They lost a bunch of moves that made them good, and they all gained new checks/counters or mons that are better than them.
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Metagame SV OU Metagame Discussion v2 [Update on Post #5186]
- Thread starter TPP
- Start date
- Status
it has no knock off and no triple axel, which means she has to go with night slash and icicle crash, and fighting types are everyone
fighting types, and he has no real good sand rush abusers to partner with
it is usable, but he doesn't have teleport or even chilly reception, and slowking/glowking offers much more in the term of regen pivot
due to TM things it lost almost all of its recovery moves, and it's outclassed in everything by everythingthis
Where are the tier shifts
I don't see anythin
I don't see anythin
They're at home, waiting to be let out of their cage.
Maybe it's because I skipped out on SWSH and am thus used to Teleport-less Slowbro, but I think losing Scald hurt way more tbh.
But, yeah its defensive profile isn't nearly as good as it used to be. Most of the current S ranks shit on Bro (especially bad in the case of Kingambit since Bro is a physical tank -- at least Glowking isn't "meant" to take King on), and while it can beat Tusk it doesn't like getting hit by Knock Off.
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There's so many drops its unreal. Chansey - an old time OU icon - is PU. I feel so bad for it. Losing like 3 moves and falling to obscurity must hurt
Back to the Metagame: Why Gastrodon remains an underslug in OU
Been a while. You’ve seen my post on Thundy-T and my post on Rilla, now it is time to give the little slug that could, Gastrodon.
Competitive History
DPP
Its competitive history is vast despite only ever ending a generation in OU once in its career, but how did it start? Gastro entered its debut generation with its older brother Swampert’s defensive typing. A famously amazing typing that packed only one weakness to Grass. The typing also meant Gastro would be immune to sand and could scave off dmg from SR. Unlike Pert, Gastro had reliable recovery and packed Sticky Hold which became more valuable as Knock ended being everywhere due to top mons like Clef getting it.
While it had a viable niche, this was Gastro’s worst performing gen. Pert outclassed it despite Gastro’s access to Recover. Having access to rocks and generally being less passive. Nonetheless, the slug’s unique traits such as access to reliable recovery and Sticky Hold grants it a valuable niche in the tier on teams that demand it. Gastro currently sits in D1 rank next to the other NU ground type with an OU niche, Nidoqueen.
BW
The stars and the planets were lining up perfectly for Gastro in Gen 5. To start, Storm Drain was buffed to make Gastro immune to Water type moves while granting it a boost to its SpA. Perfect timing as rain and eventually Keldeo would define the chaotic BW2 meta. Its bulk and typing let it check threats like Zam, Washtom, Thundy, and non-HP Grass Keldeo.
It was not only good against rain but also sand due to its immunity to sand and STABs generally being annoying for sand to swap into, especially when one of its STABs was Scald. A
ORAS
Despite being NU again this time around, Gastro is about as viable as it was in BW. Permanent rain was gone but Gastro didn’t care. It was used on teams as a check to Keldeo, Mega-Meta, Mega-Diancie, Thundurus, etc. Gastro could not be a team’s sole Keldeo check, as Specs Focus Blast and HP Grass started popping up to wipe the floor with it, but it prevented it from brainlessly clicking Scald. It even could check CM Clef with Clear Smog. Gastro has even rocked a Curse set that acted as a wincon once Zone removes Ferro.
Gastro did have some troubling mus. Mons like Manaphy and Volcarona both ran Grass coverage. It had to compete with bulky waters like Slowbro, Washtom, Volcanion, and Jellicent for team slots. The latter two had Gastro’s famed Water immunity. Serp’s immense popularity in modern ORAS also hurts it. Despite this, Manaphy nor Serp want to switch into Scald and Gastro remains a prominent OU staple, currently sitting in high B+ tier next to its old friends Jellicent, Latios, and Thundy-T.
USUM
Another winning streak for Gastrodon. Despite the nerfs to burn, Scald was still
It even had a period of time where it rose to OU via usage, but eventually dropped due to players running more grass coverage to answer it. And in case you are wondering where it ended up at the end of the generation, PU. It checked the biggest threats of the metagame while residing in the lowest tier (besides ZU). Landing in B+ tier in the current USUM vr next to Zapdos and Weavile.
SS
Unlike Thundy-T, Gastro has history in SS from Pre-DLC and beyond. Gastro in the Pre-DLC meta had competition with another fellow Water/Ground type introduced back in Gen 5. If you’ve ever played early SS, you know what mon I’m referring to, Toad. Toad was almost on every team, specially when Vish was in the tier. Knock Off and Rocks gave it notable role compression in this densely packed meta. Toad’s lack of recovery was less of an issue due to the omnipresent Wishport Clef that aided it. So what did Gastro do? Gastro’s better special bulk and reliable recovery gave it the edge against the ghosts and G-Knot Zera who otherwise caused problems for Toad. As a water immune it also had a place during the Vish meta cause that mon was complete bs. Pre-DLC Gastro was in B tier.
IoA came and it checked the same mons except Toad was noticeably less prominent this time due to Wishport Clef falling off in favor of standard PhysD Clef sets. It somewhat checked Magearna when it was in the tier and non-Giga Drain Volcarona. Gastro has even experimented with Sticky Hold, stonewalling Trick Barb Clef and avoid losing its lefties to Knock. Gastro ended up in B+ tier during the IoA metagame.
In the Crown Tundra metagame, not only was Gastro good, it was arguably its best performing gen. Tran was back, and this time it didn’t have Z-Moves to salt it. Koko came back, and Zapdos was back for blood with its newly found access to Hurricane. Nidoking exists. Volcanion was better than ever and was completely walled by Gastro, and it didn’t have HP Grass this time. Most notably, Gastro was one of the biggest obstacles for Rain. Blocking Flip Turn and shrugging off hits with its good bulk. It even sometimes ran Sticky Hold on stall in response to Trick Clef and Knock Off. Gastro had the option to run boots which made it worse at checking the ghosts but let it ignore chip from hazards. It is no surprise that with how much Gastro can check, it found itself in A- tier next to Excadrill and Volcarona.
SV
Even though gaining hazards for the first time was a huge boon, Gastro was met with woes relating to changes in Gen 9 and the new additions. Gastro lost Toxic and Scald, making it much more passive this time around. Recovery moves (besides Strength Sap) received a universal 8 pp reduction, cutting down its longevity. The spike-centric metagame due to the consequence of removing Defog on a bunch of mons, also cutting down its longevity. Tera meant the power level was higher and the amount of mons Gastro can reliably check is lesser. Gen 9 introduced Ting-Lu and Clod, who both performed the fat SpD ground type shtick well, but came with higher stats. Ting-Lu was a more consistent ghost check due to its typing, Clod boasted Gastro’s access to Recover and Water Immunity, but packed even better special bulk on top of a more useful defensive typing…also Toxic cause Game Freak really wants to add salt in an open wound. When Wake was introduced, ppl gravitated towards Clod over Gastro. Even in Home where Clod is less prominent, came the introduction of mons that Clod checks like Zama, Enam, Sneasler, and Zapdos. A bad time to be a Gastro fan, but with that said, is there a way for Gastro to prevail even in this harsh metagame…………….Yes.
Gastrodon’s Niche in SV OU
Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
Tera Type: Poison/Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD or 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 SpD
Relaxed/Sassy Nature
- Earthquake
- Recover
- Surf
- Spikes
The question is..how do you make Gastro work while not being outclassed by Clodsire and Ting-Lu? Simple, its the little things. Ting-Lu lacks reliable recovery. Clod’s paper thin physical bulk means that it often gets scared out by Tusk. In fact both spike setters are scared of Tusk. They’re often carried by ghold daddy dengo. But you know who isn’t and can perform a similar role? Gastro.
Its role in the metagame is as a spike setter that can blanket check Pokemon like Ghold, Rain, Tusk, Zapdos, Shocks, etc with its defensive profile and longevity. Due to its ability to threaten the best spinner in the tier while outlasting it with Recover, it can be a valuable member on more bulky spike stacking teams. While it isn’t a counter cause of G-Knot, Gastro can help teams pivot around BB Gren who recently rose to OU. It also boasts the unique ability to check Shocks who has risen into popularity on HO and even some BO teams as a check to Zapdos who pressures teams itself with hazards and its terrifying Electric/Ice/Ground type combination thanks to Tera. Very few things besides incredibly bulky special walls like Blissey or Tera Fairy Garg can avoid a 2HKO from it. Clod is 2HKOd by EP, and while Ting-Lu is only 4HKOd by Tera Ice, it doesn’t have reliable recovery, so it will get worn down in a game-to-game basis, you know who can tho? Gastro. More on that later.
As per usual Gastro antics, it also checks rain and unlike Clod, it doesn’t get ratio’d by Psychic Fangs. Tera Poison is an option that lets Gastro handle Sneasler, Zama, and Valiant, and offset its Grass Typing against Meow or G-Knot Gren. Tera Fairy also checks most Valiants but with the added benefit of completely walling Wake and BB Gren. The unique thing about Gastro is that its EV spread is perfectly customizable for whatever the team needs. The first EV spread is a physically defensive spread that lets Gastro check booster Tusk more reliably and check Valiant and Sneasler with Tera Poison. 184 Dfse allows Gastro to avoid a 3HKO from defensive Tusk while dumping the rest of the EVs into SpD. Gastro also eats a Headlong Rush from Booster Tusks after a layer of spikes.
0 Atk Great Tusk Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Gastrodon: 135-159 (31.6 - 37.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 Atk Great Tusk Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Gastrodon: 162-192 (38 - 45%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
Alternatively you can go 204 Dfse to avoid a 2HKO from 252 Atk Tusk at full health.
252 Atk Great Tusk Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 204+ Def Gastrodon: 190-225 (44.6 - 52.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Personally tho, more SpD inclined sets like in previous gens is the way to go. It is more reliable for checking Tran, Ghold, BB Gren, Zapdos, non-Eball Moth, Wake, Shocks, etc, with 72 Dfse EVs to avoid a 2HKO from defensive Tusk EQ after a layer of spikes. So it can still do its duties as a spike setter that threatens Tusk. It also helps with pivoting into the likes of Pult, BB Gren, and Enam.
0 Atk Great Tusk Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 72 Def Gastrodon: 169-199 (39.6 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Zapdos Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 184+ SpD Gastrodon: 153-181 (35.9 - 42.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
208 SpA Sandy Shocks Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 184+ SpD Gastrodon: 118-141 (27.6 - 33%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gholdengo Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 184+ SpD Gastrodon: 117-138 (27.4 - 32.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Enamorus Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 184+ SpD Gastrodon: 141-166 (33 - 38.9%) -- 99.9% chance to 3HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Greninja Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 184+ SpD Gastrodon: 126-149 (29.5 - 34.9%) -- 17.1% chance to 3HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 184+ SpD Gastrodon: 144-169 (33.8 - 39.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Zapdos Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 184+ SpD Gastrodon: 153-181 (35.9 - 42.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
208 SpA Sandy Shocks Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 184+ SpD Gastrodon: 118-141 (27.6 - 33%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gholdengo Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 184+ SpD Gastrodon: 117-138 (27.4 - 32.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Enamorus Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 184+ SpD Gastrodon: 141-166 (33 - 38.9%) -- 99.9% chance to 3HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Greninja Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 184+ SpD Gastrodon: 126-149 (29.5 - 34.9%) -- 17.1% chance to 3HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 184+ SpD Gastrodon: 144-169 (33.8 - 39.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
Surf cleanly 2HKOS Tusk and EQ over EP to hit Tera Steel CM Enam and Glowing harder.
You think that’s it right? No. Its just getting started. Here’s the spicy stuff.
Curse Slug
Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sticky Hold/Storm Drain
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Earthquake
- Liquidation
- Recover
A classic set from ORAS. It hasn’t seen the light of day since then, but there is a couple of reasons this set has value in the current meta.
-No Ferro, lol
-Mitigates its passivity by threatening a sweep
-Sticky Hold prevents Gastro from getting crippled by Trick or Knock Off, setting it apart from other bulky wincons like Dozo, Cress, and Garg while being a great check to Scarf Ghold.
-Toxic distribution is at an all time low, with only 5 users of the move. 2 of them are only on fat teams, 1 of them often doesn’t run it, and Glimm would rather smoke it with Eball. Thus making it harder to stop a Curse sweep.
-Gastro’s great special bulk and reliable recovery lets it tank special hits better than Dozo. Thus giving it Mid Game utility on top of being a lategame sweeper.
-Gastro has enough physical bulk to shrug off a decent chunk of physical hits at +1, even shit like Glaive Rush from non-LO/CB Bax can fail to 2HKO, even with spikes.
252 Atk Baxcalibur Glaive Rush vs. +1 252 HP / 72 Def Gastrodon: 177-208 (41.5 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Baxcalibur Glaive Rush vs. +1 252 HP / 72 Def Gastrodon: 177-208 (41.5 - 48.8%) -- 15.6% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 3 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. +1 252 HP / 72 Def Gastrodon: 169-201 (39.6 - 47.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 3 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. +1 252 HP / 72 Def Gastrodon: 169-201 (39.6 - 47.1%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Baxcalibur Glaive Rush vs. +1 252 HP / 72 Def Gastrodon: 177-208 (41.5 - 48.8%) -- 15.6% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 3 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. +1 252 HP / 72 Def Gastrodon: 169-201 (39.6 - 47.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 3 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. +1 252 HP / 72 Def Gastrodon: 169-201 (39.6 - 47.1%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
-Tera Poison lets Gastro flip the MU on Amoonguss and Meowscarada while avoiding random G-Knots and Toxic. It also lets Gastro avoid a poison from Poison Touch Sneasler.
-Storm Drain over Sticky Hold is an option to mess with Unaware Dozo and still comfortably check Rain.
Buddies with Slug
Tran can form a Fire/Water and a hazard stacking core with Gastro. It appreciates Gastro’s ability to check offensive waters, Ghold, Tusks, and Shocks. Tran in return threatens Amoonguss and could lure Bax and Sanu with Tera Fairy. Gastro also lets Tran run more offensive spreads to break through bulkier teams more effectively.
Amoonguss and Glowking can help Gastro deal with CM Enam, along with SD Valiant without needing to burn a Tera. The former can create a GW core with Gastro while the latter appreciates Gastro’s ability to check Zapdos without worrying about para, thus putting less stress on Glowking, back. Also Future Sight can potentially eliminate Amoonguss, aiding Curse Gastro.
Zapdos/Gastro is an effective core that exhibit pressure on Tusk and cover each other’s weaknesses. Gastro’s defensive profile against Tusk also means Zapdos can afford to run more offensive spreads similarly to Tran. Zapdos can also bring in Gastro to click Spikes by volt switching on mons like Glowking and can check the few Grass types that threaten Gastro such as Meow and Amoonguss.
Tusk is everybody’s friend. Removing hazards on Gastro’s side, removing Boots with Knock, checking Gambit, and naturally pairs well with a special wall like Gastro.
The fact that Ghold doesn’t have to risk switching into EQ or Knock to keep hazards up due to Gastro naturally matching up well against Tusk is gold (pun completely intentional). Ghold can outright wall Gastro and the spikes it lays out makes switching into its base 133 SpA difficult.
Gastro naturally checking Ghold means Gambit doesn’t have to worry about Trick or Focus Miss from it. It is also an offensive threat that loves seeing the opponent squirm as they try pivoting around spikes. Also anything that threatens Tusk is a good partner in Gambit’s eyes.
Meow loves spikes laid out by Gastro, letting it pressure teams more reliably and in return, Meow can remove Boots with Knock, making the hazards more potent.
Verdict
The reason I made this post about Gastro (besides the fact I got to the 1800s using it) is that this little slug is one of my favorite pokes. I love its simple but adorable design along with the two unique forms it possesses. Despite SV being a rocky gen for Gastrodon, metagame trends are slowly moving in favor of it. With Rain and Sandy Shocks on the rise, Gastro is finding its footing as a check to these threats. Gastro also has value as a check to Zapdos, Tran, Ghold, Wake, etc while having the longevity to keep up with Ting-Lu and Clod. Fulfilling the role of a spike setter that 1v1s Tusk or a wincon that absorbs Trick and Knock. Its proof that even with power creep and the nerfs, Gastro always finds a way to slip into the tier, and who knows, it might get Scald back in DLC1.
For a team that utilizes Gastro and replays of Gastro putting work, check out my RMT which was posted yesterday. Good day to you all.
As a Gastro stan, I enjoyed reading through this. Ironically enough, the bread and butter set that I've been piloting for so long now is pretty much a mostly run of the mill, basic bitch SpDef set to pair it well with Corvi. Corvi/Gastro makes for an exceptionally good pairing that covers each other up fairly well, except vs Cinder (in which Corvi needs to Tera.)
Everyone's ALWAYS given me shit for using Gastro, and especially Storm Drain Gastro, saying that it's such a garbage mon. In reality, they have their heads too far up their own butts to realize that it's actually a very good side grade to Clod.
Storm Drain Gastro vs Water Absorb Clod:
Weaknesses: Gastro - 1, Clod - 3
Resistances: Gastro - 4, Clod - 5
Immunities: Gastro - 2, Clod - 2
However, the main legs that each has up on the other is vastly different. Gastro is more well-rounded than Clod with less weaknesses (and more options to fire back with), Gastro has Sticky Hold if you want to take that route, Clod has Unaware, Clod is immune to Toxic/Absorbs TSpikes, Clod has higher raw special bulk.
Since the start of the gen, I've always had a good time building with Gastro on my teams, be it with Corvi or Talonflame as it's partner. It can check so many things by itself, including pissing off the most piss off Pokemon around, Pex and Garg. Tera Steel + Water Absorb means that Pex can't chip you with Water moves or Toxic, but you still have to deal with Infestation. Cloak makes you a perfect Garg lure that can surprise nuke it when you don't get zapped by Salt Cure.
Sure, not having Leftovers or Boots can SOMETIMES be an issue, but having consistent performace against numerous Pokemon that can't/don't carry Grass coverage means that Gastro just sits on them. Wake can't burn you, Gren can't flinch or freeze you, Dirge does... Dirge things I guess... While I understand and agree with applauding the Clod, Gastro deserves some love, too.
With Weavile and Slowbro, it was absolutely disgusting movepool cuts that castrated these mons so far that they simply can't do what they used to do before. Slowbro heavily relied on Teleport + Regen in gen 8, losing Teleport and having no way to do any slow pivoting ruined it's gameplan. Weavile has no moves with even somewhat high BP and it lost amazing utility moves like Knock Off. It just doesn't cut it anymore. No longer as powerful or utlilitarian as it used to be
Sand is just worthless in gen 9 as of now. There are no useful Sand Force or Sand Rush users currently. Ttar also lost some moves this gen like Superpower and it loses hard to the number one mon in Great Tusk currently. It's also just powercrept, something like DDance Ttar is just outclassed by other setup sweeper and something like CB Ttar is too slow and has a too exploitable typing. Again, just no real utility and neither enough power nor bulk to justify, plus shitty matchups against common mons like aforementioned Tusk, Garg, Valiant...
No idea about Mew tbh. I suppose there are just better alternatives as HO leads?
Thank you to everyone for the really kind words and replies about my Kricketune post - it was a lot of fun to work on, and I'm really happy that people are vibing with it. I was actually just talking with someone who had been testing Kricketune all morning after they checked out my post (although they were running a Webs/Taunt set) and they suggested Tera Rock Tera Blast + Swords Dance to blank Zapdos (a common switch-in) as a possibility, so I'm looking into that as well.
252+ Atk Tera Rock Kricketune Tera Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zapdos: 248-294 (77.2 - 91.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Tera Rock Kricketune Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 104 Def Zapdos: 218-260 (56.7 - 67.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Tera Rock Kricketune Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 104 Def Zapdos: 438-516 (114 - 134.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 SpA Zapdos Hurricane vs. 20 HP / 0 SpD Tera Rock Kricketune: 123-144 (41 - 48%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Zapdos Heat Wave vs. 20 HP / 0 SpD Tera Rock Kricketune: 70-83 (23.3 - 27.6%) -- 81% chance to 4HKO
252+ Atk Tera Rock Kricketune Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 104 Def Zapdos: 218-260 (56.7 - 67.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Tera Rock Kricketune Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 104 Def Zapdos: 438-516 (114 - 134.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 SpA Zapdos Hurricane vs. 20 HP / 0 SpD Tera Rock Kricketune: 123-144 (41 - 48%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Zapdos Heat Wave vs. 20 HP / 0 SpD Tera Rock Kricketune: 70-83 (23.3 - 27.6%) -- 81% chance to 4HKO
Holy moly what a throwback, I forgot about my Gen 8 Manetric post that your reply is mentioning (to be fair that set of mine was mediocre at best, Ring Target was a far better OU Manetric set and I think someone brought that up later in that thread). As for the confusion about what Kricketune does, I mentioned Kricketune's functions in the post (and the post summary); it's a niche mon on hazard control teams meant to hit unexpected damage thresholds, lure in specific threats, and use Technician STAB Pounce for speed control to enable your slower, bulkier threats. Dragapult is actually one of the Pokemon Kricketune is meant to lure, along with Air Balloon Gholdengo. As I detailed in the post, the Screens Pult set is completely walled once Kricketune terastallizes and Kricketune 2HKOs every Pult variant (with a chance to OHKO variants without bulk investment). I'd be happy to highlight any parts of the post you'd like me to!
I think I should explain why I don't often include replays (and when I do, they're usually from other people who were kind enough to use replays of the set and send them to me for inclusion in posts). As AM stated, the last thing that I want to do is make an eyesore wall of calcs post with no substance (which is why all of my damage calcs on my analysis posts stay hidden in spoiler tags so that the actual information about the competitive purpose of the Pokemon is highlighted). This is going to sound a bit weird, and I don't know if any other frequent longtime competitive players have this issue (I think it may be a thing with my autism), but I have a bad "replay sense" - often I'll forget to grab the link for a relevant replay because I'm in total tunnel vision playing competitive. With how long I spend on testing for some of these posts (especially ones that take ages like Kricketune), you'd think I'd have an easier time but honestly the way I work on these posts makes it more difficult. So I'm gonna detail exactly how the Kricketune testing cycle started, progressed, etc.
For reference, Gen 9 OU testing on Kricketune (with an analysis in mind) began all the way back in February close to six months ago.
Kricketune @ Assault Vest
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fell Stinger
- Trailblaze
- Tera Blast
- Aerial Ace
This was the initial variant - I was in the realm of Speed Control from the beginning, but Pounce was just not on the front of my mind, and I was still trying to overcompensate Bulk which took away from Kricketune's other qualities (also Technician Fell Stinger I really wanted to make work). Tera Blast Water was for stuff like Volcarona (unbanned at the time), Unaware Clodsire, and a few others. Eventually, it morphed into this set over time and continued to morph from this set more and more (with only some things being set in stone like the Attack & Speed EVs + the Nature) -
Kricketune @ Assault Vest
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 Atk / 164 Def / 48 SpD / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leech Life
- Trailblaze
- Fell Stinger
- Tera Blast
and then the Kricketune set continued to settle and finalize as time went on through testing and other things. As you can imagine, getting replays throughout ANY of those testing months would not only be pointless (as the sets were fundamentally different) but misleading and wouldn't add anything of quality to my Kricketune analysis. It wasn't until mid-late July that the Tera-type (Fairy) + Pounce were solidified, then EVs were fully fixed up, and then the rest is history. I'm not trying to say any of this to excuse my lack of replays, I'm just trying to give an understandable explanation so that anyone wondering has context as to why it's difficult for me. I apologize for any confusion, and I really you continue to enjoy my analysis sets as I absolutely love to write them and I love seeing the creativity flow from Gen 9 OU and Tera in general!
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Small correction (outside of a good post) Glaive Rush is base 120 BP not 100.Noteworthy Usage Rises from June to July:
Rises:
-(#3, 30.09% -> #2, 46.04%)
The most massive jump of all, from just under 1/3 teams to almost half of all teams is an insane rise. It's just shy of beating out the longtime OU champion Great Tusk. I don't even believe the current suspect is contributing that much, due to it starting later in the month.
-(#12, 13.595% -> #7, 21.538%)
Baxcalibur has just been getting better and better. Turns out a 100bp dragon move with little drawback, off of a 145 base attack, coupled with the best offensive type in the game (ice), earthquake as coverage, Dragon Dance AND Swords Dance, a burn immunity, boosted attack when hit with fire moves, Ice Shard as priority AND offensive or defensive tera turns out to be a pretty busted mon. Kyurem would be rolling in it's gen 8 grave if it were in the game today and almost definitely entirely outclassed. This mon has no true counters once it's set up, Dondozo, Zamazenta and Air Balloon Gholdengo are probably your best bets, but those are pretty much only checks once, you're kinda screwed if it comes back in and sets up again.
-(#28, 6.655% -> #11, 14.795%)
Cinderace has recently gotten a large bump of usage due to it's ability to remove hazards 100% of the time, as well as it's fast pivoting abilities, strong stab pyro ball, as well as Will-o-Wisp. It's giving people an option other than being forced to run Great Tusk for removal, which is very nice to see.
-(#40, 4.989% -> #21, 8.605%)
This was a pretty big jump, Dondozo was falling out during the month of july, almost reaching UU as it was just seen as too passive in the face of the meta that was getting more and more offensive. It now just got a huge jump, this is probably due to it being the best Baxcalibur check in the game, being a safety measure against one of the strongest sweepers currently. Some have also been using a combination of Body Press and Avalanche, to beat Kingambit even if it's used Tera Flying.
-(#69 (nice), 1.449% -> #23, 7.891%)
They did my boi DIRTY last month, being curb-stomped to UU. I believe this is at least somewhat in part due to Battle Bond not being implemented until the month of July, bringing a lot more popularity to this mon. It has a ton of nice sets, protean specs, spikes lead, tera blast battle bond, definitely a jack of all trades.
-(#41, 4.765% -> #24, 7.532%)
Lead Sandy Shocks has gotten fairly popular as of late on some HO structures, having electric/ground coverage is very good, especially when you can tera blast ice if need be, grounds arent even safe staying in on it, just by the fear of it using tera and flipping the matchup.
Might do a noteworthy drops post later :p
"balance" no donwside Outrage lmao
omg y’all that’s me I’m Morkal famous
Kricketune @ Assault Vest
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fell Stinger
- Trailblaze
- Tera Blast
- Aerial Ace
anyways here’s some more funny screenshots from the Kricketune cooking arc
i simply couldn’t sleep
Man, if only we explored this more. Could have had this one out like a month ago LOL
“Fine-Tuning”
It's kind of wild that the other physical dragons don't use a Dragon STAB move as a standard except for Dragapult's Darts. Neutral 80 BP before STAB just doesn't cut it, I guess, even on mons with higher Attack than Bax.
Wait for Scale Shot to come back as a widespread move; Loaded Dice is gonna make it way more consistent I feel.
Yeah, Bax already has synergy with Loaded Dice because of Icicle Spear. If it could get a 100+ BP Dragon type move too, that would make it really nutty.
,,,,,It already has a 100+BP dragon move that it abuses really well in Glaive Rush which is 120BP.
But that tasty +1 speed tho
The Thundy post was insane, I have in on my rain team over zapdos because volt absorb go brrr
Anyway
I plotted the usage statistics over the Generation of The Leading 10 Mons that have been in the game before Home was released. Idk if this is helpful to anyone, but I was bored and decided to try and trend the data. What I find interesting is that everything dipped in usage when Home was released, while Dragapult went UP.
Let me know if anyone is interested in more graphs like these. I had fun making this and my hope is to compile data on move set to check what the most popular moveset each month. (But I'm going to have to find a program that can read txt files lol)
I plotted the usage statistics over the Generation of The Leading 10 Mons that have been in the game before Home was released. Idk if this is helpful to anyone, but I was bored and decided to try and trend the data. What I find interesting is that everything dipped in usage when Home was released, while Dragapult went UP.
Let me know if anyone is interested in more graphs like these. I had fun making this and my hope is to compile data on move set to check what the most popular moveset each month. (But I'm going to have to find a program that can read txt files lol)
Look at that gap between Great Tusk and everyone else. I'm not sure what that means, practically speaking, but it is very neat to look at.
Unrelatedly, I was doing comparisons between Close Combat and Low Kick on a Slither Wing set. So here's a crude table of the power of Low Kick on all the OU mons.
| Power | Pokemon |
| 120 | Great Tusk Baxcalibur Ting-Lu Dragonite Walking Wake Zamazenta Garganacl Dondozo Heatran Ursaluna Clodsire Roaring Moon Hoopa-Unbound |
| 100 | Kingambit |
| 80 | Samurott-H Dragapult Slowking-G Zapdos Landorus-T Corviknight Sandy Shocks Cresselia Moltres Garchomp |
| 60 | Iron Valiant Gholdengo Enamorus Cinderace Sneasler Greninja Glimmora Iron Moth Pelipper Azumarill Meowscarada |
| 40 | Amoonguss Toxapex |
| 20 | Hatterene Rotom-Wash |
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has anyone tried an unburden set + focus sash? It needs more support to keep hazards off the field, but with how frail sneasler is and how powerful the metagame is rn, I found it doesn't have as many chances to come in to take a weaker blow to proc. Maybe it's just bad player syndrome tho lol
i have, it’s bad
What is my actual opinion on Morkal posts? Not that anyone cares, but if we're talking about it...
Eh. I think they are really inspirational for how high-tier formatting can be used to make a forum post into an engaging medium, and proves that it is worth it. People make arguments for shitmons all the time, especially in VR Discussion threads, but they don't get a bajillion likes because it feels less formal, and less cared about.
And a lot of people, who are reading what I'm writing right now, will put more stock into my opinion than someone who says "me no care for thing because grr" because I know how to hold the Shift key. There is something to be said about bias for certain prose, certain people. What Morkal is arguing in most of these posts is in no tangible way different than "The Glaceon Guy", or that person who argues that X Shitmon is actually a super underrated top-tier threat, because I used it to some success one time. Fun fact: Flareon 2HKOs the entire tier, and with Tera it can get a Trailblaze boost with its naturally good Special Defense. Sounds like a Pokemon with a niche to me!!!
I don't want Morkal to stop making these posts, nor do I want others to stop making similar posts, or take inspiration from them. I just think that there should be more focus on substance in the Pokemon chosen, which will naturally lead to their conclusion.
Here is something that I hope is inspirational, to everyone who reads this and has the "Shitmon Fever" like I do:
Once upon a time... Hawlucha was seen as a Shitmon. Even decently far into Generation 7 OU, nobody gave Hawlucha a chance... Until one person did. They climbed the ladder and, fighting a tier that had no real preparation for this new threat, a middle-of-the-road player found themselves in high ladder, topping it. This turned people's heads, and thus Hawlucha was explored more, and Hawlucha became the cross-generational threat we knew it as... Before Gen 9 forgot the Tapus -> Sneasler. But, hey! That's fine.
Now, to be clear, I don't actually have a source for this story. If you want me to be real honest? I'm pretty sure BKC told this story in the middle of some random old hour-long video. But it stuck with me, and it pushes me to explore new ideas. And importantly, there are Shitmons that have been found to have real niches in OU. Srn has quietly been an Arboliva propagandist, a Pokemon that genuinely checks quite a few things in the metagame.
I am a believer that Shitmons scratch a weird primordial itch in our weird monkey brains, the itch of progress, it makes us feel like anyone could find some random new niche Pokemon. When others find one, it's cool not just because it's interesting, but because it smells of endless possibilities. Anyone can strike gold if they put in the effort!
So I encourage you, reading this, to put in the effort. Don't get that scratch itched second-hand from a post which you will praise, but end up only gawking at. Morkal is not The CEO Of Shitmons, you can do it too. Go find a Pokemon, see if you can make it work, and if not? Well, hey! You don't have to make a several paragraph long post about it on Smogon Dot Com, you can silently go "ah well" and move on like I did with Turtonator in Generation 8 (I wanted it to live Magma chip + Earth Power to setup sweep with Shell Smash), or go to the OU Chatroom and type "lol x mon is dogshit". People will have fun making fun of Game Freak balance.
Want some pointers? When I look at the builder, a few Pokemon I ponder about are: Decidueye can hit Ghosts and has Defog/Roost/Knock Off. The aforementioned Arboliva which will never let you lose to Garganacl ever again. While not a "Shitmon", I feel like Salamence is unexplored given Moxie and Flying-STAB, even if Dragonite is more splashable. Gallade, which just fell to RU, has a free Choice Band boost on all of its moves. Komala has Komala has decent Special Bulk uninvested, Wish, good coverage, U-Turn, and most notably: the coveted Rapid Spin. Jolteon has 110 Special Attack, 130 Speed and STAB Bolt. The main draw: With Tera? STAB Beam, of course. Shitmon Regieleki. Cryogonal, with Tera becomes a very good check to the Ghosts and can Rapid Spin, with reliable recovery. It also gets Freeze-Dry, and for some reason, Screens.
Eh. I think they are really inspirational for how high-tier formatting can be used to make a forum post into an engaging medium, and proves that it is worth it. People make arguments for shitmons all the time, especially in VR Discussion threads, but they don't get a bajillion likes because it feels less formal, and less cared about.
And a lot of people, who are reading what I'm writing right now, will put more stock into my opinion than someone who says "me no care for thing because grr" because I know how to hold the Shift key. There is something to be said about bias for certain prose, certain people. What Morkal is arguing in most of these posts is in no tangible way different than "The Glaceon Guy", or that person who argues that X Shitmon is actually a super underrated top-tier threat, because I used it to some success one time. Fun fact: Flareon 2HKOs the entire tier, and with Tera it can get a Trailblaze boost with its naturally good Special Defense. Sounds like a Pokemon with a niche to me!!!
I don't want Morkal to stop making these posts, nor do I want others to stop making similar posts, or take inspiration from them. I just think that there should be more focus on substance in the Pokemon chosen, which will naturally lead to their conclusion.
Here is something that I hope is inspirational, to everyone who reads this and has the "Shitmon Fever" like I do:
Once upon a time... Hawlucha was seen as a Shitmon. Even decently far into Generation 7 OU, nobody gave Hawlucha a chance... Until one person did. They climbed the ladder and, fighting a tier that had no real preparation for this new threat, a middle-of-the-road player found themselves in high ladder, topping it. This turned people's heads, and thus Hawlucha was explored more, and Hawlucha became the cross-generational threat we knew it as... Before Gen 9 forgot the Tapus -> Sneasler. But, hey! That's fine.
Now, to be clear, I don't actually have a source for this story. If you want me to be real honest? I'm pretty sure BKC told this story in the middle of some random old hour-long video. But it stuck with me, and it pushes me to explore new ideas. And importantly, there are Shitmons that have been found to have real niches in OU. Srn has quietly been an Arboliva propagandist, a Pokemon that genuinely checks quite a few things in the metagame.
I am a believer that Shitmons scratch a weird primordial itch in our weird monkey brains, the itch of progress, it makes us feel like anyone could find some random new niche Pokemon. When others find one, it's cool not just because it's interesting, but because it smells of endless possibilities. Anyone can strike gold if they put in the effort!
So I encourage you, reading this, to put in the effort. Don't get that scratch itched second-hand from a post which you will praise, but end up only gawking at. Morkal is not The CEO Of Shitmons, you can do it too. Go find a Pokemon, see if you can make it work, and if not? Well, hey! You don't have to make a several paragraph long post about it on Smogon Dot Com, you can silently go "ah well" and move on like I did with Turtonator in Generation 8 (I wanted it to live Magma chip + Earth Power to setup sweep with Shell Smash), or go to the OU Chatroom and type "lol x mon is dogshit". People will have fun making fun of Game Freak balance.
Want some pointers? When I look at the builder, a few Pokemon I ponder about are: Decidueye can hit Ghosts and has Defog/Roost/Knock Off. The aforementioned Arboliva which will never let you lose to Garganacl ever again. While not a "Shitmon", I feel like Salamence is unexplored given Moxie and Flying-STAB, even if Dragonite is more splashable. Gallade, which just fell to RU, has a free Choice Band boost on all of its moves. Komala has Komala has decent Special Bulk uninvested, Wish, good coverage, U-Turn, and most notably: the coveted Rapid Spin. Jolteon has 110 Special Attack, 130 Speed and STAB Bolt. The main draw: With Tera? STAB Beam, of course. Shitmon Regieleki. Cryogonal, with Tera becomes a very good check to the Ghosts and can Rapid Spin, with reliable recovery. It also gets Freeze-Dry, and for some reason, Screens.
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Given that this post is about the content I write; I don't necessarily feel that it's appropriate for me to comment on its entirety and I believe that it's up to the community as a whole to decide how they feel about my posts. But I would like to point out something that I think ant4456 and I can both agree on, at the very least. Ant is absolutely correct about this point I quoted here, and while I adore and appreciate all of the positive feedback and awesome things many people here say about my posts, I'd like to stress that the most consistently fun part of Pokemon is undergoing the fun challenge of experimentation within established meta frameworks. Every single person on this forum has the capability, and ability to develop the memory/skill to make Pokemon they love work - that's what I want to convey with my posts
"Strong Pokémon. Weak Pokémon. That is only the selfish perception of people. Truly skilled trainers should try to win with their favorites. I like your style. You understand what's important. Go on--the Champion is waiting." - Karen, Elite Four
I write my huge posts for three reasons -
- To bring up niches that I've used during my time playing the meta and to bring attention to long-forgotten or disregarded Pokemon (Karen of the Elite Four is my spirit animal basically)
- To give specialized takes on handling potent threats in the meta (like how I brought up Wigglytuff a while back as a hard Dragapult stop)
- Frankly, because they're fun and I love engaging with Smogon's community
You're all awesome, and I appreciate the discussions that we can all have about niche content in the OU meta and how we choose to elevate each other and help each other more than ever before
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- Status