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Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
Project SV RU Victim of the Week: Week 8! Galarian Zapdos!
- Thread starter Ming549
- Start date
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Counter:
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Check: munki
Counter: wochien
Counter: wochien
Thank you to everyone who voted! Congratulations to HoopsspooH for winning both Check AND Counter for the week!
Winning Check
HDB
Winning Counter
Sp Def
For our next victim, we have a mon that rose in the last set of Tier Shifts back and has been making waves recently in rupl and rugl... Armarouge!
Armarouge @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Armor Cannon
- Psyshock
- Energy Ball
Armarouge has had a meteoric rise from a basically unused mon to one of the scariest sweeping options in the tier. The combination of a fantastic base 125 Sp Atk, access to easy boosting in Calm Mind, and the ability Weak Armor to shore up its middling speed, makes Armarouge one of the most capable one man armies in the tier.
Submissions End on Friday May 24th
Winning Check
HDB
Winning Counter
Sp Def
For our next victim, we have a mon that rose in the last set of Tier Shifts back and has been making waves recently in rupl and rugl... Armarouge!
Armarouge @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Armor Cannon
- Psyshock
- Energy Ball
Armarouge has had a meteoric rise from a basically unused mon to one of the scariest sweeping options in the tier. The combination of a fantastic base 125 Sp Atk, access to easy boosting in Calm Mind, and the ability Weak Armor to shore up its middling speed, makes Armarouge one of the most capable one man armies in the tier.
Submissions End on Friday May 24th
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Counter
Incineroar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Parting Shot
Incineroar is immune to Psyshock and takes next to nothing from Energy Ball, meanwhile, either Armarouge is forced to Tera to not get eviscerated by Knock Off and Incineroar still wins the interaction due to Weak Armor and Armor Cannon both reducing Defense leading to a guaranteed KO with Flare Blitz, or Armarouge is forced to switch out and you get a free Knock Off/Parting Shot.
Incineroar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Parting Shot
Incineroar is immune to Psyshock and takes next to nothing from Energy Ball, meanwhile, either Armarouge is forced to Tera to not get eviscerated by Knock Off and Incineroar still wins the interaction due to Weak Armor and Armor Cannon both reducing Defense leading to a guaranteed KO with Flare Blitz, or Armarouge is forced to switch out and you get a free Knock Off/Parting Shot.
the CounterHoundoom @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Flamethrower
- Nasty Plot
- Super Fang
Yeah, another Dark/Fire type... except this hot dog can actually benefit from switching in on an Armor Cannon!
I decided to go with a Nasty Plot set with STAB's in Dark Pulse and Flamethrower, with the safe 4th move of Super Fang to force progress into whatever decides to switch-in, such as Cyclizar. Houndoom also has a really great matchup into relevant meta threats such as Bisharp, Jirachi and Slowbro.
Calcs:
+6 252 SpA Armarouge Energy Ball vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Houndoom: 228-268 (78.3 - 92%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Houndoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Armarouge: 278-330 (89.3 - 106.1%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Houndoom Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Armarouge: 78-93 (25 - 29.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO (~40 if Flash Fire is active)
252 SpA Houndoom Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tera Fairy Armarouge: 157-186 (50.4 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (~75 Flash Fire)
+6 252 SpA Armarouge Energy Ball vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Houndoom: 228-268 (78.3 - 92%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Houndoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Armarouge: 278-330 (89.3 - 106.1%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Houndoom Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Armarouge: 78-93 (25 - 29.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO (~40 if Flash Fire is active)
252 SpA Houndoom Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tera Fairy Armarouge: 157-186 (50.4 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (~75 Flash Fire)
Check:
Entei @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
Entei is a check to armarouge. With stone edge or crunch, which helps deal with other good mons such as slowbro and moltres, entei can deal serious damage to armarouge, while still being able to take even a +1 psyshock easily. If armarouge decides to tera fairy, stone edge is still doing 50% to it, and the defense drop means that extreme speed is going to be picking it off with a bit of chip beforehand. Tera dark means that entei can avoid psyshock if needed.
Counter:
Arcanine @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Morning Sun
- Extreme Speed
- Flare Blitz
- Crunch
Arcanine is a counter to armarouge. It of course has flash fire in order to deal with armour cannon and with max hp investment, can never be 2hit ko'd by psyshock from full. From here, arcanine can recover off the damage with morning sun and then hit armarouge with crunch, which does big damage and puts it into e-speed range. Conversely, if they tera fairy on the crunch turn, then they have a good chance to be ohko'd by flare blitz afterwards. Tera dark means in a pinch you can become immune to psyshock.
Entei @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
Entei is a check to armarouge. With stone edge or crunch, which helps deal with other good mons such as slowbro and moltres, entei can deal serious damage to armarouge, while still being able to take even a +1 psyshock easily. If armarouge decides to tera fairy, stone edge is still doing 50% to it, and the defense drop means that extreme speed is going to be picking it off with a bit of chip beforehand. Tera dark means that entei can avoid psyshock if needed.
Counter:
Arcanine @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Morning Sun
- Extreme Speed
- Flare Blitz
- Crunch
Arcanine is a counter to armarouge. It of course has flash fire in order to deal with armour cannon and with max hp investment, can never be 2hit ko'd by psyshock from full. From here, arcanine can recover off the damage with morning sun and then hit armarouge with crunch, which does big damage and puts it into e-speed range. Conversely, if they tera fairy on the crunch turn, then they have a good chance to be ohko'd by flare blitz afterwards. Tera dark means in a pinch you can become immune to psyshock.
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Counter:
AV-Alolan-Muk
Muk-Alola @ Assault Vest
Level: 100
Careful Nature
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 248 SpD
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Shadow Sneak
- Drain Punch
One of my favorite sets of all time, AV-muk boasts insane spdef and an immunity to psychock meaning it can easily take any hit from armouraouge and hit back with super effective knock off or super effective poison jab on tera
252 SpA Armarouge Armor Cannon vs. 248 HP / 248+ SpD Assault Vest Muk-Alola: 93-109 (22.5 - 26.3%) -- 14.8% chance to 4HKO
+1 252 SpA Armarouge Armor Cannon vs. 248 HP / 248+ SpD Assault Vest Muk-Alola: 138-163 (33.4 - 39.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Muk-Alola Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Armarouge: 218-258 (70 - 82.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Muk-Alola Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Armarouge: 60-72 (19.2 - 23.1%) -- possible 5HKO
0 Atk Muk-Alola Poison Jab vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tera Fairy Armarouge: 180-212 (57.8 - 68.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Check:
Cincinno
Cinccino @ Loaded Dice
Level: 100
Jolly Nature
Tera Type: Ghost
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Tail Slap
- Knock Off
- Triple Axel
- Tidy Up
you outspeed armarouge and use its own weak armor against it for a clean ohkoe with tail slap
252 Atk Technician Cinccino Tail Slap (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Weak Armor Armarouge: 344-407 (110.6 - 130.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Technician Cinccino Tail Slap (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Weak Armor Tera Fairy Armarouge: 344-407 (110.6 - 130.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
AV-Alolan-Muk
Muk-Alola @ Assault Vest
Level: 100
Careful Nature
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 248 SpD
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Shadow Sneak
- Drain Punch
One of my favorite sets of all time, AV-muk boasts insane spdef and an immunity to psychock meaning it can easily take any hit from armouraouge and hit back with super effective knock off or super effective poison jab on tera
252 SpA Armarouge Armor Cannon vs. 248 HP / 248+ SpD Assault Vest Muk-Alola: 93-109 (22.5 - 26.3%) -- 14.8% chance to 4HKO
+1 252 SpA Armarouge Armor Cannon vs. 248 HP / 248+ SpD Assault Vest Muk-Alola: 138-163 (33.4 - 39.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Muk-Alola Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Armarouge: 218-258 (70 - 82.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Muk-Alola Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Armarouge: 60-72 (19.2 - 23.1%) -- possible 5HKO
0 Atk Muk-Alola Poison Jab vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tera Fairy Armarouge: 180-212 (57.8 - 68.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Check:
Cincinno
Cinccino @ Loaded Dice
Level: 100
Jolly Nature
Tera Type: Ghost
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Tail Slap
- Knock Off
- Triple Axel
- Tidy Up
you outspeed armarouge and use its own weak armor against it for a clean ohkoe with tail slap
252 Atk Technician Cinccino Tail Slap (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Weak Armor Armarouge: 344-407 (110.6 - 130.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Technician Cinccino Tail Slap (4 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Weak Armor Tera Fairy Armarouge: 344-407 (110.6 - 130.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
voting time, we started a day late, so i figured might as well give an extra day too although no new submissions came through rip I'll extend voting until tmrw as well, and then probably just bite the bullet and have a shorter week next week. But you all know the drill at this point, you are voting for 1 check + counter and cannot vote for yourself if you submitted. Best of Luck to all those who submitted!
VOTING ENDS MONDAY MAY 27TH
VOTING ENDS MONDAY MAY 27TH
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Thank you to everyone who voted! Congratulations to Heatranator and chuggachuggachooo for winning the week!
For our next victim, we have a retrain of one of the original legendary trio and one of the premier fighting types in RU, Galarian Zapdos!
Zapdos-Galar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Fighting / Flying
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Knock Off
In a tier with a host of prominent fighting types, Galarian Zapdos establishes itself as one of the best. With a great natural typing of Fighting/Flying Gapdos has access to powerful dual stabs in Close Combat and Brave Bird as well as powerful support options such as U-turn to gain momentum and Knock Off to help remove the other teams items. In addition to this unlike most other physically oriented attackers, Zapdos cannot be checked with intimidate mons as its ability defiant would give it a +1 attack boost and turn it into a bigger threat than it already is. This all combined with its respectable base 100 speed and a choice scarf places Gapdos faster than the entire unboosted meta as well as outpacing some other common scarfers such as Basculegion or Gardevoir. Are you ready to throw hands with the Thunderbird?
Submissions End on Friday May 31st
Winning Check
HDB
Winning Counter
AV
HDB
Winning Counter
AV
For our next victim, we have a retrain of one of the original legendary trio and one of the premier fighting types in RU, Galarian Zapdos!
Zapdos-Galar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Fighting / Flying
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Knock Off
In a tier with a host of prominent fighting types, Galarian Zapdos establishes itself as one of the best. With a great natural typing of Fighting/Flying Gapdos has access to powerful dual stabs in Close Combat and Brave Bird as well as powerful support options such as U-turn to gain momentum and Knock Off to help remove the other teams items. In addition to this unlike most other physically oriented attackers, Zapdos cannot be checked with intimidate mons as its ability defiant would give it a +1 attack boost and turn it into a bigger threat than it already is. This all combined with its respectable base 100 speed and a choice scarf places Gapdos faster than the entire unboosted meta as well as outpacing some other common scarfers such as Basculegion or Gardevoir. Are you ready to throw hands with the Thunderbird?
Submissions End on Friday May 31st
Check
Thundurus (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot
- Knock Off
- Thunder Wave
Thundurus's original form is taking over RU after its Therian form got the boot, and it's easy to understand why: Ground-immune Electric, Prankster Thunder Wave, 111 base Speed, Knock Off and STAB Volt Switch are all incredible traits to have, especially in a paralysis-heavy metagame.
Thundurus's typing allows him to resist both of Galarian Zapdos's STABs and narrowly avoid a 2HKO:
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 8 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 127-150 (42.1 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Then, Thundurus can threaten a paralysis with Thunder Wave, Knock Off to remove Zapdos's Choice Scarf making it slower than him, or pivot with Volt Switch while threatening huge damage.
252 SpA Thundurus Volt Switch vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zapdos-Galar: 242-288 (75.3 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Counter
Bellibolt @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Static
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Muddy Water
- Slack Off
- Toxic
Bellibolt leverages its good physical bulk, typing and Static ability to completely ruin contact attackers such as poor Galarian Zapdos, who risks getting effectively KOed for daring to click a button while failing to even having a chance to 2HKO Bellibolt after rocks. Meanwhile, Bellibolt can use its slow Volt Switch to bring in a frail teammate like Crawdaunt on the field, or spread poison with the highly coveted, scarcely distributed Toxic.
Thundurus (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot
- Knock Off
- Thunder Wave
Thundurus's original form is taking over RU after its Therian form got the boot, and it's easy to understand why: Ground-immune Electric, Prankster Thunder Wave, 111 base Speed, Knock Off and STAB Volt Switch are all incredible traits to have, especially in a paralysis-heavy metagame.
Thundurus's typing allows him to resist both of Galarian Zapdos's STABs and narrowly avoid a 2HKO:
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 8 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 127-150 (42.1 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Then, Thundurus can threaten a paralysis with Thunder Wave, Knock Off to remove Zapdos's Choice Scarf making it slower than him, or pivot with Volt Switch while threatening huge damage.
252 SpA Thundurus Volt Switch vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zapdos-Galar: 242-288 (75.3 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Counter
Bellibolt @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Static
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Muddy Water
- Slack Off
- Toxic
Bellibolt leverages its good physical bulk, typing and Static ability to completely ruin contact attackers such as poor Galarian Zapdos, who risks getting effectively KOed for daring to click a button while failing to even having a chance to 2HKO Bellibolt after rocks. Meanwhile, Bellibolt can use its slow Volt Switch to bring in a frail teammate like Crawdaunt on the field, or spread poison with the highly coveted, scarcely distributed Toxic.
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CHECK:
Enamorus-T 2 (Diancie) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss
- Earth Power
- Power Gem
This set basically plays like Enamorus-T's less successful cousin that doesn't get walled by Rotom-H, however do not fret! You see, due to Diancie being kinda bulky already, unlike Enam-T who had to invest in bulk primarily to avoid being roadkill, Diancie's 50/150/150 statline allows it to focus primarily on power, which means that you actually kinda hit harder un-CM'd, which is great in both scramble situations vs. Gapdos and for when you're just using it as a regular mon, and it's SpA investment allows you to really bring the pain when boosted even at +1. Additionally, the low HP means that you're recovering more percentage of your HP, which is great for morale and lets you really appreciate the hits that you're taking.
And of course, being a wincon, Diancie is not solely limited to checking Gapdos, being able to abuse Tera Water to do what Enam-T did, which is turn the Jirachi matchup from a 90-10 in Jirachi's favor to a 60-40 in Jirachi's favor (you can still get paraflinched sadly). You could pick Tera Electric to completely beat Jirachi, but you do that in return for no longer beating Krook post-tera, and Tera Water absolutely ruins Rain HO on ladder.
Also this set beats Gapdos's running Thundurus Kick, since Clear Body prevents the Def. Drop.
The implications of this are that, with a low roll on their end, and a high roll on your end, by pure D-Kiss recovery alone you can outheal their CC. Factor in lefties and you're healing at least 46% (worst case means you take 8%), and at most healing 52% (worst case you take 0.3%) off of an unboosted Draining Kiss, which means that you can always safely switch in and kill em, assuming rocks aren't up, so keep that part in mind.
REPLAY ZONE:
Vs. Feliburn Hisui, GGs btw, the Bellibolt was honestly cooking me 90% of the match
Vs. Nature's Conqueror, who was apparently top 3 on the ladder at the time
if i can find a gapdos on ladder I'll add the replay here if I can remember to do so
COUNTER:
Hippowdon @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
You won't believe this, but the most physically bulky Pokemon in the tier who is neutral to both of Gapdos's stabs with access to recovery, who also commonly runs an item that punishes contact moves, does well into the physical attacking contact move wielding Gapdos.
Stealth Rock helps because it's Stealth Rock, and it helps chip Gapdos when it switches in again, Slack Off, in combination with Rocky Helmet is technically your main damaging move, since you can pretty much always switch the hippo into Gapdos, watch it take a hefty chunk in chip damage, and then be able to recover off the mild damage that it deals.
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 123-145 (29.2 - 34.5%) -- 7.3% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 123-145 (29.2 - 34.5%) -- 7.3% chance to 3HKO
(12.6 - 14.9% recoil damage)
At minimum, factoring in Rocky Helmet + Sand, if you switch into a Gapdos Brave Bird, they take...
12.6 + 16.6 + 6.25, which is equal to 35.45% in chip damage! Factor in the 12% from Stealth Rocks and they're gonna go kaput in 3 or so interactions.
It's also important to note that Hippowdon is also just, like. Hippowdon. It's kinda good.
Enamorus-T 2 (Diancie) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss
- Earth Power
- Power Gem
This set basically plays like Enamorus-T's less successful cousin that doesn't get walled by Rotom-H, however do not fret! You see, due to Diancie being kinda bulky already, unlike Enam-T who had to invest in bulk primarily to avoid being roadkill, Diancie's 50/150/150 statline allows it to focus primarily on power, which means that you actually kinda hit harder un-CM'd, which is great in both scramble situations vs. Gapdos and for when you're just using it as a regular mon, and it's SpA investment allows you to really bring the pain when boosted even at +1. Additionally, the low HP means that you're recovering more percentage of your HP, which is great for morale and lets you really appreciate the hits that you're taking.
And of course, being a wincon, Diancie is not solely limited to checking Gapdos, being able to abuse Tera Water to do what Enam-T did, which is turn the Jirachi matchup from a 90-10 in Jirachi's favor to a 60-40 in Jirachi's favor (you can still get paraflinched sadly). You could pick Tera Electric to completely beat Jirachi, but you do that in return for no longer beating Krook post-tera, and Tera Water absolutely ruins Rain HO on ladder.
Also this set beats Gapdos's running Thundurus Kick, since Clear Body prevents the Def. Drop.
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Diancie: 135-159 (44.4 - 52.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Diancie: 135-159 (44.4 - 52.3%) -- 76.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Diancie Draining Kiss vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zapdos-Galar: 164-194 (51 - 60.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(40.4 - 48% recovered!)
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Diancie: 135-159 (44.4 - 52.3%) -- 76.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Diancie Draining Kiss vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zapdos-Galar: 164-194 (51 - 60.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(40.4 - 48% recovered!)
252+ SpA Diancie Draining Kiss vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Krookodile: 200-236 (60.4 - 71.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ SpA Diancie Draining Kiss vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Krookodile: 300-354 (90.6 - 106.9%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Diancie Draining Kiss vs. 164 HP / 120 SpD Assault Vest Cyclizar: 120-144 (37.2 - 44.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 252+ SpA Diancie Draining Kiss vs. 164 HP / 120 SpD Assault Vest Cyclizar: 182-216 (56.5 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Cyclizar Facade vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Diancie: 25-30 (8.2 - 9.8%) -- possibly the worst move ever
+3 252+ SpA Diancie Draining Kiss vs. 236 HP / 16 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 118-139 (16.8 - 19.8%) -- guaranteed 6HKO
(29.2 - 34.2% recovered)
(important since at this point you out heal Seismic toss with Leftovers, since with lefties seismic is a 4HKO, letting you set up the CM and start making positive HP progress once you hit +3)
+1 252+ SpA Diancie Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Bellibolt: 314-370 (74.4 - 87.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Diancie Power Gem vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-Heat: 338-402 (111.5 - 132.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ SpA Diancie Power Gem vs. Lvl 1 0 HP / 0- SpD Wiglett: 28104-33064 (255490.9 - 300581.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Important calc for ladder
+6 252+ SpA Diancie Power Gem vs. Lvl 1 0 HP / 0- SpD Tera Ice Wiglett: 592-65466 (5381.8 - 595145.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Important calc for if you want an example of the damage overflow glitch
+1 252+ SpA Diancie Draining Kiss vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Krookodile: 300-354 (90.6 - 106.9%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Diancie Draining Kiss vs. 164 HP / 120 SpD Assault Vest Cyclizar: 120-144 (37.2 - 44.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 252+ SpA Diancie Draining Kiss vs. 164 HP / 120 SpD Assault Vest Cyclizar: 182-216 (56.5 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Cyclizar Facade vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Diancie: 25-30 (8.2 - 9.8%) -- possibly the worst move ever
+3 252+ SpA Diancie Draining Kiss vs. 236 HP / 16 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 118-139 (16.8 - 19.8%) -- guaranteed 6HKO
(29.2 - 34.2% recovered)
(important since at this point you out heal Seismic toss with Leftovers, since with lefties seismic is a 4HKO, letting you set up the CM and start making positive HP progress once you hit +3)
+1 252+ SpA Diancie Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Bellibolt: 314-370 (74.4 - 87.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Diancie Power Gem vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-Heat: 338-402 (111.5 - 132.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ SpA Diancie Power Gem vs. Lvl 1 0 HP / 0- SpD Wiglett: 28104-33064 (255490.9 - 300581.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Important calc for ladder
+6 252+ SpA Diancie Power Gem vs. Lvl 1 0 HP / 0- SpD Tera Ice Wiglett: 592-65466 (5381.8 - 595145.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Important calc for if you want an example of the damage overflow glitch
REPLAY ZONE:
Vs. Feliburn Hisui, GGs btw, the Bellibolt was honestly cooking me 90% of the match
Vs. Nature's Conqueror, who was apparently top 3 on the ladder at the time
if i can find a gapdos on ladder I'll add the replay here if I can remember to do so
COUNTER:
Hippowdon @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
You won't believe this, but the most physically bulky Pokemon in the tier who is neutral to both of Gapdos's stabs with access to recovery, who also commonly runs an item that punishes contact moves, does well into the physical attacking contact move wielding Gapdos.
Stealth Rock helps because it's Stealth Rock, and it helps chip Gapdos when it switches in again, Slack Off, in combination with Rocky Helmet is technically your main damaging move, since you can pretty much always switch the hippo into Gapdos, watch it take a hefty chunk in chip damage, and then be able to recover off the mild damage that it deals.
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 123-145 (29.2 - 34.5%) -- 7.3% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 123-145 (29.2 - 34.5%) -- 7.3% chance to 3HKO
(12.6 - 14.9% recoil damage)
At minimum, factoring in Rocky Helmet + Sand, if you switch into a Gapdos Brave Bird, they take...
12.6 + 16.6 + 6.25, which is equal to 35.45% in chip damage! Factor in the 12% from Stealth Rocks and they're gonna go kaput in 3 or so interactions.
It's also important to note that Hippowdon is also just, like. Hippowdon. It's kinda good.
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Apparently we take reservations 
Anyway, submitting Oricorio-Pom-Pom as a counter.
Oricorio-Pom-Pom @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Dancer
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Quiver Dance
- Roost
- Revelation Dance
A forgotten Quiver Dance mon, Ori-P remains relevant in the tier due to its great defensive typing and access to setup + recovery. This particular spread is designed to outspeed up to base 81's (Slither Wing) before a boost and is bulky enough to comfortably take most hits while it gets going. Tera Fairy is my preferred set since you can stop Cyclizar from phazing you while also threatening to OHKO it after you've used it as setup fodder.
Relevant Calcs:
Anyway, submitting Oricorio-Pom-Pom as a counter.
Oricorio-Pom-Pom @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Dancer
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Quiver Dance
- Roost
- Revelation Dance
A forgotten Quiver Dance mon, Ori-P remains relevant in the tier due to its great defensive typing and access to setup + recovery. This particular spread is designed to outspeed up to base 81's (Slither Wing) before a boost and is bulky enough to comfortably take most hits while it gets going. Tera Fairy is my preferred set since you can stop Cyclizar from phazing you while also threatening to OHKO it after you've used it as setup fodder.
Relevant Calcs:
252 Atk Tera Flying Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 96 Def Oricorio-Pom-Pom: 150-177 (42.3 - 50%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 96 Def Oricorio-Pom-Pom: 122-144 (34.4 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Oricorio-Pom-Pom Air Slash vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zapdos-Galar: 174-206 (54.2 - 64.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 96 Def Oricorio-Pom-Pom: 122-144 (34.4 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Oricorio-Pom-Pom Air Slash vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zapdos-Galar: 174-206 (54.2 - 64.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 0 SpA Tera Fairy Oricorio-Pom-Pom Revelation Dance vs. 160 HP / 96 SpD Assault Vest Cyclizar: 318-374 (99 - 116.5%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
+2 0 SpA Oricorio-Pom-Pom Revelation Dance vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Empoleon: 270-320 (72.5 - 86%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 0 SpA Oricorio-Pom-Pom Revelation Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gardevoir: 127-150 (45.8 - 54.1%) -- 53.1% chance to 2HKO
+2 0 SpA Oricorio-Pom-Pom Revelation Dance vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Empoleon: 270-320 (72.5 - 86%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 0 SpA Oricorio-Pom-Pom Revelation Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gardevoir: 127-150 (45.8 - 54.1%) -- 53.1% chance to 2HKO
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Check:
Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Iron Defense
- Rest
- Play Rough
- Thunder Wave
Klefki is a check to gapdos. With this ev spread, klefki can take on 2 cc's from gapdos quite reliably as it only has a 4.7% chance to be 2hit ko'd. Even if it switches into cc, it can potentially live it if there isn't full hazards down as iron defense is priority and thus goes first. From here, klefki can repeatedly boost and throw off either play rough's that 2hit ko gapdos or t-wave it to cripple it immensly. This set in general screws over most physical attackers, so it isn't that bad.
Counter:
Houndstone @ Leftovers
Ability: Fluffy
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
- Night Shade
- Shadow Sneak
Houndstone is a counter to gapdos. With fluffy and amazing physical bulk, gapdos ain't doing shit to this. Knock off does 25% max to it, and then does nothing, with tera flying brave bird being a 4hit ko. With this immense bulk, houndstone can will-o-wisp gapdos while it is ko'ing itself to further decrease its damage output and use pain split ot further chip gapdos while recovering its hp. Night shade deals good consistent damage and is a guarenteed 4hit ko on gapdos. Finally, shadow sneak can pick off gapdos from around 15% hp. Tera electric was chosen to make houndstone resistent to bb while not making it weak to cc.
Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Iron Defense
- Rest
- Play Rough
- Thunder Wave
Klefki is a check to gapdos. With this ev spread, klefki can take on 2 cc's from gapdos quite reliably as it only has a 4.7% chance to be 2hit ko'd. Even if it switches into cc, it can potentially live it if there isn't full hazards down as iron defense is priority and thus goes first. From here, klefki can repeatedly boost and throw off either play rough's that 2hit ko gapdos or t-wave it to cripple it immensly. This set in general screws over most physical attackers, so it isn't that bad.
Counter:
Houndstone @ Leftovers
Ability: Fluffy
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
- Night Shade
- Shadow Sneak
Houndstone is a counter to gapdos. With fluffy and amazing physical bulk, gapdos ain't doing shit to this. Knock off does 25% max to it, and then does nothing, with tera flying brave bird being a 4hit ko. With this immense bulk, houndstone can will-o-wisp gapdos while it is ko'ing itself to further decrease its damage output and use pain split ot further chip gapdos while recovering its hp. Night shade deals good consistent damage and is a guarenteed 4hit ko on gapdos. Finally, shadow sneak can pick off gapdos from around 15% hp. Tera electric was chosen to make houndstone resistent to bb while not making it weak to cc.
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Counter:
Slowbro @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psychic Noise
- Thunder Wave
- Slack Off
its big fucking bro, you know him, you love him, arguably the best mon in the tier currently. Thanks to its superb physical bulk and typing, slowbro is able to eat gapdos's CCs for breakfast while tanking brave birds and slacking the damage off, forcing the gapdos out and giving you the chance to cripple the opponent's team thanks to slowbro's excellent movepool in scald and twave. Knock off only does around 40% with an item, giving you another chance to slack off, and you punish uturns with rocky helmet, alongside rocks and brave bird recoil, letting it slowly kill itself throughout the game.
Check:
Munkidori @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Toxic Chain
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Sludge Wave
- U-turn
- Grass Knot / Trick
:monkeybusiness:, for our check, we have scarf munkidori, who outspeeds and is able to decimate gapdos with a psychic, forcing it to switch it, giving you the chance to either attack and poison an opposing pokemon, or uturn on an incoming steel type, preserving momentum. with a nice speed tier, really good ability, and trick support, I believe scarf munki can put in some work in this tier.
Slowbro @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psychic Noise
- Thunder Wave
- Slack Off
its big fucking bro, you know him, you love him, arguably the best mon in the tier currently. Thanks to its superb physical bulk and typing, slowbro is able to eat gapdos's CCs for breakfast while tanking brave birds and slacking the damage off, forcing the gapdos out and giving you the chance to cripple the opponent's team thanks to slowbro's excellent movepool in scald and twave. Knock off only does around 40% with an item, giving you another chance to slack off, and you punish uturns with rocky helmet, alongside rocks and brave bird recoil, letting it slowly kill itself throughout the game.
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 129-153 (32.7 - 38.8%) -- 99.1% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Tera Flying Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 172-204 (43.6 - 51.7%) -- 9% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 140-166 (35.5 - 42.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 94-112 (23.8 - 28.4%) -- 95.2% chance to 4HKO
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 102-120 (25.8 - 30.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 Atk Tera Flying Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 172-204 (43.6 - 51.7%) -- 9% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 140-166 (35.5 - 42.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 94-112 (23.8 - 28.4%) -- 95.2% chance to 4HKO
252 Atk Zapdos-Galar U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 102-120 (25.8 - 30.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
Check:
Munkidori @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Toxic Chain
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Sludge Wave
- U-turn
- Grass Knot / Trick
:monkeybusiness:, for our check, we have scarf munkidori, who outspeeds and is able to decimate gapdos with a psychic, forcing it to switch it, giving you the chance to either attack and poison an opposing pokemon, or uturn on an incoming steel type, preserving momentum. with a nice speed tier, really good ability, and trick support, I believe scarf munki can put in some work in this tier.
252 SpA Munkidori Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zapdos-Galar: 320-380 (99.6 - 118.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
VOTING TIME!!! Reminder, y'all are voting for 1 Check and 1 Counter. If you submitted a set this week you are not allowed to vote for yourself, best of luck to all those who submitted!
VOTING ENDS SUNDAY JUNE 2ND
Phys Def 
from fluff!!
Rocky Helmet
from Elec-ant1234
Phys Def
from FlamingoPokeman
Phys Def
from Heatranator
Phys Def
from TsuShirogane
from fluff!! Rocky Helmet
from Elec-ant1234 Phys Def
from FlamingoPokeman Phys Def
from Heatranator Phys Def
from TsuShiroganeVOTING ENDS SUNDAY JUNE 2ND
voting elec-ant (rocky helm hippo) for counter and fluff (support thundy) for check
Check: 
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