Hurricane is an incredible move. Win this for me Thisbemyalt
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Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
UUber Moves (Won by Wings of Night)
- Thread starter r0ady
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i won thanks to willo miss, sorry TSR http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390054088
not sure what just happened but uh, won gg vs nightingales
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390074104
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390074104
Beat Feliburn, gg.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390093848
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390093848
won v shadestep
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390450615
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390450615
This is horrifying.
That's why we use Topsy Turvy Sableye :p
Anyway, activity, sand1234 was last seen today, 1:53 PM, but ya, 0 answers :(
won vs leo, gg http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390570143
thanks for waiting
s/o to GULLY for the team
thanks for waiting
s/o to GULLY for the team
battling this weekend
won against my friend MiltankMilk, i forgot to bring reuni counter
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390666410
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390666410
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Wings of Night
I COULD BE BANNED!
Won against Pak, sorry for the crit early game, that changed a lot.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390853805
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390853805
I've contacted Leru and defeated him. Here's my replay
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390861283
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/balancedhackmons-390861283
tfw literally almost half the people who have played thus far have used the same team, which is currently going strong at like 3-4.
From watching the replays thus far, there are a few real threats emerging...
From watching the replays thus far, there are a few real threats emerging...
- BOOMBURST HELIOLISK: Yeah everyone is using this thing and with good reason, if you don't have a specially bulky Normal resist you're going to end up getting eaten alive by this.
- HURRICANE SALAMENCE: I was curious to see how much usage this one has gotten compared to some of the flashier options, but it's actually really fucking good. Hits almost as hard as Draco with good offensive coverage and no drop? Yeah this thing is good.
- SLACK OFF SWAMPERT: Tough to see Roar go but this thing never ever dies.
- RECOVER BRONZONG/REGISTEEL: Decent Rockers and some of the best answers to Boomburst Helio.
- SHELL SMASH CRAWDAUNT: Seen this do more work in testing than in most of the actual games, but Crawdaunt in general is improved in this meta I find, and Shell Smash makes this thing the scariest setup sweeper in the game right now IMO.
- DRILL PECK AERODACTYL: A neutral 100% accurate move that hits harder than Stone Edge with better offensive coverage. Not a flashy addition, but Mega-Aero is really good in general thanks to fast Pursuit support being so clutch in this meta, and giving it Drill Peck just makes it better.
- BRAVE BIRD FLETCHINDER: I'm really pleasantly surprised by how good Baby Bird has been with Brave Bird instead of Acrobatics. Probably will get a bit worse as people use Registeel/Bronzong more, though, as they wall it pretty thoroughly...
- TRANSFORM BLISSEY: I think I've only seen this thing once but holy crap it has been scary in testing. Especially good because of how great Heliolisk is. Blissey ain't just set-up bait in this meta...
- U-TURN HERACROSS: Holy crap this thing is actually a monster. Great especially in a tier where Steel types are more and more important.
- HEALING WISH WHIMSICOTT: This is a meta full of nasty hard hitters and setup sweepers. Whimsi has a clutch Speed tier that outspeeds Heliolisk, can spread para, block setup with Encore, and give your own sweeper another chance at life. Surprised I haven't seen this one used more.
- VOLT TACKLE MIENSHAO: Reckless Mienshao has a great Speed tier and is almost unwallable with this one addition.
- PARTING SHOT UMBREON: You guys are sleeping on this thing it is so good.
- ACROBATICS GYARADOS: I've seen a few cool attempts at making this work (shoutout to that Normal Gem Double-Edge DD Gyarados I saw earlier), but thus far nothing has really stood out as anything I'd call a success. It's a shame, really, as it sounds like it could be really threatening if someone cracks it.
- FREEZE DRY MILOTIC: Haze is great this meta, so I actually think Milotic is still pretty cool, but Freeze Dry is so weak without investment that you're still just as walled by Waters as you were before, and now you also don't even hit Dragons very hard.
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Just wanted to add on a bit, I've personally found frail nukes like Mienshao and Darmanitan decent at doing their job in practice but honestly feel kinda meh in the meta due to most matches I've found to have priority being in high demand due to the sheer amount of fast sweepers in the tier. Also think NP Sceptile should get a good shoutout as I've found it to be more and more of my draft builds for this tour since its great offensive qualities mixed with decent defensive utility by virtue of its typing make it extremely hard to fight against (Blissey can't even beat this thing without winning a Speed tie after Transform) and it's proven to be quite the threat for and against me in practice time and time again. I think I've also been swept by about 4 Haxorus in practice so fuck that thing lmao, Banded wrecks shop and plays like Dnite while SD completely screws anyone that isn't packing a good answer (of which there aren't many). Lastly, I kind of want to give a shout to Zoroark and Forretress since they're decent offensive leads in this metagame where you can apply a crap ton of offensive pressure to keep hazards up and their unique traits in the role bring interesting dynamics to play around with on offensive builds.
Since the cool kids are talking about their impressions so far, I guess I will too. I haven't really built or tested in this environment (my friend r0ady built me the team I used this round, thanks r0ady!), so most of what I have to say is going to come from what I've observed from replays, what I've heard from other people, or what I saw in my game. Stealing Hogg's format shamelessly because I like it.
Major threats (stuff that I've seen work already or has significant and immediately obvious advantages over the competition):
Major threats (stuff that I've seen work already or has significant and immediately obvious advantages over the competition):
- BOOMBURST HELIOLISK: Heliolisk was already decent. Giving it a strong, spammable STAB move made it a top-tier threat. Most people seem to be dealing with this by running either a specially bulky Normal resist (as Hogg said) or something fast enough to force it out and threaten the rest of the opposing team (ex. Mega Aerodactyl). Definitely one of the big things to watch out for.
- HURRICANE SALAMENCE: Like Hogg said, this one isn't as flashy as a lot of the other new toys, but I've been liking it a lot. Defog Salamence has been a pretty solid but not particularly fancy tool for offense/balance for a while now, and getting access to Hurricane made it an even better option. Flying is an amazing offensive type and Hurricane gives Salamence a STAB nuke that doesn't drop its Special Attack. The confusion chance is nice too, although the accuracy is a bit of a drawback. Something I'd like to see come out in later rounds is Specs Salamence (Draco Meteor / Hurricane / Fire Blast / Hydro Pump) or Life Orb Salamence without Defog (Draco Meteor / Hurricane / Fire Blast / Roost or Hydro Pump). Hydro Pump is a cool option to hit Diancie if it starts showing up at some point, while Roost keeps Salamence from wearing itself down too badly. These sets could work well with Heliolisk since they can break through the specially bulky Normal resists that most people are using to check Heliolisk and Salamence can switch in on Ground-, Fighting-, and Fire-type attacks aimed at Heliolisk.
- SLACK OFF SWAMPERT: I've always been a huge fan of Swampert, and Slack Off just made it even better. Its longevity was surprising even when it didn't have instant recovery, and access to Slack Off increased its staying power substantially. Losing Roar is kind of unfortunate, but the move in Swampert's fourth slot has never felt anywhere near as necessary as Stealth Rock / Scald / Earthquake to begin with. Definitely one of the biggest beneficiaries of this format.
- DRILL PECK AERODACTYL: Like Hogg said, this is another addition that's solid even if it isn't fancy or attention-grabbing. Aerodactyl's been craving a better Flying-type STAB move for ages now. Having something stronger than Wing Attack and more reliable than Stone Edge is great for a Pokemon like Aerodactyl. Unsurprisingly, it's one of the best Mega Evolutions (if not the best) in this format and can fit on any team archetype. Drill Peck really helps Aerodactyl be useful as part of a stall team since it provides a better mix of coverage, power, and PP than any of Stone Edge, Aerial Ace, or Earthquake. Pursuit support is valuable in this meta, with Heliolisk running around (as well as all the other reasons it was valuable before) and Aerodactyl can also run Crunch to get rid of the omnipresent Bronzong or Earthquake for additional coverage on other threats. Basically, Aerodactyl has been great for a long time for a lot of reasons and Drill Peck made it even better.
- TOPSY TURVY SABLEYE: This is probably the best blanket check to setup sweepers in the meta (only Whimsicott is even comparable). Throwing this on your team gives you insurance against so many massive threats that it's not even funny. Sableye trades its stallbreaking capacity for the ability to provide insurance against offense and is a great utility option to handle the myriad of threatening Pokemon that are otherwise difficult to prepare for in this meta.
- EXTREMESPEED HAXORUS: Haxorus got a massive boost from its access to priority. Swords Dance Extreme Speed Haxorus looks incredibly threatening and Choice Band looks like a solid alternative. There really aren't a lot of solid answers to Swords Dance Haxorus now that it has access to a +2 priority move and good natural speed and power.
- SHELL SMASH CRAWDAUNT: This thing is incredibly threatening even though I haven't seen it used much. Access to a move that's basically Agility and Swords Dance in one turn makes Crawdaunt incredibly dangerous because it's suddenly a lot harder to check with something fast that can tank an Aqua Jet. White Herb cuts its damage output compared to the standard Life Orb Swords Dance that we're all used to, but it does make it harder to revenge kill with priority. Crawdaunt also has the option to take advantage of the Special Attack boost and run Sludge Wave or Ice Beam over Aqua Jet or something in order to get past its standard slow, bulky checks. Definitely one of the best setup sweepers currently available.
- RECOVER BRONZONG: Bronzong has been emerging as one of the top tanks in the meta due to its ability to deal with many of the major threats, especially Heliolisk, Florges, and Mega Aerodactyl. It still has most of its old weaknesses, but its fourth slot could run a variety of moves anyway and it doesn't really lose much by using that slot for Recover.
- GEOMANCY FLORGES: I've seen people run this a bit and it looks really scary. One free turn can win the game. Its main weakness is the need to find the right time to set up, since Power Herb only works once, but that doesn't really hold it back all that much.
- NASTY PLOT SCEPTILE: Sceptile already hits hard enough as it is. Being able to boost its Special Attack is huge and also helps its longevity to some extent by increasing Giga Drain's damage and associated healing. I haven't really seen this yet, but I think it's a huge threat.
- HEALING WISH WHIMSICOTT: Whimsicott has been one of the premier support options for offensive teams for a long time now, and Healing Wish gave it another excellent tool to use in that role. Whimsicott is versatile enough to fill the roles it needs to and provides a lot of utility to offensive teams. Without even counting its Choiced sets, its options include pivot support, paralysis, Encore, and the chance to restore a major threat to full health. I'd like to see this used a bit more.
- RECOVER DIANCIE: At first glance, this just looks like one of the million tanks/walls that got instant recovery, but I think it's a choice worth considering in this meta. It matches up fairly well against common threats like Heliolisk, the Defog Salamence set everyone's been using, Fletchinder, and Mega Absol, and can check Mega Aerodactyl in a pinch, but the prevalence of Steel-types in this meta hold it back. Still, not a bad Pokemon.
- TRANSFORM BLISSEY: This seems like it should be really good, but I haven't seen it used yet. Blissey is far from bad in a meta where Heliolisk runs rampant, so it should come out later in the tournament.
- U-TURN HERACROSS: Heracross actually benefitted a lot from this. Having the ability to pivot out of checks is huge since it prevents you from having to make a risky prediction or double switch and lets you simply click STAB U-Turn and take a chunk out of something. Heracross loses the ability to deal with certain counters, but the ability to preserve momentum by pivoting into something that can take advantage of the opponent's Heracross answers more than makes up for it. Choice Band lets it take a chunk out of resists, while Choice Scarf gives you a fast momentum grabber. I support Hogg's assertion that Heracross's value has increased in a meta where Steel-types are so prevalent.
- SHIFT GEAR METAGROSS: I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. Metagross seems pretty solid in this meta and having the ability to boost Speed and Attack simultaneously is pretty significant, but it feels a bit overshadowed by other threats right now. Still, it's a decent check to some of the major threats in this meta and can sweep or clean well later on.
- RECOVER AGGRON: Like Swampert, Aggron really benefited from access to instant recovery. It's another bulky Steel-type that can set Stealth Rock, but it does take up the Mega slot and therefore has a high opportunity cost. Still, it seems like it would be useful on more defensive or balanced builds and has to use its physical bulk, offensive presence, and Filter to differentiate itself from other bulky Steel-types such as Registeel and Bronzong.
- STEALTH ROCK ZOROARK / STICKY WEB FORRETRESS: These two seem like they'd make cool leads for hyper offense teams (as Kreme has already argued). I generally don't play teams with dedicated leads, but this meta offers a lot of options for keeping pressure on opposing teams in order to preserve your hazards and these two might be worth trying out for people more comfortable with hyper offense than I am. Kreme covered the important points, but I just want to emphasize how customizable Forretress has become in terms of moveset since you can pick any hazard(s) you want and set them up reliably.
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