Metagame DPP Doubles OU

[Sunrose]

This tier is pretty great to play and team building is really fun so I'm gonna post a couple of teams I built :)

THE CAMEL 2.0


RAIN DANCE X3!


Forretress? LMAO


Psychic Lead


PRAYING MANTIS


I want to say thank you to zee and bunnyy for putting in so much effort and making DPP DOU available for us to play! Also, thank you to the rest of the player base that is playing the tier. Its small right now but I always have fun playing with you guys. DPP is constantly evolving and I'm always excited when someone invents something new(literally everyday lol).

 

[zee]

we have a VR now! huge thanks to bunnyy for setting up the slate, which you can see below.

slate

votes left to right: bunnyy, qsns, zee, bagel

Wanted to take the time to comment on specific mons, especially because there's a few differences between my votes and both the final VR and my VR from earlier in this thread.

Latios
I voted: Tier 1
final ranking: Tier 2
average ranking: 1.5

I think Latios is the tier's strongest special cleaner, and is bulky enough that it can often trade 2 for 1 when able to switch out and back in factoring rocks chip + 1 attack. Scarf is also a strong set though honestly I think Scarf Latios users could really consider Latias double dragon since it ohkoes Latios still and frees up Specs Latios for your own use, not to mention incredibly bolsters your own team's speed tiers. With Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Fire/Ground, there's just so little that can effectively stand up to Latios universally.

Mew
I voted: Tier 1
final ranking: Tier 1
average ranking: 1.3

Mew gets all the moves, but as discussed in a previous post I think Mew's biggest niche is Fake Out way faster than Hitmontop + Stealth Rock in one pokemon, offering great role compression for lead combinations. Earth Power, Thunder Wave, Fire Blast, Trick Room, Roost are some of the other moves I've been building into my lead, possibilities are endless.

Swampert
I voted: Tier 4
final ranking: Tier 3
average ranking: 3.3

I think there's just better waters to run, and being a water that isn't a water resist kinda blows. The tier is pressed for a Pokemon that answers steels convincingly and I think that's what pert does best, but I feel like you can make teams consistently safe into steels while using better Pokemon average. Physical kinda sucks but Earthquake is too good to give up. Not a bad Pokemon but I'd much rather use anything else we voted to tier 3.

Heracross
I voted: Tier 5
final ranking: UR
average ranking: 5.3

Heracross was a Pokemon we decided to leave off the rankings just due to the general lack of games with it, but I'm convinced it's one of the best cleaners on the physical side of things with a Choice Scarf. Let's get some Heracross gaming in kickoff!

 

[ryo yamada2001]

DPP DOU SWISS KICK OFF TOURNAMENT SIGNUPS ARE NOW UP! Signups close this Sunday!!!

Congratulations to Bless for winning the 3rd DPP DOU Livetour!

Thank you so much to everyone who joined our biggest tournament yet! This was the first one we got to host in the Doubles room also, so thank you to the moderating team for letting us do that. Major shoutouts to the top 4 for grinding out the tournament with the draw towards the end; Lolk and Sunrose especially went through the gauntlet. I hope to see everyone again next week, so we can prepare for the Swiss Kickoff tournament some :)

Week 3 Replays

r1
Lop df tarjete vs Dr. Iswell Clark
bage1 vs qsns
Mizuhime vs bunnyy
tyo vs NinjaSnapple
Sunrose vs smudgerox
Penter vs Skylocke
MZB vs Farfromani
ratpacker vs Lolk

r2
qsns vs smudgerox
Sunrose vs bage1
Skylocke vs NinjaSnapple
MZB vs Mizuhime
bunnyy vs Farfromani
Penter vs tyo
Lop df tarjete vs ratpacker
Lolk vs Dr. Iswell Clark

r3
bage1 vs qsns
Sunrose vs MZB
tyo vs Skylocke
Mizuhime vs bunnyy
Lolk vs ratpacker
Lop df tarjete vs Penter

r4
bage1 vs Mizu
Lolk vs tyo
Lop df tarjete vs Sunrose
bage1 vs MZB
Lolk vs Penter

qf
Lolk vs bagel (draw!)
Lolk vs bagel

sf
Sunrose vs Lolk

finals
Sunrose vs Lop df tarjete
Sunrose vs Lop df tarjete

Notable teams:
- Sunrose's Self-Swagger team
Looks to set up turn 1 Swagger on a Lum Berry Metagross with Agility, thereby putting a lot of pressure on leads like theboys or other more passive Mew-oriented leads. Dragonite and Tyranitar are other win conditions if unthreatened, and are kept together by a core of Hitmontop and Thunder Wave Zapdos. Example replays: Sunrose vs Lop df tarjete in finals & Sunrose vs bage1

- Lolk's Trick Room team
description is tbd, but this team went 5-2 against an assortment of very strong players

Week 3 Usage Stats link
includes leads, replays, and notes unique sets

Winner's Column
Gyarados (16-6): Gyarados featured in both Lop df tarjete and Lolk's extensive runs. Lop df tarjete preferred qsns's CB Gyarados sample whereas Lolk paired it next to a Swords Dance Rhyperior with proper Trick Room control. The synergy speaks for itself; Rhyperior covers Gyarados's biggest weakness while freely Earthquaking next to it. For both players it mostly functioned as a late game cleaner, once its easier switchins had been removed.

Raikou (5-0): Courtesy of bage1, who uses it as a fast and frail Screens setter paired with simple heavy hitters like Choice Specs Latios, Choice Band Gyarados, and Metagross. Raikou generates enormous tempo with its high speed & special attack, and it dies quickly so you can switch in even more devastating options. If the opponent plays incorrectly, then win conditions like Substitute Heatran and Agility Metagross behind Screen support arise. Sunrose brought one instance of Rain Dance Raikou; Rain defensively covers Cosmic Power Jirachi's Fire-weakness and Kingdra can pressure and eliminate Heatran, Rotom-Heat, and Infernape.

Loser's Column
Zapdos (4-8): Has interestingly fallen out of favor, particularly so as players opt for different Electric-type coverage (e.g. Rotom-Heat, Raikou) or speed control (Thunder Wave Jirachi, Trick Room teams). Within the tournament it also falls off, not making a single showing from round 4 onwards.

Empoleon (2-8) Mamoswine (2-8): The mighty week twos have fallen -- I'm curious how many of those were my sample team losing. The metagame develops quickly around premier teams and threats, and as such the boys + these two are better prepared against. Empoleon suffers from vastly increased Rotom-Heat usage and general Ground-type coverage, whereas Mamoswine trades unfavorably with top threats like Hitmontop, Tyranitar, Bronzong, Latios, Swampert, etc. While I believe the two of these are still very viable, it's time to retrofit them into different team compositions.

Other observations:
+ the boys (5-9): The metagame has, within two weeks, moved away entirely from the perceived safety of the boys. The boys lack tempo, and as such it is exploited by hard turn 1 switches to threats like Gyarados, Metagross, Azelf, or Machamp, knowing that their (likely) sole Intimidate and Fake Out user cannot cover it anymore. This often leads to scenarios wherein the opponent scrambles to preserve their Hitmontop and Tyranitar, which often generates enough advantage to make up for their 'free' turn 1 Stealth Rocks. Faster Fake Out + Stealth Rock users like Mew might also set up Stealth Rock turn 2, thereby mitigating the loss. The boys struggle against faster Fake Out users in general -- see how Sunrose plays around the boys w/ Mew + Breloom -- and has no outright answer to a Metagross lead but to hard commit to a Rotom-Heat switch-in (bagel proceeds to whittle it down with Sucker Punch Hitmontop; Sunrose exploits the sample with a devastating self-Swagger that beats Rotom-Heat in finals outright). The boys might cycle back into the metagame at some point but its failures to respond on turn 2 or against Metagross, Bronzong, and Jirachi has made it feel immediately antiquated.

: Not really sure why these have dropped in popularity so quickly (Abomasnow 8 -> 2, Togekiss 7 -> 3, Azelf 12 -> 3), especially when they didn't do particularly poorly last week. I believe Azelf should bounce back, as its Choice Band set remains a strong pivot that managers to cover for Rotom-Heat with Zen Headbutt also. I also expect Togekiss to re-emerge as a support next to the likes of Dragon Dance Tyranitar etc.

: Continue to prove one can still win while bringing perceived bad mons. I don't really buy into their viability but the wins and replays speak for themselves: don't let anybody tell you any Pokémon is bad yet...

Tech of the week: Self Swagger Alakazam + Agility Metagross was simply devastating, exploiting any one mistake Sunrose's opponents made and almost outright winning from turn 1 in the Grand Finals.

Fuck you lmao of the week: Mizuhime brought triple Thunder Wave + Iron Head Scizor and Jirachi + DynamicPunch Machamp + Rock Slide Tyranitar

---
We hope to see you again next week, on Monday 1am GMT+2!!

 

[ryo yamada2001]

Congratulations to bage1 for winning LIVETOUR 4!!!
I really appreciate all of you who showed up for a midweek double elimination live tournament!! I'm really happy and proud we managed to get 16 signups + 44 signups for the DPP Swiss Kickoff tournament, thank you everyone

There's not much to comment on with regards to metagame developments besides perhaps the complete emergence of Mew + Metagross. In any case usage stats for Livetour 4 are up, and I've merged Livetours 2 to 4 for March stats!

USAGE STATS SHEET (includes Livetour 4 replays!)

 

[Concept]

Dumping some teams while I make new ones for the tour.

Wobbu Encore Spam

This team is surprisingly effective, in my opinion pairing Wobbuffet with a Inner Focus mon on lead is the way to go, because of the overall speed of Alakazam you don’t get punished outside of scarf leads and an additional priority user. If the matchup is bad you can either stay in and threaten a TWave or switch out. A nice thing running double encore leads are forcing the opponent into fake out, stealth rocks, or protect.

Wobbu and the Gals

Same reason as lead as before, Wobbuffet is best paired with an Inner Focus partner. The teams play pretty similiar to each other, this one has additional abusers and a better support in Hitmontop. White Herb on DNite is for opposing Hitmontop leads.

Charcoal Heatran Triple Psychic TR

Mew is in my opinion on of the best leads in the metagame with a highly versatile movepool and decent speed tier it does very well into the bevy of slower fake out Pokémon. You ideally want to Support Heatran by having it out paired with Clefable to increase its damage with Sunny Day + Helping hand, but cresselia is also a good partner in keeping it and Marowak alive with screens support.

Mono Psychic

This team is more of a meme, but I enjoy it.

Screens Lead Lati + Duggy

I haven’t done much testing with this team yet, but it hasn’t lost so surely it must be decent. Sunny Day on Clef is intentional to turn off Sand and Hail.

 

[ryo yamada2001]

Congratulations to Farfromani for winning Livetour 5!​

As always thank you to everybody who joined tonight! It was a fun tournament with tons of strong players :) Looking forward to seeing a lot of y'all in the DPP Swiss Kickoff tournament, whose round 1 went up tonight! I also hope to see everybody during some scheduled oldgen room tournaments, which are also starting this week. We'll have DPP tournaments on Tuesday at 8pm GMT+2 and Friday 8pm GMT-4, as well as the usual Sunday night tournament :)

The Usage Stats sheet is updated to include Livetour 5!

VR nominations:
As round 1 of Swiss Kickoff went up, I think it's in our best interest to revisit the viability rankings to more accurately represent what has been performing well in our tournaments.

Latios up to 1
Latios is the most splashable attacker in the tier; its offensive capabilities and innate bulk makes it so that Latios can (almost) always drop devastating Draco Meteors or pick off opponents with other coverage. Very few Pokémon like switching into it, and even fewer can respond to it thereafter and vice versa. The usage stats agree: Latios is the 2nd most used Pokémon in Livetours.

Gyarados up to 2
Gyarados has been instrumental in numerous deep livetour runs (e.g. mine, bagel's, Lolk's). Between Intimidate, powerful STAB, and valuable coverage it provides both utility and offensive firepower in one slot. Choice Band sets have been proven particularly effective against 'the boys'-type openings and in late game scenarios, whereas Dragon Dance sets make use of Gyarados' bulk and typing to set up powerful win conditions. Its 40-22 performance in livetours is such a significant outlier that you could even argue it up to tier 1, but I would like to see the metagame develop more before tiering Gyarados even higher.

Raikou up to 3/2
Since Livetour 3, Raikou has emerged as an effective Screens setter with a high speed tier and valuable coverage: few teams like switching into STAB Thunderbolt, while Shadow Ball chunks the ubiquitous Lati@s. As very few teams deal with Raikou on turn 1 it often gets to set up a screen and, unlike other Screeners, generate tempo with fast and heavy attacks. DPP is often a fast tier about trading quickly and favorably: Light Clay Screens can provide so much value in a game. I don't think its 15-5 performance in Livetours is a fluke.

Azelf down to 3
We might be underrating Azelf's combination of high speed tier, flexibility, and both offensive and defensive coverage, but Azelf just isn't represented enough in either tournaments or friendlies to warrant its high placement. Perhaps it is a lack of consensus on its best set -- between Lead, Choice Band, and Life Orb -- that makes people shy away from Azelf, but it has seen only 6 uses in the last three tournaments.

Empoleon down to 3
Empoleon has, similarly to Jirachi, struggled against the amount of Ground-type coverage in the tier. It has additional bad matchups against Rotom-Heat (which has seen more and more tournament presence), the emerging Raikou, and Gyarados unless Empoleon opts into Hidden Power Electric. Gyarados' rise has also reduced Empoleon's value as a big Water-type attacker. It can still prove useful -- as evidenced by Farfromani's run in Livetour 5 -- but metagame shifts have been unkind towards Empoleon.

Rotom-Wash down to 3
Rotom-Wash in 2 was a fairly speculative initial placement based on a low number of games. Rotom-Wash simply hasn't been used enough in tournaments to justify its high placement anymore. It also suffers from opportunity cost: Water-type coverage performs better into Tyranitar and Heatran, but that's still valuable Fire-type coverage on Rotom-Heat you're giving up. I believe it needs to prove itself more and in different team compositions before uptiering it again.

Heracross up to 3/4/5
Immaculate cleanup/sweeper with a significant Speed-tier and Fighting/Bug-type coverage. Almost nothing switches into this comfortably. Takes over endgames. See mine and bagel's games today

Breloom down to 4/5/UR
There is little counterplay to Spore, but Breloom contributes little to no other utility or offensive firepower. Its STAB options are underwhelming and underperform against what it is supposed to check (e.g. Steel-types); it is too frail and slow to ever set up comfortably, and Grass-type coverage isn't too valuable in this tier. Breloom is a combined 1-8 in Livetours, proving its lack of value as a slot.

other nominations based on usage and/or performance:
- Togekiss to 4: has fallen off; Follow Me is good but the rise of different Electric-types sees it die too often too quickly
- Magnezone to 5: besides an odd 3 games Magnezone hasn't seen usage beyond Livetour 1. trapping is broken but its hard to fit Magnezone on teams over Steel-types that provide more utility
- Snorlax to 5/UR: i don't really see a team composition wherein this works (0-2 all-time)
- Gengar to UR: doesn't get used and loses whenever it does (0-3). its speed tier and spA stat are enticing, but in-game it just never does anything. neither STAB really hits anything super effectively, and its frail enough that big neutral hits means it still trades unfavorably. its just kind of sad tbh
- Salamence to UR: bad because it does a number of things (Intimidate, DD, has coverage) but none of them even moderately effectively. its weakness to rocks makes it allergic to switching in, and too many other things eliminate it to quickly. also just straight up never gets used
- Porygon-Z to UR: is supposed to be a Blizzard spammer but Abomasnow itself isn't even good. 1-1 all-time; not a real pokemon
- Hariyama should prolly go up to 5 but it needs to be used more tbh

 

[bagel]

Making some quick noms that haven't already been made

-> Tier 3: Its best attribute is that it walls a good amount of the heavy hitters in the tier while being an actually usable TR setter. However Bronzong is super passive into common TR counterplay and often finds itself wanting to boom just to remove itself from the board (which often isn't too effective as its very susceptible to being intimidate cycled. Still solid, just not tier 2 level.

-> Tier 2: Teals put it well in their post, but Top can be a bit of a momentum sap after using its fake out. I do think its better off in the back rather than as a lead, but I find myself wanting it off the board way too often. Intimidate + Fake Out can't be bad, and Sucker Punch to threaten the Lati twins + Rotoms is very good, but I think it lacks the bulk or offensive firepower needed for tier 1.

-> Tier 1: Major contributor to why I've cooled off on Top. Metagross is maybe the best lead in the tier, immediately threatening a huge amount of the tier and its weaknesses are very easy to cover for with its partner and the rest of the team. Being intimidate immune is huge with how popular Hitmontop and Gyarados are. Super versatile, can be 3 attack Life Orb, Agility, Substitute, Band, Rocks setter, while fitting both in and out of TR.

-> Tier 4: I am a rain believer, the tier is really lacking in water resists (see: Gyarados) and there are so many viable mons that can fit Rain Dance. TTar gets significantly chunked continuously switching in and out to try win the weather war, and with the right support Kingdra can run away with games.

-> Tier 5: It just doesn't do enough damage to be threatening. Its most popular set is as a scarfer to get the jump on the Latis and make use of U-turn, but I think its just outclassed by other scarfers such as Heracross/Jirachi and pivoters such as Band Azelf.

-> Tier 4/5: Can actually make use of sash on lead because it doesn't take sand chip. Has basically guaranteed rocks while dealing respectable damage. Fast taunt is also great disruption to stop lead screens setters / TR / opposing rocks.

-> Tier 5: Naturally faster Fake Out than Hitmontop, Hydro Pump is really good, and it has solid all around bulk + good utility option in Toxic, Rapid Spin, Yawn, and Roar (Unfortunately can't run Fake Out + Yawn together)

-> Tier 3: Doesn't have the pure wallbreaking ability of Latios, but it still serves as a functional end game cleaner with a choice item, and its additional bulk allows it to pull off a wide range of support sets such as screens and twave spam.

Also going to post some of my teams that have seen some success:

Screens Raikou Offense: Screens Raikou + Mew lead into 4 of the biggest offensive threats in tier. Not much more to say other than that.

SD Mew: Another Screens Raikou + Mew lead but this time Mew is SD. Mew set is courtesy of Nido who rolled me with it. This team often just lets mew do its thing and cleans with the rest of the team.

Double Choice Lati: Both Latis are very good and Mamo is a great partner to enable them. Life Orb Azelf is one of my favorite leads to immediately pressuere the opponent and force them on their back foot early.

Boys in the Back: A bit of an "older" (lol) team but I still think the Mew + Metagross lead is great lead the exerts a lot of pressure. TTar + Specs Rotom-H are great at making positive trades and Scarf Latios is the premier special cleaner imo. I think TTar here is super flexible here and could change up its set to a lot of different things, but Pursuit Tar + Sucker Punch Top is a great combo to pin big threats like the Lati twins and Rotoms.

edit- all links should be correct now lol

 

[zee]

vr noms!


Rises

Tier 2 -> Tier 1

Nothing has really changed about Latios to me, it is the strongest special attacking breaker in the tier and really only requires one move to be effective, though I think Trick is also a near mandatory disruption tool.

Tier 2 -> Tier 1

Metagross is pretty much the sole reason for the decline of Ttar/Top leads and I think really revolutionized the lead metagame in general. Any offensive item lets it pick up Tyranitar and it generally has the bulk and speed to throw out more damage after the lead exchanges have been made. I think people need to use agility a bit less and boom a bit more though.

Tier 4 -> Tier 2

Raikou is INCREDIBLE. Post Chomp Ban there's just a large lack of strong EQers and its speed is for the most part unopposed. Calm Mind, Rain Dance, and Screens sets are all just incredibly effective and I do think in a team previewless meta like DPP ranking pokemon as the sum of their sets makes a lot more sense. It's faster than Rotom (actually outspeeding Latis is huge) and doesn't take rocks (which Zapdos does), this might be my preferred electric for the time being.

Tier 4 -> Tier 3

This nom is mostly a testament to the strength of the Double Choice Item Lati Cores that have been running around for a few tours now but I also think Screens Latias is pretty strong and should be considered more often. Scarfing Latias frees the Specs for Latios for maximum output or you can scarf the blue one and let the red one hit a bit harder than expected. DPP is not shy on steels but most teams don't go for more than 1 which means resists can be easily overwhelmed.

Tier 5 -> Tier 4

Rain is just pretty strong, yes you have to commit your team to it and actually click Rain Dance to get going but I think Rain's matchup into standard teams is just absurdly good since as bagel mentioned the Ttar is likely going to have to stomach multiple Water moves to challenge active rain. Including ludi to 4 in my nom both for the strength of the entire archetype but also just fake out and the defensive typing being pretty crucial for it.

Drops

Tier 1 -> Tier 2

DPP is about telling every single Pokemon to adapt or die as the developments continue without any indication of stopping and Hitmontop has kind of died. It's still the best Intimidate in the tier and has excellent moves, but the large part of its Tier 1 inclusion was the momentum grab from the lead position, which has really just gone down with the prevelence of mew, infernape, and metagross most importantly.

Tier 1 -> Tier 2

Tier has ramped up in pace way too much for the SpDef WoW sets to dominate games in the same fashion they did in their debut, and Specs is just very vulnerable to faster attackers. Less Hitmontop means Tar gets around a bit more unchecked too and that just invalidates Specs RotomH for the most part.

Tier 1 -> Tier 2

I think the Jirachi placement was a bit reactionary to the Demon Cosmic Power set but like I've been getting at for this entire post, the tier is really offensive and there's just not a ton of time to guarantee its effectiveness. No other set really stands out as tier 1 from a mon with middling offensive stats and weak moves.

Tier 2 - > Tier 3

grouping these two together because my initial perception of them was their strength in the lead, but trends have just made me less convinced, as Azelf now mostly runs a CB set boasting strong U-turns in the back and bronzong is mostly there for hard tr as a momentum grab with explosion.

I also wanna cut a bunch of tier4/tier 5s but ill just show those visually

zee VR factoring in noms

>>TIER 1<<
Latios
Metagross
Mew
Tyranitar

>>TIER 2<<
Empoleon
Heatran
Hitmontop
Jirachi
Raikou
Rotom-Heat
Rotom-Wash

>>TIER 3<<
Azelf
Bronzong
Breloom
Gyarados
Infernape
Latias
Mamoswine
Scizor
Shaymin
Swampert
Togekiss
Zapdos

>>TIER 4<<
Abomasnow
Cresselia
Flygon
Kingdra
Ludicolo
Machamp
Marowak
Suicune

>>TIER 5<<
Clefable
Dragonite
Dusknoir
Magnezone
Rhyperior
Snorlax
Starmie
Weavile
Wobbuffet

 

[AM]

Not going to go too in depth with noms like above but a couple of things I would move around.

I think Hitmontop is fine Tier 1 contrary to above posts. Speed invested Top CC, Sucker, Helping Hand, Fake out imo the only good set because Tect is a waste for a mon hitting and running to begin with and Helping Hand supports the offensive powerhouses next to it (Helping Hand is good use it more in general). Yeah it's definitely bad as a lead and people should stop leading with it (Mew is a better lead for example). Top still monopolizes a lot of the team building, forcing Metagross/Cress etc.

Rachi down to 2 because Heatran is everywhere. Metagross to 1 for now, Rotom-Wash down to 3 even if it's not as bad people describe (matches a bit better into Heatran and TTar). Empoleon should probably be at like 4 tbh. I like that mon but it's kind of ass and hard to really utilize effectively. Not sure if Latios should just be at 1 or just needs to move half the tier 2 stuff down because they're really like 3/4 ranking wise ( Zong is a good 3 for example) I guess after reading my own paragraph.

Cresselia should be at 2 because TR is good and the style it supports can beat down teams not running like Gyara + bunch of fire/ground resists. It also doesnt die when used effectively and has Helping Hand/Twave support. Single screen use as well depending on what you're going for.

The 5s are fine but Starmie I dont think is a real mon truthfully. Maybe can justify now with more Heatran/Gross structures, but once someone optimizes it let me know and I'll be glad to be told I was wrong.

 

[Teals]

vr noms.


Rises


T2 -> T1
Tier 2 for this is an absolute shame. I was saying this ages ago but it's the best lead, and potentially the best mon in the format. Invalidates hitmontop, ttar, and latios. all of which are "Tier 1 mons." Works amazing in the late game as a bulky sub mon, and can get away with running agility if it wants to. Beats too many things and is too solid in the lead slot to not be T1.


T3 -> T2
An intimidator that actually does something. Can be ran offensively with dd or band, or even be specially defensive with roar to force out trick room or subs. Gyarados has the issue where it can't run all the moves it wants to. It always has to sacrifice something on every set it runs, whether it be coverage moves on dd sets or speed boosts on band sets. On top of that, people will be running more scarf latios or latias to keep dd sets in check so for that reason I'd say T2.


T3 -> T2
I think this mon is really good. Dragons are busted in dpp with steel being the only defensive check, and ttar being the only real pursuit trapper. That being said, Machamp fits nicely on a ton of teams looking to abuse dragons. 50% chance to hit yourself in confusion paired with dynamic punch is nasty, and while it may not be respectable, you can often get yourself out of unfavorable positions just by going for confusion.


T4 -> T2
Baby Latios. I almost would rather use this mon over latios 90% of the time. Has lots of flexibility in the builder. Can run scarf, lo, screens, fast twave, or bulky cm. The added bulk this thing has compared to latios is what makes it so good imo. Has more support options than latios, or can be slightly weaker latios so T2.

Drops


T1 -> T2
You can try to compare jirachi to Machamp in the sense that it can just run scarf and flinch everything. However in a metagame dominated by steels, this doesn't work out as nicely because you often won't have any real offensive pressure. Set up sets are fineish, but are only good once set up which is hard to accomplish in the current meta. Still a good mon because it gets good support moves, flinches are still broken. Just isn't a powerhouse.


T1 -> T3
I really don't like this mon. People are starting to come around to my takes on this as well. Absolute momentum killer which is ironic for a fake out mon. Doesn't have good enough bulk or offensive prowess to the point where you are stuck sacrificing bulk for offense or vice versa. I think the only thing going for it is rapid spin but if you're clicking rapid spin then you're throwing away momentum in a fast paced format which is hitmontop's problem to begin with. Intimidate isn't bad and neither is fake out so it still can act as a glue to a team so I'd say T3.


T1 -> T3
I am not very high on ttar righ now. The best thing it has going for it is pursuit trapping the lati twins after a draco. The mon loses to steels, and doesn't offer much damage output with rock stab. best set is probably bulky 4 attacks expert belt to tank hits and hit a number of things super effective back. Maybe I'm missing something here but i'm really not sure what this mon is doing up in t1.

 

[Sunrose]

Viability Rankings Nominations!

Unranked to T5

Ever since the rise of the lati twins, I've been trying to figure out what can deal with them effectively. A mon with Twave is good to slow them down but also something that doesn't die to specs or life orb draco meteor. I finally found blissey! A special wall that tanks hits from the powerful special attackers in the tier(latis, raikou, mew, jirachi, heatran, rotom, empoleon, rain mons). It also gets solid recovery in softboiled! Seismic toss/twave/soft-boiled/filler is the best set for it. I've been running heal bell/toxic on the last slot.

Unranked to T5

This mon was frustrating to use at first but after a while of using it, shadowtag is still shadowtag. If positioned correctly, it enables board control and that's just enough to turn the game around for you to win. Encore and safeguard are good moves to have as well.

Unranked to T5

This was kind of a meme pick at first when I started using it but I think it has a spot in tier 5. Inner focus is a nice ability to have and having a fast mon with taunt can shut down hazards/screens/twave/trickroom. Psychic coming from a 135 base special attack is also pretty strong. The last move I've been using is swagger. Pairs well with physical attackers carrying Lum berry and swagger is kinda dumb. Zam can spam it when it has nothing else to click.

 

[Concept]

Counterclaiming Blissey gets it’s own tier in the rankings.

Viability Rankings Nominations!

Unranked to T5

Ever since the rise of the lati twins, I've been trying to figure out what can deal with them effectively. A mon with Twave is good to slow them down but also something that doesn't die to specs or life orb draco meteor. I finally found blissey! A special wall that tanks hits from the powerful special attackers in the tier(latis, raikou, mew, jirachi, heatran, rotom, empoleon, rain mons). It also gets solid recovery in softboiled! Seismic toss/twave/soft-boiled/filler is the best set for it. I've been running heal bell/toxic on the last slot.

 

[Noelle]

YO! I did a thing :3

Firstly, I want to thank bunnyy and zee for putting so much effort into making DPP DOU available to play and making it as good of a metagame as possible. DPP being real now is pretty epic, and I think it's very fun

Custap Gyarados

Importable

Intelligence (Mew) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fake Out
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Psychic

Relevance (Metagross) @ Occa Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Protect

Edison (Gyarados) @ Custap Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Protect

Etiquette (Rotom-Heat) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Sediments (Tyranitar) @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Low Kick
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Protect

Nebulous (Heatran) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Explosion
- Fire Blast

I started with a Mew + Metagross lead. Psychic types looked really strong in the current meta, and I thought Mew learning Fake Out and Stealth Rock at the same time gives you a lot of flexibility with how you play the early game. 3 attacks Metagross gives you an out into Hitmontop + Tyranitar leads and isn't terrible into opposing Mew + Metagross. The problem being its not as good into Bronzong leads and some common anti leads, but Taunt Mew makes the Bronzong matchup easier, and Custap Gyarados is a strong tech into most anti leads.


Speaking of Gyarados, This set is fire. I watched the SPL finals and a Double Edge Substitute Custap Berry Gyarados got used and actually beat a Breloom and Gyarados 1v1 before dying. I adapted the set to work in DPP DOU because I thought the idea of Custap was really cool. Waterfall and Earthquake is really good neutral coverage into a lot of the tier, and Substitute gives you a way to punish more passive leads/switches as well as consistently get yourself into Custap range. As cool as Double Edge is, Protect is more valuable overall and I don't think you can afford to drop Earthquake or Waterfall. Intimidate is also nice into physically oriented comps. Gyarados being weak to Stealth Rock and not immune to Sandstorm also work in it's favor on this set, which is just really cool in my opinion.


I wanted a way to trade more reliably with Steels, more Earthquake partners and answers to opposing Psychic Spam/Gyarados. Rotom Heat checked all of the boxes, and I think its really cool this gen. Shadow Ball is really good coverage this generation and strong Ghost-types seem kinda hard to punish once Tyranitar is removed, which we have a good amount of techs for. Hidden Power Ground was a tech for Heatran before I made the Heatran Choice Scarf. Trick is an option in that slot as well if you don't want hp ground


This was Lum Berry Dragon Dance Tyranitar for a while, but it feels like Dragon Dance Tyranitar never gets an opportunity to actually Dragon Dance, and I wanted more for opposing Tyranitar, so I changed it to Chople Berry with Low Kick. This has the added benefit of making Tyranitar able to pick off weakened Fighting-types without worrying about getting obliterated by Fighting-type moves. Sand also puts Gyarados into Custap range faster


Choice Scarf Heatran is a strong late game cleaner and provides some immediate Speed to the team. Rotom-Heat being immune to Explosion becomes even more relevant because I'm running Explosion for the 4th move (I was gonna run Eruption but Eruption requires Quiet due to being an event move. The -Atk nature isnt ideal for explosion but I don't think you can run anything else without it being suboptimal in situations where you don't want to click explosion) I don't have much to say about Heatran other than that

I think this team is really cool, Custap Gyarados is a cool tech even though I didn't technically invent it. I don't have much else to say regarding this team, have a nice day

 

[zee]

The VR has been updated! Here's a list of changes and the voting sheet

Changes:
from 2 to 1
from 2 to 1
from 1 to 2
from 1 to 2
from 3 to 2
from 4 to 2
from 2 to 3
from 2 to 3
from 2 to 3
from 2 to 3
from 4 to 3
from 4 to 3
from 3 to 4
from 3 to 4
from 5 to 4
from UR to 4
from 3 to 5
from 4 to 5
from UR to 5
from UR to 5
from UR to 5
from UR to 5
from 5 to UR
from 5 to UR
from 5 to UR
from 5 to UR
from 5 to UR
from 5 to UR
from 5 to UR

Slate

 

[ryo yamada2001]

Congratulations to zee for winning LIVETOUR 6!

This now makes 6 different winners across our different live tournaments! I'm so proud what we've managed to establish a competitive playerbase over the weeks, and I really hope we can continue on! It's pretty cozy to have these weekly tournaments I think :) Shoutouts to Bless and bage1 for winning the single elimination scheduled roomtours. This format is so much better with you two in it!

Replays and usage stats are on this sheet

Hitmontop has been dethroned for the first time ever! Mew leads now reign supreme; see zee win 5 straight to ultimately take the tournament home by spamming Mew + Metagross/Heatran.

As is customary, winner zee shared the teams they had most success with:
Blue Offense

Importable

Mew @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fake Out
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Psychic

Metagross @ Metal Coat
Ability: Clear Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Protect

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Protect

Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Trick

Swampert @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Hydro Pump
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Protect

Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace

Boom Mew

Importable

Mew @ Life Orb
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Thunder Wave
- Thunder Punch
- Explosion

Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Protect

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Protect

Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 80 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Sky Uppercut
- Seed Bomb
- Protect

Swampert @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Hydro Pump
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Protect

Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace

DPP Swiss Kickoff round 1 usage stats + updated samples coming soon... Stay tuned and I hope to see y'all next weekend at the Double Elimination tournament once again!

 

[Farfromani]

I wanted to share quite the fun and wacky team I built in order get to rank 1 again!

Origin Story
During the last livetour I got absolutely devastated by a Clamperl team Bless used during the early rounds. Inspired by such a fun strat I gave myself the objective of getting to rank 1 with the small pinky cutie. I wasn't even able to get past Clamperl during the match with them but later, even after finishing this team, on I discovered it was a Trick Room team with a Kingdra Rain mode in the back. My personal preferences while developing this idea went more into the direction of a Fullroom with two physical attackers for the late game, which in my humble opinion helps in being able to touch most team compositions. Kingdra is also actually a way too similar mon to Clamperl if you think about it: both are special sweepers, both share the water type and both need a special condition to actually be effective on the field. I needed something different able to work even without Rain, 'cause I'm not really the biggest fan of Rain myself.
General Stuff
This is a team specifically made for ladder play, as it revolves around unorthodox game plans less experienced players might not know how to handle as well as the somewhat obscure Deep Sea Tooth and Mail mechanics, so I really wouldn't suggest bringing it to a tour without proper modifications. The game plan itself is very BO1-dependant despite having various options to handle most of the tools against TR and Explosion. If you plan to reuse it in two different times against the same opponent be weary of all the 50/50 that you might have to guess during the first turns.
Mew

Mew has all the tools it needs to put Clamperl into a favorable position and to let Dusclops use Trick Room without worries. It can Fake out faster taunters, taunt slower taunters and sleepers but in favorable matchups would be preferrable to just explode in order to let the sweepers immediately switch in. Sucker Punch + Life Orb can 1hko ghost types like Frosslass and Gengar but take in mind that is not able to knock out even bulkless Rotom-H without the support of Helping Hand or Shadow Sneak.
Dusclops

Dusclups is instrumental in setting up Trick Room and Rain for Clamperl, as its slower than the other setters hence being able to get the boost the exact turn Clamp will start to attack. Helping Hand is very useful in multiple occasions, it can guarantee easier KOs against Clamperl checks and can help Mew knock out a lot of resistant targets with its Explosion during a turn 2 departure form the field. I preferred Shadow Sneak as its attacking move over stuff like Shadow Punch or Shadow Ball due to its perfect utility at removing Focus Sashes from the field no matter what. Originally it was supposed to held a Lum Berry to overcome sleepers easily but I eventually decided to switch it for Mail to completely bypass all the leads that make a good use of Trick, that effectively put Dusc into a terrible position. Its spread aims at resisting some of the most powerful attacks of most popular lead options combined.
Clamperl

The start of the team! I would definitely call Clamp gimmicky but not more than other mons that need to hit a mid accuracy move to be effective on the battlefield (I'm looking at you Kindgra but also stuff like HP/Muddy Swampert). With a decent physical bulk and its access to its own miniature version of BoltBeam (Ice Beam + Hidden Power) and Brine (very underrated move on a mon Able to 2hko almost everything that doesn't die immediately with Muddy Water) is actually more reliable than what you would expect for a meme pick. Even the bulky Water mons that are supposed to wall it gets 1hko'ed by its monotarget moves + Helping Hand so don't worry too much with your Rain matchup.
Rhyperior

Due to its access to Ground and Rock stabs, I felt like it was the most balanced choice for late game in a team with Clamperl as its primary sweeper. Even just STAB Rock Slide can do nice damage if powered up by Helping Hand and Solid Rock is an incredible ability to win the 1v1s against mons like Hitmontop, Marowak, Tyranitar, Machamp, Metagross and physical Jirachi. I think Lighting Rod can be useful to safely bait one electric move into Clamp so take that possible change into consideration if you're more into maximise the survivability of your pearl. Keep in mind however that most neutral special stabs would 2hko Clamp regardless, hence why I preferred the former ability.
Cresselia

Cress is a very reliable mon that helps keeping momentum during the latter part of a game thanks to the combination between Helping Hand and TR, got two decent attacks to support its teammates and Levitate lets both physical sweepers use Earthquake without many worries. Since there aren't many annoyers/late game taunters in the current meta item choice and spread aim to just let her survive even the most horrifying moves.
Machamp

This specific Machamp aims to win most plausibles 1v1s under Trickroom in order to KO a possible threat to Rypherior or to just knock out the last couple of mons on the opponent's side of the field. Kinda everything dies to an Helping Hand-boosted Dynamic Punch and/or one of its coverage moves of choice. It's also nice that while Rhyperior has great physical defense and low special, Mach has decent special defense, so you can be smarter about your switch-ins.

And that's all! Hope you are enjoying this metagame as much as I am cause DPP is really amazing!

 

[eragon]

Fun anti-meta tr team that got second in a fairly large DPP room tour a while back. I believe it was the first usage of Clamperl but I could be wrong. Uxie could be swapped with Cresselia, it kinda underperformed. Rampardos was actually decent once tr was up, the damage output is pretty much unrivaled. Togekiss is underrated right now I think, and Metagross was just a solid option to round out the team.

 

[LuBiStar20]

^ Pokepaste ^

Meow () @
Ability: Synchronize
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Trick Room
- Will-O-Wisp
- Fake Out
- U-turn

Mew runs Sitrus Berry because it’s the best form of instant healing, and it lets Mew survive multiple hits in one turn, further improving its ability to set up Trick Room or hit a Will-O-Wisp turn 1.

Mew, one of two common leads, is the fastest viable Fake Out user in the tier. Since Mew has 328 Spe, it outspeeds nearly every mon in the tier and can fire off Will-o-Wisp before most physical attackers can get a move off, almost ensuring that they can’t take a KO. This also synergizes nicely with Rotom-Heat, as whatever’s immune to burns can be paralyzed and shut down as well. Will-O-Wisp is also valuable on targets that don’t attack physically, as since in DPP, it does 1/8 of HP every turn instead of just 1/16, it can force switches from mons that like to sit on the field and be annoying, like Cosmic Power Jirachi. If they run Rest, then they’re asleep for 2 turns at the minimum, and then it becomes a 1v2 for my opponent, and with 2 Fake Out users and an Intimidate user, I can cycle between them, forcing them to either switch the sleeping mon or try to wake up early. Will-O-Wisp is very potent this gen, so I need it on my team, and since Heattom is running Thunder Wave, it’s a must on Mew.

My Mew runs trick room as an option to counter hyper offensive fast teams, and since my team isn't very fast naturally, I can safely set it up since Metagross is usually the higher priority target turn 1 with its powerful Base 130 Atk. Once I set up Trick Room, I can usually safely send in Hitmontop as it procs Intimidate and is resistant to Dark-type moves. It then allows me to Fake Out once it comes in, further pushing my advantage and disabling threats for the turn that might counter Metagross so that they can fire off a powerful Meter Mash, possibly KOing them or their partner.

U-Turn on Mew is versatile, letting it quickly pivot into Hitmontop and react to a switch in easily. With Its notable speed, it’s almost always the fastest Pokemon on the field, and since U-Turn is Bug-type, it can deal great super effective chip damage to most Psychic threats in the meta, like the Lati twins, opposing Mew, and Wobbuffet. I like leading Mew instead of Hitmontop so that, in a case like the opponent leading Wobbuffet, I can pivot and switch into a better answer to it, like Substitute Swampert, to safely KO it while my Substitute takes the Mirror Coat damage.

Checks/Counters: , ,

Meta? () @
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Bullet Punch
- Protect

-Metagross runs Metal Coat to amplify its already-powerful Steel STABs even more. Metal Coat’s increased damage output can also bluff Bhoice Chand, allowing for surprise Bullet Punch KOs or well-timed Protects, throwing off opponents as they may not expect it.

Protect is also very valuable because I can avoid heat waves or earth powers from Heatran, and then switch to Swampert in that slot, walling Heatran completely. It’s also simply just the best move in Pokemon, and if not, definitely not below the top 3. That’s why I run it on all but 2 Pokemon, one of them being choice locked. It is simply too good to pass up unless you have a good reason to use something else over it.

Metagross is also an anti-lead, Beating The Boys, the Lati twins, and more common leads due to its very good defensive typing paired with its outstanding Defenses and HP and its massive Attack stat. Metagross is also a great switch-in to Latios, taking Draco Meteors and Psychics better than most anyone in the tier, providing a safe switch-in when Hitmontop is on the field when either of the Lati Family is on the opposing side.

Zen Headbutt lets it hit Hitmontop & Infernape super effectively, and deal neutral damage to types that resist steel. Otherwise, it’s just there for the STAB.

Checks/Counters: , , ,

@
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 100 SpA / 148 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Protect

Heattom fills the role of a bulky attacker that also runs Thunder Wave, which can cripple special attackers or Pokemon that Mew can’t Will-O-Wisp.

It’s best to save Heattom until you discover all of their threats and decide what you would want to send it in on. Its Ghost typing lets it safely come in on the commonly used Hitmontop, where it can safely paralyze its target since Hitmontop has no ways to hurt it other than a sucker punch, which won't hit if you don’t attack. It would be forced to either switch out or target your partner, which, if Mew, almost guarantees a switch from Hitmontop. It's most likely going to have no way to hit either of our mons on the field effectively.

Rotom also has strong matchups into Snorlax, Metagross, Gyarados, and Latios. Rotom's typing lets it come in on Metagross and Snorlax's STABs, and the two will opt to switch out instead of risking a Wisp or Overheat. Rotom just hits the latter two super effectively and can threaten Thunder Wave on both if it chooses not to attack. The listed EVs even allow Rotom to survive a Specs Draco Meteor!

252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 148+ SpD Rotom-Heat: 256-303 (84.2 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

This mon is also a potent attacker under Trick Room, with its special attack leaving few things to be desired. Its middling speed allows it to operate in and out of Trick Room easily.

Checks/Counters: ,

SWAMPER!!! () (M) @
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpA / 120 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Protect

Swampert is the main appeal of this team. It’s a very nice hazard to most Pokemon in the tier and is virtually impossible to OHKO. Swampert hits several common threats effectively, such as Metagross, Heatran, and Jirachi, forcing them to either switch or take huge chunks of damage simply from the threat of Earth Power. It can also safely switch into all of these Pokemon due to its steel resistance, a very common type. It can sit in front of Metagross, Zapdos, and Tyranitar. The use of special attacks and the immunity to Intimidate make it hard to shut down. This forces our opponent to try to hit it neutrally.

Leftovers provide constant recovery for this beast of a Pokemon. Leftovers are the choice item because most likely Swampert will be on the field for more than 5 turns due to its great typing and bulk, out-healing the standard Sitrus Berry most Pokemon use. You can rarely OHKO Swampert unless you have HP Grass, and if that’s the case then Swampert most likely already has a substitute up. Leftovers are also great since this is a Substitute set; having a full-HP Swampert behind a substitute is very scary.

Speaking of Substitute, it has a good chance of taking damage for Swampert and not going down in one hit, due to Swampert’s outrageous HP stat, beating out Legendaries like Palkia and being on par with Mew. Swampert’s Substitutes are hard to break with weak attacks, such as Hitmontop Sucker Punch or Cresselia Psychic. Substitute provides safety for the slow Swampert, letting it use Earth Powers without worrying about a random Grass Knot or HP Grass.

I run 120 Spe to outspeed uninvested metagross. I also invested in that much so that people wouldn't expect me to outspeed mons like their Hitmontop, for example.

Checks/Counters: , ,

Hitmantop () @
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 188 HP / 252 Atk / 68 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Sucker Punch
- Detect

Hitmontop always starts in the back due to Intimidate being very good in this meta. There are lots of physical attackers, and intimidating them before they have a chance to act is very important, and could potentially save you the game. If you send it out at the start of the game, you risk Intimidate doing nothing, because they sent out special attackers. Plus, Mew is a faster Fake Out user and is only rivaled by opposing Mew.

Fake out is the #1 move to have on every single mon that gets it because it’s very valuable. There aren't any moves or abilities that block priority moves in this format, so you’re guaranteed a flinch unless they switch or Protect. Along with the previously mentioned protect, it is a top 3 move in any doubles format.

Close Combat is another move on Hitmontop that’s a must. It's a great move that is super effective on some important threats, like Heatran & Tyranitar. It's also neutral on some other mons, which is sometimes the factor between KOing a slower mon before they get to act. Jirachi, Metagross, and Swampert are good examples of this.

Sucker Punch is standard on Top, being a good way to KO low-HP opponents or just deal massive damage to Latios or Specs Rotom before they have a chance to act. I run 68 Spe to outspeed some common mons, like Metagross or Swampert, even if they invest a lot into speed.

Checks/Counters: , , ,

Mint () @
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Trick

This Latios set is standard. It's holding a Scarf to outspeed everything in the tier, and it can fire off very fast Draco Meteors that even +2 Dragons would have trouble out speeding.

Psychic is standard and helps put pressure on Hitmontop, incentivizing it to switch out. It's also a good STAB move so you can hit things neutrally, like steel types. Some of those powerful neutral hits include Snorlax, Empoleon, Heatran, and Scizor.

Thunderbolt is just for coverage and hits Gyarados pretty well. I run Thunderbolt over an Ice Beam because I feel it has more coverage, dealing super effective damage to Empoleon, Gyarados, and Aerodactyl.

Trick is to shut down setup sweepers or support Pokemon like Mew, CP Jirachi, DD Gyarados, and Curse Snorlax. It's very effective at doing its job, tricking its choice item at the opposing Pokemon before they use their move, completely crippling them and forcing them to switch.

This mon beats other dragons that other mons on our team can’t beat because we have no Ice moves on anything else on our team.

Checks/Counters: ,

Very, Very large credits to Arcticblast for helping me convey my thoughts easier & help in writing & editing this. I couldn't have done it without his help. <3<3

BTW, I'm happy to answer any questions about this post ^^
Im very proud of this :3 Ask away!

 

[Glimmer]

psst since i used backsprites for the bottom row I cannot link them, here are the teams pastes: Mew Vers Ape Vers

Hi everybody! I wanted to showcase my two new Substitute Swampert in lead teams with yall. As of writing this, I have not used the Raikou team in a roomtour, but the Jirachi team got semi-finals in the roomtour for points.


Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 176 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Hydro Pump
- Earth Power
- Protect

has been a good lead in both teams, having a good matchup into Hitmontop, Tyranitar, and Metagross. With its insane bulk it can set up subs off the start, giving it a head start and keeping it safe while throwing out powerful Hydro Pumps. Water/Ground is a really good defensive typing and with such bulk, it finds opportunities to sub a lot. With the grass types in the tier mostly falling off and Heatran, Metagross etc. becoming better, Swampert has even more value as a lead. Although Swampert has one issue. Its bulk when not fully invested barely avoids 2HKOs from opposing powerful attackers like Rotom's Shadow Ball. So it is really susceptible to Fake Out into strong attack. The Speed EVs let Swampert outspeed 0 invest base 70 speed pokemon such as Metagross.

That's where , , , and come in. is arguably the best lead in the tier, having incredible utility options on top of being a fast Fake Out user, having decent staying power and damage. is a more offensive and speedy Fake Out user that enables against opposing as well. also threatens the Rotom appliances and opposing grass types like Shaymin and Breloom with a Life Orb Overheat. is one of the best pokemon in the tier and has access to Intimidate and Fake Out, making it a great Swampert partner. which is featured on both teams is the singular best Follow Me user and synergizes greatly with . can redirect Fake Out, grass type moves, Rotom and Raikou Shadow Ball, and Encore opposing Hitmontop into Fake Out. This lets Swampert set up subs and attack more freely, while also getting some Leftovers for whenever the next sub happens.


Mew @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fake Out
- Psychic
- Taunt
- Protect

is nothing special really, just the best lead in the tier doing what it does. The only notable thing is the lack of Earth Power and the presence of Taunt. Earth Power is absent because you are leading with anyways, and the team has decent ways of dealing with Tyranitar and Heatran outside of too. Taunt is mostly there for the Trick Room matchup. As you can see in both of the teams, the Trick Room matchup is extremely messy.


Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 64 Atk / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Overheat
- Taunt

, while being a more niche lead than Mew, has crazy power with a STAB Life Orb Blaze boosted Overheat and has the fastest Fake Out in the entire tier. also has Taunt, for the aforementioned Trick Room matchup. The Speed EVs are for max Speed base 100s such as Jirachi and of course Mew. I wanted to not go max Speed because I didn't wanna drop my Special Attack and wanted to make those Close Combats kinda hurt.


Hitmontop (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 192 HP / 232 Atk / 24 SpD / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Sucker Punch
- Protect

is one of the best role compression a mon can get while keeping its offensive presence with STAB Close Combats and Sucker Punches. This is EVd to live 2 Choice Specs Shadow Ball from Rotom with Sitrus Berry and outspeeds 0 speed Heatran. Otherwise just same old helps with the Tyranitar matchup and Sucker Punch cleans up games against Latios and Rotom.


Togekiss @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 80 SpA / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Follow Me
- Encore
- Protect

This extremely underrated redirector is in my opinion one of the best partners can have. is EVd to outspeed max Speed base 70s such as Metagross and Hitmontop. This lets it put some investment into Special Attack and still be able to consistently Encore Hitmontop into Fake Out, Metagross into Protect etc.

The support mons are where the similarities end between the teams so I will talk about the offensive mons in a different section.

MEW VERSION

This team needed way more immediate offense, as it packed 3 supporters off the get go. My first choice for my offense was , who could help against Rotom and Latios with Shadow Ball, Suicune and Gyarados with Thunderbolt.


Raikou @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Protect

is a powerful pokemon that forces out or pressures everything that checks Swampert. The speed tier of is incredible and can even outspeed Latios, making Swampert's job way easier. An offensive Life Orb set felt like it fit the team the best, as needed to deal as much damage as possible. I chose Calm Mind as having a redirector and 2 Fake Out users makes it really easy for Raikou to get Calm Mind up.


Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Overheat
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Grass]

is normally a really good late game option with Substitute and Heat Wave and I really wanted Heatran on the team. But I also needed something more speedy, so I decided that giving the Choice Scarf was the right option. As janky as it sounds, Scarf provided much needed speed control, switched into Latios Draco Meteor and Psychic, dealtdamage to Bronzong and Jirachi, and was immune to Fire. Hidden Power Grass helped the team a lot against opposing Swampert and Suicune.

INFERNAPE VERSION

already brought a lot of offense to the table and I didn't have any extra bulky mons off the get go, so this team needed more defense.

First thought was another Calm Mind user. But I wanted this one to be bulkier and wanted it to withstand Latios' hits way better.


Jirachi @ Occa Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 112 SpD / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Protect

Enter . is a really bulky steel type that has a decent speed tier and has good matchups into most of the meta due to sheer bulk. It also happens to have Calm Mind, making it a great addition as a set up sweeper. This is EVd to outspeed max speed neutral nature Metagross and live Blaze Life Orb Overheat from opposing Infernape with Occa Berry. Occa Berry also helps setup against Heatran. Hidden Power Ground helps it hit Tyranitar, Metagross, and Heatran.


Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Protect

The king of old gens just felt obvious as an actual secondary fire and psychic resist. With its STAB Rock Slide and Crunch coming off of a huge 134 attack stat, it also threatens all of Rotom, Gyarados, and Latis out so Swampert can either attack or set up sub freely. Superpower hits opposing Tyranitar for an OHKO so has an easier time sweeping. is Lum Berry to counter opposing Rotom who are using Will-O-Wisp.


Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Trick

This team needed fighting resistance, ground resistance, water resistance, and speed control, and delivers. is an incredible offensive powerhouse that boasts a special attack stat of 130 and STAB Draco Meteor and Psychic, which destroy any neutral target not named Tyranitar. This slot had in the past, and it did better into Heracross and Machamp, but sadly doesn't resist water in this gen, so i opted to Latios. Latios is carrying Thunderbolt to hit the aforementioned water types like Gyarados and Clamperl.

CHECKS AND COUNTERS:
Rain is the bane of both of these teams existence. The Mew teams counterplay is literally "just outplay with Raikou" and both are near hopeless against Kingdra.
Fighting types are an issue for the Infernape version, as most fighting types carry coverage for Latios.
Switching into Tyranitar can be an issue for the Infernape team, but this has not been a major issue as most of the mons on that team can force Tyranitar off.
Trick Room + EruptTran is an issue for both versions. You mostly rely on Swampert to not come face to face with anything that is not Heatran.
Opposing Swampert and Empoleon can be problems for the Mew version, as it does not have proper water resists.

I hope you enjoyed reading, I sure enjoyed building and using the team! Feel free to ask questions about the post if I made anything unclear. Have a good day :3

 

[ryo yamada2001]

Congratulations to Mizuhime for winning Livetour 7!

7 different winners across 7 tournaments so far! There's really just no telling who's going to win the DPP Kickoff tournament with so many talented players in the tier...
Shoutouts to Actuarily and Iceberg77 for winning the scheduled DPP room tournaments!

As usual the replays and usage stats are on this sheet:

(Kickoff usage stats coming soon)

 

[Teals]

Hey guys, it's Teal. After taking a loss in dpp kickoff tour I can't see myself trying as hard so I'm going to share two teams I made that are imo some of the best teams this format has seen. Bold claim haha but I swear they are good. They have seen numerous success in tests, s/o to eragon11145 for that. I personally believe these teams should be samples, but due to my busy schedule I can't manage to catch many room tours so these teams have seen limited tour usage. I would encourage people to try these out as I truly think they are a slight step ahead the meta and can push this tier further. There are a number of sets, and mon choices that are underutilized as it stands that I specifically want to highlight. Hope you guys enjoy and without further ado let's break down these teams.

Bulky CM Latias

https://pokepast.es/bd894cd837c7ab6e


The lead game is one of the most important if not the most important thing in regards to team building in this format. Rotom-Heat and Metagross are probably the best lead pair in the format. They cover each other perfectly, and cover a vast majority of opposing lead options. Rotom being fake out immune is incredible as it telegraphs what your opponent is going to do. If they are going to click fake out at all, they are going to be clicking it against metagross. Having this info immediately puts you in the driver seat and allows you to act accordingly. Scarf on rotom is its best set imo. Allows you to outpace non scarf lati twins, give you a dd gyara check, and you have disruption with trick of course. Metagross on the other hand is running lum berry. You could opt for metal coat to better check ttar, but I think driving off and scouting for wisp on things like mew is far more useful as once burned, gross' utility diminsishes greatly. I personally hate zen headbutt on metagross as I don't view hitmontop as a real pokemon. I think if you were to replace a move it could be Explosion in favor of Bullet Punch. BP is an underrated move on gross and is nice for picking off sash leads and weakened lati twins. Explosion is the best fit here imo as it just has perfect synergy with Rotom.


The star of the show. I personally rank latias higher than Latios just due to how many sets it can run and how well it can run them. I really wanted to build around a fat cm latias as it can just win games once positioned correctly. EV spread is enough speed to outspeed modest kingdra outside of rain. I think this is a relevant enough calc that it is worth running. The biggest thing that allows this set to work is sub. Sub is a broken move, especially here in dpp and I think it's underutilized. Sub in this case allows latias to beat things like latios and kingdra. Upon switching in on a turn you sub, they are forced to click draco if they want to break it, which immediately puts them at a disadvantage state. Recover is used over protect as I like recovering on free turns or on incoming sucker punches. You can't be too hasty with this set however. You need to make sure you position it correctly and still have a way of keeping the steel types in line.


So when running a mono dragon move latias as your win condition, you need something that checks steels. Heatran is an immediate go to for this role and fits with the bulkier nature of the team. Once again, sub is a broken move and pairs well with tran, allowing it to sit in on steels and that commonly run eq. Not much to say about this mon other than it also acts as a soft draco meteor switch in.


I have been rather unkind to ttar in my recent posts. I think chople berry sets are bad and people should ditch em in favor of passho if they want to use ttar defensively. All that aside, I think the main utility of ttar is to check the lati twins. Choice scarf is my go to item on ttar these days and I personally want to highlight it as I haven't seen anyone using it. This allows ttar to do everything it wants to do without facing some sort of consequence. You now beat latis, starmie, gyarados, rotom, zapdos, and mew before they can do something to ttar or your team. This set is a godsend is fits perfectly here.


Another mon I think is underrated. Follow me is a busted move, but especially in dpp. It has higher priority than fake out allowing total redirection. This mon pairs really well with the team, giving latias room to set up, providing tailwind so latias' speed calc remains relevant in rain, and offering thunder wave to just completely shut down something if need be. I'm running enough speed to outspeed breloom but with breloom being relatively uncommon, you could probably get away with running more bulk.

Overall the team performs very well. Substitute is a broken move that allows you to manouver around things like rain and trick room and I encourage you all to try it out more.
EDIT: I'll write up the 2nd team in a separate post as I gotta get going. Hope you guys find success with this!

 

[Teals]

Double post, my bad. I initially said I was going to post two teams that I found to be good. After some serious thought, the other team isn't as refined as I'd like it to be but it has a tech that I feel should be shared with you all as it will further shift up the lead metagame. This all revolves around a single pokemon that has gone completely overlooked. That mon is my boy gengar. I'll break down the set(s), explain why this is as good as it is, and share some team concepts I've built with it.

Standard Lead
Gengar @ Wide Lens
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 80 HP / 176 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
https://pokepast.es/015df8b62ce4952f
Rain Lead
Gengar @ Damp Rock
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 80 HP / 176 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Rain Dance
- Taunt
https://pokepast.es/9bc86cdb5939a717

Why Gengar Is So Good
Gengar was quickly dismissed as garbage by everyone, myself included. However in a metagame where lead matchup is so important, I would be constantly brainstorming new ideas to be a step ahead. Lately we have seen trick room teams find ton of success, and with some people going as far to run mail on tr setters to guarantee tr going up, not many lead options could keep up momentum. Gengar does so much in the lead role. Fake out immune that gets taunt and is faster than mew. Being fake out immune is so huge when it comes to leads. Gengar lead invalidates trick room leads and is oppressive towards the standard mew lead. Not many people are running ttar leads these days, but 80 hp guarantees gengar can live a pursuit from ttar that aren't banded. Alternatively, you have the option to use wisp. I like Wide lens here when focus blast and wisp are so dicey.
On the flip side, you can do things with gar like guarantee rain goes up. One underrated thing about gar is it is also immune to explosion and eq, making it pair well with a ton of things.

Overall, I think gar has potential to be a lead staple. I hope you all find this info useful. Good luck with your building!

 

[Sunrose]

I think it's time we start experimenting with the dark types in the tier. Psychics and ghost types are running rampant and one of the best moves rn to counter them is Sucker Punch. We've seen Sucker Punch Hitmontop, Swords Dance Sucker Punch Mew on bagels sample team, and lolk run Sucker Punch Toxicroak but none of the mons get stab on it. There are a couple of dark type mons that are being underutilized and if players can build a good team with them then we'll start seeing a metagame where psychic, dark, fighting, steel, dragon, and water type mons are the best 6 types.

 

[Teals]

MORE VR NOMS
I think vr is kinda whack rn but just gonna highlight all the notable things I personally think need changed.

RISES

UR -> T2
No clue why this thing is currently UR. It is the face of Trick Room teams, and while it is frail it can rip apart teams. With common support options in helping hand or rain dance being on tr setters, this thing goes crazy. I feel that when building I need a dedicated trick room check in the lead slot, or a dedicated clamperl check in the back as if you don't prepare for this thing you will lose.

UR -> T4
I think this pokemon is really good, but would only put it at 4. I went over this mon in depth in the above post, but tldr: fast fake out immune taunt mon that has good match up into many common leads. Being boom immune is underrated af. Lead game in dpp is so huge that's why I rate it highly but due to it not having much place in the back of team comps I'd say 4 is fine for it.

UR -> T4
Similar to gar. Fake out immune that gets taunt and other good support moves. Doesn't have to fully invest in speed to outpace the lati twins which is very valuable. Has way more value than most of the T5 mons.

T5 -> T4
Better than the trash in T5. Pretty much locked to rain teams, but has access to fake out and performs moderately in rain. Wishes it was stronger.

T3 -> T2
I love this mon but realistically it's T2, not T1 like I wish it was. Has tons of viable sets and isn't just locked to being a choice mon. Offers so much utility to teams and can be used to fulfill any role you want it to. Probably the best check to other dragons imo with access to twave, bulk + haban berry or just scarf. Just wishes it was a little stronger.

T4 -> T3
It's currently ranked lower than infernape and mamoswine for some reason.

DROPS

T1 -> T3
This one is gonna catch me a ton of flack. No, this isn't because I have some weird bias against mew in all gens. I have watched every tournament game so far with this ongoing dpp tour and time and time again I see examples of mew just being deadweight or failing to accomplish things it wants to do. Mew has tons of options, but it doesn't do anything exceptionally well. Lead sets fall victim to becoming momentum sinks and feel reminiscent of hitmontop. Offensive sets are just disappointing. Base 100 stats are no laughing matter in dpp, but when it comes to offense, there are so many things that just do it better. Mew doesn't have an amazing typing and takes most hits neutrally. You sacrifice so much if you pull from offense to dump in hp, and vice versa. On top of that, it doesn't hit amazing numbers. Plus 1 sucker punch doesn't ohko latios, and -1 thunder punch doesn't ohko gyarados. T3 for the mere fact that it has all these options and can fill a role if you desperately need a niche filled.

T2 -> T3
Repeat nom. This thing is ass. Start running pursuit on it if you want it to do something.

T1 -> T2
I was wrong when I said this was T3. Nobody was using scarf at the time. After I discovered scarf I realized this mon can be good. Scarf set so good but every other set is ass so T2.

T4 -> T5
Really wish this mon was good but it just isn't. Probably has a place on fullroom but nobody is experimenting with it.

T4 -> T5
Cute mon that sucks ass. Almost really cool because due to the coverage it gets but grass typing sucks and its weak as piss.

& T3 -> T4
These guys can probably be okay but def not T3 material. Mamo hates not having icicle crash and ape has to choose between being mixed or taking a billion from flare blitz.

 

[zee]

A bunch of metagame takes that I'm disguising as VR noms. Kickoff is still ongoing but it's a new month so it's probably time for another update, especially thanks to plethora of livetour data recorded by bunnyy.

Drops in red, rises in green, stays in blue + hide tags
Tier 1 -> Tier 1

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Number one usage mon in the livetours and for many great reasons. As anyone who's seen my teams recently would guess, I think Scarf is currently the best set in the tier. Modest Draco hits hard enough and it's great to outspeed Raikou or other scarfers like Heracross. I still think simple choiced/LO sets are the way to run the mon, no need in getting cute with CM/Tailwind etc.

Tier 1 -> Tier 1

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I genuinely believe Mew is the best mon in the tier. Swords Dance/Sucker Punch/EQ + Soft-Boiled/Explosion is extremely dangerous and easily supported by Screens Raikou and/or Togekiss. I think the Fake Out/Rocks lead set has diminished a bit in viability but people should be experimenting more with the Psychic/Earth Power aspect of that set (translation: dedicated special attacker is also probably pretty good).

Tier 1 -> Tier 2

Metagross is an amazing mon in this tier, and I genuinely believe it can win games at lead by getting a quick KO with Meteor Mash -> attack boost -> 50% of a kill with Bullet Punch. But one of the reasons it meteorically rose to Tier 1 was its dominance in the matchup against Tyranitar/Hitmontop which is nearly nonexistant as a lead in the current meta. Couple this with increased Heatran usage and I think it's just fallen enough to go to T2. I was a big believer in Substitute at the start too but I think Heatran just does that job better.

Tier 1 -> Tier 1

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Big fan of this guy STILL. Rotom-H is just virtually unwallable and ready to do 50% minimum to anything in the tier with the right Choice lock. Trick is also genuinely an amazing form of disruption. Solid lead too which I think was underappreciated until recently.

Tier 2 -> Tier 3

Kind of a similar spot to Metagross where I don't think this Pokemon is bad at what it does but as the metagame starts to settle this placing seems quite appropriate for it. Hitmontop in the back seems to be what I find myself playing against most often now, which makes a lot more sense: you have the freedom to switch in and Intimidate what you please and typically gain more momentum by supporting a set up Pokemon. Still a good lead on hard Trick Room setups. I don't really think any 3rd/4th move breaks the mon, if I had to run it right now I'd say Toxic + Sucker Punch I think.

Tier 1 -> Tier 1

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Hear me, hear me, I've come to sing the praises of Dragon Dance Tyranitar. I think DD Tar functions pretty similarly to ADV DOU where you just seem to happen upon boards where your opponent can't KO you and all you need is one DD to run away with the game. I like other offensively inclined sets as well, I think most importantly having a strong Crunch is important when you look at the typings of the other 3 Tier 1s. Ghost resist, munches on Dracos pretty well, and is a physical attacker that threatens the best Intimidate user in the tier.

Tier 2 -> Tier 2

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Raikou is the best Fast Guy around. The two main sets people use, Calm Mind/Tbolt/Shadow Ball or Screens, are both really effective at acting as a win condition or enabling other win conditions respectively. DPP games move so fast that 8 turns of Screens is consistently taking at least 67% of the game length. There's also Rain Dance/Thunder, which I think is pretty important for Rain teams to have a setter that can act before Nonscarf Latios can move. Not quite tier 1 to me though -- Thunderbolt/Shadow Ball isn't perfect offensive coverage and without boosts its damage is mostly unimpressive. Also competes a bit with Rotom? But honestly I think 2x Electrics is fine and I have multiple teams with both.

Tier 2 -> Tier 2

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Best Intimidate! Despite being in a tier where two Electrics are top 10 Pokemon, Gyarados thrives because it launches a billion damage into everything. The most common Water "resist" in the tier, Latios, is not eating 2 CB Waterfalls. I think the best way to use this guy is just moving it in and out to drop Intimidates on foes threatening your wincon, focus on removing Electrics, then blitz through endgames. 81 Speed isn't lightning fast, but it's fast enough.

Tier 2 -> Tier 3

I want to believe. I want to believe so very badly. But time and time again Heatran just fails to stand out amongst the tier's top mons. In all sincerity though, like the aforementioned drops I think this is another mon settling into where it belongs. Heatran preys on the tier's other Steels, can be a menace to remove behind Substitutes, and Earth Powers Raikou for 75%. Being a Steel that beats Steels is genuinely enough for it to be ranked 3 though.

Tier 3 -> Tier 2

I think Swampert is a little nutty. It can fit on literally any team archetype, checking Trick Room/Tyranitar/Raikou on goodstuffs, dishing out massive Hydro Pumps on rain, or being near impossible to take down behind a Substitute on screens. Its coverage is universally appreciated and really isn't hard countered by anything. Something about lack of Water resists here.

Tier 3 -> Tier 4

As far as I know this guy really only gets used on hard Trick Room and some rain builds. Pretty bad 4MSS, good matchups into Latios/Mew/Metagross I guess but just gets overwhelmed by this tier's speed if you aren't committed to one of the archetypes it fits on best.

Tier 2 -> Tier 3

I just... haven't seen Jirachi do much??? Calm Mind sets are outclassed by what Raikou can accomplish and Cosmic Power is pretty easy to overwhelm. Might honestly be T4 even but Tier 3 so the Cosmic Power set gets respected in the builder is good enough I guess.

Tier 4 -> Tier 3

Heracross is the 2nd best user of Choice Scarf in the tier. Close Combat + Megahorn + Stone Edge hits so much for insane damage. Oftentimes you're forced to just take a 1:1 trade but trading a Heracross for Latios is such insane value. Strong winrate in the livetour usage stats.

Tier 3 -> Tier 4

Just gets outclassed by the other Electrics so much of the time. It is really funny that it isn't even the best Ground-immune Electric with Fire coverage.

Tier 3 -> Tier 4

Its niches in the lead meta aren't really that valuable anymore. It is slower than 2 Pokemon it would really need to be faster than.

Tier 5 -> Tier 4

Rain is tier 4 and it isn't tier 4 without Ludicolo. Fake Out is pretty vital for grabbing the momentum to set up Rain Dance.

UR -> Tier 4

Really owns rain and has Fake Out + Fighting coverage. Enough to get it ranked but also probably enough to keep it above the likes of Hariyama and Flygon.

Tier 3 -> Tier 5

I hate this thing so much. I have never understood what it does sans clicking nonstab CB Uturn or Ice Punch. 23% winrate LOL

UR -> Tier 5

Clamperl Team Guy

UR -> Tier 4

Abuses the tier's lack of Water resists in Trick Room + Rain. It's a matchup fish but you will probably lose to it without much respect. Honestly one of the best mons TR can run currently, genuinely might argue for T3 if it wasn't held back by needing Dusclops to Rain Dance.

Tier 5 -> Tier 4

Fastest Fake Out in the tier, stab Night Slash for Mew/Latios/Rotom. Bagel was running this with Raikou which makes a lot of sense.

UR -> Tier 5

Hear me out guys Hyper Cutter SD stab EQ is enough for tier 5. Can genuinely be annoying to kill sometimes.