Metagame 1v1 Metagame Discussion

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Tol

Retirement house
Getting up at 4 AM for tours. Fun. Besides the timing etc., how does the point system work and, more importantly, wouldn't Fertile Crescent have a huge advantage in Mono 1v1?
 

Tol

Retirement house
Oh... This is a post I should do. Okay then, without any more procrastinating, observe...
T(GC)APU LELE (Tankiness Forme)
tapulele.gif
So... I got an idea in the CAP room to run a Scarf Lele set, and after some calc'ing, I realized that matchups like
"252+ SpA Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Kyurem-Black: 372-440 (81.9 - 96.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO"
were not helping its viability. So, instead I decided to run Specs because it can actually kill something.
My Specs Lele set, with calcs, are shown below.
-----------------------------------------------------
The Ataris (Tapu Lele) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 60 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Energy Ball
- Moonblast
- Shadow Ball
- Psychic
-----------------------------------------------------

Okay... So, to explain myself.
The main calc: 60+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Kyurem-Black: 486-572 (107 - 125.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO. This justifies the whole damn thing for what I needed it to do, when this calc "252+ Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 192 Def Tapu Lele: 238-280 (84.6 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO" is taken into consideration. So, you're tanking a Scarfed KyuB and responding with an OHKO. Pretty nice. Other matchups, important and not, shown below.
VS. Mega-Gyarados:
Offense: 60+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 222-262 (67 - 79.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, note that on a Mega this number is larger.
Defense: 252 Atk Mold Breaker Gyarados-Mega Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 192 Def Tapu Lele: 151-178 (43.8 - 51.7%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO, noice. If they're bulky, you outspeed. Also, DDanced Waterfall doesn't kill you in one blow, so that's a plus.
VS. Pretty much all other Dragons: You OHKO on offense while tanking, if necessary. Dragonite can tank one hit, but doesn't KO even with Banded Iron Head.
VS. Victini: 252+ Atk Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 192 Def Tapu Lele: 271-319 (78.7 - 92.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, WHAT IS THIS MADNESS? (You OHKO with Shadow Ball, BTW.)
VS. Lando-T: 60+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus in Psychic Terrain: 379-447 (99.2 - 117%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO, and you outspeed if it has that kind of health.
VS. Pretty much all Poison-types (Damn you Alolan Muk): You OHKO with Psychic.
VS. Pretty much all Fighting-types: You OHKO with Moonblast or Psychic.
Other matchups: 252+ Atk Donphan Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 192 Def Tapu Lele: 205-242 (59.5 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, just because you needed more things to counter. Energy Ball, as you may guess, 2HKOs.
60+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Energy Ball vs. 248 HP / 252 SpD Slowbro-Mega: 256-302 (65.1 - 76.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Not much to be said here.
60+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 176-208 (54.3 - 64.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, however 252+ SpA Aegislash- Shield Never-Ending Nightmare (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 282-332 (81.9 - 96.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. You win, because Psychic Terrain is dope. Yea, that's all the calcs I could think of.

Um, if you have any questions/hate, remember these two things. 1. You can find me on PS! under the name of THEHEHEHEH, and 2.
This is my first post of a mon, you haters. Not that that changes anything.

Thank you for reading this, TGC out.
 
Oh... This is a post I should do. Okay then, without any more procrastinating, observe...
T(GC)APU LELE (Tankiness Forme)
View attachment 82717
So... I got an idea in the CAP room to run a Scarf Lele set, and after some calc'ing, I realized that matchups like
"252+ SpA Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Kyurem-Black: 372-440 (81.9 - 96.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO"
were not helping its viability. So, instead I decided to run Specs because it can actually kill something.
My Specs Lele set, with calcs, are shown below.
-----------------------------------------------------
The Ataris (Tapu Lele) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 60 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Energy Ball
- Moonblast
- Shadow Ball
- Psychic
-----------------------------------------------------

Okay... So, to explain myself.
The main calc: 60+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Kyurem-Black: 486-572 (107 - 125.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO. This justifies the whole damn thing for what I needed it to do, when this calc "252+ Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 192 Def Tapu Lele: 238-280 (84.6 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO" is taken into consideration. So, you're tanking a Scarfed KyuB and responding with an OHKO. Pretty nice. Other matchups, important and not, shown below.
VS. Mega-Gyarados:
Offense: 60+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 222-262 (67 - 79.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, note that on a Mega this number is larger.
Defense: 252 Atk Mold Breaker Gyarados-Mega Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 192 Def Tapu Lele: 151-178 (43.8 - 51.7%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO, noice. If they're bulky, you outspeed. Also, DDanced Waterfall doesn't kill you in one blow, so that's a plus.
VS. Pretty much all other Dragons: You OHKO on offense while tanking, if necessary. Dragonite can tank one hit, but doesn't KO even with Banded Iron Head.
VS. Victini: 252+ Atk Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 192 Def Tapu Lele: 271-319 (78.7 - 92.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, WHAT IS THIS MADNESS? (You OHKO with Shadow Ball, BTW.)
VS. Lando-T: 60+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus in Psychic Terrain: 379-447 (99.2 - 117%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO, and you outspeed if it has that kind of health.
VS. Pretty much all Poison-types (Damn you Alolan Muk): You OHKO with Psychic.
VS. Pretty much all Fighting-types: You OHKO with Moonblast or Psychic.
Other matchups: 252+ Atk Donphan Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 192 Def Tapu Lele: 205-242 (59.5 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, just because you needed more things to counter. Energy Ball, as you may guess, 2HKOs.
60+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Energy Ball vs. 248 HP / 252 SpD Slowbro-Mega: 256-302 (65.1 - 76.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Not much to be said here.
60+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 176-208 (54.3 - 64.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, however 252+ SpA Aegislash- Shield Never-Ending Nightmare (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 282-332 (81.9 - 96.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. You win, because Psychic Terrain is dope. Yea, that's all the calcs I could think of.

Um, if you have any questions/hate, remember these two things. 1. You can find me on PS! under the name of THEHEHEHEH, and 2.
This is my first post of a mon, you haters. Not that that changes anything.
Thank you for reading this, TGC out.
see this is cool and all but the much more common kyube set (z-ice) just blows this away.

0 Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Subzero Slammer vs. 252 HP / 192 Def Tapu Lele: 345-406 (100.2 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
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Tol

Retirement house
"Parr0t" said:
see this is cool and all but the much more common kyube set (z-ice) just blows this away.

0 Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Subzero Slammer vs. 252 HP / 192 Def Tapu Lele: 345-406 (100.2 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO
I would disagree that Icium is more common, especially now. Although you do have a point, the more versatile Special Z-Move (Blizzard), the one that most KyuB sturdy-killing sets use (In order to have Earth Power and/or Focus Blast) does this:
252 SpA Teravolt Kyurem-Black Subzero Slammer (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 253-298 (73.5 - 86.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
 
I would disagree that Icium is more common, especially now. Although you do have a point, the more versatile Special Z-Move (Blizzard), the one that most KyuB sturdy-killing sets use (In order to have Earth Power and/or Focus Blast) does this:
252 SpA Teravolt Kyurem-Black Subzero Slammer (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 253-298 (73.5 - 86.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.
In no way is it more versatile. It does less damage and, as seen in the March 1630 usage stats (which I recommend checking out), was used on less than 3.8% of Kyurem-Black in that month, compared to 43.1% for Freeze Shock (look at this in relation to the 43.5% of Kyurem-Black that used Icium Z). You don't need extra Special Attack investment to kill stuff like Magnezone and Aggron with Earth Power.

There's nothing incredibly wrong with your Tapu Lele set. Rather, I think this sheds some light on the central issue with Kyurem-B. The split in capabilities between Scarf and Icium Z means that serving as a reliable, reasonably offensive check depends on one's ability to live a Scarf Outrage (while not being especially weak to Ice Beam, Fusion Bolt, or Earth Power) while simultaneously outspeeding and OHKOing the fastest possible Icium Z variant. This leaves a select few Pokemon like, offhand, Terrakion, Keldeo, Scarf Porygon-Z with enough bulk to beat Scarf Kyurem-B, Sawk, Mega Metagross (provided you're not facing Groundium Z; the possibility of this set also prevents Magearna from being a 100% counter), etc.
 
In no way is it more versatile. It does less damage and, as seen in the March 1630 usage stats (which I recommend checking out), was used on less than 3.8% of Kyurem-Black in that month, compared to 43.1% for Freeze Shock (look at this in relation to the 43.5% of Kyurem-Black that used Icium Z). You don't need extra Special Attack investment to kill stuff like Magnezone and Aggron with Earth Power.

There's nothing incredibly wrong with your Tapu Lele set. Rather, I think this sheds some light on the central issue with Kyurem-B. The split in capabilities between Scarf and Icium Z means that serving as a reliable, reasonably offensive check depends on one's ability to live a Scarf Outrage (while not being especially weak to Ice Beam, Fusion Bolt, or Earth Power) while simultaneously outspeeding and OHKOing the fastest possible Icium Z variant. This leaves a select few Pokemon like, offhand, Terrakion, Keldeo, Scarf Porygon-Z with enough bulk to beat Scarf Kyurem-B, Sawk, Mega Metagross (provided you're not facing Groundium Z; the possibility of this set also prevents Magearna from being a 100% counter), etc.
Let's not forget Mega-Gyarados, which does just fine against Kyurem.


Here's some teams to get you started.
SM OU
The Slowest Team of All Time


Magearna @ Choice Specs
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fleur Cannon
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Blastoise-Mega @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fake Out
- Dark Pulse
- Hydro Cannon
- Dragon Pulse

Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Iron Head
- Earthquake

Monotype 1v1
Ghost

Gengar-Mega @ Gengarite
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hypnosis
- Hex
- Substitute
- Focus Blast

Mimikyu @ Fairium Z
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 140 HP / 252 Atk / 116 Def
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Play Rough

Aegislash @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 244 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Quiet Nature
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- Flash Cannon
1v1 UU
Durant is currently OU. There's a bunch of good pokemon that are technically UU in 1v1 that are really good. It's really easy to make a UU team.

AG 1v1
Broken

Arceus @ Mental Herb
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Recover
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Trick Room

Lunala @ Choice Specs
Ability: Shadow Shield
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Focus Blast
- Moongeist Beam
- Ice Beam
- Psychic

Sableye @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Taunt
- Recover
- Metal Burst
- Toxic

These aren't the actual sets, but these are the idea at least. Metal Burst + Focus Sash, Perish Song, and Lunala are the three things that overwhelm AG 1v1. If you're not ready for these 3 pokemon, you're going to lose.
 
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Felucia

Robot Empress
is a Battle Simulator Moderator
compared to 43.1% for Freeze Shock (look at this in relation to the 43.5% of Kyurem-Black that used Icium Z)
Keep in mind that the usage stats aren't 100% reliable, because a certain Kyurem-Black user has no life and is 20% of Kyurem usage on his own *looks away*. In this case it doesn't make a difference but do keep it in mind
 
More teams all with a less-used pokemon on them. I think showing a team can be more valuable than just a set.


Pyukumuku

Buzzwole @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 200 HP / 180 Atk / 128 Def
Adamant Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Lunge
- Bulk Up
- Roost

Just UC's Buzzwole set. It helps against Char X, Kyurem-Black, Gyarados, and Deoxys-Defense. Somehow, in combination with Pyukumuku, it consistently lures in Tapu Koko to lose to Charizard.


Pyukumuku @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
Bold Nature
- Counter
- Soak
- Recover
- Toxic

Innards Out got nerfed, but Pyukumuku isn't as bad as it looks. Unaware is pretty amazing, as only Mega-Gyarados can boost past its defenses. Unaware makes you unaware of your opponents stat drops as well though, so Magearna can Fleur Cannon you without losing Special Attack. Pyukumuku tanks a lot of hits on the special side, just by being bulky. Soak removes STAB, so with really high base defenses and loss of STAB, this is a stall pokemon that can weather critical hits rather well. And, as always, it's an unusual pokemon, which will always do well in 1v1. You can run Taunt instead of Counter in order to get the jump on people trying to cheese you with Rest. Lower your defense EVs as much as possible to get better rolls against Kyurem-Black. Oftentimes, Counter won't KO sets that aren't banded.

Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Atk / 180 Def / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- Outrage

Just good ol' defensive Charizard. The other two pokemon lose to Tapu Koko, so I added the most broken mon that beats Tapu Koko that I could.


Mega-Heracross

Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 236 HP / 140 Atk / 52 Def / 80 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Arm Thrust
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast

I recommend speed-creeping this as much as possible if you're not facing Banded/Icium-Z Kyurem-Black. Arm Thrust is for Magnezone, Pin Missile is for Deo-D. You must Close Combat in order to KO Kyurem-Black. Arm Thrust doesn't get the KO. This set does very well against Jumpluff. I would recommend adding Bullet Seed for Tapu Fini or Primarina if those pokemon are a problem for you.


Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 SpD
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Mirror Coat
- Hidden Power [Ice]

You need a way to beat stuff like Garchomp, Celesteela, and Tapu Lele with a Heracross on your team and Magnezone seemed like a good choice. Rash nature is so that max hp Meloetta KOs itself with Shadow Ball into your Mirror Coat. It also beats Mega-Gyarados without Earthquake, which is nice, as it gives you two Gyarados counters sometimes.


Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch

I've got a Kyurem-Black and a Gyarados counter on the team, so why not use Dragonite. This mon is actually really good when you don't have to worry about those 2 pokemon. Iron Head is to hopefully cheese Golem and Tapu Lele. It causes this team to get 3-0ed by Will-o-Wisp Zard X, but most of them are Sub nowadays.


Mega-Medicham

Venusaur-Mega @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 216 HP / 200 SpA / 76 SpD / 16 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sleep Powder

This team isn't amazing and I needed a pokemon that could beat a really wide range of pokemon. With good sleep hax, Mega-Venusaur can beat a ton of pokemon. Like Charizard, Gyarados, Heracross, Jumpluff, Mega-Mawile, Magnezone, etc.


Medicham-Mega @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch

Probably the best general purpose set for Mega-Medicham. Ice punch helps against stuff like Dragonite and Landorus-T. If you feel like you'd rather beat Mega-Venusaur, go right ahead and run Zen Headbutt instead. The rest of the moves are in my opinion necessary. Jolly because Adamant is too slow at base 100. This can get some kind of unexpected KOs against Magearna and Tapu Fini, which your opponent may not expect.



Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 136 HP / 248 SpA / 124 Spe
Modest Nature
- Rock Tomb
- Taunt
- Overheat
- Flash Cannon
'
Just kind of the usual gen 7 Heatran. Rock Tomb for Deoxys-Defense and Curse Mimikyu, Taunt for Deoxys-Defense and other mons that it would be good to Taunt. The speed EVs are for outspeeding Curse Mimikyu at -1. This set doesn't counter Charizard X well at all, however, so feel free to change it if that's a problem for you.
 
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Well whaddya know. As the person who introduced the possibility of suspecting Blaziken back in February, I figured I should post some more stuff now that we're going in to Blaziken's suspect test.


Blaziken
I feel like the first thing to talk about is why I proposed suspecting Blaziken in the first place and of course why we're suspecting anything at all.

Why a suspect? As many players know already, 1v1 has become sort of bland, and has been so for a long time. Meta dominating threats like Mega Charizard X, Kyurem-Black, Mega Gyarados, and Mega Mawile find themselves on almost every team especially at high ladder play. Even with the introduction of Z moves and new Alolan Pokemon such as Ultra Beasts and Alolan Guardians these pokemon have been extremely dominant. with some other pokemon like Tapu Koko, Crustle, and Donphan rising to take them on. The problem is, most people don't see these pokemon as broken, rather they're just very good and it just makes sense to use them over other pokemon. Because of this many members of the community feel like it's important that we change something, that we break the status-quo we're in now.

Why Blaziken? Blaziken seems like an odd choice at first if we're trying to target current metagame threats. It's strong. It's fast. It's got great dual STAB. So why did I suggest Blaziken? The answer is quite simple. Blaziken is good, but it's not meta-breaking. While it can tackle many pokemon, it can't dominate the majority of the metagame. Blaziken encourages the use of different threats not only as its foes, but also as its teammates. Furthermore, Blaziken isn't like the other top tier pokemon. 1v1 is heavily leaning towards a Bulky Offense style, even typically straight offense pokemon are leaning in Bulky Offense instead. Blaziken isn't like that. Blaziken is all about speed and power primarily. It's not like Mega Gyarados using Intimidate and natural bulk to set up Dragon Dances first. It's not like Kyurem-B, first investing in bulk to make sure it lives to get off its Subzero Slammer.

What happened last generation? I feel like this is important to address because this is not the first time 1v1 is suspecting Blaziken. Last generation, Blaziken was suspected and voted to remain banned by a 50%/50% split. Because of Blaziken's then standing as a banned pokemon, the unban threshold of 60% was not met. If instead, Blaziken was considered a regular unbanned pokemon it would have not been banned. Furthermore, it was tested alongside Mega Salamence and Mega Blaziken, both of which horribly overshadowed standard Blaziken and made it very difficult to get a good assessment of Blaziken. Because of those two reasons, I thought it was important to look at Blaziken again.

Now let's move on to a simple analysis of Blaziken.

Stats: View attachment 81841

A 120 Attack and 110 Special attack are both quite impressive meaning Blaziken can make for a good mixed pokemon, although it will probably lean towards being Physical.
It's bulk is actually pretty meh. 80/70/70 isn't much and Blaziken will surely not be surviving too many strong attacks.It even faints to Mimikyu's Never-Ending Nightmare + Shadow Sneak combo. 80 Speed is good, but we'll get more in to that in a bit. For comparison to some known 1v1 pokemon: Hitmonlee and Donphan have the same attack stat and the same special attack stat as Latias. As for bulk there's no direct comparison, but it's similar to Ludicolo, base Glalie, and Seaking.

Speed tier:
Now an 80 base speed isn't all that good. However, Blaziken's main selling point is that it can trade off a move slot for a free Speed Boost. Effectively giving it a Pseudo-Choice Scarf.
This puts Blaziken with Scarf Togekiss, +1 Dragonite, and right under +1 Mega Gyarados when it runs a neutral speed nature. It's slower than all Base 130 speed pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Mega Gengar. With a positive speed nature, however, it outpaces Adamant Scarf Sawk, Shell Smash Crustle at +2, and those pesky Base 130s. It is still slower than Scarf Porygon Z, Scarf Kyurem-B, Scarf Tapu Lele, Mega Alakazam, and Pheromosa. So yes, after 1 speed boost it's fast, but not too fast. What's important to note, is that Speed Boost accumulates over time with the most important one being the first and second. Against a naturally faster foe, Blaziken will probably protect to try and OHKO the next turn. Against a naturally slower foe, Speed Boost becomes useless. Against a naturally faster foe at +1, Blaziken will probably try to protect twice to get the +2 speed and OHKO on turn 3. This is a 1/3 chance.

Typing: Fire/Fighting typing is practically unknown in 1v1. Emboar is barely ever used as a reckless user, and Infernape usually runs mixed Fake Out. But Fire/Fighting is a great typing, View attachment 81842

No STAB resists and 7 types hit for SE damage is pretty sweet for an offensive pokemon. But with just 1 moveslot left for coverage, there's no way to hit all 11 of those typings easily. And of course there is many dual typings that do resist STABs as well, such as Fire/Flying, Water/Psychic, Water/Fairy, Dragon/Flying and more. Defensively it's alright. Being weak to EQ is painful, but besides that there's not much to say.

Moves: Blaziken has a good movepool to do its job. For STABs it'll run High Jump Kick and Flare Blitz/Overheat/Blast Burn. For coverage it can run Brave Bird, Stone Edge, Thunder Punch, and Earthquake. Utility options are obviously Protect, Endure, and Substitute, but it may also run Swords Dance to surprise walls and Will-o-Wisp to try and surprise physical attackers. Some other nice movepool options are Reversal, Poison Jab, and Hidden Power. Hidden Power Ice was common in the first suspect test to try and beat the dreaded Mega Salamence.

Alright, now that's taken care of what kind of sets should you be running, should you expect to see.

Blaziken @ Life Orb / Firium Z / Fightinium Z
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Flare Blitz
- High Jump Kick
- Stone Edge / Thunder Punch / Earthquake

This is the most basic set, and I'd be tempted to argue its best. Z moves are an option but they really hurt your secondary STAB and coverage options, so I recommend using Life Orb. Jolly gives a great speed tier, though Adamant can be used as well. For your coverage option, I recommend Stone Edge to hit Charizard Y, but you can use Thunder Punch to hit Mega Gyarados or Earthquake to hit Tapu Koko.

Blaziken @ Life Orb / Fightinium Z
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Protect
- Overheat
- High Jump Kick
- Stone Edge / Thunder Punch / Earthquake

Overall very similar to the first set, but is a bit more reliant on HJK than Overheat, so Fightinium Z may be preferred. The same choices about Hasty vs Lonely and Stone Edge vs Thunder Punch vs Earthquake are the same as with the first set.


Blaziken @ Firium Z
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Protect
- Blast Burn
- High Jump Kick
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Again, similar to the previous to sets, but this one relies on Z-Blast Burn to nuke the opposing threats. Hasty or Mild will be your options for +speed or neutral speed. Really any hidden power of your choice can be used, HP Ice is here to beat Landorus-T and Garchomp.


Blaziken @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Endure
- Reversal
- Flare Blitz
- Stone Edge / High Jump Kick

Probably the most different set you may face. This set tries to use a Liechi Berry + Endure set to get a very powerful Reversal to hit the next turn. It's great for luring in Porygon-Z Hyper Beams and ok at doing everything else.


Now that that's out of the way. Here's what not to run

Blaziken @ Choice Band
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- High Jump Kick
- Filler
- Filler

With Choice Band you miss out on protect and are too slow to do anything meaningful.


Blaziken @ Firium Z
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk
- Protect
- Focus Blast
- Blast Burn
- Filler

Full special is a mistake, Focus Blast has horrible accuracy and HJK from a less invested attack stat is better.


Blaziken @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Flare Blitz / High Jump Kick
- Stone Edge
- Thunder Punch / Earthquake

Not running Dual STAB is a bad idea. Blaziken's Fire/Fighting STAB has great coverage and BP already that doubling down on non-STAB coverage is a waste.


Blaziken @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Endure
- Flare Blitz
- High Jump Kick

I'm going to stop this mistake before it happens. While it seems like a great idea to get that +2 speed boost rather than +1 to outspeed every other pokemon in the metagame, it actually doesn't work. Endure only has a 1/3 chance of working after a protect, just like how protect only has a 1/3 chance of working after a protect.


Now, let's talk a bit about Checks and Counters. The thing about Blaziken is that you probably already have a check or counter on your team already.

Sturdy Pokemon: Blaziken can't touch any Sturdy Pokemon. It's best bet is against Crustle, predicting the z-rock, predicting the rock wrecker, and using protect and substitute or just using substitute on a predicted Shell Smash. Either way, it's hard for Blaziken.

Choice Scarf Pokemon: Most Choice Scarf Pokemon like Porygon-Z and Kyurem-B (and Greninja!) can outspeed Blaziken even after its +1 boost. Blaziken is forced to rely on a 1/3 chance for a double protect.

Super Effective Z: Because Z-moves go past Protect, a very strong SE attack can KO Blaziken. Tapu Lele for example can ruin a Blaziken's day. Landorus-T and Tapu Koko can deal a devastating amount of damage even after a protect.

Strong Walls/Resistant Pokemon: Pokemon like Mega Venusaur, Mega Slowbro, and Deoxys-D aren't scared off by Blaziken. Or resistant pokemon like Tapu Fini and Primarina can shrug off resisted attacks and just deal a ton of damage back.

Finally, let's talk about some good teammates.

Sturdy-Busters: Mega Gyarados may seem like a good partner pokemon, but both are scared of Sawk and Porygon-Z which are two of the most dangerous checks. So Pokemon like Charm Mega Venusuar, Mega Slowbro, Mega Sableye, Mega Medicham, and Mega Blastoise will all be good partners.

Wallbreakers: SubSwords Dance Kartana and Choice Specs Porygon-Z will damage even the bulkiest of walls that your opponent may throw at you.

Really Fast Pokemon: Let the race begin! If you don't want to gamble on beating Choice Scarf Pokemon that beat Blaziken, just go faster. I'm talking about Choice Scarf Greninja, Shell Smash Minior, Choice Scarf Victini. There is no such thing as too fast.

Final thoughts: I've done my best to outline everything you need to know going in to this suspect test. But it's inevitable that I have missed something or even I don't know something! Be creative! Be daring! Learn as much as you can about what Blaziken can do and what it can't do. Try and build several good teams with Blaziken and without Blaziken. When you're laddering try to really understand Blaziken does well and what it doesn't, and ultimately if you think it belongs!

[14:06] lost heros: Say something humorous about how excited you are about this Blaziken Suspect test
[14:06] +Dream Eater Gengar: very chicken
See, the best thing about Blaziken is that it can also learn Fling. Having kings rock and flinging that thing would flinch it,taking care of sturdy mons and then your overheat/blastburn is ready to take out the sturdy mons
 

Tol

Retirement house
See, the best thing about Blaziken is that it can also learn Fling. Having kings rock and flinging that thing would flinch it,taking care of sturdy mons and then your overheat/blastburn is ready to take out the sturdy mons
I've noticed that once people realize you're running Fling, they'll start bringing Protect and ruin that strategy. But until then, you're good.
 
I've noticed that once people realize you're running Fling, they'll start bringing Protect and ruin that strategy. But until then, you're good.
That should be good. This will mean they waste a moveslot for protect. After seeing some of their matches, we can have a mon based on their moves. XD Sounds legit?
 
im reserving this for 1v1 OMs so it can be glued to this ^ sorry for triple posting.
Hi, this is your favorite Wrath Of Alakazam. This is my first post, so do bear with my style, but here goes:

I've been playing the 1v1 meta for about a couple of years (?). I've noticed many players using various versatile tactics to combat and counter other Pokémon and teams. One particular thing has been bothering me from a strategy point of view- the sleep-and-hit strategy. It's simple-just put the opponent to sleep, either by Yawn and then Protect/Endure, or Sleep Powder/Hypnosis and then offend or Leech Seed. This strategy has been used since 1v1 itself, and is itself one of the seemingly good,consistent way of winning.

The idea of PS! is to provide a platform for competitive battling. There has been innumerable strategies, most of which are very good and competitive. Not sleep! It shifts the 1v1 meta from a skill- and competitive-based game to merely a luck-based play.

Since the introduction of the Z-move concept, the sleep play has seen a dip in usage since the protect part can be broken by Z-move. Even so, it can't be ignored merely on usage basis.

Some examples of mons (which otherwise is garb) gaining undue advantage through this strategy:

Relicanth @ Rockium Z
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Yawn
- Protect
- Head Smash
- Waterfall


Empoleon @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Yawn
- Endure
- Hydro Cannon
- Flash Cannon


Hippowdon @ Groundium Z
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Yawn
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide.


Snorlax @ Normalium Z
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Yawn
- Protect
- Belly Drum
- Double-Edge


Total sucker (Jumpluff) @ Wide Lens
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Protect


Even though there are strategies to counter this play like Sub, Taunt, or just killing the Mon, there are few viable mons which can run this set and not fear being trampled by other well-used mons like Gyarados-M, Char and Koko, to name a few

So with the funda of the meta in mind, I strongly call for a complete curtain ban on sleep-inducing moves.
 
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Hi, this is your favorite Wrath Of Alakazam. This is my first post, so do bear with my style, but here goes:

I've been playing the 1v1 meta for about a couple of years (?). I've noticed many players using various versatile tactics to combat and counter other Pokémon and teams. One particular thing has been bothering me from a strategy point of view- the sleep-and-hit strategy. It's simple-just Yawn the opponent and then, Protect/endure, and then the offensive. This strategy has been used since 1v1v itself, and is itself one of the seemingly good consistent way of winning.

The idea of PS! is to provide a platform for competitive battling. There has been innumerable strategies, most of which are very good and competitive. Not sleep! It shifts the tier, meta whatever from a skill- and competitive-based game to merely a luck-based play. So, with the funda of the meta in mind, I strongly call for a complete curtain ban on sleep-inducing moves.

P. S. : I'll edit this post more since I'm moving and typing ATM
For example: Snorlax gets to yawn on any mon that doesn't OHKO it (close to all of them), and the belly drum up. Winning against Snorlax does not entail clever usage of EV's and calculations, but prayer that you wake up and have the opportunity to do anything at all.

Another prime example is jumpluff, who for the most part beats anything that it is faster than by putting it to sleep and watching the opponent wither away to leech seed.

Essentially, this sleep induction strategy takes playing the game out of the hands of the players as they both hope for the appropriate hax. Therefore, we should suspect and ban sleep moves.

- No pics, no likes
 
I'll be perfectly honest; I'm not an expert. However, these yawn gimmicks seem very easily counterable, as they are often slow in a rather fast meta, and so strategies such as substitute(commonly run to counter z moves), and uproar(on porygon z).
On a side note, what diffrentiates these strategies from flinchrachi? Both of them rely on only luck, and though i would not support a ban on sleep moves, if they are banned, jirachi also should be.
 
Prof. iHen, as regarding the "only slow pokes use sleep" and "try sub to break the sleep cause",try jumpluff or relic song which bypasses sub. My point here was that sleep makes the play rather luck-based rather than skill based, and just as it is, the meta wrecks good players with this concept called "CRITICAL HITS"[I can personally testify to this effect, despite not being a really good player]. This is only my opinionated thread regarding sleep, so if serene grace needs to be looked into, write a post and I'll make sure we get that as well as this banned
 

Tol

Retirement house
On a side note, what diffrentiates these strategies from flinchrachi? Both of them rely on only luck, and though i would not support a ban on sleep moves, if they are banned, jirachi also should be.
There's one real difference between Jirachi and Sleep. With Jirachi, you know exactly what it is in team preview. Not so with sleep. In addition to the Yawn Z-Belly Drum Snorlax, I have also seen Curse Snorlax, Snorlium Z Snorlax, and you have to play against these differently, assuming you don't have a very powerful Fighting type on your team. And with the Relicanth, almost no Mold Breaker mons that are used can OHKO it because of its typing (Except for Scarfed Mold Breaker Sawk, which is actually a pretty good counter to Sleep sets in general, but people opt for Sturdy instead because it's more versatile) until Ampharos-Mega comes out. I do agree with your thought that Jirachi should be banned, but they are not the same thing.
 
TGC Disunited Aside from snorlax, If you see a weird mon, 8/10 times, it's going to be a yawn endure/protect set. And with snorlax, you generally play the same way against z as with curse and yawn(sub first turn. It usually works wonders for me).
Wrath of Alakazam We have to accept we get haxed sometimes. In fact, most of the meta is fast/slowbulk sweepers, as always. And all the fast sweepers, you can just bring sub to counter cheese sets. My anticheese rn is hitmonlee. I honestly don't see jumpluff very often, nor do i see relic song very often either. When i do run into it, i find that pory counters it pretty handily. I see this being a problem with some teams, but honestly you can deal with it. The point that you shouldn't have to deal with this i'll have to think about some more.

Feel free to correct me on any of this, as I'm again, not the best 1v1 player
 
Prof.iHen The point is not about it not being prevalent in the meta. The fact that it exists is in itself questionable. As we very well know, not one strategy is very well used in the meta; it is this fact that makes 1v1 so cool, we 1v1ers use various tactics. The issue, as I'm always emphasizing, is that sleep always makes the game more inclined towards luck than skill. Thats the point I'm trying to vainly make here, I guess.
 

Felucia

Robot Empress
is a Battle Simulator Moderator
I'm again, not the best 1v1 player
Hello, this is the best 1v1 player speaking

Sorry about that, bad joke...

Anyway. My greatest problem in sleep lies with Jumpluff, the source of my annoyance being the need to either:
A) Run a grass type
I hate type restrictions in teambuilding, so I don't like this option.
B) Run something with over 110 base speed or a choice scarf
As you all know, I prefer a bulky offensive playstyle so this is something that rarely happens naturally on my teams, unless I need to specifically counter Jumpluff which is a bother
C) Use one of various other niche options
We don't talk about Insomnia.
D) Get really really lucky
Thank God I'm good at that
Hmm I think I'll pick option D which is what many people seem to have to do.
I can't say anything about that being banworthy, I'm just stating my opinions
 
Hello, this is the best 1v1 player speaking

Sorry about that, bad joke...

Anyway. My greatest problem in sleep lies with Jumpluff, the source of my annoyance being the need to either:


Hmm I think I'll pick option D which is what many people seem to have to do.
I can't say anything about that being banworthy, I'm just stating my opinions
UnleashOurPassion Precisely what I was trying to emphasize.... The whole sleep play makes the 1v1 meta a luck based one, rather than a skill-based one, something I've been trying to emphasize in the thread. And that's why I want it banned
 
You shouldn't expect to wake up after one turn. Probability management is part of the game. You should prepare for (multiple turns of) sleep like any other strategy. Now if you're arguing that sleep can't be prepared for then that's a different story. But the argument of "luck" is weak.

Edit: As an example, UOP decides to use this strategy where he puts you to sleep turn 1, sets up turn 2, and kills you turn 3. There is a 33% chance that you will wake up after turn 1 and ruin his strategy. UOP knows this, though. He made the decision to run this strategy knowing that there's a chance of failure.

Anyway, I'll say that if this sleep strategy is becoming a thing, then create counter strategies. It's hard to believe that you can't prepare for it as there are several abilities, items, and moves that deal with sleep. If those are not enough, fine, you're free to make a case that sleep moves (or certain Pokémon running them) are broken.
 
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You shouldn't expect to wake up after one turn. Probability management is part of the game. You should prepare for (multiple turns of) sleep like any other strategy. Now if you're arguing that sleep can't be prepared for then that's a different story. But the argument of "luck" is weak.

Edit: As an example, UOP decides to use this strategy where he puts you to sleep turn 1, sets up turn 2, and kills you turn 3. There is a 33% chance that you will wake up after turn 1 and ruin his strategy. UOP knows this, though. He made the decision to run this strategy knowing that there's a chance of failure.

Anyway, I'll say that if this sleep strategy is becoming a thing, then create counter strategies. It's hard to believe that you can't prepare for it as there are several abilities, items, and moves that deal with sleep. If those are not enough, fine, you're free to make a case that sleep moves (or certain Pokémon running them) are broken.
I do realise that there are counter strategies, and I do use them. But it's not about that. You see, PSong too had counters like soundproof and taunt. Despite these reasons, it was banned for the simple reason that it made the meta incompetent. The same applies to the sleep play; there are counters to check the sleeping, but unfortunately, there are things to counter the counters. The insomnia/vital spirit Pokemon aren't good;you could sub, but jumpluff would still do things to you; you could start taunting but z moves are unaffected by taunt.....In my opinion, the only possible solution according to me would be to ban it.
 

Felucia

Robot Empress
is a Battle Simulator Moderator
I do realise that there are counter strategies, and I do use them. But it's not about that. You see, PSong too had counters like soundproof and taunt. Despite these reasons, it was banned for the simple reason that it made the meta incompetent. The same applies to the sleep play; there are counters to check the sleeping, but unfortunately, there are things to counter the counters. The insomnia/vital spirit Pokemon aren't good;you could sub, but jumpluff would still do things to you; you could start taunting but z moves are unaffected by taunt.....In my opinion, the only possible solution according to me would be to ban it.
The difference between this and Perish Song is that this isn't overcentralizing in any way. Sleep is indeed something that can be prepared for quite easily and viably but even if you don't, it's not the end of the world because Jumpluff isn't used that much.
My recent teams all feature Tapu Koko so sleep isn't a big issue anymore, and Tapu Koko has so much usage that sleep is simply not viable in many cases.
 
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