Sneasel is really strong. It’s main problem is switching in, but with parting-shot(Silvally), or the rare volt turn user you can get Sneasel in. Once Sneasel is in, it hits like a truck and has very few counters. There is not a single offensive check to Sneasel. The ones which people recommend are extremely shaky and will be 2hko'd on rocks if not outright so.
252 Atk Choice Band Sneasel Low Kick (100 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Silvally-Water: 137-162 (41.3 - 48.9%) -- 78.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Sneasel Low Kick (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Piloswine: 170-200 (42 - 49.5%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Sneasel Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 8 HP / 0 Def Perrserker: 192-226 (67.8 - 79.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
As for balance, Garbodor can only switch in once:
252 Atk Choice Band Sneasel Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Garbodor: 136-162 (37.3 - 44.5%) -- 2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
However, Balance does have things which can take on Sneasel, although balance is a poor archetype in NU right now.
Mawile and RestTalk Bulky Silvally water can take on Sneasel, and for stall which is unviable Pyukumuku can as well. Remember not to forget that the inner focus buff means Sneasel doe not care for intimidate users that previously could check it such as Qwilfish and Hitmontop. Sneasel's silly fast speed tier means only choice scarf users outspeed it, Jolteon and Ninjask are terrible in NU and Ninjask can be killed by ice shard. Sneasel's lack of pursuit this gen does relieve frail pokemon of that pressure but also allows Sneasel users to have low kick in their moveset which decimates many so-called Sneasel checks. Overall I don't feel Sneasel is very healthy for the tier, if Sneasel was the only offensive mon of this xalibre it might have a chance of staying, but in tandem with other broken Pokemon it becomes too overwhelming to build around.
Haunter I spoke of a bit earlier, and realized that eviolite pokemon are useless against any set with trick. This leaves Haunter with only one offensive check, Skuntank, and a few balance/stall counters such as Stunfisk G, Specially Defensive Pyukumuku (How viable is this set?), Flareon, and Specially Defensive RestTalk Silvally-Poison (Once again, how viable is this set?). Skuntank is shaky, previously it was infamous as a Haunter check due to pursuit but now it can only switch in once.
252 SpA Life Orb Haunter Dazzling Gleam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Skuntank: 155-183 (44.6 - 52.7%) -- 85.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
Haunter suffers from the same issues as Sneasel in its abysmal bulk, but has many more immunities and two 4x resistances. Normal, Fighting, Ground, Bug, and Poison all are possible switch ins for Haunter, particularly if the latter two are from defensive mons. For example, balance staple Garbodor:
0 Atk Garbodor Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Haunter: 57-68 (24.6 - 29.4%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO
Haunter further restricts teambuilding, but it would be possible to build with just Sneasel and Haunter without the latter mon I'm about to mention. Teams would be constrained and repititive if built defensively but the last Pokemon, Toxicroak really takes it over the edge.
Now Toxicroak is underestimated with people not taking into full account the extent of its movepool. One of the most commonly said checks for both nasty plot and swords dance sets is Garbodor, however there is coverage which Toxicroak has to deal with even Garbodor.
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Garbodor: 400-473 (109.8 - 129.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Yes, that's right, even Garbodor is completely one shot by SD Toxicroak if they simply choose not to use sucker punch. Of course sucker punch is useful for killing everything non scarfed that outspeeds Toxicroak except Klinklang, Dubwool and Sneasel. However, if Garbodor which is very commonly used is too obnoxious for the Toxicroak user and they'll use Croak as a wallbreaker more than as sweeper they can simply choose to invalidate Garbodor. If they want to make Toxicroak harder to revenge kill and still beat Garbodor they can still be a potent wallbreaker by giving up on swords dance and becoming an All out Attacker with Gunk Shot, Drain Punch, Earthquake, and Sucker Punch. Sucker punch is also significant in that it doesn't let Haunter become a poor man's check to Toxicroak that gets 2hkod on stealth rock by LO gunk shot. Even Physically defensive Pyukumku struggles to check Toxicroak if they have any chip, or get poisoned by the significant 30% chance to poison of Gunk shot. Unlike the other two Pokemon before, Toxicroak has enough bulk to make better use of its resistances, even though its bulk isn't that great it isn't the wet paper bad defenses of the other two not fully evolved Pokemon. Toxicroak on top of that has dry skin meaning it can switch into water type moves and heal, and alongside drain punch can give itself more longevity than Haunter or Sneasel could ever imagine. Defensive Cofragigus is the best check for Physical Toxicroak sets but gets blown apart by the nasty plot sets.
There are zero counters for Toxicroak and based on that I think Toxicroak must be banned. It even shows in the previous council vote that Toxicroak was one vote away from being banned, there were people who could see just how unhealthy Toxicroak is for the tier. As for the previous two, I believe Sneasel is more broken than Haunter, Haunter's trick makes it a one trick pony whereas Sneasel can knock off opponents items repeatedly without losing the boon of its own item, while Sneasel has a much higher speed tier making it significantly tougher to revenge kill, alongside its priority. Haunter gradually kills itself with life orb whereas as long as you keep rocks away Sneasel can use its moves over and over again. Specs Haunter is easier to work around than band Sneasel, once again goes back to the speed tiers. Haunter has an offensive check whereas Sneasel has none. To conclude, all three of these Pokemon should be suspected individually, with Toxicroak first. If we have a deluge of checks and counters drop into the tier we can bring them back but right now they make defensive teambuilding impossible.
252 Atk Choice Band Sneasel Low Kick (100 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Silvally-Water: 137-162 (41.3 - 48.9%) -- 78.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Sneasel Low Kick (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Piloswine: 170-200 (42 - 49.5%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Sneasel Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 8 HP / 0 Def Perrserker: 192-226 (67.8 - 79.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
As for balance, Garbodor can only switch in once:
252 Atk Choice Band Sneasel Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Garbodor: 136-162 (37.3 - 44.5%) -- 2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
However, Balance does have things which can take on Sneasel, although balance is a poor archetype in NU right now.
Mawile and RestTalk Bulky Silvally water can take on Sneasel, and for stall which is unviable Pyukumuku can as well. Remember not to forget that the inner focus buff means Sneasel doe not care for intimidate users that previously could check it such as Qwilfish and Hitmontop. Sneasel's silly fast speed tier means only choice scarf users outspeed it, Jolteon and Ninjask are terrible in NU and Ninjask can be killed by ice shard. Sneasel's lack of pursuit this gen does relieve frail pokemon of that pressure but also allows Sneasel users to have low kick in their moveset which decimates many so-called Sneasel checks. Overall I don't feel Sneasel is very healthy for the tier, if Sneasel was the only offensive mon of this xalibre it might have a chance of staying, but in tandem with other broken Pokemon it becomes too overwhelming to build around.
Haunter I spoke of a bit earlier, and realized that eviolite pokemon are useless against any set with trick. This leaves Haunter with only one offensive check, Skuntank, and a few balance/stall counters such as Stunfisk G, Specially Defensive Pyukumuku (How viable is this set?), Flareon, and Specially Defensive RestTalk Silvally-Poison (Once again, how viable is this set?). Skuntank is shaky, previously it was infamous as a Haunter check due to pursuit but now it can only switch in once.
252 SpA Life Orb Haunter Dazzling Gleam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Skuntank: 155-183 (44.6 - 52.7%) -- 85.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
Haunter suffers from the same issues as Sneasel in its abysmal bulk, but has many more immunities and two 4x resistances. Normal, Fighting, Ground, Bug, and Poison all are possible switch ins for Haunter, particularly if the latter two are from defensive mons. For example, balance staple Garbodor:
0 Atk Garbodor Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Haunter: 57-68 (24.6 - 29.4%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO
Haunter further restricts teambuilding, but it would be possible to build with just Sneasel and Haunter without the latter mon I'm about to mention. Teams would be constrained and repititive if built defensively but the last Pokemon, Toxicroak really takes it over the edge.
Now Toxicroak is underestimated with people not taking into full account the extent of its movepool. One of the most commonly said checks for both nasty plot and swords dance sets is Garbodor, however there is coverage which Toxicroak has to deal with even Garbodor.
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Garbodor: 400-473 (109.8 - 129.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Yes, that's right, even Garbodor is completely one shot by SD Toxicroak if they simply choose not to use sucker punch. Of course sucker punch is useful for killing everything non scarfed that outspeeds Toxicroak except Klinklang, Dubwool and Sneasel. However, if Garbodor which is very commonly used is too obnoxious for the Toxicroak user and they'll use Croak as a wallbreaker more than as sweeper they can simply choose to invalidate Garbodor. If they want to make Toxicroak harder to revenge kill and still beat Garbodor they can still be a potent wallbreaker by giving up on swords dance and becoming an All out Attacker with Gunk Shot, Drain Punch, Earthquake, and Sucker Punch. Sucker punch is also significant in that it doesn't let Haunter become a poor man's check to Toxicroak that gets 2hkod on stealth rock by LO gunk shot. Even Physically defensive Pyukumku struggles to check Toxicroak if they have any chip, or get poisoned by the significant 30% chance to poison of Gunk shot. Unlike the other two Pokemon before, Toxicroak has enough bulk to make better use of its resistances, even though its bulk isn't that great it isn't the wet paper bad defenses of the other two not fully evolved Pokemon. Toxicroak on top of that has dry skin meaning it can switch into water type moves and heal, and alongside drain punch can give itself more longevity than Haunter or Sneasel could ever imagine. Defensive Cofragigus is the best check for Physical Toxicroak sets but gets blown apart by the nasty plot sets.
There are zero counters for Toxicroak and based on that I think Toxicroak must be banned. It even shows in the previous council vote that Toxicroak was one vote away from being banned, there were people who could see just how unhealthy Toxicroak is for the tier. As for the previous two, I believe Sneasel is more broken than Haunter, Haunter's trick makes it a one trick pony whereas Sneasel can knock off opponents items repeatedly without losing the boon of its own item, while Sneasel has a much higher speed tier making it significantly tougher to revenge kill, alongside its priority. Haunter gradually kills itself with life orb whereas as long as you keep rocks away Sneasel can use its moves over and over again. Specs Haunter is easier to work around than band Sneasel, once again goes back to the speed tiers. Haunter has an offensive check whereas Sneasel has none. To conclude, all three of these Pokemon should be suspected individually, with Toxicroak first. If we have a deluge of checks and counters drop into the tier we can bring them back but right now they make defensive teambuilding impossible.
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