Top 10 Titans of Generation 8 STABmons

10

Landorus-T was a standout with the introduction of DLC 2 due to obvious reasons; giving the face of OU recovery, Spikes, and a powerful Flying-type STAB move in Dragon Ascent is a recipe for success. While utility sets were incredibly versatile, Landorus-T truly shone with its offensive sets, namely Swords Dance, Choice Band, and Choice Scarf. Swords Dance sets were near unwallable, and most switch-ins to +2 Dragon Ascent were too passive to prevent Landorus-T from keeping itself healthy with Shore Up. This often made defensive checks setup fodder, while offensive checks feared being outsped and KOed by potential Rock Polish and Choice Scarf sets. Despite all of these tools, Landorus-T actually took some time to become the best Pokémon in the metagame due to the volatility of early DLC 2. After threats like Urshifu-S and Naganadel were out of the picture, Landorus-T finally made its way to the forefront of the metagame. Despite all of the benefits of its defensive sets, Landorus-T was undeniably broken largely due to Swords Dance sets and was swiftly banned. Landorus-T makes the #10 spot on our list due to its impact in this short period, though it undeniably could have made a much bigger splash with more time.

9

Galarian Zapdos makes the #9 spot on the list for its offensive prowess. Galarian Zapdos was introduced in DLC 2 with fantastic offensive stats and typing, and with the addition of No Retreat and Dragon Ascent to its moveset, it immediately became a well-known sweeper. Given how its dual STAB moves were only resisted by Tapu Koko, Aegislash, and Thundurus-T, Galarian Zapdos could freely run Roost as its last move, which kept it healthy against any potential defensive checks as it kept reducing their Defense stat with Thunderous Kick. The aforementioned Tapu Koko was by far the best check to it in the metagame, though it was still a poor one. Defensively checking Galarian Zapdos was often not an option for many teams, and it required opponents to sack at least one Pokémon to make it take Life Orb recoil and defense drops from Dragon Ascent in order to leave it in range of priority moves like Accelerock and Grassy Glide. The main form of counterplay to Galarian Zapdos was attempting to stop it before it could set up with No Retreat by using Pokémon like Tapu Koko, Tornadus-T, and Cinderace to heavily chip or OHKO it. Ultimately, none of these forms of counterplay could consistently stop Galarian Zapdos from trampling teams; thus, it was banned a few months into the DLC 2 metagame

8

Released alongside the first DLC, Urshifu-S was one of the tier's most threatening wallbreakers for a long time. Its strong STAB moves in Close Combat, Wicked Blow, and Sucker Punch made it almost impossible to switch into. Bulky physical walls like Toxapex, Hippowdon, and Tangrowth were used to switch into it, and Fairy-types like Sylveon resisted both of its STAB options. However, Poison Jab was a popular option to 2HKO Fairy-type checks. Offensive counters like Cinderace and Keldeo to revenge kill it were also popular. However, Urshifu-S could run Choice Scarf sets to to lure, outspeed, and KO them. Eventually, No Retreat sets emerged, which boosted its power and Speed without the drawback of being Choice-locked and gave Urshifu-S the ability to run Life Orb or Black Glasses for an additional damage boost. All of these aspects together made Urshifu-S too much for the tier, but its ban was held off until DLC 2 due to the large number of new potential checks introduced. During the DLC 2 metagame, the introduction of multiple powerful Fairy-types like Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu, as well as decent offensive checks like Landorus-T, slowed Urshifu-S down some, but it ultimately still proved to be too much for the metagame and was banned shortly into DLC 2.

7

Ever since its introduction in DLC 2, Tapu Lele was a serious threat. While its counterparts in Tapu Bulu and Tapu Koko stole much of the early spotlight, it began to rise in prominence after their bans. What made Tapu Lele truly horrifying was its incredibly powerful moves: Choice Specs-boosted Fleur Cannon, Psystrike, and Expanding Force in Psychic Terrain made it a potent offensive threat. The most common answers were bulky Psychic-resistant Pokémon like Slowking, Magearna, Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn. However, these checks would either struggle to switch into Fleur Cannon or get heavily crippled by Trick. Defensive cores with Tyranitar + Toxapex could switch around Tapu Lele depending on what move it was Choice-locked locked into, which popularized non-Choice item sets like Twisted Spoon and Calm Mind. Offensive checks and revenge killers like Urshifu-R, Aerodactyl, and Gengar were also popular ways to defeat KO Tapu Lele, but they could find themselves being pressured by Choice Scarf sets instead. Tapu Lele's ability to weaken Steel-types often enabled teammates like Magearna and Weavile in their own sweeps. Eventually, Tapu Lele was banned due to the constraints it left on teams.

6

The landscape of DLC 2 would not have looked the same without Garchomp. From its introduction, Garchomp was a massive influence on the metagame between its Dragon Dance and Clangorous Soul sets, both of which helped it sweep unprepared teams with ease. After Clangorous Soul's restriction, Dragon Dance sets remained popular, while Swords Dance sets began to rise in popularity to better break checks like Slowbro, Buzzwole, and Corviknight. With Precipice Blades and Shore Up, Garchomp could outlast just about any switch-in bar Tapu Bulu, and the fear of Dragon Dance sets made offensively checking it less of an option. Not only did Garchomp majorly influence the restriction of Clangorous Soul, it also heavily influenced the Precipice Blades restriction and the Magnet Pull ban. Despite all of these tiering actions that helped keep Garchomp in check, it never faltered as a top-tier threat and heavily restricted the metagame around it by forcing two or more of Corviknight, Tapu Bulu, Celesteela, and Weavile on nearly every team. It is undeniable how heavily Garchomp influenced the first year of DLC 2's metagame, and up until its ban very few Pokémon could match its influence.

5

Tapu Koko was an immediate standout introduction in DLC 2 thanks to the addition of Rising Voltage to its moveset. Rising Voltage made Tapu Koko powerful enough that only Ground-type and Electric-resistant Pokémon could switch into it properly, though they had to be able to tank Fleur Cannon as well. This immediately created a metagame that was centered around Ground-types and ways to beat them, which was manageable for a while due to the number of threats in the metagame, but Tapu Koko's dominance became more prevalent as the metagame settled. Heavy-Duty Boots sets were most common due to their flexibility and longevity, as U-turn and Roost meant Tapu Koko could stay healthy while being able to gain momentum against Ground-types. Tapu Koko's naturally high Speed let it offensively check most of the metagame, which meant that it was easy to fit it on nearly any team. Tapu Koko's influence was only dwarfed by Tapu Bulu simultaneously dominating in the metagame, though ultimately the two were a broken pairing as well. For a short time, these two dictated nearly the entire metagame. This lasted until Tapu Koko was the first of the pair to be banned for the unhealthy restrictions it put on teambuilding.

4

Toxapex has been a defensive staple in STABmons for a very long time. While it was uncommon in the early days of Sword and Shield STABmons as people opted for less passive Water-resistant Pokémon like Rotom-W and Ferrothorn, it did see some usage as an answer to various V-create users and Dracovish. However, come the Isle of Armor DLC, Toxapex gained a crucial addition to its moveset: Flip Turn. Flip Turn allowed Toxapex to be less passive and let it bring in wallbreakers like Urshifu-S, Alolan Marowak, and Sylveon. Fantastic bulk coupled with Regenerator and amazing moves like Toxic, Haze, Knock Off, and Scald made Toxapex a nearly banworthy threat, with very few Pokémon able to reliably KO it; however, it was never banned. The Crown Tundra DLC dropped, and the introduction of threats like Tapu Bulu, Blacephalon, Gengar, and Heatran made Toxapex a staple in keeping these in check. With the number of special attackers added, players started using Assault Vest sets that took advantage of moves like Clear Smog, Flip Turn, and Poison Fang to check them. Overall, Toxapex has been an incredible Pokémon throughout all of SS STABmons and currently sits comfortably at the top of the Viability Rankings.

3

Tapu Bulu undoubtedly had the biggest impact of Pokémon added in DLC 2. Tapu Bulu immediately took the metagame by storm due to its revenge killing capabilities with Grassy Glide. While Rillaboom already existed, Tapu Bulu was an immediate favorite in the metagame due to higher Attack, better coverage with Close Combat, Play Rough, and Stone Edge, and an immunity to Dragon-type moves, which made it the best Garchomp check in the metagame. With its wide range of coverage and powerful STAB moves, very little in the metagame could switch into Tapu Bulu, and even fewer could wall it at +2. Tapu Bulu also ran Strength Sap to set up on walls like Corviknight easily, which made checking it even more difficult. At its peak, teams typically ran at least two defensive checks for it and one offensive check in order to properly beat it. Tapu Bulu had such a big impact on the metagame that its ban completely warped the face of the tier for months after, as teams had to adjust to its absence.

2

Dragapult was a breakout Pokémon in Generation 8, with amazing Speed and offensive stats. In standard tiers, Dragapult is slightly held back by its lack of reliable physical STAB moves, but it had no such issue in STABmons. Dragapult was able to run both Choice Specs and Choice Band sets to great effect, which is the main reason that it was such a powerhouse. Its STAB combination was only resisted by Grimmsnarl, so defensive counterplay to Dragapult often revolved around guessing two things: whether it was physical or special, and which STAB move it would use. Any incorrect prediction would lead to Dragapult making considerable progress on teams, and it could make guaranteed progress anyway with U-turn. Over long games, it was very difficult to not fall victim to Dragapult, as it was faster than the entire tier and fantastic at wearing down checks like Sylveon, Obstagoon, Tyranitar, and Ferrothorn. Dragapult was banned around 6 months into the metagame, though not for lack of trying by the community for months prior.

1

Tyranitar has been a face of this metagame since its inception, and this generation was no different. Tyranitar started the generation with notable nerfs; the removal of Pursuit, Diamond Storm, and Shore Up were all huge hits to its toolkit. Even so, Tyranitar was a powerful threat that was also one of the best checks to metagame threats like Dragapult, Gengar, and even Obstagoon in a pinch. DLC 1 brought Shore Up back and marked Tyranitar's return to the throne. With Shore Up, Tyranitar could more reliably pressure teams and not have to worry about chip damage, as it could easily recover back most of its health. It became even more prevalent in DLC 2 with the introduction of strong Ghost-types and other special attackers like Spectrier, Blacephalon, Tapu Lele, and Latios. Tyranitar became the perfect blanket check to all of these threats, and a strong Accelerock made it a great offensive check to most offensive Pokémon as well such as Weavile, Tornadus-T, Cinderace, and Dragonite. Tyranitar also largely benefited from the return of Diamond Storm, as it gained an accurate Rock-type STAB move with no recoil, which meant it could run Life Orb sets more convincingly. The rise of Life Orb Tyranitar made it better than ever, since practically nothing reliably switched into it and it could stay healthy with Shore Up to continually beat offensive threats. No Pokémon comes close to the impact Tyranitar has had in Generation 8 STABmons, which is why it was near unanimously decided as the #1 titan.