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Hello everyone! With the Crown Tundra finally being released, you all are free to start discussing the new OU metagame here! Everything you need should be found in the resources below. I will also list things in a similar manner to the role compendium to help distinguish potential roles. I'll try to keep it updated as we get more information. For now, I'm listing everything regardless of viability to help everyone get situation with what's available now. Enjoy!
One important thing to remember is that thanks to the new item, the Ability Patch, previously incompatible moves and hidden abilities will now be compatible. For example, Clefable was previously unable to have Softboiled and the ability Unaware together, but thanks to this new item, it can now run both together. Unfortunately I was unable to find a list of new compatible moves and abilities, so I'll try and edit it in the future if I can find one.
New moves and new abilities can be found in Jordy's post below!
Hola everybody! Crown Tundra has dropped, and with it, some new Pokemon have been released too! All details about the Pokemon that were released and are available in SS OU can be found in this post.
Galarian Articuno
Base Stats: 90 HP / 85 Atk / 85 Def / 125 SpA / 100 SpD / 95 Spe
Typing: Psychic / Flying
Abilities: Competitive
Notable Moves:
Calm Mind Freezing Glare
Hurricane
Recover
Trick
U-turn
Freezing Glare: Psychic-type; 90 BP; 100% Accuracy; 16 PP; 10% chance to freeze the target.
Agility
Air Slash
Ally Switch
Ancient Power
Brave Bird
Confusion
Dream Eater
Dual Wingbeat
Endure
Expanding Force
Facade
Fly
Future Sight
Giga Impact
Guard Swap
Gust
Hyper Beam
Hyper Voice
Hypnosis
Imprison
Light Screen
Mind Reader
Power Swap
Protect
Psychic
Psycho Cut
Psycho Shift
Psyshock
Reflect
Rest
Round
Scary Face
Shadow Ball
Skill Swap
Sleep Talk
Snore
Steel Wing
Stored Power
Substitute
Sunny Day
Swift
Tailwind
Tri Attack
Trick Room
Wonder Room
Zen Headbutt
Galarian Zapdos
Base Stats: 90 HP / 125 Atk / 90 Def / 85 SpA / 90 SpD / 100 Spe
Typing: Fighting / Flying
Abilities: Defiant
Notable Moves:
Blaze Kick
Brave Bird
Bulk Up
Close Combat
Stomping Tantrum
Taunt Thunderous Kick
U-turn
Thunderous Kick: Fighting-type; 90 BP; 100% Accuracy; 16 PP; Lowers the target's Defense by 1.
Acrobatics
Agility
Ancient Power
Assurance
Bounce
Brick Break
Coaching
Counter
Detect
Drill Peck
Dual Wingbeat
Endure
Facade
Fly
Focus Energy
Giga Impact
Hurricane
Hyper Beam
Light Screen
Low Kick
Low Sweep
Mega Kick
Payback
Peck
Pluck
Protect
Quick Guard
Rest
Retaliate
Revenge
Reversal
Rock Smash
Round
Scary Face
Screech
Sleep Talk
Snore
Steel Wing
Substitute
Superpower
Swift
Throat Chop
Galarian Moltres
Base Stats: 90 HP / 85 Atk / 90 Def / 100 SpA / 125 SpD / 90 Spe
Typing: Dark / Flying
Abilities: Berserk
Notable Moves:
Fiery Wrath
Hurricane
Nasty Plot
Taunt
U-turn
Fiery Wrath: Dark-type; 90 BP; 100% Accuracy; 16 PP; 20% chance to flinch the target.
After You
Agility
Air Slash
Ancient Power
Assurance
Brave Bird
Dark Pulse
Dual Wingbeat
Endure
Facade
Fly
Foul Play
Giga Impact
Gust
Hex
Hyper Beam
Hyper Voice
Imprison
Lash Out
Leer
Memento
Payback
Protect
Rest
Round
Safeguard
Scary Face
Shadow Ball
Sky Attack
Sleep Talk
Snarl
Snore
Steel Wing
Substitute
Sucker Punch
Swift
Wing Attack
Galarian Slowking
Base Stats: 95 HP / 65 Atk / 80 Def / 110 SpA / 110 SpD / 30 Spe
Typing: Poison / Psychic
Abilities: Curious Medicine* / Own Tempo / Regenerator
Notable Moves:
Calm Mind Eerie Spell
Fire Blast
Flamethrower
Focus Blast
Future Sight
Grass Knot
Ice Beam
Nasty Plot
Psychic
Psyshock
Scald
Slack Off
Sludge Bomb
Sludge Wave
Eerie Spell: Psychic-type; 80 BP; 100% Accuracy; 8 PP; Removes 3 PP from the target's last move.
Acid
Amnesia
Attract
Avalanche
Blizzard
Body Slam
Brick Break
Brine
Bulldoze
Confusion
Curse
Dig
Disable
Dive
Drain Punch
Earthquake
Endure
Expanding Force
Facade
Fling
Foul Play
Giga Impact
Growl
Hail
Headbutt
Heal Pulse
Hex
Hydro Pump
Hyper Beam
Ice Punch
Icy Wind
Imprison
Iron Defense
Iron Tail
Light Screen
Liquidation
Mega Kick
Mega Punch
Mud Shot
Muddy Water
Pay Day
Power Gem
Protect
Psych Up
Psychic Terrain
Rain Dance
Razor Shell
Rest
Round
Safeguard
Shadow Ball
Skill Swap
Sleep Talk
Snore
Stored Power
Substitute
Sunny Day
Surf
Swagger
Swift
Tackle
Thunder Wave
Tri Attack
Trick
Trick Room
Venom Drench
Venoshock
Water Pulse
Weather Ball
Whirlpool
Wonder Room
Yawn
Zen Headbutt
Regieleki
Base Stats: 80 HP / 100 Atk / 50 Def / 100 SpA / 50 SpD / 200 Spe
Typing: Electric
Abilities: Transistor*
Notable Moves:
Electro Ball
Explosion
Extreme Speed
Light Screen
Rapid Spin
Reflect
Rising Voltage Thunder Cage
Thunderbolt
Volt Switch
Thunder Cage: Electric-type; 80 BP; 90% Accuracy; 24 PP; Traps and damages the target for 4-5 turns.
Acrobatics
Agility
Ancient Power
Assurance
Body Slam
Bounce
Eerie Impulse
Electric Terrain
Electroweb
Endure
Facade
Giga Impact
Hyper Beam
Lock-On
Magnet Rise
Protect
Rain Dance
Rest
Round
Screech
Self-Destruct
Shock Wave
Sleep Talk
Snore
Substitute
Swift
Thrash
Thunder
Thunder Shock
Thunder Wave
Wild Charge
Zap Cannon
Regidrago
Base Stats: 200 HP / 100 Atk / 50 Def / 100 SpA / 50 SpD / 80 Spe
Typing: Dragon
Abilities: Dragon's Maw*
Notable Moves:
Dragon Dance Dragon Energy
Explosion
Fire Fang
Outrage
Self-Destruct
Dragon Energy: Dragon-type; 150 BP; 100% Accuracy; 8 PP; Less power as user's HP decreases.
Ancient Power
Bite
Body Slam
Breaking Swipe
Crunch
Dragon Breath
Dragon Claw
Dragon Pulse
Endure
Facade
Focus Energy
Giga Impact
Hammer Arm
Hyper Beam
Laser Focus
Light Screen
Protect
Reflect
Rest
Reversal
Round
Scale Shot
Sleep Talk
Snore
Substitute
Thrash
Thunder Fang
Twister
Glastrier
Base Stats: 100 HP / 145 Atk / 130 Def / 65 SpA / 110 SpD / 30 Spe
Typing: Ice
Abilities: Chilling Neigh*
Notable Moves:
Body Press
Close Combat
Heavy Slam
High Horsepower
Icicle Crash
Megahorn
Stomping Tantrum
Swords Dance
Taunt
Assurance
Avalanche
Blizzard
Body Slam
Bulldoze
Crunch
Double Kick
Double-Edge
Endure
Facade
Giga Impact
Hail
Hyper Beam
Ice Beam
Icicle Spear
Icy Wind
Iron Defense
Lash Out
Mist
Mud Shot
Outrage
Payback
Protect
Rest
Round
Scary Face
Sleep Talk
Smart Strike
Snarl
Snore
Stomp
Substitute
Superpower
Tackle
Tail Whip
Take Down
Thrash
Throat Chop
Torment
Uproar
Spectrier
Base Stats: 100 HP / 65 Atk / 60 Def / 145 SpA / 80 SpD / 130 Spe
Typing: Ghost
Abilities: Grim Neigh*
Agility
Assurance
Body Slam
Bulldoze
Calm Mind
Confuse Ray
Crunch
Dark Pulse
Disable
Double Kick
Double-Edge
Endure
Facade
Foul Play
Giga Impact
Haze
Hyper Beam
Lash Out
Payback
Phantom Force
Protect
Psycho Cut
Rest
Round
Scary Face
Sleep Talk
Snarl
Snore
Stomp
Stomping Tantrum
Swift
Tackle
Tail Whip
Take Down
Thrash
Uproar
Calyrex
Base Stats: 100 HP / 80 Atk / 80 Def / 80 SpA / 80 SpD / 80 Spe
Typing: Psychic / Grass
Abilities: Unnerve
Agility
Ally Switch
Aromatherapy
Baton Pass
Bullet Seed
Confusion
Draining Kiss
Encore
Endure
Energy Ball
Expanding Force
Facade
Giga Impact
Grass Knot
Grassy Terrain
Growth
Guard Swap
Heal Pulse
Helping Hand
Hyper Beam
Imprison
Leech Seed
Life Dew
Light Screen
Magic Room
Magical Leaf
Mega Drain
Metronome
Pay Day
Pollen Puff
Pound
Power Swap
Protect
Psychic Terrain
Reflect
Rest
Round
Safeguard
Seed Bomb
Skill Swap
Sleep Talk
Snore
Solar Beam
Solar Blade
Speed Swap
Stored Power
Substitute
Sunny Day
Swift
Tri Attack
Trick Room
Wonder Room
Zen Headbutt
* New Abilities
Curious Medicine: On switch-in, allies stat changes are reset to 0.
Transistor: This Pokemon's attacking stat is multiplied by 1.5 while using an Electric-type attack.
Dragon's Maw: This Pokemon's attacking stat is multiplied by 1.5 while using an Dragon-type attack.
Chilling Neigh: This Pokemon's Attack is raised by 1 stage if it attacks and KOes another Pokemon.
Grim Neigh: This Pokemon's Sp. Atk is raised by 1 stage if it attacks and KOes another Pokemon.
The following Pokemon have all returned in the Crown Tundra, and I will list each one alongside the new moves it received. I'll split each move list by categories (physical, special, and status). If there's a missing category, then that means there are no new moves learned for that category.
First, I'll leave a quick list of mons that had moves that were only available through an event that forced these pokemon to be restricted to a nature or an ability. However, due to TM's, TR's, Mints and the Ability Patch item, these moves can now be run without their previous restrictions.
Genesect - Blaze Kick
Raikou - Aura Sphere, Extremespeed, Weather Ball
Entei - Extremespeed, Flare Blitz
Suicune - Air Slash, Extremespeed
Heatran - Eruption*
Eruption is technically still an event move with it's main restriction being that Heatran was forced into a Quiet nature. That is no longer the case with mints and is why it is listed above.
Genesect must be shiny in order to use Extremespeed or Shift Gear.
Nidoqueen
- Body Press, High Horsepower, Rock Blast, Sand Tomb
- Hex, Mud Shot, Scorching Sands
Nidoqueen unfortunately did not really gain much out of the new moves it received from DLC. Defensively Nidoqueen may be able to provide some nice utility against the likes of Fairy and Electric types, such as Clefable and Tapu Koko respectively. Offensively it's got a decent amount of power thanks to Sheer Force with Life Orb and a wide special movepool, while also being able to provide Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes.
Nidoking
- Body Press, High Horsepower, Rock Blast, Sand Tomb
- Hex, Mud Shot, Scorching Sands
Nidoking, like Nidoqueen didn't really benefit from the new moves from DLC. It does share some defensive value with Nidoqueen, mainly being an offensive mon that can help pivot into Tapu Koko and apply a lot of offensive potential with special attacks boosted by Life Orb and Sheer Force. It sits at a pretty decent Speed tier of base 85 speed, allowing it to outspeed defensive mons as well as slow breakers such as Aegislash and Life Orb Clefable.
Jynx
- Icicle Spear, Psycho Cut, Triple Axel
- Expanding Force, Future Sight
- Charm, Encore, Psychic Terrain
Jynx gained some physical moves as well as Expanding Force and Future Sight. Unfortunately it probably won't touch OU due to mediocre stats as well as being outclassed offensively by Psychic-types such as Latios, Latias, and Galarian Articuno. Pursuit is gone so it technically benefits from that, and it appreciates Heavy-Duty Boots as well.
Omastar
- Crunch, Liquidation, Pin Missile
- Meteor Beam
- Sand Attack
Omastar is unique in that it has a strong enough Special Attack stat to make use of Shell Smash + Meteor Beam. I'd assume the last 2 moves would be a Water-type move like Surf or Hydro Pump, and possibly Ice Beam or Earth Power in the last slot, but we'll have to wait and see if it can afford to run Meteor Beam for the extra power in place of extra coverage. Meteor Beam does let it have a pseudo Z-move, which can actually almost 1HKO a max specially defensive Toxapex and Assault Vest Tangrowth with Stealth Rock. Timid Nature would be necessary to outspeed Dragapult and Zeraora.
+3 252 SpA Omastar Meteor Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 252-297 (82.8 - 97.6%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+3 252 SpA Omastar Meteor Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Tangrowth: 324-382 (80.1 - 94.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Kabutops gained a few more physical options, but it probably doesn't have enough offensive potential to warrant being used in OU. Even after a Swords Dance, Kabutops struggles to KO common physical pivots such as Toxapex, Slowbro and Kommo-o. Outside of Rain, it did get a buff with Rapid Spin now providing a Speed boost, but the lack of Z-moves definetely hurts it a lot in terms of being an offensive threat. It does have Superpower to hit Ferrothorn, so it does have that going for it.
Aerodactyl
- Dual Wingbeat, Rock Blast, Psychic Fangs
- Meteor Beam, Hurricane
- Dragon Dance
Aerodactyl received Dragon Dance, which is great, but generally it's not too strong even after after a boost. It does have the ability to run a Dragon Dance + Roost set if its bulk can provide setup opportunities against something like Clefable. It technically has some defensive merit in being faster than Torn-T and being able to sponge Hurricane and threatening with Stone Edge or Rock Slide in return.
Articuno
- Brave Bird, Dual Wingbeat, Icicle Spear, Triple Axel
- Air Slash, Weather Ball
Articuno will surely benefit from Heavy-Duty Boots, but it won't go too far beyond that. Offensively it lost Hidden Power and gained Weather Ball, and then defensively it has good bulk but there's not much it really wants to switch in to due to Ice-type being poor defensively.
Zapdos
- Brave Bird, Dual Wingbeat
- Hurricane, Rising Voltage, Weather Ball
- Eerie Impulse, Hail
Zapdos is definetely one of the most hyped returning mons, and for good reasons. Thanks to Hurricane and Weather Ball, it looks to pose a strong offensive threat on Rain Teams. Defensively, it benefits from Heavy-Duty Boots and can be very useful at checking physical attackers such as Hawlucha or Flying-types like Torn-T.
I remember sometime in generation 6 or 7, someone once said they wished Moltres would have Magic Guard so it'd avoid Stealth Rock damage. Although it didn't quite happen, Heavy-Duty Boots did fulfill that person's wish and Moltres is back with a lot of new moves. It gained strong physical moves in Brave Bird and Flare Blitz, but it'll probably just stick to using special moves, including Scorching Sand to hit Heatran, as well as Weather Ball, which could honestly be for anything. Defensively it can be pretty valuable, as it provides a potential defensive stop to mons like Tapu Bulu, Volcarona, and Blaziken.
Dragonite
- Body Press, Breaking Swipe, Dual Wingbeat, Mega Kick, Mega Punch, Scale Shot
- Air Slash, Fire Spin, Hydro Pump
Dragonite, both offensively and defensively will revolve around Multiscale being active more often thanks to Heavy-Duty Boots. Defensively, Dragonite is bulkier and better at stopping mons like Volcarona and Blaziken, and then offensively, it's able to have an easier time setting up more safely. It does have Dual Wingbeat to use as a Flying-type STAB attack instead of Fly, so maybe that'll help out with sweeping or dealing more damage after a Dragon Dance.
Crobat
- Assurance, Crunch, Dual Wingbeat
- Hex, Hurricane
- Agility
Crobat didn't have much of a purpose in OU in Gen 7, didn't get any notable new moves, and will most likely not see time in OU. It does have a nice speed stat of 130 and a decent typing that allows it to switch into Fairy and Grass-types like Clefable and Tapu Bulu, but due to how weak it is, it probably can't threaten them well enough in return to warrant being used over something else.
Raikou
- Rising Voltage, Scald, Weather Ball
- Agility, Charge, Eerie Impulse, Electric Terrain, Helping Hand
Despite losing Hidden Power Ice, Raikou gained some strong special attacks in Aura Sphere, Scald and Weather Ball. Scald alongside Thunderbolt makes it somewhat annoying to switch into, as nothing appreciates a burn outside of Amoonguss and Tangrowth. Raikou will probably face competition with Tapu Koko, who is much faster and stronger, but we'll have to see if Raikou's coverage options in Aura Sphere and Scald or its bulk alongside a Calm Mind set give it a chance in OU.
Entei
- Crunch, Flame Wheel, Reversal
- Scorching Sands, Weather Ball
- Agility, Helping Hand, Scary Face, Smokescreen
Entei appreciates Heavy-Duty Boots, but it's movepool is still pretty lackluster with Howl as its best option to boost its Attack stat. DLC moves don't really help it, so Entei will probably find some usage in lower tiers. One cool thing it does have now is that if it opts to use its hidden ability, Inner Focus, it will not be affected by the attack drop from Intimidate, meaning that Intimidate users, such as Lando-T, cannot check Entei as well as they did in the past.
Suicune
- Crunch, Liquidation
- Weather Ball
- Agility, Helping Hand
Suicune didn't benefit from DLC moves, but it never really needed them as it'll stick to its usual Calm Mind set that's been working wonders forever. As for changes, Suicune might struggle a little more with setting up thanks to some mons receiving new boosting options such as Hydreigon and Torn-T receiving Nasty Plot.
Sceptile gained a lot of physical moves despite not being a great physical attacker. It's outclassed Tapu Bulu, Kartana, and Rillaboom as an offensive Grass-type, so it won't be seeing usage in OU.
Blaziken
- Assurance, Close Combat, Heat Crash, Revenge, U-turn
- Aura Sphere, Scorching Sands
- Detect, Coaching
Blaziken is finally back in OU after a long stay in Ubers. It lost its mega evolution, z moves no longer exist, and Baton Pass is banned, so Blaziken is going to rely on its own strength this time. The most notable additions it received were Close Combat and U-turn. Close Combat means accuracy is no longer a concern, and U-turn gives it the ability to act as a pivot. Blaziken will be strong with a Swords Dance set alongside Speed Boost, but there are a handful of bulky Water, Fire, Ground and Dragon-types that can potentially deal with it. Some of those defensive answers include Toxapex, Slowbro, Moltres, Garchomp, Zygarde and Dragonite. Blaziken will also hate Life Orb and Flare Blitz recoil.
Swampert
- Body Press, Darkest Lariat, Flip Turn, High Horsepower, Liquidation, Sand Tomb
- Amnesia, Bulk Up, Screech, Supersonic
Swampert used to be a big threat on Rain teams thanks to its mega evolution, but this time around, it'll most likely be used for defensive utility, or possibly as a sweeper with its newly gained setup option in Bulk Up. Defensively it can do some cool things, such as switching into Blaziken and Tapu Koko (lacking Grass Knot) while providing Stealth Rock. As a bulky Water-type, it faces a lot of competition from mons like Gastrodon, Slowbro, Mantine and Toxapex, so Swampert will probably remain outclassed and fall into a lower tier. It does get Flip Turn now, so it'll be able to pivot out after setting up Stealth Rock.
Aggron
- Body Press, Crunch, High Horsepower, Rock Blast, Sand Tomb, Steel Roller
- Hydro Pump, Meteor Beam
- Scary Face
Aggron's biggest move additions were Body Press and Steel Roller, both of which are great moves. Unfortunately it lost its mega evolution, which was pretty much the only reason to use it in OU in the previous generation, meaning that there's not really a good reason to run regular Aggron in OU. Defensively it doesn't provide much, and offensively it lacks boosting options.
Altaria
- Breaking Swipe, Dual Wingbeat, False Swipe
- Fire Spin, Hurricane
Altaria without its mega evolution isn't worth running in OU, and its new moves haven't really changed that. Defensively it has the typing and bulk to potentially deal with mons like Blaziken, Volcarona and Rillaboom. In terms of what Altaria does back, it now has access to Fire Spin, which can be used alongside Perish Song in order to trap foes and KO them in 3 turns.
Cradily
- Dig, Power Whip, Rock Blast, Wrap
- Meteor Beam, Mud Shot
- Grassy Terrain, Leech Seed
Cradily is an interesting mon that received an upgrade for both its physical and special movepools. On the physical side, it now has access to Power Whip, and then on the special side, it now learns Meteor Beam. It does have Swords Dance to boost its attack and it has Recover in case it wants to try and be a bulky setup sweeper. Physically it should remained outclassed by Tapu Bulu, Kartana and Rillaboom, but on the special side, it doesn't see too much competition. It has solid bulk, but it would be heavily dependent on Meteor Beam to raise its special attack. Its special movepool has good coverage options such as Earth Power and Sludge Wave.
Armaldo
- Shadow Claw
- Meteor Beam, Mud Shot
Armaldo is built to be a slow physical breaker, but unfortunately it's not that great. Swords Dance alongside strong physical options such as Earthquake and Aqua Tail is great, but not strong enough overall for OU. It benefits from Heavy-Duty Boots, as well as the Rapid Spin speed boost.
Absol
- Close Combat
- Air Slash
- Focus Energy
Absol was hard to justify running with its mega evolution in SM OU, so it's only natural that it'll only struggle much more without it. As an offensive Dark-type, there are better options, including Urshifu-Single Strike and Bisharp.
Walrein
- Body Press, Heavy Slam, Icicle Spear, Liquidation, Steel Roller
- Hydro Pump
- Swords Dance
Walrein's potential as a physical attacker skyrocketed for sure, but it has a rather mediocre attack stat of 80, which means physical sets are most likely not going to cut it for OU. Heavy-Duty Boots should help it a little bit, maybe even enough to help it go up a lower tier alongside its new moves. In a worst case scenario, you can at least be thankful Spheal is very adorable.
Relicanth
- Body Press, Liquidation, Rock Blast, Scale Shot
- Meteor Beam
Relicanth's best Fighting-type attack until now has been Rock Smash, so Body Press is a pretty good thing for it. Rock Head + Head Smash is pretty scary to switch into, and the new Fighting-type coverage should be nice in hitting Steel-types that try to switch in. Relicanth is pretty slow though, so it faces competition from other slow breakers like Conkeldurr and Aegislash.
Salamence
- Breaking Swipe, Dual Wingbeat
- Air Slash, Hurricane
Salamence previously saw some usage in SM OU thanks to Dragon Dance + Z-Fly, but without Z moves, it looks to struggle. It also faces some competition with Dragonite due to Dragonite being better at abusing Heavy-Duty Boots in order maintain Multiscale to help to set up a Dragon Dance. On the other hand, it does have a lot of potential defensively due to the combination of Intimidate, Heavy-Duty Boots, and its typing. It terms of what kind of support it can provide, it has access to Defog and Wish. As for what it checks, it could potentially handle Fighting-types like Blaziken and Galarian-Zapdos, and then it might be able to handle Tapu Bulu if it lacks Stone Edge.
Metagross
- Body Press, Brutal Swing, Psycho Cut, Steel Roller
- Meteor Beam, Expanding Force
- Cosmic Power
Metagross is a really cool mon, but unfortunately, Jirachi pretty much already has everything Metagross gained from DLC and then some. As long as Jirachi's around, Metagross probably won't be able to do much in OU.
Regirock
- Body Press, Heavy Slam, Rock Blast, Sand Tomb
- Flash Cannon, Meteor Beam
Regirock gained some solid moves in Body Press and Heavy Slam, but offensively it remains outclassed by Rhyperior and Tyranitar as offensive Rock-type pokemon.
Regice
- Heavy Slam, Icicle Spear
Regice being a special attacker means it doesn't really benefit from the new physical moves it learned. It'll benefit from Heavy-Duty Boots, but there wasn't much of a reason to run it before, and that sadly hasn't changed.
Registeel
- Body Press, Heavy Slam, Sand Tomb, Steel Roller
- Meteor Beam
Registeel gained some nice offensive moves, but due to its stats it's designed to be a defensive pokemon, and unfortunately for Registeel, OU has plenty of better Steel-types, such as Corviknight, Heatran, and Ferrothorn.
- Air Slash, Aura Sphere, Future Sight, Mystical Fire, Tri Attack
- Agility, Baton Pass, Dragon Dance
Latias and Latios gained a tremendous amount of buffs from DLC, especially with Aura Sphere and Mystical Fire, as well as Pursuit being axed from the game. Mega stones and Z-crystals being removed also improves the potential for Latios and Latias to threaten opponents with Trick. Future Sight shenanigans are always welcome and sometimes scary if set up properly. Latias in particular may turn out to be worse or better than Latias based on whether its extra bulk or Latios's extra offensive power turns out to be more desired.
- Air Slash, Aura Sphere, Future Sight, Mystical Fire, Tri Attack
- Agility, Baton Pass
The description for Latias applies to Latios as well. Latios may be the more anticipated threat due to its slightly higher offensive stats, which may come into play if it's able to achieve 1-2HKO's that Latias cannot.
Spiritomb
- Lash Out, Phantom Force, Payback, Poltergeist
- Burning Jealousy, Hex, Night Shade
Spiritomb lost Pursuit but gained a pretty strong move in return in the form of Poltergeist. Honestly it's kind of surprising this mon didn't have Hex until now, but it's able to make pretty good use of it since it has access to Will-O-Wisp and Nasty Plot. It's very slow, and OU has strong Ghost-types already with Dragapult and Aegislash, so we most likely won't be seeing Spiritomb in OU.
Garchomp
- Breaking Swipe, Scale Shot
- Scorching Sands
It is truly tragic that Garchomp somehow didn't get Dragon Dance. However, Garchomp has other good ways of proving how good it is in OU. Tank Garchomp in particular looks incredible against a lot of the currently existing threats in the metagame, such as Zeraora and Cinderace, as well as returning threats such as Blaziken. Garchomp is a great Stealth Rock user that should be solid overall. It didn't gain too much in terms of new moves. Scale Shot with Swords Dance might be alright to give Garchomp a pseudo-Dragon Dance, but because it's a 2-5 hit move, it may be unreliable at times. Offensive sets will definetely miss Z-moves, as Garchomp in the latter half of Gen 7 OU was commonly seen with Rockium-Z or Dragonium-Z in order to KO threats like Celesteela, Landorus-T, and sometimes Clefable and Tapu Bulu.
Electivire
- Darkest Lariat
- Rising Voltage, Weather Ball
Electivire is back and with a few new moves, but unfortunately, a bunch of other and better Electric-types, such as Zapdos and Tapu Koko are returning and will severely outclass Electivire. Zeraora can also pretty much do everything electivire does, but better with a far more impressive speed tier. One thing Electivire does have that Zeraora does not have is access to Ice Punch. All of the above Electric-types lost Hidden Power Ice and it looks like none of them have an Ice-type move, meaning Electivire is unique just a little bit.
Similar to Electivire, Magmortar is back but unfortunately came with a bunch of superior mons of the same type. In this case, Moltres, Blaziken, Victini and Heatran are the Fire-types that'll prevent Magmortar from seeing usage in OU.
Uxie
- Drain Punch, Play Rough, Psycho Cut
- Draining Kiss, Expanding Force, Psybeam, Stored Power, Tri Attack
- Baton Pass, Encore, Metronome, Nasty Plot
The sinnoh lake trio is back and with a lot of new moves. They all received the same moves, except for Azelf which already learned Nasty Plot, but also learned Self-Destruct. Nasty Plot should make all 3 pretty threatening, especially with no Pursuit. Uxie in particular has pretty good bulk and should be able to make use of Draining Kiss's healing effect.
Mesprit
- Drain Punch, Play Rough, Psycho Cut
- Draining Kiss, Expanding Force, Psybeam, Stored Power, Tri Attack
Much like Uxie, Mesprit should be able to make use of Nasty Plot and Draining Kiss. It has a pretty good special move pool with moves such as Psychic, Energy Ball, Ice Beam and Thunderbolt. Unfortunately, like Uxie, it lacks Fire-type attacks and did not receive Mystical Fire.
Azelf
- Assurance, Drain Punch, Play Rough, Psycho Cut, Self-Destruct
- Draining Kiss, Expanding Force, Psybeam, Stored Power, Tri Attack
- Baton Pass, Encore, Metronome
Azelf gained Self-Destruct and some pretty good physical moves in Play Rough and Drain Punch. It actually has base 125 attack, meaning that it might be able to pull of a physical set. Some notable moves it already has on the physical side include Zen Headbutt, Knock Off, U-turn and Fire Punch. As for special sets, the main differences between Azelf and the other 2 lake guardians are its higher offensive stats, higher speed stat, and most importantly, access to Fire-type attacks in Flamethrower and Fire Blast.
Heatran
- Body Press, Body Slam, Heat Crash, Heavy Slam, Self-Destruct, Steel Roller
- Burning Jealousy, Scorching Sands
Heatran is arguably the biggest defensive piece that was missing from OU until now. It has stellar typing alongside a strong pool of moves such as Stealth Rock, Magma Storm, Toxic and Taunt, which allows it to apply a solid amount of offensive pressure for a defensive mon. It's able to check Fairy, Dragon, and Fire-types such as Clefable, Naganadel, and Volcarona respectively. It's also likely to handle special Psychic-type mons like Hatterene as well. Gliscor not returning is great news for Heatran, as it means Magma Storm with Toxic is incredibly difficult to switch into. As for new moves, Body Press and Heavy Slam look alright, although they're a little difficult to use since Heatran wants to run special attacks. Heavy Slam is cool because you can 2HKO a physically defensive Clefable even if it uses Calm Mind. One thing that's not above is that because of mints, Heatran is now able to use Eruption, a former event move, with any nature. This means you can legally now run Scarf Eruption Heatran, or Eruption on pretty much any set. I'm not sure how good it'll be, but it'll be fun at the least. Heatran looks to be one of the best mons in the new OU metagame, so let's hope it lives up to the hype.
Regigigas
- Body Press, Body Slam, Darkest Lariat, Hammer Arm, Heat Crash, High Horsepower, Mega Kick
- Terrain Pulse
- Endure, Rest, Protect
After 14 long years, Regigigas finally learned Protect and Rest. It has pretty cool stats, but its ability has held it back this entire time and has forced Regigigas to try and stall out Slow Start turns by using strategies like Substitute, Thunder Wave, and Confuse Ray. Now Regigigas can Protect half of turns in order to get past Slow Start. As for its other moves, it lost Return but gained Mega Kick, and Body Slam as its new STAB moves. Heat Crash should be nice coverage to hit Steel-types, although it should be interesting to see if it's more consistent than Fire Punch. Regigigas already has Knock Off, so it might not need Darkest Lariat. As exciting as it sounds, Regigigas still has to wait a full 5 turns before being usable, which is a bit too long and is probably not worth using in OU.
Cresselia
- Body Slam
- Expanding Force, Psybeam, Stored Power
- Guard Swap, Power Swap
Cresselia is one of the bulkiest mons to exist and it has returned. Cresselia now has access to Stored Power, which is nice and can be used on a Calm Mind set. It's still prone to status, mainly Toxic, and has limited recovery PP (Moonlight only has 8 PP), so it might not be the most reliable set up sweeper compared to something like Reuniclus or Hatterene. Lunar Dance should make it a nice addition on Trick Room teams.
- Expanding Force, Fire Spin, Future Sight, Mystical Fire, Scorching Sands, Swift
- Baton Pass, Encore, Guard Swap, Power Swap, Speed Swap
Victini looks to be pretty scary thanks to Heavy-Duty Boots and the removal of Pursuit. This will allow it to more safely switch in and click V-Create with fewer consequences. Scorching Sands gives it a way to threaten Heatran in case it wants to attempt to switch into V-Create, and Victini also has Glaciate to threaten Ground-types like Garchomp and Landorus. Future Sight is a pretty annoying move in general, and Victini can potentially use it and then U-turn out to a teammate. It should be a pretty strong offensive mon with several tools in its arsenal that can allow it to run a physical, mixed, or full special set.
Audino
- Body Slam, Giga Impact, Mega Kick, Mega Punch
- Endure, Life Dew
Audino got some more physical STAB moves to use, but it's still nowhere good enough to see usage in OU. If you're looking for a bulky utility mon, you're better off with Clefable or Blissey.
Carracosta
- Razor Shell, Rock Blast
- Meteor Beam, Mud Shot, Muddy Water
- Endure
Carracosta is pretty similar to Omastar overall, except that it's a bit slower, has less special attack, and has the ability Solid Rock to help set up a Shell Smash. After a Shell Smash, it only hits 326 or 358 speed depending on the nature, both of which aren't great considering how many faster mons will exist in OU. 358 speed means that any mon with at least base 114 speed and a speed boosting nature will be faster than Carracosta after a Shell Smash. The other huge issue is that Grassy Glide now exists and will 1HKO regardless of Solid Rock or not. Omastar should be a bit better on Rain, so expectations for Carracosta are pretty low for OU at least.
Archeops
- Assurance, Dual Wingbeat, Lash Out, Rock Blast
- Air Slash, Meteor Beam, Swift
- Endure
Archeops should be more viable than in the past thanks to Heavy-Duty Boots going against Defeatist, as well as Archeops finally having a decent Flying-type move in the form of Dual Wingbeat. Until now, it's had to rely on Acrobatics or Aerial Ace as its strongest Flying-type move. Archeops has enough special attack to make use of Air Slash and Meteor Beam, although with Meteor Beam, it probably won't be able to use Heavy-Duty Boots with it, meaning that it takes Stealth Rock damage and is a step closer to having its Defeatist ability activated.
Cryogonal
- Avalanche, Icicle Spear, Self-Destruct, Triple Axel
- Endure
Cryogonal's new moves are not really helpful for it since it's more of a special attacker and only has base 50 attack to begin with. It'll be a slightly better Rapid Spin user in lower tiers thanks to Heavy-Duty Boots, but outside of that, it doesn't have much of a reason to be seen in OU.
Tornadus
- Assurance, Body Slam, Lash Out
- Weather Ball
- Endure, Leer, Nasty Plot, Scary Face
Tornadus finally gets Nasty Plot and should be a decent threat, although to a much lesser extent than its Therian counterpart. Torn-T will get used over regular Tornadus due to the higher base speed stat, as well as Torn-T having Regenerator to help keep it around all game long. Nasty Plot with Hurricane will hit hard nonetheless and should be strong in lower tiers.
Tornadus-Therian
- Assurance, Body Slam, Lash Out
- Weather Ball
- Endure, Leer, Nasty Plot, Scary Face
Torn-T is expected to be a huge addition to the tier. Heavy-Duty Boots helps Torn-T make even better use of Regenerator as it won't be taking Stealth Rock damage. Nasty Plot allows Torn-T to threaten defensive pokemon such as Clefable and Toxapex, and overall gives it a new role as a wallbreaker that it didn't really have in the past. Torn-T in Gen 7 OU was able to do a little bit of this with Z-Hurricane or Z-Focus Blast to surprise and KO targets like Gliscor and Heatran respectively, but once the Z move was used up, it wasn't as threatening. Now with Nasty Plot, it's able to consistently be a threat to bulky mons, although it still has to hit those inaccurate moves. Defensively, Torn-T proved in Gen 7 OU just how valuable it can be with a utility set running U-turn, Knock Off, Hurricane and Defog, and that set may come back in order to check Grass-types like Tapu Bulu and Kartana.
Thundurus
- Assurance, Body Slam, Lash Out
- Electro Ball, Rising Voltage, Weather Ball
- Eerie Impulse, Endure, Leer, Scary Face
Thundurus already has access to Nasty Plot, but most notably recieved Weather Ball in terms of new beneficial changes. Weather Ball should allow it to pose a respectable threat while being used on weather teams (most likely Rain). Unfortunately, outside of weather, Thundurus has lost Hidden Power, which is actually even more tragic when you realize how Hidden Power Flying was the only special Flying-type attack Thundurus had. Thundurus will probably find a place in lower tiers since Tapu Koko will likely be running rampant in its place as an offensive Electric-type.
Thundurus-Therian
- Assurance, Body Slam, Lash Out
- Electro Ball, Rising Voltage, Weather Ball
- Eerie Impulse, Endure, Leer, Scary Face
Most of what was said about Thundurus also applies to Thundurus-Therian. Weather Ball is a nice edition, but no Hidden Power Ice/Flying and no Z moves leaves much to be desired when using it in OU.
Landorus
- Body Slam, Sand Tomb, Self-Destruct
- Weather Ball
- Endure, Leer, Scary Face
Lando-I will return to OU after being quick banned last generation. It is a strong wall breaker thanks to Sheer Force with Life Orb and it has a pretty good selection of special attacks that are boosted by that combo. Earth Power, Focus Blast and Sludge Wave will nearly 2HKO the entire tier, and Landorus always has the option to use Calm Mind in order to boost its attacking power. Lando-I did not really receive any helpful moves, but the loss of Hidden Power does make it more difficult to KO. It'll be interesting to see how long it stays in OU or if it'll bite the dust quickly.
Landorus-Therian
- Body Slam, Sand Tomb, Self-Destruct
- Weather Ball
- Endure, Leer, Scary Face
Everyone's most used Ground-type has finally returned! Lando-T didn't receive any notable new moves, and the main changes for Lando are that Intimidate no longer affects pokemon with Inner Focus, Oblivious, Own Tempo, or Scrappy, and that Hidden Power Ice is gone. The only notable Pokemon that may be in OU affected by the Intimidate change are Mamoswine and Entei, and then Lando-T actually used to run Hidden Power Ice in order to help check itself, so it's unable to do that now. No Hidden Power Ice also means it's less reliable at stopping Zygarde. Lando-T returning means we may finally have a good Choice Scarf user for speed control, so that'll be exciting to see. No Z moves means that Lando-T's offensive potential as a Swords Dance user has gone down quite a bit.
Genesect
- Assurance, Leech Life
- Swift
- Endure
Genesect is unbanned again and it looks to be as dangerous as ever. It didn't get any new moves, but Blaze Kick is now a TR, meaning that Genesect does not need to be Shiny in order to use it. It does however need to be Shiny in order to use Shift Gear and Extreme Speed. It used to be locked into a Hasty nature, but now it is free to use any nature it wants. Genesect will probably pose the same threat that it does every gen with it's high special attack boosted by Download alongside incredible coverage and physical moves like U-turn and Extreme Speed. It's tough to switch into and great at generating momentum, so it might not stick around in OU too long, or maybe we'll see a surprise and have it stay.
Tyrantrum
- Assurance, Body Slam, Breaking Swipe, Close Combat, High Horsepower, Lash Out, Play Rough, Psychic Fangs, Rock Blast, Rock Throw, Scale Shot
- Meteor Beam
- Endure, Scary Face
Tyrantrum's main change will be that Dragon Dance sets can run Close Combat over Superpower. It's an alright mon and that small move change should be nice in whatever tier Tyrantrum ends up in. The other moves it received are alright, but nothing too ground breaking. Rock Head Head Smash will hit harder than its over STAB options, and it already has Earthquake, so High Horsepower isn't as necessary, unless Tyrantrum finds itself in a place where Rillaboom or Tapu Bulu are common.
Aurorus
- Body Slam, Icicle Spear, Rock Blast
- Meteor Beam, Mud Shot, Weather Ball
- Aurora Veil, Endure
Aurorus has a pretty good special move pool and an alright special attack stat that will benefit from Meteor Beam. Meteor Beam can help increase it's damage output, should turn it into a decent threat while simultaneously setting up Hail. That being said, it is pretty slow and faces a lot of competition in OU as a slow strong wallbreaker. It did lose Hidden Power Fire, but Meteor Beam, Blizzard, and Earth Power should hit everything hard enough.
Carbink
- Body Press, Sand Tomb
- Meteor Beam, Misty Explosion, Terrain Pulse
- Charm, Endure, Guard Swap
Carbink is an underwhelming mon that will probably always be a weaker version of Diancie. Despite that, it did receive a few new moves, most notably Body Press, which should work out well due to Carbink having a base defense stat of 150. Misty Explosion might work out if Carbink gets used as a suicide lead. 50 Special attack doesn't look high enough to make use of Meteor Beam, so I don't think it'll go that route.
Zygarde
- Body Slam, Breaking Swipe, High Horsepower, Payback, Reversal, Scale Shot, Skitter Smack
- Scorching Sands, Swift
- Endure
Zygarde has returned after being banned from SM OU a little less than 2 years ago. It has a few new moves, none of which it'll really need as Zygarde established what it needs before it got banned. Thousand Arrows, Glare, and Dragon Dance or Coil go a very long way and can be difficult to stop. Hidden Power Ice being removed makes it much harder to deal with, as Landorus is unable to break it and then Tangrowth is required to use Grass Knot in order to break Zygarde's Substitutes. We do have Dragapult with Infiltrator to deal with Sub Coil sets, Buzzwole, and Unaware Soft-Boiled Clefable if that turns out to be useful enough. One other thing to look forward to is seeing how easily Zygarde will be able to set up. It might be easy but it also might be hard if the metagame is so offensive to where it can't find time to set up as much as it wants or needs to. Defensively, Zygarde can switch into Fire-types like Blaziken, Cinderace and Heatran, and it's able to make use of weaker/more passive mons like Hippowdon or Toxapex to set up a Substitute.
Zygarde-10%
- Body Slam, Breaking Swipe, High Horsepower, Payback, Reversal, Scale Shot, Skitter Smack
- Scorching Sands, Swift
- Endure
Zygarde-10% is typically less successful in OU than Zygarde-50%, and it's largely due to the significantly lower bulk. Zygarde-10% can't set up as often or as easily as regular Zygarde without that bulk, and this usually forces Zygarde-10% to rely on Choice Band or offensive DD sets in order to try and make itself useful. If Zygarde-50% is around, then Zygarde-10% probably won't get used. If Zygarde-50% gets banned, then maybe we'll see it from time to time.
Diancie gained a tremendous amount of moves from DLC. The biggest moves were Body Press, Play Rough, Draining Kiss, Mystical Fire and Misty Explosion. Regular Diancie may seem uninteresting, but it has decent enough stats to where it may be able to still put in decent work. Its Rock typing should be helpful against the new Flying-type threats like Torn-T and the Galarian bird trio. Diancie has base 150 defense so Body Press is decently strong, and then Play Rough gives it a solid physical Fairy-type attack. Body Press also has a cool place on Diancie's moveset, as Diamond Storm is able to boost Diancie's defense by +2, which essentially gives Body Press a +2 boost. Draining Kiss would most likely only be used if Diancie tries to run Calm Mind and wants the healing effect of Draining Kiss over the raw power of Moonblast. Despite losing Hidden Power Fire, Diancie gained Mystical Fire, which is overall better since it's stronger and has a secondary effect. As for OU, it's tough to say how Diancie will do. It has a lot of tools and a lot of solid moves, but it'll probably start off slowly and may end up seeing usage if someone's able to find a creative way to use it. It might also just get overshadowed by everything else being higher on the "new toy" list. Diancie will probably be good wherever it ends up.
Volcanion
- Body Press, Heat Crash, Heavy Slam, Thunder Fang
- Fire Spin, Incinerate, Mud Shot, Scorching Sands, Water Gun
Volcanion so far in the past 2 gens has been pretty underwhelming in OU. It has a cool typing, but lacks any way to boost its attacking power. Sadly that hasn't changed, and its new moves haven't really given it much to help promote itself in OU. That being said, Volcanion appreciates the Lati twins losing their mega formes, and it also appreciates Heavy-Duty Boots making it easier for Volcanion to switch in and burn something or use Defog. There's a lot of Fire-types now and the Ground-type trio of Lando-T, Garchomp and Zygarde are returning, so that might result in more bulky Water-types being used, and if that's the case, then Volcanion will struggle a lot. It did lose Hidden Power Grass, meaning it has no way to threaten Gastrodon outside of Toxic. This is assuming Gastrodon goes back to running Storm Drain over Sticky Hold, but we'll have to wait and see for that one.
Tapu Koko
- Assurance
- Fairy Wind, Stored Power, Swift
- Eerie Impulse, Endure, Rest
Tapu Koko was rumored to gain access to Play Rough, Close Combat, and Rising Voltage, which were set to make it a massive threat. Unfortunately, it did not get a single one of those moves. That doesn't mean Tapu Koko will be horrible, though; its Speed tier is still very strong in SS OU, and an Electric-terrain boosted Thunderbolt is still fairly strong. Beyond that, it does also hold some nice defensive utility thanks to its resistance to Flying and reliable recovery in Roost.
Tapu Lele
- Play Rough, Psycho Cut
- Future Sight, Stored Power
- Charm, Endure, Guard Swap, Power Swap, Speed Swap, Rest
Just like Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele was expected to gain access to a couple moves. It was rumored to be getting Expanding Force and Mystical Fire. Unfortunately, it did not get either and while the former may not be too big of a deal due to Tapu Lele's very high damage output regardless, it has lost out on its Fire-type coverage. This means that it may be a little more difficult to hit all Steel-types at the same time. Fortunately, Tapu Lele does have access to Thunderbolt to pressure Corviknight, and Focus Blast for other Steel-types like Ferrothorn. Beyond that, a Choice Specs-, Psychic Terrain-boosted Psychic is strong enough to get past other Steel-types like Scizor with ease.
Tapu Bulu
- Bullet Seed, Close Combat, Darkest Lariat, High Horsepower, Mega Punch, Revenge, Rock Smash
- Mega Drain, Stored Power
- Endure, Guard Swap, Power Swap, Rest
Tapu Bulu is yet another Tapu that was expected to get more moves than it did; it was expected to get Grassy Glide and Play Rough. It did not gain either moves, but it did gain access to Close Combat, which is a decent upgrade from Superpower. Tapu Bulu will have to compete with Rillaboom, which is generally more flexible in bad matchups thanks to Knock Off and U-turn, and the addition of Grassy Glide makes it a more useful utility presence. However, Tapu Bulu has significantly more sticking power thanks to its greater bulk, access to recovery, and its Fairy-typing. It'll be interesting to see how it works out between Tapu Bulu and Rillaboom. If you discard Rillaboom for a second, though, Tapu Bulu is definitely looking to be a strong wallbreaker.
Tapu Fini
- Dive, Play Rough
- Disarming Voice, Draining Kiss, Stored Power
- Endure, Guard Swap, Rest
Tapu Fini was not expected to gain much besides Flip Turn, which it unfortunately did not get. It did, however, get Rest! Tapu Fini's lack of reliable recovery has been an issue for as long as it has existed. However, now that its ability Telepathy is available, and that it has Rest, we may see Tapu Fini finally sticking around long-term. Ofcourse, automatically setting Misty Terrain is also very powerful, but this is definitely something interesting to take note of. Tapu Fini's looking very useful defensively, checking some Pokemon like Blaziken, Zygarde, and Urshifu.
Nihilego
- Body Slam, Cross Poison, Rock Slide, Rock Tomb, Wrap
- Hex, Meteor Beam
- Corrosive Gas, Endure
Nihilego is one of the few mons able to learn Corrosive Gas, which is pretty cool, although it's a little unfortunate that it already has access to Knock Off. Nihilego has a low attack stat, meaning that most of the moves it received won't be used, but Meteor Beam looks to be the one new move that it could possibly use. It has a few good special attacks, such as Sludge Wave, Thunder, and Grass Knot, and Meteor Beam should help it give itself a good enough boost to potentially 2HKO most switch ins. Losing Hidden Power means that it struggles more against Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Scizor, but that also means that Fire-types like Volcarona can no longer KO Nihilego with Hidden Power Ground. Rock-typing should be nice in a metagame with a lot of Fire and Flying types, but the low defense stat may hold it back.
Buzzwole
- Body Slam, Close Combat, Darkest Lariat, Dual Wingbeat, High Horsepower, Revenge
- Coaching
I am very excited for Buzzwole. Not only do we finally have a good Urshifu-S answer, but Buzzwole looks to offer a lot as a physically defensive mon. It can switch in and deal with mons like Urshifu, Zygarde, Kartana, Lando-T, Tapu Bulu. With max defense, it can switch into Choice Band Melmetal's Double Iron Bash and spam Roost for a few turns in order to PP stall Melmetal out of Double Iron Bash PP before it breaks Buzzwole. Buzzwole's bulk is not to be underestimated. As for what it does back, it can use Bulk Up, Drain Punch, Ice Punch, or something like Lunge to lower the opponent's attack stat. It gained Close Combat, which is nice and very consistent for more offensive sets. Darkest Lariat is a cool addition as well as Buzzwole only had Fling and Payback as Dark-type attacks. Darkest Lariat should also allow it to beat Coil / Bulk Up mons in a 1v1.
252+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Buzzwole: 236-282 (56.4 - 67.4%) -- approx. 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Cinderace Pyro Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Buzzwole: 206-246 (49.2 - 58.8%) -- 68% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Pheromosa
- Assurance, Close Combat, Skitter Smack, Triple Axel
- Coaching, Endure
Pheromosa has finally returned after being banned from OU last generation. It gained a small upgrade in Close Combat, but it did not really get any other moves that are worth noting. Pheromosa is looking to be a very potent offensive pivot thanks to its high Attacking and Speed stats. The addition of a Rapid Spin user like Pheromosa will be great for offensive teams. It remains to be seen how long Pheromosa will stick around for, or if it will stay around for forever.
Xurkitree
- Electro Ball, Rising Voltage
- Endure
Xurkitree was alright last generation thanks to Tail Glow + Thunderbolt, Hidden Power Ice, or Energy Ball, but this time around it may struggle more due to Hidden Power being removed from the game. Xurkitree's new moves have not helped make up for it. It'll be strong if it can get an attack off, but due to its fairly slow speed stat as well as better and faster breakers like Nasty Plot Hydreigon existing, Xurkitree probably won't get too far in OU. Additionally, it used Z-Hypnosis last generation for a speed boost, and can no longer do so anymore. It turns out Xurkitree can no longer use Tail Glow, meaning that it has to use Calm Mind in order to boost its Special Attack stat.
Celesteela
- Body Slam, Megahorn, Self-Destruct, Steel Roller
- Meteor Beam
- Endure
Celesteela didn't gain any useful moves, as it needs to be grounded in order to have priority on Grassy Glide. Steel Roller is a cool move that may work out if terrain ends up being super common, but Heavy Slam is usually base 120 against most threats and will probably be more consistent. Celesteela will be good at checking or soft checking a ton of threats including Tapu Bulu and Kartana. It may also be one of the few switchins to Landorus-I and it might be alright at handling Pheromosa too. Celesteela should be reliable like it was last generation.
Kartana
- Solar Blade
- Endure, Screech
One of the strongest attackers from Gen 7 OU has returned and Kartana is hyped up a decent amount. In the previous gen, teams either used offensive mons faster than it with enough bulk to check it, such as Torn-T and Mega Latias, or they used physically defensive mons like Tangrowth. Back then Kartana could break past all of those answers with the right Z move, but now it's unable to use those Z moves. It'll have a much harder time defeating bulkier mons like Tangrowth and Buzzwole, but some of its offensive answers, like Mega Latias and Mega Scizor, no longer exist, so it may be a little more difficult to handle it for offensive teams. Kartana sits at a pretty good speed tier and may see potential defensively if it's able to stop Zygarde and can afford the paralysis. Kartana will also have to see how the galarian formes of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres turn out to be, as they may end up being additional checks to Kartana.
Guzzlord
- Body Press, Body Slam, Heat Crash, High Horsepower, Lash Out, Mega Punch, Mega Kick, Steel Roller
- Amnesia, Corrosive Gas, Endure
Guzzlord gained a lot of moves, but the biggest additions are probably Heat Crash and maybe Steel Roller. Guzzlord until now has only had special Fire-type attacks, but with Heat Crash, it now has a physical one. Steel Roller I only mentioned because it's a base 120 move that only works if terrain is up. Considering how frequently the Tapus may be used, Steel Roller may turn out to be decent. Otherwise, Heavy Slam or Iron Head will be more consistent. Guzzlord itself is pretty slow and not too powerful, and has a lot of competition as a slow breaker, so the expectations for it in OU are pretty low.
Naganadel was quickbanned last generation due to being very difficult to stop with its set of Nasty Plot, Sludge Wave, Fire Blast, and Z-Draco. This set would break past mons like Heatran and Tyranitar and would then give Naganadel speed boost via the Beast Boost ability. From there it would snowball and probably win. This time around, Naganadel does not have access to Z moves, which forces it to rely on Draco Meteor and deal with it's -2 SpA side effect like Hydreigon has been doing this gen so far. Naganadel gained a lot of moves, with the biggest ones being Spikes and Toxic Spikes. It already has access to U-turn, meaning it's able to play a fast Spike and pivot game, like how Greninja did last gen. U-turn also means that Naganadel has potential as a Choice Scarf user. Base 121 speed means it is only outsped by Pheromosa, Zeraora, Dragapult, Tapu Koko, and Weavile. This means it's as easy to revenge kill as something like Hydreigon, who has even more mons outspeeding it in order to force it out. Naganadel should be pretty scary, and Heatran and Tyranitar are expected to try and switch into it. It'll be interesting to see if they're able to suffice, and if we find any other mons that can switch into it, or if Naganadel will turn out to be too much to handle.
Stakataka
- Body Press, Body Slam, Heat Crash, Heavy Slam, High Horsepower, Mega Kick, Steel Roller
- Meteor Beam
- Endure
Stakataka looks to be a huge threat on Trick Room teams in part to some of its new moves. Heat Crash helps it with Ferrothorn, as Stakataka previously needed to use Superpower to deal with it. Heat Crash can also deal a good amount of damage against Corviknight, but it does not do that much to Celesteela (base 40 power), so it'll most likely still need Stone Edge. Among non-Fighting-types, Stakataka has the highest physical defense stat, meaning that it has the strongest non-STAB Body Press in the game. Body Press also works out nicely on Stakataka since Beast Boost will raise its Defense stat unless Stakataka has a Lonely nature with 15 IV's in Defense.
Blacephalon
- Fire Punch, Rock Blast, Self-Destruct, Zen Headbutt
- Expanding Force, Fire Spin, Incinerate, Mystical Fire, Solar Beam
- Confuse Ray, Encore, Endure, Hypnosis
The clown is back and looks to be a pretty big threat in OU. Tyranitar, Blacephalon's best answer, lost Pursuit, meaning that Blacephalon won't be taken out as quickly as it used to. Heavy-Duty Boots also extend Blacephalon's longevity and should help it find more opportunities to switch in. However, the lack of Z moves will hurt it and more or less prevents it from 1HKO'ing most mons like it used to with Z-Shadow Ball.
This means Blacephalon will struggle a lot more when wanting to sweep teams, as it will most likely need at least +2 or +3 SpA in order to 1HKO opposing threats. It might need more support than one would like, but it might be fine in some cases since offensive Ghost-typing is very strong.
1. What are you most excited to use in the new metagame?
2. What pre-dlc mons are expected to get hit the hardest?
3. What pre-dlc mons are expected to benefit the most or see a rise in viability?
4. How do you feel about the new Galarian Formes, Regis, and horse legendaries?
5. What do you believe will be overhyped and what will die down after being given the "new toy" treatment?
6. What do you think will be some of the strongest offensive threats in the metagame?
7. What do you think will be some of the strongest defensive options in the metagame?
8. How do you think existing pokemon will adjust? For example, will Toxapex change from a physically defensive set to a specially defensive set, and will Dragapult go from a mixed attacker to a purely special one?
9. What is your favorite returning mon?
10. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy playing the new Crown Tundra DLC both in-game and on here :)
Just a reminder, but we'll be posting the usage stats from the Tundra Cup here in this thread. The Tundra Cup starts this upcoming Monday, so make sure to sign up in case you haven't already done so. See you soon!
That is true. But now in this gen, it's no longer locked into Quiet nature. which means Scarf Timid with max speed investment makes it more threatening and a much suited revenge killer.
Yo, I want to bring up a Pokemon that I believe to be quite useful currently and that I have personally seen no one else use in the same way. This set looks really wack at first but bear with me to show you its defensive utility:
Marowak-Alola @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Atk / 248 SpD
Careful Nature
- Fire Punch
- Toxic / Will-O-Wisp
- Stealth Rock / Pain Split
- Earthquake / Focus Punch / Pain Split
Alolan Marowak with Lightning Rod can function as a Stealth Rock setter with some really valuable immunities and resists.
Here's a list of relatively common Pokemon that it checks/walls/Volt blocks and can potentially get Stealth Rock up on:
Genesect
Pheromosa
Magearna
Regieleki
Tapu Koko
Magnezone
Rotom-Heat
Zapdos lacking Hurricane
Corviknight lacking Brave Bird
Skarmory lacking Brave Bird
Blaziken lacking Earthquake/Knock Off
Buzzwole lacking Earthquake
Tapu Bulu lacking High Horsepower
/
lacking Toxic
A large number of Cinderace
You can use Thick Club, but I've found Heavy-Duty Boots to be quite valuable considering you'll usually need to bring it in multiple times per battle, as many of these Pokemon will be using U-turn to pivot out on it (but Marowak double resists it, so it doesn't care too much about U-turn damage itself). It still has just enough power to blow away Genesect and Pheromosa and it threatens most other foes with status.
12 Atk Marowak-Alola Fire Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Genesect: 288-340 (101.7 - 120.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
12 Atk Marowak-Alola Fire Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Pheromosa: 288-342 (101.7 - 120.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
It's not a terrible Stealth Rock setter since it can either poison or burn common Defog users in Zapdos, Moltres, Corviknight, and Landorus-T and it can spinblock on the likes of Pheromosa for itself. Earthquake (or Bonemerang) or Focus Punch is your way of threatening Heatran (Earthquake hits Blaziken, Focus Punch hits Blissey/Chansey), but Pain Split provides valuable longevity if you're lacking Wish support. If you have very strong hazard control you can opt for the usual Thick Club set with Poltergeist/Shadow Bone though.
This is the first team I built since the DLC dropped and I'm not even sure if it's ideal to deviate much from something like this... Kyurem-B, Naganadel, and especially Blaziken can single-handedly win games on their own... Lead Mew gets up hazards, and Grimmsnarl provides useful screens support. Last but not least, Genesect is there to pick off opposing teams with Choice Band Extreme Speed. Or revenge kill stuff like opposing Naganadel and Blaziken, or god forbid, Ditto.
I tried building some Ditto fat, but I don't think even that can get past these filthy HOs, because there's so much strain on Ditto to revenge kill stuff, it's insane. Right now, I think the meta is looking quite dire, so hopefully some action can be taken soon to shift it into a better direction, but I guess it's still fun doing stuff like this while you still can: +2 252 Atk Life Orb Blaziken Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latios: 289-341 (96 - 113.2%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
Back in early Gen 7, Alolan Marowak had a solid defensive niche doing this stuff, and it could even run Leftovers since it was vulnerable to chip damage and defensive sets weren't breaking things anyways.
But HDB is a godsend for this kind of niche use, especially since the Knock Off users threatening it will often be pretty obvious, and being able to stop at least the Volt part of VoltTurn is really valuable in this meta.
Tapu Bulu (or Rillaboom, but Bulu actually has better type synergy) makes for a great partner, in which case Bonemerang over EQ is actually preferred IMO since it's not reduced in power by Grassy Terrain plus it can break Subs.
Now, anyway, I'm gonna give some thoughts on the meta after playing around 50 games with dlc.
- I like to call these the "broken trinity" as they are arguably the most suffocating mons in the metagame to deal with. genesect has absurd coverage and can run a multitude of sets to beat it checks. Whenever it doesnt have coverage for a mon, it can just U-turn out. This mon is a deadly combo of magearna+cinderace from the old metagame, please send this away. Nagandel only has 3 things that can live a boosted draco, hetaran, ttar, and blissey. its great speed and resistance to lots of priority means once it gets going with beast boosts there is very little stopping it. Lando-I is also stupidly strong with a solid speed tier and sheer force boosted attack's, please get rid of these 3 so the meta can calm down.
- this mon is actually solid in OU. Bolt beak in electric terrain hits fishous rend levels of stupidity, though i think dracozolt as a mon is fine and relies on sand a bit too much to clean through the faster paced metagame. It also has a worse defensive typing and hates being choice locked with lando-t and garchomp in the tier. Glad to see my fossil abomination friend being good in OU now.
- Im grouping these 2 mons together because they will fuck your team ocne they get rid of mons that resist their attacks. Spectrier should be paired with a fighting type to remove blissey and darks while regieleki appreciates grounds being removed so it can 2HKO blissey with voltage. i don't think either of them are banworthy but are definitely more viable than we anticipated from their movesets.
- Both of these 2 mons have been very hit or miss. Koko+eleki ladder spam makes it hard to use torn-t and i think itll emerge as a top threat once the tier clears up. Still, its a bit inconsistent with hurricane which may be enough to hold it back (until its run on rain). Blaziken either sweeps your entire team or dies instantly. it gets worn down wayy to easily and has a hard time coming in to set up. I feel people are really jumping the gun on this one and we should def give Blaziken time before it gets banned.
- I just find it funny how nobody will use this mon and since usage is different this month, it might get used so little it falls to NU lmfao. I haven't seen 1 in the 50 games I've played, so crazy how it might go from NU to UUBL in a day lmao.
That's all I have to say, I love the chaos but also miss the stability. the lower tiers will go absolutely nuts in a few days. Might post again about other thoughts on the game at the moment.
Thought I was taking first blood but I couldn't be more wrong . Anyway, this metagame is absolutely chaotic, so many threatening stuff here and a lot of previously broken shit are now back, so I want to talk about my favourite things to use rn.
Regieleki
So there has been a lot of hype around it recently and it is not hard to see why, its the fastest mon in the entire game, basically has Adapatibility as its ability and has serviceable attacking stats since 100 in both attacking stats is pretty decent, especially coming off from a Pokemon as ludicrously fast as this. I've been using this mostly on rain teams because of Thunder and it hits really fucking hard with Specs, Specs Thunder coming from this is nothing to scoff at and while this Pokemon has its flaws, pretty awful ones at that, such as its frailty and especially its nonexistent coverage, I find this Pokemon to be insanely fun to use and I want to see how it fairs when the metagame develops more, because right now its pretty hard for the meta to develop with all of these broken Pokemon running around.
Genesect
Then we have Genesect, I find to Pokemon to be insanely fun, but at the same time I don't think its balanced whatsoever. Its ridiculously versatile to where you cannot really account for it in teambuilding or in practice because every team can just lose to one of its sets. It's INSANELY splashable, when I say that, I mean it literally fits on every team other than stall teams because of its amazing qualities; you never really lose anything that using it, and I feel that is also a reason why Genesect is so hard to deal with. I've been using Choice Band Genesect the most because Espeed just does so much in an offensive metagame but you can really tailor it to whatever you want, whether its a setup sweeper, mixed attacker, special attacker, offensive pivot, or speed control, because it can do anything and everything offensively.
Heatran
Heatran is finally back, I love this thing, its amazingly good and rn its super valuable, being a rocks setter that also threatens stuff like Genesect, Naganadel, Tornadus-T without Focus Blast and Corviknight is so good right now. I've been using mostly specially defensive Heatran because even in such an offensive metagame like this it still performs so well and its just amazing how consistent it is at that. It's really hard to describe Heatran more than this because its role right now is simply to be a Stealth Rocker that just checks stuff, but it is just such a consistent performer in almost every game I've played it in, and probably the most splashable rocker right now I would have to say as well.
That's all, this metagame is really enjoyable despite it being quite chaotic, looking forward to seeing how it develops in the future!
Could work as an offensive version with substitute and will-o-wisp in conjunction with hex, its amazing spatt stat allows it to do so. it has an amazing base speed with 130 hitting with a timid nature 394 (same as tapu koko and crobat) and is therefore faster than most pokemon in the metagame. its physical bulk however is quiet mediocre (not really great) and its offensive capababilities are limited due to the lack of an actual movepool to chose from, but i think this set can work well, it can be opt to be bulkier with 248 HP and 8 Spatt instead of 4 HP and 252 Spatt. This set can threaten many slower physical attackers and with its great speed tier it can outspeed the likes of alakazam, azelf, tornadus-therian, and hawlucha when it doesnt have an unburden-boost.
Will-o-wisp and hex are an amazing tool against most pokemon in the tier, as with its amazing spatt hitting 389 with the offensive or 328 with a rather bulkier spread it can dish out a lot of damage. haze can be used te remove boosts from opposing (slower) pokemon such as landorus-therian with a swords dance, tornadus-therian with a nsty plot, tapu lele with a calm mind or garchomp with a swords dance, which makes this set a really cool option, as a help to get rid of these boosts.
Taunt is always a nice option and allows Spectrier to shut down recovers and roosts from pokemon such as toxapex, lati-twins, and mandibuzz, which can be quiet helpful in the long term of the game.
I think this set can work quite well and I think it's worth a try.
Buzzwole: This has been the true Urshifu counter that we have been waiting for a long time! In all seriousness while it's not exceptionally fun to play around with the fact that we now have a (very true) Urshifu check outside of Toxapex is really nice and honestly I am really looking forward to it. Again, nothing especially cool about it but maybe now it has a chance to shine in OU.
Melmetal: Need I say more?
Glastrier: Really satisfying as a hard-hitting physical tank despite having a shitty defensive typing and speed tier to boot. I'm not even kidding here - great coverage, Body Press to make use of an insane 130 base physical defense, its special bulk not even being that bad either, what else can I say here?
Spectrier: Gengar 2.0. Honestly might be really fun and it even has some special bulk to boot so it's not a true glass cannon but it still is one, albeit a really satisfying one to use.
Genesect: If this one somehow manages to not get banned then its sheer versatility, great ability in Download, great mixed offenses, and even decent speed tier (before I thought 99 base speed was shit - I didn't realize that it'd be really good at some point), will make it an extremely fun mon to play. 11/10 in terms of fun.
Kartana: It's back and it's still going to be as scary as it was back in Gen 7.
Naganadel: Yes.
Rhyperior when it sees all of these drops: Aw fuckin' hell naw
Yeah in all seriousness this DLC was terrible for Rhyperior. Previously being surprisingly good in OU (honestly I was even going to call it overrated as shit back then), the things that it could check now have ways to bypass it - Raikou, which you'd think would have no way of bypassing Rhyperior now that it lost HP Ice, now has Scald, which OHKOes it (no I'm not kidding, run the calcs yourself and I think you can see where that goes) and Lando-T is back to outclass it. Its previously existing weaknesses have overall grown far more due to the power creep this DLC has bought, and while I wouldn't say that it's been hit the hardest, this DLC has really hit it hard. Who knows where this will end up.
Thundurus-I and its Therian Form: This didn't actually exist pre-DLC, but trust me when I say that it did not take kindly to the removal of Hidden Power and Z-moves. The reason I'm mentioning this particular example is that these were an integral part of its viability in the first place. Z-moves granted it an immensely powerful one-time nuke which allowed it to break past would-be counters, and Hidden Power granted it STAB and a way to actually hit Ground-types like Landorus-Therian. Now that these are gone it has no reason to be ever used over Tapu Koko, which has actual coverage, a way better speed tier, is not Stealth Rock-weak, and overall does much more. Its Therian form suffers even more from these removals, as its 101 base speed tier really leaves a lot to be desired despite its huge special attack - at least its Incarnate form has a workable speed tier of 111. It's so sad.
Galarian Arcticuno: This is MUCH better than Kantonian form could've ever been - it's a really good Calm Mind sweeper, and while it lacks in coverage (and speed tier to an extent), it's still far better than Galarian Arcticuno. Best part is: It got Recover, so if Calm Mind sweeping isn't your kind of type, you can viably run a more supportive role. Definitely not OU, but it's still much better. (also this has Competitive but I don't think that it would really make use of this)
Galarian Zapdos: This is about the same level of viability as its Kantonian form, and while both perform different roles, this one hits SO hard. Defiant + 125 attack is already good enough, and unlike Bisharp, it even has 100 speed to boot. Yes, you heard that right. An actually usable speed tier! This is overall just SO good and honestly I don't even need to speak about this. Next.
Galarian Moltres: Wanna know the reason I consider this below-average? It has Nasty Plot yet its special defense is its highest stat. And despite special defense being higher, meaning that you'd think it'd be a special wall... it doesn't get Roost. What the fuck. That being said its special attack is ok but at this point why even bother using this as a NP sweeper over Gengar or Spectrier, or as a special wall over Mandibuzz? It's just so damn underwhelming.
Galarian Slowking: hahaha no - next.
Regieleki: Once you get rid of resists then Electric attacks from this guy go boom. Being able to outspeed (almost) the entire tier with very little investment is really satisfying, and because of this it can not just go for a more offensive role, but it can even go for a more supportive role with Dual Screens! That being said though it has zero coverage at all and its frail as shit so who knows where this might end up.
Regidrago: Guzzlord 2.0. Next.
Glastrier: This sounds surprisingly good despite its shitty speed and defensive typing. It has a very strong ability for what it does, has Swords Dance to boot, and has really strong coverage as well. Close Combat, Heavy Slam (not like this is gonna hit anything relevant, but this mon's a heavyweight so who knows), Stomping Tantrum, and even Megahorn if you're feeling cheesy.
Spectrier: This is Gengar 2.0 and it makes me uncomfortable. Next.
Idk how much people have experimented with rain, but kabutops has been putting in work for me. Its stab combo is so nice and because the metagame is so offensive, it's very good because of swift swim. I have been running sd/waterfall/edge/jet with LO. Jet is SOOOOO good at picking off weakened mons and is a pretty big threat in rain at +2. Agility LO zapdos with thunder/cane/weather ball is a sick cleaner too. Curious to see how the archetype develops in the coming months.
Could work as an offensive version with substitute and will-o-wisp in conjunction with hex, its amazing spatt stat allows it to do so. it has an amazing base speed with 130 hitting with a timid nature 394 (same as tapu koko and crobat) and is therefore faster than most pokemon in the metagame. its physical bulk however is quiet mediocre (not really great) and its offensive capababilities are limited due to the lack of an actual movepool to chose from, but i think this set can work well, it can be opt to be bulkier with 248 HP and 8 Spatt instead of 4 HP and 252 Spatt. This set can threaten many slower physical attackers and with its great speed tier it can outspeed the likes of alakazam, azelf, tornadus-therian, and hawlucha when it doesnt have an unburden-boost.
Will-o-wisp and hex are an amazing tool against most pokemon in the tier, as with its amazing spatt hitting 389 with the offensive or 328 with a rather bulkier spread it can dish out a lot of damage. haze can be used te remove boosts from opposing (slower) pokemon such as landorus-therian with a swords dance, tornadus-therian with a nsty plot, tapu lele with a calm mind or garchomp with a swords dance, which makes this set a really cool option, as a help to get rid of these boosts.
Taunt is always a nice option and allows Spectrier to shut down recovers and roosts from pokemon such as toxapex, lati-twins, and mandibuzz, which can be quiet helpful in the long term of the game.
I think this set can work quite well and I think it's worth a try.
I was going to make a post about this Mon, but you beat me to it! I feel like people using the NP set are going to be severely underwhelmed. It simply doesn't have any coverage to manage to consistently pull off sweeps.
I've been messing with a Sub - Disable set, sort of like what mega-gengar used to do in LGPE, if anyone played that metagame. Against certain teams, especially certain bulkier mons (i.e. Pex), they only have one move capable of breaking sub, so once you disable that move, you can safely stay behind your sub and throw of wisps/high powered Hexes. It kinda functions like a hex dragapult that trades the ability to pivot for a fair bit of bulk (I personally run and prefer the max HP spread).
I really think this Mon is a solid high B Low A tier pick and that people are sleeping by using the ineffective NP set. Eventually, the Sub Hex sets will gain prominence. Whether it's good enough to stay OU or not... I'm not sure. Time will tell. I don't see it dropping anywhere lower than UU.
: Articuno-G doesn't looks so bad imo, I think it's one of the best Competitive ability users. Stats nice so it can be a strong special attacker. Idk if it's gonna be a good mon for rain teams, if not then stick to Air Slash or risk that 70% accuracy from Hurricane, it didn't got roost but Recover it's pretty much the same thing. Probably staying in OU/UU.
: I remember hearing that Zapdos-G was going to be bad in comparison to its two galarian brothers, but the story repeats itself over and over, Zapdos will always be better than its brothers, Kantonian or Galarian. We get a mon with a great offensive typing, a great ability that just benefits from Intimidate spam, and a cool Signature Move that can help it against physical walls. OU for sure, if not, UUBL.
: Articuno-G is good, Zapdos-G is great, what about Moltres-G? Well... It's kind of dissapointing. It has Berserk, an ability that depends of losing HP to activate, and it doensn't even have Roost! Not having Roost is just even worse when you see the fact that this thing is Specially Defensive. UU/RUBL, maybe.
: I don't have so much to say about Slowking-G. Eerie Spell sounded good but it's only 80 BP, and for being a move that depletes PP from the target, it really haves a low amount of PP, with only 8. It's still gonna be good as a Special Wall, so maybe UU.
: Regieleki may have poor movepool, but has an amazing Speed and with only 40 EVs with neutral nature you can outspeed Jolly 208 Spe Scarf Landorus-T. You can run an Adamant/Modest nature and still be faster than anything in the game, it's just so crazy. You can even run an EV spread like 252 HP / 216 SpA / 40 Spe (Swap the 252 and 216 EVs if you want more power and don't care that much about your health. You can also change the SpA for Atk if you want to run this physically). Transistor boosts his Electric moves 1.5x so it basically double STAB, 2.25x. The movepool may be a problem but it will adapt to the current meta very well imo, UUBL/OU.
: Regidrago, the better Guzzlord... That doesn't mean it's good tho. The moment I knew his signature move was going to be a Dragon Eruption/Water Spout, I knew it was gonna have a pretty high HP, but his 200 HP it's ruined by its 200/50/50 bulk, its special movepool it's pretty lackluster, physical movepool it's not that bad and even learns Dragon Dance to be better physically offensive, but this doesn't have a good future. RU probably.
: Glastrier is probably my favorite of the horses. Sure, it's an Ice type, but has a great 100/130/110 bulk and a strong 145 Atk stats. Its physical movepool it's pretty great, just look at the Notable Moves section TPP wrote in the second post. It may be slow but at least it can be a decent, if not a good or great physical tank, and it's not so afraid of a Gyro Ball coming from Ferrothorn. It also will be pretty good on TR teams. UUBL/OU.
: Most people are prefering Spectrier over Glastrier and saying that's more viable, and you know what? I think they're right, I respect their reasons. High Speed and SpA and, in terms of bulk it's better than Gengar. Sadly, it's movepool it's pretty small, but hey, we finally have Special Moxie now. This can sweep some unprepared teams, I've seen an interesting Sub Nasty Plot set that can sweep if you are unprepared and don't have a Dark type or Infiltrator Dragapult on your team. OU and I don't see this thing falling.
: And I'm finishing with Calyrex (even when the question doesn't mention Calyrex anywhere, but it's part of the completely new mons). Well... Who designed this mon competitively? It's just a worse Celebi, a fusion of Celebi and Phione. 100 in HP and the rest of its stats are 80s and 80s. A 4x weakness to bug type moves doesn't help either. It's movepool, while it may have some good options, it mostly only consist of Psychic and Grass moves, pretty limited. NU/RU.
Calyrex-IR and Calyrex-SR are broken. For Ice Rider, it haves an 130 BP Ice move with no negative effects and without a bad accuracy (and hits both foes in Double Battles). For Shadow Rider, 120 BP Ghost move with no negative effects and perfect 100% accuracy (also hits both foes). I can see why they got banned since Day 1, but maybe in some months when the meta adapts, a suspect test for both forms wouldn't hurt.
Just wanted to talk about a few Pokemon I been using!
Kyurem-Black: This thing is insanely strong still, with all the momentum Pokemon in the tier like Genesect, Regieleki, and Tapu Koko, it's been easy to get this monster in and just click Dragon Dance on something, it also has a nice HP stat as well as Defenses to take hits in order to set up and bust a hole open in a team. It only needs Fusion Bolt and Icicle Spear, but the 4th move can go to whatever you want, personally been using Sub variants to take a hit from Pokemon that can take at least a hit from it. It also loves Koko's Electric Terrain if it's up so Pokemon who could live a hit normally are still threatened by a powered up Fusion Bolt.
Genesect: Not much to say that others haven't said, it's strong and it's hard to tell what set it'll be running. It can be a setup sweeper, an offensive pivot, a special attacker, you name it. If it doesn't have coverage or runs into Heatran, it can just simply U-Turn out for something that can answer it.
Naganadel: If there's any Pokemon I was excited to try from the unbans, it was this one. Not a lot of Pokemon in the tier can take Nasty Plot boosted Draco Meteors/Sludge Waves other then Heatran, Blissey, and Tyranitar. On top of that, it has an amazing speed tier which can be boosted by Beast Boost and outspeed even more Pokemon in the tier, as well as it's typing helping it resist a lot of common priority attacks like Grassy Glide. Other then that, you can have it lay down its own Spikes sort of like Greninja did back then or just go pure power with Choice Specs.
Other then that, saw a lot of different teams while laddering. Feel like rain got a lot stronger with Pokemon like Tornadus-T, Tapu Koko, Regieleki and Zapdos returning as well as some other Swift Swimmers in Kabutops and Omastar. The meta has been full of chaos, but I'm enjoying it. Sorry for longish post, been a very long time since I posted and wanted to post my thoughts. Looking forward to the future developments and meta changes!
So far it seems like Pheromosa is at the top of the meta. It's such a great revenge killer and has no counters if it runs the right moves. I think easily the best set is:
It can also run other moves, or go full Special w/ Quiver Dance, but the set above is pretty fantastic.
Genesect would be second on my list for a suspect test. It does not have one set that beats everything like Pheromosa, but it can run so many variants. The most common set seems to be:
Genesect @ Choice Band
Ability: Download
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Extreme Speed
- Ice Beam
Otherwise, I'm pretty surprised how balanced the meta is right now:
- Melmetal counters Sub_Zygarde, Kyurem-B
- Tornadus-T w/ HDB is the premier defogger, but not super overpowered
- I have yet to be swept by Blaziken (~1600 ladder)
- Tapus are around how good they were in Gen 7
- Naganadel is very strong, but has a counter in Heatran
- Landorus-I is not as good as I would have thought, Landorus-T has seen good usage and is mostly defensive now
- Clefable is no longer on 80% of teams
- Moltres surprisingly counters both Pheromosa & Genesect w/ +252SpD
- Spectrier, Regieleki are both good but have move-pool limitations
After playing SS OU pre-DLC2, I'm pretty damn happy with what we got. I hope it stays this balanced and maybe some mons are removed in the future.
Flame Body Moltres is seemingly great right now. Good switch in to Genesect, Rillaboom, Pheromosa, and even Lando-T to fish for burns. Has even Scorching Sands to nail Heatran on the switch-in. What's good is you can even invest some of the Speed EVs in Defense so you can take Thunderpunches from Melmetal reliably. How the fire bird has risen!
Regigigas finally got moves that can help stall out slow start, being substitute, protect, and rest. Once the meta settles down I think it will be a very solid stall breaker with substitute, protect, body slam, and your choice of coverage. It's colossal attack stat let's it invest into its phenomenal bulk and still have good offensive pressure with 354 attack after slow start wears off. It's definitely not going to be an OU staple, but it will have a niche, which is way more than Regigigas has ever been capable of
I feel like stall might come back as a the most popular team style due to all the hyper offence going around. Galarian Slowking is a great addition to stall, forcing this threats to run out of pp sooner then pivoting out with Regenerator. Zapdos is always nice to have as a punishing defogger with static and Lando-T does Lando-T things. Some niche Pokémon that can be effective on stall teams are Swampert, stealth rock/scald/toxic/filler, Buzzwole, good physical defence + roost + lunge (to punish physical attackers more) and close combat for bet stab, Tapu Fini, more niche now that the tapus don't get the move tutors, meaning Fini can't pivot, and I also see Galarian Weezing seeing increased usage as a reliable physical wall, though no reliable recovery hurts.
There's a lot of stuff I've been really enjoying using, but Regieleki, Blaziken and Genesect are definetly the ones I'm having the most fun with in this meta
I expect Zeraora to take a pretty big hit. Previously there were only a few ground types that could block its volt switches, but now we got the addition of Landorus-I, Landorus-T, Garchomp and Zygarde, while Hippo is still around. Not sure if it will fall to UU or not, but it will definetly not be the splashable and versatile mon it was in the previous months.
With the release of Dracozolt's Hidden Ability, Sand Rush, it's looking to be a really powerful threat under Sand teams. Now it can fire off Bolt Beaks and Draco Meteors without having to worry about missing, all while gaining a +2 boost in speed. Previous rain staples such as Pelliper, Kingdra and Urshifu-RS are also looking promising, as rain got several new, powerful abusers in Zapdos, Tornadus-T and Regieleki and more.
G-Articuno: This one is nice. It's the only one of the birds to have recovery as it has access to Recover, and with Calm Mind it looks like it could be decent, although I haven't tested it myself yet.
G-Zapdos: Definetly the best one out of the galarian birds. With Choice Band this can be a really powerful threat as it has a great attack stat, good speed tier and solid typing. Bulk Up sets are also quite good, and Thunderous Kick's defense lowering secondary effect is also a nice tool. Overall solid Pokémon and I definetly see it staying in OU
G-Moltres: Easily the worst one of the birds. Its ability is Berserk, it has a 125 Special Defense, yet it doesn't have Roost. Mandibuzz just seems better if you want a Dark/Flying.
Regieleki: I wasn't expecting much from this mon but GOD is it good. Access to Explosion, Rapid Spin and especially Dual Screens make it a great lead for Hyper Offense teams, which seem to be very good currently. It's also a menace offensively; sure, its coverage being basically non-existent means it cannot get past ground types and other electric immunitites, but once those are gone, this poses a serious threat. Especially nasty on rain, where ground types can be dealt with effectively and Thunder can be spammed, or when paired with Tapu Koko, since nothing takes a Rising Voltage well from this thing.
Regidrago: Cannot get past any fairy, but unlike Eleki, it doesn't offer many utility even after those are dealt with. DD Sets could be interesting but as it stands I don't see this mon being good in OU at all
Glastrier: I haven't messed around with this one, but from what I've seems it's quite good. That bulk allows it to live several hits, it's attack is pretty strong, its coverage is at least decent and its low speed is greatly appreciated on TR teams, which is much better now with Magearna and Melmetal dropping from Ubers, as well as Stakataka being released.
Spectrier: This is another mon with basically no coverage but it's still insanely good; it has fantastic Special Attack and Speed and access to NP. Once dark types are dealt with, nothing wants to switch into a +2 Shadow Ball/Dark Pulse. Even most Dark types, such as Crawdaunt, Urshifu and Tyranitar, don't appreciate getting burned by Wisp (which can also be paired with Hex for more damage). It also has access to Taunt, which is always nice. Overall, a great Pokémon and I definetly see it being a top tier threat.
Blaziken, Cinderace and Magearna are definetly going to be great offensive mons, however although I don't think they're getting banned, that possibility definetly exists. Regieleki, Zapdos and its galarian counterpart, the Lati twins, Spectrier, Urshifu and several others look really promising too
I think it's no mystery that no matter what Clefable will continue being an excellent defensive option, Toxapex will be annoying as hell, and Blissey will wall every special attacker to hell and back. Heatran and Lando-T are finally back, and they are still amazing and versatile mons being able to fit into most styles of teams. Hippo is another amazing defensive option which is even better this meta as it checks Blaziken really well. Zapdos is still good defensively, and Moltres has been rising as a check to several things like Blaziken and Melmetal.
Probably Genesect. It just has so many versatility: it can run Band, Scarf, Shift Gear, its coverage has almost every move you could possibly want, its ability is great. You can just slap it on basically any team and it will almost certainly put in work almost every match. That being said I do believe it's still too much for the tier, unfortunately
I wanted to lay some quick initial thoughts on the meta, particularly the newer mons and old brokens after laddering for a day
Calyrex- initially seems like a worse Celebi, I don't see much usage for this thing in OU
Articuno Galar- This thing is pretty cool, with its sig psy move, hurricane, cm, and recov it can hit a lot. It's hard walled by a lot of steels, but if you can bait out a fog it can have some immediate power, and will probably be in ou/uu after the metas settle
Blaziken- I don't like the 50.50s this thing forces (having to attack when you want to switch), I don't really see it staying ou
Dragonite- already seeing more play with hdb, haven't tried it yet though
Genesect- Will be banned
Glastrier- Really awesome pokemon. Has some sick coverage in sd, crash, cc, and horsepower. Has enough bulk to eat a lot of hits and dish something back. It's too slow to sweep, but can maybe be used more after the meta settles
Heatran- Seems better than ever, by far my fav steel in ou rn
Kyurem black- will be banned
Landorus-I- Will be banned
Magearna- Kinda op, I'm not immediately sold on a ban but it's such a big threat after a shift gear or with specs
Melmetal- Solid, not too sure we'll see a ban again though, it has a fair amount of checks after drops
Naganadel- will be banned
Phermo- Defensive pex takes like 60 from modest lo fblast after a quiver, don't rlly like this thing for ou
The Regis- walled by grounds and fairies respectively, not great overall
Spectrier- Sorta hard walled by darks and normals. I think a set of plot, hex, willo, taunt is decent so I won't give up on this thing but seems a bit worse than Pult on first glance
Torn- Plot and boots pushes it over the edge for me, it's really good on rain and balance alike
Zygarde- I hate glare. This thing is as versatile as last gen and some mons that no longer have hp ice cant even check it anymore. Will probably stick around for awhile before being banned
Molt galar- worst of the three, worse mandi, ok plot user but just use torn
Zap galar- I love this thing as a scarfer. Hawlucha with higher attack (but obviously no unburden), so it has different roles. 328 speed can be used to rk gene, kyu, etc with a lot of power. Defiant can be invaluable when used well. I like this thing
There are other returning mons like the Tapus and Kartana that I assume will be just as good but haven't played with yet, interested to hear other people's thoughts on some of these mons
- Sand Rush
- Slush Rush
. Anyway, this metagame is absolutely chaotic, so many threatening stuff here and a lot of previously broken shit are now back, so I want to talk about my favourite things to use rn.
