Metagame [Gen 8] Category Swap


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Are there any Pokémon you wish were better offensively, but most of their good moves run off their lower attacking stat? Well, wish no more! In Category Swap, all physical moves are special, and all special moves are physical. Stats still work the same; for example, Salazzle’s Nasty Plot still boosts its base 111 special attack, but now it’s better at using Flare Blitz than Fire Blast.

Banlist:
Clauses: Species Clause, Sleep Clause Mod, Evasion Clause, OHKO Clause, Endless Battle Clause, Dynamax Clause
Pokemon: Calyrex-Ice, Calyrex-Shadow, Darmanitan-Galar, Dialga, Dracovish, Dragapult, Eternatus, Genesect, Giratina, Giratina-Origin, Groudon, Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Kyurem, Kyurem-Black, Kyurem-White, Landorus-Incarnate, Lugia, Lunala, Magearna, Mewtwo, Necrozma-DM, Necrozma-DW, Nidoking, Palkia, Pheromosa, Rayquaza, Reshiram, Slurpuff, Solgaleo, Xerneas, Yveltal, Zacian, Zacian-Crowned, Zamazenta, Zamazenta-Crowned, Zekrom
Abilities: Power Construct, Arena Trap, Shadow Tag, Moody
Moves: Baton Pass, Draco Meteor, Overheat
Items: King's Rock

  • Since Draco Meteor and Overheat no longer lower the relevant attacking stat, they essentially have no drawbacks.
  • :Nidoking: :Magearna: :Dragapult: Here.
  • :Slurpuff: Here.

Strategy
A lot of Pokémon gain coverage options, or can finally take advantage of their STAB… while others lose them.

Increased viability:
  • :Electivire: :Tapu Koko: Physical Electric-types can use the more-reliable Thunderbolt in lieu of Wild Charge.
  • :Rhydon: :Aggron: Some older Pokémon learn a ton of special moves despite not having the stats to back them up, but now they can use them.
  • :Alakazam: :Reuniclus::Salazzle: On the flip side, some special attackers learn a surprising variety of physical moves.
  • :Kommo-o: Physical Boomburst.
  • :Ferrothorn: It’s not just offensive Pokémon that benefit from this! Ferrothorn can heal itself with Giga Drain from a 94 base attack. It also resists both of Tapu Koko’s STABs.
Decreased viability:
  • :Azumarill: Huge Power-boosted Hydro Pump and Ice Beam are nice, but it doesn’t have a reliable Fairy STAB now.
  • :Heracross: :Buzzwole: Some physical attackers hardly learn any special moves…
  • :Porygon-Z: :Tapu Lele: …And some special attackers hardly learn any physical moves.
  • :Urshifu: It learns a grand total of three special moves over 60 base power, and with 63 base special attack, it won't be able to use its physical movepool well either.
  • :Naganadel: Since all of Naganadel's Fire-type moves are special, it no longer has a reliable way to deal with Steel-types in this meta.
  • :Zygarde: Thousand Arrows is much less threatening when it comes off base 81 special attack, but it's still workable with Choice Specs; see the damage calculations below.
  • :Spectrier: Phantom Force isn't very reliable, and that's its only physical Ghost move.
  • :Terrakion: :Tyranitar: There are a grand total of three special Rock-type moves, one of which has 60 base power, one of which is rare, and one of which takes two turns. Basically every physical attacker that relies on Rock is screwed over.
  • :Hatterene: :Sylveon: On the flip side, there are only two physical Fairy moves, one of which is a signature move, so any special-attacking Fairy-types are screwed. Even Sylveon has to rely on Pixilate-boosted Last Resort, which is a nuke, but also stopped dead in its tracks by any Steel-type.
Watchlist:
  • :Marshadow: Its only non-STAB, non-Normal special move is Grass Knot, and even its special STABs are weaker than its physical ones; however, Ghost and Fighting are perfect neutral coverage in Sword and Shield. Additionally, its base 90 special attack is workable, and it learns Calm Mind.
  • :Nidoqueen: It's a slightly weaker version of Nidoking, which was banned for being too centralising.
  • :Keldeo: It has a powerful Fighting STAB in the form of Close Combat as well as access to pivoting and priority. Its main check, Dragapult, has been banned.
  • :Gyarados: :Dragonite: :Salamence: Basically anything that learns Dragon Dance and Hurricane is virtually unstoppable once it gets a few boosts up, especially with rain support.


Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 228 Def / 24 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Stealth Rock
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed

Ferrothorn can do the same things that it does in OU, but now it can actively heal itself with Giga Drain. Knock Off unfortunately runs off its base 54 special attack now, but its utility could still be useful. Iron Barbs + Rocky Helmet can also punish special attackers that rely on the Elemental Punches, such as...


Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Zen Headbutt
- Fire Punch
- Gyro Ball

At level 100, Reuniclus' maximum special attack is 383, and its minimum speed is 58. A Gyro Ball coming off that has got to hurt. Fire Punch is again to deal with Steel-types.


Thundurus (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot
- Discharge
- Psychic

Thundurus can make use of Defiant by turning its diverse special movepool into a diverse physical movepool, and it punishes defoggers, too. Unfortunately, it still has no Flying STAB.


Gyarados @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Hurricane
- Thunderbolt / Thunder
- Dragon Dance

Hydro Pump is much stronger than Waterfall, and Hurricane is slightly more reliable than Bounce. Use Thunder if you have rain support; use Thunderbolt otherwise.

  • 252 Atk Life Orb Electivire Flamethrower (physical) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 291-348 (82.6 - 98.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
  • 252 Atk Life Orb Tapu Koko Dazzling Gleam (physical) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Reuniclus: 199-234 (46.9 - 55.1%) -- 68% chance to 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Life Orb Reuniclus Gyro Ball (128 BP, special) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Koko: 246-290 (87.5 - 103.2%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
  • 252+ SpA Life Orb Reuniclus Fire Punch (special) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ferrothorn: 296-354 (84 - 100.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
  • 252+ SpA Choice Specs Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 200-236 (65.7 - 77.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
  • 252+ SpA Choice Specs Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Skarmory: 160-189 (47.9 - 56.5%) -- 33.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Q&A
Do Body Press and Foul Play work the same as usual?
Body Press does, because it substitutes the user's attacking stat for its defense, but Foul Play now uses the target's special attack.

What about Psyshock?
Psyshock would still calculate damage based on the target’s defense, so there’s no point in using it over any other special-now-physical Psychic move.

What triggers Counter and Mirror Coat?
Those moves check if the opponent used a move tagged as physical or special. Since all damaging moves’ tags are swapped around in this meta, Counter would reflect special-now-physical moves, while Mirror Coat would reflect physical-now-special moves.

Which moves make contact?
Whether a move makes contact or not is independent of whether it's physical or special, so moves that make contact under normal circumstances will still do so here. However, since most contact moves are physical, this means that Rocky Helmet will punish special attackers more in this meta.

What about burn and confusion?
Burn halves the power of moves that are now physical, while confusion damage is still physical.

Resources
Discord

Playability: This format is playable on Trash Channel and ROM, and was the Leader's Choice on the main Showdown server for August 2022.

Council:
:Skitty: Nitro Indigo
:sobble: multibandit
:Milotic: Aggrometaile
:Arbok: Clastia

Ban history:
  • 2/Jun/2022: Leaf Storm and Superpower removed from the banlist. Grass is a poor attacking type, and Superpower is learned by few special attackers, not to mention that the defense drop is unmitigated.
  • 3/Aug/2022: Nidoking, Magearna, and Dragapult banned.
  • 20/Aug/2022: Slurpuff banned.
 
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Here's a naive first attempt at making a category swap team. Mostly just took good OU mons and tweaked the set, but tried to showcase some cool ideas:
https://pokepast.es/9cb964f207c94b89

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 232 SpD / 24 Spe
Calm Nature
- Toxic
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Heat Crash

Heatran gets some cool options in stronger-than-earthpower earthquake, the "heavy moves" heat crash and heavy slam which have quite good power in an OU environment, but can be unreliable if you face celesteela or something. You do lose out on lava plume and magma storm which is sad but I think the mon is still good.



Suspect Test (Marshadow) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bulk Up
- Aura Sphere
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp

Wisp hex, to get the best power out of it you can since other options for ghost moves are lacking. Speed tier is very nice and has solid power. With its sick stab coverage it might be banworthy? Hard to know without playing.

Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Stealth Rock
- Body Press
- Leech Seed

Basically normal Ferro lol

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze
- Knock Off

Literally just normal Pex


Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Leech Life
- U-turn

Volcarona gets some exciting new options to abuse. Healing from Leech Life, stronger fire move in flare blitz (at the cost of your longevity), Poison Jab, Wild Charge, Zen Headbutt as coverage options, maybe Facade or Acrobatics as an option? Most exciting though I think is the strong special U-turn. Skitter Smack could also be funny i guess.


Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Earth Power
- U-turn
- Toxic

Lando
 
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Don Vascus

Certified Wednesday Poster
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
At a second look, the preventive ban on superpower seems not make that much sense to me. While it is true that it no longer lowers the relevant attack stat, its not like its alone in this regard. While not as good as Superpower now and less distributed, Close Combat has identical base power and similarly doesnt lower the attack stat that matters, or any at all in this case, instead dropping both defenses. I personally dont think that having a close combat that only lowers defense wouldnt be too overbearing. If anything, the more broken aspect might end up being giving fighting coverage to many mons, which at that point id believe its on a mon by mon basis. But fundamentally broken? i dont think so
 
Darmanitan-Galar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- Freeze-Dry
- Focus Blast

Are you guys sure to dont want to ban this guy, like try to find a check to freeze dry darm
 
Why is this in Increased Viability?? RIllaboom loses all of the tools that made it good, physical Boomburst is also not even that great for a Pokemon that already gets walled by Steel-types.
It also gets leaf storm which is pretty insanely strong in terrain
Darmanitan-Galar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- Freeze-Dry
- Focus Blast

Are you guys sure to dont want to ban this guy, like try to find a check to freeze dry darm
It is banned SOMEONE just made a mistake in the OP, not naming any names <.<
 

Byleth

Retirement
cool meta, as per usual byleth drops random thoughts that seem interesting to her whether they are actually good or not will be determined whenever this gets a ladder anyway THEORY time
:ss/dragapult:
Dragapult @ Spell Tag
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Shadow Ball
- Dragon Pulse
- Substitute
OR
Dragapult @ Spell Tag
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp
- U-turn
- Filler (Thunder?)


Sub DD pult has a more reliable ghost stab, but relying on a worse dragon stab physically hurts a lot, which can be said for band sets as well. Pivot loves the increase in damage with hex, same with certain band sets but pivot pult has awkward movepool issue i feel. Specs/Special Pult as a whole looks p bad cuz phantom reliance and worse special attack to go off of for dragon darts. Overall I think this mon gets WORSE but could just be me.

:ss/Nidoking:
feeling lazy dont wanna post set u can already think one up easily anyway
Nails been hit in the head with nido for this meta, blows up literally everything, considering it has the right coverage for what u want to hit.
252 Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 190-226 (48.2 - 57.3%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 144+ Def Buzzwole: 211-250 (50.4 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO not like ur gonna use buzzwole tho lol
-1 252 Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 164+ Def Landorus-Therian: 317-374 (82.9 - 97.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (sludge into ice always ko's after rocks)

:ss/gengar:
Gengar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Poltergeist
- Poison Jab
- Drain Punch
- Trick

from 252 SpA Choice Specs Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 109-130 (35.8 - 42.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
to
252 SpA Choice Specs Gengar Poltergeist vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 153-180 (50.3 - 59.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
t
enough said lol here's your new specs ghost 80bp --> 110bp

:ss/tapu-koko:
Tapu Koko @ Choice Band
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot

Run defensive lando hippo exca ferro or tang or you die this mon is not funny this is not a joke

Anyways one thing i've learned trying to come up with sets in this meta is that it hurts my head and requires too much brainpower but seems very interesting, i think out of all the mons here geng is the most interesting to me ok bye now

P.S.

Consider unbanning like Zamazenta and its crowned form, look at its special movepool and I think you will reason that the coverage is very dogshit and it does not belong on the BL.
:Zamazenta: :Zamazenta-Crowned:
For reference its useful moves are like Focus Blast, Moonblast, Flash Cannon, Steel Beam, and thats it.
 
Decided to do a bit of theorymonning/messing around for this. I haven't seriously touched OU in forever, so I have no idea if any of this would be viable or not in an OU-based metagame.

:ss/cinderace:
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flamethrower
- Electro Ball
- U-turn
- Court Change

Hey, at least you can use court change now! The only other physical coverage moves Cinderace gets are Shadow Ball, Scorching Sands, and Focus Miss. Electro Ball may be fun for Pex/Corv, but I doubt it'll be anything game-changing (or good).

:ss/Keldeo-Resolute:
Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stone Edge
- Flip Turn
- Liquidation
- Superpower

Keldeo can now use Flip Turn off its stronger attack, and additionally, it gets Rock, Poison, and bug coverage. You should probably be running Poison Jab over Stone Edge for grass-types, but I was just trying to find anyone who gets to use special rock-type moves.

:ss/Kommo-o:
Kommo-o @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Clanging Scales
- Boomburst
- Aura Sphere / Focus Blast / Flash Cannon
- Dragon Dance

Kommo-o always had interesting special moves, and now it actually gets to use them off its stronger attacking stat. Will this work in practice? No idea, but it's got DD to boost physical boomburst with a 110-bp physical dragon move- I don't think you can go wrong with that if you tried. Just keep away all fairies.

Kinda interested in seeing how special body press and rock moves play out here. Since special rock moves don't exist (except for now-unviable Meteor Beam and the rare Power Gem), all rock coverage is now special. Of all viable special attackers with rock coverage, I can't imagine Heatran, Volcanion, or Mew running special stone edge. After one very long /ds search, the only mons I can see potentially running special rock coverage are Necrozma, Hydreigon, and Nihilego. I guess that makes Volcarona happy.

Also fun fact: Gigalith gets Power Gem, so for anyone looking for TTar, the king is waiting for you in PU.
 
Kinda interested in seeing how special body press and rock moves play out here. Since special rock moves don't exist (except for now-unviable Meteor Beam and the rare Power Gem), all rock coverage is now special. Of all viable special attackers with rock coverage, I can't imagine Heatran, Volcanion, or Mew running special stone edge. After one very long /ds search, the only mons I can see potentially running special rock coverage are Necrozma, Hydreigon, and Nihilego. I guess that makes Volcarona happy.
Ooh, I'll put "every physical Rock-type" on the decreased viability list.
 
:ss/mamoswine:

In addition to retaining powerful standard STABs in Ice Beam and Earth Power, Mamoswine can now make full use of an option it already made decent use of sometimes, that being Freeze Dry. It doesn't really learn any other usable special moves besides those, but it doesn't really need any other coverage, so that last slot can be filled with a utility move like Stealth Rock, Knock Off, or Ice Shard (now weaker but priority is priority). Or Ice Beam can be dropped to make room for two utility moves.
 
Some stuff

:magearna:
Magearna is back, and as usual it looks broken. The powerful, spammable Fleur Cannon makes physical Shift Gear sets very appealing, powering through opponents while not caring about drops. Physically oriented AV and even Choice Band seem perfectly usable for much of the same reasons. While Soul-Heart and its potent Special Attack mostly go to waste now, there are probably some sets that can make use of those qualities.
:hydreigon:
The (probably) best user of NP + Scale Shot, Hydreigon can be a competent sweeper. Although Naganadel has better stats and ability, its almost lack of coverage is a big letdown. On the flipside, Hydreigon has a lot of coverage to choose from, just wishes it had some more consistent or powerful options, but it seems good.
:toxtricity:
Toxtricity is lookin nice actually. Although its sound moves now hit from its lower attacking stat, Shift Gear more than makes up for that. It’s probably pretty fringe though cause of Landorus-T, but still seems fun to play around with.
:zoroark:
Could this be the first meta ever where Zoroark has a niche? Powerful options in Knock Off and Sucker Punch along with NP and some usable coverage are quite usable, but even more notably is that there aren’t as many special dark types to compete with, especially ones with access to Sucker Punch. However, Zoroark doesn’t really have good coverage for Fairy types, even though nothing likes taking a strong knock off.
:togekiss:
Here's another usable-looking priority user. NP + Extreme Speed off of 120 Special Attack is very powerful. Usable, but not powerful STABs and Fighting coverage is enough to threaten most things. This Togekiss probably prefers Super Luck, potentially gaining a cheesy increase in power.
:nihilego:
Looks really strong, only really hates Blissey, everything else gets destroyed by its powerful STABs and Knock Off.
 
Could this be the first meta ever where Zoroark has a niche? Powerful options in Knock Off and Sucker Punch along with NP and some usable coverage are quite usable, but even more notably is that there aren’t as many special dark types to compete with, especially ones with access to Sucker Punch. However, Zoroark doesn’t really have good coverage for Fairy types, even though nothing likes taking a strong knock off.
Yeah, lots of priority now is special which might change things up a lot. Moltres-g could be nice for similar reasons. It's a bit weaker and slower but you do get a nice secondary stab, great special bulk and a solid ability (brave bird and berserk have nice synergy). Could run taunt on either of them to potentially get through blissey.
 

zastra

you didn't even notice
is a Tiering Contributor
yay cool new om
:ss/salamence:
Salamence @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Life Orb
Ability: Moxie / Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Dragon Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Dance
The other Rayquaza Salamence's high attack and speed stat, paired with its access to near perfect coverage in dual STAB+(physical)Fire Blast and Dragon Dance makes it a potential threat. It also plays a notable role by (soft)checking potential threats like :keldeo: too in my opinion.
Earthquake can be used over Fblast in case you're scared of :heatran:
:ss/magearna:
Magearna @ Life Orb
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shift Gear
- Fleur Cannon
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
...THIS THING GETS SHIFT GEAR AND FLEUR CANNON!!!!!! Simple set, Ice beam is for potential Nidokings and Focus Blast hits stuff like Tran.
Here's my attempt on a CS team:
:magearna::heatran::marshadow::salamence::tapu-koko::landorus-therian: (lmk if I messed up any evs/moves)
e: fix the ivs
 
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Clas

My death was... greatly exaggerated
is a Tiering Contributor
252+ SpA Choice Specs Strong Jaw Dracovish Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 351-414 (49.1 - 57.9%) -- 97.7% chance to 2HKO

walled.
woah woah woah hes right u know
252+ SpA Choice Specs Strong Jaw Dracovish Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 4 HP / 252+ SpD Blissey: 265-313 (40.6 - 48%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

in further news keep vish banned
 
Yeah, lots of priority now is special which might change things up a lot. Moltres-g could be nice for similar reasons. It's a bit weaker and slower but you do get a nice secondary stab, great special bulk and a solid ability (brave bird and berserk have nice synergy). Could run taunt on either of them to potentially get through blissey.
Recoil doesn't trigger Berserk, so while Brave Bird can get you closer to activating it, you need to be careful that the recoil itself doesn't put you below half.
 

drampa's grandpa

cannonball
is a Community Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
Best part of any meta! Random set dropping!!! :quagchamppogsire: :quagchamppogsire: :quagchamppogsire:

EDIT:
Non-STAB Boomburst is a bit stronger than a base 90 STAB. It's rarely going to make or break a Pokemon when it has what is probably the worst offensive typing, and I think people are making too big a deal about it with mons like Rillaboom and especially Kommo-o that have options that provide better coverage.
/End Edit

:ss/slurpuff:
Slurpuff @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature / Jolly Nature idk
- Belly Drum
- Flamethrower
- Draining Kiss / Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt

Slurpuff gets vastly improved coverage, being able to break through Pex and all those painful Steel types that formerly walled it without relying on a move with 75 bp. I personally think Draining Kiss is better than Dazzling Gleam, as it gives your sweep significantly more longevity, but it is admittedly rather weak, so pick your poison. If Heatran or something like that really scares you you can run Surf, but I don't see that as being very effective.

:ss/kartana:
Kartana @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Swords Dance
- Steel Beam
- Giga Drain
- Vacuum Wave

This thing seems, at a glance, to have been shafted but honestly I'm not sure. Kartana has never had a good offensive movepool, consisting of bad Steel STABs, one decent Grass STAB, Knock Off, and Sacred Sword. It's BETTER than it's special movepool, but there's nothing with a bp over 90 (unless you count boosted Knock Off or Guillotine), no priority... and it's just bad. We've seen what happens in metas where Kartana gets a good movepool over and over: it's banned (see STABmons or Sketchmons for example).

Here it loses the flexibility Sacred Sword and Knock Off gave it but in return it gains a humongous increase in power on its Steel STAB. Steel Beam is a 140 BP move off of 181 Attack. That hits insanely hard, and even if it costs half your health you're breaking something in half as you do it. Giga Drain is good at replenishing your health from Life Orb damage or Steel Beam recoil. Vacuum Wave is priority, and lets Kartana perform something of an antioffensive role, but in calcing stuff it looks like the lack of STAB might prove to be disappointing. We'll see. It certainly doesn't work as well as coverage as Sacred Sword and Knock Off did, but Air Slash is worse.

+2 252 Atk Life Orb Kartana Steel Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 265-312 (66.2 - 78%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Kartana Giga Drain vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 525-619 (125 - 147.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Kartana Vacuum Wave vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 278-328 (72 - 84.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Kartana Steel Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 226-268 (64.2 - 76.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Kartana Vacuum Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 177-208 (50.2 - 59%) -- 75.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
38.8 - 45.6% (52.8 - 62.1% recovered)

252 Atk Life Orb Kartana Vacuum Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cinderace: 94-110 (31.2 - 36.5%) -- 67.5% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Kartana Vacuum Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 161-190 (49.8 - 58.8%) -- 98.4% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Kartana Vacuum Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 81-95 (25 - 29.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

:ss/porygon-z:
Porygon-Z @ Flame Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Facade
- Nasty Plot
- Protect / Recover
- Thief
This one is probably too memey to actually work ;-;
Flame Orb Facade is fake Adaptability Boomburst. Nasty Plot boosts. Protect procs the orb. Thief hits Ghost types and does nothing else unless you get hit by Knock Off. This will hit as hard as a non-Specs Porygon-Z did in STABmons. You just need to set up the burn, and not let yourself die to Flame Orb recoil... should be fun, we'll see if it's any good.

+2 252 SpA Adaptability Porygon-Z Facade (140 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 398-470 (56.6 - 66.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

:ss/garchomp:
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Dragon Pulse

For some reason a lot of Pseudolegendary Dragons are getting posted here :pika: Let's add one more
This is a standard offensive Swords Dance Garchomp with Fire Blast working off of its Attack stat. This will make breaking stuff like Corviknight easier for it as it can boost through them. It can no longer run Scale Shot to boost its Speed unfortunately. Free Draco Meteor (not actually it's broken).
 
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