Other Metagames V.I.P. Club

[nv]

Other Metagames V.I.P. Club

Very Impressive Posting
artwork by SailorCosmos ​

This is a database where the OM leaders will recognize outstanding posts by users in the Other Metagames forum. Only the smartest, most well-thought out and reasoned posts will make it into the club, so if you want to join, use these as an example in your posting!

VIP judges~
imas
nv
Uselesscrab

VIP list~

• nv's post in Type Reflectors
• runbabyrun's post in Class Warefare
• Jajoken's post in Metagamiate
• unfixable's post in STABmons
• Fiat500's post in Monotype Suspect Discussion
• nv's post in Weightmons
• Jajoken's post in Follow The Leader
• Kit Kasai's post in Metagamiate
• InfernapeTropius11's post in Follow The Leader
• Darklatias92's post in Ability Unity
• Mygavolt's post (spreadsheet) in Cross Evolution
• The Official Glyx's post in 1v1
• Jajoken's post in Type Reflectors
• Scarfnaut's post in Enchanted Items
• Jajoken's post in Got Talent?
• nv's post in Got Talent?
• sin(pi)'s post in Inverse Battle
• Mygavolt's post in Type CondensinG
• HailFall's post in OU Theorymon
• Megaqwer's post in Gods & Followers
• Niadev's post in Gods & Followers
• Sobi's post in Enchanted Items
• sin(pi)'s post in Cross Evolutions
• Mygavolt's post in Palette Pals
• figments' post in 1v1 resources
• Megazard's post in AG Resources

But that's not all! When we see a post we want to recognize, we'll stamp it. Collect enough stamps and later you can redeem them for certain VIP Perks! (Values subject to change without notice!)

VIP perks~

• Immediate response to metagame submission - 1 stamp
• Extra submission for the month - 2 stamps
• Custom avatar - 4 stamps
• Custom title - 5 stamps
• More to come!

Lastly, if you see a post that you think deserves to be on the VIP list, send us a PM with a reason why! Please note you cannot nominate yourself for the list. Nominations need to be newer than March 1st, 2016 to be accepted.

Happy posting!

(stamps also by SailorCosmos)

VIP Log

nv - 3
runbabyrun - 1
Jajoken - 4
unfixable - 1
Fiat500 - 1
Kit Kasai - 1
InfernapeTropius11 - 1
Darklatias92 - 1
Mygavolt - 2
The Official Glyx - 1
Scarfnaut - 1
sin(pi) - 1
HailFall - 1
megaqwer:D - 1
Niadev - 1
Sobi - 1

 

[The Immortal]

Ok time for my big contribution to this thread...

I decided to go through the advantages and disadvantages of "giving" each type while also giving out some handy Pokemon that can act as the catalyst for "monotyping" the rest of the team.

Congrats nv! Your post made it into the VIP Club!

 

[The Immortal]

So since nv made a pretty big contribution post in my metagame, Type Reflectors, I figured I would do the same and look at what this meta has to offer! I'll mainly be focusing on the best Pokemon that each class has to offer in OU, and trust me, there are a lot of them.

Congrats runbabyrun, your post is in the VIP Club!

 

[EV]

I made a visual chart of Pokemon that can learn various useful Normal type moves separated by type, which should make it easier to identify new niches. I left off Normal type users despite the Regulate boost, because they'd be using those moves anyway. I also didn't make lists for moves like Return/Facade due to their high distribution. If a Pokemon isn't on the list, it a) was NFE with having a real purpose, b) it already has the specific -ate ability (Mega Glalie) or c) I missed it.

Normal Move Distribution

Body Slam:
While you lose 17 BP from using Body Slam over Return, you also gain a 30% Paralysis chance. This makes it a similar move to Scald, and might be worth using on more defensive Pokemon.
Bug:

Dark:

Dragon:

Electric:

Fairy:

Fighting:

Fire:

Flying:

Ghost:

Grass:

Ground:

Ice:

Poison:

Psychic:

Rock:

Steel:

Water:

Boomburst:
Boomburst is one of the strongest special moves in the game. If you're using one of these Pokemon, use this move.
Dragon:

Flying:

Ground:

Double-Edge:
Double-Edge has lower distribution than Return, but a significant power increase. In return, you have to stomach the additional recoil.
Bug:

Dark:

Dragon:

Electric:

Fairy:

Fighting:

Fire:

Flying:

Grass:

Ground:

Ice:

Poison:

Psychic:

Rock:

Steel:

Water:

Explosion:
Explosion isn't seen much in standard because a) nearly nothing gets STAB on it and b) you faint after use. This meta doesn't solve the second issue, but it still gives you an incredibly powerful STAB attack that can even occasionally OHKO Pokemon that resist the attack.
Bug:

Dark:

Electric:

Fairy:

Fire:

Flying:

Ghost:

Grass:

Ground:

Ice:

Poison:

Psychic:

Rock:

Steel:

Water:

Extreme Speed:
Extreme Speed out-prioritizes nearly every other move, with a solid BP to boot. Use it if you can.
Dragon:

Electric:

Fairy:

Fighting:

Fire:

Flying:

Ground:

Steel:

Water:

Fake Out:
Fake Out does damage and stalls out a turn. It has several uses, but any Pokemon appreciates high-priority damage.
Dark:

Electric:

Fairy:

Fighting:

Fire:

Flying:

Ghost:

Grass:

Ice:

Poison:

Psychic:

Water:

Quick Attack:
Most priority stays at 40 BP, and is limited to a few select types. Quick Attack not only surpasses that threshold thanks to the -ate boost, but its also available in a variety of flavors.
Bug:

Dark:

Dragon:

Electric:

Fighting:

Fire:

Flying:

Grass:

Ground:

Ice:

Poison:

Psychic:

Rock:

Steel:

Water:

Rapid Spin:
Rapid Spin doesn't especially benefit from STAB due to its low BP, but different types are harder to block. Note that some "Unblockable" types can still be stopped by abilities, like Storm Drain or Flash Fire.
Blockable:

Unblockable:

Tri Attack/Nature Power:
While 80 BP is a far cry from the 140 BP Boomburst, Tri Attack is still solid for special attackers that lack good special STAB. Nature Power calls Tri Attack and gets the -ate boost, which is good because otherwise Tri Attack has terrible distribution.
Bug:

Dark:

Dragon:

Electric:

Fairy:

Fighting:

Fire:

Flying:

Ghost:

Grass:

Ground:

Poison:

Psychic:

Rock:

Steel:

Water:

Good job, Jajoken. Welcome to the club.

 

[EV]

dark-types in stabmons

the dark-type in stabmons is one of the most prominent and one of the absolute best. this post is going to go over all of the usable dark-type moves and pokemon, and what it brings to the table. the type as a whole offers powerful supportive options to turn the opponent's own perks against then, while also adding a few powerful offensive moves as well. while most team have a dark-type pokemon, does your team have a dark-type check?

moves:

Ayyy unfixable joins the club.

 

[The Immortal]

I just wanted to point out something that people should be thinking about when considering whether or not Hoopa U should be banned.
There's been a lot of comments which mostly refer to Hoopa U being a threat because of its predictability, followed by a load of statistics and what not. So I just want to address this real quick.

I agree with Dream Eater Gengar in one of his first posts that actually Hoopa U is very predictable. Hoopa U isn't the first pokemon to have a very wide move pool, and especially not the first on mono-psychic anyway (hi Mew). Usage statistics aren't really in my opinion enough to justify that Hoopa U is too OP, as EienSeiryuu pointed out some posts ago.

Welcome to the VIP Club Fiat500!

 

[EV]

This metagame needs way more love than it is getting as, like the OP said, weight is not a big factor in competitive play save for a few moves (which on the whole aren't used too terribly much). Now I am going to use Jajoken's table, but I want to discuss mons who benefit in each weight "class" whether it be from just speed, the BP boost and the speed, or just the BP boost.

nv you did it again!

 

[EV]

A lot of the discussion I've seen has focused on using lower tier Pokemon (Kecleon, Mawile) as the leader and supplementing their weaknesses with the rest of their team. I think this is a very valid strategy, but I also wanted to see the leader options for some of the best Pokemon in standard (and their other OU Mega/non-Mega forms). Here are the current S and A+ ranked OU Pokemon to see how they'd fare as leaders in this meta. (NOTE: For recovery I only count direct recovery other than Rest because everyone gets it and it has serious drawbacks. I also discounted attack+boost moves like Charge Beam and outclassed boosting moves like Defense Curl if you get Iron Defense).

Jajoken is on fire! (look at his avatar)

 

[EV]

I've seen a few mentions of stall in several posts, but none really discussing it in depth, so I wrote up some of my thoughts about it from running it on the ladder. Think of this kind of like a guide to stall in metagamiate :P

Kit Kasai did !dt Stall and it was marvelous!

 

[EV]

So I was inspired by Jajoken's post, and decided to do what was ranked from A+ to B as a leader in this meta by Quantum Tesseract here (excluding the ones already done by Jajoken of course--I also stole your formatting hope you don't mind), as a resource to show what the good leaders have.

InfernapeTropius11 sashays into the club!

 

[EV]

Considering the unique premise of this game, I have decided to list the available Abilities in alphabetical order, excluding exclusive lines and types (like the Zubat line and Hawlucha), to make it easier to check what Ability a specific Pokémon can get.

Oh, and congratulations for winning OMotM!

Woo! Darklatias92 welcome to the club!

 

[EV]

There has been a lot of analytical work done already, but I just wanted to drop a resource that I hope will be helpful:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1S5-qLb-2PkiwhZGSQhaIPUdTLoyY_40UmRbe6M--G-g/edit?usp=sharing

It's a set of spreadsheets containing information (i.e., pretty much everything of value but movepool) on all cross evolutions and all cross evolvers. The stat changes for cross evolutions and base stats for cross evolvers are color coded based on the quartile beyond which they lie (red: minimum; orange: Q1; green: median; blue: Q3).

If there are any errors in any of the spreadsheets or any way to improve them, please let me know.

One word: Spreadsheet. Yay Mygavolt !

 

[The Immortal]

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone, This is Glyx here, and I'm here to talk about 1v1 etiquette.

1v1 etiquette is the process of using your moves in a specific manner to win battles in the 1v1 meta. It is what can change what some would have once thought to be a guaranteed loss into at least a chance of winning. One such example being the matchup of Gyarados vs Mawile; the winner here seems pretty obvious, right? Well, maybe not that obvious, a standard Gyarados set with Earthquake vs a standard Mawile actually 50/50's it as long as the Mawile doesn't carry Hyper Cutter for its ability. All Gyarados needs to do is go against the primal instinct to click Dragon Dance and use Earthquake without Mega evolving, and then Earthquake again after Mega evolving so that way you can resist the incoming Sucker Punch, otherwise you're signing your death certificate upon using Dragon Dance.

Welcome to the club and keep sharing the knowledge!

 

[Peef Rimgar]

I haven't as much Type Reflector as others, but its a cool meta and I think it could benefit from a guide to the various types you can base teams around.
I'll be covering the following info:

I'm in charge now apparently, and I say keep up the good posts Jajoken!

 

[Peef Rimgar]

so today I've been thinking about the viability of stall in this OM, and if it was something that I could pull off. Unfortunately the discussions in the thread so far have been of very threatening stallbreakers such as mold breaker-fueled set-up sweepers and the like. Very dangerous, right? Well, like I said, I've been thinking. For stall to be successful, naturally there are some basic things one needs to prepare for:

The stall checklist:
- 1) Try not to auto-lose to Mold Breaker stuff (They'll easily bust through Unaware walls and have the potential to destroy your team rip. Also they'll neutralize the benefits your abilities might give you)
- 2) Have switch-ins for busted shit like Tinted Lens / Adaptability / -ate spam (These ones can just literally tear a team apart)
- 3) Have an answer for set-up mons. The difficulty for this gets amplified when paired with Mold Breaker.
- 4) Ensure weather is manageable. This one isn't as hard to do, thanks to the ability to slap Cloud Nine / Air Lock or Delta Stream on anything you want.

Scarfnaut joins the club! Congrats! (I'm making up for some lost time)

 

[Peef Rimgar]

I finished the full guide to 120+ stat Pokemon and the appropriate contest-type moves they benefit from, along with analysis of the contest type itself. I added and edited some stuff from before, and added the last two contest types. Here's the key:

Normal Text = STAB move
Italics = Coverage move
[Brackets] = Boosting move
[Asterisk*] = Requires special circumstances

Jajoken again??? With posts like these, you bet!
(Eevee General)

 

[Peef Rimgar]

So I decided to hopefully spark some discussion in this thread about Mega Altaria and in general by going over how massive of a threat this Pokemon is.

nv has got talent for exceptional posts!
(Eevee General)

 

[Peef Rimgar]

Since I've had a couple people ask me for sets, and I've seen the general quality of the ladder (stop using Last Resort Ambipom, people), I decided it would be a good idea to showcase some standard (or standard-ish) sets for common Inverse mons. So I made this: it's essentially a dump of sets I've had varying levels of success with (excluding the Tangrowth sets, I'm not sure what those are tbh), so that people have a better idea of stuff to start off with. I'd appreciate it if people could add their own sets to this (it's currently missing a lot of mons because I haven't used them myself), especially for stuff in the A and B ranks - shoot me a message here or on PS.
This list is ordered the same as the VR.

sin(pi) sets up new Inverse players for success!
(Eevee General)

 

[EV]

imas Uselesscrab and nv have joined the VIP program and can now help stamp posts!

 

[nv]

I have to say, this is a pretty neat meta. I decided to make a pertinent spreadsheet document containing the following:

• A more detailed type chart than the one in the OP (the primary difference being that this one contains dual typings)
• An offensive coverage chart, which shows all possible duos of offensive types and which defensive types resist the offensive types
• For each typing, a list of all Pokémon possessing that typing (note the parentheses, indicating battle-based alt forms, which do not count towards the values in the "Quantity" field)

Mygavolt has done it again! n_n
(Eevee General)

 

[nv]

Hey i wanted to make this post showing the sets ive been using for some of the mons added! I might post again later with some mons i didnt include this time too.

edit: didnt wanna double post so ill just dump the ones i wrote today in here. so the post doesnt get too long ill put all the mons' hide tags in one huge hide tag like a folder.

Pokemon

Abomasnow-Cobalion

Abomasnow

Trick Room Attacker
Abomasnow-Mega @ Abomasite
Ability: Snow Warning / Soundproof
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Bullet Seed
- Frost Breath
- Earthquake / Hidden Power [Fire]
- Ice Shard

Bullet Seed is Mega Abomasnow's first move, and main physical STAB. It is preferred over Seed Bomb as Technician lets Bullet Seed deal more damage most of the time. Frost Breath is Mega Abombasnow's Ice-type STAB move which gets a Technician boost to 90 BP and always deals a critical hit to the foe. Earthquake is used in the next slot to KO Heatran, Cobalion, and most other grounded Steel-types that resist Mega Abomasnow's STAB moves. Hidden Power Fire is another option that still hits most Steel-types super effectively, but also breaks Mega Scizor. Finally Ice Shard is used to give Abomasnow a form of priority as well as the ability to pick off pokemon like a weakened Talonflame under Trick Room.

Abomasite is the mandatory item to mega evolve and gain the Technician abilty. Snow Warning is the preferred ability prior to Mega Evolution to get chip damage on pokemon like Chansey which could potentially beat Mega Abomasnow with some luck. Soundproof is also an option to safely switch into Mega Gardevoir or Sylveon's Hyper Voice before mega evolving. The EVs are simply maximum investment in Attack and Special Attack to maximize Mega Abomasnow's damage output on both the physical and special ends of the spectrum. A Brave nature is used to give Mega Abomasnow a chance to beat Chansey with Bullet Seed, while also boosting the power of its other physical moves. 0 Speed IVs are used to ensure that Mega Abomasnow will almost always move first in trick room.

Mega Abomasnow appreciates Trick Room setters such as Escavalier, Reuniclus, Diancie, Cresselia, and Bronzong on its team. Other Trick Room abusers that synergize with Mega Abomasnow are also very good partners to have, to take maximum advantage of Trick Room. Two examples of this are Emboar or Eruption Heatran as they threaten the Steel-types that can wall Mega Abomasnow, while also resisting some forms of priority like Bullet Punch and Talonflame's Brave Bird.

Mega Abomasnow can run a Swords Dance set to boost its attack and make Bullet Seed and Ice Shard hit exceptionally hard, but such a set needs to waste a turn of Trick Room to get going, and as such is typically not worth it. A non-Trick Room set for Mega Abomasnow can be attempted, but it is incredibly slow and has far to many stops to pull such a thing off. Iron Tail can be used to lure Cresselia, but doesnt hit much else. Rock Slide can be used to lure Talonflame, Moltres, and Mega Charizard Y. Substitute can be used to improve Abomasnow's matchup against offensive teams after Trick Room has ended, but it rarely finds an opportunity to set it up. Grass Whistle puts one of the opponents to sleep, but has very low accuracy and Mega Abomasnow has better moves to run.

Absol

Fallen Angel
Absol-Mega @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty / Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Fire Blast / Parting Shot / Swords Dance

Knock Off is mandatory STAB which deals good damage to most pokemon that dont resist it, while also having utility in removing items from the pokemon it hits. Sucker Punch is another Dark-type STAB move, but with priority to help Absol mega evolve safely, and also targets faster pokemon like Choice Scarf Jirachi. Play Rough is Mega Absol's Fairy-type STAB that achieves perfect neutral coverage alongside Knock Off and Sucker Punch barring Klefki, hitting the Fighting-, Fairy-, and Dark-types that resist them for neutral or super effective damage. Fire Blast in the last slot threatens Mega Scizor, Klefki, and several other mons that may try to switch in. Parting Shot is another option which lets Mega Absol pick up momentum on predicted switches. Swords Dance is the final option that gives Mega Absol insane power for breaking down teams late game.

Absolite lets Absol mega evolve, giving it a great boost in Attack, Special Attack, and Speed along with new and useful typing. Maximum Attack and Speed investment is used to make Mega Absol into a speedy hard hitter. If Mega Absol is not running a Special Attacking move, the remaining 4 EVs should be placed into Special Defense as not to give Porygon-Z an attack boost, and a Jolly nature should be used. Justified is the preferred pre-mega ability to give Absol the opportunity to switch into exceedingly weak Dark-type moves and gain an Attack boost.

Partners that can break down steel types such as Keldeo, Magnezone, and Moltres are all good options. Wallbreakers work well with Mega Absol, as they can soften teams up for it to clean. Pokemon that heavily punish priority users such as Rocky Helmet Garchomp make for good partners, as priority in general is something Mega Absol absolutely detests due to its terrible bulk.

Absol has quite a few viable options to run in the last slot. Iron Tail can be used to lure Diancie, Clefable, and Cresselia. Ice Beam is an option to OHKO both Landorus-T and Garchomp without taking Rocky Helmet damage. Zen Headbutt hits Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur. Substitute gives Mega Absol a shield from one hit, and is useful for avoiding getting revenge killed by Extreme Speed users. Will-O-Wisp, Toxic, and Thunder Wave are all options to let Mega Absol cripple its switch-ins.

Aggron

Wall
Aggron-Mega @ Aggronite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Impish Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Dragon Tail / Sleep Talk
- Stealth Rock / Curse
- Rest

notes: standard wally set. impish nature lets you beat mega lop 1v1. its an okay stealth rock setter. it can also run curse to become a wincon, and you can replace dtail with sleep talk if you do this to almost simulate a crocune kind of set.

Archeops

Bird With a Stone
Archeops @ Hard Stone / Leftovers
Ability: Vital Spirit
EVs: 16 HP / 240 Atk / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost / Heat Wave

notes: this set takes advantage of archeop's amazing coverage. stab stone edge hits exceptionally hard and should be the move you spam the most. aerial ace is secondary stab that allows archeops to hit fighting types. hp ice is to hit fat grounds like lando and chomp. roost is to recover off damage from rocks and espeeds to keep archeops healthy, but heat wave is an option to break skarmory. hard stone boosts the power of stone edge, but leftovers improves archeop's longevity. 16 hp evs are enough to live +2 choice band entei's extreme speed and ohko back after rocks.

Choice Band
Archeops @ Choice Band
Ability: Vital Spirit
EVs: 16 HP / 240 Atk / 252 Spe
Naive / Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace
- U-turn / Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Aqua Tail

notes: use naive if u run hp ice to 2hko tank chomp always, but run jolly if u use aqua tail. Aqua tail is for hippo btw. An itemless set with acrobatics may have some merit but the stone edge on this thing is so stupidly strong. you can try heat wave too but you already have a good chance to 2hko physdef skarm after rocks with cb stone edge.

Audino

Defensive Calm Mind
Audino-Mega @ Audinite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Dazzling Gleam
- Calm Mind
- Wish / Rest
- Protect / Sleep Talk

notes: wishtect is better for supporting teammates and lets audino set up on some stuff like cb azu. resttalk is an alterantive that gives you the ability to shake off status.

Beedrill

Offensive Pivot

Beedrill-Mega @ Beedrillite
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Drill Run
- Knock Off / Pursuit
- Protect


notes: not much to say, pretty straightforward. Knock off is in the last slot because bee doesnt have much else worth running, but you can try pursuit for retreating psychics.

Braviary

All-Out-Attacker
Braviary @ Choice Band / Silk Scarf
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Brave Bird
- Superpower
- U-Turn

notes: classic AOA set. Pretty standard but ill give a bit of explanation. Espeed and bb are stabs obviously. Superpower breaks mons like ttar that resist its other stabs. U-turn is to maintain momentum. Jolly is the preferred nature to outpace heatran.

I Want To Be Ekiller
Braviary @ Silk Scarf / Leftovers
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Superpower
- Brave Bird / Roost
- Bulk Up

notes: after boosting espeed becomes rediculously strong, OHKOing quite a few offensive pokemon in the tier. Superpower is coverage to hit pokemon like heatran and ttar. Brave bird is secondary stab that also breaks mega sableye, but roost can be used to boost longevity. Finally bulk up is used to boost braviary's attack while also giving it some nifty boosts in bulk to counteract the effects of superpower.

Bronzong

Defensive
Bronzong @ Leftovers / Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic / Hidden Power [Ice]
- Recover

notes: evs let you check latis, mega diancie, mega sceptile barring hax, and mega gardevoir while also maximizing physical bulk to take on mons like excadrill, sd lando, mega metagross, mega pinsir, azu lacking knock off, and so on. Toxic is good for accumulating long term damage but hp ice deals with stuff like lando and scep quickly at the expense of becoming setup bait for mons like cm slowbro.

Cacturne

Mixed Sand Sweeper

Cacturne @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Giga Drain
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower / Hidden Power [Ice] / Poison Jab

notes: this set is meant to completely destroy convetional sand checks. this mixed cacturne set can break common sand answers like landorus-t, slowbro, and rotom-w easily. stabs take up the first two slots, both special to hit traditional sand checks harder, while sucker punch occupies the next slot and makes the opponent think twice before trying to kill it with pokemon like mega alakazam or talonflame. Superpower is the primary choice in the fourth slot and it allows cacturne to beat chansey on the switch. Hidden power ice is another option that lets cacturne ohko landorus-t rather than just take a big chunk. Finally poison jab is an option to deal massive damage to virizion that try to come in and defeat it on the switch.

Cobalion

Swords Dance Trapper
Cobalion @ Leftovers / Fist Plate / Shuca Berry
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Iron Head / Taunt
- Substitute / Taunt / Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance

notes: cobalion's job is to trap pokemon like jirachi, bisharp, ferrothorn, and heatran. close combat is cobalion's main stab, while iron head is coverage to hit fairy types. taunt is an option that lets cobalion prevent pokemon like skarmory from phazing it as it sets up. sub is used to let cobalion set up more comfortably on pokemon like ferrothorn and jirachi without worrying about stray thunder waves or leech seeds, while also letting cobalion get a hit off on the next pokemon that switches in after it trapped the steel with no reprecussions. stealth rock can be run and set up on pokemon cobalion traps that dont threaten it significantly like jirachi or bisharp. swords dance is the final move that lets cobalion boost its attack to +6 on certain pomeon it traps and then sweep. leftovers helps cobalion set up on jirachi without getting worn down by iron heads as it uses swords dance. fist plate is needed to ohko heatran after rocks, but heatran is rarely at full to begin with. Shuca berry is another option that lets cobalion get rocks up on pokemon like garchomp or landorus-t.

Cresselia-Pangoro

Cresselia

Calm Mind
Cresselia @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Moonblast
- Moonlight / Substitute
- Calm Mind

notes: this cresselia takes advantage of its incredible bulk and offensive typing to become a very hard to stop setup sweeper. Leftovers is the item of choice and it gives cresselia the ability to heal itself without relying entirely on moonlight. the EVs maximize cresselia's physical bulk and make it very hard to overpower on the physical end, while calm mind patches up the lack of special defense investment. Shadow ball and moonblast are mandatory stab moves that give cresselia great coverage. moonlight lets cresselia recover health, but substitute is an option that lets cresselia deflect status, though it must rely entirely on leftovers for recovery that way. calm mind is what defines this set with its ability to boost both cresselia's special attack and special defense turning it into a potent wincon that accumulates boosts easily and has good offensive and defensive typing.

Defensive
Cresselia @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 184 Def / 76 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonblast / Shadow Ball
- Thunder Wave / Toxic
- Lunar Dance / Psycho Shift / Ice Beam
- Moonlight

notes: this cresselia is intended to be used as a pivot that uses its gargantuan defenses to force the opponent out and give it a free turn to status the switchin or help one of its own teammates with lunar dance. leftovers gives cress passive recovery, and the ev spread lets cresselia take on adamant mega medicham while also maximizing its special bulk to allow it to easily tank hits like mega gardevoir's hyper voice. moonblast is the primary stab move that hits the pokemon cresselia walls like latios and garchomp for supereffective damage. Shadow ball is another option with better coverage but this leaves cresselia unable to touch pokemon like mega lopunny. thunder wave has excelent utility in spreading paralysis to cresselia's switchins, while toxic can be used on more defensively oriented teams to wear the opponent down. lunar dance is in the last slot so that cresselia can fully restore the health of a weakened teammate if it is no longer necessary that cresselia stays alive. psycho shift can punish pokemon that try to beat cresselia through statusing it like toxic hippowdon. ice beam is another option that lets cresselia more often than not beat taunt gliscor, which otherwise is problematic for this set to handle. finally moonlight is used in the last slot to help keep cresselia healthy over the course of the match.

Entei

All-Out-Attacker
Entei @ Charcoal / Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Bulldoze

notes: classic entei set with the twist that the main item is charcoal rather than choice band. this lets it more comfortably use espeed (bc its not locked into a move) after nabbing a defiant boost. CB works too tho

Howl
Entei @ Charcoal / Lum Berry
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Bulldoze / Stone Edge
- Howl

notes: not much to say other than howl boosts your attack for you. pretty similar to the last set. lum is for twave/tox when youre setting up.

Escavalier

Trick Room Cleaner
Escavalier @ Life Orb
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Atk / 24 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Drill Run / Knock Off
- Trick Room

notes: life orb is the item to make esca hit as hard as possible. EVs and IVs are pretty standard for a trick room mon, with max attack, enough hp to hit a life orb number, and the rest in defense with zero speed and a -spe nature. megahorn is the most spammable and powerful stab, while iron head is a more accurate alternative that hits the fairies that resist bug. Drill run is to hit steels and fires that resist its stabs, while knock off is an option that has general utility in removing items from pokemon that wall it like skarmory.

Goodra

Special Attacker
Goodra @ Expert Belt / Leftovers
Ability: Protean
EVs: 156 HP / 252 SpA / 100 Spe
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam / Dragon Pulse / Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt / Flamethrower
- Focus Blast / Muddy Water
- Sludge Bomb / Superpower

notes: if anyone has a way to optomize this further feel free to tell me, but this is what ive come up with. Boltbeam is great coverage and the starting point of this set. Dragon pulse or draco meteor can be used over ice beam in niche cases to stop mega charizard x from setting up on you. Flamethrower over thunderbolt reliably breaks bronzong, while also beating ferrothorn without relying on focus blast's shaky accuracy. focus blast is the primary move in the next slot which hits the hardest of all goodra's moves on a neutral hit, while also breaking pokemon like heatran, empoleon, magnezone, and ferrothorn. Muddy water is another option that hits entei and diancie super effectively at the expense of hitting some other pokemon super effectively. Sludge bomb is in the last slot to provide a way to prevent pokemon like clefable and mega audino from setting up on you. Superpower is an option to lure chansey instead and 2hko it on the switch. The EVs allow goodra to outpace 8 Spe lando-t and jolly azu while maximizing power and bulk. You can just run max speed too, and even go timid if thats your thing.

Mixed Attacker
Goodra @ Draco Plate
Ability: Protean
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spe
Adamant / Lonely Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Blast / Thunderbolt
- Earthquake / Superpower / Power Whip
- Iron Tail / Poison Tail

notes: this set takes advantage of goodra's powerful outrage backed by protean and great coverage to break down dragon resists. Fire blast is for skarm and ferro, but tbolt lets you hit bulky waters like slowbro. run lonely if you use tbolt to make sure slowbro gets 2hkoed. Earthquake breaks down steels like heatran and empoleon that dont mind fire blast, but superpower can be used to hit stuff like air ballon tran without giving it a chance to burn you, and to more easily break chansey. Power whip lets you beat fat grounds and waters like hippo and rotom-w which goodra struggles to reliably beat. Iron tail beats faires that take no damage from outrage, but poison tail is a weaker option which allows you to hit azumarill harder than with iron tail.

Houndoom

Nasty Plot Sweeper
Houndoom-Mega @ Houndoomite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Moonblast
- Nasty Plot

notes: pretty simple, just stabs + moonblast for coverage + np to boost.

Krookodile

Dragon Dance
Krookodile @ Life Orb / Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate / Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge / Superpower / Fire Fang
- Dragon Dance

notes: Adamant nature hits noticebly harder but jolly lets you outspeed stuff like mzam after a dd. stone edge is its main coverage move to let it hit mons like togekiss and mandibuzz, but superpower is an option too to get neutral coverage on most things, while hitting the steels that arent weak to earthquake. Fire fang is also an option to KO virizon at +1 and also deal more consistet damage to skarmory than knock off can. Intimidate makes it easier to set up, moxie has snowball effect. lo or lum is your choice but i think lo is better overall.

Latios

Calm Mind
Latios-Mega @ Latiosite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind
- Recover

notes: this set works almost like offensive starmie, in that analytic punishes its switchins. draco meteor is hard hitting stab that gets more and more powerful with each cm boost, becoming stupidly hard to take. dragon pulse can be used instead to not deal with special attack drops, but this is typically undesireable as it is significantly weaker. shadow ball is secondary stab that achieves great neutral coverage alongside draco meteor, only resisted by bisharp. calm mind boosts both latios' specail attack and special defense, making it hit exceedingly hard. recover is in the last slot to improve latios' longevity and allow it to more reliably deal with pokemon like keldeo and mega manectric.

Mantine

Defensive Defog
Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Air Slash
- Defog
- Roost

notes: ill be frank and say that mantine is not very good even after the buff, but this is the best ive been able to come up with. the EVs allow it to check keldeo while maintaining the special bulk to check mons like volcanion, gengar, mega charizard y, and tornadus-t if stealth rocks are not up. an EV spread that is fully specially defensive is plausible, allowing mantine to more solidly check the aforementioned mons at the expense of beating keldeo.

Moltres

Offensive Life Orb
Moltres @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
- Hurricane
- Hidden Power [Grass] / Hidden Power [Ground]
- U-turn / Roost

notes: fire blast v fthrower is up to you, just preference. Hp grass is to break down fat waters that can eat up a hurricane like rotom-w, but hp ground can be used to lure tran. U-turn is to maintain momentum, but roost is also an option for more longevity.

Specially Defensive
Moltres @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 120 SpD / 136 Spe
Timid Nature
- Flamethrower
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Defog

notes: spread maximizes special bulk while allowing moltres to outspeed jolly mzor and kill it with flamethower, as well as burn bisharp. You can run no item if your team is particularly bisharp weak to have a more reliable switchin. Rest of evs are dumped into special bulk. pretty simple set.

Pangoro

All-Out-Attacker
Pangoro @ Life Orb / Dread Plate / Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy / Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Drain Punch / Superpower
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Gunk Shot

notes: superpower is better on choice band sets usually, but otherwise drain punch is better for extra longevity. Scrappy lets you hit mega sableye, but if thats not a concern run iron fist to boost the power of drain punch.

Swords Dance
Pangoro @ Lum Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker / Scrappy / Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch / Knock Off
- Gunk Shot / Substitute
- Swords Dance

notes: mold breaker lets you ignore quagsire's unaware, while scrappy lets you hit mega sableye, and iron fist boosts the power of drain punch. lum is the best item if youre not running sub so you can eat a scald burn or something, but lefties lets you set up more subs on sub sets. Knock should only really be used with sub sets too because you're basically dead weight against offense withotut it.

Pidgeot-Zoroark

Pidgeot

Work Up
Pidgeot-Mega @ Pidgeotite
Ability: Tangled Feet
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast / Refresh
- Work Up
- Roost / Heat Wave

notes: this is probably mega pidgeots best set and pmuch a direct upgrade from what it used to run. Refresh + roost + work up + hurricane is best for stallbreaking, but work up + roost + 2 attacks or work up + 3 attacks are better in most other scenarios. Theres some merit to an all out attacker set but i think LO torn-t does that better even taking into account no guard.

Porygon-Z

Wallbreaker
Porygon-Z @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Tri Attack
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Trick / Dark Pulse

notes: dark pulse lets you hit opposing pgonz, hp fighting hits bish and ttar. take a look at ou speed tiers to see what speed benchmarks you miss out on with modest, i think its worth it.

Revenge Killer
Porygon-Z @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Tri Attack
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Trick / Dark Pulse

notes: same as previous

Agility
Porygon-Z @ Life Orb / Lum Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Tri Attack
- Nasty Plot / Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Agility

notes: run np for a double dance sort of thing, or just go for the extra coverage with hp fight. Lum for para, lefties for recovery (best on double dance), life orb for power (best on agility).

Nasty Plot
Porygon-Z @ Leftovers / Spooky Plate
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Tri Attack
- Hidden Power [Fighting] / Substitute
- Nasty Plot

notes: pretty self explanitory, if you run sub lefties is better, but in other situations spooky plate's power boost can be worthwhile.

Sceptile

All-Out-Attacker
Sceptile-Mega @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Seed Flare
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Focus Blast
- Earthquake

notes: litearlly just the analysis set with seed flare>leaf storm

Stunfisk

RegenVest Pivot
Stunfisk @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpA OR 248 HP / 184 Def / 76 SpA
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Discharge / Thunderbolt
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Scald

notes: regen + av is a classic duo that works quite well. the spread maximizes its ability to take on stuff like talonflame while also letting it reliably 2hko spdef variants with discharge. if you run tbolt instead use the second spread which gives you better physical bulk while still 2hkoing tflame. hp ice nails stuff like lando and chomp on the switch, but scald is another option if you feel like fishing for burns.

Utility
Stunfisk @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpA OR 248 HP / 184 Def / 76 SpA
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Discharge / Thunderbolt
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock

notes: basically the same thing as last time but this can set rocks too. this set struggles a lot more against stuff like thundurus.

Swanna

Gale Wings Attacker
Swanna @ Choice Specs
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Air Slash
- Scald
- Hidden Power [Grass] / Ice Beam / Defog

notes: air slash is more accurate than hurricane and is used when the extra power isnt as necessary. hp grass hits rotom-w which is like this sets worst enemy, but u can run defog too. Ice Beam is another option to hit garchomp super effectively.

Virizion

Swords Dance
Verizon (Virizion) @ Life Orb
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
- Stone Edge / Zen Headbutt

note: this set checks weather sweepers and can also serve as a wincon. Stone edge hits talon/moltres switchins while zen hits amoonguss.

All-Out-Attacker
Verizon (Virizion) @ Choice Band / Life Orb
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
- Stone Edge
- Zen Headbutt

notes: this set is mainly used for checking weather users and such while stinging switchins. stone edge hits talonflame and moltres, while zen hits stuff like amoonguss that try to come in.

Xatu

Magic Bounce
Xatu @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 44 SpD / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Night Shade / Air Slash / Flash Cannon
- Thunder Wave / Hidden Power [Ground] / Defog
- U-turn / Haze
- Roost

notes: lefties are the item of choice for passive recovery. magic bounce is the ability to deflect taunt and hazards from your side. the evs maximize xatu's physical bulk to take on hazard setters like landorus-t, ferrothorn, and garchomp. the spd lets you eat up fire blasts from tank chomp. speed is to outspeed bish and such. night shade is a move that lets xatu deal consistent damage to the foe, but either of its stab moves work too. thunder wave cripples switchins and lets xatu safely u-turn on them. hp ground is an option to smack heatran and magnezone. you can also run defog but its good enough at keeping rocks off anyways that shouldnt be an issue. u-turn grabs momentum on switchins (and also lets it escape mag and cobalion), while haze stops pokemon like sd garchomp and lando from beating xatu. roost is in the final slot as a reliable recovery move to keep xatu healthy.

Yanmega

Wallbreaker
Yanmega @ Choice Specs
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- U-Turn / Ancient Power

notes: choice specs to maximize wallbreaking power since yanmega only has okay special attack. Tinted lens is the ability to bypass resists and ease prediction. max spa and speed for obvious reasons. modest nature is preferred as a timid nature doesnt hit any particularly notable speed benchmarks. bug buzz and earth power are stabs, hp fire hits skarmory and xatu which are otherwise problematic. U-turn is used to grab momentum on predicted switches, but ancient power can be used instead to hit talonflame, zardx, and moltres.

Cleaner
Yanmega @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Protect

notes: this set is meant to clean up late game after its checks have been weakened. life orb boosts yanmega's power without locking it into a move. speed boost is what gives this set its cleaning capabilities. bug buzz and earth power are stabs, while hidden power fire hits skarmory and xatu that try to wall it. protect is used in the last slot to allow yanmega to safely get to +1 speed before attempting to clean.

Zoroark

Choice Specs
Zoroark @ Choice Specs
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
- Night Daze
- Vacuum Wave
- Sludge Bomb
- U-turn / Focus Blast


notes: not a ton to say here. u-turn is usually better than focus blast but if occasionally if youre luring something like tyranitar or kyurem-b focus blast is better.

While not flashy, HailFall gave us insight into some of the new sets Pokemon run in OU Theorymon! Congratulations n_n
(Eevee General)

 

[nv]

Hello,everyone
Below will be a compilation of no. of followers that get access to Rapid spin/Defog, Stealth rock, Healing wish, heal bell/aromatherapy and wish.
Note:Some pokemon may not be viable.
Here I begin!

megaqwer:D deserves the stamp. Congrats!!!
Eevee General

 

[nv]

Yay discussion is back (I think?)! Roles compendium for Gods (from 5 star down). I won't cover wish/healing wish/aromatherapy/heal bell/stealth rocks as megaqwer:D has that covered already and I don't want to rain on the parade. I'll try to make the roles be for Pokemon that are actually viable but I'll add ones that I think may have a niche that isn't discovered yet. The categories aren't in any particular order, so, no, I'm not implying Latios is a better pivot than Landorus-Therian or Garchomp. If people want I can fix the ordering to viability, but it's rather subjective so yeah.

As a continuation of what megaqwer did, Niadev earned a spot as well, so congrats to them too!!!
Eevee General

 

[nv]

WIP; I did as much as I could but there are still some abilities that have no Pokemon next to them, which is why I am posting this earlier than I had in mind, so that you guys can suggest who to add!

~ Ability Compendium ~

Key: Ability | Item Icon | Pokemon
Note: If you would like to add or remove a Pokemon, please stat why in a post below! :)​

A bit behind schedule with this one, but congrats to Sobi for a wonderful ability compendium for Enchanted Items!
Eevee General

 

[imas]

This seems really cool. Might want to ban Milotic line too, since it's basically the same as Magikarp in terms of the BST boost.

Could I evolve a stage 2 such as Rapidash (that doesn't normally evolve further) into a stage 3, eg Charizard? I don't think it would make sense (and it'd make for some silly things like evolving Bisharp into Gallade for base 215 attack), but I want to clarify that.
Also, can you evolve into your own line? This would help with move illegalities (think weather ball Venusaur), or with stuff like weight (Wooper takes less from Grass Knot than Quagsire)

An older post that was nominated by megaqwer. This seems to check the boxes that vip club posts should check. It's informative, helpful and definitely took quite a bit of work. I'm not exactly sure if me thinking it's enough is enough or not (never got any instructions) so tagging Eevee General