Project The Top 10 Titans of the Gen 8 Ubers Metagame [See Post #183 for Final Ranking]

SiTuM

j'ai du faire un mauvais rêve
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
OP largely taken from here
Approved by Fc and Aberforth


The Top 10 Titans of the Gen 8 Ubers Metagame

The 8th Generation was a weird one since it was extremely different from the start compared to Gen 7: no Mega Evolutions, no Z-Moves, and the introduction of a deeply controversed mechanic; Dynamax. Gen 8 Ubers also had to deal with a lot of changes in the viability rankings every 6 months, just like the other Gen 8 tiers, because of the release of Pokémon Home, and DLCs. Some moves were also scrapped from the game, like Hidden Power, Pursuit, and Heart Swap, while some were added, like Poltergeist, Triple Axel, and Misty Explosion, changing completely how the game was played compared to previous generations. A lot of Pokemon were very influential in the early part of the tier, but became bad or even irrelevant at the end of it, while some remained at the peak during these 2 years and a half. The tier also had to deal with a lot of problematic Pokemon, like Zacian-Crowned and its Hero Form, or even mechanics, like Baton Pass, Shadow Tag, and Dynamax as said previously.

From June 22th to July 6th, you will nominate Pokemon that will be voted on for the top 10 most influential Pokemon throughout Gen 8. After that, we will all evaluate all the nominations and individually rank the Pokemon from 1-10 by vote. Of course, all the nominations will count as long as they're reasonable and fit the criteria. However, keep in mind that this is not a ranking of how strong or good a Pokémon is, but how influentional it was and how much it impacted the metagame.

Just for clarification: we will follow the viability ranking for the separation of the Pokemon. That means that each Calyrex form can receive a separate nomination, and so can Zacian-Crowned and Zacian-Hero, and you can also talk about how they affected each other as they cannot be played together. Also, even if some Pokémon became relevant or irrelevant after DLC 2, you still can vote for it if you think it was influentional enough, but please keep in mind that this is for all of the meta of Gen 8, not just current (DLC 2) SS.

Finally, please follow the format below, or else I won't be able to count it.

Nominating [Pokemon]

Enter sprite here.

What effect did [Pokemon] have on the metagame?

Explain how the Pokemon effected the metagame as whole, and how the metagame adapted around it. A brief description of which Pokemon it countered and which Pokemon it did well against would be good here as well.

In what main roles was [Pokemon] used?

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

What caused it to have a significant impact?

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

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

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



Do this. Thanks SparksBlade

Finally, you can make reservations, but please complete them in 1 day, or else anyone will be able to take it. You also can make multiple nominations, but only if you already completed your last nomination.

The final ranking of the Top 10 Titans of The Gen 8 Ubers Metagame: (see here for full post)

1) :ss/eternatus:
2) :ss/zacian-crowned:
3) :ss/calyrex-shadow:
4) :ss/necrozma-dusk-mane:
5) :ss/yveltal:
6) :ss/lunala:
7) :ss/gothitelle:
8) :ss/kyogre:
9) :ss/xerneas:
10) :ss/excadrill:
 
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Fc

Waiting for something to happen?
is a Site Content Manageris a Top Team Rateris a Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a defending SCL Champion
Ubers Leader
Nominating Eternatus

:ss/eternatus:

What effect did Eternatus have on the metagame?

Eternatus has been the longest standing most influential Pokemon in ubers. Since the game was released Eternatus has been on top of the ranks, and it's always been one of the biggest threats. Due to its insane stat spread it acts as a soft check to many Pokemon like Marshadow, Kyogre, Yveltal, and Dracovish. It consistently has been at the top of the usage stats, and every team needed to prep for it, if not just run it as well for consistency's sake. Special walls like Tyranitar, Necrozma-DM, and Blissey are always around to check it, but Eternatus has methods to get past almost anything. Pressure is an incredible ability and lets it try and stall hits like NDM EQ which could beat it. Eternatus is pretty much the defining uber of the generation.

In what main roles was Eternatus used?

Its crazy stats means that Eternatus can be used in a lot of roles. It ran phys.def before DLC 2 for Marshadow, Dracovish, and Urshifu, and switched to mainly sp.def in DLC 2 for Kyogre but can still run phys.def. Aside from that it has access to Meteor Beam to use an offensive or sweeping Cosmic Power set, and Life Orb was incredibly common as well. Eternatus is the ultimate role compression Pokemon of SS Ubers.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Everything. Eternatus has no flaws aside from not being able to be used as a physical sweeper with Dragon Dance. Its Ability is incredible, stats are overtuned in every way, great special movepool, recovery, the metagame around it has a lot of threats that it beats, Eternatus just has everything.

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

NDM is the best check right now, alongside just brute force with Kyogre sets, Marshadow sets, or Thunder Wave. Blissey and Tyranitar were the main checks when Zacian forced phys.def NDM on 100% of teams. Gothitelle and Dugtrio also beat it for a good bit.
 
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Eledyr

Le vilain petit Wooloo
is a Site Content Manageris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributoris a Dedicated Tournament Host
Translations Leader
Nominating Yveltal
:ss/yveltal:
What effect did Yveltal have on the metagame ?

Since its release during DLC 2, Yveltal has been a dominant force of the metagame, for both its excellent resilience to Calyrex-S as well as its great tools such as Knock Off, Defog, Foul Play, and Taunt. Despite its weakness to Fairy-type, the domination of Zacian-C and Zacian between October 2020 and June 2021, and the popularity of Xerneas throughout the entire time of DLC2 SS Ubers, Yveltal always remained #1 in usages, as seen in the graph below (done by your faithful servant, using the monthly top elo usages). It's by far the most reliable defogger in the tier, and the best Knock Off user too.
graph usages.png


In what main roles was Yveltal used?

Thanks to its great stats and wide movepool, Yveltal had a plethora of viable sets throughout its existence; it's been primarily used as a defogger, and its special investment helped him to deal with Calyrex-S. Variant with more Speed and support moves such as Toxic and Taunt were also used to deal with Offensive Yveltal. These sets were splashable in every kind of team besides hyper offensive builds due to their incredible ability to reliably switch in on Calyrex-S, use Defog and stay healthy thanks to Roost.

Name: Specially Defensive
Item: Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Nature: Careful
- Knock Off / Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- Foul Play / Sucker Punch

Name: Fast Utility
Item: Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 16 HP / 240 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- Sucker Punch / Toxic / Taunt

Offensive sets also became to appear, mostly used on hyper offense builds.

Name: Special Attacker
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
- Oblivion Wing
- Dark Pulse
- Taunt
- Heat Wave / Sucker Punch

Name: Physical Attacker
Item: Black Glasses
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
- Roost

Hyper Offense builds greatly appreciate Yveltal's ability to switch in on Calyrex-S's STABs. Thanks to Oblivion Wing and Roost respectively, Yveltal can stay relatively high in health all along the game. Taunt is an excellent stallbreaking tool, and keeping Yveltal alive was often a wincon for Hyper Offense builds to break defensive cores.

Name: Choice Scarf
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 184 HP / 72 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly / Hasty
- Foul Play
- U-Turn / Knock Off
- Defog
- Roost / Oblivion Wing

A Choice Scarf set also appeared; this set was especially good against Sticky Web teams, as it was almost guarantee to Defog without the fear of being afflicted by Taunt first. Foul Play, even resisted, had the advantage of doing massive damages to Zacian and Zacian-C due to their high Attack and Intrepid Sword's boost.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Thanks to its Ability, great stats, and wide movepool, Yveltal have always been everywhere ever since its release. It can compress a lot of role, and synergize extremely well with Eternatus and Necrozma-DM, forming the well known big three of SS Ubers, also known as YEN. This core has been a dominant force, as it offers a solid defensive trio as well as an offensive one, depending on how each member of the YEN core is played to fit the team they are in.

How do/did you deal with Yveltal in Ubers?

Eternatus is the best check so far, capable to deal with both offensive and defensive sets of Yveltal. It is also threaten by faster offensive threats like Weavile, Marshadow, Xerneas, and both Zacian and Zacian-C when they weren't ban. It is also very sensitive to Stealth Rock damage if it doesn't have its Heavy-Duty Boots (removed from Knock Off, Tricked, etc.), and is threatened by strong attackers like Meteor Beam Eternatus, Zekrom, Kyogre, and Groudon.
 
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(Was debating between Darm-G and Weavile)

Nominating Weavile

:bw/Weavile:

What effect did Weavile have on the metagame?

A month after Zacian-C's unanimous ban during Crown Tundra, Weavile has seen a brief tenure and experimented as an alternate offensive breaker to invalidate many pokemon through its unique qualities that allows its Dark and Ice attacks to become ferocious and heavily dent the opposition.

Since Zacian-H was still around and every target it has were still accommodating for it by running physical bulk, Weavile was not seen frequently until Zacian-H was also banned, leading to become a top contender in the less volatile meta since then.

Weavile has quite the item and moveslot flexibility; From being able to adopt a hit-and-run approach thanks to Choice Band, to running Heavy Duty Boots and Sash, to more niche options such as Metronome, Never-melt ice and even Wide Lens for Swords Dance sets, or simply going for Low Kick over Ice Shard to Surprise and catch more of its checks off-guard, Weavile has frequently terrorized and warped the metagame despite its lack of longevity.

Being able to shred many forms of offense, balance and stall alike thanks to its aforementioned complimentary STABs, it has given rise to niche options to stand against it, from Toxapex's and Zamazenta-C's resurgence to Buzzwole and Magearna being considered as slightly more viable options, Weavile was integral in encouraging an offensive metagame and reshaped how the meta should be played for the rest of the Crown Tundra Ubers, encouraging many to seek for answers through different places and approaches.

In what main roles was Weavile used?

Weavile is occasionally seen in Hyper Offense and certain Balance archetypes, from Sticky Web and Tailwind teams that utilizes mainly Swords Dance, to Bulkier teams that could opt for Either Choice Band or Swords Dance sets depending on what their form of speed control comes from. Its main purpose regardless of what structure its used on, is to carve any team that its partners normally can't find safe opportunities to do so or they naturally can't break through.
(Eg. Weavile devastating the opposing Groudon and/or Ferrothorn which would allow Dragon Dance Zekrom to get one boost and sweep, or taking Calyrex-S's Astral Barrage once and denting the opposition that its teammates could deal with without Calyrex-S around.)

(Choice Band)
Item: Choice Band
Ability: Pressure / Pickpocket
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly / Adamant
- Beat Up
- Triple Axel
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard

(Swords Dance)
Item: Focus Sash / Never-melt Ice / Metronome / Wide Lens
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Adamant / Jolly
- Swords Dance
- Triple Axel
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard / Low Kick

Hyper offense teams grants Weavile the ability to switch in safely and accumulate Swords Dance boosts that would end games if they failed to eliminate it before it does so, either as a surprisingly effective Lead that heavily dents them, or destroying what remains as a Mid or Late game sweeper.

Balance structures tend to prefer Choice Band sets that provides immediate power and damage necessarily, although Swords Dance is still a great option. Leading it would allows a full-powered Beat Up to be used, which thanks to Triple Axel threatening those that resist Beat Up, would in turn create massive headaches that forces either the opposition to sacrifice their current pokemon, or switch out and risk being predicted that they eat a Triple Axel instead, leaving them hindered either way.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

With its unresisted STABs, the list of common answers at the beginning of Weavile's dominance were one click away from a boosted Knock Off or Triple Axel if they were chipped or Weavile's item helped caused the finishing blow (Metronome, Never-Melt Ice, Black Glasses). From Ferrothorn to Ho-Oh and even Defensive Xerneas, they were considered unsafe checks if they have not dealt with their respective targets due to Weavile forcing them to take hits. Even opposing leads that rely on Focus Sash to deal with Weavile could be negated if they cannot handle an unboosted Triple Axel or Knock off + Ice Shard combination.

In turn, Hyper Offense would frequently use Leads that are faster than Weavile, such as Aerodactyl, or Cloyster with its decent physical bulk, would take a hit and deal major damage to Weavile for their incoming pokemon to finish it, whereas Balance would create situations where it was difficult for Weavile to come in.

However, trying to predict whenever it comes in would mean its teammates could capitalize on this situated stigma and create mindgames, which would often results in Win-Lose scenarios for anyone facing against a Weavile team.

This in turn made everyone account for Weavile as finally a major threat and adapt to its presence by scouting for niche options that could fulfill similar Offensive/Defensive aspects that their current team requires while being able to handle Weavile, usually through surprise choices.

In summary, Weavile is a splashable pick for most Offensive and Balanced minded teams that forces the opposition to eliminating it by the element of risk and surprise.

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

As much as Weavile is devastating on occasions, its aforementioned frailty comparable to poor defensive traits found in sadistically strong yet linear threats such as G-Darmanitan, Dracovish, and Calyrex-S, Weavile is easily taken down if it fails to KO whatever it faces or simply outsped, such as Necrozma Dusk-Mane or Defensive Xerneas barely hanging on within critical health range, or Marshadow, Offensive Eternatus, and Scarf Yveltal with Foul Play outspeeding Weavile, where all scenarios would end up with Weavile being KOed from their respective attacks.

The best checks and counters are the aforementioned niche picks, that requires of combination of great bulk or ability (Toxapex, Ho-Oh, Ferrothorn, Buzzwole, Tapu Fini), and at least a defensive typing that could handle both Dark and Ice attacks simultaneously (Zamazenta-C, Magearna). Lacking either one of these traits would still mean the opposition has to brace for impact.
 
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FatFighter2

zacian waifu :flushed:
is a Tiering Contributoris a Past SCL Champion
Nominating Zacian-C Waifu

zacian-crowned.gif


What effect did Zacian-C have on the metagame?

For all of its lifetime in Ubers, Zacian-C has been the defining offensive threat. The quintessential attacker, Zacian-C was extremely fast and strong and had a colorful movepool to back it up, limiting its checks and counters to a very select list of pokemon, with Quagsire pretty much being the only hard counter to Zacian-C. Its great typing also let it naturally check threats such as Kyurem-Black (pre Dynamax ban), Offensive Yveltal, and Geomancy Xerneas. Teams consistently needed to stack multiple checks to Zacian-C to deal with it, such as a combination of Helmet Corviknight and scarf Dugtrio pre-home or NDM + Ho-oh, as oftentimes one check simply was insufficient over time.

In what main roles was Zacian-C used?

Zacian-C always was an attacker first and foremost, although its moves can be mixed and matched depending on what you want to hit and do with your Zacian-C.

name: Offensive
move 1: Swords Dance / Assurance (post-home) / Substitute / Other Coverage
move 2: Wild Charge / Crunch / Fire Fang / Psychic Fangs / Quick Attack (for dugtrio) / Agility
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Behemoth Blade / Play Rough
item: Rusted Sword
ability: Intrepid Sword
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Zacian-C's coverage, speed, and immense power from its attack stat and Intrepid Sword allowed it to easily threaten the majority of the unboosted metagame. It was able to do everything, from wallbreaking in the early to middle game to cleaning up with Swords Dance in the late game. Its natural bulk and great typing even gave it good defensive utility that let it switch into common moves such as Knock Off from Yveltal and Dynamax Cannon from Eternatus and scare them out. Zacian-C could even live a specs Astral Barrage from Calyrex-S with some investment, illustraing its immense bulk for such a pure attacker. Zacian-C was an excellent partner to other offensive threats such as Excadrill and Kyurem-Black, having shared checks that they can break down for the other. Gothitelle traps its best counters such as Quagsire, NDM, and Corviknight for it, allowing Zacian-C to go ham. Calyrex and Zacian-C formed a powerful offensive duo, each being able to severely threaten the other's best defensive checks, Yveltal and NDM respectively.

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

Physdef NDM is the most splashable and easy to use Zacian-C check, but even it is vulnerable to stealth rock + assurance or being chipped by Zacian-C's teammates. Pre-home, Corviknight and even the otherwise subpar Unaware Quagsire (see LBN post below LOL) were most often used to hold off Zacian-C. Scarf Dugtrio was popular because it was able to trap and eliminate slightly chipped Zacian-Cs. Other revenge killers such as Excadrill in sand, ditto, and Calyrex-S were all as good as they were partially because they could revenge kill Zacian-C.
 
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LBN

is a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnus
UPL Champion
Reserving Quagsire WIP


quagsire-pokemon.gif


What effect did [Pokemon] have on the metagame?

The effect Quagsire had on teambuilding had was nothing short of patching up a hole, bluntly speaking. Quagsire wasn't a threat you struggled to accommodate for, nor was it a dangerous presence in the battle. However, Quagsire's claim to fame had influence on both Ubers tiering actions, and responded to the most dangerous Pokemon we received this generation, Zacian-Crowned. If Quagsire hadn't been the single best switchin to Zacian-Crowned, it would have been banished far far sooner than it was, and kept up being one of the most used and effective walls in 2/3 Ubers Metagames.

In what main roles was [Pokemon] used?


Quagsire @ Heavy-Duty Boots/Shed Shell/Rocky Helmet
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Liquidation/Scald
- Curse/Toxic
- Recover

It's the safest and most effective Zacian-Crowned switchin in the game. Being capable of even forcing out Zacian-Crowned was valuable and downright a team requirement, but being able to safely switchin and heal up while winning the 1v1? Nothing else can do that, not just in the metagames specifically but in the entire pokedex. It's also an acceptable response to Necrozma-Dusk Mane, Excadrill in DLC1, and more. Additionally, Curse Quagsire was a solid win condition, utilizing the boosts fom Max Quake to make it borderline immovable without some form of Status like Toxic, Trick Pokemon like Lunala, or plain Crit fishing, mowing over teams after procurring it's boosts.

Balanced structures of these metagames picked Quagsire for it's general reliability vs Zacian-Crowned, and while it faced an item conundrum, wanting 3 items at once causing it to falter in different scenarios without either one, however this was more than made up for under most circumstances, and Quagsire held a

What caused it to have a significant impact?

It checked Zacian-Crowned. That truly is all it did significantly. However the weight of those 3 words don't do that task enough justice. As i previously stated, if Quagsire didn't exist im confident Zacian-Crowned wouldn't have been legal for anywhere close to as long as it had been. I could go on and on about the effects on tiering this would cause.

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

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

Banned deucer.
Nominating Caly-S:

:ss/calyrex-shadow:
Calyrex-Shadow is the flawed product of making a Ghost-type as strong as possible. Despite only appearing in the latest DLC, the effect Calyrex-Shadow has on the current meta is nothing short of titanic. I'll do my best to add some minor chronology to how Calyrex-Shadow's sets evolved over time, leading up to where we are now.

What effect did Calyrex-Shadow have on the metagame?

Calyrex-S fulfills the goals of having speed control and being a sufficient wincon in many matchups. Scarf Calyrex-S is infamous for being outside to outspeed any +2 Speed boosting Groudon, Zekrom, Zygarde, or Xerneas, and offense teams adjusted to having multiple means of preventing Calyrex-S from snowballing by using (obviously Yveltal and) Marshadow, Weavile, Sash Calyrex-S of their own, etc. Specs Calyrex-S is a premier hitting king of Ubers, forcing all good teams to have a backup option in case Yveltal is ever crit by Astral Barrage. The sets continue but the main point of it all is that Calyrex-S forces teambuilding concessions like no other mon of this generation. Teambuilding is restricted to teams offensive enough to break balance but not too offensive to where Calyrex-S hits the nae nae on a series of frail sweepers.

Additionally, setup Calyrex-S (especially SubSeed) forced the meta to a more offensive one that seen about a year ago in, say, the previous UPL. It was more reliable to have a Scarf Darmanitan or Weavile lying around than it was a Zarude in the average matchup.

In what main roles was Calyrex-Shadow used?

1.) When In Doubt
Ol' Reliable (Calyrex-Shadow) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: As One (Spectrier)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Astral Barrage
- Psyshock
- Trick
- Aromatherapy

General all-purpose with cleric support.

2.) When Feely Frisky
Serperior Is Alive (Calyrex-Shadow) @ Leftovers
Ability: As One (Spectrier)
EVs: 60 Def / 196 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Astral Barrage / Shadow Ball
- Nasty Plot / Taunt
- Substitute
- Leech Seed

There are more specialized sets where SpA and sometimes even Spe EVs are dropped in favor of greater HP and SpDef so that Calyrex-S can have a Substitute live a 32 Attack U-Turn from Yveltal and have significantly better odds of living 2 Dynamax Cannons from Eternatus. This destroys certain fat variants, especially if you can status opposing Yveltal. Taunt beats Chansey/Blissey at the price of more convincing setup.

3.) When In Chaos
They Knock Turn 7 (Calyrex-Shadow) @ Focus Sash
Ability: As One (Spectrier)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Astral Barrage
- Draining Kiss
- Nasty Plot
- Disable / Encore / Substitute

Especially when with Slurpuff, all Ubers players are familiar with how 2 +2 Draining Kisses from Calyrex-S knock out all but fully specially defensive Yveltal (which lose to Taunt max speed Yveltal that all webs teams host). The set is simple to use and the risk vs. reward of it is incredible. Sometimes games immediately end by coming out on top of Sucker Punch mind games.

4.) When The
IRY: LOOOOOOO (Calyrex-Shadow) @ Choice Specs
Ability: As One (Spectrier)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Astral Barrage
- Psyshock / Protect
- Trick
- Nasty Plot / Disable

A Calyrex-Shadow set that specialized in abusing the Trick option on Yveltal so well that often times it could slowly 1v1 it and win outright.

5.) Other gimmicks include Mental Herb + Disable to beat Taunt Yv and Will-O-Wisp as a surprise factor. I'm sure someone has made Light Clay with dual screens function well on ladder.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Its speed tier is unmatched by the tier's most viable. Base 90s are forced into a +Speed nature when Scarf, Yveltal must guess vs. Trick and setup sets sometimes, and it feels like Marshadow runs Shadow Sneak half the time just to stop this mon exclusively. What caused it to have its most significant impact? Ghost is an amazing offensive-typing, and Uber Pokemon are not regularly of Normal and Dark types. Sporting a phenomenal STAB signature move and attacking stat, this Pokemon's checks are paramount in any sort of serious teambuilding. One of the clearest of day reasons teams look so... everpresent-ly similar in Ubers can be attributed to Calyrex-S.

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

1655957159538.png

You don't! You bring a Yveltal, maybe a Ho-oh or a Marshadow, and hope!
 
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nominating ndm
:ss/necrozma-dusk-mane:

What effect did [Pokemon] have on the metagame?

ndm was a very strong rock setter and t wave spreeder with t wave on top of iron head manly used to counter xern however more offensive approaches have been used such as ddance wp i check this with foul play as it easily ohkos so i can safely use Geomancy on xern

In what main roles was [Pokemon] used

even though he is not a necessary team member for there are other xern checks i still consider hi m to be the best due to his bulk and the options to play him out as for example i hav used a dead offensive aproch with tr/sun steel strike/ eq/sd killin most of the main threats in the meta and in the regular set he is versa to what to do you can set rocks t wave and moonlight stall para flinch with iron head and wall xern

What caused it to have a significant impact?

i believe what made ndm viable is the ability to wall xern a very deadly mon to deal with however that is not all he also has the ability to sweep many viable mons like eternatus with eq sun steel strike knock off and iron head on top of get dragon dance and prisim armor

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

in the past i have checked this mon in multiple ways such as foul play othe ndms with eq and sometimes even thunder on xern ho oh and groundon are also good hecks I don’t commonly use

to insert a sprite"]

Do this. Thanks SparksBlade[/SPOILER]

Finally, you can make reservations, but please complete them in 1 day, or else anyone will be able to take it. You also can make multiple nominations, but only if you already completed your last nomination.
[/QUOTE]
OP largely taken from here
Approved by Fc and Aberforth


The Top 10 Titans of the Gen 8 Ubers Metagame

The 8th Generation was a weird one since it was extremely different from the start compared to Gen 7: no Mega Evolutions, no Z-Moves, and the introduction of a deeply controversed mechanic; Dynamax. Gen 8 Ubers also had to deal with a lot of changes in the viability rankings every 6 months, just like the other Gen 8 tiers, because of the release of Pokémon Home, and DLCs. Some moves were also scrapped from the game, like Hidden Power, Pursuit, and Heart Swap, while some were added, like Poltergeist, Triple Axel, and Misty Explosion, changing completely how the game was played compared to previous generations. A lot of Pokemon were very influential in the early part of the tier, but became bad or even irrelevant at the end of it, while some remained at the peak during these 2 years and a half. The tier also had to deal with a lot of problematic Pokemon, like Zacian-Crowned and its Hero Form, or even mechanics, like Baton Pass, Shadow Tag, and Dynamax as said previously.

From June 22th to July 6th, you will nominate Pokemon that will be voted on for the top 10 most influential Pokemon throughout Gen 8. After that, we will all evaluate all the nominations and individually rank the Pokemon from 1-10 by vote. Of course, all the nominations will count as long as they're reasonable and fit the criteria. However, keep in mind that this is not a ranking of how strong or good a Pokémon is, but how influentional it was and how much it impacted the metagame.

Just for clarification: we will follow the viability ranking for the separation of the Pokemon. That means that each Calyrex form can receive a separate nomination, and so can Zacian-Crowned and Zacian-Hero, and you can also talk about how they affected each other as they cannot be played together. Also, even if some Pokémon became relevant or irrelevant after DLC 2, you still can vote for it if you think it was influentional enough, but please keep in mind that this is for all of the meta of Gen 8, not just current (DLC 2) SS.

Finally, please follow the format below, or else I won't be able to count it.

Nominating [Pokemon]

Enter sprite here.

What effect did [Pokemon] have on the metagame?

Explain how the Pokemon effected the metagame as whole, and how the metagame adapted around it. A brief description of which Pokemon it countered and which Pokemon it did well against would be good here as well.

In what main roles was [Pokemon] used?

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

What caused it to have a significant impact?

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

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

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

OP largely taken from here
Approved by Fc and Aberforth


The Top 10 Titans of the Gen 8 Ubers Metagame

The 8th Generation was a weird one since it was extremely different from the start compared to Gen 7: no Mega Evolutions, no Z-Moves, and the introduction of a deeply controversed mechanic; Dynamax. Gen 8 Ubers also had to deal with a lot of changes in the viability rankings every 6 months, just like the other Gen 8 tiers, because of the release of Pokémon Home, and DLCs. Some moves were also scrapped from the game, like Hidden Power, Pursuit, and Heart Swap, while some were added, like Poltergeist, Triple Axel, and Misty Explosion, changing completely how the game was played compared to previous generations. A lot of Pokemon were very influential in the early part of the tier, but became bad or even irrelevant at the end of it, while some remained at the peak during these 2 years and a half. The tier also had to deal with a lot of problematic Pokemon, like Zacian-Crowned and its Hero Form, or even mechanics, like Baton Pass, Shadow Tag, and Dynamax as said previously.

From June 22th to July 6th, you will nominate Pokemon that will be voted on for the top 10 most influential Pokemon throughout Gen 8. After that, we will all evaluate all the nominations and individually rank the Pokemon from 1-10 by vote. Of course, all the nominations will count as long as they're reasonable and fit the criteria. However, keep in mind that this is not a ranking of how strong or good a Pokémon is, but how influentional it was and how much it impacted the metagame.

Just for clarification: we will follow the viability ranking for the separation of the Pokemon. That means that each Calyrex form can receive a separate nomination, and so can Zacian-Crowned and Zacian-Hero, and you can also talk about how they affected each other as they cannot be played together. Also, even if some Pokémon became relevant or irrelevant after DLC 2, you still can vote for it if you think it was influentional enough, but please keep in mind that this is for all of the meta of Gen 8, not just current (DLC 2) SS.

Finally, please follow the format below, or else I won't be able to count it.

Nominating [Pokemon]

Enter sprite here.

What effect did [Pokemon] have on the metagame?

Explain how the Pokemon effected the metagame as whole, and how the metagame adapted around it. A brief description of which Pokemon it countered and which Pokemon it did well against would be good here as well.

In what main roles was [Pokemon] used?

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

What caused it to have a significant impact?

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

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

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



Do this. Thanks SparksBlade

Finally, you can make reservations, but please complete them in 1 day, or else anyone will be able to take it. You also can make multiple nominations, but only if you already co
 

Manaphy

Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am family guy
is a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributor
Nominating Sexcadrill

:ss/excadrill:

What effect did Excadrill have on the metagame?

That's right you fukn zoomers, Excadrill was RUNNING SHIT back in the pre-DLC 2 days. Tyranitar was extremely relevant for being one of the best Eternatus checks and SR setters in the tier, and Hippowdon was used as a solid Rocks setter and check to Zacian-C. Excadrill thus had extremely common Sand setters so it could reliably get up Sand Rush. It also helped that all of the new Ubers had a weakness to Ground-type moves and were generally fast as shit, making Excadrill in Sand one of the few things that could outspeed them. The launch SS Ubers meta pretty much mandated Corviknight, Quagsire, or Hippowdon to check it. Home brought pokemon like Reshiram, Zekrom, and NDM which made Excadrill still quite strong, and as it wasn't considered Uber, it could dynamax at will, making it even stronger and potentially setting up Sand again. Even today, Excadrill in Sand can be quite strong and FC even made a RMT with it awhile back.

In what main roles was Excadrill used?

Excadrill was a great sweeper and breaker, but it was also good due to its unique ability to break, revenge kill, and get rid of hazards with Rapid Spin. With Dynamax, it could get Defense or Special Defense boosts at will with Max Quake or Max Steelspike, and it resisted Behemoth Blade and Dynamax Cannon. It could also set sand itself in a pinch with Max Rockfall. Rapid Spin significantly helped against Ferrothorn's Spikes, and Excadrill had the flexibility to run even Shadow Claw or Toxic to screw over Corsola-Galar (or later Lunala) and Quagsire. Setting sand with Tar/Hippowdown was a common way to revenge kill Etern/Zacian-C.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

A set of Earthquake/Rock Slide had nearly perfect coverage and Ground-type STAB was and remains extremely useful. It formed a great pair with Zacian-C as both could wallbreak for each other's checks, and Tyranitar was a pokemon you wanted to run anyway to deal with Eternatus. Swords Dance enabled it to break pretty much everything in the meta bar Corviknight and maybe Quag, and you had the complete flexibility on the item slot to run Life Orb, Air Balloon, Leftovers, Earth Plate, etc. Additionally, Gothitelle could make for an extremely dangerous core as Goth could run Choice Specs Thunderbolt to take out any Corviknight that was slower and couldn't U-Turn out on the switch.

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

Corviknight was the best, and Corviknight's general usefulness against Zacian-C made it common, and the pairing of Corv + Dugtrio was very much used to deal with Zacian-C. However, this in turn meant that Zacian-C could break through Corviknight and open up a sweep for Excadrill. Quagsire could be useful for it, but you had the same problem where you wanted Quagsire to be at 100% all the time for Zacian. Excadrill's dominance in the early SS meta pretty much mandated every team have at least one Ground resist/immune, with some people even using Balloons to deal with it. Other useful checks were Corsola-Galar and Hippowdown, although these mons began to be seen less and less as time went on. Rotom-W became pretty decent once it got released. Going into Home and DLC 1, Excadrill was still very useful as the newly released pokemon didn't effect it much at all, although the release of more drizzle and drought abusers brought some weather war competition. The introduction of Groudon and Kyogre caused Excadrill to fall off, but it still has uses as a surprise sweeper or suicide lead.
 
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Nominating Kyogre!

This is still somewhat of a WIP for now, but I'm saving all my edits here for public viewing.

:ss/Kyogre:

What effect did Kyogre have on the metagame?

After taking a generation and a half off from prominence in Ubers, Kyogre's return to an Ubers tier without Primal Groudon in the Crown Tundra was a triumphant one even if it was never capable of being as incredible and borderline-oppressive as it had been for several generations prior. Kyogre, at a surface level, did what it was always famous for: unleashing a barrage of immensely-powerful Rain-boosted Water STABs that effortlessly KOed the majority of the tier with minimal chip damage. Consequently, any competent Ubers team needed to have some sort of immediate answer for Kyogre; Ubers teams could once again borrow the amazing Ferrothorn from OU to check Kyogre, while specific teams could borrow Gastrodon from whatever tier the sea slug decided to end up in on a trimonthly basis. However, Ubers now had a much, much better answer to Kyogre's STAB and Thunder alike: the fast, immensely-bulky, and strong Eternatus, which could easily sponge repeated hits from Kyogre's Water STAB and drain its PP with Pressure. While Eternatus feared Ice Beam from prediction-reliant Choice sets, many Kyogre sets did not run Specs or Scarf and as such often didn't even run Ice Beam. Eternatus could prey on these sets, for the most part; as is the case with the vast majority of top Ubers, though, Kyogre has the tools to overcome these poor matchups.

In what main roles was Kyogre used?

Kyogre's status as an offensive Water-type has always been extremely unique as far as Ubers goes, and that mono-Water typing's amazing defensive utility has allowed it to age far better than the likes of Palkia, who has long since gained a new weakness and whose offensive typing leaves much to be desired at times when not backed by an incredible ability like Drizzle. Kyogre's impeccable statline will pretty much always allow it to take on some flavor of a special attacking role.

While they are by no means Kyogre's best sets nowadays, Kyogre's Choiced sets have continued to do the exact thing they did even back in DPP Ubers with very little deviation over the years and are still perfectly viable choices due to their practicality and simplicity. Water Spout, Origin Pulse, Ice Beam, and Thunder are an offensive Kyogre's quintessential four attacking moves. With Choice Specs equipped, Kyogre's Water Spout obliterates even Blissey and Ferrothorn on the switch while Ice Beam irreparably damages Eternatus, allowing it to function as one of the Ubers tier's best wallbreakers. With a Choice Scarf equipped instead, Kyogre trades the immediate power to erase many defensive teams from existence outright to outpace many staples of one of the fastest Ubers metagames of all time, many of which it outright OHKOs. As the saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," and in a metagame where Primal Groudon no longer exists Choice-item Kyogre lives and dies by this old adage. It just works.

Calm Mind variants of Kyogre predate even the Choice variants, dating all the way back to Kyogre's debut generation. The bulky setup sweeper archetype is something Kyogre has pretty much always excelled at, even in its old Primal forme, and these variants of Kyogre were also very effective throughout SS Ubers and saw lots of experimentation over the course of the generation. This generation's CM Kyogre variants, however, took somewhat of a different spin on the traditional CM Kyogre sets by incorporating moves like Thunder Wave and, most recently, Block, into their repertoires.

In short: Kyogre could become a tanky setup sweeper/win condition with Calm Mind sets, a brutal wallbreaker with Choice Specs, or a fantastic revenge killer with Choice Scarf. These sets are about as typical as one could imagine as far as Kyogre sets go, but Kyogre is just so fundamentally solid that it's no surprise that variants of these sets have aged so incredibly well more than a decade later.

Of course, Drizzle isn't just fantastic for Kyogre alone: this generation, Kyogre gained a new partner in Dracovish and nearly any Dracovish will be supported by a Kyogre of some sort. Behind Dracovish's horrendous stats by Ubers standards lies the immense power of STAB, Strong Jaw-boosted, Choice Band-boosted, Rain-boosted Fishious Rend - a move so ludicrously powerful that it puts even Choice Specs Kyogre's herculean Water Spout's damage output to shame. A teammate with this much power is occasionally very worthwhile to run, and Kyogre is its best facilitator bar none as it can dismantle the Eternatus-centric defensive structures some Kyogre variants struggle to break past.

What caused Kyogre to have a significant impact?

Kyogre's good bulk, great defensive typing, fantastic movepool, and immense power with its Water moves all contributed towards Kyogre's noticeable impact. Kyogre is one of a very, very small list of Ubers capable of resisting Ice-type attacks from Weavile and especially Galarian Darmanitan, for instance, and is tasked with keeping much fewer threats in check than Necrozma Dusk-Mane is. But, at the end of the day, the thing that truly defined Kyogre this gen - its obscenely powerful Water STAB - is what defined it from its debut generation onwards. It just works.

Kyogre's counterplay can be beaten with specific tech options. Eternatus seems like an ironclad answer to many Calm Mind variants of Kyogre, for instance, but by running Block Kyogre can turn it into total setup fodder, and possibly even a free 6-0. As is often the case with good Ubers, Kyogre has the movepool to adapt to its surroundings, and Block+CM+Rest variants are the most recent example of such adaptation. This set is now debatably Kyogre's best, and it's very unique compared to past gens' interpretations of the classic Calm Mind set.

How do/did you deal with Kyogre in Ubers?

Eternatus is the most ubiquitous Kyogre check, but while some variants wall Kyogre endlessly other variants are scared of Ice Beam and others yet can have the tables turned on them by getting trapped and turned into setup fodder themselves. Ferrothorn can be muscled past with extremely powerful hits or with specific sets, but Ferrothorn can completely wall other sets and get up free layers of Spikes or some free Leech Seeds. Power Whip-lacking variants must be wary of Substitute sets, though. Zarude is unique in that it can also check many variants of Kyogre's mortal enemy, Groudon, at the same time. It outpaces non-Scarf variants of Kyogre and threatens them with massive damage with a strong Power Whip, but it must be wary of Ice Beam. If Kyogre lacks Toxic (and the vast majority do), Shedinja remains as perfect a Kyogre counter as ever. No viable Kyogre variant can harm Shedinja in any way, and as such Shedinja maintains a notable niche in Ubers for this ability (though other mons can be walled by it too, of course). Palkia doesn't appreciate taking Thunders and Ice Beams over and over again, but it's one of the only mons in Ubers that offensively checks Kyogre while also switching in safely against most variants. Palkia is very fringe as far as Ubers viability goes, but this niche is very legitimate. Gastrodon is not immune to Ice Beam, but it generally walls Kyogre as well.

A lot of these defensive answers are borrowed from Smogon's usage-based tiers, of course, as is traditional for defensive Kyogre answers.

Offensively, though, Kyogre's lack of reliable recovery, its low (by Ubers standards) Defense, and its average base 90 Speed are considerable shortcomings that many Ubers teams can exploit. It can be revenge killed by the likes of Calyrex-Shadow, Galarian Darmanitan (after significant chip from U-Turn and the like), Eternatus, some Xerneas and Yveltal variants, Rayquaza, and the like. Zekrom gives slower Kyogre variants hell due to its immensely powerful Bolt Strike. Chip damage of all sorts can severely weaken Water Spout's power, which forces Kyogre to rely on the weaker and inaccurate Origin Pulse to claim KOs once Water Spout is weakened enough.

Despite these answers, though, Kyogre is most certainly a top 6 threat in modern SS Ubers and is on virtually equal footing with its archnemesis, Groudon, for the first time in a very long time.
 
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Ropalme1914

Ace Poker Player
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:sm/Groudon:
What effect did Groudon have on the metagame?
Similar to its killer whale counterpart, Groudon has historically been a metadefining threat in Ubers, and despite it no longer having its near-100% usage Primal forme anymore, its top tier streak continues. Groudon is especially known for its wallbreaking and sweeping prowress, having amazing coverage just between STAB Precipice Blades and Stone Edge, two high BP moves backed up by 150 Attack - most notably, this hits all of the big three (Yveltal, Necrozma-DM, and Eternatus) for super effective damage, OHKOing all of them just after a single boost from Swords Dance. Groudon is one of the main reasons why Lunala carves its niche on the current metagame, as Shadow Shield makes it one of the few things that can actually switch into it and burn it on top of being faster than Groudon naturally. Its adaptability has also made some Pokémon that initially were used against it, like Zarude, to drop in usage due to the rise of Heat Crash, while defensive sets can also be used and prevent Pokémon like Zekrom to really reach the top.

In what main roles was Groudon used?
Groudon has three main sets: a bulky booster one that specializes in wallbreaking, a double dance one that's a fearsome sweeper, and a defensive set that's capable of holding physically attacking monsters that no other Pokémon can.

The bulky booster always uses the traditional Precipice Blades / Stone Edge combo alongside either Bulk Up or Swords Dance and a fourth move to help it deal with some annoying things. First, Heat Crash breaks Grass- and Bug-type Pokémon that could check it normally, like Zarude, Tangrowth, and Buzzwole, alongside sun making it just as powerful as Precipice Blades most of the time without the accuracy drawback. Toxic can be slotted for the few physical walls that can hold off Groudon, like Zygarde and Lunala, while Thunder Wave works as Speed control, letting Groudon ve faster than Calyrex-S with minimal investment on Speed. This set combines Groudon's offensive power without making it too frail so that its matchup against things like Zekrom and Marshadow get too shaky.

The Double Dance set is similar to the previous one, but the last slot is always covered by Rock Polish and Swords Dance becomes the go-to over Bulk Up. Double Dance Groudon can single handily beat half of most teams avaliable in Ubers due to its coverage against Necrozma-DM, Yveltal, and Eternatus, and once set up, it's almost impossible to stop, as even Zygarde must have already transformed if it doesn't want to get KOed by a +2 Life Orb Precipice Blades. Rock Polish also makes Groudon very hard to revenge kill, as its high physical bulk makes it take most priority moves pretty well and the only Pokémon capable of outspeeding a +2 Groudon is a Scarf Calyrex-Shadow.

Finally, defensive Groudon is one the top two options for setting up Stealth Rock in the tier and checks some of the biggest physical sweepers, like Zekrom and Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM. It often chooses two between Toxic, Dragon Tail, or a Rock-type move, as phazing can be the difference between stopping a sweeper like Dragon Dance Zygarde or not. Unlike most defensive Pokémon, Groudon also differentiates itself as it still packs a decent offensive presence.

What caused Groudon to have a significant impact?
First, its stats. Groudon has an amazing bulk, a good Attack stat, and while its Speed is average at base, its good enough for what it proposes to do, as it's complemented by its great movepool too - which leads to the other main point: it simply has an amazing kit for what the meta has. Precipice Blades and Stone Edge not only hit the three semi-mandatory Pokémon, but a 120 BP STAB move will just cover anything that doesn't resist it. Its type is also good both offensively and defensively, being what it lets it check things like Zekrom and Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM.

How do/did you deal with Groudon in Ubers?
As it has been made clear, Groudon is not the easiest Pokémon to deal with. Lunala is probably its most popular answer, as access to Will-O-Wisp, Shadow Shield, and a higher base Speed means that Groudon won't be able to break a healthy one by itself - even trying to get more boosts won't work due to Roar, although Toxic and Thunder Wave will be annoying for it. Coil Zygarde can generally take on Groudon unless it hasn't transformed yet and Groudon got a Swords Dance off - in which case, Precipice Blades can OHKO with the help of a Life Orb. Landorus-T is another answer that rose over time partly due to its Groudon matchup, with Intimidate, immunity to Ground, and neutrality to Rock helping it, although its lack of recovery is problematic. Buzzwole and physically bulky Grass-types can also do a similar thing and often do have access to some recovery, but Heat Crash will smack most of them. Finally, revenge killing is a viable option when Groudon is boosting its attack, but hard to do against one that has used Rock Polish.
 
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I know the Ubers Top 10 Titans doesn't get a ton of traction, so I'll try working on another contribution here:

Reserving Magnezone.

:ss/magnezone:

What effect did Magnezone have on the metagame?

Magnezone's role in Ubers is nearly identical to its role in both modern OU and in past generations of OU, including back when Magneton couldn't evolve: it traps and eliminates specific Steel-types that potential teammates may struggle with... and, really, that's about it. However, unlike in other metagames in which Magnezone carves a niche for itself, SS Ubers is extremely centralized and among the three biggest and most common threats in the tier is Necrozma Dusk-Mane - a mon that, with virtually all of its sets, is completely incapable of reliably beating Magnezone 1v1. While Magnezone can also deal with the fantastic and somewhat-common Ferrothorn, its primary purpose is to eliminate Dusk-Mane, which the overwhelming majority of competent Ubers teams use; this extremely specific niche has recently made Magnezone one of the most controversial threats in the Ubers tier, simply because the number of threats that are kept in check by Dusk-Mane is very large.

In what main roles was Magnezone used?

It traps Steels, it eliminates Steels, and teammates that appreciate Steels being eliminated go to town on the opponent's team late-game.

That said, the way Magnezone traps Necrozma Dusk-Mane in Ubers is completely unique to Sword and Shield, and Magnezone wasn't capable of replicating this in any prior generation:

Magnezone @ Air Balloon
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 8 HP / 248 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Iron Defense
- Body Press
- Magnet Rise
- Discharge

Necrozma Dusk-Mane typically runs Earthquake, and with the combination of Air Balloon giving it a temporary immunity to Ground-type moves that aren't Thousand Arrows until Magnezone is hit by a direct attack and Magnet Rise giving it a temporary immunity to Ground-type attacks thereafter, Necrozma Dusk-Mane is completely incapable of inflicting meaningful damage to Magnezone while Magnezone completely sets up on it and eliminates it - while possibly walling a physical attacker thereafter. Magnezone's Steel-typing and incredible physical bulk after several Iron Defense boosts allows it to break past slower threats with Body Press while walling most physical attackers even after some chip damage from beating Dusk-Mane 1v1, and its access to Discharge allows it to spread paralysis effectively, so while its best role by far is that of a Dusk-Mane killer it can still perform some other smaller roles thereafter, although most of them are facilitated largely by a snowball effect enabled by trapping a vulnerable Dusk-Mane in the first place.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Teammates that appreciate Necrozma Dusk-Mane's immediate removal once trapped could go from threats that could be kept in check by arguably the most ubiquitous defensive glue in the Ubers tier to borderline-unstoppable juggernauts that would need to be out-offensed by a select few threats. The biggest example of one such teammate is Galarian Darmanitan, which boasts the extremely coveted Ice-type STAB that is resisted only by itself (and Darmanitan isn't exactly bulky, so it still leaves a mark), Kyogre (which is prone to getting U-Turned on), the rare Calyrex-Ice that hates both U-Turn and Flare Blitz, and Necrozma Dusk-Mane (which could run Rocky Helmet to chip Darmanitan irreparably). Xerneas, too, greatly appreciates one of its best checks being removed so it can spam its incredibly deadly Fairy-type STAB relentlessly.

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

The short answer? You don't, technically: by Smogon's definition of a "counter," Magnezone is uncounterable when used for its intended purpose of eliminating Dusk-Mane and Ferrothorn because these threats, once trapped by Magnet Pull, cannot switch out. Most Necrozma Dusk-Mane sets in particular struggle to inflict meaningful damage: occasional setup variants with Knock Off can hurt it, but Magnezone outdamages it in many cases and can KO it before its Magnet Rise falls off and makes it vulnerable to Earthquake.

The long answer? Well, it's the longer answer in practice but the shorter one in writing: don't put yourself into a situation where Necrozma Dusk-Mane is getting trapped by Magnezone. It is not worth running fringe options like Heat Wave or investing heavily into Speed to prevent Dusk-Mane from getting Zone-boned more often than not, and Shed Shell is also a considerable investment as far as item choice goes as well since it prevents Dusk Mane from doing chip damage to threats like Galarian Darmanitan with Rocky Helmet and removes the passive recovery from Leftovers for SpDef sets or bulkier setup variants.
 
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Fc

Waiting for something to happen?
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Ubers Leader
SiTuM allowed me to just run off some quick noms to get the project going more, because we don't have enough for the top 10 to be fully debatable rn. I highly encourage someone to take some of these off my hands and make full proper posts about them, but nomming:

- Lunala (Best mon in pre dlc-1 post home, a huge threat in dlc 1 and a top defensive pick in dlc 2)
- Gothitelle (Influenced the whole metagame for like 3 shifts, banned for being uncompetitive)
- Marshadow (Incredible breaker throughout all of SS when it's been around)
- Xerneas (Does the same stuff as always, sets up geo and wins and now can be defensive)
- Dracovish (Fishious Rend broke the game for a while)
- Darmanitan-Galar (Been a consistent high tier threat since the game came out, hit an A+ peak on the VR)
- Zygarde (Can do p much everything, really good ground)
- Ditto (Only non-uber to be on the dynamax list, influenced a lot of the early meta and is still a niche pick)

Again, I'd really like to see engagement in this thread so if anyone would like to write anything about these pokemon or others go ahead, it would be appreciated.
 

Garrett

Banned deucer.
Nominating big Gothitelle

:ss/gothitelle:

What effect did Gothitelle have on the metagame?
PP stalling forced Shed Shell on defensive Pokemon and a general trend of defensive Pokemon requiring momentum-based moves (U-Turn Corviknight) when not loading full HO. Gothitelle was single-handedly the biggest threat to a host of balance-like, especially if a fatter build.

In what main roles was Gothitelle used?
Gothitelle PP trapped Pokemon such as Chansey/Blissey, Quagsire, Eternatus, and Necrozma-Dusk-Mane to facilitate a defensive hole to be abused by one of Gothitelle's partners (for example, a Zacian-C or a Kyogre). It mained two different sets: a Choice Scarf set with Trick + Rest and a Defensive Leftovers set with Taunt + Charm and/or Cosmic Power to dismiss setup opportunities against it during PP stalling. The former was more popular during the earlier parts of its SS Ubers presence.

What caused Gothitelle to have a significant impact?
Quagsire, forced to choose between Shed Shell (to avoid Gothitelle) and Heavy-Duty Boots (to avoid Toxic Spikes) in the earliest part of gen 8, was unreliable at warding off what it checked. Gothitelle double switches, in general, proved to be difficult (that is, impossible) to find reliable counterplay against. Later experiments with Eject Pack Eternatus and U-Turn Yveltal with Bulky SpDef Gothitelle (for Eternatus trapping) created a dangerous landscape for SS Ubers balance, and ultimately ensured Gothitelle's ban.

How do/did you deal with Gothitelle in Ubers?
1.) Shed Shell on various Pokemon, ranging from the earliest mons such as Quagsire to NDM right up until the Gothitelle ban in Ubers.
2.) Random phasers such as Dragon Tail Eternatus and Whirlwind Ho-oh were effective in preventing a complete PP stall so that these defensive mons could continue to operate in a Gothitelle metagame.
3.) Especially at the height of the Zac-C metagame, offensive teams such as Slurpuff/Shuckle Webs that were designed to let Zacian-C shine offensively never let Gothitelle have the opportunity to easily trap.
 
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I can do G-Darm but I also need some time.

Nominating G-Darm!

:ss/darmanitan-galar:

What effect did [Pokemon] have on the metagame?

Galarian Darmanitan, hereafter abbreviated to "G-Darm," was OU's first ban after Dynamax and was considered overtly overpowered in that tier even during the highly volatile Dynamax metagame due to its Ice typing and incredible offensive statline paired with its fantastic ability, Gorilla Tactics. Though it was never unviable in Ubers, it admittedly took some time to rise to its current position as a high-tier threat. Now, however, G-Darm is a massive offensive threat that, using its unique ability and fantastic typing, coverage, and offensive statline, can either revenge kill the majority of the Ubers tier lategame and hit vastly harder than a threat with its speed tier has any business hitting or 2HKO the entirety of the tier with what is essentially two Choice Bands buffing its high base 140 Attack.

The Ubers tier's best Ice-resists in Necrozma Dusk-Mane and Kyogre would certainly be stellar picks in Ubers if G-Darm did not exist, but G-Darm's existence absolutely ensures that there is at least one additional gorilla-with-an-afro-shaped threat near the top of most Ubers teams' priority lists.

In what main roles was [Pokemon] used?

G-Darm's Gorilla Tactics ability is functionally a Choice Band, so it could only realistically run two sets: a Choice Scarf set that leveraged a fast U-Turn alongside a strong Flare Blitz and U-Turn and one of Rock Slide ort Earthquake to act as one of the Ubers tier's best revenge killers, or a Choice Band set (jokingly referred to as "CBCBDarm") that, alongside Gorilla Tactics, gave G-Darm's base 140 Attack a 2.25x boost that allowed it to 2HKO everything in Ubers. The only difference lay in its item due to how restrictive Gorilla Tactics is as an ability; no other boosting item would make sense.

Unlike the tier's other top Scarfer, Calyrex-Shadow, G-Darm's STAB Icicle Crash, access to a very strong U-Turn, and unique anti-Steel coverage in Flare Blitz are so immensely threatening that it has no truly safe switchins even with its Choice Scarf set; a team with a weakened or eliminated Necrozma Dusk-Mane, Scarf Calyrex-S, and/or Kyogre is extremely vulnerable to getting swept by G-Darm. Galarian Darmanitan does, however, need assistance in order to sweep lategame; as a result, it had numerous fantastic partners that would facilitate this sweep. Chief among them was Magnezone, which (as discussed earlier) could trap and eliminate Necrozma Dusk-Mane with ease.

Zen Mode variants are much weaker initially but make up for this by being able to switch moves. Should Zen Mode G-Darm drop to 50% HP, it'll transform into a terrifying offensive threat with a unique Ice/Fire typing and even more ludicrous offensive stats including a fantastic base 135 Speed stat. This set runs Icicle Crash (or Ice Punch), Fire Punch, Belly Drum, and Substitute with a Salac Berry and can theoretically 6-0 entire teams off a single good prediction; a +6 G-Darm reaches over 1600 Attack even with a neutral nature, and a truly astonishing 1840 with an Adamant nature. This obscene amount of Attack allows G-Darm to even potentially OHKO the most physically bulky Kyogre variants with no prior chip, but only if it runs Icicle Crash. However, this set is extremely hard to use well and will often fall flat since it can be revenge killed by priority if its Substitute is not left intact; as such, it's considered a gimmick, albeit a very unique gimmick that is capable of doing damage in amount that can only be accurately described when preceded with a long list of expletive-laden superlatives.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

G-Darm's offensive Ice-typing is extremely unique in Ubers and is shared only by Calyrex-Ice, the now-unviable Kyurem formes, and Weavile (though Ubers borrows the latter from OU), and as a result G-Darm fills a unique place in Ubers as a powerful revenge killer. With a Choice Scarf, its base 95 Speed peaks at 475, which outpaces the entirety of the unboosted metagame including Calyrex-Shadow; thanks to Gorilla Tactics, it can simultaneously run both a Choice Band and Choice Scarf.

The tier's only amazing Ice resists are Necrozma Dusk-Mane and Kyogre, and both can be chipped away at or dealt with by other means and don't particularly appreciate eating repeated hits from G-Darm's Flare Blitz and U-Turn, respectively. Calyrex-Ice is weak to both U-Turn and Flare Blitz, Magnezone is crushed by Earthquake and has no business taking hits from G-Darm's Flare Blitz unless it trapped a Dusk-Mane and maxed its Defense, Weavile takes unsalvageable damage from Icicle Crash and gets humiliated by everything else, and gets obliterated by U-Turn and erased by Flare Blitz.

Icicle Crash's nasty Flinch chance can also give G-Darm the ability to come out on top in matchups it has absolutely no business winning; Defensive Xerneas can survive two back-to-back Icicle Crashes and it 2HKOs G-Darm with ease using Moonblast (and it OHKOs after Rocks), but it cannot survive three consistently, even without suffering from any damage from Stealth Rock at any point.

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

Necrozma Dusk-Mane is without a doubt the best G-Darm answer, and it is still somewhat afraid of Earthquake and especially Flare Blitz. However, Physically-defensive versions with Rocky Helmet can force G-Darm to KO itself through extreme amounts of chip damage from Flare Blitz recoil and Rocky Helmet damage alike. Necrozma Dusk-Mane, being as ubiquitous as it is, is often tasked with handling a LOT of threats: G-Darm is arguably the highest priority for it to stay healthy enough to check, though.

Most Kyogre variants can handle G-Darm in a 1v1 situation, but they are prone to getting U-Turned on and eating massive chip. Kyogre variants without defensive investment are exactly one Icicle Crash flinch away from losing the matchup long-term, though, as they are 3HKOed. Physically-bulky variants with Leftovers are still worn down by U-Turn chip, but they fare much, much better.

Choice Scarf Calyrex-S is arguably the tier's best Choice Scarf user, even over G-Darm itself; Calyrex-S's absolutely enormous base 150 Speed, bolstered further by a Choice Scarf, leaves G-Darm in the dust and it can effortlessly revenge kill G-Darm. Similarly, the uncommon Regieleki is naturally faster enough to outpace G-Darm and KO it, although any Ground-type teammate will thwart this attempt.

Extremely physically-bulky threats that are not extremely weak to Ice-type attacks can possibly eat a hit from G-Darm; G-Darm most certainly cannot survive whatever comes its way in retaliation. That said, Groudon and Zygarde-C are most certainly not consistent as they are weak to Icicle Crash. Defensive Xerneas can survive a hit and KO G-Darm back with some chip, but G-Darm is actually capable of muscling past it with entry hazard support and a possible Icicle Crash flinch.

Priority is also the bane of G-Darm's existence, as its bulk is quite mediocre even by lower-tier standards. Sucker Punch Yveltal, Shadow Sneak Marshadow and Giratina-Origin, and Extreme Speed Rayquaza can pick off a weakened G-Darm. This is further exacerbated by G-Darm's extreme weakness to all forms of entry hazards; it cannot afford to circumvent this shortcoming by running Heavy-Duty Boots as it depends far too heavily on its Choice item of choice.

Lastly, G-Darm has no reliable recovery whatsoever, so any damage it takes, be it Rocky Helmet chip or entry hazards or even its own Flare Blitz, is permanent. G-Darm's worst enemy, should it be forced to Flare Blitz too often to muscle past Steel-types that resist Icicle Crash, can often be itself!
 
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Nominating Dracovish

:ss/Dracovish:


What effects did Dracovish have on the metagame?


Dracovish, having a good typing of Water-Dragon with decent bulk, power, and the best abuser of Fishious Rend with suitable abilities that bolster its effectiveness with Strong Jaw, has firmly left a gaping dent in the metagame due to the astronomically stunning damage it could dish out despite its linearity that it has consistently maintained despite the tremendous changes overtime in Generation 8 Ubers.


In what main roles was Dracovish Used


Dracovish has always been consistently a wallbreaker with its one-dimensional playstyle. It had its choice of alternating between a Choice Band and Choice scarf, until Crown Tundra was where ultimately Choice Band is the only item it should use. Since its often only spamming Fishious Rend, Dracovish only needs to build its moveset against those who are immune or capable staving off Fishious Rend.

Dracovish @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Strong Jaw / Sand Rush / Water Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
- Fishious Rend
- Dragon Rush / Outrage
- Crunch
- Low Kick / Psychic Fangs / Dragon Breath

Strong Jaw will be your primary choice, boosting Fishious Rend's doubled damaged along with a 1.3x multiplier to maximize Dracovish's damage output. Its other abilities have seen some usage overtime as they have either fallen out or just hard to justify picking over. Sand Rush was a hyped ability that allowed Dracovish to outspeed foes naturally, but was only released in Crown Tundra where threats are much more bulkier and favouring Paralysis as speed control more often. Similarly, Water Absorb allows Dracovish to become a surprise pivot against opposing Dracovish and rain-boosted threats if a team somehow lacks other options and require offensive responses while checking Water threats, but due to the noticable drop in power even with a Choice Band, it requires another Wallbreaker to place the same constant pressure against the opposition.

During its discovery in the first iteration of SwSh Ubers, Dracovish was used as a wallbreaker against anything Zacian-C could not handle mainly Unaware Quagsire, unboosted Corviknight, and carve heavy dents against Dynamax Abusers that it could outpace, or were status'd from paralysis.

Come HOME's release, didn't change much other than being heavily preserved against crucial targets that has not used up its Dynamax such as Necrozma-DM, Melmetal, Reshiram, Zekrom. With the implementation of the Dynamax banlist, it was mainly Kyurem-B, Melmetal, and Charizard it could prey on.

With slightly more diverse choices thanks to Isle of Armor update re-introducing previous pokemon and upscaling defensive measures such as Tangrowth, Lunala, and Skarmory, has drifted it to lean more into Choice Band although Choice Scarf was still relatively useful for certain Balance structures and to have a chance at winning the toss against an opposing Ditto.

With Crown Tundra's initial release, Dynamax and the Zacian formes had forced a conundrum of chaos in tandrum with Calyrex-S' occasional pairings, and ultimately Dracovish had not been seen until eventually reaching to the current state of the meta where all supposedly problematic figures have been removed and let's Dracovish comfortably settle as Strong breaker, not too far behind Darmanitan-Galar.


What caused it to have a significant impact


Its simple. Fishious Rend, which is self-explanatory, along with Strong Jaw boosting its power could decimate almost anything even resistances such as Ferrothorn, Toxapex, and possibly Eternatus.

However if that was the case Dracozolt would have been also made its mark as part of an integral history in Gen 8 Ubers. Hustle's crippling accuracy is detrimental in comparison to Strong Jaw's boost, and overtime ground types are frequently used in meta whereas rarely few Pokemon could stand up to a rain boosted Fishious Rend.

Its usage has been spread through sporadic numbers, initially overshadowed due to the abundance of Dynamax until Crown Tundra banned it and gave Dracovish more opportunities to unleash its barbaric damage.


How do/did you deal with Dracovish in Ubers?

A consistent counter/check to Dracovish must have Resistance, Bulk, recovery and Speed to deal with Dracovish for the long run, which lacking either one of these aspects means it isn't reliable enough. (E.g. Xerneas could outspeed it but unable to switch-in safely.)

Without a Choice Band, Dracovish is fairly manageable to deal with as long as they have arguably good bulk and resistance that allows them to eat a couple of Fishious Rends, although they have to always be at full health in doing so. Ferrothorn, Toxapex, Rotom-Wash, Corviknight, Lapras, and sometimes Galarian Corsola for pre-home.
Kyurem-B & Kyurem-W, Necrozma-DM, Melmetal, and Zekrom in HOME meta.
Tangrowth, Amoonguss, Gyarados, and Hydreigon during Isle of Armor (DLC1).
Finally in Crown Tundra (DLC2), Eternatus, Buzzwole, both Giratina formes, and Zarude were the best bets against it.

If it does have a Choice Band however, the best options are limited to immunities to water such as Gastrodon (or Seismitoad, Vaporeon before Crown Tundra), and Shedinja. Although threats that outspeed it such as Eternatus and Zekrom with roost could deal with Dracovish as well, they will crumble if they switched in and ate a surprise Outrage / Dragon Rush and would have probably taken paralysis from Dracovish's teammates bar Zekrom. If it got its rain boost however? You would have to carefully outlast it until rain is gone, which would be a miracle in it of itself, because you're realistically going to lose a couple of Pokemon anyways.
 
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I was gonna adopt Xern, but I think the several paragraphs I already wrote went with my cache and builder

Nominating Xerneas

:ss/Xerneas:

What effect did [Pokemon] have on the metagame?
Introduced in DLC-2, Xerneas has influenced many conventions of teambuilding as players attempt to prepare for and support it. Geomancy is busted and Counterplay to GeoXern is a benchmark for viability; it is the principal reason for Necrozma-Duskmane’s high usage. On top of its capacity as a sweeper and wallbreaker, Xerneas also matches up well into many prominent Ubers including the omnipresent Yveltal, Marshadow, various dragon-types, dark-types, and Groudon, among others, and it can also provide team support through utility such as aromatherapy.

In what main roles was [Pokemon] used?
Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 168 Def / 252 SpA / 88 Spe (spread can vary)
Modest Nature
- Geomancy
- Moonblast
- Thunder
- Substitute/Aromatherapy/Ingrain/Other stuff

Geomancy busted


Oh yeah it has other sets

Xerneas @ Leftovers/Air Balloon/Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD (spread may also vary)
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Aromatherapy

Defensive Xerneas commonly appears in the 4th slot of defensive cores on balance teams. Aromatherapy alleviates some of the issues of resttalk as it wakes Xerneas upon being called, and allows it to act as a cleric. This set is used to check physical attackers that are not NDM or Ho-oh. It’s great against Zygarde in particular, ignoring status with rest and Aroma. Air balloon allows Xerneas to act as a stopgap to Groudon and is, notably, one, that is not weak to its fire moves, as well as countering Poltergeist Marshadow.

Xerneas @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Thunder/Focus Blast
- Thunder Wave/Defog
- Aromatherapy

I barely use this, but it's very fun. Speed control option that is not Calyrex or Marshadow, with nice utility on top.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
-Mono-fairy good typing, great stats spread, Fairy Aura busted, Geomancy very busted, rest of movepool is also great

-Early in DLC-2, Xerneas faced an incredibly common check in Zacian-C. However, Zacian’s presence forced NDM to run physically defensive sets, which undermined its ability to check Xerneas. Because of this, the two could form a terrifyingly potent fairy spam core that overloaded their shared checks in NDM and Ho-oh

-Post-Zacian-C-Ban, Xerneas continued its shenanigans, losing a check in Zacian-C, but retaining a fairy spam partner in Zacian-H, which still forced NDM into exploitable Physdef sets.

-In recent metas, Xerneas is among the culprits being the efficacy of Magnezone teams. Alongside Darmanitan-Galar, these 3 harshly exploited teams that rely on NDM as the only check to Xern and Garm, either deleting it from the match entirely or busting through it with brute force and coverage. This archetype caused NDM to start running shed shell and teams to use more non-steel checks to Garm such as Kyogre and Ho-oh, which also covered the rising Weavile. Other threats like Eternatus and Rayquaza, which benefited from NDM’s removal and could overload it themselves, also paired with Xern on these teams in alternating breaking/cleaning roles, and Magnezone, itself, ended up as a recurring issue on community surveys. Though Xerneas did not act alone, it was certainly an important part of these metagame changes.

-Air balloon Xerneas, alongside Eternatus running more consumable items, also led to Marshadow dropping Poltergeist for Spectral Thief as its ghost-stab.


How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in Ubers?
-NDM is the best and most common check, steel typing go brrr
-Ho-oh resists Moonblast and can whirlwind it, paralyze it, or revenge kill/weaken Geoxern. It specifically runs 52 spdef EVs to survive boosted Thunders.
-Blissey is bulky enough to survive GeoXern and has Confide to prevent additional boosting
-Lunala can also roar out GeoXern thanks to shadow shield
(Phasing also fails if Xerneas has Ingrain)
-Specially defensive ferrothorn with Gyro Ball can also check GeoXern in a pinch
-Priority such as shadow sneak Marshadow can revenge kill a weakened Xerneas
-Choice Scarf Calyrex-S outspeeds +2 Xern and can revenge kill with Psyshock
-Zama-C is also fat enough to live +2 Moonblasts and KO Xern with Behemoth Bash
-Though rare, Sand Rush Excadrill resists Moonblast and Thunder and outspeeds non-timid Xerneas in sand
-Limiting its set-up opportunity also makes Xerneas more manageable; Sludge Bomb Eternatus is notable for doing this.
 
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Nominating Lunala
:ss/lunala:

What effect did Lunala have on the metagame?

When Lunala was first released, it was one of the best offensive powerhouses in the tier. Specs Lunala used to pretty much have no safe switchin with its perfect coverage, and this used to be the case for a long while. In DLC2 meta, while Meteor Beam Lunala is still a set, its pretty much overshadowed by Calyrex-Shadow and usually worse performing than defensive.

In what main roles was Lunala used?

Lunala has had many roles, wallbreaker, a wall itself, and an offensive pivot with Teleport.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Pursuit removal meant Lunala had an easy time spamming Ghost and Psychic moves. Also helped that it couldnt be trapped by Dugtrio like many other Pokemon at the time. Typing, natural bulk and Shadow Shield also meant it always had defensive utility.

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

Until DLC2, you pretty much didnt. You just run a few resistances and hope you guessed the coverage correctly. Could also use Dynamax to beat it if extremely necessary. Often Pokemon run Dark or Ghost coverage just to beat it, like Crunch Drednaw or Shadow Claw Excadrill. With offensive sets being dead, most clerics help teams dealing with Lunalas status spam. Also doesnt help that it doesnt really check that much outside of Groudon and Zygarde, who still both have ways to beat it in the long game, like using status themselfs or Dragon Tail.
 
Forced by Fc to do this

Nominating Dugtrio

:bw/dugtrio:

What effect did Dugtrio have on the metagame?

As opposed to Gothitelle, Dugtrio aimed to trap more offensive focused Pokemon like Zacian-Crowned, Eternatus or whatever weakened threat. Unlike Gothitelle who was much better at trapping walls, Dugtrio did not have such an impact that Pokemon would run Shed Shell for it. However, thanks to its fast speed and Arena Trap, it was still a great tool for many teams as a reveng killer / zacian counterplay.

In what main roles was Dugtrio used?

It traps

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Zacian-Crowned and Eternatus, altho it was still decently able to trap opposing weakened offensive threats.

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

You either can run from it or you die
 

SiTuM

j'ai du faire un mauvais rêve
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
The voting is officially open ! These are the candidates:



















Remember, those ranking are for the most influentional Pokémon on the meta, not the best, so, if you think that Xerneas changes the Teambuilding more than Yveltal, but Yveltal is a better Pokémon, then you should vote for Xerneas. This rank also keeps in mind all of Gen 8, not just DLC 2 SS. So, while this doesn't make Pokémon like Groudon, Yveltal and Kyogre unable to compete with the others, do keep in mind that they weren't here from the start.

We're going to start by voting the number #1 until we get to the number #10, with each voting stage lasting for 7 days. To vote, you simply need to say the name of the Pokémon you're voting for; you don't need to provide a motive, but that would be appreciated. Discussion during the voting stages also is encouraged.

I'll be voting for Eternatus. I don't remember a period where Eternatus wasn't in S tier, and if he was, it clearly wasn't for a long time. He clearly has been the most influential Pokémon of SS Ubers since its beginning, where he was already the annoying unkillable tank and the dangerous powerhouse he still is today. He even adapted to every metagame he was faced with, going from LO Agility, to PhysDef TSpikes, Offensive Scarf, to even Power Herb Cosmic Power. The range of items Eternatus ran during these almost 3 years are also insane, I can easily mention 10: Black Sludge, Life Orb, Heavy-Duty Boots, Choice Scarf, Rocky Helmet, Haban Berry, Power Herb, Shed Shell, Sitrus Berry, Shuca Berry, Eject Pack, etc etc. Its prowess in both defensive stats and offensive power always made him a threatening Pokémon whether it was because you couldn't kill him or because he would sweep the shit out of you, so that's why I am voting for him in #1.
 
I'll vote for Zacian-C as #1. Even if it's not in the tier anymore, it was THE Pokemon you needed to build around and against. We had to use weird strategies like Arena Trap Dugtrio, Rocky Helmet Rege core, Unaware Quagsire, Defensive Dusk-Mane, Ditto etc etc. And even with all those strats, people always came up with new ideas: Sub, Solar Blade, Protect, Quick Attack... If they had the right set for your counter you were just fucked. That's why i'm voting for him as #1
 

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