It's pretty peculiar how a lot of flying-type Pokemon don't even have good STABS to use, e.g. Thunudurus, Dragonite, Gliscor, etc. Nearly all flying-type attacks are either gimmicky as shit - sky drop, acrobatics, fly, etc. - or they just have crap power or accuracy - air slash, aerial ace, hurricane, etc. I mean, I guess it'd be pretty ridiculous if Dragonite could learn Brave Bird. But I don't see why Game Freak can't make new ~85 BP, 100% accurate physical/special flying type attacks with good distribution. Nearly every other type has this. This has always frustrated me, as it'd be nice to run a better flying-type move on Thundurus than hidden power flying.
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Other ORAS OU Type Analysis: Week 16 - Dark Type [Check post #140]
- Thread starter Celticpride
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Brave Bird and Drill Peck are probably the only reliable and powerful Flying moves, and even then BB has that recoil issue and Drill Peck's distribution is kind of depressing. Other physical Flying type moves tend to be two-turn (Bounce, Fly, Sky Drop, Sky Attack) or gimmicky (Acrobatics).
On the special side, there's only Air Cutter and Air Slash which lack power, and Hurricane which is unreliable outside of Rain.
SIGN THE PETITION TO IMPROVE DRILL PECK'S DISTRIBUTION TODAY AND SEE CLEARER SKIES TOMORROW
On the special side, there's only Air Cutter and Air Slash which lack power, and Hurricane which is unreliable outside of Rain.
I'd sign that petition.
Sigh no Landorus, what were you thinking. (Also isn't Tornadus a genie too? Tt's in the same family as Landorus and Thundurus.)
Landorus is a really metagame-defining threat right now; actually, I dare say, it is the most threatening Pokemon in the tier as of now. It boasts a great ability in Sheer Force, and also has a great movepool to capitalize off that, consisiting of gems such as Earth Power, Sludge Wave, Knock Off, Rock Slide, Psychic, Knock Off, Focus Blast etc.. It really doesn't have counters - the only viable ones are Mega Latias and Cresselia (and Magnet Rise Klefki, but that can't switch in), really. In addition, it's moves are easily tailored to fit the team's needs; for example, the most common set ran is Rock Polish | Earth Power | Sludge Wave | Hidden Power Ice, but depending on the team, can be changed to suit its needs - alternate coverage moves such as Rock Slide, Psychic and Knock Off can deal with various Landorus checks to the most common set, such as Tornadus-T, Gengar, and Latios.
Landorus also does well against all playstyles, and because of this there really isn't a playstyle 'safe' from it. Calm Mind sets destroy stall and balance, All-out Attacker sets (sometimes utilizing Stealth Rock and/or Knock Off), easily punch holes in all teams alike early-game as well as crippling Chansey with Knock Off, while Rock Polish, which is arguably its most common and most effective set, cleans up nicely against offense and weakened balance teams.
Landorus pairs great with a lot of Pokemon. Rock Polish sets, which I happen to have the most experience with, pairs great with Pursuit trappers such as Tyranitar and Scizor, as Ground-/Poison-/Ice-type coverage struggles against Ghost- and/or Psychic-types such as Gengar and Latios; Tyranitar also helps weaken Keldeo, because Modest Landorus's Earth Power doesn't OHKO it from full health.
Once this got to like week 10 I figured I'd just gut it out. Like half the other OU topics average around 3-4 posts a week later in their lifespan so I'm not too concerned. Averaging a little under 9 posts a week isn't too bad either even if it did tail off a little. Empty types like Normal also generate little discussion naturally so there's also that.
Week 14's type is the Poison Type!
(Note that discussion isn't limited to the above Pokemon)
Poison types have certainly gained a niche as of late, with their recent usefulness in hitting Fairy types hard. A Fairy resistance is nice as well. There's a surprising amount of effective Pokemon of this type, considering how Poison types got the short end of the stick in a lot of other generations.
If you have any ideas for the thread to make it more interesting, throw a PM my way. Outside of that, the usual questions in the OP are a good place to look for ideas. Feel free to talk about any trends or new sets among OU viable Poison types. Talk about as much or as little as you like. Happy discussing!
Poison types right now are super varied and can fill a ton of roles. You've got hard hitting sweepers like Gengar and Toxicroak, Wallbreakers like Dragalge and Mega Beedrill, Utility with Scolipede and bulk from Mega Venusaur and Amoongus. In addition, since Fairy can't do much to them they really have improved a lot from Gen 5, and that's really fun :] That being said, I honestly don't see that many Poison mons on the ladder, and it might just be because of this Aegislash test right now, but defeinitely the most common POison types are Gengar and MVenu with the occasional Scolipede. I honestly haven't seen a legit Mega Beedrill team besides the OUpl match between Destiny Device and Laurel. Of course, White Queen used both Gengar and MVenu in her match, so Poison types are definitely present.
Overall, Poison in OU has a pretty UTR presence in OU. Like, I see them having great niches to abuse, but often times some of the cooler things to use, likie Dragalge or Beedrill, get overlooked in favor of something more common.
Overall, Poison in OU has a pretty UTR presence in OU. Like, I see them having great niches to abuse, but often times some of the cooler things to use, likie Dragalge or Beedrill, get overlooked in favor of something more common.
Gengar
Guess I'll talk about Gengar. As the most popular, most viable Poison-type in OU, Gengar is the only Pokemon to have stayed in OU across all the generations. It fulfills many roles on a team, notably a stallbreaker, utility attacker, and special sweeper. Furthermore, Gengar has access to perfect, neutral coverage, against the whole metagame, in the form of Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, and Sludge Wave, leaving the last slot open to a whole host of utility options, regarding the most common Life Orb attacker set, such as Taunt, Destiny Bond, Will-O-Wisp, Icy Wind and Substitute. Its Life Orb set also doubles as a great check to many Pokemon in the metagame, such as Mega Altaria, Mega Metagross (that has not yet Mega-evolved), Landorus lacking Knock Off, Azumarill, Clefable, Celebi et cetera. It also does not have specific 'counters', due to its neutral coverage, power behind its attacks, and excellent Speed tier. Many common 'counters' used include utility Mega Sableye, which has a high chance to be 2HKOed after Stealth Rock with Shadow Ball, specially defensive Gliscor, which loses to Icy Wind, Assault Vest Tornadus-T, which hates switching into Icy Wind, bulky Mega Scizor, which is crippled intensely by Will-O-Wisp, et cetera. I don't have much experience with the utility attacker set, but from what I've seen and heard, it's a great tool to screw over Bisharp, Tyranitar and Gliscor, because the former two are crippled by Will-O-Wisp, and the latter is 2HKOed by Hex (when poisoned).
Guess I'll talk about Gengar. As the most popular, most viable Poison-type in OU, Gengar is the only Pokemon to have stayed in OU across all the generations. It fulfills many roles on a team, notably a stallbreaker, utility attacker, and special sweeper. Furthermore, Gengar has access to perfect, neutral coverage, against the whole metagame, in the form of Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, and Sludge Wave, leaving the last slot open to a whole host of utility options, regarding the most common Life Orb attacker set, such as Taunt, Destiny Bond, Will-O-Wisp, Icy Wind and Substitute. Its Life Orb set also doubles as a great check to many Pokemon in the metagame, such as Mega Altaria, Mega Metagross (that has not yet Mega-evolved), Landorus lacking Knock Off, Azumarill, Clefable, Celebi et cetera. It also does not have specific 'counters', due to its neutral coverage, power behind its attacks, and excellent Speed tier. Many common 'counters' used include utility Mega Sableye, which has a high chance to be 2HKOed after Stealth Rock with Shadow Ball, specially defensive Gliscor, which loses to Icy Wind, Assault Vest Tornadus-T, which hates switching into Icy Wind, bulky Mega Scizor, which is crippled intensely by Will-O-Wisp, et cetera. I don't have much experience with the utility attacker set, but from what I've seen and heard, it's a great tool to screw over Bisharp, Tyranitar and Gliscor, because the former two are crippled by Will-O-Wisp, and the latter is 2HKOed by Hex (when poisoned).
Dr Ciel
Banned deucer.
But in all seriousness, Venomoth is a really amazing anti-meta Pokemon in OU currently. Being one of only three Pokemon to get Quiver Dance + Baton Pass, Venomoth works amazingly as a quick-passer despite it's below average bulk.
Venomoth @ Black Sludge
Ability: Wonder Skin
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Baton Pass
- Bug Buzz / Substitute
This is the only set that Venomoth should be using ever in OU & the reasons are Quiver Dance + Baton Pass. Being able to set up on some huge threats in the meta due to it's unique typing is a huge plus Venomoth. Wonder Skin is an absolutely amazing ability that cuts the accuracy of status moves like Thunder Wave & Taunt by 50%, making Venomoth even more annoying to deal with, & allowing easier set up. EV spread is rather simple, max Speed + Timid Nature to speed tie with base 90's & 248 HP to minimize SR damage. Quiver Dance is the main basis of this set, boosting Venomoth's Special Attack, Special Defense, & Speed by one stage each. Sleep Powder incapacitates the opponent for up to three turns maximum, so Venomoth can get at least two Quiver Dances up before passing off to one of its teammates. I personally prefer using Bug Buzz in the last slot to prevent becoming Taunt bait, however, Substitute prevents Venomoth from being revenge killed by priority as well as easing prediction. Good partners are strong special attackers including the likes of Keldeo, Landorus, Mega Gardevoir, & both formes of Thundurus. The list of recipients to this set can go on forever. Latios works amazing with this set as he can Defog away hazards while also providing Memento support for an even easier time to set up. Not much can counter this set, & if you let Venomoth BP one or two boosts to a teammate, it's pretty much game over, so Taunt is pretty much your only way of stopping it. Anyways, use Venomoth people, it's criminally underrated & makes your battles much quicker!
I remember back in RBY carts where damn near everything was at least part Poison type. And it still sucked back then. Poison types have come a long way since then, especially this gen. Sure, Gengar has always been around in OU, but it didn't have a viable Poison STAB (or Ghost STAB, for that matter) until Gen 4. But now, Poison has proven its mettle, especially on the defensive end; Psychic offense is pretty much limited to Lati@s, Metagross, and Alakazam, and all viable Poison mons except Dragalge, Toxicroak, and Tentacruel have something to eliminate the Ground weakness. In return, you get Fighting and Fairy resistances and an immunity to Toxic. One of the best defensive mons in OU, Mega Venusaur, is Poison type, and Amoonguss is solid as well.
Offensively speaking, however, Poison is still meh, really only hitting Fairy types and Breloom super effectively and doing absolutely nothing to the numerous Steel types in this tier. Still, it's useful for STAB (outside of Clear Smog Amoonguss, which is more for utility), and it's not for nothing that there's the odd Poison Jab Garchomp. Nevertheless, offensive Poison types can get away without using the Poison STAB, except maybe Toxicroak. As for coverage options, Dark synchronizes pretty well with Poison, especially Sucker Punch to deal with those speedy Psychic types, and afaik, only Bisharp and Klefki resist both.
Edit: Forgot about Acid Spray Tentacruel. Like Clear Smog Amoonguss, it's used for its utility rather than STAB, but it allows Tentacruel to beat CM users, especially Clefable.
Offensively speaking, however, Poison is still meh, really only hitting Fairy types and Breloom super effectively and doing absolutely nothing to the numerous Steel types in this tier. Still, it's useful for STAB (outside of Clear Smog Amoonguss, which is more for utility), and it's not for nothing that there's the odd Poison Jab Garchomp. Nevertheless, offensive Poison types can get away without using the Poison STAB, except maybe Toxicroak. As for coverage options, Dark synchronizes pretty well with Poison, especially Sucker Punch to deal with those speedy Psychic types, and afaik, only Bisharp and Klefki resist both.
Edit: Forgot about Acid Spray Tentacruel. Like Clear Smog Amoonguss, it's used for its utility rather than STAB, but it allows Tentacruel to beat CM users, especially Clefable.
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Heading down the home stretch!
Week 15's type is the Rock Type!
(Note that discussion isn't limited to the above Pokemon)
Rock types have a couple of cool advantages. For one, they generally make you less Talonflame weak which is always a good thing. Second, they generally have access to Stealth Rock, also a vital part of the current OU metagame. Rock STAB is pretty spammable (ask anyone who has run into Tyrantrum unprepared) and typically pairs well with Ground and Fighting coverage, which most Rock types have access to. Tyranitar also sets Sand so if you want to talk about Sand in the current meta that's on the table.
If you have any ideas for the thread to make it more interesting, throw a PM my way. Outside of that, the usual questions in the OP are a good place to look for ideas. Feel free to talk about any trends or new sets among OU viable Rock types. Talk about as much or as little as you like. Happy discussing!
Week 15's type is the Rock Type!
(Note that discussion isn't limited to the above Pokemon)
Rock types have a couple of cool advantages. For one, they generally make you less Talonflame weak which is always a good thing. Second, they generally have access to Stealth Rock, also a vital part of the current OU metagame. Rock STAB is pretty spammable (ask anyone who has run into Tyrantrum unprepared) and typically pairs well with Ground and Fighting coverage, which most Rock types have access to. Tyranitar also sets Sand so if you want to talk about Sand in the current meta that's on the table.
If you have any ideas for the thread to make it more interesting, throw a PM my way. Outside of that, the usual questions in the OP are a good place to look for ideas. Feel free to talk about any trends or new sets among OU viable Rock types. Talk about as much or as little as you like. Happy discussing!
Rock has always felt like one of those secondary typings. You don't think of it like "I need a good Water, Steel or Dragon type" for example. Rock has some of the most unfortunate weaknesses in the whole game like Water, Ground and Fighting. A rise in Serperior and the likes of Scizor and M-Metagross to check Fairy types and this is most unfortunate for Rock types in general. It's one of the more unbalanced types defensively. It doesn't even resist itself, which would at least be handy for Stealth Rock purposes alone.
It also took a hit after Gen 5 with infinite weather leaving. 50% boost to SpD in sand is one of the few innate benefits of the typing that it really needs. But the days of sand-stall are over. It also doesn't help that the SpD of most Rock types is shit anyways to the point that the boost doesn't help enough. The sole pragmatic use of this mechanic these days is in Tyranitar, because of Sandstream. Not having to waste a turn with Sand and having good 100/110/100 defenses out of the gate means it can actually be relied on for a soft SpD check for lots of Fire, Dark, Ghost, and Flying attacks, even more with Leftovers or Assault Vest. Then there's M-Tyranitar, with colossal 100/150/120 defenses, meaning it can boost with near impunity and shrug off even super effective priority outside of the strongest Mach Punch. Outside of this though, Sandstorm SpD boost is not a reliable tactic in the meta.
The few boons the typing has is being a simultaneous offensive and defensive thwart to two of the most dangerous and prolific types in the game, Fire and Flying. As long as those two types remain dominant, there will be a niche use for a good Rock type should your team need one. Everyone needs a Talonflame check afterall.
It also took a hit after Gen 5 with infinite weather leaving. 50% boost to SpD in sand is one of the few innate benefits of the typing that it really needs. But the days of sand-stall are over. It also doesn't help that the SpD of most Rock types is shit anyways to the point that the boost doesn't help enough. The sole pragmatic use of this mechanic these days is in Tyranitar, because of Sandstream. Not having to waste a turn with Sand and having good 100/110/100 defenses out of the gate means it can actually be relied on for a soft SpD check for lots of Fire, Dark, Ghost, and Flying attacks, even more with Leftovers or Assault Vest. Then there's M-Tyranitar, with colossal 100/150/120 defenses, meaning it can boost with near impunity and shrug off even super effective priority outside of the strongest Mach Punch. Outside of this though, Sandstorm SpD boost is not a reliable tactic in the meta.
The few boons the typing has is being a simultaneous offensive and defensive thwart to two of the most dangerous and prolific types in the game, Fire and Flying. As long as those two types remain dominant, there will be a niche use for a good Rock type should your team need one. Everyone needs a Talonflame check afterall.
Gonna cover the rock mons themselves here.
Tyranitar: This thing has been OU since GSC, and it's not hard to see why. It has great offensive presence as well as bulk and utility. Whether it's a wallbreaker, a rocks setter, a sweeper, you name it, Tyranitar is something you must prepare for, and I don't see it leaving anytime soon.
Lords Dome and Helix (aka Kabutops and Omastar): I'm lumping these two together because they are so similar. These guys are best used in rain thanks to Swift Swim, being able to tear things apart with Swords Dance and Shell Smash, respectively.
Aerodactyl: Speaking of Gen 1 fossils, Aero is best used with its Mega Evolution, and it's not hard to see why. It outspeeds the entire unboosted metagame, barring Mega Alakazam which it speed ties with, and has solid power and Tough Claws to boot, although that ability really only works for its coverage moves.
Diancie: Probably the wonkiest stat changes upon mega evolving, Diancie pretty much has to go mixed, but with 160/160 offenses and 110 speed, that's not really an issue. Earth Power is a major boon to it, and it's one of the best megas in OU.
Terrakion: A bit removed from its glory days, it still has enough to keep it relevant, namely, strong STAB coverage that lets it put pretty much whatever it wants into the other two moveslots. SD+coverage move, SR, double booster, you never quite know what you're going to get when facing Terrakion.
Rhyperior: Gigantic HP, Attack, and Defense stats, but mediocre everywhere else. Solid Rock is nice, but Rhyperior's weaknesses are too numerous to last too long here. Still a decent wallbreaker, boasting more raw power than Tyranitar, Terrakion, or Tyrantrum.
Tyrantrum: Speaking of the dinosaur that's somehow a Dragon type, Tyrantrum went under the radar prior to getting Rock Head. This lets it blow things apart with Head Smash without recoil, making it a fearsome wallbreaker indeed. It can also use Strong Jaw, but, like Aerodactyl, can only use it for its coverage moves. It gets Dragon Dance to sweep in lower tiers, but Head Smash is really the only good reason to use Tyrantrum in OU.
Shuckle: Last but not least, a mon that has the weirdest stat distribution ever, but enough utility to give it a niche. Shuckle is one of the few viable users of Sticky Web, which greatly aids slower offensive teams that don't have a particular issue with Bisharp, and Sturdy (along with Mental Herb for a one-time Taunt blocker) ensures that it can get it up. Infestation is also nice, as it can trap and wear down random things that you may want weakened. Please don't use Contrary+Shell Smash, though.
Tyranitar: This thing has been OU since GSC, and it's not hard to see why. It has great offensive presence as well as bulk and utility. Whether it's a wallbreaker, a rocks setter, a sweeper, you name it, Tyranitar is something you must prepare for, and I don't see it leaving anytime soon.
Lords Dome and Helix (aka Kabutops and Omastar): I'm lumping these two together because they are so similar. These guys are best used in rain thanks to Swift Swim, being able to tear things apart with Swords Dance and Shell Smash, respectively.
Aerodactyl: Speaking of Gen 1 fossils, Aero is best used with its Mega Evolution, and it's not hard to see why. It outspeeds the entire unboosted metagame, barring Mega Alakazam which it speed ties with, and has solid power and Tough Claws to boot, although that ability really only works for its coverage moves.
Diancie: Probably the wonkiest stat changes upon mega evolving, Diancie pretty much has to go mixed, but with 160/160 offenses and 110 speed, that's not really an issue. Earth Power is a major boon to it, and it's one of the best megas in OU.
Terrakion: A bit removed from its glory days, it still has enough to keep it relevant, namely, strong STAB coverage that lets it put pretty much whatever it wants into the other two moveslots. SD+coverage move, SR, double booster, you never quite know what you're going to get when facing Terrakion.
Rhyperior: Gigantic HP, Attack, and Defense stats, but mediocre everywhere else. Solid Rock is nice, but Rhyperior's weaknesses are too numerous to last too long here. Still a decent wallbreaker, boasting more raw power than Tyranitar, Terrakion, or Tyrantrum.
Tyrantrum: Speaking of the dinosaur that's somehow a Dragon type, Tyrantrum went under the radar prior to getting Rock Head. This lets it blow things apart with Head Smash without recoil, making it a fearsome wallbreaker indeed. It can also use Strong Jaw, but, like Aerodactyl, can only use it for its coverage moves. It gets Dragon Dance to sweep in lower tiers, but Head Smash is really the only good reason to use Tyrantrum in OU.
Shuckle: Last but not least, a mon that has the weirdest stat distribution ever, but enough utility to give it a niche. Shuckle is one of the few viable users of Sticky Web, which greatly aids slower offensive teams that don't have a particular issue with Bisharp, and Sturdy (along with Mental Herb for a one-time Taunt blocker) ensures that it can get it up. Infestation is also nice, as it can trap and wear down random things that you may want weakened. Please don't use Contrary+Shell Smash, though.
Rhyperior has not one but two quad-weaknesses to overcome, although having Solid Rock alleviates this somewhat. Of course, it still has five resists and STAB EdgeQuake off base 140, so don't count that thing out at all.
Diancie is indeed a wonky mon. After going mega its offenses skyrocket to 160 apiece alongside 110 speed--and its defenses are still pretty good, with 110 on both sides alongside its five resists. Of course, it's also got Magic Bounce, but I find Sableye has something over it in that regard, as Diancie's quad weakness to Steel allows Ferrothorn and Skarmory (some are beginning to run Iron Head again iirc) to simply muscle past it.
Diancie is indeed a wonky mon. After going mega its offenses skyrocket to 160 apiece alongside 110 speed--and its defenses are still pretty good, with 110 on both sides alongside its five resists. Of course, it's also got Magic Bounce, but I find Sableye has something over it in that regard, as Diancie's quad weakness to Steel allows Ferrothorn and Skarmory (some are beginning to run Iron Head again iirc) to simply muscle past it.
Rock-type sweepers are pretty cool. As Celticpride stated, Rock is a nice spammable offensive typing. High BP STAB moves (Stone Edge mostly), forming good EdgeQuake combinations with Ground-type moves amplify this. In this sense it is just like Ice (keep in mind I'm not directly comparing them, because that wouldn't make sense), as it is a good offensive typing but poorer defensively, having weaknesses to common offensive typings such as Water and Ground, and the rising Steel and Grass (think Scizor and Serperior). However, Rock-types have a great niche in being checks to the Flying-type, as it is arguably the best offensive typing in the game, boasting high power moves (Brave Bird + Hurricane), no immunities, and only two resistances, with one being Rock. Because of this, Rock-type Pokemons will not be hindered by Talonflame, the top revenge killer in OU, which is a really important aspect.
I really like Mega Diancie. It runs a variety of sets effectively, in particular All-out Attacker, Rock Polish, and Calm Mind, and has great coverage in Fairy-Ground-Rock, and also boasts Psychic- and Fire-type coverage (Psyshock and Hidden Power Fire, respectively). By virtue of its typing, it deals with huge threats such as Keldeo and Tornadus-T, soft checks Talonflame, and provides additional utility in Magic Bounce.
I really like Mega Diancie. It runs a variety of sets effectively, in particular All-out Attacker, Rock Polish, and Calm Mind, and has great coverage in Fairy-Ground-Rock, and also boasts Psychic- and Fire-type coverage (Psyshock and Hidden Power Fire, respectively). By virtue of its typing, it deals with huge threats such as Keldeo and Tornadus-T, soft checks Talonflame, and provides additional utility in Magic Bounce.
Almost done, even if it is getting a little tedious at this point! Gotta finish what you start!
Week 16's type is the Dark Type!
(Note that discussion isn't limited to the above Pokemon)
Dark types have grown ever prominent since their inception, and this gen is no different. STAB Knock Off is a major boost to those that receive it. In addition, getting STAB on moves such as Pursuit and Sucker Punch is also beneficial. Many Dark types can also play the role of a boosting sweeper in one way or another. Even with the addition of another resistance in Fairy, neutrality against Steels gives Dark types wider coverage overall. There's a deep roster of mons here to discuss.
If you have any ideas for the thread to make it more interesting, throw a PM my way. Outside of that, the usual questions in the OP are a good place to look for ideas. Feel free to talk about any trends or new sets among OU viable Dark types. Talk about as much or as little as you like. Happy discussing!
Week 16's type is the Dark Type!
(Note that discussion isn't limited to the above Pokemon)
Dark types have grown ever prominent since their inception, and this gen is no different. STAB Knock Off is a major boost to those that receive it. In addition, getting STAB on moves such as Pursuit and Sucker Punch is also beneficial. Many Dark types can also play the role of a boosting sweeper in one way or another. Even with the addition of another resistance in Fairy, neutrality against Steels gives Dark types wider coverage overall. There's a deep roster of mons here to discuss.
If you have any ideas for the thread to make it more interesting, throw a PM my way. Outside of that, the usual questions in the OP are a good place to look for ideas. Feel free to talk about any trends or new sets among OU viable Dark types. Talk about as much or as little as you like. Happy discussing!
I have the liberty of saying that Mega Absol sucks because it's my favourite Pokemon. Jokes aside, Mega Absol really isn't great in this fast-paced, hard-hitting metagame. On one hand, it does have two great STAB moves; Knock Off with great overall utility and spammability, and Sucker Punch to pick off faster threats such as Tornadus-T, as well as good offensive stats allowing it to outpace a lot of the metagame and run mixed sets due to its decent 115 Special Attack. It also has Swords Dance to further that, near-perfect coverage in Dark-Fairy, only resisted by Klefki, and its ability makes it effectively immune to direct status. However, Absol is quite flawed as well. Abysmal bulk leaves it little-to-no chances to setup, narrowing the range down to extremely passive Pokemon such as Chansey, on weak Pokemon such as Rotom-W (but taking a hella of a lot in the process), or on forced switches from the likes of Gengar and Latios. However, the latter may backfire, as the opponent may just simply sack the Pokemon (i.e Gengar), predicting a Swords Dance or just to get a free switch. Moreover, the abundance of checks in the metagame, such as Bisharp, Talonflame, and Clefable, really hurt Absol's chances of being a top-tier threat. It rose quite a bit in ORAS when Mega Sableye was introduced, but now with the decline of Sableye in general, the rise in Sableye checks such as Gliscor and Talonflame, and the fact that many Sableye runs Foul Play, which 2HKOes Absol unboosted and OHKOes boosted, really isn't helping the cause.
Weavile's also a great Pokemon, very underrated and anti-meta. It checks a lot of top-tier threats, such as both formes of Landorus, Mega Metagross, Mega Altaria, Latios, Bisharp etc., due to its stellar offensive typing and great Speed tier, making it a fantastic cleaner and revenge killer. Many teams are woefully unprepared for Dark and Ice spam, and many of its checks are crippled quite a bit by Knock Off (think Keldeo and Azumarill). Its Swords Dance set also blows past a few of its usual checks during the late-game, such as Clefable and Keldeo, though finding setup opportunities may be harder.
Weavile's also a great Pokemon, very underrated and anti-meta. It checks a lot of top-tier threats, such as both formes of Landorus, Mega Metagross, Mega Altaria, Latios, Bisharp etc., due to its stellar offensive typing and great Speed tier, making it a fantastic cleaner and revenge killer. Many teams are woefully unprepared for Dark and Ice spam, and many of its checks are crippled quite a bit by Knock Off (think Keldeo and Azumarill). Its Swords Dance set also blows past a few of its usual checks during the late-game, such as Clefable and Keldeo, though finding setup opportunities may be harder.
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