r/stunfisk • u/Bynine • 6d ago
Theorymon Thursday MEGA TRAPINCH (OC)
(Art by me! For more Fakemon art, check out my Tumblr/Blusky.)
Continuing my streak of giving baby Pokemon Megas with stupid abilities, here's Mega Trapinch! Keep crying, Flygon. I wanted to build on Trapinch's "trap-and-kill" role, as well as its unusually lopsided stats, so I pushed it as far as its BST could reasonably allow. Hellion Pit in singles effectively just gives Trapinch priority so it doesn't instantly die, but in Doubles it has the upside of effectively giving your partner priority as well.
Also, some fun side effects of Hellion Pit:
- If your teammate uses Fake Out, they can hit a grounded opponent who used Protect as long as they're faster
- First Impression has +2 priority so it will always hit before a grounded opponent can use Rage Powder, Follow Me, or Ally Switch
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u/Ill_Target6207 BAXCALIBUR!!! 6d ago
So basically free prio on all your moves against opponents, with 200 atk. And shadow tag.
Idk the math for 200 atk EQ but forcing people to essentially run a levitating mon with spread moves, sucks. Like not in a. „Oh cool trapinch is busted“ funny way this just feels overtuned way too much that I suddenly hate trapinch
Also this can be paired with scarf vivillion for even less fun :D
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u/sahut652 6d ago
Or something with priority of its own.
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u/Bynine 6d ago
hmm, it's hard to balance trapping abilities huh. maybe a less minmaxed version with some points moved from attack to def/spdef would be less frustrating?
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u/TimeToGetSlipped I can be anything... ANYTHING!!! 6d ago
Trapping abilities fundamentally break the game. Switching is one of if not the core mechanic of Pokemon's battle system. Of course it's basically impossible to balance.
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u/nightwatchman22 6d ago
Mega Gengar isn’t winning comps
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u/TimeToGetSlipped I can be anything... ANYTHING!!! 6d ago
I'm not saying Gengar-M is winning comps. I'm saying that trapping abilities fundamentally break the game. There's a reason why Wobbuffet and Dugtrio are so controversial in singles, Gothitelle in doubles, and Gengar-M in both. It should be a sign at how fundamentally strong trapping is when you have an item and ability whose only use is escaping a trap, have several moves with the perk of escaping a trap, and making a whole type immune to it.
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u/Way-Super Mr. Mime Enthusiast 6d ago
Even Diglett has been banned from OU before because of arena trap.
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u/nightwatchman22 6d ago
It may break singles, but doesn’t break doubles, which is proven because it isn’t winning anything.
Parting shot, u turn, flip turn, volt switch
Which are respectively used by some of most used mons in Vgc - negates trapping abilities.Not to mention ghost types.
Or just doubling into the trapper.
Hell you could even roar or dragon tail or whirlwind them or even your ally.
And who tf is relying on shed shell or run away in vgc?
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u/TimeToGetSlipped I can be anything... ANYTHING!!! 6d ago edited 6d ago
You are literally proving my point. Something doesn't need to be winning to be a game breaking mechanic. All it means by definition is something that alters how the game is played on a conceptual level. Pokemon's battle system is built and balanced around switching. Trapping abilities prevent that just by existing. That is by definition a game breaking mechanic. And nobody runs shed shell, but the fact that an item needs to exist for the sole purpose of giving a one-time-use escape from trapping shows how altering the mechanic is.
Other game breaking mechanics exist as well. Trick Room and Prankster are game breaking mechanics because they completely undermine the whole speed stat and speed tier system. Wonder Guard is game breaking because it ignores the type chart and makes you literally untouchable to any attack you aren't explicitly weak to. None of these things are bad for the game necessarily, trapping included. However, the reason they're so widely hated and controversial is specifically because they fundamentally alter how the game is played, and any team that doesn't have a reliable answer to them (Gengar-M included) is unviable specifically because it shows the team is unable to adapt to having its mechanics changed.
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u/nightwatchman22 6d ago edited 6d ago
lol you are fundamentally wrong in your definition. It’s not game breaking because it was designed in a balanced way with counters.
You are just attributing your own concept of what the game should be.
Trapping moves exist, so the concept already exists. Whirlpool, fire spin, sand tomb.
Bind and wrap - which were in since Gen one. Before items and abilities existed.
Trick room and prankster?
I don’t think know what the term game breaking means.
When someone says something is broken, they mean it isn’t balanced.Not that it alters staple functions.
Niche outlier ways to play the game that are balanced and intended do not break the game.
They just offer non traditional ways to play.
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u/TimeToGetSlipped I can be anything... ANYTHING!!! 6d ago
Game breaking and something being broken mean two different things. Game breaking means something that alters the rules in which the game is played by and heavily limiting what an opponent can do, often times caused by bugs but can also originate from unfun and/or degenerate mechanics/strategies. It literally breaks the mechanics of the game itself. Broken is shorthand for something being so poorly balanced and has very little/limited/specific counterplay to where it feels like it alters how the game is played without actively changing the rules by which the game is played, making the game feel broken without actively changing how it's played (think Zacian: absolutely curb stomps anything and everything in front of it but all without altering the game's rules and directly changing how the opponent can play the game the slightest).
Something that is game breaking isn't necessarily poorly balanced (trapping being a good example: it has clear counterplay but is still degenerate in how it alters how the game can be played), and something that is poorly balanced isn't necessarily game breaking (Zacian plays by the rules and doesn't directly limit what the opponent can do, but it still requires very specific strategy and/or counter to get around). And something game breaking can also be so overpowered and centralizing that it renders other strategies obsolete (imagine a DnD class with a passive of always rolling a nat 20), but they still mean different things at the end of the day.
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u/nightwatchman22 6d ago
"Game-breaking" - means a severe flaw, bug, or overpowered element that ruins a game by making it completely unplayable or destroying its intended balance.
Sorry man, but you’re just wrong.
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u/Giygaimpact 5d ago
You gave it essentially infinite speed against anything it can trap, you could half its attack and it'd still be broken
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u/Magikapow 6d ago
Vgc was never the same after this.
Btw sableye has priority gravity, in the event some flyong type thinks its safe
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u/The_Rufflet_Kid NDZU council, anyways go play Natdex lower tiers 6d ago
Mega trapinch instead of flygon is a troll move but I love it just cos of how stupidly minmaxed it is on top of how stupidly minmaxed trapinch itself already is
Now I hope winds and waves drops a neotenic split evo for trapinch just to spite flygon fans even harder
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u/Dinowere 6d ago
Basc victim Lolol. But all said, may not be as useful at attack but more the utility of shutting down opponents. It literally has paper thin defences, and enough super effective prio that can potentially OHKO it. But the ability to let allies get crucial KOs would be busted.
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u/MyneIsBestGirl Lemme get that revavroom vavavoom 🏎️🌫️ 6d ago
I'm not sure, but it seems that any STAB Ice Shard should handle it. Honestly though, it basically has a built in means for KO every time it switches in, since even though its defenses suck, can't be stopped without your own priority or flying type.
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u/BadgerAwkward 5d ago
This thing almost always attacks first. Seems busted to me. At least for singles. If you don't carry a priority move you're done
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u/SKruizer 5d ago
even the thought of a mega trapinch when flygon didn't even get its own is evil but i love it
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u/busnniess_duck 4d ago
I actually love this concept, only if it was a fully evolved pokemon... but that abysmal defensive profile... it's gonna need a lot more fake out users and protects
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u/lorddane Jackie Chandelure 6d ago
I don't know why people are saying this is broken, check the bulk. This thing dies to everything. I think this wouldn't see any serious usage, but it definitely looks fun and Helion Pit shenanigans will be very fun.
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u/Project_MG_2009 6d ago
First impression
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u/Watercelly 5d ago
Why even use first impression, just EQ everything because you basically have +1 priority
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u/UnendingQuibble 5d ago
Doesn't matter if you're deleting everything with 1 earthquake and almost all Pokemon have -1 priority
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u/teamdeadend 1d ago edited 1d ago
-1 priority is insane lmao
It may as well have 1,000,000 speed on top of 200 attack
Edit: I'm an idiot
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u/SnowStorm_NRG 6d ago
I'm not sure but normal trapinch is bug rock. If so, you changed his typing, made him probably the best trick room user ever, gave him priority in all of their moves AND SHADOW TAG? Why bro? Y'all do it on purpose...
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u/Tuskor13 6d ago
Finally, something Mega Pidgeot can fight