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

What are some common anti-meta pokemon? For example, Mamoswine seems to do very well against a lot of common pokemon in the tier.
It's kinda hard to define "anti-meta" since it's usually only a matter of time before they're prepared for, but Mamoswine is a pretty good example of an anti-meta mon that has a fantastic matchup against a good portion of the tier's top threats.

I guess some other stuff you can consider "anti-meta" are Mega Garchomp (particularly the mixed SR set that lures in and blows up traditional Chomp switchins), Jirachi (really splashable mon with a broken ability and a good defensive typing that has some utility as a revenge killer, special tank, rocker, etc.), Hydreigon (pretty good defensive answer to pre-transformation Ash-Gren with a boatload of immediate power), Mega Aggron and the unranked Mega Steelix (both have to replace Mega Sableye but can compress a few roles by beating most Mega Mawile variants 1v1 and getting Rocks up; Mega Steelix is a bit niche but IMO it's pretty comparable to Mega Aggron because of its Ground immunity and nasty STAB Earthquake), and probably a few others.

In the past some of our anti-meta stuff included SpDef Tapu Bulu before that became incredibly meta, Mega Camerupt (for basically the same reasons why Mamoswine is anti-meta), Alolan Golem, Avalugg, Buzzwole, Tornadus-T shortly after it received Defog, Garchomp, Mega Latios, Gastrodon, Araquanid/Ribombee, etc. But for all of them they either fell out of favor (sometimes completely but often only slightly, maintaining just a small but relevant niche), thus not being anti-meta anymore because they don't actually beat much meta-relevant stuff, or became meta themselves and from there either continue to dominate at their respective roles or fell a little bit out of favor due to the meta learning to adapt to their increased presence.

EDIT: I mentioned SpDef Tapu Bulu since it's a specific set that became anti-meta; some other stuff that one could argue is anti-meta includes a whole bunch of different Protean Greninja sets, Fat Volcarona, Focus Punch Mega Mawile, Fightinium-Z Tornadus-T, Steelium-Z Heatran and the like. Frequently it's the really good Z-move users that can make room for arguably anti-meta sets because they can lure in and beat out specific things that are super common. Most of the time that's beating or walling Heatran/Landorus-T/Magearna/Mega Mawile/Ash-Gren, specific checks that are frequently run for the sole purpose of walling or revenge killing something that is otherwise a colossal threat that's basically mandatory on a specific archetype but not quite meta like the five things I mentioned above (see Mega Mawile's ability to break past the Steels that otherwise survive a hit or two and kill it thanks to Focus Punch), or beating things that end up becoming so anti-meta that they're meta (Steelium-Z Heatran is probably the best example of this since it was used to utterly shit on Mega Latios).
 
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i'd argue mamoswine is kind of the opposite of anti-meta at the moment, meta isn't quite on it's favor right now. most importantly rotom-w and to a lesser extent celesteela make it not quite ideal to have one at the moment. i suppose knock off could work, but strong priority is one of mamo's notable traits so i'm not sure about it.
 

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i'd argue mamoswine is kind of the opposite of anti-meta at the moment, meta isn't quite on it's favor right now. most importantly rotom-w and to a lesser extent celesteela make it not quite ideal to have one at the moment. i suppose knock off could work, but strong priority is one of mamo's notable traits so i'm not sure about it.
Though I agree with Mamo not being anti-meta at this time, nothing stops a Mamo user from using Knock Off / Icicle Crash / Ice Shard / Earthquake. Superpower is nice, but if you have Magnezone support it isn't as necessary. Knock will at least remove the pinch Berry from Rotom-W, which makes it more susceptible to Icicle Crash chip along the way (especially with Metronome).

I'd say Knock is nice anyway since other than Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor some of the mons Mamo draws in doesnt like having their item removed. There's Stealth Rock too I guess, but eh I personally don't like Mamo as my Rocker tbh.

j
 
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What do people think is a good Scarf Tapu Koko set?

I’ve a team that it’s really the perfect pick for but I’ve been tinkering with the set?

Initially I was fully physically invested with Wild Charge, Brave Bird, U-Turn, Defog but the recoil was a problem so I’ve been running the regular spread ( 20 HP / 252 SpA / 20 SpD / 216 Spe) with Thunderbolt, Dazzling Gleam, U-Turn and Defog but that doesn’t seem right either.

Interested to see what others think.
 

Katy

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What do people think is a good Scarf Tapu Koko set?

I’ve a team that it’s really the perfect pick for but I’ve been tinkering with the set?

Initially I was fully physically invested with Wild Charge, Brave Bird, U-Turn, Defog but the recoil was a problem so I’ve been running the regular spread ( 20 HP / 252 SpA / 20 SpD / 216 Spe) with Thunderbolt, Dazzling Gleam, U-Turn and Defog but that doesn’t seem right either.

Interested to see what others think.
Hello Chocopot,

Choice Scarf Tapu Koko is moreso a niche / gimmicky option. I would not run this Koko set to be honest as there are betetr mons, which can run Scarf but offer similiar utility or are just straight up better Scarfers.
Tapu Kokos best Sets are either Shuca Berry or the Choice Specs variant, Z-Move Sets can also work pretty well especially Z-Thunderbolt which turns into a strong Gigavolt Havoc especially in it's Electric Terrain.
BUT: If you wanna go for a Choice Scarf Koko Set make it 252 Spatt, 4 Spdef and 252 Speed with a Timid nature....Thunderbolt, HP Ice, Dazzling Gleam and U-Turn would be the preferable options there.
Hope this helped a bit.
 
I agree with the above post that Choice Scarf Tapu Koko isn't really something you want to use 99.9% of the time, however, there are a few odd cases where it's an okay fit. I disagree with the assessment that a special set is better, though. I say this because the few times where I have seen Choice Scarf Tapu Koko as an option, it's almost always because of its ability to force in Grass-types, and more importantly, check Volcarona, meaning that you're going to need Brave Bird. You could try a mixed set with Thunderbolt / Hidden Power Ice / Brave Bird / U-turn, but it hits like a wet paper towel, so I believe that going with a full physical set Wild Charge OR Thunder Punch / Brave Bird / Hidden Power Ice / U-turn is always the way.
 

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As ecstatic as I am about it, I gotta ask. I don't really play OU that much, so with that said, how much did Zygarde's ban contribute to the resurgence of Garchomp as a prominent, top-tier threat?
 
As ecstatic as I am about it, I gotta ask. I don't really play OU that much, so with that said, how much did Zygarde's ban contribute to the resurgence of Garchomp as a prominent, top-tier threat?
so, the most important change was that someone came up with a z-stone edge set, that was capable of blowing two of garchomp's usual checks, namely tapu bulu and celesteela through the roof. this set is a lot more notable than the previously used dragonium z set, which makes it an outstanding rocker with a far more deadly coverage. however, a few other metagame trends helped it since zygarde's ban.

obviously, zygarde and garchomp do two very different things. but with zygarde absence, teams felt the need to resort to other heatran checks, so garchomp became more and more a natural fit on most teams. the decline in tangrowth usage also became very nice to rockium z garchomp because while it does beat tangrowth 1v1 if it swords dances as tangrowth comes in, having one less pivot to take it on is always nice. last but not least, zygarde's ban helped celesteela, zapdos, and most importantly rotom-w to flourish, and flynium z landorus-t as an offensive stealth rocker doesn't have as good a matchup against those, giving garchomp an edge against it in this regard.

none of these reasons are all that important in the grand scheme of things, however, the main factor is still the rockium z set popping up. hope i helped answer your question1
 
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I've been calcing with one of these new pokemon, Araquanid, and for the absolute life of me I can not understand its tiering decision. What is the reasoning that allows him to sit in RU, because for the life of me I can not understand this. It seems like a criminally underrated mon. Fantastic bulk, one of the handful of actually competent sticky webs users if you so choose, and water bubble - liquidate OHKOs or 2HKOs a very very large number of things that don't come packing a water resist or sizeable defensive bulk, with leech life handling a few of the things that would have been considered safe from liquidate. Simply put, it has so much defensive + offensive capability combined with the utility of sticky web that I'm at a loss for how it's considered at the level of acceptance criteria for RU. Or has power creep just ploughed the tiers into ahego?
 
I've been calcing with one of these new pokemon, Araquanid, and for the absolute life of me I can not understand its tiering decision. What is the reasoning that allows him to sit in RU, because for the life of me I can not understand this. It seems like a criminally underrated mon. Fantastic bulk, one of the handful of actually competent sticky webs users if you so choose, and water bubble - liquidate OHKOs or 2HKOs a very very large number of things that don't come packing a water resist or sizeable defensive bulk, with leech life handling a few of the things that would have been considered safe from liquidate. Simply put, it has so much defensive + offensive capability combined with the utility of sticky web that I'm at a loss for how it's considered at the level of acceptance criteria for RU. Or has power creep just ploughed the tiers into ahego?
its main issue is that, as a wallbreaker, water resists are plentiful, so the likes of toxapex, tapu bulu, and amoonguss, for instance, easily take it on. as a sticky web user, defog is very plentiful, and most defoggers have a great matchup against it, most notably tapu fini and tornadus-t, so there's not really much of a reason to use araquanid.
 
I can agree with it not being optimal for OU tiering, but the other half of my confusion lies in wondering how it can be considered weak enough that even UU isn't the place for him. It's almost as if tiers have half shifted up thanks to power creep, where OU is now partially ubers and UU is what used to be OU, etc from my point of view.

edit: I just looked at the viability ranking for UU and I am satisfied that water spoder is getting the recognition he deserves
 
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I would say no. Kyurem only really has one viable set in OU, that being SubRoost, and any other option is overshadowed by another Pokemon that can do it better in OU.
I mean Groundium Z on the SubRoost set. I wonder if it may be worth to hit stuff like Tyranitar and Mag.
Kyurem @ Groundium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Roost
 

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I mean Groundium Z on the SubRoost set. I wonder if it may be worth to hit stuff like Tyranitar and Mag.
Kyurem @ Groundium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Roost
Ah, my fault. I guess it'll have somewhat of a use akin to Groundium Z Weavile and such, though I bet Icium would still be the better option due to more damage with STAB and less situational usage. Pardon the possibly cruddy answer, I usually run Leftovers or Metronome on Kyurem so perhaps I'm not the best the answer, though I'm sure someone else can answer soon here.
 

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It's my personal opinion that any set besides Metronome on Kyurem-N is basically straight up outclassed because the damage boost allowing you to beat Toxapex, Clefable, Celesteela, Ferrothorn, etc is invaluable and way more important than Leftovers recovery or running a Z-move to have a one time way of beating something that Metronome beats in the long run anyways. Kyurem's main niche in the meta is to serve as a bulky balance breaker, but running Leftovers or Z either prevents it from breaking balance altogether or makes you rely on prediction to be able to beat balance and if they have multiple checks then you don't break them at all. You're honestly just better off going with Metronome, even if nothing on your team has a Z-move, and trying to find a way to fit one somewhere else without ruining the integrity of the team.
 
As ecstatic as I am about it, I gotta ask. I don't really play OU that much, so with that said, how much did Zygarde's ban contribute to the resurgence of Garchomp as a prominent, top-tier threat?
I'm gonna go extremely contrary to some posts and argue that it was only really placebo if anything and that Garchomp would've ended up rising to this point regardless of whether or not Zygarde was banned. There are two (well, three if you include Mega Chomp and its workable Special Attack stat since that's actually not only viable but very strong right now) things Garchomp has that Zygarde would've killed for: Stealth Rock and Swords Dance. Even before Zygarde's ban I distinctly remember Garchomp starting to rise and see a lot more usage, and that's mostly because people "figured out" how to make it work.

Back then if you wanted to use Garchomp for a role even remotely similar to that of a prominent Zygarde set (and there were many) it would ultimately beg the question of why you'd even bother using it over Zygarde in the first place. The sets players used to differentiate Garchomp from Zygarde were either the really bad Choice Scarf set (which fell out of favor when Volcarona stopped seeing so much usage) or the set that combined every single thing Garchomp had over Zygarde: Stealth Rock plus Swords Dance (and I guess Fat Chomp was a thing but the good Chomp set was SR+SD). As it turns out, not only did it check Heatran really well but it also took advantage of Chomp's much higher Attack stat and better Speed tier to utterly destroy every single viable Defog user in the tier. First people used Dragonium Z and that did well, but then people used Rockium Z because that has better coverage in general and yeets on the same Defoggers plus a few more.

TL;DR: I'm gonna argue that Zygarde's ban just sped up a process that was looking increasingly inevitable as time passed. Garchomp and Zygarde are Ground/Dragon types with good offensive potential and very good bulk for such offensive threats, but the similarities end there since the set that quite literally defines Garchomp in the current meta is the one set that Zygarde couldn't do no matter how hard it tried.
 
Didn't find another place to post questions about this so gonna make here. I think it's gonna be relatively a simple answer considering I'm dumb, but is there something wrong with the [Gen 7] Random Battle Pokémon Stats? I just played a Level 80 Magearna in a match and wanted to have it in my team but its stats seemed messed up, it's not even possible to have 215 HP.
172734

The random Magearna.
172733
Can someone tell me if I'm I doing something wrong?
 
What do people think is a good Scarf Tapu Koko set?

I’ve a team that it’s really the perfect pick for but I’ve been tinkering with the set?

Initially I was fully physically invested with Wild Charge, Brave Bird, U-Turn, Defog but the recoil was a problem so I’ve been running the regular spread ( 20 HP / 252 SpA / 20 SpD / 216 Spe) with Thunderbolt, Dazzling Gleam, U-Turn and Defog but that doesn’t seem right either.

Interested to see what others think.

scarf koko when used correctly lets you get the drop on other koko and ash greninja by outspeeding. running scarf also means you CAN put full ev's into atk and special atk. you could have uturn for switching vs ground types and still run thunderbolt hp ice if you want. or you could run volt switch + hp whatever for a specific threat and still get high power physical moves. another thing is that you can hide what item your koko has and fake like you have sash or shuca berry for prediction mind games.
 

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