Other Looking Ahead to Gen VI Mark II (SEE POSTS #818 & #858)

[IcyMan28]

Somebody started a thread on Hydreigon that got me thinking: many of the changes have been bad for it but there is a silver lining.
Obviously, the Draco Meteor/Dragon Pulse nerf, the Fairy x4 weakness and the fact that they completely wall its STABs is not good news.
But OTOH, most Steels no longer resist Dark and a number of them (Metagross, Bronzong, Jirachi, Aegislash) will take SE damage.
Also Hydreigon's movepool is almost endless so it does get Flash Cannon via TM 91 as a way to hit a predicted Fairy switch-in.
So maybe it'll adapt and find a niche depending on how the metagame shapes up.

Not sure how likely this is to happen, but it is certainly a possibility. With steels no longer resisting Dark, Hydreigon could easily get away with running Roost / Dark Pulse / Flash Cannon / Draco Meteor. The only noteworthy pokemon capable of resisting the three moves are Azumarill, Mawile, and Lucario, as far as I can think of. Maybe the sun hasn't yet set on Hydreigon's time in OU.

 

[G-Von]

Well I just hatched my Lapras egg and it has Freeze-Dry. FUCK YES (water/ground pokemon, Gyarados, and Palkia just shuddered).

Not sure if anyone has tried breeding or it has been announced yet but I just did it.

 

[higglybiggly]

Honestly Lapras has always been a step away from moving up a tier. However due to the weather nerf this gen, Lapras will find it hard to take advantage of Hydration. Freeze Dry is a very nice addition to it, but I feel as if it's physical attacking set is better. Still this is a nice addition to Lapras. I'm hoping it actually gets a base stat increase. That might just propel it to RU.

 

[Schpoonman]

Not sure how likely this is to happen, but it is certainly a possibility. With steels no longer resisting Dark, Hydreigon could easily get away with running Roost / Dark Pulse / Flash Cannon / Draco Meteor. The only noteworthy pokemon capable of resisting the three moves are Azumarill, Mawile, and Lucario, as far as I can think of. Maybe the sun hasn't yet set on Hydreigon's time in OU.

Of those, only Azumarill and Mawile can switch in. Lucario is frail enough to crumple under a Draco Meteor regardless.

 

[ryuuzaki52]

Alright, I've been a member/kinda on the competitive scene for a few years now, but I've never been too terribly good at competitive battling. I have a question though, has anyone mentioned Venomoth yet? Is there a chance that Venomoth can go up in tier now? I had the old set that used to be listed here on mine (Sludge Bomb, Psychic, Bug Buzz, Sleep Powder), with Choice Specs, max Sp.Attack and Speed EVs. I don't know the math behind damage/speed calculating, but it has acceptable speed, and with the introduction of Fairy-type, Sludge Bomb would be really useful. Another thing is that now that sound moves can hit behind subs, Bug Buzz is even more powerful. What do you guys think?

 

[alexwolf]

Not sure how likely this is to happen, but it is certainly a possibility. With steels no longer resisting Dark, Hydreigon could easily get away with running Roost / Dark Pulse / Flash Cannon / Draco Meteor. The only noteworthy pokemon capable of resisting the three moves are Azumarill, Mawile, and Lucario, as far as I can think of. Maybe the sun hasn't yet set on Hydreigon's time in OU.

Hydreigon also has the advantage of being one of the best checks to Aegislash, easily taking its Ghost attacks and doing a minimum of 79% damage with Modest LO Dark Pulse to max HP Aegislash. And it is very happy with the dissapearance of Mach Punch users (Breloom and Conkeldur). Lastly, Charge Beam could definitely be slashed with Flash Cannon. Here are some calcs:

• 252+ SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Charge Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Azumarill: 185-218 (45.79 - 53.96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
  
• 252+ SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Charge Beam vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Togekiss: 135-161 (36.19 - 43.16%) -- 46.48% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock, sure 2HKO if Charge Beam raises SpA

So, while Charge Beam misses on the 2HKOes against Sylveon, Florges, and SpD Togekiss, it always 2HKOes Azumarill and has a very sweet secondary effect which makes Hydreigon much harder to play around. The set should probably look like this:

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Modest Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
- Flash Cannon / Charge Beam
- Roost

 

[Seth Vilo]

Not sure how likely this is to happen, but it is certainly a possibility. With steels no longer resisting Dark, Hydreigon could easily get away with running Roost / Dark Pulse / Flash Cannon / Draco Meteor. The only noteworthy pokemon capable of resisting the three moves are Azumarill, Mawile, and Lucario, as far as I can think of. Maybe the sun hasn't yet set on Hydreigon's time in OU.

In addition, Mawile and Azumarill do not resist that combo. Being part Fairy, they take neutral damage from Flash Cannon.

I'm loving all the Hydreigon love that's emerging. :3

 

[Spenstar]

In addition, Mawile and Azumarill do not resist that combo. Being part Fairy, they take neutral damage from Flash Cannon.

I'm loving all the Hydreigon love that's emerging. :3

Right but being neutral to a non-STAB 80 BP move designed to handle pokemon with their type isn't exactly good for Hydreigon

 

[alexwolf]

Right but being neutral to a non-STAB 80 BP move designed to handle pokemon with their type isn't exactly good for Hydreigon

Actually it is pretty good as you are faster and resist their priority attacks. Check those calcs:

252+ SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mawile: 126-149 (41.44 - 49.01%) -- 18.36% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Azumarill: 147-173 (36.38 - 42.82%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

Also, both Pokemon lack any kind of recovery, meaning that you get guaranteed 2HKOs on both Pokemon after two SR switch-ins. Of course it could be better, but Flash Cannon is good enough to get the job done against Fairy-types.