Pokemon Sun and Moon Demo Leaks

Pokémon Sun & Moon Information (Demo Leaks)

In-Game Mechanics:

Hey guys, It's Ty (@SarkastikVGC) and Nihal (@UchihaX96) and we're going to give our thoughts on the leaks from the Pokemon Sun and Moon Demos that have recently been released. We'll focus on how we feel the new mechanics, moves and abilities will impact the VGC '17 Format, and try speculate on potential strategies or combinations.

• Paralysis now slows by ½ rather than ¾
• Thoughts: Honestly this feels like a bit of an unhealthy change. The main issue with paralysis in competitive is more with the 25% chance for a pokemon to be fully paralyzed, and less so with the speed drop. Paralysis has always been an important form of speed control in VGC that allows slower pokemon to remain viable, especially on teams that don't want to dedicate a slot to a Trick Room setter. This change is essentially a nerf to slower pokemon, who will now find it harder to compete with faster opponents, as well as being an indirect buff to tailwind and other forms of speed control, which previously could not compete with the immense speed drop afforded by paralysis.
• I have to agree with Ty here. This change is a bit odd, as the underlying issue with paralysis was the 25% full paralysis chance. I'm not sure what Gamefreak's thoughts were when they implemented this change, and at this point in time we can't say for sure how much influence this will have in the new format. Only halving speed is a key point though as Tailwind now essentially completely nullifies the speed drop from paralysis. It also enables you to paralyze your opponent's pokemon, set up Trick Room and not have them benefit from the drop in speed.

• Psychic Terrain: Pokémon on the ground won’t be hit by priority moves for 5 turns. It also boosts the power of Psychic-Type Moves
• Thoughts: Psychic terrain is a really interesting move and at this point seems like it will be very influential in the metagame (assuming viable base stats for the Tapu who wields it.) The ability to block priority moves is a secondary effect that seems far stronger than any of the other terrain effects. There are a number of applications for this move/ability that will allow a player to control the game.
• Firstly moves such as Fake out and Feint that allow a player to control the field in their favour will be negated, providing a level of safety for slower-paced teams. As well as this, a number of setup sweepers favour priority moves like Azumarill's Aqua Jet and Scizor's Bullet Punch. Psychic Terrain will allow the user to have more options against opponents like this by combatting them with their own faster pokemon.
• Another thing to consider is that due to the psychic-typing of the move, it is realistic that the Tapu who has access to Psychic Terrain may also have access to Trick Room. In conjunction with this ability, slow pokemon can feel more comfortable in Trick Room, and faster teams will have to utilise other methods to combat the teams.
• Interesting ability, and even more interesting effects. Kangaskhan, Bisharp, Talonflame, Azumarill, Scizor, etc were all pokemon that liked to use priority moves. First impressions of this ability make it seem like a response to their influence in the past 2-3 years of VGC. It might even be able to stop Priority status moves, which would also be in response to pokemon like Whimsicott and Thundurus. Overall I think this ability hits pokemon like Talonflame really hard, and it'll be interesting to see what pokemon gets this ability, and how it's utilised in the new format.

• Throat Chop: The Pokémon hit by this attack can’t use any move that produces sound for 2 turns
• Thoughts: This move seems to be somewhat in reaction to the prevalence of Hyper Voice in the last 2 years of VGC, allowing the user to protect itself and its partner from enemy spread moves. Notably, the move is fighting-type, which suggests it will help keep Fighting-type Pokemon safe from Pixilate/Aerilate Hyper Voice strategies. This move could be relevant but it will depend heavily on its BP, Accuracy, and if move tutors (and thus hyper voice) are avaiable in the VGC17 format. 
• The first thing that occurred to me when I learn about the ffect of this move : "Oh they decided to try and contain Sylveon somehow". It may not be as simple as that, unfortunately. Like Ty said, it would depend on the base power, accuracy and most importantly whether move tutor moves were accessible in this new game. This move could also prevent moves like Perish Song from being used if timed correctly. While this may not be as useful as I've made it out to be since it can't actually hit Gengar due to its Ghost typing, it can prevent pokemon like Politoed or even Dewgong from using the move. Mega Gardevoir could also be stopped from using Hyper Voice, but as Megas aren't allowed this season, it's not as useful in that respect. Other notable moves affected by the effects of Throat Chop are Snarl, and Bug Buzz.

• Aurora Veil: This move halves the power of special and physical attacks for 5 turns. “Your Team’s Aurora Veil wore off” (team specific, not field/terrain).
• Thoughts: This move was probably the biggest surprise from the leaks in terms of competitive VGC. Depending on what pokemon have access to this move, it could be incredibly influential. The move combines both Reflect and Light Screen into one, and will swing the matchup heavily in favour of the player to use it. Most likely it will be help setup strategies to succeed, as well as potentially easing pressure on making reads turn-to-turn, as you will likely be able to win every damage trade with Aurora Veil in your favour. 
• Aurora Veil looks very interesting at first sight. Having the effects of both Light Screen and Reflect in one move is incredible. While we're not sure what pokemon gets this move, if this move is used well it will allow much more defensive play. Personally I like this move a lot. Hyper offensive teams have been pretty successful in recent formats, and this move allows people to play a more defensive, position oriented game, which I think is really nice. The interaction between this move and the new timer rules is another question mark, as I'm sure the effects of Aurora Veil will prolong games. That being said, if Minimize/Stall teams are prominent this could be very annoying.

• Laser Focus: The move on the turn after the Pokemon uses Laser Focus will Always result in a critical hit.
• Thoughts: Laser Focus seems a bit gimmicky to me and its viability is hard to gauge without having a full picture. In my opinion you wouldn't run this move unless it was a reasonably base-powered STAB, attacking move, or was a type that had strong offensive presence in the meta (like ice in VGC15). With that in mind, you have to take into account that the tradeoff is always going to be: 2x STAB move or 1x Laser Focus + OtherMove x1.5. To know if you'd want something like this, it seems like you'd have to evaluate if dropping an extra coverage move and being predictable in your moves (as youre obviously attacking the following turn) is worth it for one turn of increased damage. I feel like in most situations this wouldnt be worthwhile, however there are some niches where it may be helpful, specifically against pokemon who boost their defensive stats, or even to power up an especially potent Z-move to try and eliminate a bulkier-than average threat. On the whole I'd guess it will be around a 55 BP move and I'm not convinced it will be great.
• Laser Focus looks like a setup move, with the next move resulting in a crit. I do not think this move would be worthwhile in VGC unless it actually does damage, as the games are usually fast paced. I could see this catching on if a bulky pokemon like Calm Mind Cress were to emerge again, as Laser Focus looks like a nice wallbreaker option. Combined with a Z move it could be deadly. I could be wrong, but I see this move being used more in singles than in VGC, as it could potentially break stall teams. Otherwise, this move feels like it would be very situational.

• Stakeout: Doubles the damage dealt to the target’s replacement if the target switches out
• Thoughts: Honestly I dont have a lot to say about this ability. Its a conditional damage boost which means it can be good for 'highlight plays' but its never especially consistent. If there is a high damage mon that has this ability and can afford to be run without relying on its damage boost, that would be pretty sick for covering switches. Unfortunately it might just end up on Gumshoos and that would be a bit of a disappointment. 
• I think what Ty said pretty much sums up my thoughts about this move as well. You'd have to force a switch for this ability to have any effect, and only then you'd be able to punish it. I guess this ability could prevent your opponent from switching in fear of a strong move targeting their switch in, but that's only the case if a pokemon with high attacking stats were able to obtain this ability. 

• Battle Bond: Defeating an opposing Pokemon strengthens the Pokemon’s bond with its Trainer, and it becomes Ash-Greninja. Water shuriken becomes more powerful
• Thoughts: The stats on Ash-Greninja look impressive at this point, (72/145/67/153/71/132), though the pokemon itself is locked to a neutral nature(no stat increases), and thus wont be a whole lot more useful than its regular form. Its a cool ability for sure, but the pokemon and its conditions for 'evolving' are pretty inconvenient to use, so I doubt it will see too much competitive success. 
• Battle Bond is exclusive to Ash-Greninja if I recall correctly, and it seems to give Ash-Greninja a substantial increase in base stats. Ash-Greninja isn't legal for VGC '17, but anyway. Looking at the stats, and running some calculations, I already see that Life Orb Protean Greninja is by far more useful in general than this Greninja. The STAB boost for each move that comes with Protean seems more useful overall than a massive increase in base stats. I do think Ash-Greninja is a cool idea as I like seeing new forms of pokemon, but I think I'll stick to using it in game :)

Pokemon:

• Tapus 

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• Starters

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• Ultra Beasts

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Finally, here are 3 videos you can watch that come from the people who datamined the Sun and Moon Demos. This outlines everything that they have found, in 3 short videos.

We have also included a pastebin of fully evolved pokemon that are in the alola dex, thanks to Gavin (KingOfMars). 

ProfShroomish also uploaded a full version of the alola pokedex here : 

http://imgur.com/gallery/5C8ry

Kaphotics Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_KfjwyVaoY – Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwpIhRkAlRw – Part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJnB7EHQ2XU – Part 3

http://pastebin.com/9f43teW2 - KingofMars' List of Fully Evolved Pokemon in the Alola Dex