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Metagame LGPE UU (New Drops @ Post #28)

Had never played LGPE before getting drafted (and subsequently starting) in LGPL, where I went 3-1 in UU, 2-1 using my own teams where I was mostly relying on vibes in the builder. Wanted to share some of my thoughts on what I think was actually a fun tier;

:lapras: - Not really as hyped on this as it appears others are, I feel like it might be a tad overrated to be honest. I understand it has an awesome set of moves and great bulk but it just felt to me like there were plenty of teams stacking Fighting weaks and this being weak to rocks on top of that kind of limits it a touch. Still definitely a top-5 mon but I don't know if I'd put it #1 personally.
:kangaskhan-mega: - Maybe the true #1, absurd offensive presence and STAB Fake Out is massive for cleaning. I skewed towards using more Tauros than this because of the Speed but this is just so bulky and threatening with a solid Speed tier itself.
:primeape: - Sneaky good mon in my opinion. I mentioned stacking Fighting weaks and this getting U-turn to punish Exeggutor and Slowbro is really nifty. Not a top tier mon but something I felt was easy to build with and had a lot of upside as it can also threaten Taunt on stuff.
:slowbro-mega: - I love this thing, it just eats every physical attack and can run Modest to bolster an already impressive 130 SpAtk stat. I tried CM and Rest but never really got to use either, think it's better to just go four attacks or maybe TWave last.
:kabutops: - Really strong rocker that can run plenty of coverage (like my Persian-A getting nuked by Superpower against Somalia). STAB Jet + Rock Slide is great too.
:dragonite: - I like this thing a lot, I didn't get to utilize all of my ideas but it's bulky and strong and has Roost which is massive. I think DTail support might be functionally better than Outrage since it's a tad slow and easily revenged by Lapras or Slowbro if locked into Outrage but this is one of those mons that can run any set well without making concessions.
:exeggutor: - Sleep is kind of broken in LGPE in my opinion and this is an excellent abuser of it. Between Leech and Sleep Powder, along with great STABs in Giga Drain and Psychic, this thing handles a lot of the tier well.
:pidgeot-mega: - I tried this thing and it seems broken on paper but I wasn't as high on it. Really strong breaker with pivot and recovery seems so good so maybe this was just a skill issue on my part...
:tauros: - Last but not least, one of my favorite mons to use. Excellent Speed tier, great bulk and power, and access to several high BP attacks like EQ/Thrash/Outrage. Felt like I used Rock Slide every time I loaded this to blow up Lapras or Dragonite while also fishing for flinches. Top tier mon to me.
:hitmonchan: - Agility Hitmonchan seems really cool, can set up on Lapras and threaten to sweep late after Tauros/Kanga chipped into range.
 
Having finals to procrastinate is a great motivator to get this post out that I've been sitting on for a while. I drafted most of this within a week of PL, but after some casual games I think my views on certain mons have changed and evolved. Regardless, I think this captures my thoughts on UU pretty effectively. If tier shifts do happen in the next year or so then a lot of these thoughts will be outdated of course, but that’s just the way it goes ig. I don't know if I would necessarily call this my viability rankings or anything, but these are my views on the tier rn. This post is gonna be long and some things may be wrong, so that's my bad. Also my ass is NOT proofreading this so sorry if there are any inconsistencies or whatever

TIER LIST BB
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~~ S Tier ~~
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Mega Kangaskhan is the consensus best pokemon in the tier, and best mega along with that. It’s bulky, strong, and has the coverage it needs to be a beat stuff. At worst it goes 1 for 1 with just about everything, and it usually does a lot better than that. I think the best set at the moment is probably fake out, eq, ice punch, brick break. It has some other options though. I specifically think there are worlds where you could drop moves for facade and sucker punch.

The only mon that I think kang clearly loses to is mega slowbro. It does have to look out for the occasional primeape and superpowers from kabutops and pinsir. Regardless, there’s a reason everyone used this in LGPL. It’s goated.

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Ohhhh woah heyyy loooook it’s Mr. UU. I originally had Tauros at 4, but I think number 2 suits him better.. Tauros is cool. He’s fast and strong and sexy and he has big strong arms and I want him to hold me in them. Being able to come in and click massive damage against so much of the tier is awesome. He has such a wide movepool and can really take advantage of it. I always ran double edge, earthquake, outrage, and facade, but honestly there’s room to change stuff around. I saw surf Tauros in tour to mess up golem, thrash is very common, and I think if there’s a mon in this tier that would be scary behind a sub it’s probably this guy.

Tauros is bulky enough to make do as an offensive mon, but that doesn’t mean he’s super bulky. Most of the tier 2hkos him, and physically bulky mons are basically a complete halt to your progress. If you rely on double edge for stab then it’s very easy to be worn down especially since the mons in this tier are all obese (double edging into lapras and kangaskhan is a sad time). Earthquake also just often doesn’t hit as hard as you would like. These limitations don’t stop tauros from being an easy top 5 mon for me, though.

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Not sure if lap at 3 is controversial or not.
Lapras is insane. It’s so fat and so strong. It has all the moves it could want. I personally think that surf, ice beam, tbolt, and ice shard is all it needs, but I can see why one would sub one of these moves for waterfall, or maybe even sing and body slam. Like kang it matches up positively into a lot of the tier.

I think lapras loses to electrode and kabutops. Probably victreebel too. has to make sure to watch its health v pika but you can kill it with stab into ice shard. Like Kang this mon has big numbers and unlike kang it has big moves. I think it contributes well to every team it’s on.
~~ S- ~~
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I originally had this mon at #2 but I think that's a bit high. Regardless, mega slowbro is a fucked up pokemon. In the deep recesses of my mind there lives an old man who tells me that this is the secret best mon in the tier. Mega slowbro beats so much. It beats the other megas 1v1, it has the moves it needs to kill just about anything. I think 4 attacks with shadow ball, ice beam, surf, and psychic is the best set here. With fewer kangs running facade you might be able to get away with scald but i don’t think the power trade off is worth it. Bro actually has a lot of silly moves so it would be cool to see if anyone takes advantage of those options (yawn, screens, calm mind, disable, substitute, and thunder wave are probably the most worth considering).

Slowbros biggest downfall is the fact that every team has an electric type. And it’s slow as balls which makes the grasses a problem. Barring sleep, slowbro can beat these threats down anyways as they are usually chipped down a bit by the time slowbro hits the field. They are all also cleanly 2hkoed by bro, and don’t ohko the guy, which means switching in isn’t really an option. Pidgeot can also do big damage to the slow guy but has the same issues as the electrics and grasses, exacerbated by its stealth rock weakness. Like I said I think this might be the actual best mon in the tier but there wasn’t a lot of usage for him, so it’s kind of hard to say that. I do think slowbro is probably the most important mon to consider in the teambuilder (either bro or electrode). You need to have a plan for bro bc you cannot just hit him until he dies like you can with mega kang.

~~ A+ ~~
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I really do think all 3 of the main megas in the tier are top tier threats. They each bring big value to their teams and have valid and strong reasons to use them. Pidgeot is awesome. It’s ridiculously fast, crazy strong, has u-turn, and has healing. I think air slash, heat wave, u-turn, and roost is the best set. But, if you’re feeling fun and flirty you can drop roost for hyper beam to get big, potentially game winning damage against pokemon like lapras and kang in the endgame. Besides that i think its moveset is practically set. Maybe there’s a world where you run substitute or quick attack? Don’t do that.

I think pidgeot’s biggest problem is the fact that it has 0 accurate moves. Air slash and heat wave are great 95% of the time, but 5% of the time air slash hits a little bit to the left and you realize that rent is due in 5 days and you have 3 homework assignments that you should probably be working on. Slowbro would never make you face reality like that. Pidgeot also struggles with the electrics. It technically outspeeds pikachu but it technically doesn’t matter because zippy zap will have you scrolling indeed.com worrying about your future career before you can even think about clicking heat wave. It also doesn’t appreciate the fact that lapras ice shard does as much as it does. Things might be looking bad for the big bird but at the end of the day pidgeot is a cool guy mega for cool guy gamers. It does big damage and it is a really threatening pick 95% of the time.

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Trode should probably be ranked higher than this. This dude is fucked in the head. Fastest mon in the game duh. Thunderbolt is strong, foul play for exeggutor and pikachu-s. From here I have seen a lot of stuff. It has access to screens which could be great to pair with substitute mons. Twave is great especially if people are dropping facade on their normals. Taunt is good for stopping rockers. Boom is probably not the best idea but it’s still good damage! I think teleport could even be silly since this guy often forces switches but you probably just want to do damage on those switches instead.

If you aren’t using mega kang you’re probably going to have a pretty hard time vs electrode. Tauros eq only has a 6% chance to kill after rocks. Golem and sandslsh are hard stops to trode, which is probably their best traits as rockers. Electrode is scary in the teambuilder and you should definitely be asking what your plan is vs this mon. Which isn’t easy since it can do a lot of things.

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Pikachu is cool because game freak wants it to be cool. I think the reason you use this over electrode is because you want to use an electric type that can ohko golem? Zippy zap is a really cool move. I think when you use pika you want to use zippy zap tboly splishy splash and floaty fall. Brick break is useful as well but I don’t personally think it’s more important than the other moves.

Pikachu struggles because everything can kill it. It struggles to ohko a lot of the tier, and the tier does not have the same issue in return. In my experience pikachu is a good cleaner with zippy zap, and more importantly it can do important damage to threats like lapras to pave the way for tauros or pidge. I used to think the electrics are tied but I think trode is def better.

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Pinsir should probably be above pika? Pinsir is the best rocker. This guy is way faster than he should be, and is also super strong. I think x scissor and superpower are mandatory. Outrage is a good option bc of dnite but I also think eq and rock slide are usable for their own reasons. It also gets moves like bulk up, swords dance, and brick break, but can’t really take advantage of them here.

Pinsir loses to fire types and flying types. You die to arcanine, moltres, and mega pidgeot. You aren’t ohkoed by dodrio, however. Not sure what else to say. Very straightforward mon. You get up your rocks and do big damage. Pinsir threatens exeggutor in big ways, which is great. Pinsir has a mega form that we will talk about later.

~~ A ~~
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Kabu is a mon that has gone up my personal rankings a lot recently. I think kabutops is the second best rocker because of how stupid strong it is. It doesn’t offer the utility or bulk that wigglytuff can through thunder wave, but it can nuke certain mons if given the opportunity. It has a lot of set variety. My favorite set is rocks, superpower, aqua jet, and rock slide. The set has a lot of blind spots in terms of coverage, not really being able to do anything into sandslash, the grasses, or mega slowbro. However, superpower is insanely valuable coverage, and I like pairing it with aqua jet to kill tauros after rocks + superpower. Obviously you can run waterfall over jet (i think this is probably a better set overall), and other scary options are swords dance and leech life, though these do limit you a bit.

I think it falls short as a rocker compared to pinsir because of how common the electrics are. If you find yourself head to head with an electric you often end up having to just get your rocks up and either die, or switch a mon into pika or trode, which isn’t very fun. It also has a harder time being versatile than pinsir does, and doesn’t offer utility the same way wigglytuff does. Still a really good mon in the tier.

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Arcanine is a fast dog that has really big numbers on its stats and its moves. The fact that its stabs and its common coverage options are all 120 base power is kinda crazy. I typically opt for a physical arcanine with blitz, superpower, outrage, and wisp, but I know some players see fire blast as mandatory, but I really think that flare blitz’s accuracy is worth the recoil. It also has a lot of other options like play rough, substitute, and agility, but I’m not sure how much you’d want to use those (play rough especially, and I think if you run agility you need fire blast not flare blitz). It outspeeds and kills both grasses, and it threatens obscene damage on most of the tier, threatening 2hkoes on kang, lapras, tauros, and electrode.

The big problem with arcanine is that it dies faster than it can kill things. Kang EQ kills after rocks if you account for flare blitz recoil or superpower defense drop. Lapras surf into ice shard also threatens to kill after rocks, made worse by flare blitz recoil or superpower drop. Still, this is another pokemon that I see rising more in the future as people use it more. It is really frail and is absolutely rocks weak, but I think its strength and speed make up for it.

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I have exeggutor over victreebel for now but I can possibly see that changing. I like that exeggutor threatens ohkoes against victreebel who can’t really do the same in return. Exeggutor’s special bulk is also useful in helping it face pokemon like pidgeot, lapras, and electrode. Mega drain helps it get really nice chip healing when it’s able to click the move, which along with the aforementioned bulk means that it can be sneakily difficult to take down. Of course the main reason you use exeggutor is for sleep. Because of its bulk, exeggutor is better at spreading sleep than victreebel is. I also think it’s better at punishing pokemon for existing once they are asleep because it is stronger than victreebel. I think usually with egg you want to run mega drain, psychic, sludge bomb, and sleep powder. It has access to other moves like leech seed, but I really think you’re throwing if you are using those, since you miss out on really important targets by dropping any of its attacks.

Exeggutor does wish it had victreebel’s speed. Timid egg outspeeds neutral lapras, but is outsped by timid lapras. This speed means that there do tend to be some situations where it feels like egg is kind of just a dead slot. Sleep is absolutely worth it though, as it can just kind of end up being a free kill against a lot of mons that might want to switch into egg. A well positioned egg forces your opponent to pick which pokemon they want to sacrifice, and because LGPE UU is such a trade heavy tier, if egg is able to sleep something and do big damage to something else, you’ve made huge progress.

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I think exeggutor is a really strong sleep user, and a decently strong grass type, while victreebel is an extremely strong grass type and a decently strong sleep user. Unfortunately for victreebel sleep is more broken than being a grass type. It’s faster than lapras, and because it has a good attack stat power whip is a very threatening move. It outspeeds and kos lapras after rocks, and it threatens really big damage against most of the tier. When I run vic I typically run mega drain, power whip, sludge bomb, and sleep powder, but I don’t actually think this is the best set for it. Somalia showed me that substitute is incredibly threatening, and it gets access to options like swords dance, sucker punch, and leech life. The mon is incredibly threatening and I only see its stocks going up in the future.

Of course it isn’t perfect. I think its frailty is probably its biggest downfall. Along with that, while it is faster than lapras and exeggutor, it is still slower than most of the tier. This, combined with its frailty, means that it gets worn down quickly by most pokemon on an opponent’s team. It is threatened immensely by kang and pidgeot, which outspeed it and carry threatening super effective moves. It also can’t exactly switch into lapras because of how strong ice beam and ice shard are into the whole metagame. I still super believe into this mon, and if the meta becomes more popular and the skill ceiling becomes higher, I think this mon goes up the list.

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I haven’t used wigglytuff very much, but I know others have to decent success.It’s pretty bulky, which is cool. Being a normal type from gen 1 means it can learn whatever special moves it wants. If I were to use it I would probably use stealth rock, tbolt, ice beam, and twave. Being able to slow down the opponents mon and possibly get free turns is huge, and I think wiggs is more at liberty to click twave than other mons that get it (if you have electrode out you probably are wanting to click tbolt or foul play depending on the situation). Its bulk means that it’s pretty much guaranteed to get rocks up AND do one other thing, which is really really cool. Very few mons have super effective damage for it (iron tail tauros when?) which contributes to its bulk a fair bit. I think other moves worth considering are dazzling gleam and screens. If screens in general grow in popularity it also gets brick break.

Wigglytuff’s speed is a big problem for it. If it gets taunted then you kind of have an unmon sitting on the field, which is not good. Along with that, its damage output is bad. Stab dazzling gleam is incredibly unimpressive, as it doesn’t hit anything meaningful in the tier. Still, it stands clearly in my eyes as the 3rd best stealth rock user.

~~ A- ~~
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When I first put this list together I I had dragonite higher than this but I genuinely do believe that all of the mons above it are a great deal better than it is. Its most popular set at the moment is probably agility, outrage, earthquake, roost, but I don’t think this is its best set. In the midgame it doesn’t really break anything with outrage, and I feel like it’s outclassed in the late/endgame. I personally think special is its best set, with flamethrower ice beam thunderbolt and roost. Great coverage that lets you threaten big damage on a lot of the tier. I also think sets with dragon tail and roost have potential to be annoying. I also think there might be potential for a mixed attacking set that can run a combination of superpower, bolt beam, roost, outrage, earthquake, thunder wave, whatever. It also technically gets access to less useful moves like aqua jet, brick break, and screens, but I don’t think you should use those.

Dragonite dropping was a big deal when it first happened, and I think that initial panic made it pretty clear that this mon is actually stupid easy to cover. Mega Kang outspeeds and ohkoes with ice punch after rocks, mega slowbro lives any hit and kos with ice beam, same with lapras. Even if dnite has an agility against these mons, it has to chose between clicking roost, which doesn’t really make progress, or clicking superpower/outrage, which won’t kill and will end up with a dead dragonite. I just don’t think this mon really beats any of the top mons in a meaningful/impactful way.

~~ B ~~
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From here I think the mons see a slight dip in quality. Sandslash represents this by being pretty mid. It can guarantee to get rocks up, which is important, but it can fail depending on the matchup to do anything beyond that. It feels like it’s always just a little bit slower than I want it to be, a little bit weaker than I want it to be, and a little bit frailer than I wanted to be. Still, it can do good things. I like rocks, eq, rock slide, and x scissor. It’s strong enough to threaten a good amount of mons and when I use it it does contribute.to making progress.


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I don’t like golem. I think I’ve used golem more in ou than I have in uu. I don’t like that it dies so easily to so many good pokemon. It definitely has its strengths. It’s really physically bulky, which is cool. If I were to use it I would probably use rocks, eq, slide, boom, but it also gets superpower, which hits really hard. Idk man. It's a golem.

~~ C ~~
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MEGA PINSIR BABY LETS GO LOVE MEGA PINSIR. Ok so I have different feelings about mega pinsir from most. Common knowledge says that you should probably definitely never mega your pinsir, unless there is a very specific situation that calls for it. With this, you run a standard pinsir set. But I don’t care about that. I think it’s good to keep in mind, but I want to talk about SOLO MEGA PINSIR.

The problem with solo mega pinsir is that it isn’t very good. If you use it you have to acknowledge that you are using neither the best rocker nor the best mega. But it does have its strengths. It has an absolutely bonkers attack stat that lets it annihilate anything it wants to. It outspeeds and demolishes a chipped mega kang. It ohkoes lapras after rocks, it ohkoes tauros after rocks, it ohkoes electrode with earthquake. It is bonkers strong and really fast, and as such it works best later in the game. It requires a lot of team support, however. You need to use another rocker and you need a team that can break things down for pinsir to kill. I think with proper support, though, it might be the next big thing in UU.

Of course another reason you want to save pinsir for later in the game is because once you mega you are in. If you switch out you are essentially dead as you will be taking 50% from rocks on the next switch in. While it can beat slowbro, it cannot beat pidge, as it outspeeds and messes you up, so be mindful if you face a pidge (by be mindful I mean be mindful of the fact that you will probably lose sorry).

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Speaking of the next big thing I think persian should be used more. The set I really like is foul play thunderbolt u turn taunt, but it has so many different options. Fake out is good, I can see sets with nasty plot being successful, and it might even be a decent substitute user. I haven’t used it enough to know for sure but I think this mon is definitely something to keep your eye out for in the future.

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Dodrio on the other hand was used a lot in this tour but I feel like it’s a bit of a disappointment. Swords dance sounds sooooooo good but it gets revenge killed very easily. I think it probably works best as a lead. Swords dance against their pinsir as they get rocks up, then drill peck. Electrode and pika both outspeed and kill it after rocks, but those attacks aren’t guaranteed kills from full so you can click a neutral move and almost go 2 for 1. I think a big problem I have with dodrio is it has too many moves that can maybe make it threatening but it can’t run all of them at once. If it could run SD, drill peck, facade, jump kick, quick attack, and roost, then it would be pretty great. It can’t though, so you have to make a lot of unfortunate limiting decisions.

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Omastar would be cool if it weren’t outsped by electrode at +2. It isn’t strong enough to be threatening in my opinion. I think a stealth rock set would be cool and worth exploring.

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I think kingler is really scary but I haven’t used it so I don’t have much to say about it. If poliwrath drops soon then it will probably not be scary anymore, so I hesitate to say it should rise with the next tier shifts. It outspeeds the whole tier at +2!

~~ D ~~


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Primeape has been a semi hot topic of discussion lately. It’s fast and has u-turn which is cool, but I feel like it’s a little too frail and weak to contribute very much. In the hands of a good player it can do good work, but so can a lot of different mons. I especially don’t like that mega Pidge can just outspeed and ohko it. Still, it has a lot to offer and I can see why people rate it highly. I just don’t.

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Alolan Sandslash would be cool if Dnite was better, but I think game to game it just doesn’t accomplish as much as I would like. I also think the fact that 100% of the time it just gives slowbro a free switch in is not great. It does get mirror coat though, which is nuts and can catch slowbro by surprise if you’re not gonna die, but then you’re using mirror coat on alolan sandslash, which is kind of fishy in my opinion. Slowbro can also run flamethrower if this ever catches on, but then your opponent is using flamethrower instead of better moves.

~~ END OF UU ~~

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Alolan Ninetales is weak and frail. It can be scary with nasty plot but it still isn’t strong enough to threaten the pokemon that it wants to threaten. Still, it’s fast. It also has hypnosis, and I think if you were going to use Alolan Ninetales it should be with something like hypnosis, nasty plot, ice beam, gleam.

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Rei used Chansey in week 1 of pl and won with it, so maybe I’m not giving Chansey enough credit. I don’t really believe in this mon because I think it’s kind of bad at making progress. It can use a set with thunder wave, seismic toss, teleport, and softboiled, and it can do things, I just don’t think I would ever use it over another mon in the tier. It’s not really how I build and I don’t see it as a mon worth using over other mons in the format. If it does rise in popularity it doesn’t beat slowbro because they can start running brick break and 2hkoing it.

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Dugtrio is weak and frail. Maybe in the future it might see some innovation but I really don’t think there’s any reason to use it over the other rockers.

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Man idek with this one. I've tried using it in casual games and maybe it can stay UU? Probably not though I really don't think it's good. I will say that it's speed and bulk are a lot more serviceable here than in OU. It doesn't literally get OHKOed by everything. I do think if you're using it you have to be dedicating an entire team to it, and I'm not sure how reasonable or viable that is.

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Vileplume is just objectively worse than the other grasses. I don’t think there’s any reason to use it over Egg and Victreebel. It was used once in PL where all it did was miss a sleep powder.

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Idk about Tentacruel man. Maybe it could be cool but I don’t think it does anything meaningful and I don't think it has any moves worth clicking.

And yeah those are my thoughts on UU atm. Hopefully the tier stays active. I might make a post about a solo mega pinsir team later but I have exams to study for first.
 
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https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...s-update-post-66.3656868/page-3#post-10603359

:snorlax:Snorlax fell from OU to UU
:poliwrath:Poliwrath fell from OU to UU
:nidoking:Nidoking fell from OU to UU
:cloyster:Cloyster fell from OU to UU

New toys for UU! All of them seem very strong- we'll be holding a tournament to try them out very soon. How do you think these changes affect the meta?


My personal predictions:
  • Snorlax seems absolutely incredible and poised to be a staple of the format. It was already pretty bulky by OU standards, let alone UU, and down here its Normal STAB is far better situated. 30 Speed is unfortunate and probably prevents Snorlax being broken but I can't see it not being top tier and providing UU with some much-needed bulk.
  • Poliwrath is serious Water competition for Lapras- resisting Stealth Rock makes up for the bulk difference, and Fighting STAB is incredible in a tier dominated by Normal-type Pokemon. Its Speed tier also gives it the jump on Lapras, letting it come in on Surf or Ice Beam and retaliate in a big way. The major problems for Poliwrath are Exeggutor and especially Slowbro, but Seismic Toss could be teched in to deal meaningful damage to the latter. The prominence of Slowbro in the metagame will probably define how good Poliwrath is.
  • Nidoking seems very solid. Its strength and coverage are pretty stellar, especially for a Pokemon that can be your Stealth Rock setter and a backup answer to the Electrics. The crazy movepool and decent Speed tier probably guarantee that Nidoking will always find a way to stay relevant regardless of trends.
  • Cloyster is a big question mark. Starter Pikachu, Lapras, Slowbro, and the new arrivals of Snorlax and Poliwrath all seem like major roadblocks for it to overcome, or more likely, fail to. However, if someone figures out how to build to enable it, or to exploit its forced answers, then it could potentially even become overbearing.
 
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Somehow it seems like I am the first person to make a post about this new meta. Neat. I have been following the different LGPE metagames for a while, but I am no expert. Despite playing some games where onlookers might speculate that I was trying to lose, I managed to get to the semifinals in the inaugural Cup for LGPE UU. A disclaimer here is that this metagame is extremely young, and I am far from the most seasoned player of the metagame, or LGPE at large, so fully anticipate these takeaways being utterly trashed in due time. Anyhow, I've sorted my opinions in little categories to make your reading experience as digestible as possible.

Metagame Centralization (And Pokemon That I Think Are Bad)
This metagame is pretty centralized. It's not quite an RBY LT where you can choose from a pool of about nine Pokemon and get away with it at least most of the time, but I would be hard pressed to name more than like maybe two dozen Pokemon that are actually worth using. With a small pool of Pokemon and no abilities, items, EV spreads, etc., there just aren't a ton of emergent strategies and tactics (which is not an insult by the way... I'm an RBY main). As a result, there isn't really a ton of room to "get one over" a competent and knowledgeable player. I expect teams and games to homogenize over time, with balanced/bulky offensive builds being the norm. Pivoting and positioning will be the major decider of games. Anyhow, here are some Pokemon that are presently ranked in LGPE UU that are way over-ranked or should probably be in RU. The order is based on the current VR.

:Lapras: Lapras
Despite this Pokemon being the literal #1 Pokemon on the old UU VR, I never considered it for a team for even a second. It is very slow, weak to Stealth Rock, and offers very little in the way of status moves. Water-type Pokemon, while good, are a huge liability in a metagame where Electrode is the best win condition. Ice Shard is kind of its only appealing trait, and I guess it handles Shell Smash users well. Snorlax is a much more reliable trade bot if that's what you want on your team.

:Chansey: Chansey
Basically nobody touched this thing for the entire tournament. It seems decent for endgames because a lot of the best late game Pokemon are specially-oriented (Electrode, Mega Pidgeot, Alolan Nineteales, etc.), but I think it is probably too much of a gamble in the builder and it has a pretty small midgame presence. I thought about building with it a few times and maybe it could be good, but I think the meta is too fast and aggressive for it.

:Pikachu-Starter: Starter Pikachu
Starter Pikachu has a lot of really nice traits: high speed, good coverage, priority, and a solid typing. However, its damage output is pitiful and basically every move in the game can 2HKO it or better. I think Electrode is honestly just better and running both is really not necessary. Electrode cleanly 2HKOing this with Foul Play is never not funny.

:Persian-Alola:Alolan Persian
This is another Pokemon I thought about building with a few times. U-turn and STAB Foul Play are actually really nice traits. But that's kind of it. Outside of Speed, its stats are just awful. This isn't providing much offensive pressure and everything will KO it easily.

:Eevee-Starter:Starter Eevee
Same story as Starter Pikachu. Great utility options, but it has no offensive presence and seemingly everything can 2HKO it or better. Sparkly Swirl on Rest-centric teams is an idea, but this Pokemon is a complete momentum sink to get in and actually use as a cleric. You are pulling off Sparkly Swirl one time in a game, at best.

:Sandslash-Alola:Alolan Sandslash
This walls Alolan Ninetales but honestly I have no idea what else it does. Stealth Rock has other users and Fighting- and Ground-type coverage are everywhere to destroy this.

:Dugtrio:Dugtrio
I like this in theory on HO teams where you literally just need Stealth Rock around turn 1 and nothing else, but I don't know how viable that style actually is. It might have some sweeping potential. It has low staying power and ultimately pretty limited utility.

:Vileplume:Vileplume
I genuinely have no idea why you would use this over Exeggutor or Victreebel. It's also atrociously slow.

:Tentacruel: Tentacruel
This one might be alright, but the damage output is just low, and a lot of really solid Pokemon give it trouble, like Snorlax and Electrode.


And here are a few that are on thin ice, or I am unsure about.

:Wigglytuff:Wigglytuff
This barely saw any use, but it might be alright. I don't think its role compression is actually that useful, especially when compared to other Stealth Rock users, but it does have some nice tools and a decent defensive typing. Maybe something is there, not sure.

:Arcanine: Arcanine
Arcanine is actually totally fine, but I'm putting it here because I honestly don't know if it's the best Fire-type Pokemon. I think Alolan Ninetales keeps Fire-type Pokemon in business, so one of them ought to be good, but I genuinely haven't done my homework to prove which one is actually the best. It very well could be Aracnine though. Rapidash seems okay on paper.

:Moltres: Moltres
This thing is really awkward to build with and is ruined by Stealth Rock. It has some nice tools though and an actual damage output.

:Kabutops: Kabutops
I don't really think thing has much of a niche. The typing is honestly not great. Versus most other Stealth Rock users, it gets a resistance to Flying- and Normal-type moves, but awful weaknesses to Electric-, Ground-, Grass-, and Fighting-type moves. Unlike most other Stealth Rock users, it isn't a pocket Electrode check in the slightest, so teams with Kabutops often need to start stacking weaknesses to actually handle Electrode.

:Omastar: :Cloyster: Omastar & Cloyster
Shell Smash is cute, but Electrode is everywhere. They feel so bad to use and probably don't belong in UU, but on paper they feel like they should at least be decent. Omastar, perhaps unexpectedly, seems to be the better of the two. I do wonder if Cloyster has any value as a dedicated defensive Pokemon, but a lack of notable resistances really hurts. Fun fact: Ice/Water, along with Ice/Psychic, is the only type combination that resist no types but the types in the combination itself.


Mega Pokemon
The Mega Pokemon in this metagame are not created equal. I don't think having a Mega Pokemon is actually strictly necessary, as I think several are actually pretty bad, and even the good ones come with major shortcomings against key Pokemon. You can probably slap Mega Pidgeot or Mega Slowbro on more teams than you can't, but I don't think you ever technically need to.

:Kangaskhan-Mega:Mega Kangaskhan
This thing is actually so underwhelming. STAB Fake Out is genuinely it's only good trait that's at all unique. You give up the ability to Mega Evolve a much better Pokemon to gain access to what: 125 Attack and 100 Speed? Sad. Mega Kangaskhan also suffers from having no moves with any kind of Base Power behind them, while also being liable to find itself short on the correct coverage option. It has some use because it's actually a physical attacker, but I think Slowbro or Pidgeot is still a better choice and Pokemon like Snorlax and Tauros can usually do its job fairly well without eating the Mega slot. I actually only used Mega Kangaskhan when I already had Tauros and Snorlax on board, in an attempt to get a Normal Spam team going.

:Pidgeot-Mega: Mega Pidgeot
Hey look, a good Pokemon! Mega Pidgeot is pretty one-dimensional in terms of sets, but it can afford to be when that set has healing and pivoting on top of real stats. Mega Pidgeot offers an offensive output at 135 Special Attack and 121 Speed, superior to pretty much every other Mega Evolution. It does admittedly have some issues with revenge killing, as it invites in Electrode all day, and its limited coverage can make some Pokemon fairly difficult to damage, though U-turn helps a little with the latter issue. I also tried Hyper Beam on this once. Never clicked it, but check the calcs. On a good predict, it can wipe out a bunch of troublesome Electric-type Pokemon, among others. Also, screw Air Slash.

:Slowbro-Mega: Mega Slowbro
I think Mega Slowbro is good but I'm honestly not sure what this thing is actually best at. Towards the end of the tournament, I began favoring three- and four-attack builds, but things like Calm Mind, Thunder Wave, Rest, and Screens seem to have merit. It always felt at least fairly solid though. Stuffing out physical attackers is really nice for some teams, but Thunderbolt and Mega Drain do just obscene amounts of damage to it, so it requires some positioning, especially on late-game set up builds.

:Pinsir-Mega: Mega Pinsir
This thing is pretty awful. If Pinsir wasn't very good on its own merits, I don't think this belongs in UU. The Attack stat is great, but that's about it. The Speed tier is awkward, the Stealth Rock weakness (and without healing) is miserable, and the coverage is insufficient. This Pokemon kind of has to lead, but it really interferes with your Stealth Rock game if you do this. Electrode eats this thing alive and other common endgame Pokemon like Alolan Ninetales, Mega Pidgeot, Tauros, and Dodrio can easily dispatch it. Rock-type coverage is actually pretty good already, so you can pretty easily tech for this thing if you're ever worried about it.

:Charizard-Mega-Y:Mega Charizard Y
This is basically just special-attacking Mega Pinisr, but the Speed tier and base form are worse. Like Pinsir, it probably has some merit on more aggressive builds that can somehow get by without setting Stealth Rock early, but I think that's more of a matchup or skill check than anything. Water-types are actually not extremely dominant in this tier though, so that's kind of nice.


Other Pokemon
Here are some notes that I felt like sharing about specific Pokemon and archetypes.

:Snorlax:Snorlax
Snorlax is the best Pokemon in the tier. It's extremely difficult to exploit, it can pocket check pretty much every dangerous sweeper because it's basically impossible to OHKO even after Stealth Rock, and it has an amazing array of moves to use. It's probably the only Pokemon that belongs on like every team.

:Electrode: Electrode
Electrode is also really good. Thunderbolt and Foul Play are basically all this needs to function. I'm actually amazed by how good of a click Foul Play is in this meta. Pretty much everything is 4HKOed or better by it, which doesn't sound crazy, but it does basically mean most Pokemon only get one or two switches into it. Reflect, Light Screen, Thunder Wave, and Explosion are all nice utility options to play with. I ran this Pokemon on pretty much every team. Good players can exploit it with powerful Pokemon like Nidoking and Sandslash, but it's still really good. I'd recommend making room for it on most teams and always preparing a thorough plan for dealing with it. It's extremely centralizing.

:Nidoking: :Sandslash: :Pinsir: Stealth Rock
Nothing ground-breaking, but Stealth Rock is extremely good here. It helps secure a lot of knock outs, impedes defensive play immensely (most healing in this meta is from Roost on Flying-type Pokemon), and turns revenge kill attempts into checkmates. Get them up early. I often strove for turn 1 Stealth Rock, but that is pretty predictable and can be punished with good play. But regardless, try to get them up quickly. Basically every decent or better win condition (Electrode, Kingler, Dragonite, Alolan Ninetales, Mega Pidgeot, etc.) loves support from Stealth Rock and hates seeing them on their side. Do not drop Stealth Rock.
Thankfully, most of the Stealth Rock users actually offer a lot of utility, so you get variety to pick from when crafting your team. Nidoking has great coverage, can go physical, special, or mixed, and can slow down Electric-type Pokemon. I never really figured out its best set(s). Sandslash can also slow down Electric-type Pokemon and has a surprisingly good damage output on top of a decent boosting option if it wants. Pinsir has a solid Speed tier (same as Nidoking), pretty unique and strong coverage, and a typing that a lot of opposing Stealth Rock users and anti-leads can't exploit too easily. Wigglytuff, Kabutops, Dugtrio, and others also have some fun tools to offer.

:Golem: Golem
I like Golem. A terrible Speed and mostly poor defensive typing make it a tough Pokemon to include on a team and somewhat difficult to pilot. However, it does handle three of the best Pokemon in the metagame, Snorlax, Electrode, and Mega Pidgeot, pretty well. It can be a Stealth Rock user, but I don't know if it has to be one. I wanted to use Golem a lot more, but just never really got around to building with it. I think its damage output and overall utility make it a firm member of UU.

:Ninetales-Alola: :Exeggutor: :Victreebel: :Poliwrath: Sleep-inducers
Sleep is kind of broken and should probably be banned for LGPE at large. This metagame is way too offensive to handle losing a Pokemon entirely for potentially several turns because a low-accuracy move happened to hit.
Alolan Ninetales I think is an excellent and underrated Pokemon. It boasts strong coverage and a great Speed stat. It also has a great natural synergy with solid Pokemon like Electrode and Mega Slowbro. I think the sweeping offensive core of Alolan Ninetales and Electrode is one of the best in the game. It's also a decent lead thanks to an incredibly fast Sleep and a good hit on most Stealth Rock users. It can be countered in the builder though with intentional prep, and Snorlax can bully it if played well.
Exeggutor and Victreebel are both solid. I find Exeggutor better because it seems sturdier and I think the typing is better, especially as you take Earthquake much more comfortably. Victreebel does make up for its shortcoming though with a slightly better Speed, mixed options, Swords Dance, and Sucker Punch.
I never really had any interest in Poliwrath. It's very weak to a lot of very good Pokemon, like Electrode, Mega Pidgeot, Mega Slowbro, and Alolan Ninetales. It is pretty solid into some important Pokemon though, like Snorlax and most Stealth Rock users. Hypnosis gives it another solid tool.
I also thought a bit about Jynx because it has a pretty good Speed tier and Lovely Kiss is relatively accurate. It honestly might be decent, but it sure is frail.

:Dragonite: :Kingler: Agility-users
I'm not a huge fan of Dragonite because I think its Stealth Rock weakness and reliance on Outrage make it an inconsistent sweeper. I think it actually has more merit as an early game breaker using its wide array of mixed attacks. Thunder Wave is a nice option too. It's ultimately alright. I think Kingler is a bit more consistent at actually getting a sweep done. While a lot of Pokemon just obliterate it, it does have some good set up opportunities and basically all the coverage it needs. Again, maybe a little inconsistent, but good and something to prepare for. Agility users are also some of the few actual win conditions in this tier.

:Tauros: :Dodrio: :Primeape::Slowbro: :Electabuzz: The Remaining Pokemon That Are Somewhat Interesting
I didn't mean to go through like every Pokemon in the tier, but I got really close to covering all them so I figured I might as well close out with those that I missed.
Tauros honestly isn't great at anything in particular, but it's a pretty low cost Pokemon to add to a team thanks to a high Speed, acceptable bulk, and only one weakness. I don't usually feel like a team needs it, but it doesn't usually feel bad to add it. I usually ran Double-Edge, Earthquake, Rock Slide, and Facade because I didn't really know what else to do with those last two slots.
Dodrio is pretty similar to Tauros, having better damage output but much worse defensive potential. Being now at 110 Speed now is very nice.
Primeape isn't really great, and I felt it was pretty underwhelming. It is the only Fighting-type with a real Speed stat though, which is good for role compression, and U-turn can be nasty.
Slowbro is honestly pretty mediocre with a handful of relevant weaknesses, but it can function as a physically defensive pivot and it kind of works on teams looking to try out two possible Mega Pokemon (usually it and Pinsir, realistically) at the same time.
Electabuzz is alright, but I don't think having two Electric-type Pokemon is ever super necessary and Electrode will normally be better. Speed is king.


Win Conditions & Team Archetypes
For this section, I'm going to drop some ideas on routes to victory in a game, and how I evaluate them. This is kind of a mix of Pokemon, strategies, and team styles. Like most of this post, nothing is set in stone here. It's simply some musings on how I view progress making and securing endgames at this point in the metagame.

Electrode Offense
When I first looked at LGPE UU, my eyes immediately went to Electrode. Coming primarily from RBY, especially its low tiers, the fastest Pokemon with an even acceptable damage output is very often a great starting point. In tiers with no items and abilities for boosting Speed as well as relatively few moves to do it (and even those that can use Speed-boosting moves are sometimes still slower), the fastest Pokemon provides an unparalleled value in endgames because they are uniquely capable of stringing together multiple knock outs in succession. When I saw it learned Foul Play, I was sold. Most of my teams were built around Electrode winning the game. The general idea is to just get Stealth Rock up, maybe put something to sleep, and neutralize the opponent's Ground-type. Longer games favor you because you get more Stealth Rock chip for the sweep (while Electrode itself doesn't really care too much because it only needs to come in a few times and likely won't be getting hit too many times along the way). Solid bulky Pokemon like Snorlax, Sandslash, and Exeggutor are natural partners. Alolan Ninetales, as said above, is a cheeky secondary sweeper option that can eliminate Electrode's checks, or even sweep itself instead if your opponent invests too many resources in checking Electrode.

Boost Sweeping
Rather than relying on Electrode's natural Speed, these teams look to chain knock outs with something that can boost Speed first. Dragonite, Kingler, and Shell Smash users are your main options here. The benefit to these sweepers is that they have broader coverage and higher damage output than Electrode. However, taking a turn to set up, and often being slower than Electrode anyway, make the teams they're on a bit shakier overall. You also might need to get Reflect or Light Screen to last just the right number of turns. I found the positioning requirements to get these teams going a bit daunting so I seldom tried them. That said, they are probably functional with good piloting. Sweepers that aren't Electrode aren't as innately covered in the builder because they are less expected and more varied in coverage.
Swords Dance and Nasty Plot sweepers can kind of work, but none of them are really fast enough to actually sweep on their own. Mega Pinsir and Alolan Ninetales get the closest, but they can still be stuffed by Pokemon like Tauros, Mega Pigeot, and, of course, Electrode. Victreebel can also become a Pseudo Extreme Killer with Sucker Punch, Swords Dance, and Substitute, but this has obvious inconsistencies.
Mega Slowbro can also be a good win condition with Calm Mind and Rest. This requires a lot of set up and a lot of things can easily go wrong along the way, but a heavily boosted Slowbro can be very difficult to handle for a lot of teams.
Stacking multiple Shell Smash sweepers to make an HO build was also something I thought about. Maybe that works.
Substitute is also pretty nice to get free turns, especially in tandem with Sleep or Paralysis. Paralysis is a bit tricky to use, especially with Electric- and Ground-type Pokemon being common, but I think it can be rather dangerous if exploited well.

U-turn & Teleport Spam
Building a team centered around pivoting was something I tried, but it never fully came to fruition. In theory, I think supporting a heavy hitter, like Snorlax or Dodrio, or a dangerous boost sweeper, like Kingler, Sandslash, or Mega Pinsir, with one or more pivoting Pokemon could potentially be very dangerous. It has some issues in practice though. U-turn doesn't have a ton of great users, and using the best one, Mega Pidgeot, keeps you from getting a high damage output from a different Mega Pokemon. Most U-turn users are also rather fast, so getting a safe switch into a frail heavy hitter is actually pretty rare. A lot of them like Persian, Alolan Persian, and Fearow are also just not the best, though I did seriously consider each of these Pokemon at least once. Teleport gets around this to some extent, but without things like Leftovers and Regenerator, using Teleport more than once or twice is pretty hard. While Teleport users are generally bulky, they tend to have pretty exploitable weaknesses, so you have to pivot them in first before you can even pivot them out, which is kind of counterproductive. Perhaps ignoring the "bring in a big attacker" part might be an idea, as the U-turn users themselves do have a decent damage output and array of coverage options. They might be able to sustain offensive momentum on their own. Screens also might work here. I would like to see this idea realized one way or another though, because I think there is something here.

Outdamaging Your Opponent
In RBY, and perhaps other communities, we have a simple concept called "outdamaging your opponent." This is when you cast aside any mentality to set up for chain knock outs, boosting, and whatnot and just focusing on hitting the opponent harder and more often than they hit you. Outside of Stealth Rock, the occasional use of Screens, and maybe Sleep-inducing moves, these teams are mainly just looking to click attacks. I think teams composed of just a good number of the tiers hardest hitters like Tauros, Snorlax, and Mega Pidgeot could have merit. There's not too much to say here because this strategy does kind of just resolve to "hit for what will do the most damage most of the time." A lot of teams in this "archetype" look like Electrode builds, but might choose to eschew Electrode and may favor faster Pokemon over bulkier ones.
I'm also going to mention Rest + Sparkly Swirl builds here, because in theory you land more attacks this way (and I have nowhere else to put them). But again, Starter Eevee is so weak and loses so much momentum, on top of the momentum lost by clicking Rest, that I think the strategy is close to unviable.

Stall and Defensive Play
This doesn't work. The only positive thing I have to say here is the move Toxic could maybe be underrated. However, hard stall is just not viable here. Stealth Rock damage mounts up way too quickly, healing is way too sparse, and offensive threats are way too diverse. Most Pokemon deal way too much damage to properly stall long-term, and even if you do stall them, you risk losing to critical hits, status effects, and boost sweepers.


Natures
I'm not really one to delve into the weeds of EV spreads, so even the relatively simplistic world of natures was a little confusing. Outside of Pokemon where Speed really isn't super relevant and some calculations are, like for Snorlax, Sandslash, and Electrode, I defaulted to thinking running max Speed is basically always the best option. Not sure if this is actually the case, but it seemed to work pretty well. Going first is good. It does mean though you probably want to be just a physical or special attacker, so you can minimize the unused attack stat at no cost.


Overall, LGPE UU is a fun metagame. I think there is a ton to learn here and I hope to explore more later on. I also might drop a proper VR. I hope an official one is made soon to restructure RU. I think my VR will have around 20 Pokemon in UU. Also, consider drafting me for LGPL II. Cheers!
 
:snorlax: :pidgeot-mega: LGPE UU 2025 Viability Rankings :slowbro-mega: :electrode:

With UU cup done, we gather to compile a viability ranking for the new meta. If you qualify (see below) please post your list in the thread below, DM it to me on smogon, or DM it to me on Discord (@ hrcassettetape). You can either submit a text list or a tier list image. Regardless, be sure that your submission could be interpreted as a numeric list. Who is the best pokemon in the tier? 2nd best? etc.

If your submitted VR includes ranks, I will assume that your ranks are ordered by viability. If you can’t decide how you want to rank certain pokemon against each other, it’s fine to do so arbitrarily. Finally, only include Pokemon who you truly believe to have a viable niche in the tier. While meltan is a cool guy, we don’t need speculation on its hypothetical place in LGPE UU.

The following players have qualified to contribute to this VR update:
Won 3+ Games of LGPE UU in LGPL: SOMALIA, Flampoke

Top 8 in 2025 UU cup: Truthankamon, Maris Bonibell, HRCassetteTape, Volk, TG2513, LpZ, KJ, diegoyuhhi

Active Council: Eve


Submissions will close in 2 weeks (Saturday, Sep 27th). If you intend to submit to the VR, then please do so before then. If you did not qualify, please still feel free to post your vr or other metagame thoughts in this thread:)
 
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Following diegos vr as I haven't thought about this tier once since playing lgpl (where I also didn't really think about the tier...)
 
so i've made finals of the lgpe uu tour which was kinda cool. first and foremost s/o to Truthankamon for all the calls and test games trying to figure out the meta. secondly, i think the meta is quite fun (tho personally i still prefer ru) and has room for a good amount of development, which i wasn't able to do as much as i did with ru during lgpl, which is why my tierlist is lacking a lot of ru/nu mons which might have a niche in uu, and only has mons which i've actually tested.

(tierlist is ordered within ranks)
my-image (6).png


=== S TIER ===
:snorlax: the best mon in the tier. amazing glue for all kinds of teams, a massive ball of stats with crazy special bulk and physical damage output, can trade damage like very few other mons can. i believe the best lax rn is bslam/eq/boom/yawn but i've used and seen used stuff like reflect/brick break/superpower/rest which also works. i think a team without snorlax can work but it has to be built in a very specific way to check everything that lax can just handle by itself. great mon, not much to say.
:electrode: the "sleeper" s-tier, i believe this mon to be near mandatory for all kinds of teams. the speed tier is incredibly nice to be able to revenge practically anything, and the combination of tbolt + foul play can really dent teams, but what in my opinion really makes this mon shine is his access to fast screens, which are vital to enable teammates to tank hits they otherwise couldn't and be able to afford defensive plays and switches in a meta as offensive as this. incredibly good tool to have for any team both in the builder and in game.

=== A+ TIER ===
:slowbro-mega: the best mega imo, i see it as lax's "counterpart" in a way, with lax being a spdef physatk tank and mbro being a physdef spatk tank. with its base 180 defense it eats physical hits for days, and its massive 130 base spatk + access to a lot of coverage moves make this mon very hard to switch into, while also leaving room for utility like teleport/twave/rest.
:pidgeot-mega: amazing speed tier + good neutral offensive typing in flying + access to uturn mean this mon will wear you down over time and there's nothing you can do about it. can pack heat wave for more damage on trode or reflect for utility for the rest of the team and to be able to better roost up itself. rocks are annoying but fast paced teams really appreciate its pivot capabilities.
:slowbro: ofc not as good as its mega form but still a great physdef tank with solid damage output. i like it especially with teleport on more offensive teams to give them some kind of defensive backbone.
:pinsir: best rocker, very aggro oriented. good atk stat + solid coverage make it actually quite hard to switch into, and its decent bulk + useful resistances to ground, grass, and fighting are nice too. can even do sd stuff, tho i think rocks is just better, also bc of its own rocks weakness.
:victreebel: i'm a massive sucker for this mon but lowkey it's a big threat. both sd+phys stabs+sucker and sleep+sub+special stabs are massively threatening to a lot of teams, and you can't really know which set you're playing until it's too late. can even mix and match the two (sleep sd 2a? sub sd? mixed sleep 3a?) to get extra mileage out of the surprise factor and offensive prowess this mon provides.
:nidoking: incredible physical or mixed breaker, i believe rocks on this mon is an int unless really desperate. its eq is already hard to switch into, and if you add rainbow coverage like superpower/megahorn/ice punch/ice beam/tbolt and utility like substitute/taunt it becomes even harder.

=== A TIER ===
:exeggutor:very strong stab combo out of a big spatk stat + utility in sleep which is very annoying for stuff like lax. practically no defensive utility (apart from switching into slowbro stabs, not coverage tho) but its decent bulk lets it still take a few hits from full. speed tier is unfortunate.
:sandslash:imo the second best rocker, can softcheck practically any physical attacker (most relevantly a big check to ice beam-less nidoking) while still threatening decent damage itself. also checks electrode since it doesn't take much from foul play.
:tauros:clicking strong normal stab out of a decent atk stat is never wrong, esp on a mon with a good speed tier. after dedge and eq for the few resists you don't really need anything else, so you can easily pack facade + whatever random coverage or substitute.
:golem:slash sidegrade, you trade the decent speed tier (relevant for like eggy) and the ability to check stuff like nidoking and pinsir in exchange for a normal resist (tho you become weak to common ground/fighting coverage), boom, and the ability to check mega pidg. maybe rocksless has a cool niche but i haven't tried it.
:dodrio:like tauros but instead of burst damage it focuses on setting up and breaking. it can actually take quite a few hits from full, and as such it's a great anti-lead into pinsir teams, since rocks are especially annoying for its hit-taking capabilities.

=== A- TIER ===
:poliwrath:decent physical tank with a unique typing that gives it cool resistances vs stuff like pinsir and other waters, and a nice offensive profile. gets eaten alive by slowbro but it's good at weakening it for teammates via seismic toss.
:pinsir-mega:similar to dodrio in the way that it works best as lead since it can take hits from full but rocks destroy it, and bug stab is very nice for slowbro. costs your mega slot tho and you can't run regular pinsir as rocker alongside it.
:kangaskhan-mega:ball of stats, but the combination of not skyhigh atk stat + low bp moves make it not as strong as you often want it to be. double prio is cool but idk if you'd want to spend your mega on this.
:ninetales-alola:scary endgame cleaner if it hits hypno, especially if you can chip lax beforehand. becomes deceptively strong after a np, and stab combo is pretty good, but speed tier is just shy of outspeeding various relevant mons and rocks weakness makes it easier to revenge kill.
:dragonite:still haven't figured out the best set on this but it has big stats and cool coverage. agility mixed can be scary (even tho locking into outrage kinda sucks, especially vs bro) and utility sets with like dtail/twave are also cool.
:primeape:fighting stab + uturn is a very cool and unique combo, tho its speed tier could be better and it offers no defensive utility. haven't used it much cause hard to fit.

=== B+ TIER ===
:kabutops:faster rock type to softcheck normals + mega pidg even tho much frailer defensively, has access to cool coverage but it often dies before being able to click it.
:arcanine:rocks are annoying but good ball of stats, stab flare blitz + superpower + crunch for slowbro is a cool combo. best alolatales check in the tier. access to wisp is also nice.
:kingler:very threatening lategame sweeper after the correct mons have been weakened/have taken enough rounds of rocks, tho it can sometimes struggle to set up.
:electabuzz:electric with great coverage in low kick for lax and golem, psychic for nido, and ice punch for grounds and grasses, tho it lacks the stats to do crazy damage. good at weakening certain mons for teammates.
:cloyster:i still believe this mon can be threatening under the right circumstances, but it really suffers from rocks, it struggles to setup and it gets pretty easily revenged by trode.
:lapras:ball of stats with cool coverage in tbolt for waters and ice shard to revenge kill faster threats, tho it suffers from rocks and it struggles to significantly hurt lax.

=== B TIER ===
:pikachu-starter:i really do not like this mon. its attacking stats are worse than buzz's, and the coverage comparable, while suffering even more from 5mss. speed tier + zippy zap are nice to revenge faster threats, particularly mega pidg, but just use trode atp, since pika offers no defensive utility.
:moltres:rocks decimate it but it's a cool lead with big damage output and access to wisp which is always nice.
:eevee-starter:you're basically playing 5v6 in exchange for sometimes having an extra lax or mega bro if you run rest on them, which can actually be worth it. good luck having this mon stick around for more than like 2 turns or switching it into anything tho.
:weezing:i love this mon's traits, solid physical tank (tho eq weakness is a bit annoying) with access to great tools in wisp and boom, resisting both stabs from vic, and outspeeding eggy.
:omastar:smash is even easier to revenge kill than cloy (tho it is stronger and doesn't suffer as much from rocks) and rocks is just a weird kabu.
:persian-alola:barely viable, stab foul play is a pretty ok click and pivoting is nice, tho it dies from everything.

=== NOT UU MONS ===
:dugtrio:clicks rocks and dies to any hit. being outran by mega pidg and trode is also sad. unfortunately will be very ban worthy in ru.
:tentacruel:has some ok coverage but lacks the stat to make it work and gets hit supereffectively by everything.
:jynx:technically already not uu but it has a cool niche, worse speed tier and bulk than atales in exchange for better sleep more and more immediate power.
:wigglytuff:frailer than it looks, a typing that's only useful vs pinsir and dnite, and mediocre damage output at best.
:vileplume:slow and not as fat as you want it to be. just use vic or eggy.
:sandslash-alola:can check grasses and atales on paper but in game it feels lacking in both the damage output and the bulk departments.
:chansey:incredibly passive, has no damage output, takes way too much from any physical move, even stuff like mega pidg uturn just destroys it. use anything else.
 
Super happy that I’m able to contribute. LGPE UU has been my favorite tier for a few years now, and I’m so glad that there were so many talented players who played (and hopefully enjoyed) the tier during the 2025 cup. I don’t feel nearly as confident in post-drop meta as I did with the version of the tier played during LGPL. Regardless, these are my thoughts on the tier. I also think there is a lot of room for development, though, and there are probably some RU mons I'm leaving off that could do something.


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Ordered within ranks

S+ Tier –

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This guy is the number 1 of the tier. Very bulky, very strong, great moves into the tier. Mega Kangaskhan was the number 1 of old UU, and this guy is just MKang with actual stab moves that doesn’t take up a mega slot. Despite this, it feels far from overbearing, and provides a great sense of balance to the tier. Very happy this dropped.

S Tier –

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Love this guy. Best mega in the tier IMO because of how well it handles the wall of physical threats that UU has to offer. Great into lax, tauros, dodrio, etc. The rise of mpidge is a little uncomfortable for the kid, but the defensive value it contributes combined with its fantastic power for the tier put it just above the bird in my mind.

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Been an mpidge fan for a while, though I didn’t use it as much as I should have this tour. It has access to u-turn and reliable healing in roost. Both of these are rare in LGPE, and pidgeot’s speed and high special attack mean it makes great use of them. I think reflect is probably its best option as a 4th move even though I am a heat wave believer. I also think hyper beam probably has “cool guy” potential, but I haven’t looked at the calcs on it very much, and it would be situational at best.


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Wow what a mon. Absolutely dominant. Obviously the fastest pokemon in the tier, and has basically every move you could want. Its access to foul play is especially great into the electric resists in the tier, and its utility options are fantastic. I’m not a big fan of boom, but it’s an option for sure. I think every UU team needs an electric type. That electric type should almost always be electrode.

A+ Tier

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The best rocker in the tier. It’s fast into most leads, and has great attacks. Superpower especially is so nice with lax on basically every team. The rise in pidge is rough, but non-pidge teams absolutely hate to see this guy.


A Tier

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I’ve had egg over vic for a while, but while I was writing this post I couldn’t really explain why? Vic is faster, stronger, isn’t weak to pidge u-turn, and has a much wider and scarier moveset variety. I’d much rather see an egg than a victreebel on my opponent’s team.

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Still a great mon. Its bulk and high special attack can be really difficult to play around. Take a shot every time I say that an increase in pidge use is rough for a mon. Its u-turn weakness is brutal into pidge teams, especially those running ape. Still, it can be a menace. It can make great use of utility moves like teleport and broken sleep powder, and it has the offensive attacks it needs into most of the tier. Cool guy egg.

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Had this guy a little higher originally but when I was reviewing replays I didn't see it do anything that warranted it being above any of the previous mons. Basically everything great about mega slowbro but doesn’t take up the mega slot. Great bulk and damage output that you still have to respect. This mon’s strength is especially great in context of its ability to potentially enable dual mega teams, but I think that’s a little more fringe.

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Mr. LGPE UU is not quite as good this time around, but clicking double edges (or thrash if you’re like that) will never be bad with this guy’s stats. Has some cool coverage options if needed, but I find that none of them are that great beyond earthquakes. I’m partial to facade, especially since I felt like I saw a lot of status moves flying around. I’ve seen rock slide and surf. Thrash is great damage without the double edge recoil, but being locked in isn’t super ideal in the tier. If alolatales grows in popularity then I think iron tail might be neat, but that’s cheese as hell. At the risk of just writing about every single move it gets, I actually think substitute on this guy could be horrifying, and should absolutely be explored and experimented with.

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I used this thing as a rocker way too many times given how bad it always did in that role. I really like substitute sets, and its coverage is so good it can basically cover whatever you need. Very welcome addition to UU.


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2nd best rocker, solid into a lot of the tier. One of the better answers for electrode, and has a lot of solid move options. X-scissor is especially nice.


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Ban sleep

A - Tier

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My fav mon in the tier. I think mega pinsir is really threatening, and I think in the hands of a better player than me this could be really scary. It has a really nice speed tier, and loves to munch on snorlax. It obviously gets thrashed by rocks, though, and it gets equally thrashed by mega pidgeot. It is a bit of a matchup fish in the sense that mega pinsir teams will have a very very difficult time against a well built and well piloted mega pidgeot team, but i really think its strengths make it worth that effort. If LGPE Mega Pinsir has 1 fan it is me. If it has 0 fans I am dead. Its biggest flaw is its stealth rock weakness. Its second biggest flaw is the double opportunity cost. If you use this guy then you have to accept that you will be using neither the best mega pokemon nor the best stealth rocker, which can be a hard hurdle to overcome. Maybe weird in its own tier, but I think it's a solid step below the mons above it, and a solid step above the mons below it.

B Tier

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I expected this guy to be a lot better given the fall of lax and its positive matchup into mkang. But, Mkang fell off and poliwrath really struggles into all of the non-lax top pokemon. Still, a solid mon that can be frustrating if you aren’t prepared for it.

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I could be convinced to put this guy higher. The fact that it doesn’t OHKO pinsir at lead is unfortunate, though, as is its stealth rock weakness. Still, if this thing swords danced against me at lead, I’d be scared. Timid electrode only has a ~60% chance to ohko with tbolt, and at +2 quick attack is a guaranteed 2hko on trode in return. Yeesh. Beyond its boosting potential, though, I really prefer tauros over this guy, and in my experience tauros has been a more consistent performer. Still, this guy has cool moves and tons of potential.


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Very cool crab. I feel like this guy could go WAY higher in the future. Crabhammer hits very hard and I think late game this guy is capable of messed up things. It also has access to superpower, and x scissor to do uncomfortable amounts to slowbro over time.

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I don’t have a lot of experience with this guy, but it has superpower which is very neat, and it has good stats. I think that if someone figured out how to use this as a bootleg rhydon with sub and 3 attacks it could do really neat stuff.

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The queen is dead rip. I think fake out is honestly a really cool trait, and base 100 is a convenient speed stat for the tier, being faster than pinsir, nidoking, primeape, and less relevant threats like jynx. It has some big problems, though. Its best stab move is facade, which is tragic. Its not as bulky as snorlax, and because of its moveset doesn’t have quite as high of damage output. At the same time it doesn’t take hits as well as snorlax. On the other side of things, it isn’t as fast as tauros and dodrio, meaning it’s outsped by alolan ninetales and the rare mega pinsir. While its combination of speed and bulk is appealing, it can be hard to justify sacrificing a potential mega slot for it.

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I think this guy is super sick on pivot-heavy pidgeot teams. Primeape’s greatest attribute is its access to u-turn. Low kick is very scary into snorlax, and it has some decent options for coverage. This guy gets turbo owned by opposing pidgeot, though.


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LGPE dragonite’s story is perpetually “maybe someone will finally find the set that makes this good” and I don’t think we have yet. I will say I think this thing likes the diminished presence of mkang, as that’s one less mon that outspeeds and bodies it with ice type coverage. On the other hand we’ve seen a rise in alolatales and jynx, and the fall of nidoking. Dragonite isn’t a huge fan of either of these. Maybe someone will finally find the set that makes this good.

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I wish I had used arcanine more. I think it has a lot of potential, with solid speed, high attacking stats, and high power moves. It has potential for mixed attacking sets, and has great coverage options. Its stealth rock weakness is very hard to overcome, though, and I find it hard to fit onto teams.

C Tier

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I really like this guy. I think it has a lot of potential as a stealth rocker or as a physical threat. It has access to swords dance and a lot of great physical moves like aqua jet, superpower, and leech life, on top of its standard STAB moves. Poliwrath and electrode are difficult to overcome, though, and while it has a variety of coverage options it can’t fit all of them. Variants without leech life thud into exeggutor and slowbro, variants without rock slide will have to play awkwardly around pinsir and tales, and if for some reason you run it without waterfall you thud into ground types.

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Definitely better than cloyster, though being outsped by trode is really a bummer. Not much to say about this guy. I think if you aren’t properly prepped (specifically if you don’t bring trode) then this guy is a nightmare but besides that meh.

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I promise this thing used to be good. I think its inability to hurt snorlax for any kind of meaningful damage is where it really falls off. Weakness to stealth rock also doesn’t help. I think there’s still room for lapras on some teams. Ice shard is cool, and thunderbolt is helpful against slowbro.


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I got rocked by this thing in friendlies a couple times and I think it has a lot of potential. Being outsped by pidgeot is really tragic, though, as it means you are taking u-turn chip every time you threaten it out. Still, its coverage is awesome, and its thunderbolt hits harder than trode’s. Oh also if you run this as your electric type you risk getting swept by Omastar so please keep that in mind when building.


D Tier


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I love this guy :,) it’s too bad all of his moves are 19hkos into snorlax. Not really, but everything does zero damage to that mon, which is not great. Still, its coverage (especially splishy splash) is really helpful. Zippy zap is also awesome and I think it always will be. Having it in your back pocket for cloyster is cool in theory, and can give you more outs against the mon. Cloyster isn’t that good, though, and snorlax can handle it just fine. Electrode is definitely better than this thing into every mon in the tier besides maybe golem. sadge. Would love to see this mon have a resurgence.


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I’m a tentacruel believer. Base 100 speed is nice for the tier, and it has really nice special bulk. People are right about its damage output being awful, though, and the poison type is really not welcome. It has a very helpful movepool, with great STABs, ice beam, mega drain, and niche options like mirror coat, which pairs well with tentacruel’s special bulk.


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Ban sleep but slower. In all seriousness I think jynx is neat. It has more threatening immediate damage that alolatales with amore consistent sleep move, but its speed tier, lack of access to nasty plot, and worse defensive typing make it considerably less desirable imo.

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I think there was a lot of hype for this guy at the beginning of the new meta, and I do think it's better here than it was in 2024 meta, but not by much. I just think it’s so weak, and so frail. Screens can be cool, but you’re really running this thing for sparkly swirl. I think snorlax and mega bro can work well on this guy on fatter teams, but idkkkkkk. I’m an eevee hater. I really think it’s just barely good enough to be in uu.

Send to RU


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I keep seeing people say that electrode revenge kills this thing and I’m really confused it outruns timid electrode at +2 if you run +speed. The fact that you have to run +speed is tragic, though, as it chips into your damage. None of that matters when you realize that this thing completely thuds into snorlax and mega slowbro. I think this mon is a matchup fish that will thud into literally any well built UU team. Have fun in RUBL buddy.

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Weak and frail. Maybe it can click rocks and die, but there are a lot of really good mons in UU that can click rocks and not die. C u loser


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I think there’s a lot of potential here actually, but i don’t remember seeing this mon during tour at all. The rocks weakness is really rough when combined with the speed tier, but it has scary damage output, pivoting, and roost, so I could definitely see a world where this has a niche.

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Idk man I just don’t think there’s a reason to run this thing rn. I think it’s interesting as a bootleg clefable, but it doesn’t have the damage output that clef does, and i never felt like it accomplished much for me in testing when compared to the other rockers in the tier.

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I don’t have a lot to say here. Mirror coat is cool, but I just don’t think this mon is good.

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The first team that I built in new meta had a chansey actually. I think there’s some matchups where she can really shine, but she takes a million damage from any physical move, and can be a pain to pilot. Out of all the mons I have down here though I think this has the most potential. It sits on mons that lack a physical attack, forcing switches that can be capitalized on with teleport and softboiled. It can also be a kind of answer for electrode in a pinch. It switches in, but can only seismic toss once it’s in for fear of taunt.

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This guy should have gotten out of here a long time ago. Just use vic or egg.

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The team I built with chansey early meta also had an alolan persian on it. I really like this mon’s speed and access to u-turn and foul play, but every game I used it in all I could think of was how happy I was to be able to sacrifice it instead of a pokemon that actually contributed value. I think it just has too little damage output and lacks the utility moves I think it really needs to take advantage of its traits. Maybe it could be another hypnosis nasty plot sweeper like alolatales
 

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