I am very new to the forums so sorry to any mod if I’m making a bad post here! I’m very bee to competitive battling and while I have a grasp on some of the simple terminology I have no idea what the current meta game is. I was wondering if those with knowledge and expireince could post in this thread with a general over view of what and why the popular strategies/mons are good right now. For example, right now clefairy is a better sylveon but why? What is clefairys purpose in the meta game? That kind of thing. Thank you in advance!
TPP edit: moved the post to SQSA
Hello,
First off, it is Clefable instead of Clefairy and to answer your Question about it, Clefable is better than Sylveon because it doesn't have to fear entry hazards like Stealth Rocks, Spikes, Toxic Spikes and furthermore it doesn't have to fear any kind of inflicted status, such as Burn or Poison, as Magic Guard helps with these points a lot. Clefable has access to a reliable recovery forme in Soft-Boiled and can dish out a crucial Knock Off to remove opposing Pokemons items such as Heavy-Duty Boots, Leftovers, or Choice items.
Clefable can also wish-pass with abusing Teleport, makes a wish-pass easier as Sylveon doesn't have access to Teleport, to get in a teammate safely + adding a fat wish onto it.
Sylveons ability in Pixilate is good, but not good enough to warrant it really viable in the current metagame, as the rather supportive ability of Clefable is in general more appreciated.
To the general metagame: Pokemon like Pheromosa, Spectrier, Magearna, and Urshifu-S are all very heavily discussed, and Pheromosa is currently in a suspect because there plenty of assets which put it over the edge of being a healthy Pokemon in the current meta.
Other great Pokemon are Nidoking, as it forces a lot of switches and can tear holes into balance-ish archetypes, Landorus-T is really great as a defensive Pokemon with Stealth Rocks and other great utility moves in protect, Knock off or Toxic.
Other really great strategies involve: Sand- and Rain-Teams, as these 2 weather-reliant styles are currently really great. Hyper Offense is also doing great right now, with Dual-Screen Support given by Koko, Regieleki, or Alola-Ninetales.
Other great Pokemon: Rillaboom is really great alongside Kartana, Slowbro and Slowking are great due to Future Sight + Teleport, Galarian Slowking makes itself a great special wall with Regenerator and AV, and Hydreigon also sees an uptick in Usage recently.
This is a general and short overview of the current metagame, and I hope my answer helped you out :)
