Ubers UU National Dex Ubers UU [AUGUST SPOTLIGHT LADDER]

[Celeste]

ND UBERS UU UPDATES AND NEWS DUMP!
Featuring brand new shiny VRs, a search for sample teams, and some discussions around potential bans!

Overhauled Viability Rankings​

Those of you familiar with our resources will know that the old Viability rankings were based on a Top-High-Mid-Low system, and given the new interest in the tier and more people wanting to develop the meta we felt a shift in approach would be necessary. Given the current data we have from UUbersPL and room tours, the council has entirely overhauled the viability rankings to match the S-A-B-C format used by many other tiers so that we will be able to give more accurate and in depth rankings for the tier. While normally with VR shifts a list of changes would be included, due to the overhaul we ask that you refer to the voting sheet to see how things have changed from the last iteration. We hope that these new VRs will help make the tier more accessible, and spur more conversation around the tier! If you believe these tiers need changes you are free to use these forums to discuss or join the conversation in the discord server.

Sample Teams Wanted!​

Our sample teams have been outdated for a while, and to help further the effort in making this tier more accessible the council has been spending some time working on sample teams! While we haven't entirely finished them, we also encourage you to join the discord server and help make suggestions so that we have more teams to vote on, as in the upcoming weeks we are hoping to be able to release a bunch. Any community input on this matter will always be appreciated, as we are not the only people who are interested in helping make this tier more engaging!

And now for the big one that I think a lot of you have been waiting for-

Hello all! As UUberspl is slowly coming to a close as a tiebreaker drags out the tour even longer, we have decided to share some of the things that have been part of discussions for upcoming action given the immediate meta changes that have happened post shifts. Not all of these (as of now) are set to be included in a vote to be banned, but have been part of discussion for a post UUberspl slate for our upcoming tours.

Arceus Flying

​

Arceus-Flying was quickly brought into the spotlight following the rise of Chien Pao, loosing the most significant offensive answer it had. Since then, it has risen as one of the most difficult to answer offensive threats. Its CM sets are able to shred through pretty much any team, and it is able to stop opposing Arceus trying to slow it down with its own Taunt. This is made even easier as its sheer strength has been most notable on webs HO, allowing it to consistently outspeed and shut down any potential defensive check with Taunt. In conjunction with its ability to Tera to avoid phasing from moves like Dragon Tail as well as escaping its Ice Weakness. It is not without answers however, Gholdengo, Arc sets that are able to fire off a Dragon Tail, fast status like Twave and Toxic, and strong physical breakers were all able to put a dent in Arc flying, as well as options like Taunt Mewtwo and Ting Lu. While it may not be the best rated arc form on our new VRs, it has proven itself easily as one of the more unhealthy aspects of the new meta.

Arceus Steel
​

Arceus-Steel was near unanimously voted the best Pokémon in the current meta, due to its sheer versatility across numerous playstyles. The classic CM + Taunt sets are incredibly strong on practically any teamstyle that you could think of, having an incredibly good STAB typing in a meta where Arceus-Steel is its own best resist, and Taunt is able to shut down opposing Arceus forms. Its defensive options are also excellent at disrupting the Offensive Pokémon used to beat down the CM sets, which often just run 252 HP EVs, while these sets then become more vulnerable to some opposing Arc forms in turn. While it may have a weakness to a relatively common type in Fighting and Ground, the innate power of Steel as a defensive type as well as being able to use Tera to circumvent these issues like it's Flying counterpart makes these checks less reliable then one would expect. Unlike Arceus-Flying, Arc-Steel struggles a bit more when it comes to handling the offense used to check it, as while it is versatile it is much overshadowed on the HO builds that Arceus-Flying thrives on. It also has a much worse STAB typing that isn't able to break through teams as easily as Arc-Flying. The current nature of most HO teams do put a lot of pressure on Arceus-Steel users to keep it healthy enough to check everything it needs to.

Sticky Webs
​

It is without a doubt that HO has been the most dominant playstyle in this tier since the January usage shifts, and one of the most dominant playstyles within this is Sticky Webs. While Landorus-Therian is incredibly strong right now, the access to removal in this tier has proven incredibly limited, especially when it comes to actually being able to pull it off against this playstyle due to common tools such as Taunt Arceus, Gholdengo, and additional threats like Spectrier running rampant. This playstyle puts a huge amount of pressure on the tier, given the prevalence of strong Arceus forms, Mega Pokémon, and other threats such as Roaring Moon or Galarian Darmanitan which almost require their respective boosting item to be remotely usable, with the latter never wanting to run boots in the first place. Additionally, webs makes opposing Arceus forms even more difficult to handle, as your scarfers no longer outspeed it and Arceus will outspeed almost everything, making its setup sets even more potent. As with everything else on the radar that has been mentioned, this playstyle is not impossible to handle. Anti Ribombee measures such as Weavile have started to appear, options that put the webs team on a timer such as T-Spikes are able to help mitigate these threats from setting up, and removing webs from play isn't impossible. Alternatively one can just use their own webs team, circumventing the issue of one team having a speed advantage for the whole game. It can be argued that the dominance of Arceus-Flying is the main cause of the unhealthy aspect of webs, but we still felt it is something that with or without Arceus-Flying could be considered for a ban.

Closing Remarks​

As of now, the plan is a vote on the threats we choose to add to the next slate coinciding with the final week of UUberspl, as to not impact this tournament but get whatever is deemed broken out of the meta as soon as possible going into our upcoming tours. Don't forget to check out the new VRs so you can get a taste for what's good going forwards, and please leave feedback, and join the discord so you can help with sample teams! Keep an eye out for more news from us regarding upcoming tournaments and bans. Thanks for reading!

 

[Zrp200]

Figured I'd at least give my thoughts on some mons.

​

I don't believe this is quite broken, but it's REALLY good. This has the coverage profile necessary to break the whole tier open and really likes Chien Pao being gone. Nasty Plot sets can just rip through slower teams like butter if given a chance to set up, but it also has sufficient coverage to ensure at least a 2HKO on almost anything with just +0 attacks.

​

Wanted to comment on this one in particular because while this is basically just riding Mewtwo's viability for the most part, it's actually good on its own merits as well, gives Mewtwo a scary amount of unpredictability. You can have basically no idea what an unrevealed Mewtwo is going to do, and furthermore, you can have no idea what an unrevealed MMX is going to do either.

In the most trivial case, It turns out that simply gaining a Fighting type is perfectly usable for Nasty Plot sets. It saves the trouble of having to spend tera to get STAB on a coverage move and makes Mewtwo just a bit bulkier, as exemplified by this replay here of me getting bodied by it when it OHKOes my Magearna with Focus Blast, though it also causes it to lose to other Mewtwo, funnily enough.

Steadfast is still basically useless, but hey, don't come crying to me when Genesect or Darmanitan-G get their respective flinches and steadfast lets Mewtwo outspeed after :D

While a bit lower viability-wise, the physical and mixed sets are usable too; physically invested MMX is able to OHKO Arceus-Steel with Low Kick, but any MMX will threaten an OHKO on Arceus-Steel with Spikes up.

0 Atk Mewtwo-Mega-X Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Arceus-Steel: 390-458 (87.8 - 103.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes​

252 Atk Mewtwo-Mega-X Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Arceus-Steel: 446-528 (100.4 - 118.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO​

This tends to "encourage" Arceus-Steel to not be in vs an unrevealed Mewtwo, lest Mewtwo reveal it is actually Mega Mewtwo X and obliterate it on the spot.

Mixed MMX is also a particularly effective breaker, as its access to Ice Beam lets it easily foil Landorus-T, while Stone Edge variants can also win 1v1 versus Arceus-Flying.
But also, it is STILL a Mewtwo...

runo v sealoo uuberpl w6
me vs ocean using psychic noise mmx

​

I ranked Reshiram a bit higher than everyone else on the council.

Roost Reshiram is indeed very neat, especially when it can directly Defog against Gholdengo in a metagame where Sticky Web is so splashable. Its strong matchups into Gholdengo, Magearna, and Arceus-Steel are very desirable traits to have on a support Pokemon, while its ability to defensively check Ogerpon-H is particularly hard to come by. Being a nice switch-in to Iron Bundle is a neat added bonus.
replay against iride trick room

 

[Celeste]

I want to expand some of my own personal thoughts on webs, why its worth including in future conversations and how I think a ban could be justified if it got that dire.

Sticky webs as mentioned in the post are a very dominant playstyle right now appearing in a large amount of UUberspl battles. In a format with a power level such as this many Pokémon simply are not able to effectively drop their boosting items to help mitigate this threat with heavy duty boots, and removal efforts can be limited by Pokémon like Gholdengo, Taunt Arceus, and other spinblockers like Spectrier. The prevalence of Item Restricted Pokémon such as Arceus forms and Mega Pokémon makes checking webs even more difficult, as webs going up often means a team's own Arceus and Mega such as Lucario becomes even more difficult to check.

It could be argued that the issue with webs is the abusers, Pokémon like Arceus Flying especially are super strong right now in particular because of their dominance on webs structures, but even if Arceus Flying does receive a ban other threats like Arceus Electric, Roaring Moon, Arceus Poison, Mega Lucario, and others have also all proven to be effective and potentially game ending on their own on webs. Banning all of these Pokémon due to their effectiveness specifically on this playstyle when they provide healthy aspects outside of it feels incredibly shortsighted to me.

Metas like SV Ubers have webs as a part of discussion for a ban, which I believe is because in formats with this power level it is too difficult to solve the webs problem by banning the most effective Pokémon on webs, as the list of offensive threats that webs can enable is much longer then the list of difficult to check offensive Pokémon normally- looking at UUberspl and seeing the sheer diversity of Pokémon run on these webs structures I think is something that lends itself very well to this argument. With previous precedent in this tier of limiting H/O enabling tools with the ban of light clay, I believe that if it comes to a point where too many Pokémon feel simultaneously strong on webs it should be part of discussions for ban. I believe the reason this isn't the case right now is because of the sheer oppressive nature of Arc Flying limiting the ability to talk about the other broken aspects of webs because everything pales in comparison to Arc Flying currently.

Do I believe webs are currently in a bannable state? No, but I also think metagames that revolve around HO are inherently more unhealthy, as it severely limits expression in teambuilding and play, because it polarizes the meta around the most dominant HO playstyle, and whichever Stall team is able to check it. I implore people to keep a potential webs ban in mind as a way to mitigate Hyper Offense as an overwhelming meta force if it does reach a point where banning any single Pokémon purely due to its power on Webs will not notably effect the issues with the playstyle. Banning mechanics like this is a precedent that has been set in the past by other metas, and it is something i would like to consider moving forwards here.

 

[Celeste]

National Dex Ubers UU has Banned Arceus Flying
Tagging Marty and dhelmise to implement.


​

Slate 2	Runo	Iride	Celeste	veti	OceanicGamer	Zrp200	Outcome
Arceus Flying	Ban	Ban	Ban	DNB	Ban	Ban	Banned
Arceus Steel	DNB	DNB	DNB	DNB	DNB	DNB	Do Not Ban

As UUberspl wraps up and new tours are on the horizon, we decided to take vote on what has almost universally been deemed the two main threats since the tier shifts at the start of the new year. Despite this announcement occurring before the final week of UUberspl, we have reached out to the hosts and confirmed that the finals can take place using a challenge code so that the ban can go into place for the first week of NDAM Homefield Advantage.

Code

/challenge nationaldexubersuu@@@+arceus-flying

While most of what was needed to be said was said in the on the radar post, for a refresher Arc Flying has quickly proven itself to be an incredibly unhealthy offensive threat, especially due to its raw power on Hyper Offense, specifically webs. It was practically unparalleled in it's ability to use its STAB typing on CM + Taunt sets to shut down defensive answers as well as opposing Arceus forms attempting to phase it or set up their own CMs. Its defensive typing is rather awful, but Tera lets it negate this entirely, with the most common Fairy Type allowing it even more safety against the threat of phasing. A few checks did exist, but the extreme pressure Arceus Flying exerted in game and in the builder lead us to decide to take action on it as soon as possible.

Arc Steel was also voted on due to its own CM sets allowing it to threaten both defensive and offensive teams alike, but to to the prevalence of HO that has been able to overwhelm it it was not broken enough in its current state to justify any action taken. It, as well as remaining HO staples will be monitored closely going forwards.

 

[veti]

Sticky Web in ND Ubers UU

Sticky Web should be banned to improve the health of the tier without banning tier staples like Gholdengo, Spectrier, and Arceus that enable the playstyle to avoid unnecessary collateral.

Why is Sticky Web problematic?

Sticky Web is an issue in the tier because of the ease of which Sticky Web teams can deny removal, the lack of fast Flying-types and Levitate users, and the ability for Webs abusers to not only shut down offense, but balance teams as well.

Sticky Web teams have options to deny any form of removal thrown at them. Defog? Taunt Arceus and Gholdengo easily shut down the defog users. Rapid Spin? Gholdengo, Necrozma Dawn Wings, and Spectrier serve as natural spinblockers, while Tera Ghost can be ran on anything that isn't a Z user or Mega. Mortal Spin is blocked by Arceus-Steel, the most common Arceus form on webs. Court Change is attached to the unviable Cinderace and blocked by Taunt. Webs denial is inconsistent as well, with Tera Steel beating Triple Axel, Skill Swap beating Hatterene, and Scarf beating both Triple Axel and faster Taunt.

The lack of good, fast webs immunities makes webs very dangerous when they do go up, with the only scarfer immune to webs being Landorus-T, a scarfer that isn't self reliant thanks to it being slower than Garm requiring double scarf thats Ground-type STAB is highly exploitable thanks to Tera. This makes the plethora of fast offensive threats (Pheromosa, Deoxys, Mewtwo, Spectrier, Naganadel, Arceus) extremely dangerous once webs go up as they invalidate scarfers as counterplay, and Pokemon like CM Arceus and NP/CM Mewtwo cleave through even bulkier playstyles that should beat webs in other tiers effortlessly.

What is lost and gained from a Sticky Web ban?

Nothing of value is lost. Speed control becomes significantly easier for every playstyle except Stall which should free up the builder by making counterplay to the many extremely fast threats much more consistent.​

 

[Zrp200]

Hey, I wrote a tampermonkey script to fix the teambuilder so that stuff that's banned isn't shown.
We are waiting on official support to be added (https://github.com/smogon/pokemon-showdown-client/pull/2318), but until such time, this should do as a stopgap measure.

Thanks to Runo for the idea!

https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/526158-national-dex-ubers-uu-teambuilder-table-patch/code

    // ==UserScript==
    // @name         National Dex Ubers UU Teambuilder Table Patch
    // @namespace    http://tampermonkey.net/
    // @version      2025-02-08
    // @description  Import National Dex Ubers UU banlist from PS! source and add bans for the format
    // @author       Zrp200
    // @match        https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/*
    // @icon         https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?sz=64&domain=pokemonshowdown.com
    // @grant        none
    // @run-at       document-idle
    // ==/UserScript==
   
    (function() {
        'use strict';
   
        fetch("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/smogon/pokemon-showdown/refs/heads/master/config/formats.ts")
        .then(y => y.text())
        .then(text => {
            const regex = /name:\s*"\[Gen 9] National Dex Ubers UU".*?banlist:\s*(\[.*?])/s;
            const match = regex.exec(text);
   
            if (match) {
                console.log(
                    BattleTeambuilderTable.gen9natdex.ubersUUBans = eval(match[1])
                        .map(name => Dex.species.get(name === 'Power Construct' ? "Zygarde-Complete" : name))
                        .filter(s => s.exists)
                        .reduce((p, s) => ({...p, ...{[s.id]: 1}}), {}));
            }
        })
    })();

 

[Celeste]

Hello ND uubers people! In the wake of the Arc Flying ban as the meta (seemingly) starts to be settling down I figured I would drop a lot of the teams i've been working on, some of which I might push for to be samples! But before we get into the teams I want to talk about a few of the big meta changes i've seen:

Sticky Webs

No surprises here, despite Arc Flying going webs are still viable and strong, with Pokémon like Spectrier, Gholdengo, and various Arc Formes still being very strong. The increased limitations, especially due to the removal of the main ground immunity on these teams is very notable as I will get to, but this is still a structure that must be respected by all builds.

The Return of Balance

While H/O is still very good, these meta shifts have felt very good for more balanced structures to make a comeback! While I have voiced my complaints with Alo+Ting-Lu in the past, I believe with the breaking power of this tier starting to shift to more specialized pokemon like Lo/Specs Mewtwo, Banded Phero, and setup arcs, these cores are able to survive much longer. So far I have felt like Pokémon like Mewtwo feel really necessary on these teams due to the speed and versatility in power, and Arc Steel is still splashable as always, but has more tradeoffs in such a ground weak metagame. Overall the meta has the ability to start slowing down, I also see potential for mons like Pex and stuff to start getting more viability as well, especially due to it having t-spikes.

Landorus Therian

This is very clearly to me the most defining aspect of the current meta, with Landorus being able to work on practically any team as an incredibly versatile pick, being able to set hazards, remove items, toxic opposing mons, pivot, break, clean, and most importantly being one of the most consistent answers to your opponent's Lando-T. I think that this pokemon has become incredibly centralizing, but I think its presence is also 90% of what's holding the tier together in a very healthy way, and I'm most excited to see upcoming development because of this!

THE TEAMS​

Ursaluna BM Balance -

Pretty untested, but a generally bulky team that aims for endgame Ursaluna and Mewtwo, with scarf lando for cleaning potential and giratina and Arc Fighting for phasing out sweepers

Regieleki Offense -

Regieleki, Arceus, and Lucario all have excellent offensive synergy together allowing them to muscle their way through a lot of bulk while maintaining powerful speed control

SD Lando T -

Takes advantage of opposing lando T being the best check for Lando T, setting up landorus as an excellent threat at most points of the game

CB Lando T -

Similar in idea to the above team but a bit more bulky, with Kingambit for an endgame option

Scarf Ghold -

This one just seems kind of funny idk lol

SD Gliscor -

Okay I actually love this team, it can be a bit hard to pilot but has really consistent options in most games I find, I think Arc fighting is super underrated defensively because it has only one notable weakness in this meta (psychic) which Ting-Lu makes up for, while notably being neutral to many common attacking types while other arc forms pick a weakness.

Scarf Lele -

Tapu Lele interested me very early on as a scarfer, and after some discussions with Frito this was the best idea we could come up with! Think it has some potential for sure, especially with how people seem to be focusing on Arc Steel less then i expected (this mon is still stupid)

Hope you all enjoy the teams and it helps give people some ideas for building! I know it is lacking in proper offense but I've really been enjoying building outside that as of late

 

[veti]

Gravity is pretty cool in the current meta. There are very few actual ground resists (most teams rely on flying types that dont resist ground under gravity) and Tera Ground+boosting items / abilities lets EQ spammers break past even Alomomola. The setters are also pretty nice.

Abusers:
with Tyranitar in the back can freely throw off Tera Ground banded EQs while having Sand Rush to outspeed the entire meta, can greed adamant because its that fast.
Do you like using Darm, but feel it can be too prediction reliant at times? Click Gravity and then spam EQ, no prediction needed!
Levitate+Flying types no longer avoid your webs.
145 attack / SFLO and actually learns Gravity.

Setters:
Really nice wallbreaker and it makes its own Hydro Pump's 100% accurate.
SD+EQ+Gravity is already solid on its own and it has the speed and bulk to repeatedly set gravity, lacks pivoting. Its also an Arceus.
Landorus-T is the main one here because it has intim to get easy setup, lando i is a thing too.
Its a Magearna and it can eject pack or misty explosion or volt switch
Its Really Fat and has spin.
Solid breaker that can use gravity into Eject Draco Meteor
Hatterene provides Magic Bounce to shut down Sticky Web and has Healing Wish for pivot+heal

 

[Celeste]

Welcome to april shifts!
Here are your averaged out usage stats from the past three months:

STATS

 Groudon-Primal         51.97%
 Yveltal                37.86%
 Necrozma-Dusk-Mane     31.06%
 Zacian-Crowned         29.03%
 Marshadow              25.48%
 Ho-Oh                  24.80%
 Arceus                 23.39%
 Eternatus              22.53%
 Zygarde                21.98%
 Kyogre-Primal          20.94%
 Arceus-Fairy           10.47%
 Giratina-Origin        10.35%
 Arceus-Dark            9.97%
 Arceus-Ground          8.73%
 Salamence-Mega         7.66%
 Lunala                 7.16%
 Smeargle               7.04%
 Calyrex-Ice            7.02%
 Rayquaza               6.79%
 Ditto                  6.18%
 Deoxys-Attack          6.09%
 Dondozo                6.06%
 Melmetal               5.82%
 Glimmora               5.65%
 Kyurem-Black           5.57%
 Mewtwo-Mega-Y          5.45%
 Lugia                  5.12%
 Mewtwo                 5.01%
 Chien-Pao              4.82%
 Hatterene              4.77%
 Ferrothorn             4.73%
 ~~ Cutoff (4.52%) ~~
 Deoxys-Speed           4.43%
 Chansey                4.37%
 Alomomola              3.93%
 Kyogre                 3.71%
 Shuckle                3.47%
 Giratina               3.40%
 Cresselia              3.38%
 Pheromosa              3.26%
 Terapagos              3.17%
 Basculegion            2.92%
 Grimmsnarl             2.91%
 Kingambit              2.81%
 Garganacl              2.76%
 Ribombee               2.69%
 Flutter Mane           2.63%
 Gholdengo              2.57%
 Tapu Lele              2.41%
 Lucario-Mega           2.41%
 Chi-Yu                 2.35%
 Shaymin-Sky            2.28%
 Arceus-Water           2.24%
 Magearna               2.12%
 Dracovish              1.99%
 Darmanitan-Galar       1.98%
 Necrozma-Dawn-Wings     1.97%
 Diancie-Mega           1.82%
 Landorus-Therian       1.75%
 Blissey                1.70%
 Zekrom                 1.61%
 Kyurem-White           1.58%
 Fezandipiti            1.52%
 Palkia-Origin          1.49%
 Blastoise-Mega         1.48%
 Blaziken-Mega          1.43%
 Banette-Mega           1.35%
 Landorus               1.24%
 Kangaskhan-Mega        1.20%
 Metagross-Mega         1.19%
 Ting-Lu                1.18%
 Mewtwo-Mega-X          1.17%
 Sableye-Mega           1.10%
 Dragapult              1.09%
 Toxapex                1.03%
 Slurpuff               1.01%
 Ogerpon-Hearthflame     1.00%
 Groudon                1.00%
 Gothitelle             0.99%
 Cyclizar               0.99%
 Zamazenta-Crowned      0.99%
 Samurott-Hisui         0.96%
 Arceus-Ghost           0.95%
 Tyranitar-Mega         0.94%
 Regieleki              0.93%
 Annihilape             0.92%
 Darkrai                0.92%
 Serperior              0.92%
 Ursaluna-Bloodmoon     0.92%
 Palkia                 0.91%
 Sneasler               0.88%
 Corviknight            0.87%
 Lopunny-Mega           0.84%
 Arceus-Electric        0.83%
 Scizor-Mega            0.82%
 Naganadel              0.81%
 Great Tusk             0.80%
 Genesect               0.79%
 Urshifu                0.77%
 Gliscor                0.76%
 Tyranitar              0.76%
 Iron Bundle            0.75%
 Skeledirge             0.70%
 Dialga                 0.68%
 Clodsire               0.67%
 Kartana                0.63%
 Palafin                0.63%
 Galvantula             0.61%
 Tapu Koko              0.61%
 Alakazam-Mega          0.59%
 Ursaluna               0.58%
 Rillaboom              0.55%
 Iron Treads            0.53%
 Dragonite              0.53%
 Roaring Moon           0.52%
 Arceus-Steel           0.51%
 Garchomp               0.50%
 Slowbro-Mega           0.50%
 Arceus-Flying          0.49%
 Hydreigon              0.48%
 Porygon2               0.47%
 Dialga-Origin          0.47%
 Charizard-Mega-Y       0.47%
 Iron Moth              0.47%
 Zoroark-Hisui          0.46%
 Gouging Fire           0.45%
 Araquanid              0.45%
 Baxcalibur             0.45%
 Cloyster               0.44%
 Urshifu-Rapid-Strike     0.44%
 Greninja               0.43%
 Excadrill              0.43%
 Walking Wake           0.41%
 Zapdos                 0.41%
 Heatran                0.41%
 Raging Bolt            0.40%
 Volcarona              0.39%
 Krookodile             0.39%
 Mawile-Mega            0.38%
 Umbreon                0.38%
 Mimikyu                0.36%
 Slowbro-Galar          0.36%
 Espathra               0.36%
 Stakataka              0.35%
 Iron Valiant           0.35%
 Cinderace              0.33%
 Spectrier              0.33%
 Reshiram               0.33%
 Meowscarada            0.33%
 Pelipper               0.33%
 Slowking-Galar         0.32%
 Maushold               0.32%
 Archaludon             0.32%
 Tangrowth              0.31%
 Aegislash              0.31%
 Wobbuffet              0.30%
 Forretress             0.29%
 Orthworm               0.27%
 Ceruledge              0.27%
 Skarmory               0.27%
 Quagsire               0.27%
 Blaziken               0.26%
 Darmanitan             0.25%
 Ninetales-Alola        0.25%
 Arceus-Rock            0.25%
 Venusaur-Mega          0.24%
 Solgaleo               0.24%
 Pawmot                 0.24%
 Ogerpon-Wellspring     0.23%
 Klefki                 0.22%
 Clefable               0.22%
 Rotom-Wash             0.22%
 Tapu Fini              0.22%
 Incineroar             0.21%
 Charizard-Mega-X       0.20%
 Polteageist            0.19%
 Victini                0.19%
 Durant                 0.19%
 Dugtrio                0.19%
 Kommo-o                0.19%
 Arceus-Poison          0.19%
 Iron Hands             0.18%
 Talonflame             0.18%
 Beedrill-Mega          0.18%
 Arceus-Fighting        0.18%
 Corsola-Galar          0.17%
 Comfey                 0.17%
 Jirachi                0.17%
 Torkoal                0.17%
 Basculin               0.17%
 Swampert-Mega          0.17%
 Tornadus               0.16%
 Latias                 0.16%
 Vaporeon               0.16%
 Xurkitree              0.16%
 Amoonguss              0.16%
 Kleavor                0.16%
 Indeedee-F             0.16%
 Arceus-Fire            0.16%
 Arceus-Ice             0.15%
 Blacephalon            0.15%
 Gengar                 0.15%
 Sableye                0.15%
 Manaphy                0.15%
 Espeon                 0.15%
 Slowbro                0.15%
 Arceus-Psychic         0.15%
 Aerodactyl             0.14%
 Latias-Mega            0.14%
 Zeraora                0.14%
 Nihilego               0.14%
 Iron Crown             0.14%
 Gastrodon              0.14%
 Sandy Shocks           0.14%
 Arceus-Grass           0.14%
 Mew                    0.14%
 Sceptile-Mega          0.14%
 Celesteela             0.13%
 Gyarados-Mega          0.13%
 Togedemaru             0.13%
 Sharpedo               0.13%
 Indeedee               0.13%
 Houndstone             0.13%
 Donphan                0.13%
 Murkrow                0.12%
 Salamence              0.12%
 Altaria-Mega           0.12%
 Aggron-Mega            0.12%
 Regirock               0.12%
 Primarina              0.12%
 Scolipede              0.12%
 Venusaur               0.11%
 Pecharunt              0.11%
 Wo-Chien               0.11%
 Medicham-Mega          0.11%
 Lycanroc-Dusk          0.11%
 Garchomp-Mega          0.11%
 Togekiss               0.11%
 Mamoswine              0.11%
 Lokix                  0.11%
 Infernape              0.10%
 Weavile                0.10%
 Salazzle               0.10%
 Hawlucha               0.10%
 Zacian                 0.10%
 Arcanine-Hisui         0.09%
 Rabsca                 0.09%
 Zygarde-10%            0.09%
 Pikachu                0.09%
 Whimsicott             0.09%
 Moltres                0.09%
 Hoopa-Unbound          0.09%
 Scizor                 0.09%
 Enamorus               0.09%
 Hippowdon              0.09%
 Arcanine               0.09%
 Metagross              0.09%
 Blastoise              0.09%
 Feraligatr             0.08%
 Hydrapple              0.08%
 Breloom                0.08%
 Mandibuzz              0.08%
 Latios-Mega            0.08%
 Carbink                0.08%
 Magnezone              0.08%
 Buzzwole               0.08%
 Latios                 0.08%
 Pyukumuku              0.08%
 Aerodactyl-Mega        0.08%
 Azumarill              0.08%
 Staraptor              0.08%
 Camerupt-Mega          0.08%
 Goodra-Hisui           0.08%
 Cryogonal              0.08%
 Rotom-Heat             0.08%
 Pinsir-Mega            0.08%
 Ogerpon                0.08%
 Sirfetch'd             0.07%
 Haxorus                0.07%
 Chatot                 0.07%
 Tinkaton               0.07%
 Gyarados               0.07%
 Deoxys-Defense         0.07%
 Quaquaval              0.07%
 Zamazenta              0.07%
 Vikavolt               0.07%
 Muk-Alola              0.06%
 Gothorita              0.06%
 Snorlax                0.06%
 Gardevoir-Mega         0.06%
 Alakazam               0.06%
 Bastiodon              0.06%
 Porygon-Z              0.06%
 Thundurus              0.06%
 Tornadus-Therian       0.06%
 Milotic                0.06%
 Sylveon                0.06%
 Ninetales              0.06%
 Arceus-Dragon          0.06%
 Keldeo                 0.06%
 Aron                   0.05%
 Slither Wing           0.05%
 Charizard              0.05%
 Noivern                0.05%
 Bronzong               0.05%
 Swampert               0.05%
 Iron Boulder           0.05%
 Audino-Mega            0.05%
 Chandelure             0.05%
 Empoleon               0.05%
 Lapras                 0.05%
 Crobat                 0.05%
 Suicune                0.05%
 Tentacruel             0.05%
 Manectric-Mega         0.05%
 Regidrago              0.05%
 Conkeldurr             0.05%
 Xatu                   0.05%
 Nidoking               0.05%
 Mienshao               0.05%
 Torterra               0.05%
 Barraskewda            0.05%
 Shiftry                0.05%
 Thundurus-Therian      0.05%
 Solrock                0.05%
 Meloetta               0.05%
 Iron Thorns            0.05%
 Runerigus              0.04%
 Gardevoir              0.04%
 Pincurchin             0.04%
 Bisharp                0.04%
 Sharpedo-Mega          0.04%
 Volcanion              0.04%
 Golem-Alola            0.04%
 Hitmonlee              0.04%
 Omastar                0.04%
 Diggersby              0.04%
 Golisopod              0.04%
 Gallade-Mega           0.04%
 Lilligant-Hisui        0.04%
 Aggron                 0.04%
 Slowking               0.04%
 Malamar                0.04%
 Entei                  0.04%
 Absol-Mega             0.04%
 Avalugg-Hisui          0.04%
 Ampharos-Mega          0.04%
 Eiscue                 0.04%
 Kyurem                 0.04%
 Deoxys                 0.03%
 Ogerpon-Cornerstone     0.03%
 Glalie-Mega            0.03%
 Kilowattrel            0.03%
 Scovillain             0.03%
 Weezing-Galar          0.03%
 Gallade                0.03%
 Guzzlord               0.03%
 Registeel              0.03%
 Cottonee               0.03%
 Sinistcha              0.03%
 Dracozolt              0.03%
 Zapdos-Galar           0.03%
 Marowak-Alola          0.03%
 Goodra                 0.03%
 Cofagrigus             0.03%
 Heracross-Mega         0.03%
 Masquerain             0.03%
 Politoed               0.03%
 Vivillon               0.03%
 Inteleon               0.03%
 Cinccino               0.03%
 Lucario                0.03%
 Jolteon                0.03%
 Sceptile               0.03%
 Kingdra                0.03%
 Toxtricity             0.03%
 Armarouge              0.03%
 Reuniclus              0.03%
 Froslass               0.03%
 Iron Jugulis           0.03%
 Tatsugiri              0.03%
 Diancie                0.03%
 Meowstic               0.03%
 Ambipom                0.03%
 Crawdaunt              0.03%
 Roserade               0.03%
 Arboliva               0.03%
 Raichu-Alola           0.03%
 Heliolisk              0.03%
 Dhelmise               0.03%
 Moltres-Galar          0.03%
 Mudsdale               0.03%
 Zarude                 0.02%
 Swellow                0.02%
 Honchkrow              0.02%
 Terrakion              0.02%
 Scream Tail            0.02%
 Klawf                  0.02%
 Linoone                0.02%
 Steelix-Mega           0.02%
 Gigalith               0.02%
 Brute Bonnet           0.02%
 Onix                   0.02%
 Spiritomb              0.02%
 Starmie                0.02%
 Ninjask                0.02%
 Grafaiai               0.02%
 Golduck                0.02%
 Abomasnow-Mega         0.02%
 Slaking                0.02%
 Rhyperior              0.02%
 Exploud                0.02%
 Mr. Mime               0.02%
 Ariados                0.02%
 Boltund                0.02%
 Regice                 0.02%
 Seismitoad             0.02%
 Tsareena               0.02%
 Houndoom-Mega          0.02%
 Pidgeot-Mega           0.02%
 Heracross              0.02%
 Minior                 0.02%
 Typhlosion             0.02%
 Cetitan                0.02%
 Avalugg                0.02%
 Florges                0.02%
 Decidueye              0.02%
 Zoroark                0.02%
 Qwilfish               0.02%
 Uxie                   0.02%
 Accelgor               0.02%
 Rhydon                 0.02%
 Flygon                 0.02%
 Hattrem                0.02%
 Golem                  0.02%
 Arctozolt              0.02%
 Tapu Bulu              0.02%
 Okidogi                0.02%
 Brambleghast           0.02%
 Decidueye-Hisui        0.02%
 Overqwil               0.02%
 Rapidash-Galar         0.02%
 Enamorus-Therian       0.02%
 Delphox                0.02%
 Rotom-Mow              0.02%
 Spidops                0.02%
 Typhlosion-Hisui       0.01%
 Hatenna                0.01%
 Machamp                0.01%
 Azelf                  0.01%
 Dusclops               0.01%
 Raikou                 0.01%
 Yanmega                0.01%
 Rampardos              0.01%
 Appletun               0.01%
 Mismagius              0.01%
 Cobalion               0.01%
 Basculegion-F          0.01%
 Ludicolo               0.01%
 Volbeat                0.01%
 Abomasnow              0.01%
 Falinks                0.01%
 Eevee                  0.01%
 Electivire             0.01%
 Obstagoon              0.01%
 Dachsbun               0.01%
 Beartic                0.01%
 Luxray                 0.01%
 Kabutops               0.01%
 Tyrantrum              0.01%
 Exeggutor-Alola        0.01%
 Cradily                0.01%
 Magnemite              0.01%
 Escavalier             0.01%
 Bewear                 0.01%
 Crustle                0.01%
 Oricorio-Pom-Pom       0.01%
 Celebi                 0.01%
 Bellibolt              0.01%
 Farigiraf              0.01%
 Sandaconda             0.01%
 Rattata                0.01%
 Scyther                0.01%
 Dragalge               0.01%
 Kricketune             0.01%
 Sudowoodo              0.01%
 Raichu                 0.01%
 Emboar                 0.01%
 Scrafty                0.01%
 Tangela                0.01%
 Jellicent              0.01%
 Toedscruel             0.01%
 Iron Leaves            0.01%
 Morgrem                0.01%
 Wailord                0.01%
 Butterfree             0.01%
 Silvally               0.01%
 Lycanroc               0.01%
 Rotom-Fan              0.01%
 Lycanroc-Midnight      0.01%
 Flamigo                0.01%
 Eelektross             0.01%
 Drampa                 0.01%
 Swoobat                0.01%
 Mantine                0.01%
 Crabominable           0.01%
 Abra                   0.01%
 Aurorus                0.01%
 Electrode-Hisui        0.01%
 Archeops               0.01%
 Orbeetle               0.01%
 Cramorant              0.01%
 Necrozma               0.01%
 Frosmoth               0.01%
 Dubwool                0.01%
 Hariyama               0.01%
 Leavanny               0.01%
 Lurantis               0.01%
 Kadabra                0.01%
 Arctovish              0.01%
 Glastrier              0.01%
 Claydol                0.01%
 Hitmontop              0.01%
 Golbat                 0.01%
 Shiinotic              0.01%
 Persian                0.01%
 Trevenant              0.01%
 Tauros-Paldea-Blaze     0.01%
 Chesnaught             0.01%
 Drapion                0.01%
 Kangaskhan             0.01%
 Glalie                 0.01%
 Articuno               0.01%
 Barbaracle             0.01%
 Lilligant              0.01%
 Samurott               0.01%
 Lanturn                0.01%
 Clawitzer              0.01%
 Drednaw                0.01%
 Duraludon              0.01%
 Dewpider               0.01%
 Leafeon                0.01%
 Regigigas              0.01%
 Carracosta             0.01%
 Electrode              0.01%
 Cursola                0.01%
 Hoopa                  0.01%
 Wishiwashi             0.01%
 Wormadam-Trash         0.01%
 Miltank                0.01%
 Pineco                 0.01%
 Bibarel                0.01%
 Arceus-Bug             0.01%
 Poliwrath              0.01%
 Golurk                 0.01%
 Sawk                   0.01%
 Illumise               0.01%
 Drifblim               0.01%
 Bellossom              0.01%
 Vanilluxe              0.01%
 Zebstrika              0.01%
 Houndoom               0.01%
 Braviary               0.01%
 Articuno-Galar         0.01%
 Braviary-Hisui         0.01%
 Trapinch               0.01%
 Wynaut                 0.01%
 Octillery              0.01%
 Hitmonchan             0.01%
 Druddigon              0.01%
 Emolga                 0.01%
 Dudunsparce            0.01%
 Aromatisse             0.01%
 Dedenne                0.01%
 Revavroom              0.01%
 Pangoro                0.01%
 Stoutland              0.01%
 Lickilicky             0.01%
 Bidoof                 0.01%
 Magneton               0.01%
 Morpeko                0.01%

Meaning our shifts are as follows!

Rises from ND Ubers UU to ND Ubers
Glimmora
Lugia
Mewtwo
Hatterene
Ferrothorn

Banned by Proxy
Mega Mewtwo X

Falls from ND Ubers to ND Ubers UU
Deoxys Speed

Tagging dhelmise and Marty to implement, and have a lovely graphic made by yours truly!

 

[veti]

Going to give my thoughts on the post shifts meta now that I've won open.

Offense is absurdly strong in this meta, to a highly problematic extent, I don't believe balance is worth using in the current meta in the slightest, only offense and stalls teched to counterteam them. Rain, Webs, DeoS, and Psyspam HO are all extremely oppressive and it feels impossible to handle them all without stall or simply using a hyperer offense than your opponent, there's simply too many threats where the only answer is "out offense it". Dracovish, Galarian Darmanitan, and Taunt Arceus forms are some great examples of this, with Dracovish and Galarian Darmanitan having either next to no or literally no viable counters, so the only way to beat them consistently is just running extreme offense, which ends up being a problem when you run into webs and have to pray your opponents Ribombee isnt teched to beat your antilead. The state of Ground resists is highly dire too, with the only good resists being 4x weak to Ice and Arceus Grass which has massive opportunity cost and is still weak to ice, this does not help with balances case.

I think the tier should look into banning Sticky Web, Dracovish, and Galarian Darmanitan among other mons that are less blatantly broken but still unhealthy (like DeoS, Spectrier, and Gholdengo) because they're all really absurd into anything not Hyper Offense while unbanning Arceus-Flying to diversify the Ground resist market. Without bans, I don't see the meta ever ceasing to be an HO fest unless Giratina Origin is allowed to drop back down.

 

[veti]

Tier trends:

Terapagos, Tapu Lele, Alomomola, Deoxys Speed could rise to Uber

Hatterene, Ditto, Chien Pao, Mewtwo could drop to Ubers UU

 

[Zrp200]

Tier trends:

Terapagos, Tapu Lele, Alomomola, Deoxys Speed could rise to Uber

Hatterene, Ditto, Chien Pao, Mewtwo could drop to Ubers UU

> Hatterene shifting without fail yet again

> Terapagos, one of the only splashable means of hazard control, potentially rising while being D rank in Ubers

> Lugia not on track to drop despite being D rank in Ubers

Yeah, looks about right to me.

Getting Ditto would be nice for real though.

I'm not fond of the concept of getting Chien Pao back, it was a horrible presence before, and it would be a horrible presence now too.

 

[Avira]

> Lugia not on track to drop despite being D rank in Ubers

I think Lugia could drop. It's only above the Ubers cutoff in 1760+ stats, which is only a small portion of the stats. I don't think high ladder usage is guaranteed to keep it from dropping.

 

[Celeste]

Tier Shifts Time!

As another 3 month period comes to a close, its time for another set of shifts, and this ones a doozy!

RISES FROM ND UBERS UU TO ND UBERS
Deoxys Speed
Terapagos

FALLS FROM ND UBERS TO ND UBERS UU
Chien Pao
Ditto
Ferrothorn
Glimmora
Hatterene
Lugia
Mewtwo

FALLS BY PROXY
Mega Mewtwo X

Meaning that basically the last shifts have been reversed with extra steps! Tagging Marty and dhelmise to implement.

 

[OceanicGamer]

Why is my baby boy Terapagos going up to both sv Ubers and nd ;-;

 

[Zrp200]

Writing to say shifts are implemented, and the tampermonkey script already reflects the changes.

I'll also be updating existing resources when I get a chance. Latest shifts basically undoing the effects of last shift do make this much more straigthtforward...

But also wanted to give my thoughts on some of the shifts:


Might not be a popular opinion, but I'm not really convinced that this is completely healthy; virtually nothing can handle the sum of its sets—there is no existing legal Pokemon that can handle all of HDB, Z, Choice Band, and Life Orb with any sort of consistency over a long period of time, not to mention it's functionally the fastest Pokemon in the tier barring Pheromosa and various niche mons, and it is furthermore difficult to scout such sets until after they've already done their damage.

Offense might not be very affected by this overall outside of slightly deincentivizing Dark-weak Pokemon like Mewtwo, but this makes building anything slower a huge hassle without dedicating multiple answers on top of priority just to handle this Pokemon.


We've been waiting for a while for this, and it's finally happened! Ditto's use as a scarfer right now is extremely valuable, as it not only easily blanks Landorus—especially choice variants that have been popular—by switching in easily on EQ and U-turn and then using the latter to gain momentum, but it also can handle some of the crazier speed boosters in the tier right now in addition to Sacred Sword Chien Pao. Ignoring webs completely is just the icing on the cake...


Good Pokemon. Might not like Chien Pao or running into Psychic-types (namely itself, lol), but it's otherwise well equipped to do well again. I don't have much more of a detail opinion at this time.
MMX losing the Dark weakness without having to spend Tera on it is pretty handy and can go a long way to justify it on teams.

Other thoughts:


Not sure why this rose; it has no real niche in ubers, but with it gone, we've lost the most accessible spinner.
At least we get Lugia and Hatterene back, and Reshiram continues to show strong results.


Without fail, this has either rose or dropped in every single shift. Including this one.
Enjoy it for the next three months, because it'll be gone come October.


It's always been around, just mentioning this is a personal favorite of mine. It Defogs without fear of Gholdengo, it phazes, it effortlessly nukes all the Steels with Blue Flare, and it's actually respectably bulky.

I've been experimenting with sets on it lately able to trade vs SD Chien Pao. Bold nature with investment is able to avoid the OHKO from +2 non-Z attacks (and Z attacks if it burns Tera Fairy) and respond with a Blue Flare OHKO.

edit:
realized I was calcing with Life Orb...
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 240 HP / 212+ Def Reshiram: 339-399 (84.5 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
The non-LO sets are much easier to EV for, and you can Tera Fairy to handle Black Hole Eclipse and All-Out Pummeling:
+2 252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 20 Def Reshiram: 342-403 (84.6 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

->
Glimmora's drop makes it a shoe-in for teams previously using Deoxys-S (though you could use Deoxys-N instead, I guess?) and gives offense another form of hazard removal to help mitigate the loss of Terapagos.


Getting this back is good, though it still won't handle Dracovish or rain by itself.

 

[Iride]

I've been back to building and battling in the small amount of free time that I have. In particular, I'd like to provide some thoughts on Chien-Pao. I personally find that its been an extremely volatile drop and certainly has the potential to upend the tier and would therefore like to spark more discussion about its impact.

To start, here's my own opinion on some of the issues that have plagued teambuilding in previous metagames, including but not limited to -
#1) Lack of reliable removal options, Arc formes are a complete waste of a defogger, while others such as Lando-T and Giratina likewise face issues with certain matchups such as into Ting-Lu and Gholdengo. Options such as Gliscor and Reshiram are much better defoggers as a whole but are also much worse against the rest of the tier, (ie: having poor MUs vs HO). Spinners are limited to Iron Treads and previously Terapagos.
#2) Speed control being dogshit, Scarfers such as Urshifu, Lando-T, Sneasler, and Palkia are limited due to their choice locked nature and being unable to deal with certain offensive threats entirely (Roaring Moon, DD Arc Formes, Blastoise .etc), while non choiced options such as Iron Bundle and Dragapult trade the Webs MU in exchange for being unable to deal with things such as Deo and Pheromosa at all.
#3) Subsequently, the tier being overcentralized around offensive setup threats such as Spectrier and Lucario due to a lack of options to punish them offensively, extends to the likes of Dracovish and NDW due to their stranglehold on defensive playstyles that would otherwise counteract it.
#4) This has lead to only 2 playstyles being the most common and "outclassing" the rest, being HO (IMO we can't exactly ban Webs either since several aforementioned abusers were broken on Deo-S/M-Dia Spikes HO as well), and Spikes balance/stall due to ease in picking flex slots.

Now that I've gotten these aside to help contexualise the tier as a whole, I would like to dive into how Chien-Pao specifically interacts with each of these elements, namely how not only do they help make it managable but also result in it being a net positive for the tier in return.

Lack of reliable removal options
This is arguably the biggest point worth mentioning in regards to Chien-Pao because IMO, it affects it more than a lot of other Pokemon right now. The prominence of entry hazard setters in the metagame, from top tier options like Lando-T and Magearna to more niche ones like SpDef Dialga and Tyranitar means that in practice, Choice Band and SD Z-Moves trade increased power and/or the potential to better deal with certain checks like Toxapex and Magearna over Boots sets, yet are a lot more limited due to their lack of longevity. Additionally, this hazard vulnerability when running said sets also exacerbates under quality, that being its fraility combined with lack of utility options in Knock Off or Pursuit to guarantee conventional progress, being especially vulnerable to a lot of attacks from even defensive Pokemon means that clicking the wrong move into something like Arceus-Steel or Lando-T, or simply being unable to trade with Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Reshiram with good HP management and staying out of KO range (also helped by the presence of Regenerator pivots like Helmet Alomomola and Toxapex to scout them!) means that its effectively dead or unable to find as many opportunites to click as otherwise suggested, also assuming Rocks are up.

Finally, I'd like to mention Boots sets in particular, easily Chien-Pao's most splashable set right now due to being able to more easily fit on structures lacking good removal, but also helps to combat an otherwise irritating playstyle in Webs. It can even commit to TB Fire to break some of its dedicated checks, or just use types like Ghost to get around offensive counterplay like choiced fighting types in a vacuum. That said, it does also come with its disadvantages like being equally identifiable on preview due to the prominence of Rocks, its lack of immediate power into neutral targets, missing coverage and/or priority, and continued susceptibility to being revenge killed by scarfers like Urshifu and Lele.

Speed control being dogshit / Centralization around offensive threats
I will mention that points 2 and 3 are certainly positive in regards to Chien-Pao, namely that it provides a much healthier speed control option that is not only highly splashable but spectacular (albeit limited as mentioned above) in breaking down opposing teams, and even checking faster ones with its vast priority. In part due to its own level of centralization, this also extends to how the metagame has adapted to it by shifting to a much faster pace as a whole, deviating away from the slow balance wars overrelying on hazards + wincon in favor of more offensive approaches even on said teams in the process. Something like Arceus-Electric may lack long-term counterplay when it is consistently able to find its way in to bludgeon the opposing Arc Forme + Ground, but is a lot more limited in practice with teams built with Chien-Pao in mind better accommodating for its potential setup opportunities with good pacing and tempo control by coincidence.

Centralization of Certain Playstyles
Lastly, having alluded to how Chien-Pao affects the metagame and subsequently the dominance of certain playstyles, I would also like to elaborate on how, in reality, it doesn't negatively affect them all that much, but also grounds them in ways that are much more positive for the tier. This is different to something like Arceus-Dragon, which was not only far more unhealthy due to its potency as a setup sweeper and ease in breaking down counterplay being bolstered by its natural bulk + recovery, but also the specificity of counterplay it forced as a result.

For instance, while it plays a major role in dealing with them, it'd also be quite ignorant to say that Chien-Pao would completely kill these offensive playstyles, with the likes of Lucario, Gouging Fire, EKiller Arceus formes, Kingambit, and Magearna all being examples of offensive checks already able to seamlessly fit on these structures to help even the odds. However, when other offensive threats such as Scarfed GDarm, Spectrier, Roaring Moon, and Arceus-Electric were all arguably too strong due to a combination of set versatility and a subsequent lack of counterplay to challenge it, reintroducing such a splashable pick that assists with punishing these factors is not only a net positive in teambuilding against them, but also does so in a way that doesn't change the fundamentals of the archetypes' success itself, and its that rare quality among Ubers that I really really like about it.

Thus, while I'm not normally super invested in a potential council vote outcome, I must personally say that banning Chien-Pao prematurely like some have suggested would be deeply disappointing for the development of the tier, and would almost certainly cause things to regress to the 'spiralling' effects that we've been dealing with since the Gira-O/Groudon metas.

Top 2 Pokemon for sure, but I find that it brings more good to the tier than bad.

 

[Zrp200]

National Dex Ubers UU has a ladder for the month of August!!!


I'm redoing most of the resources that are easy to update, but the fact of the matter is that this tier has a lot yet to explore.

If you've got a team that's cool or interesting, or just want to submit a sample, just post them. More's the merrier.

Otherwise, proper samples will be added soon™.

We're currently working on a new VR, as well, and the actual post will get updated when that is completed.

In the meantime, here's some teams of possibly dubious quality to get things started:

• cb chien pao ditto semistall that I've been spamming lately, but I might update this one, as it is weak to special attackers; reshiram might be more appropriate in a specially defensive role.
• Specs Lugia + Fightinium Z Chien Pao Alo Balance
• Glimmora roaring moon z-spectrier ho, (or with groundium spectrier?),
• another hyper offense with deoxys as the lead and groundium z pheromosa

I'll leave others to post Sticky Web teams.


Edit: revised some of the teams to remove some of the redundancy

 

[OceanicGamer]

HO Squad inspired by the uptick of Groudium z Phero. I also believe MegaZam is great despite Pao, with Substitute to outplay Gambit Sucker. Clear Amulet Tera fly gouger is great versus Lando. Kingambit is good to cover for Zam's weakness to Pao (as long as its not sacred sword), and Arceus-Electric is just strong as always, and if you want you can make it max hp instead of special attack

 

[FishyRoads]

Since we are throwing teams here, lemme take a stab at it

This is an HO mostly based on regular Ubers UU stuff that uses some other stuff unique to ND, made this because OTR dawn wings is awesome, shoutout my boy Shadow079, Sub DD fly goug abuses lando very efficiently, Mtoise is Mtoise, Arc is shamelessly taken from a real uubers team and gene is a cool Z user thar pressures steely

 

[Iride]

Ladder is finally up! While it hasn't been the most enjoyable thing ever with how inactive it tends to be at times... I've been cycling through a few teams with some inspiration from Celeste in particular, trying to see what works. Will also briefly give my thoughts on a few things about the meta I currently think are interesting since the upcoming overhaul is pretty important for the tier rn.

Teams:
https://pokepast.es/2bd6ccc45db29daf - Ekiller HO
https://pokepast.es/e3ee80faba015d0d - Z Lele Psyspam
https://pokepast.es/2bb7ae2e5010bace - MTar Exca Sand
https://pokepast.es/8608012f3326fbc5 - Arc SpikeStack

The Arc Formes:
Old reliable, among other things. Easily the best forme due to its insane bevy of traits from typing, offensive power and customisability between all of ekiller cm idbp and ddance sets being most viable on it, and defensive utility into a signficant portion of the offensive meta to the point where people have been experimenting with z drill run mosa in ndampl mainly as a way to lure it kekchungus. Not a lot to say here honestly, tier's lack of offensive poisons also helps it in this regard since absorbing things like tox and tspikes are otherwise extremely valuable if not outright mandatory on offense besides maybe the occasional spinner slot, more on that post-terap later.

In previous metas (ie: pre pao/m2) I would have labelled this much more controversially. Its just overall an insane stick between its lack of weaknesses besides ground which is something you do not want on a mon as encompassing as arceus, para and trick immunities + its ability to tera into types like poison or steel that cteam balance be damned and scarf lando / tera gdarm stuff of which often not withstanding as offensive counterplay when stab eq is somehow a 50% roll to kill from full of all things. mostly held back from being broken by its lack of instant power into the various offense styles of ho and weather, and the rise of spike stack making it signficantly easier to pressure and force out.

Now onto what I think is a surprisng one for most people, but I have not liked steelceus at all. probably the least offensively adept of the prominent arc formes due to how much negative synergy it has in both movepool and offensive mu spread, to say nothing of the sheer amount of competition it has with stuff like magearna dialga and ferro and even scizor all running around having far more useful secondary defensive apps as the steel and more importantly not taking up the arc slot in doing so. most success i've had using it is the dedicated wincon sets although the type overlap with most of the aforementioned steels is certainly felt into a lot of things like lando and most of the tier's fightings.

Actually a great mon, very scary wincon on the plethora of superman style teams that have become popular as its combination of sturdiness + judgment makes it extremely hard for a lot of standard teams to stand up to long-term, and extremely nifty into offense with the scarcity of offensive dark checks in the tier, making compressing this role into an arc forme extremely worthwhile. Also gets bonus points for being if not the only good purely utility forme due to its matchup spread into most of the tiers setters (ie: ting, ferro, dialga, lando-t .etc).

Both decent purely offensive arc formes with some potential for flexibility in moveset though the increased opportunity cost seems to hold them back from being used more. I haven't tried these out much yet but they're definitely more viable than given credit for.

Probably the last of the 'viable' arc formes I will mention. Has some nice appeals on paper such as being a forme that resists water as well as resisting scarf grounds which is cool on certain aggressive teams that need the stopgap due to a lack of good immunes to fit otherwise, only that it just has so many other issues in the builder between the awkwardness of its stab combo offensively and inability to fit all the utility it needs to check the things arceus is otherwise tasked with on most structures so I personally don't rate it too highly.


Other Mons:
I wasn't entirely sold on this at first but after some more games and general thought I think I can say for sure that this is the 3rd best mon in the meta rn. Magearna is insanely valuable on a lot of teams due to the value of spikes let alone one on a mon with the versatility to perform every other role besides it. Its one of the best momentum guys in the tier with the standard pdef set due to the power of its volt switch and unblockability between strong fleur cannons and ice beams to deter the tiers various grounds, along with the vast amount of opportunites it gets to use it between soaking up hits from offensive behemoths such as pao and mosa to defensive ones such as a flip turning toxicing alo and arc formes. being able to run any of encore twave heart swap heal bell and pain split on this set also magnifies its splashability greatly and makes it one of the hardest mons to take advantage of for anything offensive ever. CM sets, whether bulky with pain split or just all out offensive are also just nightmarishly hard for a lot of teams to stop without phasing since it has enough defensive sticking power between its bulk typing and tera to manuever around a lot of its traditional checks, while those that go out of their way to phase this thing like lu and dialga can just be outright nuked by +1 stab and tera blast, respectively.

With pao in the tier yet its unwavering effectiveness as a setup sweeper I'd best describe this as the second coming of arc-dragon. besides being unbothered by most of the tier's priorty its also an extremely valuable offensive check to both steel and electric arcs, and generally gets a lot of value since it can easily manuever around offense's ways of beating it though momentum by leveraging that same bulk to act as an early trade machine into the opposing teams' lando or ting. very very scary rn, mostly held back by the bad speed tier + need to run jolly to outrun scarf lando pult mosa deo .etc in comparison.

Very oppressive mon, yet the only thing that i'd comfortably say needs to be banned imo. ghost is fundamentally an extremely strong offensive type but having it on a mon which also has the defensive flexibility to circumvent its counterplay through its bulk + tera to boot is prob too much at the moment, can effectively handpick what beats it between defensive cm or meteor beam tr stuff.

Worth grouping these two together since these two have been integral in driving the backbone of all matter of teams this season, from bulky offense to hard balances. ferrothorn finds itself much better this time around due to its combination of improved defensive capabilities into the more realized threats running around to its role in the hazard game being strengthened, mainly using an idbp set in conjunction with tera to sit on the tier's various physical attackers, though it is worth specifying that said set still has a lot of leeway in using hazards + leech + knock to extend its usefulness depending on the mu. Ting-lu has always been a mainstay, the one thing I will say about it is that its lack of longevity is generally much less apparent since it no longer needs to micromanage its HP as much to check stuff like spectrier long-term relative to the increased pace of the tier, letting it get more mileage out of chipping things down with ruination in return. There are other defensive mons such as gliscor and giratina that can certainly be used in the same way as these two, but I think for these two in particular their flexibility turned difficulty in being taken advantage of by much of the meta is much more essential in contributing to their success right now.

Ghold is good but I think its offense mu is extremely poor atm due to how much its middling bulk and speed tier contributes to its inability to account for all the roles it aspires for, from checking threats like lucario and deo to outspeeding critical threats when running dedicated plot sets. the style of teams it was otherwise so well known for beating have been outdated for a long time now with not a lot it can do in return to account for the increase in offensive ground and dark usage on said structures.

(Sticky Web) If I could gentleman someone to not bring this I always certainly would, the problem with webs from a viability perspective is simply the fact that it struggles a lot with distinguishing itself from other styles of offense, from deo / diancie spikestack ho to having difficulties with picking slots into bootsspam and rising anti leads such as hatterene and treads. Given its still immensely rewarding in its own right and punishes lazy teambuilding and most the tier's garbage removal options but certainly not a top teamstyle anywhere else right now.

VR Noms

New:
Chien-Pao -> S-/S (Between its supreme speed tier and offensive customizability I think you need to have a very very good reason to not use this on most teams right now, from offense to superman style balance. Probably a top 2 mon besides lando-t to consider in the builder.)
() Mewtwo -> A+ (grouping mmx in the same rank here since I think a big part of its use case and effectiveness derives from its lack of transparency compared to regular m2 on preview)
Ferrothorn -> A-
Hatterene -> B+ (Probably the hottest commodity running around right now, very very anti-meta for destroying balance as sealoo once said, but also a variety of HO archetypes)
Lugia -> B- (Not just a stall 1trick, cm whirl or even just ice beam twave tox with its speed tier and multiscale is quite solid into offense)

Rises:
Lando-T A+ -> S (in a similar vein to pao I'd now safely say this is the best mon in the meta, its hard to punish, flexible in any MU, partners well with practically everything)
Gouging Fire B -> A/A+
Ting-Lu B+ -> A-
Dialga C+ -> B
Clefable C -> B (Garbage mon but we seriously need fairy types, as someone who brought it to slam finals this one not only provides a blanket check to most ho sweepers with unaware + encore (rmoon, spectrier, chien pao, arc formes) but is also quite flexible between sr heal bell wish and cm, naturally very good into HO but also other archetypes due to its sheer role compression.)
NDW A- -> A+
Kingambit A- -> A+ (now that people aren't incentivised to run nonsense pursuit sets in the slightest I think its significantly better than in prev months, can't throw this onto every team but prob the best non-arc wincon around)
Arceus-Fighting B- -> B+
Iron Treads C+ -> B-/B (Celeste didn't end up bringing any of the drafts but I built with this guy a ton as it acts as an amazing form of offensive role compression rn, destroys most of the tiers leads and is resilient enough to act as a long-term offensive check to some things.)
UR -> Ranked (probably somewhere in the low c ranks but these being completely off the radar is surely an oversight given their occasional tour success and value into prominent aspects of the meta rn.)

Drops:
(This is the less important part of the proposed shift so I will just briefly list these out. The following are all examples of mons with on paper niches but do not make the mon worth using in practice, these include:)

Urshifu-Single
Mega Metagross
Kyurem-White
Solgaleo
Mega Alakazam
Arceus-Psychic
Weavile
Moltres
Heatran
Mega Latias
Tyranitar
Gastrodon
Mega Sableye

and prob a few more that I'm missing but with the value of ensuring long-term vr accuracy I would suggest all of these to drop from their current positions or be moved to d/ur for the time being.

Overall this is a metagame I'd take much more postively than the previous iterations we've had so far this year. I thought it was relatively bad before but lots of role compression options have since opened up in a way that makes building other playstyles much more refreshing, and not to the point where you have to go out of your way to accomodate for most things with a lot of the counterplay being realized. That said there's still a few issues I would say are inherent to tiering like its overcentralization among a few offensive threats (mostly the ones i'd ban) and certain utility options being disportionate to others, but my enthusiasm remains high and I'm excited to see the new direction this tier takes.

 

[Sami]

Resource Post in thread 'Post-NDAMPL I Thread'

Aug 11, 2025

National Dex Ubers UU Teamdump

I probably had the worst record out of anyone in this tournament and if I'm going to be honest, I'm not a fan of the current ND Ubers UU. There is simply too much bullshit going on with the recent unbans. I did like the tier before the tier shifts, but everything following Week 1 felt more like a drag than anything else. I'm not the best at Ubers UU, which is probably why I didn't enjoy it as much as others probably did, but the fishiness of the tier isn't nice to play; this isn't the greatest comparison, but current ND Ubers UU feels like...

• Sami

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[Shadow079]

some meta thoughts and teamdump post ndampl

 

[OceanicGamer]

some meta thoughts and teamdump post ndampl
View attachment 763910

ok Mr. Ho

 

[ausma]

Cool metagame; really neat to get to explore Pokemon like Genesect and Pheromosa again since it's likely they'll never truly be OU legal lol.

I mentioned on the Discord that I think Mega Metagross has a lot of potential. Because of Metagross's substantial movepool buffs in SCVI, Mega Metagross also benefits by extension. Did you know Mega Metagross is nearly as heavy as Primal Groudon and Cosmoem? Its Heavy Slam is 120 BP an overwhelming majority of the time, and is Tough Claw boosted. In effect you get a 156 BP STAB move off of a 140 base Attack stat. Additionally, it gains Knock Off which gives Metagross a massively desired middle ground option that also lets it pressure Pokemon like Giratina and Gholdengo more reliably. These are the two biggest buffs, giving Mega Metagross a lot more offensive identity alongside Bullet Punch to provide priority utility to teams and truly contend amidst the tier's power level.

Here are some sets I've theorycrafted and tried a smidgeon:

Sets?

Four Attacks
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Knock Off / Psychic Fangs
- Earthquake / Hammer Arm
- Bullet Punch

This is what I envision as the set with the highest likelihood of success. Heavy Slam is, often, a 120 BP STAB move (even in an Ubers environment) and should not be dropped realistically on most sets. Bullet Punch is also integral. Knock Off and Earthquake cover the most ground since Steel-types are a dime a dozen in this tier and bulky Poison-types like Arceus-Poison and Toxapex are super annoying, but Hammer Arm is more reliable into Ferrothorn. Earthquake and Psychic Fangs are generally redundant and shouldn't be used together, but any other permutation I can see working. Mostly self-explanatory.


Power-Up Punch
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant OR Jolly Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Knock Off / Earthquake
- Power-Up Punch
- Trailblaze / Bullet Punch

You know that really strong STAB move it gets? What if we made it stronger, and what if we just went for game? This set is a bit more committal and is a set I would probably run on more dedicated offenses with something to ease setup (Light Clay being banned is tough) like Sticky Web, but it excels really hard into chipped down teams thanks to Power-Up Punch and Trailblaze hitting most of its standard checks like Ting-Lu for super effective damage.

IDPress
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 64 Atk / 252 Def / 192 Spe OR 8 Atk / 252 Def / 248 Spe
Jolly OR Impish Nature
- Iron Defense
- Body Press
- Knock Off / Heavy Slam
- Bullet Punch / Trailblaze

This one is the most crackhead as Zamazenta-Crowned generally outclasses this set by a country mile, but I do think Mega Metagross's overall stronger offensive profile, neutrality to Fighting for MMX, and priority have some merit especially as Mega Metagross's primary checks get obliterated by boosted Body Press, while Bullet Punch bops non-Sucker Punch Chien Pao and Pheromosa. I think Trailblaze is a possible alternative too as it lets you outrun nearly everything and delete unprepared teams.

Other Options

I think a potential option is Psychic Noise. The healing disruption could be really nice for making progress either for its teammates or itself. You could also lean into its pre-Mega ability in Clear Body and run Ice Punch for Landorus-T to snipe and remove it for a teammate like Arceus.

Although it faces a lot of competition and doesn't have an ideal typing, I feel as though this Pokemon and the impact of base Metagross's movepool buffs on it are really underexplored. I'd give it a shot!