Metagame STAAABmons

Hello, here are some VR suggestions.
Add, Remove
A+:
:buzzwole: Buzzwole (Adaptability, Tough Claws, Triage, Dauntless Shield, Regenerator, Magic Bounce, Water Absorb)
:chansey: Chansey (Regenerator, Magic Bounce, Unaware, Prankster, Sticky Hold, Dauntless Shield)
:garchomp: Garchomp (Technician, Desolate Land, Regenerator, Adaptability, Dauntless Shield)
:gengar: Gengar (Adaptability, Dazzling, Storm Drain, Lightning Rod, Magic Bounce)
:heatran: Heatran (Magic Guard, Desolate Land, Regenerator, Levitate, Magnet Pull)
:swampert: Swampert (Regenerator, Intimidate, Magic Bounce)
:tapu fini: Tapu Fini (Regenerator, Wandering Spirit, Levitate, Volt Absorb, Prankster, Dauntless Shield, Intimidate, Magic Bounce)
:zapdos: Zapdos-Kanto (Primordial Sea, Intimidate, Desolate Land, Delta Stream, Magic Bounce)

A:
:azelf: Azelf (Psychic Surge, Sheer Force)
:corviknight: Corviknight (Dauntless Shield, Delta Stream, Volt Absorb, Flash Fire, Unaware, Magic Bounce, Wandering Spirit)
:dragonite: Dragonite (Magic Guard, Aerilate, Technician)
:heliolisk: Heliolisk (Adaptability, Electric Surge)
:landorus: Landorus-I (Technician, Magic Guard, Desolate Land, Water Absorb, Adaptability, Intimidate, Regenerator)
:tapu lele: Tapu Lele (Psychic Surge, Sheer Force, Adaptability, Triage)
:toxapex: Toxapex (Prankster, Levitate, Volt Absorb, Regenerator)
:weavile: Weavile (Adaptability, Technician, Dazzling, Magic Guard, Tough Claws)
:zapdos-galar: Zapdos-Galar (Adaptability, Technician, Magic Guard, Tough Claws, Regenerator)

A-:
:celesteela: Celesteela (Volt Absorb, Primordial Sea, Flash Fire, Regenerator, Dauntless Shield)
:cobalion: Cobalion (Magic Guard, Regenerator)
:gyarados: Gyarados (Magic Guard, Technician, Motor Drive)
:kyurem: Kyurem (Magic Guard, Technician, Sheer Force, Adaptability)
:regieleki: Regieleki (Refrigerate)
:tapu bulu: Tapu Bulu (Grassy Surge, Triage, Tough Claws)
:tyranitar: Tyranitar (Magic Guard, Regenerator, Adaptability, Water Absorb, Bulletproof)
:zarude: Zarude (Grassy Surge, Triage, Adaptability, Tough Claws)

Put Adapt everywhere while you're at it

B+:
:barraskewda: Barraskewda (Primordial Sea, Mold Breaker)
:ferrothorn: Ferrothorn (Triage, Flash Fire, Dauntless Shield, Prankster, Regenerator)
:hydreigon: Hydreigon (Adaptability, Sheer Force, Regenerator)
:inteleon: Inteleon (Primordial Sea)
:jirachi: Jirachi (Regenerator, Levitate)
:latias: Latias (Psychic Surge, Magic Guard, Dragon's Maw)
:noivern: Noivern (Aerilate)
:runerigus: Runerigus (Dauntless Shield, Prankster, Water Absorb, Regenerator, Magic Bounce)
:skarmory: Skarmory (Volt Absorb, Dauntless Shield, Flash Fire, Delta Stream)
:talonflame: Talonflame (Magic Guard)
:urshifu-rapid-strike: Urshifu-Rapid-Strike (Technician, Tough Claws, Primordial Sea)

B:
:blissey: Blissey (Magic Bounce, Regenerator, Unaware)
:dhelmise: Dhelmise (Grassy Surge, Triage)
:doublade: Doublade (Regenerator, Flash Fire, Levitate)
:excadrill: Excadrill (Water Absorb, Technician, Adaptability)
:jolteon: Jolteon (Refrigerate, Electric Surge, Queenly Majesty)
:kommo-o: Kommo-o (Triage, Unburden, Galvanize, Regenerator)
:marowak-alola: Marowak-Alola (Adaptability, Desolate Land, Magic Guard, Surge Surfer)
:mew: Mew (Dauntless Shield, Magic Bounce)
:moltres: Moltres (Dauntless Shield, Magic Guard, Desolate Land)
:moltres-galar: Moltres-Galar (Regenerator, Volt Absorb, Magic Guard)
:porygon2: Porygon2 (Magic Bounce, Dauntless Shield, Regenerator, Sticky Hold)
:slowking: Slowking (Regenerator)
:steelix: Steelix (Levitate, Flash Fire, Water Absorb)
:togekiss: Togekiss (Triage)
:tornadus-therian: Tornadus-T (Regenerator, No Guard, Primordial Sea)
:xurkitree: Xurkitree (Electric Surge, Triage, Transistor, Surge Surfer)
The VR sounds very accurate overall. Some submissions :
:celesteela: from A- to A
I don't see a reason to put Celesteela a whole rank under Corviknight. The additional special bulk and offensive capabilities make up for the absence of U-Turn.

:runerigus: from B+ to A-
At first I wasn't a Runerigus believer but it's truly one of the best walls rn. I could even see it going to A. It's basically impossible to ohko with neutral hits even at +1, it prevents setup, it brings some good immunities. Also it can be surprisingly hard to switch into.

:doublade: from B to B+
Doublade is a very useful glue. It's not passive, prevents setup, and hard walls important stuff like Buzzwole and Zapdos-G. The Normal immunity is usually big too, since your Regenvester usually doesn't take 2 Boombursts from Heliolisk, so you scout with it and then go Doublade in case of Boomburst.

:blissey: from B to A
Blissey is to be prefered over Chansey in a lot of cases. Using chansey makes you weak to item removal and hazards ; you only want to use Chansey over Blissey when you have no Water Spout switchin or no Heliolisk Boomburst switchin. Basically the more immunities you have the better Blissey gets.

I doubt B- and below deserve any kind of ranking. They're non-existent for the most part, except when they deserve a higher placing, speaking of which

:cinderace: from B- to B+
Desolate Land Cinderace is a useful feat in a lot of teams. The Scarf variant provides very strong speed control and a Water immunity. Will-o-Wisp is also surprisingly useful on it.

:golurk: from C to B
Golurk is a potent breaker, and most importantly it brings a triple immunity that can be completed by a Water immunity if you put Water Absorb on it.

:mandibuzz: from B- to B
Mandibuzz might not be too great rn but it's still a solid and flexible wall.

Finally I will repeat myself and call once again for a Magnet Pull ban. Nothing about this ability is anything we want the game to be (competitive, fun). When using it you're basically matchup fishing very hard, ie relying on luck to a significant extent. Not only does this ability polarize matchups hard, but it's also viable enough to see common use in a tournament environment (unlike other matchup fishing strats). Thanks for reading.
 
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VR Nominations
I really should be doing my math hw

Gengar: A+ --> A. Gengar is nearly never seen. While remaining a powerful check on certain specs users, I feel like gengar has fallen off recently.
Teapot: C --> B. plsplspls. A dangerous setup sweeper, teapot has the ability to decimate weakened down teams in the lategame. A sash allows it to nearly always set up it's dangerous shell smash, and while being outsped by scarf azelf, azelf is fairly easy to wear down in the course of a game. Dazzling allows it to basically negate priority, such as sucker punch or aqua jet, also allowing it to switch into banded priority. With giga drain, few pokemon resists its moves, and a huge special attack allows many KO's off of weakened late-game teams. Main weakness is still prankster haze, because that bypasses dazzling for some reason.

also pls add final gambit mbounce urishifu onto setpedia pls
 

Eggs

some days, you just can't get rid of an egg
Hi everyone, Eggs here with some announcements!

:weavile: Weavile and Dragonite have been banned from STAAABmons! :dragonite:

:ss/weavile:
Weavile has been a powerhouse from the start of DLC2. Although its poor bulk, flawed STAB moves, and the ever-presence of Tapu Fini may hamper it, Weavile proved to be too centralizing for the metagame. An excellent speed tier of 125 allow it to outspeed nearly the entire unboosted metagame, and STAB priority in Ice Shard and Sucker Punch make it even more difficult to revenge kill; the popularity of Dazzling sets and Psychic Terrain support make this task even harder. Although its movepool remains rather shallow, Weavile viably ran several abilities, each with different checks and counterplay. Tapu Fini, the most common Weavile switch-in, would falter with some pressure; more niche checks like Delta Stream Corviknight could always be muscled through or set up on. Because of the afforementioned factors and its heavy impact on teambuilding, Weavile has been banned.

:ss/dragonite:
Initially, Dragonite was pre-emptively banned for its -atespeed shenanigans. Later, it was suspect tested along with three even stronger Pokemon who ended up outshining it. During the suspect, Dragonite picked up little interest, and because of the popularity of checks like Corviknight and Celesteela, it was allowed into the meta. However, after more development in the meta, Dragonite's versatility and raw power have proved too much. The two primary sets, Magic Guard and Aerilate, were quite dangerous and required different counterplay. Magic Guard functioned as an excellent stallbreaker set thanks to the passive damage immunity, as Dragonite could simply muscle through any wall with enough boosts. Aerilate sets, usually paired with a Choice Band, provided strong priority in Extremespeed while blowing up walls with Double Edge, and could use Fire Punch and Earthquake to punish switchins. Because of its versatility and overwhelming power, Dragonite has been banned.

The council hopes that removing these two powerhouses will free up teambuilding and allow other offensive Pokemon to fill these roles, and allow more defensive Pokemon to have a place in the meta. Thanks for reading!

tagging Think The Number Man for implementation
 

Eggs

some days, you just can't get rid of an egg
Hey everyone, it's been a while! The meta has been running pretty smoothly since the last update, and I'm here to announce a few tweaks to help it run a bit better.

Water Spout, Eruption, and Dragon Energy have all been restricted, while Tapu Lele and RNG Items and Abilities (Quick Draw, Sand Veil, Snow Cloak, Quick Claw, Lax Incense, and Brightpowder) have been banned!


Explanations
:

:inteleon: Water Spout, Eruption, and Dragon Energy :Hydreigon:

The epitome of high-risk-high-reward, these powerful moves reward players for keeping their powerful wallbreakers in pristine condition throughout a match. While they used to be a rare sight in the meta, recent metagame trends and developments have enabled their abusers to become very unhealthy to the metagame. Abusers of these moves, primarily Inteleon and Hydreigon, are able to spam their high-powered STAB moves with impunity, as switching into them requires an immunity ability, which can be played around quite effectively. Recently, in what could be considered an "inciting incident", Instruct made a lovely team featuring a unique Double Dragon Energy spamming core, which was nigh-unwallable and showcased exactly how gamebreaking these abusers can be. Due to the nigh-unmatched wallbreaking power provided by Primordial Sea Water Spout, Desolate Land Eruption, and Dragon's Maw Dragon Energy, the council has decided to restrict these moves to their native users.

:slowbro-galar: The RNG Items and Abilities :kommo-o:

Recently, an (admittedly funny) shitpost team by RICEMAN featuring Quick Claw Quick Draw Kommo-o was used to repeatedly demolish me. Unfortunately, this soon blossomed into an epidemic of people spamming various QCQD users in room tournaments. Thanks to this first-hand data collection, we were able to determine that this RNG based strategy was incredibly harmful to the tier. QCQD has a 44% of enabling a Pokemon to move first, and thanks to the high power level of STAAABmons, only one or two crucial QCQD activations were necessary to completely change the flow of a match. Much like sleep before it, RNG on this scale is incredibly unfun, and having entire matches come down to 3 coinflips was unhealthy to say the least. As a result, the council decided to ban both Quick Claw and Quick Draw.

However, we didn't stop here. Discussion quickly turned to the other RNG items and abilities, and the council has decided to ban all of them for the sake of consistency. Brightpowder and Lax Incense made occasional appearances on the most annoying teams possible, and Snow Cloak and Sand Veil are easily activatable, so the decision was made to ban these RNG-based aspects of the game.

:tapu lele: Tapu Lele :tapu lele:

Tapu Lele has long been one of our most versatile and powerful wallbreakers. Here, thanks to great new utility and STAB moves, Lele became an incredibly flexible threat in STAAABmons. Triage and Agility sets are some of the best win conditions in the tier, and access to new moves like Psystrike, Fleur Cannon, Trick, and Expanding Force makes Choiced Lele even harder to deal with. recently, Tapu Lele began warping the very foundation of teams, as any well-performing team NEEDED a sturdy Psychic switch in, and those switch ins could easily be crippled by Tricking a Choice item to them. The council ultimately determined that Tapu Lele was an overwhelming and unhealthy force in the tier, and it has been banned as a result.


Lastly, I'd like to announce something important (and a tad overdue): Our glorious leader RICEMAN has returned to the STAAABmons Council! We're excited to have him back!

That's it for today folks, have a great day and don't forget to tune in for the next announcement!

tagging Isaiah to implement
 
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HoeenHero

The Misspelled Hero!
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Recently, in what could be considered an "inciting incident", Instruct made a lovely team featuring a unique Double Dragon Energy spamming core, which was nigh-unwallable and showcased exactly how gamebreaking these abusers can be.
It never ceases to surprise me when Instruct breaks another OM.

If I ever get into teambuilding, you're teaching me.

EDIT, this was the first time:

 
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:ss/Tyranitar:


buzzwole no (Tyranitar) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Dazzling
EVs: 248 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Naive Nature
- Flamethrower
- Rock Polish
- Power Trip
- Diamond Storm

It's a funny set that I came up with thats suprisingly effective. Being weak to u-turn, eq, and a slew of coverage moves helps activate its weakness policy. Rock polish is done on switch-outs for increased speed, and diamond storm for STAB and also defense boost to survive certain hits after the defense boost. Flamethrower hits steel types, especially skarm/corv, and power trip allows for stupidly powerful attacks after weakness policy proc. Rock polish/diamond storm can further boost the BP of power trip. Dazzling is to stop pesky zarudes/buzzwoles from stopping the sweep. Overall I find this a super fun and powerful, but i don't have any good team options. Thoughts?
 
:Heatran: @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steel Beam
- Mind Blown
- Substitute
- Earth Power

:Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Flip Turn
- Mach Punch
- Storm Throw

:Celesteela: @ Leftovers
Ability: Dauntless Shield
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leech Seed
- Defog
- Roost
- Aeroblast

:Umbreon: @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Parting Shot
- Court Change
- Taunt
- Glare

:Marowak-Alola: @ Thick Club
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bonemerang
- Shadow Sneak
- Pyro Ball
- Spectral Thief

:Dracovish: @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spe / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Jolly Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Flip Turn
- Scale Shot
- Earthquake
 
With the end of the generation, I'm finally doing a team showcase of my favorite team to use by far:

THE SHICY SHPECIAL

Consisting of an offensive core of Jolteon, Buzzwole, Heatran and Polteagiest, the team aims to beat opponents with sheer power, wearing down checks over time with powerful attacks, this team transcends hyper-offense in its explosive offensiveness and lack of any defensive profile.


:jolteon:
Rise and Shine (Jolteon) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rising Voltage
- Boomburst
- Volt Switch
- Shadow Ball

Originally used to force switches against weavile (lol), Jolteon is a powerful sweeper and revenge killer that decimates teams without an electric immunity/blissey. Rising voltage packs a stupid punch coming off of 110 special attack and choice specs, ohkoing any non-resists and chipping switch-ins for huge damage. Boomburst can 2hko non-defensively invested Garchomp. while also providing safe chip on potential volt absorb users. Volt switch coming off of choice specs maintains momentum, especially as chansey is a common switchin. Shadow ball is there mostly due to Jolteons poor coverage, but it can deal some damage to volt absorb Corviknight and Runerigus. Notably, it outspeeds talonflame, Inteleon, Alakazam, Non-scarf Azelf, and Gengar, which force Heliolisk out.


:heatran:
Floaty (Heatran) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mind Blown
- Steel Beam
- Earth Power
- King's Shield

MGLO Heatran has two very powerful stab attacks with no drawbacks due to magic guard. Dealing a mindblowing 33% to Chansey, 2HKOing Toxapex and 80% to Tapu Fini, anything not named Chansey has a difficult time switching in, as even resists take massive damage. Kings shield is used to scout physical attacks, and allowing your teamates to switch in much easier against things like surging strikes Gyarados. Heatran effectively acts as a blanket check and stallbreaker on this team, switching in with its many resists and threatening serious chip in return.

:polteageist:
Teapot (Polteageist-Antique) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Dazzling
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Moongeist Beam
- Giga Drain
- Stored Power

The setup sweeper of the team, Teapot gonna cook you some tea and then some. Immune to priority counterplay, such as choice band Zarude, Shadow Sneak Marowak-Alola, and all sorts of triage shenanigans, Teapot has an easy time sweeping teams after a single Shell Smash, which it can get consistently with its focus sash. Moongeist beam hits the majority of the tier at least neutrally, with giga drain patching up the few holes. Stored power hits Chansey for 30% after one boost, and has a chanse to ohko after 2 boosts. Polteagiest excells at late-game sweeping against weakened enemies, though dark-types and Chansey still annoy it. THIS BRINGS US TO OUR NEXT POKEMON

:buzzwole:
Buzzfeed (Buzzwole) @ Life Orb
Ability: Triage
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Leech Life
- Drain Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch

It's triage-a-buzzwole. An amazingly amazing revenge killer, sweeper, stallbreaker and defensive switchin. OHKOing and outspeeding any offensive pokemon such as Barraskewda, Excadrill and Heliolisk and dealing super-effective damage to common defensive ones, such as Tyranitar, Heatran, Chansey, Ferrothorn, Blissey, etc. Thunder punch hits flying types and bulky waters on the switchin. I cannot reiterate hard enough how many wins I have won with Buzzwole. Its sheer power, logevity, defensive profile and speed due to triage makes it almost impossible to kill or switch in into. With Jolteon and Heatran forcing out Corviknight and opposing Buzzwole, Jolteon clearing through psychic terrain, Buzzwole sets up a hopefully chansey-free endgame for Teapot to sweep.

:accelgor:
rice cooker (Accelgor) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Sticky Web
- Final Gambit
- Toxic Spikes

The lead of the team, accelgor has a SINGLE PURPOSE: kill azelf with final gambit. As it has 5 higher base HP, it outspeeds and ohkos azelf. Magic bounce assures no hazards are set up via prankster, and hp investment to kill opposing hazard-setters with final gambit. The other 3 moves are purely cosmetic, though you can set up toxic spikes against an opponet trying to set up rocks on you. ihateazelfihateazelfihateazelfihateazelfihateazelfihateazelf

:tyranitar:
buzzwole no (Tyranitar) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Dazzling
EVs: 248 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Naive Nature
- Flamethrower
- Rock Polish
- Power Trip
- Diamond Storm
I spoke about this in an earlier post.

It's a funny set that I came up with thats suprisingly effective. Being weak to u-turn, eq, and a slew of coverage moves helps activate its weakness policy. Rock polish is done on switch-outs for increased speed, and diamond storm for STAB and also defense boost to survive certain hits after the defense boost. Flamethrower hits steel types, especially skarm/corv, and power trip allows for stupidly powerful attacks after weakness policy proc. Rock polish/diamond storm can further boost the BP of power trip. Dazzling is to stop pesky zarudes/buzzwoles from stopping the sweep.
so thats the team

Rise and Shine (Jolteon) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rising Voltage
- Boomburst
- Volt Switch
- Shadow Ball

Floaty (Heatran) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mind Blown
- Steel Beam
- Earth Power
- King's Shield

Teapot (Polteageist-Antique) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Dazzling
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Moongeist Beam
- Giga Drain
- Stored Power

Buzzfeed (Buzzwole) @ Life Orb
Ability: Triage
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Leech Life
- Drain Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch

rice cooker (Accelgor) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Sticky Web
- Final Gambit
- Toxic Spikes

buzzwole no (Tyranitar) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Dazzling
EVs: 248 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Naive Nature
- Flamethrower
- Rock Polish
- Power Trip
- Diamond Storm
 

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