Psychic-types in NatDex Ubers

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Introduction

Being extremely common among legendary Pokémon and historically prominent since RBY with Mewtwo's dominance, the Psychic typing has heavily defined the National Dex Ubers metagame. Despite lacking defensive qualities—namely only resisting their own typing's attacks, as the sole viable Fighting-type in the tier in Marshadow already forces them out with its Ghost-type STAB moves—Psychic-types still manage to stand out offensively thanks to the Psychic typing's wide neutral coverage against a good portion of the metagame; as Dark- and Steel-type Pokémon are relatively less common in the tier, this makes it possible for them to run coverage for more neutral matchups in the metagame such as Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh. With their impact being so high, virtually every team with a defensive core wants a Dark-type or a Tera Dark Pokémon on it.

Banned Pokémon

Calyrex-Shadow

Calyrex-S is the only Psychic-type banned from the metagame, and it isn't too difficult to see why. It outspeeds Zacian-C, which already outspeeds the entire metagame bar niche Pokémon like Pheromosa, and it complements this with a 120-Base Power, nearly unresisted STAB option in Astral Barrage and the snowball potential of As One to often sweep teams. With the capability to Terastallize, hard checks and counters such as Yveltal and Mega Tyranitar were easy to play around with Tera Fairy + Draining Kiss, in turn resulting in a Pokémon that had no legitimate counterplay beyond trying to backfire it with Ditto, and it was ultimately quickbanned in the early metagame. Interestingly, Calyrex-S's Psychic typing was more of a detriment than a benefit, only ensuring it would be OHKOed by Pursuit or Shadow Sneak unless it Terastallized. In practice, its only use was to more easily break past Chansey and Blissey with Psyshock, but this otherwise was outclassed by merely using Substitute + Draining Kiss for these matchups, thus making players often skip Psychic-type STAB moves altogether.

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Popular Options

Necrozma-Dusk Mane and Necrozma-Ultra

Dragon Dance (Necrozma-Dusk Mane) @ Solganium Z Ability: Prism Armor EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 236 Spe Adamant Nature - Dragon Dance - Sunsteel Strike - Earthquake - Stone Edge / Photon Geyser	Ultra Dragon Dance (Necrozma-Dusk Mane) @ Ultranecrozium Z Ability: Prism Armor EVs: 24 HP / 248 Atk / 92 Def / 4 SpD / 140 Spe Adamant Nature - Dragon Dance - Photon Geyser - Earthquake - Stone Edge
Defensive (Necrozma-Dusk Mane) @ Rocky Helmet Ability: Prism Armor EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 SpD Tera Type: Poison Careful Nature - Sunsteel Strike / Earthquake - Knock Off / Toxic / Thunder Wave - Stealth Rock / Toxic - Morning Sun	Ultra Stealth Rock (Necrozma-Dusk Mane) @ Ultranecrozium Z Ability: Prism Armor EVs: 8 HP / 44 Def / 232 SpA / 224 Spe IVs: 0 Atk Naive Nature - Stealth Rock - Photon Geyser - Earth Power - Stone Edge

With solid mixed bulk and the capability to Ultra Burst to change its defensive profile and turn even more into a sweeper, Necrozma-DM is a metagame-defining Pokémon that can often find setup opportunities to sweep through would-be checks like Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground. It also caused mind games by luring foes like Zacian-C and Eternatus into using moves that are only super effective against Ultra Necrozma but ineffective against Necrozma-DM. The Ultra Dragon Dance set in particular is extremely feared, as it can outspeed and overwhelm nearly the whole metagame after a boost, especially with Light that Burns the Sky OHKOing anything that doesn't resist Psychic. As Necrozma-DM is often assumed to be using the Ultra Dragon Dance set, other sets can bluff as it to gain momentum early-game, with Solganium Z sets primarily taking advantage of the different counterplay to overwhelm would-be checks commonly brought mainly for Ultra Necrozma like Arceus-Dark, Yveltal, and Tera Dark Arceus-Fairy. Necrozma-DM's wide number of resistances complemented by Prism Armor also enables it to use a more niche defensive set, answering a good portion of the Psychic-types in the tier while using utility moves like Thunder Wave and Knock Off in exchange for being more passive. Overall, Necrozma-DM is a Pokémon that can fit on a wide variety of team structures.

Teammates

Marshadow, Lunala, and Yveltal apply offensive pressure against the Psychic- and Ghost-types that can check Necrozma-DM while also countering Gothitelle, as the former two can't be trapped, while Yveltal can prevent Gothitelle from doing anything with Taunt, discouraging it from entering the field. Lunala in particular also can lure Dark-types and remove them with Tera Fairy Moonblast, but this pairing is generally limited to hyper offense teams. Arceus-Fairy is a more defensively oriented ally that eases the matchup against Dark-types like Arceus-Dark and Yveltal while also checking other foes Necrozma-DM can struggle with like Marshadow, Zygarde, and Giratina-O.

Teams

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Deoxys-Attack

Mixed Attacker (Deoxys-Attack) @ Life Orb Ability: Pressure EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe IVs: 29 HP Tera Type: Ghost / Normal Naive Nature - Psycho Boost - Low Kick - Shadow Ball / Tera Blast - Rock Slide / Ice Beam / Extreme Speed

Lead (Deoxys-Attack) @ Focus Sash Ability: Pressure EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe IVs: 0 Atk Tera Type: Steel Timid Nature - Psycho Boost / Counter - Shadow Ball - Icy Wind / Stealth Rock - Spikes / Stealth Rock

Meteor Beam (Deoxys-Attack) @ Power Herb Ability: Pressure EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe IVs: 0 Atk Tera Type: Psychic / Ghost / Normal Timid Nature - Meteor Beam - Expanding Force / Psycho Boost - Focus Blast - Shadow Ball / Psycho Boost / Dark Pulse

Deoxys-A is a premier wallbreaker and speed control option, outspeeding the entire notable metagame bar the niche Pheromosa, having strong mixed offenses even by Uber standards, and boasting a wide variety of strong coverage moves and priority on top of that to ensure it always has offensive pressure when it manages to enter the field. Deoxys-A can even reduce its counterplay further by Terastallizing, becoming immune to either Arceus's Extreme Speed or Marshadow's Shadow Sneak while also turning its own Shadow Ball or Extreme Speed stronger in the process and hitting back with either Low Kick for Arceus or a Ghost-type move for Marshadow, making it even more difficult to switch into. Deoxys-A's Speed and offensive pressure also let it act as a good lead for offensive teams, luring switches by bluffing its more standard set and easily setting entry hazards in the process.

Deoxys-A's strong offensive presence and general lack of passivity also makes it solid on Psyspam teams, as it's no longer concerned by priority under Psychic Terrain. With an enhanced Psychic-type STAB move and Meteor Beam, Deoxys-A can overwhelm nearly any Pokémon in the metagame that doesn't resist Psychic, by extension making it a potent sweeper while also teaming up with other Psychic-types to overwhelm their checks like Ho-Oh, which become unreliable out of the sheer power of +1 Tera Psychic Expanding Force under Psychic Terrain OHKOing them.

Teammates

Giratina-O and Alomomola make a solid defensive core that can handle foes with priority such as Arceus, Chien-Pao, and Marshadow well, with Alomomola also being able to safely pivot Deoxys-A onto the field to start making progress. Zacian-C is a good offensive partner with a similar Speed tier that also has a favorable matchup against foes Deoxys-A can struggle with such as Yveltal, Arceus, and Marshadow, helping each other to overwhelm their checks. While it's still a relatively niche Pokémon overall, Psyspam offense teams appreciate Tapu Lele, as it grants a more direct way to mitigate Deoxys-A's vulnerability to priority by blocking it as long as Psychic Terrain is active while also supporting other Psychic-type sweepers so that they can overwhelm their own counterplay.

Teams

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Gothitelle

• Trapper (Gothitelle) @ Leftovers
• Ability: Shadow Tag
• EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD or 112 HP / 192 Def / 204 Spe
• IVs: 0 Atk
• Tera Type: Water / Fairy
• Bold Nature
• - Taunt
• - Charm
• - Rest
• - Cosmic Power / Substitute

Instead of trying to immediately make progress like other Psychic-types, Gothitelle's strategy relies on breaking defensive cores involving Pokémon such as defensive Ho-Oh and Coil Zygarde by preventing them from escaping with Shadow Tag then proceeding to PP stall them until they use Struggle and faint, enabling its offensive allies such as Zacian-C and Primal Groudon to more comfortably make progress and potentially sweep. Gothitelle also shines at revenge killing Choice-locked foes that can't break past it, especially when it's a dedicated Tera user on a team, such as Dynamax Cannon Eternatus being unable to break past Tera Fairy Gothitelle and Ice Spinner Chien-Pao being unable to make progress against Tera Water Gothitelle, and it often only requires to trap a single Pokémon on the other team to have done its job well. Gothitelle can also be customized to dedicate itself to handle nearly any defensive Pokémon in the metagame thanks to Terastallization's capability to ease negative matchups, even making Gothitelle capable of trapping defensive Primal Groudon, but it is unable to handle faster foes with Taunt such as Yveltal and support Arceus formes as well as foes with a pivoting attack like Alomomola, and it can sometimes be inconsistent if damaged by a critical hit.

Teammates

Even though Gothitelle can remove some offensive Pokémon from play such as Ultra Necrozma and Dragon Dance Arceus-Ground, its lacking stats mean that it can still be easily overwhelmed by foes such as Mega Salamence and Rayquaza, and it can't trap Ghost-types out of their innate immunity to Shadow Tag. As a result, teams with Gothitelle generally have a Dark-type like Arceus-Dark or Yveltal that can check foes like Lunala and Giratina-O while also compressing roles by checking physical setup sweepers with their good physical bulk and Foul Play. Eternatus's Toxic Spikes eases Gothitelle's job at trapping foes, as it can then make progress against them independently of PP stalling while also easing the matchup against hyper offense, in which Gothitelle itself does very little; in return, Gothitelle can trap opposing Eternatus to ease keeping Toxic Spikes on the field. Setup sweepers like Zacian-C benefit from Gothitelle removing checks like Ho-Oh and defensive Primal Groudon. Marshadow and Arceus also benefit from Gothitelle removing their checks while also providing further support against offense teams thanks to their setup prowess and priority.

Teams

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Lunala

Choice Specs (Lunala) @ Choice Specs Ability: Shadow Shield EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Tera Type: Ghost / Fairy Timid Nature - Moongeist Beam - Moonblast - Psyshock - Trick

Meteor Beam (Lunala) @ Power Herb Ability: Shadow Shield EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe IVs: 0 Atk Tera Type: Fairy Timid Nature - Meteor Beam - Moongeist Beam - Moonblast - Psyshock

Often finding setup opportunities and being a relatively safe revenge killer while Shadow Shield is active, Lunala is a potent wallbreaker that can often be difficult to wall thanks to its Ghost typing alongside a strong STAB option in Moongeist Beam, letting it cover a good portion of the metagame. Lunala is a solid Tera user, as Tera Fairy Lunala has a far better defensive profile, flipping the matchup against usual Psychic-type checks like Yveltal and Arceus-Dark. Overall, it's limited by its inability to fit all the coverage it'd want and recovery at the same time, Terastallization reliance, and just average Speed, resulting in it being mainly used as a dedicated wallbreaker.

Choice Specs Lunala isn't as reliant on Shadow Shield like the Meteor Beam set, as it already outspeeds most of its relevant targets while retaining its wallbreaking potential across the game even if it switches out, nor is it reliant on Terastallizing because it doesn't need much longevity to do its job, but it can still be appreciated with Tera Ghost in particular to 2HKO foes like Ho-Oh and Primal Kyogre.

Teammates

Lunala makes a good offensive core with physical wallbreakers like Rayquaza and Ultra Necrozma, as Lunala applies pressure on foes such as Alomomola, Zygarde, and Primal Groudon, while they can make progress against Primal Kyogre, Ho-Oh, and Ferrothorn. For more balance-oriented teams, Ho-Oh and Arceus-Fairy can switch into foes that can force Lunala out like Arceus-Dark, Marshadow, and Giratina-O, with Ho-Oh's Defog also easing Lunala at keeping Shadow Shield intact early-game; both in return appreciate Lunala handling Primal Groudon, Ho-Oh, and Necrozma-DM. Zygarde can handle physical wallbreakers like Marshadow and Chien-Pao after Terastallizing in addition to hindering foes with Glare to let Lunala safely outspeed them.

Teams

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Calyrex-Ice

• Choice Band (Calyrex-Ice) @ Choice Band
• Ability: As One (Glastrier)
• EVs: 248 HP / 248 Atk / 12 Def or 96 HP / 252 Atk / 160 SpD
• Tera Type: Steel / Fire / Ice
• Adamant Nature
• - Glacial Lance
• - High Horsepower
• - Trick
• - Aromatherapy / Seed Bomb

As a staple on Trick Room teams that also finds use outside of them, Calyrex-I is a powerful wallbreaker that's difficult to KO in spite of its terrible defensive typing because its sheer bulk lets it withstand powerful attacks, being able to tank Necrozma-DM's Sunsteel Strike and Primal Groudon's Heat Crash. These traits let Calyrex-I generally use Glacial Lance and make progress, with Trick Room teams enabling it further to instead become a sweeper that can snowball with As One to threaten even more offensive teams, and it can even afford a more offensive Tera type in Ice to more easily overwhelm checks like Primal Kyogre and Tera Steel Giratina-O. Outside of Trick Room, it's more desirable to use a defensive Tera type to increase its longevity and support its team by checking certain foes, as Glacial Lance already 2HKOes even the bulkiest neutral targets in the tier like Primal Groudon. Its unusual utility in Aromatherapy also grants it a niche as a cleric to support the teams it's found on, and it can avoid being actively Choice-locked into Aromatherapy by using Trick to hinder a check like Dondozo and Alomomola.

Teammates

Hatterene and Cresselia are mandatory for the Trick Room teams that Calyrex-I is generally found on, as they crucially set up Trick Room and further support it with Healing Wish and Lunar Dance to increase its longevity. Other sorts of teams with Calyrex-I appreciate defensive Ho-Oh and Primal Kyogre to switch into foes like Primal Groudon, Zacian-C, and Chien-Pao, with Ho-Oh also increasing Calyrex-I's longevity with Defog and Primal Kyogre making an offensive core by breaking past the physical walls meant to check Calyrex-I. Arceus-Fairy provides a reliable switch-in to Yveltal and Marshadow, allowing Calyrex-I to not have to Terastallize in every matchup with them.

Teams

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Deoxys-Speed

Entry Hazard Setter (Deoxys-Speed) @ Focus Sash / Rocky Helmet Ability: Pressure EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe or 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe IVs: 0 Atk Tera Type: Steel Timid Nature - Stealth Rock - Taunt - Magic Coat - Spikes / Psycho Boost

Dual Screens (Deoxys-Speed) @ Light Clay Ability: Pressure EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe IVs: 0 Atk Tera Type: Ghost Timid Nature - Reflect - Light Screen - Magic Coat - Taunt

Outspeeding the entire metagame and having a wide utility movepool to pick what it loses to, Deoxys-S can be a solid entry hazard setter or dual screens setter for offense teams while also having anti-lead traits for other hazard leads in the tier such as Shuckle and Glimmora in Magic Coat and Taunt, but its own passivity besides these roles and losing matchup against Mega Diancie result in it still facing competition with other leads like Smeargle and Glimmora.

Teammates

As Deoxys-S only performs utility roles for offensive teams, it generally finds itself alongside threatening setup sweepers, with those like Zacian-C and Ultra Necrozma retaining a good matchup against entry hazard removers after a boost like Ho-Oh, Yveltal, and Giratina-O. Arceus also applies a lot of pressure against offensive teams while also performing role compression as speed control out of its signature Extreme Killer set, while Zacian-C complements Deoxys-S with its high Speed tier to overwhelm the checks of each other. Yveltal provides support against more defensively oriented teams by compressing longevity in Oblivion Wing, having a high damage output with Dark-type STAB moves, and using Taunt to prevent foes from removing hazards.

Teams

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Niche Options

Mega Mewtwo Y

Given that it outspeeds nearly the entire metagame and has the highest raw Special Attack in the tier and wide coverage, one would think that Mega Mewtwo Y would be an extremely viable metagame-defining Pokémon. However, the loss of physical bulk upon Mega Evolving, vulnerability to priority from Pokémon like Marshadow and Arceus, inability to Terastallize, lack of an item slot cutting off the initial damage output it could otherwise have, inability to play around faster foes like Zacian-C and Deoxys-A, and pure Psychic typing result in Mega Mewtwo Y demanding heavy support to find much use in the tier. Additionally, the inability to run all the coverage it'd want in a single set, its frequent need to use Nasty Plot first before dealing significant damage, no defensive utility to find chances to safely switch in, and being easy to check with defensive Pokémon like Tera Dark Arceus-Fairy and Yveltal in a tier that already focuses on checking other Psychic-types, make Mega Mewtwo Y often difficult to justify on a team, resulting in it being limited as a niche pick for offense teams.

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Tapu Lele

Despite lacking stats appropriate for the power level of the tier, Tapu Lele still finds use as a Psychic Terrain setter to enable Psyspam teams, allowing Pokémon such as Deoxys-A and Ultra Necrozma to no longer worry about priority while also making them even more difficult to wall. Even though it's not difficult to KO, Tapu Lele itself still avoids passivity with its solid Special Attack and STAB combination, which alongside Taunt, Nature's Madness, and an above average Speed tier apply pressure on Defoggers such as physically defensive support Arceus formes and Ho-Oh, preventing them from removing Psychic Terrain.

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Cresselia and Hatterene

Often seen with each other, Cresselia and Hatterene are the main Trick Room setters of the metagame, with Hatterene's Magic Bounce ensuring its own side of the field is clean to more safely bring its allies that then try to wallbreak, and Cresselia's Lunar Dance mitigating PP stalling strategies against Calyrex-I and Melmetal. However, the low amount of turns while Trick Room is active combined with the minimal longevity of such team structures often results in this sort of teams being inconsistent.

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Final Thoughts

Like Dragon-types, Psychic-types are a common and integral aspect of the National Dex Ubers metagame in several team structures, giving players a variety of options to brainstorm their potential, ranging from utility-oriented support to some of the strongest sweepers the tier has to offer.

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