pokemon-winds-waves

[daring finch]

Idk anyones battle themes

Its not her specifically, I just dont like music

[vocal charm]

could've missed out on several shinies

[edgy palm]

https://youtu.be/dqzIAB2hB28?si=Yqb8SoRmTVfQn-Us

[daring finch]

Idgaf about missing 10 shiny kakuna

[jade ocean]

What about 11

[daring finch]

That 11th one will go bye bye when resetting

[vocal charm]

i did not notice a shiny flabebe until i asked myself "what is that mysterious tickingglimmering noise?"
-# no, i won't stop making this joke. it's a good joke

i somehow missed the gender option and had everyone refer to my character as a boy all the way through
at least i got girl!Taunie, though
wonder how she comes across gender-flipped

[jade ocean]

I've heard that Urbain does have different dialogue compared to Taunie, but mostly very insignificant changes that don't really affect the characterisation of the rival

[vocal charm]

also i finally got the Colorful Screw at the top of the scaffolding outside Cafe Triste/before Zone 18!
not even sure if the method is supposed to be gliding over, but i couldn't see another way

[unborn elm]

https://tenor.com/view/mega-starmie-starman-superman-starmie-pokemon-gif-17031833287928084314

https://tenor.com/view/mega-starmie-mega-starmie-running-mega-starmie-fast-starmie-pokemon-gif-1903217345154588046

[edgy palm]

Not what I was expecting for my first shiny but I'll take it

[desert current]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/947500542089891840/1436859496558497873/ezgif-7b0f38d497a93382.gif

Another Mega Beedrill victim

[jade ocean]

252+ Atk Huge Power Starmie-Mega Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Beedrill-Mega: 244-288 (90 - 106.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes
I'm afraid Mega Starmie mid diffs

(If we're talking about ZA specifically then it really depends on who can click their move first unless it's PVP where Starmie tanks anyways and still OHKOs)

[desert current]

https://tenor.com/view/aw-man-sad-family-guy-gif-2009655089968838499

[lime void]

Hey, there’s still the DLC

[hazy knot]

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1202242251401723954/1203102195613179914/bartwin.gif

[unborn elm]

https://tenor.com/view/scared-child-gif-5550120584784460643

[unborn elm]

https://tenor.com/view/happy-happy-dog-dog-happiest-dog-super-happy-gif-17885812

[worn cobalt]

Averaging 3 bench resets a minute is nice.

[hazy knot]

shiny dratini spotted

not alpha though so i guess ill continue the hunt

[worn cobalt]

Here are my extra shinies that are not alpha. These are all up for grabs.

Here are my extra Shalphas.

[worn cobalt]

Like your hiding spot.

[hazy knot]

i actually failed to catch it because a bellsprout got in the way and it saved instantly after i caught the sprout. first time this has ever happened to me

[worn cobalt]

sorry to hear that. Dern Bellsprout.

[worn cobalt]

Also up for grabs

[hazy knot]

[worn cobalt]

I've now gotten to where I can't post all the extra shinies in one post.

[tired crane]

lol, nice

[worn cobalt]

Any day now, someone will come to me and say "quick! I need 20 shiny fletchling!"

Any day now...

Still hunting a second Jumbo shiny Pumpkaboo.

[unborn elm]

https://youtube.com/shorts/E51NwsfYtNU?si=OJqV57KqzZ2IFypP

[desert current]

I just ran into some psycho running physical Charizard Y in Ranked...

[unborn elm]

https://tenor.com/view/byuntear-sad-sad-cat-cat-meme-gif-25617057

[worn cobalt]

I got a shiny Jumbo, but it's an Alpha. Debating if I just keep it or look for a non alpha one.

[tired crane]

I wonder if the dlc will have new wild zones

[worn cobalt]

I think the DLC adds zones that exist in pocket dimensions. So portals will be in overworld, but won't be flyable is my bet.

[fickle birch]

I'll take it off your hands, if you don't want it. 😉

[dim plover]

idk why it took me this long to realize but yknow how in the story you just rise 15 ranks bc story

and then the last mission is doing 15 infinite royales

its the 15 ranks you skipped

they literally just said alright time to catch up on your ranks

[lime void]

If he was sane, he wouldn’t be using Charizard in the first place

[plucky escarp]

damn it, you may be right

[dim plover]

like i wanted to progress through the ranks but i didnt want it to be the post game T-T

[willow kelp]

Nice, counterpart to the one I found running a special X

[vocal charm]

i don't know enough about the pokemeta to know why that's wrong

[plucky escarp]

stat difference between X and Y, the Y is more suited for special especially when you include X gets Tough Claws, a 30% damage boost on physical and Y gets drought, 50% damage on fire moves... but abilities dont exist in ZA so realistically nothing wrong with it outside of not quite as good on stats as Y with a different typing

[wispy kernel]

the pokemon gacha game pokemon masters is adding a physical mega charizard Y next month for. some reason

[hazy knot]

because mega charizard y is awesome and can do anything it wants to

sp atk is only 50 points higher that’s basically nothing anyways

[wispy kernel]

also they gave it to Lance for some reason

[hazy knot]

he’s the dragon guy

[wispy kernel]

also it doesnt even have a single fire type move

for. some reason

[hazy knot]

because dragon type

[wispy kernel]

its a flying type

[hazy knot]

no

[wispy kernel]

charizard X is the dragon

charizard Y is the flying type

[hazy knot]

https://tenor.com/view/blows-you-up-with-mind-gif-2633489430227586185

[vocal charm]

The charizard-looking one is 🪽 type and the black one is 🐉 type

[fickle birch]

Before Raichu, the pattern (which is a word I'm using loosely when there were only two examples) was that Y Megas kept their types the same, X Megas changed them. 🙂

[silent halo]

I never even realized that

[plucky escarp]

or, X are phys and Y are special

and the type changes came with to better suit

[fickle birch]

Also this, yeah. I was gonna add that on. 😂

[wispy kernel]

The Mega Raichus also look like they will be physical and special just based on designs

[fickle birch]

They do, but they're both monotypes. And so is the newest one. 😢

GameFreak are literally allergic to making fun Electric/Fighting Pokémon (Pawmot is Raichu 2 and Iron Hands is Hariyama 2). 🙁

[desert current]

Yeah yeah, you have an irrational hatred for Charizard. We get it...

[lime void]

No, my hatred for Charizard is very rational

[tired crane]

Is anyone else having a dry spot in shiny hunting?

I was thinking maybe the newest update made shiny hunting harder

but it's 100% possible I'm just incredibly unlucky lately

[wispy kernel]

I just want a fucking fennekin bro

[worn cobalt]

Lizard

[tired crane]

Same lol I did find a shiny eevee though so that's cool!

[storm bone]

Finally reached 1000 battles now only need 6 more dex levels and a few eeveelutions

[tired crane]

Nice job!

[unborn elm]

https://tenor.com/view/lizard-gif-4133321797479779339

[worn cobalt]

If you need anything, let me know.

[edgy palm]

As much as I love shinies, I feel like there are some that could have gotten revised to be more appealing...

Scyther, for example, should have been either red to match with Scizor or white to match with the mantis concept as the white mantis actually looks pretty cool

[unborn elm]

https://tenor.com/view/rock-agreed-rock-sus-agreed-gif-23818297

[wispy kernel]

imo a lot of shinies were ruined by the switch to 3d

a lot of things got made a lot less saturated

which fucked up the distinguishing features between them and the shiny

heres gen 4 gengar vs gen 5 gengar vs gen 6 gengar

image quality is a bit shit but you get my point

[tired crane]

I caught a shalpha lopunny, wasn't what I was going for but it is a shalpha

[edgy palm]

Here I am just waiting for Korrina to show up xD

[radiant otter]

opened the game for the first time today and was greeted by a shiny dragalge

[forest egret]

They actually made the difference more distinct within PLA which is neat

[unborn elm]

https://tenor.com/view/sonic-the-hedgehog-shadow-the-hedgehog-dap-up-dap-marvel-vs-capcom-gif-2748262281275379258

Hell ye

I love how they made base gengar more purple

[edgy palm]

That makes the shiny less horrible

[lime void]

Looking better then Charizard is a low bar

[unborn elm]

Ok but hear me out on espeon atleast it’s not a puke green like the others

https://tenor.com/view/pokemon-espeon-eevee-evolutions-sprigatito-gif-25587985

[edgy palm]

My main question here is... WTF happened here!?

[edgy palm]

It's probably the only good green shiny

[unborn elm]

Yes

[midnight olive]

Ok but knowing zubat is green brings me joy

Also shiny noibat? 10/10 shiny noivern….

1/10 (one point because I like green but the color pallet was a disaster)

[edgy palm]

Green is my favorite color... it's just that the color of green some of these have is gross

There are few exceptions, the rest all look like they were upchucked by a Wailord

[robust wren]

Shiny Scizor is cool now that the games gave it a metallic sheen

[supple fern]

Post game spoilers
||I beat Zygarde on my second try. The earthquake was what got me. It wasn’t the Z Laser.||

||I also used a Friend Ball||

[forest egret]

I agree. Scizor's shiny in his sprite is kinda gross but they kinda redeem it a bit with the 3D, especially in SV when yeah, they make him all shiny

[storm fog]

You ever see a Machoke tank a geomancy-boosted Moonblast from Xerneas just to KO it with Poison Jab and Earthquake?

[storm fog]

So basically prior to gen 6, shiny palettes were mostly randomly generated through an algorithm. Dunno exactly how it works, but that's why a lot of shiny Pokemon don't stay the same color when they evolve. It's also why there are many subtle shiny Pokemon

I was looking into which Pokemon in Legends Z-A have better defenses with Eviolite, and was surprised to see that Machoke was one of them. With speed being not as important in Legends Z-A, Machoke's base 100 attack becomes completely respectable as an eviolite user, as well as getting like 130ish in both defenses thanks to Eviolite. It's amazing, really.

And because speed doesn't effect run speed, Machoke actually runs just as fast as you, making it much easier to position in battle. The fact that no one but me uses it is crazy

[tranquil nexus]

https://tenor.com/view/racoon-theif-trash-panda-mine-now-thanks-bye-gif-9498305

[edgy palm]

I'll probably use Lucario for a fight like that considering the partial steel typing with access to Poison Jab and other things that wreck Xerneas.

[tranquil nexus]

I’m predicting so many fairy and ice mons

Even more then last season

Zygarde is gonna be everywhere

[edgy palm]

I think the Mega is banned though 😅

[wispy kernel]

likely not

[tranquil nexus]

Nope. John Austin has a video up as of a bit more then an hour ago that has him blasting shit into the next life with Nihil Light

Note that Nihil Light is a 200 power dragon type move (so STAB) with 1 frame of wind up that hits Fairy types and that ignores stat changes

We’re gonna see so much Steel

[autumn shore]

Somebody managed to catch Garchomp in zone 1?
CHEEEEEEATERRRRRR

[wispy kernel]

actually its an exploit you can do

you dont need to explicitly hack your game or anything

[tired crane]

I caught a shiny fufrou!

Finally!

[wispy kernel]

anything with dig can just follow you out of a wild zone

and you can just drag them anywhere else to catch them there

[tired crane]

Does Camerupt have dig? Been wanting to get his shiny

[wispy kernel]

I dont think thatd help to shiny hunt it

[fickle birch]

Glaceon is apparently really good in competitive Z-A, which I love because it's the first Pokémon I had competitive success with back in the BW2 days. 😄

And its stocks will only rise now that Zygarde is going to be everywhere. 😂

[plucky escarp]

theyre letting zygarde into ranked?

which form?

honestly, unless its zygard complete mega chop is probably better

[wispy kernel]

all

[plucky escarp]

okay then, the age of glaceon has come

thats a stupid stat line to allow into ranked

[wispy kernel]

it has to start in 50% or 10% which is better

and it needs to survive after being knocked under half health

I’ve fought a few zygardes so far

never really been a problem

and my only super effective move against it is Outrage on Feraligatr

[plucky escarp]

ohh so it doesnt start out at complete and then just mega ?

thats fine then tbh

[wispy kernel]

yeah

when they do mega it is kinda scary but also since its minmaxed to hell and loses a ton of bulk its easy to kill

[indigo mango]

ZA should have added more % Forms

just cause i wanna see more

[indigo mango]

i thought its always 100 added stats

[wispy kernel]

zygarde is an exception for some reason

only +70

[wooden lion]

||Or +140 if they have huge/pure power like Mega Starmie||

[plucky escarp]

because its strong enough

[indigo mango]

should have made it 69

so it has BST of 777

[wispy kernel]

I just fought a guy using Outrage on Xerneas

are they stupid

[indigo mango]

imma guess ranks matter for matchups, cause i never fought a legend

[robust wren]

Mega Alakazam also only adds 90

[wispy kernel]

no

it got fixed in gen 7 to be +100

they deadass just forgot to give it the last +10 in XY/ORAS

[jade ocean]

It's still a bulky bastard even at 70% HP in Mega form though

[wispy kernel]

216 hp does that to a mf

[jade ocean]

I did some calcs with it and it can survive 2 Xerneas Moonblasts and counterattack

From full I mean

[wispy kernel]

people are probably trying to invest in its sp atk but thats stupid

just go all bulk

thats the correct option

[jade ocean]

That is assuming it isn't Geomancied up though

Or holding a Fairy Feather or something

Zygarde is just stupidly bulky

And when it's taking only 75% of the damage it usually does, it is stupidly bulkier

I'm not sure if any Pokemon could stop it from entering Complete form

Because that'd entail straight up OHKOing it

And even base Zygarde's a fairly bulky Pokemon

[worn cobalt]

Imma just go for stones and call it a day

[jade ocean]

Maybe like, a hard hitting Ice type like Glaceon?

Is Glaceon still used actually

[wispy kernel]

yes

[jade ocean]

OK good

Bring your Glaceons

And hit it with like

An Ice Beam or some shit

I imagine Glaceon probably runs Freeze-Dry and a stronger Ice move

Since like

It's a Glaceon what else is it running

But I don't think Freeze-Dry alone would cut it

[wispy kernel]

blizzard prolly

cant wait for the dlc to give us good ice types

[jade ocean]

Probably Freeze-Dry then Ice Beam/Blizzard

[plucky escarp]

we dont have any passable phys ice types right?

feel like most zygardes are gonna hp sp.def

[jade ocean]

In ZA? Not to my knowledge

Baxcalibur's coming soon though, but it is weak to Dragon

[charred sage]

makes sense since the megas either rely on their abilities too much (glalie), focus too much on speed (Froslass) or are easily taken out by coverage moves (abomnasnow)

[wispy kernel]

We get Baxcalibur in Mega Dimension

and also uh

Mr. Rime

but its Mr. Rime so who gaf

[jade ocean]

Though, Zygarde's physical bulk's pretty fucking stupid

[wispy kernel]

I hope theres more than just that

[jade ocean]

So I'd stick to my special attackers for it

[hazy knot]

Mr rime is the goat you don’t even get it

[charred sage]

I just had a thought as a non-ZA player and I dunno if this is correct in any way but

[wispy kernel]

give us like. Weavile or smth

[charred sage]

glaceon is also quite smol compared to the other ices so I'm wondering if it's a bit harder to hit because of that

[wispy kernel]

idfk

[jade ocean]

I wouldn't feel safe using Weavile vs Zygarde since Weavile's quite frail

[plucky escarp]

i would say cloyster, but no skill link

[jade ocean]

Tbf all multihit moves always hit 5 times now

[charred sage]

from what I remember about GO (where speed matters even less), mamoswine would also probably be good

[plucky escarp]

oh true lol

[jade ocean]

(In exchange for lowered BP)

Mamoswine's a good mon

But it's specially frail

[wispy kernel]

I just died to someone using stall whirlipede

[jade ocean]

Stall Whirlipede claims another soul

I've heard that it's one son of a bitch in 1v1s

[wispy kernel]

I was using YVELTAL

[jade ocean]

Bro got hit with that Toxic Infestation shit and couldn't heal fast enough with Oblivion Wing

Helps that Whirlipede is very much a Toxapex kinda fellow in terms of bulk

Low HP, high Defences

Never thought I'd be comparing Toxapex to motherfucking Whirlipede but here we are

[vocal charm]

I only have to catch Fighting, Bug, and Dragon types for research
Well, and the trade evos, of course

[charred sage]

oh gosh I just had a thought, how about Avalugg

it's not fast or strong but good lorde is it tanky

[worn cobalt]

If you need help, let me know.

[jade ocean]

It's far too frail

[charred sage]

until you get hit by a special attack then you're dunzo

[jade ocean]

Any special move folds it

[wispy kernel]

zone 13 and 15 are good for bugs

[charred sage]

yea I assumed zygarde was pure phyiscal lol

[jade ocean]

And Mega Zygod is a special attacker

[wispy kernel]

I would rather use pichu

[jade ocean]

Base Zygod would get kinda folded though

[wispy kernel]

kid named 216 base special attack:

[charred sage]

I mean zygod is very much the single player "lol i win" button so allowing it into multiplayer is a... choice

[jade ocean]

I will say, base Zygarde has poor SpA

[wispy kernel]

it sucks in multiplayer ngl

[jade ocean]

So Avalugg may be able to tank its hits

[wispy kernel]

bro gets folded by anything

[plucky escarp]

ngl i hate legendaries in ranked

[jade ocean]

But I have my doubts of it being capable of KOing Zygarde quick enough

[wispy kernel]

Yveltal goes crazy ngl guys

[jade ocean]

The legendary goes crazy?

Woah

I couldn't have guessed

[plucky escarp]

exasctly why i hate them 😛

[jade ocean]

Yveltal has the exact same stats as Xerneas btw

Just with a different type and movepool

Better type offensively, somewhat worse defensively though

Despite that, Xerneas is the one going on the offensive more often than not

Yveltal can do both because Yveltal's the GOAT

I think the main issue with using Zygarde in Ranked is that you're about to get hard targeted

Though tbh with that logic wouldn't Xerneas also be at a disadvantage?

I see a lot of people say they hard target any Xerneas users

[worn cobalt]

I have too many shinies. I tried to type the word "Exactly" and predictive text suggested "extra shinies".

[jade ocean]

Idk meta seems too confusing for me

[wispy kernel]

Yveltal is better in that field imo just because people will naturally just underestimate Yveltal

[jade ocean]

Having 4 players involved makes meta analysis so much harder

Since anything that's stronger is naturally weaker

Since it's fighting a 3v1

[wispy kernel]

people just ignore Yveltal from my own experience

[jade ocean]

Idk my head hurts

Yveltal is a very underestimated mon even outside of ZA

[wispy kernel]

exactly

its really good in VGC

[jade ocean]

Mainly because Xerneas attracts all the attention due to how clusterfucked it is

[wispy kernel]

In SWSH it was even better than Xerneas irc

yeah

[jade ocean]

But Yveltal is a top mon in its own right

The Number 1 of SWSH Ubers

With a 90% usage rate

Mainly because you want it for mfs like NDM and Calyrex

Especially Calyrex

[wispy kernel]

everybody ignores Yveltal so I just get to pick up kills while everybodys focused on Xerneas

[jade ocean]

That mon is such a fucking pain in the ass to handle without Yveltal

And for Yveltal to be a consistent check you need to run it suboptimally

If that makes it sound like Calyrex Shadow is an unhealthy presence

[wispy kernel]

I have won every single non xerneas game I’ve played

[jade ocean]

That's because it is

[wispy kernel]

and I’ve still won a majority of Xerneas games

cuz Mega Steelix sweep baby

[jade ocean]

Also it's very annoying to see people talk about Mega Metagross only being used for Xerneas

As if it wasn't already a menace before Xerneas was allowed

[worn cobalt]

Hmmm... Maybe I just go with my usual 3 for low ranks?

[vocal charm]

I’ll hyu after Thanksgiving
Going to hang with my sister all day today

[worn cobalt]

Sounds good. I will probably be available either late today or a bunch of tomorrow.

[vocal charm]

I have no idea what the meta is so I’ll probably show up with a Lopunny

[jade ocean]

Tbf if this game had normal PVP showing up with a Lopunny would be very viable

But yeah to my knowledge the faster more glass cannon-y Megas really suffer with ZA's PVP

[wispy kernel]

I got cooked by a lopunny two games ago ngl

just bring stuff to cover its weaknesses

[jade ocean]

I hope Mega Lop doesn't bring SD outside of ZA or it'll be a nightmare to deal with

It's already very strong without SD

[vocal charm]

I took down ||zygarde||’s first phase just with mega Lopunny so 😅

[wispy kernel]

I’d say Excadrill and either Xern or Yveltal

[vocal charm]

That and mega Heracross were my mvps across the game

[jade ocean]

Bois sweep?

[vocal charm]

Ye

Milly, Bois, and Louie

[jade ocean]

Bois was my 2nd strongest team member, behind Emboar

[vocal charm]

Ngl, I kinda got ’d at AZ
I appreciate the thought, but I can’t replace (Rio)Louie!

[jade ocean]

When life gives you EXP Candies, overfeed your starter until it's like 30 levels over every opponent

[wispy kernel]

Lucario is also pretty good

and who is Milly

[vocal charm]

Just a sketch, but
My two mvps fused with each other

[vocal charm]

Lopunny

[wispy kernel]

Mono fighting (at least in mega) is an interesting choice in a meta with Xerneas but hey its a free country yknow

or whatever

at least you got Lucario

[vocal charm]

For a while, my A-Team was emboar, lopunny, Heracross, barbaracle, and lucario
Plus a sixth to round it out
I shoulda been a Fighting type gym leader

But if I were to bring three to a PvP, hmm 🤔

Bois and I had a bit of a falling out after he stopped listening to me while I was grinding the 10-course battle

[wispy kernel]

Emboar wouldnt be bad

[unborn elm]

https://youtube.com/shorts/rRsMJmVkosc?si=EX9fknMRT-1Z-NKj

[vocal charm]

Bloom’s good, but can’t mega-evolve… maybe Zevron for Poison?
“Worm, who’s Zevron? Some werewolf critter?” No, he’s my dragalge

I feel if I’m trying to avoid a full Fighting team, I should avoid Dark types as well, for similar Fairy reasons
So no gyarados 🤔

Maybe I’ll just wing it with lopunny, roserade, and feraligatr
Then when I inevitably get demolished, I can regroup and re-plan

[plucky escarp]

is it just me or does ZA meta basically just mean Metagross, Xernius, Mega Chomp / Zygarde?

i might be over simplifying having not played ranked much outside of the first week the game was out but just keeping up with chat here, this is what it seems like

[unborn elm]

|| https://youtube.com/shorts/qRA14RCwVWk?si=-1LAfoA2v2qDe7sX ||

[robust wren]

ZA IMO has the more enjoyable combat system for singleplayer, but I still prefer the turn based style of the mainline for multiplayer. Multiplayer ZA just feels like button mashing with extra steps

[plucky escarp]

it is chaotic defo, but for a side game, i appreciate it

[robust wren]

I do appreciate trying new things, but I'm not sure this game needed to be multiplayer compatible. I doubt many would have complained if it was singleplayer only like Arceus

[plucky escarp]

that is probably fair

[charred sage]

in fact given the complaining about trade evos I could see a few people appreciating it being singleplayer only lol

[wispy kernel]

I really like the battle system in this game

[robust wren]

And the many mega stones being locked to multiplayer

[wispy kernel]

and multiplayer is insanely fun

[plucky escarp]

Trade Evo's are just a silly mechanic in general, thats not a ZA problem.

[plucky escarp]

yeah that was stupid, defo

[wispy kernel]

yeah

[plucky escarp]

though tbf, it was far easier than i thought

[wispy kernel]

it is super easy

I got all 3 in 2 battles today

[plucky escarp]

none of my mons are capped or EV'd, i still ahvent lost a game

[robust wren]

It's easy but internet isn't the most accessible for everyone, so...

[plucky escarp]

100%

[wispy kernel]

yeah that does suck

[plucky escarp]

stupid

[wispy kernel]

a lot

[plucky escarp]

but easy for those that can

[wispy kernel]

yeah

[robust wren]

Here's hoping Mega Bax is where the online exclusive stones end

[plucky escarp]

thats the season 4 one huh?

[wispy kernel]

yup

[desert current]

Just moved some of my screenshots from the SD onto my computer, figured I'd share em. ;3

Look at my awesome shiny Gardevoir

[vocal charm]

you are the dancing queen

[desert current]

Was tired of not being able to find any decent reference images of Gwynn in google searches, so I figured "screw it, I'll do it myself."

[unborn elm]

Very nice shiny how long did it take to get

[desert current]

Like 1 second. There's a secret trick where if your Gardevoir gets poisoned it turns shiny.

[unborn elm]

GASP

[storm bone]

Shiny audino

[desert current]

https://files.catbox.moe/f9a1zg.mp4

Ranked Battle jank, at its finest...

In other news, Zygarde is very fun in the right circumstances

[jade ocean]

I thought you gained 4 kills in 1 attack

And was questioning how you killed someone so hard you got 2 points

[brazen jetty]

i got jumpscared by the stupid autotranslate 😭

[jade ocean]

But no you had 1 kill at the start of the clip

[desert current]

lol

[unborn elm]

Afk’d over night at area 18 and 4 of those weedles and kakuna were shiny

Also a trubbish

[fickle birch]

Finally finished up the sprite of this upside-down lad. 😄

[desert current]

Freeze is stupid.

[worn cobalt]

That second video seems like a skill issue. Don't get froze.

[desert current]

Perfectly timed beat drop

spoopy candle jumpscare

Me when I get ice cream:

[worn cobalt]

Black Friday clearance sale! Trade for shinies! Message me for details!

#legit, I have too many.

[unborn elm]

https://tenor.com/view/running-ahh-aa-spongebob-meme-gif-19928154

[wispy kernel]

if I had a dollar for every time my Yveltal has been frozen in ranked and I lost the game because of it I would buy game freak and replace freeze with frostbite

[tired crane]

I wish I had one of those

[tired crane]

Awesome job!

[ivory veldt]

When I tell u I went feral over this timing

• my fit cause someone complimented it and I wanted to get a good pic of it

[tranquil nexus]

S3 of ranked seems to be going well. It’s just like S2 but occasionally you’ll see a Zygarde get blasted into next week by a blue cat

[indigo mango]

oh s3 started? what rank is the mega

[tired crane]

What pokemon is the mega?

[ivory veldt]

Chestnaught

[tranquil nexus]

S to get the Chesnaughtite

iirc

Xern still the format warper

[ivory veldt]

Our power flickered otherwise I'd play some ranked, I love when people underestimate Champ

[tranquil nexus]

Glaceon murders mega Zygarde. Every fight I’ve been in the Zygarde user puts him away after I bop em once

[ivory veldt]

As they deserve

[robust wren]

Xerneas is just an insane Pokémon in general. It would take an act of divine intervention to make it balanced

[ivory veldt]

I don't know if they'll add Arceus to this tho

[tranquil nexus]

If they made Geomancy last half the time, it could help a bit

[ivory veldt]

https://tenor.com/view/ba-dum-tuss-jokes-gotcha-burn-ouch-gif-5645546

[tranquil nexus]

Unboosted Xern is somewhat manageable

[ivory veldt]

Oh man. Xerneas is fucked when the dlc comes out

Crobat

[tranquil nexus]

My boi gonna feast

[ivory veldt]

Speedy flying poison type? One gunk shot and GONE

I wish ground wasn't so dang prevalent, I'd be able to use my Scolipede and Ariados more

Champ's at least got volt switch so I can get him outta there quick

[tranquil nexus]

They can absolutely program in abilities. If they happened to give Levitate to pokemon who are physically levitating, watch ground usage drop into the abyss

[ivory veldt]

God I wish??? I wish

... Huh. Hawlucha's probably a good counter.

[tranquil nexus]

Huh

Yeah I suppose he could be

[ivory veldt]

Flying fighting, so less ground moves to fuck with him, but fighting's weak to fairy so maybe not

[tranquil nexus]

Do they move pretty fast?

[hazy knot]

rank s in two battles

[tranquil nexus]

(I saw a bunch of people using the monkeys today. Good lord are they quick on their feet)

[hazy knot]

excadrill is so good 😭

[tranquil nexus]

How do you use him? I cannot seem to get results with the guy

[hazy knot]

i run iron head and poison jab to deal with xerneas, as well as drill run and megahorn for gyarados, tyranitar, and some other threats. can usually oneshot fire types

a lot of people use earthquake but i prefer drill run

oh yeah iron head is also good against glaceon. doesn’t oneshot but it almost does, making it easy to outspeed and kill

[jade ocean]

Xern almost certainly tanks Gunk Shot I'd imagine

Can't say I feel as confidently about Crobat tanking some sort of SE Coverage move though

Crobat apparently doesn't even get Gunk Shot

And it doesn't get Pjab either

[ivory veldt]

Crobat's biggest move is cross poison

And geomancy raises sp. Def, not Def

[jade ocean]

Xerneas is still a bulky piece of shit and Crobat doesn't hit hard in the slightest

And Cross Poison is a weak move

[ivory veldt]

... You ain't ever powerleveled a poke that wasn't meta, have you?

[jade ocean]

I'm just saying, in terms of PVP, Crobat can't beat Xern

It doesn't hit hard enough, in part due to mediocre Attack and in part due to lacking Gunk Shot

[ivory veldt]

https://tenor.com/view/mark-cuban-shark-tank-notes-taking-notes-remember-gif-15073512

[jade ocean]

In fact, I'm doing calcs rn, and a maxed Attack Crobat fails to 2HKO bulk uninvested Xerneas

(Taking into account the supposed 25% PVP damage penalty)

[ivory veldt]

https://tenor.com/view/nerd-nerd-emoji-gif-1712163874519931175

[jade ocean]

Just saying

Crobat isn't Gunk Shotting Xerneas

And isn't one tapping it either

[ivory veldt]

ya do realize it's four people at the same time, right? I ain't gotta OHKO.

Sure the points would be nice, but frankly just knocking Xerneas outta that stupid spot it has would be worth about anything

[jade ocean]

Well then I feel like Crobat's not really needed since I've only ever heard of people hard targeting Xerneas as soon as they see it

[ivory veldt]

Uh-huh.

Question: Why do you care this much about it

Over here doing calculations and shit, take it easy it's just a switch game

[jade ocean]

Because it's fun to calc shit

And also to show just how stupid Xern is

And also to show how much Gamefreak needs to give Crobat an actual physical Poison move

[ivory veldt]

I'll never get over how funny it is to nuke Gyarados with my Dedenne. I tried to go after a Xerneas once, and a Gyarados shot an ice beam at my mouse. I'd PURPOSELY ignored them to go for the legendary, but nah son that's fuckin' rude. OHKO'd with volt switch I think

[jade ocean]

It's like Crobat traded Gunk Shot to have Brave Bird as a non bird

[ivory veldt]

Babe it has cross poison.

[jade ocean]

Yeah, and as I've shown Xerneas is capable of tanking 3 of those

[ivory veldt]

I don't caaaaare

It's not that importaaaant

[jade ocean]

Wait mb I phrased shit badly, it tanks 2 of those, dies on the 3rd

But yeah it takes 3 to KO the broken deer

[jade ocean]

Idk I think it is, Gunk Shot would turn it into a 2HKO

And thus would probably turn it into a winning MU for Crobat

Crobat needs this since Xerneas can 2HKO with Tbolt

And Psychic

... Surely it doesn't run both, right?

I mean you want Geomancy

You want Moonblast

You probably want Focus Blast too for Steels

[ivory veldt]

IT'S NOT THAT IMPORTAAAANT

[vocal charm]

a'ight, all i have left for solo research is dragons

[hazy knot]

i might try using one

[tranquil nexus]

Poison jab was the missing piece, now he’s doing work. Thanks man!

[vocal charm]

aaaand that's everything i can do solo!
though i guess i can continue to hunt for colorful screws

i'm missing 5

[tranquil nexus]

I’m sincerely hoping that gamefreak is somehow taking note of who’s cheating. And bans them all in a wave. Alpha Xern with 0 windups is the opposite of fun

[worn cobalt]

I'm available now if you need trades.

[vocal charm]

neat!
uh... so how's this work?

[worn cobalt]

Idk. Do you want me to send you what you need, and you send them back, or do you have the mons and items you need to evolve?

[worn cobalt]

Also, do you have switch online? That'll affect this.

[vocal charm]

uhhh, that's Link Play, right?

[worn cobalt]

Yup.

[vocal charm]

aw dang
"unable to connect to network device"
i'm in a hotel room, so that might be it

[worn cobalt]

Yeah, that's gonna affect you. Might have to wait til you are home.

[vocal charm]

ah hang on
yeah, this thing wants to open a browser that'll log me in not sure if that'll work on a switch

[vocal charm]

's what i'm thinking too
i can wait 😌

[worn cobalt]

Same. We'll just figure a time to trade later. Also, want any shiny Pokemon when we do trade?

[tired crane]

I finally got a shiny Hawlucha!

[worn cobalt]

Nice!

[ivory veldt]

I heard the shiny sound, but couldn't find it. It was probably a fletchling, but I WISH I COULDA SEEEEEEN

[worn cobalt]

Bummer. Sorry. Had that happen many times.

[hazy knot]

one time that happened to me, happened to be an ariados in the sewers that i found a few days later

but yours was probably a fletchling or something

[worn cobalt]

Finally got a shiny Ekans, now trying for a shiny Doublade and maybe a Honedge. Later tomorrow, maybe a Meditite.

[ivory veldt]

Yeahhh I saw a small group of them fly off right after the sound. At the very least, I already caught a shiny fletchling (it was my first shiny, on a lamp post!)

[wispy kernel]

the rewards for ranked are peak ngl

every time you get first place in a match you get 5 nuggets, 3 rare candies, and an apriball

[plucky escarp]

guessing rank effects that?

like coming first at rank z against rank a

[wispy kernel]

I mean I’d assume you get matched against people at the same rank as you

I’ve been rank A for like a day and those are the rewards I get every time I win a match

I’m just grinding this shit

[plucky escarp]

i mean like, do you get more rewards coming first when you are rank A, than coming first when you are Rank Z

[wispy kernel]

oh

[plucky escarp]

presumably a better rank would get better rewards, but not 100% sure

[wispy kernel]

maybe

I got some apriballs when moving up too

[plucky escarp]

hmm fair !

[wispy kernel]

but that was mostly when ranking up I think

I don’t remember entirely

[plucky escarp]

no worries, was just curious!

[wispy kernel]

also I think the 4th place reward is a Pearl and a Big Pearl

[plucky escarp]

damn

still kinda wish you could get bottle caps or smt

[worn cobalt]

Still hunting for a shiny Honedge.

[jade ocean]

Just saw the most stupid idea for changing the sequence leading up to the final boss

||That is to let the player get to the tower with Floette if they win, then have everything go wrong, then have Taunie/Urbain show up and then take their place||

How the fuck would that even work

OK so firstly how the FUCK would they even ||get up there||

Secondly does that person not recognise what kind of situation ||being stuck in the cockpit of Ange Floette is||

Like I get that the specific plot point of ||Taunie/Urbain being a bit of an egotistical mf|| feels off but like bro this is the most nonsensical idea for a change I've heard

Ngl they could've done something really funny and made all of ||Taunie/Urbain's Pokemon Level 100 with maxed EVs in that battle to try to force a loss||

[wispy kernel]

I’ve gotten a few

just from ranking up though I think

[plucky escarp]

ah nice, thats the real prize imo

[wispy kernel]

had about 22 by the end. no clue how many I started with

I got at least 1 I know that

[fickle birch]

Wait what, they have Apriballs in Z-A? 😮

[worn cobalt]

I've gotten a few myself.

[worn cobalt]

Was there any shiny Pokemon you wanted in ZA? I have a ton.

[desert current]

I don't think it has anything to do with being egotistical... ||I think its moreso linked to the fact that their mother left them. They have the idea in their head that maybe she's somewhere in the city, and projects those feelings onto the city itself. If they fail to be there for it, if they fail to protect Lumiose, they fail to protect their absent parent. That's why its so personal for them, and why they're desperate to be the one to do it. They're clinging onto the idea that their mother is still waiting for them to find her.||

||If they feel helpless in the pursuit of finding their mother, I can see how they would try to find a foothold on something they can do (they can't find their mother, but at least they can protect the city). Its all a desperate attempt to keep control of some aspect of their life.||

That's how I interpret it anyway.

||That's also a big part of why they hyperfixate on helping AZ. He's basically a parental figure for them, so they try to repay the favor by promoting the hotel.||

[jade ocean]

Fair interpretation tbh

[tranquil nexus]

Running some numbers, I think I have found the absolute jankiest anti-Xern tech

Calm Mind/Work Up boosted Max SpA Drampa with Normal Gem or Life Orb shooting Plus’d Hyper Beam OHKO’s Xern with either max SpD or max HP

With geomancy up, hits for min 61%. Without HP or SpA EVs on the geomancy’d Xern hits for min 80%

It would be so funny to see someone try to make this work

[jade ocean]

Absolute Cinema

[desert current]

https://youtu.be/vMrKkz80NOY?si=i6vnJLpM2ylKnCbJ
May contain spoilers

[unborn elm]

https://youtube.com/shorts/2qDv_04Mdi4?si=TfCu01kvacNcBD3r

[lime void]

Floette: ||Oh, I never liked that guy. Why did you think I avoided him for 3000 years||

[desert current]

Why is Glaceon only good when other people use it?

When I tried running Glaceon it sucked.

What Zygarde does to people man...

[jade ocean]

What is Pult doing here 💀 Bro isn't even in the dex currently

[unborn elm]

Idk lol

Also

Mega swords dance excadrill carried the final fight for me

[tranquil nexus]

What’s your loadout?

[exotic berry]

Can someone tell me how to get onto the roof of the Stone Emporium

I hear a shiny sound there but don’t see no other wild Pokémon so I’m guessing it’s up there

[lime void]

He only showed it when talking about the “real” (traditional) games

[desert current]

Ice Beam, Freeze-Dry, Shadow Ball, and Protect (it used to be Calm Mind, but I kept getting one-shot by the time I set up so I switched to Protect).

Evs were maxed Sp. Atk, maxed Sp. Def, and the rest into Def... I tried Life Orb but it wasn't working very well, so I switched to Never-Melt Ice.

[jade ocean]

So basically bro was trash talking Stunfisk in the segment we see in the thumbnail

Got it

[worn cobalt]

Give me a bit, I'll try and show a spot. Might also be the Ariados underground

[tranquil nexus]

Try swapping shadow ball to Blizzard, SpD to HP or Spe, and relearn Calm Mind. Shadow Ball is useless, HP lets you better survive more stuff/Spe might let you get off an extra attack every now and then, and if you’re at the point where protect would be useful it’s too late because your assailant will just hit you again (should have just swapped).

Glaceon has one game plan- come out when there’s a big meanie on the field that it can Shoop with its Whoop, and then go back into its pokeball right before other people start to focus on it. Freeze Dry is for when the meanie is close by (2x on water types is a bonus and not the main event), Ice Beam is for when the meanie is far away or on the move, and Blizzard is for when there’s two or more meanies having a Kaiju fight. If you keep Calm Mind, go for it when everyone else is too focused on the big meanie to notice you.

[worn cobalt]

This holovator is the easiest way to get up there. Just cross the roofs to do so.

[desert current]

I really like Taunie and Urbain's visual design.

[desert current]

Yes, that is what the symbol of Kalos is based on

Kalos is France

[tranquil nexus]

Yes

The whole X and Y aesthetic was really good and really dug into the inspiration, I'm glad that they revisited it in HD

I'm just a little sad that we didn't get to see a classic Team Flare outfit in its full glory

[desert current]

Even Xerneas and Yveltal got that France color scheme.

...And Zygarde didn't get the memo lol

[tranquil nexus]

wasn't one of the French Revolutionary flags green? (edit- eh kinda)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockade_of_France#History

the first symbol of the revolution was the green of a leaf representing hope, but it was dropped after a day because green was also the color of the king's brother

Doesn't seem farfetched for the writers at Game Freak to have come across that bit of trivia while doing their research lol

[desert current]

Ah interesting

Didn't know that.

[exotic berry]

When does that holovator unlock? It’s currently inactive for me rn

[worn cobalt]

It'll unlock at some point, I forget. Can you access the Lumiose Sewers?

[exotic berry]

Not yet no

[worn cobalt]

Hmmm... Personally I think it's the underground Ariados, but not sure. Either way, the shiny will stay unless you get 10 more shinies.

[exotic berry]

It’s definitely in the rooftop since it only loads when I’m on the rooftop across the street

Otherwise shiny sound doesn’t play

But yeah I’ll just back to that one later

[wispy kernel]

isnt the ariados not in the sewers though?

You won’t hear any shinies that are in the sewers cuz it’s a seperate map I think

[ivory veldt]

There's some that spawn in that secondary area you unlock doing the Rust Syndicate stuff

[wispy kernel]

yeah but I wasnt referring to those

I meant the one near the 7 binacle

thats the only underground ariados not in one of the other maps that I can think of

[ivory veldt]

omg is there one over there? I was like " Wait no they're probably talking about the one right outside zone 5"

[wispy kernel]

right near the spot where 7 binacle spawn is also an Ariados

[ivory veldt]

I've run facefirst into that ariados so many times trying to get a shiny whirlipede

I love that there's just-- Giant ass spiders chilling in the city, like it's fine don't worry about them.

Lumiose is full of free dogs

"that's a spider"

This is my dog.

[wispy kernel]

I need to get back to shiny hunting soon

I need that fuckass Fennekin

[ivory veldt]

I'm so close to the charm, I want it so bad...

[wispy kernel]

I had 20 phases for shiny froakie

I better not have that for Fennekin

[ivory veldt]

I haven't found any shinies while trying. I spent hours trying to get just an alpha Totodile (Gotta get that True To Size Feraligatr), and a fucking shiny alpha DRAMPA spawned before I ever saw the thing

[wispy kernel]

damn

[ivory veldt]

It's like thanks but NOT WHAT I WANTED

[wispy kernel]

I need to shiny hunt all the starters too 💔

thats gonna suck

I want a shiny for every new mega cuz I hate myself

[ivory veldt]

I will never be satisfied until I get a shiny alpha Scolipede okay like I totally get it

[tired crane]

same but t's so annoying to grind for the shiny charm

I only want the charm for the DLC but it's probably gonna take me that long just to get it with how annoying it is

[tranquil nexus]

Do you happen to have an 8 bit do pro controller kicking around?

[tired crane]

I have a turbo controller if that's what you mean

[tranquil nexus]

Yep yep

I did the cafe fights, left it going for a day. 1k fights done.

I don’t personally do bot shiny hunting, but good lord I feel no shame in knocking out that bs requirement like that

[tired crane]

how'd you do it?

[tranquil nexus]

The battles are done at Le Nah near Vert sector 5. Use a Rocky Helmet Garchomp, with sand tomb in the “A” move slot. Start the first set of battles, then set the turbo to repeat “A” and hold down the left trigger. At the start of each fight you’ll target the first mob and send out the send tomb, which kills a few of them automatically, then the rest will die to rocky helmet. Once the series of fights is over, you’ll talk to the guy at the door automatically again and restart the loop. The opponent mons are so low level that an end-game chomp makes quick work of the whole thing. You can just leave this for a while and it’ll steadily work towards the requirement for you.

(Not my idea, I saw it in a yt video somewhere)

[tired crane]

Alright thank you so much for your input!

[tranquil nexus]

People who use legendaries in ranked are not invited to my birthday party

[wispy kernel]

People who use Xerneas in ranked are not invited to my birthday party

Yveltal and Zygarde users are chill

[tranquil nexus]

Yveltal users are also morally suspect

In a game without Xerns it requires a 3v1

If you want to actually demonstrate skill, use mega chandelure or something

[wispy kernel]

Yveltal is so slept on and it makes it so I never get 3v1’d and that’s awesome

love that guy

life orb with oblivion wing is nice

it keeps me alive

[tranquil nexus]

You need to run a legendary to keep yourself alive?

[wispy kernel]

I mean healing wise

it’d be the same if I was using a grass type with giga drain or smth

[tranquil nexus]

If you were a grass type with giga drain, you’d be playing the game

[wispy kernel]

So is using a legendary

Just because you’re using a legendary doesn’t mean you aren’t playing the game

[tranquil nexus]

Are you capable of scoring with a non-legendary team?

I started this by complaining about people running legendaries. Why does that bother you?

[wispy kernel]

Yes

[wispy kernel]

Because I play VGC and it really annoys me when people act like using legendaries means they lack any skill it’s so annoying

[tranquil nexus]

VGC and ZA are very different

[wispy kernel]

fair

It just always annoys me

[tranquil nexus]

VGC requires a lot of skill. In ZA, any yahoo who can consistently get not-last on the ladder can run Xern or Yelv and increase their KD

[wispy kernel]

I feel like there’s no reason to not use a legendary. Why put yourself at a disadvantage to the competition

If 90% of people use a legendary, why not use one as well

And it’s not like I’m only using it

I’m also using Steelix and Feraligatr

[tranquil nexus]

Not everyone runs legendaries. Not even 90%.

[wispy kernel]

Still

If they’re allowed

Why not use them

You’d be at a disadvantage

That’s my opinion on it at least

[tranquil nexus]

Because the others in the room who aren’t running legendaries also want to have fun?

Everyone earns points, nobody drops on the ladder

It’s not like in vgc

[wispy kernel]

But you need to consider. I like using legendaries as well. I like Yveltal guy’s cool

[tranquil nexus]

Sure but I also see those 10-4-1-0 results and I don’t believe that it’s just because it’s your fav 🤷

[wispy kernel]

Usually not getting results like that

I see a Xerneas like every other game they kick my ass

Shoutout Steelix fr fr

[tranquil nexus]

Xern kicks everyone ass lol

[wispy kernel]

true

Thank god that we didn’t get a mega xerneas

[tranquil nexus]

I’m salty about losing several games in a row with the whole room getting wafflestomped by Yv. But if I remove myself from that I am definitely more annoyed with Xern players

[wispy kernel]

unfair treatment for Zygarde compared to the rest of it’s trio but it deserves it at this point after over a decade of almost nothing

and also. Please for the love of GOD Xerneas does not need more buffs or anything

[tranquil nexus]

(If a Yv player sees no other legendaries on the field, they are kind of a dickwad if they decide to farm)

[wispy kernel]

Mega Zygarde even with it’s bullshit stats isn’t even that bad honestly

considering it needs to reach complete form to mega evolve

and it just gets folded by any decent offensive ice type

meanwhile Xerneas is already unkillable with effectively no item because of Power Herb Geomancy

It does not need a buff whatsoever

fuckass deer

[tranquil nexus]

Yeah and it’s exactly that lack of counterplay that makes it so insufferable

[wispy kernel]

I hope XernDon won’t be nearly as strong in Champions or whatever gen they’re both in next with all the dumb shit they’ve released in recent gens

[tranquil nexus]

Urshifu still has counters and can be played around. Calyrex is format warping but it’s manageable. Xern, here, is none of those

[wispy kernel]

I wish people would leave me alone so I can just iron tail that fuckass deer to hell

[tranquil nexus]

Yveltal is only irritating because without Xern it is strong enough to treat the other mons like a buffet

[tranquil nexus]

I feel the same about when I’m saddling up to Zygarde with Glaceon and some punk ass firebombs me lol

Just let me eat my lunch

Firebomb me after lol

Though it is ridiculously funny when that happens and my attacker gets swiftly stomped by the living gun I was trying to save them from

[wispy kernel]

even Mega Steelix doesnt survive Nihil Light it’s disgusting

I only have Outrage and Ice Fang against it. Which is quite unfortunate

[tranquil nexus]

GF didn't really give us a wide range of decent Ice options in this game

[wispy kernel]

please save us mega dimensions

Mega Baxcalibur

Save ZA Ranked

[tranquil nexus]

I'm hoping that MD makes using a legendary less like shooting fish in a barrel and more like VGC

[wispy kernel]

we’ll be getting a useless legendary at some point soon

well. idk if soon

[tranquil nexus]

We already have

[wispy kernel]

idk when theyre gonna release the mewtwo event

[tranquil nexus]

you've already forgotten about Diancie

[wispy kernel]

eh diancie isnt really useless

it does kinda screw over Yveltal

though I do just simply use Iron Tail

[tranquil nexus]

Diancie is a great answer to "I don't want to feel like a dickhead for using Xern, but I do want to use a fairy legendary"

[wispy kernel]

Steelix carries me tbh

even more than Yveltal

[tranquil nexus]

Steel being incredibly useful is one side effect that I'm certainly happy for

[jade ocean]

Sure as hell isn't manageable in Singles fuck that stupid ass king

[tranquil nexus]

What Nintendo is doing to singles should be a warcrime

[jade ocean]

Shit like Calyrex is why Smogon uses a tiering system

[tranquil nexus]

I mean, shit was a lot less broken decades ago, and the usage-based system was still a good idea then

[jade ocean]

Thank god for the tiering system so we don't have to play with that stupid horse riding prat

Usage-Based System has very clear flaws

And honestly?

They were even more apparent back then

Who invited Dusclops to Gen 5 UU

Who invited Electivire to Gen 4 OU

Why did we lock Volcarona out of Gen 6 OU

I'd say nowadays the usage based tiering is less inaccurate

[tranquil nexus]

the usage based system is fine, the reason it's never felt awesome all the time is because the people dictating it are sometimes very dumb

especially back then when Smogon still hadn't quite gotten over its Nazi thing

[jade ocean]

It definitely has but ok

[tranquil nexus]

has now

[jade ocean]

I'm pretty sure a vast majority of Smogon users didn't even know it was supposed to be a nazi thing

I mean I sure as hell didn't

[tranquil nexus]

but in 2007 when I was playing HG/SS singles? It was only a few years away from that

[jade ocean]

Tbh I don't get what exactly you mean by people dictating the usage system are dumb

Do you just mean ladder is weird?

Because if that's the case yeah I agree

Ladder is very wacky

[tranquil nexus]

and many of the folks around definitely knew. Including the person who got me into it. Which is why I bowed out around gen 5 and went to VGC

[tranquil nexus]

No i mean the people running the joint being weird and dumb

not the users

[jade ocean]

It's not like that changes how the usage based system works

[tranquil nexus]

the usage based system is run by people who decide where things go

it is only as good or as bad as the people making those decisions

[jade ocean]

They don't get to decide where things go apart from deciding a cutoff usage

After that, the tiers are entirely decided by if a Pokemon is broken or if it is used

[tranquil nexus]

"we've tested this and we've decided that it isn't actually OP" that is who invited anyone to anything

[jade ocean]

Unless you're Gen 1 OU

[jade ocean]

Only time I can think of where they just made a ton of stupid ass drops was like

Gen 5?

And I guess specifically Chien-Pao in Gen 9 after like, DLC 1 or 2 I forgot which one

[tranquil nexus]

well, that might explain my opinion then

as mentioned, I turned my back on it after gen 5 came out, for political reasons

[jade ocean]

Yeah fair enough you did say that you started thinking it was stupid in Gen 5

And dropping all those mons into Gen 5 OU is definitely stupid

Tbf though most of them got banned at least

You don't have to deal with mfs like Deoxys Attack in OU anymore yippee!

[tranquil nexus]

Fucking good

I’ve heard that Gen 8 OU is actually pretty decent

[jade ocean]

I've heard it's on the slower side but mostly ok

Gen 9 still feels like everything is broken and yet nobody agrees on what exactly is

[tepid flame]

It is really stupid to me that Gen 1 meta just can get constant updates and work in a different set of rules tiering/voting wise and meanwhile other gens' meta aren't developed enough by a lot of people to get the treatment

Like I love that for RBY Smogon but man I wish USUM Smogon tiers got just as much support overall as RBY's does

[jade ocean]

Tbf it is very interesting to look back on older gens and their tierings

And just see how much the meta has changed based on how funky the tierings are

Like OU by Technicality Mega Ttar being superior to the base form in both Gen 6 and 7

[tranquil nexus]

My conspiracy theory is that GF knew that Champions was on the roadmap and decided to frustrate singles players enough that they’d be willing to switch

[jade ocean]

And it isn't even close to being close in Gen 7

What I can say with confidence is that Gen 9 has had the most bans and highest power level out of any gen so far

The fact that mfs like Darkrai and Zamazenta can exist in an OU tier without being extremely obviously problematic is stupid

[tranquil nexus]

The fuck

[jade ocean]

The most problematic Darkrai got was rolling for a 50/50 between instantly losing and instantly winning with Hypnosis

(55/45 but whatever)

Without it I'd say it definitely still seems contentious but it isn't like THAT absurdly stupid

[tranquil nexus]

… did that get banned like the other coin-flip-I-win shit is supposedly supposed to?

[jade ocean]

Sleep got banned itself since Darkrai wasn't the only Hypnosis abuser

Funny how Hypnosis of all sleep moves was what got Sleep banned

And not 100% accurate Sleep

But yeah there's a lot of pretty crazy stuff

But none of it is quickban broken

So what happens is a ban vote is held

[tranquil nexus]

Was this just in Gen 9 that sleep got banned, or has it been a few cycles?

[jade ocean]

But the playerbase can't agree on if something is the problem

[jade ocean]

Sleep is only banned in Gen 5 and 9 I think?

[jade ocean]

And what happens is

The ban vote is extremely close

But since you need a supermajority of 60% to ban something

It just falls short

[tranquil nexus]

That sound like hell

[jade ocean]

Yeah there's definitely been some frustration about the system

I think the most frustration was during the Kyurem Suspect

Where originally, Kyurem was banned

But there was a cheating scandal

And after those cheat votes were removed, Kyurem was 1 vote away from a ban

The funniest part is that allegedly one of the voters voted DNB as a joke because they thought it wouldn't be close

The craziest thing is that mfs will see this and then blame Finchinator for Kyurem not being banned even though iirc he voted Ban on Kyurem

Just like with Kingambit lmao

[tranquil nexus]

I occasionally see people getting pissy at others for starting their own formats, because it removes players from the main formats. But then I hear this kinda shit and I’m kinda with the people splitting off ngl

[wispy kernel]

thats hilarious

[jade ocean]

But yeah trying to balance Gen 9 OU so far seems like a disaster

And I personally don't find it fun

Which is why whenever I play Showdown I play NatDex or older tiers or RandBats

I still keep track of how the meta develops though

Like apparently Kyurem is less hated now then it was during the Suspect

For the most part I find competitive players to be more chill than casual ones but man, there's some really glaring exceptions with both Singles and VGC players

The main thing for VGC is that a minority of VGC players treat Singles ones like absolute scum

[tranquil nexus]

I kinda wonder how GF is gonna handle it when Smogon takes a look at what’s available in Champions and launches Champions OU on Showdown

[jade ocean]

Which I don't think I've noticed the opposite way around but there's probably a small minority of Singles players who hate VGC players too

[tranquil nexus]

A very stupid minority

[tranquil nexus]

I’ve definitely noticed it

[jade ocean]

That said when it comes to mistreating other parts of the fanbase nobody beats casual fans

And I'm not only referring to Pokemon

[tranquil nexus]

Actual casual fans have no bloody idea what’s going on lol

[jade ocean]

Yeah fair

[tranquil nexus]

It’s the thin line between casual fan and fanboy

[jade ocean]

It's probably a minority again here

But it's a larger and more vocal minority for sure

I think the only part of the community I don't see this minority hate on are like

The Shiny Hunting community

[tranquil nexus]

I don’t think that it’s actually fans doing most of the mistreating nowadays. There are a lot of “former fans” who love to shit over Pokemon and everyone who enjoys it

[wispy kernel]

theyre too busy hating themselves

they dont deserve external hate

[jade ocean]

But yeah, some of these people look at all the people doing challenge runs and speedruns and competitive and stuff

[tranquil nexus]

Yeah the shiny community is.. a place alright

[jade ocean]

And they go "Man y'all are stupid for doing this shit you're not truly having fun you're all miserable"

God forbid someone enjoys friendly competition with other players

[tranquil nexus]

Those people have lost their whimsy. We must pity them.

[jade ocean]

Or making the frankly very easy series of games harder on themselves

And push the limits of the game

[wispy kernel]

and I don’t just mean by doing difficult hunts theres so much arguing like every day about the inherent “value” of shinies

like who gives a shit

[jade ocean]

Ngl I fucking love speedruns and challenge runs in general

Though weirdly I haven't watched many Pokemon speedruns specifically

It's fun to see people push the limits of the games the enjoy

[tranquil nexus]

“I got my shiny bidoof at pre-gen-6 full-odds resetting after the first encounter of every save file” yeah okay mate good for you, can you please let me enjoy the shiny Beldum I got in ZA after getting the shiny charm?

They act like people can’t just hack in any shiny they please

[jade ocean]

Shit like beating the game with a singular Sunkern

[tranquil nexus]

Hell yeah

[jade ocean]

Or just no hit runs in all sorts of games

Though, uh

Preferably not Pokemon because that'd probably just be like

Grinding a Pokemon with a priority move

[charred sage]

meanwhile with me it's "I found a shiny full odds shiny magikarp before feebas. ...this says more about gen 3 feebas than the karp"

[jade ocean]

In an early area

Until you're overleveled as hell

[wispy kernel]

I greatly dislike bidoof

[charred sage]

that being said the beldum is a good shiny tho

[wispy kernel]

just because the worship of it people do is just so annoying

[charred sage]

I didn't mind it until they started overpushing it when BDSP was coming out

[tranquil nexus]

My fav retort is “nobody cares about your shinies but you”. Either makes them rage or we end up having a good time.

[jade ocean]

I dont hate Bidoof but the Godoof joke has gotten old

Very old

[wispy kernel]

I have a shiny metagross in a beast ball

[charred sage]

that also works

[wispy kernel]

it was like. hellish

[tranquil nexus]

Yes. Yes it does lmao

[wispy kernel]

but I got it

and I think its very cool

[tranquil nexus]

I think that you are correct

[wispy kernel]

I am always correct and people should always trust me

[jade ocean]

Ngl a lot of the mons that people worship as a joke have been worshipped so much that I've started to like them less

Not by much

But definitely less

Which is not a good thing because I'd rather not let other people affect my views on a mon

[tranquil nexus]

My fav thing about this challenge stuff is watching people go deep on beating the hardest shit. Like, they absolutely do not need to bust out the spreadsheets and complex formulas and pathing flowcharts and all that, but I’m a big nerd and I love seeing it

[jade ocean]

But man it gets hard the 50th time someone jokes about FEAR Rattata beating Giratina

[jade ocean]

I fucking love the spreadsheets and formulas and shit too

[tranquil nexus]

As a pre-meme vaporian fan…

[robust wren]

Doesn't FEAR lose to Giratina cause it's a ghost type anyway?

[jade ocean]

Exactly

But they're still gonna claim Rattata beats it anyways

[wispy kernel]

FEAR loses to everything if you use the basic mechanic known as “switching”

[tranquil nexus]

Also FEAR rat was a dead joke two decades ago

[jade ocean]

FEAR loses to everything if you use the magical category of moves we call Entry Hazards

[tranquil nexus]

New FEAR meta- wobuffet

[robust wren]

FEAR isn't even that reliable of a strat. Even the most famous case of it beating an Arceus could have been averted if the Arceus was being ran like all others and had Espeed

[jade ocean]

Or yknow if you're playing VGC you just double target lmao

Rattata is also like

Average at best at pulling FEAR off

[robust wren]

Aron my beloved

[jade ocean]

FEAR Taillow and Flamigo >

[tranquil nexus]

Yeah you need a rattata in the top 90% of rattatas

[wispy kernel]

More accurate youtube video: Salty FEAR player DESTROYED by player with more than 3 IQ

[jade ocean]

Flamigo and Taillow I say are better because they both have Scrappy and the Flying type, eliminating the factor of Spikes and Ghosts

They still lose to Rocks though rip bozos

Mmmmm sneaky pebbles

Anyways this has gotten very sidetracked from ZA lol

[hazy knot]

flamigo takes neutral damage from rock types if thats what you mean, or is rocks some sort of hazard or something lol

[jade ocean]

Stealth Rocks

[wispy kernel]

stealth rocks

[hazy knot]

ic

[tranquil nexus]

So I tried to make Emolga work in ranked

It, uh

[hazy knot]

didnt know flying types took damage from that, interesting

[tranquil nexus]

It does not

Good lord it does not

[wispy kernel]

does damage based on your pokemon’s relation to rock

[jade ocean]

Stealth Rocks were made to punish Spikes immune Pokemon

AKA: Flying types

The problem?

It also punished Ice, Bug and, indirectly, Rock types

[tranquil nexus]

If you want to feel like a fucking goddamn idiot, ez i gotchu go hyper train an Emolga and then try to take on literally anything not a Gyarados

[jade ocean]

Rock types hold less value when you have a hazard that does their job for them as it turns out

And also, 2 of the most common Spikes immune mons in OU were Gengar and Flygon

Neither of which were weak to Rock

And the latter resisted it

[wispy kernel]

4x weak: 50%
2x weak: 25%
Neutral: 12.5%
0.5x resist: 6.25%
0.25x resist: 3.125%

[jade ocean]

Claydol? Also resists it

Skarm? Neutral

Does do its job vs Mence and Zap at least

But it was a bit too effective at punishing mons like Zard or Molt

Somehow Ho-Oh came out of this about as strong as it was before

And then it got Regenerator

[jade ocean]

Aye aye 🫡

[tired crane]

I'm close to 500 battles

the AFK method works, WHOOO

I might have 1,000 battles done by tomorrow!

[tranquil nexus]

Hell yeah!

I am slowly climbing up through rank B

So much BS

FINALLY!

I finally got a game without legendaries

I got 3rd but it was still very fun

[radiant otter]

FINALLY GOT SHINY AUDINO!!!

[tranquil nexus]

Woooo now I can go back to Ultra Moon until the 10th

[supple fern]

Right now I'm at 733 battles.

73.3% there.

On a side note: monki.

[tired crane]

Good luck, I'm at 500 so far!

Also nice Monki! A better shiny then Pansage that's for sure

[robust wren]

I feel like the reason the DLC is focusing on threats that are over level 100 is because they realized a ton of people are going to have capped or nearly capped the levels of their playthrough teams after doing the 1000 battles

[supple fern]

https://tenor.com/view/halfway-there-halfway-car-in-the-car-driving-gif-13850606

[tired crane]

Yeah probably

[jade ocean]

Especially since the final boss is like Level 84

There's not much space to go above that

[tranquil nexus]

You get a multiplayer plaque thing for leveling up enough mons to 100. They def know it’s a thing that will happen quite a bit

[limber owl]

Played a lot of Ranked last night in Z-A
...
HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THE ENTIRE WILD ZONE 3 IS JUST A ROSERADE THEMED GARDEN!?

Not only is there a Roserade Statue in the Pika Place, but there are 2 corners with Roserade Flower Patterns as well

HOW DID I NOT SEE THIS SOONER!?

[desert current]

There's also Aegislash shield patterns on the floor.

[forest egret]

If it wasn't like, the weird mound I probably would

But it being that shape makes me think it's like canned food on a plate or smth

[tepid flame]

It's giving like the really janky canned food you buy in gas stations

The ones where you can tell it has already been discontinued but this gas station just ungodly has this thing in stock somehow

[tired crane]

My stupid switch had an error while I was trying to do afk battles and it closed my game without saving! Hundreds of battles lost....

[radiant otter]

i was looking for gible but this is pretty cool too

[robust wren]

My big issue with it is the unavoidable fact that the croissants would get all soggy and gross from this. It would be like a Sloppy Joe, but the sauce is on the outside.

[tired crane]

Shiny Krookodile and Shiny Krokorok look pretty awesome

[tranquil nexus]

Might be a bit better if you toasted them before hand

[worn cobalt]

I think I'm going to hunt for Meditite and maybe Houndour for a bit.

Tried Jacinthe's Infinite tourney last night, got to 25 battles before I was so tired I had to quit.

[plucky escarp]

hows the metagross hunt going?

[worn cobalt]

Shalpha Metagross eludes me, but I'm getting more shiny beldum.

[tired crane]

Shalpha metagross is gonna be hard to get, good luck

[worn cobalt]

I've been saving that Shalpha hunt til after I get other shiny mons. Once I complete my living dex, Shalpha hunting is all I've got left.

Trying to complete "pages" of my Shiny living dex, got page two done. Working on pages 3 and 4, but Page 1 requires 9 shiny starters.

[tired crane]

Yikes, good luck with the shiny starters

[indigo mango]

wonder why the game regifts you the mega stones in season 3

like i get it makes sense for people who dont have it but i thought it got bugged when i regot the 2 mega stones

also got chesnaughtite, took me around 3 battles

[jade ocean]

They regifted the Greninjite in Season 2 as well I think

And yeah you directly stated the reason for it

So no need to continue wondering I suppose

[indigo mango]

its still weird to get it again when you already did lul

i hoped you get something else

[hot silo]

anyone able to help me get the link trade evos? most of the pokemon im still missing for the completed dex are trade evos, this would be my first ever fully completed dex

[worn cobalt]

I can probably help.

Do you have the items you need for them?

[hot silo]

not yet, working on getting them when i have time tho

[worn cobalt]

Some of the items can be bought late to post game, some idk where.

Just got Meditite, trying a bit to Shalpha hunt the Alpha Pikachu in Area 6.

[tired crane]

Why are you shiny hunting an alpha pikachu?

[worn cobalt]

In the roof of Cafe Batille in WZ6, there is an Alpha Pikachu. Trying the run in and out of spawn/despawn range technique.

[hot silo]

i already finished the main story, just missing the time availability to get the items

[worn cobalt]

Worst case, I could get some for you.

Oh yeah, I think I need shiny Mareep.

I just hope I'm getting close enough for the reset in my Shalpha Pikachu hunt. I'm only getting within 51 m of my pin.

[tired crane]

Mkay but why do you want one

[hot silo]

some people collect stuff like that just to have them

[worn cobalt]

To raise for the DLC?

[tired crane]

Oooohh, I suppose that makes sense

[tired crane]

Down to 300 battles!

[worn cobalt]

This is a calculator for shiny odds time, and it's not looking good for me.

[radiant otter]

so if i did this math right it would take me over 10000 resets to get a shalpha helioptile...

[robust wren]

I could never shiny hunt outside of Scarlet and Violet

[jade ocean]

I could if I'm playing L:A

Well, Shiny "hunt"

More like "accidentally find a giga fuckton of shinies"

I swear it feels like shinies are so much more easy to find in that game than any other

A majority of my shinies are from L:A

[worn cobalt]

Decided that the benching chance for a Shalpha Pikachu was worth the wait.

I don't wanna jump off a building for 7+hours.

Think of my characters knees!

[silent halo]

No context that sounds so weird

[unborn elm]

How my hunt for shiny tododile has been

-# area 20 hates me in terms of shinies from the water biome spot

[worn cobalt]

Are you freaking kidding me?

Give up on my building escapades to try benching since it's nearly bed time. Less than 3 minutes Shalpha Pikachu.

[unborn elm]

https://tenor.com/view/huh-what-did-you-say-excuse-me-geto-suguru-anime-gif-13536840371683058031

Damn you getting shinies you want?

Darn

[worn cobalt]

Like, game, rewarding the lazy ig.

[unborn elm]

All I’ve gotten is a random ass audino from area 19 while passing by

Tododile doesn’t wanna shine

https://tenor.com/view/totadile-shinytotadile-shiny-pokemon-amie-gif-22995484

[worn cobalt]

I managed one I think, but I need three.

[unborn elm]

I just want one to use for the dlc