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In all seriousness though, another Morkal banger. I love seeing what you can crack with mons that typically fly way under the radar. This set took a second for it to click for me, but once a morkal set "clicks" you immediately realize what he was cooking and you can't help but love it. It's great. Keep up the good work.
Also I love how this one is so long that I can't even add this 3 line reply without hitting the character limit.
No, he is saying that Gen 9 has so much more progress-making options than the past, and the presence of Gholdengo itself means that Gen 9 will never be like Gen 8 since it makes getting rid of hazards much harder. Gholdengo is the reason Great Tusk is at 50% usage on ladder and over 80% in tournaments as the most useful and one of the only effective hazard removers. Tera getting banned won't change this.
Yes this is largely what I was trying to say. It's not just that there are new pokemon that are relevant in OU, it's that all of these pokemon have incredibly unique abilities and roles and their presence has been and most likely will be enough to completely differentiate Gen 9 from Gen 8 with or without tera. The hazard meta is probably the biggest facet of this as you said, but I'd say Gambit's presence as an endgame deciding mon and the prevalence of the unaware mons (this one is more arguable now but preHOME it was def true) are also examples
I think that a lot of these issues could be solved by implementing the viewing of tera types in team preview - there are definitely precedents set for it, and it could make a lot of sense as it would take a lot of the "guesswork" out of dealing with Tera, making it a little easier to deal with
The idea of a tera-less metagame scares me, but a meta in which we didn't have to guess tera types sounds quite a bit healthier. It's a nice balance between keeping the creativity that tera brings while also balancing it.
I agree. People are ignoring the creativity and skill Terastilization brings to the metagame. Anti-tera players only focus on the negative aspects of it
"A special Hisuian Avalugg is worshiped by the Hisui people due to him being descended from one of the 10 ancient Pokémon who received a blessing from Arceus. He is one of the Noble Pokémon who resides in Alabaster Icelands watched by a Warden."- Bulbapedia
"Sorry for the delay everyone, I needed a small break from competitive play. My thinking speed was comparable to Slowbro's"- Morkal
Attacking Movepool:
Avalanche, Body Press, Body Slam, Crunch, Earthquake, Facade, Heavy Slam, Ice Fang, Ice Spinner, Iron Head, Mountain Gale, Rock Blast, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Tera Blast
Utility Movepool:
Aurora Veil, Chilling Water, Curse, Iron Defense, Protect, Rapid Spin, Recover, Stealth Rock, Substitute
Avalugg-Hisui is my new favorite defensive Pokemon, and I've been using him since he was added to OU with the Pokemon Home update. While it may seem foolhardy to use a Pokemon with a quad-fighting weakness in a defensive capability, those aspects are, without question, outshined by its myriad of fantastic traits. It can, with very little investment, check specific combinations of potent OU threats that no other Pokemon in the tier can and shrug off attacks that even bulky Zamazenta-H would quiver at. So without further ado, let's take it slow (like Avalugg) and dive into what makes our rocky glacier pal one of the coolest Pokemon to use in OU.
Disclaimer:Avalugg-Hisui is physically solid and very powerful, but has exploitable weaknesses thanks to its low Special Defense. Do not just switch your Avalugg-Hisui in without thinking; I highly recommend researching which OU staples use mixed sets or vary their sets more often (such as Dragapult or Iron Valiant) and making sure your team is balanced to account for Avalugg-Hisui's shortcomings. If you plan carefully and construct your team well, you'll find that Avalugg-Hisui can often be the MVP of your core composition game after game.Also, I apologize, I didn't realize this at the time but there is a character limit for posts, so I had to remove some of the damage calculations.
Avalugg-Hisui Competitive Summary This is a "too long, didn't read" for people who want a quick summary of Avalugg-Hisui's positive traits without reading the essay-length post
Avalugg-Hisui's typing is great offensively, base 127 attack paired with its STABS alone allows it to nail a unique combination of vicious OU threats that no other Pokemon can super effectively; including Amoonguss, Baxcalibur, Breloom, Ceruledge, Cinderace, Clodsire, Dragapult, Dragonite, Enamorus, Garchomp, Great Tusk, Hydreigon, Iron Moth, Kleavor, Landorus-Therian, Meowscarada, Pelipper, Regidraco, Rillaboom, Roaring Moon, Ursaluna, Zapdos, and many more.
Avalugg-Hisui's defensive typing has a few critical resistances to Normal, Flying, Poison, and Ice-type attacks, neutrality to Fire-type attacks + fantastic lure potential with Terastallization (notably Tera Ghost, which also gives Avalugg-Hisui further role compression as a spin blocker).
Avalugg-Hisui has an insane physical profile, with a solid 95 HP and an absolutely whopping base 184 Defense stat means that Avalugg-Hisui can shrug off even boosted super effective attacks in some cases such as +1 Dragonite Earthquake.
Avalugg-Hisui has access to coveted utility moves in Recover and Rapid Spin, along with access to other unique options such as Aurora Veil, Body Press + Curse/Iron Defense, Stealth Rock, and more.
Avalugg-Hisui's access to Strong Jaw means that STAB Ice Fang along with coverage in Crunch are both boosted in power, while access to Sturdy means that fully defensive sets cannot be sniped from 100% with an unexpected Special move.
Avalugg-Hisui not only has access to fantastic coverage moves such as Body Press, Crunch, and Earthquake but has one of the most powerful unboosted Body Presses in the game (let alone boosted).
Avalugg-Hisui can fit on a wide array of teams (from Stall to Snow Screens to Trick Room), Trick Room in particular is vicious thanks to Avalugg-Hisui's low-speed stat.
Avalugg's base 38 Speed stat outside of Trick Room might be glacially slow, but it does still outspeed a few key OU threats including Clodsire, Torkoal, Hatterene, Amoonguss, Glastrier, Slowking/Slowking-G, Slowbro/Slowbro-G, Dondozo, Garganacl, and Toxapex.
We're going to be looking at one Avalugg-Hisui set, but even though we're going to do the bulk of analysis on this one set, we're additionally going to go over multiple additional moves in Avalugg-Hisui's movepool and the types of sets that they can be used on (this will also give you an additional frame of reference for if you want to run a different move on the main set as well, like Body Press instead of Rock Slide for example). For this first set, we're going to be splitting the bulk of the analysis into Defensive + Speed/Utility and Offensive sections in which we will go over how Avalugg-Hisui works in OU along with damage calculations + EV analysis, go over additional moves/coverage options with further damage calculations, then we'll go over fantastic team partners.
With 252 HP and 252 Defense EVs on this set, Avalugg-Hisui's physical profile is an astonishing 394 HP and 513 Defense. This means that Avalugg will be shrugging off some of the most powerful hits in the game including super-effective boosted hits with ease. The original Avalugg had more issues switching in due to a complete lack of resistances beyond Ice-type attacks, but Avalugg-Hisui's new secondary Rock-typing, while adding some unfortunate new weaknesses, gives Avalugg crucial neutrality to the ever-present Fire-type attacks coursing through OU at the moment along with adding key new resistances to Normal (Extremespeed, Facade Ursaluna, etc.), Flying, and Poison-type attacks. Additionally, with Tera Ghost, Avalugg-Hisui can lure in key threats to take advantage of their Fighting moves for either a free spin, free attack, or a free Recover. The choice of item is up to you - I vastly prefer Leftovers due to the passive recovery that can make or break some critical calculations, but if you don't have something like Amoonguss or Glimmora (both wonderful partners for Avalugg-Hisui that I'll detail more in the partners' section of this post) to absorb Toxic Spikes, it might be wise to run Heavy-Duty Boots instead. I personally prefer Leftovers as I usually pair it with either Amoonguss or Glimmora (sometimes both), and the passive recovery really helps in a pinch.
So with that initial defensive amble out of the way, let's take a look at some damage calculations to see exactly what kinds of insane moves that Avalugg-Hisui can comfortably shrug off - both boosted and unboosted. Additionally, we will look at some defensive calculations with Tera Ghost involved to show just how insane Avalugg-Hisui gets with mono-Ghost typing. Since Avalugg-Hisui has so many damage calculations here (more than any other OU analysis that I've done), I'm going to be putting the damage calculations in spoiler tags throughout the post so that the whole forum page isn't just filled with obscene quantities of Pokemath data.
252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 74-90 (18.7 - 22.8%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 156-186 (39.5 - 47.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Baxcalibur Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 110-130 (27.9 - 32.9%) -- 83.7% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Baxcalibur Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 164-194 (41.6 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Breloom Bulldoze vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 150-178 (38 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Clodsire Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 80-96 (20.3 - 24.3%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Def Corviknight Body Press vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 156-184 (39.5 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Dondozo Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 84-102 (21.3 - 25.8%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Def Dondozo Body Press vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 164-196 (41.6 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 112-134 (28.4 - 34%) -- 98.1% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 170-200 (43.1 - 50.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 126-150 (31.9 - 38%) -- 0.6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 152-180 (38.5 - 45.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Garganacl Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 68-80 (17.2 - 20.3%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 Def Garganacl Body Press vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 136-160 (34.5 - 40.6%) -- 42.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Great Tusk Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 182-216 (46.1 - 54.8%) -- 7.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
200+ Atk Choice Band Iron Hands Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 170-200 (43.1 - 50.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Iron Leaves Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 134-162 (34 - 41.1%) -- 57.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Iron Treads Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 134-162 (34 - 41.1%) -- 57.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Sharpness Kleavor Stone Axe vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 150-176 (38 - 44.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 138-164 (35 - 41.6%) -- 77.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 164-194 (41.6 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Hustle Lilligant-Hisui Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 176-210 (44.6 - 53.2%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Meowscarada Flower Trick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui on a critical hit: 144-170 (36.5 - 43.1%) -- 98.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Protosynthesis Roaring Moon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 138-164 (35 - 41.6%) -- 78.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Sharpness Samurott-Hisui Razor Shell vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 150-176 (38 - 44.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Tera Ground Sneasler Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 134-158 (34 - 40.1%) -- 33.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Ting-Lu Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 108-128 (27.4 - 32.4%) -- 62.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
80 Def Zamazenta Body Press vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 196-232 (49.7 - 58.8%) -- 63.3% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Neutral:
252 Atk Choice Band Arcanine-Hisui Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 124-147 (31.4 - 37.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 124-147 (31.4 - 37.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Basculegion Phantom Force vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 102-120 (25.8 - 30.4%) -- 1.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Baxcalibur Glaive Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 147-174 (37.3 - 44.1%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Tera Fire Breloom Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 67-79 (17 - 20%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Ceruledge Bitter Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 67-79 (17 - 20%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
32 Atk Cinderace Pyro Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 70-84 (17.7 - 21.3%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Cinderace Pyro Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 84-100 (21.3 - 25.3%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 116-140 (29.4 - 35.5%) -- approx. 100% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Dragapult Phantom Force vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 106-126 (26.9 - 31.9%) -- 40.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Dragonite Fire Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 43-51 (10.9 - 12.9%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Fire Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 64-76 (16.2 - 19.2%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 153-180 (38.8 - 45.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Garchomp Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 61-73 (15.4 - 18.5%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Great Tusk Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 50-59 (12.6 - 14.9%) -- possible 7HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Great Tusk Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 73-87 (18.5 - 22%) -- possible 5HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Fury vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 132-156 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- 17.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 106-126 (26.9 - 31.9%) -- 40.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
200+ Atk Choice Band Iron Hands Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 114-135 (28.9 - 34.2%) -- 99.6% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Iron Leaves Psyblade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 61-73 (15.4 - 18.5%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Iron Treads Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 45-53 (11.4 - 13.4%) -- possible 8HKO
252+ Atk Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 73-87 (18.5 - 22%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 3 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 94-112 (23.8 - 28.4%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 109-129 (27.6 - 32.7%) -- 72.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Sharpness Kleavor Night Slash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 53-63 (13.4 - 15.9%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Kleavor U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 54-64 (13.7 - 16.2%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Sharpness Kleavor X-Scissor vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 91-108 (23 - 27.4%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Iron Valiant Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 39-46 (9.8 - 11.6%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 SpA Choice Specs Iron Valiant Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 57-68 (14.4 - 17.2%) -- possible 9HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Landorus-Therian U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 33-39 (8.3 - 9.8%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Landorus-Therian U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 39-46 (9.8 - 11.6%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Meowscarada Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 66-78 (16.7 - 19.7%) -- guaranteed 6HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Meowscarada Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 97-115 (24.6 - 29.1%) -- 99.9% chance to 4HKO
252 Atk Protean Meowscarada Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 61-73 (15.4 - 18.5%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Protosynthesis Roaring Moon Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 84-99 (21.3 - 25.1%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Sharpness Samurott-Hisui Ceaseless Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 66-78 (16.7 - 19.7%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Sneasler Fire Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 57-68 (14.4 - 17.2%) -- possible 9HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Guts Ursaluna Fire Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 66-78 (16.7 - 19.7%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Zamazenta Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 32-38 (8.1 - 9.6%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Choice Band Zamazenta Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 64-76 (16.2 - 19.2%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Zamazenta Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 57-68 (14.4 - 17.2%) -- possible 9HKO after Leftovers recovery
Not Very Effective:
252 Atk Choice Band Arcanine-Hisui Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 28-33 (7.1 - 8.3%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Ice Spinner vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 36-43 (9.1 - 10.9%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Choice Band Baxcalibur Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 52-62 (13.1 - 15.7%) -- possibly the worst move ever
0 Atk Corviknight Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 27-32 (6.8 - 8.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252+ Atk Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 22-27 (5.5 - 6.8%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252+ Atk Choice Band Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 34-40 (8.6 - 10.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Choice Band Great Tusk Ice Spinner vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 30-36 (7.6 - 9.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Choice Band Hoopa-Unbound Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 53-62 (13.4 - 15.7%) -- possibly the worst move ever
200+ Atk Choice Band Iron Hands Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 32-38 (8.1 - 9.6%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Hustle Lilligant-Hisui Ice Spinner vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 26-31 (6.5 - 7.8%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252+ Atk Sneasler Dire Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 33-39 (8.3 - 9.8%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Choice Band Sneasler Dire Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 45-54 (11.4 - 13.7%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252+ Atk Guts Ursaluna Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 92-108 (23.3 - 27.4%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 66-78 (16.7 - 19.7%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
It can survive quite a few powerful hits; including some gargantuan super-effective hits. What about boosted Pokemon though? Would Bulk Up, Dragon Dance or Swords Dance make Avalugg-Hisui crumble? Let's look at some more calculations right here.
+1 252 Atk Baxcalibur Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 164-194 (41.6 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 170-200 (43.1 - 50.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 0 Atk Garganacl Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 134-158 (34 - 40.1%) -- 35% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 0 Atk Garganacl Salt Cure vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 80-96 (20.3 - 24.3%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 0 Atk Great Tusk Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 188-224 (47.7 - 56.8%) -- 38.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 Atk Protosynthesis Roaring Moon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 206-244 (52.2 - 61.9%) -- 98.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Neutral:
+1 252 Atk Baxcalibur Glaive Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 147-174 (37.3 - 44.1%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Baxcalibur Glaive Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 195-231 (49.4 - 58.6%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 0 Atk Ceruledge Bitter Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 109-129 (27.6 - 32.7%) -- 72.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Ceruledge Bitter Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 132-156 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- 17.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ Atk Dragonite Fire Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 64-76 (16.2 - 19.2%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 0 Atk Great Tusk Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 61-72 (15.4 - 18.2%) -- possible 6HKO
+2 252+ Atk Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 144-171 (36.5 - 43.4%) -- 99.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Kingambit Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 118-141 (29.9 - 35.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 Atk Protosynthesis Roaring Moon Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 124-147 (31.4 - 37.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Guts Ursaluna Fire Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 131-155 (33.2 - 39.3%) -- 16.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Not Very Effective:
+2 252 Atk Baxcalibur Icicle Spear (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 63-72 (15.9 - 18.2%) -- approx. possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Baxcalibur Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 105-120 (26.6 - 30.4%) -- approx. 0.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ Atk Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 34-40 (8.6 - 10.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever
+2 252+ Atk Sneasler Dire Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 66-78 (16.7 - 19.7%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Guts Ursaluna Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui: 183-216 (46.4 - 54.8%) -- 10.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
So now you might be thinking "Wow it can take some strong hits, but what about the other moves it can't take normally?" This is where Tera Ghost comes in and allows for Avalugg-Hisui to act as a potent Fighting-type lure giving it a crucial immunity to Fighting and Normal-type attacks, along with removing some other critical weaknesses such as Rock, Ground, Steel, Fighting, Water, and Grass (while keeping its useful Poison resistance and gaining a new resistance to Bug-type moves). Tera Ghost not only gives these new immunities but also allows for Avalugg-Hisui to gain additional role compression as a spin blocker. Tera Ghost is easily the preferred Tera type for Avalugg-Hisui as it baits 4x Fighting moves better than most other Pokemon, in addition to granting neutrality to Ground and Steel. If you're finding Mortal Spin/Toxic to be an issue; you can run Tera Poison which gives Avalugg-Hisui resistances to Fighting, Grass, Bug, Poison, and Fairy-type attacks while also making Avalugg-Hisui immune to being poisoned, but this also means that you lose your resistance to Normal-type moves, keep your Ground-type weakness, and gain a Psychic-type weakness. As this is incredibly situational, I would recommend sticking with Tera Ghost most of the time. Here are calculations of the types of hits that Avalugg-Hisui can take once it has terastallized.
0 Atk Ceruledge Shadow Sneak vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 50-60 (12.6 - 15.2%) -- possibly the worst move ever
+2 0 Atk Ceruledge Shadow Sneak vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 98-116 (24.8 - 29.4%) -- guaranteed 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Ceruledge Shadow Sneak vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 60-72 (15.2 - 18.2%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Ceruledge Shadow Sneak vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 116-140 (29.4 - 35.5%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Libero Cinderace Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 98-116 (24.8 - 29.4%) -- guaranteed 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Dragapult Phantom Force vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 140-168 (35.5 - 42.6%) -- 91.7% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Dragapult Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 110-130 (27.9 - 32.9%) -- 83.7% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Great Tusk Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 82-98 (20.8 - 24.8%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
+2 0 Atk Great Tusk Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 162-192 (41.1 - 48.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Great Tusk Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 100-118 (25.3 - 29.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Great Tusk Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 146-174 (37 - 44.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Iron Treads Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 90-106 (22.8 - 26.9%) -- 32.1% chance to 4HKO
252+ Atk Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 146-174 (37 - 44.1%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 3 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 188-224 (47.7 - 56.8%) -- 38.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Sharpness Kleavor Night Slash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 106-126 (26.9 - 31.9%) -- 41.7% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 158-186 (40.1 - 47.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252 Atk Protosynthesis Roaring Moon Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 168-198 (42.6 - 50.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
200 Atk Sharpness Samurott-Hisui Ceaseless Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 122-146 (30.9 - 37%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Sharpness Samurott-Hisui Ceaseless Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 132-156 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- 13% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Black Glasses Sharpness Samurott-Hisui Ceaseless Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 156-186 (39.5 - 47.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Black Glasses Samurott-Hisui Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 114-134 (28.9 - 34%) -- 98.9% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Samurott-Hisui Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 132-156 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Zamazenta Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 64-76 (16.2 - 19.2%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Zamazenta Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 114-136 (28.9 - 34.5%) -- 99.8% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
Neutral:
252 Atk Choice Band Arcanine-Hisui Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 156-184 (39.5 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 118-139 (29.9 - 35.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
+6 252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 310-366 (78.6 - 92.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Basculegion Wave Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 135-159 (34.2 - 40.3%) -- 40.6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Basculegion Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui in Rain: 144-171 (36.5 - 43.4%) -- 99.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Baxcalibur Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 109-129 (27.6 - 32.7%) -- 78.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
+4 252 Atk Baxcalibur Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 164-193 (41.6 - 48.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Technician Breloom Bullet Seed (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 93-111 (23.6 - 28.1%) -- approx. possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Breloom Bullet Seed (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 138-165 (35 - 41.8%) -- approx. 87.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Breloom Bulldoze vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 75-89 (19 - 22.5%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Clodsire Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 40-48 (10.1 - 12.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever
0 Atk Corviknight Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 54-64 (13.7 - 16.2%) -- possibly the worst move ever
0 Atk Dondozo Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 42-51 (10.6 - 12.9%) -- possibly the worst move ever
+2 0 Atk Dondozo Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 84-100 (21.3 - 25.3%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 56-67 (14.2 - 17%) -- possible 9HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 85-100 (21.5 - 25.3%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 113-133 (28.6 - 33.7%) -- 98.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 76-90 (19.2 - 22.8%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 151-178 (38.3 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 0 Atk Garganacl Salt Cure vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 40-48 (10.1 - 12.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever
+2 0 Atk Garganacl Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 67-79 (17 - 20%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Great Tusk Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 63-75 (15.9 - 19%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 0 Atk Great Tusk Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 126-148 (31.9 - 37.5%) -- 0.2% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Great Tusk Ice Spinner vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 61-72 (15.4 - 18.2%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Great Tusk Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 91-108 (23 - 27.4%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Great Tusk Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 136-162 (34.5 - 41.1%) -- 64.6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
200+ Atk Choice Band Iron Hands Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 64-76 (16.2 - 19.2%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
200+ Atk Choice Band Iron Hands Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 114-135 (28.9 - 34.2%) -- 99.6% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Iron Leaves Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 67-81 (17 - 20.5%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Iron Treads Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 55-66 (13.9 - 16.7%) -- possible 9HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Iron Treads Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 67-81 (17 - 20.5%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Kingambit Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 69-82 (17.5 - 20.8%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Kingambit Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 136-162 (34.5 - 41.1%) -- 64.6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 3 allies fainted Kingambit Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 88-105 (22.3 - 26.6%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 102-121 (25.8 - 30.7%) -- 4.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Sharpness Kleavor Stone Axe vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 75-88 (19 - 22.3%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 82-97 (20.8 - 24.6%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Landorus-Therian Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 55-65 (13.9 - 16.4%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Hustle Lilligant-Hisui Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 88-105 (22.3 - 26.6%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 Atk Hustle Lilligant-Hisui Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 132-156 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- 17.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui in Grassy Terrain: 187-222 (47.4 - 56.3%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery and Grassy Terrain recovery
252 Atk Protosynthesis Roaring Moon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 69-82 (17.5 - 20.8%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Roaring Moon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 87-103 (22 - 26.1%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 Atk Protosynthesis Roaring Moon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 103-122 (26.1 - 30.9%) -- 8.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Sharpness Samurott-Hisui Razor Shell vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 75-88 (19 - 22.3%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Ting-Lu Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 54-64 (13.7 - 16.2%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252+ Atk Guts Ursaluna Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 157-186 (39.8 - 47.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Zamazenta Heavy Slam (40 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 29-35 (7.3 - 8.8%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 132-156 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- 17.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Not Very Effective:
252 Atk Libero Cinderace U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 24-29 (6 - 7.3%) -- possibly the worst move ever
0 Atk Corviknight U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 11-13 (2.7 - 3.2%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252+ Atk Choice Band Dragapult U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 27-32 (6.8 - 8.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Kleavor U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 27-32 (6.8 - 8.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Sharpness Kleavor X-Scissor vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 45-54 (11.4 - 13.7%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Landorus-Therian U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 19-23 (4.8 - 5.8%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 28-33 (7.1 - 8.3%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252+ Atk Choice Band Roaring Moon U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 31-36 (7.8 - 9.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252+ Atk Sneasler Dire Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 33-39 (8.3 - 9.8%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Choice Band Sneasler Dire Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 45-54 (11.4 - 13.7%) -- possibly the worst move ever
+2 252+ Atk Tera Ground Sneasler Dire Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 66-78 (16.7 - 19.7%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Sneasler U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 18-21 (4.5 - 5.3%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Choice Band Sneasler U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 26-31 (6.5 - 7.8%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Avalugg-Hisui: 25-30 (6.3 - 7.6%) -- possibly the worst move ever
To summarize Avalugg's physical bulk in the most eloquent way possible - that is one thicc glacier boi. But raw defensive prowess isn't everything (otherwise Bastiodon would be a top-tier OU threat), so what else does Avalugg-Hisui bring to the table? Avalugg-Hisui has access to the coveted Recover which, despite its newly limited 8 PP count, is incredibly useful and allows most neutral and resisted hits to effortlessly bounce off without issue. Additionally, we have Rapid Spin which allows Avalugg-Hisui to not only clear the field of annoyances but boosts Avalugg-Hisui's speed up to 169 with 4 EVs and a Neutral Speed nature. With its base speed of 38 (113 Speed with 4 EVs/neutral nature), Avalugg-Hisui naturally outspeeds Amoonguss, Clodsire, Dondozo, Garganacl, Glastrier, Hatterene, Pincurchin, Quagsire, Slowbro, Slowbro-Galar, Slowking, Slowking-Galar, Torkoal, Toxapex, and Ursaluna (Negative Nature, Trick Room). This is already a pretty sizeable list of defensive threats
So you might be asking yourself, "Why 4 speed EVs; that seems like a bit of a waste on a Pokemon like Avalugg-Hisui, why not put that into Attack or Special Defense?" 4 Attack and 4 Special Defense EVs may allow you to slightly stomach some additional hits or hit a smidge harder, but 4 EVs in Speed with +1 from Rapid Spin allows you to outspeed uninvested neutral Skeledirge. Skeledirge sits at 168 with a neutral nature and no speed investment, so giving Avalugg-Hisui the jump on Skeledirge with 169 Speed rather than risking a speed tie is extremely valuable in select circumstances. As for what else +1 from Rapid Spin allows Avalugg-Hisui to outspeed? Pelipper, Scizor, and Alomomla are all at 166 with uninvested 0 EV Speed and a neutral nature. 252 EV Speed with neutral nature Glastrier sits at 159, while Magnezone, Abomasnow, Grimmsnarl, Sylveon, and Goodra-Hisui with uninvested 0 EV Speed and a neutral nature sit at 156. Uninvested Blissey with a neutral nature reaches 146, while uninvested Azumarill, Iron Hands, Kingambit, and Ursaluna all reach 136. Additionally, uninvested Hippowdon reaches 130, uninvested Ting-Lu reaches 126, and uninvested Gastrodon reaches 114 (fun bonus, +1 0 Speed EV Rapid Spin Torkoal also only reaches 114). View attachment 528174 Offensive Profile
So now that we've gone over Avalugg-Hisui's gargantuan physically defensive profile and its utility and speed tiers, you might be wondering "Well okay sure it definitely contributes to the team, but can it actually do anything to the Pokemon that it tanks/walls or is it just a momentum sponge?" It absolutely can, and it doesn't need Body Press or Attack investment to do so. Avalugg-Hisui got access to the ability Strong Jaw, which gives two of its relevant moves (one for this set) a much-needed power boost - Ice Fang and Crunch. Strong Jaw boosts Ice Fang from a paltry 65 base power to nearly 100 base power, which is then further boosted by STAB. "But what about its signature move Mountain Gale? What about Ice Spinner so you can run Sturdy instead?" Mountain Gale is a great move and quite powerful, but that 85% accuracy can really hurt in some critical situations and the flinch only applies to slower threats or if you're using Avalugg-Hisui on Trick Room. Ice Spinner is 100% accurate and clears terrain, but 80 base power doesn't reach the same thresholds as Strong Jaw Ice Fang, nor does it have the flinch effect (if you were arguing for Mountain Gale use with that). Strong Jaw Ice Fang not only has a small flinch chance for slower Pokemon, but it also has a 10% freeze chance, nearly the same base power as Mountain Gale with more accuracy. Sturdy is a great ability, but with how slow Avalugg-Hisui is, I've found in testing that Sturdy is better for sole utility sets such as Aurora Veil variants.
What makes Avalugg-Hisui's STAB Strong Jaw Ice Fang so dangerous with those previously mentioned factors is access to STAB Rock Slide and the offensive synergy that the two moves alone create with one another. STAB Ice Fang and STAB Rock Slide hit the following current OU/OUBL Pokemon super effectively (for the new Home Pokemon that will likely drop from OU next shift, I'm only going to put Pokemon on this list that I've seen in both lower and higher OU ladders multiple times):
Out of 57 OU Pokemon that I counted in total with the previously mentioned guidelines, Avalugg-Hisui's STAB combination hits 38 of those 57 Pokemon super effectively, roughly almost 70% of the entire OU metagame gets hit super effectively by STAB Strong Jaw Ice Fang and STAB Rock Slide. If we want to take out any Pokemon that are an OU-toss up and focus on only solidly OU Pokemon (including Pokemon that will almost certainly not drop such as Sneasler or Ursaluna), then the new total becomes 29 out of 48 which means that roughly just over 60% of the entire OU metagame gets hit super effectively by STAB Strong Jaw Ice Fang and STAB Rock Slide. These percentages may not be exact due to fluctuating usage and new toy syndrome, but they're accurate enough to give you a general idea of just how potent the offensive synergy between these two moves is. So now you might be thinking, "All right, that is a pretty nice selection of opposing Pokemon to hit, so what kind of damage can Avalugg-Hisui do with a neutral nature and no attack investment?" To answer that, let's take a look at some more damage calculations for both of these moves. Thanks to Avalugg-Hisui's solid base 127 Attack stat, it reaches 290 Attack with 0 EVs and a neutral nature; to show how this is quite powerful thanks to the potent offensive synergy, we'll start with STAB Strong Jaw Ice Fang then look at STAB Rock Slide.
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Arcanine-Hisui: 240-284 (72.5 - 85.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Articuno-Galar: 228-270 (59.3 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Baxcalibur: 216-254 (58.2 - 68.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ceruledge: 240-284 (82.4 - 97.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Ceruledge: 240-284 (67.7 - 80.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cinderace: 254-300 (84.3 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 224 HP / 0 Def Cinderace: 254-300 (71.1 - 84%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Enamorus: 266-314 (92 - 108.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Glastrier: 158-188 (39.2 - 46.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Iron Moth: 302-356 (100.3 - 118.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 124 Def Iron Moth: 252-296 (83.7 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kleavor: 206-246 (73.3 - 87.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Moltres-Galar: 218-258 (67.9 - 80.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Pelipper: 200-236 (76.6 - 90.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Pelipper: 144-170 (44.5 - 52.6%) -- 18.8% chance to 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Skeledirge: 200-236 (48.6 - 57.4%) -- 92.6% chance to 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 40+ Def Skeledirge: 174-206 (42.2 - 50%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Thundurus-Therian: 266-314 (88.9 - 105%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Torkoal: 114-134 (33.2 - 39%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tornadus-Therian: 240-284 (80.2 - 94.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 116 HP / 0 Def Volcanion: 170-204 (51.5 - 61.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zapdos: 228-270 (71 - 84.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 104 Def Zapdos: 204-240 (53.1 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
To summarize - Avalugg-Hisui can 2HKO over half the metagame and can OHKO close to half of it with just those two STAB moves and 0 EV attack investment. This is why Avalugg-Hisui works so well in its role; its ability to simultaneously exert unexpectedly strong offensive pressure against a wide myriad of targets, sit in front of monstrous physical threats and additionally keep itself healthy while compressing multiple utility roles is unparalleled. So now that we've looked at the main Avalugg-Hisui set I've been working with, what other options can Avalugg-Hisui use?
For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to be showing each move's damage calculation with both the same 0 EV Attack with neutral nature spread from the main set - since this is what Avalugg-Hisui's attack will be uninvested, you can imagine the havoc it would cause with full 252 EVs in Attack with a positive nature.
Crunch is the only other relevant move in Avalugg-Hisui's movepool that's boosted by Strong Jaw; as a result, it feasts on a wide portion of the metagame that simply can't handle even uninvested Crunch, let alone with the Strong Jaw boost. Crunch can be fit on multiple types of offensive sets, and is (along with Earthquake) one of the two best bits of extra coverage in Avalugg-Hisui's movepool. Let's take a look at some calculations to see just what Pokemon get whomped by this move.
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Articuno-Galar: 242-286 (63 - 74.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Azelf: 284-336 (97.5 - 115.4%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Basculegion: 300-354 (78.7 - 92.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Basculegion-F: 300-354 (78.7 - 92.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ceruledge: 256-302 (87.9 - 103.7%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Ceruledge: 256-302 (72.3 - 85.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Cresselia: 194-230 (43.6 - 51.8%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 270-318 (85.1 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 222-262 (70.4 - 83.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gholdengo: 158-188 (41.7 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 124 HP / 0 Def Houndstone: 212-250 (67 - 79.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mew: 212-250 (52.4 - 61.8%) -- 97.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Skeledirge: 212-250 (51.5 - 60.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Slowking: 252-298 (64.1 - 75.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 252 HP / 16 Def Slowking-Galar: 250-296 (63.4 - 75.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Strong Jaw Avalugg-Hisui Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 176-208 (44.6 - 52.7%) -- 22.3% chance to 2HKO
The tried and true Earthquake, and a move that, like Crunch, will be one of the two main coverage options on any Avalugg-Hisui set. Ground pairs really nicely with both Ice and Rock-type attacks and allows Avalugg-Hisui to hit some threats that its STAB + Earthquake can't touch, so let's dive right into damage calculations so you can see the milestones that Earthquake hits a wide portion of the tier at.
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Arcanine-Hisui: 428-504 (129.3 - 152.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Clodsire: 264-312 (57 - 67.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Glimmora: 384-456 (125 - 148.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 196 HP / 0 Def Goodra-Hisui: 178-210 (50.8 - 60%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 340-400 (105.2 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 340-400 (88 - 103.6%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 124 Def Iron Moth: 448-528 (148.8 - 175.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Iron Treads: 152-180 (47.3 - 56%) -- 79.3% chance to 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Iron Treads: 152-180 (39.5 - 46.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kingambit: 150-178 (43.9 - 52.1%) -- 14.1% chance to 2HKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 236 HP / 0 Def Kingambit: 152-180 (38 - 45%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sneasler: 268-316 (89 - 104.9%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Avalugg-Hisui Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Toxapex: 124-146 (40.9 - 48.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Mountain Gale is best used on Trick Room Avalugg-Hisui variants for two reasons - the increased power even without Strong Jaw, and the 30% flinch chance. Mountain Gale is powerful and somewhat accurate, but that flinch chance, in particular, is why it functions the best on Trick Room. Otherwise, you're better off going with Strong Jaw Ice Fang.
Body Press coming off of Avalugg-Hisui's insane Defense stat is intimidating and definitely worth looking into for the unique coverage that Fighting-type brings in conjunction with Avalugg-Hisui's STABS (or even just one of the STABS). Furthermore, Body Press can be boosted further from either Curse or Iron Defense. Let's set our eyes on some more damage calculations to see just what Body Press can do even without a single Curse or Iron Defense boost.
252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui Body Press vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Arcanine-Hisui: 300-354 (90.6 - 106.9%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui Body Press vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Baxcalibur: 268-316 (72.2 - 85.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui Body Press vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Garganacl: 200-236 (49.5 - 58.4%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui Body Press vs. 252 HP / 156+ Def Garganacl: 160-190 (39.6 - 47%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui Body Press vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Glastrier: 200-236 (49.6 - 58.5%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO
252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui Body Press vs. 196 HP / 0 Def Goodra-Hisui: 250-296 (71.4 - 84.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui Body Press vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 238-282 (73.6 - 87.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui Body Press vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 238-282 (61.6 - 73%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui Body Press vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Iron Treads: 214-252 (55.7 - 65.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui Body Press vs. 236 HP / 0 Def Kingambit: 428-504 (107 - 126%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui Body Press vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Samurott-Hisui: 300-354 (93.4 - 110.2%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO 252+ Def Avalugg-Hisui Body Press vs. 116 HP / 0 Def Ursaluna: 240-284 (55.8 - 66%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after burn damage
All three of these Pokemon are potent Regenerator users. Alomomola can pass gargantuan Wishes to weakened teammates including Avalugg-Hisui, and has STAB Chilling Water to cushion switches by lowering opposing Pokemon's attack stats even further. Amoonguss can absorb Toxic Spikes and additionally put problematic Pokemon to sleep using Spore, or can clear boosts using Clear Smog + put certain Pokemon on a timer with Sludge Bomb status/Toxic or Giga Drain weakening. Slowking-Galar can absorb a wide variety of Special hits that Avalugg-Hisui does not want to take, can fire off Future Sight to punish potential Avalugg-Hisui switch-ins such as Iron Valiant, and can also use Chilly Reception to possibly tank a hit for Avalugg-Hisui while the set snow boosts Avalugg-Hisuit's defense even more (along with allowing other variants of Avalugg-Hisui to use Aurora Veil).
These four Pokemon have been some of my favorites to run with Avalugg-Hisui and complement it quite well. Glimmora not only absorbs Toxic Spikes, but additionally can use Mortal Spin to clear hazards in conjunction with Avalugg-Hisui while being faster, setting Toxic Spikes of its own using its ability, and having potent Special Attack with great coverage. Great Tusk doesn't need any introduction, he's Great Tusk, the GOAT, most sets work really well with Avalugg-Hisui. Finally, Rillaboom is a powerful attacker that additionally sets Grassy Terrain which halves Bullzoe and Earthquake's damage (which can allow Avalugg-Hisui additional switch-in opportunities), and provides passive regeneration for all grounded Pokemon (wonderful for Avalugg-Hisui that have had their Leftovers knocked or are using the Heavy-Duty Boots variant). Rillaboom also strikes fear into the heart of bulky waters that Avalugg-Hisui doesn't want to deal with, and STAB Grassy Terrain Priority Grassy Glide handles the ever-threatening Swift Swim Banded Basculegion.
Avalugg-Hisui is one of the most underrated threats I have seen in my 15+ years of playing competitive Pokemon, and I wholeheartedly believe that our glacier dude has a strong niche in the current OU metagame. Is his Special Defense atrocious? Yes. Are those 4x weaknesses a pain to work around? Yes (sometimes). Does that suddenly mean that all of the other amazing qualities that I listed about Avalugg-Hisui are suddenly null and void? Absolutely not. I urge you to give Avalugg-Hisui a try on one of your teams - from the testing I've been doing with it, I can fully recommend it and it has, on many occasions, proven to be the MVP of many important matches.
I think the reason Tusk is high usage is bc it has an intrinsic 4x resistance to rocks, can set up rocks and spin them (role compression), checks Gambit, and has strong ground typing
I dont really understand how Ghold makes tusk go up in usage when Tusk cant remove agianst gold ?
(hey, used your team for part of laddering for suspect reqs, loved it, tera-water lando and expert belt iron valiant were clutch)
tusk outspeeds dengo and on teams with a single ghost, forces it in to block spin which means an easy knock onto any variant is a very safe play since it can just ignore balloon. bit of a mindgame with tera in mind but it very easily threatens it which is more than can be said for p much every other remover. there's flaws to this but there's a very strong correlation between the innate hazard heaviness of the game, great tusk's dominance and gholdengo simply -existing- imo.
Hard stops Dragapult thanks to being immune to both of its STABS + Feasts on non-bulky dragons. Tera Blast is STAB both pre-tera and post-tera as well. Intimidate Bait with Competitive to boost up its SpA. Tera Blast Fighting for perfect coverage + Kingambit lure that OHKOs even Bulky sets, 40 SpA with Modest nature is all that's needed to KO standard bulky Kingambit.
40+ SpA Tera Fighting Wigglytuff Tera Blast vs. 236 HP / 0 SpD Kingambit: 400-472 (100 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO
64 Spe brings Wigglytuff to 142, outpacing Kingambit with 20 EVs in Speed, Defense EVs allow Wigglytuff to survive Iron Head
252+ Atk Kingambit Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 152 Def Tera Fighting Wigglytuff: 211-250 (43.5 - 51.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 152 Def Tera Fighting Wigglytuff: 318-375 (65.7 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Been tooling around with Wiggly in OU for a while, dual Ghost + Dragon immunity is really cool, also Wish is great on Wiggly thanks to 484 HP with 252 HP EVs, along with helping its own longevity combined with STAB Draining Kiss
A real example of how disclosed Tera is healthier than blind Tera:
baxcalibur frequently packs dragon Tera or fairy tera.
it’s also frequently a lead due to the sheer bulk and OHKO potential being able to force a trade at worst in 70% of matchups.
-
Scenario where you like to lead with your specs dragapult:
if you lead with specs dragapult, you do well at forcing out the dragon type, but you can instantly lose a Pokémon to the fairy type.
in blind Tera meta, this affects your whole game, and the bax can runaway with the game on a surprise Tera fairy KO, or if you try to scout by going to a tank with u turn, only to get +2 glaive rushed.
with disclosed Tera you can choose not to lead with dragapult if it’s a fairy type.
-
In blind Tera meta, you have only a tight number of options to lead against matchups where the opponent is incentivized to lead with a specific threat
In disclosed Tera meta this is easier.
I used baxcalibur as an example, but it could be anything.
-
That’s just with a simple lead example. There’s also stuff like kingambit that would be almost 100% fine if you knew the Tera type, because every turn counts.
in short you can actually plan game flow and not have a many “runaway” situations
A real example of how disclosed Tera is healthier than blind Tera:
baxcalibur frequently packs dragon Tera or fairy tera.
it’s also frequently a lead due to the sheer bulk and OHKO potential being able to force a trade at worst in 70% of matchups.
-
Scenario where you like to lead with your specs dragapult:
if you lead with specs dragapult, you do well at forcing out the dragon type, but you can instantly lose a Pokémon to the fairy type.
in blind Tera meta, this affects your whole game, and the bax can runaway with the game on a surprise Tera fairy KO, or if you try to scout by going to a tank with u turn, only to get +2 glaive rushed.
with disclosed Tera you can choose not to lead with dragapult if it’s a fairy type.
-
In blind Tera meta, you have only a tight number of options to lead against matchups where the opponent is incentivized to lead with a specific threat
In disclosed Tera meta this is easier.
I used baxcalibur as an example, but it could be anything.
-
That’s just with a simple lead example. There’s also stuff like kingambit that would be almost 100% fine if you knew the Tera type, because every turn counts.
in short you can actually plan game flow and not have a many “runaway” situations
Here is the problem with tera preview, it does not fix the problem of variance since you can still fuck with your opponent since you can use it at any time as long as you haven't used it. Its super easy to do that in singles even with tera preview, and it wouldn't be the same as in doubles in practice since the opportunity cost is way bigger in doubles to tera something since its easier to play around an unpredicted tera there
Here is the problem with tera preview, it does not fix the problem of variance since you can still fuck with your opponent since you can use it at any time as long as you haven't used it. Its super easy to do that in singles even with tera preview, and it wouldn't be the same as in doubles in practice since the opportunity cost is way bigger in doubles to tera something since its easier to play around an unpredicted tera there
I agree, but it reduces just how matchup fishy it is.
example: if you know gambit is a fire type, you don’t waste time checking it with will-o-wisp, regardless of whether it will Tera or not, you just send out your landorus and spam EQ (or whatever your other check is)
In blind Tera you assume it’s flying type, so landorus EQ doesn’t make sense, only to be surprised by a now +3 gambit which can easily KO landorus, rather than a +1 gambit which is disposed of.
this reduces runaway games rather than culling strong Tera users one by one
Hard stops Dragapult thanks to being immune to both of its STABS + Feasts on non-bulky dragons. Tera Blast is STAB both pre-tera and post-tera as well. Intimidate Bait with Competitive to boost up its SpA. Tera Blast Fighting for perfect coverage + Kingambit lure that OHKOs even Bulky sets, 40 SpA with Modest nature is all that's needed to KO standard bulky Kingambit.
40+ SpA Tera Fighting Wigglytuff Tera Blast vs. 236 HP / 0 SpD Kingambit: 400-472 (100 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO
64 Spe brings Wigglytuff to 142, outpacing Kingambit with 20 EVs in Speed, Defense EVs allow Wigglytuff to survive Iron Head
252+ Atk Kingambit Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 152 Def Tera Fighting Wigglytuff: 211-250 (43.5 - 51.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 152 Def Tera Fighting Wigglytuff: 318-375 (65.7 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Been tooling around with Wiggly in OU for a while, dual Ghost + Dragon immunity is really cool, also Wish is great on Wiggly thanks to 484 HP with 252 HP EVs, along with helping its own longevity combined with STAB Draining Kiss
Here is the problem with tera preview, it does not fix the problem of variance since you can still fuck with your opponent since you can use it at any time as long as you haven't used it. Its super easy to do that in singles even with tera preview, and it wouldn't be the same as in doubles in practice since the opportunity cost is way bigger in doubles to tera something since its easier to play around an unpredicted tera there
"Variance" isn't necessarily an unhealthy thing for a game like Pokemon, either. Whether it's item sets, movepool, random procs, or even simply attempting to hit a 95%, 90%, or - god help you - a 70%, you're likely to experience a large amount of variance in each and every last one of your games.
Even if there are unhealthy things about Tera, if the end result is that it adds more fun than it does variance, then it's doing a hell of a lot more for the game than a lot of other recent additions.
Variance" isn't necessarily an unhealthy thing for a game like Pokemon, either. Whether it's item sets, movepool, random procs, or even simply attempting to hit a 95%, 90%, or - god help you - a 70%, you're likely to experience a large amount of variance in each and every last one of your games.
No. But too much variance is bad for the game. There's also a big difference between item/movepool/secondary effect/move accuracy, and Tera itself. The former elements all have varying degrees of cost or risk associated with them, and ultimately are things you can play or build around. Tera fundamentally adds a complex extra level on top for pretty much no cost and very little risk, taking those existing options and significantly inflating variance and possibilities.
Even if there are unhealthy things about Tera, if the end result is that it adds more fun than it does variance, then it's doing a hell of a lot more for the game than a lot of other recent additions.
Holy moly can people quit bringing up "fun" when discussing Tera. Fun is ultimately highly subjective. What you may find fun about it, others do not. It's why you don't judge these things based on something that has nothing to do with balance or skill.
Holy moly can people quit bringing up "fun" when discussing Tera. Fun is ultimately highly subjective. What you may find fun about it, others do not. It's why you don't judge these things based on something that has nothing to do with balance or skill.
We'll continue to bring up fun until the day Smogon stops existing as a site, because everyone here, yourself included, is here because this is something they do -for fun-. We play games on Showdown for fun, brew teams for fun, sit around chatting on these very forums for fun, and when tiering surveys go up? One of the first (and arguably most important) questions on them is, in fact, "how much fun are you having playing the current metagame?"!
The entire purpose of the tiering framework, from councils and bans, to surveys and suspect tests, is a best-attempt at judging fun by committee. And last time Tera was put to a vote? A narrow majority (e: Plurality is a better word) believed it was fine as-is, and an overwhelming majority believed that it would be a net benefit to the tier with minor adjustments.
We'll continue to bring up fun until the day Smogon stops existing as a site, because everyone here, yourself included, is here because this is something they do -for fun-. We play games on Showdown for fun, brew teams for fun, sit around chatting on these very forums for fun, and when tiering surveys go up? One of the first (and arguably most important) questions on them is, in fact, "how much fun are you having playing the current metagame?"!
The entire purpose of the tiering framework, from councils and bans, to surveys and suspect tests, is a best-attempt at judging fun by committee. And last time Tera was put to a vote? A narrow majority believed it was fine as-is, and an overwhelming majority believed that it would be a net benefit to the tier with minor adjustments.
That is a lie as almost 60% of the playerbase voted for there to be action on Tera, so there was no narrow majority that believed that it believed it was fine as is. A lot of pro-Tera users like to specifically lie about this point and think that if they repeat it enough that people will believe it, but anybody who remembers the actual numbers know that is a completely false statement. A large but not overwhelming majority wanted to give Tera a chance before an outright ban of the mechanic, not that the majority believed it would be a net benefit to the tier with minor adjustments. Lying about the numbers won't win you any goodwill from anybody or make your argument more convincing.
We'll continue to bring up fun until the day Smogon stops existing as a site, because everyone here, yourself included, is here because this is something they do -for fun-. We play games on Showdown for fun, brew teams for fun, sit around chatting on these very forums for fun, and when tiering surveys go up? One of the first (and arguably most important) questions on them is, in fact, "how much fun are you having playing the current metagame?"!
Can we suspect test and ban losing? Losing kinda sucks cause its not fun.
___
In all seriousness; no, fun is a bi-product of a good competitive experience, if the competitive experience sucks (it currently does but thats subjective to whoever you ask) then its not fun, and rn it doesn't feel competitive at all. Some may even vote they're fine with the meta cause they believe it could only get worse (and it has) in hopes nothing changes cause its such a clusterfuck touching any of it will just shake the beehive.
Players do something they're passionate for cause they feel achieved. Someone reaching a certain elo might just like the satisfaction of hitting that peak, some just believe in themselves to reach higher and hate every minute of it but do it anyway to prove themselves, some just find it enjoyable and don't take the game seriously and thus don't play ranked (or in some games, ruin ranked with that mentality, you know the ones). Showdown is a ranked ladder, period, there's 4fun modes on the platform, but its ranked, competitive, there's cartridge/customs if you're looking for the quick play 4fun mode.
That is a lie as almost 60% of the playerbase voted for there to be action on Tera, so there was no narrow majority that believed that it believed it was fine as is. A lot of pro-Tera users like to specifically lie about this point and think that if they repeat it enough that people will believe it, but anybody who remembers the actual numbers know that is a completely false statement. A large but not overwhelming majority wanted to give Tera a chance before an outright ban of the mechanic, not that the majority believed it would be a net benefit to the tier with minor adjustments. Lying about the numbers won't win you any goodwill from anybody or make your argument more convincing.
No, no, you're completely correct. A much more accurate phrasing is plurality, which i've edited in.
However, all of the following are also true:
- "Do not ban" was the top vote getter, at just under 41%
- "Tera Preview" was a simple majority (about 52%) of all action votes
- "Do not ban" + "Tera Preview" represented a combined 71% of the vote
Any attempt to separate the reasons for preview votes will quickly wind up as conjecture, but the point remains: a full ban was never particularly close to happening, even in a timeline where the initial vote was slightly different. And that's not propaganda in the slightest.
Who would you like to see suspected, outside of Zama-H ?
Outside of it and maaaaybe Luna, I don't really see any other suspectable mons rn, although one could argue that since Volc was banned for being matchup-fishy and able to snowball out of control after setting up once if it has the tera that fucks your check, the same argument could be applied to Garganacl, which with the right tera and +2 defense can rapidly become completely unkillable for certain teams and sweep you, especially since its ability pretty much invalidates defensive counters reliant on status (like clod).
I'd be curious to hear everyone else's thoughts about this (mons you think should be suspected, not the garg thing).
Its most definitely a volc suspect test cause it is a controversial ban and the only closure the council will get is whether they prove themselves right via the test failing to unban, or via volc getting unbanned and them proving they listened to us by letting us have a vote ourselves.
Only way I can see it not being volc is if we do tera first (preferred personally, cause volc is a definite unban on one of the outcomes of that anyways and its an inevitable test we need to stop procrastinating on.)
Who would you like to see suspected, outside of Zama-H ?
Outside of it and maaaaybe Luna, I don't really see any other suspectable mons rn, although one could argue that since Volc was banned for being matchup-fishy and able to snowball out of control after setting up once if it has the tera that fucks your check, the same argument could be applied to Garganacl, which with the right tera and +2 defense can rapidly become completely unkillable for certain teams and sweep you, especially since its ability pretty much invalidates defensive counters reliant on status (like clod).
I'd be curious to hear everyone else's thoughts about this (mons you think should be suspected, not the garg thing).
Do you know what's really irritating? Smarmy grown men going on forums insulting players, making people scroll through a new manifesto with nonsense rage bait every 2 business days, and having their voices shut down before they can counter argue. The difference between you and other anti-tera players is that they don't have to resort to ad hominems to make sense. They don't have to imply pro-tera players are stupid because they post high level replays and coherent calcs. You sit on your high horse and make everyone's experience LESS pleasant. This forum is not a punching bag for your frustrations. Have some respect or go get some therapy.
Tera is complex and it takes more than 2-3 sentences to illustrate the nuances
Never implied any player was stupid
Literally zero ad-hom in that post
Not on a high hose- have said in this forum I'm a casual, barely above average player several times
If you know about logical fallacies such as ad-hom then I assume you know what a straw-man argument it.
Everything you quoted serves a purpose to the argument:
"First of all, I hope you weren't trying to impress anyone lol"
Dude posted a random HO team and said he hit 2k, implying that he's good and knows what he's talking about, as if that gives weight to his argument. I'm highlighting that it does not give his argument the weight he thinks it does.
"Anyway, as soon as I saw the smug "aha notice something?" I knew this one was going to be fun."
Classic pro-tera "gotcha" moments such as "notice something??" are going to make me laugh every time.
"Tera got yall's brains so fried you forgot how to play the game."
Instead of building a better team, players are relaying on Tera- at the very least, this player does
" t's really irritating how dismissive some tera thumpers are when it comes to these players, especially the lower skilled, more casual ones- and extra annoying when they start talking out their ass about Water Lando."
I've been saying for months I advocate for many casual, lower skill players.
"L take"
Yeah, that is goofy shit. Someone saying they aren't having fun and dudes response is calling them a loser.
Pro-tera players often imply anyone who has an issue w tera needs to l2p, git gud, etc.
Actively belittling ppl, saying "L take", is going to elicit a response w that same energy.
No need to white-knight someone who was shitting on someone my dude.
Toxic positivity is very real, and unconstructive for a proper debate.
Bro your superiority complex is out of control. Get tf out of here with this toxic ass post. I don’t know anything about your skill level as a Pokémon player, but I’ve never seen you play in any tour ever. Yet you act like you’re this galaxy brain level Pokémon master and that anybody who disagrees with you is some brain rotted toddler. There’s a reason 80% of all reactions you’ve obtained on this thread have all been haha’s, and it’s because you post smug bullshit that demeans other people all the time. You’re the one on some goofy shit. Reflect on your self and grow up.
Again, for the hundredth time, never said I was amazing or even great.
Have actively said, at least 15 times, that if you like tera, and you say you like it because it's fun, I respect your opinion and you as a player.
When someone starts talking game theory, or gets deeper than that, then that's grounds for a conversation/debate.
Not that it matters, but the laugh reactions are literally from the same 3-6 forum lurkers who don't even read them.
A lot of my recent anti-tera posts are far more positive reactions, even with those dedicated laugh reactors factored in.
Again, this would be "appeal to popularity" logical fallacy, but I guess I'll take the bait.
When I was trying to make a non-tera chat room on PS! where we would host non-tera tours, I had to take some steps first. I gathered about 50 players to sign up and say they are interested in a non-tera OU room within 3 days of just asking OU chat. I also had an OU room owner and several OU room staff members on this list, as that was needed as well to put in an application for a custom chat room.
It got denied because, "it's not the right time" and even though that was p bullshit, I've moved on.
The main point is, within 2-3 days I found 50+ ppl who are interested in playing SV without the gimmick.
Every straw-man post, every random laugh react, I think of those ppl.
At times I've come across poorly and have to apologize for how others have perceived it, and if things come off too harsh then I'm the first to admit I could have chosen better words, but that's what happens when someone is passionate. I'm a person just like you who makes mistakes, but I honestly think that post was tame and relatively civil, so personally, I think you need to relax.
Also, kinda hard to not notice none of the actual points get addressed.
I've said this before, but I need to stop doing any banter, funny comments, or really anything that's not pure data or it gets overshadowed by the 1-2 controversial things I say.
Instead of focusing on how much tera increases the MU fish and how defensive Tera is barely an argument, which was the main goal of my post, that's going to get ignored cuz I wasn't as polite as I could have been.
Tera is complex and it takes more than 2-3 sentences to illustrate the nuances
Never implied any player was stupid
Literally zero ad-hom in that post
Not on a high hose- have said in this forum I'm a casual, barely above average player several times
If you know about logical fallacies such as ad-hom then I assume you know what a straw-man argument it.
Everything you quoted serves a purpose to the argument:
"First of all, I hope you weren't trying to impress anyone lol"
Dude posted a random HO team and said he hit 2k, implying that he's good and knows what he's talking about, as if that gives weight to his argument. I'm highlighting that it does not give his argument the weight he thinks it does.
"Anyway, as soon as I saw the smug "aha notice something?" I knew this one was going to be fun."
Classic pro-tera "gotcha" moments such as "notice something??" are going to make me laugh every time.
"Tera got yall's brains so fried you forgot how to play the game."
Instead of building a better team, players are relaying on Tera- at the very least, this player does
" t's really irritating how dismissive some tera thumpers are when it comes to these players, especially the lower skilled, more casual ones- and extra annoying when they start talking out their ass about Water Lando."
I've been saying for months I advocate for many casual, lower skill players.
"L take"
Yeah, that is goofy shit. Someone saying they aren't having fun and dudes response is calling them a loser.
Pro-tera players often imply anyone who has an issue w tera needs to l2p, git gud, etc.
Actively belittling ppl, saying "L take", is going to elicit a response w that same energy.
No need to white-knight someone who was shitting on someone my dude.
Toxic positivity is very real, and unconstructive for a proper debate.
Again, for the hundredth time, never said I was amazing or even great.
Have actively said, at least 15 times, that if you like tera, and you say you like it because it's fun, I respect your opinion and you as a player.
When someone starts talking game theory, or gets deeper than that, then that's grounds for a conversation/debate.
Not that it matters, but the laugh reactions are literally from the same 3-6 forum lurkers who don't even read them.
A lot of my recent anti-tera posts are far more positive reactions, even with those dedicated laugh reactors factored in.
Again, this would be "appeal to popularity" logical fallacy, but I guess I'll take the bait. View attachment 528474
When I was trying to make a non-tera chat room on PS! where we would host non-tera tours, I had to take some steps first. I gathered about 50 players to sign up and say they are interested in a non-tera OU room within 3 days of just asking OU chat. I also had an OU room owner and several OU room staff members on this list, as that was needed as well to put in an application for a custom chat room.
It got denied because, "it's not the right time" and even though that was p bullshit, I've moved on.
The main point is, within 2-3 days I found 50+ ppl who are interested in playing SV without the gimmick.
Every straw-man post, every random laugh react, I think of those ppl.
At times I've come across poorly and have to apologize for how others have perceived it, and if things come off too harsh then I'm the first to admit I could have chosen better words, but that's what happens when someone is passionate. I'm a person just like you who makes mistakes, but I honestly think that post was tame and relatively civil, so personally, I think you need to relax.
Also, kinda hard to not notice none of the actual points get addressed.
I've said this before, but I need to stop doing any banter, funny comments, or really anything that's not pure data or it gets overshadowed by the 1-2 controversial things I say.
Instead of focusing on how much tera increases the MU fish and how defensive Tera is barely an argument, which was the main goal of my post, that's going to get ignored cuz I wasn't as polite as I could have been.
I took my early post down, sorry for losing my cool like that. I’ve simply grown tired of everyone trying to dunk on each other instead of actually discussing the metagame.
"Variance" isn't necessarily an unhealthy thing for a game like Pokemon, either. Whether it's item sets, movepool, random procs, or even simply attempting to hit a 95%, 90%, or - god help you - a 70%, you're likely to experience a large amount of variance in each and every last one of your games.
Even if there are unhealthy things about Tera, if the end result is that it adds more fun than it does variance, then it's doing a hell of a lot more for the game than a lot of other recent additions.
That's correct! This is why fun-by-committee frequently attempts to poll the playerbase on its opinion, and when action is taken, it is most frequently done by having qualified players vote on what they think would create the most enjoyable metagame.
I'm not saying that something should be fun at the expense of being competitive, and I apologize if it came off that way. But there is a reason that tiering surveys ask about "fun" and "competitive" independently of each other, and a survey where either of those is extremely low is a sign of an unhealthy format.
e:
It might be helpful to think of tiering surveys returning a "Tier Health Score", which you determine by multiplying Fun x Competitive from the two polling results. While it's technically on a scale from 0 to 100, you'd need an exceptional metagame to get much above 70 -- and anything above 50 is still a very good result!
By those metrics, the final gen 8 surveys place the Score around 54 for both general and qualified responders.
