OP by antemortem, originally hosted by Martha.
Updated by Milak and Estronic.
Welcome to the Grammar Prose Workshop v4! We've decided to revive and revamp this project in order to encourage more users to contribute to Smogon through GP checking analyses and articles. This workshop is where users can turn to learn more about the process known as Grammar and Prose, commonly referred to as "GP". This particular facet of Smogon handles the editing of written content to ensure that it is grammatically correct before going on-site. There are several areas where grammar checking is needed, including the following:
Areas Where GP Is Needed
Useful Links
Before being accepted as an official member of the GP team, you'll obviously need to prove that you have what it takes to fit the bill. The best way to show your skills here is to do what we call amchecks, or amateur checks. These can be posted in any analysis after it reaches the Copyediting phase as indicated by the thread tag. The writer is not required to implement your changes, but they are allowed to, and it's not uncommon for an official GPer to come behind you and validate your work or give you a few pointers to help you improve. Keep in mind, however, that your amchecks do not count as official checks and thus do not count toward the completion of the Copyediting phase, unless an official GPer stamps your work to indicate that it is satisfactory (which is huge if that happens). However, official GPers will not always go over amchecks and may go on and just post an official one. Remember that you cannot leave placeholders for amchecks, as they are not official; also, make sure the writer knows it's an amcheck to avoid confusion. Amchecks can be done in The Flying Press if you already have access for another reason.
When you do checks of your own, you'll want to do is establish a key at the top of your amcheck post first and foremost, which indicates what colors mean to add and remove content, and you can use them to indicate other things as well, including side comments, capitalization, and so on.
An example of this is as follows:
Once you have done a fair amount of solid amchecks, generally 10 or so and possibly stamped, you can submit an application to join the GP team by messaging Astra, Lumari, and Rabia a submission including proof of your GP abilities. They will either tell you how you can improve, ask for more examples before they come to a decision, or add you to the GP team. If you'd like for an official GPer to look over your work, you can inquire about this in #questions on the GP Discord, which can be found here. The GP Discord is the best way to meet other GPers and amcheckers as well as recieve feedback and answers from others. You can contact one the following GPers preferably on Discord if you want to be tutored or if you would like them to go over some of your amchecks:
Below are some exercises that contain several errors. Test yourself here first if you'd like by providing GP editions of these examples to correct where they are wrong. Some have more identifiable mistakes than others, and some may need to be completely reworded.
Disclaimer: Some of these exercises were taken from published work on Smogon. We trust you to work with pure honesty, using your own judgement only; of course, practice is the key and making mistakes will only help you gain more confidence. So don't hesitate to ask if you're unsure!
Furthermore, we will provide additional material once every two weeks for you to work on. A GPer will then try reviewing the amchecks and spot the more common mistakes, giving tips and tricks on how to become better at noticing them as well as helping you improve flow and avoid making subjective changes when it's not needed.
Updated by Milak and Estronic.
Welcome to the Grammar Prose Workshop v4! We've decided to revive and revamp this project in order to encourage more users to contribute to Smogon through GP checking analyses and articles. This workshop is where users can turn to learn more about the process known as Grammar and Prose, commonly referred to as "GP". This particular facet of Smogon handles the editing of written content to ensure that it is grammatically correct before going on-site. There are several areas where grammar checking is needed, including the following:
Areas Where GP Is Needed
Contributions & Corrections
Commonly abbreviated as C&C, this is the part of the site where Pokemon analyses and articles that dictate or explain relevant information for the many generations and tiers are written. The GP phase happens after the QC (Quality Control) phase, which fine-tunes the competitive quality of the content. After an analysis has received all its Quality Control checks (usually indicated by QC 2/2 or QC 3/3), the writer will change the thread tag to Copyediting, which means that it's time for the writeup to go through GP, usually consisting of two checks. After the writer of the analysis has implemented the GP checks, the analysis is generally ready for upload.
Commonly abbreviated as C&C, this is the part of the site where Pokemon analyses and articles that dictate or explain relevant information for the many generations and tiers are written. The GP phase happens after the QC (Quality Control) phase, which fine-tunes the competitive quality of the content. After an analysis has received all its Quality Control checks (usually indicated by QC 2/2 or QC 3/3), the writer will change the thread tag to Copyediting, which means that it's time for the writeup to go through GP, usually consisting of two checks. After the writer of the analysis has implemented the GP checks, the analysis is generally ready for upload.
The Flying Press
The spiritual successor to The Smog, The Flying Press releases individual articles about a variety of topics relating to Smogon, from Pokemon spotlights to tournament coverage to PS! room overviews. Note that the GP standards for The Flying Press are more relaxed than in C&C. Also, unlike C&C, The Flying Press's writing workshop is not public; you must have permission to view it, which is usually only given through having an article approved in the submission phase or becoming part of the official GP or HTML team.
Once an article's thread tag changes to Grammar, the writer is done with the article and is now awaiting your edits. After the writer of the article has implemented two GP checks, the article must have HTML done, and then it is generally ready for publishing. Be advised that art may come to a project at any time of these projects and has no bearing on the order of phases therein.
The spiritual successor to The Smog, The Flying Press releases individual articles about a variety of topics relating to Smogon, from Pokemon spotlights to tournament coverage to PS! room overviews. Note that the GP standards for The Flying Press are more relaxed than in C&C. Also, unlike C&C, The Flying Press's writing workshop is not public; you must have permission to view it, which is usually only given through having an article approved in the submission phase or becoming part of the official GP or HTML team.
Once an article's thread tag changes to Grammar, the writer is done with the article and is now awaiting your edits. After the writer of the article has implemented two GP checks, the article must have HTML done, and then it is generally ready for publishing. Be advised that art may come to a project at any time of these projects and has no bearing on the order of phases therein.
Useful Links
- The Spelling and Grammar Standards is full list of the criteria the GP team follows (we suggest bookmarking it). If you've lurked here on Smogon for a while, a lot of the common terms and usage of the terms should be somewhat second-nature by now, which is a huge benefit. If you haven't lurked very much, not to worry; this is a task that becomes easier with experience because there's a lot of repetition. It won't take long to catch on even though it may seem like a ton.
- fleurdyleurse has compiled an extensive list of notes for new GPers to use as a reference as well, which Milak and Astra have updated. It can be found here.
- A guide to making subjective GP changes can be found here.
- The GP Team Queue is where writers post their analyses that are ready for the GP phase; the list of links in the OP is (usually) an updated list of every analysis currently waiting for GP checks. Although you can go and search for analyses to practice on yourself, this thread will help you find an analysis much easier.
Before being accepted as an official member of the GP team, you'll obviously need to prove that you have what it takes to fit the bill. The best way to show your skills here is to do what we call amchecks, or amateur checks. These can be posted in any analysis after it reaches the Copyediting phase as indicated by the thread tag. The writer is not required to implement your changes, but they are allowed to, and it's not uncommon for an official GPer to come behind you and validate your work or give you a few pointers to help you improve. Keep in mind, however, that your amchecks do not count as official checks and thus do not count toward the completion of the Copyediting phase, unless an official GPer stamps your work to indicate that it is satisfactory (which is huge if that happens). However, official GPers will not always go over amchecks and may go on and just post an official one. Remember that you cannot leave placeholders for amchecks, as they are not official; also, make sure the writer knows it's an amcheck to avoid confusion. Amchecks can be done in The Flying Press if you already have access for another reason.
When you do checks of your own, you'll want to do is establish a key at the top of your amcheck post first and foremost, which indicates what colors mean to add and remove content, and you can use them to indicate other things as well, including side comments, capitalization, and so on.
An example of this is as follows:
[OVERVIEW]
Zangoose is one of the most effective wall breakers and late-game sweepers in the NU metagame. Zangoose also shines as one of the best possible sweepers for Sticky Web-based teams. After just a single turn needed to activate toxic boost, Zangoose has more initial power than most Pokemon in the tier. Its power can be bolstered further with Swords Dance, although Zangoose's poor bulk and lack of resistnces makes it difficlut for it to find a time to set up. This forces Zangoose to rely on double switches, and pivoting moves in order to switch in safely. Despite Zangoose's excellent offensive moves in Facade, Knock Off, and Close Combat Zangoose's base 90 speed is merely above-average. Thankfully, Quick Attack and Sticky Web support can make up for this flaw, making Zangoose one of the top offensive threats in the tier.
Zangoose is one of the most effective wall breakers and late-game sweepers in the NU metagame. Zangoose also shines as one of the best possible sweepers for Sticky Web-based teams. After just a single turn needed to activate toxic boost, Zangoose has more initial power than most Pokemon in the tier. Its power can be bolstered further with Swords Dance, although Zangoose's poor bulk and lack of resistnces makes it difficlut for it to find a time to set up. This forces Zangoose to rely on double switches, and pivoting moves in order to switch in safely. Despite Zangoose's excellent offensive moves in Facade, Knock Off, and Close Combat Zangoose's base 90 speed is merely above-average. Thankfully, Quick Attack and Sticky Web support can make up for this flaw, making Zangoose one of the top offensive threats in the tier.
Additions
Removals
Comments
(you would usually have hide tags here to hide this below; otherwise the post would be very long)
[OVERVIEW]
Zangoose is one of the most effective wall breakers wallbreakers and late-game sweepers in the NU metagame,(replace period with comma) Zangoose and it also shines as one of the best possible sweepers for Sticky Web-based teams (you should probably add Sticky Web users to Team Options below). After just a single turn needed to activate toxic boost Toxic Boost, Zangoose has more initial power than most Pokemon in the tier. Its power can be bolstered further with Swords Dance, although Zangoose's poor bulk and lack of resistnces resistances makes it difficlut difficult for it to find a time to set up. This forces Zangoose to rely on double switches,(RC) and pivoting moves in order to switch in safely. Despite Zangoose's excellent offensive moves in Facade, Knock Off, and Close Combat,(AC) its Zangoose's base 90 speed Speed is merely above-(remove dash, add space)average (even for NU haha). Thankfully, Quick Attack and Sticky Web support can make up for this flaw, making Zangoose one of the top offensive threats in the tier.
Removals
Comments
(you would usually have hide tags here to hide this below; otherwise the post would be very long)
[OVERVIEW]
Zangoose is one of the most effective wall breakers wallbreakers and late-game sweepers in the NU metagame,(replace period with comma) Zangoose and it also shines as one of the best possible sweepers for Sticky Web-based teams (you should probably add Sticky Web users to Team Options below). After just a single turn needed to activate toxic boost Toxic Boost, Zangoose has more initial power than most Pokemon in the tier. Its power can be bolstered further with Swords Dance, although Zangoose's poor bulk and lack of resistnces resistances makes it difficlut difficult for it to find a time to set up. This forces Zangoose to rely on double switches,(RC) and pivoting moves in order to switch in safely. Despite Zangoose's excellent offensive moves in Facade, Knock Off, and Close Combat,(AC) its Zangoose's base 90 speed Speed is merely above-(remove dash, add space)average (even for NU haha). Thankfully, Quick Attack and Sticky Web support can make up for this flaw, making Zangoose one of the top offensive threats in the tier.
As you might have guessed, (AC) and (RC) are short for add comma and remove comma, respectively. These are commonly used at Smogon in addition to the punctuation change simply because a color change on something so small can be easy to overlook otherwise. Comments you make, as indicated by your key, are not implemented and you can use them to convey thoughts you have throughout the read as you are checking. The example comment here regarding adding Sticky Web to Team Options is assuming that the writer left it out, and their mention of Sticky Web mitigating one of Zangoose's flaws is a good place to bring that to their attention.
You can use any colors you like, though I recommend at least starting with blue and red, especially since red is extremely easy to indicate that something is incorrect and casts out all confusion early on.
You can use any colors you like, though I recommend at least starting with blue and red, especially since red is extremely easy to indicate that something is incorrect and casts out all confusion early on.
Once you have done a fair amount of solid amchecks, generally 10 or so and possibly stamped, you can submit an application to join the GP team by messaging Astra, Lumari, and Rabia a submission including proof of your GP abilities. They will either tell you how you can improve, ask for more examples before they come to a decision, or add you to the GP team. If you'd like for an official GPer to look over your work, you can inquire about this in #questions on the GP Discord, which can be found here. The GP Discord is the best way to meet other GPers and amcheckers as well as recieve feedback and answers from others. You can contact one the following GPers preferably on Discord if you want to be tutored or if you would like them to go over some of your amchecks:
- Milak (Milak#5132)
- Finland (Finland#5656)
- martha (martha#8795)
- deetah (deetah#5572)
- Bandkrook (eduujulio#6483)
Below are some exercises that contain several errors. Test yourself here first if you'd like by providing GP editions of these examples to correct where they are wrong. Some have more identifiable mistakes than others, and some may need to be completely reworded.
Disclaimer: Some of these exercises were taken from published work on Smogon. We trust you to work with pure honesty, using your own judgement only; of course, practice is the key and making mistakes will only help you gain more confidence. So don't hesitate to ask if you're unsure!
Furthermore, we will provide additional material once every two weeks for you to work on. A GPer will then try reviewing the amchecks and spot the more common mistakes, giving tips and tricks on how to become better at noticing them as well as helping you improve flow and avoid making subjective changes when it's not needed.
The new pool of Pokèmon kalos introduced weren't as hyped-up as previous ones, as it was very small compared to the batches of mons other regions introduced. Regardless, some of the Pokémon introduced became really popular fan-favourites, such as the slick Greninja and the goofy Goomy, though some just didn't hit the mark. That isn't usually a problem, but, like I said the small number of new Pokémon who entered the fray leaded to not a lot of options for people to be impressed with. However, the introduction of Mega-Evolution brought old Pokémon in the spotlight to be shown off in new, striking and powerful forms. Many designs of this new form become immediate favorites to many, such as Mega Lucario and Mega Blaziken, whereas some of them helped other Pokémon to get attention they've never had, such as Mega Banette and Mega Medicham. The Legendaries, however, weren't as striking as I hoped for, since most of them felt like they were missing something, specifically Zygarde at the time before Alola rolled around funnily enough. Overall, I think Kalos introduced a fare number of cool Pokémon, but the introduction of Mega Evolution created a series of amazingly-designed and popular Pokémon that people can consider to be their favourite addition.
Specs Deciudeye is one of the most devastating wallbreakers in Never Used. Only Skuntank and Sap Sipper Miltank resists or are immune to Decidueye's STAB combinations, and the former cannot reliably switch into multiple Leaf Storms. Additionally, Leaf Storm and Shadow Ball have excellent synergy, the former nails Darktypes like Silvally-dark and Persian-A, while the latter hits Steel and Poison-type like Silvally-Steel, Ferroseed and Gardobor, as well as Rotom-fan. Hurricane compliments these two moves good, providing coverage for Sap Sipper Miltank and chunking Eldegoss for more damage than Shadow Ball. Although U-Turn is preferred, so Decidueye can abuse the switches it forces, Roost enables it to take advantage on its Defensive utility more frequently. Giga Drain is also an option that offers recovery while being less exploitable then Roost.
Hawlucha excels at cleaning up in the late-game, easily sweeping after the Pokemon who can give it trouble are gone or weak. As such, Hawlucha thrives on hyper-offense teams, abusing the damage its teammates have already done. A suicidal lead such as Excadrill work best on HO teams, granting it Stealth Rock support. Grimmsnarl would also be a great addition to provide Screens support, easing Hawlucha's set-up greatly. Teammates such as Gyarados, Togekiss and Kommo-o that can also setup to sweep work great, as Hawlucha can potentially cleanup after they've heavily damaged the opponent's team. Kommo-o in particular offers great synergy with Hawlucha, as it can weaken or kill Pokemon like Aegislash, Toxapex and various Fairy-type with its expansive move pool to give Hawlucha an easier time cleaning up. Fairy and Psychic-types such as Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, and Clefable make setting up and sweeping challenging for Hawlucha, so Aegilsash is a great teammate that can help cover for that. Hawlucha can also be used more early as a potential Dynamaxed user, as its ability to boost its Attack and Speed with Close Combat and Max Brave Bird can easily get out of hand for the opponent.
Barrasekwda make for a decent lategame sweeper on Rain teams thanks to its amazing speed tier and Swift Swim allowing it to outspeed the entire metagame, as well as its great Atk. Liquidation allows Barraskewda to 2hit-KO defensive Pokemon like Corviknight and Clefable under rain. Close Combat allows it to 2hit-KO Ferrothorn and RotomWash as well as safely 1KO Cloyster thanks to Swift Swim, however, be careful against Ferrothorn, as Power Whip or Knock Off will cripple your chances of cleanupping. Psychic Fangs helps Barraskewda pressure Toxapex and Kommo-O, though you must be cautious of a Burn from Scald when facing Toxapex. Aqua Jet is useful to revenge kill Pokemon outside of Rain, such as Dugtrio, weakened Zeraora and +1 Excadrill. Crunch can be used if specifically targeting Dragapult and Jellicent is more desirable, but the priority from Aqua Jet is often too useful to pass on. An Adamant Nature grants Barraskewda a good chance to kill Clefable under rain, helps it potentially 2HKO Toxapex, and lets it always 1KO Sylveon under rain.
Since Charizard only has a niche on Sun teams, Torkoal is a required teammate for Charizard to function well and succed. Torkoal can also provide additional utility to help Charizard, such as removing Rocks with Rapid Spin and chipping down opponents with Toxic or Stealth Rocks damage. Venusaur, while already the premier sweeper for Sun teams, can abuse Charizard's ability to weaken and take out walls such as Mandibuzz and Toxapex. In return, Venusaur can take care of Pokemon that outSpeed Charizard thanks to Chlorophyll, such as Zeraora. Although Charizard can muscle through Specially Defensive Walls like Blissey, it's best to accompany it with a physical breaker to take care of them easier, especially if Sun isn't active. For example, Darmanitan under sun can 1-KO them with Flare Blitz, while acting as a general revenge killer with a Choice Scarf, though the amount of recoil it will take makes it tough to manage well. Because Charizard's frailty makes it difficult for it to switch inside, pivots such as Blissey, Xatu or Clefable can safely bring it into battle thanks to Teleport.
Apart from being more suave, Mega Gallade has some merits over Mega Medicham. Swords Dance boost it’s Atk to greater heights allowing it to break through bulky Pokemon like Mega Latias and Celesteela easier. Moreover, its 110-Base Speed allows it to outspeed a good chunk of Over Used, including Garchomp and nonChoice Scarf Kartana, and its solid Special bulk allows it to take hits such as Clefable’s Moonblast. Knock Off allows it to threaten Psychics like Reuniclus and Mew, who would otherwise be hard to break down and worsen the effectiveness of switches like Clefable and Tapu Fini through removing their Leftovers recovery. When put together these traits make Mega Gallade into a very strong wallbreaker. Tapu Fini makes for a good partner for Mega Gallade as Misty Terrain will protect it from status such as Static from Zapdos and Will-o-Wisp from Rotom-Wash. Also, Tapu Lele provides useful utility in Psychic terrain, boosting the power of Zen Headbutt greatly.
Amoonguss has rose in Usage since Zygarde's ban and challenges Tangrowth as a Grass type with Regenerator. It fits wells on bulky offensives due to its immunity to Toxic, enough special bulk to run Black Sludge and key resistances to Fairy-, Electric-, and Water-. Its many resistances allow it to switch into many Special Attackers like Magearna, Tapu Koko and Greninja-Ash and cripple them with status. Also, Amoonguss can sleep or paralyse Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Tornadus-T with Spore or Stun Spore respectively when they switch in and can take at least one of their attacks at high health. Amoonguss can even take on the likes of Kartana and Mega Mawile. However, Amoonguss's lack of damage output hinders its offensive presence so teammates like Mega Mawile, Mega Medicham, Keldeo and Kartana can capitalize of status it inflicts. Water-types like Rotom-w and Slowbro-Mega appreciate Amoongus’s resistance to Electric, and Steel-types like Celeestela, Heatran and Magearna can cover for its Psychic-type weakness.
Thanks to its mixed Defenses, Haze, and reliable recoveries, Milotic finds itself a niche in OU as a bulky Water type. Its naturally high special defense help it check Pokemon such as Dragapult, Clefable and specs Aegislash, and its typing and decent Def allow it to tank hits from Pokemon like Dracovish. Additionally, Marvel Scale allows it to become even more physically bulky when statused, potentially discouraging the foe to use status moves; however being inflicted by Toxic isn't adviced, since it shortens the number of turns Milotic can stay in. Scald can potentially punish attackers with a burn. Dragon Breath gives Milotic the ability to also spread Paralysis against Pokemon like Dracovish, Dragapult or Hydreigon. The combination of Recover + Haze helps to prevent set-up Pokemon such as Gyarados, Kommo-O and Corvikight from getting out of hand against Milotic. The given EVs spread alongside a Calm Nature allows Milotic to avoid being 2HKO'd by Specs Aegislash after Stealth Rock damage, while still being physically bulky enough to take on Pokemon like Scarf Dracovish.
Zeraora makes for a very splashable breaker thanks to its extremely colorful coverages and incredibly high Speed-tier, outspeeding nearly the entire metagame. This set in particular allows it to lure in bulky Ground-types like Hippowdon or Seismitoad and lower their effectiveness with Grass Knot, paving the way for its teammates to clean in the late game. Opting for Knock Off means Zeraora will be able to cripple Rotom-Heat and reliably damage Dragapult; on the other hand Play Rough improve it’s matchup against Kommo-O and maintains coverage for Dragapult. Pivots such as Corviknight and Teleport Clefable help to get Zeraora safely inside the field, especially against Hippowdon and Seismitoad, since it's still vulnerable to their moves. Speaking of Hippowdon and Seismitoad, teammates that appreciate them being under pressure such as Rotom-Heat and Terrakion enjoy Zeraora’s presence. Also, Rotom-H can still be too problematic for Zeraora, therefore defensive switches like Seismitoad and Gastrodon prove to be useful teammates.
Ludicolo finds itself a unique niche on drizzle teams, able to take care of common bulky Waters that Rain teams usually struggle with. Giga Drain OHKOs Seismitoad and Gastrodon and can potentially 2hko Rotom-Wash, Vaporeon and Milotic paving the way for most rain sweepers. Ice Beam targets Dragons like Dragapult and Kommo-o and Focus Blast helps against Ferrothorn and Kyurem. However even with Life Orb alongside rain and a Modest nature, Ludicolo struggles in killing Pokemon its meant to target and can easily be OHKO'd by them in return. For example, Ice Beam has a low chance at 1HKO Dragapult, and Focus Blast only 2HKOs Kyurem. Additionally, Ludicolo needs to be careful against certain defensive threats such as Ferrothorn or Toxapex. The former can take at least one Focus Blast and makes Ludicolo a lot less threatening with Knock Off while the latter can recover off all of Ludicolo's attacks and Poison it, wearing it down alongside Life Orb recoil.
Polteageist is one of the most threatening setup sweepers in underused, capable of OHKO a majority of the tier when at +2, only being unable to reliably 1KO a few Pokemon such as Zarude, Incineroar, Umbreon, Bisharp or Gigalith. Its Ghost-type and decent Special Bulk enable it to set-up fairly reliably on opponents such as Heliolisk, and Noivern, making it harder for a lot of the tier to punish set up and prevent a lategame clean. Stored Power abuses the boosts acquired by Shell Smash to boost its power to be able to more effectively target bulkier foes as well as Ghost immunities such as Heliolisk and Porygon-Z. It can also one-hit KO Heavy-Duty Boots Chansey at +4. Giga Drain compliments Polteageist's coverage, targeting Krookodile, Obstagoon and SpDef Rhyperior, which are not killed by Polteageist's other movies even when boosted. Giga Drain also grants Polteageist some recovery, which can help it healing to 100% and be able to activate its sash if it has been chipped. A Focus Sash gives Polteageist guaranteed setup against almost any foe, allowing it to bypass Pokemon that would ordinarily OHKO it and use Shell Smash to clean-up weakened teams lacking priorities. White Herb is also an option to give Polteageist more bulk after setting up so it can take a hit while boosted, but the ability to set-up against almost any foe is often too useful to give up. It also struggles to take priority attacks such as Bisharp's Sucker Punch even with its Def restored.
Mimikyu fit best on offensive teams that appreciate it’s ability to set-up easy and clean a weak opposing team in the lategame. These teams also benefits from Disguise enabling Mimikyu to Revenge-Kill a key threat at a pinch. As such, wallbreakers such as Obstagoon and Lycanroc-Dusk, who can chip or remove checks to Mimikyu such as Skarmory, Weezing-Galar and def Incineroar are good partners. Lycanroc Dusk also can help chip Doublade in range of Mimikyu's attacks and provide extra priority if Mimikyu fails to clean late game. Due to Mimikyu's low damage output, it appreciates hazards to chip opponents such as Jirachi into range of it’s attacks, potentially preventing them from breaking its Disguise. As such, Stealth Rockers such as Krookodile and Terrakion make good partners. Mimikyu also fits well on Webs due to the Speed reduction allowing it to remove threats like Terrakion and Keldeo before they can break its Disguise as well as being a good check to Noivern on these teams, so Araquanid is a good partner to set the entry hazard. Special Araquanid can also lure and weaken or remove Skarmory, who is one of Mimikyu's biggest checks.
There's about a hundred "new" Pokémon that you can catch on the isle of armor, and I must say that I'm happy that some of my favourites made the cut. A lot of fan favourites in general snagged a ticket, such as Volcarona, Zoroark, Magnezone and more. However, when it comes to regional representation, it's fairly imbalanced. For example, nearly a quarter of the added Pokémon were a part of the original 151, while the only Pokémon that were added that appeared first in Hoenn are the Sharpedo line, Exploud line, and Azurill (who barely counts). I know it was confirmed before that there will only be around 100 Pokémon added, and I really don't mean to sound greedy here, but I wish there was more additions to the party; I was really hoping for the Expansion Pass to eventually add all of the Pokèmon back, but with the number of Pokémon added in the Isle of Armor, I don't really have my hopes up for the Crown Tundra to drop 400+ Pokémon to make them all available. In regards to actual new Pokémon, though, Urshifu is a great addition to anyone’s team. I found it very helpful for do things such as Dynamax Raids or grind money, and while I opted for its Single-Strike form, I'm sure its Rapid-Strike form can excel to do such things as well. Lastly, when I saw Galarian Slowbro, I was hoping for new Galarian forms as well, but alas I was left empty handed. It was honestly the perfect opportunity for GF to add more regional forms, especially consider they’re very popular among the community, so it’s pretty unfortunate. I'm fairly satisfied with what Pokémon were added, but like most things in SS, what we got is probably much lower then people’s expectations.
NP Cofagrigus takes a much more offense approach to the Pokémon, taking advantage of NU's lack of sturdy Ghost types checks by buffing its Shadow Ball to dangerous levels. Additionally, this set maintains the usefulness of Cofagrigus' Ghost-typing, taking advantage of Choice-item foes like Toxicroak and Indeedee to gain chances to setup. Something that may immediately stand out to you is this set's last move slot. Despite this set being based around boosting Cofagrigus's SpAtk, Body Press is oftentimes the preferred coverage, because it hits Ghost-resists and immunities like Silvally Dark, Skuntank, and Indeedee-F harder than any of Cofagrigus's possible non-boosted special coverage moves would, although Energy Ball is a great alternative that also smacks Quagsire. Cofagrigus even has the option of dropping Trick Room and running both Body Press and Energy Ball, giving it a phenomenal stall matchup at the cost of its matchup against offense teams. If you choose to do this, make sure to maximise Cofagrigus's Speed IVs and invest enough evs in speed to outpace Clefairy.
Tangrowth fit very well on teams like Bulky-Offense, balanced and stall. These archetypes appreciate Tangrowth's Defensive capabilities and the utility it provides. Because of Tangrowth’s miserable Special Defence, partners who can take special attackers for it such as Chansey, or Celesteela are very appreciated. Chansey can take on Pokémon like Primarina and Starmie for Tangrowth and can set Rocks up. Its ability to wear down common Tangrowth checks such as Rotom-H with Toxic is also very appreciated. Strong Fire- and Ice-type attacks are a problem for Tangrowth, because it is a Grass type and is x2 vulnerable to Fire and Ice, therefore Water-types partners like Rotom-Wash and Primarina can all take these strong Fire and Ice-type attacks and act as checks to threats such as Chandelure and Mamoswine. Primarina also checks Keldeo for Tangrowth. These Water-type appreciate Tangrowth pivotting directly in to Zarude and Tapu Bulu. Rotom-Wash and Tentacurel in particular also work as hazards removers for Tangrowht, preventing it from getting too weakened by them. Similarly other removers like Salemence and Rotom Heat are needed to maximise Tangrowth's potential as a wall. Both also check Scizor for Tangrowth very well. Grounds such as Krookodile and Rhyperior like having Tangrowth as a teammate, as it can take on Water-types Pokémon such as Azumarill for them. Albeit niche, Incineroar can take on almost any variant of Chandelure which Tangrowth greatly appreciates.
Klinklang is an unusual but effective sweeper that excels against conventional offensive teams. Magnet Rise is a Steel move that grants it immunity to Ground-types and that it allows it to surprise and setup on slower staples that use Ground-type moves to beat Steel like Donphan, Metagross, Nidoquen and Rhyperior. Other common setup fodder includes Florges, Cresselia without Thunderwave in its moveselot, and Choice-attackers like Gardevoir, Goodra, and Noivern. A single Shift Gear boost makes Klinklang faster than every Scarfer except Noivern and its typing grants resistance to common priorities like First Impression and Ice Shard, so it’s incredibly difficult to offensively check after setting up. Frailer teams are often unable to handle Klinklang's Steel / Electric coverage during the duration of the late-game as it is only resisted by Electric-types and Water+Ground typings. Balanced teams without such Pokemon can be in trouble too.
Punk Rock Toxtricity's Boomburst has obscene base pwoer and coverage, OHKO-ing or 2HKing most Pokemon within the Rarely Used tier and even 3HKOing Steelix and Rhyperior. Overdrive is a consistent Electric-type STAB that punishes Pokémon that are able to switch into Boomburst, like Stakataka and Diancie. Volt Switch lets Toxtricity bring inside a threatening teammate in against relatively consistent checks like Porygon2 and Registeel. Sludge Bomb can poison bulky switches, 2HKOs Alolan Marowak, OHKOs Gardevoir with Trace as an ability, and always OHKOes Zarude, whohas a 75% chance of living Modest Boomburst. Snarl catches the occasional Golurk, along with OHKO Alolan Marowak. Toxtricity's speed tier isn't crowded, so it can get away with a Modest nature. Running Timid is advantageous against other Toxtricities, though it makes Pokemon harder to OHKO with Boomburst.
Xatu is fantastic in pivoting into passive opponents like defensive Flygon, Vaporeon and Talonflame that relies on statuses to inflict significant damage and is a true nuisance for setters too, including Copperjah, Mudsdale and Bronzong. Additionally, with Teleport Xatu can guarantee safe entry for both potent breakers and setuppers, as such making it the staple dual screens setter on HO teams and sets it apart from other users of Light Screen and Reflect, like Espeon. Where Xatu comes short, though, is in its passivity. Despite Teleport helping it keeping up momentum, its low offensive powress still causes it to cede turns to potent wallbreakers like Starmie, Tyrantrum, and Guzzlord. Additionally, its poor Defenses make it less effective in directly coming inside the field into coverage attacks from the likes of Sirfetch’d and Machamp and force it to Roost very frequently to stay healthy throughout the duration of the battle. Xatu also struggles heavily to prevent Diancie to set Stealth Rocks, making it much less useful in certain matchups if it lacks Defog.
Grassy Glide turns into a priority STAB Grass-type move with 70 base power under Grassy terrain and lets Grookey revenge kill weakened oppponents and more fast threats such as Wingull, Abra, or Staryu. Wood Hammer is used in the 2nd slot as a Grass-type STAB and it's Grookey's strongest move and allows it to break throughg more bulkier foes such as Mienfoo and Vullaby. Drain Punch provides Grookey with coverage against Steels like Ferroseed, Pawniard and Magnemite. Knock Off is an Dark-type option to weaken checks such as Koffing, Foonguss, and Feroseed. Swords Dance further improves Grookey's offensive capabilities, allowing Wood Hammer to OHKO standard BerryJuice Vullaby if it has been previously damaged by Stealth Rock. Protect is an option to block priority like Fake Out from Mienfoo and First Impression from Trapinch, blocking the latter as a check. U-turn can be used to pivot from checks such as Foongus and Koffing. Fake Out is a notable mention, that improves Grookey’s revenge killing capabilities and let it weaken and beat problematic foes such as Vullaby and Vulpix.
Golisopod functions as one of the premier revenge killer within the Rarely Used tier, utilizing its sky high attack stat and priority First Impression to threaten common threats like Gardevoir, Virizion and Barrasekwda. Liquidation compliments First Impression and handle Bug resists like Centiskorch, Coalossol and Steelix. Knock Off is a non-STAB Dark move that removes item and allows Golisopod to cripple foes like Mantine, Bronzong, and Vaporeon. Golisopod's last slot is splashable and can be customized to handle threats that the team struggles against. Spikes is preferred for helping Golisopod wear down bulky Walls like Dragalge and Bewear which serve as First Impression's switches. Drill Run threatens Steel and Poison-types like Toxicroak and Klefki whereas Close Combat allows Golispood to hit Porygon-2 and Copperajah hardly as well as improving its matchup against Bewear. Leech Life provides Golisopod with decent recovery, giving it more opportunities to switch in and use First Impression. While Acqua Jet can be used to revenge-kill Salazle and Golurk. An alternate spread that has 176 Speed EV can be used to outspeed Max Speed Copperajah.
Cyclohm is a reliable physically defensive wall thanks to its great bulk, solid defensive type and use of Slack Off. It can consistently switch into threats like Astrolotl, Zapdos, and Rilaboom, and make use of its impressive coverage to punish almost any possible switch. Unfortunately, it can be very hard justifying the use of Cyclohm over Zapdos, which offers a crucial Ground-type immunity and comparable offensive pressure. Volt Switch is great at helping Cyclohm capitalise of its ability to force switchins and lets it keep up momentum vs foes like Blissey, Galar-Slowking and Tyranitar which it struggle to threaten but Discharge helps it more directly deal with Water-types like Slowking and Toxapex, which can easily take 1 Volt Switch and recovery up with Slack Off and Recover respectively. Cyclohm can opt for Heal Bell instead of Draco Meteor to provide more team support; but this leaves it very vulnerable to opposing Dragon-types. Heavy-Duty-Boots let Cyclohm safely pivot inside the field even with several hazards over the field, but Rocky Helmet synergise very well with Cyclohm's ability: Static to punish U-Turn users like Tornadus-T and Rillaboom.
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