Wow, I can't believe Naganadel. Seems like that thing exists just to kill Mega Salamence with that speed (which is something I'm 100% fine with). Also can be useful to get Zard-X. It's also great for countering all those Tapus, especially Scarf Lele. Seems like this Pokemon will become an automatic staple.
I'm ready for Stakataka to be the next Nihilego. Everyone said that that was shit for a while too. Rock/Steel just seems to be an awful typing (4x weak to Earthquake lol) but with that defense, I don't know if it will always matter. A Trick Room set on that could be interesting, though I say that about everything.
While I'm not quite sure I'd go as far as saying that Stakataka will be as good as Nihilego ended up being, I agree that it may end up being a dark horse Pokemon in a similar style. As terrible of a typing Steel / Rock is, Stakataka has 2 key things seperating it from the usual shlock of this type: Plenty of offensive power, and access to Trick Room.
As some of you probably know, Trick Room is far more potent in Battle Spot Singles than other singles metagames, due to the faster pace of battles when you have half a team. Of the usable offensive Trick Roomers (Porygon2, Mimikyu, Chandelure, and Mega Slowbro), Stakataka has plenty of power compared to them thanks to its very powerful Gyro Ball, and is the only particularly powerful physical one (TR Mimikyu is great, but it can feel pretty lacking in power at times!).
While I think the secret to Stakataka will be using it offensively, I think it would be a shame to let its impressive Defense stat go unnoticed however. As terrible as Rock / Steel is, Stakataka is so physically bulky that surviving unstabbed Earthquakes is a very real possability in emergencies. For example, Mega Salamence has a less than 20% shot of OHKOing Stakataka with Earthquake and an Adamant Nature! I know some of us have been discussing a Lonely nature with a Defense IV of 16 to boost Attack as well. I can see this being a dangerous sweeper, but I'm not sure how much I'm going to like it just because there's a lot of cases where having a full Defense stat can make Stakataka survive some really crazy physical attacks. In fact, I'm even considering using this with Tapu Bulu support, which makes a lot of unstabbed Earthquakes into 3HKOs at best! I think TR Cresselia could work out fine as well thanks to Lunar Dance, and supporting a fellow offensive Trick Roomer is something Cresselia rarely gets the chance to pull off due to bad typing synergy with the likes of Mimikyu and Mega Slowbro!
cant say I know your skeptical, and the game isn't even out yet, but I'd actually consider adding a Stakataka set to the OP just because I think at worst, this thing can be a good niche pick on Trick Room teams. Here's the set I'd add personally:
Stakataka @ Life Orb / Rockium Z / Fightingium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave / Lonely
IVs: 16 Def for Lonely
-Trick Room
-Gyro Ball
-Rock Blast / Stone Edge
-Superpower / Earthquake
Anyways, some other stuff on my mind!
-Now that I've thought about Blacephalon some more: I really think a secondary Fire-type move should always be slashed in, now that we know that Mind Blown works more like Explosion than a normal recoil move lol.
-I think Calm Mind will probably be fine, but I'm interested in trying out Choice sets as well, just for the raw power. I think I may test some Sash sets with HP Rock as well to nail Charizards and Volcaronas a bit, not sure. Not using Mind Blown does seem like blasphemy, but I think Blacephalon has enough power to get away with using a pretty vanilla Focus Sash set.
-While Blacephalon may be the new hot Ghost / Fire, I don't think it actually outclasses Chandelure or Alolan Marowak. Chandelure still has Energy Ball which comes in handy versues Ghost-types, is a better Blaziken check due to Flash Fire, and Inflitrator can be a LIFE SAVER against a certain set of Substitute abusing Pokemon! And I somehow forgot this, but Blacephalon does not learn Trick Room, which plenty of Chandelure use. Alolan Marowak is a much more defensive approach, so its pretty much a different Pokemon :P
-Not much has changed on my thoughts about Naganadel: I think it's going to be a bloody brilliant Pokemon! Only interesting new thought I have is: I sorta want to try U-turn on it. Losing coverage honestly may not be worth it, but I like the idea of breaking Mimikyu disguises, since a fresh Mimikyu can still seriously threaten Naganadel, especially in lead situations. It also lets me get the hell away from Breloom, which sounds nice since I really don't want Naganadel to get Spored lol.
-Stupid as it sounds, me and
ThickFatAzumarill are sorta considering trying out Stealth Rock Dusk and Midday Lycanrock leads, mostly because Drill Run gives it OK coverage now. Plus, I really like Accelrock sniping some super annoying mons like Volcarona and the Charizard bros. Also, funny thing to note is that +2 Lycanrock actually OHKOs Celesteela with Splintered Stormshards, but that sounds pretty hard to set up tbh. Assuming its allowed, I think Dusk Lycanroc might be the better lead if only because it can deal some nice chip damage against SpD Celesteela with Tough Claws Fire Fang, but I do sorta like how Middday can mess with sand teams a bit by Drill Running Excadrill before it can land a hit, even though its... A bit weak to say the least!
-Life Orb Pheromosa sounds much cooler to me than before for one reason: as it turns out, LO Drill Run usually OHKOs Mega Gengar. Also nice for doing damage to Toxapex. You could hypothetically run Throat Chop if you're scared of Drill Run Missing or really need to hit Blacephalon, might be an ok alternative if Toxapex isn't a big issue. That being said, HP Ghost still has a home on specially offensive Pheromnosa for hitting Mimikyu. On the cool side, Pheromosa also gets Shock Wave now, so no more need for Hidden Power Electric lol.
-This is sorta stupid, but I noticed that Mimikyu gets Drain Punch now. I guess you could use Fightingium Z Mimikyu if you really hate Ferrothorn and Heatran huh... Hard to fit in though, would probably have to go over Shadow Claw.
-IDK if anyone notieed this, but Primarina and Tapu Fini get Icy Wind now. I don't think its a big deal on Primarina execept maybe for fash Sash sets, but I think this could be a cool option on offensive Tapu Fini, since it should be able to outspeed Tapu Koko if you REALLY invest in Speed. Sorta like what Suicune does with its AV set, except I think Tapu Fini is better off with a Z-move if it attempts that.