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Meanwhile Dottler exists... I guess. It gets Recover and is decently bulky, but man, I have to question if the recovery is worth sucking up momentum for your team.
I use Dottler as my web setter he is stupid bulky with eviolite. I run this set:
Nerd (Dottler) @ Eviolite
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Sticky Web
- Body Press
- Recover
- Psychic
He win to +2 Hakamo-o and Galarian-Linoone
+2 252+ Atk Hakamo-o Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Dottler: 111-132 (36.5 - 43.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Dottler Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Hakamo-o: 102-120 (40.6 - 47.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Linoone-Galar Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Dottler: 116-140 (38.1 - 46%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Def Dottler Body Press vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Linoone-Galar: 412-488 (138.7 - 164.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
A lot of us (myself included) were kind of dreading this 2-2 1/2 month phase of ZU, especially after speculation during March. (Can't wait for NFEs, especially Gabite and Electabuzz) Building and playing a bit more seriously, ZU Alpha has been relatively fun so far. I've only built one team so far, but I've also worked more than 35 hours in the last 4 days due to the increased business of my job. Anyways, here's the team!
Mudbray is my favorite Stealth Rock user so far. 44 Speed EVs is to creep Klang and Mareanie which you'll see a lot of trying to check Eiscue. Mudbray surprisingly has a lot of firepower behind it and EdgeQuake coverage is always solid. Could drop Counter for Toxic to catch Vullaby and Gourgeist off-guard, but Toxic Maractus does the same thing already. Silvally-Dark is Silvally-Dark. Drakloak I thought was going to be a super awful Pokemon but I was actually a bit taken back by how good it was. Choice Specs hits super hard, although its Oranguru matchup is rough. Machoke I think is super anti-meta right now: especially Bullet Punch which gives the team a second form of priority beyond Sucker Punch Maractus and is good versus Hail teams. This Maractus set has Wood Hammer over Leaf Storm although its probably better. I also don't have Spikes because I never found myself clicking it in the handful of games I had it, although in retrospect a Spikes setter that threatens Natu with Knock Off is really cool. Checking Sun teams with Chlorophyll is also cool. Lastly I have Choice Scarf Meowstic-F. I really hate that this is one of our metagame's best Choice Scarf users just because Flame Charge Silvallys and Sticky Web is that good, but its usable I suppose. I also tried Mean Look Cosmic Power Gothitelle briefly over Meowstic-F, and it'll probably make an appearance or two in the replays provide below. Overall, not a fantastic metagame-defining team, but I think its fairly solid and can be easily tweaked to accommodate for personal preferences. (Leaf Storm Maractus/CB or HexWisp Drak/Goth/etc.)
Hey y'all, so I've only actually built one team so far for ZU Alpha, but it's actually been pretty successful so far and has had some success in the few battles we've done. It's kept getting redrafted and at this point I'm pretty confident with how it turned out, so I thought it'd be cool to share it.
Hippopotas (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
Togetic @ Eviolite
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Heal Bell
- Wish
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
Lunatone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Moonblast
- Power Gem
- Psyshock
Silvally-Dark @ Dark Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Multi-Attack
- Swords Dance
- U-turn
- Iron Head
Octillery @ Choice Specs
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Water Spout
- Ice Beam
- Energy Ball
Of course there aren't really conventional sets yet since we're in such an early stage of the metagame, but there are some cool techs here that have caught players off-guard. Lunatone with Assault Vest grants it huge special defence and synergises really well with Hippopotas' Sand Stream, as sandstorm also boosts Rock-Type Pokémon's special defence stats further. Dual STAB Octillery with Water Spout is an amazing wallbreaker or, if you're playing risky, can demolish predicted switch outs. Scald instead of Surf for its secondary STAB is also great for fishing for burns while still being powerful enough -- I don't think there are any relevant Pokémon that would be 2HKO'd by Surf that Scald doesn't manage to 2HKO, but I could be wrong. Leaf Storm on spikes stacker Maractus is great for maintaining an offensive presence, and Grass-Type STAB seems to be great in the meta right now. Finally, I think Whirlwind is preferable over Toxic on Hippopotas for threats like DD Hakamo-o and Drakloak, as it can swallow hits from them really easily and remove the boosts. Originally the team didn't use Silvally-Dark and I tried Drakloak as the pivot instead, but Silvally-Dark being able to eat Knock Off is too important to pass up. I'd be interested in trying different Silvally types, though, to try and improve the matchup against the main threat to the team:
Machoke is a definite problem because its type coverage handles the team pretty impressively, particularly because the two on-paper best checks to it both depend on Eviolite for bulk and Machoke carries Knock Off. I'm unsure what to edit in order to better beat Machoke, though, as it's definitely a top-tier threat right now. It also lacks a form of hazard control which is rare for a balance team. However, it has good matchups against most hazard setters, so it hasn't been a huge problem in testing so far.
Ok, hello ZU! I've got a few ideas that I hope won't be total garbage lol (and have a suspicious Dragon theme to them...). So far the Solar Power set has made a few appearances on Sun to exploit its special movepool, but a quick reminder that this gets Dragon Dance, Swords Dance and even Belly Drum if you're really feeling like a madman.
Charmeleon @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Iron Tail
- Flare Blitz
- Thunder Punch
This is the initial set I theorymonned. Thunderpunch is for bulky Waters (will probably only 2HKO) and Iron Tail is for Rock types like Lunatone. It can miss, but Brick Break doesn't offer the same power, and unlike Zard this lizard doesn't randomly get Earthquake (which misses Lunatone anyway). But Dragon Dance into Flare Blitz is the crux of this set, and with good reason. After a Dragon Dance Charm outruns the unboosted metagame (which is actually shockingly easy to do) and Flare Blitz hits anything that doesn't resist it like a truck (ie: it OHKOs univested Vally after rocks). Not much more to say really, just click Blitz unless the target resists it until you get into Blaze range, then click Blitz anyway. Fragile as a wet paper bag though.
The next few mons are on the subject of Outrage. A move which has been neglected ever since Gen 6 and the introduction of Fairies. But wait a minute, how many Fairies are in ZU? The answer is none that are FE, and pretty much only Togetic if you need a mon that can take hits. Steels are in similarly short supply, with Klang, Honedge and Cufant being your best bets on the defensive end. Suddlenly, that 120 BP move that hits basically everything neutrally is looking attractive...
Drakloak @ Life Orb/Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant/Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- U-turn
- Will-O-Wisp/Fire Blast/any filler you can think of
This set has a very simple premise. Use U-turn earlygame for momentum. Burn things occasionally. Then, once the coast is clear, Dragon Dance up, click the big bad pain button and relax. You don't need coverage because there's only 4 mons in the tier that resist your one move. The only things that revenge kill you are priority and Choice Scarf Meowstic (you know the tier is weird when the fastest mon in it is a great Choice Scarfer), and it does get Sucker Punch if you're feeling really lucky. Life Orb gives you more pain to dish out, Lum Berry wards off random burns and lets you cure your confusion that Outrage causes (real old school). It also lets you pretend to be Specs if your opponent isn't paying close enough attention.
Axew @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance/Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Poison Jab
- First Impression/Superpower
Axew has on paper the highest Attack of all ZU Pokemon that learn Dragon Dance. Having to run Jolly ruins that (The above Drak set has more Att), but lets a base 57 Speed Pokemon outrun the entire unboosted metagame. (I did say it wasn't hard lol.) The other boons to Axew are Mold Breaker, which lets it bypass Shedinja among other things, and its deep movepool, like Poison Jab to bypass Togekiss, First Impression to revenge kill stuff and Superpower to hit Klang. Swords Dance is an option for Webs teams that really want their opponents to die. But at that point, you're basically running bad Silvally Dragon.
Zweilous @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Crunch
- Facade/Head Smash
- Superpower
OK, so it doesn't get Dragon Dance, but with a Choice Scarf and Hustle, it basically has the same thing (you guessed it, it outruns the unboosted meta). Not having to set up lets it rip through things faster, and actually gives it a shot at beating Unaware Pyuk!!!
252 Atk Hustle Zweilous Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Pyukumuku: 133-157 (42.3 - 50%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
So long as it hits. If it misses that's just too bad.
Onix @ Eviolite
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Head Smash
- Explosion/Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
Wait this isn't a Dragon. It is a pretty scary attacker though, with its massive physical bulk letting it set up on many attackers and fire off recoiless Head Smashes for all. Rocks are always nice to compress, Explosion lets you go out with a bang. Pretty simple stuff.
Finally, I'd like to introduce ZU's scariest wincon.
...No I'm not kidding. Shed has finally reached a tier where its base 90 Attack is decent as hell.
Shedinja @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Def / 0 SpA / 0 SpD
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw/Shadow Sneak/Phantom Force
- Toxic/Will-O-Wisp/Agility/Protect/Spite
- X-Scissor/Sucker Punch/Protect
As you can see, Shed has a great movepool that allows it to do everything from priority cleaning to Double Dance (yeah it outruns the unboosted tier lol what is even the point???). Shed loses to most Vallies though, so scouting for Flame Charge is recommended.
252+ Atk Shedinja X-Scissor vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Silvally-Dark: 234-276 (70.6 - 83.3%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Silvally-Electric Thunderbolt vs. Wonder Guard Shedinja: 0-0 (0 - 0%) -- possibly the worst move ever
+2 252+ Atk Shedinja Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Silvally-Psychic: 234-276 (70.6 - 83.3%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Most.
Hope someone found at least one of these sets useful.
Alright so apparently I had this account and forgot about it. It's Epicc11 here
Let's talk about two mons that I think deserve a bit more attention (especially after a chat with a few peeps in the server)
Scraggy Is fairly promising due to the lack of fairies and surplus of Psychics. Dark/Fighting is great since a good chunk of the viable psychics don't have anything to hit it super-effectively outside of Lunatone/Oranguru and it's bulky enough that TBolts won't always suffice. Shed Skin also allows it to basically not care at all about status, so it can go in all the toxics, WoWs, Twaves and Scald burns it wants while intimidate gives it very good physical bulk to better help it either set up or keep certain things like Darkvally at bay. You can do Moxie but consensus is that it's generally not recommended since it's benefits lie more in it's bulk and ability to be a bulky sweeper.
Scraggy @ Eviolite
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Knock Off
- High Jump Kick / Drain Punch
- Rest
Here's the first set I used with great success, it also two other pretty good sets:
Scraggy @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate / Shed Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Taunt / Poison Jab / Rest / Stone Edge
Scraggy @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate / Shed Skin (If you don't want to run Restalk)
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Atk / 200 SpD
Careful Nature
- Drain Punch
- Rest
- Knock Off
- Sleep Talk / Dragon Tail / Fake Out / Taunt / Toxic
Mostly self explanatory, Stone Edge is for Vullaby and Jab is if you want to catch fairies off guard, while on the more defensive set Dragon Tail can turn it into a bulky shuffler, Fake Out is good chip, and Taunt/Toxic are good for either preventing stall or being stall.
And some calcs for the aforementioned defensive set:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Klang Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 200+ SpD Eviolite Scraggy: 91-108 (29.9 - 35.5%) -- 23.8% chance to 3HKO
+2 252 SpA Meowstic-F Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 200+ SpD Eviolite Scraggy: 92-109 (30.2 - 35.8%) -- 39.2% chance to 3HKO
252 SpA Silvally-Electric Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 200+ SpD Eviolite Scraggy: 76-90 (25 - 29.6%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
Next we have Morgrem:
On paper it's stats aren't too good, but what it does have is Options + Prankster. Also it's a fairy type in a tier with next to none that aren't frail and named Togetic, Which gives it a special boon in dealing with dark pokemon or the rare dragon type like Sliggoo while it's dark typing is merely a bonus that makes it able to switch into most psychics as well as the popular Darkvally. While I've seen some people use it with NP, I think it's main calling is it's essentially a better Meowstic-M where Screens are concerned - afterall - isn't infuriating that you try to setup screens with your Meowstic-M and those mean ol' Darkvallies keep removing them with Psychic Fangs? It's dark typing means they can no longer do that, Which is very nice for Screen teams! Here's the set I use:
It can be ran either Physically Defensive or Specially Defensive. depends on what you want it to switch in on. But I would say Physically Defensive is currently alot better overall:
+6 252 Atk Silvally-Dark Multi-Attack vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Morgrem through Reflect: 89-105 (26.6 - 31.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252+ Atk Linoone-Galar Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Morgrem through Reflect: 95-112 (28.4 - 33.5%) -- 0.2% chance to 3HKO
Oof. and while it's true Darkvally can just run Iron Head, It loses some coverage just check this boy that it could do better simply U-turning out into something else, Taunt is it's lynch pin and is both an anti-lead tool and a way to not make it setup fodder, Kiss is considered for longevity.
First post here and I'm generally bad at explaining things so I wasn't feeling too confident in this post but I hope I've convinced some of you to consider/think about these two!
Unfortunately right now, speed control in the ZU Alpha is kind of gross. is pretty much the benchmark on everything, and it even has a move to boost its speed, which leaves very little counterplay if it manages to set up. As for hazards, and act as obnoxious diet for setting webs. It definitely does not help that hazard removal in this tier is god awful, relying on (lol) and as spinners or Silvally (which has so much potential as a setup sweeper that running Defog is a huge opportunity cost), Eviolite Flying types, and as halfway decent Defoggers. Webs are a frequent sight, meaning that this already slow meta gets even slower.
There are some options for having the jump on an opponent though:
Meowstic-F is probably the premiere and most obligatory scarfer. It already boasts the highest non-boosted speed tier in the meta, meaning that it will be the fastest scarfer, but it also has access to Competitive for deterring or taking advantage of the annoyance that is webs. Its coverage is passable, but never amazing. I highly recommend running Trick on the set as utility to take advantage of the amount of mons that are reliant on Eviolite and Heavy-Duty Boots to function.
Linoone-Galar is a fun alternative choice of speed control that lends itself move flexibility at the cost of a slightly lower speed benchmark and being worn down very easily. Knock Off is so broke useful in SWSH, both for how it's basically always free (except against Goatvally) and even moreso in the lower tiers, which are infested with Eviolite walls. Switcheroo helps with item control, spreads status, and can even pick up an Eviolite off an unlucky mon, giving Linoone-Galar the ability to potentially take a hit or two.
So... I guess it's come to this. Cherrim isn't the fastest or the strongest option for a Choice Scarfer, but what it lacks in a good typing, bulk, and power (this doesn't feel like a good argument, but it's Cherrim) is its access to Healing Wish.
Ponyta-Galar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pastel Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Horsepower
- Play Rough
- Zen Headbutt
- Healing Wish
Ponyta-Galar is a similar option to Cherrim that exchanges a tiny bit of bulk for a tiny bit of speed and better coverage. It comes with the added benefit of being immune to poisoning, giving it more levity when coming in if there's Toxic Spikes on the field, or a mon is trying to get off a free Toxic.
While Gastly might be a bit slower than some of the other scarfers, it makes up for that in both raw power and the ability to ignore webs. Ghost / Poison is already great neutral coverage, and Dazzling Gleam rounds it out for a mon that makes opponents think twice. Its Special Attack isn't bad either, hitting 100, and only being surpassed by Octillery, Duosion, and Maractus. Life Orb and Choice Specs are also not bad options for Gastly, but having that extra insurance of Choice Scarf can really pay off. Gastly even gets a great number of utility options like Trick, Knock, and D-Bond that allow it to take advantage of opponents and shift momentum. It tends to be pretty strapped for slots, but that's arguably a good thing when many other mons don't have options at all.
I haven't seen too many people talk about offensive Gourgeist yet, which can be a great final card to pull out near the end of the game. Gourgeist has both workable attack and speed stats to go along with its great physical bulk. While its coverage kind of stinks, like Gastly it has access to a great deal of utility options that offer item control or just a way to preserve momentum.
Unfortunately I think the Alpha is kind of a mess right now, and while "Silvally + NFEs" isn't an accurate statement, it does hone in on the problem that there's just not a lot of good material to work with most of the time. Here's hoping that May squeezes out some new options out of PU, the Beta gets rid of the broked stuff, and June brings a fresh set of NFEs to hit with Knock Off.
Unfortunately right now, speed control in the ZU Alpha is kind of gross. is pretty much the benchmark on everything, and it even has a move to boost its speed, which leaves very little counterplay if it manages to set up. As for hazards, and act as obnoxious diet for setting webs. It definitely does not help that hazard removal in this tier is god awful, relying on (lol) and as spinners or Silvally (which has so much potential as a setup sweeper that running Defog is a huge opportunity cost), Eviolite Flying types, and as halfway decent Defoggers. Webs are a frequent sight, meaning that this already slow meta gets even slower.
There are some options for having the jump on an opponent though:
Meowstic-F is probably the premiere and most obligatory scarfer. It already boasts the highest non-boosted speed tier in the meta, meaning that it will be the fastest scarfer, but it also has access to Competitive for deterring or taking advantage of the annoyance that is webs. Its coverage is passable, but never amazing. I highly recommend running Trick on the set as utility to take advantage of the amount of mons that are reliant on Eviolite and Heavy-Duty Boots to function.
Linoone-Galar is a fun alternative choice of speed control that lends itself move flexibility at the cost of a slightly lower speed benchmark and being worn down very easily. Knock Off is so broke useful in SWSH, both for how it's basically always free (except against Goatvally) and even moreso in the lower tiers, which are infested with Eviolite walls. Switcheroo helps with item control, spreads status, and can even pick up an Eviolite off an unlucky mon, giving Linoone-Galar the ability to potentially take a hit or two.
So... I guess it's come to this. Cherrim isn't the fastest or the strongest option for a Choice Scarfer, but what it lacks in a good typing, bulk, and power (this doesn't feel like a good argument, but it's Cherrim) is its access to Healing Wish.
Ponyta-Galar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pastel Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Horsepower
- Play Rough
- Zen Headbutt
- Healing Wish
Ponyta-Galar is a similar option to Cherrim that exchanges a tiny bit of bulk for a tiny bit of speed and better coverage. It comes with the added benefit of being immune to poisoning, giving it more levity when coming in if there's Toxic Spikes on the field, or a mon is trying to get off a free Toxic.
While Gastly might be a bit slower than some of the other scarfers, it makes up for that in both raw power and the ability to ignore webs. Ghost / Poison is already great neutral coverage, and Dazzling Gleam rounds it out for a mon that makes opponents think twice. Its Special Attack isn't bad either, hitting 100, and only being surpassed by Octillery, Duosion, and Maractus. Life Orb and Choice Specs are also not bad options for Gastly, but having that extra insurance of Choice Scarf can really pay off. Gastly even gets a great number of utility options like Trick, Knock, and D-Bond that allow it to take advantage of opponents and shift momentum. It tends to be pretty strapped for slots, but that's arguably a good thing when many other mons don't have options at all.
I haven't seen too many people talk about offensive Gourgeist yet, which can be a great final card to pull out near the end of the game. Gourgeist has both workable attack and speed stats to go along with its great physical bulk. While its coverage kind of stinks, like Gastly it has access to a great deal of utility options that offer item control or just a way to preserve momentum.
Unfortunately I think the Alpha is kind of a mess right now, and while "Silvally + NFEs" isn't an accurate statement, it does hone in on the problem that there's just not a lot of good material to work with most of the time. Here's hoping that May squeezes out some new options out of PU, the Beta gets rid of the broked stuff, and June brings a fresh set of NFEs to hit with Knock Off.
This post kind of inspired me to make this post more about documenting the relevant "fast" speed tiers and boosts :) Here's a small chart showing some of the most relevant speed boosting options:
The fastest tier of four mons are lumped together because their biggest contribution to the team is usually outspeeding Silvally naturally. Linoone Galar can run Eviolite to help tank hits better from Silvally-Dark, or be even better speed control with Toxic Orb and buff its Normal-type STAB with Facade. Drakloak is usually underwelming but its speed and supportive options can be worthwhile sometimes, although it being a scarfer is something I wouldn't recommend. As with Meowstic, as its base 83 SpA is usually too weak for scarf; it can be done, but its great speed and access to Nasty Plot is usually what makes it a great pick. Esicue-Noice is not only for Belly Drum sets, as it can be EVd to outspeed Meowstic and below with a SubHail set as an annoying check to physical attackers! I'll leave that set here, and know that you can outspeed a physical attacker like Silvally or Linoone, get into Noice face after taking the physical hit, and then use Hail for an immediate regeneration of the Ice Face and stall with Protect and the faster Substitute until you can Hail again. All the while, Hail chip adds up until they're in range of Freeze-Dry. Otherwise, a BD Eiscue-Noice with Salac Berry is likely the fastest mon in the meta.
We've probably talked enough about the Silvally forms here, but both their base Speed and their Flame Charge boosted Speed are super relevant for the higher Speed tiers. Right now, they are the benchmark speeds to beat for two main relevant speed tiers.
Raboot and Torracat have similar Speed tiers and are the first of the "slow" scarfers that cannot outspeed a boosted Silvally. Still, their strong coverage, pivoting, and offensive stats can be pretty good. Unless the team needs Fighting coverage, I would opt for scarf Torracat for its Intimidate ability. Torr also has a Bulk Up / Swords Dance, Flame Charge, and Power Trip set that feels unexplored at the moment.
Scarf Gourgiest is cool for its Power Whip being very strong, and having access to Trick once it doesn't need to revenge kill vallys or if it wants to cripple its walls like Gloom and Klang. Don't forget Explison either, which has an 81.3% chance to OHKO vallys after two switchins of SR, or just put them in priority range.
Thwackey has U-Turn for pivoting, Knock Off for debuffing Eviolite walls, and a high powered STAB in Wood Hammer; not much more could you want in a scarfer, right? Gastly has a lot more utility to it and can hit the top speed tiers with its Ghost- and Fairy-type coverage for SE damage, and still has Trick and Destiney Bond for support.
The sun and moon mons have seen some use as scarfers and setup sweepers, although their mediocre stats aren't anything too good for the jobs. Usually their coverage with two STABs and moves like Moonblast, Explosion, and edgequake is whats cool about them as speed control.
Seaking can be a neat pick with Waterfall, Megahorn, and Knock Off hurting a lot of the fast mons, and either can boost with Rain Dance (and further with SD) or be a plausible scarfer. Hakamo-o and Whishcash are the tier's DD users, but their coverage is sometimes underwlming, and can make them walled by Togetic or Grass-types, respectfully.
Rufflet is a super threatening scarfer with Hustle, making its Brave Bird and Close Combat coverage really hard to deal with. It can also pivot and be more reliable with Aerial Ace, and is an interesting wincon if you get everything it its range. Wailord is kinda okay as a scarfer for rain teams especially because of Water Spout, and the Sun sweepers have proven to be some of the most viable sweepers (if not broken) in the meta.
Zweilous is like Rufflet as it's super strong with Hustle, and it might be more effective with speed control as it 2HKOs every vally with Outrage, and can 1HKO Meowstic, Linoone, and Drak with either Crunch or Superpower. This gives it room for potentially Thunder Wave for even more speed control, or coverage for Fairy-types cause those exist too. Wartortle is one of the best setup sweepers here, as Shell Smash is crazy good with Water/Ice coverage. It doesn't need much support to sweep, especially if it gets into Torrent range.
Lampent is like Ghastly but with Fire-type coverage and can revenge kill the Sun sweepers better. Krabby has seen some use as a scarfer but I wouldn't count on it. Sinistea has some hype but being unable to really touch our Dark-types is a real shame and much harder to play around considering how Linoone is usually kept around the entire match; very hard to touch it with its huge speed and Parting Shot. Klang has seen barely any use as a Shift Gear sweeper despite there being some mad potential there. Eiscue, even without Ice Face, can trigger Salac Berry and still outspeed Silvallys and sweep with a BD, which again limits the situations that it can be revenge killed.
This of course doesn't cover slower speeds like for walls or even Trick Room absusers, but this should be a pretty accurate picture of the unfolding fast meta.
Hello ZU. Now that I have my first Gen 8 ZU Team (thanks again for helping 5gen), I can finally start playing the tier. After playing a game with that team, I already have thoughts on a Pokemon that I've heard very high praise towards, but now that I've tried it myself, I finally understand what all the hype is about.
Silvally-Electric
I've only played one game so far and I can already see how good this thing is. And the funny thing is, I was using it's SD set, which, if I'm not mistaken, is considered its weaker set, but even then, this set is really good. If your opponent is weakened (Gloom is a great partner because it has Strength Sap and Sleep Powder), thanks to Silvally's bulk, setting up is safe, and at +2, you have 578 Attack. Combine that with Multi-Attack having 120 BP, and very good coverage, dear god. Electric is a good offensive type, hitting Water and Flying-types super effectively, while not having too many types that resist it. But this thing also has very valuable coverage. Grass-type in your way? Flame Charge! This will also increase your Speed to 475 after one use, making it even more dangerous. Have a Ground-type in your way, or you can't reliably beat your opponent? U-Turn on out of there, which will not only likely deal serious damage to Ground-types, but will also safely bring in a team mate.
Electricvally also has a special set, that many people seem to think is better, but I haven't tried it yet. Though I can talk about it a little. Electricvally has (with full investment) 289 Special Attack, and BoltBeam coverage, combined with Electric STAB. BoltBeam is a nearly unresisted type combo (one of the only Pokemon that resists both is the bane of Gen 7 ZU, that dreaded Fridge), with only three legal Pokemon (one of which is completely unviable) resisting both: Goldeen, Seaking, and Chinchou (all of which resist both due to their ability). Not to mention, that set also works as a hazard remover, which this tier is severely lacking atm.
Electricvally is ridiculous right now. When the Viability Rankings come in May, this thing will almost certainly be A+ or S, maybe A (though that's being really generous). It's definitely one of the top two Pokemon in the tier. The thing is though, this thing is B in PU, so they might take it. But if they do take it, maybe my boi Icevally will finally have a chance to be good.
Also, this is a bit unrelated, but about the unpredictability aspect of Silvally that some say makes it broken (the argument that says you won't know what form Silvally has until your opponent sends it out), couldn't they just program the Team Preview to show the type? I have no idea how easy or hard that would be to program, or if that's even a good idea, but it just happened to cross my mind. Any way, I'm glad to be back into ZU, and I'll probably post some thoughts on some other mons in the near future.
Electricvally also has a special set, that many people seem to think is better, but I haven't tried it yet. Though I can talk about it a little. Electricvally has (with full investment) 289 Special Attack, and BoltBeam coverage, combined with Electric STAB. BoltBeam is a nearly unresisted type combo (one of the only Pokemon that resists both is the bane of Gen 7 ZU, that dreaded Fridge), with only three legal Pokemon (one of which is completely unviable) resisting both: Goldeen, Seaking, and Chinchou (all of which resist both due to their ability). Not to mention, that set also works as a hazard remover, which this tier is severely lacking atm.
Also, this is a bit unrelated, but about the unpredictability aspect of Silvally that some say makes it broken (the argument that says you won't know what form Silvally has until your opponent sends it out), couldn't they just program the Team Preview to show the type? I have no idea how easy or hard that would be to program, or if that's even a good idea, but it just happened to cross my mind. Any way, I'm glad to be back into ZU, and I'll probably post some thoughts on some other mons in the near future.
This can't be done because Silvally's type isn't shown to the player before the battle on console. Doing this would be a straight mod to the game, which Smogon tends to avoid doing.
Knowing which Silvally type it is likely won't help that much anyway since Silvally is insane all around regardless.
Mainly posting this as a sample teams-style thing before we get a team dump in our subforum. None of these teams are perfect but if you're interested in trying out ZU and aren't sure where to start, why not give one that appeals to you a whirl?
With no johns tour over and our alpha getting to its final days (thank god), i'm just gonna drop some teams that i built that i think are very fun to use with some explanation and some replays from no johns tour. Not gonna do a fancy post bc i'm lazy.
https://pokepast.es/98e67e3f5eef33e5 - The JdRDMS special - This one is a pretty straight forward balance team that has one catch, Silvally-Ice. This team is better played if you conceal the Silvally type for as long as possible, since this team really looks like a Silvally-Electric kind of team. As you can see on semis Durza x 5gen (https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1100196932), Silv-Ice had a tremendous matchup and was literally only checked by Honedge, but since 5gen didn't know this he let the Honedge get chipped to a point where Jd just won. So yeah, surprise factor is Silvally-Ice strongest trait imo
https://pokepast.es/d8d06253ef40c1d9 - Specs whiscash webs - This team is very hyper offensive and honestly, its not one of the most consistent ones because it's very weak to tspikes, but meh, it has Choice Specs Whiscash (which is a good lure to common grass types that want to switch into whiskers), Mini-Shiftry Maractus and Sudowoodo and honestly this is a blast to play with. Round 1 - Graceclaw x Yovan - https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1093765132
https://pokepast.es/71b3084322092fb7 - Future Sight Regen Duosion + Specs Klang - This is a pretty cool balance team and arguably the strongest team i've built so far, the combo of Future Sight + Silvally-Fighting makes for avoiding big damage pretty hard, in which Duosion lures a dark type turn 1, you go silv-fight turn 2 and turn 3 you can usually just click multi attack and pick a kill from one of the attacks, because no fight resists like to take a Multi into a Future Sight and the other way around. Round 2 - Me vs tlenit - https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1095537169-epoq6mek5mnjk1b8zi4kozpap3dfx12pw (Lot of people used this on the tour so you probably ran into it)
https://pokepast.es/1e346ac7aa82e522 - Scraggy balance - This team is also a pretty straight forward balance team featuring Scraggy as our mandatory dark type of choice. This is an underrated mon that checks several threats including Silv-Dark, Linoone, Meowstic and other psychic types. It also has SD mixed Silvally-Electric packing Flamethrower for the Eiscue from hell and Scarf Raboot which is imo pretty cool. Band Gourgeist is also stupidly strong and a fun mon to mess with. Finals - Durza x Ho3n - https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1100810021
Now that ZU No John is over, I'd like to share my opinion on some controversial elements in ZU and potential quickbans. I will use the statistics below.
Silvally
Not surprisingly, Silvally is the most widely used Pokémon in the tier and is used in the vast majority of teams. It is undeniably the biggest threat in the tier, thanks to excellent stats with access to Swords Dance and Flame Charge, a 120 BP STAB move and colourful offensive coverage. Very few Pokémon can defensively handle Silvally after a Swords Dance, especially considering its ability to chip some of her checks like Pyukumuku, Eiscue, and Machoke with U-turn. Offensively, Silvally is the fourth fastest Pokémon naturally outsped only by Linoone, Drakloak, and Meowstic. After a Flame Charge, Silvally then outspeeds the entire metagame with the exception of Toxic Orb Linoone and Choice Scarf Meowstic, which both fail to OHKO Silvally and take heavy damage on U-turn. So it's no exaggeration to say that Silvally is very hard to revenge kill.
Still, Silvally's not flawless. First of all, it can't use items which, although having the advantage of making him immune to Trick and reducing Knock Off damage, limits its offensive and defensive abilities. No damage taken by Silvally can be healed (except for Wish, whose use is very limited). Then although Silvally can theoretically hit all its checks, it is limited to 4 moves, one of which is Swords Dance and one is Multi Attack, which ultimately doesn't give it that much freedom.
I will now review the different forms in detail.
DarkVally is the most common Silvally, and therefore also the one the teams are best prepared for. Its popularity comes mostly from its ability to handle common Psychic-types like Meowstic and Lunatone, although most Dark types like Linoone, Zweilous, and Morgrem share this same ability. His checks are very popular and are not limited to this task alone, among them are Machoke, one of the best Pokémon of the tier, and Togetic, the most common Defoger. In my opinion, DarkVally isn't broken yet, but it has the potential to be. Fortunately, there's little chance the council will need to ask itself this question, since DarkVally will certainly rise to NU or RU because of Indeedee's popularity.
ElecVally is one of only two Electric types available, the second being the much more passive Charjabug. Although there are many Electrical Resistances and Immunities such as Hippopotas, Gloom, Mudbray, Gourgeist, and Drakloak, ElecVally uses its good SpA which even without investment allows it to 2HKO most of them with Ice Beam. It can even use Grass Pledge to defeat Palpitoad, Pupitar, and Whiscash which are not particularly threatened by Ice Beam. ElecVally can in my opinion forgoe U-turn and Flame Charge, since SD or Work Up/Multi Attack/Ice Beam/Grass Pledge is extremely effective. ElecVally is in my opinion the most threatening Silvally and should be one of the first quickbans.
FightVally was one of the most common Silvally, due in part to the lack of other Fighting-types and its effectiveness in SMZU. However, it has become rare, and rightly so, as it has many flaws. First of all, in my opinion, it suffers a lot from his choice of moves, since it would like to have Multi Attack and Swords Dance of course, but also U-turn for the Psychic-types and pivoting, Psychic Fangs for the Poison-types, Rock Slide for the Flying-types, Crunch for the Ghost- and Psychic-types, and Flame Charge to outspeed Meowstic. Then, every team naturally has several checks to FightVally because many of them are top tier like Togetic, Mareanie, Gourgeist, Gloom, and Meowstic. Finally, FightVally competes with Machoke as a Fighting-type, because it doesn't take the Silvally's slot and has access to the coveted Knock Off. In my opinion, FightVally should definitely not be quickban.
Much more discreet than the previous Silvally, GrassVally is, however, no less dangerous. GrassVally just like FightVally suffers from the choice of the coverage move since it needs both Rock Slide for Flying- and Bug-types like Togetic, Dartrix and Charjabug, Flamethrower for Gourgeist and Eiscue, and Psychic Fangs for Gloom, in addition of course to the obligatory Multi Attack and Swords Dance. However, unlike FightVally, GrassVally has no common weakness which makes it harder to revenge kill and offers more opportunities, and is also able to break through Pyukumuku. In my opinion, GrassVally deserves to be quickban just like ElecVally, even if it is less dangerous than this one.
These four Silvally are rather rare, as they are often overshadowed by those previously reviewed. During the ZU No John Tour, PsyVally has been seen five times, IceVally twice, RockVally and BugVally once, with mixed win rates (3/5, 1/2, 0/1, and 0/1 respectively). Although PsyVally was the most played of the lot, it did not do anything that another Silvally could not have done.
RockVally did nothing in the game in which it was played (https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1095615119).
I played BugVally in the semi-final against Ho3n (https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1100802040) and it had a bad MU since Ho3n had 4 Bug-resistances, which is far from rare. From my experience BugVally is not as bad as it looked in this match, but it needs a lot of support especially because of its weakness to hazards (I play it with Wish Natu for that).
Finally, Durza showed a great performance from IceVally in the semi-final (https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1100196932) against 5gen who easily swept once the Honedge weakened. In my opinion, these Silvally's have been too little explored to draw any consequences in terms of tiering, IceVally and RockVally are in my opinion the most promising, and I can't imagine BugVally being broken as long as Togetic, Mareanie and Machoke reside in ZU.
Weather
As you can see from the usage statistics, Vulpix and the Sun abusers have low win rates (around 40%), and from the quarter-finals onwards the Sun teams have been totally absent. The Sun teams are indeed extremely match-up reliant, and therefore rather risky to use. Defensive Dragon-types like Hakamo-o, Zweilous, and Sliggoo are almost unbeatable for these teams without resorting to gimmicks like SD Cherrim or offensive Gloom. Offensively, Toxic Orb Linoone is faster than Ivysaur and Maractus under Sun and puts enormous pressure on all the sun teams, who generally have no other resistance to Facade than their Onix lead. Also Flame Charge Silvally can set up against Onix and easily sweep. Additionally, Hippopotas Sand Stream removes Sun, and therefore is huge threat for Sun teams. In my opinion, Sun is not as problematic and powerful as we thought. However, it limits a lot the teambuild and very few Sun team variations have been seen. Usually the team consists of Onix, Vulpix, Maractus, Ivysaur, Charmeleon and Silvally (Dark, Fighting or Psychic), but it is conceivable that new compositions will appear as well as semi-Sun teams. For that, I think that Drought should not be quickban but watched very closely. Especially since Sun is also a hot topic in PU and the situation should evolve very quickly on this subject.
Although less played than his Kantonian counterpart, Alolan Vulpix is controversial in PU and is threatened with quickban. However, in my experience, teams based around Alolan Vulpix's Hail suffer huge problems. Firstly, Hail abusers (Glalie and Beartic) are just like Alolan Vulpix pure Ice-type, thus offering no defensive utility. The Hail teams then accumulate weaknesses to powerful threats like Machoke, Klang, and Lunatone, while being extremely weak at any kind of hazard. Moreover, the utility provided by Alolan Vulpix (or Snover) is only minimal compared to the one offered by Vulpix. Alolan Vulpix does not have access to Memento or Will-O-Wisp, and Hail has very few abusers. Moreover, Vulpix Alola is not a good user of Aurora Veil, because of its average speed and poor bulk. It can't hope to use it more than once, while Morgrem and Meowstic are able to setup the Screens several times thanks to Prankster and better stats. In my opinion, it is unthinkable to quickban Alolan Vulpix.
Eiscue
Eiscue has two devastating sets that do not necessarily share the same checks. First of all the Belly Drum set is the most dangerous sweeper of the tier, in one turn it can go to +6 in Attack and +1 in Speed thanks to the combination of Belly Drum and Salac Berry. Thanks to its Ice Face ability, it can easily find setup opportunities against most physical attackers in the tier, as well as the most passive ones thanks to Substitute. Once Ice Face is broken, Eiscue is the fastest Pokémon in the tier and if its Ice Face is broken, nothing can outspeed it. Defensively, very few Pokémon can handle it (Klang and Pyukumuku mostly), and offensively, special Scarfs like Gastly, Meowstic, and Lunatone can defeat it if Ice Face isn't broken. Eiscue doesn't need to weaken the opposing team before setting up and can win very quickly as the following replays (from the Round of 16 and Quarter Finals) show. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1097473450 https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1100171127
But on the other hand, Eiscue is also able to use a devastating defensive set that weakens its opponent thanks to hail, which is particularly useful for managing the different forms of Silvally. This set has been used 10 times during the tournament, with an excellent 80% winrate, demonstrating its power. It is extremely complicated to weaken this set if you can't manage to Knock Off its Leftovers or keep the hazards up.
In conclusion, although solutions to Eiscue exist, it is difficult to play around it, and it is overcentralizing. In my opinion, Eiscue should be quickban as soon as ZU enters in beta.
tldr: Quickban Silvally-Electric, Silvally-Grass, and Eiscue. Keep an eye on the other Silvally-forms and Sun.
Here is a Pokepaste with every viable Pokemon listed on the first page of the thread, as well as a few others that saw tour usage. I tried to fit every set that I've seen working while only cutting the more gimmicky sets, so no Acupressure RestTalk Seaking sadly.
Inside you'll find a number of Pokemon with different roles: 12 Stealth Rock, 3 Spike, 2 Toxic Spikes users, 2 Sticky Web, 11 Defog, 4 Rapid Spin, 3 Suicide Leads, 8 RestTalk, 9 Choice Scarf, and more to categorize.
Lmk if I missed anything, but I hope this paste is a good tool when figuring out the meta and potential sets that you can use / build against! And thanks for ZU staff for helping out.
Here are some options that I think should be added to the dex for completion's sake, as well as some slashes for sets currently there. As a whole, the sets included in the dex are (hyper) offence-oriented and I think there are quite a few defensive and balance sets missing. This post ended up being pretty long so I put the descriptions of the sets in the hide tags.
Bergmite @ Eviolite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Mirror Coat / Toxic
- Avalanche
Bergmite has genuine untapped potential, but it requires team support. This is the set I've been using and it has had success as a pivot with some offensive presence thanks to Mirror Coat / Toxic and Avalanche. Ice-Type obviously is not the best defensively, but its physical defence is excellent with Eviolite and it's the only spinner with reliable recovery, making it a passable option on hazard stack (semi-)stall. I think it's certainly better than Gossifleur whose bulk isn't adequately shored up by Regenerator, so it should see inclusion.
Klang @ Choice Specs
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flash Cannon
- Steel Beam
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
Klang is one of two offensive Steel-Type Pokémon in the tier, and specs is one of its best sets. Steel Beam nukes not-Electric Silvally and is a good gambit, otherwise it's a slow pivot which we have a huge shortage of, and Flash Cannon is consistently strong damage output. I got this set from someone else so I'm not sure why that EV spread.
Beartic @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 124 HP / 252 Atk / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rain Dance
- Icicle Crash
- Superpower / Play Rough
- Aqua Jet / Swords Dance / Substitute
Rain-setter Beartic is a valid cleaner on non-weather archetypes. The rain protects it from incoming Fire-Type attacks and boosts its Aqua Jet against opposing scarfers, I run Heavy-Duty Boots for longevity but Life Orb is also a valid option. EVs speed creep Silvally in rain. I put Swords Dance at the end as a double dance set which is interesting but I haven't tested it yet. Regardless, this is an important role that Beartic can play which I think deserves a mention.
Lunatone @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast / Stealth Rock / Psychic / Ice Beam / Shadow Ball
- Moonlight
- Nasty Plot
- Power Gem / Psychic / Ice Beam
Lunatone functions really effectively as a Nasty Plot user against bulky / stall teams. It's one of few setup sweepers in the tier with reliable recovery, and it has the movepool to choose its checks and counters based on the team it's on. I think this definitely deserves a mention.
Lunatone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power / Shadow Ball
- Moonblast
- Power Gem / Psyshock
- Psyshock / Psychic / Ice Beam
I'll always champion Lunatone as a viable Assault Vest user which more people need to try. Assault Vest allows it to function as a special tank, with investment into its damage output but keeping its ability to come in over the course of the battle and take hits. Foregoing Moonlight in exchange for extra bulk / power means it enjoys Wish support, but this is a set that should be seen more often than it is.
Krabby @ Eviolite
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Agility
- Swords Dance
- Liquidation
- Knock Off / X-Scissor / Superpower
Double Dance Krabby is again something that more people need to try, but I've had a lot of success with it so I'm sure of its viability. It has enough physical bulk with Eviolite to set up on most physical threats (e.g. taking an unboosted Silvally's Multi Attack) and enough power to function as a cleaner in the late-game against weakened teams after one Agility. Swords Dance allows it to be a formidable wallbreaker against stall, making it deadweight in fewer matchups. It can be difficult to create an opportunity for it to setup, but once it does it has a lot of sweeping potential.
Cherrim @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flower Gift
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Energy Ball
- Pollen Puff
- Dazzling Gleam
- Healing Wish
I haven't tried this yet but I've seen some hype surrounding it. Cherrim is essentially the tier's only Healing Wish user, which gives it a niche that should be in the dex imo. Fairy-Type moves are also rare and valuable so this set has potential.
Maractus @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leech Seed / Knock Off
- Spikes
- Leaf Storm
- Spiky Shield / Synthesis
Defensive Maractus is the best spike setter for balance / stall / semi-stall with passive damage and recovery to keep setting Spikes over the course of the battle. On the other hand, Knock Off gives utility in getting rid of Eviolite for the team, while Leftovers and Synthesis maintain its longevity for setting up Spikes consistently. This should definitely be in the dex alongside its offensive counterpart since they fit on different teams, and it shows Maractus' variety that makes it such a top tier threat.
Dusknoir @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Pain Split
- Ice Punch / Substitute
- Earthquake
Pain Split is a totally viable option for Dusknoir given its low HP and strong priority, so I think it deserves a mention. It's also its only form of recovery which better places it on balance teams.
Rhyhorn @ Eviolite
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Megahorn
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
I was the one guy who used Rhyhorn in the tour and I stand by its potential. Megahorn is legitimately a really nice tool for a rocker to have, scaring away Maractus, Silvally-Grass, Lunatone, Natu, and Solrock looking to switch-in like they do on most other rockers. It's a niche pick but I think it deserves a set in the dex since Pupitar got one, and Rhyhorn as an offensive variant of Pupitar.
252+ Atk Rhyhorn Megahorn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Silvally-Grass: 226-266 (68.2 - 80.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Rhyhorn Megahorn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Maractus: 298-352 (102.4 - 120.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Rhyhorn Megahorn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Lunatone: 306-362 (95.3 - 112.7%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Rhyhorn Megahorn vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Solrock: 248-292 (64.7 - 76.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Rhyhorn Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Natu: 306-362 (108.1 - 127.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Gloom @ Eviolite
Ability: Stench
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Def / 56 SpD / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Strength Sap
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
- Petal Blizzard
SD Gloom is one of the best bulky setup sweepers in the tier, functioning like QD Bellossom last gen. It doesn't get the same speed boost, but its bulk alongside Strength Sap & Drain Punch is good enough that it doesn't really need it. I got this set from someone else so again, I'm not sure what the EVs do.
Lampent @ Eviolite
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- Energy Ball
Calm Mind is a good option on Lampent in certain matchups. Its decent bulk with Eviolite lets it punish U-Turn spam thanks to Flame Body, and after one Calm Mind it reaches wall breaking territory thanks to its powerful moves and coverage. And honestly, I think its scarf set is almost totally overshadowed by scarf Gastly who's possibly the best scarfer in the tier right now behind Meowstic, so I believe this CM set is its true niche.
Greedent @ Choice Band
Ability: Cheek Pouch
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Body Slam / Facade
- Earthquake
- Payback / Gyro Ball
- Psychic Fangs
Band Greedent is a prediction-heavy set, but it can be terrifying in the right hands. It trades the Belly Drum's set raw power for foregoing a turn of setup and hitting switch-ins hard, and it has legitimately great coverage that hit its switch-ins hard (Earthquake for Rock- & Steel-Types, Payback for Ghost-Types and Bronzor, Gyro Ball for Lunatone, Psychic Fangs for Fighting-Types) so long as the player chooses the right move. It's somewhat unexplored but it deserves a mention as a viable tank.
Duosion @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 9 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Acid Armor
- Recover
- Stored Power
Stored Power Duosion still deserves a mention despite its competition from Gothitelle thanks to its lack of reliance on Sleep Talk and Magic Guard helping its matchup vs Toxic Spikes, meaning it can set up more before having to Recover. A niche pick compared to Gothitelle, but still a viable one with enough to set it apart.
Linoone-Galar @ Choice Band
Ability: Quick Feet
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Body Slam / Facade
- Parting Shot
- Switcheroo / Stomping Tantrum
Choice Band is a good option on Linoone given its power and speed, effectively making it a powerful revenge killer. It 2HKOs the Silvally it lures in with the thread of Knock Off with Body Slam, while breaking most other Pokémon with band-boosted Knock Offs. Parting Shot and Switcheroo are good utility vs defensive teams. EVs speed creep Silvally.
- Play Rough should be slashed onto Beartic's Choice Band set. It destroys Fighting-Type switch-ins and Silv-Dark.
- Slack Off has to be slashed onto Hippopotas somewhere. Reliable recovery is one of its main benefits and will always be found on it on stall teams.
- Taunt should be slashed on Vullaby somewhere. IMO it's one of its main selling points and reasons why it should ever be used on a team.
- Iron Head should be slashed on Silvally-Fighting. Nailing Togetic is one of the main reasons to use it over Machoke.
- Destiny Bond should also be slashed in the Trick slot for scarf Gastly. 3 moves + Destiny Bond is its best set vs HO, while 3 moves + Trick is its best set vs balance and stall. 2 moves gives it more versatility but is less specialised.
- Trick Room should be slashed on Nasty Plot Gothitelle. It can perform the same role as Beheeyem did in Gen VII and it can tear offence apart, and it's more powerful than Oranguru who has an OTR set in the dex. Dark Pulse also deserves a slash over Thunderbolt because it destroys Gothitelle's switch-ins (Ghost- and Psychic-Type mons).
- Play Rough should be slashed on Cufant over Zen Headbutt given its better damage output vs Fighting-Type switch-ins and ability to hit Silv-Dark hard. I'd honestly put it first in that moveslot.
252+ Atk Sheer Force Cufant Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Machoke: 124-146 (34 - 40.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Sheer Force Cufant Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Machoke: 110-130 (30.2 - 35.7%) -- 33.1% chance to 3HKO
252+ Atk Sheer Force Cufant Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Silvally-Dark: 212-250 (64 - 75.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Anyway, that dex is an awesome resource so thanks for creating it! This is a lot of suggestions, but the tier is still in an early stage and there's a lot of room for innovation and variety in different Pokémon's sets, and it's still early to tell which will become standard.
Hippopotas (F) @ Eviolite 
Togetic @ Eviolite 
Lunatone @ Assault Vest 
Silvally-Dark @ Dark Memory 
Octillery @ Choice Specs 
Maractus @ Leftovers 
So far the Solar Power set has made a few appearances on Sun to exploit its special movepool, but a quick reminder that this gets Dragon Dance, Swords Dance and even Belly Drum if you're really feeling like a madman.
and 
act as obnoxious diet 
for setting webs. It definitely does not help that hazard removal in this tier is god awful, relying on 
(lol) and 
as spinners or Silvally (which has so much potential as a setup sweeper that running Defog is a huge opportunity cost), Eviolite Flying types, and 
as halfway decent Defoggers. Webs are a frequent sight, meaning that this already slow meta gets even slower.
(100-130) Quick Feet, Choice Scarf, Salac Berry 
(94) Choice Scarf, Flame Charge 
(90) Choice Scarf, Flame Charge 
(70) Choice Scarf, Rock Polish 
(68) Choice Scarf, Swift Swim 
(65) Dragon Dance 
(60) Choice Scarf, Chlorophyl, Dragon Dance 
(55) Choice Scarf
(50) Choice Scarf, Shell Smash, Swift Swim, Slush Rush, Shift Gear, Salac Berry 
Weather
