SS OU Spotlight: Weavile

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Entering the burrow

Anybody who has taken a peek into SS OU starting from mid-2021 would easily notice that Weavile is one of the most dominating forces in the metagame. It sees consistent usage in both tournaments and high ladder, comfortably staying in the top 5 in usage among other tier staples like Landorus-T and Heatran; in fact, these three are generally considered to be the top three in terms of viability. However, Weavile's claim to fame hasn't always been this strong, as it has had quite the interesting ride throughout SS OU.

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A woeful morning: Early SS OU

With the release of Sword and Shield at mid-November 2019, Weavile was one of the few lucky ones to get an early invitation to the Galar region. Things were looking good, as the introduction of Heavy-Duty Boots alleviated its Stealth Rock Weakness, and it had less competition to worry about due to the smaller Pokédex, but instead, things took a turn for the worse. Weavile lost two of its most important tools from prior generations, Pursuit and Knock Off; the former was entirely removed from the game, while the latter was a transfer move it couldn't obtain yet. The generation's gimmick, Dynamax, didn't help much either—it couldn't fully take advantage of its STAB Max moves, as both Max Hailstorm's hail and Max Darkness's Special Defense drop were nigh insignificant and useless for its wallbreaking capabilities. This made Weavile a poor choice in the initial Dynamax-centric metagame, as other offensive powerhouses like Hawlucha, Gyarados, and Excadrill were better users of the mechanic. However, the nail in the coffin was that Weavile was entirely outclassed by the newly introduced Ice-type juggernaut that shook the entire tier from the inside out, Galarian Darmanitan, which had a significantly better offensive presence due to Gorilla Tactics and a more expansive movepool. Thus, as sad as it may seem, Weavile was among the first few Pokémon that dropped to UU during the alpha stage.

Weavile's viability showed hope with the ban of Galarian Darmanitan and Dynamax, as well as its regaining of Knock Off with the release of Pokémon Home. However, it ended up becoming a false promise, as the latter also brought forth a batch of strong competitors into the metagame. Although they didn't last long in the tier, Kyurem-B and Melmetal left quite the bad impression on Weavile; the former took the spotlight as the tier's Ice-type wallbreaker and sweeper thanks to its newfound Dragon Dance and Icicle Spear, while the latter's typing and titanic physical bulk could put a stop to Weavile's antics, especially as it viably ran Acid Armor + Body Press sets during this time. The ubiquity of Clefable didn't help Weavile's case either, as it was blessed with a new toy in the negative-priority pivot move, Teleport, which worked extremely well with its Wish passing duties.

The release of Isle of Armor gave Weavile access to a new and stupendously strong Ice-type attack, Triple Axel, which became one of its defining features moving forward in the generation. However, with the DLC's arrival, a new Pokémon came crashing to the forefront of the metagame and threw punches onto everything in its sight: Urshifu-S. It became the defining wallbreaker of the tier, and Weavile unfortunately had to stay in its shadows as a worse Dark-type. The SM powerhouse Magearna also came back to the metagame and solidified itself as a potent setup sweeper, wallbreaker, and pivot, especially as it gained new upgrades in Draining Kiss, Stored Power, and Trick. Notably, its remarkable defensive typing lets it use Weavile as setup fodder to potentially win games on the spot. However, the situation got even more dire as Crown Tundra's arrival completely flipped the metagame on its head. Familiar faces of past monsters such as Genesect, Zygarde, Naganadel, and Landorus came into the picture, with Melmetal and Kyurem-B dropped back from Ubers. This huge shakeup threw away every prior knowledge of the metagame, but one thing remained the same: Weavile was still sitting on the sidelines, silently watching as the tier descended into chaos.

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A hopeful noon: The Turnaround

After all of the overpowered Pokémon were banished, the turbulent metagame started to slowly settle. This is when Weavile stepped into the metagame and started to gradually climb the food chain. There was a sharp rise of its usage around March 2021, which is right after the huge waves of bans in the prior months. It still maintained very high and respectable usage throughout the generation afterwards, even with various dips along the way. Notably, the slight decline in April 2021 was during the time when Zamazenta-C got tested down to OU; it was almost the quintessential Weavile counter, as it possessed the defensive typing to shrug off Weavile's STAB combination, monstrous physical bulk that was further amplified by Dauntless Shield, and Rusted Shield to stop Knock Off's item removal. Moreover, its Speed tier is just slightly above Weavile, which let Zamazenta-C get the jump and threaten it with either of its STAB attacks even before having to take a hit. But after the verdict that Zamazenta-C was to stay in Ubers, Weavile started to rise again.

Weavile's usage on the SS OU ladder at 1695 ELO throughout the generation based on /stats/

Various metagame changes along the way were also in favor of Weavile; Dragapult, Slowking, and the ever-present all-consistent Landorus-T rose to become the top 3 Pokémon in the metagame, and they were just prime targets for Weavile's hunger. Slowking's rise was in large part due to the potency of Future Sight + Teleport, which can be taken advantage of by its own Weavile to beat its would-be checks. With the viability of Blissey and Mandibuzz dropping down, the demand for Weavile as an answer to Dragapult's Shadow Ball on more offensively oriented teams increased as well. There was also a time when teams centered around the concept of "Dark spam" were very prominent, which utilized both Weavile and Bisharp to overwhelm their shared checks, allowing one of them to clean late-game. However, even when Bisharp and Slowking fell off from the metagame, Weavile still kept on pushing through, where it maintained its prominence until today.

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The night's hunt: Late SS OU

Moving forward to the present day, it's clear why and how Weavile has cemented itself as one of the tier's best Pokémon. Its terrifying STAB combination backed up by a remarkable Attack stat, which can be further boosted by either Swords Dance or Choice Band, allows Weavile to muscle past a significant portion of the metagame. When coupled with its impressive Speed tier, it can get the jump on and threaten some of the tier's prominent Pokémon such as Landorus-T, Tornadus-T, and Garchomp. Naturally faster Pokémon like Dragapult and Zeraora have to stay healthy lest they get picked off by Ice Shard, which also offensively checks and revenge kills some of the tier's setup sweepers such as Dragonite, Hawlucha, and Scale Shot Garchomp and outprioritizes Rillaboom's Grassy Glide. Weavile's most spammable STAB moves, Triple Axel and Knock Off, are also incredibly dangerous in its own right; the former can potentially become a 120-Base Power move that can rip through even neutral targets, while the latter can cripple its checks such as Tapu Fini and Ferrothorn to make them easier to overwhelm in the long run, as well as remove common Rocky Helmets to let it use Triple Axel more freely. Even though Weavile's pitiful defenses are still noticeable, its valuable Dark typing lets it soft check and proceed to set up on Choice Specs Dragapult and Choice-locked Tapu Lele, both of which can be very threatening to the offensive teams that Weavile fits in. Thus, Weavile's positive qualities lend it to become one of the tier's most reliable and consistent wallbreakers, revenge killers, and late-game cleaners.

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Weaponizing the Weasel

Swords Dance

• Weavile @ Heavy-Duty Boots
• Ability: Pressure
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly / Adamant Nature
• - Swords Dance
• - Triple Axel
• - Knock Off
• - Ice Shard

Weavile's bread-and-butter set. Swords Dance lets it boost its already high Attack to monstrous levels and, when coupled with Weavile's Speed tier, clean up weakened teams easily after a single turn of setup. Weavile can easily find setup opportunities by taking advantage of common foes that it naturally forces out, such as Landorus-T, Tornadus-T, and Choice-locked Dragapult. Ice Shard covers faster threats that attempts to stop its sweep such as Dragapult, Zeraora, and Tapu Koko, though they need prior chip damage before falling victim to it. Heavy-Duty Boots compensates for Weavile's Stealth Rock weakness and gives it more opportunities to enter the field and freely spam Knock Off on its checks, which makes its late-game clean much easier. It also keeps Weavile healthy to take attacks in a pinch, such as uninvested Tapu Fini and Clefable's Moonblast, Tapu Koko's Dazzling Gleam, Choice Band Urshifu-R's Aqua Jet, and notably, Choice Specs Dragapult's Shadow Ball. Although it might seem negligible, Pressure is the preferred ability to let Weavile scout for Choice Scarf users like Tapu Lele and Tapu Fini based on the order of ability activation and, most importantly, stall out Toxapex's Haze with Swords Dance.

Choice Band

• Weavile @ Choice Band
• Ability: Pressure / Pickpocket
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Adamant / Jolly Nature
• - Knock Off
• - Triple Axel
• - Ice Shard
• - Beat Up / Low Kick

Choice Band gives Weavile the immediate power to be a truly terrifying wallbreaker, capable of overwhelming some of its checks and outright 2HKOing most of the tier. Its chillingly strong Triple Axel can even 2HKO the defensive stalwarts of Buzzwole, Corviknight, and Clefable. When paired with fellow offensive teammates with high base Attack stat such as Kartana, Melmetal, and Landorus-T, Beat Up can turn to a horrifyingly strong Dark-type attack of approximately 110 Base Power. Notably, this can 2HKO Toxapex, Heatran, and Ferrothorn, as well as burn Slowbro's Colbur Berry with the initial hit. The move's non-contact nature also lets it safely bust through the tier's defensive Pokémon by ignoring their Rocky Helmet, Iron Barbs, and Flame Body, which are some of the few ways to neuter Weavile. However, Low Kick is a fine alternative to significantly dent the likes of Melmetal, Ferrothorn, and Heatran much more reliably. Choice Band Weavile performs very well as an early- to mid-game wallbreaker to open up holes for a fellow sweeper or cleaner to finish the game, especially with Knock Off to cripple defensive foes, while ensuring that its teammates are still healthy for maximum Beat Up damage.

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The Weasel's Weaknesses

Although it might seem that Weavile is nearly unstoppable, there are several prominent Pokémon in the metagame that can keep it in check with various degrees of success:

Bulky Waters

These premier Water-types are known for their remarkable bulk and can withstand Weavile's aggression easily. Toxapex can severely cripple Weavile with a Scald burn or Toxic, Haze away any Swords Dance boosts it tries to accumulate, and punish its attacks with Rocky Helmet. It might seem bizarre that Slowbro falls into this list due to its Dark weakness, but Colbur Berry variants are oblivious to even boosted Weavile's Knock Off, subsequently take less damage from it after the item's consumption, and proceed to threaten an OHKO with Body Press. This makes it a good answer against Swords Dance Weavile, though it has to be wary of Choice Band variants. Tapu Fini has the defensive typing to resist Weavile's STAB combination and proceed to threaten it with a huge chunk of damage or use it as setup fodder. However, unlike Toxapex and Slowbro, which have insane longevity between a recovery move + Regenerator, Tapu Fini solely relies on its Leftovers, which makes it easier to overwhelm.

Bulky Steels

Steel-types are well-known for their immovable nature, which they can use to deal with Weavile. Both Corviknight and Skarmory have the longevity to check Weavile throughout the game, can punish its attacks with Rocky Helmet, and threaten it right away with their strong Body Press. Moreover, Corviknight can gain momentum with U-turn, which also makes it less vulnerable to the Magnezone that Weavile is occasionally paired with, while Skarmory can take advantage of its higher Defense stat to opt for Iron Defense and become even harder to break through. Ferrothorn can significantly chip Weavile down with Iron Barbs and Rocky Helmet, especially by punishing the use of Triple Axel. Ferrothorn can also use Weavile as an opportunity to set up entry hazards and threatens it with either Body Press, Gyro Ball, or Iron Head. If you notice, these Steel-types can still do a good job of checking Weavile even with their secondary typing making them neutral to Ice; this is what separates both Melmetal and Heatran from them. Gigantic HP and Defense stats let Melmetal withstand some of Weavile's attacks and retaliate with a devastating Double Iron Bash, while some offense structures feature Flame Body Heatran to cripple Weavile and render it useless throughout the game, which is especially useful because these team archetypes often don't have the luxury to switch into it. However, neither of them has reliable recovery, and thus they get overwhelmed easily. Ferrothorn, Melmetal, and Heatran also have to be cautious of Low Kick variants.

Miscellaneous

Some Pokémon with considerable physical bulk and reliable recovery can be used to answer Weavile, especially if their typing grants some sort of resistance to at least one of its attacks. As a physical wall, Buzzwole isn't entirely passive either, as it can take advantage of its beefy Attack stat to threaten Weavile back with a strong Close Combat. Clefable's physical bulk might not be as extraordinary, but its abilities let it perform this job well and can be very helpful in their own right; Magic Guard's resilience to status and entry hazards makes it harder to chip down, while Unaware completely ignores Weavile's Swords Dance boosts. However, they can falter to Choice Band variants of Weavile, as its Triple Axel can 2HKO them easily. Urshifu-R is certainly not a Pokémon that comes to mind when one thinks of a defensive Pokémon; nevertheless, thanks to its natural bulk and typing, it can stave off Weavile's STAB attacks quite well, though this niche is only relegated to more offensive teams. Additionally, it can proceed to generate momentum with U-turn by threatening Weavile out with its hard-hitting Close Combat.

Revenge Killers

Due to Weavile's remarkable Speed tier and priority Ice Shard, checking it offensively can be quite tough. Nevertheless, when equipped with a Choice Scarf, some Pokémon can get the jump on Weavile to revenge kill it reliably, namely Kartana, Tapu Fini, Tapu Lele, and Urshifu-R, although the latter is a more niche option in this regard. What separates them from other blazing fast Pokémon is they can shrug off Weavile's Ice Shard to some extent; Kartana can tank it in a pinch with its solid Defense stat, Tapu Fini and Urshifu-R have the bulk (even invested on the former) and typing to resist it, while Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain grants it an immunity to it. Tapu Koko and Zeraora are some naturally faster Pokémon that can threaten Weavile out, though they must be kept very healthy, as they are more vulnerable to Ice Shard. Tapu Koko, in particular, can absorb Weavile's Knock Off, take on Choice Band Weavile's Dark-type attacks, keep itself healthy with Roost, and gain momentum with U-turn afterwards. Scizor possesses a strong priority attack in Technician-boosted Bullet Punch to keep Weavile at bay, which especially pairs well with the defensive typing to brush off its Ice Shard. It can even invest in bulk and run Roost to be a more consistent switch-in to Weavile, though forgoing Life Orb and offensive investment means Weavile needs to be slightly chipped before being OHKOed by Bullet Punch.

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Working with the Weasel

Fret not, Weavile can overcome this issue by relying on its trustworthy teammates, which can help bring out its potential to make it truly shine on a game-to-game basis:

Kartana

What happens when you put a strong offensive Pokémon with another strong offensive Pokémon? You get a very deadly pairing, of course. They can overwhelm their shared Steel-type checks such as Corviknight, Ferrothorn, and Melmetal together, and Kartana can run Aerial Ace to snipe Buzzwole. Thus, one of Weavile and Kartana can take the role of the wallbreaker, while the other acts as the cleaner. For instance, Swords Dance Weavile pairs well with Choice Band and Swords Dance Kartana, while Choice Band Weavile pairs with Choice Scarf Kartana. In particular, Choice Band Weavile's Beat Up becomes obscenely strong when it is partnered up with Kartana, especially alongside other physical hard-hitters on the team.

Magnezone

Iron Defense

• Magnezone @ Rocky Helmet / Chople Berry
• Ability: Magnet Pull
• EVs: 252 Def / 172 SpA / 84 Spe
• Bold Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Iron Defense
• - Body Press
• - Thunderbolt
• - Flash Cannon / Toxic / Magnet Rise

A Pokémon that hates the existence of Steel-types will always enjoy the help of Magnezone, and Weavile is no different. Magnezone can reliably trap and proceed to eliminate Corviknight, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, non-Earthquake Melmetal, and Choice-locked Kartana. After Magnezone has done its job of disposing them, Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Garchomp usually comes in to revenge kill it, which gives Weavile free entry to wreak havoc after Magnezone has been sacked.

Tapu Koko

Offensive Pivot

• Tapu Koko @ Heavy-Duty Boots
• Ability: Electric Surge
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• - Thunderbolt / Volt Switch
• - Dazzling Gleam
• - U-turn / Nature's Madness
• - Roost

Tapu Koko is one of the tier's best offensive pivots that can bring Weavile into the field safely. It tends to invite in Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Hippowdon as well as specially defensive Pokémon such as Galarian Slowking and Blissey, which gives Weavile ample opportunities to set up or wallbreak. Tapu Koko can overwhelm a shared check in Ferrothorn, especially if running Nature's Madness, and can help pressure the bulky Water- and Steel-types such as Toxapex, Tapu Fini, Corviknight, and Skarmory. Tapu Koko can also reliably and consistently switch into and check Tornadus-T thanks to its typing, reliable recovery in Roost, and higher Speed tier, which gives Weavile more freedom to run an Adamant nature.

Heatran

Magma Trapper

• Heatran @ Leftovers
• Ability: Flash Fire
• EVs: 252 HP / 232 SpD / 24 Spe
• Calm Nature
• - Magma Storm
• - Earth Power
• - Taunt
• - Toxic / Stealth Rock

What happens when you put a top 3 Pokémon and another top 3 Pokémon together? You get a very deadly pairing, of course. The combination of Magma Storm + Taunt can let Heatran trap and remove Toxapex easily, provided it's not holding Shed Shell, which still can be removed by Weavile easily. Heatran can also overwhelm Tapu Fini and scorch troublesome Steel-type such as Corviknight and Ferrothorn. It also tends to invite in the likes of Landorus-T, Garchomp, Slowking, and Galarian Slowking, which opens up an opportunity for a double switch to Weavile. Defensively, Heatran covers some of Weavile's shortcomings by checking Clefable, Volcarona, and Choice Scarf Blacephalon.

Tapu Fini

Whirlpool Trapper

• Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
• Ability: Misty Surge
• EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
• Calm Nature
• - Whirlpool
• - Moonblast
• - Nature's Madness
• - Taunt

Similar to Magma Trapper Heatran, Tapu Fini can also utilize a trapper set to dispose of Toxapex as well as non-Power Whip Ferrothorn easily. Furthermore, Power Whip variants of the latter still have to be wary of switching into Nature's Madness lest they get heavily chipped. Additionally, when combined with Taunt, Tapu Fini can keep Corviknight's health low by preventing its Roost. Tapu Fini's Misty Terrain also lets Weavile set up or attack much more freely in the face of foes that attempts to status it, such as Scald Toxapex, Flame Body Heatran, and Static Zapdos.

Slowbro & Slowking

Both Slowbro and Slowking are potent defensive pivots that provide the well-known combination of Future Sight + Teleport for Weavile; the latter gives Weavile easy entry to the field, and the former cranks its wallbreaking capabilities up a notch. The looming Future Sight in the back can smack some of its switch-ins such as Toxapex and Buzzwole, and at worst, put the non-Psychic weak foes in range of a KO from Weavile. The Slowtwins also provide the necessary defensive security against foes that usually force Weavile out, including the bulky Water- and Steel-types, with Slowbro handling Melmetal and Urshifu-R while Slowking can deal with Heatran and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele.

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The Weasel with its pack

Galarian Zapdos + Regieleki Hazard Stack by Pinkacross & Storm Zone

(Smogon's Featured Team of the Week, November 2021)

This team revolves around Galarian Zapdos receiving support from the underappreciated Regieleki in multiple ways. Firstly, Regieleki's helplessness against Ground-types provides an opportunity to double switch to Galarian Zapdos, which takes advantage of the common Landorus-T's Intimidate with Defiant. Secondly, Regieleki provides entry hazard removal with Rapid Spin, which means the team can forgo Defog to stack Stealth Rock and Spikes more freely, which is helped by Galarian Zapdos's Defiant to dissuade and punish opposing Defog attempts. The entry hazard damage stings even more with Ferrothorn and Weavile's Knock Off to remove opposing Heavy-Duty Boots. This is also where Weavile plays a huge role on the team, as it is the late-game cleaner that enjoys Galarian Zapdos's early-game wallbreaking, and Slowking's Future Sight support and entry hazards chip down its checks such as Tapu Fini, Melmetal, and Heatran into its KO range. Feel free to read more about the team as explained by Pinkacross themselves in here!

Choice Band Beat Up Weavile Offense by Will of Fire

(Smogon's Featured Team of the Week, February 2022)

The team's concept was to maximize Weavile's Beat Up damage potential by teaming up with fellow Pokémon that possess high base Attack stats, with even special attackers like Zapdos and Volcanion not slouching in that department either. Specifically, this configuration of six Pokémon give Weavile's Beat Up a maximum of 108 Base Power, giving it a Dark-type STAB attack that even eclipses Knock Off. Choice Specs Volcanion complements Weavile's wallbreaking duties by overwhelming their shared checks in Tapu Fini and Toxapex. Afterwards, Choice Scarf Kartana can snowball easily by cleaning the mess they've left behind. Even with high offensive pressure coming from everyone, the team still has defensive cohesion between specially defensive Landorus-T, Assault Vest Melmetal, and Zapdos to hold off offensive threats such as Heatran, Tapu Lele, and Tornadus-T, respectively.

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Weasel Out

Weavile's initial debut in the eighth generation of OU was, to put it bluntly, pitiful. However, with various metagame changes along the way, as well as receiving new (and old) tools at its disposal, Weavile has cemented itself as one of the tier's best Pokémon up until the present day. With the current generation about to end and Scarlet and Violet on the horizon, the metagame is highly unlikely to experience any more huge shakeups, and it's safe to say that Weavile will maintain its top-tier status even when SS becomes an oldgen. Truly, Weavile is a living proof that the saying "there's always a rainbow after the rain" is something that one can always hope for, after all.

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