X/Y Monotype Metagame Primer

• Composition
• Play Restrictions
  • Pokémon Restrictions
  • Move Restrictions
  • Ability Restrictions
  • Item Restrictions
• Basic Strategy

Composition

Monotype is an Other Metagame where all Pokémon on your team must share a common type. Both single- and dual-type Pokémon are allowed. For instance, Keldeo is eligible for both mono-Water and mono-Fighting teams. In the case of Mega Evolutions, the Pokémon's typing in its regular forme is what matters. For example, Gyarados is a Water / Flying type, so even though Mega Gyarados is Water / Dark, it can still be used on a Flying team. Following the same rule, Mega Gyarados cannot be used on a Dark team because regular Gyarados is not Dark-type.

This metagame is run by a seven-man tiering council. You can discuss strategies with friends in the Monotype room on the simulator or in the main thread on the forums.

A list Pokémon with Monotype analyses for the XY era are found on the dex page.

Play Restrictions

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

Pokémon Restrictions

Players cannot use the following Pokémon:

• Aegislash
• Arceus
• Blaziken
• Darkrai
• Deoxys
• Deoxys-Attack
• Dialga
• Genesect
• Giratina
• Giratina-O
• Greninja
• Groudon
• Ho-Oh
• Hoopa-Unbound
• Kyogre
• Kyurem-White
• Lugia
• Mewtwo
• Palkia
• Rayquaza
• Reshiram
• Shaymin-Sky
• Talonflame
• Xerneas
• Yveltal
• Zekrom

Move Restrictions

Players cannot use the following move:

• Baton Pass

Ability Restrictions

Players cannot use the following ability:

• Shadow Tag

Item Restrictions

Players cannot use the following items:

• Altarianite
• Charizardite X
• Damp Rock
• Gengarite
• Kangaskhanite
• Lucarionite
• Mawilite
• Medichamite
• Metagrossite
• Sablenite
• Salamencite
• Slowbronite
• Soul Dew
• Smooth Rock

Basic Strategy

Many of the best Monotype teams are built around checking/countering the type's shared weakness(es). This philosophy places a premium on Pokémon with a dual typing (or an ability) that provides an immunity or resistance, which makes many Pokémon that are neglected in standard tiers very useful in the Monotype metagame. Types such as Flying, Psychic, Water, or Steel can make use of dual typings and abilities to create cores that are challenging to break. For instance, Water teams value Swampert's Ground typing, Lanturn's ability Volt Absorb, and Tentacruel's Poison typing to help with the team's shared weakness to Electric and Grass attacks.

Only a subset of the 18 types have the Pokémon to build viable hyper offensive or stall teams. As such, balanced and bulky offensive teams dominate the metagame, as they often have the best matchup versus the widest array of types. Accompanying these builds is a larger fraction of Choice Scarf users than standard tiers because a single super effective coverage move can hit entire teams for significant damage—often sweeping if specific Pokémon have been removed.