Critical: SV Monotype Urshifu-S Suspect Coverage

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Introduction

Urshifu-Single-Strike (Urshifu-S) is a Pokemon with a controversial history in Monotype. Boasting an impressive Dark- and Fighting-type STAB combination that is virtually unresisted by the entire metagame bar Fairy-types, a formidable base Attack stat of 130 coupled with a respectable Speed tier and good physical bulk, and an impressive movepool with good coverage and utility options including Sucker Punch, U-turn, and Iron Head, Urshifu-S’s strengths are immediately apparent. However, Urshifu-S’s defining trait and what has sparked tiering action on it historically is its signature move Wicked Blow, an extraordinarily powerful Dark-type STAB move that is guaranteed to land a critical hit and thus ignore Defense boosts. This move has proven to be problematic in Monotype due to a general lack of Pokemon that resist the combination of this move and Close Combat.

In SS Monotype, Urshifu-S was banned via suspect test owing mainly to its Choice Band set, which easily tore through teams lacking a bulky Fairy-type. Urshifu-S was reintroduced into SV Monotype after the release of Pokemon HOME with two important changes. On the one hand, Wicked Blow was nerfed from 80 BP to 75 BP compared to SS. This nerf, combined with the presence of powerful new Fairy-types that can outspeed and OHKO Urshifu-S, such as Flutter Mane, Iron Valiant, and Enamorus, meant that the Choice Band set that got it banned in SS Monotype was rendered considerably weaker. Yet, on the other hand, Urshifu-S received Swords Dance, arguably making it an even more effective wallbreaker than in SS due to its good natural bulk allowing it to set up easily and access to STAB Sucker Punch letting it easily pick off potential revenge killers such as Flutter Mane. As a consequence, Urshifu-S became the second quickban of the SV Monotype HOME metagame by a 6:1 council majority.

However, following the release of The Teal Mask, Urshifu-S was unbanned. The rationale for this was both the introduction of new defensive answers to Urshifu-S, such as Galarian Weezing, Alolan Ninetales, Kommo-o, and Okidogi, as well as the arrival of new offensive threats that could threaten to revenge kill it such as the Ogerpon formes. Despite this, Urshifu-S has once again established itself as a problematic element in SV Monotype due to metagame shifts overall doing little to balance out its centralizing strengths. With 69.4% of qualified respondents supporting tiering action on it in the most recent playerbase survey, Urshifu-S has consequently become the third Pokemon to become subject to a suspect test in SV Monotype.

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Sets

• Urshifu @ Black Glasses
• Ability: Unseen Fist
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly / Adamant Nature
• - Swords Dance
• - Wicked Blow
• - Close Combat / Drain Punch
• - Sucker Punch

Swords Dance has been Urshifu-S's defining set in SV Monotype thus far, allowing it to serve as an unparalleled setup sweeper and wallbreaker. This set is very straightforward and will virtually always run the same four moves. Urshifu-S excels at setting up Swords Dance due to its impressive physical bulk, which allows it to achieve feats such as surviving a Close Combat from Ceruledge or Choice Band Mamoswine's Earthquake, decent defensive typing that grants it an immunity to Psychic and only three weaknesses, and immunity to status, Taunt, and Encore from Prankster users such as Sableye owing to its Dark typing. Wicked Blow and Close Combat are overwhelmingly powerful STAB moves that destroy nearly every Pokemon in the metagame besides Fairy-types. Sucker Punch rounds out the set, allowing Urshifu-S to eliminate potential revenge killers such as Flutter Mane, Dragapult, the Ogerpon formes, and chipped Enamorus. Black Glasses is the standard item on this set, as it generally assists in breaking through foes such as Corviknight and Toxapex and guarantees that Sucker Punch OHKOes Dragapult as well as Flutter Mane after Stealth Rock. Urshifu-S has a couple of alternative item options; these include Lum Berry and Punching Glove. Lum Berry wards off status like burn from Moltres and poison from Toxapex, while Punching Glove is a middle ground that avoids the effects of contact abilities such as Zapdos's Static while also slightly boosting Wicked Blow and Drain Punch. A Jolly nature is usually run on this set to ensure that Urshifu-S outruns key threats such as Baxcalibur and Mimikyu. However, Adamant can also be used to ensure that Black Glasses Sucker Punch OHKOes Flutter Mane even without Stealth Rock, give Urshifu-S favorable odds to OHKO Enamorus with Sucker Punch after Stealth Rock, OHKO physically defensive Corviknight at +2 after Stealth Rock, and nearly always 2HKO Quagsire.

• Urshifu @ Choice Scarf / Choice Band
• Ability: Unseen Fist
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Wicked Blow
• - Close Combat
• - U-turn
• - Iron Head

While Swords Dance is generally the superior set, Urshifu-S can also opt to run either Choice Scarf or Choice Band, functioning well as either speed control or an immediate wallbreaker due to its strong STAB moves and ability to pivot with U-turn. Such sets are more commonly seen on Dark compared to Fighting due to the type already possessing two incredibly powerful Swords Dance sweepers in Kingambit and Chien-Pao. Moreover, Urshifu-S's strong Dark-type STAB move is naturally less important on this type, which can lead to Swords Dance Urshifu-S feeling somewhat redundant on teams despite its obvious strengths. Choice Scarf Urshifu-S outspeeds and easily revenge kills fast threats such as Chien-Pao and Dragapult as well as opposing Choice Scarf users such as Hisuian Samurott, Gholdengo, and Kleavor. Iron Head also allows this set to lure in and OHKO Alolan Ninetales as well as eliminate chipped Iron Valiant, which is particularly useful in the Ice and Fairy matchups. Meanwhile, Choice Band allows Urshifu-S to 2HKO common walls such as Corviknight, Toxapex, and Galarian Weezing without boosts and generally catch opponents off guard with its immediate raw power due to Swords Dance being the standard. Urshifu-S's ability Unseen Fist is particularly useful when used in conjunction with a Choice item, preventing foes from trying to scout what move Urshifu-S will lock in or waste its PP with Protect and its variations.

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Example Teams

Fighting

This is a typical Fighting team where Urshifu-S takes center stage, providing support for its teammates via a crucial Psychic immunity and tearing through defensive cores and problematic walls for Fighting, such as Corviknight and Hatterene, with its Swords Dance-boosted STAB moves. Assault Vest Iron Hands is perhaps Urshifu-S's most valuable teammate on Fighting, being able to take on Iron Valiant and Enamorus and allowing Urshifu-S to come in safely and start setting up Swords Dance with a slow Volt Switch. Choice Scarf Sneasler further supports Urshifu-S by being able to eliminate threats such as Azumarill and Choice Scarf Iron Valiant and Enamorus, impair walls such as Corviknight and Galarian Weezing with Switcheroo, and remove Toxic Spikes. Physically defensive Great Tusk forms a defensive core with Assault Vest Iron Hands, can take on opposing Iron Hands, and eases Urshifu-S's sweeps by both removing entry hazards and setting Stealth Rock. Iron Valiant serves as a simple, fast special wallbreaker, cleaving through physically defensive foes such as Great Tusk and Avalugg and hitting Corviknight and Toxapex hard with Thunderbolt. Iron Valiant can also opt to run Trick to ruin impediments to its teammates, but Vacuum Wave is useful to lure and quash threats such as weakened Choice Scarf Meowscarda. Zamazenta rounds out the team by acting as a speedy back-up sweeper that shatters Ice. It can further easily clean up teams while also serving as a secondary check to Fairy-types such as Flutter Mane and setup sweepers such as Baxcalibur.

Dark

On Dark teams, Urshifu-S tends to take on more of a supportive role rather than serving as a Swords Dance sweeper. Here, Urshifu-S is using a Choice Scarf, allowing it to clean up teams, provide momentum through pivoting, and enable its teammates by eliminating foes such as Flutter Mane, opposing Chien-Pao, and Choice Scarf Hisuian Samurott. Kingambit complements Urshifu-S particularly well by providing a Fairy neutrality to compensate for Urshifu-S's 4x weakness to the type and removing the aforementioned threats to facilitate Kingambit's sweep. Chien-Pao acts as a fast all-out attacker here, threatening most of the metagame with its coverage, complementing Urshifu-S by being able to take down bulky Flying-types, such as Dragonite and Gliscor, with its powerful STAB-boosted Icicle Crash, and using Heavy-Duty Boots to safely enter the field due to the lack of entry hazard removal on this team. Ting-Lu serves as a defensive answer to Choice Scarf Flutter Mane, Iron Valiant, and Enamorus, threatens Alolan Muk and Klefki, and stacks hazards to enable the offensive threats on this team. Stealth Rock and Spikes support makes Choice Scarf Urshifu-S's combination of power and speed particularly hard to deal with. Physically defensive Sableye gives the team a Fighting immunity, forms a defensive core with specially defensive Ting-Lu, impedes various physical threats throughout the metagame with Prankster Will-O-Wisp, opens up foes to being worn down by hazards and otherwise broken through by removing Heavy-Duty Boots and Leftovers with Knock Off, and gives its teammates opportunities to enter and set up with Encore. Encore Sableye also acts as a crucial check to the various Iron Defense and Body Press sweepers in the metagame such as Zamazenta, Avalugg, and Iron Treads. Last but not least, Hydreigon provides a switch-in to Ground-type moves and serves as a strong and bulky special wallbreaker that excels at removing foes such as Corviknight, Toxapex, Great Tusk, and Avalugg. Hydreigon also serves as a check to both formes of Urshifu, outspeeding and threatening to OHKO them with STAB-boosted Draco Meteor. Furthermore, Hydreigon acts as a crucial answer to Calm Mind Ursaluna-B, using Substitute on its Blood Moon and setting up with Nasty Plot to break through it, and additionally provides a Fire, Water, and Grass resistance to its team.

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Ban Reasoning

Most of the discussions concerning Urshifu-S's banworthiness have centered around its Swords Dance set. Urshifu-S's extremely powerful STAB combination in addition to its capacity to easily set up with Swords Dance due to its great physical bulk (for reference, Urshifu-S has the same physical bulk as Reshiram, a box legendary) allows it to easily tear through most of the defensive cores in the metagame. This can be very constraining on teambuilding, as the list of non-Fairy-type Pokemon in the metagame that can be said to defensively answer Urshifu-S is very limited. Prominent types such as Water lack ways of consistently answering Urshifu-S, with defensive checks such as Quagsire and Toxapex being afraid to switch in and proving susceptible to being worn down by entry hazards. Moreover, types like Psychic are forced into unreasonable teambuilding and gameplay conundrums due to the presence of Urshifu-S in the metagame, being forced to use Scream Tail to avoid a loss on Preview to Urshifu-S, since it is the only Psychic-type that can both outspeed and OHKO Urshifu-S without fainting to Sucker Punch. Yet, including Scream Tail by no means makes the matchup against Urshifu-S secure, as Scream Tail cannot safely switch into Wicked Blow. Another type that Urshifu-S constrains in teambuilding is Steel, with teams being effectively forced to use Klefki to avoid a near-automatic loss to Urshifu-S. It is further worth noting that a lot of Urshifu-S's defensive counterplay is flawed and that hard counters are few and far between; for instance, Great Tusk lacks longevity on Ground, and Quagsire is unable to take on Choice Band Urshifu-S. Compounding on this, sacking a Pokemon such as Moltres or Toxapex to status Urshifu-S leaves one vulnerable to being swept by Urshifu-S's teammates, such as Zamazenta. Urshifu-S is also very difficult to offensively outmaneuver due to its strong STAB Sucker Punch, particularly if it opts to run an Adamant nature. For example, Choice Scarf Enamorus is one of the best offensive threats to Urshifu-S in the metagame, but even it has a 56.3% chance to be OHKOed by a +2 Black Glasses-boosted Sucker Punch after Stealth Rock. Arguably, the only consistent offensive answers in the tier to Swords Dance Urshifu-S are Iron Valiant, Choice Scarf Great Tusk, Hydreigon, and various other niche Fighting-types such as Infernape, which are available only on a select few types. On top of all this, Urshifu-S also has incredible team support that easily enables it. On Fighting, Iron Hands, Sneasler, and Okidogi are all great options for removing the Fairy-types that threaten Urshifu-S, and even if Urshifu-S is KOed early-game, the type still has two other extremely strong offensive threats in Iron Valiant and Zamazenta that can easily mop up weakened teams. As for Dark, Urshifu-S has potent offensive synergy with Kingambit and Chien-Pao, being able to easily remove threats such as Heatran, opposing Chien-Pao, and Baxcalibur to allow them to sweep. It is also extremely deadly with support from Ting-Lu's entry hazards and Sableye's Encore, and Mandibuzz offers a slow U-turn to bring Urshifu-S in safely, which is particularly threatening in conjunction with Choice Band. In summary, proponents of Urshifu-S being banned argued that it is simply too powerful for the metagame and too centralizing with regards to teambuilding and therefore constitutes a broken and unhealthy presence in SV Monotype.

Replay Analysis

2023 Monotype Last Chance Round 2 - ArkenCiel (Fighting) vs Squeeby (Ghost)

Here, Urshifu-S Fighting easily destroys a Ghost team that should beat it on paper. Squeeby opted to use Heavy-Duty Boots Flutter Mane on this team, a somewhat uncommon set employed specifically so that Jolly Black Glasses Urshifu-S could not OHKO it with Sucker Punch, even if Stealth Rock was on the field. Unfortunately for Squeeby, however, ArkenCiel's Urshifu-S was using an Adamant nature, allowing it to cleanly OHKO Flutter Mane with Sucker Punch. With Flutter Mane eliminated and Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes support from Great Tusk and Sneasler, Urshifu-S was able to easily run through the rest of Squeeby's team, despite his use of Reflect Sableye and Substitute Dragapult to try and impede it.

2023 Monotype Last Chance Round 1 - Leafium Z (Fighting) vs RoyalReloaded (Ground)

This replay shows Urshifu-S's capacity to tear through the defensive cores that constitute more balanced types such as Ground. After the early elimination of RoyalReloaded's Landorus by a surprise Ice Fang from Leafium Z's Zamazenta, Urshifu-S's teammates are able to put it in a position where it can cleave through RoyalReloaded's weakened team. In particular, Sneasler poisoned Quagsire with Poison Touch, meaning Quagsire could not outlast Urshifu-S's repeated Wicked Blows. Great Tusk was also unable to act as a sustained Urshifu-S check, losing 50% of its health just from switching into Wicked Blow twice and then being cleaned up by a Close Combat followed by a Sucker Punch late-game. This game is a good demonstration of the difficulty of dealing with Urshifu-S for balance teams, even without an opportunity to set up or a Choice item. It also elucidates just how effective Urshifu-S's teammates are in supporting it, as well as how Urshifu-S's apparent checks can be worn down and rendered vulnerable to it over the course of a game.

Do Not Ban Reasoning

Advocates of Urshifu-S remaining in the tier argued that there is more defensive counterplay to Urshifu-S compared to when it was quickbanned in the HOME metagame, which is true. Kommo-o, Okidogi, and Galarian Weezing are all sturdy checks to Urshifu-S that also have good utility on their teams outside serving as an Urshifu-S answer. Urshifu-S is also somewhat held back by its middling Speed tier, which means it is outpaced and threatened by many offensive Pokemon in the metagame such as Hydreigon, Walking Wake, and Ogerpon-H. In addition, Urshifu-S finds itself rather vulnerable to status moves, such as Toxic and Will-O-Wisp from foes such as Toxapex and Moltres, due to both a lack of natural immunity to these and not having the room to fit Substitute in its moveset. This can make setting up a Swords Dance difficult in certain matchups and causes Urshifu-S to be reliant on Sucker Punch, which has low PP and can be thwarted by Substitute on Pokemon such as Spectrier and Dragapult, as well as fast Encores or Will-O-Wisps from Alolan Ninetales and Spectrier, respectively. Urshifu-S's Choice sets are also tolerable to deal with once revealed, given either their lack of Speed and predictability of Sucker Punch on Choice Band sets or their lack of power and susceptibility to faster Choice Scarf users such as Enamorus and Meowscarada on Choice Scarf sets. It is worth noting that at present, most serious teams seen in tournament play tend to incorporate one or more Urshifu-S answers while remaining solid against the metagame as a whole. Urshifu-S also has a valuable defensive place on Fighting as the type's lone Psychic immunity, not simply serving as a mundane and easily replaceable sweeper on these teams. On Dark, Urshifu-S is not a particularly contentious element, and this is reflected in Urshifu-S's considerably lower usage on Dark (roughly 39%) compared to Fighting (roughly 76%). This lower usage can be attributed both to Urshifu-S being less defensively valuable for Dark compared to Fighting and the opportunity cost of using it over the plethora of other options Dark has access to. Overall, the anti-ban argument is tenuous but grounded in the belief that Urshifu-S is less broken in practice than on paper and that metagame adaptations to it already exist and would likely continue to appear if it were to remain unbanned.

Replay Analysis

Monotype Seeded Tour III Round 2 - Azick (Fighting) vs Ferno (Water)

Although Azick's Fighting team won this match in the end, Urshifu-S proved to be fairly lackluster in this game. It only managed to remove Volcanion and chip Walking Wake before being sacked, which was of limited consequence. Looking at Ferno's team, Urshifu-S struggles in this matchup despite the lack of a Dark answer. Rotom-W, Toxapex, and Volcanion could status Urshifu-S and cripple it for the rest of the game, while Manaphy, Ogerpon-W and Walking Wake all outsped or threatened to heavily damage or eliminate Urshifu-S. It was ultimately the combination of Iron Valiant, Zamazenta, and Iron Hands that was decisive for Azick here.

Monotype Seeded Tour III Round 2 - roxie (Poison) vs Ronman5 (Fighting)

roxie's team here is very well suited to take on Urshifu-S, boasting two defensive answers in Galarian Weezing and Okidogi. Despite Urshifu-S being able to set up a Swords Dance boost against an Alolan Muk neutered by a Choice Scarf Trick, Galarian Weezing was able to switch in and easily remove it, only losing about half of its HP in the process. From there, roxie was able to create a situation where Okidogi could freely Bulk Up against Ronman5's Zamazenta and comfortably take the game. It is of significance here that even if Galarian Weezing had been defeated early on, Urshifu-S still would likely not have been able to sweep due to the presence of Okidogi. This replay illustrates that Urshifu-S does indeed have good defensive answers in the metagame and cannot simply bowl over all of them after a Swords Dance boost.

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Outcome

With a 61% pro-ban majority following the conclusion of blind voting, Urshifu-S has been banned from SV Monotype. The ramifications of this will almost certainly include a significant decrease in the viability of Fighting, with the type losing a choice that was not only one of its overall best offensive threats, but also a crucial piece for matchups such as Ghost, Psychic, and Steel. Losing Urshifu-S means the vast majority of Fighting-type teams will now also have a blanket Psychic weakness, allowing threats such as Greninja, Choice Scarf Landorus, and Choice Scarf Hoopa-U to rather easily run through these teams without having to worry about Urshifu-S switching in. Conversely, types that Urshifu-S was uniquely strong against, such as Steel, Normal, and Psychic, are likely to see rises in their viability. Dark, in particular, seems like it will especially benefit from Urshifu-S no longer being present in the metagame. While this may seem paradoxical, as Dark has lost an offensive tool with Urshifu-S being banned, Urshifu-S was by no means integral to the type, and Dark struggled significantly against opposing Urshifu-S as well as the generally high usage rate of Fighting-type teams. Urshifu-S being banned is therefore a net gain for Dark, as the type will highly enjoy the likely decreased presence of Fighting as a whole, and will be able to use Sableye to more freely answer Fighting without worrying about Urshifu-S switching in and using it as setup fodder.

Further Reading

• SV Monotype Urshifu-S Suspect Thread
• SV Monotype Urshifu-S HOME Metagame Quickban
• SS Monotype Recap (see section on Urshifu-S suspect)

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