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Finchinator

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why do people not run Glastrier in trick room? I tried it and it works great, I normally give it weakness policy to bait weaknesses and then sweep half the opponents team while boosting myself with chilling neigh (same effect as moxie), and Glastrier's pretty bulky too, so if you don't get weakness you can still ohko something and get the boost to sweep that way then come in to do it again later, since it can take a couple hits
Glastrier is an SS Pokemon, not an SM Pokemon. This is an SM subforum and thread.

You'd want to ask this here.
 
How much speed is good for M-Mawile on a semiroom team? What are some ev/iv numbers that you guys like to use?
 
What's a good moveset for Mega Aerodactyl? (In overused)
Hi,
After trying to make it work for a while (this mon is only great vs offense and is underwhelming) here is what I would use on it:
:sm/aerodactyl-mega:
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace/roost
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake​

Stone edge is Mega-Aerodactyl best stab. Ice fang allows you to hit Landorus, Gliscor and dragon types. Earthquake is here for steel-types and electric-types. Aerial Ace could help you get more damage on grass-types and a stab attack versus fighting-types (be careful Adamant aero is slower than Jolly Lopunny). You can run roost since Aero can be quickly worn down by Stealth Rock.
It is sad to say it but an adamant nature is required for Aero to get its KOs:
Defensive :landorus-therian::
jolly: 252 Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Ice Fang vs. 252 HP / 112+ Def Landorus-Therian: 340-400 (89 - 104.7%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
adamant: 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Ice Fang vs. 252 HP / 112+ Def Landorus-Therian: 368-436 (96.3 - 114.1%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
Offensive :landorus-therian::
jolly: -1 252 Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Ice Fang vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus-Therian: 276-328 (86.5 - 102.8%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
adamant: -1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Ice Fang vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus-Therian: 304-360 (95.2 - 112.8%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
:Latias-mega::
jolly: 252 Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Ice Fang vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Latias-Mega: 164-194 (45 - 53.2%) -- 35.5% chance to 2HKO
adamant: 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Ice Fang vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Latias-Mega: 180-212 (49.4 - 58.2%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO
:Tapu-Koko::
jolly: 252 Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 258-304 (91.8 - 108.1%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
adamant: 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 282-334 (100.3 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

same with celesteela with rocks up and many others, you get the picture.
 
Haven't played SM since it was current gen. Is Grassium Z Heatran still a thing? Was it ever? I remember catching people off guard with it back in the day being super fun.

How's Manaphy? One trick pony, or is there more of a niche to be explored there?
Is there any resources for the SM metagame? Something like McMeghan's teambuilding guide for adv.
Also seconding this question
 
Haven't played SM since it was current gen. Is Grassium Z Heatran still a thing? Was it ever? I remember catching people off guard with it back in the day being super fun.

How's Manaphy? One trick pony, or is there more of a niche to be explored there?

Also seconding this question
:Heatran:: grassium z was for sure a thing 2-3 years ago but it kinda fell out of favor since. Gliscor usage hurts heatran offensive and spe defensive alike. I think that the fall in usage of tapu bulu is a factor as well, z grassium without grassy terrain can’t really catch gliscor/alakazam, etc…and is rather weak compared to z magma storm or flash cannon. So yeah you can use it of course but it won’t be as strong as it was (catching rotom is still great, as well as gastro and mons like that).

:manaphy:: this mon is far from just having a niche in ou, as it plays a large role in the success of rain in the tier. The only unexplored niche IMO is as a sweeper in hyper offense (like in oras) since manaphy takes advantage of its good bulk and superb move in tail glow. Zomog tried it in SPL but I can’t recall other examples lately.

For the resources, there are plenty of them already available on the sm forum such as good cores, sample teams, underrated sets, compendium, etc…However, something such as McMeghan's teambuilding guide for adv does not exist and I think it would be difficult to create one due to the sheer amount of playstyles and pokemon available.
 
Is Landorous-T or Gliscor better in the current metagame? They have the same typing, same access to the ever-spammable Earthquake, Stealth Rocks, swords dance, and expansive movepools. Both of their abilities are really good. They seem to fill similar roles, so which performs better in general today?
 

Skypenguin

Skype (nguin)
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Is Landorous-T or Gliscor better in the current metagame? They have the same typing, same access to the ever-spammable Earthquake, Stealth Rocks, swords dance, and expansive movepools. Both of their abilities are really good. They seem to fill similar roles, so which performs better in general today?
Both are at the top of OU — Gliscor is probably the scariest wincon in the tier, while Landorus can do pretty much anything it wants.

One thing to note is that while they share a lot of qualities, Lando and Gliscor's defensive profiles are honestly pretty disparate. Gliscor acts as a sponge for status and special attacks, being one of the answers to any of tran/pex/chansey. However, it's hard to replace Lando's own versatility; it can take on the whole tier to an extent and is less exploitable. Landorus checks physical attackers like mawile/zard/ttar/medi/lop/chomp/kart/etc who can switch into and 1v1 Gliscor + it doesn't usually get sniped by random ice moves teched for sd glis. Consequently you'll see scarf Lando on fat teams (where gliscor makes its name) for speed/hazard control while glis offense is a rarity.

I'd say the fact that Lando is such an effective glue mon and so versatile lets it edge out Gliscor. They serve different purposes and are probably #2 and #3 in the tier either way though, so it's hard to say
 
One thing I have learned about :Magearna: Magearna is that is has incredible set diversity. Shift gear, pain split, AV, heart swap, trick room, and a host of different attacking moves it can pick and choose from. My question is this: how do people determine which Magearna set to run when using the pokemon? Is Magearna generally a pokemon people build around, or add after they have solidified their core? Thanks in advance!
 

Red Raven

I COULD BE BANNED!
One thing I have learned about :Magearna: Magearna is that is has incredible set diversity. Shift gear, pain split, AV, heart swap, trick room, and a host of different attacking moves it can pick and choose from. My question is this: how do people determine which Magearna set to run when using the pokemon? Is Magearna generally a pokemon people build around, or add after they have solidified their core? Thanks in advance!
Usually it's by how much damage it takes based on your attacks and if it has lefties or something. Once you play the tier enough, you can often get a rough estimate what set it runs just based on damage alone as this will allow you to eliminate certain sets. Of course it's not a hundred percent guaranteed in every single game until Magearna reveals a certain move
 
How should I decide between using :alakazam-mega: and :tapu-lele:? What are their advantages and disadvantages? And on which team styles does one fit better over the other?
 

Clementine

Done and dusted
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How should I decide between using :alakazam-mega: and :tapu-lele:? What are their advantages and disadvantages? And on which team styles does one fit better over the other?
they usually are very good together, as they share a lot of checks; they can weaken each other's switch ins for one of them to go ham
Lele offers insane immediate power with Specs, while Zam outspeeds every non-scarf user without being locked into a move
Alakazam has access to Recover and Trace, giving it some discernable defensive utility over Lele, making it a decent non-Toxic Heatran switch in
Zam does takes the mega slot, so that's something to consider if you wanna pick only one of them
 
Hey, just wondering why usum seems to be the most popular old gen ou metagame right now? Is it just that people miss megas/zmoves, or is it actually just a good metagame?
 

pulsar512b

ss ou fangirl
is a Pre-Contributor
Hey, just wondering why usum seems to be the most popular old gen ou metagame right now? Is it just that people miss megas/zmoves, or is it actually just a good metagame?
Calling it a good metagame is definitely a matter of opinion. In my opinion, the metagame is a very offensive one that is great fun to play but building is very difficult.
 
What set(s) have Thundurus-Therian enjoyers better than me settled on? I run electrium z nasty plot with HP ice on HO and really like it but god I wish it was just a bit faster than 331
 

gorgie

formerly Floppy, now Rock hard
What set(s) have Thundurus-Therian enjoyers better than me settled on? I run electrium z nasty plot with HP ice on HO and really like it but god I wish it was just a bit faster than 331
yeah, same. base 108 speed and i'd be balling out.

rn im spamming 303 speed with 16 hp/196 def @ iapapa w/ double dance set to combat all the hawlucha spam and its been an endless supply of dopamine hits with all the free sweeps ive been getting
 
yeah, same. base 108 speed and i'd be balling out.

rn im spamming 303 speed with 16 hp/196 def @ iapapa w/ double dance set to combat all the hawlucha spam and its been an endless supply of dopamine hits with all the free sweeps ive been getting
I've swapped to fightinium-z because it's honestly better but regardless, I get a spike of dopamine every single time I see in team preview a team where it's 6-0'd by thundurus-therian behind screens. I love my boy and he's genuinely underrated imo. He's not a secret top tier or anything but I do think he's worth using
 
blaziken.gif
deoxys-defense.gif

(My apologies, English isn't my first language) Nothing too important here, but it's about the status of two mons: Blaziken and Deoxys-Defense.

Unlike the traditional unbans from the beginning of the generation (Landorus-I, Genesect or even Aegislash), and unlike the beginning of XY, they haven't been tested in SM OU. Six years have passed and the various tiering experiences through gen 8 or the National Dex have shown, on their scale, that these two mons are potentially balanced in this OU metagame.

Specifically regarding gen 7, it's the period of supremacy of Toxapex and Tapus, as well as the omnipresence of Defog. Blaziken didn't yet have access to Close Combat and Deoxys-D can no longer be as effective in hazard stacking. Given their hypothetical flaws, everything indicates that they will not significantly upset the balance of SM OU (which is ultimately the most important criterion in the desire not to distort an old gen). We aren't at the same level as the potential impact of a Zygarde-50% or a Mega-Metagross.

So, taking as an example this small tournament run by SparksBlade in 2021 and this April Fools of 2017, are unbans possible in the medium term for these mons? Nothing very important again, but it's a bit in the same vein as Latias' test in DPP OU, which certainly had a lasting impact.
 
Last edited:

(My apologies, English isn't my first language) Nothing too important here, but it's about the status of two mons: Blaziken and Deoxys-Defense.

Unlike the traditional unbans from the beginning of the generation (Landorus-I, Genesect or even Aegislash), and unlike the beginning of XY, they haven't been tested in SM OU. Six years have passed and the various tiering experiences through gen 8 or the National Dex have shown, on their scale, that these two mons are potentially balanced in this OU metagame.

Specifically regarding gen 7, it's the period of supremacy of Toxapex and Tapus, as well as the omnipresence of Defog. Blaziken didn't yet have access to Close Combat and Deoxys-D can no longer be as effective in hazard stacking. Given their hypothetical flaws, everything indicates that they will not significantly upset the balance of SM OU (which is ultimately the most important criterion in the desire not to distort an old gen). We aren't at the same level as the potential impact of a Zygarde-50% or a Mega-Metagross.

So, taking as an example this small tournament run by SparksBlade in 2021 and this April Fools of 2017, are unbans possible in the medium term for these mons? Nothing very important again, but it's a bit in the same vein as Latias' test in DPP OU, which certainly had a lasting impact.
start looking at the smpl replays and then calc with Z SD blaziken or just life orb in terrain...
 

Skypenguin

Skype (nguin)
is a Forum Moderatoris a Tiering Contributoris a defending SPL Champion
Moderator

(My apologies, English isn't my first language) Nothing too important here, but it's about the status of two mons: Blaziken and Deoxys-Defense.

Unlike the traditional unbans from the beginning of the generation (Landorus-I, Genesect or even Aegislash), and unlike the beginning of XY, they haven't been tested in SM OU. Six years have passed and the various tiering experiences through gen 8 or the National Dex have shown, on their scale, that these two mons are potentially balanced in this OU metagame.

Specifically regarding gen 7, it's the period of supremacy of Toxapex and Tapus, as well as the omnipresence of Defog. Blaziken didn't yet have access to Close Combat and Deoxys-D can no longer be as effective in hazard stacking. Given their hypothetical flaws, everything indicates that they will not significantly upset the balance of SM OU (which is ultimately the most important criterion in the desire not to distort an old gen). We aren't at the same level as the potential impact of a Zygarde-50% or a Mega-Metagross.

So, taking as an example this small tournament run by SparksBlade in 2021 and this April Fools of 2017, are unbans possible in the medium term for these mons? Nothing very important again, but it's a bit in the same vein as Latias' test in DPP OU, which certainly had a lasting impact.
Yeah like MangoSteak brought up, Blaziken was part of a suspect test slot in SMPL during 2022, but there were a lot of negative responses due to most people finding it unbalanced. This past SMPL, we only tested Aegislash and Metagross instead. There hasn't ever really been any support for deo-d, so it was never considered.
For reference, here's the latest update on tiering action in sm https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/sm-ou-discussion-thread.3685980/post-9769034
 
I’m trying to make a team in ultra sun (Ubers included) using Pokémon only available in ultra sun. I’m currently considering PDon, Zygarde C, Dusk Mane necrozma, Xerneas, mega Gengar and one other. Any Pokémon I should include - which synergies well with eachother?
 
I’m trying to make a team in ultra sun (Ubers included) using Pokémon only available in ultra sun. I’m currently considering PDon, Zygarde C, Dusk Mane necrozma, Xerneas, mega Gengar and one other. Any Pokémon I should include - which synergies well with eachother?
If you have questions regarding teambuilding you are in the wrong threat :[
The RMT section of Smogon should be your best chance.
I'll edit in a link omce I make it home
 

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