Gen 8 Ubers
After playing Ubers this gen for a little while, I wanted to share some thoughts I had about the metagame, as well as post one team I have been having fun with. Ubers took a very apparent hit this generation, with the tier only possessing 7 Ubers (2 of those being Gothitelle and Darmanitan-Galar). I could make the argument that one of those (Zamazenta crowned) is pretty unviable as well. At first glance, the tier appears very one-dimensional, and while room for variety has dropped, I'd argue that the influx of lower tier mons does offer an interesting dimension to this tier. When beginning to play Ubers you will notice very quickly that Gothitelle is everywhere, and Dugtrio to a lesser extent. The ever present Gothitelle makes shed shell a requirement on almost any passive wall (i.e quagsire, toxapex, ferrothorn), and scarf Dugtrio forces Zacian, Eternatus, and Tyranitar to carefully consider their moves. Due to the presence of Dugtrio, many Tyranitar may opt for shed shell as well. Losing leftovers on a mon like Tyranitar significantly hampers its ability to wall Eternatus, and something similar can be said for Quagsire and Zacian-C. I'd argue that trapping may be slightly unhealthy for the metagame at this time, but it is a core part of the metagame as it stands.
The Team
Eternatus @ Metronome
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 176 Def / 80 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dragon Pulse
- Recover
- Substitute/ Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
I want to start off by highlighting one of my opinions- Eternatus is by far the best Uber right now. The sheer utility it offers on both offense and defense is incredible. Whether it be its sub pressure sets, life orb breaker sets, or arguably its most dangerous set- phasing, Eternatus will be sure to make itself known in any battle. For this set, I wanted to try something a little new. Generally, mons that try to wall Eternatus in Ubers i.e Tyranitar or SpD pex will simply attempt to sit on it and stall out its moves. Metronome is an interesting form of counterplay, with dragon pulse eventually forcing swaps into a mon that does not want to come in. Dragon Pulse was opted for over Dynamax Cannon simply because of the extra 8 pp, which can be very important. Eternatus already has a base 140 hp stat, so any evs in bulk are better spent in defense than HP. 176 Defense allows it to shrug off moves from Tyranitar, among other threats. Sludge Bomb can be run over Sub if CM clef is a worry (CM, Moonblast, Tbolt, Moonlight) Clef is actually a threat in this tier.
Quagsire @ Shed Shell
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Recover
- Counter
- Earthquake
- Haze
You know a tier has peaked when Quagsire is its premiere wall cwl. Jokes aside, Quagsire is the best wall in this tier to Zacian-C, making it incredibly important on most balance teams. Shed Shell means this Derpy boy won't be trapped by Gothitelle. The moveset I opted for is different than most you will see (toxic+scald), and there are a few reasons why. Counter helps Quagsire beat guts Conkeldurr 1v1, a threatening stallbreaker in Ubers. It can also nag surprise KO's on mons such as Darmanitan-Galar or scarf Dracovish, both huge threats in this metagame. Haze is used to break annoying baton pass chains, as well as halt bulk up Corviknight.
Dracovish @ Choice Band
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Outrage
- Psychic Fangs
- Iron Head
Aside from Darmanitan-Galar, Dracovish is likely the best Stallbreaker in Ubers at this time. It destroys every non-resisted passive wall, and even can defeat Ferrothorn and Toxapex in 1v1 situations. I wanted to build around this mon, and it proved to be every bit as dangerous as it sounds. 90% of the time Dracovish will be clicking either Psychic Fangs or Fishious Rend, but I added Outrage in case I ever wanted to Dynamax on an incoming Ditto. Adamant was used primarily for extra power, but it also means that Eternatus can outspeed a ditto that imposters my own Dracovish. (Eternatus is a decent check to a ditto impostered as my Dracovish in a pinch)
Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP
IVs: 0 Atk
- Transform
3 lines of text huh. This blob becomes your blob and then outblobs it like a champ. Considering my team is somewhat weak to a host of physical mons, (Eternatus and Quagsire generally being the two PhysDef checks), Ditto is a pretty important backup plan to anything that can break those two mons. It can easily reverse sweep teams that are not well protected against their own Zacian-C, and it is a guaranteed way to outspeed opposing Eternatus, considering how slow my team is. In Ubers, where dynamax is allowed, Ditto reclaims what made it so potent in OU.
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn
- Body Press
Corviknight is an amazing pokemon in Ubers. It checks one of the most dangerous mons being Excadrill, and is the best form of hazard removal in the tier. In generates a ton of momentum with its slow u-turns, and is the best way to get Dracovish into any game safely. Pressure and Max Spd allows Corviknight to drain Dynamax Cannon's PP quickly (even though Ttar is generally safer), and body press allows it to 1v1 Tyranitar+Excadrill. This mon does not check Zacian-C, so be sure to use it carefully around strong physical threats.
Tyranitar @ Shed Shell/Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
Last but not least we have our good buddy Tyranitar. Tyranitar is this team's dedicated rocker, and serves as a semi-effective Eternatus check. Its role as an Eternatus check is hampered by the fact that it is hard pressed to run leftovers with Dugtrio running around, but it still chips the LO Eternatus set quickly between sand, life orb chip, and earthquakes. Spd is needed in order to switch into Eternatus, and it likes slide-quake for semi-effective coverage in Ubers. Rest is used for the Eternatus 1v1 matchups and longevity.
Threatlist:
The biggest threats to this team are generally dangerous physical breakers, such as Darmanitan-Galar** or opposing Dracovish. Considering Tyranitar is not leftovers, opposing Eternatus can be problematic as well. When facing a mon such as Darmanitan-Galar, you may need to dynamax in an unfavorable position just so you do not lose a key pokemon.
Replay: (only remembered to save one lol)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ubers-1039315170
Importable:
https://pokepast.es/f6dd689171b1ba6f
Cheers!
After playing Ubers this gen for a little while, I wanted to share some thoughts I had about the metagame, as well as post one team I have been having fun with. Ubers took a very apparent hit this generation, with the tier only possessing 7 Ubers (2 of those being Gothitelle and Darmanitan-Galar). I could make the argument that one of those (Zamazenta crowned) is pretty unviable as well. At first glance, the tier appears very one-dimensional, and while room for variety has dropped, I'd argue that the influx of lower tier mons does offer an interesting dimension to this tier. When beginning to play Ubers you will notice very quickly that Gothitelle is everywhere, and Dugtrio to a lesser extent. The ever present Gothitelle makes shed shell a requirement on almost any passive wall (i.e quagsire, toxapex, ferrothorn), and scarf Dugtrio forces Zacian, Eternatus, and Tyranitar to carefully consider their moves. Due to the presence of Dugtrio, many Tyranitar may opt for shed shell as well. Losing leftovers on a mon like Tyranitar significantly hampers its ability to wall Eternatus, and something similar can be said for Quagsire and Zacian-C. I'd argue that trapping may be slightly unhealthy for the metagame at this time, but it is a core part of the metagame as it stands.
The Team
Eternatus @ Metronome
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 176 Def / 80 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dragon Pulse
- Recover
- Substitute/ Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
I want to start off by highlighting one of my opinions- Eternatus is by far the best Uber right now. The sheer utility it offers on both offense and defense is incredible. Whether it be its sub pressure sets, life orb breaker sets, or arguably its most dangerous set- phasing, Eternatus will be sure to make itself known in any battle. For this set, I wanted to try something a little new. Generally, mons that try to wall Eternatus in Ubers i.e Tyranitar or SpD pex will simply attempt to sit on it and stall out its moves. Metronome is an interesting form of counterplay, with dragon pulse eventually forcing swaps into a mon that does not want to come in. Dragon Pulse was opted for over Dynamax Cannon simply because of the extra 8 pp, which can be very important. Eternatus already has a base 140 hp stat, so any evs in bulk are better spent in defense than HP. 176 Defense allows it to shrug off moves from Tyranitar, among other threats. Sludge Bomb can be run over Sub if CM clef is a worry (CM, Moonblast, Tbolt, Moonlight) Clef is actually a threat in this tier.
Quagsire @ Shed Shell
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Recover
- Counter
- Earthquake
- Haze
You know a tier has peaked when Quagsire is its premiere wall cwl. Jokes aside, Quagsire is the best wall in this tier to Zacian-C, making it incredibly important on most balance teams. Shed Shell means this Derpy boy won't be trapped by Gothitelle. The moveset I opted for is different than most you will see (toxic+scald), and there are a few reasons why. Counter helps Quagsire beat guts Conkeldurr 1v1, a threatening stallbreaker in Ubers. It can also nag surprise KO's on mons such as Darmanitan-Galar or scarf Dracovish, both huge threats in this metagame. Haze is used to break annoying baton pass chains, as well as halt bulk up Corviknight.
Dracovish @ Choice Band
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Outrage
- Psychic Fangs
- Iron Head
Aside from Darmanitan-Galar, Dracovish is likely the best Stallbreaker in Ubers at this time. It destroys every non-resisted passive wall, and even can defeat Ferrothorn and Toxapex in 1v1 situations. I wanted to build around this mon, and it proved to be every bit as dangerous as it sounds. 90% of the time Dracovish will be clicking either Psychic Fangs or Fishious Rend, but I added Outrage in case I ever wanted to Dynamax on an incoming Ditto. Adamant was used primarily for extra power, but it also means that Eternatus can outspeed a ditto that imposters my own Dracovish. (Eternatus is a decent check to a ditto impostered as my Dracovish in a pinch)
Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP
IVs: 0 Atk
- Transform
3 lines of text huh. This blob becomes your blob and then outblobs it like a champ. Considering my team is somewhat weak to a host of physical mons, (Eternatus and Quagsire generally being the two PhysDef checks), Ditto is a pretty important backup plan to anything that can break those two mons. It can easily reverse sweep teams that are not well protected against their own Zacian-C, and it is a guaranteed way to outspeed opposing Eternatus, considering how slow my team is. In Ubers, where dynamax is allowed, Ditto reclaims what made it so potent in OU.
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn
- Body Press
Corviknight is an amazing pokemon in Ubers. It checks one of the most dangerous mons being Excadrill, and is the best form of hazard removal in the tier. In generates a ton of momentum with its slow u-turns, and is the best way to get Dracovish into any game safely. Pressure and Max Spd allows Corviknight to drain Dynamax Cannon's PP quickly (even though Ttar is generally safer), and body press allows it to 1v1 Tyranitar+Excadrill. This mon does not check Zacian-C, so be sure to use it carefully around strong physical threats.
Tyranitar @ Shed Shell/Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
Last but not least we have our good buddy Tyranitar. Tyranitar is this team's dedicated rocker, and serves as a semi-effective Eternatus check. Its role as an Eternatus check is hampered by the fact that it is hard pressed to run leftovers with Dugtrio running around, but it still chips the LO Eternatus set quickly between sand, life orb chip, and earthquakes. Spd is needed in order to switch into Eternatus, and it likes slide-quake for semi-effective coverage in Ubers. Rest is used for the Eternatus 1v1 matchups and longevity.
Threatlist:
The biggest threats to this team are generally dangerous physical breakers, such as Darmanitan-Galar** or opposing Dracovish. Considering Tyranitar is not leftovers, opposing Eternatus can be problematic as well. When facing a mon such as Darmanitan-Galar, you may need to dynamax in an unfavorable position just so you do not lose a key pokemon.
Replay: (only remembered to save one lol)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ubers-1039315170
Importable:
https://pokepast.es/f6dd689171b1ba6f
Cheers!
Last edited:
