Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
Is anyone else worried about Blissey jumping up to OU due to usage? I’ve seen Blissey receive a LOT more usage in OU lately than in previous gens. It still competes with Chansey, of course, but with the addition of teleport and the ability to run a non-eviolite item, Blissey has seen a surge of usage due to being able to fulfill a different role than just bulky momentum-sink wall. Skarmory has also seen increased usage in OU, as well, though not as much as Blissey. Skarm/Bliss is effectively the glue holding UU together right now due it being one of the only things truly keeping the plethora of absurd wallbreakers and powerhouses in check. I’m personally very worried about what might become of UU should Blissey or Skarmory (or both) rise to OU. I think it would result in a complete destabilization of the UU meta and a LOT of bans, as the lack of the premier defensive presence of Skarm/Bliss would cause many wallbreakers in the tier to become unmanageable and unhealthy. UU right now is in position to become perhaps the best version of itself that it has ever been, and I’m really enjoying the tier composition and metagame. Of course, everything will be shaken up again when Crown Tundra drops, but for the time being, I really don’t want to see what we have going get destabilized by the loss of Skarm/Bliss. Thoughts?
Believe me, ur not the only one worried. Blissey has been seeing a lot more usage in OU lately, for the same reasons you mentioned as it can pivot out into strong breakers and now uses heavy duty boots to avoid chip and keep momentum. It finally has a new niche over chansey and i wouldn't be surprised if it rose to OU next shifts. Skarmory is another mon that has been getting OU usage more and more, and I would argue it leaving would have a BIGGER impact on the tier than Bliss leaving. Skarmory checks many, MANY physical threats in the metagame, like Obstagoon, terrakion, lycanroc-dusk, mamo, durant (before it gets rebanned), DD Ttar, scarf krook, physical jirachi lacking fire punch, mimikyu, pangoro, heracross, mienshao, the list goes on. The tier would be in complete dissaray if skarm were to rise and many bans i feel would happen as a result. (NOTE: Not all the mons that are checked by skarmory i mentioned would be broken if it leaves, in fact very little would be, the large list of mons are just there to illustrate my point). New special walls like umbreon, araquanid, spDef washtom, slowking, and mantine could take blisseys place, but none other than slowking can really perform to the same like Blissey could. As for which mons would be most threatening if Blissey rose (since skarm i believe will still stay due to being outclassed by mandi and corv for the time being), my pick would say kyruem. Blissey is the main reason this thing hasn't been banned yet, the tiers steels and vast array of fighters help, but kyurem out speeds lots of the fighters and can threaten steels with earth power. It also can shred the bulky waters that may rise to take blissey's place with freeze-dry, so that is one mon im sure will be too much should blissey rise.
But wait, have no fear, there still may be hope. While this is just speculation, there can be a solid chance that Chansey may drop from OU to UUBL should Blissey rise and displace chansey. I would definitely be open to retesting chansey, it was quick banned due to the lack of breakers that could beat it, but now we have many mons that would threaten it. Knock off and trick cripple chansey, while we have so many physical breakers and fighting types that can beat it. In fact, this is the reason why Blissey wasn't banned last voting slate, so i do feel if Blissey rises and chansey drops back down to UUBL i feel it could be rested to fill the void that a potential blissey departure could leave.
Speaking of UUBL, here are my thoughts on the remaining UUBL mons. Durant is still too damn strong, it's stabs punch through the tier and it can run a vast variety of covrerage moves to it what blocks it. Mamowsine is manageable, many faster revenge killers exist that can take an ice shard and threaten it back while we have new defensive mons like washtom and skarm that excell at checking mamo. As for the others, a definite no on the retests on alola tails and haxorus, dracozolt ive changed my stance on, it can easily beat the tiers best checks, has solid bulk, and it was still broken when its best check was in the tier so no on the retest (plus zolt would be instantly broken when it gets its hidden ability so it doesn't matter). Diggersby i feel is a mon that is too strong for the current tier, but as the meta shifts around in the coming months i would be interested in a retest in the future. Lastly, venusaur is one mon i kinda want to experiment with to see how broken it would be. Its a vastly different meta game than when it was banned, and even though its likely to be too much, i still want to see how it would fare. What ive said has been said before, so nothing too much here.
All in all, these are my thoughts on how the metagame would look if blissey and/or skarm were to rise to OU. UU has the potential to be the best its ever been this gen and im really enjoying it since the beginning of the month. Sadly, like the post above me states, the fact that the tier will go absolutely crazy and its stability rests on two pokemon isnt the best sign for the metagame, juts something to think about.
For me, the threat of losing SkarmBliss is- complicated. Losing these two would undeniably cause extreme changes in the tier, but I can't think of a lot of mons that would be over the edge without the pair. What's going to break the newly problematic mons in the long run is that losing this core will inevitably cause a decline in defensive teams, as bulkier playstyles love the synergy these two tend to provide. I could see the following being broken:
Terrakion: This mon has been fairly controversial already, and while neither half of SkarmBliss is that great against it, the decline of defense and, to a lesser extent, balance will leave few common mons that can truly counter it. Pretty much the only safe bets already are G. Weezing and Palossand, the latter of whom will probably decline in popularity with the more offensive meta. It would pretty much be business as usual for the bull, it's just that checks would become harder to slot on a team since these mons are overall worse without SkarmBliss backing them up against other threats. Jirachi: Already a great mon in this tier, losing Skarm greatly benefits physical sets while losing Bliss gets rid of a key stopgap to CM sets. That might just be the edge Rachi needs to become unmanageable. Kyurem: While there are definitely special walls that would replace Bliss, all of those replacements get shredded by Specs Rem. Assuming Snorlax drops off (which it probably will), Bronzong will be the only mon that can safely switch in. However, Specs Rem isn't the end of the world since it sucks against fast offensive mons unless it has Spikes and/or Web support; however, a lot of the mons it struggles with are those that are likely to be banned themselves, namely Terrak, Kel and Rachi. As such, I don't think this would be problematic right away, but in the panic-induced bans we're likely to see in this scenario, the tier could easily be left without proper answers to Rem. Sharpedo: This is a mon that I haven't seen talked about, and a large part of that is Skarm, which just completely blanks it (unless it goes Special/Mixed). However, no more Skarm means this thing suddenly has a much easier time cleaning thanks to its continually increasing Speed, with strong STABs, pivoting in Flip Turn and great coverage options like Close Combat, Psychic Fangs and Earthquake that can smack the majority of the tier pretty hard. It still has to fear priority, but none of those can safely switch in, or it can simply live many priority options thanks to- Screens (er, Grimmsnarl and Klefki): With offense getting better with the decline of defense and the need for more switch in opportunities without Teleport Bliss, screens and their setters are naturally primed to become even more dominant. Grimmsnarl has drawn terror as the most prominent setter, due to also packing Taunt and further utility in Spirit Break off a 120 Attack stat, so it is a logical choice for potential ban. However, if it is banned, then Klefki will simply take its place, and while not being as good still packs Prankster screens alongside good support options in TWave, Spikes, and Switcheroo. Key wouldn't be OP by itself, but its ability to facilitate powerful sweepers and wallbreakers is still a hot-button issue. Going back to Shark, Reflect means Lycan D Accelrock almost never 2HKOs and Adaptability Jet from Banded Crawdaunt is only a 4HKO.
That's all that stands out right now as risky; I think Keldeo might actually get worse with such a shift as Milotic and Mantine would probably be two of the most common Bliss replacements as Special walls, on top of other good natural checks such as Tentacruel and Dragalge. It's possible that there'd be more mons that could be broken, but that's all I can think of.
So, to OU: please do not take SkarmBliss from us. Please.
Believe me, ur not the only one worried. Blissey has been seeing a lot more usage in OU lately, for the same reasons you mentioned as it can pivot out into strong breakers and now uses heavy duty boots to avoid chip and keep momentum. It finally has a new niche over chansey and i wouldn't be surprised if it rose to OU next shifts. Skarmory is another mon that has been getting OU usage more and more, and I would argue it leaving would have a BIGGER impact on the tier than Bliss leaving. Skarmory checks many, MANY physical threats in the metagame, like Obstagoon, terrakion, lycanroc-dusk, mamo, durant (before it gets rebanned), DD Ttar, scarf krook, physical jirachi lacking fire punch, mimikyu, pangoro, heracross, mienshao, the list goes on. The tier would be in complete dissaray if skarm were to rise and many bans i feel would happen as a result. (NOTE: Not all the mons that are checked by skarmory i mentioned would be broken if it leaves, in fact very little would be, the large list of mons are just there to illustrate my point). New special walls like umbreon, araquanid, spDef washtom, slowking, and mantine could take blisseys place, but none other than slowking can really perform to the same like Blissey could. As for which mons would be most threatening if Blissey rose (since skarm i believe will still stay due to being outclassed by mandi and corv for the time being), my pick would say kyruem. Blissey is the main reason this thing hasn't been banned yet, the tiers steels and vast array of fighters help, but kyurem out speeds lots of the fighters and can threaten steels with earth power. It also can shred the bulky waters that may rise to take blissey's place with freeze-dry, so that is one mon im sure will be too much should blissey rise.
But wait, have no fear, there still may be hope. While this is just speculation, there can be a solid chance that Chansey may drop from OU to UUBL should Blissey rise and displace chansey. I would definitely be open to retesting chansey, it was quick banned due to the lack of breakers that could beat it, but now we have many mons that would threaten it. Knock off and trick cripple chansey, while we have so many physical breakers and fighting types that can beat it. In fact, this is the reason why Blissey wasn't banned last voting slate, so i do feel if Blissey rises and chansey drops back down to UUBL i feel it could be rested to fill the void that a potential blissey departure could leave.
Speaking of UUBL, here are my thoughts on the remaining UUBL mons. Durant is still too damn strong, it's stabs punch through the tier and it can run a vast variety of covrerage moves to it what blocks it. Mamowsine is manageable, many faster revenge killers exist that can take an ice shard and threaten it back while we have new defensive mons like washtom and skarm that excell at checking mamo. As for the others, a definite no on the retests on alola tails and haxorus, dracozolt ive changed my stance on, it can easily beat the tiers best checks, has solid bulk, and it was still broken when its best check was in the tier so no on the retest (plus zolt would be instantly broken when it gets its hidden ability so it doesn't matter). Diggersby i feel is a mon that is too strong for the current tier, but as the meta shifts around in the coming months i would be interested in a retest in the future. Lastly, venusaur is one mon i kinda want to experiment with to see how broken it would be. Its a vastly different meta game than when it was banned, and even though its likely to be too much, i still want to see how it would fare. What ive said has been said before, so nothing too much here.
All in all, these are my thoughts on how the metagame would look if blissey and/or skarm were to rise to OU. UU has the potential to be the best its ever been this gen and im really enjoying it since the beginning of the month. Sadly, like the post above me states, the fact that the tier will go absolutely crazy and its stability rests on two pokemon isnt the best sign for the metagame, juts something to think about.
Yeah, I definitely see that the loss of Blissey, while pretty shitty, would at least provide some form of compensation in the form of a Chansey retest. The loss of Skarm, however, would be absolutely brutal for the tier. You mentioned some really solid potential special wall options that could fill the void of a Bliss loss (albeit not completely, because, c’mon, it’s Blissey), but I’m genuinely curious to see if there are any physically bulky options in UU or below that could potentially fill the role of a dominant physical wall. Of course, nothing could completely fill the role that Skarm would leave, if a Skarm loss happened, because that thing is just so damn difficult to get through for a huge amount of mons. But, in the event of a Skarm rise, does anyone have any ideas on what could at least attempt to fill its role?
hate to burst the bubble here but losing blissey is not going to make the tier spontaneously combust. While it is true that it checks some strong special attackers like toxtricity, dragalge, roserade and kyurem, the vast majority of mons in the tier (including those four, by getting free hazards, volting out, or pp stalling w/ sub roost or sub dd) can take advantage of blissey as Adaam mentioned, such as with trick/switcheroo, volt switch/uturn, taunt, substitute w/ ghosts, etc. The reason blissey is so great is not necessarily because it walls the whole tier, but because with its great bulk and defensive capabilities it is able to teleport out and bring in powerful breakers, such as terrakion and crawdaunt, for free opportunites. In fact, one can even make an argument that blissey leaving would actually help teams check those powerful breakers (which was the whole point of the voting on blissey and the main argument for those voting ban)
Skarmory is a linchpin right now, this I agree with. However, if the argument is that skarm leaving will make everything broken, I dont see how this applies. If skarm is the only thing holding a something back from being broken, well, it's already broken by definition. Yes some things will get better and new threats will become more dangerous, but that's tier shifts for you and thats how lower tiers work for better or for worse. It's unlikely that it even rises anyways so don't stress too much.
We still have two weeks with july tiers and I am sure that after the durant/mamo vote there will be another vote of some kind before the month is out, maybe on jirachi, terrak, lycan, or crawdaunt. Who knows, but the point is, this is an ever changing and unprecedented situation we are in, so speculation is probably not going to be very accurate this far out. Speculation doesn't help push forward interesting and relevant dialogues about important topics like jirachi, terrakion, or slowking.
On skarmbliss-I really don't understand the concern over losing this it is really not that hard to take advantage of and if your team is struggling to break this it is unviable it needs to go back to the lab. When you build, you prepare for offensive cores, so I don’t understand why you wouldn’t prepare for defensive ones, it is a double standard that is key to building good teams in every tier. I could make a list of all the things that shred these two but nah.
you really thought i was gonna give you a tldr go and read the post it was literally like 6 sentences or something good grief
Okay, I feel like this is kinda not relevant at the moment to talk about and just plain ole theorymonning. If that does happen next shift, or ever, the council will take the appropriate actions to insure a stable metagame. Anyways, for now, I would suggest exploring the tier in this little semi-golden age of UU while it's testing possible rentry's.
I personally think Mamoswine is going to be a fine addition to the tier. Skarmory and Rotom Wash's presence being more common than ever in the tier, combined with the plethora of fast offensive threats that don't care about Mamoswine's Ice Shard running around signal to me that Mamo will only provide good for the tier. After testing for about 35 games, I can offer these main thoughts:
Mamoswine has a really hard time coming in on offensive builds, unless you provide a slow u-turn or if you sack something every other turn.
Ice shard is weaker when it comes to killing things, as you need significant chip on things like Terrakion or Crawdaunt to actually revenge KO them.
You're a lot slower than you used to be. The metagame has sped up a lot since Mamo vanished, and as a result of that, Mamo has a hard time firing off an attack vs fast offensive builds without taking damage beforehand.
Mamoswine is now just a mere nuicance to defensive teams thanks to Skarmory. While Knock Off + Mamo's 2 stabs are not going to be fun to eat but its easy enough to just wish skarm back to full health.
Crash misses more then a stormtrooper and Mamo dies more often than a red shirt.
tl;dr - Mamo has gotten worse since it was banned. The meta is so much more offensive, that Mamo can only kinda keep up. It wouldnt suprise me to see this thing in B rankings once we free it.
Sharpedo: This is a mon that I haven't seen talked about, and a large part of that is Skarm, which just completely blanks it. However, no more Skarm means this thing suddenly has a much easier time cleaning, with strong STABs, pivoting in Flip Turn and great coverage options like Close Combat, Psychic Fangs and Earthquake that can smack the majority of the tier pretty hard.
Yeah I've been running mixed sharpedo a fair bit on ladder and it can be really good in a lot of match ups as it does really well with CC and hydro pump to break skarm bliss. It is pretty much a dead slot against teams with sylveon though I've found and in general I think it's outclassed by lycanroc which has better initial speed, priority, beats fairies and has options to go SR. The main thing that gives sharpedo a slight niche is that it can beat skarm and quag without CB and isn't stopped by scarf shao or which is significant and it's still a good mon, just not as good as some of the offensive options that are excellent rn and need less support.
I think that kinda sums up the meta tbh, lots of good stuff that can work but a few mons that are just a cut above the rest and require pretty specific team settings to not simply make a team better by replacing X "pretty good and useable" mon. Main offenders of this I think are skarmory maybe blissey, slowking (also maybe), lycanroc, necrozma, and durant as they are all so splashable and still do their job better than almost any other mon and with very little team support. Not saying that these are all broken (indeed I think terrak is more broken than some of them but it does need more team support) but just a commentary on what I feel is a somewhat elitist metagame mons-wise.
Thanks to everyone for providing their input. As promised, the council has voted again on the recent drops, with the following results:
Mamoswine has been unanimously voted to remain UU.
Durant, however, will return to UUBL in a 10-1 vote (with two abstentions).
While Mamoswine is still an excellent Pokemon, the council unanimously agreed that many things have changed since the time when it was easily the most meta-defining threat. Its Speed tier is far less overwhelming than it once was, and there are many faster threats that resist Ice Shard and OHKO in return now such as Keldeo and Cobalion. New defensive answers exist as well, most notably Rotom-Wash (who only entered the tier at the tail end of Mamoswine's previous tenure in UU) and Skarmory.
Durant, however, has proven to still be as powerful as ever. With a fantastic Speed tier that beats out the sword trio and physical power that is unmatched by almost anything else in UU, oftentimes the only answer to it is to pray for a Hustle miss. Skarmory is the only reliable answer, but Choice Band and Hone Claws sets actually have a chance of powering through with a bit of chip damage (two CB Superpowers will do 73-87% damage to max/max Skarmory). Overall the council overwhelmingly thought that even in this more offensive metagame, Durant was simply too much of a threat.
Since the shifts of July I've been waiting to make a post like that which would "summarize" the development of the UU Metagame. Gross Sweep already made a great post about 2 weeks ago but the metagame wasn't quite settled yet. I think it's the case right now and that's why I'm making this post. The aim of this post is to allow people who don't know quite well the tier how it works right now and how is SS UU Post-DLC Metagame.
1. Major changes
1.1. New top tiers
Since Underused got a lot of new Pokemon, it's not a surprise to see some changes in the metagame. In my opinion the most important one is the decline of Incineroar which even if it's still a good Pokemon, is not as incredible as before because of the introduction of new threats that compete with it as a Dark-type, as a pivot etc.. Krookodile is probably the biggest issue for Incineroar as it also has the ability Intimidate but a typing which allows it to run Heavy-Duty Boots and pressure way more Pokemon in the current metagame. Krookodile is also way faster which and has access to Stealth Rock. All in all, it can fulfil a lot of roles like Incineroar and it's overall way better that Incineroar. Incineroar also struggles to handle some new top threats, mostly our many new Rock-types and Fighting-types like Terrakion, Tyranitar, Mienshao, Lycanroc-Dusk or Heracross. New offensive Dark-types such as Krookodile and Obstagoon are better Pokemon to spam Knock Off while Tyranitar and Sharpedo distinguish themselves from Incineroar by being more bulky and more powerful for Tyranitar which allows it to be a better setup Sweepers under Screens support while Sharpedo is way faster thanks to Speed Boost and can be played either physical, special or mixed. On the other hand, Noivern isn't as good as before too. While it's still a good pick as a defogger, it struggles to beat a lot of new staples (like Blissey, Slowking, Tyranitar, Mamoswine, Terrakion etc..) it also faces some competition from new arrivants such as Skarmory which is the best defogger in the tier but which can also be played as a Entry Hazards setter thanks to its access to both Stealth Rock and Spikes. The great typing and physical bulk of Skarmory allows it to handle way more effectively new threats while not being forced to run Heavy-Duty Boots. Talking about Skarmory and Blissey, the ubiquity of this core and Jirachi has impacted a lot of Pokemon viability such as Roserade or Celebi which are not good as before. Pokemon such as Bronzong or Chandelure are not used a lot anymore because of the many powerful Knock Off users. Other Pokemon such as Machamp and Sirfetch'd have almost disappeared because of the many new Fighting-types which are better because of their typing, bulk or speed. Last but not least, some Pokemon have become better like Keldeo which enjoy the decline of Noivern, Grass-types or Fairy-types such as Sylveon.
1.2. New Entry Hazard setters and new Rapid Spinner & Defogger
As you can in the SS UU Role Compendium, the tier got a lot of new Pokemon to either set Entry Hazards or remove them. All this new additions are helping the tier and allow people to build around way more Pokemon than before in my opinion since there is a lot of Pokemon which can fulfil different roles. Blissey is a great way to set Stealth Rock while being able to handle most special threats while Krookodile, Mamoswine, Palossand and Seismitoad are new Ground-types which can set Stealth Rock. While Krookodile and Mamoswine are more offensive setters, Palossand is a great way to handle some threats such as Terrakion or Lycanroc-Dusk. On its side Seismitoad can be played either as an offensive or defensive setter. Jirachi is also a new Pokemon which can set Entry Hazard while being able to check some commn threats such or act as a Wisher/Pivot. UU also got a lot of Pokemon which are able to remove Entry Hazards such as Tentacruel which is probably our best Rapid Spinner. Starmie is also a new Pokemon which can use Rapid Spin in a more offensive way thanks to its better movepool and speed. Skarmory shines as the best Defogger in the tier while Talonflame also has its niche. Last but not least, the tier got a new Magic Bounce user : Hatterene which can be played in different ways such as a Calm Mind user or Assault Vest user. All in all, those multiple additions allows people to use even more Entry Hazards but also to deal way more effectively with them. Before the shifts, Noivern was a pick of choice for a lot of teams because it was one of our only good pick but now it's different and it's way better like that.
1.3. The climax of Heavy-Duty Boots
Before the shifts Heavy-Duty Boots was already a great item for a lot of common defoggers such as Noivern and Mantine but also for strong Fire-types such as Incineroar, Darmanitan and Chandelure but it's now on the best item in the tier as it allows great defensive pivot such as Slowking or Blissey to come much more easily on the field by ignoring Entry Hazards such as Stealth Rock or Toxic Spikes. But defensive threats are not the only one to enjoy this item since things like SubRoost Kyurem or Scyther appreciate a lot HDB in order to not be wear down too easily by Stealth Rocks. More than ever, thanks to great defensive pivots, it's not that big of a deal even for Balanced or Bulky Offense to not have some hazard control.
1.4. Volt-Turn, Teleport & Momentum
The momentum has always been the key to the victory in Pokemon and the current SS UU pushes this concept to its climax in my opinion. Thanks to new insanely good Teleport users such as Blissey and Slowking but also new Volt-Turn abusers like Mienshao, I feel like the current metagame is really using a lot of Pokemon in order to keep or get the momentum. Teleport allows defensives staples to pivot to handle some hits and then to allows powerful breakers to come way more easily on the field such as Terrakion, Crawdaunt, Lycanroc-Dusk, Kyurem etc.. On the other hand, Mienshao can really abuses its ability Regenerator alongside LO to chip opponent's team.
2. New current staples (A to Z)
2.1. Offensive staples
Crawdaunt @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Close Combat / Switcheroo
Crawdaunt @ Life Orb / Mystic Water
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
Crawdaunt is probably the scariest Pokemon to switch-into and its defensive checks are almost non-existent. Its best check is probably Rocky Helmet RestTalk Keldeo, a set pokeisfun is using a lot (I'm not sure but he may have invented it). If you're facing this Pokemon, be really careful as it pairs well with Teleport users which can allows it to freely come on the field to smack some powerful hits. Even tho its defensive answers are not common at all, Crawdaunt can be pressured by faster threats such as Cobalion, Keldeo, Kyurem or Rotom-Wash and Heliolisk.
Krookodile @ Passho Berry / Chople Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Smack Down / Taunt
Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Close Combat
- Toxic
Krookodile @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Darkest Lariat / Iron Tail / Toxic
- Close Combat
Krookodile enjoys the fact that the current metagame doesn't appreciate its typing at all. Indeed, Ground-type + Dark-type allows it to pressure a lot of Pokemon and there isn't a lot of Pokemon which can some safely on it. Weezing-Galar is its best answer but if it doesn't run Pain Split or have some Wish support, it struggles to handle Krookodile in the long run because of chip damages induced by Stealth Rock or Knock Off. Krookodile is also a pretty versatile Pokemon which can be played as a great offensive Stealth Rock setter or as a Choice Scarf/Band user. Fortunately the tier has many Pokemon which can outspeed it and pressure it such as Terrakion, Lycanroc-Dusk, Close Combat Obstagoon, Keldeo or Mimikyu. Even slower Pokemon like Crawdaunt, Body Press Skarmory or Heracross can be dangerous for Krookodile.
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Trick / Fire Punch
- Healing Wish / Fire Punch
- U-turn
- Iron Head
+ Stealth Rock setter with almost any kind of spread you want
+ Mixed Lure with almost any kind of spread you want
+ Wish/Protect with almost any kind of spread you want
+ any kind of set you want with almost any kind of spread you want
Jirachi is the most versatile Pokemon in this tier both in sets and spreads. This Pokemon can fulfil almost any role, from offensive support with Choice Scarf, Wisher, Stealth Rock setter, Mixed Lure, Calm Mind user, Dual Dance user (Calm Mind + Iron Defense) etc.. Its typing and speed also allows it to be played with many custom spreads based on what you need. This Pokemon is probably the best Pokemon in the tier and you always have to keep it in mind when you're building a team. Also be careful because Jirachi is well known for doing some Jirachi's things with Iron Head + Serene Grace.
In a tier without Toxapex, Clefable and Infiltrator Dragapult, it's not really a surprise to see Kyurem being a top threat in Underused. Like Krookodile, Kyurem is pretty versatile despite its mediocre movepool. Its access to Freeze-Dry this generation is a bless which allows to it pressure way more easily Water-types without having to rely on either Draco Meteor or Earth Power. Like Krookodile it's a bit hard to check this Pokemon on the defensive side but it's way more easy to use offensive Pokemon like Mimikyu, Cobalion, Terrakion, Lycanroc-Dusk or Jirachi in order to beat it. While Blissey is nice to beat choice locked variant, it really struggles to beat Sub variants of Kyurem.
Lycanroc-Dusk @ Life Orb
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge / Swords Dance / Stealth Rock / Filler
- Accelerock
- Close Combat
- Crunch
Lycanroc-Dusk @ Focus Sash
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt / Close Combat
- Endeavor / Close Combat
- Accelerock
Close Combat has been a bless for Lycanroc-Dusk and makes it one of the best Pokemon in the tier. Its incredible speed allows it to outspeed key threats such as Terrakion, Cobalion, Keldeo and Heliolisk while Tough Claws is able to boost almost all its move (outside of Stone Edge :sigh:). Thanks to its speed, sheer force and a great priority, Lycanroc-Dusk is one of the best revenge killer in the tier but also a strong sweeper which can OHKO Cobalion and Krookodile even after Intimidate but also things like Jirachi and Keldeo after some chip damages. While Lycanroc-Dusk kinda struggle to beat Skarmory and Slowking, it's easy to pair it with Pokemon which can pressure those checks like Knock Off or Volt-Switch users.
Mienshao @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out / Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Mienshao @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Toxic
Mienshao @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 16 HP / 240 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Close Combat
Mienshao is a Pokemon which shines more and more as the metagame evolves. Its current best set is probably LO + Regenerator which allows Mienshao to be a pretty agressive offensive pivot which can pressure a lot of Pokemon thanks to Knock Off + Close Combat + U-turn. As I said earlier, Heavy-Duty Boots are really common at the moment so it's always nice to have a Pokemon which can easily remove them. Choice Scarf is another nice and well known option on Mienshao and it's really nice now it has access to Close Combat and does not have to rely on High Jump Kick. Last but not least, AV Shao come back from USM UU to shine a bit again. This spread is probably not the best at all by the way. I just made it in order to handle a Draco Meteor from Choice Specs Kyurem but you fail to OHKO some really important Pokemon like Blissey...
Mimikyu @ Life Orb
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Play Rough
While Mimikyu struggles a lot to beat Skarmory, it can pressure a lot of Pokemon thanks to its ability and typing. Its Ghost-type is good to pressure Slowking which is really common while its speed and fairy typing allows it to outspeed Krookodile and Obstagoon which is really nice.
Terrakion @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Toxic
Terrakion @ Shuca Berry / Focus Sash / Life Orb / Passho Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
Terrakion @ Focus Sash / Life Orb / Shuca Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance / Taunt
- Stone Edge / Rock Tomb
- Close Combat
Terrakion is one of the most dominent Pokemon in the tier even tho it faces competition from Lycanroc-Dusk which is faster and has access to a priority. However, Terrakion's better bulk and offensive typing allows it to pressure more Skarmory while Lycanroc-Dusk can pressure more Palossand. Both of them are really good in their roles and it really depends of what you want to play. The better bulk of Terrakion makes it way better as a Sword Dance user tho.
Blissey is back in Underused and it's better than ever. Thanks to Teleport + Heavy-Duty Boots, Blissey acts like in OU as a great pivot and blanket check in Balanced and Bulky Offense. It's still able to pass some insanely good wishes thanks to its sky high HP. While it doesn't appreciate the numerous Fighting-type and overall the fact that UU has way more physical offensive threats than special ones, it's still a top pick in the tier and it pairs really well with either Slowking or Skamory. Even tho we might lose it, its impact in the tier within the last weeks has already been demonstrated.
Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers / Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe or EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe or EVs: 120 HP / 252 Def / 136 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes / Stealth Rock / Defog
- Roost
- Whirlwind / Toxic / Stealth Rock / Iron Defense
- Body Press
Like Jirachi, Skamory is one of the best Pokemon in the tier and probably the best Defogger UU has to offer. Its typing and physical bulk allows it to handle major threats such as Lycanroc-Dusk, Cobalion, Krookodile, Mienshao or Terrakion to a lesser extent while still being able to support a lot its mates thanks to either Defog or Stealth Rock and/or Spikes. Also Body Press allows Skamory to not be passive and to pressure a lot of offensive threats or defensive threats weak to it like Blissey. Like Scizor in USM UU, Skarmory makes Magneton a viable pick for many teams which need a Pokemon which can remove Skarmory for some powerful sweepers (like Lycanroc-Dusk or Tyranitar).
Last but not least, Slowking is another abuser of Teleport and maybe and even better one than Blissey thanks to its lower speed and access to Regenerator which allows it to be a really painful Pokemon to eliminate. It pairs really well with Fighting-types Pokemon alongside Future Sight but also strong breakers. Fortunately, Dark-types and the numerous Knock Off users can force it to lose its HDB which makes it way easier to pressure with Entry Hazards (mainly Spikes and Toxic Spikes). Volt-Switch users like Toxtricity, Rotom-Mow/Wash and Heliolisk are also really good pick vs it since they can force it out without using Teleport.
3. Final words
While it's true that I didn't talked about all the new Pokemon we got in Underused such as Tyranitar which is not as good as we thought in the first place or Sharpedo which is a nice late-game sweeper, Tentacruel and Dragalge which are really good Toxic Spikes setters which can support their teammates each in their own way (Tentacruel thanks to Rapid Spin and/or Knock Off and Dragalge thanks to its sheer force and access to Flip Turn), I trully hope I was able to "summarize" (yeah I know this post is more than 15k characters..) how the current metagame evolved. I could talked about Necrozma and Reuniclus which despite the many new Dark-types are still really dangerous and underestimated by too many players. I also could talked about Mamoswine which is finally back in Underused but all in all, I think I did something kinda clean.. SS UU Post-DLC Metagame has already changed a lot since early July with 5 Pokemon banned and 3 Pokemon unbanned out of 8 Pokemon tested back in UU. We all know the metagame gonna changed even more with August shifts but I'm really happy about the way the metagame is shapping itself. I hope as many players as possible will still contribute and share their thoughts on the tier. That's all for today folks, have a nice day !
Rest Sleeptalk Bulkup Grimmsnarl is one of the best Pokemon I've ever tried on the ladder - the fact that it can setup on WishTectTurn Jirachi is outstanding, and it also abuses defensive trends such as Teleport Blissey and Slowking which is awesome. It checks Kyurem aswell.
The Icing on the cake? Priority Spirit Break, which doesn't have an immunity thanks to the typing.
As long as Durant is banned and Bisharp doesn't drop I'll be using this status absorbing behemoth.
Rest Sleeptalk Bulkup Grimmsnarl is one of the best Pokemon I've ever tried on the ladder - the fact that it can setup on WishTectTurn Jirachi is outstanding, and it also abuses defensive trends such as Teleport Blissey and Slowking which is awesome. It checks Kyurem aswell.
The Icing on the cake? Priority Spirit Break, which doesn't have an immunity thanks to the typing.
As long as Durant is banned and Bisharp doesn't drop I'll be using this status absorbing behemoth.
I'm new to competitive pokemon and the detailed posts such as moutemoute's really help provide key insight to help newer players like me learn so thank you for them and please continue to make them :)
Dropping Off
With the huge pool of mons that are currently UU, it's inevitable that some of them are- less than ideal. While I can't speak with perfect accuracy as to usage, these are all the mons that, at least to me, inherently have a harder time in this meta compared to most. Sure, most of the mons in UU do require some level of support, (see post 183 for more info) and these mons are not necessarily bad in UU, but from what experience I have these mons struggle quite a bit right now.
Clawitzer: This prawn does pack a lot of power thanks to Mega Launcher boosting up its coverage, but isn't necessarily the best Special nuke due to its one-dimensional nature and low speed tier; the latter means that it is largely outclassed by both Kyurem and Porygon-Z as a Specs user, both of whom also have slightly more power. However, the more pressing issue right now for Claw is the sheer amount of competition it faces from the plethora of other Water types, most of whom are just overall more useful. Crawdaunt and Keldeo are some of the best offensive mons in the tier right now, while defensive teams have great Waters in Slowking, Tentacruel, Mantine or Milotic, and Blastoise and Cloyster both have the option to be threatening Shell Smash sweepers or slot into the hazards game with respective Spin and Spikes. Still, Clawitzer can smack unprepared teams and loves the new STAB momentum tool in Flip Turn. If it does drop, though, its power may be too much for RU.
Comfey: As I guessed back in an early stage post, Comfey has not seen too much usage, and for good reason. The loss of HP really hurt Comfey, as it now has no way to damage Steels outside of Leech Seed, which is a problem considering how good Steels are right now. Its decent defenses are held back by miserable HP, and as an attacker its largely outclassed by Hatterene and Sylveon due to their superior power, bulk and coverage. At present, Comfey is best used as a fast support mon, utilizing its Speed to fire off quick Taunts, Toxics, Aromatherapy or occasional Defog. U-turn also allows it to bring in teammates, although the meta currently prefers slow pivots. Still, this probably isn't enough to give it a lasting niche in UU.
Exploud: As promising as STAB, immunity-free Boomburst may seem, Exploud cannot effectively use this talent thanks to unimpressive bulk and Speed. Even without the problem it has of actually getting an attack off, its Boomburst still comes up short against Ttar and Gigalith, especially while Sand is up. It also doesn't appreciate Screens, as LS makes its unimpressive 91 SpA even more apparent. This thing wishes it could have use both Specs and Scarf, but it has to choose between having lackluster Speed or losing the oomph that actually makes its Boomburst scary in a vacuum. Finally, Exploud does not enjoy the domination of Fighting types in the tier. The other trick it has up its sleeve is Scrappy Focus Blast for Doublade, but overall its shortcomings are just too much for it to be a consistent choice. Definitely going to drop sooner or later, although its power seems considerably more deadly (possibly banworthy) in RU.
Incineroar: The only mon on this list that was UU before the last shift, Incineroar recently became a lot worse due to one mon: Krookodile. Krookodile completely outclasses Roar, packing Roar's Intimidate but with much better Speed, the ability to set SR, a resistance to SR rather than a weakness, which crucially means it doesn't have to run Boots to be effective, and nothing will ever complain about having STAB Earthquake. Roar does still pack a niche over Krook due to its ability to pivot and burn immunity, but overall you're just better off using Krook.
Lycanroc: Lycanroc's problem is mainly just that it's completely outclassed by Dusk form. Really the only thing it has going for it is Sand Rush, although it has difficulty getting on the field due to its laughable bulk and sharing 5 weaknesses with both Sand setters. Probably going to drop, and I sincerely hope it turns out well in whatever tier it ends up in.
Poliwrath: Poliwrath's typing puts it in direct competition with many of the tier's best mons, most notably the highly dangerous Keldeo. However, these waters do give it its one niche in UU: namely, Water Absorb allowing it to stave off the offensive Waters of the tier. However, in that regard in faces competition from Seismotoad, which boasts Rocks, Knock Off and STAB Earthquake over it. Poliwrath's advantage in this regard is it being resistant to Ice moves (bar Freeze Dry) as opposed to just neutral to them, as it means that it can shrug off Water type's Ice coverage and threaten a freshly reintroduced Mamoswine. Still, the burden of competition and mediocre Speed means its probably going to drop, but it does at least have a niche in the tier.
Snorlax: Last shift, Snorlax rose up to UU- in what was possibly the worst time it could have done so. Lax hates the current domination of Fighting types, along with other powerful physical attackers like Jirachi and Crawdaunt. The prevalence of Knock Off also hurts it due to its dependency on Leftovers for recovery (seriously, why does this thing not get Slack Off?). Lax's main niche is its ability to handle one of the scariest Special attackers in Specs Kyurem, as great speical bulk and Thick Fat allow it to shrug of everything aside from the rare Focus Blast, while hitting it decently hard in return. Still, the surprising ease with which physical attackers can wear it down (not to mention hazards) means that Lax isn't a very snug fit in this current UU.
Steelix: Another rise from UU, Steelix likewise suffers from being a bulky mon with no recovery. While Sturdy allows it to get guaranteed Rocks, that niche can be unreliable due to it being Taunt bait. It is both completely outclassed and walled by tier king Skarmory, and UU doesn't have any lack of mons that can clear its Rocks. Add to that lackluster Special bulk and mediocre Attack, and you can probably tell that Steelix is only usable on certain teams. If you really need a physical wall that can set Rocks and doesn't necessarily need to stick around, Steelix is the choice for you; otherwise, you're better off finding someone else.
Dark Rapidashes
These mons definitely fare better than the mons I listed previously, although they are still more fringe in terms of what players are likely to choose. However, I do think that each of them are pretty good in UU as their pros can be really damn good.
Celebi: While I agree this thing was hurt by the drop of Jirachi, it does still have a use as a potentially scary NP sweeper. I mainly say this because, in case you haven't noticed, this tier currently has a lot of Water types, many of which can struggle to deal with NP Celebi, notably tier superstar Keldeo. As such, I feel the demand to check dangerous Waters gives Celebi a strong role in UU, even if it's not as good.
Copperajah: The third riser from RU, I feel this guy does slightly better than Lax and Lix due to how hard it hits with ability- boosted Heavy Slam and Heat Crash, along with strong coverage moves and the bulk to set up Rocks. Still, no reliable recovery and the abundance of Fighting types doesn't bode too well for it.
Druddigon: I was initially surprised that this guy made it to UU, but I can't deny that he has a rather fun niche in UU as a suicide Rocks lead. Rough Skin can be combined with Rocky Helmet to severely chip the many physical attackers of the tier, while Cynde's option of Endure (see post 173) can be a gimmicky but useful strat to rack up more chip. Drud also has the option of Mold Breaker, meaning that its the one Rocker who doesn't have to worry about Hatt switching in on it. Dragon Tail and status in either Glare or Toxic round out the set, allowing it to be of use even if Rocks are lost. Probably going to drop, but this guy can be surprisingly effective.
Noivern: While Skarm has taken Vern's crown as the premier Defogger, the bat-dragon-thing can still be of use in a more offensive capacity. Its STAB Draco and Hurricane hit fairly hard (especially against the prevalent Fighting types), while Flamethrower chunks a lot of Steels. It still has several support options between fast Taunt, U-turn and Switcheroo (obviously not recommended for Boots sets) as well as Roost to keep it healthy. Finally, Vern can still be used as a Defogger on HO teams that utilize Skarm as a Spikes/Rocks suicide lead; overall Noivern is less useful but still a pretty decent choice.
Pangoro: Pangoro still hits pretty hard, especially with Band, and has two great abilities in Iron Fist (further power boost) and Scrappy (ignores Intimidate), which make it a solid UU mon in a vacuum. It just wishes there weren't so many other Fighting types, both as competition and as a threat to its being.
Roserade: Another mon hurt by the arrival of Rachi, Rose still functions as a good suicide Spiker if you want your Skarm to serve another role on the team. Sleep Powder can be very useful in a tier where sleepers aren't that common, Sludge Bomb allows it to spread Poison and Leaf Storm just hits really hard, especially against many of other leads. That said, Rose wishes it still had HP, and the new drops mean that its base 90 Speed isn't too impressive anymore. Still, it can raise sufficient hell against slower teams.
Again, I do think that a lot of these mons do have a niche in the current meta, but I overall don't think the first group will be able to cut it long term in terms of usage. Still, really interested to see what happens to the second group.
Dropping Off
With the huge pool of mons that are currently UU, it's inevitable that some of them are- less than ideal. While I can't speak with perfect accuracy as to usage, these are all the mons that, at least to me, inherently have a harder time in this meta compared to most. Sure, most of the mons in UU do require some level of support, (see post 183 for more info) and these mons are not necessarily bad in UU, but from what experience I have these mons struggle quite a bit right now.
Clawitzer: This prawn does pack a lot of power thanks to Mega Launcher boosting up its coverage, but isn't necessarily the best Special nuke due to its one-dimensional nature and low speed tier; the latter means that it is largely outclassed by both Kyurem and Porygon-Z as a Specs user, both of whom also have slightly more power. However, the more pressing issue right now for Claw is the sheer amount of competition it faces from the plethora of other Water types, most of whom are just overall more useful. Crawdaunt and Keldeo are some of the best offensive mons in the tier right now, while defensive teams have great Waters in Slowking, Tentacruel, Mantine or Milotic, and Blastoise and Cloyster both have the option to be threatening Shell Smash sweepers or slot into the hazards game with respective Spin and Spikes. Still, Clawitzer can smack unprepared teams and loves the new STAB momentum tool in Flip Turn. If it does drop, though, its power may be too much for RU.
Comfey: As I guessed back in an early stage post, Comfey has not seen too much usage, and for good reason. The loss of HP really hurt Comfey, as it now has no way to damage Steels outside of Leech Seed, which is a problem considering how good Steel are right now. Its decent defenses are held back by miserable HP, and as an attacker its largely outclassed by Hatterene and Sylveon due to their superior bulk and coverage. At present, Comfey is best used as a fast support mon, utilizing its Speed to fire off quick Taunts, Toxics, Aromatherapy or occasional Defog. U-turn also allows it to bring in teammates, although the meta currently prefers slow pivots. Still, this probably isn't enough to give it a lasting niche in UU.
Exploud: As promising as STAB, immunity-free Boomburst may seem, Exploud cannot effectively use this talent thanks to unimpressive bulk and Speed. Even without the problem it has of actually getting an attack off, its Boomburst still comes up short against Ttar and Gigalith, especially while Sand is up. It also doesn't appreciate Screens, as LS makes its unimpressive 91 SpA even more apparent. This thing wishes it could have use both Specs and Scarf, but it has to choose between having lackluster Speed or losing the oomph that actually makes its Boomburst scary in a vacuum. The other trick it has up its sleeve is Scrappy Focus Blast for Doublade, but overall its shortcomings are just too much for it to be a consistent choice. Definitely going to drop sooner or later, although its power seems considerably more deadly (possibly banworthy) in RU.
Incineroar: The only mon on this list that was UU before the last shift, Incineroar recently became a lot worse due to one mon: Krookodile. Krookodile completely outclasses Roar, packing Roar's Intimidate but with much better Speed, the ability to set SR, a resistance to SR rather than a weakness, which crucially means it doesn't have to run Boots to be effective, and nothing will ever complain about having STAB Earthquake. Roar does still pack a niche over Krook due to its ability to pivot and burn immunity, but overall you're just better off using Krook.
Lycanroc: Lycanroc's problem is mainly just that it's completely outclassed by Dusk form. Really the only thing it has going for it is Sand Rush, although it has difficulty getting on the field due to its laughable bulk and sharing 5 weaknesses with both Sand setters. Probably going to drop, and I sincerely hope it turns out well in whatever tier it ends up in.
Poliwrath: Poliwrath's typing puts it in direct competition with many of the tier's best mons, most notably the highly dangerous Keldeo. However, these waters due give it its one niche in UU: namely, Water Absorb allowing it to stave off the offensive Waters of the tier. However, in that regard in faces competition from Seismotoad, which boasts Rocks, Knock Off and STAB Earthquake over it. Poliwrath's advantage in this regard is it being resistant to Ice moves (bar Freeze Dry) as opposed to just neutral to them, as it means that it can shrug off Water type's Ice coverage and threaten a freshly reintroduced Mamoswine. Still, the burden of competition and mediocre Speed means its probably going to drop, but it does at least have a niche in the tier.
Snorlax: Last shift, Snorlax rose up to UU- in what was possibly the worst time it could have done so. Lax hates the current domination of Fighting types, along with other powerful physical attackers like Jirachi and Crawdaunt. The prevalence of Knock Off also hurts it due to its dependency on Leftovers for recovery (seriously, why does this thing not get Slack Off?). Lax's main niche is its ability to handle one of the scariest Special attackers in Specs Kyurem, as great speical bulk and Thick Fat allow it to shrug of everything aside from the rare Focus Blast, while hitting it decently hard in return. Still, the surprising ease with which physical attackers can wear it down (not to mention hazards) mean that Lax isn't a very snug fit in this current UU.
Steelix: Another rise from UU, Steelix likewise suffers from being a bulky mon with no recovery. While Sturdy allows it to get guaranteed Rocks, that niche can be unreliable due to it being Taunt bait. It is both completely outclassed and walled by tier king Skarmory, and UU doesn't have any lack of mons that can clear its Rocks. Add to that lackluster Special bulk and mediocre Attack, and you can probably tell that Steelix is only usable on certain teams. If you really need a physical wall that can set Rocks and doesn't necessarily need to stick around, Steelix is the choice for you; otherwise, you're better off finding someone else.
Dark Rapidashes
These mons definitely fare better than the mons I listed previously, although they are still more fringe in terms of what players are likely to choose. However, I do think that each of them are pretty good in UU as their pros can be really damn good.
Celebi: While I agree this thing was hurt by the drop of Jirachi, it does still have a use as a potentially scary NP sweeper. I mainly say this because, in case you haven't noticed, this tier currently has a lot of Water types, many of which can struggle to deal with NP Celebi, notably tier superstar Keldeo. As such, I feel the demand to check dangerous Waters gives Celebi a strong role in UU, even if it's not as good.
Copperajah: The third riser from RU, I feel this guy does slightly better than Lax and Lix due to how hard it hits with Heavy Slam and Heat Crash, along with having the bulk to set up Rocks. Still, no reliable recovery and the abundance of Fighting types doesn't bode too well for it.
Druddigon: I was initially surprised that this guy made it to UU, but I can't deny that he has a rather fun niche in UU as a suicide Rocks lead. Roguh Skin can be combined with Rocky Helmet to severely chip the many physical attackers of the tier, while Cynde's option of Endure (see post 173) can be a gimmicky but useful strat to rack up more chip. Drud also has the option of Mold Breaker, meaning that its the one Rocker who doesn't have to worry about Hatt switching in on it. Dragon Tail and status in either Glare or Toxic round out the set, allowing it to be of use even if Rocks are lost. Probably going to drop, but this guy can be surprisingly effective.
Noivern: While Skarm has taken Vern's crown as the premier Defogger, the bat-dragon-thing can still be of use in a more offensive capacity. Its STAB Draco and Hurricane hit fairly hard (especially against the prevalent Fighting types), while Flamethrower chunks a lot of Steels. It still has several support options between fast Taunt, U-turn and Switcheroo (obviously not recommended for Boots sets) as well as Roost to keep it healthy. Finally, Vern can still be used as a Defogger on HO teams that utilize Skarm as a Spikes/Rocks suicide lead, so overall Noivern is less useful but still viable.
Pangoro: Pangoro still hits pretty hard, especially with Band, and has two great abilities in Iron Fist (further power boost) and Scrappy (ignores Intimidate), which make it a solid UU mon in a vacuum. It just wishes there weren't so many other Fighting types, both as competition and as a threat to its being.
Roserade: Another mon hurt by the arrival of Rachi, Rose still functions as a good suicide Spiker if you want your Skarm to serve another role on the team. Sleep Powder can be very useful in a tier where sleepers aren't that common, Sludge Bomb allows it to spread Poison and Leaf Storm just hits really hard, especially against many of other leads. That said, Rose wishes it still had HP, and the new drops mean that its base 90 Speed isn't too impressive anymore. Still, it can raise sufficient hell against slower teams.
Again, I do think that a lot of these mons do have a niche in the current meta, but I overall don't think the first group will be able to cut it long term in terms of usage. Still, really interested to see what happens to the second group.
You make a lotta good points about the weaker mons in the UU metagame. I was honestly thinking about making a post like this myself sometime before shifts. I agree with lots of the mons youve mentioned, and I'd like to add on some more.
Zoroark- This mon is definetly in the same boat with other mons like clawtizer and poliwrath, who are pretty mediocre and niche picks in the current metagame. While 105 speed is solid, it still gets outrun by fighters like meinshao, cobailion, keldeo, and terrakion, which can all OHKO it. 60/60 defenses are booty cheeks and needs a damage boosting item to put in work. The tiers abundance of fighting types really dont help it and is outclassed by mons like crawdaunt and mimikyu on the physical end and porygon-z on the special end. It really isnt too splashable compared to the other darks like incineroar who is still very good and krookodile, who is defiently one of the top 5 best mons in the tier.
Chandelure- chandelure is still a solid pick in this metagame, being a great user of heavy duty boots and being able to beat the tiers steels like skarm, doublade, escavalier, and doublade. It is a great choice user and can cripple mons like blissey via trick. Still, i wont deny its viability has been hampered a bit from the new drops. 80 base speed isnt too good in this meta anymore, and it can be beaten by many popular darks and ghosts in the meta like goon, daunt, mimikyu, and the very chad krookodile. It still likely to stay UU and be a solid pick, just not as good as it was pre-DLC.
Gigalith- this is another mon that has been hindered by the tiers newfound steels and fighting types. The rock type can be better exploited as many breakers can easily 2HKO it like the swords of justice, heracross, crawduant, and mienshao. I think the biggest downfall for gigalith will be competition from TTar, who has better special bulk and can also function as a sand setter. I haven't seen gigalith too much while laddering, as it faces competition from the mentioned TTar as well as skarm and pallossand who are much better physical walls. We took this from RU months ago, and we may end up giving it back to them.
Toxricity- Like Chandelure, I consider it to be on of the more "dark horse" mons, still solid picks but have had their viability hampered. It can still crap on stuff like skarmory, slowking (watch for psyshock), araquanid, and fairies like sylveon. However, the metagame has gotten faster, meaning toxiricity needs to start catching up. Pallossand hard walls it, it has gained much more offensive counter play like krookodile and mamoswine, who are very good due to the lack of ground resist in this meta. Still a decent pick, but defiently is much less threatening now.
Umbreon- another dark horse mon, this thing just hates fighting types so much, Nothing much to say tbh, its still good at abusing physical breakers with foul play, wish passing, and being a good spDef alternative to blissey that doesnt get crapped on by Kyurem. Still good, just the amount of fighters really hurt it (fr i see at least 1 fighting type on every team)
Slowbro-Galar- definitely one of the more weaker UU mons atm. Its outclassed by stuff like galar weezing and slowking, while its mixed offenses are meh rn. Tbh i haven't really seen a lot of it so i cant really comment on its viability, but that attests to it's current place in the metagame.
Polteageist- another of the mons that isnt doing so hot at the moment. Knock off and dark types are every where, and polteageist is pretty useless if it cant get off a shell smash. 70 base speed isnt too speical anymore and it still can be shut down by stuff like blissey, umbreon, grimmsnarl, and incineroar or straight up beaten by things like mimkyu, obstagoon, krookodile, and pangoro. I could defiently see this dropping next shifts, wheer itll likely kill the RU tier.
Sirfetch'd- what once was a solid pick in the UU metagame is now a niche option scraping it's last bit of viability. The post above mentions how scrappy couldn't save exploud, and the same applies to sirfetch'd. It just faces too much competition from many of the tiers fighting types who are faster than it and hit just as hard. He's one of the more fringe dark horse mons, where he still can break though many mons like doublade and can revenge with first impression, but is currently living in stuff like terrakion, keldeo, and mienshao's shadow.
The others- These are mons that I know have taken hits to their viability and I'd like to hear others thoughts on these mons. Here's what I know about the mons who are worse off in the current metagame but could be explained better. Lucario and Milotic are the two that come to mind. Lucario is just somewhat outclassed by the faster fighting types who are more splashable and fit better in the meta. Mons like terrakion and keldeo are top breakers while cobailion and mienshao act as strong fast pivots. Even heracross has more use than lucario atm. As for milotic, it faces competition from slowking as a bulk water who just does it's job better. I could see milotic dropping next shifts while lucario could stay or go.
Thats all ive got to add on about which mons in the UU metagame have fallen as a result of the shifts. Some can still put in the work, others are practically useless and i hope the lower tiers can make much better use of them. Lastly, I'd like to hear some of yalls thoughts on the mons I've listed as well as others im unsure about. Milotic and lucario are definitely two i could learn more about, but I'm also wondering how blastoise is doing in this current metagame. Im really liking UU more and more by the day, its a nice change from OU as now i don't have to run mandibuzz + clefable+toxapex on every team. This tier allows for a lot more breathing room for what i can pick both offensively and defensively for my team.
Dropping Off
With the huge pool of mons that are currently UU, it's inevitable that some of them are- less than ideal. While I can't speak with perfect accuracy as to usage, these are all the mons that, at least to me, inherently have a harder time in this meta compared to most. Sure, most of the mons in UU do require some level of support, (see post 183 for more info) and these mons are not necessarily bad in UU, but from what experience I have these mons struggle quite a bit right now.
Clawitzer: This prawn does pack a lot of power thanks to Mega Launcher boosting up its coverage, but isn't necessarily the best Special nuke due to its one-dimensional nature and low speed tier; the latter means that it is largely outclassed by both Kyurem and Porygon-Z as a Specs user, both of whom also have slightly more power. However, the more pressing issue right now for Claw is the sheer amount of competition it faces from the plethora of other Water types, most of whom are just overall more useful. Crawdaunt and Keldeo are some of the best offensive mons in the tier right now, while defensive teams have great Waters in Slowking, Tentacruel, Mantine or Milotic, and Blastoise and Cloyster both have the option to be threatening Shell Smash sweepers or slot into the hazards game with respective Spin and Spikes. Still, Clawitzer can smack unprepared teams and loves the new STAB momentum tool in Flip Turn. If it does drop, though, its power may be too much for RU.
Comfey: As I guessed back in an early stage post, Comfey has not seen too much usage, and for good reason. The loss of HP really hurt Comfey, as it now has no way to damage Steels outside of Leech Seed, which is a problem considering how good Steels are right now. Its decent defenses are held back by miserable HP, and as an attacker its largely outclassed by Hatterene and Sylveon due to their superior power, bulk and coverage. At present, Comfey is best used as a fast support mon, utilizing its Speed to fire off quick Taunts, Toxics, Aromatherapy or occasional Defog. U-turn also allows it to bring in teammates, although the meta currently prefers slow pivots. Still, this probably isn't enough to give it a lasting niche in UU.
Exploud: As promising as STAB, immunity-free Boomburst may seem, Exploud cannot effectively use this talent thanks to unimpressive bulk and Speed. Even without the problem it has of actually getting an attack off, its Boomburst still comes up short against Ttar and Gigalith, especially while Sand is up. It also doesn't appreciate Screens, as LS makes its unimpressive 91 SpA even more apparent. This thing wishes it could have use both Specs and Scarf, but it has to choose between having lackluster Speed or losing the oomph that actually makes its Boomburst scary in a vacuum. Finally, Exploud does not enjoy the domination of Fighting types in the tier. The other trick it has up its sleeve is Scrappy Focus Blast for Doublade, but overall its shortcomings are just too much for it to be a consistent choice. Definitely going to drop sooner or later, although its power seems considerably more deadly (possibly banworthy) in RU.
Incineroar: The only mon on this list that was UU before the last shift, Incineroar recently became a lot worse due to one mon: Krookodile. Krookodile completely outclasses Roar, packing Roar's Intimidate but with much better Speed, the ability to set SR, a resistance to SR rather than a weakness, which crucially means it doesn't have to run Boots to be effective, and nothing will ever complain about having STAB Earthquake. Roar does still pack a niche over Krook due to its ability to pivot and burn immunity, but overall you're just better off using Krook.
Lycanroc: Lycanroc's problem is mainly just that it's completely outclassed by Dusk form. Really the only thing it has going for it is Sand Rush, although it has difficulty getting on the field due to its laughable bulk and sharing 5 weaknesses with both Sand setters. Probably going to drop, and I sincerely hope it turns out well in whatever tier it ends up in.
Poliwrath: Poliwrath's typing puts it in direct competition with many of the tier's best mons, most notably the highly dangerous Keldeo. However, these waters do give it its one niche in UU: namely, Water Absorb allowing it to stave off the offensive Waters of the tier. However, in that regard in faces competition from Seismotoad, which boasts Rocks, Knock Off and STAB Earthquake over it. Poliwrath's advantage in this regard is it being resistant to Ice moves (bar Freeze Dry) as opposed to just neutral to them, as it means that it can shrug off Water type's Ice coverage and threaten a freshly reintroduced Mamoswine. Still, the burden of competition and mediocre Speed means its probably going to drop, but it does at least have a niche in the tier.
Snorlax: Last shift, Snorlax rose up to UU- in what was possibly the worst time it could have done so. Lax hates the current domination of Fighting types, along with other powerful physical attackers like Jirachi and Crawdaunt. The prevalence of Knock Off also hurts it due to its dependency on Leftovers for recovery (seriously, why does this thing not get Slack Off?). Lax's main niche is its ability to handle one of the scariest Special attackers in Specs Kyurem, as great speical bulk and Thick Fat allow it to shrug of everything aside from the rare Focus Blast, while hitting it decently hard in return. Still, the surprising ease with which physical attackers can wear it down (not to mention hazards) means that Lax isn't a very snug fit in this current UU.
Steelix: Another rise from UU, Steelix likewise suffers from being a bulky mon with no recovery. While Sturdy allows it to get guaranteed Rocks, that niche can be unreliable due to it being Taunt bait. It is both completely outclassed and walled by tier king Skarmory, and UU doesn't have any lack of mons that can clear its Rocks. Add to that lackluster Special bulk and mediocre Attack, and you can probably tell that Steelix is only usable on certain teams. If you really need a physical wall that can set Rocks and doesn't necessarily need to stick around, Steelix is the choice for you; otherwise, you're better off finding someone else.
Dark Rapidashes
These mons definitely fare better than the mons I listed previously, although they are still more fringe in terms of what players are likely to choose. However, I do think that each of them are pretty good in UU as their pros can be really damn good.
Celebi: While I agree this thing was hurt by the drop of Jirachi, it does still have a use as a potentially scary NP sweeper. I mainly say this because, in case you haven't noticed, this tier currently has a lot of Water types, many of which can struggle to deal with NP Celebi, notably tier superstar Keldeo. As such, I feel the demand to check dangerous Waters gives Celebi a strong role in UU, even if it's not as good.
Copperajah: The third riser from RU, I feel this guy does slightly better than Lax and Lix due to how hard it hits with ability- boosted Heavy Slam and Heat Crash, along with strong coverage moves and the bulk to set up Rocks. Still, no reliable recovery and the abundance of Fighting types doesn't bode too well for it.
Druddigon: I was initially surprised that this guy made it to UU, but I can't deny that he has a rather fun niche in UU as a suicide Rocks lead. Rough Skin can be combined with Rocky Helmet to severely chip the many physical attackers of the tier, while Cynde's option of Endure (see post 173) can be a gimmicky but useful strat to rack up more chip. Drud also has the option of Mold Breaker, meaning that its the one Rocker who doesn't have to worry about Hatt switching in on it. Dragon Tail and status in either Glare or Toxic round out the set, allowing it to be of use even if Rocks are lost. Probably going to drop, but this guy can be surprisingly effective.
Noivern: While Skarm has taken Vern's crown as the premier Defogger, the bat-dragon-thing can still be of use in a more offensive capacity. Its STAB Draco and Hurricane hit fairly hard (especially against the prevalent Fighting types), while Flamethrower chunks a lot of Steels. It still has several support options between fast Taunt, U-turn and Switcheroo (obviously not recommended for Boots sets) as well as Roost to keep it healthy. Finally, Vern can still be used as a Defogger on HO teams that utilize Skarm as a Spikes/Rocks suicide lead, so overall Noivern is less useful but still viable.
Pangoro: Pangoro still hits pretty hard, especially with Band, and has two great abilities in Iron Fist (further power boost) and Scrappy (ignores Intimidate), which make it a solid UU mon in a vacuum. It just wishes there weren't so many other Fighting types, both as competition and as a threat to its being.
Roserade: Another mon hurt by the arrival of Rachi, Rose still functions as a good suicide Spiker if you want your Skarm to serve another role on the team. Sleep Powder can be very useful in a tier where sleepers aren't that common, Sludge Bomb allows it to spread Poison and Leaf Storm just hits really hard, especially against many of other leads. That said, Rose wishes it still had HP, and the new drops mean that its base 90 Speed isn't too impressive anymore. Still, it can raise sufficient hell against slower teams.
Again, I do think that a lot of these mons do have a niche in the current meta, but I overall don't think the first group will be able to cut it long term in terms of usage. Still, really interested to see what happens to the second group.
You make a lotta good points about the weaker mons in the UU metagame. I was honestly thinking about making a post like this myself sometime before shifts. I agree with lots of the mons youve mentioned, and I'd like to add on some more.
Zoroark- This mon is definetly in the same boat with other mons like clawtizer and poliwrath, who are pretty mediocre and niche picks in the current metagame. While 105 speed is solid, it still gets outrun by fighters like meinshao, cobailion, keldeo, and terrakion, which can all OHKO it. 60/60 defenses are booty cheeks and needs a damage boosting item to put in work. The tiers abundance of fighting types really dont help it and is outclassed by mons like crawdaunt and mimikyu on the physical end and porygon-z on the special end. It really isnt too splashable compared to the other darks like incineroar who is still very good and krookodile, who is defiently one of the top 5 best mons in the tier.
Chandelure- chandelure is still a solid pick in this metagame, being a great user of heavy duty boots and being able to beat the tiers steels like skarm, doublade, escavalier, and doublade. It is a great choice user and can cripple mons like blissey via trick. Still, i wont deny its viability has been hampered a bit from the new drops. 80 base speed isnt too good in this meta anymore, and it can be beaten by many popular darks and ghosts in the meta like goon, daunt, mimikyu, and the very chad krookodile. It still likely to stay UU and be a solid pick, just not as good as it was pre-DLC.
Gigalith- this is another mon that has been hindered by the tiers newfound steels and fighting types. The rock type can be better exploited as many breakers can easily 2HKO it like the swords of justice, heracross, crawduant, and mienshao. I think the biggest downfall for gigalith will be competition from TTar, who has better special bulk and can also function as a sand setter. I haven't seen gigalith too much while laddering, as it faces competition from the mentioned TTar as well as skarm and pallossand who are much better physical walls. We took this from RU months ago, and we may end up giving it back to them.
Toxricity- Like Chandelure, I consider it to be on of the more "dark horse" mons, still solid picks but have had their viability hampered. It can still crap on stuff like skarmory, slowking (watch for psyshock), araquanid, and fairies like sylveon. However, the metagame has gotten faster, meaning toxiricity needs to start catching up. Pallossand hard walls it, it has gained much more offensive counter play like krookodile and mamoswine, who are very good due to the lack of ground resist in this meta. Still a decent pick, but defiently is much less threatening now.
Umbreon- another dark horse mon, this thing just hates fighting types so much, Nothing much to say tbh, its still good at abusing physical breakers with foul play, wish passing, and being a good spDef alternative to blissey that doesnt get crapped on by Kyurem. Still good, just the amount of fighters really hurt it (fr i see at least 1 fighting type on every team)
Slowbro-Galar- definitely one of the more weaker UU mons atm. Its outclassed by stuff like galar weezing and slowking, while its mixed offenses are meh rn. Tbh i haven't really seen a lot of it so i cant really comment on its viability, but that attests to it's current place in the metagame.
Polteageist- another of the mons that isnt doing so hot at the moment. Knock off and dark types are every where, and polteageist is pretty useless if it cant get off a shell smash. 70 base speed isnt too speical anymore and it still can be shut down by stuff like blissey, umbreon, grimmsnarl, and incineroar or straight up beaten by things like mimkyu, obstagoon, krookodile, and pangoro. I could defiently see this dropping next shifts, wheer itll likely kill the RU tier.
Sirfetch'd- what once was a solid pick in the UU metagame is now a niche option scraping it's last bit of viability. The post above mentions how scrappy couldn't save exploud, and the same applies to sirfetch'd. It just faces too much competition from many of the tiers fighting types who are faster than it and hit just as hard. He's one of the more fringe dark horse mons, where he still can break though many mons like doublade and can revenge with first impression, but is currently living in stuff like terrakion, keldeo, and mienshao's shadow.
The others- These are mons that I know have taken hits to their viability and I'd like to hear others thoughts on these mons. Here's what I know about the mons who are worse off in the current metagame but could be explained better. Lucario and Milotic are the two that come to mind. Lucario is just somewhat outclassed by the faster fighting types who are more splashable and fit better in the meta. Mons like terrakion and keldeo are top breakers while cobailion and mienshao act as strong fast pivots. Even heracross has more use than lucario atm. As for milotic, it faces competition from slowking as a bulk water who just does it's job better. I could see milotic dropping next shifts while lucario could stay or go.
Thats all ive got to add on about which mons in the UU metagame have fallen as a result of the shifts. Some can still put in the work, others are practically useless and i hope the lower tiers can make much better use of them. Lastly, I'd like to hear some of yalls thoughts on the mons I've listed as well as others im unsure about. Milotic and lucario are definitely two i could learn more about, but I'm also wondering how blastoise is doing in this current metagame. Im really liking UU more and more by the day, its a nice change from OU as now i don't have to run mandibuzz + clefable+toxapex on every team. This tier allows for a lot more breathing room for what i can pick both offensively and defensively for my team.
With all of the drops in viability discussed above, I have to wonder if there’s a reliable way to predict what will likely drop to RU in the coming weeks. Obviously, usage is the only thing that determines whether something drops or not, but with offensive and defensive tier staples outclassing a lot of mons that were previously mid to top-tier picks, it will be interesting to see what the future of UU—and RU, by extension—will look like. I know RU was hit especially hard by the losses of Lix, Lax, and Rajah, which had a big part in the bans of certain mons like Ninetales and Alolachu. So I’m especially interested in what the composition of both tiers will look like once things inevitably start to drop back down.
So this post doesn’t go down the speculation rabbit hole, I’m just going to close it off with a question regarding the current meta composition. What mons in the current UU meta do you think are likely to drop, and what do you think the UU roster can be expected to look like in the coming weeks?
Riombee sucks outside of setting webs and it dies to a particularly strong breeze, so it can only do it once per battle, and it has terrible match ups with the defoggers and spinners in the tier. Sleep Powder is nice though
Araquanid is a decent tank, but dropping a move for Webs makes him suck.
Vikavolt is way too slow for it's middling bulk.
I've been running Galvantula with Boots, max HP and Speed, Thunder/Volt Switch /Webs and I've gone back and forth between Big Buzz and Giga Drain (Giga Drain is great for keeping him alive a bit longer and he ends up faced with a lot of Pokemon that are weak to Grass as a lead). It generally sets up webs and pivots off to something else to either revenge kill something later or set up webs again if they get removed.
Riombee sucks outside of setting webs and it dies to a particularly strong breeze, so it can only do it once per battle, and it has terrible match ups with the defoggers and spinners in the tier. Sleep Powder is nice though
Araquanid is a decent tank, but dropping a move for Webs makes him suck.
Vikavolt is way too slow for it's middling bulk.
I've been running Galvantula with Boots, max HP and Speed, Thunder/Volt Switch /Webs and I've gone back and forth between Big Buzz and Giga Drain (Giga Drain is great for keeping him alive a bit longer and he ends up faced with a lot of Pokemon that are weak to Grass as a lead). It generally sets up webs and pivots off to something else to either revenge kill something later or set up webs again if they get removed.
Ribombee's only job is to lay webs. It's a suicide lead, its only task is to lay webs and it doesn't need to do much more. Maybe sleep and paralysis.
Araquanid does only need Liquidation and Leech Life as attacking moves. It can run Sticky Web and probably won't have any problems.
Ribombee's definitely got a role outside of setting up webs and dying; its typing helps to compensate for its nonexistent bulk, letting it offensively check some annoying things like Krookodile, Terrakion etc. and as such it tends to run a Boots set more often than Sash right now.
It doesn't learn Sleep Powder, btw.
Anyway, I agree that webs as a whole are in a decent spot rn. Obstagoon is such a strong abuser of them and kind of makes up for some other lacking areas as a result. I've been trying out this recently, which is pretty fun and probably a decent enough take on the playstyle. It's not great though because, like most webs teams, it gets owned pretty hard by Skarmory and that's no bueno (rotom helps a lot tho). I'd love to see a better shot at making a strong webs team for sure!! It's a playstyle I really enjoy and I like seeing how other people build their versions.
Not much else to say here, I'm just a ribombee stan and don't want to see ppl slandering it when it doesn't deserve it. It's still good!! I promise!! :(
After trimming most of the DLC fat, the tier is in a lot better shape than it was 3 weeks ago. That said, are still a handful of really strong Pokemon that I think can go. The big three I am talking about are Jirachi, Terrakion, Lycanroc.
I'll first address the Rock-type breakers since they perform very similar roles. Their coverage is nearly identical, although Lycanroc can hit Palossand with Crunch, so all their checks overlap. These checks, however, are pitiful. Defensively Palossand does counter both effectively, but...that's it. Doublade is the next best thing but fears +2 Earthquake and Crunch respectively from Terrakion and Lycanroc. Skarmory is blown away by both after just a little bit of chip (Terrakion just needs Sturdy broken). Weezing needs to be max defense and totally healthy to eat +2 Edge, and fails to KO either of them without SpA investment. Slowking drops to boosted Stone Edge. Same with Celebi. I guess Quagsire counters them? But it cannot hard switch in since LO Close Combat 2HKOs it.
Revenging them becomes tricky when Lycanroc has a stupid good priority move that kills all things naturally outspeeding it with Noivern, Talonflame, and Starmie. This limits revenge killers to a scarf Fighting-type (Keldeo, Terrakion, Mienshao), Krookodile, and Jirachi. Terrakion might seem more manageable for this reason, but it's honestly worse. 90/90/90 bulk lets it set up Rock Polish with ease so it's revenge killers are Crawdaunt and hoping to god your team can stomach one of its STABs. Removing these Pokemon will definitely ease the current big strain on building, where viable teams are either Jirachi offenses or Slowking balances.
Then, we have Jirachi. At this point, we all know how versatile, splashable, and annoying this thing is. Serene Grace Iron Head is a plague on this tier, flinching down even the sturdiest resists like Skarmory and Cobalion with some luck. It's highly uncompetitive and compounded by the fact that it can run 10 other sets like CM, mixed, Wish, Sub, and probably many more we did not discover yet. However, Jirachi is still a crucial gluemon in this tier and I would much rather we have this be our first suspect test post-DLC than simply quickban it.
TL;DR Indigo Plateau DMed me on Discord asking me out on a date when he has a girlfriend. What gives?
This post is a complement of my post a few days ago. It's not going to be as long but I think it would be interesting to talk about some current underrated trends in the metagame so let's get into it without further ado.
One of the most underrated Pokemon in my opinion in the current metagame is Hatterene which is a pretty nasty pick which can bother quite a lot of staples such as Skarmory, Slowking or our many Fighting-types. While I didn't use at all AV Hatterene because I trully think AV Reuniclus with its ability Regenerator fulfils way better this role even tho it's weak to Dark-types and so to Knock Off, I've been using quite a lot defensive CM Hatterene with 3 attacks and I really feel like this Pokemon can win vs a lot of match-ups.
Hatterene (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock / Psychic
- Draining Kiss
- Mystical Fire
96 EVs is pretty straightforward and allows Hatterene to outspeed 44 speed Doublade and so everything else bellow. Psyshock is mandatory in order to beat Blissey (edit : actually Psyshock allows you to bypass with more ease Blissey but Psychic is overall better since it deals more damages to most of the metagame and at +2, Draining Kiss + Leftovers recover as much as Seismic Toss so you can setup on Blissey and win the 1v1 even without Psyshock). While Draining Kiss isn't a good STAB on its own, it provides to Hatterene a good recovery which is always nice considering Leftovers are definitively not enough for this kind of slow set-up Pokemon. Last but not least Mystical Fire allows Hatterene to pressure Steel-types such as Skarmory or Jirachi and it's also a good way to bother things like Reuniclus or other special abusers. All in all this Pokemon has a pretty good MU vs a lot of cores/teams even ones with Jirachi. Jirachi kinda needs to be bulky with Leftovers in order to handle in the long run Hatterene's Mystical Fire. If it's a Choice Scarf variant, it will take quite a lot of chip (around 41-48% at +0). While this set is in my opinion the best current option for Hatterene I also can't deny that AV has it's niche as well as OTR even tho the lack of Moonblast is in my opinion pretty sad.
Neutralizing Gas has always been an iffy pick in my opinion before July shifts but it definitively has gained a lot of viability now with the numerous Regenerator users. This set basically trade its ability to handle Krookodile in order to pressure to a nasty extent Regenerator users but also things like Blissey. Paired with the Pokemon with Knock Off, this Pokemon is really disgusting to face if you're using things like Slowking, LO Mienshao etc.. LO Shao especially hates to vs this set of Weezing-G since it takes a lot of chip without being able to recover thanks to Regenerator. The same applies to Slowking and Blissey if they lose their Heavy-Duty Boots. They can't recover from Entry Hazards and Blissey doesn't heal its status condition. Pain Split is mandatory on this set since you're running Rocky Helmet and not Black Sludge but it also allows to bother quite a lot fat BO with Blissey. All in all, this set is infamous but that's why it's so good too. By the way, the 240 EVs in speed allows Weezing-Galar to outspeed Adamant Pangoro and everything bellow (shoutout Donphantastic for the spread).
I already talked about this guy in a previous post but I do believe it has a really nice niche by being able to handle most physical threats of the tier such as Cobalion, Terrakion, Lycanroc-Dusk, Krookodile and Rotom-Mow/Wash to a lesser extent. While it does need some support (especially some Hazard Control to prevent Spikes and Toxic Spikes which are really nasty vs Tangela) the fact that it can blanket check most physical threats while being able to handle Ground-type is a really good thing considering Krookodile Earthquake are really free to spam in the current metagame that lacks of solid answers to it / solid Grass-types. Leech Seed + Knock Off and Infestation/Sleep Power are really nice to bother opponent's Pokemon, especially defensive cores while Leaf Storm is a great move which hits surprinsigly hard thanks to 100 BS SpA of Tangela (basically OHKO Terrakion, Krookodile and does a big chunk to Slowking).
Even tho things like Terrakion and Lycanroc-Dusk are insanely good right now, Talonflame has made itself a pretty solid niche as a nice defensive pivot to threats like Cobalion, Mienshao, physical Jirachi or Mimikyu to a lesser extent. Flame Body is definitively the way to go in this set as it pressures U-turn abusers. This Pokemon can really be a pain in the butt to manage if your speed control is something like Choice Scarf Jirachi / Mienshao / non-Stone Edge Krookodile. 168 speed allows Talonflame to outspeed Starmie or 20 speed +1 Tentacruel while 120 speed allows it to outspeed BS 109 speed (basically Heliolisk and the 4 musketeers).
That's all for today. I didn't talked about things like Mixed Virizon, defensive Rocky Helmet Druddigon or Dragalge because they're now known as viable pick in the current metagame and/or someone already talked about them in a previous post on this thread so no reason to harp on..
On Tangela I run Protect over Leaf Storm. You still beat both of the mons you listed, but you come out with more HP and can scout. With a cheeky double protect you can some times even best Scyther, though it's crit rate seems to be around 97% when I try.
Mamoswine has been unanimously voted to remain UU.
Durant, however, will return to UUBL in a 10-1 vote (with two abstentions).
