I think it's about time this thread was revitalized!
Some things I've discovered since last posting here:
- Gastly, Abra, Tentacool, Staryu, Chinchou, Nosepass, Oddish, and Budew have access to Dazzling Gleam, giving them a new edge with this added Fairy-type coverage option
- Sweet Veil, an ability only available to Swirlix in XY LC, prevents all of your teammates from falling asleep and it doesn't have to be the active Pokemon in battle; it only needs to be alive and on your team It turns out Sweet Veil only acts as the ability Insomnia in singles and only protects "allies" in Double Battles when both are active.
So, two things I'd like to raise discussion about here now are
Fairy-type offensive coverage in the current metagame, and the ability
Sweet Veil. Gastly's 18 Speed and base 100 Special Attack allow it the offensive presence to nail both Fighting-types and Dark-types both in one strong attack. Abra's 19 Speed and base 105 Special Attack are even more impressive and it now has this Fairy-type attack at its disposal as well. Tentacool and Chinchou finally have something to hit Fighting-types with super-effective damage and they've been without this for a very long time. Instead of Staryu resorting to Psychic to corrupt Fighting-types with, it now has an attack that hits them hard AND hits the likes of Dark-type threats it meets often in offensive scenarios (like Murkrow) both in one move. Nosepass is an interesting option, but with its huge base 135 Defense stat, Fighting-types that hit it super-effectively can be better kept at bay as Nosepass supports its team with options like Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave, and maintaining momentum with Volt Switch and its low Speed to bring in a teammate for free. Oddish, with Chlorophyll, is able to make use of the unbanned Drought that Vulpix brings this generation and it has a new option to hit Dark- and Fighting-types hard while its Speed is doubled, giving it a new offensive edge. One of the more unappreciated mons, Budew, has access to this move as well, and with its Natural Cure ability, Poison typing, and Toxic Spikes, it might make for an interesting candidate for a teamslot now or in the future.
Edit: Don't hate on Nosepass. I used a Quiet HP Ice/Thunder Wave/Rock Blast/Stealth Rock set during the Sneasel era and I used it to check Sneasel and Yanma, and to lure Gligar into a OHKO on the switch-in. It had to be played conservatively in order to put in work, but it was great nonetheless.
As far as the ability Sweet Veil, reading its description "Prevents allies from being put to Sleep" made me think it's meaning that it prevents Sleep in scenarios only in doubles, where the Sweet Veil carrier and a teammate can both be active at the same time. But, after using Hypnosis Yanma for a while, I was unable to put random Pokemon to Sleep with Hypnosis in three battles on Showdown; it would hit them and say "Failed", while they were not holding Safety Goggles and not Pokemon that have any kind of abilities that prevent Sleep. In all three instances, the players I faced had a Swirlix on their team. This led me to conclude that Sweet Veil prevents all teammates from falling asleep as long as it's on the team, and doesn't even have to active in battle to achieve this. If it turns out that this is some kind of bug/coincidence that's making me assume something about the Sweet Veil ability that isn't true, I apologize in advance, but I'm somewhat convinced this is the case. Isn't this great for blocking Sleep Powder from Tangela and Hypnosis from Compound Eyes Yanma? It turns out Sweet Veil only acts as the ability Insomnia in singles and only protects "allies" in Double Battles when both are active.
How do you think Fairy-type offensive coverage in Dazzling Gleam affects the metagame now or how do you think it might affect it in the future? Bear in mind that strategies are still being formed and many potentially awesome tactics/sets/combos still have yet to be discovered!
Discuss!