Metagame [Gen 8] Category Swap

As I always do whenever I try out a new OM, I slammed Trick Room on CatSwap to see how it would turn out. I've had some success with it on the ladder, so I wanted to share. Click the sprites to get the team.



General
On a regular TR I probably would have added another setter at the cost of a sweeper. However, in this case, I found that two rounds of trick room throughout the game was generally enough to blow holes into the opposing team, and finish thanks to the overall high bulk of the team. Though I haven't faced many, the team struggles against stall if you don't get every prediction right. HO however can be defeated with pretty high consistency. Overall hazard stack is always a nightmare to play against, if you're up against it it's often worth it to forget SR and start attacking right away.
Carbink
Your usual TR lead. Guarantees that you'll set up rocks and TR in most cases, if possible in that order to get as many turns of TR as possible, then explodes. Not much more to it.

Rhyperior
Utilizes Rhyp's access to BoltBeam, which fired off a 140 base attack adamant and often expert belt-boosted hurts. Basically, any super effective move is a KO unless it's a wall like Pex or Hippowdon. Earth Power is only a minor downgrade from Eq, and Swords Dance lets it threaten bulkier mons or TR-stalling with protect. You could run Life Orb, but I like to take advantage of its huge physical bulk and Solid Rock in the late game to snipe Nidoking Tauros and the like, as well as Lando. It's also able to bait a choice item after an Earth Power, which tends to lure Flying-types in.

Alowak
Similar to Rhyperior, but can use both stabs and fill its moveset with whatever coverage. It's mostly there to handle steel-types like Ferro which the rest of the team struggles with. I have to say though, its power is a bit underwhelming compared to the regular physical version. However, its ability to completely wall Tapu Koko is partly why I kept it in the team. And also because I didn't find any other Fire type that would fit the bill.

Araquanid
Very powerful wallbreaker. It trades the potential Def drop of Liquidation for the much more devastating Hydro Miss, which (when it lands) pounds pretty hard. You could also run Band, but switching moves allows to make sure you only take risks when necessary thanks to Surf. You can also run Giga Drain for the OS on Swampert, but you'll rarely be clicking a non-water move.

Reuniclus
The secondary TR setter for the team and a very pleaseant surprise. Magic Guard + Sash means you're nearly sure to set TR, after which you can use explosion off of a max 125 SpA mon. Probably the best special explosion user after Gengar. It also gets some fun physical moves, but you're unlikely to use them anyways.

Dragalge
Why use Naganadel when you can use his slow-ass lazy brother ? A great cleaner to finish games off on a second TR, usually once Steel/Fairy-types are dealt with. I originally had flip turn on this set, but changed it to Iron Tail for the rare Diancie or to damage Magearna. Might not be worth it now, though you rarely pivot in TR anyways.
 
Sceptile @ Sitrus Berry/Life Orb/Leftovers
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Swords Dance/Dragon Dance
- Leaf Storm
- Focus Blast
- Substitute/Toxic/Protect
I've been finding use out of sceptile too, but it's not for physical sets.

:swsh/sceptile: + :swsh/tapu koko:

Sceptile @ Electric Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics
- Thunder Punch/filler attack

...and any generic koko set

Sceptile can act as a powerful cleaner which is very easily enabled by one of the best Pokemon in the format, Tapu Koko. It is almost unresisted and outspeeds almost everything. It feels so nice that Sceptile can finally use it's higher attack stat with unburden. Obviously it's not amazing but it can and does work.

Will maybe come back with more thoughts but yeah Sceptile is pretty cool.
 
The council have decided...

Nidoking, Magearna, and Dragapult are now banned.

Nidoking: the increase in power as well as making Nidoking's incredible coverage physical forces this mon over the line. The offensive nature of CatSwap has made webs ever more viable, and Nidoking thrives under webs outspeeding most if not all usual checks. It forces a physical blanket check like Avalugg on too many teams, and even Lugg is paper if you switch one of your coverage moves into a special one.
We will also be keeping an eye on Nidoqueen going forward.

Magearna: Even though the snowballing nature Mag has with its sweeping sets in regular play are diminished due to Soul Heart increasing the wrong attack, the sheer versalitity and natural bulk combined with flexible coverage make Magearna stupidly hard to deal with. 99% of sets will run SG, but combining Iron Defense+Stored Power, Trick scarf and many possible coverage options put the opponent of a Magearna at a huge disadvantage by default. Scouting forever isnt really possible, again, due to the offensive nature of the meta. + No drawback Fleur Cannon goes brrrr a bit too hard

Dragapult: No surprises that Pult sees itself being pushed over the line in yet another OM. Getting its great special movepool to work with its better attacking stat combined with Dragon Dance forces, again, a blanket physical check like Avalugg on all viable teams as to not get swept by a DD Pult or get torn apart by banded sets. An immunity to Intimidate doesn't help Pult's case in the least.

in the hills or any other mod: Please could you implement these bans?
What the world record for fastest time Dragapult was banned in OMs without being initially banned? This was really fast.
 
Alright Category Swap, after the recent bans it's time to meet your new masters:

The Hurricane Bois

:Dragonite: :salamence: :gyarados:

These three will probably make up the biggest part of the setup people will be facing, and them hitting/missing hurricanes will cost a LOT of points on the ladder. All three share a similar playstyle, with Mence and Dnite being able to Roost up damage as well as Dnite being the easiest to set up, while Gyara focuses on stupidly powerful but inaccurate dual stab and your daily coverage of choice. Throw up some screens and/or webs and these three will guarantee some frustration and some wins to go with it. Also to note: Mence and Dnite can pack a special coverage move as well if Avalugg seems like too much hassle to deal with. Have fun!
 

drampa's grandpa

cannonball
is a Community Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
Once I was in a match against a Dragapult and a Nidoking... but I didn't get to see either because I got swept by a Salamence. Unfortunately, the perennial walls Ferrothorn and Toxapex don't resist Flying.

Speaking of which, courtesy of multibandit, we have viability rankings now!
Love the VR but pls organize the subranks by subrank ;-; like group B+ with other B+ mons, rather than with all the B mons mixed up.
Er anyway

Dragapult, Magearna, and Nidoking are gone! This is all for the good, and I am happy to see each one gone.

:ss/volcarona:
This bad buggy boi just lost a HUGE part of the reason I was happy to see it stay in the metagame. It was both pretty much the only thing keeping Magearna reasonably in check and a huge part of what was keeping it in check was Dragapult offensively pressuring it. It was already an insane sweeper with pult in the metagame, and now there are pretty much no checks or counters not named Blissey that are actually used. This thing needs to be on the watchlist 100%.

For now... how can you pretend you're dealing with it?
:heatran: Flash Fire Heatran eats up all of Volcarona's most powerful attacks, and if it runs Toxic + Protect or a Rock-type move can easily win. Safeguard or Substitute make Toxic Heatran sad, but nobody runs those.
:blissey: Far and away the best Volcarona counter. Unless they run Safeguard or Substitute (hint, nobody does) you can just Toxic them and outlast.
:chansey: Wow, Chansey doing the same thing as Blissey? I'm shocked.
:nihilego: Probably the best offensive counter to Volcarona. Pretty much the only Rock type that didn't get screwed over by this meta, and one with great special bulk to boot. Nihilego will be able to come in on and force out Volcarona repeatedly so long as you're not spamming Head Smash into oblivion.
:dragonite::salamence: Dragonite and Salamence can both come in on anything Volcarona throws at them and KO back unless Hurricane misses 50 times in a row. Roost means that these two can last the whole match if you're smart.
:kommo-o: Kommo-o can do what Dragapult used to do, but worse. After a Dragon Dance, +1 Clanging Scales will OHKO offensive Volcarona while Kommo-o never dies in return, forcing out the Volcarona and getting free setup. This isn't a good longterm plan, so it's better for fastpaced teams.
:marowak-alola: A one-time counter to Volcarona which hates rocks a little too much. Unfortunately too frail to be of much use defensively.
:quagsire: Quagsire is unaware of the issues Volcarona is causing in the metagame.

:ss/tapu_koko:
Tapu Koko is super powerful in this metagame (and imo a little underrated at A but w/e). The ability to work off its higher stat has made it incredibly difficult to switch into without dedicated walls. And now, with Nidoking gone, it's lost its best offensive check, making it, IMO, a bit too much to handle. Choice Band is the set of choice thanks to a lack of boosting moves (haha Work Up funny) but Heavy Duty Boots is also good and can be used on a wide variety of sets... just like Koko always does. Koko is too fast to be as strong as it is, and one prediction typically leads to a counter losing unless that counter is Avalugg or Amoonguss.

Mons that can check or counter Koko!

:nidoqueen: Nidoqueen is actually better at handling Koko than King ever was thanks to superior bulk. However investment makes a huge difference in how this mon plays; if not invested in bulk it can only tank a couple hits from the wrong move from Tapu Koko, but if not invested in offenses its power level is significantly decreased. This includes the choice between Black Sludge and Life Orb
:landorus-therian: An excellent pivot into and out of Koko because of Intimidate and its immunity to Electric. It can get worn down quickly if it comes in on Dazzling Gleam repeatedly however.
:avalugg: I really don't think this thing is as viable as people are saying it is, but it does counter Koko so... livin' la vida loca.
:amoonguss: Mushroom is the perennial Koko counter. It resists everything, heals with Regenerator, and doesn't really mind being Volt Switched on.
:marowak-alola: Technically a counter. Just like it technically counters Volcarona. I wouldn't actually try to use it that way though.
:steelix: Other than lack of recovery, Steelix actually does a pretty good job at walling Koko. Unfortunately, despite its massive bulk, I can't really seem to find much of a niche for it outside of that, as pretty much all other Electric types besides Zeraora (which can go special) are unviable.

Other things I find scary right now...

:ss/gengar:
Gengar goes hard with either Specs or Nasty Plot. The Poltergeist power boost spooked me a bit I won't lie.

:ss/marshadow:
This thing still has good bulk, excellent typing both offensively and defensively, and awesome Speed. While its offenses aren't spread out as nicely as before I've seen it work well with both physical and special sets and I find that unpredictability hard to work around. The 90 BP SpA hits hard enough with CC + Poltergeist STAB given how good the moves are, especially with Calm Mind, and physical sets may not have an amazing physical STAB anymore but Will-o-Wisp + Hex sets are great on Marshadow, and Shadow Ball is also perfectly fine. This thing is nerfed, but I can't see it as anything but a slightly less reliable Uber-level mon.

Things I do not find scary....
:ss/polteageist:
I keep hearing people saying this thing is broken or banworthy. I just really, really cannot see it. It lost way more than it gained. A more powerful primary STAB is nice, but given that Ghost is not the most spammable typing in the world, and Poltergeist means you cannot run Knock Off on anything for risk of ruining your ability to hit them, it just seems like an overall nerf. And I say this as someone who enjoys Polteageist and runs it in multiple metas.
 
won a few games (mostly) just by using spectrier and i sincerely, completely think it should be banned. even though phantom force is a two-turn move you can use the first turn of invincibility to stall out the opposing pokemon to gain leftovers recovery, giving it even more longevity than it would have in a normal match. it also gets access to double kick, which is only a measly 60 bp but allows it to hit dark and normal types super effectively (and also allows it to hit chansey and blissey). it just...tears through teams that don't have *counters* for it, not just checks. hell, it's probably even more broken than it is outside of this om

:ss/spectrier:
HONSE (Spectrier) @ Leftovers
Ability: Grim Neigh
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Phantom Force
- Double Kick
- Substitute

the best set. get your substitute up, set up with nasty plot and watch your opponent have a nervous breakdown trying to deal with the approaching massive snowball ready to sweep their team

tl;dr please turn the horse into glue i haven't fought it yet but by god i do not want to. pack a haze pex to sleep well at night.

oh, and another thing about :chansey:/:blissey: :
+6 252 SpA Spectrier Double Kick (2 hits) vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 360-428 (51.2 - 60.8%) -- approx. 2HKO
lol. lmao.
 
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:ss/pincurchin:
Pincurchin @ Choice Band
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rising Voltage
- Scald
- Hex
- Thunderbolt
choice band pincurchin with physical rising voltage coming off an actually ok is attack stat instead of having to use choice specs cuz of dragapult syndrome
 

KaenSoul

Shared:Power Little Knight
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Community Leader
Here is a mon that has been working nicely so far in roomtours

:dp/glaceon:
Glaceon @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Ice Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Triple Axel
- Ice Shard
- Double Kick
- Aqua Tail
Priority Ice shard is great as it let you revenge kill a lot of stuff like salamence, zygarde, rillaboom etc., Triple axel is a nice nuke, aqua tail hits volca and heatran hard enough and double kick is a filler move.
Also have been using Starmie as a Keldeo answer and spinner, is quite fine but not great. And after playing around with Nidoqueen, I can see why Nidoking had to go, but the queen feels balanced enough at least.

won a few games (mostly) just by using spectrier and i sincerely, completely think it should be banned. even though phantom force is a two-turn move you can use the first turn of invincibility to stall out the opposing pokemon to gain leftovers recovery, giving it even more longevity than it would have in a normal match. it also gets access to double kick, which is only a measly 60 bp but allows it to hit dark and normal types super effectively (and also allows it to hit chansey and blissey). it just...tears through teams that don't have *counters* for it, not just checks. hell, it's probably even more broken than it is outside of this om

:ss/spectrier:
HONSE (Spectrier) @ Leftovers
Ability: Grim Neigh
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Phantom Force
- Double Kick
- Substitute

the best set. get your substitute up, set up with nasty plot and watch your opponent have a nervous breakdown trying to deal with the approaching massive snowball ready to sweep their team

tl;dr please turn the horse into glue i haven't fought it yet but by god i do not want to. pack a haze pex to sleep well at night.

oh, and another thing about :chansey:/:blissey: :


lol. lmao.
Loving this set, spectrier is so fast and strong it can clear teams way too easily.
 
I'm really enjoying the ol' Quick Attack + Last Resort set for Sylveon here, haha.

:sm/sylveon:
Sylveon @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 248 HP / 184 Def / 76 SpA
Modest Nature
- Quick Attack
- Last Resort

Since a Pixilate-boosted 140 BP move is ridiculous and Quick Attack is pretty spammable, Sylveon can afford to invest in bulk for extra survivability. It can often pick something off with Quick Attack, tank a hit from a would-be revenge killer like Tapu Koko, and knock it out with Last Resort. It can be pretty dangerous when the likes of Volcarona and Heatran are out of the way.
 
Hello.

Welcome Clastia to the Category Swap Council!

Fairy types too good
:ss/swirlix:
Slurpuff @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Draining Kiss
- Thunderbolt / Flamethrower
- Surf / Flamethrower
yo this thing is dumb af, DrumBurden combined with coverage that covers almost the entire tier is devastating. I would say Slurpuff is broken, you literally cannot beat this once it has set up (which is EASY as it's mostly run on screens teams+every team has like 3 mons which slurpuff can set up against). Slurpuff sweep.
:ss/sylveon:
Pixilate Last Resort
:ss/tapu bulu:
Now this is an interesting mon...
Tapu Bulu @ Life Orb
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Giga Drain
- Swords Dance
- Focus Blast
- Dazzling Gleam
SD+3a sets have proven to be very good, and the fairy+grass typing helps it to take on many threats (like dragons, keldeo and bulky waters) quite easily. It forms a great core with grass types like Sceptile, thanks to Grassy Surge. Here's a replay of Bulu (nearly)sweeping.
Tapu Bulu @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SpD / 232 Spe [alternatively switch HP and SpD]
Careful Nature
- Nature's Madness
- Focus Blast
- Giga Drain
- Dazzling Gleam
AV Bulu has the bulk to take hits from special attackers like Keldeo and Zygarde (and even Sylveon) reliably. It also does a great job wearing down Sceptile "checks" thanks to its access to Natures madness (+grass/fairy+fighting coverage)
do NOT use Assault Vest Tapu Bulu
 
Toxtricity might be a sleeper threat, because Shift Gear + Punk Rock + Boomburst is going to hurt. The fact that it's UU Shift Gear set is perfect for this meta if you swap the attacking EVs is kind of neat.


Toxtricity @ Life Orb
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Shift Gear
- Overdrive
- Boomburst
- Drain Punch

Could definitely be worked on and improved, but pretty interesting nonetheless.

This meta also really just gutted the Ultra Beasts, Kartana, Buzzwole, Xurkitree, Stakataka was never really viable.
Nihilego has meh coverage at best.
Blacephalon is unaffected because 127 attack is still good, and Celesteela is more of a tank.

Meta will definitely have an interesting development.
 
Kartana's coverage has only shrunk very slightly in losing Knock Off, but it keeps Fighting coverage in a way in Vacuum Wave while also providing it some priority. It gained a great deal in recovery with Giga Drain, massive STAB damage finally with Steel Beam, and no contact on any of its moves. It unfortunately suffers 50% recoil from Steel Beam, but that's also mitigated by Giga Drain's recovery and Kartana's good defensive typing. I don't think I've seen a single special Tapu Koko, so you actually counter him (Kartana also gets Synthesis) until people remember Koko gets Nature's Madness (I just suck). I'm not particularly interested in trying them, but Timid Swords Dance exists and could mitigate Kartana's speed without resorting to Vacuum Wave, as does Tailwind.

Some of the Ultra Beasts were gutted. Nihilego got a new lease on life with a massive power upgrade, as it never had much coverage in the first place.
 
I'm back. Been experimenting, but this has been my most consistent team by far.

:swsh/Tapu-Koko::swsh/Sceptile::swsh/Ferrothorn::swsh/Garchomp::swsh/Moltres::swsh/Keldeo:

Dragonfolly (Tapu Koko) @ Choice Band
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot
Fast attacker. Pairs well with keldeo/moltres for volt-turn combos and defensive synergy, and sceptile for obvious reasons.

Plantera (Sceptile) @ Electric Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earthquake
- Leaf Blade
- Acrobatics
- Thunder Punch
Cleaner. With spikes and rocks up from chomp and ferro against a weakened team thanks to offensive teammates,

˙͜˙ (Ferrothorn) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Atk / 208 Def
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Thunderbolt
- Leech Seed
Hazard Game #1. Switches in very easily and setups up hazards and seeds on threats.

Old Duke (Garchomp) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Pulse
- Earth Power
Offensive rocker, garchomp is an amazing mon in this mode and can also SD, but i opted to go for rocks.

Yharon (Moltres) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Defog
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
- Roost
Moltres is suprisingly solid in this mode. BB is good enough to where I did not want to run Blitz, so i ran U-turn and Defog on the same set.

Cnidron (Keldeo) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower
- Flip Turn
- Liquidation
Strong attacker. Bowls over mostly everything but pex and can flip turn on predicted switches into koko for more volt turn shenanigans.


I've also been checking out some other mons, more specifically:
:swsh/Excadrill::swsh/Moltres-Galar:

Desert Scourge (Excadrill) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Steel Beam
- Scorching Sands/Earth Power
Amazing HO lead, steel beam fainting itself means it cannot be defogged or spun on. On proper teams this could be amazing, but alas I have not found it at this moment.

Yharon (Moltres-Galar) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Berserk
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Sucker Punch
- U-Turn
- Brave Bird
Could be really scary as brave bird is incredibly strong with NP, but it's dark stab is lacking. With the proper team it could go crazy though.


And that's pretty much it. For now.
I also don't have too many thoughts on Spectrier as I have neither used nor fought it, so there's that.
 
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Using these 5's been an absolute blast to return to OMs with, Rain either kills you within the first 4 minutes of the match starting or it loses miserably to Moltres-Galar. Rain just fuels so much memery from Koko's Thunder, Dragonite's Hurricane spam even without having a boost at first, and Kabutops Swift Swim cleanup. The problems have become apparent with extremely strong priority in the late game, namely Moltres-Galar which cleanly nukes the entire team and other weathers can slow down (read: not stop) the rain assault until Pelliper's gone. But hey, that's my first impressions, and it's been a great first impression.

Also, seeing Kartana one shot a +2 def Tapu Bulu and a Volcarona with Steel Beam will forever be etched into my brain as the biggest dopamine rush possible.
 
Maybe I'm not fond for chatting but he we go:


Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Psychic / Expanding Force
- Trick / Shadow Ball
- Steel Beam

Able to dish out a lot of damage with its 135 Base Attack Steel Beam plus Choice Band it's a wise wallbreaker, Trick allows it to lock pokemon such as Toxapex and many other defensive pokemon.

A Choice Band Expanding Force also is more powerful as Steel Beam but requires Psychic Terrain Support.
Talk to Indeedee.

Shadow Ball is against Aegislash who resists both Metagross STAB attacks.



Entei @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Eruption
- Fire Blast / Flametrower
- Scorching Sands
- Shadow Ball / Solar Beam

In this metagame, Entei takes advantage of Eruption with its Base attack and it's impresive speed (100 which its the same as Volcarona or Mew) to deal massive damage on Harsh Sunlight which requires sunny day support pokemon.

Solar Beam can be only used on a Teammate with Sun Support such as Ninetales, It crushes Ground and Water type pokemon such as Milotic, Slowbro, Quagsire or Rhyperior.



Weavile @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse
- Surf / Focus Blast

Weavile gets access to a nice coverage move Surf, allowing to hit Fire and Rock Types harder. In other hand, Focus Blast hits Steel, Ice and Rock Types harder.



Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball / Iron Head
- Wild Charge
- Facade
- Teleport / Toxic

Gyro Ball with its 130 Base Special Attack and Analytic boost is more technical but Iron Head is much more easier to use.

Facade is just in case of burns (and Corrosion Toxic which is Salazzle of course)
 
Surprised no one is talking about this
:Rillaboom:
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Focus Blast
- Boomburst
- Giga Drain
 
1660245790783.png

I might like this OM.
(for reference, the last time I showed up to Showdown, back in September of last year, I got around 67 games. Across a 2 week period of playing Nat Dex.)

Now that I've had more than 10 games and can actually put down some coherent thoughts, I felt like I'd record a few notes during matches and send them this way.

image-1.png - 2022-08-11T151206.776.png
- When under rain, 4MSS to the max. Dragonite suffers from wanting coverage for every bad matchup (namely, since I run DD Roost with Lum, that means Thunder/Thunderbolt for HazePex, Focus Blast for a cleaner OHKO on Ferrothorn, and Surf to hit Koko and a clean hit on most Steels), and I also find that status is such a massive problem that giving up a coverage offensive option for Substitute would actually be a viable choice, as STAB Hurricane hits like hell anyways and free setup on almost every variant of Ferro is good. I think Hurricane+Surf's the best combo for rain abuse while still giving a consistent option for Koko.


image-2.png - 2022-08-11T151023.969.png
- Basically the most fun thing in this entire OM. Gengar has effectively no surefire answers, because Specs and Sash NP are both absurdly effective and can choose what coverage move to annihilate everyone wth. Specs has more leniency because Poltergeist is a completely fair and balanced move, while Sash can run Setup to kill Blissey and has the freedom to carry Sucker Punch. Sash is what I've gone with as an emergency option for Slurpuff, Naganadel, and Gyarados hoping rocks have been kept off or removed. I've also been running Thunder Punch along with Thunder Koko to remove Toxapex as fast as possible for...


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- Someone on the ladder was also running Rain, but instead of Kabutops, they were running Omastar. And after looking it over, I made one helluva mistake going for Kabutops earlier - Specs Liquidation in the rain 2HKOs Keldeo, so one of the most common resists IS NOT A SWITCH IN AT ALL. Toxapex would be problematic were it not for how frequently you can try and exert pressure upon it - my current setup uses Hurricane Dragonite and the aformentioned Thunder Punch Gengar backed by Nasty Plot and Electric Terrain to try and get rid of Water resists as soon as possible, and it just winds up breaking games in an instant if you don't have a scarfer. Life Orb's also cool, I guess, bt you lose a bunch of 2HKOs and make 1HKOs less clean without Rocks (ex. Corviknight will never get OHKO'd, assuming standard OU calcs).

252+ SpA Choice Specs Omastar Liquidation vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Keldeo in Rain: 171-202 (52.9 - 62.5%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Omastar Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Corviknight in Rain: 325-384 (81.2 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Omastar Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Ferrothorn in Rain: 138-162 (39.2 - 46%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Omastar Liquidation vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gyarados in Rain: 156-184 (47.1 - 55.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Toxapex is also not a safe switchin, unless you enjoy gambling with another Pokemon to regenerate afterwards.
252+ SpA Choice Specs Omastar Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex in Rain: 116-137 (38.1 - 45%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Omastar Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 181-214 (59.5 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Omastar Rock Blast (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 138-165 (45.3 - 54.2%) -- approx. 44.9% chance to 2HKO

The only relevant matchup that outspeeds a +2 Modest Omastar is either Choice Scarfers (which Timid does not solve) and Zeraora, which actually is a pretty big problem on the rare occasion it shows up. Thankfully, though, even some of the speed boosters struggle at +1, like the Dragon Dancers not named Salamence. Timid does also outrun Adamant Belly Drum Slurpuff, which is why I personally run Timid (as I just get unlucky finding too many of them.) Losing Ice Beam hurts a lot, though, since lacking a 100% accuracy option for the Dragons sucks and lacking a way to hit Ferrothorn neutrally outside of Knock Off REALLY hurts. Stone Edge and Rock Blast almost make up for it, though!



For notes on the current watchlist:

Sylveon doesn't appear to be a problem. 200+ base power Last Resort is terrifying, but pretty much every team I ran into either has an easy solution to surviving it, is able to kill it well before it'd become a problem, or was a team with Life Orb Blissey. Same goes for my own team, every member besides Pelliper puts too much pressure on it. The mandatory Steels for all the Dragon moves roaming around does it no favors whatsoever. A friend was also messing around with Sylveon and were just repeatedly disappointed by it.

Keldeo didn't seem as much of a problem as it feels like it should have been? I never ran into an blatantly overpowered Keldeo set, although Scarf was somewhat problematic because of my main team's lack of answer to speeds above 400. This is in spite of the fact Keldeo gained actual coverage options and Flip Turn.

Marshadow definitely was extremely strong, and I'm pretty sure a sashed Marshadow is the only correct solution to Dual Screens supported Necrozma or high boosts Dragonite, but it feels healthily strong if you aren't too stupid about it. It's also nice to see a variety between folks running Spectral Thief Calm Mind or Shadow Ball Bulk Up sets.

Dragon Dance Hurricane bots are terrifying if they get going, and I felt it mandatory to run Stone Edge somewhere on my team to prevent opposing Dragonite from snowballing on my own team. Gyarados felt manageable because of a lack of Multiscale and Stone Edge being a nuclear bomb, along with Thunder from Koko. Koko in general makes Gyarados feel less difficult to deal with, and forces Dragonite to run Jolly or get outsped even at +1.


As for my personal (potential) problems:

Moltres-Galar's extremely terrifying, but thankfully has to rely on Sucker Punch to nuke your entire team in the late game. The problem of course being that if you guess wrong once and/or if your team is too slow to actually stop any other move besides Sucker, you either just lost your best on for stopping sweeps or your just lost the game outright. It's on my low end of things that felt absurdly strong, but just a note as a rain player who enjoys OHKOing entire teams.

Naganadel felt really oppressive when not running a Steel actually able to take two Outrages, and especially when not using one with recovery (so Ferrothorn.) It felt basically mandatory to pack something which can handle a scarfed Outrage in the case of the team's Fairy being dead, and even that isn't exactly surefire since it can just pivot out with U-Turn on the steel. Even when using it, it felt pretty easy to just U-Turn on the few mons capable of stopping it waiting for the only Fairy on their team - usually Koko or Slurpuff, neither of which can catch up to Scarf Gunk - was dead. Someone smarter than me could probably also run rain and abuse the free switch ins Naganadel gives better than I could.
 

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