Top Ten Titans of Gen 8 OU
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Art by Pissog.
Introduction
Generation 8 OU will always be unique as the first generation to remove powerful game mechanics and Pokemon through Dexit. An OU metagame without tier staples like Gliscor, Manaphy, and Greninja felt new and exciting, all signs that this iteration of OU would not be like any other. This was also the first generation to introduce DLC into the mix, shuffling the metagame periodically and essentially producing four separate metagames in the span of one generation, making this Top 10 Titans list even more difficult to decide on than it already would be. Pokemon were looked at holistically to determine their place on this list, meaning that their impact on the final iteration of OU, the Crown Tundra metagame, is not the be-all-end-all end of their rank. We wanted to determine which Pokemon were the most influential on Smogon's hallmark tier throughout the entire generation! Our titans were truly special this generation, given all the metagame turnover they had to deal with. Each titan was nominated and then voted on in this thread in the OU forum, where they were discussed thoroughly and decided upon.
10
Weavile's rise to the top of OU is perhaps the most revealing occurrence of the generation. In previous generations, Weavile struggled due to Icicle Crash's inconsistency and its Stealth Rock weakness. Sword and Shield fixed both of those problems, granting Weavile better consistency and more power in Triple Axel and longevity in Heavy-Duty Boots. Without Mega Pokemon or Z-Crystals in the tier, STAB Knock Off was both incredibly threatening and terribly difficult to punish, making Weavile extremely good at generating progress. While it took a little while for Weavile to take off due to Magearna's short stint in OU, it quickly cemented itself as one of OU's most defining Pokemon. Its status as the tier's best Dark-type was also important to its meteoric rise. It punished Tapu Lele locked into Psychic and Dragapult locked into Shadow Ball like no other. Weavile could also forgo its beloved Heavy-Duty Boots for more offensive options like Life Orb + Swords Dance and Choice Band + Beat Up, the latter of which proved to make Weavile one of the hardest Pokemon to switch into, as Choice Band Beat Up could 2HKO any Pokemon that did not resist the move. Weavile is always a Pokemon that needs to be accounted for in the builder due to its ability to win games off of the slightest amount of progress, and when building in SS OU, it should always be at the top of your list of Pokemon to consider using.
9
Urshifu-S was OU's resident powerhouse for quite some time. The startlingly powerful combination of Wicked Blow and Close Combat backed by Urshifu-S's ludicrous Attack stat made it one of the best Choice Band users the tier has ever seen. It didn't just spam those moves; however, as it had plenty of options to choose from in Sucker Punch, U-turn, Poison Jab, and the rare Bulk Up to punish foes for even attempting to switch into it. Fairy-types, which one would naturally think would counter Urshifu-S, could hardly keep it in check, as it could easily overpower its checks with even the smallest modicum of prior chip damage. Life Orb sets completely invalidated standard checks as well, letting Urshifu-S simply hit what was in front of it. Urshifu-S's effectiveness was compounded by FuturePort users, notably Slowbro and Slowking, which further boosted its already staggeringly high damage output. Quite early into the Crown Tundra metagame, it was suspected and banned, saving OU from Urshifu-S's wicked ways.
8
Good old Ferrothorn has remained incredible throughout this generation as a fantastic defensive pick, with its ability to focus on either defensive stat as well as a great typing with a wide utility movepool. At the beginning of the generation, Ferrothorn was one of the best Spikes setters, thanks to its ability to take on a handful of threats, like Dracovish, Bisharp, and Zeraora, while forcing out Pokemon trying to remove its hazards, which was a big reason how Spikes became so dominant throughout the Home metagame. Throughout the Isle of Armor metagame, Ferrothorn continued doing what it did best in setting Spikes, remaining a common sight while still being important for checking new threats like Rillaboom and Magearna. Ferrothorn's dominance in covering threats and spreading hazards led to Magnezone rising up in popularity with Iron Defense + Body Press as a way to trap Ferrothron and remove it completely. Ferrothorn's presence continues with the Crown Tundra metagame, with new threats to cover like Weavile, Tapu Koko, and Melmetal, and its sheer utility in setting up hazards, spamming Leech Seed, and removing items with Knock Off made it an incredible pick for almost any team. Ferrothorn's defensive prowess was further proven when hail became popular, as it was one of the few Steel-types that could take on Arctozolt and showed how problematic it can be as it starts stacking Spikes or slowly making progress with Leech Seed chip damage. The ability to check physical and special attackers alike further shows how a Pokemon able to take on multiple threats for teams acts as a great glue that can be easily slapped on any team. Ferrothorn remains an incredible pick to this day for its incredible role compression and what it provides for these teams; not only does it enable its teammates with hazards and item removal, but it can be just as annoying on its own, earning it its spot in the OU metagame.
7
At the beginning of the generation, Corviknight proved itself to be a meta-defining pick for its ability to check key threats such as Excadrill, Clefable, and Ferrothorn with its incredible defensive typing. It usually acted as a reliable Defogger, though it was occasionally seen as a setup sweeper running a Bulk Up set to take advantage of threats it would normally switch into and use them as setup fodder. Corviknight was an incredible pivot, as in addition to removing hazards for wallbreakers, it could also bring them in safely, and this great role compression and ability to check a handful of threats made it influential throughout the Home metagame. With the release of the Isle of Armor, Corviknight remained a great pick, as it was one of the better checks for Rillaboom with the latter's newfound access to Grassy Glide, as well as other common picks in that metagame such as Clefable, Excadrill, Alakazam, and Rhyperior. Corviknight became even better upon the banning of Cinderace, completely rising back to the top in usage to keep all the threats it wanted at bay; this led to teams adapting to better take it on, such as the rise of Magnezone to trap and dispose of it, as well as other offensive threats that could take on its moves like Toxtricity and Aegislash. As the metagame kept changing, Corviknight remained relevant, as there were more checks for it to take on such as Kartana and Landorus-T. Corviknight's great defensive stats also allow it to act as a mixed defensive wall, improving its ability to check special attackers like Tapu Lele and Dragapult. However, while Corviknight had a good presence throughout the generation, its downsides such as its passivity became more apparent; leading to it eventually facing competition with other Steel-types that did a job better keeping threats checks at bay; nevertheless, Corviknight remains a good pick for teams in need of bulky Steel/Flying type for its ability compress roles in one slot and keep certain threats at bay, earning its spot as a defining staple of the metagame.
6
Ah, Heatran, OU's favorite frog. Heatran has been providing OU with its specially defensive services for quite a while, and this generation was no different. Despite the introduction of Body Press giving regular Heatran victims like Ferrothorn and Skarmory a new way to pressure it, it remained one of the most threatening Pokemon in the tier due to Magma Storm and Stealth Rock. It sometimes seemed that Heatran alone was all that stopped dangerous threats like Tapu Lele and Clefable from running roughshot across the tier. With Mints removing nature lock from old events, Heatran also gained access to a new tool in Eruption, and it quickly put it to use, demolishing Pokemon that "resist" Fire. Its offensive Air Balloon set took advantage of opponents who foolishly thought their Ground-types could punish it, making quick work of them with Eruption and Magma Storm. Heatran's ability to trap and eliminate the ever-present Toxapex, generate amazing progress with Magma Storm and Eruption, and check some of the strongest threats OU has ever seen like Zapdos and Tapu Lele made it a pick every team had to account for.
5
Kyurem had a tumultuous time in OU to put it lightly. Gaining access to Freeze-Dry in Generation 8, Kyurem quickly became OU's biggest enigma. While it was too slow to directly pressure offensive teams, its raw power, backed by either a Never-Melt Ice or a Choice Specs, allowed it to tear through balance teams like no tomorrow. It also had the ability to catch opponents off guard with Dragon Dance or Choice Scarf, really hammering home how hard it was to effectively check Kyurem. Simply put, there were very few consistent switch-ins to it given its immense coverage in Earth Power and Focus Blast, the raw power of its Ice-type STAB moves, and the potential threat of a Choice Specs Draco Meteor, as passive answers like Blissey could not deal with its stallbreaking capabilities. Niche answers like Scizor and Light Screen Toxapex rapidly gained popularity as means of slowing Kyurem down, demonstrating its effect on the OU builder. Kyurem was eventually suspected midway through the Crown Tundra DLC and subsequently banned, demonstrating just how domineering and restricting the icy dragon was to play against.
4
Toxapex was an important defensive staple at the start of the generation, being able to check notable offensive threats in the Dynamax metagame, stop problematic Dynamax users with Haze, and check the likes of Dracovish and Galarian Darmanitan, as well as being difficult to wear down with Regenerator and Recover. It also slowly chipped down teams with status and Knock Off. The significance of Toxapex was still apparent with the release of Isle of Armor, as Toxapex paired well with Mandibuzz, making for one of the few cores that could take on Urshifu-S. Due to the popularity of this core, Future Sight ended up being paired more commonly with Urshifu-S, as either one would have trouble taking Future Sight combined with a powerful attack from Urshifu-S; even then, Toxapex was still important in checking other key threats like Volcarona and Cinderace. Toxapex's presence even forced the team to acknowledge it in the builder, as it can easily sit on teams that didn't have a way to deal with it as it slowly whittled down the opposing team with its support moves. The playerbase found Toxapex obscene just for how difficult it was for some teams to take it on without using Future Sight and even demanded for it to get suspected, showing how impactful Toxapex was in the Isle of Armor. Crown Tundra saw the release of threats like Pheromosa, Genesect, and Cinderace, all of which Toxapex would check, and even with those banned, Toxapex still maintained its high usage to take on rising threats like Urshifu-R and Weavile. Toxapex has also adapted to the usage of Future Sight by using Light Screen as a way to fend off fatter teams to make up for its weakness against it. While Toxapex is passive and doesn't like the trends of heavy-hitters that can muscle through it like Volcanion and Tapu Lele, it still remains a great defensive pick for its sheer ability to take on a lot of threats at once and be nearly impossible to defeat due to its constant recovery.
3
OU's immortal king returned in the Crown Tundra to dominate the tier once again. Shedding its previous incarnations as a physically defensive wall and Choice Scarf pivot, Landorus-T took on the mantle left up for grabs by Gliscor's Dexit as the tier's premier specially defensive Ground-type. The name of Landorus-T's game is role compression. By providing teams with an immunity to Ground and Electric, entry hazard control in Stealth Rock and Defog, and additional support through Toxic and Knock Off, and, perhaps most importantly, a slow U-turn, Landorus-T makes building balance in SS OU effortless. It can even flex into an offensive role with Normal Gem + Explosion or Swords Dance. Its current Viability Ranking as the lone S rank speaks volumes about the immense ease with which it fits on teams. Despite struggling to win games by itself, Landorus-T alone mandates a Ground-immune Pokemon on every team. It is a supremely powerful user of Toxic due to its ability to force out most Steel- and Poison-types, and it is an excellent Defogger, as it is one of the few that pressure Heatran. Landorus-T both frees and stales the builder due to its omnipresence, and OU would not be the same without it.
2
Ghost was one of the most prominent offensive typings this generation, and Dragapult proves it due to its incredible Speed and offensive typing. The lack of Pokemon that resist it and the removal of Pursuit this generation only make it easier for Dragapult to spam Shadow Ball and harder for teams to deal with, and even teams that have Dragapult switch-ins struggle dealing with its coverage or see it simply just U-turning out. During the Home metagame, Dragapult used Hex with status moves that were difficult to switch into, as the double damage would allow it to muscle through Clefable. Dragapult's presence in the Crown Tundra metagame caused the likes of Toxapex and Landorus-T to begin running Special Defense investment to better it take on, and offensive Dark-types like Tyranitar and Weavile rose in usage to better take on Shadow Ball. Despite this, Dragapult began using a Modest nature that made it harder to switch into, giving up speed for additional breaking power to muscle through the foes that began adapting for it. Due to how spammable Shadow Ball was, Dragapult was paired up with other Ghost-types, notably Blacephalon, which can weaken or remove most of Dragapult's answers or cripple them with Trick. The offensive footprint that Dragapult has left is very noticeable, with teams being required to acknowledge its presence.
1
Clefable was a dominant presence throughout the entirety of this generation. At the very start of the generation, it was an offensive presence with a Calm Mind set able to take advantage of the passive metagame and its limited switch-ins. When Pokemon Home came out, the new buffed Teleport combined with Wish allowed Clefable to be an amazing defensive presence able to bring in allies safely as well as provide recovery for them, making it nearly mandatory for every team. This ability to get off Wish passes with ease without sustaining a lot of pressure in the absence of much to pressure it out, since the likes of Galarian Slowking and Heatran weren't around yet, made Clefable meta defining, pushing it to S+ in the Viability Rankings at the time to show how dominant it was; at the same time, it was still a great win condition thanks to Calm Mind sets and a great disrupter. Upon the release of Isle of Armor, Clefable remained dominant, as it was one of the few Pokemon that could check Urshifu-S, and it began using a Trick set with either Sticky Barb or Choice Scarf as a way of crippling would-be checks and opposing Clefable. The Crown Tundra saw a decline in the middle of its life, with Urshifu-S's ban and the increase in usage of the likes of Melmetal, Heatran, and Weavile not helping it, along with its struggles checking Dragapult as well as competition with Tapu Fini at the time. However, Clefable has had a resurgence with the sheer utility of its moves, like Knock Off and Thunder Wave, with a vast array in sets and new adaptions allowing it to better take on the likes of Weavile and Urshifu-R with a Rocky Helmet set, making it a good defensive pick as well as a good wincon when running Calm Mind to take on most Steel-types. All these attributes combined with great ability and typing prove how Clefable has been consistent throughout the generation, making it the most influential Titan in the OU metagame.
Honorable Mentions
Dracovish was a prominent threat, with Strong Jaw-boosted Fishious Rend making it nearly impossible to switch into safely. This led to the usage of Seismitoad, which was one of the better checks of Dracovish at the time thanks to Water Absorb; and it was nearly impossible to switch to Dracovish without a Water Absorb user because even sturdy Water-resistant Pokemon were 2HKOed, especially with rain support, which was common with Dracovish. The slowish metagame at the time made it easy for Dracovish to pick off foes and force switches, which eventually led to it getting suspected and banned.
Zeraora was an absolute demon of a cat in the Isle of Armor metagame. The advent of Heavy-Duty Boots and a distinct lack of both Landorus-T and Gliscor allowed Zeraora to run roughshot on the tier. Its status as an incredibly difficult pivot to thwart due to Heavy-Duty Boots, its blazing Speed, and its access to Knock Off made Zeraora a top choice. It could even run Bulk Up on more offensive teams to act as a late-game wincon. However, once the final DLC, Crown Tundra, dropped, so did Zeraora. With new offensive checks like Choice Scarf Tapu Lele and new defensive checks like Landorus-T and Garchomp, Zeraora quickly slid down the viability rankings. While it still has a place as a decent option on hyper offense teams due to its almost uncontested Speed tier, it is nowhere near as dominant now as it was back in its DLC 1 heyday; however, it was so good during the Isle of Armor metagame that it deserved an honorable mention on this list.
Cinderace wasn't anything special at the start of the Generation, as it was simply an offensive pivot with the ability to switch hazards across the field with Court Change. Eventually, Cinderace got access to Librero, which made it difficult to switch into reliably with its variety of coverage moves, great Speed tier, and ability to pivot out easily with U-turn while Heavy-Duty Boots made it very difficult to wear down; the combination of these led to Cinderace being deemed too problematic for the metagame, causing it to get banned. Despite having switch-ins like Hippowdon, Slowbro, and Toxapex during the time it was unbanned in the Crown Tundra, Cinderace could still pivot out of them or force them to take its strong coverage moves, causing it to get banned again.
Originally banned during the Home metagame, Melmetal came back to OU in the Crown Tundra to make a statement. Melmetal's insane initial offensive presence, coverage, and ability to cheese checks with Double Iron Bash's hilarious 51% flinch rate quickly caused it to soar to the top of OU once larger threats like Cinderace and Urshifu-S had left the tier. For what seems like a very straightforward Pokemon, Melmetal offers a surprising amount of set diversity, making it particularly difficult to check. It was an excellent user of Protect + Toxic, stalling checks like Slowbro; a dastardly Thunder Wave user, paraflinching Toxapex and Corviknight out of existence; and a great Assault Vest Pokemon, turning the tables on Heatran and Dragapult. It could also run other options like Substitute to punish passive foes like Ferrothorn and Toxapex or Iron Defense + Body Press to catch teams that relied on Landorus-T and Garchomp to check it. Near the end of generation 8, Melmetal was suspected due to this immense power and ability to surprise; however, it was kept in the tier in a landslide vote, with voters citing its lack of longevity and status as a Tapu Lele and Weavile check making it a very healthy asset for the tier as a whole. Any way you look at it, however, Melmetal was quite the powerhouse in Sword and Shield OU.
Slowbro appreciates the buff of Teleport to act as a slow pivot with Regenerator; however, what truly made Slowbro impactful was Future Sight. The combination of both moves allowed Slowbro to help its teammates switch in and made offensive threats like Urshifu-S difficult to switch into, as Future Sight made it difficult to stay in safely without acknowledging it. This led the metagame to adapt against Future Sight with Pokemon like Light Screen Toxapex. While Slowbro provided good offensive support for its team, it was also a good defensive wall, being able to check threats like Urshifu-R and Melmetal, as well as take on even Weavile with Colbur Berry + Body Press.
Final Thoughts
Generation 8 is coming to a close, and while some bemoan this most recent iteration of OU as a poor metagame, I, for one, think it was an excellent generation for Smogon's flagship tier. We saw Pokemon rise and fall with the rapid metagame shifts Sword and Shield's DLC brought us, and while OU had its low points (do not forget the terror that was WishPort), you could not call it stale. Instead of a generation-defining gimmick like Mega Evolution or Z-Moves, we got to experience a generation defined by the Pokemon in it, pure and simple. I think this was one of the most competitively diverse and interesting generations we have seen in quite some time, and I am sad to see it go. While generation 9 teases us with a new metagame, let's not be too hasty to ditch Sword and Shield OverUsed, a metagame characterized by its Titans through and through.
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