HiZo
total wild card
approved by Isaiah and in the hills
Cool art by in the hills
Crazyhouse
In Chess, there is a cool variant played called Crazyhouse where you can use the pieces you captured as your own. This tier will provide that fun twist on a metagame similar to OU. You can use the Pokemon you directly KO! Building, positioning, sacrifices! Everything is turned up to the max in Crazyhouse because you need to prepare for both your opponent's building and your own. You can't sacrifice Pokemon easily because your opponent will get to use them. Crazyhouse takes the strategy that playing Pokemon entails and makes it crazy!
Rules
Mechanics
Cool art by in the hills
Crazyhouse
In Chess, there is a cool variant played called Crazyhouse where you can use the pieces you captured as your own. This tier will provide that fun twist on a metagame similar to OU. You can use the Pokemon you directly KO! Building, positioning, sacrifices! Everything is turned up to the max in Crazyhouse because you need to prepare for both your opponent's building and your own. You can't sacrifice Pokemon easily because your opponent will get to use them. Crazyhouse takes the strategy that playing Pokemon entails and makes it crazy!
Rules
Mechanics
- A Pokemon will be considered "captured" and swap sides if it dies by a direct attack.
- When a Pokemon faints, it would be added as the last slot of the opponent's team from the state right before the Pokemon was knocked out, except the Pokemon's HP will be restored and it will be healed of any non-volatile status (burns, poison, paralysis, etc.).
- There will be an HP cost equal to 25% times the number of times it swapped, rounded down, whenever a Pokemon changes sides (so a captured Pokemon would have 75% of its original maximum HP when its first captured, 50% for the next, and so on).
- A Pokemon will be out of play when it dies to indirect damage (like life orb or poison damage) including struggle recoil or curse cost, or when a Pokemon would be on its 4th swap (as the HP cost will be 100%).
- The Pokemon will be added to your team instantaneously as the last member of your current team.
- There will be a "progress checker" so players can check which Pokemon is on what side, as well as which Pokemon are out of play for the remainder of the battle.
Clauses, Banlist, and Watchlist
Strategy
Teambuilding
The basis of Crazyhouse's teambuilding strategy is preparation for both your team and your opponent's team. One's teambuilding will have to counter their own teambuilding and their opponent's teambuilding in order to be successful. Even though the metagame looks extremely similar to OU, not many OU teams are actually really top-tier Crazyhouse teams due to their lack of preparation for their own Pokemon being used against them.
Battling
The basis of Crazyhouse's battling strategy revolves around positioning and strategic knockouts. Sometimes, you will try to make a Pokemon die to Entry Hazards, Life Orb recoil, move recoil, etc. to try to not pass your opponent a Pokemon. To avoid knockouts, Crazyhouse becomes very very centered around positioning and momentum as well. Trying to be one step ahead of the opponent becomes so much more crucial when one wrong move can give your opponent an extra Pokemon, effectively causing a 7-5. However, past that, many things stay the same. You still can win by securing a win-condition and not passing it to your opponent.
Weavile, due to its amazing speed tier, offensive typing, and Beat Up, has shown itself to be strong enough to make itself onto both the increased viability list and the Crazyhouse council's watchlist. Beat Up itself does more hits the more Pokemon are on your team, which in combination with Weavile's incredible speed tier, make Weavile incredibly difficult to deal with. Also, with priority being very very good, access to both Fake out and Ice Shard gives it more options in revenge killing.
Priority is insanely good in Crazyhouse. Rillaboom comes in with Fake Out and the very threatening Grassy Glide. Access to U-Turn allows for Rillaboom to be a strong pivot as well, which is very necessary in a format that is very much defined by maintaining momentum. Having Grassy Terrain up due to Grassy Surge also lends itself to many strategies, and the chip healing provided by Grassy Terrain is always appreciated. The combination of setting terrain with its ability, strong priority moves, and a great pivoting option make Rillaboom one of the strongest threats in the tier.
Tapu Lele is another terrain setter that is very strong in Crazyhouse. With priority moves being so strong, having Psychic Surge as an ability allows Tapu Lele to both use boosted Psychic type moves and be strong against the priority moves that are so strong in the tier. Tapu Lele's speed can be boosted by having it hold a Choice Scarf, which allows it to outspeed even Pokemon like Dragapult. The fact that it cannot be attacked with moves that have priority while Psychic Terrain is active gives it many options to switch in as well.
The fastest of the three big "User loses 50% of its maximum HP" move users, Blacephalon's access to its signature move, Mind Blown, is what lands it on this list. If a Blacephalon faints due to the HP loss from using Mind Blown, it is not passed to the opponent. However, if an opposing Pokemon faints to Mind Blown, it is passed to the team with Blacephalon. Blacephalon also learns Trick, which means it has an option to cripple a defensive Pokemon, which may be sent out to attempt to wall it by giving it a Choice Scarf or Choice Specs. Due to just the sheer strength of Mind Blown on sets such as Choice Specs Blacephalon and the option to cripple defensive Pokemon with Trick, the Crazyhouse council has added Blacephalon to its watchlist.
The second of the three big "User loses 50% of its maximum HP" move users, Heatran comes onto this list as a Pokemon that tends to play a significantly different role than it does in OU. Unlike in OU, in which Heatran plays a more defensive and support oriented role, Heatran is at its best in Crazyhouse when it is playing an aggressive role with moves such as Magma Storm, which can help in trapping and chipping opponents, and Steel Beam, which does heavy damage to most Pokemon that don't resist Steel type moves. Heatran also has the added benefit of being able to easily switch into a Blacephalon Mind Blown. In addition, Heatran also has the option of using Steel Roller in order to end any terrain that is active. Due to all of these strengths, the Crazyhouse council has added Heatran to its watchlist.
The slowest of the three big "User loses 50% of its maximum HP" move users, Magnezone comes onto this list with a different set of strengths than Heatran. Magnezone has three very strong abilities in Magnet Pull, Sturdy, and Analytic (which can also work due to the abundance of very fast Pokemon in this tier). It also has a great pivoting move in Volt Switch and can learn Steel Roller to control the terrains on the field. It also has the same Special Attack as Heatran, which makes Steel Beam very difficult to switch into on Choice Specs sets. Due to these strengths, the Crazyhouse council has added Magnezone to its watchlist.
Zeraora is strong in Crazyhouse due to its combination of high speed, coverage options, and strength in pivoting. Zeraora, as usual, has access to Plasma Fists, its signature move, but also has access to moves like Outrage, Play Rough, Close Combat, Knock Off, Fake Out, Volt Switch, and more. Despite doing many of the same things it would do in any other circumstance outside of the Crazyhouse metagame, the reason that Zeraora makes this list is that the valuation of speed in Crazyhouse is much higher than it would be in metagames such as SS OU.
Dragapult, similar to Zeraora, is also a very strong option in Crazyhouse due to its combination of high speed, versatility, and pivoting options. Dragapult's biggest strength is the versatility that it provides, being good as a Dragon Dance setup sweeper, a Choice Band attacker, a Choice Specs attacker, and more. Its access to U-Turn also allows it to retain momentum. Despite doing many of the same things it would do in any other circumstance outside of the Crazyhouse metagame, the reason that Dragapult makes this list is that the valuation of speed in Crazyhouse is much higher than it would be in metagames such as SS OU.
Scizor is another Pokemon that is strong in Crazyhouse due to its strong priority moves, specifically its Technician boosted Bullet Punch. Scizor also can pivot really well through the use of a slower U-turn, which is something this tier has a notable lack of good users for. Roost also allows for Scizor to get good recovery options, but your opponent can also use it to heal back the damage that is done when a Pokemon is healed.
Nihilego is another Pokemon that is made powerful through its use of a single-use item, namely, the Power Herb, which negates the charge turn of Meteor Beam. Since Nihilego can get a boost to its Special Attack while making it incredibly difficult for an opponent to do the same due to the two-turn nature of Meteor Beam, it sees increased viability in a similar nature to the increased viability of Hawlucha.
Weather setting and weather abusing Pokemon aren't as great as they usually are. This is mostly because you would have to go against the weather abusers once they're passed to the opponent, which would be difficult to play against.
Trick Room setters often get knocked out, which means that the Trick Room can be reversed by the opponent right after it gets set up. This basically defeats the purpose of running Trick Room in the first place, making it quite difficult to use in Crazyhouse.
Further Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to Shedinja if it would be captured?
There will always be at least 1 HP taken in damage when passing, which means Shedinja can never be passed from one team to another.
How do form changes work when a Pokemon faints to damage and is passed to another team?
Pokemon that keep a form change while switching out and being switched back in will keep the form change when they are passed. Likewise, Pokemon that do not keep a form change in that situation would not be keeping the form change when they are passed to another team. This also applies to other non permanent changes such as ability and/or moveset changes.
How does Destiny Bond work?
If a Pokemon dies by Destiny Bond, then it is out of play. You will still get the Pokemon who used Destiny Bond, so this move is not viable as a result of this implementation.
Does move PP carry over?
Yes, endless battles aren't something we want here.
How does Beat Up work?
If you have 10 healthy Pokemon it will hit 10 times.
How does Perish Song work?
If a Pokemon dies to Perish Song the Pokemon it is out of play and will not be captured.
Where can we play this?
Pokemon Showdown now has the Crazyhouse Rule, just add "Crazyhouse Rule" to a tour or custom challenge to use its mechanics!
We're also the OM of the month, try it out now!
You can also play it over on TrashChannel!
Is there a discord or something to talk about this?
There is! Click here!
Council
Instruct
Lumii
UT
Eggs
Byleth
Species Clause: A player cannot have two Pokemon with the same National Pokédex number on a team.
Evasion Moves Clause: A Pokemon may not have either Double Team or Minimize in its moveset.
Sleep Moves Clause: Bans all moves that induce sleep, such as Hypnosis. (also bans Yawn)
Endless Battle Clause: Players cannot intentionally prevent an opponent from being able to end the game without forfeiting.
OHKO Clause: A Pokemon may not have the moves Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, or Sheer Cold in its moveset.
Dynamax Clause: Prevents Pokemon from Dynamaxing.
Evasion Moves Clause: A Pokemon may not have either Double Team or Minimize in its moveset.
Sleep Moves Clause: Bans all moves that induce sleep, such as Hypnosis. (also bans Yawn)
Endless Battle Clause: Players cannot intentionally prevent an opponent from being able to end the game without forfeiting.
OHKO Clause: A Pokemon may not have the moves Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, or Sheer Cold in its moveset.
Dynamax Clause: Prevents Pokemon from Dynamaxing.
Pokemon
Calyrex-Ice, Calyrex-Shadow, Cinderace, Darmanitan-Galar, Dialga, Dracovish, Eternatus, Genesect, Giratina, Giratina-Origin, Groudon, Hawlucha, Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Kyurem, Kyurem-Black, Kyurem-White, Landorus-Incarnate, Lugia, Lunala, Magearna, Marshadow, Mewtwo, Naganadel, Necrozma-Dawn-Wings, Necrozma-Dusk-Mane, Palkia, Pheromosa, Rayquaza, Reshiram, Solgaleo, Spectrier, Urshifu-Single-Strike, Xerneas, Yveltal, Zacian, Zacian-Crowned, Zamazenta, Zamazenta-Crowned, Zekrom, Zygarde-50%
Items
King's Rock, Bright Powder, Lax Incense
Abilities
Arena Trap, Moody, Power Construct, Sand Veil, Shadow Tag, Snow Cloak
Moves
Baton Pass, Explosion, Final Gambit, Healing Wish, Lunar Dance, Memento, Misty Explosion, Self-Destruct
Calyrex-Ice, Calyrex-Shadow, Cinderace, Darmanitan-Galar, Dialga, Dracovish, Eternatus, Genesect, Giratina, Giratina-Origin, Groudon, Hawlucha, Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Kyurem, Kyurem-Black, Kyurem-White, Landorus-Incarnate, Lugia, Lunala, Magearna, Marshadow, Mewtwo, Naganadel, Necrozma-Dawn-Wings, Necrozma-Dusk-Mane, Palkia, Pheromosa, Rayquaza, Reshiram, Solgaleo, Spectrier, Urshifu-Single-Strike, Xerneas, Yveltal, Zacian, Zacian-Crowned, Zamazenta, Zamazenta-Crowned, Zekrom, Zygarde-50%
Items
King's Rock, Bright Powder, Lax Incense
Abilities
Arena Trap, Moody, Power Construct, Sand Veil, Shadow Tag, Snow Cloak
Moves
Baton Pass, Explosion, Final Gambit, Healing Wish, Lunar Dance, Memento, Misty Explosion, Self-Destruct
Magnet Pull
Unburden
Blacephalon / Steel Beam
Weavile
Sticky Web / Light Clay
Unburden
Blacephalon / Steel Beam
Weavile
Sticky Web / Light Clay
Strategy
Teambuilding
The basis of Crazyhouse's teambuilding strategy is preparation for both your team and your opponent's team. One's teambuilding will have to counter their own teambuilding and their opponent's teambuilding in order to be successful. Even though the metagame looks extremely similar to OU, not many OU teams are actually really top-tier Crazyhouse teams due to their lack of preparation for their own Pokemon being used against them.
Battling
The basis of Crazyhouse's battling strategy revolves around positioning and strategic knockouts. Sometimes, you will try to make a Pokemon die to Entry Hazards, Life Orb recoil, move recoil, etc. to try to not pass your opponent a Pokemon. To avoid knockouts, Crazyhouse becomes very very centered around positioning and momentum as well. Trying to be one step ahead of the opponent becomes so much more crucial when one wrong move can give your opponent an extra Pokemon, effectively causing a 7-5. However, past that, many things stay the same. You still can win by securing a win-condition and not passing it to your opponent.
Weavile, due to its amazing speed tier, offensive typing, and Beat Up, has shown itself to be strong enough to make itself onto both the increased viability list and the Crazyhouse council's watchlist. Beat Up itself does more hits the more Pokemon are on your team, which in combination with Weavile's incredible speed tier, make Weavile incredibly difficult to deal with. Also, with priority being very very good, access to both Fake out and Ice Shard gives it more options in revenge killing.
Priority is insanely good in Crazyhouse. Rillaboom comes in with Fake Out and the very threatening Grassy Glide. Access to U-Turn allows for Rillaboom to be a strong pivot as well, which is very necessary in a format that is very much defined by maintaining momentum. Having Grassy Terrain up due to Grassy Surge also lends itself to many strategies, and the chip healing provided by Grassy Terrain is always appreciated. The combination of setting terrain with its ability, strong priority moves, and a great pivoting option make Rillaboom one of the strongest threats in the tier.
Tapu Lele is another terrain setter that is very strong in Crazyhouse. With priority moves being so strong, having Psychic Surge as an ability allows Tapu Lele to both use boosted Psychic type moves and be strong against the priority moves that are so strong in the tier. Tapu Lele's speed can be boosted by having it hold a Choice Scarf, which allows it to outspeed even Pokemon like Dragapult. The fact that it cannot be attacked with moves that have priority while Psychic Terrain is active gives it many options to switch in as well.
The fastest of the three big "User loses 50% of its maximum HP" move users, Blacephalon's access to its signature move, Mind Blown, is what lands it on this list. If a Blacephalon faints due to the HP loss from using Mind Blown, it is not passed to the opponent. However, if an opposing Pokemon faints to Mind Blown, it is passed to the team with Blacephalon. Blacephalon also learns Trick, which means it has an option to cripple a defensive Pokemon, which may be sent out to attempt to wall it by giving it a Choice Scarf or Choice Specs. Due to just the sheer strength of Mind Blown on sets such as Choice Specs Blacephalon and the option to cripple defensive Pokemon with Trick, the Crazyhouse council has added Blacephalon to its watchlist.
The second of the three big "User loses 50% of its maximum HP" move users, Heatran comes onto this list as a Pokemon that tends to play a significantly different role than it does in OU. Unlike in OU, in which Heatran plays a more defensive and support oriented role, Heatran is at its best in Crazyhouse when it is playing an aggressive role with moves such as Magma Storm, which can help in trapping and chipping opponents, and Steel Beam, which does heavy damage to most Pokemon that don't resist Steel type moves. Heatran also has the added benefit of being able to easily switch into a Blacephalon Mind Blown. In addition, Heatran also has the option of using Steel Roller in order to end any terrain that is active. Due to all of these strengths, the Crazyhouse council has added Heatran to its watchlist.
The slowest of the three big "User loses 50% of its maximum HP" move users, Magnezone comes onto this list with a different set of strengths than Heatran. Magnezone has three very strong abilities in Magnet Pull, Sturdy, and Analytic (which can also work due to the abundance of very fast Pokemon in this tier). It also has a great pivoting move in Volt Switch and can learn Steel Roller to control the terrains on the field. It also has the same Special Attack as Heatran, which makes Steel Beam very difficult to switch into on Choice Specs sets. Due to these strengths, the Crazyhouse council has added Magnezone to its watchlist.
Zeraora is strong in Crazyhouse due to its combination of high speed, coverage options, and strength in pivoting. Zeraora, as usual, has access to Plasma Fists, its signature move, but also has access to moves like Outrage, Play Rough, Close Combat, Knock Off, Fake Out, Volt Switch, and more. Despite doing many of the same things it would do in any other circumstance outside of the Crazyhouse metagame, the reason that Zeraora makes this list is that the valuation of speed in Crazyhouse is much higher than it would be in metagames such as SS OU.
Dragapult, similar to Zeraora, is also a very strong option in Crazyhouse due to its combination of high speed, versatility, and pivoting options. Dragapult's biggest strength is the versatility that it provides, being good as a Dragon Dance setup sweeper, a Choice Band attacker, a Choice Specs attacker, and more. Its access to U-Turn also allows it to retain momentum. Despite doing many of the same things it would do in any other circumstance outside of the Crazyhouse metagame, the reason that Dragapult makes this list is that the valuation of speed in Crazyhouse is much higher than it would be in metagames such as SS OU.
Scizor is another Pokemon that is strong in Crazyhouse due to its strong priority moves, specifically its Technician boosted Bullet Punch. Scizor also can pivot really well through the use of a slower U-turn, which is something this tier has a notable lack of good users for. Roost also allows for Scizor to get good recovery options, but your opponent can also use it to heal back the damage that is done when a Pokemon is healed.
Nihilego is another Pokemon that is made powerful through its use of a single-use item, namely, the Power Herb, which negates the charge turn of Meteor Beam. Since Nihilego can get a boost to its Special Attack while making it incredibly difficult for an opponent to do the same due to the two-turn nature of Meteor Beam, it sees increased viability in a similar nature to the increased viability of Hawlucha.
Weather setting and weather abusing Pokemon aren't as great as they usually are. This is mostly because you would have to go against the weather abusers once they're passed to the opponent, which would be difficult to play against.
Trick Room setters often get knocked out, which means that the Trick Room can be reversed by the opponent right after it gets set up. This basically defeats the purpose of running Trick Room in the first place, making it quite difficult to use in Crazyhouse.
Further Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to Shedinja if it would be captured?
There will always be at least 1 HP taken in damage when passing, which means Shedinja can never be passed from one team to another.
How do form changes work when a Pokemon faints to damage and is passed to another team?
Pokemon that keep a form change while switching out and being switched back in will keep the form change when they are passed. Likewise, Pokemon that do not keep a form change in that situation would not be keeping the form change when they are passed to another team. This also applies to other non permanent changes such as ability and/or moveset changes.
How does Destiny Bond work?
If a Pokemon dies by Destiny Bond, then it is out of play. You will still get the Pokemon who used Destiny Bond, so this move is not viable as a result of this implementation.
Does move PP carry over?
Yes, endless battles aren't something we want here.
How does Beat Up work?
If you have 10 healthy Pokemon it will hit 10 times.
How does Perish Song work?
If a Pokemon dies to Perish Song the Pokemon it is out of play and will not be captured.
Where can we play this?
Pokemon Showdown now has the Crazyhouse Rule, just add "Crazyhouse Rule" to a tour or custom challenge to use its mechanics!
We're also the OM of the month, try it out now!
You can also play it over on TrashChannel!
Is there a discord or something to talk about this?
There is! Click here!
Council
Instruct
Lumii
UT
Eggs
Byleth
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