OU Type Analysis: Water

By A and Wally The Bully.
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Art

Art by aXl.

Introduction

From the high-momentum offense brought by both Greninja formes to the supportive capabilities of Tapu Fini and Toxapex, Water-types are certainly plentiful and relevant in SM OU. This article elaborates on these powerful Pokémon and their impact on the metagame and depicts the way Water-types exert their pressure in OU.

What's new?

Gen 7 definitely brought a plethora of changes both good and bad as well as unique new Pokémon. Tapu Fini is a great support Pokémon with a neat ability as well as some nice utility to back it up. Toxapex is one of the better defensive Pokémon introduced to Gen 7 OU given its bulk, typing, and access to Regenerator. Its only downside is that it's rather passive. Ash-Greninja's traits make it a really good specially oriented sweeper. Its ability can easily generate offensive pressure, as you don't want it to get a KO. Pelipper has gotten a major buff in the form of Drizzle and a decent stat buff. Its movepool is actually well tailored for the ability, and it finds a home on rain teams as the kingpin. Similarly, thanks to the new Mega Evolution Speed mechanics, Mega Swampert now has instant access to the Swift Swim boost, which makes it a whole lot better than before. It also has really great synergy with Pelipper and is often the face of rain teams. Regular Gyarados is also a niche option thanks to the introduction of Flyinium Z. Mantine received a lot of wonderful buffs for this generation, such as increased HP to boost its overall bulk, with the main one being Roost, meaning it's able to finally use its defensive typing to the fullest to check dangerous threats like Ash-Greninja and Mega Charizard Y consistently. It fits in some teams but suffers from being bait against common threats like Tapu Koko.

Returning Pokémon

After being unbanned at the start of the generation, Protean Greninja has made quite a splash in the metagame thanks to its high versatility and great damage output. It currently sits in OU well, not as broken as it was deemed before, as the metagame has shifted. The existence of Ash-Greninja also leads to mind games regarding which forme the opponent may face in Team Preview.

Keldeo while not as powerful as last generation, still remains a good option. It was way better last gen, since now it's not as hard to handle with Toxapex around and the metagame being really fast and offensive. The addition of Z-Crystals gives it some cool toys to work with, though.

Ash-Greninja

Ash-Greninja

Ash-Greninja is a pretty simple Pokémon to use; aim to clean up and trigger its ability. Once it has the Battle Bond boost, it becomes a nightmare to face for most offensively oriented teams due to its raw power and access to an effective 90-BP priority move. Due to the switches it can cause, Spikes is a nice option to support the team and pick up KOs more easily. However, it has modest damage output prior to its ability's activation and can easily be prevented from getting its Battle Bond boost early on.

Keldeo

Keldeo

Keldeo is a solid revenge killer in OU. Its great defensive typing and decent bulk allow it to check popular metagame threats like Volcarona and Ash-Greninja. Scald is still a solid spammable move despite the burn nerf. It can also run a Normalium Z set to surprise would-be answers like Toxapex. Other options to run include Taunt, Substitute, or even Choice Specs over Scarf if the team needs it. Overall, Keldeo is a great Pokémon that can easily fit into most team archetypes.

Greninja

Greninja

Protean Greninja just might be the most versatile Pokémon currently present in the SM OU Metagame, with Landorus-T falling a bit behind. It has a plethora of sets and options to use and can easily customize its options to tailor to a team's needs. Items that it commonly run include Life Orb, Expert Belt, Focus Sash and Choice Scarf. Life Orb and Expert Belt give a notable increase in Greninja's damage output, which lets it break past teams easier, Choice Scarf allows it to become a notable revenge killer that even outpaces boosted threats, and Focus Sash allows it to make even better use of Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Taunt at a comfortable Speed tier.

Sets:

Spikes
Choice Scarf
Dual Hazards
  • Greninja @ Life Orb / Expert Belt
  • Ability: Protean
  • EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
  • Naive Nature
  • - Spikes / Toxic Spikes
  • - Hydro Pump / Low Kick / Hidden Power [Fire] / Extrasensory
  • - Gunk Shot / Dark Pulse / Taunt
  • - Ice Beam
  • Greninja @ Choice Scarf
  • Ability: Protean
  • EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
  • Naive Nature
  • - Rock Slide
  • - U-turn
  • - Gunk Shot
  • - Ice Beam
  • Greninja @ Focus Sash
  • Ability: Protean
  • EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
  • Timid Nature
  • - Taunt
  • - Spikes
  • - Ice Beam / Gunk Shot
  • - Toxic Spikes

Tapu Fini

Tapu Fini

Tapu Fini has a nice defensive typing as well as decent stats and packs great utility moves like Nature's Madness which allows it to be not completely passive, as well as the powerful Defog. Misty Surge gives some nice protection against status to Tapu Fini as well as its teammates. Its movepool leaves it flexible enough to run either an offensive Calm Mind set or a standard Defogger set. It also has the option of Whirlpool, which in tandem with Nature's Madness and Taunt allows it to dismantle certain stall cores. One of its downsides is its lack of recovery, which makes it extremely easy to chip and prevents it from reliably checking certain Pokémon.

Sets:

Calm Mind
Defensive
  • Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
  • Ability: Misty Surge
  • EVs: 252 HP / 24 SpA / 232 Spe
  • Timid Nature
  • - Calm Mind
  • - Hydro Pump
  • - Moonblast
  • - Taunt / Hidden Power [Fire]
  • Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
  • Ability: Misty Surge
  • EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
  • Timid Nature
  • - Taunt
  • - Nature's Madness
  • - Moonblast
  • - Defog / Whirlpool

Gyarados

Gyarados

Flyinium Z Gyarados while no longer as common, still poses a threat to most teams due to its access to Dragon Dance. Supersonic Skystrike is a one-time 160-BP move that is sure to leave a major dent or if not KO most neutral targets. With Moxie and the Z-Crystal, Gyarados can easily snowball out of control, whilst Intimidate helps it find better setup opportunities. Alternatively, it can also use Waterium Z to act as a lure and demolish common answers like Zapdos. It still does have issues with threats like Toxapex or Ferrothorn as well as faster Scarfers, and it faces some competition with other Dragon Dancers, but its bulk and typing help it stand out.

Toxapex

Toxapex

Toxapex is one of the premier defensive Pokémon that currently reside in the tier. Great overall bulk and defensive typing bundled with Regenerator allow it to flawlessly answer dangerous threats like Mega Charizard Y, Greninja, some Magearna variants, and many more with relative ease. It previously ran Shed Shell to avoid the clutches of Arena Trap, but due to the banning of that ability, Black Sludge is now the superior option. However, Shed Shell can still be notable from escaping Whirlpool Tapu Fini and Groundium Z Heatran. Despite all these strengths and access to Haze to prevent free setup, Toxapex is still very passive and can invite Pokémon like Tapu Koko, Zygarde, and Landorus-T (the latter two have to be wary of burns) to easily come in and exert great offensive pressure. Overall Toxapex can fit on most teams easily and absorbs and sets Toxic Spikes as well as providing role compression.

Mantine

Mantine

Mantine finds a solid niche as a specially defensive Defogger with reliable recovery on some balance-oriented teams. It's able to easily handle threats such as Mega Charizard Y, Volcarona, Ash-Greninja, Mega Scizor. However, it is quite passive and the 4x weakness to Electric easily invites Pokémon like Tapu Koko, Thundurus and Mega Manectric to come in for free. Its physical bulk also leaves much to be desired, as even resisted hits from the likes of Mega Medicham deal a lot of damage to it. It does compete with a couple of Defoggers, but it stands out by being able to check certain threats that the others cannot.

Downpour

Rain is a dominant and viable playstyle thanks to the advent of new Pokémon as well as Drizzle Pelipper, which is echelons higher in the scale of usefulness and utility than Politoed. The changes to the Speed mechanics for Mega Evolutions help Mega Swampert immensely, as now it immediately benefits from the rain and can easily shred through offensive cores. The advent of Ash-Greninja also fits in some rain teams due to the sheer power of Hydro Pump after Battle Bond, Choice Specs, and rain as well as making Water Shuriken even more of a threat. Kingdra has seen a resurgence and is also a relevant Choice Specs user that outpaces the whole unboosted metagame under rain and has Draco Meteor to chunk through most Water-resistant threats like Mega Venusaur. In addition, Pokémon like Ferrothorn, Tapu Koko (with Hawlucha and Electric Seed), and Tornadus-T find a spot on rain teams due to their attributes and utility. It's definitely something to consider as a possible matchup during teambuilding.

Pelipper

Pelipper

Pelipper is the only viable Pokémon in OU to have the ability Drizzle. It doesn't really fit well outside of rain teams with the possible exception of the Choice Specs set, which actually boasts considerable power with rain-boosted Hydro Pump as well as an accurate Hurricane. The defensive set aims to increase its longevity in order to provide rain multiple times.

Sets:

Defensive
Choice Specs
  • Pelipper @ Damp Rock
  • Ability: Drizzle
  • EVs: 248 HP / 32 Def / 228 SpD
  • Bold Nature
  • - Scald / Hurricane
  • - U-turn
  • - Roost
  • - Defog / Hurricane
  • Pelipper @ Choice Specs
  • Ability: Drizzle
  • EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  • Modest Nature
  • - Hydro Pump
  • - Hurricane
  • - Surf / Knock Off
  • - U-turn

Mega Swampert

Mega Swampert

Mega Swampert comfortably resides in OU as the resident rain sweeper. Its defensive typing works incredibly well in tandem with Pelipper, as it comfortably switches into deadly attacks from the likes of Tapu Koko. If need be, it can also provide Stealth Rock support for the team on its fourth slot. Superpower is also a decent option that can chunk Ferrothorn for a lot of damage, opening the way for your other sweepers to capitalize on it. An Adamant nature is preferred over Jolly, as the raw damage output is more appreciated and rain usually has a secondary Swift Swimmer or attacker to deal with threats that outpace Mega Swampert.

Kingdra

Kingdra

Kingdra is another rain sweeper that usually contests with Ash-Greninja but can distinguish itself by having immediate power and Speed under rain. Currently, it's OU by usage due to its effectiveness and great synergy with Pelipper, as it can be safely brought out via U-turn. Tapu Fini is a bit problematic for it, but it doesn't appreciate hard switching into rain- and Choice Specs-boosted Hydro Pump. Kingdra's decent bulk and typing allow it to survive most priority attacks, and with a little team support, it can shred through offensive teams with ease under the weather.

Honorable Mentions

While these Pokémon may have fringe usage or visibility, they're still notable in the tier, as they function extremely well under the right conditions.

Manaphy

Manaphy

Manaphy in a vacuum is pretty threatening thanks to its access to Tail Glow and the introduction of Z-Moves. It also has access to a wide variety of coverage allowing to answer its defensive checks. That being said, it's unable to fit all the moveset options it wants to run in one set. It'll always be lacking coverage against something due to this. It was used quite a lot early on with Waterium Z + Rain Dance, but as the metagame evolved, it was simply too slow to get things rolling (100+ Scarfers were quite a common sight), as one needed effectively two turns of setting up and despite having good overall bulk, it dreads ever getting hit by an attack. Despite this, it has seen a resurgence in Aurora Veil-oriented teams. Definitely a decent option to work with.

Rotom-W

Rotom-W

While still finding some places here and there, Rotom-W has been on the decline and is currently residing in UnderUsed. It can still generate a great deal of momentum, cripple threats, and act as a decent pivot coupled with a few partners. However, the advent of Z-Moves has hampered its bulk and usefulness, and the fall of threats that it used to easily answer like Talonflame and Dragonite makes it harder for Rotom-W to fit on a team. Not exactly awful, but it was definitely better last generation.

Mega Gyarados

Mega Gyarados

Mega Gyarados has always been rather iffy due to its awkward Speed tier and the prominence of threats like Azumarill in ORAS. However, in SM it still has its old issues such as four-moveslot syndrome (having to pick from Earthquake, Taunt, Crunch, Waterfall, Substitute, and Dragon Dance generally) and the metagame being quite unkind to it. However, like Mega Tyranitar, it has seen a resurgence on Aurora Veil teams due to its flexibility with its defensive typing, which allows it to handily resist priority from threats like Mega Scizor and Ash-Greninja, immense bulk that is bolstered by the Aurora Veil, access to Mold Breaker, and fantastic neutral coverage.

Suicune

Suicune

Suicune makes a notable threat as a unique Calm Mind sweeper that is extremely hard to out against under Aurora Veil as well as when paired with Toxic Spikes. Pressure coupled with Substitute and Protect allows it to effortlessly recover HP with Leftovers whilst depleting the opponent of their PP. However, it needs key threats like Tapu Fini and Toxapex out of the way before it begins its sweep. It definitely has rightfully been one of the premier faces of Aurora Veil offense.

Get out there!

Water-types have always been a defining force in the metagame, and this generation is no exception. How about trying a few of these Pokémon out to see what works for you? You'll have a splashingly good time!

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