Approved by: Arcticblast
What if...You forgot which Pokéball held which Pokémon? What if your Pokéballs all looked alike? What if battles were so fast-paced and dangerous that you didn't have the time to choose which Pokémon you switched in after switching the previous one out?
Welcome to Pokéroulette!
The basic premise of this metagame is to decentralize the metagame from its insistence upon switching out every few turns. In order to do this, one simple special rule will be enacted:
In other words, if you want to use Volt Switch to send in your Heatran against a Ninetales, you better get lucky, and the chance of sending in the correct Pokémon is smaller the more Pokémon you have left. Besides that simple rule, Pokéroulette follows standard OU rules, although there is a high chance of banning Pokémon in the future which are seen as being too powerful. (I'm looking at you, Shedinja! >.>)
Now, what does this mean for the metagame? How much will this affect the otherwise normal OU metagame?
Abilities
One of the most affected aspects of the game comes from one of the most important aspects of the game: Abilities. Some abilities lose much versatility in this metagame, namely those which are of most use upon the switch in:
Type-immunity Abilities
Abilities such as Water Absorb, Volt Absorb, and Flash Fire lose much of their use when you can't switch them in on a predicted move of that Type.
Magic Bounce
Magic Bounce's most common use is as a threat to the opponent while switched out, as it is a threat that can be switched in to reflect non-damaging moves. Without the choice to switch them in against those moves, they are only useful while already switched in, which cuts their usefulness in half.
Intimidate
Intimidate is hurt the least of these abilities, as it still works whenever switched in. However, the inability to purposefully switch in a Pokémon with Intimidate as a check to physical Pokémon hurts their usefulness, if only slightly.
Moves
Baton Pass/U-Turn/Volt Switch
All three of these moves switch the user out...for a random Pokémon. Baton Pass chains can no longer work, as you never know what it will pass to. U-Turn loses its usefulness, and Technician Bug Bite or any X-Scissor become much better choices (unless you really need to avoid being trapped, but trappers are worse, too, because nobody wants to switch out). Volt Switch becomes much worse than Thunderbolt.
Taunt
Taunt is an amazing move in Pokéroulette because stall teams are much more reliable, since wallbreakers cannot be purposefully switched into.
Items
Choice Items
Switching out sends out a random Pokémon; do you really want to Choice-lock a Pokémon into a move which could be useless against your opponent's switch-in?
Other Notes
I suspect that Shedinja will be very good, as you cannot be certain you will switch into a Pokémon with the right type of move to kill it. I think that if any Pokémon gets banned, it will be Shedinja. Furthermore, the two types of Pokémon which work best in this format are Setup Sweepers and Walls. Pokémon which TRY not to switch out are much better, which also leads to having a variety of Pokémon types on your team to maximize your resistances and immunities (re: Shedinja). Steel-types in general are also great, as they force switch outs easily. Just in general, forcing switch outs is an amazing tactic, and I can't wait to see how this metagame could evolve.
Anyways, I hope you like the concept of Pokéroulete, and I'd love to hear some feedback! :)
Pokéroulette
What if...You forgot which Pokéball held which Pokémon? What if your Pokéballs all looked alike? What if battles were so fast-paced and dangerous that you didn't have the time to choose which Pokémon you switched in after switching the previous one out?
Welcome to Pokéroulette!
The basic premise of this metagame is to decentralize the metagame from its insistence upon switching out every few turns. In order to do this, one simple special rule will be enacted:
- Each time a player CHOOSES to switch out his or her Pokémon, a random Pokémon will be switched in.
In other words, if you want to use Volt Switch to send in your Heatran against a Ninetales, you better get lucky, and the chance of sending in the correct Pokémon is smaller the more Pokémon you have left. Besides that simple rule, Pokéroulette follows standard OU rules, although there is a high chance of banning Pokémon in the future which are seen as being too powerful. (I'm looking at you, Shedinja! >.>)
Now, what does this mean for the metagame? How much will this affect the otherwise normal OU metagame?
Abilities
One of the most affected aspects of the game comes from one of the most important aspects of the game: Abilities. Some abilities lose much versatility in this metagame, namely those which are of most use upon the switch in:
Type-immunity Abilities
Abilities such as Water Absorb, Volt Absorb, and Flash Fire lose much of their use when you can't switch them in on a predicted move of that Type.
Magic Bounce
Magic Bounce's most common use is as a threat to the opponent while switched out, as it is a threat that can be switched in to reflect non-damaging moves. Without the choice to switch them in against those moves, they are only useful while already switched in, which cuts their usefulness in half.
Intimidate
Intimidate is hurt the least of these abilities, as it still works whenever switched in. However, the inability to purposefully switch in a Pokémon with Intimidate as a check to physical Pokémon hurts their usefulness, if only slightly.
Moves
Baton Pass/U-Turn/Volt Switch
All three of these moves switch the user out...for a random Pokémon. Baton Pass chains can no longer work, as you never know what it will pass to. U-Turn loses its usefulness, and Technician Bug Bite or any X-Scissor become much better choices (unless you really need to avoid being trapped, but trappers are worse, too, because nobody wants to switch out). Volt Switch becomes much worse than Thunderbolt.
Taunt
Taunt is an amazing move in Pokéroulette because stall teams are much more reliable, since wallbreakers cannot be purposefully switched into.
Items
Choice Items
Switching out sends out a random Pokémon; do you really want to Choice-lock a Pokémon into a move which could be useless against your opponent's switch-in?
Other Notes
I suspect that Shedinja will be very good, as you cannot be certain you will switch into a Pokémon with the right type of move to kill it. I think that if any Pokémon gets banned, it will be Shedinja. Furthermore, the two types of Pokémon which work best in this format are Setup Sweepers and Walls. Pokémon which TRY not to switch out are much better, which also leads to having a variety of Pokémon types on your team to maximize your resistances and immunities (re: Shedinja). Steel-types in general are also great, as they force switch outs easily. Just in general, forcing switch outs is an amazing tactic, and I can't wait to see how this metagame could evolve.
Anyways, I hope you like the concept of Pokéroulete, and I'd love to hear some feedback! :)