For the balance slate, can we submit nerfs to banned items? (Mostly because I have one that could work pretty well)
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Pet Mod SylveMons (Discussion Phase)
- Thread starter Reviloja753
- Start date
Yeah, when we have one, moves, abilities, items, and Pokémon would be all be fair game
Update Post!
It's been a fairly slow month, but that doesn't mean that nothing happened!
Massive Coding Updates
Since the last update, there has been a ton of huge coding updates that inches SylveMons even closer to being 100% complete.
The updates added are as follows:
- The Dragon Heaven client has been updated massively, with both teambuilder and the in-battle UI being able to show mod specific information, including for SylveMons! This makes it 100% the best way to play SylveMons, so I highly recommend you use it if you haven't already been doing so. The link to the client can be found here
- In terms of the client, a ton of SylveMons-specific things have also been updated since the last update, which you can find below
- On top of that, they have been numerous additions and fixed bugs as of late, which you can see below
- Lastly, here's an updated list of bugs and uncoded things at the current moment
VR Update
There have been a few meta developments as of late, so a small VR Update is in order
A- -> A - Melo-P's super high speed and ridiculously powerful STAB moves in Technician-boosted Double Hit and Double Kick make it one of the best cleaners and wallbreakers in the tier, being downright oppressive for slower teams. This alone more than justifies a rise in the VR, but it still also has Technician-boosted Quick Attack, U-Turn, and Knock Off if you thought it wasn't already strong enough
C -> B- - Mega Latios's original C-Ranking was a bit mean, as while it can't outspeed things with a Torment or Choice item like its base form can, its much higher Special Attack and better bulk make it a lot more consistent at beating Blissey and pressuring Jirachi than base Latios is, especially since base Latios often has to go with a boosting item, so it deserves to be in the same rank as it
UR -> C - Decidueye is one the few users of the new Shadow Tag, which traps Ghost-types and halves damage from Ghost-type moves, and it is by far the best user of it. In a meta where Ghost-types are fairly common, Decidueye has a ton of potential as a set with Poltergeist, Astonish (a Ghost-type Fake Out), and Shadow Sneak with an Adamant nature and a Life Orb can get rid of most Ghost-types, both faster ad slower ones. It does have to compete with Weavile and Tyranitar as Ghostbusters, however, especially since Decidueye is borderline deadwieght if the opponent doesn't have a Ghost-type, but I believe it's more than earned a spot in C Rank for now
Roomtours This Weekend
We haven't done this in awhile, but the current plan is to have a few roomtours in Dragon Heaven's new Tournaments room this Saturday! The tournaments will likely be for SylveMons OU Round Robins, with a small possibility of SylveMons UU as well. These tournaments will be a huge help to see where the meta actually is right now, especially for something we're planning on doing after they conclude (that I'll keep as a surprise for now), so we would love to have you there!
That's all for now, but if everything goes as planned, we'll have something BIG for the next update, so stay tuned for that!
It's been a fairly slow month, but that doesn't mean that nothing happened!
Massive Coding Updates
Since the last update, there has been a ton of huge coding updates that inches SylveMons even closer to being 100% complete.
The updates added are as follows:
- The Dragon Heaven client has been updated massively, with both teambuilder and the in-battle UI being able to show mod specific information, including for SylveMons! This makes it 100% the best way to play SylveMons, so I highly recommend you use it if you haven't already been doing so. The link to the client can be found here
- In terms of the client, a ton of SylveMons-specific things have also been updated since the last update, which you can find below
- Every nerf and ban from the last update has been implemented
- The tiers of every Pokemon has been fully updated, including those that were dexited. Do note that Galar Dex Pokemon in SylveMons RU that are not in Galar Dex RU show up in their normal Galar Dex tier (For example, Spiritomb shows up in PU despite SylveMons PU technically not existing, so it's RU)
- Most new moves now show up the viable moves section of teambuilder
- The learnsets of Espeon, the Pichu line, and both Togedemaru forms have been updated to accurately show their removed moves. The Scyther line were already like this, but they didn't show any moves gained in Gen 8 before, which they now do. Do note that the illegal combinations of Serperior + Flamethrower and Tapu Koko + Wild Charge still show up in the teambuilder and to not use those.
- The abilities Cold Blood, Loudspeaker, and Block Master have all been properly distributed
- Moves given to Pokemon from Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra have been implemented, as well as few fixed inaccuracies (i.e.: Milcery not having Hyper Beam and Stunfisk not having Ion Absorb)
- Thanks to Hematite, SylveMons is one of the mods with the new Data Mod, which shows the data for any Pokemon and Mega Evolution the first time they're sent out, so you don't have to /dt for them anymore
- The tiers of every Pokemon has been fully updated, including those that were dexited. Do note that Galar Dex Pokemon in SylveMons RU that are not in Galar Dex RU show up in their normal Galar Dex tier (For example, Spiritomb shows up in PU despite SylveMons PU technically not existing, so it's RU)
- Most new moves now show up the viable moves section of teambuilder
- The learnsets of Espeon, the Pichu line, and both Togedemaru forms have been updated to accurately show their removed moves. The Scyther line were already like this, but they didn't show any moves gained in Gen 8 before, which they now do. Do note that the illegal combinations of Serperior + Flamethrower and Tapu Koko + Wild Charge still show up in the teambuilder and to not use those.
- The abilities Cold Blood, Loudspeaker, and Block Master have all been properly distributed
- Moves given to Pokemon from Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra have been implemented, as well as few fixed inaccuracies (i.e.: Milcery not having Hyper Beam and Stunfisk not having Ion Absorb)
- Thanks to Hematite, SylveMons is one of the mods with the new Data Mod, which shows the data for any Pokemon and Mega Evolution the first time they're sent out, so you don't have to /dt for them anymore
Moves
Shed Leaves (courtesy of inkbug)
Hot Tag (courtesy of inkbug)
Dig, Dive, Fly, Phantom Force, and Shadow Force
Animations for Aquatic Assault, Heartbeat, River Stream, Dragon Fang, Vampire Bite, Soul Drain, and Hot Tag
Abilities
Shadow Tag (courtesy of inkbug)
Fixed Bugs for Mega Launcher have made it fully functional
Mega Pidgeot was given Air Stream
Shed Leaves (courtesy of inkbug)
Hot Tag (courtesy of inkbug)
Dig, Dive, Fly, Phantom Force, and Shadow Force
Animations for Aquatic Assault, Heartbeat, River Stream, Dragon Fang, Vampire Bite, Soul Drain, and Hot Tag
Abilities
Shadow Tag (courtesy of inkbug)
Fixed Bugs for Mega Launcher have made it fully functional
Mega Pidgeot was given Air Stream
- Mimic Orb - Does not activate
- Forecast - If the user is Castform, the activation message will play an obscene number of times after every action by either Pokemon
- Moves that always critically hit - These moves (Surging Strikes, Wicked Blow, Storm Throw, and Frost Breath) don't result in a critical hit like they're supposed to. Laser Focus also doesn't automatically make the user's next move critically hit either
- Sawsbuck forms - Non-Spring forms now accurately show the types and abilities they should have in teambuilder, but in battle they still use Sawsbuck-Spring's typing
- Forecast - If the user is Castform, the activation message will play an obscene number of times after every action by either Pokemon
- Moves that always critically hit - These moves (Surging Strikes, Wicked Blow, Storm Throw, and Frost Breath) don't result in a critical hit like they're supposed to. Laser Focus also doesn't automatically make the user's next move critically hit either
- Sawsbuck forms - Non-Spring forms now accurately show the types and abilities they should have in teambuilder, but in battle they still use Sawsbuck-Spring's typing
Magic Room
Malicious Moonsault
Oceanic Operetta
Let's Snuggle Forever
Inhale
Mimic
Eternabeam
(all moves do have their distribution coded)
Home-Run Bat
Photocopier
Hot Potato
Grudge Dagger
Nocut Berry
Focus Band
Insider
Mimetism
Oblivious
Accumulate
(all abilities have their distribution coded)
Deerling & Sawsbuck Summer/Autumn/Winter
Unfezant-Male
Both versions of Ultra Necrozma
Malicious Moonsault
Oceanic Operetta
Let's Snuggle Forever
Inhale
Mimic
Eternabeam
(all moves do have their distribution coded)
Home-Run Bat
Photocopier
Hot Potato
Grudge Dagger
Nocut Berry
Focus Band
Insider
Mimetism
Oblivious
Accumulate
(all abilities have their distribution coded)
Deerling & Sawsbuck Summer/Autumn/Winter
Unfezant-Male
Both versions of Ultra Necrozma
VR Update
There have been a few meta developments as of late, so a small VR Update is in order
A- -> A - Melo-P's super high speed and ridiculously powerful STAB moves in Technician-boosted Double Hit and Double Kick make it one of the best cleaners and wallbreakers in the tier, being downright oppressive for slower teams. This alone more than justifies a rise in the VR, but it still also has Technician-boosted Quick Attack, U-Turn, and Knock Off if you thought it wasn't already strong enoughC -> B- - Mega Latios's original C-Ranking was a bit mean, as while it can't outspeed things with a Torment or Choice item like its base form can, its much higher Special Attack and better bulk make it a lot more consistent at beating Blissey and pressuring Jirachi than base Latios is, especially since base Latios often has to go with a boosting item, so it deserves to be in the same rank as itUR -> C - Decidueye is one the few users of the new Shadow Tag, which traps Ghost-types and halves damage from Ghost-type moves, and it is by far the best user of it. In a meta where Ghost-types are fairly common, Decidueye has a ton of potential as a set with Poltergeist, Astonish (a Ghost-type Fake Out), and Shadow Sneak with an Adamant nature and a Life Orb can get rid of most Ghost-types, both faster ad slower ones. It does have to compete with Weavile and Tyranitar as Ghostbusters, however, especially since Decidueye is borderline deadwieght if the opponent doesn't have a Ghost-type, but I believe it's more than earned a spot in C Rank for nowRoomtours This Weekend
We haven't done this in awhile, but the current plan is to have a few roomtours in Dragon Heaven's new Tournaments room this Saturday! The tournaments will likely be for SylveMons OU Round Robins, with a small possibility of SylveMons UU as well. These tournaments will be a huge help to see where the meta actually is right now, especially for something we're planning on doing after they conclude (that I'll keep as a surprise for now), so we would love to have you there!
That's all for now, but if everything goes as planned, we'll have something BIG for the next update, so stay tuned for that!
Last edited:
SylveMons Roomtours are starting in Dragon Heaven's Tournaments Room now!
However, due to some difficulties, the bracket itself will be on challonge, so once you join the room, just tell me if you're entering the tournament or not and I can put you in the bracket, which is located Here
Click Here to get to Dragon Heaven through the client
The first one will be OU
Also, be sure to save replays!
Oh, and while you're here, here's another little VR update:
UR -> B+ - The new Time Warp is not quite the meta-warping force it was way back when, but it's still very very good, making Beheeyem basically the best revenge killer in the entire meta thanks to basically nothing being able to outspeed it in its permanent Trick Room. It's also super powerful, being able to 2HKO Blissey unboosted with Psyshock, which is impressive. However, given how oppressive Time Warp can be, Beheeyem only clocks in a B+ for now because its perma-Trick Room is actually still susceptible to Housekeeping and other methods of room removal, which basically always forces it out against two of the meta's best Pokemon. Also, while Blissey can only remove its Trick Room and not much back, co-Tier Queen Jirachi is an extremely good check to it since Beheeyem only has the weak Hidden Power Fire to damage it. Plus, thanks to Beheeyem's extreme 4 moveslot syndrome, with it wanting to fit Psyshock, HP Fire, HP Ground, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, Teleport, AND Nasty Plot on one set, a lot of options to check it are opened up depending on its coverage, like Heatran, Dark-types (particularly Tyranitar), Chansey, Mega Scizor, and more. Also, it's very weak to priority since it isn't the bulkiest thing in the world.
However, due to some difficulties, the bracket itself will be on challonge, so once you join the room, just tell me if you're entering the tournament or not and I can put you in the bracket, which is located Here
Click Here to get to Dragon Heaven through the client
The first one will be OU
Also, be sure to save replays!
Oh, and while you're here, here's another little VR update:
UR -> B+ - The new Time Warp is not quite the meta-warping force it was way back when, but it's still very very good, making Beheeyem basically the best revenge killer in the entire meta thanks to basically nothing being able to outspeed it in its permanent Trick Room. It's also super powerful, being able to 2HKO Blissey unboosted with Psyshock, which is impressive. However, given how oppressive Time Warp can be, Beheeyem only clocks in a B+ for now because its perma-Trick Room is actually still susceptible to Housekeeping and other methods of room removal, which basically always forces it out against two of the meta's best Pokemon. Also, while Blissey can only remove its Trick Room and not much back, co-Tier Queen Jirachi is an extremely good check to it since Beheeyem only has the weak Hidden Power Fire to damage it. Plus, thanks to Beheeyem's extreme 4 moveslot syndrome, with it wanting to fit Psyshock, HP Fire, HP Ground, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, Teleport, AND Nasty Plot on one set, a lot of options to check it are opened up depending on its coverage, like Heatran, Dark-types (particularly Tyranitar), Chansey, Mega Scizor, and more. Also, it's very weak to priority since it isn't the bulkiest thing in the world.
Room Tour Results!
We had 4 entrants in a Double Round Robin format, meaning that you play each of the other entrants twice
SylveMons OU
1st: Yoshiblaze 4-2
2nd: AquaticPanic 3-3
2nd: Ema Skye 3-3
4th: ViZar 2-4
Usage Stats
A few takeaways from the tourney:
- Weather (and Tornadus) were super common, though that's probably a byproduct of weather team being super easy to jump into a metagame with
- Volcanion hits like a truck, jesus christ
- Galade hits like a truck, jesus christ
- Mega Swampert in Rain hits like a truck, but we honestly already knew that
- Stall almost worked but I still wouldn't recommend using it
- Blissey and Jirachi being super good remains as true as the sky being blue
- I really gotta remember to update all the sample teams after we ban or nerf stuff
A huge thank you to those who played in the tournament, I hope you had, because I had a ton of fun actually!
From here, we'll either unveil that big surprise we have in the works or have another roomtour day, so stay tuned for that!
We had 4 entrants in a Double Round Robin format, meaning that you play each of the other entrants twice
SylveMons OU
1st: Yoshiblaze 4-2
2nd: AquaticPanic 3-3
2nd: Ema Skye 3-3
4th: ViZar 2-4
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-276
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-275 (this was the best battle of the tournament)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-273 (watch this one at you're own risk)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-265
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-268
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-271
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-266
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-267
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-269
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-274
The last replays weren't shared publicly, so I had them sent to me, downloading, and recorded them and them on YouTube cuz I have 0 idea how to attachment links from Discord to work
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-275 (this was the best battle of the tournament)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-273 (watch this one at you're own risk)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-265
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-268
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-271
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-266
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-267
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-269
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-274
The last replays weren't shared publicly, so I had them sent to me, downloading, and recorded them and them on YouTube cuz I have 0 idea how to attachment links from Discord to work
Usage Stats
A few takeaways from the tourney:
- Weather (and Tornadus) were super common, though that's probably a byproduct of weather team being super easy to jump into a metagame with
- Volcanion hits like a truck, jesus christ
- Galade hits like a truck, jesus christ
- Mega Swampert in Rain hits like a truck, but we honestly already knew that
- Stall almost worked but I still wouldn't recommend using it
- Blissey and Jirachi being super good remains as true as the sky being blue
- I really gotta remember to update all the sample teams after we ban or nerf stuff
A huge thank you to those who played in the tournament, I hope you had, because I had a ton of fun actually!
From here, we'll either unveil that big surprise we have in the works or have another roomtour day, so stay tuned for that!
Last edited:
Another little update!
We've decided that we want one more look at the meta before moving on to our big surprise, so we're planning to have another day of roomtours next week, most likely on Sunday, February 28th (since we're more than likely getting Pokémon news on the 27th). We're hoping to have another OU tournament as well as a UU tournament, so be prepared for that!
But if you're saying to yourself, "UU? I don't have a team for that, I didn't even know SylveMons had a UU Tier!" then you're in luck because, if you haven't already seen, a new type of resource has been added to the SylveMons Resources thread: Articles! Basically anything written to be informative that isn't an analysis falls under the category of articles, which can include suspect test coverage, tournament recaps, guides, and more. And, like analyses, anyone can write them, they just need approval and a QC from me first.
We already have a couple articles up, including two new ones written by me:
Uncut Gems - A quick dive into some underused by very very good Pokemon in SylveMons OU that you shouldn't hesitate to use, even if they aren't very flashy
An Introduction to SylveMons's Other Tiers: Part 1 - UU - Everything you need to know in order to get into UU (which will be very useful for entering the roomtour next week), from the biggest threats, common archetypes, and sample teams!
That's all but, especially next week, stay tuned for more!
We've decided that we want one more look at the meta before moving on to our big surprise, so we're planning to have another day of roomtours next week, most likely on Sunday, February 28th (since we're more than likely getting Pokémon news on the 27th). We're hoping to have another OU tournament as well as a UU tournament, so be prepared for that!
But if you're saying to yourself, "UU? I don't have a team for that, I didn't even know SylveMons had a UU Tier!" then you're in luck because, if you haven't already seen, a new type of resource has been added to the SylveMons Resources thread: Articles! Basically anything written to be informative that isn't an analysis falls under the category of articles, which can include suspect test coverage, tournament recaps, guides, and more. And, like analyses, anyone can write them, they just need approval and a QC from me first.
We already have a couple articles up, including two new ones written by me:
Uncut Gems - A quick dive into some underused by very very good Pokemon in SylveMons OU that you shouldn't hesitate to use, even if they aren't very flashy
An Introduction to SylveMons's Other Tiers: Part 1 - UU - Everything you need to know in order to get into UU (which will be very useful for entering the roomtour next week), from the biggest threats, common archetypes, and sample teams!
That's all but, especially next week, stay tuned for more!
Small Update!
Roomtours Tomorrow!
As you know, we'll be having SylveMons Roomtours for OU and hopefully UU as well tomorrow and we'll be starting around 3 PM EST (about 20 hours from now), so be prepared!
There are plenty of resources for OU in the SylveMons Resources thread and there's a good few for UU like the Role Compendium, Sample Teams, and the Introduction to UU article, but if you need even more resources to help you build for UU, then look no further than this preliminary viability list! It's very long, but it should still give you an idea of what's good and what's not as good. This will also be posted in the Resources thread.
Oh and the top two tiers have sample sets as well
SylveMons Has a New Format!
That's right there's a new way to play SylveMons!
But you may be saying to yourself, "What? Another metagame I have to teambuild for, learn all of the biggest threats, look at resources for, and everything? That's such a drag..." and those fears are pretty justified to have.
That is until you learn that this new format is SylveMons Random Battles! Thanks to inkbug, after the next server update, you'll be able to jump right into a SylveMons battle at the press of a button, no teambuilding required! Perfect for new players to get a glimpse at the wild world of SylveMons and for anyone looking to have a little randbats fun!
Once the format is live, I really hope you try it out as this is one of the most exciting things we've had to date!
Also, while playing, if you run into any bugs, then be sure to let me know on Discord or Showdown or in the #bug-reports channel in the Pet Mods Discord
A Very Tiny Buff
Lastly, we gave a single mon a very tiny buff for the purpose of consistency:
+Metal Sound (loses Flash Cannon) - The Rotom forms all get moves that match their new secondary typings, so when Rotom-Fan was originally made an Electric/Steel-type, we gave it Flash Cannon to keep this fact true. However, sometime after, the move Metal Sound was buffed to be a Steel-type Fire Blast. Very recently, we realized that Metal Sound would fit a Rotom form more than Flash Cannon since the move is fairly similar to Blizzard and Hydro Pump, so we decided to make the switch.
Roomtours Tomorrow!
As you know, we'll be having SylveMons Roomtours for OU and hopefully UU as well tomorrow and we'll be starting around 3 PM EST (about 20 hours from now), so be prepared!
There are plenty of resources for OU in the SylveMons Resources thread and there's a good few for UU like the Role Compendium, Sample Teams, and the Introduction to UU article, but if you need even more resources to help you build for UU, then look no further than this preliminary viability list! It's very long, but it should still give you an idea of what's good and what's not as good. This will also be posted in the Resources thread.
Oh and the top two tiers have sample sets as well
UU Viability List
(alphabetical order within tiers)
High
Mega Steelix
Amoonguss
Archeops
Beheeyem
Boltund
Clefable
Empoleon
Floatzel
Mega Houndoom
Jolteon
Latias
Leafeon
Lycanroc
Mandibuzz
Mega Manectric
Mienshao
Milotic
Moltres
Morpeko
Rotom-Wash
Scizor
Mega Sharpedo
Slowking-Galar
Mega Venusaur
Weavile
High-Mid
Articuno-Galar
Azelf
Barraskewda
Mega Beedrill
Buzzwole
Celebi
Celesteela
Chandelure
Cinccino
Cobalion
Cofagrigus
Cresselia
Cryogonal
Darmanitan
Mega Diancie
Durant
Escavalier
Forretress
Mega Gardevoir
Gigalith
Golisopod
Gyarados
Mega Gyarados
Hatterene
Haxorus
Heracross
Hippowdon
Huntail
Kingdra
Krookodile
Mamoswine
Meloetta
Mismagius
Moltres-Galar
Oricorio-Pom-Pom
Mega Pidgeot
Porygon2
Porygon-Z
Primarina
Registeel
Roserade
Rotom-Fan
Rotom-Heat
Mega Sableye
Salamence
Sandslash-Alola
Seismitoad
Sirfetch'd
Skarmory
Slowking
Starmie
Suicune
Sylveon
Togekiss
Unfezant
Vaporeon
Zapdos-Galar
Low-Mid
Mega Absol
Alomomola
Mega Altaria
Blastoise
Bisharp
Braviary
Chesnaught
Cloyster
Conkeldurr
Crawdaunt
Diggersby
Donphan
Glastrier
Gorebyss
Grimmsnarl
Incineroar
Mantine
Mr. Mime-Galar
Muk-Alola
Nidoking
Ninetales-Alola
Pelipper
Rhyperior
Ribombee(-Totem)
Rillaboom
Rotom-Mow
Sceptile
Mega Sceptile
Shaymin
Slowbro-Galar
Toxtricity
Uxie
Zebstrika
Low
Ambipom
Mega Ampharos
Arctovish
Arctozolt
Mega Audino
Mega Banette
Breloom
Mega Camerupt
Delphox
Drakloak
Eldegoss
Exeggutor
Exploud
Ferroseed
Floette-Eternal
Gligar
Gourgeist-Small
Mega Heracross
Hitmontop
Indeedee-Male
Inteleon
Lanturn
Maractus
Mimikyu
Nidoqueen
Mega Pinsir
Plusle
Raikou
Regidrago
Regirock
Reuniclus
Salazzle
Shuckle
Silvally-Steel
Silvally-Fairy
Spiritomb
Steelix
Tsareena
Typhlosion
Umbreon
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike
Victreebel
Vikavolt(-Totem)
Weezing-Galar
(alphabetical order within tiers)
High
Mega SteelixAmoongussArcheopsBeheeyemBoltundClefableEmpoleonFloatzelMega HoundoomJolteonLatiasLeafeonLycanrocMandibuzzMega ManectricMienshaoMiloticMoltresMorpekoRotom-WashScizorMega SharpedoSlowking-GalarMega VenusaurWeavileHigh-Mid
Articuno-GalarAzelfBarraskewdaMega BeedrillBuzzwoleCelebiCelesteelaChandelureCinccinoCobalionCofagrigusCresseliaCryogonalDarmanitanMega DiancieDurantEscavalierForretressMega GardevoirGigalithGolisopodGyaradosMega GyaradosHattereneHaxorusHeracrossHippowdonHuntailKingdraKrookodileMamoswineMeloettaMismagiusMoltres-GalarOricorio-Pom-PomMega PidgeotPorygon2Porygon-ZPrimarinaRegisteelRoseradeRotom-FanRotom-HeatMega SableyeSalamenceSandslash-AlolaSeismitoadSirfetch'dSkarmorySlowkingStarmieSuicuneSylveonTogekissUnfezantVaporeonZapdos-GalarLow-Mid
Mega AbsolAlomomolaMega AltariaBlastoiseBisharpBraviaryChesnaughtCloysterConkeldurrCrawdauntDiggersbyDonphanGlastrierGorebyssGrimmsnarlIncineroarMantineMr. Mime-GalarMuk-AlolaNidokingNinetales-AlolaPelipperRhyperiorRibombee(-Totem)RillaboomRotom-MowSceptileMega SceptileShayminSlowbro-GalarToxtricityUxieZebstrikaLow
AmbipomMega AmpharosArctovishArctozoltMega AudinoMega BanetteBreloomMega CameruptDelphoxDrakloakEldegossExeggutorExploudFerroseedFloette-EternalGligarGourgeist-SmallMega HeracrossHitmontopIndeedee-MaleInteleonLanturnMaractusMimikyuNidoqueenMega PinsirPlusleRaikouRegidragoRegirockReuniclusSalazzleShuckleSilvally-SteelSilvally-FairySpiritombSteelixTsareenaTyphlosionUmbreonUrshifu-Rapid-StrikeVictreebelVikavolt(-Totem)Weezing-GalarSylveMons Has a New Format!
That's right there's a new way to play SylveMons!
But you may be saying to yourself, "What? Another metagame I have to teambuild for, learn all of the biggest threats, look at resources for, and everything? That's such a drag..." and those fears are pretty justified to have.
That is until you learn that this new format is SylveMons Random Battles! Thanks to inkbug, after the next server update, you'll be able to jump right into a SylveMons battle at the press of a button, no teambuilding required! Perfect for new players to get a glimpse at the wild world of SylveMons and for anyone looking to have a little randbats fun!
Once the format is live, I really hope you try it out as this is one of the most exciting things we've had to date!
Also, while playing, if you run into any bugs, then be sure to let me know on Discord or Showdown or in the #bug-reports channel in the Pet Mods Discord
A Very Tiny Buff
Lastly, we gave a single mon a very tiny buff for the purpose of consistency:
+Metal Sound (loses Flash Cannon) - The Rotom forms all get moves that match their new secondary typings, so when Rotom-Fan was originally made an Electric/Steel-type, we gave it Flash Cannon to keep this fact true. However, sometime after, the move Metal Sound was buffed to be a Steel-type Fire Blast. Very recently, we realized that Metal Sound would fit a Rotom form more than Flash Cannon since the move is fairly similar to Blizzard and Hydro Pump, so we decided to make the switch.
Room Tour Results!
We had 2 great tournaments, one for OU and one for UU, with the results below:
Tour #1 - SylveMons OU (Round Robin)
1st: Yoshiblaze - 5-0
2nd: Petuuuhhh - 3-2
2nd: ViZar - 3-2
4th: AquaticPanic - 2-3
4th: Gravity Monkey - 2-3
6th: Ema Skye - 0-5 (DQ)
Tour 2 - SylveMons UU (Double Round Robin)
1st: Yoshiblaze - 4-0
2nd: AquaticPanic - 1-3
2nd: ViZar - 1-3
Usage stats will be out in a bit, hopefully by tomorrow
Huge shoutouts to everyone who participated in either tournament and also to Petuuuhhh for helping us host it!
With this, we'll announce our big surprise tomorrow, so stay tuned for that!
We had 2 great tournaments, one for OU and one for UU, with the results below:
Tour #1 - SylveMons OU (Round Robin)
1st: Yoshiblaze - 5-0
2nd: Petuuuhhh - 3-2
2nd: ViZar - 3-2
4th: AquaticPanic - 2-3
4th: Gravity Monkey - 2-3
6th: Ema Skye - 0-5 (DQ)
I'm not 100% sure if this is all of them, but these are all the ones I could find
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-270
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-268
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-273
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-277
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-272
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-274
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-271
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-269
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-267
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-266
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-276
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-275
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-270
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-268
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-273
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-277
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-272
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-274
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-271
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-269
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-267
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-266
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-276
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-275
Tour 2 - SylveMons UU (Double Round Robin)
1st: Yoshiblaze - 4-0
2nd: AquaticPanic - 1-3
2nd: ViZar - 1-3
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-286
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-283
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-282
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-285
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-279
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-284
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-283
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-282
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-285
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-279
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemons-284
Usage stats will be out in a bit, hopefully by tomorrow
Huge shoutouts to everyone who participated in either tournament and also to Petuuuhhh for helping us host it!
With this, we'll announce our big surprise tomorrow, so stay tuned for that!
Big Update!
3 days in a row with stuff, but this time it's gonna be real big, I promise
Tournament Usage Stats
For those who missed the tournament and doesn't want to watch 18 replays, here are the usage stats for the OU and UU roomtours from yesterday, as well as some of my commentary on the trends we saw.
My Takeaways:
OU -
- A little skewed by people repeating teams, but Rain is by far the most common archetype, which shows it's both easy to use and insanely powerful
- Despite being by far the most common archetype, Rain teams (signified by Mega Pert's win rate) only had a win rate of 44.4%, which is just meh
- Zeraora had both high usage and a super high winrate
- Zapdos surprisingly got a ton of usage also
- Both Zapdos and Zeraora as well as Slowbro went from having 1 use in the first tour to a lot more in the second (7, 5, and 4, respectively)
- Jirachi got the most usage again, thought a less than last time in the same number of battles (16 -> 13)
- Lanturn had 4 uses and those were on 2 different teams by two different people and I'm confused
- Blissey's winrate doubled between tournaments, from 25% to 57%
- TapuFiniBestTapuWooooooo
- Good Pokémon that went unused: Mega Aerodactyl, Tornadus-Therian, Magearna, Toxapex, Kartana, Garchomp, Victini, Tapu Koko, Dragapult
UU -
- Due to the same team being used 3 times, the top 6 most used mons are all RU lmao (shoutouts to AquaticPanic)
- Nothing else was used more than twice
- Darmanitan proved it deserves to be UU. This'll shake up RU a little bit since Darmanitan is one of RUs best mons, but Arcanine and Entei should fill the void nicely
- Rain didn't do nearly as well as it did in OU, with only one use and not winning
- Both Moltreses did great, with a collective 3-1 record
- This mostly due to the first takeaway, but Oricorio-Sensu, an Oricorio form in RU, got more usage than Pom-Pom, the Oricorio form in UU, but Pom-Pom is only Oricorio to get usage in OU roomtours, being used in the first one
- Good Pokémon that went unused: Jolteon, Weavile, Mega Sharpedo, Latias, Mienshao, Scizor, Morpeko, Rotom-Wash, Rotom-Heat, Boltund, Archeops, Amoonguss
General -
- 56 different mons were used in the OU tour while in the first OU roomtour 62 different mons were used. In UU, which had half the battles, 51 different mons were used.
- Pokémon used in both the OU and UU tourneys: Moltres (3-0), Nidoqueen (2-0, also is RU), Leafeon (2-1), Kingdra (2-3), Cinccino (1-1), Cresselia (0-2)
Takeaways -
- Jirachi has way more usage than anything else, nearly tripling second place
- Rain is very common and has exactly a 50% win rate across both tourneys
- Mega Pokemon as a whole actually aren't very common, with the only very common ones being Swampert and Gallade
- Across both OU tournaments (24 battles), 86 different Pokémon have been used
- The most common Pokémon with a 100% win rate is a tie between Moltres and Infernape (3-0). The most common winless Pokémon also has 3 uses, being Mega Houndoom (0-3)
- The most common Pokémon not in OU or UUBL is Weavile, with 5 uses (1-4; all but one came from the first tournament)
- Good Pokémon not used in either OU Tourney: Mega Aerodactyl, Tornadus-Therian, Tapu Koko, Ditto, Gengar
VR and Tiering Updates
Thanks to the information gained from the roomtours, we can make some appropriate VR changes and even a tiering change to reflect what we've learned
OU VR Changes:
Tornadus-Therian - A+ -> A - Very good but, for once, a bit outclassed by its Incarnate form
Tornadus - A -> A+ - Weather is kinda the best thing going in SylveMons and this thing is the best setter on the 3 best weathers
Zeraora - A -> A+ - Ridiculous speed tier + ridiculous power with good coverage = very good mon
Hawlucha - A- -> A - Weather Warrior's Crystal + Unburden with SD gives it ridiculous sweeping potential and weather is trending upwards
Stakataka - A- -> B+ - The nerfs have really gotten to it, making Trick Room hardly effective in the current meta
Zapdos - B+ -> A - Extremely splashable mon as either Rain setter, abuser, or Wall
Moltres - C -> B - Why was this thing languishing down in C again? Very versatile, can be either a budget Zard-Y or a great wall
Kingdra - D -> C - Despite Blissey existing, this thing on Rain is much more than just a gimmick
Typhlosion - D -> UR -Why did I keep this ranked after we nerfed Blaze? If you want a special Sun nuke, use Zard-Y or Moltres
Tiering Changes
Darmanitan - RU -> UU - Yeah, it didn't really make sense that one of the best Fire-types and physical wallbreakers in UU was an RU mon...
Swampert - RU (by technicality) -> UU - Regular Swampert actually had no mention of a tier placement, so I just shadow dropped it into UU since it seems too good for RU but not good enough for OU
---
So, where do we go from here? We taken 2 whole months to learn about the meta, see what worked, see what was busted, ecetera.
While I think OU is in an okay spot, there's a LOT of kinks to work out to tone down the most broken of the broken.
So, I think it's as good a time as any for a Balance Slate
That's right, after way too long, slates are back in SylveMons! Well, sort of. SylveMons is jampacked with literally everything, so this slate is gonna be a lot different from the past slates in order to minimize any crazy new additions, which SylveMons absolutely does not need.
Below are a list of targets. These are Pokémon, Moves, Abilities, and Items that the council deems problematic in the current meta, split into two categories: high priority and low priority. The high priority ones are things we would really really like to see nerfed because we think that they are problems that absolutely need to be dealt with, while low priority are things that could be deemed broken but aren't really that much a concern right now.
With the targets above, you may change a move, ability, item, or the Pokémon itself in order to make you target more balanced. This can be done as many times as you want for each target and you can do this for as many targets as you want, and there's a lot you can do with this. Nerf moves, nerf abilities, replace abilities, create a whole new ability, etc. I've put an example below of what you can do. You can submit changes pertaining to any of the above targets or anything you deem broken in the current OU meta, though you should provide reasoning for why you're nerfing it.
Target: Pikachu
Type of Change (Move, Item, Ability, Pokémon): Move
Change: Volt Tackle - 120 BP -> 90 BP
Reasoning: Explain in a couple sentences why the change you made makes the target in question more balanced
This slate will be open for a good awhile to encourage everyone to try out the current meta before thinking of what to nerf about everything
If you have any questions about the slate, then please let myself or AquaticPanic know on either the SylveMons Discord or the Pet Mods Discord
I hope you enjoy getting to submit stuff for SylveMons again, even if it's a bit more limited than usual!
3 days in a row with stuff, but this time it's gonna be real big, I promise
Tournament Usage Stats
For those who missed the tournament and doesn't want to watch 18 replays, here are the usage stats for the OU and UU roomtours from yesterday, as well as some of my commentary on the trends we saw.
Top 10 in OU
Top 10 in UU
Full Stats Here
| Usage Rank | Pokémon | Usage | Usage Percent | Wins | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jirachi | 13 | 54.17% | 7 | 53.85% |
| 2 |  Swampert-Mega | 9 | 37.50% | 4 | 44.44% |
| 3 | Zapdos | 7 | 29.17% | 3 | 42.86% |
| 3 |  Blissey | 7 | 29.17% | 4 | 57.14% |
| 5 | Zeraora | 5 | 20.83% | 4 | 80.00% |
| 5 | Meloetta-Pirouette | 5 | 20.83% | 3 | 60.00% |
| 5 |  Serperior | 5 | 20.83% | 3 | 60.00% |
| 5 | Tornadus | 5 | 20.83% | 3 | 60.00% |
| 5 |  Ferrothorn | 5 | 20.83% | 3 | 60.00% |
| 10 |  Slowbro | 4 | 16.67% | 2 | 50.00% |
| 10 |  Tapu Fini | 4 | 16.67% | 2 | 50.00% |
| 10 | Kingdra | 4 | 16.67% | 2 | 50.00% |
| 10 | Hawlucha | 4 | 16.67% | 2 | 50.00% |
| 10 | Lanturn(???) | 4 | 16.67% | 1 | 25.00% |
| 10 | Pelipper(???) | 4 | 16.67% | 1 | 25.00% |
| 10 |  Parasect | 4 | 16.67% | 1 | 25.00% |
| 10 |  Corviknight | 4 | 16.67% | 1 | 25.00% |
Top 10 in UU
| Usage Rank | Pokémon | Usage | Usage Percent | Wins | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darmanitan | 4 | 33.33% | 2 | 50.00% |
| 2 |  Komala | 3 | 25.00% | 1 | 33.33% |
| 2 | Mantine | 3 | 25.00% | 1 | 33.33% |
| 2 |  Oricorio-Sensu | 3 | 25.00% | 1 | 33.33% |
| 2 | Salazzle-Totem | 3 | 25.00% | 1 | 33.33% |
| 2 |  Meganium | 3 | 25.00% | 1 | 33.33% |
| 7 | Leafeon | 2 | 16.67% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 7 | Vaporeon | 2 | 16.67% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 7 | Moltres | 2 | 16.67% | 2 | 100.00% |
| 7 | Moltres-Galar | 2 | 16.67% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 7 | Starmie | 2 | 16.67% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 7 | Venusaur-Mega | 2 | 16.67% | 2 | 100.00% |
| 7 | Beheeyem | 2 | 16.67% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 7 | Rotom-Fan | 2 | 16.67% | 1 | 50.00% |
Full Stats Here
OU -
- A little skewed by people repeating teams, but Rain is by far the most common archetype, which shows it's both easy to use and insanely powerful
- Despite being by far the most common archetype, Rain teams (signified by Mega Pert's win rate) only had a win rate of 44.4%, which is just meh
- Zeraora had both high usage and a super high winrate
- Zapdos surprisingly got a ton of usage also
- Both Zapdos and Zeraora as well as Slowbro went from having 1 use in the first tour to a lot more in the second (7, 5, and 4, respectively)
- Jirachi got the most usage again, thought a less than last time in the same number of battles (16 -> 13)
- Lanturn had 4 uses and those were on 2 different teams by two different people and I'm confused
- Blissey's winrate doubled between tournaments, from 25% to 57%
- TapuFiniBestTapuWooooooo
- Good Pokémon that went unused: Mega Aerodactyl, Tornadus-Therian, Magearna, Toxapex, Kartana, Garchomp, Victini, Tapu Koko, Dragapult
UU -
- Due to the same team being used 3 times, the top 6 most used mons are all RU lmao (shoutouts to AquaticPanic)
- Nothing else was used more than twice
- Darmanitan proved it deserves to be UU. This'll shake up RU a little bit since Darmanitan is one of RUs best mons, but Arcanine and Entei should fill the void nicely
- Rain didn't do nearly as well as it did in OU, with only one use and not winning
- Both Moltreses did great, with a collective 3-1 record
- This mostly due to the first takeaway, but Oricorio-Sensu, an Oricorio form in RU, got more usage than Pom-Pom, the Oricorio form in UU, but Pom-Pom is only Oricorio to get usage in OU roomtours, being used in the first one
- Good Pokémon that went unused: Jolteon, Weavile, Mega Sharpedo, Latias, Mienshao, Scizor, Morpeko, Rotom-Wash, Rotom-Heat, Boltund, Archeops, Amoonguss
General -
- 56 different mons were used in the OU tour while in the first OU roomtour 62 different mons were used. In UU, which had half the battles, 51 different mons were used.
- Pokémon used in both the OU and UU tourneys: Moltres (3-0), Nidoqueen (2-0, also is RU), Leafeon (2-1), Kingdra (2-3), Cinccino (1-1), Cresselia (0-2)
| Usage Rank | Pokémon | Usage | Usage Percent | Wins | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jirachi | 29 | 60.42% | 17 | 58.62% |
| 2 | Tornadus | 12 | 25.00% | 7 | 58.33% |
| 2 | Mega Swampert | 12 | 25.00% | 6 | 50.00% |
| 4 | Blissey | 11 | 22.92% | 5 | 45.45% |
| 5 | Serperior | 9 | 18.75% | 6 | 66.67% |
| 6 | Hawlucha | 8 | 16.67% | 5 | 62.50% |
| 6 | Ferrothorn | 8 | 16.67% | 5 | 62.50% |
| 6 | Zapdos | 8 | 16.67% | 4 | 50.00% |
| 9 | Meloetta-Pirouette | 7 | 14.58% | 4 | 57.14% |
| 10 |  Mega Gallade | 6 | 12.50% | 4 | 66.67% |
| 10 | Zeraora | 6 | 12.50% | 4 | 66.67% |
| 10 | Parasect | 6 | 12.50% | 3 | 50.00% |
| 13 |  Articuno | 5 | 10.42% | 4 | 80.00% |
| 13 |  Volcarona | 5 | 10.42% | 3 | 60.00% |
| 13 |  Cinderace | 5 | 10.42% | 3 | 60.00% |
| 13 |  Keldeo | 5 | 10.42% | 2 | 40.00% |
| 13 | Slowbro | 5 | 10.42% | 2 | 40.00% |
| 13 | Weavile | 5 | 10.42% | 1 | 20.00% |
| 19 |  Manaphy | 4 | 8.33% | 3 | 75.00% |
| 19 |  Torkoal | 4 | 8.33% | 2 | 50.00% |
| 19 |  Volcanion | 4 | 8.33% | 2 | 50.00% |
| 19 | Tapu Fini | 4 | 8.33% | 2 | 50.00% |
| 19 | Kingdra | 4 | 8.33% | 2 | 50.00% |
| 19 |  Kommo-o | 4 | 8.33% | 1 | 25.00% |
| 19 | Lanturn(???) | 4 | 8.33% | 1 | 25.00% |
| 19 | Pelipper(???) | 4 | 8.33% | 1 | 25.00% |
| 19 | Corviknight | 4 | 8.33% | 1 | 25.00% |
| 28 |  Infernape | 3 | 6.25% | 3 | 100.00% |
| 28 | Moltres | 3 | 6.25% | 3 | 100.00% |
| 28 |  Heatran | 3 | 6.25% | 2 | 66.67% |
| 28 |  Garchomp | 3 | 6.25% | 1 | 33.33% |
| 28 |  Goodra | 3 | 6.25% | 1 | 33.33% |
| 28 | Oricorio-Pom-Pom | 3 | 6.25% | 1 | 33.33% |
| 28 |  Mega Lopunny | 3 | 6.25% | 1 | 33.33% |
| 28 |  Emolga | 3 | 6.25% | 1 | 33.33% |
| 28 |  Hydreigon | 3 | 6.25% | 1 | 33.33% |
| 28 | Mega Houndoom | 3 | 6.25% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 38 | Milotic | 2 | 4.17% | 2 | 100.00% |
| 38 |  Palossand | 2 | 4.17% | 2 | 100.00% |
| 38 |  Hoopa-Unbound | 2 | 4.17% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 38 | Mandibuzz | 2 | 4.17% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 38 | Mega Steelix | 2 | 4.17% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 38 |  Deoxys-Defense | 2 | 4.17% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 38 |  Mega Scizor | 2 | 4.17% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 38 |  Chansey | 2 | 4.17% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 38 |  Mega Tyranitar | 2 | 4.17% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 38 | Nidoking | 2 | 4.17% | 1 | 50.00% |
| 38 |  Dragapult | 2 | 4.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 38 |  Espeon | 2 | 4.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 38 | Mega Sableye | 2 | 4.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 38 |  Toxapex | 2 | 4.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 38 | Crawdaunt | 2 | 4.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 38 | Cresselia | 2 | 4.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 38 |  Mega Mawile | 2 | 4.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 38 | Stakataka | 2 | 4.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 38 |  Magnezone | 2 | 4.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 | Beheeyem | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 |  Excadrill | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 |  Kartana | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 |  Magearna | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 | Mega Latios | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 |  Slaking | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 |  Victini | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 |  Nihilego | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 |  Mega Blaziken | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 | Swampert | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 | Mr. Mime-Galar | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 |  Landorus-Therian | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 | Nidoqueen | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 | Leafeon | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 |  Mega Charizard X | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 | Vaporeon | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 |  Raichu | 1 | 2.08% | 1 | 100.00% |
| 57 | Articuno-Galar | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 | Clefable | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 |  Lycanroc-Dusk | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 | Morpeko | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 |  Rapidash | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 | Registeel | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 | Ribombee-Totem | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 |  Tangrowth | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 | Victreebel | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 | Celesteela | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 | Cinccino | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 | Rotom-Wash | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 57 | Rhyperior | 1 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
- Jirachi has way more usage than anything else, nearly tripling second place
- Rain is very common and has exactly a 50% win rate across both tourneys
- Mega Pokemon as a whole actually aren't very common, with the only very common ones being Swampert and Gallade
- Across both OU tournaments (24 battles), 86 different Pokémon have been used
- The most common Pokémon with a 100% win rate is a tie between Moltres and Infernape (3-0). The most common winless Pokémon also has 3 uses, being Mega Houndoom (0-3)
- The most common Pokémon not in OU or UUBL is Weavile, with 5 uses (1-4; all but one came from the first tournament)
- Good Pokémon not used in either OU Tourney: Mega Aerodactyl, Tornadus-Therian, Tapu Koko, Ditto, Gengar
VR and Tiering Updates
Thanks to the information gained from the roomtours, we can make some appropriate VR changes and even a tiering change to reflect what we've learned
OU VR Changes:
Tornadus-Therian - A+ -> A - Very good but, for once, a bit outclassed by its Incarnate formTornadus - A -> A+ - Weather is kinda the best thing going in SylveMons and this thing is the best setter on the 3 best weathersZeraora - A -> A+ - Ridiculous speed tier + ridiculous power with good coverage = very good monHawlucha - A- -> A - Weather Warrior's Crystal + Unburden with SD gives it ridiculous sweeping potential and weather is trending upwardsStakataka - A- -> B+ - The nerfs have really gotten to it, making Trick Room hardly effective in the current metaZapdos - B+ -> A - Extremely splashable mon as either Rain setter, abuser, or WallMoltres - C -> B - Why was this thing languishing down in C again? Very versatile, can be either a budget Zard-Y or a great wallKingdra - D -> C - Despite Blissey existing, this thing on Rain is much more than just a gimmickTyphlosion - D -> UR -Why did I keep this ranked after we nerfed Blaze? If you want a special Sun nuke, use Zard-Y or MoltresTiering Changes
Darmanitan - RU -> UU - Yeah, it didn't really make sense that one of the best Fire-types and physical wallbreakers in UU was an RU mon...Swampert - RU (by technicality) -> UU - Regular Swampert actually had no mention of a tier placement, so I just shadow dropped it into UU since it seems too good for RU but not good enough for OU---
So, where do we go from here? We taken 2 whole months to learn about the meta, see what worked, see what was busted, ecetera.
While I think OU is in an okay spot, there's a LOT of kinks to work out to tone down the most broken of the broken.
So, I think it's as good a time as any for a Balance Slate
That's right, after way too long, slates are back in SylveMons! Well, sort of. SylveMons is jampacked with literally everything, so this slate is gonna be a lot different from the past slates in order to minimize any crazy new additions, which SylveMons absolutely does not need.
Below are a list of targets. These are Pokémon, Moves, Abilities, and Items that the council deems problematic in the current meta, split into two categories: high priority and low priority. The high priority ones are things we would really really like to see nerfed because we think that they are problems that absolutely need to be dealt with, while low priority are things that could be deemed broken but aren't really that much a concern right now.
High Priority
Low Priority
| High Priority Target | Reasoning |
|---|---|
 Meloetta-Pirouette | Melo-P has absolutely insane damage output due to the combination of Technician and the buffed Double Hit and Double Kick, giving its STAB moves a crazy 150 BP before STAB, and before the Relic Charm boost for Double Kick. Thus, hardly anything can switch into it as Melo can 2HKO nearly the entire tier, with checks few and far between. Plus, its massive Speed tier means that it's very hard to revenge kill, especially when it can just pivot out with U-Turn to avoid an incoming Agony Boots user or Scarfer. And, to top it all off, it has Techinican-boosted Knock Off to murder Ghosts and remove items from its checks. |
 Hawlucha | Hawlucha is a staple on rising weather teams due to the item Weather Warrior's Crystal that allows it to activate Unburden on switch-in, much like it can in terrain with seeds, and net an Attack boost to boot. This free Attack and Speed boost + access to Swords Dance and an amazing STAB combo of Close Combat and Acrobatics, plus access to Ice Punch and Taunt to annoy its few checks, make Hawlucha one of the easiest Pokémon to sweep any team with, making its presence very unhealthy. |
 Cinderace | Cinderace has Libero, giving it STAB on every move which is an effective Choice Band boost to go along with Cinderace's already pretty good 116 Attack, access to Thunder Punch to push past most of its checks, Sucker Punch to pick off the few things faster than it, and access to Hot Tag, a nerf target itself, which makes its pivoting extremely safe and gives Cinderace a ton of utility. Also, Housekeeping being omnipresent means that Cinderace can forgo Heavy-Duty Boots in favor of a Life Orb or Z-Crystal, making it even harder to check. |
  Forecast/Drizzle/Mega Swampert | Rain has emerged as the most common archetype in the tier and arguably the best as well due to its ease of use and extreme effectiveness. While being easy to use is fine, Rain is also pretty oppressive, as the threats on a Rain team are able to put insane amounts of offensive pressure on opposing teams and often times just sweep outright. Hawlucha was explained earlier, and then there's Mega Swampert, who's Rain-boosted Aquatic Assault is nigh unwallable and can pivot with Flip Turn. If I had to pinpoint any one problematic aspect of Rain, I would say it's Mega Swampert, though Tornadus's amazing STAB combo of Weather Ball and Hurricane in conjunction with Nasty Plot and high Special Attack is also pretty insane. |
  Hot Tag | Hot Tag is a newly coded move in SylveMons, but how broken it is quickly become apparent. A pivoting move that gives the switch-in a free stat boost is a pretty easy easy recipe for being unhealthy, just ask Baton Pass, so as you can imagine, even with just +1 to each offensive stat, it still puts way too much pressure on the opposing team. Plus, 2 extremely good Pokemon in Raichu and Cinderace get it, making already amazing mons even more oppressive. |
 Ion Absorb | Ion Absorb isn't exactly broken right now, but it's probably the definition of unhealthy. Sure, it takes a turn to set up and the chain can be broken by Protect, a move that tier queen Jirachi commonly runs, but that doesn't excuse the fact that after a turn you get a 160 BP Electric-type move to spam. |
  Dracovish & Raichu-Alola | These two are currently sitting up in Ubers due to buffs they received in SylveMons, so we're interested in toning them down to allow them to have a healthy presence in OU. Dracovish is Dracovish, Fishious Rend is an insanely oppressive move and 99% of the reason why it got banned, though giving it access to Aqua Jet and a pivoting move certainly didn't help it not go over the edge. Raichu-A was one of the first Pokémon banned in Gen 7 back when SylveMons was first coded due to its access to the stat doubling of the Light Ball + the prevalence of terrains combined with Surge Surfer's buff that activated it in all terrains + access to Ion Absorb and coverage for Ground types, it was pretty obviously broken. Then, this gen decided give it Rising Voltage and Expanding Force, so we obviously haven't even considered dropping it. |
Low Priority
| Low Priority Target | Reasoning |
|---|---|
  The Housekeepers | While not exactly broken, the omnipresence of Blissey and Jirachi due to the amazing ability that is Housekeeping and their own great defensive traits makes them extremely common, which could be seen as overcentralizing, though there's a reason why they're just in the low priority tier. |
 Articuno/Aurora Veil | Articuno was banned last gen for a reason and it was just because Reverse Core Articuno was unkillable. Articuno is insanely bulky in Hail, allowing it to setup Aurora Veil basically for free and even pivot out with U-Turn, plus having access to Roost so it can do it again later. And you all know how Aurora Veil enables hyper offense. However, with Rain being so common, Articuno and Veil Offense have actually taken a bit of a hit in viability as of late, so it lands at low priority here. |
 Zeraora/Wild Charge | Zeraora's insane Speed, high Attack, and great coverage and pivoting ability makes it one of the best cleaners and pivots in the game, so slower teams massively struggle to deal with it. However, a big part of Zeraora's viability comes from Wild Charge, which is a ridiculous move itself at 150 BP and being super common for what it is. |
Torment items | While they were nerfed the last time we took a look at the meta, the Torment items, particularly the Agony Boots, are still a meta-defining force, though they aren't nearly as unhealthy as they were before as long as you pay attention to the battle chat and prepare accordingly, so you can argue that they don't particularly need a nerf. |
 Regice | Regice is the other Pokémon banned to Ubers because of buffs it got in SylveMons (Regigigas doesn't count, the purpose of its buff was to make it Ubers) because it was like Articuno but so, so much worse. It in low priority not because it was less broken than Dracovish and Raichu, it's because it was so much more broken that you have to ask if you even want to bring it back to OU. |
With the targets above, you may change a move, ability, item, or the Pokémon itself in order to make you target more balanced. This can be done as many times as you want for each target and you can do this for as many targets as you want, and there's a lot you can do with this. Nerf moves, nerf abilities, replace abilities, create a whole new ability, etc. I've put an example below of what you can do. You can submit changes pertaining to any of the above targets or anything you deem broken in the current OU meta, though you should provide reasoning for why you're nerfing it.
Target: Pikachu
Type of Change (Move, Item, Ability, Pokémon): Move
Change: Volt Tackle - 120 BP -> 90 BP
Reasoning: Explain in a couple sentences why the change you made makes the target in question more balanced
This slate will be open for a good awhile to encourage everyone to try out the current meta before thinking of what to nerf about everything
If you have any questions about the slate, then please let myself or AquaticPanic know on either the SylveMons Discord or the Pet Mods Discord
I hope you enjoy getting to submit stuff for SylveMons again, even if it's a bit more limited than usual!
Target: Regice
Type of Change: Ability
Change: -Snow Warning, +Filter
Reasoning: Regice is too good at setting up Aurora Veil. This change actually forces it to use a moveslot to set Hail. Filter could be interesting with its ridiculous special bulk.
Target: Articuno
Type of Change: Ability
Change: -Snow Warning, +Ice Body
Reasoning: Aurora Veil is too crazy on a bulky Snow Warning user, especially one with reliable recovery. This change forces it to run Hail or to have something else use Snow Warning, making it vulnerable to having something else switch in and overwrite the weather.
Target: Mega Swampert
Type of Change: Move
Change: -Aquatic Assault
Reasoning: Now it should be a lot more manageable without a 120 BP Rain boosted STAB move, although it'll still be pretty strong.
Target: Alolan Raichu
Type of Change: Move
Change: -Seed Bomb, -Rising Voltage, -Expanding Force
Reasoning: It now has to rely on the weaker Hidden Power to break Ground-types without having the possibility of Leech Seed recovery, along with forcing it to run special/mixed sets. Also getting rid of Rising Voltage and Expanding Force because it has a similar power level to the unnerfed Ion Absorb, which is not okay.
Target: Meloetta-P
Type of Change: Move
Change: -Double Hit, -Double Kick
Reasoning: Removing its powerful new tools should keep it still pretty powerful, but manageable.
Target: Hawlucha
Type of Change: Move
Change: -Swords Dance
Reasoning: It now has a weaker boost with Weather Warrior's Crystal and thus has to choose between a power boost or a cushion vs priority with Terrain Seeds that boost defense.
Target: Cinderace
Type of Change: Pokemon
Change: -Libero, +Sole Caliber, +Fighting type
Reasoning: Now it isn't able to hit everything hard with omni-STAB. Sole Caliber (it has several kicking moves, so it can use this ability and it also makes sense from a flavor standpoint as a bonus) still makes its HJK pretty strong, though. It gets a Fighting type to make up for the lack of said omni-STAB.
Target: Ion Absorb
Change: 140 BP, move completes in one turn under Electric Terrain, PP is changed to 5-8 with a 30%
Reasoning: I don't like the vibes of dealing damage, then being able to spam a move that essentially has a Z-move level BP. Also, if possible, I'd like to request that RIsing Voltage be 80 BP, but only get a 50% power boost in its terrain for consistency with Expanding Force.
Target: Hot Tag
Change: The switch-in now deals 20% more damage with the first move it uses instead of a +1 boost to both offenses.
Reasoning: Now the switch-in gets a one-time boost to a move as opposed to a constant +1 boost (we had problems with one Baton Pass, we don’t need another)
Target: Light Ball, Thick Club, any other signature item that doesn't change the user's form (let me know if this is illegal)
Change: Can be Knocked Off/otherwise removed
Reasoning: Now the Light Ball abusers will have to be careful around item removal sources. Also, I feel like items should only be immune to being removed if they're Z-crystals or an in-battle form change.
Target: Torment items
Change: Boosts their respective stat by x1.2.
Reasoning: Now the items won't be a straight upgrade to Life Orb by not having recoil.
Target: Ring Target
Change: Now a one-time use item, the move deals half damage to type-immune Pokemon
Reasoning: This is really just to keep Electric STAB (the worst offender of Ring Target) from being the most spammable thing in the world, though it does apply to all types with a type immunity.
Target: Ice Skates
Change: x1.5 Speed if the holder switches in and hail is up, x0.67 Speed if hail wears off/is overwritten or any other weather is up.
Reasoning: I kind of like not making hail users have effectively two abilities, plus you can reliably neutralize Hail sweepers that make use of this item if you have an auto-weather ability that isn’t Snow Warning.
Target: Housekeeping
Change: Removes rooms upon switch-in and one layer of hazards at random at the end of every turn from both sides of the field (Housekeeping mons take damage from entry hazards if applicable)
Reasoning: Hazards will now not be instantly invalidated by a Housekeeping mon on the opposing team.
Target: Wild Charge
Change: 150 BP -> 100 BP, 24 PP -> 16 PP, recoil lowered to 33%, the Pichu line and Tapu Koko can learn Wild Charge
Reasoning: Now its power isn't ridiculously strong and it should be strong, but manageable.
Target: Aurora Veil
Change: Damage reduction is lowered from 50% less to 25% less
Reasoning: Aurora Veil enables too many crazy things. With this change, it should be possible to break frail things under Aurora Veil. Also, it reducing damage from both physical and special attacks should be split in half between the two.
Target: Surge Surfer
Change: Does not activate in Psychic Terrain
Reasoning: Doubled speed with priority immunity just sounds pretty busted in and of itself.
Target: Fishious Rend/Bolt Beak
Change: Destroys screens upon use instead of doubling in power if the user moves first (so basically Psychic Fangs clones, but different in terms of typing. Also, Fishious Rend is still a biting move)
Reasoning: This is primarily aimed at nerfing Dracovish so that it still has a strong STAB move, but it can’t be ridiculously strong before other things are taken into account if the user moves first. Bolt Beak gets the same treatment for consistency purposes.
Change: 140 BP, move completes in one turn under Electric Terrain, PP is changed to 5-8 with a 30%
Reasoning: I don't like the vibes of dealing damage, then being able to spam a move that essentially has a Z-move level BP. Also, if possible, I'd like to request that RIsing Voltage be 80 BP, but only get a 50% power boost in its terrain for consistency with Expanding Force.
Target: Hot Tag
Change: The switch-in now deals 20% more damage with the first move it uses instead of a +1 boost to both offenses.
Reasoning: Now the switch-in gets a one-time boost to a move as opposed to a constant +1 boost (we had problems with one Baton Pass, we don’t need another)
Target: Light Ball, Thick Club, any other signature item that doesn't change the user's form (let me know if this is illegal)
Change: Can be Knocked Off/otherwise removed
Reasoning: Now the Light Ball abusers will have to be careful around item removal sources. Also, I feel like items should only be immune to being removed if they're Z-crystals or an in-battle form change.
Target: Torment items
Change: Boosts their respective stat by x1.2.
Reasoning: Now the items won't be a straight upgrade to Life Orb by not having recoil.
Target: Ring Target
Change: Now a one-time use item, the move deals half damage to type-immune Pokemon
Reasoning: This is really just to keep Electric STAB (the worst offender of Ring Target) from being the most spammable thing in the world, though it does apply to all types with a type immunity.
Target: Ice Skates
Change: x1.5 Speed if the holder switches in and hail is up, x0.67 Speed if hail wears off/is overwritten or any other weather is up.
Reasoning: I kind of like not making hail users have effectively two abilities, plus you can reliably neutralize Hail sweepers that make use of this item if you have an auto-weather ability that isn’t Snow Warning.
Target: Housekeeping
Change: Removes rooms upon switch-in and one layer of hazards at random at the end of every turn from both sides of the field (Housekeeping mons take damage from entry hazards if applicable)
Reasoning: Hazards will now not be instantly invalidated by a Housekeeping mon on the opposing team.
Target: Wild Charge
Change: 150 BP -> 100 BP, 24 PP -> 16 PP, recoil lowered to 33%, the Pichu line and Tapu Koko can learn Wild Charge
Reasoning: Now its power isn't ridiculously strong and it should be strong, but manageable.
Target: Aurora Veil
Change: Damage reduction is lowered from 50% less to 25% less
Reasoning: Aurora Veil enables too many crazy things. With this change, it should be possible to break frail things under Aurora Veil. Also, it reducing damage from both physical and special attacks should be split in half between the two.
Target: Surge Surfer
Change: Does not activate in Psychic Terrain
Reasoning: Doubled speed with priority immunity just sounds pretty busted in and of itself.
Target: Fishious Rend/Bolt Beak
Change: Destroys screens upon use instead of doubling in power if the user moves first (so basically Psychic Fangs clones, but different in terms of typing. Also, Fishious Rend is still a biting move)
Reasoning: This is primarily aimed at nerfing Dracovish so that it still has a strong STAB move, but it can’t be ridiculously strong before other things are taken into account if the user moves first. Bolt Beak gets the same treatment for consistency purposes.
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Target: Hot Tag
Change: Now gives the replacement +1 to their crit ratio; the Scorbunny and Pichu lines can no longer learn it
Reasoning: +1 boosts to each offense was definitely way too powerful, so keeping it as a cool pivoting move that can't be stopped by Protect, immunities, or Soundproof, but with a very meh effect and pretty poor distribution (in terms of OU, without Raichu or Cinderace, only Mega Lopunny, Mega Blaziken, Mienshao, and maybe Conkeldurr and Chesnaught can abuse it), only giving most Pokémon a 1.5x boost to their moves 12.5% of the time. Can be nice for Sniper or Super Luck strategies, though.
Target: Meloetta-Pirouette
Change: Meloetta's abilities: Serene Grace / Loudspeaker / Dancer (HA), now learns Heartbeat
Reasoning: Getting rid of Technician severely cuts into Melo-P's damage output, making it a lot more manageable as its Returns are a little weaker than Mega Lopunny's and its Close Combats are only a little stronger than Lop's. Plus, base Meloetta didn't really need Technician, so this nerf won't hurt it too much. Heartbeat could be a neat option for Loudspeaker Melo-P to hit Kommo-o, though you're better off with Dancer, unless you're running Thunder Punch or Ice Punch, on the off chance something Swords Dances in front of you.
Target: Forecast/Drizzle
Change: Forecast - Weathers summoned with Forecast now only last 5 turns, regardless of the rock held
Reasoning: Honestly, just removing Aquatic Assault from Mega Pert is probably enough to balance rain, this change serves to tone down Torn-I's versatility, so it doesn't completely outclass all weather setters, giving Pelipper, Zapdos, Spiritomb, Altaria, Palossand, TTar, and Gigalith more reason to be used on their respective weathers.
Target: Hawlucha
Change: Loses access to Swords Dance and Bulk Up
Reasoning: Removing just Swords Dance is probably enough, but I'm gonna go one step further and get rid of Bulk Up too, since that could make it a lot harder to revenge kill. While it can still set up with Taunt + Hone Claws or Power-Up Punch, it's a lot harder to instantly sweep a team without either a ton of set up or a lot of chip damage
Target: Raichu-A
Change: Surge Surfer is replaced with Levitate
Reasoning: This, plus whatever nerf Ion Absorb is getting, makes Raichu-A worse than the Ground-type immunity ignoring Raichu-Kanto, and thus balanced enough to fall down here. Levitate helps it switch-in much more easily than Raichu-K can, so it'll at least still have that niche.
Target: Dracovish
Change: Fishious Rend & Bolt Beak: Now 50 BP, no longer doubles in power against opponents switching in
Reasoning: An idea I saw way from way back (I believe from Heavyweapons Mann actually), this makes these moves into reverse versions of Payback, which keeps the original concept of the moves but in a more balanced way. For Vish, this cuts down its damage by 42% if it moves first, and like Payback, you won't get the boost if the opponent switches either, so it's much easier to switch into
---
Target: Kangaskhan-Mega
Change: Loses access to Seismic Toss and Power-Up Punch
Reasoning: An extra idea, these two changes makes Kangaskhan more than balanced for OU, though Sylve OU is crowded as is, so you may want to think about whether or not you want to add another potentially viable mon out of nowhere
Change: Now gives the replacement +1 to their crit ratio; the Scorbunny and Pichu lines can no longer learn it
Reasoning: +1 boosts to each offense was definitely way too powerful, so keeping it as a cool pivoting move that can't be stopped by Protect, immunities, or Soundproof, but with a very meh effect and pretty poor distribution (in terms of OU, without Raichu or Cinderace, only Mega Lopunny, Mega Blaziken, Mienshao, and maybe Conkeldurr and Chesnaught can abuse it), only giving most Pokémon a 1.5x boost to their moves 12.5% of the time. Can be nice for Sniper or Super Luck strategies, though.
Target: Meloetta-Pirouette
Change: Meloetta's abilities: Serene Grace / Loudspeaker / Dancer (HA), now learns Heartbeat
Reasoning: Getting rid of Technician severely cuts into Melo-P's damage output, making it a lot more manageable as its Returns are a little weaker than Mega Lopunny's and its Close Combats are only a little stronger than Lop's. Plus, base Meloetta didn't really need Technician, so this nerf won't hurt it too much. Heartbeat could be a neat option for Loudspeaker Melo-P to hit Kommo-o, though you're better off with Dancer, unless you're running Thunder Punch or Ice Punch, on the off chance something Swords Dances in front of you.
Target: Forecast/Drizzle
Change: Forecast - Weathers summoned with Forecast now only last 5 turns, regardless of the rock held
Reasoning: Honestly, just removing Aquatic Assault from Mega Pert is probably enough to balance rain, this change serves to tone down Torn-I's versatility, so it doesn't completely outclass all weather setters, giving Pelipper, Zapdos, Spiritomb, Altaria, Palossand, TTar, and Gigalith more reason to be used on their respective weathers.
Target: Hawlucha
Change: Loses access to Swords Dance and Bulk Up
Reasoning: Removing just Swords Dance is probably enough, but I'm gonna go one step further and get rid of Bulk Up too, since that could make it a lot harder to revenge kill. While it can still set up with Taunt + Hone Claws or Power-Up Punch, it's a lot harder to instantly sweep a team without either a ton of set up or a lot of chip damage
Target: Raichu-A
Change: Surge Surfer is replaced with Levitate
Reasoning: This, plus whatever nerf Ion Absorb is getting, makes Raichu-A worse than the Ground-type immunity ignoring Raichu-Kanto, and thus balanced enough to fall down here. Levitate helps it switch-in much more easily than Raichu-K can, so it'll at least still have that niche.
Target: Dracovish
Change: Fishious Rend & Bolt Beak: Now 50 BP, no longer doubles in power against opponents switching in
Reasoning: An idea I saw way from way back (I believe from Heavyweapons Mann actually), this makes these moves into reverse versions of Payback, which keeps the original concept of the moves but in a more balanced way. For Vish, this cuts down its damage by 42% if it moves first, and like Payback, you won't get the boost if the opponent switches either, so it's much easier to switch into
---
Target: Kangaskhan-Mega
Change: Loses access to Seismic Toss and Power-Up Punch
Reasoning: An extra idea, these two changes makes Kangaskhan more than balanced for OU, though Sylve OU is crowded as is, so you may want to think about whether or not you want to add another potentially viable mon out of nowhere
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Target: Mega Swampert
Type of Change: Move
Change: -Aquatic Assault, +Rinse Off
Reasoning: Like the above two posters, I agree that Rain needs a nerf and that Mega Swampert losing Aquatic Assault is the way to go about it- no Pokémon should be as capable of shredding through teams as Mega Swampert is- counterplay revolves around making the right predictions for long enough to stall the rain away, but Mega Swampert has Flip Turn, even then. Losing Aquatic Assault will tone Mega Pert down substantially, though nerfs to the setters and other abusers of rain like Tornadus and Hawlucha are perhaps advisable. In an effort to give Swampert and Rain as a whole a more balanced pace, I think that gaining Rinse Off would be an interesting change to Pert by letting it recover its HP and take a more gradual approach to wallbreaking, especially with the loss of its nuke. It also makes both Mega and regular Pert better defensively oriented checks to some of the scary stuff in the meta like Zeraora and Cinderace.
Small Update, the balance slate is still going on of course, but in other news, SylveMons Random Battles are now live on DragonHeaven!
You can now just jump into a SylveMons battle, with no teambuilding or anything! Huge shoutouts to inkbug for getting everything coded for it.
This is just version 1.0 of the format, with updates in the future adding more Pokemon with forced abilities, giving the custom items to some Pokemon, and more, but it's still very fun in its current state!
Here's a replay of the first SylveMons Random Battle between humans: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemonsrandombattle-269
You can now just jump into a SylveMons battle, with no teambuilding or anything! Huge shoutouts to inkbug for getting everything coded for it.
This is just version 1.0 of the format, with updates in the future adding more Pokemon with forced abilities, giving the custom items to some Pokemon, and more, but it's still very fun in its current state!
Here's a replay of the first SylveMons Random Battle between humans: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8sylvemonsrandombattle-269
Clear Body / Regenerator / Transistor ---> Clear Body / Volt Asorb / Transistor
Clear Body / Regenerator / Snow Warning ---> Clear Body / Ice Body / Snow Warning
Clear Body / Regenerator / Bulletproof ---> Clear Body / Volt Asorb / Bulletproof
Clear Body / Regenerator / Dragon's Maw ---> Clear Body / Magic Healing / Dragon's Maw
Ion Absorb
80 BP ---> 40 BP
Teravolt & Turboblaze
1.5x Boost ---> 1.33x Boost
First, the nerfs I second:
Hawlucha: Remove Swords Dance, and Bulk Up
I agree that a +1 going in is too much with both an Unburden boost and a setup move, so I decided to take Yoshiblaze's approach. This way, it has to choose between either coverage or a sub-optimal setup move, giving it a much better opportunity cost.
Mega Swampert: Remove Aquatic Assault
Yeah, the sheer raw power of this move under rain is pretty unhealthy. Without this move, it has to use the much more manageable Liquidation/Waterfall.
Mega Raichu: Remove Seed Bomb, Expanding Force, Rising Voltage
Given that Espeon lost Expanding Force, I feel that Alolan Raichu (who can't set its own terrain on switch-in but can abuse them much more thanks to Surge Surfer) should lose them too. Also, Seed Bomb would weaken its coverage, so that's a good idea.
Cinderace: Remove Libero, Add Sole Caliber and Fighting-type
I always wondered why they didn't make this thing a Fighting-type in the official games. This way, it still gets a boost from Pyro Ball and High Jump Kick, but not its coverage moves.
Meloetta: Remove Technician, Add Dancer and Heartbeat
As much as I like the idea of Two-Hit Moves with Technician, Meloetta's far too good at it. This should lower its damage output without crippling it, and Dancer seems thematically appropriate.
Ice Skates: If the current weather is not hail, the holder's speed is reduced by 0.67x; all other effects remain the same
I agree that the original item's effect was pretty brainless, having no drawbacks on a hail-based team. This adds a nice risk/reward for Hail teams by making them more susceptible to different weather teams.
Bolt Beak / Fishious Rend: Lose old effects, become clones of Psychic Fangs (with Fishious Rend keeping its status as a biting move)
Yeah, I have no idea what Game Freak were thinking with these moves. A nerf this big should keep the moves usable while letting Dracovish and Dracozolt actually semi-balanced in OU.
Hot Tag: Effect Changed from giving the incoming Pokemon a +1 stat boost to Attack and Special Attack to giving the incoming Pokemon a +1 crtiical-hit rate
This should make Hot Tag act a bit more like vanilla Teleport without it acting like Baton Pass 2.0.
The nerfs I'd like to add:
Wild Charge: Damage lowered to 120 BP, Recoil lowered to 1/3 of damage dealt
I like Heavyweapons Mann's idea, but I feel 100 Base Power feels a little off. This turns it into a straight-up clone of Double-Edge, though I'm fine with it being weaker since Electric Terrain is a thing.
Jirachi / Blissey: Remove access to Housekeeping and replace it with Serene Grace (Blissey) and Magic Warp (Jirachi)
Rather than nerf the ability, I decided to nerf the best users of it; this way, the sub-optimal users like Wigglytuff and Cinccino actually have some niche using it. Given that Jirachi and Blissey are great Pokemon in their own right, this shouldn't affect their viability too much.
Regice / Articuno: Remove access to Aurora Veil
I don't want to get rid of their weather-setting abilities for flavor reasons; instead, by removing Aurora Veil, these two legendaries will be forced to use their Hail in different ways, while you'll have to rely on a much less powerful setter like Alolan Ninetails for Aurora Veil. I'm totally fine with nerfing Aurora Veil as well, in case it proves to be too much.
Hawlucha: Remove Swords Dance, and Bulk Up
I agree that a +1 going in is too much with both an Unburden boost and a setup move, so I decided to take Yoshiblaze's approach. This way, it has to choose between either coverage or a sub-optimal setup move, giving it a much better opportunity cost.
Mega Swampert: Remove Aquatic Assault
Yeah, the sheer raw power of this move under rain is pretty unhealthy. Without this move, it has to use the much more manageable Liquidation/Waterfall.
Mega Raichu: Remove Seed Bomb, Expanding Force, Rising Voltage
Given that Espeon lost Expanding Force, I feel that Alolan Raichu (who can't set its own terrain on switch-in but can abuse them much more thanks to Surge Surfer) should lose them too. Also, Seed Bomb would weaken its coverage, so that's a good idea.
Cinderace: Remove Libero, Add Sole Caliber and Fighting-type
I always wondered why they didn't make this thing a Fighting-type in the official games. This way, it still gets a boost from Pyro Ball and High Jump Kick, but not its coverage moves.
Meloetta: Remove Technician, Add Dancer and Heartbeat
As much as I like the idea of Two-Hit Moves with Technician, Meloetta's far too good at it. This should lower its damage output without crippling it, and Dancer seems thematically appropriate.
Ice Skates: If the current weather is not hail, the holder's speed is reduced by 0.67x; all other effects remain the same
I agree that the original item's effect was pretty brainless, having no drawbacks on a hail-based team. This adds a nice risk/reward for Hail teams by making them more susceptible to different weather teams.
Bolt Beak / Fishious Rend: Lose old effects, become clones of Psychic Fangs (with Fishious Rend keeping its status as a biting move)
Yeah, I have no idea what Game Freak were thinking with these moves. A nerf this big should keep the moves usable while letting Dracovish and Dracozolt actually semi-balanced in OU.
Hot Tag: Effect Changed from giving the incoming Pokemon a +1 stat boost to Attack and Special Attack to giving the incoming Pokemon a +1 crtiical-hit rate
This should make Hot Tag act a bit more like vanilla Teleport without it acting like Baton Pass 2.0.
The nerfs I'd like to add:
Wild Charge: Damage lowered to 120 BP, Recoil lowered to 1/3 of damage dealt
I like Heavyweapons Mann's idea, but I feel 100 Base Power feels a little off. This turns it into a straight-up clone of Double-Edge, though I'm fine with it being weaker since Electric Terrain is a thing.
Jirachi / Blissey: Remove access to Housekeeping and replace it with Serene Grace (Blissey) and Magic Warp (Jirachi)
Rather than nerf the ability, I decided to nerf the best users of it; this way, the sub-optimal users like Wigglytuff and Cinccino actually have some niche using it. Given that Jirachi and Blissey are great Pokemon in their own right, this shouldn't affect their viability too much.
Regice / Articuno: Remove access to Aurora Veil
I don't want to get rid of their weather-setting abilities for flavor reasons; instead, by removing Aurora Veil, these two legendaries will be forced to use their Hail in different ways, while you'll have to rely on a much less powerful setter like Alolan Ninetails for Aurora Veil. I'm totally fine with nerfing Aurora Veil as well, in case it proves to be too much.
Voting will likely begin later today or tomorrow, so if you have anything else to put on the table, now's your last chance!
Since this is a different kind of slate, voting procedure will be explained once voting begins
Since this is a different kind of slate, voting procedure will be explained once voting begins
Voting is open!
Now, because of the nature of the slate, voting is a little different than usual
For the targets that I specifically mentioned when the slate opened, each target will have its own ranked vote (a la Megas for All or exactly how Mega Mirrors did it back in the day), where your first choice gets 3 points, second gets 2, and third gets 1. Each target will also have a "No Change" option if you want to keep the target in question the same. You may vote for up to 3 options for each target and, unlike most mods with ranked voting, you can vote for your own sub in first place (this is for balance, so if you truly believe that your change would be the healthiest way to change the meta, you should be able to vote for it as such, just make sure to put balance before ego). The top choice for each target wins
For the targets that weren't specified by me, they will have their own big ranked vote, with you being able to vote for 3 of the options below, and the top 2-3 will win
Voting will last a couple days
Also, in other news, the Speed Tiers for Gen 8 have been updated, which you can check out HERE
Now, because of the nature of the slate, voting is a little different than usual
For the targets that I specifically mentioned when the slate opened, each target will have its own ranked vote (a la Megas for All or exactly how Mega Mirrors did it back in the day), where your first choice gets 3 points, second gets 2, and third gets 1. Each target will also have a "No Change" option if you want to keep the target in question the same. You may vote for up to 3 options for each target and, unlike most mods with ranked voting, you can vote for your own sub in first place (this is for balance, so if you truly believe that your change would be the healthiest way to change the meta, you should be able to vote for it as such, just make sure to put balance before ego). The top choice for each target wins
If you vote for 3 things -
Hot Tag: Most preferred option (gets 3 points), Second most preferred option (gets 2 points), 3rd most preferred option (gets 1 point)
If you vote for 2 things -
Hot Tag: Most preferred option (gets 2 points), Second most preferred option (gets 1 points)
If you vote for 1 thing -
Hot Tag: Most preferred option (gets 1 point)
Hot Tag: Most preferred option (gets 3 points), Second most preferred option (gets 2 points), 3rd most preferred option (gets 1 point)
If you vote for 2 things -
Hot Tag: Most preferred option (gets 2 points), Second most preferred option (gets 1 points)
If you vote for 1 thing -
Hot Tag: Most preferred option (gets 1 point)
People who submitted: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, BitBitio, AquaticPanic, LordChespin
Meloetta-Pirouette: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, No Change
Hawlucha: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, No Change
Cinderace: Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Forecast/Drizzle: Yoshiblaze, No Change
Mega Swampert: Heavyweapons Mann, BitBitio, No Change
Hot Tag: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, No Change
Ion Absorb: Heavyweapons Mann, AquaticPanic, No Change
Dracovish: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, No Change
Raichu-A: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, No Change
Housekeeping: Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin, No Change
Articuno: Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin, No Change
Wild Charge: Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin, No Change
Torment items: Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Regice: Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin, No Change
Meloetta-Pirouette: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, No Change
Hawlucha: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, No Change
Cinderace: Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Forecast/Drizzle: Yoshiblaze, No Change
Mega Swampert: Heavyweapons Mann, BitBitio, No Change
Hot Tag: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, No Change
Ion Absorb: Heavyweapons Mann, AquaticPanic, No Change
Dracovish: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, No Change
Raichu-A: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, No Change
Housekeeping: Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin, No Change
Articuno: Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin, No Change
Wild Charge: Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin, No Change
Torment items: Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Regice: Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin, No Change
For the targets that weren't specified by me, they will have their own big ranked vote, with you being able to vote for 3 of the options below, and the top 2-3 will win
Rising Voltage (it's in Heavyweapons Mann's Ion Absorb sub)
Signature Items
Ring Target
Ice Skates
Aurora Veil
Surge Surfer
Mega Kangaskhan
Regis' Regenerator Nerf
Teravolt/Turboblaze
Signature Items
Ring Target
Ice Skates
Aurora Veil
Surge Surfer
Mega Kangaskhan
Regis' Regenerator Nerf
Teravolt/Turboblaze
Voting will last a couple days
Also, in other news, the Speed Tiers for Gen 8 have been updated, which you can check out HERE
Ema Skye
Work!
Meloetta-P: YoshiBlaze
Hawlucha: YoshiBlaze
Cinderace: HeavyWeaponsMann
Forecast: Yoshiblaze
Mega Swampert: BitBitio
Hot Tag: HeavyWeaponsMann
Ion Absorb: AquaticPanic
Dracovish: Yoshiblaze
Raichu-A: HeavyWeaponsMann
Housekeeping: LordChespin
Articuno: LordChespin
Wild Charge: LordChespin
Torment items: HeavyWeaponsMann
Regice: LordChespin
Bonus Options:
Surge Surfer
Signature Items
Reginerator
Hawlucha: YoshiBlaze
Cinderace: HeavyWeaponsMann
Forecast: Yoshiblaze
Mega Swampert: BitBitio
Hot Tag: HeavyWeaponsMann
Ion Absorb: AquaticPanic
Dracovish: Yoshiblaze
Raichu-A: HeavyWeaponsMann
Housekeeping: LordChespin
Articuno: LordChespin
Wild Charge: LordChespin
Torment items: HeavyWeaponsMann
Regice: LordChespin
Bonus Options:
Surge Surfer
Signature Items
Reginerator
- Yoshiblaze
- Heavyweapons Mann
- No Change
- Heavyweapons Mann
- Yoshiblaze
- No Change
- Heavyweapons Mann
- No Change
Forecast:
- Yoshiblaze
- No Change
- BitBitio
- Heavyweapons Mann
- No Change
Hot Tag:
- Yoshiblaze
- Heavyweapons Mann
- No Change
Ion Absorb:
- AquaticPanic
- Heavyweapons Mann
- No Change
- Heavyweapons Mann
- Yoshiblaze
- No Change
- Yoshiblaze
- Heavyweapons Mann
- No Change
Housekeeping:
- Heavyweapons Mann
- LordChespin
- No Change
- LordChespin
- Heavyweapons Mann
- No Change
Wild Charge:
- Heavyweapons Mann
- LordChespin
- No Change
Torment Items:
- Heavyweapons Mann
- No Change
- LordChespin
- Heavyweapons Mann
- No Change
Other Options
Mega Kangaskhan:
Teravolt & Turboblaze:
Ring Target:
Last edited:
Ion Absorb: Heavyweapons Mann (I would like to remove the “completes in one turn in Electric Terrain” if this wins, because I was dumb and thought Sky Attack completed in one turn in Air Current.), AquaticPanic, No Change
Cinderace: Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Hawlucha: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Mega Swampert: Heavyweapons Mann, BitBitio, No Change
Wild Charge: Heavyweapons Mann (I mostly made it 100 BP to take Electric Terrain and its fairly wide distribution into account)
Dracovish: Heavyweapons Mann (Rend and Beak should’ve always destroyed screens instead of being whatever they are now), Yoshiblaze
Housekeeping: Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin
Torment Items: Heavyweapons Mann
Raichu-A: Heavyweapons Mann (Lower its power level and reliable anti-Ground move), Yoshiblaze (It’s clearly levitating)
Bonus options:
Siganture items
Surge Surfer
Ring Target
Cinderace: Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Hawlucha: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Mega Swampert: Heavyweapons Mann, BitBitio, No Change
Wild Charge: Heavyweapons Mann (I mostly made it 100 BP to take Electric Terrain and its fairly wide distribution into account)
Dracovish: Heavyweapons Mann (Rend and Beak should’ve always destroyed screens instead of being whatever they are now), Yoshiblaze
Housekeeping: Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin
Torment Items: Heavyweapons Mann
Raichu-A: Heavyweapons Mann (Lower its power level and reliable anti-Ground move), Yoshiblaze (It’s clearly levitating)
Bonus options:
Siganture items
Surge Surfer
Ring Target
Last edited:
Meloetta-P: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Hawlucha: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshblaze, No Change
Cinderace: Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Forecast: Yoshiblaze, No Change
Mega Swampert: Heavyweapons Mann, BitBitio, No Change
Hot Tag: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Ion Absorb: AquaticPanic, No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Dracovish: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, No Change
Raichu-A: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Housekeeping: No Change, Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin
Articuno: LordChespin, No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Wild Charge: Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin, No Change
Torment Items: Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Regice: LordChespin, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Extra: Ice Skates, Mega Kangaskhan, Signature Items (RIP Marowak tho lmao)
Hawlucha: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshblaze, No Change
Cinderace: Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Forecast: Yoshiblaze, No Change
Mega Swampert: Heavyweapons Mann, BitBitio, No Change
Hot Tag: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Ion Absorb: AquaticPanic, No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Dracovish: Heavyweapons Mann, Yoshiblaze, No Change
Raichu-A: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Housekeeping: No Change, Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin
Articuno: LordChespin, No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Wild Charge: Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin, No Change
Torment Items: Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Regice: LordChespin, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Extra: Ice Skates, Mega Kangaskhan, Signature Items (RIP Marowak tho lmao)
Meloetta-P: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Hawlucha: Yoshiblaze, No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Cinderace: No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Forecast: Yoshiblaze, No Change
Mega Swampert: BitBitio, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Hot Tag: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Ion Absorb: AquaticPanic, No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Dracovish: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Raichu-A: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Housekeeping: No Change, Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin
Articuno: LordChespin, No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Wild Charge: LordChespin, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Torment Items: No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Regice: LordChespin, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Not voting on extra stuff
Hawlucha: Yoshiblaze, No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Cinderace: No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Forecast: Yoshiblaze, No Change
Mega Swampert: BitBitio, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Hot Tag: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Ion Absorb: AquaticPanic, No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Dracovish: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Raichu-A: Yoshiblaze, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Housekeeping: No Change, Heavyweapons Mann, LordChespin
Articuno: LordChespin, No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Wild Charge: LordChespin, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Torment Items: No Change, Heavyweapons Mann
Regice: LordChespin, Heavyweapons Mann, No Change
Not voting on extra stuff
Voting is closed!
Firstly, I want to say thank you to everyone who subbed and voted in the first balance for SylveMons! I'm a huge fan of pretty much everything that won, so hopefully that'll mean a more balanced world of chaos! Speaking of the winners -
Winners
Meloetta-Pirouette: Technician replaced by Dancer - by Yoshiblaze
Hawlucha: Loses access to Bulk Up and Swords Dance - by Yoshiblaze
Cinderace: Becomes Fire/Fighting, Libero replaced by Sole Caliber - by Heavyweapons Mann
Forecast: Weathers summoned by Forecast can now only last a maximum of 5 turns - by Yoshiblaze
Mega Swampert: Loses access to Aquatic Assault, Gains access to Rinse Off - by BitBitio
Hot Tag: Now boots critical hit ratio instead of Attack and Special Attack - by Yoshiblaze
Ion Absorb: Power nerfed from 80 BP to 40 BP - by AquaticPanic
Dracovish: Fishious Rend and Bolt Beak are now Psychic Fangs clones (with the former still being a fang move) - by Heavyweapons Mann
Raichu-A: Surge Surfer replaced by Levitate - by Yoshiblaze
Housekeeping: Still removes rooms immediately, but now only removes 1 random hazard on the field at the end of every turn - by Heavyweapons Mann
Articuno: Loses access to Aurora Veil - by LordChespin
Wild Charge: Power nerfed from 150 BP to 100 BP, PP nerfed from 24 PP to 16 PP, recoil lowered to 33%, original distribution restored - by Heavyweapons Mann
Torment items: Now boost their respective stat by 1.2x instead of 1.33x - by Heavyweapons Mann
Regice: Loses access to Aurora Veil - by LordChespin
Extra Winners:
1. Signature Items: Can now be Knocked Off - by Heavyweapons Mann
2. Mega Kangaskhan: Loses access to Seismic Toss and Power-Up Punch - by Yoshiblaze
2. Surge Surfer: No longer works in Psychic Terrain - by Heavyweapons Mann
There are some BIG changes here, so I'll work on updating the sheet, the code, and all of the effected resources and make some discussion posts soon, so while I do that, you guys can discuss how the metagame changes here!
Stay tuned for more SylveMons developments!
Firstly, I want to say thank you to everyone who subbed and voted in the first balance for SylveMons! I'm a huge fan of pretty much everything that won, so hopefully that'll mean a more balanced world of chaos! Speaking of the winners -
Meloetta-P
Yoshiblaze: 1 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 10
Heavyweapons Mann: 2 + 2 + 2 = 6
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Hawlucha
Yoshiblaze: 1 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 3 = 11
Heavyweapons Mann: 3 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 9
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 5
Cinderace
Heavyweapons Mann: 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 8
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 5
Forecast
Yoshblaze: 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 7
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Mega Swampert
BitBitio: 1 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 11
Heavyweapons Mann: 2 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 10
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4
Hot Tag
Heavyweapons Mann: 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 7
Yoshiblaze: 3 + 3 + 3 = 9
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Ion Absorb
AquaticPanic: 1 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 3 = 12
Heavyweapons Mann: 2 + 3 + 1 + 1 = 7
No Change: 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 6
Dracovish
Yoshiblaze: 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 9
Heavyweapons Mann: 2 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 10
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Raichu-A
Heavyweapons Mann: 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 9
Yoshiblaze: 3 + 1 + 3 + 3 = 10
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1= 3
Housekeeping
LordChespin: 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 6
Heavyweapons Mann: 3 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 9
No Change: 1 + 3 + 3 = 7
Articuno
LordChespin: 1 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 10
Heavyweapons Mann: 2 + 1 + 1 = 4
No Change: 1 + 2 + 2 = 4
Wild Charge
LordChespin: 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 8
Heavyweapons Mann: 3 + 1 + 3 + 2 = 9
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Torment items
Heavyweapons Mann: 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 7
No Change: 1 + 1 + 2 = 4
Regice
Heavyweapons Mann: 1 + 2 + 2 = 5
LordChespin: 1 + 2 + 3 + 3 = 9
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Bonus
Surge Surfer: 3 + 2 = 5
Signature Items: 2 + 3 + 1 = 6
Regis: 1 = 1
Mega Kangaskhan: 3 + 2 = 5
Teravolt/Turboblaze: 2 = 2
Ring Target: 1 + 1 = 2
Ice Skates: 3 = 3
Yoshiblaze: 1 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 10
Heavyweapons Mann: 2 + 2 + 2 = 6
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Hawlucha
Yoshiblaze: 1 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 3 = 11
Heavyweapons Mann: 3 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 9
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 5
Cinderace
Heavyweapons Mann: 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 8
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 5
Forecast
Yoshblaze: 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 7
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Mega Swampert
BitBitio: 1 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 11
Heavyweapons Mann: 2 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 10
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4
Hot Tag
Heavyweapons Mann: 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 7
Yoshiblaze: 3 + 3 + 3 = 9
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Ion Absorb
AquaticPanic: 1 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 3 = 12
Heavyweapons Mann: 2 + 3 + 1 + 1 = 7
No Change: 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 6
Dracovish
Yoshiblaze: 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 9
Heavyweapons Mann: 2 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 10
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Raichu-A
Heavyweapons Mann: 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 9
Yoshiblaze: 3 + 1 + 3 + 3 = 10
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1= 3
Housekeeping
LordChespin: 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 6
Heavyweapons Mann: 3 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 9
No Change: 1 + 3 + 3 = 7
Articuno
LordChespin: 1 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 10
Heavyweapons Mann: 2 + 1 + 1 = 4
No Change: 1 + 2 + 2 = 4
Wild Charge
LordChespin: 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 8
Heavyweapons Mann: 3 + 1 + 3 + 2 = 9
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Torment items
Heavyweapons Mann: 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 7
No Change: 1 + 1 + 2 = 4
Regice
Heavyweapons Mann: 1 + 2 + 2 = 5
LordChespin: 1 + 2 + 3 + 3 = 9
No Change: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Bonus
Surge Surfer: 3 + 2 = 5
Signature Items: 2 + 3 + 1 = 6
Regis: 1 = 1
Mega Kangaskhan: 3 + 2 = 5
Teravolt/Turboblaze: 2 = 2
Ring Target: 1 + 1 = 2
Ice Skates: 3 = 3
Winners
Meloetta-Pirouette: Technician replaced by Dancer - by Yoshiblaze
Hawlucha: Loses access to Bulk Up and Swords Dance - by Yoshiblaze
Cinderace: Becomes Fire/Fighting, Libero replaced by Sole Caliber - by Heavyweapons Mann
Forecast: Weathers summoned by Forecast can now only last a maximum of 5 turns - by Yoshiblaze
Mega Swampert: Loses access to Aquatic Assault, Gains access to Rinse Off - by BitBitio
Hot Tag: Now boots critical hit ratio instead of Attack and Special Attack - by Yoshiblaze
Ion Absorb: Power nerfed from 80 BP to 40 BP - by AquaticPanic
Dracovish: Fishious Rend and Bolt Beak are now Psychic Fangs clones (with the former still being a fang move) - by Heavyweapons Mann
Raichu-A: Surge Surfer replaced by Levitate - by Yoshiblaze
Housekeeping: Still removes rooms immediately, but now only removes 1 random hazard on the field at the end of every turn - by Heavyweapons Mann
Articuno: Loses access to Aurora Veil - by LordChespin
Wild Charge: Power nerfed from 150 BP to 100 BP, PP nerfed from 24 PP to 16 PP, recoil lowered to 33%, original distribution restored - by Heavyweapons Mann
Torment items: Now boost their respective stat by 1.2x instead of 1.33x - by Heavyweapons Mann
Regice: Loses access to Aurora Veil - by LordChespin
Extra Winners:
1. Signature Items: Can now be Knocked Off - by Heavyweapons Mann
2. Mega Kangaskhan: Loses access to Seismic Toss and Power-Up Punch - by Yoshiblaze
2. Surge Surfer: No longer works in Psychic Terrain - by Heavyweapons Mann
There are some BIG changes here, so I'll work on updating the sheet, the code, and all of the effected resources and make some discussion posts soon, so while I do that, you guys can discuss how the metagame changes here!
Stay tuned for more SylveMons developments!
Looks like my Surge Surfer suggestion was pointless now that nothing actually has the ability. Rend and Beak destroying screens should give us actually reasonable counterplay against Screens/Veil, Cinderace not having omniSTAB should also help with lowering the power level. Wild Charge being 100 BP is to account for Electric Terrain to anyone reading this.
Firstly, I'd like to announce that, after the next server update, every single change from the balance slate will be on DragonHeaven (except for Housekeeping), with special thanks to Scoopapa and inkbug for helping me get those done. For Forecast, 5 items called "Forecast of [Weather]" have been added to replicate the desired effect of the nerfed version of Forecast, so make sure you use those if you want to use Forecast
Anyways, Obligatory Discussion Post time!
This thing is much weaker, so kinda like last gen when it was forced to have Serene Grace, it's probably mostly outclassed by Mega Lopunny now. However, if you don't want to use up your Mega slot, Melo-P is still a pretty viable option for a cleaner and offensive pivot and also boasts Knock Off over the rabbit. Also, if you hard switch into a Swords Dance of Dragon Dance, you're in business.
This thing is still fairly threatening, as an instant +1 Attack boost with boosted Acrobatics is still very good, it's just way easier for the likes of Jirachi, Magearna, Landorus-T, and Slowbro to stop a sweep since it can only boost by 1 stage at a time and it's more susceptible to priority without the Defense boosts of Bulk Up, though you can still nab those with Grassy/Electric Terrain support
This is basically a good version of post-Blaze nerf Infernape, very strong, very high speed, nuclear STAB HJK, and great priority in Sucker Punch. It's just not borderline broken anymore, with more than just Lando-T and Kommo-o being able to wall it now. Oh, and Court Change could even see use since Housekeeping isn't required anymore. Probably got it the best out of all of the nerfed mons.
Rain's gonna look a lot different now with Torn-I being a more weather-based sweeper rather than a setter, but it should still be at least good. Mega Swampert is way weaker, but its Waterfall is still gonna hit pretty darn hard and forgoing set up or pivoting for Rinse Off can make it a lot harder to revenge kill. As for rain setters, both Vaporeon and Zapdos will see much higher usage as rain setters and while they can't sweep a team in their own right, they both add a ton of useful defensive utility. It may be worse, but rain might still be the best weather, especially with nerfs to Aurora Veil and Dracozolt hindering Hail and Sand and Shadow Sky losing its best setter due to the Forecast nerf.
Yeah, these guys got absolutely wrecked by the balance slate. They lost their broken physical STAB, their broken special STAB, and their broken items can get Knocked Off now all while still being super frail. While their insane power still gives them something to do in OU, they are much less threatening overall. And don't get me started on how hard the lower tier rats have it, I'm talking dropping multiple tiers hard.
The Housekeepers definitely took a hit, but they all still have amazing defensive qualities that should still make them top tiers picks, just not omnipresent anymore, especially not on hazard stack teams, lest you just get rid of your own hard-earned hazards one-by-one. Also, they all suck at setting Stealth Rocks now, since they might just immediately get rid of them.
Tornadus is a whole lot worse at being an effective weather setter since it's teammates can never abuse it for more than 4 turns. Your best bet for using it as a weather setter is likely on Shadow Sky teams, as Dark Rising stat boosts stay active after the weather fades. However, outside of that, Torn stays as a great special sweeper, being able to drop powerful +2 Weather-boosted Weather Balls in order to clean late game.
Yeah, idk what this thing's purpose is now. It has a great STAB combo, so it could work as a bulky offensive pivot, but it's definitely not a top tier anymore and definitely not the #1 Hail setter anymore.
Agony Boots users take a huge hit, as now they can't sweep nearly as effectively as they could before, being much easier to revenge kill. For example, Mega Aerodactyl outspeeds literally every common Agony Boots user in the game and the vast majority are also outsped by Zeraora and Dragapult. Even base 100 Agony Boots users, who used to outrun base 140s, can't even get past 130s now.
Zeraora took a massive hit to its damage output with the Torment item and Wild Charge nerfs, but its ridiculous speed and access to Ice Punch should still make it one of the best offensive pivots in the metagame.
I'm so, so sorry that your brother was so broken that you needed to be nerfed as well. At least you probably get to be UU now?
Yeah, with the signature item nerf, you probably get to be UU now too...
I would be sorry that you got slightly nerfed because of Raichu-A, which doesn't even have Surge Surfer anymore, but you weren't good anyway and now Surge Surfer is you signature ability, so there's that I guess?
Yeah, Air Current teams are going through it right now...
Zapdos loves this update so much. Housekeeper nerf means that it can get looked at more as a Defogger while having teammates that mesh with it better than Jirachi and Blissey do, while the nerf to Forecast means that Zapdos is now the best Rain setter for full rain teams, offering a ton of good traits like its Electric/Flying-typing, pivoting, and great defensive utility with Defog and Toxic. Overall, expect to see Big Bird a lot more.
Special Attackers like Mega Latios, Spectrier, Tornadus-Therian, and Mega Zard Y in general love that Chansey and Blissey will be less common for obvious reasons, but the biggest benefactor might be Beheeyem as Housekeeping being less common means that its Trick Room will be on the field for much longer. While Housekeeping still does automatically remove rooms, Beheeyem is gonna have fun against teams without Houskeeping
With the Agony Boots nerf, Mega Aero now outspeeds every common Agony Boots user in the game, making it one of the best revenge killers in the tier that doesn't even have to use a Scarf or Torment item to achieve it
Take what I said about Special Attackers and Mega Aerodactyl (though it does get outsped by Boots Thundurus and Serp) and you have a very happy Ghost Dragon
With Housekeeping now having to take multiple turns get rid of multiple layers of hazards, Spikes and Toxic Spikes are now a lot harder to get rid of if the opponent opts for a Housekeeper instead of a Defogger, so hazard stack teams that rely on Spikes can now go from borderline unviable to super threatening once the Housekeeping nerfs are coded. To a lesser extent, Sticky Web teams also get a nice boost in viability thanks to Housekeeping being a little less common and also Aurora Veil teams having their 2 best setters gone.
Speaking of hazards, since the Houskeepers don't have a complete monopoly over the role of hazard control, Pokemon who were best used as Defoggers like Mandibuzz or Corviknight will now be a lot more desirable choices, with Corviknight benefitting from this especially as you may have forgotten how many buffs SylveMons gave this thing with Shield Slam and Slipstream.
While probably still the worst weather other than Air Current, Sun comes out as the only weather to be relatively uneffected by the nerfs to Forecast and certain weather abusers, which has to count for something.
Even with a Choice Scarf or a +1 Speed boost, pre-nerf Agony Boots users could often still outspeed and revenge kill the likes of Grassium Z Xurkitree, Scarf Tapu Bulu, Scarf Heatran, and even Scarf Landours-T and Scale Shot Mega Grachomp. Now, with the nerfs, these Pokémon become a lot less susceptible to being revenge killed and/or become great revenge killers in their own right
All of these got nerfed, so you may think that they'd be losers, but they got to be unbanned from OU and since basically no one plays AG, I consider that a W in my book
Okay so, on one hand, Regice is nigh unkillable thanks to its insane mixed bulk in Hail and 67% recovery in Hail with Recrystalize. On the other hand, it offers almost 0 defensive utility thanks to being a pure Ice-type and not having many support moves outside of Toxic and Thunder Wave (and Block, I guess?), so I'm not if this is gonna be good or not. Could potentially see use on Stall or otherwise alongside the Hail-immune Toxapex, since it is probably the best Serperior check in the game not named Unaware Clefable.
I don't want to say this thing sucks, but I think this thing sucks. It might be headed for UU, but at least it's still a decent Sand Rush sweeper that can pivot and even has options it can explore like Rinse Off now that it isn't forced to be Choice locked in order to click its death button
Mega Kangaskhan is weird. It faces a ton of competition from Mega Lopunny and Slaking, who are both much stronger even considering Mega Kanga's 1.25x effective damage boost, and have some great traits that Kanga doesn't (dual STAB, Scrappy, and a pivoting move in Lopunny's case and Bulk Up and recovery in Slaking's case). However, Parental Bond and some nice haxy moves in Body Slam, Rock Slide, and Fire Punch could allow Kanga to take on the role of Togekiss' "killing you with hax" or you could just dent things with Parental Bond-boosted Double-Edge. It's also very bulky and has neat defensive options in Wish, Disable, Circle Throw, and Yawn, so maybe it can see some use in that regard as well. Probably not a world-beater, but it shouldn't be bad.
This thing lost Surge Surfer, got Light Ball nerfed, and lost Ion Absorb all in the same slate. All of this means that it'll probably be just meh, it's still extremely terrifying as doubling 95 Special Attack is insane and being able to switch into Ground-types is a huge boon for it, but it's not gonna effortlessly cleave through teams like it used to. If you wanna run Special Raichu and don't care that you lose the surprise factor or Raichu being able to run both physical and special sets, I'd use Raichu-A instead
In addition, with all these updates, most of the sample teams needed updates, so below is all of the new versions of the sample teams:
- Standard Bulky Offense
- Aurora Veil Hyper Offense
- Bulky Offense but it's VoltTurn
- Sun v2
- Sand
- Double Dragon Sand
- Air Current BirdSpam with Still No Birds
- Grassy Terrain
- Hazard Stack
- killswitch v3
- Rain
- The Cooler Rain
- Shadow Sky
- PsySpam
- Spectrier & the Blissey Busters
In addition, here's some new sample teams you can try out featuring the new unbans (other than Raichu-A, which has a couple teams above)
- Regice Balance
- Kangsakhan Offense
- Dracovish Sand
Also, be sure to update your teams if they have any Pokemon who's movepools were change like Hawlucha or Articuno, the validator won't do it for you
That's all for now, but I promise that we'll have more coming soon!
Anyways, Obligatory Discussion Post time!
Meloetta @ Relic Charm
Ability: Dancer
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Ability: Dancer
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- U-turn
This thing is much weaker, so kinda like last gen when it was forced to have Serene Grace, it's probably mostly outclassed by Mega Lopunny now. However, if you don't want to use up your Mega slot, Melo-P is still a pretty viable option for a cleaner and offensive pivot and also boasts Knock Off over the rabbit. Also, if you hard switch into a Swords Dance of Dragon Dance, you're in business.
Hawlucha @ Weather Warriors Crystal / Electric Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hone Claws
- Close Combat
- Acrobatics
- Taunt / Ice Punch
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hone Claws
- Close Combat
- Acrobatics
- Taunt / Ice Punch
This thing is still fairly threatening, as an instant +1 Attack boost with boosted Acrobatics is still very good, it's just way easier for the likes of Jirachi, Magearna, Landorus-T, and Slowbro to stop a sweep since it can only boost by 1 stage at a time and it's more susceptible to priority without the Defense boosts of Bulk Up, though you can still nab those with Grassy/Electric Terrain support
Cinderace @ Life Orb / Choice Band
Ability: Sole Caliber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- High Jump Kick
- Thunder Punch
- U-Turn
Ability: Sole Caliber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- High Jump Kick
- Thunder Punch
- U-Turn
This is basically a good version of post-Blaze nerf Infernape, very strong, very high speed, nuclear STAB HJK, and great priority in Sucker Punch. It's just not borderline broken anymore, with more than just Lando-T and Kommo-o being able to wall it now. Oh, and Court Change could even see use since Housekeeping isn't required anymore. Probably got it the best out of all of the nerfed mons.
Swampert @ Swampertite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Rinse Off / Bulk Up / Flip Turn
Zapdos @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Toxic
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Rinse Off / Bulk Up / Flip Turn
Zapdos @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Toxic
Rain's gonna look a lot different now with Torn-I being a more weather-based sweeper rather than a setter, but it should still be at least good. Mega Swampert is way weaker, but its Waterfall is still gonna hit pretty darn hard and forgoing set up or pivoting for Rinse Off can make it a lot harder to revenge kill. As for rain setters, both Vaporeon and Zapdos will see much higher usage as rain setters and while they can't sweep a team in their own right, they both add a ton of useful defensive utility. It may be worse, but rain might still be the best weather, especially with nerfs to Aurora Veil and Dracozolt hindering Hail and Sand and Shadow Sky losing its best setter due to the Forecast nerf.
Raichu @ Light Ball
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Volt Switch
- Volt Tackle
- Extreme Speed
- Fake Out
Togedemaru-Totem @ Light Ball
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Zing Zap
- Iron Head
- Fell Stinger
- U-turn
Emolga @ Light Ball
Ability: Motor Drive
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Air Slash
- Slipstream
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Volt Switch
- Volt Tackle
- Extreme Speed
- Fake Out
Togedemaru-Totem @ Light Ball
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Zing Zap
- Iron Head
- Fell Stinger
- U-turn
Emolga @ Light Ball
Ability: Motor Drive
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Air Slash
- Slipstream
Yeah, these guys got absolutely wrecked by the balance slate. They lost their broken physical STAB, their broken special STAB, and their broken items can get Knocked Off now all while still being super frail. While their insane power still gives them something to do in OU, they are much less threatening overall. And don't get me started on how hard the lower tier rats have it, I'm talking dropping multiple tiers hard.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Housekeeping
EVs: 252 HP / 192 SpD / 64 Spe
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- U-turn
- Protect
- Wish
Blissey (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Housekeeping
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Teleport
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Housekeeping
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Teleport
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
Ability: Housekeeping
EVs: 252 HP / 192 SpD / 64 Spe
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- U-turn
- Protect
- Wish
Blissey (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Housekeeping
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Teleport
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Housekeeping
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Teleport
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
The Housekeepers definitely took a hit, but they all still have amazing defensive qualities that should still make them top tiers picks, just not omnipresent anymore, especially not on hazard stack teams, lest you just get rid of your own hard-earned hazards one-by-one. Also, they all suck at setting Stealth Rocks now, since they might just immediately get rid of them.
Tornadus @ Forecast of Shadows
Ability: Forecast
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Weather Ball
- Hurricane
- Nasty Plot
- Focus Blast
Ability: Forecast
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Weather Ball
- Hurricane
- Nasty Plot
- Focus Blast
Tornadus is a whole lot worse at being an effective weather setter since it's teammates can never abuse it for more than 4 turns. Your best bet for using it as a weather setter is likely on Shadow Sky teams, as Dark Rising stat boosts stay active after the weather fades. However, outside of that, Torn stays as a great special sweeper, being able to drop powerful +2 Weather-boosted Weather Balls in order to clean late game.
Articuno @ Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Blizzard
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Jetstream / Hidden Power Fire / Freeze-Dry
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Blizzard
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Jetstream / Hidden Power Fire / Freeze-Dry
Yeah, idk what this thing's purpose is now. It has a great STAB combo, so it could work as a bulky offensive pivot, but it's definitely not a top tier anymore and definitely not the #1 Hail setter anymore.
Agony Boots users take a huge hit, as now they can't sweep nearly as effectively as they could before, being much easier to revenge kill. For example, Mega Aerodactyl outspeeds literally every common Agony Boots user in the game and the vast majority are also outsped by Zeraora and Dragapult. Even base 100 Agony Boots users, who used to outrun base 140s, can't even get past 130s now.
Zeraora @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Volt Switch
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Volt Switch
Zeraora took a massive hit to its damage output with the Torment item and Wild Charge nerfs, but its ridiculous speed and access to Ice Punch should still make it one of the best offensive pivots in the metagame.
Dracozolt @ Choice Band
Ability: Tough Claws / Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wild Charge
- Dual Chop
- Ice Fang
- Volt Switch
Ability: Tough Claws / Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wild Charge
- Dual Chop
- Ice Fang
- Volt Switch
I'm so, so sorry that your brother was so broken that you needed to be nerfed as well. At least you probably get to be UU now?
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Poltergeist
- Flare Blitz
- Flame Wheel / Swords Dance / Moonlight
- Bonemerang
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Poltergeist
- Flare Blitz
- Flame Wheel / Swords Dance / Moonlight
- Bonemerang
Yeah, with the signature item nerf, you probably get to be UU now too...
Sawsbuck @ Life Orb
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Fairy Charge
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Fairy Charge
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
I would be sorry that you got slightly nerfed because of Raichu-A, which doesn't even have Surge Surfer anymore, but you weren't good anyway and now Surge Surfer is you signature ability, so there's that I guess?
Yeah, Air Current teams are going through it right now...
Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Heat Wave
- Roost
- Defog / Toxic
Zapdos @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Defog / Toxic
Zapdos @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Hurricane
- Weather Ball
- Volt Switch
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Heat Wave
- Roost
- Defog / Toxic
Zapdos @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Defog / Toxic
Zapdos @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Hurricane
- Weather Ball
- Volt Switch
Zapdos loves this update so much. Housekeeper nerf means that it can get looked at more as a Defogger while having teammates that mesh with it better than Jirachi and Blissey do, while the nerf to Forecast means that Zapdos is now the best Rain setter for full rain teams, offering a ton of good traits like its Electric/Flying-typing, pivoting, and great defensive utility with Defog and Toxic. Overall, expect to see Big Bird a lot more.
Beheeyem @ Macho Brace
Ability: Time Warp
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Nasty Plot / Teleport
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
Ability: Time Warp
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Nasty Plot / Teleport
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
Special Attackers like Mega Latios, Spectrier, Tornadus-Therian, and Mega Zard Y in general love that Chansey and Blissey will be less common for obvious reasons, but the biggest benefactor might be Beheeyem as Housekeeping being less common means that its Trick Room will be on the field for much longer. While Housekeeping still does automatically remove rooms, Beheeyem is gonna have fun against teams without Houskeeping
Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dual Wingbeat
- Stone Edge
- Thunder Fang / Fire Fang / Ice Fang
- Dragon Dance / Roost
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dual Wingbeat
- Stone Edge
- Thunder Fang / Fire Fang / Ice Fang
- Dragon Dance / Roost
With the Agony Boots nerf, Mega Aero now outspeeds every common Agony Boots user in the game, making it one of the best revenge killers in the tier that doesn't even have to use a Scarf or Torment item to achieve it
Dragapult @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shadow Charge
- Dragon Darts
- Steel Wing
- Dragon Dance
Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Haunting Scream
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- U-turn
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shadow Charge
- Dragon Darts
- Steel Wing
- Dragon Dance
Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Haunting Scream
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- U-turn
Take what I said about Special Attackers and Mega Aerodactyl (though it does get outsped by Boots Thundurus and Serp) and you have a very happy Ghost Dragon
With Housekeeping now having to take multiple turns get rid of multiple layers of hazards, Spikes and Toxic Spikes are now a lot harder to get rid of if the opponent opts for a Housekeeper instead of a Defogger, so hazard stack teams that rely on Spikes can now go from borderline unviable to super threatening once the Housekeeping nerfs are coded. To a lesser extent, Sticky Web teams also get a nice boost in viability thanks to Housekeeping being a little less common and also Aurora Veil teams having their 2 best setters gone.
Speaking of hazards, since the Houskeepers don't have a complete monopoly over the role of hazard control, Pokemon who were best used as Defoggers like Mandibuzz or Corviknight will now be a lot more desirable choices, with Corviknight benefitting from this especially as you may have forgotten how many buffs SylveMons gave this thing with Shield Slam and Slipstream.
While probably still the worst weather other than Air Current, Sun comes out as the only weather to be relatively uneffected by the nerfs to Forecast and certain weather abusers, which has to count for something.
Xurkitree @ Grassium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Tail Glow
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Tail Glow
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
Even with a Choice Scarf or a +1 Speed boost, pre-nerf Agony Boots users could often still outspeed and revenge kill the likes of Grassium Z Xurkitree, Scarf Tapu Bulu, Scarf Heatran, and even Scarf Landours-T and Scale Shot Mega Grachomp. Now, with the nerfs, these Pokémon become a lot less susceptible to being revenge killed and/or become great revenge killers in their own right
All of these got nerfed, so you may think that they'd be losers, but they got to be unbanned from OU and since basically no one plays AG, I consider that a W in my book
Regice @ Leftovers
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Recrystalize
- Toxic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Recrystalize
- Toxic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Okay so, on one hand, Regice is nigh unkillable thanks to its insane mixed bulk in Hail and 67% recovery in Hail with Recrystalize. On the other hand, it offers almost 0 defensive utility thanks to being a pure Ice-type and not having many support moves outside of Toxic and Thunder Wave (and Block, I guess?), so I'm not if this is gonna be good or not. Could potentially see use on Stall or otherwise alongside the Hail-immune Toxapex, since it is probably the best Serperior check in the game not named Unaware Clefable.
Dracovish @ Choice Band
Ability: Strong Jaw / Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fishious Rend / Aquatic Assault
- Dual Chop
- Psychic Fangs
- River Stream
Ability: Strong Jaw / Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fishious Rend / Aquatic Assault
- Dual Chop
- Psychic Fangs
- River Stream
I don't want to say this thing sucks, but I think this thing sucks. It might be headed for UU, but at least it's still a decent Sand Rush sweeper that can pivot and even has options it can explore like Rinse Off now that it isn't forced to be Choice locked in order to click its death button
Kangaskhan (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Body Slam
- Rock Slide
- Fire Punch / Sucker Punch
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Body Slam
- Rock Slide
- Fire Punch / Sucker Punch
Mega Kangaskhan is weird. It faces a ton of competition from Mega Lopunny and Slaking, who are both much stronger even considering Mega Kanga's 1.25x effective damage boost, and have some great traits that Kanga doesn't (dual STAB, Scrappy, and a pivoting move in Lopunny's case and Bulk Up and recovery in Slaking's case). However, Parental Bond and some nice haxy moves in Body Slam, Rock Slide, and Fire Punch could allow Kanga to take on the role of Togekiss' "killing you with hax" or you could just dent things with Parental Bond-boosted Double-Edge. It's also very bulky and has neat defensive options in Wish, Disable, Circle Throw, and Yawn, so maybe it can see some use in that regard as well. Probably not a world-beater, but it shouldn't be bad.
Raichu-Alola @ Light Ball
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Volt Switch
- Surf / Focus Blast
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Volt Switch
- Surf / Focus Blast
This thing lost Surge Surfer, got Light Ball nerfed, and lost Ion Absorb all in the same slate. All of this means that it'll probably be just meh, it's still extremely terrifying as doubling 95 Special Attack is insane and being able to switch into Ground-types is a huge boon for it, but it's not gonna effortlessly cleave through teams like it used to. If you wanna run Special Raichu and don't care that you lose the surprise factor or Raichu being able to run both physical and special sets, I'd use Raichu-A instead
Here's just some speculation on the tier shifts I expect to see due to the changes in the balance. Please note that these tier changes are not official and are just my personal speculation, as I need to playtest a lot of things
Uber -> OU - It's like Gen 3 all over again, it's too bulky to go any lower I think
Uber -> UU - Its massive power reduction makes me think it'll fall out of OU by the next tier shift, but Rinse Off, Sand Rush, and its decent STAB combo might just be barely too much for RU to handle, so UU makes sense to me
Uber -> OU - It's way more limited, but it's still Mega Kanga, I think it'll barely stay in OU for the rest of the gen
Uber -> OU - There's no way something with doubled 95 Special Attack and 110 Speed goes any lower than OU
OU -> UUBL or UU - Out of the OU Rats, Emolga got hurt the most by all of the nerfs to Electric-types in general as well as the Forecast nerf, so I could honestly see it dropping to UU
OU -> UU -Basically the same situation as Dracovish, but it has more coverage but no recovery
UUBL -> UU - Not being to switch into Bug Bite, Pluck, or Incinerate absolutely sucks and further compounds the flaws it already had. I don't think it goes any further than that because of Trick Room being pretty decent in UU though
UUBL -> OU - The only rise I see coming out of the balance slate, mostly since it probably already should've been OU (I mean, it got banned from vanilla NatDex for a reason), but also having its 130 Speed being more valuable and seeing less Blissey is great for it
RUBL -> RU - lol
RUBL/UU -> Whatever the SylveMons equivalent of Untiered is - I'm so sorry
Uber -> OU - It's like Gen 3 all over again, it's too bulky to go any lower I think Uber -> UU - Its massive power reduction makes me think it'll fall out of OU by the next tier shift, but Rinse Off, Sand Rush, and its decent STAB combo might just be barely too much for RU to handle, so UU makes sense to me Uber -> OU - It's way more limited, but it's still Mega Kanga, I think it'll barely stay in OU for the rest of the gen Uber -> OU - There's no way something with doubled 95 Special Attack and 110 Speed goes any lower than OU OU -> UUBL or UU - Out of the OU Rats, Emolga got hurt the most by all of the nerfs to Electric-types in general as well as the Forecast nerf, so I could honestly see it dropping to UU OU -> UU -Basically the same situation as Dracovish, but it has more coverage but no recovery UUBL -> UU - Not being to switch into Bug Bite, Pluck, or Incinerate absolutely sucks and further compounds the flaws it already had. I don't think it goes any further than that because of Trick Room being pretty decent in UU though UUBL -> OU - The only rise I see coming out of the balance slate, mostly since it probably already should've been OU (I mean, it got banned from vanilla NatDex for a reason), but also having its 130 Speed being more valuable and seeing less Blissey is great for it RUBL -> RU - lol RUBL/UU -> Whatever the SylveMons equivalent of Untiered is - I'm so sorryIn addition, with all these updates, most of the sample teams needed updates, so below is all of the new versions of the sample teams:
- Standard Bulky Offense - Aurora Veil Hyper Offense - Bulky Offense but it's VoltTurn - Sun v2 - Sand - Double Dragon Sand- Air Current BirdSpam with Still No Birds- Grassy Terrain - Hazard Stack - killswitch v3 - Rain - The Cooler Rain - Shadow Sky - PsySpam- Spectrier & the Blissey BustersIn addition, here's some new sample teams you can try out featuring the new unbans (other than Raichu-A, which has a couple teams above)
- Regice Balance - Kangsakhan Offense - Dracovish SandAlso, be sure to update your teams if they have any Pokemon who's movepools were change like Hawlucha or Articuno, the validator won't do it for you
That's all for now, but I promise that we'll have more coming soon!