Other Pre-DLC SV Monotype Metagame Discussion

[maroon]

Welcome to the Monotype metagame discussion thread!
Monotype on Showdown​

Monotype is a really simple concept; you build a team of six Pokemon sharing one common type and fight against teams with the same restriction. You are allowed to use Pokemon with dual-typing on a team represented by either type, but every other Pokemon must share at least one type with the dual-typed Pokemon. For example, you can use Grimmsnarl, a Dark- / Fairy-type Pokemon, on a Dark or Fairy team. If you choose Grimmsnarl, you can also use Roaring Moon (Past Paradox Salamence), a Dragon- / Dark-type Pokemon, and create a Dark team with the two of them, but you cannot use Noivern, a Flying / Dragon type Pokemon, on that team because it does not share a type with Grimmsnarl and Roaring Moon.

Using six Pokemon of the same type can lead to some interesting team archetypes, and it challenges teambuilders to make sure the common weaknesses a certain type of Pokemon share are covered as best as possible. This metagame allows for all kinds of Pokemon to be viable against top threats, so be imaginative. As you play, you'll find many unique threats that aren't common in the usage based tiers.

The Monotype metagame features builds from all playstyles—Offense, Balance, and Stall. The playstyle will often reflect the Pokemon available on that type. For instance, there are many strong offensive Fighting types, but the type lacks reliable defensive Pokemon. As such, a Stall Fighting-type team is hard to make, while Offensive Fighting is more likely to be viable. The best Monotype players build and play a wide variety of types, using teams that capitalize on the strengths of an individual type. Forcing your favorite type into an archetype that it will struggle to pull off is a good way to lose matches and get frustrated!

Tiering and Discussion
Monotype has its own tiering, which is based on the tiering philosophy. The metagame is led by a 9-man council, each with an equal say in tiering decisions.

You may find the current banlist in the Monotype entry on the Smogdex.

This thread is meant for discussion—not just requesting bans! That said, if you feel anything not on these banlists is too overpowered for the meta, this is the place to discuss it. All tiering discussion should be framed within the context of the Monotype Tiering Philosophy, which you can find below. Additionally, if you want to recommend a Pokemon for suspect testing, include some evidence and reasoning why you think said Pokemon is broken. Just saying something like, "I think Kyurem-Black should be banned because it has base 170 Attack." is a post that will get deleted, and it won't get you taken seriously. Back up your claim with replays showing how the Pokemon is overpowered in practice. Tell us how it interacts against other types/playstyles, what checks and counters it, its role on the team type(s) where it's played (going back to the Kyurem-Black example, how does it play on Mono-Ice vs. Mono-Dragon?), and so on. If you need any advice or have any questions on things you think are broken but are unsure what the best way to post is, contact a member of the Monotype Council either through message or on Showdown in the Monotype room.

As a final thought, before you post, think about what you're saying and whether it adds anything to the conversation or sparks discussion. If not, add to it until it does. Let's make an effort to have fun while keeping a certain level of mature conversation!

Special note: This thread is for metagame discussion, not tiering philosophy discussion. If you would like to propose a policy change then please start a private message with the members of the Monotype council. If the council would like to field general discussion on the tiering philosophy then it will make a post requesting input from the community. In this thread, we encourage people to share their thoughts on elements that they think could be potentially unhealthy in order to help balance out the metagame.

 

[Keahi]

I'm so flipping excited! Let's go Gen 9!

Also... PAwmot ban when?

 

[wkxkevin]

pawnmot does not need ban. The only thing worthy of a ban is revival blessing

 

[Flopfish]

A whole new meta to play copious amounts of Ice in. God this is exciting.

 

[Ronman5]

I'm so flipping excited! Let's go Gen 9!

Also... PAwmot ban when?

No one asks should we ban Pawmot, but when we should ban Palafin.

Also petition to unban Koraidon and Miradon

 

[Snapteryx]

King's rock is getting banned right? Maushold is essentially a living russian roulette. Since it was already banned in gen 8, I'm not sure why it's unbanned now when we have an even better king's rock abuser

Also I'd just like to mention how painfully unusable mono rock is. Mono rock is more dead than mono ghost this gen. The only viable returning mons rock has are Tyranitar and Coalossal. It doesn't get webs or trick room so it's main methods of speed control are gone. Glimmora is sort of passable as a Nihilego substitute ig? It's a good special attacker but it relies on scarf for speed and it's still outsped by other scarfers regardless. Without speed control, rock is basically dead. Lycanroc is the only rock type with over 100 base speed so getting offensive pressure against mono rock is almost trivial. There isn't even enough dual typings for a whole team. Mono rock has access to a total of 5 dual type mons and it's not like the pure rock mons are that good either (i haven't experimented with garganacl or klawf yet but even if those mons are great i don't think it will fix anything). And when Pokemon Home comes out, mono rock will be even worse. What mons does mono rock get from Pokemon Home? Hisuian Arcanine is good but not enough to make up for everything else. And every other type gets buffed even more by Pokemon Home. As much as I love mono rock, gen 9 just made it unusable.

 

[Chaitanya]

King's rock is getting banned right?

ya

 

[pikachu<3]

Can we free terrstialization to all types? Defensive terrestialization sounds like a great mechanic.

 

[Keahi]

that is not an option, if monotype has tera it will be locked into the monotype of that team. this is because it is a permanent type change, similar to how mega gyarados isnt allowed on flying teams, etc.

I honestly love this. Great job mono overlords.

 

[TheWyvernKing]

Day 1 thoughts!

So far I think at least the moves Last Respect, as well as Flutter Mane should be quickbanned. Last Respects is absurd, when houndstone goes terra ghost it can OHKO Toxapex and it's ability fluffy in combination with it's decent bulk makes it pretty difficult to revenge kill. That being said the precedent should be to remove Last Respects and not Houndstone since Basculegion would also have Last Respects when it gets transfered in. Doesn't really make sense to start banning everything with the move rather than the move itself. Ghost already has alot of things going for it, but as of right now there's zero bad matchups. Even with the 4 perils, the combination of Flutter Mane, Annihilape, and Mimikyu, as well as the potential to support them with screens means it's nowhere near a one sided matchup. Flutter Mane's insane speed tier, special attack, and solid offensive stab adds to this. I'm lazy so I can get replays later but that's the mon I'm most set on getting out first.

Anyhow the tier is already like 60% ghost and dark, dark I honestly don't have any clear bans right off the bat. Partially because I used a decent amount of bug day 1. Roaring Moon is probs what I'd look at first, but there's just so much on the table it's difficult to say right now. Honestly most of the perils didn't seem too out of hand yet, easier to deal with then I imagined they would be, and I'm so far loving Ting-Lu on ground but haven't gotten to use the rest as of now, so that'll be more of a weekend thing.

Anyhow I'm liking the rest of the meta alot so far. I was excited with what bug was getting, and some small adjustments are needed, but it's a very usable core of mons that build a fun team to put together. Fire has Chlorophyll now and can also do some very fun HO. Poison did better than I thought it would, though certainly not a top type. I somewhat like it, though realistically when people get used to what's new it'll likely settle around C tier. Lots of fun mons, I knew stall would be gone but it's nice to see that balance is still pretty usable. Ground I need to figure out how to build the structure but I like what it has so far. Rock, similarly, I'm experimenting and finding alot of merit. Drednaw is certainly pulling through, though I can tell that when they get Hisuian Arcanine I'll love it lots more.

Scream Tail is way better than I thought it would be, Annihilape too. Seeing the meta so far also makes me pretty inclined to fit a dark mon on whatever team I can, ghost is really out of control. Ice is also doing better than I thought, underestimated snow boost pretty hard. Either way solid first impression, excited for when we get ghost and dark a bit more under control.

Also before I forget, Baton Pass gotta go lmao. Maybe a no BP meta spoiled me but Psy gets so much use out of it. It's extremely hard to deal with right now, and that was when I was still able to catch them off guard with whirlwind Ting Lu on ground.

 

[lavarina]

This post is stupidly long so i am, so sorry for that.

Gen 9 is where I decided to become more active not just in Pet Mods (though I will probably be more active there), but hopefully other formats too. And monotype is where I first entered Smogon! So when the SV format came live, I think I spent like two hours on the monotype format. And yes my elo never passed 1200s after all that because i am! not a good battler!

I've been using a Monoice team, and so these are my thoughts right now that I wanted to share! Hopefully these are cohesive since it's the first time I've done this TT

Here's a starting replay as celebration and showcase
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1713916739


Chien-Pao @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sacred Sword
- Throat Chop
- Icicle Crash
- Psychic Fangs

Chien Pao is definitely an amazing addition in Monoice teams. Basically as people said, a better Weavile. Better bulk, speed, and an ability that reduces Defense. Like, goddamn. These four moves are probably the best it has. You could do a Swords Dance set, but honestly i'm guessing it's a little difficult to pull off here with things like Flutter Mane (i'm gonna be mentioning this mon a Lot) around.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1713921585 sweep against monoghost
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1713933125 sweep against fighting

While these battles are indeed impressive, the fighting one is one of the many battles I've had with this person, many in which I've lost. Chien Pao's damage output really is impressive, but sometimes it misses kills which costs the game greatly since it's a Jolly Scarf set. Here's an example game:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1713940881
Although i won this one, Houndstone was able to withstand a STAB hit from Chien Pao. This wasn't the first time either. Houndstone's Fluffy and great defensive stats are why sweeps against Ghost types is quite hard.

But what if it's Jolly Band?

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1713960119

The addition of Chien Pao follows other things like Flutter Mane and Iron Valiant, both prioritizing to boost speed. Flutter Mane is incredibly dangerous against the monoice team because of how fast and strong it is. Chien Pao can take care of it somewhat, but it desperately NEEDS to outspeed it and probably needs a little bit of prior damage on it. Hence this is one of the few reasons why I think Chien Pao is farely balanced in the metagame.

Not only that, it's really weak to priority. If you saw the fighting replay, tera-iced Chien Pao took more than half from Slither Wing's First Impression, so regular Chien Pao is always getting OHKO'd by it. And don't get me started with things that have Mach/Bullet Punch. Still, it's a great Pokémon for Ice.


Baxcalibur @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Thermal Exchange
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Glaive Rush
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake

Baxcalibur did much better than I thought. It's signature move Glaive Rush is literally a 120 BP Dragon. Even with it's drawback, it's stupidly strong. Thermal Exchange prevents it from being burnt and has it's attack boosted by fire types too, which is just amazing. And let's not forget about the iconic Earthquake being in it's arsenal, filling my empty heart left by Mamoswine being locked away from the game. The ability to tera-ice also takes it's Fairy weakness away, which definitely saved me in some games (though i can't find any that I've saved. I honestly stopped saving after like, the umpteenth battle I've done).

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1713926835 vs ghost type with baxcalibur half sweep
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1713924114 baxcalibur sweep against steel types (shoutout to guy named Roop Schloop, you're a cool guy even though i Just met you by chance)

The thing about Baxcalibur is that it sort of needs that Dragon Dance boost, especially to outspeed other things. It's damage is amazing already, no joke. But outspeeding is practically a necessity in the Monotype metagame with Flutter Mane and Annihilape existing. After it does reach a good amount of boosts though, it's solid (unless it dies to a mach punch ig). Either way! A solid pokémon fr, Kyurem is crying in its corner. A Bulky Band set could work maybe? I'd love to see that because I have no balls to commit that level of skill.


Iron Bundle @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest/Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Blizzard
- Hydro Pump
- Freeze-Dry

i'm so depressed i didn't save my first ever gameplays which was Iron Bundle sweeping. I Really wished I could show it but please take my word for it. This thing is, so strong. I tera-ice in front of your face with a SPA boost from Quark Drive, you will die to my ice beam. It's so goddamn fast too, being the fastest Ice type in existence, and also outspeeding the unboosted metagame just behind Dragapult, Barraskewda and Regieleki. Literally 136 SPE with a free boost from Quark Drive.

So what's it's biggest negative? The lack of coverage, which is honestly deserved. It only has Ice/Water moves in it's proper arsenal imo, and it's not the bulkiest out there to set up. And of course, we all hate those Hydro Pump misses. What's it's next best move? Goddamn Water Pulse. If it had more coverage, it could possibly be unbearable and deserve the ban imo, even if it's stupidly frail on the special side. Still, a great addition!

Edit: yes i got myself a half sweep here
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1714043431

what about ? I'm thinking about trying it out as well. But as of rn, it's just a hardcoded Choice Band Slush Rusher to me. Which isn't bad yk! It's got Earthquake, Icicle Crash, Liquidation, Play Rough and Superpower. But the one thing it doesn't have is a way to pivot out of an unfavorable matchup. Not that Monoice has pivots in the first place, but a Pokémon like this would've been so much better with U-turn. Still, I'd love to see some plays with it by someone! (especially if they have more skill than me aha—)

now that the new mons are out of the way, let's talk about the others!


Cloyster @ White Herb
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Shell Smash
- Liquidation
- Rock Blast

it lost Explosion! fuck!! Honestly having Explosion would've been so much better to take out threats but ay, you win some you lose some. This thing is still going strong with it's Shell Smash strat. Nothing too notable so here's it sweeping.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1713906945


Froslass @ Mental Herb
Ability: Cursed Body
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Destiny Bond
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt

You might notice that this thing is my lead for my team! I've always used Froslass as a lead since Gen 8 Monotype. It's speed to Taunt and Destiny Bond is amazing, along with the access to moves like Spikes, Thunder Wave and Will-o-Wisp. It might be my personal bias speaking though, but Monoice does appreciate chip damage now that Hail- I mean Snow chip damage is gone now.

WHICH BY THE WAY! WHY DID THEY REMOVE SNOW CHIP. like cmon do you know how many times i lost games because the enemy sweeping me was at 1% HP. I'm going to start sobbing.


Abomasnow @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 184 HP / 72 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aurora Veil
- Blizzard
- Leech Seed
- Focus Blast

I wish Alola-Ninetails was back.. sure this thing does it's job but it's just, being used for the sake of Snow and Aurora Veil. That defense boost is beautiful, yeah. But god. I want Alola-Ninetails back. Fighting teams are the bane of my existence. It had Energy Ball instead of Leech Seed which was a dumb choice on my part, so aha.

And that's the team, which I will post here! (Edit: Life Orb on Baxcalibur does a lot more damage, so it's more worth than HDB). As for my thoughts of the metagame as a whole, I think the post above me sums it quite well. So I will cut it down to just stuff I think as a Monoice player:

- i'm going to chew plastic if Flutter Mane stays (maybe the meta can handle it better once it develops but, god. Please.)
- i miss hail chip damage
- is the defense boost from snow worth? hell yeah i get to survive a CC from Annilihape
- Speaking of Annilihape, that's the bane of my existence with Iron Valiant. Crushes them. But they are good mons not broken i Think.
- Monoground is sad bro what the hell..

That should be all from me! Can't wait to see how the metagame evolves overtime ^^

 

[TTK]

Aite, I don't want to play OU just yet so I'm delving into anything else right now, including Mono. I've used quite a few typings, like Fire, Dragon, Dark and Water and I am probably going to experiment with some others but my favourite so far has to be Dragon.



The amount of times Multiscale has saved me from being swept by the tons of offence going rampart rn means Dnite is essential to have on any mono dragon team you are running or your mono dragon team is just automatically worse. Now idk whether Dnite runs Ice/Ground coverage like it did in SS OU the same as Mono, but it seems to be working out so far, especially since Dnite got the new ice move Ice Spinner, which is slightly stronger than Ice Punch.



Dragapult is also essential on all dragon team because it's the fastest fully evolved pokemon that isn't a shitter (sorry not sorry Electrode). Dragapult outruns all the new stuff like Flutter Mane and Iron Bundle and is still a good mon in general. Specs is probably the best set since you need some special wallbreakers or else Dondozo kinda cleans mono dragon teams up.

New Faces for Mono-Dragon



Baxcalibur is a pretty fun DD mon and Glaive Rush is so good at just cleanly killing slower, frailer things. Priority Ice Shard in conjunction with Multiscale Dnite also stops you from being snowballed by the new stuff as well.



Roaring Moon is lowkey ridiculous LMAO. Booster Energy even with a Jolly nature boosts its Attack stat, and it kinda just goes off. This mon should not have been given BASE 119 speed. It is fun though.



Cyclizar is good utility for mono dragon. Shares Tornadus-T's speed tier so it can outspeed threats like Roaring Moon, Meowscarada and Iron Moth. They also gave it Knock Off and Uturn and Shed Tail into Dragonite has won me games instantly. I don't know whether it's a necessity on dragon teams but it is fricking fast and Shed Tail + Regen is strong.

 

[Dragapult]

(Moot point by now but Flutter Mane goes Tera Ghost and simply says "you lose" to most types. Fantastic coverage in Ghost/Fairy STAB + Mystical Fire or even Thunderbolt + a ridiculous Speed tier even before accounting for Booster Energy allowing it to go +1 Speed. Incredible support on Fairy in the form of the best Screens and Spikes setter in the early metagame (Klefki), great hazard control (Hatterene), as well as powerful teammates in Iron Valiant and Gardevoir. This thing is Spectrier minus pretty much all the balance conditions that kept it playable in Monotype.

You know it's dumb. I know it's dumb. It has nothing to prove here.)

Jokes aside pretty much everyone has by now seized on Dark as being the big winner of this generation. boasting access to a powerful quartet of legendaries, a few Paradox mons, and miscellaneous pickups such as Meowscarda and Kingambit. I wanted to focus discussion on actual Dark teambuilding, centering on Hydreigon's place (or lack thereof) amid a number of new competitors.

Hydreigon was by far the most consistent mon on Dark teams throughout SS Monotype, featuring on both balance and Grimmsnarl hyper offense builds. Pretty much overnight it has found its place threatened on 3 different fronts, by its paradox counterpart Iron Jugulis (higher Speed tier + better offensive typing), Chi-Yu (a faster and far stronger breaker with a nuts ability in Beads of Ruin), and Roaring Moon, which does not share Hydreigon's role but does possess the same typing while being basically too strong for Dark teams to forgo. I've done a side-by-side breakdown of the three special attackers as means of laying forth the teambuilding case for each:

	Hydreigon	Chi-Yu	Iron Jugulis
Typing	Dark/Dragon	Dark/Fire	Dark/Flying
Speed Tier	98	100	108
SpA	125	135	122
Notable moves	Draco Meteor, Nasty Plot, U-Turn, +Stealth Rock	Nasty Plot, Screens, Taunt, Will-o-Wisp, Memento, major fire moves, Flame Charge	similar to Hydreigon, - Nasty Plot, Stealth Rock. Draco Meteor, Thunder Wave, miscellaneous moves + Hurricane, Air Slash, Knock Off
Ability	Levitate	Beads of Ruin	Quark Drive
type synergy	Ground immune, Spikes immunity, - 4x Fairy weakness	Fairy neutral, - Stealth Rock weakness	Ground immune; Fighting neutral, Spikes immunity, - Stealth Rock weakness
likely role	Stealth Rock lead	Specs Wallbreaker, Taunt + Nasty Plot	Choice Scarf, wallbreaker (Booster Energy),

At present, all three showcase decent viability, with my personal ranking in the formative stages of the meta being Chi-Yu > Iron Jugulis >/= Hydreigon. Chi-Yu is an absurdly strong breaker that should be on virtually every Dark team for as long as possible, 2HKOing the entire meta bar Azumarill and providing immense utility in what remains a tricky matchup against Fairy. Though Jugulis and Hydreigon do not occupy the exact same role, Chi-Yu's presence makes the selection a bit trickier than in SS Monotype, when many HO Dark teams were able to run both Hydreigon and Moltres-G with little issue.

Iron Jugulis effectively functions as a Scarfed Galarian Moltres with a much better movepool. It can also use Booster Energy to take advantage of it's incredible STAB and function as an early-game wallbreaker though this is not recommended due to Booster Energy being one-time use. At present, Hydreigon's best use-case seems to be a sash Stealth Rock lead, in a similar vein to past Garchomp variants.

 

[TheWyvernKing]

(Moot point by now but Flutter Mane goes Tera Ghost and simply says "you lose" to most types. Fantastic coverage in Ghost/Fairy STAB + Mystical Fire or even Thunderbolt + a ridiculous Speed tier even before accounting for Booster Energy allowing it to go +1 Speed. Incredible support on Fairy in the form of the best Screens and Spikes setter in the early metagame (Klefki), great hazard control (Hatterene), as well as powerful teammates in Iron Valiant and Gardevoir. This thing is Spectrier minus pretty much all the balance conditions that kept it playable in Monotype.

You know it's dumb. I know it's dumb. It has nothing to prove here.)

Jokes aside pretty much everyone has by now seized on Dark as being the big winner of this generation. boasting access to a powerful quartet of legendaries, a few Paradox mons, and miscellaneous pickups such as Meowscarda and Kingambit. I wanted to focus discussion on actual Dark teambuilding, centering on Hydreigon's place (or lack thereof) amid a number of new competitors.

Hydreigon was by far the most consistent mon on Dark teams throughout SS Monotype, featuring on both balance and Grimmsnarl hyper offense builds. Pretty much overnight it has found its place threatened on 3 different fronts, by its paradox counterpart Iron Jugulis (higher Speed tier + better offensive typing), Chi-Yu (a faster and far stronger breaker with a nuts ability in Beads of Ruin), and Roaring Moon, which does not share Hydreigon's role but does possess the same typing while being basically too strong for Dark teams to forgo. I've done a side-by-side breakdown of the three special attackers as means of laying forth the teambuilding case for each:

	Hydreigon	Chi-Yu	Iron Jugulis
Typing	Dark/Dragon	Dark/Fire	Dark/Flying
Speed Tier	98	100	108
SpA	125	135	122
Notable moves	Draco Meteor, Nasty Plot, U-Turn, +Stealth Rock	Nasty Plot, Screens, Taunt, Will-o-Wisp, Memento, major fire moves, Flame Charge	similar to Hydreigon, - Nasty Plot, Stealth Rock. Draco Meteor, Thunder Wave, miscellaneous moves + Hurricane, Air Slash, Knock Off
Ability	Levitate	Beads of Ruin	Quark Drive
type synergy	Ground immune	Fairy neutral	Ground immune; Fighting neutral
likely role	Stealth Rock lead	Specs Wallbreaker, Taunt + Nasty Plot	revenge killer

(in progress)

Iron Jugulis doesn't get nasty plot or stealth rock

 

[Dragapult]

Iron Jugulis doesn't get nasty plot or stealth rock

That's what it says. - (as in minus) Nasty Plot, Stealth Rock

 

[DreamPrince]

Been using Ghost a lot since it has a potential between the new additions of Flutter Mane, Annilhape, Ceruledge, Gimmighoul evo and returning veterans like Dragapult, Mimikyu, and Gengar.

Here are some sets that come to my attention:

Flutter Mane @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Mystical Fire
- Shadow Ball
- Moonblast

Flutter Mane is an incredible asset to Ghost. Not only does Flutter Mane have and incredible speed tier, Its Fairy STAB makes it a tremendous asset against Dark, a very difficult matchup for Ghost. This is a Specs set I've been using, but other sets like Calm Mind + Booster Energy is viable as well.


And this is another underrated Gem.

Ceruledge @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Close Combat
- Bitter Blade

Between a combination of Weak Armor and Swords Dance, Ceruledge has the potential to dominate matches like Dark, Ice, Ghost, and Rock between with all its coverage moves. Even without Weak Armor Shadow Sneak ensures that it is difficult to revenge kill.
Physical Attackers. Bitter Blade even gives it a recovery move. Granted, its easier said than done, and Ceruledge needs support from the Like to ensure that it can actually take a hit like Wow users and Dual Screens. But it has put in a lot of work for some types for me, even it hasn’t outright swept them.

Replays of my team:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1714315803

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1714295565

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1714287469

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1714264937

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-1714244254

 

[Cheeseboy100]

I am sad to see terrastelising being so heavily limited from day one, I find it strange we as a community weren't given the opportunity to try it out before it was restricted to being only your monotype. With the dex being so much more limited than SS many types just don't have good enough answers to other types leading to basically instantly losing the game before turn 1. This is such an interesting new mechanic, and it is no-where near as broken as dynamax, it would put another layer into preparing your team to face any type. I understood the decision to not allow type changing for megas: there were very few types that benefit from it and so it felt more like an exploit than anything. It is such a shame to throw away such an interesting opportunity for a dynamic metagame without even testing it or getting the communities opinion on it. Some people have said it could be too unpredictable, but already in OU on day 1 there a predictable metagame forming: Steel Roaring Moon, Normal Maushold, Electric Iron Treads, Flying Ttar etc. It no more unpredictable than which Pokemon is holding the choice scarf.

A different option to utilise terrastilising, and one I would love to see implemented, could be that you can use one Pokemon from outside of your chosen typing but it must terrastilise into it your type the first turn it is sent in, much like the grass gym leaders sudowoodo. This would give some much needed flexibility to some types, as well as the option for 1 much needed switch in before it terrastilises.

I am also very sad to see Mono-Rock become completely unviable this gen, even though it was objectively the worst typing in SS Monotype there was room to build teams and with enough skill you could achieve success and high ELO. Glimmora and Iron Thorns are nice new additions but rock lost actually almost every good pokemon that it had (nihilego, stakataka, terrakeon, rhyperior, cradilly, shuckle, aerodactyl etc). Rock lost all speed control which it lived or died by, now with no access to sticky web or trick room.

Mono Dark on the other hand is crazy, it not only got the 4 runious dudes and one angry chess man, but also got rid of the tapus.

Flutter-Mane and Iron Bundle are looking ridiculous right now, both can switch in, get a free +1 go terra ghost or ice and then just meme on everyone. Speed creep is insane this generation.

 

[readyletsgo]

Here's what I'm thinking for electric pre-home:

Let's start with what is returning:
Pachirisu - lol
Luxury - essentially outclassed by every new physical threat for electric. Only gained trailblazer and I think Psychic fangs - not gonna be enough
Raichu - no
Alolan Raichu - Low key this KOs almost every new threat coming out this gen, it will be very good. No notable move pool changes. (SADGE, NOT UNTIL HOME)
Magnezone - No notable move pool changes that I see. Magnet Pull not as essential this gen, so sturdy on analytic specs can work, or the old ID BP combo.
Jolteon - Prolly not going to be used, but it should be noted this has Calm Mind now and can be somewhat of a Raikou using stored power/tbolt. And for a type that lost Koko and Zera, it suddenly is the fastest unbolted available for them (aside from electrode)
Electrode - no notable move changes, this won't see play until the Hisuian from comes, and since that isn't until home, I will skip.
Ampharos - Now has dazzling gleam and stomping tantrum I guess. Again I don't see how this ever gets play except for an extreme niche of being able to survive Dragapult and OHKO back with dragon pulse.
Eelektross - This now has Close Combat, Liquidation and Body Press. I'm thinking there's a home for it as a ground immunity that can run all kinds of movesets (coil, assault vest)
Oricorio - This now gets quiver dance and is electric's only hazard removal. Might be competing with Kilowattrel for the flying slot.
Dedenne - Nope.
Pincurchin - this thing really needed SOMETHING this gen, a stat boost, a good move, SOMETHING, but nope. They removed scald and gave it chilling water. Hooray. It's ability to set up spikes/tspike can now be done be several other mons. Without A-Raichu the only niche is setting terrain for paradox mons to boost under.
Toxtricity - This now has Toxic spikes and is the only mon that can use Toxic on electric. It may have some niche as a suicide lead. It really didn't gain anything coverage wise, so not sure if shift gear or specs sets are useful yet.
Rotom - No defog, no pain split means much less defensive utility. Maybe resto chesto on Wash? I still think Wash is an absolute must as a defensive pivot - not sure electric can afford Heat or Mow right now.

NEW MONS

Kilowatterl - Nice on paper with great speed and good enough spa, but no coverage outside of STABs and no real way to boost. Some interesting ability options, I could see all three (Volt Absorb, Competitive, new wind ability boosting electric moves) seeing some run. Not enough defensive stats to run anything else (and no defog).

Bellibolt - Pretty barren move pool with good defensive stats and abilities. However, I'm not sure how useful mono-electric defensive typing is for this build. Sure it has static/new charging ability and slack off, but what does it do in return? It can't toxic, only t-Wave/discharge. Only coverage of note is Muddy Water. Could run dual screens in theory and slow volt switch after.

Pawmi - This thing looks amazing, Iron fist with elemental punches, signature 120 electric physical move that's only drawback is to lose electric typing (which can be used defensively in many matchups!), and the new revival move. Hits decent speed tier at 105, also has 115 attack! I could see many sets, even scarf would be very nice.

Sandy Shocks - This will do about what you expect - decently fast, hard hitting special attacks with nice ground STAB for electric that helps with the Fire, Rock and Poison matchups as well as decent neutral against other types. Coverage is limited to STABs alone aside Power Gem and Flash Cannon, and this can't do much besides attack - though it does have gravity and screens. Probably a good scarf/specs option.

Iron Hands - Beast. Huge 140 attack that is boosted in terrain, Swords dance, belly drum also boost. THICK HP and Defense, recovery via drain punch, the best fighting and electric physical STAB attacks available, and plenty of coverage moves like the elemental punches and Play Rough. Not to mention priority with Bullet Punch. Only question is - competing with Pawmi for a team slot, or run both?

Iron Thorns - Golem-A is back, but this time actually good! Does everything regular Ttar can but without sandstorm. Instead, it has boosted attack in electric terrain! Not sure anything can. be run here except Dragon Dance for the time being - simply too good, and with outstanding coverage (crunch, EQ, punches).

AS A WHOLE:
Electric is losing a lot, and although the new options are powerful, it's going to be tough to build a top tier team. Speed control is no longer easy, without Raichu-A, Regieleki, Tapu Koko and Zeraora. Key defensive pieces are missing (Zapdos) or neutered (rotom). Your only hazard control is Oricorio. Yes, you have more hazards yourself, but so does EVERY type. On top of that, your defensive options are almost nil, including a real lack of type immunities. Who is switching into water, ghost, ice, fire etc attacks? Really only Magnezone and Rotom are available. Seems like hyper offense or bust, and at least early on I'm not convinced the tools are all there to compete.

 

[Dragapult]

Been using Ghost a lot since it has a potential between the new additions of Flutter Mane, Annilhape, Ceruledge, Gimmighoul evo and returning veterans like Dragapult, Mimikyu, and Gengar.

Here are some sets that come to my attention:

Flutter Mane @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Mystical Fire
- Shadow Ball
- Moonblast

Flutter Mane is an incredible asset to Ghost. Not only does Flutter Mane have and incredible speed tier, Its Fairy STAB makes it a tremendous asset against Dark, a very difficult matchup for Ghost. This is a Specs set I've been using, but other sets like Calm Mind + Booster Energy is viable as well.

I think Flutter Mane generally wants to run Substitute to bait out Suckers against Kingambit and Toxicroak. I would take advantage of Booster Energy + Protosynthesis to let Flutter Mane function as a late game cleaner and leave the Specs (+Trick) set to Gengar who has traditionally always been the best at it on Ghost anyway. Psyshock is also an option to deal heavy damage to Clodsire which otherwise walls and causes a bunch of other issues for Ghost.

Ceruledge @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Close Combat
- Bitter Blade

Ceruledge unfortunately does not strike me as particularly good. With Dark teams everywhere now and probably for the foreseeable future I've been playing around with a Colbur + Weak Armor set to exploit the matchup to solid results. It can sweep against Dark provided Grimmsnarl is dead and screens aren't up which is a very big ask given the current state of the matchup. Though Tyranitar is currently out of favor on Dark due to power creep Close Combat at least gives Ceruledge a moderate niche in that matchup to lessen the burden on Mimikyu once Flutter Mane is gone.

Ceruledge @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Close Combat
- Bitter Blade

 

[TheWyvernKing]

I am sad to see terrastelising being so heavily limited from day one, I find it strange we as a community weren't given the opportunity to try it out before it was restricted to being only your monotype. With the dex being so much more limited than SS many types just don't have good enough answers to other types leading to basically instantly losing the game before turn 1. This is such an interesting new mechanic, and it is no-where near as broken as dynamax, it would put another layer into preparing your team to face any type. I understood the decision to not allow type changing for megas: there were very few types that benefit from it and so it felt more like an exploit than anything. It is such a shame to throw away such an interesting opportunity for a dynamic metagame without even testing it or getting the communities opinion on it. Some people have said it could be too unpredictable, but already in OU on day 1 there a predictable metagame forming: Steel Roaring Moon, Normal Maushold, Electric Iron Treads, Flying Ttar etc. It no more unpredictable than which Pokemon is holding the choice scarf.

A different option to utilise terrastilising, and one I would love to see implemented, could be that you can use one Pokemon from outside of your chosen typing but it must terrastilise into it your type the first turn it is sent in, much like the grass gym leaders sudowoodo. This would give some much needed flexibility to some types, as well as the option for 1 much needed switch in before it terrastilises.

I am also very sad to see Mono-Rock become completely unviable this gen, even though it was objectively the worst typing in SS Monotype there was room to build teams and with enough skill you could achieve success and high ELO. Glimmora and Iron Thorns are nice new additions but rock lost actually almost every good pokemon that it had (nihilego, stakataka, terrakeon, rhyperior, cradilly, shuckle, aerodactyl etc). Rock lost all speed control which it lived or died by, now with no access to sticky web or trick room.

Mono Dark on the other hand is crazy, it not only got the 4 runious dudes and one angry chess man, but also got rid of the tapus.

Flutter-Mane and Iron Bundle are looking ridiculous right now, both can switch in, get a free +1 go terra ghost or ice and then just meme on everyone. Speed creep is insane this generation.

Believe me this is the best case scenario for early meta testing with terra. Would've been banned in like 2 weeks regardless, and just the existence of having a pokemon not the same type on your team is why you can't evolve charizard into zard x on flying for example in past gens. Back then it led to some types being favored mechanics wise by how they could easily build defensive cores that beat their bad matchups. Comp wise it'll benefit some types far more than others, allow for defensive cores some types can't break, and be rather unpredictable. All the while promoting the most extreme measures of trying to designate 1 pokemon on your team to specifically smurf specific types. An example would be terra steel belly drum bullet punch Hariyama to try and make fairy insta lose.

Having terra restricted to your monotype prevents shit like Terra Ice Regieleki, which would be absolutely terrable to face.

Also Rock isn't the worst right now, it got some new toys like Shell Smash Drednaw, Glimmora, but it definitely lost alot. I see it having more potential after Home Transfer but from using it so far there's definitely enough for it to have a working team.

 

[Dragapult]

quickban/wave 1 suspect candidates imo

Flutter Mane

Booster Energy - The Paradoxes run the gamut from bad to competitive to very strong to outright absurd. With the exception of Flutter Mane I don't consider any of the next few Paradoxes (Roaring Moon, Iron Valiant, Iron Bundle in that order) to be so clearly broken that any should be quickbanned without first getting at what to me appears the bigger problem, which is Booster Energy. Booster Energy turns the Paradox mons into mock-reverse UBs, allowing the Paradoxes to bypass the field condition constraints of Photosynthesis/Quark Drive and gain a free +1 to their strongest stat upon entry, putting enormous pressure on players to figure out that same turn how they intend to address +1 Speed Flutter Mane, +1 Attack Roaring Moon, or +1 Atk/SpA Iron Valiant. Several of the stronger Paradoxes can also tinker their EVs for a slight degree of unpredictability, boosting an attacking stat when one might expect Speed and vice versa.

Damp Rock - Though Water has generally kept a low profile due to the strength of Dark/Fairy/Ghost, little has changed in practice for Rain, which retains both an unnerfed Barraskewda and a still functional Pelipper (- Scald, Defog; retained Hurricane, U-Turn, Tailwind, Roost). In addition, Water has gained a pair of powerful new threats in Iron Bundle and the super-strong priority abuser Aqua Neos (Palafin-Hero), which is capable of 2HKOing every non-resist in the tier with Rain-boosted Jet Punches. All 4 mons listed enjoy access to some form of pivot move, be it U-Turn or Flip Turn allowing for constant switches to maintain pressure or go into other parts of Water's monstrous toolbox

Azick - Ugly

initial watchlist:

Roaring Moon, Iron Valiant, Chien-Pao, Cyclizar (Shed Tail + Regenerator), Dragapult

 

[Vodoom]

ban dog shit Booster Energy ffs

 

[Aschmaros]

Hi everyone, wanted to provide some thoughts more like rant about a very particularly Pokemon. Considering all you are seeing right now are people abusing Dark/Fairy/Ghost (particularly Fairy and Ghost). Hope you enjoy the post!

Flutter Mane - Right. Lets start with the arguably the single most talked about Pokemon this generation besides Chien-Pao. I think its safe to say that almost the entire community agrees that this Pokemon is busted, but why? Well the answer isn't just one singular thing, but rather...everything coming together to create this monstrosity.
In regards to its typing, Flutter Mane has arguable one of the best combination types one could ask: Fairy and Ghost. It naturally has three immunities, and only TWO weaknesses. Whats important is that these two weaknesses are Ghost and Steel, two types you don't see Pokemon in many Monotypes have good access to move wise. What makes this worse is the fact that Flutter Mane is probably the best abuser of Terastilization. Making it only weak to Poison/Steel or Ghost/Dark depending on which Monotype you are facing, but thats not the only reason its the best abuser of Terastilization. Because Flutter Mane boasts an incredible offensive line up of 135 Special Attack and Speed, it can make great use of the bonus STAB terastallize gives to it. Special Attackers in this game has been treated too good by Game Freak for far to long, as you can't simply reduce their power with a status (They should've brought over Frostbite, but they are cowards), and with the nerf to sustain alongside the reduction of good bulky Pokemon in general this generation theres hardly anything that can withstand MAYBE one hit from it.
What makes this matter worse is that for some God forsaken reason, Flutter Mane also has a wide selection of moves to choose from that makes it hard to predict what the player is running until you see it for yourself. Moonblast/Shadow Ball/Mystical Fire (Why)/ Power Gem/ Thunderbolt/Dark Pulse/Calm Mind/Substitute/Stored Power. The possibilities is endless and sure you can guarantee that it will run Moonblast, and Shadow, but the other two moves could really mess you up depending on the Type you use, or if you predict the wrong set, and with its stats it will do considerable damage regardless.
Flutter Mane also gets to abuse the item Booster Energy. With how easy it is to make it +1 to Speed or Sp.Atk it adds to the unpredictability that Flutter Mane has, but I don't think Booster Energy itself should go, at least not yet anyway. Its quite hard to tell right now with how everything is.
I would like to make a small mention to the fact that I think Flutter Mane is harder to deal with on Fairy than Ghost simply because Fairy is able to set up screens quite easily due to having both Klefki and Grimmsnarl which helps its already good survivability.
To wrap up Flutter Mane, I would be very surprised if it didn't get Quick Banned, or at the very least banned within a month or two because I can't see this Pokemon being healthy in the Meta game.
One last thing about Flutter Mane, because I saw someone legitimately use this as an argument in the Monotype Chatroom, but Dark being busted right now is NOT justification for Flutter Mane to stay. Please Stop.

 

[ken]

Hi everyone

please choose another font color

 

[GKrt Ives]

I will text a bit different of what I see people do here, but let's go:

Normal: Maushold is a great Normal Pokémon at the moment, but just because King's Rock and Population Bomb, I mean, we all know that King's Rock is just available because we are in this pre tiering moment, like Baton Pass too, so I'm not going to say that King's Rock should be banned because, we all know that. Population Bomb is way too strong even without Kong's Rock, so this a good example of banning a move, no its user.

Water: Palafin-Hero is insanely powerful, and a strong candidate to be banned. Jet Punch hits hard, even without rain, and an awesome banded slot on a team, sweeping teams with little to no effort. This is a case of testing if we can handle it on Mono if we just ban Jet Punch, or if Palafin-Hero is still strong without if, because it can learn Aqua Jet too.

Ghost: Houndstone's Last Respects is insane. I guess it will be banned even in OU, because there you can combo sands with it too, because it can has Sand Rush. Anyway, another example of banning its move, not the user.

Dark: Dark is, arguably, the best type right now. It has the chinese Pokémon at its disposal, boosting the team power to insane levels, it's hard to counter all of them, but Chien Pao is the great champion to be banned. It's a weavile++, hit hard, fast, halves your defense, has access to sucker punch, making it too hard to revenge kill, and in Ice teams, can have its defense boost by Snow. Terastalize in both types is deadly, making either attack you want on both types OHKO a lot of Pokémon in the meta. I would be glad to see all Chinese Pokémon banned, but Chien Pao is ridiculous.

Well, now I will talk about Pokémon I see people want to be banned, but I think they shouldn't:

Flutter Mane/Iron Valiant: Flutter Mane is strong, and lets Ghost do something else against Dark, but that's it, it's frail on physical side, weak to priority moves, and becomes worse if you tera ghost it. iron Valiant is a good answer of Fairy against Steel, and it's not that strong. One of the arguments I see is about their ability, and I partly agree, but this is a thing in all Paradox Pokémon. You can simply ban the item that let then activate their ability, not the Pokémon.

Pawmot: I mean, I really get it. It can revive a fainted teammate, Double Shock is a nuke, and it has awesome offensive stats and coverage options. BUT, electric and fighting aren't overpower types at the moment. They are good, not bad, either overpower, but viable, and that's it. Pawmot is a good option for both types, and it brings a neat things for their types. I really don't see it reviving teammates being "ridiculous" as I see people ststing. But if you still want it not using, just ban the move then.

Cloudsire: I really want to think this is a joke, but I will defend it anyway. Cloudsire is a good tank for both Poison and Ground, and that's it. It has Unaware, but it's typing don't let it tank like Quagsire, just because od its typing. And I don't need to remember the recovery moves nerfs on PP right?

Well, that's it for now. I didn't want to give my opinion at first, but I thought I should do it. Even if people don't agree with me.