Metagame National Dex Metagame Discussion

[Endrism]

So I have found a very... odd tactic, but one that has worked well for me so far.
Most people run screens Grimmsnarl, which is a really good set, but I took a different approach.
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Iron Ball
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Trick
- Spirit Break
- Darkest Lariat

Whenever you hear about trick sets, its always a scarf being traded onto a wall, this takes the exact opposite role. With Prankster Trick Iron Ball, you can trick the Iron Ball onto many big threats as a suicide move. It's a really good way to cripple threats like Lando-T, Dragapult, Dracovish, Hydreigon, ect. It can also stop Conk and Gliscor from setting up their status effects, but at the cost of statusing yourself. Thunder Wave is used to cripple threats further, or using it as the lead move against set-up sweepers like D-Dance Regular Gyarados, since Iron Balling something speeding up wont do too much, so Para will work better. Spirit Break and Darkest Lariat are just stab moves that do a ton of damage in combination with Max Attack. I run max HP because its 60 speed doesn't really justify running any speed stats, and the HP helps bulk a good amount of the moves you see around.

The biggest problem with this set is the obvious untrickable items (Z-Crystals, Mega Stones, ect) but can still cripple a huge threat against your team instantly, but idk it might suck and I just get lucky lol, but I thought I'd share the set to see what you guys think.

 

[N_Mareanie]

I wanted to talk a bit about rain, as it think it's insanely powerful atm, with the meta being as offensive as it is.

The infamous duo, Pelipper and Mega Swampert. Pelipper is of course the preferred Rain setter, as it has access to U-turn to get in sweepers such as Mega Swampert, and can keep itself healthy throughout a match with Roost. Mega Swampert just hits super hard and is fast thanks to its Swift Swim ability, as well as being able to check threats to rain such as Tapu Koko.

Ash Greninja
Rain lets Ash Greninja overpower common checks like Tapu Fini. It has a strong priority move in Water Shuriken, which allows to easily late game sweep a lot of the times against weakened teams. It can also set Spikes, which is always appreciated on any team.

Dracovish
Dracovish has pretty much no switch ins under rain, except for immunities. This Pokemon makes the rain archetype even more threatening, as Dracovish solidly breaks through a lot of Water resists, which allows other teammates to wreak havoc.

Manaphy
Manaphy has access to the combination of Tail Glow + Rest + Hydration, which allows it to basically 6-0 any stall team that doesn't carry Shedinja. At +3, together with rain boosted Hydro Vortex, even resists will drop. Make sure to pair it with a Rocker, like Mega Swampert, so Sash Dugtrio and Shedinja don't get in the way.

Kingdra
Pretty straightforward. Come in, and click one of your STAB moves. Kingdra is fast thanks to Swift Swim, and hits insanely hard under rain. Can have trouble breaking through Pokemon like AV Tangrowth, AV Amoonguss and Chansey, but that's why it pairs really nicely with Dracovish. Kingdra also has a niche over Ash Greninja as it's a better Water resist, which can be nice for a rain team to have.

Barraskewda
Barraskewda might seem pretty outclassed as a physical rain sweeper by Mega Swampert at first, but it has one important niche. Barraskewda can run an Adamant nature to outspeed Choice Scarf Kartana, and OHKO it with Close Combat. This alone is huge for any rain team, as rain users should know how threatening Choice Scarf Kartana is for any rain team out there.

Mantine
Mantine is noteworthy in the sense that it is a rain abuser that can throw off Choice Specs boosted Hurricanes, which allows it to actually break through Grasses like Tangrowth and Tapu Bulu. Its Flying typing also means it isn't weak to Grass moves, which is amazing in itself. It hits pretty hard, and can definitely be considered for any rain team imo.

Azumarill
Under rain, Azumarill can easily sweep offensive teams or late game sweep after a Belly Drum. It can also act as a Dark resist, which could be hard to switch into.

Drednaw
Drednaw is nice because it acts as a solid Tornadus-T switch in, and can set up a SD to muscle through a lot of teams. In combination with Rockium Z, it's able to break through Pokemon like Tangrowth and Rotom-Wash, which trouble rain teams otherwise.

Ferrothorn
As always, the main Water, Fairy and Psychic resist for rain teams, as well as checking Electric and Grass types nicely. It offers good Spike support, which can allow Ash Greninja to run Ice Beam instead of Spikes.

Tornadus-Therian
Checks most Grass types that threaten rain with its 100% Hurricanes thanks to rain. It also offers U-turn to bring in sweepers safely, or Knock Off, to remove items like Magearna's AV for Ash Greninja and Mantine. Very good removal for the team as well, and can also run Taunt to prevent opposing hazard removal / opposing hazards going up.

Team I've been using the most.

Team

Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 22 Spe
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Scald
- Roost

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
- Substitute

Dracovish @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Crunch
- Psychic Fangs
- Facade

Greninja-Ash (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Water Shuriken
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Happiness: 160
EVs: 252 HP / 28 Def / 228 SpD
Careful Nature
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Protect

Tornadus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Defog

(Speed on Pelipper is to outslow Brave Tyranitar, guaranteeing you the Rain)

I advice you all to try this playstyle out, it's fun and will probably get even better once Dynamax is banned.

 

[The Amazonian Rainforest]

Rain is going to become absolutely dominant once Dynamax is banned. To be honest, I know little about Rain and Sun, and Hail is a joke, but I know a lot about Sand.

Sand...

• Has three viable Sand Stream users: Tyranitar, Mega Tyranitar, and Hippowdon.
  • Tyranitar, without a Tyranitarite, will 99% of the time use band. Using fangled support sets on Tyranitar aren't as good because when you get down to it, Rock/Dark is actually terrible defensive typing. He's also forced to rely on his somewhat mediocre base 95 SpAtk with BeamThrower and often can't even score KOs on Ferro and Mega Scizor. Since he's using a smooth rock, Support Tyranitar has no recovery and is liable to being worn down pretty easily by mid game, especially in a meta where Darm, Genesect and Tapu Koko form nasty VoltTurn cores (and each of the three aformentioned mons are individually capable of taking Tyranitar out). Band Tyranitar, hits really fucking hard and is just as impossible to switch into. Tyranitar simply lacks the intrinsic utility to function as a sole Sand setter. This isn't Gen 4. There's no BOAH, right?
  • Mega Tyranitar is a good wincon with Dragon Dance, but he really suffers as when Mega Metagross and Dracovish can annihilate him. Most teams are basically required to run Mega Metagross, Mega Blastoise, or a small number of other niche megas, and Ttar doesn't bring enough new to the table to justify (there are about eight better speed snowballers in this meta rn).
  • Unlike Tyranitar, Hippowdon has better defensive typing, reliable recovery, and utility, so its common to have Sand teams run Band Ttar + Hippowdon as their weather setting. Hippowdon kinda soft checks Mega Metagross and that is invaluable but like Tyranitar he is just absolutely fucked over by Dracovish, who is bulky enough to switch into EQ.
  • Gigalith is an interesting option but actually seems to be completely outclassed by Tyranitar in all respects. Tyranitar has better stats, movepool, typing, everything basically. The only thing Gigalith kinda has is Gravity + Max Quake Excadrill but thats stupid. Only use for the memes.
  • Just as Gigalith is an inferior Tyranitar, Sandaconda is an inferior Hippowdon. I dont understand Game Freak's logic in this pokemon; he has to take hits to set sand throughout the match yet lacks recovery. He has Glare which is nice but not enough to justify a spot on a team. A solid offensive movepool, coil and shed skin seems nice until you realize that she'd skin sandaconda can't set sand.
• While Sand may be somewhat lacking in viable weather setters, they have great synergy with many sweepers and defensive pivots.
  • Dracovish getting Sand Rush will be crucial in Sand's play style: pivoting into a banded Vish ASAP to start wrecking shit, which is why we saw some Eject Button Sandaconda + Vish antics before it got disabled. Water/Dragon fits well on Sand, too, as a double resist to other rends will be useful. Will be mandatory on every sand team once he gets Sand Rush.
  • Rapid Spin's buff means that excadrill is no longer mainly seen on sand teams, but he can still fuck shit up. For the next couple of days while dynamax remains, he can set his own sand, which is really nice. Mandatory on every sand team.
  • The mega evo speed change has fucked Mega Chomp over more than he already was, and on top of that, Zygarde is better than regular Chomp in almost every conceivable way. Mega Chomp just cant cut it in this meta. It is too easily revenge killed with swords dance sets and mixed sets are a laughing stock. A sand force boosted earthquake is of course going to Ohko most of the tier but darm does that, more efficiently, safely, and without risking a mega.
  • That base 50 HP and reduction to 110 defenses have unfortunately made Diancie Mega stupid frail for some reason, but a silver lining is that sand stream acts as a free AV, and Diamond Storm doubles your defense. Unfortunately, a barren offensive movepool and an inability to OHKO meta with ep makes her kinda bad atm. Will become substantially better when metagross is eventually banned.
  • toxic spikes, pivot, reliable, basically mandatory if you don't have rotom-wash.
  • Regenerator and solid bulk means that the Tangrowth pex core will find good use in sand teams.
  • Ferro is ostensibly Tangrowth, trading staying power for superior utility. A physical deterrent and spikes setter is appreciated on sand, plus he is a steel type! He is mandatory on 'softer' sand teams with only a band ttar + exca.
  • Volcarona just loves sand, as shes protected from physical attackers and water types when she has shit like band ttar, excadrill, pex and av Tangrowth to fall back on. She also (will) yeah on Kartana when dynamax is gone and makes for a good wincon.
  • Bolt Beak is easily walled, and both fossils are very weak without their signature moves, so Dracozolt unfortunstely doesn't fare as well in sand.
  • 
  • these are all cool picks on sand if you know the specific movesets to use. Some of these mons may seem completely random but all of them benefit from sand heavily.
• Here's what I realistically see happening: full, hardcore sand teams with every single member benefitting from sand are dead as we know it, for the simple reason that this meta is very hostile towards the type that is supposed to benefit the most from it: Rock. Shell Smash Mega Blastoise. Mega Metagross. Rain teams. Fishious Rend. Zygarde. Magearna. Full sand teams will find their checks to these mons killed and overwhelmed by an unforgiving meta that wont allow kooky shit like storm drain cradily. So teams like are unfortunately now pretty unviable, probably also due to their instaloss matchup against rain and dual screens. But i believe that with Excadrill's rapid spin buff, semi-Sand teams, usually balance teams with an offensive sand core, are stronger than ever, especially when they have shit to counter Sand's counters. have a really important niche that no one seems to appreciate: tearing apart FWG cores. Tangrowth, Tapu Bulu and Mega Venu really do not want to be hit by a band stone edge. Who knows? Later on, when meta is banned, When Vish gets Sand Rush, the entire scope could change. The new core could be which is both a sand core and a dragon steel fairy core. That's definitely viable

Tl;Dr traditional sand is fucked but running Band Ttar + LO AoA Excadrill is great, and sand will become as common as Rain once Dracovish gets Sand Rush

 

[The Amazonian Rainforest]

(Sorry for double posting, but apparently its allowed if youre doing it for emphasis, which I am)

And while on the topic of Bewear, can we talk about how good he is in this metagame? With Fluffy he basically wins against almost every physical attacker in the tier and is a great abuser of dynamax.

For context, Bewear is not OHKO'd by Mega Lopunny Fake Out + High Jump Kick (!), 3HKO'd by Kartana Sacred Sword, and is not even OHKO'd by a V-Create from Victini, even with Fluffy's fire weakness. This resistance to physical attacks means that he can outfight Dracovish, too. What the fuck?

Because of this, Bewear can also run a mean fucking AV set. He can also run Swords Dance, and break through Corsola, Ferrothorn and Toxapex at +2. Band and Trick Room sets are valuable, and he is very splashable on Rain teams because the rain nullifies the fire weakness.

If Darm is locked into Icicle Crash, Bewear can take him out. Great offensive coverage means that Bewear has the means to waltz up and OHKO shit in most situations.

According to reddit the spread 80 HP / 248 Atk / 180 Speed is optimal to outspeed Azu and Maw.

 

[spookysocialist]

(Sorry for double posting, but apparently its allowed if youre doing it for emphasis, which I am)

And while on the topic of Bewear, can we talk about how good he is in this metagame? With Fluffy he basically wins against almost every physical attacker in the tier and is a great abuser of dynamax.

For context, Bewear is not OHKO'd by Mega Lopunny Fake Out + High Jump Kick (!), 3HKO'd by Kartana Sacred Sword, and is not even OHKO'd by a V-Create from Victini, even with Fluffy's fire weakness. This resistance to physical attacks means that he can outfight Dracovish, too. What the fuck?

Because of this, Bewear can also run a mean fucking AV set. He can also run Swords Dance, and break through Corsola, Ferrothorn and Toxapex at +2. Band and Trick Room sets are valuable, and he is very splashable on Rain teams because the rain nullifies the fire weakness.

If Darm is locked into Icicle Crash, Bewear can take him out. Great offensive coverage means that Bewear has the means to waltz up and OHKO shit in most situations.

According to reddit the spread 80 HP / 248 Atk / 180 Speed is optimal to outspeed Azu and Maw.

FYI, Fluffy does not reduce the damage of physical attacks - it reduces the damage of contact moves, (physical or special) which icicle crash is not. This means that bewear takes (65.3 - 77.3%) from Icicle crash (and similar from flare blitz) so it cannot switch in, and cannot revenge it it has taken a strong attack or just gets flinched. Fluffy also does does not protect from Thousand Arrows which makes bewear easy setup bait for zygarde - who is really good still, subtox zygarde is busted

Also with the existence of Darm and a lot of other choiced pokemon like tapu koko, dracovish, etc, I've found protect on random bulky mons to be pretty useful. Vincune is a neat mon that can kinda take on scarf darm and dracovish.

 

[KirbCena]

FYI, Fluffy does not reduce the damage of physical attacks - it reduces the damage of contact moves, (physical or special) which icicle crash is not. This means that bewear takes (65.3 - 77.3%) from Icicle crash (and similar from flare blitz) so it cannot switch in, and cannot revenge it it has taken a strong attack or just gets flinched. Fluffy also does does not protect from Thousand Arrows which makes bewear easy setup bait for zygarde - who is really good still, subtox zygarde is busted

Also with the existence of Darm and a lot of other choiced pokemon like tapu koko, dracovish, etc, I've found protect on random bulky mons to be pretty useful. Vincune is a neat mon that can kinda take on scarf darm and dracovish.

Also worth mentioning that the spread provided is still 2hkoed by Scarf Jolly Rend 91.8 % of the time without even factoring in rain or hazards, and that a good majority of the pokemon it supposedly checks still wear it down due to lack of recovery outside of the shaky Drain Punch and mediocre Bulk outside of Fluffy. In addition, Kartana abuses Dynamax so it invalidates Fluffy and even after the inevitable ban for Dynamax, it still can SD up and use a Z-move to bypass and OHKO, meaning Bewear is kinda piss poor as a check to that too. Also, what calcs were used for Victini? Banded V-Create outright OHKOes the Bewear spread provided 100% of the time (109.9% - 129.6%)

TL;DR, Bewear isn't that viable and in most cases and situations doesn't reliably check what it has been claimed to check.

 

[The Amazonian Rainforest]

FYI, Fluffy does not reduce the damage of physical attacks - it reduces the damage of contact moves, (physical or special) which icicle crash is not. This means that bewear takes (65.3 - 77.3%) from Icicle crash (and similar from flare blitz) so it cannot switch in, and cannot revenge it it has taken a strong attack or just gets flinched. Fluffy also does does not protect from Thousand Arrows which makes bewear easy setup bait for zygarde - who is really good still, subtox zygarde is busted

Also with the existence of Darm and a lot of other choiced pokemon like tapu koko, dracovish, etc, I've found protect on random bulky mons to be pretty useful. Vincune is a neat mon that can kinda take on scarf darm and dracovish.

Touche on the Fluffy discrepancy but if I'm not mistaken, almost no one is able to switch into darm and Vish so this cant isnt really unique to Bewear. My point is that when compared to other band users he fares significantly better than most in a physically dominant meta.

Sub toxic Zygarde beats Bewear but what else is new? Hes the stallrein of this gen, and regardless its not like Zygarde can switch into Bewear.

Also, what calcs were used for Victini? Banded V-Create outright OHKOes the Bewear spread provided 100% of the time (109.9% - 129.6%)

This calc was taken from a reddit thread so it could be fake news but its from r/stunfisk so i have to consult the elders. An initial observation would be maybe i got the hp and speed mixed up or maybe the guy was referring to 252/252/4 idk but seeing how that V-Create did 109% I'm sure Bewear can be built to tank one easily.

To be completely honest being 2HKO'd by Scarf Rend in this meta is kinda good (a testament to how distorted this game has become) when almost every single Pokemon in the game is either straight up killed or 2hko (including resists). I dont completely understand your point about Kartana setting up on Bewear, because he will just be OHKO'd by Hammer Arm promptly.
Sure Bewear isnt meta and without reliable recovery, elemental coverage, and utility he wont be for the forseeable future, but when comparing him to other band users rn he clearly has a defined niche. Bewear wins against mons that Band Ttar, Bulu and Zygarde don't. A small niche. Not a very large one, but one large enough that makes you say, "I respect that guy for using Bewear".

 

[KirbCena]

Touche on the Fluffy discrepancy but if I'm not mistaken, almost no one is able to switch into darm and Vish so this cant isnt really unique to Bewear. My point is that when compared to other band users he fares significantly better than most in a physically dominant meta.

Sub toxic Zygarde beats Bewear but what else is new? Hes the stallrein of this gen, and regardless its not like Zygarde can switch into Bewear.

This calc was taken from a reddit thread so it could be fake news but its from r/stunfisk so i have to consult the elders. An initial observation would be maybe i got the hp and speed mixed up or maybe the guy was referring to 252/252/4 idk but seeing how that V-Create did 109% I'm sure Bewear can be built to tank one easily.

To be completely honest being 2HKO'd by Scarf Rend in this meta is kinda good (a testament to how distorted this game has become) when almost every single Pokemon in the game is either straight up killed or 2hko (including resists). I dont completely understand your point about Kartana setting up on Bewear, because he will just be OHKO'd by Hammer Arm promptly.
Sure Bewear isnt meta and without reliable recovery, elemental coverage, and utility he wont be for the forseeable future, but when comparing him to other band users rn he clearly has a defined niche. Bewear wins against mons that Band Ttar, Bulu and Zygarde don't. A small niche. Not a very large one, but one large enough that makes you say, "I respect that guy for using Bewear".

While Kartana can't SD in Bewear's face, it can easily murder it without effort as each physical Z-Move that isn't resisted OHKOes Bewear after only 1 layer of Spikes (Bloom and Pummeling KO without) and it can't even switch into Sacred Sword repeatedly(especially Banded).
Building it to tank V Create means you're sacrificing a large amount of firepower, and therefore can't use SD or Band as effectively to break stuff. And what does Band Bewear beat that Band Bulu, Ttar, Zygarde, and its superior in Mega Lopunny don't? In fact Mega Lopunny outclasses it in every way possible because Bewear lacks the utility and the speed that Mega Lopunny has that allows it to actually threaten teams with Encore and PuP and/or priority in Fake Out AND Quick Attack which means it can even chip faster threats like Darm-G and Vish as well as Mega Zam and Scarf Kartana, even if it can't outright beat them. Meanwhile, Bewear just gets outsped and KOed by these threats while having not accomplished anything. It's dead weight against Hyper Offense, gets heavily pressured by Bulky Offense (especially if carrying strong special attackers), can kinda threaten Balance but not really, and is unable to do squat against Stall (still waiting for Unaware Clefable to be legal again). Being 2HKOed by Scarf Rend isn't kinda good considering you need it to tank at least two hits to be able to check it (one on the switch and one after the switch), and comparing it to the rest of the tier that also die easily to Rend doesn't help its case, other than showing the agreeable point that the meta has been distorted quite a bit.

TL;DR, Bewear's outdone by anything else that's viable and any niche it has is negligible at best. It can't check anything it's been claimed to check, OHKOed by Z-move Kartana and 2HKOed by the other aforementioned mons it supposedly checks, and is outclassed entirely by Mega Lopunny.

 

[The Amazonian Rainforest]

While Kartana can't SD in Bewear's face, it can easily murder it without effort as each physical Z-Move that isn't resisted OHKOes Bewear after only 1 layer of Spikes (Bloom and Pummeling KO without) and it can't even switch into Sacred Sword repeatedly(especially Banded).
Building it to tank V Create means you're sacrificing a large amount of firepower, and therefore can't use SD or Band as effectively to break stuff. And what does Band Bewear beat that Band Bulu, Ttar, Zygarde, and its superior in Mega Lopunny don't? In fact Mega Lopunny outclasses it in every way possible because Bewear lacks the utility and the speed that Mega Lopunny has that allows it to actually threaten teams with Encore and PuP and/or priority in Fake Out AND Quick Attack which means it can even chip faster threats like Darm-G and Vish as well as Mega Zam and Scarf Kartana, even if it can't outright beat them. Meanwhile, Bewear just gets outsped and KOed by these threats while having not accomplished anything. It's dead weight against Hyper Offense, gets heavily pressured by Bulky Offense (especially if carrying strong special attackers), can kinda threaten Balance but not really, and is unable to do squat against Stall (still waiting for Unaware Clefable to be legal again). Being 2HKOed by Scarf Rend isn't kinda good considering you need it to tank at least two hits to be able to check it (one on the switch and one after the switch), and comparing it to the rest of the tier that also die easily to Rend doesn't help its case, other than showing the agreeable point that the meta has been distorted quite a bit.

TL;DR, Bewear's outdone by anything else that's viable and any niche it has is negligible at best. It can't check anything it's been claimed to check, OHKOed by Z-move Kartana and 2HKOed by the other aforementioned mons it supposedly checks, and is outclassed entirely by Mega Lopunny.

I think something big youre missing is that Mega Lopunny takes your mega slot, Bewear doesnt, and Mega Metagross and Blastoise are staples on most teams at this point. Otherwise i agree to disagree

 

[Zneon]

I think something big youre missing is that Mega Lopunny takes your mega slot, Bewear doesnt, and Mega Metagross and Blastoise are staples on most teams at this point. Otherwise i agree to disagree

Considering that Mega Lopunny offers more than Bewear in terms of utility in general, it is really hard to justify using Bewear over it, despite it not taking a mega slot. I'd have to say that Bewear is not good, not because it is a bad wallbreaker since its not easy to switch into, but because it has almost nothing to differentiate it from other wallbreakers, which leaves it really outclassed by the majority of them . For example, Hawlucha has SD like Bewear, but can utilise Unburden and an item like White Herb or terrain seeds to be a threatening sweeper. Mega Lopunny doesn't even need SD because its already naturally higher power and amazing speed tier makes it a fantastic mega. Same with Mega Medicham, except it just kills everything with HJK lol. Bewear just has too much competition to the point where its hard to justify using it over other Fighting types, let alone wallbreakers.

 

[N_Mareanie]

Feel like we've been talking enough about how physically bulky Bewear is, let's talk about some actual units.

Set

Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Sleep Powder
- Leech Seed / Hidden Power [Fire]

This thing is able to sponge basically every physical hit barring SE STAB attacks. It's an amazing check to Pokemon like Mega Metagross (doesn't get 2HKO'd by Ice Punch and can put it to sleep in return), Dracovish (avoids the 2HKO and can either put it to sleep or chip it heavily with Giga Drain + Rocky Helmet damage), Kartana (barring Max Airstream, but that'll be leaving soon hopefully), Mega Swampert and Zygarde. It's pretty splashable as well, as it doesn't take up a Mega slot, and offers a lot to every team. AV sets can also still be used of course, but I think physically defensive sets really shine in this meta.

I really like pairing this with Tangrowth, and even though it can be pretty passive at times, being able to blanket check so many dangerous special attackers is amazing in itself. Ash Greninja, Tapu Koko, Volcarona are all good atm, and Chansey is able to just wall them completely. It also offers SR support, as well as being a pretty nice Wish passer. I think it fits pretty nicely in this meta, and can see it maintaining this spot.

Other Pokemon I've been enjoying

Set

Genesect @ Firium Z
Ability: Download
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- X-Scissor
- Iron Head
- Shift Gear
- Blaze Kick

I've been using this set and it's pretty nice ngl. Z-Blaze Kick is able to nuke some common would-be checks to Genesect, like Mega Metagross, Celesteela, Aegislash, Corviknight and Melmetal. Only downside is that you're completely walled by Toxapex, but since Shed Shell doesn't seem to be that common on it atm, pairing this thing with Dugtrio solves this problem. Dugtrio also gets rid of Heatran, which would also completely wall this set. X-Scissor is here to hit stuff like Tangrowth and Slowbro (Slowbro is good I swear). Overall, pretty nice set, not the best, but definitely noteworthy.

This Pokemon's high speed tier, as well as having a pretty decent attack stat, means it really shines in offensive metas like this. I've personally been using Fake Out/Quick Attack/Frustration/HJK, as I think double priority is way better in a meta like this than having Ice Punch to hit Zygarde (HJK does decent damage anyway). The fact that defensive Landorus-T isn't able to pivot into this anymore because Scrappy is immune to Intimidate is actually pretty amazing, which allows Mega Lopunny to spam its moves a lot more. I think Mega Lopunny is really nice in the meta, and is definitely one of the top Megas because of its high speed tier and spammable moves.

can we end the suspect early i'm done facing max airstream kartana

And for the Dracogods out there, enjoy this meme.

Meme

252 Atk Choice Band Strong Jaw Dracovish Fishious Rend vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro-Mega in Rain: 170-201 (43.1 - 51%) -- 97.7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

 

[KirbCena]

Speaking of actual units, I've been meaning to share a couple cores I think could perform well. (I'm on mobile and don't know how to download and use sprites so PLEASE bear with me here)

Core #1: Mega Charizard-X + Hatterene

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake/Dragon Claw
- Roost

Hatterene @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 Spe
Bold Nature
- Psychic
-Dazzling Gleam/Draining Kiss
- Mystical Fire
- Calm Mind

Very similar to the Hatterene + Volcarona core posted earlier, Zard X absolutely hates Stealth Rock and is walled by Pex if you decide to run Dragon Claw instead of Earthquake. This is where Hatterene comes in, using Pex as Fodder and bouncing Rocks back. Defog support is obviously still needed as Hatterene can't switch in to deflect rocks from every setter. Scarf Kartana completes a Steel/Fairy/Dragon core and provides Defog support, and can therefore be a good candidate as a teammate.

Core #2: Tapu Bulu + Toxapex

Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Impish Nature
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 80 SpD
- Bulk Up
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Synthesis

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic

This is an old core with a bit of a new twist. Bulu being physically defensive (spread prevents the chance of a 2HKO from Specs Ash Greninja's Hydro Pump after Stealth Rock) means Pex can be specially defensive to better take on Zard Y and Volcarona without fearing Vish. Bulu also provides Grassy Terrain which allows Pex to wall certain mons it normally couldn't, like Scarf Landorus-Therian, Scarf Darm-G, Zard-X, etc. A switchin to Mega Metagross as well as Lele and Zam is recommended for this core, especially since Bulu can no longer reliably check them with this spread.

Core #3: Dragapult + Ash Greninja

Dragapult @ Expert Belt
Timid Nature
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Timid Nature
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Spe / 252 SpA
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- Spikes

Similar to all the other cores that usually involve Ash-Gren, Dragapult appreciates Ash-Greninja's Spikes wearing down Toxapex and can deal decent damage to it with Thunderbolt and outright kill Ferrothorn and wear down other bulky Grasses with Fire Blast/Flamethrower in return, allowing Ash-Gren to potentially sweep late-game.

 

[The Amazonian Rainforest]

Speaking of actual units, I've been meaning to share a couple cores I think could perform well. (I'm on mobile and don't know how to download and use sprites so PLEASE bear with me here)

Core #1: Mega Charizard-X + Hatterene

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake/Dragon Claw
- Roost

Hatterene @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 Spe
Bold Nature
- Psychic
-Dazzling Gleam/Draining Kiss
- Mystical Fire
- Calm Mind

Very similar to the Hatterene + Volcarona core posted earlier, Zard X absolutely hates Stealth Rock and is walled by Pex if you decide to run Dragon Claw instead of Earthquake. This is where Hatterene comes in, using Pex as Fodder and bouncing Rocks back. Defog support is obviously still needed as Hatterene can't switch in to deflect rocks from every setter. Scarf Kartana completes a Steel/Fairy/Dragon core and provides Defog support, and can therefore be a good candidate as a teammate.

Core #2: Tapu Bulu + Toxapex

Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Impish Nature
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 80 SpD
- Bulk Up
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Synthesis

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic

This is an old core with a bit of a new twist. Bulu being physically defensive (spread prevents the chance of a 2HKO from Specs Ash Greninja's Hydro Pump after Stealth Rock) means Pex can be specially defensive to better take on Zard Y and Volcarona without fearing Vish. Bulu also provides Grassy Terrain which allows Pex to wall certain mons it normally couldn't, like Scarf Landorus-Therian, Scarf Darm-G, Zard-X, etc. A switchin to Mega Metagross as well as Lele and Zam is recommended for this core, especially since Bulu can no longer reliably check them with this spread.

Core #3: Dragapult + Ash Greninja

Dragapult @ Expert Belt
Timid Nature
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Timid Nature
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Spe / 252 SpA
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- Spikes

Similar to all the other cores that usually involve Ash-Gren, Dragapult appreciates Ash-Greninja's Spikes wearing down Toxapex and can deal decent damage to it with Thunderbolt and outright kill Ferrothorn and wear down other bulky Grasses with Fire Blast/Flamethrower in return, allowing Ash-Gren to potentially sweep late-game.

Do :nameofthepokemon: to get the miniature sprite.








To make this a legitamite, contributor post I concede defeat on Bewear. Bewear is officially fake news. Bewear is dead. Fuck that furry suit.

But you guys know a mon that I'm 1000% sure is absolutely viable nowayanyonecouldarguethatthismonisbad?
Kommo-O. Don't @ me

Its ya girl back at you today with another random analysis of a Pokemon.

There was quite a lot of buzz a couple weeks ago about there being a "Clangoclause" where Kommo-O cant use Soul and Kommonium Z, but it suddenly just stopped. I suspect its because Mega Blastoise kinda achieves a similar effect with less risk, or the fact that Mega Metagross is a massive threat. Whatever the point, Clangorous Soul isn't the only buff Kommo-O got this generation in regards to Nat Dex. Last gen major pitfalls were a lack of a reliable special fighting stab, and inability to capitalize defensively. This gen Kommo-O got

• Aura Sphere and Boomburst for additional special coverage. Aura Sphere is HUGE for Kommo-O as it means that he is now a legit late game threat. Boomburst is let down by its normal typing and in practice you'll likely never use it but a 140 BP move that hits most mons neutrally is never a bad thing.
• He got Dragon Dance and Automotize, both already great moves that many other mons would kill for, and Clangorous Soul, which is an omniboost for only 33% health. But you already knew that.

On a serious note, what happened to the idea of a Clangoclause? Kommo-O was all the rage and now he isn't. I don't see how the unbans of Gensect and Deoxys-Defense (who is trash tier) have an effect on his viability. Kommo-O seems to be an ideal candidate for uber-present dual screen teams yet Zygarde is used instead. In the future, Are we going to have complex clauses where Pokemon can't have illegal movesets? Because as of right now, its incredibly inconsistent. I remember Clefable cant have Unaware and the starters cant have their HAs because that wouldn't be "true to console" yet Gengar with Nasty Plot + Encore is allowed? Technically, Shell Smash Mega Blastoise shouldn't exist either since he wasnt intended to exist in the game like this. Lol, even with unreleased game exclusive mons should be in if you think about it. Mega Evolutions are allowed "because they are their own mon".

Well Floette-Eternal has crucially different stats from Florges and has a nuke, fulfilling a completely different role. Lol, yep, Totem Pokemon have a very important niche in taking more damage from low kick: their role in the game's story should be enough to distinguish them from others of their species. Spiky-Eared Pichu is probably really interesting in DPPT LC lol. Anyways these are ridiculous reasons but you get my point.

The reason why Mega Evolutions are in National Dex and Floette-Eternal, Magearna-Original, and Spiky-Eared Pichu aren't is clear.

Popularity.
If we're going one way or the other, we should at least fucking commit to one direction. The very concept of Nat Dex is against console so it makes no sense that we allow Kommo-O having Clangorous Soulblaze and Clangorous Soul, Aegislash Sub toxic and Shell Smash M Blastoise but we can't allow Gems, game-exclusive mons or gen 1 moves.

Im fine with either direction, but i think this tier needs to concretely decide whether its right twix or left twix. With dynamax's suspect ending i think its Twix. Time to Decide™.

/endrant

 

[UltraxBlade]

I see some people mentioning Clefable and Unaware. Seems people haven’t noticed that it’s legal now! Specifically, it’s been legal since about a day after the ladder switched out of beta, when they worked out the bugs in the teambuilder that came with that change. I was going to talk about it earluer but have been away on vacation doing other things. So, let’s talk about this thing!



I love Unaware Clefable, especially in this current metagame where everyone’s trying to set up and sweep you with Dynamax or whatever else. Mega Blastoise? Nope. Volcarona? Nope. Kommo-O? Ignored and annihilated. Zygarde? Moonblast it (and they can’t boost spdef against you with Max Quake). Kartana? Ehh, that one still hurts. But you get the point. If you can’t 2HKO Clef, all your boosts are irrelevant. Plus, Clef can bring team support with Wish and Heal Bell.

The old and probably suboptimal set I’ve been running:
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heal Bell
- Wish
- Moonblast
- Protect

So far I’ve been running my old specially defensive Unaware Clef with Moonblast / Wish / Protect / Heal Bell, but will probably swap something out for fire coverage to let it delete the paper sword and deal with steels (Magearna) better in general. Physically defensive is also be worth considering, as there are a lot of physical setup sweepers (Kartana, Zygarde, etc.) around in this meta. Movesets I’ll be trying are Moonblast / Flamethrower or Fire Blast / Wish / Protect and Moonblast / fire move / Softboiled / Heal Bell, depending on whether Wish support or Heal Bell support are more valuable for the team. (One note, the extra Leftovers turn from Wish+Protect instead of Softboiled can be quite relevant for survival, so I think I’ll be starting there.) Try out Unaware Clefable, it will save you from a few sweeps, and let me know what you think of this amazing mon!

 

[The Amazonian Rainforest]

I see some people mentioning Clefable and Unaware. Seems people haven’t noticed that it’s legal now! Specifically, it’s been legal since about a day after the ladder switched out of beta, when they worked out the bugs in the teambuilder that came with that change. I was going to talk about it earluer but have been away on vacation doing other things. So, let’s talk about this thing!



I love Unaware Clefable, especially in this current metagame where everyone’s trying to set up and sweep you with Dynamax or whatever else. Mega Blastoise? Nope. Volcarona? Nope. Kommo-O? Ignored and annihilated. Zygarde? Moonblast it (and they can’t boost spdef against you with Max Quake). Kartana? Ehh, that one still hurts. But you get the point. If you can’t 2HKO Clef, all your boosts are irrelevant. Plus, Clef can bring team support with Wish and Heal Bell.

The old and probably suboptimal set I’ve been running:
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heal Bell
- Wish
- Moonblast
- Protect

So far I’ve been running my old specially defensive Unaware Clef with Moonblast / Wish / Protect / Heal Bell, but will probably swap something out for fire coverage to let it delete the paper sword and deal with steels (Magearna) better in general. Physically defensive is also be worth considering, as there are a lot of physical setup sweepers (Kartana, Zygarde, etc.) around in this meta. Movesets I’ll be trying are Moonblast / Flamethrower or Fire Blast / Wish / Protect and Moonblast / fire move / Softboiled / Heal Bell, depending on whether Wish support or Heal Bell support are more valuable for the team. (One note, the extra Leftovers turn from Wish+Protect instead of Softboiled can be quite relevant for survival, so I think I’ll be starting there.) Try out Unaware Clefable, it will save you from a few sweeps, and let me know what you think of this amazing mon!

A question: why would you go Specially Defensive over physically defensive on Unaware Clef? Is it to avoid 2HKO by Water Pulse?

252+ SpA Mega Launcher Blastoise-Mega Water Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Clefable: 129-153 (32.7 - 38.8%) -- 4.7% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Oh my. That's some good shit right there.

However going Sp Def means that you lose out on beating shitty Bewear Mega Lopunny:

252 Atk Lopunny-Mega Return vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Clefable: 222-262 (56.3 - 66.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Possible damage amounts: (222, 225, 228, 231, 232, 235, 238, 241, 243, 246, 249, 252, 253, 256, 259, 262)

(you cant kill lop with moonblast)

Also check this out:

0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Regigigas: 91-108 (21.4 - 25.4%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

Unaware Clefable loses against bulky Regigigas.

Is there any specific advantage in going SpDef over def besides the fact that Clefable's physical bulk isnt high enough to cut it these days?

 

[Zneon]

I have a few thoughts on some Pokemon that I've been using that I think are great

Corviknight is an outstanding Pokemon and one of the most splashable ones in the format in my opinion. Steel/Flying is a fantastic typing and allows it to switch into a lot of things and get a defog off, in comparison to Skamory or Celesteela, I'd say it's a tad bit better, it's better than Skamory it isn't as passive and can be a threatening wincon if it wants to with Bulk Up, and Celesteela because I feel it offers more role compression and overall utility than Celesteela. It is just a great Pokemon that offers utility, while also potentially being dangerous if you run into Bulk Up and just has a place on many teams.

This Pokemon is quite amazing, it is incredibly dangerous because of its incredible versatility and sweeping potential, making it a threat to any team, it does have its checks and counters, but that is largely set dependant, Heatran and Toxapex wall most of its sets forever, that is until it reveals it has an Ebelt boosted HP Ground and Tbolt coming their way, Corviknight, Celesteela and Skamory and Aegislash wall the CB set, until you see it is a Z Blaze Kick Genesect or Ebelt Flamethrower, and faster Pokemon can deal with it if they are carrying a fire move, but Scarf can just pivot out. Genesect is just an awesome mon and I feel deserves a lot more attention, especially after Dmax ban where I think it will be even better.

Seeing rain everywhere and Dracovish just being a nuisance, this mon is just a fantastic rocker. It does more than just being a vish answer, such as stopping mons from pivoting with Volt Switch, its typing is great especially with Water Absorb, not to mention being a fire resist, rock resist and its typing being able to beat a handful of other rockers like Excadrill, Landorus-T, Gliscor, Tran etc, point is Seismitoad offers so much in one slot to where it is really easy to fit on onto many Balance teams and I think deserves more attention.

 

[Jeune Homme]

I'm wondering if it is possible to use shift gear Genesect with a Jolly nature... with the introduction of mints in SwSh it should definitely be a thing

 

[nicolasleonardo]

Did you not pay attention to the quote in my post? That quote summed up Necrozma-DW better than I ever could.

 

[The Amazonian Rainforest]

I'm wondering if it is possible to use shift gear Genesect with a Jolly nature... with the introduction of mints in SwSh it should definitely be a thing

Innocent question that opens up a huge can of worms if you think about it.

Why does E-Speed Genesect need a Hasty nature? We have mints and Kommo-O having access to both Clangs already shows that we aren't going to respect continuity.

Why can't we use Eruption Heatran with any nature we want? (Currently its only with a Quiet Nature) Mints exist. We should be able to use Scarf Heatran with a Timid Nature!

Give Band Entei Jolly Nature, too.

 

[ShadowMarioGalaxy64]

Give Band Entei Jolly Nature, too.

Screw that; Timid Event Raikou, which as access to Aura Sphere. /s

 

[Solaros & Lunaris]

I’ll post some meta-related things here later, but this nature-mints thing has been suggested to PS developers. If you want to see this implemented on PS!, please be sure to like this post so we can see Timid Eruption Heatran!

On another note, power and Funbot28 have you considered opening a PR thread (or a NatDex thread) that gives an open discussion of what is considered “NatDex”?

 

[Sputnik]

Timid Eruption Heatran!

Sun Teams have entered the Chat

Speaking of which, lets talk Sun!

Sun was fringe viable at best in USUM. Venusaur and Torkoal weren't as overall solid as, say, Pelipper or Mega-Pert and Ttar and Driller. Sun teams were often extremely high maintenance; their main form of defensive utility was Torkoal and maybe like Tapu Fini or something, both of whom get chipped easily. The sun sweepers/breakers, such as Zard and Victini, needed heavy hazard support to work. Sun had its advantages, of course; it absolutely destroyed Stall and could wreck common balance cores with sheer power alone, but the amount of support required was often too much to consider in a metagame like USUM.

Sun is still definitely not as good as the other two main weathers (it's better than Hail, but that's not much to brag about) in Nat Dex, but it has a couple of distinct advantages. Torkoal is one of the best Kartana checks in the tier thanks to its huge bulk, and if you pack a secondary sun setter like Zard Y it can run Boots to make it less susceptible to chip, which was a huge issue for it. Venusaur gained access to Weather Ball, which is a large improvement over Hidden Power Fire. Darm can utilize sun to make its Flare Blitzes absolutely nuclear, and, of course, Dynamax can get sun up again if you need it to. Dynamaxing is a huge deal for sun in general; you can change the Weather on other weather setters while also nuking them. Rotom-Heat gaining access to Boots also helps sun out as it gives sun a very reliable Toxapex answer and Defogger. Boots is another positive change for sun. The playstyle was very hazard weak by default, so being able to run them is a huge boon that could let things like Volcarona become more viable on sun as well. Other great abusers such as Blacephalon, Zard X, Victini, hell, even Shiftry with Solar Blade can put the hurt on as well.

Overall I don't think Sun is anywhere close to being a top metagame threat. However, neither Venusaur nor Torkoal was ranked in the USUM VR. I think they, and, by extension, the playstyle, is more viable this time around thanks to some new tools it has gotten in the generational shift.

 

[Solaros & Lunaris]

So in this post I also wanted to talk about something that is very efficient, and possibly unhealthy, for the meta atm, and that is pivot trapping. Pivot trapping requires 2-3 team members that aren’t hard to structure a team around. It generally revolves a pivot, an absurd breaker and Dugtrio


Dugtrio is a strong Pokemon in the current metagame by virtue of Arena Trap and its Ground+Fighting coverage, while also carrying Screech to essentially gain a Swords Dance that also bypasses Unaware. The only issue is that it struggles to come into a match effectively to trap targets (Pex, Tran, Ttar, MMeta, Cinderace, MMaw, etc.) We can fix this by adding a U-turn or Volt Switch user.


These are the best U-turn pivots in the meta atm, and they do a crazy good job of drawing in the aforementioned targets.


Eject Button is also fantastic, especially on Regenerator Pokemon. The idea is these mons take a hit (even VoltTurn) and switch out to Dugtrio. The list of Pokemon trapped through this mechanic is longer, but the wall can be baited far easier and cannot be called upon to take other attacks which would consume the eject button.


Lastly, these are our Arena Trap abusers. You’ll notice that these are similar to our pivots, and that’s because a good pivot can become a great abuser. For example, Tornadus-T feels more inclined to spam Hurricane without Tyranitar and Heatran coming in. ZardY needs Chansey, Pex and the Latis gone, all prime Dugtrio targets. GalarDarm appreciates Ice resists biting it so Icicle Crash becomes way better, and U-turn is still spammable, while Genesect’s myriad of sets feel good when you don’t need Thunderbolt/HP Ground for Pex/Tran.

What do you guys think of Dugtrio in the current meta. Is it still broken, or has everything gotten the means to beat it so trapping doesn’t matter?

 

[The Amazonian Rainforest]

While we're talking about pivot trapping I feel that it is mandatory to remind you that Thousand Waves exists, and this moveset is literally Dugtrio plus bulky Chomp. With this set's recovery in Rest this is the kinda reliable mon that will survive throughout the match.

Without further ado....my secret Thousand Island Dressing

Zygarde @ Leftovers/Chesto Berry/Lum Berry
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 208 HP / 220 Atk / 80 Spe - OR - 80 HP / 220 Atk / 208 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance/Coil
- Thousand Arrows
- Thousand Waves
- Rest/Substitute

You essentially play this exactly like you would Gothitelle or Dugtrio. The general gameplan is

• Switch into a passive mon that cannot harm you and takes non-fatal damage from a point-blank Thousand Arrows (Corsola-Galar, Toxapex, Tangrowth lacking HP Ice, Ferrothorn).
• Capitalize on the fact that your opponent will assume Zygarde is running SubDD and exploit that. Dont worry too much about chip, burn and toxic as you can just rest it off (or ignore it entirely with Sub lol).
• Once you got yourself into a nice position, just slaughter the opponent with a +6 Arrow and pproceed to destroy the enemy team. Thousand Waves is able to hit much of the tier for at least neutral damage. It should be an ez clap from there.

Threats

Can threaten an OHKO with Ice Punch and you can't switch into Meteor Mash or Zen Headbutt but once you're rolling he's incapable of hurting you.

One of the only mons in the tier capable of stomaching a +6 Thousand Arrows and respond with Sleep Powder or Hidden Power Ice. Preferably take the motherfucker out before you start initiating your rampage.

Edit: the reason Dugtrio is not as good rn is because he does not benefit from dynamax at well, at all, while every One else does. Double of Base 30 HP is still 60 HP. If a mon is trapped into a corner the victim can just dynamax to live. Also Dugtrio's stats suck, and are definitely not enough to benefit from the attacks (+1 defense for dugtrio is nothing) if it werent for Arena Trap he'd be completely useless

 

[LORD SAGIS]

What do you guys think of Dugtrio in the current meta. Is it still broken, or has everything gotten the means to beat it so trapping doesn’t matter?

With Dynamax around its pretty only going to force the opponent to Dynamax which I guess is good but it would be better if you could actually kill the target. Its also can't trap M-Metagross if it has Bullet Punch which is annoying. When Dynamax gets banned I can see it becoming a way better trapper than it is now. I will admit it does trap Magnezone which is great for obvious reasons.

Now on to some great Mons that I've been using.


Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 104 Def / 156 SpD
Impish Nature
- Curse
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off / U-turn
- Roost

God damn this thing so good. This thing is such a good check to M-Metagross, Zygarde, Genesect. Sure Metagross and Genesect can run fire moves but they're only doing it to beat this thing. Curse is run over SD so It beat Setup Zygarde more effectively. Choosing between Knock Off and U-turn is really just on the team. Knock Off lets you beat Aegislash and remove leftovers from Toxapex and Corviknight, U-turn is great because of how slow you are and you trap Magnezone if you have a Dugtrio or HP Ground Ditto in the back. The EVs are to take a 2 Thousand Arrows from Adamant Zygarde after Rocks. Ok I'm gonna say it, I think this is the best Bug/Steel.



Since most Grasses and Water are investing in a shit ton of Def instead of SpD to deal with Dracovish, Ash-Greninja is actually a huge threat because it like needs 1 spike to change who can switch into it pre-Ash form.



Well, OU Viability rankings is out and Corviknight is the only S tier right now. Well in Natdex its most defining set (Sub Bulk Up) is extremely match reliant because its completely invalidated by Magnezone who 4 times resists its one move and trap it so It has to run Shed Shell with Dugtrio/Ditto. Now without Magnezone in the way it can actually be somewhat threatening so I guess thats good. However its best set right now is Defog because it performs that role quite well with U-turn to protect itself.



This thing is really bad. I don't know why I always see it on the ladder because Knock Off is just around every corner so it just can't cut it as a wall. its funny using this thing as setup fodder for my Subtoxic DD Zygarde lol.


Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Healer
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Teleport
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock / Thunder Wave

Lol someone linked me this and I find it great for some reason. Chansey Offense has always kinda been a thing but it often struggled because of the passive nature of Chansey. Well with the Teleport buff, it can actually aid Wallbreakers like M-Metagross and Zygarde to deal with a poor Aegislash who thought it could come in and setup on it.