Which G-Max Forms Are Worse than Dynamax Forms?

[Mr.Munchlax]

I made this thread since I wanted to see which pokémon are better off Dynamaxing rather than Gigantamaxing. One example I can personally think of is Dreadnaw since Max Geyser would create rain to help its Swift Swin ability, as opposed to Gigantamax Dreadnaw where all of its Water type moves become G-Max Stonsurge.

I partly made this thread since I have a Flapple & Grimmsnarl that I made able to Gigantamax, but I’m not sure whether or not it was better for them to just Dynamax. However, I wanted to see if anyone else had the same idea or suggestions.

So, if you feel there are any pokémon that are better off sticking to regular Dynamax, share you

 

[Kansas_Rocks!]

I would personally say Charizard, as D-Max Charizard can set its own sun for Solar Power, and while trapping can be decent, a Sun-Solar Power-STAB boosted Max Flare is obscenely powerful, and so is Fire Blast after dynamax ends.

 

[Requiem Aeternam]

Corviknight and Duraludon. G-Max Wind Rage is very situational while the +1 in speed from Max Airstream is almost always beneficial especially in Doubles. G-Max Depletion is useless as it only takes away 2PP (and only from the target, not both Pokémon in Doubles) meaning you can only fully deplete moves with 5PP which takes all 3 Max Move uses.

 

[Rahus]

I personally feel that most of the dynamax versions of the pokemon that have G-max forms are better. The original bonuses of regular dynamax moves are usually better. There's some circumstances where that's not true, like G-Lapras form example.

 

[Ignition]

I think both Grimmsnarl & Flapple prefer Dynamax. Unless Grimmsnarl is working with something like a special Ultra Beast or Spectrier for their Beast Boost/Grim Neigh, the Special Defense lowering won’t benefit it. 50% sleep chance for GMax Snooze isn’t too reliable but it’s less situational.

As for Flapple, the evasiveness lowering might help due to Hustle’s accuracy drop but I think it’d prefer have Grassy Terrain to boost its moves after Dynamax and give it healing. An opponent that survives GMax Tartness can switch out. You could make an argument for using its GMax but I’d go with Dynamax.

Another Pokémon that prefers regular Dynamax is Sandaconda. I think the Special Defense boost from Max Quake + its naturally high Defense can make it a great tank. Coil/STAB/Stone Edge/Rest is a set I’ve seen sweep entire teams after it gets the aforementioned SpD boost.

Agree on both Corviknight and Duraludon as well

 

[Weavy]

I would personally say Charizard, as D-Max Charizard can set its own sun for Solar Power, and while trapping can be decent, a Sun-Solar Power-STAB boosted Max Flare is obscenely powerful, and so is Fire Blast after dynamax ends.

Charizard's G-Max move doesn't trap; that would be Centiskroch. Charizard's G-Max move actually does passive damage to all non-fire type Pokemon on the opposing side for 4 turns. It was actually very popular in VGC for while, and was used more than Dynamax Charizard.

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My pick, Eevee. You're trading Max Strike for G-Max Cuddle, which is attract as an attacking move. When it works, it can be absolutely annoying to deal with. But Pokemon of the opposite gender and genderless Pokemon are unaffected by G-Max Cuddle's effect, while Max Strike will always activate is effect (unless the opposing Pokemon has an ability that stops stat drops, but those aren't common), meaning the former is way too situational to use and isn't worth giving up a G-Max slot for. Even the other NFE G-Max Pokemon have better effects than this; Pikachu can paralyze both foes (with the paralyze effect actually working on Ground types too), while Meowth is useful for making money in game (It's not competitive sure, but at least it can be very useful for something) with the added bonus of guaranteed confusion. For me personally, I absolutely consider Eevee one of, if not the worst, G-Max form.

I also agree with Drednaw, Corviknight and Duraludon (shame, as I like this design) as well. Drednaw would have been better if the G-Max move was Rock type instead of Water, Corviknight has trade one of the most broken moves in the game to something very meh in comparison and Duraludon's is just embarrassing when regular moves do what G-Max Depletion does but better.

 

[Sicksadpanda]

Gigantamax Charizard is actually extremely powerful. While it doesn't set up the sun, the sheer damage his Max Wildfire causes is huge. He was extremely relevant in ranked doubles since the start, and even he still has some usage in the current PvP meta (where restricted legends are allowed). Torkoal is nothing to scoff at, which makes him an ideal partner for Charizard, but Ninetales can do the job if you want a more aggressive pokemon.

But otherwise... Eevee and Duraludon should never be used for serious fights (and also technically Meowth too, but we all know what he's really for). Corviknight, Drednaw, Copperajah, and Garbodor are extremely situational that they are probably discouraged. I feel most other Gmax are better than regular in most situations.

 

[Spider-Phoenix]

Ninetails can even play nasty. Setting up the sun with Heat Rock than dropping a Memento in the worst opposing threat.

 

[OshyHikari]

Ones I can definitely name, after watching a video by MandJTV where he covered this very subject:

Drednaw - G-Max Stonesurge summoning Stealth Rock is nice, but Swift Swim is Drednaw's best ability and would rather enjoy the rain summoned by Max Geyser.
Orbeetle - The gravity summoned by G-Max Gravitas doesn't benefit Orbeetle in any way, as most of its moves are 100% accurate.
Eevee - G-Max Cuddle is downright the worst G-Max Move, as infatuation is very situational due to it requiring the opponent to be the opposite gender, unlike how Max Strike always lowers the target's Speed.
Machamp - G-Max Chi Strike setting up Focus Energy does sound nice on paper, but Max Knuckle always providing an Attack boost is still superior.
Corviknight - G-Max Wind Rage being Defog as an attacking move is nice for clearing entry hazards, but like with the situation above, you'd rather prefer the Speed boosts that Max Airsteam provides.
Flapple - G-Max Tartness lowering the target's Evasion only really helps if your Flapple has Hustle. If it doesn't, don't bother with Gigantamax on it.
Coalossal - G-Max Volcalith dealing passive damage to the opponent does the exact same thing as the sandstorm that Max Rockfall would summon. The Sp. Defense boost for Rock-types in sandstorm is also more beneficial.
Duraludon - G-Max Depletion only increases the amount of PP lost from the target's move to 2, and if used on a 5 PP move, it would take exactly three turns to fully deplete, the same amount of time you are limited to with your Gigantamax anyway. Battles also don't last long enough to fully drain the opponent of their PP.

 

[Sicksadpanda]

Ones I can definitely name, after watching a video by MandJTV where he covered this very subject:

Drednaw - G-Max Stonesurge summoning Stealth Rock is nice, but Swift Swim is Drednaw's best ability and would rather enjoy the rain summoned by Max Geyser.
Orbeetle - The gravity summoned by G-Max Gravitas doesn't benefit Orbeetle in any way, as most of its moves are 100% accurate.
Eevee - G-Max Cuddle is downright the worst G-Max Move, as infatuation is very situational due to it requiring the opponent to be the opposite gender, unlike how Max Strike always lowers the target's Speed.
Machamp - G-Max Chi Strike setting up Focus Energy does sound nice on paper, but Max Knuckle always providing an Attack boost is still superior.
Corviknight - G-Max Wind Rage being Defog as an attacking move is nice for clearing entry hazards, but like with the situation above, you'd rather prefer the Speed boosts that Max Airsteam provides.
Flapple - G-Max Tartness lowering the target's Evasion only really helps if your Flapple has Hustle. If it doesn't, don't bother with Gigantamax on it.
Coalossal - G-Max Volcalith dealing passive damage to the opponent does the exact same thing as the sandstorm that Max Rockfall would summon. The Sp. Defense boost for Rock-types in sandstorm is also more beneficial.
Duraludon - G-Max Depletion only increases the amount of PP lost from the target's move to 2, and if used on a 5 PP move, it would take exactly three turns to fully deplete, the same amount of time you are limited to with your Gigantamax anyway. Battles also don't last long enough to fully drain the opponent of their PP.

I'm going to have to disagree with Coalossal. Maybe that's the case in singles, but Gigantamax Coalossal is extremely relevant VGC format (which is basically ranked doubles). Yes, Sandstorm would've helped, but Tyranitar fits on many teams so well that you might as well as just bring a Tyranitar for the sandstorm in exchange for Coalossal having a 1/6 HP chip damage per turn.

His usage isn't Charizard or Venusaur level despite having the same Gmax effect (different typing obviously), but he's still pretty high in usage as he's often paired with a weak water attacker to maximize speed boost, thanks to Steam Engine ability, and also take advantage of Weakness Policy. And it becomes extremely difficult to take down Gmax Coalossal that's doing huge damage along with the painful chip damage per turn.

I agree with most of the pokemon on the list, although Orbeetle has some merits in doubles...but no one uses Orbeetle, so I can't really judge him .