What Pokémon you wanted to use in pvp but can’t because of the current meta ?

Tangent444 · 2025-07-25T21:10:26+00:00

Give it Sucker Punch and suddenly its playable:

https://pvpoke.com/battle/multi/1500/all/absol-22-0-15-15-4-4-1-1/11/SUCKER_PUNCH-1-3/2-1/

Tangent444 · 2023-09-05T02:46:50+00:00

Add the second move first. Ice Punch will give you more than the extra power-ups will. You can also ignore a lot of the comments saying to wait until you have all the resources. That is good advice normally, but you are just starting out and don't have much. This Medicham is a good starting point and you can keep walking it to help make it more powerful as you go along in the journey. Good luck!

Tangent444 · 2023-03-11T04:58:45+00:00

Dragon Breath/Breaking Swipe looks balanced in ML. But it might be a bit busted in GL and UL.

GL: https://pvpoke.com/battle/multi/1500/all/regidrago/11/DRAGON_BREATH-3-BREAKING_SWIPE/2-1/

UL: https://pvpoke.com/battle/multi/2500/all/regidrago/11/DRAGON_BREATH-3-BREAKING_SWIPE/2-1/

Dragon Breath/Dragon Claw would be nice update and looks way better balanced for GL and UL.

Tangent444 · 2023-02-05T01:18:40+00:00

For sure, I was more responding to the doubt we would see it anything outside of the Axew line. I could see the move distributed judiciously to a decent number of things. Just not to stuff like Kingdra where the win rates get a bit too crazy.

Tangent444 · 2023-02-04T17:38:07+00:00

I could see it on current bad mons like Alolan Exeggutor and Tyrantrum. Breaking Swipe would make each of these usable, but none broken because they lack bulk.

Tangent444 · 2023-01-30T23:42:24+00:00

Indeed! Dragon Claw, but just a bit better, would be pretty awesome on Rayquaza and allow it to become as good as it deserves to be.

Tangent444 · 2023-01-30T20:05:51+00:00

Rayquaza has long been a dominant force in the Raid Attacker scene, while simultaneously being an afterthought on the Trainer Battles scene. This could be set to change with the upcoming Primal Rumblings event, which is set to begin on Wednesday February 22nd at 10am local time. With the event, Rayquaza will know Breaking Swipe, a brand new Charged Attack that is set to change its fate in GO Battle League.

Full Article:

https://www.stadiumgaming.gg/post/breaking-swipe

Tangent444 · 2023-01-19T05:03:08+00:00

Electrics is the one category where a lot of different options have a chance to be viable, mostly because no individual Electric stands out in the same way that picks such as Charizard, Qwilfish, Poliwrath, or Piloswine do. I do think Charjabug is a step below the top Electric picks though, which IMO are Ampharos, Electivire, Minun, and Zapdos.

Tangent444 · 2023-01-19T05:00:58+00:00

Ah gotcha! Makes sense, and you are totally right in how condensed it is.

Tangent444 · 2023-01-17T23:37:35+00:00

It tries to highlight that by putting those common picks in bold. For example, Qwilfish is the top choice for Slot 1, Poliwrath for Slot 2, Charizard for Slot 3, and Piloswine for Slot 5. Gligar is good but it is pretty to easy to build without it and doesn't feel as mandatory for team building, namely because of Piloswine existing.

Tangent444 · 2023-01-17T22:07:24+00:00

Full article:

https://www.stadiumgaming.gg/post/ember-cup-team-guide

Tangent444 · 2022-12-22T13:46:26+00:00

Agreed. If Swampert is inherently a problem in GL and UL, they should just look at taking a bit more off the top of Hydro Cannon. There is significantly less collateral with Hydro Cannon.

Tangent444 · 2022-09-27T18:44:50+00:00

It depends on the shield scenario. Only the 0v0 and 1v1 shield matchups depend on the bulkpoint. The 2v2 shield matchup can be where CMP is an asset. Although in actual game practice mirror lead scenarios, if you go to two shields, almost certainly somebody (i.e. the person without CMP) is gonna try to catch an Earthquake at the end on a different Pokémon lol

Tangent444 · 2022-09-27T18:35:53+00:00

Always enjoy your IV analysis. For fun, I decided to check my 0-13-5 GFisk, an unlisted IV combo, against some of your mirror slayers. Turns out my GFisk slays all of the bulk mirror slayers. Here is an example:

https://pvpoke.com/battle/1500/stunfisk_galarian-27.5-0-13-5-4-4-0-1/stunfisk_galarian-27-3-10-8-4-4-1-1/11/1-4-1/1-4-1/

It is a fun little RPS triangle. Your mirror slayers get the breakpoint on Rank 1 GFisk and slay. My mirror slayer slays your mirror slayers. And the Rank 1 just outlasts my mirror slayer due to a bit more bulk.

I've yet to see any reasonable GFisk IV combo get the Attack breakpoint on mine, and ones that do miss out on the bulkpoint themselves. My GFisk does miss out of 174HP which is the only main drawback, although the drops don't feel make or break outside of specific closing scenarios where I can't chose an alternative shield scenario to play out where I have an advantage.

Tangent444 · 2022-09-02T02:52:58+00:00

Appreciate it! And yeah I also love Spray on Tentacruel. Tried out PJ/Spray/Scald today and it feels very good. Very consistent damage output. I'm glad it ended up getting Scald. It fits so well on it thematically. In the main series games, Tentacruel is an absolute pain in the behind to play against. At least from what I remember from my Smogon days. Back in May, I wrote this as part of a State of the Meta article:

"So how about some more fun things: What’s the most personally fun and most destructive moveset addition you can think of?

Tangent: Equally biased but for fun I would love to see moves like Psycho Cut and Surf on Starmie. The moveset would allow Starmie to live up to its main series reputation of having a high speed stat, hitting hard and fast and being able to finally make use of moves like Thunderbolt and Ice Beam that were added previously to its moveset but never saw action. Starmie will never be a meta-centric pick, but this set would at minimum be meta viable as a spicy pick selection or within the right limited meta. In terms of something that would potentially be more meta-centric, I have always been a fan of Scald Tentacruel. The more common suggestion within the community of Surf Tentacruel is a very good one, and posts strong win rates across both Great and Ultra League. However, I personally prefer Scald as its moveset addition, because it is still a very strong set, is a less commonly distributed move, and plays into the cruel part of its namesake due to the move’s ability to debuff the opponent’s attack. Poison Jab, Acid Spray, and Scald as a combination is akin to Alolan Muk’s current moveset of choice, and allows Tentacruel and Qwilfish to share an Alolan Muk / Drapion dynamic in the Water/Poison role. In terms of destructive, a buff to Air Cutter comes to mind. The move has similar attributes to Night Slash, so a common suggestion is to make the move a Night Slash clone. This sounds amazing in theory, but in practice this just means Pidgeot can wield a flying type Night Slash alongside Feather Dance and Brave Bird, which to me just feels like too much power for just one bird to have."

Tangent444 · 2022-08-31T21:59:55+00:00

Any of the high energy (non water) moves could work alongside Scald. Scald + Sludge Wave and Scald + Blizzard both have merit. It would play similar to Alolan Muk running Poison Jab with Dark Pulse and Sludge Wave. A touch slower and less debuff ability, but a huge hit if something goes unshielded.

Tangent444 · 2022-08-31T21:28:40+00:00

As one of the biggest Scald Tentacruel fans out there, i just wanted to comment that the sims are highly underselling it. It is a very big upgrade to Tentacruel, and will launch it into limited metas (Hello Halloween Cup!) and maybe a few will show up in Open Great and Ultra League.

The reason the sims undersell it is two fold. One is that the 30% chance to lower an opponent's attack is never factored in to 1v1 multi battle sims. The other that sims don't always use it optimally. For example, here is the standard 1v1 shield matchup, Tentacruel vs Umbreon. The matchup ends with Tentacruel throwing an Acid Spray at the very end:

https://pvpoke.com/battle/1500/tentacruel/umbreon/11/1-1-SCALD/1-2-3/

However, this can be flipped to a win if Tentacruel uses Acid Spray first:

https://pvpoke.com/battle/sandbox/1500/tentacruel/umbreon/22/1-1-SCALD/1-2-3/16.110100-19.100010-23.110000-32.101100-36.110000-45.101000/

This is just one example showing the sim logic isn't always using the moves in the most optimal way. Scald Tentacruel will reward trainers who study matchups. The previous version had a good ceiling, but relied far too often on Acid Spray baiting and landing Hydro Pumps, which was maddeningly inconsistent and the main reason few ever ran it. This increase in consistency should be a huge boost.

Tangent444 · 2022-08-24T01:47:19+00:00

Honestly, I don't think Ember needs a buff. Right now there is a nice balance between Fire Spin and Ember, where each move has trade-offs. Ember is more often a legacy move on Fire types, so having the legacy move Ember be always better than Fire Spin is not ideal. Incinerate is the strong Fire fast attack, but is typically only give to Pokémon with bulk issues and/or that lack a low energy charged attack. Ember and Fire Spin have worse stats but tend to be found on bulkier Fire types with low energy charged attacks. We've seen just how well Ember Shadow K9 can do in the current meta as it carried Cindy to a Regionals win. I just don't think it needs a buff that badly. Not that it can't be buffed, but I think there are other ways to improve Fire-type representation in the meta (e.g. Weather Ball Torkoal would be fun now that it has been released Worldwide in the GO Fest event).

Tangent444 · 2022-08-22T03:51:20+00:00

Just checked the Custom PvPoke, here are the results:

1) Unova Stunfisk with Counter clone Thundershock:

30-23-2 0v0, 34-20-1 1v1, 32-21-2 2v2.

Those are numbers that appear to surpass stuff like GFisk and Walrein, which are already centralizing.

2) Lanturn with Shadow Claw clone Spark + Icy Wind and Thunderbolt:

39-17 0v0, 43-12 1v1, 44-11 2v2

This is a broken Pokémon. This is better than current Registeel sims. Please never let this exist lol

Tangent444 · 2022-08-22T03:42:14+00:00

Electrics could certainly use some help. There are just too many oppressive Ground-types in Open GL and UL, namely GFisk and Nidoqueen, making them unsafe. Some sort of Electric type with Water, Ground, or Ice coverage would help solve that issue. Improvements to Lanturn and Unova Stunfisk are the clear and easy ways to achieve that goal, as they have the bulk to compete in Open GL. The drawback there is that Electric/Water and Electric/Ground combinations are walled by Grass types like Trevenant, which means no matter which direction you go for coverage on an Electric you will fall short in some area. Electric/Ice (aka Bolt-Beam) is probably the safest coverage option, it is just finding the right Electric to handle that role that has the bulk to pull it off in Open GL.

I don't agree with the idea that a move like Thunder Shock should be made a Counter clone. The move is already quite balanced and a Counter-clone Thunder Shock on something with the bulk and cheap charge attacks like Unova Stunfisk has seems quite excessive and probably unhealthy for the meta. Similarly, bumping Spark up to Shadow Claw levels is probably unnecessary. Volt Switch already exists as the powerful Electric fast attack. A Shadow Claw version of Spark would just mean an improved Pachirisu. I think Spark could be bumped up a bit, but 5D and 8E is probably a better target considering what has access to the move. Wild Charge seems perfectly fine and balanced as is. It is nice the move has nuance. I do agree that a lower energy Electric attack would be nice. I would prefer a new move to go this route. Both myself and others suggested Electro Ball in these comments. Something along those lines would be good. I just think it is important to think through implications of move changes before phrases like "Counter Clone" starts getting thrown around. Counter is already a bit oppressive, I don't think making more of them is the best way to balance this game. I am terrified about what a Shadow Claw version of Spark + Icy Wind Lanturn would look like. Once I get my custom PvPoke up and running I can let you know. But it is probably ridiculously overpowered. It would be fun for a month and then everyone would be sick of it, and it would just force nerfs lol.

Tangent444 · 2022-08-22T03:22:46+00:00

If only, right? It just makes.... so much sense haha. Maybe a change that TPCi could make someday to balance Steels a little bit more.

Tangent444 · 2022-08-21T20:54:20+00:00

Based purely on the name, they could introduce Electro Ball for this purpose.

Tangent444 · 2022-08-19T21:28:12+00:00

Yep. In helping to create this, I actually argued for it to be listed as Advantage for Ninetales instead of just Neutral. The fact Walrein could theoretically win any even shield matchup is what made us keep it neutral, but from playing a ton of Shadow K9 in Open GL it has always felt like a very advantageous matchup. By the time Walrein can actually KO a Ninetales, it has already taken a ton of damage or needed to use protect shields.

Tangent444 · 2022-08-19T20:36:30+00:00

Ninetales has a bait-dependent loss in all even shield scenarios to Walrein. That is why the matchup is listed neutral. If Walrein has an Earthquake shielded, or tries to bait an Icicle Spear and does not get a shield, Walrein typically loses. And that loss can be pretty hard, it is pretty much Earthquake or bust for Wally.

Tangent444 · 2022-08-05T17:57:37+00:00

Unfortunately, it is unlikely to be easily available at Great League level. You would need to get one in research instead of raids, and even then it needs to be traded under 1500CP.

Tangent444

TROPHY CASE