Chit-Chat: Welcome to the Strategies & Movesets forum for Sun & Moon!

[Anti]

that thing's an OU staple now???

very much so, it has a lot of utility because its high speed, uturn, knock, and regen...all on one poke. hurricane is frustrating af but it's a nice example of a poke that can be defensive-minded (av pivot) that isn't passive as all hell.

in terms of its rise in popularity, someone who has been more in the loop than i have can answer you more, but i think it kind of snowballed in the sense that people realized that a lot of what got it *banned* in b2w2 actually still applies.

freaking hurricane though, i never use this poke anymore b/c it gives me a heart attack.

 

[Nah]

Torn-T was banned in BW2? I remember Landorus and Thundurus being banned in BW2 but not Tornadus.

 

[Zeffy]

Torn-T was banned in BW2? I remember Landorus and Thundurus being banned in BW2 but not Tornadus.

yeah it was suspected together with Keldeo

 

[Polar Spectrum]

Tornadus needing something to make itself viable. Poor thing got shafted so hard compared to lando and thundorus. Good for it for doing something in the meta.

Anybody else take a braviary into competitive to celebrate 4th of july? :D

 

[skyburial]

Tornadus needing something to make itself viable. Poor thing got shafted so hard compared to lando and thundorus. Good for it for doing something in the meta.

Anybody else take a braviary into competitive to celebrate 4th of july? :D

This is why we're friends.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotdoublesvgc2015-246244892

What I left in the back that match was an offensive Starmie named Spangle and a Specs Exploud named More Farwurks.

 

[KorpiklaaniVodka]

Scarf Braviary is pretty cool in RU.

Anyway let's discuss these 'mons:

I've seen so much shittalking about nape on the viability ranking thread, so much discussion has gone on about it, whether for or against moving it up. I mean this pokemon is so versatile, with sets ranging from SD to NP to defensive to mixed and even to lead, and apparently versatility plays a VERY big role... and considering nape has 104/104 mixed attacking stats and a lot of 100+ BP moves (flare blitz, close combat, gunk shot, fire blast, focus blast, grass knot) plus priority in mach punch vacuum wave and fake out and some tools in taunt, WoW and even slack off, it makes for a good pokemon imo. 108 speed also isn't that bad since it outspeeds most Pokemon seen commonly on balance/stall. However even the defensive set isn't all that bulky, and considering it's so easily revenge killed by Lati@s, azu, talon and daunt, I don't see why so many people are overrating it that much.

Mega Diancie is also something that needs some discussion imo cuz I barely see her on the ladder. People seem to prefer other megas such as Meta, Sableye, Lop, Altaria, Scizor, Venu, Zard X/Y and Garde, but forget about Diancie. It sucks that she has to rely on Protect to mega-evolve safely and she's also easily revenge killed by Azu and Scizor (hell even CB Talon's Brave Bird 2HKOes her after rocks), but I don't think she's that bad... between AoA, RP and CM plus 160/160 attacking stats and 110 speed, she can leave a mark on balance/stall too. Magic Bounce is cool too cuz it bounces back rocks and taunt and unlike sableye she has some offensive presence from the get-go

 

[srinator]

Mega diancie is truly a monster lol, like seriously the only con it might have is its tough building around it, but man that thing is insane

 

[2Fruit]

I don't like how Mega diancie gets few attacking moves. What I do like is that you can boost in defense form, and then switch to offense to attack. It's like Diancie pulled an Aegislash.

If I use it I always run 4 pokemon with thunder wave.

 

[Nah]

Anybody else take a braviary into competitive to celebrate 4th of july? :D

Also, Mega Diancie is bae, although its poor defensive typing isn't fun. Haven't used it in a while but I never actually used Protect on it in OU.....

 

[KorpiklaaniVodka]

So you guys run Rock Polish on Mega Diancie?

And has anyone used Infernape?

 

[2Fruit]

I've used Infernape sometimes, but always wound up switching to something like Mienshao.

As for Rock polish, I've never tried it on Diancie.

On a side note, Do you guys think Mega garchomp would be viable if it had rock polish?

 

[skyburial]

Nape is cool, it enjoys a B- Viability Ranking in VGC because of its quick Fake Out, access to Quick Guard and Taunt, the ability to outspeed and OHKO Jolly Mega Kangaskhan, and a spread that lets it run mixed offense. I run one on my Pledge team but find it easy to weave into a variety of teams.

Also its support move pool leaves room to get creative.

I've used one to get suprise OHKO's on Talonflame and am thinking of creating a Weakness Policy set for it with Acrobatics for taking out Mega Venusaur.

One of my favorites, for sure.

 

[PlatinumDude]

I don't like how Mega diancie gets few attacking moves. What I do like is that you can boost in defense form, and then switch to offense to attack. It's like Diancie pulled an Aegislash.

If I use it I always run 4 pokemon with thunder wave.

Honestly, I think that Diamond Storm/Moonblast/Earth Power/Hidden Power (Fire) is all that Diancie needs to go on the offensive. It's not worth keeping in the regular form, as Diancie needs its Mega form's significantly higher Speed and offenses to function because its defensive typing is bad outside of checking/countering Charizard X that lack Earthquake and Talonflame.

But the main thing about Diancie is that its Mega Evolving turn is kind of awkward. You deal with its Mega form's reduced defenses and its regular form's bad Speed at the same time, as turn order is determined, even before Mega Evolution. This is also why Protect is a necessity on Diancie in order to let it Mega Evolve safely. Alternatively, you can just have Diancie Mega Evolve on a predicted status move so it gains Magic Bounce to reflect that status back.

 

[KorpiklaaniVodka]

I've used Infernape sometimes, but always wound up switching to something like Mienshao.

As for Rock polish, I've never tried it on Diancie.

On a side note, Do you guys think Mega garchomp would be viable if it had rock polish?

Infernape is faster, has a much wider movepool, and can boost with SD or NP, so I don't think Mienshao is better despite its raw power...

And Double Dance Garchomp sounds pretty cool.

 

[skyburial]

On a side note, Do you guys think Mega garchomp would be viable if it had rock polish?

I think instead, that access to Curse would make it a decent Trick Room Mega. 80 is just a weird base speed to work with.

 

[2Fruit]

Well true, but I don't use Mienshao over infernape because it's better, I use it over infernape because Mienshao and Nape do different things. I use Infernape if I want to boost and then attack/to have a little bit more bulk/to not worry about being burned. I use Mienshao if I want power right away/to use knock off/to have a fast reflect user.

 

[Nah]

I think instead, that access to Curse would make it a decent Trick Room Mega. 80 is just a weird base speed to work with.

Base 92 Speed. But yeah, it's not the most fun Speed stat these days. Rock Polish could be nice though since Excadrill has base 88 Speed and that thing's fast as fuck in sand and Mega Garchomp has those great base 170/120 offenses.

 

[srinator]

I just want everyone to read this
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...esson-1-what-makes-an-effective-team.3531921/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/doughboy-teaches-teambuilding-lesson-2-synergy.3538709/

 

[PlatinumDude]

Well true, but I don't use Mienshao over infernape because it's better, I use it over infernape because Mienshao and Nape do different things. I use Infernape if I want to boost and then attack/to have a little bit more bulk/to not worry about being burned. I use Mienshao if I want power right away/to use knock off/to have a fast reflect user.

Just because Infernape has access to Swords Dance and Nasty Plot doesn't mean it should use them. Mind you, Infernape is also a good all-out attacker. Going mixed is one of the things that gives it the edge over Mienshao:
-Fire Blast/Flare Blitz
-Close Combat
-Gunk Shot
-Grass Knot/Hidden Power (Ice)/Thunder Punch
Nature: Naive
EVs: 100 Atk/156 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

As weird as it sounds, Infernape can even go defensive to check/counter Dark, Steel and Grass Pokemon, as well as Charizard Y (yes, I listed Charizard because it doesn't run Air Slash, bulky Infernape can take hits from it, and can PP stall Focus Blast and stall out sun turns, but it should only do this if it's specially defensive). Here's the set if you're curious:
-Close Combat/Low Kick
-Will-o-Wisp
-Taunt/Stealth Rock
-Slack Off
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP/212 Def/44 Spe
Item: Leftovers

 

[Anti]

Mega Diancie is also something that needs some discussion imo cuz I barely see her on the ladder. People seem to prefer other megas such as Meta, Sableye, Lop, Altaria, Scizor, Venu, Zard X/Y and Garde, but forget about Diancie. It sucks that she has to rely on Protect to mega-evolve safely and she's also easily revenge killed by Azu and Scizor (hell even CB Talon's Brave Bird 2HKOes her after rocks), but I don't think she's that bad... between AoA, RP and CM plus 160/160 attacking stats and 110 speed, she can leave a mark on balance/stall too. Magic Bounce is cool too cuz it bounces back rocks and taunt and unlike sableye she has some offensive presence from the get-go

to build on what sri said, this thing is very tough to switch into. it's weaker than gardevoir but has a much easier time keeping momentum against balance and bulkier offenses which don't quite creep into the hyperdrive speed tiers offense can run at. i think it's a fantastic win condition against stall teams. i think it sees less usage because it's not a splashable poke at all because its defenses are terrible since the hp is so low, and relying on protect sucks (though it does have advantages like making scarf landorus-t a liability). it's a top-5 offensive poke, honestly on the level of metagross-mega, but the opp cost comes defensively, and when stuff like altaria (or even clefable) exists, it is tempting to use something more versatile and unique with your mega slot.