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Metagame National Dex Metagame Discussion
- Thread starter Nashrock
- Start date
I think it would probably be in everyone's best interest that you provide more context to these first impressions. They just came out, yeah, but one-liners aren't gonna spark any discussion. Show off some sets and ideas!
Walking Wake @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 8 HP / 244 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Steam
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Substitute
Walking Wake @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Dragon / Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Steam
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Dragon Pulse (Tera Blast / Hurricane) (depending on sun or rain)
Iron Leaves @ Psychium Z
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe (could mess with ivs / evs for speed boost)
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Psyblade
- Close Combat / Sacred Sword
walking wake like really really good; nothing is gonna come into you w/o having to dump a tera (and most likely dying to your other moves!) or using something like spdef pex
it also fits on both rain and sun as one threatening ass wallbreaker which i find quite good as well, pair this with spikes and its joever for your opp
iron leaves is also neat too; its coverage is really really good and is has a nice speed tier asw, pairs well with the #1 enabler koko very well and forms one dangerous core with it
id prob type more but im actually about to record a video with both walking wake and iron leaves so stay tuned for that!
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 8 HP / 244 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Steam
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Substitute
Walking Wake @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Dragon / Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Steam
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Dragon Pulse (Tera Blast / Hurricane) (depending on sun or rain)
Iron Leaves @ Psychium Z
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe (could mess with ivs / evs for speed boost)
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Psyblade
- Close Combat / Sacred Sword
walking wake like really really good; nothing is gonna come into you w/o having to dump a tera (and most likely dying to your other moves!) or using something like spdef pex
it also fits on both rain and sun as one threatening ass wallbreaker which i find quite good as well, pair this with spikes and its joever for your opp
iron leaves is also neat too; its coverage is really really good and is has a nice speed tier asw, pairs well with the #1 enabler koko very well and forms one dangerous core with it
id prob type more but im actually about to record a video with both walking wake and iron leaves so stay tuned for that!
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Iron Leaves' movepool and typing speak for themselves.
Both STABs are resisted by Steel and it can't run enough coverage for all of Heatran, Gholdengo, Corviknight.
The STABS are also weak wthout a item, SD or Quark Drive boost.
Disastrous x4 weakness to U-Turn, KO weak, Ghost weak.
No status, hazards, or recovery so it can't work as a special tank.
Disappointing speed tier despite impressive spread.
Zarude is unironically better than Iron Leaves at everything bar "Quark Drive sweeper". That's its sole niche.
As for Walking Wake, there's only one set: Choice Specs w/HP+DM.
Better stats than Kingdra, better offensive typing than Inteleon.
The bulk and speed are what's going to keep it manageable imo.
It's also its own best check, since it x4 resists both Water and Flamethrower.
I expect it to be a staple on Sun teams rather than star as an anti-Sun counter sweeper. It can't switch into repeated Solar Beams from MC-Y but can do heavy damage in Sand, Rain or clear skies.
Not how discussion works. You can't just look at something at a shallow level and judge it.
Corv is barely relevant at all in the meta for how passive and exploitable it is, especially with how much power is going around. Heatran gets bopped by Close Combat and Gholdengo... Is annoying but IL (Iron Leaves) can abuse terastilize well to circumvent would be checks. Fire dunks on Ghold while also helping against Iron Valiant (and can help beat Ferro), ice lets it beat Dragonite and Garchomp, and there's probably more.
4x weak to uturn and what exactly is it coming in on that uses uturn? This isn't a death sentence like some like to believe. Also citing Knock off and uturn as weaknesses to a mon is grasping at straws when a lot of mons are weak to one or both. Ghost weak is a weird criticism considering... It's not meant to fight them anyway (and barring Ghold, the other ghosts don't want to switch in since it'll chunk them fairly hard with Psyblade). No hazards? Lots of offensive mons don't. No recovery so it can't be a special tank??? Sorry this is seriously grasping at things to try and criticize it for.
Not that disappointing. It's around average if not slightly slightly above average.
Zarude can't pair with Tapu Koko like IL can, and gets stonewalled by common defensive mons more easily. IL also checks more mons that are relevant (UrshifuR, Great Tusk though more an emergency check unless it lacks knock off, RotomW and with substitute sets, can sit on passive waters like Gastro, Toxapex and even grounds like Clodsire). IL is flawed but it also has more practical applications than something like Zarude and so this statement of yours... Kind falls flat.
Its signature move boosts in sun you know.
I've seen that first Walking Wake setup before, it drove me mad. The Tera was especially annoying since Water types only have two weaknesses, plus I was struggling to find an opportunity to switch in to a viable check. It's tough to beat.
Okay, time for me to say overall thoughts on the three, i have played each of them so i kinda have n idea on what each could do so lets jump into it:
Also cant forget these lil fellas. In brief, 1 means niche, 2 means good, 3 means amazingZoroark-Hisuian:
H Zoroark pretty much gave almost the same hype as back in gen 5. However unlike Og Zoroark, this one seems full of potential simply by its typing, the first Normal-Ghost type. This gives it actually a small yet valid niche in the meta atm, and its of course, to be a heck to the standard Annihilape set. Since ape mainly uses Rage Fist and Drain Punch almost exclusively as its attacking moves, Hzoro being straight up immune to them means that despite its frailty, it can stonewall this set completely and just take the turn. However ape can simply just adapt Throat Chop in its moveset and break the fox's neck, but on the bright side, this also means that it's unlikely to have Taunt/Substitute in its moveset, since the other moves are basically mandatory, allowing to take advantage and cripple it with status. Outside of the Ape mu do, it really doesn't seem to check much atm, but with typing it may find a niche in certain teams.(or maybe just be a gimmick, who knows).
Iron Leaves:
Ill be honest, this one I played it the least, so if you don't trust my work for it, its understandable. But so far, it has some things going for it, Psyblade capable of hitting pretty hard, 130 atk is quite good, and decent coverage. However, it does leave a bit to be desired, its 104 speed aint bad, but a lot of sweppers in HO teams(which reminds me I have to redo the guide cuz i lost most of the info) are much faster, like Iron Valiant, Iron Moth, and even Iron Treads are faster than it. Also Grass/ Psychic is pretty vulnerable to a lot of good typings, namely Dark, Ghost, Fire, Ice, Flying, and oh yeah, Bug is quad on it. So im not sure if to even give it the
which basically if u seen my ratings, this one means in other words... bad. But because its the first fay, ill give it a free pass.Walking Wave:
Out of all 3, this is the one that really started making big waves (pun intended). it has a ton of excellent aspects, like a Iron Bundle for sun, but not broken(yet). good defensive typing, solid 109 speed and 125 spatk, and respectable bulk in 99 hp, 91 defense and 83 spdef alongside that typing. However perhaps the best part of this pokemon is it's signature, Hydro Stream, a water move that not only is not lowered by sun's Water power decrease, but also buffed as well. this makes the perfect Water type for sun teams, thanks to this move and typing, it can be excellent to not only use it in sun, to also to combat it pretty well. it also helps greatly against rain, thank to its amazing typing and also getting a Water boost in rain, so its good on sun AND in rain? Oh and it also has Flamethrower cuz yeah, why not? So far in ladder, I have faced a plethora of Sun and Rain teams using this pokemon to great success. So yeah, it may a bit bias, but out of the 3, this one is having the biggest impact in the meta rn.
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We've had hours to test it already.
Nice try but no. You wrote that comment when the mon was brand spanking new. Now it's been a few hours. Your comment was full of surface level observations at best rather than judging it deeply.
I haven't really used any of these, but I do know that Walking Wave has caused me great pain in the NatDex metagame. Iron Leaves hasn't been too much of an issue whenever I've been playing, since its typing leaves it vulnerable to a lot of common options nowadays. I've never seen Hzoro in NatDex, but I absolutely hate it whenever I do Random Battles.View attachment 495671
Okay, time for me to say overall thoughts on the three, i have played each of them so i kinda have n idea on what each could do so lets jump into it:
Zoroark-Hisuian:
H Zoroark pretty much gave almost the same hype as back in gen 5. However unlike Og Zoroark, this one seems full of potential simply by its typing, the first Normal-Ghost type. This gives it actually a small yet valid niche in the meta atm, and its of course, to be a heck to the standard Annihilape set. Since ape mainly uses Rage Fist and Drain Punch almost exclusively as its attacking moves, Hzoro being straight up immune to them means that despite its frailty, it can stonewall this set completely and just take the turn. However ape can simply just adapt Throat Chop in its moveset and break the fox's neck, but on the bright side, this also means that it's unlikely to have Taunt/Substitute in its moveset, since the other moves are basically mandatory, allowing to take advantage and cripple it with status. Outside of the Ape mu do, it really doesn't seem to check much atm, but with typing it may find a niche in certain teams.(or maybe just be a gimmick, who knows).
Iron Leaves:
Ill be honest, this one I played it the least, so if you don't trust my work for it, its understandable. But so far, it has some things going for it, Psyblade capable of hitting pretty hard, 130 atk is quite good, and decent coverage. However, it does leave a bit to be desired, its 104 speed aint bad, but a lot of sweppers in HO teams(which reminds me I have to redo the guide cuz i lost most of the info) are much faster, like Iron Valiant, Iron Moth, and even Iron Treads are faster than it. Also Grass/ Psychic is pretty vulnerable to a lot of good typings, namely Dark, Ghost, Fire, Ice, Flying, and oh yeah, Bug is quad on it. So im not sure if to even give it the
Walking Wave:
Out of all 3, this is the one that really started making big waves (pun intended). it has a ton of excellent aspects, like a Iron Bundle for sun, but not broken(yet). good defensive typing, solid 109 speed and 125 spatk, and respectable bulk in 99 hp, 91 defense and 83 spdef alongside that typing. However perhaps the best part of this pokemon is it's signature, Hydro Stream, a water move that not only is not lowered by sun's Water power decrease, but also buffed as well. this makes the perfect Water type for sun teams, thanks to this move and typing, it can be excellent to not only use it in sun, to also to combat it pretty well. it also helps greatly against rain, thank to its amazing typing and also getting a Water boost in rain, so its good on sun AND in rain? Oh and it also has Flamethrower cuz yeah, why not? So far in ladder, I have faced a plethora of Sun and Rain teams using this pokemon to great success. So yeah, it may a bit bias, but out of the 3, this one is having the biggest impact in the meta rn.
Wake is Uber.
Crazy GF gave Wake a stat spread that, when EV'd to 252/4/252, puts it at 349 SpA and 348 Spe.
This means with max speed and power it will still get an SpA Protosynthesis boost.
With that boost Hydro Steam 3HKO's Tapu Fini, and Fini is the only not-completely-passive defensive check to both of Wake's STAB moves.
The only other options are Chansey/Blissey, trapper Azumarill. All other defensive checks rely on prediction.
Fini can still be worn down by Solar Beams from Ninetales and Torkoal, so it's not an MCY issue.
And it's not like Wake is weak outside of Sun either. In practice, it most resembles Chi-Yu.
Crazy GF gave Wake a stat spread that, when EV'd to 252/4/252, puts it at 349 SpA and 348 Spe.
This means with max speed and power it will still get an SpA Protosynthesis boost.
With that boost Hydro Steam 3HKO's Tapu Fini, and Fini is the only not-completely-passive defensive check to both of Wake's STAB moves.
The only other options are Chansey/Blissey, trapper Azumarill. All other defensive checks rely on prediction.
Fini can still be worn down by Solar Beams from Ninetales and Torkoal, so it's not an MCY issue.
And it's not like Wake is weak outside of Sun either. In practice, it most resembles Chi-Yu.
Ninetales?? Are you being completely serious? Torkoal running Solar Beam is something you see never at all.
Does a 4 attacks set on electric terrain not hit very hard while having the coverage needed to muscle through most of its checks (say psyblade/close combat/night slash/trailblaze)? Its attack can go up to 360 with an adamant nature while still maintaining decent speed at 307.
I would assume you run psyblade cc Tera blast Leaf Blade on terrain, but the main issue is that it’s not the fastest thing and its stab combo typing isn’t fantastic. It definitely matches up well into common defensive cores to an extent.
has anyone tried out booster agility wake? Seems pretty decent, similar to moth but with fantastic coverage
Absolutely, but I think it can be interesting as a wallbreaker on electric terrain teams without being weak/neutral to ground type moves, Iron Valiant is incredible speed control for electric terrain teams anyways.
Quick thoughts on the new additions
Walking Wake has two Ws in its name for a reason. It’s clearly the biggest new threat of the three given its potent STAB combo + Flamethrower to snipe Ferrothorn, solid Speed, and solid defensive typing. In particular, it’s a multi faceted weapon against rain and sun thanks to a 4x Fire and Water resist and Hydro Steam ignoring the Sun nerf. However, it definitely has issues breaking certain Water resists like Toxapex and Rorom-Wash. I don’t expect it to shake up the metagame, but I do think it makes sun a legitimate playstyle rather than something you occassionally see. Beyond that, though, there are better special breakers that teams can use. Predicted rank: B
Hisuian Zoroark is not a Pokemon I expect to live up to its own hype, but given that we have new Fighting and Ghost-types in Zamazenta, Gholdengo, and Dragapult, I do think it has potential. It’s typing has the coveted trait of being immune to Annihilape’s STABs, which coupled with Illusion can easily beat the deadly ape. In addition, its solid neutral coverage between its STABs means it can afford to use its interesting utility movepool, of which Substitute and Will-O-Wisp really stand out. It has numerous issues though; whether it be lacking setup opportunities or being identified as Zoroark due to hazard/sand chip it takes, it will struggle to effectively fool the opponent unless you are really cognizant of whst you disguise it as. Predicted rank: C
Iron Leaves is probably the worst of the three additions, no contest there really. Even beyond the existence of Kartana, who does IL’s roles way better, it still struggles with getting all the coverage and setup opportunities it wants. While pairing it with Tapu Koko seems to patch this up, you’re still facing competition with Iron Valiant and have not solved the coverage issue. Probably not worth ranking in any capacity.
Walking Wake has two Ws in its name for a reason. It’s clearly the biggest new threat of the three given its potent STAB combo + Flamethrower to snipe Ferrothorn, solid Speed, and solid defensive typing. In particular, it’s a multi faceted weapon against rain and sun thanks to a 4x Fire and Water resist and Hydro Steam ignoring the Sun nerf. However, it definitely has issues breaking certain Water resists like Toxapex and Rorom-Wash. I don’t expect it to shake up the metagame, but I do think it makes sun a legitimate playstyle rather than something you occassionally see. Beyond that, though, there are better special breakers that teams can use. Predicted rank: B
Hisuian Zoroark is not a Pokemon I expect to live up to its own hype, but given that we have new Fighting and Ghost-types in Zamazenta, Gholdengo, and Dragapult, I do think it has potential. It’s typing has the coveted trait of being immune to Annihilape’s STABs, which coupled with Illusion can easily beat the deadly ape. In addition, its solid neutral coverage between its STABs means it can afford to use its interesting utility movepool, of which Substitute and Will-O-Wisp really stand out. It has numerous issues though; whether it be lacking setup opportunities or being identified as Zoroark due to hazard/sand chip it takes, it will struggle to effectively fool the opponent unless you are really cognizant of whst you disguise it as. Predicted rank: C
Iron Leaves is probably the worst of the three additions, no contest there really. Even beyond the existence of Kartana, who does IL’s roles way better, it still struggles with getting all the coverage and setup opportunities it wants. While pairing it with Tapu Koko seems to patch this up, you’re still facing competition with Iron Valiant and have not solved the coverage issue. Probably not worth ranking in any capacity.
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Well boyz, here we are, with my second guide here in National Dex. Now it took me a while to see which one to talk about, bit I feel like with its overall dominance in the ladder and tournaments, I think that it is best to speak of one the most dominant forces in the tier right now...
HYPER OFFENSE:
Hyper Offense, or HO in short terms is a playstyle of pure aggression, constantly putting the opponent between a rock and a hard place. Your objective in here is pretty straightfoward, setup, from screens, to hazards, to boosting moves. Naturally a Hyper Offense team consist of 1-2 setup leads, and 4-5 setup sweepers. And this should go without saying, but since your objective is playing as aggresive as possible, you should NOT use defensive pokemon, so no Ferrothorn, no Toxapex, no Garganacal. So without further a do, lets jump right into the guide...
Once again, ill be using these for my form of ranking the pokemon
1 woppers mean is a ok niche choice, but not a mandatory one.
2 woppers means it's solid, and can be use to great effect.
and 3 means it's perfect for the strategy.
And this means it is not recomended for serious play, either the mon is outclassed by another mon for a certain role, or it's jst not very good to begin with.
Quick tip: I recommend u only use up to 2 setters per team, more than that and the team wont be doing very good.
Screen Setters:
I think this is a perfect one to start things off. The addition of Parting Shot to its movepool makes wonders for things pokemon. Thanks to prankster, it can use it almost unscathed. Dropping opponents offense while pivoting with priority? Yes please. It also has a quite solid defensive typing, Dark makes immune to Taunt, as well opposing pranksters, and Fairy gives it an immunity to Dragon. It's last move can be either Foul Play, Thunder Wave, Taunt, or Spirit Break. Taunt is great at shutting down stealth rock leads, Thunder Wave is good for crippling the opponent, Foul Play to use its own might against it, and Spirit Break, for lowering its special offenses. While not a sweeper himself, it is still an important piece of the strategy.
Perhaps the premiere pokemon for a screen setter. It has an impeccable speed tier of 130, it has access to U-turn or Volt Switch, do U-turn is preffered due to not having immunities like Volt Switch does. It also has Taunts to shut down rockers and setters, Roost for some longevity and all in all its just pretty flexible. Now u may be thinking, what does it have over Grimmsnarl? Grimm is bulkier and gets prankster, plus it also gained Parting Shot this generation. While the Grimm may have those qualities over Koko, which are great, Koko's main quality over Grimm is quite significant, it's ability, Electric Surge which summons electric Terrain upon entry. This alone enables certain powerhouse pokemon that Grimm can't, Like the brand new paradox mons with Quark Drive, which gives a +1 to the highest stat while holding Energy Boost, or of course, entering under the terrain. It also boosts Electric attacks by 30% and prevents pokemon from being asleep. Basically, depending on your choice of sweepers, you would either want Koko or Grimmsnarl, and both are excellent overall.
Now this mon is also different from the previously mentioned two. Alolan tales has its good qualities for a screens setter, First, thanks to its Ability Snow Warning, it can use Aurora Veil instead of Dual Screens, which is Reflect and Light Screen in one. Snow Warning also enables certain mons in a similar to Tapu Koko's Electric Surge does. It also has decent support moves like Encore, Pain Spit, Disable, Roar, Toxic, and Heal Bell. However, it is a bit more flawed than the other two. For one, while 109 is good, it is still slower than both Koko and can be interruped by both it and Grimm's Taunts, due to Grimm having Prankster. It also has a rather exploitable typing, Ice being the worse defensive type in the entire game, and Fairy while good vs Dragons, it also gives it a quad weakness to Steel, so something like Scizor's Bullet Punch can ruin its day. Its also not very tanky anyways, 75 physical defense it quite meager, and 100 spdef is fine, but not alongside that typing and only 73 Hp. But perhaps the biggest drawback of using Alolan Tales is its weather dependent nature, meaning that when facing opposing weathers, they can ruin the fox's attempt to setup Aurora Veil, and with Rain and Sun being very popular in the ladder, it can be extremely difficult to find opportunities to setup. Never the less, it is still a worthy candidate for Snow Hyper Offense.
Hazards:
Wether or not your a fan of the SV's champion, her ace mon has left a mark in the hazard department. Glimmora is perhaps the best suicide lead in the meta rn. It has a ton of good qualities, first its ability Toxic Debris goes with its hazard setting nature, allowing to set a layer of Toxic Spiked upon getting hit by a physical move. It also has an amazing 130 special attack, and since most of the rapid spinners in the tier are physically defensive, it can really sting em for attempting to remove it's hazards. It also has it own for of spinning in Mortal Spin, which also removes enemy hazards, but it also poisons the target. It can stack up Stealth, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes by its ability pretty quickly, and it can also use Memento to take itself out drop the opposing mons offensive stats, and prevent a spinner of defogger to remove the hazards, allowing you to make the most of them. Even if hit by special attacks to avoid the Toxic Debris, if played well, it is almost guaranteed to get 1 or 2 hazards up, and it always Memento to dense the opposition.
It is quite impressive how Lando is still good even with the amount of powercreep that each gen keeps bringing in. And even with the addition of Glimmora, Landorus is still a fine choice for a suicide lead. For 1 is has a stellar defensive typing, being immune to both Ground and Electric moves its excellent, where as Glimmora is neutral to Electric ans has a nasty wuad Ground weakness. It also has Intimidate, one of the best abilities in the game till this day. It's also faster than Glimmora and 91 speed, where Glimm is only 86. Landorus also gained Taunt this gen, which it can potentially fit in its moveslot. And while Glimm's 130 spatk is great, Lando's 145 physical attack is even better. It can also instead of a suicide lead, play a more defensive stealth rock set, as it still hits pretty hard even without any attack investment, adding more depth to its role. It can even use Choice Scarf set that can set Stealth Rock, which yes, it does sound weird since you're locked into the same move that way, but it gives it more unpredictability overall, and thus it can play a revenge killer role that can be valid for certain teams. All in all, Lando is still an excellent choice for a Stealth Rock seter.
Some people call this pokemon the new Lando, and for it to gain such a nickname, it means it has to be "Great" right? Well for starters its even Bulkier than Landorus at 131 def, while Lando has 90. It also has higher Hp than Lando at 115 in comparison to the genie's 89. And while it doesnt have Flying typing like lando does, Fighting is quite the stellar offensive typing. It also has a stronger Stab move in Headlong Rush, a ground clone of Close Combat, and of course, it also knows Close Combat as well. It has Rapid Spin as it's form of hazard removal, which it doesn't remove your own like Defog does. It also has decent coverage, Like Knock Off, Ice Spinner, MegaHorn and Play Rough. And while Lando's Intimidate may be an amazing ability to have, Protosynthesis can be used to counter one of the most popular playstyles in the nd ladder, Sun, as it can gain a +1 Atk or Def, depending on your investement when enter in opposing sun, giving them a bit of a hard time to deal with the Mamuth. Now despite all this, it isn't perfect, Its 53 spdef is abysmal, even do It can check certain physically offensive mons like Dd Dragapult, Dd Dragonite and even Kingambit, It does terrible against special sweeper like Volcarona, Specs Dragapult and others. And not being Flying type means that isnt as "Lando-ish" as people claim it to be, while it can takes most Earthquakes quite well, Lando being fully immune simply gives it an edge overall. Regardless, it is still a mon that should NOT be taken lightly, like at all.
We talked about past Donphan, now lets talk future Donphan. Now at first it, it is less bulkier than its past counterpart, with 90 and 120 defenses. It also has lower attack at 112. So why use it over Great Tusk? Well simple, its ability, Quark Drive, which is a great pokemon to pair alongside Tapu Koko. This allows it to be both an offensive mon and a solid setter at the same time, it also has more speed than Great at 106, in comparison to Tusk's 87. It also has a pivot move in Volt Switch, where Tusk doesn't have any, and its Steel typing gives it some great resistances, such as Fairy, Dragon, Psychic, Flying, Ice neutrality, and Poison immunity. Now this is more specific to Koko's HO, and outside of it it doesn't seem worth it in comparison to your other options.
If you have ever played Shuckle in competetive before, then you shouldn't be suprised that Shuckle's role has changed, like at all. Still, it is a pretty good ol' reliable for hazard stacking. With its god forsaken 230 defenses(do a low af hp of 20) It is capable of tanking most hits at least once, allowing it to put up hazards. The main reasoj you might be using Shuckle at all if of course, for Sticky Webs, which slows down non flying/levitate mon be by -1. This does allow certain mons who are naturally not fast enough to sweep, like Mega Heracross or Xurtitree to actually become really threatening with Sitcky Webs support. Shuckle doesn't just lay down Sticky Webs, as it of course knows Stealth Rock. But other than that, well it kills itself with Final Gambit ig? I does have Encore, and like, Toxic and stuff, but it doesnt do notin else beside setting hazard and just being passive after, which is why u wanna use Final Gambit in the first place. Still, for Sticky Webs and Stealth Rocks, it is the best option u have.
And where not done with Sticky Web setter just yet, cuz Ribombee is also excellent for the role. Ribombee's speed of 124 makes it incredibly solid for setting up Webs. And while it doesnt provide other hazards, it does provide some utlity. Stun Spore is good for crippling speed even harder, Uturn is excellent for momentum, Toxic for another type of status, Tailwind for even more speed control, Aromatheraphy turns it into a Cleric, and it even knows Quiver Dance? Do realistically speaking, youll rarely ever use Quiver due to its inmense frailty. Still, it is a solid candiate for Sticky Webs Ho team, since it can provide a ton of speed control for the team.
Galvantula may seem solid for a Sticky Web seter. It has a solid speed that of 108, it has Thunder Wave and Toxic for status spreading, it has Volt Switch for pivoting, and Giga Drain for some form of longevity. However, doesn't all this sound like Ribombee can do it and more? If youre guess was yes, then you are correct. Galvantula is pretty much a worse Ribombee in nearly every single way. Ribombee is much faster, has a better supportive movepool, a better typing, and even a better ability in Shield Dust, which can be ocassionally useful. Compound Eyes it's the only decent ability it has, and it has a bit more spatk than Ribombee(only 2 stats higher so not by much). But being much slower, being similarly frail, and having a much worse movepool overall makes it completely obsolete.
Now in the previous generation of National Dex Ou, Mew was at least a halfway decent suicide lead in Hyper Offense. But with the release of Glimmora, Mew has been completely outclassed in the suicide lead department. Its 100 all around stats just don't cut it anymore. And the 2 mons with 100 all around stats that see play, Manaphy and Victini, are better overall. Manaphy having more fun than ever with the dominance of Rain teams in the tier, while Victini being similarly solid in Sun teams, and even outside of sun thanks to its all around better movepool and secondary Fire STAB. Perhaps if Glimmora wasn't in the tier maybe it could had a small niche, but even that is questionable as Landorus is still a solid choice as well.
Smeargle is perhaps the perfect example of "knowledge doesnt matter if you dont have the skill". Literally learning every single move in the game (Minus Dark Void after forcefully being removed removed from it) You would think there has to be something that it can do, right? Well, at first that might seem the case, but you look at its stats and you'll be like: The f*** is this!? Yeah only 250 overall. Sure it has all the support moves in the world like literally, I don't need to mention them cuz he knows them all, even Revival Blessing, but with stats that are worse than Luvdisc, what is gonna do? If you feel like trolling or cheesing with this mons movepool, sure go ahead, have some fun, but for serious play, this mon aint recomended.
The Shed Tail pass:(Quick Note: The Move Shed Tail was banned from National Dex OU alongside Annihilape and Walking Wake, so the move can't be used anymore, amd this guide was done beforehand, but I decided to keep it all written as a piece of history of the National Dex OU metagame.)
Cyclizar is shown quite some love(or hate, depending on what side your on) in Hyper offense. It has a decent utility movepool, Rapid Spin for clearing hazard, Knock off despite being remove in a lot of mon in gen 9. Ice Spinner, Uturn, Taunt, Dragon Tail, attacks like Outrage, Overheat, Draco Mete... yadayadayada... we all know why people truly use Cyclizar for, it's because of the move, Shed Tail. Which by sacrificing 50% hp, it passes a free substitute to a teammate. This if played well can be game changing or even game ending in some cases, especially with screens support. What makes Cyclizar even better for the Shed Tail is that it has Regenerator and one of its abilities, which synergies beautifully with Shed Tail. It also has a solid speed of 121, allowing to get the jump on many fast pokemon. And as if that wasn't enough, it can Choice Scarf to further outspeed more pokemon to guarantee that pass. Now it's not like you can just recklessly use Shed Tail and just win all the time, You do have to be careful with it since it loses half its hp all the time it uses it. But there is no denying on Cyclizar's success in these teamstyles, as it a wonderful team player.
Honestly, why would ever use this as Shed Tail over Cyclizar? Sure it has a solid bulk at 140 defense, one of the best defensive types in the game in Steel, and Earth Eater is a nice ability. But it is much easier to exploit that Cyclizar. 1, Cyclizar is way WAY faster, and 2, It has healing in Regenerator, which Earth Eater is much more unreliable in comparison, as it depends on your opponent to use a Ground move, which they might as well just... not use it, and even if the do, that might only work once if lucky. However, its slower speed is actually a benefit, as it also allows you to act more accordingly, bringing in a pokemon that you're opponent might be weaker to, thus setting up safely. Oh and it also has hazards in Stealth Rock and Spikes, so it can be you're hazard seter AND your Shed passer? Now Cyclizar might still be the better of the two mostly cuz of its speed, utility, and better ability, but that doesn't make Ortworm terrible for the role, as a slower, bulkier passer thst can also be the hazard setter of choice, it can be a better choice for certain teams.
Okay, I just mentioned why it's just bad rn ok?. But did you know it learns Shed Tail!? Of course u did, who am I trying to fool here?
THE SWEEPERS:
(Banned)
Okay, I'm gonna start by saying one of its few negatives to not oversell this one, and that its that its speed isn't amazing at just 91. Now, lets get into the good stuff, This monkey is amazing in HO, it may not be fast, but BOI... does it pressure the opposition hard. Its trademark move Rage Fist is perhaps one of the most dangerous move to handle, as it powers up every time Annihilape gets hit up to 6 times, which reaches to a maximum 250 base power, that is just brutal! And if that was it only good quality, it would have been somewhat fine, with the only type that is immune to Rage Fist, Normal, wants noting of its secondary STAB, Fighting. With Drain Punch, it can not only hits these normal types, but also recover in the process, With Bulk Up it becomes even harder to take down physically while also boosting its attack, and synergizes wonderfully with Rage Fist, It's last move slot is quite flexible, Taunt and Substitute are the most picked, since it allows it to shut down one of the few ways to handle it, threw status. However it also use Rest as well, which also bypasses status while healing him to full. It also has some coverage options like Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Gunk Shot, however its STAB combination is really all it needs. And its ability Defiant makes it a solid answer to pokemon who use stat lowering moves/abilities, like Defog or Intimidate. Now I know I did say that in Ho you don't wanna use defensive pokemon, but ape also has the unique benefit of being offensively threatening while being great defensively as well, which gives it a unique trait in hyper offense in general. For Tera Types, it has a good amount to pick, Tera Ghost is obviously good for boosting its Rage Fist even more, while Tera Fighting can boost Drain Punch. Alternatively it can run a more defensive Tera while still being threatening offensively, Tera Fairy or Tera Water give it some of the best defensive typings in the game, which allows it to Bulk Up, Drain up punches, and more importantly, takes hits better to boost its mighty Rage Fist.
King Barney here has gotten a new life in HO teams this gen. For the most part, It's Dragon Dance remains the same, at first. However a thing that made Dragonite from somewhat decent to quite the danger to stare up is 2 thing, Shed Tail, and the Terastalization mechanic. This pairs up almosy magically with Dragonite, as Shed Tail being passed to Dragonite with full heath is harder to break thanks to Multiscale, but not only is the Shed Tail harder to break, it also keeps Dragonite's multiscale intact as well, allowing it to take hits better whule dancing at the opponents face ready to sweep entire teams. The only things that can bypass bith Shed Tail and Multiscale effectively is Triple Axel, but that is where Terastalization comes in. With Tera Normal, it can not only remove it quad weakness to Ice, and other weaknesses like Dragon, Fairy, and Rock, but it also boostes one of Dragonite's favotire mons, Extreme Speed. If done correctly, Extreme Killer Dragonite can setup 2 to 3 Dragon Dances and can 6-0 whole teams in a moment's notice. As if that that isnt enough, it has great coverage, Earthquake allows him to hit Rock and Steels that normally resist Espeed, Fire Punch can also hit Steels as well as Ice Types and Flying types, but it can also smack the only mons that handle Eq and Espeed, Corviknight and Skarmory, altough it is best the remove them first with another pokemon. Dual Wingbeat is an excellent option for STAB and Ice Spinner can be used for opposing Dragons, including other Dragonites. Tera Ground is also ocasionally used for harder hitting Earthquakes, which while you're still weak to Ice, it does have an Electric immunity, and resistance to Rock, which can also be game ending in the right matchup. Now Dragonite does have a flaw of course, one that is pretty obvious by now, and is that it can be a bit too reliant on Tera to make the most of it, meaning that you'll likely have to use Tera on him exclusively, and other pokemon enjoy using Tera as well. However, it's not like Dragonite is useless without Terastalization, as it is still scary to face even without it if not prepared, and even if you do dedicate it to him, it's a small price to pay for an overall killer of a mon.
From one pseudo legend dragon, to another. Dragapult is similar threatening to that of Dragonite, however while Dnite may be more bulkier, Dragapult is much MUCH faster. With an astonishing 142 speed, eclipsing that of Weavile's, the fastest pursuiter in the tier. Dragapult is sure to be a force in HO. It's DD set is quite scary to be stared down by, with Dragon Darts hitting quite hard, and being 2 hits means that it can break sashes and even Substitutes depending on the pokemon. It's secondary STAB, Ghost is excellent for hitting everything for neutral, but what makes it's Ghost STAB even spookier is this metagame's access it previous mechanic gen 8 did not had, the Z crystals. With Ghostium Z, it use Phantom Force for some devastating Never-Ending Nightmares that do a lot of damage;
+1 252 Atk Dragapult Never-Ending Nightmare (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-Wash: 279-328 (91.7 - 107.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252 Atk Dragapult Never-Ending Nightmare (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex: 225-265 (74 - 87.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
+1 252 Atk Dragapult Never-Ending Nightmare (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk: 319-376 (85.9 - 101.3%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
However, Dragapult can also run a Choice Specs set, which destroys ceratin physically defensive attempting to block a Dragon Dance set. And also a Hex set, which can cripple the opponent while also being threatening. Dragapuly only really needs Ghost Tera in the Specs or Hex sets, to further boost its Ghost STABs respectively.
And where aren't done with pseudo dragons just yet. As the newest pseudo legend, Baxcalibur is also a devastating force. With an impressive 145 attack, bwing equal to that of Landorus-Therian, and with its signature move, Glavie Rush, it can hit like a truck. It also has an huge hp of 115, decent bulk in 92 def and 86 hp alongside that hp stat. Baxcalibur also has the ability Thermal Exchange, which gives it a +1 upon being hit by a Fire Type move, and it makes it immune to burns. This gives it a unique niche over its competition, where they can be ruined by opposing burns, while Baxcalibur nullifies it. It also an Ice type, which gives one of the best offensive typing in the game. It also has Earthquake to hit the one type that resist both STABS, Steel. And it's other ability Ice Body can be useful in Snow Offense, as it can also benefit from the Snow buffing his decent defense stat. However, Baxcalibur isn't perfect, while it does hit like a truck, but that Ice typing, while great for offense, it also makes it pretty bad for defense, despite its bulk, Ice only adds more weaknesses, like now being neutral to Fire of resistant, as well as other weaknesses like Steel, Rock and Fighting, while also being weak to Dragon and Fairy. It also not very fast with a base speed of 87, and finally, its trademark move also has the drawback of making so that not does the move against it does not miss, but it also takes double the damage. Regardless, It is still a terror, having a Outrage that doesn't lock you into itself makes in an excellent choice over other Dragons, where as other have to risk being locked into Outrage, or use the weaker Dragon Claw for Stab in some cases. It also has Ice Shard for a priority move that can hit other Dragons. And its also inmediately theatening thanks to its giant attack stat, allowing to strike fear right from the get go. For tera Types, Ice or Dragon are both pretty useful.
Similar to annihilape, Kingambit isnt the fastest, in fact its way slower at 50. However, make no mistake, as Kingambit is one of the most scary mons to face late game, thanks to its ability, Supreme Overlord(man, easily the most edgiest name for a pokemon ability). This ability boostes Kingambit's power of its moves by 10% per each mon fainted pokemon, so yeah, definetly like a King piece of chess. With Sucker Punch, it makes up its speed issues a thing in the past, and with Swords Dance, it becomes even harder to tank its hits.
+2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex: 298-352 (98 - 115.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk: 349-412 (94 - 111%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Tera Water Garganacl: 354-417 (87.6 - 103.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Oh and due to being Bisharp's evolution, despite not learning it in Scarlet and Violet, it gets access to Pursuit, making it even more dangerous to scout around safely. Also, it has another excellent ability in Defiant, which can punish Intimidate attempts from Landorus, or Defog attempts as well to get a boost. So yeah, if you stare this beast down as the last one standing, you're going to have a difficult time difficult time handling this ruler. For Tera types, since Kingambit already hits hard, it doednt need Dark or Steel for extra muscle, do it still could, a more defensive typing helps it last long while bashing threw the opponent. Fairy, Ghost and Flying are all great for this.
Welp, Gamefreak has officially ran out of ideas, so they decided to add golden Bob Marley into the game. Now this mon is no joke despite what I said, It's typing is amazing, both offensively and defensively. Its trademark move, Make It Rain (I'm telling you, they ran out of ideas for names) its a 120 special Steel move that drops -1 per usage. However it learns Nasty Plot, cuz why wouldnt it? It has Shadow Ball for all around neutral STAB, and it has Recover for longevity alongside its 95 physical defense and 91 special defense. But it isn't the qualities that makes Gholdengo a strong candidate for the team, it's of course, it's ability Good as Gold, which simply ignores status moves from the opponent. And not just status moves like Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp, no it also ignores status drops like Parting Shot and Defog. And since Defog needs to lower stats in order to clean the field, this means that Gholdengo not only is it immune to Rapid Spin and Mortal Spin thanks to it's Steel typing, but it is also immune to Defog, making even more difficult to clean the opposing field filled with hazards. And gholdengo itself is a great pokemon, as its decently bulky, has a solid defensive typing, it has a high 130 special in conjunction with Nasty Plot and a decent speed of 84 as well for a defensive mon. It can also run a Choice Scarf set with Trick to ruin passive mons or defensive walls, like Blissey, Ferrothorn, and Toxapex. Now it isn't without flaws of course, it's typing while great, can also be exploited, mainly by Fire, Ground, Dark, and opposing Ghost. It also struggles with M-Lopunny, being one of the best Megas in the tier, and being a Fighting type with Scrappy can really ruin Gholdengo's day, unless it runs Choice Scarf. Now it's talent are still worth it, as it's ability can let it soak status that would normally ruined certain sweepers in the team, and being a strong special attacker itself means it can also keep the pressure going. For Tera Types, Steel and Ghost are solid offensively, and it can use Flying, Fairy or Water for a more defensive approach.
At last we talk about a non Dragon Dancer, but a Quiver one. Volcarona has been one of the best cleaners in the entire game thanks to Quiver Dance. With a already high 135 spatk, a 105 spdef, and a solid 100 speed, it becomes quite terryfing at +1, and in a lot of cases, it can be game over at +2. It also has a decent movepool, Flamethower or Fiery Dance and Bug Buzz are great for STAB. Giga Drain is excellent for hitting Water types and also gives it longevity. Physhic is good for the mighty Toxapex, and Hidden Power Ground can deal with Heatran. Volcarona being a special attacker pairs up well with Physical sweepers, as they can check others matchups, it also abuses the presence of screens and having a Shed Tail to facilitate its Quiver Dance antics. Now it does require Heavy Duty Boots in order to avoid hazards, mainly Stealth Rock, but it is a very small price to pay for one powerful mon that can 6-0 whole teams in brutal fashion.Tera Fire, Bug, Grass Psychic and Ground are decent options for it.
Serperior brings one thing to the table that no other mon really can bring, Contrary. This makes it capable of snowballing Leaf Storms over and over again. Other than Leaf spam, it has Hidden Power Fire for its coverage options to handle Steel, Bug, and opposing Grass types. Glare is an excellent form of paralysis that can even hit Ground types, and with Substitute, Glare can become very annoying. However, Contrary doesn't only boost Leaf Storms, any Special attack drop moves are going to raise it instead like Spirit Break , Memento, Parting Shot, or Mystical Fire. And if the opponent dares Defog away the field while Serperior is in the field, Serperior would gain a +1 evasion, making even more annoying alongside Glare and Substitute. I miss or paraflinch, and Serperior can gain a ton of momentum. For Tera types, it only really needs Tera Grass for extra power.
Under the right circumstances, Blaziken can be a fearsome pokemon for the opponent. Thanks to Speed Boost, it can get faster every turn, allowing to gain speed control after a few turns. It also is an excelleny Swords Dancer, thanks to its solid atk stat of 120. Protect can allow it scout opponents moves, while gaining a Speed Boost for free. And with hard hitting moves like Flare Blitz and Close Combat for STABs, as well as other moves like Knock Off, Thunder Punch, Earthquake, and U-turn, it can be a worthy candidate for Hyper Offense. However Blaziken is initially not very fast, on top of being frail, with a speed of 80, and 70 defenses. On top of that, ot has a ton of competition for a physical sweeper, from the Dragon Dancers, to Hawlucha and Iron Valiant. However make no mistake, with the proper amount of support, it can be a mon worth using. Tera Fire or Fighting are excellent for it.
Now at first, since it doesn't learn Quiver Dance, you'll inmediaetly think to consider, so its a worse Volcarona? My answer, not really. Sure not having Quiver Dance is pretty dissapointing, but it can still do some work. It naturally has a higher spatk at 140, and natural higher speed at 110. It can also make itself even faster with Agility, and with its paradox ability Quark Drive, it can also become even stronger under Electric Terrian. This makes it a worthy candidate for Koko screens HO teams, alongside other paradox mons like Iron Treads, and Iron Valiant. Futhermore they can boost themselves with the Energy Booster item, making less reliable of the terrain in case it isnt up, and unlike the terrain, the boost remians permanent until it switches out. However it can also run Air Ballon, to make up for it quadruple Ground weakness, or Life Orb to futher boost its power. Tera Fire or Tera Poison are good offensive choices, however it can also run Tera Flying.
(If used alongside tapu koko)
I usually joke by calling this pokemon Paldean Infernape, and if you remember Infernape in DPP, you probably know what i mean. Iron valiant has great offensive stats all around, a great speed stat of 116, a spatk of 120, and an amazing physical atk stat of 130. It's Fighting typing compliments it's Fairy typing quite nicely, as it can handle to Steel types that usually ruins Fairy. It's movepool is also quite large as well, with a ton of coverage at its disposal. And because of its overall decent covergae and high attacking stats, this gives Iron Valiant a certain unpredictability on its movesets, similar to DPP Infernape. So it can go between physical, special, and even mixed sets quite efficiently. And with Quark Drive, it becomes even more dangerous, for reference, a +1 speed Iron Valiant has the same as a +2 speed Scovillain, clocking at 546, that's insane. Similar to how I mentioned in the Iron Moth section, Iron Valiant pairs extremely well with Tapu Koko, as it enables terrain while setting up screens for it. And even outside of Koko Ho, it can still do quite well in Grimm screens. It also has Swords Dance and Calm Mind for it to sweep on the physical or special side, respectively, in fact it can even run either of the 2 setup moves on a mixed set as well, and still do quite well. It's really that Iron Valiant's unpredictable mixed nature that puts in as one of the best pokemon for hyper offense. For Tera Types, it has a ton of options, it can either go Fairy or Fighting to go with its STABs, ot it can choose another Tera depending on its coverage options.
Este pajaro luchador todavia tiene algo de potencial (This luchador bird still has some potential). Hawlucha still has some sweeping potential for Koko offense. Thanks to terrain, it can enable a certain item that allows Hawlucha to become a sweeping menace, Electric Seed. Now the seed itself is not used for the +1 defense, altough that does come in handy as well, but because it enables Hawlucha's Unburden ability, which doubles it speed upon losing its item. And while its Attack stat may not seem so special at 92, it can of course learn Swords Dance, and with a combination of screens and Shed Tail support, it can become one powerful sweeper. Plus because it no longer holds an item, it can use Acrobatics to its full potential, paired with Close Combat to boot. It's last move is flexible, Roost can be used for longevity to be even more irritating to stop, while Taunt can prevent status effect from the opponent, and Substitute paired with screens and the +1 defense can actually let shove of hits. Now there is the issue that once it enters the field under terrain, you have to commit to the sweep, and it isnt good outside of the terrain(unless u wanna try a gimmicky power herb Sky attack set), and it has some competition with Iron Valiant, who while slower than Unburden Hawlucha, it is much more flexible, and it can still switch out and remain a tread later, where Hawlucha becomes somewhat meager without Unburden. But it is still a fine choice to paired alongside Koko and his friends, as even if its sweep falls short, it will at least leave a whole for its teammates can exploit. Flying or Fighting Tera are the recomended ones.
Urshifu may be seeing a ton of play on rains teams, but it can also be a solid contender for HO as well. With 130 Atk, a good typing, and Surging Strike always garanteed to crit, can be valid to bypass certain irritations, like Annihilape spamming Bulk Up for example, as crits ignores the defense stats that the Annihilape would had gained.
252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Annihilape on a critical hit: 333-396 (79 - 94%) -- approx. 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
(This is a +6 Defense Annihilape btw, but it doesn't matter since crit ignores it).
However in this generation, Urshifu recieved Swords Dance, making even more difficult to withstand its hits. Close Combat is always a great STAB move to have, it also has Aqua Jet for priority, has Ice Spinner to hit Grass and Flying types, Uturn for momentum, and Trailblaze for a +1 speed boost and can also hit the niche Gastrodon that tends to get in its way. However, Urshifu's base speed of 92 isn't that great, as it's even below the gold standard of 100. This results on being difficult to slap in easily, since it's competition tends to be severly faster while also remaining similarly offensively treatening. But don't let your guard down, as almost noting wants to take a +2 Surging Strike to the face, especially in conjuntion with Tera Water of Fighting added to the mix.
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 289-341 (86.5 - 102%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Tera Water Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory on a critical hit: 399-477 (119.4 - 142.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Tera Water Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex on a critical hit: 198-234 (65.1 - 76.9%) -- approx. 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
And speaking of mons that recieve SD, Cinderace is also in the picture of many. If know anything of the previous Natdex metagame, Cinderace was pretty annoying to handle once it got some boost with Bulk Up, cause it had access to something Sword and Shield didn't had, Z Crystals. With it Cinderace had a dangerous Normalium Z set that hard to switch into. And with its atk at 116, 119 speed tier, and excellent coverage options like Pyro Ball, High Jump Kick, Gunk shot, priority in Sucker and momentum in Uturn, this ended up leading to its eventual ban from that tier. Now that it has SD, which gives a +2 atk instead of +1, Cinderace at first may seem like it would repeat the same again, until you remember that Libero was also nerfed this gen. Now don't get me wrong, it is still an excellent set to use, but Cinderace being locked into Normal means that it can no longer abuse STABs left and right. And also in this gen, we got a lot of competition for the SD sweepers as well, like Urshifu and Iron Valiant. Regardless, Cinderace is far from out in HO teams, as it can also be solid with either this set, or its pivoting set, which gives it the ability to use Court Change, which switches hazards and screens from one side to another, making a somewhat decent anti HO mon itself. (lets see that Glimmora setup on you now). Tera Fire can be decent for the pivot set if you select that option.
And I promise you, this is the last SD mon I'll talk about for this guide. Kartana has a good of eye candy trades to make it a contender. It's beastly 181 atk, alongside an excelent 109 speed, and of course, it's ability, Beast Boost, ehich gives it a +1 on its highest stat after koing on opposing pokemon. This makes it extremely difficult to pivot around, since anything worned down to Kartana's range can lead into a dangerous snowball effect that could get out od control. Leaf Blade is an excellent STAB to irritate Bulky waters like Washtom and Tapu Fini, Sacred Sword ignore the oposing pokemon's stat boost, must like an unaware move, and Knock Off let it punish people switchin into its attacks. Futhermore it can also use Z moves to great effect, with Normalium Z, it can use Double-Edge or Giga Impact to deliver a massive Breackneck Blitz that can leave dense holes on the opposing team.
+2 252 Atk Kartana Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 194-229 (48.6 - 57.3%) -- 50.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Kartana Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 298-351 (98 - 115.4%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
And it can also use Fightium Z to destroy it's few walls like Skarmory and Corvknight after a boost.
+2 252 Atk Kartana All-Out Pummeling (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 340-401 (85.2 - 100.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
+2 252 Atk Kartana All-Out Pummeling (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 277-327 (82.9 - 97.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(All of these calcs are done without Stealth Rocks up btw)
+2 252 Atk Kartana All-Out Pummeling (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 277-327 (82.9 - 97.9%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
But of course it isnt a perfect pokemon, while it does have a respectable defense of 131, it has both low hp, and paper thin spdef of 59 and 31 (and here i tought Weavile was frail). But one thing is clear, this pokemon can snatch games in a moments noticed in not play around with cautios. If not using Tera, Grass, Fighting and Dark can be good to boost it's main attacking options even further.
And here we have another Beast Boost mon. Xurkitree may sound or not appealing to many depending on what side your on. It has some pretty gooda and some nasty bads. The pros: 173 spatk is stupidly high, an amazing boosting option in Tail Glow(since it isn't strong enough already) and quite good attacking options in Thunderbolt, Energy Ball, Dazzling Gleam and the Hidden Powers. Cons: Mediocre speed of 83, and not so good bulk at 83 hp and 71 defenses. And sure it could try and patch it's speed issues with Z Hypnosis, but for me, that kinda enters into gimmicky territory. Where this poke can really shine is of course, with Sticky Webs, lowering the opposing mons speed to its own, it can claim a ton of kills in the opposing team. the Ground-types immune to its Thunderbolts do not wanna eat its Energy Balls or Hp Ices, and Flying types gets destroyed by Thunderbolt, so even if they're faster, it's not like they can jist switch in safely either. However, this means this mon can only truly do work in Sticky Web teams but boi can it do well there. Tera Electric for... well, more power, or Tera Ice for a far better BoltBeam with Tbolts and Hpices.
Megas:
It's pretty impressive how Gyarados(or at least it's mega form) is still amazing even after all these years. To start things of, Mega Gyarados has Dragon Dance, and amazing move for any sweeper to have, as it fixes its speed issues, and also boosting its already high atk of 155. It also has a great typing alonside good bulk of 95 hp, 109 defense, and 130 spdef, giving the rare trade of being quite tanky while also offensively potent. And it also has Mold Breaker as its ability, which can ignore opposing abilites while M-Gyarados does an attack (R.I.P Skeledirge). This allows to play an excellent early game sweep,(especially under sub and screens) as it can take hits while breaking while potentially sweeping as well. And even if it doesn't automatically win on the spot, It can leave a trail for its teammates to follow afterwards. But this doesn't mean it can't a good late game cleaner, as it's got the bulk and power to handle opposing threads in a pinch. Definetly one of the best Mega to use in any HO, from Koko screens, to Snow HO, to even Sticky Webs HO.
Okay, Last Dragon Dancer i'll talk about. Mega Charizard X is quite cool, no questions ask, and technically speaking, it isn't bad as a Dragon Dancer. With 130 Atk, 100 speed, and a solid ability in Tough Claws, it can be very irritating to switch into, Flare Blitz, Outrage, Dragon Claw and Earthquake are good attacking options, and Roost lets it stay healthy from its own recoil. That brings the bad part, Mega Charizard X gets worned out a bit too quickly, from its own recoil to it Stealth Rock weakness, and quad weakness if it enter in its pre-mega form. So it needs Roost to make up for the recoil, and those are turns that can be exploited, and since Flare Blitz, Dragon Dance, and Roost are mandatory slot, it has to choose between Dragon Claw/Outrage or Earthquake, if Dragon Claw/Outrage, it's left walled by Mega Diancie amd Heatran, and if Earthquake, it's left walled by Rotom-Wash, and they can take advantage of those amd either crippled it, or OHKO it outright, something u really don't want your opponent to do. That and the DD competition is rough, previously mention M-Gyarados is bulkier, Dragapult is faster, and Dragonite is hard to deal with with Tera Normal. Still, all this can metagaded by Screens support and Shed Tails, as it is still a fearsome sweeper.
Mega Chomp boi here may not have Dragon Dance(seriously gamefreak, what's taking you so long to give it to him?) however, he has something that many people argue it's "better", Swords Dance, and Scale Shot. SD u all know it, you love it, turns u into Super Saiyan, but Scale Shot is mutlti-hitting Dragon-type move that if 2 or more hit the opponent, it will be M-Garchomp a +1 speed (and a -1 defense). This gives MChomp some serious sweeping potential, thanks to his titanic atk of 170, and Scale Shot let's it solve it's speed issues as well? Now it can finally hit those Earthquakes, Fire Fangs or Fire Blasts while not being slowed down at all. All of that sounds good on paper, but as cool as it is to use, it's all in all... well...exploitable. Having to choose between speed and power can be the difference beteen a win and a lost. If you choose to use SD, MGarchomp is left incredibly vulnerable with its overall low speed. And if Scale Shot, not only do you have to rely on a 90% accurate move, which while not terrible in comparison to something like Focus Blast, it can still come back and hunt you. Fairy-types can simply just switch in and completely deny it's speed boost, and even if it does get the boost, it's not like the fastest thing alive, especially in this speed creeped metagame. Even after a +1 MGarchomp only reaches 466 speed, which isn't bad, but a lot of the speed control mons nowadays tend to reach the 500's. Sure it's bulky with 108 hp, 115 defense and 95 special defense, so it coukd play similar to MGyarados, However the is that on top of a better ability, MGyarados can be threatening after +1 of setup, whereas MChomp usually requires 2. Now despite all this, it can do work, and it's power should be taken in consideration when building up teams.
I'll say this right ahead, DO NOT USE M-Heracross on Standard HO, where u wanna use this bad boy is in Sticky Web teams. MHeracross isn't very fast at only 75 speed, and it doesnt have anyways outside of Trailblaze do boost itself, that where the Webs step in. And what do you get for using a alow mega under webs? Well how about a godforsaken monster with base 185 Atk, That has the ability Skill Link, to garantee all of its multi hit attack hit fully, and of course Swords Dance?
"Hidinflames: I tought you said you were done with the Sword Dancers..."
Oh... did i?... Anyway, with Pin Missile, Rock Blast and Bullet Seed garantee to hit fully, while also having a solid answer to solve it's speed issues with Traiblaze, and STAB Close Combat, it is one of Sticky Web's best weapons at theyre disposal.
Quick note: Yes, I am aware of the addition of
, 
and 
, however this guide was originally done before the 3 were revealed and put on showdown. And while I have some idea of how they might do in these kinds of teams, i prefer to not give my overall opinion on them since they're quite new to the game. If you wanna go ahead and experiment with them, feel free to do so.
Okay, after a Long awaited guide (sorry it took me so long, im been busy with school and work) I hope I was able to give a more in details of the playstyle. And of course, it would be Rewd of me if I didn't gave you a sample team to start up with.
Thank you all for your attention, I also wanna give some mentionings to Sulo, Solaros & Lunaris, TheRainQueen, MurderousMantyke, and hidin for helping me out on this guide.
Also I have another guide similar to this, but for Sun teams if anyoje is interested, check this link: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/national-dex-metagame-discussion.3710848/page-5#post-9475876
I hope this guide gets to be of good use, and gave you guys a better understanding of the Hyper Offense playstyle.
Well boyz, here we are, with my second guide here in National Dex. Now it took me a while to see which one to talk about, bit I feel like with its overall dominance in the ladder and tournaments, I think that it is best to speak of one the most dominant forces in the tier right now...
HYPER OFFENSE:
Hyper Offense, or HO in short terms is a playstyle of pure aggression, constantly putting the opponent between a rock and a hard place. Your objective in here is pretty straightfoward, setup, from screens, to hazards, to boosting moves. Naturally a Hyper Offense team consist of 1-2 setup leads, and 4-5 setup sweepers. And this should go without saying, but since your objective is playing as aggresive as possible, you should NOT use defensive pokemon, so no Ferrothorn, no Toxapex, no Garganacal. So without further a do, lets jump right into the guide...
Once again, ill be using these
for my form of ranking the pokemon1 woppers mean is a ok niche choice, but not a mandatory one.2 woppers means it's solid, and can be use to great effect. and 3 means it's perfect for the strategy.And this means it is not recomended for serious play, either the mon is outclassed by another mon for a certain role, or it's jst not very good to begin with.Quick tip: I recommend u only use up to 2 setters per team, more than that and the team wont be doing very good.
Screen Setters:
I think this is a perfect one to start things off. The addition of Parting Shot to its movepool makes wonders for things pokemon. Thanks to prankster, it can use it almost unscathed. Dropping opponents offense while pivoting with priority? Yes please. It also has a quite solid defensive typing, Dark makes immune to Taunt, as well opposing pranksters, and Fairy gives it an immunity to Dragon. It's last move can be either Foul Play, Thunder Wave, Taunt, or Spirit Break. Taunt is great at shutting down stealth rock leads, Thunder Wave is good for crippling the opponent, Foul Play to use its own might against it, and Spirit Break, for lowering its special offenses. While not a sweeper himself, it is still an important piece of the strategy.
Perhaps the premiere pokemon for a screen setter. It has an impeccable speed tier of 130, it has access to U-turn or Volt Switch, do U-turn is preffered due to not having immunities like Volt Switch does. It also has Taunts to shut down rockers and setters, Roost for some longevity and all in all its just pretty flexible. Now u may be thinking, what does it have over Grimmsnarl? Grimm is bulkier and gets prankster, plus it also gained Parting Shot this generation. While the Grimm may have those qualities over Koko, which are great, Koko's main quality over Grimm is quite significant, it's ability, Electric Surge which summons electric Terrain upon entry. This alone enables certain powerhouse pokemon that Grimm can't, Like the brand new paradox mons with Quark Drive, which gives a +1 to the highest stat while holding Energy Boost, or of course, entering under the terrain. It also boosts Electric attacks by 30% and prevents pokemon from being asleep. Basically, depending on your choice of sweepers, you would either want Koko or Grimmsnarl, and both are excellent overall.
Now this mon is also different from the previously mentioned two. Alolan tales has its good qualities for a screens setter, First, thanks to its Ability Snow Warning, it can use Aurora Veil instead of Dual Screens, which is Reflect and Light Screen in one. Snow Warning also enables certain mons in a similar to Tapu Koko's Electric Surge does. It also has decent support moves like Encore, Pain Spit, Disable, Roar, Toxic, and Heal Bell. However, it is a bit more flawed than the other two. For one, while 109 is good, it is still slower than both Koko and can be interruped by both it and Grimm's Taunts, due to Grimm having Prankster. It also has a rather exploitable typing, Ice being the worse defensive type in the entire game, and Fairy while good vs Dragons, it also gives it a quad weakness to Steel, so something like Scizor's Bullet Punch can ruin its day. Its also not very tanky anyways, 75 physical defense it quite meager, and 100 spdef is fine, but not alongside that typing and only 73 Hp. But perhaps the biggest drawback of using Alolan Tales is its weather dependent nature, meaning that when facing opposing weathers, they can ruin the fox's attempt to setup Aurora Veil, and with Rain and Sun being very popular in the ladder, it can be extremely difficult to find opportunities to setup. Never the less, it is still a worthy candidate for Snow Hyper Offense.
Hazards:
Wether or not your a fan of the SV's champion, her ace mon has left a mark in the hazard department. Glimmora is perhaps the best suicide lead in the meta rn. It has a ton of good qualities, first its ability Toxic Debris goes with its hazard setting nature, allowing to set a layer of Toxic Spiked upon getting hit by a physical move. It also has an amazing 130 special attack, and since most of the rapid spinners in the tier are physically defensive, it can really sting em for attempting to remove it's hazards. It also has it own for of spinning in Mortal Spin, which also removes enemy hazards, but it also poisons the target. It can stack up Stealth, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes by its ability pretty quickly, and it can also use Memento to take itself out drop the opposing mons offensive stats, and prevent a spinner of defogger to remove the hazards, allowing you to make the most of them. Even if hit by special attacks to avoid the Toxic Debris, if played well, it is almost guaranteed to get 1 or 2 hazards up, and it always Memento to dense the opposition.
It is quite impressive how Lando is still good even with the amount of powercreep that each gen keeps bringing in. And even with the addition of Glimmora, Landorus is still a fine choice for a suicide lead. For 1 is has a stellar defensive typing, being immune to both Ground and Electric moves its excellent, where as Glimmora is neutral to Electric ans has a nasty wuad Ground weakness. It also has Intimidate, one of the best abilities in the game till this day. It's also faster than Glimmora and 91 speed, where Glimm is only 86. Landorus also gained Taunt this gen, which it can potentially fit in its moveslot. And while Glimm's 130 spatk is great, Lando's 145 physical attack is even better. It can also instead of a suicide lead, play a more defensive stealth rock set, as it still hits pretty hard even without any attack investment, adding more depth to its role. It can even use Choice Scarf set that can set Stealth Rock, which yes, it does sound weird since you're locked into the same move that way, but it gives it more unpredictability overall, and thus it can play a revenge killer role that can be valid for certain teams. All in all, Lando is still an excellent choice for a Stealth Rock seter.
Some people call this pokemon the new Lando, and for it to gain such a nickname, it means it has to be "Great" right? Well for starters its even Bulkier than Landorus at 131 def, while Lando has 90. It also has higher Hp than Lando at 115 in comparison to the genie's 89. And while it doesnt have Flying typing like lando does, Fighting is quite the stellar offensive typing. It also has a stronger Stab move in Headlong Rush, a ground clone of Close Combat, and of course, it also knows Close Combat as well. It has Rapid Spin as it's form of hazard removal, which it doesn't remove your own like Defog does. It also has decent coverage, Like Knock Off, Ice Spinner, MegaHorn and Play Rough. And while Lando's Intimidate may be an amazing ability to have, Protosynthesis can be used to counter one of the most popular playstyles in the nd ladder, Sun, as it can gain a +1 Atk or Def, depending on your investement when enter in opposing sun, giving them a bit of a hard time to deal with the Mamuth. Now despite all this, it isn't perfect, Its 53 spdef is abysmal, even do It can check certain physically offensive mons like Dd Dragapult, Dd Dragonite and even Kingambit, It does terrible against special sweeper like Volcarona, Specs Dragapult and others. And not being Flying type means that isnt as "Lando-ish" as people claim it to be, while it can takes most Earthquakes quite well, Lando being fully immune simply gives it an edge overall. Regardless, it is still a mon that should NOT be taken lightly, like at all.
We talked about past Donphan, now lets talk future Donphan. Now at first it, it is less bulkier than its past counterpart, with 90 and 120 defenses. It also has lower attack at 112. So why use it over Great Tusk? Well simple, its ability, Quark Drive, which is a great pokemon to pair alongside Tapu Koko. This allows it to be both an offensive mon and a solid setter at the same time, it also has more speed than Great at 106, in comparison to Tusk's 87. It also has a pivot move in Volt Switch, where Tusk doesn't have any, and its Steel typing gives it some great resistances, such as Fairy, Dragon, Psychic, Flying, Ice neutrality, and Poison immunity. Now this is more specific to Koko's HO, and outside of it it doesn't seem worth it in comparison to your other options.
If you have ever played Shuckle in competetive before, then you shouldn't be suprised that Shuckle's role has changed, like at all. Still, it is a pretty good ol' reliable for hazard stacking. With its god forsaken 230 defenses(do a low af hp of 20) It is capable of tanking most hits at least once, allowing it to put up hazards. The main reasoj you might be using Shuckle at all if of course, for Sticky Webs, which slows down non flying/levitate mon be by -1. This does allow certain mons who are naturally not fast enough to sweep, like Mega Heracross or Xurtitree to actually become really threatening with Sitcky Webs support. Shuckle doesn't just lay down Sticky Webs, as it of course knows Stealth Rock. But other than that, well it kills itself with Final Gambit ig? I does have Encore, and like, Toxic and stuff, but it doesnt do notin else beside setting hazard and just being passive after, which is why u wanna use Final Gambit in the first place. Still, for Sticky Webs and Stealth Rocks, it is the best option u have.
And where not done with Sticky Web setter just yet, cuz Ribombee is also excellent for the role. Ribombee's speed of 124 makes it incredibly solid for setting up Webs. And while it doesnt provide other hazards, it does provide some utlity. Stun Spore is good for crippling speed even harder, Uturn is excellent for momentum, Toxic for another type of status, Tailwind for even more speed control, Aromatheraphy turns it into a Cleric, and it even knows Quiver Dance? Do realistically speaking, youll rarely ever use Quiver due to its inmense frailty. Still, it is a solid candiate for Sticky Webs Ho team, since it can provide a ton of speed control for the team.
Galvantula may seem solid for a Sticky Web seter. It has a solid speed that of 108, it has Thunder Wave and Toxic for status spreading, it has Volt Switch for pivoting, and Giga Drain for some form of longevity. However, doesn't all this sound like Ribombee can do it and more? If youre guess was yes, then you are correct. Galvantula is pretty much a worse Ribombee in nearly every single way. Ribombee is much faster, has a better supportive movepool, a better typing, and even a better ability in Shield Dust, which can be ocassionally useful. Compound Eyes it's the only decent ability it has, and it has a bit more spatk than Ribombee(only 2 stats higher so not by much). But being much slower, being similarly frail, and having a much worse movepool overall makes it completely obsolete.
Now in the previous generation of National Dex Ou, Mew was at least a halfway decent suicide lead in Hyper Offense. But with the release of Glimmora, Mew has been completely outclassed in the suicide lead department. Its 100 all around stats just don't cut it anymore. And the 2 mons with 100 all around stats that see play, Manaphy and Victini, are better overall. Manaphy having more fun than ever with the dominance of Rain teams in the tier, while Victini being similarly solid in Sun teams, and even outside of sun thanks to its all around better movepool and secondary Fire STAB. Perhaps if Glimmora wasn't in the tier maybe it could had a small niche, but even that is questionable as Landorus is still a solid choice as well.
Smeargle is perhaps the perfect example of "knowledge doesnt matter if you dont have the skill". Literally learning every single move in the game (Minus Dark Void after forcefully being removed removed from it) You would think there has to be something that it can do, right? Well, at first that might seem the case, but you look at its stats and you'll be like: The f*** is this!? Yeah only 250 overall. Sure it has all the support moves in the world like literally, I don't need to mention them cuz he knows them all, even Revival Blessing, but with stats that are worse than Luvdisc, what is gonna do? If you feel like trolling or cheesing with this mons movepool, sure go ahead, have some fun, but for serious play, this mon aint recomended.
The Shed Tail pass:(Quick Note: The Move Shed Tail was banned from National Dex OU alongside Annihilape and Walking Wake, so the move can't be used anymore, amd this guide was done beforehand, but I decided to keep it all written as a piece of history of the National Dex OU metagame.)
Cyclizar is shown quite some love(or hate, depending on what side your on) in Hyper offense. It has a decent utility movepool, Rapid Spin for clearing hazard, Knock off despite being remove in a lot of mon in gen 9. Ice Spinner, Uturn, Taunt, Dragon Tail, attacks like Outrage, Overheat, Draco Mete... yadayadayada... we all know why people truly use Cyclizar for, it's because of the move, Shed Tail. Which by sacrificing 50% hp, it passes a free substitute to a teammate. This if played well can be game changing or even game ending in some cases, especially with screens support. What makes Cyclizar even better for the Shed Tail is that it has Regenerator and one of its abilities, which synergies beautifully with Shed Tail. It also has a solid speed of 121, allowing to get the jump on many fast pokemon. And as if that wasn't enough, it can Choice Scarf to further outspeed more pokemon to guarantee that pass. Now it's not like you can just recklessly use Shed Tail and just win all the time, You do have to be careful with it since it loses half its hp all the time it uses it. But there is no denying on Cyclizar's success in these teamstyles, as it a wonderful team player.
Honestly, why would ever use this as Shed Tail over Cyclizar? Sure it has a solid bulk at 140 defense, one of the best defensive types in the game in Steel, and Earth Eater is a nice ability. But it is much easier to exploit that Cyclizar. 1, Cyclizar is way WAY faster, and 2, It has healing in Regenerator, which Earth Eater is much more unreliable in comparison, as it depends on your opponent to use a Ground move, which they might as well just... not use it, and even if the do, that might only work once if lucky. However, its slower speed is actually a benefit, as it also allows you to act more accordingly, bringing in a pokemon that you're opponent might be weaker to, thus setting up safely. Oh and it also has hazards in Stealth Rock and Spikes, so it can be you're hazard seter AND your Shed passer? Now Cyclizar might still be the better of the two mostly cuz of its speed, utility, and better ability, but that doesn't make Ortworm terrible for the role, as a slower, bulkier passer thst can also be the hazard setter of choice, it can be a better choice for certain teams.
Okay, I just mentioned why it's just bad rn ok?. But did you know it learns Shed Tail!? Of course u did, who am I trying to fool here?
THE SWEEPERS:
(Banned)Okay, I'm gonna start by saying one of its few negatives to not oversell this one, and that its that its speed isn't amazing at just 91. Now, lets get into the good stuff, This monkey is amazing in HO, it may not be fast, but BOI... does it pressure the opposition hard. Its trademark move Rage Fist is perhaps one of the most dangerous move to handle, as it powers up every time Annihilape gets hit up to 6 times, which reaches to a maximum 250 base power, that is just brutal! And if that was it only good quality, it would have been somewhat fine, with the only type that is immune to Rage Fist, Normal, wants noting of its secondary STAB, Fighting. With Drain Punch, it can not only hits these normal types, but also recover in the process, With Bulk Up it becomes even harder to take down physically while also boosting its attack, and synergizes wonderfully with Rage Fist, It's last move slot is quite flexible, Taunt and Substitute are the most picked, since it allows it to shut down one of the few ways to handle it, threw status. However it also use Rest as well, which also bypasses status while healing him to full. It also has some coverage options like Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Gunk Shot, however its STAB combination is really all it needs. And its ability Defiant makes it a solid answer to pokemon who use stat lowering moves/abilities, like Defog or Intimidate. Now I know I did say that in Ho you don't wanna use defensive pokemon, but ape also has the unique benefit of being offensively threatening while being great defensively as well, which gives it a unique trait in hyper offense in general. For Tera Types, it has a good amount to pick, Tera Ghost is obviously good for boosting its Rage Fist even more, while Tera Fighting can boost Drain Punch. Alternatively it can run a more defensive Tera while still being threatening offensively, Tera Fairy or Tera Water give it some of the best defensive typings in the game, which allows it to Bulk Up, Drain up punches, and more importantly, takes hits better to boost its mighty Rage Fist.
King Barney here has gotten a new life in HO teams this gen. For the most part, It's Dragon Dance remains the same, at first. However a thing that made Dragonite from somewhat decent to quite the danger to stare up is 2 thing, Shed Tail, and the Terastalization mechanic. This pairs up almosy magically with Dragonite, as Shed Tail being passed to Dragonite with full heath is harder to break thanks to Multiscale, but not only is the Shed Tail harder to break, it also keeps Dragonite's multiscale intact as well, allowing it to take hits better whule dancing at the opponents face ready to sweep entire teams. The only things that can bypass bith Shed Tail and Multiscale effectively is Triple Axel, but that is where Terastalization comes in. With Tera Normal, it can not only remove it quad weakness to Ice, and other weaknesses like Dragon, Fairy, and Rock, but it also boostes one of Dragonite's favotire mons, Extreme Speed. If done correctly, Extreme Killer Dragonite can setup 2 to 3 Dragon Dances and can 6-0 whole teams in a moment's notice. As if that that isnt enough, it has great coverage, Earthquake allows him to hit Rock and Steels that normally resist Espeed, Fire Punch can also hit Steels as well as Ice Types and Flying types, but it can also smack the only mons that handle Eq and Espeed, Corviknight and Skarmory, altough it is best the remove them first with another pokemon. Dual Wingbeat is an excellent option for STAB and Ice Spinner can be used for opposing Dragons, including other Dragonites. Tera Ground is also ocasionally used for harder hitting Earthquakes, which while you're still weak to Ice, it does have an Electric immunity, and resistance to Rock, which can also be game ending in the right matchup. Now Dragonite does have a flaw of course, one that is pretty obvious by now, and is that it can be a bit too reliant on Tera to make the most of it, meaning that you'll likely have to use Tera on him exclusively, and other pokemon enjoy using Tera as well. However, it's not like Dragonite is useless without Terastalization, as it is still scary to face even without it if not prepared, and even if you do dedicate it to him, it's a small price to pay for an overall killer of a mon.
From one pseudo legend dragon, to another. Dragapult is similar threatening to that of Dragonite, however while Dnite may be more bulkier, Dragapult is much MUCH faster. With an astonishing 142 speed, eclipsing that of Weavile's, the fastest pursuiter in the tier. Dragapult is sure to be a force in HO. It's DD set is quite scary to be stared down by, with Dragon Darts hitting quite hard, and being 2 hits means that it can break sashes and even Substitutes depending on the pokemon. It's secondary STAB, Ghost is excellent for hitting everything for neutral, but what makes it's Ghost STAB even spookier is this metagame's access it previous mechanic gen 8 did not had, the Z crystals. With Ghostium Z, it use Phantom Force for some devastating Never-Ending Nightmares that do a lot of damage;
+1 252 Atk Dragapult Never-Ending Nightmare (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-Wash: 279-328 (91.7 - 107.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252 Atk Dragapult Never-Ending Nightmare (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex: 225-265 (74 - 87.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
+1 252 Atk Dragapult Never-Ending Nightmare (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk: 319-376 (85.9 - 101.3%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
However, Dragapult can also run a Choice Specs set, which destroys ceratin physically defensive attempting to block a Dragon Dance set. And also a Hex set, which can cripple the opponent while also being threatening. Dragapuly only really needs Ghost Tera in the Specs or Hex sets, to further boost its Ghost STABs respectively.
And where aren't done with pseudo dragons just yet. As the newest pseudo legend, Baxcalibur is also a devastating force. With an impressive 145 attack, bwing equal to that of Landorus-Therian, and with its signature move, Glavie Rush, it can hit like a truck. It also has an huge hp of 115, decent bulk in 92 def and 86 hp alongside that hp stat. Baxcalibur also has the ability Thermal Exchange, which gives it a +1 upon being hit by a Fire Type move, and it makes it immune to burns. This gives it a unique niche over its competition, where they can be ruined by opposing burns, while Baxcalibur nullifies it. It also an Ice type, which gives one of the best offensive typing in the game. It also has Earthquake to hit the one type that resist both STABS, Steel. And it's other ability Ice Body can be useful in Snow Offense, as it can also benefit from the Snow buffing his decent defense stat. However, Baxcalibur isn't perfect, while it does hit like a truck, but that Ice typing, while great for offense, it also makes it pretty bad for defense, despite its bulk, Ice only adds more weaknesses, like now being neutral to Fire of resistant, as well as other weaknesses like Steel, Rock and Fighting, while also being weak to Dragon and Fairy. It also not very fast with a base speed of 87, and finally, its trademark move also has the drawback of making so that not does the move against it does not miss, but it also takes double the damage. Regardless, It is still a terror, having a Outrage that doesn't lock you into itself makes in an excellent choice over other Dragons, where as other have to risk being locked into Outrage, or use the weaker Dragon Claw for Stab in some cases. It also has Ice Shard for a priority move that can hit other Dragons. And its also inmediately theatening thanks to its giant attack stat, allowing to strike fear right from the get go. For tera Types, Ice or Dragon are both pretty useful.
Similar to annihilape, Kingambit isnt the fastest, in fact its way slower at 50. However, make no mistake, as Kingambit is one of the most scary mons to face late game, thanks to its ability, Supreme Overlord(man, easily the most edgiest name for a pokemon ability). This ability boostes Kingambit's power of its moves by 10% per each mon fainted pokemon, so yeah, definetly like a King piece of chess. With Sucker Punch, it makes up its speed issues a thing in the past, and with Swords Dance, it becomes even harder to tank its hits.
+2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex: 298-352 (98 - 115.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk: 349-412 (94 - 111%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Tera Water Garganacl: 354-417 (87.6 - 103.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Oh and due to being Bisharp's evolution, despite not learning it in Scarlet and Violet, it gets access to Pursuit, making it even more dangerous to scout around safely. Also, it has another excellent ability in Defiant, which can punish Intimidate attempts from Landorus, or Defog attempts as well to get a boost. So yeah, if you stare this beast down as the last one standing, you're going to have a difficult time difficult time handling this ruler. For Tera types, since Kingambit already hits hard, it doednt need Dark or Steel for extra muscle, do it still could, a more defensive typing helps it last long while bashing threw the opponent. Fairy, Ghost and Flying are all great for this.
Welp, Gamefreak has officially ran out of ideas, so they decided to add golden Bob Marley into the game. Now this mon is no joke despite what I said, It's typing is amazing, both offensively and defensively. Its trademark move, Make It Rain (I'm telling you, they ran out of ideas for names) its a 120 special Steel move that drops -1 per usage. However it learns Nasty Plot, cuz why wouldnt it? It has Shadow Ball for all around neutral STAB, and it has Recover for longevity alongside its 95 physical defense and 91 special defense. But it isn't the qualities that makes Gholdengo a strong candidate for the team, it's of course, it's ability Good as Gold, which simply ignores status moves from the opponent. And not just status moves like Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp, no it also ignores status drops like Parting Shot and Defog. And since Defog needs to lower stats in order to clean the field, this means that Gholdengo not only is it immune to Rapid Spin and Mortal Spin thanks to it's Steel typing, but it is also immune to Defog, making even more difficult to clean the opposing field filled with hazards. And gholdengo itself is a great pokemon, as its decently bulky, has a solid defensive typing, it has a high 130 special in conjunction with Nasty Plot and a decent speed of 84 as well for a defensive mon. It can also run a Choice Scarf set with Trick to ruin passive mons or defensive walls, like Blissey, Ferrothorn, and Toxapex. Now it isn't without flaws of course, it's typing while great, can also be exploited, mainly by Fire, Ground, Dark, and opposing Ghost. It also struggles with M-Lopunny, being one of the best Megas in the tier, and being a Fighting type with Scrappy can really ruin Gholdengo's day, unless it runs Choice Scarf. Now it's talent are still worth it, as it's ability can let it soak status that would normally ruined certain sweepers in the team, and being a strong special attacker itself means it can also keep the pressure going. For Tera Types, Steel and Ghost are solid offensively, and it can use Flying, Fairy or Water for a more defensive approach.
At last we talk about a non Dragon Dancer, but a Quiver one. Volcarona has been one of the best cleaners in the entire game thanks to Quiver Dance. With a already high 135 spatk, a 105 spdef, and a solid 100 speed, it becomes quite terryfing at +1, and in a lot of cases, it can be game over at +2. It also has a decent movepool, Flamethower or Fiery Dance and Bug Buzz are great for STAB. Giga Drain is excellent for hitting Water types and also gives it longevity. Physhic is good for the mighty Toxapex, and Hidden Power Ground can deal with Heatran. Volcarona being a special attacker pairs up well with Physical sweepers, as they can check others matchups, it also abuses the presence of screens and having a Shed Tail to facilitate its Quiver Dance antics. Now it does require Heavy Duty Boots in order to avoid hazards, mainly Stealth Rock, but it is a very small price to pay for one powerful mon that can 6-0 whole teams in brutal fashion.Tera Fire, Bug, Grass Psychic and Ground are decent options for it.
Serperior brings one thing to the table that no other mon really can bring, Contrary. This makes it capable of snowballing Leaf Storms over and over again. Other than Leaf spam, it has Hidden Power Fire for its coverage options to handle Steel, Bug, and opposing Grass types. Glare is an excellent form of paralysis that can even hit Ground types, and with Substitute, Glare can become very annoying. However, Contrary doesn't only boost Leaf Storms, any Special attack drop moves are going to raise it instead like Spirit Break , Memento, Parting Shot, or Mystical Fire. And if the opponent dares Defog away the field while Serperior is in the field, Serperior would gain a +1 evasion, making even more annoying alongside Glare and Substitute. I miss or paraflinch, and Serperior can gain a ton of momentum. For Tera types, it only really needs Tera Grass for extra power.
Under the right circumstances, Blaziken can be a fearsome pokemon for the opponent. Thanks to Speed Boost, it can get faster every turn, allowing to gain speed control after a few turns. It also is an excelleny Swords Dancer, thanks to its solid atk stat of 120. Protect can allow it scout opponents moves, while gaining a Speed Boost for free. And with hard hitting moves like Flare Blitz and Close Combat for STABs, as well as other moves like Knock Off, Thunder Punch, Earthquake, and U-turn, it can be a worthy candidate for Hyper Offense. However Blaziken is initially not very fast, on top of being frail, with a speed of 80, and 70 defenses. On top of that, ot has a ton of competition for a physical sweeper, from the Dragon Dancers, to Hawlucha and Iron Valiant. However make no mistake, with the proper amount of support, it can be a mon worth using. Tera Fire or Fighting are excellent for it.
Now at first, since it doesn't learn Quiver Dance, you'll inmediaetly think to consider, so its a worse Volcarona? My answer, not really. Sure not having Quiver Dance is pretty dissapointing, but it can still do some work. It naturally has a higher spatk at 140, and natural higher speed at 110. It can also make itself even faster with Agility, and with its paradox ability Quark Drive, it can also become even stronger under Electric Terrian. This makes it a worthy candidate for Koko screens HO teams, alongside other paradox mons like Iron Treads, and Iron Valiant. Futhermore they can boost themselves with the Energy Booster item, making less reliable of the terrain in case it isnt up, and unlike the terrain, the boost remians permanent until it switches out. However it can also run Air Ballon, to make up for it quadruple Ground weakness, or Life Orb to futher boost its power. Tera Fire or Tera Poison are good offensive choices, however it can also run Tera Flying.
(If used alongside tapu koko)
I usually joke by calling this pokemon Paldean Infernape, and if you remember Infernape in DPP, you probably know what i mean. Iron valiant has great offensive stats all around, a great speed stat of 116, a spatk of 120, and an amazing physical atk stat of 130. It's Fighting typing compliments it's Fairy typing quite nicely, as it can handle to Steel types that usually ruins Fairy. It's movepool is also quite large as well, with a ton of coverage at its disposal. And because of its overall decent covergae and high attacking stats, this gives Iron Valiant a certain unpredictability on its movesets, similar to DPP Infernape. So it can go between physical, special, and even mixed sets quite efficiently. And with Quark Drive, it becomes even more dangerous, for reference, a +1 speed Iron Valiant has the same as a +2 speed Scovillain, clocking at 546, that's insane. Similar to how I mentioned in the Iron Moth section, Iron Valiant pairs extremely well with Tapu Koko, as it enables terrain while setting up screens for it. And even outside of Koko Ho, it can still do quite well in Grimm screens. It also has Swords Dance and Calm Mind for it to sweep on the physical or special side, respectively, in fact it can even run either of the 2 setup moves on a mixed set as well, and still do quite well. It's really that Iron Valiant's unpredictable mixed nature that puts in as one of the best pokemon for hyper offense. For Tera Types, it has a ton of options, it can either go Fairy or Fighting to go with its STABs, ot it can choose another Tera depending on its coverage options.
Este pajaro luchador todavia tiene algo de potencial (This luchador bird still has some potential). Hawlucha still has some sweeping potential for Koko offense. Thanks to terrain, it can enable a certain item that allows Hawlucha to become a sweeping menace, Electric Seed. Now the seed itself is not used for the +1 defense, altough that does come in handy as well, but because it enables Hawlucha's Unburden ability, which doubles it speed upon losing its item. And while its Attack stat may not seem so special at 92, it can of course learn Swords Dance, and with a combination of screens and Shed Tail support, it can become one powerful sweeper. Plus because it no longer holds an item, it can use Acrobatics to its full potential, paired with Close Combat to boot. It's last move is flexible, Roost can be used for longevity to be even more irritating to stop, while Taunt can prevent status effect from the opponent, and Substitute paired with screens and the +1 defense can actually let shove of hits. Now there is the issue that once it enters the field under terrain, you have to commit to the sweep, and it isnt good outside of the terrain(unless u wanna try a gimmicky power herb Sky attack set), and it has some competition with Iron Valiant, who while slower than Unburden Hawlucha, it is much more flexible, and it can still switch out and remain a tread later, where Hawlucha becomes somewhat meager without Unburden. But it is still a fine choice to paired alongside Koko and his friends, as even if its sweep falls short, it will at least leave a whole for its teammates can exploit. Flying or Fighting Tera are the recomended ones.
Urshifu may be seeing a ton of play on rains teams, but it can also be a solid contender for HO as well. With 130 Atk, a good typing, and Surging Strike always garanteed to crit, can be valid to bypass certain irritations, like Annihilape spamming Bulk Up for example, as crits ignores the defense stats that the Annihilape would had gained.
252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Annihilape on a critical hit: 333-396 (79 - 94%) -- approx. 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
(This is a +6 Defense Annihilape btw, but it doesn't matter since crit ignores it).
However in this generation, Urshifu recieved Swords Dance, making even more difficult to withstand its hits. Close Combat is always a great STAB move to have, it also has Aqua Jet for priority, has Ice Spinner to hit Grass and Flying types, Uturn for momentum, and Trailblaze for a +1 speed boost and can also hit the niche Gastrodon that tends to get in its way. However, Urshifu's base speed of 92 isn't that great, as it's even below the gold standard of 100. This results on being difficult to slap in easily, since it's competition tends to be severly faster while also remaining similarly offensively treatening. But don't let your guard down, as almost noting wants to take a +2 Surging Strike to the face, especially in conjuntion with Tera Water of Fighting added to the mix.
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 289-341 (86.5 - 102%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Tera Water Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory on a critical hit: 399-477 (119.4 - 142.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Tera Water Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex on a critical hit: 198-234 (65.1 - 76.9%) -- approx. 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
And speaking of mons that recieve SD, Cinderace is also in the picture of many. If know anything of the previous Natdex metagame, Cinderace was pretty annoying to handle once it got some boost with Bulk Up, cause it had access to something Sword and Shield didn't had, Z Crystals. With it Cinderace had a dangerous Normalium Z set that hard to switch into. And with its atk at 116, 119 speed tier, and excellent coverage options like Pyro Ball, High Jump Kick, Gunk shot, priority in Sucker and momentum in Uturn, this ended up leading to its eventual ban from that tier. Now that it has SD, which gives a +2 atk instead of +1, Cinderace at first may seem like it would repeat the same again, until you remember that Libero was also nerfed this gen. Now don't get me wrong, it is still an excellent set to use, but Cinderace being locked into Normal means that it can no longer abuse STABs left and right. And also in this gen, we got a lot of competition for the SD sweepers as well, like Urshifu and Iron Valiant. Regardless, Cinderace is far from out in HO teams, as it can also be solid with either this set, or its pivoting set, which gives it the ability to use Court Change, which switches hazards and screens from one side to another, making a somewhat decent anti HO mon itself. (lets see that Glimmora setup on you now). Tera Fire can be decent for the pivot set if you select that option.
And I promise you, this is the last SD mon I'll talk about for this guide. Kartana has a good of eye candy trades to make it a contender. It's beastly 181 atk, alongside an excelent 109 speed, and of course, it's ability, Beast Boost, ehich gives it a +1 on its highest stat after koing on opposing pokemon. This makes it extremely difficult to pivot around, since anything worned down to Kartana's range can lead into a dangerous snowball effect that could get out od control. Leaf Blade is an excellent STAB to irritate Bulky waters like Washtom and Tapu Fini, Sacred Sword ignore the oposing pokemon's stat boost, must like an unaware move, and Knock Off let it punish people switchin into its attacks. Futhermore it can also use Z moves to great effect, with Normalium Z, it can use Double-Edge or Giga Impact to deliver a massive Breackneck Blitz that can leave dense holes on the opposing team.
+2 252 Atk Kartana Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 194-229 (48.6 - 57.3%) -- 50.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Kartana Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 298-351 (98 - 115.4%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
And it can also use Fightium Z to destroy it's few walls like Skarmory and Corvknight after a boost.
+2 252 Atk Kartana All-Out Pummeling (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 340-401 (85.2 - 100.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
+2 252 Atk Kartana All-Out Pummeling (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 277-327 (82.9 - 97.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(All of these calcs are done without Stealth Rocks up btw)
+2 252 Atk Kartana All-Out Pummeling (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 277-327 (82.9 - 97.9%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
But of course it isnt a perfect pokemon, while it does have a respectable defense of 131, it has both low hp, and paper thin spdef of 59 and 31 (and here i tought Weavile was frail). But one thing is clear, this pokemon can snatch games in a moments noticed in not play around with cautios. If not using Tera, Grass, Fighting and Dark can be good to boost it's main attacking options even further.
And here we have another Beast Boost mon. Xurkitree may sound or not appealing to many depending on what side your on. It has some pretty gooda and some nasty bads. The pros: 173 spatk is stupidly high, an amazing boosting option in Tail Glow(since it isn't strong enough already) and quite good attacking options in Thunderbolt, Energy Ball, Dazzling Gleam and the Hidden Powers. Cons: Mediocre speed of 83, and not so good bulk at 83 hp and 71 defenses. And sure it could try and patch it's speed issues with Z Hypnosis, but for me, that kinda enters into gimmicky territory. Where this poke can really shine is of course, with Sticky Webs, lowering the opposing mons speed to its own, it can claim a ton of kills in the opposing team. the Ground-types immune to its Thunderbolts do not wanna eat its Energy Balls or Hp Ices, and Flying types gets destroyed by Thunderbolt, so even if they're faster, it's not like they can jist switch in safely either. However, this means this mon can only truly do work in Sticky Web teams but boi can it do well there. Tera Electric for... well, more power, or Tera Ice for a far better BoltBeam with Tbolts and Hpices.
Megas:
It's pretty impressive how Gyarados(or at least it's mega form) is still amazing even after all these years. To start things of, Mega Gyarados has Dragon Dance, and amazing move for any sweeper to have, as it fixes its speed issues, and also boosting its already high atk of 155. It also has a great typing alonside good bulk of 95 hp, 109 defense, and 130 spdef, giving the rare trade of being quite tanky while also offensively potent. And it also has Mold Breaker as its ability, which can ignore opposing abilites while M-Gyarados does an attack (R.I.P Skeledirge). This allows to play an excellent early game sweep,(especially under sub and screens) as it can take hits while breaking while potentially sweeping as well. And even if it doesn't automatically win on the spot, It can leave a trail for its teammates to follow afterwards. But this doesn't mean it can't a good late game cleaner, as it's got the bulk and power to handle opposing threads in a pinch. Definetly one of the best Mega to use in any HO, from Koko screens, to Snow HO, to even Sticky Webs HO.
Okay, Last Dragon Dancer i'll talk about. Mega Charizard X is quite cool, no questions ask, and technically speaking, it isn't bad as a Dragon Dancer. With 130 Atk, 100 speed, and a solid ability in Tough Claws, it can be very irritating to switch into, Flare Blitz, Outrage, Dragon Claw and Earthquake are good attacking options, and Roost lets it stay healthy from its own recoil. That brings the bad part, Mega Charizard X gets worned out a bit too quickly, from its own recoil to it Stealth Rock weakness, and quad weakness if it enter in its pre-mega form. So it needs Roost to make up for the recoil, and those are turns that can be exploited, and since Flare Blitz, Dragon Dance, and Roost are mandatory slot, it has to choose between Dragon Claw/Outrage or Earthquake, if Dragon Claw/Outrage, it's left walled by Mega Diancie amd Heatran, and if Earthquake, it's left walled by Rotom-Wash, and they can take advantage of those amd either crippled it, or OHKO it outright, something u really don't want your opponent to do. That and the DD competition is rough, previously mention M-Gyarados is bulkier, Dragapult is faster, and Dragonite is hard to deal with with Tera Normal. Still, all this can metagaded by Screens support and Shed Tails, as it is still a fearsome sweeper.
Mega Chomp boi here may not have Dragon Dance(seriously gamefreak, what's taking you so long to give it to him?) however, he has something that many people argue it's "better", Swords Dance, and Scale Shot. SD u all know it, you love it, turns u into Super Saiyan, but Scale Shot is mutlti-hitting Dragon-type move that if 2 or more hit the opponent, it will be M-Garchomp a +1 speed (and a -1 defense). This gives MChomp some serious sweeping potential, thanks to his titanic atk of 170, and Scale Shot let's it solve it's speed issues as well? Now it can finally hit those Earthquakes, Fire Fangs or Fire Blasts while not being slowed down at all. All of that sounds good on paper, but as cool as it is to use, it's all in all... well...exploitable. Having to choose between speed and power can be the difference beteen a win and a lost. If you choose to use SD, MGarchomp is left incredibly vulnerable with its overall low speed. And if Scale Shot, not only do you have to rely on a 90% accurate move, which while not terrible in comparison to something like Focus Blast, it can still come back and hunt you. Fairy-types can simply just switch in and completely deny it's speed boost, and even if it does get the boost, it's not like the fastest thing alive, especially in this speed creeped metagame. Even after a +1 MGarchomp only reaches 466 speed, which isn't bad, but a lot of the speed control mons nowadays tend to reach the 500's. Sure it's bulky with 108 hp, 115 defense and 95 special defense, so it coukd play similar to MGyarados, However the is that on top of a better ability, MGyarados can be threatening after +1 of setup, whereas MChomp usually requires 2. Now despite all this, it can do work, and it's power should be taken in consideration when building up teams.
I'll say this right ahead, DO NOT USE M-Heracross on Standard HO, where u wanna use this bad boy is in Sticky Web teams. MHeracross isn't very fast at only 75 speed, and it doesnt have anyways outside of Trailblaze do boost itself, that where the Webs step in. And what do you get for using a alow mega under webs? Well how about a godforsaken monster with base 185 Atk, That has the ability Skill Link, to garantee all of its multi hit attack hit fully, and of course Swords Dance?
"Hidinflames: I tought you said you were done with the Sword Dancers..."
Oh... did i?... Anyway, with Pin Missile, Rock Blast and Bullet Seed garantee to hit fully, while also having a solid answer to solve it's speed issues with Traiblaze, and STAB Close Combat, it is one of Sticky Web's best weapons at theyre disposal.
Quick note: Yes, I am aware of the addition of
, and , however this guide was originally done before the 3 were revealed and put on showdown. And while I have some idea of how they might do in these kinds of teams, i prefer to not give my overall opinion on them since they're quite new to the game. If you wanna go ahead and experiment with them, feel free to do so.Okay, after a Long awaited guide (sorry it took me so long, im been busy with school and work) I hope I was able to give a more in details of the playstyle. And of course, it would be Rewd of me if I didn't gave you a sample team to start up with.
Thank you all for your attention, I also wanna give some mentionings to Sulo, Solaros & Lunaris, TheRainQueen, MurderousMantyke, and hidin for helping me out on this guide.
Also I have another guide similar to this, but for Sun teams if anyoje is interested, check this link: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/national-dex-metagame-discussion.3710848/page-5#post-9475876
I hope this guide gets to be of good use, and gave you guys a better understanding of the Hyper Offense playstyle.
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Dragapult ban? Not really... sure it's good and versatile, but there certain mons that can still beat it, if DD, Lando and Great Tusk take it hits well. If specs, either betwewn something like Pursuit Tyranitar of Kingambit would punish it, or a revenge killer like Scarf Tapu Lele can scare it of. Hex can sort of be stopped by Gholdengo, Gliscor, and definetly Gargancal. So while not every team will run these mons, these are solid enough in the tier to be used on a daily basis, and thus many team can be naturally equipped to handle Pult.
Walking Wake ban? Probably not, sure so far it's showing to do some work, but only in Sun teams, and some Rain teams. And yes, those teams are good. It is still too soon to tell if banworthy or not(But so far, I like his addition to Sun.)
Yeah, and how do you know which set it's running? Most checks for DD will die to specs. Pult is the greatest menace of this tier and it's almost mandatory to include it in your team. It can plays several roles and sweep with a single DD in the late game. At least it deserves a test, and people will decide.
True, the hardest part is scouting the set, but once figured out, you can play around it. Not 100% garantee, but ypu should be prepared for it considering how popular is it.
All Dragapult sets are easily stopped by Kingambit or the Heatran + Mega Lopunny core. These Pokemon enjoy high usage across every elo bracket.
Even Gholdengo/Mega Lopunny with good prediction can win out.
Specs is the worst set with the lowest ceiling. Hex/WoW is better done by Skeledirge. Physical is overrated - +1 Dragapult can only kill Gholdengo or Heatran using NEN, meaning good prediction into a Ghost resist ruins the set. If Dragapult attempt to use Phantom Force counterplay is very easy, either tera or switching back to the resist.
Genuinely not true. Skeledirge serves a much, much different purpose than Dragapult. Does Skeledirge pivot out on Pursuit trappers with U-turn? Is it more offensively threatening? Is it faster? Like, there's a ton that differentiates the two, from their entry points (Dragapult has a good amount of them i.e. Skarmory, spinblocking against Great Tusk, Rotom-W, etc) to their partners, and what they check. You absolutely do not look at a team and say "huh. I think Skeledirge would fit much better here as a status + Hex user!" because the two aren't comparable outside of such a role.
"Good prediction" is never a valid argument ever when discussing whether something is good or not. With good prediction, I can consistently swap to resists vs any offensive threat. With good prediction, I can safely tell exactly when my opponent will switch and respond with a coverage move or double switch. With good prediction I can win every game ever unless I'm unprepared for whatever mon my opponent brings. Unfortunately, "good prediction" shouldn't be what keeps a Pokemon in check. Prediction is a powerful tool, yes, however nobody will always predict perfectly. Prediction is moreso used in sticky situations where the odds are stacked against you, or when the reward outweighs the risk enough to go for it. If the only thing that keeps my team from getting torn apart by Pult is switching between resists - I mean, ignoring the fact that Pult loves to pair itself with hazard setters and many ghost resists are affected by hazards, but ignore that - that sounds like a pretty unhealthy Pokemon to me! I don't play SV much anymore so I won't make any statements on how Pult is, but the way you're putting it makes it sound far too difficult to check.
Are you going to elaborate on this? Or are you just going to say things and expect everyone to believe it? Personally, I think an amazing speed tier and instantly threatening ghost + dragon stab is pretty good, but apparently you think otherwise. Why? You haven't explained it at all.
Neither does Dragapult?
Even a burned Kingambit with zero fainted allies still 2HKO's U-Turning Dragapult.
Yes, it is.
Skeledirge has a higher SpA than Dragapult and it doesn't need to waste a turn to get a +1.
The Torch Song/WoW combo is scary to switch in to without a Fire-type.
I don't really fear switching a Steel type into anything Dragapult commonly runs, its two highest BP moves are Dragon-type.
Skeledirge is also an excellent tera abuser while Dragapult isn't really.