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Hello, I am posting this topic for two reasons. The first, is to alert you that Pokémon Online now supports Black & White Pokémon, as well as all the new moves, items, and abilities we can't wait to try. I myself have been playing with this since the Alpha server, and the project is currently in Beta. A quick point, B/W Wifi now allow you to see each others Pokémon before the battle, such as in the style of Pokémon Stadium 1/2/PBR. So, PO also includes this feature, allowing you to rearrange your party after seeing your opponents. Unfortunately this takes quite a bit of surprise out of the battles (Ie; phazing to scout = no longer necessary) but it does make battles more interesting, to say the least.
So, with all that being said, feel free to discuss the Metagame here. Please, I implore you to have actual knowledge of the metagame here. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT! complain about any tactics, Pokemon, or the brokenness of Pikachu, without firsthand experience in that field, meaning you have encountered, or used the aforementioned Pokémon. with that, I will begin.
My opinion, after roughly a week of play-testing, is that this is the single most Balanced Metagame I have ever seen. At face value, nearly everything looks unbelievably broken, to the point where this metagame is simply throw out your six, and rush them all at once in a Hyper Offensive style until your opponents are obliterated. This, as it turns out is completely untrue. I have scene, used, won, and been beaten by every play style, in equal amounts. The only play style I don't see, is Stall, but I have used it and achieved quite a good degree of success. (I'm not good with stall though). I can only assume this lack of interest to that particular regard is that Stall is much harder to play. Instead of destroying Stall like everyone originally assumed, they made it balanced out with the other play styles. It used to be where Stall was the easiest play style to pick up for most, and that it was often the best way to play. Now; however, it takes genuine skill to play Stall, but when played properly, is just as great as any others. Stall this gen requires better prediction, and more dependency on Rapid Spin, so keep that in mind to those who wish to build teams.
There are a few stars that are beginning to shine. Uru, the Giant moth is on nearly ever team, and despite losing half its health for showing up, it's a force to be reckoned with. Roopushin is a physical powerhouse, and a true monster. Shandeera is a lovely Pokemon, but nowhere near as game breaking as assumed originally, in fact, Shandeera was somewhat underwhelming.
With that in mind, there are very few Pokemon shy of genuine Ubers who break the metagame. Of those, are Doryuuzu. With Sandstorm up he's an incredible pain to deal with, perhaps impossible in some cases, I might just call him the first Uber. Why?
In Sandstorm, he doubles his speed, and when forcing something out, he doubles his attack (Swords Dance). It's not a pretty sight, needless to say. Long Story short, this is the single best metagame we've ever had, and I'm glad GameFreak delivered well this gen.
So, what are your opinions.
(I want to take now to remind everyone to actually test things before making any comments/claims, and that opinions are not facts, and as such, are undebatable, unless stating a differing opinion, but do not attempt to discredit the validity of anyone else's ideals. Ignorance is not an excuse.)