Announcement np: BDSP RU Suspect Process, Round 1 - Super Bass

[TONE]

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We hear the playerbase loud and clear- let's put Exploud on blast!

While RU Alpha's focus on extreme offense rendered Exploud fairly unimpressive as a slow breaker, Exploud quickly became one of RU’s most defining Pokemon after Alpha thanks to the extreme power of its STAB Boomburst alongside Choice Specs. Switching into Exploud is no easy task thanks to its ability Scrappy, which lets Exploud hit Ghost-type Pokemon like Rotom and Sableye without having to predict and leaves only Rock and Steel-types to resist its STAB. However, the tier’s Rock and Steels either find themselves 2HKOd at the minimum by Exploud’s colorful coverage options like Surf and Focus Blast or, depending on their EV investment, 2HKOd by even a resisted Boomburst. This leaves only Chansey as a truly consistent switchin to its onslaught, leaving defensive teams little choice- even Chansey, however, can be lured by niche Exploud sets such as Life Orb with Hammer Arm or Focus Punch. Even against the more offensively built teams in the meta, Exploud’s high HP stat lets it tank at least one non-super-effective hit like Earth Power from Nidoqueen and claim OHKOs. Exploud’s influence on the tier has been so profound that many players are running niche Soundproof Pokemon such as Abomasnow, Mr. Mime, and Exploud itself to find refuge from it.

Despite Exploud’s lack of switchins, Exploud does have its inherent flaws. Exploud is a slow wallbreaker by RU standards and common offensive threats in the tier such as Swellow, Primeape, and Hitmonlee can outspeed and threaten it very easily. Exploud, while not the frailest pokemon, still must be careful about switching in due to its lack of resistances. Exploud also doesn’t match up well against offensive teams thanks to its mediocre Speed, and these sorts of teams can play around Exploud by revenge killing it or forcing it out.

All in all, due to its extreme restrictiveness on teambuilding and the constant pressure it unleashes on a game-to-game basis, the BDSP RU Council has deemed Exploud to be potentially banworthy and has decided to hold a suspect test.

• ***THIS IS NEW TO GEN 8 SUSPECTS*** Reading this is mandatory for participating in the suspect test. The voting requirements are a minimum GXE of 77 with at least 50 games played. In addition, you may play 1 less game for every 0.2 GXE you have above 77 GXE, down to a minimum of 30 games at a GXE of 81. Also, needing more than 50 games to reach 77 GXE will suffice.

Minimum games needed

GXE	Minimum games
77	50
77.2	49
77.4	48
77.6	47
77.8	46
78	45
78.2	44
78.4	43
78.6	42
78.8	41
79	40
79.2	39
79.4	38
79.6	37
79.8	36
80	35
80.2	34
80.4	33
80.6	32
80.8	31
81	30

• You must signup with a newly registered account on Pokemon Showdown! that begins with the appropriate prefix for the suspect test. For this suspect test, the prefix will be BR1E. For example, I might sign up with the ladder account BR1E Tone.
• Laddering with an account that impersonates, mocks, or insults another Smogon user or breaks Pokemon Showdown! rules may be disqualified from voting and infracted. Moderator discretion will be applied here. If there is any doubt or hesitance when making the alt, just pick another name. There are infinite possibilities and we have had trouble for this repeatedly. If you wish to participate in the suspect, you should be able to exhibit decent enough judgement here. We will not be lenient.
• We will be using the regular BDSP RU ladder for this suspect test. We will not be creating a new Suspect Ladder. At the beginning of every battle, there will be an announcement denoting the ongoing suspect with a link to this thread.
• The aspect being tested, Exploud, will be allowed on the ladder.
• Any form of voting manipulation will result in swift and severe punishment. You are more than welcome to state your argument to as many people as you so please, but do not use any kind of underhanded tactics to get a result you desire. Bribery, blackmail, or any other type of tactic used to sway votes will be handled and sanctioned.
• Do not attempt to cheat the ladder. We will know if you did not actually achieve voting requisites, so don't do it. Harsh sanctions will be applied.
• Unlike previous tests, we will be posting the voting identification thread immediately after this thread. Your voting requisites will be confirmed by a Council member or BDSP Metagames moderator, to which we will edit in confirmation. Please avoid getting more games before getting confirmed.
• The suspect test will go on for two weeks, lasting until March 16th at 11:59 pm (GMT+0), and then we will put up the voting thread in the Blind Voting subforum. Please make sure to post proof of yourself meeting the voting requirements in the Voter Identification Thread prior to the above deadline, and read the rules in that thread carefully.

This thread will be open to allow all users to share their thoughts on this suspect test and discuss with one another their thoughts. However, this thread will be strictly moderated, moreso than the BDSP RU thread. Our moderators will apply discretion as to what is appropriate. Please read and keep in mind the following before posting:

• No unhelpful one liners nor uninformed posts;
• No discussion on other potential suspects;
• No discussion on the suspect process -- this includes testing Exploud vs other potential suspects;
• You are required to make respectful posts;
• You are required to read this thread before posting.
• Failure to follow these simple guidelines will result in your post being deleted and infracted without any prior warning.
• Please also take a moment to read over some suggestions from the RU Council and the RU Moderation team for posting in this thread; adhering these will help out our time moderating the thread and present your arguments better and more educated.
  • Do not argue because it's your favorite Pokemon. This should be common sense, but please don't do this, because we will delete posts like this.
  • You do not need a boatload of experience to have an informed opinion, but please try to minimize the theorymon aspect and use your experiences watching and playing. Playing some on the ladder before posting is plenty if you're concerned about this.
  • Do not flame, belittle, or be disrespectful to users in this thread. While not everyone will read this post in its entirety nor will everyone have informed opinion, please be sure not to be disrespectful. If there's an issue, bring it up to a moderater.
  • Do not use the argument of broken checking broken. Should your argument rest on your opinion that banning the Pokemon or mechanic being tested in this suspect test will make a Pokemon or mechanic broken, overpowered, and/or uncompetitive; don't. If something needs to be banned because of the result this suspect, then so be it.
  • This thread is not to voice complaints about the suspect process or decisions of the council. While we are more than open to hearing complaints that may arise, this isn't the place for it. I suggest you message a BDSP RU Council Member or BDSP Metagames forum moderator, or make a post in Senior Staff requests, should you have a badge.

Should you have any questions about the suspect test, feel free to message a BDSP RU Council Member. And if you have any questions about the moderation of this thread, feel free to message a BDSP Metagames forum moderator.

Keep in mind that our suspect tests are decided by the community; anyone who achieves voting requisites is allowed to vote. The outcome is up to you. Happy posting and laddering!

 

[ATowerFalledXD]

thanks for making my favorite song, the song of this suspect test, W

Anyways, Exploud is one pokemon that i've been talking about for awhile now in RU. In the beginning i found it very problematic that soundproof Mr mime was being ran and soundproof Bastiodon was being ran just to check Exploud(even exploud was running soundproof just to switch in, atleast in my experience in the early days), the only thing that really checked Exploud was Chansey, and the problem with that is, It's Chansey and as the mentioned niche Hammer arm life orb Exploud sets were able to beat Chansey.

Nowadays in RU, i do have to mention that i've been seeing less Exploud on the ladder, Due to the fact that Exploud is slow, I found that this was abused in order to force it out or ohko it with a super effective. I find that Exploud has trouble switching into anything,104 HP is good yes but our tiers breakers can still outspeed and/or just kill it right then and there, It also doesn't like status and knock off from Sableye so this also hurts its switch in capabality, so the only time exploud had time to come in and nuke something was when it got a free switch, (i havent played RU in a long ass while so you can feel free to prove me wrong here!) I find Exploud to be a pokemon that can more easily be exploited but it is still too strong for RU. and i will try to participate in this suspect test and Vote ban for Exploud.

 

[Eve]

Here's the Voter Identification Thread: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...-round-1-voter-identification-thread.3698507/

 

[5Dots]

Just got reqs and had some thoughts for the boom box:

Exploud is undoubtedly threatening. Like what TONE covered, reliable switchins are few and far between, which is especially prominent given how easily Stealth Rock can be set up by offensive rockers like Nidoqueen and Kabutops to make switching even more difficult. While technically your own Exploud, Mr. Mime, and Abomasnow can be used to stop boomburst from coming in, Exploud has the coverage to make all of these switch-ins situational at best. Mr. Mime and Abomasnow also have very limited use outside of the surprise factor, which is even worse. Rhyperior may resist Boomburst, but it gets blown away with a predicted Surf.

Generally speaking, though, I found Exploud to be somewhat managable by running offensive teams. Exploud is only threatening when it gets free switch-ins; generally speaking, these archetypes limit it from doing much other than trading at best, as it cannot switch into anything at all. The amount of Fighting-types in the tier also doesn’t help, since they can all bowl over it with their STABs with minimal to no prior chip. Even teams as niche as sun and rain give Exploud no breathing room, since most of the weather sweepers have the power to muscle through it. Rock-types like Rhyperior and Regirock can take advantage of its reliance on Boomburst to freely set up rocks, chew up its bulk with STAB attacks, or paralyze it in Regirock’s case, now allowing Machamp to outspeed it. Semi- and full-stall teams have Chansey to deter it from making much progress; physical attackers partnered up with Exploud can be pivoted around with smart play.

As it stands right now, I think Exploud is just managable enough to warrant NO BAN thanks to its bad matchup against faster teams and its struggle to break through Chansey even on stall teams. Regardless, Exploud is still extremely threatening both in the builder and in practice, and I wouldn’t mind seeing it getting banned for how oppressive Specs Boomburst is.

As a side note, I’ve been theorizing on Silk Scarf rather than Specs. Yes, the loss in power for its coverage moves makes this a worse option most of the time, but this gives Exploud the opportunity to run Hammer Arm for Chansey without suffering Life Orb recoil. It’s the power of Specs without being locked into the move, and it still plays naturally on Exploud’s primary strength, Boomburst.