Introduction to National Dex Monotype

Offense

Offense teams follow the concept of "offense is the best defense" and are built around, obviously, Pokémon that can hit hard and fast. Their objective is fairly simple: plow the opposition with swift, brute attacks. While the archetype's ability to take hits may be lacking to a noticeable degree, these teams are very capable of keeping the pressure on and the momentum in their favor to get the upper hand in a match. To patch their shortcomings and create better synergy, offense teams rely heavily on properly supporting an offensive core through a variety of ways, which include entry hazard stacking, dual screens, and weather. As such, types like Dark, Fairy, Ground, Psychic, and Water run offensive playstyles to great success in National Dex Monotype.

Dark

Praised as one of the best types in SM Monotype due to its well-known balance build, Dark is once again a featured type in National Dex Monotype, this time with a more aggressive approach. Being a good offensive type, Dark always had powerful options to choose from but lacked ones that could compress supportive roles to facilitate an offensive playstyle. With the generational transition, however, that is no longer the case; Grimmsnarl's coveted Prankster-boosted dual screens and a typing that grants valuable neutralities to Fighting and Bug allow these functions to be fulfilled within a single slot, meaning Dark teams can finally field its full offensive strength in a more reliable fashion. Along with it, Krookodile completes these squads' foundation by setting Stealth Rock and granting an Electric immunity. One of the most threatening sweepers the type has to offer, Dragon Dance Mega Tyranitar is the main user of that team support, being able to easily set up due to its colossal defenses when behind screens and wreak havoc against most types, especially Fairy, Poison, and Flying. To aid in Mega Tyranitar's sweep, wallbreakers like Greninja, Zarude, and Hydreigon are excellent teammates. Greninja can run a variety of sets, depending on which matchups it wants to excel in. Some good ones include an all-out attacker with Expert Belt or Z-Move that weakens Water's and Flying's defensive cores with the combination of Grass Knot, Hidden Power Electric, and Ice Beam or a more orthodox revenge killer with Choice Scarf. The two mentioned sets also run Spikes to stack hazards for its teammates. Zarude's Grass typing and solid offenses make it a blessing for Dark as well, as it resists Water-type attacks, threatens opposing Water-types, and is able to break through Pokémon like Clefable and Toxapex with the help of Bulk Up and Grassium Z. Similarly, Hydreigon's newfound access to Nasty Plot allows it to overpower defensive threats and cores. Other good team options that synergize well with the archetype include Weavile, which further targets Flying, Ground, and Dragon, and Bisharp, which punishes opposing Defoggers that try to remove Dark's screens and entry hazards. All in all, Dark is the prime example of how National Dex Monotype's unique rules redefined a type while keeping its very competitive status in the metagame.

Sample Team

Replays

• Dark vs. Grass
• Dark vs. Fairy
• Dark vs. Ground

Fairy

Blessed with all the tools to thrive with a hyper offense playstyle, Fairy is, without a doubt, one of the best types in National Dex Monotype. Klefki is Fairy's cornerstone; it provides Prankster-boosted dual screens support, has Spikes, and can run utility moves like Foul Play to check threats such as Mega Scizor and Excadrill and Thunder Wave to cripple fast Pokémon like Mega Aerodactyl and Deoxys-S. Alongside it, and just as amazing, Mega Diancie is a powerful mixed wallbreaker that is able to take on different types thanks to its wide coverage. It heavily dents Poison with Psychic and Diamond Storm, Flying if it uses Hidden Power Ice, and can even leave its mark against Steel if it runs Mystical Fire and Earth Power. Fairy can successfully utilize three of the four island deities: Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, and Tapu Bulu, each of which tackles different matchups. Tapu Lele checks Poison-types and is super customizable, being able to run Choice Scarf, Choice Specs, and Calm Mind sets effectively, with the latter one providing even more versatility through its Z-Move. Fightinium Z and Focus Blast allows it to decimate Heatran, while Ghostium Z and Shadow Ball does the same to Aegislash. Tapu Koko can take on popular types like Water and Flying with its coverage moves. Tapu Bulu is a powerful physical wallbreaker that has the ability to take down annoying defensive Pokémon like Toxapex and Blissey with its sheer power and excellent coverage moves. Fairy teams also have many other strong resources at their disposal such as Azumarill, Mimikyu, Clefable, and Togekiss. Azumarill is a fantastic Belly Drum sweeper that cleans most types late-game with the help of dual screens and is Fairy's best Pokémon against Steel. In the same vein, Mimikyu's Ghost-type coverage turns it into a fantastic asset against Psychic teams. Stealth Rock Clefable's great bulk gives it a niche as an entry hazard setter, while Togekiss specifically helps in the Grass matchup, which is otherwise a terrible one for Fairy. Despite being known as a very linear type, Fairy has just what it needs to succeed in the tier, and, as such, is always a solid pick.

Sample Team

Replays

• Fairy vs. Flying
• Fairy vs. Water
• Fairy vs. Psychic

Ground

A type that has been the textbook definition of straightforward offense throughout the generations, Ground shows up yet again as a force to be reckoned, this time in National Dex Monotype. Despite not being gifted with any new viable Pokémon from the newest entries, Ground's tried-and-true offensive combinations only got boosted with the newer movepool additions and, as such, are regarded as some of the most successful in the metagame. Ground teams are usually centered around sand, with the Hippowdon + Excadrill core being a menace against various popular types like Fairy, Psychic, and Dragon. Hippowdon sets Stealth Rock and provides sand support for Sand Rush Excadrill to work as a hard and fast hitter, whether it be with Choice Band or Swords Dance + Z-Move. Alongside them, wallbreakers like Landorus formes, Mega Garchomp, Nidoking, and Mamoswine serve as incredible teammates, amplifying Ground's capabilities to bypass common defensive cores in National Dex Monotype and succeed in most matchups. Sheer Force Landorus is of great help against physical walls like Porygon2 and Mega Venusaur, which can otherwise give Ground trouble Swords Dance Landorus-T can similarly pressure these bulky Pokémon while crippling opposing physical attackers with Intimidate. Both Landorus formes offer Gravity support for the team, allowing powerful STAB Earthquake and Earth Power to be fired freely. Mega Garchomp is an excellent offensive asset as well, be it as a mixed attacker or as a sweeper with Swords Dance and Scale Shot. Nidoking's wide coverage is very helpful for Ground teams, threatening problematic defensive Pokémon like Mantine, Ferrothorn, and Gliscor. Finally, Mamoswine's powerful Ice-type coverage and Thick Fat make it another valuable team member, giving Ground an edge against the ever-so-common Flying and providing an Ice resistance. To complete the team, either Gastrodon or Seismitoad serves as a Water immunity. The former doubles as a mixed wall, forming a defensive backbone alongside Hippowdon, while the latter is better at threatening Water-types offensively. With that in mind, it's not hard to see how Ground is one of the simpler types to use, yet it is still very effective at what it does best.

Sample Team

Replays

• Ground vs. Psychic
• Ground vs. Grass
• Ground vs. Dark

Psychic

With a ton of different Pokémon to choose from, Psychic is one of the most versatile types in National Dex Monotype, easily circumventing most matchups because of its various team composition possibilities. Usually, a Psychic team is built around a Mega Evolution of choice; Mega Gallade and Mega Latias are the most popular ones due to their ability to take on most viable types. Mega Gallade is great against Steel, Dark, and Dragon, while Mega Latias deals with Flying, Water, and Electric . To help them, Victini and Tapu Lele are pretty much on every Psychic team due to their immense wallbreaking prowess. Victini usually runs a Choice Band set that is able to decimate most walls in the metagame with V-create, while Tapu Lele ruins a multitude of defensive threats such as Aegislash and Celesteela with Calm Mind and a Z-Move of choice. Tapu Lele's Psychic Surge also greatly benefit Psychic teams, allowing them to check two dangerous threats in Bisharp and Mimikyu. It can run a variety of sets too; Choice Specs 2HKOes most Pokémon in the metagame, while Choice Scarf is a dangerous revenge killer that greatly improves the Dark matchup. If it prefers to not Mega Evolve, Latias is able to use a Choice Scarf set that revenge kills threats such as Choice Scarf Blacephalon and Tapu Koko while providing utility with Healing Wish and Defog. Further supporting Psychic's arsenal are Jirachi and Slowbro, common defensive pivots on Psychic teams. Jirachi's Steel typing gives it a handful of useful resistances, and it has Stealth Rock to weaken foes and U-turn to generate momentum for the team. Slowbro works as a physical wall and an excellent defensive pivot, threatening Dark-types like Weavile and Mega Sharpedo with Body Press and Colbur Berry. It doesn't stop there! Psychic has a lot more options to choose from than the ones mentioned, such as Deoxys-S to get an upper hand against Water and Flying, Mew as a great stallbreaker with Taunt or wallbreaker with Mewnium Z, Celebi as a bulky Nasty Plot sweeper, and others. In conclusion, Psychic teams have plenty of tools that help them stand out against pretty much any type, allowing them to feature among the most dominant builds in the metagame.

Sample Team

Replays

• Psychic vs. Water
• Psychic vs. Flying
• Psychic vs. Normal

Water

Water teams, akin to Psychic and Flying, are able to choose between a myriad of viable Pokémon and, thus, are insanely customizable. They are afforded the luxury of using multiple playstyles like rain offense and balance, and it is the only type in the tier that can successfully pull off stall. That being said, rain offense is usually the most consistent out of them and is the one we'll go into detail here. This archetype's centerpiece is obviously Pelipper, which sets up rain with Drizzle. With the introduction of Heavy-Duty Boots, it is also a defensive pivot that can reliably remove entry hazards with Defog and provide safe switches with U-turn. To take advantage of rain, Mega Swampert is a no-brainer, as it is the premier Swift Swim user thanks to its helpful Ground typing, good bulk, and Flip Turn, which takes advantage of the switches it forces. Wallbreakers like Greninja, Manaphy, Urshifu-R, and Keldeo are great teammates to keep the current flowing against the opposition. A Water staple, Greninja can carry different movesets tailored to take on virtually any matchup; this versatility is further supported by Protean. Manaphy's combination of Tail Glow, Rest, and Hydration makes it a very powerful asset against bulkier teams like Dark, Flying, and Poison, effectively threatening their defensive cores. Urshifu-R and Keldeo are strong Fighting-types that can take on the ever-annoying Ferrothorn while softening the task of dealing with Normal and Steel. Following them are Water's common defensive pivots, like Slowking, Toxapex, and Empoleon, which help against key threats and provide support of their own. Slowking shrugs off most neutral special attacks, pivots out with Teleport, and sets up Future Sight, while Toxapex's excellent overall bulk and neutrality to Grass allows it to stop setup sweepers with Haze and check the likes of Tapu Bulu and Rillaboom. Empoleon's Steel typing enables it to beat a big threat to Water teams in Kyurem, and it having Stealth Rock frees a moveslot on Mega Swampert. As the type with the most amount of species in the Pokédex, Water definitely has room for much more, but that's something you should explore and discover for yourself. All things considered, the vast world of possibilities Water has takes it into a league of its own in terms of versatility and naturally makes it a type everyone should be worried about regardless of what it is running.

Sample Team

Replays

• Water vs. Steel
• Water vs. Dragon
• Water vs. Psychic