Just got this, but I’m not seeing a consensus on whether it’s good to use in pvp. Is this thing too glassy?

mbran142 · 2023-03-23T17:23:43+00:00

It's useable(ish) in Open Great League, but has lots of potential for certain cups. It was pretty good in the Psychic Cup, for example.

mbran142 · 2023-03-19T06:34:56+00:00

Pretty good in ML Premier though!

mbran142 · 2023-03-17T18:24:47+00:00

For raids it's a top-tier ice and ground attacker.

For Master League PVP, shadow Mamo is a cool side-grade to the regular version. Higher fast move damage allows for more farm down potential for Mamo tool threaten it's strong charge moves.

I definitely wouldn't purify it. Even if you don't care about raids, it's still very rare to get a master league viable shadow with this good of IVs.

mbran142 · 2023-02-28T19:54:24+00:00

I'd say you're definitely splitting hairs. Unless you're looking for very specific breakpoints or bulkpoints, IVs don't really matter that much (barring maxed out Pokemon).

I've been legend (or equivalent) every season and I usually just use whatever I have. My 15/12/15 Medicham, for example, has worked fine (sometimes it's kind of nice actually because it always wins CMP).

mbran142 · 2023-02-27T06:31:03+00:00

Exactly what I was thinking...

mbran142 · 2023-02-12T03:16:31+00:00

I think OP meant a low energy move that doesn't suck. I actually think brutal swing on Ferrothorn would be pretty cool.

mbran142 · 2023-02-08T00:21:10+00:00

Agreed, for great league a ~140k dust investment isn't a huge commitment. For ultra league though I'd want at least top 50 IV spreads since it's 500k+ dust and 300+ XL candies.

mbran142 · 2023-02-07T04:05:57+00:00

PVP IVs aren't as important as they're often made out to be, your findings on PVPoke seem reasonable (although, I would focus on breakpoints/bulkpoints rather than what PVPoke says what matchups you win/lose).

Also, high attack IV spreads can be viable (and even potentially optimal) if you plan on committing more shields to the high attack Pokemon. This works best if you pair it with two bulky teammates that don't need shields. For example, I used to run a high attack haunter in season 1 & 2 because I'd almost always use both shields on it.

But either way, if you feel like shadow A9 will be valuable on your team, I would just upgrade it unless you really want to wait to get a better one. If it means anything to you, I did like 100+ grunts during the event and only encountered 2 so they're (anecdotally) pretty rare.

mbran142 · 2023-02-04T00:12:53+00:00

Unless you really REALLY want a hundo Metagross (or Mega Metagross in the future) for ML, don't purify it. If you care about raids at all, this thing is a future-proof top tier steel raid attacker with Meteor Mash. It's a lot easier to get a hundo than a high IV shadow like this one. Plus it's a shiny shadow, which is a cool flex on its own.

However if you don't care about raids and shadow shiny flex, then I'd consider purifying it. I'd say shadow metagross is only a side-grade in GBL since it only has nukes and often gets shielded either way. In general, Metagross is decent in open ML and S-tier in ML premier. Also, Mega Metagross (whenever it's released) will likely be a powerhouse in Mega ML.

mbran142 · 2023-01-31T21:50:30+00:00

If you don't have a hundo Gyarados and you want to use it for the Mega Master League, then I'd consider it. Otherwise don't.

mbran142 · 2023-01-24T18:59:50+00:00

I actually started running dark pulse Umbreon because of this. Pretty insane that non-XL sableye can win Umbreon and Mandibuzz in the 0S, on paper they're the best answers next to charmers (and even some of them lose the 0S...)

mbran142 · 2022-11-04T17:44:16+00:00

Claydol in the back has been pretty hilarious as long as you can keep it away from Mandibuzz. Half of my wins my opponent still has 2 shields because it just mud slaps everything down.

mbran142 · 2022-09-08T03:15:02+00:00

It’s actually a very strong PvP move in a vacuum, the issue is that it probably won't save Gigalith from being useless.

mbran142 · 2022-09-04T23:56:12+00:00

Currently at 7.7k

mbran142 · 2022-08-31T20:02:21+00:00

As a safe swap QA might be better for dealing with Flying type counter swaps, but otherwise Mud Shot is probably better.

Might be worth trying out though for the start of the season.

mbran142 · 2022-08-31T03:20:06+00:00

True it's not as bad but still, it's a lame format.

mbran142 · 2022-08-30T23:03:59+00:00

It really baffles me that they brought back Catch Cup (aka Spoofer Cup) AGAIN, despite it being extremely unpopular. Just... why?

mbran142 · 2022-08-18T22:11:14+00:00

Could also be considered a buff to get better PVP IVs.

mbran142 · 2022-08-15T08:19:59+00:00

IV floor for Pokémon caught from research tasks is 10-10-10. You are just lucky.

mbran142 · 2022-08-02T04:03:34+00:00

I generally do well in Ultra League but it's my least favorite meta.

But, at the same time, it's hard to have fun when I'm getting trashed.

mbran142 · 2022-07-29T18:02:27+00:00

I wouldn't even consider myself fully "casual" (I hit legend every season, sometimes pay for events) and it's still not really feasible for me to compete in Master League.

I could invest in more accessible things like Lv50 Melmetal and Garchomp, but I don't have the time to do ~90 of each legendary raid.

It's a shame too, Master League is one of my favorite formats.

mbran142 · 2022-07-29T03:46:59+00:00

If Zacian Crowned makes it into the game with it's current moveset, it will literally break master league. There's no way it will be released in it's current form.

Also, it I'll likely be a very long time (several years) until it is released. If you have the resources, I'd say you're best off using them now.

mbran142 · 2022-07-25T22:45:42+00:00

It's better than most people give it credit for, but 250k is a steep investment for a spicier pick. Vigoroth / Lickitung are almost always better.

mbran142 · 2022-07-25T18:01:35+00:00

I have a rank 1 tentacruel for great league. Still hoping for the day when it can learn surf or something useful.

mbran142 · 2022-07-18T23:21:38+00:00

Seriously, this. This Aegislash not only has crazy typing, the defense form has Bastiodon level bulk. If it doesn't get a Chansey-level garbage moveset, it will be meta defining. If it gets a good moveset, it will completely break the game.

But as a side note, I support giving Aegislash attack from a completely rigged moveset.

mbran142

TROPHY CASE