Pet Mod VaporeMons - Randbats Beta Now Live - VR Update @ Post 809

[Yoshiblaze]

Hello!

If you haven't heard the big news already, VaporeMons was recently voted to become the next Pet Mod of the Season!
What this means is that, starting at the beginning of December, VaporeMons will be playable on the main Pokemon Showdown server for 3 months! This obviously a huge opportunity to explore and grow the metagame with hopefully many more eyes on it for a few months, especially with the DLC 2 update looming, which'll be sure to shake things up! There are a lot of things I want to do once VaporeMons on main goes live, but that's still about a week away.

For right now, we're gonna try to get a couple more resources out, especially important now that more people are gonna be playing the metagame and, as with all SylveMons metas, learning VaporeMons from scratch is a daunting task. Thus, I am opening up submissions for official sample teams!
Submissions are pretty simple, simply post your team and give a brief (like 1-2 sentences, more if you want) explanation of how it works and/or why you think it should be a sample team. Sample teams should be viable and should generally be representative of the current metagame, though more niche strategies or Pokémon are certainly allowed to be on sample teams if the team itself is very good with it. It's also HIGHLY recommended that your teams are well tested before submitting them as samples (I mean, how would you know if your team is good if you haven't used it?). Below is a quick example of how a submission should look.

Example Submission (free team included!!)

- Zoroark-H Offense

This team aims to punch holes in the opponent's team using Scarf Samurott-H and Specs Zoroark-H until you can clean up at the end with Swords Dance Iron Valiant, with a nice core of Glowking, Magnezone, and Landorus-T to fall back on. Zoroark can disguise itself as Samurott or Magnezone to bait in Fighting-types like Crabominable, or even Grass-types like Shaymin (since no relevant Grass-types take either of Zoroark's STAB well), letting it get a big hit off for free, made even better by the buff to Illusion almost always letting Zoroark get 1-2 attacks off. The team is pretty simple to use, as you mainly want to get hazards up early, pivot through the defensive core into Samurott and Zoroark, and then clean up with Iron Valiant.

Sample team submissions are technically always open from now on, but I'm particularly looking for teams from now until VaporeMons goes live on the main server in early December, so new players can jump right into the meta.

In other news, sample sets are now available on the Viability Rankings!

That's all for now, see you soon!

 

[Beaf Cultist]

Might add more teams if I get anything else that cooks, but here's my best team atm.



Original idea of this team was to build around offensive Volcarona because folks were telling me it had potential and I didn't believe them. It ended up working out, and this team only benefited from the Gliscor ban (though Lando was originally a Glisc so I had to swap it out). Basic idea is using the pivot core of Lando+Juggy+Sneasler to soften up the opponent's fat core (particularly by proccing Poison Touch on Sneasler's U-Turns) in order for Volc to sweep lategame, though Scarf Juggy and Banded Sneasler are also both incredibly strong wincons in their own right.

Editing to add a brief overview of every mon.
The star of the team, though honestly the weakest of the wincon trio lol. While QD sweeps are definitely super appetizing, they're difficult to achieve with nuisances like Dragapult and Dragonite lurking in the back of most teams, so the real way to run this mon is as a breaker in its own right. People LOVE staying in on Volc with their fatmons assuming something like Tusk won't take 70% from Fire Blast (it will), which gives you a free kill assuming you can maneuver Volc in (which isn't too hard thanks to its great resistances). Even if opponents elect to switch out, Rekindle is a super good tool on Volcarona, allowing you to even punish teams with walls for you by burning their offensive mons with good prediction.
Glue mon like always. Spikes are great for guys like Juggy and Volc, though SR might be better considering Lando invites in most removal guys (though Smack Down helps with that). Provides a Ground to threaten Glowking who otherwise annoys this team quite a bit, and Intim is great to stopgap offensive guys like Ogerpon and Kingambit.
Scarf Jugulis is a really nice mon in this meta. It provides a Ghost resist to mindgame Pult users and outspeeds the vast majority of offensive mons while threatening them with nuclear Dark Pulses. Mon hates Stealth Rock, but Rapid Spin Magnezone backing it up helps alleviate that issue.
The real star of the team. Banded Poison Touch U-Turn is so hard for teams to deal with without a PhysDef Glowking, who gets smoked by your teammates, and once that mon and any other Poisons/Ghosts are out of the way, CC just wins on the spot. Super great offensive pivot, definitely a bit slept on by most of the playerbase.
The Spinner. Really the only reason this is on the team is because I needed removal, but it also helps with guys like Shaymin and Zapdos who might otherwise be nuisances (though Shaymin is also a free Volc switchin).
Lowkey Top 10 mon in the tier. Completely bodies so many offensive mons, comes in on Specs Pult pretty much for free even with no SpDef investment, pivots around on everything. This mon is SO good, and it really provides the defensive backbone for this team along with Magnezone and Landorus.

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

https://pokepast.es/b36c182bb6476492

is the star of the team... why? idk. But decid is a funny pokemon in that with its bulk into pokemon like ting lu, SD crab, slowbro, shaymin, and other things it can allow you to remove hazards on the team vs the opponent. Leaf storm contrary boosts are also very funny to achieve because it means sponging it is much harder. Also gholdengo is a shit defog blocker vs it because it can just brute force it with shadow ball or live the shadow ball and kill with +2 shadow ball.

The fattest little crap on the team. with SD and storm throw you pretty much beat any setup sweeper that they want to throw at you. Sooo... yeah fur coat + good typing makes it very hard to break through. Solid member of the team and it provides decid with a good physical wall to cover its ass.

the next member of the team and the ghost resist of the team. With rocks (and spikes if you really want to drop whirlwind) it allows the offensive members to pressure the opponents more and wear them down, Ruination helps speed up the process and makes them be forced to recover or eat the chip

this mon is pretty good in terms of being able to keep up pressure with stabs + knock + pivoting out. With a high speed stat this allows it to just keep up the momentum against a team esp ones who are weakened from ruination and hazards. Mon is crazy

I always wanted to try CM but its funny to go vs smth like corv, CM up and gain a lot of momentum esp if they scout with slowking-g and eat a earth power to the face.. it can use a lot of pokemon for setup such as great tusk esp since its prob dropping spinner more. This is a great late game cleaner esp if you cna get a CM up vs smth that cant hurt you.

SD is great! Once you get going its very hard to stop esp if you get into blaze range.. i wonder who didnt think of this. Well anyway pyro ball hits like a truck and gunk shot hits everything else and can cripple them over the course of a game. SD cind is really one of a kind late game cleaner where even in a bad MU (not called dondozo hard stall) you can always try to come out on top and prob succeed

 

[Yoshiblaze]

Hello!

With VaporeMons set to be on main imminently, I figured I'd write a little guide to help players new to VaporeMons get into it quickly, especially since you may have already looked at the spreadsheet or the teambuilder on DragonHeaven and felt overwhelmed. This guide will serve to help you focus on the important new things that VaporeMons brings to OU, both in teambuilding and in gameplay

STARTING GUIDE TO PLAYING VAPOREMONS: WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR​

Rule Differences from OU

First, let's get some quick changes between the rules of OU and VaporeMons out of the way, as they'll be important for how you build and play the metagame.

- Terastalization is banned - Feel free to Close Combat into that Kingambit without fear of if becoming a Fairy-type, as Terastalization was banned at the start of VaporeMons' existence. There does exist a similar mechanic in the Tera Shard item (discussed more later), but it crucially doesn't activate whenever you want it to, so you'll never have to deal with a surprise type change.
- Light Clay is banned - Due to the presence of a number of great setup sweepers in the tier and changes to Roaring Moon that specifically make it amazing in Snow (more on that later), Light Clay ended up being banned soon after Ninetales-A was released. Thus, you won't really see screens in this metagame.
- A number of Ubers are unbanned - Whether it was because of Terastalization's ban, specific voted-in nerfs, or Pokeon that got banned in OU after the start of VaporeMons that aren't broken here, a number of Pokemon banned in OU are present in VaporeMons, with varying degrees of viability. They are discussed more in detail in a later section, but they include: Regieleki, Volcarona, Espathra, Palafin, Landorus, Magearna, Ogerpon-Hearthflame, Roaring Moon, and Sneasler.

Most Relevant New Elements

A ton of wacky new moves, items, and abilities were added to the game over the course of VaporeMons' 10 slates. However, as you'd imagine, not every single one is as game changing as the other, so here are the ones that you really have to focus on.

New Abilities

New Paradox Abilities
This is probably the single most important change to be aware of in VaporeMons, simply because you're gonna find yourself trying to build with your usual Great Tusks and Iron Valiants and wondering why it keeps saying that they can't have Protosynthesis or Quark Drive. Along with each Paradox Pokemon gaining a new Hidden Ability, most Paradox Pokemon now have a new ability corresponding to a different weather or terrain than the usual Sun and Electric Terrain. This change has had multiple massive impacts on how VaporeMons is played, namely that it significantly buffs Grassy Terrain (but not in the way they worked when Sneasler was legal in OU) and Sand teams but significantly nerfs Sun. The abilities that each Paradox has are listed below:
Protosynthesis - Activates in Sun -
Protosmosis - Activates in Rain -
Protocrysalis - Activates in Sand -
Protostatis - Activates in Snow - (Note that Flutter Mane is still in Ubers)

Quark Drive - Activates in Electric Terrain -
Photon Drive - Activates in Grassy Terrain -
Neuron Drive - Activates in Psychic Terrain - (Note that Iron Bundle is still un Ubers)
Rune Drive - Activates in Misty Terrain -
*All of these abilities are also activated by Booster Energy

So be sure to remember to give your Great Tusk Protocrysalis instead of Protosynthesis. It will definitely take some getting used to, but eventually it'll become second nature.

Grass Pelt
Relevant Users -
Grass Pelt is now a Grassy Terrain clone of Hadron Engine, setting Grassy Terrain for 5 turns and boosting the user's Defense by 1.33x in Grassy Terrain. Along with Iron Moth and Iron Hands having Photon Drive, Grass Pelt Shaymin makes Grassy Terrain teams one of the best archetypes in the metagame, being great both offensively and defensively and being able to run a wide variety of sets thanks to it.

Mud Wash
Relevant Users -
Mud Wash is a very rare ability and its one relevant user isn't super viable, but it's worth mentioning because the effect can very easily catch you off guard. Plus, it's the reason why the mascot of the meta is at all usable. The ability sets both Mud Sport and Water Sport for 5 turns on switch-in, already a great effect they make Electric and Fire moves deal very little damage against your entire team. But, there's a secret, more sinister effect in that the user's moves with the word "Mud" in them deal doubled damage. This doesn't sound too crazy on paper, until you remember the move Muddy Water. This basically gives Vaporeon a 170 BP Hydro Pump that can drop accuracy, which is super scary to switch into, mainly only balanced by it's inconsistency and Vaporeon's low Speed. If you run into a Vaporeon and it does like 75% to your Dragapult with Muddy Water, this is why.

Blaze / Torrent / Overgrow / Swarm
Relevant Users -
The classic starter abilities got a new coat of paint in VaporeMons. They now always boost the power of moves of their corresponding type by 1.2x, like a built-in Charcoal. Then, at 1/3rd of the user's max HP or lower, the boost becomes a 1.5x boost to all moves. This slight boost makes Cinderace an absolute menace, as 144 BP Pyro Balls are nothing to scoff at, with Swords Dance sets in particular being extremely scary. Meowscarada and Delphox are also OU-viable users of the abilities, while it's a potential option on the likes of Inteleon and Greninja, especially in Rain.

Battle Spines
Relevant Users -
This ability causes the foe to lose 12.5% of their max HP after the user successfully lands an attack (only counted once for multi-hit moves). This ability gives you insane progress just for existing, as free chip damage just from using your best moves really goes a long way. Jolteon is legitimately top threat because of this + receiving more coverage for Electric resists, as Volt Switches with chip damage goes crazy with its high Speed. Thundurus-I is also amazing with it thanks to having the unblockable U-Turn for free chip damage and the amazing Knock Off, giving you double the progress in one turn.

Justified
Relevant Users -
Justified now also gives the user an immunity to Dark-type moves (including status moves like Taunt and Parting Shot) in addition to the Attack boost the user gets from getting hit by one. This makes Corviknight an amazing counter to numerous Dark-types, most notably Kingambit and Roaring Moon, who both have a hard time hitting Corv before getting KO'd by 1-2 Flying Presses. Being immune to Knock Off is also insanely useful in general, meaning that Corviknight can almost never lose its Leftovers. Make sure to think before clicking a Dark-type move against a team with a Corviknight on it.

Steadfast
Relevant Users -
Steadfast is genuinely a pretty insane ability in VaporeMons. Along with making the user immune to flinching, the user also takes halved damage from all attacks from Pokemon with a higher base stat total than the user. Because of this, low BST mons like Perrserker and Spidops take halved damage from basically everything, allowing the former to act as a decent defensive pivot, and making the latter into basically Shuckle with U-Turn. Scyther and Lucario are other users of the ability with higher BSTs, but already great stats and/or movepools (and an amazing signature item in Scyther's case) that make them real OU viable threats when they take halved damage from most things.

Honorable Mentions:
Overcoat - Now also makes the user immune to hazard damage. Great on the previously Rocks-weak Mandibuzz, Enamorus-T, and Avalugg.
Counteract - Essentially a defensive Mold Breaker, where the opponent's ability is deactivated while attacking the user. It's not a terribly common ability (mainly only seen Zamazenta and Tinkaton, both of which have other valid ability options), but good to keep in mind.
Sand Spit - Instead of setting sand, after being damaged by a move, the attacker is given the Sand Tomb effect for 5 turns. Very rare, but extremely dangerous if played well as the effect still traps you.
Outclass - If the user doesn't have a secondary typing, it steals the primary typing of the first opponent it hits with an attack. This is the other reason why Inteleon is still relevant without Sniper, as any primary Grass or Dragon-type can't safely switch into Snipe Shot if Outclass has already activated, since they'll lose their Water-resistance and get KO'd or forced out next turn.
Sheer Heart - Boosts the user's SpA by 1.3x, but the user's SpA stat can't be raised or lowered. Makes Milotic and lower tier Pokemon like Gardevoir into very powerful wallbreakers.
Color Change - Now changes the user's type to the type of the foe's move before it deals damage. This essentially gives the user, the one notable one being Dragalge, an entirely new defensive typing. With it, the user becomes weak to Ghost and Dragon, neutral to seven types (Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Flying, Ground, Normal, and Rock), and resistant to everything else.
Cud Chew - Now causes the user to eat its berry on switch-in, which is then recycled when the user switches out. This basically gives the Tauros forms Gen 8 Intrepid Sword but for any stat they want at the cost of their item slot, or a bootleg Regenerator with the 33% heal berries. This is the third reason why Tauros-Blaze is an OU mon, as a free Defense or SpD boost on switch-in pairs extremely well with Raging Fury's effect and Rekindle's recovery. Liechi and Salac Berry for Attack and Speed boosts are also likely usable.
Synchronize - Another one of those "rare but crazy abilities", Synchronize now causes any indirect damage taken by the user to be taken by the foe, giving it some insane potential damage in combination with recoil moves and Life Orb.
Illusion - The Illusion mon now also takes halved damage from all attacks while the Illusion is active, meaning that Zoroark should almost always be able to get a hit or a Nasty Plot off from full HP.
Fair Fight - While a Pokemon with Fair Fight is active, nothing can have its stats changed at all. This both means that your opponent simply can't set up on you, as well as allowing you to use stat dropping moves like Draco Meteor or Close Combat without a drawback. Seen on Kommo-o and occasionally Iron Hands.

New Moves

Ceaseless Edge / Stone Axe / Dire Claw / Electroweb
Relevant Users
Ceaseless Edge -
Stone Axe -
Dire Claw -
Electroweb -
All of these are grouped together because all of them are actually clones of each other. Knowing what Ceaseless Edge and Stone Axe already do, you may have correctly deduced that Dire Claw and Electroweb are now clones of these moves that set Toxic Spikes and Sticky Web respectively. While each move isn't terribly common, they did have some significant effects on the metagame. First, each move's effect is now blocked by Covert Cloak and Shield Dust (the latter of which was also buffed separately to reduce the damage of moves with secondary effects by 33%), making Covert Cloak a great option for the item slot on mons like Amoonguss or Hatterene. Second, since Dire Claw's secondary effect is now just setting a layer of Toxic Spikes, it no longer has the dumb hax factor it used to have, so you don't have to worry about it nearly as much. This, along with multiple other reasons discussed later, are why Sneasler was never banned from VaporeMons. Lastly, Electroweb's effect is so powerful that it was removed from both Regieleki and Magnezone, so don't try to use Electroweb on those.

Shelter / Defog / Wash Away
Relevant Users
Shelter -
Defog -
Wash Away -
Another trio of moves, all of these dealing with hazard removal rather than hazard setting. Shelter's effect has been completely changed to now remove Spikes and Stealth Rock (but NOT TSpikes or Webs) on the user's side of the field, making it a great removal option on hazard stacking teams since it can't get blocked (except by Taunt), limited by its low distribution. Defog was nerfed in that it's now blocked by Wind Rider, but in return it gained much improved distribution, notably including Landorus, Moltres, Rotom, and Mew. Lastly, Wash Away is a new move that serves as an 80 BP Water-type Defog and Dragon Tail all in one, making it a powerful tool against hazards and sweepers alike. By being a Water move, it's also really hard to block, so hazard stacking teams need to consider packing a Water-immune mon like Ogerpon-Wellspring. Overall, removing hazards in VaporeMons is quite a bit easier than in OU, but not free, as evidenced by the fact that Gliscor still had to be banned from this metagame.

Healing Stones
Relevant Users -
One more element relating to hazards, we have a new hazard in Healing Stones. When used, the hazard is set on your side of the field, healing Pokemon that switch in by 12.5% of their max HP. While they do require you to forgo Heavy-Duty Boots, as they still make you immune to these, Healing Stones are great to have on bulkier, switch-heavy teams, as passive healing is always great to have, especially for walls without recovery like Ting-Lu. Plus, Healing Stones can almost act like a pseudo-hazard removal option, since they offset the damage from one layer of Spikes or a neutral hit of Stealth Rock. Do note that the order in which hazards damage you is random, so you're not guaranteed to heal from Healing Stones first on a mon that's at low enough HP to faint to hazards

Rollout / Round
Relevant Users
Rollout -
Round -
Rollout and Round are both new pivoting moves add in VaporeMons, being 50 BP and doubling in BP if Rollout or Round was used by the user's side last turn respectiviely. The big thing to see here is that this gives Great Tusk a pivoting option, as if that mon was versatile enough, as well as giving Iron Treads and the unbanned Magearna a pivoting move not blocked by Grounds. Round is much rarer, but is great on Blisseys trying to relive the days of Teleport pivoting

Chisel
Relevant Users -
Chisel is a new physical Rock-type move with an extremely unique effect that you'll want to keep in mind. Chisel has 45 BP and hits 4 times, which sounds broken on paper, but it's balanced by the fact that it gives the opponent a Subsitute before dealing damage. This means that at most, if you break the Substitute with the first hit, you get a still amazing 135 BP from a 100% accurate Rock-type move, but if it takes you 2 or 3 hits to break the sub, you get a measly 90 or 45 BP. It's even possible to just not break the Substitute at all and deal 0 damage to the opponent while giving them a Substitute. This makes the move quite high risk high reward, as not a lot really wants to take a Choice Banded Chisel from a Tyranitar or Lycanroc-Dusk (especially the latter since it's Tough Claws-boosted), but if the opponent switches their Great Tusk or other Rock resist you might find yourself dealing no damage. This is also why Chisel is seldom seen as a coverage move despite the likes of Great Tusk and Iron Valiant learning it, as it's a lot harder to break the Substitute with a 45 BP hit than it is with a 67.5 BP one, mainly only being seen on Breloom (due to Technician) and Garchomp (since it's still better than Fire Fang on Scale Shot sets)

Rekindle
Relevant Users - ()
Rekindle is a very unique new recovery move. It just heals 33% of the user's max HP, but after that, the user gets an Aqua Ring-like effect that heals the user by 12.5% of their max HP per turn, essentially healing ~45% of the user's HP in a turn while giving you insane passive recovery. If that wasn't enough, Rekindle also a has a Pursuit-like effect, where it burns the opponent before they switch out if they try to switch. This means that Fire-types can try to force out stuff like Kingambit and get a free burn on them while clicking a recovery move, so if a Tauros-Blaze or Voclarona comes in on your Fire weak mon and you're feeling confident, condsider staying in to try to punish a predicted switch prediction. A pretty insane move overall, but very few relevant Pokemon use it, mainly just Tauros-Blaze and Volcarona, though a couple of Fire-types that already have recovery could consider using it as well like Moltres and Skeledirge.

Flying Press / Software Crash
Relevant Users:
Flying Press -
Software Crash -
Another rare move with an extremely unique effect worth going over, Flying Press and Software Crash are essentially two types at once. But not in the sense that they hit you with the effectiveness of two types at the same time, like Flying Press does in vanilla OU. Instead, these moves are one of two types depending on which would be more effective (taking STAB and the user's ability into account), being Fighting or Flying for Flying Press and Bug or Electric for Software Crash. This basically gives Corviknight Brave Bird and Body Press in one slot while giving the Rotoms and Magnezone free coverage from Grass-types in their STAB move, as well as giving Frosmoth BoltBeam coverage. Very rare, but very powerful.

Honorable Mentions:
Meteor Beam - Now charges and hits in one turn in Sand. Due to this and other changes to Sandy Shocks, Sand teams have somewhat of a place in the metagame.
Rebuild / Life Dew / Jungle Healing - Other new recovery moves common among Steel, Fairy/Water, and Grass-types respectively. Rebuild's healing is based on the user's level and the latter two heal the user by 33%. Life Dew also heals the first mon the switch in by 25%, and Jungle Healing still heals status.
Snipe Shot - Now a special Water-type clone of Flower Trick, this move is why Inteleon lost Sniper and a big reason why it's still OU viable in spite of that.
Choke - An 80 BP physical Ghost move that applies Heal Block, added before Poltergeist came back, this move is a big reason why Basculegion is so terrifying in Rain.
Chain Lightning - A physical Electric Water Shuriken clone, it's only really used by Iron Hands, but you can imagine that Iron Hands uses it exceptionally well.
Parry - An 80 BP physical Fighting move that prevents the user from being hit by priority moves on the turn it's used. Seldom seen, but don't be caught off guard when a Samurott-H or Ceruledge uses Parry and your Sucker Punch fails.
Raging Fury / Rage Fist - Rage Fist was nerfed to cap at 200 BP and Raging Fury was made into a clone of it. Along with the aforementioned Rekindle, this is a big reason why Tauros-Blaze is an OU mon, along with being used well by Slither Wing.
Smack Down - Now 65 BP and also prevents the use of pivoting moves for the rest of the turn, so don't be caught off guard by that.
Snatch - Undexited, now is a +2 priority 30 BP physical move, and Snatch now also effects hazard setting moves. This buffed Snatch effect is also used by the ability Green-Eyed.
Lash Out - Now 70 BP, but has its power doubled by status, negative volatiles, stats drops (not just ones you got that turn). Great synergy with stat dropping moves like Close Combat.
Natural Gift - Undexited and no longer consumes the berry. Has reduced distribution, most notably being used by both Landorus forms, Weavile, and Rillaboom.
Echo Chamber - A 90 BP Special Steel-type sound move that deals 1.5x damage if your side used a sound move last turn (including itself). Very relevant on Magnezone and Kommo-o, be sure to keep the 1.5x boost in mind when calcing.
Psycho Boost - Now a Psychic-type clone of Make It Rain, mainly only used by Munkidori and Indeedee

New Items

Tera Shard
Relevant Users -
Tera Shard essentially acts as the replacement of the banned Terastalization phenomenon. When held, the item changes the holder into its Tera Type (AFTER hazards damage, so Volcarona takes hazards damage as a Bug/Fire before changing type, for example). While it has a couple other minor effects, this type change lacks numerous effects that Terastalization has, namely the Same Type Tera Adaptability-like Boost and the retaining of your previous STABs. This makes Tera Shard a mianly defensive tool, allowing you to change the mediocre types of defensive beasts like Garganacl and Slowbro at the cost of the item slot. However, the item really has infinite potential, so feel free to experiment with it.

Baseball Bat
Relevant Users - Any physical attacker that only uses contact moves
Baseball Bat is a new item that boosts the power of contact moves by 25%, with the slight drawback of being removed if the holder gets hit by a ball/bullet move (moves blocked by Bulletproof), though the damage from the move is halved. This item is THE physical attacker's item, making Life Orb basically irrelevant for the majority of them. If you notice that your physical attacker's offensive moves all make contact and you're not running a Choice item or Boots or something, you should be using Baseball Bat, simple as that.

Tie-Dye Band
Relevant Users -
Tie-Dye Band is a new item that boosts the power of the holder's of non-STAB moves by 30%, but reduces the power of its STAB moves by 33% (essentially removing the STAB boost). This item is a big reason why Tera Shard is mostly only used defensively, since this item is typically a better way to get a boost to types you don't already have. Mons with a ton of coverage love using this to get unexpectedly big damage on moves that break through their checks, either making for great lures or just unlocking new pseudo-STAB moves while retaining a potentially good defensive typing. Dragapult is by far the most notable user, boosting all of Hydro Pump, Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, and U-Turn, making Pult very hard to switch into, especially before its item is revealed.

Slingshot
Relevant Users -
Slingshot is a very, very rare item with a lot of untapped potential, but it has a pretty crazy effect that you should be aware of. When the hodler is hit by a pivoting move, the attacker loses 12.5% of their max HP and they are forced out into a random teammate, punishing them for trying to pivot on you. It's been seldom seen so far, but theoretically works well on walls that don't need to run Leftovers, like Regenerator pivots.

Air Freshener
Relevant Users -
Another rare item with a pretty crazy-on-paper effect, Air Freshener heals your party's status conditions after successfully using a Wind move. This has a lot of potential on bulkier balance and stall teams, making up for the drastically reduced distribution of Heal Bell and meaning that opposing status won't be a way to break through your team. So far, it hasn't been used much aside from occasionally on Tornadus-T, who can activate with either Bleakwind Storm or Heat Wave.

Relevant Changes to Pokémon & Signature Items

Some of the biggest changes in VaporeMons come from voted-in Pokemon Adjustments and signature items, as these submissions were able to directly change a Pokemon into becoming potentially OU-viable, which worked in many cases.


Meloetta-Pirouette
Using the Dancing Shoes item, Meloetta can transform into its Pirouette form on switch-in, while also gaining a hazard immunity and immunity to sound moves. Additionally, both Meloetta forms received some big specific changes, with Melo-P now having the ability No Guard (accessed by setting base Meloetta's ability to Trace and having it hold Dancing Shoes) and great new moves in Mega Kick and Rapid Spin. Melo-P is basically NatDex Mega Lopunny, being a fast, strong, and not super frail pivot, able to bully teams over the course of an entire game. Note when building that Melo-P no longer learns Sing (due to No Guard) and Swords Dance (due to it being broken with its power and Speed).


Crabominable
Crabominable is now a Fighting/Water-type with Fur Coat and a ton of new viable moves like Slack Off, Jet Punch, Swords Dance, and Storm Throw (Fighting-type Flower Trick). With these tools, Crabominable is a premier physical wall that goes well into the likes of Great Tusk and Kingambit, as well as being one of the best wincons in the metagame thanks to Swords Dance + Jet Punch + Crab's 132 Attack.


Iron Jugulis
Aside from the previously mentioned Neuron Drive over Quark Drive, Iron Jugulis received one very simple change that's made it one of the most terrifying breakers in the meta: Mega Launcher. 120 BP Dark Pulses from a mon with 122/108 special offense is pretty hard to handle defensively, especially with Jugulis has its very powerful STAB Hurricanes to hit most Dark resists, with your choice of Flamethrower or Earth Power covering most others.


Jolteon
Mentioned earlier when I went over Battle Spines, Jolteon has gone from a lower tier hero to THE fast Electric-type of the metagame and it's all thanks to the aformentioned Battle Spines, plus two crucial coverage moves in Dazzling Gleam and Overheat. Jolteon's poor bulk still makes it somewhat difficult to get in, but once in, Jolteon is almost guaranteed to leave a dent in something, as you'll either have to take a strong Thunderbolt + 12.5% chip, have your Grass-type torched by Overheat + 12.5% chip, or have your Great Tusk or Ting-Lu chunked by a Dazzling Gleam + 12.5%, while it always has the option to simply Volt Switch out, complete with that added 12.5% Battle Spines chip. If you've found yourself missing the likes of Tapu Koko or Zeraora, look no further than Jolteon to fill your fast Electric needs.


Magnezone
Magnezone is one of the top pivots in the tier thanks to it gaining Levitate and Rapid Spin, plus recovery in the previously mentioned Rebuild. This makes Magnezone an extremely consistent spinner, easily coming in on Ground-type moves from common hazard setters like Landorus-T and Ting-Lu, while being able to deal decent damage to Gholdengo with Volt Switch or Software Crash unlike the eternally walled Corviknight. Magnezone's pretty deep movepool also makes it more versatile than ever, between being an offensive pivot, defensive pivot, Assault Vest pivot, or classic Magnet Pull sets that can be either choiced to IronPress. If you need a good glue mon on your team, Magnezone could very well be your answer.


Milotic
Milotic was given the often wanted Water/Fairy-typing, along with two great abilities in Sheer Heart and Water Veil (which now gives you the Aqua Ring effect on switch-in). This makes Milotic one of the premier defensive pivots in the metagame, handling the likes of Dragapult, Iron Valiant, Great Tusk, and Samurott-H, while also having the option to become a dangerous wallbreaker or cleaner with Sheer Heart.


Landorus-Therian
Landorus-T has actually received a fair number of buffs over the course of VaporeMons and, while it still functions the same as always for the most part, Lando's inherent versatility means that it always loves having more options. Landorus gained great moves in Defog, Spikes, Acrobatics, and Natural Gift, while its commonly used Smack Down was buffed to 65 BP, making it much more usable. Lando also greatly benefitted from losing Gliscor as competition, making it once again one of the best Ground-type pivots, even with Great Tusk having pivoting now.


Delphox
Delphox is now a Fire/Fairy-type, a never before seen but extremely powerful typing, giving it a ton of unique offensive and defensive strengths. Fire Blast + Moonblast + Psychic/Focus Blast/Grass Knot hits nearly everything, with Fire Blast being super powerful thanks to the 1.2x boost from Blaze, it can boost up with Nasty Plot, pivot with Round, heal with Rekindle or Wish, act as hazard control with Court Change, cripple foes with Will-O-Wisp or Thunder Wave, and switch into Iron Valiant's dual STAB, and probably do even more things. Only fitting for magician to be this versatile.


Toxapex
Toxapex is still a pretty notable defensive presence in the tier, but ironically its major changes have more or less been a nerf to it overall. Toxapex is now Dark/Water and gained a ton of good new moves in Knock Off, Body Press, Super Fang, Snatch, and Wash Away. This new typing completely changes what kinds of Pokemon Toxapex can take on, now handling the likes of Gholdengo, Dragapult, and Kingambit while no longer being able to take on Iron Valiant or Ogerpon forms. While becoming a Dark-type did end up being a nerf overall, Toxapex's huge bulk, Regen, and much deeper movepool still make it a premier wall in the tier, plus it makes for fun Regen cores with Slowking-Galar since it doesn't stack a weakness with it anymore.

Honorable Mentions
Scyther line - Scyther was already mentioned when I talked about Steadfast earlier, but the other reaosn why it's a genuine threat is thanks to the Scyther line's new signature item, Mantis Claw. This item gives each mon in the Scyther line an immunity to hazards while also giving them a boost to their stats: 1.5x Speed for Scyther, 1.3x Def and SpD for Scizor, and 1.5x Attack for Kleavor.
Rotom - Regained Defog and Pain Split, while each Rotom form also gained 1 new STAB, with Rotom-Wash getting the amazing Wash Away.
Diancie - Got a new signature item in Diancite Stone Fragment, which changes its ability to Magic Bounce and raises its Atk, SpA, and Spe by 1 stage on switch-in, making Diancie into a mini-version of Mega Diancie. Also loves having pivoting in Rollout and priority in Accelerock.
The Loyal Three - Each of the Loyal Three gained some pretty substantial changes. Okidogi got Intimidate, Parting Shot, and Swords Dance, Fezandipiti got Neutralizing Gas, Will-O-Wisp, Defog, and Healing Stones, and Munkidori got Magic Guard and Psycho Boost. Each member also gained the Toxic Spikes-setting Dire Claw.
Muk & Muk-Alola - If you're sad about Toxapex no longer being Poison/Water, there's a half-decent replacement in Muk, who's now Poison/Water with Regenerator and a bunch of new moves like Wave Crash, Swords Dance, Earthquake, and Recover. Muk-Alola also received a bunch of buffs and is actually the much more viable of the two, gaining Neutralizing Gas, Swords Dance, Recover, Earthquake, Stealth Rock, and Sucker Punch.
Mew - Mew has two great abilities in Synchronize and Protean, along with some big movepool buffs in Defog and Recover.
Tinkaton - Gained new utility in Defog, Rebuild, and Counteract, as well as more offensive power in the ability Blunt Force (1.5x Attack but your moves can't hit super effectively), making Tinkaton a lot easier to use both offensively and defensively.
Wigglytuff - Gained the signature item Tuffy-Tuff, which doubles its defenses, along with new abilities in Wind Rider (which blocks Defog now) and Natural Cure, and new moves in Boomburst, Moonblast, Tidy Up, Spirit Break, and Teleport.
Bellibolt - Mini-Rotom-Wash and Zapdos in one, now being Electric/Water with Static and Volt Absorb, utility in Wash Away, and coverage in Ice Beam and Earth Power.
Decidueye(-Hisui) - Alolan Decidueye gained Contrary, letting it potentially break through teams with Leaf Storms and Shadow Balls, while Hisuian Decidueye is now Ghost/Fighting with Poltergeist, being a very powerful but slow wallbreaker.
Revavroom - Through the Star Shard items, Revavroom gains access to 5 new forms based on the Starmobiles from Scarlet and Violet's story. All of them can be somewhat threatening sweepers in their own right, but the best of them is actually used in a utility role as Revavroom-Ruchbah's Misty Surge activates Iron Valiant's Rune Drive and, unlike the mostly more viable Weezing-Galar, Revavroom can use Rollout or Parting Shot to get Valiant in safely.
Charizard - Similar to Revavroom, Charizard also has 2 signature Tera Shard-like items, both of which mirror the Mega stones of generations past. The Charizardite Shard X turns Charizard into a Dragon-type (before hazards damage), gives it Tough Claws, a 1.2x boost to Dragon and Fire moves, and a +1 Attack boost, with the Charizardite Shard Y turns Charizard into a pure Fire-type (also before hazard damage), gives it Drought, a 1.2x boost to Fire and Flying moves, and a +1 SpA boost. Despite the boosts being a bit much, Charizard is still a very rare sight, with Zard X being a bootleg Haxorus, and Zard Y being basically Chi-Yu, but somehow not that viable.

Unbanned Ubers

One of the biggest changes from OU to VaporeMons is the number of Pokemon legal in VaporeMons that are banned in OU. Some of these unbanned Ubers are top threats in the metagame, while others are actually pretty bad, so here's a quick rundown of each one so you know what to expect from them, in approximate order of viability.

Magearna - Lost all the moves that made it broken, namely Shift Gear/Agility, Spikes, Draining Kiss, and Stored Power. Premier defensive pivot and special wallbreaker and one of the best mons in the tier with its bulk, typing, and movepool.
Ogerpon-Hearthflame - A lot easier to deal with without Terasalization, but still a menace in its own right. Competes for team slots with Ogerpon-Wellspring and Cinderace, however.
Sneasler - Lost Unburden and Acrobatcis, plus Dire Claw was changed to a Toxic Spikes clone of Ceaseless Edge. Very strong offensive pivot with an amazing offensive typing and the always annoying Poison Touch.
Roaring Moon - Has long been a menace in VaporeMons with Protostasis making it a great partner to Chilly Reception Slowking-Galar. However, with Justified Corviknight, Great Tusk, and Fur Coat Crabominable all being sturdy checks to it and Light Clay's ban making Ninetales-A bad, Roaring Moon is in a pretty rough spot nowadays.
Palafin - Zero to Hero now activates when you get a KO, like Gen 7-8 Battle Bond. Palafin was pretty terrible until it got a signature item in Hero's Bubble that basically gives it Water Bubble in Zero form and Thick Fat for Dark and Fighting moves in Hero form, making it a pretty decent breaker
Volcarona - Does the same old Quiver Dance shenanigans it always does, now with new wrinkles in Shield Dust and Rekindle. Struggles to sweep consistently but it's still Volcarona.
Landorus - Lost Sheer Force for Cloud Nine and also has a buffed Sand Force. Genuinely has a lot of potential and it loves all the buffs that Landorus-T got that also apply to itself, but it has extremely stiff competition from the numerous viable Ground-types in the tier.
Espathra - Has some real potential, but it's just so hard for it to sweep without Terastalization when Kingambit, Dark/Water Toxapex, a bunch of priority, and a number of good Psychic resists exist.
Regieleki - With both Terastalization and Light Clay banned, and Thundurus and Jolteon being great Electric-type options that can actually hit Ground-types, Regieleki is simply pretty useless.

Playstyles and Cores to Watch Out For

Now that you know some of the most common and viable new things in VaporeMons, here are a couple common cores and team style that you should look out for and teambuild with.


Grassy Terrain
Grassy Terrain is completely different from what you might be used to in OU. While it's a more offensive playstyle in OU, powered by Rillaboom's pivoting and the banned Sneasler's Unburden, Grassy Terrain in VaporeMons lends itself to a more bulky offensive playstyle thanks to the addition of Grass Pelt Shaymin as the terrain setter, Iron Moth and Iron Hands as Grassy Terrain abusers with Photon Drive, and the lack of Unburden on Sneasler. Swords Dance Iron Hands with priority Chain Lightning is a terrifying sweeper, while Iron Moth can be a great wallbreaker with Specs and either Speed or SpA-boosting Photon Drive, or it can run its Substitute + 3 Attacks set with Black Sludge or Boots instead of Booster Energy. More offensive Rillaboom Grassy Terrain teams with teammates like Iron Hands, Ogerpon-C, and Unburden Hawlucha are also an option, though much weaker than they are in OU
Sample Cores (click the sprites for a paste): /

Rain
Rain is better than ever in VaporeMons, both thanks to Basculegion having a real physical Ghost move in Choke, and the numerous powerful Water-types in the tier with Inteleon, Manaphy, Palafin, and Greninja. The plan is simple, set Rain with Peli, then get one of your disgusting breakers in and have fun.
Sample Core:


Hazard Stack / Sticky Web
With Gliscor banned and new hazard removal options a plenty, hazard stack has both changed a lot and not much at all. Spikers like Samurott-H, Ting-Lu, and now Landorus-T remain good, Gholdengo is still great at stopping Defog and Rapid Spin, and now hazard stack teams need to slot the already amazing Ogerpon-Wellspring to stop Wash Away. Sticky Web is in a similar place, still using Ribombee to sets Webs, and can now take comfort in having a great matchup into teams that only run Shelter as their removal, since that's the one of two forms of hazard removal that can't get blocked but also the only one that doesn't remove Webs. Steadfast Spidops is also a genuinely valid option for Webs setting, trading Ribombee's Speed and Stun Spore for insane bulk, Spikes, and slow pivoting.
Sample Core: /


Sand
Another archetype that benefitted from the new Paradox abilities was Sand. In OU, Sand is nonexistent since Houndstone isn't allowed to use Last Respects and has poor stats, Lycanroc and Sandslash suck, Excadrill doesn't exist, and Tyranitar is having its worst generation. In VaporeMons, Sand is still on shaky ground, but it at least has ground to stand on now, thanks to Protocrysalis Sandy Shocks and Meteor Beam. Meteor Beam charges in one turn in Sand and Sandy Shocks gets a 1.5x Speed boost from Protocrysalis in Sand, making it a terrifying sweeper with Sand up. Sand has a number of other options, too, like Sand Rush Fire/Ground Pyroar, Sand Rush Brambleghast, Sand Force Landorus-I, and Sand Force Garchomp, but all of them are quite a bit worse than Sandy Shocks. Sandy Shocks really carries the archetype on its back, like an MVP-level player on a team just hovering above a .500 record.
Sample Core:


PsySpam
PsySpam in OU was once a great Hyper Offense strategy on ladder, being able to win games extremely quickly with an onslaught on Psychic-type attacks and Focus Sashed, priority-immune sweepers. Nowadays, it's dead in the water, but VaporeMons hilariously accidentally breathed new life into the style. You'd think the addition of Neuron Drive Iron Jugulis would help it a bit, and it does, but Iron Jugulis is way better off using Mega Launcher. Instead, it's actually Azelf that gives PsySpam a niche. Since Azelf gained a secondary ability in Outclass, that means it's no longer forced into using Levitate. And because it's no longer forced into Levitate, that means it can actually use the benefits of Expanding Force in Psychic Terrain, which is a move that I didn't know it learned until, like, 2 weeks ago. Because of this, Azelf becomes a great wallbreaker in Psychic Terrain, supported by Indeedee, who also received a minor buff in the hard-hitting Psycho Boost.
Sample Core:

Other Notable Cores:
- Chilly Reception Slowking-G to set Snow and pivot into Protostatis Roaring Moon, whose ability activates in Snow
- Sun is a lot worse without Protosynthesis Great Tusk or Roaring Moon, but it's still threatening
- fat
/ - Activate Iron Valiant's Rune Drive with one of two Misty Surge users. Weezing-G is generally better, but Revavroom has pivoting

Coding Bugs

Lastly, there are a couple of bugs in the code that make just a few things act differently than what you might expect when reading over their effects on the spreadsheet or the /dt command, including some that are only present on the main Pokemon Showdown server but not DragonHeaven. As of 12/1/23, they are as follows:

Major Bugs
- Walkie-Talkie - Due to difficulties with coding its full intended effect, the current version is a placeholder version that only switches the holder out before using a Sound move.
- Revavroom - When given a Star Shard in teambuilder, you are required to also give Revavroom the ability of the form that you want it to have (Intimidate/Speed Boost/Toxic Debris/Misty Surge/Stamina for Segin/Schedar/Navi/Ruchbah/Caph respectively) for it to validate.
- Rekindle - If the Rekindle user is asleep or frozen and tries to use Rekindle while the foe switches out, the move will still fail but the Pursuit-like burn effect will still activate.
- Desert Storm - Doesn't set sandstorm at all. This bug is only present on the main Pokemon Showdown server, due to the code used for this effect on DragonHeaven being incompatible with the main server's standards.

Minor Bugs
- Parry - Parry isn't coded exactly as the original sub intended, so while it more or less has the same effect as intended, there are a couple key differences. Parry simply blocks opposing priority moves for the turn, so those moves are attempted to be used before Parry goes off, unlike what the description says. Additionally, Parry's priority doesn't change when it blocks a priority move like the original effect intended, so if it activates in Psychic Terrain or against a Pokemon with a priority-blocking ability, Parry will still hit.
- Exoskeleton - Currently only weakens moves targetting the user into how strong they would be after Bug weaknesses are removed (for Bug-types) and Bug resistances are added (for non-Bug-types) rather than actually changing their effectiveness. This bug is only present on the main Pokemon Showdown server, due to the code used for this effect on DragonHeaven being incompatible with the main server's standards.
- Blunt Force - Currently simply weakens super effective hits into how strong they would be if they weren't super effective rather than actually making them actually neutral. This bug is only present on the main Pokemon Showdown server, due to the code used for this effect on DragonHeaven being incompatible with the main server's standards.
- New Paradox Abilities - After the abilities are deactivated due to a change/ending of their respective weathers or terrains, the volatile is still visually present. This bug is purely visual and the Pokemon's stats are correctly unchanged.
- Momentum - If Momentum activates from the user being hit by a spinning move, it's often displayed as being the opponent's ability rather than the user's. This is purely visual and the foe still has whatever ability they're supposed to have.
- Fair Fight - If a Pokémon that doesn't have the ability Fair Fight tries to change its stats while a Fair Fight mon is active, Fair Fight correctly activates but it displays as the non-Fair Fight Pokémon's ability. This is purely visual and the Pokémon still has whatever ability they're supposed to have.

And that's all! If you want to learn more about the metagame and find games outside of the ladder, you can join the VaporeMons Discord here.

Hope to see you on the VaporeMons ladder once it goes live!

 

[Beaf Cultist]

alright, I've gotten a good number of games in since Gliscor left the tier, and a few VR placements stuck out to me as a bit iffy, so I wanted to drop a list of changes that in my opinion would improve the VR. Discuss!

VR Suggestions Round 2 (Post-Gliscor Ban):

Rises:

A- to A+: As this mon has seen more usage, it has shown itself to be probably the single best defensive pivot in the tier (only really contested by Corviknight), completely crushing so many meta-relevant mons and keeping up momentum with ease thanks to Flip Turn. Gliscor leaving only benefited it, as its ban removed the most common Toxic spreader in the tier, which is Milo's biggest weakness.

C- to C: This mon absolutely tears up teams with Specs sets since nobody is prepping for it (for good reason lol). Fairly prediction-reliant since every team has resists for your STABs, but the important bit is nobody has resists for both in one slot!!

Drops:

S- to A+: Now that Valiant's been nerfed idt we need a S- tier. Pult is pretty much better than everything so it being alone in S is fine.

A+ to A: While this mon is still very good, hazards are no longer impossible to remove with other options, and the rise of Milotic has provided major competition to its niche that also does much better into key meta threats like Dragapult and Iron Valiant. I think a small drop would reflect this reality.

A- to B+: This mon obviously isn't bad, but I think it suffers a lot from Light Clay being banned. Tail Glow sets struggle to find the turns to both set up and THEN kill a mon, since you're usually either getting two-shot or one-shot by all the crazy offensive mons in the tier. Meanwhile, fatter Take Heart sets are admittedly rarer, but even when I've seen them they suffer from similar issues to Cresselia: they're slow to set up, prone to being shut down by Encore, phasing, Taunt; and just very inconsistent.

B to B-: This mon is SO. BAD. It has almost no winning matchups in the top tiers, and it lets in SO MANY problem mons basically for free. It's super easy to pivot around, super hard to get in, loses to nearly everything that outspeeds it, and barely makes an impact even if you do manage to get it in. Every time I run this I regret it.

B to B-: While this is definitely a usable mon with good matchups in the high tiers, I think it just really struggles to fit on teams. The Fighting and Fairy weaknesses are actually super detrimental to this mon with mons like Meloetta-P, Iron Valiant, and Magearna running the tier, not to mention standard sets literally can't touch Fairies whatsoever. Another thing that hurts this mon is its newfound struggle with investing EVs. It wants SpDef investment for Gholdengo and Iron Moth, but it also REALLY wants Defense investment for Kingambit. Overall way harder to use and way less impactful than the other guys in B.

C+ to C: I have never seen this mon actually sweep a prepared team (and trust me, teams are prepared). Setup opportunities are few and far between, 4MSS is real, and mons like Corv and Milo really love ruining your day. Also TankChomp is giga ass, don't run it. Even if this is usable at times, it's far worse than everything else in C+.

C+ to C: Simply outclassed by other Steels. It's not a bad mon, but it's hard to justify running it when options like Magnezone, Corviknight, and Magearna exist.

C to C-: Fairly solid catch-all SpDef pivot for certain teams, but its overreliance on Wish for recovery and insane 4MSS makes it extremely hard to use effectively even in builds that appreciate it. Still worth a VR spot, but C- seems more appropriate.

C to UR: Nope. Nope. This mon is so ass. It NEVER sweeps ANY real team, its damage output with Tera Shard is so pitiful that you can't help but laugh at it, and without Tera Shard you're stuck with one of the worst typings in the game. I see absolutely no legitimate reason to run this.

C to UR: This is a meta with Magnezone, Milotic, Magearna, Corviknight. It's hard enough for much better mons like Kingambit and Iron Jugulis to function as-is, and you're asking me to run a much worse version of both? I don't think so.

C to UR: Legitimately what does this do that Lando doesn't. Dire Claw? Knock? And you're sacrificing Lando's absolutely stellar defensive and offensive profile, ability to set other hazards, AND Defog for that? No shot.

C to UR: Roaring Moon is terrible, Jolteon pairs better with Glowking, actual Ices aren't real. Why am I running this?

C- to UR: I don't think this thing really has enough of a niche on Rain to justify a VR placement. It's like, actively detrimental into everything but bulky Waters, which guys like Zapdos already handle much more effectively, and despite its Grass resistance, it loses to most Grass types, which blows in a Shaymin meta. It certainly can be used on Rain, but in my opinion it's too much of a matchup fish to deserve a VR placement.

 

[zxgzxg]

Iron Moth Offense

Standard Iron Moth, not much to say here. It sweeps, it revenges, it is a good Pokemon.

The biggest thing stopping Iron Moth is Slowking-Galar, so this helps remove that. Also, as mentioned above, can proceed to do Kingambit things once Moth removes all Kingambit's checks.

Speed control for the team. Tie-Dye Pult is just so good. Also helps to remove Steels and Grounds for Kingambit.

Helps check the big priority Pokemon Kingambit and Iron Hands. Also has the Rocks. Opted for Close Combat to bonk Magnezone.

The Ground immune. Also is the hazard removal. SpDef Magnezone can sponge a hit in a pinch.

This is mostly just here to Spike up. It can also help beat Iron Moth in a pinch.

 

[Yoshiblaze]

VaporeMons is now live on the main Pokemon Showdown server for the next 3 months! Even if you don't know the metagame at all, I hope to see you all on the ladder trying things out to help us use this huge opportunity to develop the metagame!

While VaporeMons is on main, I play to have a ton of events on the server, as what good would having VaporeMons there be without anyone playing it? I'll have to formally plan things out and announce them at a later date, but for now I can tell you that we will be having our first roomtour on the main server on Sunday, December 10th at 4 PM EST! See you there!

Also, if you're wondering how we'll handle the soon-to-be-released DLC2 update, particularly now that we're on the main server, as of now the plan is to do something similar to what we did with DLC1, having a public distribution slate to give out new things to the new Pokemon. This'll take about a week or so, during which the unchanged new Pokemon will be legal both on DH and on main. Further details will be announced closer to the DLC release date.

That's all for now, see you soon!

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

https://pokepast.es/01f587440a557d09 flamemask + TDB dragonite

Description1

The goal of this team is to use rotom-w to keep rocks off from common rockers ting lu, def tusk, heatran, hippo, treads, perserker, and lando-t. This lets ogerpon-flamemask and dragonite to stay full hp to be able to apply the pressure it needs to without succumbing to hazards. Rotom-w is also a great rain counter because of its electric typing and its ability to threaten many pokemon on a rain team such as inteleon, manaphy, pelliper, and basculegion.

Slowking-g is able to setup 50/50 checkmate scenarios with latent venom and with the use of pokemon like dragonite and ogerpon by threatening a pokemon out with eq or ivy cudgel and either doing massive damage to a steel type or forcing a poison on a water or bulky pokemon like slowbro.

Dragapult is great speed control on this team because of the need to beat melo-p, zamazenta and be able to revenge kill a lot of pokemon like +1 dragonite and be able to pivot the pokemon in since something like gambit or ting lu dont want to take on dragonite and ogerpon

https://pokepast.es/383798d614afed42 BU lando-t squad

Description2

This squad utilizes healing stones to keep lando-t alive in the late game even if you are using it to check electric types like jolteon, zapdos, and thundurus. Double ground types allows me to keep lando-t alive later in the game and not let it be overwhelmed by checking other things it would need to

Software crash is an interesting tech ive been using on iron moth to slam ting lu, alomomola, slowbro, and other water types harder than usual. It allows me to hit 2 in 1 and pretty much give up nothing. This is the speed control on the team and the late game cleaner or the pokemon that softens up the blows for a BU lando-t sweep late game

Melo is another speed control option I have... with knock off + pivot it can allow me to get in my pokemon to be able to start causing mayhem. With iron moth it can weaken a lot of pokemon and give it opportunities when the opponents tries to recover the damage off and give free switches to it.

Shuca slowking-g gives me room against something like dragonite, great tusk and slam ti with surf, or to be able to hit enamorus with sludge bomb thinking they have it in the back with earth power.

Milo is a very great wall that can screw over a lot of teams with its water veil + leftovers massive recovery. Healing stones make everything ont his team harder to kill like tusk, slowking-g, itself, and lando-t

Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2005383781?p2


https://pokepast.es/9bfc33359b8b086f chomp offense

Description3

well... this is a chomp team indeed. This uses the newly buffed smack down to hit corviknight, and magnezone mainly and also to hit enamorus after a +1 speed boost. This gives chomp a way to pressure teams easily when they rely on magnezone or corv as their ground immunity and applies a lot of pressure that way

Thundurus is using volt switch as its stab to allow me to use focus + psychic which hits everything in the meta, and knock off with the last slot. This accumulates a lot a lot of chip damage with the use of battle spines doing 1/8 of the opponents health and makes it so over time its harder and harder to keep up.

Software crash is used on iron moth to slam ting lu, alomomola, slowbro, and other water types harder than usual. This is the speed control on the team and the late game cleaner of the team or the revenge killer.

Mage + Slowking-g form a very great core on this team. With its great sp. def and phys def it allows me to take care of a lot of things. Latent venom paired with iron moth and garchomp allows me to setup the same checkmate scenarios like in the 2nd team.

Ogerpon joins in to pressure bulky water types and to take advantage of bulkier builds who like to use alomomola, milotic, and slowbro as this walls garchomp and ogerpon can come in grab a swords dance and start slamming pokemon with its powered up dual stabs

replays:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2005361500?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2005376125

 

[Beebos]

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NEW PLAYERS: As of posting this, the official PS server doesn't have teambuilder support for Vaporemons: you can't see/use any custom elements, and you'll need to either build teams on the Pet Mods Server and export from there or paste sample teams

I'll try to get some games on the ladder over the next few days and edit this post with some sample teams. Vapemons ain't perfect, but I hope everyone has fun with it!

 

[Beaf Cultist]

At this point these are meta discussion posts more than they are VR noms, but I'm gonna keep formatting them this way cause I like it nobody else makes noms anyway.

Rises:

S- to S-: Not technically a rise, but I wanna take back half of my suggestion from the last post. This mon goes absolutely nuts into any team lacking Hisuian Goodra or Physdef Shaymin, and the sheer level of set diversity it has makes any sort of counterplay outside of hardwalling it extremely difficult. Between Horn Leech, Power Whip, Wood Hammer, Encore, Jungle Healing, Swords Dance, Spikes, U-Turn, Knock Off, Play Rough, and of course Ivy Cudgel, this mon really can do any sort of offensive role you want it to, and I think S- reflects that well.

A to S-: It's hard to justify not running this mon on your team. Between its absolutely stellar defensive typing thanks to Levitate, its Rapid Spin being the freest removal in the entire meta, and Echo Chamber being a lowkey broken move, this mon is easy to make work and hard to slow down.

A to A+: Probably the second-best removal option in the meta. Incredibly consistent mon with just the standard moveset of Flying Press/U-Turn/Defog/Roost since you really don't need anything else, and Justified is a 100% bullshit ability. Kingambit, Iron Jugulis, Roaring Moon, Meowscarada: all mons that you hardwall thanks to your shitass Dark immunity. This mon is really stupid and is probably the single reason (along with Milotic) why I value Electric STAB so highly in this meta.

B+ to A-: In a post-Gliscor meta, this mon has shown to be a very solid defensive tool, setting Spikes consistently and somehow threatening Corviknight and Magnezone thanks to Smack Down. A small rise would better reflect its level of success so far.

B to B+: A couple things have gone right for this mon recently. Firstly, Hoodra is a cornerstone of the Healing Stones teams that have recently risen to prominence, and it fits super well on GTerrain teams which have been dominant for months. It also is one of very few reliable defensive answers for Ogerpon-W thanks to its typing and bulk, making it super valuable on fat squads. Finally, one big thing that has made me much more willing to use it recently as opposed to before is that Dragon Rage actually solved this mon's passivity issues. Before, this mon was setup fodder. It couldn't really do much to bulkier offensive mons (particularly since Draco Meteor isn't spammable) and so it struggled to hold them back long-term. However, with Dragon Rage, it can easily sit on mons like Ogerpon and Iron Moth and just click the button until they go down, which helps Hoodra's viability immensely. Overall, I think a rise is in order for Hoodra.

B to B+: I never thought I'd say this...... but Zama is pretty good. As the meta escapes balance hell and more offensive squads are becoming common, this mon's speed tier is insanely valuable, and Bat CC easily 2HKOs most of the meta. There are obviously switchins to CC, but you've got like, infinite coverage for those, so unless you run into superfat squads with multiple Fighting resists, this mon can easily put in work. Still suffers from a lack of pivoting and its inability to OHKO even moderately bulky offensive mons, but it's still a stronger offensive tool than all of the B tiers.

C+ to B-: Idk, i just feel like this mon is more consistent than C+ makes it out to be. Yeah, there's opportunity cost with not running the other forms, but what this guy brings to the table is definitely unique enough for folks to want to run it.

UR to C+: This mon is actually unreasonable on stall. Death Aura allows you to 100% screw over tons of problem fatmons that would otherwise sit on fat squads for days, and between reliable Burn spreading with Wisp and damage from Night Shade, this mon is REALLY hard to deal with, especially when it has 5 more fatmons in the back to sponge hits from your breakers.
Replays: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2005728435
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2005748754
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2006062160
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2006294544

Drops:

A+ to A: This isn't so much a mon thing as it is a meta change. Gholdengo is still a very good mon, but after the Gliscor ban hard hazard stack just isn't as powerful as it used to be, and most of the time you can get away with just running a spinblocker and be fine since Gholdengo doesn't handle Wash Away anyway and Defog is fairly rare outside of Corviknight who rarely wants to click it anyway. If you do wanna block Defog, Ghold is the play, and it's still a great mon, but it definitely feels more like an A great than an A+ great.

A- to B+: Not super sold on this one cause I haven't seen it a ton, but this is kinda just worse Mola, no? In a meta that's becoming more and more full of status spam, a status bait like Slowbro just isn't super desirable, especially when it can't provide much to a team besides being a fatmon. It's pretty passive even with Scald, and while Shelter is great, Wash Away on Mola is usually more desirable, not to mention Tera Shard sets on Bro (which are a big part of why it's ranked so high) mean it can't run Boots and is therefore prone to hazard chip, particularly Toxic Spikes.

B+ to B: You shouldn't be getting swept by this mon. Too many defensive staples completely stonewall it for it to be pulling off the sweeps it got in early slates. Band sets are alright but putting them on the same level as Sneasler and Enamorus just feels disingenuous.

C+ to C: This mon hates a lot of the common fat tools. Shaymin screws it over, Corv eats everything but Spore, Glowking is a nightmare matchup, Tornadus-T is a wash unless you predict perfectly with Chisel. For a mon as slow and frail as Breloom, the amount it relies on prediction just isn't okay.

C+ to C: There are MUCH better Fairies and MBounce just ain't consistent enough to justify this mon on most teams. Still has a niche on some offense squads but you're never sacrificing Milo or Magearna for this on balance.

How the VR would look with my changes (including the previous post)

S Rank

S
Dragapult

S-
Magnezone
Ogerpon-Wellspring

A Rank

A+
Cinderace
Corviknight
Great Tusk
Iron Hands
Iron Valiant
Magearna
Meloetta-Pirouette
Milotic

A
Alomomola
Crabominable
Gholdengo
Iron Jugulis
Iron Moth
Jolteon
Shaymin
Slowking-Galar
Thundurus

A-
Basculegion
Garganacl
Kingambit
Landorus-Therian
Ogerpon-Hearthflame
Pelipper
Ting-Lu
Tornadus-Therian
Zapdos

B Rank

B+
Amoonguss
Dragonite
Enamorus
Goodra-Hisui
Manaphy
Samurott-Hisui
Slowbro
Sneasler
Tauros-Paldea-Blaze
Walking Wake
Zamazenta

B
Delphox
Hippowdon
Hoopa-Unbound
Inteleon
Mandibuzz
Palafin
Roaring Moon
Sandy Shocks
Torkoal

B-
Ceruledge
Clefable
Greninja
Heatran
Iron Treads
Kommo-o
Meowscarada
Ogerpon-Cornerstone
Ribombee
Rotom-Wash
Scyther
Toxapex
Volcarona
Weavile

C Rank

C+
Diancie
Dondozo
Dragalge
Enamorus-Therian
Fezandipiti
Kleavor
Lycanroc-Dusk
Mamoswine
Muk-Alola
Munkidori
Rillaboom
Scizor
Scream Tail
Skeledirge
Spiritomb
Typhlosion-Hisui
Ursaluna
Vaporeon
Weezing-Galar
Wo-Chien

C
Azelf
Azumarill
Breloom
Clodsire
Empoleon
Garchomp
Hatterene
Hawlucha
Indeedee
Lucario
Meloetta
Mew
Moltres
Perrserker
Tinkaton
Zapdos-Galar
Zoroark-Hisui

C-
Blissey
Froslass
Salamence
Slither Wing
Spidops
Tyranitar
Volcanion
Wigglytuff

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

Rises:

-> A: Its very hard to stop once it gets going. Esp with a speed boost or a SD boost against bulkier teams there is very little that can stop it. Esp since its bulk is relatively solid and its typing isnt half bad either. And iwth a base 110 speed it means that you get the jump on many things such as valiant, enamorus, walking wake, delphox, and anything slower than it.The rock weakness while it sucks is manageable thanks to the many forms of removal the tier has.

-> A-: Rekindle BS is on the rise. Shutting down any threat that cant really pressure it esp with intimidate or cud chew berry and being able to just boost raging fury up to 200BP easily over the course of the game. It ruins pokemon like melo-p, kingambit, roaring moon, bulky iron hands, and can force a burn on many bulky walls like mage, magnezone, corviknight, etc.

-> A-: it deserves the rank up. TDB has gained exploration lately and has shown that it can just mow through teams esp ones that let magnezone take to much damage or give it free turns with the use of its typing walling ogerpon, cinderace, TDB pult doesnt do much to it, and can use its powerful attacks with the use of TDB to nuke many pokemon to force them to respect it much more.

-> B+: Good electric type that can bully a lot of newer pokemon such as tusk being used more often as a ground, more opportunities to come in esp against pokemon such as milotic, slowbro, torn-t, dragonite, landorus-t, heatran, and more.

It also feels like its typing is much more useful right now esp with all the shit going around

Drops:

-> A+: IDT its deserving of position in S- esp since its not that much better than the other mons on the list in A+. It also struggles into gholdengo, magearna, corviknight, slowking-g, magnezone, and SD sets struggle into certain mons to and it always has smth it wants. Its still amazing which is why its just a small drop

-> B+: Its a deserving drop. It faces a lot more competition as a dark type thanks the rise of meow, weavile, and jugulis.... but that is prob the least of its concern. The big concern is how the meta of vaporemons has shifted around it and made it much worse. B+ is valid enough for me right now because a lot of teams just are packed with dark resists (gotta thank jugulis for that) and steel isnt a very good stab to use. Yes it can late game clean but often times you are gonna have an uphill battle esp against crab, corviknight, bulky tusk, tauros-flame, iron hands, zamazenta, and more.

-> B: Sun isnt that good, rain likes inteleon, and its not that splashable outside of the weather archetype. Its a deserving drop. Its not above these weathers and the hidden ability is a niche one at best

-> UR: It just isnt that good.. or needed on a team. If you want to stall break you have many other options to choose from, and with a bulkier meta you are unlikely to get as much value from trick room as you like esp with wash away alomomola, phys def tusk, magnezone, crab, corviknight, slowbro, and more just fucking it over.

 

[Yoshiblaze]

Our first roomtour on the main server happened today! Let's see what went down

Tour #8 - VaporeMons OU - Round Robin - 6 Entrants
1st: Beaf Cultist (5-0)
2nd: analysis geek (4-1)
3rd: zxgzxg (3-2)
4th: SparkRolf (2-3)

Replays

Due what appears to be a bug with uploading replays from a tournament in a private room on Showdown, replays weren't able to be uploaded. Please check the Discord for replay downloads

Usage Stats

​

Pokémon	Uses	Usage%	Win%
Ting-Lu	12	40%	83.33%
Alomomola	10	33.33%	80%
Milotic	10	33.33%	40%
Sandy Shocks	10	33.33%	20%
Iron Jugulis	10	33.33%	10%
Jolteon	9	30%	66.67%
Dragapult	8	26.67%	50%
Cinderace	8	26.67%	25%
Corviknight	7	23.33%	57.14%
Gholdengo	7	23.33%	57.14%
Ceruledge	6	20%	83.33%
Enamorus	5	16.67%	100%
Goodra-Hisui	5	16.67%	100%
Delphox	5	16.67%	60%
Amoonguss	5	16.67%	60%
Thundurus	5	16.67%	60%
Lycanroc-Dusk	5	16.67%	40%
Gogoat	5	16.67%	40%
Haxorus	5	16.67%	20%
Volcarona	5	16.67%	20%
Tauros-Paldea-Aqua	5	16.67%	0%
Magearna	5	16.67%	0%
Slowking-Galar	5	16.67%	0%
Shaymin	4	13.33%	75%
Sneasler	4	13.33%	25%
Clefable	3	10%	66.67%
Slowbro	3	10%	66.67%
Basculegion	1	3.33%	100%
Ogerpon-Hearthflame	1	3.33%	100%
Walking Wake	1	3.33%	100%
Great Tusk	1	3.33%	100%
Magnezone	1	3.33%	100%
Iron Hands	1	3.33%	100%
Iron Moth	1	3.33%	100%
Toxapex	1	3.33%	0%
Salamence	1	3.33%	0%

Some quick takeaways:
- Usage stats are quite a bit skewed as basically everyone used the same team for every battle, but it still gives us some useful insights.
- The biggest one is that this tournament was filled with BULK, as you can probably tell from the top 3 in usage being 3 of the most immovable objects in the metagame, Ting-Lu, Milotic, and Alomomola. While no one used straight up stall or anything, bulky balance teams ruled the day
- While not all the bulky balance teams used them, Healing Stones were great in this tournament for keeping such teams alive, though the prevalence of Wash Away Alomomola made them a bit weaker than usual
- Justified Corviknight continues to be an insane defensive mon, ruining the days of multiple Iron Jugulises and Sneaslers, while Justified Ceruledge had similar amounts of fun for the same reasons
- The tournament was also filled with a lot of Thundurus and Jolteon, showing off the crazy progress making abilities of Battle Spines that we've come to know and love
- Must reiterate that even with everyone using the same teams over and over, Ting-Lu having 12 uses and an 83% winrate is genuinely insane lmao
- Rekindle has been a hot (pun intended) topic for a little bit, mostly do to how strong the Pursuit-like Burn effect is, especially on Tauros-Blaze. Tauros-Blaze didn't see any use in this tournament, but the move did make appearances on Ceruledge and Delphox to pretty decent effect
- PSA that Ogerpon-Heartflame is still an absolute menace, glad that we're very slowly starting to see it more and more
- A lot of great Pokemon didn't see use in this tournament, but also surprisingly a lot of great playstyles didn't see use, especially those that I'd expect newer players to use like weather, Webs, or PsySpam. This is a trend I've noticed on ladder, too, it really seems that new players are much more comfortable using bulky Grassy Terrain Healing Stones teams than anything more offensive (when they're not using samples, anyway)

And that's all! DLC2 will be sure to shake up the tier quite a bit when it comes out in 4 days, so in light of that we will have another roomtour next Sunday at 4 PM EST to test how the new Pokemon fit in the metagame before moving on to the Distribution slate. Hope to see you then!

 

[Beebos]

Giving a new tool to defensive fires, which have always been on an uphill battle against stealth rocks, is pretty based. It could be really problematic though: assuming it works like Pursuit (since that's what it was compared to in the sub), where it applies the burn as the opponent switches out, it could be too good at shutting down physical mons that can't threaten fire mons... I'm not exactly experienced with competitive tho so take that with a grain of salt(cure). Also uhh how many turns does the chip heal last

Rekindle has been a hot (pun intended) topic for a little bit, mostly do to how strong the Pursuit-like Burn effect is, especially on Tauros-Blaze. Tauros-Blaze didn't see any use in this tournament, but the move did make appearances on Ceruledge and Delphox to pretty decent effect

Rare bee prediction being correct (although it mostly has to do with Tauros-Blaze being a bitch)

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

S- to S-: Should be S or should be A+... idt we need an S- for no reason. If its as splashable as pult and as threatening then it should be up there... otherwise down you go with the other A+
A to S-: Disagree, should be A+ considering it has its own weaknesses to worry about. such as being a steel that fails to check a lot of fairies while others can to a better degree. Putting double steel makes ur MU into cind much worse. Its good just not better than A+. Rebuild is also not as good and you have to spend more time healing than others would, and its bulk isnt exactly smth to write home about and with heavy investment in defense you arent that threatening
A to A+: Disagree, its very passive which makes it easily abusable. Sure justified is a nice buff and that is why its in A. But you still get fucked by gholdengo, jolteon, magnezone, iron hands, cind, and thundy-i being top tier doesnt help it either and flying press isnt really threatening. A is fine
B+ to A-: Sure
B to B+: Sure
B to B+: Could prob push for A- but ok
C+ to B-: Dont see it as a good HO lead.. well that is all ive seen been used for... id rather run else and run an ogerpon form alongside it, C+ is prob fine, i can see B- but oh well
UR to C+: Sure
A+ to A: S, sure i guess, scarf ghold is still a bitch of a revenge killer and can also be very threatening with NP into what people assume may be scarf and balloon allows it to 1v1 stuff like tusk, be immune to spikes, ting lu, lando-t, and just groudn in general. I want it to be A+ but whatever
A- to B+: Sure esp with the rise of toxic spikes making slowbro much worse at removing it and being much worse into the top pokemon.
B+ to B: Sure..
C+ to C: Saw it coming
C+ to C: Could prob stay C+. With its CM 3 attacks sets and cm healing stones it can provide a decent amount of value esp since its ability to keep healing stones up if its running calm mind and be threatening with big root draining kiss

Beaf's noms

S- to S-: Not technically a rise, but I wanna take back half of my suggestion from the last post. This mon goes absolutely nuts into any team lacking Hisuian Goodra or Physdef Shaymin, and the sheer level of set diversity it has makes any sort of counterplay outside of hardwalling it extremely difficult. Between Horn Leech, Power Whip, Wood Hammer, Encore, Jungle Healing, Swords Dance, Spikes, U-Turn, Knock Off, Play Rough, and of course Ivy Cudgel, this mon really can do any sort of offensive role you want it to, and I think S- reflects that well.

A to S-: It's hard to justify not running this mon on your team. Between its absolutely stellar defensive typing thanks to Levitate, its Rapid Spin being the freest removal in the entire meta, and Echo Chamber being a lowkey broken move, this mon is easy to make work and hard to slow down.

A to A+: Probably the second-best removal option in the meta. Incredibly consistent mon with just the standard moveset of Flying Press/U-Turn/Defog/Roost since you really don't need anything else, and Justified is a 100% bullshit ability. Kingambit, Iron Jugulis, Roaring Moon, Meowscarada: all mons that you hardwall thanks to your shitass Dark immunity. This mon is really stupid and is probably the single reason (along with Milotic) why I value Electric STAB so highly in this meta.

B+ to A-: In a post-Gliscor meta, this mon has shown to be a very solid defensive tool, setting Spikes consistently and somehow threatening Corviknight and Magnezone thanks to Smack Down. A small rise would better reflect its level of success so far.

B to B+: A couple things have gone right for this mon recently. Firstly, Hoodra is a cornerstone of the Healing Stones teams that have recently risen to prominence, and it fits super well on GTerrain teams which have been dominant for months. It also is one of very few reliable defensive answers for Ogerpon-W thanks to its typing and bulk, making it super valuable on fat squads. Finally, one big thing that has made me much more willing to use it recently as opposed to before is that Dragon Rage actually solved this mon's passivity issues. Before, this mon was setup fodder. It couldn't really do much to bulkier offensive mons (particularly since Draco Meteor isn't spammable) and so it struggled to hold them back long-term. However, with Dragon Rage, it can easily sit on mons like Ogerpon and Iron Moth and just click the button until they go down, which helps Hoodra's viability immensely. Overall, I think a rise is in order for Hoodra.

B to B+: I never thought I'd say this...... but Zama is pretty good. As the meta escapes balance hell and more offensive squads are becoming common, this mon's speed tier is insanely valuable, and Bat CC easily 2HKOs most of the meta. There are obviously switchins to CC, but you've got like, infinite coverage for those, so unless you run into superfat squads with multiple Fighting resists, this mon can easily put in work. Still suffers from a lack of pivoting and its inability to OHKO even moderately bulky offensive mons, but it's still a stronger offensive tool than all of the B tiers.

C+ to B-: Idk, i just feel like this mon is more consistent than C+ makes it out to be. Yeah, there's opportunity cost with not running the other forms, but what this guy brings to the table is definitely unique enough for folks to want to run it.

UR to C+: This mon is actually unreasonable on stall. Death Aura allows you to 100% screw over tons of problem fatmons that would otherwise sit on fat squads for days, and between reliable Burn spreading with Wisp and damage from Night Shade, this mon is REALLY hard to deal with, especially when it has 5 more fatmons in the back to sponge hits from your breakers.
Replays: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2005728435
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2005748754
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2006062160
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2006294544

Drops:

A+ to A: This isn't so much a mon thing as it is a meta change. Gholdengo is still a very good mon, but after the Gliscor ban hard hazard stack just isn't as powerful as it used to be, and most of the time you can get away with just running a spinblocker and be fine since Gholdengo doesn't handle Wash Away anyway and Defog is fairly rare outside of Corviknight who rarely wants to click it anyway. If you do wanna block Defog, Ghold is the play, and it's still a great mon, but it definitely feels more like an A great than an A+ great.

A- to B+: Not super sold on this one cause I haven't seen it a ton, but this is kinda just worse Mola, no? In a meta that's becoming more and more full of status spam, a status bait like Slowbro just isn't super desirable, especially when it can't provide much to a team besides being a fatmon. It's pretty passive even with Scald, and while Shelter is great, Wash Away on Mola is usually more desirable, not to mention Tera Shard sets on Bro (which are a big part of why it's ranked so high) mean it can't run Boots and is therefore prone to hazard chip, particularly Toxic Spikes.

B+ to B: You shouldn't be getting swept by this mon. Too many defensive staples completely stonewall it for it to be pulling off the sweeps it got in early slates. Band sets are alright but putting them on the same level as Sneasler and Enamorus just feels disingenuous.

C+ to C: This mon hates a lot of the common fat tools. Shaymin screws it over, Corv eats everything but Spore, Glowking is a nightmare matchup, Tornadus-T is a wash unless you predict perfectly with Chisel. For a mon as slow and frail as Breloom, the amount it relies on prediction just isn't okay.

C+ to C: There are MUCH better Fairies and MBounce just ain't consistent enough to justify this mon on most teams. Still has a niche on some offense squads but you're never sacrificing Milo or Magearna for this on balance.

 

[Beaf Cultist]

A to S-: Disagree, should be A+ considering it has its own weaknesses to worry about. such as being a steel that fails to check a lot of fairies while others can to a better degree. Putting double steel makes ur MU into cind much worse. Its good just not better than A+. Rebuild is also not as good and you have to spend more time healing than others would, and its bulk isnt exactly smth to write home about and with heavy investment in defense you arent that threatening
A to A+: Disagree, its very passive which makes it easily abusable. Sure justified is a nice buff and that is why its in A. But you still get fucked by gholdengo, jolteon, magnezone, iron hands, cind, and thundy-i being top tier doesnt help it either and flying press isnt really threatening. A is fine

I don't think you're approaching either of these from the right angle. For Magnezone, it is a bulky Steel that resists Fairy. How is that not checking Fairies well? Is the idea that Fairies are running coverage for it? Because you're immune to Enamorus' best coverage move, so I wouldn't call forcing it to hard predict with Mystical Fire "failing to check" it. Sure, Magnezone doesn't beat Valiant or Delphox, but what Steel does? What Magnezone does do is hardwall Magearna, check Enamorus, threaten Milotic, and that's only its matchups among the Fairies! I don't really know what you're talking about with 'double Steel', because I've never felt the need to run another Steel when I've been running Magnezone, but even if that were a problem there are plenty of reliable means of dealing with Cinderace between Alomomola, Milotic, Crabominable, and even weirder stuff like Ceruledge and Skeledirge. Rebuild definitely isn't a perfect healing tool, only healing about 36% on max HP Magnezone, but like, how often are you even clicking Rebuild anyway? Magnezone is a defensive utility pivot more than it is a hyperfat wall, and Rebuild does well enough to shore up its winning matchups, which is good enough of a reason to run it in my book. Also I completely disagree on the passivity part. Echo Chamber is a broken move, Rapid Spin is a great progress maker, and Volt Switch is pivoting. Even with no Special Attack investment whatsoever, this mon can still scare offensive mons and pivot around defensive mons just fine, so I don't think its threat level is as low as you're making it out to be.

As for Corviknight, I just don't think it's all that passive lol. Flying Press chunks a lot of the mons that want to switch into you, and mons like Jolteon and Cinderace don't just come in for free - they're taking a clean 40%. That's a lot of chip! And presumably you're pairing Corviknight with partners that defensively check the few mons that actually threaten it, meaning it's a lot harder to pressure Corv than you're making it out to be.

Anyway, I wanted to drop a few more noms post-tour since word on the streets is council might be voting on them soon. Peace!

Nominations

B to A-: Expanding on my nom from last time, this mon is SO good. Extremely valuable tool on Healing Stones teams, easily walls tons of otherwise dangerous threats like Oger-W and Iron Moth, and can function as an emergency wincon thanks to Dragon Rage. This mon is super easy to slap on teams and provides so much utility to them.

B- to B: Magic Guard blocks Battle Spines.

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

What Magnezone does do is hardwall Magearna

Indeed... but it also runs focus blast often times, specs and AV sets have ran focus blast in the past, and while magearna can go well without it, its smth to consider on a set.

Because you're immune to Enamorus' best coverage move, so I wouldn't call forcing it to hard predict with Mystical Fire "failing to check" it.

Considering heatran is in B tier im sure you can run mystical fire... esp since moonblast -> mystical fire is doing enough to the point where ur weakened. If you are running max hp that means you are healing only 29% which is still 100hp but you also lose on def which makes you much more likely to be weakened by other threats

but even if that were a problem there are plenty of reliable means of dealing with Cinderace between Alomomola, Milotic, Crabominable, and even weirder stuff like Ceruledge and Skeledirge

alomomola hates gunk shot poison, milotic straight up loses to gunk shot, and crab is prob solid enough but gunk shot poisons still suck.

Even with no Special Attack investment whatsoever, this mon can still scare offensive mons and pivot around defensive mons just fine, so I don't think its threat level is as low as you're making it out to be.

ofc... but without sp. attack you are failing to pressure a lot

252+ SpA Magnezone Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Great Tusk: 267-315 (61.5 - 72.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Magnezone Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Great Tusk: 201-237 (46.3 - 54.6%) -- 6.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

(this is echo chamber btw at 90 BP) this means you are often just... not doing enough with flash cannon, even less to many other things like ting lu or smth that can spam ruination to be annoying asf, or not pressuring smth like lando-t threatening smack down. and volt switch isnt that strong either without investment...ofc its not passive like blissey but cosnidering it has to threaten smth for spin opportunities i fail to see how 0 sp. attack achieves that, yes it can still spin and it can still be good with bulk, but it has its flaws.

And presumably you're pairing Corviknight with partners that defensively check the few mons that actually threaten it, meaning it's a lot harder to pressure Corv than you're making it out to be.

usually means harder to fit... often times you are required to run smth to beat jolteon, thundy-i, and gholdengo which can take up more slots esp since thundy-i and gholdengo are annoying asf for it at least it can flying press jolteon but it cant really do much against those 2. God forbid you eat a rekindle burn from smth and this makes ur pressure be sooo much worse but i wont take into account that much

Another VR nom btw:


-> A It feels justified esp in a meta with jolteon, jugulis being a nuclear bomb, being a great sponge into dragapult, and being annoying asf into many pokemon. Ruination can deal a lot of chip and can even make mons like thundy-i not switch in or magnezone forced ot heal and allows you free switches into many def pokemon. Spikes can be a great progress maker tool esp against team lacking magnezone and even then ruination can force them to give your progress maker free switch ins

-> B+: With electric pokemon being very good i feel 1) torn-t deserves to drop... av torn-t just doesnt do as much as it wants to and without gliscor air freshener sets kinda died out.... and NP sets and AoA sets may still be good but they feel not as good rn.

Rain deserves to drop for similar reasons due to the electrics being more popular.. but also milotic, waterpon, crab, slowking-g, goodra-h. and more just becoming more popular to deal with it. Counters have developed over time and idt rain is as powerful as it was at the start of slate 10. Now its good but more niche as we have way better pokemon to take it on

Zapdos drops due to opportunity cost, it drops because running zapdos + another of those electric types is possible... but makes ur ting lu MU more annoying, goodra-h has become a very big roadblock for it, and stuff like zone forces heat wave on sets, and it often has an uphill battle against most teams that jolteon, thundy-i, iron hands, and zone dont have.

-> A: Wow a big rise! Well.. zama is really really fucking good into much of the meta. AoA or howl 3 attacks is amazing with bat, often times you can threaten KO's esp with its powerful cc and its pretty stupid to revenge kill with its natural bulk esp with dauntless shield or its ability to setup on stuff with it on corv or being able to take on phys def great tusk or offensive great tusk with the increase in bulk. Smth like alomomola even takes a lot and is often forced to click wash away and be very low afterwards or risk 50/50 with a potential howl and eat an even more powerful hit afterwards if it clicks wish

252 Atk Fighting Gem Zamazenta Close Combat vs. 40 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 201-237 (41.7 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

This shows its great wallbreaking power against most teams and it has some very valuable traits such as being faster than jolteon, being much stronger than melo

252 Atk Meloetta-Pirouette Mega Kick vs. 40 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 162-192 (33.6 - 39.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Fighting Gem Zamazenta Close Combat vs. 40 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 201-237 (41.7 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (imitates baseball bat)

It deserves a rise into A with these traits.

-> B+: been testing sp. def pex a lot recently and it deserves a rise. being able to eat a lot of hits and threatening stab knock off in return is pretty strong esp with toxic in the back making it so that most pokemon do not really want to eat it like slowking-g, gholdengo, magearna, and milotic. Super fang is a great option ive been testing to be able to force a lot of progress. With super fang a pokemon like iron hands is now less likely to want to risk half its hp to come in to force you out, or smth like magearna doesnt really want to lose a lot of its bulk and utility from losing a bunch of its health, Body press is a niche last move i find that helps against pokemon like magnezone, pressuring corv's roost, and hitting smth like kingambit, ting lu, and roaring moon super effectively but i find it pretty niche

 

[Yoshiblaze]

Making a quick VR nom of my own before we vote on them

D -> C- or C - If you've played against a guy with a nonsense name spamming Revavroom-Ruchbah + Iron Valiant offense recently, yeah that was me. When the VaporeMons ladder first opened up, I initially tried out Misty Surge Weezing-Galar + SD Baseball Bat Iron Valiant on a more Bulky Offense or Balance kind of team, but it kinda sucked. Valiant was decent if it could get going, but GWeezing being such a momentum sink made it hard for it to both get up terrain and get Valiant in safely (plus admittedly the Valiant set was also kinda bad, CC + Knock Off with Encore instead of Spirit Break in Milotic meta was certainly a choice). Plus the whole time I was using Misty Surge Weezing, I was really wishing that I was just running Levitate instead. After a couple days, I decided to try out Revavroom-Ruchbah instead, since it also provided Misty Terrain to enable Valiant but had pivoting and way more offensive presence, and, which a change in the Valiant set to Mixed Life Orb, it worked wonders. Went 8-1 on an alt and peaked at #4 on the ladder thanks to how crazy Valiant is in Misty Terrain sometimes, which was made way easier to set up with Revavroom's Rollout bringing Valiant in safely and generally keeping up momentum. Revavroom's access to High Horsepower also means that it can chip some Iron Valiant checks like Slowking-G on a switch, which GWeezing can't really do. Plus, both Rollout and High Horsepower mean that Iron Moth has to take a huge risk coming in on it, which non-Psyshock Valiant loves. Revavroom being able enable one of the best mons in the tier this well and do it better than a mon ranked on the VR in small part because of that reason 100% deserves on spot on the low end of the VR. Also, since Revavroom's form changes were only made to exist because they made coding easier and it's technically just the item that does that, this rise would apply to all the other Revavrooms too but they still suck lol.

Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2009433844 (Revavroom's existence prevents Valiant from getting revenged by what I think was Scarf Great Tusk, while also winning me the game by tanking a hit from Ogerpon-H and getting enough chip with Rollout to let Valiant's CC kill)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2009635495 (Changing terrain at the end allows me to secure a win vs PsySpam, letting Valiant outspeed a Scarf Samurott that gets checkmated by hazards and prior damage)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2009697108 (This game was mostly Cinderace going stupid, but Revavroom was able to disrupt Grassy Terrain and clean up by itself at the end)

Team I Used:

 

[G-Luke]

I agree with every nom suggested by Beaf except for the raises to Corviknight and Magnezone. While these Pokémon are much better in Vape than in OU, I don't think they have the direct impact on the metagame required for A+ and S- respectively.

Bringing up peak, I think its time to start a dialogue abiut Ogerpon-Hearthflame.


This is imo, the best physical attacker we have in the game bar none. Wellspring as of writing is probably the best form off raw utility it provides, but pound for pound who is the best at just breaking teams apart, it has to be this guy. Fire is a really great offensive typing in the metagame, but all users generally struggle with bulky Waters eating their hits. Not Ogerpon-H! It can smack shit around with STAB Mask boosted Power Whip, making it's STAB combination very ideal. Its free slots can fit in a wide variety of moves like Knock Off, Stomping Tantrum, Encore, Play Rough, Spikes, Trailblaze or Rock Tomb, each hitting different targets that may otherwise take its STAB moves comfortably.

Now I am not saying this thingis broken, but its A- rank. And I think that is a ludicrously inaccurate reflection of it's current standings in the meta. So I say, at the bare minimum this Pokemon deserves A+ rank, and as the meta further develops we should not shun away from the chance that we may be looking at the newest S / S- ranked Pokemon in our metagame.

Replays of Her.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2006323561 Zxg sliding on fraud Beaf.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2009470565 Aria lacking any switchins whenever I safely get in

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2005703430 Ogerpon 6-0ing a squad after a single SD

Hello!

With VaporeMons set to be on main imminently, I figured I'd write a little guide to help players new to VaporeMons get into it quickly, especially since you may have already looked at the spreadsheet or the teambuilder on DragonHeaven and felt overwhelmed. This guide will serve to help you focus on the important new things that VaporeMons brings to OU, both in teambuilding and in gameplay

STARTING GUIDE TO PLAYING VAPOREMONS: WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR​

Rule Differences from OU

First, let's get some quick changes between the rules of OU and VaporeMons out of the way, as they'll be important for how you build and play the metagame.

- Terastalization is banned - Feel free to Close Combat into that Kingambit without fear of if becoming a Fairy-type, as Terastalization was banned at the start of VaporeMons' existence. There does exist a similar mechanic in the Tera Shard item (discussed more later), but it crucially doesn't activate whenever you want it to, so you'll never have to deal with a surprise type change.
- Light Clay is banned - Due to the presence of a number of great setup sweepers in the tier and changes to Roaring Moon that specifically make it amazing in Snow (more on that later), Light Clay ended up being banned soon after Ninetales-A was released. Thus, you won't really see screens in this metagame.
- A number of Ubers are unbanned - Whether it was because of Terastalization's ban, specific voted-in nerfs, or Pokeon that got banned in OU after the start of VaporeMons that aren't broken here, a number of Pokemon banned in OU are present in VaporeMons, with varying degrees of viability. They are discussed more in detail in a later section, but they include: Regieleki, Volcarona, Espathra, Palafin, Landorus, Magearna, Ogerpon-Hearthflame, Roaring Moon, and Sneasler.

Most Relevant New Elements

A ton of wacky new moves, items, and abilities were added to the game over the course of VaporeMons' 10 slates. However, as you'd imagine, not every single one is as game changing as the other, so here are the ones that you really have to focus on.

New Abilities

New Paradox Abilities
This is probably the single most important change to be aware of in VaporeMons, simply because you're gonna find yourself trying to build with your usual Great Tusks and Iron Valiants and wondering why it keeps saying that they can't have Protosynthesis or Quark Drive. Along with each Paradox Pokemon gaining a new Hidden Ability, most Paradox Pokemon now have a new ability corresponding to a different weather or terrain than the usual Sun and Electric Terrain. This change has had multiple massive impacts on how VaporeMons is played, namely that it significantly buffs Grassy Terrain (but not in the way they worked when Sneasler was legal in OU) and Sand teams but significantly nerfs Sun. The abilities that each Paradox has are listed below:
Protosynthesis - Activates in Sun -
Protosmosis - Activates in Rain -
Protocrysalis - Activates in Sand -
Protostatis - Activates in Snow - (Note that Flutter Mane is still in Ubers)

Quark Drive - Activates in Electric Terrain -
Photon Drive - Activates in Grassy Terrain -
Neuron Drive - Activates in Psychic Terrain - (Note that Iron Bundle is still un Ubers)
Rune Drive - Activates in Misty Terrain -
*All of these abilities are also activated by Booster Energy

So be sure to remember to give your Great Tusk Protocrysalis instead of Protosynthesis. It will definitely take some getting used to, but eventually it'll become second nature.

Grass Pelt
Relevant Users -
Grass Pelt is now a Grassy Terrain clone of Hadron Engine, setting Grassy Terrain for 5 turns and boosting the user's Defense by 1.33x in Grassy Terrain. Along with Iron Moth and Iron Hands having Photon Drive, Grass Pelt Shaymin makes Grassy Terrain teams one of the best archetypes in the metagame, being great both offensively and defensively and being able to run a wide variety of sets thanks to it.

Mud Wash
Relevant Users -
Mud Wash is a very rare ability and its one relevant user isn't super viable, but it's worth mentioning because the effect can very easily catch you off guard. Plus, it's the reason why the mascot of the meta is at all usable. The ability sets both Mud Sport and Water Sport for 5 turns on switch-in, already a great effect they make Electric and Fire moves deal very little damage against your entire team. But, there's a secret, more sinister effect in that the user's moves with the word "Mud" in them deal doubled damage. This doesn't sound too crazy on paper, until you remember the move Muddy Water. This basically gives Vaporeon a 170 BP Hydro Pump that can drop accuracy, which is super scary to switch into, mainly only balanced by it's inconsistency and Vaporeon's low Speed. If you run into a Vaporeon and it does like 75% to your Dragapult with Muddy Water, this is why.

Blaze / Torrent / Overgrow / Swarm
Relevant Users -
The classic starter abilities got a new coat of paint in VaporeMons. They now always boost the power of moves of their corresponding type by 1.2x, like a built-in Charcoal. Then, at 1/3rd of the user's max HP or lower, the boost becomes a 1.5x boost to all moves. This slight boost makes Cinderace an absolute menace, as 144 BP Pyro Balls are nothing to scoff at, with Swords Dance sets in particular being extremely scary. Meowscarada and Delphox are also OU-viable users of the abilities, while it's a potential option on the likes of Inteleon and Greninja, especially in Rain.

Battle Spines
Relevant Users -
This ability causes the foe to lose 12.5% of their max HP after the user successfully lands an attack (only counted once for multi-hit moves). This ability gives you insane progress just for existing, as free chip damage just from using your best moves really goes a long way. Jolteon is legitimately top threat because of this + receiving more coverage for Electric resists, as Volt Switches with chip damage goes crazy with its high Speed. Thundurus-I is also amazing with it thanks to having the unblockable U-Turn for free chip damage and the amazing Knock Off, giving you double the progress in one turn.

Justified
Relevant Users -
Justified now also gives the user an immunity to Dark-type moves (including status moves like Taunt and Parting Shot) in addition to the Attack boost the user gets from getting hit by one. This makes Corviknight an amazing counter to numerous Dark-types, most notably Kingambit and Roaring Moon, who both have a hard time hitting Corv before getting KO'd by 1-2 Flying Presses. Being immune to Knock Off is also insanely useful in general, meaning that Corviknight can almost never lose its Leftovers. Make sure to think before clicking a Dark-type move against a team with a Corviknight on it.

Steadfast
Relevant Users -
Steadfast is genuinely a pretty insane ability in VaporeMons. Along with making the user immune to flinching, the user also takes halved damage from all attacks from Pokemon with a higher base stat total than the user. Because of this, low BST mons like Perrserker and Spidops take halved damage from basically everything, allowing the former to act as a decent defensive pivot, and making the latter into basically Shuckle with U-Turn. Scyther and Lucario are other users of the ability with higher BSTs, but already great stats and/or movepools (and an amazing signature item in Scyther's case) that make them real OU viable threats when they take halved damage from most things.

Honorable Mentions:
Overcoat - Now also makes the user immune to hazard damage. Great on the previously Rocks-weak Mandibuzz, Enamorus-T, and Avalugg.
Counteract - Essentially a defensive Mold Breaker, where the opponent's ability is deactivated while attacking the user. It's not a terribly common ability (mainly only seen Zamazenta and Tinkaton, both of which have other valid ability options), but good to keep in mind.
Sand Spit - Instead of setting sand, after being damaged by a move, the attacker is given the Sand Tomb effect for 5 turns. Very rare, but extremely dangerous if played well as the effect still traps you.
Outclass - If the user doesn't have a secondary typing, it steals the primary typing of the first opponent it hits with an attack. This is the other reason why Inteleon is still relevant without Sniper, as any primary Grass or Dragon-type can't safely switch into Snipe Shot if Outclass has already activated, since they'll lose their Water-resistance and get KO'd or forced out next turn.
Sheer Heart - Boosts the user's SpA by 1.3x, but the user's SpA stat can't be raised or lowered. Makes Milotic and lower tier Pokemon like Gardevoir into very powerful wallbreakers.
Color Change - Now changes the user's type to the type of the foe's move before it deals damage. This essentially gives the user, the one notable one being Dragalge, an entirely new defensive typing. With it, the user becomes weak to Ghost and Dragon, neutral to seven types (Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Flying, Ground, Normal, and Rock), and resistant to everything else.
Cud Chew - Now causes the user to eat its berry on switch-in, which is then recycled when the user switches out. This basically gives the Tauros forms Gen 8 Intrepid Sword but for any stat they want at the cost of their item slot, or a bootleg Regenerator with the 33% heal berries. This is the third reason why Tauros-Blaze is an OU mon, as a free Defense or SpD boost on switch-in pairs extremely well with Raging Fury's effect and Rekindle's recovery. Liechi and Salac Berry for Attack and Speed boosts are also likely usable.
Synchronize - Another one of those "rare but crazy abilities", Synchronize now causes any indirect damage taken by the user to be taken by the foe, giving it some insane potential damage in combination with recoil moves and Life Orb.
Illusion - The Illusion mon now also takes halved damage from all attacks while the Illusion is active, meaning that Zoroark should almost always be able to get a hit or a Nasty Plot off from full HP.
Fair Fight - While a Pokemon with Fair Fight is active, nothing can have its stats changed at all. This both means that your opponent simply can't set up on you, as well as allowing you to use stat dropping moves like Draco Meteor or Close Combat without a drawback. Seen on Kommo-o and occasionally Iron Hands.

New Moves

Ceaseless Edge / Stone Axe / Dire Claw / Electroweb
Relevant Users
Ceaseless Edge -
Stone Axe -
Dire Claw -
Electroweb -
All of these are grouped together because all of them are actually clones of each other. Knowing what Ceaseless Edge and Stone Axe already do, you may have correctly deduced that Dire Claw and Electroweb are now clones of these moves that set Toxic Spikes and Sticky Web respectively. While each move isn't terribly common, they did have some significant effects on the metagame. First, each move's effect is now blocked by Covert Cloak and Shield Dust (the latter of which was also buffed separately to reduce the damage of moves with secondary effects by 33%), making Covert Cloak a great option for the item slot on mons like Amoonguss or Hatterene. Second, since Dire Claw's secondary effect is now just setting a layer of Toxic Spikes, it no longer has the dumb hax factor it used to have, so you don't have to worry about it nearly as much. This, along with multiple other reasons discussed later, are why Sneasler was never banned from VaporeMons. Lastly, Electroweb's effect is so powerful that it was removed from both Regieleki and Magnezone, so don't try to use Electroweb on those.

Shelter / Defog / Wash Away
Relevant Users
Shelter -
Defog -
Wash Away -
Another trio of moves, all of these dealing with hazard removal rather than hazard setting. Shelter's effect has been completely changed to now remove Spikes and Stealth Rock (but NOT TSpikes or Webs) on the user's side of the field, making it a great removal option on hazard stacking teams since it can't get blocked (except by Taunt), limited by its low distribution. Defog was nerfed in that it's now blocked by Wind Rider, but in return it gained much improved distribution, notably including Landorus, Moltres, Rotom, and Mew. Lastly, Wash Away is a new move that serves as an 80 BP Water-type Defog and Dragon Tail all in one, making it a powerful tool against hazards and sweepers alike. By being a Water move, it's also really hard to block, so hazard stacking teams need to consider packing a Water-immune mon like Ogerpon-Wellspring. Overall, removing hazards in VaporeMons is quite a bit easier than in OU, but not free, as evidenced by the fact that Gliscor still had to be banned from this metagame.

Healing Stones
Relevant Users -
One more element relating to hazards, we have a new hazard in Healing Stones. When used, the hazard is set on your side of the field, healing Pokemon that switch in by 12.5% of their max HP. While they do require you to forgo Heavy-Duty Boots, as they still make you immune to these, Healing Stones are great to have on bulkier, switch-heavy teams, as passive healing is always great to have, especially for walls without recovery like Ting-Lu. Plus, Healing Stones can almost act like a pseudo-hazard removal option, since they offset the damage from one layer of Spikes or a neutral hit of Stealth Rock. Do note that the order in which hazards damage you is random, so you're not guaranteed to heal from Healing Stones first on a mon that's at low enough HP to faint to hazards

Rollout / Round
Relevant Users
Rollout -
Round -
Rollout and Round are both new pivoting moves add in VaporeMons, being 50 BP and doubling in BP if Rollout or Round was used by the user's side last turn respectiviely. The big thing to see here is that this gives Great Tusk a pivoting option, as if that mon was versatile enough, as well as giving Iron Treads and the unbanned Magearna a pivoting move not blocked by Grounds. Round is much rarer, but is great on Blisseys trying to relive the days of Teleport pivoting

Chisel
Relevant Users -
Chisel is a new physical Rock-type move with an extremely unique effect that you'll want to keep in mind. Chisel has 45 BP and hits 4 times, which sounds broken on paper, but it's balanced by the fact that it gives the opponent a Subsitute before dealing damage. This means that at most, if you break the Substitute with the first hit, you get a still amazing 135 BP from a 100% accurate Rock-type move, but if it takes you 2 or 3 hits to break the sub, you get a measly 90 or 45 BP. It's even possible to just not break the Substitute at all and deal 0 damage to the opponent while giving them a Substitute. This makes the move quite high risk high reward, as not a lot really wants to take a Choice Banded Chisel from a Tyranitar or Lycanroc-Dusk (especially the latter since it's Tough Claws-boosted), but if the opponent switches their Great Tusk or other Rock resist you might find yourself dealing no damage. This is also why Chisel is seldom seen as a coverage move despite the likes of Great Tusk and Iron Valiant learning it, as it's a lot harder to break the Substitute with a 45 BP hit than it is with a 67.5 BP one, mainly only being seen on Breloom (due to Technician) and Garchomp (since it's still better than Fire Fang on Scale Shot sets)

Rekindle
Relevant Users - ()
Rekindle is a very unique new recovery move. It just heals 33% of the user's max HP, but after that, the user gets an Aqua Ring-like effect that heals the user by 12.5% of their max HP per turn, essentially healing ~45% of the user's HP in a turn while giving you insane passive recovery. If that wasn't enough, Rekindle also a has a Pursuit-like effect, where it burns the opponent before they switch out if they try to switch. This means that Fire-types can try to force out stuff like Kingambit and get a free burn on them while clicking a recovery move, so if a Tauros-Blaze or Voclarona comes in on your Fire weak mon and you're feeling confident, condsider staying in to try to punish a predicted switch prediction. A pretty insane move overall, but very few relevant Pokemon use it, mainly just Tauros-Blaze and Volcarona, though a couple of Fire-types that already have recovery could consider using it as well like Moltres and Skeledirge.

Flying Press / Software Crash
Relevant Users:
Flying Press -
Software Crash -
Another rare move with an extremely unique effect worth going over, Flying Press and Software Crash are essentially two types at once. But not in the sense that they hit you with the effectiveness of two types at the same time, like Flying Press does in vanilla OU. Instead, these moves are one of two types depending on which would be more effective (taking STAB and the user's ability into account), being Fighting or Flying for Flying Press and Bug or Electric for Software Crash. This basically gives Corviknight Brave Bird and Body Press in one slot while giving the Rotoms and Magnezone free coverage from Grass-types in their STAB move, as well as giving Frosmoth BoltBeam coverage. Very rare, but very powerful.

Honorable Mentions:
Meteor Beam - Now charges and hits in one turn in Sand. Due to this and other changes to Sandy Shocks, Sand teams have somewhat of a place in the metagame.
Rebuild / Life Dew / Jungle Healing - Other new recovery moves common among Steel, Fairy/Water, and Grass-types respectively. Rebuild's healing is based on the user's level and the latter two heal the user by 33%. Life Dew also heals the first mon the switch in by 25%, and Jungle Healing still heals status.
Snipe Shot - Now a special Water-type clone of Flower Trick, this move is why Inteleon lost Sniper and a big reason why it's still OU viable in spite of that.
Choke - An 80 BP physical Ghost move that applies Heal Block, added before Poltergeist came back, this move is a big reason why Basculegion is so terrifying in Rain.
Chain Lightning - A physical Electric Water Shuriken clone, it's only really used by Iron Hands, but you can imagine that Iron Hands uses it exceptionally well.
Parry - An 80 BP physical Fighting move that prevents the user from being hit by priority moves on the turn it's used. Seldom seen, but don't be caught off guard when a Samurott-H or Ceruledge uses Parry and your Sucker Punch fails.
Raging Fury / Rage Fist - Rage Fist was nerfed to cap at 200 BP and Raging Fury was made into a clone of it. Along with the aforementioned Rekindle, this is a big reason why Tauros-Blaze is an OU mon, along with being used well by Slither Wing.
Smack Down - Now 65 BP and also prevents the use of pivoting moves for the rest of the turn, so don't be caught off guard by that.
Snatch - Undexited, now is a +2 priority 30 BP physical move, and Snatch now also effects hazard setting moves. This buffed Snatch effect is also used by the ability Green-Eyed.
Lash Out - Now 70 BP, but has its power doubled by status, negative volatiles, stats drops (not just ones you got that turn). Great synergy with stat dropping moves like Close Combat.
Natural Gift - Undexited and no longer consumes the berry. Has reduced distribution, most notably being used by both Landorus forms, Weavile, and Rillaboom.
Echo Chamber - A 90 BP Special Steel-type sound move that deals 1.5x damage if your side used a sound move last turn (including itself). Very relevant on Magnezone and Kommo-o, be sure to keep the 1.5x boost in mind when calcing.
Psycho Boost - Now a Psychic-type clone of Make It Rain, mainly only used by Munkidori and Indeedee

New Items

Tera Shard
Relevant Users -
Tera Shard essentially acts as the replacement of the banned Terastalization phenomenon. When held, the item changes the holder into its Tera Type (AFTER hazards damage, so Volcarona takes hazards damage as a Bug/Fire before changing type, for example). While it has a couple other minor effects, this type change lacks numerous effects that Terastalization has, namely the Same Type Tera Adaptability-like Boost and the retaining of your previous STABs. This makes Tera Shard a mianly defensive tool, allowing you to change the mediocre types of defensive beasts like Garganacl and Slowbro at the cost of the item slot. However, the item really has infinite potential, so feel free to experiment with it.

Baseball Bat
Relevant Users - Any physical attacker that only uses contact moves
Baseball Bat is a new item that boosts the power of contact moves by 25%, with the slight drawback of being removed if the holder gets hit by a ball/bullet move (moves blocked by Bulletproof), though the damage from the move is halved. This item is THE physical attacker's item, making Life Orb basically irrelevant for the majority of them. If you notice that your physical attacker's offensive moves all make contact and you're not running a Choice item or Boots or something, you should be using Baseball Bat, simple as that.

Tie-Dye Band
Relevant Users -
Tie-Dye Band is a new item that boosts the power of the holder's of non-STAB moves by 30%, but reduces the power of its STAB moves by 33% (essentially removing the STAB boost). This item is a big reason why Tera Shard is mostly only used defensively, since this item is typically a better way to get a boost to types you don't already have. Mons with a ton of coverage love using this to get unexpectedly big damage on moves that break through their checks, either making for great lures or just unlocking new pseudo-STAB moves while retaining a potentially good defensive typing. Dragapult is by far the most notable user, boosting all of Hydro Pump, Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, and U-Turn, making Pult very hard to switch into, especially before its item is revealed.

Slingshot
Relevant Users -
Slingshot is a very, very rare item with a lot of untapped potential, but it has a pretty crazy effect that you should be aware of. When the hodler is hit by a pivoting move, the attacker loses 12.5% of their max HP and they are forced out into a random teammate, punishing them for trying to pivot on you. It's been seldom seen so far, but theoretically works well on walls that don't need to run Leftovers, like Regenerator pivots.

Air Freshener
Relevant Users -
Another rare item with a pretty crazy-on-paper effect, Air Freshener heals your party's status conditions after successfully using a Wind move. This has a lot of potential on bulkier balance and stall teams, making up for the drastically reduced distribution of Heal Bell and meaning that opposing status won't be a way to break through your team. So far, it hasn't been used much aside from occasionally on Tornadus-T, who can activate with either Bleakwind Storm or Heat Wave.

Relevant Changes to Pokémon & Signature Items

Some of the biggest changes in VaporeMons come from voted-in Pokemon Adjustments and signature items, as these submissions were able to directly change a Pokemon into becoming potentially OU-viable, which worked in many cases.


Meloetta-Pirouette
Using the Dancing Shoes item, Meloetta can transform into its Pirouette form on switch-in, while also gaining a hazard immunity and immunity to sound moves. Additionally, both Meloetta forms received some big specific changes, with Melo-P now having the ability No Guard (accessed by setting base Meloetta's ability to Trace and having it hold Dancing Shoes) and great new moves in Mega Kick and Rapid Spin. Melo-P is basically NatDex Mega Lopunny, being a fast, strong, and not super frail pivot, able to bully teams over the course of an entire game. Note when building that Melo-P no longer learns Sing (due to No Guard) and Swords Dance (due to it being broken with its power and Speed).


Crabominable
Crabominable is now a Fighting/Water-type with Fur Coat and a ton of new viable moves like Slack Off, Jet Punch, Swords Dance, and Storm Throw (Fighting-type Flower Trick). With these tools, Crabominable is a premier physical wall that goes well into the likes of Great Tusk and Kingambit, as well as being one of the best wincons in the metagame thanks to Swords Dance + Jet Punch + Crab's 132 Attack.


Iron Jugulis
Aside from the previously mentioned Neuron Drive over Quark Drive, Iron Jugulis received one very simple change that's made it one of the most terrifying breakers in the meta: Mega Launcher. 120 BP Dark Pulses from a mon with 122/108 special offense is pretty hard to handle defensively, especially with Jugulis has its very powerful STAB Hurricanes to hit most Dark resists, with your choice of Flamethrower or Earth Power covering most others.


Jolteon
Mentioned earlier when I went over Battle Spines, Jolteon has gone from a lower tier hero to THE fast Electric-type of the metagame and it's all thanks to the aformentioned Battle Spines, plus two crucial coverage moves in Dazzling Gleam and Overheat. Jolteon's poor bulk still makes it somewhat difficult to get in, but once in, Jolteon is almost guaranteed to leave a dent in something, as you'll either have to take a strong Thunderbolt + 12.5% chip, have your Grass-type torched by Overheat + 12.5% chip, or have your Great Tusk or Ting-Lu chunked by a Dazzling Gleam + 12.5%, while it always has the option to simply Volt Switch out, complete with that added 12.5% Battle Spines chip. If you've found yourself missing the likes of Tapu Koko or Zeraora, look no further than Jolteon to fill your fast Electric needs.


Magnezone
Magnezone is one of the top pivots in the tier thanks to it gaining Levitate and Rapid Spin, plus recovery in the previously mentioned Rebuild. This makes Magnezone an extremely consistent spinner, easily coming in on Ground-type moves from common hazard setters like Landorus-T and Ting-Lu, while being able to deal decent damage to Gholdengo with Volt Switch or Software Crash unlike the eternally walled Corviknight. Magnezone's pretty deep movepool also makes it more versatile than ever, between being an offensive pivot, defensive pivot, Assault Vest pivot, or classic Magnet Pull sets that can be either choiced to IronPress. If you need a good glue mon on your team, Magnezone could very well be your answer.


Milotic
Milotic was given the often wanted Water/Fairy-typing, along with two great abilities in Sheer Heart and Water Veil (which now gives you the Aqua Ring effect on switch-in). This makes Milotic one of the premier defensive pivots in the metagame, handling the likes of Dragapult, Iron Valiant, Great Tusk, and Samurott-H, while also having the option to become a dangerous wallbreaker or cleaner with Sheer Heart.


Landorus-Therian
Landorus-T has actually received a fair number of buffs over the course of VaporeMons and, while it still functions the same as always for the most part, Lando's inherent versatility means that it always loves having more options. Landorus gained great moves in Defog, Spikes, Acrobatics, and Natural Gift, while its commonly used Smack Down was buffed to 65 BP, making it much more usable. Lando also greatly benefitted from losing Gliscor as competition, making it once again one of the best Ground-type pivots, even with Great Tusk having pivoting now.


Delphox
Delphox is now a Fire/Fairy-type, a never before seen but extremely powerful typing, giving it a ton of unique offensive and defensive strengths. Fire Blast + Moonblast + Psychic/Focus Blast/Grass Knot hits nearly everything, with Fire Blast being super powerful thanks to the 1.2x boost from Blaze, it can boost up with Nasty Plot, pivot with Round, heal with Rekindle or Wish, act as hazard control with Court Change, cripple foes with Will-O-Wisp or Thunder Wave, and switch into Iron Valiant's dual STAB, and probably do even more things. Only fitting for magician to be this versatile.


Toxapex
Toxapex is still a pretty notable defensive presence in the tier, but ironically its major changes have more or less been a nerf to it overall. Toxapex is now Dark/Water and gained a ton of good new moves in Knock Off, Body Press, Super Fang, Snatch, and Wash Away. This new typing completely changes what kinds of Pokemon Toxapex can take on, now handling the likes of Gholdengo, Dragapult, and Kingambit while no longer being able to take on Iron Valiant or Ogerpon forms. While becoming a Dark-type did end up being a nerf overall, Toxapex's huge bulk, Regen, and much deeper movepool still make it a premier wall in the tier, plus it makes for fun Regen cores with Slowking-Galar since it doesn't stack a weakness with it anymore.

Honorable Mentions
Scyther line - Scyther was already mentioned when I talked about Steadfast earlier, but the other reaosn why it's a genuine threat is thanks to the Scyther line's new signature item, Mantis Claw. This item gives each mon in the Scyther line an immunity to hazards while also giving them a boost to their stats: 1.5x Speed for Scyther, 1.3x Def and SpD for Scizor, and 1.5x Attack for Kleavor.
Rotom - Regained Defog and Pain Split, while each Rotom form also gained 1 new STAB, with Rotom-Wash getting the amazing Wash Away.
Diancie - Got a new signature item in Diancite Stone Fragment, which changes its ability to Magic Bounce and raises its Atk, SpA, and Spe by 1 stage on switch-in, making Diancie into a mini-version of Mega Diancie. Also loves having pivoting in Rollout and priority in Accelerock.
The Loyal Three - Each of the Loyal Three gained some pretty substantial changes. Okidogi got Intimidate, Parting Shot, and Swords Dance, Fezandipiti got Neutralizing Gas, Will-O-Wisp, Defog, and Healing Stones, and Munkidori got Magic Guard and Psycho Boost. Each member also gained the Toxic Spikes-setting Dire Claw.
Muk & Muk-Alola - If you're sad about Toxapex no longer being Poison/Water, there's a half-decent replacement in Muk, who's now Poison/Water with Regenerator and a bunch of new moves like Wave Crash, Swords Dance, Earthquake, and Recover. Muk-Alola also received a bunch of buffs and is actually the much more viable of the two, gaining Neutralizing Gas, Swords Dance, Recover, Earthquake, Stealth Rock, and Sucker Punch.
Mew - Mew has two great abilities in Synchronize and Protean, along with some big movepool buffs in Defog and Recover.
Tinkaton - Gained new utility in Defog, Rebuild, and Counteract, as well as more offensive power in the ability Blunt Force (1.5x Attack but your moves can't hit super effectively), making Tinkaton a lot easier to use both offensively and defensively.
Wigglytuff - Gained the signature item Tuffy-Tuff, which doubles its defenses, along with new abilities in Wind Rider (which blocks Defog now) and Natural Cure, and new moves in Boomburst, Moonblast, Tidy Up, Spirit Break, and Teleport.
Bellibolt - Mini-Rotom-Wash and Zapdos in one, now being Electric/Water with Static and Volt Absorb, utility in Wash Away, and coverage in Ice Beam and Earth Power.
Decidueye(-Hisui) - Alolan Decidueye gained Contrary, letting it potentially break through teams with Leaf Storms and Shadow Balls, while Hisuian Decidueye is now Ghost/Fighting with Poltergeist, being a very powerful but slow wallbreaker.
Revavroom - Through the Star Shard items, Revavroom gains access to 5 new forms based on the Starmobiles from Scarlet and Violet's story. All of them can be somewhat threatening sweepers in their own right, but the best of them is actually used in a utility role as Revavroom-Ruchbah's Misty Surge activates Iron Valiant's Rune Drive and, unlike the mostly more viable Weezing-Galar, Revavroom can use Rollout or Parting Shot to get Valiant in safely.
Charizard - Similar to Revavroom, Charizard also has 2 signature Tera Shard-like items, both of which mirror the Mega stones of generations past. The Charizardite Shard X turns Charizard into a Dragon-type (before hazards damage), gives it Tough Claws, a 1.2x boost to Dragon and Fire moves, and a +1 Attack boost, with the Charizardite Shard Y turns Charizard into a pure Fire-type (also before hazard damage), gives it Drought, a 1.2x boost to Fire and Flying moves, and a +1 SpA boost. Despite the boosts being a bit much, Charizard is still a very rare sight, with Zard X being a bootleg Haxorus, and Zard Y being basically Chi-Yu, but somehow not that viable.

Unbanned Ubers

One of the biggest changes from OU to VaporeMons is the number of Pokemon legal in VaporeMons that are banned in OU. Some of these unbanned Ubers are top threats in the metagame, while others are actually pretty bad, so here's a quick rundown of each one so you know what to expect from them, in approximate order of viability.

Magearna - Lost all the moves that made it broken, namely Shift Gear/Agility, Spikes, Draining Kiss, and Stored Power. Premier defensive pivot and special wallbreaker and one of the best mons in the tier with its bulk, typing, and movepool.
Ogerpon-Hearthflame - A lot easier to deal with without Terasalization, but still a menace in its own right. Competes for team slots with Ogerpon-Wellspring and Cinderace, however.
Sneasler - Lost Unburden and Acrobatcis, plus Dire Claw was changed to a Toxic Spikes clone of Ceaseless Edge. Very strong offensive pivot with an amazing offensive typing and the always annoying Poison Touch.
Roaring Moon - Has long been a menace in VaporeMons with Protostasis making it a great partner to Chilly Reception Slowking-Galar. However, with Justified Corviknight, Great Tusk, and Fur Coat Crabominable all being sturdy checks to it and Light Clay's ban making Ninetales-A bad, Roaring Moon is in a pretty rough spot nowadays.
Palafin - Zero to Hero now activates when you get a KO, like Gen 7-8 Battle Bond. Palafin was pretty terrible until it got a signature item in Hero's Bubble that basically gives it Water Bubble in Zero form and Thick Fat for Dark and Fighting moves in Hero form, making it a pretty decent breaker
Volcarona - Does the same old Quiver Dance shenanigans it always does, now with new wrinkles in Shield Dust and Rekindle. Struggles to sweep consistently but it's still Volcarona.
Landorus - Lost Sheer Force for Cloud Nine and also has a buffed Sand Force. Genuinely has a lot of potential and it loves all the buffs that Landorus-T got that also apply to itself, but it has extremely stiff competition from the numerous viable Ground-types in the tier.
Espathra - Has some real potential, but it's just so hard for it to sweep without Terastalization when Kingambit, Dark/Water Toxapex, a bunch of priority, and a number of good Psychic resists exist.
Regieleki - With both Terastalization and Light Clay banned, and Thundurus and Jolteon being great Electric-type options that can actually hit Ground-types, Regieleki is simply pretty useless.

Playstyles and Cores to Watch Out For

Now that you know some of the most common and viable new things in VaporeMons, here are a couple common cores and team style that you should look out for and teambuild with.


Grassy Terrain
Grassy Terrain is completely different from what you might be used to in OU. While it's a more offensive playstyle in OU, powered by Rillaboom's pivoting and the banned Sneasler's Unburden, Grassy Terrain in VaporeMons lends itself to a more bulky offensive playstyle thanks to the addition of Grass Pelt Shaymin as the terrain setter, Iron Moth and Iron Hands as Grassy Terrain abusers with Photon Drive, and the lack of Unburden on Sneasler. Swords Dance Iron Hands with priority Chain Lightning is a terrifying sweeper, while Iron Moth can be a great wallbreaker with Specs and either Speed or SpA-boosting Photon Drive, or it can run its Substitute + 3 Attacks set with Black Sludge or Boots instead of Booster Energy. More offensive Rillaboom Grassy Terrain teams with teammates like Iron Hands, Ogerpon-C, and Unburden Hawlucha are also an option, though much weaker than they are in OU
Sample Cores (click the sprites for a paste): /

Rain
Rain is better than ever in VaporeMons, both thanks to Basculegion having a real physical Ghost move in Choke, and the numerous powerful Water-types in the tier with Inteleon, Manaphy, Palafin, and Greninja. The plan is simple, set Rain with Peli, then get one of your disgusting breakers in and have fun.
Sample Core:


Hazard Stack / Sticky Web
With Gliscor banned and new hazard removal options a plenty, hazard stack has both changed a lot and not much at all. Spikers like Samurott-H, Ting-Lu, and now Landorus-T remain good, Gholdengo is still great at stopping Defog and Rapid Spin, and now hazard stack teams need to slot the already amazing Ogerpon-Wellspring to stop Wash Away. Sticky Web is in a similar place, still using Ribombee to sets Webs, and can now take comfort in having a great matchup into teams that only run Shelter as their removal, since that's the one of two forms of hazard removal that can't get blocked but also the only one that doesn't remove Webs. Steadfast Spidops is also a genuinely valid option for Webs setting, trading Ribombee's Speed and Stun Spore for insane bulk, Spikes, and slow pivoting.
Sample Core: /


Sand
Another archetype that benefitted from the new Paradox abilities was Sand. In OU, Sand is nonexistent since Houndstone isn't allowed to use Last Respects and has poor stats, Lycanroc and Sandslash suck, Excadrill doesn't exist, and Tyranitar is having its worst generation. In VaporeMons, Sand is still on shaky ground, but it at least has ground to stand on now, thanks to Protocrysalis Sandy Shocks and Meteor Beam. Meteor Beam charges in one turn in Sand and Sandy Shocks gets a 1.5x Speed boost from Protocrysalis in Sand, making it a terrifying sweeper with Sand up. Sand has a number of other options, too, like Sand Rush Fire/Ground Pyroar, Sand Rush Brambleghast, Sand Force Landorus-I, and Sand Force Garchomp, but all of them are quite a bit worse than Sandy Shocks. Sandy Shocks really carries the archetype on its back, like an MVP-level player on a team just hovering above a .500 record.
Sample Core:


PsySpam
PsySpam in OU was once a great Hyper Offense strategy on ladder, being able to win games extremely quickly with an onslaught on Psychic-type attacks and Focus Sashed, priority-immune sweepers. Nowadays, it's dead in the water, but VaporeMons hilariously accidentally breathed new life into the style. You'd think the addition of Neuron Drive Iron Jugulis would help it a bit, and it does, but Iron Jugulis is way better off using Mega Launcher. Instead, it's actually Azelf that gives PsySpam a niche. Since Azelf gained a secondary ability in Outclass, that means it's no longer forced into using Levitate. And because it's no longer forced into Levitate, that means it can actually use the benefits of Expanding Force in Psychic Terrain, which is a move that I didn't know it learned until, like, 2 weeks ago. Because of this, Azelf becomes a great wallbreaker in Psychic Terrain, supported by Indeedee, who also received a minor buff in the hard-hitting Psycho Boost.
Sample Core:

Other Notable Cores:
- Chilly Reception Slowking-G to set Snow and pivot into Protostatis Roaring Moon, whose ability activates in Snow
- Sun is a lot worse without Protosynthesis Great Tusk or Roaring Moon, but it's still threatening
- fat
/ - Activate Iron Valiant's Rune Drive with one of two Misty Surge users. Weezing-G is generally better, but Revavroom has pivoting

Coding Bugs

Lastly, there are a couple of bugs in the code that make just a few things act differently than what you might expect when reading over their effects on the spreadsheet or the /dt command, including some that are only present on the main Pokemon Showdown server but not DragonHeaven. As of 12/1/23, they are as follows:

Major Bugs
- Walkie-Talkie - Due to difficulties with coding its full intended effect, the current version is a placeholder version that only switches the holder out before using a Sound move.
- Revavroom - When given a Star Shard in teambuilder, you are required to also give Revavroom the ability of the form that you want it to have (Intimidate/Speed Boost/Toxic Debris/Misty Surge/Stamina for Segin/Schedar/Navi/Ruchbah/Caph respectively) for it to validate.
- Rekindle - If the Rekindle user is asleep or frozen and tries to use Rekindle while the foe switches out, the move will still fail but the Pursuit-like burn effect will still activate.
- Desert Storm - Doesn't set sandstorm at all. This bug is only present on the main Pokemon Showdown server, due to the code used for this effect on DragonHeaven being incompatible with the main server's standards.

Minor Bugs
- Parry - Parry isn't coded exactly as the original sub intended, so while it more or less has the same effect as intended, there are a couple key differences. Parry simply blocks opposing priority moves for the turn, so those moves are attempted to be used before Parry goes off, unlike what the description says. Additionally, Parry's priority doesn't change when it blocks a priority move like the original effect intended, so if it activates in Psychic Terrain or against a Pokemon with a priority-blocking ability, Parry will still hit.
- Exoskeleton - Currently only weakens moves targetting the user into how strong they would be after Bug weaknesses are removed (for Bug-types) and Bug resistances are added (for non-Bug-types) rather than actually changing their effectiveness. This bug is only present on the main Pokemon Showdown server, due to the code used for this effect on DragonHeaven being incompatible with the main server's standards.
- Blunt Force - Currently simply weakens super effective hits into how strong they would be if they weren't super effective rather than actually making them actually neutral. This bug is only present on the main Pokemon Showdown server, due to the code used for this effect on DragonHeaven being incompatible with the main server's standards.
- New Paradox Abilities - After the abilities are deactivated due to a change/ending of their respective weathers or terrains, the volatile is still visually present. This bug is purely visual and the Pokemon's stats are correctly unchanged.
- Momentum - If Momentum activates from the user being hit by a spinning move, it's often displayed as being the opponent's ability rather than the user's. This is purely visual and the foe still has whatever ability they're supposed to have.
- Fair Fight - If a Pokémon that doesn't have the ability Fair Fight tries to change its stats while a Fair Fight mon is active, Fair Fight correctly activates but it displays as the non-Fair Fight Pokémon's ability. This is purely visual and the Pokémon still has whatever ability they're supposed to have.

And that's all! If you want to learn more about the metagame and find games outside of the ladder, you can join the VaporeMons Discord here.

Hope to see you on the VaporeMons ladder once it goes live!

I think this should move this post to the front, since a free Reserved slot exists, any moderator should be able to do it.

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

:ss/Ogerpon-Heartflame:
This is imo, the best physical attacker we have in the game bar none. Wellspring as of writing is probably the best form off raw utility it provides, but pound for pound who is the best at just breaking teams apart, it has to be this guy. Fire is a really great offensive typing in the metagame, but all users generally struggle with bulky Waters eating their hits. Not Ogerpon-H! It can smack shit around with STAB Mask boosted Power Whip, making it's STAB combination very ideal. Its free slots can fit in a wide variety of moves like Knock Off, Stomping Tantrum, Encore, Play Rough, Spikes, Trailblaze or Rock Tomb, each hitting different targets that may otherwise take its STAB moves comfortably.

Now I am not saying this thingis broken, but its A- rank. And I think that is a ludicrously inaccurate reflection of it's current standings in the meta. So I say, at the bare minimum this Pokemon deserves A+ rank, and as the meta further develops we should not shun away from the chance that we may be looking at the newest S / S- ranked Pokemon in our metagame.

Replays of Her.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2006323561 Zxg sliding on fraud Beaf.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2009470565 Aria lacking any switchins whenever I safely get in

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2005703430 Ogerpon 6-0ing a squad after a single SD

While i lost a ton of replays.... ogerpon-hf is prob the pokemon who is hardest to prep for cuz mold breaker.... but you also lack counterplay to thise pokemon depending on this set.... if your option is to beat it with smth like dragonite (who btw often doesnt run boots), mandibuzz, roaring moon you can get smacked by +2 play rough (+2 ivy cudgel still does a lot), encore can make smth like tauros, mandibuzz, dirge suffer because they locked themselves into a healing move, or trialblaze who can turn games on its head because pult, melo-p, jolteon get fucked now...

I feel its similar to SV OU but just to a lesser extent... your best hope is to pray it kinda screws up and fucks up because most teams counterplay is just.... "keep up the chip"

 

[Yoshiblaze]

The council has voted on the recent VR nominations right in time for DLC2! Let's see how things shook out

Rises
A to A+
A to A+
A- to A+
A- to A+
A- to A
B+ to A-
B+ to A
B+ to A-
B to B+ (and OU)
B to B+ (and OU)
B to A- (and OU)
B- to B+ (and OU)
B- to B
C+ to B-
C- to C
D to C+
(-Ruchbah) D to C

Drops
A+ to A
A+ to A
A- to B+
A- to B+
A- to B+
A- to B+
A- to B+
B+ to B (and UUBL)
B+ to B (and UUBL)
B to B-
C+ to C
C+ to C
C+ to C
C+ to UR
C+ to C
C to C-
C to UR
C to UR
C to D
C to UR
C- to UR

As previously announced, we will have a DLC2 Roomtour on Sunday, so be sure to prep for that!

Also, check out this Rate My Team for VaporeMons by council member G-Luke! I highly encourage reading this RMT and making your own VaporeMons RMTs, it would be a huge help in giving VaporeMons more exposure!

That's all for now, see you soon and keep laddering!

 

[Yoshiblaze]

The DLC2 update is now here (on the main server)! As announced previously, we will have a roomtour on the main server tomorrow at 4 PM EST, featuring the new Pokemon and movepool changes! After that, we'll have a DLC Distribution Slate similar to what we did with DLC1.

But, before we get to any of that, I wanted to look at what the new and returning Pokemon look like in our metagame right now, which can hopefully help you teambuild for tomorrow's roomtour!

First things first, Electroweb will be removed from the following Pokemon: Raging Bolt, Raikou, Magearna, Rotom, Sandy Shocks, Thundurus, Mew, Bellibolt, Jolteon, Electrode, Electrode-Hisui (as well as all relevant prevolutions)
With Electroweb being a Sticky Web clone of Ceaseless Edge, it's obviously a bit of a problem if it's super widely distributed, so Electroweb becoming a TM in the DLC was super awkward for us, requiring us to immediately remove it from its most powerful new abusers. It's still quite widely distributed even still, but it's mostly among bad Pokemon, with the only relevant new additions left being Kilowattrel, and Pawmot.

Second things second, Gliscor and Darkrai will be unbanned - With OU unbanning them, general power creep that can keep them in check, Darkrai's significant nerfs compared to OU since it lacks Nasty Plot and Tera, and the roomtour tomorrow giving us a testing ground, we figured that we could give these guys another shot. Thus, they'll be unbanned for at least the duration of the distribution slate, including tomorrow's roomtour

Now, let's look at some of the new Pokemon:

Set

Kyurem @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power
- Freeze-Dry

Oh, this thing is back, I will be running 5 Ice resists on all my teams for the rest of the generation now. It's way less annoying without Roost, making it kinda locked into either Specs or maybe DDance sets, but it's still going to be an absolute menace with just that. We wanted a relevant special Ice-type and Game Freak delivered, perhaps overly so. Also, free Kyurem-Black.

Set

Deoxys-Speed @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Psycho Boost / Skill Swap
- Stealth Rock / Knock Off
- Taunt
- Spikes


Deoxys-Speed @ Tie-Dye Band
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam / Thunderbolt

Deoxys-Speed @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psycho Boost
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Trick / Thunderbolt / Teleport

Deoxys-Speed @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Expanding Force
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Nasty Plot

Honestly, Deoxys-Speed probably isn't even that good, but it's super interesting to me. Most discussion so far has been focused on its classic hazard setting capabilities and how it's way worse at that in VaporeMons. I definitely agree with that, dedicated Spikes and Rocks leads are way worse when we have increased Defog distrib, Shelter, and especially Wash Away, so while Deoxys is able to account for some of those with Taunt (unless it's a Corviknight lol) and its required teammates of Ogerpon-W and Gholdengo, it's way less powerful on that front. The interesting part to me are its potential offensive sets, being a mon that can outspeed and OHKO tier king Dragapult while being able to run Modest and hit quite hard with its wide coverage. It half likes and half hates the Psycho Boost rework, now being able to click it more times in a row without worry but not liking the initial power drop. With its Speed and Nasty Plot, it seems like a very easy mon to slap a Tie-Dye Band and 3 coverage moves on, find a setup opportunity, and then go to town. This of course comes with a ton of weaknesses, as Deoxys is frail and very Sucker Punch-able, plus non-Plot sets really wish it had a pivoting move that isn't Teleport. Like I said, this mon probably isn't that good, but I'm very excited to try it out

Set

Deoxys-Defense @ Tera Shard
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Ghost / Fairy / Steel / Water
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Cosmic Power
- Night Shade / Stored Power
- Taunt / Stored Power / Substitute
- Recover

Deoxys-Defense @ Tera Shard
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Ghost / Fairy / Water
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Night Shade
- Recover
- Stealth Rock / Spikes / Thunder Wave
- Teleport

This thing would be a cheap Garganacl/Mew knock off if it wasn't for the fact that it gets Teleport now. It's still a bit underwhelming, being stupid passive and hazards being worse in VaporeMons, and basically requiring Tera Shard to work meaning that you can't run Boots or Lefties, but the fact that it's not a complete momentum sink is pretty great for it. Definitely still a UU-level or even RU-level mon, though. Also, it can run a DemonMew set that isn't outclassed by Mew, I guess.

Set

Blaziken @ Baseball Bat
Ability: Speed Boost
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Protect

I have to talk about my favorite Pokemon's evolution. Blaziken is unfortunately probably pretty mid, hating Dragapult's dominance, Great Tusk's crazy bulk, Landorus being a top dog again, Crabominable's everything, and Booster Energy mons requiring more and more Speed Boosts to outspeed, plus how hard it'll be to set up, but it's far from impossible to sweep with it. Perhaps the more bulky SD sets that were used on Grassy Terrain teams in Gen 8 will make a reappearance, though Blaziken does stack typings with both incumbent Grassy Terrain abusers in Iron Moth and Iron Hands

Set

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Flip Turn
- Air Slash / Vacuum Wave

Kingdra may have also come back, but this is the REAL Rain buff. Keldeo greatly appreciates being in a metagame where Toxapex is Dark/Water, meaning that it now easily beats the mon that almost singlehandedly made it unviable for 2 generations. However, a new bulky Water that resists Fighting is on the scene, being Milotic, which really keeps Keldeo down. Thus, we won't be in the days of Gen 5 or 6 with Keldeo being a borderline broken monster, but it should still have a great place on Rain since Basculegion's biggest nuisance is Dark/Water Toxapex. Plus, Keldeo can Flip Turn on Milotic and get Zapdos in for free.

Set

Hydrapple @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain / Dragon Rage
- Dragon Rage / Rollout / Earth Power
- Shelter
- Recover

Hydrapple @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain / Leaf Storm
- Dragon Rage
- Earth Power / Shelter
- Recover

Hydrapple @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Dragon Rage
- Earth Power
- Rollout

This Pokemon likely won't be OU or anything, but it's super neat in general. Thanks to the Applin line already receiving some buffs, Hydrapple comes right out of the box with a number of new tools to have fun with, namely Dragon Rage, Shelter, and Rollout. Hydrapple's huge bulk, Regen, and Shelter make for a interesting hazard control option, though it is a bit strapped for moveslots, while Dragon Rage gives it a good amount of offensive presence while being a lot more consistent than Fickle Beam. Really the only thing holding it back is how bad its typing is defensively.

Set

Archaludon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Stamina
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flash Cannon
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Aura Sphere

Yeah idk what to make of this mon yet, check back in like 2 weeks

Set

Gouging Fire @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Raging Fury
- Earthquake
- Morning Sun
(There's very obviously a better spread for this, this is just a placeholder. The spread as is outspeeds Dragapult at +1)

Gouging Fire @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

This mon is crazy lmao. There's the obvious Protosynthesis-boosted Sun-boosted STAB Flare Blitz off of 115 Attack to worry about, making Gouging Fire a Darmanitan on steroids that also learns Dragon Dance, but because of how Raging Fury was changed to be a Rage Fist clone (that maxes at 200 BP), Gouging Fire's huge bulk makes Bulky DDance sets a potentially insane wincon. I won't be surprised if this ends up getting multiple nerfs.

Set

Raging Bolt @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderclap
- Volt Switch
- Weather Ball
- Draco Meteor

Raging Bolt @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 100 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA / 148 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Thunderclap
- Dragon Pulse
- Protect

Raging Bolt @ Assault Vest
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderclap
- Draco Meteor
- Weather Ball

This mon is also pretty silly, with its great Special Attack, bulk, decent Speed, and amazing Speed control option in Thunderclap. Even gets Calm Mind if you're crazy. We're very lucky that a lot of our fastest mons resist Electric, but the move is still insanely threatening. Should be an absolute menace on Sun, or whatever weather it lands on if we change its ability during the distribution slate.

Set

Iron Boulder @ Choice Band
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Mighty Cleave
- Zen Headbutt
- Close Combat / Megahorn / Wild Charge
- Earthquake / Megahorn / Wild Charge

Iron Boulder @ Baseball Bat
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Mighty Cleave
- Zen Headbutt
- Close Combat / Megahorn / Earthquake / Wild Charge
- Swords Dance

Iron Boulder is pretty scary in theory thanks to how fast and strong it is for a Rock-type, but it'll still have a little bit of a tough time in Vapore. It gets Sucker Punched but Gambit and Cinderace, can't run all the coverage it needs to avoid getting walled by something common, gets easily revenged by Dragapult and Zamazenta, as well as Jolteon and Melo-P if it's weakened. It can definitely still be threatening, but it won't be super duper good

Set

Iron Crown @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 84 HP / 172 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tachyon Cutter
- Expanding Force
- Focus Blast
- Calm Mind

idk. Booster Energy sounds super funny on PsySpam, but I know it can do a lot more than that, idk what though.

Set

Terapagos @ Leftovers
Ability: Tera Shift
Tera Type: Stellar
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Tera Starstorm
- Flamethrower
- Rapid Spin / Surf
- Calm Mind

Mid incarnate without the option to Tera into its broken form. Also, if you're wondering, using Tera Shard with the Stellar Tera Type makes you basically typeless

A bunch of other quick thoughts

Sun has its favorite son back. Competes a lot with Lilligant-H as a Chlorophyll mon, though.
Still mostly bad, but Torrent makes Shell Smash sets quite a bit better
Rain's favorite son is also back, but it's mostly a worse Walking Wake so it's probably not getting seen at all unfortunately
I WILL use bad Tera Shard sets with Adaptability, mark my words.
Aside from all the hazard moves and maybe Snatch, we didn't really add anything broken for this to use.
Be glad that Ogerpon-W forces this thing to drop a move to run Air Slash because this thing kept Scald.
bad jolteon. cool that it kept scald tho
bad dragonite/gouging fire fusion
Good mon, but way too much Water and Ground competition to be OU
Cool mon, going straight to RU
just use ironpress garg
Very cool mon that would be very good if Dragapult didn't exist. Still perfectly usable, though
Despite having absolutely 0 coverage, it's still a pretty good disruptor with fast Glare, Contrary to deter Defog, and always threatening a sweep with some hax
Was initially gonna call it a bad Iron Treads with Swords Dance, but SD + that significantly higher Attack stat + being able to Mold Breaker EQ tf out of Magnezone actually gives this some sauce. Sandy Shocks is a much better sand abuser, though
Appreciates the lowered viability of Dark-types as a whole, but still probably mid
Walled by SO many things, Crab, Great Tusk, Shaymin, etc.
bad milotic with calm mind. even gets life dew
someone's gonna try to use this with big root right
Way harder to sweep with setup sets with Light Clay banned, plus it lost Rock Polish

Very excited to see how the roomtour tomorrow goes. Hope to see you there!

 

[Yoshiblaze]

Another week, another roomtour, this time with DLC2's additions!

Tour #9 - VaporeMons OU - Double Elimination - 8 Entrants
1st: HydreigonTheChild
2nd: Yoshiblaze
3rd: Orangesodapop
4th: SparkRolf

Usage Stats

Pokemon	Use	Usage %	Winrate %
Gholdengo	10	41.67%	60%
Ogerpon-Wellspring	8	33.33%	50%
Deoxys-Speed	7	29.17%	85.71%
Slowking-Galar	7	29.17%	28.57%
Shaymin	7	29.17%	28.57%
Heatran	6	25%	33.33%
Great Tusk	5	20.83%	60%
Kyurem	5	20.83%	40%
Walking Wake	4	16.67%	100%
Magnezone	4	16.67%	75%
Gouging Fire	4	16.67%	50%
Darkrai	4	16.67%	25%
Dragonite	3	12.50%	100%
Ceruledge	3	12.50%	100%
Landorus-Therian	3	12.50%	66.67%
Tauros-Paldea-Blaze	3	12.50%	66.67%
Ursaluna	3	12.50%	33.33%
Iron Hands	3	12.50%	33.33%
Cloyster	3	12.50%	33.33%
Corviknight	3	12.50%	33.33%
Swampert	3	12.50%	33.33%
Zoroark-Hisui	3	12.50%	33.33%
Kilowattrel	3	12.50%	33.33%
Iron Valiant	3	12.50%	33.33%
Iron Jugulis	3	12.50%	33.33%
Excadrill	3	12.50%	33.33%
Blaziken	2	8.33%	50%
Roaring Moon	2	8.33%	0%
Spidops	2	8.33%	0%
Revavroom-*	2	8.33%	0%
Diancie	2	8.33%	0%
Milotic	2	8.33%	0%
Metagross	2	8.33%	0%
Sceptile	2	8.33%	0%
Jolteon	1	4.17%	100%
Enamorus	1	4.17%	100%
Gliscor	1	4.17%	100%
Skeledirge	1	4.17%	100%
Ting-Lu	1	4.17%	100%
Zamazenta-*	1	4.17%	100%
Amoonguss	1	4.17%	100%
Sneasler	1	4.17%	100%
Meowscarada	1	4.17%	100%
Crabominable	1	4.17%	100%
Venusaur	1	4.17%	100%
Torkoal	1	4.17%	100%
Hatterene	1	4.17%	100%
Tornadus-Therian	1	4.17%	100%
Goodra-Hisui	1	4.17%	0%

Replays

The same bug that prevented replays from being uploaded last week appears to still exist, see the Discord for replay downloads

Some quick takeaways:
- Me when I call Deoxys-Speed "not that good at hazard setting" then proceed to lose to Deoxys Hazard Stack twice (i mean i only lost the second time because of a high roll but w/e, also now that i think about it that roll only mattered because rocks were up huh)
- In an seriousness, this tournament was a huge showcase for Deoxys-Speed, mainly the suicide lead set that just got hazard up and then they stayed up mostly through great offensive pressure for teammates, a classic formula for success. While Deoxys did benefit from no Wash Away users being used in the entire tournament, the more offensive metagame that we have post-DLC will still work wonders for Deoxys it seems
- I also found minor success with offensive Deoxys-Speed myself, though the set is expectedly not as powerful as the hazard setting one
- In terms of the unbanned mons, Gliscor only had 1 use, likely due to the more offensive nature of the metagame + Deoxys being the preferred Spiker for offensive teams, while Darkrai went a poultry 1 for 4
- Was pretty surprised to see Sun only make one appearance, in a very close win, but funnily enough Sun's two favorite abusers in Gouging Fire and Walking Wake had a bunch of uses by themselves
- The new Electroweb distribution made an appearance, with Kilowattrel being the preferred setter thanks to its great Speed. Webs only got 1 win in 3 tries, but Kilo on Webs should still be a major buff, especially since I can see Shelter becoming more common to handle SpikeStack teams since it can't be blocked, but Shelter famously doesn't remove Webs
- Rekindle and Justified continue to be 2 of the most hated elements in the mod right now. Just know that we in the council have noticed

That's all for now, see you in a little bit for the start of the DLC2 Distribution Slate!

 

[Orangesodapop]

I’ll admit it. I’m a Rekindle hater. I wake up every morning praying on its downfall, but I know it won’t happen. It’s a shame Rekindle can't miss, stealing the light from everyone else. My life is miserable, knowing the one thing I hate the most is better than me, and there’s nothing that I can do about it. But what can be done? I almost pity the fool, completely unaware it is the object of such scorn? But who would put out the fire in Plato’s cave? Who would show those men that the large, shadowed hand puppets on the wall were not animals but in fact, hand puppets. No. I would not collapse the bubble that he lies in, for I am not so cruel. Yet there is no thing that I despise more than Rekindle.

 

[Mintly]

...

i thin k its funny and we should keep it

anyways i want to talk about a pokemon ive been using lately and how its a literal hidden gem.

Diancite Diancie goes.. kind of nuts, actually? It can run Diamond Storm + Body Press, Calm Mind + Stored Power (Which with Diancite Shard Starts at 60 BP with a +1 SpA boost), It also has Accelerock for priority and Rollout for pivoting, and unlike Mega Diancie, Diancie does not lose their Defensive stats to gain an advantage. Did i mention it has Rebuild now?

 

[Yoshiblaze]

Before we get to the distribution slate, we had some council business to take of on everyone two favorite things right now: Rekindle and Justified.

Rekindle is a pretty ridiculous move on paper, having 3 great effects in 33% healing (with 10 PP), 12.5% constant healing thereafter, and a burn on the opponent if they attempt to switch out. These all combined to make it one of the most powerful moves introduced in VaporeMons, skyrocketing Tauros-Paldea-Blaze to OU status in combination with Raging Fury and Cud Chew. For awhile, the move was managed as it was only seen on Tauros and occasionally Volcarona, but nowadays more Fire-types like Delphox, Skeledirge, and Ceruledge have been utilizing it. The Pursuit-like burn effect has been a thorn in the side of much of the playerbase for awhile now, as, much like Pursuit, it puts a whole group of Pokemon in awful positions, either being forced to stay in against something they can't deal with or switch out and get burned, essentially being made useless. While Pursuit was powerful, Rekindle's ability to shut down a ton of physical attackers proved to be even more powerful, making it super annoying to deal with. Thus, after a council vote and then some discussion, we've decided to removed the Pursuit-like burn effect of Rekindle. Instead, on the turn Rekindle is used, attackers making contact with the user get burned. If this happens, the constant healing effect is removed. This still makes Rekindle a threatening "offensive defensive" tool to punish physical attackers with, but it's a lot easier to play around since you can just switch or hit in the Rekindle user with a non-contact move. Plus, even if you do get burned, you at least turn off the passive healing effect until they use Rekindle again.

Next is Justified. Justified granting a complete immunity to Dark-type moves was initially met with excitement, as giving Ceruledge and Iron Leaves as way to get around their Dark weakness and the ability making Corviknight a perfect counter to Kingambit and Roaring Moon were things that many liked on paper. However, the more time that's passed since the introduction of Justified to the metagame, the more and more it's drawn the ire of the playerbase. Knock Off is one of the most important moves in all of Pokemon due to its ubiquitous ability to make guaranteed progress. A highly viable defensive Pokemon being straight up immune to this makes it one of the most annoying Pokemon to try to take down, as Corv is easily able to wall almost every Dark-type in the tier while many of the Pokemon is already checked can't even hope to play the long game by Knocking it off early. Additionally, Justified's Dark immunity makes Ceruledge's defensive profile almost too good, making it quite easy to set up and threaten use damage into a lot of the metagame. Thus, in a unanimous vote, Justified will be changed to only reduce the damage of Dark-type moves by 50% instead of granting an immunity to them. The Attack boost will also still be present. This means that you can once again make progress into Corviknight or Ceruledge by Knocking them off, but it keeps the now-important defensive utility of Corviknight in a metagame with many scary Dark-types in Kingambit, Darkrai, Roaring Moon, and Iron Jugulis.

Lastly, upon suggestion from another council member, we held an impromptu quick quickban vote on Deoxys-Speed, whose insane hazard stacking ability was shown to great effect in the tournament earlier today. However, in a 2-2-1 vote, Deoxys-Speed will remain in the tier for now.

With that out of the way, the DLC2 Distribution Slate is now upon us!

This slate will work like the distribution slates of old in SylveMons and JolteMons, where everyone will give suggestions on what Pokemon should receive the new moves and abilities we've added to the game. Discussion can take place either here or on our Discord in the reopened #dlc-distrib-discussion channel. Everyone is free to give suggestions, but the council has the final say on what gets what.

As for what you're allowed to suggest, you will be discussing what new Pokemon added in the DLC should get the moves and abilities we've added to the game, which you can see on the spreadsheet here. We will not give out pre-existing moves and abilities to new Pokemon or anything to Pokemon that already existed. For the most part you should focus on flavor when suggesting things.

All New Pokémon

+ Archaludon, Hydrapple, Gouging Fire, Raging Bolt, Iron Boulder, Iron Crown, Terapagos, and Pecharunt

*Note that Pecharunt isn't released yet

This slate will last for a few days. See you then!