MEGA POST INBOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TL;DR- Pyroar is absurd in this metagame due to its incredible speed tier, STAB combination, and unique defensive utility. Giannis Antetokommo-o vs GXE for Grand Slam Playoffs is analyzed to show how positioning and small details can allow Pyroar to feast.
After watching tour games and playing tests / talking with some people, one Pokemon that I think should be on everyone's radar as a major threat is
Pyroar. This stupid fucking lion possesses one of the best STAB combinations in the tier and also has an incredible speed tier of 106, allowing it to outpace Pokemon such as Scyther and Cryogonal. I feel that the counterplay for a well played Pyroar is incredibly limited defensively with Appletun and Blissey coming to mind as go-to answers.
However, I feel both of these answers are exploitable with Pyroar running Taunt and really any Tera it pleases. Blissey in particular (if its not running Shadow Ball) is stonewalled by Taunt + Tera Ghost, forcing a stalemate with Pyroar. Pyroar can also run Wisp to force smidges of chip each turn and allow for it to slow burn (no pun intended) through Blissey. I think Pyroar also has the flexibility to run Work Up with Taunt on certain builds to make the SBall-less Blissey MU (and the MU versus other fat fucks) a lot more favorable.
Offensive counterplay exists in the form of Sneasel-H and other scarfers to revenge kill it. Though, as I already stated, I feel that Pyroar has a bit of freedom when choosing its Tera type. Although its defensive profile is not phenomenal, I feel that both Tera Ghost and Tera Poison can be explored a bit more versus mons like Toxicroak and Sneasel-H, while still maintaining resistances that it would have as a Fire type (Grass and Bug). Pyroar's offensive presence feels incredibly warping in the tier, and frankly it makes me shit myself whenever I face it. It's a mon similar to Jolteon- a frail-ish Special Attacker with strong STABS, a unique defensive profile, and the ability to punch holes effectively while also being able to abuse Tera to flip a battle on its head. Frankly, I find people downplaying this mon to be incredibly silly (don't get me started on the Mesprit slate, some of you are REALLY silly gooses).
For notable tournament games, lets look at GXE (resident council member) and Giannis Antetokommo-o (resident tournament guru and one of the best players on the site period).
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND WATCHING THE REPLAY IN FULL WITH THE BELOW COMMENTARY IN MIND
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9nu-709639
TEAM PREVIEW
As we can see, there's some identical portions of these builds (as NU is known for). However, there are a few notes,
- GXE has brought a team with two potential deterrents in Heasel and (what can be assumed to be) a Scarf Rotom, as well as an assumed SpDef Dudunsparce.
- However, even with these Pokemon, Giannis still has an incredible matchup with Pyroar. The Lion torches the fuck out of Sandaconda, lives any hit from Rotom and can retaliate with a Fire Blast, can burn the Dudunsparce, has a STAB Fire Blast for the Articuno and Cacturne, and (if it's Tera Ghost) can burn the Sneasel as well.
In this game, it makes me question whether or not GXE knew about how good Pyroar actually is, or if he decided that the combo of Sneasel, Rotom, and Dudunsparce would be enough.
How Giannis sets up the Pyroar for success (in my eyes). These are match highlights and events that happen that pave the way for Pyroar. Most of these are small things that Giannis does as a player to thoroughly outplay and out-progress GXE.
At team preview, Giannis should identify that Pyroar goes fucking federal if it is positioned properly. With Pivots galore for GA, it's not super difficult to figure out when Pyroar can put in work and when it can't come out of its Pokeball just yet. Now granted, I have very limited tour experience and my in-battle knowledge kinda sucks but this is how I interpreted how the battle went / would go.
- After a bit of chip damage to GXE's Sandaconda on turn 6, Giannis forces Sandaconda out the following turn with Lurantis, forcing Sandaconda to take another 6% from SR.
- On turn 8, Giannis reads GXE's double into Sneasel-H and promptly goes into Rotom. This practically reveals the Rotom is scarfed, as it takes rocks damage as it switches in.
- On turn 9, GXE switches
back into the Sandaconda, attempting to block a Volt Switch (I presume). The Sandaconda takes 6% from the SR and gets burned by Wisp, forcing it down to 66%.
- Turn 10 was interesting as well, as Giannis read a switch out and stayed in to WISP AGAIN. GXE switches into Cacturne, but dodges the Wisp. This kinda sucks for Pyroar, as if this is Sucker Punch Cacturne, forcing chip and weakening the Sucker for Pyroar in the 1v1 is a nice insurance.
- Fast forwarding a bit, Giannis forces about 16% chip onto Dudunsparce with Articuno, and also revealing it is CM Dudunsparce. On Turn 17, Giannis goes into their Rotom after U-Turning out with Articuno. Knowing that the Dudunsparce is the wincon, GXE switches into Sneasel to absorb the incoming Trick.
- Giannis then goes Sandaconda to bait whatever move the Sneasel wants to go for. It lost its Choice Band, so this shit is going to hit like a wet paper bag and force itself to take further chip. They read GXE's double into Rotom and we get our first Pyroar siting on Turn 21.
- Giannis allows for the Pyroar to get Tricked by GXE's Rotom on Turn 21 and does 77% in return with Fire Blast to the Rotom, leaving Rotom at a dismal 2%. The Rotom is subsequently sacked the next turn.
That's 1 kill for Pyroar
- GXE brings out the Dudunsparce on Turn 23, and Giannis gets 45% off with another Fire Blast. Based on calcs, this may reveal that GXE has no SpDef investment, and also possibly revealing Giannis got a near-min roll (252 SpA Pyroar Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Dudunsparce: 202-238 (44.4 - 52.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery).
- Pyroar switches out on Turn 24 after that as GXE clicks Roost. GXE then switches to Cacturne on Turn 25 as Giannis Volt Switches into the Pyroar again. To preserve the Cacturne for later, GXE switches out to Sandaconda and it dies to the incoming Fire Blast on Turn 26.
2 kills for Pyroar so far.
- The same sequence occurs as above. GXE goes into the Dudunsparce and clicks Calm Mind this time. GXE switches in fear of Trick, and Giannis gets a free ass Volt Switch right back into Pyroar on Turn 28. On Turn 29, Giannis stays in to absorb a Cacturne Sucker Punch that does 41% (would be doing around 20-ish if Giannis landed earlier). Pyroar lives on 10% and kills the Cacturne with yet another Fire Blast.
3 kills for Pyroar this game.
- Turns 30 through 40 are positioning battles and forcing Dudunsparce to waste PP. Giannis uses Tera on Articuno on Turn 33 to become a Ghost-type and become immune to Boomburst from GXE's Dudunsparce. Turn 40 is a pivotal turn, as Giannis is able to get rocks cleared with Lurantis.
- Giannis gets a bit of chip with the Lurantis as it folds to a +2 Boomburst on Turn 42. On the Previous Turn, GXE tried to cheese a Thunder Paralysis to no avail.
- On Turn 43, Giannis' Rotom sends out a parting gift of a Choice Band to the Dudunsparce. The wincon for GXE has been neutered as it locks itself into Thunder. Turns 43-49 are more boring ass Articuno vs Dudunsparce positioning battles, and as GXE locks himself into Roost with Dudunsparce, Articuno pivots into the Pyroar on Turn 49. Pyroar gets TWO BURNS on BOTH DUDUNSPARCE AND ARTICUNO, sealing the game and allowing for an eventual victory, as Giannis is then able to beatdown the rest of GXE's team with SubNP Mesprit and win on turn 63.
So as a result of this battle, Pyroar's matchup was proven to be incredible as predicted at team preview, and Giannis played to that advantage perfectly. To sum up the results of Pyroar's effectiveness in this game, it,
- Netted 3 kills on Rotom, Sandaconda, and Cacturne, GXE's defensive backbone along with Articuno
- Got two game-sealing burns onto Articuno and GXE's wincon Dudunsparce and should've had a 3rd burn on Cacturne had it landed.
Now, can we chalk this up to a phenomenal matchup? Probably. However, this battle showcases the nature of Pyroar and its impact on the metagame. It's noteworthy to discuss that this portion is not meant to lambast GXE. If anything, it's to showcase a high-level game on an immensely competitive stage. I give major props to both players. The forgoing of a consistent Pyroar answer (frankly, because there aren't any that aren't exploitable) is one that came to bite GXE unfortunately. This battle is just one many out there that showcase how prevalent Pyroar is, and how everyone should be aware of its warping nature.
, Frosmoth 
and Oricorio-Sensu 
(RU freed pom-pom 
) and, most likely, an additional number of offensive threats. If we already have a problem with Baile, I think the next meta will be an absolute mess, considering that RU never gives NU the right checks for the broken stuff. Moreover the current NU threats will still be there...
- Rotom is a major winner from these bans and should return to its former glory (or somewhat close to it). On certain teams, it's hard to justify using Rotom over Jolteon, as Jolteon provided a major 130 speed tier with stronger Thunderbolts and Volt Switches. Additionally, the adaptation of Tera Normal Jolteon made Rotom setup bait. There's less competition for a fast Electric with solid utility now with Jolteon gone, and I feel Pokemon like Raichu (either form) may also be lowkey winners from this shift too. Additionally, Rotom feared everything from Zoroark due to its fragility and poor bulk. Zoro could easily force mind games or outright OHKO Rotom with a Sucker Punch.
comes to mind, as it loses 1 Pokemon faster than it, and one that could easily click Sucker Punch to revenge it.
loses two Pokemon it could pseudo-check the three bans with Barb Barrage + generally fine bulk with Eviolite. However, Jolteon just clicked Volt Switch, and Zoro could click Knock Off or U-Turn with no real downside except for a potential Poison Point proc.
- Now, granted, the three of these might not rise to prominence in the tier due to major major flaws within their kits. 
- Although it's true that Scyther lost a potential VoltTurn partner, the truth is, Scyther's best partner wasn't really Jolteon and it didn't rely on it to create U-Turn shenanigans. If anything the loss of Jolteon takes away one of the only Pokemon faster than Scyther that could outspeed and KO it which definitely makes this mon much more threatening. On top of that, the rise in Rotom is probably going to be a good thing for Scyther since it always has Thief in the back to tech for the Electric-type this time. Definitely a winner from this ban.
Been enjoying this since its reign of terror in PU. Resists Aqua Jet and has similar bulk to Pa'u, and hits pretty hard prior to boosting as well. I like QD + 3 Attacks with Tera Rock to dink Cryo and Cuno and other Flyings before they tera, though Tera Fire can be used to do the same thing + resist Ice moves + donk Hneasel and Croak harder as well. Without Pollen Puff, it's kind of walled by Appletun, and allows you to beat other Grasses like opposing Lilli without committing to Tera. I like it over Viv and Pa'u mainly cause of the higher SpAtk, but it also comes in much easier on Volt Switches, and can attack and heal in the same turn, plus the coverage it can run makes it hard to consistently check aside from Tera Dragon Cuno and Stoss Blissey.
This mon is indeed actively reclaiming it's former glory. It slowed down for a while thanks to Jolteon being nigh insurmountable Electric type competition and dudun being the better Coil sweeper, but it's back to doing its thing. I haven't played a ton with AV, but when I have, it is very customizable and very threatening as an offensive defensive mon. Between U-turn, Volt Switch, Giga Drain, Dragon Tail, Discharge, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, etc., you can pick 4 moves that provide enough power, utility, or both and go ham. Personally, I prefer a set of U-turn/Dragon Tail/Discharge/Giga Drain, but be wary of the tradeoffs you have to make with its moveset. Flamethrower is needed to better deal with Magneton, which is lowkey an enormous threat that AV Eel is an excellent check to. Thunderbolt, while lacking the para chance of Discharge, does have a noticeable amount of extra oomph that's useful in a late-game scenario. As long as your careful in the builder though, you can't really go wrong with AV Eel. As for Coil, it is back and it is terrifying. You really don't need more than one boost to get going, and with how easy it is to fit hazard stack alongside Eel with the defensive utility it provides naturally, Dragon Tail becomes an immediate chip machine. The biggest difference with Coil Eel that I've noticed since last time it was dominating is the greater variety in Tera types. Steel used to be the standard, and it's still very good, but with the proliferation of Dragon Tail phazers, Tera Fairy became the standard, which is also excellent today. Those are generally the most popular but I've also seen Tera Dark to shit on Sableye, I've even seen Tera Ground and Poison, which... ye idk what ladder is cooking with those two. The biggest thing abt Eel in general that I've noticed is that it really appreciates Wish support to sustain it in a longer game. However, like I said in my VR post, spikes are really scary atm and all of the Wish-passers are susceptible to them, which often forces you to play more aggressively with Eel than you'd like in those longer games, since it's Spikess immunity makes it a far better short-term switch to a number of mons. Ig what I'm trying to say is could we get some better removal RU like stop giving us at-best alright scraps. Anyways, that's my two cents on the return of the Eel, thanks for coming to my TED talk.
