AAA Almost Any Ability

While I liked the TR challenge, this one is, in my opinion, and sorry for my wording, dumb.
The problem is that there's exactly one way to lure Magearna in this meta: Switching in a mon that is checked by Magearna and then pivoing to a strong Magnet Pull user with either Ground or Fire STAB to OHKO it.

Mons that Magearna commonly switches in are:
  • Alakazam
  • Gengar
  • Latis
  • Noivern
  • opposing Magearna
  • some Kokos, depending on their sets, but even banded Galvanize Return fails to OHKO
  • some Xurkitrees
  • (other weaker special attackers)
All of them lack options to kill Magearna, because they either lack Fire/Ground coverage moves except Hidden Powder or lack the power to do enough damage. Noivern for example gets Heat Wave as its strongest Fire-type move, but fails to do significant damage to Magearna with both Specs and Firium Z. Tapu Koko also fails to kill Magearna with banded Galvanize Return, when it switches in expecting a Pixilate set.

252 Atk Choice Band Galvanize Tapu Koko Return vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Magearna: 219-258 (60.1 - 70.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Noivern Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna: 134-158 (36.8 - 43.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Noivern Inferno Overdrive (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna: 164-194 (45 - 53.2%) -- 35.5% chance to 2HKO


Even when Noivern has Sheer Force to further boost its damage output and Sun is active, it it fails to OHKO the Mechanical Marvel:
252 SpA Choice Specs Sheer Force Noivern Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna in Sun: 238-282 (65.3 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

If we add Tinted Lens to Latios to ignore Magearna's resistance to its Psychic STAB and use a second mon to set up Psychic Terrain, it fails to severely threaten it:
252 SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Magearna in Psychic Terrain: 236-278 (64.8 - 76.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Even when Magearna takes a huge hit like the ones mentioned, it simply can switch out to regenerate its health, and an appropriate check can come in. Also, Magearna can Volt Switch out of Magnet Pull trappers that fail to kill her, which would be the case for stuff like Magnet Pull Noivern. This also leads to the fact that a successful Magearna lure must be capable of OHKOing it, otherwise it simply fails to do its job. The only attackers strong enough to one-shot Magearnas are strong physical Ground or Fire STAB users like Victini, Entei, Excadrill, Landorus... with Ground-types having the advantage of being immune to Volt Switch, so that they gain more potential switch-in options; however they have to watch out for Ice Beam and, in case of Excadrill, Aura Spere.

Also the "lures" mentioned here both fail to do their job:
  • Groundium Z Weavile fails to OHKO Magearna with a little bit of physical investment (which also helps to tank Psyshock better):
    252+ Atk Weavile Tectonic Rage (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Magearna: 288-340 (79.1 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    Also, Magearna usually doesn't want to switch into Weavile in fear of losing its Assault Vest to Knock Off, so that it doesn't really is a lure.
  • Volt Absorb Heatran also is not a lure, as Magearna shouldn't stay in against Heatran or even switch into it. Volt Switching out is far too risky, not only because of Volt Absorb, but also because Fire STABs coming from 130 base SpA hurt a lot. However, it is a nice gimmick to stop the likes of Koko or Xurkitree. Especially when the ability is revealed early, like when Heatran switches into Magearna's Volt Switch, I know what that Heatran wants to do and definitely switch out to a Chansey or other mon that checks Heatran.
So, in fact, the only way to successful lure Magearna is using exactly what is tagged as "lame" by the initiator, Laxpras: Pivoting to a Magnet Pull Entei, Victini, whatever...
 
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While I liked the TR challenge, this one is, in my opinion, and sorry for my wording, dumb.
The problem is that there's exactly one way to lure Magearna in this meta: Switching in a mon that is checked by Magearna and then pivoing to a strong Magnet Pull user with either Ground or Fire STAB to OHKO it.

Mons that Magearna commonly switches in are:
  • Alakazam
  • Gengar
  • Latis
  • Noivern
  • opposing Magearna
  • some Kokos, depending on their sets, but even banded Galvanize Return fails to OHKO
  • some Xurkitrees
  • (other weaker special attackers)
All of them lack options to kill Magearna, because they either lack Fire/Ground coverage moves except Hidden Powder or lack the power to do enough damage. Noivern for example gets Heat Wave as its strongest Fire-type move, but fails to do significant damage to Magearna with both Specs and Firium Z. Tapu Koko also fails to kill Magearna with banded Galvanize Return, when it switches in expecting a Pixilate set.

252 Atk Choice Band Galvanize Tapu Koko Return vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Magearna: 219-258 (60.1 - 70.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Noivern Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna: 134-158 (36.8 - 43.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Noivern Inferno Overdrive (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna: 164-194 (45 - 53.2%) -- 35.5% chance to 2HKO


Even when Noivern has Sheer Force to further boost its damage output and Sun is active, it it fails to OHKO the Mechanical Marvel:
252 SpA Choice Specs Sheer Force Noivern Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna in Sun: 238-282 (65.3 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

If we add Tinted Lens to Latios to ignore Magearna's resistance to its Psychic STAB and use a second mon to set up Psychic Terrain, it fails to severely threaten it:
252 SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Magearna in Psychic Terrain: 236-278 (64.8 - 76.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Even when Magearna takes a huge hit like the ones mentioned, it simply can switch out to regenerate its health, and an appropriate check can come in. Also, Magearna can Volt Switch out of Magnet Pull trappers that fail to kill her, which would be the case for stuff like Magnet Pull Noivern. This also leads to the fact that a successful Magearna lure must be capable of OHKOing it, otherwise it simply fails to do its job. The only attackers strong enough to one-shot Magearnas are strong physical Ground or Fire STAB users like Victini, Entei, Excadrill, Landorus... with Ground-types having the advantage of being immune to Volt Switch, so that they gain more potential switch-in options; however they have to watch out for Ice Beam and, in case of Excadrill, Aura Spere.

Also the "lures" mentioned here both fail to do their job:
  • Groundium Z Weavile fails to OHKO Magearna with a little bit of physical investment (which also helps to tank Psyshock better):
    252+ Atk Weavile Tectonic Rage (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Magearna: 288-340 (79.1 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    Also, Magearna usually doesn't want to switch into Weavile in fear of losing its Assault Vest to Knock Off, so that it doesn't really is a lure.
  • Volt Absorb Heatran also is not a lure, as Magearna shouldn't stay in against Heatran or even switch into it. Volt Switching out is far too risky, not only because of Volt Absorb, but also because Fire STABs coming from 130 base SpA hurt a lot. However, it is a nice gimmick to stop the likes of Koko or Xurkitree. Especially when the ability is revealed early, like when Heatran switches into Magearna's Volt Switch, I know what that Heatran wants to do and definitely switch out to a Chansey or other mon that checks Heatran.
So, in fact, the only way to successful lure Magearna is using exactly what is tagged as "lame" by the initiator, Laxpras: Pivoting to a Magnet Pull Entei, Victini, whatever...
I mean, I think this entire ladder challenge is misguided, but this post is even more so. To give an example, just yesterday on ladder my magearna was lured and Koed by volt absorb mantine with whirlpook; I tried and failed to volt switch out, it trapped and koed me with a combination of whirlpool damage and direct attacking. I still won the match because even without magearna my team just sorta beat theirs, but there are other options. Weavile can just chip magearna even in the unlikely situation that they run that specific bad set, either when magearna switches in or via spikes or via rocks and uturn or whatever you want, while gengar can mean look on the switch and then skill swap normalize; both of these will beat pretty much any magearna that doesnt see it coming and some that do. The problem here is you, not the task at hand.
 
That's a bad example, you could have easily seen the Volt Absorb coming. Almost all Mantines and Gyaradosses I have seen so far on the ladder had an ability that made them immune to electric which they're usually quad-weak to, namely Volt Absorb and Motor Drive.

Still, I won't switch Magearna into Weavile due to Knock off. Only exception is when I know I don't need my Assault Vest anymore. Also, there are better answers to Weavile than Magearna, like Thicc Fat Skarmory or even Zapdos; the latter also checks Lens Victini.

Hazards can be removed or prevented from being set with proper play.

Yes, I forgot about Skill Swap Mean Loook, I have never seen such a set during my time on the AAA ladder. It may work, but it only works when Magearna is hit by Mean Look on the switch, otherwise it fails.
 
That's a bad example, you could have easily seen the Volt Absorb coming. Almost all Mantines and Gyaradosses I have seen so far on the ladder had an ability that made them immune to electric which they're usually quad-weak to, namely Volt Absorb and Motor Drive.

Still, I won't switch Magearna into Weavile due to Knock off. Only exception is when I know I don't need my Assault Vest anymore. Also, there are better answers to Weavile than Magearna, like Thicc Fat Skarmory or even Zapdos; the latter also checks Lens Victini.

Hazards can be removed or prevented from being set with proper play.

Yes, I forgot about Skill Swap Mean Loook, I have never seen such a set during my time on the AAA ladder. It may work, but it only works when Magearna is hit by Mean Look on the switch, otherwise it fails.
Yes, I could have seen the volt absorb coming. It wasnt the only option though, especially considering that a) this is ladder and b) there are plenty of other abilities that mantine finds useful, such as bounce. It shoulf also be a harmless scout, as then you know how you can pivot in the future and whether you can use bolt strike to bop it for the low price fo a 30% chance of a burn. When whirpool was added, that safe move became a sack.

Magearna switching into weavile is irrelevant. Even leaving aside how your particular 120 def setis both bad and irrelevant, magearna isnt always going to be at full; regen isnt that strong. If you run any of these betetr weavile answers, you restrict yourself to one playstyle (stall/semistall), which is totally out of proportion. In addition, this also lessens magearna's use, as half the things it checks best are now meaningless as you wont use it to check them. In affect, you now do far worse against almost every team in exchange for a small advantage against lures.

Hazards can be removed, but that's a guarentee. If you not losing relies on hazards never being up for more than a turn your counterplay had better be immaculate; dual defog ata minimum, and probably triple or a spinner longside bouncers if you want any real odds. This, alongside the pressure of having to run other checks, is an enormous pressure and restriction on teambuilding, all for the dubious honor of not losing to groundium weavile. I mean, you do you I guess; I'm not going to turn down free wins every game I bring fini+mamo / insert stallbreaking core of choice.
 
Right so, I thought id give this teambuilding challenge a try, and actually build a pretty fun team to use. The mag lure is actually two-fold, its vabsorb skarm and vabsorb perish trap azu. Now you may be wondering: why on earth do you have 2 vabsorb mons? so ill explain. Basically my thought process was that azu is always a perish trap set, it used to be amazing last gen but has since died this gen which is why im trying to bring it back. Although its usually ph, with vabsorb it can trapkill magearna with ease, the trick is just baiting it into volt switching. So, heres where skarm comes in. Skarm switches into mag the first time around, revealing vabsorb. It then gets rocks up while the mag just switches out. The next time mag comes in, its gonna expect skarm, so it goes for like the ice beam or something, but this time i go into azu. They wouldnt expect 2 vabsorb mons on one team so they volt switch, and you whirlpool and goodbye mag. Alternatively, you just use azu, as its a good mag lure in itself, due to the fact that ph is more common, and people think they can just vswitch with mag while bypassing the perish trap.

So yeah that was my initial idea, and ill admit even I know its incredibly situational, however after building the team fully, ive found the dual vabsorb core to work surprisingly well. Vabsorb skarm checks all xurks, which can be a massive threat to the team. Furthermore, its quite uncommon, so you can easily bluff flash fire and get like rocks up or something. As for azu, its actually amazing. Because the meta has shifted so much from perish trap azu winning games on mu this gen, its incredibly unprepared for. This monster destroys balance, so many teams just have no answer to it aside from toxicing it (which is when i really miss ph on it, but alas its a mag-destroying set.) Its also great for victini, cos you can bluff flash fire, and happily snack on a bolt strike while brave birding it, or just switch directly into azu and whirlpool something for free. And its not just me theorising it, i played like 30 ladder matches with this team, and this happened multiple times.

So with the intro out of the way, imma get into the rest of the team:

Azumarill @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlpool
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Encore

Core of the challenge, pretty self explanatory perish trap set. encore is really useful, as a lot of stuff love to setup on azu, or like set hazards or something, so you can predict that and bop them. Worth noting, you dont always need to go through the skarm then azu routine, because azu itself is a pretty good magearna lure (see replays below), as its always psong, and some ppl might think that their magearna can just vswitch outa there.

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

Skarm: Probably the most controversial mon on the team, however it was my initial idea and i was determined to try and make it work out. I actually quite like it tbh. As for the actual set, well i was on the fence here. (spoilers ;P) I dont have a defogger on the team, so I was a bit hesitant running rocks over defog tbh, and defog is probs a more sensible choice, or perhaps I shoulda included a separate defogger. I just felt that rocks are so important in aaa mostly, with stuff. My team actually doesnt really struggle with rocks, but spikes are a hellish mu, so potentially this or another defogger. Also, im sure flash fire is an alternative, however I really liked skarm for the xurk mu tbh.

Gengar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Trick

Gengar: Now here comes my favorite part. This is the second half of this challenge, aka the mon that benefits hugely from the removal of magearna. With mag gone, practically nothing switches into this monster, Specs adapt hits like truck, and the speed tier is pretty great too. rocks + this is just amazing ngl, and trick is great for the stall mu too cos u can like trick chansey a scarf, and then azu will body. I had a lot of fun with this set ngl, almost always gets 1-2 kills minimum which is fantastic. Its just the fact that literally noone expects this set tbh, they usually expect like no guard or something, so when they switch in what they believe to be a wall, and get absolutely bopped af.... well its quite amusing ngl lol.


Tapu Koko @ Choice Band
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- U-turn
- Wild Charge
- Brave Bird

Koko: I figured it would only be right to add a physical attacker which benefits hugely from magearna's removal too, which in this case is koko. Band pixie hits amazingly hard on anything neutral and obviously on anything se. Mag, tran, skarm and ferro are the most common switchins to koko, and skarm only if its vabsorb, or uve already revealed pixie. Wanna know the common thing between them? Well once magearna is gone, all the remaining mons get bopped af by gengar, which means usually if they still have one of these remaining mons, you just uturn on the switch, and reapply pressure. Alternatively, if a tran switches in and ur worried about focus missing, you can always go azu and trap kill something. Aside from resists, this thing melts through so much, and boasts an incredible speed tier. It serves are a really great wincon late game, as well as a great early-game lead cos uturn. The ability to outspeed weavile is pretty massive, as weavile is probably one of the biggest threats to the team. One thing, is that I am actually considering swapping out koko for potentially like mega-zam myself, or some other special attacker, as I really dislike how physical this team is barring gar, its the one issue I have. And while koko is fantastic, I feel like mega-zam potentially benefits even more from the lack of magearna.


Zygarde @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 56 Def / 188 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Coil
- Glare
- Thousand Arrows

Zygarde: This is the only set I am a bit mixed about tbh. I liked the look of zyg on this team. Its a fairly good victini switchin, barring a tinted set, and with glare, it really supports gengar and koko, crippling the really speedy ones and allowing gengar and koko to sweep without fear. I was on the fence with sub tho. I liked the sound of subcoil glare ph, however the lack of protect can be really annoying. sub is great on ph, especially when paired with protect, but unfortunately i didnt have the space to fit both because glare and tarrows were critical, and without coil sub is fairly pointless. I was also considering mbounce, but I thought I would give this a try, and so far it hasnt dissapointed me much. One big thing that glare has been useful for is mega zam. Mega zam tears through this team, however if you can get a glare off (zyg lives a hit) ur in a much much better position, as now gengar as well as koko bop it.


Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Rock Slide
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam

Honestly underrated af. Its by no means the best regenvester, mostly due to no pivot move, but honestly its sick. It hardwalls stuff like volc which is great, while also walling xurk. It is one of only 2 mons on this team that can take down m-zam, which is byfar the biggest threat to the team by a country mile, which is why it has outrage in case ur wondering, but more on mzam in the threatlist later. Outrage is for stuff like zam which u need to damage, eq for stuff like tran, ice beam for zyg so it doesnt setup on u, and more importantly noivern cos u would usually switch out vs zyg. Finally, rock slide is to bop volcarona into the next century.
So yeah thats the team, ill add an importable below, along with some fantastic replays which really show the team working exactly how I wanted it too. It is by no means perfect, in fact far from it, but I tried to really go for something outside the box, because its so lame to just use a mag-pull mon imo, and even just like z-move coverage although that can be pretty heat tbf. It matches up really well vs bulky balance and some stall, although hazard spam is p much a wrap from preview. It also handles weather offense quite well, because goodra usually easily tanks special hits from like volc and bops with quake, while zyg can tank hits too and glare, crippling the mon. Mega zam is practically impossible to win against if its a decent player with a good team, because u just sack so much to it during the initial psyterrain, without a guaranteed way of killing it (ill elaborate a bit more in threatlist). Weavile is also a fairly tough mu, but if you play well with koko its not as unwinnable. Aside from those 2, the only other offensive mon that poses a serious threat is like tinted victini, scarf and band. Its hard to tell which one, and you cant like risk ur koko, so it usually gets 1-2 kills.

Also, a critique ive faced for the team, is that its more of a one-use team, which I can accept. However, I feel like most teams built for this challenge will be, because quite simply lures are meant to be a one-off. You dont usually fall for the same lure again after all, at the very least it will be a 50/50. So while I accept that yes the team wont work as brilliantly the second time around, I feel like that will hold true for anything built for these challenges. The task was to build around an innovative magearna lure (which I did), that also is useful outside of the one situation (which it is, proven by the replays against teams without even mag), with other mons that really benefit from the absence of mag (specs gar especially and also koko melt through without mag.) So like yes, odds are if you face the same person twice, they wont fall for the same lure again, and u will have to actually win some 50/50's in order to win, but I think thats just a given with the nature of this challenge.
Common threats/matchups that this team deals with really well:
  • volcarona holds a bit of personal bias to me as a massive threat, as despite prepping extensively specifically for it, i still got bopped by it (screw you Megazard ;P) in ompl. However, this team I can say with certainty has no qualms with it purely cos of the underrated beast that is goodra. Rock slide KO's, and it eats literally any hit, without any spd investment even.
  • xurkitree- probs one of the most terrifying mons in the meta if u arent prepared for it. Luckily, skarm walls most variants. So long as it isnt tail glow + hp ice, skarm is walling it af, and if it is, then just whirlwind on the tail glow lol. And even if that doesnt work cos u decidded to rocks up instead, goodra still eats a hit and should take it out with quake or just dtail it out.
  • most stall- azu really has a field day here, especially when paired with gar. Azu traps like the chansey and mag, and gar literally cleans from here. alternatively, you can utilise trick on gar to cripple a mon, and then clean with azu and koko. Either way its a pretty great mu vs stall.
  • weather offense- weather is actually a great mu, goodra walls literally all the special weather/terrain atackers, while zyg tanks a hit from the physical ones and glares them, crippling them.
Threatlist:
  • Mega-Zam- massive massive threat, literally nothing switches into it. Goodra gets 2kho'd by psyshock, same with zyg, gengar and koko and azu and skarm all die to either psyshock or focus blast. The only way u beat this, is by sacking something, and like glaring with zygarde, which tbf will work. But like if zygarde is weak, and cant take a hit, ur screwed.
  • Weavile- Weavile is a massive threat, due to me not having a reliable ice switchin aside from azu, which isnt the most bulky of mons. Fini would greatly improve this mu, a point I bring up below. However the biggest issue concerning weavile is its ability to pursuit kill gengar, as gengar is my main offensive presence. Koko does outspeed it and force it out, so if your opponent doesnt have a fairy switchin once mag dies, well you should be sorted.
  • Tinted lens victini- the main problem with this mon, is you cant tell which variant it is. The tinted lens variants are really bad for this team, as not a lot switches in tbh. I do have a replay vs a band tini down below, which I did infact win, but it tore through my team early on, and I had to rely on some rolls to pull through that one. One thing that does help is that you can a lot of the time bluff flash fire skarm p well, and get rocks up, which can thus limit the amount of further times tini can come in.
  • Mamoswine- similar to weavile here. On the one hand, it doesnt boast the same speed tier, and cant trap gar. On the other hand, once again nothing switches into it. Mixed adapt swine 2kho's my entire team. If gengar is healthy, it doesnt fear swine as ice shard doesnt ko from full, and koko same as both can okho swine. However, if either of those 2 are too low, well ur stuck LO roost stalling it with skarm, praying for no freeze or crit, which isnt ideal. Fini once again could help this mu, which is why its listed below, and why I have some variants of the team with fini instead.
  • Speedy HO in general with multiple of the above listed mons- yeah this is a click x kinda mu, and tbh given the nature of this challenge I think its expected to have some terrible matchups. The team handles stall brilliantly, balance fairly well, and offence lacking the above listed mons fairly well too, however speedy HO is really tough.
Possible alternatives:
  • Fini over azu: Quantum Tesseract brought this up to me, and there is definitely a substantial ring of truth to it. Fini has the same typing, better defensive stats, and potentially even more versatility, as it can run the vabsorb set, with whirlpool, as well as natures madness, and taunt. The one thing is that it doesnt trapkill like mbounce users like chansey and zyg, which azu does, and tbh I wanted to use azu especially cos it really has kinda been shunned this gen and i wanted to give it a chance to shine. I did however make an alternative team with fini, which you can find below. Fini certainly helps a great deal with the mamoswine and weavile matchups, or at least should in theory.
  • Mega zam over Tapu koko- this was brought up earlier in the koko section, although its far less obvious than fini. These mons are quite different to say the least, however as I mentioned a few times, one thing that concerns me is the lack of special attackers aside from gengar. Mega-zam benefits greatsly from the absence of mag, also it boasts an even more terrifying speed tier than even koko, so I dont lose out on speed control, and it also has psyterrain, which can be pretty useful vs like golisopod. I did in fact make an alternative team with mega-zam, but I havent tested it yet. The koko team worked very well tho, and koko was fantastic in my matches, so it probably isnt that necessary a swap
  • Flash fire over volt absorb, or defog over rocks skarm: I mentioned both these above
  • mbounce over ph zyg- again, mentioned this above, helps with the ferro mu, but the ph glare set seems to help considerably more especially with giving me a chance vs speedy offense.
Battle Replays:
So its not like i just theoried this team, for the past few hours ive been playing tons with it, and it works really well. Here are a couple replays that really showcase it. I also laddered a bit, and went like 35-4, with one being an unfortunate focus blast miss loss, so yeah while ladder isnt the best representation, it was quite succesful.

vs QT: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-655868206 So this match started off perfectly, the dual vabsorb combo of skarm and azu worked literally perfectly, and mag died almost immediately. This freed it up for gar to literally sweep this team af, which it was doing, until unfortunately it missed out on a 30% roll on +1 fini, and got burned in the same turn, meaning it was on a timer and couldnt sweep, which then allowed my opponent to win with fini + ferro. Worth noting from this, is the sheer reliance on gar vs teams with like fini and ferro, cos goodra, zyg, and koko cant touch them. Potentially the mbounce zyg set could help out a bit with this, but aside from that, this was a pretty great match as the lure worked perfectly, and I had all but won the match before rng lent a hand.

vs Chessking345: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-655835527 while this was a much lower profile battle, it was funny and fit the challenge. Due to the fact that azu itself lures mag, even without the skarm trickplay I used above, this guy switched in his poor mag into azu, because he was fearing the trap kill on chansey, and was treated to the nasty surprise that his mag couldnt escape! He ragequit shortly after

vs Nstac: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-655831226 Another game vs magearna, in which gengar rips some holes, and azu nabs a magearna trapkill resulting in another ragequit.

vs TreysName: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-655838983 Now this is a really really good replay. This was vs a mag-less team, so it was a great opportunity to see how useful my core was without a mag facing me. Furthermore, he had a tinted victini, which really tore through my entire team early game. It was a pretty close game, but mid-late game I was able to reverse the initial pressure he stacked on me as I was able to get rocks and use gar to push my opponent around. I was able to run my opponent out of vrcreates, and make him bolt strike on my azu, which was then revealed to be bolt strike, and from then on I p much won with azu + gar, as i was able to trick specs onto chansey and clean with azu. Overall this match was great, tough but not unwinnable mu, no magearna so I got to see the viability of the team in general, and azu had a starring role in the win.

Importables:
Azumarill @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlpool
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Encore

Gengar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Trick

Tapu Koko @ Choice Band
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- U-turn
- Wild Charge
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Rock Slide
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam

Zygarde @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 56 Def / 188 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Coil
- Glare
- Thousand Arrows
Gengar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Trick

Tapu Koko @ Choice Band
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- U-turn
- Wild Charge
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Rock Slide
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam

Zygarde @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 56 Def / 188 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Coil
- Glare
- Thousand Arrows

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlpool
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt
- Scald
Azumarill @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlpool
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Encore

Gengar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Trick

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Rock Slide
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam

Zygarde @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 56 Def / 188 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Coil
- Glare
- Thousand Arrows

Koko V2 (Alakazam-Mega) @ Alakazite
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
Gengar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Trick

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Rock Slide
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam

Zygarde @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 56 Def / 188 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Coil
- Glare
- Thousand Arrows

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlpool
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt
- Scald

Koko V2 (Alakazam-Mega) @ Alakazite
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast


So yeah.... that about wraps up my incredibly long post. Ill try and get some more replays, and test the untested versions of the team above, and maybe make some improvements to the team as ive only really tried it on the ladder a bit. However I must say, I was pleasantly surprised with the team, its really fun to play with.

E- Tbh, given the length and formatting, i shoulda just rmt'd this and likefarmed smh.
 
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Laxpras

One small yeet for man, one giant yeet for mankind
While I liked the TR challenge, this one is, in my opinion, and sorry for my wording, dumb.
The problem is that there's exactly one way to lure Magearna in this meta: Switching in a mon that is checked by Magearna and then pivoing to a strong Magnet Pull user with either Ground or Fire STAB to OHKO it.

Mons that Magearna commonly switches in are:
  • Alakazam
  • Gengar
  • Latis
  • Noivern
  • opposing Magearna
  • some Kokos, depending on their sets, but even banded Galvanize Return fails to OHKO
  • some Xurkitrees
  • (other weaker special attackers)
All of them lack options to kill Magearna, because they either lack Fire/Ground coverage moves except Hidden Powder or lack the power to do enough damage. Noivern for example gets Heat Wave as its strongest Fire-type move, but fails to do significant damage to Magearna with both Specs and Firium Z. Tapu Koko also fails to kill Magearna with banded Galvanize Return, when it switches in expecting a Pixilate set.

252 Atk Choice Band Galvanize Tapu Koko Return vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Magearna: 219-258 (60.1 - 70.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Noivern Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna: 134-158 (36.8 - 43.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Noivern Inferno Overdrive (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna: 164-194 (45 - 53.2%) -- 35.5% chance to 2HKO


Even when Noivern has Sheer Force to further boost its damage output and Sun is active, it it fails to OHKO the Mechanical Marvel:
252 SpA Choice Specs Sheer Force Noivern Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna in Sun: 238-282 (65.3 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

If we add Tinted Lens to Latios to ignore Magearna's resistance to its Psychic STAB and use a second mon to set up Psychic Terrain, it fails to severely threaten it:
252 SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Magearna in Psychic Terrain: 236-278 (64.8 - 76.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Even when Magearna takes a huge hit like the ones mentioned, it simply can switch out to regenerate its health, and an appropriate check can come in. Also, Magearna can Volt Switch out of Magnet Pull trappers that fail to kill her, which would be the case for stuff like Magnet Pull Noivern. This also leads to the fact that a successful Magearna lure must be capable of OHKOing it, otherwise it simply fails to do its job. The only attackers strong enough to one-shot Magearnas are strong physical Ground or Fire STAB users like Victini, Entei, Excadrill, Landorus... with Ground-types having the advantage of being immune to Volt Switch, so that they gain more potential switch-in options; however they have to watch out for Ice Beam and, in case of Excadrill, Aura Spere.

Also the "lures" mentioned here both fail to do their job:
  • Groundium Z Weavile fails to OHKO Magearna with a little bit of physical investment (which also helps to tank Psyshock better):
    252+ Atk Weavile Tectonic Rage (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Magearna: 288-340 (79.1 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    Also, Magearna usually doesn't want to switch into Weavile in fear of losing its Assault Vest to Knock Off, so that it doesn't really is a lure.
  • Volt Absorb Heatran also is not a lure, as Magearna shouldn't stay in against Heatran or even switch into it. Volt Switching out is far too risky, not only because of Volt Absorb, but also because Fire STABs coming from 130 base SpA hurt a lot. However, it is a nice gimmick to stop the likes of Koko or Xurkitree. Especially when the ability is revealed early, like when Heatran switches into Magearna's Volt Switch, I know what that Heatran wants to do and definitely switch out to a Chansey or other mon that checks Heatran.
So, in fact, the only way to successful lure Magearna is using exactly what is tagged as "lame" by the initiator, Laxpras: Pivoting to a Magnet Pull Entei, Victini, whatever...
I'll try my hardest to give a reasonable response here and even though this and QT's post really annoyed me.
You just flat out aren't thinking creatively, which is the whole point of the challenge.
Let's look at the mons you named:
  • Alakazam: ok cant lure magearna
  • Gengar: can lure magearna with normalize trapping
  • Latis: Can lure Magearna with tinted
  • Noivern: Can't lure Magearna
  • opposing Magearna: This is what I'm building my team around. Electric immune ability + physical set up + z-move is a succesful lure
  • some Kokos, depending on their sets, but even banded Galvanize Return fails to OHKO: Ok? You don't need to OHKO. This works.
  • some Xurkitrees: Beats Magearna
There's Megazard's Weavile, my Tyranitar.. etc.

For some reason it seems like you think the lure needs to OHKO Magearna to be successful? Using QT's word, that's misguided. Magearna is something that hard switches into a lot of threats in the meta. Look at Megazard's replay. That set sealed the game.

I could keep going on different types of lures but I'm not going to because I want to see what people come up with. If you and QT don't want to participate, fine, but there's no reason to bash the challenge just because you can't think of a viable lure. Trust me, they exist.
 
Mons that Magearna commonly switches in are:
  • Alakazam
All of them lack options to kill Magearna
  • Alakazam: ok cant lure magearna
I don't feel like doing this challenge as it isn't the most exciting thing in the world imo this time around, but I must say I have used calm mind recover zam on several teams and it sets up magearna easily (unless the crit).
 
Yes, I could have seen the volt absorb coming. It wasnt the only option though, especially considering that a) this is ladder and b) there are plenty of other abilities that mantine finds useful, such as bounce. It shoulf also be a harmless scout, as then you know how you can pivot in the future and whether you can use bolt strike to bop it for the low price fo a 30% chance of a burn. When whirpool was added, that safe move became a sack.

Magearna switching into weavile is irrelevant. Even leaving aside how your particular 120 def setis both bad and irrelevant, magearna isnt always going to be at full; regen isnt that strong. If you run any of these betetr weavile answers, you restrict yourself to one playstyle (stall/semistall), which is totally out of proportion. In addition, this also lessens magearna's use, as half the things it checks best are now meaningless as you wont use it to check them. In affect, you now do far worse against almost every team in exchange for a small advantage against lures.

Hazards can be removed, but that's a guarentee. If you not losing relies on hazards never being up for more than a turn your counterplay had better be immaculate; dual defog ata minimum, and probably triple or a spinner longside bouncers if you want any real odds. This, alongside the pressure of having to run other checks, is an enormous pressure and restriction on teambuilding, all for the dubious honor of not losing to groundium weavile. I mean, you do you I guess; I'm not going to turn down free wins every game I bring fini+mamo / insert stallbreaking core of choice.
Why is it bad to invest in its defense? As I already said that also helps with tanking (Tinted Lens) Psyshock better, and Psyshock is litterally the only reason why stuff like Psychic Terrain Alakazam-Mega can't be reliably walled by Chansey.
 
Why is it bad to invest in its defense? As I already said that also helps with tanking (Tinted Lens) Psyshock better, and Psyshock is litterally the only reason why stuff like Psychic Terrain Alakazam-Mega can't be reliably walled by Chansey.
The reason you absoluteky need all the special defense you can get is because without is magearna cant do its job nearly as well. In aaa, the job of magearna is almost always to switch into strong special attackers and gain momentum by forcing them out. The more damage it takes from them, the less effective it is; for instance, magearna
252 SpA Choice Specs Primarina Surf vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna in Rain: 156-184 (42.8 - 50.5%) -- 43% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock means that all of a sudden rain teams geta kill every time, or that surge surfer xurk +3 252 SpA Xurkitree Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 132+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna in Electric Terrain: 328-387 (90.1 - 106.3%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock has no answer after ot forces out your sweepers - to say nothing of the fact that more pokemon now outdamage regenerator. You should already beat standard psyterrain alakazam anyway with magearna, as even if they cm twice you can still give a safe pivot to your revenge killer (offense) or chansey (stall) after dealing solid enough damage to stop them from doing it again. This leaves only tinted lens, which yes specs latios has a chance to 2hko but switching into choiced psyshock isnt hard for bulky teams and offensive teams arent as threatened by it to start with.
 
This thing seriously scares me:
252+ Atk Life Orb Steelworker Stakataka Gyro Ball (141 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 140-168 (42 - 50.4%) -- 93% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
When equipped with Steelworker and a Life Orb (which allows it to set its own Trick Romm) it OHKOes or 2HKOes the whole meta, including defensive tanks such as Skarmory and Buzzwole.
Ferrothorn is so slow that it can switch into Gyro Ball, but can be killed with Superpower after slight chip damage, while Heatran, a 4x steel resist, gets earthquaked to doom.
It can also be paired with a Magnet Pull user like Infernape which can kill levitating Heatrans and fire-immune Ferrothorns with its Fighting STABs to make the sweep for Stakstaka easier.
 

Dunfan

formerly Dunsparce Fanboy
This thing seriously scares me:
252+ Atk Life Orb Steelworker Stakataka Gyro Ball (141 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 140-168 (42 - 50.4%) -- 93% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
When equipped with Steelworker and a Life Orb (which allows it to set its own Trick Romm) it OHKOes or 2HKOes the whole meta, including defensive tanks such as Skarmory and Buzzwole.
Ferrothorn is so slow that it can switch into Gyro Ball, but can be killed with Superpower after slight chip damage, while Heatran, a 4x steel resist, gets earthquaked to doom.
It can also be paired with a Magnet Pull user like Infernape which can kill levitating Heatrans and fire-immune Ferrothorns with its Fighting STABs to make the sweep for Stakstaka easier.
If we talk about the new UBs, then i guess i also have something to talk about.

Blacephalon @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Mind Blown
- Shadow Ball
- Psyshock / Knock Off
- Calm Mind

Mind Blown's 50% "explosion" damage is for some reason cancelled by Magic Guard, according to the mechanics research thread.
So you basically no longer need to run two Fire STABs, and now you're also immune to SR.
Sadly, Blacephalon doesn't have good coverage, and can't run Hidden Powers that require at least 4 IVs 31< due to IV lock. But anyway, it gets CM and Psyshock. (to deal with stuff like Nihilego)
Another downside is that Mind Blown is only 8 PP, and in addition to the bad coverage, it gets checked pretty easily by stuff like FF Mag.
 

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributor
If we talk about the new UBs, then i guess i also have something to talk about.

Blacephalon @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Mind Blown
- Shadow Ball
- Psyshock / Knock Off
- Calm Mind


Another downside is that Mind Blown is only 8 PP, and in addition to the bad coverage, it gets checked pretty easily by stuff like FF Mag.
Tbh Magearna is sort of a setup bait for Blacephalon since the only move that hits Blacephalon is Volt Switch and all other moves are resisted/immunity.
 
Magearna gets Shadow Ball, and Blacephalon is so frail that even a resisted Fleur Cannnon or a neutral Volt Switch (to a Sucker Punch or Pursuit user for example) hurts it alot.
 

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributor
Buzzwole might get better? Triage drain punch and leech life seems pretty good.
While we're at the Triage Drain Punch topic:

Kommo-o @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Triage
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Drain Punch
- Dragon Claw
- Poison Jab

So yeah if you set up at +6, the only legit answers to this are Ghost types and Unaware. Even Atespeed is no longer that much of a check now that Triage DP outspeeds. Still a little bit slow without the Triage boost but once its checks are gone, this thing can sweep.
 

RNGIsFatal

Banned deucer.
While we're at the Triage Drain Punch topic:

Kommo-o @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Triage
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Drain Punch
- Dragon Claw
- Poison Jab

So yeah if you set up at +6, the only legit answers to this are Ghost types and Unaware. Even Atespeed is no longer that much of a check now that Triage DP outspeeds. Still a little bit slow without the Triage boost but once its checks are gone, this thing can sweep.
That is the interesting set I used to have around the time I started playing AAA, but I was disappointed by the fact that it is stopped cold by Skarmory, and the damage output against Chansey isn't great:

252 Atk Kommo-o Drain Punch vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 288-342 (40.9 - 48.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Of course, Chansey isn't reliably going to check this guy, but Kommo-O requires Chansey to be weakened and this is not what physical sweepers should desire.

Speaking of Triage, I think Golisopod and perhaps Tapu Bulu are the ones who are the best with it because both of them can gain more immediate power with Swords Dance (unlike Buzzwole which needs to use Bulk Up, which is rather better against fat teams). They both can threaten Intimidate users like Gligar and Hippowdown with Liquidation and Horn Leech, respectively. Both of them suffer from Skarmory's presence but this problem can be alleviated with Magnet Pull user, and if Skarmory is too passive (say, if it lacks Brave Bird if it is too strapped of moveslots), it will be stopped by rare sets with Taunt.

Tapu Bulu @ Life Orb
Ability: Triage
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Taunt
- Swords Dance

P much this is all I use nowadays as a wallbreaker. Adamant + Life Orb Superpower after Swords Dance has around 81% chance to OHKO standard Magearna after Stealth Rock and it helps breaking almost every Steel-types that is not called Skarmory and Doublade. This set tends to suffer against offense teams with resistance to Grass (teams with stuff like Genesect) and is rather match-up dependent but if used in right situation, it can be a lethal cleaner. So yah, I find Belly Drum cleaner to be way less consistent than Triage users so this is what I think.
 

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributor
That is the interesting set I used to have around the time I started playing AAA, but I was disappointed by the fact that it is stopped cold by Skarmory, and the damage output against Chansey isn't great:

252 Atk Kommo-o Drain Punch vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 288-342 (40.9 - 48.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Of course, Chansey isn't reliably going to check this guy, but Kommo-O requires Chansey to be weakened and this is not what physical sweepers should desire.

Speaking of Triage, I think Golisopod and perhaps Tapu Bulu are the ones who are the best with it because both of them can gain more immediate power with Swords Dance (unlike Buzzwole which needs to use Bulk Up, which is rather better against fat teams). They both can threaten Intimidate users like Gligar and Hippowdown with Liquidation and Horn Leech, respectively. Both of them suffer from Skarmory's presence but this problem can be alleviated with Magnet Pull user, and if Skarmory is too passive (say, if it lacks Brave Bird if it is too strapped of moveslots), it will be stopped by rare sets with Taunt.

Tapu Bulu @ Life Orb
Ability: Triage
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Taunt
- Swords Dance

P much this is all I use nowadays as a wallbreaker. Adamant + Life Orb Superpower after Swords Dance has around 81% chance to OHKO standard Magearna after Stealth Rock and it helps breaking almost every Steel-types that is not called Skarmory and Doublade. This set tends to suffer against offense teams with resistance to Grass (teams with stuff like Genesect) and is rather match-up dependent but if used in right situation, it can be a lethal cleaner. So yah, I find Belly Drum cleaner to be way less consistent than Triage users so this is what I think.
Now that I think about it, Kommo-o also gets a Z-Move that boost all of its stats by 1 stage. That could also be a legit set, who knows. At the very at least you get some sort of bulk + Z-Move at the cost of using special set.
 
I'm not very good at AAA yet but I thought I'd have a go at the teambuilding thing because I like making weird sets



Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Ability: Corrosion
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 224 Def / 28 Spe
Impish Nature
- Toxic
- Nature's Madness
- Wood Hammer
- Leech Seed

Manaphy @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 232 HP / 180 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Fleur Cannon
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam

Chesnaught @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Drain Punch
- Spikes
- Synthesis
- Roar

Weavile @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
- Knock Off
- Metal Claw

Toxapex @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze


Tapu Bulu is the Magearna lure, since it can usually do nothing to Magearna but with Corrosion it can surprise them on switch and help to wear them down. Nature's Madness + Wood Hammer allows it to easily kill Chansey. Wood Hammer is used as the attacking move to hit poison heal water types that don't care about nature's madness. Manaphy is the team's late game sweeper, I gave it HP Ground to kill desoland heatran and victini. The second half of the team is what I'm not so sure about. Chesnaught is designed to be a physical wall to compliment Magearna which can set hazards and phaze pokemon into them. Technician Weavile was chosen to make Pursuit and Ice Shard as strong as possible. Toxapex was chosen as a third wall which can set toxic spikes.

EDIT: I'm two days late but whatever
 
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Sorry if this was mentioned (I don't think it was) but is Neuroforce a desirable alternative to Adaptablity/Sheer Force/Tough Claws in any scenario? The best I've got is a lure set using Hidden Power or something similar, where the extra 20% turns it into a 2HKO/OHKO while boosting super effective STABs outside of that lure. It's a neat ability but I can't help but feel it will be outclassed unless AAA starts going really heavy on the offensive ability bans all of a sudden.

Speaking of Sheer Force/Adaptability, the two good UBs introduced seem like they'd be solid users. If Magic Guard works with Mind Blown, that's another opportunity, but it looks like it isn't strictly counted as recoil damage, so I wouldn't get your hopes up.
 

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributor
Sorry if this was mentioned (I don't think it was) but is Neuroforce a desirable alternative to Adaptablity/Sheer Force/Tough Claws in any scenario? The best I've got is a lure set using Hidden Power or something similar, where the extra 20% turns it into a 2HKO/OHKO while boosting super effective STABs outside of that lure. It's a neat ability but I can't help but feel it will be outclassed unless AAA starts going really heavy on the offensive ability bans all of a sudden.

Speaking of Sheer Force/Adaptability, the two good UBs introduced seem like they'd be solid users. If Magic Guard works with Mind Blown, that's another opportunity, but it looks like it isn't strictly counted as recoil damage, so I wouldn't get your hopes up.
Adapt Boost > Neuroforce boost + normal STAB. So yeah Adapt is still better

Magic Guard actually prevents Mind Blown's recoil, it just wasn't implemented on PS earlier.
 
Sorry if this was mentioned (I don't think it was) but is Neuroforce a desirable alternative to Adaptablity/Sheer Force/Tough Claws in any scenario? The best I've got is a lure set using Hidden Power or something similar, where the extra 20% turns it into a 2HKO/OHKO while boosting super effective STABs outside of that lure. It's a neat ability but I can't help but feel it will be outclassed unless AAA starts going really heavy on the offensive ability bans all of a sudden.

Speaking of Sheer Force/Adaptability, the two good UBs introduced seem like they'd be solid users. If Magic Guard works with Mind Blown, that's another opportunity, but it looks like it isn't strictly counted as recoil damage, so I wouldn't get your hopes up.
Honestly, no. Neuroforce was a bit of a letdown tbh. 1.4 or 1.5 and then we could be talking, but 1.2 is pretty meh imo. It's not unusable, could be neat on lure sets ig, but like in almost any scenario I just feel like adapt, or sheer force, or tc, or even download outclasses tbh. I wish it was 1.5, cos that would make it much more of a thing, which could spice up the meta a bit, but if that's too much to ask for.

So yeah, i don't think neuroforce will be getting much use. The only situation which might see it increase would be a step-down from a 2-ability clause to a 1-ability clause, and even then I personally would never use it.

As for the new mons, well stack stacks is useless, don't ever use that. Naganadel and blacephelon are both scary af, and potentially could both be banned. Blacephelon will quickly turn into one of the most used special wallbrealers, with mguard lo hitting like everything extremely hard, with chansey not even able to touch the set. Meanwhile naganadel with adapt/tinted/sheer orb looks scary asf too. Will be interesting to see how the meta reacts to their implementation, but don't be overly surprised if they depart!
 
well stack stacks is useless
I've been using this thing a lot in OU and it has been a pleasant surprise there, so I have been playing around with it here. I've had some success abusing it's sheer power with a band set, but the offensive trick room variant I have put in the work with in OU should be the best bet for this meta. Banded sets will also be an asset on trick room teams, however viable they actually are. Choice Band doesn't have that many chances to get a hit off but when it does, it is a force to be reckoned with. Just look at some of these calcs.
252+ Atk Choice Band Steelworker Bastiodon Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Zapdos: 243-288 (63.2 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Steelworker Bastiodon Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 172-204 (51.4 - 61%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Steelworker Bastiodon Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mandibuzz: 424-501 (100 - 118.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Steelworker Bastiodon Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Buzzwole: 348-411 (83.2 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Steelworker Bastiodon Gyro Ball (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 208-247 (49.5 - 58.8%) -- 70.3% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
 

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
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As for the new mons, well stack stacks is useless, don't ever use that. Naganadel and blacephelon are both scary af, and potentially could both be banned. Blacephelon will quickly turn into one of the most used special wallbrealers, with mguard lo hitting like everything extremely hard, with chansey not even able to touch the set. Meanwhile naganadel with adapt/tinted/sheer orb looks scary asf too. Will be interesting to see how the meta reacts to their implementation, but don't be overly surprised if they depart!
I don't entirely agree with Stakataka being bad. Banded Steelworker Gyro Ball 2HKOes and OHKOes every possible mon in the meta (even resists are usually 2HKOed or even OHKOed). However, I can see your point: Due to its low Speed, it has to take first hit almost all the time and due to its lackluster typing that gives it 2 4x weaknesses to common offensive typings, with that I can agree.
 
You totally forget about TR. After Ferrothorn is eliminated, which is the obly viable switchib against its Gyro Ball, Stakataka can come in on a free switch or against a weak/resisted move, tank a hit easily and set up Trick Room to start a sweep. The preferred item is, of course, a Life Orb, as you need to switch moves to be able to set your own TR.
 

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