Hello everyone, while CAPPL is still wrapping up, the metagame council has decided is time to address Equilibra. We'd also like to announce that Atha and -Voltage- are officially joining the council!
Equilibra has been a top tier threat since its release in late USUM. Even after being nerfed once, it still remained as a dominant force through the rest of Gen 7. The jump to SS has proven to be very beneficial to Equilibra, because while it lost the ability to run Iapapa Berry due to the pinch berries nerf, the lack of Z-Moves and the generally lower power level mean that Equilibra is now much harder to break. Additionally, as the metagame developed, it great offensive prowess has also become increasingly clear and Doom Desire support has become more important than ever, with partners like Urshifu being almost unstoppable when combined with the delayed damage.
The offensive presence of Equilibra cannot be overstated, as its STABs moves are very challenging to switch in. Pokemon like Slowking are much more popular in CAP than in OU because of Equilibra's influence. However, due to the nature of Doom Desire, even dedicated counters like those can't always prevent Equilibra from putting the opponent into outright unwinnable positions, as many threats like Urshifu and Hydreigon become virtually unstoppable when backed up by Doom Desire. This puts a very heavy strain on all teams and many times requires the opponent to play very aggressively if they want to stand a chance.
Its bulk is another aspect that makes Equilibra very overwhelming. Even some very strong moves like Tomohawk's Heat Wave and Choice Band Syclant's Icicle Crash fail to 2HKO, which gives Equilibra plenty of opportunities to set up Doom Desire. Furthermore, the duality of its abilities leads to difficult scenarios for players, often resulting in 50/50s where the opponent has to appropriately guess the ability at the risk of losing a turn. When coupled with Doom Desire, having to guess between Levitate and Bulletproof can often sway the momentum of a match towards the Equilibra user's side in a single turn. This means that on certain Pokemon like Venusaur and on the mirror matchup, even when running a move for each for each ability you still need to scout carefully to be sure of which one to use. Due to the combination of these factors, the CAP metagame council believes that Equilibra is an unhealthy addition to the metagame and action needs to be taken against it.
- : Slowking is a very common answer to Equilibra, as its high special bulk means that it can take its attacks decently well and Scald pressures it decently. Despite that, Equilibra can still exert a lot of pressure with Doom Desire and an appropiate teammate like Hydreigon. On top of that, if Earth Power gets a SpD drop, Slowking can be forced out.
- : Both Rotom forms are popular checks but tend to be worn down quite easily and can be heavily pressured by a teammate, especially with Doom Desire support.
- : Both pink blobs can take any attack that Equilibra throws at them; however their passive nature means that Equilibra can set up Doom Desire for almost free and Pain Split can use them to regain health with ease.
- : Levitate sets with Aura Sphere can be a great check against an opposing Equilibra, but the fact that one of the best ways to stop Equilibra is using one yourself is a very unhealthy interaction that further centralizes the metagame around it.
- Residual damage: Due to its lack of reliable recovery, Equilibra can be slowly worn down through the game. However, thanks to a typing and Levitate, Equilibra is naturally resilient against it.
======snake_rattler said:1. The CAP Metagame Council identifies a broken/unhealthy threat. Input from the metagame discussion thread, Discord, high-level tournament replays, etc. are ways the community can voice their concerns to the CAP Metagame council.
2. The CAP Metagame Council begins a thread. The OP, written by the CAP Metagame Council, summarizes why the Pokemon is broken. Metagame shifts, game mechanics changing, or OU bans can be potential points. The CAP Metagame council will also include a checks and counters list. Hard-counters to soft-checks, hazard damage, relative ability to switch-in, etc. should be considered. Keep in mind that with the broken Pokemon in the metagame, we can continue to understand why it is broken.
3. In the thread, the community discusses the simplest solution(s) to making the CAP not broken. Here, we can well-define a new list of checks and counters. Some solutions may be changing its ability to one that's similar but not as good, reducing its speed tier, removing some of its bulk or attack, or removing a certain move or two from its movepool. The community will play a huge role in identifying what solutions are available, but CAP Metagame Council will have the final say on what nerf is implemented. Keep in mind that the nerf(s) that is(are) implemented MUST preserve the identity of the CAP (i.e. Necturna uses Sketch, Pajantom uses its powerful trapping move, etc.).
Rules for posting in this thread:
- Do not post one liners, nor uninformed posts.
- Do not hold discussion on other potential nerfing processes.
- Do not hold discussion on the nerfing process.
- You are required to make respectful posts.
- If you fail to follow these rules, your post will be deleted and you will be infracted.
This time we're aiming for the Nerfing Process to run for approximately 2 weeks.
Last edited: