Mewtwo Raid (September 1-17) + Lead Up Events (Aug 9, Aug 18)

To be fair, most of them are probably young kids, in some cases they might even be younger than you're thinking. My wife is a bit younger than me and she first started playing Pokemon in Gen I when she was only 5 years old and could barely read. I'm am more than certain that she was not the only one in that situation, and if it could happen back in 1998 then is most certainly can also happen in 2023.
I know it's hard to believe me, but i've seen grown adults struggle with these games (and still play with them regularly, occasionally on their streams). Despite what smogon would have you to believe, there's a decent enough adult-ish (say, 20-30 year old) playerbase that is super casual and just plays for fun with nearly 0 knowledge of what's going on other than what's directly in front of them, and prone to forget basic things like abilities within a day of running into them.
 
I know it's hard to believe me, but i've seen grown adults struggle with these games (and still play with them regularly, occasionally on their streams). Despite what smogon would have you to believe, there's a decent enough adult-ish (say, 20-30 year old) playerbase that is super casual and just plays for fun with nearly 0 knowledge of what's going on other than what's directly in front of them, and prone to forget basic things like abilities within a day of running into them.

I am well aware there is a very sizable amount of people who don't know anything about Pokemon mechanics well into their 30's (I have friends that picked up SV in that situation), but people are acting like the target demographic make up a significantly smaller portion of current-gen Pokemon playerbase than they actually do.
 
I am well aware there is a very sizable amount of people who don't know anything about Pokemon mechanics well into their 30's (I have friends that picked up SV in that situation), but people are acting like the target demographic make up a significantly smaller portion of current-gen Pokemon playerbase than they actually do.
Oh no I perfectly agree that the "target demographic" is the majority.

My point was that even the "non target demographic" is actually full of people that aren't really good at the games. Turns out just being 30 doesn't actually mean you can read.
 
Grimmsnarl and Hatterene raid time, and here's a set that works for both of them:

:Kingambit:
Kingambit @ Shell Bell
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Snarl
- Brick Break
- Iron Head
- Leer / Swords Dance

Snarl weakens Hatterene's Mystical Fire, which procs your Defiant boost. Brick Break removes Grimmsnarl's Screens. Leer lowers Defense, while Swords Dance boosts your Attack, although Leer is better since it combos well with your Defiant boosts. Keep in mind Leer won't work on Magic Bounce Hatterne. Both Pokemon have attacks that lower stats (Mystical Fire on Hatterene and Spirit Break and Play Rough on Grimmsnarl). Since they're both slow, you'll be faster than both even with no Speed investment.

If you have more than one Kingambit, you can make one full Def and one full SpDef rather than mixed bulk, and you can run SD alongside Leer on both, swapping out Snarl vs Grimmsnarl and replacing Brick Break vs Hatterene.
 
Grimmsnarl and Hatterene raid time, and here's a set that works for both of them:

:Kingambit:
Kingambit @ Shell Bell
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Snarl
- Brick Break
- Iron Head
- Leer / Swords Dance

Snarl weakens Hatterene's Mystical Fire, which procs your Defiant boost. Brick Break removes Grimmsnarl's Screens. Leer lowers Defense, while Swords Dance boosts your Attack, although Leer is better since it combos well with your Defiant boosts. Keep in mind Leer won't work on Magic Bounce Hatterne. Both Pokemon have attacks that lower stats (Mystical Fire on Hatterene and Spirit Break and Play Rough on Grimmsnarl). Since they're both slow, you'll be faster than both even with no Speed investment.

If you have more than one Kingambit, you can make one full Def and one full SpDef rather than mixed bulk, and you can run SD alongside Leer on both, swapping out Snarl vs Grimmsnarl and replacing Brick Break vs Hatterene.
are you trying to run min HP to get more Shell Bell value or did 7* raids make you forget maxing HP is usually better

0 SpA Kingambit Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 128 SpD Kingambit: 228-272 (66.8 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Kingambit Brick Break vs. 0 HP / 128 Def Kingambit: 216-256 (63.3 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Kingambit Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Kingambit: 264-312 (65.3 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Kingambit Brick Break vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Kingambit: 240-284 (59.4 - 70.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

(yes I used two Kingambits instead of specific Hatt/Grimm calcs, it was quicker this way)
 
I've been trying out this Kingambit set so far and my experience has been positive. In some battles I have been setting up 2 Leers and having a Belly Drummer or Koraidon set themselves up for an early super effective OHKO which is nice to speed things up reliably. Another support option I would recommend is a Taunter to stop Hatterene's early Calm Mind + Psychic Terrain combo as well as Grimmsnarl's similar Bulk Up and Reflect setup.

It's interesting fighting Frisk Grimmsnarl to see what it reveals. Already I have seen a Muscle Band Iron Hands and Black Belt Koraidon, just like what pokemon.com suggests.
 
are you trying to run min HP to get more Shell Bell value or did 7* raids make you forget maxing HP is usually better
Get more out of Shell Bell. Tbh Hatterene and Grimm barely damage you at all anyway so it hardly matters.

Another support option I would recommend is a Taunter to stop Hatterene's early Calm Mind + Psychic Terrain combo as well as Grimmsnarl's similar Bulk Up and Reflect setup.
Unironically:

:haxorus:
Haxorus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker
Tera Type: Dragon / Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Taunt
- Snarl
- Dragon Claw / Iron Head
- Leer

Mold Breaker lets Haxorus's Taunt break through Magic Bounce, and Hatterene has Disarming Voice as its Fairy move. Psychic does more unless Tera Fairy lol
 
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The tera raid bosses running rn all have pretty good stats when caught, Grimmsnarl would probably be best for mewtwo out of the three there. easy high level and catch rate. I'm thinking of doing some IV breeding for Grimmsnarl but I'm not sure how that would work in terms of boosting IVs? Either that or just grinding grimmsnarl raids lol
 
The tera raid bosses running rn all have pretty good stats when caught, Grimmsnarl would probably be best for mewtwo out of the three there. easy high level and catch rate. I'm thinking of doing some IV breeding for Grimmsnarl but I'm not sure how that would work in terms of boosting IVs? Either that or just grinding grimmsnarl raids lol
5 star raids come with 4 guaranteed IVs by default which is already over halfway optimal and you can raise up the rest with Bottle Caps if needed. The harder part would be finding the right Tera type (Dark) and maybe going for Prankster, but even then that can be solved with Blisseys and money.

I have noticed that Ursaluna has a good shot of OHKOing most Hatterene or Grimmsnarl weak to Ground with Belly Drum + Headlong Rush.
 
I have noticed that Ursaluna has a good shot of OHKOing most Hatterene or Grimmsnarl weak to Ground with Belly Drum + Headlong Rush.

Yes, Guts Flame Orb Ursaluna Headlong Rush does the following to +Def nature bosses:

+6 252+ Atk Guts Ursaluna Headlong Rush vs. Lvl 75 0 HP / 0+ Def Tera Poison Grimmsnarl: 4686-5514 (1874.4 - 2205.6%)
+6 252+ Atk Guts Ursaluna Headlong Rush vs. Lvl 75 0 HP / 0+ Def Tera Electric Hatterene: 3432-4040 (1778.2 - 2093.2%)

Great tip, doipy hooves! I have yet to fail to OHKO a ground-weak boss, unless my teammates have somehow managed to proc the shield before I can get off my hit on turn 2.
 
Has anyone actually thought of the possibility of Mewtwo starting the battle off with Nasty Plot/Calm Mind like how Samurott started with Focus Energy? Because... Oh dear.
Most of us are having it as a given that there'll be a Nasty Plot somewhere. We have also considered it to be at start, which is why there's a lot of focus on having access to Snarl (on Dark types) or even Clear Smog if we really need to.
 
Most of us are having it as a given that there'll be a Nasty Plot somewhere. We have also considered it to be at start, which is why there's a lot of focus on having access to Snarl (on Dark types) or even Clear Smog if we really need to.
How about Struggle Bug plus Leech life?
 
How about Struggle Bug plus Leech life?
Would work if there was any pokemon that learns this and doesnt suck or doesn't resist / is weak to psychic...

Remember, this is a Tera Psychic Mewtwo with very likely Psystrike. Not resisting Psychic or having absolutely hilariously high defenses is not an option.

Though hey, Mew exists.
 
How about Struggle Bug plus Leech life?
Would work if there was any pokemon that learns this and doesnt suck or doesn't resist / is weak to psychic...

Remember, this is a Tera Psychic Mewtwo with very likely Psystrike. Not resisting Psychic or having absolutely hilariously high defenses is not an option.

Though hey, Mew exists.
Pokémon in SV that learn both:
  • Frosmoth: Bad
  • Kricketune: Bad
  • Lokix: Immune to Psychic
  • Masquerain: Bad
  • Mew: Probably has better options
  • Rabsca: Resists Psychic, but probably bad assuming Mewtwo has Dark Pulse or Shadow Ball
  • Spidops: Slow and frail, so bad
  • Venomoth: Weak to Psychic
  • Volcarona: Maybe decent here?
Assuming it's not running Hurricane or Rock moves Volcarona or Lokix might be able to do something?
 
Would work if there was any pokemon that learns this and doesnt suck or doesn't resist / is weak to psychic...

Remember, this is a Tera Psychic Mewtwo with very likely Psystrike. Not resisting Psychic or having absolutely hilariously high defenses is not an option.

Though hey, Mew exists.
I am talking about using Mew. It can learn every move.

Struggle Bug can lower its SP atk and Leech Life can help restore HP and deal damage.

Also Sword Dance will greatly boost up the damage.
 
Struggle Bug can lower its SP atk and Leech Life can help restore HP and deal damage.
Well yeh, tecnically that is a option. In fact if using support Mew, Struggle Bug is prolly a better option than Snarl anyway due to accuracy.

Idk about Leech Life though, if you're using Support mew, you're spamming Life Dew when you're not using screens or debuffs. If you're using offensive Mew, LL is prolly a option toghether with Sword/Dragon Dance and whichever defensive move is needed to not die.
Assuming it's not running Hurricane or Rock moves Volcarona or Lokix might be able to do something?
I think Volcarona has an actually solid chance though you'd... still not use Leech Life anyway, if anything you could use Giga Drain if you really want recovery.
Lokix... it's made of paper, will still get 1-2shot by any neutral coverage even though it is conveniently a dark type not weak to fighting.
 
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Well yeh, tecnically that is a option. In fact if using support Mew, Struggle Bug is prolly a better option than Snarl anyway due to accuracy.

Idk about Leech Life though, if you're using Support mew, you're spamming Life Dew when you're not using screens or debuffs. If you're using offensive Mew, LL is prolly a option toghether with Sword/Dragon Dance and whichever defensive move is needed to not die.

I think Volcarona has an actually solid chance though you'd... still not use Leech Life anyway, if anything you could use Giga Drain if you really want recovery.
Lokix... it's made of paper, will still get 1-2shot by any neutral coverage even though it is conveniently a dark type not weak to fighting.
Actually no, assuming Mewtwo's Modest Thunderbolt does 59 - 69.6% and Aura Sphere does 52.2 - 61.8% without any HP or Sp. Def investment on Lokix's part, and Lokix's Leech Life will rip 68.5 - 81.5% (75.3 - 88.9% if using an Attack boosting nature) off Mewtwo with max Attack investment. It will slowly lose HP but Lokix can actually heal most of the damage off unless Mewtwo immediately leads off with Nasty Plot or Calm Mind. Though Lokix will survive a Calm Mind boosted Aura Sphere and can survive a Calm Mind boosted Thunderbolt.
 
Actually no, assuming Mewtwo's Modest Thunderbolt does 59 - 69.6% and Aura Sphere does 52.2 - 61.8% without any HP or Sp. Def investment on Lokix's part, and Lokix's Leech Life will rip 68.5 - 81.5% (75.3 - 88.9% if using an Attack boosting nature) off Mewtwo with max Attack investment. It will slowly lose HP but Lokix can actually heal most of the damage off unless Mewtwo immediately leads off with Nasty Plot or Calm Mind. Though Lokix will survive a Calm Mind boosted Aura Sphere and can survive a Calm Mind boosted Thunderbolt.
Ok sir I think we're cooking something here... Expecially with a Mew providing screens or snarl/struggle bug :smogthink:
 
(Sigh) These are gonna be some long weeks. At the very least he doesn't have Shadow Ball so Mew will be taking more hits than I thought before Terastallizing. Still though. Really? Rest?
 
Spiritomb, Scizor, Lokix.. really any psychic resist that couples well with resisting ice/fighting (or at least one) seems to be the best way to go but I’m not even gonna attempt until tomorrow
 
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