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Art by Ticken.
Monotype has always been a unique tier due to the fact that teambuilding is restricted by typing. This means that the larger the number of Pokémon available in the Pokédex, the more diverse the tier can become. However, when there is such a limited Pokédex, the tier is affected, and there are fewer ways to build around your team's weaknesses, leaving the tier more matchup based. That is exactly what has happened in SS Monotype; however, with the release of more Pokémon through different events such as Pokémon Home and the Isle of Armor DLC, we now have a less matchup-based metagame. Throughout this article, we will discuss what are the primary types that benefitted from the DLC and which ones are on top of the metagame because of this.
With the release of the Isle of Armor, many new Pokémon have returned to Monotype such as Volcarona, Azumarill, Amoonguss, Alolan Marowak, Dragalge, and Kingdra, causing many types to improve, such as Water, Fairy, Psychic, Normal, and Bug. Magearna and Urshifu-R were also part of the DLC release, but they were both quickbanned, preventing Steel, Fairy, and Water from profiting from such fierce forces. Kyurem-B wasn't part of the release but was suspected and banned before DLC came because of its insane combination of Dragon Dance and BoltBeam coverage behind screens. Because of this ban, Ice went from one of the best typings to run to one of the mediocre ones at the moment. Here are some examples of Pokémon that have greatly affected the Monotype metagame:
Dragalge gives Dragon a fighting chance against Fairy and Psychic teams because of its access to Sludge Wave and Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes has become a huge threat to Fairy-type teams, which caused Galarian Weezing to have more usage because of the scarcity of reliable hazard removal. Dragalge also supports teammates like Dragapult, Kyurem, and Hydreigon that can run Substitute to rack up damage with set Toxic Spikes. With the addition of new moves in this generation, Dragalge also has gained Flip Turn, which allows it to slowly and safely pivot other Dragon-type Pokémon in while switching out.
Blissey and Chansey are two of the best walls to choose from on Normal; their shared ability to act as walls and access to Stealth Rock have bumped Normal's usage up since DLC. Chansey is bulkier than Blissey with Eviolite and can tank more attacks than Blissey, but Blissey can run Heavy-Duty Boots to be unaffected by opposing entry hazards. Because of the addition of Heavy-Duty Boots and Teleport, Blissey has a unique advantage over Chansey, allowing Normal to forgo hazard removal and focus on other matchups.
Urshifu-S impacted both Fighting- and Dark-type teams because of Wicked Blow, ability in Unseen Fist, and Fighting-type coverage; Wicked Blow has the power to OHKO any Psychic-type Pokémon bar defensive Hatterene and Focus Sash Alakazam, while Unseen Fist bypasses protection moves like Baneful Bunker, King's Shield, and Protect, making it harder for Pokémon like Toxapex, Aegislash, and Dragalge to scout for what move Urshifu-S will choose. It also has to option to run Sucker Punch to revenge kill Pokémon like Dragapult and Gardevoir outside Psychic Terrain. Urishifu-S provides both Dark- and Fighting-type teams a fierce wallbreaker with Choice Band and Black Glasses + Bulk Up, as well as a wide range of moves like U-turn, Wicked Blow, Close Combat, and Poison Jab, which notably hits Primarina and Azumarill; all of these useful to run on Dark-type teams depending on your moveset.
Psychic-type teams have received a few viable Pokémon such as Slowbro, Alakazam, Starmie, Galarian Slowbro, and Slowking, but Alakazam and Slowbro are quite more viable than the other releases. Additionally, Expanding Force is an 80 BP Psychic-type move that came with the DLC that doubles in power in Psychic Terrain, and many Psychic-type Pokémon can benefit from it due to Indeedee's Psychic Surge. Slowbro is a great defensive tank that can switch into Pokémon like Cinderace and Jirachi and keep momentum with Teleport, along with having access to other moves like Thunder Wave, Scald, Slack Off, and Fire Blast. Alakazam can run either Focus Sash or Life Orb and can set up with Nasty Plot or take out physical attackers with Counter. Psych Up is a niche option on Alakazam that helps with beating Volcarona, which is a huge threat to Psychic. While Starmie is not the best of options, it is a decent hazard remover with Rapid Spin that also gained the move Flip Turn this generation. Steel, Ghost, Electric, and Fire are some hard matchups for Psychic because of threats like Bisharp, SubToxic Aegislash, and Zeraora in Electric Terrain. Nasty Plot + Fire Blast Mew does a lot to Steel, but without it, you rely on Trick users like Gardevoir, Jirachi, and Indeedee to beat Corviknight and SubToxic Aegislash. Indeedee benefits the entire team because of Psychic Surge boosting all Psychic moves and disabling priority moves like Sucker Punch and Shadow Sneak from Pokémon like Bisharp and Mimikyu, while Mystical Fire and Trick help greatly against the Steel matchup. Celebi helps a lot with the Electric-type matchup because of its Electric- resistance and natural bulk; Gardevoir can also Trace Zeraora's Volt Absorb and Alolan Raichu's Surge Surfer to take advantage of them for your team, while Alakazam can revenge kill any foe thanks to Focus Sash. Fire is a tremendously hard matchup with the release of Alolan Marowak and Volcarona. Sun- and Quiver Dance-boosted Volcarona or Alolan Marowak with Thick Club can break through pretty much everything Psychic has to offer, along with Incineroar providing a Psychic-type immunity. These are some of the matchups Psychic can struggle with without certain Pokémon, but surprisingly it does pretty well against Dark because of Hatterene and Gardevoir. Psychic is still one of the weirdest typings to run, however, since the many mythicals and legendaries the typing generally offers make it interesting.
Slowbro @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Thunder Wave
- Teleport
- Slack Off
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Trick
- Healing Wish
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 168 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Giga Drain
- Recover
Indeedee (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Expanding Force
- Dazzling Gleam
- Mystical Fire
- Shadow Ball
Hatterene (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Draining Kiss
- Trick Room
Mew @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
Water teams gained a plethora of both offensive and defensive Pokémon in the form of Urshifu-R, Slowbro, Slowking, Kingdra, and many more, allowing it to retain its status as one of the best types in the current SS Monotype metagame. Due to its potent offensive presence being overwhelming in the tier, Urshifu-R departed the tier shortly after its release. Its amazing offensive stats and access to Surging Strikes on top of its ability Unseen Fist when combined with rain was too much for the tier to handle. Slowbro and Slowking prove to be extremely effective defensive pivots thanks to their amazing defensive typing in conjunction with their access to Teleport and reliable recovery in Slack Off. However, the latter is most often the preferred Teleport pivot on Water teams, mostly due to its above average Special Defense stat, which gives Water teams a reliable switch-in to Psychic-type attacks such as Psychic Terrain-boosted Expanding Force. Having retrieved its best rain sweeper in Kingdra, rain Water rose in usage significantly. Along with its newfound access to Hurricane, Kingdra helps ease certain matchups such as Dragon, Fighting, and Grass, which Water struggles against otherwise. Tentacruel has been rising in usage as of late on more offensively oriented teams due its effective role compression as a Toxic Spikes and Rapid Spin user. Although they're as not as common as the aforementioned Pokémon, Water teams also received two extremely potent offensive options in both Azumarill and Sharpedo. With its access to priority in Aqua Jet, the former proves to be extremely beneficial in the Dragon and Dark matchups, while the latter considerably eases the Psychic and Ghost matchups. Although not as common as offensive sets, Azumarill is sometimes seen sporting Whirlpool + Perish Song sets with its hidden ability Sap Sipper on bulky teams. Despite Urshifu-R's quick departure from the tier, these fine additions assist Water in prolonging its reputation as a top-tier type. On the other hand, Water-type teams do still struggle from time to time in the current metagame, with the prevalent usage of Dragon-type teams being one of the major causes. With little to no counterplay against offensive threats such as Freeze-Dry Kyurem, most notably Substitute sets, and Dragon Dance Dragapult, Water-type teams most often fall short in this matchup. On top of that, the increased counterplay against Water-types, commonly seen through sets such as Substitute + Thunderbolt + Grass Knot Heliolisk on Normal and most Jirachi sets on Steel-type teams, proves to be extremely pressuring to Water-type teams. Having said that, with the wide array of options at their disposal, Water-type teams can find ways to navigate through any matchup without much struggle. Overall, Water continue to sustain its stature as a top-tier type, just like every other generation, and can be built to take on a variety of different matchups to much success.
Primarina @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze
- Knock Off
Slowking @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
Rotom-Wash @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Trick
- Defog
Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Aura Sphere
- Scald
- Calm Mind
Gastrodon-East @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain / Sticky Hold
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Recover
Fire teams gained a good chunk of viable new Pokémon through the DLC such as Volcarona, Alolan Marowak, and Talonflame, in addition to the release of Libero Cinderace slightly before, which made it an extremely potent offensive threat. Thanks to Heavy-Duty Boots, Volcarona is no longer weak to hazards and can set up Quiver Dance with extreme ease, making it a potent setup sweeper that can break past almost the entire metagame with just a few Quiver Dance boosts. Alolan Marowak is an insanely powerful physical wallbreaker with newfound access to Poltergeist, a powerful physical Ghost-type STAB nuke. While Talonflame is used less than the other two, it can ease the Fighting matchup, which Fire typically struggles with because of Keldeo and Terrakion. Additionally, in matchups such as Fairy, Talonflame should be preserved, as Dual Wingbeat allows it to serve as an emergency check to Azumarill. Libero allows Cinderace to gain STAB on every attack, meaning it can run various sets with success. However, it has found the most success with Bulk Up. While Fire has found quite some success post-DLC, it is a risky type to bring due to the prevalence of types that it naturally struggles against, such as Water and Dragon. Winning these matchups is very difficult for Fire and forces it to rely on more niche options that will probably not succeed. An example of this is Substitute + Nasty Plot Rotom-H and Quiver Dance + Psychic + Giga Drain Volcarona for Water, while Choice Scarf Solar Power Dragon Pulse Charizard and Sucker Punch Cinderace allow it to take on Dragon. However, rain almost always has Pelipper, which severely hinders the Fire team's ability to get across damage, as well as fast Swift Swim and priority users that the type cannot beat, such as Kingdra and Crawdaunt. However, against other good types such as Fairy, Psychic, Dark, Normal, and Steel, Fire teams excel and easily take advantage of their setup sweepers in Volcarona and Cinderace to beat down the teams. Fire is such a problem for these types that they have created sets specifically to face it, such as Fairy better using Klefki's screens to support Belly Drum Azumarill and Substitute + Calm Mind Primarina, Psychic teams using Psych Up + Psyshock Alakazam to stop Volcarona, Dark teams using Urshifu-S and Hydreigon, and Steel teams using Choice Scarf + Stone Edge Cobalion to check +1 Volcarona, Choice Scarf Charizard, and weakened Cinderace. However, these measures are often not enough. Fire can muscle past all these different Pokémon with the sun and its sheer breaking power, allowing it to win these matchups an overwhelming majority of the time.
Torkoal @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Rapid Spin
- Yawn
- Stealth Rock
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Sucker Punch
- High Jump Kick
- Bulk Up
Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Psychic
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Poltergeist
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
Charizard @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Air Slash
- Focus Blast
- Dragon Pulse
Incineroar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Parting Shot
Bug teams gained the most through the DLC, obtaining key inclusions in the form of Scizor, Volcarona, Heracross, and Scolipede. Scizor, Volcarona, and Heracross have been staples on Bug teams across multiple generations and serve as extremely potent offensive threats in their own right. Though Bug was considered a substandard type within the metagame prior to the DLC, these additions have helped them solidify their stature as one of the foremost types in the current metagame. With the new addition of Heavy-Duty Boots, Volcarona is no longer vulnerable to entry hazards, most notably Stealth Rock. As mentioned earlier, this allows it to set up Quiver Dance and sweep through the majority of the metagame with relative ease. Most often seen sporting a Choice Scarf set, Heracross proves to be an extremely useful late-game sweeper with its decent Speed tier and ideal ability in Moxie to fit its role as a sweeper. Its newfound access to Spikes also allows Bug teams to stack up on hazards even more, mainly against passive Pokémon and forced switches, helping ease matchups such as Poison and Water. Scizor completes the trifecta of the requisite Pokémon on almost every Bug team, most often with Swords Dance sets equipped with Life Orb or Metal Coat. Technician-boosted STAB Bullet Punch allows Scizor to be an extremely potent offensive presence and apply great pressure on Fairy teams, one of the most dominant types within the current metagame. Its newly obtained move in Technician-boosted Dual Wingbeat allows Scizor to dish out large amounts of damage to Pokémon such as Toxapex, Bewear, and Amoonguss. Although not as common as the other three, Scolipede is used as a niche option, as it helps ease out certain matchups such as Fairy, where Bug teams can struggle against Pokémon such as Togekiss. However, Bug type teams tend to struggle against types such as Fire and Flying and have extremely limited counter play against Dracovish, toughening up the Water and Dragon matchups to a certain extent; nevertheless, on top of the newest additions thanks to the DLC, their access to one of the best hazard setters in Shuckle, a substantial counterplay against Fire in Araquanid, and a significant Electric-type in Galvantula to mitigate matchups such as Water and Flying allows Bug teams to preserve its footing as one of the frontrunners in the current Monotype metagame.
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Dual Wingbeat
- Knock Off
Shuckle @ Mental Herb
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Encore
Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Psychic
- Roost
Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Stone Edge
- Spikes
Araquanid @ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Atk / 196 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Mirror Coat
- Scald
Galvantula @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Thunder
- Energy Ball
- Bug Buzz
While Fairy teams did not gain a whole host of Pokémon like some other types, they still received two significant assets in Klefki and Azumarill, which have been staples to the type for multiple generations. Klefki, while not as potent as Azumarill, does an essential job for the team that no other Pokémon can even come close to filling in setting dual screens and Spikes, enabling its offensive teammates like Hatterene, Azumarill, Mimikyu, Grimmsnarl, Togekiss, and Primarina to excel in their roles as setup sweepers. Klefki also provides defensive utility to Fairy teams because of its Steel typing, which allows it to switch into Poison-type attacks, makes it immune to Toxic Spikes and neutral to Steel-type attacks, and provides a bunch of resistances. Azumarill, on the other hand, is an offensive setup sweeper that can take advantage of Klefki's dual screens to set up Belly Drum and absolutely demolish the other team with its powerful Aqua Jet, hit Dragon-type Pokémon and Mandibuzz with Play Rough, and target Pokémon such as Corviknight, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn with Knock Off. Fairy was not a great type before the DLC. However, with the addition of these two, the type's quality has improved tenfold, much like with Fire. These are the tools that Fairy has recently gained that allows it to take the metagame by storm. Galarian Weezing has also recently risen to popularity on Fairy teams, with Neutralizing Gas allowing it to set Toxic Spikes against Magic Bounce Pokémon such as Hatterene, allowing it to ease up the mirror matchup against other Fairy teams and provide support for Pokémon like Mimikyu, Hatterene, and Azumarill. Fairy is quite a reliable type to bring in the current metagame, with very few matchups that it cannot do well in if adequately built. They are also easily tweaked to take on different matchups; for example, using Grimmsnarl and Mimikyu vastly improves matchups such as Psychic and Ghost, while using Nasty Plot + Fire Blast Togekiss can make the Steel matchup much easier to handle. Nasty Plot + Thunder Wave can also allow Togekiss to be a general nuisance to defensive teams and offensive teams alike; Nasty Plot allows it to break past walls better, while Thunder Wave can allow it to beat faster Pokémon such as Cinderace. Thanks to its ability Serene Grace, it can easily boost and take down its foes with Air Slash flinches, allowing it to check Pokémon it otherwise would not like Mantine. While Fire teams can give Fairy teams trouble due to their great wallbreaking power, Fairy teams have ways to build around this matchup by using both Primarina and Azumarill behind dual screens, which can easily overwhelm Fire teams that otherwise can handle one of them. Mimikyu is also an invaluable asset, as it can serve as an emergency check to a ton of offensive threats thanks to Disguise, which allows it to take one hit for free and retaliate, providing Fairy teams ways to check threats such as Scolipede, Dracovish, and Alolan Raichu. Overall, Fairy teams are super reliable in the current metagame and can be built to take on various matchups.
Klefki @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Foul Play
- Spikes
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
Togekiss @ Babiri Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Roost
Hatterene (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Draining Kiss
- Trick Room
Mimikyu @ Life Orb
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Darkest Lariat
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch
The Isle of Armor has brought many changes to Monotype with portions of Pokémon released throughout the generation and allows players to crave to see how the next release will change the tier. Despite unwinnable matchups like Flying versus Electric and Water versus Grass, many typings have became more playable, causing every type to be relevant besides Rock.
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