Many players are attracted to National Dex formats to use old friends that are unavailable in their current generation counterparts. Like many of you, the National Dex Ubers council is brimming with excitement about the release of Legends ZA later this year and the potential reintroduction of Mega Evolution alongside some new additions. While discussing the implications this could have the topic of Mega Evolutions in our current metagame came up and we collectively bemoaned the sad state that many find themselves in. Even the fearsome Mega Salamence has somehow fallen victim to powercreep! As the generation has progressed it has transitioned from a staple on offensive archetypes to a niche Pokémon that has lower use than lower tier Pokémon such as Alomomola and Fezandipiti.
There has been a lot of debate about the identity of National Dex over the years, but rather than duke it out in policy review the council has decided to take matters into our own hands and suspect test Mega Rayquaza! While Zrp200 did offer to bribe the rest of the council, we had already collectively agreed on this path of action as Mega Rayquaza was quickbanned at the start of the generation and without a suspect planned in the future now is a good time to let the community decide if this was the correct decision.
Arguments for unbanning Mega Rayquaza
Scarlet and Violet has come with an unprecedented level of powercreep and the environment has changed substantially since Mega Rayquaza was last legal. Base 115 Speed may still be fast, but it is still outpaced by the ever present Arceus while new Pokémon such as Eternatus and Zacian-C easily outspeed and OHKO Mega Rayquaza. Furthermore, Mega Rayquaza provides additional counterplay against the controversial Sticky Web structures dominating the metagame courtesy of its immunity and ability to outspeed Chi-Yu and Yveltal without having to compromise and use a Speed boosting nature. As Mega Rayquaza is incompatible with Terastallization, stall structures will receive some much needed love as base Rayquaza will undoubtedly see a decline in use. Lastly, Mega Rayquaza’s competency on both sides of the attacking spectrum enable to easily snipe the ever-irritating Zygarde and Blissey with Draco Meteor and Dragon Ascent. Unlike other Mega Evolutions, a free item slot opens up room for a Lum Berry to safely put the snake out of commission.
Arguments against dropping Mega Rayquaza
National Dex has a stigma of being a ‘Pet Mod’ rather than a seriously competitive environment. This is obviously untrue, but replays with Mega Rayquaza’s comically oversized model will likely only further this unfair perception. This isn’t a competitively minded reason, but National Dex Ubers has sustained considerable growth over the last couple of years and concerns have been raised that seeing Mega Rayquaza’s model in tournament replays could have long-term negative ramifications. On the competitive side, the council does have some concerns that Mega Rayquaza’s presence could result in a less enjoyable metagame. Its traditional counterplay is present in National Dex Ubers, but movepool additions are likely to result in Mega Rayquaza dropping Earthquake, making Garganacl a new method of counterplay. Garganacl is already an annoying Pokémon courtesy of Salt Cure and Mega Rayquaza’s presence may elevate it from a niche Pokémon to a part of the core metagame. While every major playstyle should be viable, there is undoubtedly a significant portion of the playerbase that are not thrilled at the prospect of Big Stall potentially getting a bit better due to the decline in use of their biggest enemy in base Rayquaza.
What are your thoughts? Please let us know below in the thread!
To ease practical comparisons, the ladder is also getting updated to remove Mega Rayquaza Clause, thus legalizing Mega Rayquaza in the meantime.
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