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Project Metagame Research Center (MRC) - Ubers

Yash Vortex

Yash Vortex

Metagame Research Center (MRC) – Week 0: Introduction

Hello everyone!


This thread introduces the Metagame Research Center (MRC) for the Ubers metagame.
MRC is a weekly, evidence-based research project focused on testing Pokémon, sets, cores, or strategies in real Ubers games to understand how they actually perform in practice.


The goal is to provide useful and structured insight based on testing and results, rather than theory or opinion alone.


What Is MRC?

MRC is designed to answer questions such as:


1. How effective is a Pokémon, set, core, or strategy in the current metagame?
2. What kinds of teams does it fit on?
3. What matchups does it perform well or poorly in?
4. What limitations or weaknesses does it have in practice?

Each week, MRC will focus on one specific topic, and participants will test it through actual Ubers games and share their findings.


How MRC Is Different

Unlike general discussion threads:


1. MRC emphasizes evidence over opinion
2. Claims should be supported by replays, observations, or testing
3. Discussion stays focused on the weekly research topic

This helps keep the thread informative, organized, and useful as a reference.


Weekly Structure

Week 1 and onward – Weekly Research


1.A weekly topic is announced (Pokémon / set / core / strategy)
2. Participants test it in Ubers games
3. Players share replays and observations
4. At the end of the week, a summary of findings is posted

Each week is independent and focuses on one clear topic.


Weekly Timeline (Approximate)

1.Monday: Topic announcement
2. Monday–Friday: Testing and replay sharing
3. Friday–Saturday: Discussion based on results
4. Sunday: Summary of findings and conclusions

(This timeline may be adjusted if needed.)


Rules & Principles

1. The core is the Pokémon, set, or strategy being researched that week
2. All discussion and testing should focus on the weekly core
3. Only one core topic per week
4. Evidence-based discussion is encouraged
5. No unsupported opinions
6. Stay on topic
7. Be respectful and constructive

Who Can Participate?

1. Anyone is welcome to participate
2. No minimum skill level required
3. Contributions should be based on testing, replays, or practical experience
4. Suggestions and variations are welcome if they relate to the weekly topic

Moderation & Responsibility

I will be responsible for:

1. Posting weekly topics
2. Keeping discussion on topic
3. Summarizing weekly results
4. Maintaining a clean and organized thread

Moderators may step in as needed.


If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Thank you for reading, and I hope this project can be useful for the Ubers community.
 
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Metagame Research Center (MRC) - Ubers​


Week 1: Balance Teams in the Current Ubers Metagame​



Hello everyone!


For Week 1 of MRC, we will be starting with a broad metagame topic, focusing on balance teams as a playstyle in the current Ubers metagame.


This week is about understanding how balance performs in practice, not evaluating a single Pokémon or a sample team.


Week 1 Research Topic​


Balance teams in Ubers


We aim to explore:


1. How well balance teams perform in the current metagame
2. What kinds of tools balance teams rely on
3. Which matchups feel favorable or difficult
4. Where balance teams tend to struggle

How to Participate​


1. Use any balance team you are comfortable with
2. Play Ubers games (ladder or tournaments)
3. Post one or more replays
4. Include brief observations, such as:
What worked well
What felt difficult
What kinds of teams or threats caused problems

Guidelines​


1. Focus on balance as a playstyle, not one specific team
2. Evidence (replays) is strongly encouraged
3. Stay on topic and be respectful
4. Short observations are enough — no long essays needed

Timeline​


1. Testing and replay sharing will be open throughout the week
2. Discussion will be based on posted replays
3. A summary of findings will be posted at the end of the week

If any question feel free to ask me
 
Balanced teams remain effective in Ubers, especially against Ho, thanks to their consistent defense and adaptability. They excel over the long haul but struggle against optimized compositions (modern stall, multiple strategies) and the immediate pressure of specialized champions. Their main weakness remains tempo control and the lack of clear victory conditions in certain matchups. if I can ever share replays :groudon:
 

Metagame Research Center (MRC) – Week 2: Koraidon​

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Week 2 of the Metagame Research Center (MRC) for Ubers.

Koraidon is one of the most influential Pokémon in the current Ubers metagame, shaping teambuilding, matchups, and playstyles. This week, we aim to understand how Koraidon performs in practice, not just in theory.

Research Goals for Week 2​

This week, we are looking to answer questions such as:

  1. How effective is Koraidon in the current Ubers metagame?
  2. Which sets perform best in practice?
  3. What kinds of teams does Koraidon fit on?
  4. What Pokémon reliably check or counter it?
  5. What weaknesses or limitations does Koraidon have during real games?
All conclusions should be based on testing, replays, and in-game experience.

Sets to Focus On (You do NOT need to use all)​

Participants may test any Koraidon set, help answer the following questions based on real Ubers games:

1.How effective is Koraidon in the current Ubers metagame?
2.What roles does Koraidon perform best in (breaker, sweeper, speed control, etc.)?
3.What types of teams does Koraidon fit on most naturally?
4.What Pokémon or team structures handle Koraidon well in practice?
5.What common weaknesses or limitations does Koraidon show during real games?
6.How much does Koraidon influence teambuilding and in-game decision making?

You may also explore Tera usage, teammates that support Koraidon, and common defensive responses.

Contributors do not need to answer every question. Even addressing one or two points with clear testing or replay support is helpful.

How to Participate​

  1. Use Koraidon in Ubers games (ladder or tournament games both count)
  2. Share replays, team context, and observations
  3. Explain what worked and what did not
  4. Stay focused on Koraidon and its role in the game
Short posts are fine — quality matters more than length.

Weekly Timeline​

  • Monday–Friday: Testing and replay sharing
  • Friday–Saturday: Discussion based on results
  • Sunday: Summary of findings and conclusions

Rules Reminder​

  • Stay on topic (Koraidon only)
  • Evidence-based discussion is encouraged
  • No unsupported claims
  • Be respectful and constructive

Future Topics​

If you have suggestions for future MRC topics, feel free to message me on Discord.

Thank you for participating, and I look forward to your findings.
 
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In order from question 1-5…


This is… quite a trivial question, just like most other questions and this whole week in general. For one, koraidon is undoubtedly S tier in the viability rankings with it being used on basically every single serious team that isn’t stall, every single team is warped around it to a pretty significant degree, not to even mention it setting sun also impacts the viability of mons like Kyogre and arceus-water and more I don’t have the time to list out so long story short…

Extremely Effective, meta warping, Number 1 on VR.

All of the roles above, really. It can be a speed control option with choice scarf, even being able to greed adamant if you don’t mind speed ties with opposing koraidon (the fact you account for mirrors speaks a lot…) as it’s very much still enough to outspeed stuff like dragon dance arc kyub and zekrom (kyub and zek being pretty niche partially due to koraidon in particular) and be a strong breaker with choice band, or simply slap on the swords dance scale shot set that we all know and love as the go-to sweeper. And even within single sets, there can be tons and tons of variations in between! Swords dance koraidon outside of the swords dance + scale shot as said in the name of the set can also use a combination of flame charge, iron head, flare blitz, low kick, close combat, wild charge, substitute, taunt… with Tera types like fire, ghost, steel, fairy, or even dragon or stellar… you don’t even have to use scale shot sometimes! Flame charge + swords dance isn’t unviable either, some people even drop loaded dice to use heavy duty boots for that koraidon is an absolute beast on webs, so people are using boots koraidon to counter webs teams… and scale shot is often used more for the speed boost than power in some situations. (More of a flame charge fan but idk.) we even got greedy life orb scale shot sets popping up later on in the lifespan of SV Ubers as both a sweeper and a breaker! It’s really just hard to prepare for all variations of band scarf and swords dance koraidon + all of its one billion combos… so I would say Koraidon works best as a sweeper even though it technically is the best scarfer in the tier, but lots of people deliberately use a different scarfer so you can use Koraidon as a sweeper instead with a different mon taking up the burden of walking so Koraidon can run over teams.

As I said above, Koraidon fits on basically all teams minus stall teams, in fact there is usually no reason to not use Koraidon in teams outside of stall because it’s just this dominant and able to do everything offensive.

Hold on, I did not read the whole post… but I didn’t wanna delete the whole post, and copy paste isn’t working for some reason.

Anyways, I’ll speed through the last 3 questions before I end the post.

If you don’t handle koraidon well, it’s a bad team, but most teams are not able to handle every single set under the sun anyways because there are so many variations, so I’d just say most of the common sets. However, if I had to pick one, it would be stall, for you can dedicate all resources to defense, though koraidon sets can still find ways to break through like Tera dragon taunt sets.

It’s… quad weak to fairy? All of its weaknesses can be circumvented through Tera either to eat a hit from an attack that would otherwise KO, or to boost hard enough to break through things it’s not supposed to break otherwise, counterplay thus far involve physdef arc fairy with twave or Kyogre with twave or other forms of status to cripple it, but almost all sweepers hate being statused, so I’d hardly call it a weakness. Closest I can say is that recoil can add up and limit its ability to sweep, and sun turns are limited.

As for influence… it’s the number 1 mon you account for, reasons are already listed above, as it’s the number 1 mon by a real long shot.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ubers-2490770098-9eq30uom11d7fq9efmsdocboia9yfiapw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ubers-2374095466-xxuin2m8i9scdf2q8356ss8dei1mys5pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ubers-2436837742-ihkwj8uf9u5sr7qyj47n0mlymwha39xpw

Replays because it’s required ig, but honestly it’s kinda pointless to find specific replays because virtually all serious replays got koraidon in there, so any serious replay would show how much this mon influenced the tier.
 
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let me cook.

1.How effective is Koraidon in the current Ubers metagame?

obvious question, it is the best pokemon by far and should be on every non stall team automatically.


2.What roles does Koraidon perform best in (breaker, sweeper, speed control, etc.)?

This question is more interesting, I think people have lost a lot of respect for scarf koraidon but it's very strong rn and I don't see it ever falling off. I think everyone is aware of its sweeping potential but breaking and speed control are more nuanced topics. Take, for example, these 2 games:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ubers-883189
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ubers-890769

These teams are similar in concept, both being hatt balances that I used in SCL. They do have a difference in the koraidon's though, with one being scarf and one being SD. There are multiple reasons for this, one of which just being that the sun team I just wanted to use life orb eternatus, but beyond that the team still has to make sense.

On the sun team I have 2 options really, scarf koraidon or scarf eternatus, using neither likely means I lose to any deoxys offense. The koraidon here can afford to not be setup, though, since necrozma is a very powerful offensive dd set. The physical wallbreaking and late game cleaning role is covered fairly well, which allows for koraidon to handle being a scarfer. It is by quite a bit a better scarfer than eternatus, but the main thing to consider is how do you rate sd korai + scarf etern vs scarf korai + off / def etern on your build. This also applies to any other korai + potential scarfer pair like landorus, kyogre etc., but I find it most apparent with the double dragon core.

In the second game with the double water team I still have an eternatus, but opt for scarf kyogre instead. On teams like this there are now 3 potential scarfers, which leads to more guessing on preview. Given that my choice of arceus was water I was fine not using defensive kyogre, and since there's no bulk on kyogre I am more inclined to run sitrus etern, but rather than being forced to it's more that I am freed up the opportunity to with the scarf kyogre. Koraidon naturally is SD here then, and is a very strong breaker to open up for scarf kyogre since it forces a lot of teras or can also just double out on phys.def walls into kyogre to spout.

To me it's not that sd koraidon is a better pokemon, but that it's a better progress maker. Scarf koraidon can still make progress but tends to be a crutch for teams, which it fills the role of super well. Neither can be overlooked but I think the difference is a lot of team composition choices and both are entirely valid.

3.What types of teams does Koraidon fit on most naturally?

all of them except stall and even then korai stall has peaked #1 so it's technically usable.


4.What Pokémon or team structures handle Koraidon well in practice?

I think this is a good talking point because in theory, every good team should handle koraidon. Due to it having 100% usage if you don't have a built in game plan for your team, then your team is bad no other questions. The extent that you should prepare for koraidon is different, though, and depends on the team structure. On more offensive builds like these: game 1, game 2 both from SCL, they aren't fully hyper offense but are clearly offensive builds that don't have consistent defensive pivots into most things. I talked more about the teams themselves here, but when it comes to the koraidon matchup both have similar things, a kyogre of some kind (av and sitrus), zacian which is faster and scale immune, arceus sets that control the speed of the game (ekiller and twave groundceus), and one extra thing just in case (landorus-t, trick room ndm to control speed). This is all along with natural teras, techs, and my own koraidon. To me these kinds of teams would be the most susceptile not to sweeps from koraidon but being broken by koraidon, but I think a bunch of smaller things like this can really add up in the counterplay since you have so many ways to keep pressure. Koraidon is almost impossible to hard counter so a lot of the ways to beat it come from your own outplaying as well as small optimizations in the builder. Bulkier teams like these: game 1, game 2 from SCL as well with mons like groudon, fairyceus, ho-oh, pagos, etc and some speed control are naturally more equipped to this but are also slower paced, meaning they're easier to sweep late game imo since the entire game isn't just fighting for tempo like with the teams in between HO and balance style wise.

Stall and HO are different, but stall should just have unaware + gliscor + ho-oh and a bunch of teras and just hope it works, while HO ideally keeps it from gaining momentum through normal HO stuff.

5.What common weaknesses or limitations does Koraidon show during real games?

Koraidon has almost no weaknesses, knowing it's coming I guess is the biggest one since you're gonna be prepared for it in the builder ideally but it has a bunch of sets and beats most of the meta if you outplay.

6.How much does Koraidon influence teambuilding and in-game decision making?

The stuff above is more in depth on things like this, but it is the most impactful by far, maybe combining all arceus types is around the same impact but koraidon by itself basically is the tier.


I cooked.
 

Week 2 Summary: Koraidon in SV Ubers​

1. Overall Effectiveness​

Koraidon is unquestionably the most effective Pokémon in the current SV Ubers metagame. It sits firmly at S tier on the viability rankings and appears on nearly every serious non-stall team. Its ability to set Sun alone reshapes the tier, directly impacting the viability of Pokémon such as Kyogre and Arceus-Water. The metagame is heavily warped around Koraidon’s presence, making it the single most centralizing Pokémon in the format.

2. Roles and Set Diversity​

Koraidon’s strength lies not just in raw power, but in its unmatched versatility.

Sweeper:
Swords Dance variants (Scale Shot, Flame Charge, or mixed options) remain the most threatening, capable of overwhelming teams with minimal support.

Breaker:
Choice Band and Life Orb sets apply immense pressure, forcing early Terastallization or defensive sacrifices.

Speed Control:
Choice Scarf Koraidon is still one of the best speed control options in the tier, outspeeding major threats
These roles are highly team-dependent. While SD Koraidon is often the best progress-maker, Scarf Koraidon frequently acts as a stabilizing presence on builds that otherwise struggle with fast offensive threats.

3. Team Archetypes​

Koraidon fits naturally on almost every archetype:

1.Balance
2.Bulky offense
3.Hyper offense
4.Sun-based teams

Stall is the only archetype where Koraidon is uncommon, though even stall variants featuring Koraidon have achieved high ladder success, showing that it is not entirely unviable there either.

4. Counterplay and Defensive Structures​

There is no true hard counter to Koraidon. Instead, teams rely on layered counterplay:

1.Physically defensive Arceus-Fairy
2.Kyogre with Thunder Wave
3.Zacian as a speed-based check
4.Status spreading and speed control
5.Terastallization flexibility

Bulkier teams tend to handle Koraidon more consistently early-game but are vulnerable to late-game sweeps, while offensive teams rely on tempo, pressure, and positioning rather than direct defensive answers.

5. Weaknesses and Limitations​

Koraidon’s weaknesses are minimal:

Predictability in builder (everyone prepares for it)
Recoil from Flare Blitz / Wild Charge
Limited Sun turns
Even these can often be mitigated through Terastallization, item choices, and careful play. Compared to other top threats, these limitations are relatively minor.

6. Metagame Influence​

Koraidon is the single most influential Pokémon in SV Ubers. Teambuilding, speed control decisions, Terastallization usage, and in-game sequencing all revolve around it. While Arceus formes collectively rival its impact, no single Pokémon shapes the tier as much as Koraidon does on its own.

Conclusion​

Koraidon defines SV Ubers. Its flexibility, power, and role compression make it mandatory to account for at every stage of play. Whether as a sweeper, breaker, or speed controller, Koraidon is not just the best Pokémon in the tier—it is the tier.

Future Topic​


If you have suggestions for future MRC topics, feel free to message me on Discord.

Thank you for participating, and I look forward to your findings.

Week 3 will come soon
 

Metagame Research Center (MRC) – Week 3​

Research Topic:​

Welcome to Week 3 of the Metagame Research Center.

This week, we will be focusing on Arceus-Water and its role in the current SV Ubers metagame, especially in a tier heavily shaped by Koraidon and sun-based teams.

Arceus-Water is commonly used as a defensive glue Pokémon, but it also has utility and win-condition potential. This week aims to better understand how it performs in real games and when it is the correct choice over other Arceus formes.

Research Questions​

Participants are encouraged to help answer the following:

  1. How effective is Arceus-Water in the current Ubers metagame?
  2. What role does Arceus-Water perform best (defensive wall, status support, Calm Mind win condition, utility)?
  3. How reliably does it check threats like Koraidon, Ho-Oh, and Groudon in practice?
  4. How much does sun pressure limit its defensive value?
  5. When should teams choose Arceus-Water over other Arceus formes (Fairy, Ground, etc.)?

How to Participate​


1. You may use any Arceus-Water set you prefer
2. Test it in SV Ubers games Share
3. Replays (preferred if possible)
4. Observations from games
5. Team context where Arceus-Water felt strong or weak

There is no minimum replay requirement—quality observations matter more than quantity.

Guidelines​

1.Stay focused on Arceus-Water
2. Base discussion on practical experience
3. Be respectful and constructive
4. Avoid unsupported one-line opinions

At the end of the week, a summary of findings will be posted based on contributions.

If you have suggestions for future research topics, feel free to message me on Discord.

Good luck, and happy testing!
 
Arceus water is him.

During SCL I took a very varied approach to which arceus I wanted to use, bringing 7 different types (water, fairy, ground, normal, ghost, electric, steel), and water was the one I used the most at 3 uses. To me while it's not as good as arceus fairy right now probably, it's arguably the easiest to fit on teams sometimes. Backup water resist, korai check, status spammer, and potential cm wincon are really good things to have in 1 mon, and the water resist aspect is the main thing fairyceus lacks since it can't take on something like scarf spout in a pinch. It also is a steel resist which is huge for the swing upwards offensive ndm has had after many people had it go a bit lower in their view.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ubers-870701
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ubers-887973
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ubers-890769

These were the 3 games I brought it in and I really like these builds, in particular I think hatterene is a great partner for waterceus. Having a fairy is generally a must with it since it's huge scale shot bait, so I ended up using zacian once and hatt twice with it. I think the main thing is that of the questions asked in this week, it doesn't actually check koraidon the best compared to a slot you could have fairyceus, but it checks ho-oh and ndm as similar physical threats way better. The extra fairy helps shore up this issue, and still gives you the benefits of waterceus as a whole.

I think the main thing that comes up with arceus forms is just the opportunity cost since you can only run 1, and they all have to justify why to be used over anything else. I listed the things waterceus is best at above, but it's also important to note that it does actually have the negative of being one of the worst judgment types in the current meta where sun is up like half the game. It can still make up for this, but that requires a good coverage last move or just a status move. I used a lot of cm twave, it was that set in all 3 replays which makes up for not being able to hit korai etern etc in sun even at +6 because you can just annoy them too much with para to the point it's basically a kill if you play around it. Not being a fairyceus and not being that strong are probably the 2 biggest costs it has, so you have to work around those with teammates like the fairies I mentioned before as well as by being very selective with your moveset to at least threaten most koraidon with something. I also liked the double water core in finals because they both work to weaken koraidon just a bit with arceus's bulk and kyogre's rain, but also can just stack on damage vs korai and etern for each other which is cool. I think it's hard to say exactly when to pick it over something like fairyceus, but those are the main 2 defensive arceus with stuff like bulky cm ghost / ground not counting as much to me but at least running similar spreads. It kinda comes to preference when you run one over the other, I use fairyceus a bunch as well, it's probably best to find what you want to use as their teammates first then see what fits based on overlapping roles.
 
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