Metagame USUM Memetagame Discussion was a mistake

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Demi Lovato said:
Because I played a total of 3 games with it at that point.
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If you're going to make a giant post about something, I would feel better knowing you played more than just 3 games with it, especially in this gen where matchup is more annoying than before. I know sometimes on the VR we might have some random unranked mons nominated from users including Omari P, but at the least, they'll go out of their way to provide a ton of replays as evidence to support their posts, and that does help a lot in displaying the effectiveness of that mon in various games/situations. The reason the other users commented on how it was around low/mid ladder was because it's hard to tell how reliable/consistent your team was since the quality of teams and players around 1500 isn't exactly the best. I'm not saying they're all terrible, but rather it doesn't take that much effort to reach 1500 since low ladder teams/strategies may persist until then or to the 1400's.

Demi Lovato said:
Even if we ignore the fact that this isn't a legitimate argument... where exactly did my hax outshine chomp/gliscor? lol The first game garchomp set up and swept exclusively through misses. The second game I was the one of the receiving end of hax until gliscor came out.
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The first game, idk if you noticed, but Tyranitar dodging that 2nd Hydro Pump and getting Thunder Wave off on Greninja was fairly big, as that prevented Greninja from outspeeding Garchomp later in that game. Serperior dodging Hydro Pump as well prevented it from being KO'd from Lele the first time, and then again when it was paralyzed. Winning those first 2 speed ties with Garchomp (while facing the opposing Garchomp) was also a bit lucky since your Garchomp would've died on the spot then and there. I know you're expecting to dodge a lot, but it's dumb to assume you'll dodge everything just because there's a higher chance of the opponent missing.

I appreciate the detail you put into your post, but please do try and get more replays and more games in to make sure your idea is consistent. I would also appreciate it if you didn't throw attitude when people are replying and instead consider what they are saying to see if they are right about something, and then reply with evidence/support.

As Leo said, we will be moving on from this. Thanks.
 
Yo peeps.

So I've been testing out Mega Camerupt for a couple of weeks now, with varied success. Managed to peak at 1830 (from around 1300) on the ladder, however the team was put together without a tremendous amount of thought. In any case I'd like to open the floor to discuss Mega Camel in the OU tier. It's a Pokemon that checks a big chunk of the meta at the moment with its Fire and Ground typing, as well as being a hard counter to mons such as Zapdos, Magnezone etc. The set currently is the following:

camerupt-mega.gif


Camerupt-Mega @ Cameruptite
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Ice]

The coverage allows it to OHKO/2HKO the majority of mons in the tier, and you're highly rewarded if your predictions are on point. Rocks pressure common defog users and they're left with a choice of getting rid of Camerupt or losing their mon to get rid of rocks.

Now of course, its speed tier is hugely underwhelming and may be suited for a trick room team, although I don't think trick room is viable at the moment. Admittedly I also don't trust myself using that play style. The team I'm running with is:

Serperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Surf

Tapu Koko @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 184 HP / 152 Atk / 100 Def / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Swords Dance

Tyranitar @ Rockium Z
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 212 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam

Again, I usually team build for fun so there most certainly is a better combination of 'mons that would compliment Camel better. Hoping to leave that up to you guys.
 
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I think Magearna is somewhat unhealthy for the meta at the moment. It can run a wide variety of sets, and this set in particular completely obliterates bulky offense and hyper offense teams. Once Magearna gets going thanks to Fairium Z - it become extremely difficult to stop, especially during the late game.

Magearna @ Fairium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
IVs: 0 Spe
Quiet Nature
- Trick Room
- Fleur Cannon
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
 
University of Miami said:
I think Magearna is somewhat unhealthy for the meta at the moment. It can run a wide variety of sets, and this set in particular completely obliterates bulky offense and hyper offense teams. Once Magearna gets going thanks to Fairium Z - it become extremely difficult to stop, especially during the late game.

Magearna @ Fairium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
IVs: 0 Spe
Quiet Nature
- Trick Room
- Fleur Cannon
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
Click to expand...

I agree. Don't forget that calm mind pain split almost singlehandedly destroys many stall teams (easily 1v1 Chansey, unaware mons ignore Fleur cannon drops, can threaten Toxapex especially if electrium, etc). It's not particularly overpowered, but it's like zygarde in that it has a huge number of options to deal with almost all of its counters to the point where one midpredict means Heatran dies to a z-focus blast, or toxa dies to a z-thunder(bolt), or it sets up TR/shift gear/calm mind and sweeps, or it uses twave on your anything.

re TR magearna: I think trick room in general is pretty annoying right now. If you are running ho without aurora veil/screens, it's probably gg from turn 1. TR has enough tools atm to limit the risk of getting swept in the couple terms after tr ends, so even with veil it can be challenging to make sure your team can function and have the ability to set up while under TR.

One way is to run multiple sub sweepers (serperior, mega latias, zygarde, etc) since they can keep subbing until tr ends and then get a free setup turn. Moves that boost defensive stats (cm, coil) are particularly helpful since you can generally find opportunities to set up enough to prevent your sub from breaking (for example, modest life orb lele can't break +2 mega latias subs behind screens) or get damage < 50% so you can safely recover. Protect and focus sash (preserve lead lando-t) have a similar benefit.

Your other solution is to pivot between your mons who can take a couple of situational hits (kartana into mawile iron head, greninja into blaceohalon shadow ball, etc), but this only works until you midpredict and lose a mon. That said, playing against trick room gives you the opportunity to plan ahead because you know in advance when the opponent is forcex to make certain plays, so you can make better decisions about your win conditions, who you should sack, etc. A basic example: if you planned well earlier, and TR is about to expire with their only setter left being magearna, it's worth sacking a mon or 2 in order to bring in charizard who can reliably kill non-brightpowder mag varients and deny the inevitable tr set up.

Whatever you do, you'll probably lose anyway, but at least you'll go out fighting!
 
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University of Miami said:
I think Magearna is somewhat unhealthy for the meta at the moment. It can run a wide variety of sets, and this set in particular completely obliterates bulky offense and hyper offense teams. Once Magearna gets going thanks to Fairium Z - it become extremely difficult to stop, especially during the late game.

Magearna @ Fairium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
IVs: 0 Spe
Quiet Nature
- Trick Room
- Fleur Cannon
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
Click to expand...

If you think Magearna is unhealthy "at the moment," do you think that it's possible for it to revert back to a stage that is better for the metagame? What's changed to make it so bad for current teams to handle?
 
azureleaf17 said:
If you think Magearna is unhealthy "at the moment," do you think that it's possible for it to revert back to a stage that is better for the metagame? What's changed to make it so bad for current teams to handle?
Click to expand...
Mage has always been problematic from the literal very beginning. Shit just adjusted to hyper account for it and bring their own mage and pu mons that are trash to handle it. Shit really is a dumbass mon that shouldve been gone. The skill level for this game has dropped so low that people havent had to try and now that theyre getting more creative with their sets shit is damn near unplayable.
 
On the Magearna topic, I think that is sorta overrated. Yes, has crazy amounts of power and sweeping potencial, but the main issue with it is the crippling 4-Slots Syndrome (and other set-dependant problems, too) it has. Lemme explain:
  • You give up coverage for setup moves (Double Dance) leaving you to be Heatran/Ferrothorn fodder (the former if Electric already was burnt out) or Pex fodder (Fairium Z + Focus Miss) and thus vulnerable to Haze (Note that Pex gets 2HKOed by a 1+ Twinkle Tackle at 100%).
  • +2 252 SpA Magearna Twinkle Tackle (195 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 178-210 (58.7 - 69.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
  • +2 252 SpA Magearna Fleur Cannon vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 119-141 (39.2 - 46.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Black Sludge recovery
  • You give up easy starts for sweeps for coverage (3 Attacks + SG), which means that you have a Mage that just work as a Heatran lure until Late-game.
  • OTR is scary, yes, but with good plays you can waste the TR turns (Protect, switches, Pex before it kills something) and force it into an ankward position. But still, getting a single kill is just enough to sweep trough unprepared teams:
  • 252+ SpA Magearna Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 122-144 (40.2 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Black Sludge recovery
  • 252+ SpA Magearna Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 220-260 (56.9 - 67.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
  • 252+ SpA Magearna Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 164+ SpD Ferrothorn: 202-238 (57.3 - 67.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
  • 252+ SpA Magearna Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 156 SpD Celesteela: 184-218 (46.3 - 54.9%) -- 9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
  • Assault Vest is easy to wear down: Greninja just setup spikes at switchin and then runs away, Specs Lele 3HKOs with Psyshock, chip damage leaves it open to strong attackers like Transformed Ash-Gren, the aformentioned Lele, Heatran, Hoopa-U, Z-Move Koko, and an large etc.
  • Pain Split Magearna is an amazing stallbreaker, but also deadweight against Offense since is just too slow
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Magearna: 266-314 (73.2 - 86.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Magearna: 320-378 (88.1 - 104.1%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after trapping damage
mod edit: way too many goddamn calcs. Putting them in a Hide post.
 
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I think one the creepiest sets atm is scarf serperior. Shit is amazingly good in this brainless set up and sweep meta atm. The amount of times Ive hard switched it into a dding gya or something is hilarious. And this isnt low ladder this is 1800-2000 range.

Leaf storm, glare, defog filler is great role compression on HO and it is a legit wincon after its several hard checks are gone.
 
Speaking of Serp, I've really been enjoying Tapu Fini's ability to block status for teammates who'd otherwise get annoyed or beat by Glare Serp/Zygarde or Twave Clef/Ferro or whatever other annoying shit is out there, spreading parahax. It can be amazing for mons like M-Heracross, Kartana, Zygarde, or Garchomp because they can eat scalds and poison from Toxapex and use it as setup fodder, which is otherwise super risky. The same goes for M-Sableye, Rotom-W or Chansey, who will want to spread Toxic/Wisp on the switch and otherwise have a lot of trouble doing anything to common Physical setup mons. It also makes Heatran and Magearna a lot more fearless around Serp because it can't Glare them and try to win at the Sub/Seed long-game.

There's also one really under-appreciated use for Misty Terrain that has finally gained relevance: 1/2 Dragon damage reduction lets Tangrowth check SD Dragon-Z Garchomp or Dragon-Z Zygarde. There are some other fringe benefits for mons like Zygarde and Garchomp who otherwise fear Dragon attacks but can abuse the terrain to set up or live hits that'd otherwise kill them.

+2 252 Atk Garchomp Devastating Drake vs. 252 HP / 28 Def Tangrowth in Misty Terrain: 249-294 (61.6 - 72.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Garchomp Devastating Drake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Zygarde in Misty Terrain: 264-312 (73.7 - 87.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Dragon Claw vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Zygarde in Misty Terrain: 144-170 (40.2 - 47.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Dragon Claw vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Garchomp in Misty Terrain: 176-210 (49.1 - 58.6%) -- 98% chance to 2HKO
 
One mon I’ve been liking a lot lately is Crawdaunt. Since the meta has reverted back to toxapex/tangrowth cores spammed all over the place as well as balance in general being one of the most, if not, the most dominant style makes crawdaunt really nice. It has very few, if any swich ins and a lot of those switch ins hate getting knocked off. it also eats stall, which is really nice. I like Lopp as a partner due to how it benefits from crawdaunts breaking and gives it a speedy partner that can take on very offensive teams. I’ve been using the hallows team btw.
 
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This is completely off-topic, but it's a post I wanna make: the OU ladder is incredibly un-fun right now. I am not a tournament player, so I don't know what the tourney meta is like, but I really never want to ladder anymore, despite usually loving doing so. This could just be the fact that I'm not a particularly amazing player, but either way.

A large amount of teams seem to follow one of these themes:
Rain
Trick Room
Paralysis Spam (Zygarde+Serp, sometimes Rachi)
Webs
Screens
and other types of HO with a suicide lead and 5 set-up mons

I build a lot of teams, yet every team I build is somehow weak to multiple of these. I don't know if that's just me, but these teams aren't just not fun to play against, they're incredibly difficult to beat if built and played well.

Then there's a couple Pokemon in particular that are absolute demons.

zygarde.png

Zygarde-50% is a bitch. It can and will singlehandedly beat every team. I miss the days when everyone thought BandGarde was the GOAT because that thing was honestly pretty easy to deal with. However, it can do too many things. DD/Sub/Coil, DD/Sub/Glare, DD+3att, WP, etc. Most of these literally just run Arrows, because it beats every mon. Glare is such a bitch, because it pretty much allows Zygarde to beat mons it shouldn't. I really cannot understand how this mon isn't S-rank yet and I lowkey consider it broken.

magearna.png

Like with Zygarde, there's always a Magearna set that can beat your team. AV is a good set, but it's usually very managable. Shift Gear and Trick Room, on the other hand, eat HO up and CM variants are such a bitch for bulkier teams. Its coverage is impossibly amazing, but just its STABs hit incredibly hard anyways. I've even seen things like Scarf and Specs, both of which are actually surprisingly good. This mon isn't as bad as Zygarde, but it is a huge pain.

greninja-ash.png

This thing is a menace. Sure, Greninja-Ash has about 1 set, but without a select few Pokemon on your team, it's gonna be a pain to deal with. Thank god it's easy to wear down, but then again, it can be at 1 HP and still do exactly what it would at full. Spikes are so good and part of the reason (along with Webs) why I feel the need to cram Defog on pretty much every team, which leads me to the next mon.

zapdos.png

Fuck Zapdos. It's a great Defogger, definitely, but goddamn whenever I see a Static variant I am not happy. Paralysis is a broken mechanic, that's all I have to say. Static and Discharge combined mean this mon will probably Paralyze, like, 2 mons per game. Not fun.

mawile-mega.png

Mawile-Mega is a good Pokemon. I've been seeing a lot of discussion about moving this to S-rank, but I'm not sure I can agree. I think the most threatening variants are the ones on TR teams, as Sucker Punch just doesn't really do it. Great Pokemon, but I'd say slightly overrated in my opinion.

hawlucha.png

Thank fuck Hawlucha has fallen off a bit. This mon is still an incredible threat, unless you have a Zapdos or Tapu Koko (and even then, if you come across the rare Stone Edge or Poison Jab respectively, you're still boned). Very happy that its Attack stat is not great before SDing up, but still a big threat.

gliscor.png

I just wanna say that Gliscor is good. That's all.

chesnaught.png

Now here's a surprising mon. I know people have been talking about Chesnaught in UU a lot recently, but it's actually fun in OU too. Spikes have always been and will always be awesome, it gets Leech Seed, Taunt, nice STABs in Drain Punch and Wood Hammer, Synthesis, Super Fang, and even Spiky Shield is a fun option. It can actually pressure Heatran, unlike Ferrothorn. It takes on Zygarde, Ferrothorn, Ash-Greninja, Kartana, Gastrodon, Keldeo, Landorus-Therian lacking Z-Fly, Lopunny-Mega, Tyranitar, Gyarados-Mega, Bisharp, and more. It can even switch in on things like Focus Blast and Shadow Balls to flex with Bulletproof.

I think I'm pretty much out of things to say, just some thoughts on what the ladder meta is currently like.

edit: oh yeah serp is a cunt mon lol
 
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necrozma.gif


Necrozma @ Leftovers
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 236 HP / 20 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Earth Power
- Calm Mind
- Moonlight

I've been using CM Necrozma recently and find it a great answer to a lot of special attackers, particularly the psyspam meta. This set allows it to take on Mega-Zam, Lele, Lati@s, M-Diancie, Heatran and Tornadus with its good bulk and great coverage provided by Psyshock to beat other CM users and Earth Power to OHKO Heatran. Prism Armor, its unique ability, reduces super-effective hits by 3/4 which allows it to tank Shadow Ball coverage and utility Knock Offs, and then you have decent recovery in Moonlight and Leftovers.
 
Daikessen said:
necrozma.gif


Necrozma @ Leftovers
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 236 HP / 20 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Earth Power
- Calm Mind
- Moonlight

I've been using CM Necrozma recently and find it a great answer to a lot of special attackers, particularly the psyspam meta. This set allows it to take on Mega-Zam, Lele, Lati@s, M-Diancie, Heatran and Tornadus with its good bulk and great coverage provided by Psyshock to beat other CM users and Earth Power to OHKO Heatran. Prism Armor, its unique ability, reduces super-effective hits by 3/4 which allows it to tank Shadow Ball coverage and utility Knock Offs, and then you have decent recovery in Moonlight and Leftovers.
Click to expand...

Cool stuff, any specific benchmarks for those EVs? Something to handle Mega Scizor and Pursuit trapping is obviously mandatory, so (Defensive Bulk Up) Buzzwole might actually fit that niche quite nicely.
 
Daikessen said:
necrozma.gif


Necrozma @ Leftovers
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 236 HP / 20 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Earth Power
- Calm Mind
- Moonlight

I've been using CM Necrozma recently and find it a great answer to a lot of special attackers, particularly the psyspam meta. This set allows it to take on Mega-Zam, Lele, Lati@s, M-Diancie, Heatran and Tornadus with its good bulk and great coverage provided by Psyshock to beat other CM users and Earth Power to OHKO Heatran. Prism Armor, its unique ability, reduces super-effective hits by 3/4 which allows it to tank Shadow Ball coverage and utility Knock Offs, and then you have decent recovery in Moonlight and Leftovers.
Click to expand...
But doesn't having Prism Armor instead of Magic Guard make it a rather worse Pokemon than Reuniclus, which can set up against status? I understand the damage reduction might be good, but I think as a whole being immune to passive damage is better as a bulky setup sweeper.
 
XxAwesomePlayzxX said:
But doesn't having Prism Armor instead of Magic Guard make it a rather worse Pokemon than Reuniclus, which can set up against status? I understand the damage reduction might be good, but I think as a whole being immune to passive damage is better as a bulky setup sweeper.
Click to expand...
On top of that, Reuinclus can also set up against a much larger variety of Pokemon, including Celesteela, Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Zygarde. It also can actually beat all Dark-types besides Hydreigon with Toxic Spikes thanks to Acid Armor. In addition, Reuinclus also has actual defensive utility as it is a great check to Zygarde and all common Steel-types except for Magearna. I also don't see much reason to use CM Necrozma over Reuniclus. If you really want to use Necrozma, Stealth Rock is your best bet.
 
TURBODERP said:
Cool stuff, any specific benchmarks for those EVs? Something to handle Mega Scizor and Pursuit trapping is obviously mandatory, so (Defensive Bulk Up) Buzzwole might actually fit that niche quite nicely.
Click to expand...

252 SpA Tapu Lele Shadow Ball vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Prism Armor Necrozma: 102-121 (25.8 - 30.7%) -- 4.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Alakazam-Mega Shadow Ball vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Prism Armor Necrozma: 127-151 (32.2 - 38.3%) -- 1.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Tornadus-Therian Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 236 HP / 20 Def Prism Armor Necrozma: 102-121 (25.8 - 30.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

Buzzwole is exactly who I use it with as well

XxAwesomePlayzxX said:
But doesn't having Prism Armor instead of Magic Guard make it a rather worse Pokemon than Reuniclus, which can set up against status? I understand the damage reduction might be good, but I think as a whole being immune to passive damage is better as a bulky setup sweeper.
Click to expand...
Oddessy said:
On top of that, Reuinclus can also set up against a much larger variety of Pokemon, including Celesteela, Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Zygarde. It also can actually beat all Dark-types besides Hydreigon with Toxic Spikes thanks to Acid Armor. In addition, Reuinclus also has actual defensive utility as it is a great check to Zygarde and all common Steel-types except for Magearna. I also don't see much reason to use CM Necrozma over Reuniclus. If you really want to use Necrozma, Stealth Rock is your best bet.
Click to expand...

Necrozma is cooler.

EDIT: Also, Photon Geyser ignores abilities which is useful against unaware mons
 
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So it's been a while since I last posted here, and with discussion picking up, I thought I'd share some experiences I've been having lately.


slowbro-mega.gif


So I wanted to start out today by talking about Mega Slowbro. With Bulky Offence gaining a lot more traction, Slowbro has many more opportunities to shine as an incredible blanket check to various threats, including the likes of Protean Greninja, Medicham, Kyurem-Black and Charizard X, which are all immensely threaten standard bulky offence builds. There's honestly not an awful lot to discuss regarding its niche, but one really nice option that I was suggested to use by our forum leader is Toxic, which is honestly a really nice move to run on bro alongside fire blast, as you're able to really punish many common switch-ins, including Tangrowth, Greninja, Magearna and Rotom whilst also just providing generally excellent support to common partners such as Heatran and Zygarde. Admittedly, Mega Slowbro is a quite a linear 'mon to discuss considering that there's not too much to discuss other than "it's able to wall just about everything", but I did want to mention one really cool aspect and Mega Slowbro and that's its amazing ability to abuse spikes. Because of its ability to simply invalidate a large portion of the meta, it naturally forces a lot of switches, which means that Ferrothorn and Greninja make for fantastic partners. One small problem I do have with Slowbro is that it's very susceptible to status (mainly toxic) which is incredibly detrimental, however this can be solved by pivoting it into a weaker scald or simply just allowing something else on the team to deal with it. Overall, it's a pretty cool mon and I highly suggest you give it a try.

greninja.gif


I've also really been enjoying Protean Greninja lately, mainly because of the decline in balance and the prominence of bulky offence in this meta. There are honestly so many sets I'd like to discuss, but I wanted to mostly discuss Specially Offensive variants, since I've had the most experience with those variants. With the combination of Hydro Pump, Ice Beam (or Gunk Shot) and HP Fire, you basically devour most bulky offence builds that lack either a Rotom or a Slowbro, considering that nothing really can really take the combination of the aforementioned + Spikes. Because of this, I've been really enjoying Metronome and Expert Belt variants, simply because it rewards Greninja's ability to spam moves without much drawback. Another commonly overlooked aspect of Protean variants is that you're able to convincingly bluff Ash Greninja by pairing it with stuff that's commonly paired with Ash Gren and is ironically a better method of breaking past many mons than its Ash Counterpart. Partners such as Mawile, Zygarde and Latios generally appreciate Protean Gren's ability to break past Bulky Grasses such as Tangrowth, Tapu Bulu and Ferrothorn in addition to a few Steels such as Celesteela and Scizor much more reliably than Ash Greninja can. Honestly, it's just a really cool pick in this meta and I encourage everyone to give it a try!

e: If you're wondering why I didn't mention pex, it's because this post is mostly based from a bo perspective. Yes, I will address this in my next post. part 2 coming soon
 
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Oddessy said:
On top of that, Reuinclus can also set up against a much larger variety of Pokemon, including Celesteela, Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Zygarde. It also can actually beat all Dark-types besides Hydreigon with Toxic Spikes thanks to Acid Armor. In addition, Reuinclus also has actual defensive utility as it is a great check to Zygarde and all common Steel-types except for Magearna. I also don't see much reason to use CM Necrozma over Reuniclus. If you really want to use Necrozma, Stealth Rock is your best bet.
Click to expand...

I'd say the best Necrozma set right now is that weird Weakness Policy Trick Room set. That thing is pretty deadly. CM Seed sets are still somewhat viable too.
 
"HOW TO MAKE A GLARE SPAM TEAM IN ULTRA SUN AND MOON OVERUSED"

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, then you should definitely now about the most absolute form of cancer that can come from this particular team archetype that we call, "Glare Spam". Essentially, what is Glare Spam? When, it's when you take broken ass Zyg and Serp and click Glare every turn they're on the field, hoping to paralyze your opponent's entire team and hax the fuck outta them, frustrating your opponents and occasionally making them say some "very not friendly" things. Again, this is the most absolute form of cancer. But anyways, let me get started on this guide. Btw, you can click on the sprites for the sets.



GLARE USERS

These two bad boys spread everybody's favorite status. Pick from the many different sets they have that incorporate Glare, slap said set on a team, and bam, that's the first step in creating a Glare Spam team. It's a good idea to use both of these fuckers on the same team to maximize bullshit levels. The idea on how to use this duo are simple, get them safely on the field (a little harder for Serp bc mediocre bulk), then click Glare on a predicted switch, crippling said switch-in and making it easier to deal with because 1.) Their speed will get heavily reduced, and 2.) The're going to have a hard time functioning properly due to full-paralysis turns kicking in.



GLARE ABUSERS

These guys take advantage of the opponent's team getting paralyzed, they enjoy their checks being slower than them, and if their checks get fully-paralyzed against them then they can actually break through them. Examples of how these breakers utilize Glare include; SD Kartana being faster than Tornadus-T and knocking it out with a boosted attack, and M-Mawile being faster than Heatran and OHKOing it with a +2 Knock Off.



SPECIFIC DEFENSIVE WALLS

Glare Spam teams end up being very offensively based teams, but having a defensive backbone is still important, although not all defensive Pokemon synergize well with Zygarde + Serperior. For example, using Grass-types not named Kartana isn't a good idea since it stacks weaknesses with Serperior, and Glicor + Zygarde stacks weaknesses against the likes of both Greninja forms, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, Kyurem-B (that's hard to fix though), and the Rain archetype as a whole. It's also a bad idea to use Tapu Fini since it's terrain stops Glare from working against grounded targets. M-Latias and Reuniclus can't abuse Glare that well making them both unwise choices.

Now let me give examples of good defensive walls that fit on Glare Spam teams. Gastrodon and Toxapex are both Ash-Greninja checks that don't stack weaknesses with Serperior, and both can handle Protean Greninja pretty well. Gastrodon also pivots into Heatran, while Toxapex readily deals with Tornadus-T. Celesteela is a solid answer to Tapu Bulu. Zapdos defogs while stopping Tornadus-T from being a nuisance with Knock Off/Taunt, and it can generally punish U-turn spam with Static. Defensive Heatran sets rocks and enjoys opposing Heatran being paralyzed. AV Magearna blanket checks threats such as both Greninja forms and Kyurem-B.




And that's essentially it, Glare Spam is an utterly despicable playstyle that easy to use, easy to abuse, and is almost skill-less most of the time, so definitely give it a try, okay I'm out, need to write some Salamence pseudo analysis shit, peace!​
 
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Hey everybody, I'm here today to bring up vastly underrated threats in the current state in the meta game.
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Reuinclus right now is absolute bullshit. It sets up on common Pokemon being spammed at the moment such as Slowbro, Zygarde, Ferrothorn, Mega Lopunny, and Celesteela, Right now, so many teams are ridiculously underprepared for Reuinclus it's not even funny. When paired with Toxic Spikes, the Acid Armor set can obliterate pretty much anything not named Tapu Fini or Hydreigon. Oh, and if that wasn't enough, it is also an incredibly dependable answer to Zygarde, a huge threat at the moment. You are seriously missing out if you don't give Reuinclus a try, it is actually stupid right now. It loves the fact that Bulky Offense is being spammed at the moment.
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Similarly to Reuinclus, Kyurem-B loves the fact that Bulky Offense teams are being spammed at the moment. Many teams aren't preparing to face it anymore, with many teams relying on AV Magearna or Ferrothorn to defensively check it, and Ash-Greninja and Tornadus to offensively check it, both methods being very unreliable against the Icium Z set due to its bulk and sheer power. Not even Magearna can check it because:
252 Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Fusion Bolt vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 119-140 (32.7 - 38.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
At most it's a one time switch in. Hazard control is also in a very good condition right now, due to Tapu Fini, Landorus-T, and Tornadus-T all being very good at the moment.
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Finally, Mega Camerupt is surprisingly pretty good at the moment. Due to Mega Alakazam, Magearna, Slowbro, and Celesteela all being common, Mega Lati@s have fallen out of favor. Mega Camerupt loves this, as it is now free to utterly destroy most teams at the moment. It is a very good Stealth Rock setter, especially with Rock Slide, as it can keep them up against Moltres Stall and Tornadus-T very effectively. A lot of teams don't have many good switch ins to the camel either. For instance, Slowbro and Toxapex are both 2HKOed by Earth Power. Finally, Camerupt is also a pretty good answer to Magearna, due to it being able to take on any set besides Fightinium Z.

Thank you for reading my post!
 
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