Yep, I'm bring this back up.
Now, why? You may all be asking - and that is an excellent question, and at the same time the answer should be obvious. As well as meta trends that I'll bring up in a second, it REALLY doesn't take a hell of a lot for this thing to quickly become absolutely retarded during basically any game it takes part in. Let us begin:
1) 1000A Spam, and the rise in Toxic Spikes:
As for 1000A itself, I shouldn't have to go into too much detail here. The fact that it's Ground STAB that can bypass it's main immunity is what makes it frankly brainless, and basically forces the use of either Tangrowth/Bulu/Mew onto literally every possible team. Do you guys know how much of a bloody problem that is? No, seriously - the amount of times I've asked for directions on a team I've been building, only to be interrogated on 'where's your Zygarde switchin?' could probably pay for the fuel on a trip to Tokyo. I'm not exaggerating, it's been too many times to count...
It also raises the fact that all 3 get bopped by Toxic/Tspikes (another point I'll get to), Tang and Mew are too passive for offense, and Bulu - while fun to use - doesn't really have a game plan a good chunk of the time beyond 'click Wood Hammer, ask questions later'. Nevermind the fact that this thing can run about
7 sets and a jar of Branston PickleTM* . making it extremely unpredictable (ofc we knew this, but it'll come back later).
As for the problem of Tspikes (something that has once again through the likes of Toxapex (which has not long since risen) and others) - this is where the 1000A knockdown effect comes into play. As common answers that CAN come in on it (bar, say, MVenu) end up poisoned, which (no shit, edgeworth) having your Zygarde switchins crippled by Toxic status puts you in a horrific position. 'But lack of immediate power' you might say, and 'it's easily checked' you might add. Well woop-dee-bloody do! Try saying that when you're best answers lose to chip, and the fact that it can still holepunch things coming in; potentially knock something down; and then sod off for another 12 turns! Rise of Mega Latias? Well that's neither here nor there when A) you're another Dragon type, and B) you potentially end up knocked down.
Poison types? You're a ground type, which leaves TS's best removers no intensive to come or stay in. Oh, and most common defoggers (bar, say, MSciz) lose to 1000A spam. Who knew?
2) The abundance of sets it can run, unpredictability, and constraints on teambuilding:
I'm just going come out and say that the many sets it can run is, without a doubt in my mind, able to fill perfectly into any functional offensive team. CB is stupidly splashable, with coverage such as Iron Tail and Stone Edge to make things like Clefable; Volcarona and Tornadus-T think twice about settling in and catch them on the switch. The two mons that don't care about Tspikes and 1000A spam, those being (in my eyes, at least) MSciz and MVenu, lose HARD to SubDD or SubCoil sets due to their
generally passive nature, and not being the largest offensive presence compared to others (in spite of their bulk). And don't even get me STARTED on DD, my bias I've been trying to keep at bay this entire post. Not to mention the different kinds of Z-moves it can run - and Dragonium being able to bust past some of, if not all, of it's conventional checks.
As for constraints on teambuilding - well, I've already mentioned how it essentially forces one of a small handful of mons onto basically EVERY playstyle. But of course there's the threat of Dugtrio we have to think about, which puts it's OWN constraints on teambuilding, and makes good Zygarde checks such as Mega Diancie less of a proposition. I'm not saying
expect both on the same team, but the choke hold both force legitimately makes OU unfun for me atm.
All of this considered,
I think Zygarde is more then deserving of S rank status. If this isn't fulfilled soon, then in the words of Yahtzee:
"Please tell us how you manage to breathe on Mars."
That's all I have to say for now. I'll think about the discussion slate another time, as those are things I'm thinking of using, but haven't gotten round to.
Until later
Josh.