VGC 2023 Metagame Discussion: Regulation E

Choruto

Sylveon <3
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Population bomb with technician gets some absolutely crazy ko's that people dont expect.
252 Atk Technician Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rillaboom: 210-250 (101.4 - 120.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery and Sitrus Berry recovery
252 Atk Technician Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Chien-Pao: 220-270 (141 - 173%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Technician Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 180-220 (99.4 - 121.5%) -- very high chance to OHKO
252 Atk Technician Sword of Ruin Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 84 HP / 4 Def Iron Hands: 240-280 (100 - 116.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Dont sleep on the Maus. It also outspeeds Oger by 1 so you can kill it too
 
Ok... Hear me out...

Moltres @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
Tera Type: Grass
Serious Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Tailwind
- Will-O-Wisp
- Air Slash

This Pokemon deals with Ogerpon so well! It resist almost every move it runs (Ivy Cudgel, Wood Hammer, Power Whip, Play Rough, Stomping Tantrum, etc), and although Ogerpon can use Knock Off, it get punished by Rocky Helmet. Will-O-Wisp to give Ogerpon MORE of a hard time, and Air Slash for a super effective move and a chance to flinch.

Although Moltres is weak to Waterpon and Rockpon, it can fix that by Terastilizing into a grass type!
 
I just read through the teams! I noticed a few fun things as well and I’ll get to those.

:Landorus-Therian: Is the #1 Pokémon in Reg E no doubt. With :Iron Hands: at #2.

:Kingambit: is back.

:Staraptor: might be a decent anti meta pick.

:Urshifu: is better than we thought it would be in Reg E.
 

LovelyLuna

Lost in a life full of mistakes
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I just read through the teams! I noticed a few fun things as well and I’ll get to those.

:Landorus-Therian: Is the #1 Pokémon in Reg E no doubt. With :Iron Hands: at #2.
This, I personally disagree with. :Landorus-Therian: is a response to :Ogerpon-Hearthflame: as "The call", why people also spammed :Ogerpon-Wellspring: and :Kingambit: more than consistent strong pokemon like :Chien-Pao: or :Tornadus:. I think this was because this is the first Regulation E event and an anti meta call would be far more impactful. I think :Flutter Mane: in particular is the best pokemon in the format. Far less competition than either :Iron Hands: or :Landorus-Therian:, who's competition had significantly more usage than something like :Gholdengo:. This means it's very easy to fit into a team without considering other options and invalidates almost every special attacker in the format, the remaining few existing BECAUSE of Flutter Mane. :Heatran:? Good into :Flutter Mane:, :Chi-Yu:? Good with :Flutter Mane:, :Gholdengo:? Better on Rain, threatens :Flutter Mane:, :Iron Bundle:? Good at slowing :Flutter Mane: down for it's partner. This sheer level of invalidation isn't replicated by any other pokemon. Another intimidator and many physical attackers thrive despite :Landorus-Therian:, Other Assault Vests and Fake outs along with many Water Teras succeed despite :Iron Hands:.

:Flutter Mane: might lack as much presence on the field but it fits on pretty much every archetype and warps the meta around it. Heavy Slam :Iron Hands: and sometimes :Heatran:, is ONLY ran because of this thing. The presence on the teambuilder and ability to always bring some value no matter the partners makes it hard for me to consider :Flutter Mane: is not #1.

:Kingambit: is indeed back! Definitely a solid pick rn and makes it one of the most consistent S/V pokemon! Was good in every Regulation bar D, where it was still a thing

Was always a believer of :Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: personally and :Staraptor: is prob a niche mon that's almost impossible to justify. Sick pokemon choice though
 
Trick Room in Regulation E

Trick Room has gained some fun new tools after the Teal Mask DLC.

:chandelure: and :vikavolt: have the second highest special attack stat out of all the non-legendary or mega-evolved pokemon.
Chandelure gets Trick Room and Vikavolt can attain no weaknesses with Electric tera.

:conkeldurr: and :dusclops: have returned, which are common staples for Trick Room in past generations.

:ursaluna-bloodmoon: may cause a shift in hard trick room teams and their setups, since they may want to find different physical attackers(like Conkeldurr!) that isn't :ursaluna: so they can run Ursaluna-BM.

I'm hoping that Vikavolt will be getting more usage than it has in past gens, since we may finally have a reliable special attacker in Trick Room that's the Electric type. Iron Hands doesn't have to compete with it, as they do different things with different uses.

As for Chandelure, it has to deal with a format dominated by Urshifu and Flutter Mane, but :ogerpon-wellspring: may show to be a potential partner with Chandelure, as to counter Tailwind teams.

Conkeldurr has to compete with Iron Hands, which has Fake Out and is incredibly bulky.

Dusclops has almost nothing to worry about, since it is paired up with redirection almost all the time, Eviolite gives it a defensive profile, and has a bunch of support moves that no other Trick Room setter has access to.

Ogerpon-Wellspring may prove to be the best new redirection for Trick Room, since it gains a special defense boost when terastalized(for Flutter Mane) and has Water Absorb as its regular ability(for Urshifu-R). It has access to coverage moves like Play Rough and Knock Off, along with the STAB combination of Ivy Cudgel and Horn Leech/Wood Hammer.
 

Sapphire

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Trick Room in Regulation E

Trick Room has gained some fun new tools after the Teal Mask DLC.

:chandelure: and :vikavolt: have the second highest special attack stat out of all the non-legendary or mega-evolved pokemon.
Chandelure gets Trick Room and Vikavolt can attain no weaknesses with Electric tera.

:conkeldurr: and :dusclops: have returned, which are common staples for Trick Room in past generations.

:ursaluna-bloodmoon: may cause a shift in hard trick room teams and their setups, since they may want to find different physical attackers(like Conkeldurr!) that isn't :ursaluna: so they can run Ursaluna-BM.

I'm hoping that Vikavolt will be getting more usage than it has in past gens, since we may finally have a reliable special attacker in Trick Room that's the Electric type. Iron Hands doesn't have to compete with it, as they do different things with different uses.

As for Chandelure, it has to deal with a format dominated by Urshifu and Flutter Mane, but :ogerpon-wellspring: may show to be a potential partner with Chandelure, as to counter Tailwind teams.

Conkeldurr has to compete with Iron Hands, which has Fake Out and is incredibly bulky.

Dusclops has almost nothing to worry about, since it is paired up with redirection almost all the time, Eviolite gives it a defensive profile, and has a bunch of support moves that no other Trick Room setter has access to.

Ogerpon-Wellspring may prove to be the best new redirection for Trick Room, since it gains a special defense boost when terastalized(for Flutter Mane) and has Water Absorb as its regular ability(for Urshifu-R). It has access to coverage moves like Play Rough and Knock Off, along with the STAB combination of Ivy Cudgel and Horn Leech/Wood Hammer.
Where's Torkoal
 
Sacramento starts tomorrow, I’m gonna discuss the current meta and feel free to discuss below.

:Landorus-Therian: is busted in this format, the 60% usage really says something. It having Tera Flying Tera Blast as an :Ogerpon: answer really sets it apart from other mons. While Its not my favorite Pokémon in this meta I think it should be used on most team compositions.

:Kingambit: is making a massive comeback. Due to the prominence of balance teams in Regulation E, :Kingambit: is back where it was pre Reg D. I have to admit, I was expecting :Kingambit: to drop in usage in Regulation E.

I still think :Flutter Mane: is the best Pokémon in the meta. It has answers into a lot of the prominent meta threats, such as :Kingambit:, :Urshifu:, :Cresselia:,and :Iron Hands:.

Speaking of :Iron Hands:, the Heavy Slam calls that people are making to threaten opposing Flutter are insane, these people know when Flutter is about to switch in, and they are making the call.

Last thing, :Ogerpon-Hearthflame: seems to be the 2nd most used Ogerpon form from what I’ve seen. The most used would go to the Wellspring variety. I wasn’t expecting Waterpon to get nearly as much usage as it did. But I’m glad people lean into it a bit more that expected. I think it’s very viable personally.
 

Choruto

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I honestly think one of the best cores that hasen't seen much use is :urshifu: :Arcanine-Hisui: :Rillaboom:, with :Ogerpon-wellspring: also fitting well into the core.
All of them cover each other weakness really well type wise, their abilities and goals complement each other really well.
Lets look at typings
:Arcanine-Hisui:
Weaknesses: Fighting, Ground, Rock, Water
Resistances: Bug, Fairy, Fire, Flying, Ice, Normal, Poison

:Urshifu:
Weaknesses: Electric, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Psychic
Resistances: Bug, Dark, Fire, Ice, Rock, Steel, Water

:Rillaboom:
Weaknesses: Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice, Poison
Resistances: Electric, Grass, Ground, Water

Basically all of them cover each other weakness in at least 1 switch. Lets say you lead :Urshifu: and another partner. If your opp has a strong Electric or Grass type, such as :Iron-Hands: or maybe :Amoonguss: threating a rage powder you can pivot into :Rillaboom:. If they have, say :Flutter-mane: then a switch into :Arcanine-Hisui: would work. Offensively speaking, you hit all of the types for neutral at least and most of the major ones by super effective

They also have great synergy. :Urshifu-rapid-strike: wants to outspeed with scarf, tera water and go Unga bunga mode on the opponent. The major things that stop it are either opponent speed control, water/grass types and bulky redirection users. :Rillaboom: is great into a lot of these match ups, having taunt to stop redirection users from spamming their moves, ignoring rage powder, and having access to fake out which is invaluable in burning an opponents turn and letting your :urshifu: snowball. It also has a great match up into :Ogerpon-wellspring:, one of the most common mons in the meta that gives :urshifu: trouble.

:Arcanine-Hisui: Likewise is also a damage dealer, but functions differently to :Urshifu:. It trades out unseen fist and the faster speed for generally a lot more bulk, with it having access to intimidate, ability to run a defensive tera, and being able to invest in more bulk. Intimidate is an amazing ability, with the meta skewing physical you're almost always guaranteed to switch into a physical attacker when you pivot. Combined with grassy terrain recovery, your able to have tons of sustain with the trio, without even considering the rest of the team.

:Rillaboom: Is just a great support in general. Fake out is an amazing move, and it has access to great move pool and pretty hefty damage with wood hammer. You can run multiple sets, either Sitrus if you want access to status moves like protect and taunt or AV if you want even more survivability. :Rillaboom: has great synergy with the other 2 (And much of the meta game as well!) and is really good at elevating their value

All also have value every time you pivot in and out. Pivoting into :Urshifu: presents an immediate danger if your opponent doesen't have anything on the field to stop it, and often forces switches and defensive play just by its sheer presence. Switching into :Arcanine-Hisui: applies another intimidate, and switching into :Rillaboom: resets the grassy terrain and fake out. Your always gaining some value when pivoting, and combined make a great core.

I think the core is super strong, I've only been playing with it for a little bit and am already shocked at how good it is.
 
We were talking about all the unique stuff in Peoria last page, but there were some STRONG Pokémon that we got to see today. Of course, we did see some creativity(As usual), but it feels like Regulation E is coming together.
 

Choruto

Sylveon <3
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:urshifu: once again showing dominance as the best water type. Remember when everyone saying oger water was the 4th best mon in the format?Haven't seen that thought much anymore
 
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:urshifu: once again showing dominance as the best water type. Remember when everyone saying oger water was the 4th best mon in the format?Haven't seen that thought much anymore
Yeah honestly I thought that waterfu would drop in popularity with all the grass types running around.
But I guess we were all wrong.
 
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LovelyLuna

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:Tornadus: and :Chien-Pao: being very common partners equipped to support Urshifu (through Sword of Ruin, Tailwind, and sometimes Rain) while also answering it's usual checks, is probably why.

Kind of cool to think about, a pokemon can be eh into the meta but synergises well with another pokemon that covers for what it struggles with, making both really good.
 

Choruto

Sylveon <3
is a Site Content Manageris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributor
Yeah honestly I thought that waterfu would drop in popularity with all the grass types running around.
But I guess we all wrong.
I think :Urshifu: still has tons of value, definitely top 5, and maybe 3rd place in my mind. What Reg E did was basically forced it into running the scarf to outspeed Lando T and the like. Its unfort that both need the scarf which is why its usage stats are a bit muted.
With scarf and tera its still soo strong though, picking up OHKO's on stuff like Lando and Oger Fire, which are some of the most popular new mons. Combined with Chien and Torn its very powerfull
 

Choruto

Sylveon <3
is a Site Content Manageris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributor
I honestly think one of the best cores that hasen't seen much use is :urshifu: :Arcanine-Hisui: :Rillaboom:, with :Ogerpon-wellspring: also fitting well into the core.
All of them cover each other weakness really well type wise, their abilities and goals complement each other really well.
Lets look at typings
:Arcanine-Hisui:
Weaknesses: Fighting, Ground, Rock, Water
Resistances: Bug, Fairy, Fire, Flying, Ice, Normal, Poison

:Urshifu:
Weaknesses: Electric, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Psychic
Resistances: Bug, Dark, Fire, Ice, Rock, Steel, Water

:Rillaboom:
Weaknesses: Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice, Poison
Resistances: Electric, Grass, Ground, Water

Basically all of them cover each other weakness in at least 1 switch. Lets say you lead :Urshifu: and another partner. If your opp has a strong Electric or Grass type, such as :Iron-Hands: or maybe :Amoonguss: threating a rage powder you can pivot into :Rillaboom:. If they have, say :Flutter-mane: then a switch into :Arcanine-Hisui: would work. Offensively speaking, you hit all of the types for neutral at least and most of the major ones by super effective

They also have great synergy. :Urshifu-rapid-strike: wants to outspeed with scarf, tera water and go Unga bunga mode on the opponent. The major things that stop it are either opponent speed control, water/grass types and bulky redirection users. :Rillaboom: is great into a lot of these match ups, having taunt to stop redirection users from spamming their moves, ignoring rage powder, and having access to fake out which is invaluable in burning an opponents turn and letting your :urshifu: snowball. It also has a great match up into :Ogerpon-wellspring:, one of the most common mons in the meta that gives :urshifu: trouble.

:Arcanine-Hisui: Likewise is also a damage dealer, but functions differently to :Urshifu:. It trades out unseen fist and the faster speed for generally a lot more bulk, with it having access to intimidate, ability to run a defensive tera, and being able to invest in more bulk. Intimidate is an amazing ability, with the meta skewing physical you're almost always guaranteed to switch into a physical attacker when you pivot. Combined with grassy terrain recovery, your able to have tons of sustain with the trio, without even considering the rest of the team.

:Rillaboom: Is just a great support in general. Fake out is an amazing move, and it has access to great move pool and pretty hefty damage with wood hammer. You can run multiple sets, either Sitrus if you want access to status moves like protect and taunt or AV if you want even more survivability. :Rillaboom: has great synergy with the other 2 (And much of the meta game as well!) and is really good at elevating their value

All also have value every time you pivot in and out. Pivoting into :Urshifu: presents an immediate danger if your opponent doesen't have anything on the field to stop it, and often forces switches and defensive play just by its sheer presence. Switching into :Arcanine-Hisui: applies another intimidate, and switching into :Rillaboom: resets the grassy terrain and fake out. Your always gaining some value when pivoting, and combined make a great core.

I think the core is super strong, I've only been playing with it for a little bit and am already shocked at how good it is.
Well what do you know. Can I say I predicted this? A Harc Urshifu Rilla core just won the Lille regionals, and had pretty good performance outside of it. Im not a big fan of using a single persons performance in a tournament as an indicator of a mon/strats overall viability, but I think the core has some merit now.
 

LovelyLuna

Lost in a life full of mistakes
is a Site Content Manageris an official Team Rateris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
By the way, here are the usage stats for Day 2 at Lillie!


1698046443178.png


:Amoonguss: coming back to haunt you, guys, seriously run switch ins. :Chi-Yu: seems no where to be seen and :Kingambit: remains strong, interesting. :Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: making a comeback standing as a Top 4 mon (in usage). What catches my eye though, nothing hits 50%, everything in general seems to be less dominant. Thoughts?
 
Population bomb with technician gets some absolutely crazy ko's that people dont expect.
252 Atk Technician Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rillaboom: 210-250 (101.4 - 120.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery and Sitrus Berry recovery
252 Atk Technician Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Chien-Pao: 220-270 (141 - 173%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Technician Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 180-220 (99.4 - 121.5%) -- very high chance to OHKO
252 Atk Technician Sword of Ruin Maushold Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 84 HP / 4 Def Iron Hands: 240-280 (100 - 116.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Dont sleep on the Maus. It also outspeeds Oger by 1 so you can kill it too
Wait a sec, if you don't OHKO rillaboom, can't he just OHKO you (unless your sash)?
 
By the way, here are the usage stats for Day 2 at Lillie!


View attachment 564159

:Amoonguss: coming back to haunt you, guys, seriously run switch ins. :Chi-Yu: seems no where to be seen and :Kingambit: remains strong, interesting. :Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: making a comeback standing as a Top 4 mon (in usage). What catches my eye though, nothing hits 50%, everything in general seems to be less dominant. Thoughts?
I honestly thought I wouldn't see Amoonguss that much anymore. I guess other grass type competition really ran it over.
 
Yeah honestly I thought that waterfu would drop in popularity with all the grass types running around.
But I guess we were all wrong.
Same. I honestly thought that ursh water really fell off a cliff with ogerpon running around, especially the wellspring mask because it has water absorb.
 

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