Weather

[Electrolyte]

approved by iss

WEATHER IN LC
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So yeah new XY Pokemon, mechanics, and unbans for our Generation 6 LC metagame will profoundly impact the impact of weather in LC. From shortened timespans to new weather abusers and setters, we're in for a hell of a ride in LC this Gen. Let's get started.


NEW WEATHER MECHANIC

The most notable change in weather mechanics was the shortening of "perma"weather duration. All weather now lasts for only 5 turns, unless it is boosted when the user of the move carries a duration enhancing stone. This means that all weather set by auto-setters will only last five turns, drastically shortening the duration and potentially cutting down on the viability of weather in general. This new mechanic basically means that weather based teams will be forced to actually save their inducer at all cost, as in order to maintain the condition the inducer must constantly switch in and reset the effect.

This does mean that weather is nerfed somewhat, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Nerfed weather means that weather based sweepers such as Drilbur or Snover are no longer as powerful as they used to be, and the effect carries over to our Gen 5 banlist- the nerf in weather means that Vulpix and Tangela, two Sun based Pokemon, are no longer that broken- allowing for their release into standard play and ultimately giving us many new toys in Generation 6. Here's some general information on all of the new releases.


SUN

Sun was previously banned in LC because of the massive amounts of Chlorophyll sweepers already in the tier that quickly because powerhouses, overpowering Sand and Hail and crushing nonweather. Vulpix was officially banned along with its partner in crime, Tangela, who was extremely fast, bulky, and powerful in Sun. Now, Vulpix and Tangela have been unbanned, bringing Sun back into play and increasing the viability of many older Pokemon.

Vulpix
Ability: Drought
Stats: 38 HP / 41 Atk / 40 Def / 50 SpA / 65 SpDef / 65 Spe
Notable Moves: Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Wil-O-Wisp, Roar, Pain Split, Extrasensory, Energy Ball, Hypnosis

While Vulpix is not really very strong, it has decent Special bulk and speed, making it a lasting Drought setter. It has viability as a semi bulky special wall, and it has good support moves, such as Wil-O-Wisp and Roar. Those traits plus its ability to set Drought will mean that Vulpix will probably be pretty common in the LC metagame.

Tangela
Ability: Chlorphyll, Regenerator
Stats: 65 HP / 55 Atk / 115 Def / 100 SpA / 40 SpDef / 60 Spe
Notable Moves: Giga Drain, Solarbeam, Hidden Power Fire, Sleep Powder, Synthesis, Ancient Power, Knock Off, Sludge Bomb, Leaf Storm

Tangela wasn't just banned because of its ability to abuse Sun. 100 SpA and 115 Def making Tangela a super bulky, extremely powerful attacker, and when Sun is thrown into play it is impossible to outspeed. With Giga Drain, it can easily regenerate its health while pounding its opponents with powerful STABs and HP Fire coverage. To top it all off, it also gets Sleep Powder, though not as great as it was last Gen, can still be used to counter counters.

Tangela also has a very viable Defensive set that can abuse its high bulk. With moves such as the powered up Knock Off, Toxic, Sleep Powder, and good recovery in Synthesis, Tangela can work as a bulky tank that is also extremely tough to take down with Regenerator. With Tangela around, Foongus and Shroomish might see much less usage.


HAIL

Hail has always been around with the popularity and strength of Snover, but Hail has a new toy this Generation. Amaura gets Snow Warning through Dream World, and has many things that differentiate it from Snover.

Amaura
Ability: Snow Warning
Stats: 77 HP / 59 Atk / 50 Def / 67 SpAtk / 63 SpDef / 46 Spe
Notable Moves: Blizzard, Ice Beam, AncientPower, Calm Mind, Stealth Rock, Roar, Thunder Wave, Light Screen / Reflect, Thunderbolt, Charge Beam, Rock Polish, Dark Pulse, Flash Cannon

Amaura is similar to a bulkier, faster, and more powerful Snover. All of its stats except Atk are equal to or higher than Snover, making it a potentially powerful threat in Gen 6, just as Snover was in Gen 5. It too gets Blizzard, which it can spam in Hail, and also gets Thunderbolt, giving it good BoltBeam coverage. It gets all sorts of coverage moves, such as STAB AncientPower to nail Vulpix switch ins or Dark Pulse / Flash Cannon for Ghost- / Psychic-types. Amaura also has a great support movepool. With moves such as Roar, Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, and Dual Screens, it could very well play the role of a bulky team supporter. Either way, Amaura will be a very strong asset to Hail teams, and will definitely see some use.




So what do you guys think about the new mechanics / releases? How do you think this will affect the metagame? What new Pokemon / sets will you use? Discuss!

 

[leingodf8]

I actually feel like snover might have gotten a bit of a buff from the weather nerf (hear me out). Snover was always kind of an all in "spam those 120 BP moves" kinda guy, usually scarfed, and worked quite well on its own. In other words people could use it for more than just setting up weather. As such, because the hail will no longer be permanent I get the feeling more teams wouldn't mind including him (teams that wouldn't necissarily want hail, but want his type of role).

As for the other weathers, sand might become more niche this generation. There never were THAT many pokemon that could really take advantage of the sand (not like there are chlorophyl users at least), and hippopotas really doesnt want to lose its eviolite for a smooth rock. As for the sun, that could still be very scary. A sleep powder here, a growth there, and all you really need is 2-3 turns to leave a sufficient dent in the opposing team. But at the same time, it might very well be manageable this gen so it could be interesting.

 

[DTC]

I probably wouldn't use Choice Scarf Snover that much because Scarf Amaura is a lot cooler. Compared to the standard Snover set onsite, Amaura gets 2 more HP, 1 Defense, 1 Special Attack, 3 Special Defense, and 1 Speed, all at the cost of 4 Attack which Amaura would not even want to use anyways. Thunderbolt is also very nice coverage in tandem with Blizzard. As for non Scarf sets on Amaura, I doubt they will be too successful because Amaura's defensive typing is pretty bad.

leingodf8, I disagree that Snover/Amaura got "buffed" in any way from the weather nerf. Snover himself does not mind his hail only lasting a limited amount of turns, but a good portion of the reason why you use Snover is because it destroys weather teams. Sand will be a lot less attractive of an option this gen. I don't think sun will be too amazing either, as those turns are very limited and Vulpix is a pretty awful Pokemon, but we'll see.

 

[Electrolyte]

I actually toyed around with Sun a bit and must say that it definitely is quite powerful. Super fast Tangela is an astonishingly good sweeper other chlorophyll sweepers receive an awesome boost in speed as well. I have yet to play with nonweather to get an accurate comparison but I do feel impressed by Sun's power.

 

[F Amadon]

In my experience in Gen 5 LC, Sun's issue isn't a lack of Vulpix; at least, not after the weather nerf. Its current issue is getting the sun up. Most Chlorophyll-having Pokemon don't have the bulk to take a hit and Sunny Day (bar the recently unbanned Tangela, although if it gets Sunny Day I don't know) and even a Focus Sash would be useless against Stealth Rock. I'm theorymonning, but I don't see Vulpix unbanned being a big threat, although Tangela is a different story.

As for Amaura, I could see people thinking "Why not both?" and throwing both Snover and Amaura on their team, Snover with Blizzard / Giga Drain / Ice Shard / filler (maybe Shadow Ball) and Amaura running Blizzard / TBolt / AncientPower / Filler, both scarfed, as double BlizzSpam like that could potentially be hard to stop together.

 

[apt-get]

I probably wouldn't use Choice Scarf Snover that much because Scarf Amaura is a lot cooler. Compared to the standard Snover set onsite, Amaura gets 2 more HP, 1 Defense, 1 Special Attack, 3 Special Defense, and 1 Speed, all at the cost of 4 Attack which Amaura would not even want to use anyways. Thunderbolt is also very nice coverage in tandem with Blizzard. As for non Scarf sets on Amaura, I doubt they will be too successful because Amaura's defensive typing is pretty bad.

leingodf8, I disagree that Snover/Amaura got "buffed" in any way from the weather nerf. Snover himself does not mind his hail only lasting a limited amount of turns, but a good portion of the reason why you use Snover is because it destroys weather teams. Sand will be a lot less attractive of an option this gen. I don't think sun will be too amazing either, as those turns are very limited and Vulpix is a pretty awful Pokemon, but we'll see.

Snover has one thing that Amaura doesn't: typing. It has the ability to wreck every water-type that tries to come into it, which Amaura can't do, and resists grass, water and ground, all powerful types in the tier. I would personally use it just for giga drain.

 

[Shiruba]

Snover has one thing that Amaura doesn't: typing. It has the ability to wreck every water-type that tries to come into it, which Amaura can't do, and resists grass, water and ground, all powerful types in the tier. I would personally use it just for giga drain.

Ahh, but Amaura gets Thunderbolt and Freeze Dry, correct? It can mess up water types, too. The defensive typing being better, though, I can get behind.
That said, who says you can't use both? Needs some spin support, but...

 

[leingodf8]

Ahh, but Amaura gets Thunderbolt and Freeze Dry, correct? It can mess up water types, too. The defensive typing being better, though, I can get behind.
That said, who says you can't use both? Needs some spin support, but...

Can't learn freeze dry actually (unless it can via egg). Aurous learns it at level 1 but amaura doesn't. Which is a shame because it was about the only thing it could have had to stand a chance against chinchou.