With all this talk about competitive Let's Go we do on Smogon now, it's a bit unusual that we rarely talk about playing on cartridge, isn't it? Even though Let's Go's launch has long since past, people still play on cart quite a bit, and I'm here to give you some valuable pointers on where to start!
In this format, there are no clauses of any sort, sorta like anything goes. However, unlike the usual Anything Goes, there's no Candy boosts, since most people will choose the "normal rules" that remove them.
As a result, we're left with a metagame that's very easy to learn if you know Let's Go OU! In fact, most Pokemon and tactics that work in Let's Go OU, will work here too!
The Mewtwo Factor
Let's address the genetic mutated cat in the room: If you want to play on cart, you better be prepared to deal with Mewtwo. Some people may avoid using Mewtwo out of respect or something, but screw that, we're playing to win! Since there's no species clause, you can even run more than one Mewtwo! Mewtwo in general, is basically Mew on steroids, so let's explore what to do with this beastly thing!
Calm Mind Mewtwo
Mewtwo @ Mewtwonite Y / Mewtwonite X
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid
-Calm Mind
-Psychic
-Recover
-Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt / Earthquake
So the most obvious thing Mewtwo can do of course, is sweep. As you'd expect, Mewtwo is one hell of an effective Calm Mind sweeper, with Psychic obilerating anything that doesn't resist it unless its Chansey. Recover isn't needed per se, but unlike OU's Mega Alakazam, Mewtwo actually has decent bulk, so it can make it THAT much more dangerous. If you want to though, you can give it more coverage.
Shadow Ball is here mainly because it allows Mewtwo to do better against opposing Mewtwo (CM Mewtwo wars are ugly), but Thunderbolt is rad for doing more to Alolan Muk, and blasting the crap outta Mega Gyarados. Earthquake is an option too if you want to nail Alolan Muk with an easy 2HKO and hit Chansey hard after Mega Evolving. If you REALLY hate Melmetal (whose less common since its a pain in the ass to get on cart), Flamethrower works fine too.
Now here's the beauty of playing on cart: I know I have both megastones slashed in, but on cart, you choose during battle. Mega Mewtwo Y may seem like the obvious choice, but its lower bulk doesn't always make it the correct one. For example, if you need to say, set up an extra Calm Mind on Gyarados or a weakened Alolan Muk, nothing is stopping you from Mega Evolving into Mega Mewtwo X instead! Or of course, you don't even need to Mega Evolve, if you got something else that needs Mega Evolving, since Mewtwo kicks plenty of ass on its own.
Stallbreaker Mewtwo
Mewtwo @ Mewtwonite Y / Mewtwonite X
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid
-Will-O-Wisp
-Taunt
-Recover
-Psychic / Shadow Ball
Mewtwo may not have Stealth Rock, but its superior speed and offenses still make it a fine option for the usual Will-O-Wisp shenigans Mew likes to pull. Psychic is the obvious STAB choice (and also makes this Mewtwo a useful way to force out Venusaur), but Shadow Ball is actually a reasonable option just because it hits opposing Mewtwo and Mew hard.
Bulk Up Mewtwo
Mewtwo @ Mewtwonite X / Mewtwonite Y
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Jolly
-Bulk Up
-Earthquake
-Recover
-Facade
This is a more specalized Mewtwo set (that I personally often use with another Mewtwo). This Mewtwo's focus is physical sweeping, which means Chansey won't stop it, and it's a horrific surprise to the Dark-types trying to bite a chunk out of Mewtwo. 90% fo the time, you'll want this to Mega Evolve into Mega Mewtwo X. Earthquake hits Psychic-types the hardest (and actually hits almost as hard as Brick Break would). Facade may seem a bit strange (and the lack of STAB), but this ensures that burns won't stop Mega Mewtwo X from sweeping.
Pokemon that change
Like I said before, almost everything that works in Let's Go OU works just fine in this format. However, with the lack of clauses and the plenty of Mewtwo, some Pokemon change themselves up a bit to adapt!
Alolan Muk
Alolan Muk may face the biggest changes in this format, because theres 3 big moves that are much more better than usual. First off is Foul Play. With this, Alolan Muk is guranteed to hit oppsing Mewtwo hard, even if they Bulk Up and are Mega Mewtwo X. It also OHKOs Mega Mewtwo Y. Secondly, there's the dreaded Minimize, which will make Alolan Muk a NIGHTMARE to hit! Thirdly, there's Haze, which is useful screwing with said Minimize strats from Alolan Muk (and also Chansey).
Mew
Even with Mewtwo's icy gaze, Mew is still handy for one big reason: Stealth Rock. It's still one of the best Stealth Rock setters. Just note though, Thunder Wave is more interesting on Mew than usual, just because Mewtwo can wreck havoc by setting up on Mew!
Chansey
Like I said before, Chansey has Minimize now, and it's a fearsome tool. Chansey can easily Toxic stall or Seismic Toss stall tons of mons if it dodges everything, making Body Slam a much cooler move than usual here.
Snorlax
Speaking of Body Slam, here's the best Body Slamer! It can be a bit hard to fit into Snorlax's moveset, since it might mean giving up on Facade or coverage. But trust me, Minimize SUCKS to deal with, so its well worth consideirng.
Mega Beedrill, Mega Aerodactyl, and Mega Alakazam
These mons don't change much, but I have to mention them because they all share an important quality: they outspeed Mega Mewtwo Y! Mega Beedrill in particular will kick the crap outta that one, though Mega Mewtwo X can be a problem. Same deal with Mega Aerodactyl, except it uses Crunch. Mega Alakazam may seem outclassed by Mewtwo, but outspeeding it and having Shadow Ball are very valuable assets for a sweeper in this metagame.
Mega Gengar
Even with it speed tying with Mewtwo (which is unfortunate), Mega Gengar is just as hard to switch into as usual. Except this time, it also happens to be an EXCELLENT troll against most Minimize Chansey (I guess they could run Shadow Ball or Psychic, but I've never seen that before). So it's still a very worthy choice in Mewtwo land.
Nidoking and Rhydon
As you can imagine, neither of these two are happy with Mewtwo running around. But there's one big thing they both have: Horn Drill! Horn Drill is lovely for scaring the crap out of bulky mons, and since it isn't effected by accuracy modifiers, it always has a 30% chance to hit, even those annoying Minimize mons!
That's all I have written for now. I'll be updating this list with more mons (maaaybe a viability list, but here's a hint: it'd be mostly the same as OU's, except Mewtwo is above S lol). Feel free to ask any questions about cartridge play here, both singles and doubles, getting certain things for cart play, etc.
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