Hey everyone, the OU tiering council has decided to test Walking Wake!
As of Pokemon Day -- February 27th, the Overused metagame received a dangerous toy while Suicune received a sure-to-be-awkward-at-parties, paradox sibling. Walking Wake has taken OU by storm since its release, spurring a renaissance of the Sun archetype. With a slew of appealing characteristics that we will delve into later, Walking Wake promptly altered the status quo of our metagame. Upon engaging in extensive discussion both externally and internally, the OU tiering council decided it was best to hold a multifaceted vote on Walking Wake! The vote consisted of two prompts with the former pertaining to quickbanning Walking Wake and the latter pertaining to suspecting Walking Wake. The results can be seen below:
| Quickban | Suspect | |
|---|---|---|
| Finchinator | Ban | Yes |
| Ruft | Do not ban | Yes |
| ausma | Do not ban | Yes |
| FlamingVictini | Do not ban | Yes |
| Ox the Fox | Do not ban | Yes |
| ima | Do not ban | Yes |
| Star | Ban | Yes |
| talah | Ban | Yes |
| TPP | Ban | Yes |
Only four of the nine council members voted to ban Walking Wake from the metagame, falling short of the necessary threshold to enact a quickban (over 2/3, meaning at least 7/9). However, all nine members of the council voted to promptly suspect Walking Wake in the SV OU metagame if it were to not receive sufficient support, leading us to our third suspect of the ninth generation!
Walking Wake bursting out onto the scene is partially a testament to its unique signature move, Hydro Steam. Hydro Steam's power receives a boost under Sun despite being a Water type attack, which makes it one of the stronger moves in the game when you factor in for STAB, Protosynthesis, and other factors like the potential for Choice Specs. This creates a particularly explosive dynamic as counterplay to Sun teams is not used to accounting for boosted Water moves, but rather boosted Fire moves. There is a certain degree of strain on normal checks and counters to both Walking Wake that accompanies this. However, it is worth noting that Sun is an element of support and requires dedicating an entire team slot to Torkoal. While it is true Walking Wake is still very viable outside of Sun, it is not quite as strong of an option in that context.
In conjunction with Hydro Steam, Walking Wake also has access to the aforementioned ability, Protosynthesis, which can allow for a timely boost in an offensive stat under Sun or if Booster Energy is utilized. This can allow for Walking Wake to be even more problematic than initially perceived, but it does only come into play in certain contexts. Couple this with a Water-Dragon typing that is among the best in the game as well as a diverse movepool and it becomes clear as to why Walking Wake is already a top tier option. Water-Dragon allows for a number of resistances while only being weak to Dragon and Fairy types, which allows for Walking Wake to enter safely a sufficient amount of times despite not being geared to be defensive like Suicune. In terms of moves, Hydro Steam is the biggest talking point, but STAB Draco Meteor goes a long way as well. Throw in the option for Flamethrower, which could receive a Sun boost, or even Hurricane periodically when opting to utilize Rain and it has more than enough coverage. Hydro Pump can serve as a secondary, stronger STAB option outside of the Sun as well while Tera Blast can tie any loose ends together if specifically warranted. While it is true that Walking Wake receives no boosting moves of note outside of Agility, which makes it more of a breaker than a sweeper at its best, it does have superb coverage to pull off breaking opposing threats.
In terms of what variants we see, Choice Specs Walking Wake is the most common variant, which makes sense given the aforementioned coverage it receives and how spammable Hydro Steam is when utilized on Sun teams. With the right conditions, it is among the strongest members of the tier. Tera Water variants in particular are very hard to stop without an immunity! However, it can also run a Substitute set to ease prediction when people try to predict around Choice Specs. This can even opt to use Roar if paired with entry hazards as a means of wearing down would-be counterplay. This does trade-off considerable amounts of power, however, while Choice Specs does come with the burden of prediction if you are facing something that can stomach a Hydro Steam. We have also seen some stray all-out-attacking variants without Choice Specs, which can do quite a number to offensive teams, but oftentimes miss the extra muscle when facing more durable walls. Finally, a Booster Energy variant with Agility can function on hyper offense regardless of Sun being present, which capitalizes on the strength and coverage Walking Wake possesses.
Counterplay to Walking Wake is certainly limited and the extent to which it is limited will help determine if it is banworthy or not. This counterplay very much does exist, however. Offensively, revenge killing is very feasible. While it is a relatively fast Pokemon, teams oftentimes have one or multiple options that are quicker. Iron Valiant and Dragapult in particular can dispose of it through this method. With this said, they cannot enter safely with Dragapult only switching in once, assuming it is not both Tera Water and Sun boosted, and Iron Valiant being able to do so whatsoever, so you have to either fodder something before they come in or find a way to pivot around Walking Wake, which is not the most common practice.
This leads us to defensive counterplay, which is the biggest obstacle when it comes to handling Walking Wake. Some Pokemon can minimize it, even if they do not outright blank it, but this is not a particularly numerous group. Water Absorb Clodsire, specifically with Tera Fairy, does a great job against its STABs while being able to live two Choice Specs Flamethrowers, even if Sun is up. In addition, SDef Toxapex can minimize Walking Wake if it is not Tera Water boosted and around full health. Other, more fringe options such as Assault Vest Azumarill, SDef Slowking, and Blissey can also help do the trick, but their recent spike in usage is solely due to Walking Wake while they are otherwise middling (with Slowking at least seeing some decent use prior) and still susceptible to Tera Water as well. Overall, there is a lack of non-passive defensive counterplay to Walking Wake which is quite concerning. Many worry that Walking Wake's impact on the metagame will continue to polarize it, leaving bulky-offense and even balance less prevalent in the equation due to how limited they are while bulkier teams featuring the aforementioned walls or hyper offensive teams with revenge killing and constant pressure continue to surge.
Walking Wake is a unique and strong presence in the metagame. It has a practical set of tools that allow for it to provide a premium offensively in a tier that is arguably strapped for counterplay to it. With this said, it is still possible to defeat Walking Wake and we have seen a number of different methods mentioned above come into play to try and minimize it thus far. With Choice Specs being potent offensively, it is no surprise that Walking Wake has been deemed strong enough to be a prospect for tiering action. However, it does function best when receiving support from Sun, which is a particularly large ask on the teambuilding front. Overall, Walking Wake's place in the metagame is very significant and it has already been making large waves within less than a week. It will be interesting to see how this suspect test plays out. Keep in mind that any bans are likely to be voted on again when Pokemon Home drops and we are functioning under the premise that this will be released in Spring of 2023.
- Reading this is mandatory for participating in the suspect test!!! The voting requirements are a minimum GXE of 80 with at least 50 games played. In addition, you may play 1 less game for every 0.2 GXE you have above 80 GXE, down to a minimum of 30 games at a GXE of 84. Also, needing more than 50 games to reach 80 GXE will suffice.
| GXE | minimum games |
| 80 | 50 |
| 80.2 | 49 |
| 80.4 | 48 |
| 80.6 | 47 |
| 80.8 | 46 |
| 81 | 45 |
| 81.2 | 44 |
| 81.4 | 43 |
| 81.6 | 42 |
| 81.8 | 41 |
| 82 | 40 |
| 82.2 | 39 |
| 82.4 | 38 |
| 82.6 | 37 |
| 82.8 | 36 |
| 83 | 35 |
| 83.2 | 34 |
| 83.4 | 33 |
| 83.6 | 32 |
| 83.8 | 31 |
| 84 | 30 |
- You must signup with a newly registered account on Pokemon Showdown! that begins with the appropriate prefix for the suspect test. For this suspect test, the prefix will be OUFR. For example, I might signup with the ladder account OUFR Finch.
- Laddering with an account that impersonates, mocks, or insults another Smogon user or breaks Pokemon Showdown! rules may be disqualified from voting and infracted. Moderator discretion will be applied here. If there is any doubt or hesitance when making the alt, just pick another name. There are infinite possibilities and we have had trouble for this repeatedly. If you wish to participate in the suspect, you should be able to exhibit decent enough judgement here. We will not be lenient.
- We will be using the regular OU ladder for this suspect test. We will not be creating a new Suspect Ladder. At the beginning of every battle, there will be an announcement denoting the ongoing suspect with a link to this thread.
- The suspect being tested, Walking Wake, will be allowed on the ladder.
- Any form of voting manipulation will result in swift and severe punishment. You are more than welcome to state your argument to as many people as you so please, but do not use any kind of underhanded tactics to get a result you desire. Bribery, blackmail, or any other type of tactic used to sway votes will be handled and sanctioned.
- Do not attempt to cheat the ladder. We will know if you did not actually achieve voting requisites, so don't do it. Harsh sanctions will be applied.
- Unlike previous tests, we will be posting the voting identification thread immediately after this thread. Your voting requisites will be confirmed by a Council member or OU moderator, to which we will edit in confirmation. Please avoid getting more games before getting confirmed.
- The suspect test will go on for roughly two weeks, lasting until March 17th at 11:59 pm (GMT-4 -- please note clocks change mid-suspect test), and then we will put up the voting thread in the Blind Voting subforum.
- No unhelpful one liners nor uninformed posts;
- No discussion on other potential suspects;
- No discussion on the suspect process -- this includes retesting Walking Wake vs other potential suspects;
- You are required to make respectful posts;
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- Failure to follow these simple guidelines will result in your post being deleted and infracted without any prior warning.
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- This thread is not to voice complaints about the suspect process or decisions of the council. While we are more than open to hearing complaints that may arise, this isn't the place for it. I suggest you message the OU Council, PM our Tier Leaders, Finchinator and Ruft, or make a post in Senior Staff requests, should you have a badge.
Keep in mind that our suspect tests are decided by the community; anyone who rightfully achieves voting requisites is allowed to vote. The outcome is up to you.
you click substitute on torkoal and it literally shits on every sun staple with dragon darts | hex | will-o-wisp
offensive great tusk abuses your opponent setting up sun and is an absolute bastard for your opponent to reliably check since their defensive backbone usually consists of hatterene + their own defensive tusk max
sun folds 6-0 to this. bulk up +def tusk is usually their only answer which is not hard at all to wear down
another pokemon sun struggles with. walking wake does check it but this is moot depending on its tera type. simply bringing volcarona in causes a lot of sun players to panic so you can even click bug buzz on the switch to chip walking wake and set up later
any glimmora set is an absolute bitch for sun to maneuver around. if they go hard into walking wake on stealth rock, you can proceed to chip it with dazzling gleam via focus sash then sack it later in the game to get up a toxic spike
show me a sun team then show me their chainchomp switch-ins
greninja. choice specs grass knot always OHKO's after SR. greninja is also impossible for sun teams to switch into in general
water absorb clodsire cockblocks walking wake. if you pair it with a fairy-type (basic team-building synergy my guy, it's not hard to ask for), your opponent will have trouble choosing whether to click hydro steam and draco meteor. if clodsire comes in on draco meteor, you recover. if they overpredict and go for hydro steam, you have a free turn to spike or toxic.
i find it funny how whoever wrote the OP said this is a "fringe option." slowking is very good, B+ rank 'mon prior to walking wake's introduction and chilly reception absolutely dicks on sun teams. sun 'mons without protosynthesis are UU-level threats
toxapex is a dogshit pokemon and players are still using it despite the nerfs and chien-pao ban. toxapex now has a defined niche. it pivots in safely and is a pain for sun teams in general since it can put on a lot of pressure with toxic spikes
extremely solid walking wake answer since it receives the +spdef boost in sun. scream tail is criminally underrated: it literally counter-teams all the brainless HO's being spammed right now with encore. wish keeps teammates healthy
underexplored 'mons that i have been spamming. sun never stays up when you have either sand setter and these are not bad pokemon at all. sand chip in general is lowkey broken and both 'mons are solid stealth rock setters. hatterene are mostly eject on sun and draining kiss never outheals eq + sand chip from hippowdon. in case you don't play sun, hippowdon is still a bitch to take down in other mu's and annoys the fuck out of offense with whirlwind. tyranitar has utility by checking 'mons like skeledirge, iron moth, and certain volcarona sets, spreading paralysis, and applying pressure to great tusk on the switch with ice beam. while neither sand setter is a walking wake switch-in, sand allows you to get away with softer counter-play like amoonguss or specially defensive corviknight for walking wake
exclusive to stall
(and yes you are forced to run it, I even tried sunny day iron moth and couldn’t got over 1650 elo) that isn’t a great Pokémon by itself. This is the most evident limitation, but running sun makes so that you need to have a team with a certain predefined composition (I would say that things like hat are also somewhat mandatory). This makes so that you are very matchup reliant with sun, you def have huge weaknesses that are hard to avoid.
scarf/proto 
scarf 
band 
