Goddess Briyella
Banned deucer.
(Approved by blarajan)
As you all probably know by now, competitive Pokemon has been blessed with a new type this generation. This is a type with a unique set of weaknesses, resistances, and also an immunity. There are some players who believe the new Fairy type won't have a significant effect on the Little Cup metagame this generation, but there are several notable attributes the type has that may very well prove otherwise. Let's take a closer look... Fairy type is:
First of all, Poison and Steel have typically been very uncommon attacking types throughout all of the tiers in the past, and Little Cup is no exception. Foongus might have run Clear Smog, Pawniard might have run Iron Head, and Magnemite and Bronzor might have run Flash Cannon, but realistically, these kinds of coverage never made a huge impact, as they were just not conventional or strong against much. In earlier generations, Poison moves were ONLY super effective on Grass; Steel moves were ONLY super effective on Rock and Ice, while Fighting moves were strong against both of those types as well as three more, making Fighting coverage outclass Steel coverage almost entirely (There were very few exceptions, like Dwebble being weak to Steel and not Fighting, but again, not very significant since Fighting types walled Dwebble's STABs anyway). Considering this new addition of Fairy type, it can be reasonably assumed that Poison and Steel coverage will actually exist so that Fairy types can be checked. There are only four moves in a moveset, so this will add new defining lines to who can deal with what. So will we see more Poison and Steel coverage this gen? Will we be seeing more Poison and Steel types step up with a new-found usefulness to shine this time around? Will Gastly become the preferred Ghost type with its Poison STAB and with Missy unavailable until Pokebank is released? These kinds of things are to be wondered, and not only whether or not they will see more use, but also to what respective degrees they will impact the Little Cup metagame.
Second, Fighting was a very dominating type last generation, with top threats like Mienfoo and Scraggy nailing things with excellent STAB Fighting coverage. Moves like Drain Punch (deals good damage and also aids in overall survivability) and Hi Jump Kick (very high damage) were unquestionably among the best moves of Generation V Little Cup. Dark was a very popular attacking type as well, so that the monstrous Misdreavus could be threatened, and it was often used as coverage alongside Fighting. Every Fighting type last generation could be expected to carry Dark coverage, and moves like Sucker Punch were also used by the likes of Houndour, Stunky, and even heavy hitters like Murkrow to assure certain KOs. Well, Fairy resists BOTH of these types and ALSO has a type advantage on them offensively. Fighting and Dark are sure to be brought down a notch, but the question is exactly how and to what degree. So... Will Fighting types see less use? Riolu and Scraggy had Drain Punch/Crunch, and Timburr and Mienfoo had Drain Punch/Payback. Fairy resists all of these. Will Dark/Fighting coverage become less encouraged or not used much at all? It's also worth noting that Fairy types also resist U-turn, which makes Mienfoo's entire typical coverage from last generation completely resisted. With these points, it's not an outlandish thought that Fairy types may have a hand in shifting the metagame this generation.
I think this is worth a mention as well: Fire resists Fairy. This gives Fire a total of SIX resistances now. It would be nice to see Fire used more often since it resists so much (it also resists Steel, which may very well see more offensive use, see above), especially on mons who are able to heal with Morning Sun. Some of you reading this are probably thinking "Fire will never be respected for its resistances because it's weak to Ground, Water, and Rock, which also means it has a crippling Stealth Rock weakness". Its weaknesses cannot be denied, but to be fair, popular new picks this generation Tyrunt and Honedge (both unable to recover) are also both weak to Ground, as well as other things. Also, we may be moving toward a more hazardless metagame, with the new buff Defog got this generation, which removes hazards from both sides. To get a more in-depth idea of how significant this addition is, have a look at Chieliee's Defog thread. Fire types may very well see more use due to Fairy type being added. This is an important thing to consider, especially with Vulpix unbanned. It's also notable that a few Chlorophyll carriers also have Poison STAB, and so Fairy may give rise to these having use as well, since Drought is now available. It is true that permanent weather was nerfed to 5 turns, but it can still be used to great effect. It's just not nearly as abusable as it was. For more information on the Fire type this generation, check out Charmander's Fire type thread.
"Yeah yeah, these new Fairy types have cool attributes and are supposedly going to change the game or whatever but they won't really have an impact because they all suck anyway."
Is that so? Since there does appear to be some doubts of Fairy type's potential impact in the community, let's have a look at some of these new LC hard hitters:
Swirlix
62 HP / 48 Attack / 66 Defense / 59 Special Attack / 57 Special Defense / 49 Speed
Ability: Sweet Veil
Hidden Ability: Unburden
Snubbull
60 HP / 80 Attack/ 50 Defense / 40 Special Attack / 40 Special Defense / 30 Speed
Abilities: Intimidate, Run Away
Hidden Ability: Rattled
The new Fairy type can potentially change the Little Cup metagame in many ways! How will players deal with this new addition? What do you think? Discuss!
Also, join the Little Cup room on Pokemon Showdown!
As you all probably know by now, competitive Pokemon has been blessed with a new type this generation. This is a type with a unique set of weaknesses, resistances, and also an immunity. There are some players who believe the new Fairy type won't have a significant effect on the Little Cup metagame this generation, but there are several notable attributes the type has that may very well prove otherwise. Let's take a closer look... Fairy type is:
- Weak to Poison and Steel
- Resistant to Dark, Fighting, and Bug
- Immune to Dragon
- Fairy moves are strong against Dark, Fighting, and Dragon
- Fairy moves are resisted by Poison, Steel, and Fire
First of all, Poison and Steel have typically been very uncommon attacking types throughout all of the tiers in the past, and Little Cup is no exception. Foongus might have run Clear Smog, Pawniard might have run Iron Head, and Magnemite and Bronzor might have run Flash Cannon, but realistically, these kinds of coverage never made a huge impact, as they were just not conventional or strong against much. In earlier generations, Poison moves were ONLY super effective on Grass; Steel moves were ONLY super effective on Rock and Ice, while Fighting moves were strong against both of those types as well as three more, making Fighting coverage outclass Steel coverage almost entirely (There were very few exceptions, like Dwebble being weak to Steel and not Fighting, but again, not very significant since Fighting types walled Dwebble's STABs anyway). Considering this new addition of Fairy type, it can be reasonably assumed that Poison and Steel coverage will actually exist so that Fairy types can be checked. There are only four moves in a moveset, so this will add new defining lines to who can deal with what. So will we see more Poison and Steel coverage this gen? Will we be seeing more Poison and Steel types step up with a new-found usefulness to shine this time around? Will Gastly become the preferred Ghost type with its Poison STAB and with Missy unavailable until Pokebank is released? These kinds of things are to be wondered, and not only whether or not they will see more use, but also to what respective degrees they will impact the Little Cup metagame.
Second, Fighting was a very dominating type last generation, with top threats like Mienfoo and Scraggy nailing things with excellent STAB Fighting coverage. Moves like Drain Punch (deals good damage and also aids in overall survivability) and Hi Jump Kick (very high damage) were unquestionably among the best moves of Generation V Little Cup. Dark was a very popular attacking type as well, so that the monstrous Misdreavus could be threatened, and it was often used as coverage alongside Fighting. Every Fighting type last generation could be expected to carry Dark coverage, and moves like Sucker Punch were also used by the likes of Houndour, Stunky, and even heavy hitters like Murkrow to assure certain KOs. Well, Fairy resists BOTH of these types and ALSO has a type advantage on them offensively. Fighting and Dark are sure to be brought down a notch, but the question is exactly how and to what degree. So... Will Fighting types see less use? Riolu and Scraggy had Drain Punch/Crunch, and Timburr and Mienfoo had Drain Punch/Payback. Fairy resists all of these. Will Dark/Fighting coverage become less encouraged or not used much at all? It's also worth noting that Fairy types also resist U-turn, which makes Mienfoo's entire typical coverage from last generation completely resisted. With these points, it's not an outlandish thought that Fairy types may have a hand in shifting the metagame this generation.
I think this is worth a mention as well: Fire resists Fairy. This gives Fire a total of SIX resistances now. It would be nice to see Fire used more often since it resists so much (it also resists Steel, which may very well see more offensive use, see above), especially on mons who are able to heal with Morning Sun. Some of you reading this are probably thinking "Fire will never be respected for its resistances because it's weak to Ground, Water, and Rock, which also means it has a crippling Stealth Rock weakness". Its weaknesses cannot be denied, but to be fair, popular new picks this generation Tyrunt and Honedge (both unable to recover) are also both weak to Ground, as well as other things. Also, we may be moving toward a more hazardless metagame, with the new buff Defog got this generation, which removes hazards from both sides. To get a more in-depth idea of how significant this addition is, have a look at Chieliee's Defog thread. Fire types may very well see more use due to Fairy type being added. This is an important thing to consider, especially with Vulpix unbanned. It's also notable that a few Chlorophyll carriers also have Poison STAB, and so Fairy may give rise to these having use as well, since Drought is now available. It is true that permanent weather was nerfed to 5 turns, but it can still be used to great effect. It's just not nearly as abusable as it was. For more information on the Fire type this generation, check out Charmander's Fire type thread.
"Yeah yeah, these new Fairy types have cool attributes and are supposedly going to change the game or whatever but they won't really have an impact because they all suck anyway."
Is that so? Since there does appear to be some doubts of Fairy type's potential impact in the community, let's have a look at some of these new LC hard hitters:
Swirlix
62 HP / 48 Attack / 66 Defense / 59 Special Attack / 57 Special Defense / 49 Speed
Ability: Sweet Veil
Hidden Ability: Unburden
Swirlix @ Berry Juice
Ability: Unburden
Level: 5
EVs: 20 HP / 68 Def / 204 SAtk / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Dazzling Gleam / Draining Kiss
- Flamethrower
- Surf / Psychic
This thing is an absolute monster. If it takes a hit as it sets up a Calm Mind, it is restored to full health again with Berry Juice, while activating Unburden to double its Speed in the process (tanking a Knock Off will also double Speed). Dazzling Gleam is the strongest attack, hitting Fighting, Dark, and Dragon types incredibly hard, but Draining Kiss can be used for survivability, and the drop in power isn't that bad after having set up. Flamethrower is to roast the Steels that will attempt to wall its Fairy attack, and Surf is to punish the Fire types that wall both of the other attacks. Swirlix is very difficult to stop once it gets going and is a force to be reckoned with. Dragons, Fighting types and Dark types beware.
Ability: Unburden
Level: 5
EVs: 20 HP / 68 Def / 204 SAtk / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Dazzling Gleam / Draining Kiss
- Flamethrower
- Surf / Psychic
This thing is an absolute monster. If it takes a hit as it sets up a Calm Mind, it is restored to full health again with Berry Juice, while activating Unburden to double its Speed in the process (tanking a Knock Off will also double Speed). Dazzling Gleam is the strongest attack, hitting Fighting, Dark, and Dragon types incredibly hard, but Draining Kiss can be used for survivability, and the drop in power isn't that bad after having set up. Flamethrower is to roast the Steels that will attempt to wall its Fairy attack, and Surf is to punish the Fire types that wall both of the other attacks. Swirlix is very difficult to stop once it gets going and is a force to be reckoned with. Dragons, Fighting types and Dark types beware.
Snubbull
60 HP / 80 Attack/ 50 Defense / 40 Special Attack / 40 Special Defense / 30 Speed
Abilities: Intimidate, Run Away
Hidden Ability: Rattled
Snubbull @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 196 Atk / 116 Def / 36 SDef / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Close Combat / Ice Punch
- Thunder Wave
Snubbull was historically just a punching bag for Fighting types, but now it's back with a vengeance. Play Rough is the main attack, and is very powerful; it does have the slight tendency to miss, having 90% accuracy, but the sheer power of it more than compensates for this. Earthquake is used to nail all 3 types that resist Fairy (Poison, Steel, and Fire) and therefore is awesome coverage. Close Combat is another high powered move that's almost too good to pass up, but Ice Punch is there to nail Gligar, which otherwise can give this set problems. Thunder Wave cripples potential checks on the switch-in. The Intimidate ability is incredible for it, as combined with Eviolite it allows Snubbull to stand up to huge threats such as Murkrow and Sneasel and literally either destroy them outright or scare them off. Fighting types no longer stand a chance.
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 196 Atk / 116 Def / 36 SDef / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Close Combat / Ice Punch
- Thunder Wave
Snubbull was historically just a punching bag for Fighting types, but now it's back with a vengeance. Play Rough is the main attack, and is very powerful; it does have the slight tendency to miss, having 90% accuracy, but the sheer power of it more than compensates for this. Earthquake is used to nail all 3 types that resist Fairy (Poison, Steel, and Fire) and therefore is awesome coverage. Close Combat is another high powered move that's almost too good to pass up, but Ice Punch is there to nail Gligar, which otherwise can give this set problems. Thunder Wave cripples potential checks on the switch-in. The Intimidate ability is incredible for it, as combined with Eviolite it allows Snubbull to stand up to huge threats such as Murkrow and Sneasel and literally either destroy them outright or scare them off. Fighting types no longer stand a chance.
The new Fairy type can potentially change the Little Cup metagame in many ways! How will players deal with this new addition? What do you think? Discuss!
Also, join the Little Cup room on Pokemon Showdown!
Last edited:
