Metagame SWSH RU Alpha - Metagame Thread

[tmacbalanced]

Hello RU. I've just come to post an offensive pair that work will with each other: Indeedee F + Passimian
Passimian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Gunk Shot
- U-turn

Indeedee-F (F) @ Mind Plate
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Future Sight
- Psyshock
- Mystical Fire
- Calm Mind

Passimian lures in fat poison types like Garbador and Vileplume, which really allows for them to get bopped by Future Sight. Passimian's U-Turn momentum works great in tandem with such a powerful psychic attacker. And Passimian OHKOs common dark types that want to try and dodge the future sight like Pangoro and Shiftry. Passimian's great coverages also work great with future sight combos on fat mons like fairies and flying types.
This is all I can really say since the meta is still fresh and new & I'm only at the middle of the ladder but, I hope you all enjoy the duo anyway

 

[BLINGAS]

can't really say much more about special threats (sigi, vanilluxe, sun vileplume) or certain playstyles (fuck you aurora veil) so i'll just talk about a couple littles things i like so far.

Sandaconda is pretty great. Not because its really strong or really tanky, but because glare is still as busted of a move as ever. And yea I just said its not super tanky or strong but its at least decent in both areas. It does have the problem in that its a rocker that kinda can't beat Xatu (Stone Edge does about 60% but you can't really do anything when its roosting).

The other thing I like is vullaby. Was initially looking for a hazard remover that somewhat deals with Sigilyph and thats basically the only one. Again its not the most tanky thing, as it has low hp and around 350 spdef with Eviolite. It can't really deal with Growth Vileplume or Specs Roserade, but if its not those two sets then it deals with those pretty well, only really fearing a potential poison. Likewise it deals with mid tier special attackers, things like Torkoal, Ninetales, and Goodra (it can switch into a specs draco without rocks and recover on it iirc, but still not the best answer to specs). I personally use Knock+U-turn as knock off is even more busted this gen then previous, and u-turn keeps momentum really well because people expect a hard switch.

The tier is fun so far but could do without a few things (fuck you again aurora veil)

 

[The Zestiest]

I highly doubt I'm the first person to think about this but I can't find any mentions yet so I thought I'd throw out the idea of Unburden Hitmonlee + Indeedee/Pincurchin. Kind of a discount Hawlucha thing with the appropriate terrain seed. Indeedee is probably a better fit than Pincurchin, but Hitmonlee already has good SpDef so a boost to Def from Electric Seed could come in handy. Don't know if this is better than Reckless boosted HJKs or the horde of other fighting types but *shrug* sounded like a cool idea

 

[lighthouses]

Been using dark pulse sigil on a team where its my only psychic resist and it works fairly well; and on the flipside ive been very underwhelmed by
Indeedee, its just not good enough and i wish it had just a lil bit more speed.

Also been using hurricane whimsicott to hit plume rose and some other random stuff neutrally, still not too sure on that set but its won me a decent amount of games.

I also would very much like to see a suspect test at some point down the line for either torkoal or vaniluxe/galvantula. Feel like all of those ho playstyles being around shifts the meta into a rock paper scizors state and i feel very little reason not to use gigalith on any given team because of this.

Ive been really liking this metagame though, its probably the best early iteration of ru to date, ive been enjoying how all the regular ru discord people have been laddering and trying things out, makes it more fun and challenging and i encourage everyone to hit up the ladder sometime.

 

[Cowtao]

Laddered for a bit. Loved RU back in Gen 6 so I’m always being a degen in Gen 8. Got some cliffnotes:

1. Passimian


He is a really fun revenge killer. Prior to, he was mostly overshadowed in UU with the ever presence of Braviary as an option. Braviary offered speed, power, better coverage and was more in gear towards the meta at the time.

Now that Passimian has dropped down to RU and Braviary didn’t follow it is quickly becoming a popular revenge killer. You do sack a Fighting-Type slot but he is worth the team slot for having great coverage and a good ability in Defiant. I found even with the absence of big defoggers in-tier that Pass can find other ways to get it’s boosts with the popularity of Webs in the ladder at the moment. Sporting great coverage from it’s standards of CC & U-Turn it boosts great coverage for a revenge killer. Seed Bomb, Knock Off, Earthquake, Gunk Shot. Whatever you need Pass to revenge kill he can do it or at the very least make things very dangerous for the switch-ins into it. Even most of the defensive rockers or physical walls don’t like taking a Close Combat. It’s pretty noticeable and strong in the ladder right now.


2. Silvally Forms


Another export that had some niche / lower success in the tier above. Silvally has found a home in the RU meta. Taking STAB-120 of whatever Memory-Type you wish is really menacing. I’ve seen several forms appear on the ladder but so far the most common ones to me were Electric / Ghost.

Due to a lack of great Dark-Types, GhostVally makes sense. Clear out the immunities, get the switch in, setup the T-Wave, Sub or Swords Dance, start swinging for game. If you are really feeling the mood to hit Snorlax trade off Substitute for X-Scissor.

ElectricVally boasts being the only Electric Turner to U-Turn out of common switch-ins instead of being locked into an immune move. Considering some of the most popular Electrics (Boltund, Rotom-Forms) have to predict the switch, ElectricVally gives more intel to the player and having a better out versus Ground-Types whilst trading speed in the progress.

For the two forms these ideas were mostly formed from DraconicLepus post on Silvally Forms. He had a lot of success using some of the forms in UU where the meta was less forgiving to it’s 95 even spread. Silvally can now realize it’s full potential with the landscape provided in RU and I believe these forms are gonna be popping up more as the meta progresses.

 

[JinAxel]

Hey. Long time lurker and first official post on this forum. Been playing a bunch of matches testing out various sets to see what works and I wanted to share a mon that's been doing a lot of work for me recently.


Thievul @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Psychic
- Grass Knot

This thing has been a pretty decent late game cleaner thanks to it's relatively good coverage and it's access to Nasty Plot. It also appreciates a metagame where Fairies aren't very present. It's special attack stat isn't the greatest, but it's adaquate enough to sweep after a boost or two. It's also extremely fast, outpacing just about everything bar Jolly Chlorophyll Shiftry and Jolly Unburden Hitmonlee (unless you run Timid yourself).

It can take advantage of the SpDef boost from the Psychic Seed with the support from Indeedee by being able to set up on special attacking mons like LO Sigilyph, other Indeedees and Mr. Rime.

Psychic is a really useful coverage move especially with Psychic Terrain to take out the influx of Fighting and Poison types on the rise such as Passimian, Vileplume and Salazzle.

Grass Knot can take out bulky mons such as Rhydon, Mudsdale and Gastrodon after a boost. Max SpDef Gigalith requires a +4 boost to have a good chance of killing it, which can be tricky to acquire since Thievul isn't super bulky. It's best to have something to weaken it to be in range of +2 Knot, which I will suggest later on with potential partners.

Psychic Terrain has an added benefit from being immune from priority for a certain amount of turns such as Mach Punch from Gurrdurr/Hitmonlee and Vacuum Wave from Toxicroak, which can protect it's sweep.

It does struggle with more specially defensive mons like Gigalith, Escavalier, Snorlax and Goodra, but they can be mitigated with hazard support and a little bit of luring.

For potential partners,


The obvious aforementioned Indeedee is mandatory for this set to work. Having Terrain Extender on it is very useful to keep the terrain going especially if Indeedee dies early in the game. You can try to use Pincurchin and use Electric Seed, but it hasn't been as effective since the benefits compared to Psychic Seed is much more valuable.


Hazard support is very essential to secure KOs that aren't easily achievable at +2. Garbodor helps by setting up Spikes, while also being somewhat of a pivot to problematic Fighting types like Pangoro, Passimian and Scrafty. Rocky Helmet is my preferred item of choice to chip them down along with Aftermath once it's job is done. Haze can help by stopping Scrafty from setting up DDs/BUs.


Thievul hates webs so having Dhelmise can ease the pain against Galvantula and Orbeetle. It also has the added benefit of discouraging spinblockers from coming in thanks to STAB Shadow Claw.


This mon is already pretty busted and it is a great mon to chip down more bulkier things that can take on Thievul. Blizzard hits like a truck and Freeze Dry can help weaken bulky waters. It lures in Snorlax and Gigalith and can deal damage to them with a Specs Flash Cannon. It can also set up an Aurora Veil if you want to go that route.

calcs

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 48 SpD Steelix: 289-342 (81.6 - 96.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Unaware Quagsire: 412-488 (104.5 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Hitmonlee in Psychic Terrain: 396-466 (164.3 - 193.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Grass Knot (60 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon: 360-424 (84.7 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Runerigus: 420-494 (131.2 - 154.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Grass Knot (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Rhydon: 556-656 (134.2 - 158.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Psychic vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Vileplume in Psychic Terrain: 464-548 (131 - 154.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gigalith in Sand: 242-286 (64.7 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+4 252+ SpA Thievul Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gigalith in Sand: 362-428 (96.7 - 114.4%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery

I could write more about this, but it's like 5 AM so I'm just going to leave it at that.

Hope you guys try the mon out!

 

[Swagodile]

Hey. Long time lurker and first official post on this forum. Been playing a bunch of matches testing out various sets to see what works and I wanted to share a mon that's been doing a lot of work for me recently.


Thievul @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Psychic
- Grass Knot

This thing has been a pretty decent late game cleaner thanks to it's relatively good coverage and it's access to Nasty Plot. It also appreciates a metagame where Fairies aren't very present. It's special attack stat isn't the greatest, but it's adaquate enough to sweep after a boost or two. It's also extremely fast, outpacing just about everything bar Jolly Chlorophyll Shiftry and Jolly Unburden Hitmonlee (unless you run Timid yourself).

It can take advantage of the SpDef boost from the Psychic Seed with the support from Indeedee by being able to set up on special attacking mons like LO Sigilyph, other Indeedees and Mr. Rime.

Psychic is a really useful coverage move especially with Psychic Terrain to take out the influx of Fighting and Poison types on the rise such as Passimian, Vileplume and Salazzle.

Grass Knot can take out bulky mons such as Rhydon, Mudsdale and Gastrodon after a boost. Max SpDef Gigalith requires a +4 boost to have a good chance of killing it, which can be tricky to acquire since Thievul isn't super bulky. It's best to have something to weaken it to be in range of +2 Knot, which I will suggest later on with potential partners.

Psychic Terrain has an added benefit from being immune from priority for a certain amount of turns such as Mach Punch from Gurrdurr/Hitmonlee and Vacuum Wave from Toxicroak, which can protect it's sweep.

It does struggle with more specially defensive mons like Gigalith, Escavalier, Snorlax and Goodra, but they can be mitigated with hazard support and a little bit of luring.

For potential partners,


The obvious aforementioned Indeedee is mandatory for this set to work. Having Terrain Extender on it is very useful to keep the terrain going especially if Indeedee dies early in the game. You can try to use Pincurchin and use Electric Seed, but it hasn't been as effective since the benefits compared to Psychic Seed is much more valuable.


Hazard support is very essential to secure KOs that aren't easily achievable at +2. Garbodor helps by setting up Spikes, while also being somewhat of a pivot to problematic Fighting types like Pangoro, Passimian and Scrafty. Rocky Helmet is my preferred item of choice to chip them down along with Aftermath once it's job is done. Haze can help by stopping Scrafty from setting up DDs/BUs.


Thievul hates webs so having Dhelmise can ease the pain against Galvantula and Orbeetle. It also has the added benefit of discouraging spinblockers from coming in thanks to STAB Shadow Claw.


This mon is already pretty busted and it is a great mon to chip down more bulkier things that can take on Thievul. Blizzard hits like a truck and Freeze Dry can help weaken bulky waters. It lures in Snorlax and Gigalith and can deal damage to them with a Specs Flash Cannon. It can also set up an Aurora Veil if you want to go that route.

calcs

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 48 SpD Steelix: 289-342 (81.6 - 96.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Unaware Quagsire: 412-488 (104.5 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Hitmonlee in Psychic Terrain: 396-466 (164.3 - 193.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Grass Knot (60 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon: 360-424 (84.7 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Runerigus: 420-494 (131.2 - 154.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Grass Knot (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Rhydon: 556-656 (134.2 - 158.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Psychic vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Vileplume in Psychic Terrain: 464-548 (131 - 154.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ SpA Thievul Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gigalith in Sand: 242-286 (64.7 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+4 252+ SpA Thievul Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gigalith in Sand: 362-428 (96.7 - 114.4%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery

I could write more about this, but it's like 5 AM so I'm just going to leave it at that.

Hope you guys try the mon out!

Another option is Throat Spray + Snarl over Grass Knot.

 

[EviiPaladin]

Hello, I am here to spread the word of a whacky fun duo that have been performing way better than I thought they would...?

Unfezant @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost / Defog
- U-turn
- Facade

This thing is surprisingly brutal, with 115 base attack and 93 base speed, allowing it to outpace most of the other common scarfers in the tier. Notably, it outspeeds Scarf Passimian (base 80), Scarf Indeedee-F (base 85), Scarf Rillaboom (base 85), and +1 Flapple (base 70). None of these like eating a Brave Bird, with Indeedee being the only possible survivor and even then it is just under a 50/50 from full.

Unfezant vs Scarfers

252 Atk Unfezant Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Passimian: 390-462 (114.3 - 135.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Passimian Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Unfezant: 222-262 (73.7 - 87%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Unfezant Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Indeedee-F: 255-301 (90.7 - 107.1%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Unfezant U-turn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Indeedee-F: 200-236 (71.1 - 83.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Indeedee-F Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Unfezant in Psychic Terrain: 249-294 (82.7 - 97.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Unfezant Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Rillaboom: 392-464 (114.9 - 136%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Unfezant: 114-135 (37.8 - 44.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 252 Atk Hustle Flapple Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Unfezant: 183-216 (60.7 - 71.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Unfezant Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Flapple: 432-510 (153.7 - 181.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Unfezant U-turn vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Flapple: 170-200 (60.4 - 71.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

"Now, Evii," I hear you saying, "Unfezant can't touch the likes of Steelix, Gigalith, and Torkoal due to its poor offensive movepool!" This is true. Which is why it naturally pairs well with...

Trapinch @ Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack
- Crunch

Base 100 attack with a band can do some damage and with the addition of the super priority move First Impression, Trapinch's ability to trap and revenge kill things has shot up. The Eviolite build generally provides a better range of survivability but Choice Band hits like an Arceusdamn monster truck. The Choice Band serves an important piece alongside the Speed EVs. You see, these Speed EVs allow Trapinch to outspeed base 30s, like a certain metal snake that would shut down our bird friend and a big ol' crystal monster who would do the same.

Trapinch vs Bird Hates

252+ Atk Choice Band Trapinch Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Steelix: 194-230 (54.8 - 64.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Steelix Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Trapinch: 177-208 (76.6 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Trapinch Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Gigalith: 356-422 (95.1 - 112.8%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Gigalith Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Trapinch: 175-206 (75.7 - 89.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

By taking out these chunky fellows, Trapinch opens the way for Unfezant to have an easier job sniping off frailer targets in addition to performing its job as a revenge killer with First Impression.

These two (2) obviously aren't all upsides: Unfezant needs hazard removal to deal with the issues with Stealth Rocks and Trapinch can struggle to switch in on attacks. Unfezant can run Defog but I don't like taking 25% to clear up Rocks while also taking damage from the Brave Birds. Roost, while also relinquishing momentum, at least heals Unfezant so they can keep Brave Birding away. Both hate getting burned so having a cleric or something to soak burns like Eldegoss or Sigilyph respectively help them out a ton.

Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk.

EDIT: Shoutouts to MaahirMomtaz12 for correcting me that Rillaboom is 85 speed not 80.

 

[atomicllamas]

Haven't really seen anyone else talk about it, but I got rocked (haha) by it on the ladder so I built a team that uses Piloswine, and it's actually an incredibly good rocker/pokemon in general. Thanks to thick fat, Ice and Ground STAB, and priority in the form of ice shard, it is super solid to shore up weaknesses to Sun teams (and also takes on Sigi 1 on 1 barring psycho shift variants). But even against teams without Sigi or Sun, Piloswine still manages to be useful because of its good offensive presence (nothing really resists ground + ice except rotom-f) and unique set of resists/general bulk.

calcs

252 SpA Ninetales Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Thick Fat Piloswine in Sun: 200-236 (49.5 - 58.4%) -- 98.4% chance to 2HKO (it does more than solar beam)
252+ Atk Life Orb Shiftry Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Eviolite Piloswine: 283-335 (70 - 82.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (shiftry has to use Solar Blade for shot at OHKO)

252+ Atk Piloswine Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ninetales: 380-450 (132.4 - 156.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Piloswine Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Shiftry: 182-216 (56.6 - 67.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Piloswine Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Vileplume: 138-164 (47.4 - 56.3%) -- 80.1% chance to 2HKO (if you ice shard vs shiftry or vileplume on growth / swords dance, you get a kill)

Piloswine @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard

This isn't the spread I use, but I'm not about to give y'all my speed creep targets -__-.

 

[MaahirMomtaz12]

This thing is surprisingly brutal, with 115 base attack and 93 base speed, allowing it to outpace most of the other common scarfers in the tier. Notably, it outspeeds Scarf Passimian (base 80), Scarf Indeedee-F (base 85), Scarf Rillaboom (base 80), and +1 Flapple (base 70). None of these like eating a Brave Bird, with Indeedee being the only possible survivor and even then it is just under a 50/50 from full.

Just for clarification, Rillaboom has 85 Speed, not 80 :]

 

[Setendo]

Technitop Returns

Hitmontop (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Technician
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brutal Swing
- Rapid Spin
- Mach Punch
- Fake Out

I know this seems like a meme set, but here me out. This has actually been putting in a good amount of work on my hyper offense team. Rapid Spin because there's no reason to run Hitmontop if you aren't running Rapid Spin, and it hits surprisingly hard thanks to Technician (not mindblowingly strong, but it's definitely a nice chunk). Technician-boosted Fake Out + Mach Punch deals a heft chunk of damage to the opponent before they can even move. This lets it check things like Barbaracle, Shiftry, and most frail and fast attackers. Brutal Swing makes sure that Ghost-types don't just come in and spinblock you for free. 16 Speed EVs outspeeds max speed Adamant Dhelmise. Assault Vest capitalizes on its already good Special Defense, allowing it to switch into many special attacker and scare them out with Fake Out + Mach Punch. It can even take a Psychic from Life Orb Sigilyph (I mean it doesn't OHKO back nor can it take a Psyshock but still.)

This thing does have some notable flaws though. Even with maximum investment and a boosting nature, a base 95 Attack stat doesn't hit as hard as you'd like. Plus, it gets work down easily since its constantly switching into hazards and attacks. Heavy Duty Boots do alleviate this and could definitely work, but you give up a ton of bulk. Even with Brutal Swing, Ghost-types can pose a problem. Dhelmise and Sillvally-Ghost threaten you with a ton of damage, and Hitmontop can't touch Jellicent to save its life.

Even with these faults, though, I think this a pretty good set. It's kinda niche, and it doesn't really make hazard removal any easier in the tier, but it functions as a pretty good offensive pivot.

 

[Vengeance417]

Silvally-Ground @ Ground Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Multi-Attack
- Rock Slide
- U-turn / Crunch

Really been enjoying Silvally-Ground as an SD sweeper. Multi-Attack is basically the new Precipice Blades, and combined with Rock Slide to get the QuakeSlide combo, it hits the majority of the tier really hard. Also makes for a good offensive Boltund switchin as it's not obvious to the Boltund user that you're running Ground Silvally, opening yourself up for an SD. U-turn is probably its best 4th slot, but I've also been experimenting with Crunch as it can OHKO max HP Dhelmise after rocks.

Alcremie (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Aroma Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Dazzling Gleam
- Mystical Fire

Another really cool mon. The sole Fairy-type in the tier with reliable recovery, making it a great Fighting check and CM sweeper. Blessed with Mystical Fire to slam Escav and other Steels. Also sits at a decent Speed-tier so you could probably invest in some Speed to creep on stuff.

 

[Himura]

Have really been enjoying Silvally now that Multi Attack hits harder. Defs a legit pokemon. And having so many forms to choose from really gives it flexability on team building. It seems like Steel, Ghost, and Fairy are popular choices. I like the set Vengeance posted above. Esp since it blocks electrics like Boltund and Rotom ghost from volt turning.

One thing I’ve been experimenting with is running parting shot with various Silvally forms. I’m finding some games it really helps and others I wish I brought U-turn instead.

How do people feel about the two pivot options for this mon? Is one objectively better then the other? Another thing I’m curious what ppl think is if there is a specific Silvally form(you’d actually play) where you would definately want parting shot over U-turn.

It also probably just comes down to team comp. Still Parting shot is a very unique pivot and it feels like there is some build or some team that’d find it useful.

 

[Vengeance417]

Have really been enjoying Silvally now that Multi Attack hits harder. Defs a legit pokemon. And having so many forms to choose from really gives it flexability on team building. It seems like Steel, Ghost, and Fairy are popular choices. I like the set Vengeance posted above. Esp since it blocks electrics like Boltund and Rotom ghost from volt turning.

One thing I’ve been experimenting with is running parting shot with various Silvally forms. I’m finding some games it really helps and others I wish I brought U-turn instead.

How do people feel about the two pivot options for this mon? Is one objectively better then the other? Another thing I’m curious what ppl think is if there is a specific Silvally form(you’d actually play) where you would definately want parting shot over U-turn.

It also probably just comes down to team comp. Still Parting shot is a very unique pivot and it feels like there is some build or some team that’d find it useful.

I feel more offensive Silvally sets, especially the physical SD variants, prefer to use U-turn since that extra bit of chip damage can add up over time to help set up their own sweeps. It can also hit much harder if boosted by an SD beforehand. Meanwhile, Parting Shot is, in my opinion anyway, best used on special attacking or support sets as the offensive debuffs it provide can help a teammate's sweep instead of its own. If I were to choose one over the other, however, I'd say U-turn because unlike Parting Shot, it's not blocked by Taunt and it can't be taken advantage of by Contrary Malamar, Magic Bounce Xatu, and Defiant Passimian and Falinks.

 

[Sage]

Have really been enjoying Silvally now that Multi Attack hits harder. Defs a legit pokemon. And having so many forms to choose from really gives it flexability on team building. It seems like Steel, Ghost, and Fairy are popular choices. I like the set Vengeance posted above. Esp since it blocks electrics like Boltund and Rotom ghost from volt turning.

One thing I’ve been experimenting with is running parting shot with various Silvally forms. I’m finding some games it really helps and others I wish I brought U-turn instead.

How do people feel about the two pivot options for this mon? Is one objectively better then the other? Another thing I’m curious what ppl think is if there is a specific Silvally form(you’d actually play) where you would definately want parting shot over U-turn.

It also probably just comes down to team comp. Still Parting shot is a very unique pivot and it feels like there is some build or some team that’d find it useful.

I think U-turn is far superior for offensive sets at least, you can really spread chip damage quickly in conjunction with Swords Dance. Parting Shot would probably be usable on support focused Dark or Steel variants, but thats really the only place i'd run it. You also run the risk of a Xatu switch both lowering your own offense and giving your opponent momentum back.

Haven't been playing a ton, but Abomasnow continues to impress me with its Specs set in the games I have done. Probably gonna wait till the craziness dies down a bit to really build a lot, I don't think the hazard control options are quite as grim as people have led on with Xatu obviously being quite good, and spinners like Mr. Mime / maybe even Turtonator?? showing up to be viable options.

 

[DavidDMS]

Rhydon @ Eviolite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 240 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast/Stone Edge
- Swords Dance/Megahorn

This was originally a Gen 6 NU set. Rock blast can kill annoying sash leads, such as Galvantula, and prevent Salazzle from utilizing sub. SD prevents other slow Pokemon from using it as setup bait, while Megahorn does a lot of damage to incoming grass types. Gigalith's access to Sand Stream and Leftovers is useful, but Rhydon is slightly faster, has more physical bulk, and possesses the extremely useful ground typing, which gives it a STAB Earthquake and immunity to Volt Switch. Unfortunately, it does not have Roar or Dragon Tail this generation.

 

[Predator145]

IMO currently with Sigilyph running energy ball and sun dominating the tier a spdef Rhydon is badly outclassed by spdef Gigalith. I think Rhydon is better off running phydef with SD or all out offensive with speed with SD to make use of its excellent dual STAB.

 

[Punchshroom]

Can I just talk about Salazzle and just how good it is in this meta? It has great power and by far the most important Speed benchmark in RU which would already secure it a solid position in the tier, but it also has a +2 boosting move and a divine enough typing to find setup opportunities against at least one of the opponent's mons in any given match. And while we already know extensively of Salazzle's offensive prowess, and even the SubToxic sets aren't anything new for it either, I feel Salazzle is actually versatile enough to be able to combine the two.

Salazzle @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Black Sludge
Ability: Corrosion
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Flamethrower
- Toxic
- Protect

As SubToxic sets have demonstrated, Salazzle can easily subsist of mono-Flamethrower for offense, and +2 Flamethrower is plenty strong enough to cleanly OHKO things like Sigilyph and Pangoro. Meanwhile, we all know how annoying Salazzle's Toxic is due to it being essentially undodgeable while also being unblockable for any non-Magic Bounce/Guard Pokemon. To make matters even more insufferable, Salazzle threatens pretty much every Aromatherapy user, so their Salazzle counter/check is likely to stay poisoned. The real kicker to the set is Protect, which is dual-purpose. The first is obviously to rack up Toxic damage, but the second is to scout Choice Scarfer attacks, especially when the Scarfer usually only has one attack to actually hit Salazzle with while the rest of their attacks are resisted/fail to KO, or just make the Scarfer much easier to respond to. The other Salazzle sets are pretty defined in their purpose, but this set can seamlessly offer both offensive pressure and disruption at once, and this is not even accounting for the potential bluff factor that Salazzle can capitalize on either.

I have the suspicion that Salazzle is just going to be an increasingly frustrating Pokemon to have to deal with as RU progresses.

Edit:

Sigilyph

Man this mon got blessed, gaining Energy Ball and Ice Beam with the new move updates. I’d definitely say Sigilyph is the biggest threat in this metagame right now and most likely one of if not the best Pokémon in the tier.

I don't understand what you mean by "new move updates"; Sigilyph has always had these moves, and didn't gain any new coverage moves in the generational shift for that matter.

 

[Loom]

After getting top 10 I just wanna make a small post about my thoughts on the new metagame and what playstyles and Pokémon have specifically stuck out to me.

Webs

This shit is literally everywhere, webs abusers like Pangoro, Barbaracle, and Silvally are plentiful right now making it one of the best playstyles to use. Galvantula is definitely the best setter but Shuckle is also pretty decent.

Sigilyph

I’d definitely say Sigilyph is one of the biggest threats in this metagame right now and most likely one of if not the best Pokémon in the tier. Boasting amazing coverage moves, a decently strong special attack stat, and an okay speed stat for the tiers standards.

Sun

Sun is really good on ladder from what I’ve been seeing. I’d say it’s a little overbearing too, forcing you to run things like Gigalith just so you don’t lose to it.

Veil

I s2g this shits gonna get banned. It's pretty broken with Vanilluxe being an amazing setter with access to Taunt and Explosion. I honestly can't see veil staying very long because there's just so many abusers of it in the tier making it extremely over centralizing.

Silvally

This mon is so amazing. Multi Attack being buffed makes it one of the best Set-Up sweepers in the tier. I find the best ones to be Steel, Ghost, Fairy, and Dark.

Hitmonlee

I think this mons lowkey pretty good, being one of the only removers in the tier. LO Rapid Spin is a really good set for Hitmonlee rn, hitting extremely hard w reckless HJK while also providing good utility and being able to fit on a ton of builds.

Gigalith

By far the best Stealth Rocker in the current meta. Being able to control weather is an extremely valuable trait with all the sun and veil running around rn. Gigalith can also beat top meta threats like Sigilyph, Ninetales, and Salazzle with relative ease.

Salazzle

Boots augment Salazzle's power to a new height, removing its weakness to Stealth Rock and letting it switch in an unlimited amount of times (considering you haven't been knocked) is a huge game changer for this Pokemon. Nasty Plot Toxic Salazzle is most likely the most popular variant, but I've seen things like sub as well.

Jellicent

Jellicent is a really good check to most physical attackers in the tier like Passimian, while also being an amazing status spreader with reliable recovery in Recover / Strength Sap.
​

 

[Nogan]

Not as qualified to talk as some other posters here, but I'll echo a couple big threats I've seen around:

Salazzle is feeling a bit like this tier's Gengar in the sheer effective versatility it provides (though maybe less potent). Substitute, Encore, Disable, and Protect in any combination are super dirty with Toxic, and Flamethrower hits hard enough without investment. It also has Nasty Plot for some added surprise, and I'm sure it could run a Specs set to decent effect if one felt so inclined.

Sableye has been extremely potent for me with the lack of Dark and Fairy types running around, since it basically stonewalls every physical threat that isn't Pangoro or Silvally-Dark. The innate priority means it can hard switch into threats like the ubiquitous Passimian and completely neuter them before taking a second attack. It also nullifies the advantages of Sticky Webs, Trick Room, and Chlorophyll. Lastly, the ability to easily tank Dark type attacks cannot be understated, given how many physical mons are running Knock Off and the like to predict common checks like Jellicent. I've been running a physically bulky variant with Encore over Taunt to handle set up sweepers, and Knock Off as its attack to deal with walls, but there's some decent wiggle room there. I don't know why I don't see it much, but this mon has become a mainstay on all of my balance and stall teams.

Dhelmise is probably the strongest spinner in the tier.

 

[ItsxLegendz]

Introducing the most op mon in the RU tier-

Bewear @ Leftovers
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 248 HP / 220 Atk / 20 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Substitute
- Darkest Lariat

First off with one bulk up, plus lefties, it allows bewear to 1v1 many mons such as passimian, hitmonlee, and almost any physical attacker in the league.
Even against jellicent bewear wins at plus 1. The 20 speed ev's allow for bewear to outspeed jellicent for a 2HKO. Now obviusly special attacks hit bewear for big damage but if you can limit the special attackers of the oppent then bewear will sweep nearly every match. Between lefties and drain punch hitting like a truck bewear is able to sustain high hp to take on every physical attacker. I have been using him a TON recently and he does not get the credit he deserves in the Tier!

 

[HypnoEmpire]

Hitmontop (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Close Combat
- Rapid Spin
- Brutal Swing
- Bulk Up

I really wanted Hitmontop's defensive qualities with Intimidate but it has a tough time getting past Ghost-types without Technician boosted Brutal Swing, so I came up with this. If you Bulk Up when Dhelmise or Silvally-Ghost switch in and Bulk Up again on the following turn, you 2HKO both of them before they get the chance to kill you back. Bulk Up also threatens passive stuff that might not expect you to start setting up and helps a bit vs stuff like Rhydon that might try to stay in and hit you when you're at -1 from Close Combat. Defensive Hitmontop isn't great by any means (never tried Technician), but it isn't as terrible as I initially thought either. It definitely feels better than it did last gen, since stuff like Steelix and Gigalith can't just Toxic you on switch-in anymore. Speed investment lets you outpace Adamant max Speed Dhelmise and creeps Sandaconda.

calcs

+2 0 Atk Hitmontop Brutal Swing vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Dhelmise: 208-246 (60.4 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Dhelmise Power Whip vs. +2 252 HP / 252+ Def Hitmontop: 121-144 (39.8 - 47.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
--
+2 0 Atk Hitmontop Brutal Swing vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Silvally-Ghost: 172-204 (51.8 - 61.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Silvally-Ghost Multi-Attack vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ Def Hitmontop: 79-94 (25.9 - 30.9%) -- 4.7% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 252 Atk Silvally-Ghost Multi-Attack vs. +2 252 HP / 252+ Def Hitmontop: 118-139 (38.8 - 45.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Ninetales @ Life Orb
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Will-O-Wisp / Psyshock

Now onto an actually good Pokemon, Ninetales is an INSANE wallbreaker. Even some of our bulkiest offensive Pokemon get OHKOed by Fire Blast and almost none of our defensive Pokemon want to switch into this beast. Bulky Water-types like Vaporeon can barely take a +2 Solar Beam and Scald does hardly anything back because it's weakened by the Sun. Its Speed tier is also very nice for a wallbreaker. Hazards and Life Orb will wear down Ninetales very fast so you'll want a solid hazard remover with it. Alternatively, you can run Heavy-Duty Boots on it but you miss out on some KOs doing so. I think Ninetales works fine as is, but you can pair it with a Chlorophyll mon if you want something else to take advantage of the Sun. The best answers I've found to this are Gigalith, Snorlax and Goodra; while Gigalith and Snorlax are very solid answers to Ninetales, Goodra can't switch in more than a few times unless it has a lot of defensive investment or it's running AV. I guess you could use Trapinch if Gigalith is a big deal, but I prefer using stuff like SD Rhydon or even Hitmontop which also help with Snorlax. Wisp helps wear down Gigalith and makes it easier to switch into for teammates while Psyshock does a significant chunk to Goodra and gives you another move to hit Salazzle if it's running SubDisable I guess.

 

[Denial]

Since i wanted to join the discussion, i decided to take all the replays from R2 of my RU Alpha Tournament and see what the usage looks like.
Here's a list of all the used Pokèmon.

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Silvally           |   39 |  40.62% |  53.85% |
| 2    | Sigilyph           |   34 |  35.42% |  50.00% |
| 3    | Vileplume          |   32 |  33.33% |  50.00% |
| 4    | Vaporeon           |   24 |  25.00% |  45.83% |
| 5    | Gigalith           |   23 |  23.96% |  43.48% |
| 6    | Passimian          |   21 |  21.88% |  47.62% |
| 7    | Mudsdale           |   17 |  17.71% |  41.18% |
| 8    | Xatu               |   16 |  16.67% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Rillaboom          |   16 |  16.67% |  37.50% |
| 10   | Steelix            |   14 |  14.58% |  42.86% |
| 11   | Mr. Rime           |   13 |  13.54% |  53.85% |
| 12   | Ninetales          |   12 |  12.50% |  83.33% |
| 12   | Barbaracle         |   12 |  12.50% |  75.00% |
| 12   | Torkoal            |   12 |  12.50% |  66.67% |
| 12   | Pangoro            |   12 |  12.50% |  58.33% |
| 12   | Vanilluxe          |   12 |  12.50% |  58.33% |
| 12   | Indeedee-F         |   12 |  12.50% |  58.33% |
| 18   | Salazzle           |   11 |  11.46% |  63.64% |
| 18   | Gastrodon          |   11 |  11.46% |  54.55% |
| 18   | Rotom              |   11 |  11.46% |  27.27% |
| 21   | Galvantula         |   10 |  10.42% |  50.00% |
| 21   | Dhelmise           |   10 |  10.42% |  50.00% |
| 21   | Roserade           |   10 |  10.42% |  40.00% |
| 24   | Shiftry            |    9 |   9.38% |  77.78% |
| 24   | Rhydon             |    9 |   9.38% |  44.44% |
| 26   | Escavalier         |    8 |   8.33% |  62.50% |
| 26   | Bewear             |    8 |   8.33% |  62.50% |
| 26   | Goodra             |    8 |   8.33% |  37.50% |
| 29   | Cursola            |    7 |   7.29% |  71.43% |
| 29   | Flapple            |    7 |   7.29% |  71.43% |
| 31   | Rotom-Fan          |    6 |   6.25% |  83.33% |
| 31   | Froslass           |    6 |   6.25% |  66.67% |
| 31   | Togedemaru         |    6 |   6.25% |  33.33% |
| 34   | Mr. Mime-Galar     |    5 |   5.21% |  80.00% |
| 34   | Scrafty            |    5 |   5.21% |  40.00% |
| 34   | Snorlax            |    5 |   5.21% |  40.00% |
| 34   | Boltund            |    5 |   5.21% |  20.00% |
| 38   | Falinks            |    4 |   4.17% |  50.00% |
| 38   | Cinccino           |    4 |   4.17% |  50.00% |
| 38   | Runerigus          |    4 |   4.17% |  25.00% |
| 38   | Gurdurr            |    4 |   4.17% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Shuckle            |    3 |   3.12% |  66.67% |
| 42   | Whimsicott         |    3 |   3.12% |  66.67% |
| 42   | Alcremie-Mint      |    3 |   3.12% |  33.33% |
| 42   | Hitmontop          |    3 |   3.12% |  33.33% |
| 42   | Unfezant           |    3 |   3.12% |  33.33% |
| 42   | Garbodor           |    3 |   3.12% |  33.33% |
| 42   | Alcremie           |    3 |   3.12% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Quagsire           |    3 |   3.12% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Aromatisse         |    3 |   3.12% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Hitmonlee          |    3 |   3.12% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Jellicent          |    3 |   3.12% |   0.00% |
| 53   | Machamp            |    2 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 53   | Turtonator         |    2 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 53   | Drednaw            |    2 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 53   | Mantine            |    2 |   2.08% |  50.00% |
| 53   | Gallade            |    2 |   2.08% |  50.00% |
| 53   | Drifblim           |    2 |   2.08% |  50.00% |
| 53   | Haunter            |    2 |   2.08% |  50.00% |
| 53   | Manectric          |    2 |   2.08% |  50.00% |
| 53   | Beheeyem           |    2 |   2.08% |  50.00% |
| 53   | Qwilfish           |    2 |   2.08% |  50.00% |
| 53   | Mareanie           |    2 |   2.08% |  50.00% |
| 53   | Trapinch           |    2 |   2.08% |  50.00% |
| 53   | Rapidash-Galar     |    2 |   2.08% |  50.00% |
| 66   | Sableye            |    1 |   1.04% | 100.00% |
| 66   | Vullaby            |    1 |   1.04% | 100.00% |
| 66   | Jolteon            |    1 |   1.04% | 100.00% |
| 66   | Flareon            |    1 |   1.04% | 100.00% |
| 66   | Accelgor           |    1 |   1.04% | 100.00% |
| 66   | Leafeon            |    1 |   1.04% | 100.00% |
| 66   | Alcremie-Rubyswirl |    1 |   1.04% | 100.00% |
| 66   | Piloswine          |    1 |   1.04% | 100.00% |
| 66   | Alcremie-Salted    |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Greedent           |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Heatmor            |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Malamar            |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Thievul            |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Arctozolt          |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| -    | Gourgeist-*        |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Gourgeist          |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Toxicroak          |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Butterfree         |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Slurpuff           |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Alcremie-Rainbow   |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Lapras             |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Ferroseed          |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Hitmonchan         |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Skuntank           |    1 |   1.04% |   0.00% |

It was pretty obvious to everyone that and were top meta threats, but this made it even more clear.
Its also surprising how low and 's winrate is, and how has way more usage then . Both and also have insanely high win rate, so thats something you guys migth want to keep an eye on. Sun seems to be doing pretty ok for now, same for and . I dont really have anything to add rn, but i really like offensive and with head smash as a suicide setter.

If you guys are interested in looking at more stats, like what movepool most Pokèmon have been using or what are their common teammates, you can take a look here: Moves and Teammates, Combos, Leads.

 

[kizi221]

Cofagrigus (Cofagrigus) @ Leftovers
Ability: Mummy
Shiny: No
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball

Viable Wall Set

Pairs well with gigalith and it makes it a good check to hitmontop . it can set up trick room . will o wisp is always great for it as it cripples any physical mon it walls bisharp . be careful with how you use it but this thing and gigalith can create the great wall of ru . its checks are obvious but its a really good wall this gen and setup mon in general as a fun gimmick . this set is viable for any stall team that needs to cripple any physical mon or any left over reliant weather weak wall's . its a unique mon to use this is the only viable set I have found so far

 

[Setendo]

Cofagrigus (Cofagrigus) @ Leftovers
Ability: Mummy
Shiny: No
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball

Viable Wall Set

Pairs well with gigalith and it makes it a good check to hitmontop . it can set up trick room . will o wisp is always great for it as it cripples any physical mon it walls bisharp . be careful with how you use it but this thing and gigalith can create the great wall of ru . its checks are obvious but its a really good wall this gen and setup mon in general as a fun gimmick . this set is viable for any stall team that needs to cripple any physical mon or any left over reliant weather weak wall's . its a unique mon to use this is the only viable set I have found so far

I feel like Toxic Spikes/Body Press might be the better option instead of Trick Room for that set (outside of a Trick Room team, of course). Since you're investing only in its defenses, I can't imagine you're trying to sweep with this set. Toxic Spikes would make for better team support, though there are a plethora of good Poison-types int he tier. Body Press would make really good use of that defensive investment, plus Ghost+Fighting coverage is pretty good.