Salamence Rant: How NOT to use Salamence in OU

Then again, there are many Pokemon used incorrectly, but Salamence is one of those extreme cases. I should probably mention the DD lure set, which is yet again used the wrong way.
 
If you don't like rants, kindly click the back button and enjoy your stay on other threads. I use harsh language here. This doesn't mean I have something against new players, though I will admit that I like to make fun of silly sets. It's just a game after all, and if you're bitching about it... there are problems.

Promising start. lol.

But in all seriousness, I don't see the point of the thread if its purpose, by the OP's own admission, is rather self-indulgent. Rants as OPs do not start good discussions--unless you think the previous twenty or so posts have been super duper enlightening?--and Salamence is a niche Pokemon anyway. The "advice" portion is ridiculously elementary (any remotely competent player knows not to lock into Outrage when the opponent is packing Ferrothorn???? -_-) so I don't see the point. I don't know what you expected posting something that needed such a passive aggressive disclaimer ?_?

Then again, I'm sure everyone on the forum wants me to post my own rant about players who rail on lower ladder players in a thinly veiled attempt to position themselves as superior. But we wouldn't want that, now would we?

;)

With that out of the way,

First of all:

SALAMENCE'S DROP IN VIABILITY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FAIRY-TYPE POKEMON.

Lots and lots of players seem to think this Pokemon is bad because of Fairies. Have you guys heard of a move called Iron Tail? I'm sure you did. Well, this move allows Mence to LOL at any Fairy-type not named Azumarill. Yes, I know it's inaccurate, but Gunk Shot (with an unimpressive 80% acc) sent Greninja to Ubers. That's because it was able to turn the tables on all the fairy-type Pokemon which could check it prior to ORAS. Focus Blast turned Gengar into a top threat in Gen 4 and 5. Same with Salamence, after a Dragon Dance boost, no fairy bar Azu is safe. Now you could argue that ScarfMoxieMence has taken a hit in viability, but it's not like you could spam Outrage from the get-go in BW anyway, due to Steels being everywhere. So yeah, fairies can annoy Mence a bit, but it's not like it can't adapt. And to be fair, even Azumarill takes huge damage!

You still don't believe me?

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Salamence Earthquake vs. 88 HP / 4 Def Azumarill: 287-338 (79 - 93.1%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (Yes.)
+1 252+ Atk Salamence Iron Tail vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Togekiss: 384-454 (102.6 - 121.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Salamence Iron Tail vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 421-497 (106.8 - 126.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO (unaware still gets 2HKOed)
+1 252+ Atk Salamence Iron Tail vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Mega Gardevoir: 506-596 (182.6 - 215.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Salamence Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Diancie: 340-402 (141 - 166.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Salamence Iron Tail vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Sylveon: 455-536 (116 - 136.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Salamence Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Klefki: 348-411 (109.7 - 129.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Salamence Iron Tail vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Altaria: 294-348 (100.6 - 119.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

The first line is complete nonsense - of course Fairy-types decreased its viability. Dragon became a great offensive type in DP(P) because of new/buffed high base power attacks (Outrage/Draco) and the phys/spec split, but their real advantage was always on the type chart because of their outstanding neutral coverage. Simply put, DPP Mence/Latias were so easy to spam because their STABs hit everything, even their checks, for significant damage. An early game Draco Meteor from MixMence, to use an easy example, was a play with virtually no opportunity cost. Checks like Scizor and Heatran (often more offensive in gen four than now) could lose half of their health from such an attack. Not good. Outrage was a much riskier play but Flygon just spammed U-turn and Salamence could set up a DD or just launch Draco instead if mixed. (I would give a BW example but I skipped that meta, though I'm assuming the basic "high base power + amazing neutral coverage = death" formula remained.)

The presence of Fairies makes low-risk plays like early game Draco Meteors (and obviously any Outrage) much trickier for the Dragon user. If I'm running Latios, for example, and my opponent has Azumarill, then Draco could give one of the most threatening offensive Pokemon in the game a free switch-in. In short, the Dragon immunity that Fairies have puts much more pressure on Dragon users to make plays instead of spamming STABs. This change has probably been positive for the metagame, but how easy a Pokemon is to use absolutely factors into its viability. Why do you think Keldeo is S-rank or Landorus-T is so popular? Even if Salamence is able to "make the play" (like hitting Clefable with Iron Tail), doing so requires sacrificing a move slot and also pressures the Salamence user to predict correctly. When Salamence has one fewer free moveslot and its STAB is less fearsome in real battles situations, then yes, its viability has suffered as a direct result of the introduction of the Fairy type.

(A more contemporary example might be Mega Gardevoir. It can plow past Heatran with Focus Blast, but Heatran's presence undoubtedly hurts its effectiveness in battle since it makes Hyper Voice much more difficult to spam, especially if the Heatran is Scarfed or the Heatran user can switch Tran into HV and then something like Gengar into a predicted Focus Blast. In theory, Gardevoir creams that team or that combo, but since it is forced to predict to avoid being forced out, the theorymon kind of falls apart. It's an iffy example but gets the point across well enough.)

It's just more bad theorymon to say "uh Iron Tail lol" to dismiss that point, especially on a mon whose main niche uses a choice set and a STAB move that locks the user in for another turn or two. How is the threat of, say, a BD Azumarill set-up NOT a problem for Salamence? And yes, Steels did exist in DP/BW, but they were less effective at stopping Dragon moves (obviously: resistance < immunity), and their continued existence along with Fairies means that it now takes two coverage moves instead of one for Dragons to threaten Fairies, though the real numbers are probably three instead of two because Dragons typically ran Ground/Fire for Heatran and Skarm/Zong (lol RIP Bronzong) in the past.
 
Promising start. lol.

But in all seriousness, I don't see the point of the thread if its purpose, by the OP's own admission, is rather self-indulgent. Rants as OPs do not start good discussions--unless you think the previous twenty or so posts have been super duper enlightening?--and Salamence is a niche Pokemon anyway. The "advice" portion is ridiculously elementary (any remotely competent player knows not to lock into Outrage when the opponent is packing Ferrothorn???? -_-) so I don't see the point. I don't know what you expected posting something that needed such a passive aggressive disclaimer ?_?

Then again, I'm sure everyone on the forum wants me to post my own rant about players who rail on lower ladder players in a thinly veiled attempt to position themselves as superior. But we wouldn't want that, now would we?

;)
Why not?
With that out of the way,



The first line is complete nonsense - of course Fairy-types decreased its viability. Dragon became a great offensive type in DP(P) because of new/buffed high base power attacks (Outrage/Draco) and the phys/spec split, but their real advantage was always on the type chart because of their outstanding neutral coverage. Simply put, DPP Mence/Latias were so easy to spam because their STABs hit everything, even their checks, for significant damage. An early game Draco Meteor from MixMence, to use an easy example, was a play with virtually no opportunity cost. Checks like Scizor and Heatran (often more offensive in gen four than now) could lose half of their health from such an attack. Not good. Outrage was a much riskier play but Flygon just spammed U-turn and Salamence could set up a DD or just launch Draco instead if mixed. (I would give a BW example but I skipped that meta, though I'm assuming the basic "high base power + amazing neutral coverage = death" formula remained.)

The presence of Fairies makes low-risk plays like early game Draco Meteors (and obviously any Outrage) much trickier for the Dragon user. If I'm running Latios, for example, and my opponent has Azumarill, then Draco could give one of the most threatening offensive Pokemon in the game a free switch-in. In short, the Dragon immunity that Fairies have puts much more pressure on Dragon users to make plays instead of spamming STABs. This change has probably been positive for the metagame, but how easy a Pokemon is to use absolutely factors into its viability. Why do you think Keldeo is S-rank or Landorus-T is so popular? Even if Salamence is able to "make the play" (like hitting Clefable with Iron Tail), doing so requires sacrificing a move slot and also pressures the Salamence user to predict correctly. When Salamence has one fewer free moveslot and its STAB is less fearsome in real battles situations, then yes, its viability has suffered as a direct result of the introduction of the Fairy type.

(A more contemporary example might be Mega Gardevoir. It can plow past Heatran with Focus Blast, but Heatran's presence undoubtedly hurts its effectiveness in battle since it makes Hyper Voice much more difficult to spam, especially if the Heatran is Scarfed or the Heatran user can switch Tran into HV and then something like Gengar into a predicted Focus Blast. In theory, Gardevoir creams that team or that combo, but since it is forced to predict to avoid being forced out, the theorymon kind of falls apart. It's an iffy example but gets the point across well enough.)

It's just more bad theorymon to say "uh Iron Tail lol" to dismiss that point, especially on a mon whose main niche uses a choice set and a STAB move that locks the user in for another turn or two. How is the threat of, say, a BD Azumarill set-up NOT a problem for Salamence? And yes, Steels did exist in DP/BW, but they were less effective at stopping Dragon moves (obviously: resistance < immunity), and their continued existence along with Fairies means that it now takes two coverage moves instead of one for Dragons to threaten Fairies, though the real numbers are probably three instead of two because Dragons typically ran Ground/Fire for Heatran and Skarm/Zong (lol RIP Bronzong) in the past.

First of all, I'm not theorymonning because I actually used these sets in practice.

Now considering that Salamence was sent to ubers in DPPt, you are right to an extent, but Scizor and Heatran took half damage from Draco Meteor? I mean, they could run specially defensive spreads if they really wanted to, and predicting a switch was much harder since there was no team preview and bullshit. Not all Scizor were Choice Band variants and not all Heatran were offensive variants. This especially applies to Scizor, since defensive heatran saw usage on balanced/stall. Also AFAIK Mence was actually banned for its DD set. Then again, I don't have too much experience with gen 4 but I can tell you that I used MixNite on one of my teams and found out that it was actually pretty hard to use.

About your second paragraph: Keldeo is S-rank because it has multiple viable sets and pairs extremely well with Mega Metagross, while Scarf Lando-T sees so much usage because it's the best pivot in the game imo. Then I can easily tell you that the same thing can be said to steel-types, especially in BW since they didn't take too much damage from Fire Blast, as rain was fucking everywhere. The only Dragon-type attack that could get past Ferro was Kyu-B's Outrage, and that's only with a Choice Band. Steel-types also put pressure on a dragon's attempt to spam Draco/Outrage, just like fairies do, and most of the viable OU ones actually aren't weak to Earthquake (Ferro, Skarm, Mega Scizor, Bronzong). Not to mention rain is still a thing and Mence has trouble KOing these steels.

Salamence needed Magnezone support since BW imo. This thing can easily trap Ferrothorn and Skarmory and kick their sorry asses while laughing at everything they tried to use (well, skarm has whirlwind, but you get my point). Forretress is also starting to become a thing due to the release of Custap Berry, and guess who takes care of it? That's right, Magnezone.

Now let's go to Fairies. You know what Pokemon can remove them? Magnezone! Of course, unlike Ferro, said fairies can switch out to something that walls it. But no ground-type likes to take a Choice Specs-boosted Flash Cannon to the face. If the opponent has Heatran, Magnezone can just Volt Switch back to Salamence, and then you can set up. This works especially with entry hazards. Bisharp/Thundurus is good to have as well(but not entirely needed).

When Salamence has one fewer free moveslot and its STAB is less fearsome in real battles situations, then yes, its viability has suffered as a direct result of the introduction of the Fairy type.

And yet Greninja needed to rely on Gunk Shot to get past Fairies, and that move has 80% accuracy. And look where it is now. Tornadus-T relies on two 70% accurate moves (Hurricane and Focus Blast), but it's still a very legitimate threat. Actually, lots of things need to rely on Focus Miss, and yet that move increases their viability a lot. Same with Mence.

As for Belly Drum Azumarill, Mence can play mindgames with it. Earthquake is a 2HKO and after SR it beats it even after Sitrus Berry has been activated. Mindgames, as you know, are crucial in OU (Bisharp is known for this). Since Mence is paired with Magnezone (if you're actually using a competitive team), Azu needs to predict if it switches out or goes for the 2HKO.

I'm not trying to be ignorant since your points are actually pretty good. But I don't think Mence's viability in OU has anything to do with Fairies.
 
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Nothing you said actually contradicts my point. My post was about about it's not that Salamence can't get past Fairies but that doing so hampers its versatility and utilization in-battle. When you say things like "Salamence can play mind games with Azumarill" you are pretty much making my point for me. The whole point is that Salamence is much harder to use now because, in previous generations, it could just steamroll it with its Dragon STAB. It was a 100/0 play instead of a 50/50 play. (And, if you really want to go analyze it, it's even worse than a 50/50 play since Earthquake is a terrible move to get choice-locked into and "luring Azumarill" could very well be a tactical victory but a strategic blunder.)

If you are seriously arguing that such situations haven't hurt its viability or effectiveness, then your understanding of what viability consists in is flawed.

[It seems to me that you're annoyed with the idea that people think that "because of Fairies Salamence sucks," and you'd be correct to say that such an argument is hyperbolic and is wrong. But it's also a straw man, and all you are doing is replacing one hyperbole with another ("Mence's viability doesn't have anything to do with Fairies") which is probably even more indefensible. Then again, I've been working on this awesome thread about how Ground-types don't affect the viability of my beloved Raikou at all. x_x]

Spoiler:
 
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Nothing you said actually contradicts my point. My post was about about it's not that Salamence can't get past Fairies but that doing so hampers its versatility and utilization in-battle. When you say things like "Salamence can play mind games with Azumarill" you are pretty much making my point for me. The whole point is that Salamence is much harder to use now because, in previous generations, it could just steamroll it with its Dragon STAB. It was a 100/0 play instead of a 50/50 play. (And, if you really want to go analyze it, it's even worse than a 50/50 play since Earthquake is a terrible move to get choice-locked into and "luring Azumarill" could very well be a tactical victory but a strategic blunder.)
Mence was already a prediction-reliant Pokemon in BW. Azumarill is probably the only Fairy that truly puts pressure on Mence, because it's not weak to Iron Tail.

If you are seriously arguing that such situations haven't hurt its viability or effectiveness, then your understanding of what viability consists in is flawed.

But Mence already had this problem back in BW when every team packed a steel and rain was used on, like, 20% of all teams. That is enormous.
[It seems to me that you're annoyed with the idea that people think that "because of Fairies Salamence sucks," and you'd be correct to say that such an argument is hyperbolic and is wrong. But it's also a straw man, and all you are doing is replacing one hyperbole with another ("Mence's viability doesn't have anything to do with Fairies") which is probably even more indefensible. Then again, I've been working on this awesome thread about how Ground-types don't affect the viability of my beloved Raikou at all. x_x]
I will admit that I'm annoyed with this idea. People are acting like Salamence can't adapt to mechanical changes and thus is shit, when it sucks because of how outclassed it is. But my point still stands, Fairies are hesistant to switch into Mence in the first place and can't really stop it at +1.
Spoiler:

Comments in bold. I think this discussion is becoming shitty, and I saw three off-topic posts. Nothing against you, you might be a better player than me overall. You're right in a few areas, but you still haven't convinced me. If Haxorus destroys Fairy-types left and right with its DD set, then I don't see why Mence can't.

Now that I think about it though, you're probably right about ScarfMoxie, but I'm still not sure. My point is that Fairies haven't hampered Salamence's viability because they find it hard to switch into it in the first place. The fact that most of them are slower doesn't help either. Azu is really the only Fairy which can put pressure on it.

One more thing:

But in all seriousness, I don't see the point of the thread if its purpose, by the OP's own admission, is rather self-indulgent. Rants as OPs do not start good discussions--unless you think the previous twenty or so posts have been super duper enlightening?--and Salamence is a niche Pokemon anyway. The "advice" portion is ridiculously elementary (any remotely competent player knows not to lock into Outrage when the opponent is packing Ferrothorn???? ) so I don't see the point. I don't know what you expected posting something that needed such a passive aggressive disclaimer ?_?

PokeCommunity is not Smogon. Players here aren't nearly as good as the ones you find on Smogon. There are probably many casual players here who lock themselves into Outrage when the opponent is packing Ferro.
 
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Never thought I'd see the day when Salamence is outclassed by Charizard... {XD}

Of course, Mega Mence trounces Mega Zard, but it's still hilarious to see regular Mence not keep up with the power creep.
 
More self-loathing from yours truly,

Mence was already a prediction-reliant Pokemon in BW. Azumarill is probably the only Fairy that truly puts pressure on Mence, because it's not weak to Iron Tail.

And now it's even more prediction-reliant. If my opponent has Clefable and Heatran, that's a much harder prediction to make than if they just have Heatran. Also, locking yourself into Iron Tail sucks, and is another "win the battle/lose the war" scenario.

But Mence already had this problem back in BW when every team packed a steel and rain was used on, like, 20% of all teams. That is enormous.

And now that problem is even worse. If you don't see why this matters, then I honestly don't know what to tell you. This is like saying that Alakazam was already walled by Chansey, so the introduction of Tyranitar is irrelevant/did not hurt Alakazam's viability. Of course it did.

I will admit that I'm annoyed with this idea. People are acting like Salamence can't adapt to mechanical changes and thus is shit, when it sucks because of how outclassed it is. But my point still stands, Fairies are hesistant to switch into Mence in the first place and can't really stop it at +1.

These ill-defined "people" are of little concern to us here. You're arguing with no one.

Doing so is a surefire way to start a bad discussion.

And yes, as most good players will tell you, Salamence is outclassed, as you have noted. Yet you keep presenting a false choice, or false mutual exclusivity, between its viability being hampered by other Pokemon outclassing it and Fairies making it less effective. Both of these things can be true, and they are in this case. You're frustrated that people act like the latter reason (Fairies) is the only reason Salamence is not very viable, but then you do the same thing by attaching yourself to the former reason (being outclassed) and presenting equally simplistic rhetoric. That is the fundamental absurdity of this thread's mission.

(In fact, your argument is even more skewed since it denies that any other reason besides the one you've presented could possibly affect its viability. This is exactly the type of reasoning that craps up threads like this. Ugh.)

Ummmm... Mega Diancie? That thing carries Earth Power.

Not all Mega Gardy run Focus Miss, Clefable is slower, Azumarill is weak to Thunderbolt and Mega Altaria needs Earthquake to eliminate this magnet...

Any good Mega Altaria will be running EQ, Fire Blast, or both. Mega Gardevoir almost always runs a move for Steel-types, and Mag takes a huge chunk (like 40% or something) from Timid Hyper Voice anyway. Mega Diancie indeed runs Earth Power. Clefable can hit it with Flamethrower on the switch. Azumarill is going to lose this match-up unless Mag tries to switch in on it.

Of the five, three outright beat Magnezone 1v1. It can't switch in on the other two (though it can on many Clefable variants). I don't know what to tell you.

I don't think you've actually used Mence in XY.

https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/ad-hominem

My point is that Fairies haven't hampered Salamence's viability because they find it hard to switch into it in the first place. The fact that most of them are slower doesn't help either. Azu is really the only Fairy which can put pressure on it.

The bolded line is a non-sequitur. Your evidence does not prove your claim. It's not that you're wrong to say that Fairies might struggle to switch in, but you never demonstrate why this means that Fairies don't affect its viability. It might seem self-explanatory, but flesh out the logic (or illogic) more and it falls apart. The underlying assumption of the above argument, then, is that so long as a Pokemon has trouble switching into something, it doesn't hamper something's viability. Or that, if a Pokemon can muscle past a check with a coverage move, that the check in question does not hold the other mon back. Something like that. The reasoning is actually quite ill-defined, which is why it is porous logic in the first place.

Whatever the underlying assumption is, it doesn't address the pressures of execution that I discussed in detail in previous posts (which still hasn't been addressed at all except for a repetition of this same argument about "well they can't switch in so HA!"). If you're going to just ignore the nuances of the game that others are presenting because they don't fit your notion of viability, then there isn't much point in posting a thread like this.

Also, any Fairy puts pressure on it since they can all cripple, OHKO, and/or set up on it. I don't know what you mean by "pressure" if mons that are faster with a STAB super-effective attack like Mega Diancie apparently don't count. ?_? Are you talking about hard checks? Be more precise.

There are probably many casual players here who lock themselves into Outrage when the opponent is packing Ferro.

This is not the type of thread that helps bad players get better. Threads that do are actually constructive.
 
More self-loathing from yours truly,



And now it's even more prediction-reliant. If my opponent has Clefable and Heatran, that's a much harder prediction to make than if they just have Heatran. Also, locking yourself into Iron Tail sucks, and is another "win the battle/lose the war" scenario.

Actually I think I'm going to agree with you on ScarfMoxie and will probably update the OP.
But I'll just say this: of course you need heavy prediction, just like in BW. BTW, many teams in BW carried two steel-types on their team. I remember the Torn-T era where I fought tons of sample Politoed/Torn-T/Ferrothorn/Jirachi/Tentacruel/Dugtrio. Even after Torn-T's ban, these teams carried Moltres or some other hurricane spammer. There are lots of things that come in play here. Your opponent needs to tell which set your Salamence carries. Secondly, you could always double switch.


And now that problem is even worse. If you don't see why this matters, then I honestly don't know what to tell you. This is like saying that Alakazam was already walled by Chansey, so the introduction of Tyranitar is irrelevant/did not hurt Alakazam's viability. Of course it did.

Alakazam isn't even walled by Chansey, it can run Encore and turn the tables on it. Then there's the fact that Alakazam outspeeds even ScarfTar.

These ill-defined "people" are of little concern to us here. You're arguing with no one.

Doing so is a surefire way to start a bad discussion.

And yes, as most good players will tell you, Salamence is outclassed, as you have noted. Yet you keep presenting a false choice, or false mutual exclusivity, between its viability being hampered by other Pokemon outclassing it and Fairies making it less effective. Both of these things can be true, and they are in this case. You're frustrated that people act like the latter reason (Fairies) is the only reason Salamence is not very viable, but then you do the same thing by attaching yourself to the former reason (being outclassed) and presenting equally simplistic rhetoric. That is the fundamental absurdity of this thread's mission.
Sorry but you make your opinion sound like a fact here...
(In fact, your argument is even more skewed since it denies that any other reason besides the one you've presented could possibly affect its viability. This is exactly the type of reasoning that craps up threads like this. Ugh.)



Any good Mega Altaria will be running EQ, Fire Blast, or both. Mega Gardevoir almost always runs a move for Steel-types, and Mag takes a huge chunk (like 40% or something) from Timid Hyper Voice anyway. Mega Diancie indeed runs Earth Power. Clefable can hit it with Flamethrower on the switch. Azumarill is going to lose this match-up unless Mag tries to switch in on it.

Of the five, three outright beat Magnezone 1v1. It can't switch in on the other two (though it can on many Clefable variants). I don't know what to tell you.

Not all Mega Altaria run max speed and not all Mega Gardy run Focus Miss or HP Ground. Ultimately though, this is completely based on prediction.

https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/ad-hominem
When I said "this is probably not a good way to tell you...". But seriously, ever used Mence in XY?


The bolded line is a non-sequitur. Your evidence does not prove your claim. It's not that you're wrong to say that Fairies might struggle to switch in, but you never demonstrate why this means that Fairies don't affect its viability. It might seem self-explanatory, but flesh out the logic (or illogic) more and it falls apart. The underlying assumption of the above argument, then, is that so long as a Pokemon has trouble switching into something, it doesn't hamper something's viability. Or that, if a Pokemon can muscle past a check with a coverage move, that the check in question does not hold the other mon back. Something like that. The reasoning is actually quite ill-defined, which is why it is porous logic in the first place.

Whatever the underlying assumption is, it doesn't address the pressures of execution that I discussed in detail in previous posts (which still hasn't been addressed at all except for a repetition of this same argument about "well they can't switch in so HA!"). If you're going to just ignore the nuances of the game that others are presenting because they don't fit your notion of viability, then there isn't much point in posting a thread like this.

Also, any Fairy puts pressure on it since they can all cripple, OHKO, and/or set up on it. I don't know what you mean by "pressure" if mons that are faster with a STAB super-effective attack like Mega Diancie apparently don't count. ?_? Are you talking about hard checks? Be more precise.
Hypotetical scenario, assuming SR is up on both sides and Diancie is already Mega Evolved (since we're talking about it and it actually outspeeds Mence):
Let's see. My offensive Heatran just killed your Magnezone. You have a DD Salamence and you switch it in on my Heatran. I also have a Mega Diancie at 60% health. You switch in your Mence and take Stealth Rock damage. If I switch to Diancie as you use Dragon Dance, I lose. If I switch to Diancie as you use Earthquake, I lose. If I stay in with Heatran as you use Earthquake, I lose. If I stay in with Heatran as you use Dragon Dance... Flash Cannon deals like 55% damage, and your Mence can still kill two Pokemon before succumbing to LO recoil, so you could say that I lose.

This applies to basically any fairy-type not named Azumarill, which needs to be at full health. I apologize if I sound ignorant.

That's the problem: Mence can take advantage of all fairies if it manages to boost. MixMence deals heavy damage with EQ + Iron Tail. Even ScarfMoxie can 2HKO all of them with good prediction and SR.


This is not the type of thread that helps bad players get better. Threads that do are actually constructive.

Normally I think that Pokemon A is hampered by the introduction of some random mechanic, but I feel like Salamence's case is justified. Mence has the power and the coverage tools needed to kill Fairy-type Pokemon. That's the problem. ScarfMoxie needs to predict, sure, but DD and mixed?

And I still fail to see how can Fairies hamper Mence's viability. I fail to see how can they stop it at +1 and I fail to see how can they switch into it in the first place. Until GameFreak makes a Fairy-type prio move or a fairy-type pokemon with 125/150 physical defense or something, I doubt that's about to change.

You can say that Fairies forced Mence to use Iron Tail, but Salamence already had excellent coverage between Dragon Claw and Earthquake. It's called adaptation.
 
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Alakazam isn't even walled by Chansey, it can run Encore and turn the tables on it. Then there's the fact that Alakazam outspeeds even ScarfTar.

He meant the transition from gen 1 to 2. Where Zam went from superstar to meh.

Also yes chansey walls it, in every gen. What is Encore going to to, lock it into SToss to kill you quicker or lock it into T-Wave/Toxic to...still kill you lol??
 
More self-loathing from yours truly,

But I'll just say this: of course you need heavy prediction, just like in BW. BTW, many teams in BW carried two steel-types on their team. I remember the Torn-T era where I fought tons of sample Politoed/Torn-T/Ferrothorn/Jirachi/Tentacruel/Dugtrio. Even after Torn-T's ban, these teams carried Moltres or some other hurricane spammer. There are lots of things that come in play here. Your opponent needs to tell which set your Salamence carries. Secondly, you could always double switch.

I am confused as to what this example is trying to demonstrate.

Alakazam isn't even walled by Chansey, it can run Encore and turn the tables on it. Then there's the fact that Alakazam outspeeds even ScarfTar.

I was referring to the transition from RBY to GSC, though I apologize as this was unclear. Reread the point with that in mind now.

Sorry but you make your opinion sound like a fact here...

This is irrelevant/a red herring fallacy/not answering the content of my post. (Also, pot meet kettle, but whatever.)

Instead of objecting to the tone of my rhetoric, maybe consider what I said in that part of the post and how maybe your argument might be similar to the very arguments you are frustrated with. Or if you don't think so, I'm curious how you think it's any different.

Not all Mega Altaria run max speed and not all Mega Gardy run Focus Miss or HP Ground. Ultimately though, this is completely based on prediction.

Not all Mega Gardevoir run Hyper Voice either. The good ones do though. Just like the good Mega Altarias will outpace most any Specs Magnezone and any good Mega Gardevoir will run a coverage move for Steel-types. You're citing bad sets to try to make a point, and it's not very productive.

And it's not based on prediction when Gardevoir and Altaria are both faster than Magnezone so they can just OHKO it with their respective coverage moves. Choice Specs Magnezone is a bad Fairy check. Period. It loses 1v1 to all of the Fairy megas that run sets that aren't garbage and can't switch into the non-mega Fairies reliably. Exclamation point!

But seriously, ever used Mence in XY?

I haven't, and it's totally irrelevant. This point's only purpose is to undermine my credibility on the topic, which besides being fallacious, is really annoying. Here:

How about you tell me about your ladder peaks with Salamence? I'd love to see some high-level replays, or do you not have any of those? Can someone who runs ScarfCube semi-stall really tell me about how to effectively run Dragons in the OU tier?

Ad-hominems aren't so fun anymore, are they?

So please stop.

Mence can take advantage of all fairies if it manages to boost. MixMence deals heavy damage with EQ + Iron Tail. Even ScarfMoxie can 2HKO all of them with good prediction and SR.

And I still fail to see how can Fairies hamper Mence's viability. I fail to see how can they stop it at +1 and I fail to see how can they switch into it in the first place. Until GameFreak makes a Fairy-type prio move or a fairy-type pokemon with 125/150 physical defense or something, I doubt that's about to change.

this whole long blurb about how fairies can't switch in etc. etc.

You keep repeating this point. Over and over again. Notice how I am not disputing it factually but questioning its relevance in light of other factors (like difficulty of usage, opportunity cost, prediction-reliance, restriction on movesets, etc.) which you might want to actually discuss. Arguing well isn't repeating one point over and over again and omitting other relevant factors. "I wonder why this thread hasn't been received very well?"

You keep conflating Fairies "hampering viability" with Fairies "switching in safely" when the two are related but totally different. As I've outlined repeatedly.
 
Removed references to the whole Salamence and Fairies thing. I guess you won this argument.

I don't want this thread to become shitty, and I'll concede. I never studied logic in school.

As for leader peaks with Mence, it was something around ~1720 with a random nickname (don't have replays :( ) and it's a re-edit of this team. Just Mence over Goodra and Jirachi over Azumarill.
 
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