Sword/Shield Monotype Metagame Primer

Composition

Monotype is a format where all Pokémon on your team must share a common type. Both single- and dual-type Pokémon are allowed. For instance, Gengar is eligible for both mono-Ghost and mono-Poison teams.

This metagame is run by a tiering council. It has a permanent ladder on Pokémon Showdown, and you can discuss strategies in the Monotype room on the simulator or in the main thread on the forums.

A list of the Pokémon with Monotype analyses for the SS era is found on the dex page.

Play Restrictions

  • All standard OU tier clauses apply, plus:
  • Same Type Clause: All Pokémon in a team must share a type.

Pokémon Restrictions

Players cannot use the following Pokémon:

Move Restrictions

Players cannot use the following move:

Ability Restrictions

Players cannot use the following abilities:

Item Restrictions

Players cannot use the following items:

The Monotype Forum

Learn

The Simple Questions, Simple Answers thread is a great place to learn about the tier and ask any simple questions you might have relating to the Monotype metagame. Do not make new threads for questions that could be answered here.

The SS Monotype Analyses forum is the place to go for writing analyses to be uploaded to the official Smogon Dex. You may reserve an analysis in the Index.

Participate

The SS Monotype Viability Rankings shows how well every viable Pokémon fares in the Monotype tier.

The SS Monotype Metagame Discussion thread allows players to discuss current trends in the Monotype metagame.

You can help contribute to Smogon's social media pages by writing SS Monotype Pokémon Spotlights for the Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Monotype Discord server allows you to chat in real time with other Trainers about the Monotype tier.