Thank you Greybaum for writing parts of this
(Thanks S1nn0hC0nfirm3d for the song that is now stuck in my head)
Hey frens, the SS NFE Council have decided to test Golbat.
Suspect Test Reasoning:
Since its release with the Crown Tundra DLC, Golbat has been at the forefront of the SS NFE metagame. Golbat has been a restrictive force in teambuilding thanks to its amazing defensive typing, respectable all round stats, a diverse movepool, and access to reliable recovery. On top of this, Roost is the only move that is common across all of Golbat's sets meaning its other three slots can customised to fit its desired roles. It can opt for Taunt, Super Fang, U-turn, Defog, Toxic, and even Nasty Plot.
While Golbat has a variety of sets it can choose from, its stallbreaker set is the main factor potentially pushing Golbat over the edge of unhealthiness. The combination of Super Fang and Taunt along with its aforementioned defensive traits allow it to invalidate defensive walls such as Clefairy, Koffing, and Ferroseed. In addition, Super Fang heavily chunks bulkier switch-ins like Piloswine and Metang that lack reliable recovery, often putting them in range of Brave Bird over the course of a longer game. Golbat's natural bulk and Speed also makes it somewhat hard to revenge kill accentuating how difficult it is for both offensive and defensive archetypes to make progress against it.
However, stallbreaking is not Golbat's only trick as it can also make good use of its Speed and decent Special Attack in the form of its Nasty Plot set. This set greatly benefits from how common stallbreaker and Defog Golbat are, and uses this unpredictability to its advantage. With access to Air Slash, Heat Wave, and Giga Drain it can be difficult to find a defensive switch-in that can safely stay in on all of its attacks. Nasty Golbat can easily set up on passive Pokemon and break past teams that are poorly equipped to deal with it, which isn't uncommon given the fact that its checks and counters are a fair bit different to its defensive counterparts. Unlike defensive sets, Nasty Plot Golbat also poses a greater immediate threat, so common offensive checks will struggle to switch directly into any attacks.
A lesser but still important point is that Golbat's presence in the metagame renders many other Flying-types obsolete. It outclasses other defensive Flying-type Defoggers as it has superior stats, better defensive typing, and better utility in moves. This makes Golbat arguably the best glue Pokemon and one that can be difficult to justify not using on a team. Defog Golbat also tends to run U-turn, letting it pivot out of common switch-ins making it even more difficult to remove from the game. Offensively, Nasty Plot Golbat is superior to other Nasty Plot birds such as Togetic and Vullaby due to its natural higher Speed making it harder to revenge kill
That being said, Golbat isn't without its flaws. Most of the common Pokemon Golbat typically switches into such as Gurdurr and Thwackey have access to Knock Off, and Golbat is significantly more manageable without the item. While Golbat is fast, there are many faster Pokemon that are commonly used that threaten to KO it with some prior chip damage, like Electabuzz, Galarian Mr. Mime, and Kadabra. Golbat is vulnerable to status, with Tangela often carrying Stun Spore or Sleep Powder to punish it for switching in, and Water-types such as Marshtomp and Mareanie using Scald to threaten it with a burn. The previously mentioned Electabuzz also has Static to punish Golbat's contact moves. A weakness to Stealth Rock significantly reduces its longevity and ability to switch into offensive threats, while also forcing it to Roost more often instead of being able to freely use its utility moves.
In addition, while Golbat may be seen as restricting or unhealthy there is also reasonable evidence to suggest that Grass-types, notably Ivysaur, Tangela, and Thwackey, may be too much for the tier to handle were Golbat to be absent, and that a Golbat ban would necessitate the removal of several other Pokemon in the tier either via additional suspect tests or via council vote. As Golbat is not considered "broken" but instead "unhealthy", it's understandable that some users may wish to continue playing in the relatively balanced, stable NFE meta we currently have, as opposed to potentially having to follow through with a chain reaction of bans, particularly with UMPL taking place in the upcoming weeks.
However, due to all of the above points, the council feels that Golbat is deserving of a suspect test.
Suspect Test Information:
The voting requirements are a minimum GXE of 75 with at least 25 games played.
For this suspect test, a new account starting with NFEBAT, such as “NFEBAT vooper” must be used to qualify, as we will be using the NFE Ladder. The suspect will end in around 2 weeks time, on the 15th April 11:59pm EDT, and then we will put up the voting thread in the Blind Voting subforum.
This thread will also be used for posting your voter identification screenshot. Make sure when doing this, you show your alt has met these requirements, as well as proof that the alt belongs to you. When uploading large images, please use a HIDE tag.
When posting in this thread, please keep in mind these rules:
1. No one liners or uninformed posts, unless it is posting that you’ve met the requirements for voting on Golbat.
2. No discussion on other potential suspects or the suspect process
3. Be respectful
Your post will be deleted and possibly infracted if you fail to follow them.
If you have any questions about this suspect, feel free to ask any of the NFE council team. Have fun laddering!
Tagging Kris to setup suspect and announcement on PS ladder games. Thanks in advance!
Hey frens, the SS NFE Council have decided to test Golbat.
Suspect Test Reasoning:
Since its release with the Crown Tundra DLC, Golbat has been at the forefront of the SS NFE metagame. Golbat has been a restrictive force in teambuilding thanks to its amazing defensive typing, respectable all round stats, a diverse movepool, and access to reliable recovery. On top of this, Roost is the only move that is common across all of Golbat's sets meaning its other three slots can customised to fit its desired roles. It can opt for Taunt, Super Fang, U-turn, Defog, Toxic, and even Nasty Plot.
While Golbat has a variety of sets it can choose from, its stallbreaker set is the main factor potentially pushing Golbat over the edge of unhealthiness. The combination of Super Fang and Taunt along with its aforementioned defensive traits allow it to invalidate defensive walls such as Clefairy, Koffing, and Ferroseed. In addition, Super Fang heavily chunks bulkier switch-ins like Piloswine and Metang that lack reliable recovery, often putting them in range of Brave Bird over the course of a longer game. Golbat's natural bulk and Speed also makes it somewhat hard to revenge kill accentuating how difficult it is for both offensive and defensive archetypes to make progress against it.
However, stallbreaking is not Golbat's only trick as it can also make good use of its Speed and decent Special Attack in the form of its Nasty Plot set. This set greatly benefits from how common stallbreaker and Defog Golbat are, and uses this unpredictability to its advantage. With access to Air Slash, Heat Wave, and Giga Drain it can be difficult to find a defensive switch-in that can safely stay in on all of its attacks. Nasty Golbat can easily set up on passive Pokemon and break past teams that are poorly equipped to deal with it, which isn't uncommon given the fact that its checks and counters are a fair bit different to its defensive counterparts. Unlike defensive sets, Nasty Plot Golbat also poses a greater immediate threat, so common offensive checks will struggle to switch directly into any attacks.
A lesser but still important point is that Golbat's presence in the metagame renders many other Flying-types obsolete. It outclasses other defensive Flying-type Defoggers as it has superior stats, better defensive typing, and better utility in moves. This makes Golbat arguably the best glue Pokemon and one that can be difficult to justify not using on a team. Defog Golbat also tends to run U-turn, letting it pivot out of common switch-ins making it even more difficult to remove from the game. Offensively, Nasty Plot Golbat is superior to other Nasty Plot birds such as Togetic and Vullaby due to its natural higher Speed making it harder to revenge kill
That being said, Golbat isn't without its flaws. Most of the common Pokemon Golbat typically switches into such as Gurdurr and Thwackey have access to Knock Off, and Golbat is significantly more manageable without the item. While Golbat is fast, there are many faster Pokemon that are commonly used that threaten to KO it with some prior chip damage, like Electabuzz, Galarian Mr. Mime, and Kadabra. Golbat is vulnerable to status, with Tangela often carrying Stun Spore or Sleep Powder to punish it for switching in, and Water-types such as Marshtomp and Mareanie using Scald to threaten it with a burn. The previously mentioned Electabuzz also has Static to punish Golbat's contact moves. A weakness to Stealth Rock significantly reduces its longevity and ability to switch into offensive threats, while also forcing it to Roost more often instead of being able to freely use its utility moves.
In addition, while Golbat may be seen as restricting or unhealthy there is also reasonable evidence to suggest that Grass-types, notably Ivysaur, Tangela, and Thwackey, may be too much for the tier to handle were Golbat to be absent, and that a Golbat ban would necessitate the removal of several other Pokemon in the tier either via additional suspect tests or via council vote. As Golbat is not considered "broken" but instead "unhealthy", it's understandable that some users may wish to continue playing in the relatively balanced, stable NFE meta we currently have, as opposed to potentially having to follow through with a chain reaction of bans, particularly with UMPL taking place in the upcoming weeks.
However, due to all of the above points, the council feels that Golbat is deserving of a suspect test.
Suspect Test Information:
The voting requirements are a minimum GXE of 75 with at least 25 games played.
For this suspect test, a new account starting with NFEBAT, such as “NFEBAT vooper” must be used to qualify, as we will be using the NFE Ladder. The suspect will end in around 2 weeks time, on the 15th April 11:59pm EDT, and then we will put up the voting thread in the Blind Voting subforum.
This thread will also be used for posting your voter identification screenshot. Make sure when doing this, you show your alt has met these requirements, as well as proof that the alt belongs to you. When uploading large images, please use a HIDE tag.
When posting in this thread, please keep in mind these rules:
1. No one liners or uninformed posts, unless it is posting that you’ve met the requirements for voting on Golbat.
2. No discussion on other potential suspects or the suspect process
3. Be respectful
Your post will be deleted and possibly infracted if you fail to follow them.
If you have any questions about this suspect, feel free to ask any of the NFE council team. Have fun laddering!
Tagging Kris to setup suspect and announcement on PS ladder games. Thanks in advance!
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