Landorus-Incarnate is currently banned on the ladder, but if you check the previous page you'll see Don's post unbanning it.
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Metagame Inheritance
- Thread starter Don Vascus
- Start date
with inh ending soon id like to unveil a few teams i made that worked pretty well.
no chip stall
this team is pretty demonic. basically the gimmick is "why bother with fitting hazard control when you can just build your team to be effectively immune to hazards?"
tapu fini is the main urshifu check, blissey the blanket special wall (amnesia is hilarious for stalling out cm mons and ghost special attackers), amoonguss is for draining kissers, zyg for victini shit, mandibuzz for zarude (thing is this team is weak to ice/ground coverage so i think buzzwole is better there) and aegislash to spinblock staryu inheritors.
its ridiculously strong against most stall teams and some balances that can't take repeated chip, but you can tank hard vs stuff like taunt cm fini or mamoswine (hence the recommended swap from mandibuzz to buzzwole). theres also this version but its weird as hell and i dont recommend.
otherstall
pretty typical stall thats weirdly super resistant against rain. has done pretty well though i havent used it that much. it has 3 hazers so it probably falls hard to taunt. that is, of course, until you free oblivious haze (feebas) or oblivious roar (wailord) or run clear smog somewhere like a normal person
webs
on the other side of the archetype spectrum you have this team. lycanroc-dusk gallade goes hard in webs (whose set i stole from superstar64). zapdos-g acts as a good defog punisher and zarude/buzz switchin. zarude is zarude but i took the acro idea from chazm to hit buzzwole. heatran is nicely bulky with mg and grassy terrain helping it take an eq when needed. it also does big damage. gengar prevents fini from spinning and can 1-for-1 a mon on the opp's team.
return of woogers
i swear this is a good team i sweear
i used these teams + this team from that one dump i made to ladder and did pretty well - pains me inside (the ho team alt) is 2nd place, ggarm (the no chip stall alt) with a solid 1500, and buserbame (otherstall + woogers + others alt) hovering around the 1450s. ladder was probably dead though cause these teams probably get smashed by terrakion yet i did fine
was fun, hoping for chimera 1v1 for omotm/lcotm next
no chip stall
this team is pretty demonic. basically the gimmick is "why bother with fitting hazard control when you can just build your team to be effectively immune to hazards?"
tapu fini is the main urshifu check, blissey the blanket special wall (amnesia is hilarious for stalling out cm mons and ghost special attackers), amoonguss is for draining kissers, zyg for victini shit, mandibuzz for zarude (thing is this team is weak to ice/ground coverage so i think buzzwole is better there) and aegislash to spinblock staryu inheritors.
its ridiculously strong against most stall teams and some balances that can't take repeated chip, but you can tank hard vs stuff like taunt cm fini or mamoswine (hence the recommended swap from mandibuzz to buzzwole). theres also this version but its weird as hell and i dont recommend.
otherstall
pretty typical stall thats weirdly super resistant against rain. has done pretty well though i havent used it that much. it has 3 hazers so it probably falls hard to taunt. that is, of course, until you free oblivious haze (feebas) or oblivious roar (wailord) or run clear smog somewhere like a normal person
webs
on the other side of the archetype spectrum you have this team. lycanroc-dusk gallade goes hard in webs (whose set i stole from superstar64). zapdos-g acts as a good defog punisher and zarude/buzz switchin. zarude is zarude but i took the acro idea from chazm to hit buzzwole. heatran is nicely bulky with mg and grassy terrain helping it take an eq when needed. it also does big damage. gengar prevents fini from spinning and can 1-for-1 a mon on the opp's team.
return of woogers
i swear this is a good team i sweear
i used these teams + this team from that one dump i made to ladder and did pretty well - pains me inside (the ho team alt) is 2nd place, ggarm (the no chip stall alt) with a solid 1500, and buserbame (otherstall + woogers + others alt) hovering around the 1450s. ladder was probably dead though cause these teams probably get smashed by terrakion yet i did fine
was fun, hoping for chimera 1v1 for omotm/lcotm next
Just a random set I started testing and I wanted to share:
(Duskull) Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
- Substitute
- Disable
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex/haze/pain split
With levitate, Aegislash has an absurd number of resistances/immunities with only 3 weaknesses, and a shocking number of pokemon only have one move that can break it's sub. So if you sub while they switch in, you can disable them and effectively stop them from breaking through you, then burn them and start chipping away. Won't be able to force progress against things with recovery but that's what the rest of the team is for, and in general levitate aegislash can shut down a surprising number of threats on it's own.
Also if you hate stall, drop disable for torment and the last slot for taunt and run max speed. You can legit 6-0 some stall teams (including the two above). Not that good overall but can be fun if you want a good stall matchup
(Duskull) Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
- Substitute
- Disable
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex/haze/pain split
With levitate, Aegislash has an absurd number of resistances/immunities with only 3 weaknesses, and a shocking number of pokemon only have one move that can break it's sub. So if you sub while they switch in, you can disable them and effectively stop them from breaking through you, then burn them and start chipping away. Won't be able to force progress against things with recovery but that's what the rest of the team is for, and in general levitate aegislash can shut down a surprising number of threats on it's own.
Also if you hate stall, drop disable for torment and the last slot for taunt and run max speed. You can legit 6-0 some stall teams (including the two above). Not that good overall but can be fun if you want a good stall matchup
alright, meta's going off the ladder soon so i may as well post some fun sets i made before they become irrelevant. some of them might have been done before idk i don't feel like checking
Rhyperior (Volcanion) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
very simple set. very strong rock setter with good typing, natural bulk, and a handy electric immunity. only two weaknesses which are both covered by hydro pump. you could replace thunderbolt with ice beam if you really hate dragapult, but then you just get walled by every water type.
Mr. Rime (Mandibuzz) (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Screen Cleaner
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Foul Play
- Rapid Spin
- Slack Off
- Taunt / Encore / Toxic / Thunder Wave
rime gives a ton of really good utility moves that work very well on mandibuzz. rapid spin and reliable recovery are always nice, and STAB foul play kills most physical attackers faster than they can kill mandibuzz. the last slot just comes down to personal preference. screen cleaner kinda sucks but the movepool more than makes up for it.
Alakazam (Type: Null) @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Teleport
i feel like null doesn't get enough attention in this meta. 95/95/95 eviolite-boosted defenses are really good, and this set gives it reliable recovery, hard-hitting STAB double-edge with no recoil, great utility with knock off and teleport, and immunity to stealth rock and toxic. just like watch out for knock off i guess
Genesect (Xurkitree) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Download
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Shift Gear
super scary setup sweeper. if this thing gets the spa boost from download and then sets up late game, the game usually just ends. also it has to be shiny for the set to be legal which is pretty funny tbh
Sirfetch'd (Regidrago) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Final Gambit
hehe
Rhyperior (Volcanion) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
very simple set. very strong rock setter with good typing, natural bulk, and a handy electric immunity. only two weaknesses which are both covered by hydro pump. you could replace thunderbolt with ice beam if you really hate dragapult, but then you just get walled by every water type.
Mr. Rime (Mandibuzz) (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Screen Cleaner
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Foul Play
- Rapid Spin
- Slack Off
- Taunt / Encore / Toxic / Thunder Wave
rime gives a ton of really good utility moves that work very well on mandibuzz. rapid spin and reliable recovery are always nice, and STAB foul play kills most physical attackers faster than they can kill mandibuzz. the last slot just comes down to personal preference. screen cleaner kinda sucks but the movepool more than makes up for it.
Alakazam (Type: Null) @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Teleport
i feel like null doesn't get enough attention in this meta. 95/95/95 eviolite-boosted defenses are really good, and this set gives it reliable recovery, hard-hitting STAB double-edge with no recoil, great utility with knock off and teleport, and immunity to stealth rock and toxic. just like watch out for knock off i guess
Genesect (Xurkitree) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Download
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Shift Gear
super scary setup sweeper. if this thing gets the spa boost from download and then sets up late game, the game usually just ends. also it has to be shiny for the set to be legal which is pretty funny tbh
Sirfetch'd (Regidrago) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Final Gambit
hehe
https://pokepast.es/a393f981b8040a2a
This is the team I used for part of this month. I wanted to try Dragon's Maw and a Corsola Galar with better stat, the rest of the team is just mons that I found here/wanted to try but weren't my focus.
Did horribly, Cofagrigus!Corsola Galar is the only set I will try to make use of next time Inheritance comes around. Bonus point, it's nice to finally have recovery on Fini.
This is the team I used for part of this month. I wanted to try Dragon's Maw and a Corsola Galar with better stat, the rest of the team is just mons that I found here/wanted to try but weren't my focus.
Did horribly, Cofagrigus!Corsola Galar is the only set I will try to make use of next time Inheritance comes around. Bonus point, it's nice to finally have recovery on Fini.
With OM Spotlight over, I've decided to make a team dump for the teams I've built over the course of the tournament. This is my first time ever playing this tier, but I found it to be very enjoyable after I got a better understanding of the tier.
Qualifiers OM Spotlight Teams
Vs harv (W)
https://pokepast.es/539975d67badc46e
This being my first ever inheritance team, I decided to build something that was simple and easy to use from the viability rankings. After doing a bit of testing on ladder, I came to the conclusion double scarf was the way to catch people off guard.
Vs iapt (L)
https://pokepast.es/20c84ef988bbc6e4
Building this team, I wanted to explore something I didn't see anyone talk about much. So I decided to completely dedicate a team to drum spam and disguised it to make it harder to tell. On ladder it was pretty much almost unwallable unless I played bad or got unlucky for the most part.
Vs adem (W)
https://pokepast.es/37107a120223cd78
I wanted to use something that wouldn't struggle vs rain (this was before I found out rain was basically thanos snapped in the tier) and I just liked the idea of breaker buzz with 2 set up sweepers.
Vs don (L)
https://pokepast.es/92002c9be50d0446
For my final match, I wanted to bring the stall team I was going to bring vs instruct. The idea behind the team is to set up spikes and have celes and fini whirlwind stuff out to slowly chip things if possible. Double helm celes and buzz were to help take care of physical attackers for cm bliss to sweep.
Didn't build a 5th team as instruct gave me the win.
Tiebreaker
Vs iapt (W)
https://pokepast.es/3eb71df90bd5b924
I wanted to do the complete opposite of what I'd done in qualifiers vs iapt which is instead of HO, I bring stall instead. I was already quite happy with the previous stall build as I felt it was really good, but I decided to make improvements based off my match vs don and fixed more issues with the team.
Vs don (W)
https://pokepast.es/b10bbad032bbb858
My teammate Career had suggested I bring this kyu set he showed me and I built a team around it a few hours before the match.
Semis
Vs TNM (didn't play, but was gonna bring this)
https://pokepast.es/dba8b8d6f85c21e6
I just wanted to use archeops because Career said it'd be cool to use a head smash mon, so I built something I'm comfortable with around it (kinda similar to the tiebreaker round).
Finals
Vs iapt (W)
https://pokepast.es/e25068290a39eee5
I liked the idea of using double fighting (since it sounded fun) with future sight support since dark types are basically non existent in this tier and my opponent liked to spam av snorlax + zygarde. So I dedicated a team entirely to breaking apart teams without more than 1 solid fighting resistance with the addition of a cm psyshock tini if cm wars happened and wish zygarde to prolong the team longer (specifically gzap).
Qualifiers OM Spotlight Teams
Vs harv (W)
https://pokepast.es/539975d67badc46e
This being my first ever inheritance team, I decided to build something that was simple and easy to use from the viability rankings. After doing a bit of testing on ladder, I came to the conclusion double scarf was the way to catch people off guard.
Vs iapt (L)
https://pokepast.es/20c84ef988bbc6e4
Building this team, I wanted to explore something I didn't see anyone talk about much. So I decided to completely dedicate a team to drum spam and disguised it to make it harder to tell. On ladder it was pretty much almost unwallable unless I played bad or got unlucky for the most part.
Vs adem (W)
https://pokepast.es/37107a120223cd78
I wanted to use something that wouldn't struggle vs rain (this was before I found out rain was basically thanos snapped in the tier) and I just liked the idea of breaker buzz with 2 set up sweepers.
Vs don (L)
https://pokepast.es/92002c9be50d0446
For my final match, I wanted to bring the stall team I was going to bring vs instruct. The idea behind the team is to set up spikes and have celes and fini whirlwind stuff out to slowly chip things if possible. Double helm celes and buzz were to help take care of physical attackers for cm bliss to sweep.
Didn't build a 5th team as instruct gave me the win.
Tiebreaker
Vs iapt (W)
https://pokepast.es/3eb71df90bd5b924
I wanted to do the complete opposite of what I'd done in qualifiers vs iapt which is instead of HO, I bring stall instead. I was already quite happy with the previous stall build as I felt it was really good, but I decided to make improvements based off my match vs don and fixed more issues with the team.
Vs don (W)
https://pokepast.es/b10bbad032bbb858
My teammate Career had suggested I bring this kyu set he showed me and I built a team around it a few hours before the match.
Semis
Vs TNM (didn't play, but was gonna bring this)
https://pokepast.es/dba8b8d6f85c21e6
I just wanted to use archeops because Career said it'd be cool to use a head smash mon, so I built something I'm comfortable with around it (kinda similar to the tiebreaker round).
Finals
Vs iapt (W)
https://pokepast.es/e25068290a39eee5
I liked the idea of using double fighting (since it sounded fun) with future sight support since dark types are basically non existent in this tier and my opponent liked to spam av snorlax + zygarde. So I dedicated a team entirely to breaking apart teams without more than 1 solid fighting resistance with the addition of a cm psyshock tini if cm wars happened and wish zygarde to prolong the team longer (specifically gzap).
now that trios is over im gonna dump my teams i used. Congrats to the Other Guys for winning and thanks to UT for a great job hosting and a fun tour.
Pools Teams:
https://pokepast.es/6baf2842664cab09 vs Instruct (L)
this team was bc we wanted to build around ironpress bro!kommo. i unfortunately loaded into tr which sucked, i think its pretty solid, the pex set is a little weird but i was rushing to finish it ngl
https://pokepast.es/8c10e87bd3ad09b8 vs adem (W)
i knew that he loved using steela so we decided to use a funny usn breaker, in this case, chandelure. it also came with some obscene calcs on av lax. zarude takes advantage of chandy being a menace to steels and fini is a little surprise damage dealer
https://pokepast.es/18a97462b9609fc9 vs TTTech (W)
loaded into drum spam which was a little terrifying but ironpress kommo came through. idea was to have spikes up and some set up breakers. i really like this team tbh, i found its pretty easy to play
https://pokepast.es/fa8f3853bb96113b vs don (L)
this is sort of just a bunch of common sets slapped together, i liked the idea of cm boltbeam zapdos and a physical breaker to beat lax, added a defensive core and my trusty scarf buzzwole.
didnt play against harv
Tiebreak teams:
https://pokepast.es/3af290d36459d5d9 vs don (W)
some HO stuff, i love genesect!lax and it did pretty well to say the least in this game. just a bunch of set up sweepers slapped together
https://pokepast.es/850d71f092635cd8 vs tttech (L)
i guessed he would be bringing stall, wanted set up sweepers + spikes again, ended up just getting stalled out. sd terrak and spikes is a really strong core and i like it a lot
Didnt play atha for playoffs so no team for that
Finals:
https://pokepast.es/74c5fee5cb183983 vs tttech (L)
i was originally gonna bring double fighting + future sight as well, in testing we found it was very fini weak so beauts came up with this venu set which probably wouldve worked much better if the fini was flip turn not port. xurk is a crazy breaker that does like 50 to av lax.
I had a ton of fun, shout outs to the Yassified Yampers, you guys were awesome. had a great time playing inheritance again in a relatively low pressure environment. Enjoy the teams, or dont. Its up to you.
Pools Teams:
https://pokepast.es/6baf2842664cab09 vs Instruct (L)
this team was bc we wanted to build around ironpress bro!kommo. i unfortunately loaded into tr which sucked, i think its pretty solid, the pex set is a little weird but i was rushing to finish it ngl
https://pokepast.es/8c10e87bd3ad09b8 vs adem (W)
i knew that he loved using steela so we decided to use a funny usn breaker, in this case, chandelure. it also came with some obscene calcs on av lax. zarude takes advantage of chandy being a menace to steels and fini is a little surprise damage dealer
https://pokepast.es/18a97462b9609fc9 vs TTTech (W)
loaded into drum spam which was a little terrifying but ironpress kommo came through. idea was to have spikes up and some set up breakers. i really like this team tbh, i found its pretty easy to play
https://pokepast.es/fa8f3853bb96113b vs don (L)
this is sort of just a bunch of common sets slapped together, i liked the idea of cm boltbeam zapdos and a physical breaker to beat lax, added a defensive core and my trusty scarf buzzwole.
didnt play against harv
Tiebreak teams:
https://pokepast.es/3af290d36459d5d9 vs don (W)
some HO stuff, i love genesect!lax and it did pretty well to say the least in this game. just a bunch of set up sweepers slapped together
https://pokepast.es/850d71f092635cd8 vs tttech (L)
i guessed he would be bringing stall, wanted set up sweepers + spikes again, ended up just getting stalled out. sd terrak and spikes is a really strong core and i like it a lot
Didnt play atha for playoffs so no team for that
Finals:
https://pokepast.es/74c5fee5cb183983 vs tttech (L)
i was originally gonna bring double fighting + future sight as well, in testing we found it was very fini weak so beauts came up with this venu set which probably wouldve worked much better if the fini was flip turn not port. xurk is a crazy breaker that does like 50 to av lax.
I had a ton of fun, shout outs to the Yassified Yampers, you guys were awesome. had a great time playing inheritance again in a relatively low pressure environment. Enjoy the teams, or dont. Its up to you.
As my last send off to this gen, i wanna talk about a pokemon that didnt catch on until the last weeks of OM spotlight trios:
:zapdos-galar:
This guy?
Its pretty good
Farfetchd (Zapdos-Galar) @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Swords Dance
As it turns out, Gzap is a fantastic wall breaker despite not having access to the really good abilities, like Tough Claws and Regen, without dropping Brave Bird and using itemless acrobatics as flying stab. With just its high attack and broken stab combo gzap can go through walls like Celesteela and Fini after a Swords Dance boost. The often overlooked ability Defiant gives it its X-factor, punishing the use of the extremely common intimidate, bypassing the only way to boost the bulk of defensive pokemons and further reducing its checks. To illustrate my point:
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Zygarde: 341-403 (81.1 - 95.9%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 355-419 (103.1 - 121.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Celesteela: 383-452 (96.4 - 113.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Silvally-Fairy: 406-477 (103 - 121%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Zapdos: 155-183 (48.2 - 57%) -- 90.6% chance to 2HKO
The more naturally bulkier mons of the meta have already a somewhat shaky matchup too, most zyg sets only run earthquake as its only attack, so you can somewhat afford to not ohko it out right, and Buzzwole is x4 weak to flying.
Of course, its not absolutely the best mon. Its biggest issue is longevity. You are pressing ohko inducing brave birds with a life orb; you take a bit under 50% of your health after killing something with it. Even thought it has Roost you have to waste a turn doing that, which you might not be able to afford. All these numbers need an Adamant nature, as other wise you lose the guaranteed ohko on fini at +2, so unlike other breakers its not that fast either. On top of that, Doublade is a pokemon that can be run effectively, which completely stone walls it.
Unless of course:
Sirfetch’d (Zapdos-Galar) @ Life Orb
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- Swords Dance
- Dual Wingbeat/First Impression/Knock Off
Thank you Duck line for giving gzap dual stabs + sd. Unlike the regular farfetchd, sirfetchd finds the idea of roosting a bit far fetched, so you have to replace that move with something else. Dual wing beat gives you a flying stab move that doesnt end you instantly, First impression is a priority move, which always come useful, and Knock is Knock. Roost is not the only thing you give up with this. Scrappy doesnt punish as hard the use of intimidate, which gives your opponent more options to check you, on top of the other stuff such as punishing defog.
Theres also the first Gzap set I used in tournament
Rufflet (Zapdos-Galar) @ Choice Band
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Rock Slide
While Gzap can easily access the good abilities, it does get access to damage amp thanks to rufflet. This set is for the gamers only, for the skilled enough to simply not miss when the times come. It is, of course, more prediction reliant, but if youre a good player i think you can manage.
Farfetch’d (Zapdos-Galar) @ Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- First Impression/Knock Off
Lastly, a more reliable Band set would look like this. You still two shot Fini, Celes, and have a good roll on Zyg after rocks:
252+ Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 205-243 (59.5 - 70.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Celesteela: 220-261 (55.2 - 65.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Zygarde: 198-234 (47.1 - 55.7%) -- 76.2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
And you do all the cool defiant stuff. First impression is better in this than in the LO sets as you do much more with it and you dont aim to stay in as much, but its still a Bug type move, so its resisted by everything and it might be weaker than what its 90 bp might suggest.
Overall, a sleeper mon for the lifetime of the metagame, and a testament to what good stabs+good typing can do to a pokemon. Thus, it will be moved to A+ rank in the VR, as the last resource change for this meta. A lil goodbye.
Thank you funny little meta for allowing me to live the dream of having everything be a rocks from being 2hkod by band vcreate, and for having pult freed. Its been a pleasure.
:zapdos-galar:
This guy?
Its pretty good
Farfetchd (Zapdos-Galar) @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Swords Dance
As it turns out, Gzap is a fantastic wall breaker despite not having access to the really good abilities, like Tough Claws and Regen, without dropping Brave Bird and using itemless acrobatics as flying stab. With just its high attack and broken stab combo gzap can go through walls like Celesteela and Fini after a Swords Dance boost. The often overlooked ability Defiant gives it its X-factor, punishing the use of the extremely common intimidate, bypassing the only way to boost the bulk of defensive pokemons and further reducing its checks. To illustrate my point:
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Zygarde: 341-403 (81.1 - 95.9%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 355-419 (103.1 - 121.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Celesteela: 383-452 (96.4 - 113.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Silvally-Fairy: 406-477 (103 - 121%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Zapdos: 155-183 (48.2 - 57%) -- 90.6% chance to 2HKO
The more naturally bulkier mons of the meta have already a somewhat shaky matchup too, most zyg sets only run earthquake as its only attack, so you can somewhat afford to not ohko it out right, and Buzzwole is x4 weak to flying.
Of course, its not absolutely the best mon. Its biggest issue is longevity. You are pressing ohko inducing brave birds with a life orb; you take a bit under 50% of your health after killing something with it. Even thought it has Roost you have to waste a turn doing that, which you might not be able to afford. All these numbers need an Adamant nature, as other wise you lose the guaranteed ohko on fini at +2, so unlike other breakers its not that fast either. On top of that, Doublade is a pokemon that can be run effectively, which completely stone walls it.
Unless of course:
Sirfetch’d (Zapdos-Galar) @ Life Orb
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- Swords Dance
- Dual Wingbeat/First Impression/Knock Off
Thank you Duck line for giving gzap dual stabs + sd. Unlike the regular farfetchd, sirfetchd finds the idea of roosting a bit far fetched, so you have to replace that move with something else. Dual wing beat gives you a flying stab move that doesnt end you instantly, First impression is a priority move, which always come useful, and Knock is Knock. Roost is not the only thing you give up with this. Scrappy doesnt punish as hard the use of intimidate, which gives your opponent more options to check you, on top of the other stuff such as punishing defog.
Theres also the first Gzap set I used in tournament
Rufflet (Zapdos-Galar) @ Choice Band
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Rock Slide
While Gzap can easily access the good abilities, it does get access to damage amp thanks to rufflet. This set is for the gamers only, for the skilled enough to simply not miss when the times come. It is, of course, more prediction reliant, but if youre a good player i think you can manage.
Farfetch’d (Zapdos-Galar) @ Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- First Impression/Knock Off
Lastly, a more reliable Band set would look like this. You still two shot Fini, Celes, and have a good roll on Zyg after rocks:
252+ Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 205-243 (59.5 - 70.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Celesteela: 220-261 (55.2 - 65.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Zygarde: 198-234 (47.1 - 55.7%) -- 76.2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
And you do all the cool defiant stuff. First impression is better in this than in the LO sets as you do much more with it and you dont aim to stay in as much, but its still a Bug type move, so its resisted by everything and it might be weaker than what its 90 bp might suggest.
Overall, a sleeper mon for the lifetime of the metagame, and a testament to what good stabs+good typing can do to a pokemon. Thus, it will be moved to A+ rank in the VR, as the last resource change for this meta. A lil goodbye.
Thank you funny little meta for allowing me to live the dream of having everything be a rocks from being 2hkod by band vcreate, and for having pult freed. Its been a pleasure.
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