All Gens The "What if" thread - Topic #66 : Physical-Special split in ADV

xJoelituh

Banned deucer.
That seems like a bug. I've never heard of it healing 100%.

Sand would only be slightly more efficient in not having to waste a turn as often. Still not good.

Rain probably wouldn't do much. You'd just see more teams with Water-resists maybe.

Sun would definitely have a big impact. Moltres sun-boosted Fire Blast would be broken. I think Snorlax can be 2HKO'd by a roll with spikes, and I'm pretty sure Raikou is outright 2HKO'd. Tbolt might be used more frequently because of this, and teams relying on Thunder might choose to run Sand and Rain if only to make their accuracy not completely fucked.
It isn't a bug:

While Sunny Day is in effect, the base power of Fire-type moves will be increased by 50%, and the base power of Water-type moves will be decreased by 50%. In addition to this, the moves Synthesis, Morning Sun, and Moonlight will recover twice as much HP as under clear conditions, and SolarBeam will not require a turn to charge. The accuracy of Thunder is also lowered to 50%.


Sources:
https://github.com/Zarel/Pokemon-Showdown/blob/master/mods/gen2/moves.js#L390
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sunny_Day_(move)
http://www.psypokes.com/dex/techdex/241
https://web.archive.org/web/20130412143840/http://www.upokecenter.com/dex/?lang=en&move=235
 

Typhlito

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Alright so after a long break due to a lack of ideas and just being busy, I compiled plenty of new topics to bring you all another season of what if topics for you to theorymon with for many weeks to come! So without further ado, here is our next topic.

What if Sucker Punch existed in ADV?



So in a meta where speed is generally absolute, priority attacks would most likely make a great addition to the tier. What makes this move really interesting is that due to the mechanics in adv, this move would be considered a special attack thanks to its dark typing. This is especially interesting since a special priority move is almost non-existent in even the most recent games. As usual, any pokemon that could learn this move regardless if its through leveling up, breeding or event is fair game for this scenario. Also the base power will be 80 instead of 70 since that is what its base power would most likely be if it existed at the time. So would sucker punch make a big difference in ADV or would it not be a big deal? You tell me!
 
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dwarfstar

mindless philosopher
I'm not that knowledgeable on ADV OU, so take this with a grain of salt, but if we assume distribution would be restricted to things that learn Sucker Punch through leveling or breeding as of SM, the only users with any shot at making it relevant in OU would be Gengar and Cacturne (everything else that learns it in either of those ways is either too physically biased for it to be worthwhile or has other major flaws that impede their performance too much for Sucker Punch to make a difference).

Cacturne gets STAB on Sucker Punch, which means it's gonna hurt coming off base 115 Special Attack, and a way to mitigate its speed problem is a godsend for it. Sucker Punch also pairs well with Substitute to ease prediction and not waste precious PP (5/8 was an awful design decision ffs), and since Cacturne kinda needs to be running Substitute to be workable anyway, this works out well for it. A Sub-Seed set would probably be running Needle Arm or Thunderpunch in the fourth slot, and I feel like a Sub + 3 attacks set with Sucker Punch, Focus Punch, and Thunderpunch might be interesting under the current standard EV spread for the Sub-Punch set in the on-site analysis.

Gengar is harder to pin down, since it has about a billion options going for it already. The priority aspect of the move isn't anywhere near as important or useful for Gengar as it is for Cacturne, since there's not that many Pokemon in the meta faster than Gengar anyway and a lot of the ones that are can take a Sucker Punch without too much difficulty. I ran some calcs and matchup assessments against everything that would outrun Gengar and be even remotely relevant in the meta, and the results aren't amazing. Essentially, we see a major improvement in the Alakazam matchup (still no OHKOs without sand and Spikes support, though), more minor improvements against Aerodactyl, Dugtrio, and Starmie, and a potentially significant improvement in the mirror match against non-SP variants (although this is tied up in mindgames depending on which status moves the opposing Gengar has, whether Sleep Clause has already been activated by an opponent carrying Hypnosis, etc.). I don't know enough about the meta yet to know whether this is enough to justify anything more than niche usage (I'm inclined to doubt it), but Gengar has the potential to run so many weird sets anyway that I'm sure it fits on a team somewhere.
VS Aerodactyl:
148 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Aerodactyl: 103-122 (34.2 - 40.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Aerodactyl: 112-132 (37.2 - 43.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
I guess Gengar could revenge-kill a weakened Aerodactyl with Sucker Punch, or if it came in at full it could take out a healthy one with Thunderbolt + Sucker Punch (I kinda doubt Aero would stay in most of the time, though). Overall, Sucker Punch slightly improves the matchup.

VS Jolteon:
148 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Jolteon: 85-101 (31.2 - 37.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Jolteon: 91-108 (33.4 - 39.7%) -- 20.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Supposedly OU, but damned if I've ever seen this thing actually used. Anyway, Gengar loses this matchup badly. Jolteon can either use the Sucker Punch as a free turn for Substitute or Baton Pass, use a pre-existing Sub to take the first Sucker Punch hit, or just smack Gengar around if it doesn't need to be passing for some reason. Thunderbolt is a clean 2HKO on all relevant Gengar spreads.

VS Dugtrio:
148 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Dugtrio: 109-129 (51.4 - 60.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Dugtrio: 118-139 (55.6 - 65.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
This does sorta improve the matchup. If Gengar comes in reasonably healthy it wins cleanly with Ice Punch anyway (81.3% chance to OHKO from the 148 SpA spread, clean OHKO from max SpA), and CB Dugtrio's Rock Slide 3HKOs the most common Gengar spread. What changes here is that Gengar comes out of the exchange healthier than it would otherwise be, and this is assuming the worst-case scenario - all of Dugtrio's other moves are weaker against Gengar, so it's likely to be forced out (well, even more so than usual).

VS Alakazam:
148 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Alakazam: 187-220 (74.2 - 87.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Alakazam: 202-238 (80.1 - 94.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Sucker Punch improves the Alakazam matchup pretty significantly. Sucker Punch falls short of an OHKO, unfortunately, but you've got a fighting chance now. Spikes support and a little sand damage here and there can potentially turn an OHKO into a 2HKO, and even without that support Gengar is much better at pressuring the major Alakazam sets. CM Zam has to play some annoying mindgames if Sleep Clause isn't active yet, with a choice between going for CM and risking the Hypnosis (or Icy Wind on some of the more interesting sets) or taking a massive chunk of damage from Sucker Punch in exchange for the OHKO on Gengar. Trick Zam has better counterplay options and can potentially cripple Gengar, but the pressure still interferes with it doing its job to some extent. Encore Zam can predict Sucker Punch and lock you into it for a free switch/Sub, but it's still gotta play that mind game, and pairing Gengar with Tyranitar makes that variant less of a problem.

VS Sceptile:
148 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sceptile: 93-110 (33 - 39.1%) -- 11.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sceptile: 101-119 (35.9 - 42.3%) -- 93.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Sceptile is rare, doesn't take a ton of damage from Sucker Punch, and will likely be trying to annoy you with Sub-Seed shenanigans instead of attacking anyway, so this isn't a reason to run the move.

VS Raikou:
252 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Raikou: 88-104 (27.3 - 32.2%) -- 52.8% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
Not much help at all. Moving on.

VS Starmie:
148 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Starmie: 187-220 (57.7 - 67.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Starmie: 202-238 (62.3 - 73.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
148 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Starmie: 187-220 (71.3 - 83.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Starmie: 202-238 (77 - 90.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Starmie always had kind of a shaky matchup against Gengar anyway, and this just makes it more dangerous.

VS Agility Zapdos:
252 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 96-113 (25 - 29.4%) -- guaranteed 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
Zapdos doesn't really care about Sucker Punch and can set up further, Baton Pass, or smack Gengar with Thunderbolt. Not much improvement here.

VS Agiligross:
148 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 160 HP / 0 SpD Metagross: 89-105 (26 - 30.7%) -- 3.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 160 HP / 0 SpD Metagross: 96-113 (28.1 - 33.1%) -- 88.8% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
You're not revenge-killing Agiligross unless it's been heavily weakened. Not much improvement here.

VS DDMence:
148 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 98-116 (29.6 - 35%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 106-125 (32 - 37.7%) -- 0.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Gengar can't revenge-kill a boosted Salamence with Sucker Punch unless it's been heavily weakened, and +1 HP Flying has a 75% chance to OHKO the most common Gengar spread in return (guaranteed with sand damage or a more straightforward offensive Gengar spread). If it's not a boosted DDMence, then you outspeed it and there's no reason not to be using Ice Punch instead.

VS DD Gyarados:
184 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 68 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 84-99 (24.1 - 28.4%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gengar Crunch vs. 68 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 88-104 (25.2 - 29.8%) -- 0.1% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
Again, no revenge kills unless Gyarados is heavily weakened. You're better off just gambling on surviving the HP Flying (50% chance from full on 172 HP / 0 Def Gengar if Gyarados is at +1) and using Thunderbolt if Gengar is all you have to hold off Gyarados.

VS DDTar: It's useless, Gengar's dead, move on.


I don't know shit about ADV UU/NU so I'm gonna leave that to someone else, although I can say right away that Murkrow, Huntail, and Xatu all potentially have some use for it. Murkrow likes a stronger STAB option, a means to bypass Huntail's awful Speed is nice, and I could see Sucker Punch being fun on some kind of CM Xatu set as a way to smack opposing Psychic-types and frail physically offensive would-be revenge killers.
 
As dwarfstar mentioned, Gengar would have appreciated sucker punch support, as Alakazam is a pretty important target to hit. To add onto the discussion though, I would also mention that Absol would have loved sucker punch a generation early. Even though it would be special in gen 3, stab priority would have done wonders on even a swords dance set. SD/Sucker Punch/HP Fighting and either Shadow Ball (to guarantee a KO on ghosts/psychics) or Aerial Ace (for fighting types) would be effective. The priority would allow Absol to pick off some faster, frailer threats even without it being boosted. (side note: a calm mind set could maybe be useful and would actually boost sucker punch)

I also don't know much about Gen 3 UU/NU but in theory it seems like Murkow would appreciate some STAB priority as well as Houndoom (who could use it over Crunch to pick off faster threats because 95 speed tier isn't great and it would hurt coming off of doom's base 110 Sp. Atk)
 

Typhlito

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As dwarfstar mentioned, Gengar would have appreciated sucker punch support, as Alakazam is a pretty important target to hit. To add onto the discussion though, I would also mention that Absol would have loved sucker punch a generation early. Even though it would be special in gen 3, stab priority would have done wonders on even a swords dance set. SD/Sucker Punch/HP Fighting and either Shadow Ball (to guarantee a KO on ghosts/psychics) or Aerial Ace (for fighting types) would be effective. The priority would allow Absol to pick off some faster, frailer threats even without it being boosted. (side note: a calm mind set could maybe be useful and would actually boost sucker punch)

I also don't know much about Gen 3 UU/NU but in theory it seems like Murkow would appreciate some STAB priority as well as Houndoom (who could use it over Crunch to pick off faster threats because 95 speed tier isn't great and it would hurt coming off of doom's base 110 Sp. Atk)
Alakazam is a pretty rare mon but eh. Starmie on the other hand might have trouble beating gar now.

I agree about houndoom though. Sure it might have some trouble fitting it into a set but I think it would be amazing when used in a spikes team for this one reason.

252 SpA Houndoom Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Dugtrio: 158-186 (74.5 - 87.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after 3 layers of Spikes
252 SpA Houndoom Crunch vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Dugtrio: 158-186 (71.1 - 83.7%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after 3 layers of Spikes

Duggy is one of the biggest reasons doom is not seen as much since its actually quite good as a gar killer/burn spreader. Now that it has a way to reliably take it down, Im certain that it would be used much more.
 
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Typhlito

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Alright. Next up we have... What if Magic Bounce was a thing in DPP?



So back in DPP, the only way to get rid of hazards was to use rapid spin. But what if there was a way to keep hazards at bay while punishing the opponent for using them as well as any non-damaging status move like toxic or spore? A few things come to mind here. On one side, with pursuit being seen a good amount, Espeon and Xatu may have a hard time being used even with this but on the other hand, no previews allows it to abuse the ability much easier. What do you think though? Would magic bouncers be a viable option in the current meta or would it only be niche at best? If you think they may not be viable in ou with this ability, how would they fair in uu? You tell me!
 

Bughouse

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I feel like in DPP Espeon and Xatu lose to pretty much every rocker and Pursuit TTar is incredibly common... still hazard reflection (among other move's reflection) without team preview to give it away would be massive and would definitely see use...



HOWEVER

Assuming Magic Bounce works the same as Magic Coat, which it always has, then it would be terrible in DPP. Magic Coat in DPP did not reflect entry hazards :(
 

Typhlito

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For this scenario lets just say that it retains its hazard reflecting effect from future gens even though what you said would probably be the case if it actually existed. Sorry if I wasnt clear enough.
 
I feel like in DPP Espeon and Xatu lose to pretty much every rocker and Pursuit TTar is incredibly common... still hazard reflection (among other move's reflection) without team preview to give it away would be massive and would definitely see use...



HOWEVER

Assuming Magic Bounce works the same as Magic Coat, which it always has, then it would be terrible in DPP. Magic Coat in DPP did not reflect entry hazards :(
Yes, Ttars are everywhere in DPP OU. With no team preview, it would work at first and it would certainly be tested as a "new toy," but would eventually leave OU because of Ttar's dominance.

In UU, I looked at Espeon (being one of my fav eeveelutions with Vaporeon) and it would function pretty well against the common rock setters, but you would prob have to pick between reliable recovery and power with specs/CM (and it also struggles with Donphan because of Earthquake). However, Xatu could really do some work with coverage that can handle Registeel, Qwilfish (spikes lead), boost/heal to handle sandslash and donphan and uxie. I think the UU meta would really be affected by Magic Bounce
 
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Yes, Ttars are everywhere in DPP OU. With no team preview, it would work at first and it would certainly be tested as a "new toy," but would eventually leave OU because of Ttar's dominance.
Yeah, but it's not as though Espeon doesn't have tools to circumvent Pursuit- Baton Pass evades slower Pursuits iirc, meaning Pursuit anything (except Weavile) has to run Scarf to actually catch it.
 

PDC

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idk, i actually think xatu could be a pretty niche mon to use in dpp but i think it would definitely have some use despite tyranitar troubles....

first off you are now a HARD stop to all breloom unless they decide to run stone edge or the like. while i agree tyranitar circumvents this counter, i feel like xatu would still be a pretty neat mon to slap on a creative balance or stall. it beats skarmory, hippowdon, breloom, certain perts depending on spread, uxie, some zelfs...xatu actually has a pretty decent range of hazard / status mons that it can annoy. i would imagine uturn xatu + dugtrio being a pretty sick core in this metagame actually. something like heist's old zapdos dug stall. xatu probably wouldn't be incredibly useful tho due to lackluster stats, but i definitely think it has some use somewhere on teams.
 
idk, i actually think xatu could be a pretty niche mon to use in dpp but i think it would definitely have some use despite tyranitar troubles....

first off you are now a HARD stop to all breloom unless they decide to run stone edge or the like. while i agree tyranitar circumvents this counter, i feel like xatu would still be a pretty neat mon to slap on a creative balance or stall. it beats skarmory, hippowdon, breloom, certain perts depending on spread, uxie, some zelfs...xatu actually has a pretty decent range of hazard / status mons that it can annoy. i would imagine uturn xatu + dugtrio being a pretty sick core in this metagame actually. something like heist's old zapdos dug stall. xatu probably wouldn't be incredibly useful tho due to lackluster stats, but i definitely think it has some use somewhere on teams.
You raise some interesting points about OU and especially about Breloom. Dug + Xatu would be interesting. If you were talking about me raising the point of Xatu and saying that it was niche, I just want to clarify - I was talking Xatu in UU :)
 

Typhlito

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Very good. Let's move on to the next one. What if all egg moves are compatible with each other in BW?



So in bw, it is known that pokemon can only receive egg moves from one parent. While this is not a big deal for a good amount of pokemon, it kept certain pokemon from having access to potentially powerful movesets. This was later fixed in gen 6 which allowed pokemon to learn egg moves from both parents. But what if this was allowed in bw as well? Would it give any affected pokemon an edge in the metagame or would it not change much at all? If so, how would the meta adjust to the new threat? You tell me!

Here's a list of pokemon that had incompatible egg moves. Its a dpp list but it's still accurate. Its also the closest thing to a full list I could find which is fine for our purposes.

http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/platinum-illegal-movesets-workshop.46099/
 
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it would be a similar massive shake up for certain mons like it was in gen 6.

so many desirable move combos opened up with that egg move learn change.

drum jet azu is a immediate stand out especially with perm rain being a thing.

trying to think what else pre-gen 6 that had a desirable egg combo that was illegal before the change.
 
i really doubt it'd be a "massive shake up" for anything

bd azu looks as niche as it already is or something like sd fera

i've thinking for 2 mins the only thing of relevance i could think of is sleep + spikes rose

that could validate an alternative route for sand spikes, spitting spikes on keld would be so nice, sleep would give it a edge of little do-nothing outside spiking of it's current state (and the clearly disadvantage of using an inferior mon to skarm / ferro). it's not like spikes rose it's terrible right now, but certainly meh, that bump would be nice
 
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dwarfstar

mindless philosopher
Outside of Azumarill and Roserade, I think the only notable mon that gets anything halfway useful is Tentacruel, which gets the option to run Haze or Mirror Coat alongside Rapid Spin. Both moves are pretty niche on their own and I kinda doubt they'd make it onto a lot of sets over Protect or Toxic Spikes, but I guess it's something
 

Typhlito

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I think azumarill would benefit from it the most. It would be a monster with rain, spikes and mag. Nearly nothing can switch in safely.

Anyway, here is the next topic. What if Stone Edge existed in RBY?

golem_stone_edge_by_keydarkmoon-dak8b63.png


So like always, everything that ever learned the move stone edge naturally or otherwise can have it in this scenario. It will also retain its high crit effect since moves like slash still had the effect in rby. So who do you think would abuse this move. Would it make a big difference in the meta game or not really? You tell me!
 

Bughouse

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Goldon get slightly better, but it doesn't really change their interaction with any of the flying types. Zapdos still can't do shit back and DNite still lives to Agility or Blizzard (barring crit... which was true of Rock Slide too, though admittedly we're making Edge high crit here).

One difference is that Stone Edge becomes the reliable move for them to throw out since it's just as strong as EQ but rock resists in RBY are basically... Goldon themselves. So Exeggutor can't switch in as easily, for example. But I can't see any other mon in the meta using the move. Tauros's set is already pretty perfect. Dragonite doesn't have room for it. Pinsir doesn't suddenly become usable or anything...

I think the only way this makes a huge difference to the meta is if Aerodactyl got it, in which case it'd become viable as heck/totally broken. 130 speed with a STAB 100 BP guaranteed Crit attack to throw out? Hell yes.

Mons that Aero's Crit Stone Edge would not OHKO or 2HKO:
Golem
Rhydon
That's it

ie Aero would be Uber and the RBY OU meta would still be pretty unchanged :)

RBY UU would get shaken up quite a bit more.
 
Goldon get slightly better, but it doesn't really change their interaction with any of the flying types. Zapdos still can't do shit back and DNite still lives to Agility or Blizzard (barring crit... which was true of Rock Slide too, though admittedly we're making Edge high crit here).

One difference is that Stone Edge becomes the reliable move for them to throw out since it's just as strong as EQ but rock resists in RBY are basically... Goldon themselves. So Exeggutor can't switch in as easily, for example. But I can't see any other mon in the meta using the move. Tauros's set is already pretty perfect. Dragonite doesn't have room for it. Pinsir doesn't suddenly become usable or anything...

I think the only way this makes a huge difference to the meta is if Aerodactyl got it, in which case it'd become viable as heck/totally broken. 130 speed with a STAB 100 BP guaranteed Crit attack to throw out? Hell yes.

Mons that Aero's Crit Stone Edge would not OHKO or 2HKO:
Golem
Rhydon
That's it

ie Aero would be Uber and the RBY OU meta would still be pretty unchanged :)

RBY UU would get shaken up quite a bit more.
Yes I agree with these points. Tauros could use it, but it's hard to give up Blizzard for opposing Eggs, Golems and Rhydons. Aero would definitely be better and viable in OU (not sure if it would be broken because Stone Edge could miss and it would if it's anything like the current metas lol, but definitely powerful) And I can't comment much about UU because I don't have that much experience, but Kabutops could probably use Rock STAB.
 

Oglemi

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Really don't think Aero would be broken but it'd be really good to say the least, I see it functioning as a better Zapdos or a counterpart to Tauros, like Persian on steroids. Major thing to consider here is that Aero isn't exactly switching into anything safely. It's weak to both Blizzard and Thunderbolt, as well as hypothetical Stone Edge itself, and it loses a ton of its usefulness if paralyzed so it isn't going to enjoy switching into Body Slams. Plus, with it around and now with Stone Edge, Rhydon's gonna be on way more teams, meaning a cleansweep by it isn't going to happen super easily despite the fact that it does O-2HKO the rest of the meta (not accounting for misses), including having a chance to one shot Chansey. It would mold the metagame around it, but I don't think it would be any more broken than Tauros.
 

Texas Cloverleaf

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As someone who's actually used Aero a fair bit (thanks Isa) I almost thing oglemi is selling it short a bit, with a STAB it can spam consistently Aero is a scary threat

Standard set would be Stone Edge / Fire Blast / Sky Attack / Hyper Beam probably, with reflect and rest as techs. Aero can punish a lot of things that try to switch in on it, with Fire Blast to threaten burns on any Goldon that tries to switch it and Sky Attack to threaten an Egg that thinks it can come in on a predict
 

Bughouse

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1) Tauros doesn't 2HKO all but 2 mons in the meta, Aero does
2) Tauros can actually be outsped, Aero can only be tied (lol Electrode)

Aero would be WAY better than Tauros. 100% crit rate Stone Edge is a nuclear bomb. The only thing holding it back is that it's 80% accuracy. But I mean that's better than Sleep Powder or Lovely Kiss or Clamp.

Why would you even be switching Aero into anything? Just bring it in on any free switch and gradually kill Goldon (which becomes mandatory), which only switches in 2 times before getting 2hkoed on the 3rd switch in. Then kill everything else.

Literally you would have no reason not to lead Aero. It straight up ohkos zam.

It would absolutely ruin the meta and would be banned.
 
Rocks being better means Sandslash, which already soft-counters them, is more relevant, and that Jolt and especially zap would be less popular. Dugtrio is too frail to deal with anything that might fire back with Stone Edge, and doesn't outspeed aero anyway.

Aerodactyl [Stone Edge] vs. Sandslash on a critical hit: 102-120 (28.8 - 33.9%) -- 1% chance to 3HKO
Sandslash [Stone Edge] vs. Aerodactyl on a critical hit: 364-428 (100.2 - 117.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Aerodactyl [Stone Edge] vs. Dugtrio on a critical hit: 165-194 (60.4 - 71%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Dugtrio [Stone Edge] vs. Aerodactyl on a critical hit: 316-372 (87 - 102.4%) -- 17.9% chance to OHKO

Should be noted that Golem and especially Rhydon (plus Omastar, Marowak, and Muk) have a low enough speed that 8x crit is still not guaranteed.

For me the big hard question is the viability of Kabutops, Gyarados, and Dragonite, which are probably the biggest winners after Aerodactyl. Pretty confident that Onix, Hitmonlee, Omastar, Muk would not get into OU over this, and Tauros becomes more interesting but probably not much better per se. I can sort of see Ubers getting turned on its head, at least in terms of moveset design. Aero and Tauros both get it, but so do Mew and Mewtwo.
 
Pinsir Stone Edge vs. Zapdos on a critical hit: 364-428 (95 - 111.7%) -- 69.2% chance to OHKO
Pinsir Stone Edge vs. Gengar on a critical hit: 226-266 (69.9 - 82.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Pinsir would absolutely love having crit Stone Edge to spam especially when it helps Pinsir with two of its biggest obstacles in OU. Having to rely on Swords Dance Submission to deal with now mandatory Goldon and face all the new Stone Edge spam hurts though.

Nidoking Stone Edge vs. Starmie on a critical hit: 147-173 (45.5 - 53.5%) -- 38.3% chance to 2HKO
Nidoking Stone Edge vs. Chansey on a critical hit: 363-427 (51.6 - 60.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Nidoking Stone Edge vs. Aerodactyl on a critical hit: 345-406 (95 - 111.8%) -- 71.8% chance to OHKO
Nidoking Stone Edge vs. Lapras on a critical hit: 308-362 (66.5 - 78.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Nidoking Stone Edge vs. Cloyster on a critical hit: 173-204 (57 - 67.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Nidoking is no longer walled without Paralysis support, has Surf for the now mandatory Goldon and provides a secondary Stone Edge switch in. Additionally, its speed and ability to 2HKO Lapras and Cloyster with Stone Edge means it isn't as vulnerable to teams with them. One downside though besides a not having a guaranteed OHKO on Aerodactyl is that it can only take 3 Stone Edges as opposed to Sandslash/Goldon's 4.
 

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