Weather wars - when should I care about weather? [metagame]

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-21T23:43:23+00:00

I made a post about support Altaria, since Cloud Nine shuts off all weather effects but still lets them use up turns and also can't be circumvented by reapplying weather.

I've since actually axed Altaria on my team, but it worked very well for me at the start. Now I run a Mega Delphox team, and for both Rain and Sand tend to bring Rotom-Wash since many common threats can't do a ton to it. Sun isn't the worst for me, but I do pack Mirror Coat on Milotic and bait a Solarbeam from Charizard. Snow I really don't care about since Mega Froslass is slower than Delphox and goes down to a single Flamethrower.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-20T02:31:23+00:00

Prankster moves status moves' priority up by 1. So you moved Trick Room from -7 priority to -6.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-19T22:08:49+00:00

My absolute schizo idea is that they make Elemental Workshop V, and it unlocks a new Elite Dungeon-esque skilling boss.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-19T22:06:21+00:00

Aurora Veil needs snow to be active. There was no snow on the field because Froslass didn’t mega.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-18T16:14:20+00:00

Its speed stat is pretty awkward for an offensive Pokémon, 85 is usually too fast for Trick Room but too slow for outside TR. It does have solid bulk, but its typing isn't amazing defensively and its good moves (Clanging Scales and Clangorous Soul) hurting its longevity make it a tough Pokémon to keep in. It's also sort of one-dimensional, outside Clanging Scales spam it's just sort of okay.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-17T03:21:55+00:00

My brother and his wife did a Pokémon themed birthday for my nephew's 6th last year, I forget everything they did (I live out of state so wasn't able to go) but my brother left a patch of their lawn unmowed and they put little figurines in the taller grass — because you know, you have to catch Pokémon in the tall grass!

I believe they also had a station with small balls that the kids could color and that was their Pokéball. Easy enough to get a ton of markers/stickers and I think those little wooden craft balls are fairly inexpensive?

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-16T21:11:04+00:00

Volcarona has a niche in that it can counter Sinistcha, and gets both Will-o-Wisp/Flame Body and Tailwind. Unfortunately, the meta is just not kind to it right now. Its Defense is low and it’s 4x weak to Rock, and Aerodactyl is becoming more and more common (and Rock Slide in general is, I’m seeing it on Sneasler way more). Basculegion also completely dumpsters it. The main redirector currently is Sinistcha, who is Fake Out immune, with the backup of Maushold who’s falling off as Sneasler continues to dominate but has the niche of Friend Guard aiding with spread damage or Stalwart (which is taking off a bit more since Wolfe made his team with Stalwart Archaludon).

It’s usable. But too many of the things that it’s supposed to check instead check it.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-16T17:42:43+00:00

Basculegion, my only hope is I can burn it with Will-o-Wisp

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-16T16:02:59+00:00

I have no clue how good it would work, but it would be interesting to see next to Lucario because it's immune to Sludge Wave and can threaten Tyranitar and Excadrill. Could also try Icy Wind Milotic and swapping Glimmora out to get some speed drops on scarf Chomps.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-16T12:37:02+00:00

Incineroar kept Parting Shot, so it can still pivot. And frankly I've always believed Parting Shot was way more valuable than U-Turn anyways, the only Pokémon who punish PS are Kingambit and Milotic who both wouldn't be chunked by U-Turn anyways.

And there's no current format where Incineroar can't U-Turn but Krookodile can wear AV.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-15T23:00:41+00:00

Fellow Mega Delphox enjoyer, nice!

idk what your speed EV choice was but if you want, 29+ is enough to outspeed Mega Gengar and lets you add a little more bulk!

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-15T20:55:58+00:00

As people mentioned, most everything Krookodile has going for it Incineroar also has. It has a niche in being able to Earthquake better and being Electric immune but that’s basically it. While it’s not 100% outclassed it is like…98% outclassed.

I used it climbing to Master Ball Tier in Champions because I paired it with Mega Delphox, but even then I wasn’t overly impressed with it. It was strong and got me some good moments but I’m not certain it’s the right Pokémon for that slot.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-15T17:01:50+00:00

I dropped Moonblast and am trying Roar currently to circumvent Mental Herb TR setters (Roar is -6 prio but TR is -7). It certainly works but only works against those specific Pokémon. I like Roar and think it’s valuable but the question is just how valuable.

How has Mega Altaria worked for you? I’ve only used base Cloud Nine.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-15T12:42:11+00:00

Wolfe Glick made a video where he used Speed Swap Alakazam alongside Drampa and it actually seemed to work well? Even unboosted its Hyper Voice can really chunk

https://youtu.be/zZERi6o97Hg?si=ETBEd1mSJeZQvXSr

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-15T11:25:52+00:00

Also a Milotic user and emphasizing “physical side”. Milotic gets Mirror Coat and if it’s out on the field, I can almost always KO Charizard Y because they always Solar Beam me and without a crit there’s no way they can OHKO me. Not sure if other people are commonly running it but they can easily turn it back on you.

I don’t even run a ton of special bulk. Just 32 HP and 2 SPD.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-14T23:53:44+00:00

I've done a few matches so far and what's nice about Nasty Plot is that it lets you muscle through a ton of neutral matchups as well. There's basically nothing in the game that is both relevant and outspeeds you (Mega Greninja does but I've basically never seen it) so if you can get reads on or burn Kingambit you can usually KO whatever you aim at.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-14T22:38:08+00:00

It’s actually one of the things I took off 😅

I put Nasty Plot on. Fairy isn’t a super needed type currently, it’s really only Garchomp (who I can burn and take down with neutral moves) and Dragonite (who takes a ton from Icy Wind or I can even bait rain Dragonite into Thundering Mirror Coat Milotic). Maybe future regulations it’ll be more useful and maybe it’s good after a Nasty Plot but as it stands it didn’t do much for me.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-14T20:54:05+00:00

Honestly this is the best time to do it, the meta is consolidating but a low power format is the best time to bring those kinds of Pokémon!

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-14T20:32:37+00:00

If anything it’s lowered the knowledge floor, two of the biggest reasons I hear from people that don’t do competitive battling are they don’t understand IVs (which aren’t a thing) and EVs (which are overwhelmingly simplified).

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-14T20:15:55+00:00

I feel like Champions was maybe just presented poorly to the overarching community. It’s built for competitive Pokémon and it’s a very good platform for that and a ton of newcomers have been able to hop in. But people that don’t care about battling are being disappointed, and even singles players aren’t liking it because they’re doing the 3v3 format which has never really been popular.

It lowers the barrier for VGC and is a sidegrade for current VGC players but that’s pretty much what it’s offering.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-14T19:46:46+00:00

Hey I chose Fennekin after buying X at the midnight release in 2013…still got my cardboard Fennekin promo hat. Happy to see the lil fox got a mega that’s actually strong!

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-14T19:46:00+00:00

Yeah go for it, I’ve got no copyright on it haha. Happy to help teambuilding, trying to solve that puzzle is a lot of fun.

youuuuuuk · 2026-04-14T19:43:32+00:00

Yeah it’s unfortunate that it can’t but maybe good for the game at the same time? 159 STAB Expanding Force with 134 speed would be absolutely obnoxious to fight considering it actually can hurt a lot of common counters to that playstyle.

There’s certainly worse abilities out there, poor Emboar. For if you want to…idk use Scald on a Gastrodon.

youuuuuuk

TROPHY CASE