Metagame Chimera 1v1

anaconja

long day at job
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
Approved by drampa's grandpa and The Immortal
140711

art by Bummer
Ready for some mad science?

Chimera is a 1v1-based metagame where a single Pokemon inherits specific traits from your entire 6-mon team, based on their order, which can be changed in team preview. Once the battle starts, the Pokemon undergoes a form change that "fuses" together your team into a single Pokemon. At last, you can take the best aspects of all your favorites and combine them into the ultimate monster! How exactly does this work, though? Well, it's probably easier just to show an example.

:ss/rotom-wash:
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 44 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump

- Defog
- Pain Split


This is standard Defog Rotom-Wash, as displayed in Teambuilder import text. The number by each part of the Rotom-Wash set represents which trait the Pokemon would pass on in to the fused Chimera, depending on which slot it resides in. Remember -- you can choose the order of your team at the start of the battle, allowing you to tweak the fusion process to your liking. Here are the traits you can provide with this set:
  1. Type: The Chimera would be Electric/Water and look like Rotom-Wash
  2. Item: The Chimera would be holding Leftovers
  3. Ability: The Chimera would have the ability Levitate
  4. Stats: The Chimera would have 303/121/250/257/250/288 stats, including IV values
  5. Moves 1+2: The Chimera would be able to use Volt Switch and Hydro Pump
  6. Moves 3+4: The Chimera would be able to use Defog and Pain Split
Because all aspects of PS! use this same order to convey the information of Pokemon, it should be fairly intuitive to new players. Here are the general rules:

Rules: Players bring 6 legal Pokemon to battle but only pick one. The player cannot switch directly or by using moves/items/abilities. Once that Pokemon is defeated, the match ends.​
Mechanic: The chosen Pokemon inherits traits from their teammates once the battle begins. This process can be altered by rearranging the team order during team preview.​
Clauses: OHKO Clause, Species Clause, Evasion Clause, Endless Battle Clause, Dynamax Clause​
Bans:​
Pokemon: Shedinja​
Abilities: Huge Power, Moody, Neutralizing Gas, Truant, Perish Body​
Items: Focus Sash, Pokemon-specific items (Eviolite, Light Ball, Leek, Thick Club)​
Moves: Perish Song, Transform, Fishious Rend, Bolt Beak, Disable, all Sleep moves, Double Iron Bash, Trick, Switcheroo​
Current Watchlist:
Moves: Trick, Encore​

So what does the process of playing Chimera look like, and what does this bring to the table over standard 1v1 and Balanced Hackmons?

:silvally:
Creating the Ultimate Life Form: All the Pokemon sets legal in Chimera used can be used in game, or probably in the Ubers tier--on their own they're nothing special. Once fused together, however, the chimeric Pokemon can be min-maxed to achieve the full potential of its qualities and those from its team. Perhaps even more so than standard 1v1, Chimera is a meta where careful and clever preparation far outweighs the events of the battle itself.

:xerneas:
Limitation Breeds Invention: There are some sets you simply can't create in Chimera. Instead of always picking the best move and ability for the job (like BH), you search out for what each member of your team can provide naturally and jerry-rig a powerful set. This would lead to a lot of thread discussion on which combinations fuse into the best Chimera.

:rayquaza:
Switching Strategies on the Fly: By altering the order of your team at team preview, you chose the composition of your "fused" Pokemon. This players of this meta thrive with flexibility and smart predictions. Each team should allow for multiple "variants" rather than one linear option. You may have Xerneas for its high base stats (slot 4), but if you're using something else for stats, perhaps make sure it passes on its ability Fairy Aura (slot 3) to a Fairy type, or moves like Play Rough, Close Combat, Geomancy, and Moonblast (slots 5-6). You can even "pair" moves for different sets together, like two special moves in the first two slots and two physical moves in the latter two. The ultimate flex slot is slot 2 (Item), as that Pokemon has full reign to change the rest of its set in case you want to use a different variant build. I'll be talking about some examples below, but the key point here is that the ability to change which way your Pokemon fuse allows the player more agency to alter their strategy based on the matchup. 1v1-based metas, in any game, are very matchup oriented, but here you can see what strategies your opponent might be trying to bring and adjust accordingly right before the fight begins. I can see room tours being pretty entertaining in this way, as they'd only last a couple turns but the mindgames would be a joy to watch.

Examples:
Team-building can be tricky for this metagame! Below I will cover what you should and shouldn't do when constructing a Chimera, listing two team imports which can make at least 10 distinct Chimera sets each.

Most people are unwilling to play Chimera 1v1 because it seems very complicated to them, and they are right, to an extent. However, here are a few tips on how to make flexible and viable teams.

Here is a team setup that's far too obvious, even if it may be effective:

:sm/mawile::sm/cosmog::sm/sylveon::ss/kyurem::sm/noivern::sm/linoone:
Even if the initial order was something different, it's pretty clear which sequence the player is going to choose their lineup and what they're trying to do. They want a Steel/Fairy Pokemon with an unknown item that probably boosts damage, Pixilate, the stats of Kyurem, Boomburst + filler and Extreme Speed + filler. Seeing this, an opponent with a flexible team could, say, select their type as something that resists Fairy, select stats that can easily take hits, or maybe even select their ability as Soundproof, if they had a mon on the team that has it. Here's a version that is capable of the same thing, but with much more flexibility:

:sm/mawile::sm/turtonator::sm/sylveon::ss/kyurem::ss/kommo-o::ss/togekiss:
The player could also mix up their team to hide their intentions better, but here's a very similar team with much more potential. While, yes, you could create the exact same Chimera as described above, there are more options here. Rather than just holding an item, Turtonator can pass on Shell Smash and attacks like Fire Blast, Draco Meteor, and even Body Press. Perhaps Kyurem could supply the stats while Togekiss could supply Extreme Speed, but now you can also use Togekiss' wide movepool that includes recovery, Nasty Plot, and Extreme Speed. Kommo-o is useful for Boomburst, but maybe you see a matchup that would appreciate a bulky spread, Bulletproof/Soundproof, or moves like Dragon Dance, Clangorous Soul, and Close Combat. Matchup still plays a huge role, but with a setup like this, your Chimera has more options to utilize.

I. Teammates should have multiple viable slots
I see a lot of Chimera players using one-dimensional teams: Water Bubble, Shell Smash, Poison Heal. The best way to teambuild is to use teammates that have good abilities, moves, and stats themselves. Take, for example, the above Pixilate team. Pixilate is a common sight in one-dimensional teams, but I enhanced the idea by adding teammates that can take advantage of each others' wide movepool. Kyurem has Ice Beam and Earth Power, so Mamoswine is a good teammate, synergizing types, adding a good stat spread, and contributing its decent ability in Thick Fat. Kommo-o has both Earthquake and Dragon Dance for the physical Pixilate set, while also using Boomburst and Focus Blast for a special Pixilate set.

II. Many teammates should have viable stats
While many mons have great movepools, one should also make sure that they don't rely on one or two mons for the fourth slot. Many high-BST mons also have good abilities (i.e. Gyarados' Intimidate), unique moves (i.e. Kommo-o's Clangorous Soul), or utility options (i.e. Hydreigon's Roost or Keldeo's Taunt). It's important to have many options to maximize your chances of winning many matchups, and high-BST mons help achieve this.

III. Don't use the teambuilder to teambuild
I think the main turnaway of Chimera, and the reason why there are many one-dimensional teams, is because it is incredibly hard to build one when one is looking at one mon at a time. The solution? Don't use Pokemon Showdown to teambuild. Although it might sound like too much, I do all of my teambuilding on paper (you can do this with on the computer, too, with Google Docs, Word, or Pages) It lets me see every teammate's ability, moves, and item, all at once. Just use this template:

[Pokemon] @ [Item]
[Ability]
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

[Pokemon] @ [Item]
[Ability]
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

[Pokemon] @ [Item]
[Ability]
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

[Pokemon] @ [Item]
[Ability]
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

[Pokemon] @ [Item]
[Ability]
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

[Pokemon] @ [Item]
[Ability]
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]


Since I focus on abilities first, I fill in the third mon slot first. Take the Hustle team, for instance:
I'm looking for a HustleBand set. Togekiss has the best movepool out of Hustle users, so I fill in this:
[Pokemon] @ [Item]
[Ability]
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

[Pokemon] @ Choice Band
[Ability]
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

Togekiss @ [Item]
Hustle
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

[Pokemon] @ [Item]
[Ability]
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

[Pokemon] @ [Item]
[Ability]
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

[Pokemon] @ [Item]
[Ability]
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

Rayquaza has a great movepool with V-Create and Dragon Ascent. Ho-oh gets STAB on both. I can also use Xerneas to support Togekiss's typing with Geomancy and Moonblast while also donating good Speed and Attack. Lugia gets Earthquake, Trick, and Multiscale while also having Aeroblast to further support Togekiss's typing. Since Xerneas has interesting physical moves in Outrage and Close Combat, and I have both a Dragon type and a Fire type, Reshiram is a good choice because it has good special stats. I put it in the item slot because it doesn't have much to contribute to the HustleBand set. Now my team looks like this:
Ho-oh @ [Item]
Pressure
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

Reshiram @ Choice Band
Turboblaze
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

Togekiss @ [Item]
Hustle
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

Xerneas @ [Item]
Fairy Aura
Outrage, Close Combat, Geomancy, Moonblast

Rayquaza @ [Item]
Air Lock
V-Create, Dragon Ascent, [Move], [Move]

Lugia @ [Item]
Multiscale
Aeroblast, [Move], Earthquake, Trick

Now, let's say that I want a Geomancy set. Since Xerneas already has Geomancy and Moonblast, I can use Togekiss as the first slot, and add Aeroblast to Lugia. Lugia has good coverage in Earth Power, so I add that too. Rayquaza has great Special Attack and the highest Speed after Xerneas, so I use max Special Attack and Speed on it. Reshiram's Turboblaze helps beat Unaware, so only Ho-oh is left. It gets a Power Herb for Geomancy and goes in the item slot. Now my team looks like this:
Ho-oh @ Power Herb
Pressure
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

Reshiram @ Choice Band
Turboblaze
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

Togekiss @ [Item]
Hustle
[Move], [Move], [Move], [Move]

Xerneas @ [Item]
Fairy Aura
Outrage, Close Combat, Geomancy, Moonblast

Rayquaza @ [Item]
Air Lock
V-Create, Dragon Ascent, [Move], [Move]

Lugia @ [Item]
Multiscale
Aeroblast, Earth Power, Earthquake, Trick


To track sets, I use a single letter to represent each teammate. Here, I use H for Ho-oh, R for Reshiram, T for Togekiss, X for Xerneas, F for Fug Rayquaza, and L for Lugia. So my Geomancy set would look like this: THRFLX
I repeat this process for each viable set I can find until every move is used up. If any items are left blank, I usually put Leftovers or Lum Berry there as a viable placeholder. Here is my finished team:



Ho-Oh @ Power Herb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Recover
- Earthquake

Reshiram @ Choice Band
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blue Flare
- Earth Power
- Roost
- Will-O-Wisp

Togekiss @ Power Herb
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Encore
- Dazzling Gleam

Xerneas @ Expert Belt
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Close Combat
- Geomancy
- Moonblast

Rayquaza @ Leftovers
Ability: Air Lock
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- V-create
- Dragon Ascent
- Earth Power
- Hurricane

Lugia @ Charcoal
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Aeroblast
- Earth Power
- Earthquake
- Trick


HustleBand: HRTXFL
HustleBulk: RLTXFH
Turbomancy: THRFLX
Multimancy: HTLFRX
NastyPlot: HXLRTF
Stall: XFRLHT
Encore: HXLFRT

What kinds of chimeras can you make?

Q&A:
Q: Why is X banned?
A: My baseline was to meld the banlists of 1v1 and Balanced Hackmons as a starting point, then go from there. Shedinja is banned because Wonder Guard is its only ability, Huge Power is banned to prevent absurd power creep, Moody is banned in both BH and 1v1 due to its Evasion-abuse, Focus Sash is a standard 1v1 ban even in Gamefreak formats, Perish Song is a 1v1 ban but maybe it's worth testing here, and Transform prevents Imprison + Transform strategies, which I recall being a major pain for BH 1v1. Because Transform can be a problem in and of itself, it was chosen over Imprison to be banned. Sleep moves are banned because it is easy to abuse and hard to counter, with viable sets having SubSeed or setup.

Q: Why is X not banned?
A: I want to stay fairly conservative on bans to allow the greatest freedom to players, but more changes may be required down the line. I have my eye on certain aspects, like Fur Coat and Ice Scales, but often these strategies require very specific Pokemon and can be easily predicted, like Water Bubble on Araquanid. You'll also notice a lack of Species Clause--using multiple versions of a Pokemon doesn't offer a huge benefit in this OM, so I see no need to restrict that choice.

Q: Is it possible to have more than one of the same move on a Chimera?
A: This remains to be seen, based on the coding. My inclination is to allow it to happen, but if it doesn't work, then the duplicate move(s) should just be deleted off the final moveset.

Q: Can I use illegal combinations of moves/abilities/etc. on a Pokemon if there's no way they'll end up on the same set?
A: No. Even if the set will never appear in battle, it still needs to be legal in-game (or in Anything Goes). The qualities of a Chimera are derived from the fusion process, not alterations to the individual Pokemon themselves.

Q: Can I make use of exclusive items, like Light Ball or Eviolite?
A: No, because it causes too much power creep. It allows things like Kyurem with +2 in both offensive stats.

Q: What about in-battle forms that don't require items, like Disguise Mimikyu?
A: No additional form changes should take place in-battle, so if these interactions continue to happen, please post replays in the thread and I'll make sure they're ironed out.

Q: Which slot determines my gender, happiness, weight, level, shininess, and name?
A: In addition to the type and appearance, all these qualities are taken from slot 1. This allows the coding to change the least amount of things from the base form, and since these traits rarely matter in battle, the player doesn't really lose much customization here.

Q: Is this OM fun?
A: You tell me!
 
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drampa's grandpa

cannonball
is a Community Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
Chimera has always been one of my favorite concepts while simultaneously being too big brain for me to actually play. That leaves me free to theorymon though!

EDIT: Note for OMotM-ers: this was all pre-dlc! I think most of it still goes though ^_^

:perrserker: This thing grants a good typing, not one but two good potential abilities, and a movepool rich in coverage. The only thing it really lacks is stats. I expect to see this become a staple on teams that want a physical chimera thanks to its slot flexibility.

:araquanid: This is obviously here for the ability. Water Bubble is a borky ability in most metagames, and I wouldn't be surprised if it is here as well. However Araquanid doesn't give much else to a team, so it isn't very flexible and is pretty much guaranteed to be an ability, item, or maybe mediocre move donor.

:kyurem: Bulky, strong, not slow. Using Kyurem as your stat donor can't be a bad thing, and it gets a p nice movepool including recovery and Ice Beam + Earth Power. But mostly it has the highest bst here by a fair bit.

:toxtricity: Punk Rock is a cool ability, as is Technician. Boomburst is a really hot move, although it would be nice to use it with Punk Rock but oh well run Flygon or something. Shift Gear sounds cool at first but I doubt it will be useful in a 1v1 environment. Electric/Poison is a unique typing that looks neat, especially with a Levitate donor like... Flygon!

:avalugg::snorlax::torkoal::goodra::mandibuzz:
Fat stuff looks good too. These are some of the fattest mons physically, specially, or mixed.
:persian-alola::frosmoth:
Ice Scales and Fur Coat are super strong defensive boosters that can help you tank the powerful hitters in this metagame.
:sableye::grimmsnarl:
Prankster is always fun. Grimm brings a better offensive typing while Sableye brings better everything else in defensive typing, recovery, Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, etc.
:xatu::hatterene:
Magic Bouncers, one with a rad movepool one with a nice type.
:mawile:
While also donating a great movepool and ability, Mawile is the sole legal source of one of the best defensive typings around.

That's all for now
:drampa:
 
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drampa's grandpa

cannonball
is a Community Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
I would like to draw attention to a strategy that remains unbanned here that was quite notably broken in regular 1v1 early this generation.

:bw/sableye:
Prankster Trick/Switcheroo + Disable enables abusers to force Pokemon to Struggle. It is also not really predictable from Team Preview other than you can guess there is a possibility of Prankster, given that Pokemon such as Malamar and Gengar get both Disable and one of Trick and Switcheroo, while many many viable Pokemon get one or the other.

Arguably the high level of potential power in this metagame allows you to nuke your way past these threats, however keep in mind that you're Tricking away items such as Choice Bands / Specs in favor of Choice Scarf, and you can use something absurdly bulky to counter high offensive stats. All you really need to do is tank one hit and then they're struggling.

The solution here IMO is to ban Disable. If one bans Trick / Switcheroo or the combination of these moves Encore can take the place of Trick / Switcheroo, while banning Prankster makes little sense when it's not really the problem here.
 

anaconja

long day at job
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
I would like to note that due to the new breeding mechanics, Fake Out and Extreme Speed on one half of a set is possible now. (Previously, Pikachu only had Espeed through event and Fake Out as egg)
Raichu is a pretty interesting donor, then - Lightning Rod is situationally useful, and it has access to the aforementioned FakeSpeed as well as Volt Tackle, Knock Off, Nasty Plot, and even Wish.

I would like to draw attention to a strategy that remains unbanned here that was quite notably broken in regular 1v1 early this generation.

:bw/sableye:
Prankster Trick/Switcheroo + Disable enables abusers to force Pokemon to Struggle. It is also not really predictable from Team Preview other than you can guess there is a possibility of Prankster, given that Pokemon such as Malamar and Gengar get both Disable and one of Trick and Switcheroo, while many many viable Pokemon get one or the other.

Arguably the high level of potential power in this metagame allows you to nuke your way past these threats, however keep in mind that you're Tricking away items such as Choice Bands / Specs in favor of Choice Scarf, and you can use something absurdly bulky to counter high offensive stats. All you really need to do is tank one hit and then they're struggling.

The solution here IMO is to ban Disable. If one bans Trick / Switcheroo or the combination of these moves Encore can take the place of Trick / Switcheroo, while banning Prankster makes little sense when it's not really the problem here.
I never thought of that, great catch. Disable is now banned.
 
Isn't it a bit early to talk about potential bans at this time, given that we were somewhat succesfully dealing with stuff like Skill Swap + Normalize/Truant (either fast or bulky) in gen 7? While that set was fairly common, the nature of the OM also meant that it was quite possible to tech against such strategies. Of course the possibilities were quite different at the time (Z-moves were a realistic tech for example, as well as stuff like Multitype), but we still have access to many things like Dazzling, Dark types, and Psychic terrain, as well as more niche stuff like being untrickable or Imprison.

E: Well, I suppose it's not the greatest loss to ban it either.
 

anaconja

long day at job
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
Isn't it a bit early to talk about potential bans at this time, given that we were somewhat succesfully dealing with stuff like Skill Swap + Normalize/Truant (either fast or bulky) in gen 7? While that set was fairly common, the nature of the OM also means that it is quite possible to tech against such strategies. Of course the possibilities were quite different at the time (Z-moves were a realistic tech for example, as well as stuff like Multitype), we still have access to many things like Dazzling, Dark types, and Psychic terrain, as well as more niche stuff like being untrickable or Imprison.

E: Well, I suppose it's not the greatest loss to ban it either.
The main change that makes Trick + Disable broken is the loss of Z-items. Given that they were so common last generation, that strategy was generally never seen, but now it's easy to slap it on a bulky Kyurem stat and only really be hampered by super-strong and/or super effective attacks (keep in mind you don't really need Prankster here, Scarfed Kyurem is already pretty damn fast). Plus with the loss of Z-Moves it's that much harder to beat Encore + Disable which is essentially the same thing. I think a Disable ban is very healthy.
 
I would like to draw attention to a strategy that remains unbanned here that was quite notably broken in regular 1v1 early this generation.

:bw/sableye:
Prankster Trick/Switcheroo + Disable enables abusers to force Pokemon to Struggle. It is also not really predictable from Team Preview other than you can guess there is a possibility of Prankster, given that Pokemon such as Malamar and Gengar get both Disable and one of Trick and Switcheroo, while many many viable Pokemon get one or the other.

Arguably the high level of potential power in this metagame allows you to nuke your way past these threats, however keep in mind that you're Tricking away items such as Choice Bands / Specs in favor of Choice Scarf, and you can use something absurdly bulky to counter high offensive stats. All you really need to do is tank one hit and then they're struggling.

The solution here IMO is to ban Disable. If one bans Trick / Switcheroo or the combination of these moves Encore can take the place of Trick / Switcheroo, while banning Prankster makes little sense when it's not really the problem here.
You're too kind I was holding on to this (well known and banned) 1v1 strat to use it LOL
 
Rillaboom deserves it.

Queenly Majestic will likely be on some fast builds that hate priority though.
 
I'm so glad delcatty didn't come back this gen, was not prepared to come back to this metagame with even less ways to counter such a centralizing strategy (normalize skill-swap). Taunt helped, but mental herb can be run completely outplay it. The only way I can think of outplaying it in a semi-viable way would be neutralizing gas, since hidden power is gone, and most, if not all, abilities that can't be skill swapped aren't viable based on the nature of the metagame. Instead, we can focus on some of the real threats of the metagame: Bolt Beak/Fishous Rend. :psywoke:
 
I'm so glad delcatty didn't come back this gen, was not prepared to come back to this metagame with even less ways to counter such a centralizing strategy (normalize skill-swap). Taunt helped, but mental herb can be run completely outplay it. The only way I can think of outplaying it in a semi-viable way would be neutralizing gas, since hidden power is gone, and most, if not all, abilities that can't be skill swapped aren't viable based on the nature of the metagame. Instead, we can focus on some of the real threats of the metagame: Bolt Beak/Fishous Rend. :psywoke:
We'd be running RKS System just for fun again

(And to stop normalize skill swap)
 
Figured I should theorymon some threats that haven't been brought up, since this is the Chimera 1v1 waiting room.

Excellent stats on both the physical & special side, amazing speed tier just behind Zeraora, unique typing, varied movepool with access to dragon darts and pretty good selection of abilities. I expect this to be on many teams and without species clause I'd expect to often see two (one specially offensive and one physically offensive) similar to how we often saw two Deoxys-Speeds on a team last gen.

Might as well briefly discuss this 'mon too. With one highest available speed stats in the game and great offensive stats, I expect we will see Zeraora on many teams. Good typing when paired with levitate, offers immunity to electric terrain based teams and great offensive stats, again both physically and specially, I'd be surprise if we don't see this on many teams this Gen.

This 1v1 beast is bound to see play on many teams in Chimera 1v1. Unique ability and moves, namely Prism Armor and Photon Geyser, I'm sure we'll see this paired with Psychic Terrain on many teams. Photon Geyser being both a physical & special move, bypassing Sturdy and other defensive abilities like Ice Scales/Fur Coat means Necrozma we'll no doubt find a spot on many teams. Lastly, Necrozma offers a varied move pool as well with many boosting moves such as Autotamize, Calm Mind, Iron Defense, Cosmic Power and Dragon Dance.

Pixelate. No doubt will be paired with Fake Out, Extreme Speed, Boomburst and other strong normal attacks.

Unique Typing, good all-around stats, useful abilities in soundproof/bulletproof/overcoat and most importantly access to Clangorous Soul.

As with any 1v1 meta, this and other 'mons with access to Sturdy ability will likely be on many teams paired with moves like reversal, flail and berries.

On that same note, there's bound to be something cool with Ripen+Substitute+Boosting Berries or Endure+Shell Smash+Ripen+Salac Berry

If you couldn't tell, I'm very excited for our chance to play Gen 8 Chimera 1v1 :toast:
 

anaconja

long day at job
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
In preparing for the DLC drop, I'm planning to unban (most of) the Ubers because of the various returning Ubers as well as new legendaries on the way.

A few thoughts to prevent this from being a one-liner:
- Nidoking sounds really good. It's a Sheer Force passer like Mawile, except it has a much bigger movepool. The typing is an interesting one too, both offensively and defensively.
- The Tapus, while nerfed, are still very appealing as a base form to Sylveon's ability.
- Darmanitan-Galar and Zacian will most likely remain banned because Gorilla Tactics/Intrepid Sword is ridiculous.
 

anaconja

long day at job
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
Chimera 1v1 has been radically changed by both DLC drops, and since it's getting a surprisingly high amount of votes I'll do a quick analysis on the Pokemon now available.

(just a quick reminder that the banlist has been updated to unban all Ubers)

New mons
Urshifu (both formes):
Low impact. Other than their respective crit attacks they don't bring much else very appealing to the table, having a decent movepool (though no Swords Dance), a situational ability (seems somewhat useful against stallers), mediocre stats, and decent typings. I could see these on a Sniper or Technician team.
Zarude: Low impact. Same story as Urshifu except it doesn't have a signature move or a good ability.
Regieleki: Medium-high impact. Absolutely bonkers speed and a very good ability in Transistor, though the movepool and attacking stats are quite lacking.
Regidraco: Medium impact. Regieleki but no impressive stat.
Glastrier: No impact. It's a worse Calryrex-Ice.
Spectrier: No impact. It's a worse Calryrex-Shadow.
Calyrex-Ice: Medium-high impact. It has very good offensive and defensive stats (ignoring Speed), a fairly wide movepool (including Glacial Lance), but no good ability and a weird typing. Could be useful on something abusing priority?
Calyrex-Shadow: Very high impact. Blistering special offenses make it a staple 4th mon on most Psychic or Ghost-focused teams, outweighing its lack of good ability or offensive movepool. It does have a good support movepool (Haze, Encore, Nasty Plot, Trick, Taunt, Will-o-Wisp), to be fair.
Slowbro-Galar: Medium impact. It's a great move or ability passer with Quick Draw and a very wide special and support movepool.
Slowking-Galar: Very low impact. It's basically a worse Slowbro-Galar except it has Eerie Spell for PP stalling shenanigans?
Articuno-Galar: Medium-low impact. Competitive isn't exactly the best of abilities but if you want it, Articuno-Galar has it. It competes hard with Milotic, though, which also has Haze, Coil, and Scald.
Zapdos-Galar: Medium-low impact. Similar deal with Defiant, except this time Zapdos has a very cool move in Thunderous Kick to break through physical defenses. It does compete with Thundurus (which has a wide movepool and Nasty Plot), Obstagoon (which has a very wide movepool) and Falinks (which has No Retreat), but Thunderous Kick makes it stand out at least.
Moltres-Galar: Low impact. Besides having Nasty Plot it's pretty much overshadowed by Yveltal. Or maybe I'm underestimating Berserk.

Other notes:
- Truant is banned, only reason Truant Durant isn't broken in 1v1 is 1) it doesn't get Skill Swap and 2) it has bad bulk, and with the removal of Z-moves all you need is to survive 1 turn to instawin
- Trick and Prankster Encore be too matchup based to be healthy? They'll be on the watchlist for now
- Should Species Clause be removed?
- poltergeist giratina is cool
- team organizer is now updated with new mons/abilities/moves
 
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