Urshifu we will need to see how the Tapus play out against it,
Ah, yes the Tapus.
Dear Lord, the Tapus.
Let me just start by saying that I know I’m jumping the gun a bit here, but given how long it can take to get the suspect process started, I thought it might be beneficial to start this conversation ASAP. Namely, we need to talk about the Tapus; they are confirmed to be returning with Crown Tundra, and with a few new movepool additions. However, while it has not been confirmed since they are tutor moves, it is highly likely that the guardians will get their respective terrain-enhanced moves. And if that’s the case, Koko, Lele and Bulu may all need to be banned.
Let’s start with Bulu: Rillaboom has proven itself to be one of the most defining offensive Pokemon is OU. Now, imagine a Rillaboom who has a secondary STAB and a superior anti-Steel move in Close Combat (as indicated by the TM/TR leaks), and you start to understand just how hard Bulu can smack the tier. And with the new addition of Grassy Glide, it also gets STAB priority in addition to its tremendous Wood Hammer. Band Bulu will probably be making serious headway, while LO sets are also viable with that fourth slot going to SD set up, since Glide, Play Rough and CC are the only 3 attacks it really needs. And yet, Bulu is actually the
least problematic of those three guardians, and the only one where I'm not sold it'll be busted. (As for the competition with Rillaboom thing, I think it'll probably be Bulu goes offensive while Rilla falls back into a more support-centric role).
As for Koko, its new gift of Rising Voltage will be a godsend for its Specs set. Seriously, only a handful of mons that don’t resist Electric can actually afford to eat this (hell, a lot of mons that do resist are still 2HKOed by Voltage). That’s not all they have to worry about; Koko still has an adequate secondary STAB in Dazzling Gleam, still has Volt Switch for anything it doesn't 2HKO and, more importantly, still has Grass Knot, which can cut through most Ground types that seek to block that Voltage. Hippowdon, for instance, is soundly OHKOed by Specs Knot. Fortunately, there are plenty of mons that can counter special Koko- but here’s the thing: Koko can now viably run a physical set thanks to finally getting physical Fairy STAB in Play Rough and also getting the volatile Close Combat (again, as stated by the TM/TR leaks). With the power of Band, STABs + CC can clean up against a lot of mons, and just U-turn out of anything problematic. Or, Koko can always just slap on Brave Bird over U-turn, which soundly 2HKOs Amoonguss, Tangrowth, Bulu and Nidoking.
When you really look at Koko’s “counters”, it’s not as long a list as you’d think since most mons that counter one Choice-variant lose to the other variant. Hippowdon and Swampert blank physical but cannot take a Grass Knot; most of the mons that can weather special Koko fall to its physical coverage. Considering both physical and special, and doing calcs on every semi-relevant mon, I did find two definitive defensive answers: unfortunately, those answers are Cresselia and defensive Nidoqueen (and even Queen can occasionally be 2HKOed by BB), who are probably not going to be OU staples if their history is to be believed. And that’s just two of Koko’s possible sets: I haven’t even touched on the potential CM + 3 attacks set or fast screen setter. Koko isn’t broken just because Voltage is strong, but because it has a rather obscene level of versatility now that makes checking it a rather strenuous guessing game. And yet-
Despite what I, personally, will argue, there are arguments to be made that Koko and Bulu aren’t necessarily broken; that does not go for Lele at all. While Koko concerns me due to its versatility, Lele stands out as probably broken due to its sheer power. The power of Specs Expanding Force is absurd, even 2HKOing many mons that resist Psychic. In addition to its far greater power, Lele also differs from the existing Psychic setter Indeedee by virtue of having a secondary STAB that just so happens to be super effective on the one type that is immune to Expanding Force altogether, meaning most Dark types are not good switch-ins. Then again, depending on its coverage, almost nothing switches in on Specs Lele safely; Heatran is a good switch in
if Lele doesn’t have Focus Blast. Aegislash and Jirachi can hold up
if Lele doesn’t have Shadow Ball. Chansey and Blissey are immoveable
if Lele doesn’t have Psyshock. Celesteela and specially defensive Corviknight work
if Lele doesn’t carry Thunderbolt. You see the problem, right? Most mons you’d think would stand a chance are bodied by at least one of Lele’s coverage options. Sure, Cresselia and Bronzong can survive two Shadow Balls if they get lucky, and specially defensive Scizor is only 2HKOed by Expanding Force and Focus Blast some of the time, but can you really afford to take that chance? Plus, plenty of the “counters” I’ve listed can potentially be ruined by Trick. From all the research I’ve done, the only mon that is a guaranteed safe switch- in is- specially defensive Escavalier. Which still doesn’t like Trick.
This is what makes Lele so egregious to me: as you can tell by the number of “ifs” in my previous blurb, Specs Lele basically gets to pick and choose what its defensive answers are, which has often been cited as a banworthy trait. What about offense? Well, to highlight how little that means: Specs Dragapult can outspeed and OHKO unboosted Lele with Shadow Ball, but it absolutely cannot switch in- both Lele’s STABs and its own Shadow Ball eviscerate this thing. For an offensive mon to not be broken, it needs to have some form of defensive counterplay- even on paper, Specs Lele has almost none. Specs Lele probably can't sweep on its own, but it is more than capable of leaving a massive hole for its teammates to exploit. And that’s just one set; while Specs is the reason I say this thing is banworthy, it can just as easily run Scarf or be a Calm Mind sweeper. Ban this thing ASAP, please.
I guess I might as well mention Fini, briefly. Now, Fini is definitely not broken this gen; if anything, it actually got worse with the gen shift. Ironically, the Defog buff nerfed Fini since now it can’t clear hazards without also clearing its own terrain, aka its status shield. This shield was the main thing Fini did defensively in USUM; now, what we have is basically a defensive mon with no [confirmed] recovery outside Rest (which it can’t even use while its terrain is active) that can’t spread status against most mons and can't contribute to the hazards meta at all without actively hurting itself. I feel this will likely force Fini into a more offensive role, either as a bulky CM sweeper, Taunt stallbreaker or as a decent but not outstanding Specs user. Honestly, I would not be surprised if this thing ends up dipping to UU.
TL;DR
- Lele: broken AF.
- Koko: probably broken; just has too much versatility for its own good.
- Bulu: definitely a strong option, might be broken (might).
- Fini: GF, why do you hate this thing?