Yeah this sums up pretty well why it’s a such as good pick, however not as good a pick as Mew or Darm-Galar.
I will revise the chart later when I have time. I apologize for the mistakes, 1v1 can weird to quantify since there are so many viable sets.
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Resource 1v1 Sword and Shield Viability Rankings
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Creamy (Alcremie-Mint) (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Aroma Veil
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Def / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Baby-Doll Eyes
- Calm Mind
- Dazzling Gleam
- Recover
nomming Creamy to B or B+
this set is really strong. priority BDE lets it get a -1 attack and beat physical attackers like scarf darm/vish/haxorus, dragapult, cinderace, grimmsnarl, bewear, and other physical attackers. its low bulk means it can be caught offguard by band ada mons that normally run scarf though. CM lets it setup on anything that cant OHKO it, which is common bc of base 121 spdef. its ability lets it beat sableye and subdisable mons. its matchup spread is really good, beating at least one set from everything A higher, hard countering dragapult and sableye. this is way better than unmons like corsolaG and Snorlax that are ranked pretty high.
Ability: Aroma Veil
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Def / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Baby-Doll Eyes
- Calm Mind
- Dazzling Gleam
- Recover
nomming Creamy to B or B+
this set is really strong. priority BDE lets it get a -1 attack and beat physical attackers like scarf darm/vish/haxorus, dragapult, cinderace, grimmsnarl, bewear, and other physical attackers. its low bulk means it can be caught offguard by band ada mons that normally run scarf though. CM lets it setup on anything that cant OHKO it, which is common bc of base 121 spdef. its ability lets it beat sableye and subdisable mons. its matchup spread is really good, beating at least one set from everything A higher, hard countering dragapult and sableye. this is way better than unmons like corsolaG and Snorlax that are ranked pretty high.
I will nominate two Banded Steel-types
First is Bisharp to B-/C+
Reason being, it beats Transform Mew, Sableye, Mimikyu (most of the time, a little roll), Choice Dragapult, and the Dracos all at the same time. You can forego some Sylveon killing power for Mimikyu tanking reliability if you'd like to beat Mimikyu better, but here is my set
At first I thought this got wholly outclassed by Tyranitar, then I realized you could cheese Dracovish with Sucker Punch. Anyway, it beats the three problem children (shut up offensive Mew) plus Dracovish which is pretty good.
Next is Steelix to C+/C!
Pretty simple Sturdy abuser, Gyro Ball is a strong move. I'm using Rock Blast for Curse Kyu. You can use Head Smash for like Rotom Heat if you really want. It tanks Excadrill using its 200 Defense, so it has that going for it.
First is Bisharp to B-/C+
Reason being, it beats Transform Mew, Sableye, Mimikyu (most of the time, a little roll), Choice Dragapult, and the Dracos all at the same time. You can forego some Sylveon killing power for Mimikyu tanking reliability if you'd like to beat Mimikyu better, but here is my set
Bisharp @ Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 80 HP / 176 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature
- Payback
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Throat Chop
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 80 HP / 176 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature
- Payback
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Throat Chop
At first I thought this got wholly outclassed by Tyranitar, then I realized you could cheese Dracovish with Sucker Punch. Anyway, it beats the three problem children (shut up offensive Mew) plus Dracovish which is pretty good.
Next is Steelix to C+/C!
Steelix @ Choice Band
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Rock Blast
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Rock Blast
Pretty simple Sturdy abuser, Gyro Ball is a strong move. I'm using Rock Blast for Curse Kyu. You can use Head Smash for like Rotom Heat if you really want. It tanks Excadrill using its 200 Defense, so it has that going for it.
Aromatisse, the pink fairy with feathers is quite a threat in the 1v1 metagame. It's ability to force you to play it's game whilst having a laughable speed stat.
Aromatisse @ Wiki Berry
Ability: Aroma Veil
Happiness: 160
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Def / 132 SpA / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Moonblast
- Encore
- Disable
Ability: Aroma Veil
Happiness: 160
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Def / 132 SpA / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Moonblast
- Encore
- Disable
There are 3 breaking points with Aromatisse's EVs.
188 defense w/ a defensive nature allows you to tank Darmanitan-Galar
+1 252+ Atk Darmanitan-Galar Icicle Crash vs. 120 HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 213-252 (57.1 - 67.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Strong Jaw Dracovish Fishious Rend vs. 112 HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 313-370 (84.3 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
132 SpA Aromatisse Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mimikyu: 111-132 (44.2 - 52.5%) -- 18.4% chance to 2HKO
It's base strength along with EV'd traits allow it to deal with other Pokemon like...
Haxorus: 252+ Atk Choice Band Mold Breaker Haxorus Poison Jab vs. 112 HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 280-330 (75.4 - 88.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Sylveon: 252+ SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Beam vs. 120 HP / 4 SpD Aromatisse: 315-372 (84.4 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Dragapult: 252+ SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 120 HP / 4 SpD Aromatisse: 196-232 (52.5 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Sawk: 252+ Atk Choice Band Mold Breaker Sawk Poison Jab vs. 120 HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 248-292 (66.4 - 78.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Weezing-Galar: 252+ SpA Weezing-Galar Sludge Wave vs. 120 HP / 4 SpD Aromatisse: 282-332 (75.6 - 89%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
A pinch berry helps it have recovery to deal with struggles whilst you pick them apart. (Babiri Berry can be used if you want to bait in Steel-attacks)
Aromatisse's ability is very strong within the current meta. Aroma Veil: Protects user/allies from Attract, Disable, Encore, Heal Block, Taunt, and Torment
Playing as Aromatisse: It's a pretty simple formula. Trick Room, Encore/Disable. You're opponent will struggle. The turn Trick Room ends is normally when Encore/Disable end. If your opponent manages to use a priority move or you misplay, you are still in the driver's seat. You can control to end & reset Trick Room and try it again. Moonblast is a great stab move that helps lower them down.
Mimikyu: With the solid bulk in the set, it easily can survive attacks from adamant life orb. The most effective way to take down Mimikyu is to encore it. If we can live multiple hits and can KO it easily, forcing it to play how we want makes the match-up pretty one-sided.
Sableye: Sableye is gonna Trick you! Alright. What's stopping me from just using Moonblast it does way more dmg than Sableye can heal back every turn. Plus I can always Encore it, same as the Togekiss match-up. Aromatisse can't be affected by what Sableye wants to do, so pretty easy win here.
Aromatisse's main threats are hard hitting Steel Pokemon and Mental herb users. Steel beats Fairy, nothing new there. And Mental herb only stops it from using Encore/Disable for 1 turn. With it's bulk and base dmg it's not much of an issue if you can get past that initial use.
Aromatisse is a solid A. Nothing too crazy but also not undermining it's power. The perfect gift for x-mas ^^
Research topic: Toxtricity
Toxtricity C- --> B-/B
In my opinion, Toxtricity is a very underrated Pokemon. It has been placed in C- on the VR because it should work like a sweep but it is not fast nor bulky enough. When I started researching this rockstar I was amazed by the potential this Pokemon has. Where do I begin?
Stats:
As the stats might tell Toxtricity has a decent Attack and a good Sp. Atk which can technically make it a mixed attacker. It’s defensive stats aren’t great but good enough to bulk for specific threats such as Mimikyu or Aegislash. It’s speed stat isn’t great when you think of Toxtricity as a fast sweeper, though it is high enough to outspeed Cinderace after Paralysis without any speed investment.
Viable Abilities:
Punk Rock: Increases the damage of Sound based moves by 30%. Reduces damage taken by this Pokémon by Sound based moves by 50%.
-Viable moves that are boosted include Overdrive (104bp), Boomburst (184bp), Snarl (72bp), Uproar (117bp)
Technician: Moves with a base power of 60 or less are boosted in power by 50%
-Viable moves that are boosted include Nuzzle (30bp), Acid Spray (60bp) and Struggle (75bp)
Viable Moves:
This is where the research started. I looked for viable moves in combination with items. The reason why I think Toxtricity deserves to be in the B rank is because of an unpredictable combination of strong attacks and tactical aid.
Special Attacks:
Those sets are all viable and overlap with beating Pokemon. The fact that Toxtricity has this much potential and can be focused in so many viable sets is insane. So, let’s look at its VR-Matchups using these sets. Some issue occured with bolded text I apologise for that.
W = at least 3 of its sets beat this Pokemon
W/L= at least 2 of its sets beat this Pokemon
W/L = at least 1 of its sets beat this Pokemon / the opponent Pokemon runs a different set that can beat Toxtricity
L = none of its sets beat this Pokemon
With these sets, Toxtricity is able to take on about 55/73 Pokemon on the VR-Ranking, meaning that variety plays an important factor on this Pokemon. It has been an unexplored Pokemon for a while but with the potential that it has I think that Toxtricity deserves at least a B- ranking.
Toxtricity C- --> B-/B
In my opinion, Toxtricity is a very underrated Pokemon. It has been placed in C- on the VR because it should work like a sweep but it is not fast nor bulky enough. When I started researching this rockstar I was amazed by the potential this Pokemon has. Where do I begin?
Stats:
| HP Attack Defense Sp. Atk. Sp. Def. Speed | 75 98 70 114 70 75 |
Viable Abilities:
Punk Rock: Increases the damage of Sound based moves by 30%. Reduces damage taken by this Pokémon by Sound based moves by 50%.
-Viable moves that are boosted include Overdrive (104bp), Boomburst (184bp), Snarl (72bp), Uproar (117bp)
Technician: Moves with a base power of 60 or less are boosted in power by 50%
-Viable moves that are boosted include Nuzzle (30bp), Acid Spray (60bp) and Struggle (75bp)
Viable Moves:
This is where the research started. I looked for viable moves in combination with items. The reason why I think Toxtricity deserves to be in the B rank is because of an unpredictable combination of strong attacks and tactical aid.
Special Attacks:
- Overdrive: Toxtricity’s signature move. A 104bp STAB move with 100% accuracy.
- Boomburst: When Overdrive is resisted or not Super-Effective, this 184bp Sound move is Toxtricity’s strongest move.
- Sludge Wave: This move helps Toxtricity defeat Fairies more easily though I think this move is unnecessary unless it’s combined with Choice Specs.
- Snarl: A boosted dark move that lowers the opponent’s Special Attack.
- Hex: together with Nuzzle this move is able to nuke Mew and other ghost types.
- Gunk Shot / Wild Charge: The strongest physical STAB moves.
- Drain Punch / Fire Punch: Coverage
- Metal Sound: this move with Throat Spray gives Toxtricity a Tail Glow effect, works on any type.
- Acid Spray: A Metal Sound that deals damage, advantageous against Mimikyu and Amnesia Stall
- Nuzzle: Allows Toxtricity to outspeed Scarf sets and to combo an attack with Hex.
- Charge: Boosts spd and gives Overdrive a 208 base power.
- Taunt: Clear answer to stall
- Shift Gear: Allows Toxtricity to be more physical and much faster.
- Screech: Deals with Special Defensive mons.
Toxtricity @ Choice Specs
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Sludge Wave
- Uproar
This Choice Specs set tanks a +2 Life orb Shadow Claw jolly Mimikyu. It is not Mimikyu proof however. This set focusses on giving a lot of damage. Uproar punishes Rest stallers and Yawn users.
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Sludge Wave
- Uproar
This Choice Specs set tanks a +2 Life orb Shadow Claw jolly Mimikyu. It is not Mimikyu proof however. This set focusses on giving a lot of damage. Uproar punishes Rest stallers and Yawn users.
Toxtricity @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Wild Charge
- Fire Punch
- Drain Punch
The reason I used a physical Choice Scarf set is because Toxtricity needs a Spa. Boosting item in order to OHKO Pokemon. It’s 98 base Attack is enough to act as physical attacker. Technician boosts the Struggle base to 75 bp which helps with 3HKO’ing Mew before and after Transform.
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Wild Charge
- Fire Punch
- Drain Punch
The reason I used a physical Choice Scarf set is because Toxtricity needs a Spa. Boosting item in order to OHKO Pokemon. It’s 98 base Attack is enough to act as physical attacker. Technician boosts the Struggle base to 75 bp which helps with 3HKO’ing Mew before and after Transform.
Toxtricity @ Life Orb
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Def / 188 SpA
Modest Nature
- Overdrive
- Charge
- Hex
- Nuzzle
Tanks 252Adamant Mimikyu Phantom Force + Shadow Sneak and leaves 10% to counter with life orb Nuzzle. KO’s Mew with Nuzzle + Hex (+Struggle).
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Def / 188 SpA
Modest Nature
- Overdrive
- Charge
- Hex
- Nuzzle
Tanks 252Adamant Mimikyu Phantom Force + Shadow Sneak and leaves 10% to counter with life orb Nuzzle. KO’s Mew with Nuzzle + Hex (+Struggle).
Toxtricity @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch / Fire Punch / Wild Charge
- Screech
- Nuzzle
This physical LO set is able to crush Mimikyu’s Substitute as well as 3HKO’ing Mew with Nuzzle+Gunk Shot+Struggle. Screech acts like Swords Dance and helps increasing power.
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch / Fire Punch / Wild Charge
- Screech
- Nuzzle
This physical LO set is able to crush Mimikyu’s Substitute as well as 3HKO’ing Mew with Nuzzle+Gunk Shot+Struggle. Screech acts like Swords Dance and helps increasing power.
Toxtricity @ Assault Vest
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 32 SpA / 188 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Acid Spray
- Snarl
Tanks Jolly +2 Mimikyu Shadow Claw. Tanks 2 Specs Draco Meteor from Hydreigon and KO’s with Acid Spray > Boomburst (same goes for Dragapult and Chandelure with Snarl).
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 32 SpA / 188 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Acid Spray
- Snarl
Tanks Jolly +2 Mimikyu Shadow Claw. Tanks 2 Specs Draco Meteor from Hydreigon and KO’s with Acid Spray > Boomburst (same goes for Dragapult and Chandelure with Snarl).
What’s the best way to counter your Ground weakness, right, Air Balloon
Toxtricity @ Air Balloon
Ability: Technician
EVs: 96 HP / 220 Atk / 108 Def / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Wild Charge
- Shift Gear
- Drain Punch
This Physical Shift Gear set allows Toxtricity to outspeed adamant Scarfed Excadrill and Sawk and counter with Drain Punch recovery. It’s able to tank a choice band Crunch from Tyranitar and to OHKO at +1 attack. It also tanks a Choice Scarf Modest Rotom-Heat Overheat and KO’s with Gunk Shot at +1 attack.
Toxtricity @ Air Balloon
Ability: Technician
EVs: 96 HP / 220 Atk / 108 Def / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Wild Charge
- Shift Gear
- Drain Punch
This Physical Shift Gear set allows Toxtricity to outspeed adamant Scarfed Excadrill and Sawk and counter with Drain Punch recovery. It’s able to tank a choice band Crunch from Tyranitar and to OHKO at +1 attack. It also tanks a Choice Scarf Modest Rotom-Heat Overheat and KO’s with Gunk Shot at +1 attack.
Toxtricity @ Throat Spray
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overdrive
- Boomburst
- Substitute
- Metal Sound
This is a Defensive Throat Spray set that punishes stall and Calm Mind set up.
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overdrive
- Boomburst
- Substitute
- Metal Sound
This is a Defensive Throat Spray set that punishes stall and Calm Mind set up.
Those sets are all viable and overlap with beating Pokemon. The fact that Toxtricity has this much potential and can be focused in so many viable sets is insane. So, let’s look at its VR-Matchups using these sets. Some issue occured with bolded text I apologise for that.
W = at least 3 of its sets beat this Pokemon
W/L= at least 2 of its sets beat this Pokemon
W/L = at least 1 of its sets beat this Pokemon / the opponent Pokemon runs a different set that can beat Toxtricity
L = none of its sets beat this Pokemon
S Rank
Darmanitan-Galar L
Dragapult W/L only AV wins by Acid Spray > Snarl, loses to band.
Mew W/L Life Orb Hex beats Imprison Mew (if they don’t use Substitute turn 1):
236+ SpA Life Orb Toxtricity Hex (130 BP) vs. 192 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 367-432 (94.3 - 111%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO + at least 5.9% Nuzzle damage
Physical LO: at least 13,1% Nuzzle + 252+ Atk Life Orb Toxtricity Gunk Shot vs. 192 HP / 64 Def Mew: 195-230 (50.1 - 59.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO + at least 34% struggle damage = at least 97,2% DamageChoice Scarf: 252+ Atk Toxtricity Gunk Shot vs. 192 HP / 64 Def Mew: 150-177 (38.5 - 45.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO x2 + at least 26% struggle damage = KO
S- RankSableye W/L mindgames though overdrive deals a lot of damage on its own. 220+ SpA Choice Specs Punk Rock Toxtricity Overdrive vs. 248 HP / 84 SpD Sableye: 286-338 (94.3 - 111.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
A+ Rank
Mimikyu W/L Toxtricity can very easily be bulked for Mimikyu. Nuzzle/Acid Spray/Scarf can deal with it as a result.
A Rank
Dracovish L
Sylveon W Specs Sludge Wave or Acid Spray or the Physical sets take it out.
A- Rank
Aegislash W Metal Sound / Life Orb or just Specs allow you to beat this.
Corviknight W
Crustle L
Haxorus L Earthquake is a sin
Sawk W/L Physical Air Balloon set can deal with it.
Whimsicott W Even Boomburst shreds this mon.
B+ Rank
Corsola-Galar W/L Very easy to take out with Substitute/Metal Sound/Taunt
Excadrill W/L Air Balloon, Shift Gear and Drain Punch lol
+1 220+ Atk Toxtricity Drain Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Excadrill: 326-384 (90 - 106%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO (enough damage for Life Orb, recovers enough for Choice Band)
Hydreigon W/L AV + Acid Spray + Boomburst
Togekiss W Overdrive should work, or Gunk Shot
Tyranitar W/L Air Balloon Drain Punch (Please pm me if I calced wrong because idk the evs for this mon)
+1 220+ Atk Toxtricity Drain Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 400-472 (99 - 116.8%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
Though Stone Edge would KO if band 228+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Stone Edge vs. 96 HP / 108 Def Toxtricity: 315-372 (100 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO
It does tank a Crunch + Sandstorm damage pretty much though, 228+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Crunch vs. 96 HP / 108 Def Toxtricity: 252-297 (80 - 94.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage
B Rank
Bewear W/L 220+ SpA Choice Specs Punk Rock Toxtricity Boomburst vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Bewear: 400-471 (104.9 - 123.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO (they would probably run bulk so then Toxtricity loses to Earthquake)
Chandelure W/L AV + Snarl
Cinderace W/L Bulky Life Orb beats both viable sets
Dracozolt W/L Specs beats the ones without Earthquake
Duraludon L
Ferrothorn W/L Physical Fire Punch or Metal Sound will do.
Golisopod W
Rhyperior L
Weezing-Galar W Any set will do fine
B- Rank
Arcanine W/L Nuzzle immobilizes its speed and Specs Boomburst KO’s though Earthquake is a thing.
Conkeldurr W/L Specs Boomburst could KO but if not a potential Earthquake will counter.
Durant W Weak Special Defense, 200 Atk Choice Band Hustle Durant Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 36 Def Toxtricity: 265-312 (74.8 - 88.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Gastrodon W/L Idk this mon that well, but a Substitute or Taunt/Acid Spray or throat spray set should do fine against it
Goodra W/L Some Speed Investment and Acid Spray should wake it up.
Grimmsnarl W There’s not much Grimmsnarl can do.
Mandibuzz W Same here
Milotic W Charge/Metal Sound/Acid Spray just to name a few things that beat it
Rotom-Heat W/L A Specs Rotom hurts, but you can outstall the stall with Acid Spray. Gunk Shot KO’s at +1 attack.
Snorlax L it looks threatening so it probably is.
C+ Rank
Diggersby W/L if it’s fast, run.
Dubwool W pretty easy to take out on the special side.
Indeedee-Male L not gonna discuss these.
Indeedee-Female L
Reuniclus W/L Charge may have a shot.
Rotom-Wash W/L same as Rotom-Heat.
Type: Null W/L Metal Sound/Acid spray?
C Rank
Alcremie W multiple poison attacks
Appletun W assuming it doesn’t run Earthquake you should win.
Cloyster W Overdrive
Copperajah W/L don’t know the set, Overdrive would work
Eiscue W Can’t pull off a Belly drum and attack
Gardevoir L Rip psychic type
Gengar W/L Survive the Hax/Hex
Inteleon W/L AV and Scarf
Quagsire W/L assuming this runs Earthquake
Rillaboom W/L rip Earthquake, go for Air Balloon
Scrafty W You take it out faster
Silvally W/L Unpredictable yet not scary enough
Toxapex W
Vaporeon W
Wishiwashi W
C- Rank
Eldegoss W
Gyarados W/L Has to run Earthquake and even then scarf and Air Balloon beat it
Hatterene W Specs/LO Sludge Wave or Gunk Shot
Obstagoon W/L Life orb Drain punch KO’s though
Pyukumuku W Easy to predict
Sirfetch'd W Can’t hurt you
Togedemaru W Let’s be honest…
Umbreon W/L Acid spray or Metal Sound set
D Rank
Centiskorch W/L This thing hurts
Drampa W/L AV Acid Spray
Mudsdale L
Orbeetle W/L You will probably take the win
Trevenant W Multiple ways to counter
Tsareena W Any strong poison move
Darmanitan-Galar L
Dragapult W/L only AV wins by Acid Spray > Snarl, loses to band.
Mew W/L Life Orb Hex beats Imprison Mew (if they don’t use Substitute turn 1):
236+ SpA Life Orb Toxtricity Hex (130 BP) vs. 192 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 367-432 (94.3 - 111%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO + at least 5.9% Nuzzle damage
Physical LO: at least 13,1% Nuzzle + 252+ Atk Life Orb Toxtricity Gunk Shot vs. 192 HP / 64 Def Mew: 195-230 (50.1 - 59.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO + at least 34% struggle damage = at least 97,2% DamageChoice Scarf: 252+ Atk Toxtricity Gunk Shot vs. 192 HP / 64 Def Mew: 150-177 (38.5 - 45.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO x2 + at least 26% struggle damage = KO
S- RankSableye W/L mindgames though overdrive deals a lot of damage on its own. 220+ SpA Choice Specs Punk Rock Toxtricity Overdrive vs. 248 HP / 84 SpD Sableye: 286-338 (94.3 - 111.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
A+ Rank
Mimikyu W/L Toxtricity can very easily be bulked for Mimikyu. Nuzzle/Acid Spray/Scarf can deal with it as a result.
A Rank
Dracovish L
Sylveon W Specs Sludge Wave or Acid Spray or the Physical sets take it out.
A- Rank
Aegislash W Metal Sound / Life Orb or just Specs allow you to beat this.
Corviknight W
Crustle L
Haxorus L Earthquake is a sin
Sawk W/L Physical Air Balloon set can deal with it.
Whimsicott W Even Boomburst shreds this mon.
B+ Rank
Corsola-Galar W/L Very easy to take out with Substitute/Metal Sound/Taunt
Excadrill W/L Air Balloon, Shift Gear and Drain Punch lol
+1 220+ Atk Toxtricity Drain Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Excadrill: 326-384 (90 - 106%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO (enough damage for Life Orb, recovers enough for Choice Band)
Hydreigon W/L AV + Acid Spray + Boomburst
Togekiss W Overdrive should work, or Gunk Shot
Tyranitar W/L Air Balloon Drain Punch (Please pm me if I calced wrong because idk the evs for this mon)
+1 220+ Atk Toxtricity Drain Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 400-472 (99 - 116.8%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
Though Stone Edge would KO if band 228+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Stone Edge vs. 96 HP / 108 Def Toxtricity: 315-372 (100 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO
It does tank a Crunch + Sandstorm damage pretty much though, 228+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Crunch vs. 96 HP / 108 Def Toxtricity: 252-297 (80 - 94.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage
B Rank
Bewear W/L 220+ SpA Choice Specs Punk Rock Toxtricity Boomburst vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Bewear: 400-471 (104.9 - 123.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO (they would probably run bulk so then Toxtricity loses to Earthquake)
Chandelure W/L AV + Snarl
Cinderace W/L Bulky Life Orb beats both viable sets
Dracozolt W/L Specs beats the ones without Earthquake
Duraludon L
Ferrothorn W/L Physical Fire Punch or Metal Sound will do.
Golisopod W
Rhyperior L
Weezing-Galar W Any set will do fine
B- Rank
Arcanine W/L Nuzzle immobilizes its speed and Specs Boomburst KO’s though Earthquake is a thing.
Conkeldurr W/L Specs Boomburst could KO but if not a potential Earthquake will counter.
Durant W Weak Special Defense, 200 Atk Choice Band Hustle Durant Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 36 Def Toxtricity: 265-312 (74.8 - 88.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Gastrodon W/L Idk this mon that well, but a Substitute or Taunt/Acid Spray or throat spray set should do fine against it
Goodra W/L Some Speed Investment and Acid Spray should wake it up.
Grimmsnarl W There’s not much Grimmsnarl can do.
Mandibuzz W Same here
Milotic W Charge/Metal Sound/Acid Spray just to name a few things that beat it
Rotom-Heat W/L A Specs Rotom hurts, but you can outstall the stall with Acid Spray. Gunk Shot KO’s at +1 attack.
Snorlax L it looks threatening so it probably is.
C+ Rank
Diggersby W/L if it’s fast, run.
Dubwool W pretty easy to take out on the special side.
Indeedee-Male L not gonna discuss these.
Indeedee-Female L
Reuniclus W/L Charge may have a shot.
Rotom-Wash W/L same as Rotom-Heat.
Type: Null W/L Metal Sound/Acid spray?
C Rank
Alcremie W multiple poison attacks
Appletun W assuming it doesn’t run Earthquake you should win.
Cloyster W Overdrive
Copperajah W/L don’t know the set, Overdrive would work
Eiscue W Can’t pull off a Belly drum and attack
Gardevoir L Rip psychic type
Gengar W/L Survive the Hax/Hex
Inteleon W/L AV and Scarf
Quagsire W/L assuming this runs Earthquake
Rillaboom W/L rip Earthquake, go for Air Balloon
Scrafty W You take it out faster
Silvally W/L Unpredictable yet not scary enough
Toxapex W
Vaporeon W
Wishiwashi W
C- Rank
Eldegoss W
Gyarados W/L Has to run Earthquake and even then scarf and Air Balloon beat it
Hatterene W Specs/LO Sludge Wave or Gunk Shot
Obstagoon W/L Life orb Drain punch KO’s though
Pyukumuku W Easy to predict
Sirfetch'd W Can’t hurt you
Togedemaru W Let’s be honest…
Umbreon W/L Acid spray or Metal Sound set
D Rank
Centiskorch W/L This thing hurts
Drampa W/L AV Acid Spray
Mudsdale L
Orbeetle W/L You will probably take the win
Trevenant W Multiple ways to counter
Tsareena W Any strong poison move
With these sets, Toxtricity is able to take on about 55/73 Pokemon on the VR-Ranking, meaning that variety plays an important factor on this Pokemon. It has been an unexplored Pokemon for a while but with the potential that it has I think that Toxtricity deserves at least a B- ranking.
Hey TSC, have talked to you in awhile. Hope things are well.
I wanted to explain why I initially ranked it so low.
I personally was really disappointed while testing Toxtricity because it was one of my favorite in game mons and I just couldnt help feeling it was holding my teams back while I was using it.
It has kinda the reverse problem of Dracopult. Dracopult is good because it has three viable sets and Toxtricity is less good because it has eight. Its just spread too thin and you need really specific sets to beat the things you need. I always found myself being like "damn I wish I had [insert other set other than the one I'm using]" and I also hate being so slow.
I do think Toxtricity could be a very good tour mon when you are targeting specific things but on the ladder it's less consistent and feels frustrating a lot of games.
This was another great post and I will definitely try that throat spray set at the bottom, which I hadent considered before, and I will take another look at my ranking. As of now I dont see Toxtricity getting to B, at least not in my eyes, but maybe it could raise a bit.
Hi Cash, I’m fine thanks :)
I don’t think I made myself clear in the nomination post. I just wanted to show that it has the potential to use so many different things and that’s what makes it unique. The main sets you should consider are Specs, Life Orb and the Throat Spray one as all of these sets would share about the same position in a team. Specs doesn’t give you the opportunity to set up against stall but does more damage turn 1. Life Orb allows you to paralyse the opponent or use charge to increase the power of Overdrive, heck use Shift Gear if you’d like that. Throat Spray puts a lot of pressure on Spd setups and can 2hko with boomburst after the Spa Boost of turn 1. I totally agree it misses out on specific traits that allow it be multiple sets in one but with this many available moves and items to grasp it does influence the Opponent in some way.
Just like you I found out that its speed is annoyingly slow. But the fact that it is faster than the slower stall meta changes its role. You could make it a “Fast Sweeper” if you’d like, but I think it acts more as a Stallbreaker that can tank attacks from sweepers. This change of roll allows you to put more Evs into its defence and still strike with a lot of damage, maybe even more as you can use Modest over Timid.
It might not be the greatest in all but at least its one of a kind
Usage Stats Analysis December 2019
with help from Poison Adhesive Lkjchjdhbjidcgjhd and LittleRunnerXC
1. We noticed a trending upward of Encore users, likely to counter Sableye and Mew. This is interesting as both Mew and Sableye have Imprison over 10% usage (Mew @ 10.025% or 10th highest move and Sableye @ 65.339% or 2nd highest move). Encore users such as Aromatisse, Togedemaru, and Gengar are being used to beat Sableye and Mew.
2. Dark-types are very common. 4 out of the top 20 Pokemon (20%) are Dark type. This list includes Sableye, Hydreigon, Grimmsnarl, and Tyranitar.
This is only lower than the number of Ghost Types (25%) and Fairy Types (30%). This is likely due to the presence of Sableye and Mew. Dark types are able to deal with both, and Ghost and Fairy types each deal with one easily.
3. The Haban Dragon Archetype is rising. Haban Berry has become more common on many Pokemon such as Dragapult, Dracovish, Hydreigon, Dracozolt, and Goodra. Haban Berry Dragapult usage more than doubled from 1.4% to 3.8%. Dracovish had previously not used Haban Berry, but now it comprises 13.1% of Dracovish usage. Similar for Hydreigon and Dracozolt, no usage to significant usage (14.5% and 16.8% respectively). Goodra's Haban usage has skyrocketed from 11% to 72%. This is likely due to the presence of Dragons such as Dragapult, Dracovish, and Hydreigon in the high tiers of 1v1, as these somewhat bulky dragons can use their tools to circumvent weaknesses gained by forgoing choice items.
4. Choice Items are becoming more prevalent. This was expected due to the lack of Z moves and Megas. In November, the top 20 usage Pokemon contained 4 Choice Scarf Users, 6 Choice Band Users, and 3 Choice Specs users (not mutually exclusive). The December usage was higher across the board for Choice users. 7 Scarfers, 8 Band Users, and 4 Specs users. The usage on these Pokemon of the Choice Items has also increased significantly.
4a. The rise of Choice items has also led to a rise of Trick usage. In the top 20, 5 Pokemon use trick (Mimikyu, Sableye, Mew, Togekiss, Grimmsnarl) and in the top 50, an additional 3, (Rotom-W and Heat, as well as Chandelure) use Trick. This is due to the lack of an untrickable item this generation.
5. The top 20 includes 11 Pokemon that are primarily physical attackers (if attacking), 6 that are primarily special attackers, and 3 that are almost entirely passive. This shows that Physical Walls are strong Pokemon in the meta, shown by Corviknight, Physically Defensive Sableye, Physically Bulky Choice Specs Weezing, and Physically bulky Sylveon. The emphasis on Physical attackers over special attackers is interesting, and likely due to the drop in number of strong intimidate users, as well as the removal of Z Charm. This emphasis on Physical defense has also led to the strength of Pokemon such as Flame Orb Milotic, Acid Armor Gastrodon, Baby Doll Eyes Alcremie, and Iron Defense Corviknight. This trend towards Physical attack was likely caused by the removal of Pokemon such as the Tapus, Heatran, Magnezone, and Magearna. In addition, Pokemon with naturally high special defense were either kept or introduced, such as Goodra, Alcremie, and Tyranitar.
Nominations:
Winners
Golisopod B -> B+
Golisopod takes advantage of the high usage of Dark-types with its Bug-typing. It is also a very physically bulky Pokemon, allowing it to capitalize and beat many of the common physical attackers. In addition, its ability to beat mew is useful due its prevalence is helpful, and warrants a rise to B+ for Golisopod.
Steelix UR -> C+
Steelix benefits from many of the trends mentioned. Its Steel typing allows it to deal with the 6 fairies in the top 20, and it's massive physical defense allows it to have easy matchups against most of the 11 physical attackers in the top 20. It's ability to run both a Choice Band and Iron Defense set allows it to be versatile and win many more matchups than just one set.
Corviknight A- -> A
Corviknight benefits from many of the meta trends. It's able to Taunt many Encore users, It beats Fairy types, and many Ghost or Dark types. It's versatile, able to cover both physical and special attackers. It capitalizes on Choice Users with Pressure, it capitalizes on Bulky Haban Dragons, and its access to Taunt allows it to deal with the strong passive Pokemon well. It's versatility and strength on each set warrants it being ranked at A tier.
Losers
Corsola-Galar B+ -> B
Corsola-G has the unfortunate status of being a ghost type that loses to all other ghost types. This hurts it significantly, as it also loses to Dark, and many fairy types. It in addition can't beat passive Pokemon very well. It also instantly loses to Trick users, which are on the rise. It is good at dealing with many Offensive Dragons, however, the rise of Haban Berry reduces the need for it. It should be lowered to B tier, as this reflects its very poor ability to combat the current meta.
Haxorus A- -> B+
Haxorus has been a big loser with the current metagame trends. It's unable to KO almost any Fairy besides Mimikyu and Whimsicott, it loses to all the Haban Dragons, it has a poor matchup against any physically defensive Pokemon. It's weakness to Mew and Sableye is also not a vote of confidence for the Axe Man. He should be dropped to B+
Rhyperior B -> B-
Rhyperior was ranked too high from the get-go. While it is a good physical wall, it's weak to Fighting, Grass, Water, Ground, all common types on physical attackers. And while solid rock is nice, it's too slow to capitalize on surviving a hit to 2KO. It doesnt benefit from Haban Dragons, in fact gets worse because of them, as they tend to carry moves that would help them beat Rhyperior such as Substitute. Rhyperior is not as strong of a Pokemon as the others in B tier, so it should fall to B-.
with help from Poison Adhesive Lkjchjdhbjidcgjhd and LittleRunnerXC
1. We noticed a trending upward of Encore users, likely to counter Sableye and Mew. This is interesting as both Mew and Sableye have Imprison over 10% usage (Mew @ 10.025% or 10th highest move and Sableye @ 65.339% or 2nd highest move). Encore users such as Aromatisse, Togedemaru, and Gengar are being used to beat Sableye and Mew.
2. Dark-types are very common. 4 out of the top 20 Pokemon (20%) are Dark type. This list includes Sableye, Hydreigon, Grimmsnarl, and Tyranitar.
This is only lower than the number of Ghost Types (25%) and Fairy Types (30%). This is likely due to the presence of Sableye and Mew. Dark types are able to deal with both, and Ghost and Fairy types each deal with one easily.
3. The Haban Dragon Archetype is rising. Haban Berry has become more common on many Pokemon such as Dragapult, Dracovish, Hydreigon, Dracozolt, and Goodra. Haban Berry Dragapult usage more than doubled from 1.4% to 3.8%. Dracovish had previously not used Haban Berry, but now it comprises 13.1% of Dracovish usage. Similar for Hydreigon and Dracozolt, no usage to significant usage (14.5% and 16.8% respectively). Goodra's Haban usage has skyrocketed from 11% to 72%. This is likely due to the presence of Dragons such as Dragapult, Dracovish, and Hydreigon in the high tiers of 1v1, as these somewhat bulky dragons can use their tools to circumvent weaknesses gained by forgoing choice items.
4. Choice Items are becoming more prevalent. This was expected due to the lack of Z moves and Megas. In November, the top 20 usage Pokemon contained 4 Choice Scarf Users, 6 Choice Band Users, and 3 Choice Specs users (not mutually exclusive). The December usage was higher across the board for Choice users. 7 Scarfers, 8 Band Users, and 4 Specs users. The usage on these Pokemon of the Choice Items has also increased significantly.
4a. The rise of Choice items has also led to a rise of Trick usage. In the top 20, 5 Pokemon use trick (Mimikyu, Sableye, Mew, Togekiss, Grimmsnarl) and in the top 50, an additional 3, (Rotom-W and Heat, as well as Chandelure) use Trick. This is due to the lack of an untrickable item this generation.
5. The top 20 includes 11 Pokemon that are primarily physical attackers (if attacking), 6 that are primarily special attackers, and 3 that are almost entirely passive. This shows that Physical Walls are strong Pokemon in the meta, shown by Corviknight, Physically Defensive Sableye, Physically Bulky Choice Specs Weezing, and Physically bulky Sylveon. The emphasis on Physical attackers over special attackers is interesting, and likely due to the drop in number of strong intimidate users, as well as the removal of Z Charm. This emphasis on Physical defense has also led to the strength of Pokemon such as Flame Orb Milotic, Acid Armor Gastrodon, Baby Doll Eyes Alcremie, and Iron Defense Corviknight. This trend towards Physical attack was likely caused by the removal of Pokemon such as the Tapus, Heatran, Magnezone, and Magearna. In addition, Pokemon with naturally high special defense were either kept or introduced, such as Goodra, Alcremie, and Tyranitar.
Nominations:
Winners
Golisopod B -> B+
Golisopod takes advantage of the high usage of Dark-types with its Bug-typing. It is also a very physically bulky Pokemon, allowing it to capitalize and beat many of the common physical attackers. In addition, its ability to beat mew is useful due its prevalence is helpful, and warrants a rise to B+ for Golisopod.
Steelix UR -> C+
Steelix benefits from many of the trends mentioned. Its Steel typing allows it to deal with the 6 fairies in the top 20, and it's massive physical defense allows it to have easy matchups against most of the 11 physical attackers in the top 20. It's ability to run both a Choice Band and Iron Defense set allows it to be versatile and win many more matchups than just one set.
Corviknight A- -> A
Corviknight benefits from many of the meta trends. It's able to Taunt many Encore users, It beats Fairy types, and many Ghost or Dark types. It's versatile, able to cover both physical and special attackers. It capitalizes on Choice Users with Pressure, it capitalizes on Bulky Haban Dragons, and its access to Taunt allows it to deal with the strong passive Pokemon well. It's versatility and strength on each set warrants it being ranked at A tier.
Losers
Corsola-Galar B+ -> B
Corsola-G has the unfortunate status of being a ghost type that loses to all other ghost types. This hurts it significantly, as it also loses to Dark, and many fairy types. It in addition can't beat passive Pokemon very well. It also instantly loses to Trick users, which are on the rise. It is good at dealing with many Offensive Dragons, however, the rise of Haban Berry reduces the need for it. It should be lowered to B tier, as this reflects its very poor ability to combat the current meta.
Haxorus A- -> B+
Haxorus has been a big loser with the current metagame trends. It's unable to KO almost any Fairy besides Mimikyu and Whimsicott, it loses to all the Haban Dragons, it has a poor matchup against any physically defensive Pokemon. It's weakness to Mew and Sableye is also not a vote of confidence for the Axe Man. He should be dropped to B+
Rhyperior B -> B-
Rhyperior was ranked too high from the get-go. While it is a good physical wall, it's weak to Fighting, Grass, Water, Ground, all common types on physical attackers. And while solid rock is nice, it's too slow to capitalize on surviving a hit to 2KO. It doesnt benefit from Haban Dragons, in fact gets worse because of them, as they tend to carry moves that would help them beat Rhyperior such as Substitute. Rhyperior is not as strong of a Pokemon as the others in B tier, so it should fall to B-.
I want to add something to the community but idk what rn, so I'm posting some noms:
Weezing-Galar B+ -> B / B- +: This thing's viability is quite carried by the fact that is a nigh hard counter to sab, which is now banned. Not much else to say here.
Reuniclus: C + -> B-: Dual Dance is really cool, especially with sableye's ban lowering the amount of Dark Types Around, I'll find some tech with it soon.
Hatterene C- -> D: Thing's best niche is no longer existent, not really seeing a reason why it should be here anymore.
Have a nice day frens!
Have a nice day frens!
Introducing Stonjourner!
On paper this mon is really bad: Pure Rock type, 0 SpDef, Useless abil (dont let calc trick you). However, because it's really physically adequate and cute :3 I wanted to see how it could do. Offensively, it has a surprisingly solid but limited coverage in Heat Crash, Heavy Slam, Superpower and EQ, which actually pick up a lot of OKHOs.
Here's what i found to be it's most useful set. Adamant Band does a truckload of damage, and the speed boost helps it beat the mons that it desperately needs to, such as Corvi.
Sadly, it has very little to explore outside of this. Scarf can surprise the opponent but I'm not a big fan of it in such a huge scarf meta. It also gets Iron Defense which could be used for a more defensive set, but is already outclassed in this regard.
Overall, Stonjourner has 31/72 favorable matchups, which isn't great but it's passable. I'm hoping it's significant matchups, namely Mimi, Sylv, Corvi and Goli can make this mon at least somewhat relevant
In conclusion, Stonjourner is a little less viable than I had initially hoped for. It's not quite as strong as it wants to be or bulky enough to live the tiers most menacing physical attackers, such as Darmanitan-G. Hopefully it can be seen as a niche mon on the ladder with it's unique win matchups.
Nominating Stonjourner from UR -> C-
(Edit: Rhyperior almost completely outclasses Stonjourner, with better coverage, power and defence at the cost of speed, meaning it fails to beat Corvi and Sylv)
On paper this mon is really bad: Pure Rock type, 0 SpDef, Useless abil (dont let calc trick you). However, because it's really physically adequate and cute :3 I wanted to see how it could do. Offensively, it has a surprisingly solid but limited coverage in Heat Crash, Heavy Slam, Superpower and EQ, which actually pick up a lot of OKHOs.
Here's what i found to be it's most useful set. Adamant Band does a truckload of damage, and the speed boost helps it beat the mons that it desperately needs to, such as Corvi.
Stonjourner @ Choice Band
Ability: Power Spot
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Heat Crash
- Heavy Slam
- Superpower
Ability: Power Spot
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Heat Crash
- Heavy Slam
- Superpower
| Darmanitan-Galar | Lose |
| Dragapult | Lose unless Band |
| Mew | Lose unless Band |
| Mimikyu | Win (unless curse) |
| Dracovish | Lose |
| Sylveon | Win |
| Aegislash | Lose |
| Corviknight | Win, potentially problematic if sitrus |
| Crustle | Lose |
| Haxorus | Usually Win (81.3% if Stone Edge hits) |
| Sawk | Lose |
| Whimsicott | Win unless Heat Crash or Heavy Slam is matched by a berry |
| Corsola-Galar | Lose |
| Excadrill | Win vs Scarf, else Lose |
| Hydreigon | Lose |
| Togekiss | Lose |
| Tyranitar | Win |
| Bewear | Lose |
| Chandelure | Lose |
| Cinderace | Win |
| Dracozolt | Win |
| Duraludon | Almost always loses |
| Ferrothorn | Win |
| Golisopod | Win |
| Rhyperior | Lose |
| Snorlax | Win |
| Weezing-Galar | Win |
| Arcanine | Win, unless stall |
| Conkeldurr | Lose |
| Durant | Lose unless they miss |
| Gastrodon | Lose |
| Goodra | Lose |
| Grimmsnarl | Win |
| Mandibuzz | Usually win, 2 SE hits required vs max def |
| Milotic | Lose |
| Rotom-Heat | Lose |
| Diggersby | Can win if vs (ideally fast) Scarf |
| Dubwool | Usually Loses |
| Indeedee (Both) | Lose |
| Reuniclus | Lose |
| Rotom-Wash | Lose |
| Type: Null | Lose |
| Alcremie | Win |
| Appletun | Lose |
| Cloyster | Win |
| Copperajah | Win |
| Eiscue | Lose |
| Gardevoir | Lose |
| Gengar | Lose |
| Inteleon | Lose |
| Quagsire | Lose |
| Rillaboom | Win |
| Scrafty | Lose |
| Silvally | Solid win chance, loses to Sp variants |
| Togedemaru | Lose |
| Toxapex | Lose |
| Toxtricity | Lose, win if vs 0 speed |
| Umbreon | Lose |
| Vaporeon | Lose |
| Wishiwashi | Lose |
| Eldegoss | Win |
| Gyarados | Win |
| Hatterene | Win |
| Obstagoon | Win |
| Pyukumuku | Lose |
| Sirfetch'd | Lose |
| Centiskorch | Win |
| Drampa | Win |
| Mudsdale | Lose |
| Orbeetle | Win unless some weird fast Iron Defense |
| Trevenant | Win |
| Tsareena | Win unless fast Band |
In conclusion, Stonjourner is a little less viable than I had initially hoped for. It's not quite as strong as it wants to be or bulky enough to live the tiers most menacing physical attackers, such as Darmanitan-G. Hopefully it can be seen as a niche mon on the ladder with it's unique win matchups.
Nominating Stonjourner from UR -> C-
(Edit: Rhyperior almost completely outclasses Stonjourner, with better coverage, power and defence at the cost of speed, meaning it fails to beat Corvi and Sylv)
Last edited:
hello back once again with an awful take
Aromattise overrated, long have we waited
Slurpuff NR-->C+/C
Aromattise was recently brought up as a viable mon so I was curious about its counterpart. I expected it to be complete garbage how Slurpuff has usable stats and quite a helpful movepool. What makes Slurpuff viable is its ability to check some top threats serving as somewhat of a blanket check. Here's the set
Set Breakdown
Slurpuff at first seems very underwhelming, and that's not wrong. Its stat distribution is awkward ranging around 80 for each stat. It is incredibly weak and doesn't really have enough HP to justify a BD set nor enough speed/bulk/movepool for a CM set. What does give Slurpuff a hint of viability is its typing, ability, and movepool. Yawn sets always put in work and Unburden helps Slurpuff's lackluster speed. This set aims to be a dragon killer that also checks various things such as Crustle and Mimikyu. While by no means an Aromattise but Slurpuff is an interesting pick in the least.
Protect/Yawn
Tried and true. Gives Slurpuff free turns and you will need them. Dazzling Gleam is bad stab and Play Rough can and will miss. I really wouldn't recommend raw attacking as 85/80 is awful especially when you have to distribute EVs to other stats.
Dazzling Gleam/Play Rough
STAB. Not strong, do not throw off raw.
Cotton Guard
Helps vs Goliscopod, Crustle and various other stuff you can cheese out. Don't throw off Cotton Guards when attacking will 2hko. Somewhat filler.
Wish
Guarantees victory against Curse Mimikyu assuming you don't choke. Not much other apparent use. Somewhat filler.
Slurpuff serves as a blanket check to physical attackers(sometimes.) Noteworthy mons below.
I could list a few more such as Conk or Beware but obv physical fighting loses against defensive fairy. Darm-Galar is worth mentioning as if it lacks Iron Head and is scarf then you win, however, Iron Head is common to beat Aromattise and Syvleon.
In Conclusion
Slurpuff is a cool pick. It has the potential to be better with more optimization however I think as is it's serviceable and it won't get much better.
You may be asking yourself "Why not just run Aromattise?" Frankly, there is little reason(not zero, see below). Aromattise fills the same role but better in almost every regard. Slurpuff is a fun laddering mon that isn't unusable.
Aromattise overrated, long have we waited
Slurpuff NR-->C+/C
Aromattise was recently brought up as a viable mon so I was curious about its counterpart. I expected it to be complete garbage how Slurpuff has usable stats and quite a helpful movepool. What makes Slurpuff viable is its ability to check some top threats serving as somewhat of a blanket check. Here's the set
arom sucks (Slurpuff) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 16 HP / 140 Def / 112 SpA / 240 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Yawn
- Cotton Guard/Wish
- Dazzling Gleam
EVs are not optimal (probably) and what exactly I plan to with the set is highlighted below if you wish to optimize. Play Rough can also be run but have fun missing.
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 16 HP / 140 Def / 112 SpA / 240 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Yawn
- Cotton Guard/Wish
- Dazzling Gleam
EVs are not optimal (probably) and what exactly I plan to with the set is highlighted below if you wish to optimize. Play Rough can also be run but have fun missing.
Slurpuff at first seems very underwhelming, and that's not wrong. Its stat distribution is awkward ranging around 80 for each stat. It is incredibly weak and doesn't really have enough HP to justify a BD set nor enough speed/bulk/movepool for a CM set. What does give Slurpuff a hint of viability is its typing, ability, and movepool. Yawn sets always put in work and Unburden helps Slurpuff's lackluster speed. This set aims to be a dragon killer that also checks various things such as Crustle and Mimikyu. While by no means an Aromattise but Slurpuff is an interesting pick in the least.
Protect/Yawn
Tried and true. Gives Slurpuff free turns and you will need them. Dazzling Gleam is bad stab and Play Rough can and will miss. I really wouldn't recommend raw attacking as 85/80 is awful especially when you have to distribute EVs to other stats.
Dazzling Gleam/Play Rough
STAB. Not strong, do not throw off raw.
Cotton Guard
Helps vs Goliscopod, Crustle and various other stuff you can cheese out. Don't throw off Cotton Guards when attacking will 2hko. Somewhat filler.
Wish
Guarantees victory against Curse Mimikyu assuming you don't choke. Not much other apparent use. Somewhat filler.
Slurpuff serves as a blanket check to physical attackers(sometimes.) Noteworthy mons below.
Unless you run into CB you will live one Iron Tail and Regardless live a P Jab.
252+ Atk Mold Breaker Haxorus Iron Tail vs. 16 HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 256-302 (82.8 - 97.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
The plan is simple, easily tank an Iron Tail then Yawn and pray there isn't a T2 wake up followed by Tail hit.
252+ Atk Mold Breaker Haxorus Iron Tail vs. 16 HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 256-302 (82.8 - 97.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
The plan is simple, easily tank an Iron Tail then Yawn and pray there isn't a T2 wake up followed by Tail hit.
Crustle simply can't touch Slurpuff.
252+ Atk Crustle Rock Wrecker vs. 16 HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 225-265 (72.8 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
You can safely Yawn if you lack Cotton Guard. Otherwise, Cotton Guard completely walls Crustle.
252+ Atk Crustle Rock Wrecker vs. 16 HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 225-265 (72.8 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
You can safely Yawn if you lack Cotton Guard. Otherwise, Cotton Guard completely walls Crustle.
Mimikyu can be a bit tricky. Vs curse w/o wish can turn into a 50/50. It also has the potential to beef past Slurpuff as Slurpuff needs 3-4 hits w/o LO. This one usually comes down to play and set although Wish really screws over Mimikyu most of the time.
Sub+Disable can and usually will win. However, all choice sets are walled and thus susceptible to Yawn into stab.
252+ SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 16 HP / 0 SpD Slurpuff: 228-268 (73.7 - 86.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Dragapult Phantom Force vs. 16 HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 222-262 (71.8 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 16 HP / 0 SpD Slurpuff: 228-268 (73.7 - 86.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Dragapult Phantom Force vs. 16 HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 222-262 (71.8 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Live flash into fairy move unless specs.
252 SpA Hydreigon Flash Cannon vs. 16 HP / 0 SpD Slurpuff: 216-256 (69.9 - 82.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Hydreigon Flash Cannon vs. 16 HP / 0 SpD Slurpuff: 216-256 (69.9 - 82.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Roll w/ adamant choice band. If fails roll or other set loses to two stab moves so just yawn.
252+ Atk Choice Band Mold Breaker Sawk Poison Jab vs. 16 HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 272-320 (88 - 103.5%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Mold Breaker Sawk Poison Jab vs. 16 HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 272-320 (88 - 103.5%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
In Conclusion
Slurpuff is a cool pick. It has the potential to be better with more optimization however I think as is it's serviceable and it won't get much better.
You may be asking yourself "Why not just run Aromattise?" Frankly, there is little reason(not zero, see below). Aromattise fills the same role but better in almost every regard. Slurpuff is a fun laddering mon that isn't unusable.
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I am confused why you recommended C+ while saying there is no reason to use this over Aromattise. That's a no from me dawg.hello back once again with an awful take
Aromattise overrated, long have we waited
Slurpuff NR-->C+/C
Aromattise was recently brought up as a viable mon so I was curious about its counterpart. I expected it to be complete garbage how Slurpuff has usable stats and quite a helpful movepool. What makes Slurpuff viable is its ability to check some top threats serving as somewhat of a blanket check. Here's the set
Set Breakdownarom sucks (Slurpuff) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 16 HP / 140 Def / 112 SpA / 240 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Yawn
- Cotton Guard/Wish
- Dazzling Gleam
EVs are not optimal (probably) and what exactly I plan to with the set is highlighted below if you wish to optimize. Play Rough can also be run but have fun missing.
Slurpuff at first seems very underwhelming, and that's not wrong. Its stat distribution is awkward ranging around 80 for each stat. It is incredibly weak and doesn't really have enough HP to justify a BD set nor enough speed/bulk/movepool for a CM set. What does give Slurpuff a hint of viability is its typing, ability, and movepool. Yawn sets always put in work and Unburden helps Slurpuff's lackluster speed. This set aims to be a dragon killer that also checks various things such as Crustle and Mimikyu. While by no means an Aromattise but Slurpuff is an interesting pick in the least.
Protect/Yawn
Tried and true. Gives Slurpuff free turns and you will need them. Dazzling Gleam is bad stab and Play Rough can and will miss. I really wouldn't recommend raw attacking as 85/80 is awful especially when you have to distribute EVs to other stats.
Dazzling Gleam/Play Rough
STAB. Not strong, do not throw off raw.
Cotton Guard
Helps vs Goliscopod, Crustle and various other stuff you can cheese out. Don't throw off Cotton Guards when attacking will 2hko. Somewhat filler.
Wish
Guarantees victory against Curse Mimikyu assuming you don't choke. Not much other apparent use. Somewhat filler.
Slurpuff serves as a blanket check to physical attackers(sometimes.) Noteworthy mons below.
Unless you run into CB you will live one Iron Tail and Regardless live a P Jab.
252+ Atk Mold Breaker Haxorus Iron Tail vs. 16 HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 256-302 (82.8 - 97.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
The plan is simple, easily tank an Iron Tail then Yawn and pray there isn't a T2 wake up followed by Tail hit.Crustle simply can't touch Slurpuff.
252+ Atk Crustle Rock Wrecker vs. 16 HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 225-265 (72.8 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
You can safely Yawn if you lack Cotton Guard. Otherwise, Cotton Guard completely walls Crustle.Mimikyu can be a bit tricky. Vs curse w/o wish can turn into a 50/50. It also has the potential to beef past Slurpuff as Slurpuff needs 3-4 hits w/o LO. This one usually comes down to play and set although Wish really screws over Mimikyu most of the time.Sub+Disable can and usually will win. However, all choice sets are walled and thus susceptible to Yawn into stab.
252+ SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 16 HP / 0 SpD Slurpuff: 228-268 (73.7 - 86.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Dragapult Phantom Force vs. 16 HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 222-262 (71.8 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKOLive flash into fairy move unless specs.
252 SpA Hydreigon Flash Cannon vs. 16 HP / 0 SpD Slurpuff: 216-256 (69.9 - 82.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKOI could list a few more such as Conk or Beware but obv physical fighting loses against defensive fairy. Darm-Galar is worth mentioning as if it lacks Iron Head and is scarf then you win, however, Iron Head is common to beat Aromattise and Syvleon.Roll w/ adamant choice band. If fails roll or other set loses to two stab moves so just yawn.
252+ Atk Choice Band Mold Breaker Sawk Poison Jab vs. 16 HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 272-320 (88 - 103.5%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
In Conclusion
Slurpuff is a cool pick. It has the potential to be better with more optimization however I think as is it's serviceable and it won't get much better.
You may be asking yourself "Why not just run Aromattise?" Frankly, there is no real reason. Aromattise fills the same role but better in almost every regard. Slurpuff is a fun laddering mon that isn't unusable.
But again thanks for the detailed post. This thread has been doing great with that
Alright after years of research I’ve found some things that Slurpuff has the edge over.
Rhyperior
Rock Wrecker
HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 252-297 (67.5 - 79.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
EQ
252+ Def Aromatisse: 168-198 (45 - 53%) -- 28.9% chance to 2HKO
Rhyperior is able to threaten KO on Aromatisse being able to tank a Moonblast so even under TR Rhyperior will always just EQ into Rock Wrecker. Encore has a chance to lead to a roll into death and Disable leads to a kill with Rock Wrecker. With Cotton Guard, Slurpuff does not deal with this.
HP / 140 Def Slurpuff: 111-132 (35.9 - 42.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (note this +3 from adamant 252)
Slurpuff just guards into yawn then kills slowly with chip.
This also may be irrelevant however Mental Herb Crustle or Curse Mimikyu beat Aromattise and with its rising prominence the item may be seen more. So while limited Slurpuff has some things Aromattise can’t do. I’ll add other things later once I find them.
Edit: Slurpuff gets copycat allowing it to beat Imrprison+Encore Mew
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B to B+/A-its very confusing to me at why rhyperior is B when AV and Band (weakness policy isnt a set) beat so many mons, darmg draga mew mimikyu sylveon haxorus to name some of better ones. This thing definitely needs a raise it's not as fucking horrible as Bewear or chand and I think b+ would be a nice sweet spot for it
Araquanid @ Choice Band
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Liquidation
- Poison Jab
- Leech Life
- Mirror Coat
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Liquidation
- Poison Jab
- Leech Life
- Mirror Coat
Araquanid @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stockpile
- Rest
- Waterfall
- Aqua Ring
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stockpile
- Rest
- Waterfall
- Aqua Ring
Thanks to my Secret Santa team, i got to play with Scrafty a lot these days. It being ranked in C is horrible.
Scrafty C -> B
Scraftys ability Intimidate is one of the best in the game and it can take huge advantage of it with instantly having a better matchup against physical Pokemon. Scrafty best set is the band set i used, which supports its decent 90 base attack. Scraftys really good at taking hits with its 65/115/115 defense stats and only 3 weaknesses. Scrafty has a good coverage with acces to Outrage, Head Smash and Ice Punch and has really good STAB moves with High Jump Kick and Payback which will often double up to 100 Power with Scrafty low speed.
Overall i think this thing definitely belongs into B and is slept on by many people even in the team preview.
Scrafty C -> B
Scraftys ability Intimidate is one of the best in the game and it can take huge advantage of it with instantly having a better matchup against physical Pokemon. Scrafty best set is the band set i used, which supports its decent 90 base attack. Scraftys really good at taking hits with its 65/115/115 defense stats and only 3 weaknesses. Scrafty has a good coverage with acces to Outrage, Head Smash and Ice Punch and has really good STAB moves with High Jump Kick and Payback which will often double up to 100 Power with Scrafty low speed.
Overall i think this thing definitely belongs into B and is slept on by many people even in the team preview.
zioziotrip I am not a member of the VR council but I would like to shine some light upon this post of yours.
252+ Atk Choice Band Rhyperior Rock Wrecker vs. 120 HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 376-444 (100.8 - 119%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Crustle Rock Wrecker vs. 120 HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 373-439 (100 - 117.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
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https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen81v1-1043619751 Encore vs Mimikyu turn 1 is always the smart play.
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Your Slurpuff
Now the problem with this is that you are indeed faster than Rhyperior. And Rhyperior uses Metal Burst. So given a crit or some bad sleep RNG, this is still not a given to win vs Rhyperior.
You're pretty adamant in changing our minds about Slurpuff. And given from you're set's nick name you dislike Aromatisse. Or at least prefer Slurpuff as a Pokemon. If you'd put in the time like you said you did, I'd have no doubt that this is a Pokemon that can be ranked. But all I've seen that is 100% true in you're post, is you saying Mental Herb as an item beat Aromatisse, which most people already know.
Being the user who created the Aromatisse set, I am well versed in it's match-ups. The council would love more to go on rather than run this item and this Pokemon is bad. They are willing to allow every Pokemon a chance if proven "said" Pokemon is viable :)
With this being your first line I'm expecting a very detailed post. With Calculations, sets, maybe some replays to prove this actually works.
The first calculation, which is missing some numbersfor Aromatisse, and the Rhyperior is 252+ Atk. If you were to use Rock Wrecker you wouldn't KO. But in your statement, you are saying that Aromatisse using Encore has a chance to lead to it fainting. Well again to touch upon your point you said before. How you put in "years of research", you would know that Aromatisse runs Wiki Berry. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen81v1-1043597972 Here's a replay of the match-up.
If Rhyperior were to run Choice Band Rock Wrecker would allow it to just 1 shot Aromatisse.
252+ Atk Choice Band Rhyperior Rock Wrecker vs. 120 HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 376-444 (100.8 - 119%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Mental Herb. One of the counters to Aromatisse, as I stated in my VR post above.
But yes, Crustle if 252 Atk uses Shell Smash it will have enough damage to KO with Rock Wrecker.
+2 252 Atk Crustle Rock Wrecker vs. 120 HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 373-439 (100 - 117.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
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Most players Trick Room > Encore. This only allows to Mimikyu to use Protect thus ending in a misplay which can cost them the game.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen81v1-1043619751 Encore vs Mimikyu turn 1 is always the smart play.
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Your Slurpuff
112+ SpA Slurpuff Dazzling Gleam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Rhyperior: 153-180 (35.2 - 41.4%) -- 73.7% chance to 3HKO
Now the problem with this is that you are indeed faster than Rhyperior. And Rhyperior uses Metal Burst. So given a crit or some bad sleep RNG, this is still not a given to win vs Rhyperior.
You're pretty adamant in changing our minds about Slurpuff. And given from you're set's nick name you dislike Aromatisse. Or at least prefer Slurpuff as a Pokemon. If you'd put in the time like you said you did, I'd have no doubt that this is a Pokemon that can be ranked. But all I've seen that is 100% true in you're post, is you saying Mental Herb as an item beat Aromatisse, which most people already know.
Being the user who created the Aromatisse set, I am well versed in it's match-ups. The council would love more to go on rather than run this item and this Pokemon is bad. They are willing to allow every Pokemon a chance if proven "said" Pokemon is viable :)
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I do not think Aromattise is bad in any way, it is obviously quite good. The numbers that are missing are due to the fact calcs were done on mobile, I'll edit the post later to reflect this. The reason Aromattise is brought up so much is that Slurpuff does fulfills such a similar role and thus I must prove why it has any real reason to be used over Slurpuff. I apologize that it came off as me trashing Aromattise, I've used it in tour and took a game off w/ it I have no doubts it is a good mon. The point of showing Rhyperior is to establish a discernable niche for Slurpuff. The whole point of the post was to point to a mon that has use which was otherwise being overlooked, similar to your op. If you want to discuss this any further I'd pm me here or on discord as I've now responsible for plugging up the threads with posts like these twice now.
To avoid making this a pointless post I'd like to talk about moving down some dark mons like previously mentioned by Eriey.
I've tested this thing and seen it and to me ttar seems to not really have a good niche. It is weak to Darm, certain Mew sets, Mimikyu, Dracovish, Syvelon(yes it can tech iron head/tail), Aegislash, Corviknight, Crustle, Haxorous, Sawk, Excadrill, Bewear, HJK Cinderace, Duraldon, Rhyperior, CC Arcanine, Conk, Durant, Gastrodoon, Grimmsnarl, Milotic, and various others. With a few exceptions in B and Whimsicott, litteraly everything S to B-. Yes Ttar can have some niche sets to beat certain stuff as its movepool and stats are great however this spreads Ttar thin, it can't run every single set at once and most of the niche sets(special for example) are merely a lure which is not enough imo. On paper Ttar is an excellent mon, however in practice in this meta it really isn't great. S
Grimmsnarl beats physical attackers, Mew, Dragapult, and stall mons with its trick variant. This mon has lost a huge reason to run it with Sableye being gone. Beating the arguably best two things in the meta was its niche, now Sableye is gone. Its main set now is Bulk Up. It beats a few physical attackers and Mew and Pult w/ Taunt or Sub, neither of which is reliable against Mew. Bulk Up has its role but the only notable thing I can think of is Dracovish and maybe sometime Haxorus. At 95/65/75 bulk even at +1 this thing gets shredded by CB variants, depending on the mon not even that is necessary. And even if it does live the hits, it won't be able to retaliate strongly enough. Grummsnarl's purpose is to beat Mew and Pult, it has very little outside of that and the wins it does get are not unique to Grimmsnarl.
The only other Dark mons on the VR are Hydregion, Umbreon, Scrafty, and Obstagoon.
- B+ is suitable for Hydregion it is decently strong and 98 speed is nice being able to outrun other scarfers.
- Umbreon also belongs in C. It has a cool Copycat gimmick, 95/110/130 bulk, and a neat movepool but none if it really stands out to make it anything above C.
- Scrafty has already been mentioned by Inkreativ.
- Obstagoon is weak until t2 which is an issue for a lot of matchups as well as having a bad defensive typing.
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ok rillaboomers, we need to talk
Stunfisk-Galar: UR -> D
From its release in Gen8, most would consider Stunfisk-G a joke. Its ability is awkward, it gets no physical Steel moves outside of Metal Claw, and it faces a bit of competition from Steelix, who was nommed recently (and Excadrill in some cases).
I’m here to prove how Stunfisk-G does have a niche in this meta.
Stunfisk is anything but bad. It has great defensive stats and its tech can take many by surprise. I have been testing this for a couple of days now and it is much better than what people give it credit for. It can also do some things better than Steelix and this post will include that.
There are two sets of interest and this is the first:
This set is literally a trap. It functions kind of like Gen7 1v1 Stunfisk (UOPfisk lmao), where its niche was that it checked some of the top tier VR mons, albeit with a Petaya berry instead of WP (though they act quite similarly). It is quite simple—Yawn and live a hit, Protect/Endure turn 2, and then attack. Sometimes you don’t even need to Yawn.
Some things this set checks: Dragapult (non WoW, which is a move that doesn’t even show up on usage1500), Scarf Darmanitan-G, Crustle, Haxorus, Duraludon, Dracozolt, Tyranitar, Toxapex, Toxtricity, and more but those are the ones that came to mind. It MAY beat Aegislash (because I have), but I am still investigating matchups vs. SD sets (Yawn and Endure are strong against it though).
Stunfisk isn’t limited to this set—he can run a special set:
Due to the effects of the Weakness Policy, you can actually defeat a lot of Togekisses. However, if you beat Togekiss here then you sacrifice the Darm-G matchup unless it’s Jolly Scarf (which you can’t determine in battle). The spread for Darm-G would be 160+ Def 96 SpAtk, which isn’t strong enough to beat Togekiss. 152 SpAtk could beat it though, which is shown in the replay.
This set also has a good matchup vs. Cloyster compared to the previous set and a more favorable win against Crustle (Sucker Punch after Flash Cannon). You CAN use a Yawn strategy on this but it’s probably better to use Metal Sound since Stunfisk will be less passive against walls. It beats most of the same stuff that the physical set beats and some others like Weezing-G (even if it’s Levitate). 104+ Def lives Jolly Band Haxorus Close Combat, just like the physical set, while also beating Togekiss and some others.
By testing this in battle I was also able to beat: Grimmsnarl, Corsola-G (something Steelix can’t do) and Dusclops.
Other options (memes): Sludge Wave, Reflect Type (Ferrothorn users will hate you), Snap Trap (chip damage against defensive), Curse, and Stealth Rock (for heavy disrespect). It also has Counter—something that Steelix doesn’t. A Passho Berry Counter set with 252 HP / 224+ Def beats Adamant Scarf Dracovish and Band Golisopod, but in most situations the sets I provided perform better anyways.
Conclusion
Stunfisk-G is a nichemon that can handle some of the more relevant threats in the VR (some of the things it checks are A- or higher) and others. Like a few other things it became a lot more worth using with the removal of Sableye. Compared to Steelix, it has more mixed potential, more special bulk (which can be invested in if needed), a priority move, and access to sleep via Yawn. In a team situation you can use Stunfisk in place of Excadrill or Steelix if your team struggles against Scarf Darm-G, Specs Dragapult, or Haxorus (use physical Stunfisk instead of Excadrill, assuming you deal with Mew and Mimi among your two other mons) or Corsola-G (use special Stunfisk instead of Steelix if you beat fairies already, but note that Stunfisk can still deal with Scarf Togekiss).
With all of that considered, I think that a D rank position is justified for this guy. Won’t make direct comparisons here but I had much more success with this than I did with some of the other D rank mons.
Thanks for reading and have a good day!
EDIT: 23 January 2019
After testing this for a little while, I can confirm that the special set has bad matchups against Corsola and Togekiss which can literally just outplay it (Corsola WoW turn 1, Night Shade spam, Togekiss can use Trick). However, the set itself does perform quite well in practice; I made it past 1560 on a testing alt using the stupidest team ever — Sylveon / Stunfisk / Arctovish. Hilariously enough, I actually ended up using it more than Sylveon for a lot of the games. Metal Sound is a good move and so is Yawn.
ANOTHER edit 2 Feb 2020:
ur grandpap a trap (Stunfisk-Galar) (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Mimicry
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Atk / 160 Def / 24 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Earth Power
- Snap Trap
- Sucker Punch
Mixed Fisk is the way to go. Snap Trap can bait Weakness Policy on Steelix and it has good chip potential in general. Earth Power is great for Crustle (who wants to use Counter) and for whatever reason Scarf Sawk (Band beats Fisk anyway though lol). The EVs are not completely optimized but I was able to kill a lot of Sylveons who thought using Mystical Fire was a smart idea (you do EQ into SuckerPunch here).
Stunfisk-Galar: UR -> D
From its release in Gen8, most would consider Stunfisk-G a joke. Its ability is awkward, it gets no physical Steel moves outside of Metal Claw, and it faces a bit of competition from Steelix, who was nommed recently (and Excadrill in some cases).
I’m here to prove how Stunfisk-G does have a niche in this meta.
Stunfisk is anything but bad. It has great defensive stats and its tech can take many by surprise. I have been testing this for a couple of days now and it is much better than what people give it credit for. It can also do some things better than Steelix and this post will include that.
There are two sets of interest and this is the first:
ur grandpap a trap (Stunfisk-Galar) (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Mimicry
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Atk / 160 Def
Impish Nature
- Yawn
- Protect / Endure
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
Ability: Mimicry
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Atk / 160 Def
Impish Nature
- Yawn
- Protect / Endure
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
This set is literally a trap. It functions kind of like Gen7 1v1 Stunfisk (UOPfisk lmao), where its niche was that it checked some of the top tier VR mons, albeit with a Petaya berry instead of WP (though they act quite similarly). It is quite simple—Yawn and live a hit, Protect/Endure turn 2, and then attack. Sometimes you don’t even need to Yawn.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen81v1-1042143856 - This replay visualizes what exactly this set does. I do use Yawn in the replay but you could literally just EQ -> Sucker Punch against Darm-G
+1 252+ Atk Darmanitan-Galar Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 160+ Def Stunfisk-Galar: 356-420 (84.3 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Stunfisk-Galar: 346-408 (81.9 - 96.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 Atk Mold Breaker Haxorus Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 160+ Def Stunfisk-Galar: 338-398 (80 - 94.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 96 Atk Stunfisk-Galar Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Haxorus: 220-261 (75 - 89%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Doesn’t even need the defense drop, which means it can beat an EQ Haxorus too)
+2 96 Atk Stunfisk-Galar Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Haxorus: 103-122 (35.1 - 41.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 252+ Atk Darmanitan-Galar Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 160+ Def Stunfisk-Galar: 356-420 (84.3 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Stunfisk-Galar: 346-408 (81.9 - 96.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 Atk Mold Breaker Haxorus Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 160+ Def Stunfisk-Galar: 338-398 (80 - 94.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 96 Atk Stunfisk-Galar Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Haxorus: 220-261 (75 - 89%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Doesn’t even need the defense drop, which means it can beat an EQ Haxorus too)
+2 96 Atk Stunfisk-Galar Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Haxorus: 103-122 (35.1 - 41.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Some things this set checks: Dragapult (non WoW, which is a move that doesn’t even show up on usage1500), Scarf Darmanitan-G, Crustle, Haxorus, Duraludon, Dracozolt, Tyranitar, Toxapex, Toxtricity, and more but those are the ones that came to mind. It MAY beat Aegislash (because I have), but I am still investigating matchups vs. SD sets (Yawn and Endure are strong against it though).
Stunfisk isn’t limited to this set—he can run a special set:
ur grandpap a trap (Stunfisk-Galar) (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Mimicry
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 152 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Earth Power
- Sucker Punch
- Metal Sound
- Flash Cannon
Ability: Mimicry
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 152 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Earth Power
- Sucker Punch
- Metal Sound
- Flash Cannon
Due to the effects of the Weakness Policy, you can actually defeat a lot of Togekisses. However, if you beat Togekiss here then you sacrifice the Darm-G matchup unless it’s Jolly Scarf (which you can’t determine in battle). The spread for Darm-G would be 160+ Def 96 SpAtk, which isn’t strong enough to beat Togekiss. 152 SpAtk could beat it though, which is shown in the replay.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen81v1-1044699857
252+ SpA Togekiss Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Stunfisk-Galar: 288-340 (68.2 - 80.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 152 SpA Stunfisk-Galar Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Togekiss: 266-314 (85.5 - 100.9%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO, and dont forget about:
+2 0 Atk Stunfisk-Galar Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Togekiss: 44-52 (14.1 - 16.7%) -- possible 6HKO
It’s very unlikely Togekiss will survive this combo as you can see (assuming you land two low rolls it only has 0.4% HP left).
252+ SpA Togekiss Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Stunfisk-Galar: 288-340 (68.2 - 80.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 152 SpA Stunfisk-Galar Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Togekiss: 266-314 (85.5 - 100.9%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO, and dont forget about:
+2 0 Atk Stunfisk-Galar Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Togekiss: 44-52 (14.1 - 16.7%) -- possible 6HKO
It’s very unlikely Togekiss will survive this combo as you can see (assuming you land two low rolls it only has 0.4% HP left).
This set also has a good matchup vs. Cloyster compared to the previous set and a more favorable win against Crustle (Sucker Punch after Flash Cannon). You CAN use a Yawn strategy on this but it’s probably better to use Metal Sound since Stunfisk will be less passive against walls. It beats most of the same stuff that the physical set beats and some others like Weezing-G (even if it’s Levitate). 104+ Def lives Jolly Band Haxorus Close Combat, just like the physical set, while also beating Togekiss and some others.
By testing this in battle I was also able to beat: Grimmsnarl, Corsola-G (something Steelix can’t do) and Dusclops.
Other options (memes): Sludge Wave, Reflect Type (Ferrothorn users will hate you), Snap Trap (chip damage against defensive), Curse, and Stealth Rock (for heavy disrespect). It also has Counter—something that Steelix doesn’t. A Passho Berry Counter set with 252 HP / 224+ Def beats Adamant Scarf Dracovish and Band Golisopod, but in most situations the sets I provided perform better anyways.
Conclusion
Stunfisk-G is a nichemon that can handle some of the more relevant threats in the VR (some of the things it checks are A- or higher) and others. Like a few other things it became a lot more worth using with the removal of Sableye. Compared to Steelix, it has more mixed potential, more special bulk (which can be invested in if needed), a priority move, and access to sleep via Yawn. In a team situation you can use Stunfisk in place of Excadrill or Steelix if your team struggles against Scarf Darm-G, Specs Dragapult, or Haxorus (use physical Stunfisk instead of Excadrill, assuming you deal with Mew and Mimi among your two other mons) or Corsola-G (use special Stunfisk instead of Steelix if you beat fairies already, but note that Stunfisk can still deal with Scarf Togekiss).
With all of that considered, I think that a D rank position is justified for this guy. Won’t make direct comparisons here but I had much more success with this than I did with some of the other D rank mons.
Thanks for reading and have a good day!
EDIT: 23 January 2019
After testing this for a little while, I can confirm that the special set has bad matchups against Corsola and Togekiss which can literally just outplay it (Corsola WoW turn 1, Night Shade spam, Togekiss can use Trick). However, the set itself does perform quite well in practice; I made it past 1560 on a testing alt using the stupidest team ever — Sylveon / Stunfisk / Arctovish. Hilariously enough, I actually ended up using it more than Sylveon for a lot of the games. Metal Sound is a good move and so is Yawn.
ANOTHER edit 2 Feb 2020:
ur grandpap a trap (Stunfisk-Galar) (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Mimicry
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Atk / 160 Def / 24 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Earth Power
- Snap Trap
- Sucker Punch
Mixed Fisk is the way to go. Snap Trap can bait Weakness Policy on Steelix and it has good chip potential in general. Earth Power is great for Crustle (who wants to use Counter) and for whatever reason Scarf Sawk (Band beats Fisk anyway though lol). The EVs are not completely optimized but I was able to kill a lot of Sylveons who thought using Mystical Fire was a smart idea (you do EQ into SuckerPunch here).
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State of the Metagame:
So, I feel that the VR pretty much needs to be updated, esp at the high ranks. I discussed in the 1v1 room with a few people about the Top 8 best mons currently. This is what I have:
#1: Mew
Unless you haven’t played 1v1 recently, like at all, I don’t really think this should be disputed.
#2 Daramanitan-Galar
Really Good options in Dual Choice. Band should be used over scarf as amazing damage output + the guaranteed matchups on Pokemon such as Aegislash and Coriknight is great.
#3 Mimikyu
Thing’s a beast. Really think it's quite unexplored, as sets that I ran last gen (Bulk Up + Charm) and such are really good. Don't sleep on scarf.
#4 Sylveon
Specs + Yawn is amazing right now, beating the aforementioned Pokemon (besides Band darm).
#5 Dragapult
This shouldn’t be S, and Idk why it still is. It's a great mon, but nothing near the levels of Mew and Darm-G, or Even Mimikyu.
#6 Dracovish
Feel like this thing is a bit Underused. Dual Choice + Haban is really cool.
#7 Aegislash
Really good offensive option. Although not as good as it was last gen, its STABs are Amazing in the current meta.
#8 Excadrill
This mon shouldn’t be B+. It beats a significant portion of the notable mons with Life Orb and Dual Choice.
Of these mons, here are my proposed nominations
Dragapult S- -> A+
Sylveon A -> A+
Aegislash A- -> A
Excadrill B+ -> A
Just please de S-Rank pult. Please.
Have a nice day as always.
The most likely reason why Aromattise is placed this low is apprehension that post-Sableye it would not fare as well. While it definitely lost part of its niche because of Sableye's removal the core of what Aromattise does is still there, very bulky Encore+Disable with help from Aroma Veil. Aromattise is very bulky and does not need much sptak investment w/ a decent 99 sptak and Moonblast being 95 BP. Few things can dent Aromattise and those that can usually do so with the help of a choice item. And Aromattise can also play around Trick w/ Encore and slowly chip away anything trying to Trick away its choice item. Overall, Aromattise covers a decent section of the meta, mainly physical attackers and choice users, to become a very solid pick in this meta. However, it's not perfect. Some things can beef past it and Mew has
ways of dealing with it so it's not a reliable check for Mew.
Now that S- has been made an option I definitely think Mimikyu qualifies. The issue is that this clogs up S. S is meant to be the best of the best and having three things in S- may be a little awkward. Ignoring this, Mimikyu is a top three mon for sure. Dragapult definitely has its uses but it's not really comparable to Mimikyu's vast amount of great sets. The main three pillars are SD/Physical, Curse, and Scarf. Scarf doesn't really have that much variation however Physical and Curse sets are able to run so much making it a hassle in team preview. Beyond being a pain, Curse is a great speed trap and Physical sets are solid breakers and beat various faster things like Darm, Mew, Pult and have an easier time w/ Sturdy mons.
To show the variety of sets I made a PokePaste* for some of its better sets.
The strongest point of Mimikyu's variety is that it is not variety to make up for weaknesses but instead is meant to complement an already strong core set. Curse really only needs 3 moves: Protect, Substitute, and Curse. Physical sets are stab w/ priority and filler for the 4th slot. Of course w/o certain tech Mimikyu will lose to certain things but unlike some mons it doesn't compromise the main goal of the set to beat checks.
Even with the Disguise nerf this thing is still crazy good and more than worthy of S status, if Mew wasn't as ridiculously good as it is I would nom it for S.
*PokePaste has various errors use discretion.
Side note, even w/ S- being created I still don't think it is worthy of S. Its versatility stretches it to thin and really lacks a strong defining trait.
For example: Mew has an insane movepool 100s for stats, Darm has strength and coverage that makes it a balanced Kyu-B, Mimikyu has Disguise and a useful movepool, Dracovish has Fishous Rend, Sylveon has insanely strong fairy moves, Aegislash has 140 defenses and offenses w/ a very good typing.
These traits allow for these mons to flourish in 1v1 allowing them to build off their strong cores. You could say that Dragapult has high speed and a good typing but that really isn't incredibly impressive. Dragapult S- --> A+/A
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Appletun C- —> C
I understand that this change was recent, but I disagree with this. Mike’s effectiveness might seem limited with the rise of other Haban Dragons, but he has access to great tools and amazing bulk.
Mike (Appletun) (M) @ Haban Berry
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 200 HP / 16 Atk / 88 Def / 204 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Apple Acid
- Draco Meteor
- Sucker Punch
- Recover
With some of Mike’s checks running Haban themselves, we can beat them just by increasing his attack power (which was previously uninvested in). Sucker Punch lets it beat Dracovish and Choice Dragapult more consistently after the now stronger Draco Meteor.
Not only can Mike use a Haban set, but he also can use Ripen with other berries like Sitrus, Kee, or Maranga. Mike has a ridiculous amount of recovery tools including Leech Seed and Recover, plus the bulk to make it work. The Ripen gimmick alone has a lot of untapped potential and it can probably adapt to some matchups that another set might lose to.
I think that Mike works a little too well to drop—it is really versatile and I think C rank works for it just fine.
Also...
Dragapult S- —> A+
I know this is not new, but this thing does not belong with Galarm—it is easier to check and does not beat the “silent meta” as well as the other S ranked guys. I do not think it matters what rank it goes in but please just separate this and Galarm/Mew.
Thanks and have a good day.
I understand that this change was recent, but I disagree with this. Mike’s effectiveness might seem limited with the rise of other Haban Dragons, but he has access to great tools and amazing bulk.
Mike (Appletun) (M) @ Haban Berry
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 200 HP / 16 Atk / 88 Def / 204 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Apple Acid
- Draco Meteor
- Sucker Punch
- Recover
With some of Mike’s checks running Haban themselves, we can beat them just by increasing his attack power (which was previously uninvested in). Sucker Punch lets it beat Dracovish and Choice Dragapult more consistently after the now stronger Draco Meteor.
-6 204+ SpA Appletun Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Dragapult: 116-140 (30.5 - 36.8%) -- 70.2% chance to 3HKO
I’m putting Mike at -6 to prove that Draco Meteor will always break Pult’s Sub. Most go Specs anyways, which you live:
+1 252 SpA Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 200 HP / 0 SpD Haban Berry Appletun: 319-376 (77.6 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I’m putting Mike at -6 to prove that Draco Meteor will always break Pult’s Sub. Most go Specs anyways, which you live:
+1 252 SpA Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 200 HP / 0 SpD Haban Berry Appletun: 319-376 (77.6 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Not only can Mike use a Haban set, but he also can use Ripen with other berries like Sitrus, Kee, or Maranga. Mike has a ridiculous amount of recovery tools including Leech Seed and Recover, plus the bulk to make it work. The Ripen gimmick alone has a lot of untapped potential and it can probably adapt to some matchups that another set might lose to.
I think that Mike works a little too well to drop—it is really versatile and I think C rank works for it just fine.
Also...
Dragapult S- —> A+
I know this is not new, but this thing does not belong with Galarm—it is easier to check and does not beat the “silent meta” as well as the other S ranked guys. I do not think it matters what rank it goes in but please just separate this and Galarm/Mew.
Thanks and have a good day.
yo. so S- was introduced in like some vr shift idk and I disagree with its existence.
is not worse than darmg or dragapult. Curse Salac and Life Orb with (The)Shadow Claw has become my favoured sets and it even beats mons above it (except like sitrus or kasib mew ig) which is extremely wack.
So, remove S-
and
to A+ (darmg and draga are not far above vish and sylveon as well)
would love to see actual council feedback instead of the lets randomly vote and voila
is not worse than darmg or dragapult. Curse Salac and Life Orb with (The)Shadow Claw has become my favoured sets and it even beats mons above it (except like sitrus or kasib mew ig) which is extremely wack.So, remove S-
would love to see actual council feedback instead of the lets randomly vote and voila