A Naganadel in its natural habitat.
The Mix and Mega Council has decided that we will be conducting our third suspect test of USUM on Naganadel.
Naganadel has evidently been an potent threat within Mix and Mega since its introduction in November. Its boisterous Special Attack stat and incredible Speed are enough to be weary of alone; however, when combined with its amazing offensive movepool, it can be clear that Naganadel is a top tier threat. Albeit, Naganadel is much more than that. Diancite and Red Orb, while both providing Naganadel insane utility, both provide somewhat polarising roles. Diancite is the standard "go-to" attacking force. With 187 Special Attack and 181 Speed, Naganadel is virtually impossible to stop without -ate boosted priority or a defensive Steel-type like Magearna, Aggronite Mew or Dusk Mane Necrozma. Due to this, these Pokémon can thus see excessive usage, even when they're already justifiably prevalent threats (see: Magearna). This can cause centralisation of an unhealthy degree; although, this is not the sole issue Naganadel provides. Red Orb allows Naganadel to overwhelm these threats. Nasty Plot + Fire Blast from a Red Orb Naganadel is sufficient to take out effective Diancite variant checks like Venusaurite Magearna in one hit. This has resulted in sub-par sets such as Blue Orb Magearna seeing usage. Ultimately, this has spiralled into creating a blatantly unhealthy metagame, limiting creativity and imagination.
Blissey can successfully wall most sets unboosted; however, even this has issues once Naganadel has used Nasty Plot a few times. Naganadel's Poison-typing allows it to avoid Toxic, and hence Blissey cannot reliably Seismic Toss and recover health simultaneously while Naganadel repeats Nasty Plot and attacks. Additionally, relying on Blissey to make the metagame playable is not optimal and hence this argument can also be considered insufficient.
Overall, this vote comes down to several paramount factors:
I.IIIWhether running reliable defensive answers to Naganadel doesn't restrict teambuilding to an overwhelming and/or negative extent.
II.IIWhether the lack of distinction of Mega Stone from team preview is fair in preparing Naganadel counter play.
III.IWhether the likes of otherwise viable sets such as Sablenite Blissey and Dusk Mane Necrozma can adequately check both common Naganadel sets.
IV.IWhether Naganadel can reliably set-up Nasty Plot against a sufficient amount of threats within the metagame.
V.IIWhether Naganadel requires this aforementioned boost to severely impact the outcome of a match.
VI.IWhether there's reason for its inclusion other than preserving as many Pokémon as possible.
Naganadel will be banned from bearing Mega Stones during the suspect testing process.Some quick high-level replays showcasing Naganadel in action:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7mixandmega-712899411
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7mixandmega-702514949
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7mixandmega-714067859
Diancite |
| Magic Bounce | 73/133/33/187/33/181
Red Orb |
| Desolate Land | 73/103/93/177/73/121
The suspect test will last fourteen days, concluding on April 28th.
Note: This suspect is solely for Naganadel's ability to hold mega stones.
Requirements:
There are multiple methods for obtaining reqs for this suspect test.
Firstly, the most reliable option of playing ranked games until you obtain a GXE of 81 in 35 or more games is recommended. This ladder environment will be reset once it is posted, and it will exist without interference from Mega Stone-holding Naganadel. These requirements are relatively easy in comparison to previous suspect tests, so please ensure you try this prior to relying on the latter method.
Secondly, there is an option to earn it via room tournaments. I'll be hosting two suspect tours within the Other Metas room on Pokémon Showdown within the next two weeks. I will announce the times of each of these tournaments in the thread, at least 24 hours in advance. The winner and runner up of each tournament will gain automatic voting requirements unless they have previously obtained them.
Post your suspect requirements proof in this thread, without your vote. You do not require a specific username, any alt may be used, as long as you provide a screenshot of requirements and proof that the alt is yours. You may post your opinion on the subject or what you will be voting, as this thread is not limited to posting reqs. However, it is important to mention that solely voting here and not following the instructions given within this paragraph and the following one will ensure your vote doesn't count.
Voting:
Once the suspect period is over, I will tag everyone who has obtained reqs by this point. I will then outline a process of blind voting, which will be clarified once this time arrives. For now, follow the above "Requirements" subheading to ensure that you've posted your reqs correctly. If this is difficult to understand, please message me on my Smogon profile and I will clarify it for you.
A super-majority of 60% ban is required for Naganadel to be banned from holding Mega Stones.
TL;DR:
- Naganadel is being suspected from holding Mega Stones.
- Naganadel will be unable to hold Mega Stones during the testing process.
- The GXE requirement is 81, the game amount must amount to or exceed 35.
- Post requirements in this thread. This is not where your vote is posted though. Read the "Voting" subheading for more information.
- Suspect Test will conclude on April 28th.
- A ban vote of 60% is required to remove Naganadel's ability to hold Mega Stones.
- Naganadel will be permitted to hold Mega Stones in every round of OMGS playoffs, as the results of this test won't be released until after these have commenced.
Thank you The Immortal :D!
