With the ban of Hearthflame Ogre, I want to give my absolute appreciation for Wellspring Ogre. Its incredible offensively but defensively its a life saver, and solidifies it as one of the top dogs of the tier.
Ogerpon-Wellspring (F) @ Wellspring Mask
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 208 SpD / 48 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ivy Cudgel
- Encore/Knock Off/Horn Leech/Taunt
- Synthesis
- Spikes/Knock Off/U-Turn/Taunt
(48 Evs with a Jolly Nature outspeeds Timid Ghold.)
The biggest appeal of Wellspring Pon is its gigantic support movepool. Encore, Knock Off, Taunt, Spikes, U-Turn, Leech Seed, it never ends. The most notable two being Spikes and Encore. We all know Spikes are broken but Encore is one of the best moves in the metagame, and having a mon as fast as Ogerpon make use of it is a big deal.
Its typing and its Tera from granting Oger a permanent SpD boost lets it check a plethora of offensive powerhouses like Manaphy, Specs Dragapult, Greninja, Volcanion, Ghold, etc. Even without investment, its main STAB move is trucking shit. Encore also makes it one of the more consistent Bloodmoon Luna checks due to being able to live a boosted Blood Moon and Encore if it tries to click CM or EP. Taunt can be used to deny hazards from Gliscor or Wish from Mola. U-Turn lets it be a solid pivot and bait out switch ins from stuff like Pex or Clod. Another cool niche with Wellspring Oger is that it blocks Trick from Scarf Ghold or Valiant. I might make a viability tier list in the future, but just know that Waterpon is not only one of the best offensive mons, but also one of the best defensive mons in the tier.
Some extra notes I want to point out.
Valiant is much more balanced in this metagame with the prospect of checks like Gliscor, Mola, Torn-T, Clef, Feze, etc, as well as previous checks such as Colbur Glowking and the birds.
It is entirely possible for Gambit to be balanced this time around as crazy as this sounds. We have an amazing slow pivot in Mola who can easily eat a +2 hit and Flip Turn into something that can threaten it, even with rocks up. Or it can Scald burn it.
+2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 390-459 (73 - 85.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Also more Encore in the tier with mons like Oger and Alolatales. Gliscor eats a +2 Supreme Overlord Adamant Kowtow Cleave at full and 2HKOs with EQ or forces a Tera, which in this case Gliscor can Toxic it if Gambit isn’t Lum. Though if Gambit turns out to still be broken in a few weeks, I’ll eat my words.
Kinda wish we had more defoggers. We only got two niche hazard removal in Polt Bramble and G-Weez, though its nice to know they beat Ghold (G-Weez Neutralizing Gas can bypass Good As Gold). Though it is niche to have two Knock sponges in Gliscor and Clef to help with Boots spam since one of the biggest flaws of Boots spam is it falls apart to Knock Off. I did find one Defogger that could beat Ghold while being able to do other shit.
Scizor @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Atk / 196 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Defog
60 Atk Adamant to one-shot offensive Ghold with Tera Dark Knock and enough SpD to avoid a 2HKO from 252 Timid Sball.
252 SpA Gholdengo Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 196 SpD Scizor: 129-153 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
60+ Atk Tera Dark Scizor Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 318-374 (100.9 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
And if it decides to Tera you Bullet Punch it repeatedly.
Thats about it. Have fun.