M&M Mix and Mega

From the OM Mashups room...
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Yeah, I know where I'm going with this.

:sv/dondozo:
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Dondozo @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpA
Brave Nature
- Order Up
- Water Pulse
- Body Press
- Earthquake

Yup, it was brought to my attention that Order Up is considered to be a pulse move, and that gets boosted by Mega Launcher! This looks absolutely dumb, I know, but hear me out. This thing hard abuses the two pulse moves it gets (which is why I'm running Water Pulse instead of Wave Crash or smth) for a pretty decent mixed set, not to mention its absolutely huge bulk. Body Press abuses its 135 Defense stat and EQ is for coverage. Can't wait to see people use this on the ladder for no reason.
 

iapt

the unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley
is a Tiering Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
So ive been playing quite a bit recently and been messing around with a certain uber dolphin thing

:sv/palafin-hero:
Palafin @ Leftovers
Ability: Zero to Hero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Jet Punch
- Substitute / Taunt
- Ice Punch

while mega-ing this guy is a total waste i decided to take some inspiration from ou and run base palafin here. I unfortunately have not saved any replays of some of the sweeps ive been able to pull off after even just a single bulk up. Its respectable 100/97/87 bulk lets it take some hits and set up even more. Jet punch being a very powerful priority means that it doesnt have to worry all that much moving second in the late game. Tera water just makes it even stronger, so even resists (that dont die to ice punch, which are rare enough already) will have a tough time eating 2 jet punches. I dont foresee this thing ever really becoming a meta mainstay but it seems like a neat wincon that can steal some games.

Also just gonna quick some mons that i can see being rlly good

:sv/great-tusk:
Great Tusk @ Pinsirite
Ability: Protosynthesis
EVs: 240 HP / 248 Def / 20 SpD
Impish Nature
- Headlong Rush
- Body Slam
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
anyone who has played this tier has very likely realized that great tusk is one of the best mons in the tier. as ith said early on its a better mencite lando-t. It has absurd bulk and very good utility with unblockable spin and rocks. one of the best glue mons in the tier rn, should very likely be your go-to ground type

:sv/clodsire:
Clodsire @ Venusaurite
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Recover
- Earthquake
- Spikes / Stealth Rock
- Poison Jab
yet another very good ground type, probably the best check to the best pixispeeder, arcanine, right now. also is a decent check to koraidon. pretty solid utility being a good all-around defensive mon that can set hazards for you, nothing super special, just a very solid mon.

:sv/chien-pao:
Chien-Pao @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Sword of Ruin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ice Spinner
- Crunch
- Sacred Sword
one of the best non-espeed physical attackers rn imo, struggles heavily with arcanine but you can wear that down pretty easily if you can keep hazards up. great coverage to hit pretty much everything it needs to, pretty crazy wallbreaker after an sd. just feels like a better weavile tbh

:sv/roaring-moon:
Roaring Moon @ Lucarionite
Ability: Protosynthesis
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Dragon Claw
- Iron Head
- Roost
another strong physical attakcer, once again pretty solid coverage, could probably slot ddance in here, but i wanted something to hit fairies and have recovery. its still really strong unboosted vs neutral targets, speed tier is great and lets it tear through more offensive teams

hope everyone is having playing mnm, thanks for reading!
 
First of all, some housekeeping. After almost a year of service, beauts has elected to resign from Mix and Mega council. Throughout their tenure, they have always been an active, enthusiastic addition to the council, especially with regards to resources. We appreciate all of their hard work.

In addition to losing their services, this also makes us somewhat shorthanded when it comes to numbers. As such, please welcome Redflix to Mix and Mega Council! Redflix, in addition to being a returning face from past generations mix and mega council, has been extremely active in gen 9 Mix and Mega, on discord, pokemon showdown, and the forums.



Secondly, with this new council in place, we have re-voted on the hung result from last slate. As such,
Koraidon is now quickbanned from Gen 9 Mix and Mega!
Like other bans, this may come up for reconsideration as new pokemon are introduced, such as during home, but for the moment Koraidon is simply too powerful for the current metagame. Coming in at 135 base speed, Koraidon can all but invalidate any offensive pokemon slower than it, and thanks to the unpredictableness of terastalization and its excellent uninvested bulk is exceedingly difficult to revenge kill with traditional mix and mega counterplay. Choice band is its most powerful set, particularly with Tera Fire, and can only be defensively answered with a few of the bulkiest resists in the metagame, such as Venusaurite Clodsire, thanks to its excellent offensive coverage, high attack, and the powerful Orichalchum Pulse ability. Backing up this incredibly powerful wallbreaking potential are an array of less threatening but still powerful and unpredictable alternative sets like choice scarf and swords dance, each of which invalidates a number of forms of would-be Koraidon counterplay like faster offensive pokemon or regen scouting with Slowbro/Toxapex. As if these weren't enough, between its access to uturn and ability to set sunlight Koraidon is even able to support, further reducing the opportunity cost to making use of it on any remotely offensive team structure.



Tagging Kris for implementation
 
First of all, some housekeeping. After almost a year of service, beauts has elected to resign from Mix and Mega council. Throughout their tenure, they have always been an active, enthusiastic addition to the council, especially with regards to resources. We appreciate all of their hard work.

In addition to losing their services, this also makes us somewhat shorthanded when it comes to numbers. As such, please welcome Redflix to Mix and Mega Council! Redflix, in addition to being a returning face from past generations mix and mega council, has been extremely active in gen 9 Mix and Mega, on discord, pokemon showdown, and the forums.



Secondly, with this new council in place, we have re-voted on the hung result from last slate. As such,
Koraidon is now quickbanned from Gen 9 Mix and Mega!
Like other bans, this may come up for reconsideration as new pokemon are introduced, such as during home, but for the moment Koraidon is simply too powerful for the current metagame. Coming in at 135 base speed, Koraidon can all but invalidate any offensive pokemon slower than it, and thanks to the unpredictableness of terastalization and its excellent uninvested bulk is exceedingly difficult to revenge kill with traditional mix and mega counterplay. Choice band is its most powerful set, particularly with Tera Fire, and can only be defensively answered with a few of the bulkiest resists in the metagame, such as Venusaurite Clodsire, thanks to its excellent offensive coverage, high attack, and the powerful Orichalchum Pulse ability. Backing up this incredibly powerful wallbreaking potential are an array of less threatening but still powerful and unpredictable alternative sets like choice scarf and swords dance, each of which invalidates a number of forms of would-be Koraidon counterplay like faster offensive pokemon or regen scouting with Slowbro/Toxapex. As if these weren't enough, between its access to uturn and ability to set sunlight Koraidon is even able to support, further reducing the opportunity cost to making use of it on any remotely offensive team structure.



Tagging Kris for implementation
finally yall listenen to me ha! ty #banthelizards #lizardsnomore #dielizardsdie

important thing to note dnite/yoshi was somewhat counterbalanced by Koras presence, and Goldo was somewhat balanced by Kora and Yoshi. with kora gone Yoshi and/or Goldo may become too powerful and are on my personal ban watchlist, altho maybe great new walls will pop up like skeledirge w wisp n latiasite. the meta also desperately needs a decent pivot, w sun and Kora gone maybe Corv can actually do its mf job and stop dying all the time. for sure tho the meta will need to become slightly more focused on special wallbreakers as stall cores w pex garga n so many other great phys walls will be too dominant. goldo will become all the more important to both counterbalance Yoshi and physical walls

---
Koras absence will be a huge buff to physical walls, stall as a whole, as well as mandate more special attackers to compensate. thisll be a mostly complete list to the best of my abilities including mons i expect to be better and/or used more with the change. more variable moves left blank

The obvious ones first wo set details- Great Tusk, Toxapex, Dragonite, Gholdengo, Garganacl, Corviknight, Slow twins, Glimmora. Honorable mentions for non-mons that will become better-revival blessing, quiver dance, lead gyaradosite hazard setters, charizardite y, abomasite, swampertite, venusaurite

Dragapult @ Pidgeotite/Lucarionite/Manectite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball

Flutter Mane
Ability: Protosynthesis
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Shadow Ball
Suddenly base 55 hp and defense isnt too bad when you can resist whatever type you choose and have free evs w your speed tier, kora is in jail and flutter laughs maniacally for all the terra belongs to her now. specs/orb/scarf/booster energy/leftovers/sitrus etc

Hippowdon @ Sablenite/Manectite/Venusaurite/(more uncommon but fun->)Gyaradosite/Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP (usually runs defense but spef evs are always an option)
- Earthquake
- Slack Off

The Dirge (Skeledirge) @ Latiasite
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Torch Song
- Shadow Ball
- Slack Off

Scream Tail @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Protosynthesis
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SpA / 144 Spe (outruns lopun tusk, not many relevant speed tiers so jiggles dont necessarily need max speed)
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Boomburst
-set goals vary, wish/protect/stored power/bulk up/psychic/stored power/flamethrower

Cloyster @ Lucarionite/Heracronite/Pidgeotite
Ability: Shell Armor/ Overcoat
-Shell Smash
-Coverage varies

Revavroom @ Pinsirite
Ability: Filter
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Shift Gear
- Body Slam
- Self-Destruct
Latiosite and tough claws stones are occasionally used and usually carry parting shot but are comparitively underwhelming in a sweeper role

The following are either not viable or not proven enough at a high level and/or i am not certain enough that they will become much better

Chi-Yu @ Pidgeotite/Lucarionite/Diancite
Ability: Beads of Ruin
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast/Inferno
- Dark Pulse
- Will-O-Wisp
A weird chi set im experimenting w- Pidgeotite
Ability: Beads of Ruin
EVs: 252 HP / 24 Def / 232 Spe (outruns n burns lopun tusk)
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Inferno
- Dark Pulse
- Sleep Talk
- Rest

Volcarona @ Lucarionite/Pidgeotite/Alakazite/Cameruptite
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Morning Sun
note volc might be a decent dedicated terra abuser

Iron Moth @ Latiasite/Lucarionite/Absolite/Alakazite
Ability: Quark Drive
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fiery Dance
- Sludge Wave
- Psychic/Agility/U-Turn
- Morning Sun

Kingambit @ Latiosite
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Kowtow Cleave
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Brute Bonnet @ ???
Ability: Protosynthesis
EVs: 252 HP ???
- Sucker Punch
- Synthesis
Completely untested w a horrible type and amazing stats. can be a goldo counter w sucker punch and would be a top tier threat if spore wasnt banned for no reason

God (Dudunsparce-Three-Segment) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 76 Def / 252 SpA / 180 Spe (outspeeds lucarionite dpult after a agility)
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Boomburst
- Fire Blast
- Agility
like ik he sucks but idc i luv him and hes technically going to suck less wo kora in the meta

Sandy Shocks @ Manectite/Latiasite/Cameruptite
Ability: Protosynthesis
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid/Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Earth Power
 
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I am surprised nobody has mentioned this set yet. Mewtwo X's Mega Stone has the highest attack boost of all Mega Stones with +80 and it also gives a secondary Fighting Type. 203 Base Attack would be one of highest in the metagame for sure. Barraskewda is already fast and actually benefits from the secondary Fighting Type as it gives it STAB Close Combat. You also can choose you want Aqua Jet for priority or Flip Turn if you want to pivot. Also if Blue Orb was in this metagame it would be one of the best users of it for sure. This Pokemon however usually dies after 1 hit so you have to make every use of it count.
Barraskewda (M) @ Mewtwonite X
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Close Combat
- Aqua Jet/Flip Turn
- Psychic Fangs
 
I am surprised nobody has mentioned this set yet. Mewtwo X's Mega Stone has the highest attack boost of all Mega Stones with +80 and it also gives a secondary Fighting Type. 203 Base Attack would be one of highest in the metagame for sure. Barraskewda is already fast and actually benefits from the secondary Fighting Type as it gives it STAB Close Combat. You also can choose you want Aqua Jet for priority or Flip Turn if you want to pivot. Also if Blue Orb was in this metagame it would be one of the best users of it for sure. This Pokemon however usually dies after 1 hit so you have to make every use of it count.
Barraskewda (M) @ Mewtwonite X
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Close Combat
- Aqua Jet/Flip Turn
- Psychic Fangs
Mewtwonite X is not viable on any Pokémon because it's just outclassed by Lopunnite, which provides better stat boosts and a very useful ability. Barraskewda also doesn't have Flip Turn in SV.
 

Redflix

Forgiven and Hanged
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
I am surprised nobody has mentioned this set yet. Mewtwo X's Mega Stone has the highest attack boost of all Mega Stones with +80 and it also gives a secondary Fighting Type. 203 Base Attack would be one of highest in the metagame for sure. Barraskewda is already fast and actually benefits from the secondary Fighting Type as it gives it STAB Close Combat. You also can choose you want Aqua Jet for priority or Flip Turn if you want to pivot. Also if Blue Orb was in this metagame it would be one of the best users of it for sure. This Pokemon however usually dies after 1 hit so you have to make every use of it count.
Barraskewda (M) @ Mewtwonite X
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Close Combat
- Aqua Jet/Flip Turn
- Psychic Fangs
Talpr0ne already talked about why u shouldnt use mewtwonite x on barra. That being said, i have experimented with lopunnite barraskewda and generally think its a decent mon considering how good water/fighting stab is in the meta + the speed tier barra provides.The set ive used mostly is
:Barraskewda: @ Lopunnite
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Liquidation
- Ice Fang / Psychic Fangs
- Close Combat

Dont think barra needs a priority move given how most of the time its gonna be faster and mostly gonna be forced out by pixie espeed. Crunch helps vs slowbro which is the main defensive wall to use vs barra. Ice fang could be used to deal some damage to alt dnite but for the most part i like psychic fangs as u'll find plenty toxapex on ladder.

Posting some sets that i think can do well in post korai meta
1670929733108.png
@ Sablenite
Ability: Quark Drive
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SpA / 200 SpD
Sassy Nature
- U-turn
- Morning Sun
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Wave

Defensive take on iron moth which works like a charm against offensive scream tail , pidge iron valient / iron jugulis. Beats any gholdengo set too if u land fire blast. Can tank hits and pivot out of chi-yu and wins the 1v1 vs pidge pult / lucarionite zone as well. Overall, I've had good success with this and think its a def a top spd wall in the meta.


@ Lucarionite
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Steel Beam

I've talked on discord about how i think zone takes advantage of the meta and is really good. While zone does compete with gholdengo in ur team, it has the advantage of guaranteeing a corviknight kill, a mon u'll find in a lot of builds and also in general is hard to wall with pivoting and access to steel beam, which allows it to get 1 kill at worst. It also boosts effectiveness of plenty of mons which can be checked / walled by corvi such as Garchomp / pinsirite great tusk / roaring moon/ latiosite Revavroom etc.

1670929772130.png
@ Life Orb
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fire / Electric
EVs: 4 Def / 248 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Freeze-Dry
- Tera Blast

Good user for the tera slot now that korai is gone. I found it better than palafin-hero mostly cuz of the speed stat with iron bundle being able to revenge kill a ton of mons. Both electric/fire tera gives it a good coverage option that helps it beat/greatly damage stuff like sable corvi/gholdengo with fire giving the -ate resist. Really fun to use and can put in a lot of work vs slower teams.
1670929887695.png
@ Audinite
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 248 Def / 4 SpA / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Slack Off
- Torch Song
- Earth Power
- Will-O-Wisp

While not exactly buffed by koraidon leaving considering audinite Skeledirge was one of the best checks to koraidon, it still is an amazing wall that checks arcanine / Annihilape / Chien-Pao / non-eq Dnite while also beating pidge Chi-Yu in a 1v1. Depending on the team , Latiasite is also a good set, forgoing its ability to checks dark / ghost types but being a better check to great tusk / dd pinsirite Roaring Moon.
1670929985032.png
@ Metagrossite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bitter Blade
- Shadow Claw
- Poison Jab / Shadow Sneak

Ceruledge set im experimenting with atm as i think this mon takes good advantage of slowbro and corviknight ,two main defensive walls of the meta. Jab > sneak as its much better against arcanine and dragonite. The main problem im facing is its inability to break past hippo and great tusk. While adamant nature hits the sweet spot of being faster than jolly pins great tusk , it still does terrible damage to it even at +2. Still, the typing is good enough esp against fairy offensive mons and is a decent wall breaker if given the right support.

Other comments:-
  • Blissey isnt as bad as i thought. Ampharosite is a decent rocker and a good gholdengo + chi yu check. Aggronite / Sablenite are a little more passive but allows it to wall iron valient / scream tail anddragapult.
  • Bulk up Annihilape sets def have a niche in the meta. I've seen sablenite / banettite and metagrossite that aim to live pixie espeed twice after +1 and win the 1v1 vs dnite / arcanine when they switch in.
  • Both Garganacl and Meowscarada should be explored more now that korai is gone. I've seen Garganacl put a ton of work against teams lacking gholdengo/ zone or pidge iron valient. Meowscarada is zarude 2.0 but we dont have magearna or ho-oh in this tier so it should def be good.
Thats all and expect resources as soon as we get a clearer picture of post koraidon meta.
 
I am surprised nobody has mentioned this set yet. Mewtwo X's Mega Stone has the highest attack boost of all Mega Stones with +80 and it also gives a secondary Fighting Type. 203 Base Attack would be one of highest in the metagame for sure. Barraskewda is already fast and actually benefits from the secondary Fighting Type as it gives it STAB Close Combat. You also can choose you want Aqua Jet for priority or Flip Turn if you want to pivot. Also if Blue Orb was in this metagame it would be one of the best users of it for sure. This Pokemon however usually dies after 1 hit so you have to make every use of it count.
Barraskewda (M) @ Mewtwonite X
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Close Combat
- Aqua Jet/Flip Turn
- Psychic Fangs
its a perfectly usable stone but its limited to slow fighting types which benefit from the bulk and dont need to make use of scrappy. sadly the meta rn is too focused on immidiate speed and power, in a balanced meta like gen 7 a lot of mons could use it decently if one wished to have a slow bulky fighting type or a dedicated wallbreaker on a team which already handles the big 3 of speed fairly well (being diancite lele metagrossite kartana and zeraora variants). the 80 atk point boost is actually kinda useless tho cuz often even metagrossite w a 10 point atk boost usually gives more atk power w the multiplicitive nature of tough claws. the current gen 9 meta hasnt been developed enough for many specific speed tiers to be developed, after the ban of delibirb n the 2 lizard gods there arent any prominent speed tiers except the more general tier of lucarionite dragapult being the fastest viable non scarf/diancite mon in the meta. currently i see no mon who would prefer mewtwonite x for any of its sets except maybe chien pow which is very underwhelming as is with a horrible offensive stab combo for a mon who needs to be hard to revenge kill and able to ohko generic cores at plus 2.
that said there are a few mons which while crap w mewtwonite x ironically uphold the theme of it being slow thicc fighting types. aggronite sd iron defense iron hands is a rly fun set to play with, i saw someone use lopunite body press corv purely to yeet an unsuspecting goldengo, scream tail is hilarious w lopunite or mewtwonite x w bulk up n drain punch. those mons arent really yknow, good, but they r fun to fw n thats all that matters. keep experimenting its always fun to see regardless of how prominent a stone or set is
 
This simply does not exist. Scrappy is way too useful of a ability for Fighting types to not "need" it, especially when compared with Steadfast of all things, and the bulk increase is too marginal to be worth talking about (only +10 special defense).
until gen 9 there has never been a viable ghost type whose main counter or counterplay involved a scrappy fighting type. the closest thing is zeraora and defensive giratina, even then tina counters cuz it always runs wisp so like yea, scrappy sucked. goldengo op tho so now scrappy is good. ironically tho wo any good users specially bulky enough scrappy still can only be 1 part of a teams wider anti goldo plan
 
until gen 9 there has never been a viable ghost type whose main counter or counterplay involved a scrappy fighting type. the closest thing is zeraora and defensive giratina, even then tina counters cuz it always runs wisp so like yea, scrappy sucked. goldengo op tho so now scrappy is good. ironically tho wo any good users specially bulky enough scrappy still can only be 1 part of a teams wider anti goldo plan
Scrappy also blocks Intimidate, anyway the point isn't that Scrappy invalidates a specific meta Ghost type, but simply that it does something and Steadfast does not (like Giratina is still countering Zeraora but at least it's taking some chip damage from CC), and that getting the jump on more Pokémon is always useful.
 

Redflix

Forgiven and Hanged
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
Just gonna post two teams for post korai meta through which i was able to reach 1500 after few optimizations and have worked well so far

:iron bundle: :Dragonite: :Gastrodon: :Great tusk: :Skeledirge: :Gholdengo:

(Click on sprites for paste)
Experimented with the bundle set i posted earlier but with encore over freeze dry cuz u dont see gastro a lot on ladder anyway. Encore helps a lot vs weird cm ladder shenanigans like stored power blissey / flutter mane etc. Gastrodon is ur main spd wall and mirror coat is just a funny idea that works vs scream tail/pult/valient if not revealed early. Skeledirge is awesome with WoW and latiasite gholdengo compresses the role of a good wall breaker + treads/tusk check. Major weakness for this team is obv latiasite gholdengo since it can exploit mirror coat gastro easily and u have to play very carefully around it. I've mostly won against it by not mega evolving skeledirge to keep unaware + my own gholdengo (since nobody runs this much speed on ladder) or by getting the mirror coat turn right if they are facing the team for the first time.



:barraskewda: :Corviknight: :mAGNEZONE: :Skeledirge: :Clodsire: :Dragapult: / :Dragonite:

Like i said in my previous post , i think barra can be very efficient in certain matchups(vs non slowbro teams) thanks to water/fighting stab and forms a solid core with zone. Skeledirge with a different set here as i wanted a ground resist and an ate check in the same slot. Corviknight is pdef but with body press so that u dont lose to chien-pao (since barraskewda is adamant and they sometimes run shard). This however kinda makes it worthless vs a lot of offensive mons so its better u use u-turn with it 80% of the time (Alternatively just accept the L vs chien pao and use bb which is infinitely better for this team). I hate using Clodsire because its so easy to take advantage of with tusk or corvi but gyaradosite is certainly its best set imo, being able to set rocks reliably and be a check to gholdengo / valient / pult / bundle.
Pult is a top 3 breaker and helps vs annihilape and revenge killing.
Shadow sneak Ceruledge is a pain for this team and so is not having -ate speed. I''ve tried eq dd dragonite to patch both issues and it works most of the time but then u have to play carefully vs annihilape and have to preserve zone against dondozon and slowbro mu's.
 
First this was gonna be a set dump.
Then I was like "lets make a flow chart of when to use a certain mega stone"
Then I was like I'm lazy
So here it is, a guide on how to use any stone, let me know if there are any errors/stuff to add, and if anyone wants to make this into a more readable flow chart, be my guest.

Banned stones
Beedrillite (banned)
Blazikenite (banned)
:Gengarite:Gengarite (banned)
:Kangaskhanite:Kangaskhanite (banned)
Mawilite (banned)
Medichamite (banned)

Allowed Stones
Abomasite (+40 Attack, +30 Defense, +40 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, -30 Speed | Snow Warning | N/A | +49.5 Kg)
Want snow? Want no other use?
:Absolite:Absolite (+20 Attack, +40 Special Attack, +40 Speed | Magic Bounce | N/A | +2 Kg)
Special Attackers that can be used a suicide lead with Magic Bounce.
:Aerodactylite:Aerodactylite (+30 Attack, +20 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +20 Speed | Tough Claws | N/A | +20 Kg)
Physical Attackers with lots of contact moves.
Aggronite (+30 Attack, +50 Defense, +20 Special Defense | Filter | - Secondary | +35 Kg)
Useful for defense pokemon to get rid of a type to decrease weaknesses.
:Alakazite:Alakazite (+20 Defense,+40 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense, +30 Speed | Trace | N/A | N/A)
Special Attackers which don't have a preferred ability.
Altarianite (+40 Attack, +20 Defense, +40 Special Attack | Pixilate | +
| N/A)
Pokemon with strong normal moves that can abuse Pixilate and fairy type.
Ampharosite (+20 Attack, +20 Defense, +50 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, -10 Speed | Mold Breaker | +
| N/A)
Bulky Special Attackers that don't need speed. They can use dragon type to their liking. It can also be used as a counter to magic bounce.
Audinite (+40 Defense, +20 Special Attack, +40 Special Defense | Healer | +
| +1 Kg)
Why?
Banettite (+50 Attack, +10 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +10 Speed | Prankster | N/A | +0.5 Kg )
Prankster support pokemon. Also could be used as a suicide lead due to the high attack.
:Blastoisinite:Blastoisinite (+20 Attack, +20 Defense, +50 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense | Mega Launcher | N/A | +15.6 Kg)
Special Attackers with lots of pulse moves.
Cameruptite (+20 Attack, +30 Defense, +40 Special Attack, +30 Special Defense, -20 Speed | Sheer Force | N/A | +100.5 Kg)
Bulky Special Attackers that don't need speed with lots of moves with secondary effects.
:Charizardite-X:Charizardite X (+46 Attack, +33 Defense, +21 Special Attack | Tough Claws | +
| +20 Kg)
Physical Attackers with lots of contact moves.
:Charizardite-Y:Charizardite Y (+20 Attack, +50 Special Attack, +30 Special Defense | Drought | N/A | +10 Kg)
Special Fire type Attackers that can abuse their sun while they wait for :groudon:Groudon.
Diancite (+60 Attack, -40 Defense, +60 Special Attack, -40 Special Defense, +60 Speed | Magic Bounce | N/A | +19 Kg)
Pokemon that don't give a damn about living a hit. Good suicide lead due to Magic Bounce.
Galladite (+40 Attack, +30 Defense, +30 Speed | Inner Focus | N/A | +4.4Kg)
General use for Physical Attackers.
:Garchompite:Garchompite (+40 Attack, +20 Defense, +40 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense, -10 Speed | Sand Force | N/A | N/A)
Rock, Ground, and Steel type attackers that can abuse sand. (if you can get it up)
Gardevoirite (+20 Attack, +40 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +20 Speed | Pixilate | N/A | N/A)
Special Attackers with strong normal type moves to abuse Pixilate. Fairy types can make this better.
:Glalitite:Glalitite (+40 Attack, +40 Special Attack, +20 Speed | Refrigerate | N/A | +93.7 Kg)
Pokemon with strong normal moves to use. Ice types can make this better.
:Gyaradosite:Gyaradosite (+30 Attack, +30 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +30 Special Defense | Mold Breaker | +
| +70 Kg)
Physical Attackers that can counter Prankster with their dark type and Magic Bounce with Mold Breaker. They are a good counter lead.
Heracronite (+60 Attack, +40 Defense, +10 Special Defense, -10 Speed | Skill Link | N/A | +8.5 Kg)
Physical Attackers with multi-hit moves.
Houndoominite (+40 Defense, +30 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense, +20 Speed | Solar Power | N/A | +14.5 Kg)
Special Fire type Attackers that can abuse sun. They are also waiting for :groudon:Groudon.
:Latiasite:Latiasite (+20 Attack, +30 Defense, +30 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense | Levitate | N/A | +12 Kg)
Defensive pokemon that are weak to ground.
:Latiosite:Latiosite (+40 Attack, +20 Defense, +30 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense | Levitate | N/A | +10 Kg)
Defensive pokemon that are weak to ground which can hit back with physical moves. It can also be used with Physical Attackers that are weak to ground.
Lopunnite (+60 Attack, +10 Defense, +30 Speed | Scrappy | +
| -5 Kg)
Physical Attackers that can use the new fighting type effectively.
:Lucarionite:Lucarionite (+35 Attack, +18 Defense, +25 Special Attack, +22 Speed | Adaptability | N/A | +3.5 Kg)
Physical Attackers that don't have much coverage or a move that is priority that is the same type as them that they can use.
Manectite (+20 Defense, +30 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +30 Speed | Intimidate | N/A | +3.8 Kg)
Defensive pokemon that can act as physical walls with Intimidate and could hit back with special moves.
:Metagrossite:Metagrossite (+10 Attack, +20 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +40 Speed | Tough Claws | N/A | +392.9 Kg)
Speedy attackers with lots of contact moves. (The only special contact moves are Draining Kiss, Electro Drift, Grass Knot, Infestation, and Petal Dance)
Mewtwonite X (+80 Attack, +10 Defense, +10 Special Defense | Steadfast | +
| +5 Kg)
Use :lopunnite: Lopunnite instead.
Mewtwonite Y (+40 Attack, -20 Defense, +40 Special Attack, +30 Special Defense, +10 Speed | Insomnia | N/A | -89 Kg)
Ummmm...
Pidgeotite (+5 Defense, +65 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense, +20 Speed | No Guard | N/A | +11 Kg)
Special Attackers that have strong moves that aren't 100 accuracy. why is this not banned yet
:Pinsirite:Pinsirite (+30 Attack, +20 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +20 Speed | Aerilate | +
| +4 Kg)
Physical Attackers with strong normal type moves to use Aerilate with.
:Sablenite:Sablenite (+10 Attack, +50 Defense, +20 Special Attack, +50 Special Defense, -30 Speed | Magic Bounce | N/A | +150 Kg)
Defensive and support leads with Magic Bounce.
:Salamencite:Salamencite (+10 Attack, +50 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense, +20 Speed | Aerilate | N/A | +10 Kg)
If you want the defense I guess?... just use :pinsirite: Pinsirite
Sceptilite (+25 Attack, +10 Defense, +40 Special Attack, +25 Speed | Lightning Rod | +
| +3 Kg)
Special Attackers weak to electric and can use the new dragon type well.
:Scizorite:Scizorite (+20 Attack, +40 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +10 Speed | Technician | N/A | +7 Kg)
Pokemon that can abuse low BP moves with Technician.
:Sharpedonite:Sharpedonite (+20 Attack, +30 Defense, +15 Special Attack, +25 Special Defense, +10 Speed | Strong Jaw | N/A | +41.5 Kg)
Pokemon that have lots of biting moves.
:Slowbronite:Slowbronite (+70 Defense, +30 Special Attack | Shell Armor | N/A | +31.5 Kg)
haha defense go brr. also if you hate crits for some reason. Edit: You can use this for body press users.
Steelixite (+40 Attack, +30 Defense, +30 Special Defense | Sand Force | N/A | +340 Kg)
Physical Attackers with lots of Rock, Ground, and Steel moves they can abuse Sand Force with.
Swampertite (+40 Attack, +20 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +10 Speed | Swift Swim | N/A | +20.1 Kg)
Physical Attackers that can abuse Rain. They are waiting for :kyogre:Kyogre, and then it's inevitable ban.
Tyranitarite (+30 Attack, +40 Defense, +20 Special Defense, +10 Speed | Sand Stream | N/A | +53 Kg)
Set Sand.
:Venusaurite:Venusaurite (+18 Attack, +40 Defense, +22 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense | Thick Fat | N/A | +55.5 Kg)
Defense pokemon weak to Ice or Fire that can benefit from Thick Fat.
 
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First this was gonna be a set dump.
Then I was like "lets make a flow chart of when to use a certain mega stone"
Then I was like I'm lazy
So here it is, a guide on how to use any stone, let me know if there are any errors/stuff to add, and if anyone wants to make this into a more readable flow chart, be my guest.

Banned stones
Beedrillite (banned)
Blazikenite (banned)
:Gengarite:Gengarite (banned)
:Kangaskhanite:Kangaskhanite (banned)
Mawilite (banned)
Medichamite (banned)

Allowed Stones
Abomasite (+40 Attack, +30 Defense, +40 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, -30 Speed | Snow Warning | N/A | +49.5 Kg)
Want snow? Want no other use?
:Absolite:Absolite (+20 Attack, +40 Special Attack, +40 Speed | Magic Bounce | N/A | +2 Kg)
Special Attackers that can be used a suicide lead with Magic Bounce.
:Aerodactylite:Aerodactylite (+30 Attack, +20 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +20 Speed | Tough Claws | N/A | +20 Kg)
Physical Attackers with lots of contact moves.
Aggronite (+30 Attack, +50 Defense, +20 Special Defense | Filter | - Secondary | +35 Kg)
Useful for defense pokemon to get rid of a type to decrease weaknesses.
:Alakazite:Alakazite (+20 Defense,+40 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense, +30 Speed | Trace | N/A | N/A)
Special Attackers which don't have a preferred ability.
Altarianite (+40 Attack, +20 Defense, +40 Special Attack | Pixilate | +
| N/A)
Pokemon with strong normal moves that can abuse Pixilate and fairy type.
Ampharosite (+20 Attack, +20 Defense, +50 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, -10 Speed | Mold Breaker | +
| N/A)
Bulky Special Attackers that don't need speed. They can use dragon type to their liking. It can also be used as a counter to magic bounce.
Audinite (+40 Defense, +20 Special Attack, +40 Special Defense | Healer | +
| +1 Kg)
Why?
Banettite (+50 Attack, +10 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +10 Speed | Prankster | N/A | +0.5 Kg )
Prankster support pokemon. Also could be used as a suicide lead due to the high attack.
:Blastoisinite:Blastoisinite (+20 Attack, +20 Defense, +50 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense | Mega Launcher | N/A | +15.6 Kg)
Special Attackers with lots of pulse moves.
Cameruptite (+20 Attack, +30 Defense, +40 Special Attack, +30 Special Defense, -20 Speed | Sheer Force | N/A | +100.5 Kg)
Bulky Special Attackers that don't need speed with lots of moves with secondary effects.
:Charizardite-X:Charizardite X (+46 Attack, +33 Defense, +21 Special Attack | Tough Claws | +
| +20 Kg)
Physical Attackers with lots of contact moves.
:Charizardite-Y:Charizardite Y (+20 Attack, +50 Special Attack, +30 Special Defense | Drought | N/A | +10 Kg)
Special Fire type Attackers that can abuse their sun while they wait for :groudon:Groudon.
Diancite (+60 Attack, -40 Defense, +60 Special Attack, -40 Special Defense, +60 Speed | Magic Bounce | N/A | +19 Kg)
Pokemon that don't give a damn about living a hit. Good suicide lead due to Magic Bounce.
Galladite (+40 Attack, +30 Defense, +30 Speed | Inner Focus | N/A | +4.4Kg)
General use for Physical Attackers.
:Garchompite:Garchompite (+40 Attack, +20 Defense, +40 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense, -10 Speed | Sand Force | N/A | N/A)
Rock, Ground, and Steel type attackers that can abuse sand. (if you can get it up)
Gardevoirite (+20 Attack, +40 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +20 Speed | Pixilate | N/A | N/A)
Special Attackers with strong normal type moves to abuse Pixilate. Fairy types can make this better.
:Glalitite:Glalitite (+40 Attack, +40 Special Attack, +20 Speed | Refrigerate | N/A | +93.7 Kg)
Pokemon with strong normal moves to use. Ice types can make this better.
:Gyaradosite:Gyaradosite (+30 Attack, +30 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +30 Special Defense | Mold Breaker | +
| +70 Kg)
Physical Attackers that can counter Prankster with their dark type and Magic Bounce with Mold Breaker. They are a good counter lead.
Heracronite (+60 Attack, +40 Defense, +10 Special Defense, -10 Speed | Skill Link | N/A | +8.5 Kg)
Physical Attackers with multi-hit moves.
Houndoominite (+40 Defense, +30 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense, +20 Speed | Solar Power | N/A | +14.5 Kg)
Special Fire type Attackers that can abuse sun. They are also waiting for :groudon:Groudon.
:Latiasite:Latiasite (+20 Attack, +30 Defense, +30 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense | Levitate | N/A | +12 Kg)
Defensive pokemon that are weak to ground.
:Latiosite:Latiosite (+40 Attack, +20 Defense, +30 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense | Levitate | N/A | +10 Kg)
Defensive pokemon that are weak to ground which can hit back with physical moves. It can also be used with Physical Attackers that are weak to ground.
Lopunnite (+60 Attack, +10 Defense, +30 Speed | Scrappy | +
| -5 Kg)
Physical Attackers that can use the new fighting type effectively.
:Lucarionite:Lucarionite (+35 Attack, +18 Defense, +25 Special Attack, +22 Speed | Adaptability | N/A | +3.5 Kg)
Physical Attackers that don't have much coverage or a move that is priority that is the same type as them that they can use.
Manectite (+20 Defense, +30 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +30 Speed | Intimidate | N/A | +3.8 Kg)
Defensive pokemon that can act as physical walls with Intimidate and could hit back with special moves.
:Metagrossite:Metagrossite (+10 Attack, +20 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +40 Speed | Tough Claws | N/A | +392.9 Kg)
Speedy attackers with lots of contact moves. (The only special contact moves are Draining Kiss, Electro Drift, Grass Knot, Infestation, and Petal Dance)
Mewtwonite X (+80 Attack, +10 Defense, +10 Special Defense | Steadfast | +
| +5 Kg)
Use :lopunnite: Lopunnite instead.
Mewtwonite Y (+40 Attack, -20 Defense, +40 Special Attack, +30 Special Defense, +10 Speed | Insomnia | N/A | -89 Kg)
Ummmm...
Pidgeotite (+5 Defense, +65 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense, +20 Speed | No Guard | N/A | +11 Kg)
Special Attackers that have strong moves that aren't 100 accuracy. why is this not banned yet
:Pinsirite:Pinsirite (+30 Attack, +20 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +20 Speed | Aerilate | +
| +4 Kg)
Physical Attackers with strong normal type moves to use Aerilate with.
:Sablenite:Sablenite (+10 Attack, +50 Defense, +20 Special Attack, +50 Special Defense, -30 Speed | Magic Bounce | N/A | +150 Kg)
Defensive and support leads with Magic Bounce.
:Salamencite:Salamencite (+10 Attack, +50 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense, +20 Speed | Aerilate | N/A | +10 Kg)
If you want the defense I guess?... just use :pinsirite: Pinsirite
Sceptilite (+25 Attack, +10 Defense, +40 Special Attack, +25 Speed | Lightning Rod | +
| +3 Kg)
Special Attackers weak to electric and can use the new dragon type well.
:Scizorite:Scizorite (+20 Attack, +40 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +10 Speed | Technician | N/A | +7 Kg)
Pokemon that can abuse low BP moves with Technician.
:Sharpedonite:Sharpedonite (+20 Attack, +30 Defense, +15 Special Attack, +25 Special Defense, +10 Speed | Strong Jaw | N/A | +41.5 Kg)
Pokemon that have lots of biting moves.
:Slowbronite:Slowbronite (+70 Defense, +30 Special Attack | Shell Armor | N/A | +31.5 Kg)
haha defense go brr. also if you hate crits for some reason.
Steelixite (+40 Attack, +30 Defense, +30 Special Defense | Sand Force | N/A | +340 Kg)
Physical Attackers with lots of Rock, Ground, and Steel moves they can abuse Sand Force with.
Swampertite (+40 Attack, +20 Defense, +10 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, +10 Speed | Swift Swim | N/A | +20.1 Kg)
Physical Attackers that can abuse Rain. They are waiting for :kyogre:Kyogre, and then it's inevitable ban.
Tyranitarite (+30 Attack, +40 Defense, +20 Special Defense, +10 Speed | Sand Stream | N/A | +53 Kg)
Set Sand.
:Venusaurite:Venusaurite (+18 Attack, +40 Defense, +22 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense | Thick Fat | N/A | +55.5 Kg)
Defense pokemon weak to Ice or Fire that can benefit from Thick Fat.
This is actually really cool! Honestly, thank you a lot for this - I think it should definitely be a resource for newer MNM players in the inevitable future!
 
Hello everyone, it's me, who has crawled out of his hole in the ground to discuss my favorite OM. In this post I'll be covering various trends in the meta, as well as a few individual 'mons.

So, let's rattle off a couple of discussion topics(note: these are all my opinion based on current teambuilding trends and what current meta seems to favor)


Fighting Types: Currently the worst they've ever been in this meta, restricted metas with no DLC tend to favor -atespeeders heavily due to a lack of consistent checks, with Dnite and Arcanine being among-if not the-best available users of it. This combined with how splashable -ate granting stones are often makes Fighting pretty meh at best, at least defensively. While the typing still offers a lot coverage-wise and grants a strong STAB, 'mons that want to keep or gain Fighting typing need to offer a lot, as otherwise they make themselves free KOs for many offensive teams.

Speed control, -ate body slam is the new Scald: Speed control absolutely big this gen, and if we had any Webs setters whose only offerings weren't just "I set webs and die" I could almost guarantee it'd be meta defining this time around. There's a huge pool of rather middling speed attackers who just barely miss out on the really useful speed tiers without running a less ideal stone or are competing over the same stone otherwise, and otherwise really appreciate outspeeding key threats. Even outside of the offensive side of things, having your bulky pivot or wall be able to get off their recovery option before the other guy's is also big, especially considering the nerf to recovery PP this gen. In general, there's a lot of things in current meta that very much so do not appreciate the speed drop para brings, and it's ironically very easy to spread with almost everything getting body slam. Do note that only -ate users really want to do this, as unlike scald, body slam itself offers zero coverage or power without STAB backing it up and paralysis is not quite as debilitating as burn is.

Terrastalization: Somewhat slept on from what I've seen. Iron Bundle is still a huge threat via terra-water, specs boosted hydro pumps, as there's a rather distinctive lack of water resists in the current meta who aren't also weak to Freeze Dry/Ice Beam and is often just barely bulky enough to handle priority, especially if rocks are kept off the field. Another surprisingly solid choice is ironically.... Chien-Pao. While normally Chien-Pao is happy enough to run Aerodactylite/Metagrossite, or another stone of choice, its base ability in Sword of Ruin can allow it to match Tough Claws variants, while a Life Orb or Choice Band allows it to surpass them, especially when it Terra's one of its STABs, which has the side effect of allowing it to shed its awful dual typing down to a slightly less awful one. Its base speed also sits at a very happy 135, outrunning many threats while still packing Sucker Punch for faster threats.
Calcs for relevance(Not necessarily a common choice currently, but a nonetheless bulky one)
Vs Sablenite Pex:

252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Tera Dark Chien-Pao Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 142-168 (46.7 - 55.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock, 68.8% chance to 2HKO without rocks

252 Atk Life Orb Sword of Ruin Tera Dark Chien-Pao Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 122-146 (40.1 - 48%) -- 51.2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Aerodactylite for comparison:
252 Atk Tough Claws Chien-Pao Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 82-97 (26.9 - 31.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

There's other options that require more support like Flutter Mane and Houndstone, as well as the previously mentioned Palafin(less support and more needs a free turn)


On to a few 'mons I feel worth discussing. Some have been mentioned previously in the thread, but I feel warrant more full discussion.


Great Tusk: Our OU lord and Lando-T comparison ironically finds itself just as effective here as it does OU, and in some ways does better than Lando-T itself has done before in MnM. While it lacks the horrendous combination of pivoting, explosion, and the ability to set hazards all in the same set, Tusk manages to differentiate itself with a horrifically strong Ground STAB in Headlong Rush and all the coverage it really wants, alongside excellent utility in Rapid Spin. Its Metagrossite and Loppunite sets with Bulk Up are horrifically strong and difficult to wall, though are held back by its secondary Fighting typing and low special bulk, as well as its middling base 87 speed. It also runs a mean Gyaradosite set, running over Latiasite Gholdengo and Skeledirge who think they can wall it and throwing up often guaranteed(and more importantly unblockable) Stealth Rocks for the team. Altarianite sets trade off its Fighting Typing for the amazing coverage of Ground/Fairy and an unblockable rapid spin. Overall solid pick for any team and versatile enough that it can surprise you.

Iron Treads: "Mom, can we have [Excadrill]?' We have [Excadrill] at home.'". Tusk's less remembered cousin, who shares its typing with Excadrill, fills a somewhat different role than Tusk in that it has a significantly better base typing and a very solid base 106 Speed. No setup for Treads though, it makes do with with what it has, which is a decent bit. It's a significantly more consistent hazard cleaner and has a broader selection of stones it can run, as well as the somewhat overlooked ability to pivot using Volt Switch. Recommended if you want a fast spinner with good typing.

Hippowdon: And rounding off the Ground types being discussed is the oft-overlooked Hippo. While not particularly fast, nor as bulky as Tusk, and doesn't have the ability to remove hazards, Hippowdon looks at the two elephants in the room and says "I'm built different". And then proves it. Hippo might not have the immediate standout stats the previous two have, Hippo is the only one of the three with both recovery and the ability to phase, making itself an amazing defensive choice on any team. While I have a definite preference towards Altarianite due to that excellent typing and the ability to spread paralysis around via body slam, Hippo can run a few stones like Sablenite, Pinsirite, or even Tyranitarite(sand chip is nice and it enables Houndstone). It also has a rather nasty Curse set it can run thanks to strong EQ STAB and Body Press, while still having recovery.

Garganacl: The minecraft pokemon is quite good here too. Not a huge amount to say about it, it has a rather nasty Pinsirite set in that it can go boom, surprise switchins with the type change, and can still set rocks and stick around with Recover. Tyranitarite sets are very hard to KO, and it can also run a strong Curse set of its own. Underexplored imo, a large number of people seem to only use Iron Defense/Body Press sets which are both easily walled and one-dimensional and deserves further set creativity.

Slowking: Gen 8 Slowbro, but at home. Solid bulky pivot with Sablenite and excellent T-wave spreader. Chilly Reception is a unique pivoting tool that can support your own teammates and occasionally hinder opponents running weather stones.

Glimmora: Excellent check to -atespeed cores, resists both pixiespeed and aerospeed, and can hit both back with powerful STABs and is decently bulky to boot. Provides hazard support and removal in one package, but often has to run a levitate granting stone or otherwise play around its quad ground weakness.

Corviknight: Honestly fallen from grace somewhat, Corv really didn't like the nerf to its Roost PP and the myriad of powerful attackers available this gen make its role as a bulky pivot and hazard clearer much harder than last gen. Generally needs to pick between walling physical or special attackers and struggles to justify running BB due to the chip often putting it in 2HKO range if it wants to fight back, ruining its walling abilities. Still has potential however, and it has Bulk Up, which means it cannot be slept on as a passive 'mon every time, though it still wants to run Drill Peck over Brave Bird.

Iron Moth: Physically frail, but dangerous Fire type with a quad resist to fairy and a surprisingly solid Manectite user thanks to good speed, recovery and a unique typing, but can also run Latiasite to skirt the Ground weakness.

Bombirdier: While unimpressively statted, Bombirdier differentiates itself from basically everything else on the market by having the goldmine toolset. It is definitely unimpressive pre-mega, but its offensive and defensive stats hit that just "good enough" point that it rocks(ha-ha, get it?) a lot of utility despite not excelling in anything, being the only rocks setter with both recovery in Roost AND pivoting options in Parting Shot and U-turn. It also gets fun tricks like Momento, Taunt, Tailwind, and Whirlwind, allowing you to tool it to anything you need. Strong STAB Brave Bird and priority in Sucker Punch at a decent enough base 102 Attack let it still carry its weight offensively, and it's not horribly slow at base 82 Speed. Banetite sets put in work with priority Parting Shot, and Prankster all but guaranteeing rocks go up against anything not running MBounce(at which point you get to force them out with Parting Shot anyways) and Roost keeping it healthy. Gyaradosite also puts in work, utilizing its unique traits to either stuff slower teams or keep momentum going.


Overall a pretty interesting meta this gen, with a lot to explore, though of course the DLC will be throwing EVERYTHING into chaos. Look forward to seeing more players in the future!
 
hello readers, aggro(nite) here. Will just share a couple of teams that I have had decent success with as well as discuss a few mons.
:clodsire::gholdengo::chi-yu::great_tusk::skeledirge::garganacl:/:slowking:/:toxapex:
BU tusk is a personal favorite, sits on a lot of stuff and just sweeps, nothing much to say about it. 136 speed evs to outspeed dia ghold after a spin. Wanted to build a hazard focused team around it, tried glimm but it didn't work quite as well as I expected it to. Gyara Clod is great and underrated. It's a perfect pick for a hazard setter, has access to both rocks and spikes. Gholdengo is pretty self explanatory, its pre-mega ability helps it to just sit on defoggers. Chi-yu is a crazy breaker, inferno is just insane, and it helps vs your Gholdengo MU as well (unless u want to check it with your own gholdengo and pray). Dirge is an extremely important defensive presence, helps in your Treads/Tusk and Espeed MU. I love Garga, shreds any offense and beats important metagame threats like Chi-Yu and Iron Moth. About the team's issues, I find one mon particularly problematic: Barraskewda, so pray but it's not all that common so I guess it's fine. I guess you can always replace Garga with King/SpD Pex (Pex here looks like a better option), but that makes your Chi-Yu/Moth/and a few others MU worse.
:slowbro::corviknight::chi-yu::cinderace::dragonite::garganacl:
wanted to build around ace (and fire types in general). Finally ended up using Cinderace+Chi-Yu. Both of them have a pretty good synergy, Ace chips stuff with Sfang+U-turn (and STABs) for Chi-Yu to come in and land the finishing blow/set-up with NP. Problem here was Espeeders: Arcanine and Dragonite. Although they don't really enjoy coming in on a super fang or an inferno, they still could pressure the fire types. Slowbro (and occasioally Garga) can handle this issue, though, so it's not that big of an issue. Corvi is the main hazard control mon as well as Sablenite SpD wall. Garga is cool in general vs offense as I mentioned above. Finally, your own Espeeder: Dragonite, as a means to revenge kill stuff and/or set-up and sweep. Opposing Garga may be a problem for the team, but it is not impossible to play around with.

:sv/chi-yu:
Chi-Yu @ Pidgeotite
Ability: Beads of Ruin
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Inferno
- Dark Pulse
- Nasty Plot
- Ruination / Rest
As I said earlier, Chi-Yu is just crazy. It's just the perfect Pidgeotite abuser. A 100 BP STAB that has a 100% chance of burning and never misses is insane, and can obliterate anything that isn't a specially bulky Arcanine (or I guess Aud Dirge). Even the big blob fears it. Rest is cool, NP+Rest lets it beat even the likes of Blissey. Ruination can work over Rest, but I prefer the latter. Dark Pulse is self explanatory, a STAB with higher PP than inferno.

:sv/noivern:
Clastia (Noivern) @ Salamencite
Ability: Frisk
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe [Alternatively 100 HP / 36 Def / 252 SpA / 120 Spe]
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost / Flamethrower
The resident BOOMburster, and although it competes with the likes of Corviknight and Great Tusk as a hazard control mon, it is neither as passive as the former nor lacks a pivot move like the latter. The set is pretty simple, Boomburst kills stuff, U-turn lets it pivot, Defog, and Roost for longetivity. Alternatively, Flamethrower can be used over Roost for hitting opposing Gholdengos.

:sv/rotom-wash:
Rotom-Wash @ Manectite
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Substitute / Shadow Ball / Will-O-Wisp
Rotom-W is an interesting mon, gets np and great stabs both offensively and defensively. Although I do not expect it to be very good, but in my opinion Rotom formes in general are underexplored. Pray that Hydro Pump hits I guess you can alternatively also run a Volt Switch set, but I find this set to be better.

:sv/cloyster:
Cloyster @ Pidgeotite
Ability: Shell Armor
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 28 HP / 24 Def / 252 SpA / 116 SpD / 88 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Blizzard
- Hydro Pump
- Substitute
lbr the oyster is broken in every format Unfortunately, it doesn't get freeze dry now, but I doubt it even needs it in the first place. 110 BP STABs shooting off of a 150 Special Atk stat itself sounds ridiculous. One drawback, however, is that it can probably only be run on screens because of its poor bulk, but once set up, it can turn out to be an absolute monster.

:sv/kingambit:
Kingambit @ Lucarionite / Latiosite
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Kowtow Cleave
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
SD Kingambit is offensively very amazing and underrated imo. I tried Latiosite for Ground types and eq dnite, and it works surprisingly well.

The post above covered pretty much everything I wanted to say, but I will still give my thoughts on the metagame in brief.
:corviknight::slowbro::slowking::garganacl::skeledirge::toxapex::hippowdon: are all good mons and defensive staples of the metagame, garga especially is my personal favorite. Ttarite is very underrated imo.
:great_tusk: best hazard control mon rn imo. BU sets are hard to answer.
:gholdengo: can utilise a million stones and still be good. Most problematic set rn is Diancite imo, fast and powerful. Latiasite sets are also quite problematic. A Pinsirite Tera Blast set has also started to pop up, but imo it's not worth it.
:chien-pao::palafin-hero::iron_bundle: All these mons can utilise Tera and prove themselves to be formidable threats. Pao should run Tera Poison for Espeeders imo. Tera Pao>Mega Pao. I don't really like Iron Bundle tbh (largely because of how much Hydro Pump misses), but BU Palafin is cool.
:arcanine::dragonite: Like every gen, AteSpeed has proven itself to be extremely good and centralising. I tried using Lucario as well, but unfortunately it didn't meet my expectations.
Yeah, that about sums it up. Overall, this gen seems to be much better than last gen was (ss sucked), and I hope people will keep theorycrafting MnM. Huge shoutouts to dilllllllllllon for Banettite Pawmot, the thing's broken.
 
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Clas

my main tier is yes
is a Tiering Contributor
:sv/noivern:
Clastia (Noivern) @ Salamencite
Ability: Frisk
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe [Alternatively 100 HP / 36 Def / 252 SpA / 120 Spe]
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost / Flamethrower
The resident BOOMburster, and although it competes with the likes of Corviknight and Great Tusk as a hazard control mon, it is neither as passive as the former nor lacks a pivot move like the latter. The set is pretty simple, Boomburst kills stuff, U-turn lets it pivot, Defog, and Roost for longetivity. Alternatively, Flamethrower can be used over Roost for hitting opposing Gholdengos.
Here's an alternate set which I've had success with since the end of last generation it still deserves its b- placement on that vr
:ss/noivern:
Noivern @ Salamencite
Ability: Frisk
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 228 HP / 48 SpA / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Super Fang
- Roost
- U-turn / Taunt / Defog

Super Fang Noivern is a top stallbreaker in the current metagame thanks to its ability to pressure more passive defensive cores like Corviknight + Clodsire or Great Tusk + Scream Tail. Boomburst notably always OHKOs uninvested Arcanine after Stealth Rock while living its Extreme Speed from full every time, and Super Fang slowly chips down defensive staples like Corviknight and Clodsire to burn out their recovery PP. Roost is needed on this set to allow Noivern to 1v1 Corviknight. U-Turn is my preferred last move currently as it lets Noivern bring in powerful partners for its checks, like Iron Bundle and Tinkaton (more on that one later). Taunt lets Noivern prevent non-Magic Bounce Pokemon from recovering or setting Stealth Rock, which is crucial in letting Noivern chip down its opponents, while Defog is more so a last-resort choice for teams that need it. The given spread outspeeds base 140 Speed Pokemon and OHKOs uninvested Arcanine after Stealth Rock, with the rest going into HP.


Now, remember what I said earlier about one of Noivern's strong pairings? WELL
:sv/tinkaton:
Tinkaton (F) @ Diancite
Ability: Own Tempo
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Gigaton Hammer
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance

This Pokemon is a monster right now. I mean it. Gigaton Hammer cleanly OHKOs non-Bold Scream Tail with no boosts and all Garganacl at +2, OHKOs Max HP Altarianite Arcanine after Stealth Rock nearly always, and not only lives a -1 Make it Rain from Diancite Gholdengo after Mega Evolution but also can Swords Dance on it prior to OHKO with Gigaton Hammer. Play Rough is useful for the few cases where its better, like Pawmot and Roaring Moon (although Metagrossite Moon outspeeds), while Brick Break hits Steel-types like Magnezone and non-Pinsirite Iron Treads. Swords Dance capitalizes on forces switches or heals. Own Tempo is also really helpful as you block Intimidate before Mega Evolution. You do fear Latiasite Gholdengo early on and Corviknight can be awkward, but that's why Super Fang Noivern is such a good pairing.
 
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funniest jank i seen all year
Furry Jesus (Pawmot) @ Banettite
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Revival Blessing
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
the idea of the evs and nature is to avoid as many neutral ohkos as possible since at only 1% w rest you get a 50% chance at a 2nd Deus Ex Machina. pawmot is the superior of the 2 Jesus wannabes as its typing actually has occasional resists which enable it a surprising amount of opportunities to pull of its Jesusy witchcraft. it can switch in and try to cheese vs mons even as strong as gholdengo and kingambit

i designed a team premise whose soul motor was revival blessing, and with good luck it was able to occasionally brute force wins vs top accounts (pokepaste here-> https://pokepast.es/4355b3367a0a7da2 ). the simple yet effective idea was to repeatedly throw out carcasses of priority users until the opponent was overwhelmed in number and constant damage. the team even used the novel concept of a dedicated terra mon, and it was lokix of all things! even at minus 1 atk terra bug life orb lokix does minimum (edit- with first impression) 49.4% to max hp 4 defense arcanine, vs megad altarianite arca and with neutral atk lokix does min 30%. the team was more on the memey side so its scary what a serious team can come back from with the right luck
 
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Redflix

Forgiven and Hanged
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
Good to see some discussion in the thread. Here are some of the sets ive beeing either using or faced during my time on ladder which i think people should explore more on teams:-


:Iron Valiant: @ Lopunnite
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Liquidation
- Close Combat
- Spirit Break
- Swords Dance

I was always a believer in physical valiant being more tough to handle than special and i think lop valiant really does a great job being a breaker. STAB + SD is p much given and allows it to break vs almost every physical wall. Last is p much filler but liquidation to me is the best solely cuz it allows u to hit arc and clodsire which people often hard switch in vs this.(i've used leaf blade/taunt and both work fiiiiine too). The one advantage it has over barraskewda (despite barra being faster even after running adamant) is its ability to beat garg 1v1 which is something u'll find often coming in help on ladder.


:Chien-Pao: @ Choice Band
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Spinner
- Crunch
- Sacred Sword
- Tera Blast

Agree with the sentiment that tera chien-pao is better than mega evolved. Realistically , the only mega chien-pao worth using is adamant nature lucarionite because of the damage + speed tier it provides. Tera tho gives it a good defensive typing which is imp and helps it deal vs -ate speeders. Tera fire is something i also considered and used but ultimately the rocks weakness negated its resistance to -ate speed. LO sets are also worth using especially on screens. Overall , extremely underused mon imo which from my personal experience can break a lot of teams. Bundle still the best tera mon tho


:Dudunsparce-Three-Segment: @ Cameruptite
Ability: Serene Grace
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SpA / 200 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Flamethrower
- Roost
- Earth Power

This is a fun little set i used in my latest team which worked p well. The idea behind it is it 1v1s all the special threats in the meta and forms a good core with corvi. Its ability to not being a sitting duck unlike blissey helps it being preferred over it on certain structures. Does its job decently and def worth a try.

:Sandy Shocks: @ Glalitite
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Tri Attack
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock / Thunderbolt

Saw lydia using this in roomtours and seems to have solid potential thanks to bolt/beam coverage. Speed tier is kinda meh but electric type in this meta are super hard to play around with so that balances this out. Can also be a solid SR setting thanks to it threatening sable corvi/bro and hippo.





:Espathra: @ Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Protect
- Roost
- Stored Power

Cheese set to run on HO if u want to tilt some opponents. I had it as unranked on VR when lydia first told me about this mon (altho she talked about running slowbronite/sable) and i still do but sometimes it does things like this ( Replays - Pokémon Showdown (pokemonshowdown.com) ) and u cant help it. Just another fun thing to try on HO.

some of the teams ive been using:-

1673786971722.png Really like this team as it has outs vs everything u might find on ladder. Lucarionite Rotom hits an important speed benchmark , outspeeding jolly pins tusk. Iron moth is top 3 special breakers atm and forms a good core with tusk. Blissey and Hippo means u check p much every pidge user while dnite is important here so that u dont lose to palafin.


1673787308819.png Originally built this team around gyara hippo cuz it was a good gholdengo check that also beat pult but then realised how bad it lose to special water types which is why i made that dudunsparce set. This team esp performs well vs offensive structures. It also has treads so thats another reason to use it. Skeld is always the garganacl switch-in in this team btw.


1673787534715.png This was one of my first teams in post koraidon meta which i completely forgot about and had to tweak it a bit for the current meta. Idea is to showcase latiasite gholdengo's amazing role compression. Pivot Roaring Moon is an amazing check vs opposing gholdengo and forms a strong core with lop tusk. Arc is arc and Audinite slowking p much checks everything on the special side except pult (which clodsire does) and toxic is extremely imp on clodsire for non sablenite set up mons like tera dondozo and garganacl. Water absorb pre mega to counter palafin.

Expect a post about my personal thoughts on current meta's biggest threats and the way i think we should move forward with them sometime later in the week.
 
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Giagantic

True Coffee Maniac
is a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a member of the Battle Simulator Staffis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
OM Leader
Okay! I am posting my only team, because... wynaut, it's won me room tours and I have beaten accomplished players with it in said tours (lost to them as well) but I think it is pretty good and as such, viola!

:Gholdengo: :Great Tusk: :Skeledirge: :Palafin: :Arcanine: :Garganacl:
^Pokepaste Here^

:Gholdengo:
String Cheese (Gholdengo) @ Latiasite
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Make It Rain
- Nasty Plot
- Recover

Max Defense Gholdengo let's you handle a vast array of threats in the metagame most prominent of which are all Great Tusk that fail to run Lopunite and heavily pressures Dragonites as they are forced to setup without mega-ing if Altarionite and hoping to score a knockout with Fire Punch. It is easy and very intuitive to use and is possible to use both it's pre-mega and post-mega forms to play mind-games and gain further utility.

:Great Tusk:
Don'sChadCousin (Great Tusk) @ Lopunnite
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Headlong Rush
- Close Combat
- Ice Spinner
- Rapid Spin

Lopunnite Great Tusk makes Great Tusk devilishly hard to check safely, and hits like a trusk... It can also sweep after getting a Rapid Spin off.

:Skeledirge:
Groovy Gator (Skeledirge) @ Audinite
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Torch Song
- Earth Power
- Will-O-Wisp
- Slack Off

Pre-mega it can be used to handle Iron Moth which is why it is spdef rather then the usual def, Earth Power is chosen over Hex or Shadow Ball to let Skeledirge handle Iron Moth fairly easily. Post-mega it can handle many of threats within the tier and neutralizes many physical threats preventing them from easily switching into it.

:Palafin:
Super Dolphin (Palafin) @ Leftovers
Ability: Zero to Hero
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Jet Punch
- Wave Crash
- Drain Punch
- Bulk Up

Dolphin is strong, only downside is it takes a turn to setup Hero form which is abusable by your opponent (sometimes it is best to not start with this Pokemon out as a smart opponent can utilize this lapse to their advantage). Maximum HP in order to make sure it is tanky and and max attack for obvious reasons, reserve Tera for when you need Drain Punch to do extra damage or to avoid SE moves.

:Arcanine:
Good Dog (Arcanine) @ Altarianite
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Extreme Speed
- Howl
- Morning Sun

Standard Espeeder Arcanine with EVs made to outspeed max speed Dragonites (who even runs that, I don't know but I've run into it before) but if desired more investment into HP is possible to outspeed Adament Dnite.

:Garganacl:
Ladder Salt (Garganacl) @ Aggronite
Ability: Purifying Salt
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Salt Cure
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Recover

Bulky Sweeper and general harasser, tanks a lot of hits and can sweep given the opportunity.

________________________________
General gameplan with this team is to seek an opportunity to get Palafin in safely (first turn Palafin is not always smart) and then use it later in the game to sweep or highly maim the opponents team. This is a fairly aggressive team which means you should know when to sack something in order to bring in another Pokemon, which can be difficult at times. Defensively Gholdengo is extremely important at handling Great Tusk but if faced with a Lopunnite Great Tusk then you have to play it very carefully, choosing whom to potentially sack and bringing in a team member that can gain the greatest bang for your buck after that.

Hard matchups include: Diancite Gholdengo, Lopunnite Great Tusk (will add more once I remember them)
 
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Redflix

Forgiven and Hanged
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
SV Mix and Mega - Threats Discussion

1. PIDGEOTITE :pidgeotite:
I've seen a lot of discourse on pidgeotite being allowed (in the om room especially) and i just wanna give my opinion on it. I do not think Pidgeotite is suspect worthy atm. A lot of users fear the stone's healthiness thanks to the +65 boost and no guard and i would even admit we are short of good spd walls in this meta but the fact that no special attacker has yet turned out to be problem-worthy helps my point. The main users you see for this stone in most teams would be Dragapult, Iron Valiant and Chi-yu and each of them suffer from their own limitations. Iron Valiant cannot break through Clodsire or Arcanine and Chi-yu suffers from a terrible speed tier in addition to having good enough checks. I think the only mon i would put in watchlist would be Dragapult cuz its access to u-turn + Thunder theoretically makes it prob the hardest mon to wall in the tier but honestly, i've not seen it be too much problem in-game. I'm aware that there are other pidgeotite users that can be used such as Iron-Jugulis, Sandy shocks, gholdengo with focus blast or Cloyster but these come with even more limitations and i would generally consider them worse (consistency wise) to the three i've mentioned before. I'd also like to mention that ive noticed that its fine to have weaker defensive counterplay to certain mons this gen cuz in battle u are more so trying to "win with your threat before your oppo does" and i think pidgeotite users go into this category. Overall , I do not think we should be taking action on a stone just cuz it allows special attackers to be good and would rather focus on the abuser if it does appear to be unhealthy (The abuser being pult in this case)
:Chi-yu: - s :Arcanine: :Gastrodon: :Iron Moth: (sablenite / bulky manectite) :Blissey: :Skeledirge: (audinite) :scream tail:

:Iron Valiant: - s :Arcanine: :Iron Moth: :Skeledirge: :Corviknight: :Clodsire: :Gastrodon: :Gholdengo:

:Dragapult: - :Dragonite: :Blissey: :Garganacl: :Clodsire: :Hippowdon: (Sablenite only) :Gastrodon: :Scream tail: (Ampharosite only)

Out of the three, Chi-yu in my experience is also notably easy to revenge kill. There's also other options that i've not listed solely cuz few people use it aside from me.

2. GHOLDENGO :Gholdengo:
People haven't really complained about this mon at all as everyone seems to agree its extremely good but not unhealthy but im still including it cuz im extremely annoyed by running into it every time i try to test something. The two main sets are obv latiasite and diancite. I was gonna include spreads but latiasite can run almost any spread depending on ur team structure - max defense , max spa timid , bulky modest , speedy modest etc. Lucarionite sets are also usable in offensive teams such as screens or hazard stack but they are not very common. The thing with Gholdengo is it provides amazing role compression both defensively and offensively which often leads to teams struggling to deal with it. I think its better to check gholdengo offensively then defensively mainly cuz defensive answers to the latiasite sets are scarce. I also think Sablenite Corvi + breaker is a perfectly valid strat to deal with both gholdengo sets as long as rest of ur team doesnt allow it to come in for free. While Gholdengo will be viable in almost every mu u face , i've also not seen it 6-0 any teams (unless ur packing almost 0 offensive counters to this mon like this Replays - Pokémon Showdown (pokemonshowdown.com) in which case ur team is just bad lol). Overall im content with gholdengo in the tier and if replays prove that it may be too centralizing or constraining, i'll be down for a suspect in the near future.
Latiasite- ss :Iron Moth: :Blissey: :Roaring Moon: :Chi-yu: , :Corviknight: + Lopunnite users / Dragapult , :Arcanine: (only if bulky spreads)
Diancite - ss :Blissey: :Gastrodon: :Clodsire: :Chi-yu: :Iron Moth: :Corviknight:

3. GARGANACL :garganacl:
Garganacl @ Sablenite
Ability: Purifying Salt
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 140 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Curse / Iron Defense
- Salt Cure
- Body Press / Earthquake (only an option if curse)
- Recover


Garganacl @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Purifying Salt
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Impish Nature
- Iron Defense
- Body Press
- Salt Cure
- Recover


Garganacl @ Aggronite
Ability: Purifying Salt
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 SpD
Impish Nature
- Salt Cure
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Recover
Just gonna preface by lydia's concern

2023-01-20 (3).png


I agree with this to an extent. I think garg is extremely annoying to face and can easily bully ur go to defensive cores. Its also a lot harder to kill as it can 1v1 a lot of offensive mons that are meant to be its "offensive checks". Offensively taking down garg is an extremely difficult task as special attackers that could kill it are almost exclusively steel / water types and physical attacker just lose if it gets idef up. Its also imp to mention garg has no problem checking either of the premier -ate speeders of the meta. You could also easily end up building teams that look good vs it on paper but will autolose to it the moment it gets an ID up.(100% guilty of this btw)
However, Garganacl also has its own set of problems esp in its own splashability in teams as well as in-game use. I'll just quote myself from the council chat
to me garg's rock typing provides a very awkward interaction with teams defensive cores cuz ur always stacking weakness in teams to fighting types , waters/great tusk or gholdengo. For me its always building around it rather than it just being something that could fit easily.
Adding to this garg is also a bit difficult to position in-game esp vs teams that can generate momentum well. At the moment , in most of my teams i've relied on either toxic on clodsire , skeledirge or iron valiant (pidgeotite will always force it out) to check garganacl (on top of almost always having a ground type). However, Its not super hard to chip either of three and Sablenite sets completely invalidate clod and skeld as the answer.
Overall , I have garganacl on my watchlist and would like to see its results in om majors and a certain upcoming mnm tour to get a definite idea of its impact on the builder and the meta and then go for a suspect test if found controversial.

Would like to see other's opinion on these threats either here or on cord. Have a good day
 
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