GenOne
DOU main. GMT-7. PS!: GenOne
I can be persuaded to change this list later, but my mind goes here for the top 10 titans:
#1 Rillaboom
I believe Rillaboom takes the #1 spot this gen for the same reason Tapu Fini did in SM DOU; terrain wars are again a dominant aspect of SS DOU and this time it's Rillaboom who has been the dominant setter. Read the nom post (link above) for the full list of reasons why Rillaboom is good, but basically it role compresses terrain setting with excellent fake out/pivot utility, non-negligible offenses, and omnipresent strong priority attacks. Rillaboom's longevity as a top tier pick spans 2/3 of Generation 8 and continues to be one of three Tier 1 threats in the modern metagame, so it holds the #1 spot without too much recency bias I feel.
Grassy Terrain being the "default" terrain in the metagame has a few big implications that make SS DOU play much differently than its predecessors. For example:
#2 Indeedee-F
If I could list all the Psychic Terrain mons here I would, but Indeedee-F is arguably the longest-serving, most utilitarian and most consistently influential cornerstone to Psyspam teams. And given again how important terrain is to SS DOU, I (somewhat controversially?) believe Indeedee-F is the #2 most important influencer to Gen 8.
Basically, Indeedee-F is the yang to Rillaboom's ying; if you want a team that shuts down all the Fake Out spam and strong priority attacking that RIllaboom enables, you run Psychic Terrain instead. But above and beyond just setting Psychic Terrain, Indeedee-F also introduced some interesting utility value that hasn't been seen in the terrain wars of SM DOU:
#3 Melmetal
I reluctantly put Melmetal this high on the list because I don't understand how this stat stick didn't get QB'd from day 1. Alas, it was a centralizing staple on many teams for a few months during the IOA metagame and for the short-ish period of time it was around, it had a massive impact that can't be denied.
#4 Mew
Mew's toolkit expanded even more in SS DOU and Mew has always found useful niches to fill in every metagame it has been part of. During IOA it was the cornerstone to hazard stacking (toxic spikes + stealth rock and sometimes regular spikes). In modern SS DOU it can do everything from healing allies to snarling and wisping foes to cripple them, to being an all out Psyspam Meteor Beam attacker if it wants. And all the more "classic" mew roles like setting Tailwind and being a convenient source of Ice Beam still apply. It's one of the most unpredictable threats at team preview and has a number of unique roles that are part of SS DOU's dna.
#5 Urshifu-S
If I could put both Urshifus in one slot I would, but Urshifu-S walked in IOA so Urshifu-R could run in Crown Tundra, basically. Bypassing Protect isn't an entirely new niche for those who remember Hoopa-Unbound in previous gens, but Urshifu does so with much better speed, offenses and typing - not to mention the ability to bypass Intimidate with critical hits. Urshifu-S's Dark/Fighting typing provided it nearly unresisted coverage (bar Fairy-types) and basically this Pokemon warped the metagame into hyper-offense vs hyper-offense. It was ultimately banned, but the metagame-shaping mechanic of ignoring Protect to pin targets lived on in Titan #6...
#6 Urshifu-R
...same shtick as above, slightly "worse" (not broken) typing which is still very good on the right team. During the Kartana era, "crackhead offense" FWG cores of Urshifu, Kartana and Heatran popped off immensely, and modern Psyspam builds that aren't woke enough to use Pheramosa benefit immensely from Urshifu-R's offensive potential. Protect continues to have a direct counter thanks to Urshifu-R, and that is a fairly significant influence on the SS DOU metagame. Likewise, Intimidate is slightly less reliable as a result of this mon.
#7 Gothitelle
Trapping has always been powerful, or broken, depending on who you ask. But Gothitelle gained further utility in Fake Out in SS DOU, as well as powerful new allies like Urshifu-S which really contributed to a period of IOA where hyper-offensive "pin and click funny button" strats dominated. Goth isn't higher on my list because it really only influenced IOA and was QB'd in Crown Tundra.
#8 Kartana
Fast Tailwind, possibly the strongest physical attacker to exist thanks to Grassy Terrain, and much like Urshifu it could bypass Intimidate with a crit STAB (albeit only with 50% reliability in Kart's case). Kartana was an influential cornerstone during Crown Tundra's "crackhead offense" era, but was "replaced" by Landorus-I after Kartana's ban.
#9 Incineroar
Incineroar was the #2 titan of SM DOU and is even slightly better in SS DOU thanks to nice access to Parting Shot. Its main role as the tier's preferred Intimidate user is uncontested, but Rillaboom's presense encroached on a lot of the Fake Out/U-turn utility that used to be proprietary to Incineroar, so Incineroar is much less impactful this generation. It still yeeted Arcanine off of the VR though so that's pretty neat.
#10 Kyurem-B
The largest stat stick you can legally use in DOU now gets to make much better use of it's sky-high Attack Stat thanks to newly-gained access to Icicle Sprear and Dragon Dance. This makes what was already a very splashable mon with multiple viable sets even harder to predict at team preview. At times there were discussions that maybe Kyurem-B was too strong and banworthy, although it ultimately remains in the tier. Kyurem-B is the epitome of a modern SS DOU offensive setup wincon, and it can also bluff or assume many other viable roles ranging from defensive AV to Life Orb attacker or even Choice Scarf. Kyurem-B takes the last but not least #10 spot on my list of Titans because, although influential and one of SS DOU's three Tier 1 threats, it was around for a shorter amount of time than higher-ranked titans and hasn't warped the overall metagame as profoundly.
#1 Rillaboom
I believe Rillaboom takes the #1 spot this gen for the same reason Tapu Fini did in SM DOU; terrain wars are again a dominant aspect of SS DOU and this time it's Rillaboom who has been the dominant setter. Read the nom post (link above) for the full list of reasons why Rillaboom is good, but basically it role compresses terrain setting with excellent fake out/pivot utility, non-negligible offenses, and omnipresent strong priority attacks. Rillaboom's longevity as a top tier pick spans 2/3 of Generation 8 and continues to be one of three Tier 1 threats in the modern metagame, so it holds the #1 spot without too much recency bias I feel.
Grassy Terrain being the "default" terrain in the metagame has a few big implications that make SS DOU play much differently than its predecessors. For example:
- Status moves like Will-o-wisp and Toxic are once again more viable without Misty Terrain being so common
- Setup wincons ranging from DD Kyurem-B to Iron Defense Metagross and "Demon Mew" can forgo or double-down on Leftovers thanks to reliable passive recovery from Grassy Terrain
- Strong priority attacks in Rillaboom's Grassy Glide are an omnipresent threat comparable to what Gale Wings Talonflame was capable of in XY DOU
#2 Indeedee-F
If I could list all the Psychic Terrain mons here I would, but Indeedee-F is arguably the longest-serving, most utilitarian and most consistently influential cornerstone to Psyspam teams. And given again how important terrain is to SS DOU, I (somewhat controversially?) believe Indeedee-F is the #2 most important influencer to Gen 8.
Basically, Indeedee-F is the yang to Rillaboom's ying; if you want a team that shuts down all the Fake Out spam and strong priority attacking that RIllaboom enables, you run Psychic Terrain instead. But above and beyond just setting Psychic Terrain, Indeedee-F also introduced some interesting utility value that hasn't been seen in the terrain wars of SM DOU:
- Compressing priority blockage in Psychic Terrain with redirection utility in Follow Me was a huge boon to "fullroom" Trick builds
- Indeedee's Normal typing allows it to redirect and nullify Ghost-type attacks away from its partner Expanding Force attacker
- Even outside of Psyspam strats, Indeedee-F also just provides excellent support utility to setup wincons as well as just strengthening Urshifu's board positioning to be able to pin and KO a target
- And once again, the domanance of Grassy/Psychic terrain over Misty and Electric Terrain reinforces the viability of status moves like Will-o-wisp that weren't viable in Gen 7.
#3 Melmetal
I reluctantly put Melmetal this high on the list because I don't understand how this stat stick didn't get QB'd from day 1. Alas, it was a centralizing staple on many teams for a few months during the IOA metagame and for the short-ish period of time it was around, it had a massive impact that can't be denied.
#4 Mew
Mew's toolkit expanded even more in SS DOU and Mew has always found useful niches to fill in every metagame it has been part of. During IOA it was the cornerstone to hazard stacking (toxic spikes + stealth rock and sometimes regular spikes). In modern SS DOU it can do everything from healing allies to snarling and wisping foes to cripple them, to being an all out Psyspam Meteor Beam attacker if it wants. And all the more "classic" mew roles like setting Tailwind and being a convenient source of Ice Beam still apply. It's one of the most unpredictable threats at team preview and has a number of unique roles that are part of SS DOU's dna.
#5 Urshifu-S
If I could put both Urshifus in one slot I would, but Urshifu-S walked in IOA so Urshifu-R could run in Crown Tundra, basically. Bypassing Protect isn't an entirely new niche for those who remember Hoopa-Unbound in previous gens, but Urshifu does so with much better speed, offenses and typing - not to mention the ability to bypass Intimidate with critical hits. Urshifu-S's Dark/Fighting typing provided it nearly unresisted coverage (bar Fairy-types) and basically this Pokemon warped the metagame into hyper-offense vs hyper-offense. It was ultimately banned, but the metagame-shaping mechanic of ignoring Protect to pin targets lived on in Titan #6...
#6 Urshifu-R
...same shtick as above, slightly "worse" (not broken) typing which is still very good on the right team. During the Kartana era, "crackhead offense" FWG cores of Urshifu, Kartana and Heatran popped off immensely, and modern Psyspam builds that aren't woke enough to use Pheramosa benefit immensely from Urshifu-R's offensive potential. Protect continues to have a direct counter thanks to Urshifu-R, and that is a fairly significant influence on the SS DOU metagame. Likewise, Intimidate is slightly less reliable as a result of this mon.
#7 Gothitelle
Trapping has always been powerful, or broken, depending on who you ask. But Gothitelle gained further utility in Fake Out in SS DOU, as well as powerful new allies like Urshifu-S which really contributed to a period of IOA where hyper-offensive "pin and click funny button" strats dominated. Goth isn't higher on my list because it really only influenced IOA and was QB'd in Crown Tundra.
#8 Kartana
Fast Tailwind, possibly the strongest physical attacker to exist thanks to Grassy Terrain, and much like Urshifu it could bypass Intimidate with a crit STAB (albeit only with 50% reliability in Kart's case). Kartana was an influential cornerstone during Crown Tundra's "crackhead offense" era, but was "replaced" by Landorus-I after Kartana's ban.
#9 Incineroar
Incineroar was the #2 titan of SM DOU and is even slightly better in SS DOU thanks to nice access to Parting Shot. Its main role as the tier's preferred Intimidate user is uncontested, but Rillaboom's presense encroached on a lot of the Fake Out/U-turn utility that used to be proprietary to Incineroar, so Incineroar is much less impactful this generation. It still yeeted Arcanine off of the VR though so that's pretty neat.
#10 Kyurem-B
The largest stat stick you can legally use in DOU now gets to make much better use of it's sky-high Attack Stat thanks to newly-gained access to Icicle Sprear and Dragon Dance. This makes what was already a very splashable mon with multiple viable sets even harder to predict at team preview. At times there were discussions that maybe Kyurem-B was too strong and banworthy, although it ultimately remains in the tier. Kyurem-B is the epitome of a modern SS DOU offensive setup wincon, and it can also bluff or assume many other viable roles ranging from defensive AV to Life Orb attacker or even Choice Scarf. Kyurem-B takes the last but not least #10 spot on my list of Titans because, although influential and one of SS DOU's three Tier 1 threats, it was around for a shorter amount of time than higher-ranked titans and hasn't warped the overall metagame as profoundly.
- Weezing-Galarian (not nommed) - this one's for you Paraplegic. I don't think it's a top 10 titan but your post in the OP explains very well why it had an influence for a time.
- Necrozma - arguably the true face of Psyspam and a worth nom, but I believe the viability of a good terrain setter like Indeedee has a bigger impact on the overall metagame. If Necrozma dissapears other Expanding Force users could take its place, but Indeedee-F introduces new role compression that is unique to SS DOU.
- Tapu Lele (not nommed) - the offensive counterpart to Indeedee-F. The viability gap between Lele and Indeedee-F is fairly small and depends on team needs, but Indeedee-F was influential for longer and brought more new tools role compression to the metagame so Lele didn't make the cut.
- Lando-I - a very menacing breaker in the current metagame. Its worthy of its nom, but for me its sort of just hyper-offense's sloppy seconds after Kartana was banned, so I'm not sure it warps the meta too much other than altering the overall viability of Pokemon based on what's good/bad into Lando-I's STAB and coverage.
- Charizard - deserving of its nom based on strong impact in Dynamax meta and IOA. Unfortunately my list tended to give a slight bias to Pokemon that crossed multiple eras of SS DOU but stayed relevant in Crown Tundra, and to my sadness Charizard is not the viable monofire staple I loved in SM DOU.
- Dragapult - also deserving of its nom for its strong influence in Dynamax era, and is still plenty viable if a bit of a "middle-of-the-pack" threat in modern SS DOU.
- Tapu Fini - still plenty viable, but Rillaboom's omipresense stops Tapu Fini from enforcing Misty Terrain as the dominant terrain field of choice this gen.
- Diancie- shoutouts to the brief period of time where Diamond Storm was borked and so was Diancie. Nowadays its just one of many wonderful and viable TR setters -nothing super unique or meta defining.
- Zeraora- overshadowed by Rillaboom and Incineroar. obviously has uniquely good traits but not enough to be a titan imo
- Togekiss + Blastoise (not nommed) + Amoonguss- all good redirectors in their own right, got new tools/niches in Gen 8 and arguably redirectors have gotten better and more diverse since Gen 7. For me Indeedee-F overshadowed the other redirectors bc also a prominent terrain wars component of the metagame.
- Arcanine (not nommed)- was the premiere Intimidate mon before we got better ones, and was also usable as a Justified recipient during Dynamax meta.
- Whimsicott (not nommed)- new Tailwind mechanics in Gen 8 made ladder's favourite mascot better and somewhat menacing on the right competitive team.
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