Final Breath

Approved by The Immortal, Eevee General, and unfixable thinks it's cool



Who hasn't watched an episode of the Pokemon anime when they were a kid and gasped at the battles, marveling at the cross-counters and double knock outs when a Pokemon is on its last breath? Now what would that be like to play?

Rules:
  • Pokemon will only faint at the end of a turn, even if their hp is knocked to, or below 0
  • Battles function normally otherwise
  • If both Pokemon would faint, the faster one faints second, resulting in a win for the owner of the faster Pokemon
  • Self-ko clause will be enforced, so using self-destruct or a similar move will result in the user's Pokemon fainting first
  • To prevent certain moves from being too powerful, pain-split and endeavor will FAIL if the user has 0 hp
  • If the user is at 0 hp, healing will NOT restore any HP to prevent immortality
In a way, this gives every Pokemon a pseduo sash, in that it guarantees that a Pokemon will be able to make at least one move, even if it would faint immediately. Speed is also much less of an issue, as Pokemon are guaranteed to move, so bulky slower Pokemon will be more common. Furthermore, this meta will pretty much do away with sweepers, as there is no way to sweep when the opponent can instantly put a stop to it. Pokemon advantage will be much more important because more Pokemon can pull off 1 to 1 trades.

Example sets:
Pineco @ Berry Juice
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 1
EVs: 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 HP
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Pain Split
Have you met annoying? Now you have! With berry juice and sturdy, Pineco guarantees 3 turns of being alive, and those 3 turns can be divided between setting up hazards, or halving the HP of the opposing Pokemon. A very powerful hazard setter set.

Rampardos @ Choice Band / Focus Sash / Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge / Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Brick Break
- Dragon Tail
I AM DINOSAUR. HEAR ME ROAR. When Rampardos doesn't have to worry about speed, we have a terrifying beast on our hands. Focus Sash gives Rampardos two guaranteed attacks, while Life Orb and Choice Band will boost its damage to terrifying levels. A very powerful Pokemon that will certainly punch holes in things.

Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Rock Tomb
- Force Palm / Focus Punch
- Bullet Seed
The famous punchshroom only gets better, with a guaranteed spore followed into a powerful Force Palm or Focus Punch. With priority no longer being that important, Force Palm hits 90 base power after technician, and can cause paralysis.

Cloyster @ King's Rock
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Hydro Pump
- Shell Smash
Even though sweepers are going to be much harder to use, Cloyster stands out for a few factors. The first is Skill Link. Multi hit moves will break sashes and sturdy, already weakening strategies that revolve around it. Secondly, King's Rock + Skill Link will result in a 40% to flinch, and a fast Pokemon CAN still use flinch to disable the opponent from moving, effectively continuing a sweep. Cloyster's low speed also means that it will shell smash after the opponent attacks, so it doesn't have to take massive damage right off the bat.


Banlist:
  • Standard OU banlist
FAQ:
So what's the purpose of priority moves or speed?
Not much, unless it's for the final showdown, in which case being faster might decide the victor of the battle!

What happens if my Pokemon uses Giga Drain or Drain Punch but it faints?
You'll still deal the damage, but your Pokemon won't get healed (since it's already fainted)

Will Rapid Spin or Knock Off still activate its secondary effect even if my Pokemon faints?
Yes, you'll still remove hazards or remove your opponent's item


Life Orb works like this:
Pokemon A has 56% hp. Pokemon B has 34%
>Pokemon A uses Fire Blast, Pokemon B takes 30% (now has 4% left)
>Pokemon B uses Close Combat, Pokemon A takes 56% (now has 0%)
>Pokemon B's Life Orb takes 10% away from Pokemon B (now has 0%)
>Pokemon A faints (first), then Pokemon B faints
 
This is incredible. People have been saying for a long time that creative OM ideas are gone but this can attest to the fact that we will never run out of good ideas. I will probably edit this post with my impressions on the metagame but holy shit dude. Congrats on making something so unique and fun looking. It's a very simple change that results in a lot of variation.
 
This is incredible. People have been saying for a long time that creative OM ideas are gone but this can attest to the fact that we will never run out of good ideas. I will probably edit this post with my impressions on the metagame but holy shit dude. Congrats on making something so unique and fun looking. It's a very simple change that results in a lot of variation.
I'm glad you like it! I actually submitted this as an idea in OM submissions half a year ago, and I've only just now realized I never posted it after it got approved.
 
Custap Berry mons just got a huge nerf- some of them are used to stack hazards, like Azelf, Skarmory, Forretress, etc. and their main niche in suicide leading was being able to kill off itself before the foe could spin/Defog away the hazards. Now, since it won't die, the opposing pokemon now has a chance to keep hazards off the field.
 
It'll be interesting to see how offense fares. In order to pull off a sweep, you have to have already KOed your checks, not just weakened them. Also, anyone can put Destiny Bond on one of their Mons to emergency-stop any sweep.
 

tehy

Banned deucer.
This metagame looks quite interesting

as the man said, I predict a lot of bulky offense, and bulky boosters may be somewhat effective. Stall also won here, especially since many deadly sweepers aren't necessarily that good in this meta-even against stall they can still be stopped ok in a pinch. then again, a deadly sweeper can potentially pick up a kill and then take out his revenge killer...hmm
 

truedrew

Banned deucer.
Man innovation coming through :) but i feel that this metagame is a complete new look at the OU metagame as a whole as mentioned before suicide leads are all but over unless they carry taunt. Also i am curious how moves like flare blitz/wild charge will work (recoil inducing moves) as if we are at 0 hp we still will take recoil after using the move so does it negate the recoil or make the pokemon whom used it first faint. Also how do abilities like Iron Barbs/Rough Skin work (even rocky helmet). LAst but not least shedinja looks super fun in this meta as along with sash it can live like 2 turns like some pseudo sturdy ninja!! Last but not least, how do hazards work? using shedinja as an example only, what happens if it switches in? does it stay alive and only die at the end of the turn or does it straight up faint?! OTW great job Temporaryanonymous This metagame is truely an unique and fun looking metagame in which strategies like stall will have a hard time as all sweepers are auto sash so they always live xd
 
A few questions.

1. So what if you use Self Destruct/Explosion when your HP is 0? Will it fail?

2. Also, does Counter/Mirror Coat/Metal Burst work at 0 HP?

3. Does Baton Pass pass boosts at 0 HP?
 

Lcass4919

The Xatu Warrior
this...sounds....amazing...FEAR suddenly becomes a threat, being able to act out a "destiny bond" with endevoir alone and then berry juicing back to full to get off another endevoir, i wonder, does sitrus/berry juice recover your mon from the grave? if so thats a cool aspect of the meta. pokemon that are super slow have a chance to shine, being able to get in one last hurrah before going down to the power of the opponent.
 
I think Calm Mind and Bulk Up are going to be the standard setup moves here -- since they increase bulk and work well with defensive spreads anyways, they're not quite as simple to revenge kill. Perhaps Reuniclus gets a chance to shine, since its low speed doesn't matter as much except in a last 'mon situation really.
this...sounds....amazing...FEAR suddenly becomes a threat, being able to act out a "destiny bond" with endevoir alone and then berry juicing back to full to get off another endevoir, i wonder, does sitrus/berry juice recover your mon from the grave? if so thats a cool aspect of the meta. pokemon that are super slow have a chance to shine, being able to get in one last hurrah before going down to the power of the opponent.
Endeavor and Pain Split don't work at 0 HP, as per the OP; also HP cannot be recovered from 0 HP.
 

Lcass4919

The Xatu Warrior
I think Calm Mind and Bulk Up are going to be the standard setup moves here -- since they increase bulk and work well with defensive spreads anyways, they're not quite as simple to revenge kill. Perhaps Reuniclus gets a chance to shine, since its low speed doesn't matter as much except in a last 'mon situation really.

Endeavor and Pain Split don't work at 0 HP, as per the OP; also HP cannot be recovered from 0 HP.
ah, i didnt see that. lmao oh well.
 
What happens if Chansey uses Wish before fainting.

Or Latias uses Healing Wish.
A few questions.

1. So what if you use Self Destruct/Explosion when your HP is 0? Will it fail?

2. Also, does Counter/Mirror Coat/Metal Burst work at 0 HP?

3. Does Baton Pass pass boosts at 0 HP?
Self Destruct/Explosion: Yes....for now. Unless it's overly powerful, they will still be able to used even when the user has been hit to 0 hp. Metagross and Landorus rejoice!

Counter/Mirror Coat/Metal Burst: Yes. They work normally, so they act as a deterrent against sweeps, and honestly, they're not that much used in the current meta so I'd like to see how this shakes things up. Furthermore, there's not that many users of Metal Burst, and their HP stat isn't usually very high.

Baton pass: Yes....for now. See Self Destruct/Explosion. The Pokemon will faint after passing off its boosts, but sweeps should be less of a problem in this meta.

Wish/Healing Wish: Same as Self Destruct/Explosion. At least banning this one if it gets too powerful has slightly more justification since it's a healing move.

Also i am curious how moves like flare blitz/wild charge will work (recoil inducing moves) as if we are at 0 hp we still will take recoil after using the move so does it negate the recoil or make the pokemon whom used it first faint.

Also how do abilities like Iron Barbs/Rough Skin work (even rocky helmet). L

Last but not least, how do hazards work? using shedinja as an example only, what happens if it switches in? does it stay alive and only die at the end of the turn or does it straight up faint?!
Final Gambit: (user faints first)
Pokemon A has 100% hp, Pokemon B has 30%
>Pokemon A used Final Gambit, Pokemon A takes 100% (0% left), Pokemon B takes 30% (0% left)
>Pokemon A faints (first), Pokemon B faints

Flare Blitz (or other recoil moves): (opponent faints first)
Pokemon A has 70% hp, Pokemon B has 40% hp
>Pokemon B used Blizzard, Pokemon A takes 67% (3% left)
>Pokemon A used Flare Blitz, Pokemon B takes 40% (0% left), Pokemon A takes 3% (0% left)
>Pokemon B faints (first), Pokemon A faints

Iron Barbs/Rough Skin/Rocky Helmet/Effect Spore or other abilities/items will still proc even when you have 0% hp.

If a Pokemon comes into the field and faints by hazards, it still faints at the end of the turn. This could be relevant for abilities like weather.

As for Destiny Bond, I'm not sure. I'd rather it not be an instant kill if you faint, so I would like it to work like this:
Pokemon A has 1% and Pokemon B has 100%

Scenario 1:
>Pokemon A uses Destiny Bond
>Pokemon B uses Tackle doing 1%
>Pokemon A faints (first), Destiny Bond procs and Pokemon B faints

Secnario 2:
>Pokemon B uses Tackle doing 1%
>Pokemon A uses Destiny Bond
>Pokemon A faints, Destiny Bond does not proc
 
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Props for a really cool and original metagame! Something thought of: a pokemon with regenerator using u-turn, volt switch or baton pass could stay alive for ages by surviving with the last breath effect, then regaining their health with regenerator so they doesn't die. Only mienshao and tornadus-t can do this, so they'll be very fun to play with.
 
Props for a really cool and original metagame! Something thought of: a pokemon with regenerator using u-turn, volt switch or baton pass could stay alive for ages by surviving with the last breath effect, then regaining their health with regenerator so they doesn't die. Only mienshao and tornadus-t can do this, so they'll be very fun to play with.
"If the user is at 0 hp, healing will NOT restore any HP to prevent immortality"

Starting to think that that line should be clarified & made more prominent.
 
Awesome meta idea! I fear there will be lots of just 1 for 1 exchanges most turns (MegaZard X vs. Excadrill = Flare Blitz KO and EQ KO, both die when one would keep sweeping normally), which would be either 6 or 12 turn battles (depending on if Pokemon match ups result in OHKOs or 2HKOs), but I'm hopeful that won't happen. I can see this being the place where Sturdy, slow rock/ground types finally shine. Golem, Gigalith, Steelix, bastiodon, and others will be useful because they are guaranteed 2 turns, and these mons have either the power (Gigalith) or movepool (Metal burst Bastiodon) to set Stealth Rock and KO their opponent before dying.

Overall I think this will bring out clever sets, less common abilities, NU Pokemon and strange moves which will prove very useful and interesting!
 
1. Get Mega Aggron with Stealth Rock with Roar
2. Get 4 other Pokemon with Roar/Whirlwind/Dragon Tail/Circle Throw, maybe some extra hazards, and a Weavile with Pursuit for Magic Guard users
3. ?????
4. Profit

Negative Priority moves and Field setting moves are a lot better here since you can now set them up (without worrying about death preventing you from using it), die, and then send out a Pokemon you want.
 

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