Because there are more pokemon that are NU by usage, yet not viable, than can be said for other tiers. Just a quirk of usage-based tiers (there will be low ladder shenanigans like Jolteon in RU)
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Resource Ask a Simple Question, Get a Simple Answer (NU Edition)
- Thread starter Kiyo
- Start date
Because there are more pokemon that are NU by usage, yet not viable, than can be said for other tiers. Just a quirk of usage-based tiers (there will be low ladder shenanigans like Jolteon in RU)
That’s the main “issue” with the metagame atm. Xatu finds its way on to a vast majority of teams, predominantly due to lack of competition.
Other options such as: Silvally-Steel (when paired with Wish Vaporeon), Pivot Decidueye, Dhelmise, Sandslash-Alola, and Blastoise are all viable removers, but none are all that consistent relative to Xatu. This causes some pretty big rippling effects on metagame trends, to say the least.
Golbat and Rotom are also consistent defoggers and offer a lot to a team.
nothing really outclasses it, it just can't get past steelix reliably and theres better z move users. spdef tort checks heliolisk better than rhydon and lix, thats the main reason i'd use it at least, its kind of a shit rocker tho
"So many" players don't use Torterra over Rhydon and Steelix. It's still an uncommon pick, and unlike what Kiyo cites, its most notable niche is no longer specially defensive sets. Most people use Torterra now for its offensive capabilities. It's a decent breaker with Swords Dance, and you can either run Stealth Rock / Rock Polish / Synthesis in the last slot depending on what your team calls for. I'm not a Torterra expert, though, and that's for the fact that I wouldn't use it anyway, there are much better breakers (Rhydon itself can even run Swords Dance). I guess it's the fact that it can safely run a z-move that is most appealing, although I've seen Grondinium-Z Rhydon as well (but that's only effective on certain teams).
those retests are cancelled afaik
what is the best stall team for the current meta and how good is stall in general in the tier?
I do not think there is one best or dominant stall team currently, unfortunately. I would say stall is viable, but not particularly consistent or good. It still remains an option, but you should proceed with caution as there are a lot of potential issues to any given stall build right now.
so if i were to build a stall team what would be the main things i want to accomplish aside from just covering high up breakers on the vr? certain rockers i need to be able to defog/spin against for example
Are there any checks to stored power Sigilyph that can fit on stall? I tried amnesia + curse Quagsire, which works, but checks much less threats than Pyukumuku and other potential teammates, so it's hard to fit on a team.
By the way, why is the stored power set not on the strategy dex? If it's not that viable, why is it so popular (~40% of sets had stored power in July)?
By the way, why is the stored power set not on the strategy dex? If it's not that viable, why is it so popular (~40% of sets had stored power in July)?
For one, it is mentioned in the CM + Flyinium Z analysis, specifically as a countermeasure to stall. I'm not sure if there is a great check to it for stall. Amnesia Quaq sounds about as decent as you get, but like you said it checks much fewer (and more common threats). You can't cover everything on stall
RestTalk Bulk Up Incineroar and Roar Steelix are both good answers, although the former can struggle a bit more with Calm Mind Flyinium Z variants.
It is mentioned. In the Flyinium Z section.
The strategy is so popular because it appears broken to inexperienced users. The fact that you can boost both of your defenses and heighten your Special Attack with an insanely powerful move to pair, it seems unstoppable. However, it is unviable because it pretty much gets hard walled by Dark-types. If your opponent is smart, they're going to keep their Dark-types alive until Sigilyph is dead (this sort of applies to all sets as well). On top of that, there are other checks that work really well, even after one boost with Cosmic Power, such as Heliolisk and Rhydon. To put it simply, it can be effective if your opponent is dumb and sacks all the obvious checks, but that generally doesn't happen against experienced players.
Its quite workable on hazard stack BO when paired with Garbodor, or when paired with a mon that really wants Rotom chipped (e.g. fly-z Braviary), otherwise the standard works better.
Edit Expanding: Basically its advantage over standard Lix is the ability to threaten to 2HKO rotom (through colbur), which isn't possible for the standard set, as a result it works well with Garbodor (good hazard setting that struggles with rotom), and wincons such as BU Fly-Z Braviary. This is while still maintaining the ability to force Xatu out, letting it get up rocks vs Xatu balance. The lack of spdef investment and lack of leftovers means you get utterly annihilated by Comfey teams if you don't have a secondary check though.
Edit Expanding: Basically its advantage over standard Lix is the ability to threaten to 2HKO rotom (through colbur), which isn't possible for the standard set, as a result it works well with Garbodor (good hazard setting that struggles with rotom), and wincons such as BU Fly-Z Braviary. This is while still maintaining the ability to force Xatu out, letting it get up rocks vs Xatu balance. The lack of spdef investment and lack of leftovers means you get utterly annihilated by Comfey teams if you don't have a secondary check though.
I'd say it's somewhat viable, but usually overshadowed by standard sets. It's nice to hit the likes of rhydon, steelix and other physical walls for special damage, and especially nice for (helmet) xatu, as it can actually deal more than 50% damage with something like dark pulse, and therefore get up rocks. However, the things that usually wall lix (besides xatu), such as bulky water types, still wall it.
TLDR; I'd say it's fun to use, and can catch the opponent off guard, but is generally just straight up worse than a standard set.
Are there any reliable checks to banded Pangoro? Every fairy either gets bopped by gunk shot or fighting moves (like in Mawile's case, not that it or other fairies that aren't weak to poison are common in the tier). Sableye's rather unique typing would make it a decent check, but Pangoro still 2HKOs with knock off (even if you have a z-crystal).
Weezing, perhaps? I guess zen headbutt isn't that common. Still, not much to pick from.
Weezing, perhaps? I guess zen headbutt isn't that common. Still, not much to pick from.
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The best checks you have in the current metagame is Weezing and Golbat, even tho they still dont appreciate taking a Knock Off since they are still 3hkod. Golbat can Roost it off but it really dislikes its eviolite being removed. The best option you have is having faster pokemon that can OHKO it before they get OHKOd, these pokemon include Passimian, Aerodactyl, Sceptile, etc.
Honestly the other best way of checking Pangoro is to prevent it from getting it on the field safely. This sounds like it would be super complicated but it oftentimes works out in battle, especially when you're running more offensive oriented teams. Getting up hazards, pivoting around, making read, etc. All of those things together kind of make what appears to be an overwhelming wall breaker not too difficult to deal with. That being said, if you're running a more defensive-oriented team, you'll definitely want to run a lot of defensive counterplay to Pangoro, as it pretty much tears through those teams with Swords Dance (stall is pretty much 6-0d and there isn't much you can do about it). Therefore, definitely go with what abejas said in that scenario. Weezing and Golbat make OK checks, and paired with something that can eat Knock Offs, you should be about okay if you're able to make some good reads.
