"A Comprehensive PvP Analysis on the GBL Season 3 Move Rebalance"

#PokemonGO: Hello again, fellow travelers! It's that PvP article guy (LXP and Community Day/Elite TM analysis), back with a look at the seemingly regular move shakeup we just got with the kickoff of GO Battle League's third season. It's not the seismic shift we've had during other past rebalances, but there IS still plenty to discuss!A disclaimer: I am examining these strictly from a PvP usability standpoint. Yes, there ARE some impacts in terms of raids and PVE damage rankings and all, but there are a myriad of other folks that already look into all that. I am a PvP analyst, so that's what I'll be focusing on here. One more note: while I usually try and bring in at least some information on shieldless and 2v2 shielding scenarios, I chose to stick with just the standard 1v1 shielding matchups in the sims below, partly because it still tells the story fine on its own and represents the pros and cons of the changes well, and also partly to spare you from this dragging on any longer than it already does! 😅So without further ado, let's dive in, starting with the fast moves and working out way down. Buckle up!SNOWBALL FIGHT!!Arguably the biggest winner of all in this shakeup is a Pokémon that has long been the butt of jokes: Abomasnow. It has an intriguing Grass/Ice typing combination that seems like it should be good (resistances to Electric, Grass, Ground, and Water), but in the end is much more curse than blessing (vulnerable to seemingly everything under the sun: Bug, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Rock, Steel, and of course doubly weak to Fire). Add to that the fact that the best charge moves it could muster were Energy Ball (which isn't bad) and the slow Outrage or Blizzard, and not even a good energy generating move like POWDER SNOW could get there fast enough to overcome its many Achilles' heels, relegating it to typically being a clumsy Razor Leafer.But Aboma just got a DOUBLE shot in the arm. First of all, Powder Snow got a straight buff in this update, going from the 2.0 Damage Per Turn and 4.0 Energy Per Turn is generated before to now 2.5 DPT and the same 4.0 EPT, making it a clone of the awesome Vine Whip and trailing just behind top notch moves Shadow Claw and Volt Switch with their 4.0 EPT and 3.0 DPT. No other move generates as much energy as Powder Snow while dealing any higher than 2.0 DPT, putting the new and improved Powder Snow in pretty elite company. Shoutout to fellow analyst u/ytxpikachu25 for pointing out that this buff means Aboma's Powder Snows each deal one more damage than before to Galarian Stunfisk, Bastiodon, Steelix, Cherrim, Escavalier, and Shiftry, among others.The other good news for Abomasnow is that it also recieved a new charge move in this update, and it's just what it needed most: an inexpensive move to pair with Energy Ball. Say hello to the only non-Castform recipient of Ice WEATHER BALL. Put that together with the improved Powder Snow and the steady Energy Ball from before, and what do you get? A genuine contender. That's an improvement of 20% to its previously best win total, specifically eight new wins--Cresselia, Dewgong, AS Tropius, Venusaur, Shiftry, Cherrim, Galvantula, and Haunter/Gengar--while still beating everything pre-buff "Obama" already could. Snowbama has finally arrived to occupy a chunk of the Great League stage.But Weather Ball is also a boon to Razor Leaf Abomasnow, improving on its previous best by adding several notable new wins like Cresselia, Probopass, Razor Leaf Tropius, and big bad Meganium, as well as greatly improving on wins versus Haunter and Sableye (30 and 50 more HP, respectively, after beating them with IWB). Ice Weather Ball immediately becomes one of the best moves in the game to pair with Razor Leaf, being spammy enough for even slow-charging Razor Leaf to get there--often even in multiples!--and offering very good coverage and giving RL Obama some good versatility.And there's more... there is also Shadow Abomasnow to consider, which seems to be all the rage so far in this early GBL season. It's both a little better and a little worse than regular Aboma. Sticking with Razor Leaf Abomashadow for the moment, new wins appear against Froslass, Ferrothorn, and Galvantula, though at the cost of giving up wins against Haunter and Hypno that non-Shadow Aboma gets. Digging a little deeper, while both regular and Shadow win against Cresselia, Mantine, Probopass, Tropius and others, regular Abomasnow gets out with more HP, often 20+ more, while Abomashadow doesn't escape with more remaining HP often at all, and even when it does, rarely for more than 5 or so more HP.And likewise with Powder Snow. Here, you can see right away that the case for Abomashadow is a little shakier, as it shows one less win than normal PS Aboma, but once again there's more to see when you peel back the layers. Shadow gets unique wins over Lapras, Toxicroak, and Galarian Stunfisk, all big names to be sure. But it also loses to Dewgong, Hypno, Cherrim, and Mew, all of which non-Shadow Aboma can take out.Personally, I still give the (slight) edge to non-Shadow Aboma in Great League, so don't fret if you don't have a good Abomashadow!But there is STILL more. Because while Abomasnow tops out below 2400 CP, it is now even a potential option in Ultra League, beating most notable Grasses, Charmers, Dragons (Dragonite AND potentially both Giratinas), Ghosts (Gengar and suddenly relevant Drifblim), and of course Waters like Swampert, Empoleon, Blastoise, and Feraligatr thanks to Energy Ball. Not bad! Maxing an Abomashadow would be painful, but it is worth noting that doing so could net you Cresselia and Snorlax (but you give up Granbull and Empoleon). I'm not saying a maxed Aboma is something I would outright recommend for Ultra League, but there are many worse ideas.So what's the verdict?In Great League, while it has been a laughing stock many times over, Abomasnow may now get the last laugh. With either fast move, Energy Ball and the new Ice Weather Ball have taken Aboma from plodding and unintimindating to spammy and terriftying overnight. You have probably run into at least one in this young GBL season already. It won't be the last. Abomasnow is now here to stay. Good news if you haven't invested yet: you can run with a cheaper, non-Shadow one and still be just fine, IMO. Check the slight differences above, but either snow white or dirty snow Aboma work well.Other Benefactors?While only Abomasnow recieved Ice Weather Ball, there are many Pokémon that have Powder Snow and stand to benefit.Snowy Castform was probably a bit underrated already, but the buff to Powder Snow has the potential to take it to new, lofty heights. It's the only other 'mon that has Ice Weather Ball, and it makes very good use of it (and its above average bulk) to set up a killer Blizzard. SO good is this combination that Snowy can even beat things it really shouldn't, like Machamp and Skarmory, while also outlasting big bulky stuff like Umbreon, Munchlax, and Hypno... all assuming it gets the first shield with a bait. If not, hey, Snowy can still take down Flyers and Grasses and Charmers and Dragons and Mud Boys and things like Stunfisk and Haunter and Cresselia with just Weather Ball spam, and that's still pretty good. I haven't seen any yet myself, but expect them to start popping up as the season drags on. May want to consider investing yourself and getting ahead of the curve.Others like Alolan Sandslash and Froslass and Sealeo were all good already, and this just makes them scarier.However, I still don't think this is enough to save Piloswine. Unlike Aboma, it just cannot seem to overcome its awful typing. (Ground and Ice just don't do each other many favors.) Even Mamoswine in the best possible circumstances ML Premier Cup just doesn't do enough for me to give any kind of endorsement to the Swines. Too bad. They really should be better with their good moves. If you've made them work for you, congrats, but it's really in spite of their typings that they find any success at all.THROW A HEX ON THE WHOLE FAMILYYes, this 40-year-old white boy is throwing out a Puff Daddy (and The Notorious B.I.G. and Lil' Kim) lyrical reference... what of it? 😎Powder Snow got buffed, but it's not the only fast move that did. Two moves recieved a straight buff to their energy generation, from 3.67 EPT to a simpler 4.0 EPT, and one of those, as you likely surmised by now, is long-forgotten Ghost move HEX. While still strictly inferior to well-known Ghost move Shadow Claw (which has the same energy generation but deals 50% more damage--3.0 rather than Hex's 2.0--per turn), this improvement at least makes Hex usable, now sporting the same stats as Fury Cutter and Spark. Not the greatest of moves, fair enough, but viable for anything that has Hex but cannot use Shadow Claw instead.And even this small tweak is a boon to several Pokémon, propelling them up the ranks. Probably the biggest beneficiary is Drifblim. A standout star early in the now-ending Silph Arena Season 2, back then Blim relied on big Shadow Balls baited out with a still-useful-then Ominous Wind. Its non-Ghost move, Icy Wind, was buffed in another move update in December, but still mostly ignored until Ominous Wind was itself nerfed in yet ANOTHER move rebalancing in April. (Yeah, Niantic has been pretty rebalance-happy the last few months. 😓) Anyway, all that to say that despite the goings-on with its charge moves, Drifblim never really broke out fully. Hex was (and still is) its only viable fast move, and frankly, that held it back, with it losing several close matchups, just not quite being able to get over the hump and dying before it could let loose with its own winning charge moves.No longer. With Hex now generating a bit more energy more quickly, Drifblim is rising again. As you would probably expect, it handles Psychics and Fighters and even other Ghosts (not named Haunter) quite capably, though that wasn't always the case... it used to lose to Jirachi and Alolan Marowak with the old Hex stats, but now beats both, and convincingly. It also adds Registeel (granted, the nerf Regi faces don't help, but still), Azumarill, and Ferrothorn to the win column. And again, all that with just a 0.33 boost in energy generation per turn. And Blim still handles Grasses and Swampert and even traditional Flying killer Melmetal as it did before, with each win obviously coming a bit easier (read as: with more remaining HP afterwards) than it did before. And it gets even better, as with very good PvP IVs, Drifblim can even emerge victorious over Skarmory, Galarian Stunfisk, Mantine, and Altaria.The difference in Ultra League (yes, viable there too!) is a bit more subtle, as the only new win it really picks up against the core meta is Charizard, but as in Great League, it has more HP remaining in its wins, including about 50 more against Ferrothorn and as much as 90 more HP remaining against Cresselia.So what's the verdict?Drifblim was arguably better than people gave it credit for already, but the buff to Hex can lead to some HUGE new wins (especially Azu, Regi, and potentially even Altaria) in Great League and more consistency overall. Give it another look... Blim may surprise you, and at least early in the GBL season, your opponent as well!Other Benefactors?Not everything that has Hex stands to benefit, as most still have better fast moves, but there are a few dark horses....Castform has cropped up here and there, and for good reason, but I bet you've never seen a Normal-type Castform in battle. Well little known fact: while the other Castforms get an on-type fast move, Normal Casty has only the terrible Tackle and... Hex, of all things. Combined with Normal-type Weather Ball and either Energy Ball or Hurricane, Castform still doesn't wow with its volume of wins, but it at least gets some good ones in there, such as Cresselia, Swampert, Meganium, Stunfisk, Whiscash, Cherrim, Venusaur, Tropius, and of course Ghosts like Haunter and A-Wak and Froslass and Drifblim. It's a spice option, to be sure, but one that does enough to at least think about.Dusclops is another that has long been buried behind other Pokémon of its type. It's sort of the Hitmonchan of Ghosts, with all manner of "Punch" charge moves, namely Fire, Ice, and Shadow. And yes, its best fast move is Hex. Combining the two elemental Punches for the best of both worlds, Dusclops has always been capable of beating stuff like the major Fighters, most all Grasses, and a smattering of Psychics (DDeoxys, AhChu, etc.) and Steels (Melmetal, Skarmory, etc.) and things like Altaria too. With the charge moves coming a little bit faster now, you can add Venusaur and Registeel to the win column as well. And yes, Shadow Clops is a viable alternative, giving up several Grass wins to instead gain the Stunfisks and Hypno. Either way, while Dusclops does not have blow-you-away numbers, there are some good wins in there that could give Dusclops a place on the right team.AND UH... INFESTATIONYeah, not even a catchy title for this one, because honestly, the ripples from the buff to INFESTATION are rather small. It got the same treatment as Hex (going from 3.67 EPT to 4.0 EPT, with the same 2.0 DPT), but there just aren't any particularly interesting Pokémon that actually want it, even in its improved state. The top ones that can even HAVE Infestation are Beedrill (wants Poison Jab), Tangrowth (definitely wants Vine Whip, which is strictly better), Cradily and Jumpluff (not since Bullet Seed was buffed!), and then you're into things like Muk and Drapion which I can't see ever choosing Infestation over their other fast moves. This is mostly just a boon to fringe options like Weezing and Garbodor and Swalot. At least that last one has SOME potential... wins over Fighters and Grasses and Darks and Charmers and tanky Psychics and even Azumarill all make you at least go "hmmmm". But truthfully, the buff to Infestation, while certainly welcome, isn't dragging new stuff to the top of the meta anytime soon.LAND OF THE DEE (BUFF), HOME OF THE BRAVE (BIRDS)And now probably the move that will cause the most ongoing debate, because while BRAVE BIRD got a huge damage buff (formerly 55 energy for 90 damage, and now 55 for a whopping 130), there is a steep penalty: a drop of three stages (nearly 50%) of the user's Defense stat. I talked about this some recently with the only other move to carry a -3 drop in the game so far: Victini's V-Create. If you can charge two and fire them in close succession, you can drastically mitigate at least the initial pain of so drastically crushing your Pokémon's bulk. But V-Create costs 40 energy... and Brave Bird costs 55, so that's going to be much harder to pull off.Fortunately, there are a couple birds with fast moves that get there quickly. Honchkrow has Snarl, one of the fastest charging fast moves in the game. And perhaps even better, Honch also has the mighty Sky Attack, which can be sprung a bit earlier to hopefully bait a shield and leave you 10 energy closer to a Brave Bird than double charging BB allows. Sky Attack also obviously has no drawbacks as far as debuffing goes, so you can rely on it more fully and save BB for big moments. There was no reason to ever use Brave Bird before, and so Honchkrow instead relied on Dark Pulse for its second move, which was okay-ish but left Honch as a very fringey option. Now, though, it has the potential to fly quite high with double Flying moves. You might expect Honch to lose a matchup or two by shedding its one and only Dark charge move, but amazingly that's not the case at all... it actually holds or improves upon every win it got with Dark Pulse (meaning has the same HP or more left over at the end), and tacks on wins versus Whiscash, Ferrothorn, Umbreon, Zweilous, Tropius, Toxicroak, and Altaria. That's mighty impressive, and I feel very confident calling Brave Bird--even just the threat of Brave Bird--a clear improvement for Honchkrow in Great League.And the improvement is even more striking in Ultra League, with Honchkrow again holding the (shaky) line established with Dark Pulse and just adding to it, with Poliwrath, Swampert, Typhlosion, Scizor, Escavalier, Feraligatr, Charizard, and Dragonite all now falling to Honch.So what's the verdict?Honchkrow just become meta before our eyes. It may take people a little while to catch on in Great League, but expect to see it start to emerge here and there and possibly be more common by the time Ultra rolls around. It's an expensive investment for Ultra, needing to be leveled into the upper 30s, but it's not a crazy idea to do so.Other Benefactors?Part of the reason Brave Bird works so well for Honch is that it has that second, threatening charge move (Sky Attack) that it can mostly rely on and reserve Brave Bird for the most opportune moment. Not all Pokémon have that option, so how does this affect them?Skarmory has been very meta in Great League from the moment PvP arrived in the game, a rare centerpiece of GBL and Silph Arena teams alike. But if there's been one knock on it, it's been Skarmory's lack of a truly impactful second charge move to go with its own Sky Attack. To this point, if another move had any place, it was Flash Cannon to try and at least maim (though rarely actually flip) some of its harder counters like Bastiodon and Probopass. But especially with Flash Cannon now getting a slight nerf (which we'll look into more later), I think the second move you want now is Brave Bird. As compared to Flash Cannon, BB can pick up wins over Hypno, Lapras, Ferrothorn, Whiscash, Ferrothorn, Munchlax, and the mirror match versus FC Skarm. As with Honchkrow, BB works well here because Skarmory can do plenty of work with Sky Attack and save Brave Bird as a knockout move. Skarm was already good, but just got a little bit scarier.I already wrote about Galarian Farfetch'd back when it was introduced to the game, and now it's back as a possible reward encounter in GO Battle League starting at Rank 7. Back then, I was already leaning towards Brave Bird for closing power, paired with Leaf Blade, giving it wins over Mud Boys, most Grasses, most big Fighters (Cham, Croak, etc.), Stunfisk, and Azumarill and Zweilous and even Probopass. But now, with BB being an even more beastly closer, all the changes are positive ones, with G-Fetch'd now able to take down Umbreon, Sableye, DDeoxys, Froslass, Tropius (with either fast move), Ferrothorn, and even Melmetal. And just like that, Galarian Farfetch'd has gone from fringe to potential meta option in Great League. Of course, some of those wins only come with Leaf Blade baiting a shield or two, but honestly, there's not much that wants to take a Blade to the face either. G-Fetch'd is one to keep an eye on now.It's still kind of on the fringe, but Legacy Wing Attack Pidgeot with the souped up Brave Bird is a clear improvement on the Hurricane variant, with BB keeping (and often improving on) all the same wins, plus Altaria and the also-improved Drifblim. It's more on par with Noctowl now, though still trails Mr. Owl slightly and probably needs a more limited meta than wide open GBL (say, a Silph Cup) to really shine. But if you really like Pidgeot, then sure, you can use it and succeed with it on the right team, and that just got a bit easier.The other Pokémon with Brave Bird either don't typically want it (Blaziken, Braviary) or just aren't good enough for BB to save them now. One possible exception is Ho-Oh in Master League. The only truly meta things it could beat before were Heatran, Metagross, Mamoswine, Snorlax, and (just barely) Groudon. Now that close win against Groudon turns into a much more sure bet, and new potential wins show up against Togekiss, Garchomp, and even Gyarados (WITH future CD move Aqua Tail). But MAN, does Ho-Oh still desperately need a better fast move. Free him from this purgatory, Niantic!There is one more big bird that gets Brave Bird, but I want to break it down separately... right now!BRAVIARY IN ACTIONI looked into Braviary shortly after Rufflet arrived in the game, but with pre-tweaked Brave Bird and slow charging Heat Wave as the only moves to go alongside the all-but-necessary Rock Slide, it just didn't do enough to deserve a full writeup. But now it gets CLOSE COMBAT, which makes it at least a little more intriguing should it ever arrive in small enough form to fit in Great League, gaining new wins over Galarian Stunfisk, Swampert, Munchlax, and potentially even Registeel.But in Ultra League, it makes a few more inroads, with Close Combat bringing home new wins over Empoleon, Obstagoon, and Alolan Muk. Or you can bring the reworked BRAVE BIRD into the mix and reach for Altered Giratina, Typhlosion, and fellow buffed Pokémon Drifblim, while still holding on to Obstagoon and Empoleon (though A-Muk may slip away).And while Braviary crosses the 3000 CP threshold and can do some work in Master League (and a bit more in ML Premier Cup), now preferring Rock Slide again, it has a rather niche role.So what's the verdict?Eh, I like the potential of Braviary in Great League and Master League more than the actual win/loss columns. A Flyer with moves that cover many of its toughest counters (Close Combat for Rocks and Ices) and counter fellow Flyers (Rock Slide, which doubles up on Ices and provides other good coverage) is going to matter at some point, just perhaps more in The Silph Arena than in GBL.But in Ultra League, there may be something to it, especially in the projected Ultra League Premier Cup. Consider prepping one now to get ahead of the curve. Put those GBL Rufflet candies to good use!PECK TO THE SIDES, TO THE FRONT, TO THE BACK🎼 Well, look at old Jim, he's pecking on his back!♩ Peckin' to me is a lot of fun,♫ Well, you peck one, and I'll peck one, well, we'll all peck one!♪ You peck to the east, and then you peck to the west,🎶 Then you peck, peck, peck 'til you've pecked your best.♭ Well, then okay, well, a-hey, hey,♬ We'll peck up, we'll peck up, we'll peck up the floor, Yeah!Apologies to Cab Calloway, but you knew I'd have to have ONE butchered song in here!Anyway, let's talk DRILL PECK. It's a very rare move, available on only two viable Pokémon in PvP: Zapdos, and as of the start of Season 3, Empoleon.Zapdos first. I already wrote about Thunder Shock Zapdos to kick off my early review of Elite TM targets, so rather than rehashing all that, would encourage you to go read that again. I'll wait..........you back? Okay, good. Because with Drill Peck now dealing five more damage (65 now, 60 previously) for the same low 40 energy cost, Zapdos is even a little bit better now. Shadow Zapdos in Great League picks up a new win against Medicham (the little bit of extra damage from Drill Peck finishing Cham off before it can reach a second Ice Punch). I didn't see any significant new wins in Ultra or Master (though feel free to point them out if you know of any!), but it does give Zapdos a little more elbow room in some of its wins. I wouldn't say this tweak is now the reason to suddenly start using Zapdos (the fact that you could get Thunder Shock in any league was that reason), but if you already planned to, the improvements to Drill Peck make Zappy a hair better overall.The bigger story is perhaps Empoleon, you FINALLY gets a coverage move against the Fighters and Grasses that plague it. The best thing it had to combine with Hydro Cannon before was Flash Cannon, which just got nerfed a bit. Drill Peck gives it a new win over Aboma(powder)snow and brings Azumarill to well within the margin of error, though without Flash Cannon you DO lose out on Altaria. in Ultra League, Empie with Drill Peck maintains its current roles and adds wins against Dragonite and now Shadow Abomasnow, while in Master League, Empoleon basically stays where it was, since it usually only needs Hydro Cannon anyway. (Though the hard-to-sim coverage against Fighters is nice to have, so I'd still call this a gain.) Nothing awe-inspiring, but overall, this makes Empoleon a mostly better version of itself.So what's the verdict?This isn't a huge change, and that shows in the minutia in the win/loss changes. But it IS a straight upgrade for Zapdos, and gives Empoleon the best move it has had yet to pair with Hydro Cannon. While the loss to Altaria in GL is unfortunate, I think I still give it a thumbs up as the second move to roll with on Empoleon moving forward.Other Benefactors?Honestly, not really. Murkrow and Dodrio get Drill Peck, but they still don't really have any play. Zapdos and now Empoleon are the beginning and end of the Drill Peck book.GOODNESS, GRACIOUS, GREAT BALLS OF... WATER?So with stats (~125 Attack, 127 Defense, 113 HP) basically the same as Togekiss and overall comparable to things like Venusaur and Cherrim, it's not that Pelipper doesn't have what it takes to hang in there in Great League. The problem has always been the complete lack of any charge moves cheaper than Hurricane and its 65 energy requirement. Sure, Hydro Pump and Blizzard are awesome when they hit, and Wing Attack (3.5 Energy Per Turn) in particular generates energy fast enough to get there at some point, but Pump and Blizzard both cost 75 energy. What Pelipper has so desperately needed is a bait/spam move, and now it finally has it with Water WEATHER BALL. So while Pelipper has been quite pathetic to this point, with WWB, suddenly it doesn't look too shabby. With just Wing Attack and WWB alone (so no baits), it can eliminate Registeel, Mud Boys Swampert and Whiscash, Galarian Stunfisk, Shiftry, A-Wak, Haunter, and basically anything Fighting, a very good start. Bringing in Hurricane (still the best bet as the second move) you can add on things like Azumarill, Lapras, Tropius, and Cherrim, plus Mantine with good bulk IVs. Not the greatest Flying Water type ever--I'd still say, in Great League, that that title rests with Mantine itself)--but Pelipper is legit close to that... and Mantine doesn't usually get Registeel.You also have the option of Water Gun rather than Wing Attack, losing 0.5 EPT but gaining 0.5 DPT and a steadier dose of Water-type damage, which is worse overall BUT does gain things like Probopass and a better showing against A-Marowak and Registeel while giving up Grasses, Lapras, and Azumarill. Like I said, it's worse, but it IS an option and may be better in certain limited formats like future Silph Arena Cups. For now, just something to keep in mind... towards the back.So what's the verdict?Wing Attack/Water Weather Ball/Hurricane Pelipper has some legit play, with some very good wins under its belt, uh, beak, from Mud Boys to Fighters to Ghosts to G-Fisk to Registeel and even some of the biggest of big name Grasses. It's sort of a mini-Mantine, one that may even be better on certain teams and/or in certain more-restricted-than-GBL formats. Recommend looking for a good Wingull and making a Pelipper out of it when you're able....AND ALL THE RESTBLIZZARD got a slight buff to damage without costing any more, which is nice. Skull Bash, Gunk Shot, and Hydro Pump all deal 130 damage for 75 energy, and that's where Blizzard used to be too, but it now surpasses them by dealing 140 damage for the same cost. The problem is that, even after this, most things that have Blizzard don't actually want it. Lapras is STILL better off with Skull Bash for the neutral coverage, Articuno prefers Hurricane still for similar reasons, and even newly buffed Abomasnow and Pelipper have better alternatives. Kyogre and Milotic and Regice appreciate the buff in Master League, but it's really just a "kill more" finisher now that I don't see suddenly leading to new wins they wouldn't have gotten already. It's nice to have but you likely won't see a big difference in success rates with things that use Blizzard.Poor Registeel. I mean, not that I really feel too bad, since I hate that big dumb doorknob with every fiber of my PvP player being, but it gets a double whammy with FLASH CANNON AND FOCUS BLAST both getting nerfed. Cannon still deals the same 110 damage, but now for 5 more energy, making those races to the next charge move a little harder now, and Blast still costs the same but deals 10 less damage, making it harder to turn the tables against Regi's biggest counters. I think it will come out fine in both Great League... it's still very powerful and still beats many of the things it always did, it's just a bit more mortal now. There are more troubling signs in Ultra League though, with new losses showing against Origin Giratina, Meganium, Snorlax, and Lickilicky and slight (though expected) dip in performance in many of its other wins. I DO think you'll still see plenty of it though, and should, as it's still very potent and downright oppressive in many matchups. Love Regi or hate it, if you're honest with yourself, you have to admit that kicking Regi back a small step should be good for the game in the end.Similarly, the Flash Cannon nerf is a slight hit to things like Ferrothorn (and makes me reconsider my formerly wise decision to roll with it on my Bastiodon, primarily for the mirror) and the nerf to Focus Blast hurts things that like it as a closer, like Gengar and Mewtwo, but they're not really going to go anywhere. This irks them and their users, sure, but their places in their respective metas is still very secure. With Focus Blast in particular, keep in mind that the 75 energy for 140 damage it has been reduced to is still better than any other 75-cost move except (just promoted) Blizzard. Blast was pretty overpowered already, so like Registeel, this is just bringing it back to the rest of the pack a bit, and was probably overdue.TL;DRYes, as it says in the title, this is a comprehensive (read as: LONG) analysis article, but I know some people just want to skip to the end and get a summary. So before you ask, this is for you:Abomasnow is now a very real part of the Great and Ultra League metas, especially Powder Snow variants. Look for regular AND Shadow to start popping up, as both are quite viable. Snowy Castform is scary in Great League now as well.Drifblim had a few close losses with old Hex that now flip to wins with new Hex, and it too is notably improved in Great and Ultra Leagues. Be on the lookout, and remember that in addition to powerful Shadow Ball, it also totes around Icy Wind. Shield accordingly.The changes to Brave Bird seem to be mostly a net gain for Honchkrow and Skarmory, who both now want it as the second move they've been waiting for to run alongside Sky Attack. It works well for them because SA still does most of the heavy lifting, with BB being primarily a closeout move, thus mitigating the steep -3 Defense drop.You should finally be able to put all those GBL reward Rufflets to good use, as Braviary looks viable in all three leagues. In Great League, it doesn't really want Brave Bird (preferring Rock Slide and the new Close Combat instead), but BB serves it well in the bigger leagues.The slight buffs to Drill Peck and Infestation are nice to have, but don't change much for those that use them. Empoleon appreciates it for coverage, especially in Ultra League, but the needle doesn't move very far.Registeel will be fine. Not quite as dominant now, which is a good thing really, but still very good despite nerfs to both of its primary charge moves. Reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated.And that's a wrap, folks! I did quite a bit of analysis on all this over the last two days, and while this is an informed opinion, it is still just that: my opinion. Hopefully it helps, but take that for what it's worth!Alright, I'll bow out now and let you get back to your day and your GBL matches. Thanks for sticking with me through this and other long articles I have written. I appreciate your time and attention, and sincerely hope this assists you in navigating these new GBL waters.For more PvP tidbits, you can find me on Twitter for near-daily PvP analysis nuggets, or Patreon and its tie-in exclusive Discord server/secret lair. And please, feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I'll try to get back to you!Stay safe out there, Pokéfriends. Thanks again for reading, and catch you next time! via /r/TheSilphRoad https://ift.tt/337EYrm