Moody

[Arc Tech]

They just sub on the switch to sableye.

I'm pretty sure sacred sword is affected by accuracy- it just ignores defense boost (needs testing ingame though).

Foresight/Odor Sleuth/Miracle Eye: defense boosts are nearly as bad as evasion boosts, and offensive boosts can prevent your pokes from even getting them off. only works with phaze, if at all.

Clear smog: Mushy can't take boosted ice attacks, can weezing take boosted special attacks? (P.S. Doesn't sub block pain split, his only method of recovery)?

I went into why hone claws is outclassed by swords dance and in all respects other than evasion a gimmicky option.

The only real counters are probably haze MS murkrow (is it legal with roost though- and yet?), who can probably beaten with a combination of ice attacks and luck boosting the right attack, and toxic spikes, which are easily foiled by a grounded poison, which any team abusing inconsistent should run.

 

[j99ubers]

Enlong in any generation pokemon how many (competitive) teams have you ever seen that run Haze/Miracle Eye/Odor Sleuth/ Foresight. The others I can't comment onsince they are all new moves but I imagine that without Inconsistent the only one of those moves that would be commonly used is Sacred Sword and its distribution is limited to four pokemon. Almost no pokemon would rather run claw sharpen than any other boosting move since accuracy is normally such a sub par stat to increase. How many Erufuun want to give up another useful move on their Mischevious Heart sets for Worry Seed an almost universally useless move. If you want to build a team that can counter any threat inconsistent can offer your general team quality will vastly suffer, trust me.

 

[SJCrew]

I'm pretty sure sacred sword is affected by accuracy- it just ignores defense boost (needs testing ingame though).

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sacred_Sword_(move)

Sacred Sword inflicts damage. The stat modifications of the target's Defense and Evasion are ignored when using this attack. However, Sacred Sword does not bypass Reflect.

 

[SupremeDirt]

...
...
Clear Smog can miss.

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sacred_Sword_(move)

HAH.

Using bulbapedia as a source.

 

[Enlong]

Sacred Sword, just like Little By Little, ignores Evasion boots, according to Bulbapedia.

Boosted ice moves? Clear Smog removes those boosts!

Unless Inconsistent users are being trained for speed (and why should they? They're stalling and getting speed boosts), Wheezing can outspeed them with Clear Smog with a little speed investment. Gengar can even if he's not trained for speed.

...
...
Clear Smog can miss.

Both Bulbapedia and Serebii list it as 101/0 Accuracy, which means Swift-style never miss.

Enlong in any generation pokemon how many (competitive) teams have you ever seen that run Haze/Miracle Eye/Odor Sleuth/ Foresight.

OK, now that just isn't fair. You don't see them because you keep freaking banning the stuff they were built to counter!

Granted, you can still use them on Ghosts...

 

[revengeska]

...
...
Clear Smog can miss.



HAH.

Using bulbapedia as a source.

Bulbapedia lists this ability as increasing a stat by 2 levels, and decreasing a stat by 1 level. Serebii, Veekun, and Marriland list it as increasing a stat by 1 level, and decreasing a stat by 1 level.

So what about Bulbapedia now?

 

[Thee]

Before the Inconsistent gets too many boosts, Breloom and Morabareru can comfortably counter most Inconsistent sets.
But if the Inconsistent user (who plays intelligently) manages to get up enough evasion boosts (which are broken), barely anything outside of Haze/Perish Song/ anything like that can stop it. (From what I know; I may be wrong since I barely dabbled in 5th gen)

It is counterable, but in Standard OU, I don't think having just 1 or 2 counters to one specific pokemon, especially when it is possible for a team to eliminate the Inconsistent counters, is a bit much. (adding on the fact that the pokemon with Inconsistent can sweep an entire team, and the Inconsistent counters were placed mainly to counter just 1 pokemon)

It goes like this:
Inconsistent: Worth potentially 4-6 of your opponent's pokemon
Inconsistent Counter: Worth at the least 1 of your opponent's pokemon

Essentially, you have need to have this one pokemon so your opponent's one pokemon does not obliterate you (unless you edit your team to handle inconsistent). And while this one pokemon may be an integral gear to your team, it is still costing you a move slot / potentially better option.

 

[Lou Cypher]

I just faced a team that ran MH Lightninggenie (which countered Smeargle setting up very well), Haze Blastoise and Morobearu.

Octillery still swept by virtue of getting in in time.

You can run all the counters you want, ONE wrong move and you're dead meat.

 

[Enlong]

I just faced a team that ran MH Lightninggenie (which countered Smeargle setting up very well), Haze Blastoise and Morobearu.

Octillery still swept by virtue of getting in in time.

You can run all the counters you want, ONE wrong move and you're dead meat.

Explain what you mean by "Getting in in time".

 

[SupremeDirt]

I'll test Evasion later, but I seriously doubt it ignores it.

 

[TorchicBlaziken]

Another Good Thing About Clear Smog:

Haze nullifies YOUR boosts, too.

 

[Jonathan]

I've tested Inconsistent Octillery extensively over the past few days, and here are my thoughts on it.

No one will deny that Inconsistent is an amazing ability, giving otherwise useless Pokemon a place on OU teams. But I see waaaay too much emphasis being placed on the "evasion boost" aspect of the ability. It's the possibility of a sharp Speed boost, and consequently the 10 or so turns of alternating between Substitute and Protect, that make this ability truly great. Even in matches where after 10 turns I end up neutral or negative in the evasion department, I'll often have enough Special Attack & Speed to rip through teams. And this an important distinction, as everyone clamoring for a ban is doing so by arguing that the Evasion boosts make the ability broken. Yes they certainly help, but from extensive experience I feel that if people want to prove that Inconsistent is broken, they will have to do so by arguing that 10 turns of +1 boosts is broken, not that it breaks Evasion Clause.

Why the Evasion aspect is overhyped: People seem so caught up in the Evasion/Speed boosts that they're completely forgetting the Evasion/Speed drops. From the moment you switch Octillery into battle, on average you should expect to be +1 in all stats seven turns later. And yes, whether you get the Evasion boost in the 1st or in the 7th turn makes a big difference, but really, is a Pokemon that on average has +1 evasion for seven turns (more like 3/4 turns if you factor in Protect) really broken? Sand Veil and Snow Cloak aren't banned because of +1 Evasion (Garchomp may have been banned last gen. but that wasn't entirely due to Sand Veil, and regardless, no one seems to consider him a suspect at this point this gen). Obviously with such an ability the boosts you get, and thus your opponent's "reaction time" to deal with this strategy vary significantly from match to match, but your opponent has roughly 3/4 turns on average to Roar you out when you're at +1 evasion. And that should happen more often than not.

Also I can't tell you the number of times I've gotten a +2 Speed boost and been on a Protect/Substitute binge, to suddenly get a Speed drop. That's the last thing you need when facing Starmie or Latios. My point is even without factoring Evasion in, this strategy is hardly GG if you switch in and get a Speed Boost.

Big picture: you need to respond quickly to Inconsistent users. Even without resorting to the ridiculous measures listed in this thread, you should come out on top more often than not if a) you have a fast Pokemon that can OHKO, b) you have a Roarer. Yes you might get especially unlucky here and there, but if you have two Pokemon that fit the above description, and really who doesn't in the OU Metagame, you should be able to handle Inconsistent Pokemon. If you want to throw in something like Perish Song/Toxic Spikes for good measure go for it, their uses certainly aren't limited to dealing with Inconsistent users. And really, shouldn't we embrace an element of the game which brings otherwise useless Pokemon into the light?

 

[Vaz]

For all you people that use Politoed, a useful set that can easily stop most incosistent users is this set:

Politoed @ Leftovers
Bold/Calm
252 HP/252 Def or 252 SpD
- Perish Song
- Hypnosis
- Boil Over
- Protect

The reason it works so effectively is because Perish Song cannot be stopped. It is unnaffected by Evasion and bypasses substitutes and only takes 1 move to hit and the opponent will be forced to switch. Besides, it is not like Politoed has any other better set to use, its movepool is quite small and limited. When using Politoed and just after the successful excecution of Perish Song, it is smart to switch into a sweeper when the count reaches 2 so at the end of the turn it will reach 1, leaving the opponent with the decision to either attack the sweeper and faint which may do a lot or little damage, or switch which keeps the incosistent user alive but allows the sweeper to set up. A good sweeper to progress well with Politoed is Manaphy. After 1 Tail Glow its Special Attack is boosted +3 and also has access to rest which can restore its full health and cure status damage, and which the sleep condition there after is healed by Hydration. I use it all the time and it works very well. Watch out for Toxic Spikes though.

 

[Thee]

I've tested Inconsistent Octillery extensively over the past few days, and here are my thoughts on it.



Why the Evasion aspect is overhyped: People seem so caught up in the Evasion/Speed boosts that they're completely forgetting the Evasion/Speed drops. From the moment you switch Octillery into battle, on average you should expect to be +1 in all stats seven turns later. And yes, whether you get the Evasion boost in the 1st or in the 7th turn makes a big difference, but really, is a Pokemon that on average has +1 evasion for seven turns (more like 3/4 turns if you factor in Protect) really broken? Sand Veil and Snow Cloak aren't banned because of +1 Evasion (Garchomp may have been banned last gen. but that wasn't entirely due to Sand Veil, and regardless, no one seems to consider him a suspect at this point this gen). Obviously with such an ability the boosts you get, and thus your opponent's "reaction time" to deal with this strategy vary significantly from match to match, but your opponent has roughly 3/4 turns on average to Roar you out when you're at +1 evasion. And that should happen more often than not.

Also I can't tell you the number of times I've gotten a +2 Speed boost and been on a Protect/Substitute binge, to suddenly get a Speed drop. That's the last thing you need when facing Starmie or Latios. My point is even without factoring Evasion in, this strategy is hardly GG if you switch in and get a Speed Boost.

Even without resorting to the ridiculous measures listed in this thread, you should come out on top more often than not if a) you have a fast Pokemon that can OHKO, b) you have a Roarer.

While evasion boosts are not everything, they can drastically change the outcome of a battle. Even against the strongest pokemon or a +6+6 on your opponent's pokemon, it doesn't mean anything if they cannot hit you. Evasion also raises it by 2 stages each time, so barring a drop and factoring in Protect, Whirlwind is not as reliable as it seems. Essentially, Evasion allows this fantastic ability to have the chance to be brokenly annoying.
a) Sub + Protect is hard to break through outside of Cloyster or Breloom. And with defensive boosts, Inconsistent users can tank heavy hits.
b) A potent option when your opponent just switched in, but the evasion, as I covered, becomes a bit of a problem. But it seems Roar is a solid option.

 

[Enlong]

"barring a drop"?

Inconsistent drops a stat every round. And it's just as likely to drop evasion, or ACCURACY, as it is to raise one of them.

Saying "barring a drop" is like saying "as long as he doesn't get an Evasion boost". It's just not something you can discount.

 

[deiphobus]

cant you just Roar/Whirlwind/Dragon Tail it out? Sure it will be back later, but you can stop a possible team sweep for the moment.

Suicune used Roar!
Suicune's attack missed!

Suicune used Roar!
Suicune's attack missed!

Suicune used Roar!
Suicune's attack missed!

Suicune used Roar!
Suicune's attack missed!

With +1 or +2 evasion, you have a chance of stopping them, but once your opponent gets to +4 or so, you have little chance of stopping them.

"barring a drop"?

Inconsistent drops a stat every round. And it's just as likely to drop evasion, or ACCURACY, as it is to raise one of them.

Saying "barring a drop" is like saying "as long as he doesn't get an Evasion boost". It's just not something you can discount.

Have you actually played a team with an inconsistent Octillery or Bibarel? They're really hard to stop with enough boosts, after three or more turns. Defense and Special Defense drops are negligible, because they hide behind substitutes and protects. Even if they're not protecting, they'll usually have enough evasion boosts to not have their subs broken at least half the time. Plus, Inconsistent sharply raises a stat, and only lowers one by one stage. You have an equal chance to boost and raise evasion, so even if a pokemon's evasion was being lowered more frequently than usual, its net change for evasion will mostly likely still be positive. Same goes for accuracy and every other stat.

 

[Lou Cypher]

Explain what you mean by "Getting in in time".

I managed to eliminate Voltros with one of my other pokes (because yeah, those teams have 6 pokes). A few turns later I got Smeargle back in and managed to Spore. I got Ingrain, passed to Octillery and started setting up. Toxic struck Blastoise and from there on I could easily wait it out.

 

[breh]

I have to agree with jonathan; the speed boost is far more vital than the evasion boost. If I get +2 speed and don't get any drops, I will win most of the time. After you get speed, it's just a matter of stalling (at worst) the 8 turns and getting a free sub up after you get enough defense boosts. if you get a free sub up, you have a really good chance to win... bascially do this against a wall though, because you can get defense boosts that will really help for that.

FYI I run max HP/Speed on my glalie.

 

[Enlong]

I hate to be a broken record, but Clear Smog will reset the 'mon's speed through the free substitute.

And most of its users are immune to Toxic.

 

[TLK]

I don't know whether it's a PO glitch, but I've had Clear Smog miss with the mushroom Pokemon after a few evasion boosts.

 

[Texas Cloverleaf]

For those saying phaze them out what happens when the Inconsistent pokemon is the last mon left. TSpkies is mostly null since a good player will ensure that TSpikes and the TSpikes user have been eliminated early in the battle.

 

[alphatron]

A good player will ensure that they win the battle. Tspikes isn't exactly a null option just because they can be eliminated.

A friend of mine uses suicune to handle the inconsistent users. He just uses rest to heal off the toxic damage and calm minds his way through the octillery or glalie's resisted attacks. Though he never stated anything about struggle killing him though.

 

[Arc Tech]

+6 glalie Earthquake vs 252/252 bold suicune: 38.6% - 45.5%

If they have toxic spikes support a lot of glalies go for EQ over toxic to hit steels. And that was with no attack evs.

Equal boost Octillery energy ball: 26.2% - 31.2% If octillery gets a sp atk boost higher than your defense boost, you probably lose there. Also, since octillery is the one hitting more while you're missing, that means he's the one who's gonna get a crit.

 

[commonyoshi]

I just got totally screwed over by this ability. I had a major lead, but I just couldn't finish Octilary off because I couldn't hit him. It was actually kind of cool. But yeah, ban this.

 

[sax king]

I think Super Fang works really well on these Inconsistent pokemon. They definitely need an attacking move as well, but if you use Toxic the first turn, then super fang for the next two, the opponent's dead in three turns. Glalie, Bibarel, and Smeargle all learn this. What are your thoughts?

Also, a Glalie in the hail is a total monster. Not only does it wear down the opponent much quicker, but it can be a total pain if paired with Stallrein. Essentially, you could have a team of Abomasnow, Glalie, Stallrein, and maybe a cleaner, and that's all you'd need.