The Teal Mask: New Faces in SV Monotype

By TheRealBigC, Ashbala, CaptainDaimyo, and Neko. Released: 2023/11/16.
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Art by Daylight

Art by Daylight.

Metagame Trends

The release of the Teal Mask DLC has caused significant shifts within the SV Monotype metagame; the most important of these thus far has been the dramatic rise in the viability of Ice. Prior to the Teal Mask DLC, Ice was a somewhat middling type with a lack of good options outside of Chien-Pao and Baxcalibur, generally used only as a specific counter to Flying, Ground, and Poison teams. However, the Teal Mask DLC brought many valuable buffs to the type like Baxcalibur receiving Scale Shot and the additions of Alolan Ninetales, the Mamoswine line, and Alolan Sandslash, all of which combined have caused Ice to become far more threatening against the bulk of the metagame. With the recent Baxcalibur suspect test resulting in no ban, Ice is here to stay as a staple type. Grass is another type that has received significant buffs in the Teal Mask with the additions of Ogerpon-H, Shell Smash Torterra, and Sinistcha, significantly improving the type’s matchups against staple types such as Steel and Poison. Poison has also significantly benefited from the DLC owing to the introduction of Galarian Weezing, which provides excellent role compression by serving as both a natural immunity to Ground and hazard control in one slot. Outside of Ice and Grass, Dark remains one of the most powerful types in the metagame as a result of receiving valuable new tools in Darkrai and Mandibuzz. Water similarly has remained strong with the DLC due to the gain of powerful options such as Roost Empoleon, Manaphy, and Ogerpon-W. On the other hand, Flying has slightly fallen from the dominance it had over the tier pre-DLC, although remaining a strong choice overall. This is primarily a consequence of the massively increased presence of Ice teams in the metagame, which Flying has very limited counterplay options for.

Alolan Ninetales

ninetales-alola

Winter has come early for SV Monotype as Alolan Ninetales's snow descends upon the tier. Alolan Ninetales has already established itself as an essential support piece for Ice teams, serving as an excellent Aurora Veil setter due to its great Speed tier and deceptively good physical bulk under snow. On top of this, Alolan Ninetales provides further utility to Ice teams through its neutrality to Fighting and unique immunity to Dragon, its capacity to threaten Water- and Fighting-types with its STAB Freeze-Dry and Moonblast, respectively, and its potential to provide setup opportunities for sweepers such as Baxcalibur with fast Encore or Hypnosis. It is hard to overstate just how important the introduction of Alolan Ninetales has been for Ice teams; its plethora of crucial advantages compared to the mediocre Abomasnow have been the primary driving force behind the dramatic rise in the type's viability in the metagame. On Fairy teams, Alolan Ninetales is less useful due to its team not benefitting much from snow support, but it can still potentially find use as an Aurora Veil setter that can uniquely threaten Water-types while having access to Encore to prevent setup sweepers from exploiting it.

Galarian Weezing

weezing-galar

Galarian Weezing is a distinguished gentleman that provides Poison teams with a buffer against Ground-type threats like Garchomp and Great Tusk due to Levitate and functions as a soft check to Chien-Pao due to its typing. It also provides entry hazard removal with Defog and can wear down the opposing team with burns due to Toxapex's inability to spew hot water these days. However, since its only source of recovery is Pain Split, as its item will surely be removed via Knock Off, working together with Amoonguss and choosing when exactly to swap in is vital to its success. Furthermore, Galarian Weezing relieves the burden of needing an Air Balloon on Poison teams while also completing Poison's immunity core alongside Alolan Muk.

Torterra

torterra

Torterra returns looking more terrifying than ever. By gaining Shell Smash, it finally has a reason to be used in Monotype! After one Shell Smash, it can outspeed and check Pokemon like Ogerpon-H and Sneasler. With Heavy Slam, Torterra can check Fairy-types that resist both its STAB moves like Enamorus and Galarian Weezing. Shell Armor may seem inferior to Overgrow on paper, but this grants it a better matchup against Urshifu-R. White Herb is an alternative to Soft Sand in order to have more longevity by negating the defensive drops from Shell Smash.

Infernape

infernape

Infernape's return makes it a great addition for both Fire and Fighting teams. Fire teams greatly appreciate it resisting and threatening Kingambit, as well as being a great revenge killer with Mach Punch capable of taking out threats like Chien-Pao and weakened Baxcalibur. Infernape offers Fighting teams a great check against several slower Flying-types like Corviknight and Enamorus while also being able to remove Heavy-Duty Boots from foes like Dragonite and Sableye with Knock Off, which makes entry hazards from the likes of Great Tusk and Clodsire more effective. Fighting teams also appreciate Infernape's coverage against Psychic teams thanks to Knock Off and U-turn. Infernape can also run other sets aside from Choice Band, such as a Nasty Plot set thanks to its access to Vacuum Wave and Grass Knot.

Empoleon

empoleon

The emperor makes a triumphant return to SV Monotype, boasting three crucial buffs: access to Roost and Flip Turn and a new ability in Competitive. Roost massively extends Empoleon’s longevity; this, combined with Flip Turn, means Empoleon can serve as a defensive pivot that can stick around through longer games while generating progress with Knock Off. Empoleon is further strengthened by its new ability Competitive, which means it now dissuades Defog through its mere presence on teams and loves having its offensive stats lowered by moves such as Moonblast and Mystical Fire. On Water teams, Empoleon offers Fairy and Dragon resistances, an immunity to Poison and Toxic, and a crucial unique neutrality to Freeze-Dry, which can otherwise cleave through Water teams. Moreover, Empoleon can also serve as a crucial check to Baxcalibur sets that do not use Earthquake. Meanwhile, on Steel, Empoleon offers a key resistance to Water and a neutrality to Fire, as well as a way to directly threaten problematic Fire-types such as Moltres and Heatran.

Gliscor

gliscor

This flying scorpion swoops down to visit Kitakami to bless Flying teams with a bulky Electric immunity, a Heatran counter, and a switch-in against Poison teams. Since Gliscor lost Roost, Protect is mandatory to remain airborne for longer. A specially defensive spread is ideal, as it forms a defensive core alongside Corviknight and Articuno, dealing with Flutter Mane, which would otherwise wreak havoc on Flying teams with moves like Power Gem and Thunderbolt. Alternatively, a spread of 244 HP / 16 Def / 188 SpD / 60 Spe with an Impish nature can also be used, notably allowing it to function as a good switch-in against Hisuian Arcanine and Ceruledge. SubToxic sets can also be viable, especially on Flying teams, but they come at a cost of its inability to run entry hazards. On Ground teams, Gliscor completes an entry hazard-stacking core alongside Clodsire and Quagsire, but the opportunity cost of not running Landorus, which would have patched up the mediocre Speed tier of Ground teams, is notable.

Mamoswine

mamoswine

Mamoswine seems poised to serve another generation as a mammoth threat on both Ice and Ground teams alike. On Ice teams, Mamoswine plays a critical role as the type’s best Stealth Rock user, serves as a threat to bulky Steel-types such as Heatran and Kingambit, and offers an important Fire neutrality through its ability Thick Fat. Mamoswine is particularly adept at keeping Stealth Rock up due to its capacity to threaten Corviknight with Smack Down, forcing it to either switch out or eat a super effective STAB Earthquake. On Ground teams, Mamoswine can act as a powerful wallbreaker that can smash through foes such as Landorus-T, Zapdos, and Dragonite with its strong STAB Ice-type moves, including priority in Ice Shard, while defensively offering a unique resistance to Ice. It is worth noting that Mamoswine’s pre-evolution, Piloswine, can serve as a bulkier alternative to Mamoswine on Ice teams when used with Eviolite; however, it sees less use in SV due to the loss of Toxic and its inability to check new threats such as Ogerpon-H.

Manaphy

manaphy

The veteran has returned as a solid bulky setup sweeper, being especially powerful in matchups such as Poison and Fighting. Scald is Manaphy's most reliable STAB move thanks to its ability to cripple opposing physical attackers with a burn. Psychic provides coverage against Fighting- and Poison-types. Tail Glow and Substitute help in certain matchups, allowing Manaphy to set up on bulky Pokemon like Toxapex, Amoonguss, and Clodsire, turning it into a potent special sweeper. The mentioned EVs emphasize its bulk and longevity, letting it take hits like Alolan Muk's Knock Off while behind its Substitute. Overall, it can fit well on rain-based teams thanks to its ability and benefiting from the boosted power of its Water-type moves under rain.

Darkrai

darkrai

Having spent most of its existence confined to the shadowy realm of Ubers, Darkrai has thus far proven itself to be less than a nightmare for the tier as it makes its debut in Monotype, being balanced by its lack of a consistent sleep move due to the historic nerf of Dark Void, middling bulk, and lack of a secondary typing or defensive utility. This being said, Darkrai is still an incredibly potent offensive threat in SV Monotype due to its great Special Attack and Speed coupled with its extensive movepool. With a Nasty Plot set, Darkrai can use Substitute on switches to easily accumulate boosts and then blast through teams with powerful special attacks. Darkrai has also proven itself to be a potent Choice Scarf user, outspeeding and threatening to OHKO many of the faster Choice Scarf users in the tier such as Iron Valiant, Meowscarada, and Sneasler, depending on the coverage moves it runs. Additionally, Darkrai can cripple defensive walls such as Corviknight and Toxapex with Trick on its Choice Scarf set, as well as gamble with Hypnosis on forced switches or in a pinch.

Mandibuzz

mandibuzz

This vulture-looking Pokemon came as a blessing to Dark as a reliable defensive support that can remove hazards that Dark really struggled with. Foul Play takes advantage of opposing physical attackers, while Knock Off provides support in removing items from bulkier foes like Corviknight, Toxapex, and Amoonguss, decreasing their longevity. Brave Bird is another STAB option that deals with Bug- and Fighting-types such as Volcarona, Heracross, and Great Tusk. U-turn can provide momentum by allowing Mandibuzz to switch out after scouting the foe's move, while Toxic can be used to wear down walls and bulkier Pokemon over time. The mentioned EVs allow Mandibuzz to outspeed Azumarill and take it out with Foul Play after it uses Belly Drum. Overall, Mandibuzz is a valuable utility Dark-type Pokemon with the ability to pivot, remove hazards, and provide support for its team.

Kommo-o

kommo-o

Kommo-o's main flaw since SM was that if it ran a boosting set, it was very likely it would be revenge killed by the opposing team's Choice Scarf user due to its mediocre Speed. With its reintroduction in SV, Kommo-o obtained Vacuum Wave, letting it blow away Choice Scarf Meowscarada, Greninja, Iron Treads, and common priority users like Mamoswine and Chien-Pao with minimal chip. Because of this, Kommo-o is able to clean up types like Ice, Steel, Dark, and Water after a Clangorous Soul boost, which is greatly appreciated by Dragon teams. Meanwhile, Fighting teams like its ability to be a special attacker, as Iron Valiant was the only viable one beforehand. It can still run the IronPress set it used in the previous generation, but it overlaps with Hisuian Goodra or Zamazenta. Both sets face the same issues, notably being helpless against Fairy-types like Iron Valiant, Enamorus, and Flutter Mane, having an inability to hit everything due to the lack of moveslots, and lacking Taunt, meaning healthy Haze users and phazers like Toxapex and Ting-Lu can handle it in a pinch.

Ursaluna-Bloodmoon

ursaluna-bloodmoon

The Teal Mask DLC has introduced another new face that was recently banned in the Overused tier. Ursaluna-B's ability to hit Ghost types with Normal- and Fighting-type moves is a boon for Normal, and its access to Vacuum Wave covers certain matchups such as Ice and Dark. Its signature move, Blood Moon, does massive STAB damage to foes. Calm Mind helps it become a more effective special wall and increases its damage output. Moonlight ensures longevity, allowing it to set up more and threaten to sweep. The mentioned EVs let it outspeed uninvested Magnezone and Hisuian Goodra. Alternatively, more can be invested in Speed to outspeed Jolly Kingambit, guaranteeing Vacuum Wave's priority over Kingambit's Sucker Punch.

Sinistcha

sinistcha

Sinistcha is a refreshing take on another beverage-serving Ghost, capable of being a bulky setup sweeper with a great signature move in Matcha Gotcha, which is Scald and Giga Drain mixed in. Due to this, it's able to take over matchups like Ground and Water for Ghost teams, especially if paired with Substitute to prevent Toxapex and Clodsire from tainting the matcha with Toxic. For Grass teams, it can handle the heat to quell Fire-types like Volcanion and Heatran due to Heatproof and access to Scald, though the matchup is still far from guaranteed due to Ogerpon-H and Ceruledge being able to quickly take advantage of it. In that case, a spread of 228 HP / 80 Def / 200 SpD would be great, as its Substitute will never be broken by Heatran's Lava Plume after a Calm Mind boost, and the Speed investment is unneeded, as Grass teams naturally answer Azumarill.

Munkidori

munkidori

Munkidori is a swift, brand-new threat introduced in the Teal Mask DLC! Its Speed coupled with a Choice Scarf allows it to outspeed Dragapult and Iron Valiant, as well as Speed tying with Choice Scarf Enamorus. Munkidori brings a lot to the table for Psychic teams, being able to serve as the team's speed control as well as being a quite consistent status spreader with Toxic Chain, bypassing Hatterene's Magic Bounce and Sableye's Taunt. Shadow Ball grants Munkidori coverage against both Dragapult and Flutter Mane, while Focus Blast grants it coverage against Dark- and Steel-types like Hisuian Samurott and Iron Treads, which is appreciated by both Psychic and Poison teams alike. For the fourth slot, U-turn and Parting Shot are both great pivot options, with U-turn being helpful against frail Dark- and Grass-types like Hydreigon and Meowscarada, and Parting Shot being able to weaken offensive foes for its teammates to handle.

Ogerpon

ogerpon-hearthflame ogerpon-wellspring ogerpon-cornerstone
  • Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon-Hearthflame (F) @ Hearthflame Mask
  • Ability: Mold Breaker
  • EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  • Jolly Nature
  • - Swords Dance
  • - Ivy Cudgel
  • - Power Whip
  • - Play Rough
  • Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring (F) @ Wellspring Mask
  • Ability: Water Absorb
  • EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  • Jolly Nature
  • - Swords Dance
  • - Ivy Cudgel
  • - Power Whip
  • - Play Rough
  • Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon-Cornerstone (F) @ Cornerstone Mask
  • Ability: Sturdy
  • EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  • Jolly Nature
  • - Swords Dance
  • - Ivy Cudgel
  • - Power Whip
  • - Knock Off

Ogerpon's masked formes have begun making flames, waves, and rockslides throughout the multiple teams they can find themselves on due to the 20% power increase on their moves. Ogerpon-H is definitely the strongest forme of them all due to its access to Mold Breaker, allowing it to better check Unaware walls like Dondozo, which Fire teams greatly appreciate. Ogerpon-H also provides value to Grass teams, being able to match up well against the Steel-types most Grass staples struggle with. Ogerpon-W provides Water teams with a greatly appreciated neutrality to Electric-type moves, as well as providing Grass with a neutrality to Fire. It along with the aforementioned Ogerpon-H can check Dragon-types with Play Rough. Ogerpon-C provides a great amount of utility to Grass and especially Rock teams, as Sturdy coupled with both Knock Off and Swords Dance allows it to either mostly guarantee a setup or remove essential items like Heavy-Duty Boots, making hazards more effective.

Final Thoughts

The Teal Mask DLC was a massive shake-up for SV Monotype, and with the Indigo Disk DLC on the horizon, this is an exciting time to get involved with the metagame. Check out the Monotype forum on Smogon, the Monotype Discord server, and the Monotype room on Pokemon Showdown for metagame resources and discussion!

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