Does anyone else think Moltres is going to get better?
Moltres @ Life Orb
Ability: Flame Body/Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
- Hidden Power Grass
- Roost
As far as checks and counters with the tier shift; zap is gone so one less volt-turner, Celebi goes down 1v1, conk goes down 1v1, and it resists Sylveon's STAB.
Some calcs:
Vs Conkeldurr, even the AV set goes down
252 SpA Life Orb Moltres Hurricane vs. 48 HP / 0 SpD Conkeldurr: 647-764 (178.2 - 210.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Moltres Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 236 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr: 320-377 (91.1 - 107.4%) -- 50% chance to OHKO; 81% with SR
Vs Celebi
252 SpA Life Orb Moltres Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Celebi: 359-424 (88.8 - 104.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
And max HP/SpD isn't even a real Celebi set (or at least it shouldn't be)
Vs Sylveon
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Moltres: 160-189 (49.8 - 58.8%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
Luckily we have roost, and it can easily be pressure stalled while Sylv is locked in. It doesn't have anything else to reliably 2hko.
252+ SpA Choice Specs Sylveon Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Moltres: 139-164 (43.3 - 51%) -- 5.5% chance to 2HKO
It lacks good priority, but in many cases it can withstand and hit back
252+ Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Moltres: 260-307 (80.9 - 95.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Moltres Hidden Power Grass vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Crawdaunt: 268-317 (100 - 118.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Flame body might be the better ability here, but pressure is probably more overall useful compared to situational usefulness.
Common counter arguments:
Stealth rock- I know it has the 4x SR weakness, but that doesn't stop charizard from being OU (the megas, i know). A little hazard control in the form of tentacruel or empoleon can go a long way. Heck, even something like a magic bouncing lead in choice + trick espeon could be a good partner, or a personal favorite, magic coat/lunar dance/ Twave/ Filler Cresselia, but that's another argument in itself.
Accuracy- Yes, fire blast is 85 and hurricane is 70, but that's part of the game, how many Torns run hurricane? how many Zams and hoopas run focus blast? I lost a battle yesterday missing 3 consecutive HJK's with a Mienshao, RNGesus isn't an effective argument.
4 Move slot syndrome- IMO, the most overrated criticism of a mon. I can name a dozen mons in every tier where as soon as you see them you know their sets.
BL2 ranking- I am not saying it should shoot to A+ and UU status overnight, and besides that's for the viability thread, i wouldn't honestly know where to place it right now. I just think it does deserve some recognition in this new meta and hope you all agree or have opinions on this as well.