#mu solgaleo

[crystalelemental]

Five days until Masters Day, and thus five days until the earliest we could get datamine.  I’m making my predictions now.

The explanation of tiles:

Masters Day Is Improved - April 2023 set a shitty precedent for Masters Day moving forward.  Only one EX and one grid expansion?  That’s too little.  I would like to believe that this is due to the BP units, Lodge units, and prior variety units getting EX, but it’s still lame as hell.  Three of either EX or expansions should be occurring.  I think they’ll get there.

Solgaleo Boosts Crit - A safe one.  Solgaleo is definitely getting EX, that always comes first, but I’m willing to bet they go a bit self-sufficient with it and let it boost crit rate.  They did it for Cyrus, Silver, and Ghetsis, and Zinniquaza had her trainer move’s drawback removed on mega evolving.  They love making these guys self-sufficient.

Gladion Alt - We are so far past due and if he doesn’t get something now I think people are gonna be Real Mad.

Guzma Still Relevant? - No.  I’m going to make a wild prediction and say that between Aether Fam and the protagonists, and even the International Police fam, Guzma may have some plot relevance but will not be significant.  I sure as hell don’t expect an alt.

Terrakion in Gauntlet - Gauntlet kicks up next month, and I’m betting Terrakion debuts.  They’ve been throwing some challenging spreads at us, and I imagine they’re itching to toss in Terrakion.

SS Cynthia Grid Expansion - This begins a chain.  SS Cynthia feels like an obvious expansion.  There are no Alolan PokeFairs, so the Lodge spotlight has to be someone already in.  It can’t be a new person.  Meaning the PokeFair expansion has to be an alt, or someone without 5/5.  And again, there are no connecting people.  But there is a connecting Pokemon, in Kommo-o, who has no expansions, and is Cynthia.  Alola is not particularly popular.  Aether Fam carries this region.  This is a smart time to bring in a powerhouse favorite like Cynthia to drum up some extra revenue.

Master BP EX - Solgaleo is getting EX, I am anticipating the other MU alts will too, and thus the Master BP units have no excuse anymore.

Lusamine & Nihilego - Literally the only square I care about.  Give me the Lusamine/Nihilego alt.  If nothing else happens, and I only get this, I’ve won.

Lodge Lusamine - Given Lillie is already in Lodge, and we know Aether Fam carries, I’m anticipating Lodge Lusamine next.  This only works if it’s both parts in one month, like Unova.  If it’s split between months, she may be next month, but I’ll get to that.

Lusamine Grid Expansion - Between her, Guzma, Plumeria, and Gladion, Lusamine legitimately needs it the least.  But hey.  They don’t always give things to the ones who need it.

Evil Lusamine Real - This is another that I am all about.  If I get this, I’ve won.  Give me villain Lusamine.  It can be an AU thing, I don’t care, just something.

Kahili EX - Someone from Alola has to get EX, and I’m hoping for my girl.  It could be Nanu, given International Police focus, but Nanu doesn’t really need it.  Acerola could get it by popularity, but she won’t make any use of it.  Kahili, though?  Kahili EX would rule.

Lillie Alt - Free Space.  Lillie will get to six, rest assured.

Malva and Drasna - COME ON, WHERE MY DRASNA AT?  Assuming Alola is split between months, there’s an opening for the first half of May.  Do not fail me, DeNA.

Surprise Golden Week PokeFair - SS Morty, while technically associated with Alola VA, kinda came from nowhere in advance of it, and has little association with the event.  Shiny Ho-oh was really more a Golden Week surprise, and it’s possible they do similar.  Shiny Nihilego?  Shiny Stakataka?  Think about it.

Still No Ice Zone - There is only one outcome where Ice Zone happens, and it’s Lillie with Alolan Vulpix/Ninetales.  I don’t expect it.

Variety Scouts - The alternate, sadder outcome of Malva and Drasna.  Kanto Elite Four, part 1.  Lance and Agatha could happen instead.  I wouldn’t love it, but...it’s possible.

USUM Elio and Selene - Elio and Selene aren’t exactly popular, and it makes me wonder.  If they do get alts, will it be proper alts?  Or will it be their USUM forms?  Because I don’t know about you.  I like USUM Selene’s design a lot better.

Somehow No UBs - Alts.  No UB Alts.  We kick off Alola VA and there’s not a single UB alt yet.  It would be awful, but...possible.

All Is For Red - You know that stuff about SS Cynthia being an ideal PokeFair upgrade, and Lusamine getting a lot of focus as a Lodge unit?  Yeah, what if it’s just Red instead?  What if there is a Red alt?  What if Reddit’s right about Steven always being bait for Red?  What if he gets the Lodge?  What if SS Red gets the PokeFair upgrade?  What if I have to lead into the third month running of stuff I’m not happy about?

Special CS - Please be a monthly event, please be a monthly event, please be a monthly event

Casual Paulo - I initially called this “Oh Hai Paulo” but was worried that reference is too old.  The point is, Paulo just went evil on us, and I’m willing to bet that, just like how he showed up in the Kalos VA despite being kidnapped, the events of his interlude will not be mentioned nor referenced at all.

Lillie and Magearna - This feels like a slam dunk.  All of Lillie’s alts focus on Ghost and Fairy types.  That’s her specialty.  And would you look at that!  A pretty Fairy-type mythic legend that isn’t in the game yet!  Villain Arcs love legendary Pokemon!  I’ll bet you anything Lillie gets it.

Alola CS - I mean.  I feel like it’s been a long time.  And it fits.

3* Fairy Gear - Gear also alternates months, and next month is an on month.  We’re getting gear, and I’m betting Fairy, because I’m betting Lillie is the major focus like Diantha was, and Lillie and Magearna are going to be Fairy because Fleur Cannon, and thus Fairy gear.

The significant Bingos:

VA Successfully Predicted (Center Column).  All the Aether Fam get alts, and USUM Elio and Selene show up too.  This is me calling all the alts that appear.  We’ve only gotten at most five alts (if SS Morty counts as part of Johto), so this would hit all five.

Lusamine Sweep (Second Row).  This is an ideal outcome, but not one I expect.  Lusamine getting her Master Fair rerun is really, really dire, and I suspect that she won’t get anything if the event is the full month.  But.

Supreme Victory (Third Row).  There’s the chance the month is split.  In this scenario, Lillie shows, but the rest don’t yet.  The stalling of the VA is made possible by a surprise PokeFair for Golden Week, and the introduction of Malva and Drasna, who are now wildly overdue.  Because there’s a second part of the VA set for June, it means Lusamine’s master fair is ending, and she can pick up Nihilego after all.  All is right in the world.  All is at peace.

Absolute Despair (Fourth Row).  And then there’s the bad timeline.  The early month is just filled with Variety Scouts.  Kanto is the hard focus, and Red gets everything.  UBs aren’t mentioned, but we do get Selene and Elio with Zeraora and Magearna, leaving the Nihilego situation really dire as now Lillie could snipe it.  All is dust.  All is anxiety.

[thepokedexisgay]

A long list of Pokemon-themed pronoun sets

Tried to make sure they weren’t already over on pronoun-provider’s list

cle/clef/clefs/clefs/clefself (Cleffa/Clefairy/Clefable)

ge/gen/gens/gens/genself (Gengar)

mag/magne/magnes/magnes/magneself (Magnemite/Magneton/Magnezone)

cha/chan/chans/chans/chanself (Chansey)

tre/tres/tres/tres/treself (Moltres) (to match the Articuno and Zapdos sets)

dra/drati/dratis/dratin/dratinself (Dratini)

chi/chik/chiks/chikor/chikorself (Chikorita)

cyn/cynd/cynds/cynds/cyndself (Cyndaquil)

tot/toto/totos/totos/totoself (Totodile)

ty/tyr/tyrs/tyran/tyrans (Tyranitar)

tre/treec/treecs/treecs/treecself (Treecko)

tor/torch/torchs/torchs/torchself (Torchic)

mu/kip/kips/muds/mudself or kipself (Mudkip)

ra/ral/rals/ralts/raltself (Ralts)

kir/kirli/kirlis/kirlis/kirliself (Kirlia)

gar/garde/gardes/gardes/gardeself (Gardevoir)

ab/sol/sols/abs/abself or solself (Absol)

sal/sala/salas/salas/salaself (Salamence)

met/meta/metas/metas/metaself (Metagross)

tur/twig/twigs/turs/turself or twigself (Turtwig)

chim/char/chars/chims/chimself or charself (Chimchar)

pip/piplu/piplus/piplus/pipluself (Piplup)

lop/lopu/lopus/lopun/lopunself (Lopunny)

lea/leafe/leafes/leafes/leafeself (Leafeon)

gal/galla/gallas/gallas/gallaself (Gallade)

gar/chom/choms/gars/garself or chomself (Garchomp)

sni/sniv/snivs/snivs/snivself (Snivy)

te/tep/teps/teps/tepself (Tepig)

osha/wott/wotts/oshas/oshaself or wottself (Oshawott)

au/audi/audis/audins/audinself (Audino)

zo/zor/zors/zors/zorself (Zorua/Zoroark)

dei/dein/deins/deino/deinoself (Deino)

zwei/zweil/zweils/zweils/zweilself (Zweilous)

hyd/drei/dreis/hyds/hydself or dreiself (Hydreigon)

vol/volca/volcas/volcar/volcarself (Volcarona)

ter/terr/terrs/terrs/terrself (Terrakion)

dor/doru/dorus/dorus/doruself (Landorus) (to match the Tornadus and Thundurus sets... sort of)

che/pin/pins/ches/cheself or pinself (Chespin)

froa/froak/froaks/froaks/froakself (Froakie)

hoo/hoop/hoops/hoopa/hoopaself (Hoopa)

valcan/volcani/volcanis/volcanis/volcaniself (Volcanion)

ro/rowl/rowls/rowls/rowlself (Rowlet)

li/litt/litts/litts/littself (Litten)

po/pop/pops/poppli/poppliself (Popplio)

mi/mimi/mimis/mimik/mimikself (Mimikyu)

ko/kom/koms/komms/kommself (Kommo-o)

ko/koko/kokos/kokos/kokoself (Tapu Koko)

le/lele/leles/leles/leleself (Tapu Lele)

bu/bulu/bulus/bulus/buluself (Tapu Bulu)

fi/fini/finis/finis/finiself (Tapu Fini)

cos/cosm/cosms/cosms/cosmself (Cosmog/Cosmoem)

sol/solga/solgas/solgas/solgaself (Solgaleo)

lun/lunal/lunals/lunals/lunalself (Lunala)

ni/nihi/nihis/nihile/nihileself (Nihilego)

buz/buzzwo/buzzwos/buzzwos/buzzwoself (Buzzwole)

phe/phero/pheros/pherom/pheromself (Pheromosa)

xur/kit/kits/xurs/xurself or kitself (Xurkitree)

kar/tana/tanas/kars/karself or tanaself (Kartana)

cel/leste/lestes/cels/celself or lesteself (Celesteela)

gu/guzzlo/guzzlos/guzzlos/guzzloself (Guzzlord)

ne/necro/necros/necros/necroself (Necrozma)

po/poi/pois/pois/poiself (Poipole)

naga/nagana/naganas/naganas/naganaself (Naganadel)

ceph/cepha/cephas/cephas/cephaself (Blacephalon)

sta/staka/stakas/stakat/stakatself (Stakataka)

zer/zera/zeras/zeras/zeraself (Zeraora)

mel/mel/mels/mels/melself (Meltan/Melmetal)

groo/grook/grooks/grooks/grookself (Grookey)

sco/scor/scors/scors/scorself (Scorbunny)

so/sob/sobs/sobs/sobself (Sobble)

woo/wool/wools/wools/woolself (Wooloo)

za/zaci/zacis/zacis/zaciself (Zacian)

zama/zamaze/zamazes/zamazen/zamazenself (Zamazenta)

[tuketicielektronigi]

Zırh Adası ve Taç Tundra Açılımlarında Yeni Pokemon Listesi

Zırh Adası ve Taç Tundra Genişlemelerinde Yeni Pokemon Listesi p Tiziano Lento, Janet Garcia, Michael Koczwara + daha fazlası Hem Zırh Adası hem de Taç Tundra genişlemeleri kendi benzersiz Pokedex'leriyle birlikte geliyor ve birlikte 200'den fazla geri dönüş ekleyecek Pokemon kılıç ve kalkan Pokemon uncatchable aksi takdirde. Bu sayfa, Pokemon Kılıç ve Kalkan genişletmeleri için şimdiye kadar ortaya çıkan, efsanevi Pokemon'dan Galarian Forms'a kadar geri dönen tüm Pokemon ve tüm yeni Pokemonları listeliyor. Kılıç ve Kalkan'daki mevcut Pokemonların listesi için Pokemon Listesine (Pokedex) bakın. b Genişletme kartını satın almazsanız, yine de bu özel Pokemon'u Link Trade üzerinden alabilir ve 200+ eski Pokemon'u Pokemon HOME aracılığıyla aktarabilirsiniz. Aşağıdaki slayt gösterisinde Pokemon Kılıç ve Kalkan Açılımları için ortaya çıkan her yeni ve geri dönen Pokemon'u görün! Zırh Adasına Özel Yeni Pokemon [değiştir] Bu, zırh Adası'na özel tüm yeni Pokemon ve Efsanevi Pokemon'u listeler. Galarca Slowpoke [değiştir] Galarian Slowpoke, sırasıyla Armor Adası ve The Crown Tundra'ya özel eşyaların kullanılmasıyla veya Galarian Slowbro Galarian Slowking'e dönüşebilir. Galarian Slowpoke'u Nasıl Alabilirsiniz? - Genişlemeyi satın almadıysanız bile! p [değiştir] Kubfu, normalde Galar bölgesinde bulunmayan uzak bir topraktan gelen Dövüş tipi bir Efsanevi Pokemon. Kategori: Wushu Pokemon reklam p [değiştir] Kubfu, iki farklı formu olan Efsanevi Pokemon Urshifu'ya evrilir. Tek Stike Stil Urshifu bir Dövüş ve Karanlık tipidir. Rapid Strike Style Urshifu bir Dövüş ve Su tipidir. Her ikisi de Görünmeyen Yumruk yeteneğine sahiptir. Resmi Pokemon web sitesinden: Kubfu, Single Strike Style Urshifu veya Rapid Strike Style Urshifu'ya dönüşecek. Hangi şekle dönüştüğü, maceranız sırasında yapılan seçimlere bağlı olarak değişecektir. Formlar oynadığınız oyun sürümüne bağlı değildir. Her Urshifu formu, yukarıda görebileceğiniz Gigantamax da olabilir. Gigantamax Rillaboom [değiştir] Gigantamax Cinderace [değiştir] Gigantamax Inteleon [değiştir] Crown Tundra Expansion'a Özel Yeni Pokemon [değiştir] Bu, Zırh Adası'na özel tüm yeni Pokemon ve Efsanevi Pokemon'u listeler. p [değiştir] Calyrex, Crown Tundra genişlemesinde karşılaşacağınız bir Medyum ve Çimen tipi Efsanevi Pokemon. "Kral Pokemon" olarak bilinir ve geçmiş, şimdiki ve gelecekteki her olayı gördüğü söylenir. p [değiştir] p [değiştir] p [değiştir] Regi ??? Ejderha? [ Düzenle ] Bu Efsanevi Pokemon, aslen Pokemon Ruby ve Sapphire'ın efsanevi Pokemon Regi serisi ile ilgilidir. Regi ??? Elektrik? [ Düzenle ] Bu Efsanevi Pokemon, aslen Pokemon Ruby ve Sapphire'ın efsanevi Pokemon Regi serisi ile ilgilidir. p [değiştir] p [değiştir] Pokemon'u Zırh Adasına Dönüş [değiştir] Bir Pokemon'un bir? adıyla, evrim çizgisinde bir Pokemon gösterildi, ancak teknik olarak gösterilmedi. Squirtle wartortle Blastoise (ve Gigantamax) Bulbasaur ıvysaur Venasaur (ve Gigantamax) Fletchling? Fletchinder? Talonflame Horsea? Seadra? Kingdra Psyduck Golduck Happiny? Chansey Blissey Azurill Marill? Azumarill? Dedenne Zorua Zoruark? Rockruff? Lycanroc Larvesta? Volcarona Magnemite? Magneton? Magnezone Galarca Slowpoke * Galaryalı Slowbro * Galarian Slowpoke bir genişletme kartı olmadan alınabilir Pokemon'un Tundra'ya Dönüşü [değiştir] Bir Pokemon'un bir? adıyla, evrim çizgisinde bir Pokemon gösterildi, ancak teknik olarak gösterilmedi. Nidoran Bay? Nidorino Nidoking? Nidoran Kadın? Nidorina? Nidoqueen? Zubat? Golbat? Crobat Elekid Electabuzz? Electivire Gible? Gabite? Garchomp Beldum Metang? Metagross? Cryogonal Amaura? Aurorus Spheal? Sealeo Walrein? Solgaleo Lunala Tapu Bulu Tapu Fini Tapu Lele Tapu Koko Xerneas Yveltal Zygarde Reshiram Zekrom Thundurus Landorus Tornadus Dialga Palkia Azelf Uxie Mesprit Groudon Kyogre rayquaza Ho-Oh Lugia Raikou entei Suicine Mewtwo Cresselia latios Latias Giratina Necrozma Kyurem Heatran Bu kılavuz yardımcı oldu mu? Bu Wiki Kılavuzunda Pokemon Kılıcı Anma "E" Nintendo Anahtarı Platformları

[moist-rowlet]

The new Pokken is pretty nice, considering it features muh boid Decidueye! But it's still not quite enough to push me over the edge and buy a Switch. Either the Switch gets cracked like an acorn, or another killer app comes out for it before I buy one. As for SU/MU (UM/US?), B2/W2 are my favorite hands down games in the series, and from what we've seen with what happened to Solgaleo and Lunala, it's looking pretty close to that, so I approve! Alola's pretty good as is, but I'm waiting in anticipation to see how they improve upon it! New animations look cool as well.

[thecuriousinferno]

Ooooo thanks for the ideas I run a shiny Pokemon giveaway blog and since I've done Mu's I need to do Aqours but was having trouble coming up with Pokémon for them

No problem! Rockruff kinda had Hanamaru’s color scheme and i’m sure everybody is in agreement that alolan ninetales is Eli’s spirit animal. I named my Solgaleo Mari because lion king nebby is steel type and a shithead

[crystalelemental]

Legendary Gauntlet (Entei/Azelf/Cobalion) - Clears

Alright, I’m calling it quits at 120 wins.  I feel decently about this.  I mean, I felt really good about it until comparisons kicked in, and I noticed the #4 spot is at like 110 with maybe 200 sync pairs used, and the top spot is at like 154.  But I knew this would happen.  Still, bad mood today.  Not the game’s fault.  Anyway!  I figured I’d list out my teams, for those interested.  I’ll try to avoid commenting on every team, but some had something interesting to talk about.

The structure is Support/Tank, Striker, Tech.  I’m not going to list the function of the Eggmon, unless they’re in an odd spot, like a support not being the tank.

Cobalion

SS Kris, Clair

Skyla, MU Solgaleo

SS Elesa, Leon

H!Allister, Shauntal

SS Morty, Serena

Ingo, Naomi, Tangela

C!Giovanni, Darach, Snorlax

SS Steven, SS Giovanni, Parasect

Weezing, N, Brock

Liza, SS May, Magmar

Kiawe, Ethan, Marnie

MU Torchic, Lucian, Lance

Drake, Sidney, Fearow

BP Surge, Hilda, SC Steven

SS Brendan, Zinniquaza, Lapras

Marley, Silver, Looker

Muk, SS Hilda, Helena

Arbok, R!Cynthia, H!Morty

Tauros, Anni Lillie, Hapu

Swimsuit Misty, SS Red, Erika

Piers, Blaine, Hau

NY!Dawn, Eevee Kris

BP Clemont, Gordie, Marowak

W!Jasmine, Flint, Ninetales

Aura Cynthia, Korrina

Dawn, Bruno, Venomoth

Raichu, Ghetsis, Lisia

Lodge Morty, P!Serena

Volkner, SST Red, Wigglytuff (support)

NY!Sabrina, P!Dawn, Electabuzz

BP Janine, Anni N

Colress, Masked Royal

Evelyn, Blarcanine, Nidoqueen

P!Mallow, Lodge Lillie, Surge

SS Dawn, SS Cynthia, Selene

Wallace, Bede, Sophocles

Steven, Elesa, Clemont

V!Agatha, Eevee Lucas, BP Karen

Sonia, Flannery, Lodge Marnie

Oak, SS Erika, C!Elesa

Azelf

H!Caitlin, Anni Steven

Roxanne, Lysandre

Alakazam, SC Diantha, Lodge N

V!Lorelei, C!Iris

Hop, Bugsy, SC Ingo

MU Mesprit, Giovanni, Bianca

Lodge Dawn, Caitlin, Persian

Primeape, P!Marnie, Gloria

Porygon, Alder, Blue

Lillie, Lusamine, Farfetch’d

Clay, Lodge Rosa, Gyarados - Stolen shamelessly from Zinfogel

Elio, Noland, Lodge Sycamore

NY!Lillie, Candice, W!Skyla

SC Jasmine, Viola, Will

W!Erika, C!Hop, Wally

Melony, Burgh

Dragonair, SS Cyrus, Summer N

Rapidash, SC Emmet, Agatha

SS Mina, Diantha, Acerola

Jasmine, Lucas, Victreebel

Spring Burgh, W!Whitney

SC Shauna, Lorelei

Lana, Guzma, Morty

Sycamore, Koga, Janine

Leaf, Fantina

Marlon, Cyrus, Winona

C!Bede, S!Lyra

Nita, SC Sonia, Venusaur

Clefable, C!Marnie, Roark

SS Blue, BP Candice, Smoochum

Hitmonchan, Bertha, Ramos

SS Acerola, Brendan, Malllow

Lodge Raihan, SC Rosa

C!Calem, H!Hilbert, Brycen

Nate, C!Blue, Exeggutor

C!Red, Gladion, Raticate

Kali, Anni May, Mina

Lodge Elesa, SS Hau, Aerodactyl

Shauna, Courtney, Lodge Serena

BP Erika, H!Iris, Golem (Fail); Lucy, Hala, SC Guzma (final 10%)

Entei

SS Lyra

C!Serena

Valerie, SS Wally, Wulfric

Aaron, Kahili

Scyther, Emmet, Roxie

Lodge Blue, Lodge Silver, Cloyster

MU Regirock, Olivia, SS Brock

Seadra, Archie, Plumeria

Cheren, Siebold, Whitney

Sabrina, May, Seaking

Sawyer, SS Leaf, Sandslash

Bugscyther, Kris, Tate

W!Rosa, S!Steven, Pryce

Rosa, SS Lysandre, Molayne

Anabel, Iris, Lickitung

Misty, Crasher Wake, Blastoise

Starmie, Emma, Wikstrom

Maylene, Bea, Nanu

BP Morty, NY!Lisia, Hitmonlee

Lyra, Maxie, Perrserker

Falkner, SS Ethan

MU Cobalion, Marshal, Brawly

Gengar, Barry, Thorton

Glacia, Eevee Lyra

Charizard, Karen, Gardenia

A!Persian, Cynthia, BP Zinnia

Lodge Acerola, Kukui, Hitmontop

Nidoking, SC Zinnia

S!Hilda, Hugh

Cheryl, Lodge May, Grant

Lodge Cynthia, S!May, Magneton

Chansey, SS Serena, W!Nessa

Phoebe, SS Grimsley, Kangaskhan

Hilbert, Nessa, Grimsley

SS Korrina, Lodge Steven, MU Pikachu

Vileplume, SS Diantha, Omastar

Pinsir, SC Hilda, Kimono Grimsley

SC Lillie, SS Misty, Lear

Anni Raihan, SS Lana, Onix

Pidgeot, SS Lusamine, Anni Skyla

Final Thoughts Perhaps unsurprisingly, Azelf was the most difficult of the three.  We have a surprising abundance of Paralysis bots, and plenty of powerful damage dealers to abuse Burn as well if needed, so Cobalion...wasn’t too tough.  Entei’s really easy so long as you have a flinch rate, although the later fights really emphasize what a problem Entei’s bulk is when you’re not like...crazy good on your own merits.

Now, I know what you may be thinking.  “Crystal, why did you do this?  I thought you weren’t going to after last Gauntlet.”  Well, a few reasons.  One is, 100 wins gets you enough 5* powerup tickets to 20/20 a sync pair.  So it’s the goal forever now.  The other is, 100 wins isn’t too difficult to achieve at this point for me, what with how many support pairs I’ve accumulated.  Some are difficult fights, but we can manage.  Lastly...none of these fights suck.

A major issue with Gauntlet is the layout.  Latias sucks, because at the second bar, you run into the random bullshit of “oops, all your attacks keep missing despite your best efforts, and the otherwise clean run just tanked for no reason!  Sucks to suck!”  Moltres has the same issue.  Missed a quad queue on May?  Burns for everyone.  Some of these fights rely so heavily on RNG to carry them forward that they’re intolerable, and the heavily you fall back on needing a flinch rate, the worse the fight.  Cobalion, Entei, and Azelf are all pretty fair.  They can’t do anything too stupid to you.  Cobalion is answered with status and a physical wall.  Entei is answered by any level of flinch rate given how weak it is to them.  Azelf is answered by the Stalwart/Unbending combo and sleep.  So once things got rolling, even when I had to retry, I rarely had to retry repeatedly for optimal RNG shenanigans like I had to do constantly for bitch bird and fuckjet.

[crystalelemental]

“megazardx2: I’m gonna try my damndest to not pull for these new Sherlock Holmes themed alts, but it’s gonna be rough, because my GOD are they great, especially Shauna. She makes for an adorable Dr. Watson.  And Steven having a Stoutland is clearly referencing Sherlock Holmes’ dog, Toby, which is just awesome (and it means that there’s finally a good Soutland unit in the game).“

It is, legitimately, really cute.  I kinda love these.  But if it helps, Steven feels like he’ll be terrible supplemental DPS and only super useful on-type given the Rebuff to weakness and SEUN effect, so he’s fairly limited.  Shauna’s buffing is also wildly randomized, so she’s not going to be all that effective in CS.  So if you’re looking to skip, without seeing full kit, they’re feeling a little skippable after this past month.

“What’s this about sync pairs getting EX without changing colors, though? Is that gonna be the norm for non-5*/MU sync pairs from now on? Is Lt. Surge seriously gonna be the last one to change color?  I really hope not. I NEED Roxie in dat Shiny Scolipede drip.”

Realistically, I think it just means MU.  MU has multiple 5* alts at this point, with the Master BP units and Solgaleo, to say nothing of MU Pikachu and MU Torchic.  As they expand the EX options into the common pool, they’re likely just establishing early with Solgaleo that no, they’re not going to make infinite different color combinations for the MU.  Which makes good sense.  I’m sorry, but if the devs wasted time on a minor color change for the MU, who I never really look at and could care less about, they’d have to do it for every single character model developed, and that’s just too much time and effort to waste on something so trivial.  Other characters will likely continue to get their new color schemes.

[crystalelemental]

Okay, just a dev letter, no update, but update almost definitely Monday so we’ll see what the deal is.  Oh man, let’s fucking go lads.

Steven Stone is the trainer lodge unit, which means he is in the Lodge rotation, which means I am spending until he’s 5/5 there.  It’s time.  After all this time, finally he’s ready.  I’m stoked.

They’re going to allow 6* EX pairs to upgrade without changing costume.  This is so transparently the answer to MU and Solgaleo, but honestly I fucking called it.  I said this shit months ago on Reddit, that we’d definitely get the EX for them but there was no guarantee of a costume swap, and look who was right!  The good news is, they reference multiple sync pairs.  Which could, and goddamn better, mean the BP units.  There is no reason for the Master BP units to not have EX, given how otherwise middling they are.  I will EX Mesprit so goddamn fast...

I will state for the record, I fucking love that they’re keeping the mystery element.  There are four sync pairs connected, and we get to know two of them.  First is...Steven Stone.  I said it in a separate post, but god I am living.  “They only give girls alts, it’s gonna be Lillie lol, DeNA just favors waifus.”  Shut your fucking bitch mouths, idiots!  Steven Fucking Stone, first to six alts, suck his magnum dong!  Interestingly, they went with shiny Stoutland.  He’s a tech that “Weakens opponents and powers up allies,��� which sounds very akin to Winter Whitney.  The Buddy Move sounds pretty nice, though Atk/Spd are less valuable than if it were both defenses.  But apparently he just gives allies SEUN, and can apply +3 physical moves up next on an ally, and lower the type rebuff of the target’s weakness, so this dude is...why is he not a support again?  No sincerely, it sounds like he doesn’t do a whole lot himself, but he’s really good at supporting someone else’s numbers.

Shauna’s the other, and you know?  I’m down.  I don’t dislike Shauna, but I do dislike her outfit.  This one’s cute.  And her partner is Klefki, which isn’t what I would’ve expected, but it’s a cute partner for a detective event.  Steel-type support, so like...guess I’m getting that one too.  I already kinda love it; each time it attacks, it has Team Stat Leech 9, lowering a random stat on the foe then raising it for the team.  The question is, if it lowers at random in 3v3, then if you hit Atk on one, Sp Atk on another, and Def on the third, does it raise all three for the team?  I’m curious.  She also has a randomized version of Dawn’s Power Siphon for all core stats, and trainer move applies status move defense (kinda mid, just make it condition shield), stat reduction defense, and +2 crit for the team.  So she’s going to be great in Gauntlet, but CS is going to be too inconsistent to work with allies who can’t support their own offensive needs.

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH.  Okay kids, here we go.  2500 points in Master Mode.  I’m gonna be honest, half the time I don’t even like 2k.  I don’t like a lot of the parameters, I feel like it can be annoying and frustrating for little reason.  And more modern CS has a tendency to already cause problems.  This feels like a little much.  It might be fine, though.  Truth be told, before the 2k meta, I practiced at 2.5k with way worse units, and I handled it fine with far, far fewer tools (context: this was like November 2021, when the biggest names were SC Diantha and Lear; I was using Summer Lyra).  Still, I dunno.  I guess it will depend on the rewards.  It better be Champion Spirits.  I have some needs.  But hey, QoL improvement, we can save and load paramter layouts.  And apparently they’re going to add new options, so maybe the new parameters will be less shit.

Okay, we have confirmation on the new CS mode.  One type will be effective, which is...wild to me.  I’m assuming that means you need five strikers in that type, what a nightmare.  The mode focuses on E4 and Champions from across regions, so I’m assuming this plays like Karen/Grimsley/Sidney meet up as Dark-types and something like Bug-types are effective?  We’ll see.  But I’ve officially abandoned all hope of true joy, as they state there will be only one special sync pair, making an appearance as a champion.  Which...I dunno, man.  I want to twist the words to mean “They’re not usually a champion but they’re like the crowned champion for this event” and say “It’s Psychic types and Caitlin is supreme overlord!”  But Steven just hit six alts which means it’s officially fair game for everyone else so like...it’s probably Cynthia.

New event called Trainer Files.  That’s cool, little mini-stories with characters and-KANTO AGAIN, ARE YOU FUCKING REAL RIGHT NOW?  Goddammit, fucking Kanto, go AWAY

Ugh.  Well that ended on a downer.  But by and large, it sounds pretty fun!  I like the Steven and Shauna alts, I’m really excited about the other two they might bring in, and the new CS mode does sound legitimately fun.  2.5k Master Mode has me a little nervous about F2P clears, but we’ll see how it goes.  And Trainer Files, while focusing on the blight that is Kanto, sounds like it will ultimately scratch my itch for more character-centric stuff.  I’m happy with this update.  Not thrilled.  Not until they confirm a Caitlin alt.  Or Roxanne, actually, I’d kinda settle for either at this point.  In fact...why isn’t Roxanne in this detective event?  She’s smart, she can be like the forensics character.  Maybe in the second half, eh?

[crystalelemental]

As mentioned, I’m doing a lot of duo clears this Gauntlet compared to previous.  Here’s what I’ve accomplished so far:

VS. ENTEI

SS Lyra - Easy solo.  Lyra’s ridiculously good against this fight, and with one MPR she’s basically unstoppable.

C!Serena - Much harder solo.  Serena can blast it apart, but needs to get real lucky on some of her flinches.

Aaron/Kahili - Aaron’s flinch is solid, Kahili takes very little gauge, they can get it done with a bit of luck.

Falkner/SS Ethan - I was pretty surprised by this, but good work Ethan.  Whirlpool DPS is actually legitimate.

Glacia/Eevee Lyra - All Lyra really needs is crit rate, and Glacia provides.  Needs at least one freeze, I think, but Glacia kept hitting them all.

Support Nidoking/SC Zinnia - Zinnia can block the crit buffs.  This is the funniest thing that’s ever happened.

Summer Hilda/Hugh- I regret this one a bit, but Hilda really did a great job as a tank while Hugh wore it down.  Recuperation on Hugh is really nice.

VS. COBALION

SS Kris/Clair - Kris is a super good tank, and Clair actually gets fantastic DPS while serving as a paralysis bot.

Skyla/MU Solgaleo - Solgaleo’s new grid makes it perfectly self-sufficient, all it needs is some bulk and gauge to pull it off.  Skyla provides, with Potion for protection.

SS Elesa/Leon - Leon’s kinda ridiculous.  Inferno hits for a metric ton of damage, and the max move is a KO in itself.  SS Elesa permits fast-ramping, caps his needed stats, and is a decent evade tank.

H!Allister/Shauntal - Shauntal is plenty strong enough, and Allister provides the paralysis, special attack boosting, and Rebuff.

SS Morty/Serena - Serena really needs the crit, and will not say no to the bulk and Sun.  Morty’s just unbreakable.

NY!Dawn/Eevee Kris - One of my favorites this run.  Kris is so stupid good, and NY!Dawn is a great evade tank with healing on her trainer move, and minimizing attack.

Aura Cynthia/Korrina - Korrina sucks, but Aura Cynthia is strong enough that it doesn’t matter.  She can supply the needed paralysis, but you have to get a bit lucky to avoid late-stage sync nukes that can KO Korrina.

Lodge Morty/P!Serena - Serena has all the tools to succeed.  Lodge Morty is capable of buffing all her needed tools, and hopefully dodges well enough to carry into the endgame.

VS. AZELF

H!Caitlin/Anni Steven - See, Anni Steven is good!  Zinfogel said so!  H!Caitlin has Stalwart/Unbending if she wants, and that blocks Azelf like crazy.  Steven’s mixed offenses let him truck both phases no problem.

Roxanne/Lysandre - Lysandre tanks, and thanks to Downside Up, he’s effectively invincible.  Roxanne has EX support bonus, and caps a lot of his needed stats, specifically speed.

V!Lorelei/C!Iris - Oh man.  Okay, this one was dangerous.  Iris can debuff just fine, but you need to hit flinches or things get out of hand quick.  Lorelei in particular has to hit a lot of heals, and if she drops, your gauges go straight to shit.  It’s really bad.  3/5 Lorelei would’ve had zero problems though.

Melony/Burgh - I’m disgusted that Burgh was part of a Duo, but it’s on-type so I’ll allow it.  Melony’s sleep, combined with fantastic utility in her trainer move, allows Burgh to quickly wear down the little shit.

S!Burgh/W!Whitney - I know.  I know, but he has Stalwart/Unbending.  So like...come on.  Whitney had ridiculous flinch and a very respectable sync.

SC Shauna/Lorelei - Another I’m relatively happy with, Lorelei gets to participate.  Shauna offers enough of everything that Lorelei can focus on her freeze chance, and hopefully get a good sync in once Shauna’s done with it.  It’s risky, but not too bad.

Leaf/Fantina - Surprisingly simple.  Leaf’s Impervious carries, though she definitely needs to hit flinch early on before first sync, to avoid taking too much damage.  After that though, Fantina can truck the fight.

C!Bede/Summer Lyra - Hostile Environment 2 Bede is no joke.  Combined with Aggravation 9 for confuse chance, and Clock Out on Lyra, these two can get some nasty disruption in. 

[crystalelemental]

Okay, is anyone else bothered by the free Solgaleo being with MU?  Like, we get all these cool legends handed out, for free, and one of them is Solgaleo, a bit legend from Alola.  And yet...no Alolan unit has it.   Why?  Why the useless MU? Was there a reason that Alola had to be the only region without a free legend? MU doesn't count for the theme skill, so like...what the fuck?  I'm not exactly mad about it not being Lillie since we got Anni Lillie instead, but Gladion?  A Selene or Elio, or their USUM counterparts?  Hau, since he's in the event? Professor Burnet?  Anyone from Alola at all?

General Overview I've kinda come around on Solgaleo a bit.  This is mostly because, prior to this week, I found Solgaleo somewhat underwhelming.  Wow, a self buff that gets both offenses and enough accuracy to never miss, that's so good!  Shame it's 3-gauge use.  Sunsteel Strike seems solid, but it's weirdly low BP.  Base 100 is...Psychic-tier, which isn't inherently terrible, but it's definitely not winning any awards based on power.   And for all its offense buffs, it can't buff crit, which is a problem.

What's won me over is Legendary Gauntlet.  See, Sunsteel Strike may not be crazy high damage by itself, but what it does do is bypass damage reduction.  In the current run of Azelf/Cobalion/Entei, two of them use a form of damage reduction.  Azelf is bypasses by having both forms of offenses, while Cobalion can be hit with Sunsteel Strike without the need for status, which is huge in this mode where you can't reuse units.  Accuracy buffs may also prove helpful against Cresselia, but I'd have to really see how that one plays out.  Probably still need Snatch/Haze.

I won't pretend like Solgaleo doesn't have serious problems, but it's a really nice one to pick up for this event, and I think it'll have a lot of utility in future Gauntlets as well.

Team 1: Solgaleo, Hop/Kiawe, Bugsy&Scyther/Skyla Hop activates matching Steel-type theme skill, while Bugsy and Scyther can debuff foe's offense.  Best of all, Bugsy also helps supplement Hop's inevitable failure to get MPR  on his trainer move, so that's helpful.   Potion on Hop to heal keeps the team alive while you work on slowly tearing down the foe.  However, Kiawe and Skyla are a potential alternative.  Kiawe offers defense drops as well as the crit buffs Solgaleo needs, while Skyla can buff defense and speed.  It's using two Potion-users though, so...I don't know if I'm a fan of this.

Team 2: Solgaleo, Palentine's Dawn, Kimono Jasmine/Falkner/Sabrina A more Focus-Blast oriented approach.  Palentine's Dawn can debuff special defense of the foe, while one of the usual suspects can buff crit and special attack.  However, because Solgaleo can buff its own special attack, you may only need crit rate buff.  But.  And this is a huge but.  Palentine's Dawn is slow and takes 2 gauge to do her debuff, while Solgaleo is slow and takes 3 no matter what it does.  Crit buffers exist, but are often slow, bulky supporters as well. Just...be mindful of gauges.  Sabrina may be optimal here.

Team 3: Solgaleo, Maylene, Skyla Maylene can buff crit and is F2P, so for now she's like your only option since you can't run Solgaleo and Torchic together.  Thankfully, Solgaleo has Sharp Entry, and can cap crit even without MPR.  Maylene can help buff up Solgaleo for Sunsteel Strike, while Skyla is defense and speed buffs and Potion support keeping the team alive.  If Maylene survives long enough, you even have Rock Smash to help push up the damage.

Team 4: Solgaleo, Leaf, NY!Lillie or crit buffer This is a team I've been using to farm Azelf wins.  It's very consistent, and I think a good general structure for any Legendary Gauntlet pick, for a few reasons.  First is the obvious, Solgaleo bypasses damage reduction, so whatever game they're playing doesn't matter.  Second, your crit buffer can be anyone, which allows for a lot of flexibility; NY!Lillie is just optimal here because self-recovery and evasion buffs. But the biggest benefit is Leaf herself.  Guaranteed buffs on sync, double Potion MPR, can fully refresh move gauge, flinch on Tackle is fantastic against single-target fights, and best of all, Impervious.   Azelf's been a major pest, and the reason Leaf dunks on it so hard is because of Impervious.  It can't reduce her defenses like it does with so many others.  As a result, any other Legendary Arena match where the foe can routinely decrease defenses (Which are all three of the current ones) are handled by Leaf.  Slap her and Solgaleo on a team and you have a recipe for success.

Final Thoughts Solgaleo is so weird.  I legitimately considered it the second worst legendary units alongside Zinniquaza until literally this week, when it turned out Sunsteel Strike is outrageously good against damage-reduction foes.  I probably own Anni N and apology too; bypassing damage reduction stuff is huge, and with a good defensive backbone, these units can really shine in the Gauntlet.  And right now, at least for me, Solgaleo is absolutely shining.  Shame about the lame MU.  Seriously, it could’ve been anyone else.

[crystalelemental]

Well this was a dumb one, but sure.  There’s a tier list for all the characters missing from Pokemon Masters.  If you want to do this one too, here’s the link to the list I used.  Be forewarned, this list is a disaster.  It’s completely disorganized, and has literally dozens of characters from spinoffs that don’t have a prayer of getting in.  Yes, I am including the Let’s Go characters.  If they were important enough to get in, they’d be here.  But they’re not, because they aren’t.  Also it has characters who are already in, probably because it was done a couple months ago in most cases like the Sinnoh E4 and Bede, but like...why is Green there?  She’s already in the game.  Twice, even.  Like, she has an alt, what more do you want?

But aside from those obvious exceptions, I tried to pinpoint characters who like...matter.  I’m sorry, but no, I don’t think Samson Oak and Mr. Briney are likely to be added in this decade.  And even with this list, a lot of them are like...I guess?  If we have to??

S: I feel like all of these should be self-explanatory.  Drasna is now my #1 hope for the game.  Anabel and Looker are a delight and I want them both in.  I specifically want suit Anabel, because I don’t care about Gen 3′s battle frontier.  Opal is the best Gym Leader in Galar, and they better give the old lady some recognition.  As for Burnet...look, it is bullshit we have Kukui in the game twice, and she’s not.  I realize she’s kinda background, but also she’s studying some of the phenomena around Ultra Wormholes.  Like, if she doesn’t show up in the villain arc, I’m gonna be a bit pissed.  I’m already mad MU got Solgaleo so there’s no free legendary Alolan unit.  It should’ve been Burnet, but whatever I guess.

A: Professor Rowan is the coolest professor.  Drayden is just a cool guy.  I want to see Lenora and Watchog be a serious pair.  I have an unreasonable attachment to Yancy after White 2.  Honey, Mustard, and Peony are all great, because Gen 8 put all the good stuff in the DLC, and I’m absolutely behind them.  Now, that last one.  I want to be clear.  I am dead fucking serious.  I really want Zinzolin in this game.  If any subordinate of any villain team gets in, it has to be him.  Because he’s hilarious.  Black/White 2 Zinzolin is so funny.  “I am suffering, but this is proof that I am alive!”  And it’d be really, really funny if he got Weavile.  I can just feel the salt in the air if he got it and Silver didn’t.

B: I just like Elm and Juniper, but Magnolia is specifically because she got shafted so bad in Gen 8.  We finally got a lady professor who is old like they probably should be, and they fucking shove her aside for her like 20-something granddaughter.  Fuck everything about that.  Justice for Magnolia.  Olympia, Kabu, and Gordie are cool gym leaders I’d be alright seeing in.  Mira and Riley were solid partners in Gen 4.  Emma I kinda want in as the other Meowstic.  I could get behind it.  I think it’d be sweet as a little event with Looker after he’s in.  Colress is fine, Shawna I want in specifically because she is destined to get Chesnaught and I really like Chesnaught so I have to support her.  And okay, much like Zinzolin, yes this is serious.  Anthea and Concordia are supposed to be super important to N’s backstory, and yet the games never really do anything with them.  I’m honestly kinda hoping they at least make an NPC appearance in the Unova villain arc, just so they can get some kind of lore, but I am not holding my breath.

C: This is officially the “whatever” tier, so I’m not going over everyone, but a few notes.  I like the Chatelaines’ designs.  Malva’s not that interesting.  I don’t really care about Eusine, apparently I have no real attachment to the trainers who spend their lives chasing a specific legend and never getting them.  Aqua, Magma, and Galactic teams have subordinates that feel more connected to their boss, so I’m more attached to them getting in.

D: I don’t like the monkey bros.  I don’t like the Gen 8 DLC rivals.  I don’t want to hear anything about Oleana, or the subordinates of Aether Paradise.  Benga’s not that interesting.

Please: I don’t like Hugh, I don’t care about Victor, I don’t like Rose.  But they’re guaranteed.  I feel like Hugh is going to happen in like...a few weeks.  Victor is guaranteed, and probably in the villain arc, where Rose is also guaranteed.  But man.  There are so many people yelling about Hugh and Victor getting in, that it’s honestly a bit funny to me that they aren’t.  Hugh’s a lame rival, and Gloria’s the obvious favored protagonist anyway.

Whomst: I never played the Gen 3 Battle Frontier.  I assume these are Frontier Brains?  I feel like I’ve seen them before.  I might be missing some.  They’re here too.

F: *deep breath* Okay...

Mohn sucks, I don’t like that we know where he is or that he’s present at all.  I recognize that he’s lost his memory, but the ability to get him back to the family at all should have been really goddamn easy considering he’s just hanging out in a very conspicuous location that tons of people know about.  His presence only serves to weaken the narrative of Sun and Moon, and if he shows up I’m going to be mad.

AZ is similar.  Sure, ancient king, doomsday weapon, etc etc, that’s great.  There are literal immortals walking around.  Now you’ve lost me.  I’m sorry, that one feels dumb to me.  I can’t tell you why, but it feels really stupid.  And this idea of him roaming around aimlessly for 3000 year just feels dumb.  Nothing he does is interesting or compelling, and his history feels like it should serve more as the basis for why the weapon exists, without any need for him to still be alive.  What does he honestly add?

Dexio and Sina suck.  I never liked them, they’re as annoying as most of your Gen 6 rivals, but I saw someone point out that they might be directly responsible for less Diantha time in the main game, and god they’re right.  Why are Dexio and Sina undercover at the Team Flare base, that was the perfect opportunity for the actor to show off their acting skills as a plant, and have some goddamn agency in the story.  Instead we get these two, who continue to do nothing even when they’re around.

I don’t need to explain the next two batches, but I will.  Ultra Recon Squad is a disaster, like everything else in USUM.  I only played Ultra Moon, but all they did was show up and lament how technology was such an awful evil thing, because *checks notes* they decided to use theirs to torture an ancient eldritch monstrosity to use it as a power source.  Kinda on your fuckers at that point, idiot.  And for them to derail the far superior storyline of SuMo for their bullshit?  It’s obnoxious.  They’re a directly responsible agent for how easily they hand-waved all of the problems with Lusamine as a mother.  “She just cared too much-” no asshole, she’s narcissistic, and believed herself capable of drawing out and controlling a literal god, and is only “repentant” despite not changing her ways because she got her ass kicked.  Get out of my story.

Sordward and Shielbert suck, they offer nothing because they are nothing.  I can’t even say I have the strength to write a whole paragraph hating on them, because that involves having strong feelings about Sordward and Shielbert, and my heart just isn’t in it.

[crystalelemental]

Unit Teambuilding - Molayne

Look, I don’t like Molayne, so let’s just get this over with.

General Overview Molayne is a Steel-type damage dealer, which means he is in direct competition with both MU Solgaleo, and Wikstrom, both of whom are really respectable damage dealers.  And to get straight to the point...Molayne legitimately keeps up.

Iron Head Aggravation is a fantastic set of traits for a Steel type that puts him in a grant Anti-Regirock position.  He doesn’t have the same self-setup as Wikstrom, or keep up with Wikstrom’s direct damage.  What he does do is have effectively zero gauge issues, unlike Wikstrom, and therefore a little less pressure to pack speed buffs.  The tradeoff being, he needs attack and crit support.  Those are plentiful, but still a tall ask given how many options need it.  Mercifully, this includes Hop, whose matched theme skills are exactly what Molayne wants.

Compared to Solgaleo, Molayne has weaker move damage, but significantly stronger sync damage.  The tradeoff there is that Solgaleo’s move bypasses all Gauntlet gimmicks, which is a freedom in teambuilding Molayne can’t achieve.  The accuracy buffs are also nice to answer something like Cresselia.  But, Solgaleo can’t flinch, while Molayne can, making Molayne stronger against Regirock.  It’s a give and take.  The ultimate verdict on my end is that Molayne is a welcome addition with some legitimately solid tools to perform well.

Team 1: Molayne, Hop, Nanu May as well keep using Nanu for debuffs.  Molayne can self-buff speed to cap in two moves thanks to Fleet Feet, while Hop can cap his offensive stats.  Nanu debuffs defense for better damage output, and can give some supportive flinch chance once done debuffing.

Team 2: Molayne, Sonia, Sophocles It’s not a strategy I’d generally recommend, but if you wanted to give up some of his sync power for supportive effects, Molayne can focus on speed debuffs to support a Cakewalk user.  You know.  Like Sophocles.  Both respond well to support from Attack/Crit buffers, with Sonia being optimal for matched theme skills to Sophocles, and her defense buff/debuff support.  The buffs are especially notable as Molayne debuffs speed when he’s hit by a contact move, which I believe includes the typical physical AoE like Brutal Swing.

Final Thoughts Molyane’s fairly straight-forward, but he gets the job done.  He needs a bit more support than his F2P Steel-type competition, but the high flinch rate alone makes him a solid utility pick, with some decent damage and unique support in speed debuffs.  I kinda like how he turned out.

[crystalelemental]

Yeah, that was actually my second team clear. Like, that exact setup even, with BP Surge as the final slot for crit rate and attack. It works really well. The first was Hop/MU Solgaleo/Marley. Marley had speed control Solgaleo needed, while Hop and MU Solgaleo are insanely good together. If I can get one more clear that’s three F2P aligned solutions.

[crystalelemental]

Okay, so it wasn't actually impossible.  It was just obnoxious, and given that you can't reset until it's beaten, would have been impossible had this been my first attempt because of how badly I locked myself into a corner.  Neato.

Hop, Nanu, MU Solgaleo vs. Grimsley A nice, clean win.  At least someone can attack competently, and sadly that someone is me.  I do not like having to use MU, but here we are.   Nanu's defense debuffs saved the day, as did Endurance on Solgaleo.  It was, uh...it was closer than I like to admit.

Cyrus, Winona, MU Torchic vs. Shauntal Absolute slobberknocker.  Once we got one (1) sync buff in, Cyrus could one-shot the sides, and what was left of Shauntal.  It was not close at all.   Also, MU was on two of these fights, and they were both the ones that won with offense, what is happening?

Koga, Viola, Misty&Starmie vs. Caitlin Electric-weak stages are a challenge, because the only real F2P option is Hau, who is not inherently bad, but does have the disappointing limitation of needing very specific support to work.  In this case, I could've tried with Cheryl and BP Surge, but frankly I got frustrated with things and just cheese stalled.  This team remains really, really good against specially offensive stages.

Skyla, Ghetsis, BP Erika vs. Marshall Fairy-weak Marshall sucks.  I'm guessing there's a way to clear this offensively with Sycamore somehow, but fuck if I know how.  The main issue is evasion.  +2 evasion on entry is bullshit, and means you don't even stand a chance of pre-sync clearing.  At least Lorelei has the decency to pull her bullshit only before sync so you can have a chance.  This guy just cheats.  So I am also cheating. Eat my entire ass, Marshall.

Janine, Lucy, BP Morty vs. Iris I tried to beat this with Clair.  This is where I tried with BP Surge and Cheryl, and I desperately wanted Clair to get the win.  But no matter what I did, we couldn’t get it to work.  Allowing paralysis meant taking extra modifiers that cause problems, and slowed down Surge’s boosting support.  Not taking that meant she had no multipliers.  So we had to stall.  Again.  Fortunately, this team also does really well at stall, so we managed to power through.  Shoutouts to Morty for Confuse Ray helping to stick the landing against the sides.  Janine dodging literally every attack that went through also helped, but I'm going to give Morty a win since they did hit themselves twice in confusion.  Not that it mattered, Lucy was full HP thanks to gradual healing when Iris went down, so the sides were a non-issue.

And that's another week of all F2P units clearing 10k CS.  I...really don't love how few options I have available to me for offense, and I'm even more bothered by the fact that Clair kinda sucks.  Please give her an EX, she needs it so badly.  Having EX legitimately would've been the difference between her constant defeat and a pretty reasonable win.   There's no longer any justification for holding back on the story units, they deserve their due.  But in the mean time, remember kids: stall is the most valuable form of play for Champion Stadium.

[crystalelemental]

Legendary Gauntlet Teams - Cobalion

And finally, there's Cobalion.  The nice middle-ground between Entei's straight forward thing and Azelf's constant shenanigans.

General Overview Cobalion has one clear gimmick in play: 80% damage reduction when it's not under a status condition.  Easy enough.  Oh, except that it auto-heals status halfway through each bar, and by the second half of phase two can heal it on sync, and also each heal from status increases its resistance level by 2 until it's fully immune.  Note that the life bar being depleted does not count for "healing status," and does not improve resistance.  As such, when status is applied, if you can go from current state to dead in one sync, that's huge and prevents immunity increasing.

So you need status, and not all status is created equally.  For instance, Cobalion gets enough Poison resistance that you get one.  If it heals, you can no longer Poison it. Despite being Fire-weak, burn is similarly hosed, starting at Lessen 7 and allowing two heals.  So by the second half of bar 2, it's immune to burn, so good luck Silver.  Paralysis and Sleep are the best options.   Paralysis seems to start around 2, meaning it will always be able to be paralyzed (effectively), while Sleep doesn't have any inherent resistance, but waking up naturally increases it.  So Sleep has to be applied judiciously.  For those wondering, Restrain does not count as status condition, it's status change, so it is lumped in with confuse, trap, and flinch.  Which also don't count.

Outside of this major gimmick, Cobalion is fairly straight-forward.  The second half of Phase 1 has it incorporate Poison Jab into its kit, so poison immunity is nice.  Phase two introduced Defense Crush, which can quickly tear through a frontline tank's defensive capabilities.  Phase 3 opens with +3 attack, then introduces Beef Up 1, which seems to increase its attack by one stage when hit with an attack move some percentage of the time.  This means Cobalion gets substantially stronger over the course of the match, and the last bar gets incredibly scary.  Sacred Sword can one-shot your tank if you lost too much defense.  Worse, Impervious and defense drop immunity aren't super common, and many are weak to Fighting (Piers, Leaf).  So Cobalion gets really tricky.

Useful Units and Combos Obviously, any status user is good, with Paralysis or Sleep being the top dogs.   BP Surge and base Erika are great paralysis users, with Erika offering special defense debuffs and Surge offering attack, crit, and defense buffs.  Hau can also get reasonably lucky with Discharge, as can MU Pikachu with Hostile Environment on Thundershock.  Agatha is a decent sleep user with Hypnosis. And paralysis with Lick.  Agatha's pretty good here, grid when?  Sleep in general tends to be inaccurate, but any accuracy buffs are appreciated.  Serena feels made for this fight.

Sun is also hugely beneficial.  It's weak to Fire, and with the goal being "take out a bar in one shot," this is a good thing to have.  There aren't really great free Fire-types who can one-shot, but if you have a Hilda or Serena, it's an option.

Stat reduction immunity is great too.  Lana and base Jasmine come to mind, with Lana packing natural immunity from grid and a solid heal with attack/defense buffs, and Jasmine having Clang to avoid crits and stat reduction as well.

And of course, Solgaleo bypasses damage reduction.  Chad.

Teambuilding Team 1: BP Surge, Silver, Blaine Surge is pretty solid for attack and crit buffs, as well as some extra defense buffs.  He also applies paralysis, and has some great skills in general for this fight.  Blaine sets sun initially for Silver to just start strong.

Team 2: Erika&Vileplume, Ghetsis, Skyla Ghetsis appreciates the special defense drops that Erika provides, doubly so because of his sync nuke's effect.  Skyla has defense and speed control which is great for the team, and Potion to heal.

Team 3: Hop, Solgaleo, Nanu I'm serious, this isn't half bad.  Hop can buff defense for the team, but more importantly caps attack and crit for the team.  Nanu can flinch sometimes, but has evasion buffs as well to potentially just dodge attacks if he has to be defensive point.  Solgaleo ignores the damage reduction and gets maximum benefit from Nanu's Screech.

Final Thoughts There may be other combinations, but frankly Cobalion is a tough time.  I generally feel like Cobalion is easier than Azelf to get your head around, but hard to make something consistent against.  There's not much in the way of tricks, you just...really need to have the status thing in place.

[crystalelemental]

Now that you mention it, I saw someone said that Johto is pretty lacking on reliable damage dealers, since the ones that are still mainly used are either support or tech, so another Johto alt (especially DPS that can be EX) would be great.

Weather/terrain setter that are also tanky support like Ingo would be awesome. I need more of them too. Most of them are tech, some are DPS, but support would be awesome since it's adding their versatility.

For villain arc, I'm pretty sure Johto will get one. They aren't going to leave Silver being the only one without EX, right? Hoenn will give EX to Zinnia, Unova will give EX to Ghetsis, Kalos is gonna be Sycamore's EX, Galar is Hop's, but what about Alola...? Especially since both Lusamine AND Guzma seem to be appearing? MC and Solgaleo, perhaps?

February is gonna be dangerous for me as well. I have always wanted Palentine Dawn in my team if/when she gets a re-run. The upcoming SS Blue+SS Red rerun is also very intriguing too, so maybe I'm not gonna be prepared with gems. As for the rest...I think I will be waiting for the datamine.

Johto is absolutely lacking good damage dealers. They are a weird support-based region and I kinda respect it.

I think the issue is Ingo's the only supporter that sets a terrain or weather. Everyone else is Tech. Which...is probably for the best, they're massive multipliers that can change a lot for people, and I think a big reason he got support was because Sandstorm doesn't inherently confer a natural 50% bonus to a type's damage. So while there are a lot of people saying Dawn/Cresselia might be a Supporter as a Master Fair with Psychic Terrain, I personally don't see it happening. That's a lot to give one unit. But...I guess it would fit Master Fair, and I wouldn't be opposed to it either, depending on what they had her supporting. Controversial opinion but I'd rather she be a more defensive supporter.

The legendary units will definitely all get EX, but I really have no idea how they're going to handle some of them. Silver definitely should get a specific event for it, but Solgaleo is in such a weird position because...it's MU. They have no bearing on anything by default. So I don't like the idea that the villain event for Alola might center on them.

Definitely wait for the datamine. I'm already losing my mind over possibilities for next month. The Alder/SS Blue/SS Red banner has to be a skip, I just don't have the resources. Which is fine. Not like I've seriously used SS Blue or SS Red in like...ages. And Alder's nice but it's not like I'm dying for an alternate bug when Lusamine's right there.