Metagame NP: ZU Stage 1: Begin Again - Squawkabilly quickban #99

[Yuelia]

Been having lots of fun playing this (I'm Not Fully Evolved on PS, you've probably seen me around).

Here's a set I've been having a ton of success with:

Dunsparce @ Eviolite
Ability: Serene Grace
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Roost

Dunsparce's raw bulk just blanks so much lol, you only really have to be careful of Toxic which is really rare outside of Mareanie; Swalot sometimes carries it but 4MSS is a hell of a drug. It's honestly super easy to get setup opportunities and once you start setting up, almost nothing can realistically stop you. I've been down to last-mon Dunsparce against a full team of 6 mons and come back to win with this thing lol, it's seriously so good.

Other thoughts:

- Fraxure is probably a good choice for a first suspect test, CB is stupidly hard to switch into and gets so many free kills while DD can snowball out of control if it gets the chance. I've seen Marill on the ladder, and while it's not totally useless outside of being a hard stop to Fraxure, there's no doubt as to the *main* reason it gets any use.
- Please stop using Oranguru, it's completely outclassed by Girafarig outside of Trick Room, and Trick Room itself isn't all that good considering almost everyone has something slow on their team that can use it against you.
- Tera Normal Luxray is stupidly strong. Pretty much every team needs to have some sort of answer to it or you WILL lose. Normals in general are really good here, since we have no fully-evolved Ghost, Fighting, or Steel types whatsoever. Sudowoodo is a solid mon, probably A in viability, but it can't answer *everything* since it doesn't have recovery outside of the mostly-outclassed Drain Punch.

If you're reading this and aren't playing ZU, do it, this tier is surprisingly balanced for the most part, and amazingly fun!

 

[Perla]

Some of my thoughts on the ZU mons:
https://tiermaker.com/create/zu-personal-viability-rankings-sv-15238034
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Here I've put the most solid stuff of the tier, which might even be broken, honestly.

S/Banworthy

Girafarig is just cheap whether you use it or face it: it's basically the ZU Espathra and I always feel dirty when I put it in my teams. The double dance is basically always granted, it has important immunities in grass and ghost (also for Sleep Powder), annoying bulk thanks to the eviolite and tera-fighting is just the icing on the cake. I would be happy to see it go.
Scovillain is simply a very strong mon even outside sun. Recently I have seen some people who don't find it quite appealing, but it is the best special attacker of the tier: you can run specs or hdb with Growth and it can put huge pressure on the opponent who needs a dedicated answer to this mon. Tera rock is the preferred type.
Luxray borderline broken candidate of the scary trailblazers of this tier. 70 speed is fine in this meta and Tera Normal/Guts/Facade speaks for itself. It could be banned.
Vigoroth has very good stats for a NFE, really bulky with eviolite, sufficiently fast and Bulk Up/Drain Punch is really effective especially when there aren't fully evolved fighting types and you can't be put to sleep. Tera-type is flexible (increasing the opponent's uncertainty) and it can also use Taunt & Yawn.

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This rank consists of very solid mons that are definitely staples of the tier imho and are always able to accomplish something. They're not S rank because in some scenarios, the opponent can take advantage of them.

A+

Dunsparce another useful normal type. Stealth rocker, Glare is really annoying (or Body Slam too), reliable recovery and very good bulk with eviolite which makes Coil and Calm Mind better, in case you wanted to use this mon offensively. Tera Ghost might troll the opponent and Yawn can be used too.
Leafeon the other important piece of sun: very nice speed and atk, mighty power thanks to Sword Dance and tera-fire makes it the physical counterpart of Scovillain. The classic Leech Seed set is still annoying too.
Sudowoodo is really slow, but it is a very annoying rocker and, at the same time, a powerful nuke thanks to Head Smash and Wood Hammer with no recoil. It has also Taunt for other slower leads and its high defense can be important when EQ and CC are not so common. It gets also Spikes this gen.
Swalot is a very bulky blob with the main role of setting and absorbing the T-Spikes, which is kinda vital when we basically don't have hazard removal. Offensive sets are fine too, given its interesting movepool, including the Acid Armor/Body Press one. Yawn is a possibility too.

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These mons are less splashable than the previous ones but they proved to be good and I was satisfied.

A

Pikachu and Dedenne are the main "volt switch spam" enablers in a tier where you have to choose NFEs or LCs if you want a ground type. In case you needed power, you'd have to choose the first one but the loss of Espeed is huge, so you'll end up with a mixed set with Fake Out/ Volt Tackle/Volt Switch and Surf as additional coverage. The hamster shouldn't be underestimated though: it can be annoying with nuzzle and might save you against an Outrage-ing Fraxure, but it can be a good scarfer given its high speed: you can even run it modest imho, because this tier is not so fast and you gain an extra kick in power.
Fraxure shouldn't be hated. It is really strong with DD or Choice Band: I'd run Iron Head or Poison Jab to save you from some scary CMs fairies (or tera-fairies) and First Impression is always cool
Pincurchin doesn't have a main role: some people even run it with Lightning Rod to block Volt Switch. Its usual terrain is really exploitable though (for some usual Electric Seed shenanigans) and it has some useful stuff like Spikes, Tspikes, Memento and Sucker Punch.
Gothitelle is one of the main psychic types: not as reliable as Girafarig, but Calm Mind and Trick/Specs sets are scary. Its speed is not even that bad in ZU and Tera-Dark increases its longevity and might let you get rid of an additional mon.
Greedent is really bulky and Persian is really fast. Body Press or Belly Drum sets can wreck stuff (for the rodent) and Technician Fake Out + Uturn is very common (for the cat). They are here because there are better Normal types.
Sneasel struggles without Triple Axel and a good dark move (you can use Beat Up in some specific teams), but in the end it has still Sword Dance and priority Ice Shard so it is still usable.
Toedscool is just my main trustful spinner (even though everything can become a ghost against it). Just run Leech Seed for recovery (this mon has really low HPs) and its amazing utility moves: Knock Off, Rapid Spin and a Spore that can't be blocked by Sap Sipper.

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These mons are good, but sometimes they might cause some disappointment.

A-

I still stan Beartic even if it needs the disappointing Snover (which I put in B) to work. It has great atk and can double its speed: Tera Ground + EQ is really strong especially when there's Swalot , Sudowoodo and several electrics, you can't be Twaved by the prankster mons and you're not weak to rocks anymore.
Dewott . I know that basically there aren't water types in this tier, but I was surprised when lots of people said that this is the best one. I've seen its movepool, I used it and I STRONGLY AGREE (it could even rise to A). The otter has Taunt, Knock Off and the pair Liquidation/Aqua Jet (some people use Aqua Cutter) that might become very effective when you're in Torrent range, especially when you have to revenge kill stuff.
Flareon is another scary trailblazer like Luxray (but the speed hurts) and can be a pseudo-check to Scovillain
Fletchinder is a defogger that I can justify, given the presence of Scovillain and Leafeon, so you can run hdb and possibly get some emergency burns with Flame Body. I needed it for my snow team.
Glalie has interesting stuff: EQ, Freeze-Dry, Taunt and Spikes for example.
Gumshoos is a nuke but very slow. Use it carefully.
Hypno and Oranguru are fine, but of course outclassed by Girafarig and Gothitelle . Trailblaze on the first one could be fun and some Calm Mind/Electric Seed monkey sets might work.
Jumpluff has great speed: Sleep Powder/Leech Seed is annowing and SD/Acrobatics (+Tera Steel and Strength Sap) can finally work in ZU. Possible pick in sun teams.
Murkrow and Shroodle are the main rain/sun enablers. The crow has also prankster Haze which can save you sometimes and don't underestimate its offensive stats because it can wreck one of your mons. Encore on the other one is nice to block some set up sweepers.
Normal types thrive so Oinkologne can too. I've put the female one here because it has more bulk. Thick Fat can be appreciated and Body Slam paralysis can make you mad. It has Yawn.
Pawniard resists Wood Hammer and Head Smash, it has taunt, it has stealth rock, it has SD, it has sucker punch, it has a good typing, it is a defog deterrent and should be used more.
Seviper is a Tspikes absorber with one of the highest special atks of the tier and Coil sets can be scary. Its poor bulk is still sad though.
Wigglytuff is quite bulky, with rocks, Twave, Wish and the Fairy type. It can be used but it doesn't excel
Zweilous is a nuke, but the defensive sets are amazing too because it can block some psychic attacks and can resist Scovillain's STABs. It has Roar (or Dragon Tail if you're brave).

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Here you have mons that can work very well, but they might need good support or they're less consistent than the previous ones. They can help you with specific threats of this tier

B+

Cufant is a cute steel type with rocks and whirlwind;
Delibird is not terrible to be honest and can work as a spinner and spiker. Destiny Bond mind games have to be considered too.
Eelektrik is immune to EQ and paralysis and Coil sets can be hard to deal with.
Eiscue is still terrible imho, but I still put it here because the Belly Drum set is good on paper.
Flittle is worse than Girafarig but if it works, it works.
Floette can wish-pass and Calm Mind can be scary (but you have better stuff). Still it's a fairy.
Floragato is mediocre but it can be ok with Choice Band or Scarf. It has also Taunt for an eviolite set.
Gastly should only be used if you REEEEALLY need a ghost type, but its bulk is pitiful and the speed is mediocre tbh.
Kricketune is the main sticky webber. Not great, but if your team needs it, use it. Pounce is funny
Krokorok has rocks and Taunt, it can Intimidate stuff and block volt switch. Its STABs are useful in ZU.
Lumineon has very nice speed and Uturn, but it's very weak. I prefer Dewott now, but at least the fish is the default option in rain teams...
Mudbray and Sandygast are cute ground LC picks with stealth rock: the ghost can spin block and has recovery, while the underrated donkey has Roar and its ability makes it a sort of "ZU Mudsdale" (it is also the LC mon with higher base stats and it has the same atk of Flygon so it is not even passive)
Oinkologne worse than the female one (maybe you'd use it for offensive sets because of the extra atk).
Slaking is a VERY EXPLOITABLE tera-normal nuke, as usual .
Sliggoo has nice bulk, sleep powder immunity and checks Scovillain. Some key coverage moves make it unpredictable sometimes.
Tropius has its usual Harvest/Leech Seed set, but I don't think it's effective: just a nuisance.

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These mons might do their job, but their job is not exactly necessary and vital: they're good picks in some teams.

B

Foongus and Mareanie can be good Regenerator picks: they absorb Tspikes, one has Spore while the other one has haze and it is a water type (in case you needed a defensive one).
Hippopotas has Slack Off and rocks: sandstorm chip might be useful or detrimental. It has Yawn.
Meditite is probably the first usable Fighting type: still quite slow, but it can deal lots of damage with Choice Band (Bullet Punch is not even a bad idea).
Morgrem is an acceptable parting shot screener.
Pachirisu is bulkish and has annoying moves like Nuzzle and Super Fang
Snover is definitely not stellar but it enables snow and can Blizzard some grass types. It is annoying against sun and rain teams.
Stantler can Trailblaze and Calm Mind/Stored Power but it has too much Normal type competition. Intimidate could be fine, but still I wouldn't recommend it.
Varoom has nice typing and can set/absorb Tspikes. It can work as a slow pivot, I guess.

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This rank includes mons with a useful niche or heavily outclassed by something else or with shaky efficiency

B-

Articbax is immune to Will-o but there are definitely better NFE dragons.
Charmeleon can be put in some sun teams, but I prefer the most solid stuff.
Corvisquire is not Corviknight. It is hardly able to defog. (In retrospect, I might have been too harsh, because in the end it can run Eviolite unlike Fletchinder. It might be B material tbh)
Pupitar has good offensive typing (it can also DD, I guess), Shed Skin is cute and it has rocks, but I would stick with Sudowoodo
Riolu is another possible fighting type, I suppose. You just need to enable Copycat memes maybe.
Rufflet is a worse Squawkabilly : Hustle is unreliable and not worthy on a LC mon.
Slowpoke has Regenerator, but don't waste your psychic type on this mon. It has Yawn

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This rank includes mons that I've seen sometimes on the ladder doing something, but I can't say that I was impressed.

C

Bronzor and G-Meowth have the good steel type and rocks: one is immune to ground and the other can pivot with Uturn maybe.
Drifloon and Greavard can be possible ghost candidates: the first one has defog, the second one has Fluffy.
Hatenna is too frail to work as a magic bouncer, Mankey is too weak and slow, Marill can be a rain option I guess, Maschiff could emulate its big brother with StakeOut, maybe.
Shelgon is just outclassed, Sinistea is probably the """best""" Shell Smash user and, as a fully evolved mon, Sunflora can't be totally unviable when Sun is good.

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And at last... these mons simply shouldn't be used

UR

There are simply better spinners/defoggers than Bramblin, Steenee and Pineco , there are better fairy types than jigglypuff, kirlia and tinkatink: , Luvdisc is useless, "why do you need Pawmo ?", all the other birds are barely usable so Staravia is unusable, just use the "delelelewhooper" if you need webs (not Surskit ) and population bomb is sad on Tandemaus without Technician and Tidy Up

 

[TTK]

Serious post time. Sharing my thoughts on every pokemon that is usable in this tier have fun!

Fully Evolved

: Good weather sweeper, outside of that however... too slow.
: Y'all stop sleeping on this mon, specs is a menace and the speed tier is very good for this tier.
: I don't want to say it's unmon status because it has some nice traits like Spikes and Spin but the competition is hefty and Delibird doesn't have the stats like its competition does
: Decent sweeper ig? Haven't really seen it do anything notable yet
: Solid wincon with Tera Normal Guts + Trailblaze, also a decent sun check.
: Spiker with decent offences, decent bulk
: One of the tier's best special attackers imo. I don't even think Giraffe outclasses this that badly, goth doesn't need tera to have Fighting coverage but yeah, this is good.
: Hard to justify this in a tier with so many Normals but Belly Drum is like the only thing this mon can do to differentiate itself but 20 speed is just sad.
: People like this mon and I say "it's alright? I suppose."
: plznostep hypes up the hypno and imo, it's in a good spot as well. CM Draining Kiss is cool and Insomnia is useful for Sleep Powder. All the Psychics have their place in this meta.
: Anyone calling this bad doesn't know what they're talking about, it might be slightly overrated but fast sleep is never bad ever and frankly, quite annoying to deal with if you don't have anything for it.
: Webs is viable hence this mon will exist.
: Definitely top 5 in the meta, fast, strong, quite bulky on the physical side. Sun is strong and Leafeon has Chlorophyll.
: No Defog is pain but offensive Lumineon has some merit, though you need Specs if you don't want to be disappointed.
: Unmon.
: Why did we let this drop... Luxray Tera Normal Guts Facade not much else to say really anyone that has played more than like 15 games should know this is one of the strongest mons in the meta.
: I prefer Female overall due to higher special bulk, both aren't passive and both are good checks to Scovillain. Feels like they're slightly slept on.
: We've seen Hypno and Gothitelle already and Oranguru makes up the third in the Psychic Stooges (Grumpig has graduated for now). So what does this thing offer? OTR is decent, Ghost immunity is nice but overall, Goth and Hypno and Girafarig are the way to go.
: I don't want to say unmon but it's bulkier Dedenne with no offensive presence, tough to justify this mon rn.
: Fastest mon in the meta, actually does damage against offence and has strong priority. Steels also lowkey don't exist naturally and also just pivots anyway.
: Probably our best spiker? I like this mon in PU so ZU should be a similar story.
: Frankly, this thing is too strong under sun imo and you always have to make sure you have a Fire resist on all your teams (realistically a Dragon type, Rock and Water obviously get nuked by Grass STAB) plus Tera pushes this thing over the edge. Outside of sun, Scovillain is never broken so ig I'm pushing for Heat Rock perhaps?
: Not been too impressed with this at all, i don't think it's bad but the question is why I would want to use this really?
: Slaking is unironically good here ngl. Band is destructive as usual (no giga impact shit pls) but obviously in this volatile meta, giving anything free turns is a no-go.
: If you stop comparing this thing to Girafarig for whatever reason, you actually have a decent mixed breaker on your hands.
: Best rocker in the tier with strong offences to back it up from Rock Head Head Smash to being able to revenge kill things with Sucker Punch. Rock Polish sets also go hard.
: I wanna call this an unmon so bad but it probably does smth under sun despite its non-existent speed tier.
: One of the tier's best defensive mons. Got Tspikes this gen too. Tera Steel goes crazy on this especially with Acid Armor Body Press sets this tier lacks Ground and lacks Fighting types.
: SubSeed is never not annoying but not meta by any means.
: Like Tropius, not meta by any means but I've had my success on balance/semi-stall builds and you can't go wrong with Wish.

NFEs

: Tough to argue Arctibax over Fraxure in any circumstance, who is one of the strongest mons in the meta. Doesn't even have DD for whatever reason.
: Does require some testing but the speed tier is decent and under sun can do some damage.
: Hazard removal copium leads you to using this. Has a nice speed tier with Taunt, U-turn and most importantly, Defog. It's decent.
: I like having some offensive Waters in any tier I play and Dewott is nice. Has SD, Sacred Sword, Knock Off.
: This looks hella unmon, the stats aren't it.
: Oh boy Dunsparce I hate this mon so much and we're all complaining about Vigoroth? This mon does not take damage, which just lets it setup so easily, easily just Tera Ghost and how do most teams beat this reliably?
: Somewhat a decent pivot, an electric type that can check our limited grounds is nice.
: No justification to use it at all.
: Linda is here as our secondary defogger that the playerbase is coping with. At least with Corvisquire you could run eviolite but you're forced to Boots with this one.
: Ain't seen it do anything and Girafarig is obviously more consistent.
: We are down bad for fairies but do we need to use this ever really?
: Floragato is some mid ngl, not impressed at all. Choiced sets are fine ig but never a mon I want to use.
: One of the tier's strongest setup wincons. Tera Steel makes Fraxure nigh-impossible to revenge kill reliably after a DD, lack of fairies lets Fraxure run Outrage, letting it secure OHKOs very easily at +1. Might be banworthy?
: The premier Ghost. Gastly is pretty versatile honestly NP Scarf, Sub sets all have a niche.
: Strongest mon in the tier imo, fast, bulky so it sets up easily, hits very hard, pick your fighter: NP 3 attacks or Agility Calm Mind Stored? Either way, it'll win somehow.
: Gothitelle is here.
: Wigglytuff is here.
: This mon is never good anywhere.
: Rocker with decent bulk + Intimidate. Scarf sets are valid enough with Moxie + 82 atk.
: Luxray is here.
: Belly Drum could work or I'm reaching far
: We have no Fighting types, Meditite to the rescue. With Pure Power basically making Meditite have a base 130 attack stat, it deals good damage. It's just slow asf so you either go Scarf or have Webs support.
: I've seen this mon get some usage like with sub np, idt it's bad, just not that great.
: Enables sun with Prankster Sunny Day. Outside of that, it's strong and fast in its own right and has Nasty Plot setup itself. When people use this more, they'll see its true worth.
: Anyone not impressed with this? Same? Same.
: Now here's an Electric type that does damage! If Pikachu had Espeed, idt it would be here but without it, it still is quite threatening in this tier.
: Pupitar is also a NFE rocker but faces competition from Sudowoodo since Sudowoodo frankly just does more but DD Pupitar is probably decent, still outspeeds everything other than Pluff and the 115s and EdgeQuake STAB is good.
: My personal favourite slept on mon rn. 70/50/50 with eviolite is actually decent bulk thanks to the HP, Hustle is inconsistent boohoo go Keen Eye then but it does damage and threatens tera steels and natural steels with CC. Defog + Roost? I was signed up from PU. It took +1 Outrage from Fraxure that's all I'm saying.
: Free Curse Shelgon. Would've gone hard in this tier. Other than that, hard to justify over Fraxure. Ig Overcoat is nice and 117 atk vs 95atk isn't that wide
: Jumpluff is here and it would be bad anyway if it wasn't here.
: Probably the best Scovillain check, can switch into Sleep Powder too and generally is just bulky.
: Ties with Persian for the fastest Speed tier. Banded is strong even without Knock Off and SD Tera Ground goes in as well.
: Unmon
: I've seen 2, clearly I'm missing smth but ig Reckless DEdge + Brave Bird got people locked in.
No.
: Big bad Vigoroth, almost has the tier in its clutches ngl but there's a reason why everyone thinks it's broken. Fast, setup, recovery, Taunt gg
: I love Zweilous, I love Hustle in general, I hustle on a daily basis. Phazing is key as well which I appreciate and the typing is able to check the Psychics (as long as you tera Steel I suppose)

Relevant LCs

: More copium for removal, go ahead.
: My suicide Trick Room lead, otherwise it's quite nicheless without Psywave anymore.
: Steels are Steels and Cufant has decent bulk with a decent damage output.
: For all the stall players out there, it's fine on those playstyles.
: Checks a decent amount of physical breakers like Luxray, Leafeon etc but it has top heavy bulk.
: Always the bulky ground with rocks + recovery. It's fine.
: Like Foongus but can actually perform quite well. Can't go wrong with Regen.
: Lost Knock but nice on webs to defer defog, has rocks of its own and can be offensively threatening with SD + Sucker.
: Fake Luxray check but other than that like Hippopotas, has rocks and recovery. Fits well on hazard stack since it can spinblock which is cool.
WIP I might cook with this one.
: When weather dies down, I honestly want to consider this because the utility between Super Fang, Knock, Encore and Parting Shot is too nice to give up.
: Similar utility in Knock and Encore but no one is using this rn, I wonder why?
: Tier's best removal, has Spore + Knock.
: Tspikes + Steel + Pshot, can't go wrong.

 

[Catalisador]

Hey, y'all! Torracat maniac and overall NFE afficionado Catalisador here to write a little about one of my favourite playstyles in this early ZU metagame: rain!


The rain archetype is definitely one of great potential in this early SV ZU meta. It possesses three main abusers: Beartic, Lumineon and Buizel.
Beartic is easily one of the strongest Pokémon in the metagame, boasting a incredibly high 130 base Attack. When coupled with its ability to boost its below average Speed to respectable levels with Swift Swim, it turns the bear into a massively threatening attacker. Furthermore, its ability to break is enhanced even more by access to the invaluable Swords Dance. And Tera Water even allows it to change its typing to one with better defensive matchups while potentializing its rain-boosted Liquidations.
Lumineon is our other fully evolved, Swift Swim Pokémon. Its decently high 91 base Speed is further enhanced by rain, while being able to dish out potent boosted Hydro Pumps and Ice Beams with a Special Attack-enhancing nature allows it to function as a secondary breaker for rain teams.
As for Buizel, it stands out as an incredibly menancing threat for rain teams to abuse. Its powerful STAB Wave Crash is pushed to absurd levels of power thanks to Tera Water (even 2HKOing Leafeon when coupled with a Choice Band), while its passable 85 Speed hits unreacheable levels when boosted by Swift Swim. Priority in Aqua Jet, Liquidation as an option that doesn't punish its low HP with recoil and even access to coverage in Ice Spinner also greatly enhances the weasel's offensive potential. It also helps that it is hella cute ;).
Here's a tournament replay vs. plznostep showcasing rain's potential: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1836788844

 

[Creeperman129]

Felt like making a ZU Tier list of my own! I may have been liberal in some places - putting more C mons that should really just be UR (and maybe vice versa), and some of the middle tiers being a bit interchangeable. Speaking as a player currently in the 1300s on ladder. I'll try to be more detailed for the higher tiers, getting more general as it goes down.

Banworthy

The only mon that I really think should be banned, or at least suspect tested at the moment is Fraxure. One Dragon Dance is all it needs to fling out of control, which isn't that difficult with Eviolite. Teraing (typically into Steel) makes it all the easier. Not to say I think it's entirely unmanageable - hazards can dent it over time, priority like Sucker Punch and Fake Out can potentially revenge kill, etc (notably not Ice Face due to Mold Breaker). Just out of all the mons in ZU, I think Fraxure is the only one I personally feel is too offensively oppressive on the metagame (though I can easily be convinced of the S mons doing so as well).

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S

I'm so glad Girafarig is great in a tier this gen. Eviolite is a massive boon for it, allowing for ample setup opportunities and time to throw out its attacks, with very high SpA for the tier. Its set variety is massive as well - Nasty Plot, Agility, Stored Power, Psychic, Hyper Voice...it goes on and on. I think it even has variety in its abilities: Sap Sipper to avoid Trailblaze setup and Sleep (not from Toedscool) and Early Bird for more reliable recovery in Rest. Maybe even Inner Focus if you're really scared of Persian Fake Out lol. Needless to say it's great.

Not too much is different with Vigoroth than in previous generations, I don't think. It has reliable recovery in Slack Off and Bulk Up for set up, with Eviolite making it very bulky - alongside a very high-speed tier. Drain Punch, Taunt, Throat Chop + Body Slam are all great options for it as well to allow for holes to be broken through.

The other little Gen 2 mon that could this gen is Dunsparce. Like the other mons in S-tier, its use of Eviolite makes it very bulky - especially so in Dunsparce's case, making it one of (if not the best) defensive mon in the tier. Again, reliable recovery (don't worry this will be the last time you'll see this term for a while) in Roost alongside this gives it ample time to set-up options such as Coil, to spread paralysis with Serene Grace Body Slam or Glare, or even just set up Stealth Rocks.

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A+

Another great setup sweeper here is Luxray. One Trailblaze or Agility is all it needs to start hitting everything with Guts Facade - Teraing to Normal for even more destructive potential. Can be worn down over time but a great wall breaker nonetheless.

Leafeon is simply strong and fast, with Swords Dance helping it greatly in its threat potential (especially in Sun). What it can't do with Leaf Blade, Double Edge can typically make up for it, if not Tera Blast.

Another top-tier sun user is Scovillain, but like Leafeon it's already great without it. For the tier its special attack is massive, with Tera, Specs, Sun, and high-powered moves like Overheat simply augmenting it further. At the same time, its SR weakness is a big flaw. Though HDB can patch that up, it in turn leaves it vulnerable to other faster attackers outside of Sun, such as Persian or Scarfers like Gastly.

Definitely, the best poison type in the tier is Swalot. Acid Armor and Stockpile allow for ample defensive set up, while Swords Dance can provide for direct offensive pressure. What really gets it into A+ tier though is its ability to set and absorb Toxic Spikes - a highly dangerous threat in a tier starving for hazard removal. Being able to spread Toxic normally onto mons such as Dunsparce helps keep others in check as well.

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A

Persian is incredibly fast for the tier, with Technician Fake Out, Bite + Covet being particularly dangerous. Mostly Fake Out for great priority alongside flinching.

Toedscool is easily the best Rapid Spinner and general Hazard remover in the tier, with Spore and Knock Off great additional support. Its high SpD with Eviolite is also noteworthy to act as an intermediate check against threats like Girafarig.

Basically Luxray 2, but with a Stealth Rock Weakness and easier to wear down given Toxic Orb is basically necessary for Guts. Can go defensive with Wish acting as support, but Guts is really where Flareon does work.

Like Persian, Dedenne is incredibly fast for the tier. Options such as Nuzzle and Super Fang are useful, but its SpA is also quite useable for the tier and can go on the offensive if needed.

Though it's lost Defog, Murkrow is still great despite that. Prankster Sun Setting and Thunder Waving would already do that, but similar to Dedenne it also has a great SpA and speed for the tier. Its different STABs obviously differentiate the two though.

Probably the best SR setter aside from Dunsparce, mainly due to its high defense and Sturdy. What really makes Sudowoodo good though is Rock Head Head Smash doing massive damage to most of the tier. Sucker Punch, Wood Hammer + Earthquake are also good options.

Jumpluff is a fast sleeper and general support, such as with Sunny Day with adequate offenses with Swords Dance if necessary.

---
Tiers from here on will be much less detailed.

A-

Another good SR setter, with Intimidate, moderate Speed, and Taunt differentiating it.

Very strong attacker on the whole, able to make up speed with Snow if necessary.

Best (non-Tera'd) Steel in the tier and a good switch into Girafarig w/o Tera. STAB Sucker Punch + Stealth Rocks are particularly useful.

Very bulky and can rack up hazard damage with continual Rest + Sleep Talking.

High SpA for the tier with unique STABs to boot. Also a Rapid Spin blocker - if the frailest by far.

Protean with decent Speed and Attack go brr.

Another Gen 2 mon benefitting from Eviolite. Pretty strong, with Intimidate or Sap Sipper both being good options.

Can easily wear down teams with Leech Seed + Harvest. One of the best reasons to run Sap Sipper tbh.

Stronk Psychic attacker. Also other options like Screens setup or Tricking.

Also a stronk Psychic attacker, but slower and a Ghost immunity. Good TR setter too.

Ice Face is good. :)

Wouldn't be opposed to it being lower though lol.

---

B+

Incredibly strong, but just as frail.

Moderately fast Spikes along with Ice STAB. Mostly just Spikes though.

Another Spikes setter, also with Toxic Spikes. SpA is decent, with helpful abilities.

Heavily nerfed but still very fast and strong

Stronk psychic attacker with a bit more punch than Hypno but much slower (without a Ghost immunity to make up for it).

Knock Off, mostly. Toxic Spikes, Regenerator and its high defenses with Eviolite are good too though!

Somehow the best Water special attacker.

Very high SpD with Eviolite, with Sap Sipper and moderate SpA.

Absorbs Toxic Spikes while also being a decent attacker.

Very strong Normal STAB and good bulk while also being able to move every turn. Basically personal preference between Greedent and Oinkologne lol.

PURE POWER.

Good Defensive SR setter while also a spinblocker. Can debatably be A- up with Krok.

Another good defensive SR setter, with Whirlwind or Roar to have chip. Not much synergy with possible team members with Sand Stream though, I think.

Easily the best general weather setter. Parting Shot and Encore is good too.

Prankster Screens + Parting Shot go brr

---

B

Alternative fighting option to Meditite, being a bit faster

Offensive Water Type with Knock Off.

Weak Armor Shell Smash, while also being a Ghost type to avoid Fake Out. Could arguably be lower than here.

Defogger, but basically useless without HDB, making it frail af. Mediocre attack too. Flame Body or Gale Wings helps tho'.

Defogger. Basically interchangeable with Fletchinder by actually being able to run Eviolite if preferred.

Alright SR Setter but doesn't do too much outside of that. Fairy's unique tho'.

Incredibly strong and thick mon. Truant always a killer tho'.

Alternative Water Regenerator if you want it to normally be resistant to Psychic and a bit more offensive. No Knock Off tho.

Wigglytuff but more with Eviolite defensive and weaker

Solar Power Sun strats go brr

Omg Delibird's actually decent. Spikes alongside Rapid Spin :O. Its stats are still utter garbage though. Arguably B+ after consideration.

The best Sticky Web setter. Urm, probably.

Dedenne but weaker and not a Fairy type. Has Encore and Volt Absorb tho'.

---

B-

Magic Bouncer and TR setter. Also Healing Wish. That's about it.

Instant hail setter. That's about it.

Eelektrik can use Thunder Wave and a moderate special attacker. I may just not get it tbh.

Bulky normal attackers, but basically worse than Gumshoos imo (imagine this is in order and the other Oink sprite is here).

Can set up with Sub + Speed Boost, but very frail and pretty weak without Calm Mind boosts (which it doesn't really have the chance to get).

An interesting Ghost option to say the least that I actually have a bit more to talk about. Roar allows it to spread hazard damage reliably, with Night Shade helping attack non-Normal Types. Very sustainable with Rest and Sleep Talk. Still, I think it's a bit niche in the grand scheme of things.

Decent Stealth Rocker but haven't seen it around. I think Stamina can give it a small niche, but its low speed kinda hampers it.

I feel it'd be much better without Fraxure, but as is its Dragon Dancing is completely outclassed.

Stealth Rock setter with Dragon Dance. Rock and Ground typing kinda kills it though.

Rapid Spinner with good hazard options. Very slow though without other support moves to help make up for it.

Haven't seen or used it in practice and it could easily be lower, but Iron Fist Mach Punch could be interesting.

Also haven't seen or used in practice, but it has a pretty high SpA and has Earth Power + Dazzling Gleam unlike Scovillain. Maybe it can do something.

The rest, I think, are generally self explanatory. I can clarify some of the last tiers mons if asked though.

Some honorable mentions that weren't on the tier list that I think should be included:

A Sticky Web setter with Spikes and Toxic Spikes, with Circle Throw to help as well. Surprisingly defensively bulky with Eviolite as well. I feel they're B or B- tier, being interchangeable with Kricketune as a SW setter.

The only decent Unaware user. Moderate defenses and Will-O-Wisp that can help stop the wide variety of set-up from Pokémon like Vigoroth. Still pretty niche with SR weakness and not amazing defenses. Probably B tier.

The Rain version of Charmeleon in the tier - great inside its weather but pretty niche outside of it. Rain is currently a bit more niche, but I still think it's B tier.

---
Hope this was helpful or at the very least interesting! :D

 

[serperiorr]

Set dump!


Scovillain @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Chlorophyll
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Will-O-Wisp
- Leech Seed
- Substitute

Nothing switches into this lol, pretty sure it beats fletchinder 1v1 and also heavily annoys bulky flareon since that takes 2 turns to heal. Wisp hits liquid ooze swalot, fraxure, etc.


Gastly @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic / Sludge Bomb
- Substitute
- Taunt

Seen people use gastly a lot with sash/choice-locked. I like this set the most since sub abuses sacs and taunt allows you to stallbreak, especially w tspike support. Sub also abuses dunsparce which might go for cheeky glares vs you.


Magnemite @ Eviolite
Ability: Magnet Pull
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Flash Cannon
- Tera Blast
- Volt Switch

Not sure how good this is but it's a luxray answer which i been using with wish support for longevity. Has some nice immunities (para and toxic are big since everyone is running twave and glare) and completely walls Luxray since it lost superpower. Good blanket physical wall in general.

 

[Corthius]

!!!!Dewott Appreciation Post!!!!!


Dewott @ Eviolite
Ability: Torrent / Shell Armor
Tera Type: Dragon / Ground / Fighting / Dark / Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD or 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Liquidation
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
- Swords Dance​

-> also worth running: - Sacred Sword ; - Taunt ; - Encore ; - X-Scissor ; - Tera Blast probably too with some random tera type

Nothing has ever been so consistent for me like Dewott, it feels very honest with its flaws and how you need to support it. It has a pretty good movepool, but most notably it is the highest BST Knock Off user available to us, with ontop of that having one of the best defensive typings by default. There is no understating how good Knock Off in the current landscape is. Additionally, Sacred Sword is really good in 1v1 scenarios against opposing pokemon that boost their defense, bypassing their boosts. Fighting coverage also allows it to be an effective check against Sneasel, Cufant, Beartic and Pawniard. Swords Dance makes it so you're not a sitting duck and forces your opponent to take you seriously. Beyond that it has a decent speed tier of base 60, so moves like Taunt and Encore are nice to disrupt opposing fatter and slower walls like Dunsparce, Swalot and Sudowoodo (be aware of the mighty Wood Hammer).
Dewott is truly great, it requires good hazard management though, Toxic Spikes in particular tend to really annoy it long term and in these 1v1s I mentioned earlier, but luckily it can form a pretty solid core with another Knock Off user in Toedscool (everything forms a nice core with Toedscool).


As for general thoughts on the tier right now, I am very happy to see all the activity and diversity in the builder. There really is nothing quite like the start of a generation when everything looks broken and after every ladder match you have lost to a seemingly different threat than before. I do have my eye on some pokemon like Girafarig, Vigoroth and Fraxure, as well as Luxray, Dunsparce and Scovillain.

 

[Keem]

Got elimited from ZU kickoff so I decided to make a post of mons I feel people should use more or aren't appreciated enough while also giving my thoughts on the current meta and some teams as well because why not.

I havnt seen this mon used a whole lot whether it be ladder or replays and I'm kinda of shocked due to it's pretty alright typing and the lack of knock off with the exception of a few mons. I can get behind not using bronzor due to it having seemingly no reliable recovery outside of rest and another reason I can see why people may not use this mon,yes it is basically a defensive answer to girafirig it can also unfortunately be set up fodder for girafirig and it cannot do anything or any meaningful damage in return. Though bronzor seems a have a lot of flaws I still think it's an alright defensive option on teams and worth using,with eviolite and rest it sticks around longer than it really should be at times.

At first sight I purely thought it would just be a rain abuser due to the fact it lost Defog before shifts happended and SV ZU was born I was quickly proven wrong. This mon doesnt have the many defensive answers outside of mareanie, CM gothitelle(?) i suppose and other lumineon unless its tera grass. Been having a whole lot of fun with choice specs lumineon,hits decently hard or hard enough to get certain KOs after hazards.

Choice Specs

Lumineon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Storm Drain
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 32 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Tera Blast
- Surf/Dazzling Gleam

Life Orb

Lumineon @ Life Orb
Ability: Storm Drain
Tera Type: Grass
- U-turn
- Surf
- Dazzling Gleam
- Tera Blast/ Hydro Pump

Speaking of hazards this is probally this best hazard removal we have and the best we're going to get for awhile and in the current meta I feel like it's just cope with hazards or use this.

I think anyone who has played more than 3 game of this meta can agree swalot is a incredibly fat mon even though it doesnt have the most reliable recovery (only having pain split and rest) it makes up for it with its seemingly insane bulk and can even allow itself to be a knock absorber with sticky hold. Overall goated mon.

Rocky Helmet

Swalot @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sticky Hold
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Ice Beam
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

I'll let the replay speak for itself
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1835576635-utuf8ipphmnzmsdzta993bfip66zt97pw

I dont have much left to say as the things or mons I wanted to talk about have already been discussed and i dont want to spew basically the same stuff/the obvious so let's just here are some teams/sets:

Murkrow @ Choice Specs
Ability: Insomnia
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Dark Pulse
Stole this from the ZU cord,forgot who it was but s/o to them,I havnt found much success with it but maybe someone else can.

Teams (click sprites for paste):
I'm not good at explanations so dont expect any I'll only provide them for the teams I like.

Very fun team to use,broken fraxure and hard hitting lumineon (u turn over surf is an option)
Orginally it was double scarf with krokorok being a scarfed revenge killer vs luxaray teams but in the end I decided to make it a eviolite rocker.


Shit team.

Thanks for reading my post,goodbye!

 

[breakaway08]

I'm not at all highly ranked on the ladder, but I've been having fun with Shellos lately. Figured I'd drop the set here since I haven't seen anyone talk about it.


Shellos @ Eviolite
Ability: Sticky Hold
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Careful Nature
- Recover
- Curse
- Liquidation
- Yawn

It's really good for walling both special and especially physical threats. I've tried a few different Tera Types, but I'm open to suggestions. Also, Yawn has been good for forcing out opponents' Pokemon.

 

[5Dots]

Going to post some thoughts for R1:

Can't spell Scovillain without the "villain" to it...jokes aside, this is a very powerful and customizable offensive force for the builder. Grass and Fire coverage is already potent STAB combination, but Tera pushes it even more over the edge and makes it nigh-unwallable. Flareon and Fletchinder would normally be safe switch-ins, but Tera Rock (or even Ground for Flareon's case) makes them ineffective. What about faster Pokemon like Jumpluff, Murkrow, or Sneasel? Seems good, especially if Chlorophyll isn't active and/or Scovillain is running Specs. The problem lies if Scovillain IS under sun or is wielding Specs sets. It has the power to break through anything with Tera and only is stopped by being Choice-locked or because it can get revenge killed by priority and residual damage. While sun teams have been much less popular compared to the first few days, Scovillain is still a defining part with its coverage, and for good reasons.

Sets

SPECS
Scovillain @ Choice Specs
Ability: Chlorophyll
Tera Type: Ground / Rock / Fire / Grass
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Flamethrower
- Giga Drain
- Tera Blast / Leaf Storm
SCARF
Scovillain @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Chlorophyll
Tera Type: Rock / Ground / Fire / Grass
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Flamethrower
- Giga Drain
- Tera Blast / Leaf Storm
SUNNY DAY ATTACKER
Scovillain @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Tera Type: Rock / Ground
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Tera Blast

Rain is pretty fine and you can get savvy with some custom EVs, especially when Lumineon already outspeeds everything with its great Speed tier. Buizel has great power with Wave Crash, and still outspeeds nearly everything else under rain while maintaining decent offensive choices like Ice Spinner and Aqua Jet. Beartic, while boasting the lowest Speed of all Swift Swim users, makes it up with power on the physical side, excellent coverage choices, and bulk, which helps given how rain powers down Fire moves, which helps against Scarf Scovillain and ZU's low power level. Rain is also excellent if your opponent lacks specific walls like Mareanie, defensive Terastalized Flareon, and Persian, or if you don't have to deal with spikes.

Shroodle - Damp Rock Setter

Shroodle @ Damp Rock
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rain Dance
- Knock Off
- Encore
- Parting Shot

Buizel - Rain Wallbreaker

Buizel @ Choice Band
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wave Crash
- Liquidation / Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Ice Spinner

Lumineon - Rain Attacker

Lumineon @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Tera Blast
- Hydro Pump

Beartic - Rain Attacker

Beartic @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Fighting / Ground
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat / Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Aqua Jet

Murkrow - Rain Setter

Murkrow @ Damp Rock
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Thunder Wave
- Dark Pulse / Hurricane
- Taunt

Less popular than Dunsparce and Sudowoodo, for sure, but I think they're still top Rockers for a reason. Hippo has Whirlwind and Sand Stream, which synergies well with Spikes-stacking builds, and still maintains good longevity with Slack Off. Whirlwind also helps phase out-of-control setup attackers like Fraxure and Vigoroth (without Taunt) in a pinch, which Dunsparce may not reliably ward off without paralysis. Hippo doesn't need to run Sand Stream if it doesn't need it, giving it mild flexibility this way. Cufant is similar to Hippopotas but gives up Slack Off for a Steel-typing, which can help against Fraxure and non-tera Girafarig in a pinch.

Hippopotas - Physically Defensive

Hippopotas @ Eviolite
Ability: Sand Stream / Sand Force
Tera Type: Steel / Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind

Cufant - Physically Defensive

Cufant @ Eviolite
Ability: Sheer Force
Tera Type: Fairy / Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind

Dragon Dance sets are the most popular, and for good reason. But what if you want immediate power and want a different wincon (say, CM Giraffe or BU Vigoroth)?

Choice Band

Fraxure @ Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
Tera Type: Steel / Ground
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Outrage
- Stomping Tantrum / Tera Blast
- Iron Head / Tera Blast

Sneasel looking to revenge kill? A weakened Pawniard looking to pick it off with Sucker Punch? No problem! Fraxure can out prioritize them with First Impression get the jump on them! +1 also makes Pokemon like Dunsparce and Swalot less reliable at checking it, making Fraxure even harder to switch to. Terastalizing to Steel or Ground can provide nifty resistances on the fly or make it even stronger against select checks like the aforementioned Swalot and Cufant.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Tuthur]

The council is going to vote on the two following Pokemon this weekend.


This should come as no surprise looking at above posts, Fraxure is a premier sweeper and wallbreaker in SV ZU with its Dragon Dance sets. Thanks to its decent bulk boosted by Eviolite and the great resists of either Dragon or Steel-types (and Tera mindgames), Fraxure can easily setup a Dragon Dance, if not two. Outrage is a quite ridiculous move in ZU, after a Dragon Dance, it is stronger than Flareon's Guts Facade and Gumshoos Choice Band Adaptability Body Slam, two of the strongest physical moves in the tier. The tier lacks Steel- and Fairy-types that resist Outrage, meaning being locked into the move for 3 turns often isn't a problem. Moreover with Tera Steel, Fraxure can easily take advantage of them as they can't do much back and falls easily to +1 Iron Head or Stomping Tantrum, while resisting most common priority moves like Persian's Fake Out and Sneasel's Ice Shard. Fraxure can also run Tera Ground, making it immune to Thunder Wave, a common way to stop it and boosting its Stromping Tantrum. Fraxure's lack reliable counterplay offensively like defensively. However it struggles against common physically bulky threats like Sudowoodo and Dunsparce and often relies on Spikes to OHKO foes after a Dragon Dance, meaning it cannot outright sweep teams.


Girafarig is one of the most threatening attackers in the tier, thanks to its variety of sets (Double Dance, Calm Mind, Nasty Plot, Choice Scarf, Choice Specs). Girafarig has plenty of traits that make it stand out in the metagame. First, it has a great offensive typing with above average offensive stats; outside Pawniard, there is no commonly used Pokemon that resists its STAB combination, which paired with a great Speed tier letting it outspeed most wallbreakers and a good Special Attack, which can be boosted by Nasty Plot and Calm Mind, makes it a huge threat. It is also quite bulky thanks to Eviolite and can easily heal with the combination of Rest and Early Bird, letting it sit on most walls and avoid being revenge killed by faster attackers like Persian and Leafeon. However, what pushes Girafarig over the edge for many is its ability to make excellent use of Tera. While it can work more than fine without using it, Girafarig can easily flip the table with Teralization. There is almost no downsize running Terablast as its Normal STAB move and Girafarig can run pretty much any tera type, even if Fighting, Fairy, Ground, and Ghost remain the most common ones. This makes it quite similar to Oricorio forms and their Revelation Dance in higher tiers, and makes it very tidious to play against it.

 

[Jett]

(I definitely did not forgor to finish writing this earlier in the week and now these mons are on the chopping block)
Hello frens, it is I, ZUkeeper (pronounced "zookeeper") Jett here to discuss some of the wildlife that inhabits our metagame. In particular I'll discussing the top dogs as of the first week or so of the SV ZU's creation, although none of these are actually dogs.

In our first enclosure we have Girafarig.



Most people are using Calm Mind Rest sets on Girafarig which are certainly amazing and also give you a fair bit of flexibility in terms of how much defensive investment you want which actually makes it difficult to revenge kill thanks to Eviolite. Nasty Plot sets are also fairly common and pose as an amazing wallbreaker which requires fewer turns to setup and allows more coverage. I've had the most fun with the funny Agility Nasty Plot sets and rather than being a dedicated wallbreaker, Giraffe acts as a terrifying cleaner instead. It has a few advantages being that you can get around encore users (bar the Prankster ones) and there are certain offensive threats like Murkrow that can't really shut you down any more since you now outspeed. The drawback with this set is obviously, you need more turns to setup. There are a few things that hold Giraffe back in general though, such as needing turns to be able to setup since it isn't that immediately threatening and its Speed while solid, is still slower than many other offensive threats. Choice sets I haven't used much but I would imagine that you get forced to Trick stuff early on quite often, which isn't necessarily a bad thing since that's a great way to debilitate walls, but does mean it's not as threatening (and potentially bulky if you don't Trick an NFE). While these things do limit the giraffe, there still isn't a consistent reliable answer to it, and while this doesn't necessarily mean it's banworthy, Tera being part of the game adds an extra level of volatility that certainly does.

Next up in our showcase, we have some Dragons in our ZU. Don't ask why.



Our tier isn't really equipped to deal with Fraxure; we simply don't have particularly reliable Dragon resistances to begin with outside of Terastallization. I suppose Wigglytuff is "acceptable" in some cases but Fraxure also has access to Iron Head and Stomping tantrum for Fairy- and Steel-types respectively, which is basically perfect coverage cause it has Mold Breaker too (I definitely didn't forget, thanks TWiTT). Choice Band sets also exist and have access to an incredibly strong revenge killing tool in First Impression, but is also much more immediately stronger; though the lack of Speed does leave it more vulnerable. Fortunately we do have general physical walls that are really splashable like Sudowoodo and Dunsparce and like Girafarig it needs the turn to setup before it goes on a rampage or rather Outrage. While Fraxure isn't as clearly broken as the Giraffe in my opinion, I still believe with the option to Tera the reward of setting up far outweighs any risk.

Both of these Pokemon has something in common. They're insanely good tera abusers. Girafarig gets the much needed coverage but also tera blast itself as a STAB Normal move is only slightly weaker than Hyper Voice anyways. Giraffe has many options, I usually stick to Fighting or Fairy, but I know others have had success with Ghost, Ground, and even Steel. Fraxure on the other hand gets STAB Iron Head and also a means of surviving Sneasel Ice Shard/any other forms of priority. Dragon works too if you want stronger Outrage. Honestly this mechanic is pretty broken, but not really anything we can do about it as of now. Fraxure gets a lot of benefit especially while setting up since Tera Steel is so good defensively, while Giraffe is slightly more dependent for the coverage Tera Blast provides. Aside from these two Pokemon that are being voted on, the most obvious Tera culprit is Luxray which greatly benefits from Tera Normal boosting its already powerful Facade. Fortunately, this thing can only boost Speed because Tera Ghost on certain Pokemon comes in very handy against it (Steel can work too). This is different to Girafarig and Fraxure where defensive Tera which is far from being guranteed to check them given their insane coverage backed by boosts. I support both Pokemon being quickbanned from the tier.

A Pokemon which I do believe is roughly the same calibre as the Pokemon above (or maybe just marginally behind) but on the supportive and defensive side is Dunsparce. This Pokemon is absolute bullshit, which is why I don't allow them in my ZU. I'll briefly mention Coil and Calm Mind sets, which are pretty good themselves, but I'm less of a fan of compared to say Vigoroth as my bulky setup sweeper (though I understand they have their differences in their strengths). More so just its ability to spread Paralysis is pretty stupid, SpDef drops are sorta cringe, and arguably the most stupid is the 20% chance to Freeze it has access too on top of the fact its already a great wall with Stealth Rock. I guess a cool thing I did see about this mon was Somalia using a pretty cool Curse set with Tera Ghost though lol. It doesn't feel broken in a traditional sense but I certainly wonder if we'll reach a state where we deem it too uncompetitive. It does do a good jobbe being a brick wall which doesn't allow even the brokens to be day 1 banworthy so maybe it's a lesser of two evils.

 

[BaitWiz]

I'd like to introduce you to one of the strongest breakers that basically nobody has explored yet: Rufflet. With a decent attack stat pushed to absurd levels by Hustle, Rufflet is capable of outputting mind-bogglingly high damage while remaining at a respectable base 60 speed, speedtying Pawniard and Dewott while outpacing mid-speed staples like bulky Vigoroth and Adamant Luxray. In exchange, it OHKOs or 2HKOs nearly the entire tier with a choice band and 2HKO's everything with just a slight bit of chip with the devastating combination of a Choice Band and Tera Flying:

calcs without tera

252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Dunsparce: 195-231 (48.2 - 57.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sudowoodo: 284-336 (82.5 - 97.6%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Vigoroth: 350-412 (96.1 - 113.1%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swalot: 264-312 (65.3 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Sandygast: 180-213 (57.3 - 67.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippopotas: 274-324 (80.5 - 95.2%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

calcs with tera

252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Tera Flying Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sudowoodo: 142-168 (41.2 - 48.8%) -- 78.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Tera Flying Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swalot: 352-416 (87.1 - 102.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Hustle Tera Flying Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Girafarig: 408-480 (118.6 - 139.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Of course, this power does not come without a hefty cost; every single move that Rufflet uses except for Aerial Ace comes with a base 80% accuracy, meaning that its consistency is questionable at best. In addition, it has pitiful bulk (70/50/50) and has to either run a Choice Band or spend turns setting up with Bulk Up/Hone Claws. That being said, with a bit of luck or solid positioning, Rufflet is fully capable of annihilating just about every single Pokemon that stands in its way and I can't wait to see more people use it.

 

[Tuthur]

Fraxure and Girafarig are now banned from SV ZU. The council unanimously voted to remove these two Pokemon from the tier; here and there you can see reasonings.

 

[sleid]

WHAT DO WE HAVE TO REMOVE HAZARDS?!​

Hello everyone! I wanted to make this post to help answer a common question that we get from newcomers who are wanting to try out SV ZU. I will briefly go over each hazard removal option that we have, help give a common set, then talk about how I feel about our hazard removal capabilities for this current metagame of SV ZU overall. Please remember that these are analyses from my experience as well as reading what other people have said over the past week and a half.

THE TOP DAWGS
​

- This is arguably our best form of hazard removal right now. Being able to resists rocks as a spinner is a great attribute. That way, it can still afford to run Eviolite instead of Heavy Duty Boots to keep its bulk even stronger. It has a lot of great options for utility (other than Rapid Spin) with being one of the few Pokémon that can use Knock Off in this tier. It has Spore to help debilitate an opposing Pokémon if no sleep immunity is brought is not able to block its ability Mycelium Might. It can also run moves such as Leech Seed and Spikes, but these are a bit less common. Even running it's STAB offensive moves, it can deal some solid damage with zero investment (most notably Earth Power and Giga Drain). It's typing is pretty solid overall. It does take quad effective damage from ice, but it's only other weaknesses are fire and flying. However, with the ability to use tera, you can now choose what defensive type to change it to if necessary to help keep it alive for later removal. Some setters/offensive Pokémon that it can trouble are Pincurchin, Sudowoodo (barring a niche set running ice punch) and pretty much any of our NFE/LC ground type mons.
- Now, we talked about a lot of good, but I want to mention a few issues that Toedscool can run into. It can struggle against the few ice type setters we have in this tier (Glalie and Delibird). So, coming in when these things want to drop Spikes on the field isn't really an option unless you know you want to use your tera on this thing (which you normally don't want to 90% of the time). Grass types can basically sit on this thing, the only issue is that it can lose their item which most don't want except for Jumpluff. It has a tough time dealing with some of the most popular threats in the meta such as Beartic, Flareon, Leafeon, Scovillain, Jumpluff, Luxray, Vigoroth and Sneasel. However, the aforementioned good traits that it can bring to the table can surpass these flaws. In a meta where hazards are standard on every team, you need something to get rid of them and keep the setters at bay. Overall, I think Toedscool is easily a top 2 hazard removal option in SV ZU.
Common Set: Toedscool @ Eviolite Ability: Mycelium Might Tera Type: Water EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe Bold Nature - Rapid Spin - Knock Off - Spore - Giga Drain/Earth Power
- Fletchinder is a great defogger and pivot in the metagame right now. It's typing leaves a lot to be desired defensively, but offensively it can be pretty solid. It has a useful ability in Flame Body to come in and possibly burn back Pokemon that are trying to U-Turn on you or throwing out hits it can resist. It is in a very good speed tier, so getting off a defog is hardly ever a problem. It is threatening enough to where it can also get up a free defog by coming in on a Pokémon that is forced to switch out. It has the decent bulk to come in on our ice type setters and also scare out our grass types who either can't do much damage to it or don't want to take a supereffective hit/take a risk at getting burned. It can also Roost to keep off the damage and allow for more opportunities to burn physical attackers. It does need to be aware of becoming set up fodder because of this if it can't outspeed or do reliable damage. Besides being an immediate offensive threatening defogger, Fletchinder has other great traits such as being a pivot. With it's based 84 Speed stat, it can help it's teammates come in without taking a hit first and threaten the opposing team immediately.
- Like with Toedscool, there are of course a downside to every Pokémon. One of the few weaknesses are its typing. Fletchinder being Fire and Flying makes running Heavy Duty Boots a requirement if it is your hazard control. Taking half of your health from rocks is a no go. This does cut into it's ability to have some extra bulk with Eviolite, but it is hardly noticeable. Fletchinder also has a few popular Pokémon that it can struggle against. Most notably are Sudowoodo, Pincurchin, Dunsparce, Lumineon, Luxray and most all defensive walls. It also has the issue of deciding it's last move slot. Depending on your team composition, it can be hard to decide between Brave Bird or Flare Blitz (some sets even run Will-O-Wisp). Brave Bird seems like the standard move for grasses, but Flare Blitz can also help hit Steel or Ice types. This usually can be solved when assessing the needs of your team, but can be a tough choice when picking what you want to hit the hardest. I believe Fletchinder's good can definitely outweigh the bad. It is a very solid Pokémon that I believe takes the number 2 slot when it comes to our best hazard removal.
Common Set: Fletchinder @ Heavy-Duty Boots Ability: Flame Body Tera Type: Ground EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Defog - Roost - U-turn - Brave Bird/Flare Blitz. I personally prefer the bulk here while some may want the attack investment, purely up to what is best for your team.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
​

These three are slightly outclassed by the 2 mentioned above (in my experience) but are definitely worth mentioning because they can still be solid options.
- When it comes to looking at Corvisquire, it is hard to justify using this over Fletchinder. It has relatively the same bulk, it wants to run the same moves, has worse abilities, and is slower. However, it can does separate itself in a few ways. One is that it can actually make use of Eviolite. Yes, it does take 25% damage upon field entry, but with Eviolite it can roost this off and sit in front of many Pokemon that find themselves not being able to do much damage. You want to use this with more defensive investment in order to make full use of it's Eviolite. It also provides extra security since it takes a decent chunk to come in. Another area that it outshine Fletchinder in is that it can be a pivot that is slow enough to allow its teammates to come in unscathed. I think Fletchinder has a better upside, but this is still an option that you don't have to shy away from using.
Common Set: Corvisquire @ Eviolite Ability: Keen Eye Tera Type: Ground EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def Impish Nature - Defog - Roost - U-turn - Brave Bird
- A staple ZU Pokémon that we will undoubtedly see return here for generations to come. With the power level of this current metagame, it finds itself having some actual use. Usual as a suicide lead, but I think it can be a decent spinner. Delibird has a pretty rough typing, sharing the same fate as Fletchinder by taking half of your health from rocks. Heavy Duty Boots is also pretty much mandatory on Delibird. It can run a variation of utility moves from Memento, Rapid Spin, Destiny Bond and Spikes. It can either run a physical or a special ice type move, even Ice Shard for a priority revenge kill. I do not advocate for this being your main form of hazard removal, but it has a decent enough offensive typing and utility set to make it usable.
Common Set: Delibird @ Heavy-Duty Boots Ability: Vital Spirit Tera Type: Ground EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Nature - Rapid Spin - Spikes - Destiny Bond - Freeze-Dry
- Honestly, I haven't seen Rufflet used a ton nor have I used it myself. I have seen a few community members advocate for this thing, so I decided to add it to the list. Rufflet shares very similar features with Corvisquire. It does have slightly less bulk and speed, but it has the ability to hit like a truck. Base 83 Attack is pretty solid, on top of if you'd like to take the risk of using its ability Hustle to hit even harder. As a defogger, it seems just okay. While it can be threatening, it isn't very fast or bulky enough to get defog off and do damage back to whatever it is up against. I think it seems worth exploring as it has potential, but it has too many variables to be unsuccessful to me.
Common Set: Rufflet (M) @ Eviolite Ability: Hustle Tera Type: Ground EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Defog - Roost - U-turn - Brave Bird (if someone has a better set, dm)
Here is a cool set submitted to me by dunderguy for Rufflet to check out
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall, I think we have a decent lineup of hazard removals for this tier. Stealth Rocks and Spikes are almost a staple on every team at this point due to how easy it can be to take advantage of these Pokémon. Sadly, the days of Altaria and Articuno are in the past. These fellas can definitely get the job done more than once if you have a solid team structure. It is difficult to have success without using any of them.

If you feel that I have missed something, please feel free to DM me. I appreciate those who took the time to read this and I hope this can help any new players interested in SV ZU. Just remember, my word is not law. This is just my helpful insight :)

 

[Toxin Boost]

WHAT DO WE HAVE TO REMOVE HAZARDS?!​

Hello everyone! I wanted to make this post to help answer a common question that we get from newcomers who are wanting to try out SV ZU. I will briefly go over each hazard removal option that we have, help give a common set, then talk about how I feel about our hazard removal capabilities for this current metagame of SV ZU overall. Please remember that these are analyses from my experience as well as reading what other people have said over the past week and a half.

THE TOP DAWGS
​

- This is arguably our best form of hazard removal right now. Being able to resists rocks as a spinner is a great attribute. That way, it can still afford to run Eviolite instead of Heavy Duty Boots to keep its bulk even stronger. It has a lot of great options for utility (other than Rapid Spin) with being one of the few Pokémon that can use Knock Off in this tier. It has Spore to help debilitate an opposing Pokémon if no sleep immunity is brought is not able to block its ability Mycelium Might. It can also run moves such as Leech Seed and Spikes, but these are a bit less common. Even running it's STAB offensive moves, it can deal some solid damage with zero investment (most notably Earth Power and Giga Drain). It's typing is pretty solid overall. It does take quad effective damage from ice, but it's only other weaknesses are fire and flying. However, with the ability to use tera, you can now choose what defensive type to change it to if necessary to help keep it alive for later removal. Some setters/offensive Pokémon that it can trouble are Pincurchin, Sudowoodo (barring a niche set running ice punch) and pretty much any of our NFE/LC ground type mons.
- Now, we talked about a lot of good, but I want to mention a few issues that Toedscool can run into. It can struggle against the few ice type setters we have in this tier (Glalie and Delibird). So, coming in when these things want to drop Spikes on the field isn't really an option unless you know you want to use your tera on this thing (which you normally don't want to 90% of the time). Grass types can basically sit on this thing, the only issue is that it can lose their item which most don't want except for Jumpluff. It has a tough time dealing with some of the most popular threats in the meta such as Beartic, Flareon, Leafeon, Scovillain, Jumpluff, Luxray, Vigoroth and Sneasel. However, the aforementioned good traits that it can bring to the table can surpass these flaws. In a meta where hazards are standard on every team, you need something to get rid of them and keep the setters at bay. Overall, I think Toedscool is easily a top 2 hazard removal option in SV ZU.
Common Set: Toedscool @ Eviolite Ability: Mycelium Might Tera Type: Water EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe Bold Nature - Rapid Spin - Knock Off - Spore - Giga Drain/Earth Power
- Fletchinder is a great defogger and pivot in the metagame right now. It's typing leaves a lot to be desired defensively, but offensively it can be pretty solid. It has a useful ability in Flame Body to come in and possibly burn back Pokemon that are trying to U-Turn on you or throwing out hits it can resist. It is in a very good speed tier, so getting off a defog is hardly ever a problem. It is threatening enough to where it can also get up a free defog by coming in on a Pokémon that is forced to switch out. It has the decent bulk to come in on our ice type setters and also scare out our grass types who either can't do much damage to it or don't want to take a supereffective hit/take a risk at getting burned. It can also Roost to keep off the damage and allow for more opportunities to burn physical attackers. It does need to be aware of becoming set up fodder because of this if it can't outspeed or do reliable damage. Besides being an immediate offensive threatening defogger, Fletchinder has other great traits such as being a pivot. With it's based 84 Speed stat, it can help it's teammates come in without taking a hit first and threaten the opposing team immediately.
- Like with Toedscool, there are of course a downside to every Pokémon. One of the few weaknesses are its typing. Fletchinder being Fire and Flying makes running Heavy Duty Boots a requirement if it is your hazard control. Taking half of your health from rocks is a no go. This does cut into it's ability to have some extra bulk with Eviolite, but it is hardly noticeable. Fletchinder also has a few popular Pokémon that it can struggle against. Most notably are Sudowoodo, Pincurchin, Dunsparce, Lumineon, Luxray and most all defensive walls. It also has the issue of deciding it's last move slot. Depending on your team composition, it can be hard to decide between Brave Bird or Flare Blitz (some sets even run Will-O-Wisp). Brave Bird seems like the standard move for grasses, but Flare Blitz can also help hit Steel or Ice types. This usually can be solved when assessing the needs of your team, but can be a tough choice when picking what you want to hit the hardest. I believe Fletchinder's good can definitely outweigh the bad. It is a very solid Pokémon that I believe takes the number 2 slot when it comes to our best hazard removal.
Common Set: Fletchinder @ Heavy-Duty Boots Ability: Flame Body Tera Type: Ground EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Defog - Roost - U-turn - Brave Bird/Flare Blitz. I personally prefer the bulk here while some may want the attack investment, purely up to what is best for your team.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
​

These three are slightly outclassed by the 2 mentioned above (in my experience) but are definitely worth mentioning because they can still be solid options.
- When it comes to looking at Corvisquire, it is hard to justify using this over Fletchinder. It has relatively the same bulk, it wants to run the same moves, has worse abilities, and is slower. However, it can does separate itself in a few ways. One is that it can actually make use of Eviolite. Yes, it does take 25% damage upon field entry, but with Eviolite it can roost this off and sit in front of many Pokemon that find themselves not being able to do much damage. You want to use this with more defensive investment in order to make full use of it's Eviolite. It also provides extra security since it takes a decent chunk to come in. Another area that it outshine Fletchinder in is that it can be a pivot that is slow enough to allow its teammates to come in unscathed. I think Fletchinder has a better upside, but this is still an option that you don't have to shy away from using.
Common Set: Corvisquire @ Eviolite Ability: Keen Eye Tera Type: Ground EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def Impish Nature - Defog - Roost - U-turn - Brave Bird
- A staple ZU Pokémon that we will undoubtedly see return here for generations to come. With the power level of this current metagame, it finds itself having some actual use. Usual as a suicide lead, but I think it can be a decent spinner. Delibird has a pretty rough typing, sharing the same fate as Fletchinder by taking half of your health from rocks. Heavy Duty Boots is also pretty much mandatory on Delibird. It can run a variation of utility moves from Memento, Rapid Spin, Destiny Bond and Spikes. It can either run a physical or a special ice type move, even Ice Shard for a priority revenge kill. I do not advocate for this being your main form of hazard removal, but it has a decent enough offensive typing and utility set to make it usable.
Common Set: Delibird @ Heavy-Duty Boots Ability: Vital Spirit Tera Type: Ground EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Nature - Rapid Spin - Spikes - Destiny Bond - Freeze-Dry
- Honestly, I haven't seen Rufflet used a ton nor have I used it myself. I have seen a few community members advocate for this thing, so I decided to add it to the list. Rufflet shares very similar features with Corvisquire. It does have slightly less bulk and speed, but it has the ability to hit like a truck. Base 83 Attack is pretty solid, on top of if you'd like to take the risk of using its ability Hustle to hit even harder. As a defogger, it seems just okay. While it can be threatening, it isn't very fast or bulky enough to get defog off and do damage back to whatever it is up against. I think it seems worth exploring as it has potential, but it has too many variables to be unsuccessful to me.
Common Set: Rufflet (M) @ Eviolite Ability: Hustle Tera Type: Ground EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Defog - Roost - U-turn - Brave Bird (if someone has a better set, dm)
Here is a cool set submitted to me by dunderguy for Rufflet to check out
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall, I think we have a decent lineup of hazard removals for this tier. Stealth Rocks and Spikes are almost a staple on every team at this point due to how easy it can be to take advantage of these Pokémon. Sadly, the days of Altaria and Articuno are in the past. These fellas can definitely get the job done more than once if you have a solid team structure. It is difficult to have success without using any of them.

If you feel that I have missed something, please feel free to DM me. I appreciate those who took the time to read this and I hope this can help any new players interested in SV ZU. Just remember, my word is not law. This is just my helpful insight :)

Gale wings is often the better choice because with heavy duty boots and smart play you can preserve a priority defog or brave bird which often has more value than a burn that isn't even guaranteed.

The bans of fraxure and girafarig make this less notable but a priority brave bird or defog are still more impactful on a game to game basis.

Flame body isn't horrible but it's inherently inconsistent and made even worse by luxray being so common and other burn immune pokemon don't help the cause either.

I should note that gale wings works better on offensive sets so this is what you'll usually be seeing

Fletchinder @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Gale Wings
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn / Roost / Will O Wisp
- Defog

 

[love chants]

HAZARDS IN ZU​

GetSleidSun made a nice post on the state of hazard removal in the tier so I decided to make one about the hazard setters. I think the hazard meta in the tier is a lot more diverse than people seem to think as 90% of games I tend to see people's rocker of choice being sudowoodo or dunsparce. These two are certainly the best, but I believe there are a lot more setters that have their respective niche. Spikes are also pretty strong right now but hazard stack doesn't feel as oppressive as it does in PU because we lack a very solid spinblocker (aside from random tera ghosts) and have a couple of solid defoggers as well. Although I sense teams that are built around taking advantage of toedscool will start to find success atm, but enough with the rambling lets get into it.
(click on sprites for sample sets run w/e tera you want I like dragon / ghost on most)

Stealth Rock

​

- Lets start off with sudo probably the best setter right now or at least tied with dunsparce simply because its so threatening and how nicely it matches up into the removal in the tier. More people have been running ice punch on it to catch toedscool as well.

- Dunsparce is easily the bulkiest rocker in the tier and paired with serene grace bodyslam / ice beam and a solid pure normal typing in ZU it finds many opportunities to setup rocks and wall key mons in the meta.

- Probably my favorite rocker on offense right now due to its speed, unique stab combo, and taunt which is what differentiates it from other rockers.

- Solid as hell right now being immune to facade is very nice as it has a better matchup vs luxray, although you still have to watch out for adamant crunch. Ghost typing is just incredibly strong in the current meta as well and it can stop volt whilst having reliable recovery.

- A tad harder to spash onto teams but I honestly think its very solid its bulkier than you might think and the steel typing is very nice for some teams.

- Pupitar finds its niche over sudo / sandy due to its increased bulk and access to shed skin + rest. Its honestly incredibly tanky and you'd be surprised at how many teams might struggle to actually kill it and it has more of an offensive presence than sandygast.

/ - Honestly not sure which of these two is better but I think their niche over other rockers is access to whirlwind / roar both have comparable bulk to sandygast although I believe muds is the bulkiest.

- Can't speak too much on this as I haven't used nor really seen it. It has access to wish and is fairly bulky, I think NP Rocks could have merit though. (credit GetSleidSun for set)

-Steel typing as well as access to sucker punch + defiant gives this mon a spot in the meta. I personally like tera dark, but I dont have too much experience with rocks pawniard but I can see why some teams could benefit from it.

Spikes
​

- Although this mon already feels like it wants a million moves it can fit spikes and set up 1 or two per game pretty reliably and tera ghost vs opposing toedscools and gimp them.

- It can fit spikes on sash sets or even forgo rocks given you already have a rocker.

- Bulky spiker with reliable recovery and an ok defensive typing, again tera ghost can be used to gimp toedscool and fletchinder / rufflet don't want to take discharges.

/ - Both similar mons with key differences that differentiate themselves from one another. Glalie has access to taunt and ignores fake out while delibird can spin which is pretty valuable. Glalie can also run life orb 3 attacks spikes set which are rather difficult to switch into.

Toxic Spikes
​

- The premier t-spiker can guarantee a layer almost every game and forces teams to run a grounded poison or lots of boots mons. Can get away with a multitude of variations of sets ranging from sd to special. (cred R-G-E for the special set).

- Mareanie is a bit of an underutilized mon atm but spdef sets being able to switch into scovillain is something people are gonna pick up on soon as well access to the coveted water typing and regenerator.

- Something I don't see often mostly cause its pretty easy to wear down but its not too bad having ok bulk as well as being able to pivot and having the coveted steel typing.

- Can opt to run tspikes but I think spikes are just a tiny bit more valuable mostly due to the popularity of swalot but its an option nonetheless.

 

[R-G-E]

The demons that inhabit the ZU tier ​

I wanted to dedicate a tiny post on what I deem to be the biggest offensive threats in ZU at this current moment in time, in no particular order of rank.

TIMOTHY
- We are going to start with this guy. There are few words that can describe how terrifying this guy is underneath advantageous weather. Tera fight close combat is an extremely explosive attack that tends that have very few switchins. This, paired with the defensive boost in snow allows Beartic to consistently use swords dance and exponentially increase its threat level. This is also disregarding the Big Bear underneath Rain. Rain-boosted liquidation has very few switchins. Tera water liquidation under rain has even less. The problem with Beartic is the lack of defensive answer as well as its capacity to wreak havoc without fear of getting revenged due to the speed boost from it's ability and it's natural bulk (possibly enhanced by snow) makes it the foremost offensive threat in the tier, following the Fraxure ban, in my personal opinion.

RAT
- The unassuming demonic rat of our tier, this mon is most certainly capable of being hard to contain. The ZU tier has a lack of electric immune Pokemon. This makes Volt switch much better as a move. The reason why Dedenne is specifically terrifying is because of 2 reasons.

-> It's speed
-> It's stab fairy Dazzling gleams

While Dedenne may not look as threatening as the aforementioned bear, its capacity to repeatedly barrage you with specs attacks while retaining its safety due to its substantial speed stat allows this mon to pose an enormous threat throughout the course of the game, both as a breaker and a revenge killer. This, of course, is entirely disregarding Tera Ice. Tera Ice adds a whole new layer to what this mon can do offensively. It can lure in the ground types that may otherwise feel safe to switch in and low them back to whence they came. It's a really troublesome aspect of the mon since it causes you to play awkwardly around the possibility of Tera Ice, which tends to liberate the Rat to pop off.


ACROBATIC STEALTH BOMBER
- This an evil entity of cotton. One of the worst, most horrid creatures to befall this earth. AcroPluff is an incredibly big threat, but it is also highly variable in what it can do. The variance of it's particular builds can be fine-tuned to the sort of team that it is required to be slotted into. There is a common theme about all of the sets though, which is that it can become an unstoppable sweeper. It's speed tier is immense, only being naturally outsped by Persian and Sneasel, and it's offensive output is also quite substantial. Acrobatics hits incredibly hard after an SD, and possibly even prior to one. The high flexibility and it's capacity to win games at the drop of a dime is what makes it an enormous threat. It is an extremely difficult mon to build around due to it's amazing supporting movepool and a mono acro set is more than capable of ripping team structures to shreds and blow holes into squads, or clean, depending on what is required of it. (Credit to love chants for passing a set related to this mon and giving pointers.)

CAT
- Guts, facade, normal stab? Need I say more? It's a ridiculously powerful breaker but it does have the capacity to be chipped down by hazards and burn damage, but it is incredibly hard to contain regardless.


MUTATED GHOST PEPPER LOOKIN ASS
- This mon underneath the sun has little to no answers. Even outside of it, Overheat obliterates most mons, including resists, so there is very little that can stop this mon in it's tracks. These resists also tend to drop to a leafstorm on a prediction, so it's very unreliable to be able to stop this mon atm. It's speed underneath the sun is unmatched and it's output in terms of damage and progression as a breaker is pretty much unmatched. Everything drops in front of this Villainous demon. Truly befitting of the title, and the final member of my list.

Feel free to add on more demons to this list. RGE, out.

 

[iLiekMudkipz_]

Quillava will be freed from prison in 3 days, so here's a budget chi-yu set.


Budget Chi-Yu (Quilava) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Eruption
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Dig

Eruption is its main attacking move, and its meant to pick up kills.
RestTalk is here because it wants to be at full HP as much as possible, since Eruption is its best move.
Dig is only here because two-turn moves arent called by Sleep Talk.

 

[risin_glory]

Heyy risin_return!
SV looking just as fun as SS WASN'T and I am hooked (appreciate giraFrax bans too).

Anyways, I couldn't find a team dump thread for this gen so here's a couple of teams and a bit about what I feel about the meta now.

TEAMS:

1) Volt Turn Mayhem

https://pokepast.es/01e9fbb8beef7610
Slow bulky volt turn team featuring specs dedenne and banded meditite as power houses and cm dunsparce as setup sweeper.

is the special wall and jumpluff answer that tried to also spread paralysis in its wake, supporting the other members of the team
is a strong revenge killer with a wrecking priority. Tera steel bullet punch with banded pure power can destroy late game.
and are primarily physical walls with other secondary roles like hazard, paralysis, setup, etc.
priority defogger. Priority bb can be cool at times but you can go flamethrower or something to better pawniard mu.

REPLAYS

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1842593741 (vs zangooseenjoyer)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1842577786 (vs Kesslermacgrath)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1842164624 (vs ARE-GEE-EEEH) Sheesh this game was wayy too intense. 93 turn tour game.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1842019324 (SoulAndo)

2) Shelgon Webs

https://pokepast.es/ebe24bc425672efe
Webs team that hosts bulkier weaker fraxure and double self setters to abuse weathers as and when required.

we know what this guy does and edge is for avoiding contact with fletchinder/hitting ice types.
WEB
priority defogger, can have u turn over one of the offensive attacks.
dances over hazard setters, overcoat prevents jumpluff from spraying powder, facade to abuse para/burn/tspikes.
Bops
speed control and protective pads to mock fletchinders.

REPLAYS

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1838670474 (vs krasdjog kfdl)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1837947437 (vs sindiareveng)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1837134838 (vs coolepicman598)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1836719443 (won despite initial bad plays) persian used to be loaded dice fury swipes before.

3) Brrrgoroth

https://pokepast.es/b217ffdaa1f5232c
One of my early builds in SV featuring np goth and specs gastly. Ok nvm, this is a risin build, that too from early meta so yes, everything has something unconventional and stupid.

no taunt is crap or so they say but personally I have had a lot of success with this and like it.
WEB
agility when needed and vs to lure in the likes of sudowoodo.
strong trickster.
priority+speed control.
cm is the more famous version but on webs I just feel like fast power up go bam bam. fblast addition was sweet.

REPLAYS

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1836074736 (vs ShawtyburnaChurch)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1836080811 (vs boyfromavan)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1836109144 (vs ShawtyburnaChurch)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1838532719 (played pathetic but pulled out the win somehow)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1838594636
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1838606058
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1835720590 (vs ARE-GEE-EEEH)

METAGAME:
(gotta go so will edit in this part a bit later)
Overall seems a lot balanced and I feel like there's not much rigidity or restriction in building.


I really like beartic and luxray being good for once. However, luxray might actually have become a bit "Too Good" imo. Worth looking into as only little tanks its hits including dunsparce, greedent, sudoowodo, etc. Now while some of these answers are anyways top tier, meaning its not very difficult to add them in a team, it must be noted that once these answers (usually one per team) are eliminated or weakened, late game is troublesome.


This is another problematic mon that has good speed, bulk, relaible recovery and handy moves like taunt and bulk up paired with coverage. Needs to be looked into as imo its borderline broken (or even totally broken, not sure).


These fighters pack some punch fr. While I prefer mankey as a scarfer out of the two, meditite can serve that role too (I prefer band usually).

Meditite @ Choice Band Ability: Pure Power Tera Type: Steel EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe Adamant Nature - Close Combat - Psycho Cut - Bullet Punch - Rock Slide​

Mankey @ Choice Scarf Ability: Defiant Tera Type: Fighting EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - U-turn - Close Combat - Facade - Earthquake​

While neither does hotly vs tera ghost dunsparce/vigoroth they both have their own merits like a powerful priority in meditite and pivoting choice scarfer in mankey (with a cool defiant).
Special mention to crabrawler that I had considered as a scarfer before mankey came to my attention. For those who want to use it, this might be a set that could get some work done.

Crabrawler @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Fist
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 36 HP / 244 Atk / 228 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute / Bulk up
- Drain Punch / Close combat
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake

244+ Atk Iron Fist Crabrawler Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Bramblin: 144-170 (50.7 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 244+ Atk Iron Fist Crabrawler IcePunch vs. 252HP/252+Def Eviolite Sandygast: 132-156(42 - 49.6%) 22.7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
+1 244+ Atk Crabrawler Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Mareanie: 170-200 (55.9 - 65.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 244+ Atk Crabrawler Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swalot: 214-252 (52.9 - 62.3%)-- guaranteed 2HKO

​

Already spoke a bit about it in one of my teams above but I think its a good fit in the role frax used to serve. I prefer using iron head/rslide/facade, tho facade slot is flexible.


Being the fastest mons in the tier, their revenge killing capacity is great and while them losing knock is sad, the still have priority moves and persian provides pivoting which is nice. While persian is getting usage, i think sneasel needs to be used more as SD crash and shard is really good.


Recently gauged my attention as a bulky pivot and has a few cool utility moves so worth looking into I suppose.


That paired with other posts probably sums up whatever I wanted to say for now ig. Thanks for reading! ^_^

 

[Corthius]

I never thought I'd say this in any metagame, but good lord I am impressed by Eiscue. Belly Drum sets remain bad, as history repeats, but as a defensive annoyer for physical attacker it shines a lot. The set I have been mainly using is the following:

Eiscue @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Ice Face
Tera Type: Water / literally whatever you want, Tera Types are so diverse and team dependent anyway.
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Freeze-Dry
- Surf
- Snowscape
- Protect / Sleep Talk / Blizzard

Its defensive stats with Ice Face in tact is rather nice, so I could undertand why some people invest into HP / SpD, but the thing that is a given on all of my Eiscue is max speed. I will get into the speed in a bit, but I invest the remaining EVs into SpA, because ideally I don't take any damage from a physical attacker, or I am going to switch out versus the opposing special attacker. While max speed base 50 doesn't net it anything notable really, if it changes it form and gets to 130 base speed, max speed allows you to outspeed +speed base 70s and below at +1, most notably Luxray and Flareon after Trail Blaze, and allows you to outspeed pokemon like Shelgon and Pupitar that only account for outspeeding 115s at +2, opting to run a builkier spread as a result. If not obvious to the reader, let me give a brief explanation as to why outspeeding physcial attacker is valuable in the first place.
If Eiscue, the first physical hit it takes deals 0 damage. Effect is restored in Snow.
As the descriptions says, Eiscue is able to block any physical attack (that isn't ignoring Abilities, like Fraxure did with Mold Breaker) without taking any damage from it and change into its faster Noice form. Effects from items still apply though, so you get free chip damage in return for changing form. Now that alone would probably not be big of a deal, but as also written in the description, at the start of Snow the Ice Face gets restored! That means, in practise, you can get two times of Rocky Helmet chip, without taking any damage yourself. Obviously that is an ideal scenario and has other interactions too, like status, hazards and other conditions, but in an ideal world, you get free chip damage and turns, especially useful versus pokemon which are otherwise a bit harder to chip (like HDB user) and pokemon that chip themselfs through other things e.g. their item in the case of Flame Orb and Toxic Orb.
The rest of the moves are just here to help fulfilling this role as good as possible. Freeze-Dry + Surf give perfect neutral coverage, while Snowscape is self-explanatory. The last move is a bit up for preference / team needs with Protect being the most common I have seen. Protect allows you to rack up even more passive damage through potential entry hazards and status conditions, while also stalling out Snow turns to get up an Ice Face ASAP again. Sleep Talk is something I have been using in order to increase my matchup versus annoying SD Jumpluff. Blizzard has seen use to dish out respectable neutral damage, as Eiscue feels rather passive versus more bulkier pokemon with reliable recovery.
There is probably room for exploration still, but overall I am pretty impressed how this guy has performed so far for me.

Honorable mentions for pokemon I really like:

Really cool rocker, on HO and Balance alike. A cool trait that feels valuable is Intimidate and STAB Earthquake. While itself isn't that bulky, even with Eviolite, having that Intimidate pivot is really useful. Being faster than Luxray and below is really nice too, especially on Choice Scarf-sets that can usually pivot in at least ones to force a switch or a tera and damage in return. I like this a lot more than other Ground types right now.


The set I have been using mostly, at least move-wise, is seen in risin's post above - its the set I gave them. Discharge spreading almost save-to-stay paralysis is really helpful for slow breaker, and with a usually still slower U-turn, it acts as a formidable slow pivot; it feels a lot like Wishiwashi in my eyes. Levitate is incredible to have in the hazards-centric metagame, since you hover over most hazards. It can probably pull off other sets succesfully too, with a good movepool that includes moves like Giga Drain and Coil.
Really fun pokemon that is surprisingly fat.

Edit: as a council member, I will probably talk about some of the brokens later.

 

[plznostep]

__________________________________________
|Beartic!|
__________________________________________


Hey ZU. So over the past few days I have been using Beartic quite a lot in the tier and I wanted to give my viewpoints on it. Beartic had been slept on for the past two weeks until Ho3n used a hail team with it on and dominated the ladder. It was then people started looking at Beartic as an a broken tier threat, and I for one happen to agree.

First off, my biggest issue with Beartic is it's obscene breaking ability. Ice + Ground + Fighting coverage is perfect coverage and cannot be walled by anyone in tier, especially coming off of Beartic's absolutely insane 130 attack stat, the second highest attack stat in the tier tied with Flareon. Furthermore, Beartic is even able to boost that attack stat further with Swords Dance, making it even harder to check with Water-types such as Lumineon, as even Max HP Lumineon sets are OHKO'd by a +2 Close Combat, and Dewott takes about 74-87.8%, so with little chip, Beartic is able to OHKO it.

My second problem with Beartic is it's bulk. Beartic is by no means a glass cannon. It's bulk is actually rather impressive for the tier at 95/80/80. That is really good by this tiers standards, and allows Beartic to take hits neutral hits incredibly well from the likes of Lumineon, Sneasel, and Persian, especially when used in conjunction with Snow, which boosts it's defense stat by 1.5, making revenging Beartic almost impossible on the physical side. You may be thinking. Beartic is a slow Ice-type, isn't its good natural bulk cancelled out by its horrible defensive typing? Well, enter terastallization, which not only synergizes well with Beartic's tool kit already, as giving Beartic a Ground/Fighting Tera gives it a nice Rock resistance, but it also helps Beartic get rid of its horrendous defensive typing and even get a power boost on the coverage move of choice, as if Beartic even needed more power to begin with. This can really help versus walls like Sudowoodo and Swalot, who may be able to take a hit and answer back with a Body Press/Head Smash, but Terastallization not only means that it will now be neutral/resist these moves, it means you get a power boost on them too, with Tera Ground doing about 62 - 73.8% of damage to physically defensive Sudowoodo sets, and 65 - 77.7% on physically defensive Swalot sets.

My final problem with Beartic is its weather abusing capabilities. Beartic has managed to single handily make Snow a viable strategy in ZU when combined with Snover as a setter. The ability to make Beartic, a once slow but incredibly strong wallbreaker, into an absolute monster, with a speed stat of 436, outspeeding Scarfers such as Gastly and Scovillain is a big deal. Snow makes Beartic incredibly hard to revenge kill, requiring you bring a Scarfer above base 80 in speed and preferably hitting on the special side, as Beartic is incredibly hard to revenge on the physical side, taking about 38.3 - 45.6% from a Double-Edge from Scarf Stantler, and even with the intimidate drop, Beartic is able to OHKO Stantler reliably with Close Combat with rocks up, and even has a 37.5 chance to OHKO Stantler even without rocks. And that is from one of our best physical scarfers we have. This is not the only weather that Beartic is able to abuse. Beartic also has access to Swift Swim, allowing it to function on Rain teams very well also. But this is just the cherry on top of what is Beartic. Even without weather, Beartic is able to function amazingly when combined with pivots, such as Persian, as if your able to get Beartic in on a wall such as Sandygast, you'll definitely be taking something on the opposing team.

Edit:
Memorial for R-G-E who apparently used it first and Ho3n stole or something I don't know ;P

bless​

 

[JdRDMS]

Hello ZU. I'm just here with a short post going over how absolutely CRACKED Beartic is, and why I believe it should be the subject of Stage 2.

First, let's take a look at Beartic's stats. 130 Attack is absurd for ZU standards. Only one Pokemon in the tier surpasses that (and that mon is Slaking so it barely counts), and one other mon (Flareon) matches it. Combine this with strong moves in Icicle Crash, Close Combat, and Earthquake, and you have a monster that can destroy basically everything (that is basically perfect coverage btw; the only legal mon that resists all three of those moves is Surskit, which isn't viable anyway). And when you back Close Combat up with Tera Fighting, WOO BOY!

Oh, but don't worry, Beartic has got defense covered as well. 95/80/80 bulk is far from bad by ZU standards, and it can mitigate its poor defensive typing with Tera Fighting. That Pawniard you were planning to use to take out Beartic? Fighting is a much, much better defensive type than Ice, and combined with good natural bulk, it can be really hard to break.

But my biggest problem with Beartic is how it takes it advantage of Snow (no, it's not Hail anymore). For starters, Slush Rush allows it to double its speed, to the point that even some Scarfers can't outspeed it (because that's totally fair for a mon as strong as Beartic). Its just free to spam overpowered moves while being basically untouchable to anything except priority (and good luck taking this down with only priority). On top of that, it gets a 50% boost to its Defense stat. You know, because it wasn't bulky enough already. But the cherry on top of this ice cream sundae of hate is Icy Rock. Normally, Snow goes away after 5 turns, and you have to waste a turn getting the Snow setter out. But with Icy Rock, after the switch, it'll still have 7 turns of Snow, which is plenty of time to take down most or all of a team. Defensive teams aren't very good in the current meta, so have fun! And honestly, it barely even needs the snow. Those stats and moves on their own are still plenty to cause serious damage to teams.

In conclusion, I believe Beartic is really unhealthy for the current meta. Obscene power, perfect coverage, good bulk, and great compatibility with Snow is just too much for our underpowered tier to deal with. Maybe it'll be more manageable once The Teal Mask comes out, but for now, no. It may not see that much usage, but that doesn't mean it's not busted. Please get this thing out of the tier.

 

[Paratrooper69]

Sup ZU

At the time of writing this, I’ve had a decent amount of time playing in the tier, enough time anyhow to be in the top 100. As such, I wanted to dump my team, as well as some thoughts


Hypno @ Blunder Policy
Ability: Inner Focus
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 60 HP / 252 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Hypnosis
- Draining Kiss
- Psyshock

Sudowoodo @ Leftovers
Ability: Rock Head
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Curse
- Sucker Punch
- Wood Hammer
- Head Smash

Rowlet @ Eviolite
Ability: Long Reach
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Night Shade
- Knock Off

Stantler @ Choice Specs
Ability: Sap Sipper
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Tera Blast
- Trick

Scovillain @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Chlorophyll
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Leaf Storm
- Tera Blast
- Protect

Pawniard @ Eviolite
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Brick Break
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head

Thoughts: While at the moment, I am in the top 100, the team I use has had consistent wins and losses, leaving me around #150. Despite the oddities of my team, there is a method to my madness that has seen varying degrees of tweaks and changes. Firstly:

Stantler. This pokemon has been a fantastic lead, setting up trick on setters, taking away Eviolites and benefitting from the defensive boost. The only problem with it is the fact that it absolutely crumples to fighting moves or anything thats just mildly faster with fighting coverage. However, I’ve also had it manage a number of teams by itself, and Sap Sipper is a hard shut down of Flareons and Luxrays trying to get a speed boost on what looks like an easy set up mon. How little do players know or expect, lol.

Usually following this up, Pawniard or Sudowoodo. I’ve found that Pawniard is absolutely astounding when given its moment of set up, threatening to chunk out resist with Sucker Punch, or punch holes through a team with Iron Head. The few screens that do show their heads end up falling to pieces, and I find myself all the happier for it. But Curse Sudowoodo is another beast entirely. That defense bonus has saved my games more times than I can count, and Tera Dark Sucker Punch on it sometimes is all it takes to get the range to KO something it might not have been able to.

Rowlet is surprisingly useful, with its consistent Night Shade, recovery, and access to Knock Off, I’ve found it more useful in my team than Toedscool, however that may simply be because I’m just not all that receptive to the walking jelly. Its the insta recovery that does it for me here, and Tera Poison is mainly out of response to T Spikes.

Hypno’s been one of my more experimental pokemon on the team. I got my inspiration of its set from Gen 8 ZU Persian, however it’s had more main stay here than the cat for a few reasons. It is EV’d specifically to always outspeed Beartic in weather by a point, and the remainder went to its HP for bulk. It’s been crazy, and it has been super reliable. Personally, Draining Kiss is what pulls it all together here, and I think it’s really the #1 Psychic, if only closely followed by Gothitelle.

Now, we all know why Scovillain is here. If there were ever a metagame threat, it’s this thing. Max Speed to at least go for a cointoss against itself, maybe even win at times. Only thing it can’t beat is a scarf variant.

and those are my thoughts on the team! I doubt it’ll stay relevant post Home release, but you know how these things are. Even amongst the tier now, there’s the loud meta game threats, like Beartic and Villain, and there’s the more quiet meta threats, like Dunsparce and Vigoroth. The tier is shaky as it is, and I don’t know what to expect. And thats whats fun to me. That and Rowlet. It is funny

edit: Seeing as I’ve made it to ranking #12 with this very same team (with some mild tweaks), i figure examples of the team at work should be in order. Here are the replays!


https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1845059697-a7eo9rggxfb1qrkfx4yid6du6ck31nppw

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1845096810

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1845201497-y9qkqegtfxqakp8n4qk3c6735ht6ujepw

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1845254464

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1845661731

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1845784997-3fas929tfin2ue4ggp3nzpxvqnbaxtapw
Enjoy the battle replays, and enjoy ZU!

 

[fish anemometer]

Hello,
I'm new to ZU. So far not much success making new friends here, but I've had success on the ladder!

All 3 of these accounts belong to me. Not much more to do but share my thoughts on the meta?


I see this pokemon on a lot of people's lists of potential bans, however I do not agree at all and I think it's highly overrated. Extremely easy to pressure offensively, doesn't hit hard enough without using up tera, if it does tera it wastes the teams tera slot on a type that isn't all that great, being susceptible to pretty much all neutral hits and all common forms of priority. Also extremely easy to chip with hazards and stray hits. It's a good pokemon surely, but my winrates skyrocketed when I replaced it with boots . Even without snow, it's the far superior physical breaker, with flexible tera types people are underusing (more on this later.) unlike lux which is essentially locked into normal.


Continuing, I think this is the best pokemon in the tier. And will be even better once most realize you're not obliged to run tera fighting (which is superb in its own right cause of how good fighting stab is right now), and can fit your tera to patch holes in your teams or fit it to how your team plays. My personal favorite is tera ghost. Which allows it to surprise other , lategame trying to chip you down and stop your sweep (my god this is a common situation), and helps some offensive teams deal with lategame and if the tricker/encorer had to die early or simply isnt present on the team. is absolutely not necessary to support with shitmons like and has a place on just about any team. It's amazing on weather too of course, and really tricky to revenge kill on snow. Is it banworthy? Probably. I'm using tera ghost to counter opposing so I guess that is a bad sign.


Please don't laugh at this opinion and come at it with an open mind. is the most broken pokemon in the tier since day 1 with and . This doesn't necessarily make it the best pokemon. But I think glare and serene grace take too much out of player's hands and it just seems too uncompetitive to me. Party game shit. Smash with items on type of deal. Yes, there are MANY ways to go about beating . But I think it's just unhealthy when it's spreading so much para that rng makes you miss a turn (god i hate this mechanic). I've also gotten swept by agility+air slash variants cause the dice just didn't roll my way enough times. I'd definitely ban it, however I know I value things like competitive integrity a little too much sometimes, even making me overlook more conventionally broken, blatantly overpowered mons. Anyway I hope this was at least food for thought.

Lower effort miscellaneous thoughts:
- Potentially broken if people use the sub set more? Scarf might still be the best nonetheless and while incredible, def not broken.
- No strong opinion besides people who use it over a set up have more honor. You're still a bad person though.
- Mid. Nice pivot but it allows too much free clicking and positioning for my liking. Sometimes feels like my opponent brought 5.5 pokemon instead of 6 when I fight this. I know others disagree but I've yet to see it perform to my standards.
- Non passive utility, when head smash connects its one of the absolute best pokemon in the tier.
- Webs are really solid. Can enable some really funny mons like , but also makes gigathreats like and sub even scarier.
- Make sure your teams don't get rolled by this lmao.

I know all who have read through this probably hate me as a person now, understandable. But as thanks I will share a successful team I like a lot. It's gone through many versions, some really bad, some better, but the current version with tera ghost on beartic and tera ground on slaking is by far the best and currently undefeated on a really decent amount of ladder games (id say about 20-30 lowballing it). And kickoff too but that's only 3/3 so far. (EDIT: 8/8 but now bear is banned so ggs) Most importantly it's a ton of fun to play!


https://pokepast.es/21cf45be407dd31e

Top ladder/kickoff replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1844340859 - Battle for #1 vs katy/ho3n.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1843923562
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1843749531-d5yj9kpz31pscbiad1zgybu1dy267hrpw - kickoff r3 by me
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1843027509 - yo cho r3
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9zu-1843035666 - yo cho r3

TYSM FOR READING i'm mostly having fun with this tier!