Project Top 10 Titans of the 6th Gen RU Metagame (Some final revision before Sun & Moon; check post #216)

MrAldo

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General OP idea taken from Agent Gibbs which was taken from Gary2346


Threads from past gens that served as inspiration: BW RU Top 10 Titans, BW OU Top 10 Titans, and there even more :ooo

Top 10 Titans of 6th gen RU

The RU metagame, being one of the youngest metagames on Smogon, has seen a new opportunity to develop again after its great debut on 5th gen, leaving quite a fantastic metagame behind ready to face the challenges that a new generation will bring. And oh man, lot of things happened since the RU beta days. Lots of staples from the BW OU days like Reuniclus made their appearance, same for great Pokemon that were BW UU threats like Virizion, Sharpedo, Cobalion, Meloetta and Rhyperior. New Pokemon like Delphox, knock off buff helped Pokemon like Hitmonlee to become even more of a threat. New mechanics like Mega Evolution introduced Pokemon like Mega Abomasnow, certifying itself as a fantastic Pokemon, and Mega Banette; Gligar becoming a metagame staple, Froslass, Zoroark, Yanmega, Cresselia and Slowking, Doublade, Moltres later becoming the king. And oh boy, thats just XY!

ORAS came and many new pokemon introduced alongside Pokemon that received a huge buff from the move tutors or through their hidden abilities that didnt exist in XY made a huge impact in the RU metagame. Dragalge receiving adaptability was massive turning it into an outstanding wallbreaker, same with Pangoro getting Knock Off and incredible tutor moves. Outstanding megas like Mega Pidgeot, Mega Sceptile were introduced. Tyrantrum got Rock Head at its ability which skyrocketed its viability, Moltres still doing its thing, Mega Steelix and Mega Glalie quickly dominating the tier after Mega Pidgeot, Mega Sharpedo and Mega Sceptile departure. Alomomola becoming a balance and stall staple. Dugtrio becoming a massive metagame influence. Gligar left. Hell, Even a massive tier shift completely changed the tier since RU lost 8 mons, all of them rising to UU and introduced Flygon which will later become a metagame staple. Sneasel suddenly became so good. And here we are!

And thats how you summarize an entire gen, lol. But thats not the deal, the real question is: Out of all the amazing Pokemon that graced (or disgraced) this tier, what can we say were the Top 10 that were the most influential? What Pokemon had the bigger impact in the metagame? Some made you run specific Pokemon and sets to handle them? Which one of them shaped the metagame? We need to consider all the questions to find 10 of the most defining Pokemon.

And here is where you, yes you the guy behind the monitor, enter! From September 16th - October 5th you guys will nominate Pokemon to be voted on to be placed as candidates for the Top 10 Titans of 6th Gen RU! After October 3th, we will evaluate all the nominations and begin to individually rank them from 1-10 by vote. All nominations will be counted as long as they fit the criteria and are reasonable. If you're going to nominate something like Ambipom, then everyone will promptly laugh at you. Keep in mind that we aren't ranking on how good a Pokemon is, we are ranking on how influential the Pokemon has been this generation, and how much of an impact it has had on the metagame itself. This is very important when nominating a Pokemon, so please keep that in mind. I obviously missed a good amount of potential titans tbh.

A general rule of thumb: The Pokemon should have been available at least for 2 or 3 metagame stages in order to accurately determine their influence. Pokemon like: Kyurem, Azelf, Sableye, Tornadus, Froslass, Shuckle, Yanmega, Zoroark, Mega Pidgeot and company; those would be really hard to analyze properly. Dont even mention stuff like Mega Houndoom, Mega Gallade and Mega Lopunny that hardly touched the tier, ok :V. 2 or 3 metagame stages (you know like stage 0, 1, 2, 13, the np threads will help with that). And I would recommend for you to be familiar with the metagame of course, living the experience is an important part y'know :V
Nominating [Pokemon]

Enter sprite or animated model here.

What effect did [Pokemon] have on the metagame?

Explain how the Pokemon effected the metagame as whole, and how the metagame adapted around it. A brief description of which Pokemon it countered and which Pokemon it did well against would be good here as well.

In what main roles was [Pokemon] used?

Explain why this Pokemon was used on a team more often then most other Pokemon, and what was it particularly used for? What made it so good at this role?

What caused it to have a significant impact?

What exactly made this Pokemon have such a large impact on the metagame? Was it its stats, ability, useful resistances, amazing synergy, or the ability to sweep most of the metagame very easily? Did a certain Pokemon cause it to become that much better when it was partnered with it?

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in RU?

What are the best checks/counters to this Pokemon? How does the metagame adapt to this Pokemon?

Current Nominations (Will try to link the nomination posts):



Top 10 RU Titans, hell yeah. The following section will be used as the hall of fame:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.


You are allowed to reserve nominations, but if you don't post your nomination within 24 hours of reserving it, it will be back up for grabs. I'll try to be as lenient about this as I can, but I also don't want anyone to sit on a nomination for too long. You can also only reserve one nomination at a time, but if you finish one entry, you can reserve a new one.
Have fun!
 
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I started playing RU during the 11th np stage so I haven’t had the pleasure to experience most staple mons RU has met. To still be able to contribute I choose a mon that I saw falling down from grace when it was separated from its mega evolution and came to this tier and showed me the meaning of "Veni, Vidi, Vici".


Nominating Venusaur





What effect did Venusaur have on the metagame?

Venusaur dropped down to the tier in Januari just a month after NP stage 12 started. Because Amoonguss and Tangrowth were still in the tier at that moment and outclassed Venusaur as a defensive grass(/poison) mon, Venusaur was used as an offensive grass/poison life orb wallbreaker on balance/ bulky offense playstyles. And it didn’t disappoint! Its speed tier made sure it outspeed other wallbreakers like Exploud, Specs Magneton, etc. Venusaur’s Leaf Storm was able to OHKO a calm Alomomola and seriously dent a lot of potential checks and prevent them from switching in freely while still having a strong Poison STAB attack in the back. If it was worn down a lot by either lo recoil or other damage it could just heal itself up with help of the move Synthesis.
This earned him an A+ ranking within two weeks after its arrival as not many Pokémon were capable of dealing with the offensive set.
Even while Amoonguss was still in the tier people started to add on more and more bulk on Venusaur and switch Leaf Storm with Giga drain and LO with Lefties/ Black Sludge, changing Venusaur from a wallbreaker to an offensive (but speedy) tank.
When Amoonguss was actually taken from us by OU, Venusaur started to really compete with Tangrowth for the role of a full on defensive Grass-pivot. As with Venusaur having the benefit of a Fighting resist and the advantage of actual STAB Sludge Bomb it was a decent rival for Tangrowth. Venusaur sort of won this competition by default with the removal of Tangrowth to OU and took over the title as defensive grass(/poison) pivot.
Even as a defensive Grass pivot Venusaur is still capable of putting a lot of work against stall as it puts a lot of pressure on all wish passers in the tier and making it possible to actually wear down the opposing team.

In what main roles was Venusaur used?

As stated earlier Venusaur started out as an offensive life orb wallbreaker and with the departure of both Amoonguss and Tangrowth its defensive set became also more popular. The success formula for this probably lies in the fact that it has a good typing giving it resistances to Water, Fairy, Grass, Fighting and Electric attacks and it being capable of healing itself. All these resistances are very common and give Venusaur many opportunities to pivot in and deal some heavy damage to the opposing team. Example Switch in moments Venusaur has are Alomomola, Virizion and Diancie. Even with the defensive set Venusaur is still able to put in a lot of work/ pressure on the opposing team with these opportunities using one of its many support moves like leech seed, sleep powder or knock off or use a base 100 STAB attack.
Of course its hidden ability Chlorophyll alongside the move Growth makes Venusaur an excellent Wallbreaker/sweeper on sun teams out speeding the whole tier bar a Shell Smashed Omastar and a +2(speed) Virizion.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

The number 1 reason for Venusaur making the impact it has is mainly caused by the departures of its two biggest rivals. Of course its typing and the good move pool it has helps a lot. But the departure of Durant helped Venusaur by getting rid of the obligation of carrying HP Fire and be actually able to carry some of these very useful support moves. For instance carrying Leech Seed over HP Fire puts Venusaur in the position of dealing with the infamous Regi-Mola cores and chipping down the opponents check(s) to Venusaur or cripple the opponents team/ Venusaur switch-in with a Sleep Powder or Knock Off.
As mentioned earlier Venusaur’s stat distribution makes sure it sits in a pretty decent speed tier (Base 80) with decent bulk (80HP 83Def 100SpD). When you pair this bulk up with the combination of Black sludge, Synthesis, Giga Drain and Leech Seed you have a Venusaur that will live for a very long time in the game.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in RU?

The select mons that are capable of switching in safely and dealing with the offensive and defensive set effectively are Golbat and Bronzong. Registeel can switch in and weaken down the offensive set but versus the defensive Leech Seed set it is helpless. While thinking of counters and checks to Venusaur even the likes of defensive Garbodor and Weezing were mentioned one time as a check with their respective Gunk shot and Flamethrower.
Fire- Flying- Ice- and Psychic-types are all types that threaten Venusaur a lot. But they have a much harder time to switch in. They all need to predict either a resisted STAB attack, a Synthesis or take an incoming support move like Sleep powder for granted.
 
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Nominating Medicham


What effect did Medicham have on the metagame?

When Mega Evolutions were separated from their base forms, Medicham came down to RU. Its offensive presence was felt immediately; despite initial competition from fellow Fighting and Psychic type Gallade, Medicham stood out thanks to its sheer power. Pure Power turns its normally godawful 60 base Attack stat into an effective Attack stat of 438, which is near Deoxys-A levels. Not even Mega Steelix, the best physical wall in the tier before its ban, was safe, as High Jump Kick does upwards of 70% to it, and that's just from the Scarf set. Now, any team that needs a wallbreaker or absurdly powerful revenge killer can find a viable option in the yoga master.

In what main roles was Medicham used?

Medicham has two main sets. The first is a wallbreaker that takes advantage of that gigantic Attack stat. This set usually runs a Life Orb with dual STABs High Jump Kick and Zen Headbutt alongside two coverage moves. Thunder Punch is a common choice to hit Flying types, especially Sigilyph, which resists Medicham's STAB moves and 4x resists High Jump Kick. Drain Punch, while not for coverage, can give Medicham some longevity to make up for Life Orb recoil or in the event of a High Jump Kick miss. Fire Punch, Ice Punch, and even Bullet Punch are also decent choices, the latter also being helpful against the odd Trick Room Diancie. Fake Out is also sometimes used for free chip damage against faster opponents, but as it offers no real coverage, it's often not worth the moveslot. Very rarely, Foresight makes an appearance to let High Jump Kick score a hit on Ghost types, especially Spiritomb.

The other commonly seen set is Choice Scarf. This item allows Medicham to outspeed every unboosted Pokemon in the tier except for Accelgor. It is also useful against slower Scarf users such as Emboar and (while it was in the tier) Tyrantrum. As a result, it acts as a solid revenge killer. Like the wallbreaker set, the Scarf set prides itself on power, but also has the ability to cripple slow walls with Trick. Unlike most other Scarf users, Medicham has the benefit of resisting Stealth Rock, which makes switching in and out much easier on it.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Medicham's power is unparalleled in RU, and that alone has allowed it to make an impact as soon as it dropped. Aside from Ghost types and Sigilyph, basically nothing can switch in on High Jump Kick, so teams lacking any of those will have trouble with it.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in RU?

As mentioned before, Ghost types generally defeat Medicham 1v1 due to being immune to High Jump Kick, Medicham's lack of Knock Off, and a super effective STAB in return. Spiritomb, in particular, is Public Enemy #1 for Medicham teams, because it's also immune to Zen Headbutt. Cofagrigus, while rare, can negate Pure Power with Mummy and abuse Trick Room to boot. Psychic types, especially Sigilyph, can check it, but many of them are lacking in the physical bulk department, which Medicham can exploit with the right coverage. Another annoyance, especially for the Scarf set, is Protect, which forces Medicham to lose half its HP if it uses High Jump Kick. Medicham is also crippled by burn, and the Scarf set does not enjoy paralysis. Finally, a faster Scarf user or priority user, especially Fletchinder, can at least revenge kill Medicham.

Feel free to correct me on anything if needed.
 
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atomicllamas

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thoughts on proposed noms so far: M lix, Ttrum, and Venu are maybe deserving but should be more 9-10 range, Medicham hasn't been impactful enough this gen and diancie hasn't been in the tier long enough and didn't have a huge impact :c

anyways,

Nominating Doublade


What effect did Doublade have on the metagame?


Throughout all of official XY and its time in RU during ORAS, Doublade was pretty much undisputably the most important pokemon on offensive teams. In early XY (post Kyu, Sable, Azelf, Torn), Doublade served a very important roll as a pokemon that could limit Froslass to 1 layer of spikes and 0 kills when Froslass HO was dominating the meta game, it also served as a secondary spin blocker on those teams if they desired one. The meta immediately following Froslass HO was Shuckle Webs Offense, in this meta game, Doublade reached a usage of over 35%, as it was part of the Shuckle, Doublade, Hitmonlee core that was the basis of this team style (arguably Braviary was as well). Following the Shuckle ban, the meta shifted to a more balance / bulky offense Doublade served an important role on offense, countering CM Cresselia, Checking CM Reuniclus, Countering Cobalion, soft checking Hitmonlee, basically punishing every fighting type and psychic type in the tier (barring meloetta, and slowking was kind of a toss up). In addition to serving as a check to a lot of things that could trouble offensive teams, Doublade also served as one of the premier wincons for offense (typically the secondary win con on any team it was on). There are several examples in team showcase and in the archive that showcase Doublade's effect on the meta. Molk's Blind Bird is a perfect example of the early XY balance in which Doublade filled the role of Psychic / Fighting Check, secondary win con, and in this meta, Speed Boost Yanmega Check. Another example of Doublade used in a different way during the same meta, is as a spin blocker and check to the myriad of threatening Psychic and Fighting types in the tier on New Breed's Hand Grenade hyper offense. Bouff also made a similar team (Highruse) involving Spike Stacking and Doublade during the same period as Molk's Blind Bird and New Breed's Hand Grenade reinforcing it's use on spike stacking teams as the premier spin blocker. There are no examples of Shuckle HO in the showcase or in the archive which is really bad in retrospect, given how influential those teams were, however there are a couple examples of Sticky Web HO involving Doublade from later metas, including Arikado's String's to a Web from XY and my own Primadonna used in SPL 6 (ORAS). 49's ills of the earth demonstrates that even in ORAS RU, Doublade was a "defensive lynchpin with offensive presence", and served as a check to not only the aforementioned Psychics / Fighters, but also served as a check to Pokemon such as ORAS Tyrantrum (when it wasn't shitty like in XY), Durant (notice the trend of this thing keeping broken mons in check), and Whimsicott (free this mon too). My RMT and 49's RMT were both done in April 2015, Doublade was unfortunately stolen from us by UU in May 2015.

In what main roles was Doublade used?
I already covered its main use as a Pokemon on Balance / Offense (there is even a stall team molk made in XY that utilized Doublade), as a check to many physically offensive mons, and some boosting Psychic type sweepers, a secondary win condition, and a spin blocker.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
I kinda like the way the description was phrased for this question:
"What exactly made this Pokemon have such a large impact on the metagame? Was it its stats, ability, useful resistances, amazing synergy, or the ability to sweep most of the metagame very easily?"

In short, yes. Doublade had good stats, its physical bulk backed by eviolite was insane, while its Special Bulk was usable, and its base 110 attack was nothing to scoff at when backed by Swords Dance and Ghost Type STAB, its low speed was made up for by access to Shadow Sneak. As for resistances, Ghost / Steel is an incredible combination, as it had several important resistances, Ghost also allowed it to pivot out of Dugtrio, and because of its physical bulk Doublade was not actually that susceptible to pursuit. It had incredible synergy with several Pokemon, Slowking comes to mind, but so do Hazard Stackers that beat Gligar (XY), Pokemon like Aromatisse / Whimis who can take knock off and threaten back Dark types (watch out for drapion!), and wallbreakers such as Sigilyph / Meloetta that allow Doublade to clean up easily at the end of the game. And yes it could sweep a good portion of the meta game with smart play thanks to its Bulk / Priority / SD. Its only negative from these questions is its ability which hindered Doublade, disallowing it from dodging wisp and Fire Blast.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in RU?
There were different ways to deal with doublade depending on the meta game, but honestly the easiest way to do it was to force it to switch into knock off (several of the pokemon it switched into learned / used this move). At that point its Special Bulk was mediocre and it became much easier to wear down. Meloetta carrying Shadow Ball was also a good option for checking doublade, and probably the reason that Meloetta was the premier offensive psychic type throughout all of XY (Reun and Cress were not offensive and meloetta was arguably better than them anyways). Drapion was also pretty good, as it had STAB knock off, could SD if Doublade switched out, and punished a lot of stuff that typically switches into Knock off with Poison STAB. Additionally bulky water types could give Doublade trouble considering it wasn't exactly overpowered at +2.

Doublade was top 3 in usage and usefulness throughout all of XY and arguably in early ORAS as well (even with all the new megas). So yeah, it definitely deserves number one for this project.
 
Nominating Alomomola.

What effect did Alomomola have on the metagame?
Alomomola is unarguably the best wish-passer in the entire game due to its massive HP stat of 165 and Regenerator ability, allowing it to regain 33% of its already high HP every time it switches out. This formed the crux of Alomomola's plan: Pass massive wishes to offensive or defensive threats while sponging hits for the entire team. Additionally, with access to Toxic, Protect, Knock Off, and Scald, allowing it to cripple your opponent's team through Poison, Burn, or item removal or wait a turn and see what your opponent brings in to try and check it. Because of these features, Alomomola made its way onto nearly every successful defensive balance or stall teams, as well as pairing well with almost every defensive wall in the tier, with some of them even being the best in the tier, such as Mola/Steelix. In fact, Mola's presence has become so ubiquitous that defensive water types in the tier struggle to carve a reasonable niche because they overlap types with Alomomola, usually resulting in their drop in usage and viability. Alomomola has never been below A tier in the viability rankings since the beginning of XY, with its lowest point being A and its highest point being S, meaning that whatever the metagame throws at it, it's been capable of adapting to the metagame and continue doing its job regardless.

In what main role was Alomomola used?
Alomomola's main role is a defensive pivot, being able to switch in to almost any non-super effective move (and some weaker super-effective ones), click Wish, and pivot out again. Additionally, it can spread statuses such as burn and poison or cripple your opponent with Knock Off.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
Gonna second Llamas and say that the description for this question works. Water is a great defensive typing, having few weaknesses that aren't often coverage and some decent resistances. Alomomola's massive HP, Good Defence, and passable Special Defence (165/85/45) allows it to get in, wish and get out. Also, because of how high Alomomola's HP is, the wish will often be around 65-70% of your new Pokémon's HP. To further add to this, Regenerator gives it a free HP recovery every time it switches out, extending its longevity and allowing it to keep the rest of your team healthy longer by extension. These factors combined with amazing synergy with the best walls in the tier across almost every metagame it's been a part of (IE all of them) led to it being the backbone of almost every defensive-oriented team in the tier.

How did/do you deal with this Pokémon in RU?
Dealing with Alomomola is a bit more complicated than just bringing along a grass type. Grass or Electric types that can circumvent toxic have traditionally been the best answer to Alomomola, though those are often limited to grass/poison types or Lum berry, though Lum Berry, though Lum Berry is often subpar unless your set is specifically tailored to it, such as Lum SD Virizion. However, when you face Mola, you also have to be prepared for the switch-out unless you double switch into it, in which case they can protect and switch out again. Your best answers to Mola are things that can take on both it and its partners, which can be rare. Toxic and Taunt can also stop it somewhat, as both will force a switch from it, though neither are particularly long-term.
 
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diancie.gif
What effect did Diancie have on the metagame?


Once Diancie was tier shifted from it's mega form's respective tier Diancie became a viable Stealth Rock user, Trick Room user, Cleric, and offensive fairy option along with having a reliable Rock-type STAB w/ Diamond Storm it's coverage is pretty solid unless it's against a Bronzong. All its stats have strengths equally giving it a neutral diverse role in matches being able to take opposing pokemon's attacks while dishing out strong attacks.

In what main roles was Diancie used?

Diancie has the stats to run what it pleases as long as it's not Speed related, the most common set ran on Diancie is the SPDEF spread including Stealth Rocks/Diamond Storm/Moonblast/Heal Bell. Trick Room set is also a option for Diancie with the coverage of Earth Power/Moonblast/Diamond Storm/Trick Room it can be a nuisance to deal with.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

The obscure amount of Dark-types give it the upper hand in most one on one match ups, plus its Fairy/Rock STABs give it a small amount of counters to resist those two STABs together being a Steel type for ex. Registeel, Bronzong.

How do did you deal with this Pokemon in RU?


I usually deal with Diancie by running a STEEL lure moves on my mons or run Bronzong/Magneton. I rarely encounter Trick Room Diancie so maybe Magneton wouldn't be a solid check if it's running Earth Power. I've always been prepared for Diancie since its one of the most anticipated to see on the other team rocker on the opposing side.
 
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MANNAT

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Nominating Mega Steelix

What effect did Mega Steelix have on the metagame?
Steelix was arguably the most influential Pokemon of the generation. By itself, Steelix almost invalidated Fairy as a typing as Fairy types just gave a free switch in to lix, allowing it to pivot in and set rocks, toxic something, fire off a STAB move, etc. Mega Steelix not only invaliated Fairy-types, but it made VoltTurn almost unviable as a playstyle, which is absolutely astonding. Weaker physical attackers like Escavalier weren't very good since they got absolutely owned by the common Steelix+Alomomola core, not to mention that they gave Steelix free turns to do whatever it wanted. It constricted offense greatly since it switched into so many mons like Sneasel, Glalie, etc., drained momentum for the opposing team, and hit really hard. Not only that, but it forced you to run bulky waters on almost every team just to not get absolutely owned by it, and those mons usually hated Toxic anyways. Lastly, MegaLix warped teambuilding so that you had to mandate almost half your team spots to check it a lot of the time, since so many things were "Megalix bait" I could go on by talking about how centralizing Megalix was for hours, but hopefully this shed some light into just how good it was.

In what main roles was [Pokemon] used?

Mega Steelix could fulfill a myriad roles just by varying one move on its most common set, which was amazing. It could set rocks, phase and shuffle teams around, be a bulky attacker that threatened common offensive mons, be a blanket check to basically every physical attacker in the tier, be a status spreader with toxic, and it could even be a status absorber due to its immunities to both Twave and Toxic. It could also run a pretty workable curse set and operate as a win condition for many different teams, although the Stealth Rock set was easily the best set.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Almost everything about Mega Steelix made it have significant impact; it had amazing defensive stats, really powerful base 125 attack, solid defensive typing in Steel/Ground, powerful STAB moves in Heavy Slam and EQ, movepool giving it utility options like SR, Toxic, Roar, etc.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in RU?

Dealing with Mega Steelix mainly came down to using bulky waters like Alomomola and Seismitoad, but Mega Steelix had a couple of other solid checks like Tangrowth, Rotom-Mow, etc. The big thing about a lix checks was that they had to be strong special attackers most of the time or else their attacks were going to just bounce off of lix. However, it was very hard to deal with since most of its common counters absolutely despised Toxic and/or hated being phased out by roar, so you had to make sure to switch them into lix intelligently and limit its switch in opportunities.
 

phantom

Banned deucer.
Nominating: Mega Abomasnow



What effect did Mega Abomasnow have on the metagame?

During the most recent time it was allowed in RU, Mega Abomasnow was able to single-handedly shape the structure of defensive cores due to its ability to destroy conventional Water-Fairy-Steel cores on its own. In doing this, Mega Abomasnow was able to hold down Mega Steelix and decrease its usage given that it was a Steel-type incapable of beating its most common special attacking sets. This resulted in a lot of defensive teams incorporating Bronzong or Escavalier in order to stand up to it. This shifted the tier far more than what it normally appeared, given the fact that Mega Abomasnow was capable of switching in on nearly every bulky Water and nab a kill vs a team without one of two specific Steel-types; the use of those Steel-types over Mega Steelix created a domino effect by bolstering the viability of the Pokemon Mlix held down that the other Steel-types don't check nearly as well, such as Tyrantrum and Drapion. In XY, Mega Abomasnow was held down by the likes of Moltres, Cobalion, and Doublade, and the effects Moltres had on the tier lead to a surge in specially defensive Pokemon. This in turn made Swords Dance Mega Abomasnow a very desirable wallbreaker. Its ability to also inhibit Cresselia and weaken Doublade for the many Pokemon that were walled by them made its wallbreaking prowess that much more appreciated. Hail archetypes both in XY and ORAS that included Rotom-F were also able to flourish solely because of how good Mega Abomasnow was.

In what main roles was Mega Abomasnow used?

It was primarily used as a wallbreaker. It could run mixed sets with Blizzard / Giga Drain | Wood Hammer / Focus Blast | Earthquake / Ice Shard or Swords Dance sets with Swords Dance / Seed Bomb / Earthquake / Ice Shard. Due to its incredible bulk and ability to exploit bulky Water-types, it was very easy for Mega Abomasnow to find switch in opportunities to fire off an attack or set up.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Being the most powerful mega RU ever had that lasted for more than two months. STAB Blizzard + Grass STAB has been a consistently incredible offensive combination in the tier. During the Mega Steelix era, it could crack open MolaLixFairy cores on its own, resulting in the use of less consistent and more exploitable Steel-types on those archetypes. Its bulk was also significant, as it was not only good for freely switching in on defensive Pokemon, but it also allowed it live super effective attacks from offensive threats, such as an Acrobatics from Fletchinder. Between its two sets and variation within those sets, Mega Abomasnow was also difficult to consistently beat due to the fact that it could run HP Fire to work around Escavalier and overpower Bronzong with boosted Wood Hammers. In XY, the shifts Moltres brought on to the tier, namely the rise in usage of specially defensive Waters and Rock-types, made Mega Abomasnow an anti-meta wallbreaker capable of beating teams specifically geared towards handling Moltres.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in RU?

Counterplay existed given the fact that it was slow and capable of being lured, but as far as more reliable methods, this is what it boiled down to:

ORAS: Bronzong, Escavalier, running fast-paced offensive teams and giving it little breathing room.

XY: everything above + Moltres, Doublade, and Cobalion.
 

MrAldo

Hey
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Sigh, in an effort to keep this thread relevant and/or revive it I will post something on my own

Reserving Meloetta even tho I will regret this

Nominating: Meloetta



What effect did Meloetta have on the metagame?

Hands down the most consistent and/or efficient throughtout all of Gen 6. Always being a consistently good Pokemon after Yanmega and Zoroark departure (both had a huge impact on the usage of psychic types in general), Meloetta had an immediate effect thanks to its great coverage and being blessed with a secondary typing which gave it a ghost immunity really helping against the likes of Doublade, being the only psychic type not vulnerable to being revenge killed by it at the time, giving it an advantage against other psychic types and punishing most dark types trying to switch into it with STAB Hyper Voice and having focus blast to punish steel types switch-ins make it, to this day even, a fantastic Choice Specs user with an insane damage output. It wasnt even its only set, with sets like Substitute + Calm Mind being really good during the XY days since Meloetta has that magic 404 hp number allowing it to generate 101 hp substitutes which means these survived seismic toss, some Life Orb variants which made the option of playing around Meloetta even harder and Colbur Berry Offensive Calm Mind sets that started to get a lot of traction in ORAS in order to punish Sneasel and Drapion trying to kill or pursuit trap or Knock it off, even a Specially Defensive Set since it has great support move options in Heal Bell and Perish Song!. It Had a pretty notable effect since it has all the tools to put in work against standard defensive cores on its own and pairing extremely well with the likes of Dugtrio with U-Turn, Mega Abomasnow and Meloetta together worked extremely well having similar checks and easily overwhelming the few steel types that could withstand the havoc (share a lot of things in common with the mega snowman actually, besides the mixed wallbreaker potential), and being part of the reason, and arguably the main reason, for the rise of Spiritomb during the XY days and partially responsible for Escav being great during XY, being one of the few Pokemon that could switch and beat most Meloetta sets. One of the best Pokemon that just needed to adapt either 1 move on its moveset like on Specs with U-turn and Shadow Ball, both having different uses throughout different metagame stages or just running a different set where the counterplay changed completely.

In what main roles was Meloetta used?

It is mainly used as a Wallbreaker, being one of the most consistent sets to this day with Shadow Ball / Psychic / Hyper Voice / Focus Blast as its designed movepool, the option of U-Turn over Shadow Ball was commonly seen paired with dugtrio in order to get rid of Registeel or weaken Escavalier or when paired with a Pursuit Trapper to get rid of Bronzong which is commonly used to handle Meloetta (if you run shadow ball bronzong isnt a problem). Substitute + Calm Mind with Calm Mind / Shadow Ball / Substitute / Hyper Voice which was the best middleground to cover most targets at least neutrally, and because of Doublade presence back in XY. This set stayed like that for a while until middle to late ORAS with Mega Steelix at its prime and Registeel getting on the rise again it changed to Calm Mind / Psyshock / Substitute / Focus Blast, both sets having insane stallbreaking potential. Other sets include Colbur Offensive Calm Mind with Colbur Berry; Calm Mind, Shadow Ball, Psychic and Focus Blast and a Specially Defensive set that died after XY that was like Knock Off, U-Turn or Psychic, Heal Bell, Perish Song used on stall teams against threatening calm mind sweepers like Reuniclus, Cresselia and even Sigilyph back then.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Its sheer versatility! The fact that it is the only psychic type in the tier that isnt vulnerable to ghost type attacks (it is immune in back) is, and was, huge. During XY with Doublade being one of the best, if not the best, Pokemon around being immune to Shadow Sneak made Meloetta one of the best ways to check the Spooky Sword and to beat opposing Psychic-types like Reuniclus and Dark types like Skuntank and Drapion fearing to switch into Hyper Voice. Being amazingly splashable thanks to its good speed tier, versatility and the aforementioned utility of its typing, despite not resisting fighting like its psychic comrades, it was just huge and made it a really hard threat to prepare for, even to this day a well prepared Meloetta can be really challenging to face. This Pokemon redefines how you prepare for Psychic-types tbh since it can be really tricky to handle it given its insane immediate power.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in RU?

Counterplay existed, and exists, since Choice Specs can be played around since its STABs have common resistances and immunities, and Focus Blast not being the most reliable move, Substitute + Calm Mind needing plenty of turns to set up comfortably and Colbur Calm Mind being easier to wear down while not having the power Choice Specs would have.

Spiritomb and Escavalier are easily the best 2 ways of preparing for this monster, Tomb being immune to its STAB moves and Escavalier resisting most of the moves Meloetta could throw at it and both pursuit trapping it with relative ease (Dazz gleam is a bitch for Tomb tho). From there, other Steel Types like Bronzong and Registeel can switch into it but have to watch out for Shadow Ball and Focus Blast respectively. And most dark types can threaten it out given a free switch but most, besides Tomb, fear taking an Specs Hyper Voice to the face. Specially Defensive Diancie + Dark type is a good combination that can handle it pretty effectively, God bless ORAS for allowing Diancie to drop.

I dont regret this a single bit...

Cheers!
 
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trace

tell me
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just gonna point out some small mistake

MrAldo you picked melo as your pokemon but it said "what effect does mega abomasnow have on the metagame"

Edit: fuck ninjas
 

atomicllamas

but then what's left of me?
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Sigh, in an effort to keep this thread relevant and/or revive it I will post something on my own
Don't we have to vote on the top 1 before we go onto the next? Or are we just nominating a bunch before going on, cause then I have more to nominate oo
 

MrAldo

Hey
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Don't we have to vote on the top 1 before we go onto the next? Or are we just nominating a bunch before going on, cause then I have more to nominate oo
Gather as much nominations as possible then proceed to a voting phase to determine every placement through votes. Thats the idea, similar to the OU one.

If you guys finish one, you can taking another! :D
 
Nominating Tyrantrum.

What effect did Tyrantrum have on the metagame?
Before ORAS, Tyrantrum was niche, checking fire types and having alright coverage with sets like AV and Dragon Dance, but nothing special. Once ORAS rolled around, Tyrantrum got a new toy in the form of Rock Head. With Rock Head, Tyrantrum now has a base 150 power STAB move (Base 225 with STAB) with 0 recoil. With a Choice Scarf, Tyrantrum outsped almost the entire tier and OHKO'ed a good portion of it, making it the ideal HO destroyer.

In What main roles was Tyrantrum used?
Choice Scarf. This one set pushed Tyrantrum from below-average to one of the best offensive threats in the tier (or the best). With a Choice Scarf, Tyrantrum outsped nearly the entire tier (Only scarfed Flygon or your own Scarfed Tyrantrum posed any real threat) and one or two-shotted everything that wasn't a steel type. Additionally, Tyrantrum also possessed a Choice Band set that sacrificed speed for power and could muscle through some of the scarfed set's checks. All in all, with Rock Head, Tyrantrum was a fearsome cleaner, revenge killer, or wallbreaker with either set.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
Tyrantrum had a significant impact with the scarf set because it was one of the fastest Pokémon in the tier with it and also one of the most powerful. As such, Tyrantrum's impact was from the impact it left in opponent's team - at least one Pokémon, maybe more per battle. Once your opponent's Bulky Steel was gone Tyrantrum could often run through weakened teams by itself. Tyrantrum by itself made heavy offence teams nearly unplayable.

How Did you deal with Tyrantrum?
Tyrantrum was the main reason everyone was running a Bulky Steel type for most of its ORAS run. Mega Steelix was one of the best checks to it for any non-HO team due to how good Mega Steelix was, but for HO team Mawile became a near necessity due to its Ability to set up rocks and conserve momentum with Baton Pass. Other checks to it included Registeel and Alomomola, though Alomomola was less reliable than a steel type.
 
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MrAldo

Hey
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Given that this thread would love to have more nominations, I will extend this 1 more weeok. October 3th will be the new deadline. From there we move on to voting :)

Nominate everyone :D!
 

ScraftyIsTheBest

On to new Horizons!
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Pffft...you guys mention stuff like Venusaur, Mega Steelix, and Tyrantrum, and while those are top 10 titans, those don't even come close to the top 5. Only Doublade has ever been mentioned that is higher up. This current list of nominations is pretty weak: it doesn't even mention some of the absolute titans of the 6th Gen RU Metagame far more deserving of this list than the ones already nommed, which are many.

I think you guys really oughtta get to the good stuff ASAP, this list deserves far better than what it currently has.

Spirit edit: removed Zoro nom b/c:

Literally in the OP said:
A general rule of thumb: The Pokemon should have been available at least for 2 or 3 metagame stages in order to accurately determine their influence. Pokemon like: Kyurem, Azelf, Sableye, Tornadus, Froslass, Shuckle, Yanmega, Zoroark, Mega Pidgeot and company; those would be really hard to analyze properly.
 
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Cresselia, Moltres, Cobalion, Durant, Gligar, Sharpedo and Reuniclus need to get on here.

Since I finished up Tyrantrum, I'll reserve Durant.
 
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Pearl

Romance は風のまま
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Nominating Moltres


What effect did Moltres have on the metagame?

For starters, this Pokemon was so powerful that it made 2 members of the RU council quit during late XY. Jokes aside, Moltres was an absolute powerhouse that become the (arguably) best Pokemon in the tier right after Zoroark and Yanmega were banned, and consistently remained among the most threatening Pokemon during early ORAS RU until it was banned alongside Pangoro. Basically, Moltres shaped the metagame by forcing people to run some of the most ridiculous techs ever just to deal with it, such as Assault Vest Kabutops, Assault Vest Tyrantrum (note that this was before ORAS gave it Rock Head to go alongside Head Smash. Meru used this once in Grand Slam playoffs), Regirock and even Carbink. Of course there were more viable ways of dealing with Moltres, but most of them were either pretty hard to fit onto conventional teams or exploitable by other common Pokemon. Its presence in the tier made it pretty hard for other playstyles besides balance to thrive, since its Choice Scarf set could single handily demolish offensively oriented teams and both Life Orb and Substitute + Toxic sets gave more passive teams a very tough time.

In what main roles was Moltres used?

Initially, Moltres's most used set was Life Orb + 3 Attacks, with Fire Blast, Hurricane, Hidden Power Grass and Roost, and it had the ability to put massive amounts of pressure on slower teams. However, as people started exploring this Pokemon's potential, more common sets emerged, such as the Choice Scarf set, which was able to revenge kill a vast majority of RU's offensive threats like non-Choice Scarf Durant. Some other Moltres sets that weren't used as often but still had a lot of value were Substitute + Toxic, Offensive Substitute and Sunny Day. The former two made use of Moltres's ability and passable bulk, while the latter was a pretty nifty lure to the Bulky Water and Rock-types that were often used as checks to Moltres.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

There were many different factors that contributed to Moltres's success in RU. First and foremost, there's the fact that Moltres's typing and bulk are actually pretty good for a Pokemon that can hit so hard, which means that it could actually get away with missing its low accuracy moves most of the time. It also fared well against a big portion of the metagame's most common Pokemon, being able to switch in for free against most variants of Gligar, Cobalion, Doublade, Escavalier and others. It was also among the most solid checks to Mega Abomasnow, which is a plus. Besides that, it's also worth mentioning that XY RU had some of the most solid hazard removers to go alongside Moltres, which made its quadruple weakness to Stealth Rock a lot less punishing. Shiftry was a good option that could punish Slowking and other Bulky Water-types, Kabutops could check opposing Moltres and spam Knock Off, Gligar is self-explanatory, considering that it was among the most viable Pokemon of XY RU, Hitmontop and even Hitmonlee could be used on more offensively inclined squads. Last but not least, there's also the fact that Moltres's common partners had a really easy time exploiting its common checks: Assault Vest Slowking could be trapped by Spiritomb under most circumstances, Lanturn's offensive presence was pretty low aside from burning stuff with Scald, Rhyperior and Kabutops weren't hard to wear down and could even be nuked by Life Orb boosted Hidden Power Grass and other Bulky Rock-types were trapped by Dugtrio and set up on by either Doublade or Cobalion.

How did you deal with this Pokemon in RU?

The most common and reliable check to Moltres was Assault Vest Slowking, which had a pretty easy time dealing with the standard Life Orb set and could be used to pivot against Choice Scarf Moltres, but as it was mentioned before, Spiritomb could trap it after Stealth Rock + U-turn damage. Besides that, it also didn't like to be matched up against Substitute + Toxic Moltres, since it really chipped away at its longevity. Bulky Rock-type Pokemon were also used to check Moltres often, with the 2 most viable ones being Rhyperior (usually paired with Rindo Berry to cover Hidden Power Grass variants) and Assault Vest Kabutops, but Regirock, Cradily, Assault Vest Tyrantrum and even ROCK WITH EYES were also seen on some teams that couldn't afford using anything else to stop Moltres from cleaning. Besides those, two other Pokemon that could switch in on Moltres were Audino and Lanturn. The former could Knock Off its item and stall it out of PP, while the latter often packed Toxic and could Scald or even Volt Switch on it for some chip damage.

One thing worth noting is that out of all mentioned Pokemon, none were able to effectively deal with every single Moltres set. Substitute + Toxic variants could cripple more passive answers like Audino and Carbink and most Rock-types were vulnerable to Life Orb + Hidden Power Grass sets.
 
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Nominating Durant.

What effect did Durant have on the metagame?
Durant's effect was easy to spot: It was a fast, powerful wallbreaker or cleaner that could finish off weakened teams by itself. This was due to a combination of factors, such as base 109 attack and speed, making it one of the fastest Pokémon in the metagame for most of its life, not counting scarfers, and one of the strongest Pokémon, too. This strength was further boosted by its ability, Hustle, which multiplied Durant's attack by 1.5. Because of this combination of speed and power, Durant was very difficult to check, a trait that was further noted because of Durant's surprisingly wide coverage, including Thunder Fang, Crunch, Shadow Claw, Rock Slide, and Superpower. Depending on what and how many coverage moves Durant ran, the Pokémon that could check it changed, but the pool was always small.

In what roles was Durant mainly used?
Durant was a very flexible Pokémon in terms of how it could attack. Three of the main Durant sets were Hone Claws/3 Attacks, Choice Scarf, and All-out-attacker. All three of them served the general purpose of being a late-game cleaner. With a Choice Scarf, Durant became the fastest Pokémon in the tier and one of the strongest, allowing it to tear through weakened teams extremely effectively. The other sets sacrificed Speed for even more power or coverage, allowing Durant to become a wallbreaker or mid-game sweeper that could dominate almost every playstyle.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
Durant had next to 0 checks, and depending on what and how many coverage moves it ran, had an extremely limited pool of counters. With hard-to-resist Dual STAB in X-Scissor and Iron Head, Durant's coverage extended to Thunder Fang to beat bulky Waters, Superpower to beat Bulky Steels (except Megalix), Rock Slide to take out Flying Types, and many more. Outside of being naturally difficult to check, Durant was a Pokémon that you couldn't safely check until you know all the moves it has, making it easy for it to take out your team because you got read with a SuperPower you didn't even know it had.

How did you deal with this Pokémon in RU?
As I mentioned earlier, Durant had very few garunteed checks. Generally, bulky water-types like Alomomola and Jellicent could check or counter it unless it ran Thunder Fang. Most Steel types could handle it, though SuperPower could blow through them. The best answer was usually Mega Steelix, which had enough raw defences to take a superpower. However, most of Durant's checks were extremely passive, which made Durant even more straining.

Done :)
 
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Take Azelfie

More flags more fun
Checking out Virizion and returning Clus, decided to drop since I was still relatively new during that time period.


What effect did Virizion have on the metagame?

Virizion impact on the metagame is much less subtle than stuff like Shuckle, Zoroark, or Alomomola did. But there were a few things that kept it in state of power during its earlier days (prior to Cobalion moving up.) First up it was one of the Grass-types that could outspeed and KO a Moltres with Stone Edge, it could be water check that didn't automatically lose to Mega Abomasnow (problems bulky waters and grasses had), and of course it could assassinate other things that were big in the XY and times such as Shiftry who could only Sucker Punch when Virizion is in (bad idea), Jolteon, Clawitzer, etc. Around the time Virizion peaked though was when Cobalion left the tier after the Reuniclus suspect. It lost its main competition as an SD sweeper and picked up in Cobalion's place. From there it continued to excel and made people start running wimpy flying moves like Hidden Power Flying and Aerial Ace on Pokemon like Dugtrio, Tangrowth, and Sceptile while also bumping up the viability of certain Choice Scarf users (namely Delphox) just to outspeed Virizion. On top of that in today's metagame it forces defensive playstyles to run a bulky Poison-type to tackle Virizion like Venusaur/Garbodor/Weezing. It was probably a huge reason why Sneasel also joined the barracks as it was one the only non scarfed Pokemon that could revenge kill it. Also most of the reason's Venusaur is good is because Virizion was able to be stopped if not carrying Zen Headbutt and it guinea pigs off what Virizion could also do.

In what roles was Virizion used?

Virizion is known and popular for its signature Swords Dance set which consist of two STABs and a choice of Zen Headbutt or Stone Edge most of the time. It could also opt for Substitute in some scenarios but the the other two are much prefered. This set is very important in the current meta since it can apply pressure to probably the most spammed core in the tier (RegiMola) while still pertaining amazing offensive presence. The run either a Lum Berry or a Coba Berry dependent on if you need to be prepared for Dugtrio coming in. It also has a good secondary set in Calm Mind which let's it stay alive longer through Giga Drain. This set will usually run Hidden Power Ice in the last slot for Venusaur or Substitute to stall break / take a hit. This set almost always runs a Life Orb since the power is much needed.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

The way the tier naturally built itself in ORAS with Amoonguss, Cobalion, Doublade, Moltres, etc. leaving made it so there were less and less checks for Virizion. The tier was also weak to its stab as MolaLix was the most popular core up until the Mega Steelix + Tyrantrum ban in which it just got replaced by Registeel. With this archetype being so common it became hard to run Fletchinder or Choice Scarf Braviary to revenge kill Virizion and it was one of the better checks to Tyrantrum as it resisted its main STAB and often didn't carry coverage to OHKO it. So Virizion kind of just sat back and let the movie play out as it just got progressively better as time continued.

How do you deal with this Pokemon in RU?

currently the best way to handle it is to let something die and bring in Dugtrio and hope that they aren't Coba Berry. Outside of that Granbull, defensive Poison-types, choice scarf Fire-types, Sneasel, Fletchinder, Aerodactyl, Choice Scarf Drapion, Choice Scarf Hoopa, and Gourgeist-XL are all good ways of handling it. If you have a defensive check all you have to do is not let it die or get to like 7% but if you have an offensive check you'll have to play more cautiously and many of the Pokemon listed have big flaws. Hoopa is pursuit weak, ScarfDrap is weak AF, and the others are SR weak.
 
Nominating Gligar



What effect did Gligar have on the metagame?

Gligar countered most physical attackers in the tier relatively handily; its useful immunity to Ground and its resistance to Fighting made it one of the best physical walls the tier has ever seen. Gligar also had access to U-turn, which allowed it to gain momentum against the opposition. It also possessed STAB Earthquake, a boon to almost any Pokemon. Almost every physical attacker was forced to run whatever Ice-type move they had available to them in order to not be walled by Gligar; it was bulky enough with Eviolite to even repel some of these attacks, however. Gligar's premier asset, though, was Defog, a move which it was able to utilize extremely effectively due to its aforementioned staggering bulk and great typing.

In what main roles was Gligar used?

Gligar was primarly used as a physical wall and Defogger. It was essentially a staple on most balance and stall teams, and helped keep these teams afloat against many of the offensive behemoths in the metagame. One could also choose to forgo Defog in order to run Immunity, which made Gligar even more stout as a wall. Gligar could also run a Swords Dance / Agility / Substitute + Baton Pass set, making use of Immunity and its surprise factor in order to catch an opponent off guard and defeat them handily. A more specially defensive spread could also be used in an attempt to buff Gligar's weaker defensive stat. Gligar also had access to Stealth Rock and Knock Off, making it even more potent as a team supporter.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Gligar's massive Defense and amazing typing allowed it to flourish in the metagame. Its access to Defog simply gave it that much more utility, as it allowed it to greatly aid more defensive teams in their attempts to stop more offensive ones. Roost allowed it to sponge attacks without as much concern for its HP, and U-turn allowed it to apply pressure on the opposition more easily. STAB Earthquake allowed it to keep many attackers at bay, while Toxic allowed it to cripple opposing walls.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in RU?

Knock Off makes Gligar less of a threat due to its ability to take away its Eviolite; however, Gligar's relatively solid Defense stat in tandem with its great typing still made it a force to be reckoned with even without this item. Almost all physical attackers began running Ice-type moves in an attempt to KO Gligar; Ice Punch was a necessary coverage move on threats such as Rhyperior. Toxic also significantly lessens Gligar's ability to counter physical threats; Immunity variants are immune to this move, though.
 
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atomicllamas

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Nominating Flygon



What effect did Flygon have on the metagame?
Flygon dropped into RU in May 2015, and quickly earned its title as the best hazard control Pokemon in the tier, thanks to its typing + levitate making it practically immune to hazards. After the Noivern and Reuniclus suspect test ended, it was consistently one of the most used Pokemon in RU (always top 2), this made the tier far less friendly to hazard stack. This was by far its biggest impact on the meta game, after Gligar had left the tier, the premier hazard control Pokemon were Hitmonlee and Hitmontop, neither of which was particularly consistent.

In what main roles was Flygon used?

Flygon is probably one of the most diverse Pokemon in the RU tier, with different sets that were able to adapt to several different meta games. Its choice scarf set has been consistent throughout its time in RU thanks to its decent base speed, STAB EQ and Uturn allowing it to function as a revenge killer and pivot. Initially, in the Mega Steelix meta game, its Specially offensive LO Defog set was extremely effective at beating most Spike / SR users, while its bulky defog set was capable of beating them long term with much more staying power. In the current meta game, with Mega Steelix not being around, it has a very effective Physically attacking defog set, and even an effective choice band set. You can see examples of teams using these sets here: scarf (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, (shoutouts eonx for having a boner for scarf flygon)), bulky: 1, 2, (there is a team for showcase in progress for showcase 49 made, here is an import) choice band: 1, 2, and as for Special LO, there is no RMT for it, but I built this team for New Breed to use in SPL 7 semi finals with Special Flygon, it won, and it still gets used a bit (shoutouts Kiyo). Its main roles can be broken down into Revenge Killer (hence the 5 showcase teams with scarf Flygon) and defog user (several of these have defog or defog slashed).

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Its typing + ability + movepool make it an ideal hazard remover. In addition, its stats (fast, decent bulk) and typing (immunities to a couple of important attacking types (Electric and Ground)) give Flygon quite a few opportunities to accomplish this role, while its Speed also allows it to function as a revenge killer when equipped with a choice scarf. As for partners, pretty much anything that appreciates hazard removal benefits from the presence of Flygon on its team.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in RU?

Flygon's biggest flaw is that it isn't all that strong and that its Dragon STABs are either weak (Dragon Claw), easy to capitalize on (Outrage), or you have to use Special Attack and then it halves your special attack (Draco Meteor). That being said, it can be difficult to prevent Flygon from accomplishing its goal of defogging, as between its speed and U turn it can be difficult to pin down, the same can be said of its revenge killing role. Its difficult to prevent it from revenge killing your pokemon without switching out, but on the bright side, the choice scarf set is pretty weak and therefore easy to deal with by switching into a bulky pokemon or a resist to a likely attack.

Pearl and Miyami~~ don't forget to finish yours, Littlelucario do sharpedo pls

I definitely agree with Cresselia, Reuniclus and Cobalion need to be nominated, so if you have time please do so, I'll try to get around to one of them tomorrow or later today. :)
 

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