Got Talent (Playable on ROM!) [Dead - no conditions in Gen 7]

I also have an opinion on a ban for MAltaria. It is my belief that yes it can be countered, especially if one is adept at prediction. However, unless one has a good counter to MAlt on their team, they are likely to be swept away. A good fully boosted earthquake from Malt can take out a ferrothorn in one hit. And that's just one example, as there are many others. Yes Maggron and MVenusaur can be good counters to it but they find themselves being ohko'd quite easily most of the time. I would venture to say that Malt is a defining pokemon for this meta, and while I know this might be very unpopular, I'm merely suggesting it: Would a ban on cotton guard be feasible? My argument for that is that there is nothing else like it in GT, and it gives a distinct advantage to a couple of mons, (mostly furfrou and Malt), to the point where they then define the meta. My argument against? There are other users of cotton guard that do not dominate even though they have cotton guard. So it might stand to reason that it's the circumstances in which cotton guard is used that's the problem, not the move itself. I don't know, merely trying to start a discussion. Oh, and in case I wasn't clear, I am for a ban on MAlt, even though if we banned it's usage of cotton guard, all of a sudden it'd drop like a rock in the tier.
I am not ever for banning Ninjask, and I am even against it being put into S rank. It is everywhere, this is true, but I've had many battles against ninjask and I typically laugh when it's being used. Suicune laughs at it being put out, it just uses roar. Ferrothorn, Skarmory also laugh at it and just knock it aside like so much riffraff.
You couldn't have timed this better inaccording to the g&f thread lmao. Banning Cotton guard is a complex ban, it's only (arguably) broken on Malt and Furfrou, the easiest and less collateral damage is just to flat out ban Mega Altaria
 
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Ninjask is kinda like Shedinja in BH, if you dont bring counters, it will sweep you but most good teams will usually have a couple without specifically adding in counters.

As far as Cotton Guard vs Altaria ban goes, if a Furfrou suspect ever happens (does that thing even have a counter lol), then I could see Cotton Guard being banned, but if Furfrou is not good enough for a ban, then it should be Altaria and not Cotton Guard that is banned.
 
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I also have an opinion on a ban for MAltaria. It is my belief that yes it can be countered, especially if one is adept at prediction. However, unless one has a good counter to MAlt on their team, they are likely to be swept away. A good fully boosted earthquake from Malt can take out a ferrothorn in one hit. And that's just one example, as there are many others. Yes Maggron and MVenusaur can be good counters to it but they find themselves being ohko'd quite easily most of the time. I would venture to say that Malt is a defining pokemon for this meta, and while I know this might be very unpopular, I'm merely suggesting it: Would a ban on cotton guard be feasible? My argument for that is that there is nothing else like it in GT, and it gives a distinct advantage to a couple of mons, (mostly furfrou and Malt), to the point where they then define the meta. My argument against? There are other users of cotton guard that do not dominate even though they have cotton guard. So it might stand to reason that it's the circumstances in which cotton guard is used that's the problem, not the move itself. I don't know, merely trying to start a discussion. Oh, and in case I wasn't clear, I am for a ban on MAlt, even though if we banned it's usage of cotton guard, all of a sudden it'd drop like a rock in the tier.
I am not ever for banning Ninjask, and I am even against it being put into S rank. It is everywhere, this is true, but I've had many battles against ninjask and I typically laugh when it's being used. Suicune laughs at it being put out, it just uses roar. Ferrothorn, Skarmory also laugh at it and just knock it aside like so much riffraff.
I'm going to clear some things up right now. First off, if you don't have an answer for something, it's going to put in work against your team. That's not soemthing unique to maltaria- in fact, it applies to every remotely viable mon, all the way down to shedinja.
If they are OHKo's they aren't counter- its that simple. Furthermore, Maltaria isn't ohkoing MVenu anytime soon.

How do suicune and skarmory deal with ninjask if they get 2hko'd? I can see ferrothorn, though.
You couldn't have timed this better inaccording to the g&f thread lmao. Banning Cotton guard is a complex ban, it's only (arguably) broken on Malt and Furfrou, the easiest and less collateral damage is just to flat out ban Mega Altaria
Stop please. That wasn't said at all AJA. What was said was that banning Pokemon is preferable to banning moves, and while that does end up with the same result should malt be broken (malt banned and not CG), it's really misleading.
Ninjask is kinda like Shedinja in BH, if you dont bring counters, it will sweep you but most good teams will usually have a couple without specifically adding in counters.

As far as Cotton Guard vs Altaria ban goes, if a Furfrou suspect ever happens (does that thing even have a counter lol), then I could see Cotton Guard being banned, but if Furfrou is not good enough for a ban, then it should be Altaria and not Cotton Guard that is banned.
If you need some Furfrou counters, some examples are Mega Gallade (even gets recover if you want), cobalion with fblast, terrakion, breloom, scizor, mega scizor, and heatran
 

nv

The Lost Age
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Well it has been decided for now that Mega Altaria will remain in Got Talent?. This decision was more decided from a leadership point of view than a council since I felt like I rushed the idea of a council vote, but with that being said I am currently building the council so hopefully future "suspects" can be voted on accordingly and with people that know the metagame inside and out.

So this post has a bit more "meat on the bone", I thought I would give a couple of cores I have been having quite a bit of fun with.


Uxie @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Amnesia
- Zen Headbutt
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Hidden Power [Fighting]

Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Protect / Stealth Rock

Uxie and Mega Diancie is a nice offensive core that can power through a lot of teams thanks to the nice coverage between the two. Mega Diancie also softens up a lot of Pokemon for Uxie to set up and sweep while having some nice type synergy as well. The combination of Speed, bulk on Uxie's part, and coverage on Mega Diancie's part leaves many teams struggling to find an answer to one of these top metagame threats.


Slowbro-Mega @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Iron Defense
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Drain Punch / Earthquake / Thunder Wave

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock / Spikes
- Leech Seed / Thunder Wave

A solid defensive core, Mega Slowbro and SpD Ferrothorn give all they can to a team with Mega Slowbro providing a win condition and physical wall that can also get around other Tough boosters thanks to its STAB Scald while Ferrothorn gives the team a Mega Diancie check and hazards while also serving Ferrothorn with its own recovery move in Giga Drain. They both can also serve as a paraspam core which can help slow down the opposing foe's team and cripple Pokemon such as Ninjask and Sceptile.
 

pdt

is a Past SCL Champion
PUPL Champion
upload_2016-6-11_10-16-38.png

Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Thunder Wave
- Rock Tomb
- Pursuit

Proposition : A- ---> B+

Tyranitar is a cool special wall in this metagame because Sand boosts its SpD, which makes it a powerful attacker sometimes too. Unfortunately it has a shallow Clever movepool to abuse and is weak to Steel Types, which is the most prominent typing in the Got Talent meta. As an addition to this, many special attackers like Kecleon and Dusclops run HP Fighting to lure Dark Types and bop them with the move. Tyranitar can use HP Fire to hit Steel Types, but honestly it doesn't do a whole lot to some of the main attackers. It really doesn't do its job as an effective wall.

Calcs:
  • Choice Specs is assuming sand is up
  • 252+ SpA Choice Specs Tyranitar Hidden Power Fire vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Filter Mega Aggron: 160-190 (46.6 - 55.3%) -- 73.4% chance to 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Choice Specs Tyranitar Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Steelix: 188-222 (53.1 - 62.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
As you can see it is likely to 2HKO both Pokemon, but its only good if you predict the switch in. Both of those Pokemon OHKO Tyranitar back with their insanely strong STAB moves.
 
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252+ Atk Mega Aggron Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Tyranitar: 340-402 (84.3 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Aggron cannot OHKO Tyranitar, which means that it doesn't even check it (TTar wins in a 1v1) but yeah steelix will win unless the Ttar user predicts right
 
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Lcass4919

The Xatu Warrior
252+ Atk Mega Aggron Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Tyranitar: 340-402 (84.3 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Aggron cannot OHKO Tyranitar, which means that it doesn't even check it (TTar wins in a 1v1) but yeah steelix will win unless the Ttar user predicts right
252+ Atk Mega Aggron Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Tyranitar: 408-482 (101.2 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
okay, i know, i know heavy slam>>>> iron head, but its still used tbh. iron head is defense isnt it?
 
Just want to clear my doubt. Do Unaware ability ignores every stats change like Atk, SpAtk, Def, SpDef, Speed or just Attack and Special Attack?
 

sin(pi)

lucky n bad
Just want to clear my doubt. Do Unaware ability ignores every stats change like Atk, SpAtk, Def, SpDef, Speed or just Attack and Special Attack?
the OP said:
Q: How does Unaware work? Does it still block the offensive boosts from the new boosting moves?
A: Unfortunately, no. Unaware only ignores the boosts to Cool or Beautiful moves while only ignoring thedefensive boosts to a Pokemon's Defense or Special Defense, meaning that the most common boosters can power through Unaware Pokemon.
 
In response to the ninjask question (I don't know how to quote yet, I'm a noob :P), I typically am able to phase out ninjask before it does any damage. I also use kecleon with shadow sneak as a way to stop ninjask from using substitute more than once. Without being able to do substitute more than once, ninjask can rarely ever be a threat to my team.
I also want to say that Sceptile shouldn't go to A rank, as again, I'm able to stop it from doing substitutes over and over again until it's berry activates, as well as unburden right along with it. Even when it has managed to get it's boost in full, I've been able to stop him with ferro, skarm, or aggron.

Example of why ninjask isn't a problem due to phasing in my opinion: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gottalent-382006348
Ninjask can hardly ever get a chance to set up enough to be a problem.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gottalent-382074939 more phasing
Making it clear that ninjask could only get one substitute out (if it tried): http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gottalent-384076015


I don't mean to sound contrary here guys, but so far in my experience, ninjask and sceptile have not been issues, or at least only on rare occasions. It's easy to counter them if you plan correctly. But I think in my opinion that it's safe to say that y'all have more experience than I probably do with these things, or at least some of you do. So please tell me how even with phazing in play as well as defensive mons that ninjask and sceptile are issues?
 
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pdt

is a Past SCL Champion
PUPL Champion
bp scrub this is a bit late but im busy. why would aggron use earthquake in that situation
there is literally no reason to click steel stab move
 

nv

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Another week, another VR shift!

Rises
B -> A-
B -> B+
unranked -> B-
C -> B-
Drops
A -> A-*
A- -> B+
Needs More Discussion
A- -> A/A+
unranked -> B-
S -> A+
A- -> B+/B*
B+ -> B-/C+*
My Nominations
unranked -> B
I have been testing this thing on my newest team and with an Assault Vest, this thing does its job as a spinner well. It has STAB Low Sweep and Sucker Punch and can lure in nearly anything with Technician Hidden Power such as Steel-types hit neutrally by its Fighting STAB with Fire, lure in Chesnaught with Flying, nail MAlt on the switch with Poison or Steel, and so on. Overall I feel like this is a nice offensive spinner that carries some bulk with it unlike Starmie.
B+ -> A-
Meloetta has a colorful movepool for most Psychic-types most likely in part to its Pirouette Forme, but besides that, it has a fantastic base 128 SpD stat that allows it to become an incredible wallbreaker when equipped with an Assault Vest. With moves like Low Sweep, Knock Off, Psychic, Secret Power (60% chance to paralyze thanks to Serene Grace), Shadow Ball, and a Hidden Power of its choosing makes Meloetta not only powerful, but slightly unpredictable as well. Its Speed tier is pretty nice to as it can potentially go for bulk or Speed depending on how the team shapes up.
B- -> B/B+
Golbat is arguably the best Mega Altaria check there is with its natural immunity to Earthquake and its resistance to MAlt's STAB moves. Unlike other MAlt checks, it also doesn't die to a +3 Incinerate (+3 252+ SpA Mega Altaria Incinerate vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Eviolite Golbat: 134-158 (37.9 - 44.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO) making it more reliable than most of the Steel-types that can check Mega Altaria. Thanks to Eviolite and a base 90 Speed stat, Golbat can also fire off powerful Sludge Bombs or Taunt slower threats preventing them from boosting with ease.
A- -> B+
This may seem a bit controversial, but I have tested Mega Sableye and I feel like it just doesn't live up to the standard of the A rank since despite getting a bulk increase with its Mega, it isn't enough to take on the bulk and power of the metagame. Mega Sableye does have access to a powerful Knock Off and Sucker Punch coming off of its base 120 Special Defense stat, but for the most part it suffers a bit of 4MSS as it wants to run Wisp, Recover, Knock Off, Sucker Punch, Taunt, and coverage. Another thing is its lack of a solid boosting move as it only has CM which is fairly slow overall, but is proven more problematic by Mega Sableye's lack of Speed and its overall meh bulk in terms of the metagame.

*And now for an announcement...while most of the community has been torn about this, the current council, Quantum Tesseract, PinkDragonTamer, ~Eternally, and myself, have come to the conclusion that Speed Boost needs to be banned (even tho QT didn't really vote or give thoughts but 3 votes was enough). The main reason behind this isn't because it isn't inherently broken, but rather it is uncompetitive. Allowing Pokemon like Ninjask, Scolipede, and even Combusken to use SubTect shenanigans as well as Speed Passing allowed for a lot of mindless teams that threaten the common archetypes as most people would be forced to run at least priority + another check to these Pokemon. Now while this doesn't necessarily mean they suddenly become unviable, it definitely sets these Pokemon back a couple of notches and may potentially neuter them as threats. Tagging The Immortal to implement this as soon as possible and let's continue having fun this month! n_n
 
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B+ -> B-/C+*
definitely agreeing with this drop, now that Speed Boost is banned Scolipede has little to no niche over other Defense- and Speed-boosters. while it can still run Iron Defense and Agility sets it's heavily outclassed as a Defense-booster by threats such as Mega Metagross, Furfrou, and Cobalion (to name a few fast examples) and as a Speed booster by the likes of Sceptile, whose Unburden is still legal. if anything I could see Scolipede drop even further than this, it's simply not good without Speed Boost

Ninjask could probably drop to B+, but no further than that. Ninjask's Choice Scarf set is still an effective late-game cleaner as it hits very hard and fast unboosted and wasn't particularly reliant on its speed boosts prior to deal damage, and while it now struggles more to break through bulkier foes and resists it's not completely invalidated by any means.

edit: in case the remarks about Scolipede being a Defense-booster were confusing, I was under the impression that Scolipede's niche was that it was able to make use of both Tough and Cute moves at the same time due to a combination of Iron Defense and Speed Boost. if I'm wrong, correct me; though honestly, using Sub + Protect with Scolipede is just playing it as an inferior Ninjask
 
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Can I say that I'm very happy about banning speed boost? While it wasn't a huge issue for me, it was still annoying :S.
I'd like to give a shoutout to two mons here:

Kecleon @ Assault Vest
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak/Rock Tomb
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Sucker Punch
So this guy hits like a tank. I use shadow ball to crush enemies, as it does a great deal of damage. Shadow Sneak I sometimes switch out with rock tomb because having that move can be very useful, especially against volcanion. I use hp fighting to help take out other kecleons, as well as steel mons, which are quite common in this meta. Sucker Punch is valuable as priority and I've tricked would-be pursuit trappers multiple times by using that to make pursuit nfe against kecleon so I can switch him out, although if I need to stay in, I'll occasionally use hp fighting.


Meloetta @ Assault Vest
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Zen Headbutt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Knock Off
- Secret Power
This fellow is new to me, but I've seen that he has raw power on top of serene grace secret power (60% para chance) and serene grace zen headbutt, which we're all probably familiar with from jirachi. Knock off helps incoming attackers feel the force of his assault vest, and hidden power ice wrecks malt.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gottalent-386291222
 
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I see no reason to not unrank Ninjask, the problem with conventional checks is that further you let Ninjask stay in the less likely you are to be unable to check it. Bug isn't all that good of an offensive typing, horriblw actually, and normal is mostly all else it gets.

It doesn't really have that big of a niche anymore.
 
So guys, I want to bring this up because ironically enough I'm using him and he can turn the whole battle around in a instant.

Furfrou: The dangerous evil user of... Cotton Guard!

So even though furfrou is not as dangerous as, say, malt, he can still be a frustrating opponent to face as he can demolish whole teams, even sometimes when they're prepared for them, and the same goes with Malt. But it is my opinion that neither one be banned. Just like how Speed Boost was banned because it made the mons who made it nigh impossible to stop (although tbh I scoff at the "impossible" part), so too I think should Cotton Guard be banned.

It turns battles around in a instant, and, yes, there are counters to it, but there are also counters to Blaziken, but he is still banned.
To be fair, Blaziken is a different story, but even so I hope that helps illustrate my point.

I think that Cotton Guard unbalances the meta game in the sense that it defines it. And now that speed boost is banned, will cotton guard users run rampant?
Please discuss and help me understand your viewpoints on Cotton Guard, as I am far from the most knowledgeable user, And I prefer to listen to all sides of an argument to fully understand a issue.
I'd love to be able to say that Cotton Guard is not a balance issue, so please help me discover how it's not?
Oh, and the "Tail Glow" argument won't hold weight since that only raises a offensive stat, whereas Cotton Guard raises a defensive stat, thus making it not only much stronger with it's defense-based moves, but much bulkier as well.
 
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don't have anything to say about most of your post (haven't been playing for the past few days so there may be some trends on the ladder that I'm unaware of), but I want to address this:
So even though furfrou is not as dangerous as, say, malt, he can still be a frustrating opponent to face as he can demolish whole teams, even sometimes when they're prepared for them, and the same goes with Malt. But it is my opinion that neither one be banned. Just like how Speed Boost was banned because it made the mons who made it nigh impossible to stop (although tbh I scoff at the "impossible" part), so too I think should Cotton Guard be banned.
I'd actually argue that Furfrou is more dangerous than Mega Altaria when unprepared for. Though Furfrou's natural special bulk isn't quite as high as M-Alt's, it has no problem setting up due to the fact that it outspeeds the large majority of the metagame with investment and therefore it's able to weather most physical-sided hits (which, let's be honest, make up most of the metagame at present) after a boost. While Furfrou lacks reliable recovery, from my experience it's more about setting up and nuking things than taking repeated hits, and that's backed up by its high Speed stat which is its most distinct advantage over M-Alt and basically every other Defense booster besides Mega Metagross and Cobalion (who both don't have access to Cotton Guard, just Iron Defense). Furfrou also isn't weak to Steel, which in a metagame that's rife with powerful Steel-types is very important to take into consideration; Snarl also allows Furfrou to break through the specially frailer Steels, OHKOing most if it can manage to get two boosts under its belt. (don't have calcs, I'm just saying this from experience).

That said, I don't know if a full Cotton Guard ban would be the way to go, since evidently Furfrou and Mega Altaria are the only Pokémon broken/borderline broken with it. probably best to see whether the council thinks a Cotton Guard or Furfrou + M-Alt ban would cause less collateral damage
 

Funbot28

Banned deucer.
Wanted to ask nv, will we start unbanning weakened threats such as Hoopa-U and Greninja due to the different mechanics that GT brings? I saw you mentioned them in a previous post, but it seems that potentially bringing them back was never addressed again.
 
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nv

The Lost Age
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So can we unban Blaziken w/out Speed Boost now? :)
No because it serves no use to the GT metagame and is just being unbanned to be unbanned, which is a horrible reason to unban something in the first place.
I see no reason to not unrank Ninjask, the problem with conventional checks is that further you let Ninjask stay in the less likely you are to be unable to check it. Bug isn't all that good of an offensive typing, horriblw actually, and normal is mostly all else it gets.

It doesn't really have that big of a niche anymore.
Like Stocke said two post above you, Ninjask still has a niche w/o Speed Boost as the most powerful Choice Scarf user thanks to its blistering Speed stat, only outmatched by Deoxys-Speed, which is currently stuck in Ubers. Yes Bug + Normal is pretty bad coverage in a Steel-infested metagame such as this, but it still has a niche nonetheless.
So guys, I want to bring this up because ironically enough I'm using him and he can turn the whole battle around in a instant.

Furfrou: The dangerous evil user of... Cotton Guard!

So even though furfrou is not as dangerous as, say, malt, he can still be a frustrating opponent to face as he can demolish whole teams, even sometimes when they're prepared for them, and the same goes with Malt. But it is my opinion that neither one be banned. Just like how Speed Boost was banned because it made the mons who made it nigh impossible to stop (although tbh I scoff at the "impossible" part), so too I think should Cotton Guard be banned.

It turns battles around in a instant, and, yes, there are counters to it, but there are also counters to Blaziken, but he is still banned.
To be fair, Blaziken is a different story, but even so I hope that helps illustrate my point.

I think that Cotton Guard unbalances the meta game in the sense that it defines it. And now that speed boost is banned, will cotton guard users run rampant?
Please discuss and help me understand your viewpoints on Cotton Guard, as I am far from the most knowledgeable user, And I prefer to listen to all sides of an argument to fully understand a issue.
I'd love to be able to say that Cotton Guard is not a balance issue, so please help me discover how it's not?
Oh, and the "Tail Glow" argument won't hold weight since that only raises a offensive stat, whereas Cotton Guard raises a defensive stat, thus making it not only much stronger with it's defense-based moves, but much bulkier as well.
Stocke basically said what my thoughts are on the subject as a Cotton Guard ban serves no purpose as Furfrou and Mega Altaria are the only "broken" users of this move. That being said, both Furfrou and MAlt have a small amount of checks such as SpD Ferrothorn, Cobalion, Focus Blast Mega Lopunny (for Furfrou), Golbat (for MAlt), and Weezing (for MAlt). I do feel like something will probably have to be done about them in the future, but the main thing I wanted to stress here is that a Cotton Guard ban will not happen.
Wanted to ask nv, will we start unbanning weakened threats such as Hoopa-U and Greninja due to the different mechanics that GT brings? I saw you mentioned them in a previous post, but it seems that potentially bringing them back was never addressed again.
It will probably happen either right before the end of the month, or after OMotM is over to not only garner gameplay for it on ROM but also allow the meta to develop as much as possible before we rush into unbanning things. That being said, the council is discussing what potential unbans may happen in the future, but for now nothing is per se "happening" on that front.

Now for a few Beautiful sets since that section is somewhat lacking in the Sample Sets post...

Heatran @ Leftovers / Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power

Offensive SR Heatran is a nice glue on a lot of teams as it does mainly what it does in standard play since it has good STABs on its Beautiful stat as well as retaining its main coverage move in Earth Power. Most Pokemon in GT tend to go for boosting moves and are physically inclined so having a special attacker that can provide hazards is nice for nearly any team.


Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Steam Eruption
- Earth Power
- Explosion

Specs Volcanion is one of the best special wallbreakers we have to offer. With a powerful move in Explosion to get around special walls, the opposing foe's team is going to have a hard time finding a switch-in for this outside of Water-types.


Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Surf
- Energy Ball
- Ice Beam

A nice win condition for more well-rounded teams, Manaphy has nothing really that changes for it in Got Talent despite the fact that the meta is mostly centered around the physically bulkier and it can hit them on their weaker defensive stat.
 

pdt

is a Past SCL Champion
PUPL Champion
Alright guys, It's been awhile since I posted anything on this thread, but it is time for more Sets and nominations!

SETS

Kyurem-Black
@ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 144 SpA / 112 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Blizzard / Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Fusion Bolt
- Dragon Claw / Outrage

This guy is so fun to use. With the current metagame, it is allowed to run a + Attack / - SpDef nature which makes it so that many walls have absolutely no chance. With a wide array of coverage moves, and Focus Blast becoming cool is used to Kyurem's advantage for helping it easily break through many Steel Types like Aggron.
The spread creeps uninvested Cobalion, so it can smack it with a Focus Miss before Cobalion smacks it. It has maxed out attack, then the rest of the EVs are dumped into SpA for having a more powerful Blizzard / Ice Beam. I've been running this set in a Hail Core in conjunction with Mega Abomasnow, so Blizzard has been working fine for me. Ice Beam is a better option for anything else. It also has the niche of being able to smack Mega Altaria on the Special Side, and outspeeding which would result in a KO. Dragon Claw is more reliable, but Outrage picks up some insane KOs, but can be revenged by the like of Mega Altaria. Now for few calcs that display the power of Kyurem-B

252+ Atk Life Orb Teravolt Kyurem-B Outrage vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Mega Venusaur: 214-253 (58.9 - 69.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Teravolt Kyurem-B Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Mega Aggron: 416-491 (120.9 - 142.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO



Abomasnow-Mega
@ Abomasite
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 92 HP / 252 SpA / 164 Spe
Rash Nature / Modest Nature
- Ice Shard
- Blizzard
- Energy Ball
- Leech Seed / Focus Blast

Abomasnow is a highly underrated Pokemon in this metagame that can break down a plethora of Pokemon with its STAB moves. It complements Kyurem by providing Hail, which allows for 100% accurate Blizzards and chip damage for walls. It also breaks the Bulky Waters that Kyurem has hard time beating sometimes. Ice Shard is beautiful, so it can take advantage of Blizzard + Ice Shard into one stat. Energy Ball is reliable STAB, where the last move is filler for something to click against switchins or some extra coverage if you don't need it. The spread creeps base 40 Pokemon(? I think so) and allows it to outspeed many common walls.


Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Roost
- Knock Off

I have been running this Gliscor set with a little twist, Knock Off > Protect. I know that Protect has a number of uses on the Gliscor set, but I found Knock Off really helpful for utility and getting rid of lefties on Skarmory which think they have a free switch in. It turns a lot of 3HKOs into 2HKOs, and also improves the matchup against the Lati twins. Not a huge change here, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

VR NOMS AND DISCUSSION

A- ---> A / A+
I definitely agree with this thing going to A, it has a notable place in the Metagame with access to priority and a way to beat Mega Altaria 1v1. I don't know if it is ready for A+ yet, because it is still checked by some of the most prominent Pokemon in the meta such as Skarmory and Scizor.

S ---> A+
I don't really see Mega Altaria going anywhere but staying at S. It is really self centralizing in the meta because if you don't have a check / counter, you autolose if the opponent doesn't play like trash.

B- ---> B+

I agree with this nomination as it is one of the only Pokemon that can reliably check Mega Altaria no matter what moveset it is running. It also provides Defog support with access to reliable recovery, so I feel it has carved itself a place in the meta.

A- ---> B+
I definitely want this to drop because it is much easier to wall because it can't boost without agility, and it is much easier to wall with the Choice Scarf set. It's walled by all of the boosting steels in the meta bar Megagross, which is like 20% of the meta.

MY NOMS

C+ ---> B

Although Abomasnow is probably outclassed for its use of the Mega spot, but I feel like nothing else really plays the same role that it does. It has access to unique STABs that allow it to break Waters + Grass types. No other Pokemon can really

C+ ---> B+
lol why is this thing in C ever. Kyurem-B is still ridiculously strong and has a field day in this wall based meta. It easily beats many of the common walls like shown above in the calcs, even 2HKO'ing the strongest of walls. It definitely deserves a spot as a threat that needs to be checked.



 
I think I've found a solid speedster in Ambipom.

Ambipom @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Low Kick
- Return
- U-turn
All of its moves run off speed and I find it's one of the best, if not THE best user of fake out in this meta.
 

etern

is a Community Leaderis a Top Tiering Contributoris a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a defending SCL Championis a Former Smogon Metagame Tournament Circuit Champion
NU Leader
Unranked > C: Offensive SR Nidoking is a mon I've been playing around with on a couple of my teams, as it has the power and coverage in moves such as Earth Power, Flamethrower, and Ice Beam to break apart common defensive Pokemon that run rampant, such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Chesnaught, Steelix, Mandibuzz. Unfortunately it doesn't provide the defensive utility of other SR setters, and even struggles deal as much damage as them, but it's unique coverage and resistances can prove to be very useful to many teams, particularly more offensive structured ones.

B+ > A-/A: Celebi is an extremely underrated Pokemon in Got Talent? Sporting a great movepool which allows it to excel as one of the best "Clever" Pokemon in the meta. With STAB Giga Drain and Psychic/Zen Headbutt, priority in Sucker Punch and a choice of either a Hidden Power or U-turn of off its Speed stat, Celebi is a truly a ferocious user of the Assault Vest, and a great wallbreaker. It also acts as a solid Mega-Diancie check for more offensively orientated teams as it can comfortably stomach a Moonblast and heal off any damage with Giga Drain.

Now that the month is coming to an end, I just wanna give a big shoutout to nv for putting in the time and effort to make this an extremely enjoyable metagame, and I know I speak on behalf of everyone in saying that we appreciate everything you've done and continue to do.
 

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