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Metagame Shared Power
- Thread starter The Immortal
- Start date
With the ban on Unaware, I think this classic team style could make a comeback..
Defiant/Competitive+Weak Armor.
and maybe 
In case you don't know, when Weak Armor is activated, your Defiant and Competitive abilities will also activate, giving you a +2 Atk/SpA and +2 Spe.
This is a great combination, especially in this meta where special attackers are very rare.
Good teammates:
Fluffy+Fur coat has made a huge mark on Stall teams and even demands for an outright ban on it, but with these Weak Armor teams, you will be reducing the impact of physical attacks by half or even a quarter. This is amazing for survival. Bewear is better than Dubwool in this case since it is a lot more threatening offensively, especially for Defiant WA teams. And Persian-A is able to fit onto both.
Like with any speed control team, Tsareena is a must have for preventing priority from ruining its teammates day. Its stats are also excellent for the team composition, being bulky, hitting hard, and having decent speed.
/
Like Tsareena, Indeedee will block incoming priority attacks. On the plus side, they pair well for Competitive WA teams, especially ones with Psychic Types such as Gothitelle and Meowstic-F. In case you were feeling frisky, you can also make a team with Psychic Terrain+Unburden with your Weak Armor team. The down side is that they are limited, can be defogged away now, and also prevents you from using priority.
Sturdy is also a good ability to share with your Weak Armor team. If you want a more glass cannon type of team, you can swap out Fluffy/Fur Coat for Sturdy. Allowing you to take 1 hit at full health, no matter what. This can also be paired up with Unburden to quadruple your speed when hit by a strong physical attack (with the aid of a berry of course), hitting speed tiers that weather wouldn't be able to outspeed.
Flash Fire is a pretty good way of absorbing Will-O-Wisp and ignores Fluffy's drawback. (and that's it tbh)
Kyurem doesn't provide that much in terms of abilities, but it has amazing stats for it to abuse. 125/90/90 Bulk, 130 Atk/SpA, and 95 Spe. 1 physical attack puts it at 2 Dragon Dances or a Geomancy missing the SpD buff. Surprising that I haven't seen Kyurem on ladder at all.
In case you wanted to deal with the rare Special Attacker on the ladder, Goodra has a massive SpD, can attack on both sides, and can boost your Atk even more with Sap Sipper, while Frosmoth can Quiver Dance and provide Ice Scales to your team.
In one of my previous posts, I mentioned the Simple+StoreTrip combo could be useful for bypassing Unaware. How ever, both Simple and Unaware are now banned. Stored Power and Power Trip, however, are not. Weak Armor+Defiant/Competitive (or even Weak Armor+Defiant+Competitive) makes it relatively easy to rack up BP for Stored Power and Power Trip. 1 hit from a physical attack, and you have an instant 100 BP moves (140 BP if you have Competitive+Defiant). 2 and now you have 180 BP (260 BP with Competitive+Defiant), all without set up. You hit almost as hard as Explosion with no drawbacks.
And you can still set up with them too, and even negate the Def drop with Iron Defense, Acid Armor, Cosmic Power, and Bulk up.
Edit: So apparently, this might not work. I haven't been able to get a clear answer and it currently does not work on the simulator. Whether its a bug (hopefully) or intentional isn't clear yet.
Defiant/Competitive+Weak Armor.
and maybe In case you don't know, when Weak Armor is activated, your Defiant and Competitive abilities will also activate, giving you a +2 Atk/SpA and +2 Spe.
This is a great combination, especially in this meta where special attackers are very rare.
Good teammates:
Fluffy+Fur coat has made a huge mark on Stall teams and even demands for an outright ban on it, but with these Weak Armor teams, you will be reducing the impact of physical attacks by half or even a quarter. This is amazing for survival. Bewear is better than Dubwool in this case since it is a lot more threatening offensively, especially for Defiant WA teams. And Persian-A is able to fit onto both. Like with any speed control team, Tsareena is a must have for preventing priority from ruining its teammates day. Its stats are also excellent for the team composition, being bulky, hitting hard, and having decent speed./ Like Tsareena, Indeedee will block incoming priority attacks. On the plus side, they pair well for Competitive WA teams, especially ones with Psychic Types such as Gothitelle and Meowstic-F. In case you were feeling frisky, you can also make a team with Psychic Terrain+Unburden with your Weak Armor team. The down side is that they are limited, can be defogged away now, and also prevents you from using priority. Sturdy is also a good ability to share with your Weak Armor team. If you want a more glass cannon type of team, you can swap out Fluffy/Fur Coat for Sturdy. Allowing you to take 1 hit at full health, no matter what. This can also be paired up with Unburden to quadruple your speed when hit by a strong physical attack (with the aid of a berry of course), hitting speed tiers that weather wouldn't be able to outspeed. Flash Fire is a pretty good way of absorbing Will-O-Wisp and ignores Fluffy's drawback. (and that's it tbh) Kyurem doesn't provide that much in terms of abilities, but it has amazing stats for it to abuse. 125/90/90 Bulk, 130 Atk/SpA, and 95 Spe. 1 physical attack puts it at 2 Dragon Dances or a Geomancy missing the SpD buff. Surprising that I haven't seen Kyurem on ladder at all. In case you wanted to deal with the rare Special Attacker on the ladder, Goodra has a massive SpD, can attack on both sides, and can boost your Atk even more with Sap Sipper, while Frosmoth can Quiver Dance and provide Ice Scales to your team. In one of my previous posts, I mentioned the Simple+StoreTrip combo could be useful for bypassing Unaware. How ever, both Simple and Unaware are now banned. Stored Power and Power Trip, however, are not. Weak Armor+Defiant/Competitive (or even Weak Armor+Defiant+Competitive) makes it relatively easy to rack up BP for Stored Power and Power Trip. 1 hit from a physical attack, and you have an instant 100 BP moves (140 BP if you have Competitive+Defiant). 2 and now you have 180 BP (260 BP with Competitive+Defiant), all without set up. You hit almost as hard as Explosion with no drawbacks.And you can still set up with them too, and even negate the Def drop with Iron Defense, Acid Armor, Cosmic Power, and Bulk up.
Edit: So apparently, this might not work. I haven't been able to get a clear answer and it currently does not work on the simulator. Whether its a bug (hopefully) or intentional isn't clear yet.
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With the ban on Unaware, I think this classic team style could make a comeback..
Defiant/Competitive+Weak Armor.
In case you don't know, when Weak Armor is activated, your Defiant and Competitive abilities will also activate, giving you a +2 Atk/SpA and +2 Spe.
Does this work? I tried it the other day and it didn't work. The drop in Defense and rise in Speed from Weak Armor activated, but not the Defiant/Competitive abilities. The abilities did work though, as earlier they did activate. I think it's been recoded that Weak Armor is self-activated, meaning that Defiant/Competitive will not activate. I'm willing to retest, but to restate: I already tried this way earlier and I think it was unintentionally coded out.
It worked last gen for sure.
Did you save that replay?
It could very well be a bug too, like how Cloud Nine didn’t work properly.
I can confirm that weak armor isn't working properly with defiant/competitive. As well, sheer force and life orb interaction does not work, was this removed in gen 8 and I didn't realize or is it bugged?
With so much speed control out of the meta, contrary seems even better than before with the generally slow abusers of it, but I've yet to see a single good contrary team in a relatively small sample size. Anyone have one yet?
Also, with as many banned abilities as there are now, Fur Coat and Fluffy seem like outliers in terms of power in a huge way - ice scales less so with the fewer special attackers out there currently. There are counters, but they're incredibly centralizing, and with certain other abilities banned that have definitive checks, I don't see why these two abilities are remaining other than having relatively weak holders. Just a fur coat ban though would be what I'm happiest with. Fluffy has better counterplay that necessitates taking a flash fire user and relying on your opponent not having contact moves. It also sucks that it's one of the few not type-dependent defensive abilities though.
With so much speed control out of the meta, contrary seems even better than before with the generally slow abusers of it, but I've yet to see a single good contrary team in a relatively small sample size. Anyone have one yet?
Also, with as many banned abilities as there are now, Fur Coat and Fluffy seem like outliers in terms of power in a huge way - ice scales less so with the fewer special attackers out there currently. There are counters, but they're incredibly centralizing, and with certain other abilities banned that have definitive checks, I don't see why these two abilities are remaining other than having relatively weak holders. Just a fur coat ban though would be what I'm happiest with. Fluffy has better counterplay that necessitates taking a flash fire user and relying on your opponent not having contact moves. It also sucks that it's one of the few not type-dependent defensive abilities though.
That's why.
Phys dominant meta without defensive abilities is not good.
Honestly, how would you test out how Defiant+Weak Armor work on cartridge?
You can’t use 2 abilities at the same time on cartridge, and there isn’t an item alternative.
Sheer Force might be the key. A move boosted by Sheer Force will ignore a bunch of things from the opponent, like Red Card and Emergency Exit. More relevant to the Weak Armor situation, one of the things Sheer Force will apparently ignore is Kee Berry, which will raise the holder's Defense when hit with a physical attack (like a reverse Weak Armor). As Sheer Force is coded to negate the secondary effects of the user's moves, it would appear that the effects of things like Red Card, Emergency Exit, and Kee Berry are internally considered to have resulted from the attacker, not the defender.
Defiant and Competitive will only activate if the stat drop is considered to have come from the opponent, which is why things like Superpower or Court Changed Sticky Web won't trigger them. Thus, it would seem reasonable to me that the Weak Armor combo should work if and only if a move boosted by Sheer Force fails to activate Weak Armor. I don't know whether it does or doesn't, so someone should go test that on-cart.
Just wanted to share some "fresh" ideas i found kinda interesting. They are not broken by any means and or just cool additions to any offense out there that has a spot to fill :
Indeedee bring Psychic Terrain and even though there is no speed ability to match it with, it's still a great way to get an immunity to both attacking priority moves like Crawdaunt's Aqua Jet, Durant's First Impression or Conkeldurr's Mach Punch, and status priority moves in the form of anything with Prankster. You could argue that Queenly Majesty is the same thing but better and you would be right if you just want an immunity to priority moves. But even though the Surge Surfer++Electric Surge ban made it less powerful, Psychic Surge still allows for easy one-time speed in the form of Unburden+Psychic Berry and Indeedee has a fairly different role than Tsareena, with access to moves like Trick, Healing Wish, and a special terrain-boosted STAB as Psychic, while Tsareena can run Rapid Spin and U-turn. Lastly, you could try some form of Psychic Spam with offenive abilities like Adaptability (though neither Crawdaunt nor Basculin really benefit from the terrain), Unburden, Flare Boost and so on.
Decidueye has access to quite the interesting ability that is Long Reach. Long Reach makes you immune to anything contact-related meaning you won't get any Tough Claws boost or Rocky Helmet recoil damage. This also means you will completely ignore Fluffy, which can come in handy when trying to break stall, on top of being immune to Iron Barbs or Flame Body. Obviously you want to pair it with powerful physical breakers in a guts/hustle+no guard/both team. Even when Long Reach doesn't really do anything, Decidueye can still be somewhat of a useful mon since it's movepool makes it pretty reliable in Crit Spam (Super Luck+Sniper) with access to STAB Leaf Blade and Shadow Claw but also Psycho Cut, Technician Prio Spam with STAB Shadow Sneak and Sucker Punch if you want to, or even a Stallbreaking oriented team, with both setup in the form of Swords Dance, reliable recovery with Roost, and an overall decent support movepool with Defog, Knock Off or Tailwind.
Last but not least, Dragapult has, as always, a GREAT movepool, both physical and special, access to Dragon Dance if you want to setup, an incredible speed, really good Attack and fairly decent Sp. Atk stat. On top of that, he can provide the team with either Infiltrator if you really don't like Substitutes, which might get more popular to setup now that Unaware is gone, or Clear Body, which i really like. Clear Body provides you with an immunity to stat-decrease, that is to say immunity against Sticky Web, Intimidate, Tangling Hair/Cotton Down, and you completely negate Parting Shot. But obviously you won't be playing Dragapult for this kind of Ability, but rather it's ability to finish off games. With nothing but a Technician boost, Dragon Darts reaches an effective 225 Base Power in 2 hits. Coupled with his Base 120 Attack Stat and a Choice Band or another attack-boosting ability, Dragapult can tear through offensive teams like butter. The 2-hit tech is getting more relevant as Sturdy is getting more popular on Offense with HDB, since you will bypass Sturdy completely. You will also be quite effective against Substitute if ever needed. The drawback of course is that Fairy-types will be immune to it and you won't be dealing too much to FurScales without a bit more support. But i find it really effective since it need very little support, can run what Dragapult runs (Fire Blast, Tbolt, Shadow Ball, U-turn, Hex, WoW, Psychic Fangs, Dragon Dance, etc.) and is so fast in a post-speed ability war metagame.
Indeedee bring Psychic Terrain and even though there is no speed ability to match it with, it's still a great way to get an immunity to both attacking priority moves like Crawdaunt's Aqua Jet, Durant's First Impression or Conkeldurr's Mach Punch, and status priority moves in the form of anything with Prankster. You could argue that Queenly Majesty is the same thing but better and you would be right if you just want an immunity to priority moves. But even though the Surge Surfer++Electric Surge ban made it less powerful, Psychic Surge still allows for easy one-time speed in the form of Unburden+Psychic Berry and Indeedee has a fairly different role than Tsareena, with access to moves like Trick, Healing Wish, and a special terrain-boosted STAB as Psychic, while Tsareena can run Rapid Spin and U-turn. Lastly, you could try some form of Psychic Spam with offenive abilities like Adaptability (though neither Crawdaunt nor Basculin really benefit from the terrain), Unburden, Flare Boost and so on.
Decidueye has access to quite the interesting ability that is Long Reach. Long Reach makes you immune to anything contact-related meaning you won't get any Tough Claws boost or Rocky Helmet recoil damage. This also means you will completely ignore Fluffy, which can come in handy when trying to break stall, on top of being immune to Iron Barbs or Flame Body. Obviously you want to pair it with powerful physical breakers in a guts/hustle+no guard/both team. Even when Long Reach doesn't really do anything, Decidueye can still be somewhat of a useful mon since it's movepool makes it pretty reliable in Crit Spam (Super Luck+Sniper) with access to STAB Leaf Blade and Shadow Claw but also Psycho Cut, Technician Prio Spam with STAB Shadow Sneak and Sucker Punch if you want to, or even a Stallbreaking oriented team, with both setup in the form of Swords Dance, reliable recovery with Roost, and an overall decent support movepool with Defog, Knock Off or Tailwind.
Last but not least, Dragapult has, as always, a GREAT movepool, both physical and special, access to Dragon Dance if you want to setup, an incredible speed, really good Attack and fairly decent Sp. Atk stat. On top of that, he can provide the team with either Infiltrator if you really don't like Substitutes, which might get more popular to setup now that Unaware is gone, or Clear Body, which i really like. Clear Body provides you with an immunity to stat-decrease, that is to say immunity against Sticky Web, Intimidate, Tangling Hair/Cotton Down, and you completely negate Parting Shot. But obviously you won't be playing Dragapult for this kind of Ability, but rather it's ability to finish off games. With nothing but a Technician boost, Dragon Darts reaches an effective 225 Base Power in 2 hits. Coupled with his Base 120 Attack Stat and a Choice Band or another attack-boosting ability, Dragapult can tear through offensive teams like butter. The 2-hit tech is getting more relevant as Sturdy is getting more popular on Offense with HDB, since you will bypass Sturdy completely. You will also be quite effective against Substitute if ever needed. The drawback of course is that Fairy-types will be immune to it and you won't be dealing too much to FurScales without a bit more support. But i find it really effective since it need very little support, can run what Dragapult runs (Fire Blast, Tbolt, Shadow Ball, U-turn, Hex, WoW, Psychic Fangs, Dragon Dance, etc.) and is so fast in a post-speed ability war metagame.
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That's true, but as it currently stands, it doesn't feel like there are many answers to bulky pokemon like Toxapex with defensive abilities. Haze and stall are still very much alive after the contrary bans and still seem like the best teams by far. Imo, some complex ban needs to be in place for Ice Scales, Fur Coat, and Fluffy. Hyper Offense will rule if they're completely banned, but there aren't things that can muscle past strong defensive pokemon. Feels like you have to play significantly better than your opponent to have a small chance at winning against stall now.
Fur Coat + Ice Scales + Immunity needs to be banned yesterday
Was it like that in Gen 7?
And honestly that seems like a bug on cartridge, like how sucker punch will fail sometimes in doubles for Gen 8 (but then again, it's a simulator, not a free patch).
I guess we will have to wait and see.
I don't see how Immunity makes it that much stronger. Like sure, you win against Corrosion stall but that's pretty much it ? I don't believe FurScales to be a problem now that Unaware is gone. Running Prankster can be quite tricky since it means being almost helpless against Psychic Terrain, Queenly Majesty, or any Dark-type build to beat stall. On the other hand, Prankster Haze is the perfect answer to setup, so you might still want to run this double-edged sword. Regenerator is good but neither Multiscales nor Magic Guard are a thing and your HDB will be knocked off one day or another. Really it looks as though the meta might become balanced in a near future without much more bans and you keep whining about FurScales.
I think it's just a guy who hasn't figured out a x1.5+x1.5 ability (like Guts+Hustle) bypasses the double defense.
Or that Ice Scales is kind of redundant since so much of the Meta is physical and special is pretty much non-existent.
I'm really happy to see Unaware banned. Set up mons are actually useable now, so way more mons and sets just became viable.
On the topic of FurScales, I'm not really sure if it's broken or not. I'm leaning towards not. FurScales, compared to other strategies, absolutely requires the use of a few very specific pokemon that all aren't that good and aren't in OU. Both Persian-Alola and Frosmoth have no recovery, but they both are pretty good at pivoting and Frosmoth does have Defog. It just doesn't seem like any specific mon is broken by having it's defenses increased. Now that Unaware was banned most teams stacking power boosting abilities should be able to break stall much more consistently. I would wait a while before doing anything about FurScales, since it hasn't even been a full day since all these massive metagame changes.
Now that the precedent of complex bans has been set, I think the weather ban should be reworked... again. Just make it so the weather setting ability isn't inherited by other mons, and maybe even ban weather duration boosting items. The second part is a hard maybe, but it's clear one of the biggest issues with weather was the fact the entire game weather would be up. In weather vs weather it just turned into who can get their weather up and force the best switches. This is a very complex ban, but it should fix what is so difficult to beat about stall. Many weather teams didn't even have to fear priority because of Tsareena, which is a good fit on both rain and sand teams for it's typing.
Also, I mentioned this in a previous post, but Pressure is very interesting. Many games of stall end via struggle. Pressure, which is found on some good mons such as Corviknight and Bisharp, and is an ability that stall can use to great effect. I don't think this ability is broken by any means, but just worth mentioning. It can also have a good matchup against stall, but most games just devolve into switching to not burn PP.
On the topic of FurScales, I'm not really sure if it's broken or not. I'm leaning towards not. FurScales, compared to other strategies, absolutely requires the use of a few very specific pokemon that all aren't that good and aren't in OU. Both Persian-Alola and Frosmoth have no recovery, but they both are pretty good at pivoting and Frosmoth does have Defog. It just doesn't seem like any specific mon is broken by having it's defenses increased. Now that Unaware was banned most teams stacking power boosting abilities should be able to break stall much more consistently. I would wait a while before doing anything about FurScales, since it hasn't even been a full day since all these massive metagame changes.
Now that the precedent of complex bans has been set, I think the weather ban should be reworked... again. Just make it so the weather setting ability isn't inherited by other mons, and maybe even ban weather duration boosting items. The second part is a hard maybe, but it's clear one of the biggest issues with weather was the fact the entire game weather would be up. In weather vs weather it just turned into who can get their weather up and force the best switches. This is a very complex ban, but it should fix what is so difficult to beat about stall. Many weather teams didn't even have to fear priority because of Tsareena, which is a good fit on both rain and sand teams for it's typing.
Also, I mentioned this in a previous post, but Pressure is very interesting. Many games of stall end via struggle. Pressure, which is found on some good mons such as Corviknight and Bisharp, and is an ability that stall can use to great effect. I don't think this ability is broken by any means, but just worth mentioning. It can also have a good matchup against stall, but most games just devolve into switching to not burn PP.
Alright so are you guys tired of constantly reworking your teams and are tired of thinking when playing???
Do you want to break 1400???
Well I got just the team for you, I call it, Untitled 149:
Now I know what you're thinking, "Seed + Contrary???" well don't worry cause this is some Hyper Spike Offense and you don't have time to worry about switching & eating hits.
Proof the team broke 1400:
Some CHOICE replays so you can figure out how to handle this baby:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093311789
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093325220-020arsoi1yzrhpdx2ydwa3hfxpppy8tpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093121738
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093299328
If you're wondering why I'm dropping the team now instead of climbing further, I got to focus on work these next couple days and shouldn't be on Showdown
EDIT: If you're wondering how this beats stall, with Unaware gone, you can use Contrary to boost through most stall teams. Whatever you do don't let Corviknight get behind a sub and start boosting.
Also quick tip, no levitate so you can benefit from Terrain and also because a Contrary team always welcomes Sticky Webs.
Do you want to break 1400???
Well I got just the team for you, I call it, Untitled 149:
Indeedee (M) @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hyper Voice
- Shadow Ball
Accelgor @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Toxic
- Knock Off
Darmanitan @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
Kyurem @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Freeze-Dry
Malamar @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Night Slash
- Psycho Cut
- Liquidation
Crawdaunt @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Liquidation
- Knock Off
- Crunch
- Superpower
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hyper Voice
- Shadow Ball
Accelgor @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Toxic
- Knock Off
Darmanitan @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
Kyurem @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Freeze-Dry
Malamar @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Night Slash
- Psycho Cut
- Liquidation
Crawdaunt @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Liquidation
- Knock Off
- Crunch
- Superpower
Now I know what you're thinking, "Seed + Contrary???" well don't worry cause this is some Hyper Spike Offense and you don't have time to worry about switching & eating hits.
Proof the team broke 1400:
Some CHOICE replays so you can figure out how to handle this baby:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093311789
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093325220-020arsoi1yzrhpdx2ydwa3hfxpppy8tpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093121738
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093299328
If you're wondering why I'm dropping the team now instead of climbing further, I got to focus on work these next couple days and shouldn't be on Showdown
EDIT: If you're wondering how this beats stall, with Unaware gone, you can use Contrary to boost through most stall teams. Whatever you do don't let Corviknight get behind a sub and start boosting.
Also quick tip, no levitate so you can benefit from Terrain and also because a Contrary team always welcomes Sticky Webs.
One question why the physic seed if the contrary always ruins it?Alright so are you guys tired of constantly reworking your teams and are tired of thinking when playing???
Do you want to break 1400???
Well I got just the team for you, I call it, Untitled 149:
Indeedee (M) @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hyper Voice
- Shadow Ball
Accelgor @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Toxic
- Knock Off
Darmanitan @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
Kyurem @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Freeze-Dry
Malamar @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Night Slash
- Psycho Cut
- Liquidation
Crawdaunt @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Liquidation
- Knock Off
- Crunch
- Superpower
Now I know what you're thinking, "Seed + Contrary???" well don't worry cause this is some Hyper Spike Offense and you don't have time to worry about switching & eating hits.
Proof the team broke 1400:
Some CHOICE replays so you can figure out how to handle this baby:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093311789
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093325220-020arsoi1yzrhpdx2ydwa3hfxpppy8tpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093121738
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093299328
If you're wondering why I'm dropping the team now instead of climbing further, I got to focus on work these next couple days and shouldn't be on Showdown
EDIT: If you're wondering how this beats stall, with Unaware gone, you can use Contrary to boost through most stall teams. Whatever you do don't let Corviknight get behind a sub and start boosting.
Also quick tip, no levitate so you can benefit from Terrain and also because a Contrary team always welcomes Sticky Webs.
I also remember seeing that second battle in the battle list today at noon. Great Job getting 1440 in a day.
It's just there to get the speed from Unburden. Plus, the special defense drop is pretty inconsequential because A) it's a hyper offense team that doesn't really care about tanking hits, and B) special attackers are rare.
The instant speed control is just that worth it and contrary is needed to be able to power through furscales walls in this meta. Fortunately both the Fur Coat and Fluffy Pokemons are weak to Superpower!
Uhh, found a bug. Either that, or you didn't mention it anywhere. Corviknight's Mirror Armor is being listed as banned in Shared Power.
That's not a bug! It was banned because it caused the server to crash, and it will remain banned until we find a fix!
So I made a PP stalling team
Essentially, this team quickly drains the opponent's PP with the use of Pressure and Spite spam.
Rest is actually a pretty good option for teams looking to PP stall. You save 2 PP every time you rest up, and if your opponent isn't switching, they likely will be wasting 4 PP after pressure, which for some moves is already half their PP available.
Spite helps speed up the process for when the opponent is attacking.
Weavile gets pretty bulky after Fluffy, Fur Coat, and Ice Scales are added, in-spite (pun intended) of its terrible typing and defenses. It uses its speed to set up substitute on slow team. Weavile and Dubwool are also a great combo, preventing the opponent from just switching (which hazards can do, but require that the opponent doesn't have hazard removal) since a +6 Body Press hits anything not a ghost pretty hard, while STAB knock off can deal with Ghost types that are frail.
Toxapex also helps prevent teams from just constantly switching as burns that are not complimented by leftovers are a timer for any Pokemon not immune to burns, and Scald prevents Taunt from making Toxapex useless.
Chandelure also helps by providing fire immunity, as well as also being a Spite user and having an immunity to Normal/Fighting.
Normally, Dubwool would have Body Slam, but since Paralysis can prevent you from not using a move, it is pretty counter intuitive.
Edit: Some replays
Against opposing Stall
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093524482
Against Contrary
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093527991
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Haze
- Spite
- Recover
- Scald
Frosmoth @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Ice Scales
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Ice Beam
- Bug Buzz
- Rest
Persian-Alola @ Leftovers
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Parting Shot
- Spite
- Taunt
- Knock Off
Weavile @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Protect
- Spite
- Knock Off
Chandelure @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Protect
- Spite
- Rest
Dubwool @ Leftovers
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Cotton Guard
- Body Press
- Substitute
- Rest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Haze
- Spite
- Recover
- Scald
Frosmoth @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Ice Scales
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Ice Beam
- Bug Buzz
- Rest
Persian-Alola @ Leftovers
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Parting Shot
- Spite
- Taunt
- Knock Off
Weavile @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Protect
- Spite
- Knock Off
Chandelure @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Protect
- Spite
- Rest
Dubwool @ Leftovers
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Cotton Guard
- Body Press
- Substitute
- Rest
Rest is actually a pretty good option for teams looking to PP stall. You save 2 PP every time you rest up, and if your opponent isn't switching, they likely will be wasting 4 PP after pressure, which for some moves is already half their PP available.
Spite helps speed up the process for when the opponent is attacking.
Weavile gets pretty bulky after Fluffy, Fur Coat, and Ice Scales are added, in-spite (pun intended) of its terrible typing and defenses. It uses its speed to set up substitute on slow team. Weavile and Dubwool are also a great combo, preventing the opponent from just switching (which hazards can do, but require that the opponent doesn't have hazard removal) since a +6 Body Press hits anything not a ghost pretty hard, while STAB knock off can deal with Ghost types that are frail.
Toxapex also helps prevent teams from just constantly switching as burns that are not complimented by leftovers are a timer for any Pokemon not immune to burns, and Scald prevents Taunt from making Toxapex useless.
Chandelure also helps by providing fire immunity, as well as also being a Spite user and having an immunity to Normal/Fighting.
Normally, Dubwool would have Body Slam, but since Paralysis can prevent you from not using a move, it is pretty counter intuitive.
Edit: Some replays
Against opposing Stall
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093524482
Against Contrary
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8sharedpower-1093527991
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I think you guys should quick ban regen. I saw a game go to endless battle cause of it. (the match was hidden, but downloaded it but I can't attach it)
Had fun on going to endless battle clause :)
When I wrote my post advocating for unbanning Regenerator, that was quite frankly in the assumption FurScales would soon get banned. I understood the possibility of Unaware getting banned instead, but having the long-time, mainstay stall ability banned instead of the relatively gimmicky new-comers was really unexpected for me. My guess on how the meta would've roughly went was that FurScales would get banned, then some overcentralizing offensive abilities went along with it to reduce the power level. Since it went the other way, with Unaware going, you essentially only have 4 slots to cover everything on stall (b/c Persian-A and Frosmoth ain't doing jack), rather than my assumption it would become a full 6 slots. So yeah, it's difficult to try and fit in defensive stallbreakers if it stays like this, so Regenerator might need to go again. I still don't think that banning Unaware over FurScales was the right approach though, but a balanced meta is a balanced meta (well, an eventually balanced meta), even if it's not in a way I personally would've liked it. Like seriously, needing to waste two slots on garbage, just to have a viable team?? Whatever works I guess... Also, if it turns out that FurScales is overcentralizing even outside of stall (b/c I've seen some offense teams just have a Persian-A sitting there for Fur Coat) then it might need to get banned anyways - but it definitely could turn out FurScales is simply fringe outside of it.
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