OMotM/LCotM Spotlight: Tier Shift and Pure Hackmons
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Art by anundeadboy.
What is an OMotM/LCotM?
The OMotM, or Other Metagame of the Month, is the metagame that is voted by the players to have a ladder for a specific month. The LCotM, or Leader's Choice of the Month, is a second ladder that is chosen specifically by OM Forum Mods. For the most part, the LCotM is a metagame that needs more love, as it may not be able to compete with the others that get nominated for the OMotM voting.
For June, the OMotM is Tier Shift, while the Leader's Choice is Pure Hackmons!
Introduction to Tier Shift
Tier Shift is an OM that has been around since the good old days of ORAS, with each generation having a similar yet different interpretation of the premise. The premise is simple: every Pokémon below OU gains an increase to each of their non-HP base stats based on their tier. They are increased as such: UU and RUBL Pokémon have each of their non-HP stats increased by 15, RU and NUBL Pokémon have each of their non-HP stats increased by 20, NU and PUBL Pokémon's stats are increased by 25, and PU, ZUBL, ZU, NFE, and LC Pokémon receive an increase of 30.
This generation's powercreep has enabled Pokémon like Slither Wing and Volcanion to rest comfortably in lower tiers, and with their boosts from Tier Shift, they have base stats rivaling Ubers like Groudon and Eternatus. As a result, this generation is the first to have opted to unban a majority of Ubers into the tier, where they are free to roam with their lower-tiered rivals as options for your team. With so many viable Pokémon in the tier, why not give Tier Shift a try and prove the stereotype that you can't win with your favorites wrong!
Threats in Tier Shift
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New stats: 50/150/83/65/140/117 |
New stats: 90/145/110/105/110/120 |
Hitmonlee (M) @ Grassy Seed / Psychic Seed / White Herb
Zapdos-Galar @ Choice Scarf / Choice BandMake no mistake—while these two physically oriented Pokémon may share a Fighting typing, they play entirely different roles! Hitmonlee is a terrifying setup sweeper commonly found on, but not restricted to, Terrain teams where it threatens to win the game on the spot after given a free turn of setup, which is made easier due to the boost in bulk from a Terrain seed.
Galarian Zapdos on the other hand is a potent pivot with well-rounded stats that can either revenge kill or blast holes into the opposing team with its great Attack, above-average Speed, and strong STAB options, making it a potent anti-offense tool. Defiant tops it all off, punishing a predicted Defog from users like Mandibuzz and Altaria by switching in and threatening them immediately.
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New stats: 80/140/90/180/160/100 |
New stats: 75/95/98/142/184/105 |
Hoopa @ Choice Scarf / Choice Specs / Heavy-Duty Boots
Florges (F) @ LeftoversThese two special attackers with similar stat spreads are dangerous threats with their own merits. With a massive Special Attack stat, serviceable Speed, and a spammable STAB move in Shadow Ball, Hoopa can either act as a great speed control option with Choice Scarf, a wallbreaker like no other with Choice Specs, or even a game-ending threat with Nasty Plot.
Florges conversely acts as bulky booster with a great natural typing and the second highest Special Defense in the tier after Regice. Depending on the team, Florges can invest into Defense to alleviate its frailty on the physical end or invest even more into its naturally high Specially Defense to handle special attackers better. Psychic Noise helps Florges to muscle past walls like Chansey and hits Poison-types like Salazzle hard.
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New stats: 65/110/140/105/90/80 |
New stats: 95/90/109/130/155/111 |
Weezing-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Rocky HelmetWhile Galarian Weezing may not be able to boost its paltry base 65 HP, it makes up for it with an excellent 140 base Defense, a decent 90 base Special Defense, and a typing that matches up well against many physical attackers; Galarian Weezing also serves as a great physical wall that can spread status and act as entry hazard removal if need be.
Milotic is a great sponge that can easily take hits for offensive teammates and pivot out, courtesy of its impressive defensive stats. Depending on the team's needs, Milotic can either act as a pure special wall with maximized Special Defense or as a mixed wall to handle threats like Psyshock Hoopa better.
Introduction to Pure Hackmons
Pure Hackmons is a metagame where anything directly directly hackable onto a set (including formes, maxed out EVs, abilities, items, and moves) and usable in Scarlet and Violet local battles is allowed. Integral aspects about a Pokémon like base stats, typing, the level 100 cap or the four-move cap cannot be edited, but a Pokémon may use any item, any move, or any ability. Unlike Balanced Hackmons, which maintains a limited banlist for centralization and, well, balance purposes, trainers are free to let their imaginations run wild with no limitations in Pure Hackmons!
This leads to strategies like Wonder Guard Ludicolo, Neutralizing Gas Primal Groudon, and Huge Power Kartana to be top tier options. Pure Hackmons, while it is an incredibly versatile metagame, also happens to be a highly centralized one due to the inherently broken nature of some strategies: almost every team should have a Regieleki and at least one Wonder Guard user, while most teams should also make use of powerful threats like Arceus formes and Blissey. Do note however that some formes, such as Zygarde-C and Eternatus-E, are hard-coded to be unusable in battle (only with prior transformation where possible).
Threats in Pure Hackmons
Regieleki @ Focus Sash- Ability: Shadow Tag
- Tera Type: Normal
- EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Jolly Nature
- - Last Respects
- - Spore
- - Corrosive Gas
- - Revival Blessing
Just by nature of being the fastest Pokémon in the game, Regieleki is also far and away the best Pokémon in Pure Hackmons. Moving first is everything when you have so many broken options to utilize! Last Respects and Revival Blessing have obvious synergy, with Regieleki able to boost the power of the move even further while also reviving a powerful teammate like Mega Lopunny or an Arceus forme.
Spore is unsurprisingly broken when your Pokémon is nigh guaranteed to move first, and Corrosive Gas allows Regieleki to remove any pesky Ability Shields or Safety Goggles it comes across, even through Wonder Guard. Focus Sash ensures it can take any hit and return the blow with Last Respects, while Tera Normal allows it to block opposing Last Respects.
Groudon-Primal @ Safety Goggles- Ability: Neutralizing Gas
- Tera Type: Normal
- EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Adamant Nature
- - Shell Smash
- - Headlong Rush
- - Magic Room
- - Bitter Blade
Primal Groudon is perfectly situated to leverage its huge stats and great STAB combination to be a devastating sweeper, making use of Shell Smash to tear through teams. Magic Room allows Primal Groudon to deny its foes the effects of their items, which, in tandem with Neutralizing Gas, allows it to hit Wonder Guard users like Ludicolo and Mega Audino by nullifying Ability Shield. Bitter Blade helps to offset the bulk drops of Shell Smash and Headlong Rush, keeping Primal Groudon healthy and making it harder to revenge kill.
Arceus-Water @ Ability Shield
- Ability: Magic Bounce
- Tera Type: Normal
- EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Impish Nature
- - Tidy Up
- - Perish Song
- - Revival Blessing
- - Ceaseless Edge
Arceus formes are some of the most flexible and customizable options in the format thanks to their amazingly balanced stats, letting them take on any role from sweeper to tank to wall. Arceus-Water in particular is an excellent stopgap to attackers like Primal Groudon and Kartana while also being a beacon of utility thanks to Magic Bounce and its fantastically balanced stats. Perish Song is incredibly useful to interrupt Baton Pass chains, while Revival Blessing is always appreciated to give a teammate a new lease on life. Ceaseless Edge is preferred over Spikes to bypass Magic Bounce as well as threaten Wonder Guard Hisuian Zoroark.
Final Thoughts
From the limitless options of Pure Hackmons to the equalization and optimization presented by Tier Shift, this month's metagames provide something for every trainer to enjoy! Be sure to join us in the Other Metagames Discord and the Other Metagames room on Pokémon Showdown! to discuss, learn, and play these metagames and all of the others we have to offer! Enjoy the Tier Shift and Pure Hackmons ladders for the rest of June!
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