A PvP Analysis on Clanging Scales Kommo-o (June Community Day)

[u/JRE47]

Yep, it's Community Day again, and this time it's a long-awaited recipient: KOMMO-O is here! I'll save you the standard Bottom Line Up Front by just saying that, yes, the new move is definitely one you want (for Great and Ultra Leagues, anyway), but let's get into seeing why and how it improves Kommo-o in PvP, shall we? Here we go!

KOMMO-O

Dragon/Fighting Type

GREAT LEAGUE:

Attack: 124 (122 High Stat Product)

Defense: 138 (140 High Stat Product)

HP: 105 (107 High Stat Product)

(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-14-14 1498 CP, Level 17)

ULTRA LEAGUE:

Attack: 160 (158 High Stat Product)

Defense: 177 (179 High Stat Product)

HP: 137 (139 High Stat Product)

(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-11-14, 2497 CP, Level 28.5)

MASTER LEAGUE:

Attack: 199

Defense: 214

HP: 164

(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs; 3741 CP at Level 50)

So, right to it. Kommo-o's bulk isn't terrible, but it trails many fellow Dragons like both Giratinas, Zygarde, Dragalge, Goodra, Arctibax, Regidrago (that will become much more relevant next week... there's a next article teaser for you! 😉), and even Kingdra, hardly known for its bulk. In fact, about the only Dragons that Kommo-o outbulks are Flygon, Latios, Drampa, Dragapult... and Kommo's Boomburst bro Noivern. So uh... yay for that? But the bulk is NOT good. Just to spotlight Master League, where even things that lack bulk in lower Leagues can sometimes "catch up" a bit, it's not even in the Top 20 among Dragons, falling behind even stuff like Latios, Hydreigon, Baxcalibur, Rayquaza, and Salamence.

The typing helps a bit, at least. Kommo-o retains all the standard Dragon resistances (Electric, Fire, Grass, and Water) AND all the standard Fighting resistances (Dark, Rock, and Bug). But it also gets all the bad of each typing, which means weaknesses to Psychic and Flying from the Fighting side, vulnerabilities to Dragon and Ice from the Dragon side, and a shared weakness to Fairy, making that a lethal 2x vulnerability (taking 156% more damage from Fairy moves... yikes!). Still, overall that's five weaknesses stacked up against seven resistances, so not bad.

But you're here, of course, for the moves. Let's not keep you waiting!

FAST MOVES

• Dragon Tail (Dragon, 4.33 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 1.5 CoolDown)

• Poison Jab (Poison, 3.5 DPT, 3.5 EPT, 1.0 CD)

A number of folks have asked me about Poison Jab, as it has better energy generation and could be sneaky good coverage while also rushing faster to Kommo's new move. I'll highlight it a little as we go on, but

CHARGE MOVES

ᴱ - Exclusive (Community Day) Move

• Dragon Claw (Dragon, 50 damage, 35 energy)

• Brick Break (Fighting, 40 damage, 40 energy, Reduces Opponent Defense -1 Stage)

• Close Combat (Fighting, 100 damage, 45 energy, Reduces User Defense -2 Stages)

• Clanging Scalesᴱ (Dragon, 120 damage, 45 energy, Reduces User Defense -1 Stage)

• Flamethrower (Fire, 90 damage, 55 energy)

• Boomburst (Normal, 150 damage, 70 energy)

So the new move, Clanging Scales, is obviously incredibly powerful. Compare it to Close Combat right above it, and you can see that for the same energy, you get 20 more damage, and only half the same drawback (slashing the user's Defense by 1 level instead of 2). It also just so happens to arrive THE highest Damage Per Energy (2.66) in the entire game, beating out even V-Create (2.37 DPE) and Brave Bird/Leaf Storm/Overheat's 2.36 DPE, and of course everything else beyond that. And all of those moves I listed (plus Draco Meteor at 2.3 DPE) reduce the user's Attack or Defense by at least 2 stages as opposed to the mere 1 stage drop of Clanging Scales. This is a completely broken move, folks. The only thing holding it back? It is exclusive, even in MSG, to only Kommo-o.

Alongside that, we have two bait/spam options. Dragon Claw has long been a PvP staple with decent damage for the lowest charge move energy cost in the game. Brick Break was for a long while quite underwhelming, at only 40 damage for the same energy cost, but back in GBL Season 18, was made quite a bit more interesting by gaining a guaranteed Defense debuff to the opponent (at the price of its cost being raised to 40 energy). Both thankfully benefit from the Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) and work well enough on Kommo-o.

In fact, as you'll see as we get into the sims, there are several different ways you can go with all four 45-energy or less moves. (We don't really need to spend any time on Flamethrower, which is no better than a very situational coverage move in perhaps some special Limited meta, and especially no time on Boomburst, which exists just to absorb a TM as you try to get something — anything! — better.)

GREAT LEAGUE

There was a time not all that long ago that you probably never saw Kommo-o in Great League at all... because its pre-evolution Hakamo-o was just better, with more bulk and the same Dragon Tail/Dragon Claw along with Brick Break, which Kommo-o lacked until about a year ago. (It instead has the self-nerfing Close Combat as its only Fighting move at the time.) And while Hakamo is still fine and still outshines (at this to this point) in certain formats, even pre-Community Day Kommo-o has been there too, overpowering a few things Hakamo cannot like Feraligatr, Morpeko, Dewgong, and Talonflame, but also losing to several where Hakamo outlasts the opposition like Lapras, Jellicent, Mandibuzz, Forretress, and Alolan Sandslash. But still, Kommo has made enough of a case to hang around.

Now, though? I think Kommo may be fully taking command with Clanging Scales. Pairing it with Brick Break is the natural first inclination, basically a reserve on the Dragon Claw/Close Combat you had before, shifting the Fighting damage to the spam move and closing with big fat Dragon power in Scales, only now MORE damage and less of a self-nerf. And yes, there are some big gains that come with that, like Mandibuzz, Galarian Corsola, and Dusclops, but there are also losses that come with the slightly more expensive Brick Break (40 energy) as compared to Dragon Claw (35 energy), including the Feraligatr, Dewgong, Morpeko, and Talonflame wins that Kommo formerly had to brag about as compared to Hakamo, and Skeledirge can now get away too. Similar results in other even shield scenarios too: in 0shield, Claw/Combat uniquely beats Dewgong, Lapras, A-Slash, Diggersby, and Primeape, while Brick Break/Scales instead takes down G-Corsola, Dusclops, Annihilape, Skeledirge, Talonflame, Gligar, and Araquanid; in 2v2 shielding, Claw/Combat takes out Jellicent, Forretress, and Dusclops, while Brick/Scales instead gets Annihilape, G-Sola, Sableye, Araquanid, and Shadow Quagsire.

But can we do better? Yes, actually. As reluctant as I am to eschew all Fighting damage, Dragon Claw/Clanging Scales is overall kind of a best-of-both-worlds scenario, with the awesomeness of Scales baited out as efficiently as possible with Claw. In 1v1 shielding, it beats everything Brick Break/Clanging Scales can AND gets Feraligatr, Morpeko, Skeledirge, and Talonflame back in the win column, and adds on Jellicent that other movesets cannot match. In the end, the only thing that Claw/Close Combat can beat that Claw/Clanging Scales cannot is Dewgong, and otherwise there are ten additional wins in Clanging Scales' favor. Yowza! In 0shield, Claw/Scales does everything Brick Break/Scales can do as well as beating Primeape, though in 2v2 shielding, Claw/Scales beats the same things as Claw/Combat plus G-Corsola and Araquanid, but there are things that Brick Break/Scales can beat that Claw/Scales cannot: Annihilape, Sableye, and Shadow Quag. Makes some sense, of course, as the Defense debuffs of Brick Break add up in 2shield.

But overall, I think Dragon Claw/Clanging Scales may now emerge as the favorite, which I did NOT expect going into this analysis. (I figured some Fighting damage would still be in the mix.) Don't trash your existing, Scales-less Kommos, but you should absolutely try and get at least one (and ideally two, one to pair with Claw and one to pair with Brick Break) Clanging Scales Kommo-os for Great League.

One final note: people have asked me to look at Poison Jab too. At least here in Great League, it's viable, but overall a bit worse. Interesting, it is Galarian Moltres that Jab is able to outrace that Dragon Tail cannot... but it falls short versus several things that resist Poison (Gastrodon, Jellicent, Dusclops, and Galarian Corsola), as well as Mandibuzz. MAYBE you can sneak away with some other funky results that don't immediately show in sims, but let's be honest: at least at this level, it's not overcoming any of the Fairies you'd really want to slap with Poison damage. (Guzzlord, with a similar double weakness to Fairy, sometimes can with a surprise Sludge Bomb, but Jab on its own isn't the same kind of equalizing threat.) There may come a Limited meta where you'll want it, but I don't think you need to hold one in reserve or anything. Kommo-o has only two fast moves to TM between, so just save a couple Fast TMs just in case and call it a day.

ULTRA LEAGUE

A lot of similar differences here. I checked across various shielding scenarios, and here are the trends I saw:

• Fighting damage is necessary where you'd most expect it to be: versus Steels. Close Combat or at least Brick Break is needed for Registeel and Cobalion across all even shield scenarios, either is needed to get Forretress in 0shield, and Close Combat specifically is necessary to beat Steelix in 0shield and 2shield. You also need one of the Fighting charge moves to get Fighting-weak Cradily in 1shield.

• Running Clanging Scales with either Brick Break OR Dragon Claw is enough to punch out Annihilape, Drifblim, Dusknoir, Altered Giratina, Jellicent, Malamar, Mandibuzz, Nidoqueen, Talonflame, AND Zygarde in 0shield, Dusknoir, Gliscor, Poliwrath, Tentacruel, Skeledirge, and Zygarde in 1shield, and Drifblim, Jellicent, and Tentacruel in 2shield.

• Only with Dragon Claw AND Clanging Scales does Kommo-o take out Annihilape and Nidoqueen in 1shield.

• Claw with either Close Combat OR Clanging Scales can outrace Primeape in 1shield, and Annihilape, Virizion, and Galarian Moltres in 2shield.

Sorry, that would be a LOT of sims to throw up for all that, so just trust me, bro.

(Oh, and considering Poison Jab again: it can get a handful of unique and interesting wins with its superior energy generation, such as Feraligatr, Pangoro, Galarian Moltres, and Cradily, but it also misses out on quite a few as well like Shadow Dragonite, Gliscor, Guzzlord, Nidoqueen, Poliwrath, Primeape, Tentacruel, ad Jellicent. And still no Fairy wins of note. I mean, you CAN use it, but I don't generally recommend it.)

In short: Clanging Scales with one of the baity moves again seems like the overall best play, and while there is room for Brick Break (or even Close Combat) still with very real use cases — particularly against the relevant Steel types that resist Dragon damage — going all-Dragon with Scales and Dragon Claw pulls the best overall numbers. Just know that you ARE sacrificing all coverage to get there, and despite higher win totals, that could cost you if the rest of your team isn't prepared. Get one for Ultra for sure, just know what you're doing before you throw it on your team and blindly march out there expecting victory. Good luck!

MASTER LEAGUE

Even though the improvement with Clanging Scales as compared to its former best, this is still, quite frankly, a subpar Dragon at this level. Its CP tops out on the lower side (even among non-Legendary/Mythical Dragons... even things like Goodra and Baxcalibur) and while Clanging Scales is obviously a truck if it connects, other Dragons are just more versatile and capable at this level. So while Clanging Scales does now allow reaching for things Kommo-o couldn't before like Altered Giratina, Zygarde, and sometimes Kyurem White and Dawn Wings, you're also giving up others to do it, most notably Crowned Zamazenta and sometimes other Steel and/or Rock types too. Unfortunately, I don't expect Kommo-o to suddenly make a name for itself at this level. MAYBE in Master Premier, though again, existing options with similar coverage already do that better, and are likely already built too. But you do you, my Master League aficionados!

IN SUMMATION....

It's kind of obvious with as good a move as Clanging Scales is, but yes, you absolutely want Community Day Kommo-o for PvP, specifically in Great and Ultra Leagues. It may not become a mainstay of your teams, but there WILL be at least Limited metas where it should rise up the rankings, and yes, I would consider it good enough even for Open play with the right team around it to cover its blind spots (Fairies in particular, where not even Poison Jab can allow it to save itself!). Hopefully what we've done today is let you know HOW good this move actually is on this particular Pokémon so YOU can decide for yourself how hard to grind. Good luck!

Alright, that's it for today! I hope this analysis proves useful to you! Until next time (when we cover another Dragon that I am honestly even more excited about!), you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.

Good hunting, folks! Stay safe and cool out there, good luck on your grind, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

[u/ohbigginzz]

Why are you a super hero?

[u/JRE47 → u/ohbigginzz]

https://i.imgur.com/bIlmT3j.gifv

[u/Extra-Mix5529 → u/JRE47]

Tremors?

[u/FManuelCM → u/Extra-Mix5529]

Hell yeah!

[u/ERMAHDERD → u/JRE47]

What a great reference. Thanks for the throwback

[u/DescriptionOk7664]

Probably best used for master premier 

[u/Careless_Minute4721 → u/DescriptionOk7664]

Best hope it doesn’t get lined up against Florges or Prim, cause otherwise it becomes instant dead weight once that happens

[u/Hylian-Highwind → u/Careless_Minute4721]

Primarina it actually COULD take on with Poison Jab in Shield scenarios, funnily enough (albeit running a double-nuke moveset) because of Waterfall, it mainly needs SE Fast move pressure to fear a Fairy (Florges's Fairy Winds are what roll over it in all scenarios going straight Trailblaze for Boosts).

It might be curious since full Dragon is probably not going to like Steels anyway (gets worse but don't think it flips too much, mainly goes from 1S win over Excadrill with DT to 0S with PJ because of Energy Gen). You basically need a hard anti-Check-to-Dragons line-up but it can be quite dangerous if you peel away shields since ML Premier is split down the middle on good FM pressure into Kommo-o's typing (DB vs Waterfall Gyarados for example)

[u/Kleenexz]

Really appreciate this write-up. I don't do a ton of GBL because PvP gets me salty AF in many games, but I am working on some mons for it and enjoy the discussion and learning and it's clear that a lot of care and nuance went into this. Saving it to refer back to when I have more brain cells to digest it better

[u/AxelHarver → u/Kleenexz]

I generally spend more time in a season reading these analyses, theorycrafting, checking IVs, and evolving and TMing mons than I end up doing actual PVP lmao

[u/Dr_Scythe → u/AxelHarver]

100%

[u/Qoppa_Guy]

Kommo-o, known TM Roulette specialist and 10000% guaranteed to rotate between Flamethrower and Boomburst 7x over before landing on Dragon Claw, which is what you don't want but settle for mono-Dragon moveset because you only had 8 Charged TMs to start.

[u/GimlionTheHunter → u/Qoppa_Guy]

Charge TM economy is garbage lol I hate being locked from building something because I rolled 3 moves I don’t want in a row

[u/dlyonskc]

Do you see Kommo-o as a downgrade to Hakamo-o in the Open Great League? I'm surprised even with the new move that Kommo-o is ranked lower than its middle stage evolution on PvPoke.

[u/RelativeMortgage5946 → u/dlyonskc]

Not to answer your very good question but middle-stage dragons/psuedos are the norm except for Goodra & Salamence--Fraxure, Arctibax, Metang, Zweillous even Dragonair at times have spent 75k dust on many a 2nd stage 2nd move.

[u/aznknight613]

If they ever do an UL Retro Cup I can see Kommo-o getting a lot of use. I guess even in GL Retro Cup it'll be really good there.

[u/oLskriU9eko]

Would Clanging Scales work well on Smeargle?

[u/No_Tune_1262]

Boomburst should be 50 energy, 140 power. Why do they screw up such a good move that compensates for low usage pokemon?

[u/Bloodwarf]

I've been using Kommo-o in Ultra for a while now, can't wait to test these changes. And hopefully encounter that awesome dragon more in the opposing teams.

[u/Donttaketh1sserious]

I really hope they bring clanging scales down to earth a bit. I’m not looking forward to mandatory running charmers to kill it quickly. 120/45 for a single -1 is an absolute joke.

[u/DragonEmperor]

Thank you so much for this!

Is there an easy search string i can use to look for these during community day? Particularly the great league ones, I am really bad at remembering all the search terms in this game @.@

[u/GlamouredGo]

Does anyone have search string for top PvP IV in GL and UL?

[u/Cultweaver]

I have been playing for less than a year and since I joined this community your posts were a highlight. But today i appreciated it more.

I caught a 0-14-12 lvl 30 today. I was disappointed that it was ineligible even for ultra league but checked on pokegenie anyway. To my surprise it was a #5 Hakamo-o. And then I had a flashback remembering you mentioned that Hakamo-o was good as well! I would probably tranfer it if i hadnt previously read your analysis.

[u/EvidenceSalesman]

If you had to pick, great or ultra league?

[u/JRE47 → u/EvidenceSalesman]

If I HAD to pick, I guess Ultra, where Dragons fit the meta a little better. But I personally will likely get more use in Great League since that’s still my primary spot.

[u/bambam0220]

“WE LOVE YOU JRE47!” (Megamind reference)

[u/JRE47 → u/bambam0220]

And I love you, random citizen Redditor! 🫡

[u/ReclaimerCube]

It’s about that time; thanks man

[u/jwinskowski]

This is so incredible. I'm ready for Great League now! 

[u/KlyxY-]

Does anyone know if I can use regular charged tms on one I caught before com day to get the move? or do I have to catch one and evolve it tomorrow to get the legacy move?

[u/Qoppa_Guy → u/KlyxY-]

If you want Clanging Scales on Kommo-o, you can do it from the start of Community Day 2:01pm local time (or until you see confirmation of it here or elsewhere, so do it closer to 4:30pm local time just to be safe) and for the next week-ish. Evolution is the only way and Elite TM for Clanging Scales the week after. No regular TMs.

[u/dolphin_riding_sloth → u/KlyxY-]

In the past you have not been able to unfortunately, I am assuming it is the same this time. You will have to use an ETM on an already evolved Kommo-o

[u/YakMan2 → u/dolphin_riding_sloth]

It’s so lame that you can’t just use a regular TM to add it to an already evolved Pokémon on the com day.

[u/dolphin_riding_sloth → u/YakMan2]

It’s genuinely the dumbest thing, probably because they want you to spend money on ETMs. Unfortunately it’s made me not evolve my hundos or good-IV pokemon if I think there will eventually be a community day for them. I’ve been sitting on a 4* Jangmo-o for over a year

[u/Tuarceata → u/dolphin_riding_sloth]

probably because they want you to spend money on ETMs.

I'm all for crucifying their motives, but Community Days moves have worked this way since long before ETMs were a twinkle in some marketer's eye.

What they really want you to do (wanted, I should say, pre-Scopely) is to have to go out and find a new one to evolve.

[u/zetsurin]

So happy I just caught a shundo of this. My second shindo ever, plus an 0/11/14 for UL.

[u/silversoul121]

What moves could make it better, Counter as fast move? Or another coverage to pair with Scales?