Make-a-Mega!

[5qwerty]

MAKE-A-MEGA

Intro
Welcome to the Make-a-Mega Event for The Super Battle/Fun Event! In this event, you will work together with your team to create a Mega version of an existing Pokémon that does not already have a Mega form. The purpose? To make it viable for battle in the USUM OU tier. Try to get everyone in your team involved in this, as competitive knowledge is not required for all steps. Your team leaders should have enough knowledge and wisdom to guide you through this and create your Mega Pokémon!

The Task (and some Guidelines)
This is no simple task - creating a Mega usually takes weeks, but you're going to do it in 3 days. You will pick a Pokémon not currently in Gen 7 OU, and create a Mega-Evolution for it. This would include a possible new Ability, new stats, possibly a new typing, but no new moves. Your final "deliverable" is to include:

• The Pokémon that you are making a Mega for
• Its new stats, Ability, and typing
• Why you chose the specific stats, Ability, typing
• Why this Pokémon will be good in OU (checks, counters, teammates, etc.) - try to be more detailed with this one
• Why this Pokémon won't be broken in OU - also be detailed with this
• Some sample spreads and descriptions of what each does
• A sample art (quality does not matter) or description of its appearance

As for prompt...since there is no theme for this Event, feel free to use any Pokémon you want, as long as it is not in OU already. This means that all Pokémon UUBL and under are "Mega-able", but it doesn't mean that it will be a good idea.

Also please note that I didn't list every specific thing that I'm taking into consideration. It's not hard stuff, but the more experienced members of your team should be taking these situations into consideration.

Judge is me, 5qwerty.

Aim to have your submission in (as a response to this thread) by 6pm EST on April 28th. I will be lenient about the deadline, but don't be too late! I will try to get the judging and score out before the whole event ends!

Judging Criteria
The criteria are as follows:

• 10 points - Adherence to conventional Mega mechanics: Does your Pokémon fit the mold created by previous Mega Pokémon? I'm not going to tell you what these are, as it is up to you to figure it out!
• 30 points - Balance in tier: Is your Pokémon balanced? Will it be overpowered, or just not used at all? Can you find a reason for people to use this?
• 15 points - Movepool/Ability Compatibility: How well did you make the most out of the tools your Pokémon is naturally given? Did you make it so that there is now some kind of synergy between its moves and its Ability?
• 15 points - Stats Creativity: What did you do with its base stats that makes it better? Were you lazy or did you do some research on what stats will be beneficial?
• 25 points - Effectiveness of Deliverable: Does your final "deliverable" accomplish everything I listed without rambling?
• 5 points - Design: Is your art or description passable as a Mega Evolution? You didn't just slap 2 more arms on Machamp and call it a day, did you?

100 points total.

Note that some of the "Balance" aspect will definitely leak into the other categories. For example, if you make its movepool and Ability compatible but make it overpowered, I'm not going to give full marks for Compatibility. Same goes for Balance and Creativity.

As always, if you have any questions, please VM or PM me, or ping me on Discord.

 

[gimmepie]

Mega Toxicroak
Type: Poison/Fighting
Ability: Dry Skin

HP: 86
Atk: 141 (+35)
Def: 65
SpA: 121 (+35)
SpD: 65
Spe: 115 (+30)

Why we made these decisions
Toxicroak has always had an interesting type and a great ability that let it carve up an interesting niche for itself and have a favourable matchup against some problematic Pokemon. Unfortunately though, it's stats are too lacklustre to truly capitalise on its unique combination of positive traits. As such, rather than dramatically altering Toxicroak itself, we chose to leave its type and ability the same and to instead focus on providing it the stat boost it needs to make those attributes work effectively.

In the case of Toxicroak, that left us with the choice of taking a bulkier route, or a fragile more offensive one. Given Toxicroak's good typing and the position it could potentially be in against some more prominent OU Pokemon, we decided it was best to focus on it's offensive stats as a fast offensive Mega Toxicroak would ultimately bring more to the table.

While primarily designed to be a physical attacker, we also gave Toxicroak the potential to make use of its access to Nasty Plot by increasing its SpA as well as its huge Atk boost. This provides it with some more versatility allowing it to be less easily walled and to be able to more flexibly fit on teams depending on what the player is seeking to check.

Why Mega Toxicroak would be good in OU
Mega Toxicroak's unique typing in combination with Dry Skin and good offensive stats makes it an excellent choice for checking several prominent threats in the USUM OU metagame such as Ash Greninja, Ferrothorn, Kartana, Toxapex, Tapu Bulu, Tapu Fini and Tangrowth. Despite not being a true check, it also renders it very difficult for Heatran, Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele to switch in as they fear its STAB moves.

Mega Toxicroak also has some utility to it as it is able to absorb, Scald, Toxic and Toxic Spikes which is combined with some longevity as it is able to recover HP by switching into a Water move or when the weather is Rain. This further increases its synergy with rain teams as it is able to threaten Ferrothorn, Kartana, Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth which otherwise give many Rain-focused Pokemon problems. A potential free switch into a Water move prior to mega evolution also potentially allows for greater longevity.

Mega Toxicroak also has a degree of versatility. It's good Atk and SpA, although far less monstrous than some other Megas, and access to both Swords Dance and Nasty Plot allow it to potentially run either a Physical or a Special set. Additionally, Toxicroak's coverage options and decent Speed tier allow it to potentially threaten a 2HKO against Pokemon switching in that would otherwise be potentially dangerous to it such as Landorus-Therian, Mega Alakazam. Heatran and Gliscor. This is furthered by access to priority in Sucker Punch or Vacuum Wave.

Why Mega Toxicroak is balanced
Despite its many positives, Toxicroak's typing and frailty can cause it problems. It is walled by the very common Celesteela, Mega Sableye and Mega Venusar as well as less common sights such as Amoongus and Alomomola.

Toxicroak's extremely poor defences and average HP also mean it will have an incredibly difficult time switching in against Pokemon that aren't reliant on Water moves or attacks it resists. Landorus, Heatran, Mega-Alakazam, Mega Charizard X/Y, Tapu Lele and a plethora of other common Pokemon flat out prevent Mega Toxicroak from switching in or do significant harm to it on the switch, leaving ir vulnerable to a revenge kill. In addition, any failure to land a KO can also leave Mega Toxicroak in very hot water as many of the Pokemon it hits hard, such as Heatran, can also easily pick up a OHKO or 2HKO against it, especially if Stealth Rock is up.

Mega Toxicroak also suffers from FMSS. After Swords Dance/Nasty Plot and two STAB moves (or a STAB move and Substitute) it is left with only a single spot for coverage, forcing it to choose which potential checks it wants to threaten. It is simply unable to cover all of its bases when it comes to the large number of Pokemon that can hurt it - including several that can match or beat its Speed tier.

Simply put, Mega Toxicroak is a glass cannon with the potential to reap huge rewards when played well, but there is also a high risk factor on account of its vulnerabilities.

Sample Spreads
Toxicroak @Toxicroanite
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Gunk Shot/Poison Jab
- Drain Punch
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch/Ice Punch/Stone Edge

Toxicroak @Toxicroanite
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Sludge Bomb
- Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast/Vacuum Wave

Toxicroak @Toxicroanite
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Gunk Shot/Poison Jab/Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch/Ice Punch/Drain Punch

Toxixroak @Toxicroanite
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Substitute
- Sludge Bomb/Focus Blast
- Dark Pulse/Vacuum Wave

Appearance

Spoiler:

 

[5qwerty]

3 more hours!

 

[Sirfetch’d]

Our's is done. We'll try to get it submitted asap

 

[Arcaneum]

Typhlosion-Mega

Typhlosion before Mega:

Type: Fire
HP - 78
Attack - 84
Defense - 78
Sp. Atk - 109
Sp. Def - 85
Speed - 100
BST - 534

Abilities prior to Mega: Blaze/Flash Fire

Typhlosion after Mega:

Type: Fire/Electric
HP - 78
Attack - 129 (+45)
Defense - 90 (+12)
Sp. Atk - 122 (+13)
Sp. Def - 100 (+15)
Speed - 115 (+15)
BST - 634 (+100)

Ability after Mega: Galvanize

Principle behind Mega Evolution changes

Typhlosion is a Pokémon which is hampered by a now lackluster 100 base Speed and reliance on being locked in with Choice Specs to be able to deal any significant damage. The proposed changes will bring Typhlosion comfortably into the OU tier by giving it a good BST and not being shackled by a Choice item, whilst also still keeping it in check via a type 4x weak to Earthquake, a prevalent move in the meta. Also, we wanted to because Johto starters need more heckin' love.

The BST changes stick within the +100/no HP boost of Mega Evolution and combined with Typhlosion's somewhat OK spread, we can afford to pad it out a bit more than dumping everything into one Attack stat and Speed, which has normally been the case with a lot of the Mega Evolutions. The largest boost goes into its Attack stat, allowing it to fully utilise Flare Blitz and Earthquake, along with allowing finally for good mixed options to deal with special walls within the tier such as Heatran and Blissey. Otherwise, Speed is bumped up to a respectable 115, allowing it to outspeed the majority of the tier and its threats, but keeping it balanced enough to not be a hyper-fast-glass-cannon that melts everything. The remaining points have been placed into the Defences and Special Attack, to create an all-round Pokémon with a respectable 78/90/100 bulk and good offence to boot, without skewing itself to a point of overpowered.

Galvanise has been chosen to compliment Typhlosion's newly-gained Electric type and to provide a comeback more reliable than Hidden Power Grass against Waters in the tier and a viable option against some Flyers when Flare Blitz/Fire Blast cannot quite cut it. Again it's a powerful enough Ability to be worthwhile and secure a spot in OU for Typhlosion whilst also fitting the design somewhat, but not necessarily be something as crazy as Magic Guard or Huge Power to again keep things balanced.

Sample sets:

Typhlosion-Mega
Ability: Galvanize
Item: Typhlosionite
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Earthquake
- Flare Blitz
- Return
- Fire Blast

This will be the "bread and butter" of Mega Typhlosion, turning to a physical set with Fire Blast as a Special option to help with Pokémon such as Skarmory, Kartana and Ferrothorn. Flare Blitz and Return are the two main attacks used, being heavy hitting (120 and 122 BP respectively) STABs that cover most of the tier for at least neutral damage, but very importantly will help with some of the problem Pokémon such as Tornadus, Celesteela, and Toxapex which are all very bulky and are hard to take out unless faced with the wallbreaking capabilities here. Earthquake is to catch out Heatran, Nihilego and Charizard-X almost exclusively, which otherwise check Typhlosion. Fire Blast helps deal with the defensive Steels such as Skarmory and Ferrothorn, whilst also avoiding Rocky Helmet recoil on top of Flare Blitz recoil.

Typhlosion-Mega
Ability: Galvanize
Item: Typhlosionite
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Focus Blast
- Hyper Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Fire Blast

The special equivalent of the above. Fire Blast provides a strong STAB but can be replaced with Flamethrower for longevity due to PP, Focus Blast helps us deal with Tyranitar and Heatran which otherwise have a field day against this set. HP Ice to help with Gliscor, Landorus-Therian and Garchomp; this set will be moreso used to put dents into these heavy hitters to allow someone else to clean up. Hyper Beam is there for a huge nuking option, firing off a 180 base power move before STAB is not to be scoffed at, so can be a good option to nuke a team threat before it can set up, or clinch a win. If you are worried about the rest turn, Swift can be used which comes up to a 100+ power move after STAB. But considering what you will use Hyper Beam, I feel this is the more optimal option.

Design

Following the Fire/Electric theme and Typhlosion's more...explosive assets as it were, the design is inspired by volcanic storms, having its very own volcanic storm for a mane. This is also what inspired the ability to be Galvanise.

Spoiler:

 

[ddrox13]

Mega Staraptor
Type: Flying/Fighting
Ability: Reckless

HP: 85
Atk: 120 -> 160
Def: 70 -> 90
SpA: 50
SpD: 60 -> 65
Spe: 100 -> 135
BST: 485 -> 585

Why Best Birb
Out team selected Staraptor for our Make-a-Mega project because it is a very cool pokemon that tends to miss it's chance to shine. It's been UUBL for practically forever, or so it seems. It tends to be one of the better regional birds, but has been basically a worse Talonflame ever since the latter's introduction. We believe we now have given Staraptor a chance to become the true best bird. Competitively speaking, that is.

What Do
Mega Staraptor is pretty much a beefed up version of its non-Mega counterpart.

The Fighting-type replaces it's default Normal, giving it STAB on what is one of its most common moves anyway - Close Combat - while also taking away the oh-so-critical Rock weakness that has plagued the generic regional bird tribes ever since Staraptor's debut. It trades a Ghost immunity (which is practically pointless in OU) for resistances to the far more common Poison type, though it also picks up critical weaknesses to Fairy, Flying, and Psychic. This typing is shared with present OU staple Hawlucha, and it works for the same reasons - Flying and Fighting have good offensive coverage within the tier, hitting most common threats for at least neutral damage.

Staraptor takes its inspiration from many birds of prey, known for quickly circling and then dive bombing targets with confidence but sometimes in fairly unsafe ways. Or at least they look unsafe to us flightless earthlings. Following this inspiration, Mega Staraptor retains its natural Hidden Ability of Reckless. This makes Mega Staraptor very specialized, as its job is exclusively to outrun and blow things up at the risk of its own life. It becomes exceptional at this, as Brave Bird suddenly becomes VERY scary. Mega Evolving into Reckless means that, like Mega Mawile, you can now run Intimidate as a base Ability without having to sacrifice damage once you Mega Evolve.

Speaking of outrunning things and blowing them up, Mega Staraptor's new stat spread further drives home its role as a physical nuke. 135 Speed is enough to outpace some of the fastest unboosted Pokemon in OU, tying with Mega Lopunny and losing out only to the likes of Mega Alakazam. Most notably, it outruns key speedy offensive threats like Scarfless Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, and Ash-Greninja. This makes it exceptionally hard to revenge kill without Priority, despite the fact that it likely will have lowered defenses from Close Combat or lowered HP from Brave Bird or Double Edge. 160 base Attack also puts it on par with many of the best attackers in the tier, and allows it to threaten OHKOs and 2HKOes on nearly anything that doesn't resist Flying. An extra splash of points were also added to Defense to allow it a respectable (as offensive nukes go) 85/90 physical defensive spread and give anyone who decides to run Roost or Swords Dance a little more security while they recover and rebuff.

The good, the bad, and Talonflame
Mega Staraptor reaps the benefits of a very min/maxed stat spread, which allows it to do its job exceptionally well.

Staraptor's go-to sets have tended to make up for its "okay but not OU level" stat spread by patching that with a Choice item, be it Band or Scarf. These items sacrifice flexibility for stats, and are often impractical for this reason. Staraptorinite, on the other hand, takes the benefits of Scarf (being able to outspeed pretty much everything that matters) and Band (massive Brave Bird damage) and wraps them into a nice neat package, complete with the ability to switch moves on the fly to adapt to new opponents or unforseen switches. The Fighting type also gives it a massive damage boost on what used to be purely a coverage move in Close Combat in the form of STAB coupled with a metric ton of extra Attack. Being half Fighting also adds it to the shortlist of Defoggers who are not Weak to Rocks, which is a rare and admirable trait.

On the other hand, Staraptor remains as overly predictable as ever. It has only three offensive options that matter terribly much - Close Combat, Brave Bird, and Double Edge. Beyond that, you only have to predict the support move (or moves if you forgo Double Edge), and even on this front your options are limited to Roost, Defog, or U-Turn unless you want to try some really crazy Tailwind or Final Gambit shenanigans (and by all means try this - sounds super fun tbh). Additionally, it does take recoil (be it damage or stats) from essentially every move in its arsenal, meaning it is incredibly easy to pick off with Priority.

Lastly, while it excels at punishing fast things that it is faster than, it struggles with things that are faster than it (Mega Alakazam, Scarf users [especially Tapu Lele]) and things that sacrifice speed for Defense (Celesteela, Skarmory, Sablederp, Landorus, etc.).

Sample Builds
Staraptor
@Staraptite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Double-Edge
- U-turn

Staraptor
@Staraptite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Defog
- Roost

Staraptor
@Staraptite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Roost
- Double-Edge
Appearance

Spoiler:

 

[5qwerty]

Judging has begun! Stay tuned!

 

[5qwerty]

Results:

Mega Toxicroak:

Spoiler:

Adherence to conventional Mega mechanics (10/10)
Yes, you basically did the three things I needed in this category. One was +100 to BST, one was no HP bonus, and the other was to no give Protect to your Pokémon because of the Speed mechanics.

Balance in tier (21/30)
Balance is kind of tricky. On one hand, it does do less damage than regular Toxicroak with Life Orb, lacks the nuking power of a Z-Move, and takes up a Mega slot. On the other hand, it's really fast and is quite unpredictable due to its ability to run mixed. Of course, this is all very hard to say in a vacuum with no way to test.

Looking at this, I'd say the only possible issue would be its Speed, which is very fast – so I'll be analyzing that mainly. Again, damage-wise it's less than regular LO Croak, and I don't really consider the chip from LO that detrimental, though it does play a little bit into surviving versus certain Pokémon.

Let's just talk about the potential issues of Speed. In OU there are currently 6 Pokémon with natural Speed stats that are higher: Mega Alakazam, Greninja, Hawlucha, Mega Lopunny, Tapu Koko, and Torn-T. Alakazam is scared of Sucker, and Greninja is forced to run Extrasensory or Z-Dig, both of which are not very common. Though, Scarf Lele and Landorus can beat it pretty consistently, and Scarf Kartana can KO with a bit of prior damage. However, maybe paired up with another Pokémon, it can take advantage of the Scarfer being locked in. Rain can consistently revenge kill as well, though you do get healing from it.

I think one other thing that is overlooked with this speed increase is its Ability to run Adamant and still outspeed base 100s (Zapdos, Mew, Mega Medi, etc.). Now the damage output is higher than a LO regular Croak, and you're faster than non-Scarf Lele. You'll get a pretty huge boost in power and be able to knock out some more Pokémon without rocks. On paper this does seem still a bit too strong, since you murder everything with +2 Gunk or Cross Chop/Drain Punch and either Ice Punch or Knock, but it can still be revenged pretty easily, especially by Blacephalon, Garchomp, LO/Band Kart, and some other 101-114s. Also if it wants to beat Lando/Chomp it has to run Ice Punch over one of its other moves.

I don't really think Toxicroak has switchins that outspeed it, unlike a lot of the other Pokémon that get completely stopped or walled and outsped. There are some few Pokémon that can take a few hits like Celesteela (and Toxapex except they both wall each other unless you run EQ), maybe Curse Mega Scizor for the Physical set if you're not running Cross Chop. Mega Sableye if you're not running SubSD, Bulletproof Kommo-o for the Special set – but I think most Pokémon struggle with at least one of its moves.

Definitely I think it depends on the set that it's running. It's definitely not able to solo the entire tier, as you can't run SD + Ice Punch + Dark move. It's still pretty strong when your opponent doesn't know what set you're running. Of course they can scout, but keep in mind there are like one or two counters to each of its sets and the Croak user can definitely switch things up.

In the end, I think it is a tad on the strong side. Of course, it can be chipped and revenge-killed easily – all teams should definitely have some kind of speed control on their team to deal with this. But nothing can really safely switch into this except maybe Max HP/Defense Celesteela and Skarm. Doublade and Buzzwole might see some usage, too. Maybe some more Poison-types, though the pure-Poison types are pretty bad. I think Toxicroanite will cause some meta shifts along this way. Doesn't mean that it's broken, but I can see it becoming very strong. It's entirely possible that people run different sets with different teammates for huge success, but again it's really hard to tell in a vacuum.

Movepool/Ability Compatibility (10/15)
Honestly, I would have liked to see a different Ability on this Pokémon. I feel like Toxicroak doesn't really need a Mega form if it's going to keep its Ability. Of course, it's definitely still very good with Dry Skin. But Croak with LO already does more damage than the Mega, so the only advantage the Mega has is its Speed (which, of course, is huge). It just feels like a faster regular Toxicroak.

None of the defensive stats even got changed, so switching in pre-Mega and post-Mega with Dry Skin is basically the same. Dry Skin doesn't even do too much – you still get 2hko'd by Ash Gren Dark Pulse and Specs Keldeo Secret Sword (they click these moves most of the time anyway) – I'm guessing these are the 2 big ones. Of course, you can argue that Dry Skin kind of mind games the opponent into clicking Dark Pulse and adds another Water immunity so you don't get swept, which is a fair argument. I still think in that case you can stay in regular form and Mega later (assuming you don't have Dry Skin on Mega).
Of course, changing Abilities might have made it even harder to balance, but not changing it at all feels kind of underwhelming and uncreative.

Stats Creativity (13/15)
I guess these are mostly fine. I was looking for no unreasonable stat decreases, which you did. I don't think you could have done much more, except maybe play into the Physical side more (since it is much stronger on that side IMO) and give some of the SpAtk to either Atk or Defenses. You also didn't jack its Speed to stupid levels just so it beats everything.

Effectiveness of Deliverable (18/25)
I'd say your final post was pretty easy to read and goes over everything that I required. However, I would have liked a bit more explanation on the sets and what advantage each one has or what each does.

I also disagree with some of the counters you posted. Alomomola cannot do anything versus Toxicroak, who just SDs or Plots up and wins. Venu and Amoonguss can't really do anything on the switch, since Gunk 2HKOs.

Design (4/5)
There are definitely changes, here, yeah. I would have liked a bit more near the top of the body, since it looks like you just added knee spikes, a small apron thing, and recoloured its head. Its eyes + mouth also make it look like it's deranged, but I'll give you a pass on that.

Total: 72

Mega Typhlosion:

Spoiler:

Adherence to conventional Mega mechanics (10/10)
Yes, good. I'm starting to feel like I should have made this for less points.

Balance in tier (20/30)
I feel like the standard set will be the first one you posted, but with people switching HP Ice for Fire Blast in most occasions, and possibly Double Edge over Return for more damage. Quick Attack is also an option over the last move, but it's already very fast. I'll be doing most of my analysis on this Physical set, since it's stronger in my opinion.

I think this Pokémon is leaning towards unhealthy for the switch-in side of things, as most of these are not very common: Latis (take heed of Throat Chop), Rotom-H (which would have to run Toxic since it can't do anything back), Water/Ground types like Gastrodon and Swampert (if you don't have HP Grass), Rock/Ground types (if you don't have HP Grass, though there aren't any of these in the tier even), and other Dragons (if you don't have HP Ice). Lando and Gliscor work well in some cases too, but have to watch out for HP Ice and Fire Blast. Of these, only really Lando, Gliscor, and Latis are in the tier – Swampert too I guess but it only fits on style of team. Oh, and maybe (Mega) Tyranitar, but it can only switch in once assuming you don't have a Fighting move.

Switching into this Pokémon might seem like a 50/50 in most cases, but its high Speed kind of nullifies that – if the person against the Typhlosion has to switch, odds are that they'll have to switch again since their switchin is most likely slower. There are a few exceptions to this, like Scarf Lando, Scarf Keldeo, and Greninja. You have to get the prediction right.

Defensively, it's weak to Stealth Rock, which helps its case as I'm leaning towards it being too strong at this point. However, it gets to switch in pretty safely on a lot of common Pokémon, notably Tapu Koko and Tornadus-T, given that they aren't the Z variants. It shouldn't switch in too well if there are rocks are up, which limits how offensive it can play. Note that it's immune to both Burns and Paralysis, so it can also come in on a lot of status-inducing moves – especially Mega Sableye. Actually, yeah I think a Work Up set just destroys stall if you run HP Grass as well. Other than those mons, other Pokémon it's especially good into are Zapdos, Ferrothorn, and Magnezone, which are extremely common in the tier.

I'm leaning towards thinking that this is pretty strong as well. I don't even think you need Earthquake for anything except killing Heatran quicker – it's not going to stay in on Zard X because you need to get a prediction right and even then you still lose. You can even run something like Flare Blitz, Double Edge, HP Ice, and Fire Blast/Burn Up/Flamethrower. Typhlosionite's inclusion would certainly bring a lot more Pokémon to counter it, as the current tier doesn't have many counters.

Movepool/Ability Compatibility (14/15)
I think this has a pretty good Ability that compliments its Movepool pretty well (in conjunction with Stat changes that makes it more Physical). It gives it a strong secondary STAB to deal with Pokémon that it previously struggled with. Plus it's got Quick Attack, which is always interesting to see with an Ability such as Galvanize.

Stats Creativity (12/15)
I like what you did here, but I feel like the Physical set is pretty dangerous since it can run one or two Special moves as well. I think what you could have done here is to lower the SpAtk and put a bit more into the Defenses. This way it becomes less dangerous to deal with but around the same frailty.

Effectiveness of Deliverable (12/25)
Yikes, I didn't like this part much at all. I felt like you left some bits out and kind of just claimed other stuff without any arguments behind those claims. There's not much you say that informs me that you were thinking about its weaknesses other than "4x weak to EQ".

While I like your explanations for your sets, I think you could have done a bit more with exploring the other options that Typhlosion has, such as Double Edge and Quick Attack on the Physical side and Nature Power on the Special side (which turns into Tri-Attack under normal circumstances). Also note that your Special set is Hasty when it doesn't need to be.

Design (4/5)
Nice art, I really dig it. I think it could have used more changes outside of adding electricity to the fire and also adding a storm cloud.

Total: 68

Mega Staraptor:

Spoiler:

Adherence to conventional Mega mechanics (10/10)
Yup, alright, good.

Balance in tier (22/30)
I kind of don't like the fact that you chose this Pokémon mostly because it was already pretty good and you made it so that Zapdos can actually switch into this Pokémon. Of course, this is the bias speaking because I am a big fan of Staraptor.

You also made it pretty hard to revenge kill, with Mega Alakazam being the only Pokémon in the tier that naturally outspeeds it. It also shakes off some Scarfer attacks fairly well, due to the fact that it is part Fighting now – Landorus is a prominent Pokémon that comes to mind (Kartana as well since it has to click Smart Strike now – or run Psycho Cut, which is worse than clicking Smart Strike). Lopunny has to risk a speed tie, and Koko will die if it has taken prior damage. It is revenge killed pretty easily as well and has no way to deal with faster threats, like you mentioned.

Though, there are some Pokémon that can eat hits pretty well and do significant damage back – Landorus-T, Zapdos, Celesteela, and Skarmory. All of these are nearly 2hko'd, and Skarm isn't really that common. I guess Staraptor does die fast due to all the SR chip and recoil it takes – there isn't too much it could Roost on either besides choice-locked Pokémon, as it will usually die or risk getting Scald burned by a lot of the "wall" Pokémon.

On one hand we do have it outspeeding almost everything and being highly un-revenge-killable. On the other hand it also lacks the coverage to be able to put huge dents in a lot of the defensive Pokémon. It's not broken, but all your walls taking near 1/2 their health and it not being revenge-killable easily is a problem. Like, one or the other is fine, but both is kind of iffy.

As a switch-in, I don't think it's that good aside from the obvious Ground immunity. It's got Intimidate, but the defense on its base form isn't that good, and you'll have to sacrifice Attack or Speed (or both) to get some sort of defense. I think it can switch in on Grass-types, that's it – even then it has to watch out for Serp Glare, (Stun) Spore from Amoonguss, Sleep Powder from Venu or Tangrowth, and TWave or Gyro Ball from Ferrothorn.

I think this is a bit too fast. It might require some more adaptation on the Physical side from opposing players, such as bringing in Doublade for a hard counter, or Zeraora for easier revenge killing.

Movepool/Ability Compatibility (14/15)
I think another Ability would have been cooler, though the Pokémon didn't leave you with many choices. Of course, Reckless is good – Staraptor already gets Reckless, and now you can run Intimidate in the base form. I think that's super neat.
Guts with tankier stats would have been interesting to see, as you can run Roost and switch in on Scald.

Stats Creativity (12/15)
Too much Speed, but at least you didn't take away from SpAtk to beef it up too much. It feels like you said "let's make this faster than basically everything" and then actually went ahead and did it.

Effectiveness of Deliverable (15/25)
Ok there's a bit of useless talk and strange vocabulary in here, which is kind of distracting. Some of the useless talk is pretty ramble-y.
That being said, I do appreciate the discussion regarding its pros and cons. It does bring a good perspective on how Staraptor is in the tier. You do basically go over every option it has, which is good. Though you have to note that Sableye gets nuked by Brave Bird.
Would have liked explanation on sets.
Also Staraptor doesn't get Swords Dance, contrary to what you wrote under the second heading.

Design (4/5)
Its design is very cool, yes. Though it doesn't really give me a "Mega" vibe – it kind of feels like a split evolution or something.

Total: 73

Overall, good job. I think you all jacked up the speed way too much. The scoring for Balancing and related has a higher variance, as I was going back and forth on some things. I'm was also at my wit's end writing these.

Anyway, feel free to discuss here. I'll be happy to answer any questions regarding this.

Thread remains open for discussion.