Suspect Test Reasoning
The original Suspect Test Reasoning reads as follows:
Most of this still applies, but there's been 1 major change that ultimately swayed us to do this suspect test so soon: the resurgence of Z-Moves. During the first suspect test, Z-Move Cinderace was pretty much unseen, but still a threat to keep in the back of your mind. Since then, people have gone back to experiment with such sets and Bulk Up + Normalium Z Cinderace has seen a tremendous amount of success.Cinderace has been a requested suspect pretty much ever since it gained access to Libero. Thanks to Libero, it gains STAB on every move it uses; this increases its potency as a wallbreaker by a lot. When you take the fact that it has a very colorful movepool into account, with moves like Gunk Shot for Clefable and Slowbro, High Jump Kick for Heatran, and Zen Headbutt for Toxapex, it is not hard to see why Cinderace may be difficult to deal with.
Because of its wide movepool, it requires a lot of dedication in the teambuilder; when using Toxapex as your check, you will oftentimes need a softer secondary check like Choice Scarf Landorus-T in case it is running Zen Headbutt. If you're using Heatran as a check, you will need another check like Slowbro in case it's running High Jump Kick -- you get the point. This issue is amplified even further when Cinderace is supported by a Future Sight, after which it becomes almost impossible to switch into.
Beyond that, its blistering Speed tier combined with the fact that it can hold Heavy-Duty Boots makes it incredibly hard to wear down with entry hazards; you can pretty much only wear it down through Rocky Helmet on Pokemon like Hippowdon, Toxapex, and Slowbro. However, even that isn't a foolproof solution as the Cinderace user may make smart switches instead to prevent it from being worn down too quickly.
The fact that Cinderace can even run Z-Moves on Bulk Up sets is certainly something worth noting too. While these sets have seen less and less usage as the metagame's evolved due to just how useful Heavy-Duty Boots is as an item, they still amplify Cinderace's potential as an offensive threat. Most notably, Darkinium Z + Sucker Punch can immediately overwhelm would-be-checks to Bulk Up Cinderace like Slowbro and Mega Latias. These sets generally struggle with coverage, but if it is facing the right build, it can quickly spiral out of control. It is still an extra variable to take into account.
With that said, it's not like Cinderace is entirely uncheckable; counterplay does exist. Alomomola is by far and away the best check to Cinderace; it's really only bothered by a poison from Gunk Shot, but even that doesn't make Cinderace too hard to handle. Other defensive checks like Toxapex, Hippowdon, Slowbro, defensive Landorus-T, and Heatran are certainly viable checks too, but they are quite circumstantial and otherwise struggle with longevity. Its high Speed tier does limit offensive counterplay to an extent, but Pokemon like Mega Lopunny, Ash-Greninja, and Spectrier can keep Cinderace in check.
There's also the argument that Cinderace simply cannot run every move at once. On non-Bulk Up sets, Pyro Ball and U-turn are a given, but outside of those 2 moves it has to fit 2 of Gunk Shot, Zen Headbutt, High Jump Kick, and Sucker Punch. That can certainly make it struggle in specific matchups.
Bulk Up + Normalium Z Cinderace completely patches up a lot of the flaws that the previous Z-Move sets we saw had; it has excellent neutral coverage. As a result of that, Normalium Z Cinderace can very easily overwhelm a lot of its regular checks with just 1 move; Toxapex, Gliscor, and Slowbro can all be OHKOed by +1 Cinderace after very minimal chip damage. This development has ultimately led to building becoming even more complicated and typical means of checking Cinderace often not being satisfactory. We believe that Cinderace is due for another suspect test.
Suspect Test Information
- Reading this is mandatory to participate in the suspect test. The voting requirements are a minimum GXE of 80 with at least 50 games played. In addition, you may play 1 less game for every 0.2 GXE you have above 80 GXE, down to a minimum of 30 games at a GXE of 84. Also, doing more than 50 games to reach 80 GXE will suffice.
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GXE minimum games 80 50 80.2 49 80.4 48 80.6 47 80.8 46 81 45 81.2 44 81.4 43 81.6 42 81.8 41 82 40 82.2 39 82.4 38 82.6 37 82.8 36 83 35 83.2 34 83.4 33 83.6 32 83.8 31 84 30 - You must use a fresh account that begins with the given prefix for this suspect test. That prefix is NXACE2. For example, I could signup and qualify with the name NXACE2 Jordy.
- You may not impersonate or mock another user with your account name. If there is any slight hesitation, you're probably better off picking a different name. We reserve the right to null your voting requisites if you are found impersonating or mocking another user with your account name. Moderator discretion will be applied.
- If you are found trying to manipulate voting requisites in any way, you will be met with a harsh infraction. Manipulating voting requisites ranges from faking your screenshot to asking another user to forfeit.
- The Pokemon that's being suspect tested, Cinderace, will be allowed on the National Dex ladder for the next two weeks so that we can properly assess its position in the metagame.
- This suspect test will go on for two weeks. It will last until March the 19th at 11:59 PM GMT+1.