Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
Alright, so as it stands right now, the first testing (OU) tournament will be on Friday, March 22nd, around 6 or 7 PM. It will likely be Round Robin unless we get enough sign-ups. The color codes on the doc tells you what's coded and what's not
A great resource that should help you prepare for the tournament is, and I can't believe I haven't posted this here yet, the SylveMons Resources thread. Here, you'll find viability rankings, sample teams, role compendium, analyses, and more!
The tournament today will start at 6 PM EST. Thanks to esteemed Mr. charizard8888, it will be a normal room tour as he found a way to get the commands to work, so there will be no need to use Challonge
What We Learned:
- While not that many powerful sweeping staples like Serperior or Kartana were used, it still seems that defensive Pokemon have a nice place in a very offensive metagame, with powerful Regenerator cores being a hassle for anyone unprepared
- Don't sleep on things that didn't get directly buffed/barely were buffed (T O X A P E X, and also Heatran and Rain)
Thank you to everyone who participated! What's next for Sylvemons will either be another session of roomtours or Slate 15, so stay tuned!
So, with Dragon Heaven down right now, nothing's really happening. Slate 15 can't really even get going without a surefire timetable for Dragon Heaven's return as the point of Slate 15 is balancing, but it's kinda hard to do that when you can't play the meta. Not to mention, being a whole slate behind on coding on top of what we're already behind on.
So, to fill time, we have something special for you.
AquaticPanic and I have got together and, for fun, created a banlist for the new SylveMons RU. Unlike UU's banlist, this list didn't have the help of usage stats to create it, so it's very rough. So, it would be great if we had discussion on what could be banned from RU and what could be unbanned. Consider this listing the banlist for RU (Beta). RU is in no way focus for us right now; with PMGS around the corner, OU is of course still the biggest priority. However, lower tier discussion is always fun and there's not much else we can really do right now.
SYLVEMONS RU BETA BANLIST
UU
Thundurus, Thundurus-T, Tornadus-T, Latias, Blissey, Hydreigon, Pelipper, Mega Swampert, Salamence, Mega Charizard Y, Marowak-Alola, Kommo-o, Zeraora, Shaymin, Mega Steelix, Registeel, Volcarona, Roserade, Rotom-Wash, Rotom-Fan, Tangrowth, Celebi, Meloetta, Haxorus, Lucario, Mienshao, Heracross, Mega Heracross, Tyranitar, Mega Tyranitar, Excadrill, Clefable, Empoleon, Cryogonal, Sandslash-Alola, Milotic, Weavile, Mega Houndoom, Primarina, Gengar, Mega Gardevoir, Cobalion, Mega Lopunny, Golisopod, Mew, Kingdra, Archeops, Blacephalon, Mega Diancie, Gliscor, Mega Sableye, Porygon-Z, Hoopa-Unbound, Mega Gyarados, Mega Beedrill, Mamoswine, Crawdaunt
RUBL
Dragonite, Starmie, Mega Absol, Ninetales-Alola,, Rotom-Heat, Plusle, Mega Sceptile, Escavalier, Cresselia, Mega Banette, Vaporeon, Beartic, Buzzwole, Kyurem, Conkeldurr, Swampert, Mismagius, Unfezant, Chandelure, Magnezone, Gyarados, Chesnaught, Mega Manectric
Discussion Points:
Meloetta, Gliscor, Sandslash-Alola to RU or RUBL
Mega Sableye, Crawdaunt, Rotom-Fan, Cryogonal to RUBL
Anything in RUBL could be potentially be RU (particularly Plusle, Rotom-Heat, Vaporeon, and Beartic)
Alakazam, Typhlosion, Magnezone, Mega Slowbro, Mega Pidgeot, Azelf to UU
Simis, Mega Altaria, Diggersby to RUBL
R U ready?
Let's start this obligatory discussion that I'll eventually finish with a literal essay on hazard control
One of the notable things about RU is the lack of a good Housekeeping user. OU's Jirachi and Chansey and UU's Blissey are all staples in the metagame they exist in, but RU's Housekeeping users are, uh... less so. So, having effective hazard control matters much more than in the other SylveMons usage tiers. Luckily, RU has a good number of good ones.
Florges @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Synthesis
- Defog
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Magic Coat / Calm Mind / Wish
Florges boasts gargantuan 154 Special Defense, a great defensive typing in pure Fairy, Misty Surge to protect it from Toxics, and the buffed Synthesis to keep itself healthy while being able to remove hazards with Defog. The best reason to use this is to have a Defogger that doesn't fear Necrozma or Azelf, as Florges threatens both with STAB Moonblast, though it can struggle with some other hazard setters like Mega Aggron.
Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Toxic / Defog
- Draining Kiss
Prankster Klefki has a great defensive typing in Steel/Fairy, which makes it resist Stealth Rock and the buffed Draining Kiss to give it better recovery. It also has the ability to set up Spikes, though Spikes + Defog can be a bit counterproductive. There's also the risky option in Metal Sound that trades recovery for the ability to dent the many Rock and Fairy-types in the tier, like Reigrock and Mega Altaria. Its bulk isn't spectacular, but it can get the job done.
Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Body Slam
- Defog
- Roost
- Flamethrower / Earthquake / Slipstream
Guess what, we're still talking about Fairies. Mega Altaria has the best offensive presence of the Fairy Defoggers and Pixilate Body Slam packs a punch and threatens to paralyze anything that switches into it. Mega Altaria also sports Slipstream to bring in a teammate after it removes hazards and keep up momentum. However, Altaria does take up your Mega slot, which could be used on Pidgeot or Blastoise or Sharpedo.
Silvally-Fairy @ Fairy Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Multi-Attack
- Recover
- Defog
- Parting Shot / Earthquake / Fire Fang
And the last of the Fairy Defogger gang is Silvally-Fairy. Silvally's best trait is its endless coverage and great support option in Parting Shot to keep up momentum. Earthquake and Fire Fang can both hurt Steel-types and Fire Fang has a nice 20% chance to burn the opponent and it has too many moves to count that can patch up any holes your team may have. Silvally, of course, has a bunch of other forms that can be effective Defoggers, with good support ones being Water and Steel and good offensive ones in Dragon and Ground.
The bane of vanilla UU's existence in Gligar still exists one tier lower as long as Gliscor doesn't drop down here. Eviolite-boosted 65/105/65 bulk with a great Ground/Flying defensive typing and new toys in Moonlight and Slipstream allows Gligar to do what it always does: wall physical attackers, control the hazard game, then run away. It's always good to return to the classics.
Rotom-Mow happens to one of the few good offensive Defoggers in the tier, with its unique Electric/Grass STAB combo making it a nightmare for common Rock, Water, Flying, and Ground-types. Plus, Will-O-Wisp to punish slower physical attackers is also a nice boon.
There a lot of other Defoggers that you could use in RU, with the above being good examples, though a lot of them are passive or have better things to do.
Lastly, Magic Guard Defog probably shouldn't go unmentioned.
Donphan @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Rinse Off
Ah, yes, Donphan, the master of being a tier too high. However, it might have a place this time around as it has all of its usual on paper qualities plus a huge buff in access to Rinse Off for reliable recovery, making it much better at being able Spin for the whole game. Knock Off also threatens spinblockers, even Spiritomb who's own Shadow Sky causes Knock Off to deal much more damage.
Mega Blastoise does two things:
1. Clears hazards
2. Kills things
It's a pro at both of these jobs. Not much else to say here.
Tsareena @ Meadow Plate
Ability: Sole Caliber / Queenly Majesty
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Trop Kick / Power Whip
- High Jump Kick / Knock Off
- Synthesis
The onion queen has powerful Grass STAB to ward of most of the tier rockers, Knock Off for spinblockers, and Synthesis to sustain itself. Plus, Sole Caliber makes Trop Kick a bit more appealing as it reaches a respectable 84 BP while weakening the opponent and having 100% accuracy.
Komala @ Leftovers
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rapid Spin
- U-turn
- Slack Off
- Wood Hammer / Knock Off
Komala has great mixed bulk with decent Special Defense and Fur Coat to bolster its physical defense plus a deceptively strong STAB Wood Hammer to ward off common rockers, as well as Jellicent, plus U-Turn to keep up momentum.
With Solrock being able to handle Torkoal's Stealth Rocking duties for it, Torkoal can opt to run Rapid Spin to keep Rocks away from Typhlosion and the rest of the sun team. More on this in the Weather section
Wigglytuff @ Leftovers
Ability: Housekeeping
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Moonlight
- Teleport / Toxic
- Fairy Lock / Psywave / Fire Blast
If you're dead set on using Housekeeping in every single tier you play, then uh.... good luck with that. Wigglytuff isn't terrible, as Normal/Fairy with 140 HP and great support options in the ability Housekeeping, and the moves Fairy Lock for trapping, Teleport for momentum, and Stealth Rock for chip damage along with other options such as Thunder Wave and Wish is nothing to sneeze at. However, the tier's other Fairy-types just do it better, even if it means giving up a moveslot for Defog, with their superior bulk and offensive stats or support options. Even for a Normal/Fairy-type, you're better off with the much bulkier Mega Audino. However, if you can't survive without Housekeeping, Wigglytuff is the best you've got, as Cinccino has no reason to not run Skill Link and Delcatty is just bad.
Necrozma @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Photon Geyser
- Heat Wave
- Stealth Rock
Necrozma is a slow, but bulkier, more powerful, and Magic Bouncing Azelf. With access to both Magic Bounce and Stealth Rock, Necrozma can swing the balance of the hazard game with one send out and can always threaten to deal significant damage with its high powered STABs and neat coverage in Heat Wave.
As for the other Magic Bouncers, Espeon prefers to run Psychic Surge and Xatu is just all-around meh, so stick with Necrozma most of the time.
Sun may be the best weather in RU, certainly a weird reality where Drizzle and Aurora Veil aren't banned (more on that later), due to its pretty good setters, amazing abusers that includes what might be one of the most threatening Pokemon in the whole tier and its ease in teambuilding.
Solrock @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Pain Split
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Will-O-Wisp
Solrock is the best Drought user in the tier, sporting support in Stealth Rock and Will-O-Wisp and a typing that doesn't stack Stealth Rock weaknesses. It's extremely unfortunate that Morning Sun isn't legal with Drought, but Solrock is still a great Sun setter simply due to it being able to switch into hazards often, having decent bulk, and having some form of recovery.
Torkoal @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock / Rapid Spin
- Lava Plume / Incinerate
- Explosion
- Toxic / Will-O-Wisp
The other good defensive Sun setter is Torkoal, who has much better bulk than Solrock, a few less weaknesses, and Incinerate to annoy item abusers. Its lack of recovery and Stealth Rock weakness do hurt, however.
Moltres @ Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Ice
- Solar Beam
- U-turn
Ninetales @ Firium Z
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power Ice
These two are by far the best offensive Drought users. Moltres is basically Mega Charizard Y-Lite, having amazing 125 Special Attack and okay 95 Speed to go with a nuclear Sun-boosted Fire Blast to singe foes with. Moltres loves to just slap on a Choice item and click Fire Blast or Solar Beam until the cows come home. Ninetales is somewhat similar, having a superpowered Sun-boosted Fire Blast to burn through walls with, but instead of using brute force, Ninetales accomplishes this by abusing Nasty Plot and a Z-Crystal. Almost nothing wants to switch into a +2 Inferno Overdrive in the Sun from this thing and a lot of the things that do get taken down by a +2 Hidden Power Ice or Solar Beam.
Typhlosion is the sole reason why Sun might be RU best weather. On its own, Blaze-boosted Eruption at 150 BP is already stupidly powerful. After STAB, that's 337.5 BP coming off of good 109 Special Attack. Then you add Sun. That Eruption is all of a sudden 506.25 BP. This leads to ridiculous things like 2HKOing something as bulky as Blissey WITHOUT A BOOSTING ITEM. The majority of sun teams should abuse this monster's extreme wallbreaking abilities and keep this thing healthy at all costs. Wish, Defog, Healing Wish, anything to keep the 506.25 BP Eruptions going. Typhlosion may be a face of RU and it's the thing making Sun a super scary archetype to come up against.
With Venusaur's Chlorophyll being replaced by Dispersal, Victreebel and Leafeon come up as the best Chlorophyll users in the game. Victreebel has Sleep Powder to create opportunities to setup with Growth and the ability to run a dangerous physical or special set. Leafeon boasts more initial speed and better bulk, making setting up and sweeping a bit easier, even after Sun runs out. Both make any Ground, Rock, or Water-type think twice before challenging your powerful Fire-types.
There are also numerous Fire-types that especially appreciate the Sun boost to their STABs, particularly Arcanine, Mega Camerupt, Blaziken, Lycanroc-Dusk, and Salazzle
Sand is also definitely in the conversation for best weather archetype in RU, mostly due to its superior setters. Sand's abusers aren't nearly as good, but due to multiple factors, it's quite a bit easier to get sand up and keep it up.
Gigalith @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stone Edge
- Recrystalize
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake / Toxic
At first glance, as a Sand Stream user, Gigalith seems outclassed by Regirock, as Regirock has better or extremely similar stats in every way except Attack and the option to use Fire Punch to fish for burns. However, the thing that gives Gigalith an edge is Recrystalize. Gigalith's access to a recovery move and one that heals more in Sand is a huge boost, allowing Gigalith to keep itself healthy and make it desirable to hold a Smooth Rock. Regirock as a Sand Setter is still certainly usable, but Gigalith's longevity is what makes it the premier Sand Setter in the tier. Not to mention, it gets Rock's 50% Special Defense boost, giving it an effective bulk of 85/135/129 and its nice 135 Attack allows it to dent frailer opponents without investment.
Stoutland is RU's Excadrill, having Swords Dance to boost its Attack to astronomical levels, Sand Rush to make it blazing fast in sand, and new STAB in Earthquake that compliments Double-Edge amazingly, making it a huge threat in sand. Stoutland also sports coverage options in Superpower, Wild Charge, Crunch, Ice Fang, and Rock Slide to tackle any team weaknesses or even forgo coverage for Shore Up's longevity.
Hippowdon @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
Hippowdon is your go to secondary Sand setter, having great 108/118/72 bulk and a pretty decent pure Ground-typing that can pair pretty well with Gigalith's Rock-typing, as long as you have something that can handle Grass and Water-types. Hippowdon also gives Sand teams a phazer with Whirlwind, which, among all of the other benefits of phazing, gives Sand teams a way to deal with anything that boosts its speed past Stoutland's in sand.
Other than Stoutland, Sand doesn't really have any other abusers, so the rest of the team doesn't have to be built around sand. However, Steel-types appreciate not taking damage from Sand while their opponent gets chipped, particularly Mega Aggron and Magneton.
Neither of the new weathers seem to have a huge presence in RU, but a couple setter + abuser cores have the potential to be dangerous.
Altaria @ Breeze Rock
Ability: Air Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Slipstream
- Earthquake
Swanna @ Breeze Rock
Ability: Air Stream
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Scald
- Roost
- Slipstream
Air Current in RU is basically, set up the weather, Slipstream into Swellow, then spam Modest Specs Boombursts with blazing speed until either Swellow goes down or you win. Air Current even gives Swellow's Hurricane perfect accuracy if it needs to click it.
Spiritomb @ Shadow Rock
Ability: Shadow Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
Shadow Sky is definitely not the type of weather you build around, but the passive boost to Dark and Ghost moves prove to be useful to many of the tier's offensive Pokemon, like Alakazam's Shadow Ball, Mega Sharpedo's Crunch, Kroododile's Knock Off, and Doublade's Shadow Claw. Spiritomb, the setter itself, has a stupidly strong Sucker Punch to cut down sweepers and Pursuit to trap Psychics and Ghosts. For direct abusers, the best Dark Rising users are Honchkrow, Bisharp, and Pangoro.
Rain doesn't exactly exist. All you have Politoed and Mega Slowbro to set up rain and a few pretty good abusers in Kabutops, Ludicolo, and Qwilfish. Unfortunately, you don't get bootleg Mega Swampert as Seismitoad lost Swift Swim for Liquid Voice.
Hail, on the other hand, doesn't exist, at least not as a whole archetype. Mega Abomasnow is a pretty good wallbreaker and that abuses its own Hail, but don't try building a team around Hail down here. With Ninetales-Alola, Cryogonal, and Sandslash-Alola in UU/RUBL, and Articuno in OU, thee only Hail setter that gets Aurora Veil is Glaceon. With such low Speed and meh bulk, good luck making that work. For once, Sticky Web seems like the better option for Hyper Offense, unless you're using Linoone.
Mega Pidgeot is probably the best overall Mega in RU, having amazing 121 Speed, good 135 Special Attack, and having Hurricane and Aura Sphere to take down Grass, Fighting, Steel, Rock, and Bug-types alike. Pidgeot matches up well against top threats like Blaziken, Breloom, the Simis, and Amoonguss, and depending on its coverage, Doublade or Krookodile, though it has to be careful about Agony Boots users.
Slowbro @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Ice Beam / Calm Mind
- Psyshock / Calm Mind
Mega Slowbro is an absolute tank. 95/180/80 bulk with Calm Mind to bolster it, a Mega Stone to make Knock Off and Bug Bite deal much less damage, and Drizzle to make its Scalds bite a bit more unboosted. Pre-Mega, it also has Regenerator to make it less reliant on staying in to Slack Off before Mega Evolving. There are a lot of Dark, Grass, Electric, and Bug-types in the tier, however, so time will tell how good Mega Slowbro, or Slowbro in general, really is.
Aggron @ Aggronite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake / Fire Punch
- Toxic
Aggron @ Aggronite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Heavy Slam
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Aggron really wishes it learned Recrystalize or Shield Slam, but its stats, typing, and Filter still make it on of the best walls in the tier. 230 Defense, even uninvested, is more Defense than some Pokemon get fully invested with a boosting nature. Plus, Aggron matches up well with most of the hazard removers in the tier (only fearing Rotom-Mow's Will-O-Wisp, Donphan's Earthquake, and Mega Blastoise's Aura Sphere) allowing it to keep hazards up effectively. It does need Wish support as it has no way to heal itself, though with Sylveon, Florges, and Alomomola in the tier, that shouldn't be too hard to come by.
Man, Mega Sharpedo really loves the biting moves buffs. Crunch and Ice Fang with Strong Jaw both hit a ludicrous 127.5 BP, with Psychic Fangs already hitting that power, and Aquatic Assault as a new 120 BP Water STAB move. Plus, Speed Boost pre-Mega allows Sharpedo to get the jump on many Agony Boots and Scarf users (outspeeds Scarf 89s, Boots 109s).
Audino @ Audinite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Incinerate / Sonic Boom
- Wish
- Protect
Other Options: Thunder Wave, Heal Bell, Dazzling Gleam, Encore
Mega Audino is the tier's resident blob, following in the footsteps of Chansey in OU and Blissey in UU, though this time it takes up a Mega Slot. Audino is pretty simple, good defensive typing in Normal/Fairy, great 80/126/126, unknockable Leftovers in Magic Healing, and great support options in Wish, Incinerate, Thunder Wave, and Heal Bell. There's also Regenerator pre-Mega if you don't need to Mega immediately.
Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed / Impish Nature
- Body Slam
- Defog
- Roost
- Flamethrower / Earthquake / Slipstream
Mega Altaria, with its very all-around stats and Pixilate making for very powerful STAB Returns and Body Slam, is very versatile, being able to effectively run a Dragon Dance set and defensive sets as well as possibly Special Attacking tank sets with Draco, Hyper Voice, Flamethrower, and Roost. Just an overall solid choice for a Mega.
So, nothing's going on right now and we're waiting for a certain element to be coded before we have another test tournament and then Slate 15, so in the meantime, how about a OU Community Create-A-Team? I mean, you'll need a team for the tournament, right?
This Community-Create-A-Team will work like the UU one we had awhile ago, where you all submit a single Pokemon or 2 Pokemon core to be added to the team and then we vote on it.
Some Rules: s/os to LC'S CCAT Thread
When posting a Pokemon, post it with a moveset, and a few sentences of description on why you think it fits the team and why you chose the moveset you chose.
When voting, you can only select one submission. Explanations of votes are nice but certainly not required.
Feel free to discuss other submissions, but please only refute others' sets with solid reasoning (as opposed to "I hate Sylveon so I don't want to include it").
Obviously, with a new metagame, sets aren't going to be as optimized as they can be, so we will give you some leeway in that regard, but don't submit stuff that would obviously be an unviable meme unless you have REALLY good reasoning behind it
Have fun!
For anyone who wants to submit but doesn't know much about the meta, here are some of the resources you can use, all found in the SylveMons Resources thread:
- Viability Rankings
- Role Compendium
- Analysis Database
- Bugs Database
And, for anyone completely unfamiliar with SylveMons, you'll need the archive of changes, too.
With that, Round 1 of submissions will begin!
Submit a single Pokemon or core of two Pokemon and state why you think we should build around it.
Garchomp @ Anguish Bandanna
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Swords Dance
A lot of vanilla OU's old guard have fallen to the wayside due to power creep or simple a lack of attention and Garchomp is no exception to this. While it didn't get it as bad as most other pseudo-legendaries not named Goodra or Metagross, Garchomp is currently in UUBL limbo and a measly C+ in the OU VR. However, with Garchomp on the rise once again in vanilla OU, I think it may be worth looking into in to in SylveMons OU. It's now most common set, offensive Stealth Rock, has numerous great qualities. For example, it handles the most common Housekeepers in Defensive Jirachi and Chansey with ease, an amazing trait for a hazard setter. Garchomp also easily beats top threats in Infernape, Heatran, Toxapex, unboosted Mega Charizard X, Kartana, Mega Scizor, Celesteela, Magearna, and Ferrothorn. Garchomp will need some support, considering its poor matchup against the tier's reigning Fairies and Serperior, but Garchomp certainly seems like something that can definitely exceed expectations.
I mean, Infernape was also C+ in the VR until some experimenting found it to be moved to its deserved rank of A. Garchomp might just be the same way.
If we decide to use another Stealth Rock setter, Rocks can be replaced with Dual Chop or Outrage and Agony Boots can be used instead of Anguish Bandanna.
Drampa @ Distress Glass
Ability: Jack of All Trades
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest / Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe(?)
- Jetstream
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
From the moment I decided to participate, I knew I had to make my sweet boy work somehow. And when I saw some of the D E L I C I O U S new toys it got, I knew just what to do. With Jack of All Trades, it effectively has STAB Fire/Ghost/Fighting coverage, which is veeeery nice. Jetstream also gives it priority, which as you might imagine is quite useful on a slow special nuker. Sure, it gets outsped by a lot and can die kinda easily, but we have 5 other mons to fix those holes up with so why not? We could even make a Trick Room team with him!
And in a close vote, Garchomp will be the focus of this CCAT!
Some Rules: s/os to LC'S CCAT Thread
When posting a Pokemon, post it with a moveset, and a few sentences of description on why you think it fits the team and why you chose the moveset you chose.
When voting, you can only select one submission. Explanations of votes are nice but certainly not required.
Feel free to discuss other submissions, but please only refute others' sets with solid reasoning (as opposed to "I hate Sylveon so I don't want to include it").
Obviously, with a new metagame, sets aren't going to be as optimized as they can be, so we will give you some leeway in that regard, but don't submit stuff that would obviously be an unviable meme unless you have REALLY good reasoning behind it
Have fun!
For anyone who wants to submit but doesn't know much about the meta, here are some of the resources you can use, all found in the SylveMons Resources thread:
- Viability Rankings
- Role Compendium
- Analysis Database
- Bugs Database
And, for anyone completely unfamiliar with SylveMons, you'll need the archive of changes, too.
Round 2 time! Post a single Pokemon or core that you think can help our landshark dragon!
---
Garchomp @ Anguish Bandanna
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Swords Dance
Fairies? What are those?
Tapu Fini, Tapu Bulu, Tapu Lele, Clefable, Manaphy, and Mega Diancie all get blown back by Stalwart Sword and can barely doing anything back, Jirachi is scared if it's not Scarf HP Fire, Tapu Koko also doesn't appreciate switching in either. The Agony Boots also allows Kartana to outspeed and easily beat down the Greninjas, Distress Glass Keldeo, Mega Alakazam, Mega Aerodactyl, and Raichu, which all annoy Garchomp. Kartana also appreciates the presence of Stealth Rock, as any sweeper does. Something to consider is that we're still absolutely walled out by Lando.
Another option is Corkscrew Crash to nuke neutralities, particularly Lando after a SD.
