Theorymon
Long Live Super Mario Maker! 2015-2024
So I've been messing around the ladder for a while. Gonna be honest, I haven't really settled down on anything remotely resembling a comfortable team yet. I don't totally mind this, but man I have a feeling my actual cart team is gonna be a rushed mess :P
If there is one thing I can nail to this metagame, its that its all about Speed control. Every team I've seen either has Tailwind, Trick Room, or Rain Dance support, and sometimes a combination of the two (for example, I've seen people run Trick Room on rain teams just to get rid of opposing ones)
Anyways, here are what I'd argue are currently the top 5 threats.
Volcarona
I'd argue this mon is a contender for the biggest threat in the metagame! Bug Buzz smashes Dark-types, it has Heat Wave as a good, powerful spread move, and it has Fiery Dance to hit Aegislash! It's really fast too, which is always nice. It's a bit more versatile than I predicted too, as I've seen more than just the usual Quiver Dancers: Ive seen bulky Rage Powder ones as well, and Choice Scarf Volcarona trying to get the jump on Crobat and Scarf Hydreigon. I think every team needs to have an answer for this thing!
Hydreigon
Oh boy, in a metagame infested with Ghost and Psychic types, having STAB Dark-type attacks is killer, especially when you're as powerful as Hydreigon! Most of the ones I see have Specs or Life Orb, which gives it good attacking power. I actually don't see too much Draco Meteor use: I mostly see them spaming Dark Pulse, and Flash Cannoning annoying Fairy-types like Granbull. Its speed can be a bit annoying, since Volcarona just manages to outspeed it, but it outspeeds prety much every common Ghost-type except Gengar. I've also been seeing rising usage in Scarf Hydreigons, possibly as a countermeasure against the increase in Noivern, and to get the jump on Volcarona.
Aegislash
Yeah I know Aegislash has problems with Volcarona and Hydreigon, but thanks to its massive bulk, I still find it to be pretty useful! Wide Guard can be a god send against Heat Wave and Boomburst, and thanks to Aegislash's massive bulk, it can still smash stuff with Weakness Policy boosted Flash Cannons or Shadow Balls! Just make sure you aren't weak to Volcarona or Hydreigon when using Aegislash, and I think it'll generally do its job. It also happens to work very well on Rain against Exploud!
Exploud
I've been seeing this thing a lot more often, and for good reason: Boomburst is SUPER powerful! The only real resists to it you'll fine are Kabutops, Aegislash, and Lunatone, since most of these run Scrappy! I usually see either Specs or Life Orb, which pack a serious wallop, but I've also seen Choice Scarf as well. Usually, I see this paired with Mr.Mime, because of Trick Room support + Helping Hand and Sound Proof, but I've also seen them with Telepathy Tailwind Noivern, and am currently trying it out with Telepathy Beheyeem.
Crobat
Crobat may seem like the odd one out here, but don't underestimate it: It might just be the best support Pokemon in Spooky Cup! Thanks to Inner Focus, you can't Fake it Out, and its the fastest Pokemon too, so usually the only way of stopping it from setting up Tailwind or a weather is Prankster Taunt (and that doesn't always work since some of them carry Mental Herb). Access to STAB Brave Bird is pretty awesome too, since it allows Crobat to really stick it to Volcarona! It also has Super Fang, which can deal nice general damage, and Taunt to shut down stuff like Aegislash's King Shield. Overall, I see this thing on almost every team so far, it really seems to be the support Pokemon of choice for most people!
Here's just some random Pokemon I wanted to talk about, some I've used, some I haven't!
Noivern
I think this mon might be more of a dark horse than we were expecting. Since its faster than Hydreigon, I've been seeing a ton of Focus Sash ones. Again, they're usually with Exploud, but I've seen Frisk variants as well, which can be handy against stuff like Choice Scarf Hydreigon (who I've been seeing more of). It seems to run a set very similar to the old VGC set, aka Draco Meteor / Tailwind / Superfang / Taunt, with Protect sometimes over one of those moves.
Marowak
This thing is no joke. With Thick Club, it has incredible power, and its super slow too which is great under Trick Room (though I've seen it pull its weight on Tailwind as well)! Bonemerang is also some nice stuff, since its a single target move, meaning more power and you don't hit your teammate! It is pretty frail though, just a warning!
Sableye
A lot of people were hyping Liepard, but Sableye has been a lot nastier in my experience. Sure, its a lot slower, but it also has a better support movepool and an immunity to Fake Out. Most notably, Sableye gets Will-O-Wisp, which is excellent against physical attackers. I also got OWNED by a Gravity Sableye paired with a Hypnosis Crobat, so watch out for that combo! Sableye also gets Quash, which I've found to be a pretty neat support move. Smashing a Noivern to pieces because it has to move last against a Hydreigon feels pretty nice!
Kabutops
This thing is the star of rain teams! Boosted Waterfalls hurt like hell, and being one of the only Pokemon that has STAB Rock Slide is pretty kick ass in doubles, especially with so many Volcarona and Crobat flying around! Believe it or not, I've also seen a few Scarf Kabutops outside of the Rain, and it honestly seems to work pretty well there too, though it's a lot more vulnerable to Aegislash then. Also, I've been seeing them run Aqua Jet. This may sound strange since it's usually got a boost under the rain, but I've found it to be a life saver if someone manages to get Trick Room up, since I've been noticing quite a few Volcarona running Giga Drain!
Basculin
I haven't really seen this thing much. I've mostly been experimenting with an offensive set with Life Orb / Mystic Water, since I wanna abuse that adaptability Aqua Jet / Waterfall. It hasn't been too great to be honest, but I'd like to mess around with it more, especially after hearing about that Soak + Shedinja strategy... Plus on the bright side, I love sniping Volcaronas with Aqua Jet!
Rotom-W
I haven't seen this thing too much, and I'm not quite sure why beyond "Man it really hates Hydreigon". It gets awesome support moves like Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp, and Hydro Pump hurts like hell in the rain! It also resits Waterfall which is nice against Kabutops, and you can Thunderbolt that thing back to hell! It also hits Crobat hard, which is always a plus. This is something whose usage I expect to rise.
Mr Mime
This thing is a really odd Pokemon. I've mostly been seeing Trick Room ones with Soundproof, as a way to check Exploud while supporting their own with Trick Room + Helping Hand. I've also seen a few sash ones, which do similar stuff except they tend to be more offensive. Mr Mime's physical defense really sucks, which is a huge bummer, but that Fairy typing + unique support movepool make it something to consider.
Beheeyem
This is a Trick Roomer I've been messing around with, mainly to use with Marowak. Beheeyem isn't really anything to write home about so far because it's bulk isnt too great, but Telepathy is an excellent ability to have, and 125 base SpA actually lets it pack a wallop! This will be something I need to test more for sure.
Granbull
I've mostly been seeing this on Trick Room teams. It's fairly powerful with Play Rough, has Rock Slide to nail Volcarona and Crobat, and Intimidate gives it some surviability. It's poor Special Defense has been a pretty big problem once Trick Room is up though, since it's been dying quite a bit to Hydreigon Flash Cannons, and Aegislash beats the CRAP outta poor Granbull. I'm not a big fan of it, but its pretty viable.
Tangrowth
I've been seeing more and more of these. I can't really nail a specfic moveset beyond "Rage Powder and sometimes Sleep Powder", but its quite a nice anti rain Pokemon since it beats the crap out of Kabutops. Its special defense does leave something to be desired, but otherwise this thing seems alright. Also, I've seen a few of them with sun support. This can actually be a bit scary if you're using Volcarona, since Tangrowth does get rock moves!
Scolipede
Its all about that Speed Boost! Well ok it also has a nice offensive movepool, with Megahorn owning Hydreigon and Psychic-types, Poison Jab destroying Mr.Mime and Granbull, and having a super fast Rock Slide to hit Volcarona and Crobat with. It doesn't seem to last too long and it isn't very powerful, but Speed Boost and the movepool alone make it worth considering from what I've seen.
If there is one thing I can nail to this metagame, its that its all about Speed control. Every team I've seen either has Tailwind, Trick Room, or Rain Dance support, and sometimes a combination of the two (for example, I've seen people run Trick Room on rain teams just to get rid of opposing ones)
Anyways, here are what I'd argue are currently the top 5 threats.
Volcarona
I'd argue this mon is a contender for the biggest threat in the metagame! Bug Buzz smashes Dark-types, it has Heat Wave as a good, powerful spread move, and it has Fiery Dance to hit Aegislash! It's really fast too, which is always nice. It's a bit more versatile than I predicted too, as I've seen more than just the usual Quiver Dancers: Ive seen bulky Rage Powder ones as well, and Choice Scarf Volcarona trying to get the jump on Crobat and Scarf Hydreigon. I think every team needs to have an answer for this thing!
Hydreigon
Oh boy, in a metagame infested with Ghost and Psychic types, having STAB Dark-type attacks is killer, especially when you're as powerful as Hydreigon! Most of the ones I see have Specs or Life Orb, which gives it good attacking power. I actually don't see too much Draco Meteor use: I mostly see them spaming Dark Pulse, and Flash Cannoning annoying Fairy-types like Granbull. Its speed can be a bit annoying, since Volcarona just manages to outspeed it, but it outspeeds prety much every common Ghost-type except Gengar. I've also been seeing rising usage in Scarf Hydreigons, possibly as a countermeasure against the increase in Noivern, and to get the jump on Volcarona.
Aegislash
Yeah I know Aegislash has problems with Volcarona and Hydreigon, but thanks to its massive bulk, I still find it to be pretty useful! Wide Guard can be a god send against Heat Wave and Boomburst, and thanks to Aegislash's massive bulk, it can still smash stuff with Weakness Policy boosted Flash Cannons or Shadow Balls! Just make sure you aren't weak to Volcarona or Hydreigon when using Aegislash, and I think it'll generally do its job. It also happens to work very well on Rain against Exploud!
Exploud
I've been seeing this thing a lot more often, and for good reason: Boomburst is SUPER powerful! The only real resists to it you'll fine are Kabutops, Aegislash, and Lunatone, since most of these run Scrappy! I usually see either Specs or Life Orb, which pack a serious wallop, but I've also seen Choice Scarf as well. Usually, I see this paired with Mr.Mime, because of Trick Room support + Helping Hand and Sound Proof, but I've also seen them with Telepathy Tailwind Noivern, and am currently trying it out with Telepathy Beheyeem.
Crobat
Crobat may seem like the odd one out here, but don't underestimate it: It might just be the best support Pokemon in Spooky Cup! Thanks to Inner Focus, you can't Fake it Out, and its the fastest Pokemon too, so usually the only way of stopping it from setting up Tailwind or a weather is Prankster Taunt (and that doesn't always work since some of them carry Mental Herb). Access to STAB Brave Bird is pretty awesome too, since it allows Crobat to really stick it to Volcarona! It also has Super Fang, which can deal nice general damage, and Taunt to shut down stuff like Aegislash's King Shield. Overall, I see this thing on almost every team so far, it really seems to be the support Pokemon of choice for most people!
Here's just some random Pokemon I wanted to talk about, some I've used, some I haven't!
Noivern
I think this mon might be more of a dark horse than we were expecting. Since its faster than Hydreigon, I've been seeing a ton of Focus Sash ones. Again, they're usually with Exploud, but I've seen Frisk variants as well, which can be handy against stuff like Choice Scarf Hydreigon (who I've been seeing more of). It seems to run a set very similar to the old VGC set, aka Draco Meteor / Tailwind / Superfang / Taunt, with Protect sometimes over one of those moves.
Marowak
This thing is no joke. With Thick Club, it has incredible power, and its super slow too which is great under Trick Room (though I've seen it pull its weight on Tailwind as well)! Bonemerang is also some nice stuff, since its a single target move, meaning more power and you don't hit your teammate! It is pretty frail though, just a warning!
Sableye
A lot of people were hyping Liepard, but Sableye has been a lot nastier in my experience. Sure, its a lot slower, but it also has a better support movepool and an immunity to Fake Out. Most notably, Sableye gets Will-O-Wisp, which is excellent against physical attackers. I also got OWNED by a Gravity Sableye paired with a Hypnosis Crobat, so watch out for that combo! Sableye also gets Quash, which I've found to be a pretty neat support move. Smashing a Noivern to pieces because it has to move last against a Hydreigon feels pretty nice!
Kabutops
This thing is the star of rain teams! Boosted Waterfalls hurt like hell, and being one of the only Pokemon that has STAB Rock Slide is pretty kick ass in doubles, especially with so many Volcarona and Crobat flying around! Believe it or not, I've also seen a few Scarf Kabutops outside of the Rain, and it honestly seems to work pretty well there too, though it's a lot more vulnerable to Aegislash then. Also, I've been seeing them run Aqua Jet. This may sound strange since it's usually got a boost under the rain, but I've found it to be a life saver if someone manages to get Trick Room up, since I've been noticing quite a few Volcarona running Giga Drain!
Basculin
I haven't really seen this thing much. I've mostly been experimenting with an offensive set with Life Orb / Mystic Water, since I wanna abuse that adaptability Aqua Jet / Waterfall. It hasn't been too great to be honest, but I'd like to mess around with it more, especially after hearing about that Soak + Shedinja strategy... Plus on the bright side, I love sniping Volcaronas with Aqua Jet!
Rotom-W
I haven't seen this thing too much, and I'm not quite sure why beyond "Man it really hates Hydreigon". It gets awesome support moves like Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp, and Hydro Pump hurts like hell in the rain! It also resits Waterfall which is nice against Kabutops, and you can Thunderbolt that thing back to hell! It also hits Crobat hard, which is always a plus. This is something whose usage I expect to rise.
Mr Mime
This thing is a really odd Pokemon. I've mostly been seeing Trick Room ones with Soundproof, as a way to check Exploud while supporting their own with Trick Room + Helping Hand. I've also seen a few sash ones, which do similar stuff except they tend to be more offensive. Mr Mime's physical defense really sucks, which is a huge bummer, but that Fairy typing + unique support movepool make it something to consider.
Beheeyem
This is a Trick Roomer I've been messing around with, mainly to use with Marowak. Beheeyem isn't really anything to write home about so far because it's bulk isnt too great, but Telepathy is an excellent ability to have, and 125 base SpA actually lets it pack a wallop! This will be something I need to test more for sure.
Granbull
I've mostly been seeing this on Trick Room teams. It's fairly powerful with Play Rough, has Rock Slide to nail Volcarona and Crobat, and Intimidate gives it some surviability. It's poor Special Defense has been a pretty big problem once Trick Room is up though, since it's been dying quite a bit to Hydreigon Flash Cannons, and Aegislash beats the CRAP outta poor Granbull. I'm not a big fan of it, but its pretty viable.
Tangrowth
I've been seeing more and more of these. I can't really nail a specfic moveset beyond "Rage Powder and sometimes Sleep Powder", but its quite a nice anti rain Pokemon since it beats the crap out of Kabutops. Its special defense does leave something to be desired, but otherwise this thing seems alright. Also, I've seen a few of them with sun support. This can actually be a bit scary if you're using Volcarona, since Tangrowth does get rock moves!
Scolipede
Its all about that Speed Boost! Well ok it also has a nice offensive movepool, with Megahorn owning Hydreigon and Psychic-types, Poison Jab destroying Mr.Mime and Granbull, and having a super fast Rock Slide to hit Volcarona and Crobat with. It doesn't seem to last too long and it isn't very powerful, but Speed Boost and the movepool alone make it worth considering from what I've seen.