PU drops you might have forgotten about

Introduction

With the transition from generation six to generation seven came a whole bunch of mechanical changes and power creep. This happens every generational shift, when tiers drastically change their composition and structure. In between the generations, PU received a massive influx of both new and previously NU Pokémon, and even a few from RU. Many of these higher tier drops have become dominant forces in the metagame, with big names such as Archeops, Primeape, and Jynx dominating the upper portions of the viability rankings. However, other of these drops have turned out surprisingly forgettable despite moving down a whole tier. In this article we're going to look at PU's forgotten drops, and why they didn't make the splash some might have expected.

Electivire

Out of all the new cross-generational drops, Electivire has to be the most disappointing of them all. While not a standout Pokémon in ORAS NU, it was still able to carve itself a niche as the only Electric-type capable of breaking Lanturn, one of the most common Pokémon in the NU metagame, while also having access to a strong special movepool with coverage such as Flamethrower and Focus Blast. However, the shift to generation seven was extremely unkind to Electivire, as it brought new and problematic walls such as Type: Null and Palossand, which Electivire fails to break through. Without the ability to boost any of its stats, outside of Z-Moves or Meditate, Electivire struggles to deal with most bulky Pokémon, especially when it cannot properly utilize its high Attack stat due to very weak coverage moves. Meanwhile, several competing Electric-types also dropped or were introduced to the PU metagame alongside Electivire. Alolan Raichu has a far superior offensive typing, a better Speed tier, and the ability to boost its Special Attack stat with Nasty Plot. Eelektross on the other hand has a much wider movepool, with access to Knock Off and Giga Drain, along with an immunity to Ground-type attacks and better defensive stats in comparison to Electivire. Additionally, both of these competing forces are capable of breaking through Pokémon like Gastrodon, Palossand, and Mudsdale, which all but invalidate Electivire. Meanwhile, Electivire's special, mixed, and Choice Scarf sets simply fail to do much that other Pokémon in the tier can't do better. The inability to differentiate itself with a strong niche has caused Electivire to plummet on the viability rankings, where it now languishes in the D rank.

Togetic

Unlike many of the Pokémon that will appear later on this list, Togetic doesn't struggle to find a niche at all. It is all but built to be a specially bulky Defogger—despite the fact that Defog and entry hazards wouldn't exist for generations after Togetic's introduction. In ORAS, this niche would take a backseat to Togetic's Nasty Plot + Baton Pass set, which caused the Pokémon to rise from PU all the way to RU. With a generational shift and a full ban of Baton Pass, Togetic is finally back in PU... and its defensive typing is just a big letdown. Fighting-types like Primeape and Hitmonchan are never seen without coverage moves like Stone Edge and Ice Punch, and nearly every common Ground-type carries Toxic or Rock-type coverage. Togetic does make an excellent counter to the Dragon-types PU has, but so does Clefairy. And while Clefairy can't remove hazards, Togetic isn't terribly good at that either. Being weak to Stealth Rock is a massive problem for a slow Defogger, and weaknesses to a multitude of common attacking types in Rock, Ice, and Electric as well as a mediocre Defense all leave Togetic very easy to pressure offensively. Using Togetic is often an exercise in patience, as you're forced to spam Roost to keep it healthy enough to switch into the few relevant attackers it genuinely checks well like Drampa. Togetic is an incredibly passive Pokémon, which would lead to it finding its niche on stall teams—if those didn't have better options for hazard removal anyway. Ultimately, being both a Pokémon intended to switch into some of PU's most powerful attackers including Magmortar and Drampa, and a defensive Defogger which has to switch into Stealth Rock constantly, leaves Togetic overwhelmed and outclassed.

Sandslash

Often a low ladder favorite in ORAS NU, Sandslash was never a good Pokémon in its original tier. Even though Sandslash was one of the few Pokémon to have access to both Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin, it was a poor user of both. Fierce competition from bulkier and far more versatile Stealth Rock setters such as Rhydon, Mesprit, Torterra, and Steelix along with better Rapid Spinners like Claydol and Hitmonchan made running these sets on Sandslash a liability for any ORAS NU competitive team. The drop to PU seemed like Sandslash's opportunity to finally distinguish itself, but it has still failed to make any impression on the tier. Even with Rhydon and Steelix no longer around, the tier has an amazing selection of Stealth Rock setters and hazard removers; Pokémon like Mesprit and Ferroseed have better utility, abilities, and defenses, and Defoggers such as Skuntank are able to avoid taking Toxic Spikes damage by directly absorbing them instead of having to receive the ailment first. Sandslash's stats are just mediocre, and its defensive typing is arguable worse than Golem's and Palossand's thanks to its lack of a Normal resistance. Even Sandslash's offensive sets don't fare well, which is in part because Sandslash's mono Ground-typing leaves it easily walled by foes such as Weezing, Gourgeist-XL, and Eelektross. Sand Rush is cool but the ability has the problem of support; Hippopotas and sand teams just aren't very good in general. Although Sandslash found a small niche as the only usable Pokémon with access to both Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin, the recent drop of Claydol appears to be the final nail in the coffin. It's too early to tell exactly how Sandslash will fare, but it seems almost inconceivable that Sandslash will be worth using in the new metagame.

Granbull

Granbull looks cool. It's this big Fairy bulldog, it has Intimidate and great physical bulk to beat Fighting-types, it has an expansive movepool both offensively and defensively, and it dropped all the way from RU. How could this possibly go wrong? The answer, unfortunately, lies with PU's choice of Dragon- and Fighting-types. While Granbull made a solid counter for Dragons like Flygon in ORAS RU, all of PU's relevant Dragon-types are special attackers, capable of 1-2HKOing Granbull with secondary STAB attacks. While Granbull can pivot into Drampa or Alolan Exeggutor with a correct prediction, it is by no means a solid answer to them. Meanwhile, PU's biggest Fighting-type is Primeape, a Pokémon with access to both Defiant and Gunk Shot, and the best Dark-type is Skuntank, which has a secondary Poison typing to threaten Granbull with. Granbull's lack of reliable recovery (outside of the one-time Z-Heal Bell) and susceptibility to all forms of entry hazards is a massive detriment, one not shared by a main competitor, Clefairy. Heal Bell and Thunder Wave are also Granbull's only major status moves, while Clefairy and Silvally-Fairy both add to the entry hazard game with Stealth Rock and Defog, respectively. Despite Granbull's solid Attack stat, it isn't even less passive than other defensive Pokémon, as its uninvested Play Rough just isn't enough to be threatening to bulkier breakers. Ultimately Granbull's niche is unclear. It checks some Fighting- and Dark-types but leaves other important ones to run free, offensive sets are strong but have to deal with how common Poison- and Steel-types are, and it competes for a slot with Fairy-types that have much better defined niches. Granbull doesn't appear terrible in a vacuum, but these issues have left it a mediocre Pokémon struggling to figure out its place in the metagame.

Manectric

Another Electric-type that dropped from NU this generation, Manectric faces similar problems that it did in ORAS. Being an Electric-type in ORAS NU where Lanturn was a staple on most teams, Manectric could hardly perform as an offensive Electric-type, especially since Rotom was such a huge metagame staple. Despite being in a higher tier, Manectric still faced competition from Raichu and Zebstrika as a fast Electric-type, shrinking its niche even further. Generation seven arrived and Manectric dropped to PU, but so did all of the things that plagued it in ORAS NU, and then some. Not only did Lanturn drop, but Eelektross fell to add to the list of bulky Electric-type Assault Vest users that compete with and wall Manectric. Their presence also has made Manectric's awful defensive stats even more noticeable. Zebstrika has worse Special Attack, but its better Speed tier critically allows it to outpace the S-rank threat of Archeops, and Alolan Raichu brings a great secondary STAB and access to Focus Blast's powerful coverage to the table as an Electric-type wallbreaker. This has forced Manectric to limit itself to a Choice Scarf set that can outpace not just dangerous setup sweepers like Jynx, but most other Choice Scarf users including the ever-present Primeape. This was a good enough niche for a time, but the Ultra Sun and Moon move tutors gave Togedemaru Iron Head, turning it into an incredibly effective Scarfer with better resistances and a pivoting move not walled by every Lightning Rod, Volt Absorb, or Ground-type Pokémon. Manectric just can't catch a break. With only one viable set and a mediocre niche that still faces plenty of competition, Manectric is now left wishing that it weren't tiered separately from its Mega Evolution.

Poliwrath

Poliwrath might be the biggest disappointment to PU players after Electivire. This Pokémon dominated PU before rising to NU in ORAS because of its unique defensive typing and solidly well-rounded stats, allowing it to check a plethora of Water-, Dark-, Bug-, Fire-, Ice-, Rock-, and Steel-types. And, to its credit, Poliwrath still keeps a lot of dangerous Pokémon like Carracosta and Golurk in check. Its set of resistances is great, its offenses are solid, Water + Fighting is a great STAB combo, and its movepool is just big enough to do what it wants. The problem, however, is twofold. First of all, Poliwrath's weaknesses are much more common and important than last generation. Psychic-, Electric-, Grass-, and Flying-types are incredibly common in PU. Some, such as Archeops, Jynx, and Mesprit, are the best Pokémon in the tier. Poliwrath's other big issue is that, well, this new metagame just isn't like ORAS PU, where Monferno was the only Fighting-type worth using. Poliwrath has to compete with Primeape's Speed and offenses, Hitmonchan's better priority and access to Rapid Spin, Passimian's superior wallbreaking potential, Gurdurr's more threatening presence with Bulk Up, and Throh's improved bulk and lack of Electric and Grass weaknesses. As a Water-type, Poliwrath is also a much worse Fire-type check than Gastrodon or Lanturn, since Magmortar's Thunderbolt and Pyroar's Hyper Voice can both 2HKO all but the most specially defensive sets. Like many other Pokémon on this list, it's simply hard to know what to do with Poliwrath. It was famous in ORAS PU for incredible versatility and being able to run specially tanky, Substitute + Focus Punch, Choice Specs, physically defensive, and Rain Dance sets, but everything Poliwrath wants to do can now be done by better Pokémon that manage to cover the nearly the same threats that Poliwrath does. It may have been the king of PU in its tenure last generation, but this generation Poliwrath just doesn't know what to do.

Torterra

Torterra was one of several Grass-types that dropped to PU this generation, after staying in NU for a majority of ORAS. Torterra carved a few solid niches for itself in NU. Being one of the few Stealth Rock setters to have both reliable recovery and a resistance to Ground-types meant it was able to set multiple times across a game and check prominent sweepers like Dual Dance Rhydon, and its offensive sets were fairly hard to switch into. Generation seven was unkind to Torterra, however, as it lost the ability to check to Dual Dance Rhydon, and almost all of the Pokémon that plagued it in ORAS NU dropped too (most notably Weezing, which it's unable to break). Being a Stealth Rock setter without the ability to take on Normal- and Flying-types effectively, along with weaknesses to common types like Ice and Fire, means Torterra requires a lot more support compared to more prominent Stealth Rock users like Ferroseed or Regirock. Common Pokémon like Archeops, Magmortar, and Weezing give Torterra a lot of issues no matter what set it decides to run. While Torterra is still a viable Pokémon, it also finds difficulty in cementing itself in a metagame that's far more offensive than ORAS NU. This, in turn, limits both its capacity to function as a Swords Dance + Rock Polish sweeper and as a Stealth Rock setter, since both sets just carry so many weaknesses that they are hard to get going. While people have attempted to make use of many different Torterra sets, the fact that none can truly shine has led to its decline to mediocrity.

Honorable Mentions

There are a few Pokémon that don't quite fit the criteria but still deserve mentions anyway. Sableye had the farthest drop in between generations, and it is by no means a bad Pokémon. In fact, it's incredibly effective in the tier, standing out as a highly annoying stallbreaker. However, it's not an incredibly dominant force, merely a strong pick. For a Pokémon to drop all the way from BL2 to PU and not immediately become the best Pokémon in the tier deserves some mention, even if it is mostly due to the Prankster nerf.

Vigoroth and Exeggutor both ended generation six in BL4, banned from PU rather than making it into a higher tier, and don't quite qualify for the article. However, neither Pokémon is very good in PU at the moment, a far cry from what was expected. For Vigoroth, it is competition from Type: Null and an influx of strong Ghost-types that has led to its fall from grace. Type: Null is even bulkier and cannot be broken by critical hits, and it will likely prevent Vigoroth from standing out for the rest of the generation unless it rises to NU. Meanwhile, Vigoroth's typical sweeping set relied on only running Return, a viable choice when there were only two Ghost-types in the tier and those could be PP stalled, but not quite so good with the additions of Sableye, Haunter, and Oricorio-G.

Meanwhile, Exeggutor has been all but forgotten with all the better Grass-types added to PU. Victreebel had been banned in ORAS long before Exeggutor fell, but now it takes over the niche of sun sweeper quite handily. Of course most sun teams run multiple Chlorophyll users, but Exeggutor's low speed and weaknesses to Bug and Ice mean that most common Choice Scarf users outspeed and KO it despite the Chlorophyll Speed boost. Meanwhile, Exeggutor's own Alolan forme completely outclasses it as a special wallbreaker, which was Exeggutor's main set before its ban. Alolan Exeggutor is stronger, has a much better secondary typing, lacks a weakness to the common Sucker Punch and Pursuit, has access to Flamethrower to roast Ferroseed, and can run offensive Trick Room sets more effectively thanks to its lower Speed. Exeggutor can fit onto sun teams in very niche situations, but for the most part it has simply been power crept into irrelevancy.

Final Thoughts

These Pokémon may have fallen from glory, but that doesn't mean there's no hope. Many of the drops that have failed to stand out in PU simply haven't carved out a suitable niche in the metagame, but that doesn't mean that they're unusable or doomed to mediocrity. Perhaps, in time, a new set will be discovered or something will rise to NU to give one of these unfortunate Pokémon a shot at the spotlight once again.

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