Project Top 10 Titans of NDOU

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Milo

I'm Your Man
is a Community Contributor
:ss/Landorus-therian: :ss/kyurem: Top 10 Titans of Gen 8 National Dex OU :ss/lopunny-mega: :ss/heatran:
stealing op from other iterations of this project
Sword and Shield metagames have been through major ups and downs with the delayed releases of Pokemon essentially creating different states of the metagame. Throughout all of it, there have been clear winners and losers. We've seen once dominant Pokemon fall to the side as new threats enter the tier, and some rise up to take the throne.

The big question that we will try to answer with this thread is, which of all the Pokemon were the 10 most influential throughout Gen 8?

From May 29th to June 9th, you will nominate Pokemon that will be voted on for the top 10 most influential Pokemon throughout NDOU. 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!

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 NDOU 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 NDOU?

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

:ss/weavile:

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

It clicks button innit

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Wallbreaker

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Great speed tier, damage output, STAB moves.

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

You didn't

please format your suggestions more seriously than this one it's just an example to show off the format

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. Happy posting!
 
:ss/latias-mega:

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Mega Latias increased the viability of balance a lot, and it could be said that with out it, fat balances would not be viable. It offered a lot of defensive utility as well as a good wincon with calm mind.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Mega Latias's great speed stat and typing allowed it to be a great cm wincon, as it had many opportunities to set up cm throughout a match. It also gained access to aura sphere, which allowed it to threaten darks and steels that troubled it in the past.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Mega Latias had a great speed stat of 110 and a great ability in Leviate. While it's typing made it pursuit weak, it also gave it helpful resistances to water, fire, grass, electric, and fighting. It could be paired with other calm minders such as clefable and reuniclus to overwhelm other teams and in the case of reuniclus, pursuit trappers. Weavile was also a great partner, using knock off to weaken the oppossing team and pursuit to trap psychics that troubled mega latias.

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

Toxic was incredibly crippling for meta latias. Dark types such as ash-grenina and weavile also threatened it a lot, with weavile and ttar being able to pursuit trap it. Blissey and chansey could wall it to some extent but didn't like psyshock. Steels also generally walled meta latias but didn't like repeated aura spheres.
 
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ibleachyourskin

formerly ibeat
d2krol6-c1e58a28-fa8e-4d7c-95e3-5f7a090aa550.png

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

It from past generations kept its role as a suicide lead aswell as a set up sweeper in many versatile balanced/ho teams. Mew from past generations took on even the strongest of ubers in the past generations really well pairing it with hard hitters really layed a smack down on teams

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Suicide lead/setup sweeper, cleric, passive sweeper and an unused mon for unusual voltturn core clerics

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Hazard stacker, cleric, suicide lead, spdef/def walls.

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

Usually taunt does the trick since it rarely ever used mental herb in the past official tiers. Now dark types like weavile and greninja does light work to it.
 
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Heatran

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

It gave more of viability too alot if offensive playstyles since it could offer alot of role compression and stallbreaking power and is a big part of the reason why Gliscor is one of the premiere defoggers in the tier. It also forced alot of defensive pokemon too speedcreep it

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

It was used both as a spdef oriented defensive option and an offensive stallbreaker when equipped with a Z-Crystal and the move taunt

What caused it to have a significant impact?

A good offensive and supportive movepool, great typing, good stats and an insane signature move are what make this pokemon as unique and influential as it is

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

Shed Shell Toxapex, Gliscor are the best ways of dealing with it altho Fini and Chomp can work as more short term counters as well
 
:sm/metagross-mega:

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

When Natdex finally stablized Mega Metagross became a instant top 10 pokemon in the tier and with the eventual bans of Arena Trap and Genesect the it was arguably the very best pokemon in the tier.

Mega Metagross is truly like no other pokemon thats in the current Natdex metagame. Its a offensive pokemon with some of best defensive stats and its obvious good trait of being a steel type is basically could function a huge hindrance to mons like Lele and Mega Zam so they always had to run coverage for it or else they risked not being a able to reliably punish it. It helps that it resisted stealth rocks so it wasn't easy to punish.

What stands Mega Metagross over other offensive pokemon is it tanky nature but the addition of a amazing speed stat of 110 meaning it outsped the majority of the metagame. Coverage wise it had it all, even if it annoying couldn't fit everything at once it would always put you on the back foot immediately and with its coverage boosted by tough claws it would likely ohko your pokemon in return if you weren't careful.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Thunder Punch
- Hammer Arm / Earthquake / Pursuit / Ice Punch / Hone Claws / Stealth Rock

Standard set. The last slot was so versatile and if it stayed for longer we might of have explore dropping the other moves for one of them as well.

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake / Zen Headbutt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Grass Knot

MixGross preyed on the only real counter to the standard set which was Mega Scizor and Mega Slowbro which were both used around this time to deal with Mega Metagross. This set did annoying feel weak at times so you didn't want to use it all the time.

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Rock Polish / Agility

Rock Polish or Agility I couldn't remember the differences between the 2 but Mega Metagross could sometimes win games out right if it got the boost but since its answers were so common this set was very hard to use.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Since Metagross was so naturally good against offensive and alright against defense there were basically no downsides to using it. And with that many other pokemon got pushed to the side as Metagross centralized the entire around itself. Mega Metagross also had a impact on the voting process as the suspect for this pokemon was highly controversial as it got enough votes from the people who actually voted but not the voter pool. This will never happen again as later on the rules were changed to prevent this from happening again.

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

Because Mega Metagross was a such a threat it was heavily prepared for. The most universal way of dealing with Mega Metagross was using a physically bulky tank with Rocky Helmet to wear it down. Tangrowth was the most common but Slowbro wasn't too far behind. With the pool of reliable answers so small teams often followed very similar structures and thus the metagame slowly tanked. This was relaxed when Mega Blastoise got the boot and thus Tapu Fini wasn't such a necessary pokemon anymore but the problem still kind of existed.

Special shout out to Mega Scizor which was basically the ultimate counter to Metagross besides some sets tailor made to beat it.

So yeah Mega Metagross was the original king of the entire tier and remember fondly for always paralyzing Slowbro and haxing through it.
 
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:ss/Magearna:

What effect did
Magearna have on the metagame?

Magearna existed as a defining presence within the National Dex OU tier, performing a variety of roles from the tier’s inception in December 2019 up to its eventual departure via suspect vote in April 2021. In the early beginnings of the tier, Magearna commonly saw usage on screens hyper offense teams, but faced stiff competition from Genesect and Mega Metagross as the tier’s premier steel types at that time. Furthermore, Magearna did not gain access to Stored Power and Draining Kiss until February 2020, limiting the offensive potential of many of Magearna’s early setup sets.

However, following Mega Metagross’ departure from the tier along with the “Big 5” in July 2020, Magearna began its ascension from a team-dependent offensive breaker into an eventual metagame staple. By the end of NDPL I, Magearna finished at #6 in overall usage, earning it a place “On the Radar” in subsequent tiering discussions led by the council. Furthermore, only a few months after it nearly escaped a potential suspect test due to Spectrier’s presence as a more pressing matchup issue, Magearna finished at #3 in overall usage at the conclusion of NDWC I. Coupled with the loss of Dragapult and eventually Cinderace in their respective suspect tests, Magearna finally received support for a suspect test in April 2021, where it was banned by an eventual 81% margin.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Given Magearna’s typing, bulk and wide movepool, Magearna was capable of performing a variety of roles both offensively and defensively.

:choice-specs: Choice Specs Magearna – arguably its most deadly set in the eyes of some – acted as a powerful wallbreaker that could also pivot out of several checks, and/or cripple them with Trick. Although this set did not rise to prominence right away, it became one of Magearna’s deadlier sets at the time of its departure, and arguably its most consistent across most matchups. Sets typically consisted of Fleur Cannon + Focus Blast/Aura Sphere + Volt Switch + Trick/Coverage Move, typically forcing the opponent to outplay the Magearna user through pivoting and prediction.

:Weakness-policy: Weakness Policy Magearna exclusively saw usage on Hyper Offensive Teams – typically with Screens support – where it was able to thrive following the departure of Mega Metagross as the tier’s premier defensive steel type. This set most commonly featured Stored Power + Draining Kiss as offensive coverage, with Aura Sphere/Focus Blast rarely slotted in over Draining Kiss. This set also typically opted to invest in greater bulk, allowing it to eat powerful STAB hits such as Earthquake from Landorus-T and Mega Swampert, or Pyro Ball from Cinderace and more quickly accrue boosts in the face of its would-be offensive checks. However, this set lacked immediate offensive presence, and was easily identified at team preview. Iron Defense sets were usable, but never really took off in this tier compared to Shift Gear variants.

:Life-orb: Life Orb Magearna performed a somewhat similar role to the above KissPower variant, opting typically for greater immediate power and speed and more commonly opting for Focus Blast as offensive coverage over Draining Kiss.

:fairium-Z: Shift Gear + 3Atk Magearna remained a powerful offensive option as a carryover from SM OU. By forgoing its newfound tools in Stored Power and Draining Kiss, Magearna had a variety of Z-move sets including Fairium Z, Electrium Z, and Fightinium Z, with the latter serving as arguably the most potent of the bunch. These sets, which were most prominent early on in the generation, typically accepted the loss of bulk, offensive snowballing potential and a bit of 4MSS in exchange for immediate power, coverage and speed as a late-game cleaner.

:Assault-Vest: Assault Vest Magearna served as a defensive metagame staple for balance teams, being able to serve as a notably solid check to particularly threatening breakers such as Tapu Lele, Kyurem, Weavile and various Greninja sets. Additionally, AV Magearna was able to check opposing offensive Magearna variants and provide soft-counterplay to certain Dragapult sets when they were present in the metagame.

:Electrium-Z: Calm Mind + Pain Split Magearna was used primarily as a countermeasure to Stall and bulkier teams, relying on the set of Fleur Cannon + Thunderbolt + Calm Mind + Pain Split to circumvent would-be checks such as Chansey and Toxapex, while being less prediction reliant than Choice Specs at the cost of immediate power and the ability to pivot.

It should be noted that Magearna also retained other options, such as Heal Bell + Pain Split and Heart Swap sets, but these sets were typically rare and heavily team dependent.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Given Magearna’s typing, bulk and movepool, many of Magearna’s sets were able to thrive throughout different eras of the tier’s metagame development, with each set requiring slightly different counterplay both in practice and in the teambuilder. At its peak, Magearna was unquestionably the queen of hyper offense, an indispensable glue on balance teams with its AV set, and one of the tier’s premier wallbreakers at the height of Choice Specs’ effectiveness. Additionally, Magearna counterplay required players to adequately prepare with the correct tools in the teambuilder, detect its likely sets at preview, and be prepared to pivot and outplay Magearna throughout the course of a game, which some found to be too onerous a task.

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

At the time of its apex in the metagame, teambuilding against Magearna generally required the presence of a Volt-Switch Blocker, speed control that could offensively threaten Magearna out, and a midground pivot in order to assuage the burden of predicting correctly against Choice Specs Magearna’s coverage. Moreover, teambuilding generally favored the presence of faster Taunt users, Haze users, and faster offensive Fire/Ground types to stymie the ability of KissPower sets to secure enough boosts to make progress. More broadly, teams typically elected to out-offensive Magearna through speed and power, as KissPower sets were not immediately threatening, Choice Specs variants lacked speed and sufficient bulk, and Shift Gear sets (albeit not as common) struggled to find setup opportunities at times and were less consistent across most matchups.

While few pokemon could claim to be an outright counter to all Magearna sets, some pokemon performed notably better than others in checking it one on one. Defensive options such as Mega Scizor, Slowking-Galar, Chansey/Blissey, Assault Vest Magearna, bulky Volcarona, Victini, SpDef Heatran, Toxapex and other niche options like Aegislash, Jirachi, Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss served as decent individual checks to many of Magearna’s common variants. However, many of the aforementioned options risked losing momentum to a Specs Volt Switch, lacked reliable recovery, despised being Tricked a Choice Specs, or were simply used as setup bait for KissPower variants. Furthermore, while several shaky-checks such as Moltres, SpDef Hippowdon, Gastrodon, Excadrill and Ferrothorn could switch into the appropriate coverage move, many of these interactions required opponents to outplay the Magearna user in getting them into play, and arguably created a disproportionate risk/reward in doing so.
 

pannu

THE GONG OF KNOCKOUT
is a Top Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Social Media Contributor Alumnus
Enter your nominee's sprite here.
:ss/kyurem:


What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

fucks teambuilding alot, has invented alot of the tiers staple and past staple archetypes, and some of the most popular teams OAT in the tier use it

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Wincondition; usually special, but physical too

What caused it to have a significant impact?

versatility and insane coverage

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

pressure that dude, steels, volc, blobs, cmers
 

Giyu

Love is the most twisted curse of them all
is a Site Content Manageris a Forum Moderatoris a Contributor to Smogon
:ss/Landorus-Therian:

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Landorus-T is one of the most viable Pokemon in the National Dex metagame currently due it's great offensive and defensive stats as well as it's extensive movepool, which makes it astonishingly versatile. Due to Landorus-T's great flexibility in teambuilding, it's seen on a variety of different archetypes such as; Offense, Bulky Offense, Balance, etc. It's practically the most role compressing Pokemon in the metagame, which to no surprise puts it on every other team.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Landorus-T does a plethora of things in the tier, such as:

Choice Scarf :Choice Scarf:
Choice Scarf allows Landorus-T to be a deadly revenge killer and late game sweeper. Due to amount of coverage Landorus-T has, Choice Scarf sets have endless combinations which definitely make it hard predicting what it would do against you. Some notable moves are Knock Off, Explosion, Punishment, Stone Edge, Hidden Power Fire/Ice, and U-turn.

Rocky Helmet :Rocky Helmet:
Because of Intimidate and Landorus-T's naturally high defensive stats, this Pokemon is a big threat to a lot of physical attackers in the tier. Unfortunately, due to lack of recovery Gliscor once again can be a more sustainable choice but it still doesn't harbor the same amount of offensive pressure and utility in terms of Intimidate and Rocky Helmet.

Focus Sash :Focus Sash:
Landorus-T can be a really useful suicide hazard setter on hyper offensive teams. Especially when it has access to a Swords Dance powered Explosion.

Stealth Rock

Landorus-T is an exceptional Stealth Rock setter as it's far from being passive and can consistently set it up on players suspecting an Earthquake or Stone Edge. Due to Intimidate, Landorus-T can force out physical attackers to get a free turn to set Stealth Rock.

U-turn

Landorus-T is a really good pivot; both offensive and defensive, making it a presence to be reckoned with on VoltTurn teams.

Defog

Even though Gliscor is more sustainable as a defogger due to recovery and overall better bulk. Landorus-T is still an amazing hazard controller due to the amount of pressure it can cause on certain Stealth Rock setters such as Heatran, Garchomp, and Clefable.

Swords Dance

Landorus-T effectively breaks through many walls using the Swords Dance set. Whether it be using Flyinium Z with Fly or Rockium Z with Stone Edge, it's extremely unpredictable and could lose you the game if you don't scout it's moveset well enough.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Landorus-T's overall versatility and role compression allows it to be a huge impact on the tier. Pokemon like Tapu Koko, Rotom-Wash, Mega Scizor, etc. all formed exceptional pivot cores with Landorus-T, bringing out it's true potential as a pivot both defensively and offensively.

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

Physical walls like Tangrowth, Corviknight, and Slowbro all wall Choice Scarf sets but Flyinium Z sets threaten Tangrowth with an OHKO. Rockium Z severely weakens Corviknight and defensive sets harboring Toxic cripple Tangrowth and Slowbro. Ice-types such as Weavile and Kyurem threaten it greatly. Weavile can revenge kill it easily, even Choice Scarf sets because of Ice Shard and Kyurem's naturally high bulk allows it to take Earthquakes just fine. Stone Edge, Superpower, and U-turn can be an issue for these two on the other hand so they aren't totally safe.
 
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:ss/weavile:

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

If you think ash greninja isn't enough of a reason to slot a dark resist on a team, this demon supported the idea , as it's STAB knock off is very vicious to switch into, with most mons taking significant damage while losing their item, which is a big deal.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Wallbreaking
Both Choice band and swords dance cause massive havocs. Besides mega scizor, almost nothing could safely counter both sets without proper scouting.

Trapping "With great power comes great responsibilities."
Something worse than a vicious wallbreaker is another wallbreaker that pairs well together, with Charizard Y being a prime example. The only wall they share is toxapex, whom will be constantly forced to recover after taking so many powerful hits, and a good player will be able to use toxapex's passivity to their advantage.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Having a jacked up BP on one of if not the best offensive types as it's STAB moves and knock off to reduce one of the side effect of using triple axel: rocky helmet. Oh and also no singular type resists both ice and dark.

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

Slotting in some defensive measures such as mega scizor, tapu fini, toxapex etc. Weavile's weakness lies in that the opponent always knows what it's going to do compared to other offensive threats such as kartana and landorus therian, which can defog, provide speed control by being a choice scarfer etc.
 

ong

Banned deucer.
:ss/tapu-fini:

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?
Tapu Fini is a household name in National Dex as of right now solely because of the plethora of sets it can pull off on many different archetypes. Tapu Fini serves as a Greninja switch-in and also a Weavile switch-in and punishes them with its STAB moonblast.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?
Trapping
Tapu Fini can become a menace to stalls with its trapping set which consists of Whirlpool and Natures Madness, with this set it can trap many stall mainstays such as Toxapex and Chansey.

Scarf
Tapu Fini can also serve as a choice scarfer which can revenge kill Weavile, Ash-Greninja, and also Mega-Lopunny this set can also cripple many walls via tricking its choice scarf away.

Calm Mind
Tapu Fini with Calm Mind can serve as a very terrifying late-game sweeper it can find many opportunities to set up throughout the game. It checks many offensive threats with its immense bulk such as Heatran and Ash-Greninja. Tapu Fini can also summon Misty Terrain to prevent status which makes it a late-game sweep easier for it to pull off.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
The reason why Fini had a significant impact on the NDOU meta is solely because of its dual typing combination and Misty Terrain, Fini also fits on almost any archetype barring Stall and Hyper Offense.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?
I personally slotted in mainly Protean Greninja to snipe off non-scarf variants of Tapu Fini but you could also use Grassium / Scarf Kartana which fits on Charizard-Y + Pursuit Weavile teams and finally Grassium Heatran is a good pick to snipe off Tapu Finis as well which also can help break grounds like Gastrodon.
 

Milo

I'm Your Man
is a Community Contributor
:ss/lopunny-mega:

What effect did Pokemon have on the metagame?

Mega Lopunny presented itself as a stable pivot with the capability to break 'counters' such as Corviknight with the help of hazards and adjust with U-Turn if they were not down. Having a great speed tier, it conquered teams as speed control and ultimately had an amazing attack.

In what main roles was Pokemon used?

Mega Lopunny was very splashable as it had great stab moves, with priority and pivot. It was primarily used as a fast pivot support that had the capability to break defences or put pressure on Pokemon such as Toxapex with Return after Stealth Rock.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

The peak speed of 405 was incredible as it outsped Tapu Koko, Greninja, Weavile and breakers such as Mega Diancie, Mega Latias and Garchomp. It's later access to Triple Axel made it more of a thread during the time where it was preferred over U-Turn, however it ultimately came up to scouting for it as it was always a possibility of carrying it.

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

Pokemon such as Corviknight could take 3 Close Combats and punish Lopunny with Rocky Helmet, or easily recover with Leftovers. This had to be weary however of Stealth Rock as if running Helmet, would fail to recover from a Close Combat, and barely take a 2nd. Toxapex and Tapu fini are also 2 notable counters as Toxapex has the ability to take a Return, recover and simply Toxic the Lopunny to cripple it and take advantage of it's Regenerator ability to regain HP. Tapu Fini could switch in, especially Bold and click either it's STAB Moonblast, or Draining Kiss.
 
Can you add some other options? This list would missing Clefable, Kartana, Toxapex, Magnezone, Corviknight, Both Greninjas, and Slowbro. Theres some other banned pokemon that were quite influential like Cinderace, Dracovish, Mega Blastiose, and Spectrier.

I know its annoying but only OU's version of this thread got enough activity last gen to get a full version.
 

Milo

I'm Your Man
is a Community Contributor
Can you add some other options? This list would missing Clefable, Kartana, Toxapex, Magnezone, Corviknight, Both Greninjas, and Slowbro. Theres some other banned pokemon that were quite influential like Cinderace, Dracovish, Mega Blastiose, and Spectrier.

I know its annoying but only OU's version of this thread got enough activity last gen to get a full version.
It's not up to me, it's up to submissions.
 
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