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return of the king
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- Kobe's Reality
- Seen Mar 6, 2022
I think it's time we address an overlooked threat in the new metagame; Flygon. Yeah, in D/P, all the Dragons (especially Garchomp) outclassed it, nearly entirely. But with Garchomp being Uber, the addition of Outrage, and the prevelance of stall, Flygon can fit quite well in the new metagame. Not only is it either resistant or immune to all forms of entry hazards, but it can't be paralysed, nor can it be hit by one of the game's most common attack, Earthquake. Ground and Dragon STAB hits everything bar Skarmory and Bronzong for neutral, and Fire Blast lets it destroy Skarmory, though it cannot touch Bronzong. U-Turn is very good on Flygon; letting it hurt switch ins and turnign 3HKO's into 2HKOs. It's also perfect for Flygon's build, as Flygon doesn't fear entry hazards one bit. For example, a 333 Def/444 HP Cresselia takes 42%-50% from a Choice Banded Outrage. It'll never 2HKO, unless SR/SS is taken into account. U-Turn does 33%-40% to the same Cresselia. In other words, that U-Turn turns the 3HKO into a 2HKO 100% of them time. If you're feeling lucky punk then you can just spam U-Turn and 3-4HKO Cresselia. Alternatively, a Max HP/Max Defense Suicune takes between 44%-51%. That'll never 2HKO without Leftovers or Stealth Rock, but U-Turn guarantees the 2HKO on the next switch in.
Flygon can also make a "subpar" Tyranitar switch in, taking, at maximum, 63% from Choice Banded Stone Edge. Still, a CB Crunch can 2HKO it, but only 2.56% of the time. You can use some more bulk, but then again, Flygon isn't a Tyranitar counter, just a last minute check (at best). Fire Punch 2HKOs Bronzong and Shed Shell Skarmory (very rare) if Stealth Rock is in play, meaning there is little need for Fire Blast (it won't do anything to Bronzong). Outrage 2HKOs Gyarados after Intimidate, and Salamence is obviously going to get murdered. As far as counters go, the whole U-Turn switch idea ruins them. Hippowdon is the best thing to handle Flygon, as it's immune to Sandstorm, and can live a U-Turn and 2 CB Outrages (it does 48% max, and 41% min). Hippowdon also can Ice Fang it, or just plain Roar the poor bug/dragon/thing out. Still, Draco Meteor for the Mixed/Specs set can 2HKO most Hippowdon. Cresselia can remain a slightly good counter, since it has Ice Beam to guarantee a solid KO on the dragon.
Anyway, I think Flygon needs more lovin ;(
I completely agree, though Fire Blast is largely inferior to Fire Punch: Fire Punch 2HKOs Bronzong and with SR and Skarm with Shed Shell, there is a small chance of Skarm getting 2HKOed too (and does it really matter ?_?). Meanwhile Fire Blast 2HKOs Skarmory (only if it hits twice, might I add) while being laughed at by Bronzong as well as most of the metagame, which takes even less damage from it than Fire Punch. Given the accuracy being poor and how uncommon Skarmory is, I think we can agree that Fire Punch is generally much better =p
Flygon does have several advantages over Mence and Dragonite too, most notably U-Turn and its SR resistance. Fire Punch is has over Mence, and the (Toxi)spikes immunity is really cool. Given that Outrage 2HKOs every bulky water in the game given SR (and it only needs SR to beat Suicune), you could say that the power drop isn't that noticeable (but it IS noticeable). Still, Garchomp wasn't immune to Toxic Spikes, so in a sense (emphasizing that), Flygon is better against stall since it's REALLY hard to actually stall out of damage. Hippowdon and Skarmory are the only real trouble Pokémon for it.
Even though it's no CBchomp, I don't get how CBchomp is number one in usage but this is BL. lol
Just from watching Vance ladder with this I can tell you that it's not just theorymon - this set is REALLY good.