Whatchu Got? Our Preferred MEvos

By Birkal, aim, Bloo, CrashinBoomBang, C05ta, JabbaTheGriffin, and PttP. Art by ToxicPhox.

One of the biggest competitive mechanic changes to Pokémon has come to us in Generation 6 through the form of Mega Evolutions. They give already strong Pokémon a massive boost that can help change the tide of a battle. The catch? You can only have one Mega Evolution per team. So... what do you choose as a competitive battler? How do you make that selection? Which Mega Evolutions are worth the singular slot on your team?

In an effort to answer these questions, I've sent along a questionnaire to six of the most prominent battlers in XY OU to date. aim is a YouTube phenomena with over 40,000 subscribers. Bloo has served as the head of Smogon Tournaments and Battling 101 for a few years now. CrashinBoomBang is an import from Pokémon Online who covers the whole gambit of tiers, from BW NU to ADV OU. C05ta is an upstart who came out of nowhere to take three wins in the first half of Smogon Premier League 5. JabbaTheGriffin played a major role in tiering in Generation 5 and is now working his way up in Battle Spot. PttP is our resident Eo Ut Mortus loather and also a bigshot on the ladder. The six joined together to discuss one simple question: "Whatchu got?" Which Mega Evolutions do our top players prefer? I found their answers quite interesting, and I hope you will too.

aim

Which Mega Evolution is your current favorite in OU? Whatchu got?

Why is that? What makes it so great?

Its ability to set up on a plethora of commonly used Pokémon, such as Rotom and Heatran, as well as its amazing bulk, offensive power, and its unpredictability before and even after it Mega Evolves is what I believe makes this Pokémon so great

What kinds of sets have you run on this Pokémon? Which one is your favorite?

I have ran bulky Dragon Dance with Dragon Claw, Flare Blitz Roost DD, Offensive DD with Dragon Claw or Outrage, Flare Blitz, and Earthquake, and tank Charizard X, which is my personal favorite. This tank set runs Earthquake, Will-O-Wisp, Dragon Claw, and Roost. It literally walled Genesect, Thundurus, and Rotom-W while beating +2 Bisharp, which is why it is definitely my favorite.

Do you think its "popular" sets are overrated or truly the best?

I believe that all of its sets work well. It's honestly hard to compare them, especially if they fit on the team at hand. Charizard's immediate ability to pressure the opponent and hit hard as well as its unpredictability allow it to function well no matter the set.

What are your favorite teammates for this Mega Evolution? Why?

All the sets need a spinner or Defog user, because if Charizard comes in on Stealth Rock, half of its life is chipped away.

The DD/EQ one just needs offensive pressure from the likes of Pokémon such as Thundurus that can immediately weaken and beat Pokémon like Hippowdon and Mandibuzz which can otherwise beat Charizard with Earthquake and Foul Play, respectively.

The Roost/DD version needs Pokémon that force Heatran to come in and take hits, such as Surf Latios and Thundurus, as well as Aegislash which can weaken Heatran for Charizard.

As for the tank set, it just needs defensive synergy teammates like Skarmory for entry hazards/Defog since the tank set literally just sits there and walls.

Got any good replays to share of you using this Mega Evolution?

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ou-279 Tank Charizard X

Final thoughts?

Charizard X is such a threat. It's cool how everyone's favorite starter/Pokémon became such a threat just because of a Mega Evolution. For more educational Pokémon content... rate comment sub and later guys :]]

JabbaTheGriffin

Which Mega Evolution is your current favorite in OU? Whatchu got?

Why is that? What makes it so great?

This was a really tough one. With Mega Luke gone, there's no doubt that Mega Pinsir is the most dominant Mega in the metagame. I reckon it'll be gone soon (the sooner the better). But my favorite is definitely Heracross. I have a soft spot for Mega Evolutions that look downright retarded (I was tempted to answer Manectric) and another soft spot for Mega Evolutions that 2HKO the entire metagame without setup (I was also tempted to answer Medicham), but Heracross is something else. His dedication to building gains on his forearms is truly inspiring and I don't know what's going on with his face but I like it. There are competitive reasons too, but no one wants to hear about that.

What kinds of sets have you run on this Pokémon? Which one is your favorite?

Okay I guess I'll talk about competitive stuff if you insist. Right now Pin Missile / Close Combat / Rock Blast / Earthquake is the best set. I haven't really run anything else because nothing else would really work in the metagame. Pin Missile, CC, and Rock Blast are all staples, while Heracross has some leeway with the fourth move. Or rather, it would be that way if Aegislash didn't exist. Aegislash absolutely hard walls the three moves I listed as staples and right now; getting walled by Aegislash is most definitely something you don't want for your strongest pocket monster. If Aegislash wasn't around, then that last slot would mostly be an option between Bullet Seed and Swords Dance. SD would let Heracross run through slower teams even more easily, while Bullet Seed is kinda bad but still ups the damage output on Rotom-W and Hippowdon (it OHKOs Rotom-W after rocks, letting Heracross kill it before it uses Will-O-Wisp). Substitute would also be an option to ease prediction, though chipping away at Heracross's bulk isn't recommended (SubPunch sure would be neat though).

Do you think its "popular" sets are overrated or truly the best?

They're the best...around. Nothing's gonna ever keep them down.

Like I said, it really has limited options. Most Mega Evolutions do. They generally have one set and they do it better than anything else. That's why they're Mega. #deep

What are your favorite teammates for this Mega Evolution? Why?

I usually use it on offense; so since it clearly skipped leg day, I like to surround it with faster threats. Heracross usually serves the purpose on my teams of being my answer to stall. Against offense it never really gets a time to shine. It has a few spots it can come in and get a guaranteed kill, but after that it usually needs to be sacrificed. A usual one for one trade with offense isn't the worst you can get with a Pokémon that nearly guarantees that you won't lose to stall, so I still consider Heracross a great Pokémon, even with its setbacks.

Anyway back to the question, some specific Pokémon that I like to pair up with Heracross are Thundurus for the ability to check Pinsir that might come in against it and for the potential paralysis support, Deoxys-S for hazard support that turn some 2HKOs into OHKOs (that's applicable to every offensive Pokémon though), and Scolipede because nothing is more hilarious than a +2/+2 Heracross except when you put all that effort into it and your opponent has Talonflame. Don't do that.

Got any good replays to share of you using this Mega Evolution?

Not really. I don't save many replays, so my options are pretty much limited to SPL and OST. When I used Hera in OST, it didn't get a chance to shine (it wrecked a Manaphy then my Mega Gardevoir weakness got exploited). I have one replay from SPL against Yusuke that sort of shows why Heracross is neat: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ou-378

I probably would have lost the battle had I not crit Clefable earlier, but I was in a situation where I was down and needed to finish off a full health Aegislash, Gastrodon, and Mandibuzz. Heracross had absolutely no problems with doing that. The list of Pokémon that could have done that as easily as Heracross are pretty limited (even special Mega Luke would have had issues there) and I think it shows exactly what Heracross is good for.

Final thoughts?

Like me, Mega Heracross is the best and the strongest and gets the most women. That is all.

C05ta

Which Mega Evolution is your current favorite in OU? Whatchu got?

Why is that? What makes it so great?

Mega Tyranitar is an extremely scary Dragon Dancer with incredible bulk. It can DD on a standard Excadrill's EQ or take a CB Scizor's BP and continue a sweep due to its incredible Defense stat. It also sees many opportunities to set-up on the omnipresent Lati twins.

What kinds of sets have you run on this Pokémon? Which one is your favorite?

Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch

This is my go-to DD set. With Ice Punch for coverage, Tyranitar is going to be able to OHKO Landorus-T/Gliscor, and EQ lets it get past Aegislash/Heatran without any mindgames. Tyranitar is not going to be able to break through stuff like a full health Skarmory without Stone Edge, but that's what teammates are for.

Do you think its "popular" sets are overrated or truly the best?

I don't know why people are running sets other than this. Maybe there's a better EV spread out there but this is definitely the moveset you want for DD Tyranitar.

What are your favorite teammates for this Mega Evolution? Why?

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Hidden Power Flying

Specs Keldeo really doesn't get the love it deserves. It essentially forces the opponent to bring in something that can be set-up on by Mega Tyranitar. The Latis are a free DD and Mega Venusaur doesn't appreciate Sand Stream at all.

Got any good replays to share of you using this Mega Evolution?

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-85057752

While DD Tyranitar usually shines at tearing apart offensive teams, here's a look at DD Tyranitar helping break apart stall. My opponent had two DD Tyranitar counters but I was still able to make it productive in the game. The sand it provides limits Venusaur to 33% recovery, which is simply not enough to stand up to the rest of the team. There's a fair amount of nice double switches as well.

Final thoughts?

I should fix my sleeping schedule so I don't miss SPL matches.

PttP

Which Mega Evolution is your current favorite in OU? Whatchu got?

Why is that? What makes it so great?

The thing that makes Charizard so great in my eyes is the unpredictable aspect of it. Both of its Mega Evolutions are so viable and versatile that, for the most part, it's a complete coinflip as to which form you are facing. This causes an unbelievable amount of stress onto the opponent, which can help flip the game into your favor. I have a few of my SPL match replays that show this dynamic feature.

What kinds of sets have you run on this PPokémon? Which one is your favorite?

Because I'm kind of cheating through my choice of Charizard, there are a multitude of sets I run. On Charizard Y, I mainly just go with the cookie cutter 3 attacks + Roost set because in all honesty, that's all Charizard Y really needs to do. Just abuse the firepower it was given to the maximum, while recovering health every now and then. On Charizard X, this set is by far my favorite:

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 248 HP / 88 SpD / 172 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Will-O-Wisp

After aim dominated with it week 1 of SPL, this set caught a lot of traction among the premier battlers. His spread is probably much more efficient than mine, but this spread works too I guess. It outspeeds positive-natured maximum Speed Heatran that threaten to get an Earth Power off, which can be incredibly important (as you will see in my week 5 match). The rest is placed into its bulk so it can actually tank hits and whatnot. What makes this set go is the fact that most of the Pokémon that switch into Charizard X absolutely despise burns, such as Hippowdon and Landorus-T. Combine that with the fact that even without investment, Charizard X hits like a truck, and you have a menace on your hands.

Do you think its "popular" sets are overrated or truly the best?

I suppose that the most popular set for Charizard X is its Dragon Dance set, which in all fairness is an excellent set in itself. I just don't feel that that set is especially effective when it comes to battling other elite battlers because they are well prepared for that set. Bulky Will-O-Wisp Charizard X is a little harder to prepare for and fairs better in upper echelon play, in my opinion.

What are your favorite teammates for this Mega Evolution? Why?

Skarmory is a favorite of mine because of the fact that it can switch into Ground-types that threaten Charizard X because it doesn't enjoy taking STAB Earthquakes, even if the opposition is burned. I also like pairing it with Tyranitar because Latios and Latias are common switch-ins, and Tyranitar can completely eliminate them with a Pursuit. Tyranitar also pairs magnificently with Charizard-Y, mostly because Latios and Latias are the standard switch-ins to it. Obviously having some sort of spin / Defog support is required for Charizard, and that's also why I love pairing Skarmory with Charizard X.

Got any good replays to share of you using this Mega Evolution?

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ou-759

In my opinion, this battle completely shows the unpredictability of Charizard. On turn 12, I was faced with quite a dilemma. My opponent had a full health Thundurus while I had 3 Pokémon that were all OHKOed by Thundurus in Charizard, Politoed, and Kabutops. I decided that my best path to victory was sending in Charizard by trying to bluff a Charizard X set while instead actually being Charizard Y. If Charizard only had one Mega Evolution in Charizard Y, I would have lost that game on the spot. However, because there are two variants of Mega Charizard, my opponent had to account for the threat of Dragon Dance Charizard X and decided that using Thunder Wave was the best option, as a Thunderbolt against Charizard X would have led to an immediate loss. Because of this, I was able to KO the Thundurus, and put myself in a position to win the game (of course I didn't account for the paralysis to actually come back to bite me in the ass later in the game, but it happens).

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ou-1471

In this game, Charizard X was the sole reason I won this game. After the first 4 turns, I was able to deal 47% damage to his Landorus-T, while also burning it in the process. Then, on turn 15, I was able to take out his 88% Heatran in one blow. I suppose he stayed in to Earth Power me in case I decided to Roost, but being the master Pokémon player I am, I was having none of that and decided that the path to victory included me making sacrifices to open up a Tyranitar sweep. The Landorus-T ended up doing absolutely nothing and died to Stealth Rock damage a number of turns later, and so at that point I had eliminated the 2 main obstacles to my Choice Scarf Tyranitar sweeping in Heatran and Landorus-T, all thanks to the work Charizard X did. After my ace playing weakened Mega Heracross into Stone Edge KO range, I decided to call upon my inner Krack after missing my first 2 Stone Edge's to hit the 2 Stone Edges that actually mattered and won the game.

Final thoughts?

No, bro fist, I did not have a "massive" team advantage in week 5. You are literally the only one who thinks I did and I just happened to outplay your player to win myself the game, so, ha. I would also like to thank Eo Ut Mortus and MarceloDK for sacrificing their records in order to make me feel better about mine. I want to give a double shoutout to Eo Ut Mortus for demonstrating how NOT to use Charizard-X in his OST round 1 match against Kid Buu: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ou-532 and http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ou-531. [kacaw] PttP represent.

CrashinBoomBang

Which Mega Evolution is your current favorite in OU? Whatchu got?

Why is that? What makes it so great?

As long as you have Mega Venu on the field many hard-to-cover Pokémon are no issue at all (Conkeldurr, Azumarill, Manaphy without Psychic, and Clefable to name but a few). Thick Fat + Poison / Grass is one of the best ability + typing combinations in existence and makes Mega Venusaur both a powerful stall tool and a terrifying offensive pivot.

What kinds of sets have you run on this Pokémon? Which one is your favorite?

I tried pretty much any set from physically defensive to specially defensive to offensive but my favorite set is by far:

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 48 SpA / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
- Sleep Powder

Giga Drain and, at least in my opinion, Sludge Bomb are mandatory on Venusaur and so is the instant recovery provided by Synthesis. Sleep Powder is my favorite 4th move because it takes out any of its usual switchins, not just select ones such as Earthquake for Heatran (which leaves you unable to do anything at all to Scizor). Of course, it's limited to one Pokémon at a time but its utility is just invaluable for offensive teams. Defense is preferred over Special Defense as it allows Venusaur to check Pokémon such as Garchomp, Landorus-T and even Talonflame (Choice Band Brave Bird never OHKOes) much better while still taking on Psychic-less Manaphy, Keldeo, Extrasensory-less Greninja, and HP Flying-less Thundurus, all of which threaten offense a lot. The only Pokémon you really miss out on is Aegislash, and you can't hurt it without Earthquake or Hidden Power anyway.

Do you think its "popular" sets are overrated or truly the best?

Most people say its specially defensive set is the best but I disagree because of the reasons outlined above. It does have its niche, that's for sure, but on offensive or balanced teams where I usually run Venusaur (since I rarely run Stall), physically defensive Venusaur is preferable. I also think Earthquake is a horrible move on Mega Venusaur, especially that Lucario is now gone. Hidden Power Fire is ok, but also a lot less powerful with Genesect banned. Power Whip is complete junk because you sometimes can't avoid getting burnt by Pokémon such as Rotom-W and the added recovery by Giga Drain is much appreciated. And I'd rather deal with a "counter" through Sleep Powder than deal miniscule damage with Knock Off or Leech Seed.

What are your favorite teammates for this Mega Evolution? Why?

Pokémon that can keep its usual switchins at bay (Stuff such as Aegislash, Scizor, Charizard Y, and Pinsir). First one that comes to mind is Heatran (both specially defensive and Scarftran), but Venusaur has many, many very good teammates. Other ones include bulky Dragonite with Roost and Landorus-T.

Got any good replays to share of you using this Mega Evolution?

Uh, I don't usually play much on Showdown, but despite me losing my week 1 battle I think it was a pretty good showcasing of how Venusaur sets up a win condition just because many Pokémon can't touch it at all. http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ou-278

Final thoughts?

Fuck Bloo, he's a horrible teammate and counterteams us in testing and laughs at our reactions and claims all OUR great ideas for his own end this fucking tyranny I'm fucking tired of this shit

MAMBAS

Bloo

Which Mega Evolution is your current favorite in OU? Whatchu got?

Why is that? What makes it so great?

It's actually really nuts how a Pokémon can go from being never used (in the literal sense and tiering sense!) to one of the biggest threats in the new generation! I'm not very sure why Mawile is so good now, but its newly gifted Fairy / Steel typing and Huge Power ability probably have something to do with it (aren't I just wonderful at sarcasm!). Fairy / Steel is a phenomenal typing, boasting more resistances than I can be bothered to look up or think of, and two immunities. This is a particularly important point because it provides Mawile with plenty of opportunities to find a chance to set up and go str8 to town on the opponent's team. For example, with its Dragon immunity and the abundance of Latios and Latias in this metagame, Mawile can switch in pretty comfortably and proceed to Mega Evolve, then use something like Swords Dance to threaten a sweep or set-up a Substitute and move accordingly to what your opponent sends in (it likely won't like taking one of Mawile's moves). Access to Sucker Punch also plays a critical role in Mawile's success seeing as the move helps compensate for its lackluster Speed and threaten faster Pokémon. I could go on for years about what makes Mawile so great, but I've been working on not being a wordy Birkal like I usually am, so I'll end this little paragraph by saying that before Mawile Mega Evolves, it can take advantage of its Intimidate ability to better switch-in on things like Conkeldurr, further providing more switch in and set-up opportunities. Long story short, Mawile is nothing but a fren.

What kinds of sets have you run on this Pokémon? Which one is your favorite?

Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off

This is the move set I use the most, along with SubPunch. While Mawile can run more defensive sets with RestTalk and loads of bulk, I think its Swords Dance set and SubPunch set are what makes Mawile shine, as they make fantastic use of its offensive capabilities. There are a few ways you can EV Swords Dance Mawile, such as giving it max Speed to outrun things like defensive Heatran with 0 Speed, or 0 Speed Rotom-W if you use a Jolly nature, but I prefer investing in some bulk and using a positive Attack nature to make full use of Mawile's strength. Some moves like Fire Fang, Substitute, and Iron Head could be used in lieu of Knock Off, but Knock Off is so insanely good this generation that I find it to be the best option, especially when coming off such a skyhigh Attack stat.

Do you think its "popular" sets are overrated or truly the best?

Mawile's most popular sets are definitely Swords Dance and SubPunch, which are the two sets that most people should be using in my opinion, so I believe players are using this little guy to its best capacity.

What are your favorite teammates for this Mega Evolution? Why?

Even though it was banned, I found special Genesect with Life Orb, Bug Buzz and Hidden Power Ground to be a great partner to Mega Mawile as it did a nice job of weakening two things Mega Mawile hates: Rotom-W because of the threat it poses with burning it with Will-O-Wisp, and Heatran, which should be self explanatory. Because Mawile despises status, I find Conkeldurr to be a nice partner for it too; it switches into Rotom-W quite nicely and can take advantage of its Will-O-Wisp with Guts. Special Water-types like Keldeo and Greninja I find are good partners to Mawile as well. Mega Venusaur is an annoyance for Mawile, and with something like Extrasensory, which is seeing more use, Greninja can do a number on Mega Venusaur while being overall threatening for a lot of teams, making things easier for Mawile later on. Keldeo is also quite nice since it hits extremely hard with Choice Specs and can potentially burn Venusaur with Scald. Both cover Mawile's Fire weakness and can threaten Ground-types like Hippowdon and Landorus-T which are annoying for Mawile too. Other than that, Mawile is pretty independent, but those are some partners I like using along with it.

Got any good replays to share of you using this Mega Evolution?

I used Mawile in my week 3 match vs AB2 in SPL, which can be seen here. It was my main way of dealing damage to his team and I very likely wouldn't have been able to break through his team without Mawile's presence.

Final thoughts?

I would just like to say CrashinBoomBang is complete garbage. For some reason he thinks he's actually good at XY OU when all he does is win through match-up, hax, and his opponents choking, as evidenced by nearly all his SPL games this season thus far. Not to mention he always tries to make fancy plays and make people think he's good by double switching constantly when it isn't necessary. This match is a good example of all of the aforementioned. Additionally, he claims I "counterteam" him in testing, but the reality is when I use a not-so-common set and proceed to comfortably outplay him, he gets mad and claims I used it to purposely beat him.

To everyone reading, if you ever face this guy in a tournament, please please please bring one of the following things: 1) Mega Gardevoir (he claims it's garbage but loses three Pokémon per game to it each time); 2) Stall (100% win record vs him); 3) A team with full entry hazards (he never brings Defog or Rapid Spin, making for easy games). Trust me, you'll win guaranteed.

Oh and of course, Mawile is usually pretty darn good against him too!

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