Metagame np: PU Stage 1 - LA Devotee (Thievul Banned)

[zS]

GHOST TYPES

​

Set

Trevenant @ Choice Band
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Grassy Glide / Earthquake / Trick
- Poltergeist
- Sucker Punch / Trick

Sets

Dusknoir @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 112 HP / 252 Atk / 28 Def / 116 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Focus Punch / Power-Up Punch
- Poltergeist
- Shadow Sneak / Toxic

Dusknoir @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Poltergeist
- Shadow Sneak
- Earthquake
- Trick

Hello everyone, I wanted to point out a huge issue that we are facing rn : Ghost Types in PU. Ghost types have been really prominent recently thanks to the huge physical stab they just got with the DLCs : Poltergeist. All the Physical Ghost types that were suffering from the fact that their most powerfull stab was Shadow Claw which is honestly a really weak move received a huge power up with this. 110 Base Power with 90% accuracy and the only condition for using this attack is that the opposing pokemon carries an item which is kinda mandatory in competitive pokemon to make some mons valuable. Trevenant and Dusknoir went from practically unseen to top threats thanks to that move. Trevenant also benefits from the popularity of grassy terrain with grassy glide but that's not the point since it already had sucker punch as a priority move. People start running really obscure sets and start relying on itemless Mawile and Musharna to check those things which shows how much those mons are unhealthy right now.

I know the metagame is about to change in 2 days and everything but I really wanted to point that out. If there's a possibility to get a vote on those mons anytime soon it would be really appreciated since I'm sure i'm not the only one that had issues against those 2 mons. They centralize teambuilding a lot and require perfect plays sometimes to get rid of them since they are also pretty bulky. I consider them banworthy or at least unhealthy for the current metagame and I'm not sure at all if the DLC mons will help against them.

Thanks for reading!

 

[SOMALIA]

Debate time! Not really since I mostly agree!

I'm nowhere as eloquent as brother Zs so I'll keep it short; they both can be revenged without having to use unviable Pokemon, they help check new annoyances such as Kadabra and help keep stall in check (I've been non stop abusing stall (sometimes without Pyuk) for ages now and I find offensive Dusknoir to cause some degree of annoyance however it by no means ever comes close to outright winning games ever).

Being locked into a choice move is never ideal (especially sucker or sneak) and as such allow opposing Pokemon to set up and really cause damage. Poltergeist while seemingly amazing, has very low pp and seeing as the sets posted above punish stall to some degree, 8 pp isn't going far vs stall.

Addiitonally, we need all the spinblockers we can get, Trev doesnt do such a great job at it while Dusknoir is quite reliable vs Mr Rime. There has been a rise in the usage of Shadow Ball and I've even seen a few run Foul Play to 2hko Dusknoir.

Dusknoir and Trev help us in terms of fighting and normal checks which is important and I feel that rushing to get rid of them will once again bring fighters to be super annoying. They also give us a way to punish that annoying mareanie/type-null/silvally core that's quite common. I agree with Zs that they do prevent using certain cool Pokemon or force users to run itemless Pokemon, however they bring a great element of mind games and I enjoy it; i don't think they're broken as such.

Itemless Taunt Dusknoir is such a nuisance for stall and if you are looking for something new to beat opposing ghosts while preventing defoggers while also just shutting down annoying pyuk/mareanie thugs, look no further :)

My 2 cents

 

[termi]

Just letting you all know that the PU council will be voting on Thievul over the weekend. While we are currently hesitant to ban things given the fact that a potentially massive tier shift is ahead of us, Thievul's presence in the metagame has been deemed concerning by many players. Between its newfound access to Burning Jealousy and Stakeout, Choice Specs Thievul has quickly cemented itself as an incredible breaker in the current PU metagame. The fact that Stakeout doubles its damage output on a switchin makes it incredibly difficult to check defensively, since even the more common Dark resists take huge chunks of damage from a Stakeout-boosted Dark Pulse (while a well-timed Psychic or Burning Jealousy typically means a clean OHKO). Its Unburden set, meanwhile, has risen to become a top tier cleaner with its Terrain support being better than ever and one of its few offensive checks (Hitmontop) out of the way. Between these two sets, Thievul heavily constrains teambuilding, increases the degree to which this meta is matchup-based, and generally centralizes the meta around itself, making any action on it - if deemed necessary - urgent. PU Open is starting soon, after all.

 

[zoowi]

2 cute mons

Sandygast @ Eviolite
Ability: Water Compaction
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scorching Sands
- Shore Up
- Stealth Rock
- Shadow Ball

prob one of the few mons that can and would want to use scorching sands (maybe the other being vibrava), he packs some okay bulk and threatens to burn things such as mawile, silvs... not great but at usable, and he can selfheal and is a elec check not weak to ground, and can handle anything well from a pincurchin besides specs scald

Vespiquen (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Dual Wingbeat
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog

used to be that some people ran air slash along uturn, but now you can forgo the mixed attacking stats and attempt to boost the power of both moves by maxing attack, uturn goes from chip damage to noticibly powerful, it's only 5 points less atk than a jolly silv and even without investment vespiquen is still pretty bulky, the dual hit nature of wingbeat can let you force yourself through sub trev and of course is as good coveragewise as air slash was

 

[Tribute]

Is there a master list, like the one on the previous page for CT, of the new moves on existing NU mons from isla de amor?

 

[Pabloaram]

Is there a master list, like the one on the previous page for CT, of the new moves on existing NU mons from isla de amor?

This is the PU forum
If you want someone of NU ask in her forum

 

[Akir]

https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...nd-announcements-thread.3660650/#post-8520811 btw Thievul got banned in case you haven't heard.

 

[Leni]

Council Happenings​

Meta Discussion:
-Last week 2xTheTap mentioned council was looking after Thievul. End of the week Council decided to vote on it. Thievul now on is banned in PU and deeper reasoning you can find here
-Monthly drops and rises will happen this week. This time it will include DLC drops from OU meaning we can expect a bunch of drops again. You can find drop policy for DLC stuff here. Dropping from OU to PU mon has to reach below 1/60th of 4.52% in usage
-Usually we talk broader meta, but shifts being behind the corner - we had just recommend enjoying the meta while it lasts.

VR and Other Votes:
-After tier shift happens council won't be rushing to rank them on VR. If you have something on your mind, feel free to nom!

Forum Happenings:
-The PU Open round 1 has been released. Go contact your opponent! You can still sign up as a sub, if you are not in yet
-Pyrotoz tour sign ups went up as well. Fully randomized team to have some fun - sign ups will be up till Friday July 3 at 10PM EST
-Week 3 of PUPL can be found here
-Kickoff tour has winners side final and losers semi's