Generation 9 Pokémon: First Impressions

• Annihilape @ Leftovers / Chesto Berry
• Ability: Defiant
• Tera Type: Water
• EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
• Careful Nature
• - Bulk Up
• - Rage Fist
• - Drain Punch
• - Taunt / Rest

Annihilape has been annihilating SV OU with its unrelenting fury. Rage Fist grants Annihilape an extremely powerful STAB move that ramps up in power as the mad monkey takes damage, which pairs superbly with its secondary Fighting-type STAB to slam foes that resist Rage Fist. Annihilape also comes packed with incredible natural bulk, Bulk Up to boost its damage dealing and taking ability, natural synergy with Terastal, and access to Taunt to force the hand of passive Pokémon. This makes Annihilape a premier wincon that can be extremely hard for bulkier structures to stop, or at least a Pokémon capable of taking several others down with it.

• Gholdengo @ Choice Scarf
• Ability: Good as Gold
• Tera Type: Fighting
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Shadow Ball
• - Make It Rain
• - Focus Blast
• - Trick

Thanks to Good as Gold blocking all status moves, Gholdengo truly has Midas's touch, bringing something completely unprecedented to the tier: a Defog immunity. In tandem with its innate Rapid Spin and Mortal Spin immunity, Gholdengo is completely immune to every form of hazard removal. As if this weren't enough, it's still a great Pokémon in its own right due to its good STAB combination, good utility, and perfect coverage. This makes it an irreplaceable golden child on hazard-centric structures that make use of Spikes and/or Sticky Web. Its presence alone has warped the way hazards influence the metagame, making hazard stacking a centralizing component of the tier for the first time in years!

• Roaring Moon @ Booster Energy
• Ability: Protosynthesis
• Tera Type: Flying
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Dragon Dance
• - Acrobatics
• - Crunch
• - Earthquake

Roaring Moon is the poster child of Terastal's might in SV OU, being arguably its best user due to how well it takes advantage of everything the mechanic brings to the table. Thanks to the synergy it has with Acrobatics, Tera Flying's defensive merits, Booster Energy, and superb coverage to round off its offensive profile, it can violently seize games against worn down or unprepared teams with just a single Dragon Dance boost. Aside from a dedicated sweeper set, its movepool and extremely high Attack and Speed make it naturally good at pulling off a Choice Band set or utilizing same-type Tera to maim even the sturdiest of backbones. Always keep one eye open on a night of a full moon!

• Espathra @ Leftovers
• Ability: Speed Boost
• Tera Type: Fairy / Fighting
• EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
• Bold Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Calm Mind
• - Stored Power
• - Dazzling Gleam / Tera Blast
• - Protect / Substitute / Roost

In case you thought Demon Mew or Reuniclus were bad, you haven't seen anything in the realm of snowball sweepers until you've met Espathra. Although it has a very unassuming base Psychictyping and decent-at-best stats, its access to Speed Boost means that Espathra is capable of flipping the bird to any chance you had of winning if it gets even one or two turns to work with. It is also another great candidate for Tera, capable of using the mechanic to shed its weakness to Chien-Pao and Kingambit's Sucker Punch and give itself even more turns to snowball out of control. Espathra is a great example of Generation 9's tendency to bring holistically mediocre Pokémon to the brink of brokenness with just one or two good tools.

• Cyclizar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
• Ability: Regenerator
• Tera Type: Steel
• EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
• Jolly / Naive Nature
• - Shed Tail
• - Rapid Spin
• - Knock Off
• - U-turn / Draco Meteor / Overheat

Speaking of which, Cyclizar propels itself to the top of SV OU's threatlist due to Shed Tail and, simply, how well suited it is to make use of it. Great Speed and access to Regenerator ensure that Cyclizar is able to generate free Substitutes for its teammates consistently, making it a top-tier enabler for several of the tier's most horrifying wincons. It can succeed in keeping a Substitute active with good recipient type synergy and the exploitation of passive Pokémon like Clodsire. Even if it cannot keep its Substitute active, granting a free switch to a frail offensive teammate is nothing to scoff at. Cyclizar is often seen on dedicated offensive structures, with its free Substitute being especially potent with the dual screens support of Grimmsnarl.

• Chi-Yu @ Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
• Ability: Beads of Ruin
• Tera Type: Dark / Fire / Grass
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Dark Pulse
• - Flamethrower
• - Overheat
• - Psychic / Tera Blast

Chi-Yu is a bit of a fishy hot topic, bringing a great deal of power to the tier that has the potential to overwhelm even the mighty Blissey. Beads of Ruin augments its already very good Special Attack to blistering levels, which in tandem with its great STAB combination makes it a smoldering wallbreaker and sweeper that embodies the power creep seen in this generation. It also takes great advantage of same-type Tera to turn up the heat even further, but it can also use Grass to gain a Tera Blast that ruins its Water-type answers while better taking on incoming Water- and Ground-type attacks.

Koraidon is THE physical attacker to watch out for in Ubers at the moment, sporting an amazing offensive typing, base 135 Speed, and flexibility in the moves and set it gets to run. Its main draw, however, comes from its signature ability: Orichalcum Pulse, which both boosts its Attack by 30% and sets up sun. Koraidon is also capable of shutting off its own weaknesses by Terastallizing into a Steel-type or augmenting its offensive prowess with a Fire Tera type. Choice Scarf sets allow it to get the jump on opposing Koraidon and Miraidon, threatening them with a well-timed Dragon Claw while also contesting Speed-boosted Flutter Mane, which would otherwise click Moonblast willy-nilly. Meanwhile, the Choice Band set's explosive power turns Koraidon into a very potent wallbreaker. Even resisted hits such as Flare Blitz against Miraidon are sure to wreak havoc. Heavy Slam, meanwhile, catches Flutter Mane and the rare Daschbun. The Swords Dance + Flame Charge set gives Koraidon a broom so it can sweep by itself in exchange for the immediate Speed or firepower that the Choice item sets provide. Tera Steel is preferred so Koraidon can resist Fairy-, Dragon- and Ice-type attacks, while Tera Fire powers up Flare Blitz to the point of OHKOing Toxapex at +2.

Miraidon has quickly become the most dangerous foe one can face in Ubers, with generation 9 having very few viable Ground-types and Miraidon having the tools to combat any of them. Hadron Engine sets Electric Terrain, boosting Miraidon's Special Attack to an effective base stat of 190 as well as giving its STAB Electric-type moves a further boost. Its ability to Terastallize into a Fairy-type shuts off its Dragon-type weakness, gives Dazzling Gleam a STAB boost, and removes its weakness to Fairy and Ground, making it harder to revenge kill. Its main sets also work completely differently, making it rather tough to consistently check defensively. The Calm Mind + Taunt set shuts down the most common defensive core in Corviknight + Skeledirge + Ting-Lu and limits the range of foes that can effectively revenge kill it. It also shuts down any Calm Mind Blissey that may try to match its boosts. Parabolic Charge may seem odd at first due to its low Base Power, but the healing it provides is much appreciated for the mid-game wallbreaking playstyle it enables. Choice Specs further boost Miraidon's tremendous firepower and puts damage on the field that really sticks. Volt Switch or U-turn keeps Miraidon out of harm's way, while Overheat is a god-sent coverage move, catching the most common Miraidon check in Iron Treads.

Flutter Mane stayed in OU for approximately two seconds before it got shot straight into Ubers, where it immediately got recognized as a top-level threat and arguably the most influential Pokémon outside the two box legends. Protosynthesis can be easily triggered by either your own or an opposing Koraidon's Orichalcum Pulse, as well as by Flutter Mane's Booster Energy, allowing it to outspeed the two Dragon-type legendaries and threaten to sweep. The Choice Specs set has insane firepower, 2HKOing Miraidon and Koraidon with Shadow Ball or firing off Moonblast to catch anything that doesn't resist it. Psyshock helps Flutter Mane with Clodsire, which otherwise sits in front of it, Mystical Fire is a good way to catch Steel-types that may try to come in and limit Miraidon and Iron Bundle's revenge killing potential, and Thunderbolt crashes specially defensive Corviknight down. The Life Orb set acts as a better wallbreaker, stopping bulky foes like Blissey and Clodsire from recovering their HP with the help of Taunt and having the ability to change its moves. A Normal-type Terastallization can be employed to shut down opposing Flutter Mane's Shadow Ball.

Great Tusk takes advantage of how few Ground-type switch-ins there are in Ubers to very mindlessly fire off its insanely strong Headlong Rush. It can act as either an entry hazard remover or a Stealth Rock setter, both roles backed up by its fantastic offensive typing. Knock Off helps keep Corviknight within 2HKO range of Close Combat after a bit of chip. With an Attack raise secured through either Booster Energy or Protosynthesis and Tera Ground boosting Headlong Rush into near-unmatched numbers, the foes that can switch in safely are limited to Corviknight and Terastalized Flying-types. Not only that, the Attack boost also is just enough to 2HKO defensive Corviknight with Close Combat. The Bulk Up set bluffs the typical removal set, granting itself a Speed raise with Rapid Spin and then boosing with Bulk Up to become a frightening sweeper. The best part? At any point, Great Tusk can Terastallize into a Steel-type to shrug off Miraidon's Draco Meteor, Flutter Mane's Moonblast, and even Iron Bundle's Hydro Pump!

Game Freak finally did it: they found a way to make a defensive Rock-type good! In the early days of Battle Stadium Singles, Garganacl has established itself as a key defensive sweeper, with major part in thanks to its incredible ability, Purifying Salt. In a metagame infested with Spore from Breloom and Amoonguss and powerful Ghost-types such as Gholdengo and Mimikyu (granted, Garganacl is not a guaranteed check to these), Garganacl can surprisingly easily sweep with Body Press! Combine this with Salt Cure and excellent Tera options in Flying to cover its weaknesses and Steel to set up on Amoonguss, and you have a dominant foe every team needs to prepare for!

When the Ruinous and Paradox Pokémon come back, Garganacl is likely to still be a key foe to prepare for, with Ting-Lu's Taunt and Chien-Pao's Sacred Sword being the new main worries.

With so much Spore spam going around, Gholdengo has become a staple in BSS Series 1. Good as Gold is only part of its success, though: with an excellent typing and good use of Terastallization, it's no wonder that Gholdengo is able to set itself apart from the other two major Ghost-types, Mimikyu and Dragapult. What truly makes Gholdengo terrifying, though, is its unpredictability. Good luck countering this string cheese mascot, because it has an answer to almost everything! Salt Cure? Gholdengo is an excellent user of Covert Cloak! Mimikyu? Gholdengo is great at Terastallization, and you can't even Trick a Choice Scarf on it!

When the Ruinous and Paradox Pokémon arrive, Gholdengo will have to contend with a serious new Ghost-type competitor in Flutter Mane and a great new check in Chi-Yu. But with Gholdengo being so good at Terastallization, it'll still have tricks up its sleeve for those two, so Gholdengo isn't going anywhere!

Dondozo already looks like one tricked-out catfish, with it being the bulkiest Unaware user yet! But Battle Stadium players are stricken by fear of a lesser-known aspect: Fissure. With Yawn and Unaware making it easy for Dondozo to shut down physical sweepers, it transforms from mere wall to dangerous OHKO fisher! It makes for an excellent user of Curse too with that bulk. Dondozo is influential enough that some bulky Pokémon such as Annihilape may run Tera Flying just to deal with it, and having good special attackers on your team is a requirement!

When the Ruinious and Paradox Pokémon return, Dondozo will have to contend with some new very powerful special attackers, such as Chi-Yu, Flutter Mane, and Iron Bundle, so it won't be quite as troublesome to deal with. Still, along with Ting-Lu, Dondozo is likely to remain as one of the most dangerous OHKO spammers around.

It turns out leaving the mortal coil was just what the doctor ordered for Primeape, because Annihilape is one of the most important Fighting-types, next to Breloom! Bulk Up, Taunt, and Rage Fist are a brilliant combo that punishes even Unaware Pokémon, and Vital Spirit means Spore isn't an option. Annihilape can even use a Steel Tera type to make Amoonguss into total setup bait! It can also go in a totally different direction with a Choice Scarf set, where it can either pivot out of foes with superior Speed or even use maximum HP Final Gambit to get shocking KOs against defensive foes like Garganacl!

With the Paradox and Ruinous Pokémon having quite a lot of trouble with Annihilape's STAB attacks and it being able to effectively use Tera Steel to deal with Flutter Mane, Annihilape is likely to succeed once they're allowed.

With a brilliant Speed tier and ability, Meowscarada is having a ball as one of the most dangerous Dark-types around! Flower Trick is one of Meowscarada's other big selling points, allowing it to break past bulky boosters like Annihilape and Dondozo. It even has access to Knock Off, an extremely rare move that makes it difficult to switch into! A final thing to note: while Protean may seem like the obvious ability, Overgrow actually makes sense with Flower Trick being so good, especially on Focus Sash sets.

Meowscarada will face much more competition for the fast wallbreaker slot when the Paradox and Ruinous Pokémon come back, with Chien-Pao, Chi-Yu, Iron Bundle, and Flutter Mane in particular being great choices. Still, with access to useful moves like Trick, Knock Off, and wallbreaking potential with Flower Trick, Meowscarada will likely still have its place in future metagames.

While it lacks the stats and key utility moves Toedscool has, Quaxly's well-rounded bulk, good defensive typing, and reliable recovery let it act as an equally strong Rapin Spin user. Additionally, Quaxly's passable offenses are bolstered by a strong coverage option in Brave Bird and the ability Moxie, which synergizes with Rapid Spin's Speed boost to make it a threatening endgame sweeper. Quaxly is also an excellent user of Tera, being capable of inverting its matchup vs Grass-type Pokémon while giving STAB to Brave Bird.

• Quaxly @ Eviolite
• Ability: Moxie
• Level: 5
• Tera Type: Flying / Water
• EVs: 76 HP / 76 Atk / 76 Def / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
• Adamant Nature
• - Liquidation / Aqua Cutter
• - Brave Bird / Aqua Jet
• - Rapid Spin
• - Roost

While Quaxly seeks as much bulk as it can to switch into and Roost on foes like Pawniard and Tinkatink, 14 Speed is required to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame after a Rapid Spin. Liquidation is the strongest STAB attack at Quaxly's disposal, though Aqua Cuttter is a viable option to avoid any adverse effects of contact moves or a potential Defiant activation on Pawniard, a Pokémon Quaxly often is in against. While Quaxly doesn't have many other options, Aqua Jet allows it to make headway with Moxie boosts without Rapid Spin, limiting which Pokémon can revenge kill it. When using this, it can also boost it even further through Water Tera type.

Tinkatink shows promise in the LC tier with its godly defensive typing and a plethora of utility moves to aid its team. While held back greatly by its unimpressive attack stat and crippling weakness to Diglett, in a tier with terrifying attackers like Rufflet and special Girafarig some teams appreciate it as a Stealth Rock user and defensive option. It also sports the ability Pickpocket, which has excellent synergy with Oran Berry, letting Tinkatink sponge hits while removing the foe's item.

• Tinkatink @ Oran Berry
• Ability: Pickpocket
• Level: 5
• EVs: 60 HP / 76 Atk / 236 Def / 4 SpD / 132 Spe
• Impish Nature
• - Knock Off
• - Thunder Wave
• - Play Rough
• - Stealth Rock

Tinkatink's natural Defense leaves a lot to be desired, and maximum investment intends to remedy this to let it serve as a usable physical pivot. 14 Speed is appreciated to outspeed most defensive Pokémon and make the most of a potential Choice Scarf. Both Rufflet and Zorua often see usage with Choice Scarves, and Tinkatink is one of the better answers to both, making this an often important benchmark. Knock Off distribution has been decreased greatly in this generation, which makes this an extremely attractive move on Tinkatink . Thunder Wave and Stealth Rock are also important options for Tinkatink.

After languishing in obscurity for 8 generations, Girafarig finally shines as a top-tier threat in SV LC. With great defenses, setup options, top-tier offensive stats on both sides backed by an expansive movepool, blazing Speed, and three usable abilities—this Pokémon has it all! While its typing is average offensively and leaves it weak to excellent moves like Knock Off, U-turn, and Sucker Punch, this is often mitigated with changing types with Tera and Tera Blast. The huge number of options Girafarig has makes it very easy to build with and scary to play against.

Nasty Plot is one of Girafarig's most dangerous sets, utilizing its great bulk and Speed to find a setup opportunity. It can also situationally boost its Speed with Trailblaze, becoming almost impossible to outspeed. Girafarig's signature move Twin Beam is a viable alternative to Psychic, dealing often as much or more damage due to Little Cup's unique damage rolls and adding the benefits of a two-hit move. While other Tera types besides Fighting are viable, Girafarig will still want to run Tera Blast, as it functions as a great Normal-type STAB prior to Tera.

The other popular option is physical Girafarig, which features great secondary effects on both of its STAB attacks and good coverage without reliance on Tera or Tera Blast. This set can be particularly threatening due to the ambiguity of Girafarig's set selection on any given team, as would-be effective checks to special sets often are easily 2HKOed. Crunch also enables Girafarig to check opposing Girafarig, which can gain a STAB boost from Dark-type Tera while also granting resistances to Sucker Punch and immunity to Prankster. Alternatively Ground-type Tera can boost the stronger move Earthquake and, with Sap Sipper, leave Girafarig with 2 immunities and 1 weakness.

With the advent of numerous new hazard setters, the return of Sticky Web, and increasingly limited hazard removal, Toedscool shines in the SV LC meta as one of the two spinners that every team should consider. Toedscool's natural special bulk and typing give it natural opportunities against common hazard setters like Glimmet, and its unique combination of Rapid Spin and Knock Off make it difficult to spinblock. Toedscool also possesses strong STAB attacks and a higher Speed stat, making it especially hard to switch into Knock Off and very fast after a Rapid Spin boost, denying Choice Scarf Pokémon free opportunities to attack.

• Toedscool @ Eviolite
• Ability: Mycelium Might
• Level: 5
• EVs: 36 HP / 36 Atk / 36 SpA / 196 SpD / 196 Spe
• Hasty Nature
• - Earth Power
• - Rapid Spin
• - Knock Off
• - Power Whip / Spore

Mycelium Might is both a blessing and a curse, allowing Toedscool to use Spore freely in a tier with Sap Sipper Girafarig, yet limiting the viability of its hazards and status moves with negative priority. As dropping a STAB attack often leaves it unable to hit important Pokémon, Toedscool often finds success without any status moves, functioning as a fast spinner that can make progress with Knock Off and mixed attacks. Toadscool should generally be pivoted into special attackers, as its chosen EV spread seeks to maximize its overall damage output while preserving special bulk and speed at the expense of physical bulk. When running Spore, 14 Speed with more bulk can be a more fitting spread. Toadscool very rarely utilizes Tera, but the most viable options are Flying Tera for an edge in the Toedscool mirror or Ground Tera for a necessary boosted Earth Power.

Little Cup is not known for its defensive play. The mechanics of the damage calculation, the availability of trappers, and powerful wallbreakers all trend the metagame towards efficiently depleting the meager health pools of level 5 Pokémon, rather than attempting to preserve them. Fuecoco, the newest Fire starter of Paldea, offers a small opportunity to change that, with its impressive bulk, recovery, and Unaware ability making it a unique defensive presence in the tier.

• Fuecoco @ Eviolite
• Ability: Unaware
• Level: 5
• Tera Type: Grass
• EVs: 140 HP / 124 Def / 12 SpA / 196 SpD
• Calm Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Fire Blast
• - Slack Off
• - Will-O-Wisp
• - Roar

Fuecoco possesses a bulky stat spread and access to the ability Unaware, completely ignoring the enemy's stat changes. This means that Fuecoco can be the last bastion of defense against otherwise unstoppable sweepers like Swords Dance Pawniard and Nasty Plot Girafarig, a role previously only held by Wooper, a Pokémon held back by very low stats. Access to reliable recovery with Slack Off and an ability to cripple opposing Pokémon with Will-O-Wisp makes Fuecoco a menace to physical attackers. This little Croc-Pot doesn't just specialise in slow cooking, however, and its powerful Fire Blasts are able to punch massive holes in many Pokémon, even ignoring the Special Defense boosts of threats like Calm Mind Drifloon. Those that shrug off Fire Blasts can simply be phazed with Roar instead, making Fuecoco especially potent with teammates that can set up lots of hazards. Tera Grass is used to lower Stealth Rock damage, as well as being a trump card against overeager Diglett that could otherwise trap and KO Fuecoco.

From the moment the new ability Toxic Debris was known, many players were terrified and eager for the havoc it could wreak on the Little Cup metagame. With the previous generations Poison-type titans Koffing and Mareanie being removed or nerfed, respectively, the Toxic Spikes Glimmet produces simply for getting physically attacked can be invaluable. Combine this with Glimmet's access to Stealth Rock and Spikes, as well as a whopping base 105 Special Attack, Glimmet can be a genuine menace.

• Glimmet @ Oran Berry
• Ability: Toxic Debris
• Level: 5
• Tera Type: Flying
• EVs: 132 HP / 180 Def / 156 SpA / 36 Spe
• Bold Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Stealth Rock
• - Power Gem
• - Sludge Wave
• - Spikes

Glimmet is a Pokémon that excels in mixing offensive and defensive roles. With Stealth Rock and Spikes, Glimmet take advantage of free turns to set up hazards. Compared to other Pokémon with access to multiple hazards, such as Pineco and Wooper, Glimmet is regarded more favorably due to its high Special Attack. Glimmet's solid Defense, typing and Oran Berry also make it one of the only counters to top threat Rufflet, able to survive a hit and get free Toxic Spikes for its trouble. Furthermore, Glimmet is a massive beneficiary of the new Terastallization mechanic, as being able to use Flying-type Tera to escape from Diglett can be very important.

• Ting-Lu @ Leftovers
• Ability: Vessel of Ruin
• EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
• Impish Nature
• - Spikes / Stealth Rock
• - Ruination
• - Earthquake
• - Whirlwind

Ting-Lu is a prominent defensive threat in Monotype; blessed with two immunities, insane natural bulk, and a good movepool it cements itself as a strong force in the metagame. Currently, the more favored set tends to be stacking either Spikes or Stealth Rock, then using a combination of Ruination + Whirlwind for accruing chip damage, and rounding its set out with Earthquake to prevent it from becoming passive. Ting-Lu enables hazard stack to become a viable strategy on both Dark and Ground teams, making it a truly great Pokémon for balanced or even more offensively natured teams.

• Iron Valiant @ Choice Specs
• Ability: Quark Drive
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Moonblast
• - Aura Sphere / Focus Blast
• - Shadow Ball
• - Psychic / Thunderbolt / Energy Ball

Iron Valiant is quite a versatile attacker, being able to easily pull off a variety of physical and special attacking sets, which can make it tricky to properly scout; however, its most prevalent set is Choice Specs. This coverage allows Iron Valiant to hit everything for at least neutral damage and a ton of Pokémon for supereffective damage. Its near-perfect STAB combination can be patched by Psychic coverage, allowing it to target Poison-type Pokémon such as Clodsire for super effective damage, while Shadow Ball allows Iron Valiant to target threats such as Gholdengo. Due to these attributes and its Speed tier, Iron Valiant places itself as a formidable threat within the Monotype metagame.

• Baxcalibur @ Loaded Dice
• Ability: Thermal Exchange
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Adamant Nature
• - Dragon Dance
• - Icicle Spear
• - Glaive Rush
• - Earthquake / Protect

The Ice-type Godzilla is a destructive Dragon Dance sweeper. When given Loaded Dice, Baxcalibur receives a guaranteed 100-BP Ice-type STAB attack that can break through Sturdy and Focus Sash. It opts for an Adamant nature,as it can outpace the fastest Pokémon in the metagame after a singular Dragon Dance as is, allowing it to focus on power. Earthquake can be used to round out Baxcalibur's STAB coverage and hit Steel-type Pokémon such as Kingambit for good damage. Baxcalibur also has ample setup opportunities on both types due to Dragon teams having access to Shed Tail Cyclizar, while Ice teams have Aurora Veil. This Ice titan has left its mark on the tier and will continue to be a great sweeper in the metagame.

• Gholdengo @ Life Orb / Air Balloon
• Ability: Good as Gold
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Shadow Ball
• - Make It Rain
• - Nasty Plot
• - Recover

Gholdengo is a truly unique Pokémon, as due to its typing and ability, it completely blocks hazards from being cleared. This, paired alongside its access to Nasty Plot and a strong STAB attack in Make It Rain, allows Gholdengo to become a premier offensive threat on hazard spamming teams. However, Pokémon such as Great Tusk and Iron Treads threaten it with Earthquake, allowing them to use Rapid Spin on Steel teams rather easily. Just like the other offensive threats listed, the best way to beat this Pokémon is with fast and powerful Pokémon such as Great Tusk and Chien-Pao. We will have to see how Gholdengo will string along as the metagame develops.

• Meowscarada @ Focus Sash / Choice Band
• Ability: Overgrow / Protean
• Level: 50
• Tera Type: Grass
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Flower Trick
• - Knock Off
• - Low Kick / U-turn
• - Protect / Sucker Punch / Play Rough

Meowscarada is one of VGC 2023's fastest offensive presences in a pool of otherwise relatively slow Pokémon, making it a great add to any team looking to bump up its Speed tiers. Flower Trick's guaranteed critical hit chance is extremely useful for circumventing Grimmsnarl's Reflect, and it also is one of the few viable Knock Off users in the format. It can use Low Kick in tandem with Protean to shoot past would-be checks like Hydreigon and Kingambit or quickly pivot around the field with U-turn. Not to mention that outspeeding it can often be futile, as a strong Sucker Punch can pick off weakened foes regardless of the speed conditions.

The infamous Tatsugiri and Dondozo pairing has already been sweeping high-level play at the top of the ladder and top cuts of grassroots tournaments. Tatsugiri's Commander gives Dondozo +2 boosts in all five of its stats, which coupled with superb natural bulk and a decent base 100 Attack make it a juggernaut both offensively and defensively. Dondozo's flexibility in moveset is another thing that makes it so strong, as counterplay for one set, like Amoonguss checking Tera Dragon Dondozo with Clear Smog, can be completely invalidated by other sets, like Safety Goggles Tera Steel Dondozo. Even when Dondozo is defeated, Tatsugiri will reappear on the field, and foes will have to deal with its extremely powerful Draco Meteors. This is a core that all teams in VGC 2023 will have to dedicate serious answers to, and even the ones that do can only hope to withstand the onslaught from this sushi chef and its little friend.

Gholdengo brings the pain with its signature move Make It Rain. In case you thought it was tough enough to deal with in singles, Make It Rain is a spread move, making it hit both opposing Pokémon in VGC. It also comes with a plethora of coverage moves like Thunderbolt and Dazzling Gleam that help to take out common checks like Gyarados and Hydreigon. With a pair of Choice Specs, Gholdengo can rain terror on opposing teams, but it also has the option to run Life Orb and Nasty Plot to make its damage output near unparalleled.

• Armarouge @ Weakness Policy / Life Orb
• Ability: Flash Fire
• Level: 50
• Tera Type: Grass
• EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
• Quiet Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
• - Armor Cannon / Heat Wave
• - Expanding Force / Psychic
• - Trick Room
• - Energy Ball / Wide Guard / Protect

Armarouge is an interesting new tool for Trick Room teams with exclusive access to two powerful STAB moves in Armor Cannon and Expanding Force coming off of a base 125 Special Attack stat. Additionally, it is fully capable of standing by itself with Trick Room, making it less reliant on having multiple Trick Room setters to achieve its goal. Armarouge takes great advantage of Terastallization, being able to become a Grass-type to turn its Ground and Water weaknesses into resistances as well as practically ignoring anything Amoonguss could do to it. When paired with Indeedee-F, Armarouge is able to further thrive with Expanding Force turning into a devastating spread move and Psychic Terrain blocking common priority moves like Dragonite's Extreme Speed and Grimmsnarl's Parting Shot.

• Iron Hands @ Assault Vest
• Ability: Quark Drive
• Tera Type: Steel
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD
• Adamant Nature
• - Fake Out
• - Drain Punch
• - Wild Charge
• - Volt Switch

Iron Hands is a very solid pick in DOU currently due to the lower distribution of Fake Out, along with its high bulk, giving it a useful role as a Fake Out pivot. It can also do good damage thanks to its high Attack, and its Fighting typing means it matches up well into several of the Dark-types in the meta, such as Chien-Pao and Chi-Yu. Futhermore, its high bulk in conjunction with Assault Vest allows it to check even more common Pokémon, such as Gholdengo and Palafin. All of these traits are likely to make it a consistent and solid Pokémon throughout DOU, bar some unforeseen circumstances.

• Chi-Yu @ Choice Scarf
• Ability: Beads of Ruin
• Tera Type: Fire / Dark / Grass
• EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
• Modest Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Heat Wave
• - Overheat
• - Dark Pulse
• - Psychic / Tera Blast

Chi-Yu has risen to prominence in the early metagame as one of the premier special attackers, bolstering an incredible Dark / Fire offensive typing, solid stats, and Beads of Ruin to further boost its damage output. Being a Dark-type in this format has numerous benefits, such as not having to worry about the Indeedee-F + Armarouge Expanding Force combo and being immune to Prankster attacks from Grimmsnarl. Chi-Yu saw a lot of use in tandem with Flutter Mane, before it was banned, as Choice Scarf Chi-Yu and Flutter Mane could quickly overrun opposing Pokémon with their high speed and array of special attacking coverage. It can make use of either of its natural typings as a Tera type to further boost its offenses and up the damage output to 11, but Tera Grass has also seen usage as a way to cover for its weaknesses to Water and Ground while also granting it a useful coverage option in Grass-type Tera Blast. While Choice Scarf has been the most common set early on, Life Orb, Choice Specs, and even slow bulky sets have been utilized.

Of its weaknesses, the thing affecting Chi-Yu the most is its lackluster Defense, which leaves it OHKOed by most physical super effective hits and 2HKOed by most neutral one. It also has to be careful about its targeting due to how often it runs Choice items, as something like a Tera Water Amoonguss can easily bait a Fire-type attack and put it to sleep with Spore.

• Chien-Pao @ Focus Sash / Life Orb
• Ability: Sword of Ruin
• Tera Type: Ice / Dark
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Ice Spinner
• - Sucker Punch / Throat Chop
• - Sacred Sword / Throat Chop
• - Protect

Chien-Pao is strutting onto the field as one of the most prolific tools for offense in the early metagame. It's fast, it hits hard, and it has Sword of Ruin to turn even would-be walls into clean 2HKOs. Ice and Dark is an extremely viable STAB combination, nailing threats like Amoonguss, Armarouge, Garchomp, and Gholdengo. It also has the option to run Sacred Sword to break past Dark-types like Chi-Yu and Tyranitar that would otherwise pressure it. Chien-Pao works beautifully by enabling other fast attackers like Tera Normal Extreme Speed Dragonite and Tera Steel Bullet Punch Scizor with its ability, taking over games with even more efficiency than the likes of Chi-Yu and Flutter Mane.

The biggest thing holding Chien-Pao back is its relatively poor bulk matched up with a bad defensive typing, meaning it has to be played very carefully to stick around on the field for more than a few turns. Since it relies on single-target moves, this typically means getting lots of predictions around Protect right or being on the field at the right time as an ideal partner.