What not to run in the STABmons metagame

What not to run in the STABmons Metagame

Introduction

STABmons is a metagame in which all Pokémon gain access to any move that is the same type as theirs; for example, Keldeo can learn Water Spout and Vacuum Wave because it is a Water / Fighting type. These moves can be used in addition to any move that the Pokémon learned before; Keldeo can also use its normal moves such as Secret Sword and Icy Wind. With these newfound moves, a whole world is opened up and a metagame is expanded to contain a diverse range of threats. One might see a variety of Pokémon in this metagame, ranging all the way from Diggersby to Sableye! But, what about the other moves? The moves that you run into on the lower ladder and you just have to stop and ask yourself why? Or what about the moves that you never thought would work but then gave you trouble that one time? That's what this article is here to discuss: gimmicks in the STABmons metagame!

"With great power comes great responsibility." This is the basic premise of the majority of these Pokémon: running a move that they're entrusted with but really just shouldn't. They're entrusted with the power and ability to use any STAB move in their moveslots, and they choose to run subpar sets. Think of it like when you see a Choice Specs Blissey in OU and you just think to yourself, "why?" Why would you waste the potential of a Pokémon to be unique? It doesn't make sense, if you ask me! I'll be going over various things I myself have experienced on the ladder and what you, the reader, should be warned of and not use! And for those of you who have the misfortune, I will also be going over what you can do in the case of running into these sets on the ladder and how to prevent yourself from becoming angry at the ladder all through the while. Let's hope you don't run into any of these sets, however!

The Victims

Belly Drum Chansey

You may look at Chansey and think to yourself, "damn, that base 5 Attack is screaming Belly Drum!" Well, you might not exactly be thinking that. I kid you not, I have personally seen Belly Drum Chansey on the ladder and I just couldn't help but wonder why anyone would do such a thing. Maybe they're trying to Baton Pass the boosts to a partner? It makes sense considering Chansey's stellar bulk, but it just does not work how it should when taking Chansey's horrible Speed into consideration. Belly Drum also cuts Chansey's health in half, which it can not heal because it is reliant on Eviolite. Furthermore, Chansey lacks many setup opportunities because, although it has high bulk, offensive pressure is placed on it quite easily, which prevents Chansey from setting up. But then comes that twinge of worry that the set may be aiming for a Chansey sweep, and it hopefully isn't. Beyond this, Chansey itself is better off just using standard defensive Transform sets; it basically outclasses itself.

Instead of Chansey, however, a better Belly Drum passer would be Porygon2, which is able to hold its own bulk-wise, has that extra margin of Speed, and is also able to take advantage of the Belly Drum itself. As crazy as it might sound, boosted Porygon2's Extreme Speed isn't exactly weak; this isn't to say it should be spammed, however. Porygon2 should never focus on spamming Extreme Speed, but it's just not fair to say that its Extreme Speed is extremely weak; it can pack a bit of a punch. Another option strictly in terms of a Belly Drum sweeper is definitely Kangaskhan, which has access to Scrappy, bulk, power, and is better all-around. Something offensive Belly Drum sweepers can pull off is using Baton Pass to get out of tricky situations and pass off the boosts to a partner, but not directly just setting up to pass. Dedicated Belly Drum passers are a bit hard to come by in STABmons, and if you're using Belly Drum it's often best to just stick to Belly Drum sweepers.

Speaking of Belly Drum sweepers, Mega Lopunny was an excellent one until it got banned. Mega Lopunny's combination of naturally insane Speed, high power, and Scrappy made it a versatile and powerful Belly Drum sweeper with access to STAB Drain Punch, something that no other Belly Drum sweeper has. Diggersby is another Belly Drum sweeper that can use its powerful Huge Power-boosted Extreme Speeds that are boosted to blast through weakened teams. A thing to keep in mind about Belly Drum sweepers is that they will usually only receive one opportunity to set up and will often be injured in the process. These sweepers also have to be able to stomach a hit or two and stay alive long enough to Belly Drum in the first place! Furthermore, Fake Out spammers such as Stoutland, Diggersby, and Kangaskhan have to be removed from play before setting up because these Pokémon can halt the sweep in an instant. Fake Out can take advantage of the Pokémon's lowered health, and coming from these powerful Pokémon, it is usually enough to KO your Pokémon. Setting up Belly Drum sweepers is a bit of a challenge, but the reward is very satisfying!

In regards to Chansey, it should definitely be running bulky Transform sets. Using Chansey for Belly Drum is simply preposterous; a pure waste of potential! When Chansey runs Belly Drum, it's losing its wonderful niche in being an absurdly bulky Transform user that is able to halt a plethora of threats in their sweep. I hope I've drilled this into your head right now: please don't use Belly Drum Chansey; it's a waste of everything Chansey could possibly be. A simple set of Transform / Wish / Rapid Spin / filler move is how Chansey can use its abilities to the fullest. The key niche in using Transform is that Eviolite is retained after transforming, along with Chansey's high HP, thus allowing for a bulkier clone of the opponent with all of their boosts and traits! This is especially useful in STABmons where many setup sweepers are running rampant. A prime example of a case where Transform Chansey is useful is when it is facing a Togekiss, which tries to break through Chansey, only to find that Chansey steals its Geomancy boosts. These are just a few examples of the things that Chansey could do when not running Belly Drum!

Boomburst Blissey

I'm sure that the infamous Choice Specs Blissey comes to mind when you think of Boomburst, and why not? Boomburst is an instant buff and I'm confident it makes Blissey much better of a Choice Specs user! Well, in fact, Boomburst Blissey is not viable and would fall under the realm of a gimmick. Blissey's Special Attack stat is only base 75, and Boomburst's high Base Power can not save it. Blissey's Speed is even worse, and it really isn't equipped to be spamming Boomburst. Furthermore, Blissey is another case of using an underrated set to be unique when using a standard set outclasses such a set. What's more, Chansey is usually all-around better than Blissey in almost all regards. Boomburst is better left being utilized by something else, while Blissey should really only be used when it fulfilling a utility role. Always remember to take advantage of Blissey's small niche in being able to beat Landorus better than Chansey! Overall, however, Blissey is not a great Pokémon.

Instead of Blissey, Meloetta makes for a far better Boomburst spammer. Meloetta is much more diverse and has higher Speed and much higher Special Attack. Choice Specs Meloetta has been gaining popularity recently and its Boomburst is insanely strong and terribly tough to switch into. Meloetta even outclasses Blissey in its defensive role. Basically, using Blissey is not advised in many situations. Another Pokémon that can utilize Boomburst is Mega Pidgeot. Pidgeot has gained a new niche thanks to its ability No Guard allowing its Hurricane to never miss. Furthermore, it now has access to 100% accurate Sing, a niche held by no other Pokémon. Mega Pidgeot can launch powerful Boombursts and Hurricanes with a simple set of Boomburst / Hurricane / Heat Wave / Sing. This is just another example of a better way to use Boomburst than on Blissey.

In terms of a better Blissey set, a simple set of Glare / Milk Drink / Heal Bell / Seismic Toss is the best option. This set has the ability to beat Landorus, which is really Blissey's only niche over Chansey. However, Chansey is the better Pokémon in nearly all other situations. Chansey has higher all-around bulk and is able to pull off impressive Transform sets. Blissey, on the other hand, can wield Leftovers and utilize Glare much better than Chansey. Besides this, Blissey is best not being used. When using Blissey, never ever use Boomburst or a Choice Specs set for that matter as we've already gone over. An intriguing perk of using Blissey is its ability to carry a select coverage move to allow it to muscle past a foe. For example, Fire Blast can be used to hit Scizor and Ferrothorn, while Ice Beam hits Landorus-T and Garchomp. The negative side of this is that Blissey just can't fit all of the moves in its set, as it absolutely needs its utility moves or it is left hopelessly outclassed by a plethora of other Pokémon, particularly Chansey.

Sleep Powder, Dazzling Gleam, and Psyshock

Sleep is definitely great, and now all Grass-types have access to it! But why not use Sleep Powder? Well, to put it bluntly, Spore exists. Sleep Powder is simply unviable because it's basically a weaker Spore due to its lower accuracy. Sleep Powder has absolutely zero advantages over Spore, only negative attributes that make it an unwise choice. However neat it might seem on paper, it has zero place in the STABmons metagame simply because Spore exists. Dazzling Gleam is a similar case; it's purely outclassed. Moonblast is not only stronger, but has the added effect of having the chance to lower the opponent's Special Attack. Dazzling Gleam even has lower PP than Moonblast! This is just another case of a move utterly outclassed by something purely better than it. Psyshock is a bit less-used than the other two, but it should not be used at all. Psystrike is 20 Base Power higher than Psyshock and has the same PP and same exact effect. All three of these moves have purely better alternatives and should not be used under any circumstances.

Spore is an excellent move that many Pokémon are able to take advantage of. Mega Venusaur in particular is one of the more common Spore users, as it has generally nice bulk and powerful Seed Flares and Sludge Bombs. Amoonguss is in a similar boat as Mega Venusaur, only being a bit less bulky but not requiring a Mega slot. Both of these Pokémon are prime Spore spreaders that can easily tank most hits and put the opponent to sleep. Togekiss is a prime user of Moonblast, as it can abuse Super Luck for Moonblast's nifty chance of lowering Special Attack. Togekiss appreciates the move on Geomancy sets in particular, which can't afford to invest in bulk that often and enjoy the softening of attacks. However, Moonblast is not always a necessity on Togekiss; Geomancy / Oblivion Wing / Fire Blast / Aura Sphere is quite a good set that is gaining traction currently. Some sets are even affording a slot of coverage to run Substitute, another fine choice. Psystrike isn't seen as often as the previous two moves, but it still is existent on a few select Pokémon such as Meloetta. Meloetta is one of the most common Psystrike users, and it's a very good move on its new Choice Specs set which consists of Boomburst / Psystrike / Focus Blast / Shadow Ball, and is able to blast past Chansey, a very useful trait.

Entrainment Slaking or Entrainment Regigigas

Slaking and Regigigas are infamous for their roles as overpowered Pokémon crippled by their awful abilities; but wouldn't Entrainment fix these issues? I mean, crippling the opponent to level the playing field sounds fantastic, no? In reality, this is not the case. This scenario is a classic case of looking good on paper, but just not cutting it in practice. Crippling the opponent sounds good and all, until you realize they can merely switch out and reverse the effects of Entrainment. At most, any reasonable player will maybe have one turn with the ability. This isn't even reliable because it does not fix Regigigas's and Slaking's main issue: having the ability themselves! Using this strategy for a potential turn of crippling is not worth it in the long run when you're dedicating a slot in your team to do just that. The potential of this slot is wasted, and the perks of the strategy or simply outweighed by the outrageous cons.

Psycho Boost + Heart Swap

Heart Swap and Psycho Boost are both Psychic-type moves, so it does seem like a useful perk to cripple the opposing Pokémon while redeeming yourself; this is until you realize that most powerful Psychic-types are not very bulky and can't afford to run this. However, the bulky Psychic-types, such as Cresselia, are too weak to even make use of Psycho Boost in the first place. Heart Swap also takes up valuable coverage, whereas the Pokémon in question is able to simply switch out and get rid of the boosts anyway and keep its coverage move. Psycho Boost on its own is a great move for nuking abilities, and Heart Swap has its perks, but the combination is gimmicky and should not be run. Another powerful Psychic-type move is Psystrike, which breaks through special walls. Psychic-types as whole are not very metagame-defining in STABmons for the most part regardless.

Cosmic Power + Stored Power Deoxys-D

Looking purely at Deoxys-D's stats, its high base 160 Defense and Special Defense automatically stand out. When looking further, you notice that Deoxys-D has Pressure as well and could surely aim for PP stalling shenanigans, no? Well, it does have Recover, and Cosmic Power, and even Stored Power, or it could just stall! But, then you begin to notice that Deoxys-D is slow... and has bad HP... and really can't do anything but just... sit there. Deoxys-D sounds like a useful gimmick, but it just falls short in such a fast-paced metagame and Cosmic Power can only go so far. Deoxys-D itself is a very gimmicky Pokémon, and Cosmic Power just will not work. Between status, Taunt, powerful blows, and offensive pressure, Deoxys-D has nearly no opportunities to set up and will almost never achieve a full sweep and/or stall. Cosmic Power itself is a neat move on paper, but it isn't generally worth it in the long run.

When choosing to run anything with Cosmic Power, Mega Slowbro was the way to go. But, because that was banned recently, nothing can effectively pull off Cosmic Power. However, Stored Power is an exceptional move on a select few Pokemon, Meloetta specifically. Meloetta can make use of an instantly powered 140 Base Power move after a Shell Smash to smash things apart. Besides this small niche, neither move is usually worth running.

Conclusion

As you can see, STABmons is full of quirks and niches for a variety of Pokémon, but some just don't make the cut. With such a diverse metagame and such unique threats, it's not hard to see how some of these aren't really what's being looked for. Nonetheless, the STABmons metagame is a format with twists and turns at every curve, so be sure go out and enjoy it!

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