Pet Mod VGC 20XX [2.5 - Good gimmicks]

[BlueRay]

Sugarbear, you forgot to include my Wild Charge buff. That being said, a swift recovery to you! Those chest infections can be very nasty and may take quite a while to recover from. So, I hope you won't have to go through a relatively long recovery time!

Spoiler

Flying: PalpitoadChamp's Mountalon. They had the good foresight to make it slower than Delphynan. Moreover, I like that its Spe is flexible enough to be run on Tailwind or Trick Room, especially the latter since "slow" Flying Pokémon in that archetype are basically unheard of in VGC. So, that's a great niche to fill.
New Evolution: Samtendo's Stontonk. Not much to say I haven't already said before. I like the spread distribution and the potential it brings to a team!
New Ability: PalpitoadChamp's Malitch. This is a very interesting concept, making underrated moves like Curse more valuable. I could see a signature move being added, perhaps à la Steel Beam or Mind Explosion or Thunder Cage for more synergy and to make up for the Pokémon's rather modest damage output. If this wins, I could see Trick Room and Pain Split being added because just having an ally take indirect damage instead probably isn't good enough on its own.

Moves
Arm Thrust: No
Brine: Yes
Disarming Voice: No
Embargo: No
Flame Burst: Yes. Though, I wonder if the slight damage increasement would be sufficient to run it. It's definitely in the right direction.
Submission: Yes
Triple Kick: Yes
Electro Ball: Yes
Blast Burn/Frenzy Plant/Hydro Cannon: Abstain
Wild Charge: Yes
Accelerock: Yes
Smack Down: Yes
Iron Tail: No
Explosion: No
Meditate: Yes
Dragon Rush: No
Belch: Yes
Terrain Pulse / Weather Ball: No
Dragon Cheer: No
Fire Pledge/Water Pledge/Grass Pledge: Yes

 

[Sugarbear]

Sugarbear, you forgot to include my Wild Charge buff. That being said, a swift recovery to you! Those chest infections can be very nasty and may take quite a while to recover from. So, I hope you won't have to go through a relatively long recovery time!

Oh **** sorry,

Wild Charge has 100 BP

 

[Sugarbear]

The results are in! Here are the winners:

Mountalon by PalpitoadChamp
Stontank by Samtendo09
We have a tie between Kunagawa by BlueRay and Malitch by PalpitoadChamp . Since they're both great mons in their own right, I thought I'd let both of them through.

Approved move changes:
Brine
Flame Burst
Sumbission
Triple Kick
Electro Ball
Blast Burn
Frenzy Plant
Hydro Cannon
Wild Charge
Accelerock
Explosion
Iron Tail
Belch
Grass Pledge
Water Pledge
Fire Pledge
Smack Down - was a tie, but I felt the change was good.
Meditate - another tie, but we don't have many physical set up sweepers yet, so it's an interesting idea.

Congratulations to PalpitoadChamp - since your Pokemon had the most votes overall, you get to pick either a category for the next slate or our next discussion topic. PM me or leave a comment on my profile with what you want. Massive apologies for forgetting to include your moves in the vote - I thought I'd fixed it. Being ill sucks. Are you OK with us voting on them again this slate? I'll kick off the next slate after.

 

[Sugarbear]

Also BlueRay , would you object to Fairy moves being Special in Ancient Core? That way there would be 9 types on either side.

 

[BlueRay]

Also BlueRay , would you object to Fairy moves being Special in Ancient Core? That way there would be 9 types on either side.

Porting Fairy moves into gen2 makes them physical by default. So, for consistency's sake, I'd prefer if Fairy remained physical. Fwiw, the Fairy type has a lack of physical Fairy moves. So, with Ancient Core, you can suddenly improve options, both for physical STAB and non STAB users.

 

[Sugarbear]

Alright, Slate 9 is up! Here are the following categories:

1: Mix it up!
This is for a Pokemon that can be either a physical or a special attacker. Try not to make one option clearly superior

2: Utilizes a rare item.
No, we're not creating any new items just for this mon. The point of this slate is to see if we can make a Pokemon that makes good use of an item not many other Pokemon do.

Discussion Slate
Does the Normal type need to be buffed? And if so how?

Voting starts on Friday 6th December

 

[BlueRay]

Rare Item User

Name: Bennusule

Ability: Unburden // Rewind (Whenever user's HP is brought to 50% or below, used up items on user's side are recycled.)
Type: Dark / Fire

Stats:
HP: 98
Attack: 125
Defense: 90
Special Attack: 55
Special Defense: 85
Speed: 43
BST: 496

Height: 2.1 m
Weight: 67.8 kg
Gender Ratio: 50.0% male, 50.0% female

Physical Moves	Special Moves	Status Moves
Acrobatics, Assurance, Beak Blast, Flame Charge, Flare Blitz, Fling, Foul Play, Power Trip, Sky Attack, Sucker Punch, Temper Flare	Air Cannon, Air Slash, Burning Jealousy, Dark Pulse, Dazzling Gleam, Fire Blast, Fire Spin, Flamethrower, Heat Wave, Hurricane, Incinerate, Meteor Beam, Overheat, Snarl, Weather Ball	Bulk Up, Calm Mind, Feather Dance, Morning Sun, Nasty Plot, Protect, Rest, Roost, Safeguard, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Sunny Day, Tailwind, Trick Room, Will-O-Wisp

Description:
1) Concept
- Bennusule is composed of bennu, soul, and capsule. Bennu references an Egyptian death god, linked to concepts of sun, creation, and rebirth. Thus, the bennu is sometimes considered the origin of where phoenix come from. Moreover, these information explain the dual Dark and Fire type on Bennusule. As for the word soul, it alludes to the "ba", which is a so-called personality component of the soul of the sun deity ra. Finally, capsule references time capsule and represents bennu's double meaning. After all, in the context of space, bennu is linked to a certain asteroid that is seen as a pristine time capsule from the early solar system! Therefore, coupled with the rebirth and renewal aspect of a phoenix like being, Bennusule is strongly associated with time.
- In the morning, the bird bennu rises up from the ashes, explaining Unburden on Bennusule. At night, it prepares itself for its own "death", only for this cycle of life and death to start in the morning again. This should explain the ability Rewind.

Description:
2) Competitive
- Bennusule is primarily a Trick Room abuser and can also set it up itself if necessary. Flare Blitz is its strongest and most reliable STAB option whereas its Dark moves are relatively limited. However, in the latter's case, they do have their pros and cons. The most obvious use of Fling is Iron Ball, granting you a base 130 BP Dark-type STAB option. Moreover, thanks to Iron Ball halving its Spe, Bennusule can outspeed Escavalier and Foongus-Enlightened in Trick Room! Depending on how you customize this Pokémon's EVs and IVs and how you play it (for instance, whether Trick Room is set-up or not), you can make use of Assurance and switch to Fling later to better adapt to a situation.
- That said, Iron Ball isn't the only rarely used item you can take advantage of; in fact, there's also Room Service or Power Herb. The former triggers on Trick Room, making Bennusule outspeed Pokémon with base 30 at the very least while also powering up Acrobatic's base power. Alternatively, there's the Power Herb + Sky Attack combo. As this PetMod has lots of Fighting Pokémon, having a Flying move can ease the match-up!
- Fwiw, Dark/Fire has some synergy with a Flying or Rock ally using Sky Attack or Meteor Beam as this dualtype pressures Ice, Grass, and Steel. PalpitoadChamp's most recent Rock/Flying submission is a potential candidate since it's immune to Ground, learns Meteor Beam, and can pressure Fighting Pokémon for Bennusule.

Mix it up

Name: Metagross-Prime

Ability: Infiltrator // Psy Net (If user gets attacked, it sets a Psychic Terrain.)
Type: Bug / Dark

Stats:
HP: 80
Attack: 135
Defense: 120
Special Attack: 115
Special Defense: 80
Speed: 70
BST: 600

Height: 1.6 m
Weight: 550.0 kg
Gender Ratio: -

Physical Moves	Special Moves	Status Moves
Assurance, Brainage, Brutal Swing, Foul Play, Leech Life, Lunge, Payback, Pin Missile, Skitter Smack, Sucker Punch	Bug Buzz, Dark Pulse, Giga Drain, Paranoia, Stored Power, Struggle Bug	Nasty Plot, Rage Powder, Sticky Web, String Shot,

Description:
1) Concept
- If you've ever seen Metagross's original design concept, you might understand why I went for a dual Bug/Dark type on it. It resembles a spider quite a lot and generally looks like a horrific creature from Lovecraft's stories. For the purpose of this PetMod, Metagross-Prime could be considered a relic from a very, very distant past. Perhaps, it could be seen as a creature from another dimension. This would tie it to the world of cryptids and the supernatural.
- Fwiw, Metagross-Prime has the same movepool as base Metagross. Howevere, here's a list of removed moves: Iron Defense, Magnet Rise, Steel Beam.

Description:
2) Competitive
- Currently, we don't have a terrain setter. So, Metagross-Prime will neatly fill this gap, specifically for the "Psy Spam" archetype. While unusual, Bug/Dark is actually an excellent combo to support it. For instance, Dark is immune to Psychic and resists Dark and Ghost, both of which are types Psychic Pokémon usually don't want to deal with. Furthermore, the Bug type pressures Dark Pokémon, greatly taking away pressure from the ally who can more easily focus on spamming Psychic moves. So, this would make Steel the only remaining type that resists Psychic moves. At least, Dark hits its for neutral damage.
- Fwiw, "Psy Spam" teams are usually carried by special attackers, which is no surprise when most Psychic Pokémon have a higher SpA than Atk. Meaning, if such a team were up against Light Screen or Snarl, it, at the very least, can resort to a physical attacker in Metagross-Prime. The latter also happens to learn Psychic Fangs, which destroys screens!
- Speaking of moves, if you look at Metagross-Prime's movepool, it has a shocking amount of moves that greatly synergize with its ability Psy Net. For instance, Ally Switch or Rage Powder turns Metagross-Prime into an offensive utility Pokémon able to (re)trigger Psychic Terrain whenever you like while defending the ally from threats, giving it more opportunities to wrack havoc. Besides, Metagross-Prime naturally learns Steel Roller, which could be used several times during a game and hits Fairy for super effective damage--a type that Metagross-Prime has to be wary of due to its weakness to it. If you don't want to rely on Ally Switch, there's always Struggle Bug, String Shot, and Paranoia which will likely force the opponent to attack Metagross-Prime, otherwise their Pokémon will be slowed down too much and taken care of quickly by your ally. String Shot deserves special mention as it represents an uncommon but very useful and alternate way of controlling speed on the field. This frees up team slots in the builder as a "Psy Spam" player can focus on other aspects of teambuilding. So, I expect Metagross-Prime's presence will naturally make this archetype more diverse.
- Then, there are other advantages of Psy Net. For instance, Leech Life / Brainage coupled with a potential Psychic Seed ensures Metagross-Prime's longevity, making it easier to maintain Psychic Terrain on the field. If you don't remember what Brainage does, it's Cthulauder's move that has 50 BP and combines the effect of Jaw Lock and pseudo Leech Seed. That said, Bug/Dark is well checked by the Fighting type due to the resistance. Now, with natural access to Psychic moves boosted in Psychic Terrain, Metagross-Prime will not have much of a problem against this type.
- As far as synergy goes, Metagross-Prime can pair with Sneasler to trigger the latter's Unburden and benefit from Fairy Pokémon being taken care of. It resists Ground and is immune to Psychic. In the case of Ground Pokémon, it can resort to Ice Punch or Grass Knot to threaten them; Psychic are naturally pressured by Dark. Aegislash-Light is another potential ally as it would really love spamming Expanding Force or Psy Blade and can force out Flying Pokémon with its Electric moves.
- If you don't want to rely on physical moves, you can always fall back on a special set. Set up with Calm Mind, Nasty Plot, Throat Spray or Meteor Beam and spam a spread move like Expanding Force yourself! Though, bear in mind that even with Nasty Plot, Metagross-Prime's Expanding Force won't do outrageous damage as it's non STAB. A non Nasty Plot set roughly equals a 25% power loss when compared to Armarouge, fwiw! If you manage to set-up Nasty Plot while Armarouge sets up with Meteor Beam, Metagross-Prime's Expanding Force still does less damage by 15-20%. It would need both Nasty Plot and a Mind Plate to reach Expanding Force's damage output from a +1 Armarouge. Of course, you don't have to resort to Expanding Force as Nasty Plot + Bug Buzz and Dark Pulse is fine on its own.
- That said, even though Metagross-Prime may look scary, it has mediocre speed, less bulk than base Metagross, and a worse defensive typing. The metagame also has some scary Fire and Flying Pokémon to keep it in check. Besides, feel free to threaten it with Bug Pokémon.

Discussion on Normal-type

What would compel a player to use a Normal type Pokémon?
- Its Ghost immunity can be quite useful if we had a metagame filled with some viable, metagame defining Ghost Pokémon. But this would make the Normal type compete with the Dark type, with the latter being in a clear advantage as it naturally resists and beats Ghost Pokémon. So, if we had less Dark Pokémon in the metagame, there could be naturally more incentive to run Normal Pokémon. This doesn't mean we should aim to introduce less Dark Pokémon; another way to look at the type interaction is to consider the secondary type Ghost Pokémon have in the metagame. For instance, Dustnoir is a Ghost/Rock Pokémon and threatened by sugarbear's Scrappy Normal/Fighting submission. Just by adding a secondary type and / or an ability, you can easily turn the Normal type into an advantage. This is further stressed by the fact that Normal Pokémon naturally learn Facade, punishing Will-O-Wisp Ghost Pokémon are known for. They also happen to have abilities like Guts or Quick Feet, like Ursaluna, Swellow, etc. So, to sum up, look at what's available in the metagame and try to answer it in a way that doesn't leave the Normal-type helpless and useless, either via movepool, secondary typing or ability.
- Speaking of secondary typing, if it's a useful one, a player may naturally pick up a Normal Pokémon to cover a defensive or offensive gap in a team. For instance, a Normal/Flying Pokémon naturally handles very well Matokoda (a Grass/Ghost Pokémon). Hypothetically, a "popular" Bug/Ground or Grass/Ground Pokémon could also help to encourage a Normal/Flying Pokémon since just the Flying-type alone resists these types.
- Of course, you don't have to go that route and focus solely on secondary typings. If you look at Pokémon like Porygon2, Maushold or Snorlax, clearly, these are mono Normal Pokémon that worked or are still working sufficiently well enough in VGC! That's because they offer useful roles. Porygon2 is an extremely bulky Trick Room setter that's also able to put a lot of offensive pressure. Maushold provides Follow Me redirection and Friend Guard but can also function as an offensive utility attacker. Snorlax thrives on Trick Room, and back in gen 7, it could terrorize with Belly Drum and Recycle and its good bulk. As long as you can assign useful roles to a Normal Pokémon, players will likely consider it on their team!
- At least, this is what I believe. Feel free to agree or disagree.^^
- This is also why I believe we don't necessarily need to come up with a buff for the Normal type; we just need to introduce good, useful Normal Pokémon.

Suggestions

- Could we add Wave Crash to Gyarados? It would generate more EV flexibility for it since it no longer has to spend much of its points on Atk to make some progress. There's room for more bulk customization. Moreover, it is essentially a mono Water-type attacker, and just base 80 BP Waterfall alone is no longer sufficient enough considering power creep. This change would make Gyarados more closely to Arcanine or Paldean Tauros's level, both of which are known for their mix of offense and utility.
- Another suggestion I'd like to make is adding Brainage to Orbeetle; it fits perfectly flavour wise due to the cliché take of an extraterrestrial force interested in human brains, and Orbeetle is both a Bug and Psychic Pokémon, which combines elements of sucking and smartness. While Brainage is a physical move, Orbeetle's offensive stats are rather mediocre to bad. So, it would love to have a move enabling progress; fwiw, it greatly synergizes with Hypnosis and Struggle Bug.

 

[Ubertrainer2000]

So many entries that I have submitted...but so far, only Phlocules of Slate 2 was a winner on me. Let's hope this lot can give him some company!

Bartajack (Mixed Attacker: Mix It Up!)

Name: Bartajack (Barter + Jack)
Type:
Stats: 90/90/90/90/90/90 (540)
Abilities: Sturdy/Receiver/Symbiosis
Weight: 83.3 lbs.
Movepool: Tackle, Harden, Recycle, Covet, Mighty Blow, Heavy Slam, Corrosive Gas, Spin Out, Steel Roller, Pounce, Lunge, Thief, Fling, Foul Play, Knock Off, Nasty Plot, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Charge, Wild Charge, Supercell Slam, Body Press, Reversal, Aura Sphere, Bulk Up, Flame Charge, Flare Blitz, Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, Bulldoze, Earth Power, Earthquake, Ice Spinner, Triple Axel, Take Down, Protect, Facade, Endure, Body Slam, Sleep Talk, Swords Dance, Substitute, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Tera Blast, Endeavor, Agility, Trick, Zen Headbutt, Rest, Calm Mind, Psychic Noise, Psychic, Psyshock, Rock Tomb, Sandstorm, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Smack Down, Steel Beam, Smart Strike, Flash Cannon, Gyro Ball, Hard Press, Rain Dance
Role: Jack of all Trades. With 90 in every stat, this Pokémon can run both Physical and Special sets to an equal degree, with each set having a different means of covering their weaknesses.
Flavor: A literal jack of all trades, this car jack Pokémon wanders the world, selling parts for other mechanical Pokémon to use to upgrade themselves. The sack that it carries on it's back is said to never run out of space, and supposedly leads to a parellel dimension.

Pepperella (Rare item)

Name: Pepperella (Pepper + Cinderella)
Type:
Stats: 82/74/85/102/103/64 (510)
Abilities: Constrictor (There is no limit to the number of Trapping moves that a Pokémon with this ability can inflict on a target. For example, it can trap a Pokémon in Wrap even if it is already trapped with Fire Spin.)
Weight: 87.5 lbs.
Movepool: Pepper Slipper, Absorb, Wrap, Ingrain, Ember, Spicy Extract, Sand Tomb, Mega Drain, Incinerate, Snap Trap, Sand Pit, Skitter Smack, Fake Tears, Charm, Disarming Voice, Dazzling Gleam, Play Rough, Misty Terrain, Fire Spin, Flame Charge, Sunny Day, Fire Punch, Will-O-Wisp, Heat Wave, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Overheat, Flare Blitz, Burning Jealousy, Temper Flare, Trailblaze, Magical Leaf, Bullet Seed, Seed Bomb, Grass Knot, Giga Drain, Energy Ball, Grassy Terrain, Leaf Storm, Solar Blade, Solar Beam, Grassy Glide, Mud Slap, Mud Shot, Earth Power, Take Down, Protect, Facade, Endure, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Hyper Voice, Encore, Helping Hand, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Tera Blast, Uproar, Psych Up, Endeavor, Rest, Psychic, Psyshock, Reflect, Light Screen, Calm Mind, Whirlpool, Rain Dance
Signature Move: Pepper Slipper: 100 BP Special Grass-type move with 16 PP, 70% Accuracy, and 0 Priority. Traps the target in Fire Spin for two to five turns. (Grass-type Magma Storm)
Role: Trapper. Using the Binding Band, this Pokémon (who is female only) can trap the opponent in multiple trapping moves at once using it's special ability, tearing down the opponent's health in seconds. Alternatively, it can use the Grip Claw to extend the duration of them further for even more damage!
Flavor: Terretorial despite it's innocent personality, this Chili Pepper Pokémon uses it's innocent looks to drive opponents into stepping on it's vines, which are so spicy, that they cause heatstroke on touch. This Pokémon then uses the red peppers on them to ensure that no-one can ever escape it's grasp.

 

[Samtendo09]

Mix It Up

Vipyrany (Seviper evo)

Seviper is one of these paired single-staged Pokémon back in Hoenn, with a fierce rivalry rather than any resemblance. Unlike Zangoose, who at least enjoys in-game viability (Scarlet and Violet having loads of Relearner moves due to a coding goof helps for early game) and low-tier Singles success, Seviper suffered from a combination of slow Speed and low bulk, undermining it’s mixed potential, especially in later generations where bulk is more valuable than before.

Vipyrany aims to patch Seviper’s issue on it’s bulk while retaining it’s mixed offense potential. But how could one do that without reaching a legendary-level BST? The answer is it’s standard Ability, Savage, that will allow it to use physical moves without being gimped by Intimidate.
Name: Vipyrany (viper + tyranny)
Type: Poison / Steel
Abilities: Savage(!) | Infiltrator
Savage: This Pokémon’s Attack and Special Attack equals the higher raw stat of the two; factors like Nature and stat stages can influence which of the two is the higher value, but have no effect on the lower value. (i.e. if SpA is higher than Atk, then Atk copies SpA raw stat)
Base stats: 83 HP / 75 Atk / 110 Def / 125 SpA / 80 SpD / 65 Speed | 538 BST
Useful moves:
Physical (via Savage): Crunch, Psychic Fangs, Gunk Shot, Earthquake, Iron Head, Iron Tail, Brick Break, Knock Off, Seed Bomb, Aqua Tail, Zen Headbutt, Sucker Punch, Temper Flare
Special: Sludge Bomb, Steel Beam, Flash Cannon, Giga Drain, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Snarl, Belch (Sitrus Berry), Dark Pulse, Earth Power
Status: Toxic, Glare, Switcheroo, Nasty Plot, Haze, Taunt, Protect, Substitute, Recover, Swagger, Rest + Sleep Talk
Weight: 321.4 kg
Gender: Both
Competitive use: Vipyrany keeps the surprisingly big diversity of move coverage of Seviper and runs with it, with Savage allowing it’s Attack to be as high as it’s Special Attack. Access of Earthquake, Earth Power, Flamethrower, Fire Blast and Temper Flare allows it to break through countless Steel-type Pokémon that would otherwise block it’s STABs. Steel Beam can make for a nuke attack at cost of most of it’s HP, but does allow for Sitrus Berry + Belch if pulled it out without a hitch. Buffed Iron Tail means Vipyrany can enjoy the physical 130 STAB. Nasty Plot can further boost it’s physical and special moves by nature of Savage.

Vipyrany can also provide support with Switcheroo, Glare, Toxic, Haze and Swagger to disrupt any attempt of set-up sweeping or, with Taunt, prevent opposing support-oriented Pokémon from helping out their teammate.
Is it broken?: Double weakness to Ground can be crippling to it, as even with 83 / 110 physical bulk, Vipyrany will not likely to survive a High Horsepower or Earth Power. 65 base Speed is also a bit awkward speed tier, meaning it isn’t guaranteed to move first in Trick Room, and likely to get double targeted either way. A lack of Calm Mind means Vipyrany is vulnerable to Special Attackers, so it may want to run Assault Vest to soften that blow.

One particular Steel-type Pokémon that will give Vipyrany a lot of trouble is Kiesberg, as the Ice / Steel Keisberg is immune to Fighting-type and Fire-type moves thanks to it’s Eternal Ice Ability, so only Vipyrany’s Iron Tail among STAB would put some dent, and even then Keisberg is bulky enough to survive even Vipyrany’s own Earth Power / Earthquake. Keisberg, meanwhile, can recover damage Vipyrany attempted to deal with Slack Off.
Size: 5.2 meters (remember, it’s a serpentine Pokémon)
Egg group: Field + Dragon

Normal-type Discussion

Normal’s fine as is, and directly buffing the type would make it a nightmare to balance given moves like Rapid Spin, Facade, Extreme Speed, Boomburst, Explosion and Fake Out exists. As stated by BlueRay, we would just need more good Normal-type Pokémon, especially given the success of Farigiraf and Ursaluna.

In all, no, Normal doesn’t need a buff, just more good Normal-type Pokémon.

 

[BlueRay]

So many entries that I have submitted...but so far, only Phlocules of Slate 2 was a winner on me. Let's hope this lot can give him some company!

Bartajack (Mixed Attacker)

Name: Bartajack (Barter + Jack)
Type:
Stats: 90/90/90/90/90/90 (540)
Abilities: Sturdy/Receiver/Symbiosis
Weight: 83.3 lbs.
Movepool: Tackle, Harden, Recycle, Covet, Mighty Blow, Heavy Slam, Corrosive Gas, Spin Out, Steel Roller, Pounce, Lunge, Thief, Fling, Foul Play, Knock Off, Nasty Plot, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Charge, Wild Charge, Supercell Slam, Body Press, Reversal, Aura Sphere, Bulk Up, Flame Charge, Flare Blitz, Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, Bulldoze, Earth Power, Earthquake, Ice Spinner, Triple Axel, Take Down, Protect, Facade, Endure, Body Slam, Sleep Talk, Swords Dance, Substitute, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Tera Blast, Endeavor, Agility, Trick, Zen Headbutt, Rest, Calm Mind, Psychic Noise, Psychic, Psyshock, Rock Tomb, Sandstorm, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Smack Down, Steel Beam, Smart Strike, Flash Cannon, Gyro Ball, Hard Press, Rain Dance
Role: Jack of all Trades. With 90 in every stat, this Pokémon can run both Physical and Special sets to an equal degree, with each set having a different means of covering their weaknesses.
Flavor: A literal jack of all trades, this car jack Pokémon wanders the world, selling parts for other mechanical Pokémon to use to upgrade themselves. The sack that it carries on it's back is said to never run out of space, and supposedly leads to a parellel dimension.

Pepperella (Rare item)

Name: Pepperella (Pepper + Cinderella)
Type:
Stats: 82/74/85/102/103/64 (510)
Abilities: Constrictor (There is no limit to the number of Trapping moves that a Pokémon with this ability can inflict on a target. For example, it can trap a Pokémon in Wrap even if it is already trapped with Fire Spin.)
Weight: 87.5 lbs.
Movepool: Absorb, Wrap, Ingrain, Ember, Spicy Extract, Sand Tomb, Mega Drain, Incinerate, Snap Trap, Sand Pit, Skitter Smack, Fake Tears, Charm, Disarming Voice, Dazzling Gleam, Play Rough, Misty Terrain, Fire Spin, Flame Charge, Sunny Day, Fire Punch, Will-O-Wisp, Heat Wave, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Overheat, Flare Blitz, Burning Jealousy, Temper Flare, Trailblaze, Magical Leaf, Bullet Seed, Seed Bomb, Grass Knot, Giga Drain, Energy Ball, Grassy Terrain, Leaf Storm, Solar Blade, Solar Beam, Grassy Glide, Mud Slap, Mud Shot, Earth Power, Take Down, Protect, Facade, Endure, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Hyper Voice, Encore, Helping Hand, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Tera Blast, Uproar, Psych Up, Endeavor, Rest, Psychic, Psyshock, Reflect, Light Screen, Calm Mind, Whirlpool, Rain Dance
Role: Trapper. Using the Binding Band, this Pokémon (who is female only) can trap the opponent in multiple trapping moves at once using it's special ability, tearing down the opponent's health in seconds. Alternatively, it can use the Grip Claw to extend the duration of them further for even more damage!
Flavor: Terretorial despite it's innocent personality, this Chili Pepper Pokémon uses it's innocent looks to drive opponents into stepping on it's vines, which are so spicy, that they cause heatstroke on touch. This Pokémon then uses the red peppers on them to ensure that no-one can ever escape it's grasp.

For Pepperella, I'd recommend adding a signature move à la Thunder Cage for a type of your preference, probably Grass since Fire moves like Heat Wave or Overheat are already appealing on their own. Moreover, VGC is generally a fast paced metagame. Also, since Pepperella's bulk isn't similar to Ting-Lu, this makes it even harder for a player to pull off the trap combo. Just to be clear, I'm not saying Pepperella needs to have beefed up stats, just that with her current stats, she likely needs to have a signature move that makes the best use of her stats.

 

[PalpitoadChamp]

Full Movepools if they win

Mixed

Name: Karion (Karate + Lion)

Type: Fire/Fighting
Abilities: Inner Focus // Justified
Stats: 90/110/80/100/60/70 (BST: 520)

Movepool: Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Flame Burst, Overheat, Superpower, Brick Break, Rock Slide, Scorching Sands, Snarl, Stone Edge, Earth Power, Stealth Rock, Will-O-Wisp, Scary Face, Work Up, Iron Defense, Morning Sun

Weight: 85.3 kg
Gender: both
Design: Rivals of Aether Zetterburn mixed with Sawk

Description: Karion has very strong STABs but has limited uses with both. Karion has Superpower for fighting stab or being forced to go down to Brick Break. Karion also has a strong Rock Slide or Stone Edge. On the special side, Karion has reliable stabs in Flamethrower, Fire Blast, and Flame Burst. Karion can also use a strong Overheat with a downside. Karion also has ground coverage and spread Snarl. Karion has mid bulk but with WoW, IDef, and Morning Sun.

Rare Item

Name: Razecar (Racecar + Raze)

Type: Steel/Dark
Abilities: Plus / Technician (H: Magic Bounce)
Stats: 90/80/130/60/90/105 (BST: 555)

Movepool: Trick Room, Spin Out, Knock Off, Topsy-Turvy, Torment, Iron Head, Dark Pulse, Flash Cannon, Bulldoze, Mud-Slap, Shift Gear, Darkest Lariat, Earthquake, Superpower

Weight: 48 kg
Gender: genderless
Design: Evil Lightning McQueen

Description: Razecar has the unique set of Trick Room + Spin Out + Eject Pack. Razecar is able to set up Trick Room, and due to its high speed, it likely will move last afterwards. It can then use Spin Out and swap out using Eject Pack for a slow pivot. It also has a lot of utility moves in order to support its team as well as being able to run a decent offensive set.

Normal-type

No

Mountalon Full Movepool

Accelerock, Acrobatics, Aerial Ace, Air Cannon, Air Cutter, Air Slash, Aqua Cutter, Aqua Ring, Aurora Veil, Blizzard, Body Press, Body Slam, Brave Bird, Brine, Bullet Seed, Chilling Water, Confide, Counter, Curse, Defog, Detect, Disable, Dive, Double Team, Drill Peck, Echoed Voice, Endure, Facade, False Swipe, Feather Dance, Feint, Flip Turn, Fly, Giga Impact, Gravity, Gust, Heavy Slam, Helping Hand, Hone Claws, Hurricane, Hydro Pump, Hyper Beam, Ice Beam, Ice Spinner, Iron Defense, Leaf Blade, Magnet Rise, Me First, Mega Kick, Meteor Beam, Metronome, Mighty Cleave, Mirror Move, Power Gem, Protect, Quick Attack, Recycle, Reflect, Refresh, Rest, Rock Blast, Rock Polish, Rock Slide, Rock Smash, Rock Tomb, Rollout, Round, Sandstorm, Scald, Seismic Toss, Slash, Sleep Talk, Smack Down, Snore, Snowscape, Spikes, Stealth Rock, Steel Wing, Stone Edge, Strength, Substitute, Surf, Swallow, Switcheroo, Take Down, Tera Blast, Thrash, Toxic, Water Pulse, Waterfall, Weather Ball, Windwind, Work Up, Yawn

 

[Sugarbear]

Mixed Attacker

Name: Contrunion
Type: Ice / Fire
Ability: Frostbite Fury / Solar Power / Clear Body
Frostbite Fury: Ice type attacks gain 100% power in Snow
Base stats: 62 / 122 / 52 / 102 / 52 / 132 (522 BST)
Useful moves
Physical: Icicle Crash, Triple Axel, Flare Blitz, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Wild Charge, Superpower, Stomping Tantrum
Special: Ice Beam, Blizzard, Flamethrower, Heat Wave, Overheat, Fire Blast, Focus Blast
Status: Will-o-Wisp, Taunt, Snowscape, Sunny Day, Aurora Veil, Swords Dance, Nasty Plot
Size: 2.2 m
Weight: 22 kgs
Egg group: Amorphos
Gender: Both
Competitive use: It's a fast attacker and late game win condition, and it can abuse both Sun and Snow to great effect with either of its main abilities. Or, if you're not running it on a weather team, you could run Clear Body to have a physical attacker immune to both Intimidate and Burns.
Is it broken? Low bulk and bad defensive typing.

Rare item

Name: Judigon
Type: Dragon / Fighting
Ability: Weight Breaker
Weight Breaker: Physical attacks gain 100% power if the target is heavier than the user
Base Stats: 100 / 90 / 105 / 60 / 70 / 75
Useful moves
Physical: Outrage, Dragon Claw, Scale Shot, Breaking Swipe, Close Combat, Low Kick, Mach Punch, Drain Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Earthquake, Stomping Tantrum, Iron Head, Knock Off
Special: N/A
Status: Taunt, Glare, Quick Guard, Wide Guard, Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, Dragon Cheer
Size: 1.7 m
Weight: 101 kgs
Egg group: Dragon, Human-like
Gender: Both
Competitive use: Makes use of an item virtually no one ever uses in Float Stone, which lets it make use of its ability Weight Breaker to dish out much better damage than its below average Attack stat would suggest. Float Stone is its best item, since while there are a good number of Pokemon heavier than 101 kgs, there are also quite a few lighter ones too, so Float Stone lets you get the boost against more Pokemon.
Is it broken? It doesn't dish out much damage against lighter opponents, and being reliant on the Float Stone leaves it open to Intimidate.

 

[Sugarbear]

OK everyone it’s voting time. Discussion topic was a bit of a dud, that’s on me. As always, you may not vote for your own Pokemon. Voting closes on Monday. Got something exciting coming up for the next slate. Here are the candidates:

Rare Item User

Name: Bennusule

Ability: Unburden // Rewind (Whenever user's HP is brought to 50% or below, used up items on user's side are recycled.)
Type: Dark / Fire

Stats:
HP: 98
Attack: 125
Defense: 90
Special Attack: 55
Special Defense: 85
Speed: 43
BST: 496

Height: 2.1 m
Weight: 67.8 kg
Gender Ratio: 50.0% male, 50.0% female

Physical Moves	Special Moves	Status Moves
Acrobatics, Assurance, Beak Blast, Flame Charge, Flare Blitz, Fling, Foul Play, Power Trip, Sky Attack, Sucker Punch, Temper Flare	Air Cannon, Air Slash, Burning Jealousy, Dark Pulse, Dazzling Gleam, Fire Blast, Fire Spin, Flamethrower, Heat Wave, Hurricane, Incinerate, Meteor Beam, Overheat, Snarl, Weather Ball	Bulk Up, Calm Mind, Feather Dance, Morning Sun, Nasty Plot, Protect, Rest, Roost, Safeguard, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Sunny Day, Tailwind, Trick Room, Will-O-Wisp

Description:
1) Concept
- Bennusule is composed of bennu, soul, and capsule. Bennu references an Egyptian death god, linked to concepts of sun, creation, and rebirth. Thus, the bennu is sometimes considered the origin of where phoenix come from. Moreover, these information explain the dual Dark and Fire type on Bennusule. As for the word soul, it alludes to the "ba", which is a so-called personality component of the soul of the sun deity ra. Finally, capsule references time capsule and represents bennu's double meaning. After all, in the context of space, bennu is linked to a certain asteroid that is seen as a pristine time capsule from the early solar system! Therefore, coupled with the rebirth and renewal aspect of a phoenix like being, Bennusule is strongly associated with time.
- In the morning, the bird bennu rises up from the ashes, explaining Unburden on Bennusule. At night, it prepares itself for its own "death", only for this cycle of life and death to start in the morning again. This should explain the ability Rewind.

Description:
2) Competitive
- Bennusule is primarily a Trick Room abuser and can also set it up itself if necessary. Flare Blitz is its strongest and most reliable STAB option whereas its Dark moves are relatively limited. However, in the latter's case, they do have their pros and cons. The most obvious use of Fling is Iron Ball, granting you a base 130 BP Dark-type STAB option. Moreover, thanks to Iron Ball halving its Spe, Bennusule can outspeed Escavalier and Foongus-Enlightened in Trick Room! Depending on how you customize this Pokémon's EVs and IVs and how you play it (for instance, whether Trick Room is set-up or not), you can make use of Assurance and switch to Fling later to better adapt to a situation.
- That said, Iron Ball isn't the only rarely used item you can take advantage of; in fact, there's also Room Service or Power Herb. The former triggers on Trick Room, making Bennusule outspeed Pokémon with base 30 at the very least while also powering up Acrobatic's base power. Alternatively, there's the Power Herb + Sky Attack combo. As this PetMod has lots of Fighting Pokémon, having a Flying move can ease the match-up!
- Fwiw, Dark/Fire has some synergy with a Flying or Rock ally using Sky Attack or Meteor Beam as this dualtype pressures Ice, Grass, and Steel. PalpitoadChamp's most recent Rock/Flying submission is a potential candidate since it's immune to Ground, learns Meteor Beam, and can pressure Fighting Pokémon for Bennusule.

Mix it up

Name: Metagross-Prime

Ability: Infiltrator // Psy Net (If user gets attacked, it sets a Psychic Terrain.)
Type: Bug / Dark

Stats:
HP: 80
Attack: 135
Defense: 120
Special Attack: 115
Special Defense: 80
Speed: 70
BST: 600

Height: 1.6 m
Weight: 550.0 kg
Gender Ratio: -

Physical Moves	Special Moves	Status Moves
Assurance, Brainage, Brutal Swing, Foul Play, Leech Life, Lunge, Payback, Pin Missile, Skitter Smack, Sucker Punch	Bug Buzz, Dark Pulse, Giga Drain, Paranoia, Stored Power, Struggle Bug	Nasty Plot, Rage Powder, Sticky Web, String Shot,

Description:
1) Concept
- If you've ever seen Metagross's original design concept, you might understand why I went for a dual Bug/Dark type on it. It resembles a spider quite a lot and generally looks like a horrific creature from Lovecraft's stories. For the purpose of this PetMod, Metagross-Prime could be considered a relic from a very, very distant past. Perhaps, it could be seen as a creature from another dimension. This would tie it to the world of cryptids and the supernatural.
- Fwiw, Metagross-Prime has the same movepool as base Metagross. Howevere, here's a list of removed moves: Iron Defense, Magnet Rise, Steel Beam.

Description:
2) Competitive
- Currently, we don't have a terrain setter. So, Metagross-Prime will neatly fill this gap, specifically for the "Psy Spam" archetype. While unusual, Bug/Dark is actually an excellent combo to support it. For instance, Dark is immune to Psychic and resists Dark and Ghost, both of which are types Psychic Pokémon usually don't want to deal with. Furthermore, the Bug type pressures Dark Pokémon, greatly taking away pressure from the ally who can more easily focus on spamming Psychic moves. So, this would make Steel the only remaining type that resists Psychic moves. At least, Dark hits its for neutral damage.
- Fwiw, "Psy Spam" teams are usually carried by special attackers, which is no surprise when most Psychic Pokémon have a higher SpA than Atk. Meaning, if such a team were up against Light Screen or Snarl, it, at the very least, can resort to a physical attacker in Metagross-Prime. The latter also happens to learn Psychic Fangs, which destroys screens!
- Speaking of moves, if you look at Metagross-Prime's movepool, it has a shocking amount of moves that greatly synergize with its ability Psy Net. For instance, Ally Switch or Rage Powder turns Metagross-Prime into an offensive utility Pokémon able to (re)trigger Psychic Terrain whenever you like while defending the ally from threats, giving it more opportunities to wrack havoc. Besides, Metagross-Prime naturally learns Steel Roller, which could be used several times during a game and hits Fairy for super effective damage--a type that Metagross-Prime has to be wary of due to its weakness to it. If you don't want to rely on Ally Switch, there's always Struggle Bug, String Shot, and Paranoia which will likely force the opponent to attack Metagross-Prime, otherwise their Pokémon will be slowed down too much and taken care of quickly by your ally. String Shot deserves special mention as it represents an uncommon but very useful and alternate way of controlling speed on the field. This frees up team slots in the builder as a "Psy Spam" player can focus on other aspects of teambuilding. So, I expect Metagross-Prime's presence will naturally make this archetype more diverse.
- Then, there are other advantages of Psy Net. For instance, Leech Life / Brainage coupled with a potential Psychic Seed ensures Metagross-Prime's longevity, making it easier to maintain Psychic Terrain on the field. If you don't remember what Brainage does, it's Cthulauder's move that has 50 BP and combines the effect of Jaw Lock and pseudo Leech Seed. That said, Bug/Dark is well checked by the Fighting type due to the resistance. Now, with natural access to Psychic moves boosted in Psychic Terrain, Metagross-Prime will not have much of a problem against this type.
- As far as synergy goes, Metagross-Prime can pair with Sneasler to trigger the latter's Unburden and benefit from Fairy Pokémon being taken care of. It resists Ground and is immune to Psychic. In the case of Ground Pokémon, it can resort to Ice Punch or Grass Knot to threaten them; Psychic are naturally pressured by Dark. Aegislash-Light is another potential ally as it would really love spamming Expanding Force or Psy Blade and can force out Flying Pokémon with its Electric moves.
- If you don't want to rely on physical moves, you can always fall back on a special set. Set up with Calm Mind, Nasty Plot, Throat Spray or Meteor Beam and spam a spread move like Expanding Force yourself! Though, bear in mind that even with Nasty Plot, Metagross-Prime's Expanding Force won't do outrageous damage as it's non STAB. A non Nasty Plot set roughly equals a 25% power loss when compared to Armarouge, fwiw! If you manage to set-up Nasty Plot while Armarouge sets up with Meteor Beam, Metagross-Prime's Expanding Force still does less damage by 15-20%. It would need both Nasty Plot and a Mind Plate to reach Expanding Force's damage output from a +1 Armarouge. Of course, you don't have to resort to Expanding Force as Nasty Plot + Bug Buzz and Dark Pulse is fine on its own.
- That said, even though Metagross-Prime may look scary, it has mediocre speed, less bulk than base Metagross, and a worse defensive typing. The metagame also has some scary Fire and Flying Pokémon to keep it in check. Besides, feel free to threaten it with Bug Pokémon.

Discussion on Normal-type

What would compel a player to use a Normal type Pokémon?
- Its Ghost immunity can be quite useful if we had a metagame filled with some viable, metagame defining Ghost Pokémon. But this would make the Normal type compete with the Dark type, with the latter being in a clear advantage as it naturally resists and beats Ghost Pokémon. So, if we had less Dark Pokémon in the metagame, there could be naturally more incentive to run Normal Pokémon. This doesn't mean we should aim to introduce less Dark Pokémon; another way to look at the type interaction is to consider the secondary type Ghost Pokémon have in the metagame. For instance, Dustnoir is a Ghost/Rock Pokémon and threatened by sugarbear's Scrappy Normal/Fighting submission. Just by adding a secondary type and / or an ability, you can easily turn the Normal type into an advantage. This is further stressed by the fact that Normal Pokémon naturally learn Facade, punishing Will-O-Wisp Ghost Pokémon are known for. They also happen to have abilities like Guts or Quick Feet, like Ursaluna, Swellow, etc. So, to sum up, look at what's available in the metagame and try to answer it in a way that doesn't leave the Normal-type helpless and useless, either via movepool, secondary typing or ability.
- Speaking of secondary typing, if it's a useful one, a player may naturally pick up a Normal Pokémon to cover a defensive or offensive gap in a team. For instance, a Normal/Flying Pokémon naturally handles very well Matokoda (a Grass/Ghost Pokémon). Hypothetically, a "popular" Bug/Ground or Grass/Ground Pokémon could also help to encourage a Normal/Flying Pokémon since just the Flying-type alone resists these types.
- Of course, you don't have to go that route and focus solely on secondary typings. If you look at Pokémon like Porygon2, Maushold or Snorlax, clearly, these are mono Normal Pokémon that worked or are still working sufficiently well enough in VGC! That's because they offer useful roles. Porygon2 is an extremely bulky Trick Room setter that's also able to put a lot of offensive pressure. Maushold provides Follow Me redirection and Friend Guard but can also function as an offensive utility attacker. Snorlax thrives on Trick Room, and back in gen 7, it could terrorize with Belly Drum and Recycle and its good bulk. As long as you can assign useful roles to a Normal Pokémon, players will likely consider it on their team!
- At least, this is what I believe. Feel free to agree or disagree.^^
- This is also why I believe we don't necessarily need to come up with a buff for the Normal type; we just need to introduce good, useful Normal Pokémon.

Suggestions

- Could we add Wave Crash to Gyarados? It would generate more EV flexibility for it since it no longer has to spend much of its points on Atk to make some progress. There's room for more bulk customization. Moreover, it is essentially a mono Water-type attacker, and just base 80 BP Waterfall alone is no longer sufficient enough considering power creep. This change would make Gyarados more closely to Arcanine or Paldean Tauros's level, both of which are known for their mix of offense and utility.
- Another suggestion I'd like to make is adding Brainage to Orbeetle; it fits perfectly flavour wise due to the cliché take of an extraterrestrial force interested in human brains, and Orbeetle is both a Bug and Psychic Pokémon, which combines elements of sucking and smartness. While Brainage is a physical move, Orbeetle's offensive stats are rather mediocre to bad. So, it would love to have a move enabling progress; fwiw, it greatly synergizes with Hypnosis and Struggle Bug.

So many entries that I have submitted...but so far, only Phlocules of Slate 2 was a winner on me. Let's hope this lot can give him some company!

Bartajack (Mixed Attacker: Mix It Up!)

Name: Bartajack (Barter + Jack)
Type:
Stats: 90/90/90/90/90/90 (540)
Abilities: Sturdy/Receiver/Symbiosis
Weight: 83.3 lbs.
Movepool: Tackle, Harden, Recycle, Covet, Mighty Blow, Heavy Slam, Corrosive Gas, Spin Out, Steel Roller, Pounce, Lunge, Thief, Fling, Foul Play, Knock Off, Nasty Plot, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Charge, Wild Charge, Supercell Slam, Body Press, Reversal, Aura Sphere, Bulk Up, Flame Charge, Flare Blitz, Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, Bulldoze, Earth Power, Earthquake, Ice Spinner, Triple Axel, Take Down, Protect, Facade, Endure, Body Slam, Sleep Talk, Swords Dance, Substitute, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Tera Blast, Endeavor, Agility, Trick, Zen Headbutt, Rest, Calm Mind, Psychic Noise, Psychic, Psyshock, Rock Tomb, Sandstorm, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Smack Down, Steel Beam, Smart Strike, Flash Cannon, Gyro Ball, Hard Press, Rain Dance
Role: Jack of all Trades. With 90 in every stat, this Pokémon can run both Physical and Special sets to an equal degree, with each set having a different means of covering their weaknesses.
Flavor: A literal jack of all trades, this car jack Pokémon wanders the world, selling parts for other mechanical Pokémon to use to upgrade themselves. The sack that it carries on it's back is said to never run out of space, and supposedly leads to a parellel dimension.

Pepperella (Rare item)

Name: Pepperella (Pepper + Cinderella)
Type:
Stats: 82/74/85/102/103/64 (510)
Abilities: Constrictor (There is no limit to the number of Trapping moves that a Pokémon with this ability can inflict on a target. For example, it can trap a Pokémon in Wrap even if it is already trapped with Fire Spin.)
Weight: 87.5 lbs.
Movepool: Pepper Slipper, Absorb, Wrap, Ingrain, Ember, Spicy Extract, Sand Tomb, Mega Drain, Incinerate, Snap Trap, Sand Pit, Skitter Smack, Fake Tears, Charm, Disarming Voice, Dazzling Gleam, Play Rough, Misty Terrain, Fire Spin, Flame Charge, Sunny Day, Fire Punch, Will-O-Wisp, Heat Wave, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Overheat, Flare Blitz, Burning Jealousy, Temper Flare, Trailblaze, Magical Leaf, Bullet Seed, Seed Bomb, Grass Knot, Giga Drain, Energy Ball, Grassy Terrain, Leaf Storm, Solar Blade, Solar Beam, Grassy Glide, Mud Slap, Mud Shot, Earth Power, Take Down, Protect, Facade, Endure, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Hyper Voice, Encore, Helping Hand, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Tera Blast, Uproar, Psych Up, Endeavor, Rest, Psychic, Psyshock, Reflect, Light Screen, Calm Mind, Whirlpool, Rain Dance
Signature Move: Pepper Slipper: 100 BP Special Grass-type move with 16 PP, 70% Accuracy, and 0 Priority. Traps the target in Fire Spin for two to five turns. (Grass-type Magma Storm)
Role: Trapper. Using the Binding Band, this Pokémon (who is female only) can trap the opponent in multiple trapping moves at once using it's special ability, tearing down the opponent's health in seconds. Alternatively, it can use the Grip Claw to extend the duration of them further for even more damage!
Flavor: Terretorial despite it's innocent personality, this Chili Pepper Pokémon uses it's innocent looks to drive opponents into stepping on it's vines, which are so spicy, that they cause heatstroke on touch. This Pokémon then uses the red peppers on them to ensure that no-one can ever escape it's grasp.

Mix It Up

Vipyrany (Seviper evo)

Seviper is one of these paired single-staged Pokémon back in Hoenn, with a fierce rivalry rather than any resemblance. Unlike Zangoose, who at least enjoys in-game viability (Scarlet and Violet having loads of Relearner moves due to a coding goof helps for early game) and low-tier Singles success, Seviper suffered from a combination of slow Speed and low bulk, undermining it’s mixed potential, especially in later generations where bulk is more valuable than before.

Vipyrany aims to patch Seviper’s issue on it’s bulk while retaining it’s mixed offense potential. But how could one do that without reaching a legendary-level BST? The answer is it’s standard Ability, Savage, that will allow it to use physical moves without being gimped by Intimidate.
Name: Vipyrany (viper + tyranny)
Type: Poison / Steel
Abilities: Savage(!) | Infiltrator
Savage: This Pokémon’s Attack and Special Attack equals the higher raw stat of the two; factors like Nature and stat stages can influence which of the two is the higher value, but have no effect on the lower value. (i.e. if SpA is higher than Atk, then Atk copies SpA raw stat)
Base stats: 83 HP / 75 Atk / 110 Def / 125 SpA / 80 SpD / 65 Speed | 538 BST
Useful moves:
Physical (via Savage): Crunch, Psychic Fangs, Gunk Shot, Earthquake, Iron Head, Iron Tail, Brick Break, Knock Off, Seed Bomb, Aqua Tail, Zen Headbutt, Sucker Punch, Temper Flare
Special: Sludge Bomb, Steel Beam, Flash Cannon, Giga Drain, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Snarl, Belch (Sitrus Berry), Dark Pulse, Earth Power
Status: Toxic, Glare, Switcheroo, Nasty Plot, Haze, Taunt, Protect, Substitute, Recover, Swagger, Rest + Sleep Talk
Weight: 321.4 kg
Gender: Both
Competitive use: Vipyrany keeps the surprisingly big diversity of move coverage of Seviper and runs with it, with Savage allowing it’s Attack to be as high as it’s Special Attack. Access of Earthquake, Earth Power, Flamethrower, Fire Blast and Temper Flare allows it to break through countless Steel-type Pokémon that would otherwise block it’s STABs. Steel Beam can make for a nuke attack at cost of most of it’s HP, but does allow for Sitrus Berry + Belch if pulled it out without a hitch. Buffed Iron Tail means Vipyrany can enjoy the physical 130 STAB. Nasty Plot can further boost it’s physical and special moves by nature of Savage.

Vipyrany can also provide support with Switcheroo, Glare, Toxic, Haze and Swagger to disrupt any attempt of set-up sweeping or, with Taunt, prevent opposing support-oriented Pokémon from helping out their teammate.
Is it broken?: Double weakness to Ground can be crippling to it, as even with 83 / 110 physical bulk, Vipyrany will not likely to survive a High Horsepower or Earth Power. 65 base Speed is also a bit awkward speed tier, meaning it isn’t guaranteed to move first in Trick Room, and likely to get double targeted either way. A lack of Calm Mind means Vipyrany is vulnerable to Special Attackers, so it may want to run Assault Vest to soften that blow.

One particular Steel-type Pokémon that will give Vipyrany a lot of trouble is Kiesberg, as the Ice / Steel Keisberg is immune to Fighting-type and Fire-type moves thanks to it’s Eternal Ice Ability, so only Vipyrany’s Iron Tail among STAB would put some dent, and even then Keisberg is bulky enough to survive even Vipyrany’s own Earth Power / Earthquake. Keisberg, meanwhile, can recover damage Vipyrany attempted to deal with Slack Off.
Size: 5.2 meters (remember, it’s a serpentine Pokémon)
Egg group: Field + Dragon

Normal-type Discussion

Normal’s fine as is, and directly buffing the type would make it a nightmare to balance given moves like Rapid Spin, Facade, Extreme Speed, Boomburst, Explosion and Fake Out exists. As stated by BlueRay, we would just need more good Normal-type Pokémon, especially given the success of Farigiraf and Ursaluna.

In all, no, Normal doesn’t need a buff, just more good Normal-type Pokémon.

Full Movepools if they win

Mixed

Name: Karion (Karate + Lion)

Type: Fire/Fighting
Abilities: Inner Focus // Justified
Stats: 90/110/80/100/60/70 (BST: 520)

Movepool: Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Flame Burst, Overheat, Superpower, Brick Break, Rock Slide, Scorching Sands, Snarl, Stone Edge, Earth Power, Stealth Rock, Will-O-Wisp, Scary Face, Work Up, Iron Defense, Morning Sun

Weight: 85.3 kg
Gender: both
Design: Rivals of Aether Zetterburn mixed with Sawk

Description: Karion has very strong STABs but has limited uses with both. Karion has Superpower for fighting stab or being forced to go down to Brick Break. Karion also has a strong Rock Slide or Stone Edge. On the special side, Karion has reliable stabs in Flamethrower, Fire Blast, and Flame Burst. Karion can also use a strong Overheat with a downside. Karion also has ground coverage and spread Snarl. Karion has mid bulk but with WoW, IDef, and Morning Sun.

Rare Item

Name: Razecar (Racecar + Raze)

Type: Steel/Dark
Abilities: Plus / Technician (H: Magic Bounce)
Stats: 90/80/130/60/90/105 (BST: 555)

Movepool: Trick Room, Spin Out, Knock Off, Topsy-Turvy, Torment, Iron Head, Dark Pulse, Flash Cannon, Bulldoze, Mud-Slap, Shift Gear, Darkest Lariat, Earthquake, Superpower

Weight: 48 kg
Gender: genderless
Design: Evil Lightning McQueen

Description: Razecar has the unique set of Trick Room + Spin Out + Eject Pack. Razecar is able to set up Trick Room, and due to its high speed, it likely will move last afterwards. It can then use Spin Out and swap out using Eject Pack for a slow pivot. It also has a lot of utility moves in order to support its team as well as being able to run a decent offensive set.

Normal-type

No

Mountalon Full Movepool

Accelerock, Acrobatics, Aerial Ace, Air Cannon, Air Cutter, Air Slash, Aqua Cutter, Aqua Ring, Aurora Veil, Blizzard, Body Press, Body Slam, Brave Bird, Brine, Bullet Seed, Chilling Water, Confide, Counter, Curse, Defog, Detect, Disable, Dive, Double Team, Drill Peck, Echoed Voice, Endure, Facade, False Swipe, Feather Dance, Feint, Flip Turn, Fly, Giga Impact, Gravity, Gust, Heavy Slam, Helping Hand, Hone Claws, Hurricane, Hydro Pump, Hyper Beam, Ice Beam, Ice Spinner, Iron Defense, Leaf Blade, Magnet Rise, Me First, Mega Kick, Meteor Beam, Metronome, Mighty Cleave, Mirror Move, Power Gem, Protect, Quick Attack, Recycle, Reflect, Refresh, Rest, Rock Blast, Rock Polish, Rock Slide, Rock Smash, Rock Tomb, Rollout, Round, Sandstorm, Scald, Seismic Toss, Slash, Sleep Talk, Smack Down, Snore, Snowscape, Spikes, Stealth Rock, Steel Wing, Stone Edge, Strength, Substitute, Surf, Swallow, Switcheroo, Take Down, Tera Blast, Thrash, Toxic, Water Pulse, Waterfall, Weather Ball, Windwind, Work Up, Yawn

Mixed Attacker

Name: Contrunion
Type: Ice / Fire
Ability: Frostbite Fury / Solar Power / Clear Body
Frostbite Fury: Ice type attacks gain 100% power in Snow
Base stats: 62 / 122 / 52 / 102 / 52 / 132 (522 BST)
Useful moves
Physical: Icicle Crash, Triple Axel, Flare Blitz, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Wild Charge, Superpower, Stomping Tantrum
Special: Ice Beam, Blizzard, Flamethrower, Heat Wave, Overheat, Fire Blast, Focus Blast
Status: Will-o-Wisp, Taunt, Snowscape, Sunny Day, Aurora Veil, Swords Dance, Nasty Plot
Size: 2.2 m
Weight: 22 kgs
Egg group: Amorphos
Gender: Both
Competitive use: It's a fast attacker and late game win condition, and it can abuse both Sun and Snow to great effect with either of its main abilities. Or, if you're not running it on a weather team, you could run Clear Body to have a physical attacker immune to both Intimidate and Burns.
Is it broken? Low bulk and bad defensive typing.

Rare item

Name: Judigon
Type: Dragon / Fighting
Ability: Weight Breaker
Weight Breaker: Physical attacks gain 100% power if the target is heavier than the user
Base Stats: 100 / 90 / 105 / 60 / 70 / 75
Useful moves
Physical: Outrage, Dragon Claw, Scale Shot, Breaking Swipe, Close Combat, Low Kick, Mach Punch, Drain Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Earthquake, Stomping Tantrum, Iron Head, Knock Off
Special: N/A
Status: Taunt, Glare, Quick Guard, Wide Guard, Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, Dragon Cheer
Size: 1.7 m
Weight: 101 kgs
Egg group: Dragon, Human-like
Gender: Both
Competitive use: Makes use of an item virtually no one ever uses in Float Stone, which lets it make use of its ability Weight Breaker to dish out much better damage than its below average Attack stat would suggest. Float Stone is its best item, since while there are a good number of Pokemon heavier than 101 kgs, there are also quite a few lighter ones too, so Float Stone lets you get the boost against more Pokemon.
Is it broken? It doesn't dish out much damage against lighter opponents, and being reliant on the Float Stone leaves it open to Intimidate.

 

[BlueRay]

Below, my vote.

Vote

Mixed Attacker: PalpitoadChamp's Karion
Rare Item User: Sugarbear's Judigon

It's super interesting and funny how we keep introducing more and more Fighting Pokémon. I like that, and I'm looking forward to seeing how many unique Fighting Pokémon we can come up with and how, whenever this project gets coded and implemented on DH, they interact with each other. No worries, Sugarbear. This project has been very fun for me so far, and I wouldn't worry too much about the discussion, especially considering your circumstances. It happens, and I hope you can take great care of yourself!^^

 

[PalpitoadChamp]

Mixed Up: BlueRay's Metagross-Prime
Rare Item: BlueRay's Bennusule

Despite Judigon being really cool as well, I think I like Bennusule more.

 

[Sugarbear]

My votes:

Mixed Attacker: Samtendo09’s Vipyrany
Rare item: Palitoadchamp’s Razecar

 

[Samtendo09]

Mixed Attacker: PalpitoadChamp’s Karion
Rare item: Sugarbear’s Judigon

Winning streak broken, but that’s fine, the other two’s ideas are better in context of VGC.

 

[Sugarbear]

Voting extended 24 hours to allow for more votes

 

[Ubertrainer2000]

Mixed Up: BlueRay's Metagross-Prime
Rare Item: BlueRay's Bennusule
WHY HAVEN'T ANY OF MY ENTRIES GOTTEN VOTES? Are they simply overshadowed by the popular ones?

 

[Samtendo09]

Mixed Up: BlueRay's Metagross-Prime
Rare Item: BlueRay's Bennusule
WHY HAVEN'T ANY OF MY ENTRIES GOTTEN VOTES? Are they simply overshadowed by the popular ones?

The real issue is the fact that you rushed your entries instead of putting time into them. Just because you find them good ideas doesn’t mean the others would agree. This is why it is a good idea to take some time, and ask for feedback before posting them so that they will fit better for different metagames like this.

If you keep up with quantity over quality by rushing your ideas, then most of them might end up getting overshadowed, especially in a metagame with distinctions such as VGC.

 

[Ubertrainer2000]

The real issue is the fact that you rushed your entries instead of putting time into them. Just because you find them good ideas doesn’t mean the others would agree. This is why it is a good idea to take some time, and ask for feedback before posting them so that they will fit better for different metagames like this.

If you keep up with quantity over quality by rushing your ideas, then most of them might end up getting overshadowed, especially in a metagame with distinctions such as VGC.

...I understand. Perhaps I need to research what VGC actually was...sorry, everyone.

 

[Sugarbear]

...I understand. Perhaps I need to research what VGC actually was...sorry, everyone.

Don’t worry about it, it’s always good to see people’s creations. Wolfe Glick does good videos about VGC (on youtube as WolfyVGC)

Check this out for a look at what makes a good VGC mon.

https://www.vgcguide.com/what-makes...0meet,or%20with%20support%20like%20Incineroar.

 

[BlueRay]

I second Samtendo09 and Sugarbear's comments. Never be afraid of asking for feedbacks. You can only learn from them. Moreover, regardless of one's knowledge of and familiarity with VGC or any meta, some of the most creative and best competitive submissions I've seen in any PetMod can come from less experienced people. I've seen it all the time. So, feel free to sub!

On another note, there's always the potential of collaboration! If there's an idea you want to explore but don't know how to express it in a way that makes it compelling from a competitive or flavour perspective, why not share it with us here? This applies to everyone here.

And on an unrelated note, PalpitoadChamp, if you are reading this, I could see Hammer Arm being added to Karion if it wins and if it makes sense. With base 70 Spe + Hammer Arm, it could work well on Trick Room, potentially outspeeding key threats there.

 

[Sugarbear]

OK everyone, that's a (w)rap on slate 9. Thank you all for your contributions. The winners are...

Mixed attacker: BlueRay 's Metagross-Prime and PalpitoadChamp 's Kairon!
Rare item: BlueRay 's Bennusule and my Judigon!
In the case of ties in the future, unless I think one Pokemon is outright bad/broken, all winners will be let through.

Now, normally I'd be tagging the user who got the most votes (BlueRay) and asking them to suggest a category/discussion topic, but that's not happening this week. This is a special slate. In addition to being the first double digit one, owing to everyone getting busy over the Christmas period, it will be the last slate of 2024. So let's do something big!

Slate number 10: Legendary Pokemon
In this slate, you will be creating a group of legendary Pokemon. Not restricted mons like Mewtwo, stuff like the beasts, regis or tapus. When the voting time comes (18th December), you will be voting for an entire group.
Rules:

• 5 members max
• 580 BST limit
• If your group has a master, it can have a BST of 600
• The main members must all share the same base stat total. They don't have to have the same base stats.
• They must have either the same ability, or abilities that do similar things (e.g. the tapus summon Terrain, the Ruin quartet drop stats)
  • The master is allowed to break this
• They don't have to share types (regis don't, beasts don't, weather trio don't)
• They can be regional variants or convergent evolutions of pre-existing legendary Pokemon

Lastly, not compulsory, but some lore would be nice.

Discussion topic

What else would you like to see from this pet mod?

Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with, if you're not sure about your creation PM me and I'm happy to provide feedback.

 

[BlueRay]

Legendary Bug Pokémon: The Archetype Quartet

They say "You fear that which you don't understand". This is especially true for the four Bug-type legendary Pokémon. No one really knows where they come from or whether they really exist. We only have accounts from eyewitnesses, which could be explained away as sensationalism or figment of human imagination. After all, there are no hard proofs of the strange encounters with these Bug Pokémon. Rumour has it they resemble familiar Pokémon. Naturally, this leads some researchers to the belief that if these Bug Pokémon really exist, they might be a product of the collective's unconsciousness. Thus, they represent the concept of "Archetype" in psychology.

An archetype basically contains primordial images and symbols in the collective unconscious of all humans; they can be found across cultures and history, manifesting in myths, religions, dreams, and human behaviour. Because of their sheer diversity, they can have several functions. For instance, they can tap into emotions and provide meaning. Moreover, they can influence the behaviour of humans and Pokémon. For better or for worse...

Now, I present to you the following Bug Pokémon based on cryptids from all over the world. I choose cryptids because, in the context of archetype, they challenge the boundaries of the known and unknown and reflect the values and beliefs of the societies that create them. Furthermore, the shared ability Archetype well references emotions like fear or hesitance and takes strategic advantage of it. Think of abilities like Intimidate or Rattled where stat drops imply said emotions. Fwiw, Bug Pokémon are well known for their many stat lowering moves, such as Struggle Bug, Skitter Smack, Lunge, Pounce, etc. Therefore, it only makes sense to emphasize Bug's biggest strength and most defining characteristic with the Archetype ability.

Name: Rodwell

Ability: Archetype (When the user of the ability lowers a target's stat, it receives the positive result. Example: Lunge -> target: -1 Atk, user: +1 Atk.)
Type: Bug / Electric

Stats:
HP: 60
Attack: 114
Defense: 72
Special Attack: 66
Special Defense: 126
Speed: 132
BST: 570

Height: 1.4 m
Weight: 14.0 kg
Gender Ratio: -

New Move:
- Short Circuit (Electric, Physical, 80 BP, 10 PP, contact, effect: User recovers half of the damage dealt to the target.)

Physical Moves	Special Moves	Status Moves
Acrobatics, Body Slam, Body Press, Double-Edge, Drill Run, Endeavor, Extreme Speed, Facade, Giga Impact, Leech Life, Lunge, Pounce, Short Circuit, Skitter Smack, Supercell Slam, U-turn, Wild Charge	Ancient Power, Boomburst, Bug Buz, Dark Pulse, Discharge, Electro Ball, Electroweb, Giga Drain, Infestation, Paranoia, Rising Voltage, Struggle Bug, Terrain Pulse, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Vacuum Wave, Volt Switch	Agility, Baton Pass, Charge, Eerie Impulse, Electric Terrain, Ion Deluge, Iron Defense, Light Screen, Magnet Rise, Protect, Rain Dance, Rest, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Thunder Wave

Description:
1) Concept
View attachment 694227
- "This long exposure photograph of moths flying around a floodlight shows an exaggerated rod effect." Thus, Rodwell is meant to allude to this optical illusion. Due to its rod like shape, this "Sky Fish" can be percevied as a UFO / UAP. After all, these sightings can take the form of a tic tac, according to NAVY pilots and the UAP task force. Given the UFO connection, Rodwell can thus allude to the Roswell incident, among speculating people. This is an event where a UFO crashed, supposedly. In the Pokémon universe, people think Rodwell could be either a Tynamo or a Zubat.
- While Galvantula and Vikavolt aren't in the metagame, Rodwell is still unique among the Bug/Electric Pokémon as it's more of a physical attacker.

Description:
2) Competitive
- Of the Bug quartet, Rodwell is the fastest Pokémon and can use its high speed to quickly control damage or speed on the field. Even though it has rather low bulk, especially on the physical side, it doesn't have much trouble staying alive for several turns so long as it can lower a target's stats before it gets attacked. Short Circuit further emphasizes Rodwell's resilience. After all, due to its low HP, it can recover quite a lot of HP with this move. Thus, Rodwell primarily functions as a resilient offensive utility Pokémon.
- The secondary Electric type is one of those types that neutralize Bug's Flying weakness. It also pressures the Flying type. Therefore, Rodwell can well pair with other Bug Pokémon that have a Flying weakness.
- Low physical bulk well balances Rodwell, making it very susceptible to the more physically orientied Rock and Fire Pokémon.


Name: Intestinorm

Ability: Archetype (When the user of the ability lowers a target's stat, it receives the positive result. Example: Lunge -> target: -1 Atk, user: +1 Atk.)
Type: Bug / Ground

Stats:
HP: 84
Attack: 60
Defense: 126
Special Attack: 132
Special Defense: 78
Speed: 90
BST: 570

Height: 4.2 m
Weight: 398.0 kg
Gender Ratio: -

Physical Moves	Special Moves	Status Moves
Body Press, Bulldoze, Dig, Earthquake, Mortal Spin, Rock Slide, Rock Tomb, Sand Tomb, Stone Edge	Acid Spray, Ancient Power, Discharge, Earth Power, Electroweb, Giga Drain, Hyper Beam, Infestation, Mud Shot, Paranoia, Parabolic Charge, Scorching Sands, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Snore, Struggle Bug, Terrain Pulse, Venoshock	Eerie Impulse, Electric Terrain, Gastro Acid, Iron Defense, Life Dew, Protect, Rest, Rock Polish, Sandstorm, Screech, Shed Tail, Sleep Talk, Spikes, Stealth Rock, Stockpile, Substitute, Thunder Wave, Toxic, Toxic Spikes, Venom Drench

Description:
1) Concept
View attachment 694233
- Intestinorm is based on a cryptid known as the Mongolian Death Worm. It's said to live in the most desolate parts of a desert. What makes it extremely dangerous is its poison as well as its electrical discharge. Fwiw, Life Dew is a reference to the sand worms from Dune. In the Pokémon universe, some people believe Intestinorm could be either Orthworm or Sandaconda.

Description:
2) Competitive
- Special Ground Pokémon are pretty rare. So, Intestinorm likely won't compete much with other Ground Pokémon that are more physically inclined, such as Flygon. Given its rare dualtype and flavourful movepool, Intestinorm can well use Archetype for offensive or defensive purposes. For instance, Acid Spray can patch its rather low special bulk. Bulldoze, on the other hand, turns it into a very fast Pokémon, potentially leading to +3 Spe. And if you rely on the Poison status condition, you can reap great benefits from Venom Drench.
- If you want to, you can pair the defensive or speed buff with Life Dew or Shed Tail to support the team.
- Like Rodwell, Intestinorm is an offensive utility Pokémon but can quickly turn into a very resilient potent wallbreaker, rivaling Landorus-Incarnate damage wise.
- The secondary Ground type is one of those types that neutralize Bug's Rock weakness. It also pressures the Rock type. Therefore, Intestinorm can well pair with other Bug Pokémon that have a Rock weakness. Fwiw, Rodwell and Intestinorm are likely a match in heaven among Bug Pokémon as they well cover threats the other don't want to deal with. For instance, Rodwell scares Flying and Water Pokémon whereas Intestinorm handles Rock and Fire Pokémon.
- That said, low special bulk and a rather modest speed should well keep Intestinorm in check. Even though the combination of Struggle Bug and Earth Power can be quite scary, Earth Power is Intestinorm's strongest single STAB option. Meaning, its next best offensive option would be like Sludge Bomb, which is non STAB. So, Flying Pokémon will naturally pressure Intestinorm.


Name: Mesmortbid

Ability: Archetype (When the user of the ability lowers a target's stat, it receives the positive result. Example: Lunge -> target: -1 Atk, user: +1 Atk.)
Type: Bug / Psychic

Stats:
HP: 108
Attack: 132
Defense: 84
Special Attack: 60
Special Defense: 90
Speed: 96
BST: 570

Height: 2.1 m
Weight: 63.0 kg
Gender Ratio: -

Physical Moves	Special Moves	Status Moves
Acrobatics, Assurance, Brutal Swing, Facade, Giga Impact, Knock Off, Lash Out, Leech Life, Lunge, Poison Fang, Pounce, Power Trip, Psychic Fangs, Skitter Smack, Sucker Punch, Throat Chop, U-turn	Ancient Power, Bug Buzz, Dark Pulse, Expanding Force, Future Sight, Infestation, Night Shade, Paranoia, Psychic, Psychic Noise, Psywave, Snarl, Stored Power, Struggle Bug	Baton Pass, Bulk Up, Destiny Bond, Disable, Feather Dance, Growl, Hypnosis, Imprison, Light Screen, Mean Look, Moonlight, Nightmare, Protect, Psychic Terrain, Psycho Shift, Quiver Dance, Rage Powder, Reflect, Rest, Roost, Safeguard, Screech, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Tailwind, Torment, Whirlwind, Wide Guard

Description:
1) Concept
- Link to image can be found here. It's too large for Smogon to handle... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Mothman_Artist's_Impression.png
- Mesmortbid is based on the cryptid "Moth Man", known for its owl or moth like appearance and jumpscare in urban places at night. There are no injuries and such when people encounter it. Though, its presence might be a warning of a tragic event to come, just like Absol. In the Pokémon universe, Mesmortbid could be either Noctowl or Venomoth, which would heavily imply Mesmortbid's Psychic type and emphasize the paranormal.
- Fwiw, Mesmortbid was originally a Bug/Dark Pokémon but since we already have Metagross-Prime, I figured I could change it into Bug/Psychic to avoid potential overlap. It's not much of a change since, competitively, both dualtypes basically function the same. For instance, Stored Power vs. Power Trip. Moreover, while Bug/Psychic no longer handles Ghost Pokémon which naturally resist Bug, it, at the very least, pressures Bug resistant Fighting Pokémon.

Description:
2) Competitive
- Mesmortbid is a bulky set-up Pokémon, using Archetype and its debuff moves to stay long on the field. Once it accumulates enough boosts, it can pass them onto another Pokémon or launch powerful Power Trip or Stored Power. This shouldn't be very difficult to pull off given its access to Paranoia, Struggle Bug, Growl, or Quiver Dance. The Psychic type can even be a benefit to trigger Weakness Policy as it opens Mesmortbid to more types it's weak to, like Dark or Ghost, if you want to go that route.
- The combination of good bulk and high Atk stat turns Mesmortbid into a potent offensive Tailwind setter, which is an appreciated and rather uncommon trait to have because you don't have to waste a slot for a passive Tailwind setter and there generally aren't many useful offensive Tailwind setters to begin with.
- The secondary Psychic type is one of those types that help out Bug offensively since it covers the Bug resistant Fighting and Poison Pokémon. This is important to note because being able to resist and pressure a type at the same time frees up space in the teambuilder and generates better momentum in a battle.
- Bug/Psychic is hard-walled by Steel, which should well balance Mesmortbid.


Name: Gigantipede

Ability: Archetype (When the user of the ability lowers a target's stat, it receives the positive result. Example: Lunge -> target: -1 Atk, user: +1 Atk.)
Type: Bug / Water

Stats:
HP: 132
Attack: 96
Defense: 78
Special Attack: 114
Special Defense: 66
Speed: 84
BST: 570

Height: 14.0 m
Weight: 560.0 kg
Gender Ratio: -

Physical Moves	Special Moves	Status Moves
Aqua Jet, Aqua Tail, Body Press, Breaking Swipe, Dive, Dragon Claw, Dragon Rush, Dragon Tail, Facade, Giga Impact, Gunk Shot, Leech Life, Liquidation, Lunge, Outrage, Razor Shell, Rock Blast, Rock Slide, Rock Tomb, Scale Shot, Stone Edge, U-turn, Waterfall, Wave Crash	Acid Spray, Ancient Power, Brine, Dragon Pulse, Giga Drain, Hydro Pump, Hyper Beam, Infestation, Meteor Beam, Muddy Water, Paranoia, Scald, Sludge Bomb, Struggle Bug, Venoshock, Water Spout, Whirlpool	Coil, Dragon Cheer, Dragon Dance, Gastro Acid, Iron Defense, Protect, Rain Dance, Rest, Rock Polish, Sleep Talk, Soak, Spikes, Spiky Shield, Stealth Rock, Substitute, Swords Dance, Toxic, Toxic Spikes, Wide Guard

Description:
1) Concept
View attachment 694240
- Gigantipede is based on the Vietnamese cryptid "Con Rit". Due to the phenomena gigantism, it is quite possible that there really is a giant centipede like creature in the deepest waters. It's known for surprising sailors with its sheer size and threatening their ships. Some researchers believe people may mistake it for a whale. Whatever the case may be, in the Pokémon universe, people think Gigantipede could be either Wailord or some regional Scolipede or Centiskorch.
- If you took a look at Gigantipede's movepool, you might have noticed the unusual number of Dragon and Rock moves. That's because of the cryptid's potential link to the mythological prince / dragon that once fell down to a mountain and created the famous Ha-Long bay.

Description:
2) Competitive
- Rodwell, Intestinorm, and Mesmortbid have basically covered almost every different kind of stat lowering move you can pair Archetype with. However, on paper, Gigantipede could receive evasion boosts from Muddy Water to distinguish itself from others. I say "on paper" because people usually don't like using Muddy Water due to its shoddy accuracy. But the option is there for anyone bold enough to use it. For more consistency, I suspect Scald and Water Spout are more appealing options. I forgot to mention there's also the unique Def boost from Razor Shell to tank physical hits better.
- While Gigantipede slightly favours a special set, its stats are flexible enough to run a physical set. It does have Breaking Swipe, after all, to both debuff and damage targets while also raising its Atk stat. Moreover, it has priority in Aqua Jet and good STAB moves in Leech Life and Wave Crash, with the latter being strong in particular and the former mitigating recoil damage. Fwiw, being a Water Spout user that can also heal itself with a damaging move in Leech Life is fairly unique and unexplored. Moreover, it can either use Rock Polish or Scale Shot to boost its speed, thereby ensuring it can likely click Water Spout first before taking damage. This is also rather unique; Torkoal doesn't count because even after Shell Smash, it is still slow.
- The secondary Water type is one of those types that neutralize Bug's Fire weakness. It also pressures the Fire type. Therefore, Gigantipede can well pair with other Bug Pokémon that have a Fire weakness. For instance, Volbeat and Illumise provide Tailwind, Rain Dance, and Helping Hand support to get the most out of Gigantipede's Water Spout set. Even a Pokémon like Intestinorm will appreciate Gigantipede, and vice versa due to the resistance profile. To give an example: Bug/Water is weak to Electric, but Bug/Ground can cover for it. The same also applies to Mesmortbid from an offensive angle. Bug/Psychic pressures Hattlock (Grass/Poison) and Mycecroak (Dry Skin + Poison/Fighting), for instance. These are combos Gigantipede can struggle against.
- While Gigantipede has a high ceiling, it has a rather modest speed. If you invest heavily into its speed, its low defensive stats can come to bite you. So, the best way to use it would be to find the right balance between bulk, speed, and offense.
As you can see, Rodwell, Intestinorm, Mesmortbid, and Gigantipede can well pair with each other to cover Bug's defensive and offensive gaps. The only remaining type Bug, as a whole, would struggle against is Ghost. But that's why you can rely on other Bug Pokémon in the metagame, such as Metagross-Prime. The latter could be considered an honorary member of the quartet, considering its ancient nature and pseudo legendary status. Fwiw, all of the quartet's stats, including BST, are divisible by 6. This adds a mythical and spiritual component to these Bug Pokémon, combining themes like "overcoming fears", "sixth sense" or "unity", among others. As we all know, insects are at their best in numbers. x)

Discussion

Tbh, I'm not sure what else we could discuss but in the near future, I'd like us to diversify archetypes, such as weather and terrains. For instance, Sun could be viably used on Trick Room or in Tailwind if it has diverse users. Another competive aspect I'd be interested to explore would be dual weather. You have a team that can viably make use of more than one weather in a match. We could even try buffing rare gimmicks, like teams centred around Dancer, for instance. I've already mentioned it last time but it can't hurt to mention it again: group work. Offer themes and let people work together to come up with interesting takes. Doesn't have to be done regularly.

Code for Archetype Ability

If my subs win, here's the code for the ability.

// start: Archetype
    archetype: {
        shortDesc: "Gains opposite effect of target's lowered stat.",
        onPrepareHit(source, target, move) {
            if (move && move.target === 'allAdjacentFoes') {
                for (const foe of source.foes()) {
                    if (foe.isAdjacent(source)) {
                        const boosts = { ...foe.boosts };
                        foe.addVolatile('archetype', source);
                        foe.volatiles['archetype'].boosts = boosts;
                    //    this.add('-start', foe, 'Archetype', '[from] ability: Archetype');
                    //    this.add('-message', `${foe.name}'s boosts were copied: ${JSON.stringify(boosts)}`);
                    }
                }
            } else if (move && move.target === 'allAdjacent') {
                for (const adjacent of this.getAllActive()) {
                    if (adjacent !== source && adjacent.isAdjacent(source)) {
                        const boosts = { ...adjacent.boosts };
                        adjacent.addVolatile('archetype', source);
                        adjacent.volatiles['archetype'].boosts = boosts;
                    //    this.add('-start', adjacent, 'Archetype', '[from] ability: Archetype');
                    //    this.add('-message', `${adjacent.name}'s boosts were copied: ${JSON.stringify(boosts)}`);
                    }
                }
            } else if (move && move.target === 'normal') {
                const boosts = { ...target.boosts };
                target.addVolatile('archetype', source);
                target.volatiles['archetype'].boosts = boosts;
            //    this.add('-start', target, 'Archetype', '[from] ability: Archetype');
            //    this.add('-message', `${target.name}'s boosts were copied: ${JSON.stringify(boosts)}`);
            }
        },
        onAfterMove(source, target, move) {
            if (target === source) return; // originally had "target.fainted" but its inclusion might be unnecessary, especially in VGC where if one ally faints, the other becomes unaffected by ability
 
            const stats = ['atk', 'def', 'spa', 'spd', 'spe', 'accuracy', 'evasion'] as const;
            type BoostStatistics = typeof stats[number];
            const boostGains: Partial<Record<BoostStatistics, number>> = {};
 
            for (const activeTarget of this.getAllActive()) {
                if (!activeTarget.volatiles['archetype']) continue;
 
                const storedBoosts = activeTarget.volatiles['archetype'].boosts;
                const currentBoosts = activeTarget.boosts;
 
                for (const stat of stats) {
                    if (currentBoosts[stat] < storedBoosts[stat] ||
                        (currentBoosts[stat] < 0 && currentBoosts[stat] < storedBoosts[stat])) {
                        const difference = storedBoosts[stat] - currentBoosts[stat];
                        boostGains[stat] = (boostGains[stat] || 0) + difference;
 
                    //    this.add('-message', `${source.name} gains ${difference} ${stat} boost from ${activeTarget.name}'s lower boost.`);
                    }
                }
 
                delete activeTarget.volatiles['archetype'];
            //    this.add('-end', activeTarget, 'Archetype', '[from] ability: Archetype');
            }
 
            // Apply all boost gains at once and trigger visual display
            if (Object.keys(boostGains).length > 0) {
                this.boost(boostGains, source, source, this.effect);
            }
        }, 
        flags: {},
        name: "Archetype",
        rating: 4,
        num: -27,
    },
    // end