Metagame Sword & Shield - RU Speculation Thread

[Molk]

I don't really want to go super in depth right now and i haven't actually played a single match of "alpha" but i think Qwilfish is definitely worth trying in this meta. It sets Spikes and it's probably one of the best Centiskorch answers that you could possibly ask for. Intimidate is always really neat as a buffer against physical threats even if you end up having to fodder Qwilfish to deal with something, and you have some speed, Taunt, the secondary Water-type, and Thunder Wave over Garbodor. Taunt+Toxic was brought up in the RU discord and seems pretty interesting too.

 

[Icemann]

Do you guys think Sandaconda will be totally outclassed by mudsdale, gigalith and runerigus? It gets access to stuff like glare and coil which is interesting. The only stuff that gets sand rush in this gen that would be legal would be drilbur, but I doubt that would have much use. Maybe a bulky coil user that spawns sand when hit? It also has shed skin, so maybe some form of rest, coil, quake, glare, sleep talk?

Edit: also gets body press so thats nice

 

[Mavis]

Do you guys think Sandaconda will be totally outclassed by mudsdale, gigalith and runerigus? It gets access to stuff like glare and coil which is interesting. The only stuff that gets sand rush in this gen that would be legal would be drilbur, but I doubt that would have much use. Maybe a bulky coil user that spawns sand when hit? It also has shed skin, so maybe some form of rest, coil, quake, glare, sleep talk?

Edit: also gets body press so thats nice

As a sand setter, it's wholly outclassed by Gigalith. As a stealth rock setter, I can't say I find myself wanting it over Mudsdale or Gigalith, possible outclassing by Runerigus notwithstanding. Unfortunately, it's only niche will lend itself to Coil sweeping, which as current meta superstar Centiskorch has made clear, is pretty good, but I can see it carving out a small niche for itself. However, as cool as Glare is, I don't see myself passing up Mudsdale's immense bulk and power, and the same for Gigalith.

It's also got next to no way to threaten Xatu, which while Mudsdale doesn't really either, Mudsdale has other defensive use, since Stamina is really really good. Unfortunately, Coil and Stealth Rock together with the possibility of a mono-attacking Coil set pales in compariosn to the other benefits of our other Stealth Rock setters, and being tunneled into a RestTalk Coil EQ/Rock Slide set, abusing Shed Skin, seems as gimmicky in practice as it does on paper, so apart from niche builds where a team will need to spread paralysis and set rocks in one slot, I see little place for Sandaconda. Setup sets also get dumpstered by Rillaboom and are generally slow to get going, and one would prefer more immediate setup, like Bewear or Pangoro.

Good luck making it work though!!

 

[phantom]

One week till official alpha, but I have to say this is one of the best initial metas i’ve played so far. I’m not sure if it’s honor code amongst the people I played or if RU just got really lucky, or maybe both, but it’s been pretty balanced for the most part. Veil, Lucario, and Gardevoir seem to be the most problematic things. Everything else seems to fit pretty well.

Also want to say heavy duty boots has to be the best thing added to this game in a long time. It’s such a great balancing feature, particularly in this meta where hazard control is garbage. I would say boots plays an important role in the diversity this meta has atm. In particular, it’s made Pokemon like Centiskorch a lot better than they otherwise would be.

Some other things that stood out to me:



Easily one of the best mons in the meta. Choice sets are fantastic and very easy to fit. Scarf can RK just about everything offensive and works nicely with rotom voltturn cores, and banded wood hammers are so ridiculously strong on this mon. I’ve found it manageable simply because grass resists aren’t hard to come by. Garbodor, Rotom-fan, Centiskorch all manage to check it and hold it off for a bit. Granted, coverage moves sting but landing that perfect read isn’t a guarantee nor does it result in an automatic win either. Also, being slower than silvally tends makes something easier to handle in this meta, so there’s that.



Another top tier mon. The most common set I’ve seen is boots + 4 attacks, which is surprisingly hard to switch into. Fire lash punishes so many would be counters that it makes it difficult to put a real handle on Centi defensively and the typing + flash fire gives it a number of switch in opportunities. The speed tier is nice as well since it puts it above most walls and slower breakers, so it’s really mostly forced out by the obviously telegraphed rock move.



Probably the most important mon in the meta thus far. You can squeeze a silvally form onto any team, the best rn being steel and fairy, with dark and ghost being decent as well. Definitely agree with what everyone else has said so far about how amazing silvally is. As I touched on previously, whether or not something is faster or slower than silvally can make or break its viability, especially if they struggle to damage the top forms. I’ve been mostly running support sets at the start, which I think have decent potential, especially since Silvally has poison fang meaning it’s one of the few mons that can technically toxic, but I can’t deny just how much better SD sets are as a whole. The coverage is decent enough, especially since all of them can hit their counters with boosted uturns. I’ve been experimenting with other silvally outside of the established 4, like water, which seems to have some potential. Wouldn’t surprise me to see other silvally forms come out of the woodwork as the meta continues to develop. I don’t think the ones that are SR weak will be all that great though since they can’t hold boots.

Couple of other things:

Really cool SD sweeper. Has a great typing, coverage, and speed tier. It’s a bit weak though and has troubling muscling past dedicated physical walls, but it manages to do the job just fine otherwise.

Both of these rotoms are so good. Ghosts types in general are amazing due to lack of darks and no longer being punished by pursuit. Rotom-fan is also nice with boots. It works as a great offensive check to rillaboom, while still functioning as a decent breaker with NP.

Echoing what Molk had to say about him. It’s one of the best centi checks in the meta and can do a lot of other things like check steelvally, set spikes, and spread around twaves.

Flygon lost a lot in the new gen, but banded sets are fantastic now, especially since it has first impression. It gets the best of both worlds with breaking and revenge killing. Also nice how it can outspeed silvally.

Another solid ghost type, only this one can speed tie silvally which is huge. Fantastic breaker overall and very hard to switch into. Has some interesting utility with Destiny Bond.

Bronzong is very impressive, but not in the way you think. Somehow 600+ mons got cut and this still manages to be average. Some people in the RU chord were theorizing using offensive SR sets like Stakataka did last gen and that seems decent on paper, but can’t emphasize enough how mediocre defensive sets are without tox or psywave.

I never got the appeal with this thing last gen, but I find it to be a decent revenge killer now. It can one time check a lot of threatening mons in the meta and obviously the volt switch block is really nice to have as well. I think the biggest appeal is how it outspeeds and threatens most other common scarfers like gard and rillaboom.

Scrappy CC is incredible on this thing. Most other non-ghost Fighting resists really struggle to switch in on Pangoro. With the lack of dearth of voltturn mons in the tier, it’s never been easier to support CB sets. Also being one of the few ghost resists in the tier is great for it as well.

 

[War Incarnate]

So, since Sandaconda's outcome is... not good so far, what do people generally think about Cursola? I've been wanting to use it for RU Alpha for a while now, but I fear that its low defenses and its bad speed tier may end up sealing its fate in the tier, especially when Runerigus and even Haunter exist to ruin its life.

However, its nice coverage, as well as good support moves in Will-O-Wisp, Strength Sap, and Stealth Rock, could give it a niche in my eyes. I just want to get the community's opinion on Cursola before I actually use it.

 

[spookysocialist]

I wouldn't run defensive cursola, as its physical defense is terrible and most attackers in the tier are physical, besides our ghost types - which leads to the other issue, cursola faces a lot of competition from other special ghost types like haunter and rotom. This also means most teams will carry some sort of ghost resist or very bulky special wall. I'd say cursola could have fringe viability with weak armor sweeping but at 30 base speed, even at +2 it's too slow

 

[Destin77]

A probably good Cleaner/Deffoger/Cleric is Unfezant


Unfezant @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Quick Attack
- Morning Sun
- U-turn

My cleaner set, Brave Bird is very good with is Atk 115, Morning Sun is a good way for the Staying Power (Iapapa Berry is remplacable by LO)

 

[Mavis]

I'd like to shine a little light onto an incredibly underappreciated Pokemon so far, Quagsire.

What makes Quagsire good?
Well, first off, just look at the threat list. With the absence of Hidden Power Grass, and Grass-type coverage moves being somewhat poorly distributed, there are tons of things on the threatlist Quagsire can take on, and it retained its access to Toxic from the previous generation.

It completely blanks the likes of Silvally, Golisopod, Gigalith, Cramorant, Drednaw, Mudsdale, Toxicroak, Boltund, Barbaracle, Flygon, and Galarian Rapidash, along with having neutral to positive matchups against many other Pokemon.

The access to Toxic is absolutely massive, since our Toxic-immune Pokemon can't deal with Quagsire, and those that can get crippled by a well-placed Toxic. Sure it has to run from Grass-types like Rillaboom, but it has the other nifty perk of blocking Volt Switch from Choice-locked Rotoms and whatnot.

I feel like the Silvally-countering aspect of Quagsire and its retention to Toxic are Quagsire's most important aspects, with how good Swords Dance Silvally is right now.

Quagsire in action: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1034614189

 

[Jade]

Hello RU subforum, this is my first time posting here. I’ve been heavily interested in learning since USM but was too lazy to make any effort so I’m excited to see what SWSH has in store. As a UU player mostly I wanted to try my own hand with building Alpha RU teams, and I’d like to share my favorite so far:



Import is in the sprites, this is a squad that I built with Odd Della Robbia and the one that I find the most fun using, Vaporeon + Silvally-Steel + Roserade is a core I’ve been spamming a lot. The loss of Fire Hidden Power means Rose has a harder time touching Steels but I like the utility Synthesis gives, you can switch into most fat mons easier. Alcremie is, in my opinion, a very underrated mon that absolutely deserved being UU usage-wise, it can be a budget Reuni of sorts with CM + AA. Dazzling also has no immunities so Darks can’t rain on your parade, unlike Reuniclus. For a rocker Robbia suggested Mudsdale and although I was initially doubtful it proved to be a good blanket check to most physical mons to compliment Vaporeon. Xatu is probably the best option for hazard control with Magic Bounce, there’s not many rockers that can get past it excluding Gigalith, and Teleport is a good addition to its movepool as a negative priority pivoting move.

My apologies if my grammar isn’t the best since I’m typing this on a phone but I really wanted to post here for the first time

p.s. stop hyping up boltund its bad, believe me i tried :(

 

[Destin77]

Hello RU subforum, this is my first time posting here. I’ve been heavily interested in learning since USM but was too lazy to make any effort so I’m excited to see what SWSH has in store. As a UU player mostly I wanted to try my own hand with building Alpha RU teams, and I’d like to share my favorite so far:



Import is in the sprites, this is a squad that I built with Odd Della Robbia and the one that I find the most fun using, Vaporeon + Silvally-Steel + Roserade is a core I’ve been spamming a lot. The loss of Fire Hidden Power means Rose has a harder time touching Steels but I like the utility Synthesis gives, you can switch into most fat mons easier. Alcremie is, in my opinion, a very underrated mon that absolutely deserved being UU usage-wise, it can be a budget Reuni of sorts with CM + AA. Dazzling also has no immunities so Darks can’t rain on your parade, unlike Reuniclus. For a rocker Robbia suggested Mudsdale and although I was initially doubtful it proved to be a good blanket check to most physical mons to compliment Vaporeon. Xatu is probably the best option for hazard control with Magic Bounce, there’s not many rockers that can get past it excluding Gigalith, and Teleport is a good addition to its movepool as a negative priority pivoting move.

My apologies if my grammar isn’t the best since I’m typing this on a phone but I really wanted to post here for the first time

p.s. stop hyping up boltund its bad, believe me i tried :(

It’s a very good team, with clerics for Mudsale, but If you wan’t a « Stall » you can use Vileplume

 

[Cheryl.]

Gonna echo the praise for Rotom-Fan in this meta. While regular Rotom has a lot of the spotlight for it's potency with Nasty Plot sets, Rotom-Fan can provide a more supportive role for offensive teams as it can safely check threats like Rillaboom and Fighting-types, while also being able to muscle through walls with Nasty Plot itself. Not many mons like taking on the STAB combo of Air Slash + Volt Switch/Thunderbolt so Fan can function as a neat wallbreaker with a large amount of utility behind it. Heavy Duty Boots makes it harder to chip down than usual too because it can just ignore Rocks. Pretty good mon if I'd have to say so myself.

I haven't seen too much talk about Barbaracle in this thread or in the Discord and after using it a bit I don't see why. Shell Smash sets are probably the most dangerous sweeping sets in the meta right now as very little can revenge kill Barb or manage to check it defensively bar stuff like Quagsire. Barb is especially potent when paired with Aurora Veil users like Vanilluxe as Veil gives it an easier time to set up and makes it even harder to revenge with the added bulk. I definitely think when Alpha becomes more fleshed out Barb will either get banned or remain a very top threat in the meta.

Indeedee is another sleeper choice for a top mon imo. While it's roles as a Choice Scarf/Specs user may be a bit overshadowed by Gardevoir at the moment, Indeedee has some nice stuff over Garde such as a higher Speed stat to outspeed other Scarf Gardes/base 80s like Passimian and tie with Scarf Rillaboom. It also has much higher power than Gardevoir thanks to Psychic Surge making it an arguably more effective cleaner.

252 SpA Gardevoir Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rillaboom: 192-226 (56.3 - 66.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Indeedee-F Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rillaboom in Psychic Terrain: 240-283 (70.3 - 82.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Along with this Indeedee can act as a clutch Ghost check because of it's immunity, and there's also all the little benefits Psychic Surge can bring your team while it's out, most notably making First Impression users much less deadly as they literally can't use the move while Terrain is up. As mentioned before Indeedee can also use Specs pretty well because Specs Psychic with Terrain is a whole nuke, but I find it a little hard to justify while Gardevoir is still here because Specs Moonblast is much more spammable. If Gardevoir does end up leaving the tier though, expect Specs Indeedee to become a very known and deadly wallbreaker, forcing teams to run good Psychic checks or end up biting the dust pretty quickly.

 

[Destin77]

My Pokemon RU Watchlist below

One of my favourite SR setter is Gigalith , this mon with Sword and Shield gets 2 Very good Coverage : Body Press and Throat Chop, In that case, he can compete with some Spiner like Mr.Mime, Mr.Rime and some another Setter like Bronzong


Gigalith @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Body Press
- Throat Chop

It’s a monster, Indeedee F , It’s a Psychic Type with Psychic Terrain AND Ghost Immunity, beating him is very hard if you haven’t good Dark or Steel Type, or Gigalith, (Fighing type maybe ? Oh he get Galarian Rapidash (High Horsepower + Play Rought + Zen Headbutt)

Indeedee-F (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Hyper Voice
- Trick

Mr. Mime Galar and Mr Rime are very good Spinner, they’ve an accès to Freeze Dry so they can beat some Good bulky mon like Quasgire

Mr. Mime-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Screen Cleaner
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Freeze-Dry
- Rapid Spin
- Focus Blast

Villeplume is a very good bulky mon, Poison + Grass is a very bulky Type that can Switch on Gigalith and Heal with Strengh Sap


Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Toxic
- Strength Sap
- Sleep Powder

 

[Feliburn]

Some thoughts for this first phase pre alpha since we are getting the actual tier soon:

I feel like this mons heavily underrated for how useful it can be. I've been using specs and the speed and power it has is just really cool to have, not to mention it creates really cool cores with other pokemon like Rillaboom and Silvally cause of how strong voltturn is currently. Normal, Electric and Water coverage is pretty nice to have in a meta with Vaporeon, Mudsdale and Centiskorch.

I'm officially naming Mudsdale our best rocker. Relatively bulky and works as a fantastic check to so many pokemon in the tier, including Silvally. I've been using SR + 3 attacks (EQ, Rock Slide and Body Press) and have found it to be incredibly useful in pretty much every single game. I really like that Stamina makes your Body Press even stronger making this pokemon a threat after a boost.

Personally, I've been finding more success with Mr Mime than Mr Rime as a spinner. I haven't really tried NP sets but spin + 3 attacks has been really useful to have. Besides STABs (Freeze Dry and Psyshock) I've also been using Focus Blast to get a really hard hit on Silvally Steel which otherwise walls you. Pretty fun mon to use with the Boots and having the added utility of removing broken screens is really good.

I've used Drapion in a couple of teams and I've appreciated Choice Banded Knock Off so much. This mon is able to offensively check Rillaboom and just spam Knock Off left and right, and since the tier is very dependant on items like the Boots and shit it actually limits switchins. Also can you look at that sprite jesus christ its so sick.

Tried not to echo too much on stuff other people have said but despite the shortage of pokemon to serve different utility spots, this tier has been pretty enjoyable so far, here's hoping actual Alpha is just as fun and nothing too broken hits us

 

[lighthouses]

Felt as though mr rime is largely useless in comparison to galar mr mime; Veil will probably be huge so having the ability to deter it on switch in is very big yea but also being base 100 or higher is more important than ever so theres also that.

Escavalier is pretty cool imo, anything with knock off is incredibly valuable and while i think silvally steel is top tier the thought of having a beefier steel that can use leftovers and allow you to use other silvally forms is pretty interesting, it does need a lil bit of support though. Ive found that it + scarf gard works incredibly well.

Scarf togedemaru is awesome, so is haunter

Havent been too big on xatu at all, ive tried many different sets but it just always ends up being dead weight. Calm mind is the set ive been liking the most.

Vileplume is probably top 5 and gurdurr seems kinda ass, bewear is awesome though.

Meta is fun overall considering it just started, looking foward to the first tier shift and hoping nothing too major changes

 

[Kerrigann]

Just a few thoughts on some mons I liked a lot.

From PU to RU, Lanturn has been really great at the moment. with most electrics such as Specs Heliolisk being able to click moves with impunity, lanturn is a really strong check to that and also stops volt switch because of Volt Absorb. It also blanket checks the likes of Salazzle, Rotom, Mantine, unboosted Steelvally, and some Pokemon it doesn't resist because of its amazing bulk+AV. You can also create cores with mons such as Runerigus to weaken VoltTurn, and mons such as Rillaboom to create your own VoltTurn.

Whimsicott has been a really versatile mon that provides tremendous support to your team. From the annoying SubSeed set, to regular sets with support moves such as Stun Spore for speed control, Encore to stop setup, and Memento to create setup opportunities, this mon can create a lot of opportunities for you. It comes with the added bonus of checking Rillaboom and Barbaracle, the latter being a banworthy threat.

Not trying to echo what lighthouses has said about this threat, this is a great steel type that has better bulk than steelvally, has knock off to punish easy switchins such as Mantine or sometimes Centiskorch, both which do not appreciate losing their boots, or Mudsdale/opposing Escavalier, which remove their leftovers or Assault Vest in the case of Escavalier. AV is a reliable switchin to choiced Gardevoir and Indeedee sets, Vanilluxe and both Mr. Rime and Galrian Mime, and lefties sets increase the longevity of this pokemon at the cost of a bit of extra special bulk.

Lastly, this pokemon has been the weirdest threat in this metagame. Gulp Missile is a peculiar ability which somehow dissuades soft checks such as Scarf Rillaboom, for they fear being paralyzed if Cramorant is below 50%. With access to Defog and Roost and Boots, you can run offensive sets with Endure shenanigans, or defensive defog sets with Cramorants passable 70/95 special bulk. One interesting thing to note is that you still get the Arrokuda/Pikachu even if the pokemon is immune to Surf/Dive, which creates interesting 1v1s with Mantine in which Mantine is afraid to attack you if you get too low, resulting in free Surfs and Roosts until your opponent decides to paralyze one of their pokemon, probably not even killing Cramorant.

 

[sensei axew]

With the RU usage stats being released, I'm gonna make a REALLY early viability list (this is more of a list of what can or looks to be viable, but it is not the actual viability rankings)

- Abomasnow
- Accelgor
- Alcremie
- Appletun
- Arctovish
- Arctozolt
- Barbarcle
- Bewear
- Boltund
- Cincinno
- Cursola
- Dhelmise
- Drednaw
- Eldegoss
- Escavalier
- Falinks
- Flapple
- Froslass
- Gallade
- Galvantula
- Garbodor
- Gastrodon
- Gigalith
- Golurk
- Goodra
- Gurdurr
- Hitmonlee
- Hitmontop
- Indeedee-F
- Jellicent
- Jolteon
- Machamp
- Mantine
- Mr Rime
- Mr Mime-Galar
- Mudsdale
- Ninetales
- Pangoro
- Passimian
- Quagsire
- Qwilfish
- Rapidash-Galar
- Rhydon
- Rillaboom
- Roserade
- Rotom, Rotom-Fan
- Runerigus
- Salazzle
- Scrafty
- Shiftry
- Sigilyph
- Silvally-Steel, Fairy, Dark, Ghost, Water, Dragon, Poison
- Skuntank
- Snorlax
- Steelix
- Togedemaru
- Torkoal
- Toxicroak
- Turtonator
- Unfezant
- Vanilluxe
- Vaporeon
- Vikavolt
- Vileplume
- Whimsicott
- Xatu

 

[atomicllamas]

With the RU usage stats being released, I'm gonna make a REALLY early viability list (this is more of a list of what can or looks to be viable, but it is not the actual viability rankings)

- Abomasnow
- Accelgor
- Alcremie
- Appletun
- Arctovish
- Arctozolt
- Barbarcle
- Bewear
- Boltund
- Cincinno
- Cursola
- Dhelmise
- Drednaw
- Eldegoss
- Escavalier
- Falinks
- Flapple
- Froslass
- Gallade
- Galvantula
- Garbodor
- Gastrodon
- Gigalith
- Golurk
- Goodra
- Gurdurr
- Hitmonlee
- Hitmontop
- Indeedee-F
- Jellicent
- Jolteon
- Machamp
- Mantine
- Mr Rime
- Mr Mime-Galar
- Mudsdale
- Ninetales
- Pangoro
- Passimian
- Quagsire
- Qwilfish
- Rapidash-Galar
- Rhydon
- Rillaboom
- Roserade
- Rotom, Rotom-Fan
- Runerigus
- Salazzle
- Scrafty
- Shiftry
- Sigilyph
- Silvally-Steel, Fairy, Dark, Ghost, Water, Dragon, Poison
- Skuntank
- Snorlax
- Steelix
- Togedemaru
- Torkoal
- Toxicroak
- Turtonator
- Unfezant
- Vanilluxe
- Vaporeon
- Vikavolt
- Vileplume
- Whimsicott
- Xatu

-Glaceon

 

[TheHungrySnorlax]

Some initial thoughts on some mons I used in test games/some of the new mons we got:

-Jellicent is an addition I’m sure many of us were hoping for and now it’s here!!! Checking fightings and other threats in Escavalier and Salazzle is a huge boon, as is its ability to harass slower threats and most hazard removal by virtue of taunt+wisp and its typing. I can see the defensive set along with its specs set having a pretty notable effect on the metagame seeing as things like Vaporeon+Silvally-Steel, Mudsdale, Gigalith, and Gastrodon appear to be pretty prevalent.

-Steelix is another very welcome addition, especially given the very noticeable lack of viable steel types in the tier. Losing toxic blows quite a bit, as that was one of its best methods of pressuring hazard removal and several of its checks, however, I can see options such as Curse or Head Smash filling the void to allow it to potentially stand up to Hitmontop or pressure Mantine, among other things.

-I’m surprised that no one has talked about Rotom-Frost yet. We all know how terrifying BoltBeam coverage is, and with the addition of Nasty Plot and Heavy-Duty boots, I think the fridge will find itself a very decent place in the metagame as time goes on. Wisp and volt switch are also very nice tools at its disposal to accumulate chip damage or cripple checks such as Gigalith and Silvally-Steel. Admittedly, regular Rotom and Rotom-Fan will likely be superior options thanks to both forms possessing superior defensive utility, regular not being restricted in terms of an item slot, not to mention how unreliable Blizzard can be at any instance, but Frost will likely emerge as a cool niche breaker seeing as it has a strong matchup against most slower threats.

-Aromatisse is something I’ve really liked using in the games I’ve played, notably for its ability to compress very desirable roles. Not only can it serve as a great check to the insane amount of Fighting types and a softer check to stuff like Goodra, but the ability to pass decently large wishes while serving as a defensive wincon via Nasty Plot is a very unique take on a defensive Pokemon. I’ve found in the games I’ve played with it that its raw bulk made some teams struggle to take it down even mid-game, allowing it to boost up and keep itself healthy pretty consistently. Being one of the few Pokemon with access to cleric support is also very nice, which is another thing it has over the likes of Vaporeon, though this does mean giving up Nasty Plot. Cool option that I think deserves a lot more attention!

-Sigilyph looks absolutely terrifying on paper and I have no doubts that it will establish itself as a top-tier threat. Despite losing access to Defog, between Calm Mind and all-out-attacking sets utilizing its fantastic coverage and great speed tier, teams are for the most part likely going to resort to offensively checking it, especially seeing as traditional specially bulky Pokemon such as Mantine and Goodra take a number from Psyshock. Looking forward to using this one for sure!


smaller meta notes:
-Throat Spray Accelgor looks to be a cool late-game cleaner. Having to rely on Focus Blast and being walled by poisons and stuff like Vaporeon even after a boost sucks, but it will best find its place on spikes offense.
-Speaking of spikes offense, that is looking to be incredible. While offensive teams utilizing spikes have been very good at the early stages of several metagames, this time around with setters like Qwilfish, Froslass, Accelgor, Roserade, and maybe even Crustle, factored with the severe lack of hazard removal and the setters’ ability to pressure or toy with said removal, these archetypes are looking better than ever!
-Galarian Stunfisk seems a tad underwhelming to me. Lack of a strong physical Steel STAB and toxic really hurt it, thought Thunder Wave is very nice as always for crippling stuff. Perhaps I'm wrong and it'll improve as time goes on, but for now, I think it's an ok mon.
-Lanturn is something I have yet to see from my opponents. Checking the newly dropped Jellicent, all 3 Rotom forms, and Silvally-Steel (sort of) is really nice; all of leftovers, AV, and Specs sets have worked very well in my experience.

Overall, I am really looking forward to playing this metagame as it seems filled with creative cores/sets/mons waiting to be discovered! Thanks for reading!

 

[658Greninja]

I’ve been playing RU alpha for a while and I would like to share my thoughts on what I think is really good rn or potentially good.

The queen of RU is ready for another round. Unfortunately it lost Hidden Power and Z-moves crippling its offensive sets which were what made it top 3 in USUM RU. But even then, Sub-Toxic is even more devastating this gen. Heal Bell and Aromatherapy are incredibly rare this gen letting it poison and cripple targets however it pleases. Its speed tier means its the 5th fastest unboosted mon in the tier letting it revenge and outspeed a large portion of the unboosted metagame.

Sigilyph is easily the best mon in the tier rn and possibly one of the most versatile. Roost + Three Attacks, Specs, Cosmic Power, and Calm Mind are all fantastic sets it could possibly run as we learn more about the metagame. Its stupidly strong, Sigi can get a kill every time it gets to safely switch in. Thanks to Magic Guard and decent bulk for the tier, it can manage to get in more times than expected. Its speed tier is great for the tier, it can outrun and 2HKO/OHKO the likes of Roserade, Bewear, Jellicent, Toxicroak, and Goodra with its fantastic coverage. Magic Guard is even more valuable given the lack of good defoggers and spinners.

Easily Top 3 for me. imo is the best bulky water in the tier (sry Jellicent). Its base 110 SpA is starting to finally show and Wish is highly valuable in the tier assisting Lix and Goodra, allowing them to live through longer. Its overall bulk is fantastic, providing a blanket check to alot of strong special attackers. It lost Heal Bell and Toxic but Yawn is a nice move for messing with incoming switch ins. I could even see it run more offensive sets as the meta continues to develop.

Another top 3 mon. Lix is a fantastic rocker/wincon. Steelix this gen can pose more of an offensive presence due to the gift of Body Press in conjunction with Curse and Iron Defense. Its a nice answer to SD FairySilvally and Boltund. It pars fantastically with Vaporeon and Sigilyph, the other big threats imo. Can’t wait to see how the meta develops around it.

Manectric is underrated and I don’t see people talking about it. Its the only electric that isn’t Lanturn that can threaten Vaporeon and Steelix at the same time. Its a great check to Sigilyph, and Bewear while making for a good scarfer, specs user. Switcheroo is nice for trolling with fat walls. Give it a try.

Bewear is insane. If it gets in safely, expect something to either die or get crippled massively. Lariat is icing on the cake letting it stomp on ghosts like nothing. I could see this thing get banned or suspected eventually due to its raw power overall.

Rade is one of the best spikers in the tier. Hits like a truck and Sleep Powder is worth taking to account. It chucks bulky waters like nothing and take a decent hit.

One of the best breakers in the tier and one of the best special walls in the tier as well. Its able to swap into Cursola, bulky waters, Rotom, and Roserade. Time will tell on what it’ll do next as the meta evolves and settles down.

It has a ridiculous speed tier for RU standards and can kill anything that isn’t a ground type. I won’t go too deep with it cause everyone thinks its good already.

Some other stuff worth mentioning real quick:

: Roserade but physical. Has decent defenses and access to Explosion to preserve spikes. Not outstanding but it has a niche.

: Chucks Roserade, Vaporeon, and other bulky waters. Sucker Punch is nice for sneaking a KO vs Sigilyph and SD is very threatening.

: Basically Goodra except stronger + rocks and ghost typing. Hits like a truck and spinblocks.

: Haven’t really seen too much of but it appreciates the lack of HP Fire to ruin its day, it might become more prominent once the meta further develops.

: Underrated defogger. Beats many common hazard setters and has access to the rare Knock Off and Toxic.

: A nice stallbreaker and spinblocker. Can shutdown Vaporeon/Lix cores with Taunt and WillO.

: Solid spinner and spinblocker. Hits like a truck and can check the likes of Bewear and Boltund.

: I like how Mr. Rime and its pre-evo have unique traits that separate them apart with similar but slightly different roles. Mime is faster letting it revenge Sigilyph, Roserade, and Toxicroak. Mr. Rime has better bulk, Slack Off, and higher dmg output. They are imo the best spinners in the tier due to being able to beat spinblockers like Dhelmise and Jellicent.

: Eiscue might actually be good in this tier. Eiscue has more opportunities to setup BD down there. Might have trouble with bulky waters tho.

: Provides alot of role compression for teams. Spinblocker, pivot, scarfer, ground immunity, and even NP sweeper if that becomes a thing in the near future.

: Has to compete with Sigilyph for Psychic type powerhouse, but packs better bulk and has Healing Wish.

Here is the team I had fun using while playing RU Alpha. https://pokepast.es/fc7a9a7a0c5bfdfe

Replay: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ru-1039745554