Pokemon VGC 2015 Metagame Megathread
Oh Justin, you have me talking about VGC15... Let's start.
VGC15 is here with complete recognition. With new rules, I think it's time to start talking about our new threats, new meta's, and new strategies.
New Threats
When talking in Smogon terms, anyone would say that Cresselia is just one of those annoying tanks that actually can be eliminated fairly easily by Pokemon in greater tiers, especially Ubers. Pokemon such as Mega Gengar, or even Gengar alone, can take out this Pokemon of majestic crescents. However, even though Mega Gengar is just pure Speed and Special Attack, the best things that Cresselia tanks, it can still faint this Pokemon. Personally, I sometimes don't understand why we are seeing more Mega Kangaskhan in VGC than Mega Gengar.
Cresselia is also one of those Pokemon that just taunt to be Knock'ed Off. Most Cresselias carry either Leftovers, Sitrus Berry, or even Assault Vest (more about this below)! This is one of Cresselia's weaknesses because, with its pure Psychic typing, it is weak to Dark types (...and Ghost and Bug types). Mega Gengar gets access to Knock Off and some Ghost type moves like Shadow Ball, which has a 20% chance to drop the opponent's Special Defense by 1 stage.
Mega Gengar does exceptionally well in doubles, especially since it gains access to Dazzling Gleam, and if you can get your hands on an Event Gengar, Sludge Wave. You can keep Gengar protected when you pair it with a Follow Me Pokemon, you know, one of those Pokemon like last year's Se Jun Park's Pachirisu. Togekiss fits this spot perfectly because it resists one of Mega Gengar's weaknesses, is immune to another, and the other two weaknesses are neutral to Togekiss. Togekiss also gains access to Follow Me, and the famous Air Slash + Serene Grace Ability. Togekiss is a tank... Tankiss. You can run them offensively and very defensively, with access to Roost. My advice when running Mega Gengar with a Follow Me Pokemon, have two Pokemon on your team that can learn Follow Me and still help support Gengar or whoever you're pairing it with.
More on Cresselia, though. Since Cresselia only has the Ability Levitate, most people will probably pair them with some Pokemon that knows Earthquake. Togekiss has pure immunity to Ground-type moves, and regular Gengar also has the Ability Levitate. With Assault Vest Cresselia, these will actually be easier to faint because they are still prone to Knock Off and won't have any Status moves.
More threats like the Genies now exist, too. Most are going to be tanky, but you still see some offensive Pokemon like Landorus-Therian. Most will set up rocks and other entry hazards, and then either Earthquake or U-turn out the rest of the time they are around. The team above counters this. As for the Prankster lord himself, Thundurus is just a defensive Zapdos. It has the Prankster Ability and gains access to Knock Off. It also has Swagger! It has that coverage of Thunder Wave and Swagger which makes your opponent have a super hard time hitting through the confusion and paralysis at the same time. Things to look out for: Talonflame. Even though both of Talonflame's STABs are resisted, it still has Priority to Flying-type moves, which can still hurt. However, Brave Bird still deals tons of recoil damage and you can counter by using Thunderbolt. (Don't use Thunder! It has great power and all, but you'll find it misses at the times you need it the most.)
Possible Meta
I'm not going to right this huge post saying that Mega Gengar will be the new meta because nobody is required to take this seriously. However, I do see Gengar and Mega Gengar as a new threat to the new threats. But I've also spent a lot of time battling on play.pokemonshowdown.com and I'm seeing and using tons of other new Pokemon. Diggersby, surprisingly, is becoming quite popular. Even I use it and I think it's very good.
Diggersby has the Ability Huge Power, you remember that from Azumarill? This is what I've been thinking: Choice Scarf Diggersby. I LOVE this Pokemon because, with a max Speed and Attack investment, Diggersby is such a dangerous Pokemon because it has Huge Power and STAB to such a powerful move like Return. With Choice Scarf, you will be out-speeding so many Pokemon except for a few legendaries. It even out-speeds Greninja, a huge threat! My favorite set on Scarfed Diggersby: Return, Earthquake, Wild Charge, U-turn with an Adamant Nature.
I must be honest though, I never really believed in Diggersby until I recently watching a tournament hosted by JFlynn. Dunsel_ brought a Diggersby with Return and was paired with a Choice Specs Chandelure spamming Heat Wave. Common weaknesses? Water and Ground... that's it. With Diggersby, the idea is to out-speed almost any threat and then just clean up both slots on the opposing side with Chandelure's Heat Wave.
When I'm thinking about "meta" Pokemon, I primarily think of Sweepers, but I think we can all agree that we will be seeing a lot of Cresselia and Genies. However, with Se Jun Park's move last year with winning with a Pachirisu, I can totally see that sparking up a new Pokemon mindset that smaller, less popular Pokemon will definitely be debuting. However, on Showdown!, I see a lot of Rotom-Wash, some Snorlax, and sweepers like Diggersby, Mega Gengar, and, still, Mega Kangaskhan.
I think we definitely have an interesting mix this year with new legendaries allowed. I think we're going to see something unexpected, but many things expected. I'm soooooo excited to watch this year's matches and excited to hear Justin's awesome commentary!
Happy VGC15 everybody and GG!
VGC15 is here with complete recognition. With new rules, I think it's time to start talking about our new threats, new meta's, and new strategies.
New Threats
When talking in Smogon terms, anyone would say that Cresselia is just one of those annoying tanks that actually can be eliminated fairly easily by Pokemon in greater tiers, especially Ubers. Pokemon such as Mega Gengar, or even Gengar alone, can take out this Pokemon of majestic crescents. However, even though Mega Gengar is just pure Speed and Special Attack, the best things that Cresselia tanks, it can still faint this Pokemon. Personally, I sometimes don't understand why we are seeing more Mega Kangaskhan in VGC than Mega Gengar.
Cresselia is also one of those Pokemon that just taunt to be Knock'ed Off. Most Cresselias carry either Leftovers, Sitrus Berry, or even Assault Vest (more about this below)! This is one of Cresselia's weaknesses because, with its pure Psychic typing, it is weak to Dark types (...and Ghost and Bug types). Mega Gengar gets access to Knock Off and some Ghost type moves like Shadow Ball, which has a 20% chance to drop the opponent's Special Defense by 1 stage.
Mega Gengar does exceptionally well in doubles, especially since it gains access to Dazzling Gleam, and if you can get your hands on an Event Gengar, Sludge Wave. You can keep Gengar protected when you pair it with a Follow Me Pokemon, you know, one of those Pokemon like last year's Se Jun Park's Pachirisu. Togekiss fits this spot perfectly because it resists one of Mega Gengar's weaknesses, is immune to another, and the other two weaknesses are neutral to Togekiss. Togekiss also gains access to Follow Me, and the famous Air Slash + Serene Grace Ability. Togekiss is a tank... Tankiss. You can run them offensively and very defensively, with access to Roost. My advice when running Mega Gengar with a Follow Me Pokemon, have two Pokemon on your team that can learn Follow Me and still help support Gengar or whoever you're pairing it with.
More on Cresselia, though. Since Cresselia only has the Ability Levitate, most people will probably pair them with some Pokemon that knows Earthquake. Togekiss has pure immunity to Ground-type moves, and regular Gengar also has the Ability Levitate. With Assault Vest Cresselia, these will actually be easier to faint because they are still prone to Knock Off and won't have any Status moves.
More threats like the Genies now exist, too. Most are going to be tanky, but you still see some offensive Pokemon like Landorus-Therian. Most will set up rocks and other entry hazards, and then either Earthquake or U-turn out the rest of the time they are around. The team above counters this. As for the Prankster lord himself, Thundurus is just a defensive Zapdos. It has the Prankster Ability and gains access to Knock Off. It also has Swagger! It has that coverage of Thunder Wave and Swagger which makes your opponent have a super hard time hitting through the confusion and paralysis at the same time. Things to look out for: Talonflame. Even though both of Talonflame's STABs are resisted, it still has Priority to Flying-type moves, which can still hurt. However, Brave Bird still deals tons of recoil damage and you can counter by using Thunderbolt. (Don't use Thunder! It has great power and all, but you'll find it misses at the times you need it the most.)
Possible Meta
I'm not going to right this huge post saying that Mega Gengar will be the new meta because nobody is required to take this seriously. However, I do see Gengar and Mega Gengar as a new threat to the new threats. But I've also spent a lot of time battling on play.pokemonshowdown.com and I'm seeing and using tons of other new Pokemon. Diggersby, surprisingly, is becoming quite popular. Even I use it and I think it's very good.
Diggersby has the Ability Huge Power, you remember that from Azumarill? This is what I've been thinking: Choice Scarf Diggersby. I LOVE this Pokemon because, with a max Speed and Attack investment, Diggersby is such a dangerous Pokemon because it has Huge Power and STAB to such a powerful move like Return. With Choice Scarf, you will be out-speeding so many Pokemon except for a few legendaries. It even out-speeds Greninja, a huge threat! My favorite set on Scarfed Diggersby: Return, Earthquake, Wild Charge, U-turn with an Adamant Nature.
I must be honest though, I never really believed in Diggersby until I recently watching a tournament hosted by JFlynn. Dunsel_ brought a Diggersby with Return and was paired with a Choice Specs Chandelure spamming Heat Wave. Common weaknesses? Water and Ground... that's it. With Diggersby, the idea is to out-speed almost any threat and then just clean up both slots on the opposing side with Chandelure's Heat Wave.
When I'm thinking about "meta" Pokemon, I primarily think of Sweepers, but I think we can all agree that we will be seeing a lot of Cresselia and Genies. However, with Se Jun Park's move last year with winning with a Pachirisu, I can totally see that sparking up a new Pokemon mindset that smaller, less popular Pokemon will definitely be debuting. However, on Showdown!, I see a lot of Rotom-Wash, some Snorlax, and sweepers like Diggersby, Mega Gengar, and, still, Mega Kangaskhan.
I think we definitely have an interesting mix this year with new legendaries allowed. I think we're going to see something unexpected, but many things expected. I'm soooooo excited to watch this year's matches and excited to hear Justin's awesome commentary!
Happy VGC15 everybody and GG!
