Since the official console ladder starts soon, I figured I’d make another threat list, given that we’ve had a good couple weeks to figure the game out. So here we go
This isn’t in order by any means, though in a broad sense, you can say that mons closer to the top of the list are more consistent than those lower down.
NOTABLE THREATS
- big scary special attacker. Beads of Ruin is pretty nuts, potentially allowing it to blast through blissey and other big SpD mons. Speed tier isn’t too bad either, and STAB combo is pretty crazy.
- robo santa is a great cleaner. Freeze Dry + Hydro is a completely unresisted STAB combo, and high speed in tandem with quark drive allows it to clean up hard. Auxiliary options such as encore can help you position better and secure wins more consistently. Great Pokémon for a lot of teams to have
- Spore is nuts for shutting down tons of stuff and Loom’s STAB combo makes it incredibly consistent at denying sleep blockers. Bulldoze has been seeing use to punish gholdengo trying to grab a free switch, and Mach Punch is devastating as ever. Phenominal Pokémon that fits on almost any offensive team.
- probably the best anti stall mon we have ever seen. Phenominal STAB combo, good speed, swords dance, and Sword of Ruin lowering defenses upon switch in makes it nearly impossible to wall. Not as effective against offense, as Breloom and Mimikyu do give it some trouble with sash and disguise respectively. Still, as part of an anti defense core, Chien-Pao is incredibly effective.
- Any non attacking moves aimed at this Pokémon will fail, and that’s really all you need to know about this thing. However, it also has an incredible typing, great SpA, usable Speed and surprisingly good bulk. Gholdengo has made a name for itself as quite possibly the most splashable Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet. Make it Rain is also a very good signature move, dealing high damage and allowing Gholdengo to clean up relatively consistently. On top of that, various sets and items allow it to be customized to your liking. Almost as easily fit as Lando-T in previous gens, and very user friendly.
- Very versatile and user friendly. Disguise is an incredible ability to ensure you get at least one turn to do something, barring any type of multi hit moves that might break through its disguise. The advent of Loaded Dice make this something you do actually need to worry about, especially against Pokémon like Baxcalibur or Breloom, though Mimikyu can outspeed them. Despite necessitating more cautious play, Mimikyu still has incredible potential when wielded intelligently.
- possibly the best cleanup artist in the game. Great STAB combo, good SpA and Speed, and surprisingly resilient on the special side. Good typing allows it to be used earlier in the game as well, coming in on common priority moves such as Mach Punch and Extreme Speed.
- he fast
- quite the revenge killer. Technician bullet punch allows it to be very threatening despite its lackluster speed. It’s main drawback is that a lot of its targets know that they will be targeted and as such can prep for it, either with substitute or a tera that resists steel. Fire being common to both roast scizor and eat the bullet punch in one go. Still, even with this in mind, scizor is quite the threat if utilized properly.
- both of these mons are incredible defensive presences. They both serve somewhat similar roles on teams as a blanket check to most common offensive threats. Ting-Lu offers better special resilience while Wo-Chien provides the ever infuriating subseed combo and an immunity to spore thanks to its grass typing.
- basically the fatter counterpart to Breloom, better resilience and access to a recovery move allows it to threaten spore more consistently, however you pay for this with lowered speed and naught offensive presence, meaning Amoonguss is very often taunt fodder. Still, it can prove exceedingly difficult for some teams to take down, especially if they lack a taunt user.
- the premier dragon dance sweeper imo. While it’s typing is less than ideal for a metagame with breloom and Mimikyu so common, well timed use of terrastallizatuon can help with this. Despite these shortcomings, it can be one of the scariest pokes to face when used properly.
- the salt king is quite possibly the best checkmate button we have ever seen. While it requires some maneuvering to get the most out of, once set up, it can genuinely become impossible for some teams to beat. Very much worth it for certain team comps
- quite possibly the most consistent hazard setter we have ever seen. While only physical attacks will activate Toxic Debris, the metagame is very largely physical. Glimmora also has the tools to ward off most special attackers, so most teams will have to eventually hit it with a physical attack, and set toxic spikes for you. It also possesses a considerable offensive profile, despite having low speed. Not the easiest mon to use, but very useful nonetheless.
- surprisingly consistent despite the typing, flower trick is absurdly powerful, especially when backed by choice band and/or grass tera. It’s auxiliary moves in knock off, sucker punch, u turn and play rough are all quite valuable as well. It absolutely destroys most screens offense teams, and aside from Amoonguss, most defensive pokes are very hesitant to switch into it.
That’s it for now. Quite a list, but there are other mons to watch out for as well. I believe the ones listed above, however, are the big ones to look out for, and keep in mind while teambuilding.