Metagame Fortemons

KaenSoul

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Is Heavy Slam bugged? I use a Ting-Lu set running Heavy Slam with Payback as an item, and I'm just curious if that makes it just not work somehow? Whenever I click Heavy Slam it just kind of...doesn't do anything at all. Like it doesn't seem to do a damage calculation at all, as if it's a move like Celebrate, where it just does a little animation and nothing else. Does this have to do with the properties of the varying base power of Heavy Slam and the properties of Payback? Or is it like because Heavy Slam got banned as an item and doesn't work as a regular move as a result? Or am I stupid and it's something really dumb?
Moves that multiply damage (like Payback) return 0 if they are used with moves with no original value (like Heavy Slam), as they replace the formula of the other move and end without a value to work with.
 
Moves that multiply damage (like Payback) return 0 if they are used with moves with no original value (like Heavy Slam), as they replace the formula of the other move and end without a value to work with.
Ah, so it is something stupid and I'm just dumb. Ty tho >->
 
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9fortemons-1831612155-pz8acav1y6o9zunr10ul6j54hmyeg43pw
Some bugs found when coding fortebh myself
  1. Feint cannot break Protect when its user has a forte
    This is because Feint gets 'protect' flag from the forte, which makes it fail before hitStepBreakProtect, where breaksProtect is checked.
  2. Not really relevant but Hydro Steam and actually all defrost moves cannot make moves defrost when taken as a forte
    This is because 'defrost' flag is checked before onModifyMove, where moves get flags from forte. To fix this, set that flag in onBeforeMove and set onBeforeMovePriority to 11. sleepUsable works similarly but yea Snore is banned...
  3. Still, not really relevant since Diancie is unreleased. But Diamond Storm will make every recharge move and self-stat-dropping move only have a 50% chance to activate its side effect.
    The cause for this is kinda similar to the Sheer Force + Secondary Forte combo. It's slightly easier to fix for sure, but I myself prefer not.
  4. Still*2, not really relevant since the move is banned. But I do think Spit Up forte should pass its effect of removing all Stockpiles to moves so that it maybe unbannable.
 
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9fortemons-1831612155-pz8acav1y6o9zunr10ul6j54hmyeg43pw
Some bugs found when coding fortebh myself
  1. Feint cannot break Protect when its user has a forte
    This is because Feint gets 'protect' flag from the forte, which makes it fail before hitStepBreakProtect, where breaksProtect is checked.
  2. Not really relevant but Hydro Steam and actually all defrost moves cannot make moves defrost when taken as a forte
    This is because 'defrost' flag is checked before onModifyMove, where moves get flags from forte. To fix this, set that flag in onBeforeMove and set onBeforeMovePriority to 11. sleepUsable works similarly but yea Snore is banned...
  3. Still, not really relevant since Diancie is unreleased. But Diamond Storm will make every recharge move and self-stat-dropping move only have a 50% chance to activate its side effect.
    The cause for this is kinda similar to the Sheer Force + Secondary Forte combo. It's slightly easier to fix for sure, but I myself prefer not.
  4. Still*2, not really relevant since the move is banned. But I do think Spit Up forte should pass its effect of removing all Stockpiles to moves so that it maybe unbannable.
For point #3, would Fiery Dance or a similar move work, or just Diamond Storm?
 
:ss/Slowbro:
Slowbro @ drainpunch
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Psychic
- Calm Mind
- Slack Off

I've been having success with Slowbro as a Calm Mind sweeper. It is really good at taking advantage of all the Quaquaval in the tier, and once it's set up it can be very difficult to kill. It does have a major weakness to the abundant Meowscarada--terastallizing to Poison in the face of a grass attack helps (Tera Poison also helps to protect it from the occasional Toxic), but I also pair Slowbro with Tauros-Fire to keep up the pressure on the opponent for switching Meow in.

Here are some replays where Slowbro puts in a lot of work, either weakening a team, finishing a sweep, or doing a complete sweep:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9fortemons-1830604605
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9fortemons-1827090860
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9fortemons-1832107710

Replay showing Slowbro eventually managing to break through a Toxapex:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9fortemons-1828672137
 
I see a lot of people saying that Pult is the fastest mon in the tier, so I raise you:

Electrode @ Electro Ball / Foul Play
Ability: Aftermath
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe | 252 HP / 252 Spe
Timid/Jolly Nature (doesn't really matter, as long as it's +Spe)
- Explosion
- Agility / Electro Ball
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave

No. No, it isn't. I haven't run this and I haven't calc'd anything but it's faster and can t-wave Pult. Electro Ball + Foul Play as either Fortes or regular moves are incredibly strong. I feel like more people should use this as a Pult counter, since it works pretty well. Pair it with something like Corviknight or Rotom and you've got yourself a pretty damn solid core.
 
Breloom @ lowsweep
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Spore
- Focus Punch
- Mach Punch

Breloom is one of my all-time favorite Pokemon. This set isn't great, but it's fun and can take opponents by surprise. Bullet seed+low sweep gives breloom a form of speed control it wouldn't normally have. Spore and focus punch still are amazing, mach punch obligatory. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9fortemons-1832567976
 
2 Things I've noticed while playing.

First I have noticed that the timing of secondary Effects can have some Interactions that would work differently on the actual move. Specifically Rapid Spin as an Item doesn't remove Toxic Spikes set up via Toxic Debris when it triggered them itself. If Rapid Spin is used on Glimmora normally it triggers Toxic Debris and then cleans up Hazards. If a move with Rapid Spin as an Item is used, it cleans up Hazards before Toxic Debris is triggered.

Secondly Circle Throw Prankster Riolu is a thing and I belive that similar strategies have been banned before, so just going to throw that out there...
 
2 Things I've noticed while playing.

First I have noticed that the timing of secondary Effects can have some Interactions that would work differently on the actual move. Specifically Rapid Spin as an Item doesn't remove Toxic Spikes set up via Toxic Debris when it triggered them itself. If Rapid Spin is used on Glimmora normally it triggers Toxic Debris and then cleans up Hazards. If a move with Rapid Spin as an Item is used, it cleans up Hazards before Toxic Debris is triggered.

Secondly Circle Throw Prankster Riolu is a thing and I belive that similar strategies have been banned before, so just going to throw that out there...
Copycat will not be able to call attacks with negative priority any more, it was fixed
 
Copycat will not be able to call attacks with negative priority any more, it was fixed
I also noticed it cannot call itself again, so it isn't just a win button.

Edit: So it does seem to still work, but with not being able to call itself it works like a reusable red card and is then a riolu with negative priority moves... combined with most priority users outspeeding riolu it seems like there is enough counterplay... though I am not really qualified to assess that.
 
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Some thoughts I had on some HOME mons.

Samurott-Hisui @ Ceaseless Edge
Ability: Sharpness
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Liquidation
- Drill Run / Megahorn / Sacred Sword
- Swords Dance

Getting the Sharpness boost on everything is definitely a major plus for H-Samurott, as is essentially getting to set up a layer of spikes whenever you use an attack. SD and Aqua Jet can definitely make both Glimmora and physically defensive Iron Treads think twice about coming in on you to remove hazards, and Liquidation is a nasty way to catch them on the switch. Drill Run can be useful for catching an electric type on the switch. Megahorn can punish attempts to bring in Meowscarada with prejudice. Sacred Sword can be neat for Steel types, and for breaking through mons that rely on Def boosts. Speaking of which, Sacred Sword is also an option for your Forte, swapping Spikes on each attack for not caring about Def boosts. Seems like a pretty strong mon. That being said...

Zamazenta @ bodypress
Ability: Dauntless Shield
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Def / 252 Spe
Impish / Jolly Nature
- Iron Defense
- Focus Blast / Close Combat
- Dazzling Gleam
- Crunch / Iron Head

While it could remain in Ubers... the drop to it's Atk could ultimately push it down to OU, and thus potentially being legal in Fortemons.

It did however, finally gain access to the one and only, BODY PRESS! Letting it use Dauntless Shied to essentially become a bootleg Zacian, while being able to use Iron Defense to increase it's PhysDef and use it's strangely mixed move pool to it's full effect. Iron Defense is self explanatory, Focus Blast V.S Close Combat depends on which side of the defensive spectrum you want to hit, and weather you want to deal with the low accuracy of Focus Blast V.S CC's Def drops. Dazzling Gleam gives you a way to deal with Dragons and Fighting Types (and STAB if / when you go Tera), while Crunch provides some valuable coverage against Ghost types and Psychic types. Tera Fairy is used to provide some defensive boosts, including a better matchup against opposing Fairy types, while not sacrificing the match up against Dark types. Iron Head is an alternate option V.S Crunch if you want a better match up against Fairy types.

Admittedly it's not the physically bulkiest mon available, but it is unique in being the absolute fastest of them all, crucially out speeding Iron Treads, while also having the Def to make good use of Body Press. While Impish is preferred to get some more offense / defense, but Jolly (or any Speed boosting Nature that isn't Relaxed) ensures that you can outspeed Meowscarada outside of webs. Like with H-Samurott, I foresee Zamazenta being a very strong mon in Fortemons. Possibly ban worthy.
 
While we're on the topic of HOME mons...

:SV/Enamorus:
Enamorus @ Superpower
Ability: Contrary
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Play Rough
- Earth Power
- Zen Headbutt
- Taunt

At the cost of losing Fighting coverage, with the Superpower forte, every single non-status move Enamorus uses now boosts her Attack and Defense. Earth Power is a great lure for Gholdengo, and you can Tera Ground to 2HKO Skeledirge with Earth Power:

4 SpA Enamorus Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gholdengo: 180-214 (57.1 - 67.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 SpA Tera Ground Enamorus Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Skeledirge: 218-260 (53 - 63.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 SpA Tera Ground Enamorus Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Dondozo: 178-210 (35.3 - 41.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

:SV/Goodra-Hisui:
Goodra-Hisui @ Absorb
Ability: Sap Sipper / Gooey
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 248 HP / 32 Atk / 196 Def / 32 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Heavy Slam
- Fire Blast / Earthquake / Body Press
- Dragon Tail

Goodra-H gets reliable enough recovery by using Absorb as its forte, and it can tank hits and dish them out back. Dragon Tail is particularly useful for forcing out opposing mons trying to snowball with forte boosts.

32 Atk Goodra-Hisui Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Iron Valiant: 290-344 (100.3 - 119%) -- guaranteed OHKO
32 Atk Goodra-Hisui Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Enamorus: 356-420 (123.1 - 145.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
32 SpA Goodra-Hisui Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Corviknight: 202-238 (50.6 - 59.6%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Ursaluna Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 196+ Def Goodra-Hisui: 288-338 (79.3 - 93.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Iron Valiant Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 196+ Def Goodra-Hisui: 296-350 (81.5 - 96.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
 
Some more HOME theorycrafting

Sneasler @ Dire Claw
Ability: Poison Touch
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- U-turn
- Poison Jab
- Close Combat

Wanna be the most annoying person to ever grace Fortemons? Sneasler with Forte Dire Claw has you covered for all 5 minutes that Dire Claw will be legal!

Name of the game is annoying the heck out of your foe by spreading poison / paralysis / sleep like it's no one's business thanks to Dire Claw forte. Poison Touch should boost the poison chance up to 80% (if I'm calculating it right) making it extra potent. Fake Out gets flinches for speed control, and could either cripple your opponent's mon or put them on a timer, U-Turn gives Sneasler a way to escape while still maintaining momentum (while, again, crippling your opponent's mon or put them on a timer), with Poison Jap & CC providing some valuable offensive coverage (with PJ possibly giving you 100% chance to poison assuming the % chance is treated additively (correct me if I'm wrong)), with CC being especially important against poison immune Steel types.

Braviary-Hisui @ Esper Wing
Ability: Tinted Lens
Tera Type: Fire / Fairy
EVs: 100 HP / 220 SpA / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stored Power
- Hurricane / Tera Blast
- Dazzling Gleam / Heat Wave
- Calm Mind

H-Braviary is pretty interesting on paper, as it has the potential to be a pretty strong Stored Power sweeper thanks to the combination of Tinted Lens, and Esper Wing not only boosting speed (similar to Trailblaze and Flame Charge) but also having a boosted crit chance (though not guaranteed).

188 Spe EV's ensure that you can outspeed base 110 Spe mons after a single boost while still getting a respectable 386 HP, the rest goes into SpA. Calm Mind is for boosting it's SpA and SpD to make the most out of Stored Power, Hurricane is probably your strongest available Flying STAB, though Air Slash is an option if you want better accuracy. Tera Blast is an option depending on what Tera coverage you want. Fire can help against troublesome Steel and Ice types. Fairy meanwhile provides protection against Dark types. 3rd Slot changes depending on which Tera type you want to make sure your covered.
 
Some more HOME theorycrafting

Sneasler @ Dire Claw
Ability: Poison Touch
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- U-turn
- Poison Jab
- Close Combat

Wanna be the most annoying person to ever grace Fortemons? Sneasler with Forte Dire Claw has you covered for all 5 minutes that Dire Claw will be legal!

Name of the game is annoying the heck out of your foe by spreading poison / paralysis / sleep like it's no one's business thanks to Dire Claw forte. Poison Touch should boost the poison chance up to 80% (if I'm calculating it right) making it extra potent. Fake Out gets flinches for speed control, and could either cripple your opponent's mon or put them on a timer, U-Turn gives Sneasler a way to escape while still maintaining momentum (while, again, crippling your opponent's mon or put them on a timer), with Poison Jap & CC providing some valuable offensive coverage (with PJ possibly giving you 100% chance to poison assuming the % chance is treated additively (correct me if I'm wrong)), with CC being especially important against poison immune Steel types.
%s are not additive
So Dire Claw + Poison Touch is 65%
Dire Claw + Poison Touch + Poison Jab is 75.5%
 
%s are not additive
So Dire Claw + Poison Touch is 65%
Dire Claw + Poison Touch + Poison Jab is 75.5%
Ok so not as annoying as thought, but still pretty freaking wacky.

So that's a 50% to either Sleep or Para, and 65% to Poison on any attack, while Poison Jab is a 75% chance to poison.
 
Anyways, some more theorymonning:

Overqwil @ Barb Barrage
Ability: Poison Point / Intimidate
Tera Type: Poison / Bug
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Gunk Shot
- Pin Missile
- Swords Dance / Toxic Spikes

Seems pretty fun, either as a sweeper doing some insane damage after SD and poison, with Gunk Shot being a poison type Explosion, and Pin Missile being able to poison very easily, also maxing at 225 BP.
Or as an offensive setter, trying to poison as much as possible.

Overqwil @ Fell Stinger
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Gunk Shot
- Liquidation / Aqua Jet
- Agility / Swords Dance / Aqua Jet

Just what Qwilfish did, but stronger and bulkier, you can still opt for setup if you wanna predict switches like that

Typhlosion-Hisui @ Eruption
Ability: Frisk
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Fire Spin / Lava Plume
- Infernal Parade
- Double Kick
- Quick Attack

OK, hear me out here
The coverage moves are a meme and a half, but can do some nice damage at full HP

4 Atk Typhlosion-Hisui Double Kick (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ting-Lu: 232-276 (45.1 - 53.6%) -- approx. 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Otherwise, Infernal Parade has a great potential for massive damage, as in 300BP STAB Ghost move (hmm, sounds familiar).
You might want Wish support, probably Sticky Web as well.

[Eruption doesn't work like that].

Typhlosion-Hisui @ Infernal Parade
Ability: Blaze / Frisk
Tera Type: Fire / Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Eruption
- Lava Plume
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp / Calm Mind

You just don't need high HP to do damage, but a 300BP fire move is a 300BP fire move.
 
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Typhlosion-Hisui @ Eruption
Ability: Frisk
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Fire Spin / Lava Plume
- Infernal Parade
- Double Kick
- Quick Attack

OK, hear me out here
The coverage moves are a meme and a half, but can do some nice damage at full HP

4 Atk Typhlosion-Hisui Double Kick (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ting-Lu: 232-276 (45.1 - 53.6%) -- approx. 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Otherwise, Infernal Parade has a great potential for massive damage, as in 300BP STAB Ghost move (hmm, sounds familiar).
You might want Wish support, probably Sticky Web as well.
The 150 BP part doesn't carry over and only the part where BP scales with HP does, so Eruption or any similar move in the item slot changes nothing when you're at full HP and lowers your damage as your HP drops.
 
The 150 BP part doesn't carry over and only the part where BP scales with HP does, so Eruption or any similar move in the item slot changes nothing when you're at full HP and lowers your damage as your HP drops.
That makes me curious how would eruption work with sheer force and a forte? would it be like Close combat and Giga Impact?
 
The 150 BP part doesn't carry over and only the part where BP scales with HP does, so Eruption or any similar move in the item slot changes nothing when you're at full HP and lowers your damage as your HP drops.
That's not how Flail / Reversal worked, it made every hit 200BP at 1 HP, so Bullet Seed for example can be 1000BP, which is why it was banned.
 
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That's not how Flail / Reversal worked, it made every hit 200BP at 1 HP, so Bullet Seed for example can be 1000BP, which is why it was banned.
You can look for yourself in the code, but the basePowerCallback function for Flail and Reversal hard code the BP to the different values that they can have while the function for Eruption and similar moves change the base power to be a percentage of the base power of the actual move, which means the base power for Flail passes down while base power for Eruption does not.

Code:
basePowerCallback(pokemon, target) {         
          const ratio = Math.max(Math.floor(pokemon.hp * 48 / pokemon.maxhp), 1);
          let bp;
          if (ratio < 2) {
                    bp = 200;
          } else if (ratio < 5) {
                    bp = 150;
          } else if (ratio < 10) {
                    bp = 100;
          } else if (ratio < 17) {
                    bp = 80;
          } else if (ratio < 33) {
                    bp = 40;
          } else {
                    bp = 20;
          }
          this.debug('BP: ' + bp);
          return bp;
}
Code:
basePowerCallback(pokemon, target, move) {
          const bp = move.basePower * pokemon.hp / pokemon.maxhp;
          this.debug('BP: ' + bp);
          return bp;
}
 
Would Tailwind be viable in this meta? Glimmora can't outspeed anything important and dies quickly. I was thinking about some sort of talonflame pivot w/ Tailwind+Eject Button.

Talonflame @ Eject Button
Ability: Gale Wings
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Tailwind
- Acrobatics
- U-turn
- Roost

Set up Tailwind turn 1, if necessary U-turn turn 2, use acrobatics if necessary later, roost so you can recover.
 
Would Tailwind be viable in this meta? Glimmora can't outspeed anything important and dies quickly. I was thinking about some sort of talonflame pivot w/ Tailwind+Eject Button.

Talonflame @ Eject Button
Ability: Gale Wings
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Tailwind
- Acrobatics
- U-turn
- Roost

Set up Tailwind turn 1, if necessary U-turn turn 2, use acrobatics if necessary later, roost so you can recover.
Tailwind isn’t great in 6v6 singles because it doesn’t last long enough to make a substantial difference most of the time.
 

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