I'm going to post some preliminary thoughts on STAB UU since there has been no discussion on the format.
Using the Feb 2025 VR for this. I am well aware that the VR is ancient, and a lot of the rankings are outdated, given the innovations made during OMPL and OMFL. However, I don't have a whole lot to work with, so I am using it as a rough outline for UU in the meantime. I created a tier list to help me visualise the metagame, but I don't think it would be productive to post it given that a post-OMPL revamp is coming at any moment. What I will do, instead, is discuss the main trends I see from a bird's eye view of looking at this metagame. I could delay posting this and reformulate my thoughts later, but I have been putting this off for about 7 months. Bear with me, this is a long one.
First, I have to touch on 2 noteworthy absences from the VR.
Kingambit is an OU mon in all but name: no point discussing it further.
I'm mainly putting them here since I'm not sure if they will end up in B or B- on the main STAB rankings. Araquanid feels a bit underwhelming without Water Shuriken, and even Manaphy isn't particularly remarkable from my experience in OMFL. It's more expedient to factor them out of the equation for the time being. I wouldn't go as far as to say that they would be healthy in UU, but it is worth giving it a shot if they end up being B- on the VR.
Watchlist / Banlist Opinions
Some caveats before I begin: I have played no games of this format, and I'm judging this based on the tools these Pokemon get and my prediction on how viability will coalesce. Outside of like 5 mons, I don't think we need quick bans, but it would be prudent to keep an eye on these threats. And of course, this is before any major shifts. The current VR is okay, but it is missing the recent tours, especially OMPL and OMFL.
I can see it rising to B in the next shift, but it is a fishy mon based on the OMPL games I've seen. Looking at UU, however, I think this is a fairly cut-and-dry candidate for being axed. Take Heart and any combination of Esper Wing, Lumina Crash, or Stored Power seems a bit much for the metagame and Booster energy doubles down on these traits by allowing it to gain speed/special attack while getting around its Knock-Off weakness. There are a few bulky dark-types like Mandibuzz, Muk-Alola and Incineroar, but the latter two are susceptible to chip, while Mandibuzz has to balance being a physically defensive response to Ogerpon, Zarude, Iron Leaves, and Lokix (a job I believe it does better).
Hoopa-U does Hoopa-U things, but the speed tier isn't as bad here. A lot of faster Pokemon are either Ubers / OU or offer very little to the integrity of teams outside of speed control. With Webs / Scarf, you outpace a fairly large chunk of the metagame, and you muscle through a lot of the defensively inclined Dark-types I mentioned. Clefable gets gunked. There's also an uncomfortable guessing game as to whether the Hoopa-U is physical/special/mixed, with each of these sets having specific counterplay.
I usually exclude these guys when looking at the metagame since I find that they tend to be pretty warping. Glare and Transform turn these two from minor inconveniences to a genuinely constricting presence to play around. I do appreciate the other tools that they offer, such as hazard removal, hazard setting, status absorbing, and even the occasional phazing. Also, thankfully, you can't fit both Glare and Transform without sabotaging yourself. I would say both of them are about par with one another, with Blissey being more splashable but Chansey having higher gains thanks to Eviolite Transform. Removing this would be controversial with 0 games, but I'm not exactly thrilled playing a metagame where these two dominate, given the tools they have.
These guys all abuse match-ups, and I'm not sure about the upside for keeping them here. Kommo-o is the mon I hope is manageable because it's like one of the few defensively sound dragons here. Aside from that, I'm not thrilled with Espathra x Hawlucha x Sneasler when Indeedee is here and has potent supporting tools like Lunar Dance and Glare.
Ceruledge is either going to be really good or really garbage. Has an identical moveset to standard OU, but it's perfectly positioned to pick apart several team styles, given that a lot of its responses are B or higher in STAB. Alomomola and Garganacl, however, do exist, and we have enough offensive Dark-types to revenge-kill.
Photon Geyser. Everything hinges on whether this is manageable with Photon Geyser and Indeedee running around.
Fast Pokemon and has stellar special coverage and more than acceptable physical coverage. Nasty Plot, Mixed and the odd Bulk Up all have potential here to cause havoc, as do utility pivoting sets ala Gen 8 UU.
In a format where the power level is noticeably reduced, I'm not sure how to feel about allowing Dondozo. While there are indeed a lot of Grass-types in the tier and a decent amount of Electric-types, Dondozo seems a bit too minmaxxed for the tier and might place an unhealthy restriction on the offence in this tier. With the decline in power level and the lack of meaty Water-resists or immunity, I don't even think this is a Stall-exclusive like in OU. I won't mind it being legal, and I will admit it does check Ceruledge, Iron Boulder, Hawlucha, and Sneasler, which is useful.
I'm going through my notes, but the more I weigh things up, the more manageable these two feel. Keldeo has the tools to be a broken pokemon with Water Spout / Steam Eruption, but this metagame is almost designed to counter it. Amoongus, Slowtwins, Tangrowth, Gastrodon, and Primarina all exist in the tier and do a pretty solid job in tanking hits. Additionally, there are faster threats like Serperior and Ogerpon that revenge-kill it fairly easily. Gengar could be threatening with the combination of Moongeist Beam and Focus Blast and does prey on the metagame being slower paced, but I'm just wondering what this sets up on. Weezing-Galar ig. Everything else either has coverage or carries a status that Gengar doesn't like. Plus, you can out-offence it fairly reliably with the scarfers in the tier or guys like Lokix.
On the flip side, I underestimated just how ridiculous Sun is. I don't think this is even a Torch Song issue. Snorlax, Slowking, Garganacl, and Rhyperior take on most Torch Song Fire-types just fine. Even the Protosynthesis mons and remaining Fire-types aren't particularly noteworthy on Sun; Cinderace is the only thing that I believe could be an issue. Scovillain and/or Venusaur on their own seem like constricting presences with the absence of Dragon-types or spectacular sponges in the tier to tank hits. Restricting Heat Rock does kill the style, though, since you need all 8 turns for Sun to work here.
Trends
Regenerator is such a wonderful ability in STAB! Being able to pivot in and out with your defensive pivots streamlines building for a lot of teams and allows you to check threats without burning through too much momentum. What I like most about the Regen pivots here is that they're all fairly splashable and have very real niches in checking the major threats of the format, thanks to their excellent Water and Grass typings. Alo and the Slowbros reprise their set from STABmons OU, while Amoonguss is a Pex-lite. Even more niche Regen mons like Cyclizar serve as fast utility Dragon-types, which this tier sorely needs.
Reuniclus, in my eyes, is more of a Magic Guard Pokemon, while Regenerator abuser Mienshao could theoretically abuse Assault Vest, but I'm not sure if that route works with the power level of this format and how good Offensive Shao is in comparison.
One of the first mons I looked at here. I think Galarian Weezing is cool in STAB with both Neutralising Gas and Levitate sets, but lacks the longevity to check threats long-term. I'm glancing at the tier at the moment, and Weez-G looks promising here. You threaten stuff like Zarude, Flygon, Ogerpon, and Mimikyu pretty well. Levitate is solid since there are so many good Ground-types at the moment, but Neutralising Gas lets you mess with Clefable and Regen mons.
Very strong Pokemon. I believe that there are enough checks to contain it, but Specs seems very potent in the builder as a trade machine. Assault Vest is also nice as a somewhat sturdy Fire-resist with pivoting potential that isn't Slowking. I believe there is room to explore CM, defensive and maybe even Scarf sets with how strong Primarina's options are.
Two completely separate Pokemon, but they have a suspiciously similar list of traits. Both function as tanks with solid utility options and newly gained access to recovery, and make a good case for team slots thanks to their superb match-up into common special attackers- especially Fire-types. Rhyperior, while having a weaker defensive typing, makes up for it with Salt Cure and access to a mighty strong Choice Band set. Snorlax trades off an Electric immunity for an Ice resistance and access to tools like Rapid Spin, Glare and Super Fang (among others). Poison immunity is also nice to have in Lax's case, but you do miss out on a Fire-type resistance.
The Ground-types here are all so interesting, but I don't want to go too in-depth since they all boil down to "gains Shore Up". Iron Treads, Gastrodon, Swampert, and even the odd Mudsdale all appreciate the recovery move, but Hippowdon makes a unique argument for its use. Hippowdon in recent STAB metas has been thoroughly powercrept by mons like Great Tusk and has historically been gatekept by Tyranitar in the gens where it is good. However, I can see it being especially potent here with the lower power level and access to Sand Stream. While there is no Excadrill to support, Hippowdon appreciates the extra gains in recovery, which help it better offset chip Cinderace and the various Fighting-types here. Hippowdon misses Toxic, but Whirlwind is a fine option for the last slot. While there is tight competition for its slot on teams, I think Hippowdon stands above a lot of its peers thanks to its immense physical bulk and unique Shore Up synergy.
With these three guys here, HO is eating well. Glimmora, Grimmsnarl and Kleavor will be the stand-ins for Hazard Stack, Screens, and Webs as a whole. I don't think these are necessarily the best mons at this role, and there are likely other mons that can do their jobs better (I'm thinking like Scizor or Forretress over Kleavor), but these mons are both viable and inseparable from their niches, with the possible exception of Glimmora.
Rotom-Wash is solidly OU at the moment, but its other forms are all fair game. Expanded movepools help shore up a lot of issues that these guys have, whether it's Heattom's lack of longevity or Frostom and Mowtom's awkward STAB and coverage options. Heattom has a cool defensive niche, but its main draw is its access to STAB Torch Song, which compresses useful Fire / Ice / Electric coverage. However, I don't think it's the uncontested best Rotom-form since the other forms have their advantages, whether it is BoltBeam STAB or a useful typing for entry points in Mowtom's case. Ogerpon-Teal, the only member of its line in UU, hates the Flower Trick ban and competition with Zarude, but the expanded movepool and clutch speed tier allow it to fill niches that most Grass-types simply aren't able to.
With Sun and Sand around and the Damp Rock ban, Rain is pigeon-holed into being Water-spam or all-out HO. Despite this limitation and the plethora of Water-resists, I still think there is potential for the archetype to be good. Pelipper has a pretty self-sufficient typing for the tier, with Steam Eruption and Hurricane being the only moves you need. It also helps that there are plenty of good Water, Flying and Electric types that can partner with Pelipper. Politoed also exists in the tier, but it lacks recovery or the neat typing that Pelipper has access to, making it harder to justify.
Psychic Terrain will end up playing a major role in the tier thanks to the abundance of Psychic-types running around in this tier, as well as sweepers like Shell Smash Polteageist running around. A lot of the faces that players are used to seeing on Psychic Terrain teams in other formats, like Hatterene, make a return here. Indeedee has nice utility options, and you could even get away with a Scarf set if you're not committed to HO. The absence of stalwart Dark-types like Tyranitar and Ting-Lu should pave the way for expanding force sweeps.
Cool offensive Pokemon. Won't go into too much detail since their niches could drastically change with future tier shifts. There are so many Pokemon I would like to touch on, but I feel going through the most important Pokemon and the defining archetypes of the tier makes the most sense for a post like this.
Landorus-Incarnate
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon
Sinistcha
Thundurus-Therian
Cobalion
Electrode-H
Empoleon
Mandibuzz
Brambleghast
Hisuian Goodra
Excadrill
Thundurus
Tinkaton
Landorus-Therian
Gliscor
Azelf
Iron Boulder
No other action will be taken as of yet. Hydreigon is on our watchlist for appearing to be very potent in the metagame, while Slither Wing was voted on but not banned. We will continue to watch these elements and others as AAAPL3 begins!
