I feel awkward being one of the few to say this but, in my opinion Pheromosa should not be banned. She does not gave me the amounts of trouble you mention, not as you make it sound here at least. I think she is workable around; indeed, she is unpredictable, has an almost perfect coverage, is also very powerful fast, and has a great ability, but to me she has quite a number of very exploitable flaws, besides her defenses, that keep her from being banworthy. Maybe is it that you are sticking to much to old team models?
*Its already known 71/37/37 bulk keeps her from switching in, anything that endures a hit kills her, focus sash redeems here, but you must lose turns looking for the opportunity to defog. If by any means everything Pheromosa fears, derives from her non existent defenses. This fact alone puts heavy pressure not only on her, but on its teammates, as they will have to take attacks for her, she only can come from a slow U-turn, having a nuke that can break cores, and do marvels but cant come in directly and has to KO in order not to be directly koed is risky.
* She has a vulnerable bug type, hitted super effectively and resisted by many other types naturally (I bet you have 3-4 pokemon that resist this one STAB and the same number to hit it her for super effective damage) this is a huge choice item turn down, you will use Focus Blast or High Jump Kick most of the time,since Ice beam deals decent, but somehow neutral damage to most pokemon bar Chomp and Lando. It also makes stealth rock damage to be neutral, compromising the life orb and focus sash variants even more.
* She can only run one set per match, yes she pressures like crazy, and makes swtiches unnerving, but you can guess the variety if your opponnent did not bring her in early-mid game, or if he is trying to bring a defoger on late game, from the last attack it used too, since life orb takes your health, or even from the damage output in the banded case. Some comments are descirbing this situation as she could run 6 moveslots.
*I also find interesting how her STAB moves have realtively huge drawbacks. Bug Buzz and U-turn are resisted by a wide variety of typings naturally, the later being specifically offensive, which forces her teammates to be bulky enough in order to take hits for her but fast enough so not to be hurted twice, which in tandem makes them not so offensively powerful (Think, Landorus-T, a common pheromosa partner, provides a slow u-turn, intimidate, rocks and a excelent coverage in Stone Edge/ Earthquake, but he cannot manage to handle every pokemon, of every team archetype, if you run a defensive investment, youll be giving up speed or power, if you run the offensive set, then you are too frail. Tapu Lele in the other hand nulifies Greninja´s shurikens, Mega Metagross bullet punch and other priority moves, but it should be running either specs or scarf, since the use of taunt makes you unable to revenge kill faster threats. Any varition is frail, now you have two very powerful and frail pokemon on your team) Focus Blast is called focus miss for a reason, this also sums massive pressure on the quiver dance variant, between not losing sash with rocks and having to set up a turn, missing a hit against anything from Skarmory to hoopa Unbound means dead weight, and it does happen.Alternatively High Jump Kick albeit more accurate and much powerful, gives the rising-in-usage ghosts like Mimikyu and Cofragigus a tool to switch in and get a 50% health off for free, and proceed to pick you with shadow sneak (Psychic Terrain incoming Lele? She wont be able to take a shadow claw or she gives Mimikyu a free sword dance, talking about priority moves, only, she wont take any other pokemon neutral hit). Quiver Dance transforms you into a nuke, but it takes away coverage (except for Normalium Z, which is mesmerizing) HJK can also force another switch if you are facing Specially Defensive Ceslesteela with protect, and specially defensive Skarmory. Coverage: Poison Jab is 50/50, as exploitable as it is useful for fairies. Ice beam has a massive utility, THIS is, in my opinion, the reason why she is in suspect, she still has some soft counters tough, Volcarona, Alolan Marowak, Tapu Fini, Jellicent, Cofragigus, Magearna (for non l.o.) etc. Z-Hyper Beam gained much popularity for its breaking capabilities against Toxapex and Tentacruel, and the superior damage it deals on most foes, however you will be still walled by ghosts and have to play very smart to set up quiver dance, it loses power on its stabs. Very useful regardless.
*The pressure it creates around its team mates. They take too many hits for her, and she is usally run on hyper offenisve and bulky teams with little to no time to recover or lose momentum. Everything has disadvantages, and as easy as it is to kill major threats with her, youll feel how early game makes it a seemingly team of 5, where she can only go first or after a slow u-turn. If she is saved to sweep, then is the opposite, you are likely to be walled throughout game and the other player can force a Phero builded for late game sweeping in and then, the true counter game begins. An effective, and generally useful way to kill her easily is to use yourself a slow Volt Switch/ U-turn, and bring in a scarfed pokemon, a priority move or anything that can take a hit and menace her buds. She creates as equally as offensive pressure as she limits your defensive cores switchs durability.
*Miscellaneous tools and pokemon that come to my mind that are less common albeit viable in certain teams and equally mortal for her include- Sticky Web, Thunder Wave, Trick Room, Will-o-wisp, Rain teams with Mantine, Kingdra, Electric terrain Tapu Koko, Alolan Raichu, her own masculine counterpart Buzzwhole, whom fears nothing from her, some fairy types if she lacks Poison Jab and Mega Slowbro. These are aside from her right away counters like Mega Pinsir, Alomarowak, Ash Greninja, Celesteela, Mega Venusaur, and most Ghosts.
*Altough she almost nullifies the use of some long used monsters such as Serperior, Ferrothorn, Celebi and other known powerhouses like Manaphy or Mega Mawile, she is also bringing up the usage of the not so common Ghost and Poison Types, while decreasing the ever safe Steel spam, as well as some mons that dropped usage as generations evolved, but yet, are perfectly viable such as Volcarona (whom will always therat you amazingly with Quiver Dance) Scarf Gengar, Jellicent, Chandelure and Cofragigus. These adjustment, is no crazy or absurd at all, but it shows something wonderful, people are already realising that she requires certain team adjustments (it can be either an item, a move, a pokemon itself or and EV spread), or simply put, an ensured hit to be over the threat she represents (as in Water Shuriken, Disguise+ Play Rough, and priority moves that can pick a weakened Phero). Given the fact that she cannot simply erase your team if you have took her in comsideration.
Unlike Landorus Incarnate, she doesnt have impeccable coverage all at once, no broken typing and ability or safe set up like Aegislash, not even utterly massive support with Mega Blaziken speed boost-baton pass, she has her own right hard and soft counters, and the decisive fact that she needs to kill or will be killed, above this, is the fact that one mistake, one missed focus blast, one missed high jump kick, a lost sash, or a mispedriction in early, mid and late game (all of them factible scenarios) will result in her dying and not doing the originally planned and crucial damage she has to deal, resulting in a much more difficult game upmatch, is she doesn´t fail, then you continue a battle in a metagame that is already finding viable solutions to face a cockroach that begs for the use of a ghost type, priority, speed control or simply put a reliable choice scarf in your team.
I vote No Ban if I have the right to do so. Tough a special ban would not be a bad idea.
Please comment
*Its already known 71/37/37 bulk keeps her from switching in, anything that endures a hit kills her, focus sash redeems here, but you must lose turns looking for the opportunity to defog. If by any means everything Pheromosa fears, derives from her non existent defenses. This fact alone puts heavy pressure not only on her, but on its teammates, as they will have to take attacks for her, she only can come from a slow U-turn, having a nuke that can break cores, and do marvels but cant come in directly and has to KO in order not to be directly koed is risky.
* She has a vulnerable bug type, hitted super effectively and resisted by many other types naturally (I bet you have 3-4 pokemon that resist this one STAB and the same number to hit it her for super effective damage) this is a huge choice item turn down, you will use Focus Blast or High Jump Kick most of the time,since Ice beam deals decent, but somehow neutral damage to most pokemon bar Chomp and Lando. It also makes stealth rock damage to be neutral, compromising the life orb and focus sash variants even more.
* She can only run one set per match, yes she pressures like crazy, and makes swtiches unnerving, but you can guess the variety if your opponnent did not bring her in early-mid game, or if he is trying to bring a defoger on late game, from the last attack it used too, since life orb takes your health, or even from the damage output in the banded case. Some comments are descirbing this situation as she could run 6 moveslots.
*I also find interesting how her STAB moves have realtively huge drawbacks. Bug Buzz and U-turn are resisted by a wide variety of typings naturally, the later being specifically offensive, which forces her teammates to be bulky enough in order to take hits for her but fast enough so not to be hurted twice, which in tandem makes them not so offensively powerful (Think, Landorus-T, a common pheromosa partner, provides a slow u-turn, intimidate, rocks and a excelent coverage in Stone Edge/ Earthquake, but he cannot manage to handle every pokemon, of every team archetype, if you run a defensive investment, youll be giving up speed or power, if you run the offensive set, then you are too frail. Tapu Lele in the other hand nulifies Greninja´s shurikens, Mega Metagross bullet punch and other priority moves, but it should be running either specs or scarf, since the use of taunt makes you unable to revenge kill faster threats. Any varition is frail, now you have two very powerful and frail pokemon on your team) Focus Blast is called focus miss for a reason, this also sums massive pressure on the quiver dance variant, between not losing sash with rocks and having to set up a turn, missing a hit against anything from Skarmory to hoopa Unbound means dead weight, and it does happen.Alternatively High Jump Kick albeit more accurate and much powerful, gives the rising-in-usage ghosts like Mimikyu and Cofragigus a tool to switch in and get a 50% health off for free, and proceed to pick you with shadow sneak (Psychic Terrain incoming Lele? She wont be able to take a shadow claw or she gives Mimikyu a free sword dance, talking about priority moves, only, she wont take any other pokemon neutral hit). Quiver Dance transforms you into a nuke, but it takes away coverage (except for Normalium Z, which is mesmerizing) HJK can also force another switch if you are facing Specially Defensive Ceslesteela with protect, and specially defensive Skarmory. Coverage: Poison Jab is 50/50, as exploitable as it is useful for fairies. Ice beam has a massive utility, THIS is, in my opinion, the reason why she is in suspect, she still has some soft counters tough, Volcarona, Alolan Marowak, Tapu Fini, Jellicent, Cofragigus, Magearna (for non l.o.) etc. Z-Hyper Beam gained much popularity for its breaking capabilities against Toxapex and Tentacruel, and the superior damage it deals on most foes, however you will be still walled by ghosts and have to play very smart to set up quiver dance, it loses power on its stabs. Very useful regardless.
*The pressure it creates around its team mates. They take too many hits for her, and she is usally run on hyper offenisve and bulky teams with little to no time to recover or lose momentum. Everything has disadvantages, and as easy as it is to kill major threats with her, youll feel how early game makes it a seemingly team of 5, where she can only go first or after a slow u-turn. If she is saved to sweep, then is the opposite, you are likely to be walled throughout game and the other player can force a Phero builded for late game sweeping in and then, the true counter game begins. An effective, and generally useful way to kill her easily is to use yourself a slow Volt Switch/ U-turn, and bring in a scarfed pokemon, a priority move or anything that can take a hit and menace her buds. She creates as equally as offensive pressure as she limits your defensive cores switchs durability.
*Miscellaneous tools and pokemon that come to my mind that are less common albeit viable in certain teams and equally mortal for her include- Sticky Web, Thunder Wave, Trick Room, Will-o-wisp, Rain teams with Mantine, Kingdra, Electric terrain Tapu Koko, Alolan Raichu, her own masculine counterpart Buzzwhole, whom fears nothing from her, some fairy types if she lacks Poison Jab and Mega Slowbro. These are aside from her right away counters like Mega Pinsir, Alomarowak, Ash Greninja, Celesteela, Mega Venusaur, and most Ghosts.
*Altough she almost nullifies the use of some long used monsters such as Serperior, Ferrothorn, Celebi and other known powerhouses like Manaphy or Mega Mawile, she is also bringing up the usage of the not so common Ghost and Poison Types, while decreasing the ever safe Steel spam, as well as some mons that dropped usage as generations evolved, but yet, are perfectly viable such as Volcarona (whom will always therat you amazingly with Quiver Dance) Scarf Gengar, Jellicent, Chandelure and Cofragigus. These adjustment, is no crazy or absurd at all, but it shows something wonderful, people are already realising that she requires certain team adjustments (it can be either an item, a move, a pokemon itself or and EV spread), or simply put, an ensured hit to be over the threat she represents (as in Water Shuriken, Disguise+ Play Rough, and priority moves that can pick a weakened Phero). Given the fact that she cannot simply erase your team if you have took her in comsideration.
Unlike Landorus Incarnate, she doesnt have impeccable coverage all at once, no broken typing and ability or safe set up like Aegislash, not even utterly massive support with Mega Blaziken speed boost-baton pass, she has her own right hard and soft counters, and the decisive fact that she needs to kill or will be killed, above this, is the fact that one mistake, one missed focus blast, one missed high jump kick, a lost sash, or a mispedriction in early, mid and late game (all of them factible scenarios) will result in her dying and not doing the originally planned and crucial damage she has to deal, resulting in a much more difficult game upmatch, is she doesn´t fail, then you continue a battle in a metagame that is already finding viable solutions to face a cockroach that begs for the use of a ghost type, priority, speed control or simply put a reliable choice scarf in your team.
I vote No Ban if I have the right to do so. Tough a special ban would not be a bad idea.
Please comment
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