Metagame Pokébilities [META POLL: Page 9 Post 216]

[Catzzadilla]

Sample team time while I work on my vr in between posts!

It was found last gen that for Toxtricity, Technician activates before Punk Rock when using Snarl. Then with the recently discovered terastalization mechanic that boosts all sub 60 BP moves of your tera type up to 60 BP once you've used your tera, it gives quite a nice boost to Tox once you take stab into account. 60x1.5=90x1.3=117x1.5=175.5 rounded down to 175 BP Snarl. Seemed fun to use, so I decided to build around it.

https://pokepast.es/71d56ff3fad01714

First, Tox itself. I could've made it a Throat Spray+Shift Gear set, but I decided Scarf to patch up its speed without being forced to take a turn to do so. Psychic Noise is a neat option, but either Boomburst or Sludge Bomb hit everything that Psychic Noise would at least neutrally. You could also use Overdrive for strong stab, but Boomburst is stronger even then and hits ground types.

Gambit is an obvious mon on most teams. Win con, comeback mon, cleaner, sweeper, resist to many common attacks, it just does so much and when you also get boosted by mons such as Landorus Therian, Krookodile, Salamance, Gyarados, Tauros forms, and Arcanine forms, and that's not even including things like Sticky Web or random drops from moves such as Shadow Ball. It gets scarier and harder to deal with as the game goes on and appreciates the chip the other teammates apply. Tera flying for the ground immunity and fighting resist

Azumarill is basically the Great Tusk if this meta. It does so much, all amazing, and there's a damn good reason it's on so many teams. I went with AV because while it doesn't hit as hard, it's an incredible check to so many pokemon already, and this just adds many special attackers to the list. It can clean up with Aqua Jet or get rid of a scary mon in range, remove items to make progress with Knock, and just generally hits really hard with its stabs

Speaking of Great Tusk, still chose to add one to the team. You need hazards and hazard removal and Tusk does both great. It's a basic utility set for hazard setting, hazard removal, and item removal while still hitting hard when it attacks. It may not have a second ability, but it's still amazing nonetheless.

I wanted a backup rocker that wasn't a suicide rocker like Skarm nor a rocker that is incredibly passive like Clod, so I decided to go with Clef. A third Knock user makes it to where item reliant pokemon and teams get really screwed over. Clef also just provides me with a great special wall that doesn't need Boots to not get worn down by hazards. You could very easily go with Thunder Wave over Knock Off to support Azumarill and Gambit, letting them outspeed more, and just be a general nuisance.

After all this, my team was fairly weak to ground and fairy (Tox is too frail to be used as a resist), so I needed a flying type/Levitate mon that resisted fairy, and I chose Geezing over Corviknight and Bronzong because Geezing is a great check to offensive Tusk, Moon, Valiant, and Meowscarada. It doesn't shut down Proto or Quark, but it does resist their dual stab, and while getting Knocked will always suck, that doesn't impede its ability to check these threats, even if not a bonified counter. Just an incredibly solid glue on many teams




Edit: If you want to change the team or give any advice/constructive criticism, feel free! The big thing I didn't like was the lack of momentum making it hard to get Tox out, but the rest of the team just works so well with it on paper, which is really all we have to go off of for pokebilities at the moment

the 60bp boost that tera brings activates AFTER technician. I assume it would activate after punk rock as well, but I haven't seen confirmation of that yet. You can try tera ground mud slap roserade with and without technician, it will come to the same amount.

 

[typhlosion787]

the 60bp boost that tera brings activates AFTER technician. I assume it would activate after punk rock as well, but I haven't seen confirmation of that yet. You can try tera ground mud slap roserade with and without technician, it will come to the same amount.

Damn, I really thought I had something and ran with the idea... Well, guess I just have to look for other overlooked mons with cool ability combination to build teams around

 

[typhlosion787]

Now, after so long, it's time for Typh's unofficial pokebilities vr. First, I have a few disclaimers. One I tend to avoid + and - tiers in my rankings just because of personal preference. Two, many mons that were on the weather abuser vr won't be on this because their only role is on weather specifically and they don't fit on any other team archetype (for instance, Barraskewda, Basculegion forms, Lilligant H, Venusaur). The only exception to this rule will be the weather setters themselves because the setters are more indicative of their respective weather as a whole and not just how they perform alone. Three, this opinion is still lacking in knowledge. As I've stated in prior posts, pokebilities hasn't been OMotM since April 2023, the pre home metagame. Please take this ranking with a grain of salt as things are bound to change and there will be inaccuracies.

S- The best of the best. These pokemon either do so much or do one thing so well that they are always invaluable and the very first things you should look out for
Azumarill
Kingambit
Great Tusk
Dragapult
Ursaring
Chien-Pao

A- Slightly less pressing, but still needed to take account for. Great pokemon that can reasonably be used to success against any level of player
Urshifu Rapid Strike
Gholdengo
Gliscor
Slowking G
Kyurem
Gouging Fire
Pelipper
Torkoal
Raging Bolt
Clodsire
Corviknight
Clefable
Heatran
Alomomola
Garganacl
Roaring Moon
Glimmora
Volcarona
Ting-Lu
Rillaboom
Iron Treads
Iron Valiant
Walking Wake
Iron Boulder
Weavile
Dragonite
Iron Moth
Latias
Zamazenta
Hawlucha
Weezing G
Ogerpon W
Deoxys S
Landorus T
Enamorus
Reuniclus
Slowbro
Slowking
Mienshao
Dondozo

B- Would only suggest for higher level players. These pokemon are often times more specific in their more common or sometimes only viable role they fill, making it harder for low and mid level players to properly get as much use out of them as possible.
Hydrapple
Amoonguss
Toxapex
Blissey
Keldeo
Serperior
Tornadus T
Manaphy
Ninetales A
Ursaluna
Zapdos
Meowscarada
Samurott H
Skeledirge
Cinderace
Greninja
Darkrai
Primarina
Heracross
Cinccino
Breloom
Rotom W
Scizor
Blaziken
Tyranitar
Garchomp
Comfey
Latios
Volcanion
Hoopa U
Kleavor
Salamence
Gyarados
Bronzong
Dragalge
Yanmega
Gastrodon
Hitmonlee
Hitmontop
Galvantula
Crawdaunt
Araquanid
Slowbro G
Golem A
Magnezone
Krookodile
Basculin (both stripes)
Kommo-o
Goodra H
Milotic
Empoleon
Ceruledge
Iron Hands
Mamoswine
Ogerpon C
Maushold
Weezing K
Quaquaval
Moltres
Zarude
Sandy Shocks
Okidogi
Ogerpon Base

C- Very niche overall. They may have a role or two they can fill, but it often requires specific situations to set up in order to get proper use out of them. Much less consistent overall than the pokemon in the above tiers.
Necrozma
Pecharunt
Polteageist
Suicune
Arcanine H
Deoxys D
Goodra K
Iron Jugulis
Moltres G
Cyclizar
Feraligatr
Entei
Enamorus T
Iron Crown
Hippowdon
Tentacruel
Sinistcha
Muk
Hippowdon
Pincurchin
Cresselia
Ribombee
Grimmsnarl
Tinkaton
Indeedee
Lokix
Scream Tail
Muk A
Chandelure
Scrafty
Hariyama
Braviary H
Perrserker
Skarmory
Sceptile
Staraptor
Tauros Paldea Aqua
Tauros Paldea Blaze
Grafaiai
Qwilfish H
Porygon2
Snorlax
Farigiraf
Veluza

D- These pokemon have cool ability combinations, but I'd suggest against using these at any level of play, even top level. Yes, they technically do have roles (like how Kilowattrel completely walls Zapdos), but these roles can easily be filled or at least replicated by pokemon that are much better overall.
Zebstrika
Lanturn
Pawmot
Tauros Paldea Base
Tauros K
Braviary
Kilowattrel
Gumshoos
Wyrdeer
Squawkabilly
Gurdurr



This took about two hours in one sitting, so I hope it was enjoyable. It is incredibly likely that I will make several changes over the next few weeks because this is likely going to end up being very inaccurate due to me being exhausted and trying to speed through it. For now, though, this is how it is.

 

[woodgoldtwo]

It looks like Pokebilities is winning OMoTM which is something I am very exited about since this is the only metagame I care enough about to actually make teams for

 

[typhlosion787]

It looks like Pokebilities is winning OMoTM which is something I am very exited about since this is the only metagame I care enough about to actually make teams for

Same thing here. I've spent over 6 years of my life loving this meta and that's all my teams are anymore. Only the one meta

 

[1LDK]

Are we gonna have the OU bans applied here, or it's fuck it we ball time?

 

[typhlosion787]

Are we gonna have the OU bans applied here, or it's fuck it we ball time?

Following base OU bans for the most part. There are a few exceptions right now, though. The Ubers mons that arent banned (as of now, always subject to change) are Archaludon, Urshifu Rapid, Magearna, and Chien-Pao. On the other hand, mons that aren't Ubers, but are banned include Excadrill, PorygonZ, and Conkeldurr as of now

 

[typhlosion787]

So, I recently released my personal VR for the meta, and the very first mon I mentioned there was Azumarill, and for good reason. I personally believe that with Exca, Conk, and PoryZ all being banned (not saying I disagree! I advocated for their bans for a reason), I do believe Azu is the unquestionable best non Ubers mon in the meta with there being a small gap between it and Gambit with the two big reasons it is ahead being versatility and typing.

As great as Gambit is, versatility is the one thing it lacks outside of its tera tera type. You will always see Swords Dance+Sucker Punch+2 of Iron Head, Kowtow Cleave, Low Kick, or Tera Blast. It will always be Leftovers, Boots, Lum Berry, Air Balloon, or Black Glasses. So as terrifying as Gambit always is, the one thing you can't really call it outside of terastalization is unpredictable. Now Gambit's tera type is where it is most unpredictable. Dark, fairy, flying, ghost, water, fighting, and fire are all common and have their own separate advantages, so let's see how Azu stacks up

Azumarill, on the other hand, has much more it can do a fair amount more. Aqua Jet, Liquidation, Play Rough, Tera Blast, Knock Off, Belly Drum, Ice Spinner, Trailblaze, Superpower, and Encore are all incredibly viable moves that see enough usage to where they all have to be taken into account. In terms of items, Azu also runs more. The big three are Choice Band, Citrus, and Assault Vest, but Azu can also run Covert Cloak, Ability Shield (specifically for the Weezings), Leftovers, Protective Pads, Lum Berry, or a resist berry to great effect. Azu's best tera types consist of water, fairy, ground, steel, electric to stop para, and fire to stop burn.

The second reason is typing, or more specifically, resistances. Kingambit's type is brilliant, there's no doubt about that, but Azumarill's typing and abilities match up far better against so many meta threats.

Kingambit's biggest advantages are against Dragapult (without Flamethrower or Wisp), Gholdengo (without Focus Blast), Hattrene, Iron Boulder (without Close Combat or Earthquake), Kyurem, Rillaboom, Roaring Moon (without Earthquake), Glowking, and Weavile (without Low Kick)

Azumarill's biggest advantages are against Barraskewda, Gouging Fire, Heatran, Kyurem, Meowscarada (without Thunder Punch), Ogerpon Wellspring, Rillaboom, Roaring Moon, Hisuirrot, Serperior, Volcarona, Walking Wake, Weavile (without Poison Jab), Blaziken (without Thunder Punch), Chien-Pao, and Urshifu Rapid (if it doesn't have Thunder Punch or Poison Jab).

As can be easily seen, Azu's good matchups are significantly more pokemon than Gambit's good matchups, and it is also less reliant on move choice from the opposing pokemon. This was just OU and Ubers pokemon as well, not taking into account mons like Hydrapple, Breloom, Hariyama, or Heracross.

One thing that I haven't mentioned yet is that Gambit won't have any bonus resistances when terastalizing. If you tera fairy, you have fairy's weaknesses and resistances, same with flying, same with ghost. Azu's ability combination, however, allows it to transfer a grass immunity and a fire and ice resistance on top of any tera type, giving it much more utility and leeway as a tera abuser.


While Gambit is definitely the number two mon in the meta (outside of Ubers mons), it just barely falls short of everything Azu has going for it.

 

[ofwem offwem]

Gumshoos @ Choice Band
Ability: Stakeout / Adaptability / Strong Jaw
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Body Slam
- Crunch
- U-turn
- Ice Fang

Gumshoos, a trashy first route rodent, gets three awesome abilities. It hits super super hard, especially if you Tera it.

+2 252+ Atk Choice Band Gumshoos Body Slam vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 250-296 (63.4 - 75.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Adaptability Stakeout

Dark Tera Crunch with Stakeout Adaptability and Strong Jaw
+2 252+ Atk Choice Band Gumshoos Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg on a critical hit: 352-416 (89.3 - 105.5%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
(crit to show strong jaw)

This guy is frail, but STRONG.


Cetitan @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat / Sheer Force / Slush Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Liquidation

Slush Rush + Sheer Force is scary. The biggest issue this thing has is Azumarill, which murders it.

Rip that Gumshoos lost hyper fang so no adaptability + strong Jaw boosted move :((

 

[typhlosion787]

Rip that Gumshoos lost hyper fang so no adaptability + strong Jaw boosted move :((

Yeah. Thing used to be able to do 40-45% to Aggron with Banded max attack Adamant Hyper Fang. Granted it was only against Aggron with no defense or HP investment, but that's still 40-45% against a mon with base 180 defense and a quad resist to your stab

 

[ZarbyXar]

Now, after so long, it's time for Typh's unofficial pokebilities vr. First, I have a few disclaimers. One I tend to avoid + and - tiers in my rankings just because of personal preference. Two, many mons that were on the weather abuser vr won't be on this because their only role is on weather specifically and they don't fit on any other team archetype (for instance, Barraskewda, Basculegion forms, Lilligant H, Venusaur). The only exception to this rule will be the weather setters themselves because the setters are more indicative of their respective weather as a whole and not just how they perform alone. Three, this opinion is still lacking in knowledge. As I've stated in prior posts, pokebilities hasn't been OMotM since April 2023, the pre home metagame. Please take this ranking with a grain of salt as things are bound to change and there will be inaccuracies.

S- The best of the best. These pokemon either do so much or do one thing so well that they are always invaluable and the very first things you should look out for
Azumarill
Kingambit
Great Tusk
Dragapult
Ursaring
Chien-Pao
Urshifu Single Strike
Magearna
Baxcalibur

A- Slightly less pressing, but still needed to take account for. Great pokemon that can reasonably be used to success against any level of player
Urshifu Rapid Strike
Gholdengo
Gliscor
Slowking G
Kyurem
Gouging Fire
Pelipper
Torkoal
Raging Bolt
Clodsire
Corviknight
Clefable
Heatran
Alomomola
Garganacl
Roaring Moon
Glimmora
Volcarona
Ting-Lu
Rillaboom
Iron Treads
Iron Valiant
Walking Wake
Iron Boulder
Weavile
Dragonite
Iron Moth
Latias
Zamazenta
Hawlucha
Weezing G
Ogerpon W
Deoxys S
Landorus T
Enamorus
Reuniclus
Slowbro
Slowking
Mienshao
Dondozo

B- Would only suggest for higher level players. These pokemon are often times more specific in their more common or sometimes only viable role they fill, making it harder for low and mid level players to properly get as much use out of them as possible.
Hydrapple
Amoonguss
Toxapex
Blissey
Keldeo
Serperior
Tornadus T
Manaphy
Ninetales A
Ursaluna
Zapdos
Meowscarada
Samurott H
Skeledirge
Cinderace
Greninja
Darkrai
Primarina
Heracross
Cinccino
Breloom
Rotom W
Scizor
Blaziken
Tyranitar
Garchomp
Comfey
Latios
Volcanion
Hoopa U
Kleavor
Salamence
Gyarados
Bronzong
Dragalge
Yanmega
Gastrodon
Hitmonlee
Hitmontop
Galvantula
Crawdaunt
Araquanid
Slowbro G
Golem A
Magnezone
Krookodile
Basculin (both stripes)
Kommo-o
Goodra H
Milotic
Empoleon
Ceruledge
Iron Hands
Mamoswine
Ogerpon C
Maushold
Weezing K
Quaquaval
Moltres
Zarude
Sandy Shocks
Okidogi
Ogerpon Base

C- Very niche overall. They may have a role or two they can fill, but it often requires specific situations to set up in order to get proper use out of them. Much less consistent overall than the pokemon in the above tiers.
Necrozma
Pecharunt
Polteageist
Suicune
Arcanine H
Deoxys D
Goodra K
Iron Jugulis
Moltres G
Cyclizar
Feraligatr
Entei
Enamorus T
Iron Crown
Hippowdon
Tentacruel
Sinistcha
Muk
Hippowdon
Pincurchin
Cresselia
Ribombee
Grimmsnarl
Tinkaton
Indeedee
Lokix
Scream Tail
Muk A
Chandelure
Scrafty
Hariyama
Braviary H
Perrserker
Skarmory
Sceptile
Staraptor
Tauros Paldea Aqua
Tauros Paldea Blaze
Grafaiai
Qwilfish H
Porygon2
Snorlax
Farigiraf
Veluza

D- These pokemon have cool ability combinations, but I'd suggest against using these at any level of play, even top level. Yes, they technically do have roles (like how Kilowattrel completely walls Zapdos), but these roles can easily be filled or at least replicated by pokemon that are much better overall.
Zebstrika
Lanturn
Pawmot
Tauros Paldea Base
Tauros K
Braviary
Kilowattrel
Gumshoos
Wyrdeer
Squawkabilly
Gurdurr



This took about two hours in one sitting, so I hope it was enjoyable. It is incredibly likely that I will make several changes over the next few weeks because this is likely going to end up being very inaccurate due to me being exhausted and trying to speed through it. For now, though, this is how it is.

Urshifu Single is banned

 

[FiboDoesPokemon]

So first impression of Basculegion:

You just tap your adaptability rain-boosted swift swim mold breaker wave crash to kill maxDef slowking on switchin.
252 Atk Choice Band Adaptability Basculegion Wave Crash vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Slowking in Rain: 242-285 (61.4 - 72.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Basculegion Wave Crash vs. 248 HP / 252 Def Clodsire: 494-585 (106.6 - 126.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
water absorb never had a chance

Base 78 speed kind of sucks, even under rain, but barely outruns dragpult/electrode.

beyond that um, chien pao. sucker punch will kill through tera, so you're reduced into 50/50 mindgames with aqua jet
252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Sacred Sword vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tera Dark Basculegion: 350-414 (91.8 - 108.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO


Tl;DR -As long as rain stays up, even resist phys walls are getting ganked by an effectively 360bp mold breaker wave crash

 

[typhlosion787]

Urshifu Single is banned

Yeah, I'm gonna go back and edit the post. Some mons like Luna Bloodmoon, Bax, and Urshi S have since been removed from the meta

 

[typhlosion787]

So first impression of Basculegion:
View attachment 621079
You just tap your adaptability rain-boosted swift swim mold breaker wave crash to kill maxDef slowking on switchin.
252 Atk Choice Band Adaptability Basculegion Wave Crash vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Slowking in Rain: 242-285 (61.4 - 72.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Basculegion Wave Crash vs. 248 HP / 252 Def Clodsire: 494-585 (106.6 - 126.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
water absorb never had a chance
View attachment 621077

Base 78 speed kind of sucks, even under rain, but barely outruns dragpult/electrode.

beyond that um, chien pao. sucker punch will kill through tera, so you're reduced into 50/50 mindgames with aqua jet
252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Sacred Sword vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tera Dark Basculegion: 350-414 (91.8 - 108.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO


Tl;DR -As long as rain stays up, even resist phys walls are getting ganked by an effectively 360bp mold breaker wave crash

As strong as Bascu is, female entirely outclasses male in every way just because of reliable ghost stab in Shadow Ball

 

[typhlosion787]

So, day one of the post DLC meta! How are things shaping up? Well, here are the first few things I notice

Magearna and Chien-Pao are absolute terrors. They rip the meta apart so effortlessly that my almost 3 year old niece could use them to success. Magearna's Stored Power sets are it's biggest standout, but Specs is scary as ever and AV pairs amazing with Wish support from Alomomola, which it pairs really well with as it resists the grass moves that Alomomola is weak to and Alomomola resists the fire moves that Magearna is weak to. As for Chien-Pao, just the fact that Glowking is as common as it is makes for an easy partner for Chien-Pao, boosting its defense just by using a momentum move. Choice Band is the most immediate set as always, but Boots and Black Glasses/Never Melt Ice are both viable as well. Just as much of a terror as it was pre home.

But we knew those two would rip the meta to shreds. What about mons we didn't know would do so? Well, for this, we point to rain. Arch is up to the same things it did in OU, but that was expected as unlike some other mons like Kyurem or Gouging Fire, the advent of mons having all their abilities doesn't give a mon to stop it from wreaking havoc. However, a mon that not many expected to be so terrifying is Basculegion, specifically female. Male is much easier overall to deal with due to it slowly killing itself with Wave Crash and rarely ever using any moves that aren't water type die to bad ghost stab. Female Basc, though? This thing is almost unwallable. Specs effectively limits the opponent to Ability Shield Clodsire, Blissey, and Eviolite Chansey because everything else is 2HKOd by Surf, Shadow Ball, or Ice Beam. And now that Indigo Disk gave us returning TMs, Basc gets Flip Turn again for incredibly, so the few mons that can switch into it just become momentum fodder (except Ability Shield Clod). There are some mons that can force a tera out of it like Kingambit and Hisuirott, which makes Adaptability only effect the type you tera'd into and weakens it significantly, but with how hard it is to switch these Pokemon into Basc. Even with Assault Vest and the suggested spread for the AV set on Hisuirott, it gets 2HKOd in rain after Rocks. 252 SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Basculegion-F Surf vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Samurott-Hisui in Rain: 175-207 (48 - 56.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock. It'd be hard enough if it only had water stab like the male one, but the addition of reliable ghost stab, one of the most spammable types in the game, as well as its Ice Beam being significantly stronger compared to the male form, that propels its threat level even further. Maybe part of why its' so strong is because other weathers aren't nearly as common as I had originally expected, but in the current state of the meta, it is undeniably one of the largest threats and you NEED a good way to deal with it.

Two mons left, one of them the most shocking to do well and the other being the mon that fell off of the face of not just the planet, but the entire solar system. For the mon that's doing better than expected, Hisuian Braviary. Looking back on it, I was stupid when I said Trick Room teams would be where this mon shined. Its speed tier is just at a point where it isn't high enough to function without support, even with a Choice Scarf, but it is too high to be great in Trick Room because so many threats underspeed it in Trick Room such as Azumarill, Hariyama, Kingambit, Ursaluna, Glastrier, Crawdaunt, Reuniclus, Iron Hands, Hdrapple, Rhyperior, and Perrserker. So what kind of speed support does it actually work well with. Tailwind is an automatic no go because its effectively only 3 turns long, and that's if you set it up yourself instead of having a teammate set it up, which is not a great idea because Braviary already struggles to choose between Roost and U-Turn in its final moveslot. That leaves two forms of speed support, those being paralysis spreading and Sticky Web, both of which Braviary performs great under. Sticky Web is easier because you just need to set it up once and keep Gholdy alive to make sure it can't be removed, but T Wave spam also works great with it. With Modest Life Orb, I was able to do 66% with Hurricane to what I will assume was a PhysDef Garg because I didn't ask which defense it was invested in. I was also able to KO a Pelipper from 88% with Hurricane. Speaking of Pelipper, that's one thing that makes Braviary more scary. Now, of course, you don't want to be in against Zapdos, Barraskewda, or Basc F, but the rain makes your Hurricane's a guaranteed hit with an almost 1/3 chance to confuse you. Overall much better than originally suspected.

On the other hand, Basculin is almost nonexistent now. Its evolutions being added made it have its role completely outclassed. Yeah, you don't have the option of Rock Head, but you do have Swift Swim to allow you to outspeed max speed Booster Moon if you're max speed with a +speed nature. Even if Basc F gets banned, Basc M is still so much better than baby Basc. Yeah, I guess you can make the argument that baby Basc does better on weatherless, but if you're using a water mon on weatherless, there are so many better options. Azumarill, Oger Wellspring, Hisuirott, Walking Wake, Urshi R, or Quaquaval all are much better outside of weather. This thing did have its time in the light where it was a top 5 mon, but as I predicted, as time came and went from Home to Teal Mask to Indigo Disk, baby Basc just continually got worse and worse to the point where I'd never suggest it for anything beyond a gimmick due to how many other better options there are.

Please keep in mind, these are only day one observations from myself and a handful of people I asked in the OM Discord server. Also, me speaking on these mons (specifically Mag, Chien, Arch, and Basc F) doesn't mean tiering action is guaranteed. I may now be the new co-leader of the meta (the biggest shout-out and thank you imaginable to Ivy, who offered me the role), but that doesn't mean I make decisions by myself. If any action is taken, it's going to be a majority vote from the active community instead of one made solely by me. Just wanted to clear that up. I am not the end all, be all of decision making, just one of countless people who contributes to the process.

 

[Ivy]

We're going to bring back the Magearna ban and also remove Basculegion-female. The two of these put stressors on even the most well-trained anti-meta ability shield clodsire. With them out of the way, rain should be somewhat less oppressive (or at the very least provide some more varied threats). Male Basculegion may still warrant the use of this, although it's essentially limited to only water moves and vulnerable to death by attrition in recoil damage.

 

[Fingie Snatcher]

I am currently number 1 on the ladder for this metagame and thought it would be cool to share the team I used to get there and maybe it could get on the sample teams (proof at bottom)

Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog

Corviknight is an extremely powerful threat in this meta. Doing what it does in ou but better. It can no longer be stat dropped and checks some of the metas top moms like Kingambit, Great Tusk, Azumarill, Ursaring, Urshifu, and more. Body Press is mainly for Gambit since this team can struggle to beat him sometimes if you don't play amazing. Tera water is a good tera in general but more specifically helps this team deal with it's bad matchup against Arcanine-H.

Clodsire @ Ability Shield
Ability: Poison Point
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Recover

Clodsire always had the curse of having to choose between unaware and water absorb, now it can have both. Clod is very helpful against the various special attackers in the tier like some Dragapult, Magearna, Ghold, Yanmega, Glimmora, etc. Another plus to Clodsire is it's ability to check certain Azu sets and its positive matchup versus rain. Ability Shield is for Basculegion.

Braviary-Hisui (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Keen Eye
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Agility/U-turn

Braviary-H is the strongest wall breaker in the tier in my opinion and is slept on by a lot of people. It's biggest issue is it's speed and weakness to rocks but it still has enough speed with modest to outspeed and destroy many of the other wall breakers and walls in the tier. Psychic is so strong and Hurricane has one shot many Kingambit trying to switch in on my Psychic. The fourth slot could honestly be anything cause you usually aren't clicking anything else except psychic but these are the two with the most utility.

Ursaring @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Facade
- Close Combat
- Crunch
- Thunder Punch

What's better than Ursaring with plus one attack? Ursaring with a free dragon dance of course. This thing still isn't too fast even after flame orb procs but it still outspeeds enough to be a threat and is great at surviving random attacks.

Chien-Pao @ Choice Band
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Ice Spinner
- Sucker Punch
- Sacred Sword

Personally I think Chien-Pao is broken and needs to be ban. This mon carried me through the entire tier. It outspeeds almost everything and is so insanely strong with band. This thing can even two shot Corviknight. Sucker Punch is great priority to have and can be used as a last minute answer to Kingambit if you chip him enough or force him to tera.

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Cute Charm
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stored Power
- Charge Beam
- Moonlight
- Cosmic Power

Last but not least is Clefable. Like Clodsire this mon struggles to choose what ability to run but now gets to rampage with both. Do you wanna beat set-up sweepers or stall mons? Why not both. These abilities compliment each other extremely well and make for a gimmicky monster, Standard Clef sets are still really strong, I just wanted to have some fun with this set. Many teams aren't expecting this and if you beat it's checks early on you can go crazy with it. I chose tera steel as it flips it's weaknesses and helps immensly for Kingambit. Water is another great tera but I prefer steel.

I love this tier and can't wait to see what becomes of it. Thank you for listening to my rant.

 

[Ivy]

I am currently number 1 on the ladder for this metagame and thought it would be cool to share the team I used to get there and maybe it could get on the sample teams (proof at bottom)

Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog

Corviknight is an extremely powerful threat in this meta. Doing what it does in ou but better. It can no longer be stat dropped and checks some of the metas top moms like Kingambit, Great Tusk, Azumarill, Ursaring, Urshifu, and more. Body Press is mainly for Gambit since this team can struggle to beat him sometimes if you don't play amazing. Tera water is a good tera in general but more specifically helps this team deal with it's bad matchup against Arcanine-H.

Clodsire @ Ability Shield
Ability: Poison Point
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Recover

Clodsire always had the curse of having to choose between unaware and water absorb, now it can have both. Clod is very helpful against the various special attackers in the tier like some Dragapult, Magearna, Ghold, Yanmega, Glimmora, etc. Another plus to Clodsire is it's ability to check certain Azu sets and its positive matchup versus rain. Ability Shield is for Basculegion.

Braviary-Hisui (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Keen Eye
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Agility/U-turn

Braviary-H is the strongest wall breaker in the tier in my opinion and is slept on by a lot of people. It's biggest issue is it's speed and weakness to rocks but it still has enough speed with modest to outspeed and destroy many of the other wall breakers and walls in the tier. Psychic is so strong and Hurricane has one shot many Kingambit trying to switch in on my Psychic. The fourth slot could honestly be anything cause you usually aren't clicking anything else except psychic but these are the two with the most utility.

Ursaring @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Facade
- Close Combat
- Crunch
- Thunder Punch

What's better than Ursaring with plus one attack? Ursaring with a free dragon dance of course. This thing still isn't too fast even after flame orb procs but it still outspeeds enough to be a threat and is great at surviving random attacks.

Chien-Pao @ Choice Band
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Ice Spinner
- Sucker Punch
- Sacred Sword

Personally I think Chien-Pao is broken and needs to be ban. This mon carried me through the entire tier. It outspeeds almost everything and is so insanely strong with band. This thing can even two shot Corviknight. Sucker Punch is great priority to have and can be used as a last minute answer to Kingambit if you chip him enough or force him to tera.

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Cute Charm
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stored Power
- Charge Beam
- Moonlight
- Cosmic Power

Last but not least is Clefable. Like Clodsire this mon struggles to choose what ability to run but now gets to rampage with both. Do you wanna beat set-up sweepers or stall mons? Why not both. These abilities compliment each other extremely well and make for a gimmicky monster, Standard Clef sets are still really strong, I just wanted to have some fun with this set. Many teams aren't expecting this and if you beat it's checks early on you can go crazy with it. I chose tera steel as it flips it's weaknesses and helps immensly for Kingambit. Water is another great tera but I prefer steel.

I love this tier and can't wait to see what becomes of it. Thank you for listening to my rant.

View attachment 623087View attachment 623089

I'd be happy to put it on the samples. you want to provide your own pokepaste link so it's credited properly?

 

[OADES]

Not sure if this has been mentioned before but Guard Dog doesn't seem implemented correctly? Have a replay of the game on hand, but it seems interesting that the advantage Okidogi should have doesn't apply. Additionally, my Drilbur got poisoned by tspikes. I'm fairly certain corrosion doesn't work like this, according to Bulbapedia at least, and this seems like a mechanic that would have popped up or at least been mentioned in OU play if it did.

 

[typhlosion787]

Additionally, my Drilbur got poisoned by tspikes. I'm fairly certain corrosion doesn't work like this, according to Bulbapedia at least, and this seems like a mechanic that would have popped up or at least been mentioned in OU play if it did.

Drilbur is pure ground. It doesn't become steel type until it evolves into the banned Excadrill

 

[Fingie Snatcher]

I'd be happy to put it on the samples. you want to provide your own pokepaste link so it's credited properly?

Thank you so much. Here is the link: https://pokepast.es/0849f8051a0835a0

 

[typhlosion787]

Speaking of sample teams, I got quite a lot. Specifically 20

https://pokepast.es/7bd2e7d67b9e9c44

https://pokepast.es/78d73d24cb543e47

https://pokepast.es/f5f6e2d19fb533d8

https://pokepast.es/68af5802c866de43

https://pokepast.es/e340706bf11148cc

https://pokepast.es/b55eceb578de4192

https://pokepast.es/798b8b990264f359

https://pokepast.es/f4bcb6c8d9e32fe7

https://pokepast.es/ab64fa80cdd73c8c

https://pokepast.es/cea7cf8fc9d010be

https://pokepast.es/ae354bf07922a797

https://pokepast.es/6c4bb41e1669841b

https://pokepast.es/efff20fa04b69b4b

https://pokepast.es/7a667eae1452a0b9

https://pokepast.es/5563fe34a1188f31

https://pokepast.es/ef7350be0bc4c794

https://pokepast.es/02774c86f6d7ff6b

https://pokepast.es/962882be9d0f5c4c

https://pokepast.es/de08bf36ef0475eb

Pick your poison between 20 different choices.

 

[Ivy]

Not sure if this has been mentioned before but Guard Dog doesn't seem implemented correctly? Have a replay of the game on hand, but it seems interesting that the advantage Okidogi should have doesn't apply. Additionally, my Drilbur got poisoned by tspikes. I'm fairly certain corrosion doesn't work like this, according to Bulbapedia at least, and this seems like a mechanic that would have popped up or at least been mentioned in OU play if it did.

You might have to make it the primary ability in the teambuilder (or switch it back to toxic chain); the order matters sometimes like with geezing's glitchiness.

 

[typhlosion787]

https://pokepast.es/7a667eae1452a0b9

Wanted to bring special attention to this team because it's the one that's had the most success out of every one I've built by a long shot.

I originally made this team with Mag, but once Mag was banned, and since I still needed a grass resist and both Mola and Lando were physical walls, I figured I needed a special wall, which is where AV Hoodra came in. Yeah, it didn't have momentum, but it did have Knock Off. On top of that, it has great coverage and can threaten a wide variety of pokemon because of it.

But what does the team do?

The original idea was to give Magearna (now Hoodra) and Lando recovery, which is where Mola came in. Mola could spread burns, stall rain turns, and get momentum for its teammates, Lando could prevent setup with Taunt, weaken physical attackers, and spread passive damage through Rocks and Helmet, and Hoodra can remove items that help the opponent break through the core while also posing a realistic offensive threat.

So, where do we go from here? My first thought was mons that are slow, but bulky bruisers. The poster children for this idea and for the meta as a whole are Azu and Gambit, the two best mons in the tier. Incredible defensive profiles that allow them to switch in and use their reliable stabs and coverage to their advantage, made even better if opposing Boots get Knocked by Hoodra.

So, this left one mon. Gambit is a cleaner and a sweeper and Azu is a wallbreaker and a cleaner, so l had all three big offensive areas covered. Because of this, I just decided to use one of the most brutally strong pokemon in the meta, Ursaring, which ironically is a wallbreaker and a sweeper, meaning I had two mons for each primary offensive category.

All of the three offensive mons get great benefit from Alo's wishes as the Gambit and Azu wear themselves down by switching in on hazards and taking chip from resisted mons while Ursaring wears itself down through switching in on hazards, opponent Rocky Helmets (mainly from Corv), and it's own burn. The repeated damage over time is easier to play around with Wish support from Alo.

Now, the big things to look out for when playing with this team: Dondozo is effectively an automatic loss. You should probably replace Flamethrower with Thunderbolt because it still pops Gholdy and Heatran Air Balloon while still threatening Corv and it allows you to hit Dozo for big damage. Next big flaw, you're really reliant and often forced into passivity against hazard stacks as you're more reliant on Mola Wish support. Lastly, the team lacks a single type resistance, but that's also a top 2 type in the game, being fairy. Valiant is more doable since AV Hoodra+fighting resist Lando T makes it easier to play around, but mons like Enam, Azu, Clef, and Primarina are incredibly dangerous to the team and you need to play more cautious to beat them. However, caution doesn't mean you can just let your mons be a sitting duck. In order to overcome many fairy mons, you will need caution without passivity.

 

[Izmagack]

Braviary-H is one of the biggest threats in this tier as has been said time and time again by players who are much better at the game than me. However IMO it has a lot of flexibility. The item choice is obvious and Psychic + Hurricane are auto includes, but what about the EV spread / nature or the other two moves? I’ve seen people running bulky sets with three attacks + roost, fast three attack + agility sets, and even two attacks + both roost and agility (I do not advise doing this). Is shadow ball better because it hits more for super effective or is heat wave better because it covers more? Are bulky or fast sets better? I’d love to know y’all’s thoughts :)