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Hey everyone, welcome to the Regulation H metagame discussion thread! Regulation H was revealed earlier today, but is not implemented on Showdown yet. This format will officially start on September 1st and will end January 5th. This thread should primarily include discussion about Regulation H, take discussions about other formats elsewhere. Regulation H legalizes all Non-Mythical, Non-Legendary, and Non-ParadoxPokemon and is an unrestricted format. the ruleset can be found here.
The following Pokemon are Banned.
(BB)
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Palafin is back! It's an excellent option now that Urshifu-R is gone. Palafin seems great on balance teams paired with Incineroar and Amoonguss, some of the premier support Pokemon in this format. They cover for eachothers weaknesses well, and they all have great pivoting synergy with eachother (Amoonguss gains HP by pivoting, Incineroar Intimidates, Parting Shots, and regains Fake Out pressure, and Palafin activates its Hero Forme). Rillaboom can be used instead of Amoonguss on this core, offering a higher damage output, Grassy Terrain healing, and another Pokemon with both Fake Out pressure and a pivoting move.
Farigiraf and Ursaluna-Bloodmoon also looks like a fantastic combo this Regulation. These 2 Pokemon are already great in Regulation G, a format with a much higher power level. Ursaluna-Bloodmoon is able to nuke Pokemon thanks to Tera Normal Bloodmoon, while Farigiraf supports it with Armor Tail, blocking moves such as Grassy Glide, Fake Out, and Jet Punch, offering Helping Hand support, boosting Ursaluna-Bloodmoon's damage to astronomical levels, and most importanly, setting up Trick Room allowing Ursaluna-Bloodmoon to sweep. This duo seems strong on various tail-room and semi-room teams paired with redirection support and Fake Out support. Amoonguss looks like a strong check into this duo, as it is able to Spore Ursaluna-Bloodmoon in Trick Room before it attacks. Uproar Farigiraf with Safety Goggles is a cool tech into Amoonguss, but only time will tell if this tech will see play.
Steel-types seem great in this Regulation, especially Archaludon, Kingambit, and Gholdengo. Alongside having one of the highest Base Stat totals of any Pokemon in Regulation H, Archaludon has access to a great signature move, Electro Shot, allowing you to setup while dealing massive damage to opponents, and a great ability in stamina, increasing Archaludon's already high Defense stat whenever hit with an attack, while also increasing the damage of Body Press. Pelipper will be a fantastic partner for Archaludon, allowing it to use Electro Shot in one turn. Kingambit is a good choice, having the ability to set up Swords Dance and sweep the opposing team, while not being susceptible to Intimidate thanks to Defiant, and having the excellent priority move Sucker Punch. Common item choices for Kingambit are Black Glasses and Safety Goggles, while Lum Berry can be a cool tech giving you a one time immunity to either Will-o-Wisp from Incineroar or Spore From Amoonguss. Assault Vest can be utilized well on Trick Room teams, giving you the option to use Low Kick alongside Sucker Punch, Kowtow Kleave, and Iron Head, threatening Pokemon such as Incineroar and Ursaluna-Bloodmoon. Gholdengo also looks great this format, having the ability to freely setup with Nasty Plot while ignoring moves such as Fake Out and Spore. but the Choice Specs set on Gholdengo seems really interesting this format; In conjunction with Tera Steel and Tailwind, it's a great nuke, having the ability to spam Powerful Make It Rain's and Steel Beam to OHKO Pokemon such as Farigiraf.
Speaking of Tailwind, with Tornadus gone, what will be the premier Tailwind setter? Whimsicott seems like the strongest choice so far, having access to strong supportive tools such as Encore, Taunt, Sunny Day, Cotton Spore, Fake Tears, Charm, and more, having great synergy with it's ability Prankster, giving it priority on all of these moves. Talonflame is another nice Tailwind setter, having access to priority Brave Bird thanks to Gale Wings, and helpful tools such as Quick Guard and Feint, the former helping its teammate against priority moves, most notably Fake Out, while the latter makes Pokemon with Protect and Wide Guard think twice about clicking those moves. Murkrow is a niche option, enabling Pokemon such as Palafin and Archaludon with Rain Dance. Volbeat is a not great, but very funny option. It has access to Prankster Tailwind, Tail Glow, and Baton Pass, enabling its Special partners, making them massive threats.
I'm going to wrap up my yap session by talking about a playstyle that seems very powerful in this Regulation; Screens. Aurora Veil From Alolan-Ninetales and Light Screen and Reflect from Grimmsnarl specifically support the plethora of set up Pokemon in this format excellently. They both offer great Speed Control with Icy Wind and Thunder Wave respectively, while having access to consistent forms of damage with Moonblast, Blizzard, Foul Play, and Spirit Break. Alolan-Ninetales specifically gets so much better now that Tornadus is gone and cannot disrupt it by changing the weather, preventing Aurora Veil from going up. Some Pokemon that work nicely on this archytype are Gholdengo, Kingambit, Baxcalibur, Annihilape, Kommo-o, and many more.
Kingambit will be one of, if not the best Pokemon in this meta. With no prevalent Fighting-types such as Iron Hands and Urshifu-R around, it becomes a lot easier for Kingambit to set up and sweep. Not to mention, Incineroar and potentially Harcanine are most likely going to be popular, giving Kingambit use out of Defiant. I could see it struggling with Archalduon, but honestly not much else.
Basculegion is going to be a amazing option for Rain teams, with super powerful Ghost-type STABs pretty much nuking a lot such as Hatterene and Annihilape. Palafin will most likely be the better general Water-type, but Basculegion feels better on those hard Rain teams. PALANCE COMEBACK. I feel it is a bit unfair to mention Water-types without mentioning Tauros-Aqua. This Pokemon feels super nice, even into Kingambit.
A Pokemon I've personally really enjoyed so far is Sylveon. this Pokemon I think would work on BO teams, hitting super hard. I've been trying a Throat Spray set with Helping Hand Farigiraf and Fake Out support with Rillaboom and Incineroar. It does struggle a lot with the resurgence of Steel-types such as Archaludon, Kingambit, and Gholdengo. It isn't that much of an issue, because you can activate Hyper Voice by going Tera Fire and using Hyper Voice on a Steel-type attack, then you can press Tera Blast.
Finally, I think that Ursaluna-B is going to be really good. It felt like a second restricted, hits super hard, and works under Tailwind or Trick Room. I don't have much else to say since I haven't used it yet, but I'll try to update you guys.
I think there’s a lot of potential for new compositions as the last format that had this style was Regulation A. Since then, we’ve added two DLCs and Pokémon Home. There’s a lot of new things you can do with weather, Tailwind, no Urshifu means Protect feels a lot safer, Dragon types aren’t mostly invalidated anymore because Flutter isn’t legal, and most interesting of all will be the many events where we will get to see what Reg H is all about.
I feel like there’s a couple Pokémon that could make huge returns. Baxcalibur for example, feels like a very strong Pokémon pick in this format because with Ninetales-Alola carrying snow and Aurora Veil. Baxcalibur can be very safe under those conditions. Tyranitar and Excadrill also seem like two Pokemon that can really do well against sand teams with their very nice tools that can take advantage of sand, such as Sand Rush Rock Slide spam.
Incineroar , Amoonguss , and Palafin seems like a potentially powerful core thats already starting to be explored in Reg H. They all take advantage of switching, which is especially important for Palafin. Some of these compositions have added Pelipper to further boost Palafin’s damage output. While some others have opted for Rillaboom over Amoonguss for more damage and Grassy Terrain.
I think Trick Room generally will be at a pretty big level of usage in this format. Farigiraf and Ursaluna Bloodmoon are two Pokemon that with Amoonguss can form a very powerful Trick Room core. Rage Powder + Trick Room. Safe option. Psyspam Hard TR will also see heaps of usage with Hatterene , Indeedee-F , Armarouge , Ursaluna , and Torkoal all being good candidates for carrying this archetype that many players fear.
A couple of other Pokemon could see a rise in usage as well, Annihilape with its bulk and large offense can be either a powerful Choice Scarf Final Gambit mon, or a setup sweeper with Bulk Up and Rage Fist. A lot of those Annihilape set up teams will also probably have Maushold it’s old partner in crime.
In terms of Tailwind, theres plenty of options without Torn being around. Whimsicott , Talonflame , and even Murkrow are very popular Tailwind setters from what I’ve seen so far. And lots of Pokemon, including Meowscarada and Palafin can benefit from Tailwind to outspeed opposing teams and sweep them.
So yeah, these are my early thoughts on Regulation H, I’ll probably start posting more once I see more of this format.
I think there’s a lot of potential for new compositions as the last format that had this style was Regulation A. Since then, we’ve added two DLCs and Pokémon Home. There’s a lot of new things you can do with weather, Tailwind, no Urshifu means Protect feels a lot safer, Dragon types aren’t mostly invalidated anymore because Flutter isn’t legal, and most interesting of all will be the many events where we will get to see what Reg H is all about.
I feel like there’s a couple Pokémon that could make huge returns. Baxcalibur for example, feels like a very strong Pokémon pick in this format because with Ninetales-Alola carrying snow and Aurora Veil. Baxcalibur can be very safe under those conditions. Tyranitar and Excadrill also seem like two Pokemon that can really do well against sand teams with their very nice tools that can take advantage of sand, such as Sand Rush Rock Slide spam.
Incineroar , Amoonguss , and Palafin seems like a potentially powerful core thats already starting to be explored in Reg H. They all take advantage of switching, which is especially important for Palafin. Some of these compositions have added Pelipper to further boost Palafin’s damage output. While some others have opted for Rillaboom over Amoonguss for more damage and Grassy Terrain.
I think Trick Room generally will be at a pretty big level of usage in this format. Farigiraf and Ursaluna Bloodmoon are two Pokemon that with Amoonguss can form a very powerful Trick Room core. Rage Powder + Trick Room. Safe option. Psyspam Hard TR will also see heaps of usage with Hatterene , Indeedee-F , Armarouge , Ursaluna , and Torkoal all being good candidates for carrying this archetype that many players fear.
A couple of other Pokemon could see a rise in usage as well, Annihilape with its bulk and large offense can be either a powerful Choice Scarf Final Gambit mon, or a setup sweeper with Bulk Up and Rage Fist. A lot of those Annihilape set up teams will also probably have Maushold it’s old partner in crime.
In terms of Tailwind, theres plenty of options without Torn being around. Whimsicott , Talonflame , and even Murkrow are very popular Tailwind setters from what I’ve seen so far. And lots of Pokemon, including Meowscarada and Palafin can benefit from Tailwind to outspeed opposing teams and sweep them.
So yeah, these are my early thoughts on Regulation H, I’ll probably start posting more once I see more of this format.
I actually don't think Baxcalibur is going to be great this format. It'll certainly be good, but with all the Steel-types running around like Kingambit, Gholdengo, and Archaludon, it'll definitely be a struggle. Especially right now with Rain teams and Torkoal on Sunroom/Psyspam teams, the Snow option becomes a bit less unviable, as well as Sand. Sand teams will also struggle with Dozogiri and Palance.
While I'm on the rant, I'd like to mention how big Psyspam is right now. I've been testing with just 5 Pokemon and managed to go undefeated for about 10 matches on a alt (the five being Indeedee-F, Torkoal, Hatterene, Amoonguss, and Ursaluna). Definitely more of a CTS Bo1 early meta kinda thing, but every team should have something to handle it, like Rillaboom+Incineroar or some kind of Trick Room reversion.
Hey! Giving my thoughts on this format, I have certainly noticed that balance is the dominant play style, incineroar amoonguss/rillaboom and then a water type like palafin basculegion or primarina seems extremely strong and is also 90% of what I have ran into on ladder thus far. With that said, I would like to say that I think palafin is not as good as it seems to be. I feel like basculegion is on the whole better, with much stronger pressure early on in the game with wave crash and stuff whilst still maintaining the late game pressure that palafin has by using last respects. The typing being different may hinder basculegion slightly but there aren't that many strong dark types outside of kingambit and the best ghost type is gholdengo (who is absolutely monstrous in this format) which is easily OHKOD by something like last respects or adaptability wave crash.
Now, I want to talk about the goat himself, corviknight. This Pokémon is miles stronger than it has been in any other regulation in my opinion. I would rank corviknight as the 2nd or 3rd best tailwind setter after whimsicott and talonflame. This is primarily because of it's quite frankly insane bulk which allows it to tank basically every single strong hit in the format. It easily takes tera water adaptability wave crash from basculegion and with a tera type like grass it can absolutely destroy the common balance core of incineroar amoonguss palafin by setting up with bulk up and then spamming brave bird until the cows come home. It is also made significantly stronger by the lack of many strong special attackers and there being essentially 0 electric types or fire types that can touch it. If you name an attack, corviknight probably lives it and then can set tailwind or bulk up or just send a brave bird into something. This also means that it can set off multiple tailwinds which is incredible in a format that is as slow and balance centred as this one. It is a little vulnerable to being burnt by incineroar but if it is paired with a fast taunt Pokémon like your own fast taunt incin it can really flourish and honestly, in my opinion it is A- tier. Now this is probably slightly biased because it is my favourite Pokémon but it has such a strong niche with extremely favourable matchups into many strong balance core. Anyways, that's my ramble about reg h and more specifically corviknight done lol
Hey! Giving my thoughts on this format, I have certainly noticed that balance is the dominant play style, incineroar amoonguss/rillaboom and then a water type like palafin basculegion or primarina seems extremely strong and is also 90% of what I have ran into on ladder thus far. With that said, I would like to say that I think palafin is not as good as it seems to be. I feel like basculegion is on the whole better, with much stronger pressure early on in the game with wave crash and stuff whilst still maintaining the late game pressure that palafin has by using last respects. The typing being different may hinder basculegion slightly but there aren't that many strong dark types outside of kingambit and the best ghost type is gholdengo (who is absolutely monstrous in this format) which is easily OHKOD by something like last respects or adaptability wave crash.
Now, I want to talk about the goat himself, corviknight. This Pokémon is miles stronger than it has been in any other regulation in my opinion. I would rank corviknight as the 2nd or 3rd best tailwind setter after whimsicott and talonflame. This is primarily because of it's quite frankly insane bulk which allows it to tank basically every single strong hit in the format. It easily takes tera water adaptability wave crash from basculegion and with a tera type like grass it can absolutely destroy the common balance core of incineroar amoonguss palafin by setting up with bulk up and then spamming brave bird until the cows come home. It is also made significantly stronger by the lack of many strong special attackers and there being essentially 0 electric types or fire types that can touch it. If you name an attack, corviknight probably lives it and then can set tailwind or bulk up or just send a brave bird into something. This also means that it can set off multiple tailwinds which is incredible in a format that is as slow and balance centred as this one. It is a little vulnerable to being burnt by incineroar but if it is paired with a fast taunt Pokémon like your own fast taunt incin it can really flourish and honestly, in my opinion it is A- tier. Now this is probably slightly biased because it is my favourite Pokémon but it has such a strong niche with extremely favourable matchups into many strong balance core. Anyways, that's my ramble about reg h and more specifically corviknight done lol
While I do think Basculegion is good, Palafin as a whole slots better onto most teams, mostly thanks to Basculegion middling speed and meh attack stat, especially when compared to Palafin-Hero. It really only fits on Rain teams, which it abuses the Rain perfectly thanks to Swift Swim and Wave Crash, which hits absurdly hard. Combines with Last Respects just increasing in BP, Basculegion becomes a big threat. Palafin just fits on more teams, and the Ghost-type can be a hindrance and a blessing, making you immune to Fake Out but causing you to be vulnerable to Kingambit, one of if not the best Pokemon in the format.
I do agree that Corviknight is good, but you fail to mention Torkoal and Gholdengo, two prominent special attackers that threaten it with either huge damage or just setting up in front of it. I won't argue that Corviknight isn't a good Pokemon though.
Greetings. It's that time of the season again, where we brainstorm and predict how a new format turns out. After hitting the ladder and grinding quite a bit, I can see some form of trend showing up in regards to specific team archetypes and playstyles, as well as prominent meta threats for the immediate future. Here are my observation about the format so far:
Potential Early Meta Archetypes:
+ /
The dreaded "MausApe", now even more flexible with the addition of Whimsicott. Due to the lower power level of the format, this duo strikes up as one of the most threatening strategy to look out for. No Flutter Mane, Urshifu-R, Chien-Pao or Ogerpon formes to get around it. Annihilape can use Safety Goggles to get around Amoonguss, while Whimsicott has access to Light Screen and Sunny Day as potential support options. Taunt Maushold is also quite popular to shut down opposing redirection or other support option before Beat Up.
+ + /
Rain makes a return once again, with both Palafin and Archaludon boasting some of the highest BST in the entire format. Basculegion is a very powerful alternative to Palafin thanks to Swift Swim and late game Last Respects. Assault Vest Archaludon's immense bulk makes it a defensive powerhouse that keeps getting stronger in Rain, further supported by breakers such as Palafin and/or Basculegion. Moreover, Pelipper gets access to Tailwind and Wide Guard, to combat opposing speed control and the ever popular Gholdengo.
+ /
Snow has been proven to be a strong threat once it gets going. While weather wars seem to be more prominent in the format making setting up Aurora Veil a challenge, it sure pays off. Baxcalibur is a powerful threat in its own right, further bolstered by either Assault Vest or Clear Amulet, mostly only threatened by Steel-types like Gholdengo, Kingambit and Archaludon.
+ / +
You guessed it. Perish Trap. The lower overall power level makes Perish Trap a viable threat. How far will it go? Only time will tell. Gholdengo exists, and it easily counters Perish Song. But nevertheless, Perish Trap remains a threat one has to keep in mind when tackling the format... for now.
+ + +
Sun duo Psy-Spam hard Trick Room. Quite a flexible team, going from fast After You Eruption spam to Trick Room Psychic spam mode. Can start pressuring right off the bat with fast Sleep Powder or After You Eruptions, while also preventing Fake Out with Indeedee-F. While seemingly countered by Rain, the team often does have the tools to get around by, particularly by setting up Trick Room.
+ / + //
Gholdengo seems to be getting extremely popular with the Nasty Plot set, checking a great deal of the format. With Tera Water, it can get around Rain team, is immune to Status, and can dish out powerful spread moves. Fake Out and redirection helps setting up Nasty Plot, making Gholdengo a very prominent threat on the field. Grimmsnarl can be opted to set up Screens, to further help Gholdengo's longevity, as well as provide speed control with Thunder Wave.
+
Farigiraf semi Trick Room is still very solid in this format, especially since it can quickly threaten Beat Up Annihilape strategies and Bloodmoon OHKO'ing a large portion of the format. The duo can be paired with more offensive playstyle of Whimsicott Tailwind with Gholdengo and Arcanine-H or seemingly as part of a set up strategy, or even works with weather composition like Rain to enable team flexibility.
+
Another splashable duo that can be added to many team compositions. Despite Haze being prevalent, Dondozo remains a very viable threat that can sweep unprepared teams. With the plethora of options it has in item and tera usage, such as Clear Amulet, Safety Goggles, Leftovers and Substitute, Tera Grass, Tera Steel, it can be quite difficult to prepare for the available options this giant fish has.
I used Tyranitar quite a bit today actually, hit T10 on ladder. With AV, very strong into Psyspam, and can enable teams to get round Rain by denying Electro Shots etc. I used AV Snarl set, with Low Kick for Kingambit.
I used Tyranitar quite a bit today actually, hit T10 on ladder. With AV, very strong into Psyspam, and can enable teams to get round Rain by denying Electro Shots etc. I used AV Snarl set, with Low Kick for Kingambit.
I think a lot of the top tiers in this meta rely on their abilities to do their jobs: i.e: Incineroar relies on Intimidate for slowing down physical attackers, Rillaboom relies on Terrain for damage and to handle Palafin, Gholdengo relies on ignoring Spore to set up, Annihilape relies on Defiant to properly set up, Pelipper relies on rain to help its teammates properly, Dozogiri relies on Commander, etc.
Weezing denies all of that! What doesn't it deny though? Zero to Hero. I think the core of and / is one of the strongest in the meta so far. Standard Palafin balance with your team having their abilities while your opponents don't. Weezing allows Palafin to run Mystic Water without fear of Intimidate, which enables so many calcs. I prefer Substitute in the third slot so Weezing doesn't feel like it needs to stick on the field all game, it also allows Palafin to dodge Spore and Will-O-Wisp crippling. Weezing ignoring both Defiant and Friend Guard makes the duo much easier to deal with, and its access to Haze + Will-O-Wisp along with its natural ability, give it a fantastic toolkit vs Dondozo Tatsugiri. I originally had Amoonguss to keep the team healthy and open up Sub opportunities, it was doing its job fine, but want to test Meowscarada since I have high hopes for it, and felt like I was occasionally a bit passive (Weezing + non Flare Blitz Incineroar + Amoonguss). One thing I've been liking is Safety Goggles Baxcalibur, so many players Spore it even in OTS and Weezing turns Incoineroar Amoonguss into a set up opportunity rather than a need for Clear Amulet and Protect. Weezing is important as it allows Baxcalibur to 2HKO Archaludon without having to deal with Stamina Boosts, and when Tera Water, Electro Shot won't ever be in the rain and isn't something to worry about.
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 236 HP / 44 Def Gholdengo: 104-124 (54.1 - 64.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 236 HP / 44 Def Gholdengo: 206-244 (107.2 - 127%) -- guaranteed OHKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 236 HP / 156+ Def Amoonguss: 103-122 (47 - 55.7%) -- 76.6% chance to 2HKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 180 HP / 108 Def Annihilape: 220-260 (105.7 - 125%) -- guaranteed OHKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Archaludon: 83-98 (42.1 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (No Stamina boosts btw)
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Baxcalibur: 111-131 (50.2 - 59.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (OHKO after Glaive Rush)
236+ Atk Mystic Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Tera-Normal Arcanine-Hisui: 94-112 (54.9 - 65.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 236 HP / 76 Def Incineroar: 208-248 (104 - 124%) -- guaranteed OHKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 4 HP / 4 Def Tyranitar: 192-228 (109 - 129.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
How good do I think Weezing is?
As a Disruption Pokemon, Weezing struggles to 1v1 most of the meta, really only taking on Pokemon like Rillaboom and Fairy move Indeedee. Howver, Weezing definitely opens up holes for its allies, I've had so many games where Baxcalibur can pick up 3 kills easy because of Weezing, and some Murkrow teams crumble without their Prankster speed control. Honestly, I'd go as far as to say Weezing is a Top 10 level threat and should definitely be respected.
S to A- are ordered, B+ messily ordered. Ftr anything in the B tiers can jump out to be super good or super bad, don't have as strong opinions on them this early in the format
I think a lot of the top tiers in this meta rely on their abilities to do their jobs: i.e: Incineroar relies on Intimidate for slowing down physical attackers, Rillaboom relies on Terrain for damage and to handle Palafin, Gholdengo relies on ignoring Spore to set up, Annihilape relies on Defiant to properly set up, Pelipper relies on rain to help its teammates properly, Dozogiri relies on Commander, etc.
Weezing denies all of that! What doesn't it deny though? Zero to Hero. I think the core of and / is one of the strongest in the meta so far. Standard Palafin balance with your team having their abilities while your opponents don't. Weezing allows Palafin to run Mystic Water without fear of Intimidate, which enables so many calcs. I prefer Substitute in the third slot so Weezing doesn't feel like it needs to stick on the field all game, it also allows Palafin to dodge Spore and Will-O-Wisp crippling. Weezing ignoring both Defiant and Friend Guard makes the duo much easier to deal with, and its access to Haze + Will-O-Wisp along with its natural ability, give it a fantastic toolkit vs Dondozo Tatsugiri. I originally had Amoonguss to keep the team healthy and open up Sub opportunities, it was doing its job fine, but want to test Meowscarada since I have high hopes for it, and felt like I was occasionally a bit passive (Weezing + non Flare Blitz Incineroar + Amoonguss). One thing I've been liking is Safety Goggles Baxcalibur, so many players Spore it even in OTS and Weezing turns Incoineroar Amoonguss into a set up opportunity rather than a need for Clear Amulet and Protect. Weezing is important as it allows Baxcalibur to 2HKO Archaludon without having to deal with Stamina Boosts, and when Tera Water, Electro Shot won't ever be in the rain and isn't something to worry about.
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 236 HP / 44 Def Gholdengo: 104-124 (54.1 - 64.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 236 HP / 44 Def Gholdengo: 206-244 (107.2 - 127%) -- guaranteed OHKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 236 HP / 156+ Def Amoonguss: 103-122 (47 - 55.7%) -- 76.6% chance to 2HKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 180 HP / 108 Def Annihilape: 220-260 (105.7 - 125%) -- guaranteed OHKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Archaludon: 83-98 (42.1 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (No Stamina boosts btw)
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Baxcalibur: 111-131 (50.2 - 59.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (OHKO after Glaive Rush)
236+ Atk Mystic Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Tera-Normal Arcanine-Hisui: 94-112 (54.9 - 65.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 236 HP / 76 Def Incineroar: 208-248 (104 - 124%) -- guaranteed OHKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 4 HP / 4 Def Tyranitar: 192-228 (109 - 129.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
How good do I think Weezing is?
As a Disruption Pokemon, Weezing struggles to 1v1 most of the meta, really only taking on Pokemon like Rillaboom and Fairy move Indeedee. Howver, Weezing definitely opens up holes for its allies, I've had so many games where Baxcalibur can pick up 3 kills easy because of Weezing, and some Murkrow teams crumble without their Prankster speed control. Honestly, I'd go as far as to say Weezing is a Top 10 level threat and should definitely be respected.
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S to A- are ordered, B+ messily ordered. Ftr anything in the B tiers can jump out to be super good or super bad, don't have as strong opinions on them this early in the format
I can stand by Weezing. I tested it, and loved it. Its ability to stop Priority Grassy Glide, Intimidate, Dondozo and even Regenerator is absurd. Combine this with its naturally good Physical bulk, it can be difficult to remove. But Sylveon is so low :( Nah the tier list is fine I just love Sylveon
I can stand by Weezing. I tested it, and loved it. Its ability to stop Priority Grassy Glide, Intimidate, Dondozo and even Regenerator is absurd. Combine this with its naturally good Physical bulk, it can be difficult to remove. But Sylveon is so low :( Nah the tier list is fine I just love Sylveon
I love it too, not a lot of fairy competition this Regulation and it has a place. I just think it doesn't fit very well on most teams (Namely stuff with Water and Grass types, you can prove to be very weak into Amoonguss and arguably Gholdengo.)
I think a lot of the top tiers in this meta rely on their abilities to do their jobs: i.e: Incineroar relies on Intimidate for slowing down physical attackers, Rillaboom relies on Terrain for damage and to handle Palafin, Gholdengo relies on ignoring Spore to set up, Annihilape relies on Defiant to properly set up, Pelipper relies on rain to help its teammates properly, Dozogiri relies on Commander, etc.
Weezing denies all of that! What doesn't it deny though? Zero to Hero. I think the core of and / is one of the strongest in the meta so far. Standard Palafin balance with your team having their abilities while your opponents don't. Weezing allows Palafin to run Mystic Water without fear of Intimidate, which enables so many calcs. I prefer Substitute in the third slot so Weezing doesn't feel like it needs to stick on the field all game, it also allows Palafin to dodge Spore and Will-O-Wisp crippling. Weezing ignoring both Defiant and Friend Guard makes the duo much easier to deal with, and its access to Haze + Will-O-Wisp along with its natural ability, give it a fantastic toolkit vs Dondozo Tatsugiri. I originally had Amoonguss to keep the team healthy and open up Sub opportunities, it was doing its job fine, but want to test Meowscarada since I have high hopes for it, and felt like I was occasionally a bit passive (Weezing + non Flare Blitz Incineroar + Amoonguss). One thing I've been liking is Safety Goggles Baxcalibur, so many players Spore it even in OTS and Weezing turns Incoineroar Amoonguss into a set up opportunity rather than a need for Clear Amulet and Protect. Weezing is important as it allows Baxcalibur to 2HKO Archaludon without having to deal with Stamina Boosts, and when Tera Water, Electro Shot won't ever be in the rain and isn't something to worry about.
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 236 HP / 44 Def Gholdengo: 104-124 (54.1 - 64.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 236 HP / 44 Def Gholdengo: 206-244 (107.2 - 127%) -- guaranteed OHKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 236 HP / 156+ Def Amoonguss: 103-122 (47 - 55.7%) -- 76.6% chance to 2HKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 180 HP / 108 Def Annihilape: 220-260 (105.7 - 125%) -- guaranteed OHKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Archaludon: 83-98 (42.1 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (No Stamina boosts btw)
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Wave Crash vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Baxcalibur: 111-131 (50.2 - 59.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (OHKO after Glaive Rush)
236+ Atk Mystic Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Tera-Normal Arcanine-Hisui: 94-112 (54.9 - 65.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 236 HP / 76 Def Incineroar: 208-248 (104 - 124%) -- guaranteed OHKO
236+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 4 HP / 4 Def Tyranitar: 192-228 (109 - 129.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
How good do I think Weezing is?
As a Disruption Pokemon, Weezing struggles to 1v1 most of the meta, really only taking on Pokemon like Rillaboom and Fairy move Indeedee. Howver, Weezing definitely opens up holes for its allies, I've had so many games where Baxcalibur can pick up 3 kills easy because of Weezing, and some Murkrow teams crumble without their Prankster speed control. Honestly, I'd go as far as to say Weezing is a Top 10 level threat and should definitely be respected.
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S to A- are ordered, B+ messily ordered. Ftr anything in the B tiers can jump out to be super good or super bad, don't have as strong opinions on them this early in the format
I was also a pretty big Weezing hater, but you showed me that it beats/does well into so much; I could 100% see Weezing win/do extremely well at the first Regional and become a meta staple after that.
Yeah I'm not writing this time, but the first 4 tiers are ordered (tbf kilowatrell, cyclizar, scovillain, flamigo, ceruledge, hydrapple, grafaiai, clodsire, dauschbun and brambleghast could all be bumped up 1-3 tiers but I'm a bit lazy rn)
I’ve been having a lot of trouble with the Mouse-ape core in this season, Annihilape is so bulky especially with a Friend Guard mon in tow, it has perfect neutral coverage between its STABs (apart from H-Zoroark but who uses that?). How have you guys been dealing with the broken monkey?
I’ve been having a lot of trouble with the Mouse-ape core in this season, Annihilape is so bulky especially with a Friend Guard mon in tow, it has perfect neutral coverage between its STABs (apart from H-Zoroark but who uses that?). How have you guys been dealing with the broken monkey?
I think Maushold + majority of Special Attackers, namely Gholdengo and Archaludon, is very strong against MausApe. You can redirect away Beat Up and hit Ape hard regardless of the Bulk Up boosts.
PsyNoise Farigiraf is crazy strong in the match up, though you need to have a strong Pokemon that can OHKO Maushold like Ursaluna-B or a Pokemon with Taunt to get it off safely.
I've been liking Will-O-Wisp Weezing paired with Intimidate, you should always have a water type this Reg imo So Tera Fire can be manageable.
You can follow the Maushold idea with Mental Herb Amoonguss, if you have an offensive Pokemon next to it, redirecting the beat up and Rage Fist is very valuable, can sometimes make the duo seem passive, especially if Annihilape isn't Safety Goggles. Mental Herb because Maushold have started to tech Taunt.
Rain has Swift Swim Basculegion + Pelipper which can blow both up pretty well.
I have a soft spot for trying to make unconventional Pokemon work (after False Swipe Gaming Jamie Boyt is my favourite Poketuber), and after playing around on the ladder I've found some hidden gems.
This thing managed to win a regional even when Flutter Mane was everywhere. No that we don't have a splashable Fairy type that fits on every team, this thing is an absolute menace. Solid stats everywhere, great typing and 3 good abilities, Kommo-o can both be an early game hole puncher or a late game cleaner. If you have teammates that can deal with Fairy-types, Kommo-o won't let you down.
Now I know what you're thinking: why would I use this over Pelipper? Well, Pelipper is what you run if you want to base your team around rain, whereas Politoed is more a bulky support mon that also happens to set up rain. It gets some toys Pelipper doesn't, like Haze and Perish Song, letting you have a Dondozo+Tatsugiri check, and some moves that Pelipper doesn't have space to run like Helping Hand and Icy Wind. It can still support Archaludon really well, trading Pelipper's Tailwind for better survivability.
While it does face a lot of competition from the much faster Palafin, unlike Palafin Azumarill doesn't need to switch out to access its power. It also has Fairy STAB, so unlike Palafin it isn't walled by Dragon types (yes I know Palafin has Ice Punch, but I've never seen anyone running it). Base 50 Speed lets it put in work on or against Trick Room teams, but because it has Aqua Jet it's not reliant on Trick Room to do work. I don't like the set, but I should point out it can also run a defensive set with Sap Sipper and Perish Song.
When looking through the dex, I realised we don't have a lot of fast special Fire types. Volcarona is a great set up sweeper (or redirector), but I wanted fast immediate power), and that let me to Hisuian Typhlosion. It's not hard to use: just slap on a scarf, click Eruption and watch stuff die. When your health gets low, you have Blaze-boosted Heat Waves and Overheats to throw around. Now I'll admit it hates Rain with a burning passion and isn't too keen on Sand either. But, you don't have to choose between it and Torkoal - run both! This also frees Torkoal to run its support set, making it less reliant on Trick Room.
(doesn't need Blaze much, stops other weather abilities coming into play)
And finally, very hot take coming in...
This thing is much worse in this format. That's not to say it's bad, it absolutely is not, but most of the Pokemon it checked so well are gone. There are Water-types everywhere, Annihilape loves seeing this thing (it can even dodge Wisp with Tera Fire), Tyranitar is picking up steam too. A lot of the archetypes it used to do well against have countermeasures to it too - psyspam has Gallade, hard Trick Room has both Ursalunas, Gholdengo is often paired with Rain etc. Sounds like I'm having a downer on this thing, I'm really not, it's still a great mon. But I'd say it's gone down from being S rank to being A.
Here to rant while I wait for viability rankings :)
& are a GOATED duo, is one of the best sweepers in the current meta, however, it has one flaw, and that is that its way to slow to sweep an entire team, but that can easily be changed with TW / TR, has great coverage and is incredibly good with specs / band, it also kills most threats to prima (e.g. with Flamethrower, with Flamethrower... its just Flamethrower) is a bit of a problem for the duo, but is easily countered by a tera from Prima and it folds in 2-3 hits from ice beam. they also pair very well with as Prima in TW and rain is incredibly hard to stop, especially if prima has Throat Spray, and outspeeds incin and can 2 shot with Hyper Voice, effectively making incin useless (most prima run protect, so fake out is useless since it cant hit pult.) Knock Off is a bit scary, but if your banded your probably not staying in anyways. they also pair well with , as it completes the fairy, steel, dragon core, and has strong spread damage with MIR, and can counter opposing primas, and pult with tera. it also counters other Gholdengo. & are (imo) the best duo in the early meta and will continue to be some of the best pokemon in the meta. :)
Here, you failed to mention two of Kommo-o greatest partners: Amoonguss and Sinistcha. Both being Grass-types, they can remove stuff like Azumarill and Basculegion which can be difficult for some Kommo-o sets to hit. They also heal stuff and have their own things in sleep and damage negation (strength sap+matcha gotcha burn). They also both fair nicely into TR.
Again, here you missed two nice partners: Gengar and Primarina. One just abuses the rain and one eliminates Grass-types. They both have one sharing quality though: Perish Song. This can turn your team into a Perish Trap, kinda like how Mr.GX mentioned it before.
They always had these threats, like in Reg G where the premier NDW Psyspam team carried Gallade. A lot of Lunala and CIR Trick Room teams also carried the Ursaluna forms. Forgot to mention but Psyspam also had Ursaluna.
I agree Rillaboom is a bit of an issue, but Rillaboom can just U-turn on Primarina while also only having too take 1-2 Ice Beams in the process. Dragapult probably does fine into Rillaboom because Specs Flamethrower or Banded Dragon Darts should do enough. Plus they don't run Knock Off so you should be fine.
I'd like to make a few mentions on what I feel are some Pokemon people haven't touched up enough. (similar to Chrystal Falchion's post)
Featured primarily on Sand teams, this beats just hits hard and fast under the right weather. Fast Rock Slide is always annoying, as well as Iron Head providing flinch chances. Gholdengo, Archaludon, and Kingambit all either get KO'd or take massive hits from HHP.
Made it work last regulation and I'll do it again. Scrappy proves to be great due to the rise of Gholdengo usage. Not only this, but Flamigo can punish things such as Archaludon and Rillaboom, as they just get KO'd. Upper Hand is also just amazing, shutting off Fake Out and such.
I think Maushold + majority of Special Attackers, namely Gholdengo and Archaludon, is very strong against MausApe. You can redirect away Beat Up and hit Ape hard regardless of the Bulk Up boosts.
Taking a look in the metagame section, we find many top tier Pokemon, I'll leave a list here:
Goes from most used to least (only the top 10): , , , , , , , , ,
Majority of this makes sense, but I would like to point out some other things in the meta of this tournament.
Usage: 7.33% (Dondozo), 6.22% (Tatsugiri)
This infamous fish duo had a little bit of low usage despite many people putting it as one of if not the most powerful threats in the meta. There are many reasons for this, one being Amoonguss which can shut it down with Spore and Clear Smog. For this you can run Tera Steel and Substitute on Dondozo, but that makes you weak to Rain cores (Archaludon+Pelipper), which can blow through you now that you don't resist Weather Ball or Electro Shot. Rillaboom is also an issue, bonking a non-Terastilized Dondozo really hard. Finally, Incineroar that carry Will-O-Wisp can be a huge issue as they can negate your damage significantly.
Usage: 9.56%
Talonflame has come out to be the second most used Tailwind Pokemon, right behind Whimsicott. This may come as a shock to some, as Murkrow seems like a better Brave Bird Pokemon. What makes Talonflame special is its access to priority Brave Bird+Will-O-Wisp while naturally outspeeding the likes of Adamant Dragapult. We see that Talonflame can perform greatly into the likes of Rillaboom, Amoonguss, Annihilape, and even Gholdengo.
Standings
Checking the standings, we find many prevalent cores that, at the moment, define this meta. I'll again list some below:
+ +OR OR+ + + + Any Form of Redirection (, , etc) + +
There are many more but this is what made it to the top 16
++ ++Grass type (, , ) ++OR ++ ++
There are certainly more but this is what got top 16, they are also what I believe are meta-defining, you are free to have your own opinions
Now, looking at the teams that placed high, we see a huge amount of Rain teams, and I'll leave a few down below (going through top 8) Syncie's 1st Place Team
This team is fairly normal, except for one key swap: Amoonguss --> Sinistcha. This provides a way to stop opposing Annihilape fairly easily while also being immune to Fake Out and healing itself and allies with Life Dew and Hospitality. It also does nice damage, something Amoonguss can sometimes lack.
Vgcorner (Brady Smith)'s Runner Up Team
Again, a very standard Rain team, but this time the Mausape combo has been dropped for a Screens Grimmsnarl and Set Up Gholdengo, which may have been selected to yet again get the jump on Mausape, with the intended goal of the team to allow your bulky Steel-types to snowball and sweep.
yoMancuso's Top 4 Team
This is the first non-rain team, yet it still carries that Mausape core. This team is a bit more bulky, with solo Ursaluna-BM without Trick Room and Mystic Water Primarina, hitting hard and abusing opposing Rain. The coolest thing here is the Hydreigon, with it opting for a more supportive role, taking Covert Cloak, Snarl and Tailwind.
sempra's Top 4 Team FBISureveillanceMan's Top 8 Team
These two teams are very similar, both taking on that Pelipper+Arch+Basc core we saw before. The Dragon-type Intimidator has been added to Choice Scarf Salamence, capable of hitting hard with Hurricane in the Rain and setting Tailwind as well. Incineroar is run on the other, providing utility in Taunt and boasting Knock Off to remove Safety Goggles for Amoonguss to then get off a Spore.
Emiilavaburst14's Top 8 Team
This is a every unique team featuring the combination of Weakness Policy Annihilape and Draining Kiss Support Comfey, procking Weakness Policy while also making Rage Fist a 100 BP attack. Feint Maushold is a very unique option able to break Protect and Wide Guard for a Crit Hydreigon to sweep with Heat Wave and Draco Meteor, being boosted by Dragon Cheer Salazzle. Finally there did Belly Drum Azumarill, a rather sleeper pick right now.
WojetkKing1's Top 8 Team
This is yet a other crit Hydreigon, forming a Fantasy Core with Clefable, which helps immensely as a Mausape and Dozogiri check, and Gholdengo, which boasts the Iron Plate to deal massive damage with Make it Rain. The Volc+Rilla+Tauroa-Aqua core we talked about is also here, with Intimidate, Fake Out, and Grassy Terrain support all enabling Volcarona to set up and sweep.
KCVGC's Top 8 Team
The final team that made Top 8 is yet another weird one, this time featuring Garganacl and Zoroark-Hisui. Garganacl works as a nice Wide Guard bulky support, providing valuable chip damage with Salt Cure, while Zoroark-H is able to disguise itself as Annihilape/Gholdengo, only for the opponent to realize that it can't be hit with Ghost-type attacks. It can also be disguised as Garganacl or Maushold to soak up Fighting-type attakcs.
Conclusion
To conclude, Rain is a very dominant force right now, with Mausape right behind it. The meta is beginning to stabilize, while players find niche Pokemon/pairings to take on the bigger threats of the format. That's all, and as always, good luck and happy battling!
(BB) 
for example, feels like a very strong Pokémon pick in this format because with Ninetales-Alola 
carrying snow and Aurora Veil. Baxcalibur can be very safe under those conditions. Tyranitar 
and Excadrill 
also seem like two Pokemon that can really do well against sand teams with their very nice tools that can take advantage of sand, such as Sand Rush Rock Slide spam.
, Amoonguss 
, and Palafin 
seems like a potentially powerful core thats already starting to be explored in Reg H. They all take advantage of switching, which is especially important for Palafin. Some of these compositions have added Pelipper 
to further boost Palafin’s damage output. While some others have opted for Rillaboom 
over Amoonguss for more damage and Grassy Terrain.
and Ursaluna Bloodmoon 
, Indeedee-F 
, Armarouge 
, Ursaluna 
, and Torkoal 
all being good candidates for carrying this archetype that many players fear.
with its bulk and large offense can be either a powerful Choice Scarf Final Gambit mon, or a setup sweeper with Bulk Up and Rage Fist. A lot of those Annihilape set up teams will also probably have Maushold 
it’s old partner in crime.
, Talonflame 
, and even Murkrow 
are very popular Tailwind setters from what I’ve seen so far. And lots of Pokemon, including Meowscarada 
and Palafin can benefit from Tailwind to outspeed opposing teams and sweep them.
+ 
/
/
and 
& 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
Usage: 7.33% (Dondozo), 6.22% (Tatsugiri)
Usage: 9.56%
OR
, etc)
+
+
