Pokémon that are ONLY Good in the ABSENCE of Others

[@x_bell1142]

This video was made in early October, so the numbers for Reg G and Reg H are outdated. Reg G didn't have many notable changes but the most notable changes for Reg H as of November 9, 2024 are Palafin dropping to #49 (2.22%), Hydreigon dropping to #40 (3.42%), Garchomp rising to #23 (18.05%) and Sneasler rising to #3 (33.63%).

[@TransparentlyDuplicitous]

For Bo3, Pikalytics has Sneasler at #1 (51.61%). No one saw this coming.

[@jdaze32]

​@@TransparentlyDuplicitous it's almost as if a Pokemon that's very fast and can cause status and damage at the same time is broken

[@CobaltPerseverance154]

The speed round was just "This Pokémon likes that Flutter Mane is banned." Truly shows how dominant it was!

[@x_bell1142]

True

[@G1eatShad0w]

I think a fun video could be „Pokemon that are only good in the presence of others“. Some mons that come to mind are Orthworm being reliant on Ting Lu and Bronzong in the presence of Smeargle and Xerneas. You could even cover something like Defiant Pokemon that get better when their are strong intimidators.

[@philibertyt2844]

Literally shedinja and ditto

[@aph2885]

crobat when xerneas is legal

[@G1eatShad0w]

@@aph2885There are so many great examples.

[@nstar6412]

ditoo

[@CarlosDiaz-wp7sp]

Mienshao 🥋

[@adamkarlb6329]

”And all of them are happy that Urshifu is banned as they can protect again.” 😂😂

[@Your_LocalWizard]

The fact that the literal god of wind still doesn't completely outclass the dinky-ass crow from gen 2 shows how powerful Prankster really is

[@SittinGamer]

A non VGC example would be Primarina, who was completely overshadowed in Gens 7 and 8 with Tapu Fini around, but is a prominent overused threat in the current gen

[@TransparentlyDuplicitous]

Honorable mentions include literally every other Fairy while Flutter Mane was around. Urshifu had less of a stranglehold since Water has a good mix of physical and special mons, but almost every Fairy is special. Sneasler only at #40... We did not foresee the menace's rise.

[@ALoser-ThisIsTotallyUnique]

thats mostly cause there isnt many good phyiscal fairy moves, play rough which is 90 bp 90% accuracy isnt really gonna cut it when pretty much every physical ground type has 100 100 earthquake

[@shiruotakuno28]

​@@ALoser-ThisIsTotallyUniqueAzumarill tho

[@ALoser-ThisIsTotallyUnique]

@@shiruotakuno28 yeah but imagine azumarill with even a 80 bp 100% phys move since a 10% chance of missing is incredibly rough *badum tsch*

[@x_bell1142]

True

[@KanderUdon]

Brian Hands my goat

[@GaybrohamStinkton]

That's Mr Hands to you

[@Quantum_Magnus]

I really wish Palafin was made a dual type with Fighting. I love him a lot and it’s just makes so much sense.

[@TransparentlyDuplicitous]

Or Fairy. Fairy's symbol is a heart, and Hero Form Palafin's chest has a massive heart-shaped mark. Giving it another STAB option either way would be great.

[@Auwa-racist]

​@@TransparentlyDuplicitousand Fairy is basically justice or light so it's pretty fitting

[@afriendlycampfire260]

​@@TransparentlyDuplicitousand give it an actually good fairy physical move Like "Hammer of justice": 85 power and 100 acc Oe something like that

[@ALoser-ThisIsTotallyUnique]

@@afriendlycampfire260 the fact that there isnt a good 100% accuracy physical fairy move in the first place. Good as in bp and decently spread, spirit break is really good but isnt spread like at all

[@NuratharZaidan]

​@@ALoser-ThisIsTotallyUniquetbf fairy is specialize on special attack, so it's normal why there are only small amount of physical fairy move like how both ground and fighting have more physical move

[@badfish321]

Murkrow is also immune to prankster taunt which is a huge plus for him not mentioned in the video

[@x_bell1142]

True, I should have mentioned that

[@Shad0wb1adeX]

Dude I could watch hours of your content as a huge nerd and loving stats and weird outlier stuff so thanks for the straight forward yet still detailed. always a W love you man

[@delgadom0777]

W comment

[@x_bell1142]

Thanks!

[@Fyrbolt200]

Hariyama had it's job taken by AI... 💔

[@volbla]

10:00 What combo is Muk + Smeargle? I don't think i've heard of it.

[@Ribombastic]

It's been a thing on the ladder for awhile; some people would use Alolan Muk with Minimize and its hidden ability Power of Alchemy alongside a Smeargle with Moody, have opponents KO Smeargle with the help of Follow Me as Muk sets up evasion boosts and then Muk would take Moody for itself and potentially dodge enough attacks to snowball to a win. I think the typical moveset for Muk is Knock Off, Toxic and Protect along with Minimize.

[@Mobtrapper-hq8is]

On the topic of Palafin, I’m surprised that you didn’t at least mention Azumarill, which is still better than palafin in many situations. Yeah it’s priority isn’t as good but with the secondary fairy STAB, not needing to switch out to be usable, and actually having an ability; it’s hard to say that at least some of the Paladin usage hasn’t been just new toy syndrome Edit: I’ve also always preferred Whimsicott over Murkrow as a tailwind setter

[@TundraRage]

5:16 CORRECTION Arcanine IN GENERAL was used. It's kantoian form wasn't seen in reg E because it's Hisuian form was used very much. Just a little correction.

[@frozenherolp9077]

He didn´t say Arcanine. He said Kantonian Arcanine.

[@minaashido518]

@@frozenherolp9077hence the correction

[@x_bell1142]

I feel like I was pretty specific that I was talking about Kantonian Arcanine. I am aware that Hisuian Arcanine was used when Incineroar was legal.

[@mr.sniffly5297]

@@x_bell1142it sounds like he’s saying Kantonian Arcanine fell off in reg E when the Hisuian version was made available though, even before Incineroar

[@valenby]

I love this content and the way you present it. Keep up the good work :)

[@x_bell1142]

Thanks!

[@viviblue7277]

Honestly flutter mane being gone I think affected a lot more Pokémon than those listed.

[@x_bell1142]

Yes, but I wanted to talk about the most notable changes. I obviously can't just include every Pokémon that saw a rise in usage after Flutter Mane was banned.

[@vojtech_ledvinka]

Of course the first one is the incineroar 😂😭

[@goGothitaLOL]

Shoutouts to Garchomp also only be used whenever Landorus-T is absence, I think Same with Conkeldurr and both Iron Hands and Ursaluna.

[@ChunkyBumpy]

H should just be a constant

[@JackGilb]

My boy Archaludon is so good in reg H in part due to Flutter Mane, Landorus, and Urshifu being banned

[@subtodicerat8305]

I subscribed as this channel is cool

[@x_bell1142]

Thanks

[@quiverdancervolca]

As a singles player these stats are crazy to me

[@the_durpy_potato706]

This video really just reinforces the idea for me that there should be pokemon in the category "always banned because they are just too fucking strong and a pain to deal with and we were on acid and high when we made them". This would include Urshifu (both), Calyrex, and both of its rider forms, Fluttermane (and maybe other paradoxes but specifically Fluttermane), and incineroar.

[@atpyro7920]

tbf Incin isn't a really strong pokemon, the dude just has a shitload of utility and moveset variety to account for in the builder. sure it can do some big hits if it's built for it, but it's not going to be plowing quad resists with flare blitz into the dirt like the aforementioned mons

[@x_bell1142]

We should always have some kind of Reg H-like option

[@the_durpy_potato706]

Yes that sounds amazing

[@butteredsalmonella]

In the case of 6v6. The absolute best example I can think of is how Mega Salamence remains arguably the best (competes with Mega Gengar) or the second best Mega in Ubers in absence of Mega Rayquaza, otherwise, Mega Slowbro and Kangaskhan would probably see more usage than Mega Salamence when Mega Rayquaza is around and Mega Gengar would immediately swallow the second spot whole.

[@Lialvas]

6:03 I dont wanna be that guy but technically its two immunities since prankster is an annoyance unless you have a dark type.

[@KanderUdon]

Ye but hes just referring to type immunities

[@Lialvas]

@@KanderUdon yeah, but still, aan immunity is an immunity :p

[@x_bell1142]

I agree that I should have mentioned this, but that is not the kind of immunity I was talking about. It wouldn't really make sense to say that adding Dark to the Fire type grants one weakness and two immunities if we are talking about type effectiveness.

[@TaIathar]

The main reason there's no data for Regulation B is because the entire thing was based on Flutter Mane. You either used it to sweep your opponent, or you lost. There are some exceptions though. Tatsugiri + Dondozo showed up a lot. There were also exceptions such as Tyranitar + Lycanroc and Indeedee (f) + Armarouge. Back to Flutter Mane, it was usually paired with Murkrow for instant Tailwind or kept in the back to use Iron Bundle's Icy Wind to slow down opponents and make it so you always had an advantage over your opponent. The strats back then were devious.

[@wannabememelord4607]

6:05 Also, as a dark type, Incineroar can't be hit by prankster moves. Kinda niche, but just ANOTHER thing incineroar has going for it

[@x_bell1142]

True, I should have mentioned that

[@alexandretremblay6242]

Thought it would be a video on how most water pokemon became useless when Regieleki was legal, etc. So Pokemon that render ennemy pokemon useless. Next video maybe?

[@babygrill01]

5:45 Incineroar is slower and it DOES matter. It yields some advantages like functioning better in trick room and if arcanine had u-turn or parting shot, incineroar being slower would make it a better user of the move

[@x_bell1142]

I meant it more in the sense that Incineroar's special attack and speed being lower is not a reason for Arcanine's stats to be better. I would agree with you, being slower is actually beneficial especially for a mon heavy on pivoting like Incineroar with U-Turn and Parting Shot.

[@babygrill01]

@@x_bell1142 Oh my apologies, ty for the clarification

[@BoanergesTWELF12]

Theres also immunity for murcrow in the form of not being statused by other prankster pokemon because hes dark type

[@x_bell1142]

True, I should have mentioned that

[@PipS03]

I'd say an interesting but not numerically supported comparison is between Hitmontop and Mienshao Fake Out, Wide Guard, Close Combat, Protect Mono Fighting type Mienshao seeing more use thanks to Blocking intimidate (and fake out) than Hitmontop with Intimidate though is kind of surprising ... as well as stat spreads leaning towards offense than defense

[@Psychomaniac14]

for Murkrow you forgot that it being a Dark-type means it's immune to the status moves of opposing Prankster pokemon

[@x_bell1142]

True, that does give it another use

[@blazie42069]

when okidogi and urshifu come back sneasler gonna drop off like a cliff

[@x_bell1142]

True

[@TheDelybird]

Are you signed up for any regionals coning up?

[@x_bell1142]

I am not; I would consider myself much more of a spectator than a player. Pokémon isn't even my main game, it's Smash Ultimate, and I've been to plenty of Smash tournaments in the past. To be honest, I'm not that good at VGC, I struggle to get into masterball every month, I just enjoy talking about it.

[@cornonjacob]

Wow, with a 96 point increase in BST, Iron hands is almost just mega Hariyama. It would pretty much be strictly better bc than a real mega Hariyama bc it doesn't take up the mega slot and has choice for its item.

[@x_bell1142]

True

[@yusheitslv100]

Next time on X_Bell Z: pokemon that are good because only when other mons are good

[@Lolitsme77]

I feel like you didn’t really need the regulation(s) breakdown. The specifics for dates and pokemon limitations could have been summarized into “scarlet and violet have had several pokemon restrictions known as regulations. Regulations limit which pokemon you can use, either by allowing only pokemon obtained in certain manners, or by limiting pokemon based on their perceived power. These regulations usually last for X amount of time, until a new regulation is rotated in, allowing for a different pool of pokemon to take the stage in vgc.”

[@OgerponIsACutie]

Ledian is a good Pokémon if you take away every other pokemon

[@Andreecals]

Murkrow usinfmg foul play has good niches against physical set up sweepers, and it's dark typing makes it able to taunt and shut down other mons while being immune to prankster taunt itself. So it can in some cases be used to shut down a tornadus, if well played.

[@x_bell1142]

True, I should have mentioned that

[@Gamermonkey-nq7wp]

Do you think urshifu would still be way more used than palafin if palafin immediately was in hero form?

[@Rarest26]

Probably because Palafin still doesn’t have an ability, let alone bullshit like Unseen Fist.

[@x_bell1142]

Probably

[@arafzaman760]

I am surprised you didn't mention Garchomp In the history of VGC Garchomp usage drops drastically once Landorus becomes legal in a format Garchomp still saw usage in Reg C but once Landorus returned,nobody used chomp

[@x_bell1142]

I did mention Garchomp in the Reg H speed round though, but it could have been worth it for Garchomp to have its own separate entry

[@arafzaman760]

@x_bell1142 yeah I know you mentioned it in the speed round But Garchomp is sadly only good when there is no Landorus

[@rpgkingx3629]

Urshifu didn’t kill Palafin. Even before Reg D, Gyarados and Azumarill ended up being more reliable. Also, what are the tournaments used at 7:05? I don’t think your argument accounted for meta developments, because Palafin was 55 at Lille this year and 78 at Gdansk.

[@x_bell1142]

None of the data are from tournaments, they are the Pikalytics numbers from the Showdown VGC ladder, as I mentioned in the criteria.

[@rpgkingx3629]

@@x_bell1142 I forgot that part, so fair. I still think tournament usage would be more reliable than Showdown statistics, as we can infer how people are using it. I use LabMaus for the numbers I have shown.

[@scoobiusmaximus9508]

Honorable mention to Wevile, which is literally just worse Chien Pao

[@hoziie1275]

🔥🔥💯💥

[@x_bell1142]

🔥🔥💯🔥

[@Talabinator_3000]

10:22 i think that's ironic because in SV OU, Lando-T considers Great Tusk to be a problem and even runs grass knot, just for it.

[@Specialshark]

6:32 Dog?

[@jamesrushton319]

I heard shedinja is good without the presence of all dark, fire, rock, ghost, flying types (plus a lot more)

[@josephbulkin9222]

Doesn't a title like this apply to almost every pokemon?

[@x_bell1142]

Sure, but this is focused on the Scarlet and Violet regulations where when specific Pokémon or group of Pokémon are absent, others can thrive. Yeah Magikarp would be good in a format that only allowed Magikarp, but where is that actually happening

[@SquintyGears]

There's a whole 1000 pokemon but you're off the competitive map at rank 100 of any ruleset 😂

[@x_bell1142]

There are not 1000 Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet, only 733. Out of those, there are hundreds of not fully evolved and not legal Pokémon, so yes, I would say that rank 100 is pretty low.

[@GaybrohamStinkton]

Pokelmon that literally dont care what else is being used

[@RealCutieMutie]

1:18 So... Why is this one in Japanese? :3

[@x_bell1142]

I don't know either, I could only find the Japanese one

[@krabsolfurretisme]

hi x_bell

[@x_bell1142]

Hey

[@BTDIMAD]

Nerf miner

[@shanelebeau5891]

Incineroar replaces both landorus and arcanine

[@amogus2734]

R

[@loozariyuslayker1648]

Bro wth did u smoke? 💀 Palafin is 2% usage at reg H, like... top 40? Don't talk about things that you don't know about. If you're not a competitive player, it's really hard to understand those kind of things without really being a part.

[@x_bell1142]

Clearly you haven't read the pinned comment. I am aware of this.

[@FlutterManeTheUber]

It's funny how all the Pokemons from the reg H speed round (except Sneasler) benefit of the absence of Calyrex Shadow , Flutter Mane or both (oh yeah and also Urshifu 🙄 ) . Flutter Mane's the GOAT💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪

[@x_bell1142]

I think all of them benefit from Calyrex Shadow and Flutter Mane being banned even if I didn't mention it specifically

[@dantethunderstone2118]

Paradox Pokémon are stupid

[@MelonSeedOfficial]

Furret is pretty meta in the furret cup

[@cd7677]

Yeah no shit murkrow is diffed by tornadus

[@x_bell1142]

That's the whole point

[@RebelTrooperHoth]

Your subscriber to view ratio is tragic

[@kadabraguy9846]

That's unnecessarily rude

[@michaelkarim57]

Video wasn’t out for an hour when posted

[@poiri]

That’s not only rude, it’s also just not true