Battle Spot Special Season 1 Report Part 2: The Regular Pokémon Crash The Party!

Alolan Ninetales

Typing: /

Ability: Snow Cloak / Snow Warning

Stats: 73 HP / 67 Attack / 75 Def / 81 SpA / 100 SpD / 109 Spe

Sample Set

Aurora Veil Setter

Ninetales-Alola

Ability: Snow Warning

EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Aurora Veil

- Blizzard

- Encore

- Moonblast / Freeze-Dry

What's the big deal?

Alolan Ninetales's stats may be rather unimpressive, but in a metagame full of Lunala, Alolan Ninetales becomes a very dangerous support Pokémon thanks to Aurora Veil. Hail is better in this metagame than usual, since breaking Shadow Shield with hail makes Lunala have a hard time against Alolan Ninetales.

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Aurora Veil: This is the big reason to use Alolan Ninetales. Setting up Aurora Veil is almost like giving your Lunala a five-turn Shadow Shield, all while ruining your opponent's Shadow Shield as well.
• Blizzard: Blizzard is Alolan Ninetales's most powerful attack, letting it OHKO Garchomp.
• Encore: Encore ensures that Pokémon like Lunala won't be able to set up for free.
• Moonblast: This is Alolan Ninetales's best bet againt Dark-types, OHKOing Greninja and Hydreigon and having a 62% shot at OHKOing Weavile.
• Freeze-Dry: While Freeze-Dry is unable to OHKO Greninja, it does OHKO Gyarados, which Alolan Ninetales otherwise can't even 2HKO.

Other Details

Alolan Ninetales should always max out its Speed, since outspeeding Garchomp is very important. Since it isn't that bulky, maxing Special Attack is a good idea too, since it lets Alolan Ninetales OHKO important threats such as Garchomp and Ash-Greninja.

What are its flaws?

Alolan Ninetales may be a great support Pokémon, but it doesn't do very well on its own. It's Special Attack is too low for it to hit bulkier Pokémon such as Lunala very hard, and its poor coverage makes it easy to wall as well.

• Bulky Steel-types: Solgaleo, Magearna, Aegislash, and Scizor have no problems against Alolan Ninetales and will easily OHKO if they are carrying a Steel-type STAB attack. Celesteela takes quite a bit of damage from Blizzard, but it still isn't 2HKOed either.
• Brick Break Users: Although not particularly common, any use of Brick Break will destroy Aurora Veil provided that it isn't blocked by a Ghost-type. This is a hard move to nail down due to its wide distribution, but a common user of it is Alolan Muk.

Garchomp

Typing: /

Ability: Sand Veil / Rough Skin

Stats: 108 HP / 130 Attack / 95 Defense / 80 Special Attack / 85 Special Defense / 102 Speed

Sample Set

Swords Dance

Garchomp

Ability: Rough Skin

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Swords Dance

- Earthquake

- Outrage / Dragon Claw

- Crunch

What's the big deal?

The mascot of Battle Spot Singles always seems to find a way to succeed. Even with all the Ubers running around, Garchomp still may be the most dangerous physical attacker you'll face, thanks to its high Attack and Speed.

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Swords Dance: Garchomp will need this so it can sweep through Pokémon such as Lunala and Zygarde-C.
• Earthquake: Earthquake is the STAB move of choice for Garchomp, dealing massive damage to Magearna and Solgaleo, and OHKOing Alolan Muk.
• Outrage: This is Garchomp's most powerful STAB attack, having a small shot of OHKOing offensive Zygarde before Power Construct activates, but it comes at the cost of locking Garchomp in. This is especially problematic given the large number of Fairy- and Steel-types in this metagame.
• Dragon Claw: Dragon Claw is the more reliable Dragon-type STAB move, being able to OHKO regular Zygarde after a Swords Dance. However, it is relatively weak otherwise.
• Crunch: Crunch allows Garchomp to 2HKO Lunala even when Shadow Shield is up.
• Poison Jab: While giving up Crunch is a hard sell due to the prominence of Lunala, it is a reasonable option if your team is extremely weak to Tapu Bulu, which normally defeats Garchomp with ease.
• Fire Fang: Fire Fang is very weak because items are banned, but its Garchomp's only hope of getting past physically defensive Celesteela.

Other Details

Garchomp must run maximum Speed, since outspeeding the likes of Lunala and Solgaleo is very important for its success!

What are its flaws?

Garchomp's 4x Ice weakness is its Achilles heel, making it much easier to KO with the lack of Focus Sash in this metagame. The large number of Fairy- and Steel-types also makes using Outrage a risky proposition.

• Tapu Bulu: Any Garchomp that lacks Poison Jab or Fire Fang is totally walled by Tapu Bulu. To make matters worse, Grassy Terrain halves Earthquake's power.
• Celesteela and Skarmory: Physically defensive Celesteela usually wins against Garchomp that lack Fire Fang thanks to its typing and Leech Seed. Skarmory also works well, though it's much less common.
• Lunala: Lunala make take massive damage from Crunch, but variants that have Ice Beam can revenge kill unboosted Garchomp as long as Shadow Shield is in play.
• Faster Pokémon with Ice-type attacks: While they can't switch in, Pokémon such as Pheromosa, Ash-Greninja, and Weavile do a great job of revenge killing Garchomp with Ice-type attacks.

Celesteela

Typing: /

Ability: Beast Boost

Stats: 97 HP / 101 Attack / 103 Defense / 107 Special Attack / 101 Special Defense / 61 Speed

Sample Set

Leech Seed

Celesteela

Ability: Beast Boost

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

Sassy / Relaxed Nature

- Leech Seed

- Protect

- Heavy Slam

- Flamethrower / Substitute / Acrobatics / Brutal Swing

What's the big deal?

Celesteela is one of the best defensive Pokémon of the format, being able to wall several prominent threats such as Garchomp and Tapu Bulu.

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Leech Seed: This is the move that makes Celesteela a major threat, making it much more difficult to take down.
• Protect: With Protect, Celesteela gains even more healing with Leech Seed in effect. This is also good for scouting movesets of certain unpredictable Pokémon such as Garchomp.
• Heavy Slam: Despite a lack of offensive investment, Heavy Slam is a fairly powerful move due to Celesteela's absurd weight, letting it 3HKO Garchomp for example. This also ensures that Alolan Ninetales will have to sacrifice itself to set up Aurora Veil against Celesteela.
• Flamethrower: Flamethrower lets Celesteela hit opposing Celesteela for decent damage and deal good chip damage to Solgaleo and Magearna.
• Substitute: If you are okay with relying on Leech Seed to handle Steel-types, you can use Substitute to make Celesteela more difficult to break through.
• Acrobatics: While Heavy Slam hits most Pokémon harder, Acrobatics is notable for 2HKOing Ash-Greninja, making specially defensive Celesteela a viable check to it, since Hydro Pump does not 2HKO before Battle Bond activates.
• Brutal Swing: Brutal Swing is a very weak attack, but it just barely 2HKOes Lunala once Shadow Shield is down, making it a reasonable move to consider on specially defensive Celesteela.
• Earthquake: If you are especially frightened about the rare Magnezone, you can run Earthquake to deter it. It will also do more damage to Alolan Muk than Heavy Slam.

Other Details

Celesteela has a ton of different natures it can run, but running physically defensive natures like Impish and Relaxed or specially defensive natures such as Careful and Sassy is usually your best bet, since you don't want to weaken Heavy Slam. Specially defensive is notable for avoiding a 2HKO from unboosted Lunala's Moongeist Beam, while physically defensive Celesteela are more reliable checks against Garchomp.

What are its flaws?

Celesteela's offensive presence isn't terrible, but even with its high-BP moves, it's liable to get set up on, especially if the opponent has Aurora Veil set up.

• Zygarde-C: Thousand Arrows is a big problem for Celesteela, dealing massive damage to it once the first shot grounds it. Zygarde-C also tends to use either Dragon Dance or Coil as setup moves, making Celesteela liable to let it set up a sweep.
• Lunala: While it has to watch out for the rare Brutal Swing, Lunala can set up Calm Mind freely on Celesteela, especially against physically defensive ones.
• Solgaleo: While Solgaleo hates getting Leech Seeded, variants that carry Flare Blitz can 2HKO specially defensive Celesteela even through Leech Seed recovery.
• Tapu Koko: Heavy Slam 2HKOes Tapu Koko, but it can otherwise zap it with Electric Terrain-boosted Thunderbolt.
• Mandibuzz: Access to Roost and Taunt lets Mandibuzz totally shut Celesteela down.

Tapu Koko

Typing: /

Ability: Electric Surge / Telepathy

Stats: 70 HP / 115 Attack / 85 Defense / 95 Special Attack / 75 Special Defense / 130 Speed

Sample Set

Special Attacker

Tapu Koko

Ability: Electric Surge

EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid / Naive Nature

- Thunderbolt

- Dazzling Gleam

- Volt Switch / U-turn

- Calm Mind / Toxic / Brave Bird / Nature's Madness

What's the big deal?

Tapu Koko's offenses are nowhere near the level of the strong Alolan Ubers, but don't let that fool you: its speed still makes it a good offensive Pokémon to consider in this metagame.

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Thunderbolt: Thunderbolt is Tapu Koko's STAB attack of choice, 2HKOing threats such as Magearna and Solgaleo that don't invest in Special Defense.
• Dazzling Gleam: While weak, Dazzling Gleam is Tapu Koko's only way of 2HKOing Garchomp and OHKOing Hydreigon. Note that while it does deal over 50% to Zygarde, this will activate Power Construct, meaning that Tapu Koko is unlikely to 2HKO it.
• Volt Switch and U-turn: These moves are used to scout Tapu Koko switch-ins and break Shadow Shield for teammates. Volt Switch hits the hardest, but U-turn is useful against teams that carry Garchomp or Zygarde-C.
• Calm Mind: With a Calm Mind under its feathers, Tapu Koko actually OHKOes Garchomp with Dazzling Gleam! It also allows Thunderbolt to 2HKO Lunala once Shadow Shield is broken, making Tapu Koko an effective late-game sweeper.
• Toxic: If you are especially worried about Lunala or Dragon Dance Zygarde-C switching in, you can use Toxic to cut their lifespan on the switch.
• Brave Bird: If you are especially weak to Tapu Bulu, you can use Brave Bird to 2HKO it.
• Nature's Madness: Nature's Madness chops off half the target's health, which can be useful against common Tapu Koko switch-ins such as Lunala.
• Wild Charge: Wild Charge usually isn't worth the recoil, but it can 2HKO Blissey switch-ins, which will otherwise defeat Tapu Koko.

Other Details

Since Tapu Koko focuses on special attacking, a Timid nature is usually best. If you're using Brave Bird, consider a Naive nature to do more damage to Tapu Bulu.

What are its flaws?

Tapu Koko is highly reliant on Electric Terrain to deal damage. Without it, Tapu Koko is a very weak offensive Pokémon. It's also rather frail, making it easy to revenge kill.

• Zygarde-C: Zygarde-C isn't even OHKOed by boosted Dazzling Gleam, allowing it to KO Tapu Koko with Thousand Arrows.
• Lunala: Any Tapu Koko that lacks Toxic will be easy setup bait for Lunala's Calm Mind, since Thunderbolt does not 2HKO it.
• Blissey: Except for the rare Wild Charge variants, Tapu Koko has no hope of breaking through Blissey's massive special bulk.
• Snorlax: Tapu Koko won't 2HKO Snorlax, while Snorlax can blast Tapu Koko with Return.
• Tapu Bulu: Tapu Bulu only has to worry about Brave Bird variants, avoiding a 2HKO and OHKOing back with a Grass-type STAB attack otherwise. It also changes the Terrain, meaning that even if Tapu Bulu falls to Tapu Koko, Tapu Koko will be much weaker without its boosted Electric-type attacks.
• Garchomp: Garchomp can't risk switching into Dazzling Gleam, but it's a fine revenge killer of Tapu Koko otherwise.

Tapu Bulu

Typing: /

Ability: Grassy Surge / Telepathy

Stats: 70 HP / 130 Attack / 115 Defense / 85 Special Attack / 95 Special Defense / 75 Speed

Sample Sets

Physical Attacker

Tapu Bulu

Ability: Grassy Surge

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe

Adamant Nature

- Horn Leech

- Wood Hammer

- Payback / Bulk Up / Swords Dance

- Superpower / Bulk Up / Swords Dance

Leech Seed

Tapu Bulu

Ability: Grassy Surge

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe

Adamant / Careful Nature

- Leech Seed

- Substitute

- Horn Leech / Wood Hammer

- Disable / Payback

What's the big deal?

Tapu Bulu's Grassy Surge is especially useful in this metagame. Magearna, Solgaleo, and Aegislash are dangerous Steel-types, and Grassy Terrain makes them even more difficult to check! It also helps that Tapu Bulu has a high Attack stat to take advantage of Grassy Terrain itself.

What can I expect to see?

Moves

• Horn Leech: Horn Leech has decent power under Grassy Terrain and makes Tapu Bulu even more difficult to take out due to the recovery it gets.
• Wood Hammer: Wood Hammer is extremely powerful under Grassy Terrain, with even Zygarde-C risking taking over 50% from it! It also 2HKOes Alolan Muk, a common revenge killer of Tapu Bulu.
• Payback: With Payback, Tapu Bulu 2HKOes Lunala switch-ins, even with Shadow Shield up. If Shadow Shield is down, Tapu Bulu actually OHKOes Lunala! Even when using specially defensive Tapu Bulu, Payback can 2HKO Lunala through Shadow Shield.
• Superpower: This is the best Tapu Bulu can do against Magearna and Solgaleo switch-ins. While it won't 2HKO either of them, it at least weakens them for the rest of your team. It also almost always OHKOes Hydreigon and has a 31.3% chance of OHKOing Kartana.
• Bulk Up: If you're willing to give up some coverage, Bulk Up can get Tapu Bulu some surprise KOs. In particular, +1 Tapu Bulu has an 87% chance of OHKOing Lunala through Shadow Shield with Payback (assuming Lunala goes first).
• Swords Dance: Swords Dance may seem overkill, but if used with Wood Hammer, Tapu Bulu will actually OHKO Alolan Muk after a boost!
• Leech Seed and Substitute: With these two moves together, Tapu Bulu can effectively stall out foes. This is especially useful if you Leech Seed slower Pokémon that usually check Tapu Bulu, such as Alolan Muk.
• Disable: Disable can be quite useful on Leech Seed Tapu Bulu. If you manage to have a Substitute up, Tapu Bulu can hamstring foes that normally check it such as Magearna and Celesteela.
• Nature's Madness: Nature's Madness does more damage to Celesteela than any other move, and unlike Superpower, it does not drop Tapu Bulu's Attack or Defense stat.

Other Details

Usually, Tapu Bulu should focus on pumping up its HP and Attack stats for maximum bulk and power. However, if using the Leech Seed set, you have the option of running a Careful nature with maximum HP and Special Defense. This lets Tapu Bulu avoid a 2HKO from Lunala's unboosted Moongeist Beam, letting you potentially defeat it with a combination of Leech Seed and Payback.

What are its flaws?

Tapu Bulu's coverage is pretty lackluster, lending it to getting walled by the major Steel-types of the metagame. It's also pretty slow, making it easy to revenge kill once its been weakened.

• Steel-types: Since most Steel-types in Alola aren't weak to Fighting-type attacks, they tend to do very well against Tapu Bulu. Common foes for Tapu Bulu to face include Solgaleo, Magearna, Celesteela, and Aegislash. Note that these don't like facing Disable sets if Tapu Bulu gets a Substitute up as they switch in.
• Alolan Muk: Wood Hammer threatens to 2HKO Alolan Muk, but if it switches into any other move, it will win out in the end with its Poison-type STAB attacks.
• Ice-types: While they actually won't OHKO Tapu Bulu, Weavile and Alolan Ninetales deal massive damage with their STAB Ice-type attacks. Alolan Ninetales in particular can set up Aurora Veil to avoid an OHKO from Wood Hammer.
• Kartana: Any Tapu Bulu that lacks Superpower will be vulnerable to getting 2HKOed by Kartana's Smart Strike.
• Pheromosa and Garchomp: These two have no chance of switching in safely, but they do sometimes ruin Poison Jab. Pheromosa will almost always use it, while Garchomp can be a bit more unpredictable because they often run Crunch instead.
• Nihilego: While uncommon, Nihilego effortlessly OHKOes Tapu Bulu with its Poison-type STAB moves, though it can't switch into any of its attacks.

Aegislash

Typing: /

Ability: Stance Change

Stats: 60 HP / 50 Attack / 150 Defense / 50 Special Attack / 150 Special Defense / 60 Speed

Stats (Blade forme): 60 HP / 150 Attack / 50 Defense / 150 Special Attack / 50 Special Defense / 60 Speed

Sample Sets

Mixed Attacker

Aegislash

Ability: Stance Change

EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA

IVs: 0 Spe

Quiet Nature

- Shadow Ball

- Shadow Sneak

- Sacred Sword / Flash Cannon

- King's Shield

Swords Dance

Aegislash

Ability: Stance Change

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD

IVs: 0 Spe

Brave Nature

- Swords Dance

- Shadow Sneak

- Shadow Claw / Iron Head

- Sacred Sword / Iron Head / King's Shield

What's the big deal?

You'd think Lunala would push slower Ghost-types out of the picture, but thanks to Aegislash's incredible bulk in its Shield forme, it's still a forced to be reckoned with, especially under Tapu Bulu's Grassy Terrain!

What can I expect to see?

Moves

• Shadow Ball: Aegislash's most reliable STAB attack, Shadow Ball deals massive damage to Solgaleo and will OHKO Lunala after Shadow Shield is taken out. Thankfully, neither of them can OHKO Aegislash back while it's in Shield forme.
• Shadow Sneak: Shadow Sneak is perfect for picking off Lunala and Solgaleo after Shadow Ball and dealing with weakened threats in general.
• Sacred Sword: This is Aegislash's best attack against Dark-types such as Weavile, Hydreigon, and Ash-Greninja.
• Flash Cannon: Flash Cannon offers poorer coverage, but it makes Aegislash a decent check to Tapu Bulu, and it allows Aegislash to OHKO Alolan Ninetales.
• King's Shield: With King's Shield, Aegislash goes back into its Shield forme, letting it tank powerful attacks once more.
• Swords Dance: Swords Dance turns Aegislash into a surprise late-game sweeper, notably letting Shadow Sneak OHKO Lunala after Shadow Shield is down. This also gives Aegislash a good chance of KOing Alolan Muk with Sacred Sword and Shadow Sneak.
• Shadow Claw: With Shadow Claw, boosted Aegislash will OHKO Lunala even through Shadow Shield, in addition to OHKOing. If setting up isn't on the cards, it still puts Lunala and Solgaleo into Shadow Sneak's KO range.
• Iron Head: Although it offers poorer coverage than Shadow Claw or Sacred Sword, Iron Head gives Aegislash a good shot at OHKOing Alolan Muk after a Swords Dance and also destroys Tapu Bulu and Alolan Ninetales.

Other Details

Aegislash will usually want to have 0 Speed IVs, so it has a chance of staying in Shield forme against opposing Aegislash and winning. This also lets it underspeed Alolan Muk, giving Aegislash a chance at defeating it.

What are its flaws?

With all the Dark-types trying to target Lunala, Aegislash suffers from them as well. While they aren't able to OHKO Aegislash, they can at least weaken it to the point where its easily revenge killable, especially since it can't fall back on Weakness Policy in this metagame.

• Mandibuzz: Mandibuzz is a huge problem for Aegislash, since Aegislash can't hit it very hard, while Mandibuzz can slam it with Foul Play and Roost away any damage.
• Garchomp and Zygarde-C: Aegislash has no chance of OHKOing Garchomp, leaving it free to set up Swords Dance and OHKO Aegislash with Earthquake. Zygarde won't KO Aegislash as easily, but its bulky enough to set up multiple times on it.
• Alolan Muk: Alolan Muk hates King's Shield, but its low Speed means that it otherwise can potentially hit Aegislash in its Blade forme with Crunch, which is an easy OHKO. Thanks to its Poison typing, Alolan Muk isn't weak to any of Aegislash's moves either.
• Snorlax: Although it's uncommon, specially based Aegislash won't KO Snorlax, leaving them vulnerable to being undersped and KOed.

Alolan Muk

Typing: /

Ability: Poison Touch / Gluttony / Power of Alchemy

Stats: 105 HP / 105 Attack / 75 Defense / 65 Special Attack / 100 Special Defense / 50 Speed

Sample Set

Bulky Attacker

Alolan Muk

Ability: Poison Touch

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD

Adamant / Brave Nature

- Crunch

- Shadow Sneak

- Gunk Shot / Poison Jab

- Minimize / Brick Break

What's the big deal?

With Lunala being the queen of this metagame, Alolan Muk may just be the best shot at being a challenger to the throne, thanks to it being a Dark-type that isn't weak to any of Lunala's attacks.

What can I expect to see?

Moves

• Crunch: Crunch is Alolan Muk's most reliable STAB attack and the reason why its such a big threat to Lunala in the first place.
• Shadow Sneak: Ghost-type coverage may seem redundant with Crunch, but Shadow Sneak's priority lets Alolan Muk pick off weakened Lunala before they can attack, which comes in handy late-game.
• Gunk Shot: Gunk Shot is Alolan Muk's strongest STAB attack, 2HKOing Hydreigon and at worst putting Weavile and Ash-Greninja into the KO range of Shadow Sneak.
• Poison Jab: Poison Jab is much weaker than Gunk Shot, but it's a more reliable move for smashing through Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu due to its perfect accuracy.
• Minimize: Although it's a bit risky, Minimize's +2 boost to evasion can make Alolan Muk very difficult to check.
• Brick Break: Brick Break actually does less damage to most Dark-types than Gunk Shot, but it does allow Alolan Muk to break through Alolan Ninetales's Aurora Veil, which is especially useful for making sure Lunala is checked even more effectively.

Other Moves

Alolan Muk gets access to Curse, which makes it much more difficult to KO with physical Pokémon. If you want to keep Alolan Muk healthy at all costs, you can also use Rest and Sleep Talk. Rest and Sleep Talk also ensure that Alolan Muk won't be defeated by Lunala that use Will-O-Wisp.

Other Details

Usually, you'll want an Adamant nature and maximum HP and Attack, since you need both bulk and power to defeat Lunala. However, if you want to underspeed Aegislash, a Brave nature with 0 Speed IVs can be a reasonable choice, ensuring a OHKO while it's in its blade forme. While Poison Touch isn't a fantastic ability, it's a better option than Gluttony and Power of Alchemy, which do nothing in this metagame.

What are its flaws?

Alolan Muk's physical bulk leaves something to be desired, making it fairly easy to revenge kill with Pokémon that have Earthquake. It also isn't too powerful for an offensive Pokémon, making it trivial to wall with the right Pokémon.

• Celesteela and Skarmory: Physically defensive Celesteela has nothing to fear but Curse from Alolan Muk, while specially defensive Celesteela only worries about a defense drop from Crunch. While uncommon, Skarmory comfortably walls Alolan Muk as well thanks to Roost.
• Garchomp and Zygarde-C: The best two Ground-types in the metagame are serious problems for Alolan Muk. Neither of them are 2HKOed by it, making it perfect set up fodder for Swords Dance Garchomp or Dragon Dance or Coil Zygarde-C.
• Kartana: Kartana is not 2HKOed by Crunch, meaning it can set up Swords Dance and threaten to OHKO Alolan Muk back with Sacred Sword or Smart Strike.
• Gyarados: While Gunk Shot has a 52% chance to 2HKO Gyarados, it can switch into any other move and threaten to set up Dragon Dance.

Pheromosa

Typing: /

Ability: Beast Boost

Stats: 71 HP / 137 Attack / 37 Defense / 137 Special Attack / 37 Special Defense / 151 Speed

Sample Set

Mixed Offense

Pheromosa

Ability: Beast Boost

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

Naughty / Naive Nature

- High Jump Kick

- Ice Beam

- Poison Jab

- U-turn

What's the big deal?

Boasting Deoxys-esque stats and a great offensive movepool, Pheromosa is arguably the best mixed sweeper in Alola. It also has a blazing 151 base Speed that allows it to outpace the entire unboosted metagame.

What can I expect to see?

Moves

• High Jump Kick: A ridiculously powerful STAB move that seriously hurts everything that isn't immune to it, especially after a Beast Boost. Be careful for Ghost-types that switch in, however, as these will cause Pheromosa to lose half of its health.
• Ice Beam: Ice Beam is an excellent coverage move that OHKOes Garchomp and gives Pheromosa a way to hit the Flying-types that resist its STAB attacks.
• U-turn: U-turn is great for getting Pheromosa out of unfavorable matchups and helping your team gain momentum. It also acts as a hard-hitting STAB move, but note that you're better off getting KOs with its other when possible, as U-turn forces Pheromosa to switch out and lose its Beast Boosts.
• Poison Jab: Poison Jab is Pheromosa's best way of picking off the Tapus and other Fairy-types that resist High Jump Kick.
• Lunge: Lunge can be used as a powerful physical STAB attack that doesn't force Pheromosa to switch out, but unfortunately Pheromosa can’t usually make use of the Attack drop that it causes due to its terrible bulk.

Other Details

The choice between Naughty and Naive really depends on what you want to boost with Beast Boost—Naughty lets Pheromosa boost its Attack and therefore its sweeping potential, but Naive boosts its Speed and allows you to beat other Pheromosa. You can also use a Quiver Dance set with Bug Buzz, Quiver Dance, Focus Blast, and Ice Beam, but this means that you have to rely on Focus Blast's shaky accuracy, and it can be difficult to set up because of Pheromosa's terrible bulk.

What are its flaws?

While Pheromosa's stats are a godsend offensively, they are very lackluster defensively. This means that almost anything that manages to survive a hit can simply OHKO it with a neutral attack.

• Priority: Pheromosa's subpar defenses leave it extremely vulnerable to even weak priority moves, being 3HKOed or 2HKOed by most.
• Bulky Pokémon: Almost any Pokémon that survives an attack can OHKO Pheromosa with a neutral STAB move. Fortunately, surviving at attack becomes much more difficult should Pheromosa get to +1 from Beast Boost or Quiver Dance.
• Status: A paralysis or a burn stops Pheromosa dead in its tracks—the former leaves it open to a great many more attacks from slower opponents, whereas the latter ruins the damage output of its physical attacks, allowing the foe to survive and KO in return.
• Ghost-types: Ghost-types are free to switch in on a predicted High Jump Kick, which will strip Pheromosa of 50% of its health. Lunala must watch out for U-turn or Lunge, however.
• Aegislash: Pheromosa lacks a good way to hit Aegislash, and Aegislash is able so either set up Swords Dance, lower Pheromosa's attack with King's Shield, pick it off with Shadow Sneak, or simply force it to U-turn out.
• Protect Users: Pokémon such as Celesteela can bait a High Jump Kick from Pheromosa but then use Protect in order to make it hit itself.

Hydreigon

Typing: /

Ability: Levitate

Stats: 92 HP / 102 Atk / 90 Def / 125 SpA / 90 SpD / 98 Spe

Sample Sets

Special Attacker

Hydreigon

Ability: Levitate

EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid / Modest Nature

- Dark Pulse

- Draco Meteor

- Fire Blast / Flamethrower

- U-turn / Flash Cannon

What's the big deal?

Hydreigon is a Pokémon with excellent Special Attack and a Speed tier that puts it just above some of the metagame's biggest threats—Lunala, Solgaleo, and Zygarde—which it can slam with its powerful super effective STAB moves. It also has good coverage options that grant it perfect neutral coverage.

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Dark Pulse: Hydreigon's obligatory Dark-type STAB move hits Solgaleo and Lunala like a truck, and does good damage to neutral targets. It also has a handy flinch chance that can potentially save Hydreigon from some tight situations.
• Draco Meteor: Draco Meteor nukes anything that doesn't resist it and OHKOes opposing Dragon-types.
• Fire Blast: Fire Blast offers exceptional coverage for Hydreigon, nailing the Steel-types that like to switch in and sponge a Draco Meteor. It also gives Hydreigon a way to hit Magearna, which otherwise walls it.
• Flamethrower: Flamethrower is a more accurate but less powerful option over Fire Blast.
• U-turn: U-turn allows Hydreigon to use its decent Speed stat to generate momentum and also provides a handy way of breaking Lunala's Shadow Shield.
• Flash Cannon: Flash Cannon allows Hydreigon to hit the Fairy-types that it is weak to for super effective damage. It also gives Hydreigon perfect neutral coverage against the entire meta when paired with Dark Pulse, Draco Meteor, and Fire Blast.

Other Details

Timid and Modest are both very good choices for Hydreigon—Timid allows it to outspeed all Solgaleo and Lunala, but Modest allows it to hit considerably harder. Most Solgaleo are Adamant over Jolly, so if outspeeding Lunala is not one of your priorities, then using a Modest nature would be recommended. Dragon Pulse can also be used over Draco Meteor, but the power loss is very noticeable and means that Hydreigon is unable to OHKO Zygarde.

What are its flaws?

While good enough to outspeed Solgaleo, Lunala, and Zygarde, Hydreigon's Speed still leaves a lot to be desired. This allows it to be outsped and OHKOed by the likes of Garchomp, Pheromosa, and Tapu Koko.

• Magearna: Magearna can survive any attack from Hydreigon and OHKO in return with any Fairy attack. It must be wary of switching in however, as Fire Blast or Flamethrower will 2HKO most Magearna.
• Faster Pokémon: Faster Pokémon that can hit Hydreigon for super effective damage are a big problem, as they can often OHKO it by exploiting its five weaknesses.
• Fairy-types: Fairy-types that either outspeed or can withstand a Flash Cannon will be able to OHKO Hydreigon with a STAB move.

Mandibuzz

Typing: /

Ability: Big Pecks / Overcoat / Weak Armor

Stats: 110 HP / 65 Atk / 105 Def / 55 SpA / 95 SpD / 80 Spe

Sample Sets

Specially Defensive

Mandibuzz

Ability: Overcoat

EVs: 252 HP / 244 SpD / 12 Spe

Calm Nature

- Foul Play

- Roost

- Snarl

- Taunt / Tailwind / Toxic / U-turn

Physically Defensive

Mandibuzz

Ability: Overcoat

EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 SpD

Bold Nature

- Foul Play

- Roost

- Taunt

- Toxic / Tailwind / U-turn

What's the big deal?

In a metagame dominated by powerful Psychic- and Ghost-types, a defensive Dark-type Pokémon instantly becomes a force to be reckoned with. Mandibuzz stands out in this metagame for its ability to survive attacks from the hard-hitters and either retaliate directly with Foul Play or use its support movepool to enable its allies to get set up more easily.

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Foul Play: Foul Play is Mandibuzz's best bet at dealing damage to the heavyweights of the metagame—it instantly turns Solgaleo's huge attack Attack stat against it and allows it to absolutely destroy Lunala once Shadow Shield is broken. It also allows it to dish out big damage to the other physical attackers in the metagame, such as Garchomp.
• Taunt: Taunt allows Mandibuzz to stop setup and status move users dead in their tracks. It also forces more passive defensive Pokémon to attack Mandibuzz, allowing it to stall them out with Roost + Toxic.
• Snarl: Snarl is excellent at breaking Shadow Shield and rendering Lunala incapable of 2HKOing Mandibuzz thanks to the Special Attack drop that it causes, allowing it to KO with Foul Play the next turn.
• Tailwind: Tailwind allows Mandibuzz to support its teammates even when it's not on the field by doubling their Speed for 3 turns. This can lead to many opportunities for your own Pokémon to sweep.
• Toxic: Toxic is a good choice for Mandibuzz, as it allows it to stall out weaker special attackers and defensively oriented Pokémon.
• U-turn: U-turn can be used to scout the foe's moves and also handily breaks Shadow Shield.

Other Moves

Brave Bird can be used to allow a healthy Mandibuzz to beat Pheromosa 1v1, but aside from that it offers little coverage and utility.

Other Details

A Careful or Impish nature can also be used for those who wish to use physical attacks such as Brave Bird and U-turn.

What are its flaws?

Despite being an excellent answer to powerful Pokémon such as Solgaleo, Lunala, and Aegislash, Mandibuzz's typing does leave it with several exploitable weaknesses—it is hit hard by Fairy-, Ice-, Electric-, and Rock-type attacks. The fact that moves of these types are commonly carried as coverage moves on a whole host of Pokémon can sometimes lead to Mandibuzz becoming overwhelmed. It also relies heavily on Foul Play as its main source of damage, which can leave it as a sitting duck against special attackers, especially on sets that lack Toxic.

• Magearna: By virtue of its stats and typing, Magearna completely counters Mandibuzz. All variants of Mandibuzz are 2HKOed at worst by Fleur Cannon, and Mandibuzz is unable to do anything in return due to Magearna resisting Foul Play and being immune to Toxic.
• Taunt: Taunt prevents Mandibuzz from using Roost and Toxic, allowing Pokémon such as Hydreigon that it normally checks to beat it.
• Status: Status, especially Toxic, can really impact Mandibuzz's ability to stay in for long periods of time and stall out its foes. Burn halves Foul Play's damage output, which can really limit its ability to deal with physical threats.

Weavile

Typing: /

Ability: Pressure / Pickpocket

Stats: 70 HP / 120 Atk / 65 Def / 45 SpA / 85 SpD / 125 Spe

Sample Sets

Physical Attacker

Weavile

Ability: Pressure

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Ice Shard

- Icicle Crash / Ice Punch

- Throat Chop

- Poison Jab

What's the big deal?

Weavile is a fast Pokémon with good Attack and great Speed that feels right at home in a metagame full of powerful Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokémon. It also has a useful secondary Ice typing, allowing it to also tackle Dragon-types with ease.

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Ice Shard: Ice Shard is a decently powerful priority move, thanks to the STAB and Weavile's great Attack stat. It can be helpful to pick off weakened foes that outspeed Weavile such as Pheromosa.
• Icicle Crash: Icicle Crash is a great STAB move that hits anything that doesn't resist it hard and is capable of OHKOing Zygarde. It also has a handy 30% to flinch, which while it shouldn't be relied on, can allow Weavile to beat foes that it normally wouldn't.
• Ice Punch: Ice Punch is a weaker but more accurate alternative to Icicle Crash without the flinch chance. The extra accuracy is nice because a single miss can lead to Weavile being KOed, but the loss of power is noticeable against some targets.
• Throat Chop: Throat Chop is a powerful Dark-type attack that hits Solgaleo and Lunala for huge damage, and neutral targets for decent damage. It also has a side effect of preventing the foe from using sound moves for two turns, which while uncommon, can lead to you messing up opposing Primarina's plans.
• Poison Jab: Poison Jab allows Weavile to hit the Fairy-types that can otherwise beat it for super effective damage.

Other Details

Jolly is chosen over Adamant to make full use of Weavile's excellent base Speed. Brick Break can be used over Poison Jab in order to break opposing Aurora Veil, although this leaves Weavile very weak to Alolan Nintales.

What are its flaws?

Despite its excellent Speed and Attack, Weavile is quite susceptible to opponents that can survive its attacks and take advantage of its subpar defenses.

• Magearna: Magearna can survive any attack from Weavile and OHKO in return with any of its STAB moves.
• Steel-types: Bulky Steel-types can usually survive an attack from Weavile and KO in return with a super effective STAB move.
• Priority Moves: Due to its low defenses and poor defensive typing, Weavile is especially weak to priority moves such as Mach Punch and Bullet Punch.

Incineroar

Typing: /

Ability: Blaze / Intimidate

Stats: 95 HP / 115 Atk / 90 Def / 80 SpA / 90 SpD / 60 Spe

Sample Sets

Trick Room Attacker

Incineroar

Ability: Blaze

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD

IVs: 0 Spe

Brave Nature

- Flare Blitz

- Darkest Lariat

- Cross Chop

- Will-O-Wisp / Outrage / Brick Break

Flame Charge

Incineroar

Ability: Blaze

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Flame Charge

- Darkest Lariat

- Flare Blitz

- Cross Chop

What's the big deal?

Incineroar may seem like the kind of Pokémon that would only appear on in-game teams. While not very common, Incineroar's Fire / Dark typing makes it a good offensive check to Lunala and Solgaleo. These qualities also make Incineroar a particularly good Pokémon to use with Magearna's Trick Room support.

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Flare Blitz: Flare Blitz is Incineroar's strongest STAB attack, nearly OHKOing bulky Solgaleo and smashing through Magearna.
• Darkest Lariat: Darkest Lariat is Incineroar's strongest Dark-type STAB move. While Crunch has a chance to lower Defense, Incineroar prefers Darkest Lariat due to the fast pace of this metagame and the rare chance that Lunala may run Cosmic Power.
• Cross Chop: Cross Chop lets Incineroar OHKO Ash-Greninja and deal massive damage to Hydreigon.
• Will-O-Wisp: Will-O-Wisp is decent filler on the Trick Room attacker, punishing Garchomp and Dragon Dance Zygarde-C switch-ins in particular.
• Outrage: Outrage's only purpose is to hit Garchomp and Zygarde-C hard. It won't OHKO either of them, but it can come in handy late-game when Incineroar is trying to sweep a team under Trick Room.
• Brick Break: Brick Break's only purpose is to break Aurora Veil, which works well on Incineroar, since Alolan Ninetales has no chance of breaking through it.
• Flame Charge: Flame Charge sets tend to be more niche on Incineroar than Trick Room attacking, but Incineroar is just fast enough to outspeed Alolan Ninetales and Kartana after a Speed boost, making it a surprise cleaner once super fast Pokémon such as Tapu Koko and Ash-Greninja are cleared out.

Other Details

Most Incineroar will want a Brave Nature and 0 Speed IVs, since it works best under Trick Room and Incineroar has fairly usable bulk. For example, Solgaleo is unable to OHKO maximum HP Incineroar with Earthquake. However, if using the niche Flame Charge set, it's best to go with a Jolly nature so Incineroar outspeeds Kartana and Alolan Ninetales.

What are its flaws?

Most Incineroar heavily rely on Magearna's Trick Room support to sweep. If Magearna is taken out early, Incineroar's low Speed stat can make it much easier to revenge kill than you'd think.

• Garchomp and Zygarde-C: These two hit Incineroar hard with their STAB Ground-type attacks. Garchomp has to watch out for Outrage when it's weakened, but Incineroar has no chance against Coil Zygarde-C in particular.
• Gyarados: Gyarados only fears Will-O-Wisp, being able to comfortably set up on Incineroar otherwise thanks to Intimidate and a resistance to Flare Blitz.
• Mandibuzz: Even though Flare Blitz can actually do over 50% to Mandibuzz, access to Roost and Flare Blitz's recoil damage will usually allow Mandibuzz to come out on top.
• Pheromosa: It can't switch into Incineroar safely at all, but Pheromosa's Fighting-type STAB moves allow it to revenge kill Incineroar as long as Trick Room isn't up.
• Alomomola: Although it's very rare, Alomomola totally walls Incineroar due to its massive physical bulk.

Kartana

Typing: /

Ability: Beast Boost

Stats: 59 HP / 181 Atk / 131 Def / 59 SpA / 31 SpD / 109 Spe

Sample Sets

Swords Dance

Kartana

Ability: Beast Boost

4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Swords Dance

- Leaf Blade

- Night Slash

- Sacred Sword

What's the big deal?

While a lot of the top Alolan Ubers tend to deal with Kartana well, Kartana's decent physical bulk gives it chances to set up Swords Dance on prominent Pokémon, making it a very threatening late-game sweeper thanks to Beast Boost.

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Swords Dance: Swords Dance makes Kartana a threatening sweeper. While its Special Defense is useless, Kartana can set up on several physical threats, such as Alolan Muk, Gyarados, Weavile, and Garchomp that lack a Fire-type attack.
• Leaf Blade: Leaf Blade is Kartana's most powerful attack, being able to OHKO Garchomp after a Swords Dance.
• Night Slash: Night Slash may not be very powerful, but it's an extremely important coverage move. With a Swords Dance boost, it actually OHKOes Lunala through Shadow Shield! It also does massive damage to Solgaleo after a Swords Dance boost.
• Sacred Sword: Sacred Sword is Kartana's best move against certain Dark-types such as Hydreigon and Incineroar. After a Beast Boost, it also OHKOes Blissey, which is important because Flamethrower variants easily OHKO Kartana.
• Smart Strike: Smart Strike offers worse coverage than Sacred Sword, but if you're willing to flip a coin, it can be used to OHKO Alolan Ninetales if you win the Speed tie.

Other Details

Kartana needs a Jolly Nature so it can at least Speed tie with Alolan Ninetales and outspeed Garchomp. Don't bother investing in physical defense: while it does have a good Defense stat, Kartana needs all the power it can get with the low Base Power of its moves.

What are its flaws?

Kartana's Special Defense is absolutely horrible, meaning that it struggles to set up against even weak special attackers such as Blissey. Kartana may have a huge Attack stat, but its moves are also of fairly low Base Power, making it easier to wall than you'd expect.

• Celesteela: Any Celesteela with Flamethrower will come out on top against Kartana due its good physical bulk.
• Aegislash: Boosted Night Slash won't OHKO Aegislash, while Shadow Ball easily slices through Kartana. King's Shield can be bad news against Kartana with boosted Attack as well, since all of Kartana's attacks make contact.
• Greninja: Greninja can't switch into any move except for Night Slash or Smart Strike, but Kartana's Special Defense is so awful that Dark Pulse is actually a guaranteed OHKO on it!
• Pheromosa: Similarly to Greninja, Pheromosa can't switch into any attack, but it does have High Jump Kick to blast through Kartana with.

Mimikyu

Typing: /

Ability: Disguise

Stats: 55 HP / 90 Atk / 80 Def / 50 SpA / 105 SpD / 96 Spe

Sample Sets

Swords Dance

Mimikyu

Ability: Disguise

4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly / Adamant Nature

- Swords Dance

- Play Rough

- Shadow Sneak

- Shadow Claw / Destiny Bond

What's the big deal?

You'd think with Moongeist Beam and Sunsteel Strike ignoring Disguise, Mimikyu would disappear. However, thanks to Shadow Sneak and dealing well with other common Pokémon, Mimikyu still finds a way to stick around thanks to Disguise.

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Swords Dance: Swords Dance is an extremely important move on Mimikyu, allowing it to sweep late-game.
• Play Rough: Play Rough is Mimikyu's most powerful STAB move, OHKOing Garchomp after a boost. Boosted Play Rough even has a 75% chance to OHKO maximum HP Zygarde before Power Construct activates!
• Shadow Sneak: Shadow Sneak is very important against Lunala. While it won't do much before Shadow Shield is down, Shadow Sneak will deal over 50% after its been broken. To make the deal sweeter, it OHKOes Lunala after a boost assuming Shadow Shield is down, making it an important part of ensuring that Mimikyu sweeps.
• Shadow Claw: Shadow Claw is simply filler to deal more damage against Pokémon that resist Play Rough. In particular, it can take down Solgaleo with some chip damage.
• Destiny Bond: With Destiny Bond, Mimikyu can take down some foes by surprise, such as Adamant Solgaleo and Celesteela.

Other Details

A Jolly nature works best for ensuring Mimikyu outspeeds Adamant Solgaleo and the rare Timid Tapu Lele, but an Adamant nature does make better use of Shadow Sneak.

What are its flaws?

The lack of items really hurts Mimikyu's offensive potential in this metagame, as it simply does not work well early in the game due to its low Attack stat.

• Lunala and Solgaleo: With their signature moves, Moongeist Beam and Sunsteel Strike, Mimikyu will get OHKOed even if its Disguise is up. Neither of them like to switch into Mimikyu however.
• Celesteela and Skarmory: The lack of items makes Celesteela even more problematic than usual for Mimikyu, with Celesteela only fearing Destiny Bond. Skarmory can simply Whirlwind it away or hit it with Iron Head.

Snorlax

Typing:

Ability: Immunity / Thick Fat / Gluttony

Stats: 160 HP / 110 Atk / 65 Def / 65 SpA / 110 SpD / 30 Spe

Sample Sets

Physical Attacker

Snorlax

Ability: Thick Fat

4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def

Adamant / Brave Nature

- Return

- Earthquake

- Crunch / Pursuit

- Curse / Pursuit

Rest Talk

Snorlax

Ability: Thick Fat

4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def

Adamant / Brave Nature

- Rest

- Sleep Talk

- Return

- Crunch

What's the big deal?

Snorlax heavily benefits from the lack of offensive items running around in this metagame. With its massive Special Defense, Snorlax is a fairly good bulky attacker that can check Lunala.

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Return: Return is a good, reliable STAB attack for Snorlax. While players may be more familiar with Snorlax using Body Slam, Return gives Snorlax a good chance of 2HKOing Garchomp without a boost, which is especially important if using Snorlax under Trick Room.
• Earthquake: Earthquake lets Snorlax 2HKO Magearna and Solgaleo without a boost. This especially comes in handy against Magearna, since it's unable to 2HKO Snorlax itself. It also lets Snorlax avoid the Attack-reducing effect of Aegislash's King's Shield.
• Crunch: Crunch allows Snorlax to check Lunala fairly effectively, only worrying about Focus Blast and burns (if not using the RestTalk set).
• Curse: Curse is perfect for when Snorlax forces Pokémon out or is used under Trick Room, making most physical attacks also fail to 2HKO it. If Snorlax is perfectly healthy, this will also allow it to avoid an OHKO from Pheromosa's High Jump Kick.
• Pursuit: Pursuit can be a deadly surprise against Lunala whose Shadow Shield has been broken, potentially KOing it as it tries to escape.
• Rest / Sleep Talk: If you want Snorlax to be a long-lasting check to Lunala and other special attackers, Rest and Sleep Talk together can go a long way achieving that while still providing Snorlax with good offensive presence.

Other Details

The given spread maximizes Snorlax's Defense and Attack. Not only are most special attacks too weak to effectively break through Snorlax in this metagame, but Snorlax's HP stat also is so massive that investing in Defense is more effective overall than in HP. A Brave nature and 0 Speed IVs should be considered for Trick Room teams. There are plenty of other viable spreads that can be finetuned to your team as well; consider using a damage calculator if you want to get more creative.

What are its flaws?

Snorlax's Achilles heel is its lack of reliable recovery, which forces it to lose either setup potential or coverage. Snorlax doesn't last particularly long against physical attackers without Trick Room support either, with many 3HKOing Snorlax.

• Zygarde-C: Coil Zygarde-C is especially dangerous to Snorlax, since it can boost and Rest at the same time, meaning it'll win the Curse war against Snorlax.
• Celesteela: While Snorlax can set up on Celesteela in theory, Snorlax's massive HP stat gives Celesteela plenty of staying power against it with Leech Seed.
• Pheromosa: As long as it hasn't set up Curse, Snorlax gets OHKOed by High Jump Kick.

Gyarados

Typing: /

Ability: Intimidate / Moxie

Stats: 95 HP / 125 Atk / 79 Def / 60 SpA / 100 SpD / 81 Spe

Sample Sets

Dragon Dance

Gyarados

Ability: Intimidate

4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Dragon Dance

- Waterfall

- Crunch

- Substitute / Earthquake / Ice Fang

What's the big deal?

Thanks to Intimidate and its typing, Gyarados is one of the few viable Speed-boosting sweepers in this metagame.

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Dragon Dance: This is the big selling point of Gyarados, letting it 2HKO Lunala and outspeed Tapu Koko after one boost.
• Waterfall: Waterfall is Gyarados's most reliable STAB attack.
• Crunch: Gyarados might not be able to Mega Evolve in this metagame, but Crunch is needed to 2HKO Lunala after a Dragon Dance.
• Substitute: With Substitute, Gyarados can effectively set up on Celesteela thanks to Intimidate and ignoring Leech Seed. It also makes setting up Dragon Dance on Blissey much safer as long as it lacks Thunderbolt.
• Earthquake: If your team has problems with Tapu Koko, consider Earthquake, which OHKOes it after Dragon Dance.
• Ice Fang: Ice Fang allows Gyarados to OHKO Garchomp and offensive Zygarde after a Dragon Dance. It also deals over 50% to Tapu Bulu after a boost, which puts less pressure on your team to take it out.

Other Details

As tempting as it may be to go with an Adamant nature, Jolly is preferable to outspeed Tapu Koko.

What are its flaws?

Gyarados has good special bulk, but its 4x weakness to Electric-type attacks can undermine that, especially since some Pokémon will run it to check Gyarados.

• Tapu Bulu: Even with Ice Fang, Gyarados 2HKOes Tapu Bulu at best, while Tapu Bulu slams it with Grassy Terrain-boosted Grass-type attacks.
• Kartana: Gyarados's only way to 2HKO Kartana is with boosted Earthquakes, while Kartana doesn't need a boost to 2HKO Gyarados with Leaf Blade.
• Magearna: While boosted Earthquake deals serious damage, Magearna wins out in the end with Thunderbolt.
• Tapu Koko: Tapu Koko usually loses after a Dragon Dance, but it makes a fine revenge killer against unboosted Gyarados.
• Magnezone: Although Magnezone is uncommon, its Sturdy ability is a big problem for Gyarados, since not even Earthquake will OHKO it.

Blissey

Typing:

Ability: Natural Cure / Serene Grace / Healer

Stats: 255 HP / 10 Atk / 10 Def / 75 SpA / 135 SpD / 55 Spe

Sample Sets

Special Wall

Blissey

Ability: Natural Cure

4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD

Bold Nature

- Toxic

- Soft-Boiled

- Flamethrower / Minimize

- Ice Beam / Minimize

What's the big deal?

With Eviolite being banned and Lunala everywhere, Blissey returns to becoming the premier special wall of this metagame!

What should I expect to see?

Moves

• Toxic: Since Blissey lacks much of an offensive presence, Toxic is needed to wear down foes such as Lunala and Ash-Greninja.
• Soft-Boiled: Soft-Boiled gives Blissey instant recovery, which is a major reason why its such a good special wall.
• Flamethrower: Flamethrower hits Steel-types that are immune to Toxic. In particular, it OHKOes Kartana, which prevents it from setting up on Blissey. Flamethrower also has a 18.8% chance to OHKO Naughty Pheromosa. It doesn't deal much to Aegislash and Celesteela, but the chip damage is useful at least.
• Ice Beam: Ice Beam 2HKOes Garchomp, making it an unsafe switch-in. However, it doesn't deal enough damage to severely threaten Zygarde-C.
• Minimize: Relying on evasion is a risky proposition, but if you're willing to flip a coin, it can make Blissey much more difficult to check.
• Thunderbolt: If your team especially hates Gyarados, you can use Thunderbolt to 2HKO switch-ins.

Other Details

The given spread maximizes Blisseys defenses. Since Blissey has such a gigantic HP stat, investing in its Defense and Special Defense lets it take hits better overall. A Bold nature is used so Blissey can take on light physical attacks as well.

What are its flaws?

Blissey has big problems with physical sweepers. If they manage to get in safely, they can crash through its defenses and even sweep your entire team. Blissey's low power further makes it setup bait in the face of these threats.

• Zygarde-C: Even with the 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks, specially defensive Zygarde-C isn't 3HKOed by Ice Beam, meaning it can use Rest and Sleep Talk to set up Coil.
• Celesteela: Flamethrower doesn't even 3HKO defensive Celesteela, giving it ample time to restore a ton of its health with Leech Seed and hit back hard with Heavy Slam.
• Solgaleo: Flamethrower doesn't deal enough damage to Solgaleo, while Solgaleo grabs a clean 2HKO on Blissey with Sunsteel Strike.
• Snorlax: RestTalk Snorlax sets do very well against Blissey, taking very little damage from any of its attacks while hitting Blissey hard with Return.
• Pheromosa: Pheromosa can't get in safely, but it's one of the few physical attackers that OHKO Blissey thanks to STAB High Jump Kick.

Alomomola

Typing:

Ability: Healer / Hydration / Regenerator

Stats: 165 HP / 75 Atk / 80 Def / 40 SpA / 45 SpD / 65 Spe

What's up with this Pokémon?

Alomomola may seem rather silly, but it's quite possibly the best Solgaleo check allowed besides Zygarde-C, with not even Wild Charge 2HKOing it. Unlike Zygarde-C, it can also Wish pass to support the rest of your team, and it does better against Garchomp and Weavile. However, it also has much poorer Special Defense than Zygarde-C, so most teams will prefer that as a Solgaleo check rather than Alomomola, which tends to only fit on stall teams.

Nihilego

Typing: /

Ability: Beast Boost

Stats: 109 HP / 53 Atk / 47 Def / 127 SpA / 131 SpD / 103 Spe

What's up with this Pokémon?

Nihilego is a good special attacker with an excellent Speed stat that allows it to outspeed the likes of Garchomp. Unfortunately, without a Beast Boost, its damage output is somewhat lacking (failing to OHKO Garchomp with Hidden Power Ice) due to the lack of Life Orb. It can also take a more defensive approach by utilizing its good HP, Special Defense, and Speed to be an effective hazard setter—Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes are both very useful because they break Shadow Shield and inflict poison, respectively.

Tapu Lele

Typing: /

Ability: Psychic Surge / Telepathy

Stats: 70 HP / 85 Atk / 75 Def / 130 SpA / 115 SpD / 95 Spe

What's up with this Pokémon?

Tapu Lele hits pretty hard with its STAB attacks thanks to the Psychic Terrain that it summons upon entering the field, but it is weak to a lot of common threats in the meta such as Lunala, Solgaleo, Aegislash, Pheromosa, Magearna, and Mimikyu. Because of this weakness, it will often find itself on the bench, but it is excellent at supporting its team because of Psychic Terrain. Psychic Terrain makes all priority moves fail to hit grounded targets, so this can allow Pokémon such as Pheromosa to sweep more easily, as well as letting Lunala not have to worry about a slower threat breaking its Shadow Shield with a priority move. It also boosts the power of Psychic-type moves, allowing Solgaleo and Lunala to dish out huge damage with their STAB attacks.

Kingdra

Typing: /

Ability: Swift Swim / Sniper / Damp

Stats: 75 HP / 95 Atk / 95 Def / 95 SpA / 95 SpD / 85 Spe

Pelipper

Typing: /

Ability: Keen Eye / Drizzle / Rain Dish

Stats: 60 HP / 50 Atk / 100 Def / 95 SpA / 70 SpD / 65 Spe

What's up with these Pokémon?

Weather outside of hail is uncommon in this metagame, but Pelipper can lead against Alolan Ninetales to foil its attempts at setting up Aurora Veil and also give Kingdra the means to sweep. If you use this combination, make sure to prepare extra hard for Lunala, since after it sets up a Calm Mind, neither of these Pokémon can break through it. Kingdra itself often gets its sweep cut short by Alolan Ninetales as well.

Magnezone

Typing: /

Ability: Magnet Pull / Sturdy / Analytic

Stats: 70 HP / 70 Atk / 115 Def / 130 SpA / 90 SpD / 60 Spe

What's up with this Pokémon?

Magnezone has access to Sturdy, basically making it one of the few Pokémon to have a pseudo-Focus Sash of sorts. This can make it a nice emergency stop to sweepers such as Garchomp and Gyarados. It can even use Thunder Wave or Toxic to cripple Lunala switch-ins. However, Magnezone won't stop Lunala on its own, and its low Speed stat makes it easy to stop outside of Trick Room.

Toxapex

Typing: /

Ability: Merciless / Limber / Regenerator

Stats: 50 HP / 63 Atk / 152 Def / 53 SpA / 142 SpD / 35 Spe

What's up with this Pokémon?

Toxapex is an option to consider on stall teams. Its access to Haze and a 100% accurate Toxic can make it a decent check to Lunala, and it has a good matchup against opposing stall teams. Unlike Blissey, Toxapex can do reasonably well against several physical threats as well, such as Solgaleo, Gyarados, and Incineroar. However, Toxapex's weakness to Earthquake is an issue, especially when many physical threats consider running that themselves.

Skarmory

Typing: /

Ability: Keen Eye / Sturdy / Weak Armor

Stats: 65 HP / 80 Atk / 140 Def / 40 SpA / 70 SpD / 70 Spe

What's up with this Pokémon?

Skarmory is a reasonable option over Celesteela on stall teams. Skarmory is a more reliable check to Garchomp, and unlike Celesteela, Skarmory can use Whirlwind to stop Zygarde-C from setting up on it. However, Skarmory has an awful time against special threats such as Lunala, which usually means that it's best paired with Blissey and therefore doesn't fit well on balanced teams.