Psychic-types in USM OU
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Art by Kaiju Bunny.
Introduction
In the first generation, Psychic-type Pokémon were really strong because they had few answers and the only Psychic-resistant Pokémon were Psychic-types themselves. In GSC, Game Freak even added two new types in Steel and Dark just to balance out Psychic-types! Currently, Psychic-types are still very viable in OU thanks to their ability to break past most of their checks and force impressive numbers of switches with the threat of their strong STAB moves and coverage options. In SM, Pokémon of this type even obtained a new toy in Tapu Lele, which uses Psychic Surge to boost their breaking potential to impressive levels. So, let's take a look at the most dangerous Psychic-types in OverUsed!
Mega Alakazam
- HP55
- ATK50
- DEF65
- SPA175
- SPD105
- SPE150
Alakazam-Mega @ Alakazite- Ability: Magic Guard
- EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Timid Nature
- - Psychic
- - Focus Blast
- - Recover
- - Shadow Ball / Knock Off
Alakazam has posed a notable threat ever since RBY, and now its Mega Evolution is the fastest unboosted Pokémon in OU and one of the most dangerous special attackers of the entire tier! Mega Alakazam's sheer power and coverage options enable it to overwhelm a lot of defensive cores, and other team-specific options like Knock Off may turn some of Mega Alakazam's answers like Celesteela and Assault Vest Tangrowth into non-issues. Mega Alakazam also can consistently come in on Toxapex and force it out, which is very valuable due to the latter's omnipresence. Trace is another reason why Mega Alakazam is very good now: it allows Mega Alakazam to steal Heatran's Flash Fire and pressure most of its variations as well as steal some other cool abilities like Protean, Regenerator, and Beast Boost. Unfortunately, Mega Alakazam is very physically frail and is thus prone to being revenge killed by Pokémon like Choice Scarf Landorus-T and Mega Mawile. Its low Defense also prevents it from staying in on certain threats like Garchomp and Ferrothorn unless they are in range of a KO.
Mega Latias
- HP80
- ATK100
- DEF120
- SPA140
- SPD150
- SPE110
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Latias-Mega @ LatiasiteMega Latias's great bulk, Levitate ability, good Speed tier, and useful coverage options make it an amazing glue Pokémon for balanced teams and a solid check to top-tier threats like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Kartana, and non-Toxic Heatran. Mega Latias's wide movepool makes it pretty versatile: it can be a great pivot that can choose its coverage and utility moves in order to adapt for the needs of its team or a dangerous sweeper with Calm Mind. Its outstanding bulk and reliable recovery let it use some Steel-types like Assault Vest Magearna as setup fodder as well as wall and beat a plethora of threats, notably Garchomp, Landorus-T, Heatran, Gliscor, and Manaphy. Its access to Stored Power and Psyshock also allows it to win most Calm Mind wars. Unfortunately, Mega Latias is really weak to certain Steel-types like Heart Swap Magearna as well as to Dark-types—especially Pursuit trappers like Tyranitar and Weavile. Calm Mind Mega Latias requires Toxic Spikes support to break past those Dark-types.
Tapu Lele
- HP70
- ATK85
- DEF75
- SPA130
- SPD115
- SPE95
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Tapu Lele @ Fightinium Z
Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs
Tapu Lele @ Choice ScarfThe 7th generation gifted OverUsed with only one new Psychic-type—Tapu Lele, which quickly established itself as a dangerous wallbreaker. The main reason why Tapu Lele is so great is Psychic Surge, which insanely strengthens the Psychic-type attacks of all grounded Pokémon. Tapu Lele can effectively run a set with Calm Mind and a Z-Crystal to blow past some of its checks and threaten stall teams, be an amazingly powerful Choice Specs wallbreaker that can quickly overwhelm its usual answers like defensive Magearna and Celesteela, or act as a fairly hard-hitting revenge killer with Choice Scarf. However, Tapu Lele suffers from its rather average Speed tier, if not running a Choice Scarf, and its physical frailty, making it vulnerable to revenge killers. Additionally, Choice-locked Tapu Lele may be pretty easy to take advantage of, since its STAB moves are bad to be locked into in a metagame where Steel-types are on nearly every team. Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain is also an excellent tool for other Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Mega Gallade, as it not only makes revenge killing them harder but also opens their fullest potential and lets them be very destructive against a ton of teams.
Mega Medicham
- HP60
- ATK100
- DEF85
- SPA80
- SPD85
- SPE100
Medicham @ Medichamite- Ability: Telepathy
- EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Jolly Nature
- - Fake Out
- - High Jump Kick
- - Ice Punch
- - Zen Headbutt
Mega Medicham is feared for its Pure Power, which boosts its middling base 100 Attack to whopping levels, enabling it to mindlessly spam attacks versus a lot of teams because of how powerful and difficult to switch in on its attacks are. Mega Medicham's STAB combination and a coverage move in Ice Punch can dismantle most common defensive cores, and its Speed tier isn't that bad, letting it outspeed a bunch of notable Pokémon like Heatran and non-Choice Scarf Landorus-T. Additionally, Mega Medicham has access to Fake Out and thus can function as a revenge killer. However, Mega Medicham is insanely frail and vulnerable to revenge killing, and because of this it fits only on VoltTurn teams. Mega Medicham also heavily relies on your own plays, thus being a high-risk, high-reward Pokémon.
Mega Latios
- HP80
- ATK130
- DEF100
- SPA160
- SPD120
- SPE110
Latios-Mega @ Latiosite- Ability: Levitate
- EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Naive Nature
- - Psychic
- - Earthquake
- - Draco Meteor / Ice Beam
- - Roost
Once dominating the metagame, Mega Latios recently has risen up again as a dangerous mixed wallbreaker that can take advantage of prominent threats like Magearna, Heatran, and Toxapex thanks to its great offensive stats and coverage. In addition, its nice Speed tier puts Mega Latios above the likes of Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Kartana, and its naturally decent bulk and typing let it check said threats. Also Mega Latios's sheer power even allows it to occasionally beat Tyranitar, the best Pursuit trapper in the tier, which will frequently try to take advantage of Mega Latios and trap it. Despite that, Mega Latios is still vulnerable to Pursuit trapping, and it also faces the competition from its counterpart Mega Latias thanks to its higher bulk and from Mega Alakazam because of its better Speed tier and Special Attack.
Jirachi
- HP100
- ATK100
- DEF100
- SPA100
- SPD100
- SPE100
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Jirachi @ LeftoversBoasting great stats, a nice defensive typing, and a wide movepool, Jirachi can fill various niches on many archetypes ranging from bulky offense to even stall. On offensive teams, Jirachi is one of the best Choice Scarf users right now because of its amazing role compression: it acts as a revenge killer, pivot, and answer to Psychic-types and provides invaluable Healing Wish support. Choice Scarf Jirachi also is able to soft check offensive Magearna, which usually can just run through many offensive teams once it's set up a Shift Gear. On more bulky teams, Jirachi is a great specially defensive wall capable of completely invalidating most Psychic-types and keeping its teammates healthy via Wish. Also, the combination of Serene Grace and Iron Head can be very annoying to deal with because of the insane number of flinches it can cause. Unfortunately, Jirachi's weakness to ever-present Ground- and Fire-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Heatran makes its life harder, and the Choice Scarf set's damage output sometimes can be not enough to revenge kill the opposition.
Reuniclus
- HP110
- ATK65
- DEF75
- SPA125
- SPD85
- SPE30
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Reuniclus @ Leftovers / Psychium Z
Reuniclus @ Leftovers / Rocky HelmetReuniclus's solid bulk and access to Recover let it check a bunch of dangerous attackers in the metagame, notably Mega Medicham and Protean Greninja. Magic Guard further increases Reuniclus's defensive capabilities by neutering damage from entry hazards and status. This ability also makes Reuniclus one of the most dangerous and consistent setup sweepers and stallbreakers in the tier, as it can freely come in and set up on passive Pokémon like Toxapex, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela. Also, Reuniclus's coverage options let it lure in and beat its would-be answers like Tyranitar and Hydreigon. However, the damage output of unboosted Reuniclus is somewhat disappointing, and its Double Dance set requires a large amount of support to function properly, most notably Toxic Spikes in order to break down Dark-types, making it tough to build around. The presence of Heart Swap Magearna as well as certain other Steel-types also cuts into Reuniclus's effectiveness in the metagame.
Mega Gallade
- HP68
- ATK165
- DEF95
- SPA65
- SPD115
- SPE110
Gallade-Mega @ Galladite- Ability: Justified
- EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Jolly Nature
- - Swords Dance
- - Close Combat
- - Zen Headbutt
- - Knock Off
Previously sitting in Mega Medicham's shadow, Mega Gallade has finally established its niche over its competitor. Its greater Speed and bulk and access to Swords Dance and Knock Off set Mega Gallade apart from Mega Medicham and let it break past some of the latter's answers like Reuniclus and Mew. Its access to Swords Dance is especially notable now that the metagame is pretty bulky, and Knock Off allows Mega Gallade to make more general progress throughout the game than Mega Medicham and cripple Pokémon like Choice Scarf Landorus-T. Mega Gallade's higher Speed also allows it to outpace some notable threats like Garchomp and non-Choice Scarf Kartana, while its higher bulk allows it to survive attacks like Mega Alakazam's Shadow Ball from full HP. But Mega Gallade still has some flaws compared to Mega Medicham: it is weaker when unboosted and thus easier to handle for offensive teams. Additionally, Mega Gallade still shares some answers with Mega Medicham, such as Tornadus-T and Mega Sableye.
Honorable Mentions
Victini can be a nice pivot, wallbreaker, and even sweeper, capable of dismantling many defensive backbones with its impressively powerful V-create and coverage moves or running through weakened teams after the omniboost from Z-Celebrate. However, Victini suffers from four-moveslot syndrome and is vulnerable to strong metagame presences like Heatran, Tyranitar, and Chansey, depending on its set and coverage. Also, Victini's weakness to Stealth Rock limits its ability to repeatedly switch in and out due to V-create's stat drops. These stat drops also give its opponent a lot of free turns and make it very vulnerable to Pursuit trapping. Hoopa-U is a real pain for bulky teams, especially stall, being impossible to consistently switch directly into it thanks to monstrous offensive stats and coverage options. However, the omnipresence of Magearna as well as Hoopa-U's terrible physical bulk and Speed tier make it kind of easy to take advantage of. Mew is a niche option for some hyper offensive and stall teams: on hyper offense, its Nasty Plot + Rock Polish set has a pretty good matchup versus more offensive and more balanced teams alike, while on stall, Mew's niche is walling Heatran as well as somewhat checking Tapu Lele while providing other useful utility like Stealth Rock and Defog. However, Mew is outclassed by other, more consistent options on both playstyles. Slowbro and its Mega forme are very sturdy physical walls thanks to their amazing Defense and access to both Slack Off and Regenerator. Mega Slowbro is even capable of stopping offensive Flyinium Z Landorus-T! Both formes are also not entirely passive thanks to their high Special Attack for defensive Pokémon coupled with their useful coverage and crippling options like Ice Beam, Fire Blast, and Thunder Wave. However, Slowbro faces competition from other defensive Water-types like Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and Gastrodon due to its weakness to Dark, and it loses to quite a lot of top-tier threats like Ash-Greninja; lastly, after Zygarde's departure, it lost a big part of its niche, which was completely stopping any non-Toxic Zygarde.
Get out there!
Overall, Psychic-type Pokémon are very strong in the OverUsed metagame, and their influence on teambuilding is very big, forcing every team to run a bulky Steel-type just to not get overwhelmed by them. Make sure to give these Psychic-types a try!
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