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Take care of yourself.
First VR post \o/
Mega Charizard X to S: Disagree. I was wondering how recent meta trends affected Mega Charizard X, so I took a look at the usage stats, and the first thing I saw was a massive increase (17.907%->27.121%) in Excadrill usage from July to August. This is obviously a very bad thing for Charizard, because Sand Rush Excadrill can outspeed and KO a +1 Mega Charizard X. Landorus-T is as common as ever, also (34.363%), meaning that Mega Charizard X will need so much team support if it wants to pull off a sweep. MCY builds are also really linear nowadays, meaning that it's not hard to guess MCX at team preview (making it easy to guess which Pokémon are needed to preserve).
Another thing that I'd like to address is the "Will-O-Wisp beats all its checks and counters" argument. No, Landorus-T will not appreciate getting burned. However, the instant Mega Charizard X throws out a Will-O-Wisp, it instantly becomes so much less threatening because it exerts barely any pressure outside of burning stuff lol. The burned Pokémon can actually switch back in sometimes and grab momentum.
One more factor I think has hurt Mega Charizard X's viability is the shift in electrics; specifically, the rise of Static Zapdos and Thunder Wave Thundurus. Mega Charizard X hates paralysis, and with Pokémon like Mega Manectric and Raikou all but gone, it struggles to find opportunities to set up.
On to the current discussion slate.
Landorus-T to S: Agree. This thing does literally everything these days. It can set SR, VoltTurn, revenge kill, and even sweep (Double Dance is really underwhelming from what I've seen but it's so uncommon I don't have much of an opinion on it). A lot of Clefable's sets, like CM, are really struggling atm because of a decline in stuff it can beat such as the aforementioned Mega Manectric. In contrast, Pokémon like Mega Charizard X are still good, meaning that Landorus-T still has stuff to check. Remember how I said that Excadrill usage went way up? Over half of last month's Excadrills are Choice Scarf sets, and Landorus-T is basically the best counter to a Scarf set there is. The Flying-type just chips away at teams so well between Rocky Helmet damage and Earthquakes that are strong even without investment, which is why I think it should rise.
Azumarill to A-: Agree. Things aren't looking good for the bunny. Its bulk is OK but pretty underwhelming (it really can't switch into much, it hates Scald, and it just gets worn down really fast) and I feel that the Belly Drum set just isn't very good: Finding a setup opportunity against offense is really hard, and stall usually has Quagsire anyway. On top of that, there's just so much that can live through a +6 Aqua Jet (Rotom-W, Skarmory, and Zapdos come to mind) and easily KO it due to its decreased HP. One might argue that Azumarill invests in HP, allowing it to possibly live through a hit, but Belly Drum is forced to run Speed nowadays to outpace bulky grasses like Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and so on. However, I've tried the CB set recently and it worked pretty well, so it might have some hidden potential.
I haven't used Mega Medicham / Mega Lopunny / Kyurem but the latter seems cool, will definitely give it a shot.
Mega Charizard X to S: Disagree. I was wondering how recent meta trends affected Mega Charizard X, so I took a look at the usage stats, and the first thing I saw was a massive increase (17.907%->27.121%) in Excadrill usage from July to August. This is obviously a very bad thing for Charizard, because Sand Rush Excadrill can outspeed and KO a +1 Mega Charizard X. Landorus-T is as common as ever, also (34.363%), meaning that Mega Charizard X will need so much team support if it wants to pull off a sweep. MCY builds are also really linear nowadays, meaning that it's not hard to guess MCX at team preview (making it easy to guess which Pokémon are needed to preserve).
Another thing that I'd like to address is the "Will-O-Wisp beats all its checks and counters" argument. No, Landorus-T will not appreciate getting burned. However, the instant Mega Charizard X throws out a Will-O-Wisp, it instantly becomes so much less threatening because it exerts barely any pressure outside of burning stuff lol. The burned Pokémon can actually switch back in sometimes and grab momentum.
One more factor I think has hurt Mega Charizard X's viability is the shift in electrics; specifically, the rise of Static Zapdos and Thunder Wave Thundurus. Mega Charizard X hates paralysis, and with Pokémon like Mega Manectric and Raikou all but gone, it struggles to find opportunities to set up.
On to the current discussion slate.
Landorus-T to S: Agree. This thing does literally everything these days. It can set SR, VoltTurn, revenge kill, and even sweep (Double Dance is really underwhelming from what I've seen but it's so uncommon I don't have much of an opinion on it). A lot of Clefable's sets, like CM, are really struggling atm because of a decline in stuff it can beat such as the aforementioned Mega Manectric. In contrast, Pokémon like Mega Charizard X are still good, meaning that Landorus-T still has stuff to check. Remember how I said that Excadrill usage went way up? Over half of last month's Excadrills are Choice Scarf sets, and Landorus-T is basically the best counter to a Scarf set there is. The Flying-type just chips away at teams so well between Rocky Helmet damage and Earthquakes that are strong even without investment, which is why I think it should rise.
Azumarill to A-: Agree. Things aren't looking good for the bunny. Its bulk is OK but pretty underwhelming (it really can't switch into much, it hates Scald, and it just gets worn down really fast) and I feel that the Belly Drum set just isn't very good: Finding a setup opportunity against offense is really hard, and stall usually has Quagsire anyway. On top of that, there's just so much that can live through a +6 Aqua Jet (Rotom-W, Skarmory, and Zapdos come to mind) and easily KO it due to its decreased HP. One might argue that Azumarill invests in HP, allowing it to possibly live through a hit, but Belly Drum is forced to run Speed nowadays to outpace bulky grasses like Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and so on. However, I've tried the CB set recently and it worked pretty well, so it might have some hidden potential.
I haven't used Mega Medicham / Mega Lopunny / Kyurem but the latter seems cool, will definitely give it a shot.