Project Top 10 Titans of Generation 8 OM Metagames

[iapt]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Tapu fini has been a strong regenerator pivot and was an excellent user of poison heal when it was legal. its solid bulk, typing, and wide utility movepool made it a good jack of all trades to have on your team. it lasted through the era of zygarde and naganadel, making its way onto a couple sample teams. its prowess at checking weavile made it an excellent choice for the many months where weavile was a dominant force in the tier. while it has fallen off a bit more recently, it is still something that has had an undeniable impact on aaa

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Tapu fini had 2 primary sets that it used, being Poison Heal and Regenerator.
Poison Heal sets gave it excellent longevity even without any recovery moves of its own, often paired with protect to gain even more recovery, while also scouting potentially choiced attackers. This passive recovery combined with great typing and solid bulk made it something that teams needed to have something to deal with it.
Regenerator sets acted as excellent defensive pivots that could stay healthy throughout a game, being able to check pokemon like weavile. regenerator became more popular after the poison heal ban and offered more utility than poison heal sets oftentimes, acting a defogger, item removal, or even a trick user on Choice Scarf variants.


What caused it to have a significant impact?

Its great defensive utility, as a result of its typing, abilities (Poison Heal and Regenerator), and its bulk made it relevant. Its unique typing that gave it great resistances made it a better option as a bulky water compared to others like Slowbro and Milotic. it was a premier weavile check, something that was sought after on many teams, and did more when it was not faced with a weavile compared to other weav checks like cobalion. its wide range of utility moves it brought to the table made it an excellent choice on plenty of teams.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?

The best way to deal with fini was to beat it with Grass- and Electric-types. Grasses like Zarude, Dhelmise, and Tapu Bulu could all threaten fini with a super effective priority move, forcing it out easily. Some of these grasses could be choiced and scouted easily by Protect Poison Heal variants, something that needed to be taken into account. Electrics like Tapu Koko and Zapdos could threaten it with a powerful STAB move, and were not usually troubled on whether it was regenerator or poison heal, since neither is commonly choiced.

 

[The Dragon Master]

Mew

 

[tzaur]

reserving blacephalon

 

[tzaur]

What effect did Blacephalon have on the metagame?

Crown Tundra re-introduced Blacephalon after its brief exclusion from the initial SwSh Pokédex and became a force to be reckoned with until its ban. Blace is a speedy Ghost-type with relatively min-maxed base stats with heavy emphasis to its Speed and Special Attack stat, so unsurprisingly it was a Ghost-type glass cannon that threatened to do lots of damage or outright eliminate something every time it switched in. A well-played Blace was capable of consistently picking apart pretty much any defensive core, and even when matched against teams with more resilient anti-Blace answers, it had access to moves such as Knock Off, Trick, Taunt, and Toxic to deal with those, too. While Blace does have a terrible defense stat, it was easy to equally underestimate its special bulk; however, Blace was capable of living some relatively strong special attacks from full such as Hurricane/Thunder from Timid Primordial Sea Zapdos, Thunderbolt from MGLO Koko, Scald from uninvested Fini, or anything from Modest SFLO Lele lacking Psychic coverage (Tbolt was a roll in Blace’s favour).

Blacephalon forced pretty much every team to have at least one or more of: a RegenVester, something that resisted both STABs, a blob, or a Fire-type immunity such as Flash Fire or Primordial Sea (which was usually insufficient by itself unless it also resisted its Ghost STAB).

In what main roles was Blacephalon used?

Blacephalon was a special breaker that could synchronously function as a sweeper with its access to Calm Mind. Blace could viably run four abilities: Magic Guard + LO/choice item, Sheer Force + LO, Adaptability + Specs, Desolate Land + choice item. MGLO was the main set used among players and the primarily the set that got it banned. MGLO allowed it to abuse Mind Blown, a 150 BP Fire-type move, with impunity which covered most Ghost resists trying to sponge Shadow Ball. SFLO was another less-widely used but very threatening set ran on Blace. It often ran STABs in two slots and could run anything in the last two—usually Calm Mind and Substitute. Adapt/Desoland + Specs was even less commonly used than MGLO and SFLO, but they were still around. These two actually had the best immediate damage output, but they were also more vulnerable to well-prepped teams and weren’t quite as good at brute forcing their way past their usual checks as MGLO and SFLO.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Many things. First off, Fire + Ghost is an excellent type combination that hit almost everything in the AAA VR at the time neutrally or super-effectively. Ghost alone only gets resisted by Dark and Normal, and Fire covers both—so that meant players would have to get creative by either forcing their Ghost resist to also resist Fire, finding a mon that naturally resisted both of its STABs which were all otherwise fringe at best (Incin, TTar, SpD Hydreigon, Drampa), or running a random RegenVester that resisted at least one of its STABs.

Magic Guard + LO (MGLO) did NOT give a single shit about any form of passive damage. You couldn’t wear it down with Toxic; in fact, it actually preferred to get badly poisoned since not only it takes 0 damage from it but also doesn’t have to worry about paralysis foiling its initiative. You couldn’t wear it down with hazards, so it had a pretty easy time coming in; you could usually pair it with a pivot/Regen sponge, and it was all set. The properties of Magic Guard allowed Blace to stick around in longer matches constantly threatening to force progress. As mentioned, Magic Guard removes the recoil from Mind Blown, so it therefore had a no-drawback 150 BP STAB that it can abuse with impunity with the only flaw being low PP--this was paired with another STAB move with a typing that already covers 15 out of 17 of the individual type matchups. Moreover, people ran moves such as Knock Off, Taunt, Toxic, Trick (on MG + Scarf/Specs), Substitute, and Calm Mind which allowed it to force progress against pretty much any defensive core if played well and brute force through some of its harder checks.

Sheer Force + LO (SFLO) trades the defensive utility MG provides and the no-drawback 150 BP Fire STAB for some extra power on its Ghost STAB. It required more team support than MGLO such as Knock users to remove the AVs if Blace itself didn’t run it and more resilient hazard control such as double Defog or Defog + Bounce. A well-supported SFLO set tore fat teams to shreds especially SubMind and SubToxic; while MGLO also did so, SFLO (in my experience) did it with less effort.

Here are some Blace sets outlined by Codename C.A.T with some extra details that I may have missed (please ignore that last set, LMAO).

How did you deal with Blacephalon in AAA?

• 
  - Regenerator + AV (RegenVest). Preferably one that resisted at least one of Blace's STABs. These could generally come in, sponge an attack from Blace and either threaten a KO in return or pivot to an faster offensive check that forced it out. Blace could easily exploit this, however, because Blace also gets access to Knock Off. RegenVesters cease to be reliable Blace answers once they lose their item since Shadow Ball/Fire STAB will just suffocate Regen.
• 
  
  
  - Pokémon that naturally resisted both of Blace's STABs. Along with the Fire-immune Ghost resists/immunities, these were the best possible answers to Blace. Bonus points if Regen(Vest), because unlike other RegenVesters, these being answers aren't contingent on their item being intact. These could always reliably come in on Blace as long as they were above around 50-ish% and threaten a KO in return. These only were aggravated by Toxic and hazards to some extent. Problem was that these were very fringe otherwise, and people primarily ran them to deal with Blace.
• 
  
  
  - Flash Fire/Primordial Sea Ghost resists/immunities. The text above pretty much applies to these, too. Best possible Blace answers. Could threaten a KO in return. Untouched by Mind Blown. Tickled by Shadow Ball. These were only really aggravated by Toxic (which Zarude could shrug off) and Trick on choiced variants. But people obviously used Fire immune abilities on Dark/Normal-types specifically to beat Blace as evidenced by the type + ability combinations fading into obscurity following its ban.
• 
  
  
  - Faster offensive checks. Mons such as Barraskewda, Azelf, Zydog, Latios, Terrakion, random Scarfs and more all outran Blace and could threaten to KO it; however, none of these could come in on its STABs, so they'd usually have to be paired with a RegenVest slow pivot to reliably pressure it.
• 
  
  - Blobs. Blissey and Chansey were mostly tickled by Blace's attacks, especially if Regen, due to fantastic special bulk + being a Ghost immunity. These were somewhat flimsy, however. Neither threatened to do anything to Blace in return besides paralyse it unless they had Shadow Ball (lol). Chansey hated getting its item knocked. Both hated Taunt if they weren't Magic Bounce and lacked Shadow Ball. Neither could do anything if Blace hid behind a Sub and the blobs lacked Shadow Ball; they were forced to Teleport to a faster pivot that could break its sub such as Skewda or Koko. Both hated getting tricked.

 

[Codename C.A.T]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Weavile defined an era of AAA. It singlehandedly warped all defensive cores to have one of its checks(physically defensive Regenerator Tapu Fini or Cobalion), or run several backup checks(Intimidate Corviknight and Ice neutral scarfers). Its banded Technician set had absolutely monstrous damage calculations, and often was the offensive threat that a team was required to prep for.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Weavile had two main sets that it used to great effect: the CB Technician set, and the Swords Dance MGLO set. Technician was the most defining of the two, as every single team needed to be prepared for it. Whether it was Triple Axel or Knock Off, if something came in, it would probably be getting 2HKO'd. The two checks this set had, physically defensive Tapu Fini and Cobalion, were bait for Weavile's coverage options in Poison Jab and Low Kick. Even Beat Up was sometimes seen on these sets, and abused the good attack stats of its teammates to do higher damage.

SD MGLO was less effective and more balanced overall, but it was what truly pushed Weavile over the edge to many. Preparing for Technician was already a difficult task, and that Weavile you thought was banded just set up a Swords Dance and killed everything. The end result is that there was no safe Weavile switch in with the exception of Colbur Berry Dauntless Shield Mew or Chople Berry Cobalion.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

The short answer is, read above. The long answer is that you can't truly beat Weavile without hyperspecific checks. Most teams settled with Fini or Cobalion as their Weavile check, and that could be overwhelmed or just killed with coverage. If you didn't have one of those two, it could end the game from team preview.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?

There were a few notable ways to deal with Weavile. Often it came down to one of these:
Tapu Fini was the most easily splashable check to Weavile, as it could regenerate off the damage done by Triple Axel. However, this forced it into running a physically defensive spread, or else it couldn't check Technician.
Cobalion was the second popular check. It was significantly sturdier against Weavile than Tapu Fini, and had the notable advantage of threatening OHKOs and Volt Switch. However, outside the Weavile matchup, it was quite mediocre.
/ + This core was the sturdiest way to handle Weavile, specifically with the Corviknight being Intimidate. If Weavile clicked Poison Jab or Low Kick, Corviknight was easily safe. If Weavile clicked Triple Axel or Knock Off, one of the two listed above could easily sponge the hit.

 

[The Dragon Master]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Mew is one of the most splashable defensive mons in current AAA, using its insane versatility to check seemingly anything it's team needs it to check. It is one of metagames best physical walls, being able to check a variety of physical attackers like Garchomp and Terrakion with its dauntless shield set. Magic Bounce trades some of its physical walling prowess to block hazards from threats like Ferrothorn and Garchomp. It is also an effective speed control option with choice scarf, a set well known for its wierd move choices, capable of revenge Killing the likes of Talonflame and Tapu Lele depending on its set. And then we have demon mew, which is quite an effective matchup fish that can end games on the spot, and its still a mew so it has plenty of other utility too. It can also run Offensive sets like dragon dance, who have great surprise factor but are generally less consistent than its bulky sets. In past metagames, especially in the post home meta (after dragapult ban), it was even better, as the limited Dex made Offensive sets more viable and defensive sets more valuable. It continued its excellence into the DLC 1 metagame as well.


In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Throughout its tenure in AAA, mew has mostly been used as a defensive Pokemon, with physically defensive sets like dauntless shield being its bread and butter sets. Daunt mew has been one of AAAs premiere physical walls, using its decent typing and fantastic movepool to check threats like Terrakion, Garchomp, and Zygarde. Magic Bounce has also been seen, due to its ability to block hazards effectively. Regen scarf is another set that has popped up recently due to its ability to soft check and revenge kill a huge portion of the metagame depending on its moveset. Demon mew (cosmic power with either MGLO psychic or magic bounce stored power) is a good wincon, as it can win games on the spot if counters don't show up/are removed.


What caused it to have a significant impact?

Mews success can largely be attributed to its insane movepool, and great stat spread. It also has a passable typing that gives it important neutralities and resistances to the likes of Ground and Fighting. The combination of these made mew one of the most splashable physically defensive Pokemon in AAA throughout its existence.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?

Since mew was primarily seen as a defensive mon, swapping into it is usually fairly simple, using a regen pivot or a generally fat mon like the blobs is usually fine, though regenscarf complicates this cuz it can trick. On the Offensive end of the spectrum status is often a good way of breaking through it. luring it in with something like Garchomp and then toxicing/glaring it (if zydog) pressures it significantly. Dark types like Zarude, and when it was free, weavile could also easily break it. Ghost types like Dragapult, blacephalon, and Gengar also could break or take advantage of it.

Offensive sets could be tricky to check, due to it having literally every Coverage move possible. However, playing around it with regen pivots and intimidate, if physical can generally work. Special sets can similarly be checked with the likes of blanket special checks like blobs and regen stuff.

 

[UT]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Zeraora was so good it got banned twice. In the post-Home meta, it was the top offensive threat, with insane speed, coverage, and power. Plasma Fists was obviously its primary STAB move, but Play Rough (Dragons), Grass Knot (Grounds), Knock Off (generally annoying), and Close Combat (also generally annoying) gave it insane coverage to bypass would-be Electric checks. Grass Knot, despite being special, still had the quirk of being contact, allowing Tough Claws to boost all of its normal moves. Since Zeraora had the coverage to bypass standard Electric checks, teams were often forced to run Volt Absorb to be able to reliably switch into it. It also had the highest base Speed of relevant pokemon, meaning it was difficult to force out without a scarfer. Oh, and it also pivots, that's fun. It was banned by suspect.

Then, after the DLCs, it was freed to see if it was balanced with the new mons. It was not, and was banned again. Oops.


In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Fast attacker that goes brrrrr with strong coverage and STAB.


What caused it to have a significant impact?

Fast, coverage, going brrrrr

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?

Volt Absorb was the best way, as most stuff that could switch into Plasma Fist naturally was weak to a coverage move. Regen Lando also seems like it would have worked.

 

[Ducky]

(Note that I did not really play when Dragapult was free, this is based off of stuff I read on the forums / from watching some replays) (also someone tell me if this is too short)


What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Dragapult was one of the best wallbreakers before it was banned, it had multiple sets, making it so some checks to one set were then beaten by another set Dragpult chose to run. Its amazing speed tier and powerful STAB Shadow Ball made it very difficult to check offensively.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Dragapult was used as a wallbreaker It had multiple sets including Sheer Force, Queenly Majesty, Technician, and Dragon’s Maw, with each set needing to be played around differently, making playing against Dragapult before its set was revealed incredibly difficult.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Dragpult’s speed tier allowed it to outspeed other top tier breakers in Weavile and Noivern, as well as the entire unboosted metagame except Zeraora.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?

In reality, you sometimes couldn’t. Dealing with Dragapult consisted of hoping that they didn’t bring the set that beat your team or by bringing a Scarfer and hoping that you could surprise Dragapult. Between its different sets, Dragapult could 2HKO a large amount of Pokemon, making it insanely hard to deal with unless you were lucky enough to load into the set that you prepared for.

 

[UT]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Snorlax was the best Poison Heal user. Thanks to broken Facade, great bulk, access to set up, and few weaknesses, Snorlax was the poster child of the Poison Heal meta.


In what main roles was Pokemon used?

It used Poison Heal.


What caused it to have a significant impact?

Poison Heal was high-key broken, and it had tremendous recovery.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?

Would you believe we ran Worry Seed Ferrothorn, and thought that was healthy? Cause we ran Worry Seed Ferrothorn, and thought that was healthy.

 

[UT]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

By now, you might have noticed a trend (Zeraora, Dragapult, Weavile, Noivern), really fast Pokemon tend to be really good in AAA. Especially after Zeraora and Pult were yeeted, Broko took up the mantle of fast and versatile offensive mon. Broko serves as speed control for many teams, acting as the second-fastest mon, and also being a pivot. It thrives by drawing in its checks and counters and pivoting on them, exerting a lot of pressure with very little counterplay. Fairy/Electric has very good coverage in AAA, as most of our Fairy resists (except for Ferrothorn) don't like taking repeated STAB Electric attacks. Most balance teams need to pack a switch-in to it plus a revenge killer; it is very hard to consistently deal with Broko without outspeeding it or using priority, as otherwise it pivots for daaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyys.


In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Broko's most generic set is Magic Guard Life Orb, which is a neat encapsulation of its skills. It has solid STAB moves with good coverage, pivoting, recovery, immunity to hazards, and a free Life Orb. But that's not all! Broko can run a wide range of other sets, including being our best dual screen setter with Magic Bounce, an offensive check to Fires with Primordial Sea, a powerful pivot with Adaptability and Choice Specs, a setup wincon with Calm Mind (bonus points if running Iron Defense and Levitate too), and everyone's favorite set, Pixilate.


What caused it to have a significant impact?

Speed + Versatility. It is very good at sticking around and causing havoc long term, and difficult to punish directly. It can also whip out crazy techs to catch you off guard.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?

There are a few consistent answers to Broko. Regenerator Ferrothorn, and to a lesser extent Heatran, switch into all of its sets very well Iron Defense is not real and can usually win the war of attrition. It also struggles with Volt Absorb users, especially Corviknight, although even then Taunt + Nature's Madness can throw a wrench in Corv's plans. Special catch-alls like Blissey and AV Swampert can reliably handle all but the Pixilate sets, as Broko doesn't have a tremendous amount of raw power. But none of these answers stop Broko from pivoting on them, which is the really annoying part...

 

[hayedenn]

(im kinda including chansey in this as well but blissey was more widely used)

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?
Blissey effectively centralized the entire special-attacker metagame around itself. If you were using a special attacker, you HAD to have a plan for Blissey. It wasn't a recommendation, it was a necessity. Special attackers were warped around how well they made progress vs Blissey (and Chansey) and if you couldn't at least PRESSURE it, you weren't that good. Stuff like SFLO Tapu Lele become prominent in part because of how effectively they made progress vs Blissey, and it was in part what led to innovations such as MGLO Volcanion and Modest PrimSea Inteleon.


In what main roles was Pokemon used?
Per their nickname, as a blob. Really. Blissey, specifically Regenerator, sets, switched into special attackers, shrugged it off, and Teleported out. It was that simple. Sets like Bounce prevented it (mostly) from getting trapped and blocked hazards while sets like Magic Guard let it switch into attacks such as Steam Eruption from Volcanion without fear of burn. There were the rarer Mold Breaker sets that gave it free Rocks + Status as well. But, across all sets, Blissey had one role and that was to just sponge any special attack it could.


What caused it to have a significant impact?
It was the best special wall, period. There wasn't really anything stopping you (even now) from using Blissey on every team, it was that good. It was the most consistent special wall, doing something almost every match bar versus HO, and it had the movepool to become anything you wanted it to be. It had recovery, pivoting ability, status moves, good attacking moves (Toss/Fire Blast/Shadow Ball), and hazards if you wanted them. It could be a cleric, beat special setup sweepers 1v1 with Confide. Blissey did it all, and it was fantastic at it.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?
You can smack Blissey with any physical attack to deal with it, the issue was more getting yourself in position to where your opponent had to sack Blissey. Since it got Teleport this gen, Blissey was almost always switching in and off the field in order to get the user momentum, especially when paired with Regenerator. Non-Regen sets were moderately easy to wear down, but it required you to play fairly perfectly to where the Blissey took chip and was forced to switch out. Special Pivots such as Koko/Zapdos were fairly good at doing this, but it also required good prediction to get it to happen. Mold Breaker Heatran was another option, preventing Blissey from switching out and wearing it down with Taunt/Toxic.

 

[hayedenn]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?
When I first started playing AAA around this time last year (I think?) there was one breaker on everyone's mind (bar Blace and Weavile lol) and that was Tapu Lele. For at least a half year span around then it seemed, much of the breaker metagame revolved around SFLO Tapu Lele. It was crazy, and it still is. Lele in part, after Weavile was banned, was what led to the rise in Chansey's usage and the centralization of Regenerator Steel-types seeming mandatory on every team (see: Chople SpDef Ferrothorn, Chople Tran, Scarf Gene/Jirachi, Vest Jirachi). There are a lot of mons you can skate by in AAA not having great checks for, but Lele was never one of them. The amount of times I sent Isaiah a team and he responded with "yeah this is cool but have you considered having a Lele check" was far too many to me not include it here.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?
SFLO was by far the most prominent set, but there were quite a few good ones. SFLO was a fantastic wallbreaker, capable of threatening all teams, from preview to being sent on the field. Triage was another great set, being a threatening sweeper and great progress-maker against Blissey. Tinted w/ Taunt was one of my favorites towards the end of this gen, working around the RegenSteel meta and also making progress against blobs. There were also the more rare Adapt sets which I don't think were very good but that still existed.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
The short answer is that it hit like a truck. Unless you had a dedicated counter (Jirachi), Lele had the ability to claim one Pokemon on your team every time it switched in. Not only that, but it disguised its set fairly decently depending on your team comp. While most people could predict Triage Lele would be on an HO team, that wasn't guaranteed to be true. On balance teams, Lele could really be any of its three good sets, and you weren't able to find out until you switched your Gene in and took over half your health from SFLO Focus Blast or Tinted Moonblast or they clicked CM.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?
Really there were two answers to Lele that were consistent. First, Regenerator Steel-types. Defensive ones such as Chople Tran/Ferro were solid until they clicked Focus Blast once and then you were a bit screwed. RegenScarf Jirachi/Genesect were very consistent, but still got bodied by Tinted. RegenVest Jirachi was the best check by far, but lacked in other areas and could be easily exploited by pairing Lele with a Wandering Spirit user such as Corviknight, a common combo.

 

[Codename C.A.T]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?

The first time I played AAA seriously, it was around May last year. Archeops just got banned, and I saw one Pokemon in the builder that interested me: Garchomp. Ever since it was introduced with the Crown Tundra, Garchomp has been a consistent meta defining threat, and has yet to miss a beat. From its early days before the Poison Heal ban to its current Regenerator spamming antics, its been an icon of AAA.

In what main roles was Garchomp used?

Though its ability has always been changing, two things have stayed consistent with Garchomp: it loves longevity, and it loves Swords Dance. Currently, it runs a Regenerator SD Life Orb set as its main appeal. The plan is simple: SD up, spam Earthquake, switch out when you've taken heavy chip or are threatened out by something else. Because of how excellent Ground/Dragon is coverage wise, very little actually wants to tank those +2 EQs, making it hard to stop chomp once it gets going.

However, Garchomp is not just a wallbreaker. It can also function very well as a special tank, thanks to the great defensive abilities it gains access to. Reliably setting up rocks(or as close to reliably as you can get) is immensely helpful, and it doesn't struggle to stick around during the game. Even without investment, its Earthquakes can sting. It can even run a RegenVest set and ditch rocks entirely, letting it eat special moves for days.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

The reason Garchomp is so good is that it has really, really strong stats. It's bulky, fast, and hits like a truck. On top of all the tools it has, nothing can do what it does as good as it can. Combine that with a great variety of moves, an astonishing offensive and defensive profile, and the ability to have any ability you want, it just makes sense that Garchomp would be incredible.

How do you deal with Garchomp in AAA?

Steel/Flying completely sits on all standard offensive and defensive Garchomp sets. While they aren't able to hit back very hard, they stop it from making any progress at all.
Strong fairies such as all 4 Tapus make for excellent chomp checks. They can tank hits and dish out huge damage in return, whether it be via Horn Leech or Draining Kiss or Moonblast or Pixilate Facade.
Physically defensive Mew can put a stop to most Garchomps, as it just Ice Beams and Will-o-wisps it for free.

 

[Osake]

What effect did Archeops have on the metagame?

Archeops in AAA is the fantasm of every Pokemon player; you're finally able to get rid of their meme Ability to use this fast and powerful Pokemon with recoil-free Head Smash, and that's basically what Archeops was doing in AAA: spamming Head Smash. But it also has access to powerful utility moves in U-turn, Switcheroo, Dual Wingbeat (free Brave Bird) and a decent Special Attack allowing it to use moves like Heat Wave to pass specific checks like Cobalion. A team without a Rock-resist was unviable, and even then, Archeops had tools to chip you down with coverage, hazards, or just the absurd power of Head Smash, in conjunction with its great Speed of 110 helped by the fact that Choice Scarf was a totally viable set.

In what main roles was Archeops used?

Head Smash + Magic Guard is a famous combo in AAA, but Pokemon that can use Head Smash are usually too slow, among other flaws (for example, Drednaw or Tyrantrum). Archeops mastered this combo, and paired it with utility moves that the others don't have, notably U-turn. The main set was MGLO, which allowed you to freely switch moves and catch Steel-types such as Cobalion and Ferrothorn with Heat Wave after a Head Smash for example, but Choice Band and Choice Scarf, with Switcheroo, were totally viable sets that could rid of stuff like Dauntless Shield Hippowdon once you tricked it.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Well as I said earlier, Head Smash + fast + utility moves was the broken kit of Archeops, and this alone was probably enough to get it banned. What really pushed it out of the line was Heat Wave and Switcheroo, that were able to pass through specific switch-ins such as Cobalion, Ferrothorn, and Hippowdon, without hindering Archeops' utility since you only need Head Smash to be strong. But on top of this, Archeops was also immune to hazard damage and Toxic and could eventually run Roost, Taunt, and Stealth Rock to make it even more flexible in its utility. You knew what Archeops was gonna do when you were facing it, aka spamming Head Smash, but you couldn't know how it was gonna destroy you. With Taunt, Heat Wave, Switcheroo? That was the surprise. But you still needed an answer to Head Smash or it was just destroying you.

How do/did you deal with this Archeops in AAA?

Head Smash miss was probably the best solution (coupled with low PP). As I said earlier, all the switch-ins could be beaten one way or the other. Swampert was probably the closest thing to a safe switch-in, but Head Smash + U-turn was doing at least 50%, and potentially with hazards up, which means you had to heal your Swampert several times in the game. Garchomp could do a similar job, but only PH was used at the time which makes it harder to heal, and using PhysDef Chomp was really suboptimal. Offensive counterplay + Swampert/Chomp was probably the best way to deal with it, so if it's Scarf Archeops it doesn't do too much damage and you can prevent it from coming too often with Barraskewda/Tapu Koko/Weavile etc.

Funny thing is that Archeops' ban happened very late in the gen for such a broken mon on paper, way after the others like Buzzwole/Zygarde/Zeraora, etc, like it's only been a year, but no one is asking for a re-suspect/deban (unlike other things like Gengar) because everyone knows this shit was broken lol. It's sad, bc it's the only meta where Archeops was ever good :c

 

[Osake]

What effect did Heatran have on the metagame?

Heatran is that Pokemon everyone knows, that can fit in every team and that you have to prep against, but yet that can make progress against your team because of how good it is. Arguably the best Stealth Rock setter of the metagame, it also features other useful tools with its powerful Magma Storm, weather control with Desolate Land, and good progress maker with Taunt and Toxic

In what main roles was Heatran used?

Heatran historically had two main sets, Desolate Land and Mold Breaker (or w/e Turboblaze shit you like), which were both really good at making progress. Desolate Land offers Weather control, forcing 50/50 against Barraskewda, does absurd damage with Magma Storm, and unless you're Blissey you can't have Magic Bounce and take Magma Storm so it either takes a kill or guarantee that Stealth Rock are up, while Mold Breaker bypass Magic Bounce and Flash Fire and does virtually infinite progress. But you have a lot of sets around it, with a surprise effect since you're often expecting MB or DL; some take advantage of Heatran's bulk/resists, like Levitate or Bulletproof, while some are used to destroy middle grounds, like Steel Beam Magic Guard and Specs Eruption. Diversity is also part of Heatran's strength!

What caused it to have a significant impact?

It's super hard to totally counter Heatran, because Desolate Land beats Mold Breaker checks and vice versa. But on the other hand, Heatran is relying on a move with 75% of accuracy, is slow, has no heal, no movepool to hit important Pokemon like Garchomp, and cannot run all its moves and abilities in one set, which kept it balanced. It has always been a top tier, because it has great bulk, great Attack Special, strong niche picks (Specs Eruption, Magic Guard Life Orb), and Heatran will always be useful in your team, but thanks to evident flaws, it's always manageable for the opposite team even with a bad match-up.

How do/did you deal with this Heatran in AAA?

Various ways exist, but keep in mind that all of them can be beaten by a specific set of Heatran:
is an easy one, it can comfortably take a Magma Storm and proceed to up Stealth Rock, or click Earthquake/Swords Dance. It doesn't appreciate Will-O-Wisp variants, Magma + Toxic + Protect that can wear it down pretty quickly, and it loses to Levitate Heatran although that's niche.
is both the best and the worst Heatran answer. Everyone believes it can counter it until you realise Heatran is carrying Taunt, potentially with Mold Breaker, and even Body Press + Iron Defense sometimes, and you lose your Blissey. But you can counter all the sets that aren't relying on Taunt.
Primordial Sea/Flash Fire: Primordial Sea beats Mold Breaker and can come on Desolate Land, but if Heatran is able to win the weather battle and it's your only answer well you lose a Pokemon, while Flash Fire beats Desolate Land in all cases. Multiple Pokemon can be used, notably Zapdos and Corviknight, while the first one fears Toxic.

Other ways exist, like Swampert since most of the Heatran are dropping Solar Beam nowadays, Magic Guard mons that are resisting Magma Storm (Latias, Moltres) but you still take a lot of damages and you have to be careful of Taunt, but at the end of the day, Heatran will do its things, either putting Stealth Rock or wearing down your team with Magma Storm, and you'll never be able to completely stop it, which makes it so strong.

 

[hayedenn]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?
After Weavile and Blacephalon were banned, Kommo-o was arguably one of the most centralizing aspects of the AAA metagame. What made it particularly interesting though was that it wasn't used a ton. It's defensive sets were perfectly fine for the meta, but its offensive sets were incredibly difficult to prep for. However, as we saw in OMPL, it wasn't used a ton. It was an interesting cross between it seeming omnipresent in the builder but without the usage to reflect it. I think what sent Kommo-o over the edge was that it forced you to run suboptimal sets on balance/bulky offense that you otherwise wouldn't be running. If you had the right prep for Kommo-o, it wasn't going to do anything in a game. But the checks you used for it (Unaware Mandi/Chansey, Prank Pex, etc) weren't great into opposing balance. Thus, it put you in this bind where you could overprep for opposing BO/Balance and get great matchups into it, but doing that gave you an autoloss vs Kommo-o, and vice versa.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?
Kommo-o had four sets that were each moderately common. On the offensive side, it could be both a threatening Unburden sweeper, with Belly Drum, Drain Punch, and then your choice of Thunder Punch, Earthquake, and X-Scissor for coverage. It could also run a mixed set with Dragon Dance or Clangorous Soul paired with Galvanize Boomburst. Defensively it ran Dauntless Shield or Regenerator with Rocks, Body Press, and then Flamethrower/Dragon Tail/Toxic/Iron Defense.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
Kommo-o's main issue was that its offensive sets were incredibly hard to check, and checking both of its sets on the same team was difficult without reusing the same defensive cores over and over again. This was particularly an issue in tour play, where you could be more easily punished for reusing repetitive defensive cores. It's Unburden sets made Prankster or Unaware necessary on any bulky offense you built (unless ur The Number Man and have no fear) while its Galvanize sets made Koko seemingly mandatory.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?
I'll cover its offensive sets in this section as it's defensive sets were very easy to prep for with any bouncer or physical wall.
vs Galvanize
Tapu Koko beat any Galvanize set I ever saw. It resisted Boomburst, was immune to Clanging Scales, and ate CC/Flamethrower
Volt Absorb mons dealt with most Galvanize sets. Corviknight didn't love +1 CC or Flamethrower but could hit back hard with Brave Bird. Volt Absorb Toxapex dealt with Galvanize very well regardless of moves

vs Unburden
Unaware Chansey/Mandibuzz ate any move (unless you're Osake) and could threaten back with Foul Play, Toxic, or Counter
Prankster Toxapex just Hazed away any of Kommo-o's boosts and eliminated any progress it could have made, forcing it out

vs All
Triage was the easiest way of dealing with offensive Kommo-o. While Galvanize could still bust holes in opposing teams, its setup opportunities were limited due to being threatened with Triage Draining Kiss

 

[UT]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Corviknight has been a defensive staple throughout the generation. One of our few Defoggers, it has almost everything you want in a defensive Pokemon: great typing, solid bulk, reliable recovery, and slow pivoting. One of the first questions every offensive core has to answer is, how does it bypass Corv? Corv has had several different iterations, alternating between physically and specially defensive as the metagame requires, and its solid all-around typing and bulk lets it run multiple abilities credibly. Slow pivoting is also extremely valuable in this iteration of AAA, and so is being able to do so without taking a Regenerator slot. Hazard setters need to have a plan to beat it, wallbreakers need a plan to beat it, and many teams rely on it to shore up a defensive weakness and get their own wallbreakers in.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?
Corviknight has mostly been a Defogger and slow pivot that does not take a Regen slot. This makes it extremely valuable on BO and balance teams, as it offers great role compression and provides entry points for the wallbreakers. Its ability allows it to choose what to check, from Intimidate to Volt Absorb to Magic Bounce to Unaware. It also can run Bulk Up sets to operate as a bulky wincon.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
Corviknight has been one of the biggest impacts on the shape of the meta; the best wallbreakers have always had a way to get around Corviknight. Since it is one of the few Defoggers, let alone also having reliable recovery and pivoting, it will always have a place in the metagame.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?

Fire types do be broken. More seriously, physical Fire-types like Talonflame and Cinderace have a leg up on physically defensive Corviknight thanks to their type advantage. Similarly, Zapdos and Tapu Broko can bypass it; all of this assumes, however, not loading into the wrong immunity Corv.

Corviknight has also shaped the entry hazard game. Heatran and Swords Dance Garchomp are great Stealth Rock setters due to their ability to pressure Corviknight and actually get hazards up.

Often, the best way to handle Corviknight is to overload it. Since it does not run Regenerator, it is vulnerable to being overloaded by phyiscally offensive pivots like Barraskewda and Zarude; it also barely hangs on against top breakers like Terrakion and Galarian Zapdos, and cannot afford any chip damage to still beat them.

 

[UT]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?
Victini broke walls. All of them. You're bulky? Here's Desolate Land V-create. You resist Fire? Here's Tinted V-create. You're bulky and resist Fire? Oops, it was Sheer Force and you just ate a Bolt Strike. You wanted to wear it down passively? Oh right, it has the bulk to run Regenerator and Magic Guard. Victini warped the metagame by having extremely limited defensive counterplay. Also it has U-turn cause why not?

In what main roles was Pokemon used?
Lots of breaking sets, with some defensive utility on Regenerator sets ig. But mostly, it picked its checks, and even then it was a limited number of checks.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
V-create tbh. It's very hard to handle a 180 BP STAB move, especially one that has 5+ viable abilities to run with it. As if that wasn't enough, it also got coverage moves like Bolt Strike and Grass Knot.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?
It did have a few checks, like physically defensive Primordial Sea Zapdos and Flash Fire Pokemon that were not weak to Electric, that could switch into it consistently. There was also the fabled "offensive pressure" to try and keep it off the field, as it was relatively slow and had a so-so defensive typing, but the bulk was not negligible. But obviously, it was not enough, and it was banned by council.

 

[UT]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?
Talonflame is, was, and ever shall be the titan of Sword and Shield AAA. It truly has it all, speed, power, longevity, utility, and amazing typing. While its base 81 Attack may seem underwhelming, boosted by twin 120 BP STAB moves and a free Life Orb, its power was nothing to be trifled with. An underrated aspect of its offensive ability is that it had 48 BP of high powered STAB moves; good luck stalling that out. And even if you could, without Haze or Unaware, it could Swords Dance its way right past you. Magic Guard afforded it tremendous longevity, especially with Roost, and Fire/Flying is an oddly good defensive typing including that also resists all relevant Triage moves and Grassy Glide. Talonflame also possesses an amazing array of utility moves, including Taunt, U-turn, Toxic, and Will-O-Wisp. With Rock types few and far between, teams have to rely on Fire immunity abilities to reliably switch into both STAB moves. It is the sole reason Primordial Sea Zapdos, an otherwise thoroughly underwhelming mon, is even used. Tremble before the Smogonbird.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?
Talonflame is mainly a bulky attacker that wears down and outlasts the opposing team. Magic Guard and Roost give it nearly unparalleled longevity, especially in conjunction with its six resistances and one immunity. From there, it fires off powerful Brave Birds and Flare Blitzes until everything in front of it is a smoldering ruin. Thanks to its power and longevity, it fits well on everything from stall to balance to bulky offense. Without a way to reliably pressure it, every time Talonflame comes it, it furthers its quest to wear down and crumble the opposing defensive core. It can aloso force out a wide range of common offensive threats like Zarude and Lele and Terrakion, serving as powerful speed control.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
It never died, and the things in front of it tended to die. Since most games are won by KOing the other team before your own, this made it a valuable asset.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?
Quite simply, you don't. The best you can do beat its teammates faster than it beats you, and hope that you can win the 1v1 at the end, which you probably can't. To be honest, the only reason Talonflame isn't banned is the AAA tier leader is horrificially corrupt and will not take action against it.

 

[Jrdn]

What effect did Swampert have on the metagame?
With the introduction of Flip Turn, Swampert was able to set up rocks or pivot away with momentum as easily as any mon in the tier. An incredible typing let it be either an incredible physical or special wall depending on team need. Offensively, STAB Earthquake was able to punish many of the common Desolate Land users, which made Flip Turn on Swampert that much better than with other users. As a physical wall, Swampert was able to be just about the only switch for Archeops in that time, while also being capable of pivoting into Terrak and other scary threats. With AV, suddenly Pert is able to be an answer to things like Blacephalon, Tapu Koko, Zapdos, and Volcarona, all while being able to grab momentum.

In what main roles was Swampert used?
The most significant role I'd describe Swampert in would be the 'Regenerator'. Rarely using any other ability, Swampert was probably the most successful user of Regenerator, being able to live for egregious amounts of time, either successfully bringing in scary threats with a slow Flip Turn or setting up rocks. A Stealth Rocker is another main role Swampert was probably the best at over the course of Gen 8 AAA. Incredible STAB moves and good stats across the board allowed Swampert to force out certain mons, giving opportunities for it's best options, i.e. Pivots or Rocks.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
When it comes to being the Most Influential Pokemon in a meta, I personally believe that the best ability is availability and Swampert has been present in the meta without being close to at risk for suspects or quickbans. This is because it's not an overwhelming pokemon, but instead is an incredibly splashable pokemon that does its roles as good as any mon in the entire tier. If OMs used usage based tier changes Swampert would be in that echelon of bannable pokemon due to how easy it is to use. This is why I think Swampert is one of the most influential pokemon.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?
So the tough part of dealing with this pokemon is its amazing typing. Having only one weakness means it can be paired with some amazing partners. E.g., Corviknight covers grass types and can pivot out along with rounding out the rocks/defog roles. So I think the best way to deal with this pokemon, and we've seen this in tournaments, is using flying types with water immune abilities, or Wandering Spirit/Mummy due to the reliance on Regen. AV sets with rockslide narrow that list since they can use Rock Slide pretty easily.

Water Absorb Lando-T was used with Sub + set up that allows you to punish teams without dedicated answers to something like this.
Mummy/Wandering Spirit with Rocky Helmet puts a lot more pressure on pivoting team with Swampert.
The amount of Deso-Land grass types that are viable are very slim, but Growth + Wball + Solar Beam + Synth antics gives Venusaur a niche use case that stops Swampert from getting free pivoting.

 

[UT]

What effect did Gengar have on the metagame?
Ghosts do be broken. More specifically, Gengar was a terror with several different sets with radically different counterplay. Very little other than Blissey and Chansey could withstand its attacks, and even those could falter to status or Nasty Plot. It was no slough against offense either, as it's good Speed tier allowed it to outpace and force out several common offensive mons like Terrakion and the base 100s. Defensive cores were hard pressed to handle all of Gengar's sets at once, and usually had to have separate sets to handle No Guard, Sheer Force, and Triage all at once. It heavily warped defenisve cores before getting yeeting for being a ghost type being broken.

In what main roles was Gengar used?
Gengar had two main sets to be afraid of: No Guard and Sheer Force. Between Hypnosis (AAA still had Sleep Clause Mod at the time) and Zap Cannon, No Guard Gengar could incapacitate its normal checks with status, and further take advantage of full powered Hex against them. It also provided invaluable team support by slowing down the other team for wallbreaking teammates. While this was scary enough in its own right, Gen8 blessed Gengar with Nasty Plot, taking its Sheer Force sets to a whole new level. +2 Sheer Force Life Orb Focus Blast could do some really dumb things, like OHKO Blissey. It also still had its normal support moves like Sub and Wisp, and of course still had broken Ghost STAB moves to fall back on. Lastly, it also had an infamous Triage set, which used Giga Drain to surprise and KO normal checks like Barraskewda, Tapu Koko, and even Swampert.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
When it comes to being a titan of AAA, being a Ghost type helps. It’s impact largely came from having multiple viable sets with very different counters, a good Speed tier, strong Special Attack, a plethora of support moves, and broken Ghost STAB moves. Even Gengar’s strongest counters were on Zap Cannon para or untimely Substitute away from falling to it.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?
Prayer, mostly. No Guard sets were checked decently well by bulky Grounds, once Sleep Clause was in effect at least. But again, non-Ground checks ran the risk of eating Zap Cannon, and Hypnosis was always a threat unless you felt really sure switching in your Magic Bouncer. Unaware Blobs could sit in front of Sheer Force sets, but unless they were Unaware they couldn’t handle Nasty Plot, and if Gengar packed Sub, that sucked for them. It could be revenge killed by faster threats like Barraskewda and Tapu Koko, so long as it wasn’t Triage. You’re probably noticing the checks to these sets aren’t really overlapping, which is why the final way to deal with it was banning it.

 

[avyrie]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Terrakion is the definition of a clicker Pokemon, with two powerful STABs in Close Combat and Stone Edge boosted by Adaptability and Choice Band. It OHKOs every offensive threat and 2HKOs any walls that isn't dedicated to checking it. With so few Pokemon that resists both of Terrak's STABs, many teams resorted to using a resist to one type, and a midground Pokemon that can deal with the other: For example, Regen Kommo-o can switch into Stone Edge, but if Terrak predicts you and uses CC, you can go hard Chandelure and start attacking. But in this role compression-heavy metagame, you don't want to rely on multiple Pokemon to check one, and so Regen Scarf appeared largely because of Terrak. Namely, Mew, Fini, and Lando-T can switch into any attack and OHKO back, or cripple it with a burn. It is the most reliable counterplay aside from hard counters like DShield Mew and Doublade, which are by no means bad; they have surged in popularity on fatter teams that might not have a Regen Scarfer to revenge kill Terrak. While this is nothing centralizing in the builder, you MUST have a resist to both of Terrak's types, and even then it largely comes down to 50/50s in battle, as Regen midgrounds will eventually get worn down if you get multiple wrong 50/50s.

fun facts:
Terrakion received a suspect in February 2022 but was ultimately not banned. It's also the only banned mon from SM AAA to be allowed in the current metagame. It's also the sole reason why shitmon Palossand was ranked B on the VR, and assmon Claydol was even ranked at all.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Terrakion was obviously used as the main wallbreaker of a team, but also served as a Stealth Rock user, and it does a good job of getting them up with all the switches it forces.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

AAA is an incredibly pivot-heavy meta, which means Terrakion can often fit on balance teams with lots of (slow) pivot users, so it is able to get a lot of free turns with help from teammates such as Corviknight and Blissey. It doesn't exactly synergize well with a specific Pokemon and doesn't even have strong defensive utility, but this is also why it benefits so greatly from the general pivoting playstyle. If you win the pivot war and get Terrakion in a good position, it is almost guaranteed to make good progress on the opponent. It is so powerful that UT had to rely on spamming specifically CorvBlissPert + Terrakion teams to become tier leader

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in AAA?

As mentioned above, most balance/offense teams use midground Regen Pokemon to scout Terrakion's move, then either attack or go to another teammate that can better check the scouted move; On fatter teams, hard counters exist; On hyper offense teams, you simply deny entry via offensive pressure, as Terrakion cannot switch to many attacks and its speed tier is not the greatest. Chople Berry is also used as a one-time switchin to CC. Lastly, Protect users, mainly Heatran, but also all the Poison Heal users back in the day, are able to scout Terrakion freely and make prediction much easier.

Offensive midgrounds: , , , ,
Defensive midgrounds: ,

Hard counters: Dauntless Shield , Regenerator , Dauntless Shield ,

Protect users: ; (, , , )

 

[in the hills]

Thanks for all of the submissions! It's time for voting! Let's get the ball rolling with our #1 Titan!

Options

Archeops
Blacephalon
Blissey
Corviknight
Dragapult
Garchomp
Genesect
Gengar
Heatran
Kommo-o
Mew
Noivern
Snorlax
Swampert
Talonflame
Tapu Fini
Tapu Koko
Tapu Lele
Terrakion
Victini
Weavile
Zeraora

 

[in the hills]

Zeraora

 

[Grim_Blazer]

I voted mew idk what you’re talking about