Project The Top 10 Titans of the Gen 8 OU Metagame

[ausma]

approved by us
OP largely taken from Agent Gibbs, Jordy, and Gary
horrible banner edited by me

​

Sword & Shield OU was a long, challenging ride, as it brought many unprecedented tiering approaches to the table. Not only was a generational mechanic banned for the first time, but a large range of Pokemon were also actively removed from the metagame starting out, and even more challenging was that many of these Pokemon were reintroduced in massive bursts with not just one, but two DLC drops. As such, SS OU as a tier went through several key phases, with several Pokemon excelling in some but falling flat in others. This makes the evaluation process for the tier's Top 10 titans a very unique experience compared to previous iterations of this project.

With the unique nature of Gen 8 OU put on the table, there's clearly quite a bit to discuss, and a shocking range of Pokemon that could be feasibly nominated here. The big question that we will try to answer with this thread is, which of all the Pokemon were the 10 most influential throughout the entirety of Gen 8?

From May 24th to June 7th, you will nominate Pokemon that will be voted on for the top 10 most influential Pokemon throughout Gen 8. After that, you will all evaluate all the nominations and individually rank the Pokemon from 1-10 by vote. Of course, all the nominations will count as long as they're reasonable and fit the criteria. Please keep in mind that we're not ranking Pokemon based on how good they are, but we're ranking Pokemon based on how influential they've been. When nominating Pokemon, consider their influence not just in the current Crown Tundra format, but in the Isle of Armor, Home, and Pre-Home metagames as well (if they were there, of course)!

Please use the format below to frame your posts or we won't count them!

Format

Enter your nominee's sprite here.
:ss/pokemon:

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Explain how the Pokemon effected the metagame as whole, and how the metagame adapted around it. A brief description of which Pokemon it countered and which Pokemon it did well against would be good here as well. Be sure to consider their impact in previous iterations of SS OU as well if they weren't removed.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Explain why this Pokemon was used on a team more often then most other Pokemon, and what was it particularly used for? What made it so good at this role?

What caused it to have a significant impact?

What exactly made this Pokemon have such a large impact on the metagame? Was it its stats, ability, useful resistances, amazing synergy, or the ability to sweep most of the metagame very easily? Did a certain Pokemon cause it to become that much better when it was partnered with it?

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

What are the best checks/counters to this Pokemon? How does the metagame adapt to this Pokemon?

Format Example

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Mandibuzz's Big Pecks set absolutely warped the metagame, as the entirety of the metagame was forced into niche checks like Chople Berry Tyranitar to even have a moniker of a chance against it. Stealth Rock was almost completely phased out of the metagame with Mandibuzz around.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Mandibuzz was used as a bonafide wallbreaker, but its Defog set was good too I guess. Dragapult and Kartana crumble to its might, and nothing in the tier took on its unique STAB combination. Big Pecks gave it vital Fighting-coverage that in tandem with its brutal STAB combination made it an offensive powerhouse that put a severe chokehold on the tier. It is also an unparalleled Defog user, trumping and outlasting every Stealth Rock setter with its trusty Rocky Helmet.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Big Pecks, high bulk, longevity, and its typing were important in shaping its influence, as no other Defog and setup sweeper had the combination of traits Mandibuzz did, making it a very one-of-a-kind powerhouse.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Nobody beats Mandibuzz.

please don't make joke nominations. they will be deleted. if you want to nominate mandibuzz though (which you totally can) go ahead

You're allowed to reserve nominations, but make sure to finish them in 24 hours, or they will be back up for grabs! Also, you can only reserve one nomination at a time. This is to make sure that your reservation gets done before you finish another. If you pick a Pokemon that has more than one form, be sure to clarify which it is.

 

[ausma]

All Nominees:

(Single Strike)

Top 10 Titans of the Generation 8 OU Metagame:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.


Honorable Mentions:
1:
2:
3:

 

[Endrism]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Dragapult has had a stranglehold on the metagame since day 1. It was even considered bannable at one point before DLC1 with its immense speed stat. It caused Clefable to start investing in some special defense just to live 2 shadow balls, and I would like to believe is the cause of SpDef Lando-T's entire existence.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

The most constant role it has played is a potent wallbreaker with Choice Specs. Although many different variations came of it including; Flamethrower, Hydro Pump, Thunderbolt, Hex, and Dragon Darts all run on the specs set for different prominent mons in the meta. Alternatively it was run as a HO Sweeper with Dragon Dance and Weakness Policy, utilizing Screens to eat a Knock Off, set up a DD, and sweep the opponent with Dragon Darts and Phantom Force. Will-O-Wisp Hex Pult was also played around with during the more defensive era of the generation, but has fallen out of favor in the heavily offensive based meta we stand in.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Being a Pseudo-Legendary with the second highest speed stat in the meta definitely helped. 100 Special Attack wasn't much, but with the incredible ghost typing, specs shadow balls were, and still are meta defining as the ghost type benefitted big time with its inclusion, along with the exclusion of pursuit, which otherwise would've hurt Pult big time.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

CB Tyranitar is by far the best check, able to use the sand boost and its already hefty special defense to scoff at Shadow Balls and Draco Meteors. Flamethrower sets got completely walled and was required to run Hydro Pump to beat T-Tar, and thats only if its offensive. A defensive rocker/sand setter T-Tar completely walls even the Hydro Pump variants.

Weavile also served as an interesting check, as once you know Shadow Ball is locked you can swap into the ever threatening Weavile, which lives 2 shadow balls from full, and you can begin to threaten a HEFTY Knock Off to be incoming.

SpDef Lando-T also played nicely against Pult, able to swap into Shadow Balls pretty nicely and threaten a Knock Off of its own.

Blissey doesn't even really need mentioning, but is easily the best check to any Specs set, however if Dragon Dance shows itself Blissey is in big trouble!

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

it slowed the meta down a halt with its wish port shenanigans in DLC 0 post home where you basically could not force progress on clefable due to its very high longetivity and its ability to just heal up many teammates back to full health. It was even ranked to S+ as the only pokemon in SS OU to do so Clefable is so far ahead of the rest of the metagame to the point where you are actively hurting your team if you don't run it, save for hyper offensive teams. The rise to S+ signifies just how far ahead Clefable is of the rest of the metagame.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

As a teleport wish pivot, this was because this meta allowed clef to freely pass wishes to slow down games to a halt making it so games took forever since every pokemon could just be healed back to full health, so all that chip you did on conkeldurr for ex. via burn could just be restored or ferrothorn is at 40% and ITS SO LOW but it just got wish back up to almost full hp... what a shame

What caused it to have a significant impact?

It can freely throw of wish ports to heal teammates back up making it so teammates can be easily healed up back to full health, games were slowed down and clefable was so ahead of the pack due to its high longetivity and its inability to be easily threated by most of the meta allowed it to be so meta defining in this time with wish port

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Status spam + specs hex dragapult or Hyper offense, my thought process was if I can apply enough pressure I can deny clefable the opportunity to ffreely wish pass without sustaining huge amount of damage, usually by forcing it to take on threats such as NP LO hydreigon, DD dragapult, SD hawlucha, NP gengar, and some potentially huge offensive threats

 

[Red Raven]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Garchomp didn't really take off until a few weeks since the Crown Tundra dropped. In the early days, it was mostly overshadowed by Zygarde. Slowly, it climbed up the usage stats to the point that now, it is among the top five mons in the tier. Once it was realized that Garchomp can have a variety of items to use, fairy types began risking taking heavy damage from its earthquakes just to block its scale shot boost

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

In most scenarios, Garchomp is used as a swords dance user, both as a wall breaker and sweeper. It is also a staple on hyper offense teams due to its status as an electric immunity while combining the roles of wall breaker and sweeper in one set. Other roles include mixed attacker with draco meteor and fire blast to catch walls like Slowbro and Buzzwole off guard. There are also defensive stealth rock sets that rose to prominence after Spectrier was banned. With rocky helmet as its item, it was one of the best ways to punish contact moves especially Cinderace. In recent months, Garchomp would often use a specially defensive set to better handle threats like Heatran and Volcarona with its advantage of its competition, Landorus, being that it resists both stealth rock and fire type moves

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Garchomp has always been one of the best mons ever created with a perfect combination of stats, typing and movepool. The Crown Tundra gifting it scale shot completely changed the game and turned it into one of, if not, the scariest sweeper in the entire tier. The loss of firepower from the transistion from gen seven to eight due to removal of z moves and mega evolutions also allowed Garchomp's bulk to have more of an impact that last gen

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

In my experience, the easiest way to deal with Garchomp is to limit its space. Nothing has ever change for Garchomp in its non sweeper role so how you deal with it in previous gens would still apply. The scale shot sets is the one that is tricky to deal with as it can simply use yache berry to deal with ice shard or roseli berry to take fairy type hits. As such, I believe that status or offensive pressure is the best way to deal with Garchomp

 

[Tysonslayer]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Slowbro was very important early on in OU because it made Urshifu incredibly dangerous to switch into making would-be checks like Toxapex or Clefable not reliably switch into Urshifu's attack, while also being an important mon in checking Cinderace before it got banned. Slowbro had an impact on the metagame causing teams having to play around Future Sight along with the wall breakers it was paired with this led to some use of Substitute Kyurem, Shedinja, and Light Screen Toxapex all to improve teams matchup against Future Sigh. While Slowbro was good against physical attackers a lot of special attackers like Dragapult, Kyurem, and Tapu Lele were used a lot as they pressured Slowbro's poor special defense, and since Slowbro struggled in item slots it was either prone to getting worn down by chip from U-turners like Landorus-T and Victini, or very vulnerable to status effect from Heatran and Toxapex. Around this time with a heavy focus on special attack threats it's Johto cousin Slowking appeared to have taken its place as the Future Sight pivot since physical attackers like Urshifu-R, Victini, and Melmetal weren't used as much as they are today.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?
Slowbro was able to check a handful of important offensive threats such as Melmetal, Urshifu-R, and Rain occasionally, while also being a big support to many attackers thanks to Future Sight as well as blessed with the improved Teleport making it an amazing pivot bringing deadly wall breakers in safely. While Toxapex occasionally competed with its spot, Slowbro's ability to keep up the momentum as well as being incredible in supporting its allies make it a more consistent pick these days as it checks several threats and provides a lot of support for its team.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Its ability to be an effective pivot and enable wallbreakers thanks to Future Sight, along with Slowbro got a massive resurgence when a bunch of physical attackers was almost everywhere such as Melmetal, Victini, Urshifu-R, and Galarian-Zapdos, and many teams not only appreciated Slowbro's ability to switch into them but as well the support it provides. Slowbro was even better when people began using Colbur Berry with it that not only allows for it to lure in Weavile, but be able to stomach a hit and remove it with Body Press, and still be reliable in taking on other important physical attackers.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Putting Slowbro on a timer hinders it a lot from Toxic users like Melmetal or Heatran, where the Slowbro thinks it can reliably check it until now it cannot stay in for that long. Overwhelming it also helps since mons that both lose to Slowbro can pressure it so either one can take it down later. Strong special attackers as well will always force Slowbro out due to the poor Special Defense stat like Dragapult and Tapu Lele.

 

[Garrett]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Arctozolt "justified" Hail to a degree I would argue was not seen in generations 4-7. DPP Walrein does not compare to what Arctozolt did to validate hail as not only a strong offensive teamstyle, but one that requires careful consideration in the builder. It's the UUBL mon with the most punch. If Dracovish taught us anything, moves that get double power when moving first are no joke.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

While most abusers of Hail usually need Aurora Veil up to safely collecting knockouts by first setting up, Arctozolt only needs the existence of hail to wreck havoc. This catapulted rise to Hail that didn't need to operate like a Screens Hyper Offense and focused more on supporting free switches to Arctozolt and complimentary breakers. Its main set featured Bolt Beak, Ice-type coverage, and usually two of another Ice-coverage (Freeze Dry), Fire Fang, Low Kick, or Substitute.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

There are many Pokemon over many generations which are coined (jokingly or not) as "autowins" versus bulky offense and/or stall builds. Arctozolt I would describe as being so hilariously good against fat teams without setup that it is the defining Pokemon this generation that alone invalidates such the most (I say alone because Future Sight + Teleport + other breakers also do the job, but is more of a team effort): physical(!) Bolt and Beam coverage is an absolute delight against the likes of classic stall mons such as Chansey/Blissey, Toxapex, Clefable, even the rarer Skarmory. Freeze Dry rounded off its danger in giving it the ability to be mixed and ruin Gastrodon. In many respects, it was the Hoopa-U of Sword and Shield.

A more direct answer: high Speed + good user of Boots + amazing coverage on top of Bolt Beak + the possibility of running Substitute to reduce the amount of prediction necessary to play with Arctozolt is phenomenal. It is the Dracovish which was never axed.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

• What are the best checks/counters to this Pokemon? - Opposing weather mons like Pelipper and Tyranitar stop the madness of Hail, and many fast scarfers at least base 90 (with a positive speed nature) regain offensive momentum against the funny snow ice man. Bulky Steel types such as Melmetal and Ferrothorn also are usually good vs. Arctozolt but must be careful not to pivot into some of Bolt Beak, Low Kick, or Fire Fang recklessly.
• How does the metagame adapt to this Pokemon? - Most teams must have good speed control to thwart Arctozolt's plans. Usually helpful are the bulky Steels which are also great in the metagame on their own right, and therefore are present on all teamtyles.

My only concession was that it was not used in the first editions of Sword and Shield, but this boy be a big boy.

 

[ausma]

Also, just to clarify: currently banned Pokemon can be nominated. That wasn’t clear in the OP and I wanted to make sure people were aware, especially since so many banned Pokemon did leave a considerable influence on SS OU. Happy posting!

 

[SOM/05]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Rain was a Prominent play style from the beginning of SS OU , But after the Kyurem ban Rain strategy got better with Barraskewda being the primary Rain sweeper. It out-speed and OH KO's most of the meta under Rain. The only thing that could Out-speed it in rain was +1 Regieleki with max speed investment, But it wasn't common as Regieleki didn't run max speed.Thus giving the Hyper Offensive Rain team a huge buff

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

The main role of Barreskewda was seen as a Rain sweeper as it demolished team in Rain, But it also got some usage as a Physical wall breaker and a fast pivot, Due to its High speed and Attack stats.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

One of the highest Speed stat in the Game along with a very good attack and swift swim cause this Pokemon to rise in heights. It paired up well with pelipper liking the Rain support and slow u-turn. It also loved some help from seismitoad because of its ground typing and the ability to OHKO Toxapex. Barraskewda also had Good coverage moves to deal with Bulky water resist of the meta, OHOK's Ferrothorn with Close Combat, Psychic Fangs 2HKO Toxapex, Which are the 2 Best water resist in the meta.

What are the best checks/counters to this Pokemon?

i) The primary check to barraskewda was Rilaboom , As it could take a hit from it and then OHKO it with a Priority Grassy Glide.
ii) Bulky Water types like - Tapu Fini and Toxapex could check it with some good prediction
iii) Stoping the rain Might be the best way to counter barraskewda, Either Killing the Pelipper or Knock off the damp rock Early in the game can check barraskewda

 

[StarFalcon555]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?
Dracovish is probably one of, if not the most centralizing threats to ever grace OU. With just a single move, Dracovish turned the tier on its head, warping teambuilding in such a way that it made Vaporeon look like a genuinely good pick in the tier.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?
Dracovish was primarily used as a powerful physical wallbreaker with either a Choice Scarf or a Choice Band. 75 base Speed was just enough for a Scarfed Dracovish to outspeed any mon not named Dragapult or Zeraora, and Choice Band gave it such good breaking power that even physically defensive titans like Ferrothorn and Toxapex would fold to it. The latter set was especially good on Rain teams, which in combination with the other demon fish Barraskewda, made Rain probably the best team archetype in early Gen 8 OU.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
Two words: Fishious Rend. The moment people figured out how the mechanics of this move worked and that one clip of Dracovish one-shotting a physdef Toxapex from full health was posted on Twitter, Dracovish went from a laughingstock meme that was ridiculed because of its design to a competitive powerhouse that made certain Pokemon fans tremble in fear at the mere sight of it.

What are the best checks/counters to this Pokemon?
The best counter to Dracovish, by far, was Seismitoad. In the pre-Home meta, Seismitoad was one of the few Water Absorb Pokemon available, and due to it being on the buklier side and having the sacred pre-Home combo of Stealth Rock, Knock Off, and Toxic, it went from being an NU mon in Gen 7 to an A-tier OU mon in early Gen 8 OU. When Dracovish was banned, Seismitoad's viability fell off of a cliff, and it is now currently languishing in RU. In terms of checks, the best two would probably have to be Dragapult and Zeraora, who, as mentioned above, were the only two mons that could outspeed a Scarfed Dracovish. However, they were limited to revenge killing due to their fraility and the sheer power of Fishious Rend, meaning one would probably have to sack a mon or two to bring in their Dragapult or Zeraora in safely. If you didn't have one of these three Pokemon, counterplay was usually limited to techs such as... squints at NP thread ...full Defense investment Baneful Bunker Toxapex or physically defensive Rocky Helmet Draco Meteor Kommo-o? Yeah, there really was no true check or counter to Dracovish, and it came as a surprise to no one when it was suspect tested and banned in May 2020.

 

[Dreadfury]

Also, just to clarify: currently banned Pokemon can be nominated. That wasn’t clear in the OP and I wanted to make sure people were aware, especially since so many banned Pokemon did leave a considerable influence on SS OU. Happy posting!

In that case: reserving Urshifu-S!

STILL WIP, but keeping edits here so I don't lose them.

What effect did Urshifu-S have on the metagame?

Single-Strike Urshifu (abbreviated hereafter as Urshifu-S) was OU's most metagame-defining wallbreaker for the majority of the Isle of Armor OU metagame due to its immense power, and it maintained this place in the early Crown Tundra metagame prior to its ban. Its good Speed for a mon of its power, fantastic Dark/Fighting offensive typing backed by incredibly strong STABs, and access to moves like U-Turn, Sucker Punch, and Bulk Up made it a very varied offensive threat. Unlike traditional Fighting-type or Dark-type wallbreakers, Urshifu-S could not be safely scouted around; its Unseen Fist ability allows it to completely ignore Protect, and its signature Wicked Blow is a guaranteed critical hit that, consequently, ignores any sorts of defensive boosts.

Urshifu-S had extremely limited switchins due to the sheer power of its STABs alone; offensive threats were easily 2HKOed even by resisted hits, and even defensive threats can be broken past even without careful prediction. Other Choice-locked attackers (present and past) like Dracovish, Darmanitan-Galar, Tapu Lele, Kartana, and the like can often be scouted by using Protect or Baneful Bunker and then switched into using a counter to that specific move; due to the fantastic Unseen Fist Ability, though, both Urshifu formes transcended this limitation by completely ignoring those moves. The extremely popular Wish+Teleport Clefable, for instance, was not a truly ironclad counter as even it was 3HKOed by Banded Wicked Blow or Close Combat and it was effortlessly 2HKOed by Iron Head/Poison Jab - or, worse yet, put into range of a KO from Wicked Blow.

Debatably Urshifu's biggest effect on the metagame, however, was its role in popularizing the combination of a powerful Dark-type or Fighting-type wallbreaker and a Future Sight user (usually Slowbro, though now Slowking and Slowking-Galar also perform this role very well). While this core remains extremely threatening to this day when backed by a breaker like Weavile or Zapdos-Galar, Urshifu-S was second to none as a wallbreaker when supported by Future Sight, as there is nothing that resists both Future Sight and both of Urshifu's powerful STABs. When backed by Future Sight, Urshifu-S went from being a barely-manageable wallbreaker to becoming completely impossible to switch into safely. Defensive Mandibuzz can endure two Wicked Blows if healthy, but it is effortlessly 2HKOed by Close Combat; Clefable can barely avoid being 2HKOed by Urshifu's STABs as is, but effortlessly gets 2HKOed after Future Sight damage. Even Buzzwole - one of the few mons that simultaneously resists both of Urshifu's STABs and has the bulk to not get completely overpowered by Urshifu unless it specifically opted to run the otherwise-fringe Aerial Ace - hates the idea of eating a Future Sight.

Urshifu-S's ban from OU did not stop Future Sight from falling completely out of favor, as the aforementioned Weavile and Zapdos-Galar would eventually pick up steam as excellent wallbreakers that would become truly monstrous when backed by Future Sight. The Water-type Rapid-Strike Urshifu (Urshifu-R) drastically increased in viability beyond its place on specific Rain teams once Urshifu-S was banned, since while its Surging Strikes was slightly weaker as a baseline and much more exploitable than Urshifu-S's Wicked Blow its usage and viability were no longer held back by Species Clause. Urshifu-R proved to be a fantastic wallbreaker in its own right, especially when backed by Future Sight to help it break past Toxapex, and it maintains a solid place in the OU metagame to this day by taking a page out of its Dark-type cousin's book.

In what main roles was Urshifu-S used?

Urshifu-S's primary use was as a wallbreaker using a Choice Band, and in this role it was nearly unparalleled; however, it could easily function as a lategame setup sweeper that could still wallbreak well due to its access to Bulk Up and strong priority in Sucker Punch, although its flagship Choice Band set was the most frequently used set, and the most oppressive to build and play around. Urshifu-S could be used as a Choice Scarfer since it had so much immediate power even without a boosting item, and as such it didn't need to rely on Sucker Punch to pressure faster threats with this set, but Choice Band and Bulk Up were generally considered much better since they could break past even the bulkiest of threats with ease.

What caused Urshifu-S to have a significant impact?

Simply put, Urshifu-S was the closest thing OU had to the "perfect" wallbreaker; its STABs were immensely powerful and hard to switch into safely, its coverage was useful, and it had several fantastic partners including the Future Sight-using Slowbro as well as other wallbreakers like Kyurem or Dragapult. Its Dark-typing gave it a resistance to Dark and Ghost-type attacks, and its bulk was by no means poor despite being a wallbreaker of immense power. Moreover, Urshifu could find its place on select Hyper Offense teams using non-Choiced sets, with Bulk Up being a devastating setup sweeper under the right conditions assuming Clefable was dealt with - a task that wasn't that tall of an order, considering how often Clefable was tasked with handling a bevy of threats throughout a game. After a Bulk Up boost, Life Orb Urshifu-S hit even harder than Choice Band, and it could always just opt to run a different item instead at the cost of overall power.

Its synergy with Future Sight, however, is what truly pushed Urshifu-S over the edge; with proper support, Urshifu-S frequently claimed a KO since the very small number of semi-safe switchins to its STABs could no longer avoid a 2HKO alongside Future Sight. Defensive counterplay was very limited when Urshifu-S was run alongside Future Sight support and this wasn't extremely difficult to fit onto many teams Choice Band Urshifu made itself at home on.

How did one deal with Urshifu-S in OU?

Urshifu-S could be out-offensed since its Speed, while great for a wallbreaker, was not excellent overall. Threats that could do this needed to be able to survive a Sucker Punch, though; they most certainly could not survive a Wicked Blow or Close Combat if the Urshifu-S user predicted correctly. Physically-bulky Rocky Helmet users like Toxapex and later Buzzwole could wear Urshifu down with chip damage, but any form of contact punishment would risk the user getting KOed by Urshifu-S's powerful STABs anyway, especially since Urshifu-S could ignore Protect and Baneful Bunker. Nevertheless, Urshifu-S's combination of immensely powerful STABs and strong STAB priority in Sucker Punch was overwhelming for most OU teams to deal with as the Crown Tundra rolled around; traditional answers to physical attackers like defensive Landorus-Therian couldn't stop Urshifu-S's onslaught since Wicked Blow's guaranteed critical hits ignored Intimidate's Attack drops, and basically none of the tier's new additions had any business taking repeated hits from Urshifu-S yet still knocked traditional Urshifu counterplay like Toxapex and Clefable down a peg, and nothing could handle both Future Sight and Urshifu's STABs.

Come Sword and Shield's second wave of DLC, defensive counterplay to Urshifu-S was just too limited for Urshifu to remain legal in OU, and as such it was eventually banned to Ubers, where it still maintains a small but very legitimate niche as an extremely strong wallbreaker to this day. As it turns out, powerful Dark/Fighting STAB moves and good priority in Sucker Punch are also very good in an Ubers context, though Urshifu is nowhere near as ridiculous in Ubers as it was in OU due to the much higher power level and the existence of generally-faster threats.

 

[Finchinator]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Zeraora has been one of the best revenge killers and cleaners in the tier for years. In the earlier stages of the generation, it was an elite breaker with practical coverage. Once Landorus-T, Garchomp, and others came around, it was able to be more of a pesky presence thanks to Knock Off and the immunity to Volt Switch. No matter what the metagame had in store, Zeraora always found a way to be an above average Pokemon, but at times it peaked as a clear A+ tier threat earlier on and it has since plateued in the A ranks.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

It was primarily a revenge killer, cleaner, and breaker, but it also served as a pivot in the older metagames with Volt Switch, mixed attacker with Grass Knot in the Hippowdon days of yesteryear, and more recently as a sweeper with Bulk Up.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Having a great speed tier was initially the primary selling point, but its coverage has helped solidify it as an option in a metagame with limited Pokemon that share a similar profile to it.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Nowadays it's all Ground types like Landorus-T, but previously it was a bit harder as people were forced to use PDef Clefable, Hippowdon, or bulkier Grass types, which were less practical.

 

[myself12]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Heatran has been a good offensive and defensive pokemon for a long time. It's Specially defensive set is a good check to threats such as Volcarona, Dragapult, and some Tornadus. Heatran eventually adapted to itself and other metagame trends to run the air ballon set, which used powerful erruptions to decimate teams.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Heatran was used both offensively and defensively. Its air balloon set sat on defensive heatran and used powerful erruptions to destroy teams. Its defensive set was a good check to many threats. Heatran was also used to trap defensive pokemon such as toxapex.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Heatran had a good defensive typing that allowed it to check many threats. Magma storm's side effect of trapping opposing pokemon was also useful, as it allowed heatran to become a stallbreaker.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Any moderately powerful ground can kill heatran with it's STABs, it's also weak to the common water and fighting types of OU such as Urshifu-R and Volcanion. Heatran also needs its lefties if it is defensive, so Knock Off severely crippled it.

 

[clementinabroccolina]

Taking a look at SSOU, NDOU, and BDSPOU... we are knees deep into the era of the weasel!



What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

While woefully underexplored until the crown tundra grew into itself with stuff like Darkshifu gone, this past year or has been Weavile's world with us just living in it. As of right now, Weavile is the mon probably the most responsible for the general aggressiveness of the current meta. When defensively checking it in the longterm is near-impossible without stuff like a certain mean starfish, offense tends to rise to the top (among other things). Weavile managed to bring Buzzwole back into OU relevance as a (infamously and often temporary) check to it. It also has made teams always have to grapple with the fact that they will get knocked off by Weavile one way or another as its knock off is one of the most valuable progress-forcing moves from the sheer damage it can do compared to the other common knocks. Ice weakness mons (notably Dragapult) have had to walk on eggshells and worry about getting chipped and punished for pivoting into ice shard range, and a lot of substitute users can't get their wincons as easily as they wish. The relatively recent Banded Beat Up has also brought a new style of offense to the forefront with high base atk mons and teams designed around making sure Weavile can blow holes as much as possible, turning this ice predator into the star of the show in such teams. The more traditional SD or Band+ Low Kick sets are a common and expected offensive threat teams must and do account for in the builder (and sometimes to their detriment). Weavile was also a big catalyst for the great Galar Rocky Helmet Epidemic.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Weavile is always used as an offensive mon first and foremost, but it has some options in what exactly it brings to the table. Swords Dance Weaviles take on more of a lategame cleaner role (which can still make some progress early on) and have traditionally used boots to get it on the field more easily. Choice Band with Low Kick is more of your traditional wallbreaker that is still fast enough to clean if it needs to, while Choice Band with Beat Up is still a wallbreaker but a more specialized one that uses this move to bypass the very common contact effects in OU that aim to punish mons like Weavile. Basically, it can be a wallbreaker with cleaning tendencies or a cleaner with wallbreaking tendencies.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Knock Off Stab (especially banded) makes Weavile one of the most valuable progress forcers that can use this tool to have the last laugh on its checks potentially and say "I'll deal with you later". Weavile's other movepool options (such as ice shard) to be your wallbreaker, speed control, and cleaner all in one slot. Ice and Dark is an amazing offensive typing, especially when spooky spirits and earthen entities run rampant in OU. One of Weavile's most outward selling points is that hilariously min-maxed offensive spread (and especially for a gen 4 mon lmao). 120 atk is great but not too outwardly remarkable, but that 125 speed is a very unique and valuable speed tier. This thing is blisteringly fast, being only outsped naturally by Koko, Pult, Zera, and of course Eleki. Wallbreakers can often be difficult to defensively check and are usually best out-offensed, and Weavile's speed can sometimes make offensively checking it more of a consideration than many would like.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Toxapex has generally always been the best way to reliably deal with Weavile, and so on teams where Toxapex fits it can usually safely switch into it. Defensively checking Weavile is admittedly a bit wonky, with a lot of switch-ins really disliking losing their item (Buzz, Fini) but they can do the job if you're aware of their limitations. A healthy Koko, Zeraora, or Pult can scare Weavile a lot early on, as can the scarfers of OU. When it comes to Weavile, gameplay can sometimes be a bit like walking on eggshells because this mon in particular is always trying to be one step ahead of its checks. I also almost didn't mention landing a burn or paralysis (like from a good scald or emergency Zapdos sac) which can really take the edge off things.

 

[readytolose]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Corviknight has always been a stabilizing presence in gen 8 OU, from the very beginning. At the start of the generation, it was one of the best mons in the tier due to its ability to check so many key threats. As time went on, Corviknight became less and less omnipresent due to greater competition as other options for Defoggers or defensive Flying types became more prevalent, but it never stopped performing as a defensive pivot as there were always threats in OU it was needed to check.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Corviknight was largely used as a defensive pivot, usually with more physical defense investment. You would usually see this Pokemon on team styles ranging from balance to stall. Some more fringe sets would use more special defense investment, but they generally didn't catch on. Corviknight also had a Bulk Up set, which was much more popular in the early stages of the meta. With Pressure and its good bulk, it served as a usable late-game sweeper.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Good bulk and great defensive typing lets it check nearly every physical attacker that can't hit it super-effectively to some extent. Being Toxic-immune and not reliant on Heavy-Duty Boots gave it great longevity, and this item flexibility let it run Leftovers, Rocky Helmet, or even Shed Shell effectively. Its slow U-turn let it gain momentum against faster attackers it couldn't beat on its own, or on predicted switches. Defog was the main utility it provided and it was well suited to beat common ground-type hazard setters. Pressure added to this by letting it win PP exchanges between opposing Stealth Rock users. Body Press and Brave Bird were its main attacks, each hitting certain targets harder.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Magnezone is one of Corviknight's main threats, being able to trap it and remove it with an Electric move, although it must be brought in with care lest Corviknight U-turns out. Strong Fire or Electric types, especially special attackers like Heatran or Tapu Koko served well to pivot in on Corviknight and force it out, with Heatran being one of a few Stealth Rock setters that could firmly beat Corviknight. Offensive mons like Garchomp, Dragapult, Tapu Lele or Melmetal often ran Fire or Electric coverage largely for hitting Corviknight.

 

[Cdijk16]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Tapu Lele in OU has 2 main sets: Choice Specs and Choice Scarf. Specs Lele is a nigh unwallable wallbreaker. Most of its steel type switchins can be destroyed by Focus Blast. The only hard two stops to it are Specially Defensive Jirachi and Shedinja, both of which are highly niche. This makes it one of the best wallbreakers in OU. The Scarf set is a massive threat to offensive teams. It can outspeed and 0hko most offensive sweepers like Garchomp, Weavile and SD Kartana. It is also an excellent cleaner once it's checks have been weakened. It has forced every team in OU to carry a specially bulky steel type.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

It was used as a Strong Wallbreaker with Specs or a dangerous Revenge Killer with Scarf. It was a fairly common sight of offensive and bulky offense builds. It was often paired with other wallbreakers like Dragapult, Blacephalon, Weavile and Garchomp to overwhelm shared checks. It also appreciated Magnezone support, let it click it's STABs brainlessly and wallbreak.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Owing to its 130 base Sp.Atk and Psychic Terrain, Specs Tapu Lele hits ridiculously hard. It also shares checks with other offensive pokemon like Weavile, letting it form potent offensive cores with them. Psyshock let's it destroy blissey. Only bulky steel types can stand up to its STABs, and most of them risk being destroyed by Focus Blast. Due it's decent 95 base speed, it also makes for a good Scarfer. It's power and speed let's this set outrun and 0hko most offensive pokemon. You also didn't know whether the opposing Lele was Specs or Scarf upon seeing it.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Specially bulky steel types are good checks as they resist it STABs. Examples are Corviknight, Heatran, Ferrothorn, Melmetal , Offensive Celesteela and the niche Jirachi. Tapu Lele has forced ever serious OU team to run a steel type. However, all of them except Jirachi fear Specs Focus Blast. It can also be outpaced and revenge killed by faster scarfers like Kartana and Blacephalon. If revealed as a Specs set, hard hitting hitting offensive pokemon like Choice Band Weavile can threaten it. It is also hardwalled by Shedinja, but Shedinja is very niche and dead weight vs a large part of the meta. Victini is a also a decent offensive check.

 

[malomyotismon]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

While all forms of slowbro have definitely made their mark this generation, slowking-galar stands out as the most consistent and unique of the three. With a solid poison/psychic typing slowking-galar was able to sponge hits and eliminate many pesky fairy types, namely the tapu's and fighting types with relative ease. While having access to reliable recovery it mainly found success in mixed bulk sets aided by an assault vest which was made practical by a hidden ability regenerator allowing it plenty of sustain throughout a match. Its ground weakness while problematic against the likes of garchomp and Lando that could easily ko king may be problematic but access to scald has held many counters at bay from directly switching or lest they be burned. While the presence of knock-off, dracopult, and weavile amongst others have kept slowking from the highs of lando it nether the less has remained a constant presence for it's solid typing, mixed bulk and ability to handle many of ou's top namely fairy threats, while still pressuring many would-be counters from switching indirectly whether by burn or force leaving them crippled should they dare.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Slowking-g was mainly used as a tank, it would come in on things to sponge hits for its teammates and threaten the pokemon back. With would-be counters pressured by it's stellar move pool whether they could switch indirectly safely or not.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

It had the typing, bulk, movepool, and stats to be a solid tank in a meta riddled with fairy threats such as the tapu's as one of it's biggest draws. Being poison helps alot not only in this regard but in general as well for that immunity to toxic that would otherwise cripple many defensive pokemon. While being weak to knock-off is problematic in this metagame since day 1, slowbro-g qualities of being able to tank the majority of the meta games hits while still pressuring would be counters from thinking twice about switching has kept slowbro-g as a regular go to for anyone with fairy troubles or in need of a solid bulky mixed tank.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

dracopult is the bane of slowking-g existence, it's powerful shadow ball often backed by choice specs destroys it and while it isn't fond of directly switching in, when it does it puts the kings team at odds letting in such a powerful specs user especially if dracopult was to predict a ferro switch in instead of going for shadow ball and it being melted by flamethrower. Knock off users in general have to be aware of scald for a p[owential burn but a stab user like weavile is bound is ko galar king while being hit not only hurts from other users like rillaboom, but cripples his mixed bulk on that set significantly. Being weak to ground makes king a target for many prominent ground types such as garchomp or lando that can ko with impunity or heatran who especially on bulky sets can shrug off attacks and hit back with earthpower.

 

[Mimikyu Stardust]

FERROTHORN!

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Lets take this back to the trailers of pokemon sword and shield, after the confirmation of a cut national dex, people fear what would get in and what would be cut from gen 8. Ferrothorn was confirmed to stay since day one due to it being in one of the first trailers for sword and shield and oh boy this thing stayed dominant from day one to day end. Being one of the best defensive stalwart for BO and Balance (while having its niches on stall) it staves off the strongest attacks in OU, be it physical or special and turn those, well, turns into free opportunity to heal with leech seed, set up hazards, spread status or straight up killing them with its decent attacking prowess.

Of course, its main claim to fame is hazard stacking, while you think it wouldnt be that good in the metagame that introduced the dreaded Heavy-Duty-Boots its quite the opposite, hazard stack teams have been great from day one as usual, its just that there exist a hard counter now in boots, ferrothorn carries knock off to help knock the boots of their respective users from the old days of Mandibuzz to the new age Tornadus-Therian and Zapdos. Its hazard stacking capability is always at the top, rarely contested by many due to everything it does alongside it like leech seed, able to wall both side of the attacking spectrum and more.

In the early days of sword and shield where there wasnt much bans, ferrothorn is there to eat up hits from Dynamax Gyarados, Darmanitan Galar, and Dracovish. Even in the darmanitan galar ban threat, ferrothorn was shown to be one of the few pokemon that can help chip it down with hazard alongside toxapex https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/darmanitan-galar-is-now-banned-from-ou.3658369/

Darmanitan-Galar is weak to every single Hazard. Stealth Rock looks like a limiting factor until you play any game against / with Darmanitan-Galar and realize that it will gladly take 25% for the opportunity to dish out an attack, as that will most likely have fatal results. Toxic Spikes and Spikes are mostly limited to a single Pokemon each, Toxapex / Ferrothorn. The former has some trouble fitting them in the first place, would also like to have Baneful Bunker when facing Darmanitan-Galar, and you can run your own to absorb them safely. Spikes can be a nuisance, but at the end of the day they act very similarly to Stealth Rock, and Darmanitan usually abuses Ferrothorn + the structures he is on pretty well.

Not to mention it being one of the few pokemon that switches into the BIG DAMAGE dealing Dracovish (while also being a great partner that beats dracovish's hard counter, Seismitoad) during its stay in ou and letting it be a free set up opportunity for hazard stacking. Ferrothorn also helps with other banned pokemon in the past such as

Beats some magearna sets by resisting its stabs, paralyzing, leech seeding or Gyro Balling if the magearna has boosted its speed
It can revenge kill a boosted by Dragon Dance kyurem black with gyro ball
It can switch into melmetal's brutal double iron bash and punish it with a deadly 12.5 x 2 chip (even more with helmet)
One of the few checks to the deadly kyurem
Resist Fishious Rend and can set-up hazards on it
Can paralyze dynamax gyarados when it was the biggest threat in the game
while it is baked by flamethrower, it can get in on a u-turn and help chip it down

Now how has it effected the metagame? well just look at the viability ranking, it always stays up in the High A's and even journeys to the S from time to time.

Pre-DLC/Sword and Shield https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/ss-ou-viability-ranking-thread-pre-dlc.3658351/

A+ Rank

Aegislash

Conkeldurr

Dragapult

Excadrill

Ferrothorn

Hippowdon

Hydreigon

Kommo-o

Seismitoad

Toxapex

Zeraora

A Rank

Kyurem

Mandibuzz

Terrakion

DLC 1/Isle of Armor https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/ss-ou-viability-ranking-thread-update-post-102.3666340/

A Rank

Aegislash

Amoonguss

Blissey

Ferrothorn

Hippowdon

Hydreigon

Kyurem

Magnezone

Rillaboom

DLC 2/Crown Tundra https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...ranking-thread-see-page-90-post-2242.3674058/

S Rank

Landorus-Therian

S- Rank

Heatran

Weavile

A Rank:

A+ Rank

Clefable

Dragapult

Ferrothorn

Garchomp

Kartana

Melmetal

Slowbro

Tapu Koko

Tornadus-Therian

So its safe to say that ferrothorn is one of the most influential TITANS in Generation 8 Overused. From defending its teams from hordes of dynamax, The Two Titanic Damage Dealing Duo of Darmanitan-G and Dracovish, Mind Meltingly Strong Melmetal and Magearna, The Broken Kyurem's, to stacking layers and layers of hazard, theres no doubt that ferrothorn was one of the best there will be.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?
Well as ive said in the previous section, ferrothorn's main claim to fame is hazard stacking. It gets up rocks and spikes on almost anything, and can threatens counters that may switch in like Heatran, Both Urshifus, Corviknight with Leech Seed or Paralysis. it can also wall some of the STRONGEST threats in the tier from Tapu lele of the now to even Dracovish of the old. This mon is super slappable on any team in OU mainly for Balance and Bulky Offense while having its detour into Stall teams from time to time, hell if we actually look at the sample teams from the old to the new, ferrothorn is always there glueing teams together.

Pre DLC Sample Team

originally by FLCL, later edited by p2

Importable

Hippowdon @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Knock Off
- Body Press
- Spikes

Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin

Rotom-Heat @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 48 SpD / 212 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Overheat
- Discharge
- Nasty Plot

Terrakion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Moonblast
- Teleport

Isle of Armor Sample Team

Kyurem Rain Offense by Ox the Fox:

Dual Electric Bulky-Offense by Finchinator:

Crown Tundra Sample Team

Offensive Zapdos + Swords Dance Garchomp Bulky Offense by Sirwings:

not to mention its enormous usage in many, many, tournaments. So ferrothorn is always there to help bulky offense and balance to have a hazard setter, wall, glue, and many more compressed into one mon.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

From the Typing alone its one of the GOATs, the amount of resistances it has is mind numbing and the fact that in can check so many threatening playstyle from Rain to Special offense to Hail and even stall, it is a great glue for many teams resistance wise. Even more so, it has a vast movepool allowing it to fill many rolls from support with leech seed and status and knock off to stacking hazards with stealth rock and spikes to even sometimes revenge killing with Body Press, Gyro Ball and Power Whip.

Over the years there has been many strong threats in overused but ferrothorn was always there to either support it with chipping their checks with hazards and knock off or even Checking them with its massive bulk on both side of the spectrum. Taking a look at it now, Tapu Lele and Weavile are two massive threats in OU from 2 different sides of the attacking spectrum, ferrothorn can check them both due to having a great typing and also great bulk on both sides able to beat them both.

With its potential for support and ability to be a glue for teams to fall back on, its no wonder that ferrothorn is one of the best pokemon there is in Gen 8.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Ferrothorn biggest weakness in my opinion comes from its strengths to checking everything, people tend to carry more than one or even two of the massive threats it helps check, and those pokemon can sometimes even carry coverage to beat ferrothorn. Weavile and Tapu Lele are often paired together due to their great offensive prowess from both side of the spectrum and can even support each other with Knock Off and Future Sight, while ferrothorn beats both of these one on one, it struggles with beating both of them together let alone if one of them carries a fighting coverage, ferrothorn can struggle with checking everything it can technically check that a team often have to double up on checks so ferrothorn doesnt become death fodder.

another thing to beat ferrothorn are of course, hard counters like Corviknight and Rotom heat in pre dlc, Urshifu dark and Volcarona in DLC 1 and magnezone and heatran in DLC 2. these mons have the stats, coverage, typing and ability to hard counter ferrothorn and makes it basically death fodder.

Offensive Fighting types have always been great in Sword and Shield due to their strong powerful attacks and surprisingly great defensive utiliyy from Pre-DLC's Kommo-o and Terrakion, DLC 1's Urshifu-Single-Strike and Hawlucha to DLC 2's Zapdos-Galar and Buzzwole theyre always at the top of the metagame which is tough for ferrothorns defensive capability, not to mention Flying and Fire type pokemon got an indirect buff due to Heavy-Duty-Boots letting them ignore hazard which sucks for ferrothorn since they counter ferrothorn.

Not to mention Magnezone, without HP Fire it is technically worse but due to the existance of corviknight, another really good steel magnezone usage is always high so ferrothorn will always have to be careful with that.





with all of those in mind, i genuinely think ferrothorn is one the most influential pokemon in this meta despite having items like heavy duty boots cut the utility of hazard in a big way. besides, its also amazing and the best its ever been in Ubers too!,

 

[Espathra Dreaming]

What effect did the Pokemon have on the metagame?

Introduced in the pre home metagame of generation 8, Toxapex as a wall has constantly stayed one of or the best defensive pokemon at all times. Starting off in the infamously defensive pokemon unfriendly dynamax metagame. It was still relevant mainly due to its main haze, scald, recover, baneful bunker, phsyical defensive set. Haze allowed it to be a stopgap to dynamax sweepers but the majority of dynamax sweepers ran moves to beat toxapex due to haze though. Baneful bunker allowed it to scout and and force poisons on dracovish. After the dynamax ban it didn’t change due to its need to deal with those two. After they both got banned it had a little bit of a break until another broken physical attacker rose up got libero and it went back to physical defense and could drop baneful bunker for toxic spikes, toxic, or knock off but baneful was still amazing to force poisons and chip cinderace through the game. Into isle of armour another broken physical attacker that toxapex was tasked with dealing with came up While toxapex couldnt baneful bunker on it and got two hit koed by wicked blow it was commonly used with and used to scout what move It would lock itself into. This then led to sets like bulk up adamant to deal with this and core and more importantly future sight support. Pokémon like and would use future sight and teleport into and close combat and force pex to not come in or die if it did. Toxapex of course being the cool Pokémon it is had a way to answer it being light screen as it could switch into them and light screen when they future sight and sit there and recover or switch into something and weaken future sights damage. Isle of armour ended with future port and being one of the few ways to effectively beat teams with toxapex defensive cores and led to the majority of the player base saying toxapex was suspect worthy. As the crown tundra metagame started toxapex saw a bit of a popularity decline due to the offensive presence of the metagame and pokemon like and being metagame defining and all beating it. It did become one of the best checks to choiced and though it could muscle through it with drill run or shock wave. After the ban wave that comes with new Pokémon. toxapex also was freed up more due to and being banned. It did become less prominent then the isle of armour metagame due to new additions like and initially before it started running shed shell. It stayed Pretty stagnant from then to current ou with physical defense being the main set and while the ban decreased its usage a bit due to bulkier teams decreasing it still is an amazing stopgap and scout to new offense attackers like and that rose since.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?


Toxapex has always been used as a wall and due to its good defensive typing, amazing defense and special defense stats, immunity to toxic, access to amazing moves like toxic spikes, toxic, knock off, haze, scald, and recover and regenerator as its ability it has been a premier option as a stall staple and a solid option on every other playstyle outside of hyper offense. It also is able to customize its set to react to the current metagame as seen in it running items like rocky Helmet, shed shell, black sludge. It switching moves to light screen, baneful bunker and knock off. It also can pacify it’s passively with scald burns, knocking off Pokémon or hazing set up sweepers.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Even from the start it has forced set up sweepers to have moves to beat toxapex. A Pokémon that can set up but can’t touch pex is commonly considered a bad Pokémon. Teams often have to account if they are pex weak and can’t have it knock and toxicing your whole team. It even was one of the few defensive pokemon in ou’s history to be undeniably suspect worthy As it was during the isle of armour metagame.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Toxapex biggest weakness imo is it’s passivity and being suspectable for rocks/spike stacking. As a mainly offense player I found that when building you really do focus on having multiple of your Pokémon beat toxapex or overwhelming it by doing strong neutral hits with hazards up. While toxapex also has haze it can not haze comfortably against the majority of set up sweepers in the overused tier. While regen helps vs hazards you always want to force it to regen as little as possible 12% is huge for any wall. The biggest one though is to limit the turns where pex can knock off, tspikes, scald etc. Make it come in solely to scout or to force a haze then die due to it having to haze. Toxapex shines when it can come into like a clefable or a urshifu and get itself a knock or a tspikes/toxic on your team. Basically like any wall you have to keep it playing reactionary and try to force any chip even with burn you can

 

[BT89]

What effect did the Pokemon have on the metagame?

Ever since it was introduced in the IoA metagame, Magearna was an overwhelming offensive monster in the OU metagame. It received some incredible new tools, namely Draining Kiss, Stored Power and Trick, moves that fit its offensive niches incredible well. It quickly became one of the most difficult to handle Pokemon in the tier thanks to its sheer variety of sets, from Specs to CM + Shift Gear to even the use of CM / Iron Defense / Stored Power / Draining Kiss in the IoA metagame. A few months after IoA had began, Magearna was deemed too overwhelming by the community and was banned by a whopping 82.94% majority.

When the Crown Tundra DLC came out, Magearna was unbanned along fellow Ubers Melmetal and Cinderace, and after the rather chaotic beginning of the Crown Tundra settled down, Magearna continued being an upright dominant offensive threat, maintaining absolutely insane versatility and having little to no consistent answers due to the sheer variety of sets. Ultimately, just a few months after the meta had settled down, it, along with Cinderace were re-banned from OU. As of now, Magearna currently resides in Ubers, with little to no chance of a suspect back into OU.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Magearna’s biggest claim to fame was its Choice Specs set, which was viewed as one of the best Choiced wallbreakers in the tier, thanks in no short part to its amazing bulk, absolutely ludicrous defensive typing (which made up for its mediocre Speed), and an excellent STAB in Fleur Cannon, which was incredibly difficult to switch into reliably. This let it act as a nuclear wallbreaker that still boasted some amazing defensive utility.

Magearna’s other main use was as an incredibly potent win condition, usually with CM + Shift Gear, but other sets like CM + Iron Defense also saw some use. Magearna’s great defensive benefits made it incredibly easy for it to find set up opportunities and took advantage of Magearna’s great ability that gave it insane snowball potential. These sets were also much more varied in terms of what they could target thanks to its massive coverage.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Magearna was often considered the best Pokemon in the tier by the time it was banned in Crown Tundra. This mainly stemmed from its lack of consistent counterplay, both offensively and defensively. The amount of viable sets it could run offered it a place on many playstyles, like hyper offense, bulky offense, sand, and balance.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Magearna’s checks were few and far between, thanks to its impeccable set variety. Offensive counterplay in general was very difficult to come by, as even though set-up variants could be overwhelmed by excessive offensive pressure, due to how strong it hit, it could more or less pick and choose any potential checks and counters.

Generally, the best way to beat Magearna was to abuse its low Speed to offensively overwhelm it. This was offense’s best bet if they did not pack a Volcarona. Two weaknesses to fairly common typings (Fire and Ground) meant that it was somewhat exploitable by offensive teams.

Each set did have some respective counterplay though. Choice Specs had some decent counterplay, mainly in the form of bulky specially defensive Pokemon like Slowking-Galar, Heatran, Blissey, and Toxapex. However, all of these could be abused with either Trick or Volt Switch. The best checks were Slowking-Galar and bulky Volcarona, due to their ability to take all of Specs Magearna’s hits with ease, mainly due to their resistance to Fleur Cannon and their fantastic special bulk.

Set-up variants were much more tricky to answer, due to their ridiculous snowball effect and ability to boost their bulk simultaneously. The best way to answer these variants was to prevent its boosts. This mainly came from defensive Pokemon like Haze Toxapex and Taunt Heatran.

 

[ausma]

What effect did the Pokemon have on the metagame?

Kyurem has been a menace since the generation's inception, and while it certainly had its ups and downs, when it hit its strides, it was considered banworthy. What really made Kyurem the strongest it's been was easily because of the new move additions coming into the generation, most infamous of which being Freeze-Dry which entirely removed bulky Water-types from its pool of checks. The addition of Freeze-Dry by itself massively shaped and warped the usage of bulky Steel-types in the metagame, however, other additions in Dragon Dance and Icicle Spear helped really push it to a degree that the tier found eventually incapable of handling as it could extremely easily modulate its pool of checks in tandem with its already great coverage, highly customizable stats, and utility options. It was the latest in the line of bans for SS OU, being banned in December of last year.

It was obviously elite in Crown Tundra, especially as that was the meta where the primary sets that broke it (NeverMelt-Ice and Sub + Dragon Dance) were discovered, but it was still fantastic and influential all throughout the generation. It primarily packed a Choice Specs set that nobody really had reason to deviate from, especially with no pink blobs in the way. It had no switch-ins (besides Scizor) and relied on the Kyurem opponent predicting around it correctly. In Pre-DLC before Blissey and Scizor came back, this was sometimes was outright impossible depending on your composition due to how strong Freeze-Dry was as a midground wallbreaking option, and how the tier's premier Steel-types at the time, save for Aegislash, were neutral to Ice-type moves. This pretty much meant Rotom-Heat was your best bet coming into its Ice-type STABs and Earth Power, but even it could be eventually overwhelmed, and it wanted nothing to do with Draco Meteor. It plateaued some in IoA when Blissey was hip due to its new toy in Teleport, but once people realized how strong it was anyway as well as how blatantly bulky and disruptive it was with SubRoost, it continued to do what it did best.

Kyurem has been a defining wallbreaker and stallbreaker alike since the start of the generation, and the combination of its raw strength and set versatility massively dictated defensive backbones in Pre-Home and IoA, and eventually when optimized, advanced to a point that was considered too unhealthy for the tier to handle.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

It often performed as a premier wallbreaker and stallbreaker with sheer strength and PP stalling mechanisms, however on non-Choiced variants, its superb customizability and highly potent natural bulk in tandem with a Water- resistance and not caring much about being burned by Scald did provide its share for offense, especially since it took advantage of bulky Water-types so well in general.

Wallbreaker variants were pretty clear-cut: get in, and claim KOs. Choice Specs had much more bang for its buck and had a much more generational impact, but was prediction reliant and Stealth Rock weak; however, the Crown Tundra special in Never-Melt Ice variants traded a bit of power in exchange for everything Choice Specs would want with all of Kyurem's innate benefits, losing its prediction-reliant nature and coming packed with Kyurem's natural defensive utility, while still having just enough strength to score vital ranges against Pokemon like Corviknight and Ferrothorn with its Ice Beam.

PP Stalling sets took a bit of a different angle, as they played hardcore to Kyurem's top notch PP stalling abilities and the unresisted combination of Freeze-Dry and Earth Power (save for Rotom-Heat). While SubRoost + 2 Attacks was frequent, by far the most dangerous was SubRoost + Dragon Dance, which was capable of the astounding feat of PP stalling Toxapex by a mile while transforming classic Choice Specs check Blissey into decisive setup fodder. With its massive EV customizability, it can further expand the pool of Pokemon it turns into setup fodder, even including threats like Heatran and almost singlehandedly forcing it to run Steel-type STAB. While being threatening, these sets also came jam packed with defensive utility, especially with the defensive investment they often called for.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Put simply: set options. While each of its sets were independently very difficult to handle and strained teambuilding independently, the combination of its different variants meant it was near impossible to fully cover without multifaceted, dedicated forms of counterplay, which applied a degree of teambuilder pressure that transferred near unequivocally to the battlefield. Furthermore, even with conscious counterplay, even a single change of moveslot could throw everything off, especially with the longevity granted by Roost and the general offensive flexibility of Freeze-Dry. Never-Melt Ice variants could easily slot on moves like Rock Slide or Draco Meteor and your Volcarona would be deleted, for instance, or could pack Icicle Spear to punish Galarian Slowking and Blissey.

Aside from set versatility, each set was also individually impactful due to sheer strength, its effectively perfect PP stalling abilities, and highly flexible/dangerous STABs. Choice Specs and Never-Melt Ice could never not be accounted for at least to some capacity, especially in earlier phases of the generation where counterplay options were even more limited. Choice Specs particularly had the consistent strength and coverage to remain a staple throughout the generation, even as checks in Blissey and Scizor began to pop up. SubRoost also had some serious kick, picking up in Isle of Armor to exploit Blissey usage and peaking in strength with Crown Tundra thanks to the discovery of Dragon Dance sets, which in tandem with Choice Specs further incentivized Scizor usage.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Stacking checks and having at least one form of dedicated counterplay was necessary on teams that came packed with defensive backbones, as otherwise it had a free delete button or could potentially use one of them as PP stall/setup fodder. Counterplay options and approaches to handling Kyurem were about as complicated as Kyurem's playstyle itself.

Obviously, stacking Steel-types to blanket answer its Ice-type STAB and STAB Draco Meteor was a pretty popular choice and often the go-to for most teams, highly encouraging options such as SpDef Heatran, AV Melmetal, and Scizor. However, it did nearly always pack Earth Power or Focus Blast, meaning that although they had the ability to deter its Ice-type STAB, Kyurem always still had options to follow up against them. This was worsened by the fact that its STAB moves were powerful enough to apply natural pressure against them anyway, and then be eventually put in range for a follow-up coverage move in the case of Never-Melt Ice and some SubRoost variants. Due to its exploitable Speed tier, offensive checks were also a decently reliable way of threatening it out, which bulky pivots like Slowbro who invited it in were handy in helping put into position. Though, with clever investment, some potential wallbreakers like Weavile at +2 were out for the count, and Kyurem could potentially even live some other absurd moves.

Scizor, Volcarona, Blissey, and AV Melmetal were among the most popular and were its best checks at its peak, but in pre-DLC the closest thing you had was SpDef Ferrothorn, Corviknight, and Clefable, which reinforced teambuilder pressure to a particularly egregious extent especially with WishPort Clefable to keep it healthy into Stealth Rock. Isle of Armor brought more to the table in the aforementioned Scizor, Blissey, and Volcarona, but Blissey's much higher usage in comparison to Crown Tundra meant Focus Blast was generally higher value as a coverage option for Kyurem; Blissey use also managed to surge SubRoost usage a solid amount in this era with Scizor mostly phased out earlier on, Magearna being locked away, and Jirachi usage being low.

Scizor was the closest option there was to a Kyurem counter due to an optimal type, longevity, and priority Bullet Punch to always have the upper hand on it offensively, making it a very solid blanket check to all of its variants. However, it had to be wary of Freeze and being burnt by things like Flame Body Heatran, a very popular partner for Dragon Dance variants, which meant even Scizor could be trumped under the right conditions. In fact, Kyurem by itself gave Scizor tour-level viability in Crown Tundra and was a huge reason it was eventually really solid in Isle of Armor as well.

 

[ausma]

All Nominees:

(Single Strike)

Top 10 Titans of the Generation 8 OU Metagame:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Also: please check this post before making any nominations! I’ve had to delete a few, including a fully written one. I don’t want you to waste your effort so please keep an eye on this post regarding Pokemon people have already claimed!

 

[LOOR]

idk if this is allowed but i wanted to do a out of the box type post here because i thought it would be fun, ausma is allowed to send me hate messages on discord if ive broke her rules .


What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Cloyster with kings rock was a set for quiet a while in the generation, being a threat but being seen as nothing but mu fish cheese. Sometime before OLT 2021 Kings Rock Cloyster and similar hax builds using kings rocks and other strategies such a bright powder and quick claw sky rocketed in popularity. As people realized that having a 50% chance of flinching is insanely effective in making progress. The popularity of Kings Rock Cloyster bled into OLT as it was a effective (but luck reliant) option for HO to make progress against fat builds that at the time had caused HO a ton of problems. This opened the flood gate for teams such as Kings Rock spam, Sand Veil Chomp Sand, Galarian Slowbro teams or good old Cloyster screens to single handily ruin a good portion of the qualifying phase of this OLT, forcing games into three scenarios; have melmetal, set your cloyster up first, or dont get lucked lol. Even if you stack steel types there was always instances where Cloyster was one flinch away from winning the game.

This was a problem. OLT is seen as a good introduction tour for newer players to breakout and with the uncompetitive nature of the ladder this put the legitimacy of the tour and even to those qualifying into question. Obviously, nobody wants that and after some policy discussion on how to approach the ban due to item bans being quite the rare occurrence, kings rock was banned. This whole situation regarding Cloyster had an impact on other tiers and generations even before the ban, with these hax strategies popping up in other tiers after realizing its effectiveness in SSOU. After further policy discussion OU/other tiers/old gens started to ban hax related items and strategies due to their uncompetitive nature, an impact we are still experiencing in OU due to recent complaints of quick claw related teams, a ban we thought would be impossible before but with the precedent set by how kings rock was dealt with, is totally possible now.

Cloyster losing its kings rock didnt seriously hurt its viability, as its still a great pick on hyper offense builds, being one of the more popular options due to its natural bulk allowing it to set up on physical threats like weavile and make progress accordingly. Despite Cloyster no longer being the rage inducing hax monster it use to be, its impact on this generations tiering policy is incredibly notable as its made us go back and revisit similar instances in previous generations.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

While at the moment cloyster is mostly a cleaner, being up to set up and win games after a lot of the heavy lifting is done by the rest of the team. In its prime cloyster could also be called a breaker. The kings rock set was incredible vs fat teams as pokemon such as our beloved toxapex didnt have many options to prevent you from winning the game other than spamming haze and recover, and if you flinch it once or twice and/or get a read such as a regen switch right you basically just win. Unaware clefable got flinched, ferro gets flinched, tran gets flinched. We didnt really have a ton of pokemon that would be able to take a +2 spear/rock blast that was immediately threatening to cloyster other than melmetal. revenge killing options were also minimal, cloyster takes nothing from ice shard and also had the option of ice shard so pokemon such as rillaboom needed to be preserved at all costs to deal with it.

Cloyster is still great at the job it does, picking up quite a few wins in recent tournaments. However, we are far from the days of it ruining tournaments.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Cloyster with kings rock becoming so prominent had defined and arguably saved the Hyper Offense playstyle as it was in a bad spot, coming off the loss of two huge players which helped it break through fat teams. The popularity of cloyster screen teams also changed the way we built hyper offense, with relatively the same structure being one of the more successful HO teams at the moment. Simply put, Kings Rock was a insanely valueable tool on cloyster and for ho. The 50% flinch rate and the ability to set up on a ton of relevant pokemon in the metagame made it a threat capable of muscling through its checks given some luck. Even chipping down its checks for teammates that share them later in the game.

The threat that kings rock cloyster became had also made us experiment with other hax options such as Bright Powder Sand Veil chomp. The rise in popularity of these strategies caused us to review our current policy towards item bans and apply them to current tiers and older gens.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

use melmetal, if not, pray

TLDR: Cloyster cements itself as a notable part in SSOUs history due to his insane synergy with the item kings rock. A combination that for a while ruined the competitiveness of a tournament and caused us to review our policy on item bans and bans regarding uncompetitive strategies across all tiers and generations. While it may not be the immediate "top guy" you might think of like say magearna or pult, I believe cloyster deserves a honorable mention based on its impact on tiering policy alone.

bonus nom it was the best mon to ever grace this meta. finch agrees. moody did all of this first but nobody talks about it and pretends like that era of SSOU never happened. i wont forget though. free moody in gen9ou. ausma is trying to silence me, saying i cant make a glalie/moody post.

 

[Abhi]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Heatran has been a good offensive and defensive pokemon for a long time. It's Specially defensive set is a good check to threats such as Volcarona, Dragapult, and some Tornadus. Heatran eventually adapted to itself and other metagame trends to run the air ballon set, which used powerful erruptions to decimate teams.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Heatran was used both offensively and defensively. Its air balloon set sat on defensive heatran and used powerful erruptions to destroy teams. Its defensive set was a good check to many threats. Heatran was also used to trap defensive pokemon such as toxapex.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Heatran had a good defensive typing that allowed it to check many threats. Magma storm's side effect of trapping opposing pokemon was also useful, as it allowed heatran to become a stallbreaker.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

Any moderately powerful ground can kill heatran with it's STABs, it's also weak to the common water and fighting types of OU such as Urshifu-R and Volcanion. Heatran also needs its lefties if it is defensive, so Knock Off severely crippled it.

Absolute chad for nominating heatran and ill be elaborating as it is my mascot and cuz heatran deserves more than one nomination because its a cutie.

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Honestly where do I even begin... Ever since it stomped its fiery feet into the SS OU metagame its always had a use, be it fending off against the ominous robotic monstrosity that was Genesect to being the offensive and defensive powerhouse that it is now, it never failed to be relevant in the metagame (not to mention that its adorable which is why I theorise GF made it so powerful). Not only does it greatly affect teambuilding forcing most teams to have a surefire way to deal with it, its also played a part in making things like Specially defensive Landorus-T, and Hippowdon, Slowking, Shed Shell Toxapex, and even helped make defensive Dragonite a thing (which was arguably not one of its proudest moment, defensive Dragonite is balls). Also don't get me wrong these sets and Pokémon probably would still be there in the metagame at some point and would thrive, I'm just saying Heatran helped these sets be a bit more viable and gave them more reason to exist and definitely was one of the reasons they developed. Not only that both of Heatran's defensive and offensive Air Balloon sets have also made a significant splash in the pool that is SSOU and its consistency (ironic cuz magma storm ) in the meta has landed a respectable S- spot in the viability rankings and its managed to remain there for the past few months. Also it was so good at a point, about 15% of the player base thought it should be banned / suspected in a survey( although arguably small that's still a respectable amount of people wanting it to be banned and although I'm a devout follower of Heatran I could see why ). It even garnered a whopping 62% usage in SPL finals and 56% usage in semifinals ( although its worth keeping in mind this was probably because of the very small sample size and its average usage rate during the rest of the tour was a respectable 34.27% ), and that's just two rounds of a single tour. Its made countless appearances in other SS OU tours like SCL and the ongoing WCoP and last years SPL and WCoP as well.

I think its safe to say Heatran has significantly affected the meta in probably both positive and negative ways, being one of the best Stealth Rock setters, and forcing every team to have a check or significant counter play to be able to deal with its barrage of annoying Magma Storms, Toxics, and Taunts. And even making some Pokémon's life just a bit harder like Volcarona or Genesect for the like the 1 week it was around? Its affect on the metagame is undeniable and I personally think Heatran-less OU would look quite different and would be significantly less fun for me .


In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Heatran's primarily played a defensive role for most of the metagame, being able to deal with just so much with its great natural bulk and being able to keep up Stealth Rock in the face of most the defoggers in the meta. Don't be fooled though, Heatran still has also been an offensive menace this whole time because its checks have not historically been that perfect at dealing with it, since there's no Gliscor. Most of them just don't last very long (that's what she said) in the face of constant chip damage from Magma Storm, Toxic AND Rocks. Its also had some offensive sets like Air Balloon which was pretty meh to occasionally decent early on but has now become a fucking menace recently and is an amazing breaker, being able to not only check opposing Heatran but also able to break through some of its checks like Landorus-T with its new found power and temporary Ground-immunity. This set is made better by the mind boggling base power of Eruption with its galvanizing 130 base SpAtk makes which shivers the timbers of God himself. We're lucky it doesn't last long.

Its offensive power is even amazing at stall breaking as it always has been, annoying the fucking shit out of Toxapex's (which had to start running Shed Shell) and Blissey's. Stall teams no longer having Gliscor forced them into running what I like to think French people in the Pokémon world have for breakfast because of it (ironwater can u confirm or deny). It wasnt just limited to stall, it annoyed most defensive Pokemon even those that were supposed to check it because it is just that good at its job.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

In a few words, Annoying Bitch behaviour (Its part of why I like it honestly, as I myself am an annoying bitch, ask literally anyone and they'll tell you the same thing). To be more specific it's its ability to break down teams when given the chance ( and the luck ). Its extremely effective at not only neutralising its own checks but also others with its signature move MAGMA STORM. We all have a love hate relationship with this move ( if you say you don't you're either lying or a lucky son of a bitch ) and its frankly amazing when it hits and extremely sad when it doesn't. Its high base power paired with its significant chip damage each turn makes it deal a lot of damage to almost everything. Even things that resist it like Garchomp or Toxapex find it annoying especially when paired with its other moves like Toxic, and Taunt. This pestiferous move makes the opponents life hell, unless of course they're a ground or water-type in which case you're no longer in a great spot ( although you do get significant damage on most opponents nonetheless). This along with its amazing natural bulk exacerbated by investing in its special defenses and Stealth Rocks made it an extremely easy fit in teams blanket checking almost all of the special attackers while giving a harder time to things like Volcarona, Torn-T and Tapu Lele. It even used to be practically the only Stealth Rocker which could deal with Corviknight (back when it was still cool) making it a splashable mon in all sorts of teams.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

You Can't.

JK of course you can or it would be banned (the day it does get banned is the day I commit grand theft auto and drive into the ocean to meet SpongeBob and live a life away from the human world because what use is living a life up here without Heatran in it.) Despite the extremely positive picture I've painted throughout the post Heatran has its fair share of downsides and shortcomings ( and I don't mean the fact that its physically short at 5'7" [that's actually how tall I am too but I believe in growth after the age of 15]). Its main disability is its lack of recovery, except Leftovers its got nothing going for it so its very susceptible to chip damage from hazards or moves especially after its been knocked off which happens quite often in this meta where seemingly half the mons have the move. Of course that can be played around but it does make its bulk a little less effective at stopping breakers although that does not mean that its unable to do so, it just fails to do it continuously over the course of a game. Its typing although sometimes a blessing can also be a curse because super effective coverage for it is everywhere, things like Dragapult and Tapu Lele do commonly run that type of coverage which although cant get rid of it completely can dent it very effectively. Also one of its biggest strengths in Magma Storm is also one of its downsides, this Pokémon does not function well without this move and this move is not only inaccurate but also has only 8 pp, making it somewhat risky to use. Although definitely on the more scarce side there are a good amount of Pokémon that can effectively deal with it though they might eventually succumb to its power, but its also important to keep in mind that Heatran might face the same fate. Its offensive set is also similar and has similar shortcomings but on top of that it also lacks Leftovers which makes it a lot more susceptible to Stealth Rocks and it also cannot really afford to lose its Air Balloon as its hampered without it, still functional of course but worse since it loses one of its main gimmicks and ability to abuse things like Landorus-T. Its also not got the best defences when compared to its defensive counterpart so it doesn't take hits very well either. Its low speed as a breaker also hurts.


I personally think that Heatran absolutely deserves a spot on The Top 10 Titans if not in the Top 5, its affected the meta immensely and its presence is undeniably strong and even with its fair share of short comings its an absolute powerhouse.

PS: Its a dog, no I will not elaborate.

​

 

[Jaajgko]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Hydreigon was among the best if not the best wallbreaker during the pre-dlc era. Anyone who played pre-dlc OU knows how insane Hydreigon was at wallbreaking. It was one of the main reason why players ran max spd Clefable. It definitely created many teambuilding headaches and I'm probably not the only one who thought it was broken during pre-home.
It was still a strong option in DLC-1, but with Blissey's presence it couldn't break through teams as easily which made it drop from A+ to A rank. During the Magearna era it struggled a bit more as well.
As DLC-2 came out, Hydreigon struggled even more offensively, with all the new fairies and the general speed tier + power creep rising, but it had high usage during the Spectrier era, being one of its best counters, and was top 5 in usage in SPL XI. After Spectrier's departure, it became way less popular and dropped to UU, but still has a decent niche in the metagame.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

It was an amazing wallbreaker throughout Pre-DLC and in DLC-1 OU, but mainly became a defogger that counters Heatran, Volcanion and Blacephalon in DLC-2. It saw decent usage as a Scarfer in the early days as well.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

In SS OU, ghost types have been very strong. Dragapult throughout the gen, Aegislash and Gengar in the first two stages, Chandelure in Pre-DLC, Spectrier and Blacephalon in DLC-2. With Shadow Ball having 20% to drop SpD, relying on Toxapex or other non-ghost resists to deal with them is always a risk, so ghost resists are very valuable in SS. Hydreigon was one of the best options as a ghost resist, with its decent bulk and access to Roost, and the power it brought to teams. In Pre-DLC, it was appreciated for its high speed (with only 7 faster mons in S through B ranks), and wasn't used much with Roost, and fit well on offensive teams that wanted a very strong breaker that could also switch in once into a Specs Shadow Ball and check Nasty Plot Rotom-Heat.
It was kind of the same in DLC-1 but with Chandelure and Aegislash becoming less popular, and Urshifu-SS making competition as a dark type, it was less splashable. It also gained brand new utility in being able to prevent Slowbro from setting up safely Teleport + Future Sight.
What saved its viability in DLC-2 was its ability to counter Spectrier and Heatran, which are both very hard to switch into. After Spectrier got banned, it lost a lot of viability, especially with Weavile rising as a dark type. It has found new utility as a counter to Blacephalon and Volcanion, and as a resistance to Choice Band Beat Up.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?

In the early days, sub np hydreigon started to take off, but with U-Turn Mandibuzz rising in popularity, it started running LO 3 Attacks to shut down everything after a boost. To survive a +2 flash cannon, players started using max spd clefable to have good chances of surviving an attack from full, but players adapted to that by running modest hydreigon, to be almost guaranteed to ohko clef from full. The only solid defensive answers to Hydreigon were Sylveon and Primarina (which was only accessible after HOME came out). Tyranitar and Scarf Togekiss definitely helped checking it, but weren't reliable switch-ins. Needless to say, it was very hard to deal defensively with Hydreigon in pre-dlc OU, and counterplay was mostly to give it as few opportunities as possible, and to make predicts like going hard Dragapult, Terrakion or Zeraora on a predicted Nasty Plot when it was on the field. There weren't many defensive staples that gave it free switches though, so it had to get in via predictions or pivot moves. Not many mons besides the aforementioned 3 were able to revenge kill it either. Other options consisted in priority or scarfers.
In DLC-1, Blissey became a solid answer with Teleport and Toxic, but it wasn't splashable enough to give it too much trouble.
In DLC-2 though, it gained a new counter in Tapu Fini, and its speed tier is now much less impressive, with many metagame staples having over 100 speed. It's also very hard to fit Flash Cannon and Nasty Plot in this meta, meaning Clefable now becomes a counter as well. There are much more revenge killers as well, like Weavile, Kartana, Garchomp, Koko or Zapdos-Galar.

To sum it up: while it's not as relevant in the current DLC-2 metagame, it was a very strong presence in the two (3 if we count pre-home) other stages of SS OU, and did have a high peak in usage in DLC-2.