what about Roulettemons, isn't that Pet Mod of the Season for every season? I mean sure they didn't include Dinodily twice, but ... honestly I was gonna try and come up with something to redeem that unforgivable crime but Roulettemons needs to be dethroned because of it.
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Pet Mod Megamax (Quick Update @ Post #432)
- Thread starter Yung Dramps
- Start date
The season for Roulette Mons ends in like, 2 hours. Please don't post stuff not related to the subject of this thread (re Megamax.) |
Yung Dramps
awesome gaming
Surprise impromptu balance change b4 we get a ladder for this mfer
Mega Alcremie loses its Ice typing
After some conversations on Discord it was determined that the Ice/Fairy type really hinders Alcremie more than it helps, giving it a tougher time at or making it outright fail to check certain key threats like Hydreigon, Volcarona, Kommo-o and more, as well as the Stealth Rock weakness further chipping into its sturdiness. It'll probably still be balanced since the meh physical bulk is still an issue as well as a pretty barren movepool. It can keep Ice Beam for that icing pun, though.
Mega Alcremie loses its Ice typing
After some conversations on Discord it was determined that the Ice/Fairy type really hinders Alcremie more than it helps, giving it a tougher time at or making it outright fail to check certain key threats like Hydreigon, Volcarona, Kommo-o and more, as well as the Stealth Rock weakness further chipping into its sturdiness. It'll probably still be balanced since the meh physical bulk is still an issue as well as a pretty barren movepool. It can keep Ice Beam for that icing pun, though.
I now place several Eldritch curses upon you to afflict you and your bloodline for 20 generations for this abomination. Fairy / Ice wall? What were you THINKING!
Pokemon Name: Alcremie
Mega Stone Name: Alcremite
Stats: 65 / 60 / 95 (+20) / 130 (+20) / 151 (+30) / 94 (+30)
Type: View attachment 225904 / View attachment 225905
Ability: Thick Fat
New Moves: Ice Beam, Stockpile, Moonblast
Competitive Description: A fast bulky special attacker! Alcremie has a very unique typing in Fairy/Ice and also improves its matchup against types such as Dragons. It's high special bulk, Stockpile and Thick Fat all make Alcremie difficult to face as well.Moonblast is the icing on the cake (pun intended) and is a stronger STAB move. Other than its special bulk, its physical bulk is average, but when used with Stockpile, it can be very good. Alcremie also has a good 94 Speed, which can also outspeed certain Pokemon and allow for it to get up Stockpile easier. Alcremie also has Recover, which will help it survive throughout the battle. Alcremie can also get rid of status for itself and its teammates with Aromatherapy, making it a great support Pokemon. With it's high special attack, speed, special defense, Stockpile and Recover, Alcremie is a unique bulky special attacker that can be very hard to face. Cons? Its Fairy/Ice typing adds alot of weaknesses, especially a 4x weakness to Steel. Without Stockpile, Alcremie might also have to be wary of getting hit by strong physical attacks.
speedrun any% no Fairy/Ice type wall
mamoswine says hello (its not a wall,it's just slow as balls)
Can we get an official ranking for all of the new megaMaxes? please and thank you
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The peak of dessert is radiating an energy... 
So wanted to talk a bit on the mons that I think'll be most prominent in the meta / The ones I've been using.
Mega Pikachu
So... this gets rising voltage... stupid high 140 spa with electric terrain is nigh unstoppable with electric terrain support unless a good ground type wall (which can still lose to grass knot if it's chipped), or a grass type. Ferro's an obvious great answer to this.
It also has nasty plot, which is much more situational due to Pika's horrible bulk, but if it's absolutely certain the opp will switch it becomes even MORE of a menace than it already is. It can even run mixed to some degree with Bolt Strike and Extreme Speed (I see you G-Luke)
Mega Flapple
Appletun is kinda fun, grassy terrain terrain support with rillaboom (we'll talk more about him later) makes it deal crazy damage once it gets a DD up with consecutive Grav Apples, unfortunately Flapple suffers from low defenses, coupled with no recovery moves as well as bad coverage, I don't really think this'll be a very great mon do to it being walled by steels, but still fun nonetheless.
Mega Blastoise
(Release gmax blastoise icon smogon plz)
Umm, this is kinda scary after a shell smash. I personally see a mixed set being most prominent, to benefit from it's fairly equal Attack and SpA, with Liquidation and Ice beam, and has access to a lot of coverage such as flash cannon, aura sphere, dark pulse, and Flip Turn.
I've already seen a few rain teams pop up with this, definitely a threat if you're not running priority.
Mega Gengar X
Psychic type is... interesting. He hits very hard with Psychic Terrain support, Double Edge is a very strong stab, as well as haha explosion go boom. Gengar although struggles with multiple different problems. With it mainly being a physical attacker, it has no such way to boost it's physical attack, as well as it being COMPLETELY WALLED by dark types, no way to boost it's speed also makes it outsped by essentially any +1 mon, a fairly strong weakness to dark types as a whole.
So, imo, this mon is almost completely outclassed by it's REGULAR form that can be much more versatile with choice items and a higher special attack to sweep with nasty plot.
I could see a special variant of Mega Gengar X, but the fact that it lost a whole 30 base SpA makes it a bit hard to justify the extra psychic stab.
Rillaboom
Yeh, I personally don't believe in Mega Rillaboom to be honest, it much prefers being able to set grassy terrain for itself and it's partners, one HUGE problem for Mega Rillaboom as well is the huge loss in speed, while grassy glide does bypass the loss in speed, it becomes much less useful after the loss of grassy terrain.
Regular Rillaboom is completely different to Mega RIllaboom in that regard, but regular Rillaboom gains an excellent new toy in stealt rock, being an absolutely EXCELLENT lead that can not only set up grassy terrain, but also throw up rocks, deal huge damage with wood hammer, knock off the opponent and even just u-turn out.
That being said Mega Rillaboom can probably still have a good niche, it is stupidly physically bulky, with acess to bulk up to boost it even more henceforth.
There are definitely much more great ones, such as Mega Urshifu Rapid, but it's midnight and I'm sleepy
Mega Pikachu
So... this gets rising voltage... stupid high 140 spa with electric terrain is nigh unstoppable with electric terrain support unless a good ground type wall (which can still lose to grass knot if it's chipped), or a grass type. Ferro's an obvious great answer to this.
It also has nasty plot, which is much more situational due to Pika's horrible bulk, but if it's absolutely certain the opp will switch it becomes even MORE of a menace than it already is. It can even run mixed to some degree with Bolt Strike and Extreme Speed (I see you G-Luke)
Mega Flapple
Appletun is kinda fun, grassy terrain terrain support with rillaboom (we'll talk more about him later) makes it deal crazy damage once it gets a DD up with consecutive Grav Apples, unfortunately Flapple suffers from low defenses, coupled with no recovery moves as well as bad coverage, I don't really think this'll be a very great mon do to it being walled by steels, but still fun nonetheless.
Mega Blastoise
(Release gmax blastoise icon smogon plz)Umm, this is kinda scary after a shell smash. I personally see a mixed set being most prominent, to benefit from it's fairly equal Attack and SpA, with Liquidation and Ice beam, and has access to a lot of coverage such as flash cannon, aura sphere, dark pulse, and Flip Turn.
I've already seen a few rain teams pop up with this, definitely a threat if you're not running priority.
Mega Gengar X
Psychic type is... interesting. He hits very hard with Psychic Terrain support, Double Edge is a very strong stab, as well as haha explosion go boom. Gengar although struggles with multiple different problems. With it mainly being a physical attacker, it has no such way to boost it's physical attack, as well as it being COMPLETELY WALLED by dark types, no way to boost it's speed also makes it outsped by essentially any +1 mon, a fairly strong weakness to dark types as a whole.
So, imo, this mon is almost completely outclassed by it's REGULAR form that can be much more versatile with choice items and a higher special attack to sweep with nasty plot.
I could see a special variant of Mega Gengar X, but the fact that it lost a whole 30 base SpA makes it a bit hard to justify the extra psychic stab.
Rillaboom
Yeh, I personally don't believe in Mega Rillaboom to be honest, it much prefers being able to set grassy terrain for itself and it's partners, one HUGE problem for Mega Rillaboom as well is the huge loss in speed, while grassy glide does bypass the loss in speed, it becomes much less useful after the loss of grassy terrain.
Regular Rillaboom is completely different to Mega RIllaboom in that regard, but regular Rillaboom gains an excellent new toy in stealt rock, being an absolutely EXCELLENT lead that can not only set up grassy terrain, but also throw up rocks, deal huge damage with wood hammer, knock off the opponent and even just u-turn out.
That being said Mega Rillaboom can probably still have a good niche, it is stupidly physically bulky, with acess to bulk up to boost it even more henceforth.
There are definitely much more great ones, such as Mega Urshifu Rapid, but it's midnight and I'm sleepy
Quick thoughts to share while the hammer is hot.
This Pokemon is crazy good right now. Even with the return of Megas, Mandibuzz still comes out and does Mandibuzz stuff all day long, being one of your team's best bet versus big name threats like Urshifu-Single Strike, Mega Urshifu-Rapid Strike, Cinderace and Rillaboom. Knock Off isn't nearly as coveted in Megamax as it is in standard OU, but Mandibuzz easily swaps this out for Foul Play (might I say arguably a superior option against alot of threats.). Its easily the best form of Hazard removal in the tier, and unlike Corviknight, Mega Copperajah doesnt "block" its Defog, as Mandibuzz can simply do this.
+2 0 Atk Mandibuzz Foul Play vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Copperajah: 202-238 (45 - 53.1%) -- 88.3% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
(Offensive variants are easily OHKO'ed)
Mandibuzz's splashability in this meta should not be understated, and i expect for it to hold a very dominant position in the metagame moving forward.
Gonna be straight with you. I have never used Mega Rillaboom. But I cannot say I have much reason to. Outside of BU sets, and the lure factor that Mega Rillaboom brings (notably should be able to beat most of base Rillaboom's checks, but is overall worse versus everything else), I have found myself sticking to more "conventional" Mega Evolutions partnered with its base form. That being said, base Rillaboom got 2 very big buffs in the form of Stealth Rock and Head Smash. The latter is simple - take the classic bread and butter Choice Band set, and give it the option to be able to nuke Corvinight, Mandibuzz and even Tangrowth on a good roll.
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 200+ Def Mandibuzz: 380-448 (89.6 - 105.6%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 182-215 (45.5 - 53.7%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 12 Def Tangrowth: 214-252 (52.9 - 62.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Tangrowth: 171-202 (42.3 - 50%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock, Steelsurge, and Grassy Terrain recovery (classic PhysDef still beats it most of the time, due to Regen + NASTY recoil + Rocky Helmet)
Surely, Head Smash isnt the BEST move for Rillaboom, but it is surly an option to consider.
Stealth Rock being in Rillaboom's arsenal also makes Rillaboom a deceptively good SR user, packing lots of utility with U-Turn, Taunt, Knock Off, or even Leech Seed. It compresses a Ground Check, a pivot, a SR setter and revenge killer if you pack Grassy Glide all in one, making it an insane offensive glue mon for teams.
Will update with some thoughts on the Megamaxes tomorrow, its like 2 am here lol.
This Pokemon is crazy good right now. Even with the return of Megas, Mandibuzz still comes out and does Mandibuzz stuff all day long, being one of your team's best bet versus big name threats like Urshifu-Single Strike, Mega Urshifu-Rapid Strike, Cinderace and Rillaboom. Knock Off isn't nearly as coveted in Megamax as it is in standard OU, but Mandibuzz easily swaps this out for Foul Play (might I say arguably a superior option against alot of threats.). Its easily the best form of Hazard removal in the tier, and unlike Corviknight, Mega Copperajah doesnt "block" its Defog, as Mandibuzz can simply do this.
+2 0 Atk Mandibuzz Foul Play vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Copperajah: 202-238 (45 - 53.1%) -- 88.3% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
(Offensive variants are easily OHKO'ed)
Mandibuzz's splashability in this meta should not be understated, and i expect for it to hold a very dominant position in the metagame moving forward.
Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 44 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Foul Play
- U-turn
- Defog
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 44 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Foul Play
- U-turn
- Defog
Gonna be straight with you. I have never used Mega Rillaboom. But I cannot say I have much reason to. Outside of BU sets, and the lure factor that Mega Rillaboom brings (notably should be able to beat most of base Rillaboom's checks, but is overall worse versus everything else), I have found myself sticking to more "conventional" Mega Evolutions partnered with its base form. That being said, base Rillaboom got 2 very big buffs in the form of Stealth Rock and Head Smash. The latter is simple - take the classic bread and butter Choice Band set, and give it the option to be able to nuke Corvinight, Mandibuzz and even Tangrowth on a good roll.
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 200+ Def Mandibuzz: 380-448 (89.6 - 105.6%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 182-215 (45.5 - 53.7%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 12 Def Tangrowth: 214-252 (52.9 - 62.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Tangrowth: 171-202 (42.3 - 50%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock, Steelsurge, and Grassy Terrain recovery (classic PhysDef still beats it most of the time, due to Regen + NASTY recoil + Rocky Helmet)
Surely, Head Smash isnt the BEST move for Rillaboom, but it is surly an option to consider.
Stealth Rock being in Rillaboom's arsenal also makes Rillaboom a deceptively good SR user, packing lots of utility with U-Turn, Taunt, Knock Off, or even Leech Seed. It compresses a Ground Check, a pivot, a SR setter and revenge killer if you pack Grassy Glide all in one, making it an insane offensive glue mon for teams.
OK Boomer (Rillaboom) @ Choice Band
Adamant Nature
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- U-turn
- Grassy Glide
- Wood Hammer
- Head Smash / Knock Off / Superpower
Offensive SR Setter (Rillaboom) @ Life Orb / Miracle Seed
Adamant Nature
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Grassy Glide
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off / U-Turn / Superpower
Pivot (Rillaboom) @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Wood Hammer / Grassy Glide
- Knock Off / Leech Seed / Body Press / Taunt (Lots of weird stuff can go here)
Adamant Nature
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- U-turn
- Grassy Glide
- Wood Hammer
- Head Smash / Knock Off / Superpower
Offensive SR Setter (Rillaboom) @ Life Orb / Miracle Seed
Adamant Nature
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Grassy Glide
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off / U-Turn / Superpower
Pivot (Rillaboom) @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Wood Hammer / Grassy Glide
- Knock Off / Leech Seed / Body Press / Taunt (Lots of weird stuff can go here)
Will update with some thoughts on the Megamaxes tomorrow, its like 2 am here lol.
Yung Dramps
awesome gaming
Appletun @ Appletunite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Apple Acid
- Flamethrower
- Draco Meteor
- Recover
This set is dope and I'm saddened I've seen nobody else use it or this Mega in general. If I could describe it it one word it'd be "brainless", for oftentimes the best play is to just chip things away with Apple Acid and then pivot out with Regenerator's assistance. Flamethrower is probably just as big of a buff to Appletun as the Mega, allowing it to chip things that formerly hard-walled it like Ferrothorn, Magearna and Corviknight. It's definitely a very fun pick for balance and I encourage you to give it a try especially if you're struggling against Mega Pikachu since it basically hardwalls the special set and physical sets can only really dent it if they run Play Rough, said sets not being as common as the Special ones.
Grimmsnarl is having the time of its life in here. Even putting aside the Mega which has absurd breaking potential (reminder that after Hustle it has only slightly less Attack than Mega Mawile) with a host of physical moves to (at least in theory) pick and choose its counterplay, the base form has seen a resurgence with Screens HO being propped up by...
While I dunno if it's the monstrous, unstoppable force it was projected to be pre-PMoTS, Mega Blastoise Z is absolutely nothing to trifle with. Like Mega Grimmsnarl it has enough coverage to pick and choose what counters it, now backed up by the almighty Shell Smash, the tool of destruction which got the original Mega Blastoise banned in National Dex. Time will tell if this needs to be rebalanced or even banned for the sake of meta healthiness.
To top this post off here's a preliminary tier list I concocted. Probably will look totally different within a week but hey
After some battles with the pink blob, I decided to gather and share my thoughts on it.
Chansey, while it's known for being excellent in other tiers, Megamax is no exception. It's one of the best checks to Mega Toxtricity and Hatterene, and is fond to switching in to many other special attackers such as Volcarona, Rotom-Heat, and Mega Pikachu with Rising Voltage. What it does back is usually the same, set up Stealth Rocks, safely Toxic a non-immune Pokemon and spam Seismic Toss/Soft-Boiled. It also absorbs status upon switching out and in, which is helpful for a special wall. After watching a few battles, I have also noticed that Pokemon such as Dragapult and Magnezone are fairly common. It can also check Mega Charizard X if it doesn't switch out.
Since i'm going to be using a different team on the ladder, I will dump the team that I currently use here (peaked #2). (It also has won me a tournament, but I replaced Snorlax with Mega Blastoise eventually). This team was revolved around Mega Snorlax, which hasn't been putting in too much work for me but is a nice bulky water resist and win-con either way. Clefable is your standard support Pokemon; it passes wishes throughout the team and is a solid check to both Urshifu forms with a good typing. Mandibuzz is a great and splashable Pokemon to use as G-Luke said, as it has a great typing and is the defogger of the team. Chansey, you already know what it does lol, set up rocks and be an annoying special wall. Cinderace is a great way to damage steels and can switch moves effectively thanks to Libero. Dragapult is the special attacker and has some nice speed to go along with it (also spreads status). Mega Blastoise was a faster win-con than Snorlax and additionally is a water resist before it uses Shell Smash.
Replays of Chansey in Action:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8petmodmegamax-1144481723-ct7atfstdu1kfpmogni6laj93vzy6r5pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8petmodmegamax-1144489937-dr3qo5emmc1mhoe1qu0rv2lm46afimwpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8petmodmegamax-1144408840
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8petmodmegamax-1144425998
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8petmodmegamax-1144390227
Chansey, while it's known for being excellent in other tiers, Megamax is no exception. It's one of the best checks to Mega Toxtricity and Hatterene, and is fond to switching in to many other special attackers such as Volcarona, Rotom-Heat, and Mega Pikachu with Rising Voltage. What it does back is usually the same, set up Stealth Rocks, safely Toxic a non-immune Pokemon and spam Seismic Toss/Soft-Boiled. It also absorbs status upon switching out and in, which is helpful for a special wall. After watching a few battles, I have also noticed that Pokemon such as Dragapult and Magnezone are fairly common. It can also check Mega Charizard X if it doesn't switch out.
Since i'm going to be using a different team on the ladder, I will dump the team that I currently use here (peaked #2). (It also has won me a tournament, but I replaced Snorlax with Mega Blastoise eventually). This team was revolved around Mega Snorlax, which hasn't been putting in too much work for me but is a nice bulky water resist and win-con either way. Clefable is your standard support Pokemon; it passes wishes throughout the team and is a solid check to both Urshifu forms with a good typing. Mandibuzz is a great and splashable Pokemon to use as G-Luke said, as it has a great typing and is the defogger of the team. Chansey, you already know what it does lol, set up rocks and be an annoying special wall. Cinderace is a great way to damage steels and can switch moves effectively thanks to Libero. Dragapult is the special attacker and has some nice speed to go along with it (also spreads status). Mega Blastoise was a faster win-con than Snorlax and additionally is a water resist before it uses Shell Smash.
Replays of Chansey in Action:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8petmodmegamax-1144481723-ct7atfstdu1kfpmogni6laj93vzy6r5pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8petmodmegamax-1144489937-dr3qo5emmc1mhoe1qu0rv2lm46afimwpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8petmodmegamax-1144408840
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8petmodmegamax-1144425998
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8petmodmegamax-1144390227
Yung Dramps
awesome gaming
Ok so time for our first mid-ladder balance change! It's a minor one but I think it makes sense
+Hone Claws
Hustle with such a mediocre Speed tier is a huge bummer for Mega Grimmsnarl and way more debilitating than I thought after more proper testing. With this it can choose to somewhat circumvent this flaw while not entirely nullifying the use of False Surrender as well as still having to compete with Bulk Up as the set-up move of choice, if any. Tagging Kris to get this implemented on main and Eve to get this on Nexus
There are sure to be more changes in the future, but for the time being there will be nothing super major beyond stuff at this level. When you get down to it we're still only on Day 2, I wanna wait a week bare minimum before even considering big overhauls. Until then I encourage everyone to keep playtesting especially some of the more underutilized Megas, my tier list has already seen changes since the last time I posted it:
+Hone Claws
Hustle with such a mediocre Speed tier is a huge bummer for Mega Grimmsnarl and way more debilitating than I thought after more proper testing. With this it can choose to somewhat circumvent this flaw while not entirely nullifying the use of False Surrender as well as still having to compete with Bulk Up as the set-up move of choice, if any. Tagging Kris to get this implemented on main and Eve to get this on Nexus
There are sure to be more changes in the future, but for the time being there will be nothing super major beyond stuff at this level. When you get down to it we're still only on Day 2, I wanna wait a week bare minimum before even considering big overhauls. Until then I encourage everyone to keep playtesting especially some of the more underutilized Megas, my tier list has already seen changes since the last time I posted it:
Here's some teams I've used a bit to decent success. Feel free to use them as samples:
My most used team, and it's a pretty straightforward balance team that relies on broken mon Duraludon to do most of the heavy lifting. The offensive core of Duraludon+Rotom-Heat is really, really disgusting, as Rotom-Heat absolutely smokes Magearna and the only mon that can stand up to the two combined is Chansey, who is bait for Rillaboom. Rillaboom, in addition to being crucial speed control, also allows you to play riskier with Duraludon as the recovery from terrain offsets the damage it takes from stuff like Ferrothorn or Pikachu. For the defensive core, it's pretty standard. AVest Magearna sucks but is the only thing that handles Duraludon reliably that's not named Chansey, Hippo eats up electrics and Urshifu, and uhhhh Amoonguss is there I guess. Spreads status and eases the damage Magearna is forced to take from stuff like Dragapult ig. Weakest link, feel free to swap it out.
War-crimes simulator. Really braindead HO that has screens Grimm, suicide Drill, and no-defoggin' Bisharp to support three sweepers. Shell Smashin' Stoise is pretty broken with a smash under its belt, really only struggling with Toxapex, but you can always save Drill or just fit Zen Headbutt in there somewhere to improve the matchup. The two dragons are just good. Especially Kommo. Hella fun team but also dirty
Alternative war-crimes simulator. It's a semistall build that just doesn't ever die. Appletun is a really cool defensive option that stonewalls stuff like Pikachu (which would otherwise tear this team to shreds), Rillaboom, Water (mega) Urshifu, and every other electric while also exerting offensive pressure with Apple Acid and amazing coverage. Mandibuzz is cool, defogs all day long and fends off Hydrei, Gengar and its ass mega, and Dragapult. Volcarona is the wincon that will win after the opponent withers away around turn 50 and lets it get up a QD. Toxapex is Duraludon/Magearna countermeasure #1 and sets up TSpikes, which is honestly the real MVP of this team. Also forms a Regenerator core with Appletun, and everyone loves regen cores. PhysDef Clefable is the last defensive mon of the team and is mainly here to provide rocks and keep Urshifu from autowinning. Banded Aegi is the last member, providing critical priority in the rare event something actually breaks through your core, and softchecks Duraludon. Not a particularly fun team but it gets the job done.
Definitely don't make this shitfest a sample team lol. The team operates on the loose concept of stealth rocks+steel rocks and phazing in order to break down teams. Copper provides steel rocks and is a decent magearna check. Sandaconda is less here to be a wincon and more here to be the most epic electric counter mankind has ever seen. Like seriously now that Hidden Power is dead no electrics can break this. Clef provides wish support for Copper and Kommo. Slowking is mage check #2, helps vs duraludon, and phazes with yawn. Kommo is for Urshifu and gets up rocks. Originally had iron defense but swapped to toxic after I spent 100 turns flailing against a slowbro. Smogonbird is here for defog and to make sure Volcarona doesn't autowin. Not a particularly good team, but hey it won the one game I used it in.
My most used team, and it's a pretty straightforward balance team that relies on broken mon Duraludon to do most of the heavy lifting. The offensive core of Duraludon+Rotom-Heat is really, really disgusting, as Rotom-Heat absolutely smokes Magearna and the only mon that can stand up to the two combined is Chansey, who is bait for Rillaboom. Rillaboom, in addition to being crucial speed control, also allows you to play riskier with Duraludon as the recovery from terrain offsets the damage it takes from stuff like Ferrothorn or Pikachu. For the defensive core, it's pretty standard. AVest Magearna sucks but is the only thing that handles Duraludon reliably that's not named Chansey, Hippo eats up electrics and Urshifu, and uhhhh Amoonguss is there I guess. Spreads status and eases the damage Magearna is forced to take from stuff like Dragapult ig. Weakest link, feel free to swap it out.
War-crimes simulator. Really braindead HO that has screens Grimm, suicide Drill, and no-defoggin' Bisharp to support three sweepers. Shell Smashin' Stoise is pretty broken with a smash under its belt, really only struggling with Toxapex, but you can always save Drill or just fit Zen Headbutt in there somewhere to improve the matchup. The two dragons are just good. Especially Kommo. Hella fun team but also dirty
Alternative war-crimes simulator. It's a semistall build that just doesn't ever die. Appletun is a really cool defensive option that stonewalls stuff like Pikachu (which would otherwise tear this team to shreds), Rillaboom, Water (mega) Urshifu, and every other electric while also exerting offensive pressure with Apple Acid and amazing coverage. Mandibuzz is cool, defogs all day long and fends off Hydrei, Gengar and its ass mega, and Dragapult. Volcarona is the wincon that will win after the opponent withers away around turn 50 and lets it get up a QD. Toxapex is Duraludon/Magearna countermeasure #1 and sets up TSpikes, which is honestly the real MVP of this team. Also forms a Regenerator core with Appletun, and everyone loves regen cores. PhysDef Clefable is the last defensive mon of the team and is mainly here to provide rocks and keep Urshifu from autowinning. Banded Aegi is the last member, providing critical priority in the rare event something actually breaks through your core, and softchecks Duraludon. Not a particularly fun team but it gets the job done.
Definitely don't make this shitfest a sample team lol. The team operates on the loose concept of stealth rocks+steel rocks and phazing in order to break down teams. Copper provides steel rocks and is a decent magearna check. Sandaconda is less here to be a wincon and more here to be the most epic electric counter mankind has ever seen. Like seriously now that Hidden Power is dead no electrics can break this. Clef provides wish support for Copper and Kommo. Slowking is mage check #2, helps vs duraludon, and phazes with yawn. Kommo is for Urshifu and gets up rocks. Originally had iron defense but swapped to toxic after I spent 100 turns flailing against a slowbro. Smogonbird is here for defog and to make sure Volcarona doesn't autowin. Not a particularly good team, but hey it won the one game I used it in.
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Yung Dramps
awesome gaming
Yung Dramps
awesome gaming
Apologies for the double-post, but we got more balance changes incoming, this time in regards to well-needed nerfs for top, constraining threats!
-10 Speed put into Attack
While it doesn't gut it, reducing Mega Duraludon's speed to 95 allows some notable things to now outspeed it like Urshifu and Volcarona. This in turn should make it easier to offensively pressure and threaten out when it seems like it may begin to get out of control.
Battle Armor over Sheer Force
Mega Blastoise Z is already carried by its great statline, coverage and the almighty Shell Smash, to where it has shown it does need such a powerful offensive ability lest it become too constraining. Battle Armor is flavorful and has situational use to aid in set-up without breaking it.
Tagging Kris and Eve once again to implement these changes on main and Nexus respectively
-10 Speed put into Attack
While it doesn't gut it, reducing Mega Duraludon's speed to 95 allows some notable things to now outspeed it like Urshifu and Volcarona. This in turn should make it easier to offensively pressure and threaten out when it seems like it may begin to get out of control.
Battle Armor over Sheer Force
Mega Blastoise Z is already carried by its great statline, coverage and the almighty Shell Smash, to where it has shown it does need such a powerful offensive ability lest it become too constraining. Battle Armor is flavorful and has situational use to aid in set-up without breaking it.
Tagging Kris and Eve once again to implement these changes on main and Nexus respectively
I hit number one on the ladder today and wanted to share some observations I made. I'll post a few of the teams I used at the bottom.
Teams
- Cinderace-Mega is strictly inferior to regular Cinderace. It doesn't hit as hard with coverage moves, it's slower, and its ability is redundant because regular Cinderace already uses heavy duty boots. I'll include a tier list of Megas at the bottom as well.
- Urshifu-Single-Strike is a huge threat on the ladder. The only real counter to it is Weezing-Galar. The core I use on basically every team is Future Sight Teleport Slowbro + Adamant CB Urshifu. I think it is suspect-worthy in OU, and I feel it might be suspect-worthy in this tier, espeically because I haven't seen Urshifu-RS-Mega a single time.
- Subpoint: Machamp-Mega is strictly inferior to Urshifu. Don't use it.
- A really good addition to that core (and fantastic mon in general) is Eerie Impulse Magearna. Using 248HP/200SpD and a Sassy Nature avoids the 3HKO from Modest Duraludon's Aura Sphere and OHKOs no-HP variants with Fleur Cannon. It's also the best counter to opposing setup Magearna.
- Sandaconda-Therian is very good. My main team was a setup Sandaconda balance, and bulky Sandaconda is very difficult to KO. It often completely sweeps unprepared teams.
- HO is quite good in this metagame. There are a lot of huge offensive threats that benefit from Sticky Web support. The team I built was dual dance Kingler-Mega webs.
Teams
Mother Sky (Sandaconda) @ sandaconite
Ability: Sand Spit
EVs: 204 HP / 92 Atk / 132 SpD / 80 Spe
Careful Nature
- Shore Up
- Coil
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
Deadlock (Slowbro) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Scald
- Future Sight
- Slack Off
- Teleport
Soul Desert (Magearna) @ Leftovers
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 248 HP / 60 SpA / 200 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Eerie Impulse
- Pain Split
- Fleur Cannon
- Volt Switch
Tango Whiskeyman (Urshifu) @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Wicked Blow
- Poison Jab
- Sucker Punch
Cream (Kommo-o) @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 244 HP / 124 Def / 140 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Body Press
- Earthquake
Bottom (Mandibuzz) (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 164 SpD / 96 Spe
Calm Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn
- Foul Play
Ability: Sand Spit
EVs: 204 HP / 92 Atk / 132 SpD / 80 Spe
Careful Nature
- Shore Up
- Coil
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
Deadlock (Slowbro) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Scald
- Future Sight
- Slack Off
- Teleport
Soul Desert (Magearna) @ Leftovers
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 248 HP / 60 SpA / 200 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Eerie Impulse
- Pain Split
- Fleur Cannon
- Volt Switch
Tango Whiskeyman (Urshifu) @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Wicked Blow
- Poison Jab
- Sucker Punch
Cream (Kommo-o) @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 244 HP / 124 Def / 140 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Body Press
- Earthquake
Bottom (Mandibuzz) (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 164 SpD / 96 Spe
Calm Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn
- Foul Play
Kingler @ kinglerite
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Agility
- Razor Shell
- Poison Jab
Alakazam @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 28 Def / 228 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Recover
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Pyro Ball
- Low Kick
- Zen Headbutt
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon
Shuckle @ Red Card
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Encore
- Final Gambit
Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Agility
- Razor Shell
- Poison Jab
Alakazam @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 28 Def / 228 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Recover
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Pyro Ball
- Low Kick
- Zen Headbutt
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon
Shuckle @ Red Card
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Encore
- Final Gambit
Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
Alr so everyone has hyped up their favourite Megamaxes, so now I will take the time to rant about what is pure trash, why its trash and what I would personally do to address this (not saying that my suggestions are law, that they should be implemented nor that these Megamaxes even mandate a change unless your name rhymes with Shenbar Dypantafax).
Gigantamax Butterfree
Butterfree suffers from having extremely poor coverage. That's it. That's the tweet. On a more serious note, I ain't trying to trash these creators, I know from personal experience that subbing for Pet Mods are a hassle, but I am going to say something that kinda sounds harsh but is the truth and it needs to be said - most of these Megamaxes created have had little thought put into them from a competitive standpoint. I will be repeating this sentiment for a lot of these going forward, but let me use Butterfree here as my first example. At a glance, this is probably the best buff Butterfree could ask for. Getting a stellar typing in Bug / Fairy, getting big bumps to its power and even more notably its speed, and you are thinking we are off to a great start! Then you glance at its movepool, and it...falters. From my understanding, all of these Pokemon were designed for a Nat Dex style metagame. So for what reason did people decide to make a Bug / Fairy Pokemon in a metagame crawling with Magearna, Heatran and former King Of Nat Dex Mega Metagross, and give Butterfree NO coverage. No super effective moves to hit the nasty Steels. No neutral coverage to hit the nasty Steels. In fact, upon first seeing this submission, I was under the impression that Mega Butterfree had simply inherited its best ability from its base form in Tinted Lens, but alas, it got Compound Eyes. That ability would be good if it had tools outside of Sleep Powder to actually use it with. Now what I would do? Just give it a sampling of coverage moves. I mentioned this in Discord - but granting any combination of Thunder, Focus Blast and/or Mystical Fire (probably not ALL three) would do wonders for Butterfree, enabling it to actually be able to hit a significant portion of the metagame.
Gigantamax Centiskorch
Centiskorch is perhaps one of the biggest losers of the transition from Nat Dex to Gen 8 OU based format. It was designed to be the best Heatran trapper there could be, with having access to Mold Breaker + Magma Storm to bypass Flash Fire, then finish it off with its new tool Earthquake. Quite frankly, while I never participated in Nat Dex Megamax, I cannot imagine this was ever as successful in practice as it is in paper. Consider this, with a x4 weakness to Rocks, no recovery, no poison immunity and no Flash Fire, if it already mega evolved, Centiskorch couldn't even safely switch in on what it wants to trap. And thanks to its niche being so clearly defined, all the Heatran player would need to do is switch out while Centiskorch Mega Evolves, and then the next time it just can't come in. Pushing all of that aside, in Regional Dex Centiskorch, here lies a Pokemon without a niche. Fire / Bug is a horrendous defensive typing when it is not backed by Heavy Duty Boots, and unlike Gigamax Zard (actual GOAT), it has no recovery nor a great defensive ability to fall back on. Mold Breaker on it is pretty useless in general, with its best use being able to hit Rotom Heat with EQ (pretty cool but it loses to Heat if it alr mega'd and heat has up a NP). It has no hazards to punish the non existent Magic Bounce, no notable Fire immunities exist in OU, and Coil sets beat Unaware users regardless of Mold Breaker or not due to Power Whip and Fire Lash Defense drops. So it has a useless ability, god awful typing and only a small amount of utility with its attacks. So what do we do? Personally idk, but definitely give this Pokemon the very reliable Recovery it so desperately desires. I'd suggest an ability change, but I have no ideas other than Flash Fire lol. Moves wise just give it something to do other than spam Fire Lash.
+
Gigantamax Cinderace
This mon suffers from a double whammy combo - its terrible at what it does and its completely outclassed by its base form. Cinderace is supposed to be a defensive pivot from all indications, but its typing leaves much desired in that regard, and as an offensive pivot its really worse Cinderace. Cinderace having Libero means any offensive variant of GigaAce is immediately worse off, just by virtue of being walled by a massive amount of the metagame. I have seen arguements about how "Cinderace GMax is immune to SR", So is HDB vanilla Ace, the most popular set rn. "How its immune to Toxic" Fair, but most users would rather paralyze a Cinderace anyways. "MG Flare Blitz" Thats just not worth giving up on STAB on all of your coverage, and dropping from 119 speed to 109? Thats just pure ass. How to salvage Cinderace? LEAN into its defensive merits. For starters, give it a dual typing. And a typing that gives this "fat ace" plenty of switch in opportunities, especially one that is a typing that vanilla Cinderace rarely utilizes. Onto that, depending on your typing, MAYBE replace MG. MG with no item to abuse this is extremely underwhelming. STAB Flare Blitz shouldn't be your major selling point for MG anyways its a terrible offensive pick. I wouldn't dare suggest new moves though, base Ace is hard enough to deal with.
Gigantamax Coalossal
Coalossal is just plain bad, and is another example of submitters not thinking that deep into the competitive implications of their Megamax subs. The idea behind Coal is that it has Rock Head and Rock Head makes its Head Smash and Flare Blitz not hurt. Good ig. But then what confuses me is that Coalossal was intended to be a wallbreaker, and while Head Smash hits like a truck (seriously look at a few of the calcs), once it stumbles across any Fat mon that resists Head Smash, it plops into the water. Not to mention its horrid matchup versus offense, which is very popular rn in the metagame. For this buff suggestion i will be blatant and pretty simple - give it Swords Dance and Dragon Dance. These tools actually allow it to shred fat teams with its high BP STABs, and DDance would probably slightly maybe do some serious damage to an Offensive team lacking Aqua Jet or a Choice Scarfer. It still wont be top tier, but with these I think it justifies a team slot and justifies the need to prep for it.
Yo Dramps whe are we gonna redo Mega Corviknight for OU? The base form is a hot pile of ass rn and we need more fat megas if all or any of these buffs ever come to light.
Gigantamax Drednaw
Giga Dred is not bad. Its just that current metagame trends REALLY step on its toes. 94 speed is not desirable at all, leaving it outpaced by every relevant offensive threat right now. It being tied to the dead playstyle that is Rain really hurts too, as 1, its a bad Rain setter, and 2, rain is just food for one of the Top Metagame threats in Rillaboom. I'd mostly suggest giving Drednaw a great speed tier (leonard (from big bang theory) said 99 speed has that deep troll value rn), and for people to stop using Drednaw as a rain setter. The mon serves a similar purpose to Mega Charizard Y in Gen 6, a very strong wallbreaker that is self sufficient on the weather it sets (seriously look at some +2 calcs under Rain it is unreal).
Gigantamax Gengar
Gengar, I must say you have a rocking design. Now to actually trash this. This mon. This mon in particular. Is absolute rubbish. It achieves nothing. It adds no defensive utility to your team. It has zero offensive utility. It requires insane support to simply function, and with all of that, its still hot garbage. Psychic ate is perhaps probs the worst ate to have right now, with SOOOO many potent and popular Dark type Pokemon in the metagame essentially making it deadweight. Outside of its STABs, no physical coverage optons breaks past 75 BP, and with no means of boosting its Attack, that means Ghost / Psychic resists switch in quite freely. As I said earlier, it lacks any defensive utility, with65 / 95 / 95 bulk (someone told me its actually 60 / 95 / 90 bulk, which is WORSE) and the absolutely horrid Ghost / Psychic typing, it is a pain to get in safely unto the field. And after you break your back Teleporting this thing in, what will it do afterwards? You are then stuck with medicore options, as you want the utility of Knock Off, but its redundant with Ghost stab and makes you best Ghost STAB in Poltergeist useless, further weakening it. You want a strong Psychic STAB, but you are stuck with Body Slam which does nothing but get lucky paralyzes 252 Atk Gengar Body Slam vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 256-303 (36.4 - 43.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO or use Double-Edge and just recoil yourself to death. Its speed is weird too, as 110 is pretty fast but EVERYTHING that outpaces it WILL kill it, and with no way to boost said speed it is in quite a predicament. Also can I just take the time to mention that its a Mega that has no way to absorb the spammable Knock? Pretty unfair to say cuz several megas couldnt do it before but I dont care. How you gonna be a Psychic type that loses to TOXAPEX. Now what to do about this thing? Don't change its ability nor stats nor typing. The potential to abuse its given tools is there but it has no way to do so right now. But Do not worry I have prepared a LIST!
+
Gigantamax Inteleon
Dramps said I must be fair to Mega Inteleon, so I will. I am aware that its signature ability is not properly implemented right now, so it would be unfair to address it. Ignoring Dramps, Mega Inteleon has the prestige of not being worse than its prevolution. That's great! Did it still be good? No. Even if Inteleon gets the lowkey wack ability of auto setting Focus Energy on switchin, I still think the low BP attacks it relies on to abuse this combined with its mediocre damage output with plegh 115 / 130 attacking stats for a mega kinda screams mediocre. For Inteleon its a rather small one. shift a small amount of its rather useless Attack stat into its Special Attack, and I promise Mega Inteleon will scope out the rest. (Night Slash Mega Ace BAD).
Giga Lapras does not suck. Stop using it as a veil setter and use it as a wallbreaker that JUST so happens to set AVeil for itself (maybe give it CM or more SpA).
Gigantamax Machamp
Machamp is completely outclassed as a Fighting type breaker by all manners of evil, and just so happens to be a genuinely mediocre Pokemon in general. I know it was done for flavour, and I know Dramps and others will hate me for saying this, but screw Super Luck lol. Its the worst of the the abilities tied to critical hits, and does nothing to solve Machamp's various issues rn. I think adding the Fire typing was a stroke of genius, but then giving this Pokemon Blaze Kick as its only new STAB option? All in the name of RNG Super Bad Ability? If Machamp has some move that got stronger while it crits (DONT DO IT GAMEFREAK), then that justifies its existence, but since it doesn't we are stuck with hot foot and sizzle punch. Champ really wants to be bulky like Conkeldurr, but has an arguably worse typing, no form of passive healing like Drain Punch, and has no STAB priority to offset its speed like best Fighting type. It also simultaneously wants to be a faster wallbreaker like Urshifu, but suffers from not hitting the good speed tiers, not having any real power behind its Attacks (no boosting item nor a Fire STAB above 100 BP makes that 170 Atk kinda eh) in a meta swarming with Fighting resists kinda puts Champ in a bad spot. The solution? Def give it a speed bump. Even 95 Speed is a happy enough medium between Conk and Ursh. Give it some better STABs. It wants to be a BU abuser but has no tools to do so and wants to be a AoA breaker but also lacks said tools. Give it Mach Punch and Drain Punch cowards! Give it Flare Blitz cretins! Maybe even Heat Crash if Kris ever finds a way to give the Megamax real weight instead of having the dumb Gigantamax 0kg figures. Lastly. Replace the extremely shitty RNG ability. There is a reason that nothing uses Super Luck in standard, and not because its "not on the right abuser".
+
Gigantamax Rillaboom
In a similar boat to Cinderace, Mega Rillaboom suffers immensely from its base form being strictly surperior to it. And while I do not think Mega Rillaboom on its own is bad, I think it cannot compete with base Boom (which uses its new moves better anyways). I don't like Rock Head Grass Rock. Its not bad but I never understand the fetish for this combo for a starter type. For Rillaboom idk, I think this Pokemon needs a redo slate with the intention of clearly differentiating from its base. It just cant compete with the utility Rillaboom provides right now.
Edit:
[01:26:26] Zergo: I dont understand why we got two Rock Head mons
[01:28:25] Zergo: Should of just gave Rilla a better ability
[01:28:55] Zergo: Heck Sandstream would of been funny
ZergoTheFinal dropping straight bars ignore everything i said and do this. Mega Rilla ez b tier.
Snorlax isnt bad at all but I hate Normal Grass it only fits on stall / semi stall and those playstyles suck REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Gigantamax Orbeetle
Orbeetle faces the same issues that Mega Butterfree faces. Bug with no way to touch any Steels. No, screw ID Body Press! Unlike Butterfree I thnk you can go alot more crazy with coverage options on here, as it has flaws that t simply won't overcome, unlike Butterfree who can be Volc if you give it too much power. Wild stuff like Aura Sphere, Focus Blast, Flamethrower, Thunder(bolt), Earth Power. Any of those wild stuff would make Orbeetle alot more fun to use, enabling NP + 3A, NP + Recover and whatever. Its speed is cool too, 100 speed for such a fat breaker is interesting indeed. Just don't give it something dumb like Quiver Dance. Aurumoth proves that no matter what dumb stuff these bugs get as long as they dont have QD they are balanced.
Gigantamax Toxtricity
Toxtricity has an interesting niche in theory - forcing lose lose situations by either forcing the Pokemon to switch and die, orstaying in and die. Problem is, Tox can't do so well in practice. It firstly heavily competes as an Electric breaker from the great Mega Pikachu, who hits harder, can effortlessly go mixed and is much much faster. Secondly, it cannot capitalize on the switches it forces because a team will always have several switchins into Mega Toxtricity, from Grounds, to Steels , to Ghosts. As I said, i dont understand how this mon was designed to be in Nat Dex but not be able to do anything there, having a pitiful 87 base speed stat while lacking power to touch any wall it cant hit super effectively. Quite frankly I'd rather use Specs Tox, as it hits SOOO much harder despite the other shortcomings. I actually have two proposals for Toxitricity. Either way it needs a speed buff, as a Posion Electric being outpaced by Extradrill is a death sentence. So, either 1, go fully physical and abuse Shift Gear, while giving it strong STABs and coverage to use. Or 2, give it better special moves or more coverage in general, since right now it threatens next to nothing based on stabs alone. I know the creator is fond of the ability and I would like to keep it if I could, but I'd also not be opposed to revamping its ability, as it doesnt seem as useful inpractice as it does on paper. Yo give it Knock Off no matter what too please give it that screw Chansey lol.
And that, is the rant. Feel free to read all of this, comment, pick apart, scrutinize or otherwise critique this post. i just had alot of thoguhts i had to get off my chest.
Gigantamax Butterfree
Butterfree suffers from having extremely poor coverage. That's it. That's the tweet. On a more serious note, I ain't trying to trash these creators, I know from personal experience that subbing for Pet Mods are a hassle, but I am going to say something that kinda sounds harsh but is the truth and it needs to be said - most of these Megamaxes created have had little thought put into them from a competitive standpoint. I will be repeating this sentiment for a lot of these going forward, but let me use Butterfree here as my first example. At a glance, this is probably the best buff Butterfree could ask for. Getting a stellar typing in Bug / Fairy, getting big bumps to its power and even more notably its speed, and you are thinking we are off to a great start! Then you glance at its movepool, and it...falters. From my understanding, all of these Pokemon were designed for a Nat Dex style metagame. So for what reason did people decide to make a Bug / Fairy Pokemon in a metagame crawling with Magearna, Heatran and former King Of Nat Dex Mega Metagross, and give Butterfree NO coverage. No super effective moves to hit the nasty Steels. No neutral coverage to hit the nasty Steels. In fact, upon first seeing this submission, I was under the impression that Mega Butterfree had simply inherited its best ability from its base form in Tinted Lens, but alas, it got Compound Eyes. That ability would be good if it had tools outside of Sleep Powder to actually use it with. Now what I would do? Just give it a sampling of coverage moves. I mentioned this in Discord - but granting any combination of Thunder, Focus Blast and/or Mystical Fire (probably not ALL three) would do wonders for Butterfree, enabling it to actually be able to hit a significant portion of the metagame.
Gigantamax Centiskorch
Centiskorch is perhaps one of the biggest losers of the transition from Nat Dex to Gen 8 OU based format. It was designed to be the best Heatran trapper there could be, with having access to Mold Breaker + Magma Storm to bypass Flash Fire, then finish it off with its new tool Earthquake. Quite frankly, while I never participated in Nat Dex Megamax, I cannot imagine this was ever as successful in practice as it is in paper. Consider this, with a x4 weakness to Rocks, no recovery, no poison immunity and no Flash Fire, if it already mega evolved, Centiskorch couldn't even safely switch in on what it wants to trap. And thanks to its niche being so clearly defined, all the Heatran player would need to do is switch out while Centiskorch Mega Evolves, and then the next time it just can't come in. Pushing all of that aside, in Regional Dex Centiskorch, here lies a Pokemon without a niche. Fire / Bug is a horrendous defensive typing when it is not backed by Heavy Duty Boots, and unlike Gigamax Zard (actual GOAT), it has no recovery nor a great defensive ability to fall back on. Mold Breaker on it is pretty useless in general, with its best use being able to hit Rotom Heat with EQ (pretty cool but it loses to Heat if it alr mega'd and heat has up a NP). It has no hazards to punish the non existent Magic Bounce, no notable Fire immunities exist in OU, and Coil sets beat Unaware users regardless of Mold Breaker or not due to Power Whip and Fire Lash Defense drops. So it has a useless ability, god awful typing and only a small amount of utility with its attacks. So what do we do? Personally idk, but definitely give this Pokemon the very reliable Recovery it so desperately desires. I'd suggest an ability change, but I have no ideas other than Flash Fire lol. Moves wise just give it something to do other than spam Fire Lash.
Gigantamax Cinderace
This mon suffers from a double whammy combo - its terrible at what it does and its completely outclassed by its base form. Cinderace is supposed to be a defensive pivot from all indications, but its typing leaves much desired in that regard, and as an offensive pivot its really worse Cinderace. Cinderace having Libero means any offensive variant of GigaAce is immediately worse off, just by virtue of being walled by a massive amount of the metagame. I have seen arguements about how "Cinderace GMax is immune to SR", So is HDB vanilla Ace, the most popular set rn. "How its immune to Toxic" Fair, but most users would rather paralyze a Cinderace anyways. "MG Flare Blitz" Thats just not worth giving up on STAB on all of your coverage, and dropping from 119 speed to 109? Thats just pure ass. How to salvage Cinderace? LEAN into its defensive merits. For starters, give it a dual typing. And a typing that gives this "fat ace" plenty of switch in opportunities, especially one that is a typing that vanilla Cinderace rarely utilizes. Onto that, depending on your typing, MAYBE replace MG. MG with no item to abuse this is extremely underwhelming. STAB Flare Blitz shouldn't be your major selling point for MG anyways its a terrible offensive pick. I wouldn't dare suggest new moves though, base Ace is hard enough to deal with.
Gigantamax Coalossal
Coalossal is just plain bad, and is another example of submitters not thinking that deep into the competitive implications of their Megamax subs. The idea behind Coal is that it has Rock Head and Rock Head makes its Head Smash and Flare Blitz not hurt. Good ig. But then what confuses me is that Coalossal was intended to be a wallbreaker, and while Head Smash hits like a truck (seriously look at a few of the calcs), once it stumbles across any Fat mon that resists Head Smash, it plops into the water. Not to mention its horrid matchup versus offense, which is very popular rn in the metagame. For this buff suggestion i will be blatant and pretty simple - give it Swords Dance and Dragon Dance. These tools actually allow it to shred fat teams with its high BP STABs, and DDance would probably slightly maybe do some serious damage to an Offensive team lacking Aqua Jet or a Choice Scarfer. It still wont be top tier, but with these I think it justifies a team slot and justifies the need to prep for it.
Yo Dramps whe are we gonna redo Mega Corviknight for OU? The base form is a hot pile of ass rn and we need more fat megas if all or any of these buffs ever come to light.
Gigantamax Drednaw
Giga Dred is not bad. Its just that current metagame trends REALLY step on its toes. 94 speed is not desirable at all, leaving it outpaced by every relevant offensive threat right now. It being tied to the dead playstyle that is Rain really hurts too, as 1, its a bad Rain setter, and 2, rain is just food for one of the Top Metagame threats in Rillaboom. I'd mostly suggest giving Drednaw a great speed tier (leonard (from big bang theory) said 99 speed has that deep troll value rn), and for people to stop using Drednaw as a rain setter. The mon serves a similar purpose to Mega Charizard Y in Gen 6, a very strong wallbreaker that is self sufficient on the weather it sets (seriously look at some +2 calcs under Rain it is unreal).
Gigantamax Gengar
Gengar, I must say you have a rocking design. Now to actually trash this. This mon. This mon in particular. Is absolute rubbish. It achieves nothing. It adds no defensive utility to your team. It has zero offensive utility. It requires insane support to simply function, and with all of that, its still hot garbage. Psychic ate is perhaps probs the worst ate to have right now, with SOOOO many potent and popular Dark type Pokemon in the metagame essentially making it deadweight. Outside of its STABs, no physical coverage optons breaks past 75 BP, and with no means of boosting its Attack, that means Ghost / Psychic resists switch in quite freely. As I said earlier, it lacks any defensive utility, with
Priority - No Espeed. That's BAD. Quick Attack? Hell Yeah. Fake Out? HELL YEAH! thanks M24
Boosting - I think Attack boosting is a waste of time. If you really wanna do this go for Hone Claws + Mega Punch. I say give the Ghost Agility! Make Adamant great again!
Better Normal STAB - No ESpeed. That's BAD. Do Head Charge. That's fun. Or Crush Claw for memes. Or look at boosting. I said something there.
Actual High BP Coverage - Can this get Close Combat so Dark types do not come in for free? So I can more easily break Chansey? Just because? Ok Thank you.
Yes thats it thats the tweet. Yes I used the same joke twice Gengar deserved it.
Boosting - I think Attack boosting is a waste of time. If you really wanna do this go for Hone Claws + Mega Punch. I say give the Ghost Agility! Make Adamant great again!
Better Normal STAB - No ESpeed. That's BAD. Do Head Charge. That's fun. Or Crush Claw for memes. Or look at boosting. I said something there.
Actual High BP Coverage - Can this get Close Combat so Dark types do not come in for free? So I can more easily break Chansey? Just because? Ok Thank you.
Yes thats it thats the tweet. Yes I used the same joke twice Gengar deserved it.
Gigantamax Inteleon
Dramps said I must be fair to Mega Inteleon, so I will. I am aware that its signature ability is not properly implemented right now, so it would be unfair to address it. Ignoring Dramps, Mega Inteleon has the prestige of not being worse than its prevolution. That's great! Did it still be good? No. Even if Inteleon gets the lowkey wack ability of auto setting Focus Energy on switchin, I still think the low BP attacks it relies on to abuse this combined with its mediocre damage output with plegh 115 / 130 attacking stats for a mega kinda screams mediocre. For Inteleon its a rather small one. shift a small amount of its rather useless Attack stat into its Special Attack, and I promise Mega Inteleon will scope out the rest. (Night Slash Mega Ace BAD).
Giga Lapras does not suck. Stop using it as a veil setter and use it as a wallbreaker that JUST so happens to set AVeil for itself (maybe give it CM or more SpA).
Gigantamax Machamp
Machamp is completely outclassed as a Fighting type breaker by all manners of evil, and just so happens to be a genuinely mediocre Pokemon in general. I know it was done for flavour, and I know Dramps and others will hate me for saying this, but screw Super Luck lol. Its the worst of the the abilities tied to critical hits, and does nothing to solve Machamp's various issues rn. I think adding the Fire typing was a stroke of genius, but then giving this Pokemon Blaze Kick as its only new STAB option? All in the name of RNG Super Bad Ability? If Machamp has some move that got stronger while it crits (DONT DO IT GAMEFREAK), then that justifies its existence, but since it doesn't we are stuck with hot foot and sizzle punch. Champ really wants to be bulky like Conkeldurr, but has an arguably worse typing, no form of passive healing like Drain Punch, and has no STAB priority to offset its speed like best Fighting type. It also simultaneously wants to be a faster wallbreaker like Urshifu, but suffers from not hitting the good speed tiers, not having any real power behind its Attacks (no boosting item nor a Fire STAB above 100 BP makes that 170 Atk kinda eh) in a meta swarming with Fighting resists kinda puts Champ in a bad spot. The solution? Def give it a speed bump. Even 95 Speed is a happy enough medium between Conk and Ursh. Give it some better STABs. It wants to be a BU abuser but has no tools to do so and wants to be a AoA breaker but also lacks said tools. Give it Mach Punch and Drain Punch cowards! Give it Flare Blitz cretins! Maybe even Heat Crash if Kris ever finds a way to give the Megamax real weight instead of having the dumb Gigantamax 0kg figures. Lastly. Replace the extremely shitty RNG ability. There is a reason that nothing uses Super Luck in standard, and not because its "not on the right abuser".
Gigantamax Rillaboom
In a similar boat to Cinderace, Mega Rillaboom suffers immensely from its base form being strictly surperior to it. And while I do not think Mega Rillaboom on its own is bad, I think it cannot compete with base Boom (which uses its new moves better anyways). I don't like Rock Head Grass Rock. Its not bad but I never understand the fetish for this combo for a starter type. For Rillaboom idk, I think this Pokemon needs a redo slate with the intention of clearly differentiating from its base. It just cant compete with the utility Rillaboom provides right now.
Edit:
[01:26:26] Zergo: I dont understand why we got two Rock Head mons
[01:28:25] Zergo: Should of just gave Rilla a better ability
[01:28:55] Zergo: Heck Sandstream would of been funny
ZergoTheFinal dropping straight bars ignore everything i said and do this. Mega Rilla ez b tier.
Snorlax isnt bad at all but I hate Normal Grass it only fits on stall / semi stall and those playstyles suck REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Gigantamax Orbeetle
Orbeetle faces the same issues that Mega Butterfree faces. Bug with no way to touch any Steels. No, screw ID Body Press! Unlike Butterfree I thnk you can go alot more crazy with coverage options on here, as it has flaws that t simply won't overcome, unlike Butterfree who can be Volc if you give it too much power. Wild stuff like Aura Sphere, Focus Blast, Flamethrower, Thunder(bolt), Earth Power. Any of those wild stuff would make Orbeetle alot more fun to use, enabling NP + 3A, NP + Recover and whatever. Its speed is cool too, 100 speed for such a fat breaker is interesting indeed. Just don't give it something dumb like Quiver Dance. Aurumoth proves that no matter what dumb stuff these bugs get as long as they dont have QD they are balanced.
Gigantamax Toxtricity
Toxtricity has an interesting niche in theory - forcing lose lose situations by either forcing the Pokemon to switch and die, orstaying in and die. Problem is, Tox can't do so well in practice. It firstly heavily competes as an Electric breaker from the great Mega Pikachu, who hits harder, can effortlessly go mixed and is much much faster. Secondly, it cannot capitalize on the switches it forces because a team will always have several switchins into Mega Toxtricity, from Grounds, to Steels , to Ghosts. As I said, i dont understand how this mon was designed to be in Nat Dex but not be able to do anything there, having a pitiful 87 base speed stat while lacking power to touch any wall it cant hit super effectively. Quite frankly I'd rather use Specs Tox, as it hits SOOO much harder despite the other shortcomings. I actually have two proposals for Toxitricity. Either way it needs a speed buff, as a Posion Electric being outpaced by Extradrill is a death sentence. So, either 1, go fully physical and abuse Shift Gear, while giving it strong STABs and coverage to use. Or 2, give it better special moves or more coverage in general, since right now it threatens next to nothing based on stabs alone. I know the creator is fond of the ability and I would like to keep it if I could, but I'd also not be opposed to revamping its ability, as it doesnt seem as useful inpractice as it does on paper. Yo give it Knock Off no matter what too please give it that screw Chansey lol.
And that, is the rant. Feel free to read all of this, comment, pick apart, scrutinize or otherwise critique this post. i just had alot of thoguhts i had to get off my chest.
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Toxtricity-Mega is another mon that's actually weaker than its base forme. Modest Specs Toxtricity (the only viable set, fite me) can punish switchins with a powerful +1 182 Base Power Boomburst. Mega Toxtricity can't do that. The lack of punk rock both weakens its primary STAB—it has to go with Thunderbolt instead of Overdrive—and its primary coverage move in Boomburst. The idea for forcing switches with Contaminate is a good one in theory, although in practice it means that the check coming in is actually taking a +0 Non-Punk Rock Boomburst, not a +1 Boomburst, because the -1 SpD goes away when your opponent switches into a check or counter.
Gigantamax Toxtricity
Toxtricity has an interesting niche in theory - forcing lose lose situations by either forcing the Pokemon to switch and die, orstaying in and die. Problem is, Tox can't do so well in practice. It firstly heavily competes as an Electric breaker from the great Mega Pikachu, who hits harder, can effortlessly go mixed and is much much faster. Secondly, it cannot capitalize on the switches it forces because a team will always have several switchins into Mega Toxtricity, from Grounds, to Steels , to Ghosts. As I said, i dont understand how this mon was designed to be in Nat Dex but not be able to do anything there, having a pitiful 87 base speed stat while lacking power to touch any wall it cant hit super effectively. Quite frankly I'd rather use Specs Tox, as it hits SOOO much harder despite the other shortcomings. I actually have two proposals for Toxitricity. Either way it needs a speed buff, as a Posion Electric being outpaced by Extradrill is a death sentence. So, either 1, go fully physical and abuse Shift Gear, while giving it strong STABs and coverage to use. Or 2, give it better special moves or more coverage in general, since right now it threatens next to nothing based on stabs alone. I know the creator is fond of the ability and I would like to keep it if I could, but I'd also not be opposed to revamping its ability, as it doesnt seem as useful inpractice as it does on paper. Yo give it Knock Off no matter what too please give it that screw Chansey lol.
The defense increases don't matter because it has abysmal defensive typing, and the speed increase isn't enough to be meaningful.
hi sorry for the one-liner but i thought it should be noted that as a temporary change for toxtricity-low-key-gmax since it wasnt in the document at all i just gave it Toxtricity-Gmax's stats and stuff until it has an actual entry, sorry if this steps on anyone's toes!
Yung Dramps
awesome gaming
Hello there! Unfortunately subs are finished for the time being, but there's likely going to be some retooling slates for currently existing Megas in the near future. Hold onto these until then, you might be able to re-use some of em!
Voting has already ended unfortunately, keep in mind that the meta is already finished and has been uploaded to PS. Feel free to test them out!
After some initial thoughts on the metagame, I have decided to create my own tier list for all the Megamax Pokemon and some opinions on them.
Despite Mega Blastoise and Duraludon getting nerfs, I still believe they are the most threatening out of all the megas. Duraludon is still strong as always, but the rearranged Speed tier lets it get outsped by both Urshifu forms and Volcarona, some of the best wallbreakers in the game currently. You can still use this effectively against slower Pokemon, so the nerf is not too unwarranted. Blastoise, now being able to deny the use of critical hits so it doesn't get OHKOed easily, still boasts off some pretty strong hits after a single Shell Smash even without Sheer Force. It's more dependent on its wide coverage to hit many Pokemon.
Mega Grimmsnarl with a high Attack stat is able to freely wear off its ability Hustle decreasing the accuracy of moves thanks to Hone Claws, making this buff completely desirable and makes it potentially an amazing breaker. Its access to Sucker Priority priority can even be used to wear down some faster things so it's pretty useful as a revenge killer in some situations. Has some alright bulk as well. Copperajah has great stats all-round (Speed being an exception, of course) and the popular use of Mandibuzz allow it to get a free +2 boost after Defog, turning the thing into a slow but very strong wallbreaker. Has decent bulk and great coverages as well. Both Appletun and Flapple are good, they both serve their own roles very well and has been getting praise recently. (Flapple is pretty weak without Dragon Dance though). Mega Hatterene is a great revenge killer with Trick Room, and in my opinion surprasses the original form in a way. Receiving Moonblast STAB is a nice addition to its movepool and can kill off some things much more quicker thanks to Trick Room turns lasting longer. Otherwise its stats are also great offensively. Urshifu-RS is in low Great because it still lacks the coverages that are able to wear down its biggest threats such as Tangrowth and Toxapex, but the higher offensive stats give it a plus.
Mega Sandaconda has a great offensive and defensive typing, and there's no denying that it has a wide movepool and nice physical stats along with Aerilate to go along with it. Mega Snorlax is one of my favorite megas, but I will rank it here since it is only primarily used as a bulky win-con. Snorlax has incredible stats, with some good bulk and attack and a low Speed to balance things out. Despite how bulky it is, it's also worn down pretty easily after a few battles and relies on Rest for recovery (Natural Cure cures sleep if it switches back in and out; cool side note.) Mega Pikachu has some good offensive stats and additionally also works pretty good under Electric Terrain, as it is able to spam its STABs more such as Rising Voltage and Bolt Strike. Mega Alcremie is another neat bulky win-con with a good defensive typing and reliable recovery. Mega Kingler is a standard wallbreaker, but its bulk and Poison typing kind of fall short. Mega Charizard has a stellar ability with Multiscale and can force out some things with its useful movepool coverage.
That's all i'm going to be giving my thoughts on. You can add on to these, but please remember these are just my opinions.
Mega Grimmsnarl with a high Attack stat is able to freely wear off its ability Hustle decreasing the accuracy of moves thanks to Hone Claws, making this buff completely desirable and makes it potentially an amazing breaker. Its access to Sucker Priority priority can even be used to wear down some faster things so it's pretty useful as a revenge killer in some situations. Has some alright bulk as well. Copperajah has great stats all-round (Speed being an exception, of course) and the popular use of Mandibuzz allow it to get a free +2 boost after Defog, turning the thing into a slow but very strong wallbreaker. Has decent bulk and great coverages as well. Both Appletun and Flapple are good, they both serve their own roles very well and has been getting praise recently. (Flapple is pretty weak without Dragon Dance though). Mega Hatterene is a great revenge killer with Trick Room, and in my opinion surprasses the original form in a way. Receiving Moonblast STAB is a nice addition to its movepool and can kill off some things much more quicker thanks to Trick Room turns lasting longer. Otherwise its stats are also great offensively. Urshifu-RS is in low Great because it still lacks the coverages that are able to wear down its biggest threats such as Tangrowth and Toxapex, but the higher offensive stats give it a plus.
Mega Sandaconda has a great offensive and defensive typing, and there's no denying that it has a wide movepool and nice physical stats along with Aerilate to go along with it. Mega Snorlax is one of my favorite megas, but I will rank it here since it is only primarily used as a bulky win-con. Snorlax has incredible stats, with some good bulk and attack and a low Speed to balance things out. Despite how bulky it is, it's also worn down pretty easily after a few battles and relies on Rest for recovery (Natural Cure cures sleep if it switches back in and out; cool side note.) Mega Pikachu has some good offensive stats and additionally also works pretty good under Electric Terrain, as it is able to spam its STABs more such as Rising Voltage and Bolt Strike. Mega Alcremie is another neat bulky win-con with a good defensive typing and reliable recovery. Mega Kingler is a standard wallbreaker, but its bulk and Poison typing kind of fall short. Mega Charizard has a stellar ability with Multiscale and can force out some things with its useful movepool coverage.
That's all i'm going to be giving my thoughts on. You can add on to these, but please remember these are just my opinions.