SS LC Spotlight: Porygon

By DC. Released: 2022/07/07.
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Brief description

Art by Kolohe.

Introduction

Welcome to the fourth SS LC spotlight, featuring everybody's favorite cyber duck, Porygon. After being banned in SM due to its powerful Z-Conversion set, Porygon appeared in SS with the release of the Crown Tundra DLC. It was dominant right from the start, pairing extremely well with top-tier threats such as Vullaby, Abra, and Scraggy. Porygon's rise as one of the top Pokémon in the metagame also brought forth many developments and changes; Ferroseed and Pawniard rose in popularity, as a Steel-type became a necessity on every team, Vullaby was banned, and many Pokémon such as Ponyta and Foongus started running different EV spreads to prevent Porygon from getting a Special Attack boost from Download. Jumping to the present day, Porygon is still a fixture in the LC metagame and runs a variety of sets that fulfill different niches. Lets take a look at some of the most popular sets!

Sets

Porygon

The most popular Porygon set, Choice Scarf mitigates one of Porygon's main weakness in its Speed, letting it outspeed threats such as Mienfoo, Abra, and Diglett to demolish team with +1 Tri Attack. Tri Attack's ability to inflict status is also dangerous, as it can completely invalidate checks like Ferroseed and Pawniard with a timely freeze. Ice Beam is Porygon's most consistent attack to wear down Ferroseed, and Thunderbolt hits two of Porygon's other best checks in Pawniard and Frillish. Psychic KOes Mienfoo and Poison-types and is a generally good midground attack. Trick is a notable option on certain teams that want to cripple Ferroseed, helping teammates like Abra and Carvanha wreak havoc.

Porygon

Agility turns Porygon into one of LC's deadliest sweepers and cleaners, outspeeding foes such as +1 Tyrunt and Choice Scarf Mienfoo. Porygon is surprisingly bulky, even without investment, and gets setup opportunities against Pokémon like Natu. Tri Attack + BoltBeam hits every Pokémon in the metagame for at least neutral damage. If using Eviolite over Berry Juice, Recover is a fine 4th move option that shores up Porygon's lack of recovery; be sure to pair this variant with a trapper that can handle Pawniard to get the most value!

Porygon

Trace Porygon takes a completely different approach to Porygon and functions as a defensive wall. Copying some of LC's most powerful abilities makes Trace Porygon extremely sturdy; for example, copying Regenerator gives it incredible longevity in conjunction with Recover, copying Magic Guard or Magic Bounce gives it pseudo-status immunity and even ability to bounce back entry hazards, and copying Arena Trap lets it counter trap foes like Diglett and Trapinch and KO them with Ice Beam. Thunder Wave cripples switch-ins like Pawniard, Ferroseed, and Frillish. Teleport is a notable option that turns Porygon into a slow pivot, letting it safely bring in dangerous attackers like Carvanha, Grookey, Abra, and Mienfoo.

Cores

Mienfoo

Mienfoo is one of the best Pokémon to pair with Porygon. It handles Steel-types, provides Knock Off to weaken Frillish, and has U-turn to bring Porygon in against foes like Koffing. It also synergize with Trace Porygon by bringing it in against opposing trappers and benefit from it checking Psychic- and Poison-types.

Diglett Trapinch

Trappers like Diglett and Trapinch are essential to remove troublesome Steel-types for Porygon. Diglett is more flexible and can provide additional utility with Memento to help Agility Porygon set up or Final Gambit to remove a foe like Staryu. Trapinch is more restricted in its trapping, but it handles Ferroseed better with Superpower and has First Impression to get rid of Grookey.

AbraCarvanha Staryu Natu

Abra, Carvanha, Staryu, and Natu provide additional wallbreaking that make it much easier to pressure shared checks like Ferroseed, Pawniard, and Frillish. They also have their own qualities that synergize with Porygon. Focus Sash Abra provides a fail-safe answer to most foes, while Shed Shell Abra can lure in Diglett and switch into Trace Porygon to trap it. Carvanha can pivot with Flip Turn and bring Porygon in safely while also serving a cleaner than benefits from Choice Scarf Porygon's wallbreaking. 3 Attacks Staryu can pressure all three of the shared checks, which lets both Choice Scarf Porygon and Agility Porygon clean effectively. Natu resists Mach Punch and Grassy Glide, provides a solid Ground immunity, and denies entry hazards with Magic Bounce, keeping Porygon healthy.

Counterplay

Although Porygon is incredibly strong and versatile, it also has its fair share of weaknesses. All Porygon variants are susceptible to priority; Fake Out Mienfoo is on almost every team, and a team can often fit multiple priority moves by using a combination like Mienfoo + Pawniard + Grookey. Furthermore, barring hyper offense teams, almost every team will run a Steel-type to check Porygon and Psychic-types. Other forms of counterplay are set specific. For Choice Scarf Porygon, it is important to exploit its Choice-lock with a combination of good teambuilding and utilizing Protect. Many good teams have a strong way to punish Porygon for choosing a wrong attack; for example, running Mienfoo + Pawniard + Diglett forces Porygon to choose its attacks correctly, as locking into Thunderbolt can leave it trapped by Diglett and Ice Beam doesn't pressure Mienfoo or Pawniard enough. This choice can be made more difficult by Protect, as it allows the opponent to scout Porygon more effectively. For non-Choice Scarf Porygon, the most important counterplay is to exploit its low Speed. Many offensive threats such as Mienfoo, Abra, and Grookey can heavily pressure Porygon into never getting an opportunity to use Agility or force it to only use Recover, which severely limit its effectiveness.

Finishing Thoughts

Porygon has been a complete menace in SS since its release, and that trend doesn't look to change anytime soon. From having a variety of sets to synergizing with the metagame's biggest threats, it has had a significant impact on the metagame. However, despite how good Porygon has been, it also has notable weaknesses that can be exploited during teambuilding and the course of a match. Try using the lovely cyber duck in your next Pokémon battle and see how good it can be for yourself!

HTML by Ryota Mitarai.
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