Metagame LGPE OverUsed

[Taptricity]

Hi guys! Want to really try to build a team around Mega-Charizard X. Idea is to have him as a Mixed Attacker since both Attack and Special Attack are tied at 130.

Mixed Attacker (Charizard-Mega X) @ Charizardite X
Level: 50
Naive Nature
- Flamethrower
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Roost / Will-O-Wisp

Thoughts? First time posting, thanks in advance!

Hello! I got your team ready for you!

Importable

Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Level: 50
Naive Nature
- Fire Blast
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Roost

Poliwrath
Ability: Water Absorb
Level: 50
Adamant Nature
- Scald
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Rest

Rhydon
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Rest

Muk-Alola
Ability: Poison Touch
Level: 50
Careful Nature
- Crunch
- Toxic
- Fire Blast
- Rest

Zapdos
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- U-turn
- Toxic
- Roost

Alakazam-Mega @ Alakazite
Ability: Trace
Level: 50
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Recover

So Mega Charizard X is an interesting choice of a mixed attacker. So I first gave it Roost over Will-O-Wisp and replaced Flamethrower with Fire Blast. I believe that any Stealth Rock weak Pokémon outside of Aero should be carrying Roost if they can learn it and I have Fire Blast on this Mega Zard to guarantee the OHKO on Melmetal. So my next two slots I’ve paired up Poliwrath and Rhydon together as they have some solid defensive synergy. Rhydon can come in and take Flying-type moves for Poliwrath while it checks dangerous Water-types like Mega Gyarados and Cloyster. They also pair well with Mega Zard as Mega Zard checks Mega Venusaur for these two. So next up was making sure that I didn’t auto lose to Mega Zam so I have Alolan Muk as my mandatory Dark-type. A Careful nature with Fire Blast seems strange but you still 3HKO Melmetal and now you have extra SpDef to help check those dangerous Special Attackers. So next a lot of this team was weak to Ground-types so I added Zapdos to also be a more solid Melmetal switch-in and it also has U-turn to give me an easier time to pivot Mega Zard in. Finally, since this team has great Melmetal counter measures I added Alakazam in my last slot to sweep and also speed control. My advice is to only mega evolve it if a well played Mega Aero has seriously threatened your team. In most other situations, Mega Evolve Charizard. Hope you like the team! If you have any questions feel free to ask!

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Surf was for rhydon and pterra lead , and why NidoQueen and not King ?

Queen is bulkier and has access to Super Fang.

 

[April Behavior]

Just a general question -- are we allowed to change Charizard's X/Y form mid-battle? Let's say I start off with using X for Earthquake, can I then switch to Y for Fire Blast without switching out?

 

[Yoshi]

Just a general question -- are we allowed to change Charizard's X/Y form mid-battle? Let's say I start off with using X for Earthquake, can I then switch to Y for Fire Blast without switching out?

No you can’t, you also can’t pick which one mid battle yet either. That won’t be implemented for a while unfortunately.

 

[Braveheart06]

Hello! I got your team ready for you!

Importable

Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Level: 50
Naive Nature
- Fire Blast
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Roost

Poliwrath
Ability: Water Absorb
Level: 50
Adamant Nature
- Scald
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Rest

Rhydon
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Rest

Muk-Alola
Ability: Poison Touch
Level: 50
Careful Nature
- Crunch
- Toxic
- Fire Blast
- Rest

Zapdos
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- U-turn
- Toxic
- Roost

Alakazam-Mega @ Alakazite
Ability: Trace
Level: 50
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Recover

So Mega Charizard X is an interesting choice of a mixed attacker. So I first gave it Roost over Will-O-Wisp and replaced Flamethrower with Fire Blast. I believe that any Stealth Rock weak Pokémon outside of Aero should be carrying Roost if they can learn it and I have Fire Blast on this Mega Zard to guarantee the OHKO on Melmetal. So my next two slots I’ve paired up Poliwrath and Rhydon together as they have some solid defensive synergy. Rhydon can come in and take Flying-type moves for Poliwrath while it checks dangerous Water-types like Mega Gyarados and Cloyster. They also pair well with Mega Zard as Mega Zard checks Mega Venusaur for these two. So next up was making sure that I didn’t auto lose to Mega Zam so I have Alolan Muk as my mandatory Dark-type. A Careful nature with Fire Blast seems strange but you still 3HKO Melmetal and now you have extra SpDef to help check those dangerous Special Attackers. So next a lot of this team was weak to Ground-types so I added Zapdos to also be a more solid Melmetal switch-in and it also has U-turn to give me an easier time to pivot Mega Zard in. Finally, since this team has great Melmetal counter measures I added Alakazam in my last slot to sweep and also speed control. My advice is to only mega evolve it if a well played Mega Aero has seriously threatened your team. In most other situations, Mega Evolve Charizard. Hope you like the team! If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Thank you very much for the help! Really appreciate the input, gonna try the team! Just a question, how much of an impact is the Impish Nature on Rhydon? Was thinking about using an Adamant one. Cheers!

 

[KaiReptilon]

OK in the discord i've mentioned that a big post is coming about pokemon that aren't the super standard pokemon (i've been restricted myself in teambuilding for fun, also it's Halcyon from the discord). I'm not the best player not exclaiming that any of these pokemon are nearly as viable as those listed in S and A, just some pokemon i feel have a niche, Mega-Gyarados was apart of this group but the majority of people know it's actually a monster in this format.

Ok here me out, i don't think Chansey is all that trash honestly. The biggest caveat I'm going to highlight is yes Chansey will get royally screwed by status (particularly toxic) however it can check quite a few of the potent Special mons in the metagame and can theoretically 1 vs 1 them. Most notably is the best mega in the game, Mega Alakazam, Chansey still keeps it's monstrous HP and SpDef stats which allows it to switch into anything Zam has to throw at it and can take it on with Seismic Toss + Toxic and can recover in it's face thanks to Softboiled (sadly it's clapped by Gengar as Chansey does NOTHING to it in return), if you do end up forcing an opponent to switch I've found that the newly buffed Teleport is actually a really nice boon for Chansey, allowing you to actually gain momentum by going directly into a check or counter of who your opponent sent out in the face of Chansey. Of course this meta is physically dominant so Chansey will struggle but with the sheer amount of willo-wisp and sizzly slide in this meta i feel it could take on neutral burnt physical mons as well. Overall i feel Chansey would take some work to make fully viable (losing eviolite hurts a lot) but it has a niche in being a pretty solid Mega-Zam check provided it hasn't already boosted.

I believe Cloyster to be really fun, set up sweeping is a rarity in this tier (it's one of two shell smashers, the other being Omastar). I'm in no way stating this as viable however when you do get the opportunity to smash (insert joke here kek) not many teams can take a +2 hydro pump from cloyster, with Ice Beam being a secondary STAB to hit the likes of Mega-Venusaur and Exeggutor-Alola. In the final slot i've seen interesting choices ranging from Ice Shard (just why) to Tri-Attack which i could get behind... IF explosion wasn't a thing, being able to explode at +2 on something that completely walls you like a chansey or snorlax (as uncommon as they are) especially Mega-Gyara is quite valuable. Overall Cloyster is super fun and can definitely work if you find a good opportunity to actually shell-smash.

Yeah a niche actually exists for this in a permanent stealth rock meta... Here me out here, i don't think Moltres is anywhere near good, but i feel it does have a niche. Firstly there's what i believe to be a rather standard set consisting of Flamethrower, U-turn, Will-o-wisp and Roost. I considered it a very solid melmetal check to begin with until i saw it starting to run rockslide which will royal screw you, although for variants not running rockslide moltres is a pretty solid answer, isn't OHKO'ed by DIB after rocks and ofc is immune to earthquake, since you'll inevitably force the melmetal out you're able to roost up on the switch and then proceed to get a fast U-turn out of their answer. I think moltres does so much better in this format if rocks was removeable or didn't exist, but it isn't outright terrible atm.

So i forgot this pokemon existed when theorycrafting what could be useable. Enter probably the best Melmetal check in the entire game (no i'm not crazy) in my opinion. Poliwrath has a lot going for it (besides being crippled by burn like every damn fighting type) it has decent coverage with Waterfall, Earthquake and Ice Punch and will commonly run Rest in the final slot for recovery, I've also been running Scald over Waterfall to simply fish for burns in such a status heavy meta and allows you to take on Melmetal better if you burn it. It's a good lead vs Aero as well since it can switch in on slide and scare it out with scald. I need to play more with it to find better uses, but at as melmetal answer it does exceptionally well.

So there's my two cents on a few mons which aren't S-A tier but have their own niches which are enough to make them at least viable, thought it would be a good idea to talk about some different pokemon as Rhydon, Melmetal, Mew, Starter Eevee and Mega Alakazam have been discussed to death so i wanted to show something different. Other pokemon worth mentioning here are Mega-Gyara,Venu and Slowbro (all mega) as well as Exeggutor-Alola, Dugtrio-Alola, Starmie, Nidoqueen and i've even begun messing about with Snorlax.

 

[LRJ87]

Enter probably the best Melmetal check in the entire game (no i'm not crazy) in my opinion.

I would say that M Slowbro is much better at checking Melmetal

 

[KaiReptilon]

I would say that M Slowbro is much better at checking Melmetal

i'll probably agree with you once i get around to using it tbh

 

[waterise]

Why is Timid preferred over Modest for Zapdos? What main threats or whatever does it really out-speed with that nature? Wouldn’t I want to hit harder with Modest instead?

 

[Taptricity]

Thank you very much for the help! Really appreciate the input, gonna try the team! Just a question, how much of an impact is the Impish Nature on Rhydon? Was thinking about using an Adamant one. Cheers!

I personally prefer Impish but Adamant is fine too. Impish is here so that your opponent has a 5% chance to 2HKO you which means you’ll usually be 3HKOed unless your opponent gets lucky.

Also to other users, if you request a viable mon or core, I’ll gladly take your request and build around it. This is to give you guys a learning experience to the metagame and it also gives me more times to explore and experiment and find ways to delve into the hidden complexity of the metagame.

 

[waterise]

I personally prefer Impish but Adamant is fine too. Impish is here so that your opponent has a 5% chance to 2HKO you which means you’ll usually be 3HKOed unless your opponent gets lucky.

Also to other users, if you request a viable mon or core, I’ll gladly take your request and build around it. This is to give you guys a learning experience to the metagame and it also gives me more times to explore and experiment and find ways to delve into the hidden complexity of the metagame.

Charizard-X and Venusaur, OR Charizard-X and Alolan Raichu

 

[Chelys]

Is there a reason why Mega Gengar can't use Hypnosis in this mode? It's impossible to use due to Sleep Clause banning Gengarite + Hypnosis, but without Shadow Tag, I don't really think there's a problem.

 

[Yoshi]

Is there a reason why Mega Gengar can't use Hypnosis in this mode? It's impossible to use due to Sleep Clause banning Gengarite + Hypnosis, but without Shadow Tag, I don't really think there's a problem.

getting fixed.

 

[raychap]

Hi,
- If there is no Melmetal, will the meta difference from what it is now?
- Will Snorlax becomes viable? And what would be its check aside from Melmetal? (E.g. Raidon?)
- Without Melmetal, what would be its replacement, i.e. physical tank?

 

[Eve]

Hi,
- If there is no Melmetal, will the meta difference from what it is now?
- Will Snorlax becomes viable? And what would be its check aside from Melmetal? (E.g. Raidon?)
- Without Melmetal, what would be its replacement, i.e. physical tank?

Hi!
As Melmetal is on almost every team I see, it seems likely that its loss would change a lot.
Snorlax is already viable! It can run special moves or Earthquake to dent Melmetal, and its typing, power and bulk allow it to have decent matchups versus threats like mega alakazam and gengar (it might even be the single best mega gengar answer).
It would be replaced by a number of things, although said thing would be more vulnerable to Toxic. I could see Mega and even Regulae Slowbro regaining popularity for this, as they also offer setup potential and make for decent users of Rest.

 

[raychap]

Hi!
As Melmetal is on almost every team I see, it seems likely that its loss would change a lot.
Snorlax is already viable! It can run special moves or Earthquake to dent Melmetal, and its typing, power and bulk allow it to have decent matchups versus threats like mega alakazam and gengar (it might even be the single best mega gengar answer).
It would be replaced by a number of things, although said thing would be more vulnerable to Toxic. I could see Mega and even Regulae Slowbro regaining popularity for this, as they also offer setup potential and make for decent users of Rest.

Thx for your answer!

Then why Snorlax is not so popular in this Meta? I havn’t seen much fighting aside from poliwrath and it could even check Gengar & Zam. Is there any Snorlax hard checker?

Slowbro is quite interesting. I am not sure if it worth to use M-Bro instead of M-Zam, M-Gengar or M-Gyarados.

 

[Chelys]

Thx for your answer!

Then why Snorlax is not so popular in this Meta? I havn’t seen much fighting aside from poliwrath and it could even check Gengar & Zam. Is there any Snorlax hard checker?

Slowbro is quite interesting. I am not sure if it worth to use M-Bro instead of M-Zam, M-Gengar or M-Gyarados.

I guess Snorlax lacks something that'd make it special, I guess. If you need a special wall, there are better options, but as a physical attacker, that's the case, too. And without Curse or RestTalk, Snorlax just seems to lack something that's giving it a niche.

I'm playing Slowbro whilst waiting for Gengar to become useable with mega and Hypnosis, and it really surprised me how useful it was. Even AMuk can't reliably kill it in 3 hits, and there isn't too much that'd want to switch into it either, since it's just gonna use Scald and deal a lot of dmg and possibly burn you.

 

[HarlemzElite]

Hello everyone, I'm pretty excited to try this meta out. The last time I played competitively was back in Pearl/Diamond/Platinum.

I'm still playing through the game but made sure to start with a Jolly Eevee so that I can lock in a cleric build early on. I noticed that Melmetal is a big threat in this game's meta. How are people getting a competitive Melmetal ready? Do you think people are getting him via Pokemon Go? If so, how long would that take approximately? Any insight would be helpful, thanks.

 

[Ivy]

Hello everyone, I'm pretty excited to try this meta out. The last time I played competitively was back in Pearl/Diamond/Platinum.
I'm still playing through the game but made sure to start with a Jolly Eevee so that I can lock in a cleric build early on. I noticed that Melmetal is a big threat in this game's meta. How are people getting a competitive Melmetal ready? Do you think people are getting him via Pokemon Go? If so, how long would that take approximately? Any insight would be helpful, thanks.

From what I hear, you can min-max around 70 Meltan candies per week with the provided events, so the 400 for a Melmetal should be extremely difficult to have so soon. Some lucky folks had excess Rare Candies to splurge with. Go is the only way to evolve it, too. Likely most of 'em are illegitimate.

 

[Adam Miller]

I've just realised that I can't get Leech Seed on Alolan Exeggutor because the traded mon doesn't have it, nor is it available to learn.

Is there any way that I am missing?

 

[tennisace]

I've just realised that I can't get Leech Seed on Alolan Exeggutor because the traded mon doesn't have it, nor is it available to learn.

Is there any way that I am missing?

No, it can't get Leech Seed (or Sleep Powder for that matter).

 

[Adam Miller]

Damn, any suggestions on what I should put in it's place. My current set is:


Exeggutor-Alola
Bold Nature
- ?
- Mega Drain
- Dragon Pulse
- Psychic

Team is focused on paralysis, so toxic wouldn't be good for this Exeggutor. I'm thinking perhaps protect to see what the opposition will do, or sub to protect against status.

 

[tennisace]

Damn, any suggestions on what I should put in it's place. My current set is:


Exeggutor-Alola
Bold Nature
- ?
- Mega Drain
- Dragon Pulse
- Psychic

Team is focused on paralysis, so toxic wouldn't be good for this Exeggutor. I'm thinking perhaps protect to see what the opposition will do, or sub to protect against status.

Teleport works, Dragon Tail for phazing, Hypnosis for a slightly inaccurate sleep, Earthquake could work (Though Flamethrower > Psychic is a better option.

Also, the VR has been updated. Changes are as follows:

Rises:
Mega Alakazam A+ -> S
Melmetal A+ -> S
Mega Gyarados A- -> A+
Alolan Dugtrio UR -> B-

Drops:
Venomoth A- -> B+
Alolan Raticate B- -> C+

 

[Tomaius]

Does anyone have a speed tier list for this meta?

 

[waterise]

Teleport works, Dragon Tail for phazing, Hypnosis for a slightly inaccurate sleep, Earthquake could work (Though Flamethrower > Psychic is a better option.

Also, the VR has been updated. Changes are as follows:

Rises:
Mega Alakazam -> S
Melmetal -> S
Mega Gyarados -> A+
Alolan Dugtrio -> B-

Drops:
Venomoth -> B+
Alolan Raticate -> C+

Should link to it where it says it’s been updated instead of bolding. Should also have what they were beforehand in this post, too.