Resource Simple Questions, Simple Answers Thread (read the op before posting a thread)

breeding a m-venusaur and was wondering if getting grassy terrain as an egg move is worth it or not? Is Venu a viable terrain setter on teams not using Bulu?
 

Felixx

I'm back.
breeding a m-venusaur and was wondering if getting grassy terrain as an egg move is worth it or not? Is Venu a viable terrain setter on teams not using Bulu?
I don't think it's worth it at all, I understand that Grassy Terrain is cool for weakening EQs and giving grounded Pokemon recovery, but it's overall too much of a hassle to set-up and use effectively w/o using Tapu Bulu, especially since M-Venu is already very strapped for moveslots between Giga Drain, Sludge Bomb, HP Fire, Leech Seed, EQ, Synthesis, and some very niche options like HP Ice, Sleep Powder, and Knock Off.
 
Question is there a reaswoni9ng that darkrai hasn't been given a susspect test in generation 7 inspite of various nerfs, checks and hard counters to it, that may merit further investigastion into whether it is broken in ou or not?
 

Felixx

I'm back.
Question is there a reaswoni9ng that darkrai hasn't been given a susspect test in generation 7 inspite of various nerfs, checks and hard counters to it, that may merit further investigastion into whether it is broken in ou or not?
Base 135 Special Attack and 125 Speed with access to Nasty Plot doesn't exactly strike most people as balanced, as Darkrai even has coverage moves in Sludge Bomb and Focus Blast to circumvent Fairy- and Steel-type checks, and that pure Dark-typing + decent bulk makes it harder to exploit, meaning it's able to set-up on a lot of passive Pokemon such as Tangrowth, Toxapex, and sp def Heatran, and be able to overpower them. Also, I don't think Darkrai actually has any hard counters, as AV Magearna and Chansey both severly dislike a +2 All-Out Pummelling.

+2 252 SpA Darkrai All-Out Pummeling (190 BP) vs. 244 HP / 12 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 538-634 (76.6 - 90.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Darkrai All-Out Pummeling (190 BP) vs. 248 HP / 224+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna: 189-223 (52 - 61.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


Also, ya know, it's the OU Council's decision if they wanna suspect shit or not, nerfing Dark Void isn't enough to even slightly consider suspect testing it imo, and I personally think most things in OU are pretty balanced atm, although Tran and Zyg are sooo fucking versatile and very effective depending on the set.
 
Last edited:

Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Question is there a reaswoni9ng that darkrai hasn't been given a susspect test in generation 7 inspite of various nerfs, checks and hard counters to it, that may merit further investigastion into whether it is broken in ou or not?
In lieu of this, I have now added this to the OP, one of which is one of the forum rules word-for-word:
  • In threads discussing the metagame, do not assume any particular Pokémon are banned. Additionally, do not suggest that certain Pokémon should be banned, or that they will probably be banned. Finally, do not post predictions on which Pokémon will be banned. Likewise, don't suggest that certain Pokémon should be unbanned.
  • Do NOT talk about dropping Pokemon from Ubers. This is not the place for that. PM a council member if you want more information
Please refrain from asking or answering any questions related to this in the future, and PM a moderator so it can be taken care of accordingly.
 
In an OU environment what is the best ability for Kommo-O to use with sub-belly drum? Bulletproof lets it setup on certain choice locked mons. Soundproof prevents it taking damage behind sub from sound attacks. Overcoat negates weather damage and provides immunity to powder moves like spore or sleep powder. Each is pretty niche and only performs in certain matchups. I was wondering if there was a consensus best ability or if its upto the user to determine which ability to use.
 

Finchinator

-OUTL
is a Tournament Directoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past WCoP Championis the defending OU Circuit Championis a Two-Time Former Old Generation Tournament Circuit Champion
OU Leader
In an OU environment what is the best ability for Kommo-O to use with sub-belly drum? Bulletproof lets it setup on certain choice locked mons. Soundproof prevents it taking damage behind sub from sound attacks. Overcoat negates weather damage and provides immunity to powder moves like spore or sleep powder. Each is pretty niche and only performs in certain matchups. I was wondering if there was a consensus best ability or if its upto the user to determine which ability to use.
That set is not really regarded as a viable option, but I would say that Bulletproof is probably the best option.
 
In an OU environment what is the best ability for Kommo-O to use with sub-belly drum? Bulletproof lets it setup on certain choice locked mons. Soundproof prevents it taking damage behind sub from sound attacks. Overcoat negates weather damage and provides immunity to powder moves like spore or sleep powder. Each is pretty niche and only performs in certain matchups. I was wondering if there was a consensus best ability or if its upto the user to determine which ability to use.
Bulletproof is the best option as it covers a potential wider range of pokemon that exist in the OU metagame than elsewhere. Sound moves are somewhat rare, as any phasing that exists is done through whirlwind (like Skarmory and Hippowdon) and most -ate Hyper Voice pokemon are somewhat unviable in the current metagame (like M-Gardevoir, M-Altaria, and Sylveon). Overcoat is also not very useful as breloom and amoonguss are very rare to see and damaging weather is usually a non factor in most matches.

With Bulletproof, you effectively wall Ferrothorn, Blacephalon, Gengar, and Omari's non-Z Crustle, while also soft checking mons with coverage moves like Focus Blast, Seed bomb, aura sphere, and so on. The latter group here rarely comes into play, but it still is technically useful for those odd situations where you want to play mind games.
 
It would, but very few people use Mega Gardevoir and Psyshock would still hit Kommo-O hard enough, making the immunity rather inconsequential.
Not that I'm advocating for soundproof but a scenario: Kommo-o comes in on a mon it forces out clicks substitute as they switch to mega gard. Clicks belly drum as they click hyper voice to ko through sub but immunity. Now has boosts and subs which it can usually sweep behind. I just lost a match to the youtuber pokeaim because he was running of all things tinted lens yanmega which ohkoed my kommo-o behind sub from 75%.

Bulletproof facillitates getting in for the sub more, but soundproof prevents killing once sub is up. In my experience bulletproof has been slightly better as ferrothorn gyro ball is a prime setup opportunity, and the only common sound move is volcarona's bug buzz but it's a tradeoff. I wanted to get other players input for these reasons. Overcoat also has its uses but I think it's the worst of the three.
 

GMars

It's ya boy GEEEEEEEEMARS
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Not that I'm advocating for soundproof but a scenario: Kommo-o comes in on a mon it forces out clicks substitute as they switch to mega gard. Clicks belly drum as they click hyper voice to ko through sub but immunity. Now has boosts and subs which it can usually sweep behind. I just lost a match to the youtuber pokeaim because he was running of all things tinted lens yanmega which ohkoed my kommo-o behind sub from 75%.

Bulletproof facillitates getting in for the sub more, but soundproof prevents killing once sub is up. In my experience bulletproof has been slightly better as ferrothorn gyro ball is a prime setup opportunity, and the only common sound move is volcarona's bug buzz but it's a tradeoff. I wanted to get other players input for these reasons. Overcoat also has its uses but I think it's the worst of the three.
There are fringe cases where Soundproof is better, but it's almost always for mons that see little to no usage - Mega Gardevoir gets less than a percent usage in OU and isn't considered viable by competitive players. Yanmega got 0.03% usage last month. Every once in a hundred games you might find yourself in that circumstance where Soundproof would have been better, but for the other 99 Bulletproof provides you with the more consistent option.

As far as the current OU meta goes, Bulletproof > Soundproof > Overcoat.
 
Been out of playing mons for about 2-3 months, what changed in the meta that made Mega-Mawile and Tangrowth jump up to A+, and things Kart and Koko drop to A?
 

Finchinator

-OUTL
is a Tournament Directoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past WCoP Championis the defending OU Circuit Championis a Two-Time Former Old Generation Tournament Circuit Champion
OU Leader
Been out of playing mons for about 2-3 months, what changed in the meta that made Mega-Mawile and Tangrowth jump up to A+, and things Kart and Koko drop to A?
Mega Mawile has risen in popularity due to how potent it has been; Mega Mawile is immediately threatening to generic stall and balance cores while being decent enough defensively to get in consistently.

Tangrowth is ridiculously convenient defensively; it checks Ash Greninja, Zygarde, Tapu Koko, etc. while having Regenerator and not being entirely passive, which makes it a great pivot to throw onto balance or bulky-offense.

Kartana and Tapu Koko simply have less versatile niches, see a bit less overall usage, and are arguably falling in the shadow of various other more prominent Pokemon now.
 
Since Azelf (and Shuckle as well) has been nominated to go UR for like a long time now, I wanted to ask why it's still ranked. It arguably has a niche, but is that niche really enough to keep it ranked over other SR users like Exca n Lando? I literally also never see Azelf.
 

Astra

talk to me nice
is a Site Content Manageris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
Since Azelf (and Shuckle as well) has been nominated to go UR for like a long time now, I wanted to ask why it's still ranked. It arguably has a niche, but is that niche really enough to keep it ranked over other SR users like Exca n Lando? I literally also never see Azelf.
When it comes to suicide leads, Azelf has good Speed and access to Taunt over Landorus-T. Taunt can be useful in some cases, especially in ones where a hazard set-up is obvious. It also has access to Flamethrower, so it can heavily dent Pokemon like Ferrothorn and the like, where Lando-T would need to Swords Dance a few times for Earthquake to do something.

Lando-T is just a better suicide lead overall, since besides Speed and no Taunt, it can set up SR and be able to do much more damage with its Explosion via Swords Dance. Plus, its ability to run multiple sets leaves Azelf one-dimensional. But, I believe that Azelf still has its niche due to the things it has that Lando-T lacks.

Just my two cents.
 
Last edited:

INSANE CARZY GUY

Banned deucer.
What is a pokemon that can discourage sub?

I want to make a cheese team and make use of iron ball ditto on TR

I know it'll have people looking sideways confused yelling haxs
 
Hello OU Forum Community!

Recently, I've been building some teams in a Bulky Offense/Balance style, and I've run into an issue. I know that Kyurem-Black is a notoriously potent breaker of the types of defensive cores seen on these archetypes, but I was wondering if there is any truly effective defensive check to this monster. The Subzero Slammer set with Earth Power always demolishes my Tangrowth/Heatran backbone, so I'd love any advice you all could provide.

I have read the Smogon Strategy Dex entry on Kyurem-B but I noticed that the checks listed there all involve revenge-killing it after sacrificing a Pokemon or hoping it doesn't run a particular coverage move (Earth Power/HP Fire).

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
Hello OU Forum Community!

Recently, I've been building some teams in a Bulky Offense/Balance style, and I've run into an issue. I know that Kyurem-Black is a notoriously potent breaker of the types of defensive cores seen on these archetypes, but I was wondering if there is any truly effective defensive check to this monster. The Subzero Slammer set with Earth Power always demolishes my Tangrowth/Heatran backbone, so I'd love any advice you all could provide.

I have read the Smogon Strategy Dex entry on Kyurem-B but I noticed that the checks listed there all involve revenge-killing it after sacrificing a Pokemon or hoping it doesn't run a particular coverage move (Earth Power/HP Fire).

Thanks in advance for your help!
Mega Scizor is probably your best bet. It doesn’t appreciate HP Fire, but otherwise it’s a safe switch in. Gastrodon also works if you have something to tank Subzero Slammer like Heatran. Speaking of Heatran, HP-invested variants can also act as a soft check, same thing with AV Magearna, the former doesn’t take too much from anything but doesn’t quite deal enough damage back whereas the latter is prone to getting worn down by hazards and Fusion Bolt but immediately forces it out courtesy of Fleur Cannon. Lastly Jirachi is also a great check, albeit it’s not too strong in the current metagame. Hope I helped :)
 
Mega Scizor is probably your best bet. It doesn’t appreciate HP Fire, but otherwise it’s a safe switch in. Gastrodon also works if you have something to tank Subzero Slammer like Heatran. Speaking of Heatran, HP-invested variants can also act as a soft check, same thing with AV Magearna, the former doesn’t take too much from anything but doesn’t quite deal enough damage back whereas the latter is prone to getting worn down by hazards and Fusion Bolt but immediately forces it out courtesy of Fleur Cannon. Lastly Jirachi is also a great check, albeit it’s not too strong in the current metagame. Hope I helped :)
Thanks so much for the quick reply! Mega-Scizor seems like a great option considering most Kyurem-Blacks that I've seen have been running Earth Power lately to deal with the ever-present Heatran. AV Magearna is an interesting option as well considering it's a lot more specially bulky than Tangrowth. The only thing I would worry about with running AV Magearna over Tangrowth is an increased weakness to Ash-Greninja.

What mons do you think might partner well with AV Mage to act as another soft-check to Ash-Gren?
 
Thanks so much for the quick reply! Mega-Scizor seems like a great option considering most Kyurem-Blacks that I've seen have been running Earth Power lately to deal with the ever-present Heatran. AV Magearna is an interesting option as well considering it's a lot more specially bulky than Tangrowth. The only thing I would worry about with running AV Magearna over Tangrowth is an increased weakness to Ash-Greninja.

What mons do you think might partner well with AV Mage to act as another soft-check to Ash-Gren?
It depends a lot on the archetype you’re going for. Offense can usually get away with just AV Magearna and a Water resist like Serperior or Rotom-W. If you’re really worried though, you can try fitting something like Choice Band Tapu Bulu or even Mega Gyarados. On teams a bit bulkier though, something like Toxapex, SpDef Tapu Bulu, or even Tangrowth is fine.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 2)

Top