Season 22!

Welcome to Nuclear UHC Season 22. This is a ultrahardcore round created by Bolt and now organized by Brodator. For this season the players are experimenting with mob disguises. The teams are split in 4 tiers and each tier has a different disguise. Tier 1 is a Warden, Tier 2 is a Villager, Tier 3 is a Chicken and Tier 4 is a Baby Chicken.

Links

^{*Bold = Highlighted}

Teams	Links
Team 1	-
AirInAirOut	Tier 5 Gameplay
Chasmic	Chick-In-Charge
Sten_Stone	Villager Trading
uhcloverMarcC5M	Episode 7
Team 2	-
BoltsInCharge	Episode 7
FalingDutchman	was slain by Wolf (Rohcket)
Jahrod	was slain by ShootingGoats
Ninetals38	Episode 7
Team 3	-
Brodator	Who Are You
jimmyjegs	Episode 7
Rohcket	Episode 7
ShootingGoats	Episode 7
Team 4	-
Codwhy	was slain by Baby Zombie
DogOfKrondor	Just not enough room
PatrickTN_	Episode 7
SiahStone	Episode 6+7
Trinan6918	Episode 6+7
Team 5	-
CodeJoshua	was slain by Nuclearsugar
Flouzemaker	Episode 7
Shqkstar	Mob Feast
starlxghtmoon	Episode 6+7
Team 6	-
Alisa_Muffins	Episode 7
IAteYourToenailJae	[Episode 7]()
Nuclearsugar	Episode 7
RoseCuycuy	Lost Footage
TehBaconBrawlerZ	was slain by RoseCuycuy
Spectator	-
Fcrm	Episode 7

Previous Episodes
Intro	Link
Episode 1	Link
Episode 2	Link
Episode 3	Link
Episode 4	Link
Episode 5	Link
Episode 6	Link

Credits

Organization - Brodator
Host/Coding - Brodator
Intro - Brodator
Art - Brodator
Logo - Brodator

All prices include shipping within Continental USA. Paypal Payment only.
https://imgur.com/a/pCMSdJ1
Battletech **SOLD**

• NiB-Wolf’s Dragoons $20
• NiB-Inner Sphere Command Lance $20
• Open Box Never Used Neoprene Playmat $25
• Assorted Mechs (official and printed) $20
• Custom Movemet Dice $20
  • Entire Lot $60 SOLD

Kill Team

• Painted Pathfinders $40
  • All specialists and recon, shield, marker, gun drones
• Chalnath Book $20
• Token Sheet $10
  • Entire Lot $50

40 K

• Tyranid Index Data Cards $10

MCP

• NiB Ms. Marvel $20
• NiB Captain America and Original Human Torch $25
• Minis Only, No Cards Magneto, Mysterio, Pyro, Blob, Toad 25
  • Entire Lot $50

Gundam

• Red Zaku II
• Green Zaku II
• Guntank
• Guncannon
  • $15 Each. Entire lot $50

Age of Sigmar

• Nighthaunt lot $350
  • First time attempt to sell, trying not to split
  • 3rd Edition Codex and Warscroll Cards included
    • Codex tokens included. Digital Code has been used
• Unpainted
  • 1 x Lady O
  • 1 x Knight of Shrouds on Steed
  • 4 x Mymourn Banshees
  • 5 x Craventhrone Guard
  • 1 x Lord Executioner
  • 1 x Dreadblade Harrow
• Painted
  • 40 x Bladegheist Revenant
  • 30 x Chanrasp
  • 1 x Cairn Wraith
  • 1 x Krulghast Crutiator
  • 3 x Spirit Hosts
  • 1 x Spirit Torment
  • 2 x Chainghast

Four years ago, I decided to launch a startup and began creating my own mobile apps. On September 20 last year, they started bringing in over $3,000 a day (90% of which was on iOS). The very next day, Apple removed all my apps from the App Store and blocked my account.
I sent appeals, showed evidence, screenshots, and even sent a pre-trial claim, but was mostly ignored. Now I've filed a lawsuit against Apple, and for now, the iOS market is a no-go fpr me.
I want to speak out, but I don’t want to complain. Instead, I can share how simple ideas brought me good profits. Maybe someone will be interested and avoid making my mistakes.
First idea
The first app was super simple - you upload two before/after images and get a short video with a slide effect.
First version of the app
My wife, who was a nail tech at the time, suggested the idea because she wanted to create content to attract clients. She couldn't find any apps for creating before/after videos in the App Store. I didn’t believe her, we almost ended up arguing, and I went searching to prove her wrong. Turns out, she was right (as always).
I persuaded a friend to help develop the app. It was 2019, we spent a couple of months developing it, and within a year, it was bringing in $100-200 a month. My friend thought the idea was unworkable, so I bought out his share for a token amount.
This happened on February 26, 2020, right at my 30th birthday party. I sold a stake in a common startup and used part of the money to buy out my partner’s share in the before/after app. I had about $10k in my pocket.
The next day after the party, I sat down to redesign the app and think through new functionality.
First takeoff
I was lucky to quickly find a talented and affordable freelancer. We rebuilt the app almost from scratch in 1.5 months, costing me $2,000.
What we did:

• Redesign
• New transitions, like diagonal ones
• Ability to customize animation speed
• Added effects settings: transition thickness, color, neon, etc.
• Ability to add music
• Ability to add text
• Added support for stickers
• Updated the store page: description, screenshots, icon
• Localized the app for all available languages in the App Store

After update
Before this update, the app gained a couple of hundred montly downloads in its first year. But a week after the new version was released, there was a surge in organics.
Around the same time, I hired a marketing specialist for $400/month who launched the first ad. And boy, did it take off. We spent $200-300 on the first campaign, and within a month, I was maxing out my credit card to buy ads. All campaigns paid off. We used only one source, Apple Search Ads.
Search Ads doesn't have extensive targeting options, so we didn't fully understand who our target users were. Then we were contacted by an influencer saying “let’s launch a dog grooming contest.” It wasn’t very clear who would be interested in that, but no problem, let’s do it.
As a prize, we gave away premium access to our app, just three promo codes. The return from the contest was phenomenal. It brought in $2,000 net, and I discovered a whole new world. A huge number of people are willing to invest any amount in their beloved doggos to brag about the results through our app. I was shocked that a simple idea like this one worked SO well.
After the contest, we doubled for three more months in a row, and then reached a stable growth of 20-30% per month.
Screenshot from App Store Connect
I still remember the moment I woke up, picked up my phone, and the app had earned a thousand dollars overnight for the first time. I was psyched, thanking the universe, the users, Apple, and the iPhone itself.
Six months after the redesign, the app was bringing in about 200 times more than the original mark, $34k instead of $100-200 a month. $25k on iOS and $9k on Android (the Android version was made three months after the redesign).
As a result, I started receiving offers to purchase the app. I refused until I heard, “name the price.” I don’t know why, but I said $410k and after five days, I received that amount into my account.
It seemed like an unimaginable amount of money to me; I couldn’t believe what was happening. Only two years later did I realize the real value of the app at that time was at least $1 million. You know how it goes, do as I say, not as I do.
To tell you more, the app’s still alive and it’s making good money without any updates. It paid for itself in 8 months and has been deep in the green ever since.
I planned to continue making apps with this money, thinking I could expand. It’s going to be smooth sailing from here on out, right? Absolutely not.
Landing
In 2021, my family and I moved to Chile, where we still live. We like it here, it's a beautiful country, pur children are growing up here, our daughter was born here, and we want to get Chilean passports. I sold everything back home - a car, an apartment, a plot of land, all my stuff.
I started chasing my dream of making a serious video editing app. I thought, now I have money, I'll start figuring out a "real" app. Life is beautiful and amazing.
I hired new devs and went to work for a year and a half. The first release turned out to be a failure: organic users never came, and the cost of attracting one user never fell below $10. Competing with the free CapCut was impossible.
There were also parallel attempts to make other things. For example, an app for designing your Instagram feed. The first version of the app was growing great, but I thought with new features like collaboration and delayed auto-publishing, I'd find the key to success.
However, reality was harsh. I spent six months just communicating with Facebook to gain access to the API methods I needed, only to find that Facebook kept changing things on the inside, making the app’s features unusable.
In the end, I didn’t even earn $1,000. I spent almost all my money working tirelessly, but nothing ever took off.
Insights and the crash
Crisis makes you think. I realized my strength was in niche apps and decided to return to where I started: small apps covering specific needs without any unnecessary noise.
I made the Boomerang app, regardless of the fact that Instagram already had this feature. But I made a separate app, and it started to grow.
There was also an app filled with beautiful fonts for designing social media posts. An app for creating Reels. Once I realized my strengths, things started to look up again. I returned to the idea of collages. Every app began to make money. Whew!
Screenshot from my company website
Overall, the account had six apps with an above 4.5 stars average App Store rating. On August 21, 2023, I received a notification from Apple that they had removed my app from the App Store and were going to shut down my account if I did not correct the violations within 30 days. Not any specific violations, just “violations.”
I sent Apple evidence, screenshots, and offered access to the source files, but I was either ignored completely pr got an auto-reply. I was sure this was just some kind of mistake and waited for an answer. We continued to make updates and worked on new features. On September 20, the apps earned more than $3,000 in 24 hours for the first time and were removed by Apple the next day.
Payments were suspended, and I had $110,000 left in my account.
I was stunned.
The first appeal was rejected, the reasons for the blocking were unknown, and it was unclear what to do. I immediately submitted a second appeal. Eight weeks of silence and again a refusal.
I lost everything I worked for in a single day..
I started a petition on Change.org and shared my story in a tweet that gained significant traction. Someone from Twitter published my story on Hacker News; it became #1, collecting more than 400 comments. I received hundreds of support messages in my dms, and only then did Apple finally send an explanation.
According to them, my account was frozen “for association with a previously closed fraudulent account.” Of course, I had no connection with fraudulent accounts, otherwise I wouldn’t even be sharing the story in the first place. The only positive reaction to the hype was the return of $110,000.
I started my little investigation. The “fraudulent” account may have turned out to be my old account, which once contained the first app for creating before/after videos. The very same thing that started it all. I continued to pay $99 for this account because it is dear to me, it’s nostalgic and a part of my life.
Just before it was closed, I tried to publish a card game based on the popular game Never Have I Ever on this account. This concept seemed ideal for me to master interface solutions when moving from Swift UIKit to Swift UI.
But recently, other things have come to light. We found a company of former partners with an identical name to mine. Apparently, Apple connected me with this company that I didn't even know existed. But I can’t know for sure because there is no feedback from the corporation. Any letters with any arguments and documents are ignored.
I had to sue, but that’s a whole other big story. Communication with Apple is gfar from being related to development; maybe I’ll tell you about it someday.
What's next and what about other stores
90% of our profits came through Apple. We're now fully focused on Android and have grown 4x in 8 months, but it's still not enough to cover all development costs. I don’t make enough money to continue supporting the team. We're holding out for now because finding developers who understand graphics and video is difficult (by the way, a good niche for devs who are not sure what to try next).
The growth on Android is also related to the market's quirks: the Android audience is many times larger than the number of iPhone users, but not every Android can render a new video from 12 frames.
Back to my story. Next will be a trial, petitions, and pleas. I hope my experience will be useful to someone because I am not the first and, most likely, not the last to find myself in this situation. Corporations don't care about individual developers. Even if they are left with nothing.
It might sound trivial, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket. The larger the corporation, the less attention it will pay to you. With Apple, after blocking, you lose the opportunity to even talk to support on the phone. Text appeals only.
In fact, I communicated with the answering machine for a whole month until I was blocked. At any moment, you can lose everything you have - your account, apps, users. With the snap of a finger, what you thought belonged to you will disappear.
The only thing I realized is that only public discussion of the problem and the courts can somehow induce them to change their policy towards developers.
In the meantime, I’ll go get ready for the next update.

New season, new shakeup! As per usual, we get new moves added to new recipients, and some existing moves get tweaked. Unlike usual, we don't get any all-new moves, but on the plus side, we got all this teased over a week ahead of time, making ol' JRE quite happy. No last minute scramble to get through it all!
But even with a relatively simple move rabalance like this one, there's still plenty to cover. Nowhere will you find analysis that goes to these depths, covering the big names and some others you likely haven't even considered.
Let's do this, people!

(NEW) ATTACK ON TITAN 🌨️

There are several attack changes people are already talking about excitedly with this update, so naturally I'm going to start with... CETITAN? Hear me out, because I think this is one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) move addition in this whole rebalance.
"JRE, you're crazy, man. Ice types are a dime a dozen. What makes Cetitan so special?"
Well judging by my initial PvP review on Cetitan when it was released, not much. I noted it had decent overall bulk and was at least better than Avalugg (with the same Body Slam and Avalanche charge moves, but Cetitan having the better fast move with Ice Shard as opposed to Lugg's Ice Fang), and perhaps had some promise in Master League where Ice types have a lot of advantages anyway, particularly Premier where Legendary Ice types are left on the outside looking in. And now? Enter an even much better fast move than Ice Shard: Powder Snow, which beats all the same ML core meta stuff as Ice Shard plus Origin Giratina, Lugia, and Snorlax in 0shield, Altered Giratina, Swampert, and Gyarados in 1shield, Mewtwo and Reshiram in 2shield, and Xerneas and Zacian in both 1 and 2shield. And again, NO new losses... this is a straight upgrade, folks. In the rankings, Cetitan leapfrogs Avalugg, Walrein, Baxcalibur, and even lomg-time staple Mamoswine in the ratings (and in performance) to trail only Kyurem and Hisuian Avalugg among Ice types, and Cetitan can still do things not even those two can like beating Mewtwo, Kyogre, and Reshiram!
Cetitan does move into the upper ranks of Ice types in other Leagues as well, but there is just a lot of established and versatile competition to contend with like Walrein, Dewgong, Abomasnow, Alolan Sandslash, Arctibax, Aurorus, Froslass, Alolan Ninetales, and even old friends like Lapras. Those mostly all fall away in Master League, leaving the new and improved Cetitan to shoot up the charts more decisively. You'll start to see it all over now, particularly in Cups, but I do think Master League is where it will likely make its biggest mark for those with the means to build it up. It can even beat three out of four Necrozmas! (The Steely Dusk Mane fusion being the only exception, for rather obvious reasons.)
One other League to consider is Little Leaue, and CETODDLE, who gets the same moveset update and does good things with it. Stupid trash can lid Bronzor is still a huge issue, of course, as well as obvious Fires and Fighters and such. But this is easily now one of the best Ice types in Little League and should be a fixture of most Little formats from here on out.
Do I think these two are going to suddenly take over their respective Leagues? Probably not. But do they deserve a heck of a lot more usage, even in Open? Absolutely. There's a reason I chose to lead off with these two!

PUNCHING LIGHTS OUT ⚡

Thunder Punch is not exactly an electrifying move in PvP. Like the other Elemental Punches (Fire, Ice, Thunder), as well as other move clones (Aerial Ace and Stomp), it costs only 40 energy, but deals only 55 damage for a passable but unexciting 1.37 Damage Per Energy. Most things that use it (and there are several, such as Ampharos, Muk, Hypno, Pachirisu, and the Super Raichu Bros.) do so as a bait move, though as with any elemental move, the coverage alone can be nice too (for things like Muk and Hypno, at least). Still, often if it goes through unshielded, that's a loss for the user, as they typically want to bait a shield with it leading up to a big closer like Dark Pulse (Muk), Shadow Ball (Hypno), or Wild Charge (Raichus).
And honestly, that mostly remains Thunder Punch's role for the things now recieving it:

• The Pawmot family all get it now. I suppose PAWMO may appreciate it the most as its first move under 45 energy, but it remains a poor overall option. Big bro PAWMOT can use it, I suppose, alongside Close Combat or Wild Charge rather than running both as it typically does now, giving it not only better bait potential but also moves it away from TWO big self-debuffing moves at once. Indeed, it would seem Thunder Punch/Close Combat is a fine sidegrade or even upgrade to Close Combat/Wild Charge, dropping Azumarill but picking up things like Mantine, Talonflame, and Carbink, which are all quite nice. However, it remains far south of a 50% winrate and thus on the fringe even in most Limited/Cup metas. This addition is appreciated, but doesn't really change much. And keep in mind that their fast move, Spark, is getting a nerf... but more on that later.
  
• CHESNAUGHT is an odd one here. Obviously it already has Waters covered with its Grass moves, so the most obvious thing Thunder Punch does is give it a little more teeth against Flyers. As with Pawmot, Chesnaught tends to run with a self-debuffing Fighting move for coverage, in this case Superpower. And honestly, I think that's what it will usually prefer to keep on doing, though Thunder Punch IS a decent overall sidegrade on paper in Great League, dropping stuff like Guzzlord and Shadow Dragonair to instead gain Annihilape and Pelipper. Hmmm... that's actually not too shabby. 🤔 I think I can confidentally say to stick with Superpower in Ultra League, though... without it, you drop stuff like Registeel, Alolan Sandslash, Cobalion, and Guzzlord, which is no beuno.
  
• Another Fighter that gets some anti-air coverage wth Thunder Punch now is LUCARIO. The last elemental move Niantic gave it was Blaze Kick, which has popped up here and there (and given it some new potential wins like Venusaur), but generally it seems to usually still run best with Power-Up Punch (and typically Shadow Ball) instead. Usually. I do see a bit more potential this time around. In Great League, Fire Punch generally performs worse than PuP, but Thunder Punch seems like more of a straight sidegrade, trading away Cresselia to instead pretty reliably take out Carbink. And in Ultra League, Thunder Punch (running alongside Shadow Ball) does still generally lose to Trevenant in a foot race (PuP's lower cost is critical there), but gains Mandibuzz and Tentacruel in exchange, as well as scaring Flyers into potentially burning more shields too. Luc's Counter damage is already beating up Steels that you'd want Fire for, leaving Thunder Punch and Counter with less overlap. PuP Lucario isn't going anywhere, but I DO like Thunder a bit more as an alternative than Fire. We'll see if that ends up truly mattering.
  
• Third time's the charm? Our third and final Fighter getting Thunder Punch now is the most intriguing. SCRAFTY, like Lucario, has long run effectively with Power-Up Punch leading to an eventual Foul Play to close things out. That's been at least Cup-worthy in Great League, and at least borderline meta in Ultra League especially. In Great League, Thunder Punch is at least a decent sidegrade to PuP, sometimes dropping the Shadow versions of Dragonair and Victreebel, but gaining Mandibuzz and Pelipper, two pretty impactful pickups. But it is in Ultra League where Thunder Punch becomes more impactful, bringing in new wins like Golisopod, Alolan Muk, and Gyarados, as opposed to the single new loss to Cobalion that you can get with PuP instead. And Thunder Punch is more of a straight upgrade in other even shield matchups, gaining Tentacruel in 2v2 shielding and Poliwrath, Mandibuzz, and Gyarados with shields down, all with NO PuP wins slipping away. I think this just makes Scrafty better in Ultra and will be the favored move alongside Foul Play moving forward. Neat!
  
• But I think the single biggest winner of the Thunder Punch sweepstakes has to be TYPHLOSION. There are a couple reasons for this that make perfect sense even without looking at sims. First off, Typhlosion's biggest issue since the beginning has been having no charge moves costing less than 50 energy. This means that three Incinerates (or at least seven Shadow Claws) have always been required before Typhlosion could even threaten shields. Thunder Punch changes that math significantly, as only two Incinerates (or five Shadow Claws) are required to hit exactly the 40 energy Thunder Punch requires. That is significant! But the coverage is also fanatastic to hit back at Water types, which Typhlosion always kinda wanted to do with Solar Beam, though that costs FOUR Incinerates to charge up, making it a Hail Mary at best. The end result? Thunder Punch is nearly a straight upgrade. Without any shields in play, Solar Beam CAN manage to shock and awe its way to wins over things like Azumarill and Lickitung in Great League, and Jellicent in Ultra League. But otherwise everything comes up in Thunder Punch's favor, with its own 0shield wins like Charizard in UL and Talonflame, Mantine, Pelipper, and Shadow A-Slash in GL. And Thunder Punch is strictly better in 1v1 shielding by adding Mandibuzz and Mantine in GL and Gyarados and Talonflame in UL, and a TON of new wins in 2v2 shielding like Feraligatr, Mantine, Talonflame, Lickitung, Sableye, Cresselia, and sometimes even Galarian Stunfisk in GL, and Charizard, Toxicroak, Obstagoon, Alolan Muk, Jellicent, Annihilape, Golisopod, Gyarados, Tentacruel, Walrein, Mandibuzz and more in UL! Big big BIG improvements in the horizon for Typhlosion that elevates it to the same tier as Talonflame, Chairzard, and Skeledirge in both Great and Ultra Leagues moving forward. And that's not to even mention the potential of Shadow Typhlosion.... 😱
  

🎼 COME FLY WITH ME, LET'S FLY AWAY! 🦅

Fly is one of the best moves in the entire game: 45 energy for 80 damage, with no drawbacks at all. That's what Sky Attack was from 2018 to 2021, back when it was terrifying in PvP, before dropping to 75 power and eventually going to 50 energy too last year. (What did Sky Attack ever do to you, Hanke?! 😢) But now, in keeping with the seeming skyward theme of the season, old school Sky Attack is being handed out to several new recipients that... uh... could use some help. Is it enough?

• Oh, how long I've wanted FEAROW to work in PvP. Its had its chances, with Drill Run and Steel Wing only getting better over time, and even the nerfs to Sky Attack being mitigated by the long overdue buff to Aerial Ace. And now it gets old-school Sky Attack with the addition of Fly... and it STILL can't break out. Come on, Niantic.. just give it Wing Attack already, will ya? Or at least Quick Attack, maybe? Set my drill running bird free!
  
• SWANNA remains the ugly duckling of Flying Water types. While Mantine and Pelipper and even Gyarados lord over their respective Leagues, and even Swanna's pre-evolution Ducklett remains a tippy top option in Little League, poor Swanna remains consistently ranked outside the top 400, ranked below even Mantyke in Great League... even after getting Fly! It remains trapped behind lackluster fast moves, and until that changes, it remains irrelevant. Let Swanna really soar, Niantic!
  
• The one everyone is talking about is SALAMENCE, particularly in Master League where it has always seemed right on the cusp of potential greatness, with pretty good overall stats and decent enough Dragon moves (Dragon Tail, Draco Meteor, and Outrage as a Legacy move), but no good second charge move. Now it gets Fly, and while it IS much improved, I just don't think it's enough. Not nearly. Not even in Premier. Just too many other Dragons with better tricks up their sleeves. If you're doggedly insistent, I guess you can try again with it now, but I don't see Sal finding sudden success after this, sorry. Give it Dragon Claw or something and THEN we can talk.
  
• So surprisingly, it is humble SWOOBAT that we're left talking about as perhaps the most impactful new Fly user. Though obviously we're not talking Master League anymore, no no. This is a Great League 'mon, and one that's already a little spicy since first getting Psychic Fangs and then the eventual buff to Aerial Ace. But it was left without reasonably priced closing power, with Psychic (the move) just not being worth it as the attempts to nerf Medicham drug Psychic (the move!) into the depths, and Future Sight is just way too expensive with Confusion's average energy gains. So now here comes Fly, and you know what? I like the result! This is no sudden new Open play revelation or anything, but potential spice in the right Cup? I can absolutely see it. Fly grants new wins against GOOD names like Altaria and Gligar in 1shield, and Pelipper, Vigoroth, and the Shadow versions of Gligar, Swampert, and CharmTales in 0shield. There's some real potential here now, more than ever before. Not every improvement has to rock PvP... just some nice new twists like this can be plenty fun. Now we just need Gust for the lulz.
  

NIFTY OR... SWIFTIE? ‍💨

Apologies to the fans of the future Mrs. Travis Kelce (if you know, you know)....
Anyway, long-terrible Normal charge move Swift is finally getting a buff. I think so, at least. Niantic is actually lowing its power from 60 damage to 55, but they are also lowering its cost. How much? That's the part we don't know yet, but PvPoke has speculated it will drop from 55 energy all the way down to 40, and while that's probably the best case scenario, we're gonna roll with it for the purposes of this analysis. If that holds true, the resulting 55 damage/40 every should look quite familiar... it's the same stats as Thunder Punch. And as we talked about earlier, that's usually better for baiting than anything, but it's passable and certainly FAR better than the 60 damage/55 energy it was previously.
Does anything that now gets it (or already has it) actually want to use it, though?

• The first new recipients worth mentioning are the WIGGLYTUFF family, as they are all part Normal-type and thus get STAB damage with Swift too. Eh, maybe? These sims will likely break when the new season goes live, but what the heck, I'll show them anyway. I think out of the two charge moves Wiggly uses now — Icy Wind and Disarming Voice — it is Voice that is the one to potentially drop, as Charm already deals plenty of Fairy-type damage, and Icy Wind not only provides coverage but also obviously extends Wiggly's life by debuffing the opponent's Attack. So assuming you run Icy Wind/Swift, we'll call that a sidegrade to Wind/Voice. "But JRE, it got worse!" Yes, in 1shield it seems to, dropping Dewgong, but you actually win if you go with Icy Wind first, and then closing it out with Swift, just as you can win going Icy Wind and then DIsarming Voice after. Similarly, there are no big differences in 2v2 shielding, but in 0v0 shield, we have a true sidegrade situation, with Swift outracing Pelipper and Shadow CharmTales, and Disarming Voice instead overpowering Gligar and forcing at least a tie a tie with enemy Wigglytuffs. So pure sidegrade, basically. Not a GREAT sign considering that, again, this is the only Charmer that gets STAB with Swift. And while JIGGLYPUFF* and especially IGGLYBUFF have some play in Little League, they are still worlds better with (Legacy) Body Slam rather than Swift. Moving on....
  
• CLEFABLE has a few edge cases where Swift can help, but overall just trust me when I tell you that (at least when running Fairy Wind as the fast move), Meteor Mash and Moonblast are just much. much better. Most all of the advantages for Swift show up in 2v2 shielding, and only in Great League...things like Swampert, Pelipper, and Gligar. But exisiting moves are just better otherwise, including up and down Ultra League. There's really no reason to linger here, so... next!
  
• The only other new recipients are the TEDDIURSA/URSARING/URSALUNA family. I'm going to go ahead and say that I don't think Ursaluna wants it at all. Ice Punch has the same stats as what we're guessing Swift will, and the coverage it provides is massive, especially in Master League were it sees the most play today (with wins over things like Garchomp, Yveltal, and perhaps most critically, Zygarde Complete). Teddiursa seems interesting until you remember that it already has Cross Chop and Crunch, which have more impact than super-effective-versus-nothing Swift... STAB alone isn't really enough. The one that MAY want it is Ursaring. You likely would want to run it alongside Close Combat (in place of PLay Rough), which can then add on Dewgong and Guzzlord in Great League, at the cost of giving up Lanturn and Sableye. In Ultra League, it can add on Guzzlord and Swampert and gives up only Alolan Muk. But honestly, Ursaring remains just bad in both Leagues. And again, this is with likely best-case-scenario Swift. Blech.
  
• Pokémon that already have Swift (and any real potential in PvP) are basically just a list of two. HISUIAN ELECTRODE may actually want it, as it obviously wants to always run Wild Charge (45 energy) but awkwardly has to often try to bait a shield first with MORE expensive Energy Ball (55 energy). Swift COULD fix that by greatly speeding things up, as it costs less than Wild Charge at only 40 energy. But I still think that will be better in theory (and perhaps in Electric Cup, should that return) than in actual practice. Energy Ball is still quite useful for coverage and non-Wild Charge closing power, needing it to beat things like Whiscash and Swampert across various shileding scenarios. Swift does have some advantages in 2v2 shielding for rather obvious reasons, but that's about it.
  
• MUCH more interesting is UXIE. By far the bulkiest of the Lake Trio Legendaries — and in fact, the second bulkiest Confusion user in the game, behind only Cresselia — its problem has always been that all of its charge moves costed 55 energy or more... and with Swift being so bad before, it still usually ran with 60 energy (Thunder) and 65-energy (Future Sight) charge moves. And despite on-paper great potential... well, it was certainly no Cresselia! (And that goes for Ultra League too.) But now it gets the inexpensive move it's been waiting for, with new and improved Swift elevating its performance significantly in Great League (new wins include Altaria, Gligar, Swampert, Whiscash, Alolan Ninetales, Shadow Dragonair) and in Ultra League (new wins like DDeoxys, Pidgeot, Swampert, Venusaur, Charizard, Ampharos, Shadow Dragonite, AND Shadow CharmTales). Not sure that this will lead to a sudden breakout in PvP, but at the very least, it's suddenly spicy.
  

So no big ripples, but hey, Swift is at least not a meme move anymore. And Uxie really likes it now, at least! Let's shake it off 😉 and move along to the last couple move tweaks....

NO GO ADELE 🐉

Sticking with the theme of famous singers... Hello from the other side! 🙃
Okay, sorry sorry. NAGANADEL gets Dragon Claw now. Yay? Sadly this does very, very little for it in PvP, picking up just a single win over Yveltal, of all things, in 1v1 shielding, and no real changes elsewhere. At least this section is easy on me (musical lyric joke counter: 2) and we can move on to the next now.

PATIENCE, YOUNG GRASSHOPPER 🦗

If you don't get the reference, it's from a famous show from the 70s (yes, the 1970s, you youngins) called "Kung Fu". It's a famous show and a famous phrase that you should know. No, I don't just know it because I'm old, it's famous!
...get off my lawn.
Anyway, Counter remains the best fast overall move in the game, so any time something new gets it, that is reason enough to sit up and notice. Even when that recipient is a current Pokémona non grata like LOKIX.
Look, it's very glassy and will likely never be more than spice. This is unlikely to really shake up any meta in a major way. But yes, Lokix is significantly better than before now that it has Counter. It does unfortunately drop Cresselia, but can now outslug stuff like Lickitung, Dewgong, Guzzlord, Vigoroth, Galarian Stunfisk, and even Skarmory and Bastiodon despite how scary those two normally are for Bugs. It sees similar improvement in Ultra League, dropping Fighting-resistent Venusaur and Golisopod but gaining Registeel, Steelix, Alolan Sandslash, Swampert, Walrein, and Greedent, but uh... it has to be leveled up to at least Level 46, and is still a poor option overall. Not worth it, IMO. But keep an eye on it, as the addtion of another impactful charge move could elevate it further. Counter users are ALWAYS worth at least some consideration.

(RE-) PLANTING A SEED 🌱

We all know why Seed Bomb was nerfed from its original 40 to 45 energy: it was felt that something had to be done about TREVENANT, by far the most impactful Seed Bomb user. Yes yes, it got a small damage bump as well (from 55 to 60 damage), but the (completely intended) damage was done, and Trevenant usage dropped quite a bit. The hit wasn't TOO bad, but it was enough.
Now Trevor gets a boost again, with the cost remaining the same but the damage creeping up to 65 now, elevating it from a clone of Wrap (and a slew of stat-altering moves like Icy Wind, Mystical Fire, Lunge, the Forces Of Nature unique Storm moves, and others... but Seed Bomb of course HAS no stat altering and was thus far worse) to a clone of Discharge. Not amazing — a reduction in cost to what it once way would REALLY make a difference — but certainly more palpable.
In the end, it's a small buff to Trevenant — with only a couple new wins like Shadow Dragonair in 1shield and Azumarill in 2shield in Great League, and Feraligatr and Greninja in 1shield and Tentacruel in 2shield in Ultra League — but we'll take it! Those UL wins especially are pretty nice.
Not many other notable Seed Bomb users, but here's what I see: WHIMSICOTT (with Fairy Wind) can now beat Galarian Stunfisk and Azumarill with shields down (in Great League), so that's a small but welcome improvement. Aaaaaaand that's about it. No big changes I see with Little League COTTONEE or BULBASAUR or Little or Great League DARTRIX, and then you're into things like CELEBI. Yeah, this is first and almost entirely centered on Trevenant.

SNUFFING OUT SPARK 🔌

Just as Seed Bomb changes are directly intended to affect one meta Pokémon, so too is the story with the nerf to Spark dropping from 6 damage to 5: this is directly intended to nerf LANTURN. There used to be other meta things that ran Spark because they had to, but they've all gotten other tricks since then that are now preferred (Volt Switch for Magnezone and family, Volt Switch for Charjabug, etc.). Yes, some others like LUXRAY and PROBOPASS remain as collateral damage, but those are just occasional spice considerations. No, the only truly meta change here is to Lanturn, as intended.
But how bad is it? Overall, it's not TOO significant. Lanturn now loses to Registeel in 1v1 shielding (and not surprisingly gets a bit less dominant versus other things like Azumarill and Mandibuzz), Medicham and Charjabug in 0shield, and Altaria and Annihilape in 2shield. Those ARE some big names, but where you primarily wanted it before, it still works, albeit sometimes with a little less left in the tank at the end. Farming things down obviously gets harder! It drops from formerly ranking #12 in Great League 20 spots to now #32 (at the time of this writing), but still... a Top 30ish option is still a really good PvP Pokémon.
...oh, but uh, there's a caveat: it's now ranked at #32 with Water Gun, while Spark Lanturn has dropped all the way down to #66. That may be a little harsh, but does make sense. Ironically, the rating with Water Gun goes UP from #35 to now #32. I don't knwo that I'm quite ready to say that Water Gun Lanturn is now the clear favorite over Spark Lanturn, but they're now both moving into "sidegrade" territory for sure, with Spark still being best for things like Mandibuzz, Poliwrath, and Sableye, but Water Gun carving out wins against Galarian Stunfisk, Shadow Gilgar, Carbink... and the Registeel that Spark now loses to. Water Gun is also far better now [with shields down], beating things that Spark cannot like G-Fisk, Shadow Gligar, and Carbink again, along with Charjabug and Shadow A-Slash, while the only unique win Spark holds onto is Dewgong. Interestingly, Water Gun Lanturn can also now win the head to head with Spark Lanturn in 2v2 shielding. Spark and Water Gun now deal the same damage per turn, so Water Gun's shorter cooldown wins the day.
Again, I do not think Lanturn is going to suddenly disappear from Open formats or even PvP in-person tournaments. But I DO think its use is going to go down as it slips back a tier or two in the meta. I mean, it almost HAS to. And yes, I do think Water Gun variants are going to be far more common now. Again, you almost HAVE to move that direction now, at least for certain team compositions. We'll see how bad it gets soon enough.

A SEARING REVIEW

Speaking of getting bad, a brief mention for the other notable nerf with this update: Scald. It retains its nice cost to damage ratio of 1.7 Damage Per Energy (50 energy for 85 damage), but the chance for it to lower the target's Attack is going to drop. We don't know how much, but considering it currently sits at 50%, something like 30% seems a resonable expectation, and that's what PvPoke has put up speculatively as well. I'm NOT going to turn to simulations here, as moves with a percentage change of triggers are notoriously difficult to portray that way, to the point of almost being deceptive to even try. But I hardly think this marks the death of intended targets like WHISCASH or POLIWRATH unless, perhaps, the percentage change completely craters at like 20% or below. It's still good damage output and still a great STAB move for each of them. The rankings show Shadow Whiscash only dropping from #23 to #27 (though non-Shadow does take more of a hit, from a former #27 to now #42) and Poliwrath sees only a very small dip as well (#31 → #34 for Shadow and #46 → #48 for non-Shadow in Great League, and basically no change in Ultra League {non-Shadow drops only spot from #5 to #6, and Shadow actually rises from #10 to #9 thanks to other meta shifts}). Yes, this will hurt those who have fallen in love with those two, and surely there will be a slight dip in tournament play. But I don't think this is nearly the death knell some are making it out to be.
I DO think this may convince me to give up my Bubble LUDICOLO I've been running in GL of late, though. Scald triggering was the difference between life and death against some things like Gilgar. And other slightly-less-meta things like TENTACRUEL may suffer a little bit as well, but again, the change isn't all that bad. (Tentacthulhu, for example, usually counts on Acid Spray for debuffing hijinks anyway and saves Scald as a closer... it's less reliant on the debuffing it can sometimes provide.)

IN SUMMATION

And that's it! Barring any last minute surprises by Niantic (ALWAYS a possibility), there's your review of all changes coming with the Shared Skies Season. As a quick reminder so people don't panic, keep in mind that while the new season starts on the 1st as per usual, the move updates will not go live until June 3rd, as a nice gesture to not disrupt the planned PJCS and Bologna tournaments that weekend.
By way of quick summary of the above (here's your TL;DR, folks!):
The biggest winners I see in this update are (in rough order) CETITAN (maybe CETODDLE?) with Powder Snow, TYPHLOSION with Thunder Punch, UXIE with Swift, SWOOBAT with Fly, SCRAFTY with Thunder Punch, LOKIX with Counter, TREVENANT with buffed Seed Bomb, and then maybe SALAMENCE (Fly) and WHIMSICOTT (Seed Bomb). Other than Cetitan and Typhlosion, I don't know that any of them move drastically up the ranks, but they're all better with this update and bear watching as spice options at the very least.
Alrighty, that's it for now. Back to analysis on the Necrozma Fusions (already in progress) and beyond! Until then, you can always find me on Twitter or Patreon. Or please feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!
Stay safe out there, Pokéfriends. Best of luck as we move into the new season, and catch you next time!

New season, new shakeup! As per usual, we get new moves added to new recipients, and some existing moves get tweaked. Unlike usual, we don't get any all-new moves, but on the plus side, we got all this teased over a week ahead of time, making ol' JRE quite happy. No last minute scramble to get through it all!
But even with a relatively simple move rabalance like this one, there's still plenty to cover. Nowhere will you find analysis that goes to these depths, covering the big names and some others you likely haven't even considered.
Let's do this, people!

(NEW) ATTACK ON TITAN 🌨️

There are several attack changes people are already talking about excitedly with this update, so naturally I'm going to start with... CETITAN? Hear me out, because I think this is one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) move addition in this whole rebalance.
"JRE, you're crazy, man. Ice types are a dime a dozen. What makes Cetitan so special?"
Well judging by my initial PvP review on Cetitan when it was released, not much. I noted it had decent overall bulk and was at least better than Avalugg (with the same Body Slam and Avalanche charge moves, but Cetitan having the better fast move with Ice Shard as opposed to Lugg's Ice Fang), and perhaps had some promise in Master League where Ice types have a lot of advantages anyway, particularly Premier where Legendary Ice types are left on the outside looking in. And now? Enter an even much better fast move than Ice Shard: Powder Snow, which beats all the same ML core meta stuff as Ice Shard plus Origin Giratina, Lugia, and Snorlax in 0shield, Altered Giratina, Swampert, and Gyarados in 1shield, Mewtwo and Reshiram in 2shield, and Xerneas and Zacian in both 1 and 2shield. And again, NO new losses... this is a straight upgrade, folks. In the rankings, Cetitan leapfrogs Avalugg, Walrein, Baxcalibur, and even lomg-time staple Mamoswine in the ratings (and in performance) to trail only Kyurem and Hisuian Avalugg among Ice types, and Cetitan can still do things not even those two can like beating Mewtwo, Kyogre, and Reshiram!
Cetitan does move into the upper ranks of Ice types in other Leagues as well, but there is just a lot of established and versatile competition to contend with like Walrein, Dewgong, Abomasnow, Alolan Sandslash, Arctibax, Aurorus, Froslass, Alolan Ninetales, and even old friends like Lapras. Those mostly all fall away in Master League, leaving the new and improved Cetitan to shoot up the charts more decisively. You'll start to see it all over now, particularly in Cups, but I do think Master League is where it will likely make its biggest mark for those with the means to build it up. It can even beat three out of four Necrozmas! (The Steely Dusk Mane fusion being the only exception, for rather obvious reasons.)
One other League to consider is Little Leaue, and CETODDLE, who gets the same moveset update and does good things with it. Stupid trash can lid Bronzor is still a huge issue, of course, as well as obvious Fires and Fighters and such. But this is easily now one of the best Ice types in Little League and should be a fixture of most Little formats from here on out.
Do I think these two are going to suddenly take over their respective Leagues? Probably not. But do they deserve a heck of a lot more usage, even in Open? Absolutely. There's a reason I chose to lead off with these two!

PUNCHING LIGHTS OUT ⚡

Thunder Punch is not exactly an electrifying move in PvP. Like the other Elemental Punches (Fire, Ice, Thunder), as well as other move clones (Aerial Ace and Stomp), it costs only 40 energy, but deals only 55 damage for a passable but unexciting 1.37 Damage Per Energy. Most things that use it (and there are several, such as Ampharos, Muk, Hypno, Pachirisu, and the Super Raichu Bros.) do so as a bait move, though as with any elemental move, the coverage alone can be nice too (for things like Muk and Hypno, at least). Still, often if it goes through unshielded, that's a loss for the user, as they typically want to bait a shield with it leading up to a big closer like Dark Pulse (Muk), Shadow Ball (Hypno), or Wild Charge (Raichus).
And honestly, that mostly remains Thunder Punch's role for the things now recieving it:

• The Pawmot family all get it now. I suppose PAWMO may appreciate it the most as its first move under 45 energy, but it remains a poor overall option. Big bro PAWMOT can use it, I suppose, alongside Close Combat or Wild Charge rather than running both as it typically does now, giving it not only better bait potential but also moves it away from TWO big self-debuffing moves at once. Indeed, it would seem Thunder Punch/Close Combat is a fine sidegrade or even upgrade to Close Combat/Wild Charge, dropping Azumarill but picking up things like Mantine, Talonflame, and Carbink, which are all quite nice. However, it remains far south of a 50% winrate and thus on the fringe even in most Limited/Cup metas. This addition is appreciated, but doesn't really change much. And keep in mind that their fast move, Spark, is getting a nerf... but more on that later.
  
• CHESNAUGHT is an odd one here. Obviously it already has Waters covered with its Grass moves, so the most obvious thing Thunder Punch does is give it a little more teeth against Flyers. As with Pawmot, Chesnaught tends to run with a self-debuffing Fighting move for coverage, in this case Superpower. And honestly, I think that's what it will usually prefer to keep on doing, though Thunder Punch IS a decent overall sidegrade on paper in Great League, dropping stuff like Guzzlord and Shadow Dragonair to instead gain Annihilape and Pelipper. Hmmm... that's actually not too shabby. 🤔 I think I can confidentally say to stick with Superpower in Ultra League, though... without it, you drop stuff like Registeel, Alolan Sandslash, Cobalion, and Guzzlord, which is no beuno.
  
• Another Fighter that gets some anti-air coverage wth Thunder Punch now is LUCARIO. The last elemental move Niantic gave it was Blaze Kick, which has popped up here and there (and given it some new potential wins like Venusaur), but generally it seems to usually still run best with Power-Up Punch (and typically Shadow Ball) instead. Usually. I do see a bit more potential this time around. In Great League, Fire Punch generally performs worse than PuP, but Thunder Punch seems like more of a straight sidegrade, trading away Cresselia to instead pretty reliably take out Carbink. And in Ultra League, Thunder Punch (running alongside Shadow Ball) does still generally lose to Trevenant in a foot race (PuP's lower cost is critical there), but gains Mandibuzz and Tentacruel in exchange, as well as scaring Flyers into potentially burning more shields too. Luc's Counter damage is already beating up Steels that you'd want Fire for, leaving Thunder Punch and Counter with less overlap. PuP Lucario isn't going anywhere, but I DO like Thunder a bit more as an alternative than Fire. We'll see if that ends up truly mattering.
  
• Third time's the charm? Our third and final Fighter getting Thunder Punch now is the most intriguing. SCRAFTY, like Lucario, has long run effectively with Power-Up Punch leading to an eventual Foul Play to close things out. That's been at least Cup-worthy in Great League, and at least borderline meta in Ultra League especially. In Great League, Thunder Punch is at least a decent sidegrade to PuP, sometimes dropping the Shadow versions of Dragonair and Victreebel, but gaining Mandibuzz and Pelipper, two pretty impactful pickups. But it is in Ultra League where Thunder Punch becomes more impactful, bringing in new wins like Golisopod, Alolan Muk, and Gyarados, as opposed to the single new loss to Cobalion that you can get with PuP instead. And Thunder Punch is more of a straight upgrade in other even shield matchups, gaining Tentacruel in 2v2 shielding and Poliwrath, Mandibuzz, and Gyarados with shields down, all with NO PuP wins slipping away. I think this just makes Scrafty better in Ultra and will be the favored move alongside Foul Play moving forward. Neat!
  
• But I think the single biggest winner of the Thunder Punch sweepstakes has to be TYPHLOSION. There are a couple reasons for this that make perfect sense even without looking at sims. First off, Typhlosion's biggest issue since the beginning has been having no charge moves costing less than 50 energy. This means that three Incinerates (or at least seven Shadow Claws) have always been required before Typhlosion could even threaten shields. Thunder Punch changes that math significantly, as only two Incinerates (or five Shadow Claws) are required to hit exactly the 40 energy Thunder Punch requires. That is significant! But the coverage is also fanatastic to hit back at Water types, which Typhlosion always kinda wanted to do with Solar Beam, though that costs FOUR Incinerates to charge up, making it a Hail Mary at best. The end result? Thunder Punch is nearly a straight upgrade. Without any shields in play, Solar Beam CAN manage to shock and awe its way to wins over things like Azumarill and Lickitung in Great League, and Jellicent in Ultra League. But otherwise everything comes up in Thunder Punch's favor, with its own 0shield wins like Charizard in UL and Talonflame, Mantine, Pelipper, and Shadow A-Slash in GL. And Thunder Punch is strictly better in 1v1 shielding by adding Mandibuzz and Mantine in GL and Gyarados and Talonflame in UL, and a TON of new wins in 2v2 shielding like Feraligatr, Mantine, Talonflame, Lickitung, Sableye, Cresselia, and sometimes even Galarian Stunfisk in GL, and Charizard, Toxicroak, Obstagoon, Alolan Muk, Jellicent, Annihilape, Golisopod, Gyarados, Tentacruel, Walrein, Mandibuzz and more in UL! Big big BIG improvements in the horizon for Typhlosion that elevates it to the same tier as Talonflame, Chairzard, and Skeledirge in both Great and Ultra Leagues moving forward. And that's not to even mention the potential of Shadow Typhlosion.... 😱
  

🎼 COME FLY WITH ME, LET'S FLY AWAY! 🦅

Fly is one of the best moves in the entire game: 45 energy for 80 damage, with no drawbacks at all. That's what Sky Attack was from 2018 to 2021, back when it was terrifying in PvP, before dropping to 75 power and eventually going to 50 energy too last year. (What did Sky Attack ever do to you, Hanke?! 😢) But now, in keeping with the seeming skyward theme of the season, old school Sky Attack is being handed out to several new recipients that... uh... could use some help. Is it enough?

• Oh, how long I've wanted FEAROW to work in PvP. Its had its chances, with Drill Run and Steel Wing only getting better over time, and even the nerfs to Sky Attack being mitigated by the long overdue buff to Aerial Ace. And now it gets old-school Sky Attack with the addition of Fly... and it STILL can't break out. Come on, Niantic.. just give it Wing Attack already, will ya? Or at least Quick Attack, maybe? Set my drill running bird free!
  
• SWANNA remains the ugly duckling of Flying Water types. While Mantine and Pelipper and even Gyarados lord over their respective Leagues, and even Swanna's pre-evolution Ducklett remains a tippy top option in Little League, poor Swanna remains consistently ranked outside the top 400, ranked below even Mantyke in Great League... even after getting Fly! It remains trapped behind lackluster fast moves, and until that changes, it remains irrelevant. Let Swanna really soar, Niantic!
  
• The one everyone is talking about is SALAMENCE, particularly in Master League where it has always seemed right on the cusp of potential greatness, with pretty good overall stats and decent enough Dragon moves (Dragon Tail, Draco Meteor, and Outrage as a Legacy move), but no good second charge move. Now it gets Fly, and while it IS much improved, I just don't think it's enough. Not nearly. Not even in Premier. Just too many other Dragons with better tricks up their sleeves. If you're doggedly insistent, I guess you can try again with it now, but I don't see Sal finding sudden success after this, sorry. Give it Dragon Claw or something and THEN we can talk.
  
• So surprisingly, it is humble SWOOBAT that we're left talking about as perhaps the most impactful new Fly user. Though obviously we're not talking Master League anymore, no no. This is a Great League 'mon, and one that's already a little spicy since first getting Psychic Fangs and then the eventual buff to Aerial Ace. But it was left without reasonably priced closing power, with Psychic (the move) just not being worth it as the attempts to nerf Medicham drug Psychic (the move!) into the depths, and Future Sight is just way too expensive with Confusion's average energy gains. So now here comes Fly, and you know what? I like the result! This is no sudden new Open play revelation or anything, but potential spice in the right Cup? I can absolutely see it. Fly grants new wins against GOOD names like Altaria and Gligar in 1shield, and Pelipper, Vigoroth, and the Shadow versions of Gligar, Swampert, and CharmTales in 0shield. There's some real potential here now, more than ever before. Not every improvement has to rock PvP... just some nice new twists like this can be plenty fun. Now we just need Gust for the lulz.
  

NIFTY OR... SWIFTIE? ‍💨

Apologies to the fans of the future Mrs. Travis Kelce (if you know, you know)....
Anyway, long-terrible Normal charge move Swift is finally getting a buff. I think so, at least. Niantic is actually lowing its power from 60 damage to 55, but they are also lowering its cost. How much? That's the part we don't know yet, but PvPoke has speculated it will drop from 55 energy all the way down to 40, and while that's probably the best case scenario, we're gonna roll with it for the purposes of this analysis. If that holds true, the resulting 55 damage/40 every should look quite familiar... it's the same stats as Thunder Punch. And as we talked about earlier, that's usually better for baiting than anything, but it's passable and certainly FAR better than the 60 damage/55 energy it was previously.
Does anything that now gets it (or already has it) actually want to use it, though?

• The first new recipients worth mentioning are the WIGGLYTUFF family, as they are all part Normal-type and thus get STAB damage with Swift too. Eh, maybe? These sims will likely break when the new season goes live, but what the heck, I'll show them anyway. I think out of the two charge moves Wiggly uses now — Icy Wind and Disarming Voice — it is Voice that is the one to potentially drop, as Charm already deals plenty of Fairy-type damage, and Icy Wind not only provides coverage but also obviously extends Wiggly's life by debuffing the opponent's Attack. So assuming you run Icy Wind/Swift, we'll call that a sidegrade to Wind/Voice. "But JRE, it got worse!" Yes, in 1shield it seems to, dropping Dewgong, but you actually win if you go with Icy Wind first, and then closing it out with Swift, just as you can win going Icy Wind and then DIsarming Voice after. Similarly, there are no big differences in 2v2 shielding, but in 0v0 shield, we have a true sidegrade situation, with Swift outracing Pelipper and Shadow CharmTales, and Disarming Voice instead overpowering Gligar and forcing at least a tie a tie with enemy Wigglytuffs. So pure sidegrade, basically. Not a GREAT sign considering that, again, this is the only Charmer that gets STAB with Swift. And while JIGGLYPUFF* and especially IGGLYBUFF have some play in Little League, they are still worlds better with (Legacy) Body Slam rather than Swift. Moving on....
  
• CLEFABLE has a few edge cases where Swift can help, but overall just trust me when I tell you that (at least when running Fairy Wind as the fast move), Meteor Mash and Moonblast are just much. much better. Most all of the advantages for Swift show up in 2v2 shielding, and only in Great League...things like Swampert, Pelipper, and Gligar. But exisiting moves are just better otherwise, including up and down Ultra League. There's really no reason to linger here, so... next!
  
• The only other new recipients are the TEDDIURSA/URSARING/URSALUNA family. I'm going to go ahead and say that I don't think Ursaluna wants it at all. Ice Punch has the same stats as what we're guessing Swift will, and the coverage it provides is massive, especially in Master League were it sees the most play today (with wins over things like Garchomp, Yveltal, and perhaps most critically, Zygarde Complete). Teddiursa seems interesting until you remember that it already has Cross Chop and Crunch, which have more impact than super-effective-versus-nothing Swift... STAB alone isn't really enough. The one that MAY want it is Ursaring. You likely would want to run it alongside Close Combat (in place of PLay Rough), which can then add on Dewgong and Guzzlord in Great League, at the cost of giving up Lanturn and Sableye. In Ultra League, it can add on Guzzlord and Swampert and gives up only Alolan Muk. But honestly, Ursaring remains just bad in both Leagues. And again, this is with likely best-case-scenario Swift. Blech.
  
• Pokémon that already have Swift (and any real potential in PvP) are basically just a list of two. HISUIAN ELECTRODE may actually want it, as it obviously wants to always run Wild Charge (45 energy) but awkwardly has to often try to bait a shield first with MORE expensive Energy Ball (55 energy). Swift COULD fix that by greatly speeding things up, as it costs less than Wild Charge at only 40 energy. But I still think that will be better in theory (and perhaps in Electric Cup, should that return) than in actual practice. Energy Ball is still quite useful for coverage and non-Wild Charge closing power, needing it to beat things like Whiscash and Swampert across various shileding scenarios. Swift does have some advantages in 2v2 shielding for rather obvious reasons, but that's about it.
  
• MUCH more interesting is UXIE. By far the bulkiest of the Lake Trio Legendaries — and in fact, the second bulkiest Confusion user in the game, behind only Cresselia — its problem has always been that all of its charge moves costed 55 energy or more... and with Swift being so bad before, it still usually ran with 60 energy (Thunder) and 65-energy (Future Sight) charge moves. And despite on-paper great potential... well, it was certainly no Cresselia! (And that goes for Ultra League too.) But now it gets the inexpensive move it's been waiting for, with new and improved Swift elevating its performance significantly in Great League (new wins include Altaria, Gligar, Swampert, Whiscash, Alolan Ninetales, Shadow Dragonair) and in Ultra League (new wins like DDeoxys, Pidgeot, Swampert, Venusaur, Charizard, Ampharos, Shadow Dragonite, AND Shadow CharmTales). Not sure that this will lead to a sudden breakout in PvP, but at the very least, it's suddenly spicy.
  

So no big ripples, but hey, Swift is at least not a meme move anymore. And Uxie really likes it now, at least! Let's shake it off 😉 and move along to the last couple move tweaks....

NO GO ADELE 🐉

Sticking with the theme of famous singers... Hello from the other side! 🙃
Okay, sorry sorry. NAGANADEL gets Dragon Claw now. Yay? Sadly this does very, very little for it in PvP, picking up just a single win over Yveltal, of all things, in 1v1 shielding, and no real changes elsewhere. At least this section is easy on me (musical lyric joke counter: 2) and we can move on to the next now.

PATIENCE, YOUNG GRASSHOPPER 🦗

If you don't get the reference, it's from a famous show from the 70s (yes, the 1970s, you youngins) called "Kung Fu". It's a famous show and a famous phrase that you should know. No, I don't just know it because I'm old, it's famous!
...get off my lawn.
Anyway, Counter remains the best fast overall move in the game, so any time something new gets it, that is reason enough to sit up and notice. Even when that recipient is a current Pokémona non grata like LOKIX.
Look, it's very glassy and will likely never be more than spice. This is unlikely to really shake up any meta in a major way. But yes, Lokix is significantly better than before now that it has Counter. It does unfortunately drop Cresselia, but can now outslug stuff like Lickitung, Dewgong, Guzzlord, Vigoroth, Galarian Stunfisk, and even Skarmory and Bastiodon despite how scary those two normally are for Bugs. It sees similar improvement in Ultra League, dropping Fighting-resistent Venusaur and Golisopod but gaining Registeel, Steelix, Alolan Sandslash, Swampert, Walrein, and Greedent, but uh... it has to be leveled up to at least Level 46, and is still a poor option overall. Not worth it, IMO. But keep an eye on it, as the addtion of another impactful charge move could elevate it further. Counter users are ALWAYS worth at least some consideration.

(RE-) PLANTING A SEED 🌱

We all know why Seed Bomb was nerfed from its original 40 to 45 energy: it was felt that something had to be done about TREVENANT, by far the most impactful Seed Bomb user. Yes yes, it got a small damage bump as well (from 55 to 60 damage), but the (completely intended) damage was done, and Trevenant usage dropped quite a bit. The hit wasn't TOO bad, but it was enough.
Now Trevor gets a boost again, with the cost remaining the same but the damage creeping up to 65 now, elevating it from a clone of Wrap (and a slew of stat-altering moves like Icy Wind, Mystical Fire, Lunge, the Forces Of Nature unique Storm moves, and others... but Seed Bomb of course HAS no stat altering and was thus far worse) to a clone of Discharge. Not amazing — a reduction in cost to what it once way would REALLY make a difference — but certainly more palpable.
In the end, it's a small buff to Trevenant — with only a couple new wins like Shadow Dragonair in 1shield and Azumarill in 2shield in Great League, and Feraligatr and Greninja in 1shield and Tentacruel in 2shield in Ultra League — but we'll take it! Those UL wins especially are pretty nice.
Not many other notable Seed Bomb users, but here's what I see: WHIMSICOTT (with Fairy Wind) can now beat Galarian Stunfisk and Azumarill with shields down (in Great League), so that's a small but welcome improvement. Aaaaaaand that's about it. No big changes I see with Little League COTTONEE or BULBASAUR or Little or Great League DARTRIX, and then you're into things like CELEBI. Yeah, this is first and almost entirely centered on Trevenant.

SNUFFING OUT SPARK 🔌

Just as Seed Bomb changes are directly intended to affect one meta Pokémon, so too is the story with the nerf to Spark dropping from 6 damage to 5: this is directly intended to nerf LANTURN. There used to be other meta things that ran Spark because they had to, but they've all gotten other tricks since then that are now preferred (Volt Switch for Magnezone and family, Volt Switch for Charjabug, etc.). Yes, some others like LUXRAY and PROBOPASS remain as collateral damage, but those are just occasional spice considerations. No, the only truly meta change here is to Lanturn, as intended.
But how bad is it? Overall, it's not TOO significant. Lanturn now loses to Registeel in 1v1 shielding (and not surprisingly gets a bit less dominant versus other things like Azumarill and Mandibuzz), Medicham and Charjabug in 0shield, and Altaria and Annihilape in 2shield. Those ARE some big names, but where you primarily wanted it before, it still works, albeit sometimes with a little less left in the tank at the end. Farming things down obviously gets harder! It drops from formerly ranking #12 in Great League 20 spots to now #32 (at the time of this writing), but still... a Top 30ish option is still a really good PvP Pokémon.
...oh, but uh, there's a caveat: it's now ranked at #32 with Water Gun, while Spark Lanturn has dropped all the way down to #66. That may be a little harsh, but does make sense. Ironically, the rating with Water Gun goes UP from #35 to now #32. I don't knwo that I'm quite ready to say that Water Gun Lanturn is now the clear favorite over Spark Lanturn, but they're now both moving into "sidegrade" territory for sure, with Spark still being best for things like Mandibuzz, Poliwrath, and Sableye, but Water Gun carving out wins against Galarian Stunfisk, Shadow Gilgar, Carbink... and the Registeel that Spark now loses to. Water Gun is also far better now [with shields down], beating things that Spark cannot like G-Fisk, Shadow Gligar, and Carbink again, along with Charjabug and Shadow A-Slash, while the only unique win Spark holds onto is Dewgong. Interestingly, Water Gun Lanturn can also now win the head to head with Spark Lanturn in 2v2 shielding. Spark and Water Gun now deal the same damage per turn, so Water Gun's shorter cooldown wins the day.
Again, I do not think Lanturn is going to suddenly disappear from Open formats or even PvP in-person tournaments. But I DO think its use is going to go down as it slips back a tier or two in the meta. I mean, it almost HAS to. And yes, I do think Water Gun variants are going to be far more common now. Again, you almost HAVE to move that direction now, at least for certain team compositions. We'll see how bad it gets soon enough.

A SEARING REVIEW

Speaking of getting bad, a brief mention for the other notable nerf with this update: Scald. It retains its nice cost to damage ratio of 1.7 Damage Per Energy (50 energy for 85 damage), but the chance for it to lower the target's Attack is going to drop. We don't know how much, but considering it currently sits at 50%, something like 30% seems a resonable expectation, and that's what PvPoke has put up speculatively as well. I'm NOT going to turn to simulations here, as moves with a percentage change of triggers are notoriously difficult to portray that way, to the point of almost being deceptive to even try. But I hardly think this marks the death of intended targets like WHISCASH or POLIWRATH unless, perhaps, the percentage change completely craters at like 20% or below. It's still good damage output and still a great STAB move for each of them. The rankings show Shadow Whiscash only dropping from #23 to #27 (though non-Shadow does take more of a hit, from a former #27 to now #42) and Poliwrath sees only a very small dip as well (#31 → #34 for Shadow and #46 → #48 for non-Shadow in Great League, and basically no change in Ultra League {non-Shadow drops only spot from #5 to #6, and Shadow actually rises from #10 to #9 thanks to other meta shifts}). Yes, this will hurt those who have fallen in love with those two, and surely there will be a slight dip in tournament play. But I don't think this is nearly the death knell some are making it out to be.
I DO think this may convince me to give up my Bubble LUDICOLO I've been running in GL of late, though. Scald triggering was the difference between life and death against some things like Gilgar. And other slightly-less-meta things like TENTACRUEL may suffer a little bit as well, but again, the change isn't all that bad. (Tentacthulhu, for example, usually counts on Acid Spray for debuffing hijinks anyway and saves Scald as a closer... it's less reliant on the debuffing it can sometimes provide.)

IN SUMMATION

And that's it! Barring any last minute surprises by Niantic (ALWAYS a possibility), there's your review of all changes coming with the Shared Skies Season. As a quick reminder so people don't panic, keep in mind that while the new season starts on the 1st as per usual, the move updates will not go live until June 3rd, as a nice gesture to not disrupt the planned PJCS and Bologna tournaments that weekend.
By way of quick summary of the above (here's your TL;DR, folks!):
The biggest winners I see in this update are (in rough order) CETITAN (maybe CETODDLE?) with Powder Snow, TYPHLOSION with Thunder Punch, UXIE with Swift, SWOOBAT with Fly, SCRAFTY with Thunder Punch, LOKIX with Counter, TREVENANT with buffed Seed Bomb, and then maybe SALAMENCE (Fly) and WHIMSICOTT (Seed Bomb). Other than Cetitan and Typhlosion, I don't know that any of them move drastically up the ranks, but they're all better with this update and bear watching as spice options at the very least.
Alrighty, that's it for now. Back to analysis on the Necrozma Fusions (already in progress) and beyond! Until then, you can always find me on Twitter or Patreon. Or please feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!
Stay safe out there, Pokéfriends. Best of luck as we move into the new season, and catch you next time!

New season, new shakeup! As per usual, we get new moves added to new recipients, and some existing moves get tweaked. Unlike usual, we don't get any all-new moves, but on the plus side, we got all this teased over a week ahead of time, making ol' JRE quite happy. No last minute scramble to get through it all!
But even with a relatively simple move rabalance like this one, there's still plenty to cover. Nowhere will you find analysis that goes to these depths, covering the big names and some others you likely haven't even considered.
Let's do this, people!

(NEW) ATTACK ON TITAN 🌨️

There are several attack changes people are already talking about excitedly with this update, so naturally I'm going to start with... CETITAN? Hear me out, because I think this is one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) move addition in this whole rebalance.
"JRE, you're crazy, man. Ice types are a dime a dozen. What makes Cetitan so special?"
Well judging by my initial PvP review on Cetitan when it was released, not much. I noted it had decent overall bulk and was at least better than Avalugg (with the same Body Slam and Avalanche charge moves, but Cetitan having the better fast move with Ice Shard as opposed to Lugg's Ice Fang), and perhaps had some promise in Master League where Ice types have a lot of advantages anyway, particularly Premier where Legendary Ice types are left on the outside looking in. And now? Enter an even much better fast move than Ice Shard: Powder Snow, which beats all the same ML core meta stuff as Ice Shard plus Origin Giratina, Lugia, and Snorlax in 0shield, Altered Giratina, Swampert, and Gyarados in 1shield, Mewtwo and Reshiram in 2shield, and Xerneas and Zacian in both 1 and 2shield. And again, NO new losses... this is a straight upgrade, folks. In the rankings, Cetitan leapfrogs Avalugg, Walrein, Baxcalibur, and even lomg-time staple Mamoswine in the ratings (and in performance) to trail only Kyurem and Hisuian Avalugg among Ice types, and Cetitan can still do things not even those two can like beating Mewtwo, Kyogre, and Reshiram!
Cetitan does move into the upper ranks of Ice types in other Leagues as well, but there is just a lot of established and versatile competition to contend with like Walrein, Dewgong, Abomasnow, Alolan Sandslash, Arctibax, Aurorus, Froslass, Alolan Ninetales, and even old friends like Lapras. Those mostly all fall away in Master League, leaving the new and improved Cetitan to shoot up the charts more decisively. You'll start to see it all over now, particularly in Cups, but I do think Master League is where it will likely make its biggest mark for those with the means to build it up. It can even beat three out of four Necrozmas! (The Steely Dusk Mane fusion being the only exception, for rather obvious reasons.)
One other League to consider is Little Leaue, and CETODDLE, who gets the same moveset update and does good things with it. Stupid trash can lid Bronzor is still a huge issue, of course, as well as obvious Fires and Fighters and such. But this is easily now one of the best Ice types in Little League and should be a fixture of most Little formats from here on out.
Do I think these two are going to suddenly take over their respective Leagues? Probably not. But do they deserve a heck of a lot more usage, even in Open? Absolutely. There's a reason I chose to lead off with these two!

PUNCHING LIGHTS OUT ⚡

Thunder Punch is not exactly an electrifying move in PvP. Like the other Elemental Punches (Fire, Ice, Thunder), as well as other move clones (Aerial Ace and Stomp), it costs only 40 energy, but deals only 55 damage for a passable but unexciting 1.37 Damage Per Energy. Most things that use it (and there are several, such as Ampharos, Muk, Hypno, Pachirisu, and the Super Raichu Bros.) do so as a bait move, though as with any elemental move, the coverage alone can be nice too (for things like Muk and Hypno, at least). Still, often if it goes through unshielded, that's a loss for the user, as they typically want to bait a shield with it leading up to a big closer like Dark Pulse (Muk), Shadow Ball (Hypno), or Wild Charge (Raichus).
And honestly, that mostly remains Thunder Punch's role for the things now recieving it:

• The Pawmot family all get it now. I suppose PAWMO may appreciate it the most as its first move under 45 energy, but it remains a poor overall option. Big bro PAWMOT can use it, I suppose, alongside Close Combat or Wild Charge rather than running both as it typically does now, giving it not only better bait potential but also moves it away from TWO big self-debuffing moves at once. Indeed, it would seem Thunder Punch/Close Combat is a fine sidegrade or even upgrade to Close Combat/Wild Charge, dropping Azumarill but picking up things like Mantine, Talonflame, and Carbink, which are all quite nice. However, it remains far south of a 50% winrate and thus on the fringe even in most Limited/Cup metas. This addition is appreciated, but doesn't really change much. And keep in mind that their fast move, Spark, is getting a nerf... but more on that later.
  
• CHESNAUGHT is an odd one here. Obviously it already has Waters covered with its Grass moves, so the most obvious thing Thunder Punch does is give it a little more teeth against Flyers. As with Pawmot, Chesnaught tends to run with a self-debuffing Fighting move for coverage, in this case Superpower. And honestly, I think that's what it will usually prefer to keep on doing, though Thunder Punch IS a decent overall sidegrade on paper in Great League, dropping stuff like Guzzlord and Shadow Dragonair to instead gain Annihilape and Pelipper. Hmmm... that's actually not too shabby. 🤔 I think I can confidentally say to stick with Superpower in Ultra League, though... without it, you drop stuff like Registeel, Alolan Sandslash, Cobalion, and Guzzlord, which is no beuno.
  
• Another Fighter that gets some anti-air coverage wth Thunder Punch now is LUCARIO. The last elemental move Niantic gave it was Blaze Kick, which has popped up here and there (and given it some new potential wins like Venusaur), but generally it seems to usually still run best with Power-Up Punch (and typically Shadow Ball) instead. Usually. I do see a bit more potential this time around. In Great League, Fire Punch generally performs worse than PuP, but Thunder Punch seems like more of a straight sidegrade, trading away Cresselia to instead pretty reliably take out Carbink. And in Ultra League, Thunder Punch (running alongside Shadow Ball) does still generally lose to Trevenant in a foot race (PuP's lower cost is critical there), but gains Mandibuzz and Tentacruel in exchange, as well as scaring Flyers into potentially burning more shields too. Luc's Counter damage is already beating up Steels that you'd want Fire for, leaving Thunder Punch and Counter with less overlap. PuP Lucario isn't going anywhere, but I DO like Thunder a bit more as an alternative than Fire. We'll see if that ends up truly mattering.
  
• Third time's the charm? Our third and final Fighter getting Thunder Punch now is the most intriguing. SCRAFTY, like Lucario, has long run effectively with Power-Up Punch leading to an eventual Foul Play to close things out. That's been at least Cup-worthy in Great League, and at least borderline meta in Ultra League especially. In Great League, Thunder Punch is at least a decent sidegrade to PuP, sometimes dropping the Shadow versions of Dragonair and Victreebel, but gaining Mandibuzz and Pelipper, two pretty impactful pickups. But it is in Ultra League where Thunder Punch becomes more impactful, bringing in new wins like Golisopod, Alolan Muk, and Gyarados, as opposed to the single new loss to Cobalion that you can get with PuP instead. And Thunder Punch is more of a straight upgrade in other even shield matchups, gaining Tentacruel in 2v2 shielding and Poliwrath, Mandibuzz, and Gyarados with shields down, all with NO PuP wins slipping away. I think this just makes Scrafty better in Ultra and will be the favored move alongside Foul Play moving forward. Neat!
  
• But I think the single biggest winner of the Thunder Punch sweepstakes has to be TYPHLOSION. There are a couple reasons for this that make perfect sense even without looking at sims. First off, Typhlosion's biggest issue since the beginning has been having no charge moves costing less than 50 energy. This means that three Incinerates (or at least seven Shadow Claws) have always been required before Typhlosion could even threaten shields. Thunder Punch changes that math significantly, as only two Incinerates (or five Shadow Claws) are required to hit exactly the 40 energy Thunder Punch requires. That is significant! But the coverage is also fanatastic to hit back at Water types, which Typhlosion always kinda wanted to do with Solar Beam, though that costs FOUR Incinerates to charge up, making it a Hail Mary at best. The end result? Thunder Punch is nearly a straight upgrade. Without any shields in play, Solar Beam CAN manage to shock and awe its way to wins over things like Azumarill and Lickitung in Great League, and Jellicent in Ultra League. But otherwise everything comes up in Thunder Punch's favor, with its own 0shield wins like Charizard in UL and Talonflame, Mantine, Pelipper, and Shadow A-Slash in GL. And Thunder Punch is strictly better in 1v1 shielding by adding Mandibuzz and Mantine in GL and Gyarados and Talonflame in UL, and a TON of new wins in 2v2 shielding like Feraligatr, Mantine, Talonflame, Lickitung, Sableye, Cresselia, and sometimes even Galarian Stunfisk in GL, and Charizard, Toxicroak, Obstagoon, Alolan Muk, Jellicent, Annihilape, Golisopod, Gyarados, Tentacruel, Walrein, Mandibuzz and more in UL! Big big BIG improvements in the horizon for Typhlosion that elevates it to the same tier as Talonflame, Chairzard, and Skeledirge in both Great and Ultra Leagues moving forward. And that's not to even mention the potential of Shadow Typhlosion.... 😱
  

🎼 COME FLY WITH ME, LET'S FLY AWAY! 🦅

Fly is one of the best moves in the entire game: 45 energy for 80 damage, with no drawbacks at all. That's what Sky Attack was from 2018 to 2021, back when it was terrifying in PvP, before dropping to 75 power and eventually going to 50 energy too last year. (What did Sky Attack ever do to you, Hanke?! 😢) But now, in keeping with the seeming skyward theme of the season, old school Sky Attack is being handed out to several new recipients that... uh... could use some help. Is it enough?

• Oh, how long I've wanted FEAROW to work in PvP. Its had its chances, with Drill Run and Steel Wing only getting better over time, and even the nerfs to Sky Attack being mitigated by the long overdue buff to Aerial Ace. And now it gets old-school Sky Attack with the addition of Fly... and it STILL can't break out. Come on, Niantic.. just give it Wing Attack already, will ya? Or at least Quick Attack, maybe? Set my drill running bird free!
  
• SWANNA remains the ugly duckling of Flying Water types. While Mantine and Pelipper and even Gyarados lord over their respective Leagues, and even Swanna's pre-evolution Ducklett remains a tippy top option in Little League, poor Swanna remains consistently ranked outside the top 400, ranked below even Mantyke in Great League... even after getting Fly! It remains trapped behind lackluster fast moves, and until that changes, it remains irrelevant. Let Swanna really soar, Niantic!
  
• The one everyone is talking about is SALAMENCE, particularly in Master League where it has always seemed right on the cusp of potential greatness, with pretty good overall stats and decent enough Dragon moves (Dragon Tail, Draco Meteor, and Outrage as a Legacy move), but no good second charge move. Now it gets Fly, and while it IS much improved, I just don't think it's enough. Not nearly. Not even in Premier. Just too many other Dragons with better tricks up their sleeves. If you're doggedly insistent, I guess you can try again with it now, but I don't see Sal finding sudden success after this, sorry. Give it Dragon Claw or something and THEN we can talk.
  
• So surprisingly, it is humble SWOOBAT that we're left talking about as perhaps the most impactful new Fly user. Though obviously we're not talking Master League anymore, no no. This is a Great League 'mon, and one that's already a little spicy since first getting Psychic Fangs and then the eventual buff to Aerial Ace. But it was left without reasonably priced closing power, with Psychic (the move) just not being worth it as the attempts to nerf Medicham drug Psychic (the move!) into the depths, and Future Sight is just way too expensive with Confusion's average energy gains. So now here comes Fly, and you know what? I like the result! This is no sudden new Open play revelation or anything, but potential spice in the right Cup? I can absolutely see it. Fly grants new wins against GOOD names like Altaria and Gligar in 1shield, and Pelipper, Vigoroth, and the Shadow versions of Gligar, Swampert, and CharmTales in 0shield. There's some real potential here now, more than ever before. Not every improvement has to rock PvP... just some nice new twists like this can be plenty fun. Now we just need Gust for the lulz.
  

NIFTY OR... SWIFTIE? ‍💨

Apologies to the fans of the future Mrs. Travis Kelce (if you know, you know)....
Anyway, long-terrible Normal charge move Swift is finally getting a buff. I think so, at least. Niantic is actually lowing its power from 60 damage to 55, but they are also lowering its cost. How much? That's the part we don't know yet, but PvPoke has speculated it will drop from 55 energy all the way down to 40, and while that's probably the best case scenario, we're gonna roll with it for the purposes of this analysis. If that holds true, the resulting 55 damage/40 every should look quite familiar... it's the same stats as Thunder Punch. And as we talked about earlier, that's usually better for baiting than anything, but it's passable and certainly FAR better than the 60 damage/55 energy it was previously.
Does anything that now gets it (or already has it) actually want to use it, though?

• The first new recipients worth mentioning are the WIGGLYTUFF family, as they are all part Normal-type and thus get STAB damage with Swift too. Eh, maybe? These sims will likely break when the new season goes live, but what the heck, I'll show them anyway. I think out of the two charge moves Wiggly uses now — Icy Wind and Disarming Voice — it is Voice that is the one to potentially drop, as Charm already deals plenty of Fairy-type damage, and Icy Wind not only provides coverage but also obviously extends Wiggly's life by debuffing the opponent's Attack. So assuming you run Icy Wind/Swift, we'll call that a sidegrade to Wind/Voice. "But JRE, it got worse!" Yes, in 1shield it seems to, dropping Dewgong, but you actually win if you go with Icy Wind first, and then closing it out with Swift, just as you can win going Icy Wind and then DIsarming Voice after. Similarly, there are no big differences in 2v2 shielding, but in 0v0 shield, we have a true sidegrade situation, with Swift outracing Pelipper and Shadow CharmTales, and Disarming Voice instead overpowering Gligar and forcing at least a tie a tie with enemy Wigglytuffs. So pure sidegrade, basically. Not a GREAT sign considering that, again, this is the only Charmer that gets STAB with Swift. And while JIGGLYPUFF* and especially IGGLYBUFF have some play in Little League, they are still worlds better with (Legacy) Body Slam rather than Swift. Moving on....
  
• CLEFABLE has a few edge cases where Swift can help, but overall just trust me when I tell you that (at least when running Fairy Wind as the fast move), Meteor Mash and Moonblast are just much. much better. Most all of the advantages for Swift show up in 2v2 shielding, and only in Great League...things like Swampert, Pelipper, and Gligar. But exisiting moves are just better otherwise, including up and down Ultra League. There's really no reason to linger here, so... next!
  
• The only other new recipients are the TEDDIURSA/URSARING/URSALUNA family. I'm going to go ahead and say that I don't think Ursaluna wants it at all. Ice Punch has the same stats as what we're guessing Swift will, and the coverage it provides is massive, especially in Master League were it sees the most play today (with wins over things like Garchomp, Yveltal, and perhaps most critically, Zygarde Complete). Teddiursa seems interesting until you remember that it already has Cross Chop and Crunch, which have more impact than super-effective-versus-nothing Swift... STAB alone isn't really enough. The one that MAY want it is Ursaring. You likely would want to run it alongside Close Combat (in place of PLay Rough), which can then add on Dewgong and Guzzlord in Great League, at the cost of giving up Lanturn and Sableye. In Ultra League, it can add on Guzzlord and Swampert and gives up only Alolan Muk. But honestly, Ursaring remains just bad in both Leagues. And again, this is with likely best-case-scenario Swift. Blech.
  
• Pokémon that already have Swift (and any real potential in PvP) are basically just a list of two. HISUIAN ELECTRODE may actually want it, as it obviously wants to always run Wild Charge (45 energy) but awkwardly has to often try to bait a shield first with MORE expensive Energy Ball (55 energy). Swift COULD fix that by greatly speeding things up, as it costs less than Wild Charge at only 40 energy. But I still think that will be better in theory (and perhaps in Electric Cup, should that return) than in actual practice. Energy Ball is still quite useful for coverage and non-Wild Charge closing power, needing it to beat things like Whiscash and Swampert across various shileding scenarios. Swift does have some advantages in 2v2 shielding for rather obvious reasons, but that's about it.
  
• MUCH more interesting is UXIE. By far the bulkiest of the Lake Trio Legendaries — and in fact, the second bulkiest Confusion user in the game, behind only Cresselia — its problem has always been that all of its charge moves costed 55 energy or more... and with Swift being so bad before, it still usually ran with 60 energy (Thunder) and 65-energy (Future Sight) charge moves. And despite on-paper great potential... well, it was certainly no Cresselia! (And that goes for Ultra League too.) But now it gets the inexpensive move it's been waiting for, with new and improved Swift elevating its performance significantly in Great League (new wins include Altaria, Gligar, Swampert, Whiscash, Alolan Ninetales, Shadow Dragonair) and in Ultra League (new wins like DDeoxys, Pidgeot, Swampert, Venusaur, Charizard, Ampharos, Shadow Dragonite, AND Shadow CharmTales). Not sure that this will lead to a sudden breakout in PvP, but at the very least, it's suddenly spicy.
  

So no big ripples, but hey, Swift is at least not a meme move anymore. And Uxie really likes it now, at least! Let's shake it off 😉 and move along to the last couple move tweaks....

NO GO ADELE 🐉

Sticking with the theme of famous singers... Hello from the other side! 🙃
Okay, sorry sorry. NAGANADEL gets Dragon Claw now. Yay? Sadly this does very, very little for it in PvP, picking up just a single win over Yveltal, of all things, in 1v1 shielding, and no real changes elsewhere. At least this section is easy on me (musical lyric joke counter: 2) and we can move on to the next now.

PATIENCE, YOUNG GRASSHOPPER 🦗

If you don't get the reference, it's from a famous show from the 70s (yes, the 1970s, you youngins) called "Kung Fu". It's a famous show and a famous phrase that you should know. No, I don't just know it because I'm old, it's famous!
...get off my lawn.
Anyway, Counter remains the best fast overall move in the game, so any time something new gets it, that is reason enough to sit up and notice. Even when that recipient is a current Pokémona non grata like LOKIX.
Look, it's very glassy and will likely never be more than spice. This is unlikely to really shake up any meta in a major way. But yes, Lokix is significantly better than before now that it has Counter. It does unfortunately drop Cresselia, but can now outslug stuff like Lickitung, Dewgong, Guzzlord, Vigoroth, Galarian Stunfisk, and even Skarmory and Bastiodon despite how scary those two normally are for Bugs. It sees similar improvement in Ultra League, dropping Fighting-resistent Venusaur and Golisopod but gaining Registeel, Steelix, Alolan Sandslash, Swampert, Walrein, and Greedent, but uh... it has to be leveled up to at least Level 46, and is still a poor option overall. Not worth it, IMO. But keep an eye on it, as the addtion of another impactful charge move could elevate it further. Counter users are ALWAYS worth at least some consideration.

(RE-) PLANTING A SEED 🌱

We all know why Seed Bomb was nerfed from its original 40 to 45 energy: it was felt that something had to be done about TREVENANT, by far the most impactful Seed Bomb user. Yes yes, it got a small damage bump as well (from 55 to 60 damage), but the (completely intended) damage was done, and Trevenant usage dropped quite a bit. The hit wasn't TOO bad, but it was enough.
Now Trevor gets a boost again, with the cost remaining the same but the damage creeping up to 65 now, elevating it from a clone of Wrap (and a slew of stat-altering moves like Icy Wind, Mystical Fire, Lunge, the Forces Of Nature unique Storm moves, and others... but Seed Bomb of course HAS no stat altering and was thus far worse) to a clone of Discharge. Not amazing — a reduction in cost to what it once way would REALLY make a difference — but certainly more palpable.
In the end, it's a small buff to Trevenant — with only a couple new wins like Shadow Dragonair in 1shield and Azumarill in 2shield in Great League, and Feraligatr and Greninja in 1shield and Tentacruel in 2shield in Ultra League — but we'll take it! Those UL wins especially are pretty nice.
Not many other notable Seed Bomb users, but here's what I see: WHIMSICOTT (with Fairy Wind) can now beat Galarian Stunfisk and Azumarill with shields down (in Great League), so that's a small but welcome improvement. Aaaaaaand that's about it. No big changes I see with Little League COTTONEE or BULBASAUR or Little or Great League DARTRIX, and then you're into things like CELEBI. Yeah, this is first and almost entirely centered on Trevenant.

SNUFFING OUT SPARK 🔌

Just as Seed Bomb changes are directly intended to affect one meta Pokémon, so too is the story with the nerf to Spark dropping from 6 damage to 5: this is directly intended to nerf LANTURN. There used to be other meta things that ran Spark because they had to, but they've all gotten other tricks since then that are now preferred (Volt Switch for Magnezone and family, Volt Switch for Charjabug, etc.). Yes, some others like LUXRAY and PROBOPASS remain as collateral damage, but those are just occasional spice considerations. No, the only truly meta change here is to Lanturn, as intended.
But how bad is it? Overall, it's not TOO significant. Lanturn now loses to Registeel in 1v1 shielding (and not surprisingly gets a bit less dominant versus other things like Azumarill and Mandibuzz), Medicham and Charjabug in 0shield, and Altaria and Annihilape in 2shield. Those ARE some big names, but where you primarily wanted it before, it still works, albeit sometimes with a little less left in the tank at the end. Farming things down obviously gets harder! It drops from formerly ranking #12 in Great League 20 spots to now #32 (at the time of this writing), but still... a Top 30ish option is still a really good PvP Pokémon.
...oh, but uh, there's a caveat: it's now ranked at #32 with Water Gun, while Spark Lanturn has dropped all the way down to #66. That may be a little harsh, but does make sense. Ironically, the rating with Water Gun goes UP from #35 to now #32. I don't knwo that I'm quite ready to say that Water Gun Lanturn is now the clear favorite over Spark Lanturn, but they're now both moving into "sidegrade" territory for sure, with Spark still being best for things like Mandibuzz, Poliwrath, and Sableye, but Water Gun carving out wins against Galarian Stunfisk, Shadow Gilgar, Carbink... and the Registeel that Spark now loses to. Water Gun is also far better now [with shields down], beating things that Spark cannot like G-Fisk, Shadow Gligar, and Carbink again, along with Charjabug and Shadow A-Slash, while the only unique win Spark holds onto is Dewgong. Interestingly, Water Gun Lanturn can also now win the head to head with Spark Lanturn in 2v2 shielding. Spark and Water Gun now deal the same damage per turn, so Water Gun's shorter cooldown wins the day.
Again, I do not think Lanturn is going to suddenly disappear from Open formats or even PvP in-person tournaments. But I DO think its use is going to go down as it slips back a tier or two in the meta. I mean, it almost HAS to. And yes, I do think Water Gun variants are going to be far more common now. Again, you almost HAVE to move that direction now, at least for certain team compositions. We'll see how bad it gets soon enough.

A SEARING REVIEW

Speaking of getting bad, a brief mention for the other notable nerf with this update: Scald. It retains its nice cost to damage ratio of 1.7 Damage Per Energy (50 energy for 85 damage), but the chance for it to lower the target's Attack is going to drop. We don't know how much, but considering it currently sits at 50%, something like 30% seems a resonable expectation, and that's what PvPoke has put up speculatively as well. I'm NOT going to turn to simulations here, as moves with a percentage change of triggers are notoriously difficult to portray that way, to the point of almost being deceptive to even try. But I hardly think this marks the death of intended targets like WHISCASH or POLIWRATH unless, perhaps, the percentage change completely craters at like 20% or below. It's still good damage output and still a great STAB move for each of them. The rankings show Shadow Whiscash only dropping from #23 to #27 (though non-Shadow does take more of a hit, from a former #27 to now #42) and Poliwrath sees only a very small dip as well (#31 → #34 for Shadow and #46 → #48 for non-Shadow in Great League, and basically no change in Ultra League {non-Shadow drops only spot from #5 to #6, and Shadow actually rises from #10 to #9 thanks to other meta shifts}). Yes, this will hurt those who have fallen in love with those two, and surely there will be a slight dip in tournament play. But I don't think this is nearly the death knell some are making it out to be.
I DO think this may convince me to give up my Bubble LUDICOLO I've been running in GL of late, though. Scald triggering was the difference between life and death against some things like Gilgar. And other slightly-less-meta things like TENTACRUEL may suffer a little bit as well, but again, the change isn't all that bad. (Tentacthulhu, for example, usually counts on Acid Spray for debuffing hijinks anyway and saves Scald as a closer... it's less reliant on the debuffing it can sometimes provide.)

IN SUMMATION

And that's it! Barring any last minute surprises by Niantic (ALWAYS a possibility), there's your review of all changes coming with the Shared Skies Season. As a quick reminder so people don't panic, keep in mind that while the new season starts on the 1st as per usual, the move updates will not go live until June 3rd, as a nice gesture to not disrupt the planned PJCS and Bologna tournaments that weekend.
By way of quick summary of the above (here's your TL;DR, folks!):
The biggest winners I see in this update are (in rough order) CETITAN (maybe CETODDLE?) with Powder Snow, TYPHLOSION with Thunder Punch, UXIE with Swift, SWOOBAT with Fly, SCRAFTY with Thunder Punch, LOKIX with Counter, TREVENANT with buffed Seed Bomb, and then maybe SALAMENCE (Fly) and WHIMSICOTT (Seed Bomb). Other than Cetitan and Typhlosion, I don't know that any of them move drastically up the ranks, but they're all better with this update and bear watching as spice options at the very least.
Alrighty, that's it for now. Back to analysis on the Necrozma Fusions (already in progress) and beyond! Until then, you can always find me on Twitter or Patreon. Or please feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!
Stay safe out there, Pokéfriends. Best of luck as we move into the new season, and catch you next time!

Replay code: 64S7Q9
Battletag / in-game username: RazorWolf
Hero(es) played: Genji/Bastion
Skill tier / rank: Silver 5
Map: Numbani
PC or console: PC
Description of the match / things you want reviewed: If i'm being honest this match went great. Our team was well coordinated and we managed to defend the point on defense the entire time even though their team did one last push but didn't succeed, after switching sides we managed to easy capture the point and wing the game. I would like to see if there's some thing taht i still need to improve and if i got carried by my team or if i helped win instead of being a dead weight for them

The battle takes place in an empty suburban area 10 kilometers in diameter. It is surrounded by an impenetrable dome of transparent unobtanium that forms a complete sphere, above and below ground. The teams all start in their own houses, roughly as evenly spaced as possible, 250 meters from the nearest enemy teams.
The teams are:

• Bill, Francis, Louis, and Zoey from Left 4 Dead
  
• Coach, Ellis, Nick, and Rochelle from Left 4 Dead 2
  
• Dallas, Hoxton, Wolf, and Chains from Payday
  
• The Ubersreik Five (Kruber, Bardin, Kerillian, Saltzpyre, and Sienna) from Vermintide
  
• An Ogryn, Veteran, Zealot, and Psyker from Darktide
  
• Four Helldivers
  
• A Driller, Gunner, Engineer, and Scout from Deep Rock Galactic
  
• A Ranger, Wing Diver, Air Raider, and Fencer from Earth Defense Force
  

Some ground rules:

• The fighters are not bloodlusted, but they all know and have accepted that only one team is getting out alive. Think Hunger Games but without the mutual suicide thing, collaboration is allowed but if it happens someone is going to have to betray someone else.
  
• One out of every ten houses has a ammo supply in it that fully replenishes the supplies of the team that uses it first. One out of every thirty houses has a med station that fully heals the first team that uses it. These are randomly distributed so you can't predict where they will be. There is no other source of supplies or healing other than the abilities of the team (no supply pod call-ins or anything.)
  
• For characters from games with "pickups" (grenades, potions, etc.) each team member can bring one pickup per item slot (grenade slot, potion slot, etc.) from their game. There will be no pickups in the arena and these are not replenished by the supply caches.
  
• Each Helldiver can bring one support weapon and one backpack. Neither the Helldivers nor the Air Raider can call in airstrikes or vehicles due to the dome.
  
• Assume each team is "max level" for their game - they have endgame weapons, abilities, etc. For games with loadouts, subclasses, skill trees, etc. you can choose whatever loadout you want provided it is allowed in the game.
  
• Death works like how it does in each respective game - Left 4 Dead goes down and needs to be saved but can be killed, Deep Rock goes down but doesn't die and you need to wipe the whole team, Helldivers just die, etc.
  
• No respawns unless the teams have that ability from their game - e.g. a Left 4 Dead defibrillator. No respawn cabinets. It functions on game logic, so even if Coach is blown to smithereens by a rocket he can be revived with a defibrillator.
  
• Only one person from the team needs to survive for the whole team to win.
  

Bonus rounds:

1. Each team can choose any location in the sphere to start. If they choose underground, a 10-meter-diameter hemispherical chamber is created for them.
2. The dome is transparent to orbital drops. Helldivers and Air Raider now have access to their full arsenal.
3. The following teams are added. Do any of these teams make a difference?

• A squad from Aliens: Fireteam Elite (any 4 classes)
  
• A squad from Killing Floor (any 4 characters)
  
• A squad from GTFO
  
• Roland, Mordecai, Lilith, and Brick from Borderlands
  
• Axton, Maya, Salvador, and Zer0 from Borderlands 2
  
• Athena, Wilhelm, Nisha, and Claptrap from Borderlands The Pre-Sequel
  
• Zane, Amara, Moze, and FL4K from Borderlands 3
  
• A team from Risk of Rain 2 (any 4 characters)
  
• The TF2 team from the Mann vs. Machine trailer (Scout, Soldier, Demoman, Heavy, Engineer, Medic) - use MvM mechanics
  
• Any other co-op shooter team you can think of - I know I must have missed a bunch.
  

Hello, before I start let me know if this isn’t the right subreddit to post and direct me to the right one please :)
My boyfriend’s birthday is coming up and he likes to play/watch csgo/cs2 (I will say csgo because I’m used to saying that but yknow). He is in need of a mouse, right now he is using mine (razer pro click mini) although he was one (don’t know the type, but it isn’t good). He has been complaining that his wrist is hurting a lot and has been mentioning how his wrists sometimes become weak from how much they hurt. I got my mouse as a gift so I didn’t research it, but it’s smaller than his mouse and his mouse still hurts his wrists more. He does stay a lot in his laptop whether that is playing deathmatch on csgo or watching csgo (his favorite team is NAVI, if that matters). So, I bought today this mouse: LOGITECH 910-006559 MX MASTER 3S because I went to Media Markt and just tried all the mouses and picked the most comfortable one. Foolishly I got this mouse without doing research on csgo. After doing research I found that most pro players use the logitech x pro superlight 2 right now. Should I change the one I bought for the superlight one? I don’t remember specifically but I’m sure I tried every mouse in the store and if the superlight one would have been really comfortable I would have remembered, but at the same time I have no idea what a good mouse is. Is the superlight one actually comfortable or only good for csgo technicality? Should I go for more comfort or better technicality? Do you have any other mouse that you recommend? What do you advise me? Do you think he’d prefer comfort over csgo? He doesn’t play any other games on his laptop but plays fifa on ps. His favorite player is s1mple (obv 🙄) but because navi won the major he admired alexi for how well he lead the team. Tbh he watches a lot of teams and players because he likes the game in general. You can ask me for any other info you might need. Thank you!

“They shove people’s heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall,” [Dudley] told Harry. “Want to come upstairs and practice?” “No, thanks,” said Harry. “The poor toilet’s never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick.” Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he’d said.

PS chapter 3

“Got plenty of special features, hasn’t it?” said Malfoy, eyes glittering maliciously. “Shame it doesn’t come with a parachute — in case you get too near a dementor.” Crabbe and Goyle sniggered. “Pity you can’t attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy,” said Harry. “Then it could catch the Snitch for you.” The Gryffindor team laughed loudly. Malfoy’s pale eyes narrowed, and he stalked away.

POA chapter 13

“Do you remember me telling you we are practicing nonverbal spells, Potter?” “Yes,” said Harry stiffly. “Yes, sir.” “There’s no need to call me ‘sir,’ Professor.”

HBP chapter 9
I like how Harry stands up to his enemies by using his humor.

PS NA
Social PVE guild since 2015.
Looking for Trials peeps. Casual team.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO JOIN THE GUILD TO JOIN OUR DISCORD AND RUN TRIALS

1. Tues and Saturday Vet Dlc rosters, 8 pm est
2. Wed and Friday Norm fun runs, 8pm est

We have several Master Crafters available to help with gear.
A fully loaded Guild House for Parsing, Crafting, and Mundus Stones.
NO FEES to be Social in the guild.
Guild Trader 95% of the time, based on Guild donations and Raffles participation
VERY BUSY and Social Discord to help theory craft, find groups, and make friends 🧡
We prefer Materials donations over gold, but gold is fine. We also buy out craft bags and Materials if you need gold
Mostly 30's and up.
We are a community of professors, film set designers, engineers, and correctional officers.
We are a community of wood elves, night blades, and sorcerors.
We are Nocturnals Twilight.
https://discord.com/invite/FuQP67RaQj

Alright, having helped folks here and there for a bit, going to ask for a little help myself.
I'm about to start interviews for Staff and up designer positions at small and (mostly) mid-sized+ startups, and don't see too many convos for people job hunting at this level. Wanted to see how folks approach this as I've mostly worked in relatively larger companies and am a little rusty with meeting with teams in smaller orgs. What questions do you ask and get asked?
I explicitly didn't make this Senior answers only, as I'll likely be meeting with newer career designers in the company as well, so this extends to newer working designers who has had to interview staff and above.
My area of expertise is complexity/enterprise, just to set some context. Would love to see what y'all ask or have dealt with. Thanks!
______________________________________________
PS: Here are some broad question categories to ask/be asked about that I already have in my notes:

• Biz/all teams: business direction, competitive landscape, unique value props, unique strategic approaches, broader business philosophy, what keeps them up at night, prev exp/pros/cons working with design org
• Design only: Approach to and relationship with content and research qual+quant, team culture and mentoring styles, expectations for position in team, problem spaces, team strengths and weaknesses
• Product only: Decision making/prioritization methods, ways of working (ie. what kind of PM)
• Dev only: Preferred method of communication, delivery methods (ie. how do they agile),

In the world of Botwars Ascendance, where cunning strategy meets mechanized might, forging powerful alliances is key to dominating the arena. No lone wolf can stand against the coordinated assault of a well-oiled Botwars team. Here's how you can build a Botwars Empire and conquer the competition:
1. Find Your Fellow Botwarriors:

• Discord is your Den: The Botwars Ascendance Discord server is your prime hunting ground for potential allies. Scout through channels dedicated to team formation and look for players with similar goals and skill levels.
• Shared Strategies, Shared Glory: Engage in discussions about robot design, battle tactics, and preferred playstyles. Find players who complement your skillset and strategic approach.
• Looking for Veterans? Experienced players can offer invaluable guidance and mentorship. Don't hesitate to approach established alliances and see if they're open to recruiting promising recruits.

2. Building Trust and Synergy:

• From Solo to Squad: Start small by teaming up for casual battles with potential alliance members. This helps gauge compatibility and builds trust within the group.
• Communication is Key: Effective communication is crucial for coordinated attacks. Discuss battle plans, strategize target prioritization, and establish clear communication channels during intense battles.
• Complementary Creations: Encourage team members to specialize in different robot builds. A balanced team with diverse strengths can overcome almost any opponent.

3. The Power of Teamwork:

• Shared Victories, Shared Rewards: Pool your resources and rewards within your alliance. Consider splitting tournament winnings or sharing crafting materials to collectively grow stronger.
• Knowledge is Power: Encourage knowledge sharing within the alliance. Whether it's a newly discovered strategy or a secret map exploit, spreading the knowledge can benefit the entire team.
• Mutual Respect and Support: Even the strongest alliances face setbacks. Maintain a positive and supportive atmosphere where members can learn from losses and grow stronger together.

Beyond the Battlefield:

• Bragging Rights and Community Recognition: A powerful alliance demands recognition. Participate in tournaments and events as a team, showcasing your combined prowess and earning respect within the Botwars Ascendance community.
• From Allies to Friends: Botwars Ascendance is more than just combat. Building a network of friends and allies fosters a more enjoyable experience, creating lasting memories beyond the thrill of victory.

By following these steps, you can forge an alliance that will dominate the Botwars arena. Remember, a strong Botwars Empire isn't just about individual skill; it's about harnessing the power of camaraderie, collaboration, and a shared passion for building and battling the ultimate robots!

So I want to qualify for the national team. In order to do that I have to have a sub 7.35 on single scull until January 2025. My current erg score is 6.30 ish. I have time to do any kind of training. I am 6'1 and 94kg I know I need to lower my erg score to achieve this goal but I am not sure if I have to lose weight(im about 18-20%bf) PS: I just started rowing in the single scull i did 6-7 trainings in single so far. Rowing for 7months though. Can you give me insights about the things that i can do? Thx.