Okay so pivot moves are uncompetitive. Heres the reasoning (I will post the evidence later)... the soul of the game is about prediction and a huge part of that is hard switching. "Getting things in safely" is a cheat code that breaks the soul of the game. What do I mean by this?
Well the game is essentially Rock Paper Scissors and I am going to give you an analogy first... lets say you are playing this with your friend in real life and your friend is wearing a blindfold and must always show his hand before you do. There is nothing to think about you just get all the information without earning it. This is essentially what is happening. Okay now for the actual specifics of how the move works in the simulator and identifying any risks/rewards...
REWARDS:
1) Removes true prediction (skill) as I've just talked about
2) Chip damage thats also a nuke depending on what is using it (and its on so many relevant things). Baton Pass, Teleport, and Chilly Reception are obviously the exception here but they come with their own set of rewards like 64pp etc
3) No "counterplay" outside of regenerator. What I mean by this is ground types are immune to volt switch, although this is a very loose counter because most things will have ice or grass coverage
4) 32pp
5) 100% accurate
6) escapes trapping (trapping is also uncompetitive asf so I have strong issues with pursuit still existing in other tiers)
RISKS:
None
Okay so what are my suggestions for a fix? Well the immediate easy solution is just ban them all but since that is rather extreme here are some actual reworks where they can still share a space in a competitive metagame about skill...
SUGGESTIONS TO REWORK:
A) drop down box that appears when you select the move. You must choose your team mate before you see what the opponent does. This turns the move into pure skill. People who are actually good at predicting get to reap all the benefits. Those that aren't get instantly exposed when they select the wrong mon
B) Accuracy penalty. 50% or 75%. Personally I would like to see something where if a user continually spams volt switch and u turn jnto themselves like 10 times that there is a risk for doing this so accuracy keeps lowering
C) 16pp . Remember that healing moves were reduced to 8pp whilst many attacks are 16 24 32 or even 48 pp
D) lower BP. Set it at 20. This makes almost everything using it actual chip damage not a 2hko. Technician would still be an issue but hardly anything gets technician. Some banded bugs are also 2hkoing stuff under the current power of the move
E) if were gonna limit toxic to poison types (inherently bad idea imo) then why is U turn not limited to its own type also? Im only putting this here because of that recent toxic change. Personally I'd undo the toxic change as you already know because I think u turn being on other mons is fine, it just has too many rewards and zero risks
Well the game is essentially Rock Paper Scissors and I am going to give you an analogy first... lets say you are playing this with your friend in real life and your friend is wearing a blindfold and must always show his hand before you do. There is nothing to think about you just get all the information without earning it. This is essentially what is happening. Okay now for the actual specifics of how the move works in the simulator and identifying any risks/rewards...
REWARDS:
1) Removes true prediction (skill) as I've just talked about
2) Chip damage thats also a nuke depending on what is using it (and its on so many relevant things). Baton Pass, Teleport, and Chilly Reception are obviously the exception here but they come with their own set of rewards like 64pp etc
3) No "counterplay" outside of regenerator. What I mean by this is ground types are immune to volt switch, although this is a very loose counter because most things will have ice or grass coverage
4) 32pp
5) 100% accurate
6) escapes trapping (trapping is also uncompetitive asf so I have strong issues with pursuit still existing in other tiers)
RISKS:
None
Okay so what are my suggestions for a fix? Well the immediate easy solution is just ban them all but since that is rather extreme here are some actual reworks where they can still share a space in a competitive metagame about skill...
SUGGESTIONS TO REWORK:
A) drop down box that appears when you select the move. You must choose your team mate before you see what the opponent does. This turns the move into pure skill. People who are actually good at predicting get to reap all the benefits. Those that aren't get instantly exposed when they select the wrong mon
B) Accuracy penalty. 50% or 75%. Personally I would like to see something where if a user continually spams volt switch and u turn jnto themselves like 10 times that there is a risk for doing this so accuracy keeps lowering
C) 16pp . Remember that healing moves were reduced to 8pp whilst many attacks are 16 24 32 or even 48 pp
D) lower BP. Set it at 20. This makes almost everything using it actual chip damage not a 2hko. Technician would still be an issue but hardly anything gets technician. Some banded bugs are also 2hkoing stuff under the current power of the move
E) if were gonna limit toxic to poison types (inherently bad idea imo) then why is U turn not limited to its own type also? Im only putting this here because of that recent toxic change. Personally I'd undo the toxic change as you already know because I think u turn being on other mons is fine, it just has too many rewards and zero risks
