Paraflinching and its red-headed stepchild Parafusion have never made big homes in the OU bracket, as Jirachi (the prime candidate for it) has better things to do, and Togekiss (the other big user) is UU. Parafusion, as used by Liepard for example, is also less used in the BW metagame to the best of my knowledge, due to the highspeed offensive metagame.
However, there's a few mechanics changes that could change the usage rate of Paraflinching/fusion.
The Good
- Togekiss, one of the premier Parafusion users, with its good special defence, access to thunder wave, body slam, air cutter, and serene grace, now gained the fairy type, rendering it immune to dragon, doubly resistant to fighting and bug, and strong against dark. This added defensive bulk, mixing with its good special bulk means that with its stats alone it could make a case for OU, as it's immune to the STAB moves of Garchomp, Flygon, and Zygarde. It can screen, but with its abilities, a paraflinch set is the most viable.
- Klefki, with its great typing, has the perfect moveset to swagger, paralyze, put up subs, and use foul play to make your life hell. It's also blessed with Prankster, making it sure to get a status on you before you have a chance to act.
- Pretty much every pokemon with Own Tempo or Inner Focus has a better ability that it would rather be using.
The Bad
-Electric pokemon are now fully immune to paralyze, and if you're using thunder wave, ground pokemon also have an immunity, and without the drop in speed, Togekiss, the prime paraflincher, isn't going to be fast enough to set up any flinches.
The Ugly
Priority moves are more prevalent than ever - Pokes with prankster aren't going to go away, and with Talonflame around using Brave Bird, even if you get of a paralyze, you can't guarantee the chance to go first to set up that crucial flinch chance.
As for discussion questions: What do you think about paraflinch? Is it a tactic you can see being used? Is it something you feel like you should prepared to deal with?
However, there's a few mechanics changes that could change the usage rate of Paraflinching/fusion.
The Good
- Togekiss, one of the premier Parafusion users, with its good special defence, access to thunder wave, body slam, air cutter, and serene grace, now gained the fairy type, rendering it immune to dragon, doubly resistant to fighting and bug, and strong against dark. This added defensive bulk, mixing with its good special bulk means that with its stats alone it could make a case for OU, as it's immune to the STAB moves of Garchomp, Flygon, and Zygarde. It can screen, but with its abilities, a paraflinch set is the most viable.
- Klefki, with its great typing, has the perfect moveset to swagger, paralyze, put up subs, and use foul play to make your life hell. It's also blessed with Prankster, making it sure to get a status on you before you have a chance to act.
- Pretty much every pokemon with Own Tempo or Inner Focus has a better ability that it would rather be using.
The Bad
-Electric pokemon are now fully immune to paralyze, and if you're using thunder wave, ground pokemon also have an immunity, and without the drop in speed, Togekiss, the prime paraflincher, isn't going to be fast enough to set up any flinches.
The Ugly
Priority moves are more prevalent than ever - Pokes with prankster aren't going to go away, and with Talonflame around using Brave Bird, even if you get of a paralyze, you can't guarantee the chance to go first to set up that crucial flinch chance.
As for discussion questions: What do you think about paraflinch? Is it a tactic you can see being used? Is it something you feel like you should prepared to deal with?
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