set as
Yung Dramps showcased. However, Stakataka is 4x weak to Ground and Fighting, turning should-be wins into losses because of coverage moves like Mega Metagross' Hammer Arm, Dragonite's Earthquake and Mega Pinsir's Close Combat. On sole account of its typing, its viability drops down to what I see as C- rank.
Lycanroc Dusk
What did Lycanroc Dusk gain upon its Midday form? Tough Claws, Drill Run, and a 10 higher base Z move power (which removes terrains, but who cares? All of the Tapus still OHKO you). It's frankly just as non-viable as Lycanroc-Midday, which is super frustrating. :[
Kommo-o
Clangorous Soulblaze
Kommo-o @ Kommonium Z
Ability: Overcoat / Bulletproof / Soundproof
EVs: 240 HP / 8 Atk / 36 SpA / 224 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Clanging Scales
- Close Combat
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Substitute
Clanging Scales+Kommonium Z lets Kommo-o use Clangorous Soulblaze, which is a 185 base power Z move that boosts all stats by one stage. Kommo-o also gained Close Combat this gen, so it no longer has to rely on Focus Blasts' shaky accuracy or its physical Fighting STAB's low power. Focus Blast is still an option here, though, as it allows you to run a non-defense-lowering nature and beats the same things, albeit less reliably. HP Electric+Substitute allows Kommo-o to check Gyarados (which is why the speed investment is so heavy). You can OHKO the base form with HP Electric and the Mega Evolved form with Close Combat after using Clangorous Soulblaze. Substitute helps in this, as if it decides to Mega Evolve on a turn where you use Substitute, you can simply click CC and call it a day. Substitute is also useful against Pokemon like Chansey. Kommo-o obviously still isn't any apex predator, but it at least has a
distinct niche, now. I could see it being ranked as high as B-.
Nagandel
Choice Specs
Nagandel @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 212 SpA / 112 SpD / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Air Slash
Nagandel is looking to be a lot of fun. Sludge Wave and Draco are mandatory STABs. 112 SpD lives Specs Magnezone's Flash Cannon (and special Koko's Gigavolt), 184+ Speed outpaces Mega Lucario, and the rest is thrown into SpA. Flamethrower OHKOs Mawile, 2HKOs Magnezone and just hits Steels in general. Air Slash is used to A). OHKO Mega Heracross, B). Beat Mega Venusaur, and C). Flinch hax anything that believes it can beat you. Another possibility is a Z move set featuring Nasty Plot which could stallbreak pretty handily. I'm envisioning Nagandel to sit somewhere around B- or C+.
Dusk Mane Necrozma
Searing Sunraze Smash
Necrozma-Duskmane @ [Signature Z Crystal]
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Atk / 60 Def / 104 SpD / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sunsteel Strike
- Photon Geyser
- Magnet Rise
- Heat Wave / Swords Dance
So Necrozma-DM is pretty much the same thing as Mega Metagross' SpD set with some other things that one or the other does better. It's really stupid bulky, which when paired with Prism Armor, enables it to achieve feats such as avoiding the 2HKO from Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch or surviving Life Orb Blaziken's Blast Burn. It should also be noted that it hits like an absolute truck with a 200 BP Z move that ignores abilities, and 100 BP dual STABs aside from that. It also has Magnet Rise, allowing it to deal with Donphan better, and Heat Wave which hits Genesect, Ferrothorn, Durant and Kartana. Swords Dance is one other option which is good for bulky Pokemon in general. Compared to Mega Metagross, it's biggest drawbacks are its poor Speed and one-dimensionality, but it certainly will be good. I'm thinking of it as a solid A- or maybe even A ranked Pokemon.
Dawn Wings Necrozma
Choice Scarf
Necrozma-Dawnwings @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 28 Def / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moongeist Beam
- Prismatic Laser
- Power Gem
- Photon Geyser
Necrozma-DW has been blessed with a 160 BP STAB move in Prismatic Laser, as well as more reliable 100 BP dual STABs making it a horrifying offensive threat. Choice Scarf attemps to remedy Necrozma's poor speed, allowing it to check Pokemon like Tapu Koko. Power Gem provides a way to OHKO bulky Mega Charizard Y.
Menacing Moonraze Maelstorm
Necrozma-Dawnwings @ [Signature Z Crystal]
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 200 HP / 236 Def / 36 SpA / 36 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moongeist Beam
- Calm Mind
- Prismatic Laser
- Substitute
This set opts to use its signature Z move, giving it 200 and 160 BP STABs. Substitute lets it wall Chansey and evade Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch, Calm Mind is good against miscellaneous stallers like the aforementioned Chansey as well as Ferrothorn. I see Necrozma-DW ending up around the A rank. It should be noted that its weaknesses to Ghost and Dark leave it easy to c-team, however.
A few words on Power Construct...
Let's allow it right away on the ladder. Almost no one thinks it's broken, and as always, we can ban it if it's a problem.