More Pokemon On the Rise and Fall: POST Money Tour Edition
This post mostly started as a mere continuation of those usage stats recaps that I've been doing for the SS NDUU Money Tour, where I would have continued to divide the sample size into another individual period of weeks, breaking down any notable trends that occurred as teams and playstyles were beginning to become more and more optimized. That said, I think my reasons for delaying this post for as long as I did are best described by an inherent desire that always comes to mind, yet is something I have not explicitly committed myself towards expressing, especially for something I intend to develop for long as possible as I am met with continuing receptions and perceptions regarding the metagame and its level of inclusion in the minds of others.
To me, the most intuitive aspect of a post-generation tier continues to be the incentive for exploration, whether directed by myself or the other things around us. As good friend bumboclaat once said: This introduction only means another article-length post of mine, not a throwaway line on Discord. The confines of space and time are irreverent. Something like Azelf may also be considered a god, but the devil is in the details.
On the Rise and On the Fall
As suggested by its terms. This post aims to cover several Pokemon that I believe have undergone notable changes, whether it's through the discovery of new tools or metagame shifts related to playstyle that may relate to them in ways that are substantial enough to warrant being here. However, as this is a post-generation tier, I do always want to reiterate that the list is not meant to be an objective indicator of their potential or ability to adapt to these tiering trends in due time, nor are these trends meant to be framed in a way that specifically isolates the boundaries of casual and tournament play.
For instance, Pokemon on this list that are "On the Rise" will not be covered exclusively on the basis of being able to simply replicate a lesser version of the roles previously banned Pokemon once fulfilled upon the transition from current to post-gen; something such as Polteageist may be more obvious due to having similar offensive potential, but also lacks the defensive profile to emulate the likes of Porygon Z, Mew, or Moltres-Galar, thus disqualifying it off this premise alone. Conversely, Pokemon that are "On the Fall" will not be covered exclusively under the principle of their usage compared to their overall matchups. In this way, I highly suggest other players watching, whether new and interested in the tier, to those long-standing and intent on returning to always continue exploring and finding what is best for themselves.
#1: Pokemon On the Rise
Previously, Primarina could always be considered the black sheep of sorts throughout SS's time as the current generation. Extremely lethal in its own right, but arguably overshadowed by the continued flashiness of threats like Slowking-Galar, Moltres-Galar and Melmetal. The inclusion of specific metagame trends that rose in response to their prominence, such as hazard stacking, increase of hyper offense styles of the former and screens, and the rise of fast offensive pivots such as Zarude, Scizor, and Zeraora arguably did it no favors either. Thus, leading to its fairly low usage up to this point. Even the lack of dedicated special resists such as Blissey and Empoleon for most of the time spent, whether rose to OU or became unviable didn't do much to urge exploration. So, with all of these elements from different points of the tier's lifespan briefly explained, yet no longer as present. What else made Primarina go from mid to highly recognized and top-tier threat in such little time?
In my opinion, the crux of Primarina's success mostly comes from how well its existing movepool synergizes with its inherent traits. Despite its low speed and average physical bulk, it remains one of the few to successfully integrate the defense to offense formula in a way not much else can. 3MM already mentioned Choice Specs, which on its own its a very dangerous wallbreaker that works especially well in tandem with the other highly prominent pivots such as Zarude, Scizor, and Cobalion to find entry into the plethora of Grounds and Flyings to dish out huge, unresisted damage. On the flip side, the offensive properties of Primarina's typing can also be seen in more defensively oriented sets, especially as players like mrfraud and Micaiah have also used bulkier Calm Mind and RestTalk sets to great effect, turning its increased ability to take hits on its head to make Primarina an even more unstoppable mid to late-game threat on the field, with said sets even now breaking through the likes of Amoonguss rather easily.
And speaking of which, this aforementioned point regarding defensive utility cannot be overstated. This exhaustive list Primarina offers generally ranges from its aforementioned offensive firepower, unique set of resistances to notable offensive threats such as Hydreigon and Salamence, ease at crippling its few dedicated switch-ins with repeated statuses, and bulk when invested, also making it excellent at progressing through the general direction many bulky offense and balance teams have taken. In addition, with how much Fighting-type threats such as Buzzwole and Urshifu-RS have shifted toward Dark, Ice, and Rock moves to handle the newfound prominence of defensive checks such as Salamence and Dragonite. This itself makes Primarina's defensive contributions regardless of the set all the more stable and easy to include than it once was, leading to the other main factor in its increased prominence. Am I perhaps overexaggerating when I call Primarina if not the third most threatening Pokemon to account for right now? Probably, but the rise itself feels better to acknowledge as opposed to suggesting that it was always held back by the same specially defensive blobs ran to handle every other special attacking threat imaginable as it skewers em'.
From silly shitmon turned goat. Mega Pidgeot has arguably has one of the most explosive breakouts as of late. Despite being effective yet simple unlike the other Pokemon on this list, its exploration was constrained by time as M-Pidgeot's viability has mostly been shrouded by darkness until recently, where it has finally gotten to roam the sky at the hands of a few. So what gives?
Well, to see how it landed here in the first place, we should first look at the fundamentals behind being an offensive Flying-type, and subsequently the ways M-Pidgeot manages to distinguishes itself from its competition in turn. As it stands, offensive Flyings such as Moltres and Salamence are excellent offensive threats not only due to the power of their STAB Hurricane, but also how many opportunities they generally get to fire them off against much of the metagame.
Offensively, common specially defensive walls such as Hippowdon, Swampert, and Aegislash are able to withstand Hurricanes well in a vacuum, but are often limited in this role by their defensive reach, which is often not enough to deter these Pokemon from breaking through them in the long-term. The same also applies the the Electric-types of the tier, as Zeraora and Mega Manectric are offensively-oriented threats which do not appreciate being forcibly chipped, while both Rotom Applicances can struggle due to their recovery being limited to the unreliable Pain Split. The additional confusion rate Hurricane can potentially inflict onto these targets as a byproduct of dealing damage can also be another crutch for their reliability. Needless to say, despite the limits of its accuracy, Hurricane puts on a ton of pressure whenever it hits.
On the other hand, Salamence and Moltres remain highly essential to the backbone of many teams, notably checking the plethora of fast Fighting types in the tier. M-Pidgeot does not have the same defensive reach these two Pokemon have whatsoever, further compounded by its role in the Mega slot and inability to wear Heavy-Duty Boots unlike them. However, where it makes up for this in its ability to accentuate the offensive aspects associated with being an offensive Flying-type.
M-Pidgeot's much higher speed tier notably gives it the jump over the crucial benchmarks of 108 and 115. More importantly, it also has the ability to never miss Hurricane, meaning that it is much more offensively threatening whenever it does manage to hit the field, thus giving it a distinct niche that allows it to thrive on certain teams that are able to include it. Notably, M-Pidgeot's increased offensive profile also makes for some excellent pairings with other prominent threats such as Mienshao and Bisharp, and the increased prominence of these exact offensive cores on the recently optimized VoltTurn teams has only further elevated its viability as a result.
Here we have the clear winner, both literally and contextually speaking in proportion to other aspects of the metagame around it. Azelf is not only the most notable Pokemon on this list for the way it has so thoroughly risen in comparison to its previous standings in the current generation, but also in how it did so despite arguably having the most shallow history of the lot. From its brief early days in Alakazam's shadow, to merely being thought of as an offensive lead, only for it and its other offensive aspects to exceed all expectations in the wake of all odds and tiering shits. How is it that the Pokemon originally thought of as lesser version of previous constellations of the metagame ended up here?
To see this for ourselves, we must see how the metagame has evolved in a way that has allowed Azelf to better fit into its surroundings. This first harkens back to Alakazam itself; Alakazam for all its terrifying power was also an integral component of the offensive integrity of many slower teams due to the value of its speed tier against opposing setup threats such as Terrakion and Nihilego, and Magic Guard to ignore opposing chip damage while being a potent abuser itself. Both of these were highly essential features to have as they maintained an importance balance in allowing these teams to strike back against the onslaught of offense which up made the other side of NDUU's calling card at the time of Alakazam's suspect test. And as it turns out, while Azelf is just a tad bit less resilient. In practice, it still manages to fill this hole left behind by Alakazam without completely breaking the mold, but as it turns out, there's also more.
Besides holding onto the excellent fundamentals that are its defining speed tier and abundance of setup and utility moves, Azelf also thrives on the premise that the other options in its toolkit are capable of being put to great effect as well, and even in ways that the Magic Guard Psychic before it failed to demonstrate. This notably includes AoA attacker sets, which take advantage of its deep coverage movepool and speed tier to not only pose a notable offensive threat, but also serve as an important enabler for many offensive cores besides it. This is due to its access to U-turn, which not only serves as the crux of this enabler strategy, but also allows Azelf to better compensate for its potential coverage issues when faced with certain specially defensive Pokemon such as Celesteela and Slowking, instead inviting in these Pokemon in for its teammates to regularly abuse. Not only this, but these sets have also received further development to also accommodate for its other shortcomings; notably Z-Moves on this set, whether Psychic itself or even Thunder, allow Azelf to expand its offensive reach by potentially luring in and KOing certain targets such as Salamence and Primarina outright, making it even more terrifying as its own inherent traits means it lacks the need to conform to certain sets to function effectively.
This is also without mentioning the other essential role Azelf can fulfill with a plum, once again from a retrospective proving that it always had potential in this area where Alakazam didn't. Azelf has also made a name for itself as the new-defacto hyper offense lead, making full use of its access to Stealth Rock and those aforementioned qualities that lend it to being excellent here as well, namely its fast Taunt and extensive coverage moves which allow it to easily adapt to the plethora of anti-leads in the tier.
Thus, mainly for the way it has completely reinvented the game of being an offensive Psychic-type and its initial place in the metagame. Azelf has spun just about every aspect in its favor and has without a shadow of a doubt earned its place as the embodiment of the rising star right now.
#2: Pokemon On the Fall
Once upon a time, Deoxys-Defense was a defining presence in TWO separate guises at various points in the tier's lifespan, and only during the second was it kept in the tier by a rather contentious margin. Originally a defining component of the vicious hyper offense styles of hazard stack that even had it canned in previous generations of OU. Deo-D landed in NDUU with similar controversy surrounding it after being allowed once again, banned very early on for said role before ultimately being brought back into the tier alongside Mew, which had also gained Spikes in the generation. Although it was regarded as worse than its Mythical counterpart this time around, things did not end there. As a new set synonymous with SS, and likely as a result of its ability to finally develop its mutations further in the lower tiers, emerged from the tenebrous depths of the tier's most creative builders. With Cosmic Power and Recover, its relatively fast Taunt to stop potential recovery moves and Defog, and Pressure to reduce its chances of getting crit, Demon Deo-D (as it was referred to) became a defining force of many hazard stacking teams that were prominent around the era of Melmetal's presence, giving these passive teams an otherwise seriously oppressive method of quickly suffocating opposing compositions unable to scratch its untouchable hide. This element has since remained in the tier, although it has become a far cry from what it was originally.
So the things that changed for the alien to where even an entirely new lease on life was not enough for it to remain prominent in the tier? Arguably the biggest of the bunch is simply how polarizing its defensive build is in practice. For how untouchable it may appear to be defensively; Demon Deo-D's main offensive weapon being the fixed damage moves Night Shade and Seismic Toss, while consistent, also don't do much to deter the opponent from using easily accessible measures to delay its sweep, largely consisting of Defog from the likes of Salamence and Moltres, the two most common forms of hazard removal that are also able to maneuver around its Taunt, as well as Regenerator from the likes of the Slowtwins, Amoonguss, and Tangrowth, which can inflict status on it with their moves before healing off the damage taken, even giving the slower teams they tend to fit on a much needed defensive backbone. Both forms of counterplay also highlight another component synonymous with SS, being the introduction of Heavy-Duty Boots. With anything being able to run Heavy-Duty Boots, Deo-D's previous hazard-focused games on both ends of the spectrum simply aren't as fundamentally game-changing as they used to be. As such, why rely on using Deo-D to sweep when you could simply use other setup sweepers which are able to deal more immediate damage and have more efficacious defensive profiles against much of the metagame without being reliant on not matching up against such a common aspect of the game?
On the other hand, there's still the Lead set. With Mew no longer being in the tier, Deo-D has since seen reprised the role of a hazard lead that leverages its huge natural bulk to setup multiple hazards, that is until it faces the dilemma against an opposing lead, with examples such as Azelf and Froslass notably being faster in the mirror matchup and offering the same baseline traits as it does. Additionally, Azelf's greater offensive profile also lends it to running moves such as Fire Blast and Explosion that can also allow it to secure damage or even KOes outright on crucial defensive targets such as Scizor and Slowking, potentially opening up the gates for setup sweepers such as Dragon Dance Mega Altaria to sweep more effectively. Whereas Froslass, which has Spikes itself, also offers a way to break through Magic Bounce Hatterene (with Poltergeist) and Destiny Bond to similarly threaten KOes against anti-leads such as Urshifu-RS. So the reality here is that while Lead Deo-D is still quite viable, it itself is difficult to justify due to the reduced effectiveness of Spikes in the short-term and the ironic opportunity cost of not being other leads.
Following in the rule of two is another Mega Evolution, albeit this time from the other side of things. Mega Aggron seemed poised to become an all-encompassing and walling behemoth in the same footsteps of the rather absurd Melmetal given the latter's departure. With access to several key utility components in its coveted Steel-typing, access to Stealth Rock, and ability to devour seemingly anything and hit back off its nearly equivalent attacking prowess, while M-Aggron appeared to completely dominate the earlier metagames of NDWC throughout the rather chaotic following many of the NDUU bans. This hasn't persisted even until today, where while low usage stats aren't the end all be all for one's potential, do suggest several serious changes so has to have knocked M-Aggron down its throne as the defensive kingpin by a fairly noticeable margin.
The main factor in M-Aggron's fall is simply its struggle to remain compatible with the direction many bulkier structures have adopted to accommodate for other areas. This notably includes the prominence of Regenerator Pokemon and a focus on longevity-based hazards stacking. M-Aggron, for all its ability to take hits in a vacuum, cannot be so easily justified when unable to offer as much support to these types of teams, mostly as a byproduct of its lack of reliable recovery compared to other notable sturdy Steel-types of this department in Skarmory, Scizor, and Aegislash, further compounded by the inability to hold Leftovers, and a lack of general utility besides the occasional Toxic.
Additionally, Wish support, an otherwise essential component of M-Aggron's playstyle in previous generations, is not so easily accessible anymore with the depature of Blissey and the struggle for options like Umbreon, Sylveon, and Florges to remain viable Pokemon themselves. Options to include these Pokemon generally extend to running stall structures, but with an increasing level of offensive power creep and largely untendable threats to manage such as Aegislash, Nasty Plot Hydreigon, and Life Orb Mienshao outweighting the few gains defensive options have received this generation, stall teams as a whole find themselves more inconsistent and difficult to justify than ever.
Speaking on a more positive note to those optimistic. What M-Aggron does continue to provide is a notable attacking prowess, further supported by its deep coverage movepool. I find that M-Aggron can be still be especially outstanding when pioneered to take out almost anything in the teambuilder, be it using that beefy Attack stat to lure Moltres with Stone Edge or Aegislash with Earthquake, or even staying in on to cripple the likes of Urshifu-RS with Thunder Wave, especially when it does so while keeping its aforementioned ability to compress unique, valuable offensive utility for certain teams. If that was looked into a bit more, M-Aggron could potentially reinstate itself as one of NDUU's bigger names again, its just no longer as oppressive as it was initially believed to be when everything appeared to have spun in its favor.
Bringing immense killpower, repectable speed and even its flagship Rock / Fighting STAB combination back to the table. Whether firing off fierce Choice Band boosted Stone Edges or Close Combats, or bolstering it further with setup from Swords Dance and Z-Moves, Terrakion has always made a name for itself as one of the strongest and top wallbreakers in the tier. Additionally, building upon existing sentiments with how much Fighting-type offense is revered in the tier, Terrakion's ability to smite common Fighting resists in Moltres and Amoonguss with its Rock STAB becomes increasingly notable in this regard. Not only that, but Terrakion's bulk, while not amazing, also makes it more terrifying by allowing it to crucially survive hits such as defensive Scizor's Bullet Punch and Earthquakes from various Ground-types such as Hippowdon and Swampert, ensuring that even avoiding an OHKO tends to not be enough to stop it in return. With this in mind, Terrakion did in fact manage to dominate the early to intermediate eras throughout the current generation, so all these things considered, why did it end up falling off?
To put it simply, Terrakion is still a fine Pokemon, but not the tier-shattering behemoth I once described, as it simply struggles to keep up in this day and age, where games are not meant to be played in a vacuum. Currently, the most common teamstyles either tend to be heavily offensive momentum based team compositions with fast threats such as Zeraora, Urshifu-RS, and Mega Manectric supported by defensive pivots such as Swampert, Scizor, and Aegislash, and more balance compositions which have shifted to running physically bulky Pokemon such as Skarmory, Hippowdon, Celesteela, and Regenerator cores, thus raising a precedent that almost without direct counter, is able to easily check Terrakion across multiple Pokemon in some form. This is in comparison to what these respective teamstyles used to look like in previous metagame iterations, instead being loaded with Pokemon such as specially defensive Slowking, Mega Altaria, both Rotom Appliances, and Krookodile that would allow Terrakion far more opportunities to outspeed and blow things away.
Additionally, while Terrakion may have embodied the "most defining speed tier" in the metagame, that moniker is quite misleading in the context of today, as plenty of others such as Keldeo, Zygarde-10%, and Azelf are arguably just as capable of making this claim for themselves while being more proactive offensive threats against the rest of the tier as a result of their better typings and offensive profiles, including vs Terrakion itself. Combine their prominence as competition for Terrakion role's on teams in conjunction with the extensive amount of effort required to overcome its absurd defensive liabilities, and you've got a Pokemon that in practice, struggles to find more bang for its buck than in previous metagames.
Granted, while this all seems rather disheartening to go through. Keep in mind that Terrakion itself hasn't changed for the worse nor the better. Personally, I find that the same traditional bulky offense compositions I mentioned tend to not like switching into repeated Choice Band boosted attacks more than once. Getting to fire those attacks off consistently however? That is the challenge I eagerly wait to see unfold in the future.
#3 Closing Remarks
And that's it, I hope you enjoyed this more personalized and expansive style of yapping once more. Of course, there's also plenty of other Pokemon that have since seen occasional sightings or continue to have hidden potential, whether its Zygarde-10%, Hatterene, Volcanion, or something else able to fulfill the unique, distinct roles that makes up the various teamstyles of the metagame we play. If any of this makes you rather nostalgic or otherwise like I have at the time of writing, feel free to share how you feel as I hope to continue raising the general activity of this tier with SS NDPL potentially on the horizon, and so much more down the road.
There's a few more hidden techs I've alluded to but figured I'd let you all uncover the rest as I don't want to completely spoil my tastes just yet.
to 
to 
(somewhat) as well as setting rocks pretty consistently. You have options to lure otherwise good checks like SEdge for 
as well as Megahorn for 
and 
. Safety Goggles is also pretty cool to turn 
, especially foul play ones, into fodder for SD. Its also one of the best Knock Off absorbers, having a positive MU into 
and getting a boost from Justified. SD can even fit rocks onto the set asw if u need it. Overall W mon imo.
and 
and usually chips something very hard. the water immunity is also invaluable in a metagame with 10000 good strong waters (
). cool mon.
but u do have a much-improved time setting up due to Multiscale. The coverage issues hurt at times but STABs + Fire Punch hits most things enough. Defensive sets could also be interesting, as you have some stuff over 
is such an L and u lack defensive utility outside of the 2 immunities, but its a super scary mon at times. stabs are gross, movepool is very good between koff/spikes/u-turn. Interesting stuff :3
defensive variants of 
and 
can throw, but be careful of the rock/ice coverage. You also are one of the best checks to 
etc;. Steels like 
and 
must worry about fire coverage if it potentially has it, and many popular steels rn like 
are not flying resists. In fact, the former cannot OHKO with Bullet Punch unless it is at +2 or if it is Band. Usage of good checks like 
which are common threats but some arent that eager to switch in unless pivoted in by something else. Low-key this mon might even be good. (Theres my hot take of the day 
). Imo valuable traits and is very different from malt, who my friends have constantly compared it to for no reason asides from both being thick fairies.
(
Dragonite
Mega Altaria
Mega Sharpedo
Volcanion
Deoxys-Defense
Mamoswine
Mega Aggron
Reuniclus
Krookodile 
Tapu Bulu
Zygarde-10%
Chandelure
Hatterene
Mega Steelix
Nidoking
Rotom-Heat
Tentacruel
) 
