Imprisoned [Playable on ROM]

[Scarf]

(Approved by Eevee General & The Immortal)
Original Idea by & Co-Led with user A,
who's name is too short to be tagged lol (http://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a.241109/)

Welcome to Imprisoned! This metagame is based on OU and has one unique twist: Once you use a move, your opponent is unable to use it for the remainder of the game. Look at it as a global, permanent Imprison (hence the very clever title: Imprisoned). These Imprisons stack, so it's possible to totally deplete the opponent's moves and force him to struggle! But you also expose yourself to the same treatment from your opponent, so clever thinking and solid teambuilding is key to succeeding in this OM.

Example:​

VS.

A heated battle is about to take place! Trainer A (in this example, being the left side, the team with Zapdos on it) and Trainer B (being the right side, the team with Mega Charizard Y on it) are about to participate in an Imprisoned battle. Turn 1: Trainer A sends out Zapdos and Trainer B sends out Charizard. Charizard begins the battle by mega evolving and using the move Flamethrower. What happens now? Trainer A is now unable to use Flamethrower for the rest of the game, on any of his Pokemon. In this specific scenario, only one of Trainer A's Pokémon are even able to learn Flamethrower (Heatran). Trainer B's Zapdos uses Thunderbolt against Charizard. Therefore, Trainer A is now no longer allowed to use the move Thunderbolt. This doesn't affect Trainer A whatsoever seeing as how none of its Pokémon commonly carry Thunderbolt (Specs Thunderbolt Ferrothorn isn't a thing!)​

Strategy:
We can expect trainers to carry unusual moves on their Pokémon in order to avoid being disabled. This means less of the popular moves such as Knock Off and Scald, and more of the more obscure moves that people would not otherwise carry, such as Heat Wave, or Surf. However, some moves are much too important to simply ignore. Take the following sets for example:

Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Stone Edge
- Double-Edge

The fastest Stealth Rock user in OU and below. For many trainers, getting this move on the field is the most important objective of the early game. Using this set it's nearly guaranteed that you'll be able to set up Stealth Rock first, whilst simultaneously denying your opposition from using it. Be careful for Mega Sableye and its Magic Bounce, though. If a Stealth Rock attempt backfires (literally) it can prove to be devastating if you do not have unlimited means to remove them from the field.

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Toxic / Will-O-Wisp
- Roost / Soft-Boiled
- Knock Off / Psychic

Somewhat of an anti-meta set. You totally shut down stall with the array of support moves open to you. Using Soft-Boiled allows you to wreck a Chansey without it even having entered the field, so the opponent surely keep their wits about them to make sure such a valuable move isn't Imprison'd. Roost is an option if instead you want to make Skarmory's (and a few other flying birds) a living nightmare. Physical attackers sure can make use of Skarmory being unable to recover off their chip damage. Team synergy is key in being successful, as this set shows.

+

Ferrothorn & Heatran

When I said team synergy is key, I wasn't kidding. Disabling the use of lethal attacks for your team-mates can prove to be a sound strategy. Take this scenario for example. Heatran can use some Fire type attacks such as Fire Blast, or Lava Plume. Once those moves are Imprison'd, Ferrothorn would stand a better chance against fatal opponents like Charizard Y, Volcanion, or even another Heatran. This relationship doesn't exactly work both ways, though. Ferrothorn offers nothing useful as protection for its teammate Heatran. It doesn't have access to any popular, good Ground or Fighting type attacks, so Heatran is left to fend for itself. Who knows, maybe you can pack a Landorus-T to take care of that issue...

Rules:
Clauses: OU Clauses
Unbans: Nothing as of yet.
Bans: Nothing as of yet.

FAQ:
Q) If I use a move, am I still able to use it?
A) Yes, you're able to use it as often as you want (being limited by PP still, of course). However, your opponent will never be able to use the move themselves.

Q) What happens when I'm unable to use any moves?!
A) You're forced to use Struggle, just like what would happen if you were hit with Imprison by a Pokémon with an identical moveset.

Replays:
(Message Scarfnaut / A or post on this thread to get your replays here:)

1) Scarfnaut vs Spandan :
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/rom-imprisoned-24800

 

[Shavedbear]

Do moves that fail activate the imprison effect? For example, if I lead Mew Turn 1 and use Roost before I take any damage, the move fails but PP is used. Does this activate Imprison?

 

[Scarf]

Even if the move fails, it will be imprisoned and thus the opponent wont be able to use it.

 

[SadisticMystic]

How do moves work when they call other moves, such as Metronome, Me First, or Snatch? Is it only the encapsulating move that's locked out for the opponent, or are they also deprived of the other move that gets used (which makes Me First extremely debilitating, wasting their entire turn immediately)?

 

[Scarf]

How do moves work when they call other moves, such as Metronome, Me First, or Snatch? Is it only the encapsulating move that's locked out for the opponent, or are they also deprived of the other move that gets used (which makes Me First extremely debilitating, wasting their entire turn immediately)?

In those cases the move that was selected by the player (Metronome, Me First, Snatch) will be the one blocked, and not the move that it summons.

 

[Chopin Alkaninoff]

Near Unimprisonable (Victini) @ Life Orb / Expert belt / Choice Scarf
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 96 Atk / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- Glaciate
- Energy Ball

If you want a safe play, Victini is a great choice. This set is taken directly from Victini XY OU Analysis. Victini's moves consists of signature moves that are not accessible by most mons, so you can take advantage of that and use it anytime without being able to be Imprisoned, unless your opponent also brings a Victini or a Smeargle that somehow carries V-create (I doubt there will be one lol).

 

[Zephyr Dragon Lord]

Hm... speed looks like it's going to be king in this meta. Perhaps to the point where my dumb idea of Choice Scarf Aerodactyl might actually be good!
That being said, let me list the fastest users of commonly used moves...

long list

Knock Off: Accelgor
Earthquake: Aerodactyl (and its Mega)
Earth Power: Aerodactyl (just use Archeops for this, you silly goose)
Defog: Ninjask (Aerodactyl and Crobat also get this move, if you want to be more mainstream)
Draco Meteor: Noivern
Roost: Ninjask
Taunt: Electrode
Flamethrower: ...Aerodactyl (Wow, he's REALLY good at sealing off moves...)
Fire Blast: Talonflame
Scald: Greninja Starmie
Thunderbolt: Electrode
Lava Plume: Typhlosion
Ice Beam: Mega Lopunny or Weavile (Floatzel, and then Froslass + the Latis are more competent speedy users)
Close Combat: Infernape/Gallade-Mega/The Musketeers
Superpower: Tornadus-Therian
Stealth Rock: Aerodactyl
Leech Seed: Sceptile
Giga Drain: Ninjask (Or just Sceptile/Accelgor)
Brave Bird: ....Do I even need to say this? Talonflame.
Flare Blitz: Also Talonflame.
Stone Edge: Aerodactyl
Outrage: Mega Sceptile/Noivern
Volt Switch: Electrode
U-Turn: Ninjask
Recover: Accelgor
Shadow Ball: Ninjask
Moonblast: Whimsicott
Waterfall: Greninja Floatzel
Drain Punch: Mega Sceptile/Mega Alakazam (or just Mega Lopunny)

Tell me if I missed something important...

 

[Asumi]

So stall dies if you use Protect? It also makes Mega Lopunny's kicks that much scarier.

Blocking Earthquake is a great tactic because it pretty much exists on anything you want to give extra coverage to. It's also the only viable Ground-type move for a lot of physical attackers.

Speaking of physical attackers, they are going to be dragged down the most in this meta. Special attackers have two or more similar moves that can fill the gap — like Discharge or Heat Wave — but physical attackers usually only have one good physical STAB move before a huge drop in power. Like downgrading Mega Lopunny's HJK to a lowly Drain Punch, or Char-X Flare Blitz into a Fire Punch.
Landorus-T locked out of Earthquake is forced to Dig, Bulldoze or even Earth Power.


In other news, Ditto will always lock out a move from your opponent's team. Just put a scarf on it and keep it healthy until your opponent is literally Struggling. :P

Also, Taunt Whimsicott for untauntable stall teams. <3

 

[Schpoonman]

Would you not have a useless Ditto for a given Pokemon if they already use all their moves? Say a DD Dragonite has already DD'd, Outraged, EQ'd, and ES'd. Now it gets to +2 but you can't revenge it since it's used all its moves activating Imprison.

 

[Asumi]

Would you not have a useless Ditto for a given Pokemon if they already use all their moves? Say a DD Dragonite has already DD'd, Outraged, EQ'd, and ES'd. Now it gets to +2 but you can't revenge it since it's used all its moves activating Imprison.

That's assuming you let that happen in the first place though. Kinda like having a scarfed Dragonite and not using it to lock out some of the opposing Dragonite's moves in those 4 or so turns. Provided you don't switch into DD, scarf Ditto will always outspeed it and potentially lock it out of Outrage. Not endorsing standard non-OM revenge-killing Ditto anyway.

Ditto can lock out some key moves (usually STAB moves) earlier on, and what's good about it is that Ditto can do it on anything — even Mew. You don't need to carry Surf, Hydro Pump and Scald in your team to lock out special Water-types (Keldeo) from all potential STAB moves because Ditto adjusts for you.

 

[A]

Hey all, I'm glad that the metagame was approved. (Again, thanks Scarfnaut). Anyway, speaking of the Stealth Rock race, you can always opt to anti-lead your opponent!

Cloyster @ Focus Sash
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Shell Smash
- Rock Blast
- Ice Shard

Cloyster can force Aerodactyl to a 50-50, if they go for Stealth Rock, you could get a free Shell Smash off, or if they taunt you, you can respond by just icicle spearing turn 1. Something like Scarf Jirachi can also be a nuisance. If anything, you can also opt to snatch another hazard away from your opponent. Toxic Spikes, Sticky Web, Spikes? Definitely! This makes pokemon like Forretress a usable option due to its massive selection.

Alternatively, you could also choose to disregard your opponent getting rocks up altogether by teambuilding, though that isn't always possible.


For defensive pokemon, you might actually see some running a bit more speed than you'd think. Clefable might actually opt for something like Moonlight now to prevent getting its Soft-boiled locked. While other pokemon might go the Keldeo route and stack double moves (Scald/Hydro Pump) to always have an option. Unused moves like Muddy Water might also surface because of this.

While aiming to imprison all the good moves might sound like a swell idea, you might find it difficult to achieve because your opponent is more or less striving to do the same thing.

I don't think anything seems relatively broken at the moment, though certain Pokemon with signature moves seem to be gaining popularity.

(also the images seem to be broken, lunapic error)

 

[Akumeoy]

nice pics lol. that's not an error, you just hotlinked from a site that doesn't allow it

this meta does seem really really cool though. does aroma veil grant immunity to the effect?

i'd probably scarf my rocks lead. excadrill looks really good for that use -- i can see stealth rock + eq + drill run + iron head with a scarf and mold breaker being a good lead, getting rocks up against magic bounce and/or disabling an opposing ground-type right off the bat. it has to switch out right after those rocks but whatever.

mega lopunny looks solid too, it's the fastest (& most reliable) fake out user, the fastest hjk user, and you can pick return or frustration as it suits you to game random diggersbies.

 

[imas]

(Approved by Eevee General & The Immortal)
Original Idea by & Co-Led with user A,
who's name is too short to be tagged lol (http://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a.241109/)

Welcome to Imprisoned! This metagame is based on OU and has one unique twist: Once you use a move, your opponent is unable to use it for the remainder of the game. Look at it as a global, permanent Imprison (hence the very clever title: Imprisoned). These Imprisons stack, so it's possible to totally deplete the opponent's moves and force him to struggle! But you also expose yourself to the same treatment from your opponent, so clever thinking and solid teambuilding is key to succeeding in this OM.

Example:​

VS.

A heated battle is about to take place! Trainer A (in this example, being the left side, the team with Zapdos on it) and Trainer B (being the right side, the team with Mega Charizard Y on it) are about to participate in an Imprisoned battle. Turn 1: Trainer A sends out Zapdos and Trainer B sends out Charizard. Charizard begins the battle by mega evolving and using the move Flamethrower. What happens now? Trainer A is now unable to use Flamethrower for the rest of the game, on any of his Pokemon. In this specific scenario, only one of Trainer A's Pokémon are even able to learn Flamethrower (Heatran). Trainer B's Zapdos uses Thunderbolt against Charizard. Therefore, Trainer A is now no longer allowed to use the move Thunderbolt. This doesn't affect Trainer A whatsoever seeing as how none of its Pokémon commonly carry Thunderbolt (Specs Thunderbolt Ferrothorn isn't a thing!)​

Hi, there were 3 broken sprites (apparently you can't link from the site you tried to link from) resulting in giant broken images being shown instead. I deleted those and replaced them with sprites but I didn't know which was the third mon. So, you might wanna put that in. I used linkes like this: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/msikma/pokesprite/master/icons/pokemon/regular/ferrothorn.png so you can use the same site to find your sprite. Just replace ferrothorn with the name of the pokemon.

I would love to play this meta if/once it gets coded. It's pretty interesting. I guess in the meantime we can use the honor system and like not use moves that the opponent has used but it kinda seems like a pain to remember stuff like that.

Some interesting combinations like talon + stone edge mon and gliscor + mega lop (gets rid of protect) come to mind, but honestly the excitement in this meta would be watching/playing games because it introduces a new layer of strategies. I'm expecting stuff like spinning with no hazards up to stop the opponent from removing hazards in hazard stack, races to get rid of scald/twave/knock, offensive teams running recovery of some sort to fuck with stall teams etc. All in all, it'd be great if one of the OM coders got the code for this up asap.

 

[SpiderKoloPL]

What about Hidden Power?
Technicaly it doesn't matter what a type this move will have, you always use the same move.
It that means if one pokemon use HP Fire, oponent will not be able to use HP Ice for example?

Also... Encore might be interesting move in this metagame.
If we can block oponent on move, what does nothing on us, you are able to force oponent to switch, and use another move.
Encore, into U-Turn into fast pokemon who can block another portion of important moves could be popular strategy... unless players will start predict Encore, and then Encore users will lose tempo in game, instead of gaining tempo.

Vespiqueen might be also really interesting pokemon with acces to three signature moves. Three really good moves for tanky pokemon in boosting defense, healing and dealing damage...
Sadly... this pokemon is also weak to Stealth Rocks damage... Eh...

 

[Shavedbear]

Vespiqueen might be also really interesting pokemon with acces to three signature moves. Three really good moves for tanky pokemon in boosting defense, healing and dealing damage...
Sadly... this pokemon is also weak to Stealth Rocks damage... Eh...

Pair vespiquen with a fast rock setter like Aerodactyl and claim SR turn 1

 

[readytolose]

This is an awesome concept. Some things worth mentioning:

Scarf Stealth Rock seems to be something that trumps Aerodactyl leads, and is probably viable in this metagame. I think this meta will develop a unique lead metagame, as dedicated leads become more important. Excadrill seems like a good choice for that, as it can also claim Rapid Spin.
Scarf Defog is another good move to use turn 1. You can deprive teams of their hazard control on the first turn, letting you set up your hazards later on. This looks like it could combo well with Spikes, as it will render them unable to do anything about it. But at the same time, you give up your ability to claim Stealth Rock turn 1, so if they do that, you may have just lost a great tool against your opponent.
Mega Sableye seems good, as it counters leads, but also can claim Will-O-Wisp and Recover with priority, as well as Knock Off. It discourages the opponent from claiming status moves, too. Say you have something with Will-O-Wisp out in front of Mega Sableye. Do you use Will-O-Wisp and burn yourself so that Sableye can't use it later? questions like that.
Mega Diancie seems pretty good too, cause it beats Mega Sableye, and Diamond Storm is a signature move. It's also the fastest Moonblast user besides Whimsicott, so it could potentially claim that move quickly too. And Magic Bounce seems good too, for the same reason as on Sableye.
Entei spams Sacred Fire 90% of the time, so the fact that it's the only mon with the move is pretty great. You can also claim Extreme Speed, which can be important if they have a Dragonite or something.
Klefki can claim a lot of useful status moves with priority. Since hazard stacking seems kinda strong here, being able to claim Spikes before your opponent can be pretty good, especially if you claim Defog before them too.
Hidden Power is an important move to claim. It's such an important part of some mon's coverage that claiming it quick is really useful. Use Hidden Power first, and suddenly your Landorus-Therian checks Thundurus, Raikou, Mega Manectric..... pretty much all offensive electric types.
Earthquake is another good move to claim quickly, cause it's really common, splashable, and it doesn't really have a good alternate option. The next strongest physical Ground move is Drill Run, which has poor distribution and relative low power. Once again, Scarf Excadrill can claim that quickly. Scarf Landorus seems pretty good too if you want to claim U-Turn.

Something that might be common is the usage of outclassed attacks to get around imprisonment, probably on slower mons. Lots of types have weaker, but more imprison-proof alternatives. For example, Fire has Flamethrower and Fire Blast.... but also Lava Plume, Heat Wave, Fire Pledge, Overheat, etc.

I think it might also be worth looking at pokemon that can support themselves by claiming a move they're weak to. Scarf HP Ice Landorus-T? Use it early on a predicted switch and your match up against Electric types becomes easier. Most Dragon-types can defend themselves from opposing Dragon types by using their Dragon moves first.

 

[A]

While Ditto does have some funny potential, revenge killing a sweeper is going to be nearly impossible, because they would've already used their main move (which locks you out of it) in the first place. Sure you might get off some funky shenanigans earlier, but I'd rather just use Sableye instead.


___________________________________________________________
"Useful" List of Moves(* indicates relatively small distribution)

Water (Physical): Aqua Jet, Aqua Tail, Clamp* Crabhammer*, Dive, Razor Shell*, Waterfall, Water Shuriken*
Water (Special): Hydro Pump, Muddy Water, Scald, Surf, Octazooka*, Water Pledge

Ground (Physical): Earthquake, Drill Run*, Bonemarang*, Land's Wrath*, Bulldoze (well rip lets run Sand Tomb)
Ground (Special): Earth Power, Mud Slap (best move), uh..Mud Bomb and Mud Shot?

Ice (Physical): Avalanche, Ice Punch, Ice Shard, Icicle Crash, Ice Fang, Icicle Spear
Ice (Special): Ice Beam, Freeze-Dry*, Blizzard, Aurora Beam, Frost Breath*, Icy Wind, Glaciate*

Electric (Physical): Thunder Fang, Thunder Punch, Wild Charge, Spark, Fusion Bolt*
Electric (Special): Discharge, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Electro Ball*, Electroweb*, Shock Wave, Charge Beam, Volt Switch,

Dragon (Physical): Dragon Claw, Dragon Rush, Dragon Tail, Dual Chop*, Outrage
Dragon (Special): Dragon Pulse, Draco Meteor, Dragonbreath..?

Normal (Physical): Return, Fake Out, Frustration, Tail Slap*, Facade, Extremespeed*, Quick Attack, Body Slam, Mega Kick, Rock Climb, Head Charge*, Retaliate, Headbutt
Normal (Special): Hyper Voice, Boomburst*, Tri Attack, Relic Song*

Poison (Physical): Poison Jab, Gunk Shot, Cross Poison, Poison Fang
Poison (Special): Acid Spray, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Clear Smog, Venoshock

Fighting (Physical): Sacred Sword*, Drain Punch, Mach Punch, Jump Kick, Hi Jump Kick, Low Kick, Close Combat, Superpower..(okay honestly nearly all the fighting physical moves are usable one way or another, except for stuff like vital throw which are outclassed)
Fighting (Special): Secret Sword*, Aura Sphere*, Vacuum Wave*, Focus Blast, Final Gambit* (kinda)

Rock (Physical): Rock Slide, Smack Down, Diamond Storm*, Stone Edge, Rock Blast, Rock Tomb, Head Smash*
Rock (Special): Ancientpower, Power Gem*

Grass (Physical): Power Whip, Petal Blizzard*, Seed Bomb, Horn Leech*, Wood Hammer*, Bullet Seed, Leaf Blade
Grass (Special): Giga Drain, Leaf Storm, Seed Flare*, Grass Pledge, Grass Knot, Energy ball

Ghost (Physical): Shadow Claw, Phantom Force*, Shadow Punch, Shadow Sneak
Ghost (Special): Hex, Shadow Ball, Ominous Wind*

Bug (Physical): X-Scissor, Megahorn, Attack Order*, Steamroller, Twinneedle*, Pin Missile
Bug (Special): Bug Buzz, Signal Beam, Struggle Bug*, Silver Wind

Fire (Physical): Flare Blitz, V-Create*, Fire Punch, Heat Crash*, Flame Wheel, Flame Charge, Sacred Fire*, Fire Fang, Blaze Kick*
Fire (Special): Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Heat Wave, Overheat, Flame Burst, Lava Plume*, Mystical Fire*, Eruption*, Fusion Flare*, Blue Flare*, Incinerate, Magma Storm*, Fiery Dance*, Fire Pledge, Searing Shot*
(jeez)

Dark (Physical): Knock Off, Sucker Punch, Foul Play, Night Slash, Beat Up, Thief, Crunch, Bite
Dark (Special): Dark Pulse, Night Daze*, Snarl

Fairy (Physical): Play Rough
Fairy (Special): Moonblast, Dazzling Gleam, Disarming Voice* (ehh), Draining Kiss*

Steel (Physical): Iron Head, Bullet Punch, Iron Tail, Heavy Slam, Magnet Bomb*, Gyro Ball, Gear Grind*, Metal Claw, Meteor Mash, Steel Wing
Steel (Special): Flash Cannon, Mirror Shot, Doom Desire*

Psychic (Physical): Zen Headbutt, Psycho Cut, Heart Stamp*
Psychic (Special): Confusion(?), Psybeam, Psychic, (insert signature moves here)

Flying (Physical): Wing Attack, Aerial Ace, Sky Attack, Sky Drop, Fly, Drill Peck, Brave Bird, Acrobatics, Bounce, Pluck
Flying (Special): Air Cutter, Air Slash, Chatter*, Hurricane

 

[Asumi]

Water (Physical): Aqua Jet, Aqua Tail, Clamp* Crabhammer*, Dive, Razor Shell*, Waterfall, Water Shuriken*
Water (Special): Hydro Pump, Muddy Water, Scald, Surf, Octazooka*, Water Pledge

Ground (Physical): Earthquake, Drill Run*, Bonemarang*, Land's Wrath*, Bulldoze (well rip lets run Sand Tomb)
Ground (Special): Earth Power, Mud Slap (best move), uh..Mud Bomb and Mud Shot?

Ice (Physical): Avalanche, Ice Punch, Ice Shard, Icicle Crash, Ice Fang, Icicle Spear
Ice (Special): Ice Beam, Freeze-Dry*, Blizzard, Aurora Beam, Frost Breath*, Icy Wind

Electric (Physical): Thunder Fang, Thunder Punch, Wild Charge, Spark, Fusion Bolt*
Electric (Special): Discharge, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Electro Ball*, Electroweb*, Shock Wave, Charge Beam

Dragon (Physical): Dragon Claw, Dragon Rush, Dragon Tail, Dual Chop*, Outrage
Dragon (Special): Dragon Pulse, Draco Meteor, Dragonbreath..?

Normal (Physical): Return, Fake Out, Frustration, Tail Slap*, Facade, Extremespeed*, Quick Attack
Normal (Special): Hyper Voice, Boomburst*, Tri Attack

Poison (Physical): Poison Jab, Gunk Shot, Cross Poison, Poison Fang
Poison (Special): Acid Spray, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Clear Smog

(Currently WIP)

Missed stuff. How could you miss Volt Switch? :P
(didn't include icky stuff like Thrash)

Water (Special): Steam Eruption*, Water Pulse, Water Spout*, Brine

Ice (Special): Glaciate*

Electric (Physical): Bolt Strike*, Volt Tackle*
Electric (Special): Volt Switch

Normal (Physical): Body Slam, Double Edge, Head Charge*, Headbutt, Mega Kick, Retaliate
Normal (Special): Relic Song*

Poison (Special): Venoshock

Fighting (Physical): Sacred Sword* (let's add this because it's an almost un-imprisonable move)
Fighting (Special): Secret Sword*

(will also update in case you miss more things; maybe delete once the list is complete)

 

[A]

Here's a few things that I want to mention.

/

/

Defog Punishers

So this sounds rather silly, but this can be a usable option. Your opponent must be dying to lock you out from defog, no? Then why not punish them for doing so, giving you some nifty boosts. (you can meme with av serp/bisharp to switch into draco meteors like a don). And yes, +1 Evasion Serperior does sound a bit scary.

/

/

Sableye Anti Leads

Facing M-Sab is definitely a difficult task, most rockers tend to fold over, which gives your opponent ample time to lock you out (or if they bounce to you, then that's terrible!). Clefable, MB Excadrill, and M-Diancie are all capable of either forcing out Sableye or getting rocks up one way or another. Just be wary of really ballsy ones trying to stay in on Clef/Diancie.

/

/

Other
Azelf gets a special mention due to its nifty ability to use Skill Swap and get Stealth Rock up vs Mega Sab. (though i'd be wary about fake out + knock off killing you, though you can always EV for that). Alternatively, Substitute can also punish that little bugger because normally it can't really do much to you, which allows things like Volcanion and Tran to go ham, giving problems for your opponent. (not the only sub users but those are examples)

 

[drampa's grandpa]

Something that might be worth considering is running redundant coverage on mons, in case your move is taken.

Monoattackers are risky and really, really want to get their move. I'd avoid them.

Sleep and other methods of preventing the opponent from moving and claiming moves should be good.

EDIT: Somewhat technical question: If you use a move and it fails, is it imprisoned or not? Does it matter why it failed? I'd imagine using a fire move on a Flash Fire mon would imprison, but maybe trying to use Stealth Rock but being taunted first would not. Is PP usage a good indicator of whether something got imprisoned?

 

[Spandan]

Coded this (Thanks a lot Pikachuun for your help!!!)
Waiting for it to get hosted
Edit: DragonHeaven
Match 1: [replay]dragonheaven-imprisoned-2960[/replay]
Edit: Now playable on ROM! (Thanks again urkerab :))

 

[Matt Will]

The most interesting thing I see about this meta is the use of choice scarf, and choice in general I guess. While it is true that you can get a specific move first most of the time and build up a good imprisoned list before the opponent has a chance, it is good to remember that as a consequence you are locked into that move and need to waste a turn switching to start getting other imprisoned moves. This leads to a "free turn" for the opponent to get a move of there choice negating some of the perks of the choice going first. It is more like an exchange of one move of your choice to two moves for the opponent as long as they do not try using the same move as you did choiced. In addition, later in the battle having a support mon, like the mew set, being choice locked hurts it bad since it can't do utility purposes when choice locked into one move. Finally, choice items do get another boost in the form of losing their drawback when a mons movepool is limited by imprison. Overall I feel that choice scarf is not as splashable as people in this forum seem to imply it is. It should probably be restricted to dedicated leads that can double as revenge killers.

On another topic does anyone think teams built around one mechanic stand a better chance here? A team that is built around stopping common checks and counters to one or two sweepers could produce very well I think if done right. The first one that comes to mind is teams that deplete priority, recovery moves, and statuses so that a set upper can sweep the crippled team. Even though the team does not necessarily need these moves it can benefit from the fact that all the common checks to sweepers lack their tools to do it. This style of team just has to worry about not getting the right imprisons first and losing its win conditions moves to opposing imprisons.

 

[lightninging]

if i try to spin against a ghost, do i still claim the move? also, where is this playable?

 

[Scarf]

if i try to spin against a ghost, do i still claim the move? also, where is this playable?

Its playable on http://dragonheaven.psim.us/ but odds are you'll need to ask someone else to challenge you on that server because its quite dead (try asking in http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/othermetas !!!)

Also yes, even if the move doesn't deal damage or fails or whatnot, it will still be claimed

 

[Scarf]

So I was thinking about the most optimal strategy to utilize in this OM, but I figured that without knowing precisely what moves are the most popular and what moves are not, so I went through the movesets of the top 100 Pokemon (based on OU usage) and listed their more popular moves (I've noted only moves that get 10% usage or more, so for instance Latios' moves will include Draco and Roost, but not Thunderbolt or Earthquake). Note that this is based off of the 1650 and above ELOs, so the statistics are mainly based on mid-to-high tier players. Let's begin:

1) with a whopping 26/100... Earthquake!

Notable Users:

(99.4%)

(72.7%)

(39.6%)

(90.8%)

(99.3%)

(99.7%)
Notes: Earthquake is statistically the most valuable move to claim, and for good reason. A lot of mons rely on it for coverage. It should be clear why this move's so great. It has excellent accuracy, power, type and distribution. This should also mean it should be easy to claim despite not that many of the super-popular Pokemon commonly use Earthquake (just Lando + Chomper). MAerodactyl, Excadrill under sand and Garchomp rank amongst some of the faster mons that use Earthquake, but the rest are quite lacking in the speed department (I guess its true what Clay said, then...)
2) with a not-so-whopping 23/100... Knock Off!

Notable Users:

(97.3%)

(16.1%)

(69.9%)

(88.6%)

(68.7%)

(98.1%)
Notes: The second most popular move, Knock Off! (Actually its tied for second, but w/e). Despite Earthquake, all sorts of Pokemon use this move, either to hit hard (Bisharp, Weavile) or for its incredible utility (Sableye-Mega, Lando-T, Mandibuzz, etc.) Thanks to move tutors, lots of things get this move and as I'm sure we're all aware, this is regarded as one of the best moves in the game so you'd better claim it quick! Despite Earthquake, lots of fast Pokemon get Knock Off like the aforementioned Weavile, Torn-T, Thundy, etc. Sableye-Mega especially stands out due to acting as a great anti-lead Pokemon and also securing key moves quickly thanks to Prankster / being the lead Pokemon.

2) with an equally not-so-whopping 23/100... Stealth Rock!

Notable Users:

(59.6%)

(28%)

(95.8%)

(50.9%)

(66.9%)

(74.1%)
Notes: As most of us figured, Stealth Rock was going to be one of the top moves up for contention. Lots of us consider this move to be the best in the game, and for good reason. Lots of Pokemon's viability are slashed in half due to this move (Like Volcarona, Pinsir, etc..) The earlier posts have gone into detail into how to not only claim the move as quickly as possible, but how to prevent and / or punish common methods of hazard settings (Cloyster and Magic Bounce for example.) So I don't really need to go into too much detail into how to use this move in this meta. But if your team relies on hazards to function well, claiming this move is certainly your top priority.

4) with a decent 21/100... Hidden Power!

Notable Users:

(24%)

(37.9%)

(37.4%)

(92.3%)

(78.3%)

(83.9%)
Notes: Lots of Pokemon rely on this move for the pretty useful recovery it provides. In my opinion, this move is so crucial to claim if the opponent has a Hidden Power Pokemon. It's pretty useful when that Ferrothorn of yours walls the Hidden Power Fire Diancie completely, or Landorus-T can switch into every Electric type without fearing HP Ice. Literally every OU-viable Pokemon gets the move as well (besides the Rotom forms for whatever odd reason) so you'll never be short of good Pokemon to claim the move with. The above Pokemon are pretty fast and actually use HP themselves so it wouldn't be a waste of a moveslot. It's adviced that people use Hidden Power strategically in order to be able to check / counter common HP users with just one or two teamslots (Like Ferrothorn checking all HP Fire mons or something), thus freeing up teamslots / moveslots / itemslots for other purposes.

5) with a modest 19/100... Roost!

Notable Users:

(58.4%)

(24.3%)

(91.1%)

(91.7%)

(72.7%)

(22.1%)
Notes: It's one thing to note down what moves are most common, but its another thing altogether to use that information effectively. Punishing recovery is so devastating for nearly all Pokemon that rely on it, because that means you won't be able to switch into anything that you previously check more than once. For instance, Weavile will take out a Skarmory so much easier without its Roost. Talonflame can claim it without contention nearly all of the time, and it matches up well against Sableye, but not so much against suicide leads like Aerodactyl. Most mons that use Roost are Flying type, and thus weak to rocks, so if you can claim both Stealth Rock and Roost early, you're in for an advantageous battle.

You probably shouldn't be surprised that these 5 moves are the most popular; they're seen and talked about all the time. Feel free to decide for yourself the most optimal way to use the above (and below) information. The rest of the top 10 are below in a hide tag so this post doesn't become too long, so yeah:

Hide

6) Swords Dance!

Great distribution and being able to boost an attack stat to sky-high levels means this move is amongst the top 10 most popular moves. 18 Pokemon use it often, some of them being OU titans like Landorus-T, Mega Pinsir and Garchomp.

7) Toxic!

Speaking of great distribution.. TM06 has contained Toxic in every game and so a lot of Pokemon can obviously get it. As expected, lots of bulky stallbreakers (Heatran, Gliscor) and actual stall mons (Chansey, Quagsire) use this move.

8) Substitute!

Disabling Substitute on paper wouldn't accomplish much, at least in my opinion. It's not entirely necessary on any Pokemon, but it sure is handy in order to take advantage of switches, or to help protect yourself against walls. Only 14 out of the 100 Pokemon use it often.

9) Calm Mind!

This shouldn't be a surprise, really. Substitute and Calm Mind go together so well. 13 Pokemon, one less than the amount of Substitute Pokemon, use this move. Disabling a set-up move might prove to be very useful if you're playing a more bulky playstyle like stall.

9) Thunder Wave!

The greatest move in the game. Once hit by this legendary beam of electricity, any and all victims suffer a horrific injury that remains with them for the rest of the game (with the exception of Electric and Ground mons). 13 wise Pokemon use this excellent move.

Honorable Mentions:

10) Protect!

(12/100)
10) Psyshock!

(12/100)
10) U-Turn!

(12/100)
11) Ice Beam!

(11/100)
12) Focus Blast!

(10/100)
12) Taunt!

(10/100)
12) Fire Blast!

(10/100)
12) Psychic!

(10/100)
12) Defog!

(10/100)

Conclusion: The point of this post was to make sure that you know what's commonly used so that you have a better idea of what to prepare for. Like I said, it's one thing to simply know what's common and what's not, and its another thing altogether to use the information effectively in the field of battle!!

Edit: (rip double post dont kill me mods pls ty!)