I'm so excited about 35 mons this February. I feel like Araquanid is gonna be a pain in the tush though, with so much of the metagame being slow and it having access to sticky webs, especially with Arctozolt just sitting there. I also feel like Ambipom is gonna be a very common face. Honestly though what I care most about is now I get to run an assault vest Uxie, I've been trying to make that work since x and y.
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Other Tier 35 Pokes-- September 2025
- Thread starter NotGerald
- Start date
Is Carnivine real? Kind of.
This is a Trick room offense made my myself
Uxie is the best support in the meta and reliably gets up trick room with the help of mental herb.
Nothing switches into Banded Pangoro safely and it has good momentum with parting shot
Same goes for pincurchin, nothing switches into it safely and it still does some good chip to spdef Uxie
Arctozolt is able to hit the whole meta with this set and this specific spread allows it to ohko max hp bewear from full with rising voltage in terrain
Rapidash provides support with trick room and suicide healing wish that allows you to be more aggressive with your offensive pieces. It also hits a good chunk of the meta with its stabs
Carnivine, yes carnivine is actually somewhat usable. Arctozolt, Pangoro, and Pincurchin all support carnivine by being able to deal with sigilyph, which is one of two special attackers that it cant take two hits from (the other being arctozolt). It can even 1v1 weezings with this spdef set, trapping it with infestation, healing back with leech seed, and stalling it out with protect + sub. It can also deal with sigilyph if its lorb or specs has been knocked off.
Weaknesses: Arctozolt is very good into this team when trick room is not up and ambipom is this team's kryptonite, stalling trick room with fake out and just doing generally good damage with its priority, therefore ignoring the speed tier flip from trick room.
This is a Trick room offense made my myself
Weaknesses: Arctozolt is very good into this team when trick room is not up and ambipom is this team's kryptonite, stalling trick room with fake out and just doing generally good damage with its priority, therefore ignoring the speed tier flip from trick room.
YOU COOKED
Going forward I'm going to try and keep this thread more active.
THAT SAID, here's me reposting a tier list from the Discord since its fairly interesting: Thievul being legitimately good wasn't on my bingo card, but weirder things have happened.
The overall sentiment is that this is probably the most diverse meta we've had to date. The only thing here without a legitimate niche is Magcargo, and that could just be that it hasn't been explored enough yet.
THAT SAID, here's me reposting a tier list from the Discord since its fairly interesting: Thievul being legitimately good wasn't on my bingo card, but weirder things have happened.
The overall sentiment is that this is probably the most diverse meta we've had to date. The only thing here without a legitimate niche is Magcargo, and that could just be that it hasn't been explored enough yet.
magcargo's niche has been found and it's usable (still mid asf but usable)
Magcargo @ Air Balloon
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Power Gem
- Earth Power
- Shell Smash
https://pokepast.es/e77b6064bb009b74
A little team i made at the start of the month and tinkered with, should have consistent results
Drifblim is equipped with Mirror Herb to steal a Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, or god forbid Belly Drum, then outspeed them because of unburden
Kingler can clean up games, outspeeding most, and ignoring intimidate/parting shot it's quite hard to stop
Morpeko can deal with pokemon like gourgeist and mantine, also using Parting Shot to allow it's teammates to come in easier
Granbull Is the teams physical tank, spreading status (toxic in case of stall, Thunder Wave in case of Hyper Offense) and healing it, also dealing quite a bit of damage with earthquake
Mantine is the teams Special Tank, stopping any water moves, removing hazards, and stalling out the opponents health
Scolipede Hides behind substitute, setting up both in speed and damage, which can skyrocket into a game over
A little team i made at the start of the month and tinkered with, should have consistent results
Drifblim is equipped with Mirror Herb to steal a Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, or god forbid Belly Drum, then outspeed them because of unburden
Kingler can clean up games, outspeeding most, and ignoring intimidate/parting shot it's quite hard to stop
Morpeko can deal with pokemon like gourgeist and mantine, also using Parting Shot to allow it's teammates to come in easier
Granbull Is the teams physical tank, spreading status (toxic in case of stall, Thunder Wave in case of Hyper Offense) and healing it, also dealing quite a bit of damage with earthquake
Mantine is the teams Special Tank, stopping any water moves, removing hazards, and stalling out the opponents health
Scolipede Hides behind substitute, setting up both in speed and damage, which can skyrocket into a game over
Scarf Medicham Semi Stall
This sample team’s goal is to wear down the opponents team to death or in range of Medicham.
Medicham
Main win con and is most of the offensive pressure on this team. Its main job is to clean up chipped and worn down teams.
Scolipede
Annoying fast toxic staller.
Gourgeist
Main Scolipede, physical Lucario, and Revaroom check. Can take most physical attacks, even some weaker super effective ones.
Wyrdeer
Secondary Scolipede and Revaroom check and provides intimidate support. This EV spread allows it OHKO Scolipede with Psychic Noise and outspeed Mantine and then dumps the rest into HP and Defense.
Mantine
Main special wall and hazard clear. This set can take every single special attack in the meta outside of electric moves and can threaten scald burns or toxic support and clear hazards with defog.
Wormadam-Trash
Secondary special wall and trapper. This set aims at trapping either a passive mon or a special attacker that can’t output enough damage like Jynx. After trapping, it can toxic or metal burst to eliminate the opponents mon. With metal burst, it can also bail you out of tough situations by tanking a hit and returning the damage.
This sample team’s goal is to wear down the opponents team to death or in range of Medicham.
Medicham
Main win con and is most of the offensive pressure on this team. Its main job is to clean up chipped and worn down teams.
Scolipede
Annoying fast toxic staller.
Gourgeist
Main Scolipede, physical Lucario, and Revaroom check. Can take most physical attacks, even some weaker super effective ones.
Wyrdeer
Secondary Scolipede and Revaroom check and provides intimidate support. This EV spread allows it OHKO Scolipede with Psychic Noise and outspeed Mantine and then dumps the rest into HP and Defense.
Mantine
Main special wall and hazard clear. This set can take every single special attack in the meta outside of electric moves and can threaten scald burns or toxic support and clear hazards with defog.
Wormadam-Trash
Secondary special wall and trapper. This set aims at trapping either a passive mon or a special attacker that can’t output enough damage like Jynx. After trapping, it can toxic or metal burst to eliminate the opponents mon. With metal burst, it can also bail you out of tough situations by tanking a hit and returning the damage.
Lucario Balance
Here's the main team I've been using this month
Mantine is the premier special wall and offers hazard removal to prevent the defensive core of it, Gourgeist, and Gabite from getting worn down from hazards too much. Toxic can be replaced with haze if you fear belly drum Linoone or stored power Wyrdeer
Gourgiest tanks almost every physical attacker this month and has toxic to punish Mantine or Eldegoss switching in. It also helps cover Mantine against Raichu
Gabite is the second physical wall with stealth rock support. It checks Charizard which can beat both Mantine and Gourgeist as well as phase out setup sweepers using dragon tail
Grafaiai can stop the opposing team from making progress by preventing hazards and defog, stopping setup sweepers from boosting up or locking them into a setup move, knocking off items, and generate momentum for your team by pivoting with parting shot. It's also really good into Scolipedes that think they can setup on Grafaiai by encoring them into substitute or swords dance
Raichu deals with Mantine which would otherwise wall Lucario while dealing some good damage on its own
Lucario is the win con of the team. Vacuum wave allows it to hit things that would normally outspeed it such as Thievul or Linoone. Lucario can easily clean up in the late game with a nasty plot boost after faster threats like Scolipede, Charizard, and scarf Medicham are either down or are on low enough HP to finish off with a vacuum wave
Here's the main team I've been using this month
Mantine is the premier special wall and offers hazard removal to prevent the defensive core of it, Gourgeist, and Gabite from getting worn down from hazards too much. Toxic can be replaced with haze if you fear belly drum Linoone or stored power Wyrdeer
Gourgiest tanks almost every physical attacker this month and has toxic to punish Mantine or Eldegoss switching in. It also helps cover Mantine against Raichu
Gabite is the second physical wall with stealth rock support. It checks Charizard which can beat both Mantine and Gourgeist as well as phase out setup sweepers using dragon tail
Grafaiai can stop the opposing team from making progress by preventing hazards and defog, stopping setup sweepers from boosting up or locking them into a setup move, knocking off items, and generate momentum for your team by pivoting with parting shot. It's also really good into Scolipedes that think they can setup on Grafaiai by encoring them into substitute or swords dance
Raichu deals with Mantine which would otherwise wall Lucario while dealing some good damage on its own
Lucario is the win con of the team. Vacuum wave allows it to hit things that would normally outspeed it such as Thievul or Linoone. Lucario can easily clean up in the late game with a nasty plot boost after faster threats like Scolipede, Charizard, and scarf Medicham are either down or are on low enough HP to finish off with a vacuum wave
All hail the rat
Just checking out the new list, first time being interested in the tier cant wait to become part of the community. 2 questions: What types look the best for coverage into this roster & Is there any real knock absorber? (Seems like everything wants its item) I'm starting to team build my first team any advice helps, ty.
I’ve only gotten a few games in on the ladder, but so far fighting and dark coverage seem to be the most valuable! Fighting coverage allows you to hit mons like Cyclizar and Type-Null while Dark allows you to deal with Rotom, which is an excellent spinblocker and definitely not something you want to let in for free. In terms of knock absorbers, Sticky Hold Dipplin is probably the best one at the moment since it makes eviolite impossible to remove. Cradily and Gastrodon are both in the tier and while at the moment they seem to be better off running Storm Drain, we have seen Sticky Hold Gastrodon become viable in past formats (even making it onto a championship team) so maybe history will repeat itself here.
I hope this helps, and welcome to the 35 Pokes community!
Hello everyone sorry for the delay on this post (had to catch up on reading), congrats to us, the 35 Pokes Community for getting another opportunity as a natdex spotlight ladder we have a pretty fun meta on our hands so far!
Already the council have considered tiering action on Shed Tail and we have unanimously voted to ban Shed Tail from the April 2025 metagame!! To summarise our thoughts, Shed Tail, like in standard play, enables setup sweepers too freely and especially in such a restricted format like 35 Pokes, this got too out of hand, with Cyclizar enabling threats such as Shell Smash Crustle, Sniper Kingdra and many others. It is important to mention that this complex ban does not extend to future months and months preceding this month. Shed Tail was not banned in the June 2024 format and the council judges things by a case-by-case basis. Tagging dhelmise Marty for implementation thanks!
Council reasoning will be listed below and also within our 35 Pokes Council Discord server if you're interested in joining!
In the meantime, use this thread as a discussion of how you find the metagame to be so far post Shed Tail? What are some of your favourites to use so far? Is there anything else you think is overtuned? What might end up being the least used mon this month? WILL SPINDA FIND VIABILITY??
Already the council have considered tiering action on Shed Tail and we have unanimously voted to ban Shed Tail from the April 2025 metagame!! To summarise our thoughts, Shed Tail, like in standard play, enables setup sweepers too freely and especially in such a restricted format like 35 Pokes, this got too out of hand, with Cyclizar enabling threats such as Shell Smash Crustle, Sniper Kingdra and many others. It is important to mention that this complex ban does not extend to future months and months preceding this month. Shed Tail was not banned in the June 2024 format and the council judges things by a case-by-case basis. Tagging dhelmise Marty for implementation thanks!
Council reasoning will be listed below and also within our 35 Pokes Council Discord server if you're interested in joining!
In the meantime, use this thread as a discussion of how you find the metagame to be so far post Shed Tail? What are some of your favourites to use so far? Is there anything else you think is overtuned? What might end up being the least used mon this month? WILL SPINDA FIND VIABILITY??
CORSOLA BOUTTA TAKE OVER THE META RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
Thanks for the information, see you on the ladder perhaps
Dustox @ Black Sludge
Ability: Shield Dust
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Quiver Dance
- Iron Defense
- Bug Buzz
this won 4 games at 1050 elo therefore it is confirmed to be cracked
it's actually so weak it's kinda sad, it almost doesn't get enough bug buzzes to win the game lol even at +6 (ex: at +2 it did like 70 to a chimecho, at +6 it did 25 ish to a tentacruel) but the bulk is just enough for it to wall things once it is boosted. I think it might be an interesting way to take advantage of passive stuff like gastrodon and miltank, especially w/ shield dust which is a very nice ability making it immune to scald burns and body slam paras. Maybe it should run a different ev spread? More speed? I don't know. Edit: maybe sludge bomb over bug buzz?
I think the mon is probably interesting to explore though, but idk if it's actually good
Ability: Shield Dust
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Quiver Dance
- Iron Defense
- Bug Buzz
this won 4 games at 1050 elo therefore it is confirmed to be cracked
it's actually so weak it's kinda sad, it almost doesn't get enough bug buzzes to win the game lol even at +6 (ex: at +2 it did like 70 to a chimecho, at +6 it did 25 ish to a tentacruel) but the bulk is just enough for it to wall things once it is boosted. I think it might be an interesting way to take advantage of passive stuff like gastrodon and miltank, especially w/ shield dust which is a very nice ability making it immune to scald burns and body slam paras. Maybe it should run a different ev spread? More speed? I don't know. Edit: maybe sludge bomb over bug buzz?
I think the mon is probably interesting to explore though, but idk if it's actually good
More dustox posting After some messing around i've came to like this set a lot more:
Dustox @ Black Sludge
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Quiver Dance
- Toxic
- Signal Beam
While iron defense is very funny and can be very threatening, toxic had more utility in my experience as there is not a lot of toxic absorbers in the tier to begin with. Quiver Dance still occasionally claims games vs teams that struggle to threaten it, but it also can be used to force out some toxic switch ins i've seen on the ladder, like tentacruel or random resttalkers. I've come to really like the fact it is a decent status absorber most importantly against Gastrodon who gives you a free turn to qd or spread Toxic. You can run Boots on it of course but i think the passive recovery is really nice even though it is weak to rocks, and considering how good of a hazard remover Cyclizar is + the fact it still can switch into Gastrodon fine even with rocks up. Rocks being up limit it a significant amount but does not make it unusable.
tldr: i think Dustox has a very defined niche as a Gastrodon answer. Unless they run like Yawn i guess but i feel like Gastrodon is already very constrained in what it wants to run already.
Team:
This is basically a fat hazard stack + toxic clicking balance with scarf kingdra as a revenge killing and cleaning option (since outrage has like 2 resists in this tier). I was a bit worried unboosted kingdra could end up be too weak for the job but in practice it actually does fine especially vs offense. While this team is defensively inclined you should try to be proactive with it and force progress where you can and make sure you make your opponent eat spikes and/or toxic. If you play too passively you're just going to get outlasted by opposing Cyclizards or get owned by cracked breakers this tier has like Mr. What Is A Resist (bastiodon isn't real) specs Exploud. To give you an idea of the pace this team plays at, Arcanine is often a decent switch in to Bombirdier here as even though eating knock + rocks can suck you usually don't have to switch into the bird more than 2-3 times unless you are facing like gigastall.
EDIT:
EDIT 2: Made the arcanine cc and miltank body press cuz hitting exploud is GOOD.
Some extra remarks based on things i've seen on the ladder:
Goated, excellent hazard remover and also great hazard abuser itself thanks to regen + knock off. I've seen people on the ladder running specs and band too and those were super super threatening. This is part of what motivated me to run physdef arcanine as it is one of the few things that can eat band sets, and it also is a decent mon in general tbh.
If you ever told me i'd ever get cooked multiple times in a row by meteor beam Cradily i wouldn't have believed u, yet it happened... And is also one of the reasons why i run toxic on Miltank lol. This might be part because my team doesn't have a lot of offensive power that could help threatening it, but at the same time when i'm looking at our offensive guys i feel like there is actually not a lot that can easily threaten a OHKO on it. I think it's kinda incredible to see cracked sets like that just 4 days into the tier, i don't know how pple are so quick to find these lol
Is that thing actually good? I tried some a pivot boots set on it w/ grass knot but it is SO weak even with modest - fun fact spdef gastro avoids the 2hko from it. I've seen pple run various kind of cheek pouch sets but it never looked too amazing to me, which is a shame cuz i think the typing looks so nice otherwise.
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Signups for the April 2025 tournament, hosted on our official discord server are now open! This is a great opportunity to test your skills against some of the best players in the format, as well as to prove the value of pokemon you personally find underrated.
Is, in my opinion, the most underrated pokemon at this current point in the metagame. It’s one of only two spinblockers available right now, and its monumental bulk more than makes up for its sub-50 base speed. Dusknoir is nearly twice as bulky as Rotom, its only competition for the spinblocking + status spreading niche, and possesses a wider array of offensive options. It access to Frisk is especially valuable this month, identifying key choice items/resistance berries or the lack thereof.
Is, in my opinion, the most underrated pokemon at this current point in the metagame. It’s one of only two spinblockers available right now, and its monumental bulk more than makes up for its sub-50 base speed. Dusknoir is nearly twice as bulky as Rotom, its only competition for the spinblocking + status spreading niche, and possesses a wider array of offensive options. It access to Frisk is especially valuable this month, identifying key choice items/resistance berries or the lack thereof.
tbh, i think dusk is great, but i've been saying that since day 1. rotom is hot ass bc the only reason u want a ghost is to spinblock, and rotom just doesnt, even with colbur. Status noir mid tho, 3a tect with pressure or just 4a is where its at, and u always want lefties. The key tools it has are power up punch, which is surprisingly free this meta, and sucker to nail the likes of cyc and exploud with boosted prioSignups for the April 2025 tournament, hosted on our official discord server are now open! This is a great opportunity to test your skills against some of the best players in the format, as well as to prove the value of pokemon you personally find underrated.
Rotom do be terrible lol
I think Dusknoir is nice but spinblocking as a whole is kind of overrated imo, this tier has a tons of ways to make consistent progress and Spikes is just one of them. Gastrodon is a good Spiker, sure, but it requires more support than the average defensive mon imo as it has a nasty 4mss and is more vulnerable to Exploud than our other defensive options. Cyclizar is a great Spikes abuser of course, but it's already very good w/ rocks support alone. I think running Spikes do not require you to run a spinblocker either as long as you have a concrete idea of what you'll do in front of opposing Cyclizar. Besides, while being a normal immunity is rly nice i don't think Dusknoir's typing to be super interesting either. It def wishes it had a stronger fighting move than brick break lol
On an other note i think Kingdra may be a bit ridiculous but unsure
I think Dusknoir is nice but spinblocking as a whole is kind of overrated imo, this tier has a tons of ways to make consistent progress and Spikes is just one of them. Gastrodon is a good Spiker, sure, but it requires more support than the average defensive mon imo as it has a nasty 4mss and is more vulnerable to Exploud than our other defensive options. Cyclizar is a great Spikes abuser of course, but it's already very good w/ rocks support alone. I think running Spikes do not require you to run a spinblocker either as long as you have a concrete idea of what you'll do in front of opposing Cyclizar. Besides, while being a normal immunity is rly nice i don't think Dusknoir's typing to be super interesting either. It def wishes it had a stronger fighting move than brick break lol
On an other note i think Kingdra may be a bit ridiculous but unsure
I've found av polter/eq/ppunch/sucker to be very strong defensive glue on bulky offense to check mons like cm drampa special kingdra bastio exploud and more. Sucker being particularly good to pick off a multitude of threats like crustle attempting to setup on you. It also functions surprisingly well as a wallbreaker with the biggest limiting factor to it being residual damage from toxic and it's lack of recovery. Ppunch lets it spiral out of control very easily vs passive walls like dipplin gastro null and cradily who's biggest tool to hit is toxic. unless the opponent is sporting a very fat team they often have to switch around polter/sucker until toxic damage kills it
I'm inclined to agree with you on spinblocking when it comes to the tier as a whole tbh; I was moreso talking about it in the context of teams where the object is to stack hazards and keep them up. The Dusknoir sets I've had the most fun with personally tend to include an attacking moveset paired with full defensive EVs. It's often able to secure favorable KOs or chip damage before it goes down, though that may be a result of people not being as familiar with playing against Dusknoir or not expecting the particular EV spread. Looking at the Viability ranking, I do think it only really deserves to be one tier higher and so it's the most underrated in the sense that I believe it's the only pokemon ranked above B- which I think should be in a higher tier than it currently is.
The main ways I've been checking Kingdra are by getting my own Kingdra or Cyclizar in position before my opponent and taking advantage of Sturdy + Boots, and both approaches certainly have their drawbacks. I’ve seen a lot of discussion and experimentation with novel Kingdra checks (Bastiodon and Dedennee especially come to mind), and I’m interested to see if any of those pan out into actually viable metagame strategies. At the moment though, a ddance lum Kingdra positioned quasi-well is just about the deadliest thing in the tier.
Triple Choice Gastro Offense
This is a relatively standard offense team based around the 3 most prominent choice item users in the metagame. Choice band Cyclizar and choice specs Exploud are the main breakers on this team but, since there are multiple pokemon able to switch in to the aforementioned's STAB attacks, proper positioning is key. Bombirdier serves mainly as speed control and mainting tempo with U-turn, but it can also be used in some matchups as a late game cleaner. Gatrodon and Tentacruel are the defensive backbone of this team, checking almost all of the common physical and special threats respectively. As an alternative to mirror coat, Tentacruel can use ice beam in order to better handle phsyically defensive Dipplin. Gastrodon may also utilize leftovers or heavy duty boots in place of rocky helmet to better maintain its hp. Jolly Cyclizar and Timid Exploud miss out on a few critical guranteed 2hkos, so both Gastrodon and Donphan are hazard setters. Donphan serves a flex role on this team, able to support either the offensive or defensive cores depending on the matchup.
This alternate version of the team features Donphan as the designated rapid spin user instead of Tentacruel. This allows Tentacruel to exclusively be an answer to special attackers while also allowing Donphan to perform better as a lead against opposing lead Donphans.
This is a relatively standard offense team based around the 3 most prominent choice item users in the metagame. Choice band Cyclizar and choice specs Exploud are the main breakers on this team but, since there are multiple pokemon able to switch in to the aforementioned's STAB attacks, proper positioning is key. Bombirdier serves mainly as speed control and mainting tempo with U-turn, but it can also be used in some matchups as a late game cleaner. Gatrodon and Tentacruel are the defensive backbone of this team, checking almost all of the common physical and special threats respectively. As an alternative to mirror coat, Tentacruel can use ice beam in order to better handle phsyically defensive Dipplin. Gastrodon may also utilize leftovers or heavy duty boots in place of rocky helmet to better maintain its hp. Jolly Cyclizar and Timid Exploud miss out on a few critical guranteed 2hkos, so both Gastrodon and Donphan are hazard setters. Donphan serves a flex role on this team, able to support either the offensive or defensive cores depending on the matchup.
This alternate version of the team features Donphan as the designated rapid spin user instead of Tentacruel. This allows Tentacruel to exclusively be an answer to special attackers while also allowing Donphan to perform better as a lead against opposing lead Donphans.
Update on recent council votes
Recently, the 35 Pokes tiering council considered two matters: whether to add Mew to the pool of rollable pokemon and whether to ban the ability Tangled Feet. The council voted unanimously 8-0 to keep Mew banned and to ban Tangled Feet, and you can read our reasonings for doing so below.
The council cited Mew's deep set versatility and across-the-board base 100 stats as the reasons it would be an unhealthy, uncompetitive presence in a given 35 Pokes metagame. To quote once council member, Zetious "I don’t think it would be healthy...mew can run many different sets, and in the lower power level that most 35 months are, it would just be a guessing game until mew revealed its set... I think that it’s just too good of a mystery box to be a rollable [pokemon]." Zetious also quite aptly compared Mew to the Lake Guardians, two of which (Mesprit and Uxie) are currently legal. Mesprit and Uxie are often a centralizing presence in any meta they are included in, and are often limited by a combination of relative role predictability, lack of setup options, and lack of coverage against critical metagame threats. Mew doesn't suffer any of these limitations. Celebi was also cited as a Mew comparison, as it was legal in the December 2024 format alongside a myriad of pokemon which should theoretically have threatened it and yet remained a solid viable option. Mew also doesn't suffer from any of the limitations Celebi has, such as a 4x weakness to bug type moves. For these reasons, the council voted 8-0 that Mew remain banned.
Tangled Feet: The council voted 8-0 to ban Tangled Feet, and this vote was far simpler than many of our previous ones. Although confusion strategies (ex: Swagger + Mirror Herb) and *un*intentional evasion strategies (ex: Defog and Contrary being legal at the same time) are permitted in the tier, *intentional* evasion strategies are nearly universally banned under the 3 Evasion Clauses. Tangled Feet is not covered under any of the existing clauses, but still offers no semblance of competitive utility or value besides enabling intentional evasion strategies. As a result, the council decided it would be best to ban Tangled Feet.
Recently, the 35 Pokes tiering council considered two matters: whether to add Mew to the pool of rollable pokemon and whether to ban the ability Tangled Feet. The council voted unanimously 8-0 to keep Mew banned and to ban Tangled Feet, and you can read our reasonings for doing so below.
The council cited Mew's deep set versatility and across-the-board base 100 stats as the reasons it would be an unhealthy, uncompetitive presence in a given 35 Pokes metagame. To quote once council member, Zetious "I don’t think it would be healthy...mew can run many different sets, and in the lower power level that most 35 months are, it would just be a guessing game until mew revealed its set... I think that it’s just too good of a mystery box to be a rollable [pokemon]." Zetious also quite aptly compared Mew to the Lake Guardians, two of which (Mesprit and Uxie) are currently legal. Mesprit and Uxie are often a centralizing presence in any meta they are included in, and are often limited by a combination of relative role predictability, lack of setup options, and lack of coverage against critical metagame threats. Mew doesn't suffer any of these limitations. Celebi was also cited as a Mew comparison, as it was legal in the December 2024 format alongside a myriad of pokemon which should theoretically have threatened it and yet remained a solid viable option. Mew also doesn't suffer from any of the limitations Celebi has, such as a 4x weakness to bug type moves. For these reasons, the council voted 8-0 that Mew remain banned.
Tangled Feet: The council voted 8-0 to ban Tangled Feet, and this vote was far simpler than many of our previous ones. Although confusion strategies (ex: Swagger + Mirror Herb) and *un*intentional evasion strategies (ex: Defog and Contrary being legal at the same time) are permitted in the tier, *intentional* evasion strategies are nearly universally banned under the 3 Evasion Clauses. Tangled Feet is not covered under any of the existing clauses, but still offers no semblance of competitive utility or value besides enabling intentional evasion strategies. As a result, the council decided it would be best to ban Tangled Feet.