What’s ironic is that it even contraried power creep. Usually when Pokémon have turbulent viability they get worse every gen, but Serperior just kept getting better until it got deleted
Rotund Monibuv ikr gens 3 & 4 had some of the best too. Blaziken speed boost, Swampert in general, Empoleons unique typing, Infernape in general. But I mean if his team worked then good on him
Lets be honest, grass type needs some love, they have been consistently looked down as the weakest type. Meganium, completely sucks, Bulbasaur is great after its mega, Sceptile is fine with speed, and now it has mega which is good, torterra is completely forgettable, So its about damn time they do something to make the type better. I am talking about competitive scene not the in game scene.
@@m24213 Great after its mega? It was already good before it's mega. Lol It got even better when it got Chlorophyll. It's mega is nice of course but it was pretty damn good long before it got a mega.
For everyone that said Serperior got carried by Contrary: Look at Malamar down in NU and Lurantis in PU.And also the thing can still carry itself without it.
That’s obviously because Malamar and Lurantis have worse stats than Serperior. Serperior is mostly a speedy tank that can sweep, while the other two are just terrible.
Serperior being good is a combination of speed, Glare, and Contrary. If it had low speed? Trash. If it didn’t have Contrary? Trash. If it didn’t have Glare? RU at best. (Wouldn’t be able to run SubSeed sets, and would be limited to a fast sweeper which isn’t great because it’s coverage is literally Dragon Pulse and HP.)
Sometimes abilities can carry a Pokémon with bad stats and make it a top OU threat, and sometimes it results in things like Regigigas. GameFreak is a cruel mistress. We’ll never know what to expect next
I would normally say that Serperior’s movepool would hold it back (and on Choice sets, it did), but overall, it had just the right tools in just the right places to be a damn good mon after Contrary hit the scene. Now if only Chandelure actually got Shadow Tag...
I actually found Serperior amazing even before Contrary. It’s a fast yet fairly tanky Pokémon, which is already unusual. I gave it Substitute and Leech Seed and it walled things for days. It also had Leaf Blade (it had a -special attack nature, it was my starter) which did decent damage and occasionally got a critical hit, and Aqua Tail vis move tutor to deal with Fire types, which also got extra power in rain. Though sometimes I ran Aerial Ace instead to deal with fellow grass types. So he was really good in singles, but he was even better in doubles. Instant rain from Politoed boosted his Aqua Tail and negated his fire weakness, and since he wasn’t seen as big of a threat, a lot of the time I could get some good Leech Seed/Substitute up while my opponent went after another teammate. So I would say Serperior was pretty good in Gen 5 as well. As a side note - I never knew that Serperior could learn Calm Mind or Defog. How interesting.
Serperior will always be the starter i pick in gen 5 and she never let me down when i heard she had contrary as a hidden ability in gen 6 i tried competitively breeding for one and again she never let me down on what ever i put her in She's competing both darmanitan and Reshiram as favorite gen 5 pokemon
How GOOD was Serperior ACTUALLY at being my favorite Pokémon? You know what? It was pretty damn good! Slick as f#ck design, great battle prowess, it’s my favorite type, and it was my first Pokémon I ever raised, all the way back in White 2. I never see the crown being taken away from the snake king/queen.❤️
@@kingoflions827 How can you say you can't think of any other grass starter who was as successful as Serperior and then say I'm not making a fair argument? That doesn't make any sense
Gen 5: HAHAHAHA nah Gen 6: Hahaha- Oh hey, Contrary Leaf Storm. Gen 7: EAT LEAF STORM PEASANTS! Gen 8: What do you mean I'm banned from entering Galar?
One off my Favorite Pokemon, when I was a child I loved it's leaf blade animation, In my fantasy it's tail transformed in a grenn Sword, so he was kind of a holy Knight who Punched the Bad team Plasma
Keeping casual play in mind, Serperior is one of my favorite starters. Seeing an unlikely combination in speed and defense always made it really fun to use. I have fun with Coil and stuff like Leaf Blade and Aqua Tail in a Gen 5 playthrough.
Well, GEN V is the only generation where no starters being in OU metagame in their debut generation That said alot how Contrary upgrade is so much important.
Gen 1: All 3 starters are uu while having a niche in ou. Gen 2: Feraligator NUBL due to been outclassed by guards and the other 2 starters been uubl. Gen7:Primarina UU Incineroar and Decidueye been in NU. Edit:Guards into gyardos(auto correct)
I think I posted that when the gen 1 meta game hasn't developed the NU meta. Meaning the lowest is UU. And many who like the starters bring them to ou, so that's why I thought they had niches. Sorry!
@@albabimam1114 To an extent, Venusaur had some niche, though there's the inevitable competition with Victreebel. What it does have: better bulk, especially on the physical side, higher Speed (relevant for not having to risk a Speed tie with Cloyster or opposing Victreebel).
I love learning more about the competitive scene of Pokemon through these videos. Serperior was my starter choice for both gen 5 games and is probably my favorite starter because of it. Jamie Boyt's optimization of its capabilities is mental
This was a really great video. Glare is my favorite move in the current game and I usually try to put at least one Glare on most teams I make. There was a ton of great versatility shown off in the video and it was really great to see it persist for multiple generations
I've always wondered what would happen if something like Infernape, which can learn Overheat and Close Combat, got a Mega Evolution with the ability Contrary.
Mega Sceptile has a different typing with the added dragon type, and a very different stat spread. It's much frailer, much faster, and has much higher offensive stat that Serperior, not counting contrary leaf storm boost. Mega Sceptile is a very fast revenge killer, that can get boosts with lightning rod. Without contrary, Serperior is sort of a fast tank, but with barely any offensive prowess at all. And with contrary, it's a fast bulky-ish boosting sweeper. The only thing that's similar between them, is them being grass type starters, with similar grass type movepool. Serperior spams leaf storm, while Sceptile can't, but it has a good attack stat, going as far as having mixed and physical sets, sometimes with swords dance. They are completely different Pokémon with completely different playstyles. I wouldn't compare this two Pokémon at all.
I will say this Emboar is the best fire fighting type and is overheated with people saying *HaHa THE RETARDED FLAMING CHICKEN CAME FIRST SO IT'S A RIPOFF* (Infernape is still amazing though)
Fun fact:Blaze Black 2 & Volt White 2 Redux (a hackrom) makes it part Dragon Type, which means it also gets Draco Meteor... Just something to think about...
Snivy was the first grass starter i stuck with ( when i was a kid i picked chikorita but it sucked and i gave up and reset for totodile lmao) and i absolutely adored serperior and it got even better in bw2
@@jeremyfaure1888 They're the arms it used to have as a Servine, but they became vestigial due to reliance on vines and special-attack. If you look at the evolutionary line, you can see them get smaller and thinner as it evolves from Snivy.
Glad to see that my boy Serperior didn't suffer the same fate as parasect or something, its my favorite Starter and i love to see that is at least reliable in comp. Singles this vid make my day, please keep up with the amazing videos!!! :'^)
My favorite starter that is also the base of my breeding legacy, it's too bad i can't bring it to SS unless they add the entire Snivy line in the upcoming expansion.
Is French : Checked First starter : Piplup, checked G5 starter : Snivy. Favorite class in TF2 : The Spy ... Guess i'm a walking stereotype now, baguette.
Absolutely nothing, according to Serebii. Even if it got back in gen 8, it would be UU, considering it has no coverage outside dragon pulse. It could run a supporting set, though, and a good counter to Sticky Web teams
I just watched Meganium before work and was about to search for Serperior, but I had to leave. Would have been real disappointed if I had to leave 20 minutes later. I would have swore you did a Serperior vid already. Contrary is my favourite ability. Put in so much work with Choice Scarf Malamar with Close Combat in gen 6 OU and UU. Edit: I would also sometimes run a trick room team that used -Speed natures but not just the slowest mons across the board with Galvantula or Shuckle for getting a sticky web off on a magic bouncer whenever possible to make my team slower for trick room shenanigans.
Competitive pokemon is full of stories of people who love a pokemon and find creative ways to give them the team support they need to shine and it's always uplifting to see
I dont play Pokemon since original 7th gen since i couldnt afford afford the switch, but the passion for the game remains. I watch all your videos and often rewatch old ones since your voice has really therapeutic effects. Appreciate all the work on the channel from the entire crew!
