RicePigeon

Beats having to encounter Wifi noobs who use Ubers and OHKO moves.

In all honesty that one victory quote was completely uncalled for. This bordering on the whole fiasco that happened over at MFG when Jesuszilla added a "Special Fucks" section to his character's readmes.

Well with ORAS released, allow me to formally reintroduce you to the POTW thread. Like the X&Y version of this thread, the posts will go over a specific Pokemon each week, tell you how to use it, and even give example movesets. Things will be run a bit differently here, however; For starters, unlike the X&Y PotW thread, which had 1 Ubers Pokemon, one OU Pokemon, and one lower tier Pokemon each week (for a total of 3 Pokemon), there will now be strictly one Pokemon each week, with each tier alternating (in order from Ubers to OU to UU/RU/NU/PU) Since the ORAS Metagame is still relatively young, specific checks and counters and teammates will be kept to a minimum until further notice. List of Ubers & AG POTW Rayquaza & Mega Rayquaza (11/24/14) List of OU & BL POTW List of Lower Tier POTW With that in mind, let us begin with a Pokemon who received a new Mega Evolution and perhaps the most threatening one with power not seen since RBY Mewtwo; EDIT: Outdated. Please view the new PotW for Rayquaza Rayquaza & Mega Rayquaza Tier Status (Normal): Ubers Tier Status (Mega): AG Base Stats (Normal): 105 / 150 / 90 / 150 / 90 / 95 Base Stats (Mega): 105 / 180 / 100 / 180 / 100 / 115 Abilities (Normal): Air Lock: For as long as this Pokemon is on the field, negates the effect of all weathers. Abilities (Mega): Delta Stream: For as long as this Pokemon is on the field, the Strong Winds weather is in effect. Cannot be overwritten by other weathers and reduces the damage of the opponent's Rock, Electric, and Ice attacks by 50%. This weather disappears once the Pokemon is switched out. Contents Ubers & AG OverviewUbers & AG Checks & Counters Overview Rayquaza has always been an Ubers Pokemon ever since it was first introduced back in Gen 3. With the release of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Rayquaza became the second legendary Pokemon since Mewtwo to receive a Mega Evolution. What makes Mega Rayquaza much more threatening than other Mega Evolutions, however, is that the opportunity cost of having to hold a Mega stone does not exist for Rayquaza. Instead, Rayquaza merely needs to know Dragon Ascent in order to Mega Evolve, and can hold any item that it wants. This limited moveslot requirement is more of a positive than a negative, as Dragon Ascent gives Rayquaza a powerful base 120 power physical Flying type STAB attack, and there is virtually no reason not to run it as Flying is easily one of the most spammable attack types this generation. Combine this with Mega Rayquaza's massive 180 base attack and Special Attack, base 115 speed, and ability to hold any item and you have a monster with power not seen since Mewtwo in RBY. If this wasn't enough, Mega Rayquaza also gains access to the new Delta Stream ability, which not only blocks all incoming weather just like Air Lock, but also reduces the damage of any incoming attack that is super effective versus Flying by 50%. In other words, Mega Rayquaza loses its Rock-type weakness, gains an Electric-type resistance, and its crippling 4x Ice weakness is now only 2x. With all of these factors taken into account, Mega Rayquaza has no counters and very few checks. (UPDATE 11/29): Mega Rayquaza has been banned from Ubers effective Nov 29th. Normal Rayquaza may still be substituted for any instance of its Mega, but for all intents and purposes, this PotW now contains outdated information. AG Singles Moveset: Mega Sweeper Ability: Air Lock (Delta Stream) / Item: @Life Orb, Lum Berry, or Weakness Policy Nature: Adamant or Jolly w/ EVs: 252 Attack / 4 Defense / 252 Speed Moves: Dragon Ascent / Earthquake / ExtremeSpeed / Dragon Dance or Swords Dance Tips: Dragon Ascent, despite its name, grants Mega Rayquaza a powerful Flying-type equivalent of Close Combat. Earthquake nails many of the Steel type Pokemon that resist Dragon Ascent, such as Aegislash. Extremespeed allows Mega Rayquaza to outspeed Priority users and faster Pokemon that could otherwise check Mega Rayquaza. The last move is dedicated to a boosting move of choice. Dragon Dance boosts both speed and attack and allows Mega Rayquaza a way to outspeed faster Pokemon without having to rely on Extremespeed, while Swords Dance provides it with more immediate attacking power. While it may make sense to give Mega Rayquaza Dragon Claw or Outrage as a Dragon-type STAB, Dragon provides redundant coverage with Flying. The given EV spread maximizes Mega Rayquaza's attack and speed. For the item, Life Orb provides even more brutal attacking power, while Lum Berry allows Mega Rayquaza to laugh at attempts to burn or paralyze it to stop its sweep. Weakness policy, however, takes advantage of the fact that Mega Rayquaza has very few type weaknesses and is bulky enough to sponge most of them, and makes it even more threatening afterwards. AG Singles Moveset: Mega All Out Attacker Ability: Air Lock (Delta Stream) / Item: @Life Orb, Choice Scarf, or Choice Band Nature: Adamant or Naughty w/ EVs: 252 Attack / 4 Defense / 252 Speed Moves: Dragon Ascent / Earthquake / Draco Meteor or ExtremeSpeed / V-create or Overheat Tips: Dragon Ascent, despite its name, grants Mega Rayquaza a powerful Flying-type equivalent of Close Combat. Earthquake nails many of the Steel type Pokemon that resist Dragon Ascent, such as Aegislash. For the third slot, Draco Meteor provides a powerful special Dragon STAB that hits any physically defensive Pokemon that try to tank Mega Rayquaza's physical attacks. Extremespeed, however, allows Mega Rayquaza to outspeed Priority users and faster Pokemon that could otherwise check Mega Rayquaza. The last move is dedicated to Fire type coverage. V-Create is a powerful 180 base physical Fire move that hits extremely hard with Choice Band or Life Orb, but usually forces Mega Rayquaza to switch out afterward. Overheat, however, is a weaker special equivalent that hits physically defensive Pokemon harder. The given EV spread maximizes Mega Rayquaza's attack and speed. For nature, Naughty should only be used if running Draco Meteor or Overheat, as it does not drop Rayquaza's Special Attack unlike Adamant. For the item, Life Orb provides brutal mixed attacking power. Choice Scarf can be used to play the role of a revenge killer, especially if running Draco Meteor over Extremespeed. Choice Band, however, provides maximum wallbreaking power, but should only be used if running Extremespeed and V-Create in the last two slots. Recommended Teammates: Primal Groudon (Immune to Burn and Thunder Wave, can set up Stealth Rock) Jirachi (Provides Healing Wish support, can provide safe switch-ins with U-turn) AG Checks and Counters to Mega Rayquaza Stealth Rock Mega Aerodactyl (Immune to Earthquake, resists Dragon Ascent and Extremespeed) Klefki (Paralyzes with priority Thunderwave, resists Extremespeed and Dragon Ascent, is KOed by Earthquake, Overheat, and V-Create) Dialga (Resists Dragon Ascent and Extremespeed, Air Balloon variants avoid KO from Earthquake, takes neutral damage from Dragon and Fire attacks) Ditto (Can revenge kill boosted Mega Rayquaza) Arceus-Fairy (Outspeeds and OHKOs with Judgement, is 2HKOed by +2 Extremespeed, has 50% chance of being OHKOed by +1 Dragon Ascent) Lugia (Tanks hits, wins 1v1 with Reflect, can Whirlwind Mega Rayquaza out, also checks Primal Groudon)

So with ORAS, Smogon just unbanned a bunch of Pokemon from UU:

VGC typically bans Pokemon transferred over from previous generation games so its not like it matters. The only way you're going to be seeing Heatran in VGC this year is if it was caught in ORAS, in which case it won't be running Eruption.

http://ricepigeon.webs.com Changelog: Lie Meiling:

For competitive purposes if it exists, then its available, even if its limited. And its not like the GTS doesnt exist. Just because its a gen 3 remake doesnt mean were limited to Gen 3 trade mechanics. :p

It wants Overheat or V-Create so it can fuck over the steel types that give it problems, like Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Scizor, and Dialga.

Good luck outspeeding it with that 110 base speed versus MegaRayray's 115

252 SpA Mega Mewtwo Y Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Delta Stream Mega Rayquaza: 266-314 (75.7 - 89.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Extreme Speed vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Mewtwo Y: 213-252 (60.1 - 71.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock 252+ Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Mewtwo Y: 480-565 (135.5 - 159.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO Unless youve got Stealth Rock up, Good luck with that. And god forbid if its running Weakness Policy.

Smogon just posted an announcement that they are considering a quickban on Mega Salamence from OU. The announcement is as follows: If the quickban goes through, this means that Mega Salamence will be banned from OU immediately, without the usual suspect tests that are usually done when determining if a Pokemon should be banned. Quickbans are reserved for Pokemon that are unquestionably broken and detrimental, as we saw with Mega Kangashan in X&Y. Source: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/mega-salamence-considering-a-quick-ban.3522637/

With the new revelations regarding Mega Rayquaza's ability to hold any items, Mega Rayray now gets his own rank until Smogon gives him an official viability rank.

Rayquaza has never dropped down to OU and with a Mega like that, there's no chance in hell it ever will.

So apparently...

Some new food for thought, seeing as I already teased it in the OP: Mega Articuno Normal base stats: 90 / 85 / 100 / 95 / 125 / 85 Mega base stats: 90 / 65 / 130 / 145 / 155 / 95 Ability: Pressure -> Snow Warning Articuno's Pokedex entry always stated that it had the ability to create Blizzards, and its receipt of Snow Warning in its Mega Evolution reflects this. Of the three Legendary birds, Articuno was always defensively inclined, yet Ice has always been regarded as a poor defensive type. With a 50 base point increase to its Sp.Attack, Articuno can now provide much more offensive presence while still having the base Defense and Sp.Defense to stomach attacks. Moreover, the fact that Articuno gains roost gives it a big advantage over other Pokemon with its Sp.Defense such as Goodra. Sample moveset: Ability: Pressure (Snow Warning) / Item: @Articunite Nature (Fast Tank): Timid w/ EVs: 252 HP / 4 Sp.Defense / 252 Speed Nature (Special Wall): Calm w/ EVs: 252 HP / 4 Sp.Attack / 252 Sp.Defense Nature (Mixed Wall): Bold w/ EVs: 252 HP / 176 Defense / 80 Sp.Defense Moves: Blizzard / Freeze Dry / Roost / Substitute, Toxic, or Hurricane Blizzard gaining 100% accuracy during Hail is a big boon, especially backed by Articuno's newfound 145 base Sp.Attack and STAB. The above spread allows it to check Gunk Shot Greninja, a dangerous S rank threat in ORAS, as none of Greninja's moves can 2HKO while Mega Articuno OHKOs in return: 40 Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Articuno: 134-160 (34.8 - 41.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO 212 SpA Life Orb Protean Greninja Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Articuno: 143-172 (37.2 - 44.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO 0 SpA Mega Articuno Freeze Dry vs. 4 HP / 0- SpD Greninja: 306-362 (106.9 - 126.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO The combination of STAB Blizzard and Freeze Dry allow it to deal nice damage to anything that doesnt resist it, and can even deal a chunk to Mega Slowbro before it can Calm Mind up: 0 SpA Articuno Freeze Dry vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Slowbro: 192-228 (48.7 - 57.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and hail damage If one decides to invest towards Sp.Defense instead of Speed, MegaCuno can also comfortably take a hit from Latios and Keldeo: 252 SpA Life Orb Latios Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Mega Articuno: 160-188 (41.6 - 48.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO 252 SpA Life Orb Latios Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Mega Articuno: 148-177 (38.5 - 46%) -- guaranteed 3HKO 252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Articuno: 166-196 (43.2 - 51%) -- 4.3% chance to 2HKO 252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Articuno: 154-183 (40.1 - 47.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO A 252/252 HP/SpDef spread is still 2HKOed by Thundurus-Incarnate, but even with no investment, MegaCuno can OHKO back: 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Mega Articuno: 218-257 (56.7 - 66.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 0 SpA Articuno Blizzard vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Thundurus: 392-464 (131.1 - 155.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

readded Noob

Updated OU section with icons of the new Megas ripped by hackers who got their hands on the game early

Thats Doubles. Singles is a different story. Mega Gengar is broken in Singles OU, but Shadow Tag is not.

Assuming you get those Pokemon in. No smart Mega Gengar player is going to bring it in against something that can escape it. You're going to be bringing Mega Gengar on something that it can easy KO. In Ubers, these are basically your Fairy types. Mega Gengar doesn't sweep teams. It purpose is to remove the things that prevent your other Pokemon from sweeping.

The Swords Dance wallbreaker set isnt dead weight against Offense, either, since it can outspeed and KO Thundurus with Tough Claws boosted Aqua Jet: +2 252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Feraligatr Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Thundurus: 274-324 (91.6 - 108.3%) -- 50% chance to OHKO It loses to Greninja carrying Grass Knot, but 2HKOs with +2 Aqua Jet otherwise: +2 252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Feraligatr Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 143-168 (50.1 - 58.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock Landorus-Therian and Talonflame can't revenge kill as both are OHKOed by AJ and Choice Band Brave Bird only does 66.8% max: 252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Feraligatr: 177-208 (56.9 - 66.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock Mixed Mega Metagross with Grass Knot cannot OHKO while +1 Crunch does: 0 SpA Tough Claws Mega Metagross Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Feraligatr: 144-170 (46.3 - 54.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock +1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Feraligatr Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Metagross: 290-342 (96.3 - 113.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

With ORAS coming in 3 days, many of the information in these POTWs will be outdated. With that in mind, no more PotW articles will be done until after ORAS is released (and Mega Salamence inevitably banned from Singles OU) and the metagame settles to a more stable condition. This thread will remain open for discussion, but ORAS POTW will have its own thread opened.

If Shadow Tag was a bad ability, it wouldn't have gotten a suspect test to begin with. The question during the whole thing was "Is Mega Gengar too good for even Ubers to handle?". The idea was that Shadow Tag allows Mega Gengar to reliably trap and kill any Pokemon, as it was perhaps the best user of it (Wobbuffet is passive and Gothitelle struggles against offensive teams). It removes the switching element from your opponent, and could potentially allow an unskilled player to beat a much higher skilled battler with minimal effort. This is why Mega Gengar was banned from Singles OU, and why Shadow Tag was banned from all tiers below OU (Wobbuffet is garbage in Singles OU and Gothitelle, as previously mentioned, excels against Stall but is dead weight against Offense). Keep in mind that this only applies to Singles. Doubles is a different beast altogether and neither Mega Gengar nor Shadow Tag are broken in Doubles.

The result of Smogon's ongoing Shadow Tag suspect test in Ubers has come to a close: Initially, the results of the voting caused Smogon to announce that Shadow Tag would be banned from Ubers effective immediately, However, after some controversy arose among the staff as to how the voting was handled, this decision was ultimately overturned. To reiterate: Shadow Tag is NOT BANNED from Ubers. The following statement was also issued by Smogon's staff: Source: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/ubers-suspect-testing-aftermath.3522364/

And even if there was, why would I take a bus from Tuscon to Vegas just to see Penn & Teller when I can just take a plane? :P

Darkwolf's Mega Feraligatr is actually a pretty decent example of the kind of posts I'm looking for in this thread (though I wouldn't use Jolteon in the argument unless you're trying to vouch for Mega Feraligatr for RU). Also while not required, sample Movesets would help. Should be noted that with only base 98 speed, it will outspeed Scarf Landorus-Therian after a Dragon Dance boost and OHKO with Waterfall, even with the Intimidate drop, so it can't be revenge killed that way. Defensive Landorus-Therians are OHKOed with Ice Fang and OHKOed by Waterfall after Stealth Rock and a bit of prior damage: 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Feraligatr Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-T: 290-344 (75.9 - 90%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock Keldeo can outspeed, but Secret Sword is a 3HKO at best, while +1 Waterfall can 2HKO with Stealth Rocks up: 252 SpA Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Feraligatr: 103-123 (32.3 - 38.6%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO +1 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Feraligatr Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 153-181 (47.3 - 56%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock It also OHKOs Latios with Ice Punch at +1, while Scarf Latios can't OHKO with Draco Meteor unless it has Life Orb and Stealth Rocks are up: 252 SpA Life Orb Latios Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Feraligatr: 250-294 (80.3 - 94.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock Also Dragon Dance isnt the only thing it can do. It can also wallbreak with Swords Dance, and can even muscle past Mega Slowbro in ORAS: +2 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Feraligatr Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Slowbro: 236-278 (59.8 - 70.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock