SV OU Suspect Coverage: Terastallization

By Finchinator. Released: 2023/01/10.
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Suspect thread | Suspect result announcement | Policy Review thread | Vote thread
Art by Pissog

Art by Pissog.

Introduction

The ninth generation brought us the new mechanic of Terastallization! This concept has been prevalent in Pokémon's Scarlet & Violet Overused metagame throughout its infancy, changing the type of approaches our players take. Terastallization has become one of the most polarizing tiering topics in Smogon's long history, as many people thought it added value and strategy to the game we play, while many others believed it diminished the competitive nature of our metagame. Given the controversial nature of the topic, the SV OU tiering council utilized their community as a resource to gain greater perspective through the following means:

After gauging public perception and a great deal of internal discussion, they ultimately concluded that having a public suspect test would be the best idea to proceed. Given the importance of a generational mechanic, the variety of opinions people had on it, and the unique nature of Terastallization in the context of games, the council established a unique, multi-question voting structure. The first question would be if action should be taken at all or not; 60% support would be needed to proceed with action, as a supermajority is typically needed to flip the status quo. From there, ranked choice voting would be utilized to determine which action out of the following pool would be selected if the supermajority was reached:

With this infrastructure in place, Smogon began what may have been the biggest suspect in its history!

Terastallization in Scarlet & Violet OverUsed

Terastallization takes many forms in the OU metagame. Some are for purely offensive purposes, while others are geared for defensive enhancements; there are also some applications of the strategy that incorporate both sides of the spectrum. Below we will outline some common uses of Terastallization in OU through sample sets on both old friends and a new addition from this generation!

dragonite

Dragonite has been around since RBY, but it has gained new life on numerous occasions throughout the history of competitive Pokémon. Terastallization is yet another saving grace for the original pseudo-legendary! During generation five, it gained access to Multiscale, salvaging it and bringing it to a new peak in terms of OU prowess. During generation eight, Heavy-Duty Boots became its item of choice, removing a gnarly weakness to Stealth Rock once and for all. Finally, Terastallization is oftentimes used to make Extreme Speed hit levels we previously only saw from Arceus in the realm of Ubers.

This premise coupled with Dragon Dance and your choice of coverage makes Dragonite one of the hardest Pokémon for offensive teams to handle, while many defensive teams rely on Unaware or the most durable walls to minimize it. Adopting the Normal typing defensively is a bonus, too, as you lose the vulnerability to Ice, Rock, Dragon, and Fairy attacks as a weakness becomes a neutrality. In addition, not many will opt to click a Fighting-type attack into Dragonite initially due to its resistance, so you can frequently obtain a free turn on your Terastallization turn, making setup more comfortable. In addition, it can opt for Roost over coverage for further longevity and setup opportunity. Dragonite is one of the premier users of Terastallization and one of the best offensive presences in the metagame!

skeledirge

Skeledirge is the newest Fire-type starter, introducing itself to generation nine with plenty of viability in the OverUsed metagame! While many look at Torch Song or the interesting Fire / Ghost typing that we have yet to see on a starter, Terastallization truly steals the show for Skeledirge in SV OU. As a predominantly defensive presence with options like Will-O-Wisp and Slack Off to make the greatest use of Unaware, Skeledirge loves turning into a Fairy-type with this mechanic and lose vulnerabilities to common setup Pokémon's attacks such as Crunch from Roaring Moon, Earthquake from Dragonite, Liquidation from Azumarill, Crunch from Chien-Pao, and Kowtow Cleave from Kingambit.

Having an Unaware Pokémon with the ability to adopt an entirely novel typing that virtually flips the type chart can go a long way towards fending off pesky offensive cores built around complementary sweepers, too, and Skeledirge is at the center of that strategy. Becoming a Fairy also grants Skeledirge free turns to inflict status and gain boosts with Torch Song, making it a threatening presence despite its primary purpose as a wall. Given this, Skeledirge is one of the best users of defensive Terastallization in the metagame!

dragapult

Dragapult was one of the faces of OU last generation, and matters are no different this time around as it returns to superstardom in SV OU! This time around, the conventionally fast and strong Choice Specs Dragapult has yet another toy at its disposal with Terastallization. By Terastallizing into its own STAB type—Ghost—Dragapult can obtain a boost akin to that of Adaptability on its most spammable attack, Shadow Ball. Given the relative lack of Normal- and Dark-types in the metagame, Shadow Ball has already been a very strong option, but Terastallization can make it potent! You also lose a few weaknesses such as Ice, Dragon, and Fairy along the way.

The extra power may seem like more of a luxury than a necessity from a glance—and at times, it absolutely can be. But against more balanced cores, Dragapult has always struggled to break through. Now it is able to muscle past Pokémon like Toxapex and Corviknight regardless of their spreads, making it a more dynamic option in very common matchups, while it approaches downright uncounterable levels for offensive teams. You may not be able to outright sweep teams or become a sweep stopper like the aforementioned options, but accessing untapped breaking power as a Pokémon this fast still goes a very long way for Dragapult!

garganacl

Garganacl is our final example, but we certainly did not save the least for last this time around. Garganacl has been one of the best defensive presences in the metagame, benefitting a great deal from Terastallization to help mitigate the shortcomings of a mono-Rock typing as well. Purifying Salt is a godsend of an ability, ignoring all status and limiting the damage of Ghost-type attacks along the way. Salt Cure is also a fantastic new move that allows Garganacl to chip through foes as the battle goes on, making it one of the most pesky and practical strategies in the tier. Pairing this with an Iron Defense + Body Press combination or even alternative options like Stealth Rock if your team needs this can go a long way.

In terms of Terastallization, Garganacl's able to morph into a Water or Fairy type on cue, giving it a lot of neutralities and some timely resistances. This gives it a new lease on life against specific special attackers such as Gholdengo if it changes to Water or Dragapult if Fairy while allowing it to set up on would-be threats such as Great Tusk. In addition, the more neutral and safe defensive typing makes for many more free turns for Garganacl to chip down opposing threats with Salt Cure or sweep through teams with boosted Body Press depending on the circumstances. This makes Garganacl one of the best options to defensively Terastallize in order to improve your ability to wall and slowly break through opposing Pokémon!

These are a few of the many examples of Terastallization we commonly see in our metagame!

Verdict & Closing Thoughts

Terastallization has proven to be a very focal part of each individual game in SV OU, and many times for novel reasons. However, some players cited their ability to adapt and even predict Terastallization, which made it more manageable in their eyes. Over time, it became clearer what type each common Pokémon Terastallized into as well, which led to the invention of the Tera Type Index as well. With this said, there was still a degree of unpredictability and potentially unchecked strategy that came alongside the mechanic as well, making the decision a very tightly contested one for the community. Given this, we had the most people obtaining voting requirements in the history of Smogon!

While many people supported action and the most popular action was adopting the reveal of Tera types at Team Preview, action failed to reach the 60% threshold:

59.25% action—in order to act on Terastallization, we needed to hit 60% action.

The majority was not enough, as a supermajority was needed. Terastallization remained fully legal in the SV OU metagame for the immediate future, and the generation started off with one of the most exciting opening suspects we have ever encountered. Terastallization will continue to shape our metagame in many different ways, so be sure to try it out yourself!

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