Metagame SV Pokebilities AAA

[Lavender Vice]

So... I hit rank 1 again really quickly (I only dropped like 100 elo or so tbf) with a new team that has been performing really well.

I'm not gonna like, make a whole big ol' fancy ish run down of the team, but I wanna share it anyways and give some thoughts on the mons that I think make it stand out.

Eggy Semi-Stall (weatherspeed is busted, who woulda thunk lol)
https://pokepast.es/e4a4ed8d8b7deef2

Exeggutor @ Life Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
Rash Nature
- Giga Drain
- Growth
- Low Kick
- Psychic

So Eggy needs to be banned ASAP. Like, sure, Corvi walls it. THAT'S IT. It outspeeds and wallbreaks so many fucking things, and god forbid you let it get a Growth off it will literally threaten to sweep your entire team. Low Kick at +2 with 0 investment and a Rash nature ALWAYS OHKOs SPD HEATRAN (and does 84 MIN TO PHYSDEF). And like, it's not super hard to switch it in? Like, yes, it has an awful typing, but with Deso it has a water immunity which makes it a lot easier to bring in (or just threatens out something with a fast grass or psychic attack).

Alomomola (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fluffy
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Flip Turn
- Wish
- Rain Dance

Fish

Corviknight (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn

Bird

Incineroar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Flare Blitz
- Fake Out

AV SpD Incin actually feels pretty alright? Has nice utility in Intimidate, Knock, Uturn and Fake Out pressure, and a really solid defensive typing. Not the greatest thing ever, but genuinely pretty ok if you can keep hazards off the field. Also serves as a Meow check (LOW KICK ISN'T REAL)

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock
- Heal Bell

I have been experimenting more with Chansey > Blissey and the added bulk feels really nice. Not being able to use SBall to pressure ghosts like Poltea and Pecha sucks, but that's what Incin is for. Just very tanky and Heal Bell is one of the best moves in the game.

Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 0 Spe
- Transform

Ditto stays amazing, anti-stall and offense all in one that is immune to hazards. I'd actually say Ditto is even BETTER now that it doesn't take up your sole Magic Guard slot so you can use something like Talon or Crown alongside it.​

 

[Miss Crisis]

i am and always have been a sucker for the Guardians of The Galaxy soundtrack. this team (specifically the keldeo + rillaboom offensive core) reminded me of one of my favorites, plus it's actually both intuitive and fun to play. building and testing this really helped me get back to the basics, climb out of the post-pokeaaa 2 slump i was going through, and remind myself why i love this tier so much. please draft me in aaapl



Wham! (Keldeo) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Primordial Sea
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Secret Sword
- Flip Turn
- Vacuum Wave
keldeo does the thing it usually does. it feels pretty cheap, and it totally works. i don't think i've actually clicked vacuum wave yet but i have definitely bluffed it before. in my heart of hearts this should be hydro pump but i needed consistency on ladder during playtesting.


Bam! (Rillaboom) @ Choice Band
Ability: Long Reach
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Grassy Glide
- Wood Hammer
- U-turn
- Knock Off
long reach is a really cool tech for rilla, allowing it to bypass fluffy as well as safely pivot on heatran, corviknight, and zapdos. between damage mitigation and the recovery from grassy terrain, long reach rilla is usually at high enough health that you can rely on it to tank one neutral hit. importantly, rilla synergizes well with keldeo, and the priority is very nice to have especially in the face of weatherspeed.


Shang-a-lang (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect
- Stealth Rock
heatran rounds out the core of powerful attackers, even while uninvested. speed is theoretically for crawdaunt (in practice it's mostly for other heatran lol), while spdef eases the reliance on slowking's shadow shield. protect is like *really* useful, it has obvious synergy with grassy terrain and magma storm, but it also provides a significant advantage against the many, many choiced attackers in this tier. i am a fan


and a (Corviknight) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog
Banded Body Press — 11:52 AM
Look me in the forehead and tell me there’s something cooler than pivoting to Corviknight


sha-la-la-la (Slowking) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Shadow Shield
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Chilly Reception
- Slack Off
- Future Sight
- Scald
nomming this thing to S+ on the INCOMING VR UPDATE. chilly reception/scald/future sight are the only buttons you ever really click, thunder wave or coverage didn't really benefit this team so i went with the rather niche slack off instead, which refreshes shadow shield as long as you're above 17%. also allows it to stunt on latios that try to slap it with a second draco on the presumed chilly reception pivot, as well as capitalize on forced switches in scenarios like predicting a choice-locked fighting move.


la-la thiiing (Great Tusk) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Headlong Rush
- Ice Spinner
- Rapid Spin
this is not a regenvester. this is a bulky tusk set that happens to run both regenerator and assault vest. tusk no longer competes with garchomp for the role of regen bulky ground type and it feels GREAT. obviously knock + spin are staples, headlong was the STAB of choice while ice spinner shores up a few matchups i didn't like dealing with (mostly flying types and opposing grounds). i really like jolly + max HP because of its absurd bulk compouned by regen, and the more niche protosynthesis speed boost. assault vest was an accident really, i took stealth rock off in favor of ice spinner and didn't really need the utility of lefties, boots, helmet, or pads, and AV with max hp investment tanks a lot of stuff tusk really shouldn't be able to.

assorted calcs

-2 252 SpA Choice Specs Dragon's Maw Latios Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Great Tusk: 264-312 (60.8 - 71.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Pecharunt Hex (130 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Great Tusk: 139-165 (32 - 38%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after toxic damage
252+ SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Great Tusk in Harsh Sunshine: 298-352 (68.6 - 81.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after trapping damage
252 SpA Tornadus-Therian Bleakwind Storm vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Great Tusk: 320-380 (73.7 - 87.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Slowking-Galar Future Sight vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Great Tusk: 312-368 (71.8 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Iron Moth Solar Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Great Tusk: 306-362 (70.5 - 83.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Hydrapple Giga Drain vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Great Tusk: 369-437 (85 - 100.6%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

once again, this is not a regenvest pokemon and you should not treat it as such, it is a great tusk set that is able to tank a few clutch special hits.

DANGERS AND DIFFICULTIES:
you will simply have to predict against these like your life depends on it (it does)
corrosion is really annoying (even if gterrain eases the pain), make sure tusk is the one that gets statused, poison can be healed off and importantly stops tusk from getting burned or paralyzed.
fast attackers with STAB that threatens my switch-ins to them. each can be dealt and you can definitely keep yourself in an advantageous position against them.

anyways i still love the tier. always will. i miss chomp and mamo and dislike that weatherspeed added like 6 more regielekis to the game. we roll with the punches. stay tuned for updates

 

[recycleyourstyrofoam]

Terrain actually has to be the most comical archetype. Some of these abusers are absolutely hilarious to see in action. This isn't a team dump as much as a team condemnation because there's some pretty scary matchups with these guys, but I can guarantee you stall won't be a problem very often.

Invasion of the Body Catchers

Glowking - Any Regen pivot can work here tbh. I personally like Glowking because Chilly lets you switch on Desolate Land and Water Absorbers over Alo, but to be totally honest either can work here.

Iron Jugulis - Deceptively strong, it's super satisfying to just sit on the field clicking Dark Pulse forever. Beads of Ruin helps to give it that last little boost to break past some frailer RegenVests.

Iron Hands - The evil we were meant to destroy. Only thrown on since I needed a Dark resist that wouldn't get 2 shot by every Dark move in the tier.

Iron Leaves - This thing has taken lives. You think you're safe with that Corv cause of your resist to both STABs and that U-turn hidden as that fourth move? Nah take this 252 Atk Choice Band Sharpness Iron Leaves Power Spot boosted Sacred Sword vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 200-236 (50.1 - 59.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO TO THE DOME (power spot stands for the Quark Drive boost). And Psyblade in terrain does almost the exact same amount. This mon will actually just take 5 lives off rip sometimes. It's absolutely incredible, if there's any real reason to use terrain it's for Sharpness Iron Leaves. IT'S NOT A BUM MON

Thundurus-T - A panic "don't lose to AV Pert" button. Surge Surfer absolutely sweeps people off their feet, it's pretty unexpected from my experience. Nasty Plot Tbolts in terrain obviously hits super hard, and the fourth slot here is pretty flexible too. Personally, I enjoyed Weather Ball to profit from the Glowking pivot, but it's really up to personal preference here.

Reginald - This set is kinda ass I'm not going to lie. You probably want something else over four electric moves but it doesn't even matter cause you're only clicking the big one. Let's do some math real quick. Explosion starts out at 250 base power. Galvanize puts that to 300 base power. (250 * 1.2) Transistor puts that up to 390 base power. (300 * 1.3) Terrain puts that up to 507 base power. (390*1.3) Finally, STAB puts that at 760 base power. Maybe this is a potential set, but you genuinely just kill any mon that isn't immune. There's not a single quad electric resist allowed as of right now in Gen 9, and you actually just kill absolutely any resist with that type of base power. In most games, you are getting a trade up since this set sucks so much.

Still an absolute blast of a tier to play. I thought the tier would die down after it stopped being OM Mashup of the Month, but it's only gotten more fun. Thank you council for banning Gliscor like two months ago so Big Terrain can regain glory.

 

[Faux Focalors Furina]

Terrain actually has to be the most comical archetype. Some of these abusers are absolutely hilarious to see in action. This isn't a team dump as much as a team condemnation because there's some pretty scary matchups with these guys, but I can guarantee you stall won't be a problem very often.

Invasion of the Body Catchers

Glowking - Any Regen pivot can work here tbh. I personally like Glowking because Chilly lets you switch on Desolate Land and Water Absorbers over Alo, but to be totally honest either can work here.

Iron Jugulis - Deceptively strong, it's super satisfying to just sit on the field clicking Dark Pulse forever. Beads of Ruin helps to give it that last little boost to break past some frailer RegenVests.

Iron Hands - The evil we were meant to destroy. Only thrown on since I needed a Dark resist that wouldn't get 2 shot by every Dark move in the tier.

Iron Leaves - This thing has taken lives. You think you're safe with that Corv cause of your resist to both STABs and that U-turn hidden as that fourth move? Nah take this 252 Atk Choice Band Sharpness Iron Leaves Power Spot boosted Sacred Sword vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 200-236 (50.1 - 59.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO TO THE DOME (power spot stands for the Quark Drive boost). And Psyblade in terrain does almost the exact same amount. This mon will actually just take 5 lives off rip sometimes. It's absolutely incredible, if there's any real reason to use terrain it's for Sharpness Iron Leaves. IT'S NOT A BUM MON

Thundurus-T - A panic "don't lose to AV Pert" button. Surge Surfer absolutely sweeps people off their feet, it's pretty unexpected from my experience. Nasty Plot Tbolts in terrain obviously hits super hard, and the fourth slot here is pretty flexible too. Personally, I enjoyed Weather Ball to profit from the Glowking pivot, but it's really up to personal preference here.

Reginald - This set is kinda ass I'm not going to lie. You probably want something else over four electric moves but it doesn't even matter cause you're only clicking the big one. Let's do some math real quick. Explosion starts out at 250 base power. Galvanize puts that to 300 base power. (250 * 1.2) Transistor puts that up to 390 base power. (300 * 1.3) Terrain puts that up to 507 base power. (390*1.3) Finally, STAB puts that at 760 base power. Maybe this is a potential set, but you genuinely just kill any mon that isn't immune. There's not a single quad electric resist allowed as of right now in Gen 9, and you actually just kill absolutely any resist with that type of base power. In most games, you are getting a trade up since this set sucks so much.

Still an absolute blast of a tier to play. I thought the tier would die down after it stopped being OM Mashup of the Month, but it's only gotten more fun. Thank you council for banning Gliscor like two months ago so Big Terrain can regain glory.

I fought you before and it's a awesome team but I'll have to mention that a ground type + lokix core could be a huge threat to this team. You probably need to drop eq/supercell for ice punch or do the standard refriegerate eleki for better coverage (galvanize is huge and cool but risky I'll just say plus there will be stray va users put there like Dozo or Alo). There might be some other threats for this team but I think you can handle them well, just wanted to mention the biggest threat for your team.

 

[UltraSword]

So... I hit rank 1 again really quickly (I only dropped like 100 elo or so tbf) with a new team that has been performing really well. View attachment 847832

I'm not gonna like, make a whole big ol' fancy ish run down of the team, but I wanna share it anyways and give some thoughts on the mons that I think make it stand out.

Eggy Semi-Stall (weatherspeed is busted, who woulda thunk lol)
https://pokepast.es/e4a4ed8d8b7deef2

Exeggutor @ Life Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
Rash Nature
- Giga Drain
- Growth
- Low Kick
- Psychic

So Eggy needs to be banned ASAP. Like, sure, Corvi walls it. THAT'S IT. It outspeeds and wallbreaks so many fucking things, and god forbid you let it get a Growth off it will literally threaten to sweep your entire team. Low Kick at +2 with 0 investment and a Rash nature ALWAYS OHKOs SPD HEATRAN (and does 84 MIN TO PHYSDEF). And like, it's not super hard to switch it in? Like, yes, it has an awful typing, but with Deso it has a water immunity which makes it a lot easier to bring in (or just threatens out something with a fast grass or psychic attack).

Alomomola (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fluffy
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Flip Turn
- Wish
- Rain Dance

Fish

Corviknight (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn

Bird

Incineroar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Flare Blitz
- Fake Out

AV SpD Incin actually feels pretty alright? Has nice utility in Intimidate, Knock, Uturn and Fake Out pressure, and a really solid defensive typing. Not the greatest thing ever, but genuinely pretty ok if you can keep hazards off the field. Also serves as a Meow check (LOW KICK ISN'T REAL)

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock
- Heal Bell

I have been experimenting more with Chansey > Blissey and the added bulk feels really nice. Not being able to use SBall to pressure ghosts like Poltea and Pecha sucks, but that's what Incin is for. Just very tanky and Heal Bell is one of the best moves in the game.

Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 0 Spe
- Transform

Ditto stays amazing, anti-stall and offense all in one that is immune to hazards. I'd actually say Ditto is even BETTER now that it doesn't take up your sole Magic Guard slot so you can use something like Talon or Crown alongside it.​

I have been using this team and it is pretty cool. I am not that great at the game so I can't really use it to it's full potential but what I like about it is that it barely feels like a stall team (which I guess it is called semi-stall but still).

However that is not what I want to talk about. The real story is RegenVest Incineroar which I think deserves to be nominated to...probably like B- at least? Even if I think it is better than that regenvest is probably the only thing worth using so it is probably a bit predictable. What makes it different from other regenvest users is that Incineroar has intimidate and unlike Landorus T who also has intimidate Incineroar has fake out and knock off which are both incredible tools. On top of that though it has a great typing for want it wants to do since it has no 4 times weaknesses and has deceptively great bulk that allows it to do stuff like be one of the better answers to Meowscarada (though u-turn hurts still). It does have some issues though such as still struggling into the best offensive fighting and waters like H-Samurott and Keldeo (thank you secret sword.) and being stealth rock weak but if you are looking for a bulky fire type that isn't Heatran I think Incineroar is a good second option.

(Even in gen 9 it is still crazy how they gave this mon such a god like moveset even if it is best used in doubles.)

 

[Schpoonman]

I used a Kleavor-boosted Iron Leaves in Frantic Fusions a few years ago, can confirm that Sharpness makes you pop OFF. Psyblade requires 4x resists and sometimes an immunity, Wild Charge getting a little Electric Terrain boost to goob Corviknight and others is just gravy. Gen 5 staying on top.

 

[adriancosmoem]

Some pre-AAAPL noms to get some thoughts going. I have many more but I will save those for a later time

A- > UR
B+ > UR
Deserved

A > S
Best setter in the tier by far. You don't have to choose between bulk and hazards like in AAA, nat vessel solves everything. Helm is my favorite item on it to punish uturn, knock, and hatt dkiss. Combined with ruin and spikes it's free progress. It's obvs great vs fat for this reason, but also great vs offense bc it has the bulk to trade with them and it has good atk + strong dual stab. It feels so impossible to stop this thing without specific regens, kind of the only reason stack has a leg to stand on in the current meta

S > A+
This is gonna be a long one, since I have a lot to say here, and for this mon in particular it feels like I really need to explain things slow. Will spoiler so it doesn't eat up the rest of the page lol

Meow Nom

Meow was better before the changes, mainly cause the nat regens all hard lost to it except for like physdef torn-t who was really only a midground. This made meow stack really strong cause you could guarantee pressure 1 regen on their team. However with the advent of 2ac this is no longer the case. Anybody can run regen or mg now which hurts stack as it really wants to prey on lack of longevity. In addition some stack goodies in mamo & chomp have left tier and hat can now run regen for free while blocking 90% of setters. I also think removal's better in this tier than AAA with stuff like corv, tusk, talon, glimm etc being more reliable at that job due to stuff like 2ac, nat abilities, or one of the best blockers in ghold being banned. This is on top of strong stack tools not being in this tier to begin with such as the aforementioned ghold, moon, hearthflame, and gambit (with nat defiant). Stack is in a worse place than before, no doubt about it

So why even bring up stack this much on a meow nom? Because stack is by far the strongest archetype for meow. With hazards impeding lots of potential counterplay like intim/fluffy mons and with so many regens being vulnerable to meow, it was able to be very oppressive on these structures. These structures are just not as good anymore following the changes. Without stack, meow just can't pressure some of its best checks like corv and peach as easily. Without this it's a hazard-weak wincon that gets turbowalled by common mons. It also does not have a good defensive profile, sporting a ton of common weaknesses and fake resists (do you actually want to switch this in on knock, volt/flip, thunder, or scald?). This defensive profile is a big deal, since it means the meow user needs make or break reads, otherwise they risk heavy consequences. Let's compare to band sor zama in AAA: it has to read stay in or switch out, but if it gets it wrong, then it usually has the bulk/type to live anyway. If meow gets the same predict wrong it can easily just die. Meow's viability was also damaged in more direct ways than stack nerfs. 2ac, while nerfing stack, also nerfs meow itself as it gives checks more chances to use regen. Its inability to always threaten 1 regen means it cannot force predictable plays from its opponent consistently. Weatherspeeding is a hit to its speed tier and adds more revenge killers. In many mus it's relegated to a knockturn bot, in part because its best check breaker is a ~73% accurate move, so hoping that it works is not attractive

There are a lot of good checks for meow (). These mons are good in this meta and you'd put them on your team for reasons other than meow. There are also several niche picks / sets or midgrounds that do well into it, though they might need certain sets or lose to certain sets (weatherspeed). With this many checks it's hard to risk band and make yourself super hazard weak. However if you go anything else you pressure checks even less. An actual S-tier wincon would not have to make these kinds of decisions, and this is why it saw such low OMMPL usage

Also, people do not understand meow and this makes it hard to discuss it. First, people do not understand SETS for this mon. The only good meow sets are band/boots adapt and lo/barb mg. Scarf is okay but it's a ct to like 3 mons, half the mons scarf is good against in AAA are nerfed or banned here. Sor + protean is a waste of time compared to adapt & also does not boost your damage vs other sor mons. Let's please stop talking about unviable abilities like long reach, misty surge, and air lock. Non-amp meow is B rank in OU, a tier where stack is way better, so you're kidding yourself if you think it breaks in a tier with much stronger defenses. We are wasting lots of time talking about sets that shouldn't see the light of day. Second, people do not understand COUNTERPLAY for this mon. For whatever reason, there's this belief in OMMs that a mon isn't a check unless it can switch in 500 times and always win, even if the opponent gets every turn right, and also if it can get lured ever then it's not a check. It'd be one thing if it was ladder players saying this but I have heard this from several OMM councils. It also creates this double standard where the opposing mon has to have endless longevity to be a check, but the longevity of meow is never questioned when it's one of the easiest mons to chip/status. It's not that hard to check in reality. Overall meow has a lot of counterplay and has to go for risks for substantial progress. Its lack of defensive prowess makes it tough to take advantage of its power. These traits put it in A+ for me

A > A+
I'd rate this on the same level of phys pivot as mola, I think they should be the same tier. They check similar mons, one is more proactive and one has nat regen. Poison puppeteer is also cool to fuck with people setting up in front of you

A > A+
It's so hard to answer this mon, it has literally everything you'd ever want. Speed, power, bulk, moveset, set variety, offensive and defensive prowess for miles, there's nowhere that torn fails. Np is super difficult to answer long-term and it's one of the most reliable pivots in the tier. My only real issue with it is that the bulk isn't as high as it wants, so it's not hard to lure or force out. However I still think it belongs above lati/tran/glow/talon etc who all have more notable shortcomings

B- > A+
Wtf this thing is crazy low. Regenvest is arguably better here than in AAA with liquid voice giving it super spammable water psynoise and torrent + regen obvs being good. It also checks very relevant stuff like keld, zama, corv, hsam, skewda, and talon. You don't even miss out on coverage without psynoise, you have psychic too. I know regen overlaps with mola or whatever but you can run like glow or torn with this no problem, and now with 2ac you don't even have to pair this with a nat regen. Offensive isn't as good to me cause meta is hostile to it, but regen is top notch

A- > A
Underrated mon. Sd forces hilariously predictable plays from opponent because there are almost no checks to full hp talon, so they have to just swing at it. Flame body punishes the attempts to break gale with uturn, often creating lose-lose scenarios. Talon has lots of underxplored sets as well. One example is fluffy, which lets talon use its typing, speed, and burns from flame body / wisp to check mons like meow, rilla, zama, lando, tusk, and lokix. Another is desoland which allows it to check keld and wellspring, two of the biggest breakers rn. It's also quite a good defogger due to its speed with moves like wisp and taunt to debilitate setters. It can pretty much do whatever you want

A- > A
4a isn't as good for me as in AAA, but ironpress is ridiculous with dauntless esp with chesto rest. It's fantastic anti-offense since it has the bulk to trade with anything. The ghold ban def helps it as well. Corv can hardly pivot on it even with physdef cause it is not winning the bb vs press trade. Not S for me because it has some pretty easy to slot answers like peach, stail, hatt & dirge, but it will beat most things easily

B+ > A-
With 2ac back and complexes gone tusk is better than before. Unlike AAA, regen is a great spinner since it has a good mu into a lot of setters and mamo's exile made levi dirge way less common. 2ac makes it easier to run regen as well. Offtusk is also neat since it can run booster and another ability, and it's great at making progress with stuff like rocks and knock. Sadly I can't put it higher since it has quite a few new checks it doesn't have to deal with in AAA like mola, hatt, talon, and keld. Meanwhile mons it checks, like gambit and moon, were banned

B > A-
2ac breathed new life into this mon, running regen on it is now free. Regen hatt is one of the few mons that can reliably block lu, in fact it blocks just about every spiker in the tier and like half the rockers as well. With pnoise + nuzzle + split it also makes progress pretty freely. It has deceptively high longevity as well. Cm stamina sets are neat too, taking advantage of some setters that might try to force past it. It's like the only one that can deal with no stored bc of effective status and phaze immunity. It's just a good underrated mon

 

[EtherealLouser]

B- > A+
Wtf this thing is crazy low. Regenvest is arguably better here than in AAA with liquid voice giving it super spammable water psynoise and torrent + regen obvs being good. It also checks very relevant stuff like keld, zama, corv, hsam, skewda, and talon. You don't even miss out on coverage without psynoise, you have psychic too. I know regen overlaps with mola or whatever but you can run like glow or torn with this no problem, and now with 2ac you don't even have to pair this with a nat regen. Offensive isn't as good to me cause meta is hostile to it, but regen is top notch

It definitely isn't B- tier now, but I'd counter and say RegenVest is not as good here as it is in AAA because there is so much more Water immunities you have to deal with: Deso Heatran is more popular here, Wellspring too, Clod, and the various DesoChloro users like Vileplume, Eggy, etc. As a physdef Water, its still outclassed by Alo even with the Fire (cuz Mola runs Fluffy like half the time), Fighting and Dark resists for the most part, but it still deserves A- at least because it's a physdef Water that can compress a Keldeo and Dragon check into one slot which is dope.

 

[adriancosmoem]

It definitely isn't B- tier now, but I'd counter and say RegenVest is not as good here as it is in AAA because there is so much more Water immunities you have to deal with: Deso Heatran is more popular here, Wellspring too, Clod, and the various DesoChloro users like Vileplume, Eggy, etc. As a physdef Water, its still outclassed by Alo even with the Fire (cuz Mola runs Fluffy like half the time), Fighting and Dark resists for the most part, but it still deserves A- at least because it's a physdef Water that can compress a Keldeo and Dragon check into one slot which is dope.

Ngl the only valid one you mentioned is clod, deso tran is majorly overrated and everyone else gets chunked by other moves. Funny you mention them against prima and then compare mola favorably cause mola suffers a lot harder against them. Which is the problem with mola, it's passive in a high power tier and invites stuff in. Prima is much more proactive and hardly allows the opponent to take momentum. Considering they both sidegrade each other they should be the same tier

 

[Lavender Vice]

Some pre-AAAPL noms to get some thoughts going. I have many more but I will save those for a later time

A- > UR
B+ > UR
Deserved

A > S
Best setter in the tier by far. You don't have to choose between bulk and hazards like in AAA, nat vessel solves everything. Helm is my favorite item on it to punish uturn, knock, and hatt dkiss. Combined with ruin and spikes it's free progress. It's obvs great vs fat for this reason, but also great vs offense bc it has the bulk to trade with them and it has good atk + strong dual stab. It feels so impossible to stop this thing without specific regens, kind of the only reason stack has a leg to stand on in the current meta

S > A+
This is gonna be a long one, since I have a lot to say here, and for this mon in particular it feels like I really need to explain things slow. Will spoiler so it doesn't eat up the rest of the page lol

Meow Nom

Meow was better before the changes, mainly cause the nat regens all hard lost to it except for like physdef torn-t who was really only a midground. This made meow stack really strong cause you could guarantee pressure 1 regen on their team. However with the advent of 2ac this is no longer the case. Anybody can run regen or mg now which hurts stack as it really wants to prey on lack of longevity. In addition some stack goodies in mamo & chomp have left tier and hat can now run regen for free while blocking 90% of setters. I also think removal's better in this tier than AAA with stuff like corv, tusk, talon, glimm etc being more reliable at that job due to stuff like 2ac, nat abilities, or one of the best blockers in ghold being banned. This is on top of strong stack tools not being in this tier to begin with such as the aforementioned ghold, moon, hearthflame, and gambit (with nat defiant). Stack is in a worse place than before, no doubt about it

So why even bring up stack this much on a meow nom? Because stack is by far the strongest archetype for meow. With hazards impeding lots of potential counterplay like intim/fluffy mons and with so many regens being vulnerable to meow, it was able to be very oppressive on these structures. These structures are just not as good anymore following the changes. Without stack, meow just can't pressure some of its best checks like corv and peach as easily. Without this it's a hazard-weak wincon that gets turbowalled by common mons. It also does not have a good defensive profile, sporting a ton of common weaknesses and fake resists (do you actually want to switch this in on knock, volt/flip, thunder, or scald?). This defensive profile is a big deal, since it means the meow user needs make or break reads, otherwise they risk heavy consequences. Let's compare to band sor zama in AAA: it has to read stay in or switch out, but if it gets it wrong, then it usually has the bulk/type to live anyway. If meow gets the same predict wrong it can easily just die. Meow's viability was also damaged in more direct ways than stack nerfs. 2ac, while nerfing stack, also nerfs meow itself as it gives checks more chances to use regen. Its inability to always threaten 1 regen means it cannot force predictable plays from its opponent consistently. Weatherspeeding is a hit to its speed tier and adds more revenge killers. In many mus it's relegated to a knockturn bot, in part because its best check breaker is a ~73% accurate move, so hoping that it works is not attractive

There are a lot of good checks for meow (). These mons are good in this meta and you'd put them on your team for reasons other than meow. There are also several niche picks / sets or midgrounds that do well into it, though they might need certain sets or lose to certain sets (weatherspeed). With this many checks it's hard to risk band and make yourself super hazard weak. However if you go anything else you pressure checks even less. An actual S-tier wincon would not have to make these kinds of decisions, and this is why it saw such low OMMPL usage

Also, people do not understand meow and this makes it hard to discuss it. First, people do not understand SETS for this mon. The only good meow sets are band/boots adapt and lo/barb mg. Scarf is okay but it's a ct to like 3 mons, half the mons scarf is good against in AAA are nerfed or banned here. Sor + protean is a waste of time compared to adapt & also does not boost your damage vs other sor mons. Let's please stop talking about unviable abilities like long reach, misty surge, and air lock. Non-amp meow is B rank in OU, a tier where stack is way better, so you're kidding yourself if you think it breaks in a tier with much stronger defenses. We are wasting lots of time talking about sets that shouldn't see the light of day. Second, people do not understand COUNTERPLAY for this mon. For whatever reason, there's this belief in OMMs that a mon isn't a check unless it can switch in 500 times and always win, even if the opponent gets every turn right, and also if it can get lured ever then it's not a check. It'd be one thing if it was ladder players saying this but I have heard this from several OMM councils. It also creates this double standard where the opposing mon has to have endless longevity to be a check, but the longevity of meow is never questioned when it's one of the easiest mons to chip/status. It's not that hard to check in reality. Overall meow has a lot of counterplay and has to go for risks for substantial progress. Its lack of defensive prowess makes it tough to take advantage of its power. These traits put it in A+ for me

A > A+
I'd rate this on the same level of phys pivot as mola, I think they should be the same tier. They check similar mons, one is more proactive and one has nat regen. Poison puppeteer is also cool to fuck with people setting up in front of you

A > A+
It's so hard to answer this mon, it has literally everything you'd ever want. Speed, power, bulk, moveset, set variety, offensive and defensive prowess for miles, there's nowhere that torn fails. Np is super difficult to answer long-term and it's one of the most reliable pivots in the tier. My only real issue with it is that the bulk isn't as high as it wants, so it's not hard to lure or force out. However I still think it belongs above lati/tran/glow/talon etc who all have more notable shortcomings

B- > A+
Wtf this thing is crazy low. Regenvest is arguably better here than in AAA with liquid voice giving it super spammable water psynoise and torrent + regen obvs being good. It also checks very relevant stuff like keld, zama, corv, hsam, skewda, and talon. You don't even miss out on coverage without psynoise, you have psychic too. I know regen overlaps with mola or whatever but you can run like glow or torn with this no problem, and now with 2ac you don't even have to pair this with a nat regen. Offensive isn't as good to me cause meta is hostile to it, but regen is top notch

A- > A
Underrated mon. Sd forces hilariously predictable plays from opponent because there are almost no checks to full hp talon, so they have to just swing at it. Flame body punishes the attempts to break gale with uturn, often creating lose-lose scenarios. Talon has lots of underxplored sets as well. One example is fluffy, which lets talon use its typing, speed, and burns from flame body / wisp to check mons like meow, rilla, zama, lando, tusk, and lokix. Another is desoland which allows it to check keld and wellspring, two of the biggest breakers rn. It's also quite a good defogger due to its speed with moves like wisp and taunt to debilitate setters. It can pretty much do whatever you want

A- > A
4a isn't as good for me as in AAA, but ironpress is ridiculous with dauntless esp with chesto rest. It's fantastic anti-offense since it has the bulk to trade with anything. The ghold ban def helps it as well. Corv can hardly pivot on it even with physdef cause it is not winning the bb vs press trade. Not S for me because it has some pretty easy to slot answers like peach, stail, hatt & dirge, but it will beat most things easily

B+ > A-
With 2ac back and complexes gone tusk is better than before. Unlike AAA, regen is a great spinner since it has a good mu into a lot of setters and mamo's exile made levi dirge way less common. 2ac makes it easier to run regen as well. Offtusk is also neat since it can run booster and another ability, and it's great at making progress with stuff like rocks and knock. Sadly I can't put it higher since it has quite a few new checks it doesn't have to deal with in AAA like mola, hatt, talon, and keld. Meanwhile mons it checks, like gambit and moon, were banned

B > A-
2ac breathed new life into this mon, running regen on it is now free. Regen hatt is one of the few mons that can reliably block lu, in fact it blocks just about every spiker in the tier and like half the rockers as well. With pnoise + nuzzle + split it also makes progress pretty freely. It has deceptively high longevity as well. Cm stamina sets are neat too, taking advantage of some setters that might try to force past it. It's like the only one that can deal with no stored bc of effective status and phaze immunity. It's just a good underrated mon

I personally wholly disagree with Prima being good, I frankly do not see what people see in it. Liquid Voice Psychic Noise is nice and all, and fairy/water is an amazing typing (arguably the best in the game), but it is NOT that bulky compared to Mola.
Now, granted, I am a Fluffy Mola truther and think that it is by and away THE best physical pivot in the tier and nothing comes close to it, but I fail to see what Prima brings to the table that justifies its absolutely abysmal comparitive bulk to either Mola or Slowking. You lose to so many physical attackers and take way too much from neutral hits in exchange for hitting Corvi all while being eaten alive by one of the most common and best fires in the tier in Heatran.

+1 252+ Atk Guts Ursaring Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fluffy Alomomola: 234-276 (43.8 - 51.6%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Guts Ursaring Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Primarina: 492-579 (135.1 - 159%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zamazenta Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Primarina: 161-190 (44.2 - 52.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zamazenta Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fluffy Alomomola: 153-181 (28.6 - 33.8%) -- 1% chance to 3HKO

LIke, it's not AS passive as Mola (actually, no, I won't say that. Mola has Scald over Prima so even if it can't threaten with damage it can threaten tons of threats out with Burn or just outlast them through sheer bulk), but these calcs are atrocious in comparison, not to mention the other support qualities and status immunity you get with running Mola. (And don't get me started on comparing it with Slowking. Slowking is genuinely imo just a better in almost every single regard special pivot as well). Putting it anywhere NEAR A tier is a crime imho

 

[sleepyfwog]

I'll take some time to explore some of my thoughts on these noms.
I think there should be a little more choice on deciding what goes in A+ as you've nommed a lot to A+ and I'd rather be some separation to not clutter A+ specifically up.

I'd say Torn is what I would probably most agree with going to A+, I loved using Mguard with Knock + Plot on fatter teams that has excellent longevity and wears spdef answers down, and defensive abilities are still solid.

Pecha is good, I think it should honestly go A+ and mola to go down to A, mola feels much more exploitable to me.

Primarina might be clouded by the fact that I think it's trash in regular AAA and my opinion hasn't much improved of it here. I feel it does a middling job on both sides of the defensive spectrum
252+ Atk Life Orb Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Primarina: 177-211 (48.6 - 57.9%) -- 95.7% chance to 2HKO
Albeit it probably deserves to be higher up but overall I don't like Primarina in general and Poke doesn't change it at all.

Maybe I would've agreed with Zama nom earlier in the meta but a good anti-offense mon imo loses a lot of luster now as I think more offense builds overall suffered negatively with the meta shifts, and I feel it is not as good as a breaker as many other mons.

I don't like defensive talon at all, since it's main advantages over moltres is its higher speed, taunt, and defog. Talon really struggles to utilize its speed since it is so naturally frail and taking advantage of its speed horribly cuts into its bulk. Arguably it could rise though since mglo is crazy good priority.

Hatterene I would hesitate a bit and go to B+, it definitely appreciates some of these changes (I personally prefer intimidate, regen isn't super well spent on hatt when you mainly come in on more passive mons and painsplit it off anyways, and intimidate lets you better block offensive setters, RIP Chomp).

Tusk might deserve a rise but rn in this meta I feel its defensive presence is quite shaky, being weak to many of the offensive mons in the tier, so I wouldn't support an rise just yet.

Oh meow def fell off but still good if you're great at reads, use boosting ability, I don't want a mon that doesn't take ohkos.

 

[Lavender Vice]

Another team, even LESS effort going into this one gang lmfao, I am making way too many of these. Peaked 1669 with it.

https://pokepast.es/34ee32207bdb9bd4

Pelipper @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
Modest Nature
- Weather Ball
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn

Slowking-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Shadow Shield
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Sludge Bomb
- Future Sight
- Chilly Reception
- Earthquake

Alomomola @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Flip Turn
- Wish
- Mirror Coat

Ting-Lu @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Earthquake
- Ruination

Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 0 Spe
- Transform



It's REALLY basic and standard as a semi-stall/bulky balance team except with Peli. Peli is also bonkers broken strong, being able to sling off an amazing combo of STAB Flying/Water special moves while punishing basically any switch-in to it with Knock such as AV users like Hoodra or Heatran crippling it for the rest of the game by knocking its lefties. Oh btw it outspeeds fucking everything in the format (I gave it enough speed to outspeed 295s with a scarf such as Hamu) and has passive recovery in Rain Dish.

Now, whether that further proves my take that weatherspeed was a fucking massive mistake and is incredibly unhealthy for the tier, well, that's up to personal interpretation. Enjoy the team lovelies lmao

 

[Faux Focalors Furina]

Now, whether that further proves my take that weatherspeed was a fucking massive mistake and is incredibly unhealthy for the tier, well, that's up to personal interpretation. Enjoy the team lovelies lmao

You got any suggestions on how to use weatherspeed efficiently? It could be low ladder cheese but I seem to struggle using a weatherspeed mon well :")

 

[Lavender Vice]

You got any suggestions on how to use weatherspeed efficiently? It could be low ladder cheese but I seem to struggle using a weatherspeed mon well :")

Treating it like any other frail fast offensive mon tbh (and depends on the weather speed Mon). Barra is sorta like Lokix, but instead of prio it’s just the fastest god damn thing in the format. Eggy is a setup sweeper that you play slowly and wait for a good opportunity to come in and threaten something out like Pecha, and either blast something or setup a Growth and go doomslayer on the enemy’s asses. Peli is a wall breaker and can run either specs or LO and just sling out strong attacks while using knock to cripple switch ins. Ludi is kind of the same but really needs SE hits to get OHKOs it wants (but it also has Encore soooo).

Those are the main 4 I’ve gotten around to playing with so far. They’re all pretty basic fast ass attackers with not a ton to differentiate between them.

 

[Faux Focalors Furina]

Oh thanks for telling me which roles is which <3

I remember trying to do a mixed set-up shiftry but it's unfortunately suffering 4mss and vulnerable to prio + corv ;w;

 

[Lavender Vice]

ANOTHER team dump (I'm going kinda crazy) because this team has been doing a lot of work keeping me at or around rank 1 on ladder. So, to be frank, because I'm doing a LOT of playing rn and experimenting, and because I don't wanna completely spam teams, I wanna take these team dump times for the moment to talk about my thoughts on certain mons.

https://pokepast.es/02438d3ff2e81b36

So, Mr. Craw is still really damn good and an amazing wallbreaker, but Crawdaunt isn't what I wanna talk about- instead it's Fez. I am finding Fez to be a very underrated defensive pivot the more and more I play with it. It has a shockingly very strong typing, Poison/Fairy is a very potent combination and is able to handle a lot of the threats the tier throws at it. Having both a dragon immunity and not being weak to poison is very handy, though being weak to the secondary attacks of both Lati and Drago isn't ideal, it has so much special bulk that it can usually take a hit and be relatively fine.

It's also quite fast, has Uturn and STAB Moonblast for things like Breloom and Crawdaunt, can run Taunt to screw with Corvis on a hazard stack team, and recovery in Roost so it isn't ever super passive if the opponent is able to handle its most powerful tool imo- Toxic Chain. It's an incredibly strong native ability, and while Corrosion cheese is great and all, basically turning it into a specially defensive Pecha, I feel like Corrosion doesn't really take advantage of its strengths. Poisoning things like Corvi and Pecha is amazing, don't get me wrong, but immunities really help strength its HP and make it wall a TON of threats. Volt Absorb for things like Iron Hands, giving safe(r) switch-ins to Zapdos and threaten it with a poison from Beat Up, Water Absorb to hard-wall Keldeo, brutalize Mola, Woger, etc., hilariously enough with 2 of our best Ground types being sent to the shadow realm I think Earth Eater is worse than these 2.

Lastly, to explain why I'd run Beat Up over Toxic because... I mean, surely you're using Beat Up JUST for the toxic chance right? Why not have it be guaranteed? And that's Glowking. With Technician, you genuinely threaten Glowking out instead of being hard-walled by it, and even uninvested and a team not built around it, it still does pretty respectable damage because of native Technician.

That's all I really wanted to take about, Fez is a really neat mon and while not the 'best' mon in the format, definitely one I feel is overlooked when it has a lot of neat defensive and offensive utility that sets it apart from every other mon in the format.


Crawdaunt @ Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Crunch
- Aqua Jet
- Liquidation

Alomomola (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fluffy
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Flip Turn
- Wish
- Rain Dance

Corviknight (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Tablets of Ruin
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn

Ting-Lu @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Ruination
- Throat Chop

Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 0 Spe
- Transform

Fezandipiti (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- U-turn
- Roost
- Beat Up

 

[Miss Crisis]

PokeAAA is doing another survey!
Respond using this link to give us your thoughts on the metagame, its recent changes, and path going forward!

 

[mason75]

PokeAAA is doing another survey!
Respond using this link to give us your thoughts on the metagame, its recent changes, and path going forward!

Treating it like any other frail fast offensive mon tbh (and depends on the weather speed Mon). Barra is sorta like Lokix, but instead of prio it’s just the fastest god damn thing in the format. Eggy is a setup sweeper that you play slowly and wait for a good opportunity to come in and threaten something out like Pecha, and either blast something or setup a Growth and go doomslayer on the enemy’s asses. Peli is a wall breaker and can run either specs or LO and just sling out strong attacks while using knock to cripple switch ins. Ludi is kind of the same but really needs SE hits to get OHKOs it wants (but it also has Encore soooo).

Those are the main 4 I’ve gotten around to playing with so far. They’re all pretty basic fast ass attackers with not a ton to differentiate between them.

I tried Sand Rush Ttar for a minute and that seems decent all around nothing crazy, but I faced a Hippowdon that did insane damage! I’m curious to try with that next, I’m assuming it was also sand rush being that it already has Sand Force but I can’t remember. Could be a really strong breaker with access to non-contact STAB Earthquake and Sand Force boosted Stone Edges.

Edit: I doubt they were Sand Rush because not only is it really slow to begin with, it also appreciates an additional Atk boosting ability and or item. I ran some calcs…

252+ Atk Choice Band Sand Force Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 262-309 (49 - 57.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

252+ Atk Choice Band Sand Force Hippowdon Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 147-173 (36.8 - 43.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Hippowdon Ice Fang vs. 248 HP / 248+ Def Fluffy Hydrapple: 144-170 (34.6 - 40.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after sandstorm damage

It definitely was NOT Protean/Libero though… however I think it should’ve been. That would seem to mitigate breaking through the tougher walls and Regen cores in the tier. Gaining STAB to 2HKO Corv with Stone Edge, AND Hydrapple with Ice Fang unless they have intimidate or tablets of ruin sounds great!

 

[mason75]

Hello folks! This is Pig Perfect here, mason75 has been my smogon account since the beginning. Anyways… I have recently peaked #2 on the Pokebilities AAA ladder and while I was not able to get a top ladder rating like I hoped for, I’d like to share with you my team I worked so hard on crafting to achieve this level. I’m very proud of each Mon and set on the team, even if the meta has now changed and or adapted to handling it. This is one of, if not, the BEST teams I have built in both effectiveness and consistency. Now without further to do, I present to you…

https://pokepast.es/e5358a668778a686
Munkidori Glowking Larp Balance V.32.9

Lolamalol (Alomomola) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fluffy
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flip Turn
- Protect
- Scald
- Wish

Good Boy Hunting (Arcanine) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Flare Blitz
- Morning Sun

Neverbored. (Corviknight) (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Brave Bird
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn

Pastor of Muppets (Hydreigon) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Dragon Pulse
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn

D.K.R.E.A.M. (Munkidori) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Fake Out
- Future Sight
- Psychic Noise
- U-turn

Pawky Talky (Pawmot) @ Punching Glove
Ability: Sword of Ruin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Focus Punch
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
- Thunder Punch

When I first sat down to learn and play this OM, I decided to challenge myself to use something I couldn’t in a standard SV OU team, yet I could in fact make use of here (and probably only here). I had the brilliant idea to take one Scarlet & Violet’s premier OU threats and staples in Slowking-Galar, and perhaps make it better, or if not better, at least give Munkidori a moment in the spotlight as an alternative to it. And thus, RegenVest Munkidori was born…

Munkidori has some great tools over Glowking in this format. For one, it’s lightning fast comparatively meaning that even with a Sassy nature, you hit 223 speed naturally outpacing most slow bulky walls, pivots, and even some breakers like Alo, Corv, Pecharunt, Bulky Glimmora, Adamant Mr. Craw and Tyranitar. This is useful as a fast Psychic Noise is way more impactful versus anything that can live the attack and heal itself because the Heal Block effect is only active for 2 turns, meaning that if they have Regenerator, they can constantly heal off your damage and never actually feel its effects. It’s by far the best move for Munkidori and keeps anything that isn’t a dark type, soundproof, or faster at bay. The 30% chance to Toxic is great in combination with Heal Block, letting you force out things that would normally wall you like opposing Psychic types. Fake Out + Toxic Chain + Frisk is arguably a great Lead in almost any scenario. Fishing for Toxic while being completely safe for a turn is sometimes all you need to successfully wear down a fast offensive threat through pivoting between Fluffy Alomomola with Protect and Flip Turn to bring Munki back in safely to do it again. Frisk is actually not bad here too letting you instantly scout your opponent’s items which isn’t usually necessary in most formats, but here that can give information as to what their ability might be, as that is now the key to figuring out how to beat them. U-turn is amazing over Chilly Reception in this instance as you can hit Dark Types AKA your biggest weakness for Super-Effective damage and potentially putting them on a timer while switching out. Future Sight is last to make it truly a Glowking Larp. Future Sight + Strong Physical Attackers like Arcanine and Pawmot is a good way to break through those Dark and Steel Types as they can usually take one or the other, not both. It should be noted that Future Sight DOES NOT activate Toxic Chain UNLESS you have a Toxic Chain user currently on the field. 252 HP, 4 Def, 252 Sp.Def w/ a Sassy Nature and an Assault Vest for being as tanky as possibly on the special side, and Regenerator to consistently heal and pivot as Munkidori lacks any form of reliable recovery.

Arcanine made its way on the team for a few good reasons. Originally I had Lokix as a strong priority attacker with the justification being its Bug/Dark typing resisting all of Munkidori’s weaknesses in Ghost, Dark, and Ground, but that was later reworked into the Hydreigon slot. Arcanine having Extreme Speed, Close-Combat, and Flash Fire gives it the edge over other E-Speed users as a Fire and Water immunity are pretty much MANDATORY in this format. Intimidate is a good buffer vs Physical attackers with damage boosting abilities that might bypass Fluffy on Alomomola, and Justified can be used to get an Atk boost if desirable, or at the very least stomach a Knock-Off and not be bothered with the loss of your Life Orb until you switch out. Close-Combat is necessary to hit Rock Types as they are more common in this format due to them being able to run useful immunity abilities to patch up their Water, Ground, or Grass weaknesses. Extreme Speed can pick off frailer or faster opponents usually after being chipped from all the Toxic, Rocky Helmet, and Stealth Rock chip. Morning Sun in the last slot isn’t all that important but reliable recovery is usually the best option when there isn’t much else to use. Wild Charge is decent into Water Types or Well-Baked-Body Corviknight but its damage is rather underwhelming. 240 HP, 252 Atk, 16 Spe with an Adamant Nature gives you a well rounded Bulky Attacker much like Dragonite in SV OU. 16 Spe evs hit 230 outpacing Neutral nature base 65 Spe mons like Scizor, and Jolly or Timid base 55 Spe mons like Crawdaunt. Magic Guard + Life Orb for maximizing your longevity and damage output all in one slot.

Hydreigon provides a good Speed tier with Scarf to generally clean up late game after things have been worn down while also having access to Stealth Rocks, something Meowscarada and Lokix lack. Stealth Rocks isn’t ideal on a scarf set but at least you really don’t need the 4th move on this Mon anyways, Mega Launcher Dark and Dragon Pulse are really strong to begin with, and U-turn is great for pivoting in either Arcanine or Pawmot on the Special Wall or Pivot they try to check you with. The typing and bulk is really desirable here as well. Meow and Lokix may share the same Ghost, Dark, and Ground resistances, however they are so frail they typically will take too much or straight up faint from even a strong RESISTED attack. Hydreigon is not only IMMUNE to ground and spikes thanks to Levitate, it actually can tank a resisted move or two from something extraordinarily powerful like Crawdaunt. 4 Def, 252 SpA, 252 Spe and a Timid nature to be as fast and threatening as possible.

Pawmot is the last I’ll go over as I think Alo and Corv need no explanation. Pawmot isn’t reviving here for once, it’s just punching you in the face. Sword of Ruin is capable of boosting lots of physical attackers to absurd heights, Pawmot is no exception. Making use of Iron Fist and the Punching Glove in conjunction with SOR lets you bypass Fluffy, Rocky Helmet and Rough Skin, and other potentially harmful contact effects letting you hit hard w/o worrying about Fluffy or potentially fainting to contact chip if you’re at low HP. Volt Absorb is elite and why this thing was chosen in the first place. Finding a ground type was a challenge for this team. I couldn’t justify running an Electric immunity that was defensive as I already had counter-measures to strong Hurricanes and Weather-Balls that they like to spam. I just needed a way to get in versus a Thunder and Pawmot takes advantage of that well. Natural Cure is an added bonus that comes in clutch versus Toxic + Corrosion mons as Arcanine cannot take them on alone, especially Glimmora. Focus Punch is a risky click but if you predict correctly, it will demolish anything in front of it. I tried several moves in this slot and I think this is the best bet. Close-Combat runs out of PP too quickly and gets walled by Fluffy mons, Mach Punch gets you more chances to bring Pawmot on the field yet can’t do any damage to its checks, and Low Kick is inconsistent. Please just use the almost 200 BP Sword of Ruin STAB boosted move, trust.
Ice Punch is a clean OHKO versus 4X weak mons like Fluffy Hydrapple and hits pretty much anything that resists Electric super hard. Knock-Off is pretty self explanatory right? Do I have to explain it because no other mon on the team gets it? There is that good enough? Anyways, last is Thunder Punch which is mostly what you’ll be spamming doing consistent damage and threatening Bulky Waters and Flying Types lacking Volt Absorb as there are a plethora of those types running around in this tier. 252 Atk, 4 SpDef, 252 Spe with an Adamant nature gives you enough speed to tie with Landorus-Therian and ensures you are hitting as hard as possible. Focus Punch is going to go last anyways, you might as well go all in on power.

 

[DiegoVstar]

Here’s a team I made in 5 minutes and can likely be improved further.

Here ya go

Ninetales @ Heat Rock
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Sp. Atk./ 252 Spd.
- Memento… and that’s it.

It’s here because of Drought, it learns Memento, and is a good lead with Prankster. Also I found a use for a bad mon in the format.

Meowscarada @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk./ 252 Spd.
- Flower Trick
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Triple Axel

I’ll rant about how broken this thing is and some counters to it later. Anyway, it’s literally the best Mon in the format rn (next to maybe Corviknight) with the standard set of it.

Cinderace @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk./ 252 Spd.
- Pyro Ball
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Gunk Shot

Man does this thing do damage. I played a game with this and it one-shot both Great Tusk and Latios. It’s very powerful to say the least. It is still vulnerable to Stealth Rock, but I have something to deal with that. Also yes, it has adaptability like Meowscarada. I double checked with the validator and it said my team was legal.

Great Tusk @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Atk./ 4 Sp. Def.
- Rapid Spin
- Headlong Rush
- Ice Spinner
- Knock Off

Your average RegenVest Rapid Spin user. Need I say more?

Ting Lu @ Leftovers
Ability: Tablets of Ruin
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def./ 4 Sp. Def
- Ruination
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Whirlwind

This can easily be replaced with any other Pokemon you guys find fit (that is, if you decide to use this team), but it just exists to be annoying by boosting its already high bulk.

Sandy Shocks @ Choice Specs
Ability: Chlorophyll
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk./ 4 Sp. Def./ 252 Spd.

- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Earth Power
- Power Gem

Originally I was thinking of using Walking Wake, only to find it banned. This was likely my next best idea, as it gives the team a good electric type to use, while filling in the types water hits for super effective damage. It can move fast and deal insane amounts of damage as well.

Potential counters:
Primordial Sea
This is the big one. The one big counter I could think of for this team.

Taunt
I’m not too concerned, but you never know what can happen in this metagame

Dark types in general
I don’t think I need to explain this.

 

[adriancosmoem]

Poke vr got shadow updated a while ago, I have a number of conflicts with it. I feel like my view is too different to make noms for everything cause I'd have to make a LOT. So I'm just going to make my own VR

More specific thoughts

There are a lot of mons on this VR, but you might notice they all have something in common; none of them check overqwil! SD already needs 2 mons or a fluffy steel/wabs lure to beat, but it is also one of the most proactive setters in tier! It can also wall most of the meta if it wants to! If chlorophyll and swift swim somehow dodge ban then this needs to go

Fuck this mon too, it gets all the same shit overqwil does but is a winmore because of water stab. Can't do the same defensive stuff though so not as high

Just wanted to say this is the same tier as regenvest incin

Deso is not the move. Fluffy and regen are way better, those sets feel so unbreakable and tran is quite proactive. It can also choose between phys or spec bulk invest with no real loss, which is something people don't take adv of

Very overrated mon. No tox and no knock = passive af. Rly easy to block with wabs or deso that are everywhere, if you have sub or taunt you auto win as well. Invites every special breaker on the planet. If you don't get scald burn on the first try you just lose to most phys threats. If your team isn't fat you don't want to play around with this

Similar to mola these mons are too passive for how high up they are. Stall is not in a good place at all rn what with all the impossible to wall breakers that easily fit on balances and the 1001 spikes setters, I feel these all need to drop

How is this UR? 2 immunes 5 resists makes it easy to set up, and after growth you tear through shit. Surprising amount of utility too

On the contrary I don't really like barra. It feels really easy to wall it with a water or deso or wabs or grass or peach etc. It's like a speed check basically. It's a great revenge killer against offense, but offense is not really the best style for me rn

These are genuinely lower than regieleki. REGI. ELEKI.

These are lower than the mons that are lower than regieleki. In OMMPL, dirge had a 100% winrate and gastro had an 83% winrate, they were both on the higher end of usage in the tour. I feel like that's worth pointing out. I do know why tink is this low, the council has said it can't set on corv. This is just not true as with knock/twave + encore it limits corv heavily if it goes for the defog. SD is also very good. I hope these 3 get raises

Also I think we need to stop putting unviable abilities next to mons on VR. Here are some examples: Wabs/una lu (and wabs getting a BOLD next to regen?), lr anything, thick fat clod, chloro tusk, mg/intim/vabs peli, una deo-d, wbb bramble, mg dozo, prank tink, mold heattom, esurge treads and vessel on everything

 

[UltraSword]

Poke vr got shadow updated a while ago, I have a number of conflicts with it. I feel like my view is too different to make noms for everything cause I'd have to make a LOT. So I'm just going to make my own VR
View attachment 851105

More specific thoughts

There are a lot of mons on this VR, but you might notice they all have something in common; none of them check overqwil! SD already needs 2 mons or a fluffy steel/wabs lure to beat, but it is also one of the most proactive setters in tier! It can also wall most of the meta if it wants to! If chlorophyll and swift swim somehow dodge ban then this needs to go

Fuck this mon too, it gets all the same shit overqwil does but is a winmore because of water stab. Can't do the same defensive stuff though so not as high

Just wanted to say this is the same tier as regenvest incin

Deso is not the move. Fluffy and regen are way better, those sets feel so unbreakable and tran is quite proactive. It can also choose between phys or spec bulk invest with no real loss, which is something people don't take adv of

Very overrated mon. No tox and no knock = passive af. Rly easy to block with wabs or deso that are everywhere, if you have sub or taunt you auto win as well. Invites every special breaker on the planet. If you don't get scald burn on the first try you just lose to most phys threats. If your team isn't fat you don't want to play around with this

Similar to mola these mons are too passive for how high up they are. Stall is not in a good place at all rn what with all the impossible to wall breakers that easily fit on balances and the 1001 spikes setters, I feel these all need to drop

How is this UR? 2 immunes 5 resists makes it easy to set up, and after growth you tear through shit. Surprising amount of utility too

On the contrary I don't really like barra. It feels really easy to wall it with a water or deso or wabs or grass or peach etc. It's like a speed check basically. It's a great revenge killer against offense, but offense is not really the best style for me rn

These are genuinely lower than regieleki. REGI. ELEKI.

These are lower than the mons that are lower than regieleki. In OMMPL, dirge had a 100% winrate and gastro had an 83% winrate, they were both on the higher end of usage in the tour. I feel like that's worth pointing out. I do know why tink is this low, the council has said it can't set on corv. This is just not true as with knock/twave + encore it limits corv heavily if it goes for the defog. SD is also very good. I hope these 3 get raises

Also I think we need to stop putting unviable abilities next to mons on VR. Here are some examples: Wabs/una lu (and wabs getting a BOLD next to regen?), lr anything, thick fat clod, chloro tusk, mg/intim/vabs peli, una deo-d, wbb bramble, mg dozo, prank tink, mold heattom, esurge treads and vessel on everything

I am confused by your list. In your explanation you mention multiple pokemon that are straight up not on the list? You mentioned Regieleki and Incineroar but neither of them are on the list. Chansey is not on there either which I can understand if you are trying to put them both in the same place on the list but I think both should be ranked differently due to both using different items which changes how you play with both of them.

Also I want to make my own tier list soon but I don't know if I am experienced enough in this tier to do so yet.

 

[Lavender Vice]

Poke vr got shadow updated a while ago, I have a number of conflicts with it. I feel like my view is too different to make noms for everything cause I'd have to make a LOT. So I'm just going to make my own VR
View attachment 851105

More specific thoughts

There are a lot of mons on this VR, but you might notice they all have something in common; none of them check overqwil! SD already needs 2 mons or a fluffy steel/wabs lure to beat, but it is also one of the most proactive setters in tier! It can also wall most of the meta if it wants to! If chlorophyll and swift swim somehow dodge ban then this needs to go

Fuck this mon too, it gets all the same shit overqwil does but is a winmore because of water stab. Can't do the same defensive stuff though so not as high

Just wanted to say this is the same tier as regenvest incin

Deso is not the move. Fluffy and regen are way better, those sets feel so unbreakable and tran is quite proactive. It can also choose between phys or spec bulk invest with no real loss, which is something people don't take adv of

Very overrated mon. No tox and no knock = passive af. Rly easy to block with wabs or deso that are everywhere, if you have sub or taunt you auto win as well. Invites every special breaker on the planet. If you don't get scald burn on the first try you just lose to most phys threats. If your team isn't fat you don't want to play around with this

Similar to mola these mons are too passive for how high up they are. Stall is not in a good place at all rn what with all the impossible to wall breakers that easily fit on balances and the 1001 spikes setters, I feel these all need to drop

How is this UR? 2 immunes 5 resists makes it easy to set up, and after growth you tear through shit. Surprising amount of utility too

On the contrary I don't really like barra. It feels really easy to wall it with a water or deso or wabs or grass or peach etc. It's like a speed check basically. It's a great revenge killer against offense, but offense is not really the best style for me rn

These are genuinely lower than regieleki. REGI. ELEKI.

These are lower than the mons that are lower than regieleki. In OMMPL, dirge had a 100% winrate and gastro had an 83% winrate, they were both on the higher end of usage in the tour. I feel like that's worth pointing out. I do know why tink is this low, the council has said it can't set on corv. This is just not true as with knock/twave + encore it limits corv heavily if it goes for the defog. SD is also very good. I hope these 3 get raises

Also I think we need to stop putting unviable abilities next to mons on VR. Here are some examples: Wabs/una lu (and wabs getting a BOLD next to regen?), lr anything, thick fat clod, chloro tusk, mg/intim/vabs peli, una deo-d, wbb bramble, mg dozo, prank tink, mold heattom, esurge treads and vessel on everything

To be perfectly honest regarding Overqwil (and a lot of the weatherspeed mons tbh), I just haven’t gotten around to playing with it and I have not seen ANYONE using it to get a proper grasp on how good it is in the tier yet.

 

[DiegoVstar]

Something About Meowscarada:
Pokebilites AAA Edition

I said I would rant about this

Meowscarada has proven to be a menace by virtue of the metagame, but it dropped from S to S- on the VR after the changes. It’s still one of if not the best mons in the format though. Let’s talk about why it’s so good and how it can be countered.

1. It has one of the best speed tiers in the game, and outspeeds Greninja by one stat point.

2. It can hit like a truck. Choice band and Adaptability allow Meowscarada to output lots of damage to many different Pokemon in the format, making it a… force to be reckoned with (I’m bad at writing so forgive me for my lingo).

3. It has great utility. Sun, Rain, Sand, and Snow, it can fit on all of those weather teams without much problem due to Protean constantly changing its type. It also has access to lots of different moves, like Flower Trick, Knock Off, Sucker Punch, Triple Axel, U-turn, Low Kick, Play Rough, and Acrobatics, allowing it to be very flexible.

4. However… it is rather frail, so naturally it has counters. It can get outspeed through means of abilities, Choice Scarf, Tailwind, and priority snipes. It also gets countered by mons with natural bulk and high defense Pokemon. Here are some answers to it below.

Cinderace @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Adamant or Jolly (if you really want to outspeed Meow.)
EVs: 252 Atk. & Spd./ 4 Def.
Ability: Adaptability
- Pyro Bal
- U turn
- High Jump Kick
- Gunk Shot / Sucker Punch

No I’m not including him just cause he’s my favorite Mon. It’s pretty strong too (being A- on the VR), boasting a pretty good speed tier, only four stat points behind Meow, which easily gets boosted with the help of Scarf. TBH, Meow doesn’t do much damage to Cinderace anyway, the most impactful move probably being Knock Off /Sucker Punch. Even still, Cinderace can get around all of Meow’s tricks, except maybe a switch-out.

Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def./ 4 Sp. Def.
Ability: Fluffy/Intimidate
- Brave Bird
- Body Press/ U-turn
- Iron Defense/ Defog
- Roost

Meowscarada won’t be doing much damage to Corviknight, with max HP and Defense, and being punished by not only Rocky Helmet, but also Intimidate and Fluffy. Meowscarada could get past that through Magic Guard or Long Reach, but Corv is still a decent counter to Meow.

Talonflame @ Life Orb
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk and Spd./ 4 HP
Ability: Magic Guard
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Tailwind


If you can’t outspeed them, snipe em with priority! Jokes aside, talonflame is able to take out Meowscarada within one hit without a scratch to show. It is also faster than meow naturally and can still take it out with a flare blitz or u-turn or get your mons faster than meowscarada with Tailwind.

Zamazenta @ Life Orb
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Spd. & Atk./ 4 HP.
Ability: Magic Guard
- Body Press
- Crunch
- Play Rough
- Iron Defense

Zamazenta has the bulk. It’s not too often I find myself or someone else using Play Rough on Meowscarada, or Acrobatics for that matter. It is also faster than meow and has the bulk to survive some of its moves.

I’m sure that there are more mons that counter Meow but I’m lazy so I just put the most obvious ones in my eyes. Bye!

 

[Articfox2024]

Dragalge @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Flip Turn
Am I crazy or does this seem usable? Not good, but useable.