Metagame LGPE UU (VR Update @ Post # 40)

[FlamPoke]

Had never played LGPE before getting drafted (and subsequently starting) in LGPL, where I went 3-1 in UU, 2-1 using my own teams where I was mostly relying on vibes in the builder. Wanted to share some of my thoughts on what I think was actually a fun tier;

- Not really as hyped on this as it appears others are, I feel like it might be a tad overrated to be honest. I understand it has an awesome set of moves and great bulk but it just felt to me like there were plenty of teams stacking Fighting weaks and this being weak to rocks on top of that kind of limits it a touch. Still definitely a top-5 mon but I don't know if I'd put it #1 personally.
- Maybe the true #1, absurd offensive presence and STAB Fake Out is massive for cleaning. I skewed towards using more Tauros than this because of the Speed but this is just so bulky and threatening with a solid Speed tier itself.
- Sneaky good mon in my opinion. I mentioned stacking Fighting weaks and this getting U-turn to punish Exeggutor and Slowbro is really nifty. Not a top tier mon but something I felt was easy to build with and had a lot of upside as it can also threaten Taunt on stuff.
- I love this thing, it just eats every physical attack and can run Modest to bolster an already impressive 130 SpAtk stat. I tried CM and Rest but never really got to use either, think it's better to just go four attacks or maybe TWave last.
- Really strong rocker that can run plenty of coverage (like my Persian-A getting nuked by Superpower against Somalia). STAB Jet + Rock Slide is great too.
- I like this thing a lot, I didn't get to utilize all of my ideas but it's bulky and strong and has Roost which is massive. I think DTail support might be functionally better than Outrage since it's a tad slow and easily revenged by Lapras or Slowbro if locked into Outrage but this is one of those mons that can run any set well without making concessions.
- Sleep is kind of broken in LGPE in my opinion and this is an excellent abuser of it. Between Leech and Sleep Powder, along with great STABs in Giga Drain and Psychic, this thing handles a lot of the tier well.
- I tried this thing and it seems broken on paper but I wasn't as high on it. Really strong breaker with pivot and recovery seems so good so maybe this was just a skill issue on my part...
- Last but not least, one of my favorite mons to use. Excellent Speed tier, great bulk and power, and access to several high BP attacks like EQ/Thrash/Outrage. Felt like I used Rock Slide every time I loaded this to blow up Lapras or Dragonite while also fishing for flinches. Top tier mon to me.
- Agility Hitmonchan seems really cool, can set up on Lapras and threaten to sweep late after Tauros/Kanga chipped into range.

 

[HRCassetteTape]

Having finals to procrastinate is a great motivator to get this post out that I've been sitting on for a while. I drafted most of this within a week of PL, but after some casual games I think my views on certain mons have changed and evolved. Regardless, I think this captures my thoughts on UU pretty effectively. If tier shifts do happen in the next year or so then a lot of these thoughts will be outdated of course, but that’s just the way it goes ig. I don't know if I would necessarily call this my viability rankings or anything, but these are my views on the tier rn. This post is gonna be long and some things may be wrong, so that's my bad. Also my ass is NOT proofreading this so sorry if there are any inconsistencies or whatever

TIER LIST BB

~~ S Tier ~~

Mega Kangaskhan is the consensus best pokemon in the tier, and best mega along with that. It’s bulky, strong, and has the coverage it needs to be a beat stuff. At worst it goes 1 for 1 with just about everything, and it usually does a lot better than that. I think the best set at the moment is probably fake out, eq, ice punch, brick break. It has some other options though. I specifically think there are worlds where you could drop moves for facade and sucker punch.

The only mon that I think kang clearly loses to is mega slowbro. It does have to look out for the occasional primeape and superpowers from kabutops and pinsir. Regardless, there’s a reason everyone used this in LGPL. It’s goated.

Ohhhh woah heyyy loooook it’s Mr. UU. I originally had Tauros at 4, but I think number 2 suits him better.. Tauros is cool. He’s fast and strong and sexy and he has big strong arms and I want him to hold me in them. Being able to come in and click massive damage against so much of the tier is awesome. He has such a wide movepool and can really take advantage of it. I always ran double edge, earthquake, outrage, and facade, but honestly there’s room to change stuff around. I saw surf Tauros in tour to mess up golem, thrash is very common, and I think if there’s a mon in this tier that would be scary behind a sub it’s probably this guy.

Tauros is bulky enough to make do as an offensive mon, but that doesn’t mean he’s super bulky. Most of the tier 2hkos him, and physically bulky mons are basically a complete halt to your progress. If you rely on double edge for stab then it’s very easy to be worn down especially since the mons in this tier are all obese (double edging into lapras and kangaskhan is a sad time). Earthquake also just often doesn’t hit as hard as you would like. These limitations don’t stop tauros from being an easy top 5 mon for me, though.

Not sure if lap at 3 is controversial or not.
Lapras is insane. It’s so fat and so strong. It has all the moves it could want. I personally think that surf, ice beam, tbolt, and ice shard is all it needs, but I can see why one would sub one of these moves for waterfall, or maybe even sing and body slam. Like kang it matches up positively into a lot of the tier.

I think lapras loses to electrode and kabutops. Probably victreebel too. has to make sure to watch its health v pika but you can kill it with stab into ice shard. Like Kang this mon has big numbers and unlike kang it has big moves. I think it contributes well to every team it’s on.
~~ S- ~~

I originally had this mon at #2 but I think that's a bit high. Regardless, mega slowbro is a fucked up pokemon. In the deep recesses of my mind there lives an old man who tells me that this is the secret best mon in the tier. Mega slowbro beats so much. It beats the other megas 1v1, it has the moves it needs to kill just about anything. I think 4 attacks with shadow ball, ice beam, surf, and psychic is the best set here. With fewer kangs running facade you might be able to get away with scald but i don’t think the power trade off is worth it. Bro actually has a lot of silly moves so it would be cool to see if anyone takes advantage of those options (yawn, screens, calm mind, disable, substitute, and thunder wave are probably the most worth considering).

Slowbros biggest downfall is the fact that every team has an electric type. And it’s slow as balls which makes the grasses a problem. Barring sleep, slowbro can beat these threats down anyways as they are usually chipped down a bit by the time slowbro hits the field. They are all also cleanly 2hkoed by bro, and don’t ohko the guy, which means switching in isn’t really an option. Pidgeot can also do big damage to the slow guy but has the same issues as the electrics and grasses, exacerbated by its stealth rock weakness. Like I said I think this might be the actual best mon in the tier but there wasn’t a lot of usage for him, so it’s kind of hard to say that. I do think slowbro is probably the most important mon to consider in the teambuilder (either bro or electrode). You need to have a plan for bro bc you cannot just hit him until he dies like you can with mega kang.

~~ A+ ~~

I really do think all 3 of the main megas in the tier are top tier threats. They each bring big value to their teams and have valid and strong reasons to use them. Pidgeot is awesome. It’s ridiculously fast, crazy strong, has u-turn, and has healing. I think air slash, heat wave, u-turn, and roost is the best set. But, if you’re feeling fun and flirty you can drop roost for hyper beam to get big, potentially game winning damage against pokemon like lapras and kang in the endgame. Besides that i think its moveset is practically set. Maybe there’s a world where you run substitute or quick attack? Don’t do that.

I think pidgeot’s biggest problem is the fact that it has 0 accurate moves. Air slash and heat wave are great 95% of the time, but 5% of the time air slash hits a little bit to the left and you realize that rent is due in 5 days and you have 3 homework assignments that you should probably be working on. Slowbro would never make you face reality like that. Pidgeot also struggles with the electrics. It technically outspeeds pikachu but it technically doesn’t matter because zippy zap will have you scrolling indeed.com worrying about your future career before you can even think about clicking heat wave. It also doesn’t appreciate the fact that lapras ice shard does as much as it does. Things might be looking bad for the big bird but at the end of the day pidgeot is a cool guy mega for cool guy gamers. It does big damage and it is a really threatening pick 95% of the time.

Trode should probably be ranked higher than this. This dude is fucked in the head. Fastest mon in the game duh. Thunderbolt is strong, foul play for exeggutor and pikachu-s. From here I have seen a lot of stuff. It has access to screens which could be great to pair with substitute mons. Twave is great especially if people are dropping facade on their normals. Taunt is good for stopping rockers. Boom is probably not the best idea but it’s still good damage! I think teleport could even be silly since this guy often forces switches but you probably just want to do damage on those switches instead.

If you aren’t using mega kang you’re probably going to have a pretty hard time vs electrode. Tauros eq only has a 6% chance to kill after rocks. Golem and sandslsh are hard stops to trode, which is probably their best traits as rockers. Electrode is scary in the teambuilder and you should definitely be asking what your plan is vs this mon. Which isn’t easy since it can do a lot of things.

Pikachu is cool because game freak wants it to be cool. I think the reason you use this over electrode is because you want to use an electric type that can ohko golem? Zippy zap is a really cool move. I think when you use pika you want to use zippy zap tboly splishy splash and floaty fall. Brick break is useful as well but I don’t personally think it’s more important than the other moves.

Pikachu struggles because everything can kill it. It struggles to ohko a lot of the tier, and the tier does not have the same issue in return. In my experience pikachu is a good cleaner with zippy zap, and more importantly it can do important damage to threats like lapras to pave the way for tauros or pidge. I used to think the electrics are tied but I think trode is def better.

Pinsir should probably be above pika? Pinsir is the best rocker. This guy is way faster than he should be, and is also super strong. I think x scissor and superpower are mandatory. Outrage is a good option bc of dnite but I also think eq and rock slide are usable for their own reasons. It also gets moves like bulk up, swords dance, and brick break, but can’t really take advantage of them here.

Pinsir loses to fire types and flying types. You die to arcanine, moltres, and mega pidgeot. You aren’t ohkoed by dodrio, however. Not sure what else to say. Very straightforward mon. You get up your rocks and do big damage. Pinsir threatens exeggutor in big ways, which is great. Pinsir has a mega form that we will talk about later.

~~ A ~~

Kabu is a mon that has gone up my personal rankings a lot recently. I think kabutops is the second best rocker because of how stupid strong it is. It doesn’t offer the utility or bulk that wigglytuff can through thunder wave, but it can nuke certain mons if given the opportunity. It has a lot of set variety. My favorite set is rocks, superpower, aqua jet, and rock slide. The set has a lot of blind spots in terms of coverage, not really being able to do anything into sandslash, the grasses, or mega slowbro. However, superpower is insanely valuable coverage, and I like pairing it with aqua jet to kill tauros after rocks + superpower. Obviously you can run waterfall over jet (i think this is probably a better set overall), and other scary options are swords dance and leech life, though these do limit you a bit.

I think it falls short as a rocker compared to pinsir because of how common the electrics are. If you find yourself head to head with an electric you often end up having to just get your rocks up and either die, or switch a mon into pika or trode, which isn’t very fun. It also has a harder time being versatile than pinsir does, and doesn’t offer utility the same way wigglytuff does. Still a really good mon in the tier.

Arcanine is a fast dog that has really big numbers on its stats and its moves. The fact that its stabs and its common coverage options are all 120 base power is kinda crazy. I typically opt for a physical arcanine with blitz, superpower, outrage, and wisp, but I know some players see fire blast as mandatory, but I really think that flare blitz’s accuracy is worth the recoil. It also has a lot of other options like play rough, substitute, and agility, but I’m not sure how much you’d want to use those (play rough especially, and I think if you run agility you need fire blast not flare blitz). It outspeeds and kills both grasses, and it threatens obscene damage on most of the tier, threatening 2hkoes on kang, lapras, tauros, and electrode.

The big problem with arcanine is that it dies faster than it can kill things. Kang EQ kills after rocks if you account for flare blitz recoil or superpower defense drop. Lapras surf into ice shard also threatens to kill after rocks, made worse by flare blitz recoil or superpower drop. Still, this is another pokemon that I see rising more in the future as people use it more. It is really frail and is absolutely rocks weak, but I think its strength and speed make up for it.

I have exeggutor over victreebel for now but I can possibly see that changing. I like that exeggutor threatens ohkoes against victreebel who can’t really do the same in return. Exeggutor’s special bulk is also useful in helping it face pokemon like pidgeot, lapras, and electrode. Mega drain helps it get really nice chip healing when it’s able to click the move, which along with the aforementioned bulk means that it can be sneakily difficult to take down. Of course the main reason you use exeggutor is for sleep. Because of its bulk, exeggutor is better at spreading sleep than victreebel is. I also think it’s better at punishing pokemon for existing once they are asleep because it is stronger than victreebel. I think usually with egg you want to run mega drain, psychic, sludge bomb, and sleep powder. It has access to other moves like leech seed, but I really think you’re throwing if you are using those, since you miss out on really important targets by dropping any of its attacks.

Exeggutor does wish it had victreebel’s speed. Timid egg outspeeds neutral lapras, but is outsped by timid lapras. This speed means that there do tend to be some situations where it feels like egg is kind of just a dead slot. Sleep is absolutely worth it though, as it can just kind of end up being a free kill against a lot of mons that might want to switch into egg. A well positioned egg forces your opponent to pick which pokemon they want to sacrifice, and because LGPE UU is such a trade heavy tier, if egg is able to sleep something and do big damage to something else, you’ve made huge progress.

I think exeggutor is a really strong sleep user, and a decently strong grass type, while victreebel is an extremely strong grass type and a decently strong sleep user. Unfortunately for victreebel sleep is more broken than being a grass type. It’s faster than lapras, and because it has a good attack stat power whip is a very threatening move. It outspeeds and kos lapras after rocks, and it threatens really big damage against most of the tier. When I run vic I typically run mega drain, power whip, sludge bomb, and sleep powder, but I don’t actually think this is the best set for it. Somalia showed me that substitute is incredibly threatening, and it gets access to options like swords dance, sucker punch, and leech life. The mon is incredibly threatening and I only see its stocks going up in the future.

Of course it isn’t perfect. I think its frailty is probably its biggest downfall. Along with that, while it is faster than lapras and exeggutor, it is still slower than most of the tier. This, combined with its frailty, means that it gets worn down quickly by most pokemon on an opponent’s team. It is threatened immensely by kang and pidgeot, which outspeed it and carry threatening super effective moves. It also can’t exactly switch into lapras because of how strong ice beam and ice shard are into the whole metagame. I still super believe into this mon, and if the meta becomes more popular and the skill ceiling becomes higher, I think this mon goes up the list.

I haven’t used wigglytuff very much, but I know others have to decent success.It’s pretty bulky, which is cool. Being a normal type from gen 1 means it can learn whatever special moves it wants. If I were to use it I would probably use stealth rock, tbolt, ice beam, and twave. Being able to slow down the opponents mon and possibly get free turns is huge, and I think wiggs is more at liberty to click twave than other mons that get it (if you have electrode out you probably are wanting to click tbolt or foul play depending on the situation). Its bulk means that it’s pretty much guaranteed to get rocks up AND do one other thing, which is really really cool. Very few mons have super effective damage for it (iron tail tauros when?) which contributes to its bulk a fair bit. I think other moves worth considering are dazzling gleam and screens. If screens in general grow in popularity it also gets brick break.

Wigglytuff’s speed is a big problem for it. If it gets taunted then you kind of have an unmon sitting on the field, which is not good. Along with that, its damage output is bad. Stab dazzling gleam is incredibly unimpressive, as it doesn’t hit anything meaningful in the tier. Still, it stands clearly in my eyes as the 3rd best stealth rock user.

~~ A- ~~

When I first put this list together I I had dragonite higher than this but I genuinely do believe that all of the mons above it are a great deal better than it is. Its most popular set at the moment is probably agility, outrage, earthquake, roost, but I don’t think this is its best set. In the midgame it doesn’t really break anything with outrage, and I feel like it’s outclassed in the late/endgame. I personally think special is its best set, with flamethrower ice beam thunderbolt and roost. Great coverage that lets you threaten big damage on a lot of the tier. I also think sets with dragon tail and roost have potential to be annoying. I also think there might be potential for a mixed attacking set that can run a combination of superpower, bolt beam, roost, outrage, earthquake, thunder wave, whatever. It also technically gets access to less useful moves like aqua jet, brick break, and screens, but I don’t think you should use those.

Dragonite dropping was a big deal when it first happened, and I think that initial panic made it pretty clear that this mon is actually stupid easy to cover. Mega Kang outspeeds and ohkoes with ice punch after rocks, mega slowbro lives any hit and kos with ice beam, same with lapras. Even if dnite has an agility against these mons, it has to chose between clicking roost, which doesn’t really make progress, or clicking superpower/outrage, which won’t kill and will end up with a dead dragonite. I just don’t think this mon really beats any of the top mons in a meaningful/impactful way.

~~ B ~~

From here I think the mons see a slight dip in quality. Sandslash represents this by being pretty mid. It can guarantee to get rocks up, which is important, but it can fail depending on the matchup to do anything beyond that. It feels like it’s always just a little bit slower than I want it to be, a little bit weaker than I want it to be, and a little bit frailer than I wanted to be. Still, it can do good things. I like rocks, eq, rock slide, and x scissor. It’s strong enough to threaten a good amount of mons and when I use it it does contribute.to making progress.

I don’t like golem. I think I’ve used golem more in ou than I have in uu. I don’t like that it dies so easily to so many good pokemon. It definitely has its strengths. It’s really physically bulky, which is cool. If I were to use it I would probably use rocks, eq, slide, boom, but it also gets superpower, which hits really hard. Idk man. It's a golem.

~~ C ~~

MEGA PINSIR BABY LETS GO LOVE MEGA PINSIR. Ok so I have different feelings about mega pinsir from most. Common knowledge says that you should probably definitely never mega your pinsir, unless there is a very specific situation that calls for it. With this, you run a standard pinsir set. But I don’t care about that. I think it’s good to keep in mind, but I want to talk about SOLO MEGA PINSIR.

The problem with solo mega pinsir is that it isn’t very good. If you use it you have to acknowledge that you are using neither the best rocker nor the best mega. But it does have its strengths. It has an absolutely bonkers attack stat that lets it annihilate anything it wants to. It outspeeds and demolishes a chipped mega kang. It ohkoes lapras after rocks, it ohkoes tauros after rocks, it ohkoes electrode with earthquake. It is bonkers strong and really fast, and as such it works best later in the game. It requires a lot of team support, however. You need to use another rocker and you need a team that can break things down for pinsir to kill. I think with proper support, though, it might be the next big thing in UU.

Of course another reason you want to save pinsir for later in the game is because once you mega you are in. If you switch out you are essentially dead as you will be taking 50% from rocks on the next switch in. While it can beat slowbro, it cannot beat pidge, as it outspeeds and messes you up, so be mindful if you face a pidge (by be mindful I mean be mindful of the fact that you will probably lose sorry).

Speaking of the next big thing I think persian should be used more. The set I really like is foul play thunderbolt u turn taunt, but it has so many different options. Fake out is good, I can see sets with nasty plot being successful, and it might even be a decent substitute user. I haven’t used it enough to know for sure but I think this mon is definitely something to keep your eye out for in the future.

Dodrio on the other hand was used a lot in this tour but I feel like it’s a bit of a disappointment. Swords dance sounds sooooooo good but it gets revenge killed very easily. I think it probably works best as a lead. Swords dance against their pinsir as they get rocks up, then drill peck. Electrode and pika both outspeed and kill it after rocks, but those attacks aren’t guaranteed kills from full so you can click a neutral move and almost go 2 for 1. I think a big problem I have with dodrio is it has too many moves that can maybe make it threatening but it can’t run all of them at once. If it could run SD, drill peck, facade, jump kick, quick attack, and roost, then it would be pretty great. It can’t though, so you have to make a lot of unfortunate limiting decisions.

Omastar would be cool if it weren’t outsped by electrode at +2. It isn’t strong enough to be threatening in my opinion. I think a stealth rock set would be cool and worth exploring.

I think kingler is really scary but I haven’t used it so I don’t have much to say about it. If poliwrath drops soon then it will probably not be scary anymore, so I hesitate to say it should rise with the next tier shifts. It outspeeds the whole tier at +2!

~~ D ~~

Primeape has been a semi hot topic of discussion lately. It’s fast and has u-turn which is cool, but I feel like it’s a little too frail and weak to contribute very much. In the hands of a good player it can do good work, but so can a lot of different mons. I especially don’t like that mega Pidge can just outspeed and ohko it. Still, it has a lot to offer and I can see why people rate it highly. I just don’t.

Alolan Sandslash would be cool if Dnite was better, but I think game to game it just doesn’t accomplish as much as I would like. I also think the fact that 100% of the time it just gives slowbro a free switch in is not great. It does get mirror coat though, which is nuts and can catch slowbro by surprise if you’re not gonna die, but then you’re using mirror coat on alolan sandslash, which is kind of fishy in my opinion. Slowbro can also run flamethrower if this ever catches on, but then your opponent is using flamethrower instead of better moves.

~~ END OF UU ~~

Alolan Ninetales is weak and frail. It can be scary with nasty plot but it still isn’t strong enough to threaten the pokemon that it wants to threaten. Still, it’s fast. It also has hypnosis, and I think if you were going to use Alolan Ninetales it should be with something like hypnosis, nasty plot, ice beam, gleam.

Rei used Chansey in week 1 of pl and won with it, so maybe I’m not giving Chansey enough credit. I don’t really believe in this mon because I think it’s kind of bad at making progress. It can use a set with thunder wave, seismic toss, teleport, and softboiled, and it can do things, I just don’t think I would ever use it over another mon in the tier. It’s not really how I build and I don’t see it as a mon worth using over other mons in the format. If it does rise in popularity it doesn’t beat slowbro because they can start running brick break and 2hkoing it.

Dugtrio is weak and frail. Maybe in the future it might see some innovation but I really don’t think there’s any reason to use it over the other rockers.

Man idek with this one. I've tried using it in casual games and maybe it can stay UU? Probably not though I really don't think it's good. I will say that it's speed and bulk are a lot more serviceable here than in OU. It doesn't literally get OHKOed by everything. I do think if you're using it you have to be dedicating an entire team to it, and I'm not sure how reasonable or viable that is.

Vileplume is just objectively worse than the other grasses. I don’t think there’s any reason to use it over Egg and Victreebel. It was used once in PL where all it did was miss a sleep powder.

Idk about Tentacruel man. Maybe it could be cool but I don’t think it does anything meaningful and I don't think it has any moves worth clicking.

And yeah those are my thoughts on UU atm. Hopefully the tier stays active. I might make a post about a solo mega pinsir team later but I have exams to study for first.

 

[Eve]

https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...s-update-post-66.3656868/page-3#post-10603359

Snorlax fell from OU to UU
Poliwrath fell from OU to UU
Nidoking fell from OU to UU
Cloyster fell from OU to UU

New toys for UU! All of them seem very strong- we'll be holding a tournament to try them out very soon. How do you think these changes affect the meta?


My personal predictions:

• Snorlax seems absolutely incredible and poised to be a staple of the format. It was already pretty bulky by OU standards, let alone UU, and down here its Normal STAB is far better situated. 30 Speed is unfortunate and probably prevents Snorlax being broken but I can't see it not being top tier and providing UU with some much-needed bulk.
• Poliwrath is serious Water competition for Lapras- resisting Stealth Rock makes up for the bulk difference, and Fighting STAB is incredible in a tier dominated by Normal-type Pokemon. Its Speed tier also gives it the jump on Lapras, letting it come in on Surf or Ice Beam and retaliate in a big way. The major problems for Poliwrath are Exeggutor and especially Slowbro, but Seismic Toss could be teched in to deal meaningful damage to the latter. The prominence of Slowbro in the metagame will probably define how good Poliwrath is.
• Nidoking seems very solid. Its strength and coverage are pretty stellar, especially for a Pokemon that can be your Stealth Rock setter and a backup answer to the Electrics. The crazy movepool and decent Speed tier probably guarantee that Nidoking will always find a way to stay relevant regardless of trends.
• Cloyster is a big question mark. Starter Pikachu, Lapras, Slowbro, and the new arrivals of Snorlax and Poliwrath all seem like major roadblocks for it to overcome, or more likely, fail to. However, if someone figures out how to build to enable it, or to exploit its forced answers, then it could potentially even become overbearing.

 

[Volk]

Somehow it seems like I am the first person to make a post about this new meta. Neat. I have been following the different LGPE metagames for a while, but I am no expert. Despite playing some games where onlookers might speculate that I was trying to lose, I managed to get to the semifinals in the inaugural Cup for LGPE UU. A disclaimer here is that this metagame is extremely young, and I am far from the most seasoned player of the metagame, or LGPE at large, so fully anticipate these takeaways being utterly trashed in due time. Anyhow, I've sorted my opinions in little categories to make your reading experience as digestible as possible.

Metagame Centralization (And Pokemon That I Think Are Bad)
This metagame is pretty centralized. It's not quite an RBY LT where you can choose from a pool of about nine Pokemon and get away with it at least most of the time, but I would be hard pressed to name more than like maybe two dozen Pokemon that are actually worth using. With a small pool of Pokemon and no abilities, items, EV spreads, etc., there just aren't a ton of emergent strategies and tactics (which is not an insult by the way... I'm an RBY main). As a result, there isn't really a ton of room to "get one over" a competent and knowledgeable player. I expect teams and games to homogenize over time, with balanced/bulky offensive builds being the norm. Pivoting and positioning will be the major decider of games. Anyhow, here are some Pokemon that are presently ranked in LGPE UU that are way over-ranked or should probably be in RU. The order is based on the current VR.

Lapras
Despite this Pokemon being the literal #1 Pokemon on the old UU VR, I never considered it for a team for even a second. It is very slow, weak to Stealth Rock, and offers very little in the way of status moves. Water-type Pokemon, while good, are a huge liability in a metagame where Electrode is the best win condition. Ice Shard is kind of its only appealing trait, and I guess it handles Shell Smash users well. Snorlax is a much more reliable trade bot if that's what you want on your team.

Chansey
Basically nobody touched this thing for the entire tournament. It seems decent for endgames because a lot of the best late game Pokemon are specially-oriented (Electrode, Mega Pidgeot, Alolan Nineteales, etc.), but I think it is probably too much of a gamble in the builder and it has a pretty small midgame presence. I thought about building with it a few times and maybe it could be good, but I think the meta is too fast and aggressive for it.

Starter Pikachu
Starter Pikachu has a lot of really nice traits: high speed, good coverage, priority, and a solid typing. However, its damage output is pitiful and basically every move in the game can 2HKO it or better. I think Electrode is honestly just better and running both is really not necessary. Electrode cleanly 2HKOing this with Foul Play is never not funny.

Alolan Persian
This is another Pokemon I thought about building with a few times. U-turn and STAB Foul Play are actually really nice traits. But that's kind of it. Outside of Speed, its stats are just awful. This isn't providing much offensive pressure and everything will KO it easily.

Starter Eevee
Same story as Starter Pikachu. Great utility options, but it has no offensive presence and seemingly everything can 2HKO it or better. Sparkly Swirl on Rest-centric teams is an idea, but this Pokemon is a complete momentum sink to get in and actually use as a cleric. You are pulling off Sparkly Swirl one time in a game, at best.

Alolan Sandslash
This walls Alolan Ninetales but honestly I have no idea what else it does. Stealth Rock has other users and Fighting- and Ground-type coverage are everywhere to destroy this.

Dugtrio
I like this in theory on HO teams where you literally just need Stealth Rock around turn 1 and nothing else, but I don't know how viable that style actually is. It might have some sweeping potential. It has low staying power and ultimately pretty limited utility.

Vileplume
I genuinely have no idea why you would use this over Exeggutor or Victreebel. It's also atrociously slow.

Tentacruel
This one might be alright, but the damage output is just low, and a lot of really solid Pokemon give it trouble, like Snorlax and Electrode.


And here are a few that are on thin ice, or I am unsure about.

Wigglytuff
This barely saw any use, but it might be alright. I don't think its role compression is actually that useful, especially when compared to other Stealth Rock users, but it does have some nice tools and a decent defensive typing. Maybe something is there, not sure.

Arcanine
Arcanine is actually totally fine, but I'm putting it here because I honestly don't know if it's the best Fire-type Pokemon. I think Alolan Ninetales keeps Fire-type Pokemon in business, so one of them ought to be good, but I genuinely haven't done my homework to prove which one is actually the best. It very well could be Aracnine though. Rapidash seems okay on paper.

Moltres
This thing is really awkward to build with and is ruined by Stealth Rock. It has some nice tools though and an actual damage output.

Kabutops
I don't really think thing has much of a niche. The typing is honestly not great. Versus most other Stealth Rock users, it gets a resistance to Flying- and Normal-type moves, but awful weaknesses to Electric-, Ground-, Grass-, and Fighting-type moves. Unlike most other Stealth Rock users, it isn't a pocket Electrode check in the slightest, so teams with Kabutops often need to start stacking weaknesses to actually handle Electrode.

Omastar & Cloyster
Shell Smash is cute, but Electrode is everywhere. They feel so bad to use and probably don't belong in UU, but on paper they feel like they should at least be decent. Omastar, perhaps unexpectedly, seems to be the better of the two. I do wonder if Cloyster has any value as a dedicated defensive Pokemon, but a lack of notable resistances really hurts. Fun fact: Ice/Water, along with Ice/Psychic, is the only type combination that resist no types but the types in the combination itself.


Mega Pokemon
The Mega Pokemon in this metagame are not created equal. I don't think having a Mega Pokemon is actually strictly necessary, as I think several are actually pretty bad, and even the good ones come with major shortcomings against key Pokemon. You can probably slap Mega Pidgeot or Mega Slowbro on more teams than you can't, but I don't think you ever technically need to.

Mega Kangaskhan
This thing is actually so underwhelming. STAB Fake Out is genuinely it's only good trait that's at all unique. You give up the ability to Mega Evolve a much better Pokemon to gain access to what: 125 Attack and 100 Speed? Sad. Mega Kangaskhan also suffers from having no moves with any kind of Base Power behind them, while also being liable to find itself short on the correct coverage option. It has some use because it's actually a physical attacker, but I think Slowbro or Pidgeot is still a better choice and Pokemon like Snorlax and Tauros can usually do its job fairly well without eating the Mega slot. I actually only used Mega Kangaskhan when I already had Tauros and Snorlax on board, in an attempt to get a Normal Spam team going.

Mega Pidgeot
Hey look, a good Pokemon! Mega Pidgeot is pretty one-dimensional in terms of sets, but it can afford to be when that set has healing and pivoting on top of real stats. Mega Pidgeot offers an offensive output at 135 Special Attack and 121 Speed, superior to pretty much every other Mega Evolution. It does admittedly have some issues with revenge killing, as it invites in Electrode all day, and its limited coverage can make some Pokemon fairly difficult to damage, though U-turn helps a little with the latter issue. I also tried Hyper Beam on this once. Never clicked it, but check the calcs. On a good predict, it can wipe out a bunch of troublesome Electric-type Pokemon, among others. Also, screw Air Slash.

Mega Slowbro
I think Mega Slowbro is good but I'm honestly not sure what this thing is actually best at. Towards the end of the tournament, I began favoring three- and four-attack builds, but things like Calm Mind, Thunder Wave, Rest, and Screens seem to have merit. It always felt at least fairly solid though. Stuffing out physical attackers is really nice for some teams, but Thunderbolt and Mega Drain do just obscene amounts of damage to it, so it requires some positioning, especially on late-game set up builds.

Mega Pinsir
This thing is pretty awful. If Pinsir wasn't very good on its own merits, I don't think this belongs in UU. The Attack stat is great, but that's about it. The Speed tier is awkward, the Stealth Rock weakness (and without healing) is miserable, and the coverage is insufficient. This Pokemon kind of has to lead, but it really interferes with your Stealth Rock game if you do this. Electrode eats this thing alive and other common endgame Pokemon like Alolan Ninetales, Mega Pidgeot, Tauros, and Dodrio can easily dispatch it. Rock-type coverage is actually pretty good already, so you can pretty easily tech for this thing if you're ever worried about it.

Mega Charizard Y
This is basically just special-attacking Mega Pinisr, but the Speed tier and base form are worse. Like Pinsir, it probably has some merit on more aggressive builds that can somehow get by without setting Stealth Rock early, but I think that's more of a matchup or skill check than anything. Water-types are actually not extremely dominant in this tier though, so that's kind of nice.


Other Pokemon
Here are some notes that I felt like sharing about specific Pokemon and archetypes.

Snorlax
Snorlax is the best Pokemon in the tier. It's extremely difficult to exploit, it can pocket check pretty much every dangerous sweeper because it's basically impossible to OHKO even after Stealth Rock, and it has an amazing array of moves to use. It's probably the only Pokemon that belongs on like every team.

Electrode
Electrode is also really good. Thunderbolt and Foul Play are basically all this needs to function. I'm actually amazed by how good of a click Foul Play is in this meta. Pretty much everything is 4HKOed or better by it, which doesn't sound crazy, but it does basically mean most Pokemon only get one or two switches into it. Reflect, Light Screen, Thunder Wave, and Explosion are all nice utility options to play with. I ran this Pokemon on pretty much every team. Good players can exploit it with powerful Pokemon like Nidoking and Sandslash, but it's still really good. I'd recommend making room for it on most teams and always preparing a thorough plan for dealing with it. It's extremely centralizing.

Stealth Rock
Nothing ground-breaking, but Stealth Rock is extremely good here. It helps secure a lot of knock outs, impedes defensive play immensely (most healing in this meta is from Roost on Flying-type Pokemon), and turns revenge kill attempts into checkmates. Get them up early. I often strove for turn 1 Stealth Rock, but that is pretty predictable and can be punished with good play. But regardless, try to get them up quickly. Basically every decent or better win condition (Electrode, Kingler, Dragonite, Alolan Ninetales, Mega Pidgeot, etc.) loves support from Stealth Rock and hates seeing them on their side. Do not drop Stealth Rock.
Thankfully, most of the Stealth Rock users actually offer a lot of utility, so you get variety to pick from when crafting your team. Nidoking has great coverage, can go physical, special, or mixed, and can slow down Electric-type Pokemon. I never really figured out its best set(s). Sandslash can also slow down Electric-type Pokemon and has a surprisingly good damage output on top of a decent boosting option if it wants. Pinsir has a solid Speed tier (same as Nidoking), pretty unique and strong coverage, and a typing that a lot of opposing Stealth Rock users and anti-leads can't exploit too easily. Wigglytuff, Kabutops, Dugtrio, and others also have some fun tools to offer.

Golem
I like Golem. A terrible Speed and mostly poor defensive typing make it a tough Pokemon to include on a team and somewhat difficult to pilot. However, it does handle three of the best Pokemon in the metagame, Snorlax, Electrode, and Mega Pidgeot, pretty well. It can be a Stealth Rock user, but I don't know if it has to be one. I wanted to use Golem a lot more, but just never really got around to building with it. I think its damage output and overall utility make it a firm member of UU.

Sleep-inducers
Sleep is kind of broken and should probably be banned for LGPE at large. This metagame is way too offensive to handle losing a Pokemon entirely for potentially several turns because a low-accuracy move happened to hit.
Alolan Ninetales I think is an excellent and underrated Pokemon. It boasts strong coverage and a great Speed stat. It also has a great natural synergy with solid Pokemon like Electrode and Mega Slowbro. I think the sweeping offensive core of Alolan Ninetales and Electrode is one of the best in the game. It's also a decent lead thanks to an incredibly fast Sleep and a good hit on most Stealth Rock users. It can be countered in the builder though with intentional prep, and Snorlax can bully it if played well.
Exeggutor and Victreebel are both solid. I find Exeggutor better because it seems sturdier and I think the typing is better, especially as you take Earthquake much more comfortably. Victreebel does make up for its shortcoming though with a slightly better Speed, mixed options, Swords Dance, and Sucker Punch.
I never really had any interest in Poliwrath. It's very weak to a lot of very good Pokemon, like Electrode, Mega Pidgeot, Mega Slowbro, and Alolan Ninetales. It is pretty solid into some important Pokemon though, like Snorlax and most Stealth Rock users. Hypnosis gives it another solid tool.
I also thought a bit about Jynx because it has a pretty good Speed tier and Lovely Kiss is relatively accurate. It honestly might be decent, but it sure is frail.

Agility-users
I'm not a huge fan of Dragonite because I think its Stealth Rock weakness and reliance on Outrage make it an inconsistent sweeper. I think it actually has more merit as an early game breaker using its wide array of mixed attacks. Thunder Wave is a nice option too. It's ultimately alright. I think Kingler is a bit more consistent at actually getting a sweep done. While a lot of Pokemon just obliterate it, it does have some good set up opportunities and basically all the coverage it needs. Again, maybe a little inconsistent, but good and something to prepare for. Agility users are also some of the few actual win conditions in this tier.

The Remaining Pokemon That Are Somewhat Interesting
I didn't mean to go through like every Pokemon in the tier, but I got really close to covering all them so I figured I might as well close out with those that I missed.
Tauros honestly isn't great at anything in particular, but it's a pretty low cost Pokemon to add to a team thanks to a high Speed, acceptable bulk, and only one weakness. I don't usually feel like a team needs it, but it doesn't usually feel bad to add it. I usually ran Double-Edge, Earthquake, Rock Slide, and Facade because I didn't really know what else to do with those last two slots.
Dodrio is pretty similar to Tauros, having better damage output but much worse defensive potential. Being now at 110 Speed now is very nice.
Primeape isn't really great, and I felt it was pretty underwhelming. It is the only Fighting-type with a real Speed stat though, which is good for role compression, and U-turn can be nasty.
Slowbro is honestly pretty mediocre with a handful of relevant weaknesses, but it can function as a physically defensive pivot and it kind of works on teams looking to try out two possible Mega Pokemon (usually it and Pinsir, realistically) at the same time.
Electabuzz is alright, but I don't think having two Electric-type Pokemon is ever super necessary and Electrode will normally be better. Speed is king.


Win Conditions & Team Archetypes
For this section, I'm going to drop some ideas on routes to victory in a game, and how I evaluate them. This is kind of a mix of Pokemon, strategies, and team styles. Like most of this post, nothing is set in stone here. It's simply some musings on how I view progress making and securing endgames at this point in the metagame.

Electrode Offense
When I first looked at LGPE UU, my eyes immediately went to Electrode. Coming primarily from RBY, especially its low tiers, the fastest Pokemon with an even acceptable damage output is very often a great starting point. In tiers with no items and abilities for boosting Speed as well as relatively few moves to do it (and even those that can use Speed-boosting moves are sometimes still slower), the fastest Pokemon provides an unparalleled value in endgames because they are uniquely capable of stringing together multiple knock outs in succession. When I saw it learned Foul Play, I was sold. Most of my teams were built around Electrode winning the game. The general idea is to just get Stealth Rock up, maybe put something to sleep, and neutralize the opponent's Ground-type. Longer games favor you because you get more Stealth Rock chip for the sweep (while Electrode itself doesn't really care too much because it only needs to come in a few times and likely won't be getting hit too many times along the way). Solid bulky Pokemon like Snorlax, Sandslash, and Exeggutor are natural partners. Alolan Ninetales, as said above, is a cheeky secondary sweeper option that can eliminate Electrode's checks, or even sweep itself instead if your opponent invests too many resources in checking Electrode.

Boost Sweeping
Rather than relying on Electrode's natural Speed, these teams look to chain knock outs with something that can boost Speed first. Dragonite, Kingler, and Shell Smash users are your main options here. The benefit to these sweepers is that they have broader coverage and higher damage output than Electrode. However, taking a turn to set up, and often being slower than Electrode anyway, make the teams they're on a bit shakier overall. You also might need to get Reflect or Light Screen to last just the right number of turns. I found the positioning requirements to get these teams going a bit daunting so I seldom tried them. That said, they are probably functional with good piloting. Sweepers that aren't Electrode aren't as innately covered in the builder because they are less expected and more varied in coverage.
Swords Dance and Nasty Plot sweepers can kind of work, but none of them are really fast enough to actually sweep on their own. Mega Pinsir and Alolan Ninetales get the closest, but they can still be stuffed by Pokemon like Tauros, Mega Pigeot, and, of course, Electrode. Victreebel can also become a Pseudo Extreme Killer with Sucker Punch, Swords Dance, and Substitute, but this has obvious inconsistencies.
Mega Slowbro can also be a good win condition with Calm Mind and Rest. This requires a lot of set up and a lot of things can easily go wrong along the way, but a heavily boosted Slowbro can be very difficult to handle for a lot of teams.
Stacking multiple Shell Smash sweepers to make an HO build was also something I thought about. Maybe that works.
Substitute is also pretty nice to get free turns, especially in tandem with Sleep or Paralysis. Paralysis is a bit tricky to use, especially with Electric- and Ground-type Pokemon being common, but I think it can be rather dangerous if exploited well.

U-turn & Teleport Spam
Building a team centered around pivoting was something I tried, but it never fully came to fruition. In theory, I think supporting a heavy hitter, like Snorlax or Dodrio, or a dangerous boost sweeper, like Kingler, Sandslash, or Mega Pinsir, with one or more pivoting Pokemon could potentially be very dangerous. It has some issues in practice though. U-turn doesn't have a ton of great users, and using the best one, Mega Pidgeot, keeps you from getting a high damage output from a different Mega Pokemon. Most U-turn users are also rather fast, so getting a safe switch into a frail heavy hitter is actually pretty rare. A lot of them like Persian, Alolan Persian, and Fearow are also just not the best, though I did seriously consider each of these Pokemon at least once. Teleport gets around this to some extent, but without things like Leftovers and Regenerator, using Teleport more than once or twice is pretty hard. While Teleport users are generally bulky, they tend to have pretty exploitable weaknesses, so you have to pivot them in first before you can even pivot them out, which is kind of counterproductive. Perhaps ignoring the "bring in a big attacker" part might be an idea, as the U-turn users themselves do have a decent damage output and array of coverage options. They might be able to sustain offensive momentum on their own. Screens also might work here. I would like to see this idea realized one way or another though, because I think there is something here.

Outdamaging Your Opponent
In RBY, and perhaps other communities, we have a simple concept called "outdamaging your opponent." This is when you cast aside any mentality to set up for chain knock outs, boosting, and whatnot and just focusing on hitting the opponent harder and more often than they hit you. Outside of Stealth Rock, the occasional use of Screens, and maybe Sleep-inducing moves, these teams are mainly just looking to click attacks. I think teams composed of just a good number of the tiers hardest hitters like Tauros, Snorlax, and Mega Pidgeot could have merit. There's not too much to say here because this strategy does kind of just resolve to "hit for what will do the most damage most of the time." A lot of teams in this "archetype" look like Electrode builds, but might choose to eschew Electrode and may favor faster Pokemon over bulkier ones.
I'm also going to mention Rest + Sparkly Swirl builds here, because in theory you land more attacks this way (and I have nowhere else to put them). But again, Starter Eevee is so weak and loses so much momentum, on top of the momentum lost by clicking Rest, that I think the strategy is close to unviable.

Stall and Defensive Play
This doesn't work. The only positive thing I have to say here is the move Toxic could maybe be underrated. However, hard stall is just not viable here. Stealth Rock damage mounts up way too quickly, healing is way too sparse, and offensive threats are way too diverse. Most Pokemon deal way too much damage to properly stall long-term, and even if you do stall them, you risk losing to critical hits, status effects, and boost sweepers.


Natures
I'm not really one to delve into the weeds of EV spreads, so even the relatively simplistic world of natures was a little confusing. Outside of Pokemon where Speed really isn't super relevant and some calculations are, like for Snorlax, Sandslash, and Electrode, I defaulted to thinking running max Speed is basically always the best option. Not sure if this is actually the case, but it seemed to work pretty well. Going first is good. It does mean though you probably want to be just a physical or special attacker, so you can minimize the unused attack stat at no cost.


Overall, LGPE UU is a fun metagame. I think there is a ton to learn here and I hope to explore more later on. I also might drop a proper VR. I hope an official one is made soon to restructure RU. I think my VR will have around 20 Pokemon in UU. Also, consider drafting me for LGPL II. Cheers!

 

[HRCassetteTape]

LGPE UU 2025 Viability Rankings ​

With UU cup done, we gather to compile a viability ranking for the new meta. If you qualify (see below) please post your list in the thread below, DM it to me on smogon, or DM it to me on Discord (@ hrcassettetape). You can either submit a text list or a tier list image. Regardless, be sure that your submission could be interpreted as a numeric list. Who is the best pokemon in the tier? 2nd best? etc.

If your submitted VR includes ranks, I will assume that your ranks are ordered by viability. If you can’t decide how you want to rank certain pokemon against each other, it’s fine to do so arbitrarily. Finally, only include Pokemon who you truly believe to have a viable niche in the tier. While meltan is a cool guy, we don’t need speculation on its hypothetical place in LGPE UU.

The following players have qualified to contribute to this VR update:

Criteria

Won 3+ Games of LGPE UU in LGPL: SOMALIA, Flampoke

Top 8 in 2025 UU cup: Truthankamon, Maris Bonibell, HRCassetteTape, Volk, TG2513, LpZ, KJ, diegoyuhhi

Active Council: Eve

Tag List

SOMALIA
FlamPoke
Truthankamon
Maris Bonibell
HRCassetteTape
Volk
TG2513
LpZ
KJ
diegoyuhhi
Eve
11 Users Total

Submissions will close in 2 weeks (Saturday, Sep 27th). If you intend to submit to the VR, then please do so before then. If you did not qualify, please still feel free to post your vr or other metagame thoughts in this thread:)

 

[diegoyuhhi]

Tag List

re tagging cause idt all tags worked: SOMALIA FlamPoke Truthankamon Maris Bonibell HRCassetteTape Volk TG2513 LpZ KJ diegoyuhhi Eve

to not make this a one liner: my post about the metagame drops tomorrow/monday

 

[FlamPoke]

Following diegos vr as I haven't thought about this tier once since playing lgpl (where I also didn't really think about the tier...)

 

[TG2513]

Me after playing 4 sets of UU pretending I know what I'm talking about with the VR

 

[diegoyuhhi]

so i've made finals of the lgpe uu tour which was kinda cool. first and foremost s/o to Truthankamon for all the calls and test games trying to figure out the meta. secondly, i think the meta is quite fun (tho personally i still prefer ru) and has room for a good amount of development, which i wasn't able to do as much as i did with ru during lgpl, which is why my tierlist is lacking a lot of ru/nu mons which might have a niche in uu, and only has mons which i've actually tested.

(tierlist is ordered within ranks)

Details

=== S TIER ===
the best mon in the tier. amazing glue for all kinds of teams, a massive ball of stats with crazy special bulk and physical damage output, can trade damage like very few other mons can. i believe the best lax rn is bslam/eq/boom/yawn but i've used and seen used stuff like reflect/brick break/superpower/rest which also works. i think a team without snorlax can work but it has to be built in a very specific way to check everything that lax can just handle by itself. great mon, not much to say.
the "sleeper" s-tier, i believe this mon to be near mandatory for all kinds of teams. the speed tier is incredibly nice to be able to revenge practically anything, and the combination of tbolt + foul play can really dent teams, but what in my opinion really makes this mon shine is his access to fast screens, which are vital to enable teammates to tank hits they otherwise couldn't and be able to afford defensive plays and switches in a meta as offensive as this. incredibly good tool to have for any team both in the builder and in game.

=== A+ TIER ===
the best mega imo, i see it as lax's "counterpart" in a way, with lax being a spdef physatk tank and mbro being a physdef spatk tank. with its base 180 defense it eats physical hits for days, and its massive 130 base spatk + access to a lot of coverage moves make this mon very hard to switch into, while also leaving room for utility like teleport/twave/rest.
amazing speed tier + good neutral offensive typing in flying + access to uturn mean this mon will wear you down over time and there's nothing you can do about it. can pack heat wave for more damage on trode or reflect for utility for the rest of the team and to be able to better roost up itself. rocks are annoying but fast paced teams really appreciate its pivot capabilities.
ofc not as good as its mega form but still a great physdef tank with solid damage output. i like it especially with teleport on more offensive teams to give them some kind of defensive backbone.
best rocker, very aggro oriented. good atk stat + solid coverage make it actually quite hard to switch into, and its decent bulk + useful resistances to ground, grass, and fighting are nice too. can even do sd stuff, tho i think rocks is just better, also bc of its own rocks weakness.
i'm a massive sucker for this mon but lowkey it's a big threat. both sd+phys stabs+sucker and sleep+sub+special stabs are massively threatening to a lot of teams, and you can't really know which set you're playing until it's too late. can even mix and match the two (sleep sd 2a? sub sd? mixed sleep 3a?) to get extra mileage out of the surprise factor and offensive prowess this mon provides.
incredible physical or mixed breaker, i believe rocks on this mon is an int unless really desperate. its eq is already hard to switch into, and if you add rainbow coverage like superpower/megahorn/ice punch/ice beam/tbolt and utility like substitute/taunt it becomes even harder.

=== A TIER ===
very strong stab combo out of a big spatk stat + utility in sleep which is very annoying for stuff like lax. practically no defensive utility (apart from switching into slowbro stabs, not coverage tho) but its decent bulk lets it still take a few hits from full. speed tier is unfortunate.
imo the second best rocker, can softcheck practically any physical attacker (most relevantly a big check to ice beam-less nidoking) while still threatening decent damage itself. also checks electrode since it doesn't take much from foul play.
clicking strong normal stab out of a decent atk stat is never wrong, esp on a mon with a good speed tier. after dedge and eq for the few resists you don't really need anything else, so you can easily pack facade + whatever random coverage or substitute.
slash sidegrade, you trade the decent speed tier (relevant for like eggy) and the ability to check stuff like nidoking and pinsir in exchange for a normal resist (tho you become weak to common ground/fighting coverage), boom, and the ability to check mega pidg. maybe rocksless has a cool niche but i haven't tried it.
like tauros but instead of burst damage it focuses on setting up and breaking. it can actually take quite a few hits from full, and as such it's a great anti-lead into pinsir teams, since rocks are especially annoying for its hit-taking capabilities.

=== A- TIER ===
decent physical tank with a unique typing that gives it cool resistances vs stuff like pinsir and other waters, and a nice offensive profile. gets eaten alive by slowbro but it's good at weakening it for teammates via seismic toss.
similar to dodrio in the way that it works best as lead since it can take hits from full but rocks destroy it, and bug stab is very nice for slowbro. costs your mega slot tho and you can't run regular pinsir as rocker alongside it.
ball of stats, but the combination of not skyhigh atk stat + low bp moves make it not as strong as you often want it to be. double prio is cool but idk if you'd want to spend your mega on this.
scary endgame cleaner if it hits hypno, especially if you can chip lax beforehand. becomes deceptively strong after a np, and stab combo is pretty good, but speed tier is just shy of outspeeding various relevant mons and rocks weakness makes it easier to revenge kill.
still haven't figured out the best set on this but it has big stats and cool coverage. agility mixed can be scary (even tho locking into outrage kinda sucks, especially vs bro) and utility sets with like dtail/twave are also cool.
fighting stab + uturn is a very cool and unique combo, tho its speed tier could be better and it offers no defensive utility. haven't used it much cause hard to fit.

=== B+ TIER ===
faster rock type to softcheck normals + mega pidg even tho much frailer defensively, has access to cool coverage but it often dies before being able to click it.
rocks are annoying but good ball of stats, stab flare blitz + superpower + crunch for slowbro is a cool combo. best alolatales check in the tier. access to wisp is also nice.
very threatening lategame sweeper after the correct mons have been weakened/have taken enough rounds of rocks, tho it can sometimes struggle to set up.
electric with great coverage in low kick for lax and golem, psychic for nido, and ice punch for grounds and grasses, tho it lacks the stats to do crazy damage. good at weakening certain mons for teammates.
i still believe this mon can be threatening under the right circumstances, but it really suffers from rocks, it struggles to setup and it gets pretty easily revenged by trode.
ball of stats with cool coverage in tbolt for waters and ice shard to revenge kill faster threats, tho it suffers from rocks and it struggles to significantly hurt lax.

=== B TIER ===
i really do not like this mon. its attacking stats are worse than buzz's, and the coverage comparable, while suffering even more from 5mss. speed tier + zippy zap are nice to revenge faster threats, particularly mega pidg, but just use trode atp, since pika offers no defensive utility.
rocks decimate it but it's a cool lead with big damage output and access to wisp which is always nice.
you're basically playing 5v6 in exchange for sometimes having an extra lax or mega bro if you run rest on them, which can actually be worth it. good luck having this mon stick around for more than like 2 turns or switching it into anything tho.
i love this mon's traits, solid physical tank (tho eq weakness is a bit annoying) with access to great tools in wisp and boom, resisting both stabs from vic, and outspeeding eggy.
smash is even easier to revenge kill than cloy (tho it is stronger and doesn't suffer as much from rocks) and rocks is just a weird kabu.
barely viable, stab foul play is a pretty ok click and pivoting is nice, tho it dies from everything.

=== NOT UU MONS ===
clicks rocks and dies to any hit. being outran by mega pidg and trode is also sad. unfortunately will be very ban worthy in ru.
has some ok coverage but lacks the stat to make it work and gets hit supereffectively by everything.
technically already not uu but it has a cool niche, worse speed tier and bulk than atales in exchange for better sleep more and more immediate power.
frailer than it looks, a typing that's only useful vs pinsir and dnite, and mediocre damage output at best.
slow and not as fat as you want it to be. just use vic or eggy.
can check grasses and atales on paper but in game it feels lacking in both the damage output and the bulk departments.
incredibly passive, has no damage output, takes way too much from any physical move, even stuff like mega pidg uturn just destroys it. use anything else.

 

[HRCassetteTape]

Super happy that I’m able to contribute. LGPE UU has been my favorite tier for a few years now, and I’m so glad that there were so many talented players who played (and hopefully enjoyed) the tier during the 2025 cup. I don’t feel nearly as confident in post-drop meta as I did with the version of the tier played during LGPL. Regardless, these are my thoughts on the tier. I also think there is a lot of room for development, though, and there are probably some RU mons I'm leaving off that could do something.

Ordered within ranks

Details

S+ Tier –

View attachment 771575

This guy is the number 1 of the tier. Very bulky, very strong, great moves into the tier. Mega Kangaskhan was the number 1 of old UU, and this guy is just MKang with actual stab moves that doesn’t take up a mega slot. Despite this, it feels far from overbearing, and provides a great sense of balance to the tier. Very happy this dropped.

S Tier –

View attachment 771576

Love this guy. Best mega in the tier IMO because of how well it handles the wall of physical threats that UU has to offer. Great into lax, tauros, dodrio, etc. The rise of mpidge is a little uncomfortable for the kid, but the defensive value it contributes combined with its fantastic power for the tier put it just above the bird in my mind.

Been an mpidge fan for a while, though I didn’t use it as much as I should have this tour. It has access to u-turn and reliable healing in roost. Both of these are rare in LGPE, and pidgeot’s speed and high special attack mean it makes great use of them. I think reflect is probably its best option as a 4th move even though I am a heat wave believer. I also think hyper beam probably has “cool guy” potential, but I haven’t looked at the calcs on it very much, and it would be situational at best.

Wow what a mon. Absolutely dominant. Obviously the fastest pokemon in the tier, and has basically every move you could want. Its access to foul play is especially great into the electric resists in the tier, and its utility options are fantastic. I’m not a big fan of boom, but it’s an option for sure. I think every UU team needs an electric type. That electric type should almost always be electrode.

A+ Tier

The best rocker in the tier. It’s fast into most leads, and has great attacks. Superpower especially is so nice with lax on basically every team. The rise in pidge is rough, but non-pidge teams absolutely hate to see this guy.


A Tier

I’ve had egg over vic for a while, but while I was writing this post I couldn’t really explain why? Vic is faster, stronger, isn’t weak to pidge u-turn, and has a much wider and scarier moveset variety. I’d much rather see an egg than a victreebel on my opponent’s team.

Still a great mon. Its bulk and high special attack can be really difficult to play around. Take a shot every time I say that an increase in pidge use is rough for a mon. Its u-turn weakness is brutal into pidge teams, especially those running ape. Still, it can be a menace. It can make great use of utility moves like teleport and broken sleep powder, and it has the offensive attacks it needs into most of the tier. Cool guy egg.

Had this guy a little higher originally but when I was reviewing replays I didn't see it do anything that warranted it being above any of the previous mons. Basically everything great about mega slowbro but doesn’t take up the mega slot. Great bulk and damage output that you still have to respect. This mon’s strength is especially great in context of its ability to potentially enable dual mega teams, but I think that’s a little more fringe.

Mr. LGPE UU is not quite as good this time around, but clicking double edges (or thrash if you’re like that) will never be bad with this guy’s stats. Has some cool coverage options if needed, but I find that none of them are that great beyond earthquakes. I’m partial to facade, especially since I felt like I saw a lot of status moves flying around. I’ve seen rock slide and surf. Thrash is great damage without the double edge recoil, but being locked in isn’t super ideal in the tier. If alolatales grows in popularity then I think iron tail might be neat, but that’s cheese as hell. At the risk of just writing about every single move it gets, I actually think substitute on this guy could be horrifying, and should absolutely be explored and experimented with.

I used this thing as a rocker way too many times given how bad it always did in that role. I really like substitute sets, and its coverage is so good it can basically cover whatever you need. Very welcome addition to UU.

2nd best rocker, solid into a lot of the tier. One of the better answers for electrode, and has a lot of solid move options. X-scissor is especially nice.

Ban sleep

A - Tier

My fav mon in the tier. I think mega pinsir is really threatening, and I think in the hands of a better player than me this could be really scary. It has a really nice speed tier, and loves to munch on snorlax. It obviously gets thrashed by rocks, though, and it gets equally thrashed by mega pidgeot. It is a bit of a matchup fish in the sense that mega pinsir teams will have a very very difficult time against a well built and well piloted mega pidgeot team, but i really think its strengths make it worth that effort. If LGPE Mega Pinsir has 1 fan it is me. If it has 0 fans I am dead. Its biggest flaw is its stealth rock weakness. Its second biggest flaw is the double opportunity cost. If you use this guy then you have to accept that you will be using neither the best mega pokemon nor the best stealth rocker, which can be a hard hurdle to overcome. Maybe weird in its own tier, but I think it's a solid step below the mons above it, and a solid step above the mons below it.

B Tier

I expected this guy to be a lot better given the fall of lax and its positive matchup into mkang. But, Mkang fell off and poliwrath really struggles into all of the non-lax top pokemon. Still, a solid mon that can be frustrating if you aren’t prepared for it.

I could be convinced to put this guy higher. The fact that it doesn’t OHKO pinsir at lead is unfortunate, though, as is its stealth rock weakness. Still, if this thing swords danced against me at lead, I’d be scared. Timid electrode only has a ~60% chance to ohko with tbolt, and at +2 quick attack is a guaranteed 2hko on trode in return. Yeesh. Beyond its boosting potential, though, I really prefer tauros over this guy, and in my experience tauros has been a more consistent performer. Still, this guy has cool moves and tons of potential.

Very cool crab. I feel like this guy could go WAY higher in the future. Crabhammer hits very hard and I think late game this guy is capable of messed up things. It also has access to superpower, and x scissor to do uncomfortable amounts to slowbro over time.

I don’t have a lot of experience with this guy, but it has superpower which is very neat, and it has good stats. I think that if someone figured out how to use this as a bootleg rhydon with sub and 3 attacks it could do really neat stuff.

The queen is dead rip. I think fake out is honestly a really cool trait, and base 100 is a convenient speed stat for the tier, being faster than pinsir, nidoking, primeape, and less relevant threats like jynx. It has some big problems, though. Its best stab move is facade, which is tragic. Its not as bulky as snorlax, and because of its moveset doesn’t have quite as high of damage output. At the same time it doesn’t take hits as well as snorlax. On the other side of things, it isn’t as fast as tauros and dodrio, meaning it’s outsped by alolan ninetales and the rare mega pinsir. While its combination of speed and bulk is appealing, it can be hard to justify sacrificing a potential mega slot for it.

I think this guy is super sick on pivot-heavy pidgeot teams. Primeape’s greatest attribute is its access to u-turn. Low kick is very scary into snorlax, and it has some decent options for coverage. This guy gets turbo owned by opposing pidgeot, though.

LGPE dragonite’s story is perpetually “maybe someone will finally find the set that makes this good” and I don’t think we have yet. I will say I think this thing likes the diminished presence of mkang, as that’s one less mon that outspeeds and bodies it with ice type coverage. On the other hand we’ve seen a rise in alolatales and jynx, and the fall of nidoking. Dragonite isn’t a huge fan of either of these. Maybe someone will finally find the set that makes this good.

I wish I had used arcanine more. I think it has a lot of potential, with solid speed, high attacking stats, and high power moves. It has potential for mixed attacking sets, and has great coverage options. Its stealth rock weakness is very hard to overcome, though, and I find it hard to fit onto teams.

C Tier

I really like this guy. I think it has a lot of potential as a stealth rocker or as a physical threat. It has access to swords dance and a lot of great physical moves like aqua jet, superpower, and leech life, on top of its standard STAB moves. Poliwrath and electrode are difficult to overcome, though, and while it has a variety of coverage options it can’t fit all of them. Variants without leech life thud into exeggutor and slowbro, variants without rock slide will have to play awkwardly around pinsir and tales, and if for some reason you run it without waterfall you thud into ground types.

Definitely better than cloyster, though being outsped by trode is really a bummer. Not much to say about this guy. I think if you aren’t properly prepped (specifically if you don’t bring trode) then this guy is a nightmare but besides that meh.

I promise this thing used to be good. I think its inability to hurt snorlax for any kind of meaningful damage is where it really falls off. Weakness to stealth rock also doesn’t help. I think there’s still room for lapras on some teams. Ice shard is cool, and thunderbolt is helpful against slowbro.

I got rocked by this thing in friendlies a couple times and I think it has a lot of potential. Being outsped by pidgeot is really tragic, though, as it means you are taking u-turn chip every time you threaten it out. Still, its coverage is awesome, and its thunderbolt hits harder than trode’s. Oh also if you run this as your electric type you risk getting swept by Omastar so please keep that in mind when building.


D Tier

I love this guy :,) it’s too bad all of his moves are 19hkos into snorlax. Not really, but everything does zero damage to that mon, which is not great. Still, its coverage (especially splishy splash) is really helpful. Zippy zap is also awesome and I think it always will be. Having it in your back pocket for cloyster is cool in theory, and can give you more outs against the mon. Cloyster isn’t that good, though, and snorlax can handle it just fine. Electrode is definitely better than this thing into every mon in the tier besides maybe golem. sadge. Would love to see this mon have a resurgence.

I’m a tentacruel believer. Base 100 speed is nice for the tier, and it has really nice special bulk. People are right about its damage output being awful, though, and the poison type is really not welcome. It has a very helpful movepool, with great STABs, ice beam, mega drain, and niche options like mirror coat, which pairs well with tentacruel’s special bulk.

Ban sleep but slower. In all seriousness I think jynx is neat. It has more threatening immediate damage that alolatales with amore consistent sleep move, but its speed tier, lack of access to nasty plot, and worse defensive typing make it considerably less desirable imo.

I think there was a lot of hype for this guy at the beginning of the new meta, and I do think it's better here than it was in 2024 meta, but not by much. I just think it’s so weak, and so frail. Screens can be cool, but you’re really running this thing for sparkly swirl. I think snorlax and mega bro can work well on this guy on fatter teams, but idkkkkkk. I’m an eevee hater. I really think it’s just barely good enough to be in uu.

Send to RU

I keep seeing people say that electrode revenge kills this thing and I’m really confused it outruns timid electrode at +2 if you run +speed. The fact that you have to run +speed is tragic, though, as it chips into your damage. None of that matters when you realize that this thing completely thuds into snorlax and mega slowbro. I think this mon is a matchup fish that will thud into literally any well built UU team. Have fun in RUBL buddy.

Weak and frail. Maybe it can click rocks and die, but there are a lot of really good mons in UU that can click rocks and not die. C u loser

I think there’s a lot of potential here actually, but i don’t remember seeing this mon during tour at all. The rocks weakness is really rough when combined with the speed tier, but it has scary damage output, pivoting, and roost, so I could definitely see a world where this has a niche.

Idk man I just don’t think there’s a reason to run this thing rn. I think it’s interesting as a bootleg clefable, but it doesn’t have the damage output that clef does, and i never felt like it accomplished much for me in testing when compared to the other rockers in the tier.

I don’t have a lot to say here. Mirror coat is cool, but I just don’t think this mon is good.

The first team that I built in new meta had a chansey actually. I think there’s some matchups where she can really shine, but she takes a million damage from any physical move, and can be a pain to pilot. Out of all the mons I have down here though I think this has the most potential. It sits on mons that lack a physical attack, forcing switches that can be capitalized on with teleport and softboiled. It can also be a kind of answer for electrode in a pinch. It switches in, but can only seismic toss once it’s in for fear of taunt.

This guy should have gotten out of here a long time ago. Just use vic or egg.

The team I built with chansey early meta also had an alolan persian on it. I really like this mon’s speed and access to u-turn and foul play, but every game I used it in all I could think of was how happy I was to be able to sacrifice it instead of a pokemon that actually contributed value. I think it just has too little damage output and lacks the utility moves I think it really needs to take advantage of its traits. Maybe it could be another hypnosis nasty plot sweeper like alolatales

 

[Eve]

Reasoning

S: Snorlax is the new Lapras. I really don't need to explain why it's here. Also glad to see that everyone else has come to their senses and realised Electrode is absurdly hard to drop.
A+: I think these 3 round out what I consider the Big 5 of UU. The two best megas have been gone over a lot and are a no-brainer to be up here, they absolutely dominate on a regular basis. Nidoking is here because it can do literally anything you want offensively from a surprisingly potent Speed tier, and trade hits with a lot of things in a pinch. The threat level of this mon is absolutely absurd (and yes, it can be a rocker if you need it to, ignore the naysayers!).
A: Pinsir best rocker yada yada. I am higher on Tauros than most- I love Pokemon that can cover loads of scenarios, and Tauros is practically built for that exact purpose, what with it having high-power widely neutral STAB, Earthquake, an amazing Speed tier and good bulk for an offensive mon. The grasses are good and deadly and check quite a lot, not much really comes in on them happily or safely.
A-: Sandslash is super consistent, safely rocking while going toe-to-toe with Nidoking, Pinsir, and Electrode. Being able to outspeed and donk Exeggutor with X-Scissor can't be overstated either. Regular Slowbro is here to show that he's the guy that does dual mega-ing in this tier, and does it incredibly well at that. Golem is incredibly deadly with its dual STAB and Superpower and it's also one of the only real Pidge answers/punishers. Alotales is annoying and makes up for its poor spatk with its strangely good defensive typing??? and solid bulk. Primeape Pidgeot Nidoking/Golem stuff is undiluted War Crime Juice so the ape is here.
B+: Kang fell off. Its kit is heavily suited to anti-frail offense, and this UU has less frail offense than the prior one, so that makes sense. Mega Pinsir, on the other hand, EXCLUSIVELY works versus bulkier stuff, and as such it's doing much better this time around. Also it's free to occasionally go Mega Pinsir on teams with Mega Slowbro when using the dude as your rocker, so it gets a bump up for that. Kingler is goated honestly, it's nearly as much of a Fighting-type as Poliwrath while being generally far deadlier with high Attack and Agility. Pretty much all the special attackers in this tier own Wrath anyway so you don't mind the lower Sp.Def thaaaat much. I still have Poliwrath similarly high thanks to it trading better with Snorlax, Golem, and Thunderbolt Nidokings. Dragonite is big numbers big movepool guy so I can't hate too much, you can always find something to do with it. Arcanine is a really nice anti-meta tool but can struggle outside of the lead a bit with its rocks weakness and common weaknesses, also doesn't get much done at all vs Bro.
B: Starters go here. I am the stall gal so I like Starter Eevee. Its Speed tier doesn't feel as bad this time round honestly, and it sneakily is kinda deadly? IMO pretty underrated. I'd recommend the dual screens, sappy, sparkly set- Dark + Psychic + Grass is really solid into the top tiers overall, and Leech Seed recovery behind Screens can create messy situations for the opponent. Plus, screens are just very nice support. Starter Pika is largely worse than Electrode but it has its moments and I'm not sure about entirely discounting it just yet, but I wouldn't fight too hard to keep it in UU. Wiggs is less important with the tier becoming less all-out aggro, and it kinda gets owned by Lax, but it's still a valid consideration as an alternative neutral rocker that can Para-spam and stuff. Lapras is the old Snorlax. I wish I had to explain why it's here. Dodrio is made of paper but the potential is there right....
C: Not gonna go into detail. These mons aren't UU. I think Jynx is cool as hit-and-run Alotales that can fit more coverage. I have both the smashers below UU because they're either not used at all, or used and disappointed.

Feel free to debate me in the marketplace of ideas if you disagree with anything here

 

[LpZ]

I was doing more elaborate writeups but I had a power outage and im fucking pissed so ill be more vague, mb

S Tier - is the king of the tier and imo it is mandatory on every team just for the opportunity cost purposes, the mon is too good at trading and checking some stuff and single-handedly makes fighting moves a must in order to minimize its trading potentials, very flexible mon too with options like Yawn, Reflect with or without Rest, Boom. is the tier premier speed control option, and a REALLY good one at that, unmatched speed in the tier with access to so many important support tools like screens and Taunt for the midgame while Foul Play and that speed is so key for basically every endgame.

A1 Tier - I rate slightly above Pidgeot just because of how well it handles everything and has so few bad matchups, I would say only teams filled with special and mixed attackers give MBro a hard time, as great as Lax at trading but with a more exploitable defensive typing, giving it key weaknesses like Grass and Electric and even Bug in the case if the Pinsir mu. is very good in a game to game basis, showing how defensively potent it also is with how much it can handle, mainly with Reflect, U-turn gives it a lot of value and it can even be on something with those Air Slash flinches, the problem is that it simply lacks power, which is not that big of a deal cuz it wins vs a lot in a pure 1v1, but it can be felt at times. is the best rocker in the tier imo, with just enough bulk to eat hits and beat some stuff 1v1, even after rocks, being a phys mon with Bug STAB is very good in the tier because of MBro, which p much checks every other phys attacker but Pinsir. Pinsir is not without flaws ofc, its an awkward lead into Pidgeot and the much rarer Arcanine which delays its rocks but there is no amazing rocker anw, but oftentimes it can get rocks up very early and even take something down before falling.

A2 Tier - is very flawed defensively imo, which is why I wouldn't rate it higher than this, but good god is it a baller on the offensive side, great movepool, coverage for quire literally the entire tier, that also means it suffers from a bit of 4mss but its just very customizable, I really like using it as a mixed attacker. even without megaing this mon is still really damn good, OHKOd by basically nothing, super threatening and flexible with a useful typing and movepool, it just trades considerably worse vs phys attackers, MBro can take on multiple of them while regular Bro usually only takes on 1 of them. very threatening and bulky, with additional value due to the typing being very useful in the Bro mu (Ice beam still 2hkos but it actually makes Bro consider not spamming STABs, testament of how good Bro is), also sleep is broken in the tier. no bad mus but also no great mus, this mon packs only decent power and great speed which makes it a very reliable rkiller, which carries its viability.

A3 Tier - Gonna be more vague from here onwards. the most consistent rocker in the tier, but it barely does stuff after getting them up, lack of a secondary typing unlike Nido and Golem is good for its case though. alola: potent sweeper that REALLY relies on Hypnosis hitting, and if it succeeds it usually takes 1,5 or even 2 mons with it, puts sleep brokenness in full display. sure suffered a big ass falloff, but I don't find it disgracefully worse than the other megas, its mixed bulk alongside the speed, ok amount of coverage and access to prio (mainly Fake Out) still needs to be respected and will be annoying in any mu that does not have a MBro, it really wished it had a real STAB though. is very annoying with the Sleep Subs STABs set, abusing anything slower, even Snorlax, to just stay on the field and be a massive asshole to any team, SD is still legit too, but the mon itself suffers from lack of stats (lackluster speed and bulk). is the prime fighter in the Lax meta, having U-turn to pivot out of shit like Bro and turning the tables vs Eggy, makes a nice U-turn core with Pidgeor, it does lack some power and it is very frail though, but I love using it. I found its value right at the end of the latest tour, mixed Nite is fucking good, I'd rate it higher if I was given more time to use it, but it is a p flexible mon that is not easy to use, exploitable typing and rocks weaknesses is a shame, but that movepool is delicious, Tbolt, Ice Beam, Superpower, Eq, DTail, Dragon Pulse, TWave, Roost, Agility (but stay away from Outrage imo).

B1 Rank - is a p good tank with nice stats and a cool movepool, but it doesn't take on multiple mons in any case really, and it is owned to hell by the best megas, nice flexibility on last slot with SToss or Hypnosis. solid rocker with a decently valuable Normal and Flying resistance, but hates the fact everything has fighting moves that hit it too, and it doesn't quite have the stats to come in on those. is a decent SD breaker with extra value from Jump Kick and prio on QA, but its super frail and despises Trode being everywhere. is a new ascension from this new meta, potent Agility sweeper with a lot of power, much better in the Pidgeot mu because Bro is annoying to it, so is Poli, but even them can be worn down for Kingler to cause havoc. is a rare mega you wanna click really, but on very specific scenarios you can mega it to deal with specific stuff that would outspeed and potentially kill you on regular, hits very strong and makes even better use of the good movepool, but the 50% from hazards is diabolical.

B2 Rank - is much worse than Trode but I believe on its value with the prio and additional coverage options, I can even see both being ran on the same team, its true that it lacks power and dies to a tickle but what it lacks in power it excels in doing super effective and thus 2hkoing stuff, sometimes more often than how Trode does, my experiences with this mon are p good actually. biggest falloff between metas, still decent coverage but the lack of power is more apparent that it has ever been, Snorlax is a giant roadblock for it and the rocks weakness just means its only doing its job once, Yawn helps it an ok amount though and Ice Shard is still interesting. has been rare but its still a rocker that can spread TWave and be annoying at the very start, with undisputed rocks too, but it becomes a bit reliant on that para thing and it can be very passive. gives life to longer games strats with Rest MBro and Snorlax and its actually very unique on what it does, however it only thrives on that more unorthodox type of build and its really frail. a rock that is not OHKOd by a water move and has Leech Life and access to prio still has some ok value, turning the tables on Eggy and even being very annoying to Bro, it can even tech Superpower to makes better use of that Normal resist, it doesn't anything that exceptionally though by being mid in every single meaning of the word. is a threat in any mu that has no Bro, its p much invalidated by it otherwise, p decent tank but it kills itself way too quickly with Blitz recoil and rocks weakness.

C1 Rank - RU mons. has pretty unique typing and good speed, lackluster power suffering to the #1 mon, and that psychic typing is so awful for it defensively (weak to U-turns and Trodes Foul Play). always presents potential, but its so goddamn frail, STAB Foul Play is a god gift, mainly in such an offensive meta, but its never OHKOing anything and it, U-turn and Taunt access are also fire but there will always have better mons to run over it. big potential for a Smash sweeper that all goes downhill when you cannot outspeed Trode at +2 even with positive nature, better than Cloy at that though for no rock weakness + mixed annoyance with +2 Rock Slide. has the benefit of outrunning Trode with +speed, but not only it suffers to set up because of the typing, it breaks worse and ends up having to trade with Boom on something. is a mon that imo the entire value lies on good SpDef + Mirror Coat to lure something, awful weaknesses and its super weak though. is fast and has a valuable Megahorn and fast Wisp to control matches, denies Pinsir early on and goes from there, unlike rk9 it can't take any hits tho and kills itself as quickly. has very interesting tools with Lovely Kiss and good offensive typing to apply pressure early on, notably faster than every rocker, of course it struggles post-sleep and it dies to the wind. can only be loaded as a lead and praying it has the mu to lead and stick longer, if it can't, well done ur playing 5v6. has very unique coverage in Low Kick and Ice Punch and even shit like Psychic, it lacks power though which is a shame.

C2 Tier - probably plays similarly to Moltres, but needs to play more explosive and get a mu to let it do it, and it also costs a mega. is a victim of everything wanting to run fighting moves, the typing doesn't really help with anything other than ATales and its not offensively brilliant either. has great speed, and that is about it??? Subpar damage output with no real good mus and Sucker having not enough to make it better, dies to everything too and sucks vs Trode. is a rare CM sweeper, can actually pull stuff but it is VERY inconsistent at that. is a tank that can actually eat hits and has a very good Atk with ok coverage, and it is not weak to Elec and Grass unlike Poli, looks great until you realize how slow it is and that it is as bad vs Bro as Poli, if not worse. is already a RU mon making extra time in UU, directly outclassed by Vic and its additional bulk gives it no real benefits with such typing. comes in on a few stuff like Pidgeot and threatens ok with access to a good dual STAB and Teleport to run from its checks like Lax, it is too slow and Steel offensively is not a good typing. can be a pain for more phys centric teams by eating every move and spreading Wisp, with solid movepool to chunk other stuff too, feels more specific in the sense that it can be just a sack p easily in some other mus. kicks because fighting good, but needs to not face Bro and it is very frail physically. this tier has been the least friendly to passive blobs like Chansey, Snorlax both presents a constant threat for Chansey and does Chanseys job partially with the extra of being super threatening, she out of business.

 

[Volk]

Alas, a VR. Consider this my submission. There is a small chance that I make a few edits later.

I already talked a ton about this metagame, so I'm just going to highlight a few specific placements. Also, let's very seriously consider a shallow cutoff for this tier. There is no reason to tie up a bunch of garbage in this tier when it can get very real use in RU instead. This tier is pretty centralized.

Snorlax & Electrode
Snorlax is very easy to include on any team. It doesn't fulfill any one role extremely well, but it can do about a dozen things very well. In theory, I don't think you need it on every team, but it trades so well and has so little opportunity cost, I don't really see the reason to drop it.
Electrode is the focal point of the tier right now. I think some evolution will occur with time such that people learn to better play around it. But as of now, it seems to be the best engine for actually winning games, either by setting up screens or just sweeping outright. Outstanding Pokemon.

Mega Pidgeot, Mega Slowbro, & Slowbro
In contrast with the last couple of posts, I still think Mega Pidgeot remains the best Mega Pokemon. Outside of Electrode, it really doesn't have any unmanageable matchups. Mega Slowbro, while very solid, has several decisively mediocre or poor matchups. The absolutely dismal Speed crushes a lot of momentum and makes switching in an otherwise defensive Pokemon more difficult than it should be. I also think non-Mega Slowbro is just kind of alright. It has very nice tools, but its typing and stats leave it vulnerable to a majority of the Pokemon that I have above it in the viability ranking. Being an open invite for both Pokemon with Sleep-inducing moves and Electrode is just a very bad trait that I can't overlook.

Nidoking
It's perfectly fine at using Stealth Rock too if that's what you want to use it for.

Sandslash
I think Sandslash has a credible case for being the best Stealth Rock user. It's very good at pressuring a lot of top Pokemon.

Dodrio
I think Dodrio is fine. There really isn't a ton to say here beyond it has a really good offensive stats. It's not anything special, but it really doesn't need to be. Quick Attack is also a cute option.

Primeape & Poliwrath
I think these two just like, don't really do anything. They both have a good Snorlax matchup and one cool tool (U-turn and Hypnosis), and that's about it. Being food for hugely important sweepers like Mega Pidgeot, Alolan Ninetales, and Electrode is really bad.

Mega Pinsir
I literally could not design a more perfect example of the term "opportunity cost" if I tried.

Starter Pikachu & Starter Eevee
Guys they are so bad please let them drop to RU. They have nice tools and fit on a select few teams, I guess, but they are outclassed by so many stronger and more consistent Pokemon. Just use Electrode.

Shell Smash Users
I think these two are dangerously underutilized. The metagame is pretty inhospitable to them right now, but I think they will prove more dangerous as players get better at handling Electrode and just generally setting them up.

Dugtrio
Kind of bad, but probably underrated. I think people see Dugtrio be a mediocre Stealth Rock user and then just kind of write it off. I think it is underexplored as a sweeper.

See you in LGPL. Cheers!

 

[Truthankamon]

You all wanted it, you all waited for it ( and by "you all" I mean probably just my buddy diegoyuhhi ), so here's my way too long VR

Before diving into the tier list itself, I'd like to very quickly explain the main factors behind my judgments.

Methodology

1) Rock weakness: If a mon is weak to rock, it will be HEAVILY punished for it. While there are some mons like dnite, pinsir, alolatails and dodrio who can still do their job despite taking 25% or more every time they switch, it still really restricts the way they can be used. If you are wondering why there's no fire type above C tier, that's the reason.
2) How good is it into Lax: Lax is by far the best mon in the tier and basically warps the entire meta around himself. As such, it should come as no surprise that being able to actively threaten it is a boon massive enough to justify the use of just about anything
3) How good is it into Lax counters: Same line of thinking as point n. 2

Now, as for the tier list (P.S.: the mons are ordered among the single tiers as well)

S+

I REALLY want to emphasise just how strong this guy is. You can make a good team without Electrode, you can make a good team without M-Bro, but not using Snorlax really feels like starting the game already on the back foot. I won't waste much more time on this guy, as everything that could be said about it has already been thoroughly explained by my fellow VR makers

S

As dominant as this guy is, there are some worthy alternatives (which we are going to discuss later), so I don't think it deserves to be at the very top of the list. Still an amazing mon for all the reasons that others have highlighted before me
Look at the 3 points in the methodology section, then look back at this guy. It's a non-rock-weak Lax hard counter, which can freely click Scald on it, switch in into the fighting type moves meant for your own Lax and even run CM for late game sweeps once the opponent's electric type is gone. The only thing really pushing this back is the fact that there are other very strong megas available.

A

Speaking of other viable megas! It's hella fast (One point faster than Pikachu!), hits hard and has access to both pivoting and recovery. Most of the time, you'll stick with the classic U-turn Roost Air Slash Heat wave set, but other options, such as screens and Hyper Beam, can be just as viable.
By far the best rock setter. This guy singlehandedly makes others' rock setters' ground weakness 10 times worse. It can also use a surprisingly wide array of moves outside of the more obvious ones like EQ, stealth rock and rock slide: Counter, X-scissor, toxic, poison jab, brick break, Stoss, etc. Besides that, it just has really good stats and I genuinely find it hard to justify using any other rock setter over this in a good 70% of the teams I build
Surprisingly fast rock setter with good stats and coverage. The rock weakness really hurts what could have otherwise been a perfect tool to pressure bulkier teams, as such, most of the time it will just set up rocks, trade some damage and die. As for its mega form, should never really be used as the main mega of the team. It's a better Pinsir at the cost of your mega slot, which means that it can only really be paired with as even base form Slowbro is a more than good enough mon.
Very offensively threatening mon, basically forcing huge progress every time it hits the field, it has basically 0 defensive utility and may require support from its teammates to reliably come in safely. The fact that random mons like sandslash or kabutops sometimes run bug moves just to hit this guy is proof of how much pressure this guy applies on the teambuilder
It took me some time, but I finally realised that running rocks on this guy is actually a pitfall! Great stats and best coverage in the game are balanced out only by its somewhat shaky typing. Ground is great, of course, but being weak to EQ really hurts him a lot. That said, it still remains an extremely versatile mon that can basically pick its own counters
and are disgustingly underrated. They are the most reliable traders in the game; you need to screw up really badly to not get at least some value out of those 2. has insane coverage that, in a similar fashion to Nidoking, can let it pick its own counters ( counters that, by the way, still get entirely blown up by outrage). My favourite set for this guy is 2 coverage attacks + outrage and roost, but late-game cleaners sets with agility can also work. Trades coverage, recovery and sweeping potential for speed control and an actual stab. It's tied 4th with Dodrio for the best speed stat out of all the viable mons, crucially outspeeding by a few points both :Ninetails-Alola: and . It has a fairly limited amount of viable moves, but it's still more than enough to force trades in your favour. I think those 2 really shine the most when paired together
is the best fighting type in the tier thanks to its good stats and more than decent enough movepool. It can run Toxic or Hypnosis to cripple its wannabe switch-ins, and no team can really handle this guy in the long term. It would be ranked much higher if it weren't for the fact that it has a terrible mu against like a good 60% of the other top-tier mons, namely and :Exxeggutor:

From now on, I'll go a bit quicker, as most of the performance of the mons that I'll discuss in the lower tiers is tied in one way or another to the mons I've already talked about

B

and are set up sweepers that apply a lot of pressure on the teambuilder and should always be accounted for. You can't afford to be weak to those 2 guys. Going a bit more into detail, :Ninetals-Alola: can find more set-up opportunities with hypnosis (Ban sleep ffs) while Dodrio offers a good enough priority in quick attack. If your team is weak to those 2, it's a bad team.
Is a who traded bulk and the water type in order to get more attack, more speed and U-turn, making it more tailored for fast-paced teams. Particularly good with for the double U-turn core
Diego will argue for days that this guy is the secret S tier of the meta, and maybe it is....75% of the time. Jokes aside, it can be very annoying to deal with, but its lack of any kind of defensive utility whatsoever and having to rely so hard on a 75% accurate sleep move really hinders its viability in my eyes
Yeah, this guy really doesn't need its Mega to work. Ofc it eats physical hits much less reliably than its mega counterpart, but it still does its job just fine. If has any reasons to exist, it's due to this fella

B- is the last tier of mons who, in my opinion, deserve the UU title. While most mons from C tier are still viable, I really don't think they are good enough to not drop.

B-

is the first real alternative to , trading its massive speed stat for a good movepool and good enough offensive stats to make use of it. Namely, this guy can run Low Kick to beat Snorlax, which, of course, is massive and basically justifies its place in the tier. It also has the elemental punches, facade, quick attack, psychic, screens and even toxic, taunt, twave and teleport. Truly an underappreciated mon
in a similar way to :Electrabuzz: is also a sidegrade of its more popular brother, . While it does have better stats across the board, the rock type absolutely isn't worth it. It's still a worthy alternative if your team has problems against mons like or though
:Khangaskan-Mega: Previously thought to be the Melmetal of UU, this guy committed the terrible sin of being a stat-ball normal type in the same tier as . There are still good reasons to use this, but doing so means having to renounce to or , which further hurts its viability. I haven't really experimented with it, so I don't have much else to say. It just doesn't seem very appealing at the moment
Probably the best sweeper in the tier, which isn't worth much considering that your competition consists of mon of the calibre of . This mon has a lot of serious flaws, but I've never really tried it myself, so I'll trust other people's judgements

Ok, from now on, it's going to be a lightning round

C+

Trash stats, insane moves. It's also the only non-rock-weak mon that learns a move that can reliably burn. If you really wanna use this, might as well do so on teams with slop like double rest and to get max value out of every move this squishy cleric manages to use
How the mighty have fallen. Rock weak, weak to electric, pretty weak priority and has to run waterfall to actually threaten . It has many redeeming qualities, namely boltbeam coverage and access to ice shard, but again, it just has too many things going against it to be a reliable option
The ONLY good shell smash user. As much as I hate Omastar as a Pokémon, I have to admit that at least in this format, it does have a role. Don't get me wrong, it's a matchup fish, but one that can definitely work.

C

So... isn't the only non-rock-weak mon that can learn a move that reliably burns, uh? Well, so bad that without Levitate, this guy has an arguably even worse ground weakness! It has a good enough movepool and workable stats, but poison is just a bad typing, and it really relies way too much on your opponent having something worth burning, even at the cost of having to run this living liability. Its non-existent offensive profile also doesn't help its cause.
I was very, very tempted to put in D out of spite for being OHKOed by 's Superpower, but sadly it does have some redeemable qualities, namely being able to hit super-effectively other rock setters (Though they can do the same to you due to your ground weakness). I really can't stress enough how niche this guy is. If you are in doubt about whether you should use this or not, the answer is almost always no.
Click rocks -> click twave -> maybe dazzling gleam or teleport once or twice -> get sacked. That's the only thing this mon is good at, but it's good enough at it, and it's a valuable role. Personally, I think it's really underrated, but alas, it still has non-existent stats
I change my opinion on this mon on a daily basis. It has probably the best offensive movepool in the tier outside of maybe Nidoking, Floaty fall, Splishy splash and Tbolt basically hit super-effectively basically everything you need to hit. It's also fast enough (Sadly, one point slower than though) and has access to zippy zap, the best priority in the game. Those are all amazing traits that would make any mon with a decent enough stat pool an instant top tier... And that's where this guy falls. I won't sugarcoat it: Bro is built like a smeargle, and it gets 2hkoed or straight-up OHKOed by every unresisted hit. It's piss poor sp atk also means that it won't get 2hkoes unless it hits supereffectively, which makes it very prediction reliant. I would love to just put this guy in B- with , but it's just not justifiable
ridiculous movepool, slower than timid electrode even at +2, fails to get OHKOes even at +2, weak to rock, weak to zippy zap, this guy is even more matchup fishy than . It should still be accounted for in the teambuilder, but it's not that much of a treat most of the time
good stats, good moves, Will-o-Whisp, but rock weak with no recovery.
Oh look! It's a steel type! So bad, this is arguably the only tier where steel is a trash typing
Same boons as ,except that it's X4 weak to rock and without good physical moves in exchange for Roost and U-Turn
Man! A normal-type special wall! Mhhhh... Where did I hear it before... Must have been a dream or something like that! Sets rocks, has recovery, has twave, has busted teleport. It's a fun mon to build with, but it's just kinda trash lol

The D tier is for all those mons who have a somewhat unique niche, but said niche just isn't good enough to make them viable

D(on't use)

An who isn't X4 weak to bug, but that has no leech seed and a worse offensive stab combo
Sweeping potential + will-o-whisp, that's it lol
It's somewhat fast, has a unique offensive type, access to nasty plot, hypnosis, U-turn and fake out. Sadly, its stats are simply unusable.
Has the highest attack stat out of all the fighting type and has access to Encore. It's probably a viable mon, but I don't feel like giving it a higher ranking than this as it literally never saw any success whatsoever
Fast scald user with a good enough sp def to take a surprise kill with mirror coat, extremely matchup fishy and overall just a one-trick-pony
:Khangaskan: and are here just to remind you what you are getting into when you mega with one of those 2 in the team
Worse with a slightly different stab combo. Don't use.
Generic water type that can spam Scald thanks to its good bulk. Also, it's the only mon with both fake out and aqua jet, do whatever you want with this info
Calm mind+ encore with decent enough stats, sadly, it has literally no coverage
Non-fighting weak special wall with good coverage
Awkward speed tier for a mon who should theoretically be a speedster. Still, 100 atk with stab EQ must be good at something

This took way too much time LMAOOO

 

[Eve]

LGPE UU - Late 2025 Viability Rankings
​

S1:
S2:
A1:
A2:
B:
============== UU/RU CUTOFF ============
C:
D:

Raw rankings

Number of voters: 6

Snorlax (1)

Electrode (2.5)
Slowbro-Mega (3.17)
Pidgeot-Mega (3.67)

Pinsir (5.33)

Nidoking (7)
Exeggutor (8)
Sandslash (8.83)
Tauros (9)
Victreebel (10.17)
Slowbro (10.33)

Ninetales-Alola (13)
Golem (14.67)
Poliwrath (15.5)
Pinsir-Mega (15.83)
Dragonite (16)
Dodrio (16.33)
Kangaskhan-Mega (16.33)
Primeape (16.5)
Kingler (18.5)

Arcanine (23.17)
Kabutops (23.2)
Lapras (23.83)
Pikachu-Starter (24.83)
Electabuzz (25.33)
Eevee-Starter (25.5)
Omastar (27)
Wigglytuff (27.5)
Cloyster (28.4)

Moltres (31.2)
Tentacruel (32.2)
Weezing (32.33)
Persian-Alola (32.4)
Jynx (32.5)
Sandslash-Alola (33.2)
Dugtrio (35.4)
Vileplume (36.75)
Chansey (37.75)

How I determined ranks

For this ranking, I simply used the mean numerical ranking of each Pokemon and plotted them onto a graph:

Red dots represent the individual rankings, and the yellow line is y=x. I mostly determined tiers by clusters where the ranks go from above the yellow line (overestimated within a tier), to below it (underestimated within a tier). I've cut the tiers up with blue lines to demonstrate what I mean. There were a few cases where subjective decisions had to be made:

• Pinsir is awkwardly caught pretty much perfectly between two tiers. As such, I gave it its own tier.
• Alolan Ninetales and Kingler are both outliers within their subrank, but they're far closer to the B cluster than to its neighbours, so I included them within it.

Please note that I did not remove outliers this time around due to the low number of participants.

Deciding where to place the tiering cutoff was extremely difficult- however, after much discussion with the UU community and staring at numbers a bit too hard, I decided on B1 to B2 being the cutoff, resulting in a UU tier of 20 Pokemon. This may seem small, but when factoring in subtle details about the submitted VRs I believe this is the correct decision for the following reasons:

• As far as I can tell, 20 is closer to the mean of voters' estimates of the number of seriously UU-worthy Pokemon than 29 (the alternative where B2 to C1 forms the cutoff) is. Even when being generous and including most grey area 'mons into estimates, the average is around 24.8, which is decidedly undecided at best.
• According to the below dissimilarity matrix of rankings, the cutoff between B1 and B2 is a more clearly defined cutoff than that between B2 and C1, making it a more "clear-cut" line in the sand according to voter consensus. See how there's way more messy data outside the box in the area beside B2 and C1 than between B1 and B2:

• Kingler is booted from RU either way, so the evil has been vanquished no matter what.

LGPE UU / RU Tier Shifts​

Kingler rose from RU to UU
Arcanine Fell from UU to RU
Chansey Fell from UU to RU
Cloyster Fell from UU to RU
Dugtrio Fell from UU to RU
Eevee-Starter Fell from UU to RU
Kabutops Fell from UU to RU
Lapras Fell from UU to RU
Moltres Fell from UU to RU
Omastar Fell from UU to RU
Persian-Alola Fell from UU to RU
Pikachu-Starter Fell from UU to RU
Sandslash-Alola Fell from UU to RU
Tentacruel Fell from UU to RU
Vileplume Fell from UU to RU
Wigglytuff Fell from UU to RU
This is a big one- good luck to LGPL RU players! Stay tuned for quickbans.