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Here is where you can share those beautiful creations you or someone you know have worked extremely hard on. ššš
Howdy, I go by Cal online, pronouns he/him, and I'm 28 years of age! I've got 100+ sessions of D&D 5E under my belt! So you can be assured I have *some* idea of what I'm doing. I quite enjoy coming up with non-standard characters that push the envelope, and am an absolute sucker for redemption arcs.
I'm not exactly a voice actor, nor a method actor of any flavor. But I quite enjoy both the roleplaying and mechanical sides of the game. I won't lie, I do get a little stir-crazy if it's been several sessions without a combat encounter, I quite enjoy rolling dice!
I'm searching for a game where I can really lose myself in the world, as I'm the type to really throw myself into anything I do. This means a lot of banter, theorizing, and chatting about the game even outside of regularly scheduled sessions!
My discord username is Calibraptor, but you can also post or DM me here on reddit!
Hello! Iām a 24 year old Australia male actor, Iām wanting to get into more voice acting roles! Iāve done some covers of Disney villains so Iām comfortable being a villain! I have good comedic timing and can do hero characters as well! Thanks!!
I for some reason keep thinking that RWBY as we know it won't be continued for some time, if at all for a final volume 10.
The ending as it was shown seemed to hint at a somewhat lengthy timeskip with the various craft hovering over Vacuo, including Amnity and the writers left enough 'open' and vague dialogue that spin-off shows or novels could be written. The same goes with the completely random piece featuring Summer's backstory, which creates another possible entry for spin-offs.
I also find myself thinking that based on what I know regarding RWBY, RT, Voice Actors etc, they'll be focusing much more on the Justice cross-over content going forward and maybe something akin to Ice Queendom. RWBY as we know it still has too much to cover with just one volume left in the orignal 10 volume plan that we've heard about.
But I guess we won't know anything until RTX in July! Good job I got Fanfiction to keep me going for some time yet :D
I stared up at the magazine cut out of a Maxim model that was crudely pasted on the underside of the top bunk. Her pert breast shimmied ever so slightly as Pete tossed and turned above.
She was platinum blonde with legs long enough to wrap around me twice. Or so the camera angle made it seem. I felt a stirring below, that yearning for a womanās touch⦠which I hadnāt felt in six years, three months, and eleven days.
I rolled to my side, stifling it. It was the wrong time to seek out an orgasm, and I knew after the release Iād just spiral into self-loathing anyway. I focused on a crack in the cinder block until my eyelids became heavy.
Static pushed the thought of women from my mind as I slipped into sleep. The smell of cigars and oil flitted through my mind in a memory. My dadās repair shop. The one I was meant to take over, before the arrestā¦
------
āAaaarrgghh!ā
A cry echoing from somewhere deep within the prison startled me awake. My heart thundered in my chest like a rabbit thrashing against its cage.
I rolled over to see Pete crouching low, his face pressed against the bars.
āWhatās going on?ā I croaked.
āTheyāre taking Benny.ā He whispered.
āFuck, really?ā I pulled myself to the top corner of my mattress, just enough to peer around the edge of the bars.
Two guards wrestled the young latino onto a gurney as a man in a lab coat watched from a distance. He fought against them but it was futile. Once the straps were locked in he screamed once more, pleading for help.
Dozens of eyes watched from dim lit cells, none of which stirring to offer assistance in the slightest. We knew there was no helping him. We knew what happened nextā¦
His cries were muffled as the doctor jammed a syringe into the base of his neck. Bennyās muscles tensed and pulsed in the fit of a seizure, but then lay still. The cell block was silent once more as they wheeled him down the hall and into the catacombs.
I did a cross over myself but didnāt bother to pray. Once they took them, they never came back.
āA damn shameā¦ā I muttered.
āYeah, he was a good kidā¦ā Pete stood and leapt back onto the top bunk.
A fire burned in my chest. I wanted to say something. To cry out about the injustice of what was happening to us. That committing a crime shouldnāt damn a man to whatever terrible fate they had instore for us below three feet of steel and a quarter mile of dirt.
But I didnāt⦠What good could it do? Other than drawing attention to me in a very negative way.
Once they took you to the lab, you were never seen again.
All you could do was hope that your number was never called, and that you got out of here before they visited your cell late into the night.
ā-----
87ā¦88ā¦89ā¦90ā¦
My chest was on fire as sweat dripped from the tip of my nose. I couldnāt go back to sleep last night. Kept thinking about Benny.
91ā¦92ā¦93ā¦
So began the push-ups. It was the only way to clear my head.
94ā¦95ā¦96ā¦
My therapy.
97ā¦98ā¦99ā¦100.
I rolled to my back, out of breath.
Three years, six months and change.
So much time left to go.
Benny had only been here for a little over a year. It made no senseā¦
None of us could figure out exactly why they took who they took. There seemed to be no method to the madness.
Just a couple weeks ago they took old man Tom Finch. Heād been here longer than any of us. A lifer on the account of premeditated murder back in the 70s. But they didnāt come for him until heād served most of his adult life behind bars.
The red beacon suddenly swirled above. A buzzing sound hummed as the cell doors clicked and slid open.
Breakfast.
ā----
I pulled my tray along the bar to be loaded with oats, powdered eggs and bread.
Meager rations.
I grabbed a small carton of milk and made my way over to sit with Pete. He was already nibbling on his toast while perusing a crossword puzzle.
We exchanged nods and I went to devouring the entirety of my plate.
Calories build muscle after all.
Which was something Pete had no interest in. He was a bookworm through and through. Rail thin too. When weād met, Iād assumed it was from the drug problem heād had on the outside, which ultimately landed him in incarceration. But come to find out it was just his metabolism and general lack of appetite.
āJohnā¦ā He whispered.
I looked up from my feast.
He was looking to the corner of the cafeteria and I followed his gaze to see two men in lab coats surveying the crowd.
I grunted and squeezed the handle of my fork until my knuckles went white. The impulse of burying it into their throats was almost overwhelming.
āTheir activity has been ramping up.ā
āWhat do you mean?ā
āIāve been seeing them much more frequently as of late. They must be close to a breakthrough.ā
āBreakthrough of what?ā I furrowed my brow.
āWho knows? Whatever it is they are doing down there. Theyāve been taking us more often as well.ā
Pete sighed at the twist of confusion on my face.
āThink about it⦠Benny last night, then Tom two weeks before that. Then Eric ten days before that, and Deonte maybe three weeks prior. Itās never been that close together. Until recently, they only came perhaps once every other month. Sometimes only once a season.ā
Shit⦠he was right. I hadnāt realized it before.
āSo what does that mean?ā I asked, shoving another hunk of egg into my mouth.
āI have no idea. But Iād say our odds of survival have been reduced dramatically.ā
ā-----
Pete might as well have been an oracle, peering into our grim and desolate future.
Over the next several months we started seeing the lab coats weekly. Sometimes even more often than that.
The prison yard felt empty. Sure there were still plenty of us left, but our population had been noticeably trimmed. One gang in particular only had two members left, which didnāt bode well for them. The others slowly circled them like sharks. I had no affiliation with any of them and kept to myself. But still, I could see their fate a mile away.
Although, despite the business as usual dog eat dog atmosphere, there was an undercurrent of fear rippling through the general pop. You could smell it, like a scent of decay and desperation. Hard faces that had once promised violence, now almost flinched around every corner and jumped at each shadow.
The energy of a couple of hundred men that felt like an animal backed into a corner was palpable.
But what could we do?
I didnāt know but I sure wish someone would tell me⦠I threw myself into my workouts and Pete hardly ever looked up from a book. Escapism was our only reprieve.
I went to bed with a prayer on my lips, hoping I wouldnāt hear those iron bars moving in the late hours of the night.
ā-----
A loud clanking followed by footsteps pulled me from sleep.
I squeezed my eyes tightly shut hoping it was the cell next to mine.
But it wasnātā¦
Three guards hovered behind a fourth that was unlocking our cell. The bars clicked and began to slide open.
I jumped to my feet and backed up against the wall. I pulled my fists up into a boxing stance, I wasnāt going to go without a fight. My muscles tensed and flexed like coiled steel.
āIn the corner inmate! Weāre here for your cellmate.ā A short and stocky corrections officer barked with his hand gripping the baton at his waist.
Pete squirmed into a ball at the corner of his mat and looked at me with wide, pleading eyes.
I put my face in the opposite corner as instructed. A mixture of fear and relief roiled in my gut, and I hated myself for it. It made me feel like a coward.
āNo, no, no, no, no!ā I heard Pete squeal from behind as guards flooded the cell.
I peaked over my shoulder and watched as they pried him from the top bunk. Pete tried to resist, but there was nothing to him. A bag of bones that they easily wrestled down.
That same fire ignited in my chest. Anger washed over me, cleansing away the cowardice. For Godās sake, he was my only friend.
All I could see was red.
I spun around bringing the back of my fist across a guardās face, shattering the bridge of his nose. Blood spurted from it as he dropped Peteās legs.
With a giant step forward I brought an uppercut into the portly officerās abdomen, dropping him like a ton of bricks.
I shoved a third into the corner, pinning him there as I screamed for Pete to run. He scampered out the opening and the last thing I heard were his footfalls as a baton smashed across the back of my skull. Everything went black before I even hit the ground.
ā-----
I spent a month in solitary.
The room was so small it should have been inhumane to house a human being inside of it.
Still⦠I made the best of it with dips, pushups and situps. Countless reps of them. It was all I could do.
Some mornings Iād wake up with horrible migraines. I assumed it was a slight concussion from the impact of the baton.
I only hoped Pete could have somehow made it out. But somewhere deep down I knew that would have been impossible. Hopefully he at least gave them some hell before they took him below.
I stopped praying before bed. It didnāt seem like it did any good.
If there was a God, he didnāt exist inside these walls.
We were abandoned.
The unheard.
ā-------
When I finally got back to my cell it had been emptied of everything. Peteās books, artwork from his niece and even my Maxim cutout.
Just like heād never existed. My heart sunk at the sight.
Later that day Iād learned from others that he had been captured just moments after escaping the cell.
But our actions werenāt wasted in vain.
We were the first to fight back against the abduction and it sparked something in the others.
They started talks of an uprising a few weeks back. A prison riot.
They even had a guard on the inside. C.O. Matthews. He was a very religious man and was just as horrified by what was happening as we were and had been looking for a way to help.
āItās going down tonight John, just before lights out. Be ready.ā Jerry whispered at the picnic table.
I gave a nod that I understood and headed off for my daily jog around the courts.
It wasnāt about getting out. Getting free. That wasnāt going to happen. It was about sending a message.
I let my mind go blank, filling with static as I enjoyed what could be my last day outside.
ā------
The beacon swirled overhead in the common area.
āInmates to their cells. Lights out.ā The intercom buzzed.
There were over fifty men in cell block B, and not a single one of us moved.
The voice on the intercom repeated himself angrily as guards began to shuffle in closer. Nods passed like dominoes from one inmate to the next. We were ready.
āGet to your cell inmate.ā a guard growled as he clamped his hands down on my shoulders.
I threw an elbow behind me into his groin, he howled in pain as he hit the floor. The other inmates sprung to their feet and flew off from their leaning places to join in the brawl.
Fists, feet and batons flew wildly across the cell block as we engaged in war with the uniformed officers.
I grappled with one until I was able to submit him in a choke until he went limp in my arms.
I stomped another in the face, spilling blood and brains on the concrete floor.
It had looked like we were winning until they sent the special response team in. We formed a line, many of us battered and bloody, in front of the row of riot shields.
We waited for their charge for what felt like an eternity.
But suddenly they backed out from where theyād come and slid the cell block doors closed.
What the hellā¦
The red beacon swirled once again overhead as a clicking sounded out behind us.
The rear entrance that the lab coats had always used swung open. I spun around to seeā¦
āMary, mother of God.ā I gasped.
It was Peteā¦
But there was something horribly wrong with him.
His skin clung loosely to his body and had a terrible jaundice looking hue to it. His eyes almost seemed to glow and his hands⦠they were impossibly large like contorted branches.
I held my hand up to my mouth in disbelief.
A scientist stepped out from behind him.
āAs you can see, we have a few kinks left to iron out, but we are making great progress. Would you all care to see what he can do?ā He looked into each of our eyes inquisitively.
āIf you donāt, head back to your cells now. You have ten seconds and then I shall release him.ā
It was so silent you could hear a pin drop. But a violent and hungry energy filled the room, emanating from what used to be my friend.
Suddenly, over half the remaining inmates bolted for their cells out of fear. Not that I could blame them, my knees wobbled and threatened to buckle just at the sight of him.
But I stood my ground, as did a handful of others.
āVery well then. Specimen 3-1-0, engage.ā
A growl reverberated through the cell block.
āEveryone rush him at once! Itās our only shot.ā I hollered.
And we did, but it didnāt matter. It happened so fast. It was over before I could even comprehend it.
He moved like an animal, picking each of us apart almost in unison.
I lay on my back, unable to feel my legs as I watched Jerry be disemboweled. He was trying to shove his intestines back inside the tear in his abdomen before the creature came back to finish him off.
I did a cross over myself but didnāt bother to pray.
As Pete stood over me, with dead eyes, I knew there was no God.
He didnāt exist inside these walls.
We were abandoned.
The unheard.
I stared up at the magazine cut out of a Maxim model that was crudely pasted on the underside of the top bunk. Her pert breast shimmied ever so slightly as Pete tossed and turned above.
She was platinum blonde with legs long enough to wrap around me twice. Or so the camera angle made it seem. I felt a stirring below, that yearning for a womanās touch⦠which I hadnāt felt in six years, three months, and eleven days.
I rolled to my side, stifling it. It was the wrong time to seek out an orgasm, and I knew after the release Iād just spiral into self-loathing anyway. I focused on a crack in the cinder block until my eyelids became heavy.
Static pushed the thought of women from my mind as I slipped into sleep. The smell of cigars and oil flitted through my mind in a memory. My dadās repair shop. The one I was meant to take over, before the arrestā¦
------
āAaaarrgghh!ā
A cry echoing from somewhere deep within the prison startled me awake. My heart thundered in my chest like a rabbit thrashing against its cage.
I rolled over to see Pete crouching low, his face pressed against the bars.
āWhatās going on?ā I croaked.
āTheyāre taking Benny.ā He whispered.
āFuck, really?ā I pulled myself to the top corner of my mattress, just enough to peer around the edge of the bars.
Two guards wrestled the young latino onto a gurney as a man in a lab coat watched from a distance. He fought against them but it was futile. Once the straps were locked in he screamed once more, pleading for help.
Dozens of eyes watched from dim lit cells, none of which stirring to offer assistance in the slightest. We knew there was no helping him. We knew what happened nextā¦
His cries were muffled as the doctor jammed a syringe into the base of his neck. Bennyās muscles tensed and pulsed in the fit of a seizure, but then lay still. The cell block was silent once more as they wheeled him down the hall and into the catacombs.
I did a cross over myself but didnāt bother to pray. Once they took them, they never came back.
āA damn shameā¦ā I muttered.
āYeah, he was a good kidā¦ā Pete stood and leapt back onto the top bunk.
A fire burned in my chest. I wanted to say something. To cry out about the injustice of what was happening to us. That committing a crime shouldnāt damn a man to whatever terrible fate they had instore for us below three feet of steel and a quarter mile of dirt.
But I didnāt⦠What good could it do? Other than drawing attention to me in a very negative way.
Once they took you to the lab, you were never seen again.
All you could do was hope that your number was never called, and that you got out of here before they visited your cell late into the night.
ā-----
87ā¦88ā¦89ā¦90ā¦
My chest was on fire as sweat dripped from the tip of my nose. I couldnāt go back to sleep last night. Kept thinking about Benny.
91ā¦92ā¦93ā¦
So began the push-ups. It was the only way to clear my head.
94ā¦95ā¦96ā¦
My therapy.
97ā¦98ā¦99ā¦100.
I rolled to my back, out of breath.
Three years, six months and change.
So much time left to go.
Benny had only been here for a little over a year. It made no senseā¦
None of us could figure out exactly why they took who they took. There seemed to be no method to the madness.
Just a couple weeks ago they took old man Tom Finch. Heād been here longer than any of us. A lifer on the account of premeditated murder back in the 70s. But they didnāt come for him until heād served most of his adult life behind bars.
The red beacon suddenly swirled above. A buzzing sound hummed as the cell doors clicked and slid open.
Breakfast.
ā----
I pulled my tray along the bar to be loaded with oats, powdered eggs and bread.
Meager rations.
I grabbed a small carton of milk and made my way over to sit with Pete. He was already nibbling on his toast while perusing a crossword puzzle.
We exchanged nods and I went to devouring the entirety of my plate.
Calories build muscle after all.
Which was something Pete had no interest in. He was a bookworm through and through. Rail thin too. When weād met, Iād assumed it was from the drug problem heād had on the outside, which ultimately landed him in incarceration. But come to find out it was just his metabolism and general lack of appetite.
āJohnā¦ā He whispered.
I looked up from my feast.
He was looking to the corner of the cafeteria and I followed his gaze to see two men in lab coats surveying the crowd.
I grunted and squeezed the handle of my fork until my knuckles went white. The impulse of burying it into their throats was almost overwhelming.
āTheir activity has been ramping up.ā
āWhat do you mean?ā
āIāve been seeing them much more frequently as of late. They must be close to a breakthrough.ā
āBreakthrough of what?ā I furrowed my brow.
āWho knows? Whatever it is they are doing down there. Theyāve been taking us more often as well.ā
Pete sighed at the twist of confusion on my face.
āThink about it⦠Benny last night, then Tom two weeks before that. Then Eric ten days before that, and Deonte maybe three weeks prior. Itās never been that close together. Until recently, they only came perhaps once every other month. Sometimes only once a season.ā
Shit⦠he was right. I hadnāt realized it before.
āSo what does that mean?ā I asked, shoving another hunk of egg into my mouth.
āI have no idea. But Iād say our odds of survival have been reduced dramatically.ā
ā-----
Pete might as well have been an oracle, peering into our grim and desolate future.
Over the next several months we started seeing the lab coats weekly. Sometimes even more often than that.
The prison yard felt empty. Sure there were still plenty of us left, but our population had been noticeably trimmed. One gang in particular only had two members left, which didnāt bode well for them. The others slowly circled them like sharks. I had no affiliation with any of them and kept to myself. But still, I could see their fate a mile away.
Although, despite the business as usual dog eat dog atmosphere, there was an undercurrent of fear rippling through the general pop. You could smell it, like a scent of decay and desperation. Hard faces that had once promised violence, now almost flinched around every corner and jumped at each shadow.
The energy of a couple of hundred men that felt like an animal backed into a corner was palpable.
But what could we do?
I didnāt know but I sure wish someone would tell me⦠I threw myself into my workouts and Pete hardly ever looked up from a book. Escapism was our only reprieve.
I went to bed with a prayer on my lips, hoping I wouldnāt hear those iron bars moving in the late hours of the night.
ā-----
A loud clanking followed by footsteps pulled me from sleep.
I squeezed my eyes tightly shut hoping it was the cell next to mine.
But it wasnātā¦
Three guards hovered behind a fourth that was unlocking our cell. The bars clicked and began to slide open.
I jumped to my feet and backed up against the wall. I pulled my fists up into a boxing stance, I wasnāt going to go without a fight. My muscles tensed and flexed like coiled steel.
āIn the corner inmate! Weāre here for your cellmate.ā A short and stocky corrections officer barked with his hand gripping the baton at his waist.
Pete squirmed into a ball at the corner of his mat and looked at me with wide, pleading eyes.
I put my face in the opposite corner as instructed. A mixture of fear and relief roiled in my gut, and I hated myself for it. It made me feel like a coward.
āNo, no, no, no, no!ā I heard Pete squeal from behind as guards flooded the cell.
I peaked over my shoulder and watched as they pried him from the top bunk. Pete tried to resist, but there was nothing to him. A bag of bones that they easily wrestled down.
That same fire ignited in my chest. Anger washed over me, cleansing away the cowardice. For Godās sake, he was my only friend.
All I could see was red.
I spun around bringing the back of my fist across a guardās face, shattering the bridge of his nose. Blood spurted from it as he dropped Peteās legs.
With a giant step forward I brought an uppercut into the portly officerās abdomen, dropping him like a ton of bricks.
I shoved a third into the corner, pinning him there as I screamed for Pete to run. He scampered out the opening and the last thing I heard were his footfalls as a baton smashed across the back of my skull. Everything went black before I even hit the ground.
ā-----
I spent a month in solitary.
The room was so small it should have been inhumane to house a human being inside of it.
Still⦠I made the best of it with dips, pushups and situps. Countless reps of them. It was all I could do.
Some mornings Iād wake up with horrible migraines. I assumed it was a slight concussion from the impact of the baton.
I only hoped Pete could have somehow made it out. But somewhere deep down I knew that would have been impossible. Hopefully he at least gave them some hell before they took him below.
I stopped praying before bed. It didnāt seem like it did any good.
If there was a God, he didnāt exist inside these walls.
We were abandoned.
The unheard.
ā-------
When I finally got back to my cell it had been emptied of everything. Peteās books, artwork from his niece and even my Maxim cutout.
Just like heād never existed. My heart sunk at the sight.
Later that day Iād learned from others that he had been captured just moments after escaping the cell.
But our actions werenāt wasted in vain.
We were the first to fight back against the abduction and it sparked something in the others.
They started talks of an uprising a few weeks back. A prison riot.
They even had a guard on the inside. C.O. Matthews. He was a very religious man and was just as horrified by what was happening as we were and had been looking for a way to help.
āItās going down tonight John, just before lights out. Be ready.ā Jerry whispered at the picnic table.
I gave a nod that I understood and headed off for my daily jog around the courts.
It wasnāt about getting out. Getting free. That wasnāt going to happen. It was about sending a message.
I let my mind go blank, filling with static as I enjoyed what could be my last day outside.
ā------
The beacon swirled overhead in the common area.
āInmates to their cells. Lights out.ā The intercom buzzed.
There were over fifty men in cell block B, and not a single one of us moved.
The voice on the intercom repeated himself angrily as guards began to shuffle in closer. Nods passed like dominoes from one inmate to the next. We were ready.
āGet to your cell inmate.ā a guard growled as he clamped his hands down on my shoulders.
I threw an elbow behind me into his groin, he howled in pain as he hit the floor. The other inmates sprung to their feet and flew off from their leaning places to join in the brawl.
Fists, feet and batons flew wildly across the cell block as we engaged in war with the uniformed officers.
I grappled with one until I was able to submit him in a choke until he went limp in my arms.
I stomped another in the face, spilling blood and brains on the concrete floor.
It had looked like we were winning until they sent the special response team in. We formed a line, many of us battered and bloody, in front of the row of riot shields.
We waited for their charge for what felt like an eternity.
But suddenly they backed out from where theyād come and slid the cell block doors closed.
What the hellā¦
The red beacon swirled once again overhead as a clicking sounded out behind us.
The rear entrance that the lab coats had always used swung open. I spun around to seeā¦
āMary, mother of God.ā I gasped.
It was Peteā¦
But there was something horribly wrong with him.
His skin clung loosely to his body and had a terrible jaundice looking hue to it. His eyes almost seemed to glow and his hands⦠they were impossibly large like contorted branches.
I held my hand up to my mouth in disbelief.
A scientist stepped out from behind him.
āAs you can see, we have a few kinks left to iron out, but we are making great progress. Would you all care to see what he can do?ā He looked into each of our eyes inquisitively.
āIf you donāt, head back to your cells now. You have ten seconds and then I shall release him.ā
It was so silent you could hear a pin drop. But a violent and hungry energy filled the room, emanating from what used to be my friend.
Suddenly, over half the remaining inmates bolted for their cells out of fear. Not that I could blame them, my knees wobbled and threatened to buckle just at the sight of him.
But I stood my ground, as did a handful of others.
āVery well then. Specimen 3-1-0, engage.ā
A growl reverberated through the cell block.
āEveryone rush him at once! Itās our only shot.ā I hollered.
And we did, but it didnāt matter. It happened so fast. It was over before I could even comprehend it.
He moved like an animal, picking each of us apart almost in unison.
I lay on my back, unable to feel my legs as I watched Jerry be disemboweled. He was trying to shove his intestines back inside the tear in his abdomen before the creature came back to finish him off.
I did a cross over myself but didnāt bother to pray.
As Pete stood over me, with dead eyes, I knew there was no God.
He didnāt exist inside these walls.
We were abandoned.
The unheard.
All good things must come to an end. š„²
As you surely know by now, this will be the very last Cup in The Silph Arena's long and glorious history. And so even though I slowly faded away from my monthy meta writeups for Silph some time ago (I think it's been over a year now! š„¹), I HAD to come back for one last ride together, my friends. Like many of you, I only ever got into PvP
because of The Arena, and was a PvP veteran when GBL was still but a twinkle in John Hanke's eye. Many wonderful memories of tournaments and communities, local and remote, that I will cherish always.
And of course: YOU, my dear readers. I am sorry I stepped back, but you all surpassed beyond me and my relatively simple meta overviews. After a while, budget picks became less and less necessary to study as you had more and more tools already at your disposal, built up from the metas of the past.
In short, to paraphrase the great Yoda himself:
I am what you grew beyond. That is the true burden of all teachers. And perhaps, here at the end, you still don't need my simple budget heroes, my rather basic overview of the meta and, of course, off-meta potential wonders. You know, the thrifty AND the nifty stuff. š
But I can think of no better way to say a proper goodbye to the good folks at The Silph Arena AND you, my dear friends, than to give this one last go. Together.
One last..."Nifty Or Thrifty"! For old times' sake.
So here we go!
For those who don't remember, this article series serves a few functions. First, it gives a first blush, comprehensive look at the meta for the upcoming
Innocent Cup, particularly from the perspective of which PokƩmon are likely worth the cost of leveling up and adding a second charge move (
nifty) and which ones would probably work out fine without heavy investment (
thrifty), including some alternatives to the more expensive options. For those on a stardust budget ā and/or folks trying to save up some dust for the future ā it can be daunting trying to figure out where to spend or not spend it. We all want to field competitive teams of six, but where can we get the best bang for our buck and where should we perhaps instead channel our inner scrooge?
And as always, while I have tried to whittle somewhat, this is likely to be a
long read, just to warn you up front! But always as per normal, I'll try to keep it entertaining as well. š
Before we dive in, make sure to familiarize yourself with what makes up Innocent Cup. It's Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Psychic, and Water type PokƩmon, with with Arbok, Dragalge, Garbodor, and Swalot specifically whitelisted in as well. Excluded are Ice, Fire, Poison and Steel types, plus Altaria, Galarian Zapdos, Galarian Moltres, Galarian Articuno, Cresselia, Hawlucha, Lanturn, Mandibuzz, Mantine, Mew, Alolan Ninetales, Noctowl, Pelipper, Pidgeot, and Trevenant are all specifically banned. The full list and rules are over
here, so check that out before reading on.
Now it's time to dive in, but only after one final, unapologetic musical intro. Hit it!
š¼
Oops, let's do this again š¶
Silph played with our hearts ā«
We got lost in the game ā©
Oh baby, baby ā«
Oops, I think I'm in love ā¬
Silph was sent from aboooooove āŖ
I'm not that Innocent....
Okay, maybe not one of my greatest ever, but it was either this or a mushy goodbye song like "My Way" or something.
Anyway, in retro style, let's go through this final meta in order of cheapest second move cost all the way to the Legendaries. Here we go!
10,000 Dust/25 Candy
ALOLAN RAICHU Volt Switch Thunder Punch & Wild Charge/Psychic There is a LOT in AhChu's favor here. It resists Flying, Psychic, Electric, and Fighting damage ā all very relevant in this format ā and wails on all the Waters and Flyers around. As tempting as
Grass Knot is for its ability to blow away the Mud Boys (and other Ground types), I think that if you choose NOT to use
Wild Charge, it is
Psychic (the move, to keep the old inside joke going!) that you want more, as it can at least slap around the important Poison types in the meta (beating ALL of them, whereas Dragalge and Swalot can escape otherwise). That said, the overall more threatening move remains Wild Charge, which obviously has its drawbacks, but is pretty widely unresisted and alone has the power to blow away things like Hypno, Azumarill, and Araquanid.
EMOLGA Thunder Shock Discharge & Acrobatics When I began this article (WAY too long ago now! ), Emolga was a mere footnote here. But that was
then, and
this is now with the addition of
Acrobatics. I still don't know how high Emolga may soar now in PvP, but I know that with THIS meta, it should be off to an impressive start!
SWELLOW Wing Attack Sky Attack & Brave Bird Wait wait wait...
Wing Attack and
Sky Attack and Brave Bird? Why have you hardly seen any of these used? Well, it's much less tanky than Pidgeot and especially Noctowl, which is why they generally get all the press and poor Swellow usually languishes. But one thing that has always separated Silph from GBL are the spot bans, and in this Cup, it is Noctowl and Pidgeot that are on the outside looking in, allowing
Swellow to soar high. And beyond the obvious Electrics and a few Fairies, there really isn't too much that it has to fear. Go fly past the competition!
DARTRIX Leafage Brave Bird & Seed Bomb Poor
Decidueye may remain unexciting in PvP, but at least Dartrix now gets
its moment in the spotlight as a budget (and with the addition of
Leafage, perhaps even better?) Tropius here. I say "perhaps better" despite the fact that
Razor Leaf Trop has a better record because of between the two, only Dartrix manages to overcome Dragalge and Clefable (and spicy Togetic). Trop instead shreds things like Hypno, Gliscor, Wobbuffet, Alolan Raichu, and Seaking, so there's certainly room for both, but Dartrix is absolutely the better fit on some teams.
WHIMSICOTT Fairy Wind Moonblast & Seed Bomb/Grass Knot I'm listing
Charm and/or
Hurricane as options here, but other than the latter sometimes winning the mirror, there's really nothing major they can do that
Fairy Wind and
Moonblast (along with one of the now-two Grass moves) can't. Only with the speedy charging of Fairy Wind can Whimsie outrace stuff like Azumarill, Tapu Fini, and Whiscash, and Moonblast is more reliable than Hurricane at taking out things like Wobbuffet, Zapdos, and importantly, have the advantage versus Dragalge. As for
Grass Knot vs the new
Seed Bomb, the former has the power to take down Wobb and Whiscash, while the latter instead now outraces (Fairy Wind) Slurpuff, (Ice Beam) Jellicent, and (Sludge Wave) Swampert. Go with Fairy Wind. You have plenty of other Charm options anyway. For example....
WIGGLYTUFF Charm Ice Beam & Disarming Voice Yes, you definitely want both
Ice Beam and the new Disarming Voice for Wiggly to be well-rounded, but as is often the case with Charmers, it can often be best to
go for the Charm-down, allowing additional wins against stuff like Dedenne, Tapu Fini, Florges. and several fellow Charmers (assuming they are not
also trying to just Charm-down). Wiggly remains among the best, if not THE best, pure Charmer in yet another format.
CLEFABLE Fairy Wind Meteor Mash & Moonblast Fairy Wind is now the way to go here (and likely in many metas yet to come), as
Meteor Mash can do some serious work, especially in whalloping the other Faires! You can run
Psychic as well to also shock Poisons (Swalot and Dragalge in particular), but it's overall a bit weaker than
Moonblast, which is needed for wins like Azu, Hypno, Wobbuffet, and most of the Electrics in the meta (Dedenne, Zapdos, and Emolga, specifically).
SWALOT Infestation Sludge Bomb & Ice Beam/Gunk Shot I've written about Swalot before, but only as an often-desperate attempt to show it as a decent thrifty Poison with upside. But never has it really SHOWN that upside
like it does here in Innocent Cup. It can swallow all Grasses and Fairies whole, and can also topple things like DDeoxys, Alolan Raichu, Dedenne, Wobbuffet, Seaking, and fellow Poison Garbodor. Give it
Ice Beam for coverage instead of big closer
Gunk Shot, and while it gives up a couple Fairies (Azumarill, Tapu Fini) and Araquanid, it gains Ice-weak Zapdos and Zweilous instead. Swalot is not only finally a breakout star here at the end of Arena play, but you have legit
options with it! You love to see it.
SWAMPERT Mud Shot Hydro Cannonᓸ & Earthquake/Sludge Wave It would be easy to assume that
Sludge Wave is clearly THE way to go in this meta filled with Fairies and key Grass types. And there is wisdom in that, as Sludge does indeed conquer every Fairy here except the new Fairy Wind Togetic. But there remains just a strong a case for good old
Earthquake instead, as it instead knocks out all the Poisons, plus Zweilous, Jellicent, and enemy Swamperts. The choice is even more in Quake's favor for Shadow Swampert, as it beats all the major Fairies besides Togekiss, Togetic, Azu, and Whimsie, still uniquely takes down Dragalge, Jellicent, and Swampert, and adds to that Whiscash and Rainy Castform as well. I understand the attention being given to Sludge Wave... Innocent Cup IS one of the better fits for it. Just don't put those blinders on too tightly. Earthquake still bears consideration too, depending on the rest of your team. And of course, there is also
Shadow Swampert, which I think also prefers Earthquake, beating everything Quake non-Shadow Swampie can, PLUS Clefable, Tapu Fini, and Slurpuff as non-Shadow can only if it has Sludge Wave, AND completely unique wins versus Gliscor, Zapdos, and Rainy Castform too!
WHISCASH Mud Shot Mud Bomb & Blizzard Aside from the just-buffed
Mud Bomb making Whiscash a bit better anyway, it has one other big thing going for it in this meta that separates it from Swampert:
Blizzard, which simply destroys Flyers (Drifblim, Emolga, Jumpluff, Togekiss, Togetic) that Swampert can't touch, as well as Whimsicott for good measure. Sure, Whiscash can't match Swampert's wins versus things like Hypno, Florges, Tapu Fini, or Florges, and usually will lose to Swampert in the head to head, but at least it stands on pretty equal footing in this meta. Some teams will want one, some will want the other. Which do YOU prefer, my friend?
BLASTOISE Water Gun Hydro Cannonᓸ & Ice Beam As always, Blastoise is not exactly exciting, but it can get the job done in a pinch. Its excellent bulk allows it to hang in and beat every meta Fairy that isn't part Water or Grass, and also handles things like Drifblim, Swampert and Whiscash, Swalot and Garbodor, and thanks to Ice Beam, Dragalge, Jumpluff, and (Air Slash) Tropius as well. Nothing flashy, but solid as always. I do not particularly recommend
Shadow Blastie.
GOLISOPOD Shadow Claw X-Scissor & Liquidation Golisopod is suddenly interesting now that it has all-new move
Liquidation, which brings in new wins like Whiscash (it already beat Swampert), Swalot, Drifblim, and Gliscor. Add to this some surprising wins like Azumarill, Rainy Castform, and Alolan Raichu, and Golisopod may be more spicy than meta itself, but it's certainly on the upswing.
GYARADOS Dragon Breath Aqua Tailᓸ & Crunch Gyarados does
just enough to be interesting, including taking out all the Poisons and Dragons in the meta, all Grounds but Quagsire, and stuff like Hypno, Wobbuffet, Jellicent, Rainy Castform, Drifblim, Araquanid. Slurpuff, and even Jumpluff. Not bad, right? Just don't get too cute with
Shadow Gary.
SWOOBAT Confusion Psychic Fangs & Aerial Ace Hey, leave it to me for the
oddball picks, especially among the "thrifty" 10ks. Swoobat is NOT a good PvP PokƩmon, but it DOES come with
Confusion to blow away the scary Poisons, and being a Flyer means it performs well against things like Swampert, Medicham, and the Grasses as well. It also manages to several of the big name Fairies and even Gliscor and Rainy Castform too. Not fantastic, but a lot of potential fun in this final Silph Cup.
50,000 Dust/50 Candy
SEAKING Poison Jabᓸ Icy Windᓸ & Drill Runᓸ One thing that doesn't change, despite all the new Fairy Wind around, is that Seaking still wipes away ALL the Fairies here, even really scary ones like Dedenne and Aromatisse/Slurpuff, even with fast-charging Fairy Wind and their scary Electric and Grass charge moves. With its adaptive moveset, it also handles big Poisons Dragalge and Garbodor, Flyers like Gliscor, Tropius, Emolga, and Jumpluff (and most non-Razor Leaf Grasses in this meta in general), and Dragons like Zweilous. Versatile and a LOT of fun, Seaking earns every bit of its current
Top 3 Ranking in Innocent Cup!
JUMPLUFF Fairy Wind Energy Ball & Acrobaticsᓸ So here's one that DOES take a little hit with the redistribution of Fairy Wind (but
Jumpie is still pretty good!). Jumpluff beats all the major Fairies except Florges... unless they're running Fairy Wind. But now it loses to FW Clefable, who is likely to suddenly be quite popular, and FW Togetic, who I feel like folks are going to bring as long-desired spice. It also has not a prayer against most Poisons (though it
can handle Dragalge thanks to resisting Aqua Tail) but beats
most Waters, Wobb, Medicham, Hypno, Zweilous, and even Tropius.
DEDENNE Thunder Shock Discharge & Play Rough When and I other analysts starting looking over this meta, we got
very excited about Deedee. Upon further review, I personally like Alolan Raichu better overall, as it knocks out things Dedenne cannot like Hypno, Florges, Drifblim, Jumpluff, Seaking (Deedee does NOT like Poison damage!), Fini, Castform, and Clefable. Dedenne IS still
quite good, with its better bulk and Fairy subtyping allowing it unique wins like Wobbuffet, Slurpluff, and Zweilous. And of course, you can always put Deedee AND AhChu on the same team of six....
FLORGES Fairy Wind Disarming Voice & Moonblast So Florges doesn't do anything particularly unique, as it is arguably best running with all Fairy moves. It CAN do some neat things with
Vine Whip, like beating Jellicent and winning the mirror, but
Fairy Wind is just better, instead taking out Jumpluff, Hypno, Wobbuffet, Whimsicott, Tropius and more.
As for other 50k Fairies:
- AROMATISSE is just kind of there. Thunderbolt is nice coverage in this meta in theory, but of course Charm makes it more of a Hail Mary than something to truly threaten all the Waters and Flyers with.
- SLURPUFF can operate with Fairy Wind, though it does so much less successfully than others. It's actually probably also best as a Charmer, just, again, a rather unexciting one. At least Flamethrower and Energy Ball are fantastic coverage options if you ever get to throw them!
- GRANBULL and TOGEKISS are even less exciting. Pass.
There is ONE other Fairy well worth mentioning here, though....
AZUMARILL Bubble Ice Beam & Hydro Pump/Play Rough If there's one lesson we learned early on in The Arena, it's that if you allow Azumarill into a meta, it
will find a way to become relevant. And lo and behold,
here is yet another example. Not even Swalot, Emolga, or Zapdos can safely overcome Azu! And that's on top of all the Fighters, Psychics, Flyers, Mud Boys and fellow Fairies that Azu can strike down. Azumarill is a strong contender here, as it has basically always been in these metas.
JELLICENT Hex Surf &/or Shadow Ball &/or Ice Beam I think I can pretty definitively recommend
Hex as the fast move, but after that? Time for a classic side-by-side. My default recommendation is
Surf/Shadow Ball, which can get to meaningful wins like Whiscash, Drifblim, and the mirror, but also valid are
Surf/Ice Beam and even
Beam/Ball work. Ice Beam is basically required to beat Whimsicott, Tropius, Jumpluff, and Dragalge, but can usually do it alongside Ball
or Surf. Beam/Ball can beat most of what Surf/Ball and Surf/Beam can except Clefable, Florges, and Slurpuff. I think the basic question is thus: do you need extra coverage versus Grasses and Dragons? If so: Ice Beam. If not? Probably just stick with Surf/Shadow Ball. But there's no "wrong" answer, really. Good luck!
ARAQUANID Bug Bite Bubble Beam & Mirror Coat/Bug Buzz Gotta be that
Bug Buzz is the closer to go with, right? Well, yes... but also perhaps no. It's true that only the raw power of Bug Buzz can overcome things like Seaking, Fairy Wind Whimsicott, and Clefable, but as bad a move as
Mirror Coat is, it's ALSO true that 'Nid can overcome all the format's Poison types (and win the mirror match) only with Mirror Coat, not Buzz. Do with that information what you will, but I like when I get to highlight secret tech like that.
QUAGSIRE Mud Shot Stone Edge & Mud Bomb/Earthquake I still don't think it's
quite right to call new Quag toy
Mud Bomb a straight upgrade, as there are good things like
Earthquake can still do that Bomb can't, like overpowering Azumarill and Swampert. But yes,
Mud Bomb is probably the de facto standard now, getting its own nice wins versus things like Seaking, Rainy Castform, Tapu Fini, and Wigglytuff. Lord Quag is certainly more interesting than it was in May, particularly
Shadow Quag which can do all of that PLUS also beat all versions of Jellicent, Hypno, and Togekiss, and Azumarill slides back into the win column too!
DRAGALGE Dragon Tail Aqua Tail & Gunk Shot/Outrage Good enough place as any to slide over to the relevant Poison types, since Dragalge masquerades as a Water type with
Aqua Tail. But which way to go for the closer? Well, I'll start by saying that either one nets wins versus Araquanid (without Mirror Coat!), Tropius, and Jumpluff. After that, the slightly better record lies with
Outrage that can beat Jellicent and Castform with high neutral damage, but I think I STILL lean towards
Gunk Shot for its own unique win versus Azumarill and its high pressure versus enemy Fairies, Grasses, and others in the meta. In this case, I'd just keep it simple.
GARBODOR Infestation Gunk Shot & Body Slam/Seed Bomb With a face only a mother could love, here comes the only meta that can also tolerate Garbo. It's still not
quite on the same tier as Dragalge and Swalot, but yes,
Garbo is legit viable in Innocent Cup.
Body Slam is my recommendation for spam alongside the required
Gunk Shot, as Slam overwhelms stuff like Wobbuffet and Araquanid. But there is some potential spice here as well if you instead run with
Seed Bomb, as you can then beat (Sludge Wave) Swampert and surprise the heck out of Ground and Water types in general.
ARBOK Acid Dark Pulse & Acid Spray And even a small step below Garbodor (
there is a sentence is
never thought I would write!), we have Arbok
withAcid, and NOT the
Dragon Tail you might expect instead. While it's true that Tail can beat other Dragons and/or Poisons (Dragalge, Zweilous, and Swalot specifically),
it's very poor otherwise. Acid is a bad move, but it does manage to
dissolve (see what I did there? I so funny hee hee haha) every non-Psychic Fairy and Grass type in the meta besides Tapu Fini, which is obviously a big deal in this meta.
HYPNO Confusion Shadow Ball & Thunder Punch/Ice Punch Usually an analysis on Hypno means a long debate between competing (and all viable) movesets. Now there ARE several that work outside of my recommendation of
Shadow Ball/Thunder Punch, but I am ready to label that the odds on favorite. It just brings the most overall pressure in this meta, especially to the many Water and Flying types (beating Azumarill as one specific example), at the very small cost of being non-ideal versus Grasses... though Hypno doesn't beat Jumpluff or Tropius with Fire OR Ice anyway, so in my mind, no harm, no foul. At least, that's the way I'd go for non-Shadow. For
Shadow Hypno,
Ice Punch now comes with the power to freeze and shatter Jumpluff and Tropius, as well as Gliscor and Swampert, and still manages to knock out Azumarill too. Best of all worlds!
FARIGAMARIF Confusion/Tackle Psychic Fangs & Thunderbolt Bittersweet moment here, as it's my last time getting to talk about ol' Geeriffaā um, Giffimarā uh, Jeffomafig? Oh,
fine... Girafarig. Yes, I HAVE known how to spell it all these years. š
My boy has only gotten better since recieving
Psychic Fangs, to the point that it's viable in TWO configurations in this meta: [
Tackle]() to overcome fellow Psychics (the type, NOT the move... two long-running jokes in one section! šŖ) like Hypno, or
Confusion which overpowers Whimsicott, Drifblim, Castform, and Clefable and is, honestly, just the better fast move in general. And don't forget
Shadow Farigamiraf, which does give up Swampert, Jumpluff, Gliscor, and Charm Whimsie, but
gains Surf/Shadow Ball Jellicent (already beats other Jelli variants), Seaking, Tapu Fini, Whiscash, and Togetic... and now beats Hypno without needing Tackle! One last toast to everyone's favorite funky Girafamathingy! It's been real, buddy. Glad you get to go out in style. š¦
SLOWBRO/SLOWKING Confusion/Water Gun Surfᓸ & Ice Beam/Psychic Slowbro gets the slight nod because I like
Confusion/Surf/Ice Beam the best personally (with standout wins versus Jumpluff, Tropius, and Florges), but if you want to instead run
Water Gun/Surf/
Psychic (the move!), then
Slowking or Slowbro work equally well. The unique wins there are basically other Psychic types like DDeoxys and Wobbuffet. Either way, the Super Slow Bros are pretty nifty here! Similar
BRUXISH not quite so much though.
CLAYDOL Confusion Rock Tomb & Ice Beam/Shadow Ball Not a strong recommendation, but Claydol does just enough here to be interesting (and that should make the Niantic employee that keeps adding moves to it every couple seasons very happy). With
Ice Beam it beats Jumpluff, but beyond that you really want
Shadow Ball, I think, which can instead beat Seaking and gives Claydol unique coverage versus Psychics, Flyers, AND Poisons, among others.
MEDICHAM Counter Ice Punch & Psychic Speaking of doing just enough to be interesting, this is one of those rare-ish metas where Medicham is
merely okay. It does manage to hold down the Poisons as a good Psychic type should, but beyond that it doesn't really know what it wants to be in this meta, settling for picking off some big names but whiffing on plenty of others. I don't feel great about it myself, but be ready for it to show up in your opponent's six at some point, especially after it absolutely rocked the first Play PokƩmon tournaments of the new GBL season.
HONCHKROW Snarl Sky Attack & Brave Bird One final chance to put in a good word for Honch (and end a 50k section with some spice...
sniff š¢), one of the ultimate
boom or bust options in PvP. Really not much to say than that... just reminding you that it and its
Shadow version remain out there, lurking, daring you to take a shot with it. High risk, but potentially sky high reward in this final Silph month, folks!
75,000 Dust/75 Candy
TROPIUS Razor Leaf Aerial Ace & Leaf Blade I feel I am contractually obligated to start this section with ol' Banana Chin, specifically to point out a rare disagreement with my good friend Mr. PvPoke, who lists
Air Slash as the fast move of choice. Respectfully, I disagree... it is
Razor Leaf you want here. Not only does it still manage to beat everything Air Slash can that you most care about, and not only does it shred even scary Water types like Seaking and Jellicent, but it's also THE way for Trop to beat Florges and Electric types like Alolan Raichu and Dedenne. If you want more charge move pressure and such, go with Jumpluff. If you want to just beat stuff down almost regardless of remaining shields, Razor Leaf Tropius is your friend.
GLISCOR Wing Attack Night Slash & Earthquake Regular and
Shadow both have plenty of merit. Non-Shadow has the bulk to outlast Clefable, Florges, Whimsicott, Zweilous, Medicham, Emolga, and Swampert, while Shadow instead has the raw power to overcome Jellicent, Tropius, Zapdos, Whiscash (before it can get to Blizzard), and non-Ice Punch Hypno.
GLIGAR Wing Attack Night Slash & Returnᓾ Honestly, though...
purified Gligar is just better than Gliscor.
Return is a big equalizing beatstick that allows Gligar to beat everything Gliscor can (regular and Shadow Gliscor
combined, that is) except Jellicent, Whiscash, and Swalot, and further add on wins against Dragalge, Togekiss, and Gliscor itself! I think Gligar is a big time sleeper in Innocent Cup.
DRIFBLIM Hex Icy Wind & Shadow Ball It just got
Mystical Fire, but at least in this meta, I think Blim wants to stick with
Icy Wind, which does everything Fire can do plus can beat Flyers like Gliscor and Togetic. And just this once, I even give
Shadow Blim a thumbs up. It drops Dedenne, but gains Tapu Fini, Rainy Castform, and stuff like Slurpuff too. Nice!
RAINY CASTFORM Water Gun Weather Ball (Water) & Thunder No Lanturn,
no problem? Lanturn would indeed be perhaps a bit OP here, but Rainy is juuuuuuust right. Washes away Swalot and Garbo
and even resists-all-its-moves Dragalge, Clefable and Togetic and Wigglytuff, and of course a ton of Waters (Jelli, Azu, Fini, Seaking) thanks to
Thunder (and Swampert thanks to
Weather Ball spam). Someone is definitely going to do well with it this month.
SYLVEON Qucik Attack Psyshockᓸ & Moonblast I mean, you CAN run Sylvie with
Charm, but what makes it unique is
Quick Attack. That plus
Psyshock makes it the Fairy that handles the Poisons, while still doing most of the standard Fairy job (handling Dragons and Fighters and Bugs) and beating most of its fellow Fairies (and Jumpluff!) as well. It is very quietly a
great Fairy in this meta.
ZWEILOUS Dragon Breath Body Slam & Dark Pulse Yes yes, it MUST avoid double super effective Fairy damage. And that leaves it with a
less than inspiring record against the core meta. But take those away, and it has little to worry about beyond the few Bugs and Fighters in the meta. It beats the other Dragons you're going to see, and obviously dominates Psychic and Ghost types. And being a Dragon means resisting Water and Electric and Grass damage and beating many of those types too. It's far better (and sure to be far more popular) than the simple numbers would indicate.
DRAGONAIR Dragon Breath Body Slam & Aqua Tail Similar story here.
The numbers are so-so, for similar reasons as Zweilous, but Dragonair puts out a lot of very spammy neutral damage. And unlike Zweilous, it can handle Seaking, Whiscash, DDeoxys and others.
I'll point out that
Shadow DRAGONITE is pretty spicy too, though far less safe. It's more of a blunt object to the scalpel of Dragonair and Zweilous.
100,000 Dust/75 Candy
Running out of space (and already WAY out of time), so gonna blow through these briefly....
- ZAPDOS is the most interesting Legendary here, even with Emolga now really nipping at its heels. Emolga can overcome Whimsicott, Medicham, and Swalot, but it's still advantage Zapdos with wins versus Seaking, Jelli, Swampert, Gliscor, and Emolga itself. Zappie is still worth it, folks.
- It's no Azumarill, but yes, TAPU FINI still puts in some work. While Azu can outlast things like Emolga, Zapdos, Swampert, Gliscor, Florges, Wobb, and DDeoxys, it is Fini that alone can beat Jellicent, Dragalge, Araquanid, and Dedenne. There really IS a good case for both. If you're feeling particularly frisky, maybe literally both on the same team?
- Honorable mentions for GUZZLORD (which, unlike Zweilous, at least carries Sludge Bomb to somewhat threaten Fairies), LATIOS (just a Dragon that can wallop Poisons and other things with Luster Purge), DEFENSE DEOXYS (not particularly awesome here, but always a decent filler), and strangely-popular-so-far (according to Cup stats to date) CELEBI.
FEELIN' LUCKY?
For those unfamilar, this final section wraps up with stuff that needs to be pushed far into XL Candy territory. It CAN be great, but we're way past any semblance of "thrifty" at this point. Let's bring this one home!
- Staraptor isn't so hot here (partly because there's just not much for Close Combat to do), but STARAVIA has got the sauce, right up there with the surprising Swellow. The downside, of course, is having to max out Staravia just to get to 1468 CP. Worth it? Well that's YOUR call, my friend!
- So this one is cheating a bit, because RUFFLET is actually more than viable JUST beyond Level 40, if you max out a hundo at Level 40.5, hitting 1500 CP right on the nose. And it actually performs better in ways than the recommended heavy XL investment variety, having a better shot at beating Hypno and Swalot (while #1 IVs instead takes down only Dragalge and Togekiss instead). Wing Attack/Brave Bird** can't even be held down by the mediocre Aerial Ace. Rufflet is yet another strong bird candidate. If it didn't make sense why Noctowl and Pidgeot were banned yet, this should finally make that case.
- VULLABY kinda works too (and is one I KNOW folks have already invested in), obviously with distinct advantages versus Psychics and Ghosts in particular, and it beats plenty else besides. The big risk, of course, is a weakness to Fairy that other birds in this meta don't really have to worry about (at least not in terms of taking super effective damage). While the Flying Normals are more all-arounders, Vullaby is more of a specialist here.
- One of my favorite memories from early in my PvP analysis "career" was basically being bullied into writing an expansive analysis on LEDIAN by some PokƩmon GO friends on Discord, and then being teased by many members of the early PvP community about it. This was in the days before XL Candy, so Ledian topped out at like 1350 CP then, making it a particuarly nutty venture. But hey, it CAN get to 1500 CP these days, though it's still mere spice and nowhere near meta. But if you took the plunge way back when... hey, this is the last month, right? YOLO!
- Mentioned a few times throughout this article, WOBBUFFET is honestly just alright, suffering from some of the same issues as DDeoxys... bulk and Counter alone don't get you so far in this particular meta. Not like they usually do! Wobb works, but this is not the time to build on from scratch, IMO. Smoke 'em if you already got 'em, sure.
And before I ramble on any further... thatās a wrap! Thanks for hanging with me to the end... of this article, of course, but also for the many of you that have followed and supported me for four and a half
years now. I appreciate and love you all. š
Before I go, one final extension of my thanks to my PvP friends, local and around the world, who have lent their own ideas and suggestions over the years and helped teach me to be a better player and student of the game. There are too many to list them all, but a few specific shout-outs to PvPoke, GO Battle Log, PvPIVs.com, PokeMiners, my old friends at GO Stadium for mutally getting each other off the ground in the pre-GBL days, and of course, one final time, to the good folks at The Silph Arena and The Silph Road. Krydos, Drock, Zooeys, the old Meta Team, Steeeeeeeeeeve, Myugenlol, and Dronpes for really launching this multi-year adventure by
reaching out to me in the first place, back in simpler times. And to those I ran out of time/brain capacity to mention... you know who you are. Thank you for being here along that journey and walking parts of that (Silph) road with me. And once more, my thanks to all of
you, dear readers, for your own encouragement, support, and patience with me over the years.
Okay, I said I wouldn't get sappy again, and specifically that I would NOT use this song, but I think I kind of
have to as a musical outro. So with apologies to Ol' Blue Eyes... well, I always HAVE done these reviews...
my way.
š¼
And now, the end is near ā«
And so we face the final curtain. āŖ
My friends, I'll say it clear: ā¬
I stated my case, of which I'm certain! ā«
And more, much more than this ā©
I wrote it myyyyyyy way! I hope you've enjoyed these analysis articles over the years as much as I've enjoyed preparing and sharing them with you!
All the best, my friends. I hope you have as many happy Silph Arena memories to hold on to as I do. To whatever comes next! Take care, PokƩfriends.
Don't cry because it's over. Smile, because it happened. ā Dr. Seuss
Henloooo, my 2nd sem just ended and I just want to unwind and chill. Looking for a movie buddy for tonight. G ka rin sana mag laro later! Chill na may landian ganon.
About me; - soft voice (malambing daw) - 5 ft. medium thicc - went to conquest (idk conversation starter ig) had an anime, kpop phase - plays valo (pabuhat po, ascendant para green char)
About you; - malambing at malambing din sana boses - open minded; conversationalist (kaya ko naman dumaldal pero parang ako na lng lagi eme) - streamer charot, ikaw mag stream ng movie thanks
Send me an intro about urself and ur dc tag
I watched it yesterday and it was literally a 10/10 movieš Iāve been waiting for a second movie ever since I went to watch Into the Spider-Verse in 2018 LOL. The animation was beautiful, the different art styles with each spider-person, and oh my god Miguel OāHara.
I didnāt know anything about Miguel before I saw him in trailers. The way they made him look in the movie literally makes my legs weak. I was especially more excited to see him was because he was voice by OSCAR ISAAC AAAA. Oscar Isaac is literally one of the hottest actors out there and heās Guatemalan (Iām Mexican soooooš¤š¤) I have a huge thing for Latinos teehee.
ANYWAYS Miguel literally towering over everyone in the movie and how he was so much buffer than anyone.. uhhh literally pick me up and call me yours??? His fangs⦠HIS FANGS. Omg if I keep going on about him Iām gonna have to mark this post as NSFW LMAOAOO
Oh, Marina. One of the many crushes of the 2010s. While I was not too big on her, I would think of her once or twice a week but not gush about her. But when I got Splatoon 3, played and finished the story mode, played many turf wars, heard music from the game, participated in a few Splatfests, and saw the love and appreciation fans have for Splatoon online (mostly Twitter), something snapped inside my psyche, I now understood why fans love this franchise, and with that revelation, this crush of mine for Marina grew. It grew so much that I needed to know more about her by reading her page in the Splatoon Wikia, and after doing so, I appreciate Marina even more.
She is the last thing I think of when going to bed, the first thing I think of when waking up; I would think about her during the day, and my mind on Marina distracted me from college work (I donāt know if that is a good or bad thing, but I manage to finish what work I can for the day). For any song/music (mainly techno or electronic ones) that sounds similar to the Splatoon soundtracks, I envision Marina making the music or dancing to the beat to her heartās content. Since October last year, my mind couldnāt stop thinking about Marina.
Now, I must and will confess the sins Iāve been keeping to myself. I did not like Splatoon. The day the first game came out, I disowned it and the second one because I thought they were another dumb battle royale-like game (similar to Fortnite, even though that game didnāt exist in 2015, I know); I thought the Inklings looked ugly and thought the game would be irksome with its music, characters, art, etc. I remember getting annoyed when YTPs (Youtube Poops) would have audio and visuals from the games and see any video game Youtube channel mention or even make a video about Splatoon. Heck, I got really mad when Inkling Kids joined Smash Ulitmate. However, I did not despise it, and the only one thing that made me not outright reject the series from my life, and that thing is the only thing I thought of when I heard āSplatoon,ā and that thing was Marina. She was the string that kept Splatoon from snapping off from my consciousness, the one pro that made me think that Splatoon may not be bad as I viewed it to be. If she was a completely different character, I might have continued my aversion to the series to this day. Thus, I gave the series a chance and got Splatoon 3, and now, I see why many people have loved this game series for seven years. And I really need something like Splatoon as part of my life; playing Splatoon 3 Turf War battles and looking at the love and appreciation for the series on Twitter gives me a dose of dopamine that makes me feel like a teen again. I apologize to any friend(s) who are Splatoon fans who thought I was a fan all this time. The other sin I must confess (which isnāt surprising) is that I am a man of lust, and with that lust, I have affection for other female characters. Since 14, my mind has been filled with libidinal thoughts of hundreds, maybe thousands, of female characters that exist, both characters from the media and ones created by online artists (even Marina was one of them). But none clicked with me fully; none gave me these positive feelings. Sure, these feminine figures have great qualities about them, but they did not impact me emotionally (yes, Marina was one of them too). But that was until that āsnappedā moment in my psyche when playing Splatoon 3 happened, and Marina soon became the one to give me these positive emotions. I guess I needed to play one of the games to better understand Marinaās character.
Marinaās tentacle hair forms the most lavish curves, as if they are ocean waves and waterfalls, and possess colors similar to my two/three favorite colors: green and purple or black. Her smile is like an upside-down sunrise that shines on the world whenever she appears onscreen. Her voice, laugh, and singing is angelic and serene like the waves of the seven seas (her singing echoes in my mind). Her timidness/shyness, combined with her gentle demeanor, intellect, and occasional sass, makes her adorable, sweet, and supreme. And her eyes; good heavens, her eyes. It is like looking into pink galaxies surrounded by seafoam-colored space, and in those galaxies, I can see stars shining bright, suns burning, and planets rotating, all brimming with life within such heavenly eyes. Sometimes, with many Marina artworks I come across, I would gaze upon the art pieces and start tearing up with joy because it is like witnessing the secret eighth wonder of the world (looking upon the majesty and beauty of such a site), and because of how lucky I am to be alive to observe such a modern, man-made goddess. Viewing any work of art focusing on Marina fills my heart and soul with a sense of happiness. I would gasp with glee whenever I discover a new piece of art starring Marina. I love her so much I have collected over 300+ art pieces of her and placed them into an SD card, filling up six folders, so I can enjoy her glamorous sight without the need for the internet.
I am an utter fool. I am such an idiot! I am an idiot who failed to show this great appreciation for Marina back when she made her debut in Splatoon 2; but my ignorant opposition to the Splatoon series overpowered me, preventing me from doing such action. This neglect prevented me from doing that because if I did, people would think I was a fan; at that time, I didnāt want to be seen as one when the only thing I liked about the series was Marina. Now granted, even if I was infatuated with Splatoon from the start, I would not have been able to play games 1 and 2 due to not having money to buy a Wii U and or Switch, nor would my parents have gotten me said consoles and games (not even for my birthdays or Christmas); so can you and I blame me for not playing the games? I already explained my reasoning for why I did not make any interactivity with the series, and stating that I played and enjoyed Splatoon 3 may make me a hypocrite, and if it does, I apologize for this hypocrisy. I was an early boomer bloomer, alright? I was being a boomer despite being close to the demographic age the games were attracting. Keeping this secret admiration for Splatoon since getting Splatoon 3 made me feel guilty/awkward/embarrassed showing love and respect for Splatoon on the internet, hence why I havenāt liked any Splatoon material on Twitter and other sites, but instead, I put them in my bookmarks. And despite my avoidance of Splatoon, I did not express my past distaste for it; because if I did, I would have been ridiculed for speaking some blasphemy with no evidence to make my remarks valid. But after all this, after starting to enjoy Splatoon, I feel like an old man, too old to be liking and showing appreciation for something aimed at children and teens, hence my whole āfeel guilty/awkward/embarrassed showing love and respectā remark. I know that there are people older than me, or close to my age showing their fascination for things aimed towards a younger audience, but my negative mind makes me think that -I- shouldnāt like things for children/teens. But I try to keep that negative thought out by saying, āwho is to say you are never too old to like things for little kids and teens, rightā? And now that I got this whole secret off of my chest, I love Splatoon! I can now like and share Splatoon appreciation from my bookmarks and into the public eye.
Marina makes me happy and rids me of any worries I have. She is the little vision and voice in my mind that tells me that it will be a good day. Since this admiration for her, playing Turf Wars in Splatoon 3 and losing does not make me angry. Instead, it makes me smile, laugh, and strive for more time to have fun with other players with the same passion. Sure, I may get annoyed when losing multiple times, but its more so me being killed a lot and not getting a lot of fun from the 3 minutes when being killed 5 to 10 times. Iāve been thinking about buying an Amiibo figure and plushie of Marina these past few months, but I feel like thatās overkill for someone who is finally admitting their love for a character 5 years after her debut. Speaking of which, I know a few friends know about my love for Marina, but not the majority of my friends and people that follow/watch me on my social media accounts. And loving Marina (or any character for that matter) is not new and unique, but for someone like me who disliked the series she came from and avoided it for seven years, it feels like I become lost in time, and I just need to express this love for Marina from all the years I missed out. This great admiration for her since October 2022 has taken my mind off the infinity amount of female characters that exist and lessened my temptation for lustful artworks, which in honesty, I have sluggardly been growing tired of the internetās eroticism for characters through art and animation. I do not get the same enjoyment when looking at said art and animation of multiple characters, so I figured I could just focus that enjoyment on one female character via Marina.
It warms my heart to see new artwork of Marina. If I could, I would commission an abundance of artists to create art starring Marina, no matter the price, as a way to 1. see Marina in designs and art styles that I, while having the imagination, do not have the creativity and capability to produce such ideas into masterpieces, and 2. so there could be more appreciation for her (not to say there has not been so much appreciation for Marina over the years, but hey, you can never have too much art of your favorite character). I myself have created art of Marina to show that appreciation, but I despise myself for not capturing her perfection, and I envy artists who could make such miracles and those who manage to craft their vision of such a marvel as Marina. And yet, I continued creating many artworks of her because I adore this madam of music. I know she is not real, but my affection for her is. If there is an afterlife, and if man can create their own afterlife, I wish for mine to be in the (now) peaceful world of Splatoon, where I am an 18-year-old Inkling, now together with Marina in her Splatoon 2 prime, so I can spent my life after death life with this phenomenal woman. Oh, Marina. Too pure for this harsh world. Such a shining star of the cruel night called life. Godspeed you, black empress, wherever you are in Splatoon.