summary research weeks

Week 1 : Specs Latias, Virizion, Scarf Togekiss

Specs Latias: As pointed out by UnbecomingDuck, Randomnick, InvejaMata, A Cake Wearing A Hat, bukemon123 and Galactiknight, Specs Latias faces some problems breaking through teams as it can't really lock itself into spammable moves, and this only gets more transparent when it's compared to sets such as CM and 3 Attacks. The Pursuit spam also doesn't help it as locking yourself can mean being helpless versus Pursuit trappers. However, as Scizorphobic and DubFreaknakeeb pointed out, the added breaking power is nice and the surprise factor can win some games.

Virizion: Virizion was underwhelming to some people such as UnbecomingDuck, A Cake Wearing A Hat, Galactiknight, DubFreaknakeeb, and I'm actually Cash, as its coverage doesn't seem to make up for its weak Attack stat and its overall frailty on the Physical side never being appreciated in a Scizor tier. However, Scizorphobic and TONE, although having their problems with it, believe it can have good matchups and that it can do well versus certain balance and stall teams, with the latter believing it's still one step behind from other Fighting-types in the tier.

Scarf Togekiss: Scarf Togekiss turned out to be okay at best, due to its mediocre(ish) speed tier. As noted by Scizorphobic, I'm actually Cash, and A Cake Wearing A Hat, Trick turned out to be deadweight in a majority of matchups barring fatter builds. Rawbi pointed out that the surprise factor is the best thing it has and that he'd rather have the NP set or others most of the time.

Week 2 : Z-Celebrate Shaymin, Stealth Rock Bisharp, Work Up Primarina

Z-Celebrate Shaymin: The most researched Pokemon of this week had some appreciation from the players, with some calling it the best omnibooster in the meta. However, it was also pointed out by most that it suffers from 4MSS as from picking a move it instantly loses important coverage, and as Moutemoute and I'm actually Cash said the teammates have to make up for the coverage it lacks. Also, the omniboost move has to be well-timed, as pointed out by I'm actually Cash, Rawbi and UnbecomingDuck. Relying on Seed Flare had mixed feelings as the RNG can make you miss your main move, as UnbecomingDuck says, but on the other hand it can make you break even easier through teams with some lucky SpDef drops, as Twilight states. Its bulk after setting up is highlighted by Rawbi and I'm actually Cash as it makes it harder to be revenge killed, the first one also praising its high speed after the boost. Scizorphobic finds it an interesting pick for teams that would like to have something like Celebi but fear Hydreigon.

Stealth Rock Bisharp: The researchers this week pretty much unilaterally viewed this as bad. Moutemoute, UnbecomingDuck and I'm actually Cash all think that it doesn't really have a niche, as the tier has better offensive rockers and even a better Dark-type rocker in Krookodile, and that it is a worse option than the other common Bisharp sets. Moutemoute was even unable to bring replays in which it shone. I'm actually Cash and Scizorphobic both mentioned common forms of hazard removal that can beat Bisharp easily. I'm actually Cash and UnbecomingDuck pointed out how it can't really fit rocks without forgoing great common moves that are seen on other Bisharp sets and how it hands out free setup turns to the opponent, especially if you forgo SD.

Work Up Primarina: Our contributors seem to have taken two routes on this one: Some tried a variation of the standard bulky set while others attempted a whole new type of approach from an offensive perspective. Twilight and Scizorphobic have tried a defensive variant with RestTalk and Moonblast. Twilight thinks it has potential, but Scizorphobic doesn't. They both agree it doesn't outclass the standard defensive set, and in many opportunities they wish they had the coverage Scald provides against Pokemon like Scizor. bukemon123 went with an offensive Work Up Life Orb set, and he states that although it doesn't bring with it the immediate power of Specs nor the ability to break through Blissey from the Metronome set, it can put in work once Blissey and Empoleon aren't around anymore. Moutemoute, who had already declared his appreciation for the bulky Work Up set, tried an offensive set as well and challenges the idea of it not breaking through Blissey: by making use of Work Up and Oceanic Operetta, it manages to be an interesting threat to stall - even to Blissey.

Week 3 : Durant, Choice Band Kommo-o, Calm Mind Zeraora

Durant
Possibly the most well received and most researched pick of this week, Durant proved to be a hit with the participants. Durant's speed and coverage granting it a niche over its Bug/Steel counterpart was the general consensus. Its lack of defensive utility on the special end (as noted by KellyKafka, Smallsmallrose, Galactiknight, Twilight, Daiyaga, DubFreaknakeeb, abonniertxxxlutzyt, and Rawbi) puts it in an awkward position as it cannot set up on "resists" or any neutral special coverage for that matter. In addition to its mediocre bulk, the inaccuracy from Hustle stood out as another flaw to DubFreaknakeeb, KellyKafka, Rawbi, Moutemoute, Daiyaga, I'm actually Cash and Twilight. Despite its shortcomings, Durant managed to carve itself a niche thanks to its speed and ability to threaten Scizor's common checks with its coverage and hard-hitting capabilities.

Band Kommo-o
In short, no one liked Banded Kommo-o --- everyone who tried it said it felt extremely underwhelming in comparison to any of its other sets, as Swords Dance or Dragon Dance would've been preferred over Band in most cases. As Moutemoute, Sickist, and Daiyaga pointed out, the set calls for an unnatural amount of prediction and can lead to some 50/50s that ultimately held back the set's potential (along with the weaker coverage options pointed out by Daiyaga).

Calm Mind Zeraora
Our third and final pick for W3 ended up falling prone to its 4MSS more now than ever with the Calm Mind variant, hinted at by Moutemoute, DubFreaknakeeb, Rawbi, and Twilight. The lack of damage output when unboosted and common RKO'ers forcing Zera out make for a tough job that can only be resolved in the teambuilder (with a considerable amount of support, courtesy of Moutemoute and KellyKafka). In conclusion, it can make for a dangerous pick with the right support but falls short in comparison to its Mixed sets in certain regards.

Week 4 : Offensive Trick Room Reuniclus, Choice Band Stakataka, Absol-Mega

OTR Reuni
Mixed results on this one, but there are some points that were acknowledged across the board. Its niche as a late-game cleaner was highlighted by most everyone who used it, but its bulk as a late-game cleaner was a more of a pivotal topic this week. Some players appreciated its relative bulk (s/o Moutemoute and Lazadamn) while others pointed out the lack of bulk/sustain made it difficult to find opportunities to set up a TR --- setting up a TR >1 was out of the question (s/o Daiyaga, Rawbi, and billionbattler). All participants agreed that with the right support, OTR Reuniclus can be deadly.

Banded Stakataka
Everyone agreed that Banded Stakataka is a bop, even the people who disliked it or had issues using it. With the exception of Moutemoute, there were no complaints voiced against Stakataka's defensive utility (aside from the evident 4Xs weakness to Fighting/Ground coverage); Daiyaga, Smallsmallrose, Scizorphobic, and Twilight even mentioned its defensive utility as a positive. This week's researchers did a great job mentioning the rise of /dt Bulletproof mons, the presence of bulkier waters and ultimately how those common picks needed to be accounted for in the builder. Smallsmallrose, dingbat and Daiyaga even went as far as to say that CB Stakataka was arguably Stakataka's best set in our current meta-game, which is a fine conclusion. Overall, Banded Stakataka resonated with our researchers and showed its potential to the non-believers.

Mega-Absol
A lot of participants tried their hand at Mega-Absol, and the results were pretty surprising (for me at least). Everyone (with the exception of Rose) who used both the AoA and SD sets preferred the SD set over the AoA set, and that was a pleasant surprise to me. Those who preferred its SD set over its AoA set mentioned that the AoA set felt too weak in terms of attacking and too frail in terms of defending, also having 4MSS to worry about. Its paper thin defenses coupled with an all but useless ability (I will address this soon) in Magic Bounce put M-Absol at a disadvantage versus the tier's prominent Dark types, as they were superior in everything from Pursuit trapping to SD'ing and even being more reliable in the Speed Control department.
Daiyaga mentions some of its niches over the aforementioned Dark types --- speed as an SDer allows it to not be solely dependent on Sucker like its SDing counterpart Bisharp, and not being Choiced gives it an edge over its fellow Pursuiter, Krookodile. As for Mega-Absol's ability, Notily found that /dt Magic Bounce gave it a niche over Sharpedo & Bisharp on Sash spam teams, which was a really creative and interesting pick in my eyes. Smallsmallrose found ways of getting AoA M-Absol free turns (and lobbin' free Pursuits), pairing it with a Volt-Turn core which was a very nice touch. When effective, Absol proved to be a good breaker for other 'mons in the back and in some cases, a cleaner thanks to Sucker & its speed.


Week 5 : Block Aggron-Mega, Setup Zygarde-10%, Bruxish

Setup Zygarde-10%
Zygarde-10% has access to some interesting setup moves, but that doesn't mean it can make good use of them, as we can see out of the researcher's reports. The main points are it being frail, already being fast enough, not hitting that hard and just wishing to be the usual CB set and spamming the super spammable move Thousand Arrows (pointed out by the 3 researchers Twilight, Daiyaga, Scizorphobic, and Moutemoute). Moutemoute goes far to say that even under veil its really lackluster bulk makes it not able to setup effectively. Twilight mentions that the sweeping potential the setup sets have are already somewhat hidden in the CB set, as CB + Espeed is a good sweeping weapon. However, Zydog wasn't only met with criticism, as Daiyaga saw some good points on it, although he still likes CB better. He states that not having to click Outrage to kill some common foes out of just bursting the Z-move is a good thing as you don't get locked into it, and although the already high speed was mentioned as point for it using CB as it is already fast enough to pull off a sweep, Daiyaga points out that it is not revenge killed by the common scarfers at +1, making the revenge killing options rely on priority (or sheer bulk). He also experimented with different sets as he judges Dragon Dance and Thousand Arrows the only mandatory moves and had interesting results, such as Sub Outrage annoying Alomomola. Smallsmallrose also tested Substitute sets.

Bruxish
As pointed out by the researchers Smallsmallrose, Miven^, Twilight, Scizorphobic, Moutemoute, Estarossa and Daiyaga, it shares many similarities with Crawdaunt and Mega Sharpedo. However, it was pointed out how its speed tier makes it differ from Crawdaunt, as many Pokemon that don't mind Aqua Jet now have something to fear, as pointed more specifically by Daiyaga, and Moutemoute pointed that such speed helps threatening mons like Lucario and Moltres. The consensus was that Psychic Fangs hits very hard and that's what Bruxish does best, pointed out by billionbattler and Smallsmallrose. However, the lackluster bulk and pursuit weakness along with not hitting hard as Daunt with Water STAB and not having Speed Boost like Sharpedo put in a denominated spot of being 'weird'. Such problems and advantages make Bruxish not great nor bad, but certainly unique and marking its niche in the tier.

Block Aggron
This week's research on Block Aggron was made by Scizorphobic and Moutemoute. They tell us it's a great Pokemon as it can abuse Pokemon it beats (which are many due to the typing and ability) to the point of setting up non stop and hitting hard or even just PP stalling to help its teammates. It becomes more effective when paired with Pokemon with rocker sets that unusually run Stealth Rock as then Aggron can bluff being a Stealth Rock set, trapping Pokemon more easily and revealing its secret once it's too late to stop.

Week 6 : SubToxic Suicune, Choice Scarf Celebi, Assault Vest Scizor

SubToxic Suicune
Suicune wasn't very popular with this week's participants and the ones who did use it were, more or less, unsatisfied (with one exception). Those who did use it all agreed that its other sets were usually preferred over the researched Sub + Toxic variant, but Moutemoute and Twilight did mention that its nice for status'ing common answers in Jellicent, Latias, Zeraora, Volcanion, and M-Manectric. Moutemoute experimented with a trapping variant based around Whirlpool Toxic/Tect (which was super creative by the way) and it turns out he enjoyed that far more than he did the suggested Scald/Toxic set. Overall, it seems as though SubToxic Suicune fell short of the mark, but did show a small amount of potential to those who partook in the research.

Choice Scarf Celebi
Scarf Celebi was our second pick for RW6, and it had a lot more to offer to our participants than SubToxic Suicune did (no surprise there). Lazadamn, Daiyaga, Twilight, Smallsmallrose, Moutemoute, and BlueWinds all mentioned how the surprise factor can net some nice KO's on 'mons that usually scare Celebi out like M-Beedrill, Gengar, Krook, Starmie, and even Infernape. Many researchers also spoke on the utility and momentum that U-Turn and Healing Wish grants Celebi, and how this much-needed utility results in Celebi's 4MSS as a Scarfer. Scarf Celebi does have a lot to offer, but not without its faults --- Pursuit being a staple in today's metagame and how it ultimately limits the set was echoed by Daiyaga, Moutemoute, and Lazadamn. In addition to its Pursuit weakness and 4MSS, the lack of damage output was also voiced as a negative from most of this week's participants. In summary, Celebi's average damage and 4MSS hold it back as a revenge killer, but the utility it brings to the table more than makes up for it.

Assault Vest Scizor
Last but certainly not least we have AV Scizor, which turned out to be a hit with most of the people who used it. Comparisons to its Band set were drawn up by Twilight and Daiyaga; Twilight appreciated the added bulkiness and didn't mind the decrease in Attack while Daiyaga did mind it and found AV Scizor was trying to do a lot of things at once and succeeding at none. Scizorphobic, billionbattler, Twilight, and Lazadamn all mentioned how being able to bluff Band can really come in handy at times. This week's researchers were split on the set's tankiness, some regarded it as very respectable in comparison to its other sets while others mentioned the lack of sustain and how its easily worn down by turns of hazard. Despite the mixed opinions, most everyone who used it acknowledged its potential and said it can put in work with the necessary support.

Week 7 : Choice Band Snorlax, Gastrodon, Adrenaline Orb Latias

Choice Band Snorlax
A lot of players have tested Choice Band Snorlax this week. Scizorphobic, Moutemoute and, Daiyaga pointed out the fact that Choice Band Snorlax faced competition with Bewear which has a better offensive typing but also a better attack and a better speed. However Twilight, Scizorphobic and, Daiyaga highlighted the fact that Snorlax's natural special bulk was useful to check some special threats like Latias and Starmie and it helped it to be an effective trapper with Pursuit. Twilight and Moutemoute agreed that Snorlax's low speed was annoying and because of that, Snorlax was pretty easy to chip while Scizorphobic and, Daiyaga agreed that Choice Band forced some 50/50's which can be annoying. Finally, Scizorphobic, Moutemoute and Twilight noticed that Choice Band Snorlax may have a 4 MSS with either Return/Frustration, Facade, Self-Destruct, Earthquake, Fire Punch and Pursuit.

Gastrodon
Players surpassed themselves this week with Gastrodon. While Moutemoute said that Gastrodon was pretty straightforward, Scizorphobic, Estarossa and Twilight pointed out the fact that Gastrodon can be used in different ways with either Curse, Mirror Coat, Infestation or as a bulky offensive Pokemon with Groundium Z. Players appreciated the fact that Gastrodon was able to handle some common special threats such as Latias, Manectric-Mega or Hydreigon thanks to its good special bulk and typing. Twilight and Lazadamn liked a lot Groundium Z Gastrodon and said it was an effective lure to Scizor or Empoleon while Scizorphobic explained that Curse allows Gastrodon to act as a good win condition.

Adrenaline Orb Latias
Opinions were divided on Adrenaline Orb Latias. While Scizorphobic and Moutemoute said that it was pretty useful to lure Choice Scarf Krookodile, they also agreed with BlueWinds, Twilight and, Daiyaga that AO Latias was rather situational and it really depends on Intimidate users to be as much effective as possible. BlueWinds, Moutemoute and, Daiyaga also pointed out the fact that AO Latias can't be used like Z-Moves Latias and it didn't have the sheer power of Dragonium Z or Electrium Z Latias which prevents it to be a great breaker.

Week 8 : Meloetta, Cresselia, Necrozma

Meloetta
3 players have been testing Meloetta this week and they got inspired ! All of them highlighted the fact that Meloetta's speed is a problem since it makes it pretty weak to Krookodile and Hydreigon. On the other hand, Twilight and Moutemoute pointed out the fact that Meloetta has a bad 4 MSS overall and it doesn't depend of its set. Lazadamn and Twilight tried Choice Specs Meloetta and they agreed that this set suffered a bit less from the 4 MSS. Lazadamn also said that U-Turn was pretty cool on this set. On the other hand, both Twilight and Moutemoute agreed that CM Z-Focus Blast Meloetta wasn't Meloetta's best set and it has some several flaws like its lack of Speed and the fact that it's hard to setup. Twilight and Moutemoute have been testing Z-Celebrate and while they agreed that it needs some support to setup, they had different opinions. Indeed, Twilight found it worst than Shaymin while Moutemoute seem convinced by it. Twilight also tried Meloetta-Pirouette and found it really bad while Moutemoute said that he liked Meloetta-Pirouette with Z-Celebrate a lot even if it was hard to play with it.

Cresselia
The majority of the players which played Cresselia during this week agreed that Cresselia can be effective in Stall. However, Estarossa pointed out the fact that Cresselia was viable in balanced even if it mets some competition from other staples like Klefki, Latias or Celebi. Moutemoute agreed on that point and highlighted the fact that Latias was definitively better than Cresselia thanks to its better Speed and the fact that it's less passive. Estarossa, Moutemoute and Twilight enjoyed the bulk of Cresselia which allows it to handle a plethora of physical threats like Zeraora or even Krookodile without Crunch. Estarossa and Moutemoute also said that Cresselia was useful to support its teammates thanks to Thunder Wave or Lunar Dance. However, most of them agreed with that fact that the passivity of Cresselia was a huge issue and Twilight and Moutemoute said that the low PP of Moonlight was also an issue in the long run.

Necrozma
Necrozma has been the most used Pokemon this week and the players have been innovative. Indeed, they have been trying a dozen of Necrozma's set : Choice Specs, Offensive Stealth Rock, Swords Dance and even more exotic ones like Offensive Calm Mind, Choice Band, Rock Polish and Bulky Calm Mind. Daiyaga, Twilight and Moutemoute pointed out the fact that Necrozma is a really versatile Pokemon thanks to its great movepool. Daiyaga and Twilight also said that its Signature Move was great and it was a splashable move. Lazadamn and Moutemoute agreed that Groundium Z Necrozma was a useful lure which was able to remove with ease Steel types. On the other hand, Rawbi really enjoyed the fact that SD Necrozma was able to lure Blissey or Muk-Alola. However, Daiyaga pointed out the fact that Necrozma can be held because of its Speed and the fact that U-Turn is pretty common in the tier. On his side, Scizorphobic said that Necrozma was a pretty nice Stealth Rock setter. A few players also pointed out the fact that Necrozma's ability : Prism Armor, was quite useful.

Week 9 : Echoed Voice Primarina, Electrium Z Magneton, Sceptile-Mega

Sceptile-Mega
Mega Sceptile was researched this week and we had many consensus by our researchers. Estarossa, Twilight, Smallsmallrose, Mapplle, Lazadamn, and Daiyaga point out how the current meta is what really brings a niche to Mega-Sceptile: The huge presence of Primarina makes it one of the few Dragons that can actually threaten it, and it can also threaten Terrakion, a very important mon right now. Also, as many pointed out, Mega Altaria and Togekiss are a pain to deal with and such mons coupled with its frailty is what really holds it back. Such weakenesses made some participants test out its SD set, on which they agreed that it suffers from a 4MSS, although hitting fairies was somewhat useful with the aid of Iron tail; Twilight also points out that this makes Sceptile become a Grass-type that fears Scald, as it hates being burned. Estarossa points out how it's useful as an Electric immunity and how annoying it can be for offense, while Smallsmallrose complements saying that another volt immunity is a good support to annoy those even more. Mapplle also adds that it's a different immunity than the common Ground-types or Zeraora, as it also has the ability to threaten Pokémon such as Gligar and Hippowdon.

Electrium-Z Magneton
Magneton was tested by some people as well. People have found positive traits on it, such as Estarossa mentioning it can bluff being one of the more standard sets which run choice items, bukemon123 mentioning how it doesn't give up the momentum like the most common sets do and how the coverage it can run over HP Fire is appreciated, and Smallsmallrose calling it a demon. However, many flaws were also spotted: Mapplle and Daiyaga mention how trapping more than one Steel-type is a troublesome task, Twilight explains how it lacks trapping faster Steels like Cobalion like Scarf Magneton would, and as many pointed out, trapping Mega Steelix without HP Fire isn't really trapping and that is rather annoying. Other problems like relying on Thunder to hit after using the Z and Smallsmallrose telling us that many of the mons that appreciate Magneton's support dislike it stealing the Z from them were also brought up. Overall, I think it's fair to say this set got some love and is now something to consider.

Echoed Voice Primarina
The opinions on Primarina pretty much converged this week. Our researchers Estarossa, Twilight, Mapplle, and Daiyaga agree on how situational it is and how they would prefer Specs or Bulky most of the time. However, most also pointed out it has superb stallbreaking potential and is pretty tough for bulky builds to stop it once it gets going. Twilight also mentions not running Hydro Pump can be annoying as Sparkling misses some kills. Also basically they all agree that Echoed Voice, the main gimmick of the set, is almost never clicked, as it's not helpful in most situations.

Week 10 : Pidgeot-Mega, Choice Band Zeraora, Stun Spore Amoonguss

Choice Band Zeraora
Players have been disappointed by Zeraora this week. While they agree that Zeraora can hit harder thanks to Choice Band, Mapplle, Lazadamn agreed that even with Choice Band, Zeraora is blocked by common physical walls suchs as Gligar or Hippowdon which means it's pretty hard to justify to use Choice Band over another item like Life Orb, Expert Belt or a Z-Crystal. Twilight and Mapplle also highlighted the fact that Zeraora doesn't have the best physical movepool and the fact that it doesn't have access to U-turn sucks. They also pointed out that Choice Band Zeraora has pretty bad 4MSS and it needs to do some great predictions to be as much effective as possible.

Stun Spore Amoonguss
A few players tested Stun Spore Amoonguss this week and while Twilight said that he prefered Spore over Stun Spore, Daiyaga pointed out the fact that Stun Spore allows to Amoonguss to cripple some of its checks such as Nidoking, Hydreigon, Lucario or Latias which can help a lot its teammates since they will be able to outspeed those threats. On the other hand, Twilight and Mapplle agreed that this set of Amoonguss has 4MSS which means it needs to get rid of another useful move such as Hidden Power Fire or Spore.

Pidgeot-Mega
Mega Pidgeot has been the most tested Pokemon this week! A lot of players highlighted the fact that 100% accuracy Hurricane is really dope. However, Mapplle, Twilight and Daiyaga said that Mega Pidgeot struggles in the current metagame since a lot of its checks are faster than it (Mega Manectric, Zeraora or Mega Aerodactyl). While Mapplle said that Mega Pidgeot faces a huge competition from Moltres, Daiyaga pointed out the fact that thanks to its speed and typing, Mega Pidgeot is better revenge killer which can threaten Pokemon like Doublade or Crawdaunt much more effectively than Moltres. Daiyaga and Twilight also said that Mega Pidgeot forces a lot of switches and Twilight told us that it allows Mega Pidgeot to be a decent defogger thanks to that and its speed. Even if Hurricane is great, Twilight said that Mega Pidgeot has a bad movepool overall which means it doesn't have a lot of offensive options. Daiyaga and Mapplle also pointed out the fact that Mega Pidgeot faces competition from the other Mega Evolutions since it requires a Mega Evolution slot. Twilight liked a lot Work Up Mega Pidgeot and told us it's a pretty effective way to pressure both offense and bulky archetypes. Last but not least, Smallsmallrose highlighted the fact that Mega Pidgeot paired well with Ground-types and Spikes Support and it's also a Pokemon which should be use to weaken during the whole match its checks which allows it to shine in the endgame.

Week 11 : Roserade, Custap Berry Snorlax, Choice Band Bisharp

Roserade
Roserade has been the most used Pokemon this week with 6 playes having test it. Twilight, Daiyaga, Estarossa, bukemon123 and Mapplle pointed out the fact that Roserade has a nice niche in Underused thanks to its movepool and its access to Spikes which allows it to be an interesting offensive threat which can provide support. Estarossa tried a lot of different sets and pointed out with bukemon123 and Mapplle that Roserade is a Pokemon rather hard to scout since it has some good options in its movepool like Leaf Storm, Sludge Bomb, Hidden Power Fire or even Dazzling Gleam which can OHKO Hydreigon and Kommo-o. Estarossa also pointed out that as long as Roserade is brought in safely on the field, it will most likely get some work done. However, while Lazadamn said that Roserade has enough bulk to hit a few hits, Twilight, Estarossa and Mapplle highlighted that fact that Roserade is really frail which means it can be revenge killed easily and it's quite easy to pursuit trap it. Mapplle also thought that Roserade has 4MSS in some of its sets where you have to choose between Synthesis, Spikes or another coverge option. Overall, players liked Roserade this week and especially the fact that it carves itself a pretty useful niche by being to pressure thanks to its speed, typing and stats, common threats such as Primarina, Kommo-o or Mega Altaria.

Choice Band Bisharp
While Bisharp is a cool Pokemon overall, Twilight, Daiyaga and Mapplle didn't appreciate the fact that Choice Band Bisharp is a rather difficult Pokemon to build around. Mapplle and Estarossa also pointed out the fact that Choice Band Bisharp is an iffy trapper and it's kinda hard to justify its use over Choice Scarf Krookodile and Choice Band Scizor. While Estarossa, Daiyaga and bukemon123 agreed with the fact that Choice Band Bisharp hits really hard they also pointed out with other players that this set has some flaws. Thus, Mapplle said that you can't outplay anymore your opponent since Bisharp is locked in a specific move. He also said that lacking SD may be annoying in some circumstances. Estarossa and bukemon123 also agreed on the fact that you have to choose between speed or bulk and bukemon123 highlighted the fact that even with max HP, Choice Band Bisharp struggles a lot to handle some special hits from threats such as Latias or Celebi. Mapplle concluded that this set is pretty MU reliant.

Custap Berry Snorlax
Last but not least, let's talk about Custap Berry Snorlax. This Pokemon didn’t get much love this week since only 2 players tried it. Twilight and Mapplle agreed on the fact that this set of Snorlax has 4MSS like Choice Band one. Twilight said that Curse + 3 attack and 4 attacks are for him the best sets and that Custap Berry Snorlax is a good surprise factor. However both of them agreed that the lack of recovery is pretty annoying and Mapplle said that he doesn't like the fact that Snorlax is easy to chip and that the fact is really slow means that it suffers from being compared with Bewear. Mapplle also said that that Snorlax is still able to sponge special hits which is useful and makes it pretty nasty vs offense.

Week 12 : Choice Scarf Scizor, Venomoth, Swords Dance Lucario

Scarf Scizor​

Scarf Scizor has been tested on this week by Estarossa, Lazadamn, Daiyaga and Mapplle. The first two point out how slow it kinda is and how they usually would rather be using another Scizor set. Estarossa and Daiyaga say it's a burden to have to go Jolly, which gives up on a lot of power. They also say that although Scarf Scizor can check some Pokemon like Celebi, by not being a strong set like CB it misses out on helping to check Pokemon like Nidoking. Surprising Magneton and killing it is something that this set has going for it. Overall, it was mostly considered only a good surprise factor mon.

Venomoth
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Venomoth was researched by many this week. It was pointed out by Mapplle how its bulk and SpA are poor, relying a lot on Tinted Lens and Quiver Dance/Choice Specs boosts to be truly effective. Daiyaga also say that its typing isn't the most helpful considering the number of weaknesses that are given to it and the only resistances that usually come into play are Fairy and Fighting. He and Lazadamn point out that quad Bug resists such as Lucario and Klefki are annoying as they basically can stop Venomoth from doing what it's supposed to do. The researchers enjoyed its stallbreaker capabilities, with mostly Roost and Disable sets being run and being able to punch some fat teams. Estarossa mainly liked the Specs set, being able to annoy offensive teams more easily, okay Speed and utility with Toxic Spikes and U-turn.

SD Lucario
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SD Lucario has received some love this week. Estarossa pointed out it's nice to have a Fighting STAB with no chance of missing, different from Focus Blast. bukemon123 mentions how it has some competition as an SD cleaner with Scizor, but running it alongside Scizor grants you a very interesting duo. Most people tried Extreme Speed, as it's a good way of cleaning, as pointed out by Mapplle, while Lazadamn enjoyed running Ice Punch for Gligar, making it harder to be walled. Another point brought up was how SD Lucario, out of the lack of Vacuum Wave, the drops from CC, and Intimidate being a thing can get revenge killed more easily. The surprise factor was nice as most people expect a Special set. A major downside was how ineffective it is versus stall compared to its Special counterpart. In the end, they agree that it has a niche and good things going for it.

Week 13 : Houndoom-Mega, Psychium Z Latias, Curse Gligar

Mega Houndoom

Mega Houndoom was without a doubt the most used Pokemon this week and 6 players tryed with it. While most of them agreed with the fact that Mega Houndoom is a decent threat, Twilight, Daiyaga, Estarossa, bukemon123 and Lazadamn pointed out that Mega Houndoom struggle to deal with offensive threats and can be checked by common threats such as Hydreigon, Choice Scarf Krookodile, Kommo-o, Nihilego, Mega Aerodactyl, Diancie or Terrakion. However, Estarossa disagreed on some of this Pokemon and said that Pokemon like Nihilego or Kommo-o don't like to take in the long run Mega Houndoom's STABs. While Daiyaga, Estarossa and RedxThree agreed that Sludge Bomb was the best filler for Mega Houndoom since it allows it to pressure Fairy-types such as Primarina and get some neutral hits on Hydreigon, Twilight said that Taunt was a really nice option which could bother defensive answers to Mega Houndoom while bukemon123 talked about Hyper Fang which allows Mega Houndoom to weaken some threats for its teammates in the endgame. Twilight and RedxThree also said that even if Mega Houndoom's speed isn't the best, it allows it to pressure common threats such as Latias, Gengar or Cobalion. Twilight and Lazadamn also agreed that Sticky Web was a great support for Mega Houndoom. Last but not least Estarossa conclued that Mega Houndoom was an interesting pick even if there was some better Nasty Plot wallbreaker such as Infernape.

Psychium Z Latias

Twilight, Lazadamn and Daiyaga were the players who tested Psychium Z Latias this week and they all agreed on one point : Psychium Z Latias is most of the time a worst and weaker Dragonium Z. Even if Lazadamn pointed out the fact that Z-Psychock may be an interesting pick since it allows Latias to break Blissey but also physical wall with Shattered Psyche, it also said like Twilight and Daiyaga that Dragonium Z was a better option since it allows Latias to have a good neutral Z-Move which can blown away a lot of Pokemon in the tier. Twilight also highlighted the fact that even if Psychic provides a better Z-Move, it also prevent Latias to pressure Blissey effectively. Overall, players claimed that Dragonium Z or Electrium Z were better options for Latias.

Curse Gligar

Gligar has been the less tested Pokemon this week with 2 players who tried it. While PapaBisexual pointed out the fact that Curse was a nice option for Gligar since it allows it to check effectively some physical threats such as SD Cobalion, SD Scizor, SD Terrakion or Dragon Dance Mega Altaria, Daiyaga found that filler mediocre since Gligar would most of the time prefer other fillers such as Toxic, Knock Off or U-turn. However Daiyaga agreed that Curse may be nice vs some specifics threats like SD Roost Scizor, SD Terrakion or Curse Mega Steelix.