Top 10 Titans of Generation 8 NFE

10

Kicking off our list is Galarian Mr. Mime. Capable of running Nasty Plot, Choice Specs, and Choice Scarf sets, Galarian Mr. Mime immediately made it be known that it would be a dominant offensive threat during the first several months of NFE. It proved to be one of the better offensive Dynamax users and the only notable one that was a special attacker. Post-Dynamax, Galarian Mr. Mime continued to take advantage of its incredible coverage with Ice Beam, Psychic, Shadow Ball, and Focus Blast to deal super effective damage to every other viable Pokémon at the time while simultaneously being the tier's best hazard removal option with Rapid Spin. It was difficult to revenge kill, as there were limited solid Choice Scarf users, and only one other viable Pokémon could naturally Speed tie with it, namely Galarian Linoone. Even with Galarian Corsola being everywhere and serving as one of its best checks, Galarian Mr. Mime still ended up being banned from NFE. Fast forward to DLC 2, Galarian Mr. Mime along with many other formerly banned Pokémon were freed given the landscape of NFE had change so drastically since the initial metagames. Here, Galarian Mr. Mime was a strong offensive threat but was not considered overbearing at first. This was until several Pokémon such as Pikachu and Kadabra were banned, and the removal of Galarian Mr. Mime's most common offensive checks allowed it to repeat history once again. Its usage skyrocketed in the 2021 OMPL, and the same sets as its initial run took over the metagame. After this tournament, a suspect test was held, and the results were overwhelmingly in favor of once again banning it to NFE Ubers. While Galarian Mr. Mime was not the only Pokémon to be banned twice, this achievement certainly nets it the 10th spot on this list.

9

Our grassy octopus got tangled in our NFE titans list for the 9th spot. Tangela has a fantastic movepool in Knock Off, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder / Stun Spore / Toxic / Leech Seed, and Leaf Storm / Giga Drain, which has made it a decent Pokémon throughout the whole generation. Nothing switches into Tangela without losing something. Tangela is inherently great as a wall, special attacker, defensive pivot, and all-around utility Pokémon that has Regenerator, which has made Tangela to climb up to one of the thrones for NFE walls with offensive utility. At its peak, Tangela was even one of the top contenders for a suspect test. However, Tangela is not higher in the titans list because of two main issues: 1) it was released in DLC 1 and was not around early SS, and 2) other Pokémon that were also really good when Tangela was high in viability rankings, such as Golbat, Roselia, Vullaby, and Ferroseed, could tank Tangela's attacks quite easily (but always lost at least Eviolite). In the Golbat metagame, Tangela had a deeper impact because it could remove Golbat's item and put it to sleep. This was a nightmare for Golbat's teams. However, while Tangela's usage was predicted to increase after Golbat and Magmar were banned, it actually went down because it was beaten by Roselia, which had better utility overall. Overall, although Tangela has been present only half of Generation 8, it has redefined metagames in which it was around. However, its luck has been compromised because of other competitors. A tangled luck.

8

The definitive Defogger, Vullaby is the main bird in terms of utility that NFE has. Early this generation, Vullaby's presence and impact in the metagame was low, and it was mainly used for Defog and Knock Off. However, at those times with Dynamax running rampant and threats having higher base stats compared to now, Vullaby had a harder time keeping up with the metagame. It was not until the Haunter and Kadabra metagame when Vullaby shone brighter, as it was a soft check against both threats; it was also a soft check for the rising sun teams thanks to its immunity to Ivysaur's Sleep Powder and solid Special Defense. In the post-Haunter / Kadabra metagame, Vullaby was still being used due to its great matchup against Tangela's Sleep Powder and Duosion's Future Sight and setup shenanigans. However, it paled in comparison as Defogger to our second titan Golbat, which better checked Thwackey. Currently, after the Magmar and Golbat bans, Vullaby is the almighty Defogger and helps check Roselia, Thwackey, and Duosion. The former is a staple right now that can put some pressure with both Spikes and STAB moves, which Vullaby can absorb. However, Vullaby can be worn down by poison, Stealth Rock, and the removal of its Eviolite. The current metagame centers around winning the Roselia vs Vullaby war, where winning one side of the war has high chances of winning the whole game. This just highlights the importance of Vullaby right now and how it is able to impact games.

7

Kadabra has been one of the best special attackers to grace NFE that also provided incredibly unique offensive utility. Having the highest Speed in NFE was especially important this generation due to the lack of viable Choice Scarf users; the combination of Focus Sash and Magic Guard also made Kadabra extremely difficult to revenge kill despite its frailty. Kadabra was also a devastating wallbreaker that constantly adapted to its checks. Psychic alone was punishing against neutral targets and could be further bolstered by Life Orb, while Dazzling Gleam targeted Dark-types such as Vullaby, Galarian Linoone, and Zweilous. Knock Off was a great option for initially weakening special walls such as Vullaby and Clefairy, with Encore exploiting their reliance on status moves. However, the invention that really pushed Kadabra above and beyond what was deemed balanced in NFE was its usage of set damage moves such as Night Shade and Seismic Toss that allowed to even beat out Steel-types like Ferroseed and Klang, which lacked reliable recovery. Several special attackers after Kadabra such as Electabuzz and, to a lesser extent,Magmar also used such moves in order to work around their checks, but the strategy synergized best with Kadabra. Kadabra had been comfortably a top 3 Pokémon since its introduction into the tier after DLC 1 and was even viewed as the best Pokémon in the metagame until it was quickbanned shortly after the Pikachu suspect, as its main revenge killer was no longer legal in NFE.

6

It may be surprising to see Pokémon's mascot here, but Pikachu was able to finally use both Fake Out and Extreme Speed on the same set in Generation 8, which proved pivotal to its success. Pikachu was rather overlooked for a large part of the pre-DLC metagames and only started to gain some usage towards the end of these metagames, as OMPL forced players to become more innovative. During the DLC 1 metagame, however, it had a complete stranglehold on the tier until its ban. Haunter was removed from NFE, which meant that there was no longer a viable Ghost-type that could stop its priority spam. Light Ball made Pikachu an insanely difficult-to-stop wallbreaker, with Knock Off weakening any walls that could survive a couple hits and Volt Switch making it difficult to lock down and allowing it to further weaken them into KO range. It even had coverage for Ground-types with Surf and Grass Knot, meaning that Piloswine and Marshtomp could be punished as well. Pikachu was unbanned at the start of DLC 2, but its hit-and-run playstyle was dominant once again and carried VoltTurn teams to immense success. While Pokémon were stronger this time around, Pikachu could still beat everything in the long run, as it would weaken them with Knock Off and Volt Switch before cleaning up with Fake Out and Extreme Speed. This dual priority was especially annoying, as it meant that even Focus Sash Kadabra could be revenge killed, and other faster threats like Raboot and Thwackey suffered a similar fate. Pikachu ended up being suspected and banned, as only Tangela could handle it reliably during both of its dominant sprees, and the lack of other consistent counterplay was deemed too unhealthy to keep Pikachu around for any longer. Pikachu cemented that Generation 8 would have a lack of reliable Choice Scarf users and that priority and pure Speed would be the main means of revenge killing, and it is fittingly our 6th greatest titan.

5

The spooky bleached coral takes the 5th spot, just in the middle of the titans list. Galarian Corsola has been the second best defensive threat NFE has ever seen. With access to great moves such as Strength Sap, Night Shade, Shadow Ball, Ice Beam, Will-O-Wisp, Haze, Stealth Rock, and Calm Mind, Galarian Corsola has been an amazing role compressor and easily fits on many teams throughout Generation 8. Prior to the release of Pokémon Home, Galarian Corsola benefited from the limited Knock Off and Toxic distribution. A few wallbreakers that ran Taunt such as Gurdurr, Morgrem, and Galarian Linoone could break past it, and Dynamax was a circumstantial workaround given how Galarian Corsola would often use Dynamax itself to tank attacks. Haunter and Hattrem were also its worst enemies at those times because of typing and Magic Bounce, respectively. However, Pokémon Home was horrible for our favorite Ghost-type Pokémon, as Knock Off and Toxic were present on many Pokémon, and some big threats such as Sneasel landed on the tier. After some rearranging in the metagame, Sneasel got banned, and things got stabilized with Galarian Corsola; it was a good wall but not as good as before. It was not until after the Golbat and Magmar ban that Galarian Corsola rose up after its slight dip in viability. It was one of the best Stealth Rock setters and walls around that helped keep threats like Fighting-types, Piloswine, and Raboot in check. Thus, it has been the perfect Pokémon in terms of versatility and roles: a wall that sets Stealth Rock and is able to act as a late-game wincon in some games. Totally deserving of the 5th spot.

4

NFE initially lacked strong special attackers; aside from Galarian Mr. Mime, the only other notable one was Haunter. Initially, a variety of Haunter sets were used to great effectiveness: Choice Specs, Wisp Hex, Choice Scarf, and Life Orb. After Galarian Mr. Mime was banned, Haunter's ban was discussed but never pushed further, which allowed it to terrorize the following metagame along with our 3rd greatest titan. By this time, Haunter relied mostly on its destructive Choice Specs set to tear apart teams, as its STAB combination alone would be enough to 2HKO the majority of the metagame with perfect prediction. Its high base Speed meant that the only common Pokémon that could revenge kill it at that time was Galarian Linoone, which could only come in on a Shadow Ball. Teams resorted to using combinations of Dark-types like Galarian Linoone and Vullaby with Steel-types like Klang and Ferroseed in order to better handle Haunter, as anything that could take a few hits would be troublesome for Haunter's frailty. The Choice Specs set was so impactful that Pokémon like Hattrem started running Protect as their fourth move in order to scout Haunter, although this could be punished by one of Haunter's other sets. DLC 1 released and the combination of Haunter with Kadabra, especially when paired with Trapinch, could cruise pass any defensive core, which led to Haunter being banned from NFE. Haunter was unbanned for DLC 2, but its stay in the metagame was even more brief this time. After slightly over a week, Haunter was once again banned, as even the new Pokémon and returning banned Pokémon were unable to switch into Haunter's STAB combination reliably. Haunter was an absolute demon offensively, warranting it being placed 4th on this list.

3

The king of the post-Home metagame takes the third spot on our list. Machoke started off strong in Generation 8 NFE, picking up from where it left off last generation as one of the best wallbreakers and tanks in NFE. This success was only stopped for a brief moment, as the Home update brought along significant buffs to both Gurdurr and Pawniard; the former outclassed Machoke with Knock Off returning to its movepool, while Pawniard forced Machoke to run RestTalk sets, which significantly limited its ability to be an offensive threat. These Pokémon were swiftly banned, and Machoke quickly rose to being the most dominant Pokémon in the metagame alongside Haunter. Flame Orb sets saw a ton of success during this period, as nothing dared to switch into its Guts-boosted Facade, Close Combat, and Knock Off. Bullet Punch further complemented this set, as it made up for Machoke's middling Speed. All-out attacker Machoke continued to be just as impactful, with its coverage in Heavy Slam and Earthquake nailing both Fairy- and Poison-types. The end of this metagame saw Machoke narrowly missing a ban by a single vote, and it continued to be a dominant force throughout the DLC 1 metagame and was one of the contributing factors to Tangela's high usage. While Machoke was still a deadly wallbreaker, it favored utility moves such as Toxic, Encore, and Substitute to punish its common switch-ins such as Galarian Corsola and Tangela. DLC 2 came around and the unbanning of Gurdurr, introduction of Golbat, and the return of Galarian Mr. Mime and other past threats essentially ended Machoke's reign at the top. There were still a few things going for it compared to Gurdurr, such as the higher Speed stat and Dynamic Punch, but it generally struggled to compete for a spot on teams. Despite this downfall, Machoke's initial impact on the tier was immense, as it warped two separate metagames around it and deserved being the 3rd greatest titan of Generation8 NFE.

2

The "Batmon" is one of the typical banned Pokémon in NFE each generation, as it has an insane vanilla bulk further boosted by Eviolite, good typing and speed, and access to moves such as Roost, U-turn, Defog, Toxic, Taunt, Super Fang, Brave Bird, among others. Moreover, some stallbreaker sets with Nasty Plot have their own merit, putting pressure on bulky teams. Infiltrator as an ability is also good for metagames with setup sweepers that rely on Substitute to sweep. Golbat landed on the tier after Pokémon Home, and its impact was immediate. However, the NFE council considered that Golbat's presence could be healthy, and they kept it around for a while with other big threats such as Galarian Mr. Mime, Pikachu, Haunter, Kadabra, and Sneasel, which restricted Golbat's impact on the tier. However, the fact that it could check Fighting-types, Raboot, and Thwackey was huge and kept it as a presence to take into account when teambuilding. One of the biggest issues with Golbat was the Speed creep war that happened during some tours and 2021 NFEPL in which many people complained to be unhealthy. Golbat also had an impact on making sure that sun teams were not absolutely broken, as it could soft check some of its sweepers such as Ivysaur and Tangela. However, Pokémon such as Kadabra and Galarian Mr. Mime were banned, and Golbat was suspected to be broken due to some its best checks being gone. Finally, Golbat said bye to NFE together with Magmar when their sets became too dark and shady for the metagame, even for a Pokémon that works during nights.

1

Despite several DLCs and bans drastically changing up the metagame, Piloswine has consistently remained as a centralizing force in Generation 8 NFE. Piloswine was a near-perfect Pokémon that could easily fit on any team due to its insane role compression. If you needed a Stealth Rock setter, Piloswine was the best choice due its incredible matchup against common Defoggers such as Vullaby and Golbat. If your team required an Electric immunity, Piloswine had the fewest drawbacks of any Ground-type. Piloswine was amazing both offensively and defensively; it boasted a potent STAB combination that was only resisted by the unviable Bronzor, while its typing, high HP stat, and Thick Fat let it reliably check Galarian Mr. Mime and Electabuzz with some investment. To top this all off, Piloswine also had Ice Shard to revenge kill weakened Pokémon. While it usually ran an Eviolite Stealth Rock set, the occasional Choice Band set further exacerbated the difficulty of switching into its combination of Icicle Crash and Earthquake. Piloswine's best switch-ins were fallible; it could bypass Hattrem with flinches, Tangela needed to keep its Eviolite, and Gurdurr and Machoke lacked reliable recovery. Galarian Corsola was arguably the one exception, although even its recovery was unreliable with Hattrem in the tier. Piloswine's dominance can be seen throughout the usage stats and viability rankings, consistently ranking among the top 5 Pokémon in every tournament and never falling below A+. While Piloswine may not have reached the same highs Pokémon earlier on this list reached, no Pokémon even comes close to the duration that Piloswine remained at the top and it deservedly takes the spot for top titan of Generation 8 NFE.