1. The Number Man
2. Quantum Tesseract
3. Drampa's Grandpa
2. Quantum Tesseract
3. Drampa's Grandpa
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Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
Project OM Matchmaking - On Hiatus Until gen 9
- Thread starter The Dragon Master
- Start date
1. quantum tesseract
2. drampa's grandpa
3. motherlove
2. drampa's grandpa
3. motherlove
Quantum Tesseract
The Number Man
drampa's grandpa
The Number Man
drampa's grandpa
Thank you all for voting! Weird results this week! Quantum Tesseract and The Number Man tie for 1st, with drampa's grandpa and motherlove tying for 3rd. Everyone wins :D! Next week is Balanced Hackmons
Week 26: Prankster Zygarde-Complete (Balanced Hackmons)
Zygarde-Complete @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Haze
- Soft-Boiled
- Thousand Waves
- Corrosive Gas
The deadline to submit a partner for Zygarde-C is 4/2. As always reservations only last 24 hours, so make sure to finish posts in a timely manner.Zygarde-Complete @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Haze
- Soft-Boiled
- Thousand Waves
- Corrosive Gas
Zamazenta-Crowned @ Leftovers
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Recover
- Anchor Shot
- Body Press
- Topsy-Turvy
Zyg-C has a lot of problems with the omnipresent glacial lance, which means you need a sturdy ice resist to take on the offensive pokemon that run it and there are few mons sturdier than Zama-C. In particular, it's one of the few pokemon that reliably answers Glance Zac-C, which is very much needed, while also covering pokemon like Regigigas without requiring you to be as much Xerneas bait as a Zyg/Gira core would be. This set is also defeated by Shed Shell Chansey, and Zyg in turn can imposterproof against that set.
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Recover
- Anchor Shot
- Body Press
- Topsy-Turvy
Zyg-C has a lot of problems with the omnipresent glacial lance, which means you need a sturdy ice resist to take on the offensive pokemon that run it and there are few mons sturdier than Zama-C. In particular, it's one of the few pokemon that reliably answers Glance Zac-C, which is very much needed, while also covering pokemon like Regigigas without requiring you to be as much Xerneas bait as a Zyg/Gira core would be. This set is also defeated by Shed Shell Chansey, and Zyg in turn can imposterproof against that set.
Tapu Fini @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Court Change / Taunt
- Strength Sap
- Teleport
Zygarde-C struggles with PH sweepers such as Regigigas and Xerneas if they can get their orbs activated, as they can easily just switch into Gas. Enter Misty Surge Fini who can prevent those orbs from even activating, while also weakening the otherwise deadly Palkia, Eternatus, and Reshiram's Dragon Energy by half, giving you a lot more options to check them. Running Misty Surge Fini keeps your Xerneas slot open, which would otherwise probably run this ability better, but I have given it Teleport so that you can bring in your breaker after getting terrain activated. Taunt lets you 1v1 Giratina, because the bounce versions should run out of recover PP before you run out of Moonblast PP or at least cut it close. And Taunt stops Prankster, FC and Poison Heal from stalling you out with recovery or protect moves. Finally Court Change lets you switch hazards over to the opponent's side, which is always helpful, and Tapu Fini is an ideal Court Changer because it forces so many things to switch out. Pair this core with a sturdy FC wall such as QT's Zamac, which will protect it from mons such as Steelworker Kartana and Zacian-C.
Edited to give it recovery
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Court Change / Taunt
- Strength Sap
- Teleport
Zygarde-C struggles with PH sweepers such as Regigigas and Xerneas if they can get their orbs activated, as they can easily just switch into Gas. Enter Misty Surge Fini who can prevent those orbs from even activating, while also weakening the otherwise deadly Palkia, Eternatus, and Reshiram's Dragon Energy by half, giving you a lot more options to check them. Running Misty Surge Fini keeps your Xerneas slot open, which would otherwise probably run this ability better, but I have given it Teleport so that you can bring in your breaker after getting terrain activated. Taunt lets you 1v1 Giratina, because the bounce versions should run out of recover PP before you run out of Moonblast PP or at least cut it close. And Taunt stops Prankster, FC and Poison Heal from stalling you out with recovery or protect moves. Finally Court Change lets you switch hazards over to the opponent's side, which is always helpful, and Tapu Fini is an ideal Court Changer because it forces so many things to switch out. Pair this core with a sturdy FC wall such as QT's Zamac, which will protect it from mons such as Steelworker Kartana and Zacian-C.
Edited to give it recovery
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Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted Sword
Ability: Intrepid Sword
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sunsteel Strike
- Glacial Lance
- Flip Turn
- Jungle Healing
Zacian-C works well with Zygarde-C, since Zacian-C covers its big weaknesses to Ice, Fairy, and Dragon while being able to hit each of them super effectively. Sunsteel Strike takes care of the Fairy-types like Xerneas and Tapu Fini that give it trouble while Glacial Lance hits opposing Zygarde-C, Imposters of Zygarde-C, and hits other Dragons like Giratina along with hitting Cramorant really hard. Flip turn makes progress on Ho-Oh, which is another problem for Zygarde-C since it completely walls its set. Jungle Healing is mainly for Cramorant and means you don't have to use Aromatherapy, which normally means you give up on having Poison Heal teammates. Zygarde-C helps out Zacian-C in return by trapping Zamazenta-C (along with other Steels) and at least removing its item like a Rocky Helmet that can bother Zacian-C.
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Xerneas @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Quiver Dance
- Rapid Spin
- Strength Sap
One of Zygarde-Complete's main weaknesses is dragon. The popularization of Reshiram and Palkia as anti-meta pokemon has also similarly lowered the viability of Zygarde-Complete, because these pokemon often carry adaptability Dragon Energy which can KO Zygarde-C. Xerneas offers an invaluable Dragon immunity for Zygarde-C, so that Xerneas can tank Dragon Energy's for Zygarde-C. A timid nature ensures that when Xerneas switches in on these pokemon it an also shrug off the next attack, by quiver dancing up before they get to launch water spout or dragon energy, or by clicking strength sap on a predicted fishious rend or V-create. Fairy / Dragon / Steel is also one of the best defensive cores in BH, and Xerneas + Zygarde-C form an extremely strong start to this. Xerneas is also able to cover for Zygarde-C's weakness to Glance. Currently, some of the most potent physical breakers are Groudon, Landorus-T, and Kyurem-Black. A timid nature on Xerneas allows it to outspeed both these pokemon and click strength sap on Glance, and because of its large HP stat, Xerneas will also live most Groudon & Londorus-T band-adaptabilty Precipice Blades, allowing it to Strength sap on the next turn and heal to full, while also dampening the power of the move.
Xerneas is also able to compliment Zygarde-C with its extremely high pp. Xerneas on its own has 136 pp, which allows it to pp stall a plethora of pokemon, and strength sap allows it to outstall anchor shots which would KO it. Zygarde-C has 144 pp which allows it to trap and pp stall many foes. Together, with a total of 280 pp, they form a really strong core against stall. Their really high pp means that very few pokemon can trap the, and effectively make progress on either of them and they can work in tangent to pp stall, by Zygarde-C threatening to trap a foe a pp stall, and Xerneas by virtue of forcing Ice Scales / Prankster pokemon in because of the threat it carries with moonblast.
The meta has not been kind to Prank Zygarde-C. It is no longer the formidable pokemon it was in Gen7bh. It's resistances don't really attribute much to a team, as Rock and Poison moves are seldum seen. Similarly, the best fire pokemon is Reshiram, which Zygarde-C does't want to switch into because of its secondary Dragon typing. Also, Zygarde-C's weaknesses have been accentuated this gen, as Ice and Dragon moves have been buffed because of the introduction of Glance & Dragon Energy. Zygarde-C can also be a hindrance to many teams because it fails to do much as a support pokemon or make pragress, and due to these weaknesses is often a liability to many teams.
This Xerneas set is able to best cover a lot of these weaknesses listed by its ability to be non-passive with qd + moonblast, it's ability to be a strong support pokemon w/ rapid spin (Giratina can't really spinblock it), and its ability to support Zygarde-C's weaknesses to Dragon & Glacial Lance. This is why this Xerneas set is able to form a strong partnership with Zygarde-C.
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Quiver Dance
- Rapid Spin
- Strength Sap
One of Zygarde-Complete's main weaknesses is dragon. The popularization of Reshiram and Palkia as anti-meta pokemon has also similarly lowered the viability of Zygarde-Complete, because these pokemon often carry adaptability Dragon Energy which can KO Zygarde-C. Xerneas offers an invaluable Dragon immunity for Zygarde-C, so that Xerneas can tank Dragon Energy's for Zygarde-C. A timid nature ensures that when Xerneas switches in on these pokemon it an also shrug off the next attack, by quiver dancing up before they get to launch water spout or dragon energy, or by clicking strength sap on a predicted fishious rend or V-create. Fairy / Dragon / Steel is also one of the best defensive cores in BH, and Xerneas + Zygarde-C form an extremely strong start to this. Xerneas is also able to cover for Zygarde-C's weakness to Glance. Currently, some of the most potent physical breakers are Groudon, Landorus-T, and Kyurem-Black. A timid nature on Xerneas allows it to outspeed both these pokemon and click strength sap on Glance, and because of its large HP stat, Xerneas will also live most Groudon & Londorus-T band-adaptabilty Precipice Blades, allowing it to Strength sap on the next turn and heal to full, while also dampening the power of the move.
Xerneas is also able to compliment Zygarde-C with its extremely high pp. Xerneas on its own has 136 pp, which allows it to pp stall a plethora of pokemon, and strength sap allows it to outstall anchor shots which would KO it. Zygarde-C has 144 pp which allows it to trap and pp stall many foes. Together, with a total of 280 pp, they form a really strong core against stall. Their really high pp means that very few pokemon can trap the, and effectively make progress on either of them and they can work in tangent to pp stall, by Zygarde-C threatening to trap a foe a pp stall, and Xerneas by virtue of forcing Ice Scales / Prankster pokemon in because of the threat it carries with moonblast.
The meta has not been kind to Prank Zygarde-C. It is no longer the formidable pokemon it was in Gen7bh. It's resistances don't really attribute much to a team, as Rock and Poison moves are seldum seen. Similarly, the best fire pokemon is Reshiram, which Zygarde-C does't want to switch into because of its secondary Dragon typing. Also, Zygarde-C's weaknesses have been accentuated this gen, as Ice and Dragon moves have been buffed because of the introduction of Glance & Dragon Energy. Zygarde-C can also be a hindrance to many teams because it fails to do much as a support pokemon or make pragress, and due to these weaknesses is often a liability to many teams.
This Xerneas set is able to best cover a lot of these weaknesses listed by its ability to be non-passive with qd + moonblast, it's ability to be a strong support pokemon w/ rapid spin (Giratina can't really spinblock it), and its ability to support Zygarde-C's weaknesses to Dragon & Glacial Lance. This is why this Xerneas set is able to form a strong partnership with Zygarde-C.
Thank you to everyone who submitted! The submissions are as follows:
Quantum Tesseract with Fur Coat Zamazenta-Crowned
SuperSkylake with Misty Surge Tapu Fini
a loser with Zacian-Crowned
XxSevagxX with Poison Heal Xerneas
You have until 4/4 to vote, and as always you can vote if you submitted a set as long as you do not vote for yourself. I'll use my vote as an example:
1. a loser
2. Quantum Tesseract
3. XxSevagxX
Quantum Tesseract with Fur Coat Zamazenta-Crowned SuperSkylake with Misty Surge Tapu Fini a loser with Zacian-Crowned XxSevagxX with Poison Heal XerneasYou have until 4/4 to vote, and as always you can vote if you submitted a set as long as you do not vote for yourself. I'll use my vote as an example:
1. a loser
2. Quantum Tesseract
3. XxSevagxX
1. XxSevagxX
2 A Loser
3. Quantum Tesseract
2 A Loser
3. Quantum Tesseract
A Loser
XxSevagxX
Superskylake
XxSevagxX
Superskylake
xxsexagxx
a loser
Quantum Tesseract
a loser
Quantum Tesseract
1. SuperSkylake
2. a loser
3. Quantum Tesseract
2. a loser
3. Quantum Tesseract
Thank you to everyone who voted! a loser comes in first this week with XxSevagxX in 2nd and Quantum Tesseract in 3rd. Next week is STABmons!
Week 27: Thundurus-Therian (STABmons)
Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Oblivion Wing
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Nasty Plot
You have until 4/9 to submit a partner for Thundurus-T. As always reservations last 24 hours so make sure to finish posts in a timely manner.Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Oblivion Wing
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Nasty Plot
Thank you to everyone who voted! a loser comes in first this week with XxSevagxX in 2nd and Quantum Tesseract in 3rd. Next week is STABmons!
Week 27: Thundurus-Therian (STABmons)You have until 4/9 to submit a partner for Thundurus-T. As always reservations last 24 hours so make sure to finish posts in a timely manner.
Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Oblivion Wing
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Nasty Plot
BURDSPAM (Zapdos-Galar) @ Life Orb / Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thunderous Kick / Close Combat
- Dragon Ascent / Peck
- Mach Punch / Roost
- U-Turn / Roost
Zapdos-Galar is IMO the best offensive check in the game to Tyranitar, a Pokémon Thundurus absolutely hates, even with Focus Blast. It also murders ChansBliss and whatever other superfat normal the opponent throws at you.
I've now deleted and rewritten this like three times. I'm going to make this simple. Zapdos can come in on and pressure stuff Thundurus hates like Tyranitar, Blissey, and specially fat stuff in general. Thundurus can do the same for Zapdos, while also being provided the opportunity to come in on these mons through Zapdos U-Turning on Pokemon such as Corviknight. They can wear down each others checks. It is, as you may have noticed from the nickname, a BURDSPAM CORE.
This core really wants hazard control. Like REALLY good hazard removal because you have two Flying types without Boots and good hazard setting, as any Defog user risks basically handing you the game by procing Defiant and these mons force a lot of switches.
No Retreat Zapdos-Galar is still its most prominent and probably its best set, but I decided to showcase a set without it here as I felt it better supported Thundurus.
Dog (Garchomp) @ Choice Band
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Precipice Blades
- Poison Jab
- Crunch
So, I noticed that it can't touch electric types, and crunch for ghosts.
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Precipice Blades
- Poison Jab
- Crunch
So, I noticed that it can't touch electric types, and crunch for ghosts.
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Kommo-o @ Leftovers
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock
Thundy's biggest headache is Tyranitar, especially scarf Tyranitar. Kommo-O is one of the best checks to ttar in the game, easily eating all of its attacks and OHKOing it in return, as well as critically blocking Parting Shot, which is a nuisance for pretty much any other would-be Tyranitar switchin. Kommo also sets rocks for Thundurus, aiding it in sweeping, and can check special walls like spd Sylveon and Chansey that also give Thundurus trouble. In return, Thundurus readily tears up the like of Toxapex, Tapu Fini, and Celesteela for Kommo-O.
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock
Thundy's biggest headache is Tyranitar, especially scarf Tyranitar. Kommo-O is one of the best checks to ttar in the game, easily eating all of its attacks and OHKOing it in return, as well as critically blocking Parting Shot, which is a nuisance for pretty much any other would-be Tyranitar switchin. Kommo also sets rocks for Thundurus, aiding it in sweeping, and can check special walls like spd Sylveon and Chansey that also give Thundurus trouble. In return, Thundurus readily tears up the like of Toxapex, Tapu Fini, and Celesteela for Kommo-O.
Terrakion @ Choice Band
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Diamond Storm
- Accelerock
- Earthquake / Head Smash / Mach Punch
I pretty much exclusively use offense in stabmons and banded terrak has never failed me before. It hits the ttars, it 2hkos the sylveons and aegislashes. It threatens the weaviles no one seems to run (but they should). Not sure what else to say besides it hits hard and hits the things thundy hates.
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Diamond Storm
- Accelerock
- Earthquake / Head Smash / Mach Punch
I pretty much exclusively use offense in stabmons and banded terrak has never failed me before. It hits the ttars, it 2hkos the sylveons and aegislashes. It threatens the weaviles no one seems to run (but they should). Not sure what else to say besides it hits hard and hits the things thundy hates.
Zygarde-10% @ Choice Band
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Dragon Darts
- Extreme Speed
- Precipice Blades / Spikes
Decided to go with this doggo as the partner for Thundurus-T for a fun combo that cover each other well. Zygarde-10% is fast enough to beat most of Thundurus-T's offensive checks like Garchomp, Gengar, Blacephalon, and Latios while also handling Thundurus-T's few defensive checks in Tyranitar, Heatran, and AV Slowking-Galar. In return, Thundurus-T handles Zygarde's Grass-type checks like Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth pretty well. This core looks pretty fun on paper so I'll probably have to try it out pretty soon.
Closing submissions once someone who's writing up their post is up
Tapu Bulu @ Miracle Seed
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Grassy Glide
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Strength Sap
The Totem Pole provides a great partner to Thundurus-Therian, working as a solid sand check to deal with the tyranitar + ground cores that provide a lot of offensive pressure to stop Thundy-T, whilst also providing a cleaner in the case that thundy-t faints while breaking open the opposing team.
Thank you to everyone who submitted! The submissions are as follows:
drampa's grandpa with Zapdos-Galar
ChoiceScarfed with Garchomp
Quantum Tesseract with Kommo-O
Fissure with Terrakion
in the hills with Zygarde-10%
OM with Tapu Bulu
Voting closes 4/11. As always you may vote if you submitted a set as long as you do not vote for yourself, and as always I'll use my vote as an example
1. Fissure
2. OM
3. Quantum Tesseract
drampa's grandpa with Zapdos-Galar ChoiceScarfed with Garchomp Quantum Tesseract with Kommo-O Fissure with Terrakion in the hills with Zygarde-10% OM with Tapu BuluVoting closes 4/11. As always you may vote if you submitted a set as long as you do not vote for yourself, and as always I'll use my vote as an example
1. Fissure
2. OM
3. Quantum Tesseract
Fissure
OM
Drampa
OM
Drampa