SPLASH ZONE
Hello, I'm back again to post a new RMT for Vaporemons, the current Pet Mods of the Season, that helped carry me to top the ladder.
Welcome to VaporeMons, the third mod in the SylveMons series! Like JolteMons last generation, this mod looks to add and change moves, items, and abilities to create a more interesting Gen 9 OU metagame. Pokémon can also be given non-stat adjustments.
Let's get some quick changes between the rules of OU and VaporeMons out of the way, as they'll be important for how you build and play the metagame.
- Terastalization is banned - Feel free to Close Combat into that Kingambit without fear of if becoming a Fairy-type, as Terastalization was banned at the start of VaporeMons' existence. There does exist a similar mechanic in the Tera Shard item, but it crucially doesn't activate whenever you want it to, so you'll never have to deal with a surprise type change.
- Light Clay is banned - Due to the presence of a number of great setup sweepers in the tier and changes to Roaring Moon that specifically make it amazing in Snow (more on that later), Light Clay ended up being banned soon after Ninetales-A was released. Thus, you won't really see screens in this metagame.
- A number of Ubers are unbanned - Whether it was because of Terastalization's ban, specific voted-in nerfs, or Pokeon that got banned in OU after the start of VaporeMons that aren't broken here, a number of Pokemon banned in OU are present in VaporeMons, with varying degrees of viability. They are discussed more in detail in a later section, but they include: Regieleki, Volcarona, Espathra, Palafin, Landorus, Magearna, Ogerpon-Hearthflame, Roaring Moon, and Sneasler.
- Many custom moves, abilities and items have been added - From the addition of the brand new item Baseball Bat, that boosts contact moves by ×1.25 and halves damage from Ball and Bomb moves (at the cost of said item being consumed upon being hit), to the existence of new Paradox abilities that function for every Terrain and Weather, to new moves like Chain Lighting (physical Electric Water Shuriken clone) and Shelter (a status move that removes specifically Stealth Rock and Spikes while boosting the user's defense by 1 stage for each type), Vaporemons is filled with many brand new changes to the tools available for use for threats in the meta.
For more details on what's good and what's different in Vaporemons, check out this post and the resources attached to it.
Let's get some quick changes between the rules of OU and VaporeMons out of the way, as they'll be important for how you build and play the metagame.
- Terastalization is banned - Feel free to Close Combat into that Kingambit without fear of if becoming a Fairy-type, as Terastalization was banned at the start of VaporeMons' existence. There does exist a similar mechanic in the Tera Shard item, but it crucially doesn't activate whenever you want it to, so you'll never have to deal with a surprise type change.
- Light Clay is banned - Due to the presence of a number of great setup sweepers in the tier and changes to Roaring Moon that specifically make it amazing in Snow (more on that later), Light Clay ended up being banned soon after Ninetales-A was released. Thus, you won't really see screens in this metagame.
- A number of Ubers are unbanned - Whether it was because of Terastalization's ban, specific voted-in nerfs, or Pokeon that got banned in OU after the start of VaporeMons that aren't broken here, a number of Pokemon banned in OU are present in VaporeMons, with varying degrees of viability. They are discussed more in detail in a later section, but they include: Regieleki, Volcarona, Espathra, Palafin, Landorus, Magearna, Ogerpon-Hearthflame, Roaring Moon, and Sneasler.
- Many custom moves, abilities and items have been added - From the addition of the brand new item Baseball Bat, that boosts contact moves by ×1.25 and halves damage from Ball and Bomb moves (at the cost of said item being consumed upon being hit), to the existence of new Paradox abilities that function for every Terrain and Weather, to new moves like Chain Lighting (physical Electric Water Shuriken clone) and Shelter (a status move that removes specifically Stealth Rock and Spikes while boosting the user's defense by 1 stage for each type), Vaporemons is filled with many brand new changes to the tools available for use for threats in the meta.
For more details on what's good and what's different in Vaporemons, check out this post and the resources attached to it.
With that being said, let's get into our team!
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Knock Off
- Wash Away
- U-turn
- Roost
You can't build Rain without Pelipper. Nothing much to say about it, its more or less standard Pelipper with the exception of its new move Wash Away. Wash Away is an 80 BP -6 priority special Water move, that clears the field of all hazards and forces out the target, making it an extremely useful tool for rain teams to utilize for Hazard Control and phazing alike. Next, I seeked a Grass and Electric defensive switch in, particularly one that can tussle against Iron Hands, thus
Amoonguss @ Eject Button
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Clear Smog
Amoonguss is a fantastic asset for Rain, being abke to comfortably switch into threats like Rillaboom, Shaymin, Thundurus lacking Psychic, Jolteon (while Rain is active) and the aforementioned Iron Hands, all major threats to the team due to their powerful Electrix and Grass STABs. The set itself is just like what you would find in OU, with the addition of Eject Button to provide essentially a guaranteed 1 time safe switvhin for our Water type wallbreakers. Next I wanted a Stealth Rock setter, and a little more insurance against Rillaboom due to wanting to save Amoong for the much more dangerous Hands, so I went with new standout
Archaludon @ Eject Pack
Ability: Stamina
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Electro Shot
- Draco Meteor
- Echo Chamber
Archaludon bullies the hell out of many Pokémon in the tier, and Electro Shot is an easy move to spam, as many Ground mons do not want to switch into it's dual STAB. I employed Eject Pack + Draco Meteor for pseudo pivoting because maintaining momentum is a key aspect to keeping this team. Echo Chamber is a new 90 BP Steel type sound based special move, with the unique aspect of being boosted by 1.5 if it is used again the following turn (resets afterwards). This essentially makes the move particularly hard to hadle from high SpA mons because just because you can tank the initial hit, the boosted one might be too hard to eat. Ofc Stealth Rock is nice for chip, and you have a decent matchuo versus commom hazard removal anyway. After adding these guys, I decided to get started on our water type rain breakers.
Basculegion (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flip Turn
- Wave Crash
- Choke
- Aqua Jet
Basculegion is a great wallbreaker and the defacto choice for Rain wallbreaking imo. Performs all of the same roles that Basc performs in OU, but what makes it especially crazy is the addition of a real Ghost type STAB move in Choke, which is an 80 BP physical Ghost STAB that applies Heal Block. This makes a already difficult Pokémon mon to switch into even harder to play around, as very little Pokémon can take the onslaught of both Choke and Wave Crash under Rain, while also completely shutting down healing AND Regenerator (a buff to the mechanic of Heal Block).
Inteleon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Torrent
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Snipe Shot
- Flip Turn
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse
Inteleon is really a fun meme pick that actually performs hilariously well in rain in part due to the modification s to it's signature move and it's ability Torrent. Torrent now boosts all Water type moves by 1.2 right off the bat, and all moves by 1.5 at 1/3 HP or less. Making Water STAB in rain extremely dangerous to switch in. Snipe Shot amplifies hat, as it has been turned into a Water type special Flower Trick clone. This essentially gives Inteleon a never miss 105 BP Water STAB that bypasses SpD boosts, making it truly a dangerous menace to face. Dark Pulse is really just for Volcanion. Ice Beam hits Grasses, Dragon types and the rare Clodsire.
Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Focus Blast
- Hurricane
- U-turn
Final guy is just based Nasty Plot Tormadus-T, throwing out +2 Hurricanes and all that to blast open anything that can somehow stomach the rain onslaught, gives teams offensive pressure versus Grasses and the like, and is just a really good offensive pivot all around. Focus Blast nails Heatran and other Steek types that try to block Hurricane and blow them back as well. U-turn always preserves momentum. Lovely Pokémon.
**
Iron Hands**Iron Hands if played right can send a team to hell with how hard it it can be to deal with. A mentioned before, Hands has access to Chain Lightning, which makes it very easy for SD variants to sweep most rain teams that are not prepped for it, and this team is not different. Amoonguss is important, but SD Ice Punch can put you in a pack if not handled carefully.
**
Fast Electric types
**Similar to Hands, its pretty annoying for Rain teams to handle. Once Rain is down mot teams have to play extremely carefully around these two threats, primarily because of their shared ability Battle Spines, which adds an additional 1/8th extra damage everytime it lands an attack. Keeping up Rain and just killing them + careful playing with Amoonguss is your best friend.
**
Volcanion**Water Absorb + Fire STAB for Amoong (even with Rain up) makes Volc a hardy deterrent for Rain, but luckily for us Torn T and Arch can quicky force it out if Rain is up.
Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2028069271?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9vaporemons-2027105226
(I couldn't find another one that's saved ;-;)
Thanks to everyone who I battle with this team, and especially thanks to SparkRolf, the player who inspired the creation of this team.
Thanks for reading amd please give feedback!
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