Pokémon Meowscarada

[Zach Parrott]

Base Stats:
HP: 76
ATK: 110
DEF: 70
SPA: 81
SPD: 70
SPE: 123

Abilites: Overgrow / Protean (Hidden)

New Move:

Flower Trick
Grass-type | Physical | 70BP | 16PP
Bypasses the accuracy check and always critically hits. Very similar to Wicked Blow and Surging Strikes, though slightly weaker.

Notable Moves:

Acrobatics
Agility
Ally Switch (Doubles)
Brick Break
Flower Trick
Foul Play
Hone Claws
Knock Off
Leech Seed
Low Kick
Petal Blizzard
Play Rough
Protect
Seed Bomb
Shadow Claw
Spikes
Substitute
Sucker Punch
Taunt
Toxic Spikes
Trailblaze
U-turn

Funny (Meme) Options:

Aura Sphere
Chilling Water
Dark Pulse
Energy Ball
Giga Drain
Leaf Storm
Nasty Plot
Power Gem
Rest
Shadow Ball
Sleep Talk
Trick Room

Pros:

• Base 123 Speed is an excellent speed tier, allowing Meowscarada to outspeed a significant portion of the metagame, including threats such as Greninja, Roaring Moon, Iron Valiant, and Pawmot. This allows Meowscarada to function both as an excellent pivot as well as a Choice user.
• Access to U-turn, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes gives Meowscarada very strong pivot potential.
• With Knock Off's distribution being limited, Meowscarada is one of the few Pokemon that can continue to remove items, all while getting stab from it.
• The Dark-typing gives it a key resistance to Ghost, which can be used to abuse choice-locked Dragapult and Gengar to some extent.
• Despite its nerf, Protean is still a solid ability, and gives Meowscarada the ability to switch its stab to whatever it pleases. Meowscarada packs a bunch of interesting coverage options including Play Rough, Thunder Punch, Low Kick, and Acrobatics.
• Flower Trick is a really strong move that gives Meowscarada surprising power. Though it isn't nearly as strong as Wicked Blow or Surging Strikes coming from Urshifu, Meowscarada can still output some solid damage even to resists. This is further augmented by Flower Trick's PP, which is double that of the other guaranteed crit moves.

Cons:

• Grass/Dark as a defensive type combination has a lot of notable weaknesses, including Fairy, Ice, Fighting, and a nasty 4x weakness to Bug (U-turn). This is alleviated somewhat by Protean, but bringing Meowscarada may be tough.
• 76/70/70 bulk is rather low. Meowscarada will struggle to take neutral hits or repeated resisted hits.
• Meowscarada will not appreciated coming in on Stealth Rock and Spikes repeatedly. Heavy Duty-Boots will be the default item for this Pokemon, while Choice sets will require some solid hazard control to keep Meowscarada healthy throughout the match.
• Grass/Dark stabs aren't the greatest, and with the nerf to Protean, Mewoscarada may lack the ability to break through bulkier Pokemon such as Corviknight effectively.
• Protean being nerfed and Meowscarada having a dual typing means the Meowscarada player must think carefully about what type they wish to become, which may make Meowscarada a difficult Pokemon to use.
• While Base 123 is a great speed tier, it's still outsped by threatening Pokemon such as Dragapult and Weavile.

Terastalize Potential: Due to Meowscarada's access to Protean, as well as its primary role to serve as a pivot, Meowscarada isn't the most exciting user of Terastalization out there. It can potentially use Terastalization on Choiced or Hone Claws sets as a means to power up one of its stabs or coverage, but I ultimately think you're better off with Terastalizing something else.

Sets:

Pivot (Meowscarada) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Protean / Overgrow
Tera Type: Dark / Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Spikes / Toxic Spikes / Sucker Punch
- Flower Trick / Low Kick / Taunt

This set makes use of Meowscarada's unique traits as a fast Pokemon with a load of utility moves. U-turn is always a great mid-ground button to click, especially if Meowscarada hasn't used Protean yet. Knock Off is pretty valuable now that its distribution has been limited, and Meowscarada's naturally high speed and decent base 110 attack allows it to force switches into bulkier Pokemon easily, allowing Meowscarada to remove their item. The last two moves are personal preference, but I believe Spikes and Flower Trick make the best use of Meowscarada's abilities. Spikes gives Meowscarada another button to click when forcing switches. Toxic Spikes can be used as an alternative. Sucker Punch allows Meowscarada to have an option against Dragapult and scarfers, preventing it from being scared out so easily. Flower Trick is an excellent move to have in the last slot and allows Meowscarada to threaten slower Pokemon. Low Kick can be a solid coverage option against Steel-types. Finally, Taunt can allow Meowscarada to punish more passive Pokemon by removing their recovery options or their ability to get rid of hazards.

Choice (Meowscarada) @ Choice Scarf / Choice Band
Ability: Protean
Tera Type: Dark / Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Flower Trick
- Low Kick / Sucker Punch / Thunder Punch / Spikes / Toxic Spikes

This set allows Meowscarada to take full advantage of its access to a strong Protean U-turn. Choice Scarf allows Meowscarada to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame, making it a threatening Pokemon capable of forcing a load of switches. Choice Band gives Meowscarada the ability better threaten bulkier Pokemon. Knock Off/Flower Trick are chosen due to their power as well as Knock Off's utility. The last slot can is pretty customizable: Low Kick gives Meowscarada a solid option against Steels, Thunder Punch allows it to hit Corviknight, and Sucker Punch is useful on Choice Band sets to threaten faster Pokemon. You can also pull a Greninja and run a hazard in the last slot to punish switches.

Other Options:

• With access to Hone Claws, Meowscarada could potentially be a late-game win condition thanks to its speed. With middling BP coverage moves and Protean forcing Meowscarada into a Dark-type should it Hone Claws first however, Meowscarada may struggle to pull these sets off, especially considering Hone Claws' meager 1 stage boost.
• In a similar vain to Greninja, Meowscarada can run a Suicide Lead set with Spikes and Toxic Spikes, augmented by its solid speed and access to Taunt.
• Meowscarada has a surprisingly decent Special movepool and access to Nasty Plot, but with a base Special Attack of 81 those sets will struggle to break through bulkier Pokemon.
• Meowscarada's high speed makes it an interesting Trick Room setter that can potentially get a "Slow" pivot out, but Meowscarada's poor bulk means you're better off using something that's actually usable in Trick Room.

Conclusion:

Meowscarada looks to be an interesting Pokemon at all phases of the game. In the early game, Meowscarada can use its decent attack and good speed to force switches, allowing it to make progress with Knock Off or set hazards with Spikes. It can also be a solid Pokemon mid-late game with Choice sets potentially allowing it to clean up weakened teams. It's middling power when unboosted, lack of solid boosting options, and its middling coverage options, on top of its mediocre defensive typing and bulk, make Meowscarada a Pokemon that seems easy to check on paper. Time will tell if Meowscarada truly becomes a big force in the OU metagame, but early on I expect Meowscarada's unique traits to make a solid option for more offensive teams.

 

[Magcargo]

Love using this mon. Its bulk isn't great, but its just enough to survive random weak U-Turns and what not. The Protean nerf doesn't matter too much on a CB set, where you aren't switching your attacks, and I do think this mon benefits a lot from the ability on this set. Grass / Dark is a really bad typing, so becoming only single type is really useful. I like doing some ballsy play;, like using Sucker Punch on Iron Bundle as it U-Turns, which chips it for good damage and weakens the damage Meowscarada taking. I know this mon is noticeably weaker than Urshifu, but it does feel similarly powerful in this early, more frail meta where more mons are electing for SpDef investment.

My only issue with this mon is its speed tier. You'd think 122 speed would be extremely good, but in a meta dominated by Flutter Mane, Chien-Pao, Iron Bundle, and Energy Booster, its merely average. It needs to rely on Sucker Punch a lot in order to deal with these mons, and Choice Sucker Punch is pretty exploitable. As a standalone Pokemon, I also think its kinda outclassed by Chien-Pao, but its an OK partner for it so that doesn't matter too much.

I haven't used the HDB set so I can't comment on it too much, but does it really need Protean? Overgrow seems like it'd be an worthwhile as an option just to avoid losing one of its STABs. IDK though, since some of the benefits about becoming mono-type might also still apply.

 

[Zach Parrott]

I haven't used the HDB set so I can't comment on it too much, but does it really need Protean? Overgrow seems like it'd be an worthwhile as an option just to avoid losing one of its STABs. IDK though, since some of the benefits about becoming mono-type might also still apply.

I think this is a fair consideration. I think running Overgrow might be better if you intend on running Flower Trick to keep your dualstabs, otherwise Protean is probably just better since being a mono-Dark/Ground is better than Grass/Dark.

 

[TCTphantom]

This thing is good. Real good....

Just not in this meta. Once things start to settle out I expect this to be an OU staple. It always has put in work for me each game. Just a nice offensive utility mon. Honestly did not expect the scarf set to be as solid as it was but its alright. Band is my second favorite set after Boots Utility. It feels so nice just being able to revenge kill things and knock things off.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Should edit the OP to remove mention of Flutter Mane, and add any cons relating to Flutter Mane

 

[sims796]

Any thoughts on Overgrow/Skill Swap shenanigans under Meme options?

 

[escarlata]

Meowscarada honestly feels like it has everything to be a great mon surrounding threats get slower. Part of what made Cinderace so unbearable last gen was the limited numbre of mons that can outpace it but this gen everyone is running Chien-Pao, Fluttering Mane, Roaring Moon, Iron Bundle etc that 123 Jolly doesn't feel fast enough.

With Fluttering Mane getting the boot, and the others potentially getting suspected, I could definitely see Meowscarada feeling better and better as the meta progresses. In fact, Meowscarada is actually a pretty offensive check to BU Palafin at the moment because of the auto crit on Flower Trick.

 

[pika pal]

One thing I'd be curious about is Terastalizing to better abuse Protean. I didn't have much experience with the example about to be brought in so please correct me if my second-hand info is wrong.

As I understand, Protean and Libero would only induce a Type-Change when you clicked a move whose type differed from your current one (obviously no accounting for the post-nerf versions). Greninja was a Dual-Type so he'd always change anyway, but Cinderace by contrast could spam Pyro Ball without technically triggering Libero since it was already Mono-Fire.

In this regard, could Meowscarada Terastalize into one of its base types for Super-STAB (be it Knock Off or Flower Trick), letting it threaten the Nuke on switches, and not using up the Protean-shift for that switch if it guesses wrong (such as Knock Off -> Roaring Moon -> STAB Low Kick to retain a potential KO if it used ATK Booster Energy instead of Speed)? It's not like the mon doesn't appreciate the power regardless given its okay-ATK and mediocre Coverage options

 

[Sharpam]

I cannot believe Meowscarada isn't getting more hype, and don't be surprised if this thing functions well in a special attacking role at times, too. No disrespect to Xenophile but I think this is a classic case of being glossed over at first due to exactly how much it can do. Idk about mixed attacker, but the coverage here is ridiculous especially if you consider any Protean-Tera nukes, although there is a significant dropoff in SpA.

Thankfully(?) it has no natural bulk so at least you can consistently pump EVs into offense, but honestly I imagine that my visions of a Special Attacker would fall short without max investment.

In any case, even if it can never utilize its special movepool, the utility and coverage is still off the charts and so the other comments are spot on about it just needing some time. I guarantee as the meta settles and things get more familiar, Meowscarada will constantly be a thorn in the side of many strategies as it seems like it will adapt well. Absolutely amazing choice for a Protean user.

Unrelated, but I REALLY hope Ash gets this thing if he even comes back ;-;

 

[Seth Vilo]

I have been absolutely LOVING this as a Heavy Duty Boots pivot with a hazard of choice. A simple set of Knock Off / Flower Gift / U-turn / [Toxic] Spikes at its Speed tier has been great, and you can even bluff Band/Scarf if no hazards are up to blow your cover. In a meta where things like Garganacl and Dondozo love boosting their Defense, knowing I have an auto-crit move in my pocket has been incredible. The self-synergy between Knock Off and a hazard is very nice too, as is being able to Knock then U-turn out to a better teammate with its natural Speed. I love this thing so much.

 

[ritch.]

Weed Dude Bro Man (Meowscarada) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flower Trick
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Thunder Punch

My favorite scarada set by far, it has won me about 90% of my games in a 1v3 situation for example.

Thunder Punch 2hkos corv, almost ohko after rocks, ohko after rocks and crit I believe. Think the rest is self explanatory

 

[escarlata]

After a rocky start where 123 Spe was somehow not fast enough, Band Meowscarada is starting to feel really good recently as the slower cores are forming and it is able to cement itself as one of the fastest in the tier as it should be.

The more I used this cat, the more I start to think the reason Grass was traditionally a mid attacking type is that there just wasn’t a good spammable high BP Grass type move, because man does Flower Trick hit like a truck, dealing over 40% on 2x resists. I mean obviously the other reason is that Grass resists are less commonly used and the ones that do resist it are still hit by Knock but that doesn’t take away how spammable it is. Grass/Knock/Play Rough kinda just hit everything common really hard except Corviknight.

Add on the fact that a lot of things are just spamming Bulk Up or Iron Defense with Tera Water or Ground, and this magician cat just starts critting through the likes of Annihilape, Garganacl, and Dondozo + Clodsire cores. Even during my own teambuilding, I’m taking note to Tera those mons into a type that resists Flower Trick.

What is even more unexpected is that Protean is actually just optional at this point, since you are only really just clicking Play Rough on SE targets anyway. Depending on the team I’m putting it on, sometimes I just leave it on Overgrowth with Tera Grass, and this thing just starts critting through resists altogether, through Protean builds still offer a really powerful U-turn and other potential coverage options like Thunder Punch.

I’ll take a break before I start singing praises of the Scarf set.

 

[Soiramio3000]

I often run play rough with her so she can kill roaring moon.

 

[Sonikgav]

Play Rough
Knock Off
U Turn
Flower Trick

My go to with an Assault Vest rather than anything more offensive.

 

[Yarvy]

Probably my favorite mon to use so far. I’ve been running a Jolly Band Protean set with Flower Trick, Knock Off, Play Rough, and U-Turn. Have y’all found any good mons / team comps to pair with Meow?

 

[WhiteApe87]

I’ve mostly used it as a dedicated lead + revenge killer running:

Protean @ Choice Band
252 Atk/252 Spe/4 SpD
Jolly
Knock Off
Play Rough
Flower Trick
Thunder Punch/U-Turn

I do wonder if there’s merit in switching out the Band for a Life Orb, but I don’t really know that Meowscarada is the kind of Mon you want to keep out there for more than one turn anyways with how Protean functions now.

 

[STEELDRAGON]

Even though Protean has been knocked down a few levels, Meowscarada is still nearly as effective as Greninja was in the previous generations. Choiced sets work really well as revenge killers as they are surprisingly pretty powerful and have Sucker Punch to take out the fastest threats. It also has Flower Trick that will break though potential defense boosts on things like Dondozo.