Introduction
They lurk in the darkness. They are underrated. They are the unseen. They are the forgotten. They lack attention. They wait. They wait for acknowledgement. They wait silently. They wait with courage. They wait with bravery. They are the forgotten wonders.
I think that’s a marvelous way to sum up Meloetta. It’s a forgotten wonder. It’s always been the red haired step child out the Gen.5 legends. It’s the one no one cares about. Everyone has been hyping the Therians, Keldeo, Techniloom and more while ignoring the credible threat that is Meloetta. I guess you could consider this a RMT to raise awareness. Most people consider Meloetta to be terrible or outclassed, but I don’t think that is an accurate statement.
This is also a celebration RMT. What am I celebrating? Open the spoiler.
5000 posts
One year of serious VG playing at PokeBeach
That awesome contributor userbar
One year of serious VG playing at PokeBeach
That awesome contributor userbar
Also...
[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8CFxicvvsg[/video]
Teambuilding Process
If you can’t tell, Meloetta is the star of this RMT, so it’s only logical that I use it. I went with a mixed set with Relic Song, with a focus on using Meloetta’s ability to cause lots of switching. This Pokemon is really amazing and I’ll explain more about it later.
Since Meloetta causes lots of switches due to Relic Song shenanigans, entry hazards are key. While it doesn’t learn all three hazards, Ferrothorn here learns the two important ones – Stealth Rock and Spikes. Its typing is also wonderful at taking on pretty much any rain threat, barring Keldeo.
Politoed here brings a pretty nice bonus to the team. With it, Ferrothorn’s Fire-type weakness is halved. But more importantly, it lets Meloetta have perfect accuracy with Thunder. In Pirouette forme, Thunder does 74% minimum to Tornadus-T, nearly guaranteeing the OHKO after Stealth Rock damage. While rain is pretty much everywhere, having Politoed lets me cripple a Stoutland sweep and weaken the damage from a Volcarona.
At this point Tentacruel is a fairly obvious addition. Wonderful synergy with Ferrothorn, as well as Toxic Spikes gives me something for taking down Keldeo. Rain Dish keeps it alive for most of the battle, and Scald burns make Meloetta’s entrance into battle easier.
Some of Meloetta’s counters are Latias, Reuniclus and Mew. Guess what? Scizor preys on all of them (but Mew’s Will-o-Wisp sucks). With those guys out of the way, Meloetta sweeps much easier. Scizor is also another common rain Pokemon. It’s harder to kill with Fire-type moves (some Tornadus-T can still OHKO with Heat Wave though >.<), and most of the rain threats (Virizion, Latias and Ferrothorn) are beaten by Scizor.
$10 says that you saw this coming. Rotom-W provides a perfect offensive partner for Scizor. It’s more of a bulky pivot than anything else, and it also gives me an answer to Tornadus-T. Like Ferrothorn and Tentacruel, it is also a solid anti-weather Pokemon, with an emphasis against Sand and Rain teams.
So the team performed pretty well. But it did have some problems. Sun was a big problem, even though I had rain. Terrakion, Tornadus-T and Volcarona were all pretty big threats. So with that, I did a big 180 with the team. I took the team away from a Meloetta focus to one that had a more general focus, where any one of my sweepers sweep. So here it is.
...and you thought you were rating a rain team.
Detailed Analysis
Tyranitar (F) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
Pursuit | Crunch | Low Kick | Rest
Tyranitar definitely struggles in this new metagame. While it did pick up some new friends in the metagame shift (Stoutland and Sandslash), it now has to deal with Politoed’s Army, the Aqua Tail move tutor, Keldeo, and Superpower Therians. Of course, Tyranitar is still Tyranitar. It has an impressive stat total, a solid movepool, and its abilities to kill Psychic-types in a blink of an eye will always keep it around. Oh, and it changes the weather, which is kinda neat.
This definitely isn’t your standard Tyranitar set, but I don’t think I could operate on any other moveset after using this. Pursuit gives Tyranitar the almighty abilities to outright kill Latias and Latios, who are both more common thanks to Keldeo, and Latias isn’t too bad at countering Thundurus-T either. Because I have a Keldeo on my team, and because I also have a Meloetta, getting rid of those two are pretty crucial, as both are walled cold by them. Crunch is Tyranitar’s main STAB move. It breaks Kyurem’s Subs, and is generally a pretty potent attack. Low Kick is interesting. Most people run Superpower, but I like Low Kick. It’s only slightly weaker than Superpower against Ferrothorn, but it doesn’t drop your attack stat making spamming it easier. Low Kick is also stronger against Terrakion switchins.
The real interesting thing here is Rest. Pride suggested ChestoResto to me, and it has saved me numerous amounts of times. Rest generally lets Tyranitar not care about status, and keeps it around longer, which is nice when you have the ability to threaten so many things. Sometimes I think Stone Edge would be a good idea, but denying KOs are really important for victory. The EVs maximize special bulk. 492 special defense in a sandstorm is nothing to laugh about.
Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
Calm Mind | Dragon Pulse | Psyshock | Recover
I think it’s safe to say that Latias, albeit indirectly, won the lottery in BW2, and no I’m not talking about the release of Soul Dew. Due to weather being everywhere, Latias main counter, Tyranitar, has taken a step back. In addition, newcomers Keldeo, Thundurus-T and Tornadus-T all have difficulties breaking through Latias. With rain being everywhere, Latias’ abilities to hard counter most rain threats (Breloom, Rotom-W, etc) are very much wanted in this metagame. Calm Mind Latias is still just as brilliant this time around as it was before.
This set really shouldn’t be a stranger to any BW1 veterans. It’s simple. Calm Mind on something that you scare out or struggles to do much to you (for example, Rotom-W). Then you’re basically unkillable on the special side. So Calm Mind makes you invincible, and your main STAB is Dragon Pulse. Dragon Pulse hits pretty hard after a Calm Mind. Psyshock was always a niche move in BW1, but it’s become more crucial this time around. Latias can’t get away with mono Dragon-type STAB anymore, it needs more coverage. CM Keldeo sets up on Latias, and Amoonguss generally doesn’t care about boosted Dragon Pulses and has Clear Smog. Psyshock beats both of those dudes, in addition to scaring Techniloom (even though its rather hard to use, Techniloom is something you still need to prepare for). Recover lets Latias continue its onslaught.
The EV spread is standard for CM Latias. There is a new spread floating around (148 HP / 24 SAtk / 84 SDef / 252 Spd) that is pretty similar to 252 HP/4 SAtk/252 Spe, but trades in higher offense (2% damage increase) for lower physical defense (4% difference). 4 is bigger than 2, so I'm sticking with standard.
Keldeo-R @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
Hydro Pump | Secret Sword | Hidden Power Ice | Surf
I’ve talked a lot about Keldeo in this RMT, and on the forums in general. Most people think that Keldeo isn’t good because it’s so easy to counter. You’ve got Amoonguss, Latias, Latios, Celebi and more that don’t mind it, and most Scarfers and Tornadus-T outspeed. Well, I can solve the second problem by throwing a Choice Scarf on it. While this does somewhat weaken Keldeo on the offense, its transforms it into my revenge killer. Scarf Keldeo is so hard for rain teams to handle, because it outspeeds everything that they would use to beat it (Tornadus-T and Scarf Thundurus-T, for example). While it may not have the widest movepool, it still hits hard. And while Keldeo is so easy to counter, that’s a good thing. It can sweep with absolute ease you if you don’t have a counter. So pack a counter kiddies. You’ll thank me later. It’s not a pushover.
Scarf Keldeo is rather interesting. I’ll be honest and say that it wasn’t the first Keldeo set that came to mind. But I think it’s worked the best. Due to the prevalence of rain, Keldeo’s Hydro Pump hits with extreme force. But sometimes I can’t afford a miss, which is why I have both it and Surf. Keldeo’s movepool is so narrow anyways that it isn’t a problem to have both. Secret Sword is what makes Keldeo great. Without Secret Sword, Keldeo would be forever walled by Blissey. Not to mention that it essentially makes Keldeo a mixed sweeper, with 252 Attack EVs. Because Arceus decided that giving Keldeo Ice Beam would count as crimes against humanity, I have to settle for Hidden Power Ice to get the coverage. But it isn’t a big loss (I mean, what else would I run?).
There isn’t really a lot to say about Keldeo. Regardless of the set, you need a Water-resistance and high special bulk to switch in if it’s raining. Like I said before, don’t dismiss Keldeo just because it loses to common Pokemon. Be glad those common Pokemon exist, because priority attacks won’t take down Keldeo. With Latias and Tyranitar, all of Keldeo’s counters can be beaten, paving the way for a Keldeo sweep.
Meloetta @ Expert Belt
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 224 Atk / 64 SAtk / 220 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
Relic Song | Close Combat | Thunderbolt | Hidden Power Ice
So here’s the underdog. Most people think that Meloetta is pretty bad. But I’m of the opinion that Meloetta is simply underrated, and that it hasn’t be out long enough for people to give it credibility. But I don’t blame them, because we’re still hyping “YAY THERIANS” or “Amoonguss da best” like it’s going out of style. I’ve had several situations where Meloetta simply tears the opponent apart. Pirouette forme outspeeds pretty much everything (mine hits 376 speed, one more than Tornadus-T). Just about the only things that counters Meloetta are Gengar (who is eaten alive by Keldeo and Tyranitar) and Spiritomb (which is really rare). Everything else can be gotten around some way or another.
I’ll start by saying that to get the best use out of Meloetta, you need to make use of both formes. Meloetta is like having two Pokemon in one slot, because both are so different. You can’t simply go “Oh, I’ll go Relic Song and then 3 physical moves because Pirouette forme is a beast”, because Pirouette forme dies really easily. You also can’t go “I’ll just say in and spam special moves”, because Aria forme is too slow to sweep. I can’t emphasize it enough that you need to make use of both formes. That’s basically why I have Relic Song. Some of Meloetta’s counters are beaten by the other forme (Tyranitar and Blissey get beat by Pirouette forme, and Gliscor gets torn a new one by Aria forme), so you really need to rely on Relic Song.
Even though one forme only has 77 in one attack stat, both formes are perfectly capable of going mixed. Close Combat and Thunderbolt both hit hard enough on both formes regardless of the base stat. After a bit of residiual damage (Stealth Rock and two turns of Sandstorm), Meloetta OHKOs Tornadus-T with Thunderbolt in the pirouette forme (77 SAtk). Aria forme having Close Combat is enough of a reason for Tyranitar and Blissey not to switch into her. The interesting thing here is Hidden Power Ice. This does leave Aria forme without a second STAB move, and it does mean that Gengar walks all over her. But Close Combat and Thunderbolt is an open invite for Dragons and Gliscor to come in and go crazy against a helpless Meloetta, and Piouette forme OHKOs Gliscor with HP Ice. I think it’s a worthy trade off, because I’ve already got ways around Gengar.
Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
Flamethrower | Earth Power | Hidden Power Rock | Stealth Rock
Heatran’s fall from grace is much like that of Tyranitar’s. Having rain everywhere doesn’t bode well for it. But again, that doesn’t mean that Heatran is bad. In fact, Heatran also got its fair share of presents from BW2. The first was the new Sun toys (Giga Drain Venusaur and Roost Volcarona), both of which have troubles getting past Heatran. The second indirectly game through the introduction of the Therian genies, more specifically Tornadus-T and Thundurus-T. Thanks to them, Stealth Rock is more crucial than ever, because it really limits what kind of a train wreck they can turn your team into. Offensive Heatran will always be one of the best users of Stealth Rock to exist in the metagame, making its talent even more appreciated.
Even with rain being everywhere, Heatran still needs its STAB Flamethrower. Heck, even in the rain it OHKOs Scizor and 2HKOs Ferrothorn, which is pretty neat, and funny. Earth Power is for other Heatran, as well as for things like Tentacruel and Magnezone. I’ve always loved having Hidden Power Rock in Heatran, because it beats Volcarona easily, while simultaneously discouraging Dragonite and his Dragon-type clan to come and play. Stealth Rock will always be one of the best moves in the game, and it even gets better this time around. Crippling the two biggest offensive threats is pretty much needed for success.
There isn’t a lot more to say about Heatran. Rain may have rained on its parade, but it’s still perfectly viable, and I’m glad I have it. The Air Balloon is incredibly awesome for Heatran, and I can go 30 turns with it still intact, thanks to smart switching. The longer the balloon stays on Heatran for, the better shape it’s in.
Amoonguss (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 128 Def / 28 SAtk / 96 SDef / 8 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
Spore | Clear Smog | Giga Drain | Hidden Power Fire
DON’T. EVER. GET. RID. OF. CLEAR SMOG. ON. AMOONGUSS
There, that’s out of the way now. If there’s a BW Pokemon that won the lottery in BW2, it would be Amoonguss. And what did it get? Well, just Regenerator. Ehh, just one ability. What’s the big deal? Regenerator is awesome on a Pokemon that lacks reliable recovery. Heck, Regenerator is awesome on pretty much everything that gets it (aka, everything except Reuniclus). Between Amoonguss and Latias, rain teams really struggle to break through my team. Amoonguss itself is only scared by Specs Ice Beams and Psyshocks. Everything else struggles to beat it. Oh, and Amoonguss gets Spore, which is pretty handy.
Spore is Spore. If you get it, you use it. The only exception is if something else on your team has Spore. 100% chance of Sleep makes Spore one of the most obnoxious moves in the game. Going off my little warning, Clear Smog is Amoonguss’ second best move it gets, and it should always be on Amoonguss. Tanks like Amoonguss often become set up fodder against those that aren’t scared by it. Clear Smog is a rare move, but it essentially stops Amoonguss from being set up fodder. Not to mention that it gets STAB on Clear Smog, so it is pretty handy. Giga Drain is a nice addition to Amoognuss’ moveset, giving it solid anti-rain offense and recovery in one fell swoop. Most people run Hidden Power Ice or Stun Spore in the last spot, but I use Hidden Power Fire. Without Hidden Power Fire, Amoonguss is pretty much set up fodder for Scizor (its immune to Clear Smog), and Ferrothorn can set up hazards on it, both of which are bad.
You guys might be thinking “Bippa, that EV spread is totally random and doesn’t actually serve a purpose”. Well, you’re wrong. 248 HP/96 SDef is all Amoonguss needs to be 3HKOed by anything from Keldeo, after factoring the Calm nature. 8 Speed is speed creeping, because Spore wars are dumb. 28 SAtk EVs go towards breaking +2 Keldeo’s Substitutes. The rest go in defense to take on Terrakion better. That’s all there is to it.
Threat List
I’m not going to do something big and fancy here. I’m just going to go through the threats and say how I beat them. Open up the spoiler if you’re interested.
Scizor – Heatran, Keldeo, sometimes Amoonguss
Dragonite - Keldeo, Heatran, sometimes Latias
Tyranitar – Keldeo, my own Tyranitar, Meloetta
Heatran – Tyranitar, Keldeo, Meloetta, my own Heatran
Rotom-W – Amoonguss, Latias
Terrakion – Keldeo revenges banded, Amoonguss handles scarf
Ferrothorn – Keldeo, Amoonguss, Heatran, Tyranitar, Meloetta
Politoed – Latias, Amoonguss
Gliscor – Meloetta, Latias, Keldeo
Jirachi – Heatran, Meloetta
Latios – Tyranitar
Starmie – Amoonguss, Meloetta, Tyranitar
Skarmory – Heatran, Keldeo
Landorus – Amoonguss, Keldeo
Salamence – Keldeo revenges, Heatran tanks Outrage
Tentacruel – Amoonguss, Meloetta
Forretress – Amoonguss, Heatran
Gengar – Tyranitar, Keldeo
Celebi – Heatran, sometimes Tyranitar
Magnezone – Heatran, Tyranitar
Jellicent – Amoonguss, Tyranitar, Meloetta
Breloom – Amoonguss, Latias
Gyarados – Amoonguss handles ones without Bounce, Keldeo outspeeds, Latias survives even at +2
Volcarona – Heatran, Keldeo can revenge
Ninetales – Heatran, Keldeo (Hydro Pump does 65% in sun)
Lucario – Latias, Keldeo outspeeds, Amoonguss can deal with it
Infernape – Latias
Haxorus – Uncounterable in the rain, since it 2HKOs everything. Best bet is to outspeed, or have Heatran tank Outrages.
Hydreigon – Meloetta-Pirouette outspeeds, Heatran tanks, Latias and Keldeo outspeed
Espeon – Tyranitar
Reuniclus – Tyranitar, Latias
Donphan – Keldeo, Amoonguss
Jolteon – Amoonguss, Tyranitar
Blissey – Meloetta, Keldeo, Tyrantiar, Latias
Gastrodon – Amoonguss
Tornadus-T – Latias, Keldeo outspeeds, Meloetta-Pirouette outspeeds - Rather threatening
Conkeldurr – Amoonguss, Latias, Keldeo
Alakazam – Tyranitar, Latias
Cloyster – Keldeo
Latias – Tyranitar
Vaporeon – Amoonguss, Latias
Mamoswine – Keldeo, Meloetta
Metagross – Keldeo
Venusaur – Heatran, Latias
Dugtrio – You can’t counter this thing
Toxicroak – Latias, Meloetta. Sucker Punch shenanigans are annoying. Probably the biggest threat.
Hippowdon – Keldeo, Amoonguss
Deoxys-D – It pretty much always sets up hazards, so no counter
Virizion – Latias, Meloetta
Abomasnow – Tyranitar, Meloetta, Keldeo, Heatran
Mew – Can’t hard counter this, but Tyranitar comes close.
Chansey – Tyranitar, Keldeo, Meloetta, Latias
Thundurus-T – Keldeo outspeeds, Latias, Amoonguss, sometimes Meloetta
Amoonguss – Heatran, Latias
Keldeo – Amoonguss, Latias
Meloetta – Latias
Kyurem – Meloetta, Tyranitar
Dragonite - Keldeo, Heatran, sometimes Latias
Tyranitar – Keldeo, my own Tyranitar, Meloetta
Heatran – Tyranitar, Keldeo, Meloetta, my own Heatran
Rotom-W – Amoonguss, Latias
Terrakion – Keldeo revenges banded, Amoonguss handles scarf
Ferrothorn – Keldeo, Amoonguss, Heatran, Tyranitar, Meloetta
Politoed – Latias, Amoonguss
Gliscor – Meloetta, Latias, Keldeo
Jirachi – Heatran, Meloetta
Latios – Tyranitar
Starmie – Amoonguss, Meloetta, Tyranitar
Skarmory – Heatran, Keldeo
Landorus – Amoonguss, Keldeo
Salamence – Keldeo revenges, Heatran tanks Outrage
Tentacruel – Amoonguss, Meloetta
Forretress – Amoonguss, Heatran
Gengar – Tyranitar, Keldeo
Celebi – Heatran, sometimes Tyranitar
Magnezone – Heatran, Tyranitar
Jellicent – Amoonguss, Tyranitar, Meloetta
Breloom – Amoonguss, Latias
Gyarados – Amoonguss handles ones without Bounce, Keldeo outspeeds, Latias survives even at +2
Volcarona – Heatran, Keldeo can revenge
Ninetales – Heatran, Keldeo (Hydro Pump does 65% in sun)
Lucario – Latias, Keldeo outspeeds, Amoonguss can deal with it
Infernape – Latias
Haxorus – Uncounterable in the rain, since it 2HKOs everything. Best bet is to outspeed, or have Heatran tank Outrages.
Hydreigon – Meloetta-Pirouette outspeeds, Heatran tanks, Latias and Keldeo outspeed
Espeon – Tyranitar
Reuniclus – Tyranitar, Latias
Donphan – Keldeo, Amoonguss
Jolteon – Amoonguss, Tyranitar
Blissey – Meloetta, Keldeo, Tyrantiar, Latias
Gastrodon – Amoonguss
Tornadus-T – Latias, Keldeo outspeeds, Meloetta-Pirouette outspeeds - Rather threatening
Conkeldurr – Amoonguss, Latias, Keldeo
Alakazam – Tyranitar, Latias
Cloyster – Keldeo
Latias – Tyranitar
Vaporeon – Amoonguss, Latias
Mamoswine – Keldeo, Meloetta
Metagross – Keldeo
Venusaur – Heatran, Latias
Dugtrio – You can’t counter this thing
Toxicroak – Latias, Meloetta. Sucker Punch shenanigans are annoying. Probably the biggest threat.
Hippowdon – Keldeo, Amoonguss
Deoxys-D – It pretty much always sets up hazards, so no counter
Virizion – Latias, Meloetta
Abomasnow – Tyranitar, Meloetta, Keldeo, Heatran
Mew – Can’t hard counter this, but Tyranitar comes close.
Chansey – Tyranitar, Keldeo, Meloetta, Latias
Thundurus-T – Keldeo outspeeds, Latias, Amoonguss, sometimes Meloetta
Amoonguss – Heatran, Latias
Keldeo – Amoonguss, Latias
Meloetta – Latias
Kyurem – Meloetta, Tyranitar
Closing
Thanks for giving this quite lengthy RMT a read. Hopefully this did two things for you. First of all, it helped you realize the credible threat that is Meloetta. But the second and more important thing is that this RMT introduced to some of you the new threats in this metagame. This especially applies to those of you who are new to BW2, because that is the metagame for the Master Cup. Speaking of Master Cup, I hope to see you there.
For credits, Xous did the artwork for Keldeo and Meloetta. Pride suggested Rest Tyranitar, and he and TDL have pretty much always battled me.
