I'd like to bring attention to the common Sketchmons threat Mimikyu and its current effect within the metagame. I'd like to address five points:
- What it does.
- How it fairs against other current metagame threats.
- The negative impact it has on the metagame by remaining.
- Any detrimental side effects present by removing it.
- My proposal on what must be done.
Mimikyu is easily the best set-up sweeper in the Gen 7 Sketchmons metagame, with access to Disguise to allow Belly Drum to be set up efficiently without the issues other Pokémon face. It also has STAB priority, two powerful STAB attacks in Play Rough and Shadow Claw, as well as a limited amount of checks post-Belly Drum. With Belly Drum set up, Mimikyu can easily destroy any unprepared team; however, this can be said for a lot of Pokémon within the metagame. The issue with Belly Drum Mimikyu is its limited amount of checks. Players may have to rely on Scarf Tapu Lele, Quagsire or Skarmory to even have a chance against this Pokémon. All three of these are not perfect though.
Tapu Lele: the issue with Tapu Lele being a check for Mimikyu is that although Psychic Terrain easily blocks Shadow Sneak, Mimikyu still outspeeds, hence Tapu Lele is required to use a Choice Scarf to "reliably check" Mimikyu. There are also a few more issues associated with Tapu Lele being a check though. Firstly, Tapu Lele's Psychic does not OHKO Mimikyu with Disguise already taken care of;
so Tapu Lele may have to waste its sketch on Moongeist Beam, Psystrike or Psycho Boost instead of opting for a superior option in Searing Shot or Earth Power as coverage to break Steel-types. (It's required to run Psyshock instead which can mean less damage output on a lot of common Pokémon. It also doesn't guarantee an OHKO with that either.*) The effectiveness of Tapu Lele also boils down to the duration of Psychic Terrain. A user can play Mimikyu in such a way so that Tapu Lele is forced to come in on the last turn of Psychic Terrain and therefore means one Pokémon must be sacked first before Psychic Terrain can be put up again. Relying on Terrain to check Mimikyu is unhealthy, especially in a metagame where any Pokémon can sketch Sticky Web and remove the functionality of Tapu Lele's Choice Scarf. This is assuming something has broken the Disguise first, and that is often not the case.
>252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mimikyu: 211-249 (84 - 99.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Quagsire: although Quagsire is arguably a quite reliable check due to its access to Unaware, it can easily be defeated if Mimikyu decides to opt for Wood Hammer over Shadow Claw. While this does impair Mimikyu, it can still effectively sweep, especially because of Wood Hammer's high damage output, as it does more damage to neutral hits than Shadow Claw does. Quagsire can Haze on the first hit as Wood Hammer does not OHKO, though this often means it is useless for the remainder of the match. Quagsire isn't the most viable Pokémon otherwise, so dedicating a slot to a Mimikyu check can make you see how potent Belly Drum Mimikyu really is within the metagame.
>252 Atk Mimikyu Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 328-388 (83.2 - 98.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Skarmory: the only other Pokémon that comes close to checking Mimikyu post-Belly Drum is Skarmory due to its insane natural bulk and defensive typing. This however is kind of redundant when realising the problem Skarmory has is that it cannot remove Mimikyu from the match but only phaze it. Switching in on the Belly Drum means Disguise is still up, so Steel-type STAB is not an option. Shadow Claw does approximately 65% to max Defense Skarmory, so if the Skarmory user opts to break Disguise, they have essentially just sacked their Skarmory. Skarmory can also be efficiently removed for Mimikyu with the use of a Magnet Pull user such as Magnezone, which is quite viable in the current meta with an abundance of Steel-types present throughout.
>+6 252 Atk Mimikyu Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 202-238 (60.4 - 71.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Does requiring such a solid check mean this Pokémon is detrimental to the metagame?
That is not the case, but the lack of solid checks means that the same three Pokémon are required to be used on every team. The inability for the three Pokémon listed above to efficiently check Mimikyu also adds to its unhealthiness. Mimikyu easily OHKOs any other threat bar Sturdy/Focus Sash users or Physically Defensive Pyroar. x_x
What is the core of the issue, Mimikyu or Belly Drum?
In my honest opinion, the presence of Mimikyu on the metagame isn't dangerously unhealthy. The combination of itself and Belly Drum is however. Belly Drum can be run on any Pokémon, but the use of Disguise to aid its set up is the issue. Belly Drum can be run on other Pokémon too, faster sweepers can abuse it granted a Memento user or screen support is provided to aid its potential sweep. Belly Drum allows any Pokémon to get to insane levels of Attack within one turn, and with the right amount of support, this is possible for any user.
If we removed Mimikyu from the metagame, drastic side effects may potentially occur. Mimikyu is used to blanket check a myriad of metagame threats regardless of its access to Belly Drum. With Swords Dance, Mimikyu can still be run as a potent offensive Pokémon, with access to two strong STAB attacks and the potential for Fighting-type coverage if it can't sketch Belly Drum. As I mentioned in the prior paragraph, Mimikyu is not broken without Belly Drum but is with it. There is no detrimental effect on the metagame if Belly Drum itself is removed instead of Mimikyu. Belly Drum is unhealthy regardless of whether Mimikyu is the sole user or if multiple Pokémon abuse it. Almost any Pokémon can set it up with the right amount of support, and a large selection of Pokémon can benefit off of its usage. The three aforementioned checks cannot handle every single Belly Drum user however.
I believe that Belly Drum should be quickbanned before the start of the Sketchmons Open. The metagame is borderline unplayable with the presence of Belly Drum Mimikyu, and this should really be altered before a swarm of tournament players join the metagame only to discover it's literally "Mimikyu vs Scarf Lele" the metagame. A suspect test will only receive the same result, and while I'm not one to believe that this should be the sole reason to quickban anything, I have explained time and time again why the removal of Belly Drum doesn't hurt the metagame in any way but only strengthens its playability. As an avid Sketchmons player, I hope my concerns have been heard and that some action can be taken towards this threat in the immediate future.