Project OM Matchmaking - On Hiatus Until gen 9

in the hills

spreading confusion
is a Top Artistis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Sorry got caught up with a couple things last night, I'll post voting now
Thank you to everyone who submitted! The submissions are as follows:
:corviknight: berry with Intimidate Corviknight
:kommo-o: The Number Man with Galvanize Kommo-o
:gengar: Quantum Tesseract with Water Absorb Gengar
:excadrill: Atha with Water Absorb Excadrill
:cloyster: Completely Incognito with Sheer Force Cloyster
:naganadel: Thinkerino with Dragon's Maw Naganadel
:zapdos: Flaming Deoxys with Primordial Sea Zapdos
:slowbro: drampa's grandpa with Magic Bounce Slowbro
Voting closes 11/22. As always you may vote if you have submitted as long as you don't vote for yourself. As usual I'll use my vote as an example
1. Thinkerino
2. atha
3. Flaming Deoxys
 

drampa's grandpa

cannonball
is a Community Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
1. The Number Man
2. Quantum Tesseract
3. berry
4. Can I have a little more?

EDIT: I want to clarify what I was looking for here. There are a lot of mons with good offensive synergy with Weavile, because Weavile doesn't really ask for a lot. I could honestly name probably a dozen mons not listed here which break well when combined with Weavile; Sheer Force Victini, Zeraora, Tapu Koko, etc. And I don't even play Almost Any Ability more than the occasional casual game. What I was looking for were Pokemon that went beyond that and either a) lured one or more threats to Weavile (such as The Number Man's set) b) provided notable utility alongside its offensive synergy (QT's) or c) was a more defensive and supportive approach to helping Weavile break (berry, although Corviknight had offensive utility in KOing Buzzwole as well). I hope that explains my votes.

RIP Buzzwole RIP Berry's set.
 
Last edited:
:corviknight: berry with Intimidate Corviknight
:kommo-o: The Number Man with Galvanize Kommo-o
:gengar: Quantum Tesseract with Water Absorb Gengar
:excadrill: Atha with Water Absorb Excadrill
:cloyster: Completely Incognito with Sheer Force Cloyster
:naganadel: Thinkerino with Dragon's Maw Naganadel
:zapdos: Flaming Deoxys with Primordial Sea Zapdos
:slowbro: drampa's grandpa with Magic Bounce Slowbro
So since we have such a strong list of options that my answer isn't immediately obvious, I think it's worth giving some explanation rather than just dropping my answers. After eliminating my own submission, the things I prioritize were:
1. How much does it help weavile in the match?
2. How much does it help weavile in specific, rather than being a generic teamate for offensive pokemon?
3. How creative is it?

Intimidate Corviknight: It covers triage, physical scarfers, and entry hazards. It can bring weavile in safely to do its work, albeit without the ability to pressure in Pokemon that Weavile likes to take advantage of. It's not really something for weavile in specific, but Hurricane Corviknight is still fire as fuck.

Galvanize Kommo-O covers water-type attackers for Weavile; although it doesn't switch into them, it has the advantage of them switching in to it. It's specifically focused on luring the Pokemon that Weavile needs gone, rather than incidentally KOing them, so it gets points there. It's also a fairly unorthodox pick.

Water Absorb Sand Tomb Excadrill struggles a lot with having weak initial power and mono ground-type offense, but in terms of supporting weavile that's less of a big deal, as it can still do its job of eating attacks from some of Weavile's biggest nuisances and forcing them out - most notably doing so for Fini, as unlike most setup sweepers Fini can't safely stay in on it a bit to fish before going out to a hard counter due to Sand Tomb. it can also Toxic most non-Corviknight flyers, and since a lot of them can't do much to it, that lets Excadrill sit in on them until they're forced to switch out, which means they're much less of a stop to Excadrill than they could be. It can block flip turn outright, which is super abnoxious for a lot of teams, and hard walls Barraskewdas that choose Psychic Fangs coverage, which is great for offenses and balances that carry Weavile. It's also not something I have ever seen before.

Smash Cloyster is a cool mon in general, major points for that, but as an offensive partner it struggling so much with Toxapex, Suicune, and Golisopod don't do it any real favors. It needing to set up to do that job is also a minor point against it.

Thinkerino gets a lot of utility points for one of the best mons in the metagame, but it doesn't do that much for Weavile in specific, or vice versa. Neither Weavile nor Naganadel really have chances to switch into each others answers directly, nor does either have a pivot move, which requires them to make use of a third party pivot which is significantly worse at gaining momentum from unshared checks. In turn, yes, weavile can remove items from Zapdos' checks, but only if they stay in, and this core has no way to punish them if they don't play along, which is a major point against it.

Flaming Deoxys does offer a set to force out some of Weavile's checks, but like Naganadel it doesn't love switching in to them. However, unlike Nagandel it can pivot and has recovery, two huge factors that make Zapdos a much better teammate at getting Weavile in. While it doesn't love switchin in on Weavile's main checks, it can do so, and on lesser checks like Choice Scarf Victini it has a much easier time. It's not entirely as good at removing checks to Weavile in the way some of the lures are, though, since it announces. It's not rare per se but it is cool so I'll credit it there.

Bounce Slowbro keeps rocks off, but only if it can answer the rocker. Slow teleport is nice for bringing Weavile in, but it doesn't do so on things Weavile beats like Zapdos does and doesn't do as good a job checking water-types as Excadrill does. Future Sight is a nice utility for helping Weavile break past walls, though, which earns it back some points. Ordinarily this would probably make my list but the competition is stiff enough that it's not top 3 submissions imo.

1. Atha
2. Flaming Deoxys
3. The Number Man
 

in the hills

spreading confusion
is a Top Artistis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
The winners of this round are Quantum Tesseract in 1st with Atha in 2nd and The Number Man in 3rd. Thank you all for participating. Week 8 is BH:
Week 8: Pixilate Xerneas (Balanced Hackmons)
:ss/xerneas:
Xerneas @ Metronome
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Rapid Spin
- Strength Sap
- Spikes​
You have until 11/27 to submit the best partner for Pixilate Xerneas! As always reservations last for 24 hours so make sure to finish them in a timely manner.
 
Last edited:
excadrill @ Ground Memory
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 Spd / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sunsteel Strike / Gear Grind
- Multi Attack
- Bolt Beak
- Shift Gear

This pears well with Xerneas because Excadrill is very threatening to Poison, Steel and Fire- types that trouble xerneas such as Magearna, Eternatus, Non Volt Absorb Ho-Oh, Melmetal, Zacian-c, Zamac, and Darm-Z and can switch in on weak defensive mons to set up. You will definitely want some other mon to run with this core to hit Volt Absorb ho-Oh such as primsea zacian with fisheous rend or something. Being self improof means that you can run something else to improof Xerneas without having to worry about whether your team can fit an improof to Excadrill. Physicall defensive mons like Groudon, Zyg-C and Steelix who could take on Excadrill hate trying to fight Xerneas.
 
Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Recover/Strength Sap
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon

Registeel seems to complete this Xerneas set so well, with strength sap and toxic forcing other pokemon out, and getting chip damage via spikes, and stalling. Liquid Ooze is to punish any Leech Seed anti-stall strats, as well as Oblivion Wing and Giga Drain.
 
Ho-Oh @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Sacred Fire / Lava Plume
- Spectral Thief
- Recover
- Teleport

Bounce Ho-Oh serves as an improof to Xern that is also very useful in its own right, being able to wall most special mons without an ability and item boosting them, spread burns, and slow pivot. I run boots but leftovers or even rocky helmet would probably also be viable because no one ever uses rocks lol. Whether you use Sacred Fire or Lava Plume is really just personal preference. I run Sacred since the extra burn chance and higher damage is nice, and I haven't found myself running out of pp, but Lava Plume does have the advantage of being significantly more spammable due to having 3x the pp.
 

a loser

I'm a loser, baby, so why don't you kill me?
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Community Contributor Alumnus
:ss/Zamazenta:
Zamazenta @ Expert Belt
Ability: Intrepid Sword
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Fishious Rend
- Glacial Lance
- Baton Pass

Isword Zama hits everything that Xern hates, like Ho-Oh, Regenvest Steel-types, and stray Ice Scales mons like Zygarde-C, Kyogre, and Snorlax. Not having a Choice Band misses out on some power but benefits from being able to hit and chip anything that switches in and then Baton Pass its boost to a teammate.

A good teammate for both of these mons would be Regenvest or PH Yveltal as it can Knock Off opposing Assault Vests and Rocky Helmets that Zama and Xern dislike.
 

cityscapes

Take care of yourself.
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnus

CONGRATULATIONS! (Rayquaza) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish / Serious / Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Rapid Spin
- Core Enforcer / High Jump Kick / Mind Blown / Sunsteel Strike
- Recover / Strength Sap

physdef mg ray from last gen is back. while the offensive fightings and grounds he was used to check are less prominent/more likely to carry glacial lance this gen, flying stab is as unprepared for as ever. this guy comes in on hooh and zamac baited in by the above xern, crucially covers the court change option with rapid spin (run a ghost to block opposing spins), and just brave birds everyone. typically only gira, zyg, and fc mons in general can stand up to brave bird spam from this dude, which is where xern comes in.

for future building options after this dude, youll want someone to cover glance users, knock (ray can take one from zamac but hates losing his orb), and nuzzle (aside from the usual suspects like calyrex, ph regi, and opposing fairies). you can also bring someone to cover impostered ray or try to knock eviolites.
 
Last edited:
frick so uh
:ss/zekrom:
Zekrom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bolt Beak
- Draco Meteor
- Flip Turn
- Will-O-Wisp

Zekrom helps against Ho-Oh which is basically the only xern check besides Heatran (more usage please) and helps absorb status and general chip for Xern which i find really hinders Xern's ability to come in and just click Boomburst. Since realistically Xern has zero checks if the opponent lets it fire off one or two Boombursts, I changed this Zekrom set to let it pivot into Xern better. Draco Meteor helps against Zygod and Tina so you don't necessarily have to go into Xern immediately. Wisp chips stuff and renders physical Xern checks like Zama-C (anchor shot) useless.

oh and Xern improofs this boi
 
Last edited:

in the hills

spreading confusion
is a Top Artistis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Thank you to everyone who submitted! The submissions are as follows:
:excadrill: SuperSkylake with Tough Claws Excadrill
:registeel: ChoiceScarfed with Liquid Ooze Registeel
:ho-oh: Apathetic Inaction with Magic Bounce Ho-Oh
:zamazenta: a loser with Intrepid Sword Zamazenta
:rayquaza: cityscapes with Magic Guard Rayquaza
:zekrom: lph with Poison Heal Zekrom
Voting closes 11/29. As always you may vote if you have submitted as long as you don't vote for yourself. As usual I'll use my vote as an example
1. Apathetic Inaction
2. a loser
3. lph
 
Last edited:

cityscapes

Take care of yourself.
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnus
1. isword zama - feel zama is genuinely very unexplored in dlc2 and i think this set is cool for him
2. ph zek - this should be core cause draco isnt very nice when youre doing 60 and then are forced out, but good set regardless and elec partner + no elec xern with status/knock absorb is very nice
3. bounce hooh - i dislike upvoting improofs but this one has teleport which is nice cause it actually executes an idea rather than just slapping on anchor. could see this going very well with some rock or beak/rend user to improof
 

a loser

I'm a loser, baby, so why don't you kill me?
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Community Contributor Alumnus
:rayquaza:
The most (viable) creative set of the bunch and I like it cause bird spam is cool and fun to use
:zekrom:
This is nice to take on ogre and Ho-oh for sure but I'd like to see it in practice. It is great on paper cause those cause usually don't run things to touch zek
:Ho-oh:
I'd have liked to see something a little less "full improof" like -ate or MGLO but this definitely does the job.
 

in the hills

spreading confusion
is a Top Artistis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Congratulations to both a loser and Apathetic Inaction for tying for 1st! cityscapes comes in third. Week 9 is live!
Week 9: Metagrossite Pheromosa (Mix and Mega)
:ss/pheromosa:

Pheromosa @ Metagrossite
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Drill Run
- Triple Axel​
You have until 12/4 to submit a partner for Metagrossite Pheromosa! As always reservations last for 24 hours so make sure to finish reservations in a timely manner.
 

drampa's grandpa

cannonball
is a Community Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
Congratulations to both a loser and Apathetic Inaction for tying for 1st! cityscapes comes in third. Week 9 is live!
Week 9: Metagrossite Pheromosa (Mix and Mega)
:ss/pheromosa:

Pheromosa @ Metagrossite
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Drill Run
- Triple Axel​
You have until 12/4 to submit a partner for Metagrossite Pheromosa! As always reservations last for 24 hours so make sure to finish reservations in a timely manner.
:ss/landorus-therian:
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance / Explosion

Salamencite Landorus-Therian is a nice partner for Metagrossite Pheromosa, being able to check some threats, abuse the momentum Pheromosa generates, poke holes, and importantly, set Stealth Rock.

Pheromosa is very weak to priority, notably Entei and ESPECIALLY Pinstei. Lando-T can check Pinstei and keep rocks up to discourage it from coming in. Toxapex is another pain for Pheromosa, as even Drill Run fails to KO pretty much every variant. Lando-T can remove Toxapex either through Earthquake or Explosion if Toxapex comes in on Pheromosa's U-Turn, or simply force it out and get hazards. It also counters most Regieleki which can give Pheromosa problems.

A more offensive EV spread can be run if you feel confident in your Entei (and other Espeeder) matchup, which will allow Lando-T to play up its wallbreaking potential more, but mean that your ability to tank Espeed is much sketchier.

This core is very weak to Scald, and while the Lando-T is designed to remove Toxapex, it hates being burned by it and is by no means a safe switchin. A Healing Wish user or Scald absorber is very helpful. Glalitite Espeeders are also super threatening to this core, because Pheromosa is made of paper and Lando-T is made of diestoice, so something that can be pivoted into those is also very helpful. Free Red Orb.
 

Eli

any?
is a Battle Simulator Moderator
:spectrier:
Spectrier @ Manectite
Ability: Grim Neigh
EVs: 16 Def / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hex
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Nasty Plot

Ghost horse is cool to run because you're actually able to beat Pheromosa enemies like Slowbro with super effective (Shadow Ball in its case) STAB with Nasty Plot while at the same time being able to take on things like Zygarde with Will-O-Wisp + Hex.

The EVs let it avoid the 2HKO from Altarianite Zygarde Extreme Speed without Stealth Rock up, so it's able to burn dragon snake and 2HKO it with Hex without even setting up, though you could make it 128 Def EVs and lower SpA EVs to 128 as well to avoid 2HKO with Stealth Rock up, which is fine enough since it still 2HKOs with 130 BP Hex:

240 SpA Spectrier Hex (130 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 276-325 (65.7 - 77.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after burn damage

128 SpA Spectrier Hex (130 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 258-304 (61.4 - 72.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after burn damage

The calcs vs Slowbro are very nice as well:

240 SpA Spectrier Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Slowbro: 258-306 (65.4 - 77.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

128 SpA Spectrier Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Slowbro: 242-288 (61.4 - 73%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Either way, you have a clean 2HKO on it, and thats after it's Mega evolved with Sablenite. You're free to set up on it as well since it doesnt do much back, so it eats a Pheromosa wall alive while being able to threaten things that have to come in on it after Slowbro drops since its so fast with good damage output. It really frees up Pheromosa from the scary switchins/revenge killers that try to get rid of it, enabling it to go and do its thing after.
 
:tapu lele:
Tapu Lele @ Diancite
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind

Tapu Lele tends to pair well with Pheromosa as it can help out with its Extreme Speed weakness and threaten out other mons that check Pheromosa such as Toxapex. It can also lump pressure on other targets such as Manectite Magearna and Solgaleo which can make it much easier for Pheromosa to go ham lategame (and vice versa for Tapu Lele.)
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top