After internal discussions, the Monotype council has decided to conduct our next suspect test on Espathra. Espathra has always been a polarising Pokémon since its introduction in SV, due to its ability to easily snowball into sweeping unprepared teams with the combination of Speed Boost, Calm Mind, and Stored Power. While Espathra is not necessarily centralising due to Psychic being a lackluster type, there is an argument that the 'mon is uncompetitive due to its phenomenal capability to rack up boosts quickly and achieve sweeps. Espathra can punish frailer Dark types with Dazzling Gleam, while also having reliable recovery in the form of Roost that prevents Espathra from being easily chipped down. While Psychic is generally a mediocre type, it does have multiple options to support Espathra via Screens, as well as numerous 'mons with the option to run Healing Wish. All in all, these factors combine to make Espathra a serious threat in any match-up that does not have the appropriate tools to manage it.
On the other hand, there are numerous factors that limit Espathra as well. Phazers like Goodra-H are one method that can easily keep it in check, as Espathra needs multiple turns of set-up to be able to do significant damage to most 'mons. There are also other status moves that can be utilised to keep it in check, such as Encore and Toxic. The limited coverage options also ensure that some types have natural checks for Espathra that it is unable to bypass, making it especially matchup-dependent in comparison to other unhealthy Pokémon. Since Espathra needs multiple turns to get into top gear, a decisive switch to a strong breaker that it is unable to immediately threaten after 1 turn of set-up is another option to deal with it, although it can showcase some surprising bulk with the amount of investment it usually runs in HP and Defense. To conclude, Espathra is a Pokémon with the potential to be uncompetitive, but also has some flaws that can hold it back.
Members of the council have been encouraged to give their thoughts on Espathra, those can be found below.
Espathra is pretty much the definition of uncompetitiveness. It's the ultimate fish mon, extremely easy to set up with and snowball, which leaves little to no ability to outplay it from the opponent side if it manages to get the matchups it wants (something way easier to accomplish without Kingambit around). Should have been gone earlier and Monotype will definitely be a better and more competitive place without this bird.
Everyone knows what Espathra does but being limited to one type (and a mid/lower tier type at that) severely reduces its impact. With Kingambit gone it was expected that Espathra will run rampant and I have yet to see that. That said, I fully understand the potentially uncompetitive nature of Espathra and that some types lack meaningful counter play.
An absurd pokemon, the ostrich has never seen much usage and I had not been convinced it was problomatic till recently. The bulky CM/Roost/Stored Power/Dazzling Gleam set with screens support will make you look in your builder and realize everything that isn't steel/dark teams have no reliable counterplay.
fast chicken click cm and then goes vroom. roost and invested bulk allows it to setup and collect speed boosts easily. this allows it to rack up stored power and become an insane sweeper
I think Espathra is pretty much the definition of cheese, though I can understand why some see it as unhealthy. Given the support it has, and especially behind screens with access to recovery, it can snowball pretty readily. I've seen it play out less in practice than you'd assume just looking at it on paper, and it's seen much less use than one would assume given its on-paper potential. I would lean towards a ban here myself.
Don’t let its sumptuous neck and innocent demeanor fool you. Espathra is wanted in all 50 states and most surrounding territories. Escaping the ban hammer here is condemning the SV Monotype tier to an indefinite period of brutal torture.
I find Espathra's ability to run through any team without very specific bulky steels/darks that are capable of actually killing it very unhealthy. Its checks are limited, and it often needs just one free turn to end a game. I believe we should remove this mon from the metagame before it continues to spiral out of control.
Espathra has always been a polarising Pokémon since its introduction in SV, due to its ability to easily snowball into sweeping unprepared teams with the combination of Speed Boost, Calm Mind, and Stored Power. I believe that it is unhealthy due to its uncompetitive nature, as it is able to exploit unprepared teams very effectively.
Dependant of the mu, espathra can almost sweep alone and almost be a dead slot. With speed boost it's really easy for the mon to set up, and then really hard to counter it. I don't think it requires any form of skill to bet on a good mu for espathra and win on that. With the ban of kingambitt I see psychic come back a bit, and imo it's better if we don't have to manage an unfair mon as espathra.
Feel free to post in this thread with your thoughts on Espathra in Monotype. You are encouraged to post replays to prove your point.
In order to cast a vote in this suspect test, you must participate on the [Gen 9] Monotype ladder in which Espathra will continue to be allowed. You must make a new account to ladder with. This account's registration date must be at earliest the day this suspect begins. You must prefix your account name with the tag: ESPT7 in order for your account to qualify.
Acceptable:
ESPT7 Floss
Unacceptable:
Floss ESPT7
You have to reach a COIL of 3170 in order to get reqs. For reference, the B-value for this suspect will be 2. Do not reset your game count on your suspect laddering alt. The suspect test will last two weeks until Wednesday September 25th @ 11:59 PM EDT (GMT -4). You will then have three days to cast your vote. Espathra will require a 60% majority of voters in favor of banning it in order for it to be banned from Monotype.
Upon meeting the requirements, you must post proof of the qualification in the Voter Identification thread, which is separate from this thread and will be created closer to the end of the suspect. Do not post your proof in this discussion thread.
You may use this thread to discuss this Espathra suspect or ask for clarification for any questions you may have. You may not use this thread to post one-liners or discuss topics unrelated to this specific suspect, such as possible future suspects. Please stay respectful when you post and follow all Monotype forum rules. Please also make sure to follow the Monotype tiering philosophy found here.
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and that would be considered the "optimal" sand ground build. Handles itself well in the meta and slight tweaks like the last member can make Fairy or Dark easier mus. Psychic lacks this "optimal" build and every build you do and every combination of mons, you're always going to struggle into a number of types. Build without the steels, fairy will 6-0 you. Build without Indeedee, any type with a ghost will 6-0 you (and Indeedee generally doesn't even help out that much due to its frailty and bad defensive typing.) You will also find yourself struggling vs steel without the use of Armarouge or Gallade. So you get the point.
