Just read on serebii the Swampertite Sceptilite and Blazikenite are getting released soon. How viable do you suppose they'll be?
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Metagame Mega Evolution in Sun & Moon
- Thread starter Halcyon.
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Not. Especially Blazikenite because Blaziken is banned. Swampertite provides another powerful rain sweeper but not much else, and Sceptilite provides a unique typing, but a weak one.
Quite slow to the party :P
Blaziken is banned, but anyways... I don't think the Blazikenite is gonna get much use in Ubers as it gets pretty much nothing from the Mega Speed Buff - you are always going to use Protect anyways. Regular Blaziken does practically the same things without wasting the Mega slot.
I'm unsure about Sceptile. Electric-type attacks are common place, but it needs to be Mega Evolved to take advantage on that and it cannot switch against pretty much anything - even those Electrics have Hidden Power Ice or (in Koko's case) Dazzling Gleam. An alright offensive check, especially with the Mega Speed buff, but I have my doubts.
Now, I'm curious about Swampert. I don't remember it being discussed before. Solo rain sweeper or it will be part of a whole rain team? Tapu Bulu obliterates it, though.
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Mega Sceptile will be a very good check to Tapu Koko and both Greninja forms
I feel like Metagross's fate will have an impact on how Sceptile turns out. If Metagross goes, the Metagame will likely shift to faster frailer attackers since the best mon in the tier won't require massive chip to RK. Sceptile benefits from having the second highest Speed in the tier (behind Mega-Zam if he's still big), and his typing + Lightning Rod give him the means to walk on top of Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini. Being able to get a reliable RK on the Greninjas is a major selling point for him on offense, thanks to Quad-Resist and speed saving him from BB Water Shuriken.
252 SpA Sceptile-Mega Leaf Storm vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Greninja: 306-360 (107.3 - 126.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Neutral to Leaf Storm)
0 Atk Sceptile-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 216-256 (75.7 - 89.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Poison resisting Leaf Storm)
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Water Shuriken (20 BP) (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Sceptile-Mega: 54-63 (19.2 - 22.4%) -- possible 5HKO
The issues he had last gen will probably persist, and new threats at the center like Celesteela or the now-legal Mawile will give him trouble, but he's still got at least his old B Rank niche I'd say. He definitely benefits from the increased emphasis on Spike-stacking, since it brings the wear and tear his high speed and okay-ish power needs to pull off a clean.
252 SpA Sceptile-Mega Leaf Storm vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Greninja: 306-360 (107.3 - 126.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Neutral to Leaf Storm)
0 Atk Sceptile-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 216-256 (75.7 - 89.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Poison resisting Leaf Storm)
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Water Shuriken (20 BP) (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Sceptile-Mega: 54-63 (19.2 - 22.4%) -- possible 5HKO
The issues he had last gen will probably persist, and new threats at the center like Celesteela or the now-legal Mawile will give him trouble, but he's still got at least his old B Rank niche I'd say. He definitely benefits from the increased emphasis on Spike-stacking, since it brings the wear and tear his high speed and okay-ish power needs to pull off a clean.
To better check these things, it should be Hasty
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Water Shuriken (20 BP) (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sceptile-Mega: 48-57 (17 - 20.2%) -- possible 5HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sceptile-Mega: 255-300 (90.7 - 106.7%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
80 Atk Sceptile-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 234-276 (82.1 - 96.8%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (Poison-Type Greninja)
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Hmm what? Check doesn't mean counter, Sceptile isn't coming into Ash Greninja unless it wants to get poped by a Dark Pulse. Check means that it can beat it 1v1, which it can because it's faster and ohkos
I know it, the calcs is just to show that with Hasty, it can "tank" even a Dark Pulse form Specs Ash-Gren. It's not a counter and I know it.
You still don't want to take a Dark Pulse even if you could. For one, it has a chance to kill so you shouldn't be risking that unless you're forced to. Then if you survive because hazards aren't up late game for some reason, you're crippled to the point where you can't take any residual damage and that's not how you want to use your Mega. And in your post you implied that it needed Hasty to check them, which is clearly doesn't
Yes, I expressed myself wrong, but I have already corrected the post. thank you for the warning.
Blazikenite is more broken than ever due to the Spe mechanic change when megaevolving.
Starting with 100 base Spe in a tier where the medium base Spe is between 90 and 99 is huge. Problem is a serious case of 4 MMSS, even if now it can drop Protect.
Talking about OU, I see very well a core of Pelipper (weak 4x to Electric and neutral to Grass, but you have STAB Hurricane) and Mega Swampert (weak 4x to Grass and immune to Electric).
Mega Swampert received a "Spe boost" when megaevolving under the Rain, which is pretty nice: now it has a niche over Kabutops, its closest non-Mega counterpart.
Problem is that Rain teams needs some broken monsters to go away from OU in order to pick another mega not named Scizor (which is pretty mandatory for now).
Starting with 100 base Spe in a tier where the medium base Spe is between 90 and 99 is huge. Problem is a serious case of 4 MMSS, even if now it can drop Protect.
Talking about OU, I see very well a core of Pelipper (weak 4x to Electric and neutral to Grass, but you have STAB Hurricane) and Mega Swampert (weak 4x to Grass and immune to Electric).
Mega Swampert received a "Spe boost" when megaevolving under the Rain, which is pretty nice: now it has a niche over Kabutops, its closest non-Mega counterpart.
Problem is that Rain teams needs some broken monsters to go away from OU in order to pick another mega not named Scizor (which is pretty mandatory for now).
Well the thing about mega Blaziken is not only does it take up a mega slot which you could be using on another mega like lucario or salamence, but regular blaziken achieves what mega does, but even better. Sure, not having base 100 speed immediately sucks in a tier with speed benchmarks from 90-99, but blaziken can hold life orb, meaning it hits roughly as hard as its mega counterpart, while not using up a mega slot. Rain can afford to run stuff like mega pinsir, as ferrothorn can handle non hammer arm mega metagross. Swampert is going to benefit greatly from the fact that swift swim now activates as soon as it mega evolves, so less momentum is lost there.
Sceptile, although it struggles with celesteela, tapu bulu, and the like, will be a decent candidate for offensive teams, and for revenge killing threats on offense as well. Looking at the mons commonly used on offense(this is assuming a leaf storm/dragon pulse/hp fire/earthquake set), most of them require a little chip damage(or none) to be in range of sceptile's attacks. Of course, it won't be a top tier threat or metagame-defining, but it's definitely something to be aware of.
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145 base speed with high special attack+decent stabs let it check almost the whole offensive metagame. the two most common scarf users have to lock themselves in the stab they prefer least (garchomp into dragon claw, keldeo into secret sword/icywind). problem last generation was how popular its checks were like clefable and amoonguss. however, team building is very lopsided, so i expect mega sceptile to be this generation's mega gardevoir where it is either very good or utter shit in a game. grassy terrain too? god damn. expect leaf storm / dragon pulse / hp fire to be standard with rock slide or earthquake being used in the last slot.
i am exaggerating a bit but idc. sceptile is the fucking future.
i am exaggerating a bit but idc. sceptile is the fucking future.
O agree that mega scpetile will be more viable than ever since this checks a ton of the meta like 3 tapus and the greninjas very well while being a Nice revange killer with acess to nice coverage.
About tapu lele x gardevoir i think lele niche is better since she can stallbreak waaaaaay better bevause it 2KO chansey(i remember how annoying was to predict taunt/psyshock/seismic toss/soft boiled in oras, and then skarm finishes you) and the new stall's best friend dugtrio Just destroy gardevoir anyway, when lele can run shed shell(my fav item on her), in trade gardevoir can speed tie with medicham and thats about it(scarf lele can lure it, and isn't weak to double priority variants like garde) also lele brings utility to te team, doesn't take a mega slot(i hate this argument, but its true) it's harder to predict and can somehow make up it speed by boosting mega alaka power a core that is very underated right now.
About tapu lele x gardevoir i think lele niche is better since she can stallbreak waaaaaay better bevause it 2KO chansey(i remember how annoying was to predict taunt/psyshock/seismic toss/soft boiled in oras, and then skarm finishes you) and the new stall's best friend dugtrio Just destroy gardevoir anyway, when lele can run shed shell(my fav item on her), in trade gardevoir can speed tie with medicham and thats about it(scarf lele can lure it, and isn't weak to double priority variants like garde) also lele brings utility to te team, doesn't take a mega slot(i hate this argument, but its true) it's harder to predict and can somehow make up it speed by boosting mega alaka power a core that is very underated right now.
Ema Skye
Work!
Next wave of Mega Evolutions announced!
Tyranitarite, Abomasite and Manectite
While Abomasite will definitely have no place in OU, I'm unsure about the other two. Mega Tyranitar may struggle with how Fairy-focused the meta is right now, especially with Mega Medicham in the tier. Mega Manectric might struggle to solidify a niche with Tapu Koko being so prevalent, but it does outspeed Ash-Gren, has Intimidate and isn't forced to run HP Fire to beat Ferro (due to Overheat).
Tyranitarite, Abomasite and Manectite
While Abomasite will definitely have no place in OU, I'm unsure about the other two. Mega Tyranitar may struggle with how Fairy-focused the meta is right now, especially with Mega Medicham in the tier. Mega Manectric might struggle to solidify a niche with Tapu Koko being so prevalent, but it does outspeed Ash-Gren, has Intimidate and isn't forced to run HP Fire to beat Ferro (due to Overheat).
Regarding Mega Medicham, both Adamant and Jolly Mega Tyranitar outspeed and OHKO with Crunch after a Dragon Dance. However, Fake Out + Bullet Punch can do at most almost half...
Mega Abomasnow was almost unviable last gen; in SUMO things are even worse with the new Spe mechanic when megaevolving ==> UU material.
Mega Tyranitar is the luxury mega that you can run if you don't have any other one at your disposal on your team. That extra bulk and +10 Spe is nice to have a niche on its own.
Mega Manectric is even more useful now with the new extra Spe when megaevolving; the extra Spe is handy because now you can force even more switches towards pokemons weak to Manectric's coverage. This is a good buff for the Electric dog: is it a new offensive check for Mega Metagross with Intimidate + Overheat?
Mega Tyranitar is the luxury mega that you can run if you don't have any other one at your disposal on your team. That extra bulk and +10 Spe is nice to have a niche on its own.
Mega Manectric is even more useful now with the new extra Spe when megaevolving; the extra Spe is handy because now you can force even more switches towards pokemons weak to Manectric's coverage. This is a good buff for the Electric dog: is it a new offensive check for Mega Metagross with Intimidate + Overheat?
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252 SpA Manectric-Mega Overheat vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Metagross-Mega: 270-318 (89.7 - 105.6%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
-1 252 Atk Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Zen Headbutt vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Manectric-Mega: 147-174 (52.3 - 61.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
-1 252 Atk Metagross-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Manectric-Mega: 190-224 (67.6 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
It can check in an emergency, but I wouldn't risk entering on it. More important to Manectric than Metagross is that it outspeeds the Greninjas and presents a decent threat with Volt Switch, so it has the advantage on the prediction game for pivoting around such a dangerous threat.
252 SpA Manectric-Mega Volt Switch vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Greninja: 174-205 (54.2 - 63.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (Neutral Greninja)
252 SpA Manectric-Mega Volt Switch vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Greninja in Electric Terrain: 261-307 (81.3 - 95.6%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
I'd give some consideration to pairing it with Tapu Koko. Electric Terrain alleviates Manectric's average Special Attack stat, makes Thunderbolt being comparable to Meteor Mash while having the same high speed, the two obviously make for a good pivoting core, and Electric Terrain lets Manectric exert more pressure with Volt Switch beyond the obvious pivoting.
252 SpA Manectric-Mega Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew in Electric Terrain: 229-270 (67.1 - 79.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Meteor Mash vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 207-244 (60.7 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
-1 252 Atk Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Zen Headbutt vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Manectric-Mega: 147-174 (52.3 - 61.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
-1 252 Atk Metagross-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Manectric-Mega: 190-224 (67.6 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
It can check in an emergency, but I wouldn't risk entering on it. More important to Manectric than Metagross is that it outspeeds the Greninjas and presents a decent threat with Volt Switch, so it has the advantage on the prediction game for pivoting around such a dangerous threat.
252 SpA Manectric-Mega Volt Switch vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Greninja: 174-205 (54.2 - 63.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (Neutral Greninja)
252 SpA Manectric-Mega Volt Switch vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Greninja in Electric Terrain: 261-307 (81.3 - 95.6%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
I'd give some consideration to pairing it with Tapu Koko. Electric Terrain alleviates Manectric's average Special Attack stat, makes Thunderbolt being comparable to Meteor Mash while having the same high speed, the two obviously make for a good pivoting core, and Electric Terrain lets Manectric exert more pressure with Volt Switch beyond the obvious pivoting.
252 SpA Manectric-Mega Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew in Electric Terrain: 229-270 (67.1 - 79.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Meteor Mash vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 207-244 (60.7 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
It is worth noting that Metagross in its base form with Clear Body almost OHKOes Mega Manectric on the switch.
252 Atk Metagross Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Manectric-Mega: 270-318 (96 - 113.1%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
Not only that, but we have to consider that Mega Manectric suffers a lot from hazards damage (i.e. Spikes) because Volt Switch is one of the reasons it is so good.
Still, Mega Manectric + Tapu Koko is a good double Electric core: they share similar checks, but together they can overwhelm them.
252 Atk Metagross Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Manectric-Mega: 270-318 (96 - 113.1%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
Not only that, but we have to consider that Mega Manectric suffers a lot from hazards damage (i.e. Spikes) because Volt Switch is one of the reasons it is so good.
Still, Mega Manectric + Tapu Koko is a good double Electric core: they share similar checks, but together they can overwhelm them.
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Mega Man will probably blow chunks, but something worth considering is not only the possibility of elecspam w/ Koko, but also that it does put teams which rely on fat grasses like Tang and Ferro (ESPECIALLY Ferro) and Amoong (not so much Venu tho) under pressure with Overheat or Flamethrower, and its access to Intimidate means it can form Intimidate cores w/ Lando whilst also VoltTurning around with it, which is hella nice in general. As much as I like to throw out that calc of Flamethrower failing to kill Weavile from full on Discord, the fact that it has this coverage as well as a much stronger HP Ice than Magnet Koko means that it isn't exactly nicheless, and tbh I have no idea how it is going to fare under the SM meta conditions.
If Zapdos's popularity is any indicator, I think Mega Manectric will be better this gen than it was in ORAS. The decline of SDef Tran and Ttar in general helps its viability a ton, as does people's relying on Tangrowth and Ferrothorn as electric checks (which, again, is one reason Zapdos is so good). I'm not going to write off Mega Manectric that easily. I'm also curious to see Mega Ttar in action, since the biggest reason it wasn't very good last gen was Mega Lopunny.
Would Mega Lopunny be any good in the current meta? Now it can have that awesome Speed right from the get go, it doesn't need to run Fake Out anymore (although it likely still will, as it lets it get some free chip damage) to safely mega. Tapu Koko's (wrongful) popularity means Skarmory is much less common, Hippowdon's rarer, and it could also run a Sub + Encore set to beat Celesteela.
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