Short Timleine of SS OU metagame (past months!):
5 Past great Pokemon:
Was a great Pokemon in the past during the Urshifu-S, Spectrier metagame and it also covered Dragapult pretty well too, however this Pokemon is declining, as people found ways to combat Dragapult and Hydreigon nowadays without being passive. Pokemon such as specially defensive Clefable, Choice Scarf Tapu Fini, Tapu Koko, and Weavile are on a rise, and aren't passive unlike Mandibuzz, which also is pretty reliant on not getting knocked because it needs its Heavy-Duty Boots to counteract to the previous mentioned threats. Also Urshifu-S and Spectriers department means, that Mandibuzz isn't needed that much on teams anymore, and even then Mandibuzz could lose to Sub + Hex + WoW + Nasty Plot Spectrier after being burned and weakened. Mandibuzz clearly lost its impact as a mandatory teammate, other ways where found without being passive and in the current metagame, that Pokemon doesn't fare that well overall.
Once a big threat to account for, even deemend banworthy at one point by a handful of users, but this Pokemon lost its placement in OU, it isn't used that much anymore, as there are too many Pokemon to counter it such as Corviknight, Dragonite, Volcarona, and Scizor, which all threaten it offensively as well. Tapu Bulus rise with great coverage in Stone Edge to hit Flying-types such as Tornadus-T and Zapdos for super effective damage does not help Rillaboom either and Rillaboom has competition in this uprising grassy star. Rillaboom can still work however, with Magnezone as a valuable partner or Kartana as a way to overwhelm their shared checks, but in any way this Pokemon had its peak as one of the top threats to prep for.
Slowbro had its great peak in SS OU, however this Pokemons viability and usage dropped off, it was once a Pokemon which people used to help against Cinderace, Zamazenta-Crowned (during the 2 weeks it got suspected), and it can still help against Garchomp, Landorus-T, Excadrill, and Hawlucha as example, but with Corviknight at an all tiem high checking all four mentioned Pokemon reliable and with the decline of Excadrill and Hawlucha, Slowbro finds itself not that much needed on teams. Other Pokemon such as Tapu Fini, Hippowdon, and Landorus-T can also take on all of them and Tapu Fini can also take on Urshifu-R currently. Slowbro had its peaks but for now, its usage isn't that high because of the aforementioned reasons.
Specially defensive Tyranitar was a great Stealth Rock setter and pick during the Spectrier metagame but has declined alot the recent weeks, if not to say months, sand teams aren't that threatening anymore since most teams have natural checks for sand based Pokemon such as Excadrill as example. Sand in itself declined a lot and therefore made Tyranitar rather unnecessary and with competition of specially defensive Hippowdon on such and similar teams, it finds itself in an awkward placement. It as a standalone breaker is also not great to fit, as with Urshifu-R, Tapu Fini, Landorus-T, and Corviknight as threats it has trouble getting past them, even with a Choice Band set.
The Sets of this Pokemon didn't only rely on abusing Sand but also it is able to check Clefable with its specially defensive support set. However, as mentioned above the team archetype Sand declined and therefore made Excadrills suage pretty low and if teams need a supporter Landorus-T, Heatran, and Hippowdon can fullfill that slot too with great assets on their own; Landorus-T has Knock Off to cripple Pokemon and can withstand a +1 Volcarona, Hippowdons SpD-Set can check Dragapult with having longevity in Slack Off, Heatran can run a wide variety of sets to annoy Pokemon such as Toxapex, Slowking, and Slowbro reliable due to Taunt and for the latter 2 Toxic.
5 Current great Pokemon:
great Pokemon with checking a great amount of Pokemon currently, worth a try, Choice Scarf gives valuable speed control and Calm Mind with Draining Kiss is also worthful. Trapping sets with Whirlpool, Taunt, and Natures Madness are amazing at breaking down passive and fat Pokemon in the long run.
Speedy Pokemon, in fact the 4th naturally fastest Pokemon among the greats, the only three which are afster than it are Zeraora, ragapult, and Tapu Koko, therefore great to run as a speed control with breaking power due to sets such as Swords Dance and Knock Off, or the lesser used Choice Band boosted Knock Off. Priority in Ice Shard is pretty great right now too, with revengekilling Pokemon such as Garchomp, Dragonite, and Dragapult reliably.
Checks a great amount of special wallbreakers currently: Clefable, Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tornadus-T, and Nidoking just to name a few. With Future Sight to force progress and great coverage options depending on your teams needs it shot up as a top tier Pokemon.
Great Pokemon with a decent Speed tier and U-turn packed with Surging Strikes, Close Combat and Aqua Jet makes it one of the best physical wallbreakers at the moment. It can even run Thunder Punch to annoy its switch-ins such as Tapu Fini and Toxapex. Aqua Jet is also a great tool to revengekill bulky Volcarona after a little chip-damage, which is pretty valuable.
Checks a great amount of Pokemon currently, be it Rillaboom, Kartana, Scizor, Heatran, and Urshifu-R it is a great pick with the defensive Dragon Dance set or the supporting set on teams. heal bell is also a great tool to help out its teammates on bulkier teams Dragonite find itself on.
Honorable mentions as current great Pokemon:
5 Pokemon and/or Sets to try out:
Tapu Bulu @ Life Orb
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
Dragapult @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Darts
- Phantom Force
- Fire Blast
Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunderbolt
Tapu Lele @ Leftovers
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Thunderbolt
Melmetal @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Acid Armor
- Body Press
- Double Iron Bash
- Ice Punch / Thunder Punch
These are 5 Pokemon / Sets I thought could be worth a try. Obviously Tapu Bulu is in here, as it gained a lot of attraction recently and should not be dismissed at all. Other Pokemon include some Honorable mentions such as Tapu Lele with its Calm Mind set.
Honorable mentions:
as a Spikes stacker with Knock Off and Night Sahde to offset the opposition.
The Iron Defense, Body Press, and Thunderbolt work well together, also Choice Specs is a set worth to try out even with Teleport.
gives momentum due to U-turn, having a good Speed tier in 100 and great coverages and fitting well alongside teammates such as Tapu Koko to increase the Bolt Strike damage output.
Calm Mind sets should be tried out, they are pretty good to overwhelm its checks in Landorus-T and Galarian Slowking, can reliably setup on Pokemon such as Corviknight.
Choice Specs + Trick is a recommandable set to try out.
Conclusion / Closing Words:
I hope you had fun reading it and I hope it helped you to gain some knowledge about the timeline of the SS OU Metagame the recent passing months moreover I hope it helped everyone to gain some knowledge about why some Pokemon dropped / declined in their usage and viability and I hope you'll have a great day!
Thank you for reading! ^.^