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Bring Hydreigon Draco Meteor Back to Doubles


Rakhmaninov

Question

Seen as the doubles format has the likes of CritDra and Dragon Gem Salamence firing off boosted Draco Meteors left right and center, why shouldn't Hydreigon be able to use Draco Meteor too?

 

I don't know much about the complexities of the ban for the singles format, but in doubles, Dragon Pulse and Draco Meteor on Hydreigon can be used quite interchangeably (as far as I am aware). Given that Hydreigon lacks a strong STAB spread move, Nasty Plot sweeps are much harder to achieve, especially due to its awkward speed tier. Currently, Hydreigon sits at a mediocre 45.37% win percentage for doubles, and is relatively easy to handle, with the majority of teams carrying Pokemon which can take it down. 

For example:

 

Spoiler
  • 252+ SpA Dragon Gem Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 118-139 (57 - 67.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ Atk Tyranitar Superpower vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 168-198 (100 - 117.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO 
  • 252 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Dragon Claw vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 198-234 (117.8 - 139.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252 SpA Dragon Gem Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 324-384 (192.8 - 228.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252 Atk Life Orb Mienshao Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 283-335 (168.4 - 199.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252+ SpA Dragon Gem Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 140+ SpD Hitmontop: 132-156 (84 - 99.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 148 Atk Hitmontop Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 168-198 (100 - 117.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252+ SpA Life Orb Reuniclus Focus Blast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 208-247 (123.8 - 147%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252+ Atk Guts Hariyama Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 348-410 (207.1 - 244%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252+ Atk Technician Scizor Bug Bite vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 186-222 (110.7 - 132.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252+ SpA Life Orb Abomasnow Blizzard vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 174-205 (103.5 - 122%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252+ Atk Life Orb Metagross Hammer Arm vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 185-218 (110.1 - 129.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252 SpA Volcarona Bug Buzz vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 174-206 (103.5 - 122.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

With the appropriate speed control, most of these pokemon can OHKO Hydreigon outright. Needless to say, Hydreigon finds itself facing a lot of competition in the current doubles format, with or without Draco Meteor. I appreciate that, with a +2 Draco Meteor, Hydreigon can handle the threats listed above more easily, but it still wouldn't change the fact of its awkward speed, lack of STAB spread move, and weaknesses to common type coverage (fighting, dragon, ice).

 

Thus, I would argue strongly that the removal of Draco Meteor from Hydreigon's move pool is unjustifiable in the context of the doubles format, and it instead would be preferable to simply ban Hydreigon Draco Meteor use from singles play only

 

Hydreigon Back sprite from Black 2 & White 2 & Black & White

*sad hydreigon noises*

Edited by Rakhmaninov
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16 hours ago, CLOPEN said:

SD Garchomp, 120 BP Outrage, infinite turn shadow tag etc should be brought back to doubles too imo.

Doubles balancing should be separate from singles, and I think any possible set should be given a chance to be evaluated whether it's healthy for the meta or not BEFORE getting simply outright banned cuz :thonk: singles op.

I agree. Perhaps if this suggestion is successful, I will follow it up with "separate doubles bans from singles bans," so that we can establish a more sophisticated PvP system. 

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