Why NO ONE Uses SMEARGLE Anymore...

[@ericnieves5793]

I think the fact that there are open team sheets hurts smeargle significantly.

[@pezyg]

Open team sheet is the most boring thing ever

[@pingufan1239]

@@pezygI agree that it’s super boring, however it truly exhibits the skill of the individual player.

[@BlackBeartic229]

@@pezyg lemme guess, you don't play

[@edman9953]

@@BlackBeartic229open team sheet means you can see you’re opponents IV/EV spreads, Tera type, ability, and it’s whole moveset. Any surprise with unorthodox strategies is thrown entirely out the window if your opponent can take a VERY educational guess at what your strategy is. It’s no fun. Doesn’t help that with the current power creep, everyone runs Pokémon that are already predictable to begin with because they’re tailor made to be better than everything else out there. It’s like watching a movie, but it’s all been spoiled for you when you buy the ticket. Whats the point?

[@zenospark153]

​​@@edman9953 You can't see IVs and EVs in Open Team Sheet, which means players can still uniquely EV their pokemon to do things that are unexpected. Even though you can see Item, Moveset, and Tera Type, OTS allows for skill expression and diversity as players can better plan and showcase their skill as there are less random surprises from both parties, and EVs/IVs allow for players to uniquely build their pokemon to their needs. Unorthodox teams still work BECAUSE they're unorthodox. Wolfey's 2023 Orlando Regional Perish Trap team and Joseph Ugarte's Sun Team with Jumpluff from the 2023 Portland Regional are good examples of this.

[@HeliumHasPassed]

Smeargle lost the dawg in him

[@NEET_201]

bring back old dark void and old moody

[@HeliumHasPassed]

@@NEET_201 no, don’t

[@NEET_201]

@@HeliumHasPassed as a rebuttal; funny

[@Michael-sy9wt]

@@NEET_201vaild

[@bluebaron6811]

He lost dat beagle in 'im. Press F to pay respects for our fallen amigo.

[@maestrotritone5975]

The one time we thank Urshifu for existing to be a hard counter to Smeargle.

[@mysticpumpkin8520]

The way meta went from dawg to cats and bears is a very interesting development

[@maestrotritone5975]

@@mysticpumpkin8520 I miss the catfish days

[@greenuvlight]

Yea I also wish whiscash was viable ​@@maestrotritone5975

[@pokeinator7834]

@@maestrotritone5975fr dozo was just fun,unless it was a mirror match

[@supermariomaker1734]

Urshifu personally is my favorite Pokémon to use in ranked battle because it guaranteed to kill most opponents with one move and it goes through protect due to its ability unseen fist which makes great for doubles especially when dynamax is the only way to protect yourself which is now removed due to terestalization.

[@tsurbwobniar20]

Despite Smeargle having made numerous anime appearances ever since the original series, episode 66 (Smashing with Sketch!) of Pokemon Sun and Moon marks the first time in the anime when a Smeargle is seen using it's signature move Sketch. I wonder if maybe we'll see a Smeargle in Pokemon Horizons use Sketch, but in a Pokemon battle?

[@Arktic06]

Smeargle, the king of frauds, shrunk back in fear

[@ericshun3926]

And Incineroar said: "Stand Proud Smergale, you are strong"

[@rootbeeraddict4885]

@@ericshun3926 "Sketch proud Smeargle, you are mid!"

[@n0ame1u1]

The brainrot is leaking

[@samm6950]

Moody activated and lowered that dawg in him 😢

[@GASA1997]

Yeah, open team sheets was the final nail in the coffin… And his stats were all of the other nails.

[@RealiztikVGC]

I think Smeargle is just in an awkward place with the format being OTS, since it doesn’t have that surprise factor (that you mentioned in the section w/ decorate) it makes it difficult to pull off its gimmicks. I think whenever the Global Challenges show up though, it’s gonna be a different ball game. During that I think decorate and follow me is gonna go crazy. I’m excited to see

[@Kasaaz]

People underestimate how much worse Moody is without the ability to boost Smeargle's evasion.

[@Yinyanyeow]

​​@@KasaazI consider it one of the dumb nerfs next to Para nerf, the hate to Aegislash, and the protean nerf. (Had to edit due to spell check.)

[@Kasaaz]

​@@Yinyanyeow They should probably have just redesigned the entire Moody ability instead of just taping part of it away.

[@Yinyanyeow]

@@Kasaaz True.

[@groudon3672]

Unfortunately upper hand is like sucker punch in that it only works on attacking moves. Specifically, upper hand works on “physical or special moves with a priority from +1 to +3.” So nope, it’s not a tornadus counter.

[@Q400Flight]

The only Mon I see using upper hand effectively is someone like Blaziken that can be fast and is resistant to fake out users like incineroar or rillaboom (and I run clear amulet to dodge intimidate) If they don’t click fake out or grassy glide it fails but then I get a boost to temper flare.

[@DarkBlueSharpieKnight]

its still a nice fake out stopper tho,

[@cyanconure]

@@Q400FlightI’ve been using it on Okidogi to great success

[@cyberrb25]

I still believe you should do it so Dark Void gets 50 Accuracy, but gets like +15 from Bad Dream ability (so Darkrai is viable). And you move Spore to 85 Accuracy, but for Grass-types, it becomes 100 Accuracy (not unlike Toxic). This way, Smeargle becomes useless with those moves, all while making everyone else not bad.

[@butlershurk7227]

Tera Grass Smeargle?

[@damianiscringe1082]

Tera bad dreams smeargle?

[@butlershurk7227]

@@damianiscringe1082 Tera darkrai smeargle?

[@adityapshetty8653]

Tera spore Darkrai?

[@grrgrrgrr0202]

A 50% accurate Dark Void would still be toxic on Smeargle. Making Dark Void not available on Smeargle at all was a good call.

[@DCBiscuit]

I think the fact that I feel bad for SMEARGLE of all Pokémon should show how devastating power creep has become. Edit: I understand that it’s not fully power creep that’s removing Smeargle from higher play, it’s the open sheets. But for the sake of not having an extra paragraph (like I apparently should have had from the start) I shortened the whole thing down to just “power creep.” Shut up.

[@Manelneedsaname]

It's not power creep, it's open teem sheets

[@DCBiscuit]

@@Manelneedsaname Or, you know, both.

[@Ilikebugs2464]

250 bst

[@Justic_]

@@DCBiscuit y'know, that feels more like a case where you would say it "fell off". There being other Pokemon that perform specialized roles Smeargle could perform before just as well if not better wasn't completely enough to bring it down, it also took them to change the rules so your opponent couldn't get blindsided by any of the potential sets and moves it could run, which on the other hand wouldn't have been as effective in banishing Smeargle if it wasn't for other Pokemon filling its roles.

[@ThePika78]

Defo not powercreep, just people now being able to know what set its running and not guessing between all of the infinite move combination that he has access to. Not feeling a bit bad for Smeargle usage dropping to 0, and it's more than deserved for what he did to Dark Void.

[@mistercrusher5108]

Smeargle mugged Darkrai and left him for dead in the alley.

[@mcsmileycorp]

I've been having mediocre success using burning bulwark with a tera dark smeargle to block prankster encores and taunts, it sucks having to give up your tera for it, but sometimes giving it up is worth it for a clutch spore.

[@___horizon___252]

Smeargle is why Darkrai is OU 😞

[@soulthesassyassassin3616]

I mean on the upside, Darkrai is doing pretty well in OU despite virtually having no ability.

[@joshuavgc4160]

I was using transform, spore, decorate (to self transform into my boosted ally from decorate) and protect. I'd never use it, except on ladder 😅

[@typemasters2871]

Smeargle is an infinite trick pony Unfortunately it’s like comparing an actor to any type of professional, an actor can perfectly replicate the actions of a professional but the professional is still a better fit for the task at hand

[@a-s-greig]

Unless, of course, you happen to be looking for a professional actor.

[@Ghostmnm]

Smeargle is the reason Darkrai was run into the ground, no longer sees play, and (outside of Legends Arkoos) Darkrai didn’t get the Nerfs (placed because of smeargle) reversed

[@EggscellentTree]

Now in singles when darkrai dropped to OU , people think hypnosis is broken now xD

[@totorules7972]

@@EggscellentTreefr like how are people complaining about something that’s been available since gen 1 now 😂

[@MitchBurns]

What about running court change? It’s a really good move. The main problem is it’s only on Cinderace who really doesn’t want to run it.

[@Prince_Echo]

havent fully watched the video, but to add another point just in case: theres SO MANY GOOD SUPPORTS NOW. if you type 2-4 support moves into showdown that you want you'll almost always find a better mon to use compared to smeargle. we have so many redirectors, prankster mons with an entire dictionaries worth of different moves and bulkier mons with better abilities that set them apart and also having better stats and more desirable typing. youd only use smeargle if you want an excuse to use smeargle since its so weighed down by every part of itself that isn't its moveset.

[@amysticmind2645]

Absolutely love the Jamal Smith "whack" reference. "The way he doesn't even like to smile, whack!"

[@thedrurose]

No dark void no paint dog! That’s the nerf we needed back in gen 4.

[@jackk.4670]

18:20 Btw Upper Hand has +3 priority so it will always go first vs a Fake Out, so checking speed tiers is irrelevant here. However the big downside is that it doesn't work against priority status moves, so even with it's huge plus priority it can't block a tailwind.

[@ixchel3330]

Fake out is also +3

[@SmeargleRocks]

If you play without open team sheet this set has been working for me in VGC F Jolly Moody Focus Sash Upper Hand Spore Burning bullwark Decorate With Roaring Moon Adamant Booster Crunch Dragon Claw Tailwind Acrobatics Tera Flying

[@Slushea]

I love how a paint dog broke everything

[@iancastro1327]

Yeah it was weird not seeing him now i know why Also the dragon cheer smeargle makes me think about the focus energy scope lems hydreigon

[@ricardoludwig4787]

I also think speed creep was a massive deal, before it would have many more targets it outsped unboosted and could more easily get its shannanigans started, now the only pokemon it outspeeds in the current top 10 usage is incineroar

[@euanthompson]

It is interesting that the thing that hurts it most isn't a change in any game mechanics, but the change in tournament format.

[@Siscon92]

The thing about Smeargle is that it’s flexibility will make it still always viable on the right team. It’s just not oppressive anymore. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see it win some tournaments still

[@Connowot387]

It’s me, Connor! The one with H-Electrode from the local! Smeargle has been my public enemy Number One for a long time, and this makes me happy.

[@WalkinStereotype]

From what I’ve read, Prankster doesn’t count as priority moves for Quick Guard or Upper Hand, GameFreak dropped the ball there for unique tech

[@mysticpumpkin8520]

Well, thats because upper hand and quick guard are for damaging priority moves Its says it on the description and all

[@finalGambitShedinja]

252 Smeargle CloseCombat vs Chien-Pao: 132-156 (85.1 - 100.6%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

[@ixchel3330]

What about High Jump Kick?

[@SmeargleStuff]

I was initially scared of revival blessing becoming Smeargle’s new dark void but then thankfully it didn’t get it

[@carnifexzer0]

Calling it early, but I think we're gonna see a HUGE amount of Smeargle at Blueberry Prologue

[@bobjob2514]

Smeargle was good when movepools were 15 moves or less. These days, every single poke gets all sorts of coverage and support options. e.g. Pikachu used to be limited to electric and normal. Then it got iron tail, surf, fly, and so on until it even got a fairy move in the dlc. And all the signature moves are getting spread around like candy on halloween. Why do we NEED poor smeagol anymore?

[@itztaytay2]

Not to undermine your point but Pikachu has learned surf since gen 1

[@bobjob2514]

@@itztaytay2 yellow?

[@itztaytay2]

@@bobjob2514 Stadium Tutor, so kinda a technicality

[@bobjob2514]

@@itztaytay2 That’s really neat though!

[@russellw6872]

Video: I don't know why Smeargle has been good. Maybe it's because it learns literally every move in the game. Me automatically: But that's just a theory. A GAME theory.

[@jamesolson6544]

Too soon

[@russellw6872]

@@jamesolson6544 I found out after making this post.

[@hansdykstra3869]

7:05 Smeargle hits chien-pao with moon blast: “oh no, anyway”

[@carlton5381]

I did silk trap as my protect option, only bc I have violet and no access to burning bulwark :'(

[@alextintyrn291]

Turns out a pokemon that relied on a broken move to paper over its godawful stats becomes pretty bad if you take that move away

[@andrewg.3281]

Those cowards should have gave him revival blessing

[@dragonslayerj1088]

Game freak watching this video be like: What are you saying? That we give Smeargle prankster and make him a pseudo legendary?

[@ITAndroMedian]

I'd rework Dark Void by making it unwieldy: revert accuracy to the original level of 80, but make it affect every Pokemon on the field, including the user's ally AND the user. The catch: Pokemon with Bad Dreams passive ability aren't affected specifically by Dark Void's induced sleep.

[@Mepphy99]

i really Hope It stays that way

[@decidueye98]

Do you think Decorate + Foul Play on Smeargle would make it more viable? 🤔

[@furiouscorgi6614]

Aren't you usually better off with Swagger for that, since it inflicts Confusion and doesn't boost SpA just in case you get KO'd before Foul Play?

[@mysticpumpkin8520]

​@@furiouscorgi6614i think they mean decorate an ally and foul play for damage.

[@furiouscorgi6614]

@@mysticpumpkin8520 you're still really frail, so you're probably only getting one move off, Alcremie is far bulkier and has better defensive typing and OTS means they know what to expect

[@CapitalGames84]

Imagine if smeargle had prankster

[@cringeivore3769]

Sableye and Meowstic have skill swap so it could be given Prankster

[@VesteraCh]

I think people just haven't explored smeargle in gen 9 enough for us to really know how good it is

[@TechHug]

Basically, movesets have gotten so good that you need more than just a great moveset to be good.

[@snare97]

This is the pinnacle of content. Just dunking on Smeargle for 20 minutes.

[@telacrap]

The return of Double Kick Terrakion was truly the final nail in Smeargle's coffin

[@erinrose1037]

Upper Hand is +3 priority vs Prankster status moves only being +1, right? So you don’t need speed to use it against Torn/Whim.

[@RedeemedSteve]

Upper Hand only works on damaging priority moves.

[@commonpepe2270]

Revival Blessing on Smeargle would be insanely busted in restricted formats.

[@oxishimaruxo]

I dunno I've been getting some rage quits with the old Lock On Sheer Cold combo

[@WheatOatmeal]

Smeargle should get a new evo, make it based on slow offense so it can use a lot more of its moveset

[@VoidLegendAura]

Smeargle is just like darkrai, there not himmothy no more

[@Manataco]

I had an idea using doodle smeargle and regigigas but replaced it with grafaiai because it was just faster support after losing its ability

[@chonksmaster]

Where was Brian in the ad😢

[@apeckx5090]

My first Reg F team had Smeargle. I lead it with whimsicot and had urshifu and gholdengo in the back. Spore in tailwind was dope and moody plus baton pass instead of follow me was soooo clutch. Depending on what offensive boost you get you can pass into urshifu or gholdengo. Also had incineroar and raging bolt on the team

[@Justic_]

y'know what'd be really funny? If Smeargle falling off is gonna open the path for it finally receiving something new, namely an evolution, which has a chance of immediately dominating the meta again, unless they give it some ability to inhibit its potential, like its own version of Mycelium Might.

[@ellyjockey6164]

I don't know the exact science on upper hand, but shouldn't tornadus not get flinched by upper hand if tornadus runs covert cloak? Wouldn't it be the same reason as fake out?

[@Alpha-1812]

I feel Smeargle will make a come back when the restricted come back and you can use transform to sort of get another restricted on your team.

[@leonardohernandezcabrera7541]

I think other reason that caused its fall is some Pokémon now can ignore protect moves specially Urshifu surging strikes are multihit so Focus sash is useless.

[@VileKnight4]

I've been praying for smeargle's downfall 🙏

[@rpgkingx3629]

I haven’t played vgc until this generation, so I didn’t know what it felt like to play against the REAL Smeargle. And now that it’s in the game, I don’t really have enough matches against it to form an opinion on it

[@mysticpumpkin8520]

This is the part where somehow smeargle does a huge comback similar to how Amongus did after Ogerpom suppostly "kill" it right? Idk, after what happened with mr Sussy Baka, I am expecting anything at this point😅

[@andrewzoich]

Upper hand has +3 priority and only works on physical and special moves, so it can't stop prankster mons from pranking

[@Allen-qs2xr]

"Minor chance of (Smeargle) living a resisted hit." .. hol' up

[@tobiookuma1835]

Smeargle only gets better as things around it get stronger. When restricted formats come up, it'll be one of the only wide guard users in a meta full of Groudon, Kyogre, and calyrex shadow

[@ajfrommillay3766]

I fought against a Smeargle in a ranked match today and it was just confusing. I mean it used Spore but not before I took away most of its HP with an attack. Then turn two it used Belly Drum, which failed because it was in red health, LOL. Then turn three it used Shell Smash. Finally I woke up and killed it after that. Belly Drum AND Shell Smash on the same set? Interesting.

[@PandamaticBreakcore]

It was bound to happen eventually as more and more pokemon are added because of 2 factors. 1)Most of the rare moves with limited distribution are attacks, and smeargle doesn't have the stats to attack. 2)As you get more pokemon, you have more sets of stats with more variety in move distribution, which will just lock smeargle out of the competition.

[@Sualokin3]

I'm glad smeargle is being used less, I will never forgive him for getting Darkrai nerfed.

[@giantmastersword]

Why isn't supersweet syrup used to make dark void darkrai useful again?

[@MoxieBoosted]

It can't learn dark void

[@giantmastersword]

@@MoxieBoosted darkrai, not smeagle.

[@MoxieBoosted]

@@giantmastersword ah, well no. Because the downside is you have to run hydrapple in ubers

[@Rarest26]

@@MoxieBoosted Darkrai is in OU tho

[@itztaytay2]

​​​​​​​​​@@Rarest26There's no point using Dark Void in singles because it's worse than Hypnosis (both sleep, void has 50% acc while Hypnosis has 60%), there are some strats that involve upping hypnosis accuracy such as wide lens Darkrai and Gravity users. If you're using it on Showdown though it's typically much more restricted because Sleep Clause is enforced across nearly every format, so the best you can hope from it is free room to setup for a turn as they switch. In VGC Darkrai is almost never legal due to being a mythical mon (only time it has been afaik is series 13 of gen 8 which allowed everything), including the current Reg F. There is a smogon doubles format but I don't know much about it so can't weigh in there (and Darkrai is almost definitely banned to ubers there with stuff like Miraidon that sets electric terrain to prevent sleep...). Also not to kick a dead horse at this point but -1 evasion from syrup is only 1 time use and only increases accuracy by 1.33x, bumping Dark Void from 50% to 66% accurate which isn't all that great

[@thod-thod]

Upper hand should be priority +4

[@zemufinman1639]

6:05 A resisted hit... on a mono normal pokemon... Are you implying someone would tera a smeargle?

[@MoxieBoosted]

Yes

[@Metica777]

I didn’t even realize smeargle was in the game. I thought they’d never bring him back.

[@WilliamhngPlays]

Waiting for an Araquanid nuke showcase lol

[@ParkerVGC]

Upper hand doesn't work that way. I found out during a tourney run when my Raichu became significantly less good.

[@Regiultima]

Upper Hand does not work on Status moves. It cannot stop a Prankster Taunt or Tailwind.

[@cameronturner8087]

This might be no duh but it also can't get the torque moves (team star bases boss moves(

[@turtlenator6249]

And then you have me, who lost to the same team from two different Japanese players where they use Smeargle and Alolan Muk to boost it to no end and get shut down by a speed boosted Scream Tail...

[@PieJee1]

I thought revival blessing Smeargle is not possible as you can not sketch Revival Blessing? Glad they did that one

[@MoxieBoosted]

Yeah that's what I said

[@DnDandVideoGames]

Smergle... spike shield or the new paradox entei shield move?

[@TheOtherJoeH]

sketch ought to be given to brian hands so he can unleash his hidden picasso

[@boop53]

iron hands cant draw he just sticks his hand on a piece of paper and lets Ogerpon trace around it to make one of those turkey hand drawings

[@TheOtherJoeH]

you just lack faith

[@MrWood-uy3xh]

Smeargle’s sins have finally caught up with him

[@aaronolson6736]

Imagine the shakeup that would happen if Smeargle ended up evolving

[@Cerbleur07]

For me Incineroar only lacks a sleeping move and baton pass to be a better smeargle, almost most useful moves that smeargle gets also Incineroar learns it. AND THE TIGER IS EVERYWHERE!!

[@Beegsire]

I don't think anyone with a love of basic game balance is upset at this news.

[@pedroromarhernandez6554]

When every support is an amazing support then no one would be

[@forgottenpygmy]

Pretty sure Hypnosis DOES hit safety goggles and grass mons...

[@btt2701]

Question, have you ever thought about making videos about your tournaments? I'd love to see an overview video about how you did in Portland for example!

[@Salemwaaa]

I almost got my ass beat by a Smeargle who kept using doodle and copying my abilities

[@thod-thod]

Does Smeargle not run Burning Bulwark

[@TheFireHawkDelta]

Smeargle with Revival Blessing broke the natdex AG tier, and when GF actually put it in gen 9 they just... didn't do that lol

[@TomAmit42]

How is Smeargle unable to learn Revival Blessing? Can't he just Sketch it off of Pawmot or Rabsca?

[@Mustache99]

Smeargle falled when you couldn't use dark void if he could maybe there would have been some neache combo like dark void and gravity

[@BlazeK9]

Smeargle deserve this. Especially after what he did to Darkrai.

[@nautilus2612]

Blame the player, not the tool

[@dream_weaver6207]

Lovelykiss is very much not exclusive to the jynx line. Most notably, Snorelax sometimes runs it in gsc ou

[@MoxieBoosted]

GSC movesets don't transfer. In modern pokemon it's exclusive to jynx.

[@SkellyBobRoss]

I like the dragon cheer idea. Sounds fun

[@thadeusperson4425]

Good. All GameFreak had to do is to make only Darkrai the only one to learn Dark Void (not nerf it to oblivion)

[@MikeSharpeWriter]

Has the breeding/move learning changes limited the use of Smergle in team building?

[@KusogeMan]

dark void doestn work on smeargle nowadays right?

[@YoshiKing9999]

Right as I’m training up a smeargle lol