Fairies in OU

Introduction

The Fairy typing was one of the most important changes to occur in Generation VI. While there is only a small pool of them available across all tiers, OU in particular has seen more than its share of viable Fairies added to the fray. From OU's premier glue in Clefable to one of the most threatening stallbreakers in existence in Mega Gardevoir, Fairies are everywhere and will most likely be around for the the foreseeable future, and it's not hard to see why. A coveted Dragon immunity, resistances to Fighting, Bug, and Dark, and two weaknesses in Poison and Steel, which are offensively poor otherwise, are about everything a typing needs to be considered among the best in the game. This article will take a look at some of the most prominent Fairies in the current ORAS OU metagame, starting with the two newcomers to the fray in ORAS.

The Mid-Gen Additions

Mega Altaria

Mega Altaria exemplifies the versatility of the Fairy typing. With eight very good resistances or immunities to Dark, Fighting, Bug, Dragon, Grass, Electric, Water, and Fire, Mega Altaria can serve as a glue on many different teams, from offensive builds to defensive builds. Mega Altaria also has a lot of versatility thanks to its base stats. With base 75 HP, base 110 Defense, and base 105 Special Defense, Mega Altaria also has well-rounded bulk to support its typing. With base 110 Attack and Special Attack, in addition to Pixilate to boost Return and Hyper Voice, Altaria can effectively attack both physically and specially. Mega Altaria also has access to effective coverage moves in Fire Blast and Earthquake, the combination of which allows it to beat common Fairy checks such as Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Heatran. All those factors allow Mega Altaria to run a strong Dragon Dance set, as well as special sets that can beat common answers to the Dragon Dance set. In addition, Mega Altaria is one of the few Dragon Dance users that can run either a fully offensive spread for maximum damage output or a defensive set that aims to also have some bulk. Mega Altaria also has an extensive support movepool, giving it utility options such Heal Bell, Perish Song, and Roost to eliminate certain checks. Heal Bell, for example, allows Mega Altaria to take the role of a supporter rather than a sweeper.

Mega Diancie

Diancie has the unique distinction of being the only Gen VI Pokémon to have received a Mega Evolution. Mega Diancie receives Magic Bounce and also boasts a 700 BST, including a base 110 Speed stat. This enables Mega Diancie to be effective against a wide variety of team archtypes, without truly excelling at beating one playstyle. Magic Bounce alone enables it to pivot in on such as Stealth Rock and Toxic. Mega Diancie also has versatility in its sets, as it only needs Diamond Storm, Moonblast, and either Earth Power or Hidden Power Fire to be effective. This is especially important to note, as the combination of Diamond Storm and Earth Power can effectively eliminate several common Fairy checks such as specially defensive Talonflame and Heatran. Mega Diancie's final moveslot dictates how the set functions. Protect is the standard option and allows Diancie to safely Mega Evolve, which can be difficult due its low base 50 Speed before Mega Evolving. Rock Polish sets can clean offensive teams effectively, and both all-out attacking and Calm Mind sets can break down defensive cores. An all-out attacking set that uses both Earth Power and Hidden Power Fire can eliminate every Steel-type answer to Mega Diancie. Mega Diancie has some differences compared to other OU Fairies. Namely, its defensive typing is lackluster due to its Fighting neutrality and weaknesses to Ground and Water. In addition, the lack of Speed before Mega Evolving can hurt, especially if it's not using Protect.

The Rest

Azumarill

Azumarill's Fairy typing has catapulted it to OU dominance. Fairy-type STAB moves pair absurdly well with Water-type STAB moves, making Azumarill one of the tier's top wallbreakers. Azumarill can also mitigate its less-than-fantastic Speed stat through use of Huge Power-boosted Aqua Jet. Azumarill runs three main sets. The first is the Choice Band set, which does huge damage right away without any need to boost. The second set is a Belly Drum sweeper, which is capable of sweeping easily thanks to the good neutral coverage of Play Rough and Knock Off, as well as STAB priority in the form of Aqua Jet. The third set, an Assault Vest set, has declined in relevance recently but can still act as a capable pivot thanks to Azumarill's natural bulk and strong defensive typing. Azumarill also has access to Knock Off and Superpower as coverage moves, which enable it to eliminate certain would-be checks, such as Ferrothorn. Knock Off backed by Huge Power can also be an annoyance, as even Pokémon that resist Dark will hate to lose their item. Defensively, Azumarill is also more than capable of holding its own. Water / Fairy is a great defensive typing in terms of resistances, allowing Azumarill to check dangerous offensive threats like Mega Charizard X and Mega Gyarados. Azumarill's defensive typing is further supported by its 100 / 80 / 80 bulk, which is very good for a wallbreaker.

Clefable

Clefable is arguably the most common Fairy in OU at the moment. Thanks to Calm Mind and Magic Guard, Clefable can act as an impressive setup sweeper. Magic Guard is particularly valuable, as it prevents Clefable from getting worn down from the likes of Stealth Rock and Toxic. Calm Mind Clefable also boasts insane versatility, as it only needs Moonblast, Calm Mind, and Soft-Boiled to do its job. Its last slot affords it several luxurious choices from Clefable's vast movepool. Fire Blast and Thunder Wave are among the most common ones, but there are more niche options available such as Focus Blast, Stored Power, and Ice Beam. Clefable can also use Unaware to serve as a stop to opposing setup sweepers, which also makes it one of the few potential answers to Tail Glow Manaphy. Unaware Clefable can also use Calm Mind to win Calm Mind wars, although this gives it a vulnerability to Toxic and other forms of passive damage. Clefable's bulk and typing make it a valuable check to several dangerous threats, such as mixed Thundurus, Latios, and Dragonite. Clefable does have its disadvantages, however. Its low natural bulk hurts it in certain situations, and it has to be in near-perfect condition to tackle most of the threats it is supposed to beat.

Mega Gardevoir

Mega Gardevoir is an immensely powerful wallbreaker in the current OU metagame, primarily thanks to the combination of Pixilate, Hyper Voice, and its base 165 Special Attack. STAB Psyshock allows it to hit special walls such as Chansey and, for super effective damage, Mega Venusaur . Focus Blast is often used as a third coverage move, hitting common Fairy checks such as Ferrothorn and Heatran super effectively. Fairy / Psychic / Fighting coverage is nearly unresisted in OU, only being held up by obscure threats such as Doublade. Needing only three moves in the post-Aegislash metagame to be effective, Mega Gardevoir has many options to eliminate certain checks that it can use in its fourth moveslot. Will-O-Wisp can cripple Mega Scizor, Taunt allows it to beat Chansey one-on-one, and Calm Mind makes it less reliant on prediction overall. Mega Gardevoir's base 100 Speed tier doesn't hurt either, allowing it to outspeed virtually every bulky Pokémon in the metagame. Mega Gardevoir also has a defensive set that can also double as a Wish passer, although that set does not see much use outside of semi-stall or defensive balance teams.

Klefki

Klefki holds an interesting place in the OU metagame. Contrary to most of the members of this list, Klefki does not use Fairy-type STAB attacks much at all. Klefki does use its Fairy typing for occasional defensive benefits, though, such as resisting Weavile's STAB moves. The true value of Klefki is as an offensive supporter, and there are two main aspects it contributes to a team. First, it is the only Spiker in the tier that can fit on hyper offense teams. This leads to very effective Spikes-stacking offensive teams. The second aspect is its priority Thunder Wave, used to effectively stop setup sweepers like Mega Charizard X and Mega Altaria, which would otherwise be tough for offensive teams to handle. Priority Thunder Wave could also be used to cripple Mega Alakazam, Mega Lopunny, and other fast Mega Evolutions in a pinch. Klefki has several interesting options outside of its main moves. A dual screens set is capable of paving the way for other sweepers on a team. Toxic can be used alongside Thunder Wave in order to add chip damage to switch-ins immune to Thunder Wave, such as Hippowdon and Garchomp. A set of Magnet Rise and Air Balloon can also be used to turn Ground-type answers such as Landorus-T and Garchomp into Spikes bait.

Togekiss

Togekiss has gained quite a bit from its Fairy typing even though it does not use Fairy-type STAB attacks as often as the other OU Fairies. Togekiss's niche in the OU metagame comes from its access to Nasty Plot. With the combination of Nasty Plot and Air Slash, Togekiss can threaten a wide variety of defensive cores. Coverage options such as Aura Sphere, Dazzling Gleam, and Fire Blast can help Togekiss damage some of its common checks, especially after a Nasty Plot boost. A set utilizing Roost, Air Slash, Heal Bell, and Nasty Plot can also break stall well. This is because the combination of Roost and Nasty Plot can all but eliminate the passive means of damage that stall teams rely on to wear down opposing teams, such as Stealth Rock and Toxic. Togekiss can also try out more defensive EV spreads, as its combination of high bulk and a great new defensive typing is strong. For example, a Togekiss set that invests some EVs in Defense and uses a Bold nature can check Mega Lopunny and Latios. Togekiss also has several niche options to consider, such as Defog to remove entry hazards and Thunder Wave to cripple some common checks.

Conclusion

No one quite saw Fairy-types coming or could have even begun to predict their impact on the metagame as a whole. There aren't many Fairies to choose from now, but at the same time, a large number of them have already made their impact in OU. There are surely more Fairy-types to come down the pipeline in the future, but there is an exciting bunch here to play around with in the present.

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