Approved by Arcticblast
Now Playable on Joim's Lab!
Hiya, Eagle4 here! So I've been lurking on this part of the forums, posting here and there. I really wanted to contribute a little more to this forum though, so I submitted an idea to Arcticblast (after mentioning the idea on #pokemon, where it recieved praise) and hey, whadd'ya know, it was approved. The idea is simple on paper; each Pokemon will lose their current ability, having it swapped with a more... versatile ability. That ability is Color Change (obviously). Let's take a look at what Smogon says about Color Change:
Please note that Toxic won't turn the opposing pokemon to a Poison type, Thunder Wave won't turn the opposing pokemon to an electric type, etc. Only damaging moves. So, what will this change cause in the metagame? Well, I'll say the more obvious ones for now, and let you guys theorymon with the rest of it.
1) Pokemon who rely on their ability are now rendered useless, or weakened to a considerable amount.
The main culprit here is Shedinja, but there are also a whole bunch of OU Pokemon which would drop in usage: Scizor,Espeon, Hippowdon, Cloyster and others wouldn't work as well in this environment, simply because their ability is gone in replace of Color Change.
2) Dragons and Ghosts are extremely dangerous.
The answer to why this is the case is obvious; Dragons are weak to Dragons, Ghosts are weak to Ghosts. Stick a Choice Scarf on a Dragon with Outrage would wreck a lot of Pokemon due to the opposing Pokemon turning Dragon type on the second turn. Of course, there are specific ways of countering this so that this technique doesn't become too broken; priority moves would take off the STAB from Outrage, Steel types can come in on the Outrage once one of your pokemon have fainted, and wall it for one turn before dealing damage, taking the STAB off. Furthermore, Protect and Substitute would help in countering the attacks. Which leads to my next point...
3) Substitute...Substitute everywhere...
One of the points of Color Change is that it doesn't activate through a substitute. Therefore, you can retain STAB whilst setting up through a sub. This could lead to sweeps, for example, as having STAB is very important (especially in this metagame where STAB would be non-existent).
4) Hectic, Hyper-Offensive, Hurried (The Three Hs)
This metagame will certainly give no breathing space. Playing with one Kecleon is hectic enough, where you have to predict what move to switch to, try and retain STAB, etc. Why Hyper-Offense? Well, stall won't be effective since you're using your superior typing on the first turn, meaning you could be threatened by the Pokemon you were countering in the space of one turn. Hurried? STAB is extremely important in this metagame, so if you can be the first Pokemon to fire off a STAB attack, it will not only deal more damage, but it will take the STAB off the opposing pokemon. Speed is also vital for setting up a substitute before losing your STAB.
Okay, so now I've talked about some major points of this metagame, let's get down to some of the movesets. Two Pokemon in particular that I want to be talking about:
Heatran @ Expert Belt
Trait: Color Change
4HP/252SpA/252Spe
Modest Nature (+SpA,-Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power Ice
If Heatran stays in long enough, then it is guaranteed to pull off at least one super-effective move. Aside from Gyarados, not 1 pokemon can resist all 4 of these moves (Rotom-W loses Levitate). Furthermore, this moveset can be used in a chain-like fashion, with Flash Cannon -> Fire Blast -> Earth Power -> HP Ice -> Flash Cannon etc. Expert Belt would be boosting all of these moves throughout.
Hitmonlee @ Expert Belt/Focus Sash
Trait: Color Change
4HP/252Atk/252Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk,-SpA)
- Mach Punch
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Close Combat/Bullet Punch
Using the power of priority, this Pokemon would serve as a great counter to a fair portion of the metagame. Fake Out (Which is a great move to use in this metagame) would automatically eliminate the Pokemon's STAB (Providing that it's not Normal type, although you can just Mach Punch/Close Combat the normal type in this instance), as well as guaranteeing you to keep your STAB the next turn, unless the opposing pokemon is behind a substitute. Then, once the Pokemon is normal type, you can just Mach Punch/Close Combat. Furthermore, you can Sucker Punch Ghost-types as well as other Pokemon which would not expect the Sucker Punch, and then Mach Punch/Close Combat the next turn. Bullet Punch could also be used in conjunction with your Fighting type move.
List of Banned Pokemon
Regigigas
Slaking
The only reason these two aren't uber is because of their ability letting them down. Take that away, and they're monsters.
List of Unbanned Pokemon
Blaziken
Excadrill
Manaphy
On the other hand, these pokemon are only Uber due to their ability, and so can now be unbanned.
Testable
Kyurem-B
Any Dragon Type + Choice Scarf
Mainly because I feel that Dragons could become a little too strong in this metagame, where Dragons can storm through anything, restricting the versatility of teams. Ghost types aren't as strong due to the lack of a super-strong Ghost type move, as well as a Normal type's immunity to Ghost.
Also I'd like to pose 1 question to you:
Do you think that Ghost and Dragon type Pokemon will be overpowered in this particular environment? What ways are there to stop it?
Okay, that's all from me, I hope you like the idea of this metagame! Theorymon away!
Smogon University said:After all hits from a damaging attack by another Pokemon, the wielder's type will change to the type of that move. Moves affected by Sheer Force do not activate Color Change. This ability will not activate if the wielder is behind a Substitute.
Please note that Toxic won't turn the opposing pokemon to a Poison type, Thunder Wave won't turn the opposing pokemon to an electric type, etc. Only damaging moves. So, what will this change cause in the metagame? Well, I'll say the more obvious ones for now, and let you guys theorymon with the rest of it.
1) Pokemon who rely on their ability are now rendered useless, or weakened to a considerable amount.
The main culprit here is Shedinja, but there are also a whole bunch of OU Pokemon which would drop in usage: Scizor,Espeon, Hippowdon, Cloyster and others wouldn't work as well in this environment, simply because their ability is gone in replace of Color Change.
2) Dragons and Ghosts are extremely dangerous.
The answer to why this is the case is obvious; Dragons are weak to Dragons, Ghosts are weak to Ghosts. Stick a Choice Scarf on a Dragon with Outrage would wreck a lot of Pokemon due to the opposing Pokemon turning Dragon type on the second turn. Of course, there are specific ways of countering this so that this technique doesn't become too broken; priority moves would take off the STAB from Outrage, Steel types can come in on the Outrage once one of your pokemon have fainted, and wall it for one turn before dealing damage, taking the STAB off. Furthermore, Protect and Substitute would help in countering the attacks. Which leads to my next point...
3) Substitute...Substitute everywhere...
One of the points of Color Change is that it doesn't activate through a substitute. Therefore, you can retain STAB whilst setting up through a sub. This could lead to sweeps, for example, as having STAB is very important (especially in this metagame where STAB would be non-existent).
4) Hectic, Hyper-Offensive, Hurried (The Three Hs)
This metagame will certainly give no breathing space. Playing with one Kecleon is hectic enough, where you have to predict what move to switch to, try and retain STAB, etc. Why Hyper-Offense? Well, stall won't be effective since you're using your superior typing on the first turn, meaning you could be threatened by the Pokemon you were countering in the space of one turn. Hurried? STAB is extremely important in this metagame, so if you can be the first Pokemon to fire off a STAB attack, it will not only deal more damage, but it will take the STAB off the opposing pokemon. Speed is also vital for setting up a substitute before losing your STAB.
Okay, so now I've talked about some major points of this metagame, let's get down to some of the movesets. Two Pokemon in particular that I want to be talking about:
Heatran @ Expert Belt
Trait: Color Change
4HP/252SpA/252Spe
Modest Nature (+SpA,-Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power Ice
If Heatran stays in long enough, then it is guaranteed to pull off at least one super-effective move. Aside from Gyarados, not 1 pokemon can resist all 4 of these moves (Rotom-W loses Levitate). Furthermore, this moveset can be used in a chain-like fashion, with Flash Cannon -> Fire Blast -> Earth Power -> HP Ice -> Flash Cannon etc. Expert Belt would be boosting all of these moves throughout.
Hitmonlee @ Expert Belt/Focus Sash
Trait: Color Change
4HP/252Atk/252Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk,-SpA)
- Mach Punch
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Close Combat/Bullet Punch
Using the power of priority, this Pokemon would serve as a great counter to a fair portion of the metagame. Fake Out (Which is a great move to use in this metagame) would automatically eliminate the Pokemon's STAB (Providing that it's not Normal type, although you can just Mach Punch/Close Combat the normal type in this instance), as well as guaranteeing you to keep your STAB the next turn, unless the opposing pokemon is behind a substitute. Then, once the Pokemon is normal type, you can just Mach Punch/Close Combat. Furthermore, you can Sucker Punch Ghost-types as well as other Pokemon which would not expect the Sucker Punch, and then Mach Punch/Close Combat the next turn. Bullet Punch could also be used in conjunction with your Fighting type move.
List of Banned Pokemon
Regigigas
Slaking
The only reason these two aren't uber is because of their ability letting them down. Take that away, and they're monsters.
List of Unbanned Pokemon
Blaziken
Excadrill
Manaphy
On the other hand, these pokemon are only Uber due to their ability, and so can now be unbanned.
Testable
Kyurem-B
Any Dragon Type + Choice Scarf
Mainly because I feel that Dragons could become a little too strong in this metagame, where Dragons can storm through anything, restricting the versatility of teams. Ghost types aren't as strong due to the lack of a super-strong Ghost type move, as well as a Normal type's immunity to Ghost.
Also I'd like to pose 1 question to you:
Do you think that Ghost and Dragon type Pokemon will be overpowered in this particular environment? What ways are there to stop it?
Okay, that's all from me, I hope you like the idea of this metagame! Theorymon away!