Top Ten Titans of Gen 8 Doubles OU

By zoe and Yoda2798. Released: 2022/11/01.
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Art by skrimps

Art by skrimps.

Introduction

It's been said dozens of times at this point, but Generation 8 has had an unprecedented number of meta shifts due to its two DLCs (and Pokémon HOME's release, although to a much lesser extent). Those meta shifts have lead to drastically different environments in which few Pokémon can dominate throughout. While there are a few exceptions to that rule, which you'll see later in this list, Pokémon in the top 10 are likely to have shown dominance throughout a single meta, albeit likely not a sustained one. Near-pointless introductions aside, let's go over the results of DOU's Top Ten Titans project.

10

Landorus

The most recent development on this list, Landorus was entirely unphenomenal from the release of Crown Tundra until the first Smogon Champions League, where it established itself as a strong offensive threat due to its good Speed and immediate power with Sheer Force- and Life Orb-boosted attacks, with it even getting a suspect after (although it didn't get banned). Its strength mainly came from the prevalence of stacking Pokémon weak to Ground-type moves and its ability to do inflict severe damage upon even neutral targets without being slowed down by Intimidate, with the latter two being significant advantages Landorus has over Zygarde, whose power can leave a lot to be desired even without Intimidate in play. In addition, Sludge Bomb hit many common Pokémon that could take an Earth Power, such as Rillaboom and Tapu Fini, while still allowing Landorus to run another move, such as Focus Blast for Assault Vest Kyurem-B and Porygon2 or Psychic for opposing Landorus. Its presence spurred the usage of Celesteela and Cresselia, in addition to provoking Pokémon like Metagross and Volcanion to run Shuca Berry in order to take a hit from Landorus and OHKO back. However, outside of those developments, Landorus's influence on the meta is lackluster in comparison to most other Pokémon on the list, and arguably some not on this list.

9

Kyurem-B
  • Chople Berry Kyurem-Black @ Chople Berry
  • Ability: Teravolt
  • EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
  • Adamant Nature
  • - Icicle Spear
  • - Fusion Bolt
  • - Dragon Dance
  • - Protect
  • Assault Vest Kyurem-Black @ Assault Vest
  • Ability: Teravolt
  • EVs: 228 HP / 128 SpD / 152 Spe
  • Timid Nature
  • - Ice Beam
  • - Fusion Bolt
  • - Earth Power
  • - Icy Wind

Another controversial pick on the list, Kyurem-B has easily the highest BST of any Pokémon legal in DOU, and it being viable since its introduction back in Generation 5 is no coincidence either. While it was quickbanned upon its release with Pokémon HOME due to the strength of its Dragon Dance set and remained banned until Crown Tundra, both its Assault Vest and Dragon Dance sets stayed at Tier 1 of the viability rankings for the majority of the time since its unban, with it only recently dropping to Tier 2. Its Assault Vest set acts as a massive damage sponge, with Kyurem-B's colossal HP allowing it to take massive amounts of damage without being KOed, in particular avoiding a OHKO from Modest Life Orb Naganadel's Draco Meteor and Nihilego's Meteor Beam. That obscene bulk makes it extremely difficult for Pokémon like Zygarde, Heatran, and Landorus to break through Kyurem-B, with the former two being extremely relevant due to their dominance while Kartana was legal and the latter being a highly desirable trait to this day. Kyurem-B can also significantly disrupt the opposing team, with Icy Wind being extremely difficult to switch into for faster offensive teams, which makes it exponentially more threatening as a result. However, near the end of OSDT I and to this day, Kyurem-B's most dominant set is by far its Dragon Dance set. Kyurem-B's extremely high stats not only allow it to set up with ease but also grant it immense breaking power thanks to its base 170 Attack, even with a STAB move as unreliable as Icicle Spear. A single Dragon Dance can turn the tables on common offensive checks like Urshifu-R and Naganadel, while Diancie, a very common check to Kyurem-B, can be OHKOed after a boost. However, Incineroar can remove a substantial amount of the threat Dragon Dance Kyurem-B poses while it is alive, and the Assault Vest set suffers from an extreme weakness to Stealth Rock, a weakness Dragon Dance variants share, albeit at a less severe level. However, above all, Kyurem-B is strong but didn't actually have as much influence on the metagame as the Pokémon higher on this list. Its common checks like Incineroar and Diancie would be good regardless, and few to no meta developments have occurred because of it. Kyurem-B is just a very strong Pokémon, but not much else.

8

Gothitelle

One of the few support Pokémon on this list, Gothitelle is most known for its ability Shadow Tag. Despite consistently being an overpowering presence in singles, the ability has historically been less of a problem in doubles. The only previously banned user is Mega Gengar in SM, combining it with excellent offensive attributes to exert massive pressure. Meanwhile, Gothitelle plays a more supportive role, assisting its teammates with moves like Helping Hand and Heal Pulse but primarily with trapping support. Unthreatening by itself, Gothitelle's effectiveness relies on creating favorable board states for its partner to excel in, though in the past this could be difficult to properly achieve. This generation, an important new tool was added to Gothitelle's arsenal in Fake Out, remedying this problem. With the ability to shut down an opposing Pokémon for a turn, producing opportune positions for teammates became that much easier, providing safety while a teammate either takes advantage of the opposing Pokémon or switches in for the opportunity to do so. Hypnosis was another new move bonus, giving a strong yet risky option to completely neutralize a target. Ghost-types and pivots rose to better deal with Gothitelle, though the latter could still be prevented from switching by Fake Out. An incredible support option, Gothitelle made the great even greater and as a result stuck around dominating positioning as more offensive Pokémon topped the ban agenda. Gothitelle remained untouched until the release of Crown Tundra, after which Shadow Tag was subsequently quickbanned by council vote and later suspect tested and kept banned by a large margin, with Gothitelle disappearing completely without the powerful ability it relied on.

7

Urshifu-R

The legal form of Urshifu, Urshifu-R proved itself to be a strong offensive threat after Urshifu-S's ban in Isle of Armor to present day. Unseen Fist is extremely powerful in doubles due to it ignoring the omnipresent Protect, which by itself is an extremely powerful ability for an attacker of Urshifu-R's caliber. However, Urshifu-R possesses another powerful trait for strong attackers, in it ignoring Intimidate with Surging Strikes' guaranteed critical hits, which makes it a physical attacker that is extremely difficult to slow down. While it was entirely outclassed by Urshifu-S while it was legal, Urshifu-R replaced it to a degree after it was banned, pretty much filling the same role it did, albeit less effectively. However, upon Crown Tundra's release, those aforementioned traits, along with its STAB combination threatening common Trick Room anchors like Diancie and Porygon2, became extremely desirable for other attackers, particularly Kartana and Zygarde. Urshifu-R's role on that trio lead it to being suspected before Kartana, with over half of the voters voting in favor of banning it, although it still didn't meet the needed threshold. However it still remained strong after Kartana was banned, with it only having a handful of reliable defensive answers and effectively invalidating Intimidate on its own. In fact, Urshifu-R by itself was a significant factor behind Incineroar's significantly lower usage between generations due to Urshifu-R being the most prevalent physical attacker.

6

Mew

Well known for its incredible movepool depth, Mew is renowned for its versatility, having multiple viable sets, and different options even within them. Most commonly, Mew is used in a support role, primarily as a bulky Tailwind setter, though the remaining moves are quite flexible. With support options such as Fake Out, Pollen Puff, and Coaching and offensive options like Ice Beam, Psychic, and Earth Power available, Mew can pick and choose what is best for the team. In Crown Tundra, Mew is in fact the only real bulky Tailwind option, with other typical setters like Naganadel and Whimsicott being more on the frail side. Settings hazards is a role Mew is uniquely good at, which is the reason behind its peaks during the Isle of Armor meta and in current times alongside Tailwind. Heavy-Duty Boots has seen use as a response to this, an item that would otherwise be unthinkable in doubles. A set that featured early in the generation but has since dropped off is "Jail Mew", a set utilizing the combination of Imprison + Transform to force an opposing Pokémon to Struggle, which is most effective in endgames or with Shadow Tag to prevent the target from switching. On the other hand, a set that picked up later in the gen is "Demon Mew", which is based around boosting defensively with Cosmic Power while using Body Press and Stored Power to benefit offensively. The combination of Will-O-Wisp and Snarl for damage mitigation picked up in Crown Tundra, often being used alongside Tailwind, but sometimes also on its own dedicated set with recovery instead. Offensive sets with Meteor Beam and Expanding Force (with Terrain support) have also seen usage, with even Trick Room and Choice Scarf sets seeing limited use. Despite not always being at the forefront of the meta, Mew has been a recurring force this generation, as a reliable, flexible support option; one of the best Tailwind setters, and the hazard setter.

5

Dragapult
  • Weakness Policy Dragapult @ Weakness Policy
  • Ability: Clear Body
  • EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  • Jolly Nature
  • - Phantom Force
  • - Dragon Claw
  • - Fly
  • - Protect
  • Choice Specs Dragapult @ Choice Specs
  • Ability: Clear Body
  • EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  • Timid Nature
  • - Draco Meteor
  • - Shadow Ball
  • - Flamethrower
  • - U-turn

Generation 8's pseudo-legendary Pokémon certainly lives up to the title, with it being particularly dominant while Dynamax was legal, at the end of the Isle of Armor meta, and for a substantial part after Crown Tundra's release, with it only being truly bad while Urshifu-S was around. Dragapult was an absolutely terrifying Dynamax user thanks to its high natural Speed and Clear Body preventing the boosts from Weakness Policy from being nullified. Its Ghost-type STAB was also extremely difficult to switch into due to the lack of sturdy Pokémon with a resistance, an advantage made even stronger by Weakness Policy. Dragapult could also pretty much do anything while Dynamaxed, it could weaken its opponents with Max Wyrmwind, make them easier to KO with Max Phantasm, and even boost it and its teammates Speed with Max Airstream, all of which made it even harder to stop. Dragapult's dominance was to the degree that it caused people to advocate for either a Dynamax or Weakness Policy ban, with the former being banned in the end. After Dynamax was banned, Dragapult was still able to act as a fast, decently threatening attacker, which it does to this day. After Urshifu-S was banned in the Isle of Armor meta, Dragapult was a good option due to it threatening all of Gothitelle, Urshifu-R, Mew, and Necrozma while still being good into sun teams. After Crown Tundra's release, Dragapult's viability skyrocked due to it checking some of the most dangerous offensive threats such as Kartana, Zygarde, Urshifu-R, Dragon Dance Kyurem-B (albeit only before it sets up), Naganadel, and Necrozma. Effectively, Dragapult had extreme value due to its STAB moves and high Speed allowing it to threaten a massive amount of the metagame immediately. During this period Dragapult also played around with a Dragon Dance set, which has some valuable traits, such as its extremely high Speed allowing it to outrun some Pokémon under Tailwind after a Dragon Dance; however, the set never really reached the popularity (or arguably effectiveness) of its flagship special attacker set. After Kartana's ban, though, Dragapult saw a steep drop in usefulness due to bulkier Pokémon able to easily shrug off its hits like Porygon2 and Incineroar roaring back in usage, although Dragapult could still check the majority of the Pokémon listed prior quite well. Recently, however, Dragapult has resurged in popularity in order for it to fill the same role mentioned above, acting as a decent glue Pokémon. Dragapult being a prime factor behind Dynamax being banned as well as maintaining relevance even after that makes it a shoo in for the top 10.

4

Kartana

One of the most influential Pokémon in the tier's history is a piece of origami. Yep. All jokes aside, Kartana affected the metagame like few Pokémon can due to the combination of generational mechanic changes, its own effectiveness, and the Pokémon around it. To start, Generation 8 introduced a little mechanic called dynamic speed. To put it simply, a Pokémon's Speed is now calculated mid-turn. Kartana's high Speed allowed it to generally use Tailwind first, which is important for reasons that will be mentioned later. Secondly, Kartana was extremely strong by itself thanks to a swathe of factors such as excellent coverage and decent defensive typing. The main two factors behind Kartana's strength were Beast Boost, giving it the ability to snowball, and potentially turn some checks into mincemeat after Kartana picks up a KO, and Scope Lens. Scope Lens helped make Kartana an extremely potent offensive threat due to Leaf Blade having an obscene 50% chance to perform a critical hit with Scope Lens, effectively allowing Kartana to not only ignore Intimidate half of the time but gain a substantial boost in power as well. That extra boost in power becomes even more insane if backed by Grassy Terrain, allowing Kartana to pull off absurd feats such as 2HKOing Latias provided you get the critical hit twice in a row, which is by no means a rare occurrence. The combination of the snowballing and sheer amount of damage Kartana could dish out if the Kartana user was fortunate enough made it a headache to check. However the thing that really made Kartana warp the metagame around it would be its common partners. As was stated previously, Kartana was a key member of the offensive trifecta of Urshifu-R, Zygarde, and itself. This trifecta covered each other's weaknesses beautifully already, but the dynamic speed mechanics pushed them to absurdity. Kartana was the fastest relevant Tailwind setter at the time, meaning it was extremely hard to prevent it and its teammates from moving first without a faster attacker such as Dragapult or Choice Scarf Genesect actively on the field, which is obviously easier said than done. Kartana's role in pushing the trifecta's dominance eventually was deemed to be problematic, and it was banned shortly after OSDT I. After its ban, the metagame looked nothing like it had prior, with the effects of the ban leaving most people to consider the metagame better as it was before, with Trick Room in particular seeing a surge in usage after the ban.

3

Incineroar

A familiar face from last generation, it should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with SM DOU to see Incineroar on this list as the only returning titan, being #2 last gen. Incineroar was not at all a Pokémon in need of an upgrade, but Game Freak offered one anyways in access to Parting Shot. Outclassing U-turn, Parting Shot softens the target's blows in place of minor chip damage, letting Incineroar usually provide even more value as it pivots out. Aside from that and the loss of 50% Berries, Incineroar functions the same as before, providing valuable utility with Intimidate, Fake Out, and Knock Off before pivoting out to bring a teammate in safely. This generation introduced a new item for Incineroar to benefit from, though, with it making excellent use of Heavy-Duty Boots in times where hazards are common, as it pivots in and out. With Landorus-T unavailable for much of the generation and still not that viable later in Crown Tundra, Incineroar has been the only serious Intimidate option for most of the generation, taking that role from Arcanine when it first arrived with Pokémon Home. Incineroar finds a place on a variety of teams, facilitating setup, helping set Trick Room, safely pivoting out powerful attackers, and checking a number of important Pokémon. Aside from a couple of temporary dips due to unfavorable trends, Incineroar has consistently been top 3 in usage since its release, usually only behind #1 on this list, remaining as one of the few constants in a generation defined by change.

2

Melmetal

If this list was going only by raw strength, then Melmetal would be a clear first. Previously exclusive to Pokémon Let's Go and Pokémon GO, Melmetal was introduced with the release of Pokémon Home. 600 BST isn't too out of the ordinary, though its stat distribution is anything but, boasting gargantuan HP, Attack, and Defense stats. Low Special Defense is counteracted by its high HP and patched up by investment and Assault Vest to more than acceptable levels. With this, Melmetal became indestructible, being able to take even a Heat Wave from Choice Scarf Charizard (the main set) in sun, with the cherry on top being its ability to KO back with an Iron Fist-boosted Thunder Punch. Double Iron Bash is Melmetal's unique move, boasting a 120 Base Power with no drawbacks, plus the ability to KO through Focus Sash if you thought about using that to live, plus a 51% flinch chance if you made the mistake of being slower. With investment, Double Iron Bash could OHKO neutral targets like Dragapult and Venusaur even without a boosting item, with moves like High Horsepower and Thunder Punch rounding out Melmetal's coverage. Melmetal could 1v1 any Pokémon, requiring multiple Pokémon to take it down and making any team it was placed on instantly better. Its minimal Speed wasn't much of a drawback with how bulky Melmetal was, though Trick Room or Tailwind paired with Speed investment could be used to mitigate it if so desired. Acid Armor was also a set, especially earlier on, taking advantage of Melmetal's high Defense with Body Press, though Assault Vest was more effective. At its peak, Melmetal had 10/10 uses in DPL playoffs, a demonstration of its complete domination of the tier. Despite only a short stay, with it being banned before the release of Isle of Armor, Melmetal definitely had a memorable one, and it will go down as one of the most impactful Pokémon in Doubles history.

1

Rillaboom

The one Pokémon that most defined this generation of Doubles is undoubtedly Rillaboom. After not making any noise early on, with the release of its hidden ability Grassy Surge and addition of new move Grassy Glide from Isle of Armor, Rillaboom took center stage. Terrain-setting abilities are incredibly important in doubles, providing powerful bonuses to all grounded Pokémon, with Grassy Terrain offering passive healing that many teammates will appreciate, even Tapu Fini, which has its own Terrain. Isle of Armor introduced new moves that benefit from terrain beyond the 1.3x Base Power increase, with Grassy Glide also gaining priority, which and giving Rillaboom an incredibly strong priority attack combined with a respectable 70 Base Power and STAB. This lets Rillaboom soft check a wide variety of Pokémon, as it can hit them first and hard regardless of how fast they are or whatever speed control like Tailwind or Trick Room is in play. On top of providing its own benefits, Grassy Surge also removes the effects of opposing Terrain, such as dispelling Misty Terrain for a teammate to use status moves or Dragon-type attacks or overriding Psychic Terrain to weaken the new and powerful Expanding Force and restore the ability to use priority, such as its own Grassy Glide and Fake Out. With Assault Vest and its natural healing from Grassy Terrain, on top of typically investing in bulk with Grassy Glide's priority making up for investing in Speed anyway, Rillaboom has a surprising amount of longevity, being able to switch in, do its job, and pivot out several times per game. It's incredibly difficult to OHKO, and even at low HP it can still get plenty value from Grassy Glide, ensuring you get your money's worth. With Fake Out, U-turn, Grassy Surge, and Grassy Glide, practically every team wants Rillaboom, with it fitting into a variety of structures and providing plenty of utility while needing little in return. Its remaining moveslot also left some flexibility, such as using Knock Off to deal with Dragapult or High Horsepower with Speed investment to outrun and KO Heatran. Since receiving its full kit, Rillaboom has topped the usage of practically every tour since, often even exceeding 50% usage, with the vast majority of games featuring it in some form. Consequently, Rillaboom has made the metagame follow its rhythmn, Tapu Fini, the #1 titan of last gen, is noticeably worse from its presence, with Calm Mind sets especially being far less effective with Rillaboom ready to switch in. Tapu Koko, tied #3 titan previously, was the Pokémon hurt most by the nerf to Terrain's damage boosts, but Rillaboom cemented its drop, dropping all the way from a top tier Pokémon to fringe viable. Vulnerability to Grassy Glide is also a significant factor when it comes to the viability of speedy attackers, Pokémon like Dragapult and Naganadel resisting it is a point in their favor over physically frail Pokémon like Spectrier and Nihilego, which are much more susceptible. Rain teams will typically go so far as using Tsareena just to prevent any Fake Outs or Grassy Glides from Rillaboom, with not even Psychic Terrain able to fully stop it due to Grassy Surge. Rillaboom really made this generation its own, and when players think back on this period of doubles, this titan is sure to be the first Pokémon that comes to mind.

Honorable Mentions

Urshifu-S

Arguably the biggest snub on this list is Urshifu-S, which warped the meta around it in a similar way to Kartana, although it was significantly more blatant. Urshifu-S forced the meta into a state where teams had to be hyper offense due to Urshifu-S's insane typing, the absurd strength of Wicked Blow (especially considering it couldn't be weakened by Intimidate), and Unseen Fist practically guaranteeing progress by ignoring Protect; these traits it extremely difficult to check defensively, and the few checks did have were usually trapped by Gothitelle and picked off, a strategy most infamously used by a team built around Urshifu-S, Gothitelle, and sun-boosted Charizard that dominated until Urshifu-S was banned. Gothitelle and its trapping were so effective at removing Urshifu-S's defensive checks that the only counterplay to it was to out-offense Urshifu-S and its team, eventually leading to its ban.

Charizard

Despite losing its Mega Evolutions, Charizard managed to remain relevant this generation due to the presence of Dynamax and a more limited Pokédex to shine in. Boosted by sun and Solar Power, Charizard could melt its enemies away, even moreso when combined with Life Orb and Dynamax. Max Airstream and G-Max Wildfire also offered some of the strongest secondary effects available: boosting Speed for both allies and dealing 1/6 residual damage to the opponents for four turns, respectively, with four turns being a significant portion of the duration of the average Doubles battle. Charizard was a top user of Dynamax in Doubles, with some even calling for it to be banned before the mechanic was removed from the tier. Without Dynamax, Charizard continued to thrive through into Isle of Armor, now opting for Choice Scarf to ensure its destructive attacks were fired off first. Since the release of Crown Tundra, though, Charizard has been nowhere to be seen, fading back out to mediocrity in the wake of more powerful Pokémon returning.

Final Thoughts

Generation 8 has been an exciting ride across the board, and Doubles has been no different. We've seen Dynamax and its removal, Dexit and its reversal (for the most part, at least), and specifically to doubles, the gamechanging introduction of dynamic move order. We've also seen a number of important new movepool additions, of both old moves and entirely new ones. We've seen several radically different metas, the likes of which we haven't seen before, and different titans dominating each of them. This generation has drastically shaken up the tier, with a fair share of new Pokémon carving their space, some older Pokémon flourishing with the new changes, and some once familiar faces, like Landorus-T and Tapu Koko, dropping off entirely. Generation 8 has certainly been an interesting time for Pokémon, and as we look forward to Generation 9, it's a good time to reflect on this generation and the titans that shaped it.

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