Metagame National Dex UU Metagame Discussion - Porygon-Z Banned

pulsar512b

ss ou fangirl
is a Pre-Contributor

Trashuny

Banned deucer.
This is probably my favorite SwSh tier right now, so I was happy to win the tournament. Anyways, here are some cool sets I used.

Klefki @ Fairium Z
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Imprison
- Dazzling Gleam
- Defog

This does a lot of things on offensive teams. It switches into Weavile & Hoopa-U, but it also sets up spikes which in my opinion are just as good as Stealth Rock with rock-weak pokes running HDB. This poke is very good vs stall, as it threatens Mega Sableye & makes sure you cannot defog on it. Rapid Spin is not very good in NDUU, and I'm a bit sad I did not get to show it off.

Nidoking @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock, Thunderbolt, or Substitute
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Ice Beam

Modest Nidoking is a champion. I did not wish I was Timid as much as I expected, and this poke sets up Stealth Rock against Mega Sableye teams very well (unless they are fully max special defense Careful Sableye) and is a a great wallbreaker. I think it is RU by usage, but is way better than a poke like Nihilego Imo. It destroys balanced Mega Altaria teams and provides an immunity to Volt Switch. I used it as a Stealth Rocker when I needed to, but if I did not have a strong pursuit I used Thunderbolt to beat Slowking. I used Substitute because Nidoking makes the opponent switch a lot, and pursuit handles slowking.

Chesnaught @ Leftovers, Rocky Helmet or Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 80 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Synthesis
- Drain Punch
- Taunt

I think Chesnaught is very underrated. I saw it mentioned in the viability ranks thread, but this poke counters Amoonguss (unless Toxic), sets up spikes quite well (unless vs Mega Sableye teams) and is a good Ground resist in a tier without many. Bulletproof is so good, it is an ability I did not think about much until using Chesnaught but it is very good. The biggest flaw is really hating Toxic and not having a strong Synthesis if sandstorm is up, but I think it is a good poke. If you have a dark type, you can also switch this into Hoopa-U sometimes because they usually do not Psychic or Zen Headbutt if that is true.


Primarina @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlpool
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Moonblast

This set aims to 1v1 Amoonguss and in general destroy defensive teams, especially stall. The special defense helps vs Infernape, but is maximized to beat Amoonguss.

Scizor @ Steelium Z or Buginium Z
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn

I like how on offensive teams, this set, like Klefki, switches into Weavile, but this also checks Melmetal, is hazard removal, and gets momentum for offensive pokes. Good ground resists are rare in NDUU, but this poke switches into Earthquake quite well.

Alomomola @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 96 HP / 252 Def / 160 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Scald
- Toxic or Knock Off

Not many words for Alomomola, you wall many physical attacking pokes, but I think it is underrated. Rocky Helmet is very good in this metagame, and Alomomola is effective with it.

Rotom-Mow @ Grassium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic, Will-O-Wisp, or Pain Split
- Defog
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm

This poke is a good switch in to ground moves, and no poke wants to take Volt Switch or Leaf Storm on the switch, which means enemy Amoonguss is usually the switch in. If you have good partners, very good poke. Defog and momentum are both great.

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Analytic
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 200 SpA / 60 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Teleport
- Zap Cannon

This poke is very underrated. It is a good special wall that unlike Slowking or Slowking-G is not weak to Pursuit. It also gets momentum with Teleport. I like Zap Cannon, as it lets you spread Paralysis and have electric coverage on 1 move. The special attack and Analytic is to 2hko Mega Altaria, but you can use a more specially defensive set too.
 
I been building and battling a bit again in the small amount of free time I have, and now being able to view this tier as a regular player instead of a Tier Leader, I'd like to share some thoughts I have on the metagame.

:ss/weavile:
Weavile has always been a top tier Pokémon in the tier, having an amazing speed tier and incredible STAB moves with Knock Off + Triple Axel. Now, we do have some good amount of physical walls in the tier. Melmetal, Skarmory, Defensive Z-Move Rotom-W, Defensive Z-Move Scizor and Buzzwole come to mind. On paper, all of these 'mons seem like more than enough counterplay to keep Weavile in check in the builder. Rocky Helmet is a common item on Skarmory and Buzzwole to punish Weavile going for Triple Axel (and also for various other 'mons, like Surging Strikes Urshifu-RS).

The problem with this, is that Weavile's Knock Off is just so insanely spammable. Most of the time Weavile will just be clicking Knock Off early game, which basically cripples most checks it has. Knocking Leftovers from Melmetal means Melmetal has no form of recovery anymore, knocking off the Helmet from Skarmory and Buzzwole means Triple Axel becomes insanely spammable (getting the 2HKO on Skarmory and Buzzwole guaranteed after Rocks as well).

Due to Knock Off being so insanely spammable, other defensive options like the aforementioned Defensive Z-Move Rotom-W and Scizor have arisen more and more. The problem with this, however, is that none of those options actually resist Knock Off. Rotom-W is forced to use Pain Split more often than not in a game vs Weavile, and if it's investing more Speed (to outspeed stuff like Diggersby) Knock Off can flat out just 2HKO after Rocks. Scizor is a better check due to the fact it having Roost, being more reliable than Pain Split for recovery. It also has Bullet Punch, meaning it can check Weavile even at lower health and forces out Weavile faster. But if we're limited to a singular 'mon to reliably check Weavile throughout the match, I'd say we're down pretty bad.

There are some niche options that can check Weavile. Cobalion:cobalion: comes to mind, but it's pretty mid in this meta and doesn't fit on most teams. Stuff like Mega Aggron:aggron-mega: and Incineroar:incineroar: are options, but Incineroar gets heavily crippled once its Boots get Knocked. Mega Aggron, while decent, lacks the recovery to consistently check Weavile considering Knock Off is still doing ~23%. Keldeo:keldeo: and Urshifu-RS:urshifu: can check it in a pinch, but Knocking the Scarf makes them a lot less reliable at checking Weavile (also, Keldeo can just get flat out 2HKO'd by Triple Axel...). Alomomola:alomomola: is a pretty alright check but is mostly used on Stall teams (though, those are thriving right now, so I'll give it that). Last 'mon I'll mention is Defensive Primarina:primarina:, which I'm personally not a fan of, but it seems like an alright check. No one mention the cursed Defensive Infernape:infernape:...

Despite Weavile having a fair amount of checks, most of them just get crippled by Knock Off and just get overwhelmed eventually over the course of the game. I personally think this thing deserves a suspect test eventually when there's time for it.

:ss/sableye-mega:
Not gonna talk about this much cause I feel like it's been discussed a bit more already, but this thing is the reason why Stall teams are sooo good right now and arguably quite broken. It pretty much beats every hazard setter in the game outside of Meteor Beam Nihilego and SD Rock-Z Terrak (if it doesn't get burned). Skarmory, Hippowdon, Swampert, Mew, and many other hazard setters just get completely invalided and I do think Mega Sableye puts an unhealthy restrain on the tier.

:aegislash::melmetal:
I would also like to know what people think of these two. Personally I don't think they're broken at the moment, but I've seen some people talk about them and voiced some complaints about them, so I'd like to know what people think about these!
 

Gangsta Spongebob

"Mama I'm a Criminal" - Badass Smoking Caterpillar
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I been building and battling a bit again in the small amount of free time I have, and now being able to view this tier as a regular player instead of a Tier Leader, I'd like to share some thoughts I have on the metagame.

:ss/weavile:
Weavile has always been a top tier Pokémon in the tier, having an amazing speed tier and incredible STAB moves with Knock Off + Triple Axel. Now, we do have some good amount of physical walls in the tier. Melmetal, Skarmory, Defensive Z-Move Rotom-W, Defensive Z-Move Scizor and Buzzwole come to mind. On paper, all of these 'mons seem like more than enough counterplay to keep Weavile in check in the builder. Rocky Helmet is a common item on Skarmory and Buzzwole to punish Weavile going for Triple Axel (and also for various other 'mons, like Surging Strikes Urshifu-RS).

The problem with this, is that Weavile's Knock Off is just so insanely spammable. Most of the time Weavile will just be clicking Knock Off early game, which basically cripples most checks it has. Knocking Leftovers from Melmetal means Melmetal has no form of recovery anymore, knocking off the Helmet from Skarmory and Buzzwole means Triple Axel becomes insanely spammable (getting the 2HKO on Skarmory and Buzzwole guaranteed after Rocks as well).

Due to Knock Off being so insanely spammable, other defensive options like the aforementioned Defensive Z-Move Rotom-W and Scizor have arisen more and more. The problem with this, however, is that none of those options actually resist Knock Off. Rotom-W is forced to use Pain Split more often than not in a game vs Weavile, and if it's investing more Speed (to outspeed stuff like Diggersby) Knock Off can flat out just 2HKO after Rocks. Scizor is a better check due to the fact it having Roost, being more reliable than Pain Split for recovery. It also has Bullet Punch, meaning it can check Weavile even at lower health and forces out Weavile faster. But if we're limited to a singular 'mon to reliably check Weavile throughout the match, I'd say we're down pretty bad.

There are some niche options that can check Weavile. Cobalion:cobalion: comes to mind, but it's pretty mid in this meta and doesn't fit on most teams. Stuff like Mega Aggron:aggron-mega: and Incineroar:incineroar: are options, but Incineroar gets heavily crippled once its Boots get Knocked. Mega Aggron, while decent, lacks the recovery to consistently check Weavile considering Knock Off is still doing ~23%. Keldeo:keldeo: and Urshifu-RS:urshifu: can check it in a pinch, but Knocking the Scarf makes them a lot less reliable at checking Weavile (also, Keldeo can just get flat out 2HKO'd by Triple Axel...). Alomomola:alomomola: is a pretty alright check but is mostly used on Stall teams (though, those are thriving right now, so I'll give it that). Last 'mon I'll mention is Defensive Primarina:primarina:, which I'm personally not a fan of, but it seems like an alright check. No one mention the cursed Defensive Infernape:infernape:...

Despite Weavile having a fair amount of checks, most of them just get crippled by Knock Off and just get overwhelmed eventually over the course of the game. I personally think this thing deserves a suspect test eventually when there's time for it.

:ss/sableye-mega:
Not gonna talk about this much cause I feel like it's been discussed a bit more already, but this thing is the reason why Stall teams are sooo good right now and arguably quite broken. It pretty much beats every hazard setter in the game outside of Meteor Beam Nihilego and SD Rock-Z Terrak (if it doesn't get burned). Skarmory, Hippowdon, Swampert, Mew, and many other hazard setters just get completely invalided and I do think Mega Sableye puts an unhealthy restrain on the tier.

:aegislash::melmetal:
I would also like to know what people think of these two. Personally I don't think they're broken at the moment, but I've seen some people talk about them and voiced some complaints about them, so I'd like to know what people think about these!
I agree with Weavile, however I do believe in practice its less scary when spamming Knock Off and Triple Axel. It's very suscptible to residual damage, notably due to its Stealth Rocks weakness, alongside the extremely common Spikes from Skarm. Defogging isn't unreasonably hard here, but the nessecity of Hazards to be cleared lest Weavile count its switch ins does limit to a decent degree.

With Weavile however, there also comes the power of Pursuit. Its easily the best Pursuiter in the tier, with its power and speed trapping so much of the Meta. Its Pursuiting isn't even limited to Dark-weak Pokemon, as we all saw with it trapping :hoopa-unbound: Hoopa-U when it was running wild here. What I think what makes Weavile questionable here isn't its fantasitic STAB options, but because it can enable so many threats by removing their counters. :urshifu: Urshifu-RS will have a field day should Slowking be removed. Once Amoonguss is removed Specs Primarina :Primarina: could decimate defense. However I think its best on Balance and Stall.

On them it can selectively remove so many things that threaten these teams. While much of the Meta specializes in Dark resists, most Pokemon threatening Stall can often be removed. There are some exceptions, such as :Primarina: Primarina, the ability to selectively remove threats to these bulky teams with this level of efficiency will make it an enourmous boon for them. Banded :Diggersby: Diggersby giving you trouble? Pursuit. NP :Rotom-Heat: Heatom? Pursuit. It'll make breaking stall far harder when your own breakers are being eliminated. I find its no suprise that the vast majority of offensive threats above A- have some guard against Weavile's Pursuit, whether it be Aegi's set variety and King's Shield, :urshifu: Urshifu RS's resistances, or :zeraora: Zeraora's speed.

And the best part is, remember my comment on how Weavile is suscpetible to Hazards? With :Sableye-Mega: Mega Sableye by its side, thats no longer an issue. As mentioned, very few Rockers beat :Sableye-Mega: Mega Sableye, and :Skarmory: Skarmory is set up fodder, thus making arguably Weavile's biggest drawback null. The combo of :Sableye-Mega: Mega Sableye + :Weavile: Weavile on Stall or even Bulky Balance dominates this tier. There are some great fairies here who can stand up to this somewhat, but they can be dealt with by other Pokemon.

As for :Aegislash: Aegislash, I'm very mixed on it. Beating it is a pain, as its versatility in particular makes it hard to break. :urshifu: Urshifu-RS beats King's Shield shenanigans, but its hardly coming into a Shadow Ball. It doesn't even do too bad vs. :weavile: Weavile, as it can King's Shield to scout:weavile: Weavile's intentions while weakening it in the process. While sets like SubTox lose hard to Mega Sableye, Aegislash has SD sets that can easily lure it in and break our gremlin friend. However, I do feel Aegislash does have decent counterplay. With the meta revolving around :Weavile: Weavile and Bulk, Aegi often has a hard time breaking through teams with its SubTox set. SD powers through bulk, but that leaves it vunerable to offense, notably with the SD 3 Attacks set getting effortlessly revenged by :weavile: Weavile. The main question I have over Aegislash being too overpowered is 1. How likely are you to lose a Pokemon while scouting its set, and 2. Is it reasonable to be able to fit all Aegi counterplay on one team? At this moment, I am unsure of the answer, as with :hoopa-unbound: Hoopa-U gone the meta is going through a huge shift, and more counterplay can be put on teams.

Finally, in my opinion :melmetal: Melmetal isn't as broken. It can be walled to a degree, notably by :skarmory: Skarmory, and its low speed makes it easy to check and revenge kill. Now, it does hit like a truck, alongside having titanic bulk, but I rarley go out of my way to account for the the same way as Weavile or Aegislash. It does cut through bulk, but offense can usually handle it. I can see why some want it banned, as it does have options to beat its answers, like aiming for a T-Wave Para on :skarmory: Skarm, but as of now I don't see it as banworthy, largely since Mega Sableye and Weavile are far more restrictive. If it presists as an issue once they're decided on, then I think action should be taken.

In general, even with :hoopa-unbound: Hoopa-U gone, the meta isn't in the greatest shape. However, with building now easier, what I say here could be irrelavent later, as the meta is in a good state of change, and these threats are now far easier to manage. Finally, I must say, :infernape: Defensive Infernape is the the greatest set since :snorlax: Rollout Snorlax.
 
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I been building and battling a bit again in the small amount of free time I have, and now being able to view this tier as a regular player instead of a Tier Leader, I'd like to share some thoughts I have on the metagame.

:ss/weavile:
Weavile has always been a top tier Pokémon in the tier, having an amazing speed tier and incredible STAB moves with Knock Off + Triple Axel. Now, we do have some good amount of physical walls in the tier. Melmetal, Skarmory, Defensive Z-Move Rotom-W, Defensive Z-Move Scizor and Buzzwole come to mind. On paper, all of these 'mons seem like more than enough counterplay to keep Weavile in check in the builder. Rocky Helmet is a common item on Skarmory and Buzzwole to punish Weavile going for Triple Axel (and also for various other 'mons, like Surging Strikes Urshifu-RS).

The problem with this, is that Weavile's Knock Off is just so insanely spammable. Most of the time Weavile will just be clicking Knock Off early game, which basically cripples most checks it has. Knocking Leftovers from Melmetal means Melmetal has no form of recovery anymore, knocking off the Helmet from Skarmory and Buzzwole means Triple Axel becomes insanely spammable (getting the 2HKO on Skarmory and Buzzwole guaranteed after Rocks as well).

Due to Knock Off being so insanely spammable, other defensive options like the aforementioned Defensive Z-Move Rotom-W and Scizor have arisen more and more. The problem with this, however, is that none of those options actually resist Knock Off. Rotom-W is forced to use Pain Split more often than not in a game vs Weavile, and if it's investing more Speed (to outspeed stuff like Diggersby) Knock Off can flat out just 2HKO after Rocks. Scizor is a better check due to the fact it having Roost, being more reliable than Pain Split for recovery. It also has Bullet Punch, meaning it can check Weavile even at lower health and forces out Weavile faster. But if we're limited to a singular 'mon to reliably check Weavile throughout the match, I'd say we're down pretty bad.

There are some niche options that can check Weavile. Cobalion:cobalion: comes to mind, but it's pretty mid in this meta and doesn't fit on most teams. Stuff like Mega Aggron:aggron-mega: and Incineroar:incineroar: are options, but Incineroar gets heavily crippled once its Boots get Knocked. Mega Aggron, while decent, lacks the recovery to consistently check Weavile considering Knock Off is still doing ~23%. Keldeo:keldeo: and Urshifu-RS:urshifu: can check it in a pinch, but Knocking the Scarf makes them a lot less reliable at checking Weavile (also, Keldeo can just get flat out 2HKO'd by Triple Axel...). Alomomola:alomomola: is a pretty alright check but is mostly used on Stall teams (though, those are thriving right now, so I'll give it that). Last 'mon I'll mention is Defensive Primarina:primarina:, which I'm personally not a fan of, but it seems like an alright check. No one mention the cursed Defensive Infernape:infernape:...

Despite Weavile having a fair amount of checks, most of them just get crippled by Knock Off and just get overwhelmed eventually over the course of the game. I personally think this thing deserves a suspect test eventually when there's time for it.

:ss/sableye-mega:
Not gonna talk about this much cause I feel like it's been discussed a bit more already, but this thing is the reason why Stall teams are sooo good right now and arguably quite broken. It pretty much beats every hazard setter in the game outside of Meteor Beam Nihilego and SD Rock-Z Terrak (if it doesn't get burned). Skarmory, Hippowdon, Swampert, Mew, and many other hazard setters just get completely invalided and I do think Mega Sableye puts an unhealthy restrain on the tier.

:aegislash::melmetal:
I would also like to know what people think of these two. Personally I don't think they're broken at the moment, but I've seen some people talk about them and voiced some complaints about them, so I'd like to know what people think about these!
Not gonna add much on Weavile that hasn't already been said (what Mareanie said is pretty comprehensive imo) but tbh the fact that we're slapping random Z Moves that are barely clicked in most games (ok sometimes Sciz clicks it at +2 vs Amoong but that's about it) on defensive mons says quite a fair bit about Weavile's effect on the teambuilder and just how down bad we are for good Weav checks that aren't crippled by Knock Off. Melm can run a Z Move (notably Electrium for Skarm or Steelium for Amoonguss and a general contactless nuke) but that has no recovery and it's one wrong predict away from just being a worse Protective Pads set.

I'm undecided on if it's outright broken or not (leaning towards former) but I must admit it's rather unhealthy at this point. Fortunately, with the number of helmet mons running around, it's forced to spam Knock until it catches the Helmet mon lest it lose half its health, so you can work with that. Of course, it can run Icicle Crash but that just never 2HKOs Skarmory iirc so it's usually just better to play the long game. Speaking of the long game, it also requires good hazard control unless you're a madlad who runs boots, because if rocks are up the odds of it reaching that long game plummet dramatically. Granted we're not particularly down bad with hazard control, but you kinda have to up your standards for it a fair bit more than usual.

As for MSab, well, let's just say it was a close call between it and Hoopa-U for the previous suspect. We all know what it does by this point - makes your rocker reliant on some insane mindgames to get up rocks, shifts the stall v stall MU heavily in its favour, and needs a fairy (good luck picking a good one other than MAlt, Primarina or the very occasional Sylveon, Mimikyu is basically only good on HO) or a lucky crit to stop CM from just sitting on and sweeping your entire team. Please, MSab, I just want rocks up without running one of like two mons :[ hangon a sec aren't most of those reasons bar the CM thing the exact same reasons it got banned in gen 6 OU? and at this point it would be the suspect after Hoopa-Unbound who was also suspect tested and banned just before MSab in gen 6? man lower tier UUs really are just previous gen OU

Aegislash is a mon I find more annoying than broken, specifically the subtox set. Usually I throw the ground/some other SE move from a mon not ghost weak or hates toxic at it and pray I don't need it that much this game, or go on a voltswitch spamming frenzy. Not having Hoopa-U to wallop it one sucks but eh. That being said, Jungle Healing Zarude is seeing a bit more usage as BU Jungle kinda goes ballistic vs stall once the AMuk and occasional MAlt goes down, and that mon just laughs at subtox till the cows come home.

Melmetal on the other hand is more unhealthy than broken imo. While it's a hassle to prep for in the builder it's generally comparatively underwhelming in practice (not that melm is a bad mon at all and def deserving of its ranking, it's just not the kill bagging mon you'd think it is), what with Skarmory, washtom, Moltres, Amoonguss (to an extent), Swampert, Hippowdon and offensive checks existing and being rather common. Prot Tox catches a lot of traditional switchins off guard but it generally has to pick between being able to hit Skarmory/Moltres or Aegislash/other Melm. It's a mon to keep an eye on for its effect on teambuilding but not a top concern right now.

Overall, my PERSONAL (ie. NOT the opinion of the council) ranking of concern, of the 4 mons N_Mareanie brought up, goes:
:sableye-mega: > :weavile: > :melmetal: > :aegislash:
 
I been building and battling a bit again in the small amount of free time I have, and now being able to view this tier as a regular player instead of a Tier Leader, I'd like to share some thoughts I have on the metagame.

:ss/weavile:
Weavile has always been a top tier Pokémon in the tier, having an amazing speed tier and incredible STAB moves with Knock Off + Triple Axel. Now, we do have some good amount of physical walls in the tier. Melmetal, Skarmory, Defensive Z-Move Rotom-W, Defensive Z-Move Scizor and Buzzwole come to mind. On paper, all of these 'mons seem like more than enough counterplay to keep Weavile in check in the builder. Rocky Helmet is a common item on Skarmory and Buzzwole to punish Weavile going for Triple Axel (and also for various other 'mons, like Surging Strikes Urshifu-RS).

The problem with this, is that Weavile's Knock Off is just so insanely spammable. Most of the time Weavile will just be clicking Knock Off early game, which basically cripples most checks it has. Knocking Leftovers from Melmetal means Melmetal has no form of recovery anymore, knocking off the Helmet from Skarmory and Buzzwole means Triple Axel becomes insanely spammable (getting the 2HKO on Skarmory and Buzzwole guaranteed after Rocks as well).

Due to Knock Off being so insanely spammable, other defensive options like the aforementioned Defensive Z-Move Rotom-W and Scizor have arisen more and more. The problem with this, however, is that none of those options actually resist Knock Off. Rotom-W is forced to use Pain Split more often than not in a game vs Weavile, and if it's investing more Speed (to outspeed stuff like Diggersby) Knock Off can flat out just 2HKO after Rocks. Scizor is a better check due to the fact it having Roost, being more reliable than Pain Split for recovery. It also has Bullet Punch, meaning it can check Weavile even at lower health and forces out Weavile faster. But if we're limited to a singular 'mon to reliably check Weavile throughout the match, I'd say we're down pretty bad.

There are some niche options that can check Weavile. Cobalion:cobalion: comes to mind, but it's pretty mid in this meta and doesn't fit on most teams. Stuff like Mega Aggron:aggron-mega: and Incineroar:incineroar: are options, but Incineroar gets heavily crippled once its Boots get Knocked. Mega Aggron, while decent, lacks the recovery to consistently check Weavile considering Knock Off is still doing ~23%. Keldeo:keldeo: and Urshifu-RS:urshifu: can check it in a pinch, but Knocking the Scarf makes them a lot less reliable at checking Weavile (also, Keldeo can just get flat out 2HKO'd by Triple Axel...). Alomomola:alomomola: is a pretty alright check but is mostly used on Stall teams (though, those are thriving right now, so I'll give it that). Last 'mon I'll mention is Defensive Primarina:primarina:, which I'm personally not a fan of, but it seems like an alright check. No one mention the cursed Defensive Infernape:infernape:...

Despite Weavile having a fair amount of checks, most of them just get crippled by Knock Off and just get overwhelmed eventually over the course of the game. I personally think this thing deserves a suspect test eventually when there's time for it.

:ss/sableye-mega:
Not gonna talk about this much cause I feel like it's been discussed a bit more already, but this thing is the reason why Stall teams are sooo good right now and arguably quite broken. It pretty much beats every hazard setter in the game outside of Meteor Beam Nihilego and SD Rock-Z Terrak (if it doesn't get burned). Skarmory, Hippowdon, Swampert, Mew, and many other hazard setters just get completely invalided and I do think Mega Sableye puts an unhealthy restrain on the tier.

:aegislash::melmetal:
I would also like to know what people think of these two. Personally I don't think they're broken at the moment, but I've seen some people talk about them and voiced some complaints about them, so I'd like to know what people think about these!
I would agree that these top 4 are all arguably threats. I do recognize banning all of them at once or at a time even, would be a large decision but these are definitely top threatening mons. As of what I can say for Weavile, Weavile seems to actually sort of fit as a staple in NDUU due to being a pursuit trapper alongside Krookodile and Muk-Alola. But I think where the problem tears as that Weavile is actually quite a strong bandit. It boasts 120 attack in offense and a very high 125 base speed allowing it to outspeed the variety, formidding of threats like Mega Manetric, and Zeraoara. The fact that is has a stab that's spammable and that cripples switch-ins and another stab that is very offensive and provides it with a very high base power move together is a menace in itself. Not to mention Weavile can form as a breaker with Swords Dance and wreck havoc. There are slight checks to this as things like Cobalion, Incineroar, Infernape, Urshifu-RS, a couple Z-Move Steels, and Primarina. But notice how all of these either for one: Hate losing their item badly, two: don't have reliable recovery, 3: are offensive pokemon, 4: are pokemon forced to run Z-Move. This in itself can be straining such for a mon like Weavile. In terms of both of the steels, yeah they can be pretty overbearing. Sub Toxic Aegi forces pokemon like Spdef Gastro/Milotic or BU Jungle Healing to check it. And not to mention that it plays both an amazing offensive/defensive role on teams. Melmetal while has checks like Pert and Swole can defeat them with the pairing of Future Sight, and it's worth noting that it's also got solid bulk that makes it hard to effectively take down in 1 without a choiced super effective move most of the time. And Mega Sableye i feel like out of all of them is probably the most banworthy because it's typing of Dark/Ghost and incredibly annoying mu to face w/stall is hard to break without a reliable Fairy in Mega Alt or Sylv. Since we are going to lose Hoopa-U it's gonna be hard to take down Mega Sableye most of the time. Not to mention switching to either get burned or lose your item sucks greatly imo. I think either suspect testing, or surveying to see whether or not people feel insecure or vice versa about the situation of these pokemon seem fair though ultimately. With all being said thanks for your time in reading this.
 
:ss/slowking-galar:

Galarian Slowking is broken

More and more people have been catching onto this, and I think we're getting to a point that action has to be taken on it. I firmly believe this 'mon is way more oppressive than other 'problematic' 'mons right now (Weavile, Aegislash, Melmetal etc.) and has pretty much no good and consistent counterplay.

As a demonstration of this, allow me to go through the VR and show you how Galarian Slowking is able to bypass most, if not all, with this singular set
Slowking-Galar @ Waterium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Slack Off
  • Can't OHKO with Knock Off (like, it doesn't even come close) and either gets OHKO'd by +1 Z-Scald after Rocks or just gets crippled by a Scald or Sludge Bomb
  • Specs sets can lose of Galarian Slowking has boosted too much already (too much = 2 boosts) and you just get nuked by Z-Scald in Blade form. Banded Aegi isn't good and can get Scald burned anyway. All other sets don't come close whatsoever
  • Refresh Swampert is something interesting that has been popping up solely to beat Galarian Slowking. However, as a long term check, you're just not too consistent. A Swampert being forced to click Refresh 33% of the time is just not ideal and considering Swampert is not hard to wear down it'll just eventually get in range for Z-Scald.
  • Earthquake does OHKO but you can legit never safely switch in, like, ever.
  • Z-Scald just nukes after slight chip and EQ doesn't do enough
  • jirachi big sprite.png
    Doesn't break and gets Scald burned
  • Doesn't kill and gets nuked by Z-Scald
  • Clear Smog EQ Gastrodon is like the only good counter that exists, but being forced to recover every other turn because of Sludge Bomb poisons is super annoying
  • Knock doesn't kill and can just get crippled by Scald burn.
  • Doesn't kill after a single CM and Z-Scald just nukes
  • Kind of HO exclusive and Galarian Slowking can just fish for poisons with Sludge Bomb since Galarian Moltres doesn't get Roost.
  • Don't break after a CM and just get nuked by Z-Scald
  • Banded Knock can OHKO but, like Diggers, nearly never gets a free switch
  • OHKO's but rarely switches in for free
  • Knock legit doesn't even do 70%. get real
  • Stall mon and hates getting poisoned
  • Crunch can OHKO but this mon is super uncommon and can never get a free switch

Reminder that Colbur and Shuca berry sets have also seen use and can be used to catch literally every single would-be-check off guard and ruin your entire gameplan

As you can see, there is not a single Pokémon that can full on counter Galarian Slowking throughout the whole game outside of Clear Smog Earthquake Gastrodon and Quagsire.

I just don't really have much more to say other than that Galarian Slowking is super stupid, and unlike Weavile and the others, doesn't have more than 1 / 2 consistent checks. I would heavily prefer this to get a suspect test over Weavile at this current moment and it's just simply more broken.

Have a good day.
 
Alright I think it's time I talk about a mon that's become increasingly dumb recently (or rather I've realised is dumb) and that mon is Slowking-Galar. The playerbase outside of the discord seems to be sleeping on this thing hard if the survey is anything to go by, so it's time I spill the beans on this thing.

:ss/slowking-galar:

Slowking-Galar @ Waterium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Sludge Bomb
- Scald
- Slack Off

In particular, the Calm Mind Waterium/Colbur Berry set (AV is fine tbh). The list of things that can break it after a CM in the tier are very limited, consisting almost entirely of Krookodile (down bad rn), Z Weavile (Knock can't OHKO from banded against waterium and Colbur cares a lot less), Swampert (who can be worn down into Waterium range and can't OHKO), Diggersby (hard to fit on a team, needs specific team structure to function) and choiced Aegislash (is alright but not its best set, specs can't OHKO so it can be put in waterium range and band is actual cheeks). Additionally, it can't be Toxiced and it's strong enough and spreads status to the extent that Taunt just stalls the inevitable. And if banded Weav can't reliably kill there's no way Zarude is doing it.

Oh, and you chipped it? You better have a second Pursuiter in right now or else it just Regenerators on the way out to the next mon and sets up again later, which it is absolutely capable of doing. I've had this mon legitimately carry entire teams (with a flawed MU against one or more big threats), and oftentimes when using it my wincon is just get rid of the ground or stronger dark and set up on literally any of their defensive (and often offensive) mons with it. Sure, it doesn't have a lot of useful resistances (walling special MAlt is p hot though) but it's just bulky enough it doesn't need some of those resistances, and I don't know about you but Dark and Ground isn't exactly a comprehensive list of weaknesses. It's not even forced to wait for an opportunity to CM either because it can spread poisons with Sludge Bomb and burns with Scald, can pivot into certain things and absorb Toxics aimed for other mons.

So, what do you do to deal with this thing? Pack a strong phys breaker and pray your opp is incompetent or has no prep against it whatsoever? Roar with a mon and simply delay the inevitable? I have sacked my entire team to sweep with a mon their only check to can only phaze and I'll do it again (look at the week in NDPL where I forgot a defogger and loaded up into Skarmory if you need proof). Oh, and Clear Smog Gastrodon. That's it for reliable walls, and even that can get poisoned for another mon. Refresh Swampert is also a thing but it's rather meh in every non Glowking MU (being setup fodder for sciz sucks) so that's more an example of overcentralisation than simply a good form of counterplay.

0 Atk Swampert Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 194-230 (49.2 - 58.3%) -- 98% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 252-296 (63.9 - 75.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Colbur Berry Slowking-Galar: 186-220 (47.2 - 55.8%) -- 78.5% chance to 2HKO (axel outdamages at that point)
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 234-279 (59.3 - 70.8%) -- approx. 2HKO
8 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 200-236 (50.7 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage
252+ SpA Choice Specs Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. +1 252 HP / 0 SpD Slowking-Galar: 282-332 (71.5 - 84.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar on a critical hit: 228-273 (57.8 - 69.2%) -- approx. 2HKO

+1 0 SpA Slowking-Galar Hydro Vortex (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Swampert: 204-240 (50.4 - 59.4%) -- 81.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 0 SpA Slowking-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 238-282 (69.7 - 82.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Do I really need to calc a +1 160 BP Z move vs a spdef frail mon that is weak to said Z Move, and a mon with 60/50/50 defenses?

As an aside, yes Glowbro is theoretically similar but it has less spdef and spa so it'd be easier to overwhelm with a strong special wallbreaker. More physdef would help it but Glowking already has enough physdef to do this so Glowbro is just inferior as a CMer. If it's also broken then so be it, we'll deal with it when the time comes.

Oh and N_Mareanie Greninja'd me lmao, this wasn't planned I swear

wait doesn't this happen every time
 
:ss/slowking-galar:

Why this mon is not that oppresive actually

I will admit Galarian Slowking is a menace versus balance, but the point i will make here is how gking fails to do much vs offense, making it just a Pokemon that can switch into strong attackers instead of a terrifying sweeper

Why is this Pokemon not great versus Offense?

There are 2 big reasons Galarian Slowking fails to do much versus offense

1- It cannot get in safely

Offense in this meta consists of a very heavy voltturn that makes Galarian Slowking completely unable to get in on a Pokemon it can beat reliably, and even then the Pokemon in offense are not actually that frail. Melmetal and Scizor can take a hit if necessary, and strike quite hard in return. You could argue that Galarian Slowking can beat its checks longterm, but the thing is that a game versus offense will not last that long; you will win or lose before Galarian Slowking can have a clean sweeping path

2- Slowking

The other problem is how Pokemon like the afromentioned Melmetal and Scizor can get in very safely thanks to Slowking, a staple in this volturn heavy offenses. Slowking can just take 1 or 2 hits from Galarian Slowking and Teleport out to them, threatening Galarian Slowking out.

Lastly, i also want to point out how balance teams have ways around Galarian Slowking, mainly hazard stacking and phazing, since with the departure of Mega Sableye setting up hazards is actually feasible and quite easy to do. For example, with Stealth Rock and Spikes up, Pokemon like Weavile can OHKO Galarian Slowking, forcing it to Slack Off right after it comes in, making it way less threatening.

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 234-276 (59.3 - 70%) -- approx. 2HKO (remember Double Iron Bash has a really good flinch chance)
252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 194-230 (49.2 - 58.3%) -- 98.4% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar on a critical hit: 228-273 (57.8 - 69.2%) -- approx. 2HKO
252 Atk Zarude Darkest Lariat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 218-260 (55.3 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 0 SpA Slowking-Galar Hydro Vortex (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Scizor: 223-263 (64.8 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 0 SpA Slowking-Galar Hydro Vortex (160 BP) vs. 144 HP / 0 SpD Melmetal: 265-312 (59.2 - 69.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 0 SpA Slowking-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 238-282 (69.7 - 82.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Slowking-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zarude: 218-260 (62.1 - 74%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
 
:ss/slowking-galar:

Why this mon is not that oppresive actually

I will admit Galarian Slowking is a menace versus balance, but the point i will make here is how gking fails to do much vs offense, making it just a Pokemon that can switch into strong attackers instead of a terrifying sweeper

Why is this Pokemon not great versus Offense?

There are 2 big reasons Galarian Slowking fails to do much versus offense

1- It cannot get in safely

Offense in this meta consists of a very heavy voltturn that makes Galarian Slowking completely unable to get in on a Pokemon it can beat reliably, and even then the Pokemon in offense are not actually that frail. Melmetal and Scizor can take a hit if necessary, and strike quite hard in return. You could argue that Galarian Slowking can beat its checks longterm, but the thing is that a game versus offense will not last that long; you will win or lose before Galarian Slowking can have a clean sweeping path

2- Slowking

The other problem is how Pokemon like the afromentioned Melmetal and Scizor can get in very safely thanks to Slowking, a staple in this volturn heavy offenses. Slowking can just take 1 or 2 hits from Galarian Slowking and Teleport out to them, threatening Galarian Slowking out.

Lastly, i also want to point out how balance teams have ways around Galarian Slowking, mainly hazard stacking and phazing, since with the departure of Mega Sableye setting up hazards is actually feasible and quite easy to do. For example, with Stealth Rock and Spikes up, Pokemon like Weavile can OHKO Galarian Slowking, forcing it to Slack Off right after it comes in, making it way less threatening.

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 234-276 (59.3 - 70%) -- approx. 2HKO (remember Double Iron Bash has a really good flinch chance)
252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 194-230 (49.2 - 58.3%) -- 98.4% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar on a critical hit: 228-273 (57.8 - 69.2%) -- approx. 2HKO
252 Atk Zarude Darkest Lariat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 218-260 (55.3 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 0 SpA Slowking-Galar Hydro Vortex (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Scizor: 223-263 (64.8 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 0 SpA Slowking-Galar Hydro Vortex (160 BP) vs. 144 HP / 0 SpD Melmetal: 265-312 (59.2 - 69.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 0 SpA Slowking-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 238-282 (69.7 - 82.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Slowking-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zarude: 218-260 (62.1 - 74%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
The problem here is that with the calcs of Slowking-G vs other Pokemon, you’re using Z-move in the calc. While obviously that will result in the most damage output, the whole point of Glowking being broken is that it easily statuses its checks with 30% secondary effects. I’ll give you Melm considering the flinch chance is in its favour iirc? But Glowking can easily fish for Scald burn vs Scizor and Regen off the damage, Sludge Bomb vs Zarude and poison (if it’s Colbur you’re even more in trouble) and Urshifu can also easily get poisoned. I know these are all not guaranteed and only ‘30% chance’, but we must not understate how likely the chance for those secondary effects actually are and even these Pokemon that you mentioned can just easily get fucked by a well timed burn or poison.
 
yay we got :tangrowth: let's gooo

I can definitely see it becoming a good defensive glue mon, with rocky helmet sets checking :zeraora: , :urshifu: , :melmetal: , and assault vest will probably be a decent switch in against stuff like :primarina: , :keldeo: , and :manectric-mega:
 
Quick thoughts on the new meta since it's been a couple of days now since Weavile's departure.

:ss/Krookodile:
Krookodile @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Earthquake

First of all, Krookodile got a lot better. While Choice Scarf sets are still super dogshit, I've been quite enjoying the Stealth Rock variants. Has great role compression as an Electric-immune, Psychic-immune, Ghost & Dark resist, Knock Off and hazard setter. Weavile being gone gives us more of a reason to actually use Krookodile now and with Pokémon like Aegislash and Alakazam getting better, Krookodile is quite important for a lot of teams (especially cause it's not a huge momentum sink like Mandibuzz or Umbreon). Ofcourse, Weavile being gone means Krookodile is also not entirely outclassed anymore as a Pursuit trapper.

:ss/Alakazam:
Alakazam @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Nasty Plot

Alakazam getting better is obviously no surprise. Weavile being able to outspeed and trap it every single time meant Alakazam at most got 1 kill. Now, the Pursuitters we have are all slower than Alakazam (except for Scarf Krookodile, which isn't good, and doesn't even have a guaranteed kill with Pursuit anyway). 3 Atks NP is super deadly when positioned right and can sometimes just straight sweep should the strong priority users be out of the way. Still kinda awkward to just slap on a team so you pretty much have to build a dedicated team around it, but it definitely puts in work.

:ss/Mew::ss/Jirachi:
Mew @ Mewnium Z
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Fire Blast
- Nasty Plot
- Rock Polish

Jirachi @ Normalium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Iron Head
- Stored Power
- Thunder
- Happy Hour

These two Pokémon have been on my radar a lot the last couple of days. Not talking about Spikes Mew here (which is an amazing set btw), but the dual dance Mew and Z-Happy Hour Jirachi sets. With a ban / departure of three Dark types in a row (Hoopa-Unbound, Mega Sableye, Weavile), it was only a matter of time before these Psychics would get better. Dual dance Mew with Screen support is utterly amazing and can dominate a lot of games quite easily. Psychic + Fire coverage is oftentimes enough to plough through most teams. Initially it seems that this set gets walled by Slowking, but Slowking is just pure setup fodder for Mew, as unless it's Toxic Slowking, Slowking won't be doing much vs Mew. Dark types such as Krookodile and Zarude do not do enough damage if Screens are up. I wonder how people will adapt to this Mew set in UU Open.

Jirachi is seeing more use again, and so is the Z-Happy Hour set. As always, this set can pretty much hax its way through a lot of its checks and counters. Nothing much to say, but just like Mew I'm wondering how people are going to adapt to this set in the upcoming tour.

:ss/Amoonguss: vs :ss/Tangrowth:
There's an ongoing debate on which one is the better one and I'd honestly say they're on the same level. Personally I think Tangrowth forms better Regen cores with stuff like Galarian Slowking, and checks Pokémon like Urshifu-RS and other physical attackers better. Knock Off is the big thing Tangrowth has over Amoonguss though. Amoonguss on the other hand resists Fairy and as such checks Pokemon like Primarina better, as well as Nihilego. Most of the time it just really depends on what your team needs and I don't think one is necessarily better than the other.

There are other things to talk about but I'll leave that up for other people so we can revive this dead thread :p
 
Now that the number one pursuiter/dark type is gone, everyone is scrambling to look for a new pursuit trapper to get rid of those nasty zams, slowkings, and aegis. Lets go over the options:
:ss/Krookodile:
Krook is perhaps the most obvious replacement for Weavile. As mareanie mentioned, scarf krook is dogshit, but rocks sets (chople can help with +0 zam and cc aegi) have insane role compression and are pretty good at pursuiting aegi because you can switch moves. I've used cb krook, and it's actually really good. It hits nearly as hard as weavile, and moxie means that it's really easy for krook to snowball against bulkier teams. It can also guaranteed OHKO zam with pursuit, which non banded somehow fails to do. With the drop of tangrowth though, cb krook can struggle to break through some of these teams. Fortunately from what I've seen, av tang is more common than helmet, so krook still poses a pretty big threat.

:ss/Bisharp:
Banded Bisharp with pursuit is a set that I've theorycrafted but not built a full team with yet, but I think it'll definitely be good. In particular, it completely shits on king's shield aegi because of defiant, so if you get in bisharp safely against aegi, it's dead. A problem I see with bisharp is that adding pursuit means you have to drop assurance, which with rocks up picks up some important 2hkos that knock doesn't. But, this problem can be remedied with future sight, which smacks everything that can take 2 banded knocks from bisharp. It's SSOU throwback time (slowking + bisharp)!

:ss/Scizor:
Not a dark type, but tacking on pursuit to the banded sets is pretty effective for trapping stuff. Even at -1, pursuit hits aegi staying in hard because of technician, and aegi can't ko you back. The only problem with pursuit sciz is that you add to your already annoying 4MSS, having to choose between knock, superpower, and dwb in the last slow (knock is probably the best).

:ss/Aegislash:
In ORAS, aegi used pursuit to deal with monstrous psychics like mega gardevoir. I think banded aegi can tack on pursuit in it's last move slot in place of shadow claw since cc hits things harder anyways. Maybe a defensive aegi set with pursuit could also become a thing.

All in all, I think Krook will definitely be the most common pursuit trapper due to role compression, but bisharp and scizor are more reliable in some cases and are most definitely worth using on the right team.
 
Tired of waiting for SSJs post so I'll just post now.

:ss/Jirachi:
Jirachi needs to receive a suspect test after UU Open

For people who play this tier on a regular basis, or even for some people who don't, know exactly how insanely bullshit Z-Happy Hour Jirachi is. Nothing different than last generation in UU, getting an omniboost in combination with a 60% flinch rate on your STAB move is just complete insanity.

There are generally only two accepted counters / checks to this, being the following two:

:ss/umbreon::ss/zarude:
Inner Focus Umbreon & Choice Scarf Zarude

Inner Focus Umbreon walls this Jirachi set to hell and back and beats the standard set fairly easily. Inner Focus makes it so it's immune to Jirachi's flinching shenanigans, and eats pretty much every other hit (Aura Sphere is very uncommon on Z-Rachi).

Choice Scarf Zarude has Darkest Lariat as its STAB Dark move, which ignores opposing Defense boosts. Since Zarude has a higher base speed than Jirachi (105, as opposed to Jirachi's base 100 speed), it allows it to outspeed Jirachi and weaken it significantly, while eating every hit in return with ease. The only way Zarude can lose in this situation is the opposing Jirachi being at full enough health to take Lariat, it hitting Thunder and getting the para, which would allow it to flinch down Zarude since it'll be slower. However, this situation is still quite unlikely, and even if it does happen, Jirachi will be significantly weakened in the process in a worst case.

There are also some cores that I use to switch around Jirachi. Here's one that I like:

:ss/Moltres: + :ss/Krookodile:

Krookodile can take hits decently well and keep lowering Jirachi's Attack with Intimidate. This does two things:
1. Lower Iron Head's damage output
2. Lowering the damage output of Stored Power

Having a good Iron Head resist in Moltres, which could also inflict a burn on Jirachi, and baiting a Thunder(bolt) which allows you to freely switch into Krookodile again works pretty well generally. The problem here obviously is that we're not playing against AI, but against real people. Meaning one predicted switch into the Moltres and they Thunder, you're done lol

----------

This is obviously too limiting. A grand total of two fucking checks for a Pokemon, one of which can still technically lose to it under a certain circumstance, is absolutely ridiculous. I should not be forced to run an Umbreon on every fucking balance team I have. And even then, Umbreon only fits on Balance teams. Meaning you're limited to a singular playstyle to check it defensively in the first place.

I've flinched countless of supposed checks down. Mega Steelix, Swampert, Gastrodon, SpDef Slowking, Bisharp, Melmetal. All of these Pokemon can be flinched into range of an KO'ing attack so easily it's completely unfair. And there's absolutely no way to play around this either. King's Rock is getting attention in other tiers and I'd argue this equals that level of bullshit, if not just straight up even more. Jirachi is a completely unhealthy and unbalanced force in this current meta and calling it uncompetitive is going easy on it.

Why not ban Z-Happy Hour instead?
I've heard this and quite frankly I don't get the reason why. What else is gonna be broken with Z-Happy Hour than Rachi? Raichu? Snorlax? Fucking Delibird? I don't think so. It's just Jirachi and only Jirachi. We tier Pokemon, not items. And especially in a case like this, where it's clear the problem is the Pokemon and not the item itself.

It's also not like omniboosting itself is a problem. Victini got banned because of it, sure, but Porygon-Z has remained in the tier ever since the start of the gen and has never been problematic in the slightest.

----------

The problem is Jirachi. Outside of Inner Focus Umbreon and Choice Scarf Zarude, there's no reliable counterplay to the utter bullshit this 'mon brings into the battle. The tier would be much more competitive if it goes to UUBL, so I fully support a suspect test on this when UU open ends (or even now for all I care, just soon).

Thanks for reading and have a nice day
 

Keem

formerly Nezloe
I completely agree with n-mareanie about jirachi, z-happy is absolutely busted especially on a mon like jirachi that benefits a ton from boost,I dont have too much to say since im only recently coming back nduu :jirachi:
 
Posting a thought that came to mind, How would a Post-Glowking Metagame Would Be? This is all gonna be just a theory on what gets impacted the most and feel free to share your opinions or correct me on some points.

:ss/moltres-galar:
Galarian Moltres is known for the Resttalk sets that have been increasing in popularity thanks to his unique typing (no honchkrow, being UU by usage months ago doesnt make you able to exist smh) it makes it a Dark type thats not weak to Fighting while also being inmune to Ground and resisting Ghost, which allows it to check or counter a huge chunk of the meta such as Alakazam, Aegislash, Mew and pretty much most defensive pokemon that normally annoy with status such as Hippowdon, Amoonguss (also blocks Spore) or Seismitoad. The special thing comes in being one of the perfect counters to CM Galarian Slowking as the status that it tries to throw on the whole metagame wont affect G-Moltres much and Nasty Plots for free on it. This sounds really good but that comes at the cost of being stuck with Fiery Wrath, which leaves it really exploitable to Dark Resists and not being able to instantly deal with grasses due to the lack of Hurricane. Without Glowking it loses a huge mon that it countered but it becomes more flexible in his moveset and the meta would still be with the same mons it dominates.

:ss/tangrowth:

At the time Tangrowth dropped from OU by usage, everyone was excited to see a mon like this coming in and just like everyone expected and despite having huge competition as a Regenerator Grass Type with Amoonguss, it establishes as a great mon in the current metagame with trades that difference itself from the sussy (im sorry). Now the first thing that everyone experimented with was the pairing with Assault Vest Galarian Slowking, the duo cover up most of the weaknesses the other one has and forms a beautiful physical-special defensive core thats not hard to cover the few weaknesses it has such as Scizor. Assault Vest sets are seen as an slightly worse Amoonguss but his access to Knock Off and better damage output allows it to check things such as Calm Mind Primarina better. now what if we ban his partner soon? It straight up loses a significant part of his viability, sure it would still be good but Amoonguss is probably gonna rise a lot more now that Tangrowth is without his best friend

:ss/slowbro-galar:
Who knows if this mon is gonna copy the success Glowking has currently? With the Quick Claw and Razor Fang ban, NP sets have become worthless (but maybe ill try out Quick Draw Fightinium Z at one point on HO, who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) and while it is physically bulkier than Galarian Slowking, that Special Defense is REALLY notable at leaving it vulnerable to being overwhelmed and forced to Slack Off, this issue is something i experimented on ND RU in that despite at +1, some special attackers were still able to force Slack Off spam which severely limited my chances on making progress and this also makes Assault Vest sets pretty much dead. Other than that its pretty much Glowking! but worse.

:altaria-mega::slowking: :keldeo: :celesteela: :infernape: :reuniclus: :hatterene::manectric-mega:, etc

Yup, the whole meta would have a fresh change if this mon leaves lol. M-Altarias that dont have Earthquake are waiting for Glowking to come and spam Sludge Bomb or Scald. Johtonian Slowking might be better? Maybe it could pair up with Tang and it has 25% Healing Teleport + Future Sight but no poison spreading, needing a Fairy Resist and being much more vulnerable to Pursuit. Specs isnt gonna be much of a meme if the core dissapears, and even then idt this mon is good in general. Celesteela needs more than a Glowking ban lmfao. Infernape just gets NP to be better but what Niadev mentioned in his drop still remains. Both CM Reuniclus and CM Hatterene are HUGE improvements if it leaves (specially Hatterene) as they no longer have such a dominant mon competing with them. AV is Gone, it cant hurt you anymore but this is better :zeraora:

:ss/slowking-galar:
While i know Jirachi could get the ban first (i even mention it often), this mon is also as unhealthy or maybe even worse due to how brainless it is to build and play with because at least with Rachi you need to build HO first and that stacks up steels sometimes while this mon clicks 3 or 2 buttons in order to win
 

Keem

formerly Nezloe
Been seeing A LOT of gking talk in the chatroom and how its broken,very interesting. Even though personally I dont think it's that bad but it definitely can be problematic,it can eliminate mons that it would be scared of like Melmetal all gking has to click fire blast/flamethrower at the end of the day (imo) teams without strong pursuit users like bisharp or krook are in for a treat,and even if you do have those mons that doesn't stop gking from absuing its great coverage and oh yeah water z gking exist to bait krook. At the end of the day gking has good coverage which is one reason why its such a dominant mon and plus it can run some cool sets like z move,AV and black sludge if youre that type of player (stop using black sludge gking). Anyway instead of just bashing gking I would like to dump a cool gking tech ive been using!
:ss/slowking-galar:
Slowking-Galar @ Firium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 220 HP / 40 Def / 248 SpA
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Calm Mind
- Slack Off
- Scald
Yeah I know its bad but it's super funny to see peoples reaction to getting blasted/OHKOD by this. (You could also try fighting a move since it gives you more coverage vs bish,Krook,melm) I would love to know what you guys think of the fat thing called galarian slowking.
 

Gangsta Spongebob

"Mama I'm a Criminal" - Badass Smoking Caterpillar
is a Site Content Manageris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributor
When I started I wanted to make a large post explaining all my thoughts on the entire Meta. When I started this post, the Suspect had just concluded for context.

To start, gz to MudkipBeans, R1C3M4N and Lupla for Council!

Overall, I feel ND UU is in a really good position at this moment. However, there's also the
:slowking-galar:
Glowking and friends in the room I ought to mention.

NAT DEX UU MEGAPOST: PART #1

THE Psychics:

Slowking Galar:


:ss/slowking-galar:

Slowking-Galar @ Waterium Z / Colbur Berry / Poisonium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Sludge Bomb
- Scald
- Slack Off

Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpA / 120 SpD
Calm Nature
- Future Sight / Psychic?
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower / Fire Blast
- Scald

My opinion on CM Glowking is that it's pretty broken at this moment. At first glance CM doesn't feel too bulky, as no investment means Glowking's Special Defense is very meh unboosted, and it can be overwhelmed Physically regardless of investment. However, it just has the perfect storm of factors working for it.

Slack Off + CM means that almost every Special Attacker will lose the 1v1 provided Glowking is in decent health when sent out. An Immunity to Toxic means that Glowking can't be stalled out. So with few exceptions, your best bet for taking Glowking down are physical attackers, which is where the problems start. Despite them being Glowking's best solutions, they are often borderline lured.

Looking at these calcs, at first things look pretty bad for Glowking - it isn't OHKOed but takes a considerable amount of damage.

252 Atk Krookodile Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 254-300 (64.4 - 76.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 198-234 (50.2 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

4 Atk Swampert Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 198-234 (50.2 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 234-276 (59.3 - 70%) -- approx. 2HKO (does more than EQ)

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 348-410 (88.3 - 104%) -- approx. 12.5% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar on a critical hit: 228-273 (57.8 - 69.2%) -- approx. 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 135-159 (34.2 - 40.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 222-264 (56.3 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

But 3 things completely turn the tables on these matchups: Scald, Regenerator, and Z-Crystals. Normally, a Pokemon this slow is brought to low health might as well be renamed Fodderking. But with Regenerator alongside Slack Off, Glowking can function even when brought to the brink.

To make things even worse, Scald turns would be counters into fodder themselves. Minus Pursuiters, if Glowking has a strong defensive backbone backing it up, it can freely play this game for as long as it needs, Scalding its would-be checks into eventual submission, eventually setting up for an end game sweep once its checks are Burned or removed. It does need to be at mostly full health to play these games, but it can easily take advantage of almost anything passive on the opposing side, punishing even the slightest defensive play.

Additionally, Z-Crystals + Scald drastically cut the number of Pokemon capable of dealing with Glowking even if they're not burned. Most Ground Types can't switch into a Scald even excluding the fear of being Burned, and most Dark Types, who's primary STAB is Knock Off, struggle to break through Glowking due to Knock's lowered damage.

0 SpA Slowking-Galar Hydro Vortex (160 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Krookodile: 332-392 (100.3 - 118.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 SpA Slowking-Galar Hydro Vortex (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Hippowdon: 328-386 (78 - 91.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Slowking-Galar Hydro Vortex (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Hippowdon: 224-264 (53.3 - 62.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 0 SpA Slowking-Galar Hydro Vortex (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Hippowdon: 334-394 (79.5 - 93.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Krookodile Pursuit vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 102-122 (25.8 - 30.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 194-230 (49.2 - 58.3%) -- 98.4% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Scizor Pursuit vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 180-212 (45.6 - 53.8%) -- 41.8% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Black Glasses Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 246-290 (62.4 - 73.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Black Glasses Bisharp Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 228-270 (57.8 - 68.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Slowking-Galar Hydro Vortex (160 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 167-197 (61.6 - 72.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Black Glasses Bisharp Pursuit vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 140-168 (35.5 - 42.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

As shown, our best Grounds lose outright should they be chipped, something not too hard to accomplish with the multitude of Spikes and Toxics flying around the tier. As for the Pursuit users, while they can certainly take a Z-Scald well at full health, they're still at the mercy of a Scald Burn or chip, they just can't switch in very easily. Bisharp can Pursuit it while forcing it out without Band, but it has to deal with the huge risk of a Scald Burn.

While Glowking does indeed take quite a lot from heavy hitters, and does often struggle to land KOs, the fact of the matter is that Glowking can just play the long game, and eventually start its sweep with little being able to stop it. From my experience, it can often start CMing to force its check in, KO them with Hydro Vortex while being almost Knocked out in return, and then after Recover health off something like Skarm or Rotom-W to continue business as normal. However, despite all of this, enough handlesGlowking enough so it hardly turns the tier upside down.

While many struggle to come into it, as the Calcs show, Glowking has a similar issue of being 2HKOed by many if not most Ground and Dark moves flying around. Despite Regenerator, it does really struggle with chip and it needs to manage its HP very carefully if it wants to cripple a check or sweep. The likes of Spikes and Rocks do it no favors in this regard.

In addition to this, while most Special Attackers do lose the 1v1, and Physical Attackers risk Burns, most set up sweepers can overpower Glowking provided they don't get unlucky and aren't chipped into Sludge Bomb range. Slowking-Galar can't simply rely on its teammates to save it when they themselves get overwhelmed.

+2 252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 440-522 (111.6 - 132.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 88 Atk Scizor Black Hole Eclipse (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 384-454 (97.4 - 115.2%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

+2 228 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Slowking-Galar: 424-499 (107.6 - 126.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 228 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Shadow Ball vs. +1 252 HP / 0 SpD Slowking-Galar: 283-335 (71.8 - 85%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 0 SpA Slowking-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Alakazam: 165-195 (65.7 - 77.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Mew Genesis Supernova vs. +1 252 HP / 0 SpD Slowking-Galar: 310-366 (78.6 - 92.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 0 SpA Slowking-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 159-187 (46.6 - 54.8%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO

Overall, I am somewhat mixed on the topic of Glowking. While it does have answers, and does struggle with many of its calcs, on a game-to-game basis its 5 teammates can greatly reduce what can check and counter it. This goes for most Pokemon obviously, but with Glowking being able to lure and hax so many of its solutions, it can easily be argued to be overcentralizing. We'll have to see if the support needed for it can mitigate its effectiveness, but I doubt it’s enough to stop it.

On this set, it’s also worth mentioning Grassy Seed. Very recently discovered, but could be interesting tech despite Bulu being mandatory. While Glowking loses it’s boost when it’s forced out, you still have one hell of a bulky attacker, and if you can get Glowking to start it’s sweep on your first try, you have one hell of threat.

Despite how much I’ve already talked about with Glowking, I should also mention the AV set. It's an interesting alternative to its cousin, Slowking as a Future Sight Abuser, exchanging Port for a monsterous Special Defensive stat and better offensive capabilities. A staple of the tier all around, further bolstering the power of Spikes and strong breakers while also providing arguably the only true counter to Specs Primarina. With Weavile being too good for this world and a possibly good partner in Tang dropping, over the past few weeks this set has only gotten better.

However, it is comically easy to Pursuit Trap, and thus it often relies on playing on eggshells until the opposing Pursuiters are removed. It's also very susceptible to chip due to having no Slack Off, limiting its effectiveness. It's a great tank, but with very clear limitations.

Alakazam:

:ss/alakazam:

Alakazam @ Life Orb / Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball

Alakazam @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast

24 Def lives 0 Atk Hippo EQ, and thus is the spread I personally use the most, and thus will Calc with

Terror under a new name. Weav was the perfect stop to it, and now we must bask in its destructive fury. Magic Guard is the key here, letting it doge Hazard chip, while allowing a recoilless Life Orb. And while Zam is really frail, it's not completely 100% paper thin and can take quite a some special hits in order to set up. And it can spec into Phys Def in order to take some hits, such as Hippo EQ.

+2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Hippowdon: 347-409 (82.6 - 97.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 211-250 (84 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Amoonguss Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Alakazam: 88-105 (35 - 41.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

0 SpA Slowbro-Galar Hydro Vortex (180 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Alakazam: 135-159 (53.7 - 63.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Slowking-Galar: 426-502 (108.1 - 127.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 Atk Swampert Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 208-246 (82.8 - 98%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Now, note that Zam doesn't OHKO everything here, which is a flaw. However, most of these MUs are against VERY specially bulky Pokemon, and the fact of the matter is that Alakazam can effortlessly set up on them, with And the best part is that Zam is hardly dead weight even if it can’t boost up, it still hits like a truck, though with some caveats. 4 Attacks exchanges NP for the coverage of Grass Knot, the surprise factor of Counter, or the utility of Knock off, allowing for even danger from this telepathic beast.

Zam hits the majority of the Meta hard, and can make the slightest chip a death sentence. However, it is key to note that if it fails to KO, or misses Focus Blast, it is almost guaranteed to be obliterated before the end of the turn. This is Zam’s biggest flaw: it makes the opponent play on eggshells, but the player must also do the same. Alakazam has other issues too.

Zam is a defensive sinkhole, as it needs to budget it’s HP very carefully, and thus you’re often playing 5v6 trying to get an optimal Zam opportunity, something that could often be ended short if you’re not careful. A team with Alakazam needs to account for it’s defensive shortcomings in order to make the most of it’s positive traits, harshly minimizing the teams it can be used on.

While it's merely a check, Zera is the bane of Zam’s existence, shutting down its hope for a sweep as long as it breathes, while most forms of speed control similarly put Zam in its place. Priority is another bane, as Scizor’s Bullet Punch and other like-minded priority users make Zam’s life miserable.

In conclusion, Zam turns any defensive core into a murder scene, and defense needs to have something deal with it. However, speed control and priority is a constant problem for Zam, along with just getting good and not being OHKOed. I hope I haven’t undersold how truly dangerous Alakazam is here, as I can only use hyperbole for so long. Alakazam is a top-tier Nat Dex UU threat, just with some limitations that can be worked around. If you can’t stop it from NPing, you’re out of luck.


Mew:

:ss/Mew:

If we didn’t already have enough terrifying Psychics in the tier, another one just became a whole lot better. With Weavile no longer around to ruin the fun, Mew has emerged as one of the premier set up sweepers in the tier, flexing offensive muscles arguably not seen since Gen 5. NP Mew’s great coverage and Mewinium-Z makes defense into a fine paste with very few Pokemon capable of handling.

However, the first set worth getting into is lead.

Mew @ Mental Herb / Red Card / Focus Sash
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Explosion / Misty Explosion / Endeavor

With access to both Spikes and Stealth Rocks, plus decent bulk, Mew is a great lead on HO. Lead Mew starts the game at a breakneck pace, and many teams will quickly crumble if they let Mew set up too much. Taunt and a possible Boom round out this set perfectly, allowing for the keeping of those hazards. Lead Mew is a top tier Hazard setter, easily among the greats in the tier.

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 248 HP / 116 Def / 144 Spe
Timid Nature
- Knock Off / Seismic Toss / Night Shade
- Spikes / Defog / Stealth Rock
- Taunt / Will-O-Wisp / Thunder Wave
- Soft-Boiled

Next up is Utility, another great set overall. Pretty self-explanatory, but Mew’s myriad of support options are compounded into this one set. Fully customizable to your team’s needs, you can have a Hazard setter capable of Knocking the ever annoying Moltres, and one hell of a statuser, or just a good old Taunter. However, as with every other defensive Psychic it does have a nasty Pursuit weakness if it can’t land a Wisp, and it is fairly passive, but it still remains a great set on a great Pokemon. However, these Mew aren’t the Mew that haunts everyone’s nightmares.

Mew @ Mewnium Z
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
- Soft-Boiled

Mew @ Mewnium Z
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Fire Blast
- Rock Polish

Nasty Plot Mew is fucking broken as shit man. Mew’s balanced stats and amazing assortment of moves make it an absurdly dangerous threat in the Meta. Very, very few Pokemon in the Meta can stand up to the sheer power of Mew’s Genesis Supernova, and even fewer can take that and not get incinerated by Fire Coverage.

+2 252 SpA Mew Genesis Supernova vs. 252 HP / 120+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking-Galar: 253-298 (64.2 - 75.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Mew Genesis Supernova vs. 252 HP / 120+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking-Galar: 253-298 (64.2 - 75.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

136 SpA Slowking-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mew: 118-141 (34.6 - 41.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+2 252 SpA Mew Genesis Supernova vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Slowking-Galar in Psychic Terrain: 603-709 (153 - 179.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 SpA Slowking-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mew: 105-124 (30.7 - 36.3%) -- 58.8% chance to 3HKO

252 SpA Mew Genesis Supernova vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Altaria-Mega: 241-285 (82.8 - 97.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Mew Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Altaria-Mega: 118-139 (40.5 - 47.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Mew Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Altaria-Mega in Psychic Terrain: 153-180 (52.5 - 61.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Pixilate Altaria-Mega Return vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 195-229 (57.1 - 67.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 252+ Atk Pixilate Altaria-Mega Return vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 291-343 (85.3 - 100.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

+2 252 SpA Mew Fire Blast vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Melmetal: 566-668 (134.1 - 158.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 278-330 (81.5 - 96.7%) -- approx. 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Mew Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 298-352 (91.9 - 108.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Primarina Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mew: 288-340 (84.4 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Mew Genesis Supernova vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Primarina: 442-522 (146.8 - 173.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 SpA Mew Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Primarina in Psychic Terrain: 280-331 (93 - 109.9%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

+2 252 SpA Mew Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-Wash in Psychic Terrain: 301-355 (99 - 116.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

+2 252 SpA Mew Genesis Supernova vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Swampert: 388-457 (96 - 113.1%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

0 Atk Swampert Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 118-139 (34.6 - 40.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+2 252 SpA Mew Genesis Supernova vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Hippowdon: 450-531 (107.1 - 126.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 SpA Mew Psychic vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Hippowdon in Psychic Terrain: 285-336 (67.8 - 80%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 118-141 (34.6 - 41.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after sandstorm damage

+2 252 SpA Mew Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Manectric-Mega: 295-348 (104.9 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 SpA Mew Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Krookodile: 267-315 (80.6 - 95.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Krookodile Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 200-236 (58.6 - 69.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Krookodile Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 296-350 (86.8 - 102.6%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

While not a fully comprehensive list of every Pokemon in the tier, the writing is clearly shown on the wall. On almost everything Passive, Mew can set up, and proceed to annihilate while starting it’s sweep. And as I said earlier, Mew’s Bulk is far from bad. It can live a +1 Return from Mega Altaria for heaven’s sake! So what beats Mew? Honestly not enough for me not to sweat bullets.

Very, very few Pokemon can hope to stop Mew once it sets up, but there are a few examples. However, most have caveats that limit their ability to beat Mew.

+4 252 SpA Mew Genesis Supernova vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Slowking: 348-409 (88.3 - 103.8%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 320-377 (93.8 - 110.5%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 320-377 (93.8 - 110.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 296-351 (86.8 - 102.9%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 296-351 (86.8 - 102.9%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Mew Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 268-316 (98.8 - 116.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock


Each of these checks has a unique relationship with Mew. Slowking can Toxic it fairly easily, as getting to +4 unopposed is unlikely in a game, however this will lead to Slowking getting Poisoned itself, and Mew still has several turns to steamroll your team. Bisharp threatens an OHKO, especially after Rocks, but is at the mercy of calcs and only really fits on HO. And that's more or less it, outside of speed control. Mew can be outsped and revenge killed, if not running Rock Polish, but even without Rock Polish it’s checks struggle.

252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 162-192 (47.5 - 56.3%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO (I don’t think I need to calc what Fire Blast does to Scizor lol)

252 Atk Zarude Darkest Lariat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 264-312 (77.4 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Mew Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zarude: 208-246 (59.2 - 70%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Manectric-Mega Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mew in Electric Terrain: 196-232 (57.4 - 68%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 147-174 (43.1 - 51%) -- 3.1% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Zeraora Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 128-152 (37.5 - 44.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

This is what really in my opinion sets Mew over the edge. Mew takes these attacks fairly well, making revenge killing very hard. Remember, you’ll usually only have 1 mon for Speed control, and maybe another as Priority. While a few like Zarude deal heavy damage, without an OHKO you always run the risk of being crushed yourself.

So what does beat Mew? Really you just got to play really well unfortunately. From the words of Lupla “Paul” Lupla, Mew is mostly limited to the end game to sweep, as the presence of Speed control and wallbreakers can KO Mew.

Setting up is sometimes problematic, as while it’s rarely OHKOed it can be easily put in a Revenge Kill zone. And constant pressure forces only one turn of set up, and often denies Rock Polish. Rocks don’t do it any favors in this regard. Toxic and Paralysis also ruin it, but also remember Synchronize returns the favor.

Otherwise, 2 other things hold Mew a bit more back. For one, despite it’s exceptional set variety, in general you can guess Mew’s set depending on it’s team. Lead if it’s HO with no other clear Hazard setter, Rock Polish if HO otherwise, Utility if the team is in need of some Hazard Support, and NP Mew as a wincon on Balance. Being able to guess what Mews doing does alleviate some stress from dealing with it.

Another more pressing issue is that it often does depend on Z to get KOs. As the Calcs from earlier showed, without Genesis Supernova or Psychic Terrain, it does often fall short. This generally only lets it try to sweep once per game, which while terrifying does put some stops to it’s rampage.

So where does this leave Mew? Still OP as shit, but not the most pressing matter imo. It’s a menace in the builder, but not as bad as it’s cousin Z-Jirachi. If you play well, you can somewhat fight off NP Mew, but it’s still a very uphill battle.

All in all, Mew is an absolutely fantastic Pokemon in Nat Dex UU. It has limits, but it’s versatility to it’s sheer power makes it almost unmatched. And while these are the sets most commonly used, Mew has a treasure trove of tech just waiting to be discovered. DD and friends are fringe gimmicks now, but if any Pokemon can make it work, Mew can.

Jirachi:

Jirachi_4be6a36f-17b6-4f51-a18f-09b4346de5ce_160x160.gif

Jirachi @ Normalium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Happy Hour
- Stored Power
- Iron Head
- Thunder / Thunderbolt

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Fire Punch
- Healing Wish

If you want something to have an aneurysm over, Jirachi is certainly a top candidate. The Scarf set is fine, as it’s easily walled despite its Flinches. What makes Jirachi truly stupid is Z-Happy Hour set. Don't be deceived by the Timid Nature + Iron Head. It can easily whittle down your checks at +1, before finishing you off with Stored Power.

+1 252 SpA Jirachi Stored Power (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Hippowdon: 321-378 (76.4 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 0- Atk Jirachi Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 76-90 (18 - 21.4%) -- possible 5HKO

4 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Jirachi: 158-188 (46.3 - 55.1%) -- 63.3% chance to 2HKO

+1 0- Atk Jirachi Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 16 Def Hippowdon: 100-118 (23.8 - 28%) -- 90.7% chance to 4HKO

+1 252 SpA Jirachi Stored Power (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Hippowdon: 220-259 (52.3 - 61.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Jirachi: 158-188 (46.3 - 55.1%) -- 63.3% chance to 2HKO

+1 252 SpA Jirachi Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Moltres: 282-332 (73.4 - 86.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 252 SpA Jirachi Thunder vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Moltres: 342-404 (89 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

+1 252 SpA Jirachi Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Skarmory: 328-386 (98.2 - 115.5%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

While not always a OHKO machine, the RNG of Iron Head plus the sheer power of Stored Power makes Z-Happy Hour Jirachi absurdly limited in checks. So few Pokemon can deal with the RNG of Iron Head and the power of Stored Power. Phazing works, but Skarm gets obliterated by Electric Coverage, and if it’s someone's last Pokemon I'm getting GSC CurseLax flashbacks. Otherwise, you're mostly limited to Steels who can take a Thunder or Thunderbolt, and either KO it or cripple it in some way.

252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Claw vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Jirachi: 180-212 (52.7 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. +1 0 HP / 0 SpD Jirachi: 204-240 (59.8 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 252 SpA Jirachi Thunder vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 112-132 (34.5 - 40.7%) -- 55.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

+1 252 SpA Jirachi Thunder vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 112-132 (42.9 - 50.5%) -- 2% chance to 2HKO

+1 252 SpA Jirachi Thunder vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Melmetal: 213-251 (50.4 - 59.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (you can T-wave afterwards, you'll still be outsped but a teammate can finish the job)

Otherwise, a few Dark Types can beat Jirachi:

252 Atk Zarude Darkest Lariat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Jirachi: 264-312 (77.4 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Assume Scarf here)

+1 0- Atk Jirachi Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zarude: 111-132 (31.6 - 37.6%) -- 87.8% chance to 3HKO

252 Atk Krookodile Earthquake vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Jirachi: 204-242 (59.8 - 70.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0- Atk Jirachi Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Krookodile: 93-111 (28 - 33.5%) -- 0.1% chance to 3HKO (You can try weakening it further with Intimidate).

As long as Zarude doesn't get unlucky with Paralysis, and Krookodile with Flinches, these 2 should be able to overpower Jirachi. It’s also worth mentioning Umbreon, but Umbreon only fits on Stall and you’d have to give up it’s better ability for it to answer Jirachi. Despite these solutions, I feel Jirachi is very problematic to the tier. It just has too few answers, and many of those do rely on using multiple Pokemon in the case of trying to status it, such as with Melm. And this isn't even going over how it can abuse dual screens, which makes it few offensive checks have an even harder time getting past it. It is admittedly very reliant on getting Iron Head Flinches to whittle down its checks, so in practice RNG is a fickle god that can screw it over at the worst times. Despite that, I believe Jirachi is too broken. It just has too few checks, and even then requires too much RNG to beat. Whether it should be QBed, or Suspected is up to the rest of the player base and Council, however I feel it’s simply too broken to be allowed here.

Jirachi concludes my list of broken-ass Psychics, while also being a nice segway into the list of broken-ass steels. While not nearly as difficult to answer, Melmetal and Aegislash are very centralizing Pokemon.

Absurdly Scary Steels:

Melmetal:




Melmetal @ Protective Pads
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake
- Thunder Punch
- Toxic / Thunder Wave

Melmetal @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Thunder Punch / Earthquake
- Toxic
- Protect

Melmetal @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
- Superpower

Melmetal @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 100 HP / 252 Def / 156 Spe
Impish Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Body Press
- Substitute
- Acid Armor

Melmetal is the definitive Wallbreaker of ND UU, and easily one of the most unhealthy Pokemon in the Meta. With the unparalleled power of its Double Iron Bashes, its strong coverage, and it’s hax factor, Melmetal is a force to be reckoned with.

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking: 192-228 (48.7 - 57.8%) -- 96.9% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking: 288-340 (73 - 86.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Slowking-Galar: 336-396 (85.2 - 100.5%) -- approx. 6.3% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Slowking-Galar: 500-590 (126.9 - 149.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 234-276 (59.3 - 70%) -- approx. 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 348-410 (88.3 - 104%) -- approx. 12.5% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 248 HP / 176+ Def Amoonguss: 270-320 (62.6 - 74.2%) -- approx. 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 248 HP / 176+ Def Amoonguss: 408-480 (94.6 - 111.3%) -- approx. 75% chance to OHKO

I could go on, but as shown Melmetal cleaves through Defense like no one’s business. Many wish for a Melm suspect and ban, and I have trouble disagreeing with them. Melm is an exceptionally centralizing threat due to how hard it is to wall. However, there are a few Pokemon that can stand up to these Melms, most notably Skarmory.

Skarm is easily the best check to Melm, Roosting to avoid 2HKOs from Thunder Punch and threatening heavy damage with Body Press.

252+ Def Skarmory Body Press vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 148-176 (35 - 41.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 132-156 (39.5 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 198-234 (59.2 - 70%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 66-78 (19.7 - 23.3%) -- possible 5HKO (Roosted)

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 99-117 (29.6 - 35%) -- 14.2% chance to 3HKO (Roosted)

252+ Atk Melmetal Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 146-174 (43.7 - 52%) -- 14.8% chance to 2HKO (Roosted)

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 220-260 (65.8 - 77.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Roosted)

252+ Atk Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 88-104 (26.3 - 31.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 131-155 (39.2 - 46.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 352-416 (105.3 - 124.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Roosted)

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 524-620 (156.8 - 185.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Roosted)

Note that getting a Superpower off on a Roosted Skarm does obliterate it, but it’s exceptionally risky as outside of Roost Superpower does minimal damage. As I’ve shown, Skarm reliably walls most Melm. Melm can catch a Roost with EQ, but especially for Banded variants this is exceptionally dangerous as a mispredict will lead to Melm being forced out.

And this isn’t going over Skarm’s most deadly weapon, Spikes. Spikes just limit Melm to a huge degree. It can’t run HDB most of the time, thus making Melm absurdly easy to chip, and far more manageable to KO. And the worst part is, Skarm isn’t the only big bully to Melm.

Scizor, the Rotoms, and Swampert serve as strong checks, especially due to their offensive presence. However, they do suffer from not being as bulky as Skarm, and most of their sets lack reliable recovery.

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 88 Def Scizor: 126-150 (36.6 - 43.6%) -- approx. 99.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 88 Def Scizor: 190-224 (55.2 - 65.1%) -- approx. 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 88 Def Scizor: 141-167 (40.9 - 48.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 88 Def Scizor: 211-249 (61.3 - 72.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Melmetal Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 88 Def Scizor: 118-139 (34.3 - 40.4%) -- 46% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 88 Def Scizor: 176-208 (51.1 - 60.4%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 88+ Atk Scizor Superpower vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 374-440 (88.6 - 104.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 138-164 (49.1 - 58.3%) -- approx. 71.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Melmetal Superpower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 154-182 (54.8 - 64.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Melmetal Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 129-152 (45.9 - 54%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 208-246 (74 - 87.5%) -- approx. 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Superpower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 231-272 (82.2 - 96.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 192-227 (68.3 - 80.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Life Orb Scizor Superpower vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 276-325 (65.4 - 77%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Superpower vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 316-374 (74.8 - 88.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Swampert: 150-178 (37.1 - 44%) -- approx. 100% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Swampert: 226-266 (55.9 - 65.8%) -- approx. 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Melmetal Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Swampert: 140-165 (34.6 - 40.8%) -- 58.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Swampert: 209-247 (51.7 - 61.1%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Swampert: 168-198 (41.5 - 49%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Swampert: 251-296 (62.1 - 73.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 108-126 (26.7 - 31.1%) -- approx. 8.6% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 160-190 (39.6 - 47%) -- approx. 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 119-141 (29.4 - 34.9%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 178-210 (44 - 51.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Melmetal Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 100-118 (24.7 - 29.2%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 149-176 (36.8 - 43.5%) -- 99.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

4 Atk Swampert Earthquake vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 174-206 (41.2 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Rotom-Wash: 50-60 (16.4 - 19.7%) -- approx. possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Rotom-Wash: 76-90 (25 - 29.6%) -- approx. 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Rotom-Wash: 113-134 (37.1 - 44%) -- 99.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Rotom-Wash: 170-201 (55.9 - 66.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Rotom-Wash: 85-101 (27.9 - 33.2%) -- 84.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Rotom-Wash: 128-151 (42.1 - 49.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 66-78 (21.7 - 25.6%) -- approx. 0.1% chance to 4HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 98-116 (32.2 - 38.1%) -- approx. 98.6% chance to 3HKO

252+ Atk Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 146-172 (48 - 56.5%) -- 87.5% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Superpower vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 218-257 (71.7 - 84.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 54-64 (17.7 - 21%) -- possible 5HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 82-96 (26.9 - 31.5%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

4 SpA Rotom-Heat Overheat vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Melmetal: 416-492 (98.5 - 116.5%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 66-78 (27.2 - 32.2%) -- approx. 4HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 98-116 (40.4 - 47.9%) -- approx. 3HKO

252+ Atk Melmetal Superpower vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 146-172 (60.3 - 71%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Superpower vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 218-257 (90 - 106.1%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 54-64 (22.3 - 26.4%) -- 20.5% chance to 4HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 82-96 (33.8 - 39.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Rotom-Heat Overheat vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Melmetal: 522-614 (123.6 - 145.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

While they often take heavy damage, Melm does often struggle to break through many of these threats. While Band Melm fares better, it’s also more susceptible to being chipped and abused, especially when being locked into Superpower. And the worst part is, Skarm is often run with some of these threats. A pair of Rotom + Scizor or Pert + Skarm oftentimes shuts Melm down hard, and it heavily relies on teammates to open a hole for it to exploit. However, it does have a good answer to these checks.

However, Melm has several tricks up its sleeve. While I did go over how dangerous Band is, it’s actually the worst “standard” Melm set, as despite its power the status from Protective Pads and TectTox further reduces the number of checks.

Against Skarm and Scizor, T-Wave on Protective Pads often Spells doom, as often one Fully Paralysis or Double Iron Bash Flinch is enough to get a KO. Toxic completely cripples Pert and the Rotoms, putting most of their sets on a timer. TectTox acts as a more extreme example of this, allowing Melm to stall out those switch-ins while also gaining crucial recovery from Leftovers.

Finally, while rare, Body Press redefines what a Melm check is, with it now being able to handle the likes of Pert and some Scizor:

0 Atk Swampert Earthquake vs. +2 100 HP / 252+ Def Melmetal: 66-80 (15.1 - 18.3%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 252+ Def Melmetal Body Press vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Swampert: 223-263 (55.1 - 65%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 88 Atk Scizor Superpower vs. +2 100 HP / 252+ Def Melmetal: 130-154 (29.8 - 35.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 252+ Def Melmetal Body Press vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Scizor: 171-202 (49.7 - 58.7%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

It’s also important to note how Melm is far from dead weight vs offense. In a 1v1 situation, it does sometimes struggle but often comes out on top.

0 SpA Altaria-Mega Fire Blast vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Melmetal: 244-288 (57.8 - 68.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Altaria-Mega Earthquake vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 158-186 (37.4 - 44%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Altaria-Mega: 508-604 (174.5 - 207.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Melmetal: 216-255 (51.1 - 60.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Melmetal Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 192-228 (59.2 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 288-340 (88.8 - 104.9%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Close Combat vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 224-264 (53 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Close Combat vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 444-524 (105.2 - 124.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Melmetal Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 192-228 (73.5 - 87.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Melmetal Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 288-340 (110.3 - 130.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Close Combat vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 288-342 (68.2 - 81%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Close Combat vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 432-510 (102.3 - 120.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 230-272 (67.4 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 346-408 (101.4 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Zeraora Close Combat vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 174-206 (41.2 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Melmetal Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Zeraora: 326-384 (102.8 - 121.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Melmetal: 491-580 (116.3 - 137.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

While it’s far from a perfect offense killer, Melm has a strong MU vs offense, having a very favorable MU vs much of the Meta and often only falling to some Supereffective Attacks.

So where does this leave Melm? Absurdly dangerous. It is a true menace in the builder, and every team need to watch out for it. However, should it be banned? Hard to say.

At this moment I can really say Skarm holds Melm back considerably, while the others also make it hard for Melm to slaughter everything unopposed. However, relying on these Pokemon does feel unhealthy, especially since they don’t always work, being at the mercy of Melm’s status. And to top it all off, Melm does have good friends. I feel ZeraMelm might be the defining offensive core of the Meta, as Zera can deal with faster threats while pivoting in Melm to steamroll the walls.

For Melmetal, on a game to game basis it rarely turns everything inside out, but the prep needed might push it over the edge. I do feel however that Glowking and Jirachi are far more pressing, but we shouldn’t ignore this meta titan. Now onto the next borderline broken Steel type.

Aegislash:

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon / Close Combat
- Toxic
- King's Shield

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Toxic
- King's Shield

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Toxic
- King's Shield

Aegislash @ Ghostium Z / Leftovers / Spell Tag
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw
- Close Combat
- King's Shield

Aegislash @ Ghostium Z / Colbur Berry / Spell Tag
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Close Combat

Aegislash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Sneak / Steel Beam
- Toxic

From its amazing versatility to its sheer power, Aegi is possibly the scariest Poekmon to face in the entire Meta. It being a contender with the likes of Alakazam, Mew, and Melm is certainly an achievement. Its Toxic sets are both terrifying wincons while also being immensely hard to dislodge without getting something crippled. And it's hardly set up bait either, most set up sweepers can be easily stalled out by Toxic in the right circumstances, while the likes of Glowking and Alakazam get sent to the moon by Shadow Ball.

And the best part is that Aegi can reap all the benefits of a Ghost typing while suffering from far fewer repercussions compared to the average specter. It's fantastic Defense and King’s Shield makes it extremely hard to break, while giving it the ability to scout and weaken the opposing Knocks and Pursuits. And this isn’t even accounting for a possible Substitute. While it lacks reliable recovery, a well played Aegi can last all through a game with careful planning, Poisoning and Shadow Balling everything that comes even close to it. And this isn’t even going over its ability to completely flip the script and run its SD sets.

The true Power of Aegi is how enigmatic it is. While you can make guesses based on the opposing team, and I doubt I’d see the SD 3 Attacks set in anything other than hard offense due to its awful pursuit weakness, the fact of the matter is you need to place your bet on your hand, before realizing you were playing Russian Roulette the entire time. I don’t want Aegi getting a Sub, yet at the same time I don’t want my Special Wall to get eviscerated by a +2 Shadow Claw. With how hard it is to reliably check the SubTox variant, SD might very well push Aegi over the edge.

So what stops it from completely ruining the tier? A good amount of the tier in fact. Aegi lacks speed, so your best bet is just to rush it before it can SD or Toxic freely. Non-contact moves such as EQ are the key here, ignoring the King’s Shield Attack drop and slamming even the bulkiest variants for good damage.

Aegi’s lack of reliable recovery does make it very vulnerable to chip, and constant pressure from Spikes and even weaker attacks will leave a dent that’ll last throughout the game. Aegi leaves itself vulnerable when it Toxics or SDs, so by just never giving it an inch to breathe can be just enough to stop it from mowing down your team. And especially for the Toxic-based sets, bulky Pokemon can eventually break through Aegi slowly, though they usually end up eating a Toxic as a result.

The issue to be honest is that while Aegi does often buckle under constant pressure, given the slightest room for set up, such as from a passive wall such as Amoong or getting a good read on King’s Shield, Aegi can spell total disaster for the opposing team. Whether Aegi is worth banning or even suspecting is hard to say.

I struggle to find an answer that's 100% consistent, but much of the tier can prevent Aegi from running unopposed if they’re played right. Aegi also fulfills the key role of handling many of the dominant Psychics of the tier, and it’s important to account for how troublesome they will be should Aegi be gone.

Finally, I do want to go over another very niche set with radically different checks, that being a Specs set. I haven’t used or seen too much of it, as while it 2HKOs basically everything, it is completely Pursuit fodder and unlike SD 3 Attacks can’t often fit on teams who can deal with that. An interesting set, but unless the Meta somehow loses the majority of its Pursuiters, I don’t see Specs being nearly as good as it’s other sets

Other Steels:

Bisharp:


:ss/bisharp:

Bisharp @ Black Glasses / Life Orb / Darkinium Z
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Bisharp @ Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit / Assurance / Beat Up

Bisharp is really cool. Its Sucker Punch is no joke, and easily one of the best tools against the multitude of Psychics in the Meta. Combine that with the infinite utility of Knock Off, a brutally strong Pursuit, and even a good MU vs Fairy Types courtesy of its Steel Typing, and you have one hell of an anti-meta Mon.

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 296-351 (86.8 - 102.9%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 320-377 (93.8 - 110.5%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

0 SpA Mew Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 212-250 (78.2 - 92.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 244-291 (61.9 - 73.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking-Galar: 265-315 (67.2 - 79.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 788-928 (313.9 - 369.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO (lol)

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Jirachi: 198-237 (58 - 69.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Jirachi: 213-252 (62.4 - 73.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 0 SpA Jirachi Thunder vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 158-187 (58.3 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 0 SpA Jirachi Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 130-154 (47.9 - 56.8%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Altaria-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Bisharp: 214-252 (78.9 - 92.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Pixilate Altaria-Mega Return vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Bisharp: 195-229 (71.9 - 84.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Altaria-Mega Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 230-272 (84.8 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Altaria-Mega: 335-398 (115.1 - 136.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

While as shown in the calcs it doesn’t always do enough to crush the Psychics, it does do it’s job most of the time. Mew notably does live, though it’s stuck in a 50/50 hellzone, and Jirachi can take a hit but can’t OHKO in return. Glowking lives, but that’s just what Glowking does, and you are a decent revenge killer who can punish switching as Knock will almost always leave some sort of dent.

As for MAlt, you sadly can’t freely switch into it, but you cleave it in the 1v1 despite taking heavy chip. On another note, I personally find LO a good mix between the power of CB and the move switching of Black Glasses, but either works depending on team and what calcs you prefer.

However, LO Bisharp sadly has another fatal flaw: it really only fits on HO. As much as I’d love to slap this on every one of my teams to deal with those pesky pixies, I can’t and am literally crying and shaking rn. CB fits on Balance however, though remains hard to fit imo.

It’s also worth mentioning Rocks. Cool user, but we have way better Rockers on HO.

Skarmory:

:ss/skarmory:

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes / Stealth Rock / Defog
- Whirlwind / Toxic / Iron Defense
- Body Press / Brave Bird
- Roost

One you expect Sky-Armory to rain bullets on its prey, but Skarm prefers to lay Legos to harass its opponents to death. A staple of OU for Generations, it shows no slack here despite its dropping.

252+ Atk Pixilate Altaria-Mega Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 55-66 (16.4 - 19.7%) -- possible 6HKO

0 SpA Altaria-Mega Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Skarmory: 228-270 (68.2 - 80.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 78-94 (23.3 - 28.1%) -- approx. 91.1% chance to 4HKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 132-156 (39.5 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 198-234 (59.2 - 70%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Def Skarmory Body Press vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 148-176 (35 - 41.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 Atk Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory on a critical hit: 111-135 (33.2 - 40.4%) -- approx. 100% chance to 3HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 168-198 (50.2 - 59.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 123-145 (36.8 - 43.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Courtesy of it’s great typing and humongous physical bulk, Skarmory fulfills a defensive niche few other Pokemon are capable of. Combine that with the elusive Spikes, and phasing capabilities, you have one hell of a great Pokemon. And even without Whirlwind it isn’t fodder either. Few Pokemon enjoy a 140 Base Defense Body Press, or a 120 BP STAB Brave Bird even if it’s uninvested.

However, it’s counterplay may be even older than it’s niche. Skarmory’s Special Defense, while not paper thin, is low enough to give most special attackers an easy time breaking through it. Even the likes of Slowking leave a dent. And Skarmory might be DJ Khaled’s spirit animal, because it really suffering from success. MAlt’s Fire Blast isn’t trying to break through Amoonguss. Tech like that, or Melm’s TWave + TPunch hampers Skarm’s ability to act as such a stonewall.

However, it’s just a testament to Skarm’s dominance by making Physical Attackers run Special Coverage. This Metal Bird has perched itself near the top of ND UU, and it’s not leaving any time soon.

Scizor:

:ss/scizor:

Similar to Skarm, Scizor makes great use of its typing, but this time with an offensive punch just as strong as it’s defensive backbone. Combined with the power of Technician Bullet Punch, and the Utility of U-Turn, it is clear that Scizor is one hell of a Nat Dex UU Pokemon.

Scizor @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Leftovers / Buginium Z / Darkinium Z / Fightinium Z
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Atk / 88 Def / 72 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn / Knock Off / Superpower
- Roost

Bulky SD is one of Nat Dex UU’s greatest threats. Despite not being that powerful at the get-go, this Scizor is more than capable of steamrolling unprepared teams if not prepared for.

+1 252+ Atk Altaria-Mega Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Scizor: 133-157 (38.6 - 45.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 88 Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Altaria-Mega: 320-380 (109.9 - 130.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Scizor: 116-138 (33.7 - 40.1%) -- approx. 23% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 88 Atk Scizor Superpower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 340-402 (82.7 - 97.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 72 SpD Scizor: 168-198 (48.8 - 57.5%) -- 49.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Scizor: 253-298 (73.5 - 86.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 88 Atk Scizor Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 280-330 (86.4 - 101.8%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Scizor: 123-145 (35.7 - 42.1%) -- 91.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

As seen here, SD Scizor is one hell of a bulky attacker, sponging the strongest attacks in the tier and relatilating for heavy damage. However, this set does have its flaws. It has an immunity to Toxic but is very vulnerable to Burns. And naturally Scizor is deathly afraid of Fire Type Attacks, and can easily be overpowered on the by the likes of Mega Manectric and Heatom.

Finally, Scizor’s choice of coverage really dictates what it can beat. Superpower is needed for Melm, but Knock is needed for Aegi, while you also want U-Turn for hitting the likes of Tang harder and utility. And Skarm usually walls you either way.

Despite all that, SD Scizor remains a huge threat and a definitive part of Nat Dex UU. However, we’re far from done with Scizor.

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Knock Off / Pursuit / Dual Wingbeat

CB Scizor retains solid defensive utility while being an absolute powerhouse of a Pokemon. Not much else to say other than that by being able to fit most of its coverage in one set, Scizor is capable of breaking huge swathes of the Meta, while also being an even better revenge killer than SD.

252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Altaria-Mega: 300-354 (103 - 121.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Superpower vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 316-374 (74.8 - 88.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 288-340 (114.7 - 135.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 162-192 (47.5 - 56.3%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Scizor Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 176+ Def Amoonguss: 424-500 (98.1 - 115.7%) -- approx. 93.8% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking: 314-372 (79.6 - 94.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The calcs don’t lie, Choice Band Scizor is a brutally powerful threat in this Meta. However, CB Scizor does have notable flaws. Along with it being unable to take status and Fire Attacks, it also has far less defensive utility than SD thanks to its lack of recovery.

Compounded with Rocks and Spikes from the ever-indestructible Skarmory, and CB Scizor isn’t hard to wear down. And while it has the moves to threaten if not OHKO the entire Meta, being Choice Locked could spell doom due to the likes of Heatom, another annoying threat, being easily able to set up vs a Bullet Punch-Locked Scizor.

Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off / Quick Attack
- Superpower

Finally, we have 3 Attacks LO. This really only fits on HO, but is one hell of a set there. While not as strong as CB it does put in work, and fulfills the same defensive niche as CB does, along with it’s caveats. A great set, but not really a common fit.
 
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