An Introduction to SS NFE

By Marjane, Jett, and S1nn0hC0nfirm3d. Released: 2021/04/15.
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SS NFE Introduction art

Art by Kolohe.

Introduction

Welcome to SS NFE! After a year of developing the metagame and many tournaments like NFEPL IV coming to an end, here is an introduction to NFE and recap to how it has grown since the beginning of the generation to what it has become after the recent drop of the second DLC, the Crown Tundra. If you are not familiar with what NFE is to begin with, let us explain! NFE stands for Not Fully Evolved, meaning it is a metagame where only Pokémon that can evolve are useable. You might also have heard about the Unofficial Metagame Middle Cup, but unlike it, NFE also allows Pokémon that aren't middle evolutions. NFE is an Other Metagame, meaning it is not official, and it is also not usage based; therefore, NFE Pokémon do not shift each month unless they are deemed too good and banned.

New Pokémon

As new generations come by, new Pokémon are introduced, and Sword and Shield was no different, giving us a whole new list of viable and fun threats.

Thwackey

Thwackey, the Grass-type starter, is one of the most popular additions to the metagame. Through its versatile movepool and its exclusive ability in Grassy Surge, Thwackey differentiates itself from other Grass-types by physically wallbreaking through its access to Swords Dance and moves like Grassy Glide, Knock Off, Drain Punch, and Acrobatics.

Raboot

The Fire-type starter Raboot is an excellent Pokémon in the metagame, usually carrying Heavy-Duty Boots or Choice Band. Raboot functions as a wallbreaker thanks to its unique ability in Libero changing coverage moves into STAB attacks, with moves such as High Jump Kick and Flare Blitz pressuring threats like Piloswine and Tangela, Sucker Punch giving priority, and U-turn providing momentum and pivoting.

Carkol

Carkol's Rock / Fire typing is unique to the metagame. It also has good defensive stats and a useful ability in Flame Body to threaten physical threats, most notably U-turn users like Raboot and Thwackey. Carkol functions as a utility Pokémon with its valuable role compression, as it can remove entry hazards through Rapid Spin and set them up on the opponent's side with Stealth Rock and Spikes.

Galarian Corsola

Galarian Corsola is one of NFE's best defensive walls thanks to its above average bulk and utility moves in Will-O-Wisp and Strength Sap, allowing it to cripple the opposing foe's damage whilst recovering its health. Galarian Corsola is also one of the best Stealth Rock setters in the tier, and it can trap and remove boosts from setup sweepers like Klang and Wartortle through Whirlpool and Haze.

Drakloak

Drakloak functions as a great pivot in the metagame thanks to its high Speed stat and access to U-turn. It most commonly runs the combination of Hex and status in Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp, enabling it to cripple the foe's Attack or Speed and therefore providing support for its teammates and boosting Hex's power.

Hattrem

Hattrem excels in utility thanks to its ability Magic Bounce, preventing the foe from setting entry hazards or inflicting status. Hattrem also has access to a large number of coverage moves such as Giga Drain, Mystical Fire, and Dazzling Gleam, which can threaten a large portion of the metagame such as Piloswine, Ferroseed, and Galarian Linoone, respectively. Hattrem best functions as a physically defensive wall through RestTalk but can also provide team support with Healing Wish and Nuzzle.

Galarian Linoone

Another Galarian forme that has settled well in NFE is Galarian Linoone. Through its good offensive stats and Normal / Dark typing, Galarian Linoone is one of NFE's best Knock Off users. It also functions as a top-tier pivot with access to Parting Shot, and it works as a stallbreaker with moves like Taunt or Switcheroo, exchanging items like Choice Band and Toxic Orb for an Eviolite.

Morgrem

Morgrem is NFE's premier dual screens setter thanks to its ability Prankster, making it a staple for hyper offense teams. As a Dark / Fairy type, Morgrem gains a lot of offensive capability when paired with Nasty Plot and coverage in Burning Jealousy, enabling it to threaten Steel-types like Ferroseed.

Galarian Mr. Mime

Galarian Mr. Mime is one of the biggest threats in the metagame thanks to its over-the-edge stats and Psychic / Ice offensive typing. As a special attacker, it is unmatched, as its STAB attacks in Ice Beam, Freeze-Dry, Psychic, and Psyshock allows it to pick what it wants to beat. This can be reinforced by coverage in Focus Blast and Shadow Ball, making it very hard to switch into. Galarian Mr. Mime can also boost its stats through Nasty Plot and Rapid Spin to secure OHKOs and outspeed faster threats like Electabuzz and Kadabra. Although usually ran with Heavy-Duty Boots or Eviolite, Galarian Mr. Mime can also opt for Choice Specs to enforce its offensive pressure.

New Moves

Generation 8 has offered the NFE metagame many new movepool additions, which have let some of our previously known Pokémon be used more effectively or completely differently.

Burning Jealousy

Morgrem

Morgrem gained a great coverage move through the addition of Burning Jealousy in the first DLC, allowing it to hit Steel-types like Klang and Ferroseed that had little to no trouble walling it. Burning Jealousy can also be useful against setup users like Bulk Up Raboot and Shift Gear Klang, crippling them with a burn.

Corrosive Gas

Koffing Stunky

The NFE metagame revolves a lot around Eviolite, so having moves such as Knock Off that can remove items has always been a great niche for many of our Pokémon. This generation, however, we've gained a new move that can remove items: Corrosive Gas. While not a damaging move, it is still a huge bump for Pokémon like Koffing and Stunky.

Expanding Force

Galarian Mr. Mime Kadabra

Psychic Terrain remains an underdeveloped archetype in the NFE metagame, as the lack of setters and popularity of Thwackey really hinder it from becoming a prominent archetype. Expanding Force, however, remains a solid threat to balance teams, as strong special attackers like Galarian Mr. Mime and Kadabra have no trouble breaking through cores. Both can also set terrain themselves, allowing them to better handle priority users like Raboot.

Flip Turn

Wartortle Seadra Brionne

Flip Turn is one of Generation 8's biggest influences on the NFE metagame, where Water-types can now be used more reliably as both defensive walls and offensive pivots. Prior to this, Water-types in NFE had trouble finding momentum and were usually too weak to VoltTurn cores to be popular enough. Flip Turn has allowed for wallbreakers like Seadra and Brionne to be used more reliably and bolstered them with momentum, while bulky entry hazard removers like Wartortle have found great use in more reliably pressuring Fire- and Ground-types out while still keeping the advantage in a game.

Grassy Glide

Thwackey

While Grassy Terrain had never really been explored before the introduction of Generation 8, Thwackey has revived this concept thanks to its ability Grassy Surge and its new move Grassy Glide. Grassy Glide offers Thwackey priority further boosted by STAB and Grassy Surge. Some players have even paired Grassy Terrain with threats like Choice Specs Roselia to boost their Grass-type STAB attacks.

Poltergeist

Dusclops

The new physical Ghost-type attack, Poltergeist, has given Dusclops a massive boost, as it now can be used as a decent physical wallbreakers by checking walls like Mareanie and Clefairy.

Scale Shot

Gabite Fraxure Hakamo-o

An interesting concept lies behind the new Dragon-type move Scale Shot, boosts the user's Speed for a decreased Defense in return. Pokémon like Gabite, Fraxure, and Hakamo-o have made great use of it, as it allows them to outspeed threats and break Focus Sash on users like Kadabra.

Scorching Sands

Magmar

Scorching Sands is a newly introduced Ground-type move that functions similarly to Scald by having a high chance of burning the foe and hitting Fire-types that ignore burn super effectively. Magmar is the biggest benefiter of this move, as gaining Ground-type coverage allows it to hit walls it had trouble against before, such as Lampent.

Skitter Smack

Charjabug

Skitter Smack is a Bug-type attack that lowers the foe's Special Attack upon usage. This allows Pokémon like Charjabug to better handle checks like Hattrem that try to come in and bounce back moves like Sticky Webs and Toxic.

Steel Beam

Klang

Steel Beam is a newly introduced special Steel-type move that trades HP for high damage. While NFE doesn't hold many Steel-types, this move has allowed sets like Choice Specs Klang to be viable enough and created metagame diversity. Choice Specs Klang is usually used as a lure to OHKO common switch-ins like bulky Flame Orb Gurdurr and Tangela.

Triple Axel

Alolan Sandshrew

The new Ice-type move Triple Axel is a threatening move for setup sweeper Alolan Sandshrew, allowing it to better threaten walls like Tangela and Golbat.

Current Metagame

The Crown Tundra metagame is largely characterized by the late rounds of the NFE Discovery Tour and NFE's exposure as one of the formats in OM World Cup III. One of the better Pokémon in the metagame is Tangela, which has all the tools it needs to be a physical wall, stallbreaker, and Knock Off switch-in all in one set. Its many uses and phenomenal support allow it to be the centerpiece of multiple teams. As for the new Pokémon to the scene, Golbat stands out as a phenomenal pick due to compressing many roles in one slot: wall, stallbreaker, pivot, and more. Some of its few checks are Electabuzz and Galarian Mr. Mime, two new staples to NFE that flesh out the upper Speed tiers and offer special wallbreaking power. Gurdurr is another unban that stayed, and replaced Machoke in most of its roles, being a better, bulkier attacker with more longevity thanks to Drain Punch. More wallbreakers like Pikachu and Magmar were reintroduced, and fittingly the tier got Marshtomp and Gabite to help check them. Many new Pokémon fitting a multitude of roles has surely raised the power level of NFE, especially with other unbans like Rufflet and Ivysaur remaining in the tier for the foreseeable future, but the additions ultimately foster a variety of viable playstyles and strategies.

Existing staples and playstyles undoubtedly adapted to the influx of Pokémon and power. Players using Galarian Corsola now tend to opt for a specially defensive spread rather than going physically defensive, and with Shadow Ball it becomes a decent check to Galarian Mr. Mime and Kadabra. Hattrem was found to be more consistent as entry hazard control if it ran RestTalk, and, on that matter, Wartortle shifted to prefer its specially defensive Rapid Spin set rather than its offensive Shell Smash one. For playstyles, the Thwackey and Raboot core is no longer as dominant as it was before, and often on VoltTurn teams Electabuzz replaces Raboot; the existing duo may try Grassy Seed and Acrobatics sets to bait their checks on more offensive teams. Sun teams enjoy Ivysaur and Magmar as new users, and balance has decent Choice Scarf options in Lampent, Krokorok, and Raboot to check the new faster attackers. Hyper offense and stall, while rarer, enjoy the new additions for the most part, although Screen Cleaner Galarian Mr. Mime does rain on Morgrem's dual screens parade. All in all, NFE is starting to settle, with its nuances suggesting it will be a balanced yet varied metagame.

Recent Ban History

After the release of the Crown Tundra, the council decided to free a number of banned Pokémon, as the power level of NFE had increased with the new additions from the previous two DLCs. However, some of these Pokémon were still deemed broken or unhealthy for the metagame to handle and were swiftly rebanned.

Sneasel

Sneasel was banned during SM and was initially banned in SS after the release of Pokémon Home, which gave it Knock Off and Triple Axel, a new move that rendered it too difficult to switch into. Sneasel was given a second chance in the metagame, as it was nowhere near as broken as Pokémon such as Chansey and Scyther were kept banned. Pretty quickly, Sneasel proved itself as extremely dominant in the metagame, and the community called for its removal.

Sneasel

Choice Band was Sneasel's most used item and provided it with an immediate boost in power to its already amazing Attack stat. This set allowed Sneasel to break past almost any Pokémon, provided it had the opportunity to remove its Eviolite beforehand either with its own Knock Off or the aid of its teammates. Choice Band-boosted Ice Shard was also extremely strong priority for taking on Choice Scarf users and weakened priority users.

Sneasel

Sneasel could also run a less common Swords Dance set that was extremely potent as a setup sweeper, as Sneasel naturally outsped every Pokémon in NFE already and could now switch moves and boost. Heavy-Duty Boots also gave it more chances to switch in and terrorize defensive and offensive cores alike.

Verdict and Reasoning

Sneasel was unanimously rebanned only a few days after it was freed. The combination of its absurd Attack and Speed backed by incredible STAB moves was far too much for the metagame to handle, as Sneasel would completely break past any defensive cores and was the fastest unboosted Pokémon in the metagame.

Pawniard

Similarly to Sneasel, Pawniard was also banned some time after Pokémon Home due to Knock Off returning to its arsenal, and it became an effective replacement to Sneasel after its most recent departure. The freeing of Pawniard's most consistent counter in Gurdurr, along with the overall higher Speed tiers, meant that Pawniard was expected to be a top-tier threat but not as restrictive as it previously was.

Pawniard

Pawniard could be used as either an effective setup sweeper or an offensive Stealth Rock user. Knock Off allowed it to make good progress on its common switch-ins, weakening them for later. Mid-game, a +2 Pawniard would be extremely threatening, as it would not only be difficult to switch into, but its access to great priority made it difficult for many faster Pokémon to revenge kill it. If Pawniard were to use Stealth Rock instead, it would utilize its Dark typing and Defiant to dissuade Hattrem from switching in and Defog users from clearing hazards, respectively.

Verdict and Reasoning

Pawniard was able to make quick progress on its checks, since they often lacked reliable recovery and were extremely easy to switch into. It would be able to reliably weaken teams until they would be defeated by a Swords Dance sweep. Despite its best answer in Gurdurr still being in the metagame this time around, Pawniard still managed to barely reach the 60% quickban threshold.

Haunter

Unlike Sneasel and Pawniard, Haunter was initially banned more recently, shortly after the release of the the Isle of Armor. With Haunter never being truly broken during the earlier stages of SS NFE, and the return of several faster threats and previously banned Pokémon, most of the community along with the council believed that it would be more manageable again. However, Haunter's versatility in its sets yet again proved to be hard to manage, during Team Preview especially.

Haunter

Choice Specs was Haunter's most common set. It served as an incredibly potent wallbreaker that could either OHKO or 2HKO the majority of the metagame. For the few specially defensive walls that could reliably switch into Haunter, Trick crippled them, especially since they tended to be passive Pokémon like Klang, Ferroseed, and Marshtomp that heavily relied on status moves.

Haunter

With the return of faster offensive threats, Choice Scarf Haunter rose in popularity. The metagame's overall Speed increasing along with Haunter's immunity and resistance to several forms of priority, such as Mach Punch, Extreme Speed, and Grassy Glide, made it much harder to revenge kill whilst still being somewhat of a nuisance to slower Pokémon.

Haunter

This is a similar set to last generation's Poisonium Z set but instead utilizes Eviolite and some HP investment, which makes it harder for opposing Pokémon to break its Substitute. The SubHex combination is particularly effective at dealing with some of Haunter's best checks for its other sets, such as Klang and Ferroseed, which are unable to reliably break past its Substitute when burned.

Haunter

Life Orb was an alternative set that fell out of favor as the generation went on. While being able to change moves is nice on paper, Haunter's common switch-ins didn't particularly mind any of its attacks. Furthermore, it was weaker than the Choice Specs set, while the Eviolite set was more reliable at spreading burns due to its better bulk.

Verdict and Reasoning

Haunter's ability to run several effective sets and its unpredictability led to its removal from NFE. Its Choice Specs set had an extremely limited number of switch-ins and facilitated a huge centralization of its checks. Choice Scarf allowed Haunter to bypass many of its offensive checks, since these were often too frail to reliably take a hit from it. Along with other sets having great utility, this created an extremely unhealthy dynamic in both teambuilding and battle, so Haunter was banned during the same slate as Pawniard.

Conclusion

If this article made you want to try out our tier, feel free to stop by and play with us on our Discord server or our room on Pokémon Showdown! where we host official room tournaments as well as other tournaments combining older generations and other metagames. You can also find out more about us in the Other Metagames forums here.

HTML by Ryota Mitarai.
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