The speedtiers have been redone! Thank you all to SammyCe123 who gave his all to this project (GOAT)!
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GG Godly Gift
- Thread starter Les2BG
- Start date
I can't lie, despite GG being my favorite of the permaladders, this metagame is incredibly stale and its' really hard to ban any of the threats.
I really blame Alolamola for most of the problems. With any Special Defense invest Alola becomes incredibly tanky while passing almost full HP wishes to any allies with a remarkably low speed tier. While things like Waterpon (already problematic on its' own) do work well, if you combine it with say, HP Skarm, the core is nigh unbreakable for any non-electric attacks (and weaker electric hits like uninvested Zapdos do basically nothing to the core mind. I think the worst sight I saw was Caly-I Pikachu dealing 90% to 140 HP Skarm and dying to its' own recoil)
The core of
+ 
+ 
, with at least one ground, is probably this OMs most toxic core and it needs to be at least in part dismantled. And I'm leaning towards it being Alolamola that's broken, not either of the other two options.
edit: not claming stall is broken, quite the opposite really, the sheer power of the alola + skarm core means people are required to use the strongest breakers possible, preventing anything not HO from taking hold of the meta
I really blame Alolamola for most of the problems. With any Special Defense invest Alola becomes incredibly tanky while passing almost full HP wishes to any allies with a remarkably low speed tier. While things like Waterpon (already problematic on its' own) do work well, if you combine it with say, HP Skarm, the core is nigh unbreakable for any non-electric attacks (and weaker electric hits like uninvested Zapdos do basically nothing to the core mind. I think the worst sight I saw was Caly-I Pikachu dealing 90% to 140 HP Skarm and dying to its' own recoil)
The core of
+ + , with at least one ground, is probably this OMs most toxic core and it needs to be at least in part dismantled. And I'm leaning towards it being Alolamola that's broken, not either of the other two options.edit: not claming stall is broken, quite the opposite really, the sheer power of the alola + skarm core means people are required to use the strongest breakers possible, preventing anything not HO from taking hold of the meta
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I agree with every post asking for mola to be gone. I started playing this tier for OMPL and the entire time I played it I really wondered why Alomomola wasn't banned while Toxapex is when they're so so similar. Mola has counterplay but it's usually just cheesing with some PsyNoise mon in the speed slot like Hatt or Reuni or Waterpon who is hazard weak and has plenty of sufficient counterplay.
Raging Bolt also needs to go like that Pokemon is already hardly balanced as a vanilla mon and with whatever boosted speed stat it just has no real counterplay besides the mandatory SDef ground slot which is already so overwhelmed checking literally every other mon in the tier
Raging Bolt also needs to go like that Pokemon is already hardly balanced as a vanilla mon and with whatever boosted speed stat it just has no real counterplay besides the mandatory SDef ground slot which is already so overwhelmed checking literally every other mon in the tier
This is probably controversial but I think we need to free more breakers to leverage up the power level back in this tier. Alomo becomes a problem because the tier is mainly now in just stall/HO/fat killer fishing each other like food chain. Simply nuking alomo removes a blanket check to many offensive threats so we will end up banning other breakers afterwards, and then banning more walls in a forever loop.
Survey results :
Due to the fact that we received some answers that didn't conform to what we expected from the survey (well done to you ngl lmao) I'm going to give you the percentages directly without the graphics as they're not correct sorry :/.On a scale of 1 to 10, do you think the current meta is fun?
6,789473684/10
That's pretty good and we hope it will continue to increase
On a scale of 1 to 10, do you think the current meta is competitive?
6,789473684/10
exactly the same number which is quite funny given the look of this one i have nothing else to say but it's funny
On a scale from 1-5, what is your opinion on Raging Bolt
?3,894736842/5
Who wouldn't have guessed? Raging Bolt has become very problematic the more time has passed and is far too constraining to the building and in game the council will therefore vote on it!
On a scale from 1-5, what is your opinion on Gouging Fire
?3,578947368/5
A very high score too which shows that Gouging-Fire is considered to be problematic. This can be associated with all its sets, each of which can be very problematic in their own field - there are many of them but the Choice Band and bulky DD sets are the most popular and very difficult to handle council vote on this too !
On a scale from 1-5, what is your opinion on Ogerpon-Wellspring
? 2,315789474/5
A rather low score notably due in part to the omnipresence of Raging-Bolt but which shows that Ogerpon-Wellspring is not yet considered to be very problematic.
On a scale from 1-5, what is your opinion on Alomomola
? 3,368421053/5
A big score thanks to Alomomola's excellent defensive profile without being too much of a burden on the team. We've had a lot of complaints about this pokemon, so it will come as no surprise in our vote.
On a scale from 1-5, what is your opinion on Talonflame
?3/5
A score not to be overlooked Talonflame rain was one of the new archetypes to be discovered and is already starting to meet with complaints from the playerbase, notably due to its priority Hurricane, which under rain is very difficult to counter. The council will therefore also vote on this pokemon.
On a scale from 1-5, what is your opinion on Landorus-Incarnate
? 2,421052632/5
A rather low score so it will not be included in the council's vote.
Suggestions :
- Unrestrict Serperior
1x- Unrestrict Gholdengo
2x- Unrestrict Chien-Pao
2x- Zacian-C
1- Tera x1
- Unrestrict Toxapex
1x- Alomomola restrict
1xWe've taken note of your recommendations but we're not going to be taking any action on most of them just yet as some big changes are about to take place and here they are! -->
Gouging-Fire, Raging-Bolt and Alomomola have been restricted !
| Pokemons : | dhelmise | Fraise | Les2BG | TTTech | SammyCe123 | Results : |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gouging-Fire | Restrict | Do Not Restrict | Restrict | Restrict | Do Not Restrict | 3-2-0 Restrict |
| Raging-Bolt | Restrict | Restrict | Restrict | Restrict | Restrict | 5-0-0 Restrict |
| Alomomola | Restrict | Do Not Restrict | Restrict | Restrict | Restrict | 4-1-0 Restrict |
| Talonflame | Do Not Restrict | Do Not Restrict | Restrict | Do Not Restrict | Do Not Restrict | 1-4-0 Do Not Restrict |
Raging-Bolt restricts the building too much forcing almost every team to use a ground spdef or a 
clodsire and is extremely dangerous for any type of team with its set choice specs or CM, especially as it can also be used as a defensive check for pokemons such as Ogerpon-Wellspring. Gouging-Fire is also very dangerous in its own way. It is naturally very bulky and can be set up very easily, notably with a Breaking Swipe set which makes it difficult to kill, especially as it can be invested reasonably in bulk but we can also mention the Choice Band set, which under the sun is extremely difficult to check and even resistances can have a hard time against it such as Primarina 
and Rotom-Wash 
Alomomola is just extremely bulky and can wishpass with very few problems and a risk/reward very much in its favour which forced a lot of teambuilding with options such as Ogerpon Wellspring , Volcanion 
or Electrode-hisui 
for example.These are huge changes so the meta is bound to change a lot. We hope you enjoy the new meta !
Imo this is a good thing--if the only thing preventing banworthy breakers from being banned is that they check/counter Mola, Mola needs to go so we can more properly take a look at those breakers without the warping presence of Mola.
Huzzah!
https://pokepast.es/bd6476d2d512b207
I am really loving lokix works great against ho with first impression and sucker and great against balance with its powerful u turns and knocking against stall is also nice, but this team really struggles with defense boosting mons
I am really loving lokix works great against ho with first impression and sucker and great against balance with its powerful u turns and knocking against stall is also nice, but this team really struggles with defense boosting mons
GG team I had lying around my builder for a while, saw mola got banned so this team is way better now. Boots wake can be used over mystic if u keep losing to webs. Moxie pyroar clicks blitz under sun for free kills, strong asf.
Got my first top 100 with this: https://pokepast.es/d7d9188ba39b2823
Moon is really good into it tho, but conk can carry so many games
Moon is really good into it tho, but conk can carry so many games
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Gimmicky team I got to 1310 with. It's not that good vs top players, has a lot of weaknesses too, but it certainly is a lot of fun to play; not that many teams at <= 1310 carry counterplay against Fake Out and even fewer against Prankster Encore.
The goal of the team is to pivot as much as possible for Fake Out casts and/or have Caly-I proc its WP on the turn it sets up TR, if possible.
Any reason you don't have Earth Power over EQ on Nyandorus?
Gimmicky team I got to 1310 with. It's not that good vs top players, has a lot of weaknesses too, but it certainly is a lot of fun to play; not that many teams at <= 1310 carry counterplay against Fake Out and even fewer against Prankster Encore.
The goal of the team is to pivot as much as possible for Fake Out casts and/or have Caly-I proc its WP on the turn it sets up TR, if possible.
Mainly because it inherits -20 SpA from Calyrex-I (85 SpA) & not seeing Glimm/Rilla. But after running some calcs, you're right as it still hits Zama for the same amount of damage +- 5% at +1. Also, I've kept a -Atk nature by mistake.
So yeah, Earth Power might still more useful even with 85 SpA though EQ hits much harder against most mons - thanks for raising that point.
Oh, I goofed super hard and thought Hoopa was the God and not-Glastrier was an inheritor. Ignore the banner under my name, I'm an idiot.
Have you ever grown bored of all these overused gods and wanted to try something different? Wanting to explore the hidden potential of the considered unviable gods? They might be stronger than you think. You shouldn't try to build a team with them by just replacing one existing god with one of these cause really, you are just making a team worse for no reason. I found that building around them by focusing on bringing the most out of them while covering the most gaping holes is the way to go. Although I don't really play much besides some casual randbats, my friend asked me to build some funny teams to ladder so you will see the results of these requests in the past months. If you ever lost to one of these on ladder, know that I was the architect behind these monstrosities. Some of these are illegal now and I got asked to build some new ones but I'm not really feeling it atm so just dumping them out here.
Palafin Rain
There's really nothing else you can do outside of rain to maximize the chance of Palafin getting the job done. Now that Alomomola is restricted, this might be more viable, but Palafin's bad stat donations remain, there's only so much you can do to patch large holes, but offensively the team can pack quite a punch. Kilowattrel is chosen over Zapdos for the nifty Volt Absorb against Helectrode and also a speed jump above Arceus. Tera Ghost for Espeeders. Archaludon gets worse SpD but is still the best slot. Volcanion's set was solely to trap Alomomola but I guess you can now customize or change it to something else, for Wellspring specifically probably.
Gholdengo hazard stack
You all know it, a team centered around Gholdengo can only be hazard stack. Gholdengo also gives pretty good stats all around so building with it was actually fairly straightforward, though not so much now with Mola banned. No hazard removal may be a bit sketchy but my friend said the team worked so that's that.
Annihilape fat
I don't think a team centered around Annihilape can be sustainable anymore, Mola is too important to keep it ready to spam Rage Fist. Regardless, this team was kinda stall-ish, though Annihilape and a very offensive Hydrapple set should give substantial potential to make progress, as this will still struggle against other fat builds without them. The team was otherwise standard fat.
Baxcalibur HO
From here on, you will see me use weirder mons to spice things up. Baxcalibur's hefty Atk and pretty optimized stats are pretty cool, but you definitely want to lean towards HO. As an attacker that can't get burned, it can shut down quite a lot of defensive structures, though one of those is Mola. You probably can opt for an Alolatales structure for that juicy snow boost but Alolatales does require a fast mon (usually Speed booster) cause its screen is less guaranteed which this team doesn't have. Ceruledge is cool on HO but pretty under the radar, it has some tools like DBond and Taunt to suit a team while also having nice offensive presence. Braviary-Hisui might not be the best fit, but it did sweep a few games, though something that gives you a more solid Ghost answer might be better.
Chien-Pao HO
Chien-Pao's stat donations aren't half bad, including a usable SpA stat for Araquanid. Gouging Fire can be replaced with another mon probably. The rest are pretty standard HO's choices.
Espathra Grassy HO
To unleash Espathra bs, we need to boost its Def, so this is probably the only thing that makes the style playable. With that said, Whirlwind, Roar, Tera Dark Unaware all hinder this style. I just noticed this team kinda loses to Skarm though, perhaps Scizor and Haxorus can be something else. Haxorus is nice on HO to break Unaware though, so I'd go with changing Scizor to something like, Idk, Magnezone, Iron Moth or just any special mon that doesn't lose to Skarm. Boomburst Rilla just because I can.
Gliscor stall
Gliscor is a status absorber that doesn't rely on a recovery move which can help edge out other defensive structures. I went with a Sticky Hold no removal structure for this one, but this might still struggle against setup even with 4 mons being able to deal with some kind of setup.
Kingambit TR
Kingambit gives good stats and at the end of the day is still a Kingambit that can reverse sweep. Nobody expects Trick Room VoltTurn with Skrelp of all mons though, that's for sure. Skrelp was actually a bit justified here over Araquanid because it can poison and beat Def Mola or pivot out (Also I guess Tera Dragon Skarm). speaking of Skarm, it stops 3 physical mons here so Skrelp's pivoting also allows Magnezone to come in and force Tera or get a kill outright.
Magearna HO
I could just build yet another TR team and probably should but that's not fun so I chose to go HO as Magearna is immune to both Clear Smog and Dragon Tail. I don't remember why I added Pikachu, but I think it was to revenge kill some mons that this team might struggle against. Grimmsnarl is likely better here as Moon is not Speed booster but I used too many Grimmsnarl already.
Ogerpon-H Sun
Hearthflame can break stall by itself thanks to Mold Breaker with sun, which frees up other slots to be speedier, including Moon and Wake. Zard might actually be more usable now with Mola gone so maybe change Tera Grass to Fire and use Scorching Sand for Heatran which should see more usage now. I added Zard for a ground immune and some extra defense against Fairy as Hearthflame doesn't like switching in directly, same with Torkoal.
Regieleki Iron Hands carry
Regieleki is a scary mon by itself, but it won't win game alone, this build focuses everything on enabling Iron Hands to the fullest. Elec Terrain for Speed, Web for even more Speed, Treads for hazard game and Mola to bring it in. Basically, if your opponent can answer Iron Hands, you most likely lose. You do get the benefit of beating Dozo with Elec Terrain blocking Rest though, so not all is lost in that case.
Spectrier Grassy BO
We know how scary the horse can be with good Def, so to replicate it we once again ask our friend Rillaboom. Didn't quite want to go full HO though so the build became this weird BO that my friend said work okay-ish. Without Ghold and Mola, Geezing probably can be Levitate or just swapped for something else. Drifblim is pretty cool, but 4mss is very real and you gotta make a choice. Strength Sap + Stored Power helps it beat Unaware mons.
Terapagos BO
This would be so much more viable if the mini Terapagos forme didn't exist but alas. At the very least Terapagos is a big threat on its own albeit still stopped by Unaware mons again and being a giant Tera hog. Glowking and Garganacl are the best bets for these guys hopefully with Torn-T to make consistent progress and defensive builds.
Toxapex Stall
Pex gives amazing Def and Spd even if not on Shuckle's level. Pex itself is a good stall mon so you know where this goes. Dusclops is probably more known as a ladder mon but I do think it can have a place on stall build with Pressure and Haze being handy, oh and its bulk of course. Goodra-H is the team's wincon. I thought of this set when I fooled around in builder and my friend said it actually worked very well. Even without hazards, opposing Unaware mons can be worn down with status and other members being a pain to deal with. Team still risks getting overwhelmed by certain mons like Weavile.
Ursaluna TR
Ursaluna gets the perks of being unwallable, but as TR has been used quite too often at this point I added Jirachi for fun. I guess it's not too bad? Replace Raging Bolt with Iron Moth or another special attacker works hopefully.
Volcarona HO
Matchup moth will strike again. With Ho-Oh and Talonflame on the rise, Tera Rock is the go-to here. Tried this Lando-T set for some more defensive presence. This team might not be salvageable with Raging Bolt gone, but I can be wrong.
Ursaluna-BM TR
This time tried Whimsicott as a setter. One of TR weaknesses is on the last TR turn, you risk getting wiped by a setup mon, so a hard switch into Whimsicott can save the game. Idk why I went with Watershifu, iirc it was to break through some specific mons. Bloodmoon is cool too, Blood Moon is a very satisfying nuke button.
Iron Bundle Elec Terrain
Bundle's stat is kinda meh but it has unresisted STAB (still walled by Mola) and speed above the 130 threshold. With Raging Bolt and thus the only Rising Voltage user gone, this team is just in the dump. Elec Terrain and sun do usually contain a glaring weakness to Ground. Since offense was the only route with Bundle's poor HP and SpD I think Weak Armor Mandibuzz could work as both a Ground immune and potential wincon, especially when it can destroy Toxic + EQ Clodsire.
Chi-Yu Sun
Chi-Yu's sun is the kind of sun that auto wins against any kind of fat build but usually struggles against fast-paced structures. TWave Deoxys-D tries to spread para and give Chi-Yu position to click the funny button. Scream Tail for speed control, Tusk for removal and defensive utility since I think Torkoal doesn't really want to remove hazards, it's sun turns lost and at least 25% of health is huge.
Flutter Mane Sun
Ghost/Fairy is so good that Flutter Mane has surprisingly many chances to come in even with its non-existent Def. Rotom-W as the pivot this time and also for Ray, Gouging Fire is maybe not that replaceable but substituting in a different physical Fire like Ceruledge works, maybe.
Skymin paraflinch
You definitely should go for a more standard build (Web most likely) as Skymin can scam teams by itself when allowed to. Since I already headed towards para spreading, I just threw Dudunsparce in for maximum mayhem. The defense core is definitely very shaky with Ice weakness and all, so don't take this team too seriously.
Lower tier god viability ranking because this will never be added into the official VR.
C-
I'd say Flutter Mane's distinctive strengths, 3 good donations and the surprising team consistency that it warrants a C-, above the likes of Giratina-O and Zacian that are outclassed by their other formes. Not many Ghost can actually revenge Ekiller while being such a terrifying natural speed control. Offensively, it's also terrifying with options for its answers.
D+
Chien-Pao is in the upper echelon of weaker gods in big part due to its individual strength, but its donations are still among the higher ones. After SD, with Tera and LO, it can totally sweep unprepared teams with its combination of speed and power. The HO builds you can get around it are also diverse enough to warrant this position.
Gholdengo hazard stack is still a nightmare against passive hazard removers, though they still aren't common even now. Still, its nice stats and individual strengths are noteworthy.
Actually has a merit with its terrifying wallbreaking capabilities
Same as Ursaluna, though a bit less wallbreaking and more survivability.
D
Baxcalibur is scary for teams that rely on burns to answer physical attackers and also gets decent stats with its own niches. Its Speed is definitely a letdown, but it actually has something that you might want to use it over Kyurem-W, unlike Kyurem.
This is the kind of mon you want when you really HATE stall. In fact, Chi-Yu probably does this better than any other Uber due to nobody prepping for it. Unfortunately, offensive builds will be your bane and it's hard to change.
Gliscor's builds can edge out some more defensive teams while holding out some offensive structures, but ultimately still mu reliant and can be broken with pure offensive pressure.
I have no experience with this, but based on theorycrafting it should be here or D+ with some sun structure again.
It can still sweep, and it might if you let it and think your lone SpD Dondozo can stop it.
Unique typing and sweep potential with 3 great donations and 1 decent.
Distinct niche as a sun stallbreaker, solid donations.
Same as Gouging Fire, but maybe also Elec Terrain.
This is the mother of all mu fish, the most polarised and possibly the most effective. It beats out Espathra on the basis of being able to enable another mon + itself.
For gambling addicts, this is your choice.
D-
This would be D or D+ but without Mola, this mon would be hard pressed to stay healthy. I don't think any Wishpasser can just cut it, Vaporeon is probably the closest but it gets worn down way faster.
Dragapult was somewhat usable pre-DLC, but now the Dragon/Ghost combo just doesn't cut it with average attacking stats. It's still a threat with Tera Blast, but it also competes with Giratina-O, who's not a great mon to begin with. It does have a standout Speed even above Zacian, but there isn't much else to write home about.
A matchup fish mon in its pure essence, Espathra's team probably can see victory or defeat before the game even starts.
As strong as Palafin-Hero is, the momentum sink from needing both Pelipper and Palafin in is too much sometimes.
Would be higher if Flutter Mane didn't exist.
In another universe this might be actually a viable choice without the mini forme.
Still works sometimes, but nowhere near the consistency of D ranked mons.
Realistically, most actual Ubers do the job better, but Quiver Dance is still enough to let this mon escape E rank.
E+
A beefy HP stat is nice and all, but it just flounders everywhere else. At the end of the day, it's still a decent Pokemon on its own, so it's still better than the mons below this rank.
No Raging Bolt, no fun for the futuristic penguin.
E
Crawdaunt gives decent Atk, and that's about it. Realistically, you will build TR when choosing this, but even the Ursalunas do a better job. Water/Dark is something, but that's not enough.
E-
Just don't. It's even worse when Pressure being around causes Leaf Storm to run out of PP quicker.
Sneasler exists.
Limbo tier: These aren't necessarily the worst, but there's just something that outclasses them for everything they try to do
If you want to bank it all on your Speed slot, Eleki does it better while still having screens and being more threatening. If you want a more offensive variant, go Deoxys-Base. If you want a Psychic for Psyspam with some more defensive stats, just go with Mewtwo.
I guess you can say this has Dragon Dance set over Kyurem-W, but really Kyurem-W's surprise factor Dragon Dance probably will be more effective anyway. Unaware also runs rampant in GG, which Kyurem-W can actually overcome.
Smeargle tier
If you want a challenge, that's nice. Pigeons won some games with Pidove god in gen 8 after all. But if you ever find yourself seriously considering this garbage as your god, ask what kind of decisions you have made in your life that leads you to this moment. Dumpster tier stats bar Speed, literally worse than an OU team.
That's it for now, if you saw me on blunder's wall you will know there will be another post after this, but until then enjoy the meta and the activity it has.
Palafin Rain
There's really nothing else you can do outside of rain to maximize the chance of Palafin getting the job done. Now that Alomomola is restricted, this might be more viable, but Palafin's bad stat donations remain, there's only so much you can do to patch large holes, but offensively the team can pack quite a punch. Kilowattrel is chosen over Zapdos for the nifty Volt Absorb against Helectrode and also a speed jump above Arceus. Tera Ghost for Espeeders. Archaludon gets worse SpD but is still the best slot. Volcanion's set was solely to trap Alomomola but I guess you can now customize or change it to something else, for Wellspring specifically probably.
Gholdengo hazard stack
You all know it, a team centered around Gholdengo can only be hazard stack. Gholdengo also gives pretty good stats all around so building with it was actually fairly straightforward, though not so much now with Mola banned. No hazard removal may be a bit sketchy but my friend said the team worked so that's that.
Annihilape fat
I don't think a team centered around Annihilape can be sustainable anymore, Mola is too important to keep it ready to spam Rage Fist. Regardless, this team was kinda stall-ish, though Annihilape and a very offensive Hydrapple set should give substantial potential to make progress, as this will still struggle against other fat builds without them. The team was otherwise standard fat.
Baxcalibur HO
From here on, you will see me use weirder mons to spice things up. Baxcalibur's hefty Atk and pretty optimized stats are pretty cool, but you definitely want to lean towards HO. As an attacker that can't get burned, it can shut down quite a lot of defensive structures, though one of those is Mola. You probably can opt for an Alolatales structure for that juicy snow boost but Alolatales does require a fast mon (usually Speed booster) cause its screen is less guaranteed which this team doesn't have. Ceruledge is cool on HO but pretty under the radar, it has some tools like DBond and Taunt to suit a team while also having nice offensive presence. Braviary-Hisui might not be the best fit, but it did sweep a few games, though something that gives you a more solid Ghost answer might be better.
Chien-Pao HO
Chien-Pao's stat donations aren't half bad, including a usable SpA stat for Araquanid. Gouging Fire can be replaced with another mon probably. The rest are pretty standard HO's choices.
Espathra Grassy HO
To unleash Espathra bs, we need to boost its Def, so this is probably the only thing that makes the style playable. With that said, Whirlwind, Roar, Tera Dark Unaware all hinder this style. I just noticed this team kinda loses to Skarm though, perhaps Scizor and Haxorus can be something else. Haxorus is nice on HO to break Unaware though, so I'd go with changing Scizor to something like, Idk, Magnezone, Iron Moth or just any special mon that doesn't lose to Skarm. Boomburst Rilla just because I can.
Gliscor stall
Gliscor is a status absorber that doesn't rely on a recovery move which can help edge out other defensive structures. I went with a Sticky Hold no removal structure for this one, but this might still struggle against setup even with 4 mons being able to deal with some kind of setup.
Kingambit TR
Kingambit gives good stats and at the end of the day is still a Kingambit that can reverse sweep. Nobody expects Trick Room VoltTurn with Skrelp of all mons though, that's for sure. Skrelp was actually a bit justified here over Araquanid because it can poison and beat Def Mola or pivot out (Also I guess Tera Dragon Skarm). speaking of Skarm, it stops 3 physical mons here so Skrelp's pivoting also allows Magnezone to come in and force Tera or get a kill outright.
Magearna HO
I could just build yet another TR team and probably should but that's not fun so I chose to go HO as Magearna is immune to both Clear Smog and Dragon Tail. I don't remember why I added Pikachu, but I think it was to revenge kill some mons that this team might struggle against. Grimmsnarl is likely better here as Moon is not Speed booster but I used too many Grimmsnarl already.
Ogerpon-H Sun
Hearthflame can break stall by itself thanks to Mold Breaker with sun, which frees up other slots to be speedier, including Moon and Wake. Zard might actually be more usable now with Mola gone so maybe change Tera Grass to Fire and use Scorching Sand for Heatran which should see more usage now. I added Zard for a ground immune and some extra defense against Fairy as Hearthflame doesn't like switching in directly, same with Torkoal.
Regieleki Iron Hands carry
Regieleki is a scary mon by itself, but it won't win game alone, this build focuses everything on enabling Iron Hands to the fullest. Elec Terrain for Speed, Web for even more Speed, Treads for hazard game and Mola to bring it in. Basically, if your opponent can answer Iron Hands, you most likely lose. You do get the benefit of beating Dozo with Elec Terrain blocking Rest though, so not all is lost in that case.
Spectrier Grassy BO
We know how scary the horse can be with good Def, so to replicate it we once again ask our friend Rillaboom. Didn't quite want to go full HO though so the build became this weird BO that my friend said work okay-ish. Without Ghold and Mola, Geezing probably can be Levitate or just swapped for something else. Drifblim is pretty cool, but 4mss is very real and you gotta make a choice. Strength Sap + Stored Power helps it beat Unaware mons.
Terapagos BO
This would be so much more viable if the mini Terapagos forme didn't exist but alas. At the very least Terapagos is a big threat on its own albeit still stopped by Unaware mons again and being a giant Tera hog. Glowking and Garganacl are the best bets for these guys hopefully with Torn-T to make consistent progress and defensive builds.
Toxapex Stall
Pex gives amazing Def and Spd even if not on Shuckle's level. Pex itself is a good stall mon so you know where this goes. Dusclops is probably more known as a ladder mon but I do think it can have a place on stall build with Pressure and Haze being handy, oh and its bulk of course. Goodra-H is the team's wincon. I thought of this set when I fooled around in builder and my friend said it actually worked very well. Even without hazards, opposing Unaware mons can be worn down with status and other members being a pain to deal with. Team still risks getting overwhelmed by certain mons like Weavile.
Ursaluna TR
Ursaluna gets the perks of being unwallable, but as TR has been used quite too often at this point I added Jirachi for fun. I guess it's not too bad? Replace Raging Bolt with Iron Moth or another special attacker works hopefully.
Volcarona HO
Matchup moth will strike again. With Ho-Oh and Talonflame on the rise, Tera Rock is the go-to here. Tried this Lando-T set for some more defensive presence. This team might not be salvageable with Raging Bolt gone, but I can be wrong.
Ursaluna-BM TR
This time tried Whimsicott as a setter. One of TR weaknesses is on the last TR turn, you risk getting wiped by a setup mon, so a hard switch into Whimsicott can save the game. Idk why I went with Watershifu, iirc it was to break through some specific mons. Bloodmoon is cool too, Blood Moon is a very satisfying nuke button.
Iron Bundle Elec Terrain
Bundle's stat is kinda meh but it has unresisted STAB (still walled by Mola) and speed above the 130 threshold. With Raging Bolt and thus the only Rising Voltage user gone, this team is just in the dump. Elec Terrain and sun do usually contain a glaring weakness to Ground. Since offense was the only route with Bundle's poor HP and SpD I think Weak Armor Mandibuzz could work as both a Ground immune and potential wincon, especially when it can destroy Toxic + EQ Clodsire.
Chi-Yu Sun
Chi-Yu's sun is the kind of sun that auto wins against any kind of fat build but usually struggles against fast-paced structures. TWave Deoxys-D tries to spread para and give Chi-Yu position to click the funny button. Scream Tail for speed control, Tusk for removal and defensive utility since I think Torkoal doesn't really want to remove hazards, it's sun turns lost and at least 25% of health is huge.
Flutter Mane Sun
Ghost/Fairy is so good that Flutter Mane has surprisingly many chances to come in even with its non-existent Def. Rotom-W as the pivot this time and also for Ray, Gouging Fire is maybe not that replaceable but substituting in a different physical Fire like Ceruledge works, maybe.
Skymin paraflinch
You definitely should go for a more standard build (Web most likely) as Skymin can scam teams by itself when allowed to. Since I already headed towards para spreading, I just threw Dudunsparce in for maximum mayhem. The defense core is definitely very shaky with Ice weakness and all, so don't take this team too seriously.
Lower tier god viability ranking because this will never be added into the official VR.
C-
I'd say Flutter Mane's distinctive strengths, 3 good donations and the surprising team consistency that it warrants a C-, above the likes of Giratina-O and Zacian that are outclassed by their other formes. Not many Ghost can actually revenge Ekiller while being such a terrifying natural speed control. Offensively, it's also terrifying with options for its answers.D+
Chien-Pao is in the upper echelon of weaker gods in big part due to its individual strength, but its donations are still among the higher ones. After SD, with Tera and LO, it can totally sweep unprepared teams with its combination of speed and power. The HO builds you can get around it are also diverse enough to warrant this position. Gholdengo hazard stack is still a nightmare against passive hazard removers, though they still aren't common even now. Still, its nice stats and individual strengths are noteworthy. Actually has a merit with its terrifying wallbreaking capabilities Same as Ursaluna, though a bit less wallbreaking and more survivability.D
Baxcalibur is scary for teams that rely on burns to answer physical attackers and also gets decent stats with its own niches. Its Speed is definitely a letdown, but it actually has something that you might want to use it over Kyurem-W, unlike Kyurem. This is the kind of mon you want when you really HATE stall. In fact, Chi-Yu probably does this better than any other Uber due to nobody prepping for it. Unfortunately, offensive builds will be your bane and it's hard to change. Gliscor's builds can edge out some more defensive teams while holding out some offensive structures, but ultimately still mu reliant and can be broken with pure offensive pressure. I have no experience with this, but based on theorycrafting it should be here or D+ with some sun structure again. It can still sweep, and it might if you let it and think your lone SpD Dondozo can stop it. Unique typing and sweep potential with 3 great donations and 1 decent. Distinct niche as a sun stallbreaker, solid donations. Same as Gouging Fire, but maybe also Elec Terrain. This is the mother of all mu fish, the most polarised and possibly the most effective. It beats out Espathra on the basis of being able to enable another mon + itself. For gambling addicts, this is your choice.D-
This would be D or D+ but without Mola, this mon would be hard pressed to stay healthy. I don't think any Wishpasser can just cut it, Vaporeon is probably the closest but it gets worn down way faster. Dragapult was somewhat usable pre-DLC, but now the Dragon/Ghost combo just doesn't cut it with average attacking stats. It's still a threat with Tera Blast, but it also competes with Giratina-O, who's not a great mon to begin with. It does have a standout Speed even above Zacian, but there isn't much else to write home about. A matchup fish mon in its pure essence, Espathra's team probably can see victory or defeat before the game even starts. As strong as Palafin-Hero is, the momentum sink from needing both Pelipper and Palafin in is too much sometimes. Would be higher if Flutter Mane didn't exist. In another universe this might be actually a viable choice without the mini forme. Still works sometimes, but nowhere near the consistency of D ranked mons. Realistically, most actual Ubers do the job better, but Quiver Dance is still enough to let this mon escape E rank.E+
A beefy HP stat is nice and all, but it just flounders everywhere else. At the end of the day, it's still a decent Pokemon on its own, so it's still better than the mons below this rank. No Raging Bolt, no fun for the futuristic penguin.E
Crawdaunt gives decent Atk, and that's about it. Realistically, you will build TR when choosing this, but even the Ursalunas do a better job. Water/Dark is something, but that's not enough.E-
Just don't. It's even worse when Pressure being around causes Leaf Storm to run out of PP quicker. Sneasler exists.Limbo tier: These aren't necessarily the worst, but there's just something that outclasses them for everything they try to do
If you want to bank it all on your Speed slot, Eleki does it better while still having screens and being more threatening. If you want a more offensive variant, go Deoxys-Base. If you want a Psychic for Psyspam with some more defensive stats, just go with Mewtwo. I guess you can say this has Dragon Dance set over Kyurem-W, but really Kyurem-W's surprise factor Dragon Dance probably will be more effective anyway. Unaware also runs rampant in GG, which Kyurem-W can actually overcome. Smeargle tier
If you want a challenge, that's nice. Pigeons won some games with Pidove god in gen 8 after all. But if you ever find yourself seriously considering this garbage as your god, ask what kind of decisions you have made in your life that leads you to this moment. Dumpster tier stats bar Speed, literally worse than an OU team. That's it for now, if you saw me on blunder's wall you will know there will be another post after this, but until then enjoy the meta and the activity it has.
Today I was randomly inspired while driving home and built lugia double stored power screens HO.
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I feel like its terrible but i've been enjoying it tbh.
Special webs araquanid makes good use out of lugia's mediocre spa. Tera electric latias is insanely hard to KO with 80/130/130 defenses. Krook similarly with 95/80/154 defenses and intimidate giving it chances to bulk up. Lugia has a serviceable speed stat that hands can use. Treads is just normal special treads with a little more hp. Finally lugia is like the fattest screens setter of all time with the added advantage of being faster than most things with taunt so it is remarkably consistent at getting them up.
needs some work but im having fun with it.
- - - - - I feel like its terrible but i've been enjoying it tbh.
Special webs araquanid makes good use out of lugia's mediocre spa. Tera electric latias is insanely hard to KO with 80/130/130 defenses. Krook similarly with 95/80/154 defenses and intimidate giving it chances to bulk up. Lugia has a serviceable speed stat that hands can use. Treads is just normal special treads with a little more hp. Finally lugia is like the fattest screens setter of all time with the added advantage of being faster than most things with taunt so it is remarkably consistent at getting them up.
needs some work but im having fun with it.
I was able to get top 20 with this Trick Room team that I'm pretty happy with and wanted to share since Im done with it:
short version: piggybacks off of araquanids ability to break basically everything. i dont rly rate trick room outside of araquanid which validates the entire playstyle on the back of its own strength since it can convert 3 turns into 2-3 kills. the setters are very tanky and reliable so guaranteed 2-3 trick rooms = win usually
recorded some new replays today to show it:
(90% of games) https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9godlygift-2264532126-ken7jxbk7kz8sprmtk4va6hyil0fl1rpw
(substitute is nice) https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9godlygift-2263700418-aa1xuuuojtgtq9iurqvkifc1rfonvbypw
(deoxys can tank literally anything) https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9godlygift-2264519171-f1iiclsn7w4wmcb0rd7wu9dp83qtflrpw
(roar calyrex comes up more than you think) https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9godlygift-2264525067-q7jxohg2b0e36zqe5j46v3p8t6itpdypw
some scary mons are rain talonflame, lokix, glimmora, taunt moldbreaker tinkaton and rillaboom but tbh manageable. fighting a lead sash can slow down the gameplan and might warrant clicking an atk with hatt (worst case scenario).
short version: piggybacks off of araquanids ability to break basically everything. i dont rly rate trick room outside of araquanid which validates the entire playstyle on the back of its own strength since it can convert 3 turns into 2-3 kills. the setters are very tanky and reliable so guaranteed 2-3 trick rooms = win usually
setters:
braindead lead, trick room->healing wish and don't press the attacks ever unless the matchup is very challenging
the perfect mid-match setter, impossibly tanky and teleport gets in ur guys safely. helmet for anti maushold
abusers:
carries the archetype on its back. liquidation beats everything not-immune, leech life lets you 1v1 insanely bulky water types like tera tusk and the healing is kinda great. entrainment+sub can handle clod who is the common answer (and more niche stuff like weezing-g). you can sub on a bunch of stuff trying to waste a trick room turn and passive stuff like glowking. The more I play the more I realise this mon can just stay in vs basically all mons that it cant ohko and beat them in a 1v1, because wasting a first trick room set to beat a check is super worth it when you'll be healed up by healing wish later. I dont auto-tera this guy to because water/bug is actually a super neutral typing and great for trading hits. keeping grass neutral and ground resists is great. waterfall is an option over liquidation for sure but you can actually miss 2hkos on stuff like rotom-wash and eternatus off that 5bp. shit is broken in trick room
perfect bulky special attacker with amazing typing, dkiss trades amazing, can lure and beat clod and other nuisances for araquanid. i like having a psychic noise mon too for breaking
honestly not even the star of the show, donates amazing stats and roar is a tool to beat irondef/cosmic power/substitute mons that can get some free setup turns while you mess around with setting up trick room with ur leads. lategame mon pretty much exclusively
extra guy:
does regular valiant things to help outside of trick room. you can swap this for sneasler if you want a poison type for tspikes and a uturner to break sash leads. my version of this team that made it to top 20 was using choice scarf roaring moon here instead but valiant is better (lokix switchin, encore is good with teleport teammate, switch in on freeze-dry). booster makes u a poltergeist switchin which can be scary vs setters. this guy isnt needed every game tho but hes important on the team
braindead lead, trick room->healing wish and don't press the attacks ever unless the matchup is very challenging the perfect mid-match setter, impossibly tanky and teleport gets in ur guys safely. helmet for anti mausholdabusers:
carries the archetype on its back. liquidation beats everything not-immune, leech life lets you 1v1 insanely bulky water types like tera tusk and the healing is kinda great. entrainment+sub can handle clod who is the common answer (and more niche stuff like weezing-g). you can sub on a bunch of stuff trying to waste a trick room turn and passive stuff like glowking. The more I play the more I realise this mon can just stay in vs basically all mons that it cant ohko and beat them in a 1v1, because wasting a first trick room set to beat a check is super worth it when you'll be healed up by healing wish later. I dont auto-tera this guy to because water/bug is actually a super neutral typing and great for trading hits. keeping grass neutral and ground resists is great. waterfall is an option over liquidation for sure but you can actually miss 2hkos on stuff like rotom-wash and eternatus off that 5bp. shit is broken in trick room perfect bulky special attacker with amazing typing, dkiss trades amazing, can lure and beat clod and other nuisances for araquanid. i like having a psychic noise mon too for breaking honestly not even the star of the show, donates amazing stats and roar is a tool to beat irondef/cosmic power/substitute mons that can get some free setup turns while you mess around with setting up trick room with ur leads. lategame mon pretty much exclusivelyextra guy:
does regular valiant things to help outside of trick room. you can swap this for sneasler if you want a poison type for tspikes and a uturner to break sash leads. my version of this team that made it to top 20 was using choice scarf roaring moon here instead but valiant is better (lokix switchin, encore is good with teleport teammate, switch in on freeze-dry). booster makes u a poltergeist switchin which can be scary vs setters. this guy isnt needed every game tho but hes important on the teamrecorded some new replays today to show it:
(90% of games) https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9godlygift-2264532126-ken7jxbk7kz8sprmtk4va6hyil0fl1rpw
(substitute is nice) https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9godlygift-2263700418-aa1xuuuojtgtq9iurqvkifc1rfonvbypw
(deoxys can tank literally anything) https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9godlygift-2264519171-f1iiclsn7w4wmcb0rd7wu9dp83qtflrpw
(roar calyrex comes up more than you think) https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9godlygift-2264525067-q7jxohg2b0e36zqe5j46v3p8t6itpdypw
some scary mons are rain talonflame, lokix, glimmora, taunt moldbreaker tinkaton and rillaboom but tbh manageable. fighting a lead sash can slow down the gameplan and might warrant clicking an atk with hatt (worst case scenario).
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Here's the next post like I promised. Do you think my teams can't get any more garbo? Think again. I might have built around unviable gods, but I made mostly serious choices to improve them as much as possible. Here you see me build around unfathomable challenges that are probably better to never see the light of days. Again some of these are illegal now so be careful when choosing them.
Mono Shell Smash
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/out-of-the-comfort-zone-godly-gift.3756855/ I made a RMT for this.
Mono Scarf
Indeedee is a must to avoid priority. Cinderace for hazard control, otherwise a lot of Trick for more options in battle. Dialga cause it has Trick and good typing for defensive utility.
Mono Band
Harcanine and Lokix to revenge kill, Gallade to avoid getting autofolded by IronPress or Curse, Tera Ghost for Arceus. I think Caly-I's Speed IV is to underspeed something.
Mono Specs
Keldeo and Mewtwo were chosen first to circumvent special walls, Drifblim for hazard removal, Greninja for some priority, Hizo for shenanigans, Hoopa is Hoopa.
Mono Assault Vest
You can just replace Alomomola with like Amoonguss or Tornadus-T and it should work the same if not better cause Torn-T is immune to Ground. Golurk for AV Trick to cripple stuffs.
Mono Levitate
No hazard control needed when your team is immune to 3 of them. Tera Flying on Washtom in case you face Excadrill.
Mono Extreme Speed
Arceus to break Skarm, Deoxys to break stall, others for all out offense.
Mono Life Orb
To keep the spirit of the theme, the mons should actually want to use Life Orb instead of substituting their optimal item. Sadly no hazard control so try to win as fast as possible.
Mono Herb
You can choose the lazy way out and go full Smash/Meteor Beam but I wanted to use all 4 Herbs. Mental Herb's best use is on Trick Room but going full room with full herb is not plausible so I opted for semi room instead. Glastrier with Solar Blade Power Herb is quite cool to catch Washtom off guard and also Dondozo at low HP. Mirror Herb is trickier, I think this Thundurus's set is about the best you can get.
Mono Policy
Out of all these, my friend said Empoleon actually was the one that would sweep surprisingly often, I have no idea how. With Raging Bolt banned you probably have to use Raging Bolt at home (Raikou).
Mono Immune abilities
There are only 5 different types with an immunity ability so Kommo-o got the last pick.
Mono Z
Hizoro is kinda not that good because Zama, Zekrom and Zangoose can't really be disguised as but there are not that many Z Pokemon.
Mono K
K actually gets a pretty serviceable rain-like structure.
Mono 100 HP
Is using anything in the HP slot cheating? I'd say yes, that's why I didn't do that. Your main wincon is Urshifu breaking or Jirachi scamming.
Mono Red
This is probably the most viable of all teams. You get good typing coverage, hazard removal, type balance, synergy.
Mono Human-like
This is probably just Kingambit team but worse.
Mono 2 meters
Maybe the best way to go is getting Rock early then try to break with Mewtwo and Moon, Idk.
Mono 1.7 meters
This is pretty bad but it's still the second best height and since Skarm is used on offense this is like the only viable set.
Mono A
Replace Alomomola with Amoonguss should be fine.
Mono 120 kg
This is pretty trash but 120 kg is the only remotely viable weight to build a team around, other weights don't even have enough mons.
Mono Shell Smash
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/out-of-the-comfort-zone-godly-gift.3756855/ I made a RMT for this.
Mono Scarf
Indeedee is a must to avoid priority. Cinderace for hazard control, otherwise a lot of Trick for more options in battle. Dialga cause it has Trick and good typing for defensive utility.
Mono Band
Harcanine and Lokix to revenge kill, Gallade to avoid getting autofolded by IronPress or Curse, Tera Ghost for Arceus. I think Caly-I's Speed IV is to underspeed something.
Mono Specs
Keldeo and Mewtwo were chosen first to circumvent special walls, Drifblim for hazard removal, Greninja for some priority, Hizo for shenanigans, Hoopa is Hoopa.
Mono Assault Vest
You can just replace Alomomola with like Amoonguss or Tornadus-T and it should work the same if not better cause Torn-T is immune to Ground. Golurk for AV Trick to cripple stuffs.
Mono Levitate
No hazard control needed when your team is immune to 3 of them. Tera Flying on Washtom in case you face Excadrill.
Mono Extreme Speed
Arceus to break Skarm, Deoxys to break stall, others for all out offense.
Mono Life Orb
To keep the spirit of the theme, the mons should actually want to use Life Orb instead of substituting their optimal item. Sadly no hazard control so try to win as fast as possible.
Mono Herb
You can choose the lazy way out and go full Smash/Meteor Beam but I wanted to use all 4 Herbs. Mental Herb's best use is on Trick Room but going full room with full herb is not plausible so I opted for semi room instead. Glastrier with Solar Blade Power Herb is quite cool to catch Washtom off guard and also Dondozo at low HP. Mirror Herb is trickier, I think this Thundurus's set is about the best you can get.
Mono Policy
Out of all these, my friend said Empoleon actually was the one that would sweep surprisingly often, I have no idea how. With Raging Bolt banned you probably have to use Raging Bolt at home (Raikou).
Mono Immune abilities
There are only 5 different types with an immunity ability so Kommo-o got the last pick.
Mono Z
Hizoro is kinda not that good because Zama, Zekrom and Zangoose can't really be disguised as but there are not that many Z Pokemon.
Mono K
K actually gets a pretty serviceable rain-like structure.
Mono 100 HP
Is using anything in the HP slot cheating? I'd say yes, that's why I didn't do that. Your main wincon is Urshifu breaking or Jirachi scamming.
Mono Red
This is probably the most viable of all teams. You get good typing coverage, hazard removal, type balance, synergy.
Mono Human-like
This is probably just Kingambit team but worse.
Mono 2 meters
Maybe the best way to go is getting Rock early then try to break with Mewtwo and Moon, Idk.
Mono 1.7 meters
This is pretty bad but it's still the second best height and since Skarm is used on offense this is like the only viable set.
Mono A
Replace Alomomola with Amoonguss should be fine.
Mono 120 kg
This is pretty trash but 120 kg is the only remotely viable weight to build a team around, other weights don't even have enough mons.
Merry Christmas! I bring you a gift - the team that's #1 on the ladder featuring a couple very underrated mons.
Now I really didn't expect much from Brambleghast. Even with 100 base HP, it's still fairly frail. Well, it ended up being a lot more useful than I thought. Spin + Spikes is something very few Pokemon learn, plus it naturally spinblocks and has a type combo that resists Great Tusk, the most common spinner. STAB Poltergeist 2HKOs max Defense 100 HP Hatterene and is also useful for Ghosts who try to come in on Rapid Spin. Oh and Wind Rider actually makes it a good counter to Hurricane spammers like Specs Talonflame.
For the Attack slot, I wanted something that can hit hard with a type that has no immunities, but also reliably so no First Impression or Gigaton Hammer. Arcanine's Head Smash works wonders and either straight up KOs things or does major chip damage to opponents like defensive Landorus-T. And without Alomomola's Wish, there's no healing off that damage. Of course, Extremespeed is great for revenge killing or picking off frail sweepers.
And then there's Alolan Persian, who I've never seen anyone else use. It's an absolute physical wall with almost 900 Defense and can tank even supereffective hits. And if they try to boost their attack, they get Foul Played. Tera Ghost lets it be a backup Spinblocker and gives it a better chance against Zacian and Fighting-types.
The rest of the team is fairly standard. Corviknight and Clodsire help with Lokix and Araquanid, who hit so hard that even Persian has trouble with them.
Now I really didn't expect much from Brambleghast. Even with 100 base HP, it's still fairly frail. Well, it ended up being a lot more useful than I thought. Spin + Spikes is something very few Pokemon learn, plus it naturally spinblocks and has a type combo that resists Great Tusk, the most common spinner. STAB Poltergeist 2HKOs max Defense 100 HP Hatterene and is also useful for Ghosts who try to come in on Rapid Spin. Oh and Wind Rider actually makes it a good counter to Hurricane spammers like Specs Talonflame.
For the Attack slot, I wanted something that can hit hard with a type that has no immunities, but also reliably so no First Impression or Gigaton Hammer. Arcanine's Head Smash works wonders and either straight up KOs things or does major chip damage to opponents like defensive Landorus-T. And without Alomomola's Wish, there's no healing off that damage. Of course, Extremespeed is great for revenge killing or picking off frail sweepers.
And then there's Alolan Persian, who I've never seen anyone else use. It's an absolute physical wall with almost 900 Defense and can tank even supereffective hits. And if they try to boost their attack, they get Foul Played. Tera Ghost lets it be a backup Spinblocker and gives it a better chance against Zacian and Fighting-types.
The rest of the team is fairly standard. Corviknight and Clodsire help with Lokix and Araquanid, who hit so hard that even Persian has trouble with them.
Is there a specific reason for Calyrex to be in the Speed slot instead of the Special Attack slotted, as to make Corviknight's U-turn even slower?Merry Christmas! I bring you a gift - the team that's #1 on the ladder featuring a couple very underrated mons.
Now I really didn't expect much from Brambleghast. Even with 100 base HP, it's still fairly frail. Well, it ended up being a lot more useful than I thought. Spin + Spikes is something very few Pokemon learn, plus it naturally spinblocks and has a type combo that resists Great Tusk, the most common spinner. STAB Poltergeist 2HKOs max Defense 100 HP Hatterene and is also useful for Ghosts who try to come in on Rapid Spin. Oh and Wind Rider actually makes it a good counter to Hurricane spammers like Specs Talonflame.
For the Attack slot, I wanted something that can hit hard with a type that has no immunities, but also reliably so no First Impression or Gigaton Hammer. Arcanine's Head Smash works wonders and either straight up KOs things or does major chip damage to opponents like defensive Landorus-T. And without Alomomola's Wish, there's no healing off that damage. Of course, Extremespeed is great for revenge killing or picking off frail sweepers.
And then there's Alolan Persian, who I've never seen anyone else use. It's an absolute physical wall with almost 900 Defense and can tank even supereffective hits. And if they try to boost their attack, they get Foul Played. Tera Ghost lets it be a backup Spinblocker and gives it a better chance against Zacian and Fighting-types.
The rest of the team is fairly standard. Corviknight and Clodsire help with Lokix and Araquanid, who hit so hard that even Persian has trouble with them.
First time posting so apologies for any formatting errors. Posting the team I hit top 20 with (peaked at rank 10).
https://pokepast.es/ed47a4cacc2a4963
Team Description
Happy for any feedback, especially on the last slot.
https://pokepast.es/ed47a4cacc2a4963
Team Description
- Deoxys-D is the usual lead with knock off support, spikes for hazards, nightshade for chip, and Recover for longevity. Pressure can win long games and with nightshade can trade with many leads.
- Standard EKiller Arceus. Primary wincon, this accounts for a third of the victories. The rest of the team is really to soften up the opponent for a +2 extreme speed sweep.
- Clod with atypical water absorb for surprise factor/help with Rotoms, Ogerpons, Araquanids, etc. Toxic is a big progress maker.
- SpAt Lando-T for rocks and also the only special attacker on the team.
- Dondozo is the secondary wincon that ironically accounts for probably two-thirds of the victories. With a few curses, this solos Zacians, Eternatuses, etc. Waterfall over liquid/wave crash for pp wars against other Dondozos. Basically unkillable which is why it wins so much; Arceus hardly has to participate.
- Forretress is the spinner. Is surprisingly fast after one spin with explode for burst, ice spinner for landos, volt for momentum. This is the last mon I added and could really be persuaded to change.
Happy for any feedback, especially on the last slot.
Talonflame has been restricted!
| Pokemon: | dhelmise | Fraise | Les2BG | TTTech | SammyCe123 | Result: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talonflame | Restrict | Restrict | Restrict | Restrict | Restrict | Restrict |
Since its discovery in OMPL, Talonflame has ravaged the metagame with a combination of Choice Specs, a special attack stat recieved from Kyurem-W or Eternatus, a Flying terastallization, and support from its teammates the form of rain and extreme hazard denial. All of this support allows Talonflame to effortlessly cleave through opposing teams with its mighty Hurricanes. With the recent departure of both Raging Bolt and Alomomola, Talonflame and its supporting rain team lost two their best checks, leaving the metagame with very few consistent checks to it. What specifically sets Talonflame apart is its ability Gale Wings, giving priority to Hurricane and letting it outspeed nearly the entire metagame. For these reasons, the Godly Gift council has decided that Talonflame was an unhealthy aspect of the metagame, and has thus decided to ban it.
UT crying with this one
Talonflame has been restricted!
Pokemon: dhelmise Fraise Les2BG TTTech SammyCe123 Result: Talonflame
Since its discovery in OMPL, Talonflame has ravaged the metagame with a combination of Choice Specs, a special attack stat recieved from Kyurem-W or Eternatus, a Flying terastallization, and support from its teammates the form of rain and extreme hazard denial. All of this support allows Talonflame to effortlessly cleave through opposing teams with its mighty Hurricanes. With the recent departure of both Raging Bolt and Alomomola, Talonflame and its supporting rain team lost two their best checks, leaving the metagame with very few consistent checks to it. What specifically sets Talonflame apart is its ability Gale Wings, giving priority to Hurricane and letting it outspeed nearly the entire metagame. For these reasons, the Godly Gift council has decided that Talonflame was an unhealthy aspect of the metagame, and has thus decided to ban it.
Recently Talonflame was banned from this OM for 170 SpA Choice Specs boosted Tera Flying boosted Gale Wings Hurricane in the Rain. A justified ban, though the wrong thing was targeted. The correct thing to ban in that situation would have been the ability Gale Wings, because the entire Fletchling line has the ability. And if you know anything about GG, then you know that the 170 SpA can't only be passed to Talonflame, but the entire evolution line. So I've instead just been running Fletchinder with Gale Wings, and I'd like to make the point that even Fletchling would be considered too broken for the metagame, because the entire line gets Hurricane, and even if the entire line didn't, Air Slash could work. Here's an example of the team I've been using ( https://pokepast.es/1106490e938279c9 ) and you can realistically take Fletchling out for Fletchinder and get the same result.
Overall the point of this post is to explain why the ban on Talonflame should be revoked, and the ability Gale Wings should be banned instead.
Overall the point of this post is to explain why the ban on Talonflame should be revoked, and the ability Gale Wings should be banned instead.
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