The Rise of Arghonaut in the CAP Metagame

By dex and Mx. Released: 2021/12/23.
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The Rise of Arghonaut art

Art by Iyarito.

Introduction

Everyone's favorite pirate has seen a rapid rise in usage. Prior to the Crown Tundra DLC, Arghonaut was viewed as a fringe pick. However, with the recent metagame shifts due to the release of the DLC and subsequent bans, Arghonaut has seen an unexpected renaissance in the CAP metagame, now being considered as one of the best CAPs available. How did this happen, and why is Arghonaut so good now as compared to the pre-DLC metagame?

Why wasn't Arghonaut being used before?

Until the release of the Crown Tundra, Arghonaut was regarded as a niche pick at best. Back then, the metagame was dominated by Slowking, which enabled threats like Urshifu-S to easily break through Arghonaut with Future Sight. Tomohawk also notably outclassed Arghonaut as an Urshifu-S check due to resisting both of Urshifu-S's STAB moves. Astrolotl's viability in this metagame also hurt Arghonaut, as it was a much better Spikes setter. On top of that, Unaware was not useful against many of the most relevant setup sweepers outside of Cawmodore back then, as Pokémon like Sword Dance Rillaboom and Nasty Plot Hydreigon could beat Arghonaut one-on-one.

After the DLC dropped, the metagame shifted dramatically, but Arghonaut remained underwhelming for the first few months. Astrolotl remained a much more splashable Spikes setter, Tomohawk was still everywhere, and Toxapex was more effective than Arghonaut at checking Cinderace. Against Cinderace, Arghonaut could technically avoid a 2HKO from Zen Headbutt, but it was still very easily worn down by U-turn. Despite all that, as the metagame developed and bans began to occur, changes began to favor Arghonaut. First, Urshifu-S was banned. This made Tomohawk much less useful, as one of its main roles was checking Urshifu-S. Afterwards, Astrolotl was nerfed, losing Knock Off and Wish, which massively lowered the popularity of the most common Spikes setter in the format. Finally, just a few days after that, Magearna, a Pokémon that matched up exceedingly well into Arghonaut, was quickbanned from OU. Even with all that, it still took some time before people started realizing how useful Arghonaut could be.

How did Arghonaut become a metagame staple?

Arghonaut's rebirth began with Garchomp's rise to the top of the metagame after all the bans, as it was uniquely capable of handling Garchomp's Swords Dance sets thanks to Unaware, which allowed Arghonaut to sponge hits that would beat any other bulky Water-type. Tomohawk usage also started to drop significantly around this time, as it was no longer necessary to use it to check Urshifu-S, giving Arghonaut much more space to set Spikes and use Knock Off without having to worry about Tomohawk spinning away entry hazards and sponging Knock Off. However, Slowking and Slowbro still saw very high usage, and they gave Arghonaut a lot of competition as a bulky Water-type; they also enabled teammates to KO Arghonaut with Future Sight + Teleport.

Arghonaut's rise did not stop there. During this time, Weavile rose to prominence as a way to punish Slowking, Dragapult, and Garchomp. Arghonaut saw a major surge in usage because its typing provides it with a resistance to both of Weavile's STAB moves, and Unaware lets it avoid getting overpowered by Swords Dance. It even threatens an OHKO back with Circle Throw! Arghonaut's ability to easily switch in on Weavile with very few repercussions outside of losing its Leftovers (some variants even ran Rocky Helmet for this reason) makes it a very attractive option to tie together most balance teams that struggle with Weavile. Slowking's drop in usage due to the omnipresence of Weavile and Ghost-types alongside Galarian Slowking's rise also helped Arghonaut, as there were now less teams running Future Sight support, allowing Arghonaut to more freely switch in and check physical attackers. Arghonaut even matches up more favorably into Slowking's more popular regional variant, Galarian Slowking, as the latter dislikes Knock Off more and is damaged by Arghonaut's Spikes. Outside of the Weavile and Garchomp matchups, Arghonaut's incredible physical bulk and great defensive typing let it act as a switch-in to Urshifu-R's Surging Strikes and situational Heatran check. The drop in usage of wallbreakers like Rillaboom, Kerfluffle, and Dracozolt also helped cement Arghonaut as a great standalone answer to physical attackers. Another point in Arghonaut's favor was its ability to put a quick end to hyper offense teams. Unaware and Circle Throw allowed it to phaze hyper offense staples such as Cawmodore and Hawlucha while surviving their super effective Acrobatics, effectively ending their sweep. All of these factors led to Arghonaut becoming one of the most powerful CAPs in the current metagame.

How do I use Arghonaut now?

Arghonaut

Despite these outstanding qualities, Arghonaut still sees competition as a defensive Water-type. Toxapex sports similar bulk, Regenerator, and key resistances to Fairy and Fighting, while Tapu Fini sports an immunity to status and can offer the ability to trap with Whirlpool, sweeping potential with Calm Mind, or speed control with Choice Scarf. However, Arghonaut provides its own set of strong utility options that sets it apart from the aforementioned competitors. It is best used as a fully physically defensive wall, as it is easily able to set Spikes and chip the enemy team with Circle Throw and Knock Off. This utility makes Arghonaut less passive than Toxapex, while access to Recover provides it with more longevity than Tapu Fini.

Final Thoughts

All in all, Arghonaut has benefited from the post-Crown Tundra metagame more than most CAPs. It matches up exceedingly well into the current metagame's offensive Pokémon, and while it does struggle with some common Pokémon such as Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, Tornadus-T, and Jumbao, the utility it brings to the table as a defensive option more than makes up for that. If you are building in CAP and need that final defensive piece to complete the team, Arghonaut should be at the top of your list to consider.

HTML by Ryota Mitarai.
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