A Modern Introduction to LGPE OU

By Eve. Released: 2021/06/10.
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A Modern Introduction to LGPE OU art

Art by tiki.

Introduction

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee (LGPE) OU is a very unique tier that, in spite of its relative simplicity and limited roster of Pokémon, has several interesting strategies and intricacies to be explored. While its playerbase has declined in size over time, many metagame developments have still occurred over the past two years that have greatly transformed the tier. This article will be used to paint a picture of the LGPE OU metagame and its development for those interested in trying it out.

What's So Different About LGPE?

LGPE has several key differences when compared to modern mainline entries. One fairly unimportant change is that battles are played at level 50, but perhaps the most striking differences come from what LGPE lacks; while natures and IVs are still present, held items, abilities, EVs, and many moves are entirely missing, meaning most Pokémon are quite restricted in terms of the roles they can fill. The lack of EVs leaves low stats exposed, most notably leading to Chansey being OHKOed by almost any strong physical attack. Mega Evolution comes at no opportunity cost due to Mega Stones being Key Items, which means you can run multiple viable Pokémon that can Mega Evolve as a serious option.

As for moves, the absence of certain ones greatly shapes the metagame. While Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Sticky Web are all absent, so are Rapid Spin and Defog, which means Stealth Rock is entirely permanent once set. While it may sound ridiculous, this can actually be seen as a balancing factor, as it helps keep otherwise overwhelming forces such as Zapdos, Mega Beedrill, and Mega Charizard Y in check; however, its effect on the metagame is still undeniably massive. The absence of many instant recovery moves and Wish means that damage dealt in LGPE tends to be quite permanent against all but the select few Pokémon that can learn Roost, Recover, or Soft-Boiled. Rest is widespread, but the removal of Sleep Talk, Heal Bell, and Aromatherapy makes it very ineffective. All of this makes traditional stall-oriented strategies near impossible to pull off, and as a result many teams considered defensive will more closely resemble the bulky offense or balance archetypes.

Finally, several moves are altered in LGPE. Teleport's new SwSh function actually originated here, and it sees some usage on Chansey, Mew, and other bulky Pokémon to provide a safe switch to their threatening offensive teammates. Some moves are buffed to compensate for the removal of items or other moves; Sky Attack and Solar Beam are 200 Base Power due to the lack of Power Herb and sun, while Mega Drain is identical to Giga Drain due to the latter's absence. Despite the massive power of the former two moves, their charge turn still makes them very difficult to use effectively, and as such they are only ever seen as niche options on Zapdos and Mega Venusaur, respectively.

Which Pokémon Dominate the Format?

LGPE OU has many great Pokémon, but three stand out above the rest in the current metagame. Knowing what these three do is absolutely vital when learning the metagame.

Melmetal

Melmetal

Melmetal isn't a native Pokémon to the Kanto region, but that hasn't stopped it from settling into the metagame as possibly the best and most important Pokémon. It bears the distinction of being the only Steel-type that can be relied on defensively, as its competition in Alolan Dugtrio, Alolan Sandslash, and Magneton have poor bulk and/or dual typings that result in horrible quadruple weaknesses. Melmetal, on the other hand, boasts physical bulk on par with Mega Slowbro. Melmetal's unparalleled ability to take hits and return fire with its own means it anchors almost every serious LGPE OU team, helping stave off massively threatening cleaners like Mega Beedrill, Dragonite, and Mega Alakazam. As a result, forcing the opponent's Melmetal to sustain significant damage throughout a battle is vital to the functioning of most successful teams. Its massive Attack stat paired with its amazing coverage options and Double Iron Bash, which is effectively a 120 Base Power STAB move, makes it possibly the most powerful wallbreaker in the tier as well. It does have flaws—namely its low Speed, mediocre special bulk, and lack of recovery, which all lead to it getting worn down quickly if not preserved—but these are more than made up for by its excellent positive qualities.

Mew

Mew
  • Mew
  • Level: 50
  • Timid Nature
  • - Scald
  • - Stealth Rock
  • - Roost
  • - U-turn
  • Mew
  • Level: 50
  • Timid / Bold Nature
  • - Psychic
  • - Will-O-Wisp
  • - Roost
  • - U-turn / Taunt
  • Mew
  • Level: 50
  • Timid Nature
  • IVs: 0 Atk
  • - Nasty Plot
  • - Psychic
  • - Thunderbolt
  • - Fire Blast / Roost
  • Mew
  • Level: 50
  • Jolly Nature
  • - Bulk Up
  • - Facade
  • - Earthquake
  • - Roost

Mew is as good as you'd expect and then some. As should be clear, Mew's massive movepool, which contains every single TM, gives it unmatched versatility. This is only strengthened by its all-round amazing stats that let it tailor itself to almost any role, a rare privilege in a metagame devoid of EVs. To put this into perspective, Mew has so many viable sets that we couldn't fit them all in this article. Its great bulk that lets it avoid being OHKOed by even the strongest super effective moves, limited set of weaknesses, access to reliable recovery in Roost alongside U-turn, and high Speed culminate to make Mew a defensive staple of the metagame, notably helping stave off powerful Earthquake users like Alolan Dugtrio and Rhydon to compensate for the tier's dearth of actual Ground-resistant Pokémon. Mew can also provide utility via Stealth Rock, of which it is the most reliable setter, or go on the offensive with sets like Nasty Plot and Bulk Up which, while unlikely to sweep due to Mew's tendency to get hit with Toxic, are unparalleled wallbreakers. Mew's main flaws are its vulnerability to Toxic, which greatly hinders its staying power, and the relative passivity of more defensive sets, but neither of these is crippling enough to stop Mew from being utterly dominant.

Zapdos

Zapdos

Zapdos's great defensive typing, good defensive stats, and rare access to a reliable recovery move in Roost let it check many threatening Pokémon like Melmetal and Mega Gyarados far better than almost anything else. It's not just powerful defensively; Zapdos's great base 125 Special Attack and potent STAB Thunderbolt, alongside U-turn to avoid its poor matchups, make it an oppressive offensive tool that almost always applies pressure to the opposing team. This combination of consistent defensive utility and an immediately threatening offensive presence is entirely unmatched, and as a result many consider Zapdos a near-mandatory choice for teams. Zapdos's presence in the metagame often pressures teams to run a Ground-type in order to prevent it from outright dominating them, as it easily wears down and outlasts even bulky Pokémon like Alolan Muk in spite of its noteworthy Stealth Rock weakness.

Which Other Pokémon Are Good?

These Mega Evolutions may not be as good as the three Pokémon listed above, but they're still just as incredibly powerful as they were two years ago and massively influence the metagame.

Mega Aerodactyl

Mega Aerodactyl

Mega Aerodactyl is considered by many to be the most reliable Mega Evolution available, boasting great offensive coverage, near-unmatched Speed, and access to Roost alongside a useful defensive typing that lets it exploit the use of common attacks such as U-turn and Earthquake. All of this combines to make it a powerful cleaner and wallbreaker that can function effectively in any stage of a battle. While it was previously popular as a Stealth Rock user, as it can set the hazard up against absolutely anything, it has turned out to be a much more effective Pokémon when not burdened with this role, especially as it was often KOed in the process of setting the hazard and therefore was considered by some to be a waste of a team's Mega Evolution. Dropping Stealth Rock has freed it of this burden and allowed it to run Crunch, greatly improving its matchups against Mew and Starmie.

Mega Alakazam

Mega Alakazam

Mega Alakazam shares Mega Aerodactyl's Speed tier but trades defensive utility and widespread super effective coverage for raw power. Mega Alakazam's sets haven't changed at all over the years, but the way it is used has—in order to help with weakening its best checks, namely Melmetal, Alolan Muk, Mega Gyarados, and Chansey, it is typically paired with other powerful special attackers that share these checks, such as Gengar and Shell Smash Cloyster. Once these checks are weakened or removed, players are often left watching helplessly as their teams are torn apart by its nuclear Psychic.

Mega Gyarados

Mega Gyarados

Mega Gyarados plays similarly to Melmetal, with its immense power, high defensive stats, and perfect coverage making it a nightmare to take on for almost any team. Not even Zapdos, a Pokémon that seems like it should do quite well against Mega Gyarados, can reliably switch in and heal off its attacks or dispatch of it. Dragon Tail is a somewhat new development that has become a large part of Mega Gyarados's game plan in recent times, allowing it to pile on damage against its few possible switch-ins like Poliwrath, Bold Zapdos, and Melmetal when paired with Stealth Rock and prevent setup opportunities from Dragonite as a bonus.

What's Changed Since the Metagame Started?

The metagame has changed significantly since its early days, with several Pokémon falling out of favor and others coming seemingly from nowhere into prominence. Let's look at some of the most noteworthy examples!

Mega Gengar Gengar

Mega Gengar was largely overlooked in favor of Mega Alakazam in the metagame's early stages due to the latter's boosting capabilities and superior stats. Once its power was realized, however, it quickly established itself unquestionably as the most overbearing offensive force available. This was due to its excellent dual STAB and coverage in combination with the great utility options Gengar possesses, most notably Will-O-Wisp, leaving it with absolutely zero consistent or reliable counterplay. This eventually lead to Mega Gengar being suspect tested and banned in early 2020, making it the only Pokémon other than Mewtwo to be named Uber at the time of writing. That's not where the story ends for Gengar though—its regular forme has proven to be a very effective wallbreaker as well, usually acting as a fantastic partner for former rival Mega Alakazam due to their almost identical list of shared checks.

Mega Beedrill

Mega Beedrill was another Pokémon initially considered unviable due to its nonexistent defensive utility, troublesome weakness to the permanent Stealth Rock, and awful matchup against the ever-amazing Mega Aerodactyl, but it didn't take people too long to realize how excellent it is. Mega Beedrill's dual STAB and Drill Run provide amazing coverage over all viable Pokémon barring the aforementioned Mega Aerodactyl, and its fantastic Speed tier in combination with a very powerful U-turn has let Mega Beedrill establish itself as what is undeniably the most threatening offensive pivot in the metagame. Even Melmetal doesn't enjoy switching into Beedrill, as it gets worn down and threatened by Beedrill's powerful teammates after a U-turn.

Eevee-S

Unlike the above Pokémon, Eevee-S has seen a significant decline in usage and viability since the early stages of the metagame. Its great attacks with undoubtedly amazing effects, such as guaranteed burn and paralysis, Leech Seed, and setting screens, made it a nightmare to safely pivot around. Furthermore, Sparkly Swirl giving it access to the only means of reliably curing status in the entire game seemed like it would make running Rest viable and therefore improve most teams. As time went on, however, players realized that Eevee-S's pitiful stats and lack of resistances left it vulnerable to simply being defeated in most 1v1 scenarios by STAB moves. This realization limited how much useful utility Eevee-S could provide, as people no longer switched between several Pokémon to try and handle it and therefore protected themselves from having status spread across their entire team. Relying on Eevee-S for supporting Rest users also became unpopular, as those teams were mediocre and entirely reliant on Eevee-S almost solely using Sparkly Swirl to function, therefore reducing Eevee-S's potential to actually pose any threat to the opposing team and making it very easy to take down.

Rhydon

Though it was once considered LGPE OU's flagship Ground-type thanks to its great power and resistance to Zapdos's Drill Peck, Rhydon has taken a back seat to more effective and reliable options in recent times. Its weaknesses, compounded by its awful special bulk, are common and atrocious, especially its quadruple weakness to Water which leaves it OHKOed by the extremely popular Scald Mew. As a result, there are many situations in which it can be extremely difficult for Rhydon to perform its traditional role of setting up Stealth Rock, especially as a lead. Additionally, while it can threaten Zapdos directly more effectively than any other Ground-type, it struggles to act as a consistent switch-in due to its vulnerability to Toxic, which has become significantly more popular than Drill Peck. Rhydon's atrocious Speed also makes it vulnerable to the likes of Mega Drain Alolan Muk, which is not a threat in the slightest for most other Ground-types. Players looking for a bulky Ground-type typically choose Nidoqueen nowadays thanks to its well-rounded defensive stats and typing that make it much harder to wear down or OHKO, increasing its reliability both as a Stealth Rock user and Zapdos answer, while players looking for an offensive Ground-type typically choose Alolan Dugtrio thanks to its valuable Toxic immunity and fantastic Speed tier.

Final Thoughts

Despite its age, reputation, and somewhat limited selection of Pokémon available, LGPE OU has had plenty of significant developments and adaptations in recent times. It's a charmingly unique and underexplored tier, and I hope some of you will give it a try! For more information about the tier, check out our discussion thread located in the Ruins of Alph forum.

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