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The Top 10 Titans of the 5th Gen OU Metagame [VOTING OVER]
- Thread starter Gary
- Start date
don't worry, if any highly regarded to as good besides the current ones was anticipating for the results/ voting , ninetales would probably be #10, makes me sad that most OU players would think so, but eh, can't make every OU player see how damned good latisun is
Honestly, Politoed and Ninetales are such horrible pokemon on their own that their abilities should be used as the "Titans" instead of themselves. This is more of a joke btw but you guys should know what I'm saying.
lol
I apologize for waiting this long to end the vote. I've been busy as fuck these past few days, so I haven't had much time to pay attention to this thread. Anyways...
The voting for the #4 spot ends here! This round's winner won by a complete landslide, almost as much as Politoed won the first spot. Here are the results:
Dragonite: 1
Deoxys-S: 1
Ninetales: 14
Genesect: 2
Jirachi: 1
Landorus: 1
Garchomp: 1
Celebi: 1
Excadrill: 1
Alright the voting has begun! We are going to be voting for the #5 spot. You're not required to write any sort of description about your vote, but if you want to then you're more then welcome to. From now on, I would highly advise you to write a few sentences explaining your vote, or else your vote may be more open to disagreement. The voting will always last for two days, as I feel that is more than enough time to cast your votes. Happy voting!
The voting for the #4 spot ends here! This round's winner won by a complete landslide, almost as much as Politoed won the first spot. Here are the results:
Dragonite: 1
Deoxys-S: 1
Ninetales: 14
Genesect: 2
Jirachi: 1
Landorus: 1
Garchomp: 1
Celebi: 1
Excadrill: 1
Ninetales is the Winner!
4.
Ninetales won this spot almost unanimously, and it's not hard to see why. Although Ninetales is a pretty shitty Pokemon on its own, Drought has turned Ninetales into one of the most influential Pokemon in the entire metagame. It made Venusaur the devastating sweeper it is today, it made Volcarona so much more dangerous, made Victini and Darmanitan complete monsters, it forced players to adapt to its playstyle by running Heatran and Latias to try and work around it. Like Politoed and Tyranitar, is created an entire playstyle, which is more than enough of a reason to make it a titan in today's metagame. Without Ninetales, a lot of Pokemon wouldn't be OU, and a few Pokemon would probably be OU too. It's impact is huge.4.
Voting for #5 spot
Alright the voting has begun! We are going to be voting for the #5 spot. You're not required to write any sort of description about your vote, but if you want to then you're more then welcome to. From now on, I would highly advise you to write a few sentences explaining your vote, or else your vote may be more open to disagreement. The voting will always last for two days, as I feel that is more than enough time to cast your votes. Happy voting!
Garchomp garchomp was way too solid imo, it single handedly turned 6-2s to 0-2s in it's sides favor, during the sand veil days that is, it's bullshit was huge, comparable to twice that of a jirachi even, overall it pushed so much shit off the edge, ok so you finally got through the hax and got it down, great, all your doryuuzu checks are dead and gone/worn down! get ready to get destroyed! even when it got banned for the sake of the evasion clause abilities, it was still so damn amazing and a true terror to face in the current meta, chomp literally made OU it's sandbox, then came back to that sanbox to see it had become a puddle, then preceded to nuke that puddle with it's 102 speed tier, 130 base attack, SD, great amount of viabillity, pure threatening ness and amazing STAB and near 0 counters (bronzong and skarm endlist, amazing Imma have to tl;dr that list cuz it was so long) overall it was a force to face in OU, when they say "102 isn't the speed tier it used to be" garchomp literally did not give a shit
Voting for Landorus-I
Landorus-I has always been an incredible Pokemon from the start of BW1. It was the best revenge killer through out BW1, as with its base 101 speed stat, it could revenge kill Volcarona, Lucario, Salamence, and other scary Pokemon. Its base 125 attack and solid ability allowed Landorus to hit extremely hard with EQ and Stone Edge, while it also fit into Volt turn teams with its access to U turn.
Then BW2 came around, and Landorus finally got its DW ability, allowing it to take a completely different role in the metagame. Landorus became one of the best special attackers in the tier as boosted Earth Power and Focus Blast demolished everything. Landorus was shortky banned after this.
So yeah, Landorus for 5th
Landorus-I has always been an incredible Pokemon from the start of BW1. It was the best revenge killer through out BW1, as with its base 101 speed stat, it could revenge kill Volcarona, Lucario, Salamence, and other scary Pokemon. Its base 125 attack and solid ability allowed Landorus to hit extremely hard with EQ and Stone Edge, while it also fit into Volt turn teams with its access to U turn.
Then BW2 came around, and Landorus finally got its DW ability, allowing it to take a completely different role in the metagame. Landorus became one of the best special attackers in the tier as boosted Earth Power and Focus Blast demolished everything. Landorus was shortky banned after this.
So yeah, Landorus for 5th
Guess I'll recycle this now. GARCHOMP!
Dragonite
How do we vote in the most influential Sand setter without considering the most influential Sand sweeper?
Excadrill created, led, and fostered Sand offense during its stay in OU. Conkeldurr placed about 20 spots higher in usage when Exca was around, Scarf Politoed was actually good, and Tangrowth became a real defensive threat in OU due to its ability to completely wall the mole's most common set while checking a fair few other Pokemon.
There has never been a more potent Rapid Spin user in this game than Excadrill. It takes a completely insignificant amount of damage from hazards with Air Balloon active. On top of that, it was just so damn hard to KO. Missing the KO against Excadrill often meant the game, and its 110/60/65 defenses really come in handy here, as it can sweep past even a Mach Punch from the likes of Conkeldurr or a Specs Vacuum Wave from Lucario.
The one Pokemon who could bring several UU Pokemon up to the big leagues just to defeat it? Excadrill. The only Rapid Spin user that NEVER has a problem doing its job? Excadrill. The best sweeper OU has ever seen? Specs Kingdra.
...and then Excadrill.
Mole OU is like an alternate reality, creating trends unthinkable in the standard metagame of today. Whether it be spinning or sweeping, this Pokemon was next to impossible to stop from causing severe damage, or at all, yet its stay in OU spanned almost two years! How can it not rank as the fifth most influential Pokemon in Black and White OU?
Excadrill created, led, and fostered Sand offense during its stay in OU. Conkeldurr placed about 20 spots higher in usage when Exca was around, Scarf Politoed was actually good, and Tangrowth became a real defensive threat in OU due to its ability to completely wall the mole's most common set while checking a fair few other Pokemon.
There has never been a more potent Rapid Spin user in this game than Excadrill. It takes a completely insignificant amount of damage from hazards with Air Balloon active. On top of that, it was just so damn hard to KO. Missing the KO against Excadrill often meant the game, and its 110/60/65 defenses really come in handy here, as it can sweep past even a Mach Punch from the likes of Conkeldurr or a Specs Vacuum Wave from Lucario.
The one Pokemon who could bring several UU Pokemon up to the big leagues just to defeat it? Excadrill. The only Rapid Spin user that NEVER has a problem doing its job? Excadrill. The best sweeper OU has ever seen? Specs Kingdra.
...and then Excadrill.
Mole OU is like an alternate reality, creating trends unthinkable in the standard metagame of today. Whether it be spinning or sweeping, this Pokemon was next to impossible to stop from causing severe damage, or at all, yet its stay in OU spanned almost two years! How can it not rank as the fifth most influential Pokemon in Black and White OU?
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Lando-I for what I said last time
god fucking damnit I forgot about excadrill, still sticking with my chomp vote though, mainly because in my personal top 10 exca is #1 anyway lol, it feels degrading to put it down to #4
Agreeing with SJCrew. I too am voting for Excadrill for #5.
Excadrill was what gave birth to sand offense as a traditional weather offensive playstyle. In other words, back when Excadrill was around, sand teams actually relied on sand. Nowadays Tyranitar is mostly put on teams to support the other Pokémon with Pursuit and to cancel out other weather, but not back then. Excadrill was by far one of the most terrifying Pokémon OU has ever experienced. It could spin against all the common Ghost-types with relative ease, and took only 3% from Stealth Rock, easily making it the best spinner in the game. It also was unbelievably strong. Its Swords Dance set was nearly uncounterable thanks to Rock Slide's nasty 30% chance to flinch the Skarmory or Gliscor you just sent out to beat it. It's boost in speed also made Choice Scarf an irrelevant item, which is part of what lead BW1 to be such a bulky offensive metagame (in contrast to the fast-paced nature of the meta now). Excadrill influenced the metagame so much for so long that it definitely deserves #5.
Excadrill was what gave birth to sand offense as a traditional weather offensive playstyle. In other words, back when Excadrill was around, sand teams actually relied on sand. Nowadays Tyranitar is mostly put on teams to support the other Pokémon with Pursuit and to cancel out other weather, but not back then. Excadrill was by far one of the most terrifying Pokémon OU has ever experienced. It could spin against all the common Ghost-types with relative ease, and took only 3% from Stealth Rock, easily making it the best spinner in the game. It also was unbelievably strong. Its Swords Dance set was nearly uncounterable thanks to Rock Slide's nasty 30% chance to flinch the Skarmory or Gliscor you just sent out to beat it. It's boost in speed also made Choice Scarf an irrelevant item, which is part of what lead BW1 to be such a bulky offensive metagame (in contrast to the fast-paced nature of the meta now). Excadrill influenced the metagame so much for so long that it definitely deserves #5.
As much as I would love for chomp to win, I have 0 problem with exca winning, all the pro exca posts are very well written and show what a true beast exca was, so far this looks very close, 2 for lando-i, 2 for chomp and 2 for exca
Excadrill basically commanded Sand Offense for some time, and I really hate myself for actually not trying a bulkier set back then which I think really would have been something cool to use. Excadrill was awesome, and it completely flipped weather command for quite some time when it was around, and I fully believe it took control of the metagame. If a pokemon can make Gliscor an extremely popular physical wall for a very long time, then that mon deserves to be placed very high up on the list. Excadrill, like SJ said, limited opposing weather use and basically made Sand the best play style to really use. You have something that can sweep, act as a very effective Rapid Spinner, and a revenge killer all in one. If this thing were around today it would be even worse with its gain of Iron Head which would ultimately render a lot of its old checks useless.
Dragonite.
Deoxys-S because it's the only one left that really defined/created a playstyle (excadrill/venu arguably but they're sort of caught by ninetales and tyranitar already). When building teams I asked myself 4 questions: How do i deal with sun / how do i deal with rain / how do i deal with sand and how do i deal with deoxys teams.
What effect did [Pokemon] have on the metagame?
The crux of HO teams, led to a huge popularity of HO and volt-turn teams which were popular for AGES. Pretty much the most iconic pokemon of 'HO'. It essentially popularised a specific playstyle which is why I give it my vote over the other remaining nominees.
In what main roles was [Pokemon] used?
Suicide hazards / dual screen lead. You knew what was coming every time, yet it was still ridiculously annoying/hard to stop, which is a testament to how good it was. Every now and then you'd see a late game sweeper version which was also really good.
What caused it to have a significant impact?
Massive speed, or more specifically, the ability to reliably get up hazards regardless of the opponents lead. Specific stops to it can easily be removed by a specific move so it was tough to truly be safe against it (e.g. hp fire for sciz/forre, superpower for ttar, tbolt for starmie/Xatu, psycho boost for tenta etc. etc.). It pretty much always gave the momentum to the team leading with it so it was great for very offensive teams. Also stopping SR was big because of SR-weak powerhouses like volc and nite.
How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?
Lead with a spinner and pray they don't have the specific move that beats you / gimmicky stuff like magic coat / try and win a speed tie with your own deo-S, just accept that they're getting at least one layer of hazards and try to OHKO it. There really wasn't a 100% reliable way to deal with it.
So yeah, Deo-S gets my nom for the fact that of the remaining nominees, its the only one that really defined a playstyle.
err i guess this format was just for initial nomming? My bad...
What effect did [Pokemon] have on the metagame?
The crux of HO teams, led to a huge popularity of HO and volt-turn teams which were popular for AGES. Pretty much the most iconic pokemon of 'HO'. It essentially popularised a specific playstyle which is why I give it my vote over the other remaining nominees.
In what main roles was [Pokemon] used?
Suicide hazards / dual screen lead. You knew what was coming every time, yet it was still ridiculously annoying/hard to stop, which is a testament to how good it was. Every now and then you'd see a late game sweeper version which was also really good.
What caused it to have a significant impact?
Massive speed, or more specifically, the ability to reliably get up hazards regardless of the opponents lead. Specific stops to it can easily be removed by a specific move so it was tough to truly be safe against it (e.g. hp fire for sciz/forre, superpower for ttar, tbolt for starmie/Xatu, psycho boost for tenta etc. etc.). It pretty much always gave the momentum to the team leading with it so it was great for very offensive teams. Also stopping SR was big because of SR-weak powerhouses like volc and nite.
How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?
Lead with a spinner and pray they don't have the specific move that beats you / gimmicky stuff like magic coat / try and win a speed tie with your own deo-S, just accept that they're getting at least one layer of hazards and try to OHKO it. There really wasn't a 100% reliable way to deal with it.
So yeah, Deo-S gets my nom for the fact that of the remaining nominees, its the only one that really defined a playstyle.
err i guess this format was just for initial nomming? My bad...
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I honestly never felt Landorus was all that big of a deal to deal with until its DW ability got released. I never thought about it when I team-builded and I normally just stuck with either revenge killing it or banking on Lando not to use EP when I switched in Jellicent. It was incredibly enjoyable to use but I wouldn't say it was so influential.
Garchomp and Dragonite were the main reasons why people carried around Ice-type moves. Both are pretty damn bulky yet have such high offensive stats too. Dragonite's DW ability and versatility helped stay in the top 5 of usage and kept people on their toes when it came to who to switch into. Garchomp had such a trollish speed tier and insane power. Hell, some ice-type moves wouldn't even kill either one of these pokemon. I understand the support for them.
Fucking Excadrill. Yea he was a monster lol. I recall using him before knowing how to build a team that didn't suck. Then I started using Smogon religiously and I still can't build a halfway decent team but that's neither here nor there. I think he deserves a spot on this list at some point due to the fact he was so ridiculously powerful, fast, and had utility to Rapid Spin. Basically just refer to SJCrew 's post.
With that said...GENESECT.
Garchomp and Dragonite were the main reasons why people carried around Ice-type moves. Both are pretty damn bulky yet have such high offensive stats too. Dragonite's DW ability and versatility helped stay in the top 5 of usage and kept people on their toes when it came to who to switch into. Garchomp had such a trollish speed tier and insane power. Hell, some ice-type moves wouldn't even kill either one of these pokemon. I understand the support for them.
Fucking Excadrill. Yea he was a monster lol. I recall using him before knowing how to build a team that didn't suck. Then I started using Smogon religiously and I still can't build a halfway decent team but that's neither here nor there. I think he deserves a spot on this list at some point due to the fact he was so ridiculously powerful, fast, and had utility to Rapid Spin. Basically just refer to SJCrew 's post.
With that said...GENESECT.
Agreed with Excadrill. I remember that back in the day, Gliscor used to run an extra attack(Ice Fang or the back then famous AcroFling) to deal with the damn thing and Azumarill was extremely common because its one of few pokemon who could take 1 - 2 hit and check it right away, while also being able to deal heavy damage to Ferrothorn. Scarfer are relatively rare because this guy eclipsed their capability of doing their job, or kill them outright, set up sweeper are harder to use because this guy is an instant "fuck you" button, and a lot of things hold Baloon to check it.
Hippowdon, a sand setter that is considered largely inferior to Tyranitar enjoyed a period of glory where it is favored over Ttar simply because it can check Excadrill. This thing is arguably the most influental pokemon after the staple Weather mons IMO
Hippowdon, a sand setter that is considered largely inferior to Tyranitar enjoyed a period of glory where it is favored over Ttar simply because it can check Excadrill. This thing is arguably the most influental pokemon after the staple Weather mons IMO
Garchomp :)
Lol ok.
With that said, I vote for Excadrill, forced people to run gliscor, made sand the best weather, and sand actually had a weather war to win.
Garchomp has a pretty great speed tier, and a fantastic STAB combo, making it a strong sweeper and wallbreaker. But what really sets it apart is that it had TWO suspect tests, which is pretty incredible, and is arguably the reason that Sand Veil is banned right now. In BW1, evasion hax made it a complete pain to go up against, and in BW2, it still remains a dominant force even with Rough Skin.
On an unrelated note, I'm suprised that Rotom-W didn't make the nominations. As one of the primary reasons VoltTurn is so threatening, and a special wall capable of sponging rain attacks, it certainly has a chance at making the top 10.
On an unrelated note, I'm suprised that Rotom-W didn't make the nominations. As one of the primary reasons VoltTurn is so threatening, and a special wall capable of sponging rain attacks, it certainly has a chance at making the top 10.
I just want to point out that "staple GOOD Pokemon" such as Garchomp, Terrakion, Keldeo, Genosect, Darkrai, and Landorus-I (pre-ban) have a major impact on the game, even if it's not often at the forefront of people's mind (I'd say Jirachi also kind of fits this bill starting in BW2). Pokemon that really, have it all-- typing, stats, ability, powerful/good moves, and good abilities. All they lack is some stat, some function, some capability or quality that breaks the game-- keeps them from being an Excadrill, Deo-S, Shaymin-S or Swift Swim Kingdra (Garchomp's SS sets were found to eventually have had this quality). Often though, these Pokemon are much more independent (of need for support), and perform more consistently than their more broken counterparts, who often rely on weather or some other condition or luck to show their truly broken colors. This consistency of performance, this reliability, is what makes "staple Pokemon" so important to the metagame-- SHAPING the metagame.
A set-up Blaziken, Venusaur, Kingdra, Gyarados, or Tornadus-T may be more devastating. The support from a Darkrai sleep or a Deo-S may have the potential to break the opposing team in half-- and you might be 6-0'd by Shaymin-S should it get lucky. Bringing a Dugtrio might let you kill many a Ninetales, win many a weather war, and pull off many a win. But, there is ALWAYS a risk to building too heavily on a strategy, and relying too heavily on risky and "abusive" strategies-- because you worry if your high risk members can consistently out compete and out perform Pokemon that are FUNDAMENTALLY good-- staple Pokemon. These Staple Pokes, that almost always perform consistently; always forcing you to weigh the risk.
No matter the era, no matter the metagame-- every time you put a Kyurem-B, Venusaur, or Excadrill on your team you have to ask yourself, "why am I using this over [Garchomp, Terrakion, Keldeo, Genosect, Lando-I, etc.]". Even when you KNOW Excadrill's Speed decides many a game, there's that nagging voice in the back wanting to hedge bets, wanting to choose the much less risky, much more independent Garchomp. At the very least, you try to include a number of Staples alongside high risk performers-- to support, and hedge bets. It's in this way that Staple Pokemon shape the metagame, putting massive influence despite not being its most obvious element (like weather or hazards).
Consistently performing Staple Pokemon shape the metagame-- because they are the standard to which ALL OTHER Pokemon must be judged. You can say that Staple Pokemon define the metagame by drawing the base line that judges whether other Pokemon are good or not-- whether they deserve use in OU or not. Of these Staples, Genosect is the absolute best-- the most powerful, the most consistent. But... not the most influential.
Out of these, I'd have to say the most influential is Garchomp. Really, Garchomp is the first of its kind to even exist-- the first Pokemon to have such a flawless typing, movepool, and stat spread that you constantly ask yourself why you're NOT using it. Sure, in BW all these others came to being as well-- but Garchomp was also the standard to which ALL OF THEM were judged. Is Terrakion's Stone Edge strong enough, do its attacks hit hard enough, is that base 6 Speed important enough to excuse its extra weaknesses (and reliance on Stone-miss) compared to Garchomp? Is rain's boost and mixed attacking good enough to excuse the hole in Keldeo's STAB coverage compared to Garchomp? Is Genosect's versatile movepool and STAB U-Turn enough to excuse the poor Speed in a Speed metagame and Choice Scarf competition that was DEFINED by Garchomp.
Even Pokemon like Excadrill and Deo-S found themselves on the wrong side of broken... in large part because they could too easily out speed CS Garchomp.
Staple Pokemon define the meta-- they have a profound impact on its shape. Out of these, none has shaped the meta, and shaped people's expectations-- even shaping the way we judge other staple Pokemon-- more than Garchomp.
If we're talking about "influence", I think enough can be said here. Garchomp is the gear at the center of the OU wheel, the "mark zero" of Pokemon power rankings in OU. Pokemon that are obviously weaker than it are almost always decidedly OU-- not broken. Pokemon that are obviously better than it find themselves under severe scrutiny-- even when they are not broken (see: Keldeo). Pokemon that are weaker/less consistent than it must have some capability that makes them more dangerous under the right conditions (see: Dragonite, Volcarona, Gyarados). Even defensive Pokemon have to be at least as bulky as Garchomp, or have more resistances, in order to truly be a good OU wall. It is the Pokemon by which all other Pokemon are judged. Even banned it had this position, and its importance is clear in our effort to bring it back.
By having those incredible stats, incredible typing, incredible movepool-- but STILL not being "broken", Garchomp has become a central cog of the metagame that shapes our expectations. As a central cog, Garchomp really pushes the envelope on OU's power standard. Without Garchomp as that standard-- let's just imagine if a Pokemon like Gyarados was the standard instead-- I think we'd be looking at the formation of an overall much weaker OU.
Inversely, I guess it was made pretty clear that people didn't want a metagame where Genosect was the central cog to which others would be judged.
As a staple, Garchomp has done so much, and influenced us so much, in building the OU we have today.
A set-up Blaziken, Venusaur, Kingdra, Gyarados, or Tornadus-T may be more devastating. The support from a Darkrai sleep or a Deo-S may have the potential to break the opposing team in half-- and you might be 6-0'd by Shaymin-S should it get lucky. Bringing a Dugtrio might let you kill many a Ninetales, win many a weather war, and pull off many a win. But, there is ALWAYS a risk to building too heavily on a strategy, and relying too heavily on risky and "abusive" strategies-- because you worry if your high risk members can consistently out compete and out perform Pokemon that are FUNDAMENTALLY good-- staple Pokemon. These Staple Pokes, that almost always perform consistently; always forcing you to weigh the risk.
No matter the era, no matter the metagame-- every time you put a Kyurem-B, Venusaur, or Excadrill on your team you have to ask yourself, "why am I using this over [Garchomp, Terrakion, Keldeo, Genosect, Lando-I, etc.]". Even when you KNOW Excadrill's Speed decides many a game, there's that nagging voice in the back wanting to hedge bets, wanting to choose the much less risky, much more independent Garchomp. At the very least, you try to include a number of Staples alongside high risk performers-- to support, and hedge bets. It's in this way that Staple Pokemon shape the metagame, putting massive influence despite not being its most obvious element (like weather or hazards).
Consistently performing Staple Pokemon shape the metagame-- because they are the standard to which ALL OTHER Pokemon must be judged. You can say that Staple Pokemon define the metagame by drawing the base line that judges whether other Pokemon are good or not-- whether they deserve use in OU or not. Of these Staples, Genosect is the absolute best-- the most powerful, the most consistent. But... not the most influential.
Out of these, I'd have to say the most influential is Garchomp. Really, Garchomp is the first of its kind to even exist-- the first Pokemon to have such a flawless typing, movepool, and stat spread that you constantly ask yourself why you're NOT using it. Sure, in BW all these others came to being as well-- but Garchomp was also the standard to which ALL OF THEM were judged. Is Terrakion's Stone Edge strong enough, do its attacks hit hard enough, is that base 6 Speed important enough to excuse its extra weaknesses (and reliance on Stone-miss) compared to Garchomp? Is rain's boost and mixed attacking good enough to excuse the hole in Keldeo's STAB coverage compared to Garchomp? Is Genosect's versatile movepool and STAB U-Turn enough to excuse the poor Speed in a Speed metagame and Choice Scarf competition that was DEFINED by Garchomp.
Even Pokemon like Excadrill and Deo-S found themselves on the wrong side of broken... in large part because they could too easily out speed CS Garchomp.
Staple Pokemon define the meta-- they have a profound impact on its shape. Out of these, none has shaped the meta, and shaped people's expectations-- even shaping the way we judge other staple Pokemon-- more than Garchomp.
If we're talking about "influence", I think enough can be said here. Garchomp is the gear at the center of the OU wheel, the "mark zero" of Pokemon power rankings in OU. Pokemon that are obviously weaker than it are almost always decidedly OU-- not broken. Pokemon that are obviously better than it find themselves under severe scrutiny-- even when they are not broken (see: Keldeo). Pokemon that are weaker/less consistent than it must have some capability that makes them more dangerous under the right conditions (see: Dragonite, Volcarona, Gyarados). Even defensive Pokemon have to be at least as bulky as Garchomp, or have more resistances, in order to truly be a good OU wall. It is the Pokemon by which all other Pokemon are judged. Even banned it had this position, and its importance is clear in our effort to bring it back.
By having those incredible stats, incredible typing, incredible movepool-- but STILL not being "broken", Garchomp has become a central cog of the metagame that shapes our expectations. As a central cog, Garchomp really pushes the envelope on OU's power standard. Without Garchomp as that standard-- let's just imagine if a Pokemon like Gyarados was the standard instead-- I think we'd be looking at the formation of an overall much weaker OU.
Inversely, I guess it was made pretty clear that people didn't want a metagame where Genosect was the central cog to which others would be judged.
As a staple, Garchomp has done so much, and influenced us so much, in building the OU we have today.
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Chou Toshio
Shouldn't we have banned the rest of the OU metagame when we banned chomp if it's a central cog that shapes our expectations?
I know it's a stupid question but I just don't really understand what you're getting at, I've never felt the need to compare any pokemon to Garchomp.
I never really considered any pokemon to be of such relevance..
Shouldn't we have banned the rest of the OU metagame when we banned chomp if it's a central cog that shapes our expectations?
I know it's a stupid question but I just don't really understand what you're getting at, I've never felt the need to compare any pokemon to Garchomp.
I never really considered any pokemon to be of such relevance..
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