Other OverUsed General Discussion

[alphatron]

I never got why electivire was the Pokemon that recieved so much ire when other OU Pokemon like Umbreon and ninjask.

SD Aegislash shouldn't even be compared to electivire by the way. Just because a lot of bad players use it doesn't mean it's a bad set. Even if I think every single one of aegislash's other sets are much better. And even if it is less threatening that special LO, mixed LO, weakness policy automotize, etc. It's not "bad".

 

[sidakarya]

Hype Backlash, as TVtropes calls it.

Back in early DP, people were raving about Electivire getting SE coverage on 13 of 17 types and how perfectly it paired with Garados. Then we found out, that SE coverage doesn't equal power. Then people found out, how to play around Gyaravire. Then Rotom-A came out, and so on. Umbreon and Ninjask, if I remember, weren't so massively hyped up as Electivire was.

You could say, SD-Aegislash is a skillgate much like Electivire was, but it's not a very good comparison as Aegislash has other sets, that work much better. Galvantula (and Sticky Web in general) might be a better example - it's another sort of skillgate (it's used very badly, very often) and something that was given disproportionate hype just because of one move.

 

[Magcargo]

I don't think that SD Aegislash is necessarily bad, but its so prepared for in the metagame that its ineffective. Its actually a pretty good set when unprepared for, but due to how common threats threats such as Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Charizard X are, its pretty much useless until they are either significantly weakened or dead and even then, better SD sweepers such as Scizor and M-Lucario exist to clean up the foe's team more efficiently. That said, its definitely nowhere near as bad as Electivire and can be useful in certain situations.

That being said, I think Salamence could potentially be the new Electivire this gen (although Salamence's performance in XY OU is definitely way better than Electivire's performance in DPP OU). Salamence isn't really what I would call a bad Pokemon, but there is little reason to use it over better Pokemon like Mega Garchomp, Kyurem-B, Charizard X, and Dragonite this gen. It also gets walled by most fairy-types unless it run the gimmicky Iron Tail/Steel Wing. I personally think that its in a similar position to BW Haxorus: a solid mon that's outclassed in a large amount of its roles.

Really though, there is nothing currently in XY OU that is equally as bad Electivire, Ninjask, Umbreon, and Dusknoir were in DPP OU.
(Sorry if this was confusing).

 

[Jojobobo]

I still do like Sableye though, but honestly with Mega-Kanga gone, I think its main niche has gone with it.

I don't think it's niche is gone - the thing physically offensive megas is that they obviously can't carry a Lum Berry so a burn really does a number on them. This goes hand in hand with the fact that the kind of people who use an offensive mega aren't likely to have a cleric (or lets face it, even if they do, Sableye has Taunt). A lot of offensive pokemon outside of megas, such as Terrakion and the like, also don't like a burn and will be stalled out by Sableye if your opponent is stupid enough to let that happen (or some let it happen as they'd rather not receive a burn on their Sableye counter); furthermore a lot of players trying to deal with the burn will stat up even higher making them very weak to Foul Play (with good prediction, you can forgo Recovery to hit them with Foul play on the turn they boost if you think that their attack following your Recovery is enough to OHKO you).

Fairy attacks aren't a huge issue - most players will have a steel type of some description so the switch is easy. Heatran, as you rightly point out, is an issue - but the switch is so easy to predict (almost any player with a Heatran will swap in when Sableye is up against a strong physical fighting type) that swapping in your Heatran counter on the same turn is facile (or if you think you're against a canny player who would second guess your switch by leaving in their offensive poke, you can use Foul Play to be safe). I've won games by neutering the Heatran switch with a switch of my own (Shadow Tag Gothitelle with a Scarf and Trick being a favourite of mine, ScarfTran or scarfers in general really aren't that common anymore) and then finding their team wholly unprepared for Sableye without Heatran.

Players definitely need a strong contingency to deal Sableye if they're serious about playing an offensive physical team in OU. Sableye is so effective and easy to use (also getting rid of the headache of Baton Passers and status move users, etc.) that it is very easy to put on almost any team.

 

[Prosecutor Godot]

Have there been any "Electivires" this generation? For those of you who missed 4th gen, I mean a formerly hyped OU Pokemon that became a laughingstock that only bad players use.

Well, Donphan is above the OU cutoff. I know that last gen it had a niche as a sun spinner, but I have no idea what people see in using it now.

 

[adman2]

I remember Smogon joking about Donphan since at least 4th gen, so I'm surprised that it is still OU.

 

[Albacore]

Have there been any "Electivires" this generation? For those of you who missed 4th gen, I mean a formerly hyped OU Pokemon that became a laughingstock that only bad players use.

It's far too early to talk about overhyped Pokemon who failed to deliver. Gen 5 had Whimsicott, but this gen needs about half a year to calm down so that we can see what's really good and bad.

 

[Lee]

Donphan is great. He used to be pretty subpar at busting through Ghost types but that flipped 180 this gen; he's a fantastic Ghostbuster now.

i) The Knock Off buff and 120 Atk allows him to flatten most Ghosts.

ii) The most popular Ghost in the tier is weak to Donphan's STAB.

iii) Assault Vest pushes Donphan to the level that even Life Orb Gengar Shadow Ball fails to 2HKO.

Donphan @ Assault Vest
Impish
252 HP / 80 Atk / 136 Def / 40 SpD
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin

80 Atk guarantees the OHKO on 4/0 Gengar (100% minimum) and just provides that little extra ooomph to his attacks which is always appreciated on a tank like this. 40 SpD ensures that LO Shadow Ball never 2HKOs (49% maximum). Ice Shard is still a great move to have, Rapid Spin is highly sought after and Sturdy provides additional utility to the team. Still has about the same physical durability as 252/252+ Gliscor.

 

[ryan]

I think the issue with Donphan is just "why should I use this over other Pokemon that do its job better?" Excadrill is really bad for Donphan as a Spinner and even has a solid Assault Vest set of its own. Landorus-T, Gliscor, and Hippowdon are far better bulky Ground-types. It's also competing with every single Defog user for a place on most teams that need some kind of hazard removal. Outside of these factors, Ice Shard has an incredibly low damage output against even things that are weak to it. Without any Attack investment, it can fail to 2HKO Salamence (though that's not often), and always fails to 2HKO Dragonite (although this is a bit more understandable, it's still failing to take out something at around 75% without any investment in HP or Defense that is 4x weak to the attack it's using). It's also competing with Fairy-types and Mamoswine as ways of handling Dragon-type Pokemon, especially with some of the best Dragons in the tier being neutral to Ice Shard (Kyurem-B, Mega Charizard-X). I agree that Donphan isn't quite as bad as everyone is saying, but it does get hate for a reason. It's a lot like Armaldo was in NU last generation; it receives a disgustingly high amount of usage in comparison to what it actually deserves, and as such, people hate on it more than it deserves.

 

[Snou]

Mmm I love using stall, guys, but playing this playstyle in OU atm is pretty sad cuz there are too many offensive mons, especially statuppers. I think that stall will be more playable with correct bans in OU. It's hard, but stall is possible just now. It's true that there are too many offensive mons but also there are a lots of new defensive mons... for example MegaVenusaur, Gourgeist, Trevenant etc.

 

[Lee]

Excadrill has 60 base Defense, the above Donphan set is bulkier than Gliscor. The two share a few traits but I wouldn't say they're in direct competition.

Rapid Spin is infinitely more useful than Defog provided you can beat Ghosts, which Donphan can. If you're hell-bent on removing hazards it's usually to facilitate a CharX etc sweep and removing your own hazards is counteractive to that. A 50% CharizardX with Stealth Rock support is often better than a 100% CharizardX without SR support (especially considering Roost).

Ice Shard is an UnSTAB'd 40BP priority and is therefore pretty weak, yeah. It's still a handy move but it's not your cup of tea then Donphan has a huge offensive movepool; Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Stone Edge, Seed Bomb, Play Rough, Gunk Shot, Superpower, Counter...

 

[ryan]

Oh, I totally agree with you. I'm just saying that Donphan hate isn't entirely unwarranted. I'd still say that Donphan is in competition with stuff like Gliscor though if only because they share no synergy whatsoever and for that reason would never show up on the same team. I'm not saying that they compete as Rapid Spin users or even hazard removers, but if you've already got a Gliscor on your team, Donphan isn't a viable option on that same team.

Assault Vest Donphan does sound cool though, and I'd imagine it's probably the best set it can run.

 

[Monte Cristo]

I don't think that SD Aegislash is necessarily bad, but its so prepared for in the metagame that its ineffective. Its actually a pretty good set when unprepared for, but due to how common threats threats such as Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Charizard X are, its pretty much useless until they are either significantly weakened or dead and even then, better SD sweepers such as Scizor and M-Lucario exist to clean up the foe's team more efficiently. That said, its definitely nowhere near as bad as Electivire and can be useful in certain situations.

That being said, I think Salamence could potentially be the new Electivire this gen (although Salamence's performance in XY OU is definitely way better than Electivire's performance in DPP OU). Salamence isn't really what I would call a bad Pokemon, but there is little reason to use it over better Pokemon like Mega Garchomp, Kyurem-B, Charizard X, and Dragonite this gen. It also gets walled by most fairy-types unless it run the gimmicky Iron Tail/Steel Wing. I personally think that its in a similar position to BW Haxorus: a solid mon that's outclassed in a large amount of its roles.

Really though, there is nothing currently in XY OU that is equally as bad Electivire, Ninjask, Umbreon, and Dusknoir were in DPP OU.
(Sorry if this was confusing).

The thing about evire was the hype tho, and mence wasn't much hyped.
Anyways on to aegislash: SD aegis, imo is a true electivire, and a piece of shit that honestly should not be it's flagship set (it isn't even anymore tbh), it's mixed sets are so amazing, Idfk why you would even bother with SD. SD aegis is legit trash imo. Shadow sneak is the weakest shit on earth and imo, should only be used on mixed sets for picking off ~3-20% HP left pokemon. +2 adamant 252 blade form shadow sneak is SO WEAK, it can't even OHKO 0/0 hasty mence(+2 252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Salamence: 214-253 (64.6 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO), yes I know mence isn't too frail, but this is fucking hasty scarf mence for gods sake, and since shadow sneak makes you auto blade form, you are now a sitting duck for anything to KO you (252 Atk Life Orb Technician Breloom Bullet Seed (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 207-246 (63.8 - 75.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery. yes i know loom probably will lose and this doesn't OHKO but, this shows how weak these defenses can be). There are just so much problems with SD aegislash and how weak shadow sneak is and how much problems it causes.

 

[Lee]

I do concede the point regarding Donphan/Gliscor etc overlap. In the past I've found it difficult to find a team-mate for Donphan that can lay SR (as Rapid Spin without hazards of your own is strictly inferior to Defog) without leading to some sort of doubling up on weaknesses/purposes. There are some decent options (Blissey, Celebi) but for the mostpart the tier's most popular SR setters do overlap somewhat with Donphan. Annoyingly.

 

[adman2]

Mmm I love using stall, guys, but playing this playstyle in OU atm is pretty sad cuz there are too many offensive mons, especially statuppers. I think that stall will be more playable with correct bans in OU. It's hard, but stall is possible just now. It's true that there are too many offensive mons but also there are a lots of new defensive mons... for example MegaVenusaur, Gourgeist, Trevenant etc.

Try Inverse Battles if you like Stall. Ice types never had it so good as they do here. . .

As for Swords Dance Aegislash, I see it occasionally even in Inverse Battles. Of course, that makes a surprise Shadow Ball all the more threatening when you bring in your Avalugg expecting to Roar it out.

Some of the replays in the "silly things in OU" show off Electivire's ability to always be disappointing. There was some backlash against Umbreon. I remember one major Smogon user's signature was "DO NOT USE UMBREON IN D/P" at one point.

I asked the question about Electivire because I really don't play standard OU all that much. I fare far better in the gimmicky metagames (The one successful OU Wifi team I had in D/P was a manual Rain Dance team. Not many people expected Rain before Gen 5. . .).

As for Sky Battles, I would have to suggest Vivillon as the most disappointing Pokemon. People expect it to be the same as Volcarona, and it usually dies quickly before doing anything.

 

[TaBuu]

With Gen VI still being in its "baby-stages" but slowly taking shape, I just want to list some Pokemon I have personally used, who I feel will remain in top usage for some time

Excadrill
An incredible Rapid-Spinner that provides solid defensive coverage and offensive presence as well. It has access to Stealth Rock and tbh because of Excadrill's phenominal typing, setting up SR hasn't been too difficult for Excadrill. Mold Breaker in conjunction with a powerful STAB Earthquake is definitely a problem. Air Balloon Excadrill is a personal favorite because having a third pseudo-immunity is fantastic for switch-ins against Pokemon you normally wouldn't switch in on.

Rotom-Wash
Honestly this thing should be considered a Gen VI Staple Pokemon. It's pretty much mandatory people, lol.
Halting Talonflame in it's track, checking any Azumarill variant (provided you're not that guy who switches into Play Rough), being an amazing bulky pivot and boasting incredible defensive capabilities, Rotom Wash is awesome. ChestoRest is definitely the way to go right now.

Mega Charizard X
Huge personal favorite of mine haha
Mega Charizard X is seriously a top tier threat. It has immediate power in Base 130 Attack and Tough Claws. It has a usable base 100 Speed that has some very good bulk behind it. Doesn't hurt that its dual STABs are more than enough to crush the OU metagame besides Azumarill and Heatran.

 

[adman2]

I don't play standard OU all that much, so forgive me if I'm mistaken. If Rotom-Wash is "mandatory", doesn't that mean something in the tier is broken enough that only Rotom can counter it? Or was that just hyperbole?

 

[Ajwf]

I don't play standard OU all that much, so forgive me if I'm mistaken. If Rotom-Wash is "mandatory", doesn't that mean something in the tier is broken enough that only Rotom can counter it? Or was that just hyperbole?

Rotom just counters so much. Talonflame, heatran, landorus forms and even checking mega zard x....

 

[doughboy]

I don't play standard OU all that much, so forgive me if I'm mistaken. If Rotom-Wash is "mandatory", doesn't that mean something in the tier is broken enough that only Rotom can counter it? Or was that just hyperbole?

It's just hyperbole. Rotom-W is a good choice in this metagame because it checks many threats but can still be incorporated on most offensive teams. The Wil-o-Wisp buff to 85% accuracy has made Rotom-W into one of the most annoying Pokemon to face this generation because it doesn't have any real exploitable weaknesses outside of Grass attacks to prevent it from neutering your offensive Pokemon. Grass is a pretty bad offensive type, so a lot of teams don't incorporate a Grass move, which leaves Rotom-W pretty safe. You can't nail Rotom-W down with hazards because of Levitate, you can't paralyze it to make sure a powerful wallbreaker can get a hit off before getting hit with Wil-o-Wisp because it is Electric-type, and you can't lure it to stay in the field to take damage because of Volt Switch. When you consider that most priority users have trouble with Rotom-W (Talonflame, Aegislash, Scizor, etc.), it shouldn't come as a surprise as to why most offensive teams have adopted Rotom-W into their arsenal.

edit: Lee Thunder Wave is a viable option similar to Volcarona vs Sp. Def Rotom-W last gen. But you are correct Zard-X can set up on Wisp Rotom-W

 

[Lee]

Rotom just counters so much. Talonflame, heatran, landorus forms and even checking mega zard x....

MegaZardX sets up on Rotom-W when using the standard Roost set. Alternate between Dragon Dance and Roost while burning away Hydro Pump's PP. Immune to burn and Trick, resistant to Electric...what can Rotom-W do exactly?

 

[Ajwf]

Wasn't aware roost existed on most Zard sets. I was under the impression it was a 3 attack DD set.

 

[WebBowser]

My current thoughts on the current meta.

1. Sablye is still a strong pokemon even with megakanga gone. It has been during gen five as well. The difference between gen five and now is the higher prevalence of physical setup sweeps, especially physical megas such as mawile, garchomp, pinsir, and heracross.

2. Donphan got a lot of usage last gen because he's a decent mon with rapid spin. That has not really changed. While exca is back, who most certainly competes with Donphan, it was noted he actually got buffed, not nerfed. Not only does he now enjoy his shiny new super buffed knock off, but he also benefits from the overall nerf to special attackers, esp the fire blast, hidden power and hydro pump nerfs. I do not see him going below UU.

3. One does not simply talk **** about Ninjask and not get mentioned in my post, even if it was about his performance in a previous meta. While I will not vouch for him in gens 4 or 5, Ninjask got some very nice buffs for gen 6. While you may (correctly) think that since scolopede exists, his speed pass set is now worthless, his banded set has gotten much, much better. With the defog buff, it is now much easier to keep SR off the field, which is 100% to the hit and run strategies of CB Ninjask. His place as the strongest fast u-turn in the game is unchallenged.

BEHOLD:

252+ Atk Choice Band Ninjask U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 87-103 (24.7 - 29.2%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

4 Atk Genesect U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 54-64 (15.3 - 18.1%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Genesect U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 72-85 (20.4 - 24.1%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery

(ferrothorn just used for example purposes, I am well aware any decent genesect would predict the switch and use flamethrower/blaze kick)

Yes, the u-turn of a CB ninjask > the u-turn of scarfed physical genesect (w/o DL boost). But wait, there's more! Infiltrator got a buff giving my favorite ninja a new niche. Not only can he now get through reflect with no issues, but he also ignores subs, completely wrecking things like sub-cm latias and sub-harvest trenevant. That being said, he still desperately needs safe swap ins, usually in the form of slow u-turns/BPs/volts witches, and still hates any priority not called mach punch, so I can't see him being above C tier.

This last part was probably more appropriate for the tiering discussion, wasn't it?

 

[Karxrida]

My current thoughts on the current meta.

1. Sablye is still a strong pokemon even with megakanga gone. It has been during gen five as well. The difference between gen five and now is the higher prevalence of physical setup sweeps, especially physical megas such as mawile, garchomp, pinsir, and heracross.

2. Donphan got a lot of usage last gen because he's a decent mon with rapid spin. That has not really changed. While exca is back, who most certainly competes with Donphan, it was noted he actually got buffed, not nerfed. Not only does he now enjoy his shiny new super buffed knock off, but he also benefits from the overall nerf to special attackers, esp the fire blast, hidden power and hydro pump nerfs. I do not see him going below UU.

3. One does not simply talk **** about Ninjask and not get mentioned in my post, even if it was about his performance in a previous meta. While I will not vouch for him in gens 4 or 5, Ninjask got some very nice buffs for gen 6. While you may (correctly) think that since scolopede exists, his speed pass set is now worthless, his banded set has gotten much, much better. With the defog buff, it is now much easier to keep SR off the field, which is 100% to the hit and run strategies of CB Ninjask. His place as the strongest fast u-turn in the game is unchallenged.

BEHOLD:

252+ Atk Choice Band Ninjask U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 87-103 (24.7 - 29.2%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

4 Atk Genesect U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 54-64 (15.3 - 18.1%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Genesect U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 72-85 (20.4 - 24.1%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery

(ferrothorn just used for example purposes, I am well aware any decent genesect would predict the switch and use flamethrower/blaze kick)

Yes, the u-turn of a CB ninjask > the u-turn of scarfed physical genesect (w/o DL boost). But wait, there's more! Infiltrator got a buff giving my favorite ninja a new niche. Not only can he now get through reflect with no issues, but he also ignores subs, completely wrecking things like sub-cm latias and sub-harvest trenevant. That being said, he still desperately needs safe swap ins, usually in the form of slow u-turns/BPs/volts witches, and still hates any priority not called mach punch, so I can't see him being above C tier.

This last part was probably more appropriate for the tiering discussion, wasn't it?

Ninjask will probably kill itself before taking out Ferrothon. Also, Inflitrator isn't a good reason to run Ninjask when Noivern (gets Switcheroo, special attacker with a decent movepool), Crobat (way bulkier, breaks stall in half with taunt), and even Chandelure (gets Trick, STAB Shadow Balls off of base 145-ish Special Attack hurt, can use Memento when you don't need it anymore, murders Treverant and Gougerst) exist. Also, none if them are x4 SR weak.

 

[SHUCKLE MAN]

Metagames are always more offensive in their initial period; anyone from previous generations will back me up on that. And I wouldn't hesitate to say that both Generations 4 and 5 were far more offensive during their inception than the current Gen 6 metagame.

I agree with your post in general, but I actually disagree with this particular point. I was here during Gen III, so I witnessed the start of Gen IV, and I actually think it was more defensive at the beginning than it was at the end. For example, I remember Blissey was #1 in the first couple months of the ShoddyBattle gen IV usage statistics iirc, whilst by the end of the generation it was on the verge of falling out the top 10. Other Pokemon like Dusknoir were a lot more popular at first than they were by the end.

My theory is that people continue to a new generation with the mind-set of the old generation. So in the case of Gen IV at first people were still trying to play very defensively like was the usual way to play in Gen III. In this case people are still in the Gen V mind-set, so are playing perhaps more offensively than they might need to in this generation, but eventually people will lose the old mind-set once they're more familiar with Gen VI.

Also, another thing I remember about early Gen IV was that Deoxys-E (as we called it at the time) very almost ended up in UU at one point, but ended up very popular later, so people might be concerned about some current very strong Pokemon having UU usage atm, but they'll get (re-)popularized eventually. With an ever-larger pool of Pokemon to choose from, things are more likely to slip under the radar.

 

[G-Von]

I don't play standard OU all that much, so forgive me if I'm mistaken. If Rotom-Wash is "mandatory", doesn't that mean something in the tier is broken enough that only Rotom can counter it? Or was that just hyperbole?

How convenient of you to bring this up. If you build a team without Rotom-W/H, Tyranitar, or Heatran, then a pokemon called Talonflame will fuck your shit up. And even then, you have your ways of getting by all of these pokemon. Steel Wing or U-turn for T-tar, Toxic for the Rotom formes, and Heatran needs to carry AncientPower (lol) or Stone Edge (LOLOLOL) to do anything to Talonflame. For a pokemon with a 4 times weakness to Stealth Rock, you would think you wouldn't have to put too much more thought into Talonflame once you have a SR setter on your team. However this is not true and there are 2 big reasons why Talonflame has been able to be so effective this generation so far.

Gale Wings is the signature ability that allows Talonflame to have its Flying type moves to be used with a +1 priority. On paper this seems kinda useless thanks in part to Talonflame's blazing 126 base speed. However, this means that it now has the strongest priority move in the entire game. Also, other priority users, namely Azumarrill and Crawdaunt, are not going to be able to revenge kill Talonflame due to Gale Wings. This also means that EVERY CHOICE SCARF USER will not be able to revenge Talonflame. You might say that this is the case with every priority user, but like I said earlier, Talonflame owns the most powerful priority move legally possible so its much more difficult to live a priority STAB Brave Bird than something previously more common like a Scizor Bullet Punch or a Breloom Mach Punch. Gale Wings also gives priority to Roost, which gives it an electric neutrality for that turn. This means if Rotom-W wants to safely kill Talonflame with Volt Switch, it will not be able to do that now thanks to Roost. It could use Hydro Pump, but that 80% accuracy can be shaky at times. This does make Talonflame susceptible to ground-type moves, but that would be a very risky play to make since it would most likely give Talonflame two more free hits on whatever it is facing and possibly 3HKO'ing it.

Defog, through the support of its teammates, is the other factor that has helped Talonflame become such a nuisance to face. Due to Talonflame's major SR weakness, it will need a pokemon to prevent Stealth Rocks from being set up. This can either be done through the classic means of Rapid Spinning, a new technique introduced last generation called having a pokemon with the ability Magic Bounce, or by the brand new means of getting hazards of the field with the move Defog. Due to its buff, Defog has been quite popular on some pokemon and has helped Mandibuzz reach OU usage. Instead of being able to simply switch in and prevent your hazards from disappearing, you need a user with Taunt already out on the field for the Defog user to not be able to do its job. I just want to show you guys a couple of replays of how useful Defog can be even if the other team is able to get hazards back up after a Defog:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-73687218
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-74045847

As you can see, Defog is very easy to get off, especially when you have a pokemon bulky enough to take hits even with a Stealth Rock weakness. The current meta is revolving around having answers for Talonflame, otherwise your team will get swept by it. That is why Rotom-W is #1 in usage right now, and to a lesser extent of it being a great answer to other threats and the accuracy buff to Will-o-Wisp.