Hey cutiepies I'm making a POST. Dunno if any of these things have been discussed yet, I ain't read all these dang posts. So I'm coming in hot.
Lot's of talk about the new mons but the new heat gotta be Terastalizing. GOTTA BE. This shit more broken than my leg after I got hit by that truck. The games have never been designed around Pokemon potentially having three STABs and that really has not changed now. But even beyond that, the fact that so many Pokemon can choose a STAB to upgrade itself with is pretty nutty, because there are some STAB combos that are just ridiculous. This has really been the main source of interest I've had in the new gimmick, so I'm gonna post here some of the crazy STAB pairings that have been keeping me up at night.
And yeah, sure, there is the drawback of changing your defensive type, but for most of these I really don't think it matters too much. When you're main goal is offense, the defensive capabilities of your type are marginal compared to the threat of your STABS. I really think Terastalizing gonna have to be suspect test priority numero uno, so I'm interested to see just how much juice we can squeeze out of the box before it follows Dynamax's suit.
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Pop Quiz: How many Fighting / Ghost Types we got? That's right: 1. Well, 2 now technically speaking but point is, Game Freak knows how busted up this type combination is. It deals atleast neutral damage to every possible type combination except one, Normal / Ghost. Second Pop Quiz: How many Normal / Ghost types we got? That's right: 0. Well, 1 now technically speaking but that's not until Home drops. Until then, enjoy your perfect neutral coverage. And when Home does release? You just need to pack a Dark-type move and things are getting real, real silly.
Some fun users:
Urshifu-S: Look, we all know this thing is gonna be booted to Ubers, but until then, it's a fantastic option to Terastalize into a Ghost-type. Fighting + Dark is already craaaaazy, but add Ghost onto it to snap Fairies neutrally and this thing becomes an even bigger threat. Becoming a mono-ghost type ain't terrible defensively either, as you're droppin a quad weakness and getting two immunities. You may be able to catch some Fighting-types that come in to revenge kill you off guard, too. Further, the Dark-Stab means that Zoroark-A aint gonna be a counter anymore. Super broke.
Iron Valiant: Fighting, Fairy and Ghost STAB on top of those stats? Yeeooowwwww text your mom this and tell her ain't nothing switching in on this Pokemon.
Hariyama: Digging this thing a lot; Fighting / Ghost with Knock Off is massive. Plus, being pure Ghost with Thick Fat is pretty neat defensively as well, and now that it gets Drain Punch this thing is gonna be a consistent sponge. Always had big love for Yama, glad to see it getting what it deserves from big daddy Game Freak.
Polteageist: The teapot's biggest problem last gen was its inability to hit Dark-types. It was so bad people were really running Metronome on the poor thing. No one deserves that life. Now it can totally stomp those Darks with a Fighting-type STAB coverage, making Shell Smash sets really really tough to handle.
Drifblim: You're gonna wish you were taken away by a Drifloon after seeing this nasty mf. Not only do you get the heatness of Fighting + Ghost, but you also get the heatness of Fighting + Flying! With Unburden and Flare Boost, there is plenty of ways to make this thing tear it up. It is a bit weak since it has to rely on Air Slash's and Terablast's low BP off its meeeeh Sp.A, but still... crazy! Becoming a Fighting-type helps take away a SR weakness, too. The Ghost-type Oricorio falls in a similar camp here.
Mismagius: 105 Sp.A and Speed aint bad, and it has Dark Pulse and Nasty Plot.
Also gotta shout out Dragapult of course, and pretty much every other Fighting-type available; Falinks, Lucario, Toxicroak, Breloom, Medicham, Annihilape, Passimian, The Duck.... so many other great options that are pumped up so hard by becoming Ghosts.
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Pop quiz: How many Fairy / Ground types we got? That's right: NONE! That's because Game Freak knows this combo is more broken than my nose, jaw and orbital bones after I got hit by that truck. Every type that resists Fairy is weak to Ground, which means straight away you have pretty much complete neutral coverage. Only exception are for the Flying-types and Levitaters, but from my count it really is just Corviknight, Talonflame, Oricorio and Bronzong.. i.e: not a huge list.
Flutter Mane: Not much that I can say about this thing that hasn't already been said. Fantastic offensive stats and coverage, toss in an 80bp Ground-type move and this thing is really running havok. Defensively Ground isn't better than Fairy/Ghost imo but it's not a seriously terrible tradeoff since you pick up a Stealth Rock resistance. With the Ghost-type STAB you can hit all the aforementioned checks at least neutrally. Plus you get T-Bolt so ya RIP to the Corviknights.
Sandy Shocks: Beyond hyped for this monster. Corviknight? Never heard of her. Absolutely eviscerating every Flying-type with it's STAB T-bolt. Fairy Tera barely scratches the surface for this thing since Ground + Electric is already pretty dope, but for what it's worth I think it will a great choice. Ice will probably be more common to hit Grass- and Ground-types, but Fairy provides a great neutral choice that doesn't give you a SR weakness.
Garchomp: Garchomp was the #1 mon that's been on my mind since this mechanic was announced because the combinations are truly endless. SD + Tera Fairy + EQ is absolutely nasty, and while it's walled harder by Corviknight than Flutter Mane is, it's still packing pretty big heat. Pure Fairy ain't a bad defensive typing especially since you're ditching a quad weakness. I think Chomp will be a threat for the sheer versatility of it, at least in regards to what Tera type it might have.
Great Tusk: Not only is Fairy + Ground a great combo, but Fairy + Fighting is as well. Especially considering this behemoth gets Play Rough, so no need to worry about Terablast's relatively weak BP. Stone Edge helps with Flying-types and though you have to contend with Corviknight still, you are packing Knock Off & Rapid Spin so the utility is still there. I have no qualms about making this thing pure Fairy tbqh, Ground/Fighting is dope for sure but it's also packing 6 weaknesses so I'm not terribly torn up about losing it.
Iron Valiant: Just had to mention this stupid thing again. Ya its broke.
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Boltbeam is iconic and the fact that any Electric or Ice type can now access it is wild. I think I prefer going from Ice to Electric rather than the other way around because it's better to shave off a SR weakness than to pick one up, but there are still some good candidates for it.
Iron Bundle: Iron Bundle's already got great STAB coverage with Water + Freeze Dry- but tack Electric onto there and you'll really be sending fools to the naughty list. Ice / Water is a pretty ass defensively typing so you're really not losing anything by swapping to Electric when you're also picking up STAB on a move that is slightly less powerful than Thunderbolt and gives you effectively perfect STAB coverage.
Frosmoth: Frosmoth's biggest issue has been it's horrid typing and offensive coverage. Now it can fix both with one change and become the Volcarona it was always meant to be. Ice Scale's doesn't require you to actually be Ice-type, so it can a pretty effective defensive choice as well. Giga Drain is further good coverage.
Abomasnow: Losing the SR weakness might be massive for it; being the only Snow Warning Pokemon right now, it might end up the backbone of Snow teams that want to take advantage of the new buffs, and not having to worry about losing 25% HP switching in is quite handy.
Killowattrel: I mention this thing specifically since it already has a Stealth Rock weakness, so becoming an Ice-type isn't really a net negative for it.
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It's probably cheating to start pairing shit with Ground-type because Ground STAB is just too dang good, but here we are. Like before, I think I'd prefer going from Flying to Ground in order to dump the SR weakness, but with how common Spikes is looking, picking up a Flying-typing might not be so bad.
Gyarados: Bait in the T-bolt and start rolling. Mega Gyarados already spammed the shit out of EQ so this ain't a huge change for it.
Salamence / Dragonite: Like Gyarados, both fantastic options to take up a Ground-type since they are already packing Earthquake.
Talonflame: Fire is just a really convenient STAB to have in combination with Flying + Ground for roasting Corviknight.
Oricorio: Pretty much all the Oricorio forms would love a Ground STAB, especially now that they got Quiver Dance. Flying + Ground + Electric is super dope, same with the Fire one.
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There are probably a lot more that I totally miss or didn't mention. I mostly focused on Pokemon that seemed to obviously benefit the most from Terastalizing, obviously shit like Roaring Moon and Chien-Po and Gholdengo are gonna be successful with *some* Tera type because the mechanic is so obviously very powerful, but it's fun to theorize nonetheless.
Before I go: a word on defensive terasatlizing that I see brought up so often: I do not think relying on terastalizaiton for defensive purposes solely is going to be a good idea. Defense is inherently a reactionary thing, which is really hard to prepare for adequately in the teambuilder. I also think the offensive potential of Terastalizing far out-performs the defensive, so wasting your Tera on a defensive measure seems like a big resource waste. Sure, I can make my Avalugg a Steel-type and have a fairly competent Steel wall. Or I can just use Corviknight. The opportunity cost is going to be way too great.
Further, I know this is probably saved for a later discussion but when discussing Terastalization and whether or not it should be banned or not, let's not lose sight of really would put it over the edge: the unpredictability. I mentioned here many threats, most of which are perfectly banworthy alone in my opinion. Now tack on the fact that you don't know what Pokemon your opponent will terastalize. And even if you can predict it with certain accuracy, it's going to be even harder to predict which type the pokemon will become. A Pokemon like Garchomp now represents 18+ unique threats. And while not every Tera type will be equally threatening... just trying to imagine a world where we have to build for a potential Fariy Chomp, Fire Chomp, Steel Chomp, Flying Chomp.... that's nauseating. And that's just one Pokemon. Look at all the crazy threats we have in this meta already; now multiply each one by 5 AT LEAST. I really don't think it's going to be sustainable. In a vacuum, maybe it's not so broken, but arguments like:
Anyway, shieeet, thanks bye.
Lot's of talk about the new mons but the new heat gotta be Terastalizing. GOTTA BE. This shit more broken than my leg after I got hit by that truck. The games have never been designed around Pokemon potentially having three STABs and that really has not changed now. But even beyond that, the fact that so many Pokemon can choose a STAB to upgrade itself with is pretty nutty, because there are some STAB combos that are just ridiculous. This has really been the main source of interest I've had in the new gimmick, so I'm gonna post here some of the crazy STAB pairings that have been keeping me up at night.
And yeah, sure, there is the drawback of changing your defensive type, but for most of these I really don't think it matters too much. When you're main goal is offense, the defensive capabilities of your type are marginal compared to the threat of your STABS. I really think Terastalizing gonna have to be suspect test priority numero uno, so I'm interested to see just how much juice we can squeeze out of the box before it follows Dynamax's suit.
Pop Quiz: How many Fighting / Ghost Types we got? That's right: 1. Well, 2 now technically speaking but point is, Game Freak knows how busted up this type combination is. It deals atleast neutral damage to every possible type combination except one, Normal / Ghost. Second Pop Quiz: How many Normal / Ghost types we got? That's right: 0. Well, 1 now technically speaking but that's not until Home drops. Until then, enjoy your perfect neutral coverage. And when Home does release? You just need to pack a Dark-type move and things are getting real, real silly.
Some fun users:
Urshifu-S: Look, we all know this thing is gonna be booted to Ubers, but until then, it's a fantastic option to Terastalize into a Ghost-type. Fighting + Dark is already craaaaazy, but add Ghost onto it to snap Fairies neutrally and this thing becomes an even bigger threat. Becoming a mono-ghost type ain't terrible defensively either, as you're droppin a quad weakness and getting two immunities. You may be able to catch some Fighting-types that come in to revenge kill you off guard, too. Further, the Dark-Stab means that Zoroark-A aint gonna be a counter anymore. Super broke.
Iron Valiant: Fighting, Fairy and Ghost STAB on top of those stats? Yeeooowwwww text your mom this and tell her ain't nothing switching in on this Pokemon.
Hariyama: Digging this thing a lot; Fighting / Ghost with Knock Off is massive. Plus, being pure Ghost with Thick Fat is pretty neat defensively as well, and now that it gets Drain Punch this thing is gonna be a consistent sponge. Always had big love for Yama, glad to see it getting what it deserves from big daddy Game Freak.
Polteageist: The teapot's biggest problem last gen was its inability to hit Dark-types. It was so bad people were really running Metronome on the poor thing. No one deserves that life. Now it can totally stomp those Darks with a Fighting-type STAB coverage, making Shell Smash sets really really tough to handle.
Drifblim: You're gonna wish you were taken away by a Drifloon after seeing this nasty mf. Not only do you get the heatness of Fighting + Ghost, but you also get the heatness of Fighting + Flying! With Unburden and Flare Boost, there is plenty of ways to make this thing tear it up. It is a bit weak since it has to rely on Air Slash's and Terablast's low BP off its meeeeh Sp.A, but still... crazy! Becoming a Fighting-type helps take away a SR weakness, too. The Ghost-type Oricorio falls in a similar camp here.
Mismagius: 105 Sp.A and Speed aint bad, and it has Dark Pulse and Nasty Plot.
Also gotta shout out Dragapult of course, and pretty much every other Fighting-type available; Falinks, Lucario, Toxicroak, Breloom, Medicham, Annihilape, Passimian, The Duck.... so many other great options that are pumped up so hard by becoming Ghosts.
Pop quiz: How many Fairy / Ground types we got? That's right: NONE! That's because Game Freak knows this combo is more broken than my nose, jaw and orbital bones after I got hit by that truck. Every type that resists Fairy is weak to Ground, which means straight away you have pretty much complete neutral coverage. Only exception are for the Flying-types and Levitaters, but from my count it really is just Corviknight, Talonflame, Oricorio and Bronzong.. i.e: not a huge list.
Flutter Mane: Not much that I can say about this thing that hasn't already been said. Fantastic offensive stats and coverage, toss in an 80bp Ground-type move and this thing is really running havok. Defensively Ground isn't better than Fairy/Ghost imo but it's not a seriously terrible tradeoff since you pick up a Stealth Rock resistance. With the Ghost-type STAB you can hit all the aforementioned checks at least neutrally. Plus you get T-Bolt so ya RIP to the Corviknights.
Sandy Shocks: Beyond hyped for this monster. Corviknight? Never heard of her. Absolutely eviscerating every Flying-type with it's STAB T-bolt. Fairy Tera barely scratches the surface for this thing since Ground + Electric is already pretty dope, but for what it's worth I think it will a great choice. Ice will probably be more common to hit Grass- and Ground-types, but Fairy provides a great neutral choice that doesn't give you a SR weakness.
Garchomp: Garchomp was the #1 mon that's been on my mind since this mechanic was announced because the combinations are truly endless. SD + Tera Fairy + EQ is absolutely nasty, and while it's walled harder by Corviknight than Flutter Mane is, it's still packing pretty big heat. Pure Fairy ain't a bad defensive typing especially since you're ditching a quad weakness. I think Chomp will be a threat for the sheer versatility of it, at least in regards to what Tera type it might have.
Great Tusk: Not only is Fairy + Ground a great combo, but Fairy + Fighting is as well. Especially considering this behemoth gets Play Rough, so no need to worry about Terablast's relatively weak BP. Stone Edge helps with Flying-types and though you have to contend with Corviknight still, you are packing Knock Off & Rapid Spin so the utility is still there. I have no qualms about making this thing pure Fairy tbqh, Ground/Fighting is dope for sure but it's also packing 6 weaknesses so I'm not terribly torn up about losing it.
Iron Valiant: Just had to mention this stupid thing again. Ya its broke.
Boltbeam is iconic and the fact that any Electric or Ice type can now access it is wild. I think I prefer going from Ice to Electric rather than the other way around because it's better to shave off a SR weakness than to pick one up, but there are still some good candidates for it.
Iron Bundle: Iron Bundle's already got great STAB coverage with Water + Freeze Dry- but tack Electric onto there and you'll really be sending fools to the naughty list. Ice / Water is a pretty ass defensively typing so you're really not losing anything by swapping to Electric when you're also picking up STAB on a move that is slightly less powerful than Thunderbolt and gives you effectively perfect STAB coverage.
Frosmoth: Frosmoth's biggest issue has been it's horrid typing and offensive coverage. Now it can fix both with one change and become the Volcarona it was always meant to be. Ice Scale's doesn't require you to actually be Ice-type, so it can a pretty effective defensive choice as well. Giga Drain is further good coverage.
Abomasnow: Losing the SR weakness might be massive for it; being the only Snow Warning Pokemon right now, it might end up the backbone of Snow teams that want to take advantage of the new buffs, and not having to worry about losing 25% HP switching in is quite handy.
Killowattrel: I mention this thing specifically since it already has a Stealth Rock weakness, so becoming an Ice-type isn't really a net negative for it.
It's probably cheating to start pairing shit with Ground-type because Ground STAB is just too dang good, but here we are. Like before, I think I'd prefer going from Flying to Ground in order to dump the SR weakness, but with how common Spikes is looking, picking up a Flying-typing might not be so bad.
Gyarados: Bait in the T-bolt and start rolling. Mega Gyarados already spammed the shit out of EQ so this ain't a huge change for it.
Salamence / Dragonite: Like Gyarados, both fantastic options to take up a Ground-type since they are already packing Earthquake.
Talonflame: Fire is just a really convenient STAB to have in combination with Flying + Ground for roasting Corviknight.
Oricorio: Pretty much all the Oricorio forms would love a Ground STAB, especially now that they got Quiver Dance. Flying + Ground + Electric is super dope, same with the Fire one.
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There are probably a lot more that I totally miss or didn't mention. I mostly focused on Pokemon that seemed to obviously benefit the most from Terastalizing, obviously shit like Roaring Moon and Chien-Po and Gholdengo are gonna be successful with *some* Tera type because the mechanic is so obviously very powerful, but it's fun to theorize nonetheless.
Before I go: a word on defensive terasatlizing that I see brought up so often: I do not think relying on terastalizaiton for defensive purposes solely is going to be a good idea. Defense is inherently a reactionary thing, which is really hard to prepare for adequately in the teambuilder. I also think the offensive potential of Terastalizing far out-performs the defensive, so wasting your Tera on a defensive measure seems like a big resource waste. Sure, I can make my Avalugg a Steel-type and have a fairly competent Steel wall. Or I can just use Corviknight. The opportunity cost is going to be way too great.
Further, I know this is probably saved for a later discussion but when discussing Terastalization and whether or not it should be banned or not, let's not lose sight of really would put it over the edge: the unpredictability. I mentioned here many threats, most of which are perfectly banworthy alone in my opinion. Now tack on the fact that you don't know what Pokemon your opponent will terastalize. And even if you can predict it with certain accuracy, it's going to be even harder to predict which type the pokemon will become. A Pokemon like Garchomp now represents 18+ unique threats. And while not every Tera type will be equally threatening... just trying to imagine a world where we have to build for a potential Fariy Chomp, Fire Chomp, Steel Chomp, Flying Chomp.... that's nauseating. And that's just one Pokemon. Look at all the crazy threats we have in this meta already; now multiply each one by 5 AT LEAST. I really don't think it's going to be sustainable. In a vacuum, maybe it's not so broken, but arguments like:
Don't do much for me. Because of the sheer amount of Dual / Triple STAB combos we now have access to, saying "just switch to a resist" is way easier said than done. What is the resist for Ice Tera Regieleki? Or Fairy Tera Dragapult? There might be some random niche mons here and there but again, with the mechanic available to every dang Pokemon on every dang team... it's a little bit of a nightmare imo! The only way I can see it staying is if we ban Terablast instead, but even then... I dunno.
Anyway, shieeet, thanks bye.
