<Approved by Joim and The Immortal, repost approved by Eevee General>
[Source]
We've all built a team where one of our Pokemon is clearly a cut above the rest, a god among 'mon. The rest of your team your team then follows in service of this deity, even making the ultimate sacrifice and becoming death fodd--err...honorable martyrs, if the need arises. This metagame takes that dynamic to the next level, with a little bit of Monotype-esque fun thrown in.
In this metagame, the Pokemon in your first slot becomes your "god," gaining no extra power but a whole lot of responsibility. This slot ignores the OU banlist and the unreleased status of your Pokemon, pretty much allowing you to use whatever you want, from FU to Ubers.
The remainder of your team is comprised of "followers," the faithful servants of your god. These Pokemon are limited by the OU banlist, and additionally must share at least one type with their god, as they were created in its image.
Should you fail to protect your god in battle, your entire team will be saddled with an unbreakable Curse, losing a huge chunk of your HP each turn. Because of this divine punishment, consider it wise to sacrifice a lowly follower over letting your god collapse.
To sum it up...
Rules:
[Party Slot #1]
Bans: Ubers banlist
Unbans: Floette (Eternal Flower), Volcanion, Mega Rayquaza
Mechanic: Applies Curse effect to the player's team upon fainting
[Party Slots #2-6]
Bans: OU banlist
Restrictions: Must share
at least one type with Party Slot #1
[Overall]
Clauses: OU clauses
~
Possible Gods (Ubers):
Remember -- you aren't limited to Ubers Pokemon. There's a whole world of type pairings out there to use! But just for ease of reference, here are all of the Pokemon currently banned from OU and legal in Ubers. Generally, one of these will be your best bet when picking a god.
Aegislash (Steel + Ghost)
Arceus (Any Type)
Blaziken (Fire + Fighting)
Blaziken-Mega (Fire + Fighting)
Darkrai (Dark)
Deoxys (Psychic)
Deoxys-Attack (Psychic)
Deoxys-Defense (Psychic)
Deoxys-Speed (Psychic)
Dialga (Steel + Dragon)
Floette-Eternal-Flower (Fairy)
Genesect (Bug + Steel)
Gengar-Mega (Ghost + Poison)
Giratina (Ghost + Dragon)
Giratina-Origin (Ghost + Dragon)
Greninja (Water + Dark)
Groudon (Ground)
Groudon-Primal (Ground + Fire)
Ho-oh (Fire + Flying)
Kangaskhan-Mega (Normal)
Kyogre (Water)
Kyogre-Primal (Water)
Kyurem-White (Dragon + Ice)
Landorus (Ground + Flying)
Latias w/ Soul Dew (Dragon + Psychic)
Latios w/ Soul Dew (Dragon + Psychic)
Lucario-Mega (Fighting + Steel)
Lugia (Psychic + Flying)
Mawile-Mega (Steel + Fairy)
Mewtwo (Psychic)
Mewtwo-Mega-X (Psychic + Fighting)
Mewtwo-Mega-Y (Psychic)
Palkia (Water + Dragon)
Rayquaza (Dragon + Flying)
Rayquaza-Mega (Dragon + Flying)
Reshiram (Dragon + Fire)
Salamence-Mega (Dragon + Flying)
Shaymin-Sky (Grass + Flying)
Volcanion (Fire + Water)
Xerneas (Fairy)
Yveltal (Dark + Flying)
Zekrom (Dragon + Electric)
~
Q&A:
Q: If my god has to be in the first slot, does that mean I have to lead with it?
A: No, you can choose your lead as usual.
Q: Then how do I know which Pokemon is my opponent's god?
A: The god of either team is always the farthest on the left in team preview.
Q: How can I disguise Zoroark as my god?
A: During team preview, move your god to the sixth slot.
Q: How is this different from Monotype with a weird banlist?
A: Aside from the fainting mechanic, you are not necessarily limited to one type. For example, if I put Ho-Oh in my first slot, the rest of my Pokemon can be any type combination that includes either Fire
or Flying: Darmanitan and Honchkrow can be on the same team, in this scenario. However, if Kyogre is my god, only Water type Pokemon can be used.
Q: How do Pokemon that change type work?
A: The code detects a Mega Stone, Plate or Orb on its appropriate Pokemon and changes your type requirements accordingly. For instance, if Charizard occupies your god slot, you will be restricted to only Fire and Flying OR Fire and Dragon types, depending on whether you hold Charizardite Y or Charizardite X.
Q: Do I have to use an Ubers Pokemon as my god?
A: Nope! While players that do so do have an inherent advantage, brave players can use an entirely OU legal team. There are perks to going this route: maybe you want to create a Water + Fairy or Fire + Steel team. No Ubers Pokemon have both these types, so you can use the perfectly viable Azumaril or Heatran as gods instead. Note that the Curse effect applies no matter what tier your god is.
Q: If a move or ability is banned from OU but legal in Ubers, can I use it for my god?
A: Nice try, but no. At the time of writing, there is no Evasion Clause in Ubers, but that doesn't mean you can start spamming Double Team, even if you are a god. I'm pretty sure this ruling doesn't effect much else, as truly broken moves and abilities like Swagger and Moody are even banned in Ubers.
Q: What happens after my god faints?
A: For failing to defend your deity, your entire team will suffer an eternal curse. If you forgot how Curse worked, as it is a fairly uncommon status effect, you will lose ¼ of your max HP at the end of each turn. As this isn't a primary status effect, you can still be effected by Burn, Poison and everything else. While this definitely puts you at a disadvantage, there's still the chance of pulling off a last-ditch sweep provided the enemy team is softened enough.
Q: Can I provide you with cool artwork to use as your banner rather that image you stole from the internet?
A: Please do! I'd prefer you send me a PM, but you can also just post it in this thread. If you find something that you didn't make but seems more fitting than my current banner, you can send me that too.
Q: How can I apply to be on the GAF council? What does that entail?
A: Just to promote activity and make decisions easier if this OM ever gains legitimacy, I'd like to have 2-4 more people join a newly-assembled council. Mostly you'll be discussing bans, rule changes and viability rankings via PM discussions when the need arises. If you'd like to join, I'm imposing the following restrictions on applications: 1) you must have an approved OM thread posted on this subforum regardless of activity or status, and 2) you must have a minimum of 100 posts on Smogon. If you fit this criteria and are interested in joining, send me a PM and I'll get back to you when I can.
~
Strategies:
Bulky Gods: While you can still effectively use offensive threats as gods, it may be worth finding one that can tank hits without fear of death. Lugia, Giratina and Groudon are all bulky as sin and can provide utility to your team without inducing the Curse debuff.
Sweeper Gods: Alternatively, you can build your team around eliminating threats and allowing your god to set up and sweep. Memento and Dual Screens work well for this, allowing Geo-Xern or E-Killer to obliterate the enemy with godly wrath.
Type-setting Gods: Picking a god with a good typing may be more important than the god itself, in some cases. Dialga can provide 2/3 of a Dragon-Fairy-Steel core with its type, or you could even opt for Mega Altaria and its unique Dragon/Fairy typing.
Phasing: Dragon Tail, Circle Throw, Roar, Whirlwind and Red Card can not only check setup sweepers, but they may randomly force your opponent into their god before they're ready to use it, allowing you a free turn as they run away.
Cleric Support: Wish, Heal Bell, Aromatherapy, Healing Wish and Lunar Dance can keep your god healthy, although sometimes at the cost of a follower's life.
Impostor Gods: Capturing the power of a god with none of the burden, the grand heretic Ditto may be just the god-slayer you need. Of course, using it requires your god to be at least part Normal type, so expect to see it pop up on Arceus and Mega Kangaskhan teams. Mew with Transform could also be a clutch option for Psychic-based teams.
Monotype+: Those struggling to come up with a team can use any team legal in Monotype modes, or you can take a Monotype team and replace a member with the appropriate Arceus form. You can also upgrade rain teams by replacing Politoed with Kyogre, give Soul Dew to a team with Latias or revive that Steel type team you had when Aegislash, Mega Mawile and Mega Lucario were legal. Note that going this route neglects the use of a Pokemon's second type, so you may want to rebuild it around that fact.
~
Council:
Jajoken
InfernapeTropius11
~
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