Metagame National Dex UU Metagame Discussion - Porygon-Z Banned

Been playing the tier for a little over a week (came in at the tail end of the Gyara/Xurk/Venusaur meta), and I figured I'd offer some basic thoughts. First off, this meta is fun. It seems mostly balanced, especially with the recent bans. Many of my games have been fast paced, which is a breath of fresh air compared to other tiers right now. I also feel like there is a lot of freedom when it comes to team building: balance, semi-stall, and hyper offense are all viable. I hope the tier attracts a wider player base, because there really is a lot to enjoy.
 
:skarmory: National Dex UU :skarmory:
Code:
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Skarmory           |    6 |  42.86% |  33.33% |
| 2    | Rotom-Heat         |    5 |  35.71% | 100.00% |
| 2    | Altaria            |    5 |  35.71% |  60.00% |
| 2    | Urshifu-*          |    5 |  35.71% |  60.00% |
| 5    | Scizor             |    4 |  28.57% |  50.00% |
| 5    | Amoonguss          |    4 |  28.57% |  50.00% |
| 5    | Jirachi            |    4 |  28.57% |  50.00% |
| 5    | Moltres            |    4 |  28.57% |  25.00% |
| 9    | Tapu Bulu          |    3 |  21.43% |  33.33% |
| 9    | Gastrodon          |    3 |  21.43% |  33.33% |
| 9    | Blissey            |    3 |  21.43% |  33.33% |
| 12   | Latias             |    2 |  14.29% | 100.00% |
| 12   | Buzzwole           |    2 |  14.29% | 100.00% |
| 12   | Porygon-Z          |    2 |  14.29% | 100.00% |
| 12   | Krookodile         |    2 |  14.29% | 100.00% |
| 12   | Diancie            |    2 |  14.29% |  50.00% |
| 12   | Celesteela         |    2 |  14.29% |  50.00% |
| 12   | Rotom-Wash         |    2 |  14.29% |   0.00% |
| 12   | Zarude             |    2 |  14.29% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Keldeo             |    1 |   7.14% | 100.00% |
| 20   | Terrakion          |    1 |   7.14% | 100.00% |
| 20   | Weavile            |    1 |   7.14% | 100.00% |
| 20   | Muk-Alola          |    1 |   7.14% | 100.00% |
| 20   | Sableye            |    1 |   7.14% | 100.00% |
| 20   | Alomomola          |    1 |   7.14% | 100.00% |
| 20   | Quagsire           |    1 |   7.14% | 100.00% |
| 20   | Slowking           |    1 |   7.14% | 100.00% |
| 20   | Steelix            |    1 |   7.14% | 100.00% |
| 20   | Hippowdon          |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Slowbro-Galar      |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Zeraora            |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Umbreon            |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Azelf              |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Sharpedo           |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Togekiss           |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Salamence          |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Rhyperior          |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Marowak-Alola      |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Sylveon            |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Infernape          |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Aerodactyl         |    1 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
Thanks for da stats bois! Though since Mareanie is busy I'll be doing the recap of last weeks NDPL usage stats.

:SM/Skarmory:
Skarmory is back and is unsurprisingly the #1 mon for W4. Despite the low winrate Skarm has proven to be an essential asset to any team. A great blanket check to the tiers many physical mons and has a pretty flexible support set ranging from Hazards to Hazard Control and Whirlwind to phase out set up sweepers and rack up hazard damage. A Spdef Skarm even made an appearance last week on Martha's team time to gas myself up as it functions as a pretty decent MDiancie answer. Not much elese to elaborate on Skarm tbh as the usage should tell you enough about how valuable it is for any team.
:Altaria Mega: :Umbreon: :Moltres: :Jirachi: :Gastrodon: :Skarmory: - Maki
:Altaria Mega: :Porygon-Z: :Skarmory: :Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: :Rotom-Heat: :Krookodile: - Martha
:Skarmory: :Rhyperior: :Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: :Altaria-Mega: :Zarude: :Amoonguss: - Averado
:Marowak-Alola: :Sylveon: :Rotom-Wash: :Skarmory: :Blissey: :Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: - Niadev
:Porygon-Z::Altaria Mega: :Skarmory: :Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: :Rotom-Heat: :Krookodile: - EviGaro

:SM/Porygon-Z:
PZ has been used twice and has done the same thing. Clicked Z-Conversion late game and cut through teams like butter just so teammates can come in after and win the game. PZ is IMO one of the best Z move users in the tier and is easily a top 10 or even top 5 mon. PZ has a few other sets ranging from specs + trick and even using Z Conversion with other typings. But I think these 2 games really showcase how well PZ can work on the right team. Please use PZ it's my baby and it won't disappoint!
:Altaria Mega: :Porygon-Z: :Skarmory: :Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: :Rotom-Heat: :Krookodile: - Martha
:Altaria Mega: :Porygon-Z: :Skarmory: :Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: :Rotom-Heat: :Krookodile: - EviGaro

There are a few other highlights I wanna note like M-Diancie clutching up a BO3 game with a Diamond Storm boost (Sev) and Malt being used 5 times and having a 60% winrate but Mareanie touched up on why Malt is so damn good in the last NDPL recap post. Mareanie really stole my malt team and gave to evigaro :pensive:
 
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Absols are out so I guess it's teamdump time:

Week 1: :buzzwole: :weavile: :rotom-heat: :latias: :diancie-mega: :jirachi:
https://pokepast.es/e0005a645d56f37b
My reasoning behind SD Weavile was that I didn't remember N_Mareanie using Scizor all that much and his Weav answers tended to be shaky or lost to +2 Ice Z. Unfortunately, I happened to fight him in the middle of a Sciz wave so it barely did shit :]. Still won though so that was cool (I'm 90% sure I still had an out vs Toxtricity even if I didn't Ice Punch freeze it). Normally I'd be Pain Split Heattom on a team like this but otherwise Mareanie could bring even offensive MVenu and wall my ass. Roost Scarf Latias is because otherwise the Rotoms just went "haha volt go bzzzt". ik its ass but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Week 2: :tapu bulu: :diancie-mega: :jirachi: :latias: :buzzwole: :rotom-heat:
https://pokepast.es/64abbf72f66935d5
no i didn't use the same team two weeks in a row but replace the SD mon YOU used the same team two weeks in a row and replaced the SD mon (also I used a diff coverage move on MDia and a different Buzzwole spread)

SD LO Bulu is pretty monstrous vs balance so I figured I'd pull up with that as I remember wanting something to handle fat. Unfortunately my opp brought Mega Aggron so I had to wear that down a bunch and it didn't even get to go in because the Buzzwole was band and in the end it was BuzzRachi that won it for me (even though I played like ass for most of this game lmao). Not much else to say because this is pretty much the exact same as the week 1 team lmao

Week 3: :obstagoon: :slowking: :venusaur-mega: :scizor: :rotom-wash: :hippowdon:
https://pokepast.es/510d9b5e6775a6f2
This one's illegal now because MVenu caught the ban but it's still worth posting. Obstagoon is another mon that was scary against balance, and I wanted to use offensive MVenu before its inevitable ban. I totally forgot what the spdef on hippo was for but I know it was for something relevant. Only thing I can imagine it being for is Mega Diancie. Hydro miss vs Diggersby is what really cost me in this week as QA killed after that miss and I had barely any way to RK it besides washtom. Honestly nowadays I probably wouldn't bother with BU anymore as Body Press physdef Skarm just laughs, and would probably use Obstruct or Parting Shot nowadays (raw Taunt is probably fine as well). Wouldn't be so bad if Mega Steelix/Aggron weren't good mons but w/e, it really wants CC, especially with how many Mega Aggron there were (though strangely barely Mega Steelix despite it being the more reliable Latias check). You also just need to waste too many turns to get it going, including getting Guts triggered safely and the actual Bulk Up itself. Obsta's also strong as shit even unboosted so all it really loses is stallbreaking ability (which wasn't even reliable as MAlt is the best stall mega rn imo).

Week 4: :marowak-alola: :sylveon: :rotom-wash: :skarmory: :blissey: :urshifu-rapid-strike:
https://pokepast.es/d9278f351ff9c956
Awak is disgustingly threatening for balance not packing Alomomola and my opp brought balance every week prior. It even had a huge advantage vs my opp's team but I didn't play as aggressive as I should have (considering after moong died to AWak Urshi had a pretty free time) and then I got outskilled and outplayed by Z-Skill Hour Jirachi. For those wondering, turns out Sylveon pairs really well with fire types as they switch into the steels that want to kill Sylveon and can pass wishes to said fire mon as they do so, giving Awak semi reliable recovery. Sylveon also counters MDia semi reliably which is nice (its more reliable than steela that's for sure). PJab on Urshi is because otherwise I get annihilated by bulu if Skarmory gets too low and I need a way to revenge kill it reliably.

Week 5: :krookodile: :jirachi: :altaria-mega: :urshifu-rapid-strike: :hippowdon: :starmie:
https://pokepast.es/afee0f9590506251
This was pretty much my "bring something consistent" as I didn't have much to go off of this week other than my opp's team was probably being built by Baker. CB Urshi doesn't really have counters bar PhysDef Buzzwole, only being limited by the existence of Rocky Helmet, and Krook forces in the majority of Rocky Helmet mons to knock them off. Unfortunately, my opp brought two very solid Urshifu checks so RIP that and I just happened to make my MAlt DDance over Defog before the game without making Starmie Rapid Spin so Spikes stack from Skarm messed me up (but last mon MAlt DDance won me the game so lmao). Hydro Miss made things annoying (turns out it was spdef skarm on my opp's team so it wouldn't have mattered too much if it hit) but I managed to clutch it with last mon DD MAlt (yes that is why I was sacking everything on my team to Krook + Spikes). Starmie is there because I needed a more reliable MDia revenger (Diamond Storm +2 def boost means you don't kill from full with krook) and a decent offensive presence. It somehow always seems to have a positive MU vs non stall or Alomomomola teams teams so use this thing more tbh


You know there seems to be a common theme here, somehow the stuff I build around always ends up not doing much :'] tbf one of those weeks it was because I didn't play as well as I could have so. I'll take a positive W/L ratio for my first semi major tournament though. Aside from the first two weeks its also relatively diverse so that is neat.

not voting ban on jirachi was a mistake (even though it ultimately wouldn't have mattered as I was literally the only one who didn't vote DNB as it was)

EDIT: added sprites
 
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:sm/scizor: National Dex UU :sm/jirachi:
Code:
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Scizor             |   30 |  38.46% |  36.67% |
| 2    | Jirachi            |   23 |  29.49% |  65.22% |
| 3    | Rotom-Heat         |   22 |  28.21% |  63.64% |
| 4    | Krookodile         |   21 |  26.92% |  71.43% |
| 4    | Urshifu-*          |   21 |  26.92% |  71.43% |
| 6    | Latias             |   20 |  25.64% |  60.00% |
| 6    | Altaria            |   20 |  25.64% |  55.00% |
| 8    | Buzzwole           |   17 |  21.79% |  70.59% |
| 9    | Moltres            |   16 |  20.51% |  37.50% |
| 10   | Diancie            |   15 |  19.23% |  53.33% |
| 11   | Rotom-Wash         |   14 |  17.95% |  57.14% |
| 11   | Amoonguss          |   14 |  17.95% |  35.71% |
| 13   | Rhyperior          |   13 |  16.67% |  53.85% |
| 14   | Slowking           |   12 |  15.38% |  66.67% |
| 15   | Weavile            |   10 |  12.82% |  50.00% |
| 16   | Skarmory           |    9 |  11.54% |  44.44% |
| 17   | Venusaur           |    8 |  10.26% |  75.00% |
| 17   | Tapu Bulu          |    8 |  10.26% |  62.50% |
| 19   | Diggersby          |    7 |   8.97% |  57.14% |
| 19   | Bisharp            |    7 |   8.97% |  57.14% |
| 19   | Blissey            |    7 |   8.97% |  57.14% |
| 19   | Slowbro-Galar      |    7 |   8.97% |  57.14% |
| 23   | Aggron             |    6 |   7.69% |  66.67% |
| 23   | Infernape          |    6 |   7.69% |  50.00% |
| 23   | Salamence          |    6 |   7.69% |  16.67% |
| 26   | Celesteela         |    5 |   6.41% |  60.00% |
| 26   | Zeraora            |    5 |   6.41% |  40.00% |
| 28   | Gyarados           |    4 |   5.13% |  50.00% |
| 28   | Keldeo             |    4 |   5.13% |  25.00% |
| 28   | Gastrodon          |    4 |   5.13% |  25.00% |
| 28   | Xurkitree          |    4 |   5.13% |  25.00% |
| 28   | Hippowdon          |    4 |   5.13% |  25.00% |
| 28   | Chandelure         |    4 |   5.13% |  25.00% |
| 28   | Sylveon            |    4 |   5.13% |   0.00% |
| 28   | Toxtricity         |    4 |   5.13% |   0.00% |
| 28   | Zarude             |    4 |   5.13% |   0.00% |
| 37   | Alomomola          |    3 |   3.85% |  66.67% |
| 37   | Porygon-Z          |    3 |   3.85% |  66.67% |
| 37   | Togekiss           |    3 |   3.85% |  33.33% |
| 37   | Tentacruel         |    3 |   3.85% |  33.33% |
| 37   | Araquanid          |    3 |   3.85% |  33.33% |
| 37   | Mimikyu            |    3 |   3.85% |  33.33% |
| 37   | Steelix            |    3 |   3.85% |  33.33% |
| 37   | Aerodactyl         |    3 |   3.85% |  33.33% |
| 45   | Primarina          |    2 |   2.56% | 100.00% |
| 45   | Reuniclus          |    2 |   2.56% | 100.00% |
| 45   | Terrakion          |    2 |   2.56% | 100.00% |
| 45   | Necrozma           |    2 |   2.56% | 100.00% |
| 45   | Zygarde-10%        |    2 |   2.56% | 100.00% |
| 45   | Starmie            |    2 |   2.56% |  50.00% |
| 45   | Magneton           |    2 |   2.56% |  50.00% |
| 45   | Quagsire           |    2 |   2.56% |  50.00% |
| 45   | Marowak-Alola      |    2 |   2.56% |  50.00% |
| 45   | Klefki             |    2 |   2.56% |   0.00% |
| 45   | Mantine            |    2 |   2.56% |   0.00% |
| 45   | Suicune            |    2 |   2.56% |   0.00% |
| 45   | Obstagoon          |    2 |   2.56% |   0.00% |
| 45   | Azelf              |    2 |   2.56% |   0.00% |
| 45   | Nidoking           |    2 |   2.56% |   0.00% |
| 45   | Rotom-Mow          |    2 |   2.56% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Weezing-Galar      |    1 |   1.28% | 100.00% |
| 61   | Drilbur            |    1 |   1.28% | 100.00% |
| 61   | Dracozolt          |    1 |   1.28% | 100.00% |
| 61   | Muk-Alola          |    1 |   1.28% | 100.00% |
| 61   | Sableye            |    1 |   1.28% | 100.00% |
| 61   | Tsareena           |    1 |   1.28% | 100.00% |
| 61   | Camerupt           |    1 |   1.28% | 100.00% |
| 61   | Indeedee-F         |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Cobalion           |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Grimmsnarl         |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Feraligatr         |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Manectric          |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Froslass           |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Gligar             |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Heliolisk          |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Mamoswine          |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Flapple            |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Swampert           |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Seismitoad         |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Golurk             |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Umbreon            |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Sharpedo           |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Conkeldurr         |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Breloom            |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Mandibuzz          |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Nidoqueen          |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
| 61   | Bronzong           |    1 |   1.28% |   0.00% |
Tomorrow is DLC, so I figured I might as well write up how the meta currently is and what we soon will leave behind. The meta is surely to change up a lot with lots of new movepool additions like Grassy Glide Tapu Bulu, Mystical Fire Latias & Mega Diancie, Close Combat Buzzwole & even some smaller additions like Scald Raikou or Body Press Stakataka.

:scizor: It's no surprise that Scizor has the most use so far. Having both fantastic defensive and offensive presence, it's able to keep its position as King of UU. Able to check many top tier threats like Mega Diancie, Latias and Mega Altaria, while providing an amazing pivot for many teams which can act as a solid win condition as well. Notable though is its low winrate, being only 36.67%. My guess is that this largely has to do that Scizor itself was lot of times acting as a defensive pivot and not as an actual win condition. Also the fact that both Rotom-Heat and Moltres were used a lot doesn't help Scizor sweep as often.
:krookodile: Krookodile skyrocketed in use and viability this tour, proving to be an amazing scarfer in the tier with great utility in Knock Off, Pursuit and various key resistances in Electric, Dark and Ghost.
:urshifu: Urshifu was falling off a bit as the most prominent Choice Scarfer, but its Choice Band set has since then emerged in full glory. People have realised how good of a breaker Urshifu is, with even resistances like Latias and offensive Tapu Bulu getting 2HKO'd by Surging Strikes after rocks. It provides great U-turn support for various teams as well.
:buzzwole: THE defensive Pokemon of the tier. Even with Skarmory back, Buzzwole has proven itself to be the premier physical wall of the tier. Checking most of the physical side of the tier like Tapu Bulu, Weavile, Terrakion etc. while still providing great offensive qualities is simply fantastic. Offensive sets like Choice Band or Bulk Up Z-Move are still great, making use of Buzzwole's immense attack stat.
:slowking: Slowly but surely have people been finding out the amount of bullshit Future Sight + Teleport enables. There is not a single breaker in the tier that doesn't appreciate this support, as chipping or straight up getting rid of general switch ins for Pokemon like Obstagoon, Terrakion, Breloom or the likes of it is simply amazing. Buzzwole gets straight OHKO'd by Future Sight, while other Pokemon like Amoonguss and Skarmory get chipped enough to be in range. And if you don't want to get these 'mons in to take the forced chip, you'll have to let another 'mon take a huge blow. Now of course, the rise of Pursuit and general breakers that force out Slowking have been on the rise because of this, but there's no deny this strategy is great and has no signs of wearing off soon.

These are just general highlights I wanted to give to Pokemon in the metagame. We've seen a lot of different playstyles in the tour, ranging from Hyper Offensive to full Stall, though Balance and mainly Bulky Offense were the two most common and prominent playstyles. It's fun to see what everyone was going to bring, and felt like there is lots of diversity within the tier.

Despite this however, the are still two main concerns in the tier. :diancie-mega: continues to heavily strain teambuilding and is hard to consistently check in game. :slowbro-mega: has also been one of the main concerns within the council, as it's really hard to find straightforward counterplay to both Galarian Slowbro and Mega Slowbro in one slot. Should these still remain their placements in the metagame once DLC has come out, you can definitely expect some action being taken on them.

I wish everyone a great day and see y'all later with DLC!
 
With Crown Tundra out now, I figured I'd cover some of the notable changes to our best mons:

:sm/latias:

Yeah, this is probably gonna be QBed because it literally only needs 2 moves in Psyshock and Mystical Fire to hit the whole tier hard neutrally (Slowking walls this combo, but can't actually do anything back. Sylveon can too, but needs Calm Mind of its own to threaten enough damage and that's if they don't abuse Mystical Fire lowering SpA.). Pair that with Calm Mind, Roost and Z-Crystals, and you've got Mega Gardevoir but even more difficult to deal with. Seriously, +1 Z-Mystical has a huge chance of OHKOing Mega Steelix from full, who would otherwise be the tier's best answer, and both Celesteela and Mega Aggron take a minimum of 74% from the same thing.

:sm/diancie-mega:

Similar case as Latias; Mystical Fire just roasts your defensive answers. Once again, Slowking and Sylveon are the only somewhat reliable answers, but they need to be really healthy WITH their respective items to keep checking it.

:sm/salamence:

This finally has proper Flying STAB, but idk if it'll be too difficult to answer now.
 
It's been one day but I'm already having a ton of fun in this new meta, and I'd like to share some of my favourite additions to the tier.

:ss/aerodactyl-mega:
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dual Wingbeat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance

I've been using this set and can say it's quite effective. EdgeQuake + Flying coverage hits literally everything in the tier for neutral, and in combination with 135 Attack it's quite a menace to face. You hit 598 speed at +1, meaning you outspeed every single relevant Scarfer after a Dragon Dance. This, along with decent bulk, makes Mega Aerodactyl a very effective sweeper in todays metagame and is certainly something to prepare for!

1603538092300.png
1603538180547.png
1603538000939.png
142_2.png
1603538314560.png

https://pokepast.es/88e7b89302a98c25

Some fun Flying spam I made.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

:ss/diancie-mega:
Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty / Naive Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Mystical Fire
- Fake Tears

Now this is definitely something more niche, but if you like high risk high reward techs this is something for you. Fake Tears lowers your targets Special Defense by two stages, meaning you nuke most checks that want to switch in after slight chip and a Fake Tears. Stuff like Rotom-Wash, Slowking, Sylveon and even bulkier Jirachi do not enjoy taking a Fake Tears on the switch, as it means they have to switch out because otherwise they'll die, meaning something else will take a huge hit. It's a fun tech which can really pay off with proper use. Mystical Fire is also of course huge, as it allows Mega Diancie to bypass most checks way easier without needing multiple slots like Amoonguss, Jirachi, SpDef Skarmory and Celesteela. Encore is also a cool tech in the 4th slot, like using Encore on Hippowdon going for Slack Off or Rotom-Wash going for Defog.

Rotom Sprite

https://pokepast.es/c7fcaa79e1942b41

---------------------------------------------------------------------

:ss/latias:
Latias (F) @ Firium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Roost
- Psyshock
- Mystical Fire

Latias got a great buff in the form of an actual Fire move, Mystical Fire. Hidden Power Fire could never be turned into Inferno Overdrive, but Mystical Fire can, which Latias greatly appreciates. It means it has a way easier time breaking through common Steel-types that would want to check it, like Mega Steelix, Jirachi and Celesteela.

1603538024257.png
Rotom Sprite

https://pokepast.es/ee03e275f918dfa2

Lure Slowking with Flip Turn Keldeo, trap it with Scizor, and then let Latias do great work. You should beat Sylveon unless they're Toxic or crit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

:ss/dracozolt:
Dracozolt @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bolt Beak
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Iron Tail

Dracozolt Sand is genuinely not that bad of a playstyle. Bolt Beak is slightly weaker than with Hustle, but not having to worry about missing means you have a shitload more consistency in the long run. Not to mention you're not as easily revenged killed now that we hit 498 speed under Sand. You still have your general problems of Ground types pivoting in like Hippowdon and Intimidate Krookodile, but the option to run a mixed set with Draco Meteor and use Life Orb > Choice Band isn't out of the question at all. Iron Tail is for Mega Altaria.

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https://pokepast.es/5b94c11216b0d4ea

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Other fun techs like Flip Turn Swampert, Scorching Sands Moltres, Scald Raikou or Close Combat Buzzwole are fun as well, but I haven't tried those out enough yet / didn't feel like highlighting them.
 
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I'll post my thoughts about some of the new changes in the meta.

:SS/Aerodactyl-Mega:

Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dual Wingbeat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance

Mareanie already gave the set so i'll just give my thoughts on it. So as Mareanie put in the post above DD really transformed this from being a pursuit trapper to a full fledged sweeper and a great one at that. The addition of DWB to the movepool also made it incredibly hard to defensively check, an example is that physdef hippo/pert are both 2hko'd by Adamant Dual Wingbeat. EdgeQuake also makes it so that it hits basically the entire metagame either super effectively or neutrally hard as shit. Not to mention the most obvious thing in that after a DD you become impossible to revenge unless it's with really strong priority. Always prep for this beast!

:SS/Tornadus:

Tornadus (M) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- Heat Wave

Every soul was hyping up this getting NP. I have came to tell you all that it's good. It's not broken in the slightest personally. Yes it's really really strong, but it has a really tough time getting set up opportunities simply because it's Torn. The defenses leave A LOT to be desired and the presence of scarfers and strong priority make it really tough for this to function in a match. It's also fairly hard to just slap this on a team because it lacks a lot of good defensive utility due to having such a mid typing defensively and doesn't have the moveslots on NP to use stuff like Taunt which would be really nice for Blissey. Despite all this being said the mon is extremely scary if you are able to +2 late game and have a Z move to assure you don't miss hurricane.

Team: https://pokepast.es/d3ef1822a4363d3e (toxtricity in every single match put in the most work. Mon is fire as fuck on webs)

:SS/Raikou:

Raikou @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Scald
- Shadow Ball

Bro Raikou is fucking clean as hell now. Scald was a pretty nice buff since it allows it to hit ground types while also hitting Rotom-Heat fairly hard. This IMO makes Raikou a really potent CM sweeper with Z-Shadow Ball. Z-Shadow Ball lets you delete Latias at +1 while serving as a really strong neutral hit at +1 for anything that resist Tbolt + Scald such as Tapu Bulu, Amoonguss, Mega Altaria and Seismitoad. Another thing that makes Raikou really potent is the speed tier, 115 allows Raikou to outspeed numerous threats such as Latias, Mega-Diancie and Keldeo while speed tying with Starmie. Inner Focus also means Skill Hour Rachi can't flinch you to death on some pussy shit. Raikou is a fun mon that I recommend!

Team: https://pokepast.es/c1a3fdb1eee549d3 (I randomly tossed this shit together man, it actually has no way to deal with mystical fire diancie. But M-Diancie is lame and unfun anyway :pensive:)

Overall thoughts on the meta are that it's pretty much the same but we got some cool moveset changes. DD MAero is high key broken so use it <3. Hope is everyone is doing well and hope you're all enjoying the tier!
 
I will be doing a NDUU teamdump. I will not be posting any of the teams I used cause they were all legit some absolute memes F. Though I did build literally every UU team besides one for my team so that's quite epic. Just a heads up I built 100% cheese, hence why anyone who fought my team had to succumb to Z Skill Hour Rachi or Z Conversion PZ.

Teams I built for Martha:

PZ + Malt Offensive Core - https://pokepast.es/ffb8847cd260c167
Team is fairly simple. The core is nigh unstoppable and somehow it entered PL 3 times and won all 3 times lmfao. PZ really hates having to break past shit like Rotom-Heat or Spdef walls like Gastrodon, Spdef Rachi, Blissey, etc. So Defensive DD Malt came into play the bulk + typing lets it check most fighting types specifically scarf Shifu and Keldeo which would otherwise give PZ some issues. Not to mention DD + EQ/Facade allows it to not only take advantage of status like Moltres Flame Body and Wisp Rotom Forms. The EVs allows me to get the most out of the bulk while also outspeeding base 110s after a single DD. Skarm formed a nice defensive core with Malt, giving the team the much needed Mence and M-Diancie answer. Not to mention spikes were very much necessary. Shifu provided a nice soft defensive check to Band Weavile and Bisharp while forming a voltturn with Heattom. Allowing you to ease prediction and take on each others checks very well while providing defog support for the team and providing a ground immune. Krook lastly was the most obvious choice for a scarfer simply cause I needed not only a volt immune but something to give the team knock support and trapping cause boots are fucking lame.

Another PZ VoltTurn Team - https://pokepast.es/fca37db734b10d0d
The concept is essentially the same except I wanted a much more defensive Malt + Skarm core because Nia loves to use a lot of fighting types (specifically band shifu) and really likes to use mega diancie so I wanted to make sure I covered both of those in 1 core. Not to mention the core also blanket checks a lot of the other shit in the tier and was fairly nice. Band Sciz + Zera formed the voltturn and zera specifically performed fairly well in the match. Pretty basic team ngl.

Team I built for Maki
Z Rachi Offense - https://pokepast.es/098f9526b3fc4eee
Z Skill Hour Rachi is very unfun to play against so I built around it. Raj really likes to use offense/Bulky Offense and make really smart aggressive doubles and fancy plays, so I opted to choose to fight offense with offense. Rachi imo benefits from VoltTurn a decent amount since mid-late game it allows you to essentially pivot a fuckton with generally a great deal of offensive pressure due to Heattom + Band Shifu being so good, and then you can come in safetly from one of them and set up and win. I needed an offensive rocker that really fucked with Raj's normal UU team builds and I chose Mega Diancie cause it's the best offensive rocker that threatens most hazard removal and offers some really nice speed and resistances. Tapu Bulu was a more defensive spread to help deal with specs keld, band shifu/scarf shifu and other offensive water and fighting types. Also really helps Diancie vs Krookodile (or any ground type for that matter) due to EQ being weakened. Scarf Latias provided a nice nape answer defensively and offensively while giving healing wish support to the team.

Teams Built for Uni
Some Ugly Ass Webs Team - https://pokepast.es/cf6e09c0e6750ea0
It's just webs with 5 good abusers man that's legit the basis of it ngl. There is synergy tho. Xurk actually had no synergy what so ever tho it was just the best webs mon cause of how BS it could cheese a game. Uni wanted to use Mega Gyara so i kinda went with the synergy building after that. Bisharp + Mega Gyara formed a really nice Dark Spam core and deterred defog. Latias was 3 attacks roost to help vs Mega Venusaur, Bulu, Buzzwole and other annoying shit that stopped Xurk or Gyara from sweeping. Mimiq was the Mence answer. Very fun team that abused broken Xurk.

CM Z Reuniclus - https://pokepast.es/f32931970640948b
CM Z Reuniclus was a fun mon that abused Venusaur. So I essentially wanted to build this around mons that benefitted from M-Venusaur getting cucked. Malt offered good defensive utility vs the tiers many threats such as Infernape, Shifu, Keldeo, choice locked Primarina, etc. Sciz gave me a sturdy M-Diancie check and pivot. Defensive Helmet Infernape allowed the team to have a consistent check vs Weavile or Bisharp while providing rock support and another pivot. Shifu formed a decent fighting spam core with Infernape and gave the team a really solid breaker that benefitted from the Anti-Venusaur squad and also eliminated Blissey and other spdef walls for Reuniclus. Scarf Latias was needed cause DD Gyara and Mence were in the tier and provided a ground immune + resistances + healing wish support. Overall solid team and fairly unique, I am happy about this one!

Team I Built For Sev
Triple Choice VoltFlipTurn - https://pokepast.es/dd61397c4612b53d
This one is a very fun momentum spam core. Flip Turn Keld + Band Suit Sciz + Volt Switch Heattom provided a very effective offensive voltflipturn core. Each of these 3 mons were easily able to bully their checks and counters from Sciz beating M-Diancie, Malt and trapping Latias to Keldeo throwing out insanely strong Hydros to get rid of annoying ground types and Air Slash to hit Bulu and Guss really hard on a predict, and Heattom deleting bulky grass types, provide hazard control and as well provide a ground immunity. We NEEDED a rocker and know what benefits from this? The best offensive rocker that loves safe switches aka Mega Diancie. Bulu provides a solid Shifu/Keld answer as well as passive healing for the team and a strong wincon. Lastly u got the GOAT herself Scarf Latias which clutched up Sev's game and healed up Diancie to full for the win. This provided nice speed control and utility for the team.

Teams I Built For Yami
Webs With Bullshit Abusers - https://pokepast.es/418384c9c4d3e77c
I actually slapped Araquanid with 5 abusers and it won. Very epic team

Megabro is broken the team - https://pokepast.es/98803d15a2e4ff5f
Megabro is very unfun and broken and I wanted Yami to have a free win so I made him some ugly shit. Megabro is very hard to deal with due to the type differences of base and mega. It's not able to be toxic'd and thus has 2 different forms of counterplay. In the mega form you are virtually unkillable with CM boost. Block CM happened to trap and a bunch of passive shit and bully passive teams, it worked out fairly well in the match so I'm very very happy about that. Scizor provided a really nice non HP Fire Diancie check, a soft latias answer and Weavile answer since the Z Crystal weakened Knock damage. It formed a somewhat decent defensive core with rocks Blissey since i needed a good blanked spdef wall and hazards. Washtom was the answer vs Diggersby when it was here cause u crept it and provided a good scizor answer due to outspeeded and wisping, not to mention it gave us a ground immunity and a Mence check due to HP Ice. Marowak Alola was the mon I wanted to really slap on the team cause it provided a good answer to defensive venusaur and buzzwole while being unwallable with Sub and dual stabs. Krookodile was the speed control and Gyarados answer not to mention provided trapping.

Team Built for Drud & Stresh
Double Suit W/ PZ Voltturn - https://pokepast.es/f7b6aa69dfa9d41f
Thought process was pretty simple and it was abusing Voltturn so that M-Diancie and PZ can get in safely and do their thing. Double suit helps to either kill latias or get chip on stuff trying to switch out which in the long run in combination of hazards and suit damage will help Diancie and PZ go nuts. The team was originally with scarf latias i think, but Krook gave the team a much needed elec immune. A bulkier Bulu spread helped ease the MU vs Shifu, Keld, and other offensive fighting types and water types.

I had a shitload of other teams built for others on the team, but I was the proudest of these. These teams are fucking hot
 
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So there's personally been a single Pokémon that has been on my mind ever since the DLC release, I still don't know what to think of it personally or what kind of action I would want to be taken for it, but I do think the issue at hand should be addressed. (Note: I'm not speaking for the entire council, this is just my personal opinion.)

:ss/aerodactyl-mega:

Mega Aerodactyl has taken the tier by storm ever since its DLC release when it got two new great moves, being Dual Wingbeat and Dragon Dance. Dragon Dance allows Mega Aerodactyl to be one of, if not the most fearsome setup sweeper in todays metagame. Its high speed allows it to comfortably run Adamant, maximizing its damage output and still outrunning literally every single Pokémon in the metagame at +1 Speed (yes, including Scarf Latias, the fastest viable Scarfer in the tier). This already makes offensive counterplay quite dire, as you'll pretty much need priority moves to revenge kill (I'll be getting into that later).

People have been pointing out however that it still has some fair share of defensive counterplay. Names like defensive Rotom-Wash, Rhyperior and Hippowdon often get thrown into conversations like these, so to save everyone some time, here's a list of most of the counterplay in the tier that you can get.

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Rotom-Wash

  • 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Rotom-Wash: 135-160 (44.4 - 52.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
  • +1 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Rotom-Wash: 204-240 (67.1 - 78.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Maximum health = 0%
Minimum health = 0%


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Altaria-Mega

  • 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 196+ Def Altaria-Mega: 134-162 (37.8 - 45.7%) -- approx. 3HKO
  • +1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 196+ Def Altaria-Mega: 204-242 (57.6 - 68.3%) -- approx. 2HKO

Maximum health = 6%
Minimum health = 0%


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Skarmory

  • 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 105-124 (31.4 - 37.1%) -- 82% chance to 3HKO
  • +1 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 157-186 (47 - 55.6%) -- 75% chance to 2HKO

Maximum health = 22%
Minimum health = 8%


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Hippowdon

  • 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 126-150 (30 - 35.7%) -- approx. 25.5% chance to 3HKO
  • +1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 186-222 (44.2 - 52.8%) -- approx. 14.8% chance to 2HKO

Maximum health = 26%
Minimum health = 13%


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Slowking
  • 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking: 162-192 (41.1 - 48.7%) -- approx. 3HKO
  • +1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking: 240-284 (60.9 - 72%) -- approx. 2HKO

Maximum health = 32% (if you Regenerate once)
Minimum health = 13% (if you Regenerate once)


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Steelix-Mega

  • 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Steelix-Mega: 118-140 (33.3 - 39.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
  • +1 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Steelix-Mega: 176-208 (49.7 - 58.7%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

Maximum health = 18%
Minimum health = 3%


Aggron-Mega
  • 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Filter Aggron-Mega: 88-105 (25.5 - 30.5%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
  • +1 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Filter Aggron-Mega: 132-156 (38.3 - 45.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Maximum health = 37%
Minimum health = 25%


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Alomomola
  • 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 40 HP / 216+ Def Alomomola: 168-198 (34.9 - 41.1%) -- approx. 64.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
  • +1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 40 HP / 216+ Def Alomomola: 248-294 (51.5 - 61.1%) -- approx. 97.3% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Maximum health = 48% (if you Regenerate once)
Minimum health = 30% (if you Regenerate once)


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Rhyperior

  • 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Earthquake vs. 244 HP / 240 Def Solid Rock Rhyperior: 123-145 (28.4 - 33.5%) -- 95.5% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
  • +1 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Earthquake vs. 244 HP / 240 Def Solid Rock Rhyperior: 184-217 (42.5 - 50.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Maximum health = 36%
Minimum health = 17%


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Doublade
  • 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Earthquake vs. 212 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Doublade: 116-138 (37.1 - 44.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
  • +1 252+ Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Earthquake vs. 212 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Doublade: 174-206 (55.7 - 66%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Maximum health = 8%
Minimum health = 0%


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Swampert

  • 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 150-176 (37.1 - 43.5%) -- approx. 99.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
  • +1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Aerodactyl-Mega Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 222-264 (54.9 - 65.3%) -- approx. 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Maximum health = 15%
Minimum health = 0%

It's important to note here that quite some 'defensive counterplay' gets straight 2HKO'd at +1, and can't kill in return at all. Alomomola, Slowking, Swampert and Mega Altaria fall under this category, as Alomomola's Scald doesn't even reach a 2HKO and has to fish for a Burn. Should this not happen, it needs to switch out and get Regenerator health to take another hit later on. However, this gives the Mega Aerodactyl user the opportunity to simply Dragon Dance again.

Notable is that some of these Pokémon have to be specific sets to check it, like Skarmory pretty much having to be Iron Head should Mega Aero not use it as setup fodder. Hippowdon has to use Rocky Helmet does it want to chip Mega Aerodactyl enough, otherwise it just either Toxics and doesn't do much else, or just Whirlwinds.

Not to mention a lot of these checks do not have recovery at all. Mega Aggron, Mega Steelix, Rhyperior and Doublade might be the best defensive checks out there, but it's really easy for Mega Aerodactyl to constantly chip them on the predicted switch in, to just put them in range of a +1 attack later on in the game.

And stop using defensive Rotom-Wash as a good check vs Mega Aero, it just isn't. I'm sorry.

I've been using some interesting techs, like Shuca Berry Cobalion and Shuca Berry Nidoqueen to check Mega Aerodactyl, but if you're weakened enough they most of the time just use Dual Wingbeat not risking you're the potential Shuca.

It's also important to note that Mega Aerodactyl's bulk is also quite solid for such an offensive Pokemon. A lot of people seem to forget that Mega Aerodactyl has 80 / 85 / 95 bulk, which for an offensive behemoth like Mega Aerodactyl is far more than enough.
  • 212.png
    16+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Aerodactyl-Mega: 206-246 (68.4 - 81.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 461.png
    252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Aerodactyl-Mega: 212-252 (70.4 - 83.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 892.png
    252+ Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Aerodactyl-Mega: 246-290 (81.7 - 96.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 473.png
    252+ Atk Choice Band Mamoswine Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Aerodactyl-Mega: 246-290 (81.7 - 96.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 745-d.png
    252 Atk Tough Claws Lycanroc-Dusk Accelerock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Aerodactyl-Mega: 182-216 (60.4 - 71.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
While they all cannot OHKO from full, most of them easily revenge after Rocks damage, which Mega Aerodactyl has no way of preventing taking damage from those unless they're removed.

Now of course, there are two Pokemon that are able to revenge Mega Aerodactyl from full without the help of Rocks:
  • 212.png
    252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Aerodactyl-Mega: 368-434 (122.2 - 144.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 342.png
    252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Aerodactyl-Mega: 312-368 (103.6 - 122.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
However, this would force Scizor to always run the Choice Band set would you want a reliable Mega Aerodactyl revenge killer. Crawdaunt doesn't fit on many playstyles, and being locked into Aqua Jet can be taken advantage of in this meta with other Pokémon like DD Salamence, CM Latias or Mega Altaria. However, they both do count towards solid offensive counterplay vs Mega Aerodactyl.

Arguments I've also heard is that Mega Aerodactyl lacks setup opportunities. I'll just say right now that this isn't the case from my experience whatsoever, and I'll show two replays where Mega Aerodactyl sets up really easily and either sweeps or makes the opponent pivot like his life depends on it to not straight up lose most of its team.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldexuu-1208021165-2i2rur6c17xv0t2p6w1ce730vf6eo4bpw

Now, the opponent's team was quite Mega Aero weak. However, should the argument of 'lacking setup opportunities' be correct, this should probably also have applied here. Due to Mega Aero's good natural offensive presence however, it's not difficult to force a switch and setup on that turn (think of Quiver Dance Pheromosa in gen 7. It's a bit different here of course, but the same sort of logic can still be applied).

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldexuu-1208022531-f8uocnn0gpurt50pnp41cl2s3wt3vtmpw

Unfortunately I missed Stone Edge vs Latias, but it's still clear that Mega Aero had a great matchup despite Sputnik running Helmet Toxic Hippo and still required crazy switching to not lose to it.

These replays are moreso showing that Mega Aero does genuinely have great setup opportunities within the tier, as its good bulk lets it set up on some more passive Pokemon, or by forcing switches.


However, maybe it's because people always just set up immediately with Mega Aero instead of just attacking first, but one defensive check + priority user feels fine lots of the time. However, you're still quite limited to the good priority users that can revenge it, and some of them are quite lackluster in the meta anyway (Mamoswine in a Rotom-Heat/Wash, Skarmory, Buzzwole meta is not the greatest lol. Urshifu also heavily prefers running other moves over Aqua Jet, as lacking coverage makes it easily walled by other Pokémon.)

I personally think Mega Aero's affect on the tier is quite unhealthy and personally think it's quite broken. I don't think it's Mega Diancie or even Mega Slowbro level, but I also think it just plays different as a whole. Taking action on this sooner than later would be the best course of action in my opinion, but we'll have to wait 'till shifts and see how the meta changes.

#FreeStaraptor
#BanMegaDiancie
 
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Oh god oh fuck i triple posted

The council has decided to hold another kokoloko voting after Tier Shifts. This vote will include :aerodactyl-mega: :diancie-mega: :latias: :slowbro-mega:

:ss/aerodactyl-mega:
If you want a more detailed explanation on why this will get voted on, check out this post I made a few days ago. Basically, Mega Aerodactyl's new access to Dragon Dance and Dual Wingbeat makes it one of the most threatening sweepers in the metagame that's very hard to consistently check in todays metagame. Offensive counterplay is limited due to Mega Aerodactyl at +1 outspeeding the entire metagame, including every Scarfer. This has lead to the believe Mega Aerodactyl might be a bit too much for the tier and will get voted on.

:ss/diancie-mega:
Despite avoiding the quickban in the last quickvote we did (albeit it was only one vote away), it got even better ever since then. Mega Venusaur's ban helped a ton, as well as getting access to Mystical Fire, a huge buff from the 60BP Hidden Power Fire. Mystical Fire now allows Mega Diancie to not pick between coverage moves anymore and now has a ton more utility options to fit in the 4th slot. Be it Sharpen to beat Blissey, Encore to take advantage of Pokemon going for status moves or simply a stronger coverage move. Mega Diancie is very hard to check due to most checks getting 2HKO'd after even the slightest of chip damage, and can even come in safely vs common Pokemon like Moltres or Overheat Rotom-H.

:ss/latias:
Latias also got new buffs with Crown Tundra, being Mystical Fire and Aura Sphere. Mystical Fire allows Latias to have a way easier time to break through common checks like Jirachi, Mega Steelix and Celesteela due to Mystical Fire being compatible with Z-Moves. It's very unpredictable what Latias set you're facing ahead of time, and it's near impossible to prep for every single set out there due to Latias' moveset being relatively flexible. This has made it so Latias could be a concerning threat in the meta and thus will get voted on.

:ss/slowbro-mega:
Mega Slowbro has been a weird case, with us discovering that it has always been allowed ever since Galarian Slowbro dropped. We had Mega Slowbro before (before regular Slowbro rose to OU) and was never a problem back then. Now, things are different. The base form of the Pokemon, Galarian Slowbro, shares mostly entirely different counterplay from its mega, Mega Slowbro. Being immune to Toxic, resisting Grass / Fairy / Poison is huge, as Mega Slowbro doesn't like facing those specific things necessarily. Galarian Slowbro being Ground weak doesn't really matter as well, considering you can just simply mega evolve into Mega Slowbro and invalidate that counterplay. Now, Galarian Slowbro and Mega Slowbro do share some weaknesses, mainly being Dark and Ghost. But the lack of real prevalent Ghost-types at the moment, and most Dark-types being straight up 1v1'd by Mega Slowbro could be concerning for the metagame, and as a result will get voted on.


Leave your thoughts on this vote. What should get banned, what shouldn't, and why? Shifts are close and we can expect a decent shakeup to the tier, but not anything too major (please)
 
Like Mareanie said above we will be holding a Kokoloko and I will like to follow up his post with my personal thoughts on the four mons.

:SS/Aerodactyl-Mega:
I made a post about this above and so has Mareanie, but I'll give a short explanation on my views on this. Despite just getting these buffs MAero has placed itself on a pedestal much higher than many other set up sweepers. DD + DWB leaves it essentially unwallable with its coverage and the speed leaves it incredibly hard to revenge, especially since it outspeeds every relevant scarfer. You're left in a position where you're essentially forced to preserve really strong priority and in some cases need rocks to just revenge this. Which makes me feel this mon may be a bit troublesome for the meta currently.

:SS/Diancie-Mega:
Ever since the ban of M-Venusaur Diancie has been tearing it up lately in the tier. Quite honestly the mon was really really good when Venusaur was here, but had to choose either Psychic or HP-Fire. Well now that is no longer the issue. Not only that it gained Mystical Fire which is a direct buff from HP Fire. This allows Mega Diancie to comfortably deal with some counterplay that was quite nice before such as Spdef Skarm (which is now 2hko'd easily), while hitting other steels much harder than before such as Bronzong and Rachi. The loss of Venusaur also means it has no real moveslot issues, so you're free to legit run anything in the 4th slot. You have Stealth Rocks which is incredibly strong with Diancie because you threaten most hazard removal with a 2hko or ohko, Encore to lock Blissey and Rachi into their recovery moves, Sharpen to 1v1 Blissey/Slowking, Psychic and even CM works. Now most of Diancie's best answers defensively are extremely easy to break past with chip, Bronzong has no recovery and neither does Spdef Megalix. Jirachi is your best answer defensively due to wishtect, but our tier is overflowing with viable darks and knock users so Diancie has a relatively easy time getting past Rachi, even then Diancie can run Fake Tears to -2 the spdef and force it to either attack or its teammate gets pressured by Diancie due to it having to switch out if it's low already. It forces an unhealthy amount of prep unless ur built different and are able to beat that shit with no prep whatsoever.

I want to also touch up on a move called fucking diamond storm. As you probably know this move has a 50% chance to raise your physical defense by 2 stages. This move allows you to win MUs that you shouldn't be winning most of the time simply because of hax. (Link Here) This was a tour match and a really important one at that and it was Sevelon vs Skysolo. Seve was put in a position where he essentially had to Diamond Storm vs the Steela and go for the raise to even beat Hippo cause EQ vs Hasty Diancie is a guaranteed ohko. But the +2 completely salvaged the matched and da Krooks won. I bring this up because this means even if you're packing a scarfer or priority that is a soft diancie check such as Scarf Nape or a more dedicated one like Scarf Zarude or Scarf Krook and Sciz it makes it virtually impossible to deal with.
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. +2 0 HP / 0- Def Diancie-Mega: 147-174 (60.9 - 72.1%) -- approx. 2HKO
252 Atk Infernape Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Diancie-Mega: 172-204 (71.3 - 84.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (u do be needing chip)
252 Atk Infernape Close Combat vs. +2 0 HP / 0- Def Diancie-Mega: 87-103 (36 - 42.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Aqua Jet vs. +2 0 HP / 0- Def Diancie-Mega: 140-168 (58 - 69.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Krookodile Earthquake vs. +2 0 HP / 0- Def Diancie-Mega: 156-186 (64.7 - 77.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Zarude Power Whip vs. +2 0 HP / 0- Def Diancie-Mega: 192-228 (79.6 - 94.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
16+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. +2 0 HP / 0- Def Diancie-Mega: 192-228 (79.6 - 94.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Terrakion Earthquake vs. +2 0 HP / 0- Def Diancie-Mega: 112-134 (46.4 - 55.6%) -- 67.6% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Tough Claws Lycanroc-Dusk Close Combat vs. +2 0 HP / 0- Def Diancie-Mega: 122-144 (50.6 - 59.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

:SS/Latias:
Latias got some pretty epic buffs in Aura Sphere + Mystical Fire. Mystical Fire again is a direct buff from the HP Fire it once had to use and allows it to deal more damage to Rachi, Zong and the many other steel types that find themselves switching into Latias, while Aura Sphere can hurt pursuit trappers while also hitting some steels decently hard. This though makes Latias EXTREMELY unpredictable and it's virtually impossible to make a team that can handle each and every Latias set. Latias can essentially pick and choose what walls it and what can't due to Z Moves and can easily form a team that can take care of the down sides.

An example of this is running CM/Mystical (Z)/Draco/Recover which essentially beats every steel type, but you're walled by Blissey and Malt which are fairly easy to handle with team support (Insert Band Weavile). But then you have sets such as Mystical Fire (Z) + Ice Beam which allows you to essentially hit Malt which is really huge + everything else notable that Draco hits (Latias, Krook, etc). Then you have other sets that you have to throw into the mix that you have to scout for such as Scarf, Specs, 3 attacks + Roost, etc. Though it has a few downsides aka a glaring pursuit weakness (if u get the 50/50 right you beat the suit trappers L) and the other notable weakness in that once you know the Latias set it's pretty easy to troubleshoot and find a way to outplay it midgame.

:SS/Slowbro-Mega:
The main issue with Megabro is that the baseform and mega have completely different forms of counterplay and it's very hard to deal with it midgame. Base form being immune to toxic is insanely huge in the long run for the mega if you're able to preemptively get some CMs up, not to mention having the additional resistances makes + regen makes it very difficult to wear it down throughout a match. As Mareanie said above the fact that you're dark and ground weak means nothing when basically every dark and ground gets 1v1d and invalidated by the Mega form. It's extremely unepic to play against and is really really hard to prep for due to having limited counterplay for both forms at once. Unless you're like me and running PZ on every team and just set up and hope they throw in the 1v1.
 
:blissey:
Losing Blissey is a sad one, luckily it wasn't super critical to our tier so it shouldn't cause stuff to implode too badly. We didn't even get Chansey in return though, that's the saddest part. No port spamming special wall sucks though, and ig stall is kinda screwed against half the tier. Gonna be interesting to see what the alternatives to this are gonna be.

:tapu lele:
Lele is gonna be the big one though, it's pretty much Mega Gardevoir but not as many utillity options. Actually, nevermind this thing can run an item and can't just be effortlessly bopped by Scizor and can run a Z to get past Jirachi oml we are screeeeeewweeeed. Hey, at least we have another good scarfer that isn't Krookodile, Urshifu-R or Zarude. Expect the standard suite of choice sets and a CM set, probably either Ghostium or Fightinium.

:blacephalon:
Blacephalon is the other major one, it's basically Chandelure on crack, who was already really good. Luckily most Pursuit mons beat it, though Weavile has to watch out for the janky speed boosting set. It's also the first time we've had Blacephalon without Tyranitar to hold it back.

:volcanion:
It wasn't that good when it was here last time (B- for those who forgot) and I doubt that will change. Keldeo's speed and defensive utillity just makes it weird to justify but maybe some Substitute set could pull something now that there's no Blissey.

:celebi: but infinitely worse
If we had a NatDex ZU, Calyrex would be going straight there.

:moltres: but galar
Galar Moltres has potential but no Roost means its use as anything other than a alright looking offensive mon or maybe an acceptable scarfer is nonexistent. Nasty Plot or even Dual Dance might have some neat potential but by and large my hopes are not high for it. Best set will probably NP Flyinium/Darkinium.

:mamoswine: and :avalugg:'s love child but horse
Glastrier has potential with a band set, but the Ice typing and being slow thing really holds it back, even with its amazing bulk. SD could work on TR but honestly when was the last time TR was relevant here, and SD outside of TR just sounds like ass.

:honestly_i_don't_have_a_sprite_of_a_similar_mon:
Regidrago seems scary on webs but it just so happened to drop at the same time as Tapu Lele and Mega Diancie is still here for another few days, so that's unfortunate. Maybe a scarf set could work but it just seems outclassed in terms of actual team utillity.

:slowking: but :slowbro-galar:
Galarian Slowking is surprisingly annoying to deal with, going by test games with N_Mareanie. Slowbro-Galar was B+ mostly for the AV set (this is Galarbro as a standalone and not with Slowbronite) and Galar Slowking just seems better in every way.

:articuno: but not instant PU material
One move to hit steel types, that's all Game Freak had to give this to make this mon worthwhile. But no, in keeping with the theme of this DLC, everything that isn't Calyrex fusions or Galar Zapdos had to be screwed over so bad that they made pre Gen 8 Kyurem-Black look like it was blessed with everything it need. Competitive is nice but most of our Defog users hit it with something anyways bar Moltres, and it does it a fat lot of good when it can't even threaten anything.
 
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As the resident creative Unga Bunga scumbag, I am, I'm gonna say it. Praise the lord that blissey is gone. now you guys have to get creative with the ways to wall special attackers. It's about damn time.

Blace will be cool, kinda sad its gonna pretty much make most other ghost types invalid. fire type's too (to an extent), its not crazy broken or anything, ghost scarf and fire scarf are light to counter and anything fast with knock off will do the rest.

Tapu Lele is gonna insane bro. genuinely shocked that we chose to get rid of Garde but this lad is making a bigger hole than it's filling.

idk enough about the galarian stuff to know if its good or not. I heard the ice horse is hot garbage but the birds seem nice. I'm a big fan of defiant and competitive so I'll have fun seeing what I can do using a flying type for that. Galarian slowbro will be super annoying but it'll be nice to see more walls come out of the ashes of that egg shaped hellspawn, and this will be one of them.
 
:blissey:
Losing Blissey is a sad one, luckily it wasn't super critical to our tier so it shouldn't cause stuff to implode too badly. We didn't even get Chansey in return though, that's the saddest part. No port spamming special wall sucks though, and ig stall is kinda screwed against half the tier. Gonna be interesting to see what the alternatives to this are gonna be.

wasn't super critical to our tier

wasn't super critical to our tier
Oh god it's only been a day and this quote has already aged poorly, the amount of special attackers that have been freed up by Blissey going is insane and now Latias doesn't even need Psyshock anymore so it becomes way tougher for fat to check. Ok maybe nothing that wasn't already kinda broken ended up broken, so I wasn't wrong wrong but still. Latias not needing Psyshock is also kinda huge b/c now it can just run Ice Beam or Psychic and not get situationally checked by Hippos. There's other stuff too like the recently dropped Lele and Diamond Stormless Mega Diancie is much more reasonable, though Diamond Storm was good for other things too such as the +2 Defense boost.

Porygon-Z is lookin kinda silly too right now, though low key it kinda was already (as Baker's Pory-Z team showed multiple times in NDPL). Prima and Starmie also just got a TON better too, not to mention other stuff too. If the tier hasn't imploded already it sure as heck is about to.
 

Yubellia

Banned deucer.
Wait can someone explain to me why Galarian-Slowbro can mega evolve into Mega Slowbro? Whats the rationale behind this
 
The results are in!

:aerodactyl-mega: - 7 UUBL
:blacephalon: - 7 UUBL
:diancie-mega: - 7 UUBL
:latias: - 6 UUBL / 1 Abstain
:slowbro-mega: - 7 UUBL
:tapu-lele: - 7 UUBL

A Pokémon needed 5/7 Ban votes to get banished to UUBL.

Aerodactyl-Mega, Blacephalon, Diancie-Mega, Latias, Slowbro-Mega & Tapu Lele have been banned from National Dex UU.
:ss/aerodactyl-mega::ss/blacephalon::ss/diancie-mega::ss/latias::ss/slowbro-mega::ss/tapu-lele:

:aerodactyl-mega: Aerodactyl-Mega got banned because of the fact that Dragon Dance sets virtually had no good consistent counterplay, and the counterplay that exists is far too limited. Priority was around the only offensive counterplay that existed, and defensive counterplay was weakened into range by Mega Aerodactyl itself.

:blacephalon: Despite just dropping into the tier, SubCM Speed boosting sets have already proven to be far too limiting in the tier. There is near no good defensive counterplay for this behemoth, unless you want to run options like Mantine and Gastrodon, which is far too limiting for todays metagame. Also not being easily revenged and avoiding most Pursuit trappers behind a sub has proven to be too much to handle for the tier at this current moment.

:diancie-mega: Diancie-Mega basically had no good defensive counterplay, and that was even moreso the case with Blissey leaving. Basically 2HKO'ing the entire tier with minimal chip has proven to be far too much to handle and was very much restraining in both builder and in practice.

:latias: Blissey leaving, as well as getting Mystical Fire in the DLC, has pushed this Pokemon to broken status. Mystical Fire made defensive counterplay extremely difficult to have vs Latias, as Firium Z breaks through most of the common checks in Jirachi, Celesteela and Mega Steelix. Blissey was about the only Pokemon that could counter it, as Psyshock variants were pretty uncommon, but losing the key defensive 'mon to handle Latias has pushed the Dragon beyond its limits.

:slowbro-mega: Galarian Slowbro as a base form adds a whole new level of difficulties than we ever had. It's a mechanic that may or may not be how it should be, but that's not up to the council to decide. Point is, Galarian Slowbro, a Pokemon that resists Grass and is immune to Toxic, can mega evolve into Mega Slowbro which has entirely different counterplay is simply far too difficult to play around and only a handful of Pokemon are actually capable of handling this. ''Forcing it to Mega'' is a phrase that is way easier said than done, as Galarian Slowbro can even take a lot of SE hits to scout and simply switch out after due to Regen. Calm Mind Mega Slowbro is also extremely hard to break, with most counterplay being beaten by Galarian Slowbro.

:tapu-lele: While Tapu Lele has been discussed if it's actually broken or not due to the less than ideal speed tier, at this point in time it's simply too much to handle. The attacks are too strong, the coverage is too big to consider anything a reliable counter and is just overall very hard to handle and would end up forcing every team to run Celesteela, Jirachi or another SpDef steel that could fall over to one of its coverage moves.
We are now letting the meta settle for the remainder of the month should nothing else pop up that requires immediate action. The tier will be changing a lot with Blissey leaving + these 6 bans, as well as the fact that we'll be having another shift on the 15th of November (less than 2 weeks way) and another one on the 1st of December. After this, the council will be looking into doing tons of retests on previously banned Pokemon, so look out for that once the time comes.

Have a nice day and enjoy this new meta!

Kris The Immortal thank u very much if u guys could implement this :blobthumbsup:
 
Well I'll be quite frank here, the meta has changed a lot unsurprisingly. With Blissey rising and multiple threats being banned from the tier it was bound to happen at some point. I'll share some brief thoughts that'll be expanded on in the bible post in a spoiler tho! This post is mainly to highlight what I feel has gotten better, gotten worse and my thoughts on some of the new drops that I have tested and built with.

Blissey being gone isn't as bad as I initially thought, yeah we lost a huge special wall, but we definitely have capable enough mons that can check various threats through solid enough defenses, typing and other tools. Such mons are Amoonguss, Gastrodon, Sylveon, Glowking, Spdef Bulu (haven't used but it's probably good), and more.

Latias, Blaceph, MAero, Lele and Diancie-M leaving has of course opened up the flood gates for even more mons to shine. Defensive cores definitely love the fact that extremely stressful breakers have been kicked from the tier and allows stuff like bulkier balance builds to definitely thrive a bit more in this metagame. Offensive water types also love Latias leaving and I'll expand on a few of those below in the post.

New Drops!
:SS/Slowking: (Galar)
I am absolutely in love with this mon atm. AV Glowking is a really solid blanket spdef mon currently and coupled with Regenerator, some respectable defenses and a solid defensive typing it finds itself switching into special attackers multiple times a match and threatening them out with Sludge Bomb poisons or whatever other coverage you opt you slap onto this mon. It has a really solid MU vs the tiers many special threats currently such as Keldeo, Primarina, Specs PZ (trick kinda fucks you), Togekiss, NP Z Infernape and plenty more. The set linked above is 100% not optimized atm and can definitely be EV'd a bit better, but currently that's what is working for me. The investment in Spdef is to never be 2hko'd after rocks from full by specs hydro Prim, and the physical defense investment is to just give is a better MU vs physical threats such as Malt.

:SS/Moltres: (Galar)
Man. Two words: Double Dance. This mon is extremely fun and actually somewhat threatening. Dark + Flying stab combination is really hard to check completely defensively currently and you're able to profit off of the recent meta changes a lot. The idea of double dance on this mon is to simply click agility vs more offensively based teams or to NP vs bulkier builds to dish break down their cores or even to outright win. Not to mention you have berserk and that adds in some extra power when you're below half. Choiced sets are alright, specifically the scarf set. Scarf is capable of offering some decent utility on offense teams via Memento and allow a set up sweeper to hopefully put in work. It is extremely inconsistent though from experience and Moltres in general is fairly inconsistent due to being worn down by hazards, strong priority and doesn't really offer too much defensively outside of 2 immunities.

:SS/Volcanion:
It feels like I have been waiting 5 years for this mf to drop. I thought it would be quite mid, but after playing against and with it I have quickly learned it was a really solid offensive defogger. It appreciates the hell out of Latias and Blissey leaving, which means it can spam Steam Eruption and Fire Blast/Flamethrower without many repercussions. Boots is a huge upgrade for it, which allows it to act as a fogger consistently throughout a match without fearing hazard chip. Also having sludge bomb coverage when Malt is basically the 2nd best mon in the tier is pretty pog. Nothing much else can really be said about it tho, it's a pretty consistent fogger and the specs set is pretty hot.

What Got Better!
:SS/Amoonguss:
Amoonguss is incredibly good currently and shines specifically due to M-Diancie, Blaceph, Lele and Latias leaving whom all pressured it greatly. Amoonguss has a really solid defensive typing and good mixed bulk which allows it to perform as one of the tiers best defensive pivots to check Primarina, Mega Altaria, Keldeo, Non Zen Bulu, Raikou and Urshifu. Your MU vs Keldeo and Urshifu at first seem shaky due to Air Slash and Ice Pucnh coverage respectively, but Amoonguss doesn't die from either of these moves and sports Regenerator. Which allows him to reliably scout these moves and switch to a mon accordingly, since being locked into Air Slash and Ice Punch puts them in an extremely disadvantageous position. Helmet allows you to get valuable chip on mons like Shifu and Scizor attempting to pivot out, while Black Sludge gives you a bit of extra passive recovery to keep you pivoting around longer. Amoonguss has other viable options for items such as Boots to alleviate the stress that repeated hazard chip can have on it, and Assault Vest is a very viable option to give you a much better MU vs Keldeo and Primarina.

:SS/Swampert: (click here for the set)
Latias was somewhat an issue for Pert and that left so Pert is actually pretty solid rn. Flip Turn being added to the moveset also allows it to not be a complete momentum drainer. The typing + utility it brings allows it to consistently pivot around and set rocks throughout a match and in general be a nuisance to handle for most teams. Being able to comfortable deal with mons like Bisharp, Cobalion, MMane and Heattom while providing a decent amount of role compression is a huge asset to any team that needs it. The last slot is customizable to your need as you have Toxic to punish SIs and Roar to not be complete set up bait vs Malt. Pert also can run a Banded set a bit more reliably. You're able to use Pert's solid typing and bulk with a banded set to come in reliably and dish out some pretty heavy damage.

:SS/Raikou: :SS/Manectric-Mega: :SS/Zeraora:
Offensive Electric types in general are able to perform a lot better without Latias and Blissey switching in over and over again just to wall. Raikou doesn't have to run CM Ghostium anymore and is free to run extrasensory + psychium to nuke Amoonguss and deal damage solid enough damage to Malt. MMane is actually extremely nice rn as an offensive pivot, intimidate gives you a really solid MU vs stuff like Scizor and Jirachi. Of course Malt and Pert being so good is a huge downside for it sure, but it has the option to run either HP Grass or HP Ice for whichever one it decides to check. Heattom's existence also isn't that much of an issue due to lack of recovery, so you're able to click volt over and over again and wear it down. Zeraora was good before and got a bit better. Zera does what it did before still just as effectively, you can opt to run Play Rough>some other coverage to help with the Malt MU, but that severely weakens your other MUs depending what you swap out.

:SS/Keldeo: :SS/Primarina: :SS/Suicune:
Offensive Water types benefit quite heavily from these meta changes. Cune and Keldeo in particular really love that Blissey and Latias are out of the picture and can do what they do best respectively. Keldeo can run focus blast more now which is capable of OHKOing defensive washtom, which is something Secret Sword is incapable of doing. While Suicune can more reliably use the Vincune set to prey upon bulkier teams, though Suicune in particular struggles a bit due to Malt being so good since Malt can refresh the scald burns or simply use facade and benefit from it. Primarina benefits from Blissey not existing and is extremely hard to check defensively for most teams without solid prediction with Amoonguss or Glowking. Both of these can be played around by clicking flip turn and going into something that pressures either of them. Other offensive water types such as NP Washtom and Starmie also benefit greatly from this, Starmie more than offensive Washtom.

:SS/Scizor:
Scizor was and still is the best mon in the tier IMO. Though the lack of Latias means you can run other coverage such as Dual Wingbeat or Knock Off. Knock allows you to get rid of Heattom and Moltres boots which allows you to pressure them in the long run with hazard support and DWB obv helps your Amoonguss and Buzzwole MU. Malt rising to the forefront also means that Scizor indirectly gets better because you are able to offensive check it with banded or boosted bulled punches.

What Got Worse!

:SS/Bronzong:
Stop using Bronzong please. Thanks!

:SS/Steelix-Mega:
Steelix-Mega is still good, though it lost a huge niche that was handling Latias somewhat well with a spdef set. It's still a solid rocker though, it has a nice MU vs Malt, Togekiss and the very very ass Nihilego. It just faces competition from various other defensive steel types such as Rachi, Skarm and Maggron who all offer something much more valuable than Megalix imo.

:SS/Celebi:
Celebi breaks stall. Stall doesn't have Blissey. Celebi had a good MU vs Megabro. Megabro is banned. Celebi sucks, don't be like Celebi.

Of course there are things I didn't mention like Malt (who I probably named 200 times in here just use context clues and know it's insanely good), Jirachi, Infernape and of course PZ. All in all the meta is pretty fun! It's enjoyable asf and I really enjoy running it with Mareanie and the council. Have a great day and thanks for reading this if you did.
 
So I've been having a lot of thoughts over the last couple of days, and I'd like to get them out somewhere, thus I decided to make this post. This post will be split into multiple parts that will be made in seperate posts. This is part 1, covering the S and A ranks. Next post will be the B ranks, after that the C rank and Unranked mons. I'm splitting them up because otherwise they'd be way too long and I don't have the time lol.
Also please note that these are all my personal opinions and they could very well change within a few days due to the hectic state of the meta. Should my opinion change on something, I'll address it in a later post. I'll also be going over how I think they should change within the VR, but that's of course not me promising they'll actually end up there, as again, these are my personal opinions.

PART 1: THE TOP DOGS
Scizor
I still think most people who play this metagame can support the statement that Scizor is still the best 'mon in the meta. I think both Latias and Mega Diancie leaving was nice for Scizor, as it can now experiment with more different sets and spreads instead of relying on bulkier spreads constantly. The versatility of this 'mon is amazing, ranging from Choice Band to offensive LO, to the still the solid Bulky SD variants. It's an amazing 'mon for VoltTurn cores, as well as giving an amazing win conditions on more offensive teams. It also has quite a nice movepool. Quick Attack is often used on offensive SD variants, being able to snipe Bullet Punch resists from low health like Infernape, Keldeo, Rotom-Heat and Urshifu-RS. Dual Wingbeat is a cool option to OHKO both Amoonguss, Urshifu-RS and Buzzwole, while Superpower can be used to hit most Steel-types in the meta the hardest. Knock Off is also still a great option to cripple targets on the switch, mainly being able to remove Rotom-Heat and Moltres' HDB. Overall, this 'mon remains the undisputed king of the meta and will likely remain in this position. Definitely worthy of being S rank.

Buzzwole
Buzzwole is still one of the top 'mons in the meta, being able to provide many roles. Be it a Physically Defensive variant to wall nearly every physical attacker in the meta, to a nice breaker with Choice Band. Bulk Up Z sets are also in my opinion quite nice, as you keep your recovery while still being a cool breaker. I've personally also experimented with Life Orb Roost sets, with my coverage being Close Combat / Thunder Punch / Ice Punch, which has worked decently well. You keep your ability to check 'mons like Weavile, Terrakion and Obstagoon while still having great damage output. Now, I still feel like offensive sets lack the speed tier to be genuinely better than the defensive sets imo, as you're generally forced out pretty quickly after you killed something (should you have picked up a kill). Amoonguss' ever growing popularity also isn't great, and Mega Altaria being the queen of the tier certainly does not do it a great favour. However, despite this, it remains one of the best Pokémon in the meta. Though I don't think it's on the level of Scizor, Jirachi or even Mega Altaria, and probably is better alongside the rest of A+.

Jirachi
Jirachi is the definition of versatility. With Latias, Mega Diancie and Tapu Lele being gone, it's not entirely forced to run Specially Defensive sets anymore. It has now way more room to run and experiment with more sets. Be it Scarf, which adds a nice Scarf utility 'mon with U-Turn and Healing Wish. Or Z-Happy Hour, which still has great late game sweeping potential. Or perhaps some more offensive Rocks set, with Meteor Beam + Power Herb? I've also seen people use Calm Mind, Mixed Expert Belt, or Physically Defensive to act as a better check vs stuff like Mega Altaria, Tapu Bulu and Scizor. Overall an amazing 'mon in the meta, with the only real weakness being the heavy presence of Pursuit in the metagame. I think this should be in the S rank, alongside Scizor and something else I'll mention later.
Rotom-Heat
Rotom-Heat enjoys no Blissey or Latias in the metagame, as well as Offensive Rocks Mega Diancie not threatening it anymore as a hazard setter. I've been loving the Nasty Plot set again, despite Mega Altaria being as common as it is (+2 Overheat does a lot anymore, and Mega Altaria doesn't necessarily love to keep taking +2 Volt Switches). Despite this, it also remains one of the most common Defoggers in our tier, being able to fulfill so many roles in one slot. Ground immune, Scizor check, hazard removal, VoltTurn resist etc. However, rise of Gastrodon and Swampert has been kind of annoying for it, as well as Rhyperior being way more common than a few weeks ago. Not to mention its brother, Rotom-Wash, has a way better matchup vs many of our rockers. Due to this, I could see perhaps a drop to A, as I don't think Rotom-Heat is as high as it was before. Still a fantastic 'mon though.

Rotom-Wash
Now, similar to Rotom-Heat, Rotom-Wash really enjoys no more Blissey and Latias. The rise of Amoonguss is kind of annoying for it, but I've been using Z-Dream Eater on some teams again and still acts as a great lure if you play it right. I do personally still think Rotom-Wash is the absolute best hazard remover in the tier due to its Water typing, giving it a great matchup vs many of our hazard setters, only being hard stopped by Seismitoad, which isn't the most common right now due to there being better options. The Water resistence is quite nice, as it acts as a nice check to the new Volcanion, can pivot into Urshifu and Keldeo and even opposing Rotom-Wash. Also being able to run Leftovers, which Rotom-Heat can't quite do, is super nice. Will definitely retain its A+ positioning at the moment.

Terrakion
Terrakion enjoys Latias and Mega Diancie leaving the tier, as they were two common revenge killers that could easily get rid of Terrakion. Mega Slowbro leaving is also great, as that's another target less it has trouble breaking through without Z-Move. Its breaking power is still quite amazing, as Rock + Fighting is simply a near perfect STAB combo in this metagame. My personal favourite set at the moment remains the Rocks + SD set, as it's able to threaten most of our removal with ease, and keeping up a lot of pressure due to its offensive capabilities. However, the lack of noteworthy bulk means it lacks great opportunities to come in on a lot of Pokemon. It also has to compete with other Fighting breakers which one might consider superior, such as Urshifu and Buzzwole. Skarmory and Buzzwole being great also doesn't favour Terrakion much. Hippowdon is seeing more usage due to Sand getting better, Mega Altaria and Amoonguss heavily hinder its Choiced sets. Scizor revenging it with Bullet Punch also of course never does it any favours. Blissey being gone also means it has one less Pokémon to take advantage of as a 'free' switch. I think it could probably drop one subrank to A, but would be the best Pokemon in A should it drop, as its breaking power is still quite amazing for a lot of teams out there and can be extremely threatening under the right circumstances.

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike
Now, I personally think Urshifu-RS is near the best it's ever been. This may be weird, cause despite Latias leaving, Mega Altaria, Buzzwole, Skarmory and Amoonguss are all top 'mons, which should hinder Urshifu-RS a ton. Well, this is true to an extent. Helmet Buzzwole, Skarmory and Amoonguss heavily hinder the Choice Band set as they hold Urshifu-RS back from spamming Surging Strikes. However, I've been really liking the BU LO Urshifu-RS set, consisting of Close Combat, Surging Strikes and Ice Punch (I've tried Icium Z as well, which is decent, but I find the consistency of LO better). This set allows it to push its breaking power even further without being locked, meaning it's much less prediction reliant than the Choice Band set. However, the Choice Band set still has amazing breaking power, and should often be paired with Knock Off users that lures in Buzz, Skarm and Amoonguss (Knock Sciz for example). I've also experimented with Protective Pads Urshifu-RS, but the lack of item boost is noteworthy for sure, though U-turning around without Helmet chip can be pretty nice at times. Urshifu-RS also has some decent defensive utility, being able to check some 'mons like Scizor and Weavile pretty well a lot of times. Will remain in A+ if it were up to me for sure.

Weavile
Weavile is the simplest Pokémon ever yet somehow managed to consistently be one of the top threats in the meta. It's arguably the best Pursuit trapper in the meta (some would say it's Krookodile. I disagree), being able to trap most Psychic types in the tier like Jirachi and Slowking should it get the 50/50's right or if they're weakened enough. Knock Off + Triple Axel is also just an amazing combination in itself, it's just disappointing that Triple Axel is somewhat inconsistent, but it has that more power to break through targets like Skarmory and Buzzwole easier that Icicle Crash just won't do. Ice Shard as always is great priority, as it revenges Mega Altaria or Salamence, which a lot of teams appreciate. SD Boots is cute but hard to get off and wildly inconsistent, but can be pretty fun I suppose. Anyways, this 'mon should stay A+ and is without a doubt a top 10 in this meta.
Altaria-Mega
A few months back I used to hate on this thing. Now, it's like, top 2 in the meta. I'm sure it was good before Mega Venusaur meta, but Mega Venusaur leaving gave that extra push to this 'mons viability. Basically, this 'mons consistency and the amount of roles it performs is insane. EQ / Facade / DD / Roost is imo the best set, as it has a great potential to sweep a lot of teams late game. However, it also checks like, half the meta. Rotom-Heat- and Wash, Urshifu-RS, Infernape, Buzzwole, Keldeo, Tapu Bulu, Dracozolt, Breloom, Mega Sharpedo, Obstagoon etc. Its amazing defense stat coupled with an amazing typing and great ability makes this 'mons the Mega of the tier. Defensive non-DD sets are also still great, as they focus more on utility with Heal Bell and Body Slam, being able to paralyze common switch ins like Amoonguss, Celesteela and Skarmory, heavily hindering their overall effectiveness in the long run. Mixed sets with Fire Blast are also still great, being able to heavily damage 'mons like Scizor, Skarmory and Amoonguss. This 'mon has barely any downsides in this meta and should honestly rise to S rank along with Scizor and Jirachi.

Amoonguss
Amoonguss has been great lately. Checking Urshifu-RS, Keldeo, Primarina, Mega Altaria, Scizor and Buzzwole in one slot (very reliably at that) is frankly amazing. Blissey leaving means spamming Spore is a lot easier to do than before, with Mega Altaria pre-mega and opposing Amoonguss being the most common switch ins for it. Sludge Bomb has decent amount of damage output and is able to punish certain switch ins like Moltres and Rotom-Heat with well timed poisons. Tbh, I've found Amoonguss so annoying that I've started running RestTalk Moltres-G, Sleep Talk Obstagoon and and some lures specifically for it like Z-Dream Eater WashTom or Z-Ice Punch Urshifu-RS. That just shows that Amoonguss is really effective in this meta right now and should probably rise to A+.

Infernape
Now, Infernape is giving me sort of mixed feelings. On the other hand, most defensive cores get ripped apart by this thing, and Latias + Mega Slowbro leaving should give Infernape a way easier time. On the other hand, bulkier teams are sort of less common at the moment due to there not being a direct replacement for Blissey yet. Mega Altaria is queen, Slowking is still simply great, Primarina is better, Moltres is frankly also better. Mixed Gunk Shot sets are decent but have great inconsistency I believe, as you don't have a boosting move and the miss chance is a yikes. I still personally really like it, as it's one of if not the best Fire-type breaker in the meta which is great, but you often don't really want to run two Fire-types on your team, and a lot of times Rotom-Heat or Moltres will take that spot. I could see a drop to A-, but I'm personally not 100% on that.

Keldeo
I think Keldeo is pretty great right now. Latias and Mega Slowbro leaving is really nice, which makes Specs set a lot better. Amoonguss rising in usage is annoying, but Air Slash is able to at least threaten Amoonguss, + Flip Turn lets Keldeo grab momentum vs it. I think Keldeo is one of the better Scarfers in the tier as well, due to Flip Turn + its ability to revenge set up sweepers like Salamence and weakened Porygon-Z + Jirachi. I also think it forms cool momentum cores and can check 'mons like Scizor and Weavile in a pinch. CM sets are also pretty nice still. Keep in A for sure.

Krookodile
The best Scarfer in the metagame. It has amazing role compression in being a Dark/Ghost resist, Elec and Psychic immune, Knock, Pursuit, Scarfer etc. It can even be used as a Stealth Rock setter that has access to Taunt to prevent Defog. I really don't have much to say honestly, and if you've been paying attention to NDPL you know amazing this thing is. A+ 'mon for sure.

Moltres
Now, I've always been a Moltres fan, so Blissey and Mega Diancie no longer being present means offensive sets have a great time in this meta imo. It's a better Scizor check than Rotom-Heat, is faster, has great power and good dual STAB + U-turn. Rotoms and Rhyperior is annoying for it, but nothing stop Moltres from just clicking U-turn. Defog sets are still fairly splashable and dropping Flying STAB isn't that big of a deal. Z-Fly sets are a lot worse than its regular sets cause no Boots but the nuke can be nice sometimes. Should definitely remain in A, and it honestly feels as an A+ 'mon in my eyes sometimes (just don't look at PL winrate).

Salamence
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I've gotta say I agree here, to an extent. It's performance in PL was very mediocre, ending with a less than disappointing winrate of 16.67% while still having >7% use in total. I'm guessing this has to do with the Z-Fly set just being mediocre-ish with Rhyperior, Rotom-Heat, Rotom-Wash and Skarmory being as good as they are. Z-Dragon sets have been used and have been considered better by some people (me included), but heavily struggles still with the likes of Celesteela, Skarmory and Mega Altaria, not to mention the use after Z-Outrage is very low, as being locked into Outrage in this meta is more often than not just not ideal. Mixed sets have been used and I've been decently surprised by them, but still lack immense consistency and the fact that you can't really run Boots (otherwise you're actually weak as piss) sucks a lot. It's still a fine 'mon but just doesn't have the same effectiveness or consistency as the other A ranked 'mons. A drop to A- is deserved here.

Skarmory
This 'mon is just, simply put, amazing. I consider Spikes better than Rocks in the meta and I think Skarmory is the sole reason for that (Boots too but w/e). Checking majority of the physical meta while still having decent versatility in moves (Iron Head, Body Press + Iron Defense, Curse, Brave Bird, Defog is a legitimate option). But in the end, the utility of Spikes is just simply amazing and with all the other tools Skarmory possesses makes it one of the best Pokemon in the meta imo. A+ in my eyes.

Tapu Bulu
I personally still quite like Tapu Bulu in this meta, despite Mega Altaria and Scizor's reign. I've personally been loving the Grassy Seed SD set, which can now run Close Combat instead of Superpower, which I love because I hated dropping my attack. The defense boost from Grassy Seed allows you to not auto-lose to Scizor while checking Terrakion and Urshifu-RS a bit better as a one time thing. Zen Headbutt is still great for Amoonguss. Band sets also still aren't horrible, SD Z-Move or even bulkier sets are fine. Taking full advantage of Krookodile is great and the Grassy Terrain for support for teams is just quite nice in general. I think the combination of Grassy Seed users in general is very underrated, so I think Tapu Bulu fully deserves it's spot in the A rank.
Celesteela
Now I'm gonna be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Defensive Celesteela. While it can indeed be quite effective at just annoying teams and being hard to break down, I feel like it doesn't actually make progress in a game and doesn't offer any sort of utility like Skarmory does. Relying on Leech Seed + Leftovers on your recovery is also a big downside. However, it still does the job fine enough to at least act as a nice pivot vs some special attackers.

However, the side of Celesteela I mainly wanted to expose are the offensive sets. Offensive Steela is actually quite fucking good honestly, and if you really think about it, it's really not that hard to see why. I've been using Autotomize Z-Air Slash, with Flamethrower and Energy Ball as my last two moves. Energy Ball is there to hit Rotom-Wash, Gastrodon, Slowking etc, Flamethrower is for the Steel types. The only Pokémon that annoys you here is Rotom-Heat, which is annoying, but at the end of the day weakening Rotom-Heat isn't the most difficult thing to do. Anyways, Celesteela's great natural bulk and good typing allows it to take a lot of hits from full and create a lot of opportunities to set up. Blissey being gone helps even more in this regard. I've used Weakness Policy sets due to the ability to survive a lot of hits from full including super effective attacks, but I generally regard the Z-Air Slash set more consistent. Meteor Beam sets are interesting, nuking Moltres and heavily damaging Rotom-Heat, but you kind of lack coverage if you go with this set, as well as not having that nuke. I personally think the offensive sets are so bloody consistent at late game sweeping that I honestly would say this should rise to A rank as it clearly is a role only Celesteela would be able to fulfill.

Hippowdon
I hated Hippowdon at first but Latias being gone + Sand getting better as a whole because of Dracozolt means I think this became a lot better. It's a pretty decent Rocker as it does annoy HeatTom, and having a Ground immune is pretty great for any team. Rocky Helmet variants can legit annoy Shifu despite being weak to it, while still acting as a pretty good check to the likes of Salamence, Obstagoon, Terrakion, or even opposing Dracozolt. It still has its clear issues and can sometimes just feel like a passive motherfucker, but I feel like it clearly deserves its spot in A-.

Obstagoon
Now I've always loved Obstagoon, and despite Buzzwole and Skarmory's presence I think Obstagoon didn't get too bad from it. Buzz and Skarm coming in often on it means they'll get Knocked Off, which opens a lot more room for other teammates like Urshifu-RS. This 'mon still hits amazingly hard and it doesn't have to worry anymore about Mega Diancie pivoting into this anymore. I personally think RestTalk dual stab sets are fairly interesting right now especially with how common Amoonguss is, but 3Atks is still the best. I also love that I can kind of choose what 4th move I want. Parting Shot, Bulk Up and Obstruct are all solid options and it really depends on the team that I use what I want, but I'd say generally that Obstruct is your best option. Parting Shot allows you to take advantage of incoming switch ins and gain momentum, while Bulk Up is a bit better vs somewhat fatter teams should you run into them (Bulk Up also allows you to abuse the ever living fuck out of Mega Sableye fyi). It can be hard to justify this over other dark breakers though, especially Weavile, but still remains very solid and has a very solid place in A-.

Porygon-Z
This 'mon man... PL has truly showed how threatening the Z-Conversion set is and how absurdly good it is at late game cleaning. Toxic Blissey being gone buffs Porygon-Z to an amazing degree and is one of the best late game cleaners and can sometimes just outright sweep unprepared teams. BoltBeam coverage is broken, and Recover gives you a nice matchup vs 'mons that you can't OHKO like Rotom-Heat. I really don't have much to say to be honest, this 'mon is just really good at what it does. I don't think it's broken though, as Clear Smog Gastrodon and Mega Steelix are good checks, Mamoswine is a great check as well, plus scarfers like Krookodile and Zarude can often easily revenge kill. Anyways, a rise to A is definitely deserved.

Primarina
Now I've honestly been loving Primarina. Specs sets are extremely threatening to switch into due to the low use of Empoleon and Tentacruel and the departure of Blissey, and is an amazing breaker imo. SubCM sets are also fun to use and if you don't run into Seed Bomb Amoonguss, you can use that as setup 'fodder' somewhat. More defensive oriented sets that focus on checking stuff like Urshifu-RS, Keldeo, Infernape and Mega Sharpedo are also decent I guess, but nothing consistent tbh. I honestly think the Specs set is its best set, consisting of Scald/Moonblast/Psychic/Flip Turn (I sometimes use Sparkling Aria > Scald for higher damage output and hitting through Sub, but Scald can cripple checks sooo...) and it is just so damn effective at threatening your opponent and keeps forcing them to make the right pivot. If they don't, Primarina gets a huge hit off and breaks great holes. It may involve some personal bias, but I honestly think this 'mon is worthy of A rank as I think it's way above every current A- 'mon outside of Porygon-Z.

Sableye-Mega
Mega Sableye is struggling right now. Mega Altaria is basically queen of the tier right now, which I would say is a complete hindrance to Mega Sableye's effectiveness in a match, but also on paper, because Mega Altaria will often be considered the better balance and stall mega (which is very much so justified). Mega Diancie's ban helped a TON, but Blissey leaving didn't. While you have a great matchup vs most of the hazard setters in the tier, it's not really great that you don't have much to offer outside of that. CM Willo Hex Recover is probably the most effective set, but struggles with the bunch of heavy hitters we have like Band Bulu, Band Shifu, Obstagoon, Porygon-Z, Primarina etc. I honestly think this thing should drop to B+ or perhaps even B, as I just don't think this thing has staple status and is just kind of... disappointing in this meta.

Sharpedo-Mega
Hazard Lead (Skarmory, Azelf, something) + 5 is the most effective HO at the current moment and I honestly think Mega Sharpedo is great on that playstyle. Crunch / Psychic Fangs / Ice Fang / Protect is imo the best set, though Close Combat can also be used to hit Weavile, Bisharp and Cobalion harder. The bans didn't really effect Mega Sharpedo itself, but Mega Diancie and Mega Aerodactyl leaving helps offensive a ton, meaning Mega Sharpedo will automatically be better as well. I think it's still very solid due to great late game cleaning and offense as a playstyle being great in general. Remain A- for sure.

Slowking
This thing is still solid. Very much so. Future Sight support is quite amazing in a meta with Amoonguss and Buzzwole acting as two of the premier fighting switch ins, meaning any fighting type or breaker that struggles with those two will have a great time. Slowking is also pretty great in itself, being able to act as a nice check to the likes of Moltres, Jirachi, Keldeo, Urshifu-RS and Infernape. It's also been seeing more use in PL and has always been effective, and I think with Latias leaving which could pivot into Future Sight + Fighting move it gets pretty great. Pursuit sucks for it, but I think that's the only thing withholding it from rising to A+, so I think it should be in A rank.

Starmie
I really like Starmie in this meta. Offensive Rapid Spin is quite nice, as it threatens out quite some of our hazard setters. It's also just a nice breaker in general from my experience due to Analytic, with Hydro Pump / Psychic / Thunderbolt / Ice Beam being great coverage, but Flip Turn can also be thrown into the mix. With a speed boost from Rapid Spin it also avoids being Pursuit trapped sometimes, which is quite amazing and very valuable in this meta. Effective and consistent imo, and definitely worthy of being A-.

Steelix-Mega
Steelix-Mega is still good, though it lost a huge niche that was handling Latias somewhat well with a spdef set. It's still a solid rocker though, it has a nice MU vs Malt, Togekiss and the very very ass Nihilego. It just faces competition from various other defensive steel types such as Rachi, Skarm and Maggron who all offer something much more valuable than Megalix imo.
I agree with this. Mega Steelix is in no way bad, but it lost a big reason why it deserved its spot within the A ranks. B+ is very much appropriate for this 'mon however, due to the great Electric immunity and ability to check Mega Altaria still, but overall isn't worthy of being A- anymore.

S-Rank

S

  • Altaria-Mega
  • Jirachi
  • Scizor

A-Rank

A+
  • Amoonguss
  • Buzzwole
  • Krookodile
  • Moltres
  • Rotom-Wash
  • Skarmory
  • Urshifu-Rapid-Strike
  • Weavile

A
  • Celesteela
  • Keldeo
  • Porygon-Z
  • Primarina
  • Rotom-Heat
  • Slowking
  • Tapu Bulu
  • Terrakion

A-
  • Hippowdon
  • Infernape
  • Obstagoon
  • Salamence
  • Sharpedo-Mega
  • Starmie

Hope you guys kind of see how much the meta is changing already, and we haven't even gone over the biggest winners imo, which I think are within the B ranks. Have a nice day!

DOn't cancel me for putting moltres higher than heattom
 

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