With HOME dropping tomorrow, I figured I'd give my thoughts on what the new Hisuian Forms would do for the metagame, alongside a brief ranking for each
Final List:
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With access to U-Turn to maintain momentum and Dire Claw in conjunction with Poison Touch, Sneasler can pretty safely punish switch ins with a 30% chance to poison or even a whopping 65% chance to status with Dire Claw, slowly wearing them down.
I mean Dire Claw in conjunction with Poison Touch. A 50% chance to activate Dire Claw and then 30% for Poison Touch if Dire Claw did not activate, resulting in an overall 65% chance to active either of the two. I do see it's a bit confusing though so I'll edit the original message.A little nitpick here but it's actually 60% for dire claw![]()
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I mean Dire Claw in conjunction with Poison Touch. A 50% chance to activate Dire Claw and then 30% for Poison Touch if Dire Claw did not activate, resulting in an overall 65% chance to active either of the two. I do see it's a bit confusing though so I'll edit the original message.
H-brav can run t-lens cm esperwing set which can be absolutely scary. Baby espathra. h-Decid is a really fine defogger mon too as it is a defogger that threatens gholdengo with triple arroes. Sash and pivot variants of kleavor are solid too oh and h-samurrot esp with AV is a really good gholdengo answer. H-sam is easy B ranked mon and kleavor can be around B ranks too.With HOME droppingtomorrowsoon™, I figured I'd give my thoughts on what the new Hisuian Forms would do for the metagame, alongside a brief ranking for each
S - New metagame staples, whether it be though utility or offensive prowess, these are the mons to look out for in the new metagame
A - Solid picks, that have good traits but also have drawbacks or other issues holding them back
B - Niche options that may see some use, but have serious drawbacks or other qualities that make them undesirable
C - Bad options that generally shouldn't be used, little to no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and bad picks all-around
D - Worst of the worst, never ever use these options
A - pretty solid midspeed breaker, while 115 attack isn't anything special, rock head alongside its access to flare blitz and head smash mean this could throw a wrench into common metagame mons, especially those on slower teams
D - terrible pokemon, its got all the same issues that regular avalugg has, except worse in every regard. It's a defensive mon with the single worst defensive dual type in the game, terrible special bulk and a useless signature move
S - this is a pokemon to look out for. obviously with access to last respects it'd be turbo broken, but assuming last respects gets banned this mon would find a comfy home on rain teams as their main breaker. while slower than floatzel, its still got a great speed tier in rain alongside a second potent stab in ghost, a much higher hp stat allowing it to spam wave crash more, and slightly higher base attack elevating it to a level above floatzel. be ready for this mon to punch holes in unprepared teams and a general thorn in the side for builders
C - on paper this looks like a pretty solid option, 112 spa is nothing to scoff at, especially with access to sheer force, but the cripplingly low speed tier alongside middling bulk and a weakness to dark makes this an all around ok mon, scarfed tinted lens sets could potentially be interesting, but as a whole I don't think this mon is that good
B - triple arrows looks neat, but the statline shoehorns it into trick room teams so it's not getting much usage. again, could be an interesting scarfer, especially with triple arrows' secondary effects but nothing too crazy
D - who
B - seems ok at best, on paper a fairy type contrary user with a solid speed tier seems good, but sadly the only move she gets that works with contrary is superpower, so it's not going to be that good
C - looking at the stats on this thing, I figured it could be a pretty solid mon on fatter teams, with its good defensive typing and great statline, but unfortunately it's missing both defog and recovery, meaning its not a great option, if for some reason it gets roost and defog when it comes to S/V it could be a very solid option
A - very similar mon to regular goodra, but a valuable steel dual typing could make this a very desirable mon, as 110 spa is still somewhat threatening, especially with it's good movepool
C - rocks aren't that hard to get up right now, and magic bounce/taunt isnt even the most common. its stats also aren't the best, with 135 attack being its only one worth mention, most pokemon can probably just outright outspeed and kill it, just run a consistent rocker like lando-t
S - this thing is scary man, on paper 105 attack isn't that high, but with access to hustle and objectively better dragon dance, this thing is going to be incredibly scary to switch into. absolutely going to require building around in the builder, especially with all the great options it has for its 4th move
B - ok looking pokemon, intimidate on a poison/dark type could see some use on a few teams, but otherwise it looks pretty unremarkable as a whole
C - does not look very usable, while ceasless edge + sharpness seems like a good combo, its stats are just terrible, poor speed tier and terrible bulk as a whole make this hard to justity using, as most common leads can probably just instantly kill it with a smidgen of offensive investment, only niche it gets is how hard it beats stall
S - s/v's candidate for most annoying mon of all time. while I don't think this'll become too common, it's going to be a right pain in the ass to switch into, with dire claw's frankly absurd secondary effects alongside potent setup options in sd and unburden options w/ seed, it'll see common use on hyper offense teams and looks like a potent late game and gambit answer
B - signature move seems nice, ability to fish for burns on switches is good, but lack of good statline and poor abilities make it situationally usable over regular hex users like dragapult
A - wake up babe new fat mu fish just dropped. jokes aside this looks like an incredibly potent midspeed breaker, ground/steel has good offensive coverage and access to guts and a base attack of 140 makes this thing scary, but not being able to hold an item, taking 6% damage every turn, usable but not impressive bulk and terrible speed tier hold it back a lot, could potentially see use on tr teams but idk how common they'll be
C - psyshield bash is interesting, otherwise unremarkable as a whole, offensive mon hindered by poor speed tier + bad bulk
Final List:
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Just wanted to give my own thoughts on a few of these picks. I'll preface this by saying I don't think anything ranked B or below will be viable in natdex OU and therefore I won't bother too much with their placements.
I personally would put Ursaluna and Sneasler in S tier as most likely to have a significant metagame impact. First I'd have to address a mistake in your post saying Ursaluna is Steel/Ground. It is actually Normal/Ground giving it STAB on its already strong Facade. Ursaluna is indeed slow but its bulk really shouldn't be underestimated as it can live just about any neutral hit. In return its STABs are so powerful that even against offensive teams it can at least trade 1v1. it becomes even scarier against bulky teams where it can be expected to grab at least 2 or even 3 KOs. I honestly think Ursaluna is one of the most likely to get banned of all the Hisui Pokemon.
Second we have Sneasler, another big contender for receiving the ban hammer. I've seen many people already hypothesize on the effectiveness of Unburden sets, and while I definitely see those being powerful I believe Choice Band with Poison Touch could also be very deadly against any team without a Poison type. Zamazenta has already shown us how powerful a 120 attack Choice Band Close Combat can be and Sneasler ramps that up to 130 base attack. Zamazenta is indeed faster but it has a tendency to thud into resists. With access to U-Turn to maintain momentum and Dire Claw in conjunction with Poison Touch, Sneasler can pretty safely punish switch ins with a 30% chance to poison on Close Combat or U-Turn or even a whopping 65% chance to status with Dire Claw when factoring in Poison Touch, allowing it to slowly wear down its checks.
For A tier I'd pick Liligant and Basculegion. Liligant is an interesting option with Victory Dance and Hustle, with a nice coverage option for flying types in Ice Spinner and the option to run Z-moves to offset the hustle accuracy drop if need be. I don't know exactly how consistent it will be with a somewhat lackluster typing, meager stats and the double-edged sword that is Hustle.
Basculegion I'm not all too thrilled about to be honest. Without Last Respects it lacks a good physical Ghost STAB and its lower speed could be detrimental. We'll have to see if it's possible to give Basculegion Flip Turn once Home drops, but if not I just see it as a Floatzel alternative.
I do not think Arcanine-Hisui will have a metagame impact. Its attacks are indeed strong but we have many strong attackers going around and Arcanine has many flaws to hold it back. Its Rock/Fire is incredibly poor defensively which combined with its below average speed tier of 90 makes it difficult to safely get onto the field. This is compounded by its Stealth Rock weakness which limits its wallbreaking potential even further.
Goodra-Hisui could definitely be an interesting pick with its solid typing and very high special bulk, but I'll have to wait and see how well it can actually use that bulk to help its team.
I won't go over the other mons much because I simply do not think they will have a solid niche in OU but Enamorus also deserves a mention thanks to her strong special attack, Contrary Superpower and good speed tier. The main problem is that she seems almost completely outclassed in OU by Iron Valiant, with the only advantage being her higher special attack stat. I could definitely see her getting quickbanned from natdex UU however.
TLDR:
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C: Everything else
It does not have a secondary stab to spam as the only physical ghost move it has besides Last Respect is Phantom Force. Psychic Fangs also isn't as useful as it may seem, given it's a horrible move to lock into and tera water Wave Crash hits harder in rain anyways. Also you won't KO Toxapex as it'll just switch out and regenerate a large portion of the damage you dealt.basculegion not only gets a secondary stab to spam, it's also got better bulk, and rather notably, a psychic move to hit toxapex (252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Water Basculegion Psychic Fangs vs. 252 HP / 212+ Def Toxapex: 150-178 (49.3 - 58.5%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO)
Its speed is an issue in the sense that it won't be able to outspeed scarfers like Kartana with Adamant. If you want to outspeed them you'd have to run Jolly which means its damage output is actually on the same level as Floatzel.its speed is generally a nonissue, especially with access to swift swim allowing it to outspeed everything relevant that's above 450 under rain.
What's funny is that I was about to post a team around this core in the bazaar thread great minds think alike?!? although I went protective pads instead of choice band![]()
Sneasler is a very potent pivot with Dire Claw being as RNG-busted as ever and spreading status quite easily, which then Dragapult can abuse with Hex. Sneasler can deal with Kingambit and Heatran for Dragapult, and Dragapult can cripple Pokemon like Landorus-T and Gliscor. Gholdengo can be annoying for this core, but a majority of teams have a Kingambit to deal with it anyways. Best spam Sneasler before it's gone!Sneasler @ Choice Band
Ability: Poison Touch
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Dire Claw
- U-turn
- Fire Punch
Dragapult @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp
- Dragon Darts
- U-turn
So I’m making this post to put the spotlight on an archetype that might be flying under the radar at the moment:
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https://pokepast.es/72b68259cad129b5
This is pretty much a much more aggressive take on the “thugnar”-like teams (This is thugnar: https://pokepast.es/0c1f55bfc323763a) we have been seeing for a bit: the idea behind this team is stacking very strong win conditions complemented by spikes. While the team might look not as defensively sound as your usual fat teams, it is offensively much more threatening: in my opinion, one of the things that made thugnar successful is how difficult it can be to consistently answer both Garganacl and MLop in the long run, while MLop is in general a great safety net against offense. Here, you not only got MLop and Garganacl, but also Cresselia and Gliscor, which are themselves terrifying win conditions. This team is not meant to be played passively: you have the tools to step on your opponent’s throat and eventually open the door for one of your win conditions to win or at least irremediably damage the opposing team. The team also is very resilient against spikes, which imo is a very very important asset for a bulky team like this one, on top of letting you keep the pressure ongoing without having to spend a turn on clearing hazards.
After some tests, this team felt way too consistent despite being haphazardly thrown together, and wonderfully takes advantage of broken Tera exacerbating the potency of the win condition of your choice. I want to make it clear that by making this post I don’t want to highlight the team, but the idea behind it (a.k.a. forgo your defensive sturdiness on fat to make room to stack broken win conditions/progress makers) as I believe it has a lot of potential and def deserves to be explored more. I think the 6 I posted works but sets probably can be tweaked. Variants with other progress makers/win conditions can be tried out (knock rocks clef, tera reuni, bu corv,… or whatever else you could think of.).
Tbh I didn’t watch the wcop games yet so I don’t know if pple already are running that kind of stuff lol, but still wanted to mention it in the thread as no one did yet.
Here is a replay (I should have saved more but I forgor, honestly just try the team lol):
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-1875892802
This really isn't a problem for this team because 1. Mega Sableye is kind of dead and B. Gliscor absolutely destroys mega sableye teamsExcept for Garg and Lopunny this team could be crippled by M-sabeleye especially with cresselia since M-Sabe is immune to both of cress's attacking moves
I agree with most of this, but Ursaluna has gotta be top tier. That not “always great” Normal typing gives it an annoying Fighting weakness, but it gets STAB Guts-boosted Facades, and it can be an absolute nuke. It has all the coverage it wants in Headlong Rush, Crunch, Fire Punch, Play Rough, etc, and it can become an even more horrifying wallbreaker (and one immune to burns!) with Swords Dance. Not to mention, the bear is very hard to one-shot in return despite its low speed, and the only things that can even dream of switching into it are immune. When Ursaluna is on the field, something is guaranteed to faint. The only arguable flaw is that it needs a lot of team support to function, such as Trick Room, but this mon is like Melmetal in that its power is so substantial the support is worth it.Okay folks, the time has finally fallen upon us, with new pokemon always come a new meta, and boy is there a plenty new amount of them...
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So ill be ranking all of them briefly, there pros and cons, and some movesets for all of them... so lets get into it.
Also, my classic rank system:
=Niche
=Good
=Great
=Bad
Pros:
-Solid Offensive Typing
-Three amazing abilities in Intimidate, Flash Fire and Reckless.
-Solid Attack stat and respectable bulk.
-Excellent attacking moves for Reckless in Head Smash, Flare Blitz and Wild Charge.
Cons:
-Middling Speed for the Tier.
-Horrible Defensive Typing.
-Stealth Rock weak.
Wooper rank:
Pros:
-Insane Defense Stat.
-Decent moveset
-Design wise, it's top tier.
Cons:
-ABBYSMAL DEFENSIVE TYPING.
-Super Frail on the Special Side.
-Very Slow.
-Stealth Rock weak.
Wooper rank:
Pros:
-Solid Offensive type
-Strong Water STAB in Wave Crash
-Swift Swim and Adaptability are great
-Respectable Attack stat
-Solid Option on Rain Teams.
-Better design than its female counterpart.
Cons:
-Last Respects was banned(Thanks Arceus for that).
-Strong competition in Floatzel and Barraskewda as a Swift Swimmer.
-Lackluster bulk despite its High HP stat.
-Rather slow and somewhat useless outside of Rain.
Wooper rating:
Pros:
-Ok special attack
-Solid Stab Combination
-Good Stabs in Hydro Pump, Surf and Shadow Ball.
-Ice Beam always good on a Water type.
Cons:
-Similar issues as Basculegion M, rather useless outside of Rain teams.
-Strong competition with Kingdra as a Swift Swimmer.
-Worse coverage options tham Basculegion M.
-I prefer male's design more.
Wooper rank:
Pros:
-Great signature move.
-High HP and Special Attack
-Two great abilities in Sheer Force amd Tinted Lens.
-Decent coverage.
Cons:
-Low Defense stats and Speed.
-Awful Defensive typing.
-Stealth Rock weak.
-Sig move is blocked by Dark types.
-Sheer Force doesn't work with Sig.
Wooper ranks:
Pros
-Great Signature move.
-Solid Attack stat and respectable special bulk.
-Excellent movepool.
-Great Ability in Scrappy.
-Cool design.
Cons:
-Bad defensive typing.
-Not so good offensive combination.(Scrappy does make up for it a bit do).
-Slow and middling physical bulk.
-Strong Competition as a Scrappy user with Mega Lopunny.
Wooper ranks:
Pros:
-Fast as f*** boi...
-Decent abilities in Static, Aftermath and Bulletproof.
-Respectable utility movepool.
Cons:
-Frail as F***.... boi.
-Middling Special Attack, and awful Physical attack.
-A rather mediocre Signature move.
-Awful coverage.
Wooper ranks:
Pros:
-Contrary.
-Superpower... alongside Contrary.
-High Special atk.
-Solid Physical atk.
-Decent speed.
-Solid special attacking coverage.
-2 valuable immunities in Dragon and Ground(R.I.P Garchomp)
-Has solid resitances in Dark and Fighting, and also resist Grass and Bug.
Cons:
-Rather Frail.
-Stealth Rock weak.
-Lackluster Physical attacking cocerage.
-Superpower has low PP.
-Awful weaknesses to Electric, Ice, Rock, Steel and Poison.
-Not a fan of its design.
Wooper rank:
Pros:
-Solid bulk.
-High Special Attack.
-Decent Physical Attack.
-Typing has the same pros as regular Enamorus.
-Special attack coverage.
-Overcoat is a fine ability.
Cons:
-No Contrary.
-Very Slow.
-Typings has the cons as regular Enamorus.
-Lackluster Physical attacking coverage.
-No a fan of its design.
Wooper rank:
Pros:
-Amazing Defensive typing.
-Stealth Rock resistant.
-High Special Defense.
-Respectable physical defense and HP.
-Solid Special attack.
-Excellent attacking coverage.
-Ok abilities.
Cons:
-NO RECOVERY MOVE.(minus the universal and unreliable Rest).
-No Utility to speak of.
-Rather Slow.
-Hilariously mediocre Signature move.(Acid Armor does the same, but with more PP).
Wooper rank:
Pros:
-Amazing Signature move.
-Solid Utility movepool(Including a recovery move in Roost).
-Good ability in Sharpness.
-High Attack stat.
-Solid physical bulk.
-Cool looking design.
Cons:
-Mediocre defensive typing.
-Stealth Rock weak.
-Middling special bulk and speed.
-Sig has a chance to miss.
Wooper rank:
-Amazing Signature move.
-Respectable Attack and speed stats.
-Two excellent abilities in Chlorophyll and Hustle.
-Can Fit on Sun as well as in Hyper Offense.
-Adorable design.
Cons:
-Frail.
-Bad defensive typing.
-Mediocre Offensive typing.
-Lackluster coverage.(minus the universal Tera Blast)
-Some competition as a Chlorphyller with Venusaur and Scovillain.
-Hustle has its own flaws.
Wooper ranks:
Pros:
-Good Signature move.
-Good defensive typing.
-Respectable offensive typing.
-Solid attack stat.
-Swift Swim and Intimidate are great abilities.
-Has Spikes(as if the move Spikes, not the ones on itself).
Cons:
-Swift Swimmer without Water Stab.
-Signature move is blocked by Steel types.
-Lackluster coverage.
-No reliable Recovery.
-A ton of Competition for a Swift Swimmer.
Wooper ranks:
Pros:
-Amazing Signature move.
-Great Offensive typing.
-Solid Offensive movepool.
Cons:
-Mediocre bulk and speed.
-A ton of competition as both an offensive mon, and as a Spikes setter(yes, Ceasless Edge is technically Spikes on steroids).
-Its Sig has a chance to miss.
Wooper rank:
Pros:
-Broken Signature move.
-Great STAB combination.
-High Attack and Speed.
-Unburden.
-Great coverage options.
-Cool design.
Cons:
-Pretty frail.
-Unburden can only be triggered once per game.
Wooper ranks:
Pros:
-Great Signature move.
-Great Stab combination.
-Burn Up alongside Tera Fire is really good.
-Solid Special Attack.
Cons:
-Middling Speed stat.
-Middling Special bulk and mediocre physical bulk.
-Stealth Rock weak.
-Any chip damage nutters Eruption.
-Signature is blocked by Normal types.
-Depressive design.
Wooper ranks:
Pros:
-High Atk stat.
-High HP, good physical bulk.
-Guts prevents opposing status, plus gives it a Choice Band like boost.
-Solid coverage options.
Cons:
-Very Slow.
-Partial Normal typing isn't always great.
-Lack of reliable healing, outside of Drain Punch.(and Rest)
-Constantly getting chipped fron its own Flame Orb.
Wooper rank:
Pros:
-Intimidate is always a good ability to have.
-Solid HP and good Offensive stats.
-Decent Signature move.
-Respectable utility movepool.
-Partial Normal typing protects it from Ghost.
Cons:
-Mediocre defense stats.
-Bad defensive typing.
-Bad STAB Combination.
-Rather Slow.
-Signature is blocked by Dark types.
Wooper rank:
So there you have it...
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And of course, before we seal the deal, here are some sets for every single one of them, thanks a lot to hidin for hanging them over.
https://pokepast.es/a3e04dacf63042db
Hope you all enjoy this one.
Even with the nerf it is still too powerful for the tier to handle with tera aroundIs there a possibility to retest Regieleki, with the discovery of the nerf of Transistor?
the very very tiny damage dropoff does not change the fact that it still has no real consistent defensive checks and can volt freely on everything.Is there a possibility to retest Regieleki, with the discovery of the nerf of Transistor?
What's the nerf?Is there a possibility to retest Regieleki, with the discovery of the nerf of Transistor?
I agree with most of this, but Ursaluna has gotta be top tier. That not “always great” Normal typing gives it an annoying Fighting weakness, but it gets STAB Guts-boosted Facades, and it can be an absolute nuke. It has all the coverage it wants in Headlong Rush, Crunch, Fire Punch, Play Rough, etc, and it can become an even more horrifying wallbreaker (and one immune to burns!) with Swords Dance. Not to mention, the bear is very hard to one-shot in return despite its low speed, and the only things that can even dream of switching into it are immune. When Ursaluna is on the field, something is guaranteed to faint. The only arguable flaw is that it needs a lot of team support to function, such as Trick Room, but this mon is like Melmetal in that its power is so substantial the support is worth it.
U could say that the "normal isnt always great"could be corrected, but everything else in the cons section is true, very slow, has no reliable recover move minus drain punch, which isnt always slotted, and flame orb constantly chipping it all are true and are flaws to take into account. Now should it deserve to beI agree with most of this, but Ursaluna has gotta be top tier. That not “always great” Normal typing gives it an annoying Fighting weakness, but it gets STAB Guts-boosted Facades, and it can be an absolute nuke. It has all the coverage it wants in Headlong Rush, Crunch, Fire Punch, Play Rough, etc, and it can become an even more horrifying wallbreaker (and one immune to burns!) with Swords Dance. Not to mention, the bear is very hard to one-shot in return despite its low speed, and the only things that can even dream of switching into it are immune. When Ursaluna is on the field, something is guaranteed to faint. The only arguable flaw is that it needs a lot of team support to function, such as Trick Room, but this mon is like Melmetal in that its power is so substantial the support is worth it.