No this is the only one I've given a shit about.
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Pet Mod [Gen 9] Crossover Chaos
- Thread starter ToadBrigade
- Start date
The new CC Council has been working on determining how best to proceed with the CC metagame, and through playtesting we have identified at least three currently coded characters that have proven to be problematic for balance purposes. Olympia, Twinrova, and Wriggle Nightbug are all extremely potent threats that have high power, high speed, or both. It makes the metagame highly volatile, so nerfs are in order. We have elected to make the following changes.
Olympia
-35 Speed
+Axe Kick, Hammer Arm, Jump Kick, Spikes
Olympia is the slowest character in Rivals of Aether that isn’t a heavyweight, so 100 Speed is over the logical amount that she should have already. Her power being high still makes sense, and her access to Guts is not being revoked either, but now she has more checks thanks to a reduced Speed stat, and her access to Accelerock allows her to still clean up faster Pokemon. Also, some extra flavor moves have been added due to her martial prowess and general kit ingame (specifically referencing moves she performs in Rivals).
Twinrova
-20 SpA
-Luster Purge
+Double Hit, Charm, Sand Tomb, Twin Beam
Twinrova was much, much too strong for her Speed and her ability, and Luster Purge (due to its buffs) allows her to break the Waters that are supposed to wall her in a vacuum, and it was generally not a flavorful inclusion either. With less power and Luster Purge removed, she could be easier to handle, though more testing could be needed. Flavor moves are being included as well, though.
Wriggle Nightbug
-10 Atk, -30 Spe
+Amnesia, Attack Order, Axe Kick, Blaze Kick, Flash, High Jump Kick, Jump Kick, Mega Kick, Moonlight, Rage, Shock Kick, Shock Wave, Spotlight, Thunderous Kick
The fastest threat in the metagame, as well as having access to some serious immediate firepower, Wriggle Nightbug was far too powerful at her inception. These stat nerfs are being put in place to hinder her from being unapologetically the most offensively threatening presence in the meta. In exchange, her coverage has been enhanced (including Shock Kick from Draco Centauros), to more closely match her flavor in the game she originates from. Playtests may still have to be done here to determine if these changes are fully sufficient, but Wriggle should at least be tempered somewhat.
Lastly, we wanted to include a new custom move for Olympia to represent a move she can perform in Rivals of Aether, but we first wanted to run it by the community, so as to gauge thoughts on it. The move is as follows:
Brilliant Diamond: 10 PP Rock Status. In two turns, active Pokemon on the target's side will be unable to switch out that turn.
Below is a link to a poll for said move, and anyone can vote for its inclusion or non-inclusion. If you have any additional concerns or thoughts about any existing facet of the metagame or the changes we’ve made today, please contact members of the council on Discord.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1...BG_12bk6ACbXVOHQb2nJ1e9w/viewform?usp=sf_link
Olympia
-35 Speed
+Axe Kick, Hammer Arm, Jump Kick, Spikes
Olympia is the slowest character in Rivals of Aether that isn’t a heavyweight, so 100 Speed is over the logical amount that she should have already. Her power being high still makes sense, and her access to Guts is not being revoked either, but now she has more checks thanks to a reduced Speed stat, and her access to Accelerock allows her to still clean up faster Pokemon. Also, some extra flavor moves have been added due to her martial prowess and general kit ingame (specifically referencing moves she performs in Rivals).
Twinrova
-20 SpA
-Luster Purge
+Double Hit, Charm, Sand Tomb, Twin Beam
Twinrova was much, much too strong for her Speed and her ability, and Luster Purge (due to its buffs) allows her to break the Waters that are supposed to wall her in a vacuum, and it was generally not a flavorful inclusion either. With less power and Luster Purge removed, she could be easier to handle, though more testing could be needed. Flavor moves are being included as well, though.
Wriggle Nightbug
-10 Atk, -30 Spe
+Amnesia, Attack Order, Axe Kick, Blaze Kick, Flash, High Jump Kick, Jump Kick, Mega Kick, Moonlight, Rage, Shock Kick, Shock Wave, Spotlight, Thunderous Kick
The fastest threat in the metagame, as well as having access to some serious immediate firepower, Wriggle Nightbug was far too powerful at her inception. These stat nerfs are being put in place to hinder her from being unapologetically the most offensively threatening presence in the meta. In exchange, her coverage has been enhanced (including Shock Kick from Draco Centauros), to more closely match her flavor in the game she originates from. Playtests may still have to be done here to determine if these changes are fully sufficient, but Wriggle should at least be tempered somewhat.
Lastly, we wanted to include a new custom move for Olympia to represent a move she can perform in Rivals of Aether, but we first wanted to run it by the community, so as to gauge thoughts on it. The move is as follows:
Brilliant Diamond: 10 PP Rock Status. In two turns, active Pokemon on the target's side will be unable to switch out that turn.
Below is a link to a poll for said move, and anyone can vote for its inclusion or non-inclusion. If you have any additional concerns or thoughts about any existing facet of the metagame or the changes we’ve made today, please contact members of the council on Discord.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1...BG_12bk6ACbXVOHQb2nJ1e9w/viewform?usp=sf_link
Crossover Chaos Update
As mentioned, a new council will be involved with the overall running of Crossover Chaos. The new members of the council are anaconja, KeeganSkymin4444 and Beaf Cultist, whose current focus is balancing. Until then, Discord will be the best place to discuss anything about the mod, including making suggestions and posting replays. Crossover Chaos can be played on the Pet Mod Client.
As mentioned, a new council will be involved with the overall running of Crossover Chaos. The new members of the council are anaconja, KeeganSkymin4444 and Beaf Cultist, whose current focus is balancing. Until then, Discord will be the best place to discuss anything about the mod, including making suggestions and posting replays. Crossover Chaos can be played on the Pet Mod Client.
- Type change to Dark/Steel (Yeah, he's a crocodile, but he's not really associated with water at all. Dark is more fitting)
- Going with the type change, replace Torrent with either Bulletproof (referencing his gold-plated belly armor) or Good as Gold (again, his gold-plated belly armor)
- Signature move: Crownerang. 50 BP, Steel-type, Physical, hits twice
- BST buff to 580, on par with King Dedede, most of this should go into Attack
- Movepool additions: Close Combat
- Movepool removals: Scald
Kirby
New Base Stats: 76/95/105/95/105/80 (556)
Moveset Completely Revamped:
I'd realized that Kirby was better off not stuck in Ubers (with the godly Mew-like movepool), so some nerfs were made. Apologies for the shitty moveset, I'd had a bit of a rough time trying to think of good examples without going overboard. HP is lowered to the same value he has in Super Star Ultra and his stats are lowered a bit to be not as hard hitting. The movepool, to the best of my ability, is much less overtuned and even gains some new tools.
New Base Stats: 76/95/105/95/105/80 (556)
Moveset Completely Revamped:
All universal moves since Gen 1, Inhale, Star Spit, Stockpile, Spit Up, Swallow, The rest of the following moves inspired by Copy Abilities
Animal: Dig, Drill Run, Slash, Crush Claw
Archer: Arrow Shot (from Ishtar), Triple Arrows, Smart Strike, Light Arrow (from Zelda)
Artist: Doodle, Copycat, Attack Order, Rock Wrecker
Ball: Rollout, Bounce
Beam: Electro Ball, Charge Beam, Electro Shot, Zing Zap
Beetle: Megahorn, Iron Head, U-Turn, Fury Cutter
Bell: Heal Bell, Echoed Voice, Metal Sound, Screech
Bomb: Bomb Throw, Bomb Blast (Both from Gunner)
Bubble: Bubble Beam, Bouncy Bubble
Circus: Acrobatics, Flame Wheel, Barrage, Flatter
Cleaning: Tidy Up, Brine, Low Sweep, Defog
Cook: Teatime, Decorate
Crash: Explosion, Mind Blown
Cutter: Aerial Ace, Razor Shell, X-Scissor, Air Slash
Doctor: Tri Attack, Heal Pulse, Recover, Life Dew
Drill: Drill Peck, Earthquake
ESP: Psychic, Psyshock, Teleport, Detect
Fighter: Aura Sphere, Triple Kick, Superpower, Mach Punch
Fire: Flamethrower, Flare Blitz, Inferno, Flame Charge
Ghost: Poltergeist, Phantom Force
Hammer: Hammer Arm, Dedede Hammer Throw (From King Dedede), Wood Hammer, Rapid Spin
Ice: Blizzard, Triple Axel, Frost Breath, Freeze-Dry
Jet: Magnet Rise, Double-Edge, Sky Drop, Sky Attack
Laser: Psybeam, Signal Beam
Leaf: Razor Leaf, Leaf Storm
Mecha: Bullet Punch, Shock Wave, Hyper Beam, Steel Beam
Metal: Heavy Slam, Gyro Ball
Mike: Hyper Voice, Round, Boomburst
Mirror: Magic Coat, Mirror Coat
Needle: Pin Missile, Spiky Shield
Ninja: Night Slash, Smokescreen, Shadow Sneak, Counter
Spark: Thunderbolt, Rising Voltage, Charge, Discharge
Poison: Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Corrosive Gas, Poison Jab
Ranger: Bullet Burst (from Irene), Lock-On, Zap Cannon, Swift
Sand: Earth Power, Thousand Waves, Scorching Sands, Sand Tomb
Sleep: Rest, Slack Off
Spear: Fury Attack, Sucker Punch, Retaliate, Feint
Spider: Sticky Web, Spider Web, Infestation, String Shot
Stone: Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Body Slam, Rock Polish
Suplex: Circle Throw, Storm Throw
Sword: Sacred Sword, Vacuum Wave, Leaf Blade, Cross Poison
Tornado: Hurricane, Whirlwind, Tailwind, Fly
Water: Hydro Pump, Surf, Life Dew, Water Spout
Wheel: Spin Out
Whip: Fire Lash
Wing: Dual Wingbeat, Feather Dance
Wrestler: Arm Thrust, Flying Press, Close Combat, Axe Kick
Animal: Dig, Drill Run, Slash, Crush Claw
Archer: Arrow Shot (from Ishtar), Triple Arrows, Smart Strike, Light Arrow (from Zelda)
Artist: Doodle, Copycat, Attack Order, Rock Wrecker
Ball: Rollout, Bounce
Beam: Electro Ball, Charge Beam, Electro Shot, Zing Zap
Beetle: Megahorn, Iron Head, U-Turn, Fury Cutter
Bell: Heal Bell, Echoed Voice, Metal Sound, Screech
Bomb: Bomb Throw, Bomb Blast (Both from Gunner)
Bubble: Bubble Beam, Bouncy Bubble
Circus: Acrobatics, Flame Wheel, Barrage, Flatter
Cleaning: Tidy Up, Brine, Low Sweep, Defog
Cook: Teatime, Decorate
Crash: Explosion, Mind Blown
Cutter: Aerial Ace, Razor Shell, X-Scissor, Air Slash
Doctor: Tri Attack, Heal Pulse, Recover, Life Dew
Drill: Drill Peck, Earthquake
ESP: Psychic, Psyshock, Teleport, Detect
Fighter: Aura Sphere, Triple Kick, Superpower, Mach Punch
Fire: Flamethrower, Flare Blitz, Inferno, Flame Charge
Ghost: Poltergeist, Phantom Force
Hammer: Hammer Arm, Dedede Hammer Throw (From King Dedede), Wood Hammer, Rapid Spin
Ice: Blizzard, Triple Axel, Frost Breath, Freeze-Dry
Jet: Magnet Rise, Double-Edge, Sky Drop, Sky Attack
Laser: Psybeam, Signal Beam
Leaf: Razor Leaf, Leaf Storm
Mecha: Bullet Punch, Shock Wave, Hyper Beam, Steel Beam
Metal: Heavy Slam, Gyro Ball
Mike: Hyper Voice, Round, Boomburst
Mirror: Magic Coat, Mirror Coat
Needle: Pin Missile, Spiky Shield
Ninja: Night Slash, Smokescreen, Shadow Sneak, Counter
Spark: Thunderbolt, Rising Voltage, Charge, Discharge
Poison: Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Corrosive Gas, Poison Jab
Ranger: Bullet Burst (from Irene), Lock-On, Zap Cannon, Swift
Sand: Earth Power, Thousand Waves, Scorching Sands, Sand Tomb
Sleep: Rest, Slack Off
Spear: Fury Attack, Sucker Punch, Retaliate, Feint
Spider: Sticky Web, Spider Web, Infestation, String Shot
Stone: Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Body Slam, Rock Polish
Suplex: Circle Throw, Storm Throw
Sword: Sacred Sword, Vacuum Wave, Leaf Blade, Cross Poison
Tornado: Hurricane, Whirlwind, Tailwind, Fly
Water: Hydro Pump, Surf, Life Dew, Water Spout
Wheel: Spin Out
Whip: Fire Lash
Wing: Dual Wingbeat, Feather Dance
Wrestler: Arm Thrust, Flying Press, Close Combat, Axe Kick
I'd realized that Kirby was better off not stuck in Ubers (with the godly Mew-like movepool), so some nerfs were made. Apologies for the shitty moveset, I'd had a bit of a rough time trying to think of good examples without going overboard. HP is lowered to the same value he has in Super Star Ultra and his stats are lowered a bit to be not as hard hitting. The movepool, to the best of my ability, is much less overtuned and even gains some new tools.
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OK, I thought of a few changes for Celestia Ludenburg, my Slate 29 winner...My intention for this was for her to be an multi-hit specialized attacker held back by her low attack, but the Discord claims that it is too low. So, here's the changes in order to make her better fit this role:
UPDATE: So they're not supposed to be here...this will be a scratchpad to post on the Discord, then!
INITIAL IDEAS:
50 Attack --> 60 Attack
50 Special Attack --> 60 Special Attack
Hammer 4 renamed to Justice Hammer 4 to better match it's original source
+Bullet Seed: The multi-strike bullet move, and Celestia doesn't learn it?
+Endure, Facade, Helping Hand, Protect, Rest, Sleep Talk, Substitute and Take Down: Gen 9 Universal moves
+Knock Off: A commonplace move for Dark-types
Also, I did a bit more research on her character and made these changes as well...
+Tidy Up: Reference to School Mode, plus it serves as a nice setup move for her.
+Ice Beam: Reference to Danganronpa S Ultimate Summer Camp. This also provides her with a flavour reason to learn Icicle Spear, Triple Axel, and Rock Blast.
MAJOR DANGANRONPA SPOILERS:
+Play Nice: Mostly here for flavor, but it references the fake smile she made at her final moments.
+Drain Punch: "I was going to make them dress up as vampires and serve my every need." Celestia Ludenburg.
+Memento: As a parting gift, she gave Kyoko the Room 17 key.
CURRENT REWORK COOKED UP ON THE DISCORD SERVER FOR FUTURE REFERENCE:
Pokémon: Celestia Ludenberg (Complete Rework)
Franchise/Origin: Danganronpa
Intended Tier: OU
Type: Dark/Fairy
Stats: 95/70/88/90/88/110
Ability: Serene Grace/Steadfast/Ultimate Gambler: (Reworked) Triples the likelihood of added effects appearing when Celestia is at full HP.
Notable moves: Stack The Deck, Play Rough, Foul Play, Night Slash, Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Triple Kick, Wood Hammer, Will-O-Wisp, Scary Face, Taunt, Torment, Dark Pulse, Dazzling Gleam, Amnesia, Trick, Moonblast, Bullet Seed, Endure, Facade, Helping Hand, Protect, Rest, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Take Down, Tidy Up, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Memento, Play Nice, Drain Punch, Giga Drain (Same flavor reason as Drain Punch)
Signature move: Stack The Deck: Special Population Bomb clone that doesn't make contact
Signature Z-Move: The Burning of the Versailles Witch: On the first turn, charges up and traps and burns the target. ("The opposing target has been found guilty! The opposing target was burned! The opposing target can no longer escape!") On the second turn, hits the target with a 190 BP Physical Fire move that is a critical hit. Upgrades from Will-O-Wisp using the Z-Crystal "Justice Hammer 4".
UPDATE: So they're not supposed to be here...this will be a scratchpad to post on the Discord, then!
INITIAL IDEAS:
50 Attack --> 60 Attack
50 Special Attack --> 60 Special Attack
Hammer 4 renamed to Justice Hammer 4 to better match it's original source
+Bullet Seed: The multi-strike bullet move, and Celestia doesn't learn it?
+Endure, Facade, Helping Hand, Protect, Rest, Sleep Talk, Substitute and Take Down: Gen 9 Universal moves
+Knock Off: A commonplace move for Dark-types
Also, I did a bit more research on her character and made these changes as well...
+Tidy Up: Reference to School Mode, plus it serves as a nice setup move for her.
+Ice Beam: Reference to Danganronpa S Ultimate Summer Camp. This also provides her with a flavour reason to learn Icicle Spear, Triple Axel, and Rock Blast.
MAJOR DANGANRONPA SPOILERS:
+Play Nice: Mostly here for flavor, but it references the fake smile she made at her final moments.
+Drain Punch: "I was going to make them dress up as vampires and serve my every need." Celestia Ludenburg.
+Memento: As a parting gift, she gave Kyoko the Room 17 key.
CURRENT REWORK COOKED UP ON THE DISCORD SERVER FOR FUTURE REFERENCE:
Pokémon: Celestia Ludenberg (Complete Rework)
Franchise/Origin: Danganronpa
Intended Tier: OU
Type: Dark/Fairy
Stats: 95/70/88/90/88/110
Ability: Serene Grace/Steadfast/Ultimate Gambler: (Reworked) Triples the likelihood of added effects appearing when Celestia is at full HP.
Notable moves: Stack The Deck, Play Rough, Foul Play, Night Slash, Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Triple Kick, Wood Hammer, Will-O-Wisp, Scary Face, Taunt, Torment, Dark Pulse, Dazzling Gleam, Amnesia, Trick, Moonblast, Bullet Seed, Endure, Facade, Helping Hand, Protect, Rest, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Take Down, Tidy Up, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Memento, Play Nice, Drain Punch, Giga Drain (Same flavor reason as Drain Punch)
Signature move: Stack The Deck: Special Population Bomb clone that doesn't make contact
Signature Z-Move: The Burning of the Versailles Witch: On the first turn, charges up and traps and burns the target. ("The opposing target has been found guilty! The opposing target was burned! The opposing target can no longer escape!") On the second turn, hits the target with a 190 BP Physical Fire move that is a critical hit. Upgrades from Will-O-Wisp using the Z-Crystal "Justice Hammer 4".
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short psa but these buff/nerf posts arent very helpful because we are going through the slates (mostly) in order and jumping around like this just complicates the process (we havent finalized all our changes on the current playable mons either). to be transparent (and beaf has said this in the discord already), we need more walls in the tier and these changes do not help on that front. we will get to everything eventually, but to keep the thread from being clogged and us from getting distracted id like to ask all of you to keep any of your change suggestions to the discord.
Alright, playtesting has continued, and council has a new set of nerfs to announce!
King Dedede
150 / 130 / 100 / 70 / 60 / 70 --> 130 / 120 / 100 / 70 / 60 / 70
+Outrage
-Dragon Hammer, Swords Dance
King Dedede is a wildly overtuned mon. Swords Dance + Drain Punch sets can easily sweep entire teams, as opponents fail to OHKO Dedede through his massive bulk (even when uninvested!) and Drain Punch heals him back to full health after every KO. This isn't helped by the fact that his coverage is extremely varied, making most teams hard-pressed to not at least trade 1-for-1 with the penguin, though more often than not you're losing at least two mons just to take him down. Because of this, we have elected to remove Swords Dance from King Dedede's movepool, as well as lowering his stats slightly. Dragon Hammer was also removed, as despite having "Hammer" in the name, its flavor is a bit more specific than just having a hammer, and we replaced it with Outrage, which fits Dedede well flavor-wise and allows him to still have Dragon coverage if for some reason he wants to use that.
Malenia
+Petal Blizzard, Petal Dance
-Headbutt, Kowtow Cleave, Power Whip, Stun Spore, Trop Kick
Malenia has everything. Great Attack, the highest Speed stat in the tier, a busted ability in Regenerator (which allows her to run Life Orb basically for free), perfect complementary coverage to her STABs in Close Combat and Knock Off, utility in Knock as well as U-Turn, and Swords Dance to allow her to claim games on the spot once her checks are weakened even slightly. While council was discussing multiple potential nerf options, we realized that her main Grass STAB, Power Whip, has essentially no flavor justification. This gave us an easy path forward, with the removal of Power Whip hopefully enabling more defensive counterplay, though we will definitely be keeping an eye on her. The rest of the additions and removals are wholly flavor-based.
Golden Freddy
+Astonish, Lunge, Mean Look, Thunder Fang, Thunder Wave
-Close Combat, Flash Cannon
Golden Freddy is an extremely dangerous lategame cleaner, with STAB Poltergeist and Shadow Sneak, backed up by Close Combat as coverage, making it next to unstoppable once it has enough Supreme Overlord boosts. Just like Kingambit, Golden Freddy can easily turn around entire games, going from a near loss to completely curbstomping opponents who let their guard down. Council feels that this dynamic is unhealthy, and so we have elected to remove Close Combat, the honestly flavorless tool that enables Freddy to break past the Normal and Dark-types that would otherwise threaten it. Hopefully this change will make Golden Freddy easier to deal with, though we will continue to keep an eye on it. The rest of the movepool changes were flavor-based, though Thunder Wave is a notable addition.
Additionally, the proposal for Brilliant Diamond has gone through!
In line with these results, Olympia will be gaining the move as suggested above. Here is the full move description, as a reminder.
Brilliant Diamond: 10 PP Rock Status. In two turns, active Pokemon on the target's side will be unable to switch out that turn.
That's all for now! We will continue to playtest, and we hope that all of you will help us in exploring the meta so that we can implement every winner in the near future. Until then, I hope to see you in battle.
King Dedede
150 / 130 / 100 / 70 / 60 / 70 --> 130 / 120 / 100 / 70 / 60 / 70
+Outrage
-Dragon Hammer, Swords Dance
King Dedede is a wildly overtuned mon. Swords Dance + Drain Punch sets can easily sweep entire teams, as opponents fail to OHKO Dedede through his massive bulk (even when uninvested!) and Drain Punch heals him back to full health after every KO. This isn't helped by the fact that his coverage is extremely varied, making most teams hard-pressed to not at least trade 1-for-1 with the penguin, though more often than not you're losing at least two mons just to take him down. Because of this, we have elected to remove Swords Dance from King Dedede's movepool, as well as lowering his stats slightly. Dragon Hammer was also removed, as despite having "Hammer" in the name, its flavor is a bit more specific than just having a hammer, and we replaced it with Outrage, which fits Dedede well flavor-wise and allows him to still have Dragon coverage if for some reason he wants to use that.
Malenia
+Petal Blizzard, Petal Dance
-Headbutt, Kowtow Cleave, Power Whip, Stun Spore, Trop Kick
Malenia has everything. Great Attack, the highest Speed stat in the tier, a busted ability in Regenerator (which allows her to run Life Orb basically for free), perfect complementary coverage to her STABs in Close Combat and Knock Off, utility in Knock as well as U-Turn, and Swords Dance to allow her to claim games on the spot once her checks are weakened even slightly. While council was discussing multiple potential nerf options, we realized that her main Grass STAB, Power Whip, has essentially no flavor justification. This gave us an easy path forward, with the removal of Power Whip hopefully enabling more defensive counterplay, though we will definitely be keeping an eye on her. The rest of the additions and removals are wholly flavor-based.
Golden Freddy
+Astonish, Lunge, Mean Look, Thunder Fang, Thunder Wave
-Close Combat, Flash Cannon
Golden Freddy is an extremely dangerous lategame cleaner, with STAB Poltergeist and Shadow Sneak, backed up by Close Combat as coverage, making it next to unstoppable once it has enough Supreme Overlord boosts. Just like Kingambit, Golden Freddy can easily turn around entire games, going from a near loss to completely curbstomping opponents who let their guard down. Council feels that this dynamic is unhealthy, and so we have elected to remove Close Combat, the honestly flavorless tool that enables Freddy to break past the Normal and Dark-types that would otherwise threaten it. Hopefully this change will make Golden Freddy easier to deal with, though we will continue to keep an eye on it. The rest of the movepool changes were flavor-based, though Thunder Wave is a notable addition.
Additionally, the proposal for Brilliant Diamond has gone through!
In line with these results, Olympia will be gaining the move as suggested above. Here is the full move description, as a reminder.
Brilliant Diamond: 10 PP Rock Status. In two turns, active Pokemon on the target's side will be unable to switch out that turn.
That's all for now! We will continue to playtest, and we hope that all of you will help us in exploring the meta so that we can implement every winner in the near future. Until then, I hope to see you in battle.
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And only a few days later, we've got another slate of changes to announce! Let's get right into them.
Clownpiece
160 / 90 / 60 / 100 / 60 / 60 --> 145 / 90 / 60 / 100 / 60 / 60
+Fly, Grudge, Nightmare, Sunny Day, Torment
-Brick Break, Curse, Cut, Destiny Bond, Dig, Double-Edge, Dream Eater, Echoed Voice, Endeavor, Endure, Fiery Wrath, Fire Lash, Grass Knot, Heal Bell, Hyper Voice, Leer, Mimic, Misty Explosion, Poltergeist, Rock Slide, Rock Tomb, Round, Safeguard, Screech, Strange Steam, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Wonder Room
Clownpiece is a very effective physical wall. In fact, she's too effective. Between her amazing defensive typing and bulk, access to Will-O-Wisp and Strength Sap, and Torch of Madness making her stronger against Burned targets, Clownpiece is essentially impossible to break through on the physical side, which is a problem in a meta with very few special attackers. Not to mention, Torch of Madness combined with STAB Infernal Parade make it incredibly hard to switch into her, taking away most potential counterplay options. All of this is already a problem, but it's made even worse by the fact that Clownpiece is an extremely effective spinblocker, preventing literally every viable Rapid Spinner from removing hazards effectively and leaving the only viable removal as Marle-Parasite with Puyo Pop, along with some very questionable Defoggers. Overall, council feels it would be ideal to cut Clownpiece's bulk by a good bit in order to make it easier for physical and special breakers alike to muscle through her, though later meta additions (namely more varied special attackers) should also help keep her in check. The movepool changes are all flavor-related, though Heal Bell is a notable loss.
Dewy
Dewy: 90 / 93 / 80 / 93 / 105 / 100 --> 90 / 83 / 80 / 93 / 105 / 90
Dewy-Ice: 90 / 110 / 108 / 65 / 73 / 115 --> 90 / 100 / 103 / 65 / 73 / 110
Dewy-Mist: 90 / 88 / 95 / 128 / 105 / 55 --> 90 / 88 / 95 / 108 / 105 / 55
+Sing
-Moonblast
This is a two-pronged nerf, hitting both broken Dewy forms. Dewy-Mist is an extremely dangerous Specs breaker, with strong STABs combined with Sun-boosted Heat Wave making it an absolute nightmare to switch into. Even if you predict correctly, it's still often not enough, as Dewy can just slow pivot out with its strong Volt Switches, letting in a teammate like Wriggle Nightbug (more on her later) in order to crush your Dewy counter. Meanwhile, Dewy-Ice is the second-fastest mon in the meta behind only Malenia, and it boasts a very threatening offensive profile, with Ice and Fairy STABs and EQ for coverage, as well as Flip Turn to constantly Pressure the Fire-type switchins to its STABs without making any risky predictions. Not like there's much risk to using this mon either way though, as its lightning speed and ridiculously high physical bulk thanks to Snow Warning make it rather difficult to pin down. Overall, council feels that both of these mons could do with a bit of detuning in the stats department, with Dewy-Mist taking a large hit to its Special Attack and Dewy-Ice having smaller drops to multiple relevant stats. Base Dewy also has some stat nerfs, but these are only for parity in BST to the other two forms and are to stats that won't really affect its viability. Both of the movepool changes are for flavor reasons, but losing Moonblast is definitely notable (including as a secondary nerf to Dewy-Mist). That being said, Strange Steam is a pretty effective replacement, so don't expect this alone to have a major impact on any form's viability.
Funky Kong
85 / 110 / 80 / 70 / 80 / 100 --> 85 / 100 / 80 / 70 / 80 / 100
Loses Unburden, Gains Sniper
+Double Slap, Gear Up, Seed Bomb, Slack Off, Wake-Up Slap
-Aqua Ring, Boomburst, Bullet Punch, Circle Throw, Drain Punch, Dynamic Punch, Fire Punch, Gunk Shot, Hammer Arm, Mach Punch, Mega Punch, Rock Slide, Rototiller, Stealth Rock, Thunder Punch
I've had my eye on Funky Kong for a while, as this meta's Ground resists are very lackluster overall besides Marle-P, making Funky very hard to switch into. However, one set in particular has recently exploded into the spotlight, that being his Bulk Up Unburden set. With his solid bulk and great defensive typing, along with the fact that offensive Water and Ice-types are basically nonexistent, it is essentially impossible to OHKO Funky Kong, allowing him to run a Sitrus Berry and set up with ease. Once he's set up, nothing in the meta can take EQ + Acrobatics (not to mention potential coverage) and KO him in return besides healthy physwalls (meaning basically just Clownpiece and Lych), and council believes this dynamic is extremely unhealthy. Therefore, we will be removing Unburden and replacing it with Sniper (a flavor addition to reference his appearance in DKC64), as well as lowering his Attack slightly to make standard Choice Band sets a bit easier to switch into. The movepool changes are once again flavor-based, with Gunk Shot and Stealth Rock being notable losses.
Wriggle Nightbug-Altered
Centipede Assault is now 85 BP (was 100)
Even after its previous nerf, Wriggle Nightbug is still very strong. Centipede Assault is incredibly spammable, especially with Wriggle having access to both Rapid Spin and Agility to boost it, but the biggest issue is Sun. In Sun, Wriggle is essentially unwallable. Only unviable mons like Draco Centauros stand a chance against boosted Centipede backed up by Bug STAB and Shock Kick, and the mon's high speed tier and STAB U-Turn make it very difficult to pin down. While we're also nerfing Dewy-Mist, the Sun setter, we feel it would be best to also hit Wriggle Nightbug, and a BP nerf to Centipede Assault seems like the best course of action.
Matka
Curse Weaver now also gives the user a Ghost resistance.
+Mist, Moonlight
-Aromatic Mist
Finally, we actually have one buff to announce! Matka is an extremely underwhelming mon, with its poor Speed and bad offensive typing making offensive sets unviable, while its lackluster physical bulk and lack of recovery make defensive sets bad as well. In an attempt to fix this, Curse Weaver now gives Matka a Ghost resistance, and we've added Moonlight to its movepool. This should boost defensive sets massively, as Matka can now serve as an effective answer to Clownpiece, Golden Freddy, and as a check to Malenia, among others. Hopefully Matka will be able to stand out more in the future with these changes, and we'll certainly be on the lookout for additional buff candidates going forward.
In addition to these, we have one more announcement. With the base meta approaching stability, council finally feels ready to begin introducing mons from later slates. In accordance with this, winners from Slates 13 and 14 will be legalized at the same time these changes are coded. That includes Irene, Beatrice, Azhdaha, Sisyphus Prime, and Mad Wheel, as well as DiVE Armor X in Ubers. We will begin playtesting these immediately (and likely nerfing quite a few of them lol), so please do join us if you have time! I've also done a short write-up with my thoughts on each of them in the current meta, which I'll include below for those who are interested.
Clownpiece
160 / 90 / 60 / 100 / 60 / 60 --> 145 / 90 / 60 / 100 / 60 / 60
+Fly, Grudge, Nightmare, Sunny Day, Torment
-Brick Break, Curse, Cut, Destiny Bond, Dig, Double-Edge, Dream Eater, Echoed Voice, Endeavor, Endure, Fiery Wrath, Fire Lash, Grass Knot, Heal Bell, Hyper Voice, Leer, Mimic, Misty Explosion, Poltergeist, Rock Slide, Rock Tomb, Round, Safeguard, Screech, Strange Steam, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Wonder Room
Clownpiece is a very effective physical wall. In fact, she's too effective. Between her amazing defensive typing and bulk, access to Will-O-Wisp and Strength Sap, and Torch of Madness making her stronger against Burned targets, Clownpiece is essentially impossible to break through on the physical side, which is a problem in a meta with very few special attackers. Not to mention, Torch of Madness combined with STAB Infernal Parade make it incredibly hard to switch into her, taking away most potential counterplay options. All of this is already a problem, but it's made even worse by the fact that Clownpiece is an extremely effective spinblocker, preventing literally every viable Rapid Spinner from removing hazards effectively and leaving the only viable removal as Marle-Parasite with Puyo Pop, along with some very questionable Defoggers. Overall, council feels it would be ideal to cut Clownpiece's bulk by a good bit in order to make it easier for physical and special breakers alike to muscle through her, though later meta additions (namely more varied special attackers) should also help keep her in check. The movepool changes are all flavor-related, though Heal Bell is a notable loss.
Dewy
Dewy: 90 / 93 / 80 / 93 / 105 / 100 --> 90 / 83 / 80 / 93 / 105 / 90
Dewy-Ice: 90 / 110 / 108 / 65 / 73 / 115 --> 90 / 100 / 103 / 65 / 73 / 110
Dewy-Mist: 90 / 88 / 95 / 128 / 105 / 55 --> 90 / 88 / 95 / 108 / 105 / 55
+Sing
-Moonblast
This is a two-pronged nerf, hitting both broken Dewy forms. Dewy-Mist is an extremely dangerous Specs breaker, with strong STABs combined with Sun-boosted Heat Wave making it an absolute nightmare to switch into. Even if you predict correctly, it's still often not enough, as Dewy can just slow pivot out with its strong Volt Switches, letting in a teammate like Wriggle Nightbug (more on her later) in order to crush your Dewy counter. Meanwhile, Dewy-Ice is the second-fastest mon in the meta behind only Malenia, and it boasts a very threatening offensive profile, with Ice and Fairy STABs and EQ for coverage, as well as Flip Turn to constantly Pressure the Fire-type switchins to its STABs without making any risky predictions. Not like there's much risk to using this mon either way though, as its lightning speed and ridiculously high physical bulk thanks to Snow Warning make it rather difficult to pin down. Overall, council feels that both of these mons could do with a bit of detuning in the stats department, with Dewy-Mist taking a large hit to its Special Attack and Dewy-Ice having smaller drops to multiple relevant stats. Base Dewy also has some stat nerfs, but these are only for parity in BST to the other two forms and are to stats that won't really affect its viability. Both of the movepool changes are for flavor reasons, but losing Moonblast is definitely notable (including as a secondary nerf to Dewy-Mist). That being said, Strange Steam is a pretty effective replacement, so don't expect this alone to have a major impact on any form's viability.
Funky Kong
85 / 110 / 80 / 70 / 80 / 100 --> 85 / 100 / 80 / 70 / 80 / 100
Loses Unburden, Gains Sniper
+Double Slap, Gear Up, Seed Bomb, Slack Off, Wake-Up Slap
-Aqua Ring, Boomburst, Bullet Punch, Circle Throw, Drain Punch, Dynamic Punch, Fire Punch, Gunk Shot, Hammer Arm, Mach Punch, Mega Punch, Rock Slide, Rototiller, Stealth Rock, Thunder Punch
I've had my eye on Funky Kong for a while, as this meta's Ground resists are very lackluster overall besides Marle-P, making Funky very hard to switch into. However, one set in particular has recently exploded into the spotlight, that being his Bulk Up Unburden set. With his solid bulk and great defensive typing, along with the fact that offensive Water and Ice-types are basically nonexistent, it is essentially impossible to OHKO Funky Kong, allowing him to run a Sitrus Berry and set up with ease. Once he's set up, nothing in the meta can take EQ + Acrobatics (not to mention potential coverage) and KO him in return besides healthy physwalls (meaning basically just Clownpiece and Lych), and council believes this dynamic is extremely unhealthy. Therefore, we will be removing Unburden and replacing it with Sniper (a flavor addition to reference his appearance in DKC64), as well as lowering his Attack slightly to make standard Choice Band sets a bit easier to switch into. The movepool changes are once again flavor-based, with Gunk Shot and Stealth Rock being notable losses.
Wriggle Nightbug-Altered
Centipede Assault is now 85 BP (was 100)
Even after its previous nerf, Wriggle Nightbug is still very strong. Centipede Assault is incredibly spammable, especially with Wriggle having access to both Rapid Spin and Agility to boost it, but the biggest issue is Sun. In Sun, Wriggle is essentially unwallable. Only unviable mons like Draco Centauros stand a chance against boosted Centipede backed up by Bug STAB and Shock Kick, and the mon's high speed tier and STAB U-Turn make it very difficult to pin down. While we're also nerfing Dewy-Mist, the Sun setter, we feel it would be best to also hit Wriggle Nightbug, and a BP nerf to Centipede Assault seems like the best course of action.
Matka
Curse Weaver now also gives the user a Ghost resistance.
+Mist, Moonlight
-Aromatic Mist
Finally, we actually have one buff to announce! Matka is an extremely underwhelming mon, with its poor Speed and bad offensive typing making offensive sets unviable, while its lackluster physical bulk and lack of recovery make defensive sets bad as well. In an attempt to fix this, Curse Weaver now gives Matka a Ghost resistance, and we've added Moonlight to its movepool. This should boost defensive sets massively, as Matka can now serve as an effective answer to Clownpiece, Golden Freddy, and as a check to Malenia, among others. Hopefully Matka will be able to stand out more in the future with these changes, and we'll certainly be on the lookout for additional buff candidates going forward.
In addition to these, we have one more announcement. With the base meta approaching stability, council finally feels ready to begin introducing mons from later slates. In accordance with this, winners from Slates 13 and 14 will be legalized at the same time these changes are coded. That includes Irene, Beatrice, Azhdaha, Sisyphus Prime, and Mad Wheel, as well as DiVE Armor X in Ubers. We will begin playtesting these immediately (and likely nerfing quite a few of them lol), so please do join us if you have time! I've also done a short write-up with my thoughts on each of them in the current meta, which I'll include below for those who are interested.
DiVE Armor X: Ubers, no thoughts.
Irene: Ridiculous mon. 112/85 physical offenses with Sword of Ruin is already insane, but then you realize she gets 108/98/70 bulk with Roost on top of that, and then you see that she's a Steel/Flying, and then you can't help but to laugh. No idea why she gets Brave Bird considering she's literally not a bird, but maybe removing that in the future could help balance her.
Beatrice: If you've ever wondered what it would be like if Volcarona was a Ghost type and had Magic Guard, today's your lucky day. This mon is a comically broken HO piece and will likely be nerfed pretty quickly.
Azhdaha: My reaction when infinite bulk 130 Attack Protean mon. Admittedly, he has pretty terrible Speed, and it's Gen 9 Protean, and Rock/Dragon is pretty horrible defensively, but I definitely expect this mon to be a strong option at the very least. also RIP Inaros.
Sisyphus Prime: Just in time for the Sun nerfs, we've got an insane Sun abuser!!! Both physical and special sets on this guy go ridiculously hard in Sun, but time will tell if it's broken or just really strong (likely the former considering the meta's defensive backbone is nonexistent).
Mad Wheel:Another extremely strong mon, this time a Shift Gear sweeper with sky-high offensive stats but mediocre bulk. Honestly I think this one is the least likely of the bunch to receive a nerf besides maybe Azhdaha, but that's not really saying much considering the insane power level of these two slates lol. ok nvm without shift gear this thing is fine. cool offensive spinner
Irene: Ridiculous mon. 112/85 physical offenses with Sword of Ruin is already insane, but then you realize she gets 108/98/70 bulk with Roost on top of that, and then you see that she's a Steel/Flying, and then you can't help but to laugh. No idea why she gets Brave Bird considering she's literally not a bird, but maybe removing that in the future could help balance her.
Beatrice: If you've ever wondered what it would be like if Volcarona was a Ghost type and had Magic Guard, today's your lucky day. This mon is a comically broken HO piece and will likely be nerfed pretty quickly.
Azhdaha: My reaction when infinite bulk 130 Attack Protean mon. Admittedly, he has pretty terrible Speed, and it's Gen 9 Protean, and Rock/Dragon is pretty horrible defensively, but I definitely expect this mon to be a strong option at the very least. also RIP Inaros.
Sisyphus Prime: Just in time for the Sun nerfs, we've got an insane Sun abuser!!! Both physical and special sets on this guy go ridiculously hard in Sun, but time will tell if it's broken or just really strong (likely the former considering the meta's defensive backbone is nonexistent).
Mad Wheel:
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And we're back again, with fresh news and changes. The previous patch + Slates 13 and 14 have been live for a few days now, and a few things have become immediately obvious. For one, it's seeming more and more likely that Azhdaha will be the only unnerfed mon of the batch long-term (lol), but I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, here's what we have.
Bans
Beatrice
Banned from OU
That's right, we're actually banning a mon. Beatrice is more broken than any previous mon, and honestly more than anything to come as well. There is literally no downside to running this mon, as her 135 SpA MGLO-boosted STABs and coverage shear through every defensive mon with ease, and that's before she's set up with Quiver Dance. Olympia's usage has skyrocketed, and folks have resorted to otherwise unviable sets like Assault Vest Yuuma Koutetsu in order to even pretend to be able to answer Beatrice, but the fact is that this mon is extraordinarily unhealthy for the meta, and something needs to be done about her. To explain why we chose a ban over potential nerf options, I need to explain another aspect of the current meta. We are currently extremely lacking in defensive options, as almost all available walls are bad and/or lose to top offensive mons that they should beat (come check out the replays in our Discord server where a healthy Dewy loses 1v1 to Wriggle Nightbug and Sisyphus Prime). This has led to the meta being extremely offensive, as we struggle to detune the litany of offensive threats that barely keep each other in check. Beatrice does nothing but exacerbate this issue, as her Bug/Ghost typing leads to her sharing checks with other top offensive mons, allowing one to wear down said checks and free up the others. While there are certainly nerfs that could be done at this point in time, we feel it would be a better decision overall to ban her now and revisit the issue later once the metagame is more stable and defensive niches are better filled.
Nerfs
Malenia
70 / 115 / 71 / 68 / 94 / 117 --> 70 / 105 / 71 / 78 / 94 / 107
-Knock Off
As I alluded to a few posts ago, Malenia is an incredibly potent offensive mon. With powerful STAB Gunk Shots backed up by plenty of coverage options like Leaf Blade, Knock Off, Close Combat, and U-Turn, just to name a few, there really is no way to reliably answer Malenia. This is made worse by the fact that she has the highest base speed in the meta, allowing AOA sets to pivot around entire teams with ease, completely ignoring chip thanks to Regenerator. Because of this, council feels some stat nerfs are in order. After this Speed drop, Malenia is now slower than Mad Wheel, Marle, Twinrova, and Dewy-Ice, all mons that can threaten strong super-effective hits on her and easily force her out. Additionally, the Attack nerf and removal of Knock Off enable more defensive counterplay, as Gravelord Lych now handles standard sets perfectly, while other fatmons like Irene and Clownpiece don't have to worry about losing their items just by switching in.
Sisyphus Prime
+Extreme Speed, Flame Burst, Giga Impact, Hyper Beam, Shock Wave, Sky Uppercut
-Body Press, Cross Chop, Darkest Lariat, Fire Lash, Seismic Toss, Reversal
After his introduction on Tuesday, Sisyphus Prime has quickly established himself as a major offensive threat. SD+Flame Charge sets have no counterplay once they get going, and his good bulk and threatening STABs make finding setup opportunities easy. While other changes we'll discuss later will likely help with this, council also wants to address this issue more directly, and the route we chose was to remove Fire Lash. Lash completely removes defensive counterplay to SD Sisyphus, as bulky mons and even resists like Dewy can't stomach multiple hits after the defense drops. Additionally, Sisyphus lacks the proper flavor to have Fire Lash in the first place, so removing it is a win all-around. The rest of the movepool changes are flavor-related, but Extreme Speed is a very notable addition that council will be keeping an eye on, as it gives Sisyphus a non-Flame Charge way of removing offensive counterplay on his SD sets.
Buffs
Gavial-Invincible
108 / 125 / 100 / 75 / 50 / 92 --> 108 / 125 / 115 / 60 / 50 / 92
+Ceaseless Edge, Fury Cutter, Guillotine, Mighty Cleave, Stone Axe, Thrash
-Body Slam, Brick Break, Bulk Up, Coaching, Counter, Detect, Dig, Fissure, Focus Blast, Headbutt, High Horsepower, Iron Head, Low Kick, Low Sweep, Parting Shot, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Rock Tomb, Sand Tomb, Seismic Toss, Spikes, Sunny Day, Vacuum Wave, Zen Headbutt
Gavial is in an unfortunate position in the current meta. Firstly, she is in the camp of mons who seem good defensively but simply lack the bulk to actually be effective in this highly offensive meta, and secondly, she suffers from a losing matchup into the meta's best Electric type, one of the most relevant matchups for a Ground type such as her. While the latter is unfortunately a fact of the current meta and not something we can really change, the former definitely is, and so we've moved some of her SpA into her Defense, making it far easier for her to eat neutral physical hits and threaten strong STAB Precision Strikes in return. In addition, we've given her movepool a facelift, removing flavorless options but adding great utility moves like Ceaseless Edge and Stone Axe, and strong coverage in Mighty Cleave. Hopefully these changes will make Gavial more desirable as a hazard setter and physical tank.
Dewy
90 / 83 / 80 / 93 / 105 / 90 --> 90 / 83 / 105 / 93 / 80 / 90
This mon should not be losing to Fire types. Water/Fairy is a far better physically defensive typing both in general and in this meta, so hopefully swapping Dewy's defenses will make him a more effective defensive option than he currently is.
Draco Centauros
95 / 90 / 113 / 70 / 92 / 81 --> 95 / 90 / 123 / 60 / 92 / 81
+Dragon Cheer, Eruption, Explosion, Flame Wheel, Flash, Light Screen, Lovely Kiss, Mean Look, Morning Sun, Safeguard, Self-Destruct
-Body Press, Body Slam, Brick Break, Dragon Ascent, Psychic, Shadow Claw, Trick Room
Draco Centauros is outclassed offensively by Wriggle Nightbug and Sisyphus Prime, and her defensive sets are similarly inconsistent due to the aforementioned highly offensive nature of the meta, simply not giving a boots-locked defensive mon such as Draco any room to breathe. Like the above mons, we believe the answer to this problem is to pump up her bulk, giving her an easier time eating physical hits and more room to make use of her wide utility movepool by spreading burns and setting hazards. The movepool changes were once again based on flavor.
Hestu
+Attack Order, Beat Up, Bomb Throw, Celebrate, Explosion, Ice Hammer, Magnet Bomb, Magnet Rise, Pollen Puff, Pound, Psychic Noise, Rage Powder, Razor Leaf, Rock Slide, Rock Throw, Stealth Rock, Surf, Tackle, Thunder Wave
Hestu actually has a lot of potential. Unaware Victory Dance sets have shown to be solid wincons, and are only made better by the changes of this balance patch, but even in spite of this, his movepool is very shallow. Council has pored through the source material and put together a list of flavorful additions, some of which (Bomb Throw, Ice Hammer, Psychic Noise, Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave) should hopefully help diversify his sets and enable him to break through some of his problem matchups.
And that's it for this patch! There's still a lot to test in this meta, with mons like Mad Wheel and Irene likely to take the place of the brokens we nerfed here, but once we have more news we'll be sure to share it with all of you. Once again, if you're interested in helping us playtest, please do join the Discord and ask for games there - your contributions will be greatly appreciated!
Bans
Beatrice
Banned from OU
That's right, we're actually banning a mon. Beatrice is more broken than any previous mon, and honestly more than anything to come as well. There is literally no downside to running this mon, as her 135 SpA MGLO-boosted STABs and coverage shear through every defensive mon with ease, and that's before she's set up with Quiver Dance. Olympia's usage has skyrocketed, and folks have resorted to otherwise unviable sets like Assault Vest Yuuma Koutetsu in order to even pretend to be able to answer Beatrice, but the fact is that this mon is extraordinarily unhealthy for the meta, and something needs to be done about her. To explain why we chose a ban over potential nerf options, I need to explain another aspect of the current meta. We are currently extremely lacking in defensive options, as almost all available walls are bad and/or lose to top offensive mons that they should beat (come check out the replays in our Discord server where a healthy Dewy loses 1v1 to Wriggle Nightbug and Sisyphus Prime). This has led to the meta being extremely offensive, as we struggle to detune the litany of offensive threats that barely keep each other in check. Beatrice does nothing but exacerbate this issue, as her Bug/Ghost typing leads to her sharing checks with other top offensive mons, allowing one to wear down said checks and free up the others. While there are certainly nerfs that could be done at this point in time, we feel it would be a better decision overall to ban her now and revisit the issue later once the metagame is more stable and defensive niches are better filled.
Nerfs
Malenia
70 / 115 / 71 / 68 / 94 / 117 --> 70 / 105 / 71 / 78 / 94 / 107
-Knock Off
As I alluded to a few posts ago, Malenia is an incredibly potent offensive mon. With powerful STAB Gunk Shots backed up by plenty of coverage options like Leaf Blade, Knock Off, Close Combat, and U-Turn, just to name a few, there really is no way to reliably answer Malenia. This is made worse by the fact that she has the highest base speed in the meta, allowing AOA sets to pivot around entire teams with ease, completely ignoring chip thanks to Regenerator. Because of this, council feels some stat nerfs are in order. After this Speed drop, Malenia is now slower than Mad Wheel, Marle, Twinrova, and Dewy-Ice, all mons that can threaten strong super-effective hits on her and easily force her out. Additionally, the Attack nerf and removal of Knock Off enable more defensive counterplay, as Gravelord Lych now handles standard sets perfectly, while other fatmons like Irene and Clownpiece don't have to worry about losing their items just by switching in.
Sisyphus Prime
+Extreme Speed, Flame Burst, Giga Impact, Hyper Beam, Shock Wave, Sky Uppercut
-Body Press, Cross Chop, Darkest Lariat, Fire Lash, Seismic Toss, Reversal
After his introduction on Tuesday, Sisyphus Prime has quickly established himself as a major offensive threat. SD+Flame Charge sets have no counterplay once they get going, and his good bulk and threatening STABs make finding setup opportunities easy. While other changes we'll discuss later will likely help with this, council also wants to address this issue more directly, and the route we chose was to remove Fire Lash. Lash completely removes defensive counterplay to SD Sisyphus, as bulky mons and even resists like Dewy can't stomach multiple hits after the defense drops. Additionally, Sisyphus lacks the proper flavor to have Fire Lash in the first place, so removing it is a win all-around. The rest of the movepool changes are flavor-related, but Extreme Speed is a very notable addition that council will be keeping an eye on, as it gives Sisyphus a non-Flame Charge way of removing offensive counterplay on his SD sets.
Buffs
Gavial-Invincible
108 / 125 / 100 / 75 / 50 / 92 --> 108 / 125 / 115 / 60 / 50 / 92
+Ceaseless Edge, Fury Cutter, Guillotine, Mighty Cleave, Stone Axe, Thrash
-Body Slam, Brick Break, Bulk Up, Coaching, Counter, Detect, Dig, Fissure, Focus Blast, Headbutt, High Horsepower, Iron Head, Low Kick, Low Sweep, Parting Shot, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Rock Tomb, Sand Tomb, Seismic Toss, Spikes, Sunny Day, Vacuum Wave, Zen Headbutt
Gavial is in an unfortunate position in the current meta. Firstly, she is in the camp of mons who seem good defensively but simply lack the bulk to actually be effective in this highly offensive meta, and secondly, she suffers from a losing matchup into the meta's best Electric type, one of the most relevant matchups for a Ground type such as her. While the latter is unfortunately a fact of the current meta and not something we can really change, the former definitely is, and so we've moved some of her SpA into her Defense, making it far easier for her to eat neutral physical hits and threaten strong STAB Precision Strikes in return. In addition, we've given her movepool a facelift, removing flavorless options but adding great utility moves like Ceaseless Edge and Stone Axe, and strong coverage in Mighty Cleave. Hopefully these changes will make Gavial more desirable as a hazard setter and physical tank.
Dewy
90 / 83 / 80 / 93 / 105 / 90 --> 90 / 83 / 105 / 93 / 80 / 90
This mon should not be losing to Fire types. Water/Fairy is a far better physically defensive typing both in general and in this meta, so hopefully swapping Dewy's defenses will make him a more effective defensive option than he currently is.
Draco Centauros
95 / 90 / 113 / 70 / 92 / 81 --> 95 / 90 / 123 / 60 / 92 / 81
+Dragon Cheer, Eruption, Explosion, Flame Wheel, Flash, Light Screen, Lovely Kiss, Mean Look, Morning Sun, Safeguard, Self-Destruct
-Body Press, Body Slam, Brick Break, Dragon Ascent, Psychic, Shadow Claw, Trick Room
Draco Centauros is outclassed offensively by Wriggle Nightbug and Sisyphus Prime, and her defensive sets are similarly inconsistent due to the aforementioned highly offensive nature of the meta, simply not giving a boots-locked defensive mon such as Draco any room to breathe. Like the above mons, we believe the answer to this problem is to pump up her bulk, giving her an easier time eating physical hits and more room to make use of her wide utility movepool by spreading burns and setting hazards. The movepool changes were once again based on flavor.
Hestu
+Attack Order, Beat Up, Bomb Throw, Celebrate, Explosion, Ice Hammer, Magnet Bomb, Magnet Rise, Pollen Puff, Pound, Psychic Noise, Rage Powder, Razor Leaf, Rock Slide, Rock Throw, Stealth Rock, Surf, Tackle, Thunder Wave
Hestu actually has a lot of potential. Unaware Victory Dance sets have shown to be solid wincons, and are only made better by the changes of this balance patch, but even in spite of this, his movepool is very shallow. Council has pored through the source material and put together a list of flavorful additions, some of which (Bomb Throw, Ice Hammer, Psychic Noise, Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave) should hopefully help diversify his sets and enable him to break through some of his problem matchups.
And that's it for this patch! There's still a lot to test in this meta, with mons like Mad Wheel and Irene likely to take the place of the brokens we nerfed here, but once we have more news we'll be sure to share it with all of you. Once again, if you're interested in helping us playtest, please do join the Discord and ask for games there - your contributions will be greatly appreciated!
So....I'm guessing this is dead now until that rumoured reboot comes? Well, I enjoyed my time here, and I'm glad I was able to get my unique ideas through, even if the council didn't think they were good competitively....see you on the reboot!
