The Grave Diggers Of OU

Introduction

When thinking about powerful Pokémon, Ground-types are quick to come to mind, and it shouldn't be hard to see why. Ground is one of three very fortunate types in the entire game that Steel, a type that is infamous for its numerous resistances and high defenses, is weak to, the only other two types being Fire and Fighting. What sets Ground-type coverage from Fire- and Fighting-type coverage is the fact that there are very few types that resist it, with only two types resisting and one type being immune (though there are other means of avoiding Ground-type moves, such as Levitate and Air Balloon), and while Flying-types are fairly common, most of the Grass- and Bug-types of OU have a secondary typing that removes their resistance to Ground, such as Mega Venusaur's Poison typing, Ferrothorn's Steel typing, Volcarona's Fire typing, etc... which makes Ground one of the better offensive types in the game. But that isn't to say that Ground-types are all about offense, as even though they have very few resistances, they happen to resist Stealth Rock, which gives them more opportunities to switch in even with Stealth Rock set up, and they also hold an Electric immunity, which lets them freely switch into Volt Switches and Thunderbolts from the likes of Mega Manectric and Raikou. But Ground-types aren't invincible juggernauts, as being weak to Ice- and Water-type moves can be quite burdensome at times, especially with threats such as Keldeo, Azumarill, (Mega) Gyarados, Manaphy, and Rotom-W as relevant as they are. Furthermore, while resistances to Ground-type moves are somewhat scarce, Ground immunities are actually fairly common in OU, mainly with Flying-types such as Landorus, Gliscor, Talonflame, and Thundurus, as well as Pokémon with Levitate, such as Gengar, Latios, Latias, and Rotom-W, so Ground isn't the perfect offensive type by any means. But at the end of the day, the Ground-types of OU have solidified themselves as dominant and very relevant threats, and this article will showcase the best of their kind.

Diggersby

Typing: Normal / Ground
Stats: 85 / 56 / 77 / 50 / 77 / 78

We start this off with Diggersby, which is known as one of the harder-hitting Ground-types allowed in OU for several reasons. First, while base 56 Attack is very misleading, even that can be turned into a meaty Attack stat after factoring in Huge Power, shooting all the way up to a massive 464 Attack when running an Adamant nature. Diggersby's other stats aren't too shabby either, as it has just enough bulk to take a neutral hit and just barely has enough Speed to outrun Heatran. Second, Diggersby's STAB coverage is excellent, hitting everything bar Gengar, Skarmory, and Mega Aerodactyl for at least neutral damage, and having powerful STAB attacks in Return and Earthquake will definitely rough the opponent up. Third, Diggersby has useful moves in Wild Charge to more easily dismantle Water-types and Skarmory, Knock Off to take on Gengar and remove opposing items, Fire Punch to roast Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor, U-turn to punish switches and maintain offensive momentum, and Quick Attack to get the jump on faster opponents. Finally, what makes Diggersby a truly fearsome wallbreaker is its access to Swords Dance, and unlike other wallbreakers like Mega Garchomp and Mega Heracross, Diggersby has the luxury of holding an item such as a Life Orb, which drastically increases its offensive might to the point where even Skarmory would have difficulty walling just its resisted Returns. All of this makes Diggersby one of the better wallbreakers in OU, as it can easily dismantle many defensive Pokémon if given the chance, such as Mega Altaria, Clefable, Gliscor, Heatran, Mega Sableye, Mega Scizor, Hippowdon, Rotom-W, Slowbro, Mega Venusaur, and Jirachi. Alternatively, Diggersby can don a Choice Scarf to act as a powerful revenge killer, using its decent movepool to crush offensive Pokémon such as Mega Metagross, Mega Diancie, Latios, Thundurus, Mega Manectric, Tornadus-T, and Raikou.

Though as good as Diggersby is at hitting hard, there are some severe flaws that prevent it from taking OU by storm. First off, Diggersby's defensive presence is quite limited, as even though I previously mentioned that its other stats aren't too shabby, they still aren't exactly stellar; 85 / 77 / 77 bulk will only hold together so well, and 78 Speed isn't going to be outspeeding any sweepers anytime soon without a Choice Scarf either. Which leads me to Diggersby's biggest issue: Diggersby can only hold one item at a time, but it needs each item equally. Diggersby needs Life Orb to hit walls hard enough, Focus Sash to live a hit so it can safely set up a Swords Dance, and Choice Scarf to not be outsped by every offensive Pokémon in the entire metagame; Quick Attack does patch up the latter issue for the wallbreaker set, but it isn't very powerful without a boost, thus making the decision between having immediate power from the Life Orb and guaranteeing a Swords Dance with Focus Sash even more important. Speaking of Speed issues, priority is also a very big threat to Diggersby, as its typing leaves it weak to Aqua Jet, Mach Punch, and Ice Shard, and its low defenses mean that Talonflame can easily threaten it with Gale Wings Brave Birds. Diggersby's weaknesses to Water-, Ice-, Grass-, and Fighting-type moves also means that many Pokémon such as Keldeo, Azumarill, Mega Lopunny, (Mega) Gyarados, Manaphy, Rotom-W, (Mega) Slowbro, Starmie, Mega Venusaur, Mega Gallade, Kyurem-B, and Mamoswine can either outspeed or take a hit from Digggersby and retaliate back with a powerful super effective attack.

Diggersby is a Pokémon with some glaring shortcomings, but it has just enough to perform its job well.

Excadrill

Typing: Ground / Steel
Stats: 110 / 135 / 60 / 50 / 65 / 88

Excadrill has a big reputation as one of the few Pokémon that were banned in a previous generation but are no longer banned, so this should already be a huge indicator to Excadrill's power. Back when weather-summoning abilities such as Drizzle and Sand Stream provided permanent weather and Excadrill was allowed in OU, Excadrill was an absolute monster because of its Sand Rush set, which let it outspeed everything in the metagame, even most Choice Scarf-wielding Pokémon. This, combined with its sizable Attack, respectable movepool, access to Swords Dance, and excellent typing, made Excadrill an almost unstoppable force in BW, which of course resulted in its banishment.

One generation later, and the environment around Excadrill has greatly changed, as Sand Stream no longer provides permanent weather. There are also a whole slew of new threats were introduced in XY and even more in ORAS, which was plenty to bring Excadrill down to OU, and Excadrill has comfortably made its home in OU. Excadrill is a sweeper if there ever was one, and it's one of the scariest sweepers in OU at that. Excadrill functions best in the sand, abusing Sand Rush to reach a monumental 550 Speed when using an Adamant nature, which is enough Speed to outrun even a Choice Scarf Starmie if you were bold enough to use one. This excellent Speed is made truly effective by its meaty base 135 Attack, which is backed by an Adamant nature mind you, and Excadrill has great STAB moves in Earthquake and Iron Head to threaten a wide variety of threats, as well as Rock Slide for good coverage against Flying-types. Finally, Swords Dance allows Excadrill to boast absurd power, which can let it easily cleave its way through offensive teams. But if a Sand Rush sweeper isn't up your alley, then that's no problem! Excadrill also comes with Mold Breaker, which allows it to slip past Levitate users such as Rotom-W and Gengar and allows it to pull off a more tankish role. To support this role, Excadrill also gets access to moves such as Stealth Rock to provide the team with passive damage and Rapid Spin to remove hazards for its team, as well as a pretty good Ground / Steel typing. Speaking of Excadrill's typing, the benefits it provides are actually pretty amazing, as not only does Excadrill take next to nothing from Stealth Rock, but also has 8 resistances and two key immunities to Poison and Electric; the Poison immunity means the bulky sets aren't worn down as easily from Toxic, and the Electric immunity means the Sand Rush set has no fears of Thundurus and Klefki interrupting its sweep with a Prankster Thunder Wave.

Excadrill is a Pokémon that has few flaws, but those flaws are somewhat glaring. First off, while Excadrill does boast multiple resistances, it has 4 very commonplace weaknesses to Fire-, Water-, Fighting-, and Ground-type moves, meaning without a Swords Dance, Excadrill, in the best case scenario, runs a very high risk of being checked by Keldeo, Azumarill, Gliscor, Landorus-T, Mega Scizor, Garchomp, Mega Gyarados, Hippowdon, Manaphy, Rotom-W when lacking Mold Breaker, and (Mega) Slowbro. Excadrill's 110 / 60 / 65 bulk is adequate, but won't let it take hits as well as you'd think, which makes setting up a Swords Dance even more difficult and limits how effective the tank set is. Finally, as previously mentioned, Sand Stream only lasts up to 8 turns now, so Excadrill will only have up to 8 turns to sweep the opposing team, which is made difficult when bulky and defensive Pokémon such as Landorus-T, Gliscor, Mega Scizor, Rotom-W, and plenty more are ready to stall or force it out, thus limiting how long Excadrill can sweep for. Opposing weather also pose a huge threat to Excadrill's sweep, as Mega Charizard Y can remove the sand with Drought and easily check it by virtue of higher Speed and powerful Fire STAB moves, and rain teams will rip Excadrill apart once the rain is present. Without sand, Excadrill's mediocre base 88 Speed becomes apparent and a whole library of sweepers can have their way with it.

Excadrill isn't what you'd call a perfect sweeper, but it might seem like one if your team lacks an answer to it.

Garchomp

Typing: Dragon / Ground
Stats: 108 / 130 / 95 / 80 / 85 / 102

Being one of the fan favorites among competitive players, Garchomp has always had a good reputation. But Garchomp's start in OU earned it a quick banishment because of its ludicrous stats at the time: it had a great Speed tier, a very sizable Attack stat, usable Special Attack, and unreal defenses for an offensive Pokémon. Garchomp's ability Sand Veil also made it complicated to play around, as once Tyranitar or Hippowdon summoned sand, Garchomp could turn simple attacks into gambles, as fighting against accuracy made approaching Garchomp feel more up to chance than anything. With all of this, it was all too clear that Garchomp had to go. While BW managed to pull Garchomp out of Ubers, it wasn't just because of the new threats around it, but also because Garchomp's hidden ability, Rough Skin, was made available to it. Once Garchomp received an ability that didn't trigger the evasion clause, it was decided that Garchomp should be tested in OU. To no one's surprise, Garchomp managed to avoid being broken, yet is still known as one of the best Pokémon in BW.

While many things have changed for it again, Garchomp still holds up as one of the better Pokémon available in OU. While not as significant anymore, base 130 Attack is still very high, and having access to powerful STAB moves in Outrage and Earthquake still provides it with excellent neutral coverage, thus making it even more difficult to take hits from. In fact, no stat of Garchomp's goes to waste, as 108 / 95 / 85 bulk is still pretty stellar for an offensive Pokémon, and while base 102 Speed isn't nearly as significant as it once was, it's still more than enough to outspeed defensive Pokémon with, and it's actually a pretty good Speed tier for using Choice Scarf. Due to its excellent all-around stats, Garchomp can perform a wide variety of roles in the current metagame, such as being a Choice Scarf revenge killer, an anti-lead, a wallbreaker with Swords Dance, and a tank set to thoroughly wear down physical attackers with Rough Skin and a Rocky Helmet, so it's not hard at all to put Garchomp on a team. Due to this versatility, Garchomp is capable of handling a wide variety of threats to fit your team's needs. This can make approaching Garchomp a bit difficult, as it can easily bluff one set just to have it be the other. For example, Mega Scizor is capable of walling Garchomp and stalling it out with Roost, but while Fire Blast can easily 2HKO it, a good player will test the waters to see if the Garchomp is using a Choice Scarf or not. Instead of trying to outpredict them with repeated switches, you can simply bluff a Choice Scarf set. That way, you can lure the Mega Scizor in when the opponent thinks your Garchomp is locked into Earthquake and take off a huge chunk of its health, if not KO it after an Earthquake.

Each set of Garchomp's has its own pros and cons. The Swords Dance set boasts high power, but every other set falls short at times, so it can be easy for bulkier and defensive Pokémon such as Gliscor, Mega Sableye, Hippowdon, (Mega) Slowbro, and defensive Mega Venusaur to take hits from the other sets. The Choice Scarf set allows Garchomp to be a threatening revenge killer, but being locked into a move can be problematic, especially because Fairy- and Flying-types are immune to Dragon- and Ground-type moves, respectively. But for the sets not using a Choice Scarf, base 102 Speed is rather unimpressive without a boost, leaving its other sets to be outsped and threatened by Keldeo, Mega Diancie, Latios, Latias, and Starmie. And while the tank set allows Garchomp to punish physical attackers that try to break through Garchomp, the lack of even Leftovers recovery will greatly limit Garchomp's ability to punish attackers. But regardless of the set used, Garchomp still has some universal flaws. The most significant flaw is Garchomp's typing, which curses it with weaknesses to common Dragon- and Fairy-type moves, as well as a 4x weakness to Ice-type moves, leaving Garchomp vulnerable to Mega Altaria, Azumarill, Clefable, Mega Diancie, Latios, Latias, Starmie, and Mamoswine.

Things have made Garchomp's life in OU more difficult to maintain, but rest assured that this old-time favorite isn't going down anytime soon.

Gliscor

Typing: Ground / Flying
Stats: 75 / 95 / 125 / 45 / 75 / 95

Gliscor has always been a good Pokémon ever since its debut in DPP, but it wasn't always known for its defensive presence. Sure, Gliscor had plenty of bulk to spare, but it was better known for its supportive sets, acting as a Baton Passer and stallbreaker, as well as a wallbreaker of sorts with Swords Dance. However, Gliscor became the infamous wall that it's known as today once it received its hidden ability, Poison Heal, in BW. With Poison Heal, not only did Gliscor gain status immunity after its Toxic Orb activated, but it also gained passive recovery twice as effective as Leftovers, which turned Gliscor into a formidable wall that could be an absolute pain to break through without using special attacks or super effective moves. Gliscor was also one of the Pokémon that made players pull their hair out from the sheer annoyance of its SubToxic set, which could slowly break down Pokémon with Toxic and stall them out with what felt like an infinite amount of Substitutes and Protects.

The transition to XY might have changed its playstyle a bit, but Gliscor still poses a significant threat in the current metagame. Gliscor still has Poison Heal to brag about, as status immunity is a huge deal for defensive Pokémon, and unlike Leftovers, Gliscor doesn't really mind Knock Off once Toxic Orb activates, as it will always have its rapid recovery even when Toxic Orb is removed, thus making it a great answer to Knock Off. Gliscor is also one of the very few Pokémon that is able to directly switch into Will-O-Wisp and not get burned, making it a great switch-in to some burn spreaders such as Mega Charizard X and Mega Sableye. But Gliscor isn't good just because of its ability, as it has many useful moves to perform its job, such as Taunt to prevent foes from setting up and healing, Roost to gain significant amounts of health with Poison Heal, Knock Off to remove items and nail airborne foes, Stealth Rock to provide entry hazard support, and Swords Dance to plow through defensive teams. But Gliscor is best known for being one of the very rare switch-ins to all-out attacker Landorus, a Pokémon that has very few switch-ins, as well as being able to take on offensive Pokémon such as Bisharp, Gengar Landorus-T, Mega Scizor, Excadrill, and Mega Gallade. But what makes Gliscor such a good defensive Pokémon is that it can also beat some good defensive Pokémon such as Clefable, Heatran, Mega Sableye, Ferrothorn, Hippowdon, Mega Venusaur, Jirachi, and Klefki either by breaking through their defenses with Swords Dance or halting their recovery with Taunt. Gliscor's stats are also a big reason behind its success, as base 95 Attack is just large enough to properly abuse Swords Dance, 75 / 125 / 75 bulk is pretty solid with Poison Heal, and base 95 Speed is very good for outrunning opposing walls and Taunting them. Gliscor's defensive typing is also a big help for it, as Electric and Ground immunities and a Fighting resistance are quite valuable, and being immune to Spikes while not being weak to Stealth Rock is a quality that not many defensive Pokémon can boast.

Though as invincible as I've made Gliscor out to be, it does have some serious shortcomings that hold it back from being a top-tier threat. Gliscor's biggest issue is its own typing, as being 2x weak to Water-type moves and 4x weak to Ice-type moves is never any fun, especially with Pokémon such as Keldeo, Azumarill, Surf Latios, (Mega) Gyarados, Manaphy, Rotom-W, Starmie, Kyurem-B, and Mamoswine as common as they are. Gliscor's also a big reason why Electric-types such as Thundurus, Mega Manectric, and Raikou dedicate a moveslot to Hidden Power Ice for the sake of being able to break through Gliscor's defenses. It's also important to note that Toxic Orb doesn't activate immediately and takes one turn after Gliscor is on the field, meaning it's still vulnerable to Will-O-Wisp and doesn't get its passive recovery until the turn after Toxic Orb activates. Gliscor also suffers from a case of four-moveslot syndrome, as it needs Earthquake as a STAB attack and Roost to keep itself healthy, but must choose a secondary offensive option and a move that lets it threaten defensive teams. The secondary offensive move would either be Knock Off or Facade, with the former removing items from foes and allowing Gliscor to actually damage Gengar, while Facade allows Gliscor to beat more threats such as opposing Gliscor, Talonflame, Breloom, Togekiss, and Mandibuzz. The status move is harder to decide between, as Swords Dance lets Gliscor muscle its way past Mega Sableye, a Pokémon that would otherwise be a foolproof counter to Gliscor, whereas Taunt prevents walls from healing off the damage Gliscor inflicts and prevents setup sweepers from powering up as Gliscor takes its time chipping away at their health. You could run both Swords Dance and Taunt to have the best of both worlds, but then Gliscor will have no hope of threatening the airborne Pokémon that are quite common in the tier, which puts Gliscor is a tough spot.

It can be hard to use Gliscor, but once it works, it works wonders.

Hippowdon

Typing: Ground
Stats: 108 / 112 / 118 / 68 / 72 / 47

There are many strong defensive Pokémon: some with flashy moves, others with a great typing, and some with outstanding abilities. Hippowdon is a nice and simple wall, as it relies purely on its stats alone to take hits, which should come as no surprise considering the fact that Hippowdon is a juggernaut when it comes to taking physical hits. Hippowdon started off in DPP as one of the most physically bulky Pokémon in the game, so it stood to reason that it would be referred to as one of the best defensive Pokémon in OU. While Hippowdon was an amazing defensive pivot for teams back in DP, it was better known for its offensive power, acting as a tank that could very easily check physical attackers and pummel them with powerful attacks and respectable base 112 Attack. The transition to BW made Hippowdon shift towards defense, acting as a wall for the team and surviving so its team's chances of winning the weather war would go up.

While the transition to generation VI wasn't as pleasant as it could have been, Hippowdon is still regarded as one of the better walls in OU. As previously stated, Hippowdon is best known for its gargantuan physical bulk, which allows it to split EVs between its two defenses to run mixed bulk and handle some special attackers. Hippowdon's also a rare case among Pokémon with bulk like its own, as it is also fortunate enough to have access to a sizable base 112 Attack and STAB Earthquake, which lets it deal large amounts of damage to Pokémon that try to wear it down. It also has a helpful coverage move in Stone Edge, which helps it threaten Flying-types such as Talonflame, Mega Charizard Y, Tornadus-T, Mega Aerodactyl, Gyarados, and Mega Pinsir. Hippowdon's support movepool is minimal, yet effective, as Stealth Rock support is always appreciated, and Whirlwind prevents setup sweepers such as Gliscor, Mega Scizor, Garchomp, Mega Gallade, and Gyarados from building up the strength to break through its defenses. Hippowdon's typing brings it few resistances, but among those resistances is a Stealth Rock resistance, as well as an Electric immunity to switch into Volt Switches and Thunderbolts from the likes of Thundurus, Mega Manectric, and Raikou, and the former two will fail to 2HKO even with Hidden Power Ice with enough Special Defense EVs, making Hippowdon good answers to them. With all of these attributes put together, Hippowdon can act as an answer to a large portion of the metagame, including foes such as non-Grass Knot Mega Metagross, Bisharp, Landorus-T, Mega Lopunny, Excadrill, (Mega) Tyranitar, Mega Aerodactyl, and Mega Pinsir.

But even the greatest of walls will break down eventually, and Hippowdon is no exception to this fact. While Hippowdon does boast high defenses, this is really all that there is to its defensive presence. Hippowdon's typing does bring it an important resistance and immunity, but it also burdens it with weaknesses to Water-, Grass-, and Ice-type moves, giving it bad matchups against Keldeo, Grass Knot Mega Metagross, Azumarill, Surf Latios, Mega Gyarados, Manaphy, Rotom-W, (Mega) Slowbro, Starmie, Mega Venusaur, and Kyurem-B, and its typing also leaves it vulnerable to burns and Toxic, which will make Hippowdon's job nearly impossible to perform. Hippowdon lacks an ability that improves its defensive presence, with only Sand Stream and Sand Force as available abilities, and while the latter simply has no use without a teammate or opposing team with Sand Stream, Sand Stream can make it difficult to put Hippowdon on a team, as the passive damage on teammates can be detrimental at times. But what could possibly be Hippowson's biggest issue at hand is its low Speed, which limits how well it can wall foes. For example, if Hippowdon is 3HKOed by an attack, it needs to keep its health up before switching out, as it will otherwise be KOed with a one-two combo if it switches in. This makes it difficult for Hippowdon to wall the foes that it does, and it can find itself to be more of a check than a counter if it's taken even a little prior damage.

It can be hard to take hits repeatedly, but when looking for a wall with good stats, you needn't look much farther than Hippowdon.

Landorus

Typing: Ground / Flying
Stats: 89 / 125 / 90 / 115 / 80 / 101

When talking about wallbreakers, Landorus's name is always brought up. Landorus is famous for being next to impossible to safely switch into and was even banned in BW because of this absurdly high power. Landorus was able to break through so many walls with little to no effort thanks to Sheer Force powering up Earth Power among other coverage moves and having what was a crucial Speed tier at the time that outran the common base 100 Speed Pokémon. With access to multiple coverage options, Landorus was able to tear through many top walls, including Jirachi, Ferrothorn, Heatran, Hippowdon, and Tentacruel, and you can believe that almost no offensive Pokémon wanted to switch into one of his titanic attacks. As if that wasn't enough, Landorus could use Calm Mind and Rock Polish to break through defensive teams and Rock Polish to sweep offensive teams. With all of this, it was far too hard to find a viable counter to Landorus without resorting to a gimmick, so Landorus was soon banned.

Landorus was released from Ubers when XY was released, and while he hasn't broken the metagame, he certainly does have a strong hold on it. Sheer Force makes Landorus just as powerful now as he was last generation, which, when combined with Life Orb, makes his best special attacks about 1.6x stronger; that's an even bigger power boost than Choice Specs! Landorus has only gotten more powerful, though, as he greatly appreciates the buff to Knock Off, which allows him to handle Chansey, a Pokémon that would normally be one of the few to be able to suck up Landorus's attacks, as well as remove Leftovers from walls to make his wallbreaking job easier to pull off. Much like in BW, Landorus is best known for the fact that nothing wants to switch into him, and with Knock Off added into the mix, that statement is more true now than ever before, as there are very few defensive Pokémon in OU that can avoid the 2HKO, and offensive Pokémon still can't safely switch in directly for the life of them. Landorus can use just coverage moves to get the job done, but as stated before, Landorus has two very helpful boosting moves in Calm Mind and Rock Polish to specifically threaten defensive and offensive teams, respectively. Calm Mind allows Landorus to power up his already-insane power to unprecedented levels, allowing him to blow through teams lacking only the most bulky Pokémon, while Rock Polish allows Landorus to outspeed every Pokémon in the metagame and crush weakened offensive teams with relative ease. Landorus also has plenty of opportunities to set up thanks to his decent defensive typing and adequate 89 / 90 / 80 bulk, which not only provides a useful Fighting resistance, but also makes him immune to Ground- and Electric-type moves, with the latter being especially helpful so Thundurus and Klefki can't cut a sweep short.

Even though Landorus is one of the tier's most threatening monsters, there are flaws with him that prevent him from being banned again. The all-out attacker set boasts the most coverage, but its biggest flaw is a lack of Speed, which makes Landorus surprisingly easy to just check, especially as Water- and Ice-type moves are quite common. The Calm Mind set is a bit trickier to play against, as even a +1 Landorus can prove too much for dedicated walls to handle, but giving up Knock Off sure makes it easier for Latios, Celebi, Latias, and Cresselia to switch into and pressure him out. The Rock Polish set is a bit easier to play around, as even though offensive teams will struggle to endure his power and Speed, Landorus still has a hard time getting the opportunity to set up without taking a hard hit, and giving up a coverage moves means that defensive Pokémon will have an even-easier time switching into him, depending on the move that Landorus decides to go with. Sadly, this is all that there is to approaching Landorus, as he has ridiculous power even without a Calm Mind, his Speed is still great against defensive Pokémon, and he's still next to impossible to counter.

Landorus was a monster in BW, he was a monster in XY, he's a monster in ORAS, and he most likely will be a monster for every other Pokémon game to come.

Landorus-Therian

Typing: Ground / Flying
Stats: 89 / 145 / 90 / 105 / 80 / 91

Whether you love it or hate it, Landorus-T has always been one of the most famous Pokémon in OU ever since BW. When his stats were first discovered, people were going bonkers over its massive base 145 Attack, because when combined with STAB Earthquake and Swords Dance, taking a hit from this thing seemed nearly impossible. While Landorus-T did use a Swords Dance set, it actually had a wide variety of sets to choose from, such as the popular Choice Scarf set, as well as Gravity and offensive pivot sets. Landorus-T was very effective in each role, handling a wide variety of threats, but the Choice Scarf set was especially obnoxious to face against, as having great assets, such as EdgeQuake coverage, Intimidate to check physical attackers, and U-turn to maintain offensive momentum, made approaching Landorus-T feel like battling two people at once.

When facing a team that has Landorus-T, "God damn it, not this again!" was typically the first thing to come to mind, and that couldn't be more true in today's metagame. Landorus-T might have several sets at his disposal, but the most commonly used set is easily the Choice Scarf set, and for good reason. First off, Landorus-T's defensive typing is pretty good for an offensive pivot, being immune to Spikes and only being neutral to Stealth Rock, as well as having an Electric immunity to counteract any Prankster Thunder Waves from Thundurus. 145 Attack backed by STAB Earthquake is also pretty effective no matter how you look at it, especially with good coverage moves such as Stone Edge, Superpower, and Knock Off to choose from, and because Landorus has a reasonable base 91 Speed, it's possible to use an Adamant nature to maximize damage while still outspeeding a large portion of the unboosted metagame. Intimidate is also a huge factor to Landorus-T's success, as being able to weaken physical attackers upon switching in means he can act as a great check or even a counter to them, and 89 / 90 / 80 bulk also helps greatly in taking hits. But quite possibly the biggest draw to Landorus-T is his access to U-turn, which is the move that makes approaching Landorus-T so tricky. You might have something that can wall Landorus-T all day, but that isn't stopping him from using U-turn and switching into a counter for your counter. Intimidate and U-turn are an especially powerful combo, as the Attack drop can force out physical attackers that don't want to take a hit, which can give Landorus-T the opportunity to harshly punish the switch by dealing some damage to the switch-in and allowing one of his teammates to safely come in and handle the situation. With all of this, Landorus-T is great insurance that prevents powerful offensive Pokémon such as Mega Metagross, Mega Charizard X, Mega Diancie, Latios, Talonflame, Thundurus, Mega Charizard Y, Excadrill, Mega Manectric, Tornadus-T, and Mega Pinsir from overwhelming your team.

Even though Landorus-T seems impossible to approach, it isn't some invincible monster that can't be beaten. The problem with approaching U-turn is always going to be present, but never forget that this problem is due to the Speed that a Choice Scarf brings, which means Landorus-T either has to rely on the relatively weak 70 Base Power of U-turn to deal damage and gain momentum or use one of its actual offensive moves and be locked into it. For example, a Landorus-T locked into Earthquake is helpless against airborne foes such as Landorus, Gengar, Gliscor, opposing Landorus-T, Latios, Talonflame, Thundurus, and many others. Landorus-T is only difficult if it's spamming U-turn, and it's not that hard to approach once it's locked into an attack. Because Landorus-T lacks an item to boost its power, Landorus-T often finds itself unable to OHKO bulkier foes and can fail to 2HKO defensive Pokémon such as Mega Altaria, Clefable, Gliscor, Mega Sableye, Mega Scizor, Hippowdon, (Mega) Slowbro, and Mega Venusaur. Landorus-T is also a Pokémon that's very predictable to face off against, as it's usually spamming U-turns to gain offensive momentum, so you can play around it by attacking the switch-in, setting up field hazards or stat buffs, and recovering off the damage. However, Landorus-T is by no means an easy foe to play around, as even though being locked into an attack means you can bring in an appropriate counter, your Pokémon still has to take a hit, which can be a risky play considering how much power it has. No matter how predictable it is, a Landorus-T spamming U-turn can still create problems when you're trying to find an answer to it, as switching into a Pokémon to take a hit from Landorus-T runs the very high risk of your opponent using U-turn and screwing up your play.

All in all, Landorus-T is a pain to fight against, is fun to fight with, and is a top-tier threat that should never be taken lightly.

Mamoswine

Typing: Ice / Ground
Stats: 110 / 130 / 80 / 70 / 60 / 80

Mamoswine is one of the most interesting Pokémon available for use in OU, as it's always been what you could call an anti-meta Pokémon. People questioned Mamoswine's usefulness at first, as Ice-types are infamous for being relatively bad in OU for their multiple weaknesses. However, Mamoswine quickly found a home as one of the more reliable leads in OU, as it could take on opposing leads such as Aerodactyl, Metagross, and Empoleon, as well as check foes such as Tyranitar, Heatran, Dragonite, Gliscor, Flygon, and Lucario. Mamoswine's typing might have left a bit to be desired defensively, but it was an amazing boon to its offensive might, as Ice / Ground coverage is resisted by very few Pokémon. BW was even kinder for Mamoswine, as many big threats such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, Latios, Ninetales, Terrakion, Hydreigon, Tentacruel, and Thundurus-T emerged, and Mamoswine was one of the best answers to them.

While the competition around it has sharply gone up, Mamoswine's presence as an anti-meta Pokémon has only gone up during the transition to XY. Thanks to its typing, Mamoswine can brag the rights to having near-perfect neutral coverage in its STAB moves alone, and with access to powerful STAB moves in Earthquake and Icicle Crash to break through defensive Pokémon combined with a meaty base 130 Attack, Mamoswine can be surprisingly difficult to take hits from. With that said, Mamoswine can afford to run STAB attacks for all of its moves, including Ice Shard to get the jump on many Dragon- and Flying-types such as Landorus, Landorus-T, Latios, and Thundurus, and Freeze Dry to slip past Rotom-W and Gyarados, two Pokémon that would otherwise beat Mamoswine. 80 Speed is also acceptable for outspeeding many walls, and 110 / 80 / 60 bulk combined with Thick Fat, which removes its Fire weakness and adds an Ice resistance, is just good enough to let Mamoswine take some abuse before going down. But while an offensive Mamoswine is hard to take hits from, a lead Mamoswine with a Focus Sash is just as effective in supporting its team, as Stealth Rock support is invaluable, Endeavor is a great way to break down foes that recklessly go for an attack, Ice Shard is still a great way to threaten Dragon- and Flying-types even without a Life Orb and combos well with Endeavor, and Knock Off can aid in removing Leftovers from walls. Oblivious was an ability that no use in competitive battling at first, but then XY upgraded it so that it also protected the user from Taunt that seem to be almost everywhere, which really sets Mamoswine apart from other entry hazard setters.

Sadly, Mamoswine does have some very bothersome flaws that prevent it from becoming a top-tier threat. First and foremost, Mamoswine's defensive typing has always been a huge burden to it, leaving it weak to common Water-, Steel-, and Fighting-type moves (as well as Fire-type moves when lacking Thick Fat). This, combined with the fact that 80 Speed will leave it outsped by many sweepers and 60 Special Defense holds up horribly against special attackers, leaves offensive Mamoswine checked by many common foes such as Keldeo, Mega Metagross, Choice Scarf Heatran, Mega Lopunny, Mega Charizard Y, Sand Rush Excadrill, Mega Gardevoir, Mega Gyarados, Starmie, and Mega Gallade. Another flaw with Mamoswine is its lack of a boosting move, as even though 130 Attack and near-perfect neutral coverage with its STAB moves can seem overwhelming, there are plenty of bulky Pokémon that are able to endure Mamoswine's Life Orb-boosted hits and either stall it out or retaliate, such as Azumarill, Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, Calm Mind Manaphy, (Mega) Slowbro, defensive Mega Venusaur, Mew, Skarmory, and Suicune. The lead set is more difficult to stop from performing its job, but is much easier to avoid casualties against, as there are more Pokémon that can take an unboosted attack, such as Clefable, Mega Sableye, Rotom-W, Mega Venusaur, and Gyarados.

Honorable Mentions

Mega Camerupt

Typing: Fire / Ground
Stats: 70 / 120 / 100 / 145 / 105 / 20

Mega Camerupt is a Pokémon that would seem very powerful, but its stats can be very misleading. 120 / 145 offenses backed by Sheer Force turns Mega Camerupt into a wrecking ball that's capable of breaking down many that would attempt to switch into its attacks. And while Mega Camerupt fails to break through some of the metagame's walls, it can become a scary sweeper with Trick Room support, as a pitifully slow base 20 Speed can turn it into a speed demon, making it a huge threat to offensive teams when given the right support. However, Mega Camerupt's flaws are rather glaring, as its Fire / Ground typing leaves it with a 4x Water weakness and a 2x Ground weakness, and while having a Fairy resistance with Electric and burn immunities is nice to have, 70 / 100 / 105 bulk will not hold as well against neutral attacks as you'd think. Being a Mega Evolution, Mega Camerupt takes up a valuable team slot, and lacking the ability to hold an item like Life Orb and Leftovers will leave a bit to be desired. Not a bad Pokémon, but far from good.

Dugtrio

Typing: Ground
Stats: 35 / 80 / 50 / 50 / 70 / 120

When you look at Dugtrio's stats, you begin to wonder how this thing is able to function in OU, but all of those doubts start to diminish as you realize that Dugtrio has Arena Trap. Being the only fully evolved Pokémon in the game to have Arena Trap, Dugtrio holds the interesting niche of being able to trap grounded Pokémon and revenge kill them. Dugtrio's exceptional base 120 Speed easily lets it outspeed a large portion of the unboosted metagame, and having access to good moves such as Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Reversal lets it do its job quite well. However, Dugtrio's stats outside of Speed are its undoing, as 35 / 50 / 70 bulk is absolutely pitiful, and requires a good deal of team support to compensate for its lackluster base 80 Attack. Plus, Dugtrio faces stiff competition as a trapper with Gothitelle, which boasts actual defenses, sizable power, the ability to trap airborne foes, and access to Trick to cripple walls that would otherwise be able to stall it out. Dugtrio might have the Speed to naturally outrun foes, but Gothitelle has many more strong points that outweigh Dugtrio's strong points.

Mega Garchomp

Typing: Dragon / Ground
Stats: 108 / 170 / 115 / 120 / 95 / 92

Garchomp has always been a powerful Pokémon, so the concept of having a Mega Garchomp is a bit intimidating. Sadly, while Mega Garchomp received very sizable buffs to its offenses and defenses, a decrease in Speed was a fatal mistake on Game Freak's end, as Mega Garchomp now finds itself a bit outclassed by Kyurem-B, which boasts the same offenses, more Speed, and doesn't take up space as your Mega Pokémon. But that isn't to say that Mega Garchomp is completely outclassed, as it has some things that Kyurem-B would kill for. For one, Mega Garchomp has a better defensive typing, lacking annoying weaknesses to Steel-, Fighting-, and Rock-type moves, so it can switch in even with Stealth Rock on the field. Second, Garchomp has access to Fire Blast to 2HKO Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor at worst, so it can cleanly take them out without worrying about taking a hit from their Steel-type moves. But that's as far as the strong points go, as the cons that Mega Garchomp has can't be outweighed by its pros, and the amount of team support required to use it makes it hard to justify using over Kyurem-B.

Gastrodon

Typing: Water / Ground Stats: 111 / 83 / 68 / 92 / 82 / 39

Gastrodon is an interesting case, as it was once a very legitimate threat in BW, but has now diminished in viability because of the nerf to weather-summoning abilities. But despite this nerf, Gastrodon still shows relevance in the form of being a Water absorber for sand teams, acting as a reliable answer to Choice Specs Keldeo, Rotom-W, (Mega) Slowbro, Starmie, Gyarados, and Politoed. This role is made unique to Gastrodon because of its Ground typing, which protects it from sandstorm damage and gives it a resistance to Stealth Rock, and having access to Recover allows Gastrodon to take repeated hits. But Storm Drain is where Gastrodon's viability comes from, as being immune to Water-type moves is helpful when looking for a Scald absorber, and getting to +1 Special Attack after taking a Water-type move can make it hard to take hits from Gastrodon. However, Gastrodon is only useful on helping sand team against rain teams, as its usefulness outside of that role is questionable. Its defenses are only average at best for a wall, so it can't take hits repeatedly. And while its defensive typing only leaves it with a single weakness to Grass, it's a 4x weakness, and Gastrodon still takes neutral damage from a multitude of types, so combined with its limited bulk, Gastrodon has bad matchups against the likes of Landorus, Grass Knot Mega Metagross, Azumarill, Latios, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Gardevoir, Manaphy, Mega Venusaur, and plenty more. Gastrodon's role is limited, but it is what it is, and nothing else can really imitate Gastrodon.

Rhyperior

Typing: Ground / Rock
Stats: 115 / 140 / 130 / 55 / 55 / 40

Rhyperior's a Pokémon that has gone down in viability not because of its own shortcomings, but because of the fact that Bird Spam, or offensive cores that relied on Flying-type coverage to sweep teams, has died down a bit. During the era when Bird Spam was very popular, Rhyperior was a very reliable answer to the playstyle, not giving a care in the world against the likes of Talonflame, unboosted Mega Pinsir, and Staraptor, as none of them could score a 2HKO even with super effective attacks thanks to its monumental physical bulk and Solid Rock, and it could very easily OHKO them back with Stone Edge. Although Rhyperior's role is more limited now, it's not like all it can do is fight Bird Spam, as other big names such as non-Grass Knot Mega Metagross, Bisharp, offensive Mega Charizard X, Gliscor, Landorus-T, Garchomp, Mega Manectric, and Raikou are all checked quite well, and some are even countered. Rhyperior's defensive typing does have its faults, though, bringing 6 weaknesses with two of them being 4x weaknesses, and lacking recovery means Rhyperior only has a few opportunities to perform its job. Rhyperior isn't an easy Pokémon to use, and it isn't even always the right one, but it does have its uses.

Mega Swampert

Typing: Water / Ground
Stats: 100 / 150 / 110 / 95 / 110 / 70

Ever since BW, Swampert has been a Pokémon that had no place in OU, mainly because of how offensive the metagame got. With the introduction of ORAS, Mega Swampert finally got the chance to shine in OU again. Sadly, Swampert won't be shining in OU anytime soon considering that it functions on a rain team. Jokes! With Swift Swim, Mega Swampert becomes a fast rain sweeper that's capable of threatening offensive teams, not only by outspeeding a large portion of the metagame with Swift Swim, but also by abusing its massive bulk to take hits and retaliate. However, Mega Swampert has competition for the team's physical Swift Swim sweeper in the form of Kabutops, which boasts access to Swords Dance to more easily cleave its way through defensive teams, Rapid Spin to clear entry hazards, Aqua Jet to get the jump on foes even without rain, can abuse Swift Swim without waiting for a turn, and doesn't have to hold a Mega Stone. But unlike Kabutops, Mega Swampert has an Electric immunity, which protects it from Thundurus's Prankster Thunder Wave, as well as much better bulk to take hits. Mega Swampert might be a bit outclassed, but it certainly can hold its ground in the current metagame.

Quagsire

Typing: Water / Ground
Stats: 95 / 85 / 85 / 65 / 65 / 35

In the past, Quagsire was always a mediocre Pokémon that no one would seriously use. Quagsire never really reached the realm of viability until BW where it received Unaware, which gave Quagsire the interesting niche of being able to take on physical setup sweepers. This role has more importance this generation than it did the last, as there are many powerful setup sweepers nowadays, such as Mega Altaria, Azumarill, Mega Charizard X, Gliscor, Mega Scizor, Talonflame, Excadrill, and more. Sadly, Quagsire's overall bulk isn't very impressive for a defensive Pokémon, so it has difficulty enduring attacks that are boosted by an item, which limits how often it can switch into attacks. Furthermore, Quagsire's Special Defense leaves a lot to be desired, as even moderately powerful special attackers can easily break through its meager special bulk. Quagsire is one of those Pokémon that's got everything going for it except one critical thing; it has access to Recover to consistently wall attackers, Scald to burn foes, a good defensive typing, and a great ability in Unaware, but its stats just fail it in the most crucial moments.

Conclusion

It might not be apparent at first, but when you think about it, the top-tier threats throughout generations are almost always Ground-types, and when Ground-types aren't the top-tier threat, it's the Ground-type coverage that can make Pokémon the top-tier threats. Some of the top-tier threats that we know and love today might not be where they are today if they didn't have Ground coverage, such as Earthquake Mega Charizard X and Earth Power Mega Diancie, just like how some Pokémon are only so good because of their Ground typing, such as Gliscor and Excadrill. It just goes to show just that the Ground-type, whether used offensively or defensively, and whether as a STAB attack or coverage move, will always be one of the most defining types in OU.

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