Unown now has every ability and move of its respective letter. Which end up overpowered, and which are useless?
Theorymon ThursdayWouldn't it also learn Sketch? If so, Unown-S might get banned with Speed Boost and every move in the game lmao
EDIT: I didn't even mention that Unown-S has access to Sturdy, Sword of Ruin, Simple, Supreme Overlord, Soul Heart, and Sheer Force as abilities which is outright insane with every move in the game. It can outright OHKO or 2HKO almost every Pokemon in the game after a Shell Smash boost without accounting for its ability
It has no true counters aside from Unaware mons, unless you know which ability it's running. That is unless you run Stored Power/Photon Geyser to counter the would be counter lmao. Good luck having to run Roar/Whirlwind on your unaware user
I think its stats are still just way too bad. It's outsped by shit like Haxorus even at +1 with full investment, and you'd have to devote a slot to Protect to even get that far. I guess a set like Sub Protect Spore + other utility could work?
Except since Protect starts with P, Unown S doesn’t get it. It could use Spiky Shield though.
sketch protect
Shit u right
That's what I was thinking, but then I thought
if this got implemented, would Unown-S be unable to use Sketched moves that don't start with S? Kind of like how Dark Void has a check for being used by Darkrai, but rather have Unown-S have the check rather than making the check on every individual move.
Or maybe is just truly stupidly broken because it can Sketch properly
As stupidly broken as a ofensive smeargle with a good ability would be, which IDK if it's that much.
Edit: pointing out the best set now that I've mulled it all ovet. Even without Sketch, a set using the Simple ability, at 48 base speed maxed to hit 214... this mon outspeeds most defensive threats and can put them to sleep no problem with 100% accurate Spore, Shell Smash and go +4 +4 +4, and then launch a staggering 260 base power Stored Power before STAB. All of these are S moves, and you even have Substitute for redundancy to ward "bad luck" (fishing for good luck) with slept targets, dodge status, say no to prio, and it gets you over 642 speed. Sure, you're walled by dark types if you run this set, but you have flexibility there to run some other S move I don't care to search for, but then you're probably losing to priority or bad sleep luck instead which is the bigger threat for sure.
Considering theoretical metagames of old (Almost Any Ability, AKA "AAA") incorporated Smeargle to some degree of success with abilities like Mold Breaker and Prankster landing it at a C- rank (where, keep in mind, all other pokemon ALSO have access to every ability in the game...) I can see even Unown-S doing things with sturdy and access to every move in the game against normal non AAA pokemon.
Sturdy into Shell Smash or Spore and then Shell Smash with STAB Stored Power... quite the demon even with a measly Base 72 SpAtk (at +2 a Timid Unown-S hits 486 SpAtk, but a big Stored Power of 140 Base Power before STAB (throw a Twisted Spoon in the item slot and you got a free 20% boost on top.) And then the speed, if you're Timid, at +2 is 428 and outspeeding Dragapult and Zeraora at (Zera is 423) which means it also outpaces 80 base speed scarfers that reach only 426 with beneficial nature, and therefore also base 90 speed scarfers not wise enough to go timid or jolly (which of course, is very rare.)
Now imagine this lands it in UU where often times a spore or sleep user is usually situated (looking at you, Amoongus,) it has access to Sap Sipper where it can eat that and setup same as earlier stated as a switchup... it's certainly got some flexibility there. In Sand or Snow it can be a Sand/Slush Rush user (also Rain and Electric Terrain, forgot about Swift Swim and Surge Surfer) and hit that beloved 428 speed and be a sleep spreader that also has access to STAB Future Sight after sleeping something, it can pivot after sleeping something in that insane speed tier... set a screen after sleeping something, so on and so forth.
Oh, and if you pair it with a sleep or screens user, and you give it SIMPLE and let it drop a Shell Smash... AND it has access to spore and STAB Stored Power... this thing is actually crazy if it were to ever exist and the Sketch copy was valid, and even if it isn't it still has all those S moves. Certainly would be UU minimum, IMO
U gonna sketch mid battle?
godlike, bro is so unperturbed by your team he just sets up an easel and gets to painting mid-combat
Spiky Shield bro
That's why you would use a Focus Sash + Shell Smash/Power Herb + Geomancy with moves like Bolt Strike, Close Combat, Gunk Shot, Precipice Blades, Poltergeist, Behemoth Blade, Diamond Storm, Hyperspace Fury, Photon Geyser, Blue Flare, Astral Barrage, Steam Eruption, Moonblast, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Earth Power, etc. You could tailor it to beat specific threats to your team, and it outright either OHKOs or 2HKOs almost everything in the game aside from Pokemon with Unaware.
You could opt to run Sturdy, Sword of Ruin, Simple, Supreme Overlord, Soul Heart, and Sheer Force as abilities which is outright insane
Not to mention you could gimmicky sets like Speed Boost + Focus Sash and Spikes/Sticky Web + Protect + Encore and Memento/Endeavor/Destiny Bond
Hyperspace Fury can only be used by Hoopa-U (its hardcoded). Without that it has no chance, ZU at best.
Damn that sucks lol. I guess Crunch, Darkest Lariat or Kowtow Cleave could work
Honestly not really? Smeargle has been a solid lead in Ubers for as long as it’s been around, even without moody, because the power of any mon with web is amazing, even if it can’t hold a (focus) sash)
After thinking about it a little more, I guess it would be a Webber that can Spore the base-90s in Ubers, which isn't a terrible niche at all. It's not like the stats are meaningfully worse than Smeargle's lol
You know even without sketch it would still get web and spore that is pretty nuts
Today I learned Smeargle is in Ubers and not like.. UU
What about instead of protect we go Silk Trap? Opposing physical attackers would go -1 speed while Unown would go +1.
Just run Simple Shell Smash+Stored Power. That shit reaches 585 Speed with a neutral nature and max investment and at +4 it OHKOs SpDef Corviknight after Rocks.
Unaware Unown U had entered chat, caused an uproar and u-turn’d out
Core Enforcer
Mfw my Shadow Tag, Shell Smash Unown is countered by my opponents Unaware Unown which has U-turn, Uproar, and (checks notes) literally nothing else
Nah because I forgot that Stored Power's BP boosts are separate from Unown's stat boosts. Unown-U would be decimated after 2 shell smashes. Most other Unaware mons can survive 1 hit and roar/whirlwind Unown-S out.
SHELL SMASH
STORED POWER
Shell smash, stored power, simple, white herb
Fella, it already would learn any move. Sketch is redundant
Neeeevermind, I msread that lmao
Simple Shell Smash
Who would have thought that the letter S would be an S Ranked letter?
Substitute, spikes, salt cure and super fang too
and even slack off!! imagine the spore, salt cure, slack off, sub S menace
Shell Smash Simple was my first thought
Throw Stored Power on too. It even gets STAB
Simple
Stored Power Scald Shadow Ball Shell Smash
On a Psychic Terrain team and fuck everyone
Sychic Terrain*
It would be S - tier
Everyone’s forgetting the real threat with S - Slow Start Splash
Unown-H finally gets the busted move hidden power
And Unown-L gets levitate!
252+ Atk Choice Band Pure Power Unown Photon Geyser vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 390-458 (128.2 - 150.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Unown finally tiered?
But hey that's just a theory
A game theory
252+ Atk Choice Band Pure Power Unown Power-Up Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kingambit: 336-396 (98.5 - 116.1%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Pure Power Unown Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mew: 360-430 (89.1 - 106.4%) -- approx. 12.5% chance to OHKO
assuming you get 10 hits - need to sacrifice wide lens for choice band
Wouldn't the held item need to start with "P" too?
PChoice Band
"ability and move"; it can already use every item in the game
Sure, but looking at the post image, it looks like OP is limiting items to ones that start with the same letter
No
I know language differences make this impossible, its just a what if :p
Nah, that's a feature. The language of the OT now also affects move pool and ability. Maybe German Unown-H is tiered differently than English Unown-H; embrace the chaos!
I've read enough History books to raise an eyebrow at "German Unown-H"
"Unfortunate..."
"Unfortunate" doesn't begin to describe my series, this game rewards blind luck and nothing else, I am beyond convinced at this point. After getting completely tooled by scheduling with my opponent changing times on me last minute and refusing to provide confirmation prior to the day of the match as to play times, losing this way somehow felt even worse than I had thought possible. My preparation was superior, my play was superior, and I lost, so I don't see a reason to continue engaging in an activity where what is within my control is overwhelmingly outweighed by what is not.
I am done with competitive Pokemon, and you won't get a fond farewell. This community is infected to its roots with a degenerative disease that grows stronger over time but stops short of killing its host. Tournaments used to have a competitive spirit at their heart, this has been transplanted and replaced with an artificial organ that feeds on vitriol and mockery from insecure little boys that heckle by the sidelines and tear each other to shreds over scraps of attention. The environment we fostered has trapped us all like this in a vicious cycle, and escaping it requires acceptance of the harshest reality we all scramble to explain away, that none of the countless straining efforts we put ourselves through here will ever amount to one single shining glimmer of significance. I would make this the end, but World Cup is still ongoing, and I would never leave so many great friends out to dry, so I'll suffer through a few more games for them.
One last thing before I leave you all to react with disdain, ridicule, and self-righteous fervor, before you do everything in your power to minimize my words and thoughts, box them up and shove them to some cobwebbed corner of your memory, and hope they disappear forever as a stain on your finite time ground to dust. From this moment on, nothing you say matters to me. The foulest insults you hurl with intent to wound will calmly settle at the earth before my feet, and the venom you spit will bring all the pain of a warm summer breeze. You are less than anything you can conceive, while I carry on, brimming with joy distilled from detachment
"Unfortunate" doesn't even begin to describe my Unown.
German Unown H used Poison Gas!
Russian Unown S used Sheer Cold!
There has to be a language out there where "No guard" starts with the same letter as Fissure, Sheer Cold or Guillotine
I looked at Bulbapedia, and there is one in French.
Fissure = Abime
No Guard = Annule Garde
Whaoh, I appreciate the dedication
LMAOOO BRUH
this is a petition for Showdown to have a new tier that's Unown only with this set of rules in place
Z and Y are garbage
You don't think zap cannon zen Headbutt zing zap zippy zap I own would be in at least Ubers?
Yeah but abilities are important
Zero to Hero be like
turning into Finizen-Hero would solve most of Unown's problems, you're right
It's like Zelda down special in melee
In that case it's pretty ironic that Zelda also starts with Z
Sheik would be proud
Unown finally tiered by just becoming a better Pokémon
That’s like saying Zelda in Melee has the best Down b in the game, it makes her move up two tiers
Edit: switched Zelda and Sheiks name
Shiek has the worst down b, turning into zelda. But I’m assuming you meant zelda has the best down b, turning into shiek.
I just realized that S unown has both Sketch and Schooling. Believe it o not, straight to AG
Unless it gets every Z move as well. Still probably trash, but chaotic trash
Blunder Policy Z Hypnosis Z Clangorous Soul Z Genesis Supernova Z Baton Pass
Zlunder policy
Z-moves without a move that they came off of are 1bp. Get ready for the most broken mon.
Kid named Z-Status move
It practically has no coverage outside of z status moves onto residual damage moves, so it ain't broken, at least compared to unown-s getting sketch.
All fun and games till you get hit by that zero to hero zippy zap...
Ahem
The U form has literally only 2 moves
U turn and uproar?
Z gets Z moves though
Anyone thought of making this into an OM? "Letter clause" (only 1 of each letter Unown, no other pokemon allowed). Sort of like Convergence but stupider
Oh, Unown-P would be good I think. Pure Power + STAB Photon Geyser would seriously hurt even resists (since every mon in this OM is Psychic obviously, unless Tera is allowed), though I suppose there would be good bulky Unown letters so maybe not
Let them all change types to something matching their letter. Makes S even more broken by giving it steel
Y would you do that
Recycle Revival
Pure Power Photo Geyser
Speed Boost Spore Stored Power
Wonder Guard.
Zero to hero Z-moves
Good as Gold
Unown-S would be the only one worth using since it gets every move via Sketch. It would be a fun metagame if you ban Sketch though
I mean one would assume there'd be a Form Clause
Just Unown.
Also speed boost and without sketch it'd still have shell smash, spore, stored power
Unknown S used Shell Smash.
Substitute Shell Smash Speed Boost Stored Power with Strange Stream for coverage? we have Espathra at home lol
Remember that it would also get sketch
Why sketch when you can speed boost spore
Sketch Protect so you can get a free speed boost
Just use Spiky Shield
Sketch Baneful Bunker
Bitch, please.
SIMPLE Shell Smash Stored Power is the real juice. After one turn of setup it reaches 585 Speed and its Stored Power OHKOs SpDef Corviknight after rocks, because after one Shell Smash the move hits 260 base power LMAOOOOO
Ok Satan
This would be so fun you dont understand
Time to make it an OM
Alphabet Cup moment
Alphabet Cup is one of the most chaotic OMs out there. Cotton Guard Court Change Corviknight...Shore Up Spikes Swampert...Belly Drum Bullet Punch Kingambit (inherits from Bisharp).
Until teams get refined and meta develops and it quickly becomes stale
Can't wait for tier lists that are just out-of-order alphabets
Ironically unown s would be s tier
Unown! and Unown? are completely left out of the fun that the letters get to experience.
! Gets one move of your choice and one ability of your choice ? Gets random moves
Unown? Only gets confusion causing moves
And Unown! only gets flinch causing moves
Dynamic punch, thrash, outrage, confusion, water pulse, etc. there might be enough to work with! I like this idea
Hurricane, axe kick, strange steam does allow for some coverage at least. Better than unown U
Unown-W is pretty good with Wonder Guard, Water Spout, Wicked Blow, Work Up, Wildbolt Storm, and Will-o-wisp. Banned from Ubers if Tera is legal though.
Even without tera, having wonder guard on not Shedinja would be the ag of the ag tier
Would it though? It would still get goobed pretty easily, since its defense stats arent good and it has weakness to common ubers types like dark, ghost, and u-turn. Plus there’s all of the mons with mold breaker reskins, hazards, status moves, etc. All of this goes out the window in a meta with tera of course, but outside of that I think it would be ok.
The main drawback of Shedinja is that it dies to literally everything. Being unable to be instantly killed by passive damage means that you have to run one of those mons, which is incredible uncompetitive.
Damn you're right I'd have to run a shitmon such as Annihilape, Ceruledge, Chien-Pao, Chi-Yu, Dragapult, Fluttermane, Gholdengo, Houndstone, Kingambit, Koraidon, Roaring Moon, or Scizor to deal with it. How would my Ubers team ever recover!
Not to mention dark/ghost coverage is so easy to get even without the stab
What ubers team doesnt run moves with ghost, dark, bug type moves, or status? Even now, with a super limited ubers dex (again, barring tera) there are several mons who can easily dispose of unown.
Unown has >1HP which means status and hazards don't kill it immediately. You have to kill it with an attacking Ghost/Dark/Bug move and that makes it wayyyyy easier to bring in safely and much easier to try to have as your outright win condition by eliminating the opponent's carriers of said moves.
I don't think it would go into AG but it would definitely be a top Ubers Pokemon and you would see sets where a Pokemon had three of their four usual moves + a random shitty Ghost move they got as a surprise Unown counter or whatever
Ignoring mold breaker and similar effects, the main benefit is that this is the ultimate pivot. The reason shedinja got banned to AG is not because of Tera electric, as much as people meme about it, it's more to do with the unpredictability and how much it forced switches.
Assuming no Tera, this still forces switches on miraidon koraidon, iron bundle and palafin, and it makes using choice items a lot riskier for things like chien pao (Do you risk an ice Spinner into a koraidon?) And this is only accounting for gen 9 mons.
If tera is allowed, it will be unkillable even in AG. Tera Fairy unknown is weak to steel and poison, both of which are pretty rare. All it needs to do is fina a suitable time for tera, and it gg
I know. This is why I specified no tera.
It will still be great in AG. Mono psychic has little defensive utility, but it also has only 3 weakness. Shedinja had 5 (rock, flying, fire, dark, ghost)
Unown is still outsped, with little offensive or defensive prowess outside of wonderguard due to its awful stats. Counters could easily switch in and not fear retaliation. No way its more warping than something like gen 8 calyrex or current gen Miraidon.
Unown is still outsped
It's faster than Shedinja, and has 14 immunities
with little offensive or defensive prowess outside of wonderguard due to its awful stats
Not really relevant since there's no way to kill it without dark, bug or ghost type moves.
Counters could easily switch in and not fear retaliation.
Have 5 teammates who can eat ghost, dark and bug type moves. Not very hard.
Unown has access to moves like Wish, Work Up, Will o Wisp, and Whirlwind, and offensive moves like Wicked Blow, Water Shuriken, Wood Hammer, Wave Crash, Weather Ball and Wildbolt Storm. Counters will get crippled by Will o Wisp, or get chipped by hazard due to whirlwind. It also has recovery with Wish, and non-contact priority (so it won't die instantly to rocky helmet, like Shed).
No way its more warping than something like gen 8 calyrex or current gen Miraidon.
You are comparing broken with uncompetitve. They are not the same. wonder guard unown is broken because it's extremely uncompetitive, like Shadow Tag + Encore MGengar
Countered by Worry Seed Wonder Guard Unown-W. ZU at best
You're missing out on the good set:
Unown-W @ Leftovers
Ability: Wonder Guard
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Whirlwind
- Whirlpool
- Will-O-Wisp
With a whopping 15 immunities, Unown-W without question walls a wide variety of pokemon. With that said, W's woeful attack won't win games by itself. Instead, we rely on the wide support movepool which W wonderfully bestows.
Wish grants reliable recovery, whirlwind forces out the mon which can actually hit you, whirlpool traps those that can't, and will-o-wisp is a way of actually doing damage. It's also a pretty good wish passer I guess
Kid running Unown-M with Mold Breaker and MEarthquake:
If unown-R has the ability ripen & the move revival blessing, what happens if it holds a leppa berry and uses that move?
I'm guessing that the ability doesn't change anything but I have no way to test it out on cartridge.
Forget Ripen, Unown R would also have Recycle (and Recover!) for infinite Revival Blessing
Suddenly I don't wanna play this metagame anymore
You only need to kill the R because you can only have one unown per letter lol
Until unown S reveals it got revival blessing through sketch
Regenerator, Rage Fist, Recover, Recycle, Revival Blessing
It restores 1PP to the move, because the move itself has 1PP
everyone is sleeping on Trick-or-Treat Unown-T
This could make a VERY fun meta
So unown avoids species clause and you must have at least 2 in the team (just unowns would make a fun concept boring)
And then we let the chaos begin until unown-w gets banned in like 5 mins
Well, the first that come to mind are P and W. The former has Pure Power and a strong STAB move in Photon Geyser and a good bit of coverage (Play Rough, Pyro ball etc). I don’t think I hate to explain W. It can have Wonder Guard.
Unown W has Wonder Guard.
That"# all I have to say.
Not only wonder guard, but it gets Work Up and an impressive amount of coverage with moves like Wave Crash, Wood Hammer, Wicked Torque, Wing Attack, etc
Wicked Blow, Will o Wisp, Whirlwind, Whirlpool
Good as Gold Unown G
G max moves go brrrrr
What does stance change Unown-S do?
it decides it no longer agrees with its previous opinions
It becomes an Unown-Z
the actual answer is nothing, but the fun answer is its offensive and defensive stats switch
So basically nothing
Unown-S would know these moves:
Seismic Toss Stun Spore Soft-Boiled Spore Substitute Sticky Web Spikes Swagger Synthesis Stealth Rock Scald Spiky Shield Shed Tail
And have these abilities:
Speed Boost Sturdy Shield Dust Suction Cups Shadow Tag Serene Grace Stall Storm Drains Solid Rock Sap Sipper
Unown-S could also learn Sketch, giving it basically evey move.
Also rip Unown-!
Contrary Close Combat Unown C.
S is obvious but B is underrated
Beads of Ruin Blunder Policy
Blue Flare Boomburst Bug Buzz Blizzard
This would seem like a nightmare if you consider other languages, or if Game Freak would just go with the Japanese names.
I don't think most of them would be overpowered with a Base Stat Total of 336, with their highest being 72 Attack and Sp. Atk.
I will say Wonder Guard W-Unown would be the most useful since hazards wouldn't be an issue to it as much as Shedinja.
Based on language settings at the start of the game
this is one of the best theorymon thursday’s i’ve seen in a minute! Great idea OP, would love to see this as an OM
As One (Spectrier) Aqua Step Armor Cannon Astral Barrage Aeroblast
Unown-A could be funny, it just needs support to get it rolling (aqua step to rely less on allies boosting its speed).
ABC abilities was such a fun meta. I wish this was real.
Also nerf S. As soon as it sketches a move that does not start with S it should forget it.
Unown Q is still terrible
Say that to my Queenly Majesty Quiver Dance Quick Attack Unown-Q
Dont forget Quash and Quick Guard!
Or the qualot berry!
Quintillions of Quiver Dances, setting up for the Quaziest Quick Attack.
Unown-P (Punching Gloves/Protective Pads)
Ability: Parental Bond
- Power-Up Punch
- Psyshield Bash
- Power Trip
- Protect
!
?
Quick who can make us an Unown rom hack with this as the premise
There’s a reason they call it the W unown
I love this. Could you imagine how many different unown would get banned? That is amazing work though with the theory.
I mean we could make a metagame out of it call it something stupid like alphabet soup and see what floats to the top
Limit held items to respective letters so we can’t have wonder guard air balloon
This would be a fun metagame of the month or something if it was just unown
Shell smash/Stored Power/Spore +1 (Springtide Storm/Sacred Sword for coverage) going to go crazy with Speed Boost or Sturdy (or Simple?)
Unown-M running around with Moody, Magical Torque, Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom, and holding a metronome would keep me up at night.
What would’ve been cool about Unown is if they actually made its Base stats unknown to the player. Like imagine if Unown kept its 336 Base Stat Total but every stat was completely randomized, but had a min of 1 and a max of 331.
Imagine Unown with the literal highest SpAtk of every Pokemon ever, but it literally has 1 HP like Shedinja and dies to hazards
if this idea was balanced a lil bit (dont ask me how) it would actually be really cool
Unown D (eeeeeeez NUUUUUUUUU-) Gets both weather abilities, dark void, detect, and defog
Unown S might actually get banned because it gets sketch, meaning it gets every move in the game, on top of gaining access to Speed Boost meaning it could just be a straight up better Smeargle
Pure power psycho cuts from Unown-P would hurt. Not sure it could outspeed anything or live any hits, but it could hurt.
Speed ties with everything in the tier 🥴
please make this an om
Speed Boost Unknown S.
Wonder guard, whirlpool
For people mentioning Unown-S with Sketch having every move, make it where it has to bring Sketch into the fight and actively use it to gain a move outside of its standard pool. Not only does this mean Unown-S will have to use a turn to get access to whatever move, but it also means the opponent has to use the move first, much like Smeargle.
that's just Mimic, Unown-M's move
Unknown-W has wonder guard, so it can go tera air balloon electric while also not insta dying to sand stream and the like.
Wonder Guard Unown
WonderGuard Unown maybe
Speed Boost Spore Unown-S becomes a menace