Metagame STAAABmons

Miss Crisis

Miss Crisis

formerly Eggs
image0-4.png

art by blce
approved by drampa's grandpa and Ransei
​
What is STAAABmons?
STAAABmons is a mashup of STABmons and Almost Any Ability (AAA), which means that Pokemon have access to (almost) any ability as well as every non-restricted move they share a type with. As a metagame, this mashup combines the rulesets of both its component metas (with STABmons used as a base), however the council makes additional bans (pokemon, abilities and move restrictions) at their discretion. In the same vein, some elements that are deemed broken in AAA or STABmons are managable in STAAABmons, and thus get unbanned by the council.

Council:
:heliolisk: Don Vascus (Co-Leader)
:exeggutor-alola: Eggs McGee (Co-Leader)
:jirachi: Axgwd
:binacle: Binacleisthebest
:bisharp: 23Gz
:marowak-alola: RICEMAN

Ruleset and banlist
Clauses:
  • Species Clause: A player cannot have two Pokemon with the same National Pokédex number on a team.
  • 2 Ability Clause: A player cannot have more than two Pokemon with the same Ability on a team.
  • OHKO Clause: A Pokemon may not have the moves Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, or Sheer Cold in its moveset.
  • Evasion Clause: A Pokemon may not have either Double Team or Minimize in its moveset.
  • Sleep Moves Clause: Bans all moves that induce sleep, such as Hypnosis.
  • Endless Battle Clause: Players cannot intentionally prevent an opponent from being able to end the game without forfeiting.
  • Dynamax Clause: Players cannot use the mechanic known as Dynamaxing.
Banlist:

  • Archeops
  • Blacephalon
  • Calyrex-Ice
  • Calyrex-Shadow
  • Chandelure
  • Dialga
  • Dragapult
  • Dragonite
  • Eternatus
  • Genesect
  • Giratina
  • Giratina-Origin
  • Groudon
  • Ho-Oh
  • Kartana
  • Keldeo
  • Kyogre
  • Kyurem-Black
  • Kyurem-White
  • Landorus-Therian
  • Latios
  • Lugia
  • Lunala
  • Magearna
  • Marshadow
  • Melmetal
  • Mewtwo
  • Naganadel
  • Necrozma-Dawn-Wings
  • Necrozma-Dusk-Mane
  • Palkia
  • Pheromosa
  • Rayquaza
  • Regigigas
  • Reshiram
  • Shedinja
  • Silvally
  • Solgaleo
  • Spectrier
  • Tapu Koko
  • Tapu Lele
  • Terrakion
  • Thundurus-Base
  • Thundurus-Therian
  • Urshifu-Base
  • Victini
  • Volcarona
  • Weavile
  • Xerneas
  • Yveltal
  • Zacian
  • Zacian-Crowned
  • Zamazenta
  • Zamazenta-Crowned
  • Zekrom
  • Zeraora
  • Zygarde-Base
STABmons: Darmanitan, Darmanitan-Galar, Dracovish, Garchomp, Gengar, Landorus-I, Mamoswine, Porygon Z, Tapu Bulu, Zapdos-Galar
AAA: Buzzwole, Dracovish, Dragonite, Kyurem, Magearna, Urshifu-Rapid-Strike
  • Arena Trap
  • Comatose
  • Contrary
  • Fluffy
  • Fur Coat
  • Gorilla Tactics
  • Huge Power
  • Ice Scales
  • Illusion
  • Imposter
  • Innards Out
  • Intrepid Sword
  • Libero
  • Magnet Pull
  • Moody
  • Neutralizing Gas
  • Parental Bond
  • Poison Heal
  • Power Construct
  • Protean
  • Pure Power
  • Quick Draw
  • Sand Veil
  • Shadow Tag
  • Simple
  • Snow Cloak
  • Speed Boost
  • Stakeout
  • Tinted Lens
  • Water Bubble
  • Wonder Guard
RESTRICTED:
  • Acupressure
  • Astral Barrage
  • Belly Drum
  • Bolt Beak
  • Clangorous Soul
  • Double Iron Bash
  • Dragon Ascent
  • Dragon Energy
  • Eruption
  • Extreme Speed
  • Fishious Rend
  • Geomancy
  • Glacial Lance
  • Lovely Kiss
  • No Retreat
  • Oblivion Wing
  • Shell Smash
  • Shift Gear
  • Spore
  • Thousand Arrows
  • Transform
  • V-Create
  • Water Spout
  • Wicked Blow
BANNED:
  • Baton Pass
  • Electrify
  • Hypnosis
  • Lovely Kiss
  • Sing
  • Sleep Powder
  • Spore
  • Yawn
  • Bright Powder
  • King's Rock
  • Lax Incense
  • Razor Fang

23/02/2020 - Terrakion banned
09/03/2020 - Keldeo banned, V-Create restricted
28/03/2020 - Chandelure, Zeraora, Electrify, Sleep powder, Hypnosis, Sing banned
03/05/2020 - Kyurem banned
31/05/2020 - Dragapult banned
18/06/2020 - Chandelure, Dragapult, Kyurem, Zeraora unbanned with DLC drop
23/06/2020 - Zeraora and Wicked Blow banned
30/06/2020 - Dragapult banned, No Retreat restricted
22/07/2020 - Transform restricted
25/07/2020 - Chandelure banned
07/08/2020 - Melmetal banned
14/08/2020 - Magearna banned
13/09/2020 - Volcarona banned, reasoning can be found here
23/10/2020 - DLC 2 drops, Blacephalon, Kartana, Pheromosa, Regigigas quickbanned, Thousand Arrows, Geomancy and Lovely Kiss restricted
25/10/2020 - Tapu Koko, Dragonite, Genesect, Archeops, Zygarde, Thundurus and Thundurus-T banned
01/11/2020 - Tinted Lens banned
24/11/2020 - Naganadel banned
21/12/2020 - Astral Barrage, Glacial Lance, Wicked Blow restricted; Urshifu-Single-Strike banned, Landorus-Incarnate and Darmanitan Galar unbanned
28/02/2021 - Dragonite unbanned
03/03/2021 - Landorus-T, Latios banned, Oblivion Wing restricted
30/03/2021 - Magearna banned
24/04/2021 - Spectrier banned
25/05/2021 - Dragon Ascent restricted
23/06/2021 - Poison Heal banned
18/07/2021 - Clangorous Soul restricted, Sleep Moves banned
22/07/2021 - Victini Banned

Where can I play it?
STAAABmons is implemented as a playable format on the official OM Mashups sideserver Trashchannel, hosted by CringeMeta. It's not currently implemented on showdown, but tours are held frequently in the OM Mashups room on PS! The STAAABmons tour code can be found in the OM Mashup megathread and in a spoiler section below. Additionally, it can be played by challenging someone to custom game, or if you want to make sure both players are respecting the banlist, challenging them with the code found below. If you would like to find someone to play with, feel free to ask for a game in the OM Mashups room or our discord.

Challenge Code:
/challenge [Gen 8] STABmons @@@Obtainable Abilities, 2 Ability Clause, -Arena Trap, -Comatose, -Contrary, -Fluffy, -Fur Coat, -Gorilla Tactics, -Huge Power, -Ice Scales, -Illusion, -Imposter, -Innards Out, -Intrepid Sword, -Libero, -Moody, -Neutralizing Gas, -Parental Bond, -Poison Heal, -Protean, -Pure Power, -Quick Draw, -Sand Veil, -Shadow Tag, -Simple, -Snow Cloak, -Stakeout, -Speed Boost, -Tinted Lens, -Water Bubble, -Wonder Guard, *Dragon Ascent, *Dragon Energy, *Eruption, *Glacial Lance, *No Retreat, *Transform, *V-create, *Water Spout, *Wicked Blow, -Electrify, -Bright Powder, -Lax Incense, +Precipice Blades, -Archeops, -Blacephalon, -Chandelure, -Keldeo, -Landorus-Therian, -Latios, -Magearna, -Melmetal, -Regigigas, -Shedinja, -Terrakion, -Thundurus, -Victini, -Volcarona, -Weavile, -Zeraora, +Darmanitan, +Darmanitan-Galar, +Dracovish, +Garchomp, +Gengar, +Landorus-Base, +Mamoswine, +Porygon-Z, +Tapu Bulu, +Zapdos-Galar

Tour Code:
/tour new [Gen 8] STABmons, elim,,,[Gen 8] STAAABmons /tour rules !Obtainable Abilities, 2 Ability Clause, -Arena Trap, -Comatose, -Contrary, -Fluffy, -Fur Coat, -Gorilla Tactics, -Huge Power, -Ice Scales, -Illusion, -Imposter, -Innards Out, -Intrepid Sword, -Libero, -Moody, -Neutralizing Gas, -Parental Bond, -Poison Heal, -Protean, -Pure Power, -Quick Draw, -Sand Veil, -Shadow Tag, -Simple, -Snow Cloak, -Stakeout, -Speed Boost, -Tinted Lens, -Water Bubble, -Wonder Guard, *Dragon Ascent, *Dragon Energy, *Eruption, *Glacial Lance, *No Retreat, *Transform, *V-create, *Water Spout, *Wicked Blow, -Electrify, -Bright Powder, -Lax Incense, +Precipice Blades, -Archeops, -Blacephalon, -Chandelure, -Keldeo, -Landorus-Therian, -Latios, -Magearna, -Melmetal, -Regigigas, -Shedinja, -Terrakion, -Thundurus, -Victini, -Volcarona, -Weavile, -Zeraora, +Darmanitan, +Darmanitan-Galar, +Dracovish, +Garchomp, +Gengar, +Landorus-Base, +Mamoswine, +Porygon-Z, +Tapu Bulu, +Zapdos-Galar /tour autostart 7 /tour autodq 4

Strategy and sample sets
As a mashup between STABmons and Almost Any Ability, STAAABmons allows for some sets that aren't possible in either of the two component formats. Ground types can use the combination of Bonemerang and Technician for extremely hard hitting STAB moves, Fire types can use Magic Guard and Mind Blown for a powerful STAB move while also ignoring recoil and hazard damage; many Pokemon are able to use much stronger STAB moves such as Boomburst, Moongeist Beam and Psystrike, in conjunction with Adaptability to reach power levels that could only be dreamed of before.


:garchomp:
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bonemerang
- Dragon Darts
- Dragon Dance
- Shore Up

:heatran:
Heatran @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Steel Beam
- Mind Blown
- Taunt

:heliolisk:
Heliolisk @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Spa / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Surf

Resources
Sample Teams
Viability rankings + Setpedia
 
Last edited:
Sample Teams (Updated 8/10/21)

Talonflame + Tyranitar Balance by Ax
:talonflame: :heliolisk: :swampert: :tyranitar: :chansey: :corviknight:

Meteor Menace Diance by Eggs
:diancie: :moltres: :kommo-o: :celesteela: :zarude: :slowking:

Triage Zarude Bulky Offence by The Number Man
:zarude: :swampert: :gengar: :corviknight: :chansey: :zapdos-galar:

Webs Hyper Offense by RICEMAN
:heatran: :buzzwole: :excadrill: :chansey: :gardevoir: :gengar:

Magic Guard Zarude Balance by Eggs
:cinderace: :skarmory: :swampert: :zarude: :gengar: :blissey:

Primarina Bulky Offense by The Number Man
:primarina: :tyranitar: :buzzwole: :swampert: :gengar: :celesteela:

"The Death of STAAAB" Stall by 23Gz
:chansey: :avalugg: :toxapex: :jirachi: :buzzwole: :umbreon:

The Egg Special (Trick Room) by Eggs
:cresselia: :marowak-alola: :stakataka: :porygon2: :drampa: :slowbro:
Pre-Magearna ban

Triple immunity BO by RICEMAN
:mantine: :steelix: :magearna: :buzzwole: :gengar: :sharpedo:

Trick Room by Eggs McGee
:cresselia: :magearna: :stakataka: :marowak-alola: :porygon2: :drampa:

Spectrier + Gapdos Offense by Tmi489
:spectrier: :zapdos-galar: :garchomp: :moltres: :tapu fini: :magearna:

Poison Heal Chomp + Triage Golisopod BO by youngsterjoeyv69
:chansey: :magearna: :corviknight: :garchomp: :golisopod: :gengar:


Pre-Spectrier + Poison Heal ban

Desolando + Adapt Lisk Balance by Don Vascus
:heliolisk: :azelf: :toxapex: :corviknight: :chansey::garchomp:

Eleki + Bulu Priority spam BO by The Number Man
:regieleki: :noivern: :tapu bulu: :chansey: :corviknight: :swampert:

FireDragonspam by Eggs McGee

:victini: :heatran: :chansey: :toxapex: :garchomp: :noivern:

Birdspam HO by RICEMAN
:ninjask: :dragonite: :zapdos-galar: :moltres: :landorus: :gyarados:

Pre-Victini ban

Victini + Noivern Balance by Eggs McGee
:victini: :corviknight: :toxapex: :tapu bulu: :chansey: :noivern:


Desoland Garchomp Balance by Binacleisthebest
:garchomp: :corviknight: :regieleki: :chansey: :toxapex: :moltres-galar:

Pre-Tapu Lele ban


Beat Up Balance by Eggs
:krookodile: :moltres: :swampert: :tapu bulu: :azelf: :cobalion:


Buzzwole Hyper Offence by RICEMAN
:heatran: :buzzwole: :excadrill: :chansey: :tapu lele: :gengar:
 
Last edited:
Viability Rankings and Setpedia (Updated 8/10/21)
A+:
:buzzwole: Buzzwole (Adaptability, Tough Claws, Triage, Dauntless Shield, Regenerator)
:chansey: Chansey (Regenerator, Magic Bounce, Unaware, Prankster, Sticky Hold, Dauntless Shield)
:garchomp: Garchomp (Technician, Desolate Land, Regenerator, Adaptability, Dauntless Shield)
:gengar: Gengar (Adaptability, Dazzling, Storm Drain, Lightning Rod, Magic Bounce)
:heatran: Heatran (Magic Guard, Desolate Land, Regenerator, Levitate, Magnet Pull)
:swampert: Swampert (Regenerator, Intimidate, Magic Bounce)
:tapu fini: Tapu Fini (Regenerator, Wandering Spirit, Levitate, Volt Absorb, Prankster, Dauntless Shield, Intimidate, Magic Bounce)
:zapdos: Zapdos-Kanto (Primordial Sea, Intimidate, Desolate Land, Delta Stream, Magic Bounce)

A:
:azelf: Azelf (Psychic Surge, Sheer Force)
:corviknight: Corviknight (Dauntless Shield, Delta Stream, Volt Absorb, Flash Fire, Unaware, Magic Bounce, Wandering Spirit)
:dragonite: Dragonite (Magic Guard, Aerilate, Technician)
:heliolisk: Heliolisk (Adaptability, Electric Surge)
:landorus: Landorus-I (Technician, Magic Guard, Desolate Land, Water Absorb, Adaptability, Intimidate)
:tapu lele: Tapu Lele (Psychic Surge, Sheer Force, Adaptability, Triage)
:toxapex: Toxapex (Prankster, Levitate, Volt Absorb)
:weavile: Weavile (Adaptability, Technician, Dazzling, Magic Guard, Tough Claws)
:zapdos-galar: Zapdos-Galar (Adaptability, Technician, Magic Guard, Tough Claws)

A-:
:celesteela: Celesteela (Volt Absorb, Primordial Sea, Flash Fire, Regenerator, Dauntless Shield)
:cobalion: Cobalion (Magic Guard, Regenerator)
:gyarados: Gyarados (Magic Guard, Technician, Motor Drive)
:kyurem: Kyurem (Magic Guard, Technician, Sheer Force, Adaptability)
:regieleki: Regieleki (Refrigerate)
:tapu bulu: Tapu Bulu (Grassy Surge, Triage, Tough Claws)
:tyranitar: Tyranitar (Magic Guard, Regenerator, Adaptability)
:zarude: Zarude (Grassy Surge, Triage, Adaptability, Tough Claws)

B+:
:barraskewda: Barraskewda (Primordial Sea, Mold Breaker)
:ferrothorn: Ferrothorn (Triage, Flash Fire, Dauntless Shield, Prankster)
:hydreigon: Hydreigon (Adaptability, Sheer Force)
:inteleon: Inteleon (Primordial Sea)
:jirachi: Jirachi (Regenerator, Levitate)
:latias: Latias (Psychic Surge, Magic Guard, Dragon's Maw)
:noivern: Noivern (Aerilate)
:runerigus: Runerigus (Dauntless Shield, Prankster, Water Absorb, Regenerator)
:skarmory: Skarmory (Volt Absorb, Dauntless Shield, Flash Fire, Delta Stream)
:talonflame: Talonflame (Magic Guard)
:urshifu-rapid-strike: Urshifu-Rapid-Strike (Technician, Tough Claws)

B:
:blissey: Blissey (Magic Bounce, Regenerator, Unaware)
:dhelmise: Dhelmise (Grassy Surge, Triage)
:doublade: Doublade (Regenerator, Flash Fire, Levitate)
:excadrill: Excadrill (Water Absorb, Technician, Adaptability)
:jolteon: Jolteon (Refrigerate, Electric Surge, Queenly Majesty)
:kommo-o: Kommo-o (Triage, Unburden, Galvanize, Regenerator)
:marowak-alola: Marowak-Alola (Adaptability, Desolate Land, Magic Guard, Surge Surfer)
:mew: Mew (Dauntless Shield, Magic Bounce)
:moltres: Moltres (Dauntless Shield, Magic Guard, Desolate Land)
:moltres-galar: Moltres-Galar (Regenerator, Volt Absorb, Magic Guard)
:porygon2: Porygon2 (Magic Bounce, Dauntless Shield, Regenerator, Sticky Hold)
:slowking: Slowking (Regenerator)
:steelix: Steelix (Levitate, Flash Fire, Water Absorb)
:togekiss: Togekiss (Triage)
:tornadus-therian: Tornadus-T (Regenerator, No Guard, Primordial Sea)
:xurkitree: Xurkitree (Electric Surge, Triage, Transistor, Surge Surfer)

B-:
:alakazam: Alakazam (Psychic Surge)
:bisharp: Bisharp (Adaptability, Technician)
:cinderace: Cinderace (Desolate Land, Magic Guard)
:cresselia: Cresselia (Magic Bounce, Unaware, Prankster, Dauntless Shield)
:golisopod: Golisopod (Regenerator, Triage, Magic Guard, Primordial Sea)
:mamoswine: Mamoswine (Technician, Adaptability, Regenerator)
:mandibuzz: Mandibuzz (Unaware, Magic Bounce, Dauntless Shield, Delta Stream, Magic Guard)
:primarina: Primarina (Triage, Sheer Force, Primordial Sea)
:rotom-heat: Rotom-Heat (Triage)
:salamence: Salamence (Magic Guard, Technician)
:slowbro: Slowbro (Dauntless Shield, Regenerator, Magic Bounce, Intimidate)
:stakataka: Stakataka (Levitate, Steelworker, Adaptability, Volt Absorb)
:umbreon: Umbreon (Prankster, Magic Bounce, Unaware, Dauntless Shield)
:zygarde-10%: Zygarde-10% (Adaptability)

C:
:aerodactyl: Aerodactyl (Magic Guard, Mold Breaker)
:avalugg: Avalugg (Dauntless Shield, Flash Fire, Magic Guard)
:celebi: Celebi (Triage)
:conkeldurr: Conkeldurr (Triage)
:dracozolt: Dracozolt (Adaptability, Queenly Majesty, Surge Surfer)
:electivire: Electivire (Sheer Force)
:golurk: Golurk (Adaptability)
:hippowdon: Hippodown (Dauntless Shield, Magic Bounce, Corrosion)
:lucario: Lucario (Magic Guard)
:lycanroc: Lycanroc (Magic Guard)
:ninjask: Ninjask (Magic Guard, Mold Breaker)
:pangoro: Pangoro (Adaptability, Tough Claws, Triage)
:polteageist: Polteageist (Dazzling)
:rotom-wash: Rotom-Wash (Regenerator)
:salazzle: Salazzle (Desolate Land, Magic Guard)
:stunfisk: Stunfisk-Unova (Regenerator, Levitate, Water Absorb)
:stunfisk-galar: Stunfisk-Galar (Regenerator, Bulletproof, Levitate, Water Absorb)
:volcanion: Volcanion (Magic Guard, Sheer Force)

Speed Tiers
SpeedSpritePokemonBaseNatureIVsEVs±
822:regieleki:Regieleki200Positive312521+
788:aerodactyl:Aerodactyl130Positive312522+
748:regieleki:Regieleki200Neutral312521+
666:garchomp:Garchomp102Positive312522+
656:salamence:Salamence100Positive312522+
591:aerodactyl:Aerodactyl130Positive312521+
578:tapu lele:Tapu Lele95Neutral312522+
574:gyarados:Gyarados81Positive312522+
574:weavile:Weavile125Positive312521+
568:dragonite:Dragonite80Positive312522+
568:noivern:Noivern123Positive312521+
558:alakazam:Alakazam120Positive312521+
548:regieleki:Regieleki200Positive312520
546:dracozolt:Dracozolt75Positive312522+
541:azelf:Azelf115Positive312521+
538:Kommo-o:Kommo-o85Neutral312522+
525:gengar: :latias:Gengar, Latias110Positive312521+
524:polteageist:Polteageist70Positive312522+
522:heliolisk:Heliolisk109Positive312521+
506:heatran:Heatran77Neutral312522+
499:regieleki:Regieleki200Neutral312520
499:garchomp:Garchomp102Positive312521+
496:landorus:Landorus101Positive312521+
492:jirachi: :salamence: :zapdos-galar:Jirachi, Salamence, Zapdos-Galar100Positive312521+
486:hydreigon:Hydreigon98Positive312521+
486:tyranitar:Tyranitar61Positive312522+
483:urshifu-rapid-strike:Urshifu-Rapid-Strike97Positive312521+
475:darmanitan: :darmanitan-galar: :tapu lele:Darmanitan, Darmanitan-Galar, Tapu Lele95Positive312521+
460:ninjask:Ninjask160Positive312520
459:moltres-galar:Moltres-Galar90Positive312521+
453:excadrill:Excadrill88Positive312521+
436:xurkitree:Xurkitree83Positive312521+
430:gyarados:Gyarados81Posirive312521+
427:accelgor:Accelgor145Positive312520
426:dragonite:Dragonite80Positive312521+
423:buzzwole:Buzzwole79Positive312521+
409:dracozolt:Dracozolt75Positive312521+
408:barraskewda:Barraskewda136Positive312520
394:aerodactyl: :jolteon:Aerodactyl, Jolteon130Positive312520
386:talonflame:Talonflame126Positive312520
383:weavile:Weavile125Positive312520
379:noivern:Noivern123Positive312520
375:tornadus-therian:Tornadus-Therian121Positive312520
372:alakazam: :inteleon:Alakazam, Inteleon120Positive312520
364:Tyranitar:Tyranitar61Positive312521+
361:Azelf: :zygarde-10:Azelf, Zygarde-10%115Positive312520
350:gengar: :latias:Gengar, Latias110Positive312520
348:heliolisk:Heliolisk109Positive312520
346:cobalion:Cobalion108Positive312520
339:zarude:Zarude105Positive312520
333:garchomp:Garchomp102Positive312520
331:landorus:Landorus101Positive312520
328:zapdos: :zapdos-galar: :mew: :jirachi: :salamence:Zapdos, Zapdos-Galar, Mew, Jirachi, Salamence100Positive312520
324:hydreigon:Hydreigon98Positive312520
317:electivire: :tapu lele: :kyurem: :darmanitan: :darmanitan-galar:Electivire, Tapu Lele, Kyurem, Darmanitan, Darmanitan-Galar95Positive312520
310:marowak-alola:Marowak-Alola45Positive3125211
309:zarude:Zarude105Positive312520
306:lucario: :moltres: :moltres-galar:Lucario, Moltres, Moltres-Galar90Positive312520
302:excadrill:Excadrill88Positive312520
301:landorus:Landorus101Neutral312520
299:zapdos: :zapdos-galar: :mew: :jirachi: :salamence: :celebi:Zapdos, Zapdos-Galar, Mew, Jirachi, Salamence, Celebi100Neutral312520
295:tapu fini: :kommo-o:Tapu Fini, Kommo-o85Positive312520
291:xurkitree:Xurkitree83Positive312520
289:electivire: :tapu lele: :kyurem: :darmanitan: :darmanitan-galar:Electivire, Tapu Lele, Kyurem, Darmanitan, Darmanitan-Galar95Neutral312520
287:gyarados:Gyarados81Positive312520
284:mamoswine: :dragonite: :togekiss:Mamoswine, Dragonite, Togekiss80Positive312520
279:lucario: :moltres: :moltres-galar:Lucario, Moltres, Moltres-Galar90Neutral312520
278:heatran:Heatran77Positive312520
275:excadrill:Excadrill88Neutral312520
273:tapu bulu: :dracovish: :dracozolt:Tapu Bulu, Dracovish, Dracozolt75Positive312520
269:tapu fini: :kommo-o:Tapu Fini, Kommo-o85Neutral312520
265:xurkitree:Xurkitree83Neutral312520
262:polteageist: :bisharp: :volcanion:Polteageist, Bisharp, Volcanion70Positive312520
261:gyarados:Gyarados81Neutral312520
259:mamoswine: :dragonite: :togekiss:Mamoswine, Dragonite, Togekiss80Neutral312520
257:buzzwole:Buzzwole79Neutral312520
253:heatran:Heatran77Neutral312520
252:cobalion:Cobalion108Neutral3100
249:tapu bulu: :dracovish: :dracozolt:Tapu Bulu, Dracovish, Dracozolt75Neutral312520
246:zarude:Zarude105Neutral3100
240:garchomp:Garchomp102Neutral3100
239:polteageist: :bisharp: :volcanion:Polteageist, Bisharp, Volcanion70Neutral312520
238:landorus:Landorus101Neutral3100
236:zapdos: :mew: :jirachi: :celebi:Zapdos, Mew, Jirachi, Celebi100Neutral3100
232:hydreigon:Hydreigon98Neutral3100
226:tapu lele: :kyurem:Tapu Lele, Kyurem95Neutral3100
216:lucario: :moltres: :moltres-galar:Lucario, Moltres, Moltres-Galar90Neutral3100
207:marowak-alola:Marowak-Alola45Positive312520
206:tapu fini: :kommo-o: :cresselia:Tapu Fini, Kommo-o, Cresselia85Neutral3100
196:togekiss: :mandibuzz:Togekiss, Mandibuzz80Neutral3100
194:buzzwole: :necrozma:Buzzwole, Necrozma79Neutral3100
190:heatran:Heatran77Neutral3100
189:marowak-alola: :conkeldurr:Marowak-Alola, Conkeldurr45Neutral312520
186:tapu bulu:Tapu Bulu75Neutral3100
184:jirachi:Jirachi100Negative000
180:hydreigon:Hydreigon98Negative000
179:dhelmise: :rhydon: :golisopod:Dhelmise, Rhydon, Golisopod40Neutral312520
176:skarmory: :volcanion:Skarmory, Volcanion70Neutral3100
170:corviknight:Corviknight67Neutral3100
166:moltres-galar:Moltres-Galar90Negative000
166:umbreon:Umbreon65Neutral3100
159:rotom-wash:Rotom-Wash86Negative000
158:tyranitar: :celesteela:Tyranitar, Celesteela61Neutral3100
157:tapu fini: :cresselia:Tapu Fini, Cresselia85Negative000
156:swampert: :primarina: :incineroar: :porygon2:Swampert, Primarina, Incineroar, Porygon260Neutral3100
146:blissey:Blissey55Neutral3100
142:celesteela:Celesteela61Negative3100
136:chansey:Chansey50Neutral3100
130:hippowdon:Hippowdon47Neutral3100
125:corviknight:Corviknight67Negative000
121:umbreon:Umbreon65Negative000
116:dhelmise: :rhydon: :golisopod:Dhelmise, Rhydon, Golisopod40Neutral3100
114:tyranitar:Tyranitar61Negative000
112:swampert: :incineroar: :porygon2:Swampert, Incineroar, Porygon260Negative000
106:toxapex: :doublade:Toxapex, Doublade35Neutral3100
103:blissey:Blissey55Negative000
100:stunfisk: :stunfisk-galar:Stunfisk, Stunfisk-Galar32Neutral3100
96:slowbro: :slowking: :steelix: :runerigus:Slowbro, Slowking, Steelix, Runerigus30Neutral3100
94:chansey:Chansey50Negative000
92:avalugg:Avalugg28Neutral3100
85:marowak-alola:Marowak-Alola45Negative000
76:ferrothorn:Ferrothorn20Neutral3100
69:drampa:Drampa36Negative000
67:toxapex: :doublade:Toxapex, Doublade35Negative000
62:stunfisk:Stunfisk32Negative000
58:slowbro: :slowking: :steelix:Slowbro, Slowking, Steelix30Negative000
56:hatterene:Hatterene29Negative000
40:ferrothorn:Ferrothorn20Negative000
27:stakataka:Stakataka13Negative000
 
Last edited:
Quintuple posting to offer some insight into the council's plans for this metagame.

1) Resource update
We are planning on updating samples by Sunday, so if you would like to submit any teams as samples, feel free to post them in this thread. Prior sample submissions posted in the OM Mashup megathread will also be counted.
2) Magearna
Following 23Gz's excellent post on Magearna, we are seriously considering banning it. Surging strikes is also a hot topic, feel free to speak out on any of these two elements if you find them problematic.
3) STAAAB Hall of Fame
RICEMAN suggested a fun project called STAAAB Hall of Fame, where we catalogue impactful (and most likely banned by now) sets from the history of STAAABmons such as DrapTrap (Magnet Pull double dance Drapion) and No Retreat MGLO Cobalion. More etails on the project will be announced soon
 
Hi! I'm Don, a regular STAAAB player and OMM room staff, and I'm gonna use this opportunity to talk about the differences in banlists between AAA, STABmons, and STAAABmons, and explain why some things are banned in this meta and why some aren't.

I'll use spoilers to not take three pages, because this is a long one, so strap in folks

Banlist differences with only STABmons
:Darmanitan-Galar: :Porygon-Z:Both of these BANNED in STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

Both of these are banned in STABmons, and both of them aren't banned here for the same reason: their abilities. Gorilla Tactics is straight up banned, and Adaptability is widespread now, so the combo of Adapt Boomburst isn't special anymore, meaning that pokemons such as Heliolisk can do similar damage while still having better speed, thus being often ignored in favor of faster or bulkier options.
:Landorus:BANNED in STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

It's a similar case to the last ones, where having Sheer Force isn't as special, but unlike them Landorus is very good nevertheless, inheriting the recently banned Landorus-Therian's place in the meta, boasting an amazing offensive and defensive typing, with high BP Stabs and various ways of beating its checks. It's possible that it gets banned in the future.

:cobalion: :hawlucha: :urshifu:No Retreat ALLOWED in STABmons, RESTRICTED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

All three pokemon above have one thing in common aside from being fighting-types: a pivoting move. All of these were good No Retreat abusers and could bypass one of the main drawbacks of No Retreat. Coupled with some boosting abilities, or Magic Guard+LO, all of these could turn into near unwallable behemoths that could outspeed your entire team and turn the few checks they had into momentum. On top of that, the latter had not Wicked Blow (It was hardbanned until the smogon policy caught onto us), but Jaw Lock, that was discovered in early DLC1 that it could be used to bypass the other drawback of No Retreat: not being able to boost multiple times. Shortly after this discovery No Retreat was restricted.
:gengar:Hypnosis, Sing, Sleep Powder ALLOWED in STABmons, BANNED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

What if No Guard Gengar was capable of hitting as hard as SFLO Gengar, or if current Stabmons Gengar could sleep its checks? That was what happened in pre-DLC Staaab; A hard hitting mon being capable of sleeping what little could take it. This was too much already, but it was speculated that if Gengar was to be banned, something else would take its place, be it Mew, or the many Rotom forms available, not to mention that you had to pray that you didn't sleep for too long, and if you ran Magic Bounce you were vulnerable to getting smacked by Adapt or SFLO variants.

With all of this in mind it was decided by our glorious leader that this was not worth going further with this and hardbanned all sleep moves but two: Lovely Kiss and Spore, both stuck on three subpar mons. Shiinotic is as viable as you'd think it is by looking at its stats, Amoong us's typing and bulk isn't good enough for the meta, and Jynx is physically capable of running a Psychic Surge set to some degree of effectivity, especially coupled with an actually good Psychic-type, but is very much a gimmick and one that relies on too much luck to be any good
:Chansey: :type null: Transform ALLOWED in STABmons, RESTRICTED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

So as a refresher for y'all that don't have any reason to know how Transform works, it copies the typing, appearance, all raw stats but HP, stat changes, ability, and all four moves from your oppo, while still keeping your species ID and item. So if you were, say, a special attacker with a boost up, and you found yourself in front of say, this:

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Teleport
- Transform
- Soft-Boiled
- Filler

Unless you are sure you can OHKO it, you must switch unless you want to get yourself (and maybe your entire team) killed. By turning set-up attempts into potencial countersweeps for free, Chansey single-handedly made all special set-up not only unviable, but a danger to run. "But wait!" You say, "What if I hit Chans on its weak side? Surely, that will be enough to beat it, right?"

252 Atk Life Orb Technician Excadrill Gear Grind (2 hits) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 436-514 (62 - 73.1%) -- approx. 2HKO

Chansey, even with it's 5 physical defense, is surprisingly physically bulky, enough to take a hit from most non-fighting-type physical attackers. With Transform, it became capable of turning the tables on its supposed bad matchups into 50/50s of who dies and, in some cases where the physical attacker wasn't weak to its own stab, unwinnable scenarios, as Transform also patched Chansey's physical defense by copying its foe's defence, which is usually much higher than Chans' even uninvested, while still keeping the enormous HP and Eviolite boost. Trying to get a Sword Dance or any boost would only make Chansey stronger when it inevitably Transforms in front of your non-Fighting physical attacker.

All of this is still true in STABmons, but what counterplay it has in that meta is removed when you factor abilities such as Regenerator to heal the damage from these exchanges with ease, Prankster to Transform first and obtain a better defense quicker, Magic Bounce to beat Taunt attempts, and moves such as Whirlwind to phaze out subs. Banning Chansey, while a highly requested ban, wouldn't have solved the problem, as Type: Null could do the same with physical attackers, and Pokemons such as Porygon2 could have easily taken Chans' spot. Thus, it was determined that Transform was the problem, and it was promptly banned.
:Kommo o: :latias: Clangorous Soul BANNED in STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (25/06/21)

While the boon of abilities give ClangSoul users cool new toys, it also brings new ways to stop them. Obviously the first one to mention is Unaware, but other ways such as Prankster Haze/Encore and phazing can do the trick as well. On top of that, due to higher base power on moves, pokemons are relatively less bulky, meaning that getting turns to take 33% plus whatever your opponent does is much harder. And it doesnt help that one of the best mons in the current meta is Tapu Fini, a fairy type. Building ClangSoul sets and building around them is also an ordeal, as ClangSoul mons often find themselves wishing for 5 or 6 moveslots as they cant beat everything that can beat them, and due to the aforementioned issues giving the right team support can be tough. Even though ClangSoulers are still mons you dont want to give a free turn, getting that free turn is harder, making them more manageable.
:garchomp: :landorus: Precipice Blades BANNED in STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (25/06/21)

With access to abilities such as Levitate and Dauntless Shield, the power of this move becomes easier to handle. Currently the viable grounds are often tempted to run the combo of Technitian + Bonemerang, which also allows them to run a higher powered secondary stab (Tech Dragon Darts, Tech Dual Wingbeat) over Adaptability + Pblades, which isnt that much powerful than the alternative but gives them weaker secondary stabs, meaning that their most powerful set wont be affected. On top of that, counterplay to Garchomp and Landorus also tend to beat even harder other grounds such as Mamoswine and Excadrill, and its arguable Chomp is problematic and banworthy. Both grounds mentioned are scary threads, but their ground moves have better counterplay overall.
:landorus: :zapdos-galar: Dragon Ascent ALLOWED in STABmons, RESTRICTED in STAAABmons (31/05/21)

Dragon Ascent enabled two very scary pokemon in Lando and GZap, and the extra abilities took it a step beyond. Landorus could run a couple of sets that almost single-handedly forced Corv into every team, and still had some decent counterplay to it on its sets. GZap was a straight up 2hko machine with the combo of Adaptability and a boosting item, being capable of doing 50 at minimum if you brought the wrong resist, and if it was LO it could still get you if it guessed wrong at first. On top of this, there were other abusers of the move such as Gyarados that were very hard to deal with as well. Because of that, it got restricted

Banlist differences with only Almost Any Ability
:Buzzwole: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

The meta is much more unfriendly to poor ol' Buzz. Tinted lens is banned, so its wallbreaker set gets walled by resists as it normally would. Triage Oblivion Wing (talked about above) invalidated the rest of Triage mons until it got banned recently, especially bug- and fighting-type Triage mons. Buzz fits both of these criteria. Its defensive role is also not as good because the best ground-type in the meta has been a Landorus form since they got introduced to the meta, and all good fighting- and ground-types can hit it hard with a secondary stab. All of this makes buzz much more manageable as a whole, although now that Lando-T and Oblivion Wing are banned, Buzz might get itself a niche.

31/05/21 Edit: Dragon Ascent has been restricted, making birdspam harder and further increasing Buzz's viability
:urshifu-rapid-strike: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

Urshifu Rapid Strike has some very interesting history as to why it has lasted so long. First, unlike other metas, when everyone realized the Urshifu Single Strike was broken, Staaab just banned Wicked Blow altogether, meaning that Darkshifu was free to roam the meta. This meant that oftentimes Watershifu was overlooked in favor of its version with a better offensive typing. Those who decided to try him found another hurdle: Volcarona. For the longest time during DLC1, Volcarona was freed, and its DesoLand set was a menace. Watershifu fans often found that a lot of teams had a pokemon that could take both its stabs and promptly use that opportunity to KO one of their pokemon.

It wasn't until Volcarona was banned that Watershifu took the spotlight. Now that Water immunities weren't common, its Tinted Lens set was free to terrorize the meta, forcing Water immune ghosts and Rocky Helmet on Pex. Action about this would have taken place if it was not for the fact that The Crown Tundra was just weeks away, and once that came many more Tinted Lens abusers came forward, such as Landorus-T and Weavile. Tinted Lens was banned, making Watershifu, among others, much more manageable. It is also worth mentioning that Watershifu gains nearly nothing from Stabmons, there is some talk about banning/restricting Surging Strikes, and Watershifu is still good in the meta.
:Kyurem: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (31/05/21)

Before, Kyurem was said to be kept in his place solely by Magearna, and that without it on the meta kyurem would rise. A few weeks into a Mag free STAAAB, Kyurem has proven to be not as absolutely broken a many inicially thought. One reason might be that most sets can be stopped by Chans, a requierement on most teams due to it being the one reliable special wall in the tier. The sets that can beat Chansey might run into different problems such as Delta Stream Corv. On top of that its speed is not that good for the tier, meaning that it exclusively gets setup opportunities on walls. Lastly, its not alone on the first regard as a breaker that can beat a lot of walls; Heatran, some Landorus sets, and even Zapdos-G post-Dragon-Acent restrict can be as threatening as it. Nevertheless Kyurem is a scary mon to deal with, and its still worth keeping an eye out for it
:Victini: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (21/03/21)

Victini was added to the meta among other behemoths such as the genies and Latios, so it didn't get immediate attention. On top of that, Tinted Lens, one of the abilities Victini made great use of in AAA, was banned early into the DLC2 meta, which meant Vic had to think about what coverage move to use. It is also worth noting that it gains almost nothing from STABmons, meaning that it's relatively weaker compared to the meta. Still, it is a very scary pokemon to face, and in my opinion is one of the more underrated and unexplored pokemon on the meta, but as it stands, it's manageable overall
:Dragonite: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

Dragonite was banned early into DLC2, when the meta was unstable, and it was recently unbanned after a trial period where Melmetal, Tapu Koko and Chandelure were tested as well, from which it was the only one unbanned. You can argue that the reason it didn't stand out in the trial is because it had Koko and Melm as the top 2 mons in this meta, both great checks to it, and that now that they no longer are here it is ready to take over the meta. You could also say that its Aerialite set shares counterplay with Triage+Owing, a combo still allowed at the time of its test run, and that ClangSoul and non-set-up sets share counterplay with those of Latios and Landorus, respectively. There is also Magearna, who indirectly nerfs all dragons. All in all, this is a fairly recent unban, and as of right now it doesn't seem broken, although it is possible that with new tiering actions and meta developments it shows how powerful it is.
:Genesect: ALLOWED in AAA , BANNED in STAAABmons (31/05/21)

Genesect, already one of the strongest pokemons in AAA, gets even better with STAB movepool. Shift Gear is not good enough for setup? Here, Quiver Dance! Feel free to boost with one of the best setup moves in the game. Chans bothering you? Run a mixed set! Just pick your movepool and choose your checks! No one was having any of that, so it got banned, and we never looked back.
:noivern: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (31/05/21)

Noivern for the longest time has been held back by counterplay by other meta staples and counterplay to them. For example, Magearna has held back many dragons and flyings which including of course Noi, and a lot of Triage Oblivion Wing counterplay beating Noivern as well. After the bans of both, it also shows that Noi is relatively weaker compared to the rest of the meta, as it doesn't gain anything stronger than Aerialite Boomburst. In fact, it has a competitor on the Boomburst spamming front: Heliolisk, trading speed, defensive utility, and Switcheroo for power, a better offensive typing and movepool, and a neutrality to rocks. While its speed control abilities are much better in this meta, it's overall is easier to manage.
:gengar: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (31/05/21)

Gengar has been recently banned in AAA due to its sheer power and variety of sets. In STAAAB, however, most of this variety fizzles out due to different metagame trends and better equiped checks to it. The recently most popular and personal least favorite set No Guard, has been dealt with ages ago with a universal ban to sleep moves, making it a non factor. Triage lacks its niche as well, as it isnt as easy to nab Nplot boosts and It doesnt help it as much against its checks. The Sheer Force/Adapt set have to deal with Chansey, but unlike in aaa, Chansey has a bunch of new tools that make gengar much easier to deal with, notably Whirlwind, that allows it to stop Gengar from nabbing boosts for free even behind a sub, And with help of Magic Bounce to stop taunt and Regenerator to still be useful after a trick it makes it a much better answer to it. It is also notable to add that Chans is omnipresent as it is one of the few consistent special walls in the meta. While Gengar is still a fearsome thread, the most uncompetitive aspects of it have been neutered and it has better checks to it, making fit to stay.

:urshifu-rapid-strike: :Landorus therian: :weavile: Tinted Lens ALLOWED in AAA, BANNED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

Y'all AAA players must've had the bad experience of learning the hard way that the pokemon in front of you has Tinted, and a few of you might think that the ability is broken. Now here, any lousy pokemon with over 120 attack can have a good 120 bp Stab to abuse Tinted with, allowing them to 2hko both fat neutral walls and resists! Not to mention most of these had different sets that could beat the few "checks" they had. Tinted Lens was banned early into the DLC2 meta.
:magnezone: Magnet Pull BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (31/05/21)

While technically as uncompetitive as it is in AAA, there are a few things that make magpull not as good in STAAAB. First, the lack of abusers; the discussion for magpull in AAA came from Weavile using teammates such as Heatran to remove its few checks. But in STAAAB Weavile isnt as much of a problem and has more checks outside of steels. Potencial abusers of the removal of steels that are more threatening such as Landorus or Garchomp can actually remove the steels themselves with sets such as Gravity Landorus or Desolate Land on both (and are probably banworthy themselves) and have other checks that can't be beaten through magpull such as Zapdos. Second, no one magpuller can remove all steels. As shown by the viability of of Desolate Land grounds, Corv can sometimes run Flash Fire, neutering Heatran as a trapper. Then other steels such as Ferrothorn might run FF as well that can neutralize attempts from Victini. You could tailor your magpull to beat a specific steel, but then you'd run into the first problem. With all of this in account, reliably abusing magpull and abusing steel-less teams in general is harder in STAAAB, making Magnet Pull much more manageable

Banlist differences with both STABmons and Almost Any Ability
:Volcarona: :Chandelure: :Blacephalon: All of these ALLOWED in AAA and STABmons, BANNED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

Look at this:

252 SpA Choice Specs Volcarona Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey in Harsh Sunshine: 264-312 (37.5 - 44.3%) -- 2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

That is the strongest special wall in the game, with maximum bulk, risking a 2hko after rocks from a special attacker that isn't even modest. Remember that Chansey doesn't even run any SpD investment normally and doesn't even get near to this. Not even "resists'' such as Toxapex can save themselves:

252 SpA Choice Specs Volcarona Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex in Harsh Sunshine: 59-187 (52.3 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery

Chandelure and Blacephalon can all deal even more damage while having an amazing offensive typing, and in Blace's case, more speed. Forcing any team with any sort of defensive backbone to run a fire immunity was not fair, not to mention that Volc and Blace were also capable of pressuring faster mons due to their good speed. Restricting Eruption wouldn't have solve the issue as:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcarona Blue Flare vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey in Harsh Sunshine: 252-297 (35.7 - 42.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

It still did ridiculous amounts of damage to the fattest Chansey can be, and more sane Ev spreads such as 4/252/252+ still take a lot:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcarona Blue Flare vs. 4 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey in Harsh Sunshine: 252-297 (39.2 - 46.2%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Max HP and SpDef Chansey can take Volc, but such ev spread has glaring issues such as taking over 20% from any lousy Flip Turn or U-Turn and getting blown up by any physical attack from anything with any sort of investment, and this is only Volc, the weakest of the trio; Blace and Chandy are out of the question, and let's not even start with the fact that they have a few more sets that they can run effectively. All are banned due to this.

The only users left of Eruption+DesoLand or its counterparts Water Spout+PrimSea and Dragon Energy+Dragon's Maw have some glaring issues. For the fire one, Salazzle not only is it noticeably weaker than Volcarona, but its bulk and coverage are too abysmal to be considered for anything else, and Volcanion, while comparable to Volcarona power-wise, has a huge opportunity costs if it tries to run either DesoLand or PrimSea, this being its secondary stab, not to mention its bad speed, subpar defensive typing with no immunities to attempt to switch into attacks, and it has better ways of pressuring all defensive pokemons anyways. Heatran is in the same situation as Volcanion, but it has a better defensive typing, doesn’t have to trade its secondary Stab to run the set, and it's still capable of beating its checks with more effective methods.

Inteleon is also weaker than Volcarona, although it's still capable of doing huge damage to Chanseys with a more sane Ev spreads. What it lacks though is bulk, secondary stab to hit pokemons with water immunities, and set variety. The former is especially important as if it loses too much HP it will be forced to rely on the much weaker and much more manageable Steam Eruption. This same problem extends to the dragon-type counterpart, where it loses too much power if it gets chipped on top of having an entire typing immune to it. Most special dragons have better sets to run anyways, and all have issues with Magearna Edit 31/05/21: Mag has bee banned for a bit over a month, but the rest is still true.
:Thundurus: :Thundurus-therian: Thundurus-Incarnate ALLOWED in AAA, BANNED in STAAABmons; Thundurus-Therian ALLOWED in STABmons and AAA, BANNED in STAAABmons; Oblivion Wing ALLOWED in STABmons, RESTRICTED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

So y'all AAA players must have heard of this ability called Triage, right? +3 priority to healing moves including attacks is pretty cool, right? It's a bit of a shame that the draining attacks with high BP don't heal that much, and those that do heal a lot have low BP.

Oblivion Wing is a flying special move with 80 BP and heals 3/4ths of the damage dealt. It not only is decently strong, but it heals so much that it not only undoes Life Orb recoil, but Stealth Rock damage and even some stray hits you might have taken as well. It was not rare to KO something with Owing and get healed back to full. Many pokemons were able to abuse this to beat offense and defense alike, common abusers being the likes of Togekiss, both Tornadus forms, Galarian Articuno, and during early DLC2, both Thundurus forms. These two stood on the top as they had top 2 highest special attack from all available flying-types, a movepool with things such as Nasty Plot, Focus Blast, and Knock Off, and a good offensive typing that could hit effectively most flying resists with either a strong or Triage boosted stab. Both were banned early into the DLC2 meta, and more recently it was deemed that the concept of Triage Owing was unhealthy for the meta, and the council restricted Oblivion Wing. Given that the main set that made both Thundies too much is no longer with us, it's possible they get retested in the future.
:terrakion: ALLOWED in AAA and STABmons, BANNED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

It doesn't hit you just how good of an offensive typing Rock is until a pokemon headbutts you free of recoil. That's what happened to early HOME Staaab, as Terrak plowed through most defensive pokemons. Most Rock resists weren't safe either, as Close Combat would 2HKO if not OHKO them. The only two pokemons that could switch reliably and weren't subpar were Dauntless Shield Hippowdon and Doublade, both with some easily exploitable flaws. Add on top all the other benefits of Magic Guard, Swords Dance, amazing speed for the time, priority moves for both of its stabs, and the ability to use Scrappy to beat one of its checks reliably, it was banned quickly.
:Latios: ALLOWED in AAA and STABmons, BANNED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

Latios is now able to properly expand the force with the combo of Expanding Force and Psychic Surge, both of which he lacks in normal play, and Psystrike to consistently beat Chansey as the cherry on top. That alone is scary enough, but it also could mix it up with Choice Specs Dmaw Dragon Energy, Poison Heal Clangorous Soul, and even using a scarf on the PsySurge set. The only viable pokemon capable of taking all sets were Magearna and Jirachi. It was recently banned, together with Lando-T and Oblivion Wing. Her sister Latias is still allowed and is on the watchlist, although the power loss is noticeable.
:Tapu Koko: ALLOWED in AAA and STABmons, BANNED in STAAABmons (25/06/21)

In AAA, Koko is an amazing speed control mon that's basically untouchable due to its high speed and unpunishable Magic Guard U-Turns, although it struggles to break most defensive cores. In STABmons, Koko reprises its role as a speed control mon, but complements it with extremely high power moves such as Electric Terrain-Boosted Bolt Strike and Rising Voltage, giving it amazing breaking power, although due to no longer being protected by Magic Guard makes it able to take damage.

In STAAAB, It combines the best of both worlds to become an untouchable speed control mon with amazing breaking power. It got quickbanned in the earlier banwaves of DLC2 and later got retested, and it was quickly found out just how hard it was to deal with and how it could shape the meta around it, so it promptly stayed banned
:dracovish: BANNED in AAA and STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

Saved the best one for last. Dracovish is extremely well know in the wider pokemon community, so i'm gonna skip all the intro about its mind-boggling power and what not because you already know about it. You probably also know that it is banned on most OMs with a banlist similar to OU, such as AAA and STABmons. Yet in STAAABmons, the combination of the two, not only does it currently have it unbanned, but it was never banned and always considered to be just OK at best during the entirety of the meta's lifespan. How?

First, let's see what makes Dracovish so powerful in normal play. I know a lot of you come here to not think about OU, but stay with me. Of course, let's start with The Move, Fishous Rend. It is The best physical water move in the game bar none, and Vish already has access to it. So when you put Dracovish in STABmons, a meta where most pokemon get stronger due to their newfound access to stronger STAB moves, Vish doesn't get any more powerful in raw power. This is not to say that it doesn't benefit from it, getting great set-up options in Dragon Dance and Clangorous Soul is good, but its damage output stays the same, while the rest's increases. The rest of the pokemons are catching up to it, but it is still too much for STABmons. In AAA, something similar happens, as Vish already has one of the best abilities it could ask for: Strong Jaw, which boosts its already insane Fishous Rend by 50%, a boost as strong as that of rain, and only outdone by Huge Power. Thus, it also doesn't gain any more raw power in AAA, but it still benefits from it as well, making good use of Tinted Lens or Gorilla Tactics during early AAA, while also being able to trade power for speed by using Swift Swim to threaten the faster mons that gave it trouble before. Still, other pokemons gain relatively much higher power boosts than Dracovish, but they are still not close to it, and the meta is unable to handle it.

Now when you merge both metas where Vish doesn't gain any raw power, the rest of the meta catches up to him enough that its insane power is no longer crazy enough to warrant attention over other behemoths. During all of STAAB's history as a regulated meta there has been various pokemons that could 2HKO or OHKO the entire meta such as Keldeo, Terrakion, Darmanitan (when V-create was unrestricted), Kyurem, Chandelure, Melmetal, Darkshifu with Wicked Blow, Volcarona, Naganadel, Spectrier (when Astral Barrage was unrestricted) and even Landorus-T, all the while being faster/and or bulkier than Vish. While all of the previously mentioned pokemons are currently banned or have been nerfed, during all of this not once was Vish ever considered as anything above B tier in the VR while still freed pokemon such as Tyranitar, Gyarados and even Heliolisk have been able to keep themselves consistently viable or semi-viable through the duration of the metagame. Even in the post-Volcarona ban DLC1 metagame, where Tinted Lens Water moves could finally shine after a period where most teams had a water immunity on them, Vish was outclassed by Watershifu, which had a better speed and a better attack coupled with a stronger secondary STAB in Close Combat. It is also worth noting that thanks to Staaab patching up both movepools and abilities, the meta is much more stat-centric, making Vish's mediocre stats much more noticeable

On this list there are a few still-allowed pokemon that might have the potential to be broken, but have yet to be explored to their fullest extent. Dracovish, with how long it has been allowed and how it never managed be anything beyond ok, is safe to say that it will never be banned.


:Magearna: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED BANNED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)


Short Answer

Magearna was unbanned for DLC2 together with many others, and since it got unbanned it saw near exclusive use as a defensive pokemon, keeping almost all the brokens that got banned over time such as Archeops, Naganadel, Glacial Lance abusers, Various Oblivion Wing abusers, Latios, and many more. Still, there were a portion of players that believed it was broken, and it even got suspect tested back when Staaab had a ladder. Nevertheless, it stayed, but as of late, most of the brokens that kept in check got banned, which gave it the freedom to run more offensive sets to truly show just how much it can do. It is now more probable than ever that it will get banned.
:spectrier: BANNED in AAA and STABmons, ALLOWED BANNED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

Spectrier was one of the poster boys for Astral Barrage when the move was still allowed, and thus when it got restricted it saw much less usage. Without it, Spectrier became much more manageable. Chansey, the single best counter in the game to it, always had the tools to deal with it; it can phaze it if it tries to set-up a Nasty Plot or a Substitute, and although the most common Regenerator variants lost to Taunt, Magic Bounce is a very good ability it can run that also allows it to beat Spectrier. Outside of that, there are other checks such as RegenVest Magearna, Heliolisk and Zarude that also cause it trouble. It is also worth mentioning that running Sheer Force, like it often did in AAA, has a huge opportunity cost as it gives away the higher power of Moongeist Beam+Adaptability, this being one of the main reasons this ability sees rare use, and for this it struggles more versus normal-types. Nevertheless, Spectrier is still a good pokemon, and a scary one to face
:Kyurem: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (31/03/21)

The biggest reason why Kyurem is still in Staaab is that Magearna, its best counter, is still allowed, and that it's very common, not letting it terrorize teams with the ease that it did in AAA. It is worth mentioning that Kyurem has been banned before, and that if Magearna leaves, which it seems more and more probable each day, it might get the boot as well.

Now that Magearna has been banned Kyurem's number 1 counter is gone, which means that it might find itself kicked from the meta.
:Kommo o: :latias: Clangorous Soul BANNED in STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (31/05/21)

While the boon of abilities give ClangSoul users cool new toys, it also brings new ways to stop them. Obviously the first one to mention is Unaware, but other ways such as Prankster Haze/Encore and phazing can do the trick as well. Also often times the clangsoul abusers might find themselves with 4mms, as the only really reliable way of using ClangSoul coulpled with recovery or PHeal to have multiple setup opportunities, which already takes 2 slots. Latias, for example, might want Stored Power for the 140 STAB move and Aura Sphere, but then it might find out that Chansey can sit on it and phaze it. Changing Aura Sphere for Psystrike means getting walled by any lousy dark, and even with Psystrike and Aura Sphere it cant go through Corv and opposing Latias. Running Clangorous Soul without longevity can be tough too, as you might get a few of your tries stopped and then you are left low at health and with some bruises on your opponent's walls. Lastly, with the more powerful meta, getting setup turns can sometimes be hard. Unless you are heavily invested, a resist might not cut it sometimes, and with the investmen in bulk that usually goes into ClangSoul mons you might lack the raw power to force something outright most of the time. All these factors contribute to making Clangorous Soul easier to manage, but still scary to face.
:garchomp: :landorus: Precipice Blades BANNED in STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (31/05/21)

With access to abilities such as Levitate and Dauntless Shield, the power of this move becomes easier to handle. On top of this, counterplay to Landorus, one of the biggest threads of the meta, can do short work of other potencial abusers of the move not named Garchomp as well. Both grounds mentioned are scary threads, but their ground moves have better counterplay overall.
:Tapu Fini: :Snorlax: :Latias: Poison Heal BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

AAA just finished the historic suspect test on Poison Heal, resulting in the ban of this ability near synonymous with AAA for the longest time, yet Staaab never found it particularly overbearing. Why? You see, in general, Staaab gives more offensive tools than defensive tools. While there are abilities that can make the meta both stronger and bulkier, there is at best recovery and some neat utility moves for more defensive mons while almost all offensive pokemon gain access to even stronger Stabs, making the meta more frail in general. Thus, situations where say, Tapu Fini, would have taken 45 and be able to set up a Calm Mind and recover thanks to PHeal, it takes 60 or more and getting a CM boost becomes impossible. Snorlax's bulk can feel lacking when it takes 45 from a special move and it can't beat Psychic-types due to their access to Psystrike, which hits it very hard. Don't be deterred though, Poison Heal is still a very good ability, it's just that the meta has an easier time pressuring its abusers.
:terrakion: :archeops: Both of these ALLOWED in AAA and STABmons, BANNED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

Archeops had about the same story when it was released: its secondary stab made it able to break through would-be checks like Terrak, but it traded set-up options and a better offensive typing for a higher attack stat, higher speed, and moves such as U-Turn and Knock Off. Even with Shore Up now in the game giving Runerigus a chance at taking it, it was banned like Terrak. Although unlike Terrak, which had quite some time for testing before its ban and will never even be thought of for retesting (Edit 31/05/21: why did you even think of it), Archeops was banned in early banning rounds for DLC2, so there is a chance that it gets retested
:Mamoswine: :Weavile:Mamoswine BANNED in STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons; Glacial Lance ALLOWED in STABmons, RESTRICTED in STAAABmons (22/03/21)

Both Stab and Staaab agree that Mamoswine with G-lance is broken, but Staaab also thinks that Weavile with G-lance is broken as well, as when coupled with Adaptability and a band or a Swords Dance boost it allows it to wallbreak while still being able of bullying most offense, being capable of such feats as this:

252 Atk Choice Band Adaptability Weavile Glacial Lance vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 178-210 (49 - 57.8%) -- 96.1% chance to 2HKO

Others, such as Kyurem and Glastrier were being problematic as well, so the move was restricted altogether. Mamoswine was spared by the banhammer, and now somewhat struggles in the meta as Triple Axel isn't as great and it is slow and not that bulky.

Shoutouts to The Number Man and the rest of the Staaab council for giving me feedback during writing. I hope that this post not only solves your questions about the meta, but also helps as a way to see into Staaab's meta and its history during gen 8. I may or may not make another post on pokemons with wildly different viability in AAA and Stab compared to Staaab.
Edit 31/05/21: Added some new entries on the bans since my origina post, touched up a little some entries and revamped the one for Kyurem. Added dates to when each paragraph was written and reorganized the list as a whole
Edit 25/06/21: Mostly updated a few entries with recent bans, and added one on Koko because my brain convinced itself it would surely be banned somehow i missed it
 
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:Magearna: Magearna has been Banned from STAAABMONS :Magearna:

After a lot of deliberation and time, the council has unanimously decided to ban Magearna.
This has come for several different reasons.
  • Unanimous community feedback to ban Magearna
  • Previous reasons for keeping Magearna are no longer valid
    • It kept in check more problematic mons which are now banned. (Latios, Landorus-t)
  • It can easily run offensive or defensive sets which creates a guessing game until the set is revealed.
Please share your thoughts on the matter in the thread or on discord.

Have a great day :blobnom:
 
Don Vascus said:
Hi! I'm Don, a regular STAAAB player and OMM room staff, and I'm gonna use this opportunity to talk about the differences in banlists between AAA, STABmons, and STAAABmons, and explain why some things are banned in this meta and why some aren't.

I'll use spoilers to not take three pages, because this is a long one, so strap in folks

:Darmanitan-Galar: :Porygon-Z:Both of these BANNED in STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons


All of these are banned in STABmons, and all of them aren't banned here for the same reason: their abilities. Gorilla Tactics is straight up banned, and Adaptability is widespread now, so the combo of Adapt Boomburst isn't special anymore, meaning that pokemons such as Heliolisk can do similar damage while still having better speed, thus being often ignored in favor of faster or bulkier options.
:Landorus:BANNED in STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons


It's a similar case to the last ones, where having Sheer Force isn't as special, but unlike them Landorus is very good nevertheless, inheriting the recently banned Landorus-Therian's place in the meta, boasting an amazing offensive and defensive typing, with high BP Stabs and various ways of beating its checks. It's possible that it gets banned in the future.
:Mamoswine: :Weavile:Mamoswine BANNED in STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons; Glacial Lance ALLOWED in STABmons, RESTRICTED in STAAABmons

Both Stab and Staaab agree that Mamoswine with G-lance is broken, but Staaab also thinks that Weavile with G-lance is broken as well, as when coupled with Adaptability and a band or a Swords Dance boost it allows it to wallbreak while still being able of bullying most offense, being capable of such feats as this:

252 Atk Choice Band Adaptability Weavile Glacial Lance vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 178-210 (49 - 57.8%) -- 96.1% chance to 2HKO

Others, such as Kyurem and Glastrier were being problematic as well, so the move was restricted altogether. Mamoswine was spared by the banhammer, and now somewhat struggles in the meta as Triple Axel isn't as great and it is slow and not that bulky.
:Thundurus: :Thundurus-therian: Thundurus-Incarnate ALLOWED in AAA, BANNED in STAAABmons; Thundurus-Therian ALLOWED in STABmons and AAA, BANNED in STAAABmons; Oblivion Wing ALLOWED in STABmons, RESTRICTED in STAAABmons

So y'all AAA heads must have heard of this ability called Triage, right? +3 priority to healing moves including attacks is pretty cool, right? It's a bit of a shame that the draining attacks with high BP don't heal that much, and those that do heal a lot have low BP.

Oblivion Wing is a flying special move with 80 BP and heals 3/4ths of the damage dealt. It not only is decently strong, but it heals so much that it not only undoes Life Orb recoil, but Stealth Rock damage and even some stray hits you might have taken as well. It was not rare to KO something with Owing and get healed back to full. Many pokemons were able to abuse this to beat offense and defense alike, common abusers being the likes of Togekiss, both Tornadus forms, Galarian Articuno, and during early DLC2, both Thundurus forms. These two stood on the top as they had top 2 highest special attack from all available flying-types, a movepool with things such as Nasty Plot, Focus Blast, and Knock Off, and a good offensive typing that could hit effectively most flying resists with either a strong or Triage boosted stab. Both were banned early into the DLC2 meta, and more recently it was deemed that the concept of Triage Owing was unhealthy for the meta, and the council restricted Oblivion Wing. Given that the main set that made both Thundies too much is no longer with us, it's possible they get retested in the future.
:cobalion: :hawlucha: :urshifu:No Retreat ALLOWED in STABmons, RESTRICTED in STAAABmons

All three pokemon above have one thing in common aside from being fighting-types: a pivoting move. All of these were good No Retreat abusers and could bypass one of the main drawbacks of No Retreat. Coupled with some boosting abilities, or Magic Guard+LO, all of these could turn into near unwallable behemoths that could outspeed your entire team and turn the few checks they had into momentum. On top of that, the latter had not Wicked Blow (It was hardbanned until the smogon policy caught onto us), but Jaw Lock, that was discovered in early DLC1 that it could be used to bypass the other drawback of No Retreat: not being able to boost multiple times. Shortly after this discovery No Retreat was restricted.
:gengar:Hypnosis, Sing, Sleep Powder ALLOWED in STABmons, BANNED in STAAABmons

This one also goes to my AAA heads out there, but this one can be understood by the Stabmons crowd as well. What if No Guard Gengar was capable of hitting as hard as SFLO Gengar, or if current Stabmons Gengar could sleep its checks. That was what happened in pre-DLC Staaab; A hard hitting mon being capable of sleeping what little could take it. This was too much already, but it was speculated that if gengar was to be banned, something else would take its place, be it Mew, or the many Rotom forms available, not to mention that you had to pray that you didn't sleep for too long, and if you ran Magic Bounce you were vulnerable to getting smacked by Adapt or SFLO variants.

With all of this in mind it was decided by our glorious leader that this was not worth going further with this and hardbanned all sleep moves but two: Lovely Kiss and Spore, both stuck on three subpar mons. Shiinotic is as viable as you'd think it is by looking at its stats, Amoong us's typing and bulk isn't good enough for the meta, and Jynx is physically capable of running a Psychic Surge set to some degree of effectivity, especially coupled with an actually good Psychic-type, but is very much a gimmick and one that relies on too much luck to be any good
:Chansey: :type null: Transform ALLOWED in STABmons, RESTRICTED in STAAABmons

So as a refresher for y'all AAA heads that don't have any reason to know how Transform works, it copies the typing, appearance, all raw stats but HP, stat changes, ability, and all four moves from your oppo, while still keeping your species ID and item. So if you were, say, a special attacker with a boost up, and you found yourself in front of say, this:

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Teleport
- Transform
- Soft-Boiled
- Filler

Unless you are sure you can OHKO it, you must switch unless you want to get yourself (and maybe your entire team) killed. By turning set-up attempts into potencial countersweeps for free, Chansey single-handedly made all special set-up not only unviable, but a danger to run. "But wait!" You say, "What if I hit Chans on its weak side? Surely, that will be enough to beat it, right?"

252 Atk Life Orb Technician Excadrill Gear Grind (2 hits) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 436-514 (62 - 73.1%) -- approx. 2HKO

Chansey, even with it's 5 physical defense, is surprisingly physically bulky, enough to take a hit from most non-fighting-type physical attackers. With Transform, it became capable of turning the tables on its supposed bad matchups into 50/50s of who dies and, in some cases where the physical attacker wasn't weak to its own stab, unwinnable scenarios, as Transform also patched Chansey's physical defense by copying its foe's defence, which is usually much higher than Chans' even uninvested, while still keeping the enormous HP and Eviolite boost. Trying to get a Sword Dance or any boost would only make Chansey stronger when it inevitably Transforms in front of your non-Fighting physical attacker. Add on top abilities such as Regenerator to heal the damage from these exchanges with ease, Prankster to Transform first and obtain a better defense quicker, Magic Bounce to beat Taunt attempts, and moves such as Whirlwind to phaze out subs and it was too much. Banning Chansey, while a highly requested ban, wouldn't have solved the problem, as Type: Null could do the same with physical attackers, and Pokemons such as Porygon2 could have easily taken Chans' spot. Thus, it was determined that Transform was the problem, and it was promptly banned.
:urshifu-rapid-strike: :Landorus therian: :weavile: Tinted Lens ALLOWED in AAA, BANNED in STAAABmons

Y'all AAA heads must've had the bad experience of learning the hard way that the pokemon in front of you has Tinted, and a few of you might think that the ability is broken. Now here, any lousy pokemon with over 120 attack can have a good 120 bp Stab to abuse Tinted with, allowing them to 2hko both fat neutral walls and resists! Not to mention most of these had different sets that could beat the few "checks" they had. Tinted Lens was banned early into the DLC2 meta.
:Tapu Fini: :Snorlax: :Latias: Poison Heal BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons

AAA just finished the historic suspect test on Poison Heal, resulting in the ban of this ability near synonymous with AAA for the longest time, yet Staaab never found it particularly overbearing. Why? You see, in general, Staaab gives more offensive tools than defensive tools. While there are abilities that can make the meta both stronger and bulkier, there is at best recovery and some neat utility moves for more defensive mons while almost all offensive pokemon gain access to even stronger Stabs, making the meta more frail in general. Thus, situations where say, Tapu Fini, would have taken 45 and be able to set up a Calm Mind and recover thanks to PHeal, it takes 60 or more and getting a CM boost becomes impossible. Snorlax's bulk can feel lacking when it takes 45 from a special move and it can't beat Psychic-types due to their access to Psystrike, which hits it very hard. Don't be deterred though, Poison Heal is still a very good ability, it's just that the meta has an easier time pressuring its abusers.
:Volcarona: :Chandelure: :Blacephalon: All of these ALLOWED in AAA and STABmons, BANNED in STAAABmons

Look at this:

252 SpA Choice Specs Volcarona Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey in Harsh Sunshine: 264-312 (37.5 - 44.3%) -- 2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

That is the strongest special wall in the game, with maximum bulk, risking a 2hko after rocks from a special attacker that isn't even modest. Remember that Chansey doesn't even run any SpD investment normally and doesn't even get near to this. Not even "resists'' such as Toxapex can save themselves:

252 SpA Choice Specs Volcarona Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex in Harsh Sunshine: 59-187 (52.3 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery

Chandelure and Blacephalon can all deal even more damage while having an amazing offensive typing, and in Blace's case, more speed. Forcing any team with any sort of defensive backbone to run a fire immunity was not fair, not to mention that Volc and Blace were also capable of pressuring faster mons due to their good speed. Restricting Eruption wouldn't have solve the issue as:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcarona Blue Flare vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey in Harsh Sunshine: 252-297 (35.7 - 42.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

It still did ridiculous amounts of damage to the fattest Chansey can be, and more sane Ev spreads such as 4/252/252+ still take a lot:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcarona Blue Flare vs. 4 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey in Harsh Sunshine: 252-297 (39.2 - 46.2%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Max HP and SpDef Chansey can take Volc, but such ev spread has glaring issues such as taking over 20% from any lousy Flip Turn or U-Turn and getting blown up by any physical attack from anything with any sort of investment, and this is only Volc, the weakest of the trio; Blace and Chandy are out of the question. All are banned due to this.

The only users left of Eruption+DesoLand or its counterparts Water Spout+PrimSea and Dragon Energy+Dragon's Maw have some glaring issues. For the fire one, Salazzle not only is it noticeably weaker than Volcarona, but its bulk and coverage are too abysmal to be considered for anything, and Volcanion, while comparable to Volcarona power-wise, has a huge opportunity costs if it tries to run either DesoLand or PrimSea, this being its secondary stab, not to mention its bad speed, subpar defensive typing with no immunities to attempt to switch into attacks, and it has better ways of pressuring all defensive pokemons anyways. Heatran is in the same situation as Volcanion, but it has a better defensive typing, doesn’t have to trade its secondary Stav to run the set, and it's still capable of beating its checks with more effective methods. Inteleon is also weaker than Volcarona, although it's still capable of doing huge damage to Chanseys with a more sane Ev spreads. What it lacks though is bulk and a secondary stab to hit pokemons with water immunities. The former is especially important as if it loses too much HP it will be forced to rely on the much weaker and much more manageable Steam Eruption. This same problem extends to the dragon-type counterpart, where it loses too much power if it gets chipped on top of having an entire typing immune to it. Most special dragons have better sets to run anyways, and all have issues with Magearna
:terrakion: :archeops: Both of these ALLOWED in AAA and STABmons, BANNED in STAAABmons

It doesn't hit you just how good of an offensive typing Rock is until a pokemon headbutts you free of recoil. That's what happened to early HOME Staaab, as Terrak plowed through most defensive pokemons. Most Rock resists weren't safe either, as Close Combat would 2HKO if not OHKO them. The only two pokemons that could switch reliably and weren't subpar were Dauntless Shield Hippowdon and Doublade, both with some easily exploitable flaws. Add on top all the other benefits of Magic Guard, Swords Dance, amazing speed for the time, priority moves for both of its stabs, and the ability to use Scrappy to beat one of its checks reliably, it was banned quickly.

Archeops had about the same story when it was released: its secondary stab made it able to break through would-be checks like Terrak, but it traded set-up options and a better offensive typing for a higher attack stat, higher speed, and moves such as U-Turn and Knock Off. Even with Shore Up now in the game giving Runerigus a chance at taking it, it was banned like Terrak. Although unlike Terrak, which had quite some time for testing before its ban and will never even be thought of for retesting, Archeops was banned in early banning rounds for DLC2, so there is a chance that it gets retested
:Latios: ALLOWED in AAA and STABmons, BANNED in STAAABmons

Latios is now able to properly expand the force with the combo of Expanding Force and Psychic Surge, both of which he lacks in normal play, Psystrike to consistently beat Chansey as de cherry on top. That alone is scary enough, but it also could mix it up with Choice Specs Dmaw Dragon Energy, Poison Heal Clangorous Soul, and even using a scarf on the PsySurge set. The only viable pokemon capable of taking all sets were Magearna and Jirachi. It was recently banned, together with Lando-T and Oblivion Wing. Her sister Latias is still allowed and on the watchlist, although the power loss is noticeable.
:Buzzwole: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons

The meta is much more unfriendly to poor ol' Buzz. Tinted lens is banned, so its wallbreaker set gets walled by resists as it normally would. Triage Oblivion Wing (talked about above) invalidated the rest of Triage mons until it got banned recently, especially bug- and fighting-type Triage mons. Buzz fits both of these criteria. Its defensive role is also not as good because the best ground-type in the meta has been a Landorus form since they got introduced to the meta, and all good fighting- and ground-types can hit it hard with a secondary stab. All of this makes buzz much more manageable as a whole, although now that Lando-T and Oblivion Wing are banned, Buzz might get itself a niche.
:urshifu-rapid-strike: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons

Urshifu Rapid Strike has some very interesting history as to why it has lasted so long. First, unlike other metas, when everyone realized the Urshifu Single Strike was broken, Staaab just banned Wicked Blow altogether, meaning that Darkshifu was free to roam the meta. This meant that oftentimes Watershifu was overlooked in favor of its version with a better offensive typing. Those who decided to try him found another hurdle: Volcarona. For the longest time during DLC1, Volcarona was freed, and its DesoLand set was a menace. Watershifu fans often found that a lot of teams had a pokemon that could take both its stabs and promptly use that opportunity to KO one of their pokemon.

It wasn't until Volcarona was banned that Watershifu took the spotlight. Now that Water immunities weren't common, its Tinted Lens set was free to terrorize the meta, forcing Water immune ghosts and Rocky Helmet on Pex. Action about this would have taken place if it was not for the fact that The Crown Tundra was just weeks away, and once that came many more Tinted Lens abusers came forward, such as Landorus-T and Weavile. Tinted Lens was banned, making Watershifu, among others, much more manageable. It is also worth mentioning that Watershifu gains nearly nothing from Stabmons, there is some talk about banning/restricting Surging Strikes, and Watershifu is still good in the meta.
:Kyurem: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons

The biggest reason why Kyurem is still in Staaab is that Magearna, its best counter, is still allowed, and that it's very common, not letting it terrorize teams with the ease that it did in AAA. It is worth mentioning that Kyurem has been banned before, and that if Magearna leaves, which it seems more and more probable each day, it might get the boot as well.

Now that Magearna has been banned Kyurem's number 1 counter is gone, which means that it might find itself kicked from the meta.
:spectrier: BANNED in AAA and STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons

Spectrier was one of the poster boys for Astral Barrage when the move was still allowed, and thus when it got restricted it saw much less usage. Without it, Spectrier became much more manageable. Chansey, the single best counter in the game to it, always had the tools to deal with it; it can phaze it if it tries to set-up a Nasty Plot or a Substitute, and although the most common Regenerator variants lost to Taunt, Magic Bounce is a very good ability it can run that also allows it to beat Spectrier. Outside of that, there are other checks such as RegenVest Magearna, Heliolisk and Zarude that also cause it trouble. It is also worth mentioning that running Sheer Force, like it often did in AAA, has a huge opportunity cost as it gives away the higher power of Moongeist Beam+Adaptability, this being one of the main reasons this ability sees rare use, and for this it struggles more versus normal-types. Nevertheless, Spectrier is still a good pokemon, and a scary one to face
:Victini: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons

Victini was added to the meta among other behemoths such as the genies and Latios, so it didn't get immediate attention. On top of that, Tinted Lens, one of the abilities Victini made great use of in AAA, was banned early into the DLC2 meta, which meant Vic had to think about what coverage move to use. It is also worth noting that it gains almost nothing from STABmons, meaning that it's relatively weaker compared to the meta. Still, it is a very scary pokemon to face, and in my opinion is one of the more underrated and unexplored pokemon on the meta, but as it stands, it's manageable overall
:Dragonite: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED in STAAABmons

Dragonite was banned early into DLC2, when the meta was unstable, and it was recently unbanned after a trial period where Melmetal, Tapu Koko and Chandelure were tested as well, from which it was the only one unbanned. You can argue that the reason it didn't stand out in the trial is because it had Koko and Melm as the top 2 mons in this meta, both great checks to it, and that now that they no longer are here it is ready to take over the meta. You could also say that its Aerialite set shares counterplay with Triage+Owing, a combo still allowed at the time of its test run, and that ClangSoul and non-set-up sets share counterplay with those of Latios and Landorus, respectively. There is also Magearna, who indirectly nerfs all dragons. All in all, this is a fairly recent unban, and as of right now it doesn't seem broken, although it is possible that with new tiering actions and meta developments it shows how powerful it is.
:dracovish: BANNED in AAA and STABmons, ALLOWED in STAAABmons

Saved the best one for last. Dracovish is extremely well know in the wider pokemon community, so i'm gonna skip all the intro about its mind-boggling power and what not because you already know about it. You probably also know that it is banned on most OMs with a banlist similar to OU, such as AAA and STABmons. Yet Staaabmons, the combination of the two, not only does it currently have it banned, but it was never banned and always considered to be OK at best during the entirety of the meta's lifespan. How?

First, let's see what makes Dracovish so powerful in normal play. I know a lot of you come here to not think about OU, but stay with me. Of course, let's start with The Move, Fishous Rend. It is The best physical water move in the game bar none, and Vish already has access to it. So when you put Dracovish in STABmons, a meta where most pokemon get stronger due to their newfound access to stronger STAB moves, Vish doesn't get any more powerful in raw power. This is not to say that it doesn't benefit from it, getting great set-up options in Dragon Dance and Clangorous Soul is good, but its damage output stays the same, while the rest's increases. The rest of the pokemons are catching up to it, but it is still too much for Stabmons. In AAA, something similar happens, as Vish already has one of the best abilities it could ask for: Strong Jaw, which boosts its already insane Fishous Rend by 50%, a boost as strong as that of rain, and only outdone by Huge Power. Thus, it also doesn't gain any more raw power in AAA, but it still benefits from it as well, making good use of TInted Lens or Gorilla Tactics during early AAA, while also being able to trade power for speed by using Swift Swim to threaten the faster mons that gave it trouble before. Still, other pokemons gain relatively much higher power boosts than Dracovish, but they are still not close to it, and the meta is unable to handle it.

Now when you merge both metas where Vish doesn't gain any raw power, the rest of the meta catches up to him enough that its insane power is no longer crazy enough to warrant attention over other behemoths. During all of Staaab's history as a regulated meta there has been various pokemons that could 2HKO or OHKO the entire meta such as Keldeo, Terrakion, Darmanitan (when V-create was unrestricted), Kyurem, Chandelure, Melmetal, Darkshifu with Wicked Blow, Volcarona, Naganadel, Spectrier (when Astral Barrage was unrestricted) and even Landorus-T, all the while being faster/and or bulkier than Vish. While all of the previously mentioned pokemons are currently banned or have been nerfed, during all of this not once was Vish ever considered as anything above B tier in the VR while still freed pokemon such as Tyranitar, Gyarados and even Heliolisk have been able to keep themselves consistently viable or semi-viable through the duration of the metagame. Even in the post-Volcarona ban DLC1 metagame, where Tinted Lens Water moves could finally shine after a period where most teams had a water immunity on them, Vish was outclassed by Watershifu, which had a better speed and a better attack coupled with a stronger secondary STAB in Close Combat. It is also worth noting that thanks to Staaab patching up both movepools and abilities, the meta is much more stat-centric, making Vish's mediocre stats much more noticeable

On this list there are a few still-allowed pokemon that might have the potential to be broken, but have yet to be explored to their fullest extent. Dracovish, with how long it has been allowed and how it never managed be anything beyond ok, it is safe to say that it will never be banned.



:Magearna: BANNED in AAA, ALLOWED BANNED in STAAABmons


Short Answer

Magearna was unbanned for DLC2 together with many others, and since it got unbanned it saw near exclusive use as a defensive pokemon, keeping almost all the brokens that got banned over time such as Archeops, Naganadel, Glacial Lance abusers, Various Oblivion Wing abusers, Latios, and many more. Still, there were a portion of players that believed it was broken, and it even got suspect tested back when Staaab had a ladder. Nevertheless, it stayed, but as of late, most of the brokens that kept in check got banned, which gave it the freedom to run more offensive sets to truly show just how much it can do. It is now more probable than ever that it will get banned.


Shoutouts to The Number Man and the rest of the Staaab council for giving me feedback during writing. I hope that this post not only solves your questions about the meta, but also helps as a way to see into Staaab's meta and its history during gen 8. I may or may not make another post on pokemons with wildly different viability in AAA and Stab compared to Staaab.
Click to expand...
out of all the ways you could say "amoonguss" you had to say "amoong us" i despise you for that
 
53up8y.jpg


Now that it's gone, there are a couple of mons I can see doing a lot better than before.

:latias: This is a double edged sword. While Magearna leaving (hell yeah) means that there's one less steel to break through with specs/clang soul, a reasonable alternative to Magearna in Jirachi walls it's psychic stabs MUCH harder, with spdef/regenvest just about invalidating dragon stab. Outside of that, things are looking really good for Latias and I think it is assuredly even more safe to run the offensive Latios sets on it. (RIP LATIOS).

:Jirachi: The closest replacement for a doom desire pivot regenvest mon. It's typing allows it to take psyspam much better than Magearna, however with a weaker Doom Desire, being a faster bulky pivot, and losing fairy typing will definitely be noticeable, and it has a hard time keeping up with what Magearna did offensively.

:Tyranitar: :Zarude: :Hydreigon: Common dark types in the tier benefit greatly, with their dark stab no longer being commonly resisted by a steel type. Ttar, Hydrei, and Zarude lose their hardest top tier switchin. Totally expect all of these to rise in popularity.

:Noivern: :Dragonite: :Kyurem: Dragon types as a whole will appreciate Magearna gone for obvious reasons and can continue their cool dragon rampage.

Overall, I see all the above to be big winners. There's a lot more down the road for things that get better with a Magearna ban, but I don't want to cover everything as I'm sure you guys have interesting takes too.
 
1. Post Mage watchlist

As gz already put it, Magearna leaving improves a bunch of mons substantially. I think the most powerful and potentially problematic among them (amogus) is Kyurem. With its best counter leaving the meta, Kyurem is now free to wreak havoc on pretty much anything apart from Escavalier with its multiple viable sets. While Chansey switches into standard SFLO special Kyurem well enough, it gets overwhelmed by mixed variants and straight up nuked by physical ones. Pex and Fini are solid answers to Technician DD/Choice Band Kyurem, but die to SFLO or mixed Adapt with Freeze Dry. Given all that, I think its fair to expect Kyurem to prove itself overwhelmingly strong and deserving of a ban in the near future.

Other Dragons benefit as well - Latias breaks more easily with Clangsoul/Psysurge and Dragonite now doesn't have to worry about Levitate Mage stopping Clangsoul sweeps. No AV mage is nice for Noivern but AV mage wasnt the most common set anyway. With that said, I think Clangsoul is worth keeping an eye on as it works very well on all these high BST dragons, making them hard to beat defensively while outspeeding most offensive checks. While I'd prefer to keep Clangsoul in the meta, its abusers benefit greatly from Mage leaving (in case anyone is confused about the STABmons CSoul restriction - it's staying legal in STAAAB for now).

STABmons recently banned Spectrier as well, which gives us another discrepancy between banlists. I think Spectrier has been borderline but managable in Mage meta, but I expect increased Dark usage to keep it in check in post Mage meta. Still, I think it should be monitored as it can easily beat the wrong Chansey set and thus win at preview if the opposing team has no speed control for it.

:kyurem: Thus the current watchlist is going to be the following: :spectrier:
- Kyurem, Dragonite, Latias, Clangorous Soul
- Spectrier

2. Potential retest

In addition, the council is interested in potentially retesting some more things down the line. I personally think Chandelure could be set free but the rest of the council overruled me on that so I wont be forcing that issue anymore, however there's other elements we could retest (via trial period, like we did for Dnite and friends).
- No Retreat OR Terrakion (there is no way both of these can exist in a healthy STAAAB meta) :terrakion:
- Volcarona :volcarona:
- Zeraora :zeraora:

The whole council seems to be on board with NR/Terrak, while the other 2 are mostly wishful thinking of a corrupt TL, but I'm interested in hearing everyone's thoughts on this regardless. And obviously, let us know your opinion on the watchlisted threats.
 
MAGNEZONE
The GOAT

:xy/magnezone:

Magnezone @ Assault Vest / Choice Specs
Ability: Regenerator / Transistor
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Cage
- Flash Cannon
- Doom Desire
- Volt Switch

Probably could be EV'd better. As strong as Magearna, with STAB Volt Switch to boot. While it isn't as bulky, its bulky enough to tank Corviknight (if it doesn't BPress on the switch), Fini, Fairies, and Noivern. Volt Switch is really funny and you click either steel move if a Ground comes in.

Sylveon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Mystical Fire
- Psyshock
- Recover

maybe my boi will come back to prominence; Chans walls but doesn't do much back. Additionally a defensive spread could be used to check Latias and maybe other dragons.

Kyurem @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Freeze-Dry
- Earth Power / Sub / Filler
- Dragon Dance

Ice Crash 2KOs non Daunt Chansey, while Freeze-Dry 2KOs Fini. DDance for that juicy speed. Could also run PHeal.

And I guess some losers from the ban:
:Zapdos-Galar: :kommo-o: :Buzzwole: Fighting Types
Now that an easy target has been removed from the meta, they don't have as much offensive presence. Also, expect more DShield or physically bulky mons to deal with them, as the team slot is freed.

:Chansey: :Swampert: :Moltres: (VA) Defensive Checks
Now that the other premier specially defensive wall is gone, special attackers have better means to tech on Chansey. Specifically, Latias and Kyurem are more viable and beat the blob.

Swampert's still useful but it obviously also checked Magearna while blocking its Volt Switch. Same with my personal pet project, Moltres, which shouldn't be particularly viable post Mag.
 
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I am pleased to announce that Don Vascus has agreed to join the council. He has been active in the community for at least a year now and has shown himself to be both competent and passionate for the metagame.

While the council now has 5 members again, historically there was 6 of us at certain points and we might expand it to 6 again in the future if it turns out that doing so will benefit the metagame.
 
Post Mage Watchlist - A Follow Up
Mostly my thoughts + a couple bits of council thought on watchlisted and new potentially broken mons

:ss/kyurem:
Kyurem just really hasn't been performing for me. Namely 0/252+/252 chansey (which you have to go full physical or clangsoul to beat unboosted; the latter punished with Glare) and various offensive Pokemon who use it as fodder, including most viable Triage users. Mixed MGLO / Pheal might be the way to go, but because its mostly unexplored, it won't be nuked this time.
I also haven't really seen Dragonite or Latias so no comment other than "Clangsoul is really hard to set up ingame"
Kyurem @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 164 SpA / 92 Spe
Timid Nature
- Freeze-Dry
- Icicle Crash / Dragon Tail
- Roost
- Clangorous Soul

Kyurem @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 228 HP / 188 SpA / 92 Spe
Timid Nature
- Freeze-Dry
- Dragon Tail
- Roost
- Clangorous Soul

You would tinker with EVs; but there aren't really many ice resists (that aren't water) in the meta!.

:ss/spectrier:
Spectrier does ghost horse things. In a meta where Chansey is already constrained and/or splashed onto teams, it isn't so bad. People play worse against Moldy Lefties sets (which win against the blob), which doesn't KO offensive mons like you want to. However, there's been a huge huge push to ban Spectrier from both community and other council members. Because it forces out Chansey in play, you can use this to switch into a breaker (like Gapdos or Buzzwole) and break a team really easily.

Gengar is similarly strong, has even stronger anti-blob tech, and TSpikes to boot! So what makes Spectrier so much worse? Its speed tier destroys most offense, and its bulky enough to eat most Triage users and OHKO back (with Adapt Specs). Meanwhile, base 110 is great but is much easier to check by offense.
Spectrier @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moongeist Beam / Shadow Ball
- Taunt / WOW
- Substitute
- Nasty Plot

Pretty one note; beats Chansey!

:ss/zapdos-galar: :ss/landorus: :ss/rayquaza-mega:
Gapdos really takes the reins of Lando-T as the broken breaker of the week. With Adapt + Band, it 2KOs common Dauntless Pokemon. Regen mons take even more, and can't switch in once Priority in Gale Wings Dragon Ascent or Triage Drain Punch are the cherry on top, even if it really is lacking in power. Meta adaptations havent really taken place, but having to use the barely viable Doublade proves how constraining it is. (Edit: I forgot that regular Zapdos exists; which still isn't healthy in the slightest)

Even with Gapdos, Lando-I is still quite a threat. But I don't really know much about Lando, especially since Corviknight techs are relatively awkward/lacking, compared to Adaptbandgapdos.

Both are similar in how they play, and both also have a move that makes them obscenely powerful - Dragon Ascent. Both mons having access to a 120BP minimal drawback secondary stab with minimal resists (let alone one that resists your other stab) is rather unhealthy. This effectively disables the sheer power of Adapt Band sets, as well as Desolate Land Lando (the most common anticorv tech).

DA has many alternatives, but not without their problems. Brave Bird has recoil, which makes counterplay much easier, or forces Magic Guard, which makes sets weaker. Dual Wingbeat is much weaker without Technician, and opens up Rocky Helmet shenanigans. However, both mons also have great secondary tech moves too: Storm Throw ignores Dauntless/Intimidate and isn't so much weaker than CC, while Bonemerang is effective 150BP anyway. And while Surging Strikes also has Helmet counterplay, it isn't really healthy for the tier.

Restricting DA won't have much of a ripple for the rest of the tier - many of the other (rarely used) Flying types don't really mind MG (Gyarados, Dragonite, Aerodactyl) or Technician (Gyarados, Dragonite). This only really effects practically nonexistent, fast fliers like Tornadus(-T) and Deso Talonflame.

Overall, restricting DA will definetly make these two easier to deal with; but they might be bannable anyway.

Zapdos-Galar @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Dragon Ascent
- Mach Punch / Thunderous Kick
- U-turn

Click moves and win.
252 Atk Choice Band Adaptability Zapdos-Galar Dragon Ascent vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 168-198 (48.8 - 57.5%) -- 53.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Adaptability Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 178-210 (44.5 - 52.5%) -- 18.4% chance to 2HKO (prior chip, including rocks)

The watchlist right now, both for council and the vocal community, consists of Spectrier and Lando/Gapdos or Dragon Ascent.
 
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Some slightly old, but efficient sets:

Ninjask @ Focus Sash
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sticky Web
- Thousand Waves / *
- Bulldoze
- Spikes

Ninjask is the fastest Pokemon in the meta apart from Regieleki, which allows it to become a very efficient suicide lead. Sticky Web and Spikes are the two most impactful hazard, and Bulldoze serves for additional speed control to prevent the opposing pokemon from taking advantage of Ninjask to set up. Thousand waves can kinda be replaced with whichever skill you like.

Garchomp @ Roseli Berry
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Bonemerang
- Dragon Dance
- Poison Jab / Iron Tail

A twist of plot to the Garchomp set on the top, baits defensive fairy types to switch in on DD to open up the chance for teammate Dragon to sweep. A lot of times though, they won't really have a lot of choice anyways against this pokemon. It's not like any opponent will ever give you a chance to use Shore Up anyways.
 
Another day, another ban...

:SPECTRIER: SPECTRIER IS NOW BANNED FROM STAAABMONS! :SPECTRIER:
1619285968580.png


Ban reasoning:

Spect has been a controversial mon in pretty much every meta its been legal in as soon as people find the right set to abuse the few actual checks this mon has. It's now banned in OU, Natdex as well as both AAA and STABmons. We kept it free in STAAAB initially because despite the low amount of checks, all of its check are very good in the meta regardless of its presence.
Chansey is an omnipresent glue mon that finds itself on most balance teams, Zarude is a very strong breaker/sweeper that can tech Jungle Healing in order to remove Spec's ability to cripple it with Wow, Poison Heal Hydreigon is a fantastic wincon that blanks most Spect sets, using them as setup fodder and Tyranitar can easily tank most Spectrier sets while running offensive sets (MG LO or CB Regen), so clicking ghost move is nowhere near free in STAAAB. These are just the most commonly used checks, Incin, Moltres-G and Lax are all viable, if niche picks in the meta.

The issue arose when we started exploring more unorthodox horse sets. Sub + Hyper Beam Pixilate horse can sub on the switch to a Dark type, kill it with Beam, survive the RK attempt due to Sub and then start spamming ghost move once it comes back in. Moldy horse bypasses bounce chansey, which is run in order to dodge taunt. Bounce horse bypasses whirlwind chansey, as it can just sub up and NP up to max, unless the chansey is unaware. It thus turned out that Horse could beat pretty much every conceivable check or counter we tried to throw at it by using the right tech. This, coupled with the already centralizing effect it had on the metagame and support from vocal members of the community led us to ban it.

Spectrier @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hex
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Dark Pulse

Spectrier @ Expert Belt
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Hyper Beam
- Moongeist Beam
- Nasty Plot

Spectrier @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Moongeist Beam
- Dark Pulse
- Taunt
 
I've been meaning to type up a post here summarizing my thoughts on the STAAAB Viability Rankings, finally made some time to do it

VR Nominations:

:electivire: UR -> B-/C+: I think Electrivire is worthy of being ranked in STAAAB, even tho RICEMAN and I are the only ones that use it. Normally considered a shitmon due to a useless ability and garbage STAB options, STAAAB solves both of these issues, letting Evire use a devastatingly powerful Sheer Force Life Orb set that abuses its excellent coverage options and a new powerful STAB in Bolt Strike. Electivire can OHKO or 2HKO nearly every Pokemon in the format, while simultaneously being OHKOd or 2HKOd by nearly every move in the tier, due to its frailty.

:primarina: UR -> B: Primarina's excellent typing and bulk allows it to fulfil a variety of roles on a team. Tapu Fini's omnipresence pushed Primarina into obscurity for a while, but Primarina has found its niche as a more powerful setup sweeper, win condition, and wallbreaker due to its better coverage and offensive stats. However, Fini still exists, and you should definitely consider using it for any defensive or utility niche you need it to fill.

:jirachi: UR -> B+: Jirachi is an excellent pivot in the tier, with a great defensive typing and movepool. Unfortunately, it cannot fill the hole that Magearna left in our hearts (or our teams), as it lacks some of the qualities that made it broken. A lack of reliable recovery forces most Jirachi to use Regenerator, and while Jirachi is an excellent user of Regenerator, it is much worse at using other abilities. Both Scarf and Assault Vest Jirachi are excellent sets, as both have an easy time coming in on threats and pivoting out for their teammates. Scarf is an excellent revenge killer with great STAB in Sunsteel Strike, while Assault Vest is a VERY bulky pivot with a useful STAB Doom Desire.

:hydreigon: B -> A: Hydreigon is the second best setup sweeper in the format, and is incredibly dangerous and hard to stop. This is made even more dangerous by the existence of its Sheer Force Set, which requires counterplay much different to the Clangorous Soul set. While Hydreigon can struggle to set up occasionally, little can stand in the way of a +1 hydra, god forbid that it gets to +2. The best counter to csoul hydra, Prankster Pex, gets demolished by the Sheer Force set, which also packs Taunt as well as Knock off.

:inteleon: B -> A: 252 SpA Choice Specs Inteleon Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Eviolite Chansey in Heavy Rain: 340-402 (48.3 - 57.1%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO There's a reason every viable team needs either a water immunity or a Chansey with SpDef investment. Inteleon is a rather significant part of that reason.

:zapdos: A -> A+: At the moment Zapdos is one of the best Gapdos checks, as well as handling quite a few other dangerous threats. Utility in Defog and Volt Switch/U-turn further add to its utility. Overall, I think that's worthy of a bump to A+.

:toxapex: A -> A+: Similar to Zapdos, Pex holds back quite a few importantthreats, and Prankster Pex is probably the best anti-setup mon in the format (imo if pex didn't learn haze clangorous soul would probably be banned). A rank of A+ more accurately reflects its importance to defensive and balance teams.

:garchomp: A+ -> S-: I don't think a rank of A+ properly represents Garchomp's importance in the current meta. Chomper is by far the most versatile mon in the format, with an incredible amount of powerful sets. I can confidently state that Garchomp is the best setup sweeper in the format, while also having excellent defensive and utility niches.

:zapdos-galar: A+ -> S-: If your team lacks a defensive Pokemon that resists both Fighting and Flying, every time Gapdos comes in you risk losing a Pokemon. Both building and playing around this monster is difficult, and games against it will often come down to 50/50s depending on if Gapdos clicks Close Combat or Dragon Ascent. This also doesn't include the fact that Gapdos has an excellent base 100 Speed and access to U-turn, making it difficult to both check and revenge kill. Banded Adaptability Gapdos is pants-shittingly terrifying, which is why I think it belongs in S-.

:rotom-heat: and :rotom-wash: B- -> C/UR: Rotom Formes are not in a good place right now. The high power level of current STAAAB makes the Rotom Appliances' once decent Special Attack, Speed, and bulk feel quite underwhelming. Anything done by a Rotom forme is done better by another Pokemon in the format, including wallbreaking, sweeping, Magnet Pulling, RegenVesting , and being a utility pivot. The only reason to use Rotom formes is to attempt to use one of the above sets but with some extra coverage option provided via STABmons move legality. Blue Flare, Freeze Dry, Strength Sap, and a plethora of other options are cool, but it's not worth using Rotom over something actually good.

STAAAB is by far my favorite format (RIP PokeAAA), but it's been having some difficulties recently. I'll have some related and thoughts that I'll type out later, but for now enjoy my VR suggestions.
 
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