Assistance

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JungleB

JungleB

Approved by Eevee General
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Assist is a move that allows the user to use any move that an ally knows, and is not on a list of moves it cannot select. It's a move that is often regarded as very gimmicky, so why not make it it less so? Well, that's what the goal of this metagame is.

So how will this work?
Well I'm glad you asked hypothetical person, because I was just about to explain that! You see, several things are done in this meta to try to make assist more viable. First off, any pokemon can use assist now! This means you won't be stuck with unviable pokemon such as Spinda or Purugly, but instead can have Thunderus call spore from your Smeargle!

Another big change is that any pokemon can use any move that assist cannot call, with the exceptions of Sketch, Transform, and Struggle. A list of them can be found here: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Assist_(move) This means it will be a lot easier to call the move you want with Assist.

However, the biggest change is that assist cannot call any move that is in the same moveslot as it! This means if your Mew has assist in it's first moveslot, then the Spore in Smeargle's first slot will not be called, or any other move in the first moveslot of any of your pokemon. This applies to all pokemon on your team. So if Mew had assist in it's first moveslot, and Thunderus had it in it's second, then Assist would not call any move from the first or second slot.

What Bans/Unbans are there?
  • Standard OU Banlist
Possible Bans / Suspects:
  • Thunderus-I
  • Smeargle
  • Mega Gardevoir
  • Prankster

Cool! What pokemon and strategies are viable in this?
Well, because this has not been coded, there's no way to know for sure, but here's a bit of speculation.

Also, if you post a cool, viable set, I might add it to the OP!
First of all, I see the meta being very offensive. With everything able to pack a powerful move, stall and other defensively oriented teams seem less viable. However, due to the fact that most teams will only be running one move to be chosen by assist, most teams will either mainly physically oriented, or specially oriented. This means teams with a wall for both, may just find a niche, as it will become a bit easier for one pokemon to wall a whole team.

I can also see that there will be a few moves that will be quite viable in this meta. Here's a short list of some I see as being viable (With a quick explanation.):
  • Spore (anything gets at least one free turn to set up or support it's team.)
  • V-Create (a very nice offensive type, and very powerful. Could be especially useful in helping contrary users find a niche.)
  • Boomburst (while few things can really abuse this move, the ones who can are capable of totally nuking everything. 140 BP move with 100% accuracy and no drawbacks? count me in. Finding a pokemon to assist others in using this move may be hard though.)
  • Knock Off (giving anything a way to remove items will be neat.)
  • Quiver Dance (providing a way to give very useful boosts to anything? Whynaut?)
  • Shell Smash (a way to make everything super hard will be quite the addition for any offensive team.)
  • Recover / Clones (a nice way to give recovery to pokemon that don't have it, or can't have it because it's incompatible with another move.)
Additionally, I can foresee some pokemon becoming very good in this metagame, whether it be because of beging able to assist their allies in using certain moves, or being able to utilize those abilities effectively. Here's a few ideas, with a short reasoning:
  • Smeargle (able to assist allies in using almost any move in the game.)
  • Thundurus-I (able to abuse assist thanks to prankster and good speed and offences.)
  • Victini (has a wide variety of offensive moves it can assist allies with, such a V-Create, Bolt Strike, and Blue Flare)
  • Mega Gardevoir (able to be a total nuke with boomburst)
  • Ditto (able to be a great revenge killer and not interfere with assist.)
  • Mew (able to assist allies in using many moves, and has relatively high stats to boot.)
(Assistants refers to pokemon that provide moves to assist users.)

Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- ???
- ???
- ???
- Spore / Dark Void

Smeargle is an amazing assistant, because it can learn just about any move! However, Smeargle's best role will most likely be to give it's allies a sleep move. Plenty of pokemon would love to be able to set up freely, so here's a good option! Smeargle's wide movepool also allows it to take on many other roles as well, so go wild with your imagination!

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Noivern @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Air Slash / Hurricane
- Switcheroo / U-Turn / Flamethrower
- Boomburst

This set is intended to provide Boomburst to it's allies, while still trying to deal some damage itself. Draco Meteor is a move that it can use to deal massive damage to it's foes, but will force it to switch out next turn. Air Slash and Hurricane work well as flying STABs, be you'll have to choose between them based off whether you'd prefer more power or accuracy. Switcheroo can be used to cripple walls, U-Turn gives it a nice way to pivot out into it's allies, and Flamethrower gives it some more coverage.
(This section details pokemon that can utilize assist effectively.)

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Thundurus @ Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Assist (To be assisted by Spore/Dark Void)
- Thunderbolt
- Destiny Bond Hidden Power Ice / Focus Blast / Chatter
- Destiny Bond / Hidden Power Ice / Focus Blast / Chatter

Thunderus will work great with an assistant with a sleep move, due to the fact that it it has Prankster. Thanks to that, it will work great as a stallbreaker. Destiny Bond is so that the move in that slot slot isn't accidentally picked by a teammate. It also gets a semi-decent flying stab in the form of chatter(the 100% confuse chance only works on Chatot) and it also can't be picked by assist, meaning yet another reason to use it. The other moves are standard STAB/coverage for it.

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Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Assist (To be assisted be Boomburst)
- Focus Blast / Psyshock
- King's Shield
Holy crap. This set is the embodiment of death. Thanks to Gardevoir gaining Pixelate after mega evolution, it now has a 140 base power STAB move to nuke thinks with. And if that weren't enough, it can boost it's damage output and special defense with Calm Mind! King's Sheil also allows it to gain a bit better physical bulk against foes with contact moves, and it doesn't interfere with the assist of it's allies. Focus Blast hits more things super effectively, but has low accuracy, whereas Psyshock allows it to gain a secondary STAB that hits on the physical side.

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Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Assist (To be assisted by Spore)
- Recover
- Destiny Bond
This set is intended to provide some utility with prankster spore and taunt. Recover will heal off damage and Destiny Bond gives it a way to KO it's foes if it's going to get knocked out itself. However, the main idea behind this set is that you should not mega evolve him right away. Do to the huge utility prankster provides, Sabeleye can be huge team player with it. However, it loses it upon mega evolution in exchange for Magic Bounce. This can really help you out, as it allows you to unexpectedly reflect the opponent's status move back at it, such as the very annoying Spore. It can be a huge help to the you as have effectively changed sabeleye's role entirely. Now, rather than a prankster support pokemon, it's a very bulky threat that can be used to discourage the spam of spore and other status moves.
(Other refers to pokemon that don't quite fit the roles lised above, but can still be effective regardless, thanks to their enhanced movepools.)
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Ditto @ Choice Scarf / Focus Sash
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Roar
- Feint
- Switcheroo
- Counter / Mirror Coat

Ditto is already a pretty good revenge killer, and already doesn't interfere with assist, but this set allows it to transform even in situations where it normally couldn't. Roar is to force out other Dittos, and Feint is to break Illusions, allowing it to transform into the foe. Switcheroo can force a choise scarf onto and opponent, and Counter Coat can allow Ditto to deal some damage.

So that' about it! This metagame will require a lot of thinking in terms of what moves you give your pokemon, and where you put them. Of course, this meta will also encourage creativity, because of the sheer number of things you can do with it! And... uh... I'm not good with closing statements, so just take this replay to see a usage of assist in OU: http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/ou-20651579
 
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Even with the calling filter, you still only have a 20% max chance of actually getting the move you're looking for without having it on multiple Mons. It's still just a luck-based gimmick. Also, that "OU" Battle was laughably bad starting from Turn 1 for many reasons (including, but not limited to: A Mono-Bug team, a team with Spinda in it, a Sun team where half of the team gets nothing out of it, Ninetales not OHKOing Forretress after Mimicking SR from it, Ninetales with Mimic, Forretress staying in on a Ninetales, the list goes on and on).
 
Dry Paratroopa said:
Even with the calling filter, you still only have a 20% max chance of actually getting the move you're looking for without having it on multiple Mons.
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Which is why I let all pokemon learn all moves that assist can't call.

Also, the OU battle wasn't meant to be a serious battle, but rather to showcase the possibilities that assist can have if used correctly. And with it a lot easier to use now, there's a ton of possibilities that are opened up!
 
I like the idea of making Assist better/more interesting, but this doesn't seem to make it all that interesting. I'd rather see a more controlled version -something like "Assist always calls a move from last Pokemon in the team, and calls from the exact same move slot as Assist is placed in".
 
Ghoul King said:
I like the idea of making Assist better/more interesting, but this doesn't seem to make it all that interesting. I'd rather see a more controlled version -something like "Assist always calls a move from last Pokemon in the team, and calls from the exact same move slot as Assist is placed in".
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The reason it is as is, is in order to make things a lot less mindless. This way, you won't just get some sort of super powerful buff with no drawbacks. That said however, it does kind of limit you as to what you can do by putting moves you don't really want in the last slot.

So, I'm going to come up with some sort of compromise between the two, then add a poll to the OP. I'll the following options:
  • Keep as is
  • Compromise (whatever it turns out to be)
  • Your suggestion
  • Other (which people will post in the thread)
As for what NOCturnal Hunter said about smeargle, I agree that smeargle will be a very good pokemon here, but I'm not totally sure it's banworthy. (Although it is a definite possibility.) The reason I think so is because smeargle will rarely be able to do much beyond just assisting teammates. Although I'd love to here some more thoughts on the possibility of a smeargle ban.
 
The reason it is as is, is in order to make things a lot less mindless. This way, you won't just get some sort of super powerful buff with no drawbacks.
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Randomness isn't less mindless. It's random. It's out of your control. It's the very definition of mindless.

And why should anybody care about the possibility of getting "super powerful buffs" with "no drawbacks" if every team can get them?

As for what NOCturnal Hunter said about smeargle, I agree that smeargle will be a very good pokemon here, but I'm not totally sure it's banworthy. (Although it is a definite possibility.) The reason I think so is because smeargle will rarely be able to do much beyond just assisting teammates. Although I'd love to here some more thoughts on the possibility of a smeargle ban.
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Smeargle is already used in Singles for its ability to ridiculous gimmicky combos, and many of the components of these gimmicky combos are useful to other Pokemon in their own right. (eg Spore, Quiver Dance) I don't know if Smeargle will be ban-worthy per se, but it's not a case of gifting Smeargle a niche where it normally is useless -it's a matter of tremendously increasing the utility of an already-useful Pokemon, far beyond the increase any other Pokemon receives.
 
I gave every pokemon all the moves that won't be effected by assist for a reason. If you don't want to use them to keep it from being totally random, that fine by me.

One of the major goals I had with this meta was to make a sort of risk vs reward system. You take the risk of sacrificing moves on your pokemon in exchange for getting very useful moves. If that's taken away, then the meta is basically turned into a meta where you have one useless pokemon, and the rest of your team gets one useful attack.

But apparently risk vs reward has no place in OMs, because all people fucking want are extremely powerful with no additional strategy involved!
 
JungleB said:
I gave every pokemon all the moves that won't be effected by assist for a reason. If you don't want to use them to keep it from being totally random, that fine by me.

One of the major goals I had with this meta was to make a sort of risk vs reward system. You take the risk of sacrificing moves on your pokemon in exchange for getting very useful moves. If that's taken away, then the meta is basically turned into a meta where you have one useless pokemon, and the rest of your team gets one useful attack.

But apparently risk vs reward has no place in OMs, because all people fucking want are extremely powerful with no additional strategy involved!
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It's not risk vs. reward or strategy when all of the risk, reward, and actions rely on the outcome of RNG. This is the exact reason why Swagger got banned. The only other thing this meta adds is that everyone gets King's Shield, Spiky Shield, Roar/Whirlwind, Dragon Tail/Circle Throw, and Trick/Switcheroo now, as they are the only usable moves not callable by Assist.
 
Some unorganized thoughts.

Unaware Clefable gets a phazing move of choice (depends whether you're more worried about Magic Bounce or Fairy/Ghost types), letting it deal with whatever monstrosity your opponent has boosted into. A set of Wish / Spiky Shield / Heal Bell / Phazing would make it an excellent support Pokemon. Could also switch out Wish+Protect for Soft-Boiled and Thunder Wave.

On that note, Ferrothorn might like the opportunity to phaze something into its hazards and keep things from setting up.

Regigigas gets Spiky Shield. Assist-calling-Shell Smash-or-Belly Drum / Return / Coverage / Spiky Shield could maybe be a usable set?

Anything with Prankster gets Copycat and Destiny Bond, provided we don't ban it. Gothitelle gets Destiny Bond.

Breloom can provide Spore for the team, absorb Spores, and gets Spiky Shield / King's Shield for its defensive sets. Might also enjoy running Circle Throw over Drain Punch to play with the opponent a bit, but it really can't be spammed for obvious reasons.

With Spores flying everywhere, Rest-Talk and other status absorbers are probably a good idea. CroCune/CroBro certainly would not mind taking that role on for Quiver Dance teams, and can use Sleep Talk elegantly to fill a not-called-by-Assist slot.

Smeargle can also give its teammates Geomancy if it stays unbanned.

Taunt will probably be important.
 
JungleB said:
I gave every pokemon all the moves that won't be effected by assist for a reason. If you don't want to use them to keep it from being totally random, that fine by me.

One of the major goals I had with this meta was to make a sort of risk vs reward system. You take the risk of sacrificing moves on your pokemon in exchange for getting very useful moves. If that's taken away, then the meta is basically turned into a meta where you have one useless pokemon, and the rest of your team gets one useful attack.

But apparently risk vs reward has no place in OMs, because all people fucking want are extremely powerful with no additional strategy involved!
Click to expand...

Managing randomness is not much of a strategy. Matches will still hinge primarily on randomness, unless you are able to reduce randomness down to zero or near-zero -at which point it's not so much making Assist more useful and interesting as it is Team Sketchmons: pick a move. Your entire team can learn that move.

Frankly Team Sketchmons is infinitely more interesting.
 
Dry Paratroopa said:
Even with the calling filter, you still only have a 20% max chance of actually getting the move you're looking for without having it on multiple Mons. It's still just a luck-based gimmick. Also, that "OU" Battle was laughably bad starting from Turn 1 for many reasons (including, but not limited to: A Mono-Bug team, a team with Spinda in it, a Sun team where half of the team gets nothing out of it, Ninetales not OHKOing Forretress after Mimicking SR from it, Ninetales with Mimic, Forretress staying in on a Ninetales, the list goes on and on).
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— Ninetales had ONLY Mimic so as not to interfere with Assist, since Assist cannot call Mimic.

— Everything on that team other than Ditto benefited from Ninetales's Sun because the only move that Assist could call was V-create. That team's only offensive move (other than possibly copying things with Mimic) is V-create. It entirely relies on the raw power of Sun-boosted V-creates. Everything on that team was either Banded or Scarfed.

— Forretress may as well stay in on Ninetales because Sturdy guarantees its survival against Ninetales anyway, and with the lack of Defog in Gen 5 there is absolutely no reason Forretress to care if it dies against a team with no spinner.
 
It's not risk vs reward. It's probability/hax. How would you even plan your team with such wild possibilities?

Personally I'd hate to lose to chance at the very end of a battle even when I've done well until then.
 
I... I... You know what? Fine... Everybody is just refusing to use the resources I included to completely remove the element of hax, but everybody is still being total dicks about it. So you know what?

Eevee General just lock this thread. The complete lack of respect towards this metagame and myself have made me lose faith in the very reason I joined this site in the first place. I am sick of everyone acting like total assholes to me, so now I just want this thread closed.

I'm sorry to everyone who did like this meta, but I refuse to put up with this any more.
 
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