by Doc – Owner, Founder, Gyarados Should Have Been Given Legendary Stats
Legends Z-A just got Diancie the other day, which was objectively pretty awesome as that’s been its first real release in about 10 years or so, but that’s probably not the only legendary ready to come in. Much like Pokémon Scarlet, which had several dozen Pokémon only available by transferring them in from HOME even before the DLC released, there are three legendaries and two Hisuian lines ready to be used in the data of the game that could be unlocked at any time by an update. These Pokémon are:
So to distract ourselves from what is hopefully an imminent Infestation ban, let’s speculate wildly on the viability of these impending options.
We’ll assume that Infestation gets banned this weekend, because without an Infestation ban I don’t imagine any of these besides Volcanion and H. Goodra will really matter at all. We’ll also assume that these Pokémon are able to be accessed in the game without transferring in HOME and before the DLC and their other forms will be obtainable somehow as well. And no, the DLC doesn’t factor into this.
Spoilers follow.
Mewtwo
Mewtwo really comes with three Pokémon, because he packs two Mega Evolution forms. While I won’t speculate on the exact moveset that he will have in his Mega Evolution forms, it’s pretty safe to say that even base Mewtwo being in the game sets a new standard for what power is. His BST is superior even to Metagross, and he is a special attack glass cannon that is much more cannon than glass. Unfortunately his Psychic typing does not benefit him offensively, and his vulnerability to Ghost type attacks means that Chandelure can probably do a number on him quite easily in each form. Mewtwo has useful defenses, but not phenomenal defenses, so I would imagine a Shadow Ball threatens Mewtwo quite effectively. The same is true for the Mega Mewtwo forms.
It’s unclear to me whether the Mega forms would even be worth the investment. The X form gains a minor defense boost in exchange for a massive attack buff, but Mewtwo doesn’t have typings that would benefit STAB moves much. After all, everyone and their mother is packing a Steel type, typically Metagross, so even having Fighting type STAB would only mean he now goes neutral against Papa Metty whereas before he was resisted.
Mega Mewtwo Y might have better options against Chandelure, and I think Chandelure would be the main matchup to consider. Mega Mewtwo Y carries 120 special defense, and 194 special attack, which is pretty insane. If Mewtwo carries with him a moveset into Z-A that can hit Chandelure super effectively, they may be checks on each other. Of course all of this is offset by Gyarados, who packs nice physical attack and a nasty Crunch.
Hoopa
Let’s assume that Hoopa Unbound is also obtainable and is either a form that can be activated outside of battle and carried in, or operates as a Mega Evolution. It’s not much of a guess to say that Hoopa will be in this game… Considering he was revealed in the DLC.
Hoopa Confined is, to put it politely, hot garbage dripping from a pile of fecal matter. With 80 HP and 60 defense, and a speed of 70 at best, and a four times weakness to both Dark and Ghost moves, all it takes is a wink and a kiss from Chandelure or anyone running Shadow Ball, or a physical move (like Gyarados’ Crunch), and Hoopa Confined is dead.
Hilariously, Hoopa Unbound has the same problem, but with Bug and Fairy weakness instead. However, I think this problem is a little bit mitigated if Hoopa gets lucky and the Unbound version can start the battle in his Unbound form. Hoopa Unbound is the same absurd glass cannon but is so much more powerful in both attack and special attack that it’s difficult to say there won’t be any use for it at all. At the very least, I would imagine that it serves as a useful check to other Psychic types.
It’s really not clear to me whether it’s better to have Hoopa start as the Unbound form or if a Mega Evolution would be more optimal – Mega Evolution creates invincibility frames that function basically as a second Protect option that you can use once per match, and Hoopa is a Pokémon that gets a lot more mileage out of Protect because of their extreme weakness to something like Gyarados’ Crunch.
Volcanion
If Infestation remains legal, and I hope and pray that it won’t, Volcanion may be the solution to many of the problems in the meta. For starters, this puppy is quite the tank. He’s weak to Ground, Rock and Electric, (and probably neutral to Water, because abilities are not present) so Garchomp and Gyarados do remain a threat, especially with Crunch, but there’s not much demand for any of those types offensively outside of Earthquake. Volcanion is also so physically tanky that he could probably stomach an Earthquake and respond to any Earthquake user with a super effective attack coming from either the Fire or Water direction (again, not including Garchomp). Of course, Metagross and Skarmory is top of mind for this comparison.
What has not yet been said is that Volcanion may also have a positive matchup against Chandelure, due in no small part to his four times resistance to Fire. Chandelure would be limited to chucking a Shadow Ball, which would admittedly hit hard, but Volcanion can run a held item to mitigate that. The Assault Vest comes to mind.
I don’t think Volcanion will necessarily be a check on Infestation, but he at least will threaten it in a much more effective way than many of the methods currently out there. To my knowledge, there are no Infestation users that he can’t hit effectively. Hopefully we never have to worry about that again.
Hisuian Goodra
Hisuian Goodra exists in a weird place. For starters, these stats are pretty darn great – 150 special defense? 100 defense? Steel and Dragon type? This looks… Optimistic.
The Steel and Dragon typing means, in the current meta which has basically no Fighting type, he might as well only be weak to Ground. Garchomp still takes Hisuian Goodra to the cleaners. But aside from that, Hisuian Goodra checks both Dragon types and Fairy types, and likely other Steel types as the alpha is guaranteed to have Fire Blast available as well. If the Hisuian version keeps that option available, or has other Fire or Ground type moves, I think we see a very interesting obstacle for the Steel type to overcome.
Oh, not to mention that Chandelure has precious few, if any options against him. He’s not weak to Fire, and goes even with it. He’s not weak to Ghost. His special defense is through the roof, so Shadow Ball doesn’t really pose an issue for him. This guy forces a switch out from Chandelure as far as I can tell, so if Chandelure becomes too powerful of an option in the meta, and you need backup for your Metagross, this might be your guy. Of course, there’s always the option to pack Gyarados, who resists Chandelure, and bring Crunch with him.
Hisuian Avalugg
I sure hope you like weakness, because you’re about to get a double helping. Kalos Avalugg is an Ice type, and Hisuian Avalugg is a… Ice and Rock type! That’s right, we’re selling double type weaknesses at buy one get one free. Steel type? You’re dead! Fighting type? You’re dead! Metagross is foaming at the metal mouth waiting for this guy to come out. Aside from putting up a defense that will make your ex-girlfriend who cheated on you jealous, he brings nothing to the table. Unfortunately, Gyarados’ Crunch is surprisingly not as effective here, though Waterfall would be super-effective and come with STAB.
Amiibo Doctor 