Gen VI Mega Evolution Discussion Thread

[KillerDraco]

My question: How good is Mega Ampharos in UU? I'd imagine Electric/Dragon typing is a godsend, along with fantastic bulk and Mold Breaker. But the amount of bulky Ground types and powerful Dragon/Ice/Fairy types out there along with Ampharos's slow Speed means it often has to fight for it's place on a team. Is it any good in UU?

It's pretty good. It's sitting within the top 30 usage in UU so it does see some use. Its coverage is pretty good, but also predictable. You know that pretty much every Ampharos is going to carry Thunderbolt/Volt Switch, Focus Blast, and Dragon Pulse. And while it has a ton of power with its high special attack (higher than MegaZard Y, although Drought does help tip the scales) and Mold Breaker to laugh at Lightningrod/Volt Absorb Pokemon and break through Sturdy, that low speed means its relegated to the role of a wall-breaker unless it uses Agility, and even then it can still be outsped. It's not hard to outspeed so it can be revenge killed with some degree of effectiveness, although its bulk helps offset this. To emphasize, standard Modest Ampharos is actually outsped by Hippowdon of all things.

That said, Ampharos's combination of good bulk and low speed give it a fantastic niche on VoltTurn teams. By employing a slow Volt Switch, it practically ensures that the incoming Pokemon gets a free switch in without taking damage. It's also got access to Heal Bell, meaning it can support the team by ridding it of status without giving up too much offensive pressure. There's always surprise status that it can slap onto things as well, such as Thunder Wave or (the albeit rarer) Toxic. It's got a nice mix of offense and support, and no one can deny that it is absolutely fabulous.

Also, has anyone used Mega Medicham much? Pure Power STAB High Jump Kicks off of 328 Attack when fully invested (Adamant) or 299 Attack when invested (Jolly) doubled via Pure Power is terrifying, if dulled out with the amount of Ghost types (Aegislash mainly) in OU.

Enough people used it to get it suspected and banned from UU, that's for sure. Its power is undeniable, although as you mentioned, it has problems with Aegislash, and can be revenge killed pretty easily by all the Brave Birds and Bullet Punches and Shadow Sneaks since its bulk, while better than its base form, is still pretty average. The speed boost is nice too, bumping it up to a good base 100 speed tier. It just doesn't appreciate the myriad of Talonflame and Aegislash running around, and it's very vulnerable to all forms of status as well. Its typing isn't really very good defensively so it can't take many hits. A mixed bag for sure; it's an all-around improvement over regular Medicham, but there's a lot of competition for that Mega Slot, and some of the other Megas that function as wall-breakers like it does (most notably Mega Charizard Y) are a lot easier to use.

 

[Mye]

Yeah, I've seen many people running HP-ice on arcanine specifically for mega ampharos/gligar so clearly its usage is pretty high. Also, Mega-medicham will always remain one of the few pokemon who can never escape the niche of its evolutionary line. Meditite is abused in LC for its physical attack and nothing else (as its typing/bulk leave it weak to things like misdreavus/yamask), non-mega medicham will probably see quite a bit of use as its choiced/life orb versions can do things that the mega form can't (notably OHKO registeel with drain punch, which is a pretty big accomplishment in and of itself), and the actual mega version of it will always see use assuming better versions of it (azumarill) are relegated to the higher tiers. This is just a guess, but I'm almost certain it'll unfold like this:

OU: Azumarill
UU: Medichamite
RU: Medicham/Diggersby (this is assuming that doublade will be in UU for at least the first half of 6th gen)

 

[KillerDraco]

Yeah, I've seen many people running HP-ice on arcanine specifically for mega ampharos/gligar so clearly its usage is pretty high.

Er, not really. HP Ice's usage on Arcanine in the UU tier is less than 2%, which is less than Outrage on Arcanine (which is if you want to be really ballsy since it can 2HKO Mega Ampharos). Gligar's usage in UU is pretty low too. But more to the point, HP Ice doesn't really scratch Mega Ampharos, either...

252 SpA Arcanine Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Ampharos: 102-120 (26.5 - 31.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

Most Arcanine don't run full special attack EVs or even mixed sets, either. They tend to run fully physical, in which case Close Combat does more damage (although Arcanine in general has difficulty breaking through Mega Ampharos), or they run bulky sets. For instance...

252 Atk Arcanine Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Ampharos: 112-132 (29.1 - 34.3%) -- 4.3% chance to 3HKO

252+ Atk Arcanine Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Ampharos: 123-145 (32 - 37.7%) -- 93.1% chance to 3HKO

...Again, I don't advise trying to take down Mega Ampharos with an Arcanine. Its bulk and resistances make it hard for the Tigerdog to break.

Mega Ampharos may have a few common weaknesses to Ground, Fairy, Dragon, and Ice, but 90/105/110 defenses are nothing to sneeze at, and let it shrug off weaker attacks like HP Ice without too much duress. So slapping HP Ice onto a Pokemon isn't really a reliable way to deal with Mega Ampharos, to be honest, since it lacks a 4X weakness to prey on. A decent amount of things may be able to 2HKO it, making it hard for it to switch in, but it's very hard to 1HKO outright.

Also I'm not sure if they'll return Medichamite to UU given it was already banned to BL.

 

[Mye]

Er, not really. HP Ice's usage on Arcanine in the UU tier is less than 2%, which is less than Outrage on Arcanine (which is if you want to be really ballsy since it can 2HKO Mega Ampharos). Gligar's usage in UU is pretty low too. But more to the point, HP Ice doesn't really scratch Mega Ampharos, either...

252 SpA Arcanine Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Ampharos: 102-120 (26.5 - 31.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

Most Arcanine don't run full special attack EVs or even mixed sets, either. They tend to run fully physical, in which case Close Combat does more damage (although Arcanine in general has difficulty breaking through Mega Ampharos), or they run bulky sets. For instance...

252 Atk Arcanine Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Ampharos: 112-132 (29.1 - 34.3%) -- 4.3% chance to 3HKO

252+ Atk Arcanine Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Ampharos: 123-145 (32 - 37.7%) -- 93.1% chance to 3HKO

...Again, I don't advise trying to take down Mega Ampharos with an Arcanine. Its bulk and resistances make it hard for the Tigerdog to break.

Mega Ampharos may have a few common weaknesses to Ground, Fairy, Dragon, and Ice, but 90/105/110 defenses are nothing to sneeze at, and let it shrug off weaker attacks like HP Ice without too much duress. So slapping HP Ice onto a Pokemon isn't really a reliable way to deal with Mega Ampharos, to be honest, since it lacks a 4X weakness to prey on. A decent amount of things may be able to 2HKO it, making it hard for it to switch in, but it's very hard to 1HKO outright.

Also I'm not sure if they'll return Medichamite to UU given it was already banned to BL.

Yeah, the problem with medichamite (or literally everything in the evolution line) is that it's outclassed entirely by both Azumarill and Mawilite (yet another thing I forgot about earlier). Cooler heads will prevail, medichamite will be in UU, and we could easily see ghosts like rotom/doublade/dusknoir become popular again for a change.

 

[KillerDraco]

Yeah, the problem with medichamite (or literally everything in the evolution line) is that it's outclassed entirely by both Azumarill and Mawilite (yet another thing I forgot about earlier). Cooler heads will prevail, medichamite will be in UU, and we could easily see ghosts like rotom/doublade/dusknoir become popular again for a change.

Well, here's the thing; Medichamite was not banned to OU; rather, it was banned to BL. BL Pokemon are there because they're not used enough to be bumped up to OU (Bisharp, for instance, was used enough to ascend to the OU tier), but are too powerful/imbalanced for the UU tier. Just because BL Pokemon aren't used in OU doesn't mean they're going to be bumped back down to UU. The OU and UU tiers are actually pretty stable right now; it's RU and NU that haven't really been separated yet. But I digress. A ban to BL does not equal being sent to OU; one is based on suspect testing, the other is based on usage.

An example of BL Pokemon not going back to UU despite not seeing usage in OU would be Gen 5 Kyurem. There was really no reason to use it in OU with the wildly superior Kyurem-B existing, but it never returned to UU despite this.

So I reiterate: I find Medichamite returning to UU to be extremely unlikely. It absolutely wrecks the UU tier given almost everything in the tier is pretty much 2HKO'ed by the appropriate coverage move (except maybe Eviolite Doublade who is 3HKO'ed by Fire Punch), and anything that isn't a ghost type WILL be hurting or dead after a High Jump Kick. Four moveslot syndrome is a big concern for it though, since while it has decent coverage options, it can never cover every relevant threat. Just a thing that helps keep it in balance, but also helps keep it unpredictable, since your Gyarados won't want to eat a surprise Thunder Punch, and your Landorus-T wants to avoid an Ice Punch.

Watch out for Cofagrigus though because Mummy forces it to switch.

 

[Champion Silver]

Mega Scizor is a very effective Mega. Scizorite is actually the most used item for Scizor these days on Showdown, being used on 49.121% of all Scizor in April for OU, and that has a lot to do with its versatility. The idea is it make use of its added bulk, allowing Mega Scizor to run bulky Swords Dance and a utility set better than regular Scizor can. Of course, regular Scizor can still run some of the sets that Mega Scizor can if another Mega is used, but that's besides the point.

I personally use Mega Scizor a lot. I like using a specially defensive utility set with Bullet Punch/Roost/U-turn/Defog, running Adamant with 248 HP/44 Att/216 SpDef. Really effective Defog user, and the added bulk with Roost really helps with his survivability. Bullet Punch and U-turn still deal a decent amount of damage as well.

Yeah I've done some research and a defensive defoger set seems to be very common among mega scizors. I may have to give this a shot.

Edit: So I've given Mega Scizor a shot and man its a tank! Its massive defenses coupled with roost lets it chip down opponents endlessly until they die (or taken them down within 1-3 turns against non-resistant foes); its also worked as a fantastic counter to Mega Khan who could barely even scratch it. While it may not be the best Mega out there, it certainly is by no means a pushover if someone uses it.