GenOne
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Corviknight 2 -> 3
Corviknight is the second of two birds that got overhyped at the beginning of SS. The Bulk Up + Leftovers set isn't as good of a wincon as it initially seemed, and it isn't hard for most balanced teams to fit multiple Corviknight checks. Arcanine and the Rotoms are quite popular, and special variants of Dragapult usually carry one of Fire Blast or Thunderbolt -- not to mention, any one of those three could be packing Will-o-wisp, which basically turns Corviknight into a do-nothing stall mon. The Tailwind set is ok, but other tier 1/2 mons are typically much better picks if you're seeking speed control utility.
Corviknight is a decent sand check and can come in handy if you're able to pick off all of your opponent's Fire and Electric attackers, but Tier 3 is a better spot for a mon that can absolutely become deadweight in some matchups.
Dracovish 2 -> 3
A wrecking ball in the right position, but extremely linear and predictable. It only hits hard with its Water-STAB, and most variants are choice locked into it. Life Orb is an option on Dracovish, but then it has a middling speed tier and requires good speed control. Most opposing teams will either have priority speed control supports (e.g. Whimsicott or Grimsnarl) and/or Follow Me supports (e.g. Togekiss or Indeedee-F) to prevent Fishous Rend's power boost from kicking in. Common Will-o-wisp users like Rotom-C/W and Dragapult also resist Dracovish's STAB, retaliating with a burn that will make Dracovish deadweight for the rest of the game. Dracovish also clicks X vs Gastrodon and Lapras.
Tier 3 describes Dracovish for what it is; a potentially potent Pokemon that struggles vs a good number of top tier threats.
Durant UR -> 4
After seeing Durant used in 4 SPL games I decided to look into this mon and try it out. It's definitely strong enough to be on the VR, although more time is probably needed to know how high it deserves to go. It feels like a faster and frailer Excadrill in some respects.
This is what I think a typical Durant set would look like, and you'd almost always want to Dynamax it if possible:
Durant has good speed and fantastic attack that is augmented through Hustle and Life Orb, and can make use of Dynamax to bypass Hustle's accuracy drop. Most notably, a Dynamaxed Durant can outspeed and OHKO Arcanine from -1 Atk, as well as Charizard.
-1 252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Max Quake (130 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Arcanine: 393-463 (102.3 - 120.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Durant's bulk is problematic, especial on the special end, but Dynamaxing helps patch it up. Furthermore, Max Flutterby and Max Quake both help Durant compensate for its lackluster special bulk, and Steel/Bug is pretty good defensive typing if you can kill off opposing Fire-types.
Without Dynamax, Durant's accuracy is pretty problematic. In test games I feel like I've missed a lot of crucial moves when I used Durant outside of maxing it. Running Durant also forces you to think twice about Dynamaxing a different teammate, which can feel restrictive. On the right team though I think Durant earns its place and deserves a VR rank.
Rotom-H 3 -> 4 or 5
Rotom-H is about as good this gen as it was in previous gens. It's outclassed as both a Fire-type and a Rotom forme.
While Rotom-C and Rotom-W have great defensive typings to attack or wisp top physical threats like Tyranitar, Excadrill, Dracovish and Rypherior, Rotom-H is weak to all of the above. Electric/Fire is redundant for handling birds like Corviknight -- usually it's better to split out fire and electric coverage over two or more mons (e.g. Arcanine and Rotom-C/W) when building a balanced team.
I don't have too much more to say about Rotom-H, other than I can't think of very many cases where it's worth using over Arcanine as a Fire-type, or Rotom-C/W as a Rotom.
Corviknight is the second of two birds that got overhyped at the beginning of SS. The Bulk Up + Leftovers set isn't as good of a wincon as it initially seemed, and it isn't hard for most balanced teams to fit multiple Corviknight checks. Arcanine and the Rotoms are quite popular, and special variants of Dragapult usually carry one of Fire Blast or Thunderbolt -- not to mention, any one of those three could be packing Will-o-wisp, which basically turns Corviknight into a do-nothing stall mon. The Tailwind set is ok, but other tier 1/2 mons are typically much better picks if you're seeking speed control utility.
Corviknight is a decent sand check and can come in handy if you're able to pick off all of your opponent's Fire and Electric attackers, but Tier 3 is a better spot for a mon that can absolutely become deadweight in some matchups.
Dracovish 2 -> 3
A wrecking ball in the right position, but extremely linear and predictable. It only hits hard with its Water-STAB, and most variants are choice locked into it. Life Orb is an option on Dracovish, but then it has a middling speed tier and requires good speed control. Most opposing teams will either have priority speed control supports (e.g. Whimsicott or Grimsnarl) and/or Follow Me supports (e.g. Togekiss or Indeedee-F) to prevent Fishous Rend's power boost from kicking in. Common Will-o-wisp users like Rotom-C/W and Dragapult also resist Dracovish's STAB, retaliating with a burn that will make Dracovish deadweight for the rest of the game. Dracovish also clicks X vs Gastrodon and Lapras.
Tier 3 describes Dracovish for what it is; a potentially potent Pokemon that struggles vs a good number of top tier threats.
Durant UR -> 4
After seeing Durant used in 4 SPL games I decided to look into this mon and try it out. It's definitely strong enough to be on the VR, although more time is probably needed to know how high it deserves to go. It feels like a faster and frailer Excadrill in some respects.
This is what I think a typical Durant set would look like, and you'd almost always want to Dynamax it if possible:
Durant @ Life Orb
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- X-Scissor
- Stomping Tantrum / Protect
- Rock Slide / Protect
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- X-Scissor
- Stomping Tantrum / Protect
- Rock Slide / Protect
Durant has good speed and fantastic attack that is augmented through Hustle and Life Orb, and can make use of Dynamax to bypass Hustle's accuracy drop. Most notably, a Dynamaxed Durant can outspeed and OHKO Arcanine from -1 Atk, as well as Charizard.
-1 252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Max Quake (130 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Arcanine: 393-463 (102.3 - 120.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Durant's bulk is problematic, especial on the special end, but Dynamaxing helps patch it up. Furthermore, Max Flutterby and Max Quake both help Durant compensate for its lackluster special bulk, and Steel/Bug is pretty good defensive typing if you can kill off opposing Fire-types.
Without Dynamax, Durant's accuracy is pretty problematic. In test games I feel like I've missed a lot of crucial moves when I used Durant outside of maxing it. Running Durant also forces you to think twice about Dynamaxing a different teammate, which can feel restrictive. On the right team though I think Durant earns its place and deserves a VR rank.
Rotom-H 3 -> 4 or 5
Rotom-H is about as good this gen as it was in previous gens. It's outclassed as both a Fire-type and a Rotom forme.
While Rotom-C and Rotom-W have great defensive typings to attack or wisp top physical threats like Tyranitar, Excadrill, Dracovish and Rypherior, Rotom-H is weak to all of the above. Electric/Fire is redundant for handling birds like Corviknight -- usually it's better to split out fire and electric coverage over two or more mons (e.g. Arcanine and Rotom-C/W) when building a balanced team.
I don't have too much more to say about Rotom-H, other than I can't think of very many cases where it's worth using over Arcanine as a Fire-type, or Rotom-C/W as a Rotom.