AAA Almost Any Ability

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Sad to see no new recent posts, but I think it's pretty appropriate to talk about Braviary for today is
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA'S INDEPENDENCE DAY GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Boasting a 123 Atk stat, Braviary is the second strongest Flying type (while also getting to use its Flying STAB unlike Gyarados) in the game and the 4th strongest Normal type as well (with SpA included).
It's Brave Bird hits like a Fatman and Little Boy and it's Facade makes Obstagoon Jealous.

Braviary (M) @ Choice Band/Choice Scarf
Ability: Tough Claws/Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Facade
- Close Combat
- U-turn
This set seeks out Raw Damage with. There are very few things that can switch into this thing. Even Aegislash will just fall victim to U-turns as you bring in a check for it safely.

Braviary (M) @ Toxic Orb/Flame Orb/Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard/Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Facade
- Brave Bird
- U-turn/Roost
- Close Combat
While a bit weaker than Tough Claws, this set still has a lot of kick to it. Magic Guard allows Braviary to always switch into Stealth Rock, and more importantly prevents residual damage from your Badly Poisoning yourself and Brave Bird recoil. This is pretty rad as it let's Braviary avoid being burned, paralyzed, put to sleep, or being frozen. The Badly Poison also boosts the power of Facade so you are not relying on your opponent to toxic you. You can also opt to use Life Orb, boosting all its Attacks with no downsides, but can then become susceptible to burns and paralysis.
Guts is also useful, trading in Flame Orb, and makes Braviary hit pretty hard on all its attacks. However Guts is more vulnerable to being worn down by Stealth Rock, Sand, Burns, and Brave Bird Recoil, so it won't have the same longevity as Magic Guard.

Braviary (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dual Wingbeat
- Roost
- Bulk Up
- Close Combat
Just like the American Revolution, Kalos is an ally to Unova. While this is the softest hitting set from Braviary, that isn't saying much given Braviary's power. Gale Wings gives Braviary priority on its flying type moves, provided it's at full health. With it's 123 Atk, It's going to revenge kill most things, even if DWB is weaker than Brave Bird. Braviary can also boost its power even more with Bulk Up. It can often find opportunities to get at least 1 bulk up off as an opponent probably doesn't want their slower Pokemon not named Aegislash to be immediately killed off by the sight of this thing. Against a weakened team, it can be hard to stop Braviary.

Braviary (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Delta Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- Brave Bird
- U-turn/Close Combat
Despite what Braviary may look like, Braviary can totally be viable as a defogger. It's bulk, while not the best, isn't too shabby either after investment.
What makes Braviary interesting is it's mix of power and bulk. Many defoggers usually defog by tanking as many hits as they can as anti-hazard-removal is typically killing the defogger.
With Braviary, you fight back against that anti-hazard-removal with your power and being able to tank some decent hits as well. Thanks to its typing and Delta Stream, Braviary has 0 Weaknesses, 2 resistances, and 2 immunities. Having 0 weaknesses after Delta Stream is only shared by Rookidee/Corvisquire, Rotom-Fan/Emolga, and the Birds that share its typing. This means that Braviary can take most punishments and punish back hard with it's powerful Brave Bird.
 
I just want to say that specs adaptability rotom wash in the rain is a problem. I use two setters, usually scizor and toad. Two swift swimmers, lately I've been running haxorus and necrozma. A cleric chansey and the rotom.
 
I'v been out for quiet some time, but back with the newly released Yakuza Pokemon, Zarude.

Zarude is pretty promising for AAA and will be a step up from standard play. It has amazing stats, a pretty good move pool, and a decent typing.

Zarude @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant/Jolly Nature
- Close Combat/Darkest Lariat
- Power Whip
- Grassy Glide
- U-turn

Imagine, Rillaboom, but now with 105/105/95 bulk, Close Combat, no recoil Wood Hammer, 105 Speed so that it will still be faster than Jolly Rillaboom, at the cost of Knock Off (rip), and 11 points of Max Attack. You get Zarude with Grassy Surge.
The most important takeaway from this is Close Combat and STAB DL. Close Combat is able to hit every Steel type aside from Aegislash while also doing far more than HHP. This is especially good against Rotom-H, Corviknight, Corvilight, Levitating Steels, Ferrothorn, Mandibuzz, and more. Darkest Lariat is a powerful STAB that ignores Dauntless Shield, Bulk up, and Iron Defense, while being a consistent hard hitting move for Poison types like Amoonguss, and then also hits Ghosts like Doublade/Aegislash, and more unique type combos like Volcarona.
The other major take away is its Speed. 105 speed is amazing, letting it outspeed unboosted base 90 speeds with Adamant, and the common base 100 speed tier with Jolly. This means that Grassy Glide doesn't have to be relied on as much and Zarude can more easily force out Pokemon like Hydreigon with a guaranteed OHKO with Close Combat without being KO'd by Hydreigon's Draco Meteor (which Zaruda can survive too, unlike Rillaboom). It's also great to beat out slower priority moves with your superior speed, like how Talonflame of old could outspeed Azumarill's Aqua Jet and Bisharp's Sucker Punch.

Zarude @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Solar Blade
- Close Combat
- Synthesis/Power Whip
or
Zarude @ Life Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Growth
- Solar Blade
- Close Combat
- Darkest Lariat

Zarude is a great Sun Pokemon, despite Fire moves being more powerful under Sun. U-turn as always is a great move while having supportive abilities. Other fast U-turners to go around, including ones that benefit from the Sun, but Zarude sets itself apart because of Synthesis, it's bulk, and threatening out Bulky Waters and Ferrothorn with it's combo of Solar Blade+Close Combat with maybe Power Whip to combat Drizzle/Primordial Sea. That Solar Blade hits slightly harder than Power Whip and has the accuracy of Woodhammer without the recoil.
For more selfish Zarude's you can go boosting Zarude's great 120 Atk stat, have perma sun up. It's also an amazing answer to Drizzle teams as they'll be filled with slower water types that Zarude preys upon.

Zarude @ Choice Band
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Power Whip
- Darkest Lariat
- Close Combat
- U-turn

There isn't really much to say here other than it's a Dark/Grass type physical attacker with extremely good bulk and speed for what it does. Tough Claws/Adaptability are just the generic attacker ability you put on a physical attacker to make them do an extra x1.33 or x1.33333... damage. It's great and does it's job well, but it's pretty boring.
 
Hi ! With the Fall Seasonal running soon and the Magearna suspect I hope the AAA hype gets revived a bit ! I want to talk a little about the metagame and how to improve it by discussing a few topics, as I have played and built no-magearna AAA a ton recently due to the OML (french (=better) OMPL).

First things first I have to say that the metagame is actually very fun to build in and quite fun to play overall. I believe it's the funniest OM to play currently, and I personnally enjoy it more than Gen7aaa. There is massive room for exploration so it makes building feel like you might be discovering something new every time. I have so many ideas that pop up in my head when scrolling in the builder, it's very enjoyable.

However playing it is way less fun than building for one very reason : matchup defines almost every single game. Winning by outplaying the opponent almost doesn't exist in AAA right now (when two good player face each other). There is for a lot of skill involved in the teambuilder, but definetly less in the games.

Two big things to look at

I) Teambuilding restrictions and free wins


Credits to xavgb for highlighting it on discord but right now there are 2 elements that highly reduce one's range of possibilities when building a team : extreme breakers and various sweepers. Assuming serious players use balance / bulky offense / semi-stall builds (this might change of course), all of this makes so you're forced to run very specific types of walls on 2-3 slots, and only then will you worry about what you'd like to use. What you'd like to use, if you have more than 2 braincells, will have a good matchup against those very specific walls, meaning either the "what I'd like to use" of the opponent deals with yours, either you have an overwhelming matchup. Either you'll struggle a lot, either you'll win easily (that's very schematized but it's what I've seen most of the time). I'd say one of the two players has a very easy win at least 30-40% of the games (maybe more).

Breakers that you can't not have in mind when building : :noivern: :terrakion: and to a lesser extent : :weavile: :gengar:
Sweepers that you need to be worried about : :togekiss: :volcarona: :primarina: :snorlax: and to a lesser extent : :conkeldurr: :golisopod: :talonflame:

Walls that are litterally everywhere because of that and that you assume the opponent will have when building because the opponent will have them : :mew: (dshield) :hippowdon: :corviknight: :toxapex: :corviknight: fly-resisting regenvest (:jirachi: :silvally: elec or steel)

Other A tiers and higher aren't here because they're used for their overall reliability rather than checking specific stuff.


The most restricting pokemon here are most likely Terrakion and Noivern (usually your walls end up checking the common sweepers, but it's not their main purpose, as they're most of the time dedicated to the breakers) I think both fall under the definition of "broken" as any chip damage or status on their checks, or hazards, will allow them to go in. They are unbelievably reliable, especially considering that Noivern can always Switcheroo a Choice Specs to a defensive pokémon, and Terrakion can always get up rocks or poison its check. A problem that was rised on discord is that if we ban them we have no reason to believe no other pokemon will replace them. I don't really agree with that idea, because the reason why those two aren't matched is because the other breakers have counters that they can't really muscle through unless missplay or endgame situations (primarina and toxapex hard counter Weavile for example), while they will always find a way of breaking through. So as extreme as it sounds, I firmly believe that banning both Noivern and Terrakion would be very healthy for the metagame, giving a wider range of options in the builder both in the defensive cores and in offensive ones. Other pokemon have the same, and even more breaking potential but they're way slower, making them less reliable. It would also maybe leave more room for offensive builds, that just usually get blown away by those two (I'm less sure about this take, but I think aesf mentioned it at some point and said that offense was struggling because the fastest pokemon were also the strongest ones, which makes sense).

II) Magic Bounce and its impact on long games

So 30-40% of the games end up being one breaker having no switchin or one sweeper straight up 6-0ing. What about the 60-70% rest ? This ratio doesn't seem that terrible. Problem being : if no player has something that wins easily, then the (long) game will most often be decided at the matchup between the two defensive cores. This issue definetly comes from Magic Bounce in my eyes.

Almost every good team has a bouncer because it's incredibly reliable : it can come in for free on every wall and just pivot or do whatever it wants (especially the absolutely broken Bounce Mew). This means that setting hazards is a huge risk (basically wasting 3 turns : the one where you set up hazards, the one where you switch to your remover, and the one where you Defog, not even mentionning the fact that the opponent will make you struggle to do this), and going for it is not worth it most of the time. So getting up hazards is incredibly hard, and if you want a reliable setter you have no other choice than using a breaker like Terrakion (and wasting a turn with Terrakion is 1- usually a risk 2- kind of a waste with such a powerful breaker). And now we come to the point : hazards are key to making progress in such games and are a pretty big part of Pokémon where skill comes into play. When switches are limited by hazards you have to calculate perfectly because a mistake can cost you a lot (losing momentum, getting your terrak check worn down, etc.) ; whereas when switches are all free it just comes down to matchup. Like really in such very long games with no hazards up, matchup is the only thing that matters as long as one player isn't stupid enough to get his terrak check crippled in some way.

Some might say "just run mold breaker". In this metagame you just don't have room for that most of the time, or at least putting one is a huge sacrifice, because if it's a breaker it won't be strong enough, and if it's a wall it won't have enough bulk. The only other counterplay to bouncers for defensive mons is Skill Swap DShield Mew, which just makes every turn it's in a 50/50 between skill swaping on the incoming bouncer or getting up rocks on the opponent predicting Skill Swap (I had a game against aesf recently where we got that situation like 5 times and it was annoying af).

Other than that Magic Bounce makes every turn where you want to use something that can be bounced a 50/50, which is enormous and very frustrating ; and it's not as simple as "it's not worth to go for it" because your opponent knows that and might take advantage of it. Also watch AAA games between good players : hazards are bounced at least once soo often that you can't just say "he shouldn't have gone for it". For example when Terrakion's in (I know you know that situation), do you go to your obvious check that the opponent already saw or to your bouncer ? If you get it wrong you're screwed, and it's almost pure luck.

For those reasons I am definetly advocating for banning Magic Bounce. I would like to read some no-ban arguments because I sincerely can't find any, other than "it's bad but it isn't as terrible as it looks like", which looks iffy. Like what pitfall does it prevent ? I know removing it will shake the metagame quite a lot but I can only see it being for good.



Conclusion :
I can see Poison Heal, Gengar and Mew being brought up too, but for now that's gonna be it. Please give your opinion on that, I'm truly interested. We're close from my conception of an ideal metagame so let's go all the way.
Also VR update when reeeeee.

EDIT : Adaptability and Dauntless shield should probably be discussed too. I don’t want 6 bans in a row obviously though, that would just create a different format lmao

TL;DR : Ban Noivern, Terrakion and Magic Bounce from Gen 8 AAA.
 
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Hi ! As you all know we have a french OM community with an active discord, and we do all in our power to try and welcome new users in the best possible way, with teambuilding help, updated resources in every tier etc.
As you also know the Gen8 AAA resources are not up to date at this time. So we decided to make a temporary VR and a Set Compendium on our side, then we thought it would be silly not to share it with everyone, so we made it in English and here it is.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yq0lqGSA1yC4bVbnVfQYbFnackvaaVUz5te1N6wYPD8/edit?usp=sharing

The VR was done as usual between Council members, by votes on a Google Sheet that here is, except we aren't council members : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DNnsKuObs91gYiBMStegrcJxYXPMgu-_uGhPrUAx2Lk/edit#gid=0
Voted PandaDoux , Pyroshi02 , Siamato, Dragonillis, LaBalladeDesCieux and myself ; with the active participation of Palapapop.

Apart from small inaccuracies in the VR I think with the agreement of the people mentioned above that this resource is quite exhaustive and up to date. It can therefore be used by anyone for free (unfortunately).
It is obviously open to discussion, and we are ready to make any reasonable updates suggested. If the official VR is updated we will for sure resort our Set Compendium to fit it.

We ask Council members not to take this as a coup attempt, but you can imagine that if we had to make these resources ourselves it is because there is a small problem of activity in the management of the AAA metagame. We do not feel any hostility towards you and we sincerely wish to work hand in hand, but such obsolete resources for one of the main Smogon OMs, while not being criminal, is not ideal.
 
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Having trouble with ferro and pals? Boy do I have the answer for you:

Rotom-Heat @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Trick

This monstrosity of bad lures will delete just about any steel mon you can think of, if not at least cripple them!
 
I've made some teams around Tspikes + Merciless and it works really well. The ability to get guaranteed crits on poisoned mons is great. Pex is my tspikes user with Prankster. Paired with fast Taunt users (Kommo-o gets Taunt!) Merciless teams wreck. In case somebody new is reading this, taunt stops the opponent from using non-damaging moves, making it so they can't use Defog to get rid of Tspikes. Which means the only hazard removal move you can use is Rapid Spin. Here's some sets I have been using:
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpD / 252 Def / 4 HP
Bold Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Toxic
- Scald
- Recover

Kommo-o @ Throat Spray
Ability: Merciless
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Clanging Scales
- Taunt
- Boomburst
- Clangorous Soul

Noivern @ Life Orb
Ability: Merciless
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Dragon Pulse
- Flamethrower
- Taunt

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Merciless
EV's 252 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- Triple Axel
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Ice Shard
 
I've made some teams around Tspikes + Merciless and it works really well. The ability to get guaranteed crits on poisoned mons is great. Pex is my tspikes user with Prankster. Paired with fast Taunt users (Kommo-o gets Taunt!) Merciless teams wreck. In case somebody new is reading this, taunt stops the opponent from using non-damaging moves, making it so they can't use Defog to get rid of Tspikes. Which means the only hazard removal move you can use is Rapid Spin. Here's some sets I have been using:
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpD / 252 Def / 4 HP
Bold Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Toxic
- Scald
- Recover

Kommo-o @ Throat Spray
Ability: Merciless
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Clanging Scales
- Taunt
- Boomburst
- Clangorous Soul

Noivern @ Life Orb
Ability: Merciless
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Dragon Pulse
- Flamethrower
- Taunt

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Merciless
EV's 252 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- Triple Axel
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Ice Shard
Sadly this strategy is unviable because it's completely invalidated by common pokémon that can remove TSpikes like Toxapex or Gengar. Also setting up TSpikes is risky because the opponent is likely to have a Magic Bounce pokémon.
Fun concept though !
 
I've been neglecting talking about this in fear of what might become. This is something I've been working on for quite a while, and while it's not perfect, it's certainly a piece of art worth discussing.

Ever feel like your team is slow? Scarfers run through your team? Well, today, I have an answer for you.

Crustle.

Yes. Crustle.

Originally as a joke, I wanted to take advantage of the fact that Unburden is used less than I think it should be.
I wanted to think of easy ways to get the proc consistently - I didn't want to only be able to get the speed boost, but I wanted to know that I was getting something in addition to that, and all at once.

I don't think anyone would debate that Shell Smash is one of the best setup moves in the game, if not one of the best moves outright.
Now, I looked through the teambuilder for the mon that learns Shell Smash with the highest attack stat.

Which led to our star, Crustle. Barbaracle also has 105 attack but that's not nearly as funny

I began hatching a plan. I built a relatively standard Crustle set (SS, double STAB, coverage), swapped the ability to Unburden, and added a White Herb.

Before setting EVs, I wanted to see what some benchmarks were. Crustle has only base 45 speed, and I somehow still don't know how to convert that to in-game stats in my head, so I opened up everyone's favorite calculator, plugged everything in, set the EVs to 252+ for speed, just so I know my maximum, and then I was enlightened to one of the greatest things I've ever seen. I've been to the Louvre and it was nothing in comparison.

Crustle's speed is 828 after one boost. To put that in perspective, Max Speed Scarf Jolly Ninjask is "only" 690. The fastest Pokemon in the game, scarfed, is massively out-sped by this monster.

Okay, so after going across the room to grab my blown-off socks, I decided to turn down the dial a bit back.

Let's look at Crustle uninvested. Move around the numbers in the calc, swap it to Adamant, and get rid of the speed EVs.

What is its speed now? 504 uninvested. For more perspective, Timid Deoxys-Speed speed ties.

Okay but this thing has to be weak, right? I mean it's freaking Crustle.

252+ Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Crustle: 133-157 (38.7 - 45.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Okay so it's still a tank but with 504 speed - that's weird but can it dish the damage?

+2 252+ Atk Crustle X-Scissor vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mew: 356-420 (88.1 - 103.9%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

That is max HP max Def Bold Mew in OHKO range after just one boost.

Now let's see what happens after another boost:

+4 252+ Atk Crustle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 840-988 (117.6 - 138.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Yes, that's max HP max Def Bold Blissey just absolutely obliterated by this thing.

I can give more calcs, but this is already getting very long. I do want to add as a reminder that Stone Edge also has that increased crit rate, so you can kill some alleged "walls" many times over.
 
Volcarona (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Psychic

Urshifu (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sniper
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wicked Blow
- Drain Punch
- Poison Jab
- Ice Punch

Weavile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard

Primarina @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Sparkling Aria
- Hyper Voice
- Ice Beam

Just a few interesting sets I thought would work. WDYT?

MODERATOR EDIT COMBINING POSTS:
Both Urshifus are banned in AAA
IK, but still fun to think about right?
Loved them all. Only thing I would change is Ice Punch to Triple Axel or Icicle Crash on Weavile.
I wouldn't do that. I have some traumatic experiences with
✨ACCURACY✨
 
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Volcarona (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Psychic

Urshifu (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sniper
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wicked Blow
- Drain Punch
- Poison Jab
- Ice Punch

Weavile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard

Primarina @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Sparkling Aria
- Hyper Voice
- Ice Beam

Just a few interesting sets I thought would work. WDYT?
Loved them all. Only thing I would change is Ice Punch to Triple Axel or Icicle Crash on Weavile. Heres a set I've been working on.

Mew @ Assault Vest
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 4 SpD
Jolly Nature
-Flare Blitz
-Brave Bird
-Submission
-Wild Charge

I thought A Rock Head/ Reckless set would be really fun too do, so I decided to use the pokemon that gets like, all moves. This is the set I came up with, and its very entertaining. Band or Scarf sets could work for this too, but the extra SpD bulk helps to live hits.

MODERATOR EDIT COMBINING POSTS:
magic guard is better, it removes damage from recoil, but also removes any kind of indirect damage
Sweet I'll make sure to try that, thanks
 
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zxgzxg

scrabble
is a Forum Moderator
Volcarona (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Psychic

Urshifu (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sniper
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wicked Blow
- Drain Punch
- Poison Jab
- Ice Punch

Weavile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard

Primarina @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Sparkling Aria
- Hyper Voice
- Ice Beam

Just a few interesting sets I thought would work. WDYT?
Both Urshifus are banned in AAA
 
Loved them all. Only thing I would change is Ice Punch to Triple Axel or Icicle Crash on Weavile. Heres a set I've been working on.

Mew @ Assault Vest
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 4 SpD
Jolly Nature
-Flare Blitz
-Brave Bird
-Submission
-Wild Charge

I thought A Rock Head/ Reckless set would be really fun too do, so I decided to use the pokemon that gets like, all moves. This is the set I came up with, and its very entertaining. Band or Scarf sets could work for this too, but the extra SpD bulk helps to live hits.
magic guard is better, it removes damage from recoil, but also removes any kind of indirect damage
 

drampa's grandpa

cannonball
is a Community Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
Volcarona (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Psychic

Urshifu (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sniper
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wicked Blow
- Drain Punch
- Poison Jab
- Ice Punch

Weavile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard

Primarina @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Sparkling Aria
- Hyper Voice
- Ice Beam

Just a few interesting sets I thought would work. WDYT?
Please include an explanation or description of your sets when you post them so they can further conversation in a more productive way.
Things to mention: What does your set do differently from the standard sets? How do your sets match up well (or poorly) against the current metagame? Relevant calcs showcasing power or tanking ability.

Anyway, the sets.
Volcarona (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Psychic
Serene Grace Fiery Dance is an interesting cleaning mechanism, but I feel Volcarona's lack of a power boosting ability and weakness to Rocks is going to hold it back here. Bulky Waters are really common and really good, so most teams with have something that can tank it.

I do like that Volcarona resists a number of common priority options, namely pretty much every Triage move + Ice Shard / Mach Punch. Lack of physical bulk is a little bit of an issue but it should be able to kill before being killed I think? Unless like Primarina but that's a different issue.

Overall Volcarona is a good mon but I think Serene Grace isn't necessarily the best way to play up its strengths.

Urshifu (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sniper
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wicked Blow
- Drain Punch
- Poison Jab
- Ice Punch
Banned boi is banned. We'd prefer not to talk about banned mons here, unless it's in the context of an unban, which this wasn't. AAA Ubers can be found in the OM Mashup Megathread. Not linked cuz mobile ;-;

While I'm not sure if Shiny or Female Urshifu is a thing (Does it have a gender? Honestly IDK) overall this set looks mostly pretty good. Close Combat > Drain Punch and U-turn > Ice Punch probably.

Personally I'd prefer Tough Claws for more generalized power but Sniper certainly hits harder with Wicked Blow.


Weavile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
Unburden on Weavile is both mostly unnecessary due to how fast it already is and unreliable to pull off with a sash. Any hazards ruin this strategy. You really need to be Adamant so you can have more power (if Unburden), you will be more than fast enough. Overall I'd stick with Adaptability though. Also I repeat what was said about Icicle Crash > Ice Punch. Hitting does you no good if you never KO, and Weavile wants to hit as hard as possible.

Primarina @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Sparkling Aria
- Hyper Voice
- Ice Beam
Overall a nice set :blobthumbsup: I'm not sure if it does enough over Adaptability or Sheer Force (or Triage or Poison Heal or whatever) to be worth it, but Hyper Voice ignoring Subs is nice.

I'd recommend Scald > Sparkling Aria. Burn chance pairs really well with Calm Mind, and Scald is just generally an incredible move. I think Psychic will also serve you better than Ice Beam here. It hits Toxapex, which otherwise walls you. Ice Beam is mostly redundant with your STABs anyway.

The EVs could probably be improved to outspeed or tank something... but I don't know how so uh... yeah let's pretend this line doesn't exist.
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Anyway feel free to share sets, we like that, just please give us some explanation!


Mew @ Assault Vest
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 4 SpD
Jolly Nature
-Flare Blitz
-Brave Bird
-Submission
-Wild Charge

I thought A Rock Head/ Reckless set would be really fun too do, so I decided to use the pokemon that gets like, all moves. This is the set I came up with, and its very entertaining. Band or Scarf sets could work for this too, but the extra SpD bulk helps to live hits.
Frankly, I would use something other than Mew here. And yes, use Magic Guard > Rock Head always. Magic Guard Cinderace with Flare Blitz, High Jump Kick, U-turn, and I think Court Change(?) is a standard one, and Darmanitan seems like it would be a cool choice as well. For Mew, I'd either run a defensive set (you can check out last week's OM Matchmaking project, someone submitted a Pdef Mew) or a bulky setup Mew with Nasty Plot or Dragon Dance. Mew just doesn't have the stats to break walls effectively without boosts, and it can after all only run 4 moves at a time, even if it gets more than Arceus.
 
Please include an explanation or description of your sets when you post them so they can further conversation in a more productive way.
Things to mention: What does your set do differently from the standard sets? How do your sets match up well (or poorly) against the current metagame? Relevant calcs showcasing power or tanking ability.
Sorry. They were just sets I thought of off the top of my head.
Serene Grace Fiery Dance is an interesting cleaning mechanism, but I feel Volcarona's lack of a power boosting ability and weakness to Rocks is going to hold it back here. Bulky Waters are really common and really good, so most teams with have something that can tank it.

I do like that Volcarona resists a number of common priority options, namely pretty much every Triage move + Ice Shard / Mach Punch. Lack of physical bulk is a little bit of an issue but it should be able to kill before being killed I think? Unless like Primarina but that's a different issue.

Overall Volcarona is a good mon but I think Serene Grace isn't necessarily the best way to play up its strengths.
Yeah, rock is Volcarona's downfall. I just thought what if it could be useful without Quiver Dance? Silly.
Unburden on Weavile is both mostly unnecessary due to how fast it already is and unreliable to pull off with a sash. Any hazards ruin this strategy. You really need to be Adamant so you can have more power (if Unburden), you will be more than fast enough. Overall I'd stick with Adaptability though. Also I repeat what was said about Icicle Crash > Ice Punch. Hitting does you no good if you never KO, and Weavile wants to hit as hard as possible.
But then again, most strategies have a check. And about the accuracy issue, that was just a little quirk I have that makes me value reliabilty over damage. Yeah, that's silly too.
Banned boi is banned. We'd prefer not to talk about banned mons here, unless it's in the context of an unban, which this wasn't. AAA Ubers can be found in the OM Mashup Megathread. Not linked cuz mobile ;-;

While I'm not sure if Shiny or Female Urshifu is a thing (Does it have a gender? Honestly IDK) overall this set looks mostly pretty good. Close Combat > Drain Punch and U-turn > Ice Punch probably.

Personally I'd prefer Tough Claws for more generalized power but Sniper certainly hits harder with Wicked Blow.
OOPS. Sorry about that. And yes, it has a 50% chance to be male or female.
Overall a nice set :blobthumbsup: I'm not sure if it does enough over Adaptability or Sheer Force (or Triage or Poison Heal or whatever) to be worth it, but Hyper Voice ignoring Subs is nice.

I'd recommend Scald > Sparkling Aria. Burn chance pairs really well with Calm Mind, and Scald is just generally an incredible move. I think Psychic will also serve you better than Ice Beam here. It hits Toxapex, which otherwise walls you. Ice Beam is mostly redundant with your STABs anyway.

The EVs could probably be improved to outspeed or tank something... but I don't know how so uh... yeah let's pretend this line doesn't exist.
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Anyway feel free to share sets, we like that, just please give us some explanation!
Yeah, wasn't too keen on Liquid Voice, as 1. It doesn't boost BP and 2. This is AAA. Yeah, having two moves on the set that ignore Sub is nice. And Scald...yeah. It is better in some ways, but not all. I did not know it got Psychic (wish it got Psyshock instead) and I will use that from now on.

I cannot thank you enough for the advice and will take it to heart! I very much appreciate it!
 
Here's a team I've been working on for quite some time now, and while it probably still needs a good bit of work, I do think it has the potential to be unironically good.

Pokepaste Link

This is my "AAA Merciless Spam" team. I hope you're ready.

The team has a pretty straightforward gameplan, and if your opponent isn't paying attention, they can be very taken aback but "how lucky these crits are".

Now for the team:

Gengar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Merciless
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hex
- Venoshock
- Focus Blast
- Nasty Plot

This is the mon that inspired this whole team. STAB, 100% accuracy, 130 BP, guaranteed crits, off of 130 Special Attack will blow a hole through just about you name it. After the NP boost? You better have some spicy Sucker Punch you've been hiding or the game will be over faster than you can say "gg no re".

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Recover
- Haze
- Knock Off

This is our primary mover and what makes the team do its thing. Pex is pretty standard Pex, but with T-Spikes over regular Toxic. Scald is also gone for obvious reasons. Knock Off is primarily for HDB. The big problem is that if this thing dies before you poison everyone, it's a real rough time.

Kyurem @ King's Rock
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Icicle Spear
- Scale Shot
- Substitute

This is a spicy meme set I've been thinking about and it's, frankly, the backup plan if the rest of the team explodes. It also helps lock down mons through pure skill.

Rotom-Heat @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Overheat
- Discharge
- Volt Switch

This has become one of my favorite AAA sets, to the point of it almost being an accidental trademark. This thing absolutely deletes just about any steel mons (and a lot of other mons for that matter), which obviously are a problem for this team otherwise.

Mandibuzz (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Knock Off
- Defog
- Roost
- Whirlwind

This is our "cleric" and is essentially responsible for knocking any boots-heavy teams, walling setup mons, and forcing switches. Defog isn't ideal, but it's basically a big red button if they create some kind of situation where they out-hazard us. It also has the oft-forgotten ability to remove screens (most notably A Veil) if those become an issue.

Terrakion @ Life Orb / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Merciless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

This is our secondary win-con. It's (at least ideally) Terrak on steroids. Guaranteed crits on this thing are ludicrously powerful, and it helps kill special walls.
Don't get me wrong, these are nice (and Life Orb puts all of these into a much more comfortable territory), and having the +2 obviously pushes pretty much everything imaginable into OHKO range, especially if you combine it with LO.

252 SpA Gengar Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey on a critical hit: 302-356 (42.2 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after toxic damage
252 SpA Gengar Venoshock (130 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey on a critical hit: 246-289 (34.4 - 40.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after toxic damage

252+ SpA Gengar Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey on a critical hit: 332-392 (46.4 - 54.9%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO after toxic damage
252+ SpA Gengar Venoshock (130 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey on a critical hit: 271-319 (37.9 - 44.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after toxic damage

The thing is:

+2 252 Atk Life Orb Terrakion Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def (Dauntless Shield obviously gets bypassed here) Mew on a critical hit: 456-538 (113.1 - 133.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

This is nicer.

For those of you with morbid curiosity:

+2 252 Atk Life Orb Terrakion Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey on a critical hit: 2756-3244 (385.9 - 454.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Some notable and interesting moves that I couldn't incorporate:

Venom Drench (I wish this dropped each stat by 2)
Toxic Thread (doesn't exist in gen 8)
Purify (just couldn't justify running lord Pyuku)
Fling/Trick Toxic Orb (just don't know where it'd fit; definitely interesting idea if this were an HO team though)

What do you y'all think?
 

Jrdn

Not a promise, I'm just gonna call it.
CROWN TRUNDRA AAA GAMEPLAN

THE BANS

All of the following Pokemon will be banned from AAA immediately upon the release of The Crown Tundra dlc.

:kyogre: Kyogre
:groudon: Groudon
:rayquaza: Rayquaza
:lugia: Lugia
:ho-oh: Ho-Oh
:regigigas: Regigigas
:palkia: Palkia
:dialga: Dialga
:giratina: Giratina
:xerneas: Xerneas
:yveltal: Yveltal
Calyrex-Ice
Calyrex-Ghost


THE WATCHLIST

The AAA metagame following the dlc drop will be a completely new meta, with different dynamics and a fresh feel. To that end, we want to allow as many Pokemon as possible while not making it take an eternity to clean up the metagame (aka why we obviously banned the legendaries+regigigas)

:dragonite: Dragonite
:pheromosa: Pheromosa
:kartana: Kartana
:zygarde: Zygarde

There may me some Pokmeon I'm missing from this list, and there will likely be a rise of some other broken Pokemon/sets, but rest assured we'll have our finger on the pulse and act accordingly.

To further at to this list, the new legendary Calyrex as well as whatever those horse Pokemon are will also be watched very carefully. We expect some pretty massive stat spreads, which likely means broken.


THE UNBANS

With the introduction of the dlc meta, we will be unbanning some Pokemon since we are no longer positive about how broken they would be in the new metagame.

:dragapult: Dragapult
:magearna: Magearna
:Zeraora: Zeraora
 
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So you're telling me that i will be FINALLY able to play (for like 3 days) Aerilate Dragonite in AAA?
Oh, i will not leave my pc for a lot of things then, lmao.
Not sure about the unbans, but just because i know how scary those pokemon are.
 
With the new DLC, most changes aren’t too interesting, but with the Regis, we get Dragon and Electric type versions of Steelworker, and as such is a lot scarier to face.

Kyurem @ Choice Specs
Ability: Dragon's Maw
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Freeze-Dry
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast

Here is just a Standard Kyurem Specs set, but instead of Pressure, it has Dragon’s Maw. With Specs, DM, and STAB, Draco Meteor now becomes a meaty 438.75 BP.
And for some comparison:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Dragon’s Maw Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 523-616 (129.4 - 152.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Strong Jaw Dracovish Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mew: 532-627 (131.6 - 155.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Yup, the initial Draco Meteor hits almost as hard as Dracovish’s Fishious Rend, only being a few percentages less.

Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Dragon's Maw
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Scale Shot
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang

Like with Kyurem, Garchomp has an incredibly strong Atk stat. Scale Shot is a new move of Garchomp’s which raises its speed. Unfortunately the leaks were wrong about Dragon Dance, so Scale Shot is a decent alternative.
After Dragon’s Maw, Scale Shot at least has 75 BP, but can reach to 187.5 BP before STAB and Life Orb if it gets lucky.
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Dragon’s Maw Scale Shot (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mew: 471-561 (116.5 - 138.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Dragon’s Maw Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mew: 628-748 (155.4 - 185.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
It’s pretty powerful, can be stronger, and its boosts Garchomp’s Speed as well.
Alternatively you can use Garchomp’s other Dragon Moves as well, but Scale Shot has excellent utility.

Xurkitree @ Choice Specs
Ability: Transistor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rising Voltage
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot/Energy Ball
- Thunderbolt

Honestly all I have to say is that this is disgusting. Unfortunately, there is no more Hidden Power, but damn, this is absurd.
252+ SpA Choice Specs Xurkitree Transistor Rising Voltage (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mew in Electric Terrain: 909-1069 (225 - 264.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Xurkitree Transistor Rising Voltage (140 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Eviolite Chansey in Electric Terrain: 577-679 (82 - 96.5%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Yes, you’re seeing that right. Xurkitree nearly Nearly OHKOs Chansey 100%.
Do I need to say more.
 

xavgb

:xavgb:
is a Tiering Contributoris a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Former Other Tournament Circuit Champion
World Defender
The AAA council has decided to ban Kartana and Pheromosa as the first bans after Crown Tundra's release.

:ss/kartana:

Kartana's sky-high attack stat and respectable speed stat makes it an incredibly powerful threat in the metagame. Thanks to its ability to take many common physical blanket checks such as Prankster Toxapex, Dauntless Shield Mew, and Slowbro out of the equation with its Tough Claws sets, Kartana is able to force a very dedicated check pool when it comes to dealing with it in the builder. This makes Kartana very easy to use as it forms airtight offensive cores with a wide range of threats in the metagame. Kartana's access to Knock Off allows it to cripple would-be checks such as regenscarfers and mons with Heavy-Duty Boots or Leftovers, leaving its teammates to take advantage of a weakened opposing team. After a Swords Dance, Kartana is capable of OHKOing even max defense birds such as Moltres and Zapdos, which forces them to run more specific abilities such as Unaware or Dauntless Shield/Intimidate, as opposed to more popular abilities such as Magic Bounce. Kartana's Choice Band set is also very important to mention, as it frees up a slot where Kartana would normally run SD, while allowing to muscle through Unaware walls more effectively. This extra slot allows it to demolish otherwise good counterplay such as Buzzwole without warning using Aerial Ace, while the extra power from the item allows it to break through other solid checks to Swords Dance such as Dauntless Shield Skarmory. Overall, Kartana's strengths make it very difficult to beat defensively in the context of trying to account for the metagame's many offensive threats, often forcing unreasonable sets for multiple playstyles, and the fact that its two sets are very effective at covering different potential counterplay to Kartana pushes it over the edge.

:ss/pheromosa:

Pheromosa sports a blazing 151 Speed stat, which allows it to outpace nearly the entire unboosted metagame. This speed tier combined with its powerful STAB U-turn cements it as the most dangerous offensive pivot in the metagame. Tinted Lens CB sets are capable of forcing out a large portion of the metagame, which it can proceed to hit with strong U-turns, keeping up momentum and chipping down walls. Similar to Kartana, Pheromosa can tech around a large portion of its potential counterplay, with sets such as Magic Guard LO, Choice Band Tough Claws, and Quiver Dance Tinted Lens/Dazzling. This was a very easy ban for the council to make due to its crazy speed, power, and ability to escape chip damage, while simultaneously wearing down opposing answers and retaining momentum.

Tagging Kris and The Immortal to implement these bans on Showdown.


With these two overwhelming threats spotted and dealt with, the council will continue to observe the metagame to see if other pokemon on the watchlist such as Dragonite and Zygarde prove too powerful — or if yet undiscovered forces are lurking in the depths.
 

Isaiah

Here today, gone tomorrow
is a Site Content Manageris an official Team Rateris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributor
UM/OM Leader
In a second round of pokemon bringing imbalance to the metagame, the AAA council has determined that Magearna, Dragonite, and Dragapult are next up on the chopping block. As of now, they are banned in AAA.

:Magearna:
Magearna's near-ideal typing doubles as a powerful offensive tool and a reliable defense. It boasts the ability to either set up [to infinity and beyond] Calm Minds and Iron Defenses in the face of would-be checks and counters, or negate virtually all chip damage through the use of Regenerator, easily forming voltturn cores that allow other teammates in. Although less viable, it can even cripple most defensive answers using Trick. Flash Fire manages to avoid all manner of fire-type attacks that would otherwise have been clear KOs and gives it easy opportunities to setup. If the Magearna's Magic Guard, then it could very well blow past so-called resists using Calm Mind-boosted Steal Beams. Triage sets are able to offer speed control through priority Draining Kiss, and after a few turns of setting up Stored Power only becomes harder to stop without haze. The main issue with Magearna is that its versatility creates phases of gameplay where a prediction must be made about which set its running--and if the wrong conclusion is made, then a loss is more than likely imminent due to giving it a fatal amount of free turns.


:Dragonite:
Dragonite's physical Aerilate sets shred through absolutely everything. Whether amplified by Choice Band, Sharp Beak, or carrying nothing but Heavy Duty Boots, the combination of Extreme[ly] Speed[y cleanup of offense] and a highly powered Double Edge alone are a daunting assignment for the majority of defensive mons. Common blanket checks to physical attackers such as Tapu Fini, Hippowdon, and Mew find themselves getting 2hkoed, leaving very few viable checks indeed. Stab aside, access to setup in Dragon Dance when considered with Dragonite's natural abundance of coverage moves makes an overwhelming threat. Earthquake/Fire Blast allows it to hit steel types such as Magearna and Corviknight/Skarmory which would otherwise prove difficult to deal with. In essence, Dragonite is a classic case of too much power and not enough [viable] answers.


:Dragapult:
Aside from all the points elucidated in a previous post here, Dragapult has gained some new toys which have once again pushed past the brink of balance into the land of the broken and busted. Movesets and viable abilities are secondary to this mon’s incredible 142 base speed, which gives the privilege of not even needing full investment in order to outspeed other fast offensive threats like Noivern and Weavile. Namely, Dragon’s Maw enables it to boost its Dragon-type attacks past the 1.33x effective increase that Adaptability offers and fully send it with 1.5x--meaning that outside of hard resists and immunities, basically nothing wants to take a Draco Meteor + Dragon Darts. With ring target support--as ridiculous as it sounds--fairy immunities are no longer an issue to deal with, and are in some cases even 2hkoed by this devastating drake. Sheer Force Life Orb sets are no slouch either, and with the coverage that Dragon Rush, Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, and Shadow Ball offer alone, Dragapult is able to blast holes in basically any combination of resistances/immunities.

While it’s not often that there are so many bans at such an early point in the metagame, it stands to reason that overly strong elements should be removed on sight. With that established, the watchlist has grown much smaller now that so many of its members have been banned, but the council will continue to keep an eye out for potential ban-worthy threats.

Pinging Kris and The Immortal for implementation
 
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Hi ! After that first livetour, I have gathered enough information to the point where my thoughts on the metagame are meaningfull. The meta isn't settled yet, but some problematic elements already stand out.

1- Magic Bounce (ban)

It's back, and it's still as good, and as unhealthy for the meta. We talked about it on discord, I'll clarify the thought process for the last time.

a) Both players don't have bounce, and it can't be a problem because it's not here.
b) One player has bounce and it works, while his opponent either doesn't have it or he has it but it doesn't work : massive edge for the first one.
c) Both player have a bouncer that works, making consistent progress remotely impossible on both sides (we're in a Regenerator / Poison Heal metagame), meaning matchup will inevitably decide the match.

The only fair scenario is when bounce isn't here, draw your conclusions.

2- Poison Heal :toxic orb: (ban)

Playing around bulky Poison Heal setup sweepers (Tapu Fini, Zygarde, Snorlax, Suicune, Garchomp, Landorus) is unreasonably hard right now. DLC has given us a TON of Poison Heal abusers, and very few things to deal with them. Being prepared for all of them can mean only one thing : ability manipulation, which can only be done by Mew, Ferrothorn and Toxapex. This ability has already been brought up, but it is right now more problematic than ever.

3- Buzzwole :buzzwole: (watch)

The first two I'm pretty sure about, this one is a bit harder to decide. Buzzwole is extremely splashable right now, with plenty of different sets from bulky Triage to Band Tinted Lens. The bulky version is probably the best physical wall right now, and the offensive versions (Life Orb Triage and Band Tinted) are amongst the biggest threats in the meta. This mon lacks utility, but it feels too good to me.

4- Tinted Lens (watch)

I'd recommend waiting for this one because it's quite big, but yeah Tinted Lens needs to be looked at closely. This ability allows a breaker to basically 2hko everything, and it often leads to situations where counterplay don't exist. Abusers are numerous, while the use of RegenVest and Dauntless Shield is decreasing a little compared to pre-DLC. This should be on the watchlist for sure.

5- Zeraora :zeraora: (watch)

The only thing that prevents Zeraora from destroying every team right now is Volt Absorb, which is being used a lot because of Regieleki + Xurkitree hype. Once this hype tones down, I can tell you Zeraora will be a big, big problem.

6- Blacephalon :blacephalon: (watch)

This one is a bit more controvertial, but yeah Blacephalon is banworthy in my eyes. It's horribly hard to play around because of how strong Mind Blown is, and you often have to guess between choice Trick and Calm Mind Taunt. If the opponent predicts correctly it often takes a kill because almost nothing resists its dual STAB.

7- Zygarde :zygarde: (watch)

Zygarde is, as it has always been, annoying to face and hard to play around. It doesn't look broken to me currently, but it needs to be on the watchlist for sure, because its actual checks can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
 

Isaiah

Here today, gone tomorrow
is a Site Content Manageris an official Team Rateris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributor
UM/OM Leader
I think several of the arguments/reasoning made for banning (or even watching) certain elements of the meta are misleading or untrue in a lot of ways.

1. Magic Bounce

c) Both player have a bouncer that works, making consistent progress remotely impossible on both sides (we're in a Regenerator / Poison Heal metagame), meaning matchup will inevitably decide the match.

The claim that progress is "remotely impossible" on both sides of a match just because there's magic bounce is completely untrue. With the sheer quantity of offensive threats in the meta, there's more than enough opportunity to pressure opposing teams through the use of pivots, high base power moves, and prediction-based play. Framing competitive play as depending on hazards is an incomplete way to look at any meta--and if any individual finds themselves consistently struggling just because they can't get up hazards, that points more to a teambuilding/relative understanding of gameplay issue than there being something inherently wrong with the meta.


Next, I think it's utterly unreasonable to talk about "matchup inevitably [deciding a] match" as if matchups don't naturally play a major role in determining advantage/disadvantage states of literally any team in any match of any given meta. While it's always possible to either get lucky and/or attempt to outplay an opponent by predicting what they'll do next, it's not as if there's any reliable way to guarantee a win every single time--that simply isn't the nature of pokemon.

Something I do agree with is that while certain core abilities/elements (mbounce, regen, pheal) have stayed the same as they were one or even two generations ago in AAA play, something seems to have changed--especially with the latest round of DLC--that is making it more difficult to deal with the same common threats as we had before. Personally, I'm loathe to ban mbounce solely because in all of the thousands of AAA games I've played/watched this gen, I've seen nothing that has directly pointed to mbounce being such a glaring problem that it suffocates the meta. Certain playstyles/players/team archetypes struggle against magic bounce, but that's just how matchups work. Not being able to just blindly spam hazards is one of the things that makes this tier unique in comparison to standard ones like OU--things aren't meant to be the same. If a hazard-based playstyle wants to be empowered, then it needs to be backed up by hazard setters that can threaten bouncers in some way and/or means to deal with Heavy Duty Boots (which is pretty common right now, I might add).

Aside from all of that, it's also worth noting that more often than not, some of the pokemon that run mbounce are giving up a more defensive ability that potentially opens up holes in their team:

Buzzwole - Okay I think this mon is broken anyway so we won't go into it here

Mandibuzz - While mbounce mandibuzz is certainly powerful (and a bane of ferrothorns everywhere) it's not as if mandibuzz is 255/255/255 bulk. It can still be worn down by pivoting moves or hit with status through secondary effects like any other pokemon since it isn't poison heal; it's still susceptible to high base power neutral attacks; it's especially weak to setup sweepers because it isn't Unaware; it's still weak to supereffective moves because it isn't volt absorb or some other immunity ability <--all of these are some common and arguably viable ways to make progress against mandibuzz without setting up a single hazard

Mew - Running mbounce on your Mew straight up just means you're forgoing Dauntless Shield (dshield)--and I think I can safely say that anyone who regularly plays AAA knows how amazing the +1 defense from dshield is on any Mew. It makes a world of difference in checking would-be terrifying physical attackers, namely Terrakion, Zygarde, Zeraora, and Mamoswine. Running mbounce means it is no longer able to comfortably switchin to those pokemon's attacks, meaning that everytime it doubles in expecting rocks, it's risking a 2hko. As an example, There's a huge difference between what a burned/knocked off dshield mew can switch into and what a burned/knocked off mbounce mew can switch into

Corviknight/Hippowdon/Chansey - It's the same pattern--while mbounce is certainly viable on all of these mons, it's not as if they can't be taken advantage of for running that particular ability over other just as good ones. In Corviknight's case, it's giving up a chance to be volt absorb/flash fire/regenerator/literally anything bc corviknight does it all. In Hippowdon's case, it's giving up dshield, which similar to Mew makes it weaker to physical attackers. And when it comes to Chansey, I don't think much explanation is necessary on how good Unaware Chansey is.

What can be concluded from all of this is that there are plenty of ways to deal with mbounce once you run into it and are aware of its existence, even if only purely because of the way the information game works in matches. Like I said before, I don't think this meta has ever functioned in a setting where outside of mold breaker variants, people were just throwing up hazards willy-nilly without first gathering information about the opposing team--to me, that's part of how competitive games are supposed to go.

Does mbounce make it difficult to set up hazards? For sure
Does that make it broken? Not quite. You have to consider that Heavy Duty Boots are very common and deter hazards on their own, the reasoning above regarding the sacrifices necessary to run it in the first place, and the ability to apply pressure even without getting the hazards up for free.

2. Poison Heal (pheal)

Playing around bulky Poison Heal setup sweepers (Tapu Fini, Zygarde, Snorlax, Suicune, Garchomp, Landorus) is unreasonably hard right now. DLC has given us a TON of Poison Heal abusers, and very few things to deal with them. Being prepared for all of them can mean only one thing : ability manipulation, which can only be done by Mew, Ferrothorn and Toxapex. This ability has already been brought up, but it is right now more problematic than ever.
This is something that seems to be a recurring subject of grievances for people, and understandably so. Everyone can agree that more often than not, poison healers have a unique way of taking chip damage/heavy hits and slowly but steadily recovering their way back to full over the course of a game. I refuse to agree that it's "unreasonably hard" to incorporate counterplay to pheal into teams. Moves like skill swap, gastro acid, worry seed, are passive ways to deal with them--"ability manipulation" in action. If dealing with poison heal setup sweepers, things like Unaware and Haze help to curb their potential. With that in mind, it might seem as though there isn't anything that can be done outside of those options, but let's not forget that the methods to deal with the mons in question are neither new nor niche. Whenever a mon like Tapu Fini or Suicune is placed in a precarious enough position to warrant clicking protect, it creates situations where the opponent can take advantage of options like switching to another mon (either doubling or clicking a pivoting move), clicking an attacking move again, or simply just setting up expecting the reflexive protect. To some people, having to make that kind of prediction based on probabilities might seem "unfair" for the player who isn't utilizing poison heal, but surely any relatively competitive battle has those moments where you have to place your bets on a non-guarantee. With that in mind, it's not as if the switchins to pheal abusers change in any significant way--you still beat things like Snorlax, Garchomp, and Landorous with strong physical walls like Buzzwole, dshield Mew, and the occasional Hippowdon or Skarmory. If that isn't an option, then you can opt for offensive counterplay that outspeeds and kills/threatens them such as Weavile, Noivern, Mamoswine, etc. In the case of Tapu Fini and Suicune, they still get smashed by Haze Toxapex (same as they would in OU or anywhere, really) as well as powerful electric and grass type moves. It's not as if anyone has to build countermeasures into their teams that they wouldn't need to deal with the meta regardless, so I fail to see specifically how and/or why teambuilding would be totally suffocated. Refusing to incorporate easily accessible counters to a threat doesn't make the threat broken--it just makes the team in question lacking.


3. Buzzwole
I agree that this might be too much for the meta, and my reasoning isn't anything overly elaborate. To put it concisely, between trying to account for Triage, Dshield, Tinted Lens, Mbounce, and MGuard (what?! yeah, I know--but trust me, it works), more often than not teams find themselves having to resort to running their own Buzzwole as a means of countering it. Tinted Lens specifically manages to blow everything in its way to the shadow realm, barr some oddly specific counters (Runerigus? Palossand? Bruh, say it ain't so), and Triage offers speed control without necessitating a scarf or explicitly speedy mon. Let's also not forget that it still has bug stab, which makes it even more difficult to counter it with something like Mew, which blanket checks a lot of physical attackers singlehandedly. Buzzwole is a tough one to handle for sure.

4. Tinted Lens

Abusers are numerous
While it's true that tinted lens definitely enables certain breakers to overwhelm would-be counters, I feel it's definitely a bit much to say that there are numerous abusers. Who specifically does that refer to? In my experience, there have only been a few notably powerful tinted lens abusers, and one of them is Buzzwole the Broken and Busted who probably needs a ban for several other reasons anyway. Other than that, I can't honestly say that there is some unbeatable listing of tinted lens abusers that rip through teams unabated--if there is, then I'd be happy to discuss them.

5. Zeraora

We'll see.

6. Blacephalon

I have mixed feelings about Blacephalon, to be honest. On one hand it's certified canceraids because of how powerful fire/ghost stab + 150 bp Mind Blown is, coupled with potential trick, knock off, or explosion shenanigans. On the other, it's not the easiest mon in the world to build with, and more often than not it can find itself legitimately struggling to deal with common defensive mons like Tapu Fini, even with minimal investment. I'm open to discussion of blace as a powerful threat, but until further notice I'm hesitant to see it as potentially bannable.

7. Zygarde

In summation: Thousand Arrows + Dragon Tail is aids--let's not even go into cb adapt and pheal. That said, Zygarde's in a weird spot where It might be broken but also does have some reliable counterplay that generally keeps it in check.

I made this post mostly to clarify that exaggerating the severity of certain threats makes it really difficult to pinpoint exactly what's problematic, and generally misleads the less informed by painting a picture that might not all be representative of what the meta is actually like in practice. As always, everything is open to discussion--but we can't just ban every viable ability/mon on a whim outright, so keep that in mind.
 

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