Pet Mod Burst Wishes

[Yung Dramps]

A New Power Bursts Forth!
Pokemon ReBurst was a 2011 manga series whose entire premise involved an original cast of characters battling it out via Burst, a transformation process wherein the users fused with Pokemon sealed inside Burst Hearts. In our timeline it remained as a semi-obscure novelty, largely forgotten to the sands of time and not getting an official English translation. But what if this wasn't the case? In the reality this Pet Mod imagines, Burst was the first big flashy battle mechanic, beating Kalos' Mega Evolutions to the punch by debuting in BW1 and being expanded upon in BW2.

What you see here is a BW2 OU-based mod that adapts Bursting as a gameplay mechanic. Like Mega Evolution and GMaxes it will be given to an exclusive group of Pokemon that can use it mostly composed of fully evolved Unova mons but with some extras from Gens 1-4. No prerequisite knowledge of the manga's characters and storyline is required - you just have to understand the custom mechanics and submit with them in mind.

Speaking of which, here are said mechanics!

Burst Mechanics

-Eligible Pokemon start out in the party, usable as normable but with a "Seal" button like Dynamax/Z-Moves
-When this button is pressed, the Pokemon is placed inside the player's Burst Heart. An animation plays of them being crystallized (obviously conveyed more abstractly on Showdown) before they are swapped out to another Pokemon of the player's choice. This is tantamount to KOing the Pokemon and their only action for that turn.
-After this point, whenever you are asked to switch in a Pokemon there will be a "Burst!" button underneath your 5 remaining normal party members. Upon doing so, the sealed Pokemon and the player fuse and enter the battle.
-Bursts start at full HP regardless of what the Pokemon fusee was at prior to being sealed.
-Burst forms inherit one type from the base Pokemon and another from the trainer class you select as your avatar. In the spirit of the mod and to make things easier for the sprite artists, the Trainer sprites that offer non-Normal types will all be for Unova characters. Anything else will default you to Normal. (Detailed list of eligible avatars and the types they give coming soon)
-Burst forms have their own ability as well as a move from the base being modified: Think how Ash-Greninja has a buffed Water Shuriken. Customs and/or backporting future generation abilities is allowed!
-Stat modifications should ideally take the Pokemon in a different direction functionally, but not so much so that its base moveset becomes useless. For example, a Zekrom burst could have a statline of 100/130/140/100/110/100 compared to the base's 100/150/120/120/100/90.

Essentially, Burst is a sort of wacky pseudo-revival where the catch is that you have to prepare the base moveset to work with both statlines, as well as making the choice of your trainer meaningful.

The target number of forms will be 50-60.

Notes For Spriters

Sprites will be fusions of the eligible Pokemon with Nate & Rosa. If anyone has ideas on how to have the simulator recognize which one to use, let me know!

There is, however, an elephant in the room I think I should address. Listen, I love this community, alright? I love it a whole lot. I trust that nobody here who is even somewhat of a regular needs to be told this. But just for the sake of covering all bases, let me establish the following: There are some fusion designs in the original ReBurst manga that I shall charitably say would be exceptionally awkward at best if brought over unaltered to Rosa. Stuff like the Purrloin and Virizion girls uhhh... Yeah, please don't do em. Make the common sense design revisions where needed, got it?

That will be all! Look forward to a spreadsheet soon when enough submissions have been gathered!

Discord link: https://discord.gg/zEV8xJa24f
Probably best to get familiarized with the current state of BW OU too: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/bw-ou-hub.3666724/

Submission Template

Pokemon Name: Text
Type Given: https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/types/InsertTypeHere.png
Stats: Text
Ability: Text
Buffed Move: Text
Description: Text

 

[Yung Dramps]

Reserved

 

[Yung Dramps]

Slate 1: Unova Starters
Serperior, Emboar, Samurott! Your first partners and often among your strongest, the best display of the bonds necessary to Burst!

IMPORTANT NOTE: The starter HAs were never legalized in BW when it was [current gen]. Keep this in mind for Serperior especially.

Submissions will last 3-4 days.

 

[lavarina]

i assume that stats need to be the same value, but lmk if it doesnt have to be ehe


Pokémon: Emboar
Stats: 110 / 73 / 75 / 123 / 72 / 75
Type: Normal/Fighting
Description: Emboar has Scald and Grass Knot/Solar Beam, which gives it quite a solid set along with literally any good special Fire move and Focus Blast. It can do well in sun teams that can boost its powerful fire moves, especially in Blaze range. The boost in its bulk lets it survive a little longer as well.


Pokémon: Samurott
Stats: 95 / 130 / 85 / 75 / 85 / 60
Type: Normal/Water
Description: Now a dedicated physical attacker, Samurott can pack a strong punch with Swords Dance and priority in Aqua Jet. Of course it's slower now, but still hits hard and can live a hit or two.


Pokémon: Serperior
Stats: 78 / 75 / 94 / 65 / 95 / 121
Type: Normal/Grass
Description: Speed demon that's useful for support such as Dual Screens. Can also deter weather manually and stall with Synthesis/Leech Seed.

might change but i'll post for now aha.

 

[Yung Dramps]

Hmmmmm yeah ok this isn't working. The actual requirements for the Burst forms seem to be too restrictive to allow for creative, fun submissions. I kinda had a hunch in all honesty but nobody commented on this pre-approval so I just rolled with what I had. Hey, better late than never!

Impromptu "Slate 0": Mechanical Revisions
So, what are your ideas to spruce up Burst forms while not making them too similar to Mega Evolutions? Drop your suggestions in this thread or on Discord!

 

[Bloopyghost]

Honestly my biggest gripe with the mod atm is that all Rebursts need to be part Normal. I understand the reasoning behind it (being part human and to incentivize Return, even if you could just as easily use Frustration), but most mons would rlly prefer not being a Normal-type. This is esp painful for dual types since this means losing out on a more potent STAB type and/or losing vital resistances. Making every Reburst part Normal is also gonna result in a homogenous sub turnout, it’s difficult to make stand-out subs when they’re all mandated to be the same type. I suggest at minimum allowing a Reburst to retain the original mon’s typing, tho I would much prefer allowing potential type changes. Having a mon change typing after it’s “revived” can add much more depth, as mons would be able to gain better typings or even double-edged typings i.e. gaining Bug for an additional STAB at the cost of being rock weak.

Exacerbating the homogenous sub issue is abilities staying the same as well. Allowing Rebursts to gain a new ability would also allow for more distinct subs and potentially make Reburst a deeper mechanic. Keeping abilities is esp an issue for slate 1 since none of the BW starters got their HAs in their debut gen so they are all stuck with mid abilities.

Allowing potential move additions ala M4A can also help make subs more distinct and bolster the viability of some mons, smth that I also found noticeable here since Samurott and esp Serp have terrible movepools. There would prolly have to be a limit on how many moves could be added, perhaps like 5.

I wouldn’t sweat on Reburst being too similar to Megas, the sealing aspect is alr quite distinct alongside not needing a specific item and not gaining stats.

Final note, and this isn’t addressing a particular issue nor does it need to be followed, but I like the idea of Reburst unlocking a unique move for the Burst Warrior to use as a symbol of their bond. Maybe it could work similarly to Behemoth Blade/Bash where one specific move changes into a Burst Move after Rebursting i.e. Serp’s Leaf Tornado turns into Wildvine Wail or smth. I realize that this would complicate things by quite a bit but I thought this might be a fun idea and can make for more creative subs.

Tldr; forcing Normal should go, allow ability changes, maybe allow move additions, and optionally go with some cool super move after Rebursting.

 

[sharpen42]

Hey!
I'm not here to critique or review the original mechanic, I agree with what the people above already said.
With this post, I just want to suggest a different approach on the Reburst mechanic, to emphasize its differences from already existing ones. First, I just think it has to be something different from just changing some specific pokemon's forms, from what we've seen with Dyna/Giga and Tera, a modern mechanic (even if this is retroactive to an old gen, you're creating it now) should allow any Pokemon to go through changes.
So, with this and what you already mentioned in mind, considering also the actual state, there's 3 things I would keep:
1- a specific type is added to the Pokemon for one specific trainer chosen (Normal for Nate&Rosa),
2- Return is a relevant move
3- Primary typing, BST and ability are kept the same as base form

I would just expand this concept with more trainer sprites that give different effects in base of which the player chooses.
Each trainer sprite could give a stat rearrangement, a secondary type and a move, that replaces Return if in the moveset upon Rebursting.
So, they would be:

Trainer List

A Pokémon can Reburst once it's no more at Full HP, the Reburst heals HP, it will cure the status and the Pokemon will gain or replace a secondary type, with one depending from the trainer sprite chosen, and also depending from that, its stats will be rearranged. In fact, each trainer will also provide a different set of boosts and drops to stats, with a net change of +0 to BST.
If the Pokemon that Rebursts has Return in its moveset, it will be changed to a new move, still depending from the trainer (of its same type, we could go with something similar to Z-moves, so just one per type, but with less power and more PPs).
For example, let's say I have Arcanine and Beartic in my team, and my trainer is the Skiier, which gives Ice type, boosts stats by +0/-10/-20/+20/+0/+10 and turns Return into Arctic Blow (Ice-type, Physical, 80 BP, 5 PP, Category is Special if SpA>Atk, 10% chance to freeze.):

• If I Reburst Arcanine it becomes Arcanine (Burst-Skier), its typing becomes
  
  
  , its base stats become 90 / 100 / 60 / 120 / 80 / 105, and if it has Return in its movepool, it is replaced by Artic Blow.
• If I Reburst Beartic it becomes Beartic (Burst-Skier), its typing remains
  
  , its base stats become 95 / 120 / 60 / 90 / 80 / 60, and if it has Return in its movepool, it is replaced by Arctic Blow.

Like this, the mechanic can be different from anything else.
In addition to those, there are also some strong trainers that have developed a special bond with their Pokemon (Gym Leaders, Elite 4, Champions, Cynthia, N, Ghechis, etc.), and this will transform a specific species that Rebursts in to a new form, that has some specific characteristics.
Strong Trainers have a type assigned (kinda arbitrairly for some of them), stat boost and drops remain the same, but they could give a special move.

For what concerns submissions, I suggest we proceed with submitting Trainers first, then moves and then specific Rebursts.

 

[Rasdanation]

Hey!
I'm not here to critique or review the original mechanic, I agree with what the people above already said.
With this post, I just want to suggest a different approach on the Reburst mechanic, to emphasize its differences from already existing ones. First, I just think it has to be something different from just changing some specific pokemon's forms, from what we've seen with Dyna/Giga and Tera, a modern mechanic (even if this is retroactive to an old gen, you're creating it now) should allow any Pokemon to go through changes.
So, with this and what you already mentioned in mind, considering also the actual state, there's 3 things I would keep:
1- a specific type is added to the Pokemon for one specific trainer chosen (Normal for Nate&Rosa),
2- Return is a relevant move
3- Primary typing, BST and ability are kept the same as base form

I would just expand this concept with more trainer sprites that give different effects in base of which the player chooses.
Each trainer sprite could give a stat rearrangement, a secondary type and a move, that replaces Return if in the moveset upon Rebursting. So, they would be:

Trainer List

A Pokémon can Reburst once it's no more at Full HP, the Reburst heals HP, it will cure the status and the Pokemon will gain or replace a secondary type, with one depending from the trainer sprite chosen, and also depending from that, its stats will be rearranged. In fact, each trainer will also provide a different set of boosts and drops to stats, with a net change of +0 to BST.
If the Pokemon that Rebursts has Return in its moveset, it will be changed to a new move, still depending from the trainer (of its same type, we could go with something similar to Z-moves, so just one per type, but with less power and more PPs).
For example, let's say I have Arcanine and Beartic in my team, and my trainer is the Skiier, which gives Ice type, boosts stats by +0/-10/-20/+20/+0/+10 and turns Return in to Artic Blow (Ice-type, Physical, 80 BP, 5 PP, Category is Special if SpA>Atk, 10% chance to freeze.):

• If I Reburst Arcanine it becomes Arcanine (Burst-Skier), its typing becomes
  
  
  , its base stats become 90 / 100 / 60 / 120 / 80 / 105, and if it has Return in its movepool, it is replaced by Artic Blow.
• If I Reburst Beartic it becomes Beartic (Burst-Skier), its typing remains
  
  , its base stats become 95 / 120 / 60 / 90 / 80 / 60, and if it has Return in its movepool, it is replaced by Artic Blow.

Like this, the mechanic can be different from anything else.
In addition to those, there are also some strong trainers that have developed a special bond with their Pokemon (Gym Leaders, Elite 4, Champions, Cynthia, N, Ghechis, etc.), and this will transform a specific species that Rebursts in to a new form, that has some specific characteristics.
Strong Trainers have a type assigned (kinda arbitrairly for some of them), stat boost and drops remain the same, but they could give a special move.

For what concerns submissions, I suggest we proceed with submitting Trainers first, then moves and then specific Rebursts.

For this approach, instead of using generic sprites, why not go with the more important Gen 5 trainer sprites instead? A majority of the types can be covered through specialized (or other unique) trainers:

Sprites

Normal -

Fire -

Fighting -

Water -

Flying -

Grass -

Poison -

Electric -

Ground -

Psychic -

Rock -

Ice -

Bug -

Dragon -

Ghost -

Dark -

Steel -

Some of my choices are a bit of a stretch (Fire because of Alder’s Signature Mon Volcarona, Ingo & Emmett are the only notable trainers I could find even remotely related to rock types), and a few trainers can be switched out (such as Lenora and Cheren both being normal Gym Leaders), but you get the idea

Edit: Turns out I missed the part in the other post mentioning that more important trainers would have unique bursts, whoops

 

[Lord Zorz]

Honestly my biggest gripe with the mod atm is that all Rebursts need to be part Normal. I understand the reasoning behind it (being part human and to incentivize Return, even if you could just as easily use Frustration), but most mons would rlly prefer not being a Normal-type. This is esp painful for dual types since this means losing out on a more potent STAB type and/or losing vital resistances. Making every Reburst part Normal is also gonna result in a homogenous sub turnout, it’s difficult to make stand-out subs when they’re all mandated to be the same type. I suggest at minimum allowing a Reburst to retain the original mon’s typing, tho I would much prefer allowing potential type changes. Having a mon change typing after it’s “revived” can add much more depth, as mons would be able to gain better typings or even double-edged typings i.e. gaining Bug for an additional STAB at the cost of being rock weak.

Exacerbating the homogenous sub issue is abilities staying the same as well. Allowing Rebursts to gain a new ability would also allow for more distinct subs and potentially make Reburst a deeper mechanic. Keeping abilities is esp an issue for slate 1 since none of the BW starters got their HAs in their debut gen so they are all stuck with mid abilities.

Allowing potential move additions ala M4A can also help make subs more distinct and bolster the viability of some mons, smth that I also found noticeable here since Samurott and esp Serp have terrible movepools. There would prolly have to be a limit on how many moves could be added, perhaps like 5.

I wouldn’t sweat on Reburst being too similar to Megas, the sealing aspect is alr quite distinct alongside not needing a specific item and not gaining stats.

Final note, and this isn’t addressing a particular issue nor does it need to be followed, but I like the idea of Reburst unlocking a unique move for the Burst Warrior to use as a symbol of their bond. Maybe it could work similarly to Behemoth Blade/Bash where one specific move changes into a Burst Move after Rebursting i.e. Serp’s Leaf Tornado turns into Wildvine Wail or smth. I realize that this would complicate things by quite a bit but I thought this might be a fun idea and can make for more creative subs.

Tldr; forcing Normal should go, allow ability changes, maybe allow move additions, and optionally go with some cool super move after Rebursting.

To build off this one, I agree with just about everything here except for new/unique moves. Whatever direction is ultimately decided upon will be an objective improve over before, and to not fret about it being too similar to megas at all.

 

[Yung Dramps]

Alright, thank you everyone! I've gotten a lot of suggestions, and after going through them here are the new Burst form mechanics, which'll be edited into the OP:

-Burst forms inherit one type from the base Pokemon and another from the trainer class you select as your avatar. In the spirit of the mod and to make things easier for the sprite artists, the Trainer sprites that offer non-Normal types will all be for Unova characters. Anything else will default you to Normal. (Detailed list of eligible avatars and the types they give coming soon)
-Burst forms have their own ability as well as a move from the base being modified: Think how Ash-Greninja has a buffed Water Shuriken. Customs and/or backporting future generation abilities is allowed!
-Stat re-arranging clause is the same as before, and this will still be limited to a pre-chosen roster of Pokemon like Mega Evolution

With that said...

Slate 1: Unova Starters (For Real This Time)
Let's try this again! Complete with a new submission template:

Pokemon Name: Text
Type Given: https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/types/InsertTypeHere.png
Stats: Text
Ability: Text
Buffed Move: Text
Description: Text

 

[Rasdanation]

Let's try this


Pokemon Name: Emboar
Type Given:

Stats: 110 / 100 / 123 / 65 / 65 / 65 [528 BST]
Ability: Stamina
Buffed Move: Heat Crash -> 80 BP, Calculates Damage using Defense stat instead of Attack
Description: Emboar before struggles primarily because of it's low speed and mid bulk. So, with it's Burst Form, this intends to alleviate such problems, transforming Emboar from a slow Offensive Breaker, into a slow Physical Tank. To do this, Emboar's Burst Form rearranges 3 of it's stats: Attack, Defense, and Special Attack. As a result, Emboar's offenses take a hit, but in turn Emboar now boasts a monstrous Physical Bulk. To compensate for the dampened offenses, Emboar's Signature move, Heat Crash, draws off of Defense (akin to a fire-type Body Press) while Emboar is in Burst Form. Paired with Emboars Ability, Stamina, Heat Crash will get even more powerful the more hits Emboar takes.

Probably get around to the others later

 

[Lord Zorz]

Pokemon Name: Samurott
Type Given:

Stats: 75/100/75/100/70/108
Ability: Opportunist (Gen 9 backport ability)
Buffed Move: Razor Shell -> 90 BP Has a 50% chance to lower the targets Defense by 1 stage.
Description: Samurott is extremely restricted in BW OU, struggling to even step into UU. Shifting it's stats around it becomes a much frailer pokemon upon bursting, allowing it to revenge kill numerous threats, while also allowing it(thanks to Opportunist) to deny any setup attempts. The addition of being able to burst means Samurott takes full advantage of it's tankier stats it has at the start to take a hit or two before bursting, all the while not sacrificing it's own extremely varied mixed sets, where it can even opt for Swords Dance/Megahorn or special oriented Hidden Power and Ice Beam things, even running Taunt if need be.

 

[Yung Dramps]

Pokemon Name: Serperior
Type Given:

Stats: 75 / 70 / 85 / 105 / 80 / 113
Ability: Loose Cannon: Special Hustle clone
Buffed Move: Leaf Tornado: 100 BP, 70% accurate, heals user by 50% of damage dealt.
Description: Taking advantage of Serperior's awful movepool by making a Pokemon that justifies running both Calm Mind and Coil. Those irksome weather setters won't wanna deal with this! (Full disclosure this probably sucks but making Serp consistently OU viable without slapping on Contrary is pretty much a lost cause anyway so I figured I'd go for something really funny)

Pokemon Name: Emboar
Type Given:

Stats: 110 / 123 / 80 / 80 / 80 / 55
Ability: Analytic
Buffed Move: Heat Crash: Fire type Gyro Ball clone.
Description: Just click those Hammer Arms and then click those Heat Crashes. It's about as simple and blunt of a game plan as it gets, which fits Emboar perfectly.

Pokemon Name: Text
Type Given:

Stats: 95 / 108 / 65 / 108 / 64 / 88
Ability: Mirror Armor
Buffed Move: Razor Shell: 85 BP, 100% accurate, goes off of higher offense
Description: Base form's mixed attacking antics but better

 

[Tanny89k]

Pokemon Name: Serperior
Type Given:

Stats: 82 / 60 / 70 / 105 / 97 / 114
Ability: Unaware
Buffed Move: Leaf Storm -> 100 BP | 100% Accuracy | removes hazards, partial trapping, and Leech Seed; lowers user's Special Attack by 2 stages
Description: Exclusive access to hazard removal that isn't blocked by Ghosts is neat. Unaware + Glare lets it mess with Reuniclus and other setup mons.


Pokemon Name: Samurott
Type Given:

Stats: 95 / 108 / 95 / 75 / 75 / 80
Ability: Water Absorb
Buffed Move: Razor Shell: 80 BP | 100% Accuracy | 100% chance to raise user's Speed by 1 stage
Description: Comes in on stuff like Keldeo and Politoed to set up.

 

[anaconja]

Pokemon Name: Serperior
Type Given:

Stats: 113 / 90 / 80 / 90 / 80 / 75
Ability: Multiscale
Buffed Move: Magical Leaf | Grass | Special | 70 BP | 100% Accuracy | User switches out.
Description: defensive guy. glares and switches out.

Pokemon Name: Emboar
Type Given:

Stats: 123 / 100 / 75 / 100 / 75 / 55
Ability: Flame Absorb (This Pokemon heals 1/4 of its max HP when hit by Fire moves; Fire immunity.)
Buffed Move: Incinerate | Fire | Special | 65 BP | 100% Accuracy | 1.5x damage if the opponent has an item; removes item.
Description: ability helps shore up its lack of recovery and incinerate is fire koff after it was buffed.

Pokemon Name: Samurott
Type Given:

Stats: 95 / 118 / 100 / 60 / 85 / 70
Ability: Defiant
Buffed Move: Razor Shell | Water | Physical | 85 BP | 100% Accuracy | If the target resists this move, sets Spikes on the opponent's side.
Description: semi-reliable spiker that can take advantage of the many water resists (but not the water immunes). defiant adds another layer of protection from hazard removers.

 

[abismal]

Pokémon: Emboar
Type:

Stats: 110 / 123 / 75 / 70 / 75 / 75
Ability: Regenerator
Buffed Move: Flame Charge | Fire | Physical | 100 | 90% | Removes hazards on its side of the field, raising its Speed
Description: An offensive Pokémon with some defensive utility. It can combine recoil moves with Regenerator for continuous damage throughout the battle. Its various recoil moves synergize with the typing's it can receive, such as Wild Charge, Head Smash for Electric and Rock. It can even gain the Ground and Poison typing for Earthquake and Poison Jab, and depending on the team it may want more defensive utility in Scald, which it can pair itself with Water for. Bulk Up + Flame Charge is a dominant combo. An interesting gimmick could be comining it with Ghost for Curse to turn into a status move it can wear down opponents with and synergizes with Regenerator. It can run HP Ghost for further STAB if it wanted, as that move is slightly stronger in this game

 

[Hematite]

Burst Samurott​

Ability:

Torrent // Shell Armor -> Lightning Rod
The intention behind Lightning Rod was its horn, but it could also be its swords depending on the character design of the Burst fusions​

Primary Type:

Water​

Base Stats:

HP: 95 -> 102 (+7)​

Attack: 100 -> 90 (-10)​

Defense: 85 -> 70 (-15)​

Sp. Atk: 108 -> 103 (-5)​

Sp. Def: 70 -> 60 (-10)​

Speed: 70 -> 103 (+33)​

(528 BST)​

Upgraded Move:

Razor Shell - Water - 80 BP / 100% acc / 10 (16) PP​

(The user cuts its target with sharp shells. This also lowers the target's Defense stat and raises the user's accuracy.)​

This mod seems really cool....... Here's my attempt at making something for it O:
(Disclaimer: I have never played BW OU before and I know it's going to show; I'm really sorry if this is a bad idea OTL)

Uh, so my instinct is usually not to make a Pokémon immune to one of its weaknesses, but I was really tempted by Lightning Rod in this case for a couple of reasons!
The main thing is that giving it an immunity Ability of some kind seems to go really well with the core mechanical set of the mod; since Bursting gives everything such a diverse set of defensive profiles, I wanted an Ability that leaned on creating unique and valuable defensive properties no matter which type you picked, and there are a lot of ways to leverage half-Water + Lightning Rod to create openings against existing threats like Thundurus-T, Wash Rotom and anything that runs Thunder Wave which just sounds really scary in this Gen.
The other thing I like this particular Ability is because Lightning Rod can also be used to raise its Special Attack if it switches in on the right things (not just remove attack options when it's already in), which is something Samurott values a lot but doesn't normally have a way to do - it plays to Samurott's mixed offensive potential in a way I think is really cool, which is something I wanted to lean harder on with its upgraded move as well!
I'm hopeful that this will be okay because of the fact that it doesn't have recovery of any kind the way something like Gastrodon does, so you can't take it too far on its defensive merits alone.

I think this upgrade to Razor Shell is cool here because, aside from the obvious value of the Defense drop, the accuracy buff supports a lot of Samurott's existing moves and improves the consistency of a lot of its options types.
The big one is obviously Hydro Pump no matter which secondary STAB it chooses, but to go over some options of the Burst types I had in mind:

- Water/Steel is certainly the obvious choice for its defensive value alone (that + Lightning Rod can go really hard!!), and Razor Shell serves to make Iron Tail usable as a secondary STAB and lends itself to a satisfying "theme" of Defense-dropping from both of its STABs if you choose a Burst of that type, which I really like;
- its Speed and new ways to boost accuracy and Special Attack could make it a particularly scary Water/Ice-type using Ice Beam/Blizzard, but it can still run those very well without STAB if not, and Razor Shell letting it safely upgrade from Ice Beam to Blizzard even as coverage is a pretty significant damage buff in its own way;
- Water/Flying with Lightning Rod (and, uh, Air Slash I guess) has a lot of defensive potential as a type even though it's obviously kept in check by a Stealth Rock weakness;
- the drawback of Superpower (which forces it to come in and out repeatedly rather than staying) is complemented well by Water/Fighting's potential resistances to U-turn and Stealth Rock, immunity to Volt Switch, and the switches it's able to force itself with pressure from Razor Shell debuffs make it more effective as a kind of pivot without an actual pivoting move of its own;
- and I don't believe it would become Water/Bug-type, but it does often run Megahorn as coverage already, and that's one of the other moves that Razor Shell supports the most directly.​

Overall, this should be really flexible in the way it engages with the core mechanics of Burst - I was trying to make the most of the movepool Samurott has and focus on playing to the type customization at the center of the mod rather than designing it like a pure Water-type.

I also think it could end up with a cool form of longevity with something like a Fighting or Steel + Leftovers + Substitute + possibly Encore?, mostly thanks to Razor Shell pressuring switches every couple of turns and buying extra time for Leftovers recovery
Encore isn't something I think Samurott normally gets to engage with but I think it might be cool on that kind of set (I have no idea how practical that is)

I did my best with this though!! I think it could be fun
Uh, someone yell at me (but like, politely) if this sounds unbalanced, because again I am truly inexperienced at this format

edit: small rewording but I didn't change the sub itself
I just realized I said "various types" like three times in two sentences and it was driving me crazy

 

[jazzmat]

Pokemon Name: Serperior
Type Given: Grass
Stats: 95/65/75/85/85/123
Ability: Multiscale
Buffed Move: Leaf Tornado > 80 bp, traps target for 3 turns and deals 1/8 of their max HP at the end of each turn
Description: Fast paralysis spreader that can trap mons to allow it to set up with coil or calm mind as well as set up screens, leech seed, or use aromatherapy. Multiscale allows it to survive a hit after using glare or leaf tornado and with giga drain, leech seed, and synthesis it can bring itself back up to full.



Pokemon Name: Emboar
Type Given: Fire
Stats: 123/110/80/100/65/50
Ability: Battle Master: Flash Fire but for fighting type moves
Buffed Move: Superpower > 90 BP, 50% chance to raise attack 1 stage
Description: Bulky mixed attacker with a fighting immunity and pseudo stab even without its fighting typing, allowing it to use a steel or dark secondary typing (or rock if you want to use head smash really bad) which gives it an excellent defensive profile. While it's improved move Superpower does lose some BP, in exchange not only does it no longer lower its stats but now has a chance to increase its attack giving it excellent sweeping power.



Pokemon Name: Samurott
Type Given: Water
Stats: 95/100/105/88/70/70
Ability: Technician
Buffed Move: Knock Off > 40 bp, knocks off the target's item, if the target has an item its BP is multiplied by 1.5x
Description: Physical attacker with decent physical bulk, paired with technician aqua jet and a knock off that functions like our current version of it just with slightly less power (60/90 vs 65/97.5) along with technician boosted aerial ace and dragon tail.

 

[zxgzxg]

Burst Samurott

Type Given:

Stats: 95 / 120 / 110 / 93 / 60 / 50​

Ability: Sharpness​

Buffed Move: Razor Shell |

| Physical | 75 BP | 95% Accuracy | Clears all stat changes on the Attack and Defense stats.​

Description: i am the most interesting person ever. Sharpness gives the boost to Razor Shell, Night Slash, and Aerial Ace, giving Samurott a strong STAB and good moves to abuse with Dark and Flying (former is probably more likely, allows it to hit Latis and Jelli). Unfortunately, its big STAB clears any SD boosts it might have lol.​

Burst Serperior

Type Given:

Stats: 75 / 105 / 105 / 50 / 70 / 123​

Ability: Intimidate​

Buffed Move: Glare |

| Status | -- BP | 90% Accuracy | 48 PP | Steals and inverts the target’s stat changes. If the opponent does not have any lowered stats, the user switches out.​

Description: wip​

 

[BlueRay]

Spoiler

Pokémon: Burst Serperior
Type Given: Grass
Ability: Magic Bounce

Stats
HP: 75 → 95 (+20)
Atk: 75 → 55 (-20)
Def: 95 → 75 (-20)
SpA: 75 → 95 (+20)
SpD: 95 → 95
Spe: 113 → 113

Buffed Move: Giga Drain
Base Power: 75 → 90
Additional Effect: Lowers target's Atk by 1 stage.

Description:
1) Flavour
According to Ken Sugimori, Serpiroyal's design is largely inspired by French royalty. This is not surprising at all as the design on Serpiroyal's main body and the form of its tiny arms all allude to "fleur-de-lis", a lily flower, which has often been used in ornamentation and heraldy; moreover, it has long been linked to the French crown. Against this background, the "fleur-de-lis" can mean many things, such as purification, royalty, and perfection. Thus, Magic Bounce seemed like a perfect choice on Serperior; after all, its royal attitude makes it seem intimidating and superior; this Pokémon is above everything and cannot be affected by status moves.
The protective nature of this ability is further underlined by two other aspects of Serpiroyal's design. First of all, in some cultures like ancient Egypt, snakes took the role of a guardian and were involved in magic. Furthermore, as a symbol, the "fleur-de-lis" too was used in magic, in a spiritual context. Secondly, the "fleur-de-lis" could refer to the Holy Trinity and was often depicted on shields. These shields were known as the shields of faith. So, if I were to apply this information to Serpiroyal, you could argue putting your trust in this Pokémon will reward you as it keeps hazards and status away from your team!

2) Competitive
- Serpiroyal can function as a screen setter that keeps hazards away and stay long on the field throughout the game. If you go for a secondary Ghost type, Serpiroyal can even spin block in front of Excadrill and Starmie, two Pokémon it has a good matchup against. Moreover, since Serpiroyal can keep hazards away from your team and since it can force out a lot of switches (due to Giga Drain's lowering Atk and the pressure from a potential Glare or Leech Seed), it can make use of Dragon Tail in order to wear down the opposing team, especially if hazards are already on their side! Thus, Serpiroyal can be a central and valuable part of a hazard stack team.
-> It should be noted that as a screen setter and hazard blocker, Serpiroyal can free up a slot on a Hyper Offense team; after all, you don't have to waste it on a hazard remover when Serpiroyal makes it already difficult for the opponent to put hazards on your side!
- That said, Serpiroyal can pull off a set of Substitute + Leech Seed more reliably since it doesn't have to worry about status moves, like Taunt, Toxic or Thunderwave. A Calm Mind set can also work. This pairs well with Giga Drain's upgraded effect, which lowers the target's Atk, making it stay longer on the field.

Spoiler

Pokémon: Burst Samurott
Type Given: Water
Ability: Purifying Salt

Stats
HP: 95 → 105 (+10)
Atk: 100 → 118 (+18)
Def: 85 → 85
SpA: 108 → 60 (-48)
SpD: 70 → 80 (+10)
Spe: 70 → 80 (+10)

Buffed Move: Razor Shell
Base Power: 75 → 90
Additional Effect: Target loses 1/8 of its HP every turn until it switches out

Description:
1) Flavour
Samurott's line is based on a sea otter, which is able to safely drink salt water thanks to its special kidneys. Hence, the choice of the ability: Purifying Salt. Moreover, the ability on Samurott can allude to misogi, which is a Japanese practice of ritual purification. Usually, you have to undergo some preeliminary ritual before you may stand under the waterfall, purifying your body. Samurais often partook in this ritual to cleanse their soul. Moreover, this was also useful to prepare the mind for training and to learn how to develop your own "energy centre". Against this background, Purifying Salt seemed like a perfect choice on Samurott!

2) Competitive
- Samurott can be used as a wallbreaker that is immune to status, which is pretty valuable on a physical attacker. Since it resists Water, it can switch into Scald without any problems. Many Water Pokémon also run Toxic, like Politoed or Tentacruel, so, that's one status less to worry about! Should a Pokémon survive, Samurott could still resort to Aqua Jet to take it out.
- BW's metagame seems to be centred around hazards and Sand. Therefore, Samurott's upgraded Razor Shell, which does additional residual damage, would fit there perfectly. The effect may seem strong but remember there's also Heatran's Magma Storm which is even stronger than that! Moreover, Storm Drain and Water Absorb Pokémon (like Gastrodon and Jellicent) are unaffected by Razor Shell's residual damage, just like how Flash Fire Pokémon are immune to Magma Storm!
- I wanted to emphasize the residual damage from Razor Shell because, in a way, it's kind of similar to Hisuain Samurott's Ceaseless Edge which sets Spikes. Depending on the context, they both deal extra damage. Moreover, I wanted to go away from a too offensive angle on Samurott because the competition would be very tough. Samurott has no reliable recovery, thus, it cannot switch very often in a game and is more limited to lategames. Furthermore, its physical movepool is kind of mediocre, and it would need to have a very high speed tier and Atk stat to be functional in the tier. And if you invest a lot into speed and offense, Samurott won't be able to stay long on the field and needs to be carefully maneuvred in a game. Add the many bulky and decently fast Pokémon in the metagame, and you have to put a lot of effort to justify Samurott on a team and make it work. What's more, samurais are skilled fighthers.
→ These are the reasons why I opted for a bulkier and more skill-rewarding approach on Samurott. This Pokémon has the flexibility to run a secondary typing of its choice to cover a team's needs and the bulk to be useful, especially with Leftovers and Purifying Salt. After all, not being worn down by status improves longevity. That said, Water/Steel covers Starmie and Latios, for instance. Water/Ground, on the other hand, turns Samurott into a useful check against Thundurus and Heatran. Water/Ghost walls Keldeo and spin blocks Starmie and Excadrill. On a team with hazards, potential Toxic, and Sand, Samurott and its upgraded Razor Shell would synergize very well with this team style. It also learns Knock Off, so, it can be even more useful.

 

[Yung Dramps]

Subs will end tomorrow!

 

[Bloopyghost]

Pokémon Name: Serperior
Type Given:

Stats: 75 HP / 50 Atk / 75 Def / 105 SpA / 100 SpD / 123 Spe
Ability: Flower Veil
Buffed Move: Leaf Tornado -
Type:

Category:

Base Power: 65
Accuracy: 100
PP: 10
Effect: Power doubles if the target has a non-volatile status condition. (Hex clone)
Priority: 0
Flags: Protect, Mirror
Description: Speed control. Burst Serp is intended to just click Glare and proceed to whale on paralyzed foes with 130 BP Leaf Tornadoes. 123 Speed is great, notably getting the jump on Zam and Starmie. Flower Veil is also nice since it makes Serp itself immune to para along with Scald burns.

Pokémon Name: Emboar
Type Given:

Stats: 110 HP / 123 Atk / 85 Def / 60 SpA / 65 SpD / 85 Spe
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Buffed Move: Heat Crash -
Type:

Category:

Base Power: 70
Accuracy: 100
PP: 10
Effect: This move is always a critical hit unless the target is under the effect of Lucky Chant or has the Battle Armor or Shell Armor Abilities.
Priority: 0
Flags: Contact, Protect, Mirror
Description: This one's just for fun admittedly. Zhang Fei, a military general, was one of the inspirations that went into Emboar. And what's a better ability to give a commander than Supreme Overlord? Heat Crash's autocrits bypass Superpower's Atk drops, and it provides a strong recoilless Fire STAB to better let Emboar stick around for the late-game when SO rlly starts to kick in.

Pokémon Name: Samurott
Type Given:

Stats: 95 HP / 138 Atk / 105 Def / 50 SpA / 80 SpD / 60 Spe
Ability: Mold Breaker
Buffed Move: Razor Shell -
Type:

Category:

Base Power: 90
Accuracy: 100
PP: 10
Effect: Causes damage to the target equal to 1/16 of its maximum HP (1/8 if the user is holding Binding Band), rounded down, at the end of each turn during effect. The effect ends if either the user or the target leaves the field, or if the target uses Rapid Spin. This effect is not stackable or reset by using this or a partial-trapping move.
Priority: 0
Flags: Contact, Protect, Mirror
Description: Homaging PLA's splinters, Razor Shell's chip damage combined with Burst Samurott's monstrous Atk and access to SD makes it a solid balance breaker. Mold Breaker means that Samurott isn't auto-dumpstered by stuff like Jelli and Gastro.

 

[Totally_Odette]

Pokemon Name: Samurott
Type Given:

Stats: 105 HP / 125 ATK / 100 DEF / 110 SPA / 60 SPD / 60 SPE
Ability: Sniper
Buffed Move:
Razor Shell - 50 BP - Physical -

- 10 PP - Water-type
This move does not check accuracy and always lands a critical hit, unless it is prevented from doing so by a move or ability.
Description: Katanas are reportedly very precise and sharp, so the idea of Razor Shell being kind of weak and only 95% accurate always confused me. So I gave it the powerful combo of Sniper + a 100% critical hit move! Sniper 50 BP Razor Shell is only slightly weaker than Meowscarada's Flower Trick, but Samurott's also higher Attack means that it's not just entirely worse than that move. Unfortunately it is slow, but its powerful attacks should make up for that.

disclaimer i have genuinely no clue what goes on in gen 5 metas of any kind so if this is stupid i formally apologize

 

[SparkRolf]

Emboar
Type Given:

Ability: Sturdy
Stats: HP 114 / Atk 117 / Def 91 / SpA 56 / SpD 82 / Spe 68 / BST 528
Buffed Move: Bulk Up |

|

| 20/32 PP | - BP | -% acc | Raises the user's Atk and Def by +2 each. | +0 priority
Description: With Sturdy as it's ability, rearranged stats giving it far better bulk, and a greatly buffed up Bulk Up, Emboar becomes an unstoppable tank that can take just about anything, or, well, at least anything that's physical, it may have greater trouble dealing with Special Attackers, especially if such opposition can take a Bulk Up boosted Flare Blitz, that said I think few and far in between will actually come close to being able to do so, though even then as long as Emboar's at full HP it isn't at risk of being OHKO'ed. Of course, given Emboar doesn't exactly have reliable recovery, once it's taken substantial damage (be it chip, recoil, or other such), it's going to have trouble healing back up (that is, assuming I'm reading this right, Burst won't give it access to say like, Slack Off or anything, then it'd become REAL troublesome). Otherwise this is mostly me just like, wanting to kinda make Emboar strong and capable of crushing the opposition with absolute ease.

 

[sharpen42]

Serperior
Type Given:

Ability: Infiltrator
Stats: HP 75 / Atk 55 / Def 85 / SpA 105 / SpD 105 / Spe 103 | BST 528
Buffed Move: Leaf Storm |

|

| 5/8 PP | 90 BP | 95% acc | Raises the user's SpA by +1. | +0 priority
Description: This is kinda inspired both to how Serperior works with its HA, and to how Skeledirge works with its Torch Song. I wonder how it will work on a fast Pokemon with any secondary type.


Emboar
Type Given:

Ability: Rock Head
Stats: HP 110 / Atk 133 / Def 95 / SpA 60 / SpD 75 / Spe 55 | BST 528
Buffed Move: Hammer Arm |

|

| 5/8 PP | 120 BP | 100% acc | Has 33% recoil. | +0 priority
Description: I really want this to work as a slow wallbreaker with strong Fire and Rock-type STABs.