Introduction to BW Monotype

Water teams are a dominant force, mainly because of Drizzle Politoed along with plethora of Pokémon that can take advantage of rain. They are also blessed with reliable hazard removal in Starmie and Tentacruel, which enables Water teams to run a balanced archetype. Along with this, Water teams have amazing offensive Pokémon in Keldeo, Cloyster, and Politoed and solid defensive Pokémon in Swampert, Vaporeon, and Tentacruel. Water is the most versatile type in BW Monotype because of the large number of viable Pokémon Water teams have access to. Water teams are extremely difficult to deal with without a weather summoner to keep threats such as Hydration Vaporeon and Rain Dish Tentacruel at bay. Vaporeon has access to Acid Armor along with Hydration, which makes it immune to status ailments in rain, meaning it is almost impossible to KO Vaporeon once it is fully set-up. Keldeo usually lacks the power needed to KO most Pokémon without Choice Specs, but rain remedies this problem by boosting its Water-type attacks by 50%, making Choice Scarf Keldeo a powerful wallbreaker. Water teams only have two bad matchups in Electric and Grass teams, but these types are very uncommon because they are extremely inconsistent in BW Monotype. Water teams generally win against Ground teams while also having a decent chance in every other matchup. Water teams are the most consistent in BW Monotype because rain is the easiest weather to take advantage of. Replay vs Fighting Replay vs Ground

Dragon teams are the easiest to use while also being the hardest to deal with. They are infamous for the large number of powerful wallbreakers such as Kyurem-B, Hydregion, and Salamence that Dragon teams have access to. Most teams in BW Monotype cannot switch into multiple STAB Dragon-type attacks, meaning that Dragon teams can theoretically win every matchup. They have a good matchup against every type but Ice, which makes Dragon teams almost always a safe pick. Dragon teams also have one of best revenge killers in Choice Scarf Latios, which is able to outspeed and KO a majority of the metagame while also being able to cripple bulky walls such as Vaporeon and Chansey with Trick. Dragon teams also have Latias, which is able to sweep common Water teams with a Substitute + Calm Mind set. One major weakness of Dragon teams is the lack of hazard removal, which means that one cannot make unnecessary switches. They are the easiest to pick up with little to no metagame knowledge because they utilize straightforward tactics. Replay vs Water Replay vs Bug

Fighting teams are extremely offensively based, often having multiple checks to major threats instead of one designated counter. Without Fairy-types, most types cannot reliably switch into powerful Fighting-type attacks. Fighting teams also have the unique ability of being able to win any matchup. This is mainly because Pokémon such as Heracross, Terrakion, and Scrafty can beat the Psychic, Flying, and Ghost teams that would normally be troublesome. On top of that, Fighting teams have one the best wallbreakers in Choice Specs Keldeo, having only a few reliable switch-ins. However, Fighting teams do struggle against Dragon teams, especially those with Choice Scarf Latios, which aside from Scrafty can outspeed and KO the majority of a Fighting team outside of Scrafty. One major detail that sets Fighting apart from other offensive types is an excellent fast suicide lead in Infernape, which is able to reliably set up Stealth Rock and prevent entry hazards with Taunt. Fighting teams are for more experienced players because it is often difficult to decide which Pokémon should be sacrificed in a given situation. Replay vs Normal Replay vs Dragon

Ground teams are viable options in BW Monotype because of certain powerful Pokémon they have access to. Mamoswine is the best check to common Dragon teams, able to KO most Dragon-types with priority Ice Shard. Along with this, Hippowdon is one of best Stealth Rock users in BW Monotype because its excellent bulk enables it to easily set up Stealth Rock in most matchups. Ground teams also have Gastrodon, which is one of the best anti-metagame threats, able to beat Keldeo one-on-one. Ground teams have two premier Choice Scarf users in Landorus-T and Garchomp, meaning that Ground teams have no issue revenge killing threats such as Kyurem-B and Volcarona. Landorus-T and Garchomp can also serve as wincons, but Landorus-T is usually the better wincon because it has Swords Dance + Rock Polish, while Garchomp only has access to Swords Dance. One minor issue with Ground teams is the lack of a special attacker outside of Nidoking, which means physical walls such as Skarmory and Ferrothorn can be troublesome. Ground teams are a powerful force in the metagame, but they are held back by the dominance of Water teams. Replay vs Ghost

Psychic teams are known for the immense amount of versatility they have when teambuilding. They are blessed with the ability to beat Water teams with ease because of Nasty Plot Celebi, which is able to take powerful Water-type attacks in rain while also being able to easily KO Water-types such as Swampert and Vaporeon with Giga Drain. Along with this, Psychic teams have Alakazam to act as an emergency check to setup sweepers such as Salamence and Volcarona with Magic Guard + Focus Sash. They also have one of the best special walls and Stealth Rock users in Jirachi, which is able to take several powerful hits easily. Psychic teams have access to other viable offensive Pokémon such as Victini, Starmie, Meloetta, and Latios, to name a few. Psychic is considered to be the most flexible type, but it is extremely difficult to build a consistent Psychic team. Replay vs Psychic Replay vs Dragon

Ghost teams have the niche of permanent hazards due to an immunity to Rapid Spin combined with Stealth Rock Golurk and Spikes Froslass. They also have Jellicent, which enables Ghost teams to easily check Water teams, while also being able to pressure them with entry hazards. Ghost teams have two great offensive Pokémon in Gengar and Chandelure, which, when combined with Spikes and Stealth Rock damage, have very few reliable switch-ins. Sableye, with its Prankster Will-O-Wisp and lack of weaknesses, is another major Pokémon that makes Ghost teams a great anti-metagame type. With Prankster Will-O-Wisp, Sableye is able to cripple powerful Dragon-types such as Salamence and Dragonite. Ghost teams have a good matchup against types that are susceptible to entry hazards such as Fire, Bug, and Water teams, which makes it an excellent anti-metagame type. Replay vs Normal Replay vs Bug

Ice teams have Abomasnow, which has the unique ability of being able threaten Politoed with its Grass-type attacks. This allows Ice teams to have a decent matchup against Water teams. Ice teams can take advantage of hail with Ice Body Walrein, which is able to stall out a plethora of threats in hail. They also have powerful physical attackers in Kyurem-B, Weavile, and Mamoswine, but lack reliable special attackers to complement these powerful physical attackers. The main appeal of Ice teams is the ability to beat common Dragon teams by spamming powerful Ice-type attacks. However, outside of Water and Dragon teams, Ice teams have a terrible matchup against almost every other type and suffer from a devastating weakness to Stealth Rock. Replay vs Dragon Replay vs Fighting