Metagame Cross Evolution

Have you done the tiering survey?

  • Yes

    Votes: 7 87.5%

  • I'll do it later

    Votes: 1 12.5%
  • Total voters
    8
  • Poll closed .
smellslikememe

smellslikememe

Original idea by Angry2
Approved by in the hills and drampa's grandpa
1679812783085.png

many thanks to IMakeNoSense for the art!​

Premise​

Since the very beginning, back in RBY, Pokémon have been able to evolve, giving them new moves, abilities, types (sometimes) and generous stat boosts (usually)! But what if we could cross these evolutionary lines? That's what you can do here!

By nicknaming a non-fully evolved Pokemon, you can cross evolve it, granting it the corresponding stat boosts and type changes, full access to the evolution's movepool, as well as replacing its abilities with that of its evolutions.
Complicated? Want an example? Ok!

Bisharp is a Stage 2 that can evolve into a Stage 3, so it can cross-evolve with a Stage 3 Pokémon such as Dragonite. Dragonite has +30 HP, +50 Attack, +30 Defense, +30 Special Attack, +30 Special Defense and +10 Speed compared to Dragonair. Its abilities are Inner Focus and Multiscale, and it gains a secondary Flying-type. The result of cross-evolving Bisharp into Dragonite is as follows:

bisharp.gif

Bisharp (cross-evolved into Dragonite)
New Abilities (completely replaces old ability pool): Inner Focus/Multiscale
New Stats: 95/175/130/90/100/80
New typing: Dark/Flying
Also gains access to Dragonite's entire movepool, in addition to its previous movepool.

Mechanics​

To cross-evolve in the teambuilder, nickname the base Pokemon after the evolution. In the case of Ursaring-Dragonite, for example, give an Ursaring the nickname "Dragonite". If you want to see the stats of any cross-evolution, the /ce command is very helpful!
  • You can "cross-evolve" your Pokémon by naming them after the intended Pokémon.
  • Stat, typing, and ability changes granted by any evolution are determined by their respective changes from their prevo. For example, Corphish has 43/80/65/50/35/35 stats and is pure Water while Crawdaunt has 63/120/85/90/55/55 with a Water/Dark typing. If you were to evolve something into Crawdaunt it would gain +20 HP, +40 Attack, +20 Defense, +40 Special Attack, +20 Special Defense, and +20 Speed as well as a secondary Dark-type.
  • Evolution is limited so that only Pokémon that are able to evolve may do so, and they must follow evolutionary stages. Stage 1's encompass most of the LCs and may only evolve into Stage 2's, while Stage 2's are primarily NFE and may only evolve into Stage 3. Scyther is a Stage 1 Pokémon and can evolve into any Stage 2 but it cannot evolve into a Stage 3, so you couldn't evolve it into a Stage 3 like Gallade or Dragonite, but you use Stage 2's like Umbreon or Dragonair. This applies to Stage 2's as well.
  • In case of confusion, here's an infographic to help visualize this:
    4.png
    Stage 1 Charmander
    11px-U%2B21B3.svg.png
    :Snorlax: Stage 2 Snorlax ✔
    This is a legal evolution because Charmander is a Stage 1 and can evolve under normal circumstances.
    5.png
    Stage 2 Charmeleon
    11px-U%2B21B3.svg.png
    :Snorlax: Stage 2 Snorlax ✘
    This is an illegal evolution because Charmeleon is a Stage 2 and cannot evolve into another Stage 2.
    6.png
    Stage 3 Charizard
    11px-U%2B21B3.svg.png
    :Snorlax: Stage 2 Snorlax ✘
    This is an illegal evolution because Charizard cannot evolve under normal circumstances.
    :Dusclops: Stage 2 Dusclops
    11px-U%2B21B3.svg.png
    006.png
    Stage 3 Charizard ✔
    This is a legal evolution because Dusclops is a Stage 2 and can evolve under normal circumstances.
    :Snorlax: Stage 2 Snorlax
    11px-U%2B21B3.svg.png
    006.png
    Stage 3 Charizard ✘
    This is an illegal evolution because Snorlax cannot evolve under normal circumstances.
    :Munchlax: Stage 1 Munchlax
    11px-U%2B21B3.svg.png
    006.png
    Stage 3 Charizard ✘
    This is an illegal evolution because Munchlax is a Stage 1 and cannot evolve into a Stage 3 Pokemon.
  • Cross-evolve Pokémon gain the abilities of the evolution. This means they can no longer use their base abilities, i.e. if you were to cross-evolve Magneton with Hydreigon it would gain Levitate and lose access to Magnet Pull, Sturdy, and Analytic.
  • Cross-evolved Pokémon have the movepool of both the base Pokémon and the evolution. In past generations there was a 2-move inheriting cap; in this gen it has been removed.
  • Move and ability illegalities are ignored on cross-evolved Pokémon.
Council​

Ruleset​

Clauses:
Standard Ubers Clauses
Sleep Moves Clause
Terastal Clause
Evolutionary Species Clause (Each evolution with the same Pokedex number can only be used to cross-evolve once per team)

Pokemon bans:
:Basculin-White-Striped: Basculin-White-Striped
:Duraludon: Duraludon
:Kyogre: Kyogre
:Miraidon: Miraidon
:Scyther: Scyther
:Sneasel: Sneasel
:Sneasel-Hisui: Sneasel-Hisui
:Ursaring: Ursaring

Evolutionary Restrictions:
:Espathra: Espathra
:Frosmoth: Frosmoth
:Gallade: Gallade
:Lilligant-Hisui: Lilligant-Hisui
:Lunala: Lunala
:Solgaleo: Solgaleo

Ability bans:
Arena Trap
Huge Power
Moody
Pure Power
Shadow Tag

Item bans:
:kings-rock: King's Rock
:Razor_fang: Razor Fang

Move bans:
Baton Pass
Shed Tail
​
F.A.Q.​

Q: How does Eviolite work? What about signature items, such as Light Ball?
A: Eviolite and signature items do not work on any cross-evolved Pokémon. Due to a visual bug stat increases are still applied on the client; they are not, however, factored into damage calculation.

Q: How do forme-change abilities such as Zen Mode work?
A: For all intents and purposes these abilities don't function on cross-evolved Pokémon, in the same vein as Pokémon-specific held items.

Q: Is weight affected? What if my cross-evolution's weight drops below 0?
A: If weight drops below 0 when cross-evolving, it is set to 0.1 kg.

Q: How do I view cross evolution data on Pokemon Showdown?
A: The /ce [base], [evolution] command will show you the complete stats of a given cross evolution, while the /showevo [evolved Pokemon] command will show you the stats, abilities, and typings provided by any given evolution.

Discord​

We have a discord! Look for battles, post teams and replays, as well as discuss unofficial metagame variants - https://discord.gg/gDGekn3MFB

Past Metagame Changes​

Date Format: DD/MM/YY
10/04/16 - Cross Evolution approved for the first time, OU-based metagame
23/07/16 - Now Ubers based, keeping the Baton Pass Clause.
23/07/16 - Scyther, Archen and Sneasel as base Pokémon, and Gyarados as a cross-evolution are unbanned for testing and never rebanned.
05/02/17 - Cross Evolution re-approved for Gen 7.
15/02/17 - Sneasel is quickbanned from Cross Evolution.
17/02/17 - Solgaleo and Lunala as cross-evolutions suspect announced.
6/3/2017 - Unanimous ban on both Solgaleo and Lunala as cross-evolutions.
30/04/17 - Gligar's suspect test announced.
15/05/17 - Gligar avoids ban with a 33.33% ban vote.
30/07/19 - Cross Evolution selected for LCotM for August 2019.
19/08/19 - Type:Null's suspect test begins.
22/08/19 - Removal of the rule that didn't allow cross-evolved pokemon to go over or under 255/1 will now cap at 255/1 instead of becoming illegal.
08/12/19 - Cross Evolution re-approved for Gen 8.
06/09/19 - Type:Null receives an unanimous ban.
30/06/20 - Cross Evolution voted in as OMotM for July 2020.
07/07/20 - Chansey as an evolution, Ice Scales, and Moody are quickbanned from Gen 8 Cross Evolution.
12/07/20 - Sneasel, Corsola-Galar, and Arena Trap are quickbanned from Gen 8 Cross Evolution.
28/02/22 - Cross Evolution selected for LCotM for March 2022.
08/03/22 - Implemented 2-Ability Clause
17/11/22 - Cross Evolution re-approved for Gen 9.
25/03/23 - Speed Boost, Revival Blessing, Ursaring, Gholdengo, Gallade, Sneasel, Scyther are quickbanned from Gen 9 Cross Evolution.
07/04/23 - Girafarig, Ice Scales, Miraidon are quickbanned from Gen 9 Cross Evolution.
06/07/23 - Basculin-White-Striped and Sneasel-Hisui are banned from Gen 9 Cross Evolution.
18/09/23 - Implemented Terastal Clause.
04/10/23 - Girafarig and Scyther unbanned; Kyogre banned; Frosmoth is now restricted instead of Ice Scales.
06/12/23 - Lilligant-Hisui is restricted, 2-Ability Clause is lifted.
25/12/23 - Duraludon is banned.
30/01/24 - Scyther is re-banned, Revival Blessing unrestricted.
04/05/24 - Shed Tail and Espathra are banned, Gholdengo and Speed Boost are unbanned.
 
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Resources​
VR and set compendium under construction
 
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This should prove to be an interesting generation for Cross Evolution. I was already going into this excited to be able to evolve Pokémon like Girafarig (and probably Stantler and Ursaring after Home compatibility) but the inclusion of Pokemon like Bisharp and Dunsparce as bases should make this very interesting for the next little while at least.

Certain new moves and abilities are going to be very interesting when passed on to stronger new evolutions. Something like Houndstone could be really scary if it evolves from anything faster than Greavard. I imagine we will be watching what goes down in OU to see what is and isn't dangerous for this meta as well.

I cannot wait to see how this evolves, and I cannot wait to play this meta in the new generation.
 
I’ve put some of my thoughts in the Gen 8 thread, not realizing this thread was already up, so I’ll share them here:
alephgalactus said:
Considering that Pawniard is already a decent mon in this meta, I would definitely keep an eye on Bisharp. Gallade also got massive buffs this gen, gaining Sharpness and Sacred Sword. Anything that crevos into Gallade therefore gets a 135-power STAB move with no downside that ignores opponents’ stat changes, in addition to the extra 90 Attack that it gave already. Bisharp did lose Knock Off this gen, but Gallade did not, so Gallade Bisharp can still use the Knock Off/Sucker Punch sets that made regular Bisharp an OU staple. I think it’s going to be a major force in the Gen 9 meta.

Also, Breloom doesn’t just get +90 Attack, it gets +35 Speed and Spore, STAB Technician Mach Punch, or even Poison Heal if you want to run something tankier with it. I think we might have to have a serious discussion about introducing Sleep Moves Clause.

Other notable things I’ve noticed:
  • Garganacl gives 40/30/25 boosts to defenses, which isn’t the biggest but is pretty solid considering that you also get Salt Cure, Recover, immunity to status and a free Ghost resist.
  • Revival Blessing needs to be banned immediately (yes, before it’s even coded, it is that urgent). The fact that both Rabsca (which also gets +84 Sp. Atk) and Pawmot get it means that you can put it on any crevo.
  • Shed Tail will probably not be a major force in this meta considering that both of its users are single-stage evolutionary lines so they can’t pass it on to anything, but I’d keep an eye on it just in case. That move is straight-up uncompetitive.
  • Cetitan’s stats might be useful for something. Thick Fat is kind of underrated as far as Abilities go.
  • Revavroom has significant increases to Attack and Speed as well as solid increases to the rest of its stats. It also gets Shift Gear.
  • Baxcalibur gets +50 Attack, Dragon Dance, and an immunity to burn.
  • We lost Milotic this gen, which is a very hefty loss of something that’s been one of the faces of the meta since its inception. Press F to pay respects.
  • Speaking of respects, Last Respects needs a ban. Houndstone as a crevo is fine, but that move is not skill-based.
  • Scald being outright gone, Toxic and Knock Off losing a lot of their best users, and recovery PP being nerfed are massive blows to stall. That’s true for every meta, but especially one like this where stall just lost some of its biggest power players and offense gained several.
  • Chansey no longer gets Toxic, Wish or Teleport. WishPort made Chansey broken as a evo last gen, but since it no longer can do that it should probably be allowed at the start of this gen, with a suspect later if it becomes problematic again.
Click to expand...
(Note: I didn’t even think to check whether a Gen 9 thread was made, so I didn’t know that Sleep Moves Clause was already implemented. Thanks for pre-empting what would probably have been an argument.)
 
alephgalactus said:
I’ve put some of my thoughts in the Gen 8 thread, not realizing this thread was already up, so I’ll share them here:
Click to expand...

Reminder that I should probably let people know about that, Gen 8 Cross Evolution was pretty much finalized in terms of rules/bans a while ago anyways.

alephgalactus said:
(Note: I didn’t even think to check whether a Gen 9 thread was made, so I didn’t know that Sleep Moves Clause was already implemented. Thanks for pre-empting what would probably have been an argument.)
Click to expand...

Also note that the two move inheritance restriction from past gens no longer applies, and nearly all bans have been lifted. Sneasel has proven to be problematic for 3 gens in a row, but I've given it another chance at life before it inevitably gets banished to the shadow realm again. Also also note that the Gen 9 spreadsheet is up but I haven't thoroughly reviewed it to see if all of the data is correct.

I have other thoughts on the new gen, but given that it's not yet playable many of them are probably going to come off as unfounded. One thing I will note is that with the presence of Terastalization and with the general bulk of the metagame being lowered, as well as powerhouses like Gallade and Vivillon returning, there may be a need to ban more liberally than last gen, but we'll just have to wait and see if that's reality or not.
 
smellslikememe said:
there may be a need to ban more liberally than last gen, but we'll just have to wait and see if that's reality or not.
Click to expand...
I’m inclined to agree, particularly because almost all the actual Ubers are gone right now. The difference between an Ubers-based meta and an OU-based one is, at the time of writing, four Pokémon. That’s pretty big, considering that Zacian-Crowned, Calyrex-Shadow, Eternatus, Kyogre, Ho-Oh and Lunala all saw significant use last gen.
 
Girafarig could be fun. It already learns a wide variety of both physical and special moves, so it might be a good sweeper if you evolve it into anything fast.

Bisharp evolved into something fast could be scary.

I think we should pre-emptively ban Last Respects, because White Basculin apparently gets it as an egg move.
 
Nitro Indigo said:
I think we should pre-emptively ban Last Respects, because White Basculin apparently gets it as an egg move.
Click to expand...
I agree on this, but the far more pressing matter is Revival Blessing, which should never ever be allowed in this meta (or, if we’re being honest, any meta), not even for a second. It’s broken in principle and will be broken in practice.
 
Nitro Indigo said:
^ Good point.

Anyway, what about returning Pokémon that weren't in SwSh? We already talked about Breloom on the previous thread, and I put together a Buizel -> Breloom on Showdown earlier.
Click to expand...
  • Vivillon is back and that thing’s kind of a menace. +63 Sp. Atk, +60 Speed, Quiver Dance, and accurate STAB Hurricane. No Sleep Powder, though, and thank God for that. Electabuzz, Vivillon’s unquestionably best receiver, is also gone.
  • Venomoth is like Vivillon for Stage 1 crevos. Or Stage 2, or whatever we call them. The ones that evolve from LC mons. You know what I’m talking about. Anyway, +50 Sp. Atk and +45 Speed isn’t quite Vivillon levels, but it makes up for it with Tinted Lens.
  • Sunflora gets some really nice stat boosts, including +75 Sp. Atk, but no boost to Speed really hurts. It does give Chlorophyll, though, so you can use it on a sun sweeper or something.
  • Litleo was good as a Noivern receiver in Gen 7, and with Throat Spray being introduced in Gen 8, Boomburst may have gotten even better.
  • Murkrow and Misdreavus, both solid receivers of many Pokémon including Breloom, have returned with a vengeance.
 
Here's the sets I made:

:Buizel: -> :Breloom:
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Force Palm
- Bite
- Swords Dance

:Litleo: -> :Noivern: @ Throat Spray
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Flamethrower

Not sure what item to give Buizel, nor what other two moves to give Litleo. Maybe fillers? Buizel already deals with Rock-types, so...

Also, Dachsbun could be an interesting evolution for something like Pineco, that already has high defence and benefits from a Fire immunity.
 
I’ve been trying to think of something that works with Abomasnow to make a physical Ice-type wall (yes, I know, stop laughing, let me finish). Since snow gives a Defense buff to Ice-types and Abomasnow automatically sets it (and is, at the moment, the only thing to do so) and gets Aurora Veil, I figure that translates to some pretty hefty physical bulk. Few Pokémon can avoid being a physical wall when their Defense is effectively tripled. Abomasnow also gets Leech Seed, which can help its receivers’ longevity immensely. So my question is this: what would be the optimal Ice-type receiver for Abomasnow?

(This is purely hypothetical, of course. I would never actually go out there on the ladder with a defensive Ice-type.)
 
Oh crap, I totally forgot to talk about Maushold. Tidy Up and Population Bomb are two of the best individual moves in the game—Tidy Up acts as a Dragon Dance that removes hazards and Substitute and is the only thing that can remove hazards if a spinblocker with Good as Gold is on the field, and Technician-boosted Population Bomb is just unfair on anything stronger than Maushold. I strongly recommend against banning Maushold as an evo if Gholdengo as an evo is staying, since Gholdengo spinblockers make any other kind of hazard control impossible, but we may need to take a look at Population Bomb.
 
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It's gonna be a Fun meta in SV!

Girafarig > Noivern
115/120/110/142/105/153 (745 BST)
Infiltrator, Stab Boomburst, Fire-Coverage

Bisharp > Meowscarada
80/155/107/81/77/110
Protean, U-Turn, rock resist

Litleo > Ceruledge
97/125/98/83/114/127
Fire/Ghost
Weak Armor, SD, Bitter Blade

Litleo > Armarouge
107/60/118/148/94/117
Fire/Psychic
Weak Armor, Calm Mind, Armor Cannon

Only thought of those rn
 
fratelli bc said:
Bisharp > Meowscarada
80/155/107/81/77/110
Protean, U-Turn, rock resist
Click to expand...
I still think Bisharp into Gallade is what we’re really gonna have to watch out for.
95/215/130/60/130/100, Dark/Fighting, Sharpness for 135-power Sacred Sword, keeps Knock Off, STAB + Iron Head is perfect neutral coverage and makes it nigh impossible to switch into.

Here are some sample sets I’ve constructed:
:bisharp::gallade:
Gallade (Bisharp) @ Life Orb / Black Glasses
Ability: Sharpness
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Sacred Sword
- Sucker Punch
Gallade (Bisharp) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sharpness
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sacred Sword
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head / Shadow Sneak

Here are some other things I’ve been cooking up:

:girafarig::rabsca:
Rabsca (Girafarig) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic / Psyshock / Twin Beam / Stored Power
- Thunderbolt / Shadow Ball / Earth Power
- Recover / Revival Blessing
Rabsca (Girafarig) @ Leppa Berry
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Future Sight
- Recover
- Revival Blessing
- Filler
Rabsca Girafarig is a monster. Even though its only Ability worth running is Synchronize and that’s not even really worth running, those 104/80/90/174/107/100 stats are nothing to sneeze at. Rabsca also blesses Girafarig with Earth Power, Recover, and, most importantly, the meta-defining Revival Blessing, which should always be run at least once per team if it’s allowed. The Leppa set is stupid and gimmicky, but it gives you two revivals if you manage to pull it off, and Future Sight does a good job at forcing the switch-outs you need to actually get the Revival Blessings.

(Side note: of course the best mon in the meta is going to be the one carrying a literal load of shit)

:ursaring::tsareena:
Tsareena (Ursaring) @ Choice Band
Ability: Queenly Majesty
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Facade / Body Slam / Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Close Combat
- U-turn
Tsareena (Ursaring) @ Leftovers
Ability: Queenly Majesty
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Trop Kick
- Drain Punch / Body Slam / Facade
- Earthquake / Ice Punch / Synthesis
It’d probably work better with Gallade, but Tsareena Ursaring seems like a very threatening mon as well. 65 Speed isn’t much to work with, but 100/125/125 bulk is good and that Attack is terrifying. It might be able to work as a spinner too, considering that even Rapid Spin can dish out decent damage when it’s a STAB move coming off of base 210 Attack.

:misdreavus::scovillain:
Scovillain (Misdreavus) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Solar Beam
- Trick
Scovillain adds a Fire typing and Chlorophyll, turning anything that gets it into a scary sun sweeper. It doesn’t give Flare Blitz, thank goodness, so stuff like Sneasel and Scyther have limited use for it, but Misdreavus absolutely appreciates access to Fire Blast. As we’re probably all well aware, Misdreavus is no stranger to getting a Speed boost in sun. Trick is also especially good when you’ve got base 110 Speed at +2. Make sure to run Koraidon alongside this to actually get the sun up, since Groudon apparently has better things to do right now.

:fraxure::baxcalibur:
Baxcalibur (Fraxure) @ Life Orb
Ability: Thermal Exchange
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Glaive Rush
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
It’s just Haxorus but more. There really isn’t much to say here.

:tandemaus::breloom:
Breloom (Tandemaus) @ Wide Lens
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Population Bomb
- Force Palm
- Bite
- Swords Dance
Maushold but good. This stupid thing has base 140 Attack and gets to slap your shit ten times in a row with Technician-boosted Population Bomb.
(also haha get it because it has a 10-hit combo and Force Palm is basically Electric Wind God Fist)

:dreepy::houndstone:
Houndstone (Dreepy) @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Fluffy / Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Last Respects
- Filler
- Filler
- Filler
Want to be rewarded for playing badly? This is the set for you. I was going to make an actual set but I became too disgusted with myself to finish. You’re only going to click the one move anyway.

:chansey::grimmsnarl:
Grimmsnarl (Chansey) (F) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Parting Shot
- Seismic Toss / Taunt / Soft-Boiled / Spirit Break
Grimmsnarl (Chansey) (F) @ Leftovers / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Soft-Boiled
- Taunt / Stealth Rock / Parting Shot / Charm
- Seismic Toss
Fuck this thing.
 
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We have a bunch of powerful new Normal cross-evolvers to work with, starting with Girafarig and Dunsparce and later with Stantler and Ursaring. I think they will all excel in different areas, with Stantler and Ursaring being the best physical attackers (but with different evolution options) once released, while Girafarig will complete Stantler's physical roles until it's released but ultimately be best at special attacking roles (and in situations where the additional Psychic typing is important). But I am most excited by Dunsparce, who has recovery, some solid utility options, and amazing coverage, opening access to evolutions the others can't use as effectively, and making it far and away the best defensive option of the group. I am particularly intrigued by this set.

:sv/Dunsparce:
Ceruledge (Dunsparce) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Slam
- Roost
- Shadow Claw/Bitter Blade/one of the following
- Stealth Rock/Will-o-Wisp/Glare

135/145/110/75/125/100. Typing: Normal/Ghost

This pairs the fabled Normal/Ghost typing with incredible stats for the job and the critical moves it needs. With its ability, it has immunities to a whopping four types (Normal, Fighting, Ghost, and Fire), plus resistances to two more (Poison and Bug) and only one weakness (Dark). This gives it plenty of opportunities to come in and set SR and/or spread status. Could potentially pull off a bulky offense set with Coil as well.

Here are some other really promising Dunsparce combos.

:Dunsparce::Gyarados:175/185/94/110/145/46 - Insane stats with Intimidate. Many Gyarados crevos would kill for Roost.
:Dunsparce::Vespiquen:140/120/130/115/125/15 - General fat with Toxic, hazards, Pressure stalling, and a very slow U-turn
:Dunsparce::Quagsire:140/110/110/105/105/65 - Unaware wall with Toxic and hazards
:Dunsparce::Clodsire:175/100/85/85/140/50 - Unaware wall (also with Toxic and hazards) with Special Defense emphasis
:Dunsparce::Avalugg:140/118/169/77/76/45 - Physical wall with Rapid Spin
 
Gen 9 has brought a lot to the table that has me super interested in Cross Evo.

General Impression: Stall got nerfed hard. 8 PP recover/softboiled, no scald, limited access to Knock and Toxic? My initial impression is that stall might not be as viable as last gen. Also offensive power creep is really good.

First off: The god of brain dead Unga Bunga Gorilla mashing has returned. Sneloom has returned once again to cause havoc and Im here to savor the moment while I still can.

Breloom (Sneasel) @ King's Rock
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Beat Up
- Mach Punch
- Icicle Crash
- Spore

Dark/fight 185 atk, 150 speed, Spore, Tech+Beat Up in a format where stats are inflated. No triple axel prevents this from hitting its true peak but Ill take it. King's Rock for Maximum Unga. If no rock (because its banned), then run sash or LO. Or run Band and Mash.

2nd: Some old mons got new evo making them fair game for Cross Evo and old mons got some great buffs. Tried combining them together.
Gallade (Bisharp) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sharpness
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Night Slash
- Sucker Punch/iron head
- Sacred Sword
- Swords Dance

I remember some people discussing that Gallade being banned as an evo. Now that sharpness is an ability, I want to play (abuse) this really badly. +90 atk, fighting type, and a 135 BP STAB with no drawbacks. Bisharp lost knock but its now a stage 2 and gets Sharpness Night Slash. 100 speed is meh but 215 atk is amazing and 95/130/130 bulk means it can take a hit. No Rhydon x Gallade for now but this should work fine.

Dunsparce and giraf have potential now that they are stage 1 mons. Primeape is a stage 2 with Rage fist (need ghost type evo?), Revival Blessing is a powerful move on Rabsca evo (+psychic type and 84 Spa is good enough to hook me). Gargan has worth as a stage 3 evo for ability+movepool alone.
 
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Nitro Indigo said:
I thought Stantler and Ursaring already count as evolvable Pokémon in the current version? At least, you can use the /crossevo command with them on Showdown.
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Eviolite works on it and it has Ursuluna as its listed evo on both Showdown and in mined data so it's safe to assume that Pokemon with Legends evos should be counted as evolvable in this context. Whether they can actually be used when Cross Evolution is playable will depend on the implementation but they should most likely work fine. Bring your Ursaring-Dragonites, because ESpeed spam is in.

Orig Stall Guy said:
Breloom (Sneasel) @ King's Rock
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Beat Up
- Mach Punch
- Icicle Crash
- Spore
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King's Rock has banned since Gen 7 and Gen 9 CrossEvo will have Sleep Moves Clause, so unfortunately (or fortunately, for the metagame) no Spore/SD shenanigans with Sneasel/Breloom like before (or fast Sleep Powders from Vivillon evos). That said, still going to have to look out for Sash/SD/Beat Up sets, not to mention that Breloom also gets Close Combat now, meaning that it can power through some of its checks without worrying about Atk drops from Superpower.
 
As it stands, Terastallization is not banned from this meta yet, and this could be an interesting conversation. The below has been presented, but I think something could be even more dangerous...

alephgalactus said:
:dreepy::houndstone:
Houndstone (Dreepy) @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Fluffy / Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Last Respects
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Pokemon like Scyther and Sneasel would definitely be an effective receiver on a set like this. Sure, the downside is that you don't have STAB on Last Respects unless you Terastallize. The benefit is pretty much everything else. Both of these Pokemon have high attack and speed with decent bulk. You wouldn't even need to run Sand Rush on either one to outspeed a lot of threats. Thanks to Close Combat on Scyther and Low Kick on Sneasel, alongside Play Rough from the Houndstone evolution, you would be able to hit a lot of threats for at least neutral damage.

That being said, Houndstone evolutions would not be unwallable. The plethora of great normal types making their way into the tier means that Last Respects isn't a guaranteed instant-kill option. This generation even has some bulky checks to the move, like Ting-Lu. Obviously we shouldn't force anyone to have to build a team just to be safe from Last Respects, but it would be in the same vein as making sure your team cannot be wiped out by a Population Bomb: just because something seems scary, doesn`t mean that there won`t be answers to it.

In fact, I would argue most Maushold and Houndstone evolution lines will suffer heavily from four-moveslot syndrome. In order to use one of them in the off-chance that you can get the wild success you need, you don't have a moveslot for anything that might stand a chance against it.

No Pokemon is without checks. And, with the increased power level of this OM, things that are threats in OU might not be as effective against a prepared player.

...I think I may have just used a single post to convey three different thoughts and for that I apologize. There is a lot to think about as the Gen 9 meta as a whole defines itself.
 
PQRDG said:
Thanks to Close Combat on Scyther and Low Kick on Sneasel, alongside Play Rough from the Houndstone evolution, you would be able to hit a lot of threats for at least neutral damage.
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And by “a lot of threats” you of course mean “literally everything except Normal/Ghost types, which fall to Crunch”. Ghost/Fighting is nearly perfect neutral coverage. Be that as it may, Last Respects still warrants a ban. It’s fundamentally anti-competitive. It punishes skilled players by discouraging them from KOing their opponents. In OU, this only happened if you saw Houndstone at Team preview, but in CE, you can’t see if someone has a Houndstone crevo until it’s too late.
 
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