Project The Top 10 Titans of SS Monotype Metagame

[maroon]

approved by us
OP blatantly stolen from OU
horrible banner edited by me (idea stolen from ausma)

​

Sword & Shield Monotype was a long, challenging ride, as it brought many unprecedented tiering approaches to the table. Not only was a generational mechanic banned for the first time, but a large range of Pokemon were also actively removed from the metagame starting out, and even more challenging was that many of these Pokemon were reintroduced in massive bursts with not just one, but two DLC drops. As such, SS Monotype as a tier went through several key phases, with several Pokemon excelling in some but falling flat in others. This makes the evaluation process for the tier's Top 10 titans a very unique experience compared to previous iterations of this project. Feel free to nominate Pokemon that were banned from Monotype as well such as Urshifu-S.

With the unique nature of Gen 8 Monotype put on the table, there's clearly quite a bit to discuss, and a shocking range of Pokemon that could be feasibly nominated here. The big question that we will try to answer with this thread is, which of all the Pokemon were the 10 most influential throughout the entirety of Gen 8?

From May 25th to June 12th, you will nominate Pokemon that will be voted on for the top 10 most influential Pokemon throughout Gen 8. After that, you will all evaluate all the nominations and individually rank the Pokemon from 1-10 by vote. Of course, all the nominations will count as long as they're reasonable and fit the criteria. Please keep in mind that we're not ranking Pokemon based on how good they are, but we're ranking Pokemon based on how influential they've been. When nominating Pokemon, consider their influence not just in the current Crown Tundra format, but in the Isle of Armor, Home, and Pre-Home metagames as well (if they were there, of course)!

Please use the format below to frame your posts or we won't count them!

Format

Enter your nominee's sprite here.
:ss/pokemon:

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Explain how the Pokemon effected the metagame as whole, and how the metagame adapted around it. A brief description of which Pokemon it countered and which Pokemon it did well against would be good here as well. Be sure to consider their impact in previous iterations of SS Monotype as well if they weren't removed.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

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

What caused it to have a significant impact?

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

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

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

Format Example

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Mandibuzz's Big Pecks set absolutely warped the metagame, as the entirety of the metagame was forced into niche checks like Chople Berry Tyranitar to even have a moniker of a chance against it. Stealth Rock was almost completely phased out of the metagame with Mandibuzz around.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Mandibuzz was used as a bonafide wallbreaker, but its Defog set was good too I guess. Dragapult and Kartana crumble to its might, and nothing in the tier took on its unique STAB combination. Big Pecks gave it vital Fighting-coverage that in tandem with its brutal STAB combination made it an offensive powerhouse that put a severe chokehold on the tier. It is also an unparalleled Defog user, trumping and outlasting every Stealth Rock setter with its trusty Rocky Helmet.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Big Pecks, high bulk, longevity, and its typing were important in shaping its influence, as no other Defog and setup sweeper had the combination of traits Mandibuzz did, making it a very one-of-a-kind powerhouse.

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

Nobody beats Mandibuzz.

please don't make joke nominations. they will be deleted. if you want to nominate mandibuzz though (which you totally can) go ahead

You're allowed to reserve nominations, but make sure to finish them in 24 hours, or they will be back up for grabs! Also, you can only reserve one nomination at a time. This is to make sure that your reservation gets done before you finish another. If you pick a Pokemon that has more than one form, be sure to clarify which it is.

 

[maroon]

All Nominations:


Top 10 Titans of the Generation 8 Monotype Metagame:

1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6.
7. / 8. / 9. / 10.

 

[Ashbala]

I love when people underestimate me and then become pleasantly surprised.

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

When Crown Tundra released, Moltres-Galar is underestimated for not being a better mandibuzz. Slowly when the meta begin to settle, it emerged as one of the best wall-breakers in the metagame. Thanks to its stats and ability and also accessible to Nasty Plot and Agility, Moltres-Galar destroys almost every type with team support such as Grimmsnarl by providing screens support, Hydreigon/ Landorus-Therian (Flying) helps in dealing with defensive Steel and Poison-types etc. Used on both Dark and Flying teams, but Dark-types enjoys its benefits, due to its typing and ability to deal Fighting and Bug-types.

Initially when the Crwn Tundra releases, Moltres-Galar isnt used much due to the existense of prominent wall-breakers like Urshifu-S, Dracovish dominating the meta which constraits the building teams. Once they got banned, it slowly rised to one of the best wall-breakers in the meta right now. It is noted that its usage at the start of 2021 is below 6% and now it rised to 45% and became mandatory to both Dark and Flying-types. It is also noted that the usage of Moltres-Galar in Flying was 47.85% compared to 43.32% in Dark-types.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Moltres-Galar main role is doing heavy damages to walls like Toxapex, Heatran, and Melmetal etc. by 3 different sets.

Double Dance

Moltres-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots/ Weakness Policy/ Lum Berry
Ability: Berserk
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Hurricane
- Fiery Wrath
- Agility

The standard double dance set used commonly on both types. Once being set, this one is capable of OHKO'ing every offensive Pokemon, and 2HKO'ing its checks such as Toxapex, Ferrothorn, and Heatran with the correct move. Hurricane is used to deal Bug and Fighting-types such as Volcarona, Heracross, Buzzwole, and Urshifu-R.

Rest Chesto Double Dance

Moltres-Galar @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Berserk
EVs: 68 HP / 252 SpA / 188 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Agility
- Fiery Wrath
- Rest

The same Double Dance set but with Rest for more longevity in the game and can be used as a late game sweeper. The given EV is used to outspeed Scarf Latias at +2 by setting Agility and rest is dumped in HP while max Sp.Atk is for more power.

Rest Talk

Moltres-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Berserk
EVs: 248 HP / 164 SpA / 80 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fiery Wrath
- Nasty Plot
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

This set is a niche and the EV is made to tank Moonblast from Tapu Lele and 16 speed is to outspeed uninvested Rotom-Wash. Rest Talk is used for better longevity in the late game sweeping.

Taunt NP

Moltres-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots/ Lum Berry
Ability: Berserk
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Taunt
- Fiery Wrath
- Agility

Taunt is used to punish Haze and Status spreader such as Toxapex, Amoonguss, and Mantine so that it can have a comfortable setup and sweep.

Some replays that its one of the best sweeper in the meta:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8monotype-1521225090-ldlkk2q160r4psa0qg8eeu8brwr8fnvpw (vs electric)

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8monotype-1524540434-qa2x783rfkit2cfqtpch7jpydd7gm0ppw (vs poison)

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8monotype-1530315511-g8b0k2ptj78fnhmx54eff67brzmgwd7pw (vs fairy)

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Moltres-Galar helped Dark and Flying-types dealing majority of threats and even types. Once being set-up, its hard to take down. Moltres-Galar has screens support from Grimmsnarl which makes it unstoppable to control once it gets the rhythm. And the team building is around Moltres-Galar to setup and win.

And Moltres-Galar made other teams to restrict their teambuilding. For instance, Clefable started running Unaware, more Haze users, Priority moves to take down. Despite that, Moltres-Galar cannot deal certain types like Fairy, and Electric. So most teams has to run Fairy or Electric-types to deal this mon.

Some replay where I encountered unviable set to counter Moltres-Galar:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8monotype-1530368341-pix2k8vsee1rhtanojffs6nszsg3z4wpw

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

Instead of saying how do I deal, I will show a table how every type deals Moltres-Galar.

TYPES​	IF UNBOOSTED​	IF BOOSTED​
BUG​	Scarf Heracross/Buzzwole, Scizor, Volcarona​	Priority moves by Scizor if its chipped down to its range​
DARK​	Literally all dark mons​	Tyranitar​
DRAGON​	Kyurem, Hydreigon, Dragalge​	None​
ELECTRIC​	Literally all electric mons​	Tapu Koko, Raichu Alola in electric terrain​
FAIRY​	Literally all mons​	Tapu Koko, Unaware Clefable, Tapu Fini​
FIRE​	Volcanion, Heatran​	Heatran with Roar and chip down so that Cinderace can deal​
FLYING​	Thundurus Therian, Zapdos and its galar forme, Dragonite​	Dragonite if its in full health, opposing moltres-galar and win the speed tie.​
GHOST​	Mimikyu​	Mimikyu if disguise isnt broken​
GRASS​	Ferrothorn, Zarude and Amoonguss​	None​
GROUND​	Nidoking, Gastrodon, Excadrill under sand, whirlwind hippo​	Gastrodon with clear smog​
ICE​	Literally all mons​	Piloswine, Sash cloyster, Arctozolt under screens​
NORMAL​	Blissey, Chansey, Ditto​	Blissey, Chansey, Ditto​
POISON​	Nidoking, Toxapex, Drapion​	Toxapex with Haze (don’t get flinched)​
PSYCHIC​	Tapu Lele, Hattrene​	None​
ROCK​	Literally all mons​	Tyranitar, Terrakion​
FIGHTING​	Cobalion, Terrakion​	Terrakion​
STEEL​	Melmetal, Heatran, Corviknight, Celesteela​	Assault vest Melmetal, Heatran​
WATER​	Urshifu-R, Barraskewda, Kingdra in rain, Tapu Fini, Toxapex, Unaware Quagsire, Azumarill​	Tapu Fini, Toxapex, Unaware Quagsire, Azumarill (stall version)​

Overall, This Devil bird cemented its place in the meta as one of the strongest wall-breakers.

 

[Neko]

The Bolt, the Bonk, the Melmetal



What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Melmetal bonks its way through the Monotype metagame as a strong emergency check against threats such as Nidoking, Galarian Moltres, Kyurem, and Hydreigon for Steel teams. Due to the nature of Double Iron Bash, some teams such as Fairy, Dragon, and Poison have resorted to using Rocky Helmet Tapu Koko, Garchomp, and Toxapex to deal with it. Furthermore, trends such as Iron Defense Kommo-o, Bulk Up Landorus, and fast Galarian Corsola and Toxapex have been utilized to counter its strong attacks. Its a force that is hard to check defensively due to its sheer power and its extremely high bulk almost forces opposing teams to trade a teammate just to bring it down. It has shortcomings though, as seen in its abyssmal Speed and vulnerability to chip damage and Status.

on Isle of Armor:

disclaimer

I have not played Pokemon before the Crown Tundra meta. Thoughts on Melmetal in the Isle of Armor meta (until it got banned) would be based on the Crown Tundra discussion, so

A lack of both offensive and defensive answers ultimately made the Bonker bonkers, which led to it getting suspect tested and banned. Its to be noted that Choice Band (44.67%) and Assault Vest (46.96%) were the most used sets at that time.

The main difference was that breakers such as Nidoking, Landorus-T, Tapu Bulu, Garchomp, Volcanion, and Victini were not present at that time, making wearing down and checking Melmetal offensively harder.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Melmetal currently has 3 distinct sets: Assault Vest getting 64% usage, followed by Choice Band (18%), and Leftovers (15%). By usage, it has almost become the mandatory sixth Pokemon for Steel teams, solidifying the Steel archetype of almost always having the same team of Ferrothorn / Heatran / Steel Bird / Aegislash / Excadrill / Melmetal.

Assault Vest Melmetal

Melmetal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Ice Punch / Facade
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake

EV explanation

236 Special Defense boosts its Special bulk more than if it were in HP, 20 Speed allows it to outspeed Toxapex and the Toxapex who wants to outspeed Melmetal

Assault Vest allows Melmetal as an emergency check to sweepers such as Galarian Moltres and Hydreigon that are out of control. It can also be used to get rid of annoying Pokemon such as Heatran, Thundurus-T, Nidoking, and SubRoost Kyurem. Assault Vest Melmetal is prone to entry hazard damage and is not strong enough to beat walls such as Toxapex and Slowbro though, and these Pokemon force Melmetal out with the threat of Scald burn.

Choice Band Melmetal

Melmetal @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
- Superpower

Choice Band Melmetal was simply the wallbreaker, capable of OHKO'ing every offensive Pokemon, and 2HKO'ing its checks such as Toxapex, Ferrothorn, and Slowbro with the correct move. Its high bulk allowed it to survive most Physical hits, notably being able to trade with Landorus-T, Choice Scarf Galarian Zapdos, and even Victini if you really needed them gone. The downside of this set is that it could be scouted, and the damage could be rendered useless when the coverage chosen does not hit its intended target. This doesn't have the "fail-safe" capabilities of Assault Vest sets, though one can reason out that the opposing team cannot setup if its getting DIB'ed to oblivion.

Substitute Melmetal

Melmetal @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 56 HP / 192 Atk / 244 SpD / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Thunder Punch / Thunder Wave
- Earthquake / Thunder Wave
- Double Iron Bash

EV explanation

244 Special Defense + 56 HP allows Melmetal's Substitute to not get broken in one hit by Slowbro's Scald or Amoongus' Foul Play, 20 Speed allows it to outspeed Toxapex and the Toxapex who wants to outspeed Melmetal.

Substitute Melmetal takes advantage of its notoriety of being too strong, which makes opposing teams scout for and switch to their bulky walls when it comes in. This allows it to harass bulkier teams like Poison and Steel. One can even forego Thunder Punch or Earthquake for Thunder Wave, allowing Melmetal to Paraflinch its checks such as Celesteela and Slowbro. The EVs presented here are just one of the EV sets possible, SpDef EVs could be placed to HP and Attack to make it more threatening. Similarly, its "inferior" to the Assault Vest set in a sense that this is more Matchup dependent, so its effectiveness varies per game.


What caused it to have a significant impact?

It gave steel teams a trump card against threats that would otherwise break down steel teams easily such as Nasty Plot Hydreigon, Galarian Moltres, Nidoking, and Galarian Slowking. This means you cant just brainlessly use Substitute as a Kyurem or Hydreigon and start harassing Steel teams.

Its high defensive stats allow it to still be bulky even if uninvested, allowing it to force trades vs mons such as Cinderace and Scarf Galarian Zapdos when things are dire. These traits allow Melmetal to complement Steel's defensive core, acting as a stopgap against scary threats.


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

Although bringing down this titan in one hit is almost unachievable, wearing it down through contact damage, entry hazards, Leech Seed, and just damaging it eventually brings it down to its knees (it does not have knees).

Slowbro can use Melmetal to generate momentum for Psychic teams, as it forces it out with Scald or can Teleport out to bring in Victini. Rocky Helmet Toxapex wears down Melmetal for Poison teams. Alternatively, it survives an Earthquake from Melmetal and can try to burn it with Scald. Toxapex can be taken advantage of though if Melmetal is running a Substitute set. Rotom-W can check Assault Vest and Substitute Melmetal by burning it and wearing it down so that Zeraora can safely remove it.

Bulk Up / Iron Defense users can take advantage of Melmetal and can start harassing Steel teams

Assault Vest Melmetal is susceptible to getting OHKO'ed by absurdly strong Physically-inclined breakers such as Choice Band Excadrill, Urshifu-R, and Galarian Zapdos....yea, that's all that OHKO it from full. However, since Melmetal would rather preserve its HP to 1v1 Special attackers such as Nidoking, Galarian Moltres, and Hydreigon, it usually will get forced out by threats such as Landorus-T, Zarude, and Garchomp when given the chance.

Facade Melmetal is rare, so Burn neuters Melmetal's wallbreaking abilities. Even if it has Facade, it will not be able to threaten bulkier walls such as Toxapex and Slowbro.

 

[style.css]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?
Corviknight has continued to be a threat both offensively and defensively since day one of Generation 8. Corviknight's set flexibility has become overwhelmingly evident as the sets and spreads have changed over the course of two DLCs and a shifting metagame. Used on both Flying and Steel, its typing leaves Corviknight with only two weaknesses and a large range of resists and immunities while its move pool allows a range of utility and set up options that solidify weaknesses on both types.

• Pre DLC: Before the Pokedex was expanded Corviknight checks were limited almost exclusively to Fire or Electric types. Both Flying and Steel had decent checks to both of these types.
• Isle of Armor: With the release of the first expansion the list of checks for Corviknight increased with access to Pokemon like Volcarona and Magnezone most notably. This left Steel in a little bit of a worse spot as it was missing Heatran and Bronzong could only pull so much weight. Flying on the other hand, even with its only immunity being Emolga, was still respectable in the meta game.
• Crown Tundra: The final expansion brought a multitude of check to Corviknight but also much needed support as well. With the addition of legendaries Tapus, Ultra Beasts and and more a lot of types found new tools too deal with Corviknight both offensively and defensively. With that both Steel and Flying completed their immunity cores with Heatran and the Therians which took both types straight to the top of the tier list.

With the threat list being low at the start of the generation and the support options in the current metagame almost every type must ensure they have some way to take out a Corviknight or their build may be considered suboptimal before even going into battle.


In what main roles was Pokemon used?
Corviknight has filled a few different roles as the generation has progressed based on available checks and support.

Bulk Up Brave Bird

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Mirror Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird
- Bulk Up
- Taunt
- Roost

One of the earliest sets from Corviknight was a bulky offensive spread taking advantage of its great defensive typing and respectable bulk to set up and slow sweep. Maximum HP and Special Defense allow Corviknight to tank special attacks with ease while Bulk Up bolsters the physical side. Brave Bird was the main attack with STAB, less resists and high BP. Roost helped maintain HP both from recoil and while setting up.

Semi Setup

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Roost
- U-turn

As the generation progressed and people learned to deal with Corviknight a new set grew in popularity that took advantage of different set up options while leaving an out to maintain momentum after luring in checks. At this point everyone was looking for Iron Defense Body Press abusers and Corviknight was among the top. The last move of the set was changed from Taunt to U-turn which allowed Corviknight to switch out against trappers like Magnezone and bring in threats to break down the opponents Corviknight checks.

Defensive Utility

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn

With new sets being discovered it became evident that there were far stronger threats than Corviknight that existed in the metagame. Those threats needed support though which is where a defensive Corviknight came into play. On both Flying and Steel it helped to keep hazards clear for teammates like Zapdos and Melmetal and kept U-turn for momentum still.

Weakness Policy Power Trip

Corviknight @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Mirror Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 96 SpD / 164 Spe
Careful Nature
- Power Trip
- Bulk Up
- Agility
- Roost

This set is much more niche and has always been low in usage from the start but still deserves a mention as it can easily sweep a multitude of types. The power of this set comes in the surprise factor because once it starts setting up it's almost too late to check. Weakness Policy boosts Power Trip by 80 BP on top of the +2 Attack boost. The EV spread remains similar to previous Bulk Up spreads but includes more Speed to outpace threats like Spectrier and Dragapult after one Agility.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
For a lot of the generation (if not the entire generation), every type has had to have Corviknight check in some form or fashion, much like Toxapex or Celesteela. If they don't have something that can pressure or beat Corviknight then the build is considered "bad". This mentality helped shape standard compositions for close to half of the types.

Some users opted to just add more Speed to their own Corviknight to Taunt first. In a short amount of time Corviknight's Speed changed from 0 investment (170) to stats in the high 180s or more in attempts to creep opposing Corviknight. This speed creep progression in turn had effects on other Pokemon that were trying to deal with Corviknight requiring them to now invest in Speed as well.

Finally as the metagame shifted people started to move away from Corviknight to Celesteela for its stronger offensive presence combined with Leech Seed and its high defensive stats. As that happened people stopped prepping as hard for Corviknight which made the previously used sets viable and more effective again. This shift happened a few times and continues to cycle through.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in Monotype?
In the early days of the generation the overall power level of threats was relatively low. A lot of types had to rely on Fire and Electric coverage on Pokemon like Hatterene, Diggersby, Starmie, Gengar, Rhyperior and more to try and check Corviknight. The list of Pokemon that could break Corviknight without super effective coverage was basically limited to Rain with Barraskewda, Crawdaunt and of course Dracovish.

With the release of each DLC access to stronger threats became available which helped to balance out Corviknight's presence in the metagame. Even with the multitude of support that Corviknight received there was enough flexibility for most types to be able to check Corviknight without overprepping for it alone. Some of the best checks and counters are strong Fire and Electric types like Victini, Heatran, Zapdos, Thundurus, Rotom, Volcanion and more that can utilize STAB to break Corviknight. The most effective of these checks are ones that can deal with the coverage switch ins as well, like Zapdos with Electric/Fire combined or Thundurus and Volcanion that have Electric/Fighting and Fire/Water coverage respectively. Without a Choice item these Pokemon can dismantle the defensive cores of Flying and Steel nearly single handed.

As the the metagame progressed other set options were found for types that didn't have as many threat options.

Smack Down was one route Ground and Rock types could take advantage of for a two to three turn set up to take down a Corviknight. Smack Down Swords Dance Rhyperior was almost the only way Rock could check Corviknight or Steel in general for a significant amount of time. Some types looked for ways it could take advantage of Iron Defense as well and win the 1v1 post set up like Kommo-o or Steelix. Other options included just putting Roar, Haze, Substitute or Taunt on a teammate. Some of the most common Taunt or Substitute users and phasers were Hydreigon, Galarian Moltres, Tapu Koko, Crobat, Mew, Toxapex and more which denied Corviknight the ability to threaten or set up.

There are noteworthy checks and counters that don't rely on STAB or utility as well like Urshifu, Galarian Zapdos, Barraskewda, Crawdaunt, Nidoking and even Kyurem which can outstall a Corviknight using Pressure.

Overall Corviknight has solidified a place in this generation and likely generations to come. It combines high split defenses of Celesteela with reliable recovery that Skarmory lacks in addition to viable set up and offensive set options.

 

[Rinda]

Dracovish had a big influence in every SS Mono metagame from pre-dlc to his ban in crown tundra. The power of his main STAB Fishious Rend (170 BP when hits firsts) paired with Strong Jaw led him to be one of the best wallbreaker the tier had, even with a mediocre 90 Atk BS. Also, his decent coverage in Crunch, Psychic Fangs, Outrage, Leech Life and Stone Edge + his support in the two good types that Water and Dragon have always been make him deserve a spot in the titans of the tier.

I'll just put this calc here so I won't have to explain why this mon couldn't be efficiently checked defensively by something else than a immunity.
252+ Atk Choice Band Strong Jaw Dracovish Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 141-167 (46.3 - 54.9%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery (+ rain exists + psychic fangs does 62-74).

What effect did Dracovish have on the metagame?

Dracovish has always been a pain for two types of teams : defensive teams like poison that were demolished by the band, and types like dark that did not have a good enough resistance that were demolished by the scarf (yo 252 Atk Strong Jaw Dracovish Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Mandibuzz: 226-267 (53.4 - 63.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO). Dracovish almost alone justified the massive use of soft checks such as Mantine and Celebi (who were good) and others like Jellicent (who was bad), none of them being a 100% check because of the coverage mentioned above.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

May it be as a band or a scarf (or a mystic water...), Dracovish was always used as a wallbreaker in both types. The item and the nature just depended on what specifically you want to break and what you want to outspeed.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

As stated before, the combination of the move Fishious Rend with the ability Strong Jaw is what made Dracovish so impactful. For an offensive pokemon, he also had great defenses with 90 HP / 100 Def / 80 SpD when a comparable mon like Crawdaunt has an awful 63 HP / 85 Def / 55 SpD, allowing it to eat reasonably well on the switch or from a faster opponent before claiming a kill.
The other thing that made it so threatening is how well it was surrounded in both Dragon and Water. These two types have good pivoting with teammates like Dragapult/Dragalge or Swampert/Pelipper/Rotom-W/Barraskewda, offering free KOs to the fish. In Dragon, it was also paired with a teammate that could abuse the poor Mantine and Gastrodon called Kyurem, while in Rain it had no switch outside from these immunities.

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

Defensively, Dracovish was "checked" by cores rather than single pokemons. Indeed, even walls like defensive Gastrodon and Mantine are 2ohkod by a band outrage, forcing the opponent to send the right answer depending on what you click. However, some types didn't even have the luxury of having a viable water immunity (even though some have been released through home and dlcs, it was still the case in crown tundra), making dracovish able to click fishious rends for free, without requiring any prediction.
Dracovish could be checked offensively because of his mediocre speed, making scarf sets still slower than every other relevant scarfer or Zeraora/Dragapult. This still meant that your fast pokemons had to hit hard enough though...

 

[sapphiree]

Greetings Pokefans, silver here. Putting forth a short introduction here: I have been maining monotype for roughly 8-9 months and over this period of time, I noticed that one Pokemon definitely deserves to be in the top 10 titans of SS Monotype. And that Pokemon is none other than...

Celesteela!​

What effect did Celesteela have on the metagame?

Celesteela being an Ultra Beast makes it a universally strong Pokemon. It's typing [Steel/Flying] makes it exceptionally invincible on Monotype teams, as it's weaknesses are limited to Fire-type moves and Electric-type moves, for which both types; Steel and Flying, have definitive answers. Since I wasn't around back when the metagame was only Pre-DLC and Isle of Armor, I can only personally vouch for the Crown Tundra era.
Celesteela does great against breakers without Fire or Electric coverage moves, as it simply Leech Seed-Protect spams them. As a result, most teams started using at least one Pokemon that has Electric or Fire type coverage moves in order to take down this beast. For example: Dragonite and Tyranitar started running Fire Punch, Dragapult started running Fire Blast/Flamethrower and Pokemon like Zapdos over Galarian Zapdos were preferred in Flying monos to tackle Celesteela easily. Even opposing Celesteela started using Flamethrower in order to win the 1v1. Bulky Waters like Slowbro and Toxapex became simply irreplaceable as without them, dealing with Celesteela would become more difficult. Thus in many ways, Celesteela managed to force certain Pokemon into certain matchups, thus impactfully affecting the meta.

In what main roles was Celesteela used?

As mentioned before, Celesteela is a universally talented Pokemon. As a result, it's usage is seen both offensively and defensively. Defensive Celesteela is preferred over offensive Celesteela as it brings more utility to the game.

Offense

Power Herb Celesteela

While it's true that Celesteela's 61 base speed isn't doing it any favors, it's access to the move "Automotize" quickly eliminates the speed issue. Doubling it's speed is considerably easy considering the number of checks Celesteela has is quite limited. It's even easier behind the additional bulk provided by screens [Reflect, Light Screen]. With the use of Power Herb, Celesteela completes Meteor Beam in a single turn, not only increasing it's Special Attack by one stage, but if it claims a victim, it's Special Attack increases twofold, making it an unstoppable force.
The concept behind Power Herb Celesteela is very similar to Double Dance, except for the fact that it's offensive boosts come from items and it's extremely blessed ability, Beast Boost, which as we all know helps to raise the stat which is already the greatest among others. Meteor Beam paired with STAB moves like Air Slash and Flash Cannon, PH Celesteela packs a punch against strong types such as Fairy, Flying, Ice and Bug. Once this beast sets up, it's hard to be stopped.

Choice Specs Celesteela

When something like PH Celesteela exists, what's the point of building another offensive set? After all, it would never live up to the greatness of the former. However, I have seen this endangered set been used a couple of times and while it's mediocre speed doesnt really allow it to sweep, specs celesteela can act as a semi-decent breaker against passive Pokemon due to it's great movepool and a solid 107 base Special Attack.​

​

Defense

Physically Defensive Celesteela

Celesteela is more commonly seen to be used as a defensive check delivering a slow burn to it's opponents, as opposed to offensive Celesteela due to it's invariably outstanding defensive stats. With a base HP of 97 and a base Defense of 103, and a severe lack of recoil-less Fire and Electric moves, defensive celesteela is a menace to deal with. It's access to Leech Seed paired with Leftovers and Protect make it almost impossible to break with neutral damaging moves, and paired with Heavy Slam, defensive Celesteela does not require any Attack investment whatsoever making it an extremely viable defensive check to many threats in the current metagame. With an increasingly steady passive recovery, and it's Beast Boosts directly boosting it's Defense further, Celesteela becomes more and more difficult to break as it claims it's opponents slowly yet conveniently. As far as my experience goes, physically defensive Celesteela is more common in Steel monos as opposed to Flying monos.

Specially Defensive Celesteela

Naturally, this leads us to Specially Defensive Celesteela which in my experience is more often used in Flying monos. With the same reasoning as physically defensive; Celesteela has a base Special Defense of 101 making it equally viable as an Spdef wall. Usually paired with Leech Seed, Protect and Heavy Slam, it also delivers a slow burn, pushing opponents to their limit of annoyance.
These defensive sets are usually paired with Flamethrower for the Steel matchup. Barring Heatran, Celesteela can deliver a blow to the entirety of Steel mono due to it's access to a 90 base power fire type move.​

​

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Well, as mentioned before, there were several reasons for it to cause such a strong impact on the metagame, so much so that Celesteela sees the 5th most usage in Steel monos (52.22933%) and 2nd most usage in Flying monos (86.92859%) only rivalled by Landorus-Therian.

Stats

Universally great stats all around made it an easy choice for users to pick. They had the option to use it offensively or defensively, (more often defensively), and it performed great due to it's reliable stats.

Abilities

It's ability Beast Boost allowed it to increase its invulnerability upon claiming kills, both offensively and defensively.

Movepool

It's access to moves like Leech Seed, Flamethrower, and Meteor Beam made it viable both defensively and offensively. Strong STABs like Heavy Slam boosted the viability of defensive sets further.

Typing

It's rare Steel/Flying typing made it only vulnerable to Fire and Electric Pokemon, making it almost a staple to have Fire users/Electric users to be part of the team. Since it's a Steel type, it's also immune to toxic stall which makes it further difficult to break.

Synergy

Because of its weakness to Fire and Electric only, it pairs well with Heatran and Excadrill on Steel monos, both of which are also staples in a Steel monotype team. Similarly, it pairs well with Pokemon like Landorus-Therian, Dragonite, and Mantine which contribute greatly to Flying monos.

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

There aren't a huge variety of ways to deal with Celesteela. Either people run Pokemon with Electric or Fire coverage in their teams (example; Zapdos and Thundurus-T in Flying, Dragapult in Ghost, etc.) or they run Bulky Waters (example; Slowbro on Psychic, Toxapex on Poison). Sometimes bulky Steels like opposing Celesteela and Corviknight are also used to check Celesteela. I would like to go into a little bit more detail in some of these checks and in order to do that I would like to classify the checks into two types: Defensive checks and Offensive checks.

Defensive checks

Slowbro
- Provides resistance to STAB,
- Possibility of Scald burn reducing the threat posed by Heavy Slam,
- Access to Teleport preventing Leech Seed's gradual burnout.
- Regenerator ability negating all kinds of chip damage provided by your standard Celesteela.

Corviknight
- Provides resistance to STAB,
- Pressure stalling is relatively easy for SpDef Corviknight.​

​

Offensive checks

Zapdos
- Provides resistance to STAB,
- Electric stabs hit physical defensive and offensive Celesteela hard,
- Volt Switch offers great pivoting,
- Access to Roost negates chip provided by Celesteela.

Heatran
- Provides resistance to STAB,
- Magma Storm can trap and kill Celesteela, other Fire stabs hit equally hard,
- Heatran completely walls defensive Celesteela sets.​

​

As mentioned previously, there are a couple more Celesteela checks which fulfill similar roles as the ones provided in the examples above. Having them on the team has become almost a compulsion, seeing how high Celesteela's usage is on both Steel and Flying monos.

To conclude this nomination, I would like to say that Celesteela is an extremely viable unit that can deliver a punch both offensively and defensively, it can be hard to break in many situations if played properly, and deserves to be one of the Titans.

 

[hatred heart]

reserving aegislash

 

[mushamu]

What effect did these Pokemon have on the metagame?

Regenport is extremely good and enables a bunch of breakers. The Slowtwins are able to do this really well with their good bulk and typing. They're a huge reason Psychic and Water are good in the current metagame.

In what main roles were these Pokemon used?

Regenport pivot on both types. Slowbro is used more on Psychic and Slowking on Water because Psychic needs a physical wall for Pokemon like Melmetal and Excadrill while Water needs a special wall for Pokemon such as Tapu Lele and Thundurus-T. Future Sight was commonly ran on them to help break sequences; Urshifu-R + Slowking is a common core on Water teams to break types like opposing Water and Poison. Slowbro ran Future Sight less but in turn opted for moves like Foul Play for Dragapult, Body Press for Bisharp, as well as Ice Beam for Dragonite to cover Psychic's weaknesses better against certain setup sweepers.

What caused them to have a significant impact?

Regenport enables a variety of breakers on each type and punishes passive Pokemon like Toxapex extremely well. Pokemon such as Victini, Tapu Lele, Urshifu-R, and Volcanion are all brought in really easy through Regenport. They did not have a significant impact on building, however it changed the way games of SS Monotype were played drastically with the Slowtwins constantly punishing passivity from Pokemon and forcing more aggressive switches onto them.

How do/did you deal with these Pokemon in Monotype?

Standard breakers work for these two Pokemon, as well as residual damage. For example, getting Slowking's boots knocked and Poisoned causes Nihilego to be able to threaten it and prevent it from coming in for free. Pulling aggressive double switches to prevent these Pokemon from getting free turns was also extremely common.

 

[Neko]

He might be cold and shivering but his beak still packs a punch.

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Bolt-Beam has always been a coveted move combination as early as the GSC era due to the two types hitting most of the metagame for super effective damage. Gen 4 gave us Rotom-F, but its mediocre Speed made it undesirable. Kyurem-B, a staple in Ice-type teams for the past few generations, provided strong Bolt-Beam coverage, but was banned this generation due to it learning how to Dragon Dance. Arctozolt now remains as Ice's strongest Bolt-Beam Pokemon, with a respectable signature move Bolt Beak, a 170 Base Power move if executed first. Due to Monotype allowing the use of Icy Rock, it gets the chance to terrorize opposing teams with its STABs for 8 turns, allowing it to pressure types such as Psychic, Water, Dark, and Poison really well. This, aside from the item called Heavy-Duty Boots being invented, made Ice-type an excellent anti-meta type for tournament play.

Arctozolt is not without its faults though, its Speed under Hail is not enough to outpace common Choice Scarf users, namely Galarian Zapdos, Tapu Lele, and Zarude. It is also reliant on proper prediction otherwise it ends up wasting Hail turns using Bolt Beak on a Ground-type and using Blizzard on a Steel-type.


On Pre-home up to Isle of Armor:
Slush Rush is a hidden ability and was unavailable on Arctozolt during those days. Therefore, it was unviable in the past metagames.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Hail Sweeper

Arctozolt @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Bolt Beak
- Blizzard / Icicle Crash
- Freeze-Dry
- Substitute / Low Kick

Arctozolt takes advantage of its ability to threaten a multitude of Pokemon to force switches, allowing it to set Substitute and start harassing the opposing team. Bolt Beak hits anything that isn't a Ground- or Dragon-type hard, threatening the most common physical walls in Toxapex, Corviknight, and Slowbro. Physical walls such as Amoongus and the Dragon- and Ground-types that do not fear Bolt Beak heavily fear Blizzard. Freeze-Dry nails Water/Ground-types such as Gastrodon and Swampert that can take its Bolt-Beam combination. Low Kick deals with Tyranitar and Kyurem which can be a nuisance for Ice teams. Life Orb was used before as it lets it OHKO the aforementioned walls, but Heavy-Duty Boots became the better item as it allowed Arctozolt to preserve its HP to terrorize opposing teams longer. Its to be noted that Ice-type teams struggle to find a team mate that can deal with Steel-types such as Celesteela while also having enough Speed to also scare faster teams such as Dark.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Bolt-Beam was just strong and Ice teams always utilize Hail, so its relatively easy to fit. Arctozolt wallbreaking prowess also synergizes with Ice's plan of removing Steel- and Water-type nuisances like Celesteela and Toxapex first, so that Choice Scarf Weavile / Dragon Dance Kyurem sweeps late-game. Alolan Ninetale's Aurora Veil also makes Arctozolt respectably bulky, allowing it to survive attacks such as Focus Blast from Thundurus-T in a pinch.


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

All relevant Choice Scarf users except Excadrill and Heatran outspeed Arctozolt, greatly weakening Bolt Beak. Revenge-killers such as Galarian Zapdos, Landorus-T, and Tapu Lele can OHKO Arctozolt if it is not protected by Aurora Veil.

Changing the weather also neuters Arctozolt's ability to threaten opposing teams, as it's too slow without Slush Rush.

Pokemon not weak to the Bolt-Beam combination can usually take one hit and threaten it back. However, revenge-killing Arctozolt becomes harder if it is behind Aurora Veil.

 

[Dead by Daylight]

"All the other kids / With their pumped-up kicks..." - Kyurem, from the album Heavy-Duty Boots

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Kyurem was and still is a somewhat controversial topic in Monotype. Its multitude of sets let it catch unprepared teams off-guard, while one of its biggest foes, Stealth Rock, was negated by the introduction of Heavy-Duty Boots. Earth Power, one of its most common moves on its popular SubRoost set, let it break through Steel- and Fire-types such as Heatran, Aegislash, Excadrill and Blacephalon, all of which pose major threats to Ice. On Dragon-type, it was less commonly seen but still a good pick, as its sheer breaking power, neutrality to Ice, and ability to 2HKO Klefki let it find a home. Water fell through the floor in terms of viability, as it all but collapsed to Freeze-Dry. Additionally, unfavorable MUs such as Ground, Flying and Grass basically clicked X when they saw Kyurem and Darmanitan-Galar. Finally, if you tried to wall it with Blissey, Dragon Dance ended your team.

Pre-DLC and Isle of Armor:

Disclaimer

I did not play the pre-Crown Tundra meta (in fact, I wasn't even on showdown back then!)

Crown Tundra: Kyurem saw an uptick in usage after Crown Tundra was released, from around ~17,500 instances to ~18,200. The Choice Specs set was actually the most popular in the early days of Crown Tundra for its sheer breaking power, but the real reason for its uptick was the addition of the Galarian Legendary birds, which Kyurem hits hard with Freeze-Dry, Nidoking, which is a quite good (A-rank) 'mon on Ground, the surge of Flying-types, and most importantly the addition of Landorus-Therian, which it preyed upon.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Kyurem was mainly used as a wallbreaker with Substitute, Roost, Freeze-Dry and Earth Power. This set had surprisingly good coverage, and paired with Kyurem's base 130 Special Attack stat, could tear through unfavorable MUs like a hot knife through butter. Freeze-Dry, while only 70 Base Power, was incredibly useful to reliably beat Water-types. Additionally, Kyurem has a variety of 4th moveslot options such as Earth Power (preferred), Focus Blast, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Flash Cannon...you get the idea. Holding Heavy-Duty Boots let it negate hazards and drop one of the easiest ways to win against Ice: entry hazard spam.

SubRoost Kyurem

Kyurem @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Roost
- Freeze-Dry
- Earth Power

Additionally, its insanely high SpA let it run a Choice Specs set, more commonly seen on Dragon but still viable on Ice, which would, with the right predictions, tear through teams. This set actually beats staples like the Tapus (excluding Tapu Lele), Landorus-T and other bulky attackers such as Corviknight. However, it loses longevity due to missing out on Roost and Heavy-Duty Boots.

Choice Specs

Kyurem @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power
- Freeze-Dry

The triad of Kyurem's most used sets is complete with a Leftovers Defensive Kyurem. It used Pressure, Substitute and Roost to stall out opponents while also packing a surprising small-investment punch. This set doesn't see as much use nowadays, but it is useful if you need some sort of a defense to Fire on Ice or Ice on Dragon.

Leftovers

Kyurem @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Roost
- Freeze-Dry
- Earth Power

Finally, there are some miscellaneous sets, most notably Choice Scarf (16.80%) and Chople Berry (3.59%). However, these haven't been seen much in Monotype anymore.



What caused it to have a significant impact?

After Kyurem-Black was finally quickbanned, Kyurem stepped into its shoes and forced the very fluid (no pun intended) and interesting archetypes of Water into basically running a check for it. In fact, Walrein was floated as one of the only counters to it on Water, and as such managed to climb into D-rank. Additionally, even if you managed to check Freeze-Dry, Kyurem could simply click Earth Power on Fire-, Steel- and other Ice-types and decimate them. Furthermore, Substitute would shut down other walls from statusing you. Another try to outlast Kyurem was by letting it deplete its own health with Substitutes, but it has access to a very reliable recovery move in Roost, letting it quickly heal off two Substitutes' worth of HP. Entry hazards were no longer a problem after the introduction of Heavy-Duty Boots. Try to hit it with Fighting-type moves? Good luck with that. Kyurem also can hold a Chople Berry to offset one of its most prominent weaknesses. The cherry on top was that Pressure could stall out low-PP moves such as Stone Edge or Body Press.

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

When Kyurem first rose to prominence with Freeze-Dry, Water-types and types already weak to Ice found themselves in the same boat. Water struggled massively, as Kyurem would blow holes in common Electric immunities such as Seismitoad or Swampert, letting Arctozolt sweep. Additionally, it synergized with Galarian Darmanitan, another Ubers 'mon, as two insanely powerful wallbreakers on either side of the attacking spectrum. Finally, Avalugg provides hazard control with Rapid Spin and Body Press to more reliably deal with some of Ice's problems, which are Steel and Rock.

One of the ways to deal with Kyurem is through dual-hitting moves, most notably Melmetal's Double Iron Bash, which takes down Kyurem's Substitute and OHKOs it. Additionally, Kyurem's meh bulk and Speed make it open to revenge killers and Scarfers such as Dragapult, Blacephalon or Urshifu-R. While Substitute negates status, Kyurem (without one) is vulnerable to residual damage from burns and poison, while paralysis slows it down from its already slightly low Speed. Finally, Knocking off Kyurem's Heavy-Duty Boots makes it exposed to chip damage from Stealth Rock.

 

[Dragapult]

Urshifu functioned on Dark teams as a brutal wallbreaker boasting a brilliant STAB combo, a busted ability in Unseen Fist, and access to a wealth of great filler moves such as U-Turn, Taunt, elemental punches, and Poison Jab. A relative slow burner among the roster of those expelled from the tier, Urshifu's strong team support from Dark's myriad offensive and defensive options combined with its versatility in running Band. Scarf, or Substitute Bulk Up sets saw it emerge as one of the most dangerous threats in IoA SS. To Dark teams, Urshifu bolstered an already strong match-up against Steel, as well as providing an additional tool in a very annoying matchup against Poison, and a flat out nuke against a number of then high-meta types such as Dragon, Ice, and Ground.

Though Fighting has generally not been a competitive choice this generation, Urshifu-S was good enough to drag it to near-viability, providing Fighting teams with a (good) Psychic immune as well as slightly better odds against Flying. The popularity of Ghost teams throughout early SS (and particularly after the release of Spectrier) gave Urshifu an additional usage case for its ability to check Ghost's offensive threats with Sucker Punch. It is also worth noting that Urshifu generally did not care about Aegislash, due to Unseen Fist + Wicked Blow effectively invalidating King's Shield.

In my mind Urshifu-S is easily among the 10 defining mons of the SS metagame, and will undoubtedly play a large role in future generations should it ever return to standard.

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Alongside Melmetal and Dracovish, Urshifu-S was part a wave of tactical nukes that typified the meta in the wake of the Isle of Armor DLC. These mons in addition to a number of other potent wallbreakers (many of whom they happened to share types with) served to effectively invalidate most defensive playstyles, directly contributing towards a shift towards a hyper offensive metagame.

Band Wicked Blow was unreasonably strong, granting Dark an erase button to then be exploited by Dark's insane collection of offensive threats. With Band Urshifu became a straight-up claim machine, and in many matchups could dictate the flow of the game by either forcing a sack or dealing 40% to a check from a resisted STAB move. Many types had no good switch-in for Wicked Blow at all, with even types like Flying (Galarian Zapdos was not yet a thing) pretty much having to sack something and bring in a revenge killer to scare Urshifu out. Much like Genesect Urshifu-S was a ridiculously low-risk, high reward Pokemon that pretty much ensured downhill momentum against slower, bulkier teams. It is also worth noting that 97 Speed, while underwhelming on paper, is great for a wallbreaker.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?
Urshifu's versatility allowed it to run a few different sets, primarily Band, Scarf, and Substitute/Bulk Up, as well as Scarf provided Dark with a good scarfer at a time when Dark really needed one, as Zarude was not yet released and Hydreigon typically wanted to be Substitute/Nasty Plot in order to dismantle Steel. Scarf allowed Urshifu to outpace and OHKO Tapu Lele after rocks chip as well surprise a number of base 100s and 110s that would attempt to revenge kill Band while also functioning as a great pivot into the appropriate teammate. Players expecting either Choice set could quite easily find themselves dealing with Substitute + Bulk Up variants, able to exploit switches and devastate checks with a +1 STAB move. In addition, Urshifu was also quite commonly seen bluffing Band sets via the use of Black Glasses, making checking it an even harder proposition.

Urshifu was largely unscoutable, did not really care about Intimidates from the likes of Landorus-T due to Wicked Blow always being a critical hit Solid physical bulk and a really good speed speed tier for a wallbreaker gave Urshifu-S a similar profile to the perpetually broken Genesect, an unscoutable offensive swiss-army knife capable of blowing up game plans from the outset. Throw in access to priority, good physical bulk, and great defensive switches such as Mandibuzz and Drapion

At the time of its ban Urshifu was (alongside Hydreigon) the most commonly seen mon on Dark teams, beating out the likes of even Mandibuzz, Tyranitar, and Weavile at a time when heavy offense was not yet the defining strategy for Dark. This showcases just how low-risk, high reward Urshifu was, as balance Dark teams were basically guaranteed to run it despite it offering little defensive utility in critical matchups against Flying and Fairy. It was just that good.

What caused them to have a significant impact?

Throughout the generations Dark has generally enjoyed a position as a mid to high-tier antimeta type given its well-rounded roster, access to formidable wallbreakers and stallbreakers, STAB on the all-important Knock Off (and previously Pursuit) and great matchups against the always strong Steel and Psychic. Alongside Zarude and Galarian Moltres, Urshifu was part of a trident of strong wallbreakers Dark received this generation, combining with the newly introduced Grimmsnarl to transition Dark from a strong balance type to an even stronger hyper offensive type able to throw one powerful threat after the next.

Though Fighting has been bottom 3 type this generation it saw a good amount of play as a counterteam to peak Steel upon Heatran's arrival. As Fighting's Psychic immune and best breaker Urshifu saw by far the highest usage on Fighting teams. Urshifu-S' contribution to the viability of both Dark and Fighting can be said to have played a role in bolstering the viability of Fairy, which has since emerged as a major pick in both tournament and ladder play.


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

Urshifu was most reliably "dealt with" via revenge killer or faster special attacker. The closest thing to a true counter was Galarian Weezing, which resisted both STABs and could even OHKO with Strange Steam or cripple with Will-o-Wisp. Even Galarian-Weezing, however, still feared heavy damage from not-uncommon Iron Head variants. As previoulsy mentioned, Urshifu played a tremendous role in a shift towards a heavily offensive meta as balance and defensive builds fell out of favor on most types.

 

[pikachu<3]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Hat, one of the gen8 newcomers, had a substantial impact on the start of the generation and maintains that impact today.

When gen8 started, Hat saw massive usage on Psychic and Fairy teams alike, with access to the best ability in the game, fantastic SPA and coverage, Trick room, and a great boosting move in Calm Mind. It was used on every Psychic team as a fantastic anti-dark option, and was also a decent Dynamax option with the ability to hax past its answers with GMAX smite while ignoring max airstream boosts thanks to Trick Room.

Early stats show that Hat was one of the most used pokemon in early gen 8 monotype:
https://www.smogon.com/stats/2019-11/gen8monotype-1760.txt (Hat is #7 on this list)

While dynamax eventually got banned and removed from the tier, Hat's impact did not; Hat's impact only increased during the home metagame due to the release of things like Keldeo, Terrakion, Kyurem-Black, all mons that Hat has a good matchup against. The release of Steel types that beat Hat, such as Melmetal and Cobalion, didn't affect Hat as much due to steel's relative unpopularity without Heatran availible, as well as Melmetal getting banned. Hat's ability to keep these mons in check allowed for a relatively balanced metagame.

However, with the release of Isle of Armor, Hat's impact on the tier skyrocketed. The release of Isle of Armor brought Urshifu, which made the metagame primarily fighting/dark oriented while simultaneously making steel less common, allowing Fairy (and Hat) to shine. Fairy was THE type to ladder with; it was essentially impossible to climb if your team had a bad matchup against fairy, no matter how good it was against the rest of the metagame.

Note how the top 5 mons are all fairies:
https://www.smogon.com/stats/2020-08/gen8monotype-1760.txt

A team composed of Hat, Azu, Kelfki, Togekiss, Mimikyu, and Weezing-Galar/Grimm had decent matchups against everything in the tier; this team was extremely oppressive at the time and impossible to counter without being extremely weak to something else in the metagame. Hat's ability to counter most hazard setters was integral to this team's success; in addition, magic bounce helped maintain kelfki's screens.

Hat's impact on the tier finally waned with the release of Crown Tundra, giving us access to the Tapus, mainly Tapu Lele. However, Hatteree continues to have an impact today, being able to be used to give psychic a better dark and water MU with a Calm Mind set, or being used on Fairy to counter problematic mons like Ferrothorn and keep spikes/tspikes off of the field.

Even with the release of Tapu Lele, Hat retains respectable usage (#26)
https://www.smogon.com/stats/2022-04/gen8monotype-1760.txt

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Hat has 3 roles: a Bulky Calm mind user (CM 3 atks), Offensive TR (TR 3 atks), and double dance (TR + CM). Hat can fit all 3 roles well, but the real selling ticket is Magic Bounce, which allows Fairy to keep up screens even in the face of Defog, and also allows Fairy and Psychic teams to get away with otherwise subpar hazard control. It should be noted that all 3 sets do a good job of eating Fighting and Dark alive, which was very important in the Urshifu metagame.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Hat is a fantastic mon that has intrinsic use on both types. It counters Psychic's natural weakness to Dark, as well as Fairy's weakness to Spikes and Tspikes, and poison types in general. It also has a fantastic ability in Magic Bounce. On Fairy, it synergizes well with Kelfki to help maintain Screens in front of a Defogger. In addition, it did well against other metagame threats such as Dark Urshifu and Kyurem-Black.

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

As a bulky, slow Magic Bouncer, Hat did naturally well against most passive types. Some people moves to hit Hat specifically; things like Iron Head on Ferrothorn/Corviknight/Kyurem-Black or Gunk Shot on Toxapex. Others ran mons that were good against Hat's type as a whole; Galarian-Weezing with Tspikes on Fairy was used to help win the Fairy mirror, for example. Others ran a type natually good against Hat (such as Steel) despite the unwinnable matchup against Urshifu-Dark. Others ran staightfoward offense, such as Rain or Eterrain + Rising Voltage, in a hope to overpower Hat before it can set up.

 

[Dragapult]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Hat, one of the gen8 newcomers, had a substantial impact on the start of the generation and maintains that impact today.

When gen8 started, Hat saw massive usage on Psychic and Fairy teams alike, with access to the best ability in the game, fantastic SPA and coverage, Trick room, and a great boosting move in Calm Mind. It was used on every Psychic team as a fantastic anti-dark option, and was also a decent Dynamax option with the ability to hax past its answers with GMAX smite while ignoring max airstream boosts thanks to Trick Room.

Early stats show that Hat was one of the most used pokemon in early gen 8 monotype:
https://www.smogon.com/stats/2019-11/gen8monotype-1760.txt (Hat is #7 on this list)

While dynamax eventually got banned and removed from the tier, Hat's impact did not; Hat's impact only increased during the home metagame due to the release of things like Keldeo, Terrakion, Kyurem-Black, all mons that Hat has a good matchup against. The release of Steel types that beat Hat, such as Melmetal and Cobalion, didn't affect Hat as much due to steel's relative unpopularity without Heatran availible, as well as Melmetal getting banned. Hat's ability to keep these mons in check allowed for a relatively balanced metagame.

However, with the release of Isle of Armor, Hat's impact on the tier skyrocketed. The release of Isle of Armor brought Urshifu, which made the metagame primarily fighting/dark oriented while simultaneously making steel less common, allowing Fairy (and Hat) to shine. Fairy was THE type to ladder with; it was essentially impossible to climb if your team had a bad matchup against fairy, no matter how good it was against the rest of the metagame.

Note how the top 5 mons are all fairies:
https://www.smogon.com/stats/2020-08/gen8monotype-1760.txt

A team composed of Hat, Azu, Kelfki, Togekiss, Mimikyu, and Weezing-Galar/Grimm had decent matchups against everything in the tier; this team was extremely oppressive at the time and impossible to counter without being extremely weak to something else in the metagame. Hat's ability to counter most hazard setters was integral to this team's success; in addition, magic bounce helped maintain kelfki's screens.

Hat's impact on the tier finally waned with the release of Crown Tundra, giving us access to the Tapus, mainly Tapu Lele. However, Hatteree continues to have an impact today, being able to be used to give psychic a better dark and water MU with a Calm Mind set, or being used on Fairy to counter problematic mons like Ferrothorn and keep spikes/tspikes off of the field.

Even with the release of Tapu Lele, Hat retains respectable usage (#26)
https://www.smogon.com/stats/2022-04/gen8monotype-1760.txt

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Hat has 3 roles: a Bulky Calm mind user (CM 3 atks), Offensive TR (TR 3 atks), and double dance (TR + CM). Hat can fit all 3 roles well, but the real selling ticket is Magic Bounce, which allows Fairy to keep up screens even in the face of Defog, and also allows Fairy and Psychic teams to get away with otherwise subpar hazard control. It should be noted that all 3 sets do a good job of eating Fighting and Dark alive, which was very important in the Urshifu metagame.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Hat is a fantastic mon that has intrinsic use on both types. It counters Psychic's natural weakness to Dark, as well as Fairy's weakness to Spikes and Tspikes, and poison types in general. It also has a fantastic ability in Magic Bounce. On Fairy, it synergizes well with Kelfki to help maintain Screens in front of a Defogger. In addition, it did well against other metagame threats such as Dark Urshifu and Kyurem-Black.

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

As a bulky, slow Magic Bouncer, Hat did naturally well against most passive types. Some people moves to hit Hat specifically; things like Iron Head on Ferrothorn/Corviknight/Kyurem-Black or Gunk Shot on Toxapex. Others ran mons that were good against Hat's type as a whole; Galarian-Weezing with Tspikes on Fairy was used to help win the Fairy mirror, for example. Others ran a type natually good against Hat (such as Steel) despite the unwinnable matchup against Urshifu-Dark. Others ran staightfoward offense, such as Rain or Eterrain + Rising Voltage, in a hope to overpower Hat before it can set up.

Hatt is the sort of super intelligent pick which makes me excited for what this thread can be beyond just a compilation of stupid mons that never should have been created. While not broken by any standard Hatt had a pretty significant effect on Dark's team construction, and is directly responsible for the advent of Heavy Slam Tyranitar. I remember piloting ark in multiple matches vs mushamu when the bulky Calm Mind/Draining Kiss set first became a thing and it was such a consistent win against Dark I was left thinking the type was bad for awhile. Though Lele is clearly the superior mon I maintain until now that Dark has not faced as consistently difficult a matchup against Psychic since when Hatt was at peak usage.

 

[Day Healer]

Why there is a bulbasaur in the banner?

 

[pikachu<3]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Mimikyu, had a substantial impact on the start of the generation on 2 good types, and continues to be a staple on one of those types while remaining a viable tech option for the other.

When gen8 started, Mimikyu saw massive usage on Ghost and Fairy teams alike. It was used on every Ghost team as a fantastic anti-dark option, as well as being a staple on Fairy teams as a way to easily beat opposing ghost and psychic teams. It was also a decent Dynamax option with the ability to get a guaranteed Swords Dance, while also checking opposing dmax abusers with Disguise.

Early stats show that Mimikyu was the most pokemon in early gen 8 monotype:
https://www.smogon.com/stats/2019-11/gen8monotype-1760.txt (Mimi is #1!)

When Dmax got banned Mimikyu wasn't as good, but still saw near omnipresent usage on both types which were good in the early metagame.

However, with the release of Isle of Armor, Mimikyu's impact on the tier skyrocketed. The release of Isle of Armor brought Urshifu, which made the metagame primarily fighting/dark oriented while simultaneously making steel less common, allowing Fairy (and Mimikyu) to shine. Not only did it make Mimikyu's function on Ghost even more critical (how else are you checking urshifu?), but Fairy was THE type to ladder with; it was essentially impossible to climb if your team had a bad matchup against fairy, no matter how good it was against the rest of the metagame.

Note how the top 5 mons are all fairies:
https://www.smogon.com/stats/2020-08/gen8monotype-1760.txt (Mimi is #2!)

A team composed of Hat, Azu, Kelfki, Togekiss, Mimikyu, and Weezing-Galar/Grimm had decent matchups against everything in the tier; this team was extremely oppressive at the time and impossible to counter without being extremely weak to something else in the metagame. Mimikyu's ability to contest threats this team was weak to, such as Raichu-alola, Kingdra in rain, and Gengar, as well as opposing Psychic teams, was critical to this team's success.

Mimikyu's impact on the tier finally waned with the release of Crown Tundra, giving us access to the Tapus, mainly Tapu Lele, making Mimikyu no longer as effective a tech option against psychic. However, Mimikyu continues to have an impact today, being omnipresent on Ghost teams, and also remaining a viable tech option on Fairy teams to help with opposing Psychic and Ghost matchups.

Even today Mimikyu retains more than respectable usage (#14, 8% usage)
https://www.smogon.com/stats/2022-04/gen8monotype-1760.txt

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Mimikyu is used to check Dark types on Ghost, while being a tech option and SD cleaner on Fairy. Mimikyu's main set is Swords Dance, with a Life orb to help clean at +2 with Sneak, Shadow Claw, and Play Rough. Mimikyu also has a niche Choice Scarf set that can be used on Ghost. It does well against Dark--it notably outpaces band Urshifu-S, the most common set--while luring in would-be counters such as Skarmory, Corviknight, Toxapex, and crippling them with Trick.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Mimikyu's impact largely stemmed from being a critical pokemon on 2 good types in the metagame. Ghost needed Mimikyu to help check omnipresent Dark types, while Fairy needed Mimikyu to help against Psychic and Ghost (it should also be noted pre Crown Tundra, Fairy didn't have many mons to choose from). Fairy being good early on was incredibly important to the metagame, as it helped balance out otherwise overwhelming threats such as Kyurem Black and Urshifu-S.

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

Mimikyu's presence bolstered Fairy teams, and made people less likely to run types such as Fighting, Dark, Dragon, and Psychic. However, the types did have a few options. Psychic users adapted by running things like Scarf Indeedee, which was immune to priority and outsped or by running webs. Dragon users adapted by running things like Mold Breaker Haxorus or scarf Kyurem-Black with Iron Head, both of which outsped Mimikyu and KO'd through disguise.

Today, Mimikyu is less common so types that lose to mimikyu (Dragon, Fighting, Psychic) often just take the autoloss to ghost. Having said that, other types often natually check Mimikyu by running things that are physically bulky (skarm, toxapex, rotom-w, etc).

 

[Dead by Daylight]

What effect did Landorus-T have on the metagame?

Landorus-T is the premier glue on Ground-type teams. Back at the beginning of the Crown Tundra, a Sub Bulk Up set was the most used, with Earthquake and Gravity. This set basically invalidated Flying-types, and alongside Zygarde-10% or the later banned 50%, it relieved Ground-types of their biggest headache. As the metagame progressed, however, people quickly discovered that it was the best Stealth Rock setter and pivot on Ground. Additionally, defensive sets took advantage of Intimidate to weaken threats such as Weavile, Zeraora, and Barraskewda. Finally, as the metagame settled down, another set was found; Choice Scarf, alongside its base 145 Attack, used its sheer power to demolish Flying-types with EdgeQuake coverage.

PRE-DLC & ISLE OF ARMOR:

Disclaimer

I did not play the pre-DLC or IoA metas.

CROWN TUNDRA: Landorus-T saw a massive rise in usage, becoming the 10th most used Pokémon in January of 2021. Ground actually became the meta; if you didn't prepare for it, you were toast. In fact, 3 of the 5 most used Pokémon in October 2021 were Ground-types (Excadrill and Landorus-T were within 1% of each other, at 19.9% and 19.3% respectively, while Garchomp had a 14.5% usage rate). In November 2021, Landorus-T attained the top spot, which it has held comfortably ever since.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

The main roles Landorus-T was used in are a defensive role with Leftovers, a Rocky Helmet pivot that punished Bisharp, Urshifu-R and many more, and a Choice Scarf.


What caused it to have a significant impact?

Landorus-T had a significant impact due to its utility moves including U-turn, Stealth Rock and Knock Off, and good damage output for Stealth Rock setters with its base 145 Attack and STAB Earthquake. Additionally, as the metagame settled down, people really began to appreciate its offense and used Choice Scarf sets. Its niche, however, was its ability to beat Flying-, Electric-, Steel- and Poison-types such as opposing Excadrill, the ever-present Aegislash and Toxapex and the popular (back then) Salazzle and Togekiss.

Additionally, Ground using Sand found Landorus-T to be a very good role compactor: it forced switches and hurt them with Stealth Rock. Excadrill also helps with the Ice matchup, of which any move would kill.

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

The bane of Landorus-T are Ice-types, especially Weavile or Mamoswine.

(Will finish later.)

 

[pikachu<3]

All Nominations:


Top 10 Titans of the Generation 8 Monotype Metagame:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

You forgot to include my nomination of Hatterene :[

So this post is more than one line I'll make another nomination:



What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Excadrill has been a critical part of both Steel and Ground teams since the beginning of the generation. It provides Steel a critical electric immunity, as well as hazard control. On Ground, it serves as a possible scarfer as well as a wallbreaker with Sand Rush. Excadrill has been a near auto-include both Steel and Ground since the beginning of the generation, and prevents things like Regieleki from rampaging through Steel. It also allows for the infamous immunity core to shine, as having an electric immunity discourages the use of Volt Switch, making Corviknight and Celesteela that much more effective.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Excadrill has been a critical part of both Steel and Ground teams since the beginning of the generation. It provides Steel a critical electric immunity, as well as hazard control. On Ground, it serves as a possible scarfer as well as a wallbreaker with Sand Rush, giving counterplay to the difficult Ice and Fairy matchups. In addition, the Steel typing gives ground teams a good dragon resist.

Excadrill has 3 sets: Scarf, double dance (spin + sd), and sand rush (Band or SD + LO). The first 2 are usable on any team, while the last obviously requires Hippo as a teammate.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Excadrill is an amazing pokemon on 2 amazing types, that has access to many viable sets. Hazard control is appreciated on almost every team, ground and steel being no exception.

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

Overall the metagame has adapted to Excadrill by running tech such as Air Balloon Magnezone, and not relying on levitate immunites to dodge Mold Breaker Earthquake (e.g. less rotom-W on water; as well as increased usage of Moltres and/or air balloon on Fire). In addition, the use of bulky physical mons not weak to EQ (slowbro, Celesteela/Corviknight, Zarude, etc) all give Excadrill a hard time.

 

[mushamu]

No Pelipper? Also, does the Regenport nomination above include Galarian Slowking?

No, Galarian Slowking functions a lot differently than regenport

 

[pikachu<3]

No Pelipper? Also, does the Regenport nomination above include Galarian Slowking?

correction: Slowbro + Slowking nomination

You're welcome to nominate Pelipper if you want. Personally, I believe Pelipper is more of a borderline top 20 mon and nowhere near top 10; I would definitely rank it below things like Dragapult, Hydregion, Toxapex, Kelfki, Slowking-Galar, etc, let alone most of the pokemon already nominated.

 

[Dragapult]

Dragapult (WIP)

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?
Dragapult stands as chief contender for the title of Monotype mascot immediately following the release of Sword & Shield. Prior to the release of DLC I, SS Monotypw was demonstrated a significant bias towards offense, paving the way for Dragapult to shine as the most important speed control and revenge killer in the tier. Though both Ghost and Dragon have fallen into mediocrity, at a point they were two of if not the two most commonly piloted types in the game, bolstering Pult's importance as the linchpin of the Ghost mirror, the Dragon mirror, and the Ghost vs. Dragon matchup.

A great STAB combo and strong coverage options such as Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, and Sucker Punch allowed Pult to feast on the super-fast, super frail offensive teams dominating early SS, which led to its emergence as the most prominent mon in the pre-DLC metagame.

• Pre DLC:
• Isle of Armor:
• Crown Tundra:

In what main roles was Pokemon used?
Pult has played a number of different roles as the metagame developed, and at a point seemed the spiritual successor to Landorus-Therian given its versatility and ability to plug up multiple holes in teambuilding.

Choice Scarf

Choice Specs

Substitute/Dragon Dance


Dragapult is the second-fastest viable mon and overall fastest scarfer in the tier, a critical distinction given the critical importance of Choice Scarfers as the most important win condition in offensive matchups. In early SS both Ghost and Dragon were popular selections due to their straightforward playstyles, access to insanely powerful Pokemon (Blacephalon + Mimikyu/Hydreigon + Kyurem), and a lack of major defensive threats.

Those who played early SS will remember the importance of the Pult speedtie in the many Ghost and Dragon mirrors...this led to many players adopting Scarf Dragapul...while at first Scarf Dragapult seemed like overkill, the logic quickly became apparent at the winner-take-all nature of the Dragapult speed tie in the Ghost and Dragon mirrors mandated that everyone running a team with Dragapult on it ran Scarf in order to ensure they stayed competitive. Scarf Dragapult would eventually fall out of favor as Ghost received two powerful Beast Boosters in Blacephalon and Spectrier.


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

Dragapult's Speed and versatility meant that priority was essential to preventing it from fulfilling its role. Types such as Ghost (Shadow Sneak), Ice (Ice Shard), and Dark (Sucker Punch) loaded up on priority moves, while others

Bulky Fairies such as can reliably check the Specs and Scarf variants, and fear little from Dragapult's preferred wallbreaking partner Hydreigon. They were/are susceptible to the Dragon Dance variant, particularly on the rare occasion it is running Steel Wing.

 

[pikachu<3]

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

This pokemon made the metagame far more toxic and poisonous and stally than it really needed to be. Tons of unenjoyable, degenerate games have taken place to this mon being used on tri-degenerator poison and regenerator water cores.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Both Specially Defensive and Physically Defensive Pex have been used with Recover + 3 other moves, those being scald/haze/toxic/toxic spikes/knock off/gunk shot/poison jab/sludge bomb/baneful bunker/stockpile. Toxapex can also hold a variety of items to good effect; black sludge, heavy duty boots, and rocky helmet are all fine choices. On teams, toxapex absorbs tspikes for water and acts as a fairy resist as well as a way to tank most grass type moves; on poison toxapex serves as the main water, fire, and steel resist.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

It serves as a defensive backbone to 2 significant types since the beginning of the metagame.

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

Click X at preview to obtain more enjoyable games. Alternatively, run stallbreakers such as Sub + freeze dry kyurem, sub np moltres-galar, sub np hydre, sub sd garchomp, sub qd volcarona, etcetra. Taunt is capable of breaking Toxapex as well. Other ways to run through poison include Banded Zydog and Gravity, as well as certain breakers such as CM Latios. Water cores with Toxapex tend to be weak to Spectrier, Rillaboom, and Moltres-galar.

 

[maroon]

If you have reserved a Pokemon make sure to finish it by tomorrow night @ 11:59pm -4, if not i will allow others to take your picks.

Rinda silver grace hatred heart d3adbydayl1ght Dragapult

 

[maroon]

Now, voting shall begin. Here’s how voting will work: you will vote for one pokemon from the list of nominees for that particular place. Every three days, we will move on to the next most influential.

Nominees

• Galarian Moltres
• Melmetal
• Corviknight
• Dracovish
• Celesteela
• Aegislash
• Kyurem
• Slowbro
• Slowking
• Arctozolt
• Urshifu-S
• Landorus-T
• Mimikyu
• Hatterene
• Excadrill
• Dragapult
• Toxapex

My first vote will go to Aegislash!

 

[Rinda]

Kyurem