Okay, how about we don't let the megathread sit here and die? xD
I want to talk about the drop of Deoxys-D usage from previously being an extremely prominent Pokemon on the ladder to now sitting at #48 in OU usage with a percentage use of less than 5% per battle. That's really low for a Pokemon that has been called for a ban more times than I can count. What's happened to what was once the premier hazard setter in late BW1? Does there still exist a playstyle known as Deoxys-D offense, or has that faded away into the past? Why isn't Deoxys-D seeing any usage this past month? Please, share your thoughts (and revive this massive thread while you're at it).
I think aside from the aforementioned points about there being a generally lower all round level of talent on the PS ladder, which is in no way a bad thing as it shows more and more people are getting interested, Deoxys-D is getting less usage due to no longer being as useful and unique as it once was, that along with new threats since BW2.
As a lot of people have said, there are now new threats which Deoxys has to deal with, such as lead Terrakion, which can outspeed and Taunt a Deoxys not carrying Magic Coat or Mental Herb. With the majority of inexperienced players, if you lead with a Deoxys and your opponent leads wit Terrakion, you're going to assume its going to attack you so you'll either want to set something up, or Recover to scout how much damage its doing to you, it Taunts and Deoxys is useless. Another contributing factor to Deoxys' fall from grace is the introduction of new seriously powerful threats, namely the Therians and Genesect. Tornadus-T can easy outspeed and Taunt, or against a Magic Coat/Mental Herb Deoxys, U-Turn dealing a decent amount and then go into something to promptly deal with Deoxys. Also the fact that there are now so many powerful things running around, mean that Deoxys can be easily 2HKO'd by a lot of common mons, meaning his defenses aren't anywhere near as valuable as they used to be. Sure you're almost guaranteed to get up SR and one layer of Spikes, but what if those hazards do not worry your opponent at all?
An example of why Deoxys has become slightly more obsolete is because of the prevalence of Rain Offense in the current metagame. A fairly standard core of a Rain Offense team can go something along the lines of Politoed/Tornadus-T/Genesect/Starmie/filler/filler, I think after your Sun team Lavos, thats the most common core I've seen in the past 2 months. That core easily deals with Deoxys as it can KO it without any trouble, and then can potentially add a threatening Rapid Spinner to dispatch of any hazards that did find their way onto the field. On the topic of your Sun team; Magic Bouncers have never been as common as they are now. Espeon was always used fairly often, however Xatu has found a new lease on life, meaning that Deoxys can become dead weight as long as the Bouncer is alive. A third, and much less dominant factor for Deoxys' decrease in usage, is that a lot of mons that do similar roles such as Mew, Azelf etc. are starting to make comebacks, as there are new sets that have been formulated to better deal with the current metagame. Unfortunately for Deoxys', it lacks the ability to adapt as well, and as such is getting left behind. Even on HO teams, where Deoxys once reigned supreme, there are now things that do the job better, I know it was Deoxys-S that helped define HO, but Deoxys-D did an adequate job of filling its shoes, for a time anyway.
Back in BW1 it is easy enough to see why so many people wanted it banned when Deoxys-S was eventually banned, however now there is obviously no reason to. Personally when I see a Deoxys-D in the team preview, it makes me happy knowing I effectively only have to deal with 5 mons on my opponents team. That coupled with the predictability with which Deoxys-D cannot break, tend to give me quite an advantage from turn 1. That said, Deoxys-D can still cause serious problems to a team not prepared for it. Example A being the Counter This Pokemon project. In the final matches once the teams were completed, Ginga beat me 2-0 because I had absolutely no response to Deoxys, it walled the hell out of me allowing for the rest of Ginga's team to go to work, and was probably the MVP for both matches. So if a team isn't prepared to deal with Deoxys, it can be a problem, although it is now obviously less common, and so a threat that is less worried about.
@Joeyboy
With Riolu, the basic strategy is get SR up and as many layers of Spikes as possible. Make sure Riolu comes in at 100% with Sash in tact, no Hail/Sand up, and then use roar as your opponent generally brings you down to your sash, then Riolu uses Copycat to copy its own Roar, and voila. A +1 priority phazing move, which can generally win you the match provided you've eliminated Riolu's enemies, priority. At the end of it all, your opponent will be left with one, most likely severely weakened mon, which you have the remained of your team to take out.
