Alright I hinted at this before but can I get some official word on why exactly
are unbanned? From my experience just because everything has access to all their abilities and things are more powerful, that doesn't make any of these less problematic and IMO they aren't adding anything to the metagame with their existance.
zero counterplay in the tier right now. i straight up topped the ladder and just spammed this and won everytime.
Can confirm, I had no idea was unbanned and it absolutely wiped the team I had made since I thought I wouldn't have to worry about it. There's still nothing that reliably switches into this and there's no cool new combination of abilities that let anything switch into it.
Blaze is a buff to Pyro Ball but this realistically still does what it normally does. Clefable definitely is a problem but it still hates neutral STAB Gunk Shot and I've not seen any Defense-boosting ones that might want to take it on, simply because Clef has better things to do. Extremely potent Speed control, hits really hard, very versatile, Bulk Up still as unholy as ever.
I haven't seen this much but I don't imagine that's going to last, and its probably only because Urshifu-SS and Cinderace are still unbanned that its been reclusive. Obstagoon being greatly improved and potentially more common as time goes on could be bad for it, but Spectrier still has very limited counterplay and does a lot to restrict Speed tiers.
It's a good Clef answer and that's valuable right now, but I think we have plenty of options for Pokemon that can beat Clef, and keeping Magearna around for that reason is not worth it when other options exist (and if clef's too strong than that should be addressed on its own, though IMO it's not that bad yet).
I'm really not a fan of keeping recent OU bans legal because half the time it feel less like playing a new meta and more like "oh this broken shit is useable time to abuse it since I can't do that normally." Like I want to explore the Pokemon that benefit from having all their abilities at once, but having to account for Pokemon we all know are busted sucks the fun away from it, and honestly if you're not using at least one of these four right now you're just putting yourself at a disadvantage. Which is really lame because 3/4 of them don't even have more than one ability.
Other than that complaint I would like to share opinions on other Pokemon I've seen and tried using.
On the topic of one ability, this remains potent and is nice to have around considering what's popular right now. It mauls Clef and is a nice switch-in against Cincinno, as other Steels I used tend to take a lot from Tail Slap despite the resistance. You do have to be cautious about Flamethrower Clefable but otherwise its an easy switch and with Band/Specs you can usually claim a KO or just delete 90% of the opponent's health bar.
Reckless is pretty pointless considering Facade does the job just as well, but there's no denying that Guts + Defiant is a terrifying combo that really limits what safely switches into this. The last thing you want to do is send in an Intimidate user and give Guts-boosted Goon a +1 boost. I do think it suffers from being a bit too weak as a wallbreaker and its not that fast either, but if the meta slows down and becomes more defensive I think it will become quite good.
This is a pretty common sight and its not hard to see why. SO many of its moves are boosted its insane. Elemental punches are increased by Iron Fist and get affected by Sheer Force. Drain Punch after Iron Fist and Guts is basically just any other Fighting Type using CC except it heals you. Your only real hope of switching into it is making a smart prediction or something that checks it super hard like NGas Weezings. Biggest issue is being slow and not bulky enough to tank strong hits, of which there are plenty to be found, and you usually put yourself in range without Drain Punch's offset due to Burn damage.
:cincinno: Despite seeing it every other game yesterday I haven't seen it at all today. It's interesting for sure, Band hits way stronger than a little rodent should and its got a good Speed tier. I think the issue right now is the prevalence of Rocky Helmet and Ferrothorn. You don't want to 2HKO yourself before you do the opponent. Protective Pads sounds a bit more reliable IMO: Technician is basically Choice Band for your best attacks, and being able to switch moves means you can play around your checks better with stuff like U-Turn or Knock Off.
This is a bastard of a Pokemon to face right now, I do think Clear Body is bugged in the code right now as I did Intimidate one and AFAIK that shouldn't work, but I can say that, should everything work, Pult is really frustrating to face. Immunity to stat drops is a great as it makes it really good vs. Webs and Intimidate, Infiltrator means Sub and Screens do nothing against it, and Cursed Body just adds another layer of complexity on dealing with it, since it can and will disable a crucial move at some point, even if its not using a set designed to do so.
Hot topic mon right now. Unaware + MG is of course really strong and Clef has so many options now as a result. Clef's presence essentially mandates you have a strong breaker that switches in against it, as having Unaware means boosting isn't an option, and Magic Guard means passive damage isn't an option either, and having both makes Calm Mind insanely powerful. That said there are a handful of good checks,
is great thanks to typing + Lightning Rod,
still scare it, and should
become more popular I imagine it will as well. Steel breakers work but they aren't free switch-ins as LO Flamethrower is always a concern and none of them want to take it.
It's strong but not the worst thing it the world. Sand needs to be up for it and it still struggles against Grounds and Physically Defensive walls. Hustle being permanent is also a double-edged sword: normally Sand Rush is great as it solves the Speed issue while letting you use Band/LO to spam Bolt Beak. Adding Hustle on top turns that power up to 11, but at the cost of consistency, and being a sweeper/breaker often necessitates some form of reliability to get work done.
I've only seen this once but its honestly pretty cool. Reckless HJK is risky yet very rewarding should it land, and Inner Focus being buffed this gen to block Intimidate is a very welcome addition. Plus it gets Regenerator, and thankfully you don't
have to run HJK if you don't want anymore thanks to getting CC this time around. Not the most amazing thing in play right now but its quite improved and I think there's potential there for a strong offensive Pivot that keeps itself healthy and doesn't have to worry about Intimidate drops or getting flinched.
Last but not least:
:
viable sun setter not found: Sand is very popular and definitely a prominent force with Dracozolt around and the general strength of both setters and the playstyle. Both Hippo and Giga boosting their STAB and coverage with the weather they set up is a big deal, granted I've barely seen Giga but its still a buff. Other useable weather setters look promising as a result, though they certainly aren't as splashable as something like Hippo. Hail HO has popped up from time to time but I don't think I've lost to it once, still its an option and Ice Body Slush Rush
can be a really pain in the ass to fight.